《Mages Are Too OP》 1 Head Explosion It was a ceiling that he had never seen before. After Roland opened his eyes, he saw an enormous statue of a woman above his head. The statue was made of black rock, with vague greenness flowing on the surface. But when he observed it more carefully, the greenness was gone. Roland sat up and found himself on a blue stone platform that seemed like a ritual table for sacrifices in the medieval age. It was cold and rough. There was a unique fragrance in the air. He looked around and saw strange grasses burning below the statue of the goddess not far away behind him. The grasses seemed to be wormwood, albeit with more teeth at the edge. Wait fragrance? He could smell and even feel? Roland touched the ritual table again, sensing its roughness and coldness. He then sniffed hard. This time, he smelled both the strange fragrance of the grasses and the bitter scent of the stone building itself. Am I really not hypnotized, but in an immersive game? It feels so real Roland looked at his hands. They were fair and slim, as expected of the hands of a spellcaster. He pinched his arm. There was pain but not too obvious. It came as no surprise. After all, before he entered the game, he had read the official announcement which stated that the pain in the game was only one-tenth of that in reality. Roland rose from the platform. He looked around and realized that he was in a building made of rocks. There was a goddess statue, a ritual table, and several rows of chairs up ahead. Judging from the arrangement, it was likely to be a chapel. Jumping from the ritual table, Roland observed his body. He was wearing gray and brown clothes made of linen, which was not exactly comfortable. His shoes were ugly and thin. He could feel the cold stone below his feet as he stepped on the ground. It''s very real Roland sighed and touched the ritual table. The stones felt so real. The granules on their surface were identical to reality. He did not expect the game to be a legitimate immersive game exactly as Penguin Corporation claimed, not a VR counterfeit that intended to fool people''s money. When was such great technology developed? And how could it have been developed by Penguin Corporation? Roland sighed with mixed feelings. The immersive cabin that he bought with fifty thousand bucks was definitely worth it. He was about to observe the environment some more and adapt himself to his new body, when the ragged door of the chapel opened. While the door was still creaking, a hunched old man walked in. His eyebrows were long and white and dangled to his slender cheeks. His eyelids were so loose that they almost covered his eyes. He was wearing a long white robe that had a symbol of a tree at the center. The old man was surprised to see Roland at first, but then he relaxed. The change in his expression, both the movement of his facial muscles and his eyes, was exactly like that of a real person, instead of an NPC in the game. In the VR games that Roland had played, facial changes had always been a flaw in NPC behavior no matter how real the NPCs seemed to be. Even though NPCs'' expressions were abundant thanks to motion capture, one would inevitably feel horrible when they changed their expressions. But right now, Roland felt that he had met a real person Was the newcomer another player? He dropped the idea very soon. He was among the first batch to join the game. It was impossible for a player to become a reverend so quickly. Also, more importantly, players all appeared as young human beings in the game, and what Roland saw was a withering old man. However, the old man was too real. Roland felt that he was a real person even though he did not talk and was only staring at Roland. His eyes, his stance, his blinking eyes, his moles, his dry and yellow skin He could even see that the old man''s temples were vaguely throbbing because of the flow of blood. Roland was not involved in the game industry, but he had played a lot of games, including Pac-Man at the beginning and the exquisite VR games right now. Even though the games today could make NPCs look vivid, they still lacked the critical essence, which was the soul! Yet, the old man gave the feeling that he was a living person with a soul, instead of an NPC built with cold data inside a human skin, when he was doing nothing but standing. Is this a guiding NPC? The official website did not mention anything about a guiding NPC Confused, Roland asked, "Hello, mister. What is this place?" The old man was stunned for a while. Then, he waved his hand and spoke in a language that Roland had never heard. Even though he could not understand, Roland had inferred from the old man''s countenance that he was expressing his inability to understand Roland. Shoot! Roland cursed the producer of this game for their pursuit of perfection. Had they set up different languages for the NPCs in this world? If the introduction on the official website was to be believed, there were dozens of countries and races in this game world. If every country and every race had their own language, how much work would have to be done? If it was true, Bli**ard and Ub*soft would be nothing but kindergarteners in front of Penguin Corporation. Though dissatisfied, Roland had a solution. He remembered that he had pre-learned Language Proficiency, a level-two spell, when he created the character in the game. In many of the sandbox games he played, although everybody used the same language, the players of different countries or sides would hear and see random words if they did not know each other''s language thanks to the setting of the games. Roland felt lucky that he had abundant game experience. He summoned the system in his mind. He was clumsy at first. After all, an immersive game was different from a VR game. But soon, he got the hang of it and found Skills on Magic Book. Then, he locked on Language Proficiency. A strange chart popped up in front of his eyes, with a lot of blue nodes on it. A blue node that seemed to be the starting point glittered and shot a streak of redness to another node in the blink of an eye. Is this a spellcasting chart? While Roland considered the possibility, the red link between the two nodes suddenly began to tremble. Then, it trembled harder and harder, and Roland felt a stronger and stronger headache. What''s going on? Roland had played games for twenty years, but it was the first time he played an immersive one. He had no experience and did not know how to deal with the situation. Several seconds later, the red link finally broke apart in the violent quakes. Before that, the pain in Roland''s head was already insufferable, as if needles had been stuck inside. The moment the red link broke apart, Roland''s consciousness was ejected out of his body in the game. Then, he discovered, to his surprise, that his game character''s head exploded. The headless corpse fell heavily on the ground, blood splashing everywhere. Roland''s consciousness stood next to the corpse as a transparent soul. He was so surprised that he froze and did not know how to react. The old man''s hair, face, and clothes were covered with blood. He opened his mouth that had few teeth left, stunned. 2 Resurrection Falken was the only reverend in the Church of Life in Red Mountain Town. He worked as a mercenary for two years and traveled in a lot of places when he was young. Although he had only lived in Red Mountain Town afterward, he always considered himself a worldly man. But today, he felt that he was too ignorant. He did not know the new way of suicide, which was to detonate one''s own head with magic recoil. Every spellcaster would''ve been impressed by such an accurate detonation. Falken finally closed his mouth. The young man who emerged in his temple should be the undying Golden Son that would arrive today according to the oracle, which said that he would reappear on the ritual table in the temple after he died. But what if he didn''t? There were so many temples of the Church of Life in the world, and there were only finite Golden Sons. He might not reach his temple. Now, how should he deal with this headless body and this place that looked like the scene of a homicide? He had been a reputable reverend in Red Mountain Town for decades. He did not expect this before his death. It would be the time of prayer in the town soon. If the villagers saw him standing in the chapel soaked in blood next to the headless male He could imagine what theory the villagers would come up with! It took the Church of Life decades to establish grounds in this village. If the villagers lost their faith because of this incident, he would be too ashamed to face the goddess when he was summoned by her later. Falken had a strong headache. The thing he most dreaded happened. The wooden door behind Falken opened, and a plump lady cried as loudly as if she were a virtuoso when she saw the horrifying scene. She even fell on the floor when Falken turned around with brains and blood all over his body. "Don''t be scared, Susan," said Falken intimidatingly. "I''m Falken. About this" "What? You''re Reverend Falken?" Surprisingly, the plump lady named Susan relaxed after distinguishing Falken''s voice. She jumped up and cursed at Roland''s headless body. "Reverend, was he a burglar? You''ve done a great job! Wait a moment. I''ll ask other people to help you. He was stupid enough to rob you" Cursing, she left and cried out, "Somebody help! The old reverend has killed a burglar. Come here and help him move the body out." Hearing the exclamations and yells, Falken grinned, tears in his dirty eyes. Soon, a bunch of people swarmed in. Most of them were adults; children were kept outside. They gasped when they saw the ghastly scene and then cursed the burglar who broke into the temple. None of them suspected that Falken was a murderer. After discussing for a while, some of them fetched clean water to mop the floor, and some went for a piece of cloth to move the body away and burn it. None of them, including old Falken, saw that Roland''s consciousness had stayed next to his body. To be more exact, Roland was invisible to them when he was in the state of consciousness. Roland finally returned to himself from the unexpected pain. He confirmed that his body in the game had been killed by the head explosion due to inappropriate spellcasting. It was one of the most hilarious ways of death that he knew. He would''ve laughed nonstop if it happened to any other player, but since he was the victim here, he could only weep in sorrow. No wonder the difficulty of Mage was listed as ten stars on the official website of the game, which was the highest difficulty of all classes. Warlock and Priest, the other two classes of spellcasters, were only five stars. Roland recalled the notice he read before entering this virtual world. After a player died, they could be resurrected several seconds after their consciousness found a temple of the Church of Life and lied on the ritual table. He observed the people who were busy next to his body. In this state of consciousness, he only had regular sight and could not smell, taste, or feel anything. He felt panicked and horrible when he stayed in this environment of sensory deprivation for too long. He hurried to climb on the ritual table and lie down. The stone skirt of the goddess skirt was before him again. Of course, there was nothing underneath the skirt except for simple stone structures. It was not fun at all. While Roland was having random thoughts, the goddess statue''s eyes glowed a green that illuminated his consciousness. His consciousness turned warm, and strange energy flowed within. Then, he became dizzy. By the time he woke up again, he found himself lying on the ritual table. He stood up, only to discover that the NPCs who were busy moving the body stared at him in surprise with their mouths gaping. At this moment, he felt slightly cold. He lowered his head. Then, he couldn''t have looked more awful. He was entirely naked, without the tiniest piece of cloth. Roland was so embarrassed that he would rather kill himself. Trying to remain calm, he glanced at the crowd and wondered how he could extricate himself from this awkward situation. But soon, he heaved a long sigh, because it was impossible for him to explain himself when he did not know the language. It had been proved that he couldn''t activate Language Proficiency for now. At this moment, the old reverend said something to the crowd, and they left the temple in order. The last of them even closed the door. The temple became dim again. The headless body was still lying on the ground. The blood on the old reverend''s face was gone, but brains still lingered on his clothes, which was rather creepy. Roland, however, was not scared, because the blood and gore had been thoughtfully blurred into harmless squares in the game. 3 Communication One of them was a dying old man covered in blood, and the other was a naked, fresh young man. Roland had read plenty of books on religion, of course, mostly non-serious ones. He heard that some reverends liked boys best. Roland''s character was only seventeen years old. Was he a little boy in the old man''s eyes? Thinking about that, he felt a toothache and became wary. He jumped backward. With the ritual table in between as an obstacle, he was more relaxed. Perhaps because the negative effect of resurrection had passed, Roland felt a lot more comfortable. He covered his genitals with one hand and gazed at the reverend. He wouldn''t have been scared of such an old man in reality because he could easily beat the old man up if he asked for trouble. However, he was in a highly simulative game, and the old man was a reverend of the Church of Life. Different from the fat reverends who were obsessed with boys in reality, the reverends in this game were capable of real spells. Seeing the young man''s wariness, Falken smiled at him. Maybe because he looked trustworthy, the young man seemed more or less relaxed. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Falken raised his hand and pointed at the young man''s forehead. Roland did not expect that the stranger would cast a spell without any warning. A green ball of light dashed at him, but it was not too fast. Roland hurried to dodge, but the light ball followed him and hit his head after a turn, before it transformed like jelly and leaked through his skull into his brain. Roland thought that the reverend was trying to kill him. After all, it was not unusual for a player to be killed by an NPC. He expected more head-exploding agony, but to his surprise, he felt nothing except a twinge in his head. "Young man, you should be able to understand me now." It was not any language that Roland was aware of, but he could understand what the reverend was saying now. Roland was briefly stunned, but he soon realized what was going on. Holding his forehead, he gasped and said, "Language Proficiency? Mister, please wait a moment and let me put on my clothes first." Roland was certainly not a fan of nudity. He soon found the option, Pick Up Your Body, on the menu and clicked Confirm. Roland''s headless body turned into countless white cubes in a few seconds, which were stretched into a beautiful ribbon and flew back into Roland. The scattered brains and blood turned into flecks of light and also flew back to him. It was a beautiful view. Not just that, the temple was back to normal, and the stains on Falken''s clothes were entirely gone. The place changed from a gruesome slaughterhouse back into the peaceful chapel. Because Roland''s head exploded soon after he was "born," he hadn''t gained any experience yet. Naturally, none of it could be recovered. When the glistening cubes all returned to Roland, new clothes were added to him. They were exactly the clothes he wore at the beginning. Roland was much more poised with clothes on him. He nodded and said, "Mister, thank you for your trouble. How long can this Language Proficiency last?" "Around three hours," said Falken weakly and hoarsely, like every old man. He was rather confident that the stranger was a Golden Son, according to the oracle. "When I was young, it could last more than five hours." Most old men cherished their feats when they were young. This old man, though a reverend and an NPC, was no exception. Roland secretly chuckled but said normally, "I am Roland. What''s your name, senior?" "Falken!" After offering his name, Falken eyed the young man up and down. Judging from his action and behavior, he did not seem to be a man of manners. Yet, he had an odd air around him that made Falken feel that it was just the way he talked and he did not mean to be rude. Falken was a reverend, a senior, and a former mercenary. For regular people, he was a high and mighty savior of the world. But essentially speaking, Falken was only a human being who was slightly above average, and who had lost his source of intelligence after he settled down here. On many occasions, intelligence was not just intelligence, but also knowledge. Having lost the sources of intelligence and knowledge in this small town, Falken knew very well that he barely made any progress in the past decades. If anything, he even retrograded. However, he did not regret it. Glorifying the goddess in this town was what he was most proud of in his life. The Golden Son before him seemed approachable, but there was no telling what was on his mind. Logically, since he was revived on the ritual table for the goddess, he must be rather intimate with the goddess. "Mr. Roland, you must be a Golden Son, no?" ventured Falken prudently. He couldn''t be more careful until he figured out the personality of this young man. "A few days ago, the goddess left an oracle which stated that you would arrive from the outer dimensions and live with us." Is that the role of the players in this game? Roland found it curious. In most games, players were set as saviors or powerful, special persons. It was the first time that he had been treated as a foreigner. However, it did make sense on second thought. There couldn''t be five hundred thousand saviors, could there? Roland nodded. "I''m probably a Golden Son that you mentioned, and I''m indeed from an outer dimension Mister, can I ask you a question?" Falken smiled. "By all means." "Where am I?" Roland looked around as he spoke. "I know that this is a temple of the Life Goddess. What I would like to know is my current location." Falken turned around and opened the door. The morning sunlight flowed into the temple like an orange brook, bright and warm. Basking in the sunlight as if there was a halo around him, the reverend smiled at Roland. "Welcome to Red Mountain Town!" 4 Red Mountain Town Following the old man, Roland walked out of the temple. The sun was not so dazzling in the morning, but he subconsciously closed his eyes when he was faced with it. A few moments later, Roland grew accustomed to the luminescence and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the pure and clean sky, which was not half as polluted as in modern society. Below the blue sky was a glistening lake on which there were several black leaf-like spots. Upon closer look, Roland discovered that they were tiny boats. Many buildings of different heights and colors were around the lake. Among the buildings were lines of villagers, marching along like ants. A huge bridge connected the two ends of the lake and divided it into two parts. Roland breathed the fresh air and listened to the whistle of the wind on the mountaintop, feeling tranquilized. After a long time, he said to the old man, "This is Red Mountain Town? I think it should be called Lake Town." Falken''s eyebrows lowered, as if he were not in a good mood. "It''s not a good name Mr. Roland, what''s your plan?" Not a good name? Because it does not sound good, or for other reasons? Roland was curious, but noticing that Falken was not happy, he did not pursue further. Roland was truly impressed by the producer of this game who had made both the scenes and the NPCs so vivid. More importantly, the game accurately reproduced human senses, except for the sense of pain that was reduced to one-tenth as a protective measure. After all, if the pain of being hurt or killed was perfectly simulated, only masochistic players could have endured it. Roland considered the question for a while and then said uncertainly, "Travel and play, probably." Falken looked at Roland in surprise, his narrowed eyes slightly widened. "Simple as that? Shouldn''t you have lofty ideals such as saving the world, defeating demons, or slaying a dragon?" Roland smiled at Falken''s surprise and amusement. He said slowly, "I''m just an ordinary person. I don''t know how you view the Golden Sons That''s what you call us, right? But most of us have come to this world for fun. Maybe our dreams will change later, but that is our purpose for now" Roland meant it. At first, he thought that he was to be given a quest. However, he found it impossible to regard Falken, who felt so real, as a pure NPC. Roland was not an idiot. Talking to an NPC and talking to a real person were different. However, though Falken was obviously an NPC, Roland had the feeling that he was talking to a real person. He didn''t have to be serious in a conversation with such a gentle old man, but he should be at least sincere. Falken looked at Roland, feeling strange. He had never seen a human being like Roland before, who had an undying body but whose biggest dream was to go sightseeing for fun. The Golden Son before him, however, only wanted to have fun? Nobody else would''ve believed it, because it didn''t make sense, but Falken did. He had seen a lot of people who were highly aggressive, but the person before him was as innocent as a baby. "The dimension you''re from must be free of war and carnage." Falken looked at the young man and sighed. "Isn''t it marvelous?" "Actually, it isn''t." Roland shook his head helplessly. "But the country I''m from is rather safe. It''s peaceful and prosperous. Occasionally, unbelievable things happen, but they''re all far away from me." For Roland, it was a plain explanation, but for Falken, it was pure bragging. His white robe moving under the cool morning breeze, Falken heaved a long sigh and said, "If only I could live in your world." Roland looked at the old reverend with great interest. Thanks to his major in college, he had been in touch with the famous AI. Although he had no chance to get to know AlphaGo, he was quite familiar with Siri. Siri did quite well in daily conversations and acted like a regular person. However, in the more in-depth conversations, including those about life, world events, or history, Siri was obviously not intelligent enough and would give rigid and mechanical replies. The old man before his eyes, however, was no different than a regular person when he was sad or envious in a conversation. Roland was not sure that Penguin Corporation could achieve that. Besides, according to the official website, there were more than fifteen billion intelligent people living in this game world, and every NPC could compare to a real person. What technology had Penguin Corporation, which was famous for its counterfeit products, developed? Before he entered the game, Roland was never convinced of such propaganda, because every company tended to oversell their product. However, he believed it after meeting this old man named Falken. He could imagine how spectacular this world could be if all the NPCs had a unique personality and soul. Real scenery and perfectly-simulated NPCs Roland felt the passion for games that he hadn''t felt for a long time. He slapped his thigh hard and asked, "Mr. Falken, how should I go to the nearest city from here?" Falken was surprised. The young man, who had been calm so far, suddenly had strange enthusiasm. The guy''s eyes were still clear, but there was now new light in them. "Go down the road on the west side. You will see Delpon in four hours if you''re on foot." Falken paused for a moment and continued, "You''d better not deviate from the main road on your way. There''s a maple forest next to the road outside of Red Mountain Town. Many enormous spiders live in the forest. Normally, they don''t come to our territory, but when they''re too hungry, they might go crazy and hunt human beings." "Thank you, mister." Roland waved at Falken and walked down the gray steps on the mountain road. The morning sun was as bright as an orange, and the breeze was as gentle as a veil. The noises of the town gradually found their way into Roland''s ears. Roland was of a mind to open his arms and embrace the blue sky and the white clouds, but he was afraid that he would seem too silly. He simply pursed his lips and murmured, "Falan, I''m here." 5 You Gotta Be Kidding Me The journey from the mountaintop to the foot of the mountain took Roland only ten minutes. Many people were waiting for him down there with smiles of amusement. Some of them were even gesturing to show the size and shape of a certain organ on Roland, raising the audience''s chuckle. Roland''s face was burning, but he pretended to be cool and passed them. He could feel their eyes on his back even though he was dozens of meters away. It was certainly not the best experience for a beginner of the game. If it had happened in reality, Roland would probably have to move to a different city, but since he was in a game Embarrassing as it might be, he felt a lot more relaxed when he remembered that they were all NPCs. However, those people''s response was truly logical. As the game had claimed, every NPC was as intelligent as a real person. Roaming the street, Roland observed the busy folk around him. Some were walking in a hurry, some were peddling their wares, and some were carrying heavy bags for other people. All of them seemed to be ordinary people. All of them were dark-skinned and in linen clothes. Occasionally, younger women with fairer skin walked on the street. Compared to them, Roland was actually the strangest one. He was also wearing gray and brown linen clothes, but his skin was even fairer than that of any woman. It was obvious that he had never suffered. Therefore, other people stared at him anywhere he went. Ignoring people''s judgmental eyes, Roland finally made it to the bridge. He had remembered the basic streets of this town when he was on the mountaintop, so he did not have to ask the way. The stone bridge was broad and straight. On its two sides was the glittering lake. When the damp wind over the lake touched his ears, he felt like he was flying. Roland couldn''t help but gaze at the rippling lake that looked like a sapphire on top of the rail. He could see the whole lake from the mountaintop, but now that he was on the bridge, the lake seemed to be endless. On the boats far away, the fishermen were trawling while singing songs. From behind the bridge came three kids, two boys and a girl. They were around seven, and each of them was carrying a basket. In patched clothes, the snotty children hopped to Roland''s back. They pointed at Roland and laughed at the same time. At this moment, Language Proficiency was not over yet, and Roland could understand them. "Mom says that he loves being naked." "Grandpa says that there may be something wrong with his head." "Dad says that he was trying to seduce a woman. What is seduce?" Roland turned around and looked at the kids helplessly. Wow The kids rushed to the other end of the bridge as if they were scared of him, before they grimaced at him gloatingly. Donkey carts crossed the bridge now and then. Roland intended to hitchhike at first, but he soon gave up the idea. After all, the things, mostly feces and other strange items, on those carts were too disgusting. Across the bridge, Roland left the town and embarked on a village road. He could tell that the road was bumpy and ragged even though he was wearing shoes. Logically, since he was used to tarmac roads in cities, he should be exhausted after walking on such a shabby road for a while. Yet, oddly enough, he did not feel tired after walking for almost an hour. Perhaps it''s because I''m a character in the game. Roland thought of the possibility. As Red Mountain Town was left far behind, it was quieter and quieter. Next to the road was a forest. Roland occasionally saw donkey carts when he left the town, but now all he could hear was the blowing leaves in the powerful wind. The strange chirps of unknown birds added to the emptiness of the forest. After Roland crossed a hill, the trees beside the road turned into maples. Nothing could be heard here except for the wind, not even bugs. Roland remembered that this was the habitat of giant spiders. How giant were those spiders? Roland was rather curious, but he gave up the idea of visiting them. His plan was to go to a city and look for other players. Also, transportation was more convenient in the city, and it should be easier to search for intelligence or jobs. He could stay in the city until he earned enough money to go to other cities after he reached out to his friends. It was already noon at this point. The sunlight was rather scorching. Roland sat down in the shade of a tree and decided to rest for a moment. Hardly had he sat down when he heard the vague, distant cries of little kids. Nobody was on the road, and the place was awfully quiet. Roland looked around and saw nothing but trees and colorful weeds. He chuckled and thought he was hallucinating now that he was in an empty, quiet environment by himself. It must be how ghost stories originated. Leaning against the tree, Roland fanned himself with his hand and listened to the howling wind, enjoying the peacefulness. However, he jumped up the next second and charged into the woods. It was because he heard another scream, which was still vague but sounded familiar. Then, he remembered that it was the voice of one of the three kids who made fun of him an hour ago; specifically, the girl, because her voice was very distinct. The three kids had been ahead of him. Giant spiders, little kids Was it possible? The screams became clear soon after he rushed into the woods. It was not until he entered the woods that he noticed how dim it was below the trees. Rotten leaves were emitting stench everywhere. There were also white nets at the roots of many trees. At this moment, the kids were crying up ahead, nearby. Roland rushed. Unsteadily, he passed a dozen weird maples that were at least two meters in diameter, only to see the most chilling scene. The three kids were on the branch of a tall tree, and a huge spider was knocking the tree below them. After each collision, the tree would shake for a while, and the kids on top would shrill in fear. How big was this spider? It was at least 1.5 meters tall. Considering the length of its appendages, it was more than two meters wide. Shoot Roland was an ordinary person in reality after all. His legs were trembling beyond his control when he saw such an unbelievable monster unexpectedly. 6 Gains and Losses Roland had always been a fan of horror and mystery movies. He had also fantasized a lot what he would do when he encountered monsters or ghosts. In his fantasy, he was brave and determined. Even though he was badly wounded, he could still struggle to escape. However, when he was faced with a real monster, Roland realized that fantasy was just an ungrounded daydream that could easily be wrecked by the hammer called reality. Besides, what he was faced with was not exactly the hammer of reality. It was just a game. The spider did not see Roland. If Roland were to flee, he should be able to escape, but when he saw the three kids who were crying and trembling in fright, he found it impossible to turn tail and run. One can find ten thousand excuses to be weak, but one only requires a single reason to be brave. Roland squatted and found a rock and a broken branch. He twisted the front end of the branch to make it pointy. "I''m a player. This is a game. I don''t need to be afraid." Roland murmured to himself. At this moment, the spider crashed into the tree again. Even though he was a dozen meters away, he saw the cracking bark of the tree and felt the earth tremble. The three kids on the tree were nearly thrown off, which made them even more scared. They screamed and shouted, tears and snot all over their faces. They couldn''t have looked more wretched. He couldn''t wait anymore. Roland grabbed the rock and hurled it out. He roared, "Monster, check this out!" While Roland did not have great aim, the spider was too large for him to miss. The rock hit its body, causing a strange metallic noise, before it was deflected elsewhere. Sensing the attack from behind, the giant spider moved with its eight legs and turned around quickly. Roland gasped at the abominable appearance of the spider. It had more than a hundred red complex eyes on its head. Patients with trypophobia would''ve lost the courage to fight it. Even more horrifyingly, it had a pair of black sickles that extended from the two sides of its mouth. They were long and spiky, with thorns at the ends. It was not hard to imagine what terrible wounds the sickles could cause. It was a classic predator. Roland was of a mind to use magic. He remembered that, apart from Language Proficiency, he had two level-one spells, namely "Inferior Fireball" and "Hand of Magic," which he learned when he created the character. However, since his head might explode if he failed to cast the spell, Roland gave up the idea. If the would-be hero died first, there would be no hope for the three kids. The giant spider stared at Roland for a while. Then, it turned back and hit the tree again. Immediately, the three kids cried out. Roland learned that the spider''s body was hard from his first attempt to throw a rock. So, Roland tried to attack the spider''s joint this time. Based on his fundamental understanding of biology, the joints of most creatures were vulnerable. The stick hit the spider''s joint heavily. Then, Roland discovered, to his surprise, that he seemed to be stronger than he thought. But as a spellcaster, he only had five points of strength. How strong would the Warriors be when they had ten points of strength at the beginning? Green body fluid spluttered when the giant spider''s leg was hit. Then, the monster cried in shock and fury. It turned around quickly, and the black sickles on its mouth swooped at the enemy. Though Roland had prepared himself and jumped back the moment the spider turned around, his jump was not too long, because he was neither a Warrior nor an agile class. The two black sickles penetrated his legs and nailed him to the ground. It was painful but still bearable. After all, he could only sense one-tenth of the pain. The enormous spider knocked Roland down and dragged him back, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground behind him. Seeing that it had gotten its prey, the giant spider opened its mouthpart slowly. Right then, Roland stuck the pointy end of his stick into the spider''s mouthpart brutally and shouted to the top of the tree, "Get down and run!" It was all that he could say, because the spider had lifted him and smashed him twice, causing excruciating pain. He was too dizzy to say anything anymore. The three kids slipped down from the tree after a brief shock. The two boys cried and ran away, but the slim little girl picked up a stick, shaking but trying to help. Roland shouted angrily when he saw her, "Idiot, run!" The girl was dazed when Roland yelled at her. Then, she dropped the stick and ran away, weeping. Roland was rather comforted to watch her disappear. As a player, it was nothing for him to die once, but if the girl died, she would be gone for good. He remembered that, according to the game''s promotion, all NPCs were unique. They would have their own lives. They would grow up and turn old. They would succeed and fail. Once they were dead, they would never respawn. Have I just saved a life? Roland was smiling when the enormous spider lifted him and smashed him again. After five times, Roland''s consciousness was ejected out of his body. As a third party, he observed the spider tear his body apart, blood all over the ground. Yet, Roland was not pissed, because he knew very well that the spider couldn''t live long. After all, the spider could not eat until it got rid of the pointy stick in its mouthpart. Death was awaiting the spider. At this moment, an option popped up before his eyes: You''re too far away from the nearest resurrection point. Do you want to leap to the nearest resurrection point? Roland chose yes. 7 Dont Be Picky Roland was resurrected on the ritual table in the temple of the Life Goddess, naked once again, but he felt much more exhausted this time than the previous one. He opened the system menu, only to discover that he had a two-hour weakness debuff. In a regular game, the debuff would''ve only resulted in the decline of attributes, and the player could wait it out. However, it was not the case in this game. At this moment, Roland did not feel like moving at all. He breathed hard on the ritual table, and he finally got off after he caught his breath. Nobody was in the temple. Roland wandered inside the temple, only to feel even more exhausted. He had to sit on a chair and take a rest. Soon, he fell asleep. After a long time, the gate of the temple opened, and Falken came in with a set of white clothes. He was not surprised to see naked Roland again. Roland was woken up by the noise. He subconsciously covered his private parts, but he was relieved after discovering that it was Falken. Falken cast Language Proficiency at Roland and handed the clothes to him. Then he said, "Put it on, son." Roland took the clothes. It was a long robe, with bright blue stripes of light vaguely flowing on it. It was definitely extraordinary. He couldn''t help but comment, "This must be a magic item." "Yes." Falken smiled and said, "It was my suit when I was a mercenary. It can slightly improve the effects of spells. Though it''s a magic item, it''s not very valuable. I''m only keeping it as a memento." "I can''t accept this." Roland shook his head. Falken smiled. "But you don''t have any clothes, do you?" Roland realized that he had a point. So, he accepted the robe and put it on. It fit him perfectly. After he put on the clothes, he felt dizzy again and fell back to the chair. "What''s wrong?" Falken could tell that Roland was not well. "I''m weakened due to consecutive resurrections," said Roland bitterly. Falken was silent for a moment, before he said, "Thank you for saving the kids." Roland said in surprise, "You already knew?" "Why else would I come here?" Falken smiled. "The three kids ran back in tears. Although their accounts didn''t make a lot of sense, they managed to tell us how they were accidentally cornered by a giant spider and how you saved them only to get yourself killed." Roland found it odd. "The territory of those spiders is not far away from Red Mountain Town. Why don''t you try to remove them? There may be dire consequences if they break into the town." After a brief silence, Falken said bitterly, "Those giant spiders are monsters. Ordinary people can''t defeat them. Also, there are too many of them. Only professionals can kill them. But the problem is that I am the only professional in Red Mountain Town, and I''m better at healing than fighting." "If I could use magic, the battle wouldn''t have been so hard." Roland was rather angry that he failed to crush the giant spider when he was capable of doing so. "Mister, can you teach me the tricks of magic?" Falken stared at Roland for a while and smiled. He had the same determination when he was young, but his ambition couldn''t make up for his aptitude, which was too humble. The young man, however, was different. He could tell that the guy was smart and had a decent education. "There are three types of spellcasters. I''m a Priest, you are a Mage, and there''s also Warlocks. I can''t teach you sophisticated things; after all, I''m only a low-level professional myself," said Falken slowly. "However, I can teach you some of the basic knowledge. To cast a spell, a Mage has to connect magic nodes. The faster you connect, the less time it will take for you to cast a spell. You can begin with the fundamental spells, so that your head will not explode due to magic recoil even though your attempts fail." Falken pointed at his own head teasingly. Roland could only chuckle. After all, it was a rather embarrassing experience. "You should go out and eat something. You can consider magic later." Falken pointed at the gate and said, "Usually, people feel weak when they are hungry." Roland did feel like eating something. He was truly hungry. This game was quite real and had simulated the feeling of hunger. However, he smiled bitterly and said, "I don''t have any money." "If our great hero starves, it will be a shame upon Red Mountain Town." Falken helped Roland to his feet and dragged him out. To Roland''s surprise, the old man was rather strong, although he seemed to be on the verge of death. After they left the temple, Roland discovered in shock that a small cottage had been established to the left of the temple. It was not spacious, but he saw a bed, cabinet, table, chairs and other furniture from the window. On the desk was hot food on wooden plates. A dozen people of different genders and ages were waiting on the way down the mountain. There were three kids who looked rather familiar. Roland recognized them and waved at them. Suddenly, all of the villagers bowed deeply at him. The three kids bent so hard that their heads almost hit the ground. Roland was somewhat stunned. Falken patted Roland''s back softly and said, "You''ve earned this." "They are all poor people who do not have much money. The only thing they can do to return your favor is to build a cottage and cook some food for you. Don''t be picky." The sun was scorching at noon. Roland did not know how he should describe his complicated feelings. He tried to smile while holding back his tears. After paying tribute to him, the villagers left the mountain road. Falken helped Roland inside the cottage and onto a chair, then took his leave. Roland gazed at the food on the table, which was still steaming hot. It was not until a long time later that he finally said helplessly, "No chopsticks I''m really not used to forks and knives." 8 Magic Modeling Eventually, Roland managed to eat an uncomfortable lunch with a knife and a fork. Although he appreciated the villagers'' gift, frankly speaking, the food did not taste very good. It was either overcooked or made with the wrong ingredients. Fried fish with mushrooms and steamed pheasant with tomatoes Roland would''ve flipped the table if this was served in a real restaurant, but since he was in a game, he had to deal with it. Besides, the knife and the fork were made of wood. Their bluntness made it more difficult for Roland to enjoy the food. Actually, only magnates and nobles could afford iron knives and forks in this game. Even the plates were made of wood. It was not hard to imagine the poor life of the civilians in this world. The families of the three kids must''ve done their best to provide such an abundant meal for Roland. After lunch, the weakness debuff on Roland disappeared. Roland felt agile and energetic again. It was a strange feeling. When he was weak, everything seemed to be covered in a veil, but when the state of weakness was over, not only was the veil gone, but everything was also much brighter, as if a spotlight shone on the world. His mood was much better now that he was more comfortable. Roland observed the cottage that belonged to him now with great interest. The house had a coverage of about thirty square meters. Except for the supporting pillars which were made of wood, the whole house was made up of dry grasses. Even the floor had been piled with grasses. The dry grasses were gold and still had the smell of sunlight. Such a house would''ve been highly attractive to tourists in reality, but here, it was just a common cottage. The cabinet and the bed were simple. They were made of several planks and carried the unique smell of wooden products. Roland was grateful to the villagers. It would''ve taken him more than a day to build such a cottage, but the villagers had accomplished the task in only slightly more than an hour. Now that he had a place to crash, Roland was not in a hurry to go to the city anymore. He decided to stay here and find a job to feed himself first. He wouldn''t go elsewhere until he familiarized himself with the three spells. Otherwise, he would be killed should he encounter a monster like a giant spider. Roland rested for a while on the bed. Then, he walked to the back of the church, ready to practice spells. He summoned Magic Book from the system and looked at the three built-in spells of his character. Inferior Fireball (level-one spell) Hand of Magic (level-one spell) Language Proficiency (level-two spell) Just like the first time, the red line broke off after shaking for a while, except that the consequence was much milder and Roland''s head did not explode this time. He was still as alive as could be, albeit with a minor headache. "This game is too realistic. It''s so challenging." Roland couldn''t help but complain. "How are Mages going to make a living when it''s so difficult to cast a spell?" Although he grumbled, Roland tried another experiment once his headache was gone, only to fail again. Then, his attempt failed once more ten minutes later. After repeating this more than ten times, Roland''s nose started bleeding. Yet, Roland covered his nose and chuckled. It was true that failure was the mother of success. Although Roland hadn''t cast any spells successfully yet, he made unexpected discoveries. A bright halo suddenly appeared above Roland and enshrouded him, quickly alleviating the pain in his head. He turned back and saw Falken walking in slowly. "Thanks." Roland waved at the old man. Falken stared at Roland as he approached him. He seemed tranquil, but he was greatly shocked deep down in his heart. He could tell that Roland was smart and a natural-born spellcaster. However, the guy''s potential was still beyond his imagination. Generally speaking, even the most excellent spellcasters had to rest for more than three days when they had two or three consecutive failed attempts to cast a spell, or their brains would''ve been wounded because of the pain. But how many times had this young man failed? At least fifteen, from what Falken had seen. Yet, he still seemed vigorous despite the fact that his nose was bleeding. Were all the Golden Sons such monsters? "Have you discovered anything?" Falken held back his surprise and questioned Roland in a low voice. "I know what magic is now." Roland extended his hand, and a bright transparent ball soon appeared in his hand. It looked rather beautiful. "Fiery magic power," Falken mumbled, enviously and yearningly. Yet, the emotions were replaced by relief only a moment later. "Now that you''ve grasped the power of magic, it won''t be long before you cast a spell." Roland, however, sighed. "There are too many nodes in the spell. I can''t remember them even though I''ve learned how to use magic. Also, it seems that different nodes will result in different magic effects." His failed attempts had not only taught him how to use magic but also informed him of the relationship between the nodes. However, the problem was that there were too many nodes, and it was hard to control the flow of power, which made spellcasting all the more difficult. Falken turned around and walked away, not intending to stay any longer. The last thing that a mediocre person would like to see was a rapidly growing genius, which would make the mediocre person jealous. According to the teaching of the Life Goddess, jealousy was a sin. Although Falken had left, his voice still came from far away gloomily. "The beginner Mages have to chant to cast a spell." Roland stiffened for a moment as if he were hit by lightning. Then, he was greatly enlightened. He picked up a stick and drew a profile of the nodes on the ground. He observed it intently for a while, before he numbered all the nodes. He was delighted at first but fell silent later. In the end, he became angry. He threw the wood stick away and cursed at the sky, "You s*itty producers, isn''t this mathematical modeling? Is this necessary? Do you have to make it so complicated? I just want to play a game! Why do you hate Mages?" 9 Success Roland''s excitement was perfectly understandable. Everybody wanted to pick up new skills and play on easily in a game. But the difficulty of learning spells in this game was beyond his expectations. And this was only a level-one spell. Level-two spells could blow up his head if he failed. Roland remembered the chart of dense nodes when he used Language Proficiency a few hours ago and felt freaked out. What about the level-three, level-four, and level-five spells? How many nodes did they require the spellcaster to learn and understand? Frustrated, Roland sat back on his bed. It was already sunset. His cottage was covered by the shadows of the trees on the mountain. When the trees swayed under the wind, the spots of light in the shadows sprayed across the ground. Roland looked at the beautiful view outside the window and listened to the wind and the birds. Nature was the best tranquilizer. Roland''s mood became a lot better. He stood up and returned to the profiles with his stick. Since magic nodes would not move, he could establish a coordinate system to remember their locations. The beginner Mages had to chant to cast a low-level spell. Roland speculated that the chanting would not increase magic power and was only a way to remember the flow among the magic nodes. Then, would it be better if he read the coordinates of the nodes out? Roland marked the coordinates of the magic nodes and thought hard. He established the most classic x, y, and z axises with specific numbers. Of course, to accurately locate each node, Roland divided the four profiles equidistantly. It was already dark by the time he numbered all the nodes. He rested for a while in the cottage. He sniffed the leftovers from his lunch and discovered that they were not bad, so he ate again. He was rather hungry after an afternoon of hard thinking. When he was having supper, he did not notice that Falken came to the four profiles he had drawn. The old man observed for a while and said in admiration, "What a detailed representation of the nodes of the magic model. Even though the spell analyzed is one of the lowest level, those four charts are still worth ten gold coins. What a genius." Falken roamed back to his temple with his hands clasped behind his back. He was a Priest. He knew that magic models were valuable but he was not interested. He was only here to check on Roland''s progress. After eating supper in a hurry, Roland returned to the profiles. He recorded the four profiles and the nodes with the photo function of the system. After all, one''s memory was always limited, but photos were different. If he extracted the photos from the virtual cabin to a portable disk, they could be forever preserved until he deleted them. "If only the system had a modeling app" Roland mumbled and wrote the data on the memo of the system. "Let''s test this line first." Roland''s head was painful. After he recovered, he recorded the reason for the failure on the memo: Node A and Node B cannot be connected. X23 Z47, failed. Reason: Too many nodes were connected; the magic line broke off. X23 Z11, failed. Reason: Nodes were connected too fast. X23 Z12, failed. Reason: Node C and Node D cannot be connected. X23 Z09, success! Watching a small, orange fireball the size of an egg slowly floating forward and disappearing after a crack, Roland clenched his fists and shouted in relief. But soon, he repressed his excitement and wrote down the successful line of nodes on the memo with a note: This can cast a small fireball, but it''s too weak and slow to be applied in a real battle. Then, Roland tested more lines and had more successes than failures. Still, the small fireballs he cast were not satisfactory in terms of power and speed. Some of them were powerful and appeared blue, which suggested that their surface temperature was above two thousand degrees, but they were so slow that even kids could dodge them easily. Some others were fast but highly unsteady. They would take off for several meters after they were released. More and more lines were written down on his memo, and several important nodes were gradually highlighted. The mathematical model of Inferior Fireball had been preliminarily established. What needed to be done next was deduction and verification. Roland was certain that he could find the optimal line of nodes after a few more experiments. However, one could not be too optimistic. Accidents always happen with excessive optimism. It was a clear night with a bright moon when Roland tested spells behind the temple. Because his successful fireballs were generally small and couldn''t fly far, Roland let down his guard and thought Inferior Fireball couldn''t be too powerful. However, when he connected a new line of nodes, he realized that things were beyond his control. Roland felt that his magic power was extracted from him crazily and condensed quickly before his eyes. The previous fireballs were only as large as a fist at best, but this one was not only blue, but also bigger than a basin. It was probably inappropriate to call it a small fireball when it was so big. Roland''s magic power was almost entirely supplied to this big fireball. It got rid of its creator''s control the moment it took shape and darted right at the temple. Knowing that it was no good, Roland was about to shout a warning, when the fireball suddenly stopped. It expanded oddly three times, before it rapidly collapsed into a tiny point, unleashing astonishing brightness and an ear-splitting noise. The explosion was so loud that Roland was deafened. The dazzling light lasted only one second before infinite flames spewed out and swept across the area, accompanied by terrifying waves of air. Roland, who was at least six meters away from the site of the explosion, was flung away directly and did not hit the ground until he flew for three meters. He finally came to a stop when he rolled for another five meters. He felt that he had been hit by a heavy truck. His whole body, particularly his face, was burning. Even though the pain had been reduced to one-tenth, he still felt that somebody had poured boiling oil on his cheeks. A tree fifteen meters away from the explosion was nearly bent to the ground by the blast. Then, magic fire fell on a branch and ignited the tree into an enormous pillar of flame. Half of the back wall of the temple collapsed. The terrible explosion spread to Red Mountain Town at the foot of the mountain. Everybody was woken up by the rumbling sound. Cursing, yelling, crying, and barking, it was a complete mess. 10 That Explains a Lo Many villagers hurriedly climbed the mountain with their torches to see what was going on. They were shocked by what they saw: illuminated by a burning tree, the strange young man named Roland was lying on the ground, half-dead, but he seemed to be grinning at the sky. His face was red and black, with plenty of blisters. Most of his hair had been burnt. Around the young man were many bright blue flames, which were not dying out even though they were on sand. The villagers knew that the young man had saved three kids of the town. They were going to help, when Falken stopped them and said, "Don''t approach. The blue fire is magic and will consume everything it touches. You will be burnt to ashes in two minutes if you step on it." Falken was highly revered in Red Mountain Town. The villagers never questioned his authority. Intimidated by his warning, the villagers dared not move anymore. Falken waved his hand and said, "There''s nothing serious here. Go back and sleep. I''ll ask for your help if need be." The villagers quickly dispersed. As ordinary people, they were naturally scared of things like magic or ghosts and were happy to keep a distance from them. Soon, Falken was left alone on the site of the explosion. Gazing at the scattered bright blue flames, he did not press forward. Although he was a Priest, he dared not underestimate the fire. In his eyes, every one of those flames could burn him to ashes, too. He focused his eyes on the young man who had been scorched but who was smiling happily. Sighing enviously, he waited quietly for twenty minutes until the bright blue flames died out when the magic sustaining them ran out. Then, Falken approached Roland and cast Healing and Language Proficiency at him. A bright pillar of light enveloped the young man and illuminated the environment. "Was it worth it?" "Yes." Healing was not effective immediately but took some time. Yet, it was still faster than natural recovery. Roland''s body was sore and weak, but since he could only feel one-tenth of the pain, it was not too uncomfortable. Hearing Falken''s question, he replied without any hesitation or complaint, "Unveiling the magic nodes feels like lifting the skirt of the Goddess of Fortune bit by bit. It''s really thrilling." Cough, cough Falken coughed hard. Although he was a believer of the Life Goddess, he had respect for other deities. Roland''s remark sounded like blasphemy in every way. He could only pretend that he did not hear it. But of course, if Roland had compared his experience to lifting the skirt of the Life Goddess, Falken definitely wouldn''t have reacted so peacefully. "It''s just a wall The temple is already ragged. I''ve long planned to repair it." Falken turned around and looked at the collapsed wall, his eyelids twitching. He was not regretful about the wall, but shocked at the power of the spell. He could tell that his temple was not the target of the attack but only accidentally involved, and still, a wall had collapsed. It was not hard to infer how powerful the spell just now was. Roland had learned to control magic in two hours, drawn the magic models in half a day, and could even strengthen a spell with the magic model now. "Genius" was not enough to describe him. His knowledge was unbelievable, and he was still so young. Roland was relieved to see that Falken was not angry. After all, Falken had helped him a lot. If he pissed off Falken because of this, it would be too shameful Roland made up his mind that he would find an empty place for his magic experiments next time. Falken sat down next to Roland and said slowly, "Son, your body can''t recover so fast. Why don''t we chit-chat for a while?" "That''s not a bad idea." Roland agreed to the proposal, because lying on the ground was too boring. "What are we going to talk about?" Looking at the moon in the sky, Falken said, "Let''s talk about your dimension." After a brief hesitation, Roland said, "I can''t tell you much. We signed an agreement before we came here. We are not allowed to tell you the details of our dimension." At this moment, Roland did not know that there was not only an agreement but also systematic censorship. The names of special entities in reality would be identified and blocked, such as computers or phones. Falken smiled and said, "What a shame. But I''m really curious about your world. Why don''t I tell you about my adventures when I was young?" "I''m all ears." Roland did not know why Falken was suddenly talking about his youth, but he was rather interested: partly because it could kill time, and partly because Falken''s experience might prove useful after he left this town. With the slow and steady voice of an old man, Falken talked about his childhood, his first crush, his ambitions, his helplessness, his self-reconciliation, and his persistence The scroll of his life unfolded before Roland''s eyes. Everybody tended to be curious about someone else''s life, and Roland was not an exception. While Falken''s life was not exactly remarkable, he had his own shining and interesting stories. One of them talked and the other listened. The night passed quickly, and soon enough it was already dawn. Thanks to Healing, Roland recovered fast and was already able to sit up. Based on the speed of recovery, he would be healthy again soon. "Just like that, I became a believer of the Life Goddess and came to Red Mountain Town." The sun had already half-risen, radiating orange brightness from the east. Since the temple faced the east, it was now gilded by the morning sunlight. Falken was about to stand up, when he suddenly stopped as if time was frozen. Roland was briefly stunned. Then, he realized that he couldn''t move anymore, either. Not just them, the whole world consolidated and turned monochrome. "The game is over for now. Please wait for the next opening." Reading the system notification in his vision, Roland exited the game, though he was not entirely satisfied yet. 11 Young Man, It’s Your Foreskin After a creak, the door of the virtual cabin opened, and Roland, who was in comfortable pajamas, lurched out. He patted his face and realized that he was wide awake. He didn''t feel like he had gamed for a whole night. It did make sense on second thought. His body had been resting for the last eight hours, and only his consciousness was in the game. So, his body in reality shouldn''t be tired. He observed his silver virtual cabin, which was in the shape of an egg. Honestly speaking, he found it quite shabby. It was essentially an egg-shaped bed, with a few LED indicators and two magnet-like items near the pillow. Nothing else was worth mentioning. There were no nutrition fluids or neural connections as described in the science fiction novels. Yet, this cabin had successfully put him in a virtual world. Also, time flowed at a different speed in the game. One hour in reality equaled three hours in the game. The game was only available from 22:00 to 06:00 the next day. The eight hours in reality were a day in the game, which was why the game was frozen in the morning of the second day. The time was up in reality. It was a Saturday and he didn''t need to go to work. Roland worked out on a treadmill for half an hour, then he took a shower and had some bread and water as breakfast. After that, he turned on the computer and opened the game''s forum. As expected, the forum was exploding. In only an hour, more than a hundred thousand new topics had been added, and the number was still growing. Roland read some of the topics. Some of the netizens were impressed that the game was as immersive as it was claimed to be, and some found it hard to believe that Penguin Corporation, which was infamous for plagiarism, had developed such unbelievable technology. Roland had the same doubt. However, the fact remained undeniable: this was the first immersive game in the whole world. So, instead of questioning the source of Penguin Corporation''s technology, he browsed on, only to laugh so hard that he was almost in tears. Many people were praising the game for a lot of aspects. Some believed that the NPCs were vivid, some complimented the beautiful environment, and some thought highly of the setting. However, one particular thread was stuck on the top, and it received as many likes as dislikes. According to this thread, players could hit on the NPCs in the game. The creator of this thread was a rarely seen Bard, a variant of Warlock with high charisma and built-in Language Proficiency, allowing him to understand what the NPCs said. Roland found it unfair when he read this part Why did the Warlocks only need to read the name of a spell to cast it, when Mages had to connect the magic nodes? That was definitely occupational discrimination. However, as he read on patiently, he was soon amused. What happened next made Roland laugh. The two of them were caught by the woman''s husband, and the husband surrounded the player with a dozen helpers. While the Bard was a complex class with high combat abilities, he was now naked, unarmed, and his level was low. He was no match for the dozen brawny men. After he was defeated, he was pressed to the ground and h circumcised by the husband with a knife. "The blood was all over the ground! It was not very painful, but can you imagine the mental trauma when someone cuts your penis bit by bit with a sharp blade? I think I''ve been traumatized." All the replies in the thread were emojis of laughter. There are truly all kinds of players Roland held his belly and laughed hard. Finally, he closed the thread and entered the feedback section. Naturally, there were not as many posts in the feedback section. Roland read some of them and realized that most of the suggestions did not make any sense. If the game was revised according to their wishes, it would be ruined. For example, someone proposed that the languages of all races in the game should be changed to Chinese so that the players could understand NPCs more easily. He pictured the blond sorcerers chanting in Chinese and immediately found it unfitting. Roland read on and found some topics related to his own experience. A player had suggested that the difficulty for Mages to cast a spell be lowered. All the other classes were capable of fighting, but not Mages. Warriors had high strength, Rogues were fast and could launch remote attacks, Warlocks were natural-born sorcerers, and Priests did not need to fight under the protection of Warriors. All they had to do was cast Healing. The poor Mages, in comparison, were bad at melee battles and could not cast a spell. Their heads might even explode when they tried a spell beyond their level. The player was the chief of a guild. He wrote in his thread, "The level-two spells, in particular, will result in head explosion whenever they fail. All the Mages in my guild have head explosion experiences, some more than once. The girls are now almost traumatized. More importantly, no Mages have successfully cast a spell yet. If you don''t believe it, you can check the Spellcaster section. Please, game designers, give us some hope." Roland felt a lot better knowing that his head was not the only one that had exploded. He left the feedback section for the Spellcaster section. As he expected, the Mage players were wailing there. They were complaining about how miserable and wretched they were when the magic recoiled. Head explosion was actually a neat way to die. The more appalling deaths included eyeballs popping and bleeding out. Although the pain in-game had been reduced to one-tenth, it was still not a pleasant feeling. Roland read the section for a long time. Then he discovered, to his surprise, that no Mages claimed that they had successfully cast a spell. Many Warlocks, on the other hand, were gloating and encouraging the Mages to delete their characters and become Warlocks. I can''t allow this Roland found a portable disk and connected it to the virtual cabin. He picked some segments of his experiments and posted them with the four profiles of spells in a thread titled "Roland''s Experience on Inferior Fireball." 12 Good Friend Under the gentle light from the monitor, Roland typed on his mechanical keyboard quickly. Soon, he finished his article and uploaded the videos. After he posted them, he was going to rest his fingers for a while, when his phone rang. He glanced at the number on the screen and accepted the call. Without any formalities, he simply asked, "How''s it going?" "Not bad. I''m already promoted to Saint Samurai," said a young man with a magnetic voice. "What about you? According to the forum, the future of Mages doesn''t look good." Roland replied, "It''s fine. I''ve already got my feet under me." "You''re good," said the young man sincerely. "You don''t need to work today, do you? Let''s meet at the old spot. I''ve called Raffle. This game is too complicated and astonishingly huge. It''s hard to talk about it over the phone." "All right, I''ll meet you there." Roland hung up the phone and found a T-shirt in the closet. Then he said goodbye to his parents in the living room and left on a bike. Roland was in a southern city, and it was a hot summer. The sun was scorching, although it was only morning. Roland tried to ride in the shadow of trees and avoid the sun, but he started sweating heavily very soon. The air in this city was usually humid, and there were few heavy industries within, with trees everywhere. So, Roland''s hometown had great air quality and a clear sky. However, Roland felt that there was a strange smell in the air. He wondered if it was his imagination. Ten minutes later, Roland came to a cold drink bar. The official hour of opening had not arrived yet, but the door was already open. Roland secured his bike and walked in. The air conditioner was on in the cold drink bar. The moment he came in, Roland felt that he was revived from the heat. The decorations of the bar were mostly in warm yellow. He greeted the pretty woman at the counter and went straight to a booth on the second floor that had the plate of a panda on the door. Soft music was being played inside the booth. A young man was sitting on the yellow chair. He was handsome, with fair skin, dark eyes, red lips, and bright teeth. He was enjoying a bottle of Red Bull, a watermelon before him. Roland sat down on his opposite and chuckled. "Red Bull and watermelon You''re having such aphrodisiacs so early in the morning? Did you have too much sex last night?" The handsome young man was named Schuck. They were best buddies and neighbors and had been in the same school from elementary school to college. They were not brothers but closer than brothers. So, they were most direct with each other. Schuck put down the can in his hand and said helplessly, "I have no choice. Marriage is the tomb of love. Now, all the sex is compulsory. If I hadn''t worked hard to feed her first, I wouldn''t have been able to join the game in time." Schuck''s wife was his classmate, and naturally, Roland''s classmate too, from middle school. Her name was Chen Hongdan. Of all his pursuers, she was the most beautiful and audacious. She had been pursuing Schuck since middle school. She even threatened her family so she could be sent to Schuck''s class in high school. She also applied for the same college that Schuck went to and volunteered to do laundry for Schuck in college. After they graduated, they naturally got married. Schuck was the owner of this cold drink bar, but Chen Hongdan was actually running it. She loved her husband and did not want him to work hard. The panda booth was a special place reserved for him and his friends. It was never open to the public. "You''re talking like married life is hard." Roland knew that Schuck''s life was comfortable. The guy had an easy job. He was not earning plenty of money with his cold drink bar, but his life was definitely above average. Besides, his wife was very nice to him. Most men would envy him. "According to the official announcement, Saint Samurai is one of the three OP classes. How were you promoted so fast?" Schuck replied, equally puzzled, "At first, I thought it was hard. My character was a Bard. I ran to the Temple of Light and prayed before the statue of the goddess with Language Proficiency, and then I was promoted. I found it odd, too." "How does the class feel?" asked Roland curiously. Schuck picked up a piece of melon and said, "I haven''t fought anyone yet, but the privileges are quite good. People in the Temple of Light were shocked when I became a Saint Samurai. They offered me weapons and armors and twenty gold coins, claiming that they would give me money regularly every month." Roland sighed helplessly. Their experiences were too different. He had worked hard yet couldn''t really cast one complete spell, and his friend was already making money. Most upsetting of all, Schuck didn''t really do anything. How lucky was he? While Roland was bummed out, the booth opened, and two young men, one fat and the other slim, came in. They wiped their sweat and sat on the long chair without greeting Roland and Schuck. They didn''t start talking until they had some watermelon. "Today is too hot. I feel that my fat is being squeezed out." It was the fatty, who was named Raffel, who said this. He was not too tall and had an amusingly round face. "It''s because you''re too fat. I don''t sweat as much at all." The slim guy replied to him. He was about 1.83 meters tall. Because he was too slim, he looked like a pole. He was called Brazil, because he loved watching the Brazilian national team play football and wore their uniform all the time. He went by the same name in the game. Roland looked out and asked, "Where are Li Lin and Husseret?" Schuck waved his hand and said, "They''re working and won''t be free until nighttime. Let''s talk first. Tell me your locations in the game." Raffel and Brazil both shook their heads, because they could not speak the local language. Raffel was a Shield Warrior, and Brazil was an Archer. Neither of them could cast a spell, so they did not know what the NPCs talked about. All they knew was that they were in different towns. Schuck said, "I am in a city named Isnas. I don''t know its specific location yet, but it should be a fairly large city with its scale." Roland told his friends his location, Red Mountain Town. Then he remarked, "This game is outrageously huge. It seems that we are scattered. So, we might as well work on our own for now and make other plans later when we re more familiar with the game." Schuck nodded and said, "That''s all we can do for now." 13 Unexpected Earnings The four of them chit-chatted in the cold drink bar for three hours and dispersed at noon. Roland rode his bike back home against the scorching sun in the middle of the day. The first thing he did after he came home was set the temperature of the air conditioner to minimum and let the cold wind blow at him. After he cooled down, Roland turned on his computer and logged in on the forum again, only to discover that his personal mailbox was filled with private messages. Roland was puzzled to see the ocean of notifications. Taking a deep breath, he read them more carefully. Most of them were tipping notifications. At first he thought it was a system error, but after checking a few messages, he discovered that he had indeed been tipped, some with one forum coin and some with dozens. On this forum, the forum coin equaled to money in reality. Every forum coin was about one buck. All the tips were from the same source, "Roland''s Experience on Inferior Fireball," which he posted not long ago. He reopened the Spellcaster Section and saw that his thread was stickied, highlighted, and recommended. He clicked the thread, and everybody was praising him. "I admire nobody but the author of this post. These two forum coins are my gratitude." "Analyzing spells with mathematical models is truly genius! I''ve memorized your self-detonation nodes in your last attempt and will try it tonight. Here are five forum coins." "Inferior Fireball turns into a self-destructing bomb. You''re definitely a promising bomber. I don''t have much money, but here are two forum coins to show my support." There were a lot of similar praises. The tips ranged from one to twenty. Of course, most people did not tip and were only here for fun. Some Warlocks came in and tried to derail the topic, but their sarcastic remarks did not raise much attention and were soon drowned by the praises. Roland returned to the account center. He held his forehead after a quick glance, because he had more than fifty thousand forum coins and the number was growing. Exchanging those coins into real cash, he would earn about fifty thousand bucks even with the commission charge. That was his salary for a whole year, and he had spent it on the game cabin. Little did he expect that he could earn the money for the game cabin back by posting his experience in the game. It meant that thousands of people had tipped him on the forum. Those who could afford a game cabin were generally not poor. After all, the game cabin, which cost fifty thousand bucks, was not cheap. Roland was happy to make some money, but he had a lot of complicated feelings after the incident. He was not a professional player, and he never thought to make a living by playing games. He played other games for a while, but after experiencing the immersive world, he had lost interest in other games. Even his favorite games couldn''t appeal to him right now. Time had never moved more slowly for him. Finally, it was around 21:45. He put on his pajamas and crawled into the game cabin. The cabin was automatically closed, and a green light glimmered before his eyes. He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep. When he was awake again, he found himself back in the game. The world was still monochrome, and Falken was still rising next to him. Roland could not move, either. He waited patiently. Soon, the world was colorful again, and Falken stood up. He had no idea that Roland had left this world once. Hunched, he slowly turned around and said to Roland, "You can''t be familiarized with magic overnight. I suggest you find a job in the town and save some money first. By the time you grasp the spells, you will have saved enough money for you to make other plans." Roland realized that it did make sense, but he shook his head after thinking for a while. "I can''t speak your language yet. I don''t think I can find a job, can I?" "I got a job for you," said Falken with a smile. "There''s a mine at the back of the mountain. All you need to do is dig for minerals. No conversation is needed. There''s free food, and the pay is decent." Mining was indeed a good way to grow rich in other games, but it was hard to say in this one. However, since Roland did not really have a choice, he eventually nodded and said, "Thank you, but I''m afraid that I don''t have enough strength. Mining is hard labor, after all." "Professionals are far stronger than regular people." Falken smiled. "Even the spellcasters are much better than regular men in terms of body build. I could knock down a couple of brawny men bare-handedly when I was young." Roland was not convinced, but he could tell that he was a lot stronger in this game than he was in reality although he was merely a spellcaster. Falken led Roland to the town. When they passed the trail next to the lake, a lot of villagers greeted Falken, and Falken greeted back politely. Roland could tell that Falken was very popular here. Ten minutes later, Falken brought Roland to the foot of a hill to the west of the lake. There was a cave here, with turquoise stones heaped outside. Further away lay a big stone house that was probably a warehouse. A dark middle-aged man was taking a nap on a desk outside of the warehouse. Falken walked over and tapped the old wooden desk. The middle-aged man was immediately woken up. Seeing that it was Falken, he said fawningly, "Master Falken, what has brought you here?" "Galen, I''ve brought a worker for you." Falken patted Roland''s back and said, "He''s a rookie, but I''m sure he won''t disappoint you." The middle-aged named Galen sized up Roland for a while and hesitated. "Master, this youngster seems too soft and civilized for heavy-duty work." Falken sniffed and mocked, "You think he''ll work here for long? Also, you don''t know who he is? You haven''t been to the town recently, have you?" Red Mountain Town was not a large place. Most news spread throughout the town very quickly. It was rather strange that Galen did not know of Roland. The middle-aged shook his head. "I came from Round Wood Town this morning. It was exhausting and I''ve been napping since. I overheard that something happened in the town, but I don''t know the details." 14 Purity Five Galen was the richest guy in the town for a simple reason: his father was the mayor of the town, and he owned a mine. While the minerals were not very profitable, they still made Galen''s life comfortable. Galen eyed Roland up and down. In the end, for Falken''s sake, he said, "All right, since Master Falken has recommended you, I''ll take you on. However, I''m a fair man. I''ll give him money according to the minerals he digs without any special privilege. How does it sound?" Falken chuckled and said, "No problem." Then, he patted Roland''s shoulder and left slowly. Galen opened the gate of the stone house, and the stench of rocks was unleashed. Different minerals had been piled up inside the warehouse. Galen fetched a hoe and a basket from inside and tossed them to Roland. He said, "These are your tools. You can start working Right, what''s your name? I need to register it." Galen picked up a quill and opened a book from his drawer carefully. "Speak, and tell me your age, too." "Roland, seventeen." Roland was twenty-four in reality, but his game character was set to be seventeen, between a teenager and an adult. So, he could only give such information. After all, he looked too young to be twenty-four, and Galen wouldn''t have been convinced if he said so. Galen wrote down his name in the book. Roland stole a glimpse at it and discovered that the words in this world were pictograms. The words were not straight. There was no telling whether it was the standard format or Galen''s personal style. In the end, Galen waved at Roland, and Roland strode into the cave with the hoe and the basket. The cave was rather huge, which was understandable because fresh air was needed in the mines. An oil lamp was established every dozen meters on the way. The wall was wet, and Roland could feel water on it. Roland dragged the basket forward. There were pit-holes and pebbles everywhere on the way. After several minutes, he finally heard noises up ahead. Soon, he saw several people working hard at the end of the cave in different directions. This was the real mine. It was a rather spacious place. The dome was a dozen meters high, and there were about thirty meters from the left end to the right end. The place was rather dim despite the lamps hanging on the wall. Roland jumped off from the platform. Someone noticed the noise but soon focused on their mining. Time was money for the miners. Observing the environment carefully, Roland came to an unoccupied corner and watched other miners work. Then, he copied them. Mining and sweating for an entire day, and copper of purity five is all I can find His deepest impression on the first MMORPG game was mining, and he was mining again in the first immersive game in the world. He wondered if he was destined to be a miner. Mining was an arduous task, but players, including spellcasters like Roland, had much better body builds than regular people did. When he started to work, his hoe was always hitting the hard rocks or getting stuck in the crevices, but half an hour later, Roland felt that he was getting the hang of it. A yellow and white rock was dug out. Roland picked it up and observed it for a moment. Then, he shook his head, threw it away, and worked on. Before, when Galen opened the warehouse, he had snapped the minerals in the warehouse with the photo function of the system, which allowed him to compare the rocks he dug out to the existing ones to evaluate their value. Of course, the comparison couldn''t be accurate, but it was much better than random guesses. After another hour, the other miners sat down and rested, but Roland kept working. Those miners gathered and pointed at him. There was even vague laughter. They must be mocking Roland because they thought that Roland couldn''t persist much longer. Roland ignored them and carried on. He had to keep trying until he felt exhausted. Those miners rested for a while and went back to work. An hour later, they were too tired to work on again, yet Roland was still waving his hoe. This time, they didn''t tease Roland and just gazed at him in silence. After resting for a while, they continued digging, but when they gathered again and rested an hour later, Roland was still waving his hoe. The miners stared at the thin young man in disbelief. Someone couldn''t hold back anymore and approached Roland. He looked at the rocks in Roland''s basket and the dent on the wall that Roland had just created with complicated feelings. Roland pried a stone off the wall and threw it back into the basket. He smiled at the miner who approached him and left the mine with the heavy basket. At this moment, Language Proficiency was already over. It was impossible for him to communicate with others. The miners watched him leave. Looking at their baskets that were still half-empty, they all lost motivation to work. Roland left the cave with the basket. It took him quite a while to become used to the dazzling sunlight outside. In the end, he dragged the basket to Galen and heaved it onto Galen''s desk. The basket was so heavy that the desk almost collapsed. Galen was greatly surprised and woke up from his dream. He exclaimed after he saw the basket and Roland behind it. However, Roland couldn''t understand him now. After Galen made a long speech, he could only shrug helplessly. "Sorry, Language Proficiency is over." Galen was stunned, because he couldn''t understand Roland, either. However, as a merchant who traveled a lot, he guessed what had happened. There were more things that he wanted to say, but he could only shut up now. He moved the basket down to the ground and screened the rocks in the basket. The worthless ones were thrown away, and the valuable ones were divided into three heaps according to their quality. In the end, he counted them and put twenty-eight coins on the desk. Roland took the coins and left without saying anything. 15 Quest? It was already noon. Everything seemed to be melting under the scorching sun. Trees and houses further down the road were slightly distorted by the hot air. Roland returned to the temple on the mountain along the trail. He saw that Falken was treating a plump woman. Surrounded by a white pillar of light, the woman laughed in relief a few seconds later and soon left quickly. After it was done, Falken cast Language Proficiency at Roland before he asked, "How much have you earned?" "Twenty-eight coppers." Roland took out a coin from his pocket and asked, "This is copper, right?" With his hands on his back, Falken approached him and smiled. "You earned more than I expected. I thought you could make no more than ten coppers as a beginner. Twenty-eight coppers are enough to keep you full for several days." Roland smiled but did not explain. He said, "Where can I have food in town? I''m a little bit hungry." "Take a right turn down the mountain and walk along the trail. You''ll find a tavern on your right after you pass a pier. The food in the tavern is abundant and cheap, but of course, I wouldn''t say it''s delicious. I don''t know if it agrees with you." "Any food agrees with me right now." Roland shrugged and left the temple after thanking Falken. According to Falken''s instructions, Roland found the tavern under the scorching sun. There were three pictograms on the door of the tavern. Language Proficiency could only influence the mind and allow people to talk with each other; it could not enable the recipients to understand written words. The tavern was not very large, with a coverage of no more than two hundred square meters. The door was a short wooden one, making it possible to see what was going on inside from outside. There were several old but clean round tables, surrounded by round chairs. The fragrance of bread and the smell of sour alcohol spread everywhere. Roland also saw several men chugging big gray cups and clamoring as if they were drunk. Roland pushed the door and walked in. The waitress, who had been standing at the counter, immediately called earnestly, "Sir, welcome to Lake View Tavern. What would you like to order?" So, the three words on the door meant "Lake View Tavern." While the waitress gazed at him in surprise, Roland backed off to the door and took a photo of the four pictograms, before he put a note of their meaning on the photo. Although Language Proficiency could not teach him a language instantly, he was able to learn the language if he used the spell in a roundabout way. Also, the spell seemed applicable to all languages, which made it quite useful. Roland was rather happy to realize the trick. He entered the tavern again, only to notice that the waitress was eying him strangely. He knew that his odd behavior just now must''ve surprised her. The waitress was not exactly beautiful, but she was young and lovely, with freckles on the sides of her nose. Her eyes were big and blue, and her smile was sweet and comforting. "I recommend honey bread." The waitress was also wearing linen clothes, except that hers were cleaner and more fashionable. "I know you are the hero who saved three kids. I would''ve sold honey bread to you at half-price if I were the owner of this tavern." "A piece of honey bread it is, then." "All right, please wait a moment." The waitress went to the kitchen and soon returned with a plate that had a piece of long bread covered in golden honey. "This is the bread you ordered. Two coppers." The honey bread looked pretty huge. Two coppers was a fair price, at least for Roland. He handed over two coppers. Then, the waitress stared at his hands in a strange way. Roland looked at his own hands, only to discover a couple of huge, appalling blisters there. He pressed them but felt no pain although they seemed scary. It must be because the feeling of pain had been reduced to one-tenth. It was the result of mining, but it didn''t matter since it was not too painful. He could continue digging and making money tomorrow morning. Roland had a bite of the bread. Then, his expression changed subtly. The honey was good, and the bread was also good, but the honey bread was not exactly tasteful. It was too hard and even had an inexplicable smell. No wonder Falken said that the food in this tavern might not agree with him. The waitress could tell what was going on from his subtle expression. She smiled. "It''s not delicious? But our bread is the best in this town, although it may be shabby for big shots like you." "Big shots? He''s just a brat." One of the few men who were drinking turned around and shouted, flushing, "He has no advantages except for his pretty face. It was only because of luck that he saved those kids. I could''ve done the same. Why do you think so highly of him?" Roland knew that he was probably famous in the town, but he did not know that he was very famous. Children were the future of a family, a town, and a country. Offspring always mattered most in every place. Saving a child could earn more gratitude than saving an adult on many occasions. Of course, while some people admired heroes and extraordinary figures, some people did not see eye to eye with them. Most of the time, their hostility boiled down to one simple reason: jealousy. Roland looked at the three drunkards, only to discover that there was nothing worth mentioning about them. They were all middle-aged men without any attractive qualities. Have I triggered a certain quest? Roland thought for a moment. In the spirit of experimentation, he said provocatively, "Cut the crap. Do you want to fight outside?" The few men tossed their cups to the floor, splashing bright yellow ale everywhere. While the waitress screamed, they flipped over the table and walked toward Roland aggressively. 16 Upgraded The alcoholics and Roland left the tavern. The waitress peeped from the tavern, but she dared not go out and stop them. She heard noises and screams, and soon, Roland returned to the tavern to finish the remaining bread with dark circles around his eyes. The waitress knew that Roland must''ve won, but she still chuckled at Roland''s new look. Roland was slightly bummed. He did not receive a system notification telling him that he had claimed or accomplished a quest. It meant that the fight was not part of a quest. He felt that the test was not worth it. Although he did defeat a few drunkards, his own face was punched several times. It was not very painful, but the bruises on his face made him look rather hilarious. Roland finished the honey bread and paid another copper for a cup of honey juice. Then, burping in satisfaction, he reached the east side of the lake, walking along the trail next to the lake. This place was at the foot of the mountain and would be overshadowed by the mountain in the afternoon. Due to the cold and lack of sunlight, no villagers had built their houses here. So the place was empty. Roland found it a perfect place to practice magic. He redrew the profiles of the nodes of Inferior Fireball on the sand, before he analyzed and reversely inferred them. The mathematical model was obviously helpful right now. He could have results as long as there was enough data. Math was a compulsory class in college. Roland was not adept at it, but he had passed it anyway. He calculated for a long time and found three excellent routes of nodes, which featured speed, power, and distance respectively while guaranteeing the stability of the spell. After he tested the three node routes, surprisingly, he received a system notification. He had leveled up. No glittering special effects, and no pleasant background music. He had leveled up simply and unexpectedly as that. Roland also noticed that the icon of Inferior Fireball on Magic Book in the system now had a bright gold background and "Versed" behind it. Studying a spell could increase the experience of the game character? That could be the only explanation. Such a way of leveling up was indeed fit for scholar-type classes such as Mages. Roland found the game more and more interesting. The system only offered simple notifications. There were no hints of quests, mini-maps, or character profiles. Players could only see the initial attributes of their characters when the characters were built. There were no health bars or names above the NPCs'' heads, either. Everything felt real. After the level-up, Roland felt that he was slightly stronger and more flexible. But more importantly, he could sense the flow of magic in his body more clearly. That must be the elements of magic power. What really amazed Roland was another system notification: Dear player, you have reached Level 1 and become an official professional. The Backpack function of the system has been activated. You can use this function by reading "Backpack" in your heart. Please find out the effects of this function on your own. Have fun. So, the system offered a Backpack. Roland clapped his hands in great delight. It was the first time he had played an immersive game, but anybody with common sense about games should know how convenient it would be to have a backpack that did not need to be carried in such a lifelike game. Roland soon opened the Backpack according to the instructions. A translucent cubic space was unfolded before his eyes. Though it was right next to him, Roland knew that it was a projection that only he could see. The storage of this Backpack was eight cubic meters. It''s so huge? Roland threw some stones and sand into the Backpack, before he added twigs and water. Soon, he reached a useful conclusion. Gravity did not exist in the Backpack, which made it easier to heap items. After all, nothing would collapse if there was no gravity. As to whether or not the Backpack could preserve food, and for how long? That required more tests to figure out. Roland looked around. Then, he chanted the magic coordinates very quickly. X23 Z88 It was the optimal route of nodes for Inferior Fireball that Roland had found out through mathematical modeling. Comprehensively speaking, it had the best performance in terms of speed, power, distance, and stability. The bright blue fireball the size of a fist dashed into the water in the lake. A few bubbles immediately popped up. Soon, three little fish floated to the surface. Roland lifted his robe and entered the water. He threw the three silver fish into his Backpack. Those fish were stunned but still alive, but they struggled and stopped moving after they were thrown into the Backpack. They were obviously dead. The Backpack could not keep living creatures. Roland recorded it on his memo pad. He couldn''t test the preservation abilities of the Backpack for now, but he was sure that he could find out in a day or two. Now that he was versed in Inferior Fireball, his level had increased, and he even got an unexpected Backpack, Roland focused his attention on another level-one spell: Hand of Magic. It was a control spell without much damage. According to its description, the spell could form an invisible hand with magic to grab objects. The size of the hand, the gripping power, and the reaching distance were related to the level of the Mage, the connection of nodes, and the amount of magic power. Then, there were consecutive failures again However, perhaps because he had upgraded and had a better perception of magic, he did not feel as tired and painful as he did when Inferior Fireball failed. Therefore, Roland was soon able to draw the profiles of the nodes of Hand of Magic. It was much faster than when he analyzed Inferior Fireball. Then, he bought more bread at Lake View Tavern, partly as supper and partly as a nighttime snack, and tossed it into his Backpack in the evening. He also bought a lamp in the tavern. After that, he spent the whole night establishing a mathematical model for Hand of Magic. Finally, when it was dawn, Roland found out the optimal route of nodes for Hand of Magic ten minutes before the game paused again. Hand of Magic on the Magic Book was now Versed, but Roland''s level did not increase this time He estimated that it was because the experience required for the next level-up had increased, so grasping another spell was not enough for him to level up again. 17 New Spell Roland bought a piece of freshly made honey bread in Lake View Tavern. He was about to eat it, when the game world paused and turned monochrome. Twenty-four hours had flown away so quickly. Roland sighed and exited the game. It had been years since he was so addicted to a game. Most games on the market today were too similar. He grew bored of every new game after playing it for several days even though they were all AAA games, because he always felt that he had somehow played them before. However, World of Falan was different. It was the first immersive MMORPG worldwide. By casting their consciousness away from reality, the players were able to have adventures in an alternate world under a different identity. A world so broad that one might not be able to see the whole of it in their entire life, billions of lifelike NPCs, and a hundred countries of different races Roland was excited by the thought of it. He felt lucky that he made up his mind to buy a game cabin. There were only five hundred thousand of them worldwide. People who missed the purchase window had to wait for a long time before Penguin Corporation released the next batch. After he exited the game, Roland worked out on a treadmill for half an hour as usual. He then had breakfast and checked the forum again. As he expected, many people were encouraging Penguin Corporation to sell the next batch of virtual cabins. Some were even offering to pay ten thousand more bucks to buy a second-hand virtual cabin. After reading a few random threads, Roland went to the Spellcaster Section and posted the profiles of Hand of Magic and several interesting nodes. He also announced that players would receive a Backpack when they leveled up. After that, he browsed through other threads. He never thought that he was the smartest player in the game. After all, many people knew mathematical models. It was just that a lot of Mages, who were highly intelligent in reality, never thought about that before. Now that Roland had opened a door for them, they could certainly walk through it. As Roland had expected, new threads on spells appeared in the section. One particular thread drew his interest. "As long as you remember the nodes of a spell and successfully cast it once, you will be able to learn it. I''m a Mage specializing in enchantment, and I only know Hypnosis, Animal Control, and Mind Influence. I learned the chart of nodes for Inferior Fireball on the forum by heart. After dozens of failures, I successfully cast Inferior Fireball, and the icon of Inferior Fireball appeared in my Magic Book. It''s evident that spells can be learned. I''ve managed to record the nodes of Hypnosis and posted them here for you. In the end, respect to Roland the Pioneer." The Pioneer Roland felt rather embarrassed. He tipped the female player named Serena ten forum coins, before he copied the four charts of Hypnosis down. Now, he had four new charts of magic nodes. All of them were level-one spells, namely Hypnosis, Strengthening, Ice Ring, and Arcane Bullet. Roland copied the profiles of the four spells into his game cabin with a flash disk. Then, he realized that his new post had received thousands of bucks'' worth in tips. Looking at his forum coins, he had never thought that making money could be so easy. After that, he left home on a bike and hung around with his friends in the cold drink bar. When the night came, he crawled into the virtual cabin again and entered the game. In the game world in the following days, Roland mined in the morning and studied new spells with the profiles of spells he obtained from the forum in the afternoon and at night. It was not until he had real practice that Roland learned how difficult it was to pick up a new spell. Unlike the existing spells in the Magic Book, which would automatically generate a 3D graph of the magic nodes in his consciousness, the new spells offered nothing. Roland had to construct a space of magic nodes with his magic power on his own, before he correctly filled the magic nodes in with his mind. Constructing the models of magic nodes with the charts he copied alone had taken Roland a lot of time. The chart of every spell required more than ten hours and a dozen failures. It was not until he learned the new spells that their icons would appear in the Magic Book. Then, to be versed in the new spells, Roland still had to test and infer the effects of the magic nodes. After several days, four bright gold icons appeared in Roland''s Magic Book. After grasping the four spells, Roland reached Level 2, but he was not very happy, because he realized that there would be fewer and fewer Mages in the future. Life for a Mage was too hard. Learning a new spell required a good sense of space, understanding of math and logic, and tremendous patience. Roland knew that a lot of people in the game must be smarter than him, but not all of them were Mages. After all, there were many classes in this game, and different people had different preferences. There must be a lot of Mages who were weaker than him in terms of comprehensive abilities. They would run out of patience if it took days or even weeks for them to learn a spell. Some of them might not be able to learn new spells at all due to lack of spatial awareness or logical thinking. Even if they managed to grasp level-one spells, there were still spells of higher levels and difficulties. Would they have the patience to learn such spells? When they noticed that Warlocks and Priests could wield powerful spells with a simple chant without having to memorize it, and that new spells automatically appeared when their levels increased, the Mages would be even more dissatisfied and would even complain. Then, they would demand the game producers reduce the difficulty of Mages on the forum. However, Roland did not think that their attempt would work. After another day in the game, when Roland left the game and opened the forum, he realized that the Spellcaster Section was indeed a mess. Many Mages had posted that if the game producers did not change the setting and lower the difficulty for Mages to learn spells, they would delete their characters and ask for a refund. Roland sighed. Things had happened exactly as he expected. It remained to be seen how the game producers would handle it. 18 Go Away if You Dont Want to Play The official announcement was released at noon. It was elaborate and written in a friendly tone, but it could be summarized into one short sentence: go away if you don''t want to play, and we will give you a full refund for your virtual cabin. Considering that secondhand virtual cabins were already twenty thousand bucks more expensive than the originals on the market, only an idiot would''ve asked for a refund. The game producers'' announcement indicated their confidence and pride. They had every reason to be proud after having developed such a game, or at least Roland thought so. He could tell that the game was based on Dungeons \u0026 Dragons. He did not know much about the rules of Dungeons \u0026 Dragons, but he was aware that Mages truly had to learn spells on their own under such rules. The game producers had only represented the rule in their game. Besides, according to the setting, Mages were supposed to be a rare class. Roland estimated that the game producers were using such a strategy to limit the number of Mages and push them to become Warlocks, Priests, or other melee classes. If that was the case, the game producers had indeed put a lot of thought into it. After all, Mages were a powerful class in all fantasy games. That was why they were called Master Mages. If there were too many players of an OP class, the balance of the game would definitely be affected. Significantly increasing the difficulty of the class was not a bad way to limit its population. After all, most players agreed that the more difficult a class was and the more resources it required, the more powerful it would be in the future. But of course, after the game producers gave such a reply, there would certainly be a storm of criticism on the Internet. Their competitors would certainly take advantage of the chance to smear the game. A lot of haters would emerge in every topic that involved this game. The whole Internet would be a mess. After all, World of Falan, as the first immersive game worldwide, had been under the spotlight on the Internet since it was launched. The sales of the first batch of virtual cabins did not go well at the beginning. After all, Penguin Corporation was notorious for its history of counterfeits. People did not believe that it had developed an immersive game. Could such a company achieve something that even the leading game companies failed to? With such thoughts, many people mocked Penguin Corporation on the Internet, at home and abroad. The first five hundred thousand virtual cabins were gradually sold over a period of half a year. Roland did not believe that Penguin Corporation had truly developed an immersive game. However, the MMORPGs he had played since childhood were all made by Penguin Corporation. Nobody expected that the game was as immersive as it claimed to be. As the first immersive game worldwide, it was at the cutting edge of this era. However unsatisfied the players were, they wouldn''t give up the chance to play it. The players who thought that Mage was too difficult a class might complain and refrain from playing the game for a few days, but it was hardly unlikely that they would return or sell the virtual cabins. Otherwise, the price of secondhand virtual cabins wouldn''t have increased by twenty thousand bucks. Roland turned off the forum and played a few games that he liked in the past, only to discover that he couldn''t enjoy them He worked out on the treadmill for half an hour and biked on the street. He somehow felt that enjoying the scenery on the street was more fun than playing regular games in his room. Late at night, when he was about to enter the game, it suddenly occurred to him that he hadn''t enjoyed regular video games for days. Could this immersive game cure computer addiction? Thinking about that, Roland entered the game again. Roland did not mine again. He had saved two silver coins. One hundred coppers could be exchanged for one silver coin. He was now wealthier than half the people in town. He was not tired of mining. After all, nobody could have too much money. He merely felt that, since he was Level 2, he''d better test his combat ability, and the giant spiders were the best targets. He came to the temple, and Falken happened to be there. So, he asked for Language Proficiency, then returned to the town and bought a longsword from the blacksmith. Although it was odd for a Mage to use a longsword, he hadn''t learned any spells for self-defense yet. Should a spider approach him, a longsword might prove of use. Then, he bought some herbs that could stop bleeding from the grocery store. After putting everything in his Backpack, he crossed the bridge and walked out of town. On the bridge at the entrance of the town, he saw Falken. The wind on the lake was cool and gentle. The hunched, white-haired old man put on a kind smile when he saw Roland. "Falken, why are you here? You''re not guiding the believers at the temple?" "Just now, Jack ran to me from the blacksmith''s shop and told me that you bought a longsword, so I came here to wait for you." Roland noticed the sweat on Falken''s forehead. The old man was also slowly panting with his hands behind his back. "I''m planning to test my spells. Practice is of little use. Spells can only be measured in a real battle." "You''re going to fight the giant spiders?" asked Falken. Roland nodded. "You can resurrect. For the likes of you, battle is just entertainment, but dying too many times can''t be good." Falken removed his hands from his back. He was holding a straight stick which had a small sapphire at the end. "This is the staff I used when I was young. You can take it." Any experienced player knew how expensive magical items could be. Besides, having saved a lot of money through mining over the past days, Roland knew the astonishing purchase power of money in this game world. Honey bread was sold at only two coppers, but honey was actually a luxurious sweet. Few villagers could afford honey. Besides, one large barrel of ale, which was enough to fill the stomachs of several adults, cost only two coppers, too. One copper could buy two kilograms of raw rice, one kilogram of river fish, and several kilograms of regular fruits in season. Roland had meals in Lake View Tavern most of the time in the past days. He overheard the bragging of the customers there now and then when Language Proficiency was effective on him. He remembered one particular remark clearly. Even the cheapest magical item would cost more than ten silver coins. 19 The Romance in Every Mans Hear On the village road, Roland looked at the magic staff in his hand. Magical items were very expensive, but Falken still gave him the staff. Was it a reward when his intimacy with the NPC surpassed a certain threshold, a prerequisite of a certain quest, or simply a choice that Falken had made as a human being? Roland''s puzzlement was quite understandable. After all, he was now in a game. According to common sense, since he was in a game, the item should be related to a quest. Yet, Roland felt that it was not so simple. Both Falken and other people in the village impressed him as living souls with their own emotions, instead of NPCs. Although they were merely artificial intelligence according to the promotion of the game, Roland did not feel that they were any different from real people. Was he really in an immersive game? Or was it a real world with human beings in the flesh? Those people even had their own languages, customs, and history. Could a game team have come up with so many things? Roland found it unlikely. If they were capable of that, they could''ve been hired by think tanks to infer the history and future of the whole world. It was extremely sophisticated stuff. Yet, the window of the system popping up before his eyes convinced him that he was only in a game. Name: Mini Sapphire Magic Staff (Excellent) Attributes: Casting Concentration +2, Magic Power Regeneration +1 Introduction: A rather common staff, but can be used for a lifetime if maintained properly. Then, he looked at his own body, and another translucent window popped up. Name: White Magic Robe (Excellent) Attributes: Magic Power Regeneration +2 Introduction: An unattractive long robe, which is likely the very first gear for apprentices. Roland sighed. He did not know how other players viewed the NPCs in the game, but as for himself, he could not consider the human-like NPCs as experience for him to level up as he did in other games. However, it was not a problem for him to kill the bizarre wildlife. The maple forest was right up ahead. Roland looked at his staff and his longsword. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the forest slowly. As he pressed deeper and deeper, the woods became dimmer and dimmer. The quiet here was occasionally interrupted by the chirping of birds from unknown corners. Roland stepped on a thick carpet of rotten leaves, which crackled under his feet. He smelled a strange smell of fermentation. Despite knowing that he would be resurrected if he died, Roland inevitably felt scared in such an environment. He walked forward prudently and stayed on full alert. Even the tiniest noise would make his heart palpitate. He looked at the sources of the noises, and they were mostly caused by uncanny creatures. It was both thrilling and enjoyable. After another three minutes, Roland noticed white, broken spiderwebs at the bottom of the trees around him. He also heard the rattling sounds from ahead, as if someone was churning leaves with sticks. It must be the giant spiders. Roland squatted and took a soft breath. A giant, crimson spider emerged in the darkness slowly. The spider did not seem to notice him, but Roland''s heart was racing as the spider approached. He remembered a famous line he read on the Internet. Hesitation meant failure. A lion always tried its best even though it was only catching a hare! Concentrating all his magic power, Roland launched a big blue fire ball the size of a basin. After shooting it out, Roland immediately ran back and crouched. The fireball grew larger in size as it flew on. Soon, it reached the giant spider. Most animals were scared of fire, and the giant spiders were no exception. The fireball collapsed rapidly at first, before it exploded at an extremely high speed. The sound and flare of the explosion suggested that a bomb had just been detonated. Before the giant spider realized what was going on, it had been consumed by the furious flames. Then, fire and smoke rose like a tiny mushroom. Even though he was outside of the range of the explosion, Roland was flung away by an enormous blast. He was lifted with a pile of dry leaves and fell to the ground. Then, hot air brushed past his head. Thankfully, the leaves were thick enough to prevent him from being hurt. Then, he struggled back to his feet, only to be rendered speechless by what he had caused. Before him was a gigantic pit, with dark red magma flowing at the bottom. The trees nearby were burning and cracking. A stretch of land at least half the size of a football field had been razed to the ground by the explosion. Many trees leaned away in radial circles. Within the blast radius, nothing but a few tree trunks that had been reduced to charcoal could be seen. Such power Roland collapsed on the ground. His magic power had been used up. The power of the fireball was much greater than back when he was in Red Mountain Town. It was probably because his level had improved, and because the staff had enhanced his power! In any case, the power of the spell was beyond Roland''s imagination. It was hardly possible for a melee class to do the same at the beginning phase of the game. He didn''t think Warlocks could achieve this, either. It was said that the power to cast a spell for a Warlock was fixed or set to a certain ratio that could not be changed. It meant that if compared to cars, Warlocks would be the AT ones, and the Mages would be the MT ones. As everyone knew, the best cars for racing were all MT ones. Roland moved his body further away from the site of the explosion. He did not have much strength left. Thankfully, it was rather damp in the forest, and the fire did not spread out but started dying out. Sitting still, he enjoyed the dreadful scene that he caused in fascination and satisfaction. It was truly exhilarating to possess such a destructive power. What couldn''t be done in reality could be achieved in the game. In this world that was almost entirely vivid, he could do things that he couldn''t imagine in the past. The Mage dream he had when he was a little kid was now fulfilled. Roland chuckled with ambitiousness and determination that he hadn''t felt in years. A fantasy world of swords and magic was always the greatest romance in every boy''s heart. 20 A New Guy Joins After the mountain fire completely died out, Roland shook the leaves and ash off his body, then walked back to Red Mountain Town. He was very slow, because he was out of magic power. The regeneration effect provided by his equipment was not very obvious. Without magic power, he seemed much weaker. When he returned to the bridge at the entrance of the village, he was greeted by Falken as well as a bunch of villagers. Seeing that he was back, the villagers hailed him and asked if he was fine. Falken reached him and cast Language Proficiency at him. Then he said with a smile, "It was quite a commotion that you caused." Roland turned around, only to discover a black spot on the green hill in the distance. It was as eye-catching as a bald spot on a beautiful girl''s head. Roland shrugged and smiled awkwardly. "How did it turn out?" The other villagers looked at him hopefully. Everybody in Red Mountain Town loathed the giant spiders and hoped that someone could kill them. "It was my first battle. I was too nervous and inexperienced, and I used too much strength," said Roland in embarrassment. "I only killed one giant spider." After a brief silence, the villagers cheered. They hated the spiders'' guts, but there was little they could do. A few friendly villagers approached Roland and patted Roland''s shoulder, inviting him to visit their houses. Roland declined their offers politely, knowing that it was only their gesture of kindness. The villagers dispersed, and Falken and Roland were left alone on the bridge. The sun was setting at this moment. When the crimson sun was reflected in the lake and the waves surged, the lake seemed to be burning. It was rather beautiful. Looking at him, Falken suddenly said, "You seem to have changed." "Is it so obvious?" Roland was slightly surprised. He leaned on the rail and said slowly while gazing at the hills in the distance, "I just remembered my dream, or rather, what I looked forward to in the past. I thought it was an ungrounded fantasy that had been broken by reality. However, it was revived and occurred to me all over again." Falkan noticed a strange light in Roland''s eyes, barely visible but which gave off a feeling of brightness. Once upon a time, Falken had such light in his own eyes, too. "So, have you changed your plans?" asked Falken. Roland shook his head. "No. I''m still going to travel and roam around." Roland''s tone was rather unfathomable thanks to the breeze from the lake. Falken was slightly stunned. Roland''s answer was the same, except that he said it with a gentler tone this time. Yet, Falken heard determination in it. Previously, Roland''s answer was passive, as if he was forced to do it. But right now, he sounded as if he had found a goal for himself. Dazed, Falken shook his head helplessly. He remembered a lot of things. He was equally ambitious when he was young. Roland took out the staff and gave it to him. "This is yours. It was a great help." "It''s a gift for you." Falken turned around and walked away while he said casually, "If you think you owe me a favor, kill a few more giant spiders." This should be a quest, but why isn''t there any notification? thought Roland as he looked at Falken''s back. He returned to his cottage. After eating some of the bread he bought from Lake View Tavern, he studied the mathematical models of the new spells again. Time flew when he was occupied. It seemed that only a moment had passed, but Roland was already ejected from the game. After he left the game cabin, he copied the video of his battle against the giant spider and uploaded it to the forum. Then, he wrote: "Maybe Mages cannot cast a spell as easily as Warlocks can, or level up as conveniently as Priests, but Mages have their own advantages. We can analyze spells, modify them, and thereby create new spells. I''ve never raided in the game until yesterday, and I used full power in this vivid environment. It''s just the derivative spell of level-one Inferior Fireball, but it''s already so powerful. What about the spells of second rings or better? What if our levels are higher? Personally speaking, I think that although Mages are weak at the beginning, they will definitely dominate all spellcasters in the future." After writing that, he posted his thread. Soon, someone replied to it. More and more replies were posted. After he refreshed the thread, there were already twenty replies. "You said that you were not a crazy bomber?" "This is unbelievable. How did you extract all your magic power and focus it on one spell? I am a Mage, too, but I can only deploy about 30% of my magic power." "Uncle Sam suspects that you own weapons of mass destruction. Please go with the FBI agents." "This is unfair. I''m a LV2 Warlock, and my Inferior Fireball can only penetrate through a seedling. By logic, the magic damage of Warlocks should be much higher than that of Mages of the same level." "I''ll delete my character and join as a Mage. The sound and visual effects of this explosion are exciting." "Roland, do you need fans who adore you? I''ll friend you" "Go away. You are not a real fan" Roland shook his head helplessly as the replies deviated from the subject. Suddenly, his phone buzzed. He accepted the call, and his friend Schuck''s voice came over. "Bro, come to my place. My cousin has joined the game, too. According to his description, he seems to have been born somewhere near Red Mountain Town." "All right, I''m on my way." Roland hung up the phone and rode his bike to the cold drink bar. In their booth, he saw a young man who was around eighteen and looked somewhat similar to Schuck. Lying on the sofa in a great mood, Schuck introduced, "This is my cousin, Betta. He has been studying hard since elementary school. My uncle never allowed him to play games, but now that the College Entrance Exam is over, he is set free." "Brother Roland, hello." Betta greeted Roland with a smile. 21 Its Fun to Hang Around with Friends Roland heard about Schuck''s cousin before, but they had never met. It was said that he had been living in another city and didn''t move here until recently. "Hello, Cousin Betta," Roland greeted with a smile and asked, "How do you know that you spawned somewhere near me?" Perhaps because he wasn''t used to the company of strangers, Betta''s smile was a little bit awkward. "I overheard it when I chatted with my cousin yesterday. I spawned in a place named Log Village. Many people in the village mentioned Red Mountain Town and said they would sell their goods there." "You can understand them?" asked Roland. Betta nodded and continued, "Divine Noble is a complex class of Warrior and Dragon-Bred Warlocks. I''m free to choose two starter spells. I chose Fire Spewing and Language Proficiency." Roland was briefly stunned. "Divine Noble? It sounds like a unique class." "Yes, it''s a hidden class." Betta smiled and said, "When you add all your attributes to seven, the bonus attribution points are precisely enough for you to become a Divine Noble. This class has a lot of talents and skills as a beginner although its attributes are mediocre. Since it''s not a bad class for beginners, I chose it." Roland smiled and realized that the two cousins were quite lucky. One of them was promoted into a Saint Samurai, and the other found a hidden class easily. They got to know each other better after chit-chatting for a while. Roland discovered that Betta actually knew a lot. He was not like someone who just graduated from high school but more like a mature man. It was obvious that he had received decent education. Later, Li Lin arrived by himself. Gloomily, he slapped the table and shouted angrily, "Give me your phones!" Roland and Schuck both sighed. They took out black phones of the same model and put them on the table. Li Lin picked up one of the pones and tossed it hard. The phone hit the ground heavily and fell apart. Grimly, Li Lin grabbed the other phone and threw it again. The second phone was also wasted. Then, Li Lin glared at Betta angrily. Betta looked at the two broken phones and Li Lin, puzzled. At this moment, Schuck tapped the table and said casually, "Give him your phone." Betta was confused, but he followed his cousin''s instruction and took out an old phone. Crack The third phone crumbled. Then, Li Lin stomped on the phones crazily and cursed, "Bi*ch, w*ore! I was so nice to you! Why do you have to cheat on me? Why did you sleep with another man? Am I not handsome?" Li Lin subconsciously looked at Schuck''s pretty face, only to stomp on the deformed phones even more sulkily. "But I have money What can you possibly love if not money?" Betta was dumbfounded. Li Lin''s fury was finally vented after he stomped around for a dozen minutes. He got the SIM cards from the broken phones and put them on the table. "Has Yuan Yuan run away, too?" Seeing that Li Lin had sat down, Schuck asked this while eating a piece of watermelon. Li Lin replied angrily, "I don''t talk to pretty boys. Go away." Schuck shook his head and said helplessly, "This is what I''m born to be. There''s nothing I can do." Li Lin felt a lot better after the catharsis. He sighed and said, "Every woman I date has cheated on me." Roland said, "Why do you have to look for dates in nightclubs? Odds that you can find a decent girl are little to none. I''ll ask my relative to introduce someone more reliable to you." Li Lin waved his hand hard. "No! Those girls are too serious. I''m too young to be married." Betta listened to their conversation and frowned. He regretted his phone''s fate. Although he could buy another one with his allowance, it was still a bummer that his phone was broken for no good reason. While he was thinking, someone knocked on the door. Li Lin opened it. Then, he returned with three boxes. Each of them was given a box. Betta accepted the box, only to discover that it contained the latest phone model. Schuck was already installing the SIM card to his new phone. He smiled. "Just take it. He''s a rich boy. This is nothing to him." Betta turned around and saw that Roland was installing the SIM card, too. Relieved, he tore the box apart. He had been desiring a new phone. He had used the old phone for five years. Li Lin ate the watermelon in silence. Suddenly, he said to Roland, "I saw the video you uploaded on the forum. It''s truly powerful!" Roland chuckled. "The attack can only be launched once. If the enemy is not killed, I''ll be dead for sure." Li Lin rolled his eyes. "That''s enough. Think about it. Wouldn''t such a spell annihilate all the enemies in a group battle?" "It will annihilate all my allies, too," said Roland helplessly. "This game is very real. There''s no identification system." Li Lin was stunned. "It does make sense. I might as well remain a Berserker." He suddenly thought of something and said to Schuck, "I remember that you receive monthly wages as a Saint Samurai, right?" "Yes, twenty gold coins a month," said Schuck. "Gold coins are highly valuable in the game." Li Lin looked at him enviously. "Do you know how much a gold coin is worth on the forum?" "How much?" Schuck did not really care. "Thirteen grand." Roland was drinking water. He almost spewed it out. Schuck was also stunned. He subconsciously asked, "Are you serious?" "As serious as can be!" Li Lin sighed and said, "The main problem is that it''s too difficult to earn gold coins in this game. Why don''t you sell ten gold coins to me?" Schuck shook his head. "We''re brothers. I can''t take your money. Just go to a city that has Temples of Light, and I''ll have someone bring the gold coins to you." 22 Freezing As a rich man, Li Lin spent a lot of money on every game. He was the strongest in the games that were all about attributes, but he was not so good when it came to competitive games. He was reckless and would charge at the enemy the moment he saw them, not caring if it was an ambush. The first thing he did when he played new games was to spend money on them. He did not break tradition this time. When Schuck refused his money, Li Lin said angrily, "Why are you saying that to a friend who grew up with you? I hate you most of all people. You''re too courteous all the time. You don''t have any respect for my money." Li Lin bashed the table and flushed. "Is it necessary? Huh? Is it really necessary?" "All right, don''t get excited." Schuck patted Li Lin''s shoulder and said, "One gold coin for thirteen grand, I''ll sell ten gold coins to you, all right?" Li Lin calmed down and said, "That''s more like it." Actually, Schuck and Roland knew that Li Lin had an inferiority complex, particularly when he was faced with Schuck. He was a rich guy, but he joined the army after high school. His girlfriend cheated on him when he was in the army. He asked for leave on New Year''s Day, hoping to surprise his girlfriend, but he caught her and her lover instead. After he retired from the army, he had several casual girlfriends, but none lasted more than four months. He liked to compare himself with Schuck, but in the end, Li Lin discovered that his only advantage was that he had more money than Schuck did. So, he had a desperate personality, and few people could understand him. Actually, none of his friends looked down on him. They grew up in the same neighborhood, and their houses were still very close even to this day. Having hung around together since childhood, they were more intimate than blood brothers. Their interaction was a great eye-opener for Betta. He did not know the life of brothers and friends until today. Two hours later, Roland returned to his home. He checked the forum, only to discover that people were raising the roof in his post. The Warlocks and Mages were quarreling. The Warlocks insisted that, according to their talent, the magic damage of Warlocks should be higher than that of Mages, and that Mages should be known for the number of spells they knew and their flexibility in battles. However, as it turned out, the Mages could freely change the power of their spells. Spells that they cast by concentrating their magic power could be appalling. The derivative spell of Inferior Fireball in Roland''s video, for example, was as powerful as a high-level crowd attack spell. Warlocks of the same level could not break a tree with their fireball yet. So, Warlocks believed that it was a bug that should be fixed. Then, a lot of melee classes were also fanning the flames for fun. All in all, after only half a day, the whole forum was fighting over this. Roland, the starter of the havoc, received tips of more than twenty thousand forum coins, as well as hundreds of reports claiming that he maliciously spread a bug in the game. Roland did not know how he should feel when he saw the tips and reports in his inbox. Had he known it in advance, he wouldn''t have posted the video. He only meant to give Mages more confidence and did not intend to cause so much trouble. When the evening came, an official announcement was released. The subtle meaning between the lines was still obvious. "All the settings in this game are reasonable. If you think Mages are powerful, we welcome you to create a character of your own." All the Warlocks trembled in fury when the announcement came out, and Mages enjoyed the victory. Roland was also relieved. Although it was brutal, he actually liked the current rules for Mages, which were challenging but fun. Spells had to be learned with wisdom rather than a quick click, which would''ve been too boring. Late at night, Roland joined the game again. He intended to learn Language Proficiency first. He had copied the mathematical model for Language Proficiency from the forum. However, after a quick glance at the model, Roland immediately shut it off. It was too complicated. The dense magic nodes on the model were almost bloodcurdling. For a moment, Roland even wondered if he was Mage material. However, after second thought, he focused on the model of Language Proficiency again. The following days were rather monotonous. He mined and studied magic graphs most of the time, and when he was bored, he hunted the giant spiders in the maple forest for fun. After several battles, he was already able to control his output of magic power. He soon discovered that Hand of Magic could be used as an extension of his arms. As long as he concentrated, he could accurately press a giant spider down and stuff a regular fireball into its mouth, so that it would be blown up effectively. That was a much more graceful way of fighting for a Mage. Roland''s creativity was raised by the accidental attempt. Then, a lot of bizarre derivative skills were invented. For example, when the magic nodes for Hand of Magic were restrained, the spell would be turned into two long spears. Roland did not know their performance in a melee battle, but he could pierce giant spiders with them easily. Ice Ring could be changed into Ice Blade It was not exactly powerful, but since it could cut off the feet, the control effect of Ice Ring was improved. Also, Hypnosis could be used to catch fish. After he cast a Hypnosis, huge fish would sink to the bottom of the lake and wait to be caught. While he was having fun playing with magic, more than ten days passed. The fair in Red Mountain Town, which was held twice a year, was to be held today. Betta came from Log Town with several peasants and found Roland. Betta was blond and wore glamorous clothes in the game. He had the vibe of someone from the upper class. The villagers dared not approach him. "This is the effect of my talent. My class is a natural-born noble," Betta explained, noticing Roland''s confusion. Then he said, "Brother Roland, I''ve found a quest. I''ll share it with you." Roland was dumbfounded. "A quest?" He had spent a long time in Red Mountain Town, but he hadn''t triggered any quests yet. 23 Simple Ques Roland had lived in Red Mountain Town for more than a month, but he hadn''t triggered any quests yet. However, Betta had triggered one so quickly. It did make sense on second thought. Roland was incapable of Language Proficiency, and quests required communication, unlike other games where there were gold exclamation marks above the NPCs to inform the players of acceptable quests. How could he trigger a quest when he could barely talk? Therefore He had to learn Language Proficiency as soon as possible. "All right, let''s team up. You can share the quest with me." Both of them were seasoned players. They soon set up a team on the system menu, and then Betta shared the quest. "Search for the missing grandchildren of an old man." The title of the quest was green, followed by "Excellent." Noticing Roland''s confusion, Betta explained, "I''ve accepted white quests before, but the rewards were quite unattractive. I got only a common iron longsword once." Betta took out a rusted longsword from his Backpack and waved it. "This is the one." "Did you get your clothes and your weapon through quests?" asked Roland curiously. Betta nodded and asked back, "Didn''t you get your magic robe in the same way?" Roland shook his head. "No, it''s a gift from an old man." Betta clapped his hands and said, "It seems that intimacy plays a role in this game." Although Betta had just graduated from high school, it was obvious that he was quite smart. He made the deduction quickly. Roland thought for a while and said, "Yes, but I have to remind you that you must not treat the NPCs in this game as the NPCs in the sandbox games we played. They are quite intelligent." Betta nodded and said casually, "I know. The AI of Penguin Corporation is almost lifelike." "They feel like real persons to me," Roland said and frowned. "Hahaha." Betta laughed. "You''re overthinking, Brother Roland. This game is controlled by AI. They''re just data." Roland sighed and said, "I studied the application of intelligent programs when I was in college, or to put it more simply, I worked on AI. As far as I know, it requires tremendous work to establish such an enormous world and make every NPC as vivid as a real person. I don''t think anyone can achieve that." "But this game has achieved it." Obviously a consequentialist, Betta shrugged and said, "So a genius must''ve made breakthroughs." Roland said with a bitter smile, "That''s the only explanation." "All right, Brother Roland, should we get started?" Betta looked at him hopefully. They were standing before Roland''s cottage. Roland pointed at the foot of the mountain. Because of the fair today, there were many more people in Red Mountain Town. The streets were jam-packed with peddlers and customers. "Do you not want to enjoy the carnival?" Roland asked, finding it odd. "Such fairs must be new to you, right? Your generation has grown up with online shopping." Betta shrugged. "I''m not interested at all. I just want to level up, challenge the more intriguing quests, and see more monsters and landscapes." So, the young man was more of an adventurer? Roland stood up and said, "All right, let''s go." They left Red Mountain Town by the crowded bridge. According to the quest, the child declared that he would travel the world as a mercenary before he moved west with a sword. West Roland vaguely recalled that Falken mentioned that a bunch of trolls were hiding in the forest dozens of kilometers to the west. The trolls were good at fighting, and there were few capable hunters around, so they were never eliminated. Thinking about that, Roland mumbled, "Was this silly child trying to conquer the trolls? He can''t be so idiotic, can he?" Betta said, "It''s just a setting. There''s no need to consider if it''s reasonable. It''s only a way to level up." But Roland still felt that something was wrong. Instructed by the quest system, Roland and Betta found the trolls in the evening after walking for a whole day. The place was rather creepy with the bone totems. A dozen green-skinned trolls were sitting around a fire. The stone pot on the fire seemed to be cooking the limbs of a human. There were thirteen trolls in total, ranging between LV1 and LV2. No wonder they were a threat to the passersby. Crouching, Roland asked, "Should we make a battle plan?" "That''s unnecessary. I''ve killed plenty of such trolls. Watch my back for me, Brother Roland." Betta stood up and charged forth. Betta was not wrong. Killing those trolls was a piece of cake for him. He was fast and strong. More surprisingly, he could even use magic in the middle of the battle. He broke into the trolls'' lair like a tiger breaking into a pen of lambs. Half of the trolls were killed within three minutes, and the other half were slaughtered by Roland''s Inferior Fireball and Hand of Magic. Blood was all over the ground. Betta wiped off the blood on his face. With the system''s help, he found the highlighted target, which was a dry skull on a weird totem. "Here''s our quest objective." Betta smiled and moved the skull off from the totem. "Don''t you find it disgusting?" Roland asked, frowning. Betta played with the skull in his hand, not entirely bothered. He said, "They are nothing more than data. Keep an open mind. "All right, Brother Roland. Let''s go back and accomplish this quest." Roland looked at the bone totems nearby. They were all the remains of human beings that had been eaten. Some were still being cooked in the pots. Thinking for a moment, he said, "Why don''t you go back first? I''ll bury those bones first." Betta looked at him in surprise. "Brother Roland, everything here is data. You''re too obsessed." Roland paused for a moment and said, "Just consider me a willful man." Betta sighed and said, "All right, I''ll be waiting for you in the town." After that, he returned by himself. 24 Tragic Ending The night in the wilderness was quiet. The environment was horrible, dry bones and totems everywhere. The stench of rotten bodies was also disgusting. Yet, Roland did not feel very scared. He found several shovels in the trolls'' lair. The tools must''ve belonged to farmers who had been caught and eaten by the trolls. Roland dug a deep pit with a shovel and carefully transferred the bones into the pit with Hand of Magic, burying them altogether. He filled the pit and set up a cross with two sticks before the tomb. "I don''t know your names, but since you are all victims, it shouldn''t be a problem for you to rest in the same place." Roland heaved a long sigh, feeling heavy. He couldn''t treat the NPCs in this game as data. After spending a month here, he realized that the NPCs were barely different from real people. Yet, he was certain that he was in a game. It was a rather contradictory feeling. At this moment, it was already late at night. Burying the deceased took him a lot of time. He began his journey back to Red Mountain Town. Thinking about the long distance, Roland couldn''t help but mumble, "I wish I were capable of teleportation I''ll definitely have to grasp space-time spells in the future. They''ll be useful in both battles and travel." Roland had decided what skills he should specialize in because of the long journey. As for Betta, he returned to Red Mountain Town by morning. The fair had already ended. He found the old couple next to the lake. With the red morning sun reflected in the lake, the old couple were gazing at the horizon next to their wooden house. Betta approached them and said casually, "I have found what you asked for. Your grandson is dead." "My grandson is not dead!" The weary old woman jumped to her feet and yelled, "What a mean man! You''re saying that our grandson is dead? I''ll beat you" This must be part of the plot set by the system Betta thought and gave the dry skull to the old woman. The old woman was frozen, but her stunned eyes glittered. She accepted the dry skull and hugged it tightly and gently. "It''s good that you''re back." A bright rainbow seemed to be flashing in the old woman''s eyes. She raised the skull before her husband''s eyes and said, "Look, our grandson is back!" The old man smiled happily, too. He scratched his grandson''s withered hair and said, "I won''t punish you for running away. Let''s have breakfast" The two of them entered the house with the skull. Betta felt weird watching all this. Yet, he could not tell what exactly the weird part was. The NPCs in this game were vivid, but their reaction was too strange. Normally, shouldn''t grandparents cry when they see their grandson''s skull? With such a thought, Betta backed off and guarded the house. He should be searching for other quests now, but a voice in his heart told him to stop and see what would happen to the old couple. Delighted laughter burst from the house, entirely different from the gloom of before. Something must be wrong with the game data. Betta mumbled again and tried to leave, but his legs simply wouldn''t budge, as if they had been nailed to the ground. He still felt that something was wrong, but he did not know what it was. After breakfast, the old couple left the house. Both of them looked rather happy. The old man bought food from the fair, and the old woman fetched a lot of firewood. They worked and lived as usual. Soon, smoke curled up from kitchens as evening fell. It was as regular as the behavior of other NPCs in the game. Their lives were the same no matter what happened. Betta found nothing wrong after observing for a whole day, but he felt more and more uneasy. In the end, he held back his strange feeling and came to the entrance of the town. Soon, Roland made it back, too. As a Mage, he was not as strong as Betta, who was a complex class. He rested twice on the way and finally made it back before nightfall. Roland smiled when he saw Betta. "You haven''t closed the quest yet, have you? I gave it a lot of thought on the way. Informing them of their grandson''s death is too brutal. We might as well keep it a secret from them" Roland was suddenly stunned, because he saw a fire rising in a house next to the lake The night had not entirely fallen yet. From his perspective, he saw a glittering fire right beside the setting sun. "It''s the James'' house!" Roland shouted and ran forward. Having practiced magic near the lake, he knew the couple and would nod at them when he met them. Betta''s face turned pale when he saw the house on fire. Roland reached the house. He was going to launch Ice Ring at the house to put out the fire, but he gave up in frustration after observing for a second. The fire was too huge and had burned through the wooden house. Anyone inside must''ve been killed. Betta approached the place, too. His face was paler and paler, and his body was shivering. In the end, he gnashed his teeth. "Brother Roland The skull we found belonged to the grandson of this old couple." What? Roland''s heart was instantly chilled. He was frozen, unable to move. The fire attracted a lot of villagers. Many of them intended to extinguish the fire, but they all shook their heads and gave up when they saw the reddened house. Someone mumbled, "Why is the James'' house suddenly on fire? Who came here first?" "Mr. Roland and another noble." "What exactly happened here?" "Who knows?" Falken finally came, too. He asked Roland, "What exactly happened here, Mr. Roland?" Betta shivered, his body appallingly pale. He turned his head away, not daring to look at the villagers. "I found Sam''s head and gave it to the James couple," Roland said calmly, sighing. Falken looked at him and shook his head slightly. The other villagers also stared at Roland and Betta in silence. They all dispersed in the end. The fire did not die out until dawn. Nothing was left on site except for the ash and the rising smoke. "Quest accomplished. EXP +376, reputation in Red Mountain Town -10." A notification appeared in Roland''s sight. 25 Ill Be Gone Soon It was a sleepless night. Most villagers went home, but their rooms were all lit by lamps. Oil was rather expensive in this world. So, lamps were not lit unless there was something important. Yet, half of the villagers had lit their lamps, which were reflected in the lake with the crescent moon, adding to the stillness of the night. The occasional lakeside breeze was cool and comforting. Betta lay on the rail of the bridge and gazed at the lake in the distance. There was no telling what was on his mind. Roland dug a pit near the house and swept the ashes from the house inside. Then, he set up a cross and a tombstone before the pit. After that, he found the stunned young man on the bridge. Roland stopped next to Betta and stared at the glistening lake exactly as Betta did. Betta turned his head away and secretly wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "What are you thinking?" Roland asked after a long time. "Nothing." The young man''s voice was hoarse. Roland saw the tear tracks on his face. Roland heaved a sigh when he recalled Falken''s expression of disappointment when he left. "Brother Roland, sorry. I screwed it up," said Betta in a low voice. The young man was obviously regretful. Roland stared at him for a while. Then he smiled. "How much reputation have you lost?" "Thirty." Betta pursed his lips. He was not sad for the loss in his reputation; he only felt that he had done something wrong. He regarded the NPCs as data, but the old couple told him that they had their own souls and thoughts with their actions. Everything was natural and real. "Mine dropped by ten points. The villagers have their biases. I''ve lived here longer and they know me better, so they''re more tolerant about me," Roland said. "It proves my theory that this is not a simple game." Betta managed a smile and said, "But they''re truly in a game. I know what you think. If life can be based on carbon or silicon, it can be based on data. However, is it really possible to develop a game that has actual lives? "If those NPCs are really alive, why didn''t the game producers specify it from the beginning?" Betta spoke more and more loudly, until he was almost roaring. Roland remarked, "Maybe even the game producers do not know what they have created." "Do you think it''s possible?" Betta sniffed. Roland replied, "Who knows? Nobody can give a definite answer." There was a long silence. Only the wind could be heard. After a while, Roland asked again, "What''s your plan?" "Go to another city." Betta was apparently frustrated. "I''m not welcome here. It''s pointless to stay any longer." Betta turned around and asked, "What do you suggest, Brother Roland?" "There is a nest of giant spiders that are a major threat to this town," said Roland slowly. "I killed some before, but I was outnumbered. Also, you know that Mages are not capable of fighting yet. If you could cooperate with me" Betta asked with great interest, "Are they edible? Right, I remember that the fried spider legs I had were delicious." Seeing that the young man was in a better mood, Roland smiled. "Are there such huge spiders in reality?" Betta said in reminiscence, "They''re coconut crabs." "Aren''t they crabs? Wait, maybe they''re lobsters?" Roland was briefly stunned. "They are all arthropods. I can regard them as spiders." Roland smiled. "You do have a point if you put it that way." Betta felt better when they talked about food. He said, "I''ll practice sword arts for now." "You''re capable of sword arts?" Roland was stunned. "Did you learn it in a school?" Betta shook his head. "No. There''s a veteran in the village I was born in. I paid him three silver coins to study under him. It''s only several simple moves, but I find them highly practical." "Three silver coins" Roland sighed. Having mined for more than a month, he had only saved around three silver coins. Betta seemed richer than Roland even though he joined the game half a month later than Roland did. Thinking about that, Roland asked, "How did you earn so much money?" Betta said, "Divine Nobles have an innate ability named ''Fortune,'' which enables us to pick up money! I''ve already picked almost three gold coins." Shoot! Roland felt sad. Both of those two cousins were rich in the game! Schuck was a Saint Samurai who had a monthly income of twenty gold coins, which meant more than two hundred thousand bucks in reality. His cousin could pick up money without working Somehow, Roland was jealous of them. If possible, he wished that he could play the game easily without toiling for money, but the reality was cruel. He could only make ends meet by mining. After Betta left to practice sword arts, Roland returned to his cottage. He found Falken standing outside of the cottage. Falken walked toward him when he saw him. In the moonlight, he looked particularly old wearing his long green robe. "Why don''t we talk?" Roland nodded. Looking at the town below the mountain, Falken said heavily, "We knew the James'' grandson was dead a long time ago." Roland smiled bitterly at first, before he shook his head helplessly. "Actually, with the James'' conditions, they couldn''t have lived much longer, but it''s always better to live than to die." Falken heaved a sigh. "However, now that they''re dead, they are no longer tortured by disease and can forever stay with their offspring." Roland did not know what to say. He heard sorrow in Falken''s voice. "I''m going to die soon, too!" Roland did not understand at first, but then he gazed at Falken. "Don''t be surprised. As a reverend, I certainly know when I''ll be summoned by the goddess I believe in," said Falken casually. "I''ll go to paradise in three months Don''t be so sad. You should feel happy for me." "Why? When you''re dead, everything you have will be gone." "No, the reverends will live in paradise as eternal souls as long as we do not make horrible mistakes." Roland, however, did not really believe in things like heaven or hell, which were too ungrounded and unpredictable. 26 Famous The world was frozen Time was up for today. Crawling out of the virtual cabin, Roland felt rather comfortable. It must''ve been because he had been sleeping and getting up early recently. Previously, he barely slept before two o''clock in the morning. Now, he slept at ten and got up at six the next morning. His body was completely refreshed during those eight hours. However, he was not in a good mood. Falken said that he was dying. It was a major shock for him. He had never seen anyone who talked about their death so casually in real life. Didn''t they say that death was the greatest horror? Why could the old man treat it so casually as if it was nothing, like dinner time or bathtime? Was faith truly so supportive? Roland sat frozen in his seat for a while. Then, he opened the forum. There was another batch of tips that were probably worth more than twenty thousand bucks. His previous two posts had been pinned, after all. With the tips from the generous netizens, Roland even thought to quit his job and focus on playing the game. Roland did not make as much money as Schuck and Betta did in the game, but through the two posts, he had made about a hundred thousand bucks. It was definitely acceptable. On the forum, there were thousands of replies discussing whether his Inferior Fireball was too powerful. Many new threads had been posted. The contradiction was mainly between Warlocks and Mages. One of the seasoned players listed the eligible talents for Warlocks and those for Mages when the characters were created. He concluded, "Based on the lists of talents, it''s obvious that the spells of Warlocks should be more powerful than those of Mages of the same level. However, Roland''s Inferior Fireball was unbelievably powerful. What about spells of higher levels? It''s not hard to imagine that, when guild wars start, Roland would be able to wipe out a small guild on his own with his tricks." Most of the replies that agreed with him were made by Warlocks. Mages, on the other hand, stated that the Warlocks were only jealous. The melee classes also appeared now and then, stirring up the trouble as they sensed the pressure. If Mages were all so strong, how could their class play a role in the future? Some Mages believed that Roland was using a hack, because the range of his spell was too broad. Other people immediately argued that even the fundamental mechanisms of this game hadn''t been figured out yet. They did not believe that anyone could develop a hack so quickly. If they were so good, they could''ve developed a similar immersive game. Roland somehow felt it inappropriate, too. The Inferior Fireball was indeed too powerful. Had he taken advantage of certain errors in the game that were not fixed yet? The latest announcement on the official website was made a week ago. Speaking of which, the official website of World of Falan was truly unremarkable. The user interface was simple and had only two sections, namely the announcement section and the video section. There were few announcements and only one promotional video on the website. It looked like the website of a game that was about to go bankrupt. He sighed. Washing his face and brushing his teeth, he left his home for his company. Roland went straight to the Department of Human Resources and put the resignation letter on the manager''s desk. The manager did not look very good when he saw the letter. "I don''t agree with this." "Agree or not, I will not come to work again," said Roland casually. "I''ve thought about resigning for a long time, but I never found a good job until recently." The manager pushed his glasses and said, "The company has never wronged you, and yet you''re leaving the company for no reason?" "You''re truly brazen to say that." Roland chuckled. "We work from nine a.m. to nine p.m. every day and six days a week without any extra pay, and you claim that the company has never wronged us? Do you want us to work twenty-four hours a day?" The manager stopped talking and looked awkward. Roland sighed and said, "Manager Li, I know that you didn''t mean what you said. This is just a job. Let''s just part in a more friendly way." Manager Li smiled bitterly. They shook hands lightly. Roland removed his personal items from the company building. A few colleagues who were familiar with him expressed their envy when they learned that he had quit his job. Nobody wanted to work so hard if they had a choice. If they could find a better job, they would''ve left a long time ago. Roland had only listened to his own heart. The few items he had could be stored in the basket on his bike perfectly. As he rode his bike, his hair and his mind were slightly disrupted by the breeze. He felt a lot easier after he quit his job, but he was also at a loss about the future. These feelings were rather complicated. His phone rang when he was about to reach home. Schuck said over the phone, "A new announcement has been released on the official website about Mages. Your name is mentioned, too. You''re a celebrity now." Roland was rather puzzled. Then, he hung up the phone and checked the latest announcement with his phone. On the Power of the Derivative Spell of Inferior Fireball for Mages. He clicked on the title. "We''ve conducted a comprehensive examination, tracked Roland''s game record in the past month, and talked to the developers for three days. Our conclusion is that what Roland did in the game did not cross the line so far. As for the power of the spell, it has to do with personal talent. If you are unsatisfied with your current class, you can pray to the Life Goddess and apply to recreate a character. Also, we''d like to reiterate that your performance in the game is related to your abilities in reality. Please don''t blindly copy what other people do." Well The official reply was as tough as before. However, Roland felt a strong headache. The announcement meant him no harm, but it had put him at the center of public attention. He opened the forum. As expected, most of the discussions were about him. 27 Discrimination He opened the forum after he came home. As expected, his name was mentioned in many posts. There were already more than four thousand replies to the thread on the self-detonating Inferior Fireball. Not just Mages and Warlocks, all the players of the game were involved. The official announcement had put Roland in the limelight. Most of the discussions were about who Roland was exactly. According to the official announcement, abilities in the game were related to abilities in reality. Not everyone could concentrate their magic power in a fireball. Many Mages said that they could only dedicate ten to thirty percent of their magic power to a spell. If they dedicated more, their head might explode. So, they couldn''t help but wonder who Roland was or what talents he had in reality to make him show such abilities in the game. There were many speculations, but one sticky post raised Roland''s attention. He opened the post, only to discover that it was a video. In the video, a Warrior with a one-handed sword fought a bunch of green goblins with an unpredictable and enjoyable gait. The green goblins were killed without so much as striking his clothes. According to the author of the video, he had been practicing sword arts since childhood and could defeat a couple of men with a stick in reality. In the game, no NPCs of his level were a match for him. Since he was capable of that, people with other talents must be able to achieve similar things. Therefore, since Roland could concentrate all his magic power in one spell, he must have similar talents. Personally, he speculated that Roland was an exorcist. First of all, exorcists were considered to be related to magic in reality. They usually had to chant and dance and do magic tricks. Without enough talent, it was impossible to become a qualified exorcist. His speculation was approved by a bunch of netizens. Then, all the replies below the thread were the same. "All hail Roland the Exorcist." "All hail Roland the Exorcist." Roland did not know what to say after he read the replies. They think I am an exorcist Those people are truly annoying! Right when Roland was feeling bummed, his phone rang. "Meet us at the old place. You''re the only one missing here." He recognized the voice without looking at the number. When Roland reached the panda booth in the cold drink bar, he saw six people chit-chatting with each other. They greeted him casually when he walked in. Roland found a seat and sat down. After he sat down, Schuck said, "All right, stop talking. There''s something important that I have to say." When everyone looked at him, Schuck said, "Saint Samurai is highly revered in the Church of Light. I got a military map with my access and recorded it." "The seven points marked on the map are our spawn locations." Schuck sighed and said, "The plotting scale of this map is about 1:50000. The distance between the seven of us is appalling." The rest of them glanced at the map and frowned after they recognized the size of the map. "It will take forever before we can gather," Husseret, who was the slimmest of all, said. "Also, this game is biased against Rogues. I''ve been imprisoned three times. Damn it. The guards catch me every time they see me even though I''m not stealing anything. Do they hate me so much?" Everybody laughed as Husseret complained. Because of his personality, Husseret liked the stealth classes in most games, and he was usually good at such classes. In most games, even if Rogues were discovered when they were stealing, the aggro would vanish when they hid themselves in a shadow. However, it didn''t work in World of Falan. The NPCs remembered who stole their things as clearly as real people did. Raffel pressed his cigarette to the ashtray and said, "It''s been a month. We can understand daily conversations for now, but the problem is that we do not have sources of intelligence. The nobles in the city somehow loathe us and always ask for trouble." Li Lin, Husseret, and Brazil immediately echoed this. They were frequently bullied by the nobles in the past month. "Are you serious?" said Roland after a brief shock. "The mayor of Red Mountain Town was also a noble. He greeted me when he saw me." Schuck also nodded. "The nobles I saw were mostly polite, too." Everybody looked at Betta, who was eating a watermelon. Betta spewed out a few seeds and said, "I''m a noble in the game. I can visit most of the powerful nobles as long as I make an appointment in advance." Well the discrimination was obvious. Brazil said bitterly, "This is unfair. Why are you so appealing at the beginning of the game?" Roland found it odd, too. Did they have anything in common? He looked at Schuck and Betta. Then, he realized something and clapped his hands. "I know the reason now." "Spit it out," said Li Lin, who was usually short-tempered. "Don''t beat around the bush." Roland pointed at himself. "A pure spellcaster." He then pointed at Schuck. "A religious man who can cast spells." He pointed at Betta. "A noble and a spellcaster." He pointed at Husseret and smiled. "A thief!" He pointed at Li Lin. "A violent barbarian." He pointed at Raffel. "A barbarian who plays with shields." In the end, he pointed at Brazil and chuckled. "A barbarian who shoots birds with bows." The four of them, who were all physical classes, cursed after a brief shock. "What the heck!" World of Falan was set in a society similar to the medieval age. In this benighted world which had barely any cultural communication, it was common understanding that spellcasters were civilized people. As for those of physical classes such as Li Lin What could they be if not rude retards since they could not even understand what other people said? The smallfolk might not dare to show them attitude, but the proud nobles were certainly not so easy to talk to for the physical classes. Thinking about that, Li Lin and the rest of them couldn''t have felt more unhappy. 28 Roasted Spider Legs Roland smiled at his bummed friends and said, "Why don''t you change your classes, too? The average level is not too high yet. You should be able to catch up soon." Li Lin shook his head. "I don''t think I would. Although the nobles often ask for trouble, I''ve made friends with a lot of NPCs. If I delete my character, I don''t think they will remember me. Even if I approach them in my new identity, they might treat me differently. So I''ll pass." Everybody agreed with what Li Lin said. Betta, in particularly, looked down. He remembered what happened yesterday. Schuck thought for a moment and said, "I discovered that the NPCs of this game are exceptionally vivid. I haven''t been in the Church of Light for long, but I already noticed the factions and the internal strife. If the plots are devised by the producers, it would be too terrifying. How much work would it be?" Husseret continued, "Vividness doesn''t matter. All I know is that this game is really fun. Many gangs in the city have reached out to me and want to hire me. I''ve been considering their offers, but they are all notorious." "You''d better not join them. This game is too realistic. I''m afraid that your personality in reality will be affected if you do bad things with them in the game," said Roland. Husseret nodded. "All right, I''ll see if I can join a group that has a better reputation." Roland looked at everyone and said, "Why don''t we talk about our current situations and our plans for the future?" Li Lin said, "The Guild of Warriors reached out to me and said that they wanted to groom me." Raffel also said, "I''m planning to join the Guild of Warriors, too." Brazil shrugged and said, "I just caught a little leopard as my life pet. I''m planning to travel around the city first." Schuck leaned back and said, "I''m mainly studying the doctrine of the Church of Light. It''s long and boring. The bishop who taught me said that I was not pious enough to become a Saint Samurai, but I did become one. So, he asked me to go to the Holy Realm, where I could receive the tutelage of the Goddess of Light, with any luck. I''m planning to go there and take a look at her. I heard her voice before. It''s rather pleasant." In the end, Roland said, "Betta and I accepted a quest yesterday. We screwed it up." Betta, who was eating a watermelon, smiled bitterly in embarrassment. Roland continued, "So, we''re planning to clear the monsters near the town, partly to gain more experience and partly to restore our reputation in the town." "All right, since we each have our own plans, let''s carry them out for now." Schuck sat straight and said, "I''ll see if I can find flying pets in the Holy Realm so that we can gather in the game." "There are flying pets?" Brazil''s eyes bulged. "I didn''t know that. I should''ve caught a flying pet that I could ride." Everybody laughed. Then, they chit-chatted for a while and dispersed after he uploaded the map to their group chat. Roland checked the forum again after he returned home, only to discover that he was still being discussed. He gave up and went to bed. After a nap, he went out and found a boxing club on the street. The facilities and the environment in the club were not bad, and the coaches seemed reliable. So, he paid for membership. He wanted to learn boxing because of the video he watched that morning. The man''s intricate sword arts, enhanced by the attributes of his game character, were truly remarkable. Mages were usually weak in melee fights. He was only learning boxing to make sure that he could at least have a chance of survival when an enemy approached him. Besides, with spells that could increase his strength or speed, his combat ability could be enhanced if he knew boxing. After paying for membership, the coach did not teach him boxing immediately, but helped him stretch out his limbs first! Roland had done few such exercises before. He could barely move his legs on his way home after the stretching. His legs were cramping all the while. It was rather painful. Finally, it was half past nine. Roland logged into the game eagerly. He appeared in the game world where the air was fresh. He felt relieved from the bottom of his heart after he came to this world. Heaving a soft sigh, Roland walked down the hill and found Betta next to the lake. "Let''s go." Roland curled his finger at Betta from the bridge. Betta hopped after him. The two of them went to the maple forest. Some of the villagers gazed at them with strange looks on their faces. Falken, on the other hand, watched them go to the maple forest, feeling comforted. Roland had been crushing the giant spiders on his own. Now that he had Betta, who was capable of both melee fighting and spells, his efficiency soared. Roland controlled the spiders with Hand of Magic, and Betta killed them. No giant spiders survived more than ten seconds under their attacks. After each spider they killed, Betta would cut the spider''s legs and store them in his Backpack. Roland couldn''t help but ask, "Are you really going to roast the spider legs?" Betta nodded hard, as if he were already drooling. After they killed another two giant spiders, it was already noon. So, they returned to the lake in Red Mountain Town. Betta had picked up a lot of dry branches when they were in the maple forest. He heaped the branches and spewed dragon fire at the wood. Then, he roasted two spider legs on the fire and swallowed. The spider legs were long and had a red shell with sharp thorns on it. Were they really edible? After another little while, the indescribable fragrance of meat spread. "It''s done." Betta threw a spider leg to Roland and picked up the other. Ignoring the heat, he simply crushed the shell and bit into the bright gold meat inside. "Yummy! This is more delicious than coconut crabs!" Betta chewed hard and spoke inarticulately. Roland also had a bite. It did taste good. At this moment, he turned around and saw a bunch of kids in ragged clothes on the bridge who were staring at them and licking their fingers pitifully. Roland suddenly had an idea. "Betta, roast all the spider legs. I''ve got a way to save our reputation." 29 Theyre Beating Us! Seeing the malnutritioned children with yellow skin and dry hair, Betta immediately understood what Roland meant. He roasted all the spider legs he had left on the fire. Roland, on the other hand, bought some salt from Lake View Tavern. When he returned, the spider legs were ready. The giant spiders had long legs. Roland took out the longsword that he bought from the blacksmith but never used and cut each of them into four parts. Then, he sprayed salt on the legs and waved at the children. If Betta had called the children, they wouldn''t have dared to approach. Roland was different. He had lived in Red Mountain Town for more than a month and even told the children stories when he was free. Of course, that was when he had Language Proficiency. So, the children were familiar with Roland. They all walked over when he waved at them. "Get yourselves into a line. Everyone will have enough." Roland delivered a part of the spider leg to the child at the front. Stunned, the child who got the delicious spider leg first looked at the food in his hands with disbelief. He was not scared of spider legs. When he was too hungry, he even had rinds as food. He also had fish before, the smaller ones, because the bigger ones had to be sold for money to buy other things such as clothes or oil. Most people in Red Mountain Town made a living from the lake, but few had the privilege to enjoy fish meat. The mayor owned Red Mountain Town and the lake. Six percent of the fish that the villagers caught, or the money that they earned by selling the fish, would go to the mayor. Once the mayor found out that a villager lied about the amount of fish or money, they would be kicked out of Red Mountain Town. Such a mayor was among the merciful ones. It was said that some other mayors would simply hang the liars. The child looked at the spider leg in surprise. Instead of eating it, he rushed home with the leg and intended to share it with his family. Every child who got the spider leg did the same, except a few who were too hungry. They had a small bite of the food before they ran home. About half an hour later, the children all dispersed happily after getting the spider legs. Roland and Betta sat next to each other on the bridge. They enjoyed the remaining spider legs as well as the beautiful view of the lake. Finishing the spider legs, Betta asked, "What do we do next?" Roland looked at the maple forest in the distance and asked matter-of-factly, "You need to ask?" The following days were not the luckiest period for the giant spiders, because two ferocious hunters searched for them for hours every day. The children in the town could get a roasted spider leg in the evening, too. Roland had to practice Language Proficiency and did not spend too much time with the children. Betta, on the other hand, taught the children his basic sword arts. So, every evening, a bunch of children would be waving wooden sticks next to the lake. The villagers eyed Betta in an increasingly friendly way. An incident happened seven days later. That day in the evening, when Roland and Betta were distributing roasted spider legs to the children, six dissolute adults approached. They scolded the children away and said to Roland angrily, "Isn''t it unfair that you''re not saving any meat for us?" Some people were simply unreasonable. They believed that they should have everything that other people had, and they would make a scene if they couldn''t. Roland glanced at the six of them, only to discover that three of them had a history with him. A month ago, they had a fight outside of Lake View Tavern. Besides, one could easily tell that the six of them were no good. Roland waved his hand and said, "Go away! Are you not ashamed of begging as healthy adults?" The young man in the lead was angry. He exclaimed, "Hey, aren''t you good guys? We''re poor folk, too. Why don''t you give us a hand? Those brats do not need your food. Their parents won''t let them starve." Roland sighed and looked at them. "You think this is fun?" Roland was an adult, but he was only seventeen in the game and not threatening at all for the strangers. Also, more importantly, Roland appeared as a "good guy," and good guys were always taken advantage of. The rascals laughed hard. Their leader barked, "It is not. We know that we can''t beat you, but it''s fine. I''ve remembered those children. You can''t stay in Red Mountain Town forever. When you''re gone, I''ll beat them and their parents. What do you think?" The children immediately ran away when they heard his declaration. They glared at the young man angrily. Roland looked at him and suddenly smiled. Betta, who had been roasting the spider legs and enjoying the show, also stood up in excitement. The few rascals seemed to be regarding Roland and Betta as the kind of outsiders who were kindhearted and would not ask for trouble. It never occurred to them that those two people were still essentially players. Roland looked at Betta and smiled. "Your quest must''ve been triggered, too, right?" Betta warmed up his fingers and smiled intimidatingly. "Of course!" "Defeat the six troublemakers (Regular)!" It was a white quest But for Roland and Betta, it was definitely a gold, epic quest, because it was too fulfilling. The young man felt that it was no good after seeing their faces. He was about to say something more, but neither Roland nor Betta were talkers. Without wasting any time, they charged at the rascals. The rascals were rather scary in the town, but they were absolutely incapable of resisting two professionals who had been through real battles. Roland and Betta did not use any weapons or skills. They knocked out the six rascals in twenty seconds bare-handedly. Then, they began to kick the rascals hard. "The outsiders are beating us!" "Help!" Miserable cries echoed over the lake. Many villagers heard them, but they simply ignored the noise and focused on their own business. Roland and Betta had no intention to stop. The system did not say that the quest had been accomplished. So, they had to keep on beating. 30 What Will Come, Will Come Half an hour later, the six rascals left in tears with swollen faces and bruises all over their bodies. They couldn''t have looked more miserable. "Quest accomplished. EXP +137, reputation in Red Mountain Town +10." "You have reached Level 3. Your attributes have increased." Reading the notification, Roland felt extremely comfortable, as if he just had an elixir. The happiest thing in life was to release pressure while getting copious returns. Betta said, "I''m Level 2 now. I thought I had to slay the giant spiders for a few more weeks, but they came and offered experience to us. If they come a few more times, I think we can reach Level 5 soon." He was too greedy. Roland smiled and said, "Half of the town saw us beating them up. Although they were glad to see that, they would inevitably feel that we''re violent. If we do it a few more times, chances are that we will turn from dragonslayers to dragons." Betta thought for a moment and agreed with him. "That does make sense." Then, they noticed that the children were staring at them with admiration. The rascals were so blatant in Red Mountain Town because they were related to the mayor. Most villagers dared not piss them off. Had it not been for Falken, they would''ve been even more lawless. But since Falken was growing older and older, those people were bossier than before. After the lesson taught today, they would probably lay low for a while. Most of the children were from poor families who had witnessed the doings of the bullies. Their personalities might be affected by their fear. The adults dared not do anything to the six rascals. Naturally, their children were also terrified of them. However, Roland and Betta showed them that there might be another solution besides fear and tolerance. Children were all great imitators. It was in their nature to follow what their idols did. Now, the children were more and more fond of hanging out next to the lake. Most of them studied basic sword arts under Betta. Some hoped to learn magic from Roland Alas, although Roland tried to direct them, nobody could sense the magic elements. In the end, all the children studied military sword arts under Betta. Roland was glad that his work was saved. He focused on Language Proficiency, the level-two spell. The dense magic nodes were breathtaking. Since Betta could use Language Proficiency, Roland asked for his input. However, Betta simply opened his hands and said, "Dragon-Bred Warlocks do not need any experience. We only need to recite the names of the skills to use them. So, there''s nothing I can teach you." Eventually, Roland decided he had to count on himself. Days passed. Roland spent the day in the boxing club and the night in the game every day. It was not a physical feeling, but a mental one. He always felt that something was missing in the air. However, the feeling was not strong or constant, so he was not bothered. He thought that it was because the air quality in reality was worse than that in the game. Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Roland and Betta had each hunted more than sixty giant spiders, but there were still a lot more in the woods. It was because the maple forest was too large. After the spiders here were cleared, the spiders on the other side of the ridge would move over. It was not bad to have incessant giant spiders to provide meat for the children. Yet, Roland frowned. He and Betta would leave the town someday, and it would still be under the threat of spiders. How could the villagers deal with them? Next to the lake, Betta was still playing with the children. Some of the talented kids had grasped the basic movements, and Betta was practicing with them. Of course, it was not a one-on-one practice. Betta was resisting five children simultaneously. The blond, good-looking noble stood at the center and resisted the incoming sticks. The children''s attacks were rather fierce. Regular adults wouldn''t have been able to stand against their teamwork, but Betta blocked them very easily. Even the attacks aimed at his back were dodged or deflected easily. Was such practicing useful? Of course! Roland could tell that Betta waved the sword faster and more steadily now. While Betta was making progress, Roland was stuck in his magic research. Language Proficiency was much more complicated than he thought. It had 372 magic nodes. The mathematical model was too enormous for him to write down on the memo. Roland was rather depressed by his slow progress. Sitting on the rail, he watched Betta practice with the children. Pillars of smoke were rising against the setting sun. The croaks of frogs and rustling leaves could be heard. Roland took a deep breath. The life here was so peaceful and beautiful. His gloom was too inappropriate. He was going to try again, when a bell was rung at the temple of the Life Goddess. It echoed on everybody''s heart three times. All the villagers dropped their work and climbed the mountain in silence. The children fell quiet, too. They looked at the temple in the distance at the same time, as if they were at a loss. Betta was puzzled. He asked Roland, "What''s happening? An emergency meeting?" Roland vaguely guessed what had happened. He lowered his eyes and shook his head. At this moment, a child stared at his feet and said in frustration, "Every time the bell rings twice, someone in the town will be buried at the back of the mountain." Betta asked in surprise, "What if it rings three times?" "I don''t know," replied the child softly. The children did not know, but the villagers did. Almost all the villagers were walking to the temple. Roland slightly opened his mouth and said hoarsely, "I''ll take a look." 31 What Will Go, Will Go Just as Roland speculated, Falken had died. The old man was sound asleep on his bed in the temple with a smile on his face. The villagers spontaneously gathered in the temple. Nobody talked. Some of the sentimental women were secretly wiping their tears. They knew that Falken had been looking forward to this day. It was the wish of every pious believer to go to paradise. But for the villagers, they had lost a revered family member and protector. During the decades that Falken lived in Red Mountain Town, he had been treating the folk for free and negotiating with the mayor so that the lives of the ordinary people wouldn''t be so hard. Life was life when Falken was alive. Now that he was gone, the villagers had to struggle to survive. They were at a loss. The mayor arrived. The villagers cleared a way for him. Roland was here. The villagers cleared another way. The mayor had a mustache and was a handsome middle-aged man. He stared at Falken on the bed sadly, holding his black crutch. He did not turn around, but he seemed to have sensed Roland''s arrival. He asked gloomily, "Did he say anything before he left?" Roland stopped and shook his head. The mayor sighed at the peaceful smile on Falken''s face. He took out a wrinkled white flower from his pocket and put it on Falken''s chest. Many villagers had weird expressions on their faces when they saw the flower. Roland did not notice their looks. He was rather sad. Falken had helped him a lot over the past two months as his guide in this world. He did not expect that he would never meet him again. Dwelling on his sorrow, he did not notice the other people''s behavior. Besides, Roland found it normal that the living dedicated a flower to the deceased. He did not know that, according to the custom of Red Mountain Town, such flowers were only given by sons to their deceased fathers. "Bury him," said the mayor casually. Four young men walked forward and carefully moved Falken to a coffin that had long been prepared. Falken had left the coffin next to his bed when he knew he was dying. The coffin was closed and lifted. People cleared a way. Several young men had already dug a pit in the backyard, a square tombstone before it. The coffin was dragged into the pit. Some women tried to cover their mouths to prevent themselves from crying. The mayor looked at the sky, his eyes dry. The best weather for a funeral was rain, or a cloudy day. Yet, it was a sunny day with a scorching sun. The mayor was almost dazzled. Roland did not join them. He stepped aside and watched the villagers fill up the temple''s backyard. Still more people stood in silence outside of the temple. Considering for a moment, he suddenly realized that his urge to laugh was because of Falken''s smiling face. Falken was truly a funny old man who smiled so delightfully when he was dying. He then thought it through. If the deceased did not consider death a horrible thing, he shouldn''t feel sad for him. However, he was still a little bit bummed, because he wouldn''t have the chance to talk to Falken again. Heaving a long sigh, he was about to leave, when he saw a young man with brown hair and a white robe standing before him. The man was smiling gently and looked familiar, but Roland subconsciously stepped back. It was because the young man was transparent. Through him, Roland could see the woods behind him. Was he a ghost, or some sort of stealth skill? The young man chuckled. "What, you can''t recognize me anymore?" His voice was warm and familiar His eyes widening, Roland subconsciously looked at the backyard of the temple, where the coffin had been buried. He then looked back at the young man and asked uncertainly, "Falken?" "That''s me!" The young man nodded. Roland looked around again, only to discover that nobody saw Falken. Even though someone glanced at him, they did not notice anything wrong. "Ordinary people can''t see me." Young Falken smiled and said, "Only those with enough spiritual power can communicate with me." "Are you dead or alive?" Roland subconsciously circled Falken and asked curiously, "You are a soul, right?" "It''s all about perspective! For ordinary people, I''m dead, because they can''t see me or talk to me. I can''t show up before them, either. Falken will no longer exist in their lives." Falken pointed at Roland''s head and said, "But for professionals like you, I''m still alive, except that my life is now in a different form." Falken did make sense. Roland also felt that he was alive but had turned into a pure spirit. Seeing that his friend was not really gone, Roland was no longer depressed. He asked, "What''s your plan? Wander in the village as a soul?" "I''ll go to paradise." Falken smiled bitterly. "I told you before." "But" Roland looked around and asked, "How?" "The envoys of the goddess will pick me up, and the gate to paradise will be opened. It will be soon." Roland nodded subconsciously. "Okay." As a matter of fact, he did not know what Falken was talking about at all. "Before I go, there is something I''d like to inform you." Falken said with a teasing smile, "Did you have a hard time practicing magic?" Roland nodded. Language Proficiency was truly a great headache. "Mages are different from Warlocks and Priests," Falken explained. "Your spells are based on your understanding of the magic elements, so the requirement for you to cast a spell is much higher than that for us. Mages have to reach the elite level to use level-two spells. You''re far from there, but you''ve already learned a thing or two about level-two spells. It''s already quite impressive." "What should I do then?" asked Roland. "Learn more level-one spells and build up your foundation. You will be able to learn it when you are good enough." Falken said slowly, "Or you can learn Meditation Specialization, which is a unique skill of the Mages that can significantly increase the activity of your mind. When you master Meditation Specialization, you will be able to use spells higher than your level." 32 Here Comes the Angel The wind drove the heat away. Roland''s robe was blowing in the wind, but Falken''s green-edged robe was not affected at all. It seemed that Falken was already beyond the physical realm. After a brief silence, Roland asked, "You''re asking me to leave Red Mountain Town sooner?" It was not a random thought, it was what he was reading between the lines. Falken smiled and said, "You''re truly smart. I do hope that you can leave Red Mountain Town as soon as possible." "Why do you want me gone?" Roland asked curiously. "It''s not about you, but them." Falken''s soul looked down at the town gently and said, "You''ve disrupted the balance in this town. I do not blame you. You did a good thing, but it''s not necessarily a good thing for the town." Roland stood next to Falken and asked with even more interest, "I haven''t noticed it yet. In what way did we influence the town?" "You''re different." Falken looked at Roland and said, "You and the Golden Son who just came are different from us. You are neither humble nor arrogant, and you treat everything equally. It''s a good quality, but not a good thing for the children of our town." Roland was puzzled. "Why?" "Because they do not have strength," said Falken helplessly. "They do not have a notable familial background. They can''t even read. Yet, they''re learning how you deal with things. What do you think will happen to them when they face nobles or other strong professionals with pride but absolutely no strength?" His words were direct, if not blunt. For Roland, it was rather shocking. The chirps of insects and birds seemed a lot louder. Subconsciously, he cleared his throat and said, "Is this world so horrible that one cannot defend their pride?" "They can if they are strong, but they are not," said Falken. "Is the world of the Golden Sons one where everybody has lived in peace without any discrimination since the very beginning?" Of course not! Briefly stunned, Roland smiled bitterly. "Got it." Then, he looked at Falken, finding it odd. "Why do I feel that your mind is a lot more active now that you''re a soul?" Falken replied matter-of-factly, "Old age will certainly affect your abilities. My current appearance is from when I was strongest in my life." Roland sighed. He too felt that Betta and he had stayed here for too long and somewhat influenced the town. He looked at the lake, where Betta was still playing swords with the kids. "When did you realize that it''s inappropriate?" "Half a minute before my death, I thought through many things." Falken shook his head helplessly. "In fact, our town is too small and the population is too little, so you can easily influence us. Large cities are different. One million people live in Delpon. If you go there, it will be like a bottle of ink being thrown into an ocean. Nothing will be changed." Falken was briefly stunned. Then he smiled and said, "It does feel strange if you put it that way There''s a Guild of Mages in Delpon. You can try to join it. You''ll be able to learn a lot of basic knowledge there. However, you should be careful. Mages believe in survival of the fittest. You have to be prudent, or other Mages might easily kill you. After all, all the Mages seem pretty smart to me." "The Guild of Mages, got it!" Roland thought for a moment and said, "I''ll keep you company until you go to paradise." "That''s unnecessary. The goddess''s envoys are here." Falken pointed at the sky. A gold ring had appeared in the sky at some point. It grew large and eventually turned into an enormous gold mirror that occupied half of the sky. Green plants, lakes, and opaque spots that seemed to be living humans could be vaguely seen on the mirror. Was it the entrance to the Paradise of Life? Roland subconsciously turned on his recorder. For Roland, it was only an interesting phenomenon, but for Falken, it was his lifelong dream. "Paradise!" Falken looked at the sky and opened his arms zealously, as if he were trying to embrace something. A green pillar of light enshrouded him. The strange power in the pillar of light made Roland uncomfortable. He subconsciously stepped back. Exotic music vaguely echoed in the sky. Countless bright feathers floated down and covered the whole town. A female angel about 1.75 meters tall slowly descended from the sky and landed before Falken. Falken fell on one knee and said piously, "Beautiful and sacred Guiding Angel, I''m grateful for your arrival." The female angel was impeccable in terms of appearance and body figure. She said with a smile, "Falken, in light of your devotion and your contributions, you are permitted to join paradise as a holy spirit. You will live forever without any pain or disease." "It''s my honor!" Falken trembled in extreme happiness. The angel nodded in satisfaction. Then, she stared at Roland with her azure eyes. "A human Mage? You have a special soul." Roland frowned and stepped back again. The angel was indeed the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but she was also dangerous. "Special how?" Roland asked back and stepped further back. As if she noticed the wariness in Roland''s eyes, the angel chuckled and moved her eyes from him to Falken. "Let''s go, Falken. You are no longer related to this world." The angel''s voice couldn''t have been more pleasant. "Okay!" Falken stood up. The angel flapped her wings and slowly ascended. Falken also rose to the sky along with the pillar of light. He waved a goodbye at Roland, getting smaller and smaller. A minute later, he completely disappeared in the gold mirror. Roland waved at the sky and put his arm down. The mirror was gone, and so was the vague sound of music. The sky was back to normal. The villagers who were paying tribute to Falken were still in the backyard. It seemed that they did not notice any of the strange phenomenon just now. Roland felt cold when the wind blew by even though it was a hot summer. He suddenly realized that the game was much more complicated than he''d imagined. Did deities really exist? 33 Dynamic Vision Then, Roland found the idea absurd. How could there be gods in this world? It was just a game However, he suddenly noticed a contradiction. If this was a game, gods would be natural, but those NPCs were definitely not as simple as tools. Then, what did gods represent? At first, Roland thought that Penguin Corporation developed this game with advanced technology. However, after witnessing the arrival of the angel, Roland felt that it was more than advanced technology. It might be something else that was much more unacceptable. He heaved a long sigh, feeling that he was overthinking. It was his habit to think more when he encountered anything. It was hard to say if it was a good habit. Thinking would inevitably waste his time and prevent him from making a timely decision. It would be great if he found things out through thinking, but if he was wrong, he would only be upsetting himself by thinking. With many random thoughts, Roland waited patiently under the shade of a tree. The villagers dispersed after the funeral. Roland observed their faces, only to discover that none of them noticed anything unusual. Soon, a sweaty Betta rushed to him and asked, "What just happened? I saw a pillar of light and what appeared to be a bird. Did you trigger a quest, Brother Roland?" So, Betta saw it! Or rather, was it visible to all players? Roland''s mind wandered off again. It was not until several seconds later that he replied, "Falken''s soul was just picked up by an angel." Roland told him what happened, and Betta listened in surprise. Betta also fell silent after he heard it. Roland couldn''t help but smile. Betta was obviously another overthinking man just like himself. "This game is somewhat weird to me." A moment later, Betta looked at the blue sky solemnly. Roland nodded in agreement. Then, the world turned monochrome, and time was up for today. Roland woke up in the virtual cabin. He took a shower and turned on his computer. He checked the forum. The discussion regarding Inferior Fireball was no longer heated. The players were now talking about interesting incidents and new discoveries in the game. There was a rather popular topic on the forum. It had been two months since the game was launched. Many male players had tried to have sex with female NPCs. Some of the female players, particularly those with high charm, also slept with noble NPCs easily and acquired tremendous resources. The topic was whether or not having sex with NPCs in the game was acceptable. Roland found the topic moot. According to the official announcement, all the players in the game were adults. There was a reliable method to determine whether or not the user of the virtual cabin was an adult. Roland found little valuable intelligence on the forum. He thought for a moment and uploaded the video he recorded before with the title "Encounter with an Angel." Then, he left home and had breakfast on the street, before he went to the boxing club by bike. It was still morning. Apart from the staff and the coaches, there were only three trainees in the boxing club. Roland was the fourth. The coach was instructing a vigorous girl, teaching her how to exert strength in kicking. Seeing that Roland was here, he smiled and said, "You''re the most diligent student I''ve seen. You come the earliest and leave last every day." "I''ve paid for this anyway." Roland shrugged and said, "Besides, I''m currently unemployed. I have to have something to do." The coach was a middle-aged man in a vest. His muscles were not too eye-catching, but he was strong and flexible. He found two pairs of gloves and gave Roland one pair. He said, "You''ve been stretching for half a month. It''s time that we start real training. However, before that, I need to test your reaction speed and combat instincts." Roland put on the gloves and asked, "How are you going to test it? In a training battle?" "That''s right." While talking, the coach suddenly charged forward and punched Roland''s left eye. Then, Roland stepped back, and the coach missed his target. "Huh?" Briefly dazed, the coach raised his leg and kicked. However, barely had he moved when Roland stepped back quickly, getting out of the coach''s range of attack. The coach did not really kick out. He was only measuring Roland''s reaction. It was not a real fight. "You have fast responses." The coach lowered his fists and reached Roland. He said with a smile, "I estimate" BAM! After a collision, Roland took three steps back, with his gloves protecting his face. He seemed rather shocked. The coach looked even more odd. He moved his right hand back and shouted in surprise, "You definitely have dynamic vision!" Everybody who was not blind had dynamic vision. The coach was actually referring to those whose spontaneous reactions were very quick. The coach punched fast but did not really use much strength. Roland stopped and put his hands down. "You caught me quite unprepared." "All right, I know how to teach you now." The coach clicked his tongue in amazement. "Your reactions are so quick even when you''ve never practiced before. If you had practiced when you were little, you would probably be able to fight in championships. I hate talented people like you most. It''s decided then. I won''t teach you wholeheartedly." Roland was amused. "Coach, isn''t that blatant discrimination?" The coach laughed and demonstrated three simple moves. Then, he asked Roland to practice the moves first. Roland practiced the three moves so hard in the club that he was covered in sweat. He did not leave the club until noon. He took another shower at home. After all, his sweat was sticky and made him uncomfortable. Relieved, he turned on the computer and opened the forum. There were a couple of pages of system notifications again. Most of them were tips. It''s a trending topic again? Roland opened the thread that he posted that morning curiously. 34 Funny Nerds He opened the thread, only to discover that there were more than twenty thousand replies after only a morning. Roland couldn''t help but chuckle as he read them. "Roland, you illiterate idiot. You have no idea what angel means Damn, such boobs, butt, and legs Fine, I admit that she is indeed an angel to me." "This is the Guiding Angel of the Church of Life? Well, I think I can abandon the saint on the cross and reconsider my faith." "Ah, I''m done." "Hey, you''re obviously not good enough. I''m already done four times, and I''m trying a fifth." "Hey, can you guys be less lascivious? Someone give me the specifications of this angel. I want to recreate a character." "Wake up, girl. You can''t create your own face in this game." "Do girls play this game? I think one-tenth of pain is enough to scare most girls away." "You don''t have any common sense. Girls experience excruciating pain during cramps and labor. Even the highest pain in the game can''t compare to that, let alone one-tenth of it. To some extent, guys are not as resistant to pain as girls are. Speaking of which, do angels have menstrual cramps?" "Menstrual cramps or not, this angel will be my wife!" "Someone smack this idiot and wake him up!" "I''m too old to be interested in any woman. However, the title of this thread, ''Encounter with an Angel,'' makes me feel that a lovely girl is singing to my ears." "Shoot! You know the anime from more than ten years ago? You must be in your forties." "You''ve betrayed yourself, too, by pointing it out." "Wait Why am I hearing ''Encounter with Ah Bu''?" "You''re spreading poison! I know what you''re talking about, but I couldn''t help but search on Bilibili. Then I almost cried." "I''ll listen to it, too!" Then, the next thousand replies were mostly about Encounter with Ah Bu. Roland knew that it couldn''t be anything good, but he couldn''t hold back his curiosity and watched it on Bilibili. Then, he was speechless for half an hour. Those nerds were truly mischievous. However, they were probably the majority of the players. After all, having worked for so many years, they could save fifty thousand bucks. The younger generation was either in school or just started working. They could barely afford a virtual cabin. The same nerds had tipped him another thirty thousand bucks. Looking at the number, he was even less interested in working. At ten that night, Roland entered the game again. Betta was next to him. "We should move on." Roland looked at his cottage nearby. He actually quite liked the place. "Let''s go to the city along the main road." Betta was also frustrated. He liked playing with the children. Betta''s childhood was haunted by books and studies. He never had time to play until recently. That was why he enjoyed the company of other people. The children were still playing and did not notice Roland and Betta. By logic, they should leave quietly. However, Betta hesitated and said, "Brother Roland, wait a moment. I''ll say goodbye to them." Before Roland agreed, Betta had run to them. Heaving a sigh, Roland leaned against the rail. The place was quiet, except for the fish leaping from the lake now and then. It was best to leave directly, or the departure would be too tortuous. As he expected, ten minutes later, Betta returned with a bunch of kids who were either sobbing or wiping their tears regretfully. The two of them had been in town for a while. Betta had been playing with the children, roasting spider legs for them, and telling them stories. Even their parents might not be as good as Betta. Most of the time, the parents of the poor children were busy making a living every day and had little time for their children. Betta was a perfect big brother for them. The children felt warmth in him and treated him like family. Now that he was leaving, the children were naturally sad. "Let''s go." Roland stood straight and waved at the kids, before he left slowly. Betta followed Roland and looked back every few steps. The children stayed on the bridge and did not follow them. But after they were a distance away, their tears burst out. Betta stopped several times, as if he would run back. But every time, Roland would remind him, "Don''t stop. Follow me." As the two of them walked away, the sound of the children''s crying faded. After they took a turn, Red Mountain Town was completely blocked by the woods. Naturally, they could not hear the crying anymore. The two of them walked in silence. Roland heard Betta''s gasps now and then. Was he sobbing? Roland did not turn back but walk forward quietly. It was a bumpy road, but both of them were professionals and were not exhausted. Weird birds screeched in the deep woods, echoing in the mountain, making them feel that they were far away from the mortal world. The road stretched to the horizon in the woods. They walked in the shade for half a day, and it was already sunset. The world turned dim. Roland cast a "Light Ball." It was a level-zero spell that could deal no damage, but it could be used for illumination. At this moment, Betta suddenly approached him and said, "Brother Roland, wait!" Betta''s sorrow seemed to be replaced by excitement. He was definitely an adaptive man. "Huh? What''s up?" asked Roland curiously. "There''s money for us to pick up!" There''s money for us to pick up? For a moment, Roland did not understand what he was saying. "My talent of fortune is working." Betta pointed at the hill on their left side and said, "There''s a streak of gold light from the sky over there that only I can see. It''s a sign of money." 35 Tomb Raiding Roland had heard Betta mention this talent that allowed him to pick up money. However, the talent was never triggered until right now. Roland was truly curious about a talent that could pick up money. "Let''s go to pick up the money." The two of them climbed the hill. Betta led the vanguard. After all, he was a half-melee class, and his abilities in head-on battles were better than Roland''s. He could take care of beasts or snakes easily. They did meet a lot of snakes on the way. Some even attacked Betta. However, Betta reacted even faster. He cut the aggressive snakes into several parts and stored them in his Backpack. Roland was stunned. "What are you doing?" "I''ll roast them later." "You roast snakes?" said Roland, a typical southerner. "Aren''t snakes supposed to be made into soup?" Betta, however, argued, "Everything can be roasted! It''s definitely not a problem to roast snakes." Roland was rendered speechless. The two of them reached the top of the hill soon. The wood here was not as dense as that on the slope. Betta looked at the sky and stepped on the ground. "This is the place." After saying that, Betta took out his longsword from the Backpack and began digging. "Wait!" Roland stopped him and said, "The longsword will be ruined if you dig with it." Then, while Betta watched in surprise, he made two Hands of Magic and reduced them into shovels, then dug with them quickly. "You can do that?" Betta clicked his tongue. "Mage is a class that is all about imagination. Your lower limit is too low, but your upper limit is too high. The gap between an expert and a noob can be too huge." Roland used the Hands of Magic to dig and said, "I don''t think it''s very hard. You can always learn after other people. The fire burns high when everybody adds wood to it." Betta nodded. "You do have a point." Both of them were new to magic. Or rather, most players were still noobs in this game. No players knew how difficult it was to cast a spell while talking to someone else and thinking about other things! After digging for more than a meter, Roland was somewhat tired. After all, using a spell for long could be quite exhausting. Betta checked again and said, "We''re almost there. Keep digging." "Fine!" Roland sighed. After another dozen minutes, when the pit was almost two meters deep, the Hands of Magic finally caught something that was not mud. It was some ragged wood. Roland and Betta looked at each other in excitement. Soon, what was buried in the mud was revealed to them. It was a small tomb about two meters high in the shape of an arch. On the left corner of the tomb lay a black jar. "The money is inside the jar!" exclaimed Betta excitedly. Roland used the Hands of Magic to lift the black jar, then he threw it to the ground. The jar cracked, and a pile of glittering coins spilled out. There were more than two hundred silver coins, and even four gold coins. The current exchange rate was 97 silver coins for one gold coin. So, Betta had picked up almost five gold coins, which were worth about sixty-five thousand bucks. "This is an unbelievable talent!" Roland couldn''t have felt more jealous. "You can easily find so much money?" Betta chuckled in satisfaction. He divided the coins into two piles and pushed one pile to Roland. "We''ll split them evenly." Roland was dazed. "I have a share, too?" "Of course." Still dazed, Roland asked again, "Do you know how much money these coins can be exchanged into?" "Only thirty thousand!" Only thirty thousand? Was it not a small number to him at all? Looking at Betta''s matter-of-fact expression, Roland felt that he had been left behind by the younger generation. Although Betta was still a rookie in many aspects, Roland had witnessed his generosity. What did Roland do after he graduated from high school? He played games with Schuck in internet cafs or at home with soda. He never had more than three hundred bucks. If he had picked up sixty thousand bucks when he was playing with Schuck, would he have shared it with Schuck? Maybe or maybe not! It was a subtle feeling. At this moment, Betta looked at the dry bones and said with a weird stone, "Is this grave robbery?" Well, probably. But there was no law against it in the game. The happiness for the windfall was replaced by sanity. The two of them hesitated at the coins. After all, as lawful citizens, they never considered grave robbery in reality. Of course, in other video games, they had robbed a lot of innocent NPCs, not to mention tombs. But this game was too vivid and made them feel that they would be committing a crime if they took the money. Right when they hesitated, something changed in the tomb. A strange dark power gathered in the tomb, and the transparent shadow of a human emerged inside the coffin. Seeing that, both Roland and Betta stepped back subconsciously. It was already completely dark. Cold was spreading in the air. A soul! Roland immediately realized what it was. After all, he had seen Falken''s soul once. But this soul was much more hideous than Falken''s. His eyes were orange, his face twisted, and he had strange, disgusting mental energy. "I don''t like it one bit." Betta seemed to feel the same. He stepped back and patted his arms uncomfortably. "It''s probably an evil spirit." Roland looked at the broken black jar and said, "He may be here to discuss compensation with us because we broke his wallet." Hahaha! Betta dryly chuckled and said, "Brother Roland, that''s a horrible joke." 36 Bowling Charge "I''m not telling a joke." Roland sighed and said, "This thing is really here to talk about his wallet." As he talked, the transparent ghost crawled out of the coffin and screamed three meters away from them. With a closer look, they saw no emotion other than the determination to kill them in the ghost''s eyes. The two of them stepped back. Betta waved his longsword and swallowed. "This thing looks rather creepy. Brother Roland, do you have any experience dealing with these things?" "How could I?" Roland said helplessly. "I''ve only seen Falken''s soul until now. I can''t attack Falken, can I?" "Brother Roland, make a battle plan." Betta stopped retreating and stopped before Roland. "You''d better hurry." The ghost suddenly had a transparent spear in his hand. It was obvious that the ghost was malicious and was about to take action. Roland knew that they couldn''t back off anymore. After all, ghosts were usually powerful in the stories. "I''ll try to control him." Roland took out the staff from his Backpack and said, "Jump now." Betta did not know why, but he followed Roland''s instruction. As a half-Warrior, he jumped almost two meters high. Right when Betta jumped, Roland pointed his magic staff downward. Ice Ring! He chanted in silence. Ice Ring was the third spell that Roland grasped. He could already cast it in silence. A white circle of ice spread out on the ground and froze everything that it touched. The ghost seemed unintelligent. He did not dodge, and his legs were frozen immediately. He struggled and let out an uncanny shriek. It was rather unpleasant, if not tormenting. Roland felt the urge to cover his ears. Betta was delighted to see that the ghost was controlled. "Well done, Brother Roland. It''s my turn! Charge!" With a weird noise, Betta rushed at the ghost in blurred shadows. However, since the ground was now slippery ice, he lost balance and fell the moment he started off. Then, he rolled on the ground and crashed into the struggling ghost like a high-speed bowling ball. Roland was stunned. He watched Betta pass through the ghost and roll into the wall ahead while screaming. This is really not my fault. Roland returned to himself after a brief daze. He simply launched an Inferior Fireball at the ghost. At this moment, Roland only concentrated part of his magic power. The fireball exploded and tore the ghost into shreds. The fire even melted the ice on the ground into water. The enemy was gone, but Roland was still highly vigilant. After all, in many stories, ghosts were believed to be undying. He was scared that the ghost would suddenly appear and attack him when he relaxed. However, there was no sign of the ghost after a long wait, and the chill in the air was vanishing. He looked rather hilarious. His clothes were stained with dust, and there were several bruises on his face. Roland nearly laughed aloud. "Brother Roland, where''s the ghost?" Betta stood up and looked around warily. Roland examined the place and said, "It''s probably been killed by the fireball. It seems rather weak." Relieved, Betta put the longsword back in his Backpack and said, "It should be some sort of wild monster. But it seems to be immune to physical attacks. I cut its feet as I passed the ghost, but I hit nothing as if it was a shadow." Roland nodded and said, "Yes, like in other games, ghosts are vulnerable to magic attacks." "I''ll burn them with dragon flame next time." Betta looked rather angry. "I would have used it had I seen it coming. I nearly passed out when I crashed into the wall." Roland almost laughed when he remembered how Betta rolled away like a screaming ball. Seeing Roland''s expression, Betta said unhappily, "Laugh if you want, Brother Roland, but did you trick me on purpose?" "Absolutely not!" Roland denied it without any hesitation. "Forget it." Betta looked at Roland and said, "Let''s split the coins. I don''t think the ghost will discuss with us about his wallet anymore." Roland agreed with him. Storing his part of the coins inside the Backpack, Roland refilled the tomb with Hand of Magic. Then, the two of them carefully returned to the main road. At this moment, it was completely dark. The moon was eclipsed by clouds, making it impossible to see anything in the woods. Thankfully, Roland was capable of Light Ball. He created four balls and illuminated the environment. Nights were dominated by nocturnal animals, many of which were ferocious predators. Most nocturnal animals were scared of light. While Roland and Betta were on their way, creatures with green eyes howled and passed by in the woods near them now and then. After several times, Betta said, "It''s a pack of wolves. They''re fast and responsive." Roland looked at the darkness and asked in surprise, "You can see them?" "As a Dragon-Bred Warlock, I have +2 Darkness Vision," Betta explained. "It allows me to see everything within fifty meters." Roland clicked his tongue. "Divine Nobles have too many practical initial talents." "What talents have you chosen, Brother Roland?" asked Betta curiously. "Magic Material Exemption and Magic Power Control." Roland explained, "The first talent is self-explanatory. Magic Power Control can increase the number of magic elements that I can control But oddly, Magic Power Control is a fixed talent that cannot be replaced. So essentially, I can only choose one initial talent." Betta was briefly stunned. "Aren''t all the classes free to choose two initial talents?" "That''s why I''m puzzled. I''ve been suspecting that my ability to concentrate abundant magic power in one spell has something to do with this talent." Roland shrugged and said, "There''s too much about this game that we need to We''re here." The two of them chit-chatted as they walked. Without them realizing it, they were already out of the woods. In front of them was a plain. On the horizon, vague spots of light shivered. It was an illusion that occurred when torches on the city wall were blown by the wind. It was Delpon City! 37 Enter the City Players did not need to sleep in the game. Day and night was only a change of environment for them. Although it was one in the morning, they were not sleepy at all. They reached Delpon along the road. They did not know how huge Delpon was until they were closer. Their eyes were occupied by the infinite city wall made of giant boulders. A torch was burning every ten meters on the city wall. They were not as bright as Roland''s light balls, but they stretched out astonishingly like a fiery dragon. A team of soldiers were on alert on the city wall. Most of them were watching Roland and Betta. At the end of the road was the city gate. Several groups of people had set up bonfires beside the road. Few people were talking. Roland and Betta caught everyone''s attention when they arrived. After all, the four magic balls of light around them couldn''t have been overlooked. As they approached, the city gate was as bright as day. The travelers even found them dazzling. The soldiers on the city wall grew anxious. Spellcasters were always synonymous to power and mystery. When Roland and Betta looked at them, they immediately moved their eyes away. They couldn''t afford pissing off a spellcaster and a young noble. Roland and Betta sat down in an empty corner. Dawn was still far away. Most cities were closed during the night, and this one was not an exception. After they sat down, they observed the people around them. There were a dozen wagons that belonged to different groups. Although the wagons were covered with oilcloth, it was obvious that goods were loaded on them. Most of the travelers were weatherbeaten males. There was only one woman who was seated next to the bonfire far away from Roland and Betta. The woman was tall and muscular and wouldn''t have been recognizable as a woman had it not been for her bulging breasts. Were they merchants and their guards? Roland reached this conclusion after observing for a while. Nobody talked anymore; they simply allowed Betta and Roland to size them up. The previous whispers were gone, replaced by the howling of the wind and the crackling of the bonfire. Roland and Betta did not talk or do anything, but their vibe was still dominating. Bored, Betta took out the firewood and the snakes that he picked up on the way. He heaped the firewood and lit it with dragon fire. Then, he cut the scales of the snakes, before he roasted them with sticks as skewers. Roland was lost for words seeing how Betta was so familiar with the task. So, you did not use dragon flame in the battle, because you wanted to cook meat with it. Whispers came from nearby and grew louder. Roland turned around and looked at them. Those voices immediately stopped, as if the power of a TV had been cut off. Many people were obviously relieved. According to what Roland just heard, they were all surprised. "Dear god, a piece of space equipment." "Where is this young noble from?" "Isn''t it a waste to store grilling stuff in space equipment?" After Roland glanced at them, they immediately stopped talking. Are we in trouble now that we exposed a treasure? Roland was worried, but then he thought of something else. He was a player that couldn''t die. Besides, the Backpack was offered by the game system, and nothing would drop even if he was killed. He could seek revenge after he was resurrected! After thinking it through, Roland ignored them and observed the environment. It was a flat plain with a river behind the city. In the darkness, a streak of light extended into the distance. Only a place with enough water could support such a magnificent city. Soon, the snake meat was ready. Betta sprayed some salt on it. He gave a skewer of meat to Roland. Roland had to admit that Betta knew what he was doing. The snake meat was crisp and delicious. However, it did not taste as smooth as the spider legs. After they were full, Betta began to practice basic sword arts. He was not a smart person, but he had gotten good grades through hard work. By his estimation, it shouldn''t be hard for him to be admitted by a top-tier college. Diligence was his habit. But wasn''t it embarrassing to practice basic sword arts in front of strangers? Of course not! He had taken part in too many speech contests in school. For Betta, making a speech with exaggerated tones and expressions in front of hundreds of listeners was definitely an embarrassing experience. However, he dealt with it gracefully. Practicing sword arts in front of the travelers was not challenging for him. Roland, on the other hand, began to practice Language Proficiency. Magic waves spread out, failed, and spread out again. The other travelers watched Roland gasp in pain without saying anything. Roland had never cared about how other people viewed him even when he was in Red Mountain Town. Under normal circumstances, a Mage would''ve passed out after so many consecutive failures. Yet, Roland was still vigorous. He rested for a while and continued. The merchants and guards were amused by Betta and Roland''s exercise in the middle of the night. Who were they showing off to? But four hours later, all the travelers had left was admiration. They did not know many things, but they did know that it was better to work hard than not to. It was already dawn. The guards on the wall put out their torches and opened the city gate. Everybody stood up. Roland and Betta stopped practicing, too. They waited for the merchants to go in first. After all, the merchants arrived earlier. But surprisingly, the merchants and their guards did not move but gazed at Roland and Betta. "They''re hinting that we should go first?" Betta was surprised. "They must be awed by your noble identity," said Roland. "Hierarchy matters in this world. As civilians, they dare not walk ahead of you." Starting at the silent travelers, Betta felt uncomfortable. He said, "It doesn''t feel right." "Let''s go, young master." Roland smiled and said, "You will waste more of their time if you dawdle." "Okay!" Betta sighed and walked into the city first. Roland followed him. The merchants and their guards were all greatly relieved seeing the two of them enter the city. 38 A Be A broad road lay behind the gate of Delpon. There was a crossroad every dozen meters. Square buildings of different heights stretched to the horizon, too. There were many peddlers on the street, and many skinny beggars with ragged bowls placed before them. Since it was morning, there weren''t many people on the street, but it was already quite lively. Roland and Betta simultaneously held their noses when they came in, because it was too smelly. Animal and human excrement was everywhere on the street. Feces were floating in the drains. Red Mountain Town was not very clean, but definitely much cleaner than this. However, it was very medieval. Roland and Betta attracted almost everyone''s attention, but most people moved their eyes away after a peek at them. Nobody wanted trouble. Betta sensed the atmosphere, too. Blocking his nose, he said, "I feel that people in this city are terrified of nobles. Both the merchants outside and the residents here are so wary. People in Red Mountain Town were not so scared of me." Roland thought for a moment and smiled. "Red Mountain Town is just a remote town. The highest authorities there are Falken and the mayor. Both of them are gentle elders. Naturally, the villagers of Red Mountain Town have never suffered the intimidation of nobles. But things are certainly different in a city of a million people. There are bound to be some temperamental big shots here, and they may do terrible things." Betta thought for a moment and realized that it did make sense. The more people a place had, the more freaks there would be. They walked on the street. All the passersby subconsciously avoided them. Soon, they found a pool of sewage ahead. The pool was long and wide, occupying the whole street. Neither Roland nor Betta could jump over. Most passersby walked on tiptoes through it, ignoring the feces and urine inside. As civilians, they did not really care about it. The nobles traveled on wagons and were not worried about this. At this moment, a young man on the third floor of the building on Roland and Betta''s right observed them with great interest. "A young noble and a spellcaster who I''ve never seen." The young man turned away and said to his partners, "But they seem in trouble now. How do you think they will fix the problem?" Another few nobles leaned close to the window and looked down. One of them said, "I''d take a detour." Another suggested, "If I were them, I would spray some coins and let the pariahs crouch on the ground, so that I could step on them." "Not a bad idea." The other nobles agreed. The noble who came up with the idea was satisfied. "Hahaha. John, you are as ''merciful'' as always." The young noble named John chuckled. "Let''s make a bet." "What bet?" "If the two people down below use any of the three methods we mentioned, I''ll pay for your entertainment in this place." "What if they use other ways?" asked a noble. "Then, every one of you must take part in my sister''s birthday party the day after tomorrow." "Hahaha. Okay, not a problem." Everybody was happy. Both having fun in this place or taking part in John''s sister''s party were good things. They wouldn''t lose anything whatever the result was. Down on the street, Betta was at a loss before the dirty water. He said, "Why don''t we take a detour?" "That''s unnecessary." Roland pointed his finger, and a concentration of cold air surged out and paved a road of ice on the dirty water. It was a derivative spell of Ice Ring that Roland invented recently. It was not powerful, but Roland thought that it could be useful as a rapid freezing method on certain occasions, like right now. On the third floor, all the young nobles fell silent. In the end, John laughed. "What an interesting spellcaster. I''ve never seen anyone squandering magic power like him." Betta also said in amazement, "Magic is really useful." The civilians nearby were shocked by the magic, but they gradually calmed down seeing that Roland and Betta did not intend to hurt them. Walking over the ice bridge, Roland and Betta continued. They had questioned the city guards when they entered the city. The white tower, which was the highest building in the city, was the headquarters of the Association of Mages. This Magic Tower was at the end of the road. Delpon was a large city. The white tower seemed close but was actually far away. It took them half an hour to reach the tower. They found themselves in a square made of blue and white bricks. It was clean, lacking the garbage that littered the rest of the city. The Magic Tower was exclusively built with white rocks. There were no gaps, as if the rocks were naturally one great rock. The tower was rather enormous. It was at least seventy meters in radius. Raising his eyes at the tower, Roland sensed patterned, invisible waves emanating outward. "Is this a magic creature?" Roland mumbled in a low voice. At this moment, Betta suddenly said, "Brother Roland, I won''t go in with you. I''m not a Mage anyway. I''ll wander the city and see if I can trigger any quests!" Roland frowned and asked, "Then how should we meet up later?" "I saw an inn named Lamb Girl on our way here. I''ll stay there. You can come to the inn if you want to see me." "All right." Roland nodded and said, "This is a large city. It''s not a bad idea that we explore it separately." Betta waved at Roland and ran off excitedly. Staring at the gate of the Association of Mages, Roland walked closer. When he reached the gate, one of the two guards there stopped him. "I''m sorry, but the Magic Tower is open to members only. Do you have a Mage certificate?" After a brief daze, Roland asked with a smile, "How should I get this certificate?" The guard said rather awkwardly, "I''m sorry, but I''m not clear on that, either." 39 Simple Yet Difficul The guards did not know how to apply for the certificate? It was rather tricky. Generally speaking, the staff of an organization should know the basic rules of the organization. But since the guards were unaware of it, it meant that the organization did a great job protecting its secrets, or simply rejected outsiders. Roland felt that the second possibility made more sense. So, his primary task was to figure out how to join the Association of Mages and what tests he needed to pass. Roland left the square and found the inn named Lamb Girl. But he soon exited the inn and cursed Betta for finding such a place. It was an inn on the surface but was actually a brothel. A bunch of sexy, seductive women were waiting for customers in the lobby. No wonder it was named Lamb Girl! However, Roland still made a reservation. After all, Betta said that they would meet here, and Roland couldn''t talk to him through private messages as he could in other games. He had to propose a different rendezvous when they actually met again. Roland intended to ask where he could find sources of intelligence, but everybody kept their distance from him. At first he thought it was because he looked strange, but he then realized that this didn''t make sense. There were a lot of people in this city. One couldn''t be familiar to all one million people living here. So, the problem must be himself. It was his clothing! The magic robe that Falken gave him was not of a high quality, but even ordinary people could vaguely see the flow of magic elements on it. Well He found a tailor shop on the street. The boss was too frightened to even speak when a Mage walked in. But then, he gradually relaxed after seeing how friendly Roland was. He measured Roland''s height and size and prepared a set of common clothes for him. Then, Roland stored the magic robe in his Backpack and asked the boss where he could get information. The boss told him about a tavern named Gray Sand. Roland knew the moment he arrived why the place was a source of information. It was a fairly large tavern. The first floor for drinking took up almost two thousand square meters. The second floor, which was about the same size, was supported by a dozen enormous stone pillars. Many people were crowded together in this place. Roland''s arrival did not catch too much attention. He was not using magic or wearing the eye-catching magic robe, so he appeared to everyone as an ordinary person. The place was noisy. Half-drunk customers were talking, laughing, and even cursing blatantly. There were also many escorts who were entertaining the customers with their sexiness. The air was filled with hormones and desires. She was about to stick herself to Roland, when she suddenly felt cold. She lowered her head, only to discover that her chair was rooted in place by ice. Also, the ice seemed to be spreading to her feet. Immediately sobering up, she tried to leave. No ordinary people wanted to get involved with a spellcaster. Roland said, "Please call the manager of this tavern for me. I have a favor to ask." The tavern was noisy, but the woman heard Roland clearly. The woman actually looked pretty, but Roland did not appreciate her freckles, although many might found freckles adorable. The woman nodded quickly and left in a hurry. Very soon, a mustached man walked over. His hair looked like a square brick, and his black clothes were made of expensive fabrics. He asked Roland softly, "Mr. Spellcaster, are you looking for me?" Roland nodded. "I''m the manager of this tavern. It seems to me that you want intelligence, right?" The man eyed Roland and said slowly, "You may call me Gru." "Mr. Gru, greetings." Roland nodded again and smiled despite the noisy environment. "My name is Roland. I''m a Golden Son." It was a game setting that players were Golden Sons. Since Falken knew it, the people in this city should be aware of it, too. "Golden Son?" Briefly stunned, Gru asked, "The Golden Sons who can be revived after death?" Roland nodded. Gru immediately felt a strong headache. Even the most formidable enemies had weaknesses, but an enemy who could resurrect could learn their weaknesses from their deaths until they had no weaknesses. "Where did you hear about us?" Roland asked. Gru said with a heavy heart, "Two Golden Sons were in this city a month ago. They had conflicts with a noble. Although the Golden Sons were killed and weakened many times, they managed to kill most of the nobles'' guards." Impressive The two players were rather bold to challenge a noble when they were so weak. Curiously, Roland asked, "Where are they now?" "It''s impossible for a noble to fight an unkillable enemy, so he moved to the capital with his family and the remaining guards. The Golden Sons are after him," said Gru helplessly. "The two are determined to kill the noble." Roland was slightly surprised that the two players had killed so many people. The NPCs were no different from real people. Wouldn''t they feel like murderers if they killed the NPCs? Could they be disturbed? Thinking for a moment, Roland shook his head and ignored it. He said to Gru, "I''m here mainly to ask if you know how to join the Association of Mages." Gru observed Roland in surprise for a moment and said, "Of course. Normal people need a certificate, but I don''t think you do." "Why?" asked Roland in surprise. "I was stopped by the guards." "If you can use magic, you can go to Mr. Aldo, the deputy chairman of the Association of Mages. He will give you a certificate." "Simple as that?" Roland was surprised. Gru shook his head. "No, it''s very hard. Ordinary people cannot master magic. At least in Delpon, no more than ten out of a million people can become a Mage." 40 Two Consecutive Quests It was indeed simple yet difficult. Some people could make a billion bucks easily, but some couldn''t save a million in their entire lifetime. The gap between people were too huge. For ordinary people, magic was mysterious and incomprehensible. They did not even dream to approach it. That was why the whole city was filthy except the square near the Magic Tower. "If you want to know where Mr. Aldo''s residence is, sir, I can draw you a simple map," said Gru with a smile. "Besides, Mr. Aldo has a propensity for women. If you bring a beautiful slave with you, your chance of meeting him will be higher." A slave? Roland would meet Aldo, but not with any slave. He said to Gru, "Thank you for your intelligence. What should I pay for your information?" "Nothing. It''s my honor to get close to a spellcaster." Gru waved his hand and said sincerely, "I only hope that you can remember a nobody like me after you grow into a powerful Mage." "Thank you." Roland stood up but did not make any promises. He would definitely be powerful. After all, players would never die. However, he couldn''t promise that he would be famous or that he would remember this mustached man. After all, Gru had few distinguishing features. So, Roland merely expressed his sincere gratitude. Gru looked at him in a strange way. Roland returned to Lamb Girl from the noisy tavern, because he realized that his Language Proficiency was about to be over. Over the past month, he had learned basic words in Hollevin, the country that he was in. But he couldn''t understand the sophisticated or uncommon words. As a leader of the Association of Mages, Aldo must be a capable and knowledgeable man. Roland did not intend to talk rudely when he visited the guy. Walking past the charming courtesans, Roland entered his room. After Roland came in, a bunch of women watched his room and teased each other. A beautiful girl was pushed out, but she laughed and jumped back, having fun with her friends. Roland practiced Language Proficiency in his room. Although he had to learn meditation before he could use a spell beyond his level, there was certainly nothing wrong in trying to connect more basic nodes. His head hurt again. Roland rested for a while and continued. Without his notice, dawn had already arrived. Someone knocked on the door. Roland opened the door, and it was indeed Betta. His face was flushed in embarrassment. After he entered the room, he looked around and found no women. Finally, his nervousness was gone. Roland said with a smile, "Were you haunted by the women on the first floor?" Betta''s embarrassment consumed him again. "No, nothing happened." Roland knew that his guess was correct. He chuckled. "You should''ve picked a better location for us to meet up." After making fun of Betta, Roland asked, "Did you find any useful intelligence?" "I''ve got two quests. I''ll share them with you." Betta was rather delighted. "They''re two green quests." This guy was truly lucky to pick up money and quests so easily. Recently, Roland spent a lot of time on the forum when he was not playing the game. Many people had stated that quests were rare. Although most activities in the game, such as studying magic or practicing swords, rewarded experience, quests could provide more experience than they did. Accomplishing quests was the fastest method to level up, but the problem was that quests were uncommon. The two quests were "The Missing Girl" and "The Monster in the Sewer." Roland frowned at the first quest, which reminded him of the missing grandson quest in Red Mountain Town. In the end, the two grandparents burnt themselves out of desperation. "This girl" Roland asked Betta, "can''t be an only daughter, right?" "No!" Betta shook his head and said, "I''ve investigated it. She has siblings. Also, her disappearance was quite uncanny." Betta must''ve been traumatized, too. He had investigated before accepting the quest. "Let''s work on this one first. Do you have any clues?" asked Roland. Betta said, "Yes. She was last seen in the woods outside of the city. She went there to pick up mushrooms, and then she disappeared." "Beasts?" asked Roland. Betta shook his head. "I''m not sure." "Let''s go then." Roland put on the magic robe from his Backpack. "If we get started sooner, we may be able to bring the girl back alive." That was Betta''s intention, too. The two of them passed through the lobby and left the inn. The girls in the lobby stared at them in silence. After they were outside, Betta asked Roland weirdly, "Why are they so restrained when I''m with you? When I came in just now, those women almost dragged me away." "I''m a Mage," said Roland with a smile. "The civilians in this game are naturally scared of Mages. You are handsome and in glamorous clothes, and you look gentle. It''s only reasonable that they are not scared of you." Roland''s initial charisma was 5 points, and Betta''s was 7 points. As their level increased, the gap between their charisma was getting larger and larger. As they talked, they walked out of the city. Soon after they came out, the city gate closed. Delpon was placed under curfew every evening. They managed to get out in time. The sunset dyed the trees to the west of the city red, as if they were covered in blood. "The girl went missing in the woods over there," Betta said as he walked. "It''s said that someone outside the woods heard terrifying roars." Well Roland felt that it was like the opening of a horror movie. 41 Run!!! According to common sense, ferocious beasts in a wood so close to the city should''ve been eliminated if there were any. But it was possible that some animals came here when they were lost or starving. In such a case, the missing girl probably wouldn''t have met a good end. In any case, they had to search for the girl. It was also possible that she was hiding in a safe place and trembling by herself. Night had fallen again. Roland summoned four light spheres, but they found nothing after scouring for a while. Roland suggested, "Why don''t we separate? This is a fairly large place. With your night vision, you should be able to move freely. Whether or not we find the missing girl, we will meet at the city gate in the morning. How does that sound?" "Well" Betta hesitated but nodded in the end. Then, the two of them separated. The place was quiet but emanated scary noises now and then. After they separated, it was even quieter and more horrifying. The thirty-meter radius around the light spheres was as bright as day, but further away was complete darkness. It was pitch-black. Something seemed liable to rush out any moment. Dry leaves rustled as Roland stepped on them. The tiny noises from the daytime were now clearly audible. Roland was rather scared in such an environment, too, but he gritted his teeth and looked for any possible lead. After a long time, he suddenly saw a trail. On the dry leaves, a line of footprints extended forward. The footprint was two sizes smaller than Roland''s. It could only belong to a child or a woman. Delighted, Roland tracked the footprints. Five minutes later, he found a site where the leaves had been disturbed. A gray basket had fallen, and several white mushrooms were scattered. The dry leaves were furrowed, and drag marks swam into the depths of darkness. Gloomily, Roland ran forth. Ten minutes later, he found a dark cave at the foot of a hill. The drag marks entered the cave. Hardly had Roland approached the cave when he smelled an intense stench. It smelled like fish, mixed with the stink of goats. Roland floated the sphere of light inside, only to discover that the cave was quite deep. Should I go in alone? Roland thought for a moment. Then, he gathered the four light balls into a big one and shot it at the sky. It exploded like fireworks. The dark sky was illuminated for three seconds, before the dust of light fell like rain. Roland summoned another four light balls. Four minutes later, he shot the four balls again. Then, he repeated the process. Very soon, Betta arrived at his location, breathing hard. "Brother Roland, it was indeed you who lit the fireworks!" Betta panted and said, "Did you find anything?" Betta''s eyes glittered. "This is definitely the place. As a half-warrior, I''ll lead the charge. Brother Roland, you''ll control the enemy just like before." Drawing his longsword from the Backpack, Betta entered the cave. Roland followed him. The stench was even more intense after they entered the cave. Both of them subconsciously covered their noses with one hand. The cave was damp, with water on the wall. The tunnel was about two meters tall, so they could walk without lowering their heads. It was also broad enough for them to walk next to each other. A light ball floated ahead and directed the way for them. The tunnel sloped. They were highly anxious, but they did not meet any danger before they reached the end of the channel. Their horizon was widened, and they saw an underground space. "Why is there nothing here?" asked Betta in confusion. The space was not large. One could see everything with a quick glance. Nothing was here except brownish mud. "Besides, the stench here is much weaker," said Roland. "Let''s search the place. There may be hidden doors or something." The two of them searched for a while, and Betta suddenly said, "Brother Roland, look here!" Roland walked over and looked at where Betta was pointing. The mud there looked regular, but a little bit fresher than the mud nearby. Under normal circumstances, the tiny difference would''ve been neglected, but Roland and Betta were searching for hidden doors, so they easily noticed the anomaly. Two Hands of Magic were summoned and began to dig into the mud. "There''s indeed something wrong." Roland controlled the Hand of Magic and said, "The mud is unusually soft." Betta stepped forward and was ready for battle. Soon, Roland dug through the wall, and a black hole appeared before them. A disgusting smell embraced them. Roland widened the hole with the Hands of Magic and moved a light ball inside. Then, both of them paled. Many corpses were scattered in the room. Most of the corpses were dry bones, but two were still recognizably human. Both of them were naked women. One of them was rotten, with tremendous maggots slithering within the flesh. The other corpse had a stab wound on the left side of the chest, but the blood there was already dry. Roland and Betta realized what happened after a quick look. Bas*ard! Betta gasped, but suddenly squatted and threw up. Roland clenched his fists. He felt like vomiting, too, but he managed to hold it back. His face tightened. He walked into the cave and observed the fresh body of the girl. This should be the target they were looking for, because she had been highlighted by the system. We''re too late! Roland was both angry and helpless. It was possible that the girl was already dead when they accepted the quest. Who was brutal enough to have done this? At this moment, a notification suddenly came. Quest accomplished. EXP +184. Like anyone cares about the quest right now! Roland cursed in his heart. He took off his magic robe and covered the girl. He was about to bury the girl elsewhere, when he suddenly noticed that the girl was still warm and not rigid yet! Logically, her body should''ve stiffened if she was dead for such a long time! Could she be Roland put his finger before the girl''s nose. Then, he sensed her feeble breath. F*ck!!! Roland roared and picked up the girl carefully but rapidly. He rushed out of the cave, only to discover that Betta was still gagging. He immediately kicked the young man. Roland shouted, "What are you doing? Carry her now! She''s alive! You''re stronger and faster as a half-warrior! Take her back to the city, to a doctor!" 42 Expensive Treatmen Rustling sounds echoed in the wood. Betta was carrying a girl, but he was running even faster than Roland, who was empty-handed. If Roland weren''t trying his best, he would''ve been left far behind. Even so, by the time they were out of the woods, Betta was already a hundred meters ahead of him. However, Betta stopped and breathed hard when he reached the city. Because of curfew, he could not enter the city. Roland soon caught up. Having no time to wipe his sweat, he touched the girl''s nose and sensed her faint breath. Relieved, he frowned at the closed city gate. "The gate is not open!" Betta breathed heavily and said, "What should we do?" He too could tell that the girl was dying, and the sooner she was treated, the more likely she could survive. The soldiers on the city wall looked at Roland and Betta nervously. There were travelers who failed to enter the city on time every day. But they watched the two young men who appeared to be big shots in surprise, wondering why one of them was carrying a naked girl. They had a theory, but nobody stood out and served justice. Instead, they moved their eyes away, as if they had seen nothing. "Open the gate," Roland shouted at the soldiers. "We have a dying girl who''s in dire need of medical treatment!" The guards did see the girl in Betta''s arms, but they looked at each other and shook their heads without saying anything. "She''s truly in fatal danger. I know that you have rules, but can you make an exception? At least, you can open a gap and let one of us send the girl in." Roland''s shout echoed in the wind, but the soldiers were unmoved. The merchants and travelers who were outside of the city were relieved. Two nobles who were trying to save a girl shouldn''t be bad guys. Receiving no response from the soldiers up above, Roland couldn''t help but clench his fists. Betta looked at the girl in his arms and proposed, "Why don''t we break in?" His voice was not loud, but it was clear in the quiet night. The soldiers immediately changed their expressions and reached for their weapon. However, since the talker appeared to be a noble, they did not take any real action. If a merchant or a regular traveler had made the statement, the result would''ve been quite different. Chances were that they would''ve been drowned in arrows. "Let me try again," said Roland. He suddenly remembered what Gru said. So, he shouted, "We''re Golden Sons, and we''re trying to save people now. You must know what two Golden Sons did a while ago, don''t you? If you don''t want us to hate you, open the gate. If you can''t make the decision, inform your officer. I''m sure your officer is with you." Golden Sons! They certainly dare not piss off such monsters who could resurrect after they died. "I''ll give you five minutes. We''ll break in if there isn''t a reply in five minutes, and don''t blame us for being too brutal." Four light balls were flying around Roland, but to be more persuasive, he summoned his mental power and threw a blue fireball at the empty area behind him. Under everyone''s gazes, the fireball flew a hundred meters and exploded. It left a blackened pit two meters deep, fire still burning on the ground. It was definitely powerful enough to blow up the city gate. Everybody sweated when they saw this. Magic was too terrifying for them. At this moment, an officer finally appeared on the city wall. He looked at Roland and Betta and said expressionlessly, "How can you prove that you''re Golden Sons?" "Should I die once for you?" Roland sneered and said, "Of course, the first thing I do after I''m resurrected will be to kill you. Your life for mine, how does it sound?" The young officer felt a headache. Only an idiot would have traded their life for that of an undying monster. "All right, you may come in!" The officers shouted to the soldiers, "Open a gap for them. Also, archers should be ready. Anyone except the two Golden Sons will be killed if they break in!" Both Roland and Betta were relieved to hear that. Soon, the city gate creaked dully and a gap was opened. Roland and Roland blinked in. Roland grabbed a soldier and asked, "Where is the temple of the Church of Life?" "In the northeast?" said the soldier. He looked at the girl in Betta''s arms and exclaimed, "Isn''t it Lisa, Old Vincent''s daughter? What happened to her? Fine, I''ll lead you there." The soldier said to his partners in a hurry, "You will close the gate. I''ll bring them to the Temple of Life." Then, the soldier dropped his weapon and started running. Betta and Roland followed him. Because of curfew, few people were on the street, but nobles on wagons could occasionally be seen. Nobles were not restricted by the curfew. The three of them ran fast. Their footsteps sounded like pouring rain on the street. Ten minutes later, they reached a gigantic temple. The brown gate was closed, but candlelight leaked out from the gap below the gate. The soldier bashed the gate, and Roland did the same. Betta tested the girl''s breath and shouted, "She''s not breathing, but her body is still warm!" Shoot! Anxiously, Roland was about to launch an Inferior Fireball at the gate, when it finally opened. A middle-aged reverend in a white robe opened the gate grimly. He was about to burst into fury, but his rage was half-gone when he saw Roland and Betta. By the time he saw the dying girl in Betta''s arms, all his anger disappeared. He waved his hand and shouted, "Come in!" They rushed into the temple. The middle-aged reverend shouted, "Put her on the ritual table." Following his instruction, Betta put the girl on the table at the center of the prayer hall. The middle-aged man quickly chanted before the table. A bright green ball of light took shape before him and slowly sank into the girl''s body. The stab wound on the girl''s left chest gradually healed, and her face turned a healthy pink again. Then, the middle-aged reverend turned around and extended his hand to Betta. "Glad to be of service. Two gold coins, please." Damn it! It''s so expensive? Roland was astounded. 43 Its Not Over Ye At first, Roland found it expensive, but then he realized he was wrong. Two gold coins for a life was a fair deal. He thought it was expensive mainly because of the contrast. Falken in Red Mountain Town was also a reverend of the Church of Life, but he never charged for treatment. Falken''s service was free, and this reverend charged for two gold coins. It seemed that this reverend was a fraud. But actually, what this reverend offered was the market price. Few people lived in Red Mountain Town, but Delpon had a million residents. If his treatment was free, this middle-aged reverend would die of overwork. On the ritual table, the girl''s wound was healing. She looked healthier and healthier. Even her breathing could be heard. Relieved, Roland took out two gold coins that he picked up only recently and gave them to the reverend. Seeing that, the soldier said to Betta and Roland in admiration, "Your Excellencies, I''ll ask Old Vincent to take his daughter away." After the soldier left, Roland and Betta sat down on the stone chair and breathed hard. They were exhausted after running for such a long time and did not want to stand up again. The middle-aged reverend had brown short hair and no beard. Tossing the two gold coins between his hands, he observed Roland and Betta with great interest and finally said with a weird smile, "Two gold coins to save an untouchable woman who is not beautiful at all. You are truly generous." Betta frowned. He was not happy to hear that. Differently from Betta, Roland had worked for years and had more social experience. He knew that the middle-aged reverend''s sarcasm was actually a compliment. He smiled at the reverend but did not talk. Betta, however, said angrily, "You could''ve saved more people. Why do you charge so much? Have you abandoned the poor people who are dying? Does the Church of Life prefer money over life?" The reverend looked at Betta with a smile. "Are you angry with me, young lord?" Betta was about to say more, but Roland stopped him. "Stop talking. You may have misunderstood him." Betta believed in Roland, so he stopped talking, but he was obviously not convinced. The middle-aged man looked at Betta and smiled. "I wouldn''t say anything if you only questioned me, but since you''re questioning my faith, I have to explain myself!'' Betta was still as pissed as before. "I can tell that you know magic, too. So, you should know that there is a cooldown before we can cast a spell again. For me, I can cast six Advanced Treatment spells, like the one that I used just now, every three hours. That is to say, I can only use the spell eight times a day even if I don''t sleep at all." Frowning, Betta said, "But you can at least save eight people, instead of refusing ordinary people with a high charge." It meant that two gold coins was indeed an insurmountable price for them. If they were truly in need, it was impossible for them to pay the money. "That''s why you are a young lord," said the middle-aged reverend with a weird smile. "You may be kindhearted, but you are too naive." Betta frowned even harder, wondering how the reverend would defend himself. Roland, on the other hand, had vaguely guessed what he would say. "It''s true that the civilians will thank me if I rescue them for free, but more people will be indirectly killed," said the reverend casually. Betta scorned him. "How''s that possible?" "The Church of Life brings food for the poor every day. It''s safe to say that many of them will die without our aid." The reverend said with a patronizing attitude, "Where''s the money for the food from? The nobles like you." Betta was of a mind to argue that he was not a noble, but remembering his identity as a Divine Noble, he did not refute that but said, "But it doesn''t mean you can''t treat civilians for a lower price." Roland sighed, knowing that Betta did not follow the reverend. The middle-aged reverend laughed. "If I use all my spells on civilians, where can we earn money? Besides, nobles appreciate dignity and distance. If I treat civilians for free, they will never visit my temple, because they will think that civilians are nobler than them. Without the nobles and their money, we can''t even feed ourselves. How can we help the poor people?" Betta opened his mouth, only to come up with nothing. He couldn''t find any rebuttal. The reverend looked at Betta with a faint smile. "I don''t ask for your understanding, but don''t mock my faith. The benevolent Life Goddess cares for everyone. Take a rest here. It''s not usual to see kindhearted nobles." The reverend left after saying that. Betta was deep in thought on his chair. He was only eighteen and had been a student. Naturally, he was never faced with such dilemmas. Roland did not say anything. He was taking a rest. It was better for Betta to be taught a lesson by NPCs in a game rather than people in reality. At this moment, a bunch of people appeared at the temple, and several men in ragged clothes rushed over. They were delighted to see the girl on the ritual table. Then, time and space were frozen. Time was up for today''s game. As usual, Roland took a shower after he crawled out of the virtual cabin. He opened the forum and uploaded the video he recorded earlier, with the title "Need forensic scientists or police officers to search for Clues." The video was the site of the corpses in the cave. Of course, the private parts of the victims had been censored. He had saved the girl and finished the quest, but Roland felt that it was not over yet! He was very interested in discovering the criminal behind it. In less than ten minutes, the post was pinned, and the number of replies was soaring. Every reply was filled with rage. 44 Growth Although many parts of the video were blurred, the readers were still able to infer what happened. Replies were made at a high speed. Every time Roland refreshed the page, the replies he saw previously would be squeezed to the next page. "Scum! Why did the recorder not kill this criminal?" "Don''t blame him. He doesn''t know who the criminal is, does he? Besides, he has at least saved a girl. That''s two coins. Tsk, tsk. He''s truly generous. Two gold coins can be exchanged for twenty-eight thousand bucks in real life. Is it worth it to spend the money on an NPC?" "Does anyone still regard the characters in the game as NPCs? Do you not feel anything different about such advanced technology?" "Hehe, few players of this game are fools. It''s been more than a month. Even the stupidest person should''ve realized something is wrong." "What''s wrong with this game? The virtual cabin is not harmful to our health, is it? (kidding) In any case, the criminal should be executed. I definitely support the investigation." "Roland, find the criminal and kill him. I''ll tip you in advance." "It''s a shame that I''m too far away from Delpon, or I''d definitely help." Roland read the replies and finally found the information he needed. "I''ve been a police officer for thirty years, and I''ve handled more than a hundred homicide cases. Here''s my social media number: 24xxxxxxx." Roland immediately friended him. The guy was online. He asked, "Roland?" "That''s me." "All right, I''ll cut to the chase. I''ve watched your video three times, but since I was not there, I can only provide three pieces of information." "What are they?" "First of all, the cave is not the crime scene but only a site for body disposal. Secondly, this is a serial killer. Based on my experience and the color of the bones, the person kills a girl every month. Thirdly, you have to protect the girl you saved. I don''t think she saw the criminal, but it doesn''t mean that she''s not in danger." "Why do you think that the girl did not see the criminal?" "The crime scene should be where the basket fell. The place was quite messy. I''m 80% sure that the criminal raped and attempted to kill her there. However, no clothes, blood, or semen could be seen in the video you posted, which means that the criminal cleaned the place carefully." "Are there no other ways to find the criminal?" Roland asked. "In the modern day, we could gather the semen inside the girl and examine the biological information of the murderer. However, there are no DNA databases in the game world. If you want to find the criminal, you have to be prepared for a long investigation." Roland was slightly bummed after he read that. Got it! Roland thanked him. He was also surprised at the guy who played an immersive game at such an old age. It was quite impressive. Roland calmed down as he read other replies. His anger was not gone, but had been temporarily buried. After breakfast, Roland went to the boxing club to practice. It had been almost a month since he joined the club. Now that he was familiar with the basic moves, he had started practicing with the coach several days ago. As they practiced, the coach called a stop and stared at him in a strange way, "You are slightly aggressive today." Briefly dazed, Roland took off his gloves and said, "Something happened." "Don''t let it bother you." The coach looked at Roland and said, "You are very talented. If you practice, I will be no match for you in two months. However, talented people tend to be sharp-edged. One-third of my fellows were in jail once, one-third constantly fought with others, and only the last one third live a peaceful life." "Thank you," said Roland sincerely. Then he asked with curiosity, "So, you''re among the last third?" "No, I''m among the first." The coach smiled bitterly. "That''s how I know that you have few opportunities to change your life once you''re put in jail. Even your family will be affected. My nephew failed his vetting because of his relationship with me. He had a good chance!" The coach appeared lonely under the light. "I''m sorry for him." "Young people should be prudent." The coach patted Roland''s shoulder and said, "Sometimes, your mistakes will haunt you for the rest of your life." Roland was silent. He returned home in the afternoon. He checked the forum and found a lot of tips given by players who asked him to find and execute the criminal. Roland smiled and entered the game at ten that night. He waited for several minutes in the monochrome space, then time flowed again in the game world. Roland stared at the couple who were filled with tears of joy. He said to Betta, "You''ll protect the girl for the next couple of days in case the criminal asks for trouble. Also, when the girl is awake, ask her if she saw the criminal." "Why don''t you protect the girl and let me investigate the criminal?" "Because your charm is higher than mine," said Roland casually. "And my intelligence is higher than yours." Betta was lost for words. Roland did not investigate the criminal after he left the temple. Instead, he returned to Lamb Girl and locked himself in his room, focusing on Language Proficiency. He had a lot of feelings after the conversation with the coach. He was only one final step from grasping Language Proficiency. He felt that he was close to success. After witnessing the disgusting crime scene, saving the girl, and talking to the coach, he felt that his abilities had been improved. It was not about his attributes, but about his control of his mind. He found it easier to control his emotions now. He practiced Language Proficiency again and again, not frustrated by the failures. He would rest when his head hurt, and continue when the pain was gone. From morning to noon, and from noon to night, he never stopped. He simply focused on magic. Finally, when night was about to fall, he successfully cast Language Proficiency for the first time. The thirty-seven nodes connected perfectly. "You''ve learned level-two spell ''Language Proficiency.'' EXP +445. You''ve reached LV4." Reading the message, Roland slowly stood up. 45 Not Difficult At All The experience that Roland gained for learning a level-two spell was beyond his imagination. It was more evidence of how tricky Language Proficiency was. Casting Language Proficiency on himself, Roland left the inn. Gru had drawn him a simple map that marked Aldo''s address. Although the map was quite ugly, Roland was still able to read it. Following the map, Roland came to a manor in the north of the city. Surrounded by bronze fences, the manor had a flat and green lawn as well as a small building with white walls and red tiles. Two guards were standing before the gate. Roland approached them and said, "I would like to meet Mr. Aldo, as a Mage." The guards had seen him and his magic robe, but they hesitated. One of them said, "Sir, if you want to meet our master, please show your invitation, or anything that can prove your identity." It was the basic etiquette of the upper class of Hollevin that an appointment should be made before two people who weren''t familiar with each other met. Roland, as an unannounced guest, struck them as a rude man. However, Roland wore the clothes of a spellcaster. The guards dare not show any mockery or disdain. "Tell the deputy chairman that I''m not only a Mage but also a Golden Son." The guards'' expressions changed when they heard Golden Son. One of them said in a hurry, "Please wait a moment. I''ll inform the master." The guard rushed to the house. The other guard, upon noticing that Roland was looking at him, put on an anxious and obsequious smile. Thanks to the two players who had a hardcore fight with a noble, players had a subtle reputation in Delpon. They might not be notorious, but they were certainly awe-inspiring. Roland moved his eyes to the manor. The guard was relieved that Roland was not staring at him anymore. He had heard exaggerated rumors about Golden Sons before, and he was naturally scared of the undying. Soon, the first guard ran back and said, breathing hard, "Master invites you to come in." Roland nodded at the guard and slowly walked to the building on a stone trail. At the door stood a white-haired old man. He slightly bowed at Roland and said, "Esteemed Golden Son, Master is waiting for you in the study on the third floor. Please come with me." "Please lead the way." Roland spoke unhurriedly and followed the old man into the building. As an ordinary person, Roland did not know much about luxury, so he couldn''t tell how extravagant the furniture in the building was. The many maids in the building, however, were proof of Aldo''s wealth. The maids were healthy and fair. It was obvious that they had been living a good life. They were also quite pretty. It was not ungrounded that Aldo liked beautiful girls. Roland noticed the reaction of the maids and followed the old man to the third floor. The old man knocked on a gray and brown door. "Come on in." A mature and steady male voice came from behind the door. The old man bowed and opened the door, before he made a gesture to Roland. Roland entered the study. He saw a middle-aged man seated on a white chair in a bright gray magic robe. The man had been rather calm until he saw Roland. "Language Proficiency?" Aldo stood up and looked at Roland, obviously surprised. "You can cast the complete version of this spell?" Stunned, Roland asked, "Is this spell very hard?" Roland had practiced it for a month and found it challenging, but judging from Aldo''s expression, the spell seemed even more difficult than he imagined. "Yes, of course. Please sit down." Aldo calmed down and sat down, too. He eyed Roland with respect and smiled, "You said you are a Golden Son, who''s favored by the Life Goddess and does not age or die?" "I''m certain that I don''t die, but I''m not sure about aging yet," explained Roland. "Then, what has brought you here?" Aldo said half-jokingly, "You''re not here to ask for trouble, right? The Yalows had conflicts with two Golden Sons over women and were forced to run to the capital." Because of women! Aldo was quite amorous, too. His concern was definitely valid. Roland shook his head and denied it. "Of course not." He had been observing the maids in the building. They lived well. Despite their embarrassing identity, they could at least keep themselves warm and full. Over the past two days, Roland had seen too many beggars who lacked food and clothes. Compared to them, the maids were almost living in heaven. "Then, what''s your purpose here?" Aldo held his chin with his left hand and asked, "Please forgive my bluntness, but I have too many things to do. I don''t want to waste any of my time." Roland had to admit that Aldo''s gesture made him look like a graceful gentleman. Roland smiled and said, "I would like to join the Association of Mages." "What?" Aldo was stunned. "You want to join us?" Roland nodded, slightly surprised at Aldo''s reaction. "Seriously? You''re not tricking me?" Aldo smacked the desk and stood up quickly. He seemed to be ecstatic! Roland was astounded. He did not know why Aldo reacted in such a way. "Welcome, welcome." Aldo stood up and patted Roland''s shoulder in excitement. "Did you know that I''m the only official Mage in Delpon? Those magic apprentices are unbelievably stupid. They can use level-zero tricks, and some have managed to master one or two level-one spells, but they are barely of any use. They barely have any theoretical knowledge on magic. There''s nobody that I can communicate with. "It''s fantastic that you''re willing to join us." Aldo vigorously shook Roland''s hand as he talked. He was obviously excited. Roland was lost for words. Was it so easy to join the Association of Mages? Why did the guards of the Magic Tower and Gru both hint that it was difficult? He had expected tests and trials before he could join. 46 Higher Possibility Roland left Aldo''s manor with a bronze badge, as well as Aldo''s continuous nagging, asking him to check in at the Magic Tower and complete the registration as soon as possible. Roland did not go to the Magic Tower straight away. He decided to take a rest in Lamb Girl first. Although players did not have to sleep, they might get tired if they worked too long. However, they could generally recover after a rest of twenty minutes. While Roland was considering questions, someone knocked on the door. He opened the door, only to discover that it was a woman. He remembered her to be the woman he met in Gray Sand earlier. The freckles on her face were rather distinctive. The woman seemed awkward when she saw Roland. "How may I help you?" Roland asked after he observed the woman for a moment. The woman was silent for a while, her head lowered. In the end, she summoned her courage and said, "Lisa is my sister. I didn''t know until yesterday that you saved her. Thank you very much." After that, she solemnly bowed to Roland. Then, she continued, "But our family is too poor to pay the two gold coins back. The only worthy thing in my family is my body. So, can I serve you for several days as our payment?" Looking at the woman, Roland shook his head. "That''s unnecessary. You''re too kind. Besides, it was my partner, Betta, who saved her. Maybe he will accept your gift." From what Roland had seen, Betta must still be a virgin. It was a chance for him to learn how to hang around with girls. The woman, however, was stunned and put on a bitter smile. Roland comforted her. "Rest assured, we won''t ask you to pay the money back. Is there anything else?" The woman shook her head. Roland slowly closed the door. The woman looked at the closed door and turned away in disappointment. As a matter of fact, she had talked to the young man who was handsomer and seemed to be a noble. Though embarrassed, he declined her firmly. That was why she came here, hoping to try her luck again. She truly appreciated them for saving her sister, but deep down in her heart, she felt that it was an opportunity for her to become a noble''s mistress. In that case, she would earn much more than she could in Gray Sand. However, both of them had declined her. It seemed that she was truly not pretty and could not arouse their interest at all. The freckled woman was greeted by her mates, who learned the result from her dejected appearance and comforted her. The freckled woman put on a grateful smile, but she was actually bitter. She could tell that none of them were really sympathetic toward her. Deep down in their eyes was gloating and mockery. As the same kind of person, she knew them very well. As fellow courtesans, it was important for her to maintain a superficial bond with them. After a brief rest, Roland practiced Language Proficiency in his room. The spell had too many nodes and couldn''t have just one effect. Just like Inferior Fireball, there must be other derivative functions in Language Proficiency, which had more than a hundred nodes. He tested the nodes one by one and wrote notes on the memo. Two hours later, he rubbed his dizzy head and left the city for the woods. With his memory, Roland found the drag marks in the wood again. Luckily, the site was not ruined. He circled the site and recorded a video, before he searched for possible clues. However, he found nothing in the end. There was no blood, no strips of cloth, and no semen. If this was the scene of a murder, blood should''ve gushed everywhere considering the stab wound on the girl, but nothing was found. It was quite odd. Following the drag marks, Roland entered the cave again. The stench was even more intense after a day. The hole was not blocked, and judging from the footprints, nobody else had been here. Covering his nose, Roland took multiple photos of the corpses in the cave. Then, he sealed the hole with Hands of Magic. "Rest in peace. I''ll avenge you," said Roland in a low voice. Roland returned to the city and found Betta. Betta was seated on a hill and was staring at a house down below. Roland approached him and asked, "How is it going?" "The girl is awake," said Betta with an awful look. "Just like you speculated, Brother Roland, she didn''t see the criminal. The criminal assaulted her from behind and threatened to kill her if she turned around. She was too scared to resist and could only crouch and let the man continue with her eyes closed. But in the end, the criminal still tried to kill her. She said that her chest was cold before she passed out. It must''ve been an iron weapon." Roland''s eyes glittered when he heard that. "An ice sword!" After a brief daze, Betta understood. "That''s right! There''s no blood in the cave or the crime scene. I''ve been wondering how the criminal managed, but none of my theories seemed plausible. You''re truly smart, Brother Roland!" If it was a magic ice sword, bloodlessness would make sense. Roland chuckled. "Of course. After all, I''ve watched more than three hundred episodes of Detective Conan." Betta laughed aloud for a while. Then he frowned and said, "But there was no semen at the crime scene. How do you explain that?" Actually, Roland already had a guess, but it was too disgusting and perverted, and Roland did not intend to tell it to Betta, who was still little. So, he changed the topic and said, "I visited Aldo not a long time ago." "Oh? You intend to join the Association of Mages?" "It''s only one of the reasons. At first, I thought that Aldo was a suspect, because he''s lustful and smart." Looking at the clouds, Roland explained slowly, "So I met him under the excuse that I wanted to join the Association of Mages. But then I discovered that he was unlikely to be the criminal. After all, there are plenty of beautiful maids in his house, and he has no reason to hunt a plain-looking girl. However, since the criminal used a magic ice sword, the possibility that he''s the criminal is higher again!" 47 This Seems to be a Trap This was a slum with poor people in ragged clothes everywhere. Roland and Betta, on the other hand, were wearing a magic robe and noble clothes. They seemed utterly out of place here, so others all peeped at them. However, when they looked back at the poor people, the poor people would continue their work as if they had never glimpsed the strangers. The atmosphere was rather awkward. Roland stood up and said, "I''ll register in the Association of Mages. You should protect the girl for a few more days. If possible, you''d better ask them to move to another city." Looking at the clouds, Betta hesitated. "I''m afraid that they won''t listen to me." "If they won''t, so be it," said Roland casually. "We can''t protect them for life. If they are unwilling to move, it will be their own fault if anything happens to them later, and the best we can do is avenge them when we have time." Betta looked at him in surprise. "Brother Roland, you sound rather indifferent." Roland smiled and said, "We can''t give all our kindness and warmth to strangers. If we''re doing our best for total strangers, what can we do to our loved ones to show that they are not strangers to us?" Betta thought for a moment and said, "I''ll protect them for another two days and ask them to leave later. If they don''t, I''ll just go." Seeing that Betta would follow his instructions, Roland left. Twenty minutes later, he arrived at the Magic Tower. The ivory tower was magnificent and mysterious against the setting sun. Roland walked to the gate and was blocked by the two guards again. But this time, Roland brought out the bronze badge. Seeing the fire pattern on the bronze badge, the guards immediately moved aside. Patting his magic robe, Roland walked into the Magic Tower, only to discover that it was as bright as day inside. Below his feet was a floor as smooth as a mirror. He could see his reflection in it. A unique glittering crystal was hanging on the wall made of rough white rocks every ten meters. There was barely anything in the lobby except bright gray stairs at the center which led to the second floor. Roland walked to the stairs, but a person was coming down quickly. He was a young man and couldn''t be older than twenty-three. He had short black hair, brown eyes, a hawk nose, and a vigorous expression. He was briefly stunned when he saw Roland, before he asked curiously, "Who might you be?" He did not consider Roland an intruder. This was a Magic Tower. Only an idiot would stir trouble in the Mages'' territory. Also, Roland was wearing a magic robe, which indicated that he was a Mage, too. So, the young man was rather friendly. Roland took out his bronze badge again. "I''m here for registration." "You may call me Roland." Roland took the badge back and asked with a smile, "What''s your name?" "I am Claus." The young man still seemed excited. "Mr. Roland, we''ve been waiting for you. Please follow me." He led the way and said hastily, "Mr. Roland, do you have any idea how difficult it is for the Association of Mages right now?" "Difficult Are you short of funds?" Roland looked at the environment. Both the crystals that were used as lamps and the classy flooring suggested fortune. Could such an association lack money? "It''s not about money," said Claus as he walked on, "it''s about the lack of mentors. Our chairman is occupied every day and he doesn''t have a lot of time to stay here and teach us. The ten or so apprentices here have to learn by ourselves, but magic is too hard. We''ve barely made any progress after all these years." They were already on the second floor at this point. Briefly stunned, Roland asked, "Are you implying that I''m here to teach you?" "That''s right," said Claus matter-of-factly. "Mr. Aldo informed us of your arrival. We''ve been looking forward to it." Roland said with a bitter smile, "But I''m new to magic, too. I don''t know much myself. How can I teach you?" Claus suddenly turned around and said solemnly, "Although I''m only a magic apprentice and not as good as you, I agree with Mr. Aldo''s remark that knowledge is not required in magic!" Well It did make some sense. "In fact, I''ve joined you to learn more things." Roland felt that he should make this clear in case he disappointed them later. "I really do not know a lot about magic. Are you really willing to learn under me?" Although there was still a lot about magic that he did not understand, Roland had some confidence. After all, he had been practicing hard recently and gained a lot of experience in magic element control and magic modeling. If they were willing to learn, he wouldn''t hesitate to teach them. "Of course, you''re too modest, Mr. Roland," said Claus hopefully. "Mr. Aldo says that you are an official Mage close to the elite level, and we are just magic apprentices. You''re much stronger than us." Different from the empty first floor, the second floor had plenty of rooms, which made the lobby seem small. Of course, at the center were stairs leading to the third floor. "Please wait a moment!" Claus made a gesture and rang a bell emitting a magical glow on a counter next to the stairs. Pleasant clings echoed. Very soon, the same sound came from the third and fourth floors. Metal resonance? While Roland was thinking, several room doors opened, and a few people of different ages and genders walked out in magic robes. Footsteps came from the stairs, too. A couple of magic apprentices rushed down from upstairs. Very soon, those people gathered before Roland and Claus. They looked at Roland hopefully and excitedly, as if he were an ultimate treasure. 48 Super Benefits Roland felt that his blood was freezing when he noticed their looks. He wondered if he was some sort of lab rat. Thankfully, Roland saw admiration in their eyes, which relaxed him. "In any case, Mr. Roland, please register first." Claus directed Roland to the counter. Then, he sat down and said, "Please tell me your information." "Roland, human." Roland thought for a moment and continued, "Seventeen, male. No bad habits. Favorite activity: reading books." At this moment, everybody looked at him strangely. Seventeen Claus rubbed his face and heaved a sigh, as if he were disappointed. "What''s wrong?" asked Roland, finding it odd. "Is there anything wrong with my age?" "You look young, but you''re quite mature in the way you talk and walk," said an old man slowly. "We thought you were at least twenty-five and didn''t know that you''re only seventeen." Roland was briefly stunned. His actual age was twenty-four, but all the Golden Sons were set to be seventeen in the game. He simply said his age accordingly. He did not expect them to figure out his real age with their instincts. "Your guess is not wrong." Roland thought for a moment and said, "My physical age is seventeen, but my mental age is twenty-four." Everybody looked at each other but still shook their heads. Roland found them weird, but there was not much he could say at this point. "Roland, let''s forget your age." Claus handed over a piece of delicate paper that had unique gray patterns on it. He said, "According to our chairman''s instructions, you will become our acting chairman when you join us, effective immediately." "Acting chairman?" Roland had always considered himself a calm man, but he was still slightly surprised. "You''ve giving me so much power? Is it appropriate? I don''t deserve your trust yet, do I?" "That''s why you''re only the acting deputy chairman." Claus stood up and said with admiration, "But I have no doubt that you will become the real chairman soon. You have all the power of the chairman except the right of recall. Most of the resources in the Magic Tower are at your disposal. The library is open to you, too. The magic apprentices are not allowed to enter the library." The library was what Roland was most interested in. Books were less important in the information age. After all, the Internet was too unbelievable. But even so, books were still important for the dissemination of knowledge. In this game world that had no Internet or newspapers, books were the only means to store knowledge. Roland joined the Association of Mages partly to communicate with local Mages and partly to borrow the books in the Magic Tower. He did not know that the Magic Tower was much wealthier than he imagined. It even had a library. He did not intend to work as the acting chairman, but he changed his mind. All the magic apprentices were excited now that Roland accepted the offer. Grinning widely, Claus handed over the paper to Roland again. "Acting chairman, I''ll have to call you that now. Here''s your name list. Please keep it well." Roland took it over, only to be stunned by the curly pictograms on it. In embarrassment, he said, "Well I can''t read your language." Huh The magic apprentices'' jaws almost hit the ground. Claus shouted in surprise, "Then why can you speak it Wait, Language Proficiency!" Almost all the magic apprentices realized this. They were shocked and thrilled. Different from Aldo, as magic apprentices, they did not notice the buff on Roland. Language Proficiency was not useful in a fight, but it was significant for Mages. As a level-two spell, it was as intricate as the level-three spells. Most official Mages would not try to learn Language Proficiency until they reached the elite level, and only the Mages capable of Language Proficiency were qualified to travel the world. Otherwise, the Mages wouldn''t be able to understand the hundreds of languages and dialects spoken in other countries even if they were the best linguists. At this moment, only Language Proficiency could help them. Therefore, even if a Mage was not capable of fighting, he would be an esteemed guest to all groups and organizations as long as he knew Language Proficiency. There were few Mages in the first place, and still fewer of them were above the elite level and had grasped Language Proficiency. Language Proficiency was a prophetic spell, or rather, a consequential one. After one cast Language Proficiency, they would reach a "consequence," which meant that they could perceive other people''s utterances in their mother language. Prophetic spells were the most difficult spells of the nine classes of spells, followed by spatial spells. Different spells required different talents. Some of them simply did not have what it took to pick up prophetic spells. Now, Roland proved that he was capable of Language Proficiency, which indicated that he was a genius. With such a mentor, they would make progress much faster. Thinking about that, the magic apprentices were even more passionate. "Mr. Roland, I''ll have to introduce to you the benefits of being acting chairman." Claus felt that he had to tie Roland to this Magic Tower. He said, "You can appoint a magic apprentice as your assistant, who will listen to your instructions and cater to your needs. Personally, I recommend Vivian. She''s a pretty girl in every aspect." One of the girls among the magic apprentices smiled shyly. But she was apparently happy and showed no intention of refusal. Thumbs down! A woman is sent at the very beginning Readers would definitely abandon the book if this were the plot of a web novel. Roland waved his hand and coughed. "I''m more used to catering to my own needs. Anything else?" "You can choose one of the top three floors of the Magic Tower as your personal residence," said Claus. "One of the floors belongs to the chairman, but he doesn''t like heights and has moved out." Not bad! Roland nodded. He had a place to live now. He couldn''t stay in the inn all the time, could he? Claus thought for a moment and said, "Besides that, for your hard work, you can claim ten gold coins every month." Roland did not know how to react after he heard that! 49 Mental Power Ten gold coins every month was not as much as what Schuck earned in the Church of Light, which was twenty gold coins per month. However, it should be noted that Saint Samurai was among the leadership in the Church of Light and had authority. Although they had to follow the pope, they had permission to command any member of the church. Saint Samurai was equal to Holy Ladies of Light. So, twenty gold coins was not too much for such an influential position. Roland, in comparison, was only an acting chairman of a branch. As far as he knew, the Association of Mages had branches in a lot of cities. A minor acting chairman was already able to earn ten gold coins every month and utilize other resources. This was definitely a wealthy organization. Roland calmed himself down and asked, "Then, what should I do next?" "Get familiarized with the affairs in the Magic Tower?" suggested Claus carefully. "Most of the affairs are handled by the chairman now. He''s too busy." "All right." Roland nodded and said, "But I can''t read your language yet. So, can anyone teach me to read first and help me get to know the affairs?" Vivian, the pretty girl mentioned earlier, stepped out and volunteered with a smile. "Acting chairman, I can teach you." Well Roland looked at the others, but they all moved their eyes away. "All right, it''s you then." Roland was not a pretentious man. Besides, he was new here and should probably not be too willful. Vivian put on a sweet smile. Then, the other apprentices dispersed, and Vivian showed Roland around the Magic Tower. She introduced the important areas, such as the warehouse of magic materials on the third floor, the labs on the fifth floor, the control core on the six floor, the library on the seventh floor, and the eighth, the ninth, and the tenth floors that were the residences of the leadership of the Association of Mages. Roland stayed in the library for a long time. He could not understand a single word of the books, but he knew that he would learn the books by heart soon. Then, he chose the eighth floor as his residence. After all, it was the closest to the library. After the visit, Vivian introduced the current businesses of the Magic Tower in the study on the eighth floor. Roland finally knew why the Magic Tower was so wealthy. Firstly, the headquarters of the Association of Mages would allocate a hundred gold coins to the Magic Tower twice every year. The local mayor would also offer the Magic Tower ten gold coins every month, because the Magic Tower signed a contract with the city to help with city defense. Besides, there were donations from chambers of commerce and nobles. On average, the Magic Tower could earn more than twenty gold coins each month. All things considered, the monthly revenue of the Magic Tower was more than sixty gold coins. It was absolutely no problem that Roland got ten of them. The magic apprentices, on the other hand, were rather poor. They got only a couple of silver coins each month. Roland asked in surprise, "Don''t you feel that the money is too little?" "It''s not," said Vivian matter-of-factly. "The Magic Tower pays for our food, accommodation, and training resources, and we barely need to work. It''s already a benefit that we earn three silver coins every month." Roland tapped on the desk. "But my salary is hundreds of times higher than yours. Do you not have any objection?" Vivian shook her head. She said, "There might not be one official Mage from hundreds of magic apprentices. Why should we object?" So that was the case! No wonder they were so excited about his arrival and admired him so much. Official Mages were truly rare. "Then, what''s the difference between magic apprentices and official Mages?" asked Roland. Vivian, in a loose magic robe, explained, "There are two requirements. Firstly, to become a level-one Mage; secondly, to cast a level-one spell freely." Level-one Mage? Roland looked at Vivian and asked, "What''s your level?" "Zero." Vivian sighed and said, "Besides, I can''t freely cast Inferior Fireball to this day." Zero! LV0? Roland was curious. "How do you measure your level?" "You don''t know the release of mental power?" Vivian covered her mouth in surprise. Roland opened his hands. "It''s like this." Vivian closed her eyes and demonstrated. A gentle and even sweet scent emerged from Vivian''s forehead and touched the back of Roland''s hand naughtily, before it flowed back. Roland did sense the mental power. Then, Vivian opened her eyes and said in admiration, "You''re level four. Level five is the elite level. Our chairman is there. Both of you are super geniuses." This is the release of mental power? Briefly stunned, Roland closed his eyes. Focusing his attention, he sensed similar things in his consciousness. He felt that his mental power was much greater than Vivian''s. If Vivian''s mental power could be compared to a veil, his mental power would be a giant water ball. So, this was mental power. He actually sensed it a long time ago. When he cast a spell, part of this "water ball" would always be extracted, and the missing part would be gradually refilled. He had always thought that it was his MP, but it was also his mental power. Speaking of which, MP and mental power were not contradictory. Can I really release it? Roland tried to tear part of the "water ball" off. He reshaped it into several tentacles and tied Vivian up. By logic, he shouldn''t be able to see anything with his eyes closed, but when the tentacles extended from his consciousness, he "saw" what was before him. It was not exactly a vision but a feeling. He was not sure of the shape or appearance of what was before him, but he knew exactly what it was. For example Vivian''s elegant curves below her loose magic robe. Shoot! He immediately retreated his mental power. Opposite him, Vivian seemed to be blushing. 50 Experiment Addiction Roland felt that he had crossed a line. Just now, he could feel Vivian''s mental power touching his hand even though it was as soft as a veil. Then, when he spread his mental power to tie her up, wasn''t he essentially hugging her? Besides, she was almost naked according to the perception of his mental power. The atmosphere was more and more awkward, and Vivian''s face was redder and redder. Roland could only pretend that nothing happened. He said slowly, "There are some personal things that I need to deal with. You can go back to your chamber." Vivian nodded and fled like a little rabbit. Roland was relieved. He was not a rookie. He had a girlfriend when he was in college. Later, they had a peaceful breakup because they worked in different places after graduation. Different from his ex, Vivian was obviously still an innocent girl. Roland was rather embarrassed. He did not peep at her on purpose. After a while, Roland opened the window. Wind hurled in. He was on the eighth floor, which was about forty meters above the ground. The Magic Tower was the tallest building in the city. Standing before the window against the breeze, he had a view of the whole city. Staring at the ant-like pedestrians, Roland grew interested in mental power again. He then divided the water ball in his consciousness into several smaller and longer tentacles before he extended them in all directions. Those mental tentacles could penetrate regular matter easily and spread quickly. Very soon, centered around him, a mental sphere about 130 meters in diameter was established. The whole mental tower was enveloped by it. Roland could see everything within the range of the mental tentacles. He could perceive both the surprise of the magic apprentices and the structure of the Magic Tower. Of course, his mental tentacles did not tie anyone up again. However, the amazing feeling did not last long when everything fell dark before Roland''s eyes. Roland was ejected from the state. Then, his head hurt so much as if it was exploding. He trembled and almost fell, but thankfully, he clutched the wall in time. "This doesn''t make sense," Roland moaned in pain and panted. Because of the agony, sweat was pouring from his forehead and down his cheeks. "Hasn''t the pain been reduced to one-tenth? Why does it still hurt so much?" A finger seemed to be churning his brains. Roland bashed his head under the pain. A moment later, he finally felt that his head was less painful. Holding the wall, he slowly sat down on a chair. After resting for a while, Roland was much better. He was not as uncomfortable anymore, and his shortness of breath was gone. Vivian knocked on the door and asked worriedly, "Acting chairman, are you all right? We sensed that your mental power had a meltdown." It was replaced by a tiny dew. So that was the case! It seemed that mental power was connected to his consciousness in reality. His body in the game was fake, but his consciousness was real. It was the only explanation why the pain was full instead of one-tenth. "I''m fine. I was just testing the application of mental power," Roland replied with a casual voice. "Go back to your business." "Okay!" Vivian acknowledged him and left. Roland rested on the chair with his eyes closed. Half an hour later, his head was not painful anymore, and the mental power in his consciousness was restored to the big water ball again, even bigger than before. Roland continued testing his mental power. But this time, instead of unleashing all his mental power, he extracted several threads each time. He tested bit by bit and recorded. Very soon, he got the data. When the ball was reduced by half, his head would start hurting. Also, his spells would be highly unsteady if he cast them under such circumstances. Even Hand of Magic, which was as simple as breathing for Roland, would take seconds before it took shape. If his mental power further declined, he might not even be able to gather magic elements. Time flew fast as he did the experiments. The features, effects, and negative effects of mental power were tested and recorded by Roland. He then made them into simple math models and inferred with data, trying to confirm more possibilities. Seeing useful data and theories proven, Roland was fascinated. He did not stop his experiments until the time in the game world stopped. Exiting the game and crawling out of his virtual cabin, Roland warmed up his body. It was still early in the morning. He turned on his computer and checked the forum. It was the time when players were most active. Having just left the game, they naturally had a lot of remarks to make. Roland searched the forum and found no threads on mental power, so he posted what he found out last night: "On the Mental Power of Mages." "The mental power of Mages exists in the consciousness It can replace vision, but don''t attach your mental power to anyone else, which can be rude because they can feel it Don''t use too much mental power, or you may die It can allow you to see through walls!" After posting the thread, Roland checked other sections on the forum. Many adventurous players had done plenty of testing and exploration. Some of them had met elves and dwarves, and some of the linguist players were already able to speak the local tongue. They were trying to learn how to write it. Other organized players were gathering in cities and planning to set up their guilds in the game. Many hands make light work! Of course, many rich players were also asking to buy gold coins on the forum. One gold coin was now worth fifteen thousand bucks. Roland thought for a moment and posted a thread: "Is anyone in Delpon? I''m selling six gold coins." When he joined the association, Claus had given him ten gold coins. Worrying that the gold coin would depreciate later, Roland intended to sell some of them first. After all, he was unemployed. Without enough savings, he would be anxious if he stayed at home and played the game every day. Ten minutes after he posted the thread, a player named Hawk reached out to him. 51 He May Have Special Talents The player sent a direct message. "Are you Roland? You want to sell gold coins?" "Yes," Roland replied. "I''ll transfer the money to you according to market price." Roland was about to say that they should find a safe method of transaction that they both trusted first, but while he was still typing, he received a message on the forum. He had got ninety thousand and five hundred bucks. The five hundred bucks was obviously the transaction fee that Roland had to pay in order to withdraw the money. This person is truly bold Roland gasped and asked, "Bro, are you not scared that I''ll run away with your money?" Hawk''s message soon came. "I don''t think so. You''re a celebrity on the forum. Besides, ninety thousand bucks is not a big deal." Damn, another magnate! He talked exactly like Li Lin did. "Fine. I''m truly impressed by you people," sent Roland. "Come to me in the Magic Tower in Delpon tonight. You should know the Magic Tower, right?" "Of course! You''re awesome, Roland. You''ve joined an NPC organization so quickly." "I''ll see you tonight." "All right." Roland closed the forum and had breakfast. Then, he went to the boxing club. He practiced with the coach. Half an hour later, Roland discovered that the coach was now even slower. Previously, he had been blocking the coach''s attacks instinctively, but now, he could see the movement of the coach''s gloved hands. Was he so talented in melee fights? Had he known it, he would''ve chosen to be a Warrior. But there were enough melee classes among his friends. It was not bad to be a Mage. After a while, Roland sat down and took a rest, wiping his sweat with a towel. At this moment, many students were gathered around someone''s phone and remarking in amazement. Roland was not a nosy man. He glanced at them but soon lost interest. However, someone called him. "Roland, check this out. This is truly amazing!" Although he was not curious, Roland did not intend to be too unfriendly. He saw a video on the phone and clicked the reply button. About forty seconds later, he couldn''t help but shout, "This chick is impressive!" It was footage of a bus. About half past eight last night, a bus was moving from the suburb to downtown. It was not jam-packed, but there were no empty seats, either. A petite girl wearing earphones was highlighted by a green circle. Several seconds later, a muscular man, highlighted by a red circle, got on the bus. Creepy background music began. Another several seconds later, the man suddenly took out a knife, as if he was a robber. The passengers all backed away in fear. The girl who was listening to music was briefly shocked, but then she charged forward and kicked the man''s wrist, forcing him to drop the knife. Roland could tell that the slash was fast and brutal. The man was brawny, but he lost his balance after the attack. Then, the girl turned her body and struck her right hand toward the man''s right kidney. The man fell and passed out immediately. The girl, however, backed off and squatted. She held her hands and buried her head between her legs, as if she was crying. In the last twenty seconds, a female narrator explained that the girl''s fingers were broken in the attack. As for the man His neck was only bruised, but his right kidney suffered a heavy strike. He was still in the ICU when the video was posted. All the comments on the video were praises about how good the girl was. Some of the comments even said that if she had a sword, the man would''ve lost his head in the first second, and she wouldn''t have been hurt at all. Reading those comments, Roland realized that the girl must be a player of World of Falan, and she was probably a good one. She was used to fighting in the game, and she subconsciously followed her battle instincts in reality. However, her body was not as sturdy and she was unarmed, so she did not feel too well although her enemy was crushed. Roland returned the phone to the friendly student and chit-chatted with him for a while. Then he returned home. He opened the forum again. Instead of checking the thread he posted in the morning, he went to the general discussion section. The topic about the girl was trending on the forum. Many were asking whether or not they would gain similar abilities in reality if they grasped them in the game. Most players believed that battle experience could be transferred over, but class abilities couldn''t be. Otherwise, the real world would be too horrifying if Warriors were charging and spellcasters were summoning fiery meteorites all the time. Then, Roland opened his morning post and found many replies. Most of them were made by Mages. They thanked Roland for his advice, some with tips. Some even joked about how convenient it would be to peep at girls with mental power. Roland keenly noticed that there were much fewer replies. Then, he checked the number of posts and replies in the Mage section. It had plummeted compared to when the game was launched a month ago. People are giving up after all. Roland sighed. Mage was too difficult a class. Different from the physical classes that were easy to learn, Mages had no abilities if they did not grasp any spells, and magic was an intricate subject to learn. For Mages, their game experience was too bad. Few people would be willing to spend time studying spells. He estimated that the population of Mages had dropped by half. They all turned to other classes. Roland actually hoped that there could be more Mages. After all, if more people worked on it together, it would be easier to figure out the particulars of this class. There was strength in numbers. He refreshed the section. Then, he saw a most astonishing new thread. Judging from the time stamp, it was only just posted. The title of the thread was "Based on my investigation and deduction, First Mage Roland may have special talents." 52 Speculation Seeing that the thread was about him, Roland clicked it curiously. It was posted by one Alex, who introduced himself at the beginning. "I studied math in college and graduated years ago. I''ve been working as a data scientist for eight years, and I''m a leader of my group. I can declare with confidence that I should be better at modeling than Roland is. Besides, I''ve noticed a tiny flaw in the model of Inferior Fireball that Roland uploaded to the forum earlier. "If the spells in the game are purely about mathematical abilities, I should be stronger than Roland, but the problem is that I''ve only managed to pick up two spells. I cannot connect the nodes of Inferior Fireball, and my Hand of Magic can only be reshaped into tiny fists instead of long spears. "THIS IS UNFAIR!!!" The author of the thread thickened and capitalized his remark and expressed his confusion with three exclamation marks. Then, the author proved the advantages as well as flaws of Inferior Fireball with a lot of data and the mathematical model of the spell. He concluded his thread as followed: "I''ve repetitively checked my data. They can''t be wrong. Yet, I cannot use any derivative spell, and I''m learning magic much more slowly than Roland is. He mentioned that he was already LV4, but I''m just LV2. How many players on this forum are above LV4? And how many Mages have grasped more than two spells? It''s obvious that Roland has a special talent which has been accelerating his magic studies. I hope that Roland can show us this talent. "@Roland, can you tell us how you got your special talent and how it works to the players who are still persisting in the path of Mages?" Roland was greatly impressed after he read the thread. He majored in application of intelligent programs in college. Math was his compulsory course, and he was better at it than most students. However, he definitely couldn''t compare to a math major. Therefore, the author of this thread should be better at extrapolation than he was. The data in the post was complicated, but after an hour, he managed to understand it. Just as the author stated, the articles that Roland posted were flawed and would''ve been better with his data. Although he hadn''t experimented yet, he agreed with the guy''s data and theory with his current understanding on magic. But he did find it odd. Were there few Mages who had grasped more than two spells? He scrolled down and checked the replies. Most of the Mage players said that they were only capable of one spell after playing the game for more than a month. By "capable," they meant that they could use the spell freely and confidently, and the spells that they could only occasionally cast were not counted. Most Mage players were still around LV2. "I thought that I couldn''t study more spells because I was too stupid, but now I''m finally relieved. It''s not because I''m stupid, but because magic is too hard. Roland is truly good." This reply received the most likes. Roland thought for a moment and took a photo of his talents, before he posted it as a reply. In fact, he had been planning to post his talent, Magic Power Control, and ask other players if they had similar talents, but he never had the chance. Now that other players asked him, he seized the opportunity and posted his question about special talents online. Hardly had it been posted when a moderator pinned it and moved it to the general discussion section. Then, a tremendous number of people replied to it. "Damn it. I didn''t know that there were special talents. Are there hidden classes, too?" "How did he get it?" "There are indeed hidden classes. I know one called Divine Noble." "I know that, too. Its average attributes are seven and has two more talents than other people, but it''s too mediocre." "What about Roland''s ''Magic Power Control''? Has anyone seen it?" "I searched it up. It is not mentioned in the list of talents offered by the experts." "Does it require a special distribution of attributes, like Divine Noble?" "I don''t think so. Didn''t Roland give a profile of his attributes? He has added most of the attributes to intelligence and spirit, like all the other Mage players do." "Is it a random talent given when a character is created?" "That''s possible!" Every time Roland refreshed it, he would see a bunch of new replies. But few of the replies were worth reading. The experts must be calculating or searching for files on the talent. His phone rang. He accepted the call, and Schuck said over the phone, "Come to our old spot. I saw your post on the forum. I have similar cases on my side." Roland hung up the phone and went to the cold drink bar on bike. In the panda booth, Schuck was sitting by himself. Schuck asked Roland to sit down and poured him a glass of juice. "You''re rather fast. Have some juice first About special talents, I actually have one, too." Well It seemed that he was not unique. Roland asked, "What''s yours?" "Extraordinary Charm!" Schuck explained, "My basic charm growth is three by each level, and I can surpass the upper limit of the charm of my class." Briefly stunned, Roland asked in surprise, "So, other people''s charm grows by ten at most in each level, and yours is thirteen?" Schuck nodded and said, "That''s right!" "Seriously? How handsome must you be in the game?" Roland shook his head. He suddenly thought of something else. "No wonder you became a Saint Samurai so quickly. The Goddess of Light is probably into handsome guys." Schuck, however, said casually, "Actually, I think yours is better. Magic Power Control seems to be an ultimate talent of Mages. I''m told that you''re learning magic much faster than other people. Even the math majors cannot compare to you." Roland thought for a moment and said, "My advancement is only temporary. After all, there are too many people smarter than me in this world." "I don''t think so. The real significance of learning advanced mathematics is to establish a thorough, logical mindset. Don''t tell me that you don''t know that." Schuck chuckled and said, "If math equals to magic, the mathematicians would all be great Mages. By my estimation, magic is highly dependent on talents, and math can only help you in the beginning phase. A good Mage needs both meticulousness and a very special talent, say, Magic Power Control. You happen to possess both." 53 Poor Players Schuck did make some sense, but Roland did not entirely agree with him. He felt that he was only making progress faster than other people because of the special hidden talent that he got by luck. If the special talent was randomly distributed when the character was created, Mage players certainly wouldn''t abandon the opportunity. Chances were that many Mages would delete their characters and create them again and again tonight. After he returned from the cold drink bar, Roland opened the forum again, only to discover that "special talent" had already become a trending topic. Many players stated that they would create and recreate characters tonight to get a hidden talent. Of course, someone asked if their hard work in the past two months would be for nothing if they deleted their characters. The players who intended to delete their characters declared that, since the game was still in alpha test phase, they would rather try different possibilities. Roland couldn''t help but frown. He felt that things might be more complicated than that. Firstly, it was barely possible to create billions of AIs, but the game had achieved it. The AIs were already out there in the game. Secondly, Roland felt that it was rather "generous" that half a million players were invited for the alpha test. Any multiplayer game with half a million people online simultaneously would be considered a popular game. World of Falan, on the other hand, could be played at night during sleep and did not contradict work schedules, so most people were highly active. Even though not all the players were online, more than eighty percent of them played it every day. An alpha test that involved forty thousand people seemed too huge. Therefore, Roland estimated that it was just a promotion tactic. For example, the company might be short of funding, so it decided to collect more funding with the so-called alpha test. Fifty hundred thousand virtual cabins, fifty thousand bucks for each. If they were sold out, the company could gather twenty-five billion. The money would be enough to support research for a while. Roland felt that the so-called alpha test was the actual beta test. He was of a mind to remind those who intended to delete their characters, but he thought for a while and decided to drop it. Those people might not listen to him at all. Many players would love to spend lots of money on their game character, like Li Lin. Besides, what they were hoping to get was a hidden talent. Roland rested for a while and practiced in the boxing club for two hours. Then, he had supper and read the news, waiting for the game to restart. He was not in a hurry to find Betta after he entered the game. Instead, he stayed in the Magic Tower and familiarized himself with mental power. "Come in," said Roland. The wooden door opened. It was Vivian, who was still rather shy. She glanced at Roland and said, "Deputy chairman, a Golden Son wants to meet you. He said he made an appointment." He''s rather fast! Slightly surprised, Roland said to Vivian. "All right, got it. Thank you." "You''re most welcome," replied Vivian with a weak voice. Roland was not bothered. He walked down the Magic Tower and found a bearded, mature-looking "young man" in ragged clothes at the gate of the Magic Tower. This guy looks so old Roland asked him, "Hawk?" "That''s me!" The young man was obviously fatter than Roland. Excited to see Roland, he shook Roland''s hand and announced, "I''ve finally found a player other than Link. This game is too huge. It''s barely possible to hang around with friends from reality." That was true! Over the past two months, Roland had been with Betta. They had never seen another player. Roland looked around and asked, "Should we find a place to drink and talk?" "I''m okay with that!" Hawk scratched his head. "But we can''t talk to other citizens." Roland cast Language Proficiency on himself and Hawk. Then he said, "We can now, with Language Proficiency." "Shoot! Awesome!" Hawk raised his thumbs. "You are truly the First Mage. Nobody except Warlocks could cast Language Proficiency before I met you." Roland smiled politely. Hawk asked again, "Can I bring my friend?" "By all means." Roland nodded. He also wanted to talk to more players and exchange information with them. Hawk then led Roland into the city. Eventually, they found another player, Link, in a house that was about to fall. Link was also in ragged clothes. A strange stink of feces could be detected. Roland was stunned to see the filthy, collapsing cottage. "Have you been living in this place?" "We don''t have a choice." Hawk looked at the sky, tears in his eyes. "We don''t speak the local language, and we have no friends. We starved to death a lot when we entered this game! Even this house was our trophy only after we fought a gang several times." Link, who appeared to be an archer, did not say anything, but his eyes were red. "You starved?" Roland gasped hard. "What do you eat now?" "We hunt in the woods. At first, we couldn''t catch anything due to the lack of experience, and we starved a few times more," said Hawk as if he would rather forget the miserable memories. "Later, we were finally more skilled, but there are few animals around the city. We''ve been too busy looking for food to increase our level." Well, they were truly unlucky! Roland felt that he was fortunate to have been born in Red Mountain Town, a warmer place. "Let''s go!" Roland patted Hawk''s shoulder and said, "Let''s have something good. It''s on me." Hearing that, the two men leaned close to Roland and stared at him passionately. Half an hour later, Roland brought them to a decent tavern. Inside the tavern, there were a lot of mercenaries who seemed rather brutal. Hawk and Link devoured the meat in their hands like hungry wolves. Compared to them, Roland was much more graceful. Roland was not focused on food at this moment. He noticed something strange when he came in. 54 Brutal Players Roland enjoyed his drink while he observed the other customers in the tavern. Most of them were carrying various kinds of weapons, suggesting that they were mercenaries. The weird thing Roland noticed was exactly about them. Before they entered the tavern, Roland heard that it was noisy and lively from outside, but after the three of them entered, the noise died down. At first, Roland thought it was because his magic robe was too intimidating. However, he soon realized that, although he might be a threat, most of the mercenaries had focused their eyes on Hawk and Link. Although those two were in dirty broken clothes, almost all the mercenaries were highly vigilant, and when they noticed Roland''s magic robe, there was only a sentiment of "we''d not piss off this guy" in their eyes. The difference was apparent. "We''d better not piss off this guy" meant that they could fight him when they had no choice. As for their high vigilance, it was like "I''m no match for this guy. Is he going to jump at me and slap my face?" The mercenaries were terrified of Hawk and Link! Roland reached this conclusion. He then remembered that Hawk and Link got the cottage after a few fights with a gang. He also remembered what Gru told him in Gray Sand. A while back, two Golden Sons had a clash with a noble and declared that they would not stop until they killed the noble. Watching the other two players gulp down the meat, Roland asked, "Is the food agreeable?" Hawk swallowed and nodded. "It''s been a long time since I had such delicious meat. The body in the game and the body in reality are separate. Although I''m tired of meat in reality, the moment I enter the game, my body will keep telling my brain that it wants meat" Roland smiled and asked again, "What about the drink?" "Not bad." Hawk dedicated himself to the food. "Did you kill the noble?" "Have we" Hawk suddenly raised his head. "You''re tricking me." Link looked at Roland and then refocused on the food. Roland chuckled and said, "It''s not trickery. I could find out if it was you through investigation anyway. To be honest, I''m rather impressed that you challenged a noble." "That noble must die." Hawk''s eyes suddenly turned sharp. Roland was curious. "Can you tell me what happened?" "It''s actually not something we''re proud of." Hawk put down his steak and heaved a sigh, before he talked about what happened. As it turned out, Hawk and Link had been struggling to survive a month ago. Like they said, they starved many times due to their inability to talk to other people. Later, they managed to hunt outside of the city and keep themselves full. However, there was not always prey in the woods. So, they hoped to catch some fish in the river. There were both boys and girls. Their chests were opened, and their hearts were gone. Roland''s face was pale. He clutched his cup subconsciously. He''d already guessed out what happened next. As he speculated, Hawk and Link waited next to the river. The next morning, they caught the person who disposed of the bodies. Despite their inability to communicate, they managed to interrogate their prisoner, trying to find out why they were killing children. "It''s because a noble believed that the blood from the hearts of children could keep him young! That''s hilarious." Hawk bashed the table heavily, with streaks of blood in his eyes. His roar echoed in the tavern, and everybody stopped talking. Roland sighed and did not talk. "I was exasperated. So, I dragged the prisoner to the noble''s house with the child''s body. Do you know what they said?" Roland sighed. "Probably that it''s an honor for those children to sacrifice for the noble, right?" "Hahaha. You are truly smart." Hawk gnashed his teeth. "The noble was not guilty at all. Instead, he captured and convicted us, claiming that we had assaulted a noble." That was beyond Roland''s expectations. He poured Hawk a cup of wine and asked again, "How did you escape?" "Did we need to?" Hawk grinned hideously. "I choked Link in the prison first, before I killed myself by crashing into the wall. After we were resurrected in the Temple of Life, we went straight to the noble''s manor with a stick." Roland keenly noticed that the mercenaries nearby looked weird, as if they were horrified. "At first, we didn''t have much battle experience, and we were surrounded and killed by them every time after we killed one or two soldiers," said Hawk with delight. "But it''s fine. We would be reborn half an hour later, and we would break into the manor again. After we killed a couple of people, we were chopped into pieces again." Some mercenaries were leaving. The tavern was growing quieter and quieter. Roland tilted his head and said in admiration, "A lot of people must''ve been watching." "Probably, but we didn''t pay attention to them." Hawk continued, "Every time we died, our battle experience would increase a bit. Later, after we were revived, some masked men provided rusted weapons for us. With the equipment, we were able to kill more people before we died. At this moment, the noble got scared, because half of his private troop had been wiped out. He asked his soldiers to capture us and tie us to a tree, stating that he would forgive us as long as we served him for the rest of his life." Roland couldn''t help but laugh after he heard that. "I spat in his face." Hawk slapped the table and shouted in excitement, "The noble thought that there was nothing we could do when he tied us up! Link and I bit our tongues, but then we discovered that we couldn''t die that way, so we struggled hard, determined to either break free or die of exhaustion!" Shoot! Roland couldn''t help but raise his thumb. He said in admiration, "You''re truly good." Hawk accepted Roland''s praise in satisfaction, and Link seemed more or less embarrassed. "Anyway, we went straight to the noble''s manor every time we were resurrected." Hawk suddenly sneered. "Then, some important people came to us asking us to be rational. Some even threatened that we would be forsaken by the gods for intruding on the nobles." Then, Hawk suddenly stepped on the table from the chair. He drank up the wine and roared angrily, "I told them that the idiotic noble was dead for sure and nobody, not even the gods, could stop me, and that whoever stood in my way would be killed by me too!" His aggressive roar echoed throughout the tavern! All the mercenaries were frozen, too scared to move a muscle. 55 Showoff Some mercenaries lowered their heads and left in silence. Soon, the other mercenaries followed them. After a while, only a few people were left in the tavern. God-slaying was blasphemy in this world. Although Hawk did not name any specific god or goddess, everybody was still quite disturbed. Besides, the horror of Hawk and Link occurred to the mercenaries again. Hawk described it quite simply, like biting his tongue and dying of exhaustion were normal, but what happened at that time was a ghastly scene for everybody. They did not die after biting their tongues, and blood sprang from their mouth. Then, the two of them struggled like stranded fish though they were tied up. They couldn''t talk after they bit their tongues off, so they creaked and writhed hard. The tensile ropes sank into their flesh, but they couldn''t care less and keep shaking the tree until the whole tree was trembling. That was not the end of it. They cackled at the noble in the creepiest way while they struggled. Blood flowed out of their mouths as they cackled. After they struggled for a while, their bodies began bleeding, too. The noble''s soldiers, the mercenaries who were watching for fun, and the other nobles who had arrived after hearing the news, watched the two Golden Sons hang from the tree and laugh like devils until their blood gathered into a river below their feet and they were out of breath. Then, ten minutes later, the two of them, resurrected, jumped in again with a stick or a sword, yelling and attacking the noble and his private troop once more. Sh*t! Those two must be psychos! Even the cultists were not one-tenth as crazy as they were. Then, the noble lost courage and fled. However, the two Golden Son did not let it go and pursued further. The bartenders were left alone shivering in the tavern. Roland knew that Hawk and Link had made a name for themselves at least in this city. Roland put six gold coins on the table and smiled. "These are the gold coins we agreed upon." "Thanks." Hawk jumped off from his chair and sat down again. He then kissed the gold coins and said with delight, "We can live a better life now." "It''s just a transaction. There''s no need to thank me," Roland said with a smile. Hawk, however, disagreed. "That''s not true. The players who can afford a virtual cabin can''t be too poor in reality, but it''s rather difficult to earn money in this game. That''s why so many rich people are hoping to purchase coins. You''re doing me a favor by selling them to me instead of anybody else." Link also nodded. He had been silent until this moment. "This game is quite vivid with its own economic system." His voice was rather gentle and suited his shyness. After that, Roland refilled Language Proficiency for them. "I''m only LV4, so my Language Proficiency can only last eleven hours. Come to me if you need refilling." "Much obliged." Hawk shook Roland''s hand hard. "You have no idea how painful it is not knowing the local tongue." "Of course I do," said Roland angrily. "The first time my head exploded, it was because I used Language Proficiency, which was beyond my level." Briefly stunned, Hawk burst into laughter. The dinner table was the best place for people to get to know each other. The three of them were a lot closer. They also revealed some basic information to each other. As it turned out, Hawk and Link were from a guild named Silver Wings, which was influential in many multiplayer games. Now that the first immersive game had been released, they naturally sent pioneers to check the situation. Hawk was the deputy president of Silver Wings. "Roland, you''re not in a guild yet, right? Do you want to join our guild? There are many pretty girls in our guild that I can introduce to you," offered Hawk enticingly. Roland shook his head with a smile. "I''m sorry, but I''m planning to establish a guild with some friends." "What a shame. It would be exhilarating if the First Mage could join our guild!" Hawk did not pursue further. He began to talk about other topics related to this city. Thanks to them, Roland gathered some basic intelligence. About two hours later, they said goodbye to each other. Roland returned to the Magic Tower. Seeing that it was still early, he summoned all the magic apprentices to the lab on the fifty floor. There was only one room on this floor. The ceiling and the floor were made of anti-magic materials that could resist explosions or collisions when magic experiments failed. On the black, slightly bumpy floor was a simple magic array to suppress magic elements. Roland felt uncomfortable the moment he came in, as if someone put a heavy shackle on him. He stood at the center of the ground, surrounded by magic apprentices who stared at him with hope and excitement. Those magic apprentices were not stupid. The deputy chairman must''ve summoned them to teach them magic. "I do not know your progress yet, so could everyone tell me the spells and tricks you know?" All the magic apprentices replied with the spell they were best at. To Roland''s surprise, only half of them had grasped level-zero tricks, such as Light Ball or Hand of Magic. As for the rest, they could only sense magic elements at best. Besides, their spells could not last long, and the effect was not too good. Take Hand of Magic, for example. Roland could control its size, changing it from the hand of a human being to the hand of a titan. As for those apprentices'' Hand of Magic It would be a miracle if they could grab fifty kilograms. It must be noted that Hand of Magic was invented exactly for Mages to pick up things. After all, Mages were physically weak and sometimes needed more strength. Roland''s Hand of Magic could easily pick up three tons right now. The gap between them was too huge. Roland sighed at the magic apprentices'' lousy performance. "Fine. I should teach you Hand of Magic first." Almost all the magic apprentices were obviously disappointed. It was a tradition of the Mages to despise level-zero tricks. The magic apprentices were the same. Noticing their expressions, Roland smiled. "It seems that you won''t be convinced until I show off." 56 Frustrated Magic Apprentices Hearing what Roland said, the magic apprentices were slightly dazed at first, but then they waited hopefully. After all, Roland was already an official Mage only one step away from the elite level. He was even capable of Language Proficiency, which meant that he was a rarely seen genius. If another magic apprentice said that level-zero tricks were worth studying, they would''ve mocked him, but since it was an official Mage who made the statement, they decided to listen to him even though it was against their common sense. Besides, they had no mentor at present. It was already unusual that someone had the time to teach them magic. Roland summoned a Hand of Magic while the magic apprentices watched him. It was a Hand of Magic of a regular size and seemed like nothing special. Most of the magic apprentices were obviously disappointed. Vivian, on the other hand, still stared at Roland hopefully. "I know you''re disappointed." Roland looked around and smiled. "But behold." He snapped his fingers softly, and the blue, transparent Hand of Magic grew by more than three times. This time, the magic apprentices were finally more or less intrigued. Yet, they were not really interested yet. After all, Hand of Magic, as a level-zero trick, could deal no damage. What could it do even though it was larger? Roland found a wood puppet, which was mostly used in the lab to test the power of spells. The Hand of Magic, three times larger than usual, grabbed the puppet and crushed it into smithereens more than easily. Looking at the broken pieces falling to the floor, all the magic apprentices gaped. Roland was now adept at Hand of Magic. After a month of deductions and experience, his Hand of Magic could pick up three tons and grip one ton. What did one ton mean? It meant that the Hand of Magic could twist an arm-sized piece of iron, let alone a wood puppet. "Hand of Magic is just a level-zero spell, but it can still be useful in a battle if you''re familiar with it." Roland snapped his fingers again. The Hand of Magic was quickly reshaped into a long spear. Roland cast it out, and the blue spear pierced through another puppet, crumbling its upper half body. "Simple spells are easier to control and less risky," Roland explained. "Personally, I think you should focus on level-zero tricks like Hand of Magic or Light Ball, since you are incapable of casting advanced spells yet. This will increase your mental power and your control over magic elements. It will lay a solid foundation for your future path as a Mage." As Roland talked, the Hand of Magic turned from a spear into a sword, a shield, and eventually gloves on his hands. Then, he stepped forward and punched a stone puppet. His enormous blue fist flung the puppet to the wall. The magic apprentices'' eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "You are much more distinguished than ordinary people even if you can only use level-zero spells." Roland encouraged them, "Don''t aim too high. You can only walk further if you walk steadily." At this moment, Claus raised his hand. Roland indicated that he could talk. "But if we don''t know level-one spells, we won''t be acknowledged as Mages." Roland chuckled, "Think about it. If you can defeat those who use level-one or level-two spells with level-zero tricks, won''t you be even more impressive?" Claus was briefly stunned. Then, he was enlightened. "I''d draw the model of the Hand of Magic for you," said Roland in frustration, "but I can''t write in your language. One of you can write down my narration and interpretation on the routes of the magic nodes of Hand of Magic later." "I can do it!" Vivian stood out. Roland looked at the other magic apprentices, and they looked at the floor, as if they did not want to compete with her. "Fine, Vivian it is then." Vivian smiled gently, blushing. About two hours later, the detailed model of Hand of Magic was illustrated on a parchment the size of a desk. Vivian''s handwriting was as good as her patience. She left Roland''s study with the parchment and was surrounded by her fellows on the second floor. "Vivian, hang it on the board. Nobody can monopolize this model!" "That''s right!" "I didn''t know that Hand of Magic was so powerful." "Yes, it can be reshaped, too. I''ve never heard of anyone who could do the same. It must be Deputy Chairman Roland''s own invention." "I think so." "Genius. He''s probably even stronger than the chairman!" "I think so, too." Vivian nailed the parchment to the board on her tiptoes. Lines were all over the eighteen nodes on the model. They seemed messy, but upon a closer look, one could distinguish them easily with the footnotes down below. "Who do you think is more genius than me?" Someone chuckled behind the magic apprentices, who turned around only to be flabbergasted. They greeted the newcomer and stepped aside, not daring to speak anymore. Aldo was in formal clothes. He seemed to have just returned from a noble''s house. Vivian hurried to step aside, too. Aldo was not angry. There were no negative emotions on his face but only a smile. Then, he noticed the board and said, "Well, it''s Hand of Magic''s "Wait!" Aldo''s eyes widened. He reached the board in a hurry and stroked a certain blackened line. "Such a detailed model, with notes on the derivative spells." Aldo was much more knowledgeable than the magic apprentices. The magic apprentices might be impressed by the model, but Aldo was the only one who knew how good it was! "Who made this graph?" demanded Aldo. The magic apprentices looked up ahead. Roland! After pondering for a while, Aldo said, "Store this graph immediately. It will be the private property of this Magic Tower, and you have to pay thirty points to view it once!" Ahhhhhhhhh! The magic apprentices wailed in frustration. It was not hard to earn thirty points, but anyone would feel uncomfortable when something free suddenly had to be paid for. Ignoring them, Aldo went upstairs and looked for Roland. 57 Different Ideologies When Aldo found Roland, he was analyzing and inferring the new nodes and routes of Language Proficiency in his lab. By Roland''s estimation, since the spell could let the recipient understand what other people said, it could certainly let him understand what they wrote when he found the correct route of nodes. There must be other effects if he connected the hundred of nodes in different ways. Deduction, experiment, failure, recording The whole process was repeated again and again. Roland was completely dedicated to his magic experiment. Although his notebook was invisible for outsiders, his mental power that was spreading and collapsing every once in a while was obvious. The door of the lab was open. Standing at the door, Aldo watched Roland doing unknown experiments and sensed his gathering and collapsing power. He observed Roland''s pained face when his mental power collapsed. He stood at the door for half an hour. His smile at the beginning was gone. When Roland''s experiment failed again, he walked in. Roland was holding his head. It was rather painful. The physical pain had been reduced to one-tenth, but the pain of the soul was not soothed. Right now, Roland''s soul was hurting. Mental power seemed to be connected to his soul. As a modern young man, Roland did not really believe in the soul. But recently, his mindset had changed. There may be souls, except souls were not a superstitious concept but a specific matter that could not be detected by modern science yet. The essence of mental power was actually the movement of the soul. It was Roland''s personal speculation after having done so many magic experiments in the game over the past two months. The pain on the soul could not be alleviated by the system, so he could only pause his experiment. Roland heard footsteps. He raised his head and smiled. "Chairman, you''ve finally come to the Magic Tower." Looking at Roland''s pale face, Aldo was secretly shocked, but he said casually, "You''re working too hard. You should take a rest." "It''s not easy to find something interesting that you like. If you don''t work hard, you will grow old before you know it. By then, neither your body nor time will allow you to work hard anymore." Roland smiled. "It''s rather unusual to meet you here, chairman." "I''m here to forward a message." Aldo found no seats in the lab, and the atmosphere did not feel right. "Why don''t we talk in your study?" "All right!" The two of them came to the study. Since Roland had only just moved in, there was nothing to entertain guests in his study. According to the social customs in reality, he could offer tea, or at least some cookies, to guests. Therefore, Roland looked embarrassed at this moment. At this moment, Vivian arrived with a tray. She put the tray between them and slightly bowed. "Please enjoy, sirs." Then she left. On the tray were two cups of wine and lovely desserts that were obviously made by a girl. Aldo''s teasing smile was even bigger. "What a charismatic deputy chairman we''ve got! It''s been three years since Vivian came to the Magic Tower, but I never saw her so enthusiastic." Well Roland did not know how to react. He could only show that he had no feelings for Vivian with an expressionless face. He did accidentally see her body last time with his mental power, but he had seen the naked bodies of too many porn stars. He had gained enough resistance and wouldn''t be as overwhelmed as a boy. Seeing that Roland was not interested in the topic, Aldo sighed. "This is not good. Although few people can understand Mages, you can try to understand other people. I''ve seen too many powerful Mages who died alone without anyone helping bury them." Roland, however, said, "I''ve had women before!" There was code in the conservation between men. Aldo knew exactly what Roland meant. He was not interested in Vivian. Slightly sighing, Aldo found Vivian pitiful. He then said solemnly, "Let''s get down to business. I saw the model of your Hand of Magic downstairs. Did you work it out on your own?" Roland nodded and asked, "Did you notice any errors?" "No!" Aldo said even more seriously, "It''s the most valuable magic model I''ve seen, with not only the traditional routes but also the roadmap of the derivative spells. You''ve redefined a level-zero trick into a special spell close to level two, which will be a surprise for all Mages. You''re the most talented Mage I''ve seen." A level-two spell? Roland waved his hand with a smile. "You''re flattering me, chairman. I believe that many could''ve done the same, except that they never tried it." "That''s exactly my point." Aldo sat straight and said in a rigorous tone, "You need to keep it to yourself! I''ll hide your model for you this time. In the magic world, geniuses often attract jealousy. You are not weak right now, but you are still far away from being a master or one of the legendary Mages. If anyone learns of your ability, you may die an abrupt death, or end up as a powerful Mage''s prisoner, modifying spells for them for the rest of your life." Roland was about to enjoy the drink. Stunned, he said, "They do not like communication of magic theories? Is communication not a good thing?" "It''s not a good thing to them," said Aldo with intense sarcasm. "Otherwise, how could they monopolize important magic knowledge and maintain the glory of their families for hundreds of years?" Roland was amused to hear that. He wondered if he should call for a revolution in this world. Seeing that Roland was stunned, Aldo thought that Roland had accepted his warning. He was relieved. "You''d better keep your understanding to yourself until you meet someone trustworthy, all right?" "As a matter of fact, I don''t have to be so cautious," replied Roland. Aldo was dazed. "As a Golden Son, I do not die in this world." Roland smiled. "I will not stop sharing my knowledge with the apprentices in the tower, as long as they want to learn. As to whether or not anyone wants to kill me They will regret it if they ever try it." Rendered speechless, Aldo suddenly burst into laughter when he saw how confident Roland was. 58 Someones Trap A spot of light fell on Aldo''s face through the window. While he laughed crazily, half of his face was bright, and the other half was dark. There were even tears in his eyes. Roland heard maliciousness. Yet, it was not against himself but something else. Roland simply watched him in silence. Aldo did not stop until several minutes later. He wiped his tears gracefully and said with a delightful smile, "Sorry. You must''ve been shocked." Roland shook his head. Aldo stood up. Looking down at Roland, he said, "Since you''re not scared, I''ll submit the magic model to the leadership of the Association of Mages. There will be a major disturbance. You should be prepared." Aldo turned around before Roland said anything. Right when Roland found it odd, Aldo turned back and said at the door rather awkwardly, "Right, I was here to tell you that Charles''s youngest daughter is having a birthday party tonight. Her brother John learned your name from somewhere and hoped that you could come. Here''s the invitation." An invitation was put on the desk. Aldo smiled at Roland and descended from the eighth floor to the second floor. Summoning all the magic apprentices with the bell, he announced, "Thanks to your deputy chairman, the model of Hand of Magic is now free again, but remember not to leak it." After a brief daze, all the magic apprentices exclaimed, "Fantastic! Thank you, Deputy Chairman Roland." "Thank you, Chairman Aldo!" Looking at the excited apprentices, Aldo copied the model of Hand of Magic with a smile and left the Magic Tower. After Aldo left, the magic apprentices nailed the model graph to the board again. They stared at the model in satisfaction. With such detailed notes, they could understand it without a mentor''s guidance. If any of them still couldn''t understand it, they would''ve been too stupid to be a Mage. Several humorous apprentices said to a certain girl, "Vivian, there''s nothing we can do to thank Deputy Chairman Roland. We''re all counting on you." Vivian''s cheeks flushed like a rose. She turned around and returned to her room. Roland rested in his room for a while. Then he left the Magic Tower, hoping to talk to Betta. But as he walked onto the square, he saw Betta coming toward him. They met and sat down in the shade. "How is it going on your end?" Roland asked. Betta shook his head. "Not very good. I told them how serious the matter was, but they were reluctant to move away. The man of the family even wanted me to protect them all the time." Roland chuckled and shook his head helplessly. "I don''t know how he could be so shameless as to talk like that," said Betta angrily. "What opportunity am I?" Betta frowned. "An opportunity for them to step out of the bottom class," Roland explained. "As long as you remain their protector, the man would be free to do a lot of things, or even make use of your influence. Even though he can''t become a noble, he wouldn''t be as exhausted as right now." After a brief silence, Betta said, "I still find it incomprehensible." "It happens in reality all the time," Roland said. "Some philanthropists paid the tuition fees for poor students from elementary school to college. The students were grateful at first, used to it later, and eventually hated the philanthropists. ''Why don''t you give me more when you have so much money?'' Some of them even sued their patrons." Betta thought for a moment and remembered similar news. He was too young to understand it when he read it. Now that the same thing had happened to him, he felt rather uncomfortable. Roland smiled and continued, "Actually, our ancestors put it wisely: if you give a starving man a bowl of rice, you''ll be his savior; but if you give him a tank of rice, you''ll be his mortal enemy. It''s in the nature of human beings that is not about race, age, or gender. If I were the man, I would''ve tried to take advantage of you, too!" Betta finally felt better with Roland''s tutelage. Staring at the blue sky, he said, "However, the girl we saved told me in private that she would like to leave this city, but she doesn''t know where she should go." "What do you have in mind?" Roland asked Betta. "Nothing." Betta seemed to be confused. Thinking for a moment, Roland said, "You could bring her with you." Betta''s eyes bulged when he heard that. "You are a noble, although you do not have a dominion yet," Roland explained. "Isn''t it natural for a noble to be served by a girl? If my guess is correct, you will probably acquire real titles and dominions through special quests later. By then, this girl will already be familiar with her job and could work as head of your maids." Betta coughed and blushed. "Why does it sound so lewd and corrupt to me?" Roland looked askance at him and said disdainfully, "Head of maids is a legit profession. What are you thinking?" "I''m not. Let''s make that clear!" Betta denied it without hesitation. Hehe! Roland certainly wouldn''t believe him. Betta hurried to change the topic. "Right, someone sent me an invitation, saying that there''s a party tonight." "I received one, too." Roland withdrew the invitation from his Backpack and showed it to Betta. "It seems that someone has been watching us." Betta took out his invitation. The two invitations were of the same color and design. "Let''s go there together." "You can go!" Roland sniffed and said, "But I won''t. I have to go to the party because he sends a random invitation to me? Does he have no respect for me?" Betta looked at him in surprise. "Brother Roland, I''m hearing nothing but hypocrisy." Roland shrugged. "Actually, it''s because I feel it''s not right. This party might have been prepared for the two of us." Briefly stunned, Betta asked, "Huh?" "Let''s go. I''ll introduce you to another two players," Roland said. "If they were not invited, my guess will be correct." 59 NPCs Wisdom Another two players? Though confused, Betta did not ask and simply followed Roland. Roland walked in the city and found Hawk and Link in the cottage that they lived in previously. Through the open window, Roland saw that they had new clothes and furniture. Hawk was resting on a new chair, and Link was cooking with a white apron. The intriguing smell of grease escaped through the window. Betta was already swallowing. Roland walked to the window and knocked on the frame. "Hey, look at the lovely couple here." Hawk was happy to see Roland, but he grew angry after realizing what Roland meant. He snapped, "Get lost." Roland burst into laughter. Link turned his head and smiled, not bothered by Roland''s teasing. "Please come in. The food is ready. Eat with us." Roland led Betta into the cottage and sat down. He asked Hawk, "You didn''t buy a house?" "There was some trouble." Hawk sat straight. "I expected no less." Roland smiled. "Otherwise, I wouldn''t have come here to look for you." Hawk asked curiously, "Do you know the reason?" "Your previous actions were too influential," Roland explained. "Now, the nobles seem to be watching the Golden Sons. It may be not as hard for us, but I don''t think you can buy a house anywhere." "Why are you so sure?" Hawk was slightly confused. Roland put his invitation on the table. "Betta and I just received invitations to a party of the upper nobles of this city." To prove Roland''s statement, Betta presented his invitation, too. Hawk thought for a moment and smiled. "They dare not invite us. They''re scared." "Of course they are, but it''s not as simple as that," Roland said. "They''re trying to divide us." Hawk and Link looked at each other. Then, Hawk asked in disbelief, "Is it possible? Why would they divide us?" "Two level-zero Golden Sons caused the downfall of a small noble family," Roland said casually. "You can imagine your power if the two of us, levels three and four, join you and collaborate with you." Hawk was the deputy president of a guild anyway, so he thought it through very quickly. His eyes widened and then narrowed. "Are the NPCs so smart?" However, Link and Betta seemed more or less at a loss. Roland had to explain to them: "Think about it. Betta and I can enjoy wealth and beautiful girls with the upper class, whereas Hawk and Link will hide in such a shabby house without enough clothes or food. What will they think of us as time goes by? Betta finally realized it. Link also sighed. "We might not hate you, but we would inevitably feel that you and we are not the same type of people." "Exactly so." Roland opened his hands. "As long as we are divided, there will be a lot of things they can do." Betta sweated hard. "Brother Roland, are you not overthinking it?" Hawk rubbed his face and said in amazement, "According to the official announcement, there are more than five billion NPCs in this world. If every one of ten thousand is clever, we''ll have five hundred thousand cunning nobles, the same number of players. I have a bad feeling. Some players will definitely be tricked by NPCs later on!" Foreseeing the same possibility, everybody was dazed. Weird noises suddenly sounded. Link realized what was going on and hurried to tend to the food that was cooking. He said in the end, "Not bad. It can''t taste too awful Roland and Betta, why don''t you stay and have dinner with us?" "Thanks." Roland did not refuse the offer. "I haven''t had any regular food in this game yet." After having dinner at Hawk''s and exchanging intelligence with him, Roland and Betta left. They returned to the square before the Magic Tower. It was already evening. At the door of the tower, a girl was standing quietly in the radiance of sunset like a statue. She did not move back toward the Magic Tower until Roland was close. Roland did not see this. He said to Betta, "You can buy a small house in the city for you and your little maid. We may have to spend a long time here." Betta blushed. "She''s not mine." "Besides that, try to collect more information," Roland reminded him. "Also, don''t talk too much with the nobles. You''re a smart kid, but you''re too unsophisticated compared to them." Betta wouldn''t have admitted his lack of experience previously, but after his talk with Roland that afternoon, he realized that he might really be a rookie who needed more social experience. Still, he was rather angry. Roland was obviously teasing when he said "little maid." I am as innocent as a spring and I will never take advantage of her He waved his hand at Roland and ran off. Roland returned to the Magic Tower. He gathered the magic apprentices and said, "You must''ve read and tested the model during the afternoon. Whatever questions you may have, you can submit them now, and I''ll tell you my understanding." The magic apprentices were stunned Generally speaking, their mentors were not so easy to talk to. For the most part, they would introduce a method or concept and ask the apprentices to learn by themselves. If the apprentices couldn''t understand it, they would be too stupid to become Mages. After all, the mentors were very busy and did not have all the time in the world for them. They had never seen anyone as friendly and responsible as Roland. After a brief hesitation, the apprentices grew excited. They knew too well how rare it was for them to encounter such an opportunity and such a person. It seemed that they were quite lucky. 60 Game Update Although Hand of Magic was explained in great detail with the model, the magic apprentices hadn''t made much progress yet because of their intellectual and logical faculty and their talent in controlling magic power. Most of them had indeed grasped the basic version of Hand of Magic, but nobody had picked up the derivative versions yet. Roland enjoyed a drink and watched them practice while explaining the key points to them. The magic apprentices worked hard and memorized every word Roland said, because they were not certain how long Roland''s careful instruction was going to last! At the center of the city, inside a castle that was only slightly shorter than the Magic Tower, a party was going on. The drawbridge had been lowered, and wagons were rolling in. For many lords, castles were their home and their last shelter. Should the city fall, they could still survive a long time huddled in their castles while they waited for reinforcements or other opportunities. The castle was brightened by candles. A dozen bards were playing soft music together. Standing on the balcony on the third floor, John watched the groups of guests in silence. Beside him was a charming girl. "It''s starting soon. They''re still not here." The girl giggled. "I don''t think your plan is working." John put on a smile several seconds later. He sat back in his chair and said, "It means that not all the Golden Sons are barbarians. We should be careful in the future. It''s best not to have conflicts with them." The girl teased, "Brother, I didn''t expect you to be scared of someone your age!" "They''re unkillable and mad like cultists. Who''s not scared of them?" John shook his head. "Why has the Life Goddess brought such monsters to us from an alternate dimension?" "Who knows what a deity thinks?" The girl was in a long red dress. Her hair was red, too, making her look like fire. "Since the two Golden Sons are not coming, I''ll talk to other guests. It''s boring to stay with you." John nodded and said, "Off you go Right, ask your friends to be careful and not do anything too outrageous. I think the Golden Sons might all be defenders of justice." The girl stood up and looked at John. "Are you suggesting that they will intervene if they catch nobles doing bad things?" "Very likely." John sighed and said, "That''s why I have always asked you to treat civilians better, or you will not meet a good end if you run into them. Should you happen upon a Saint Samurai, you wouldn''t get away with it unless the royal family speaks for you." "Who can be so unlucky as to run into such experts?" The girl found her brother hilariously prudent. Looking at the moon in the sky, John said, "The Hossens, who liked eating human hearts, thought the same, but they''re all dead now." "That would be for the best." The party lasted until midnight, but John was apparently unhappy because the most important guests weren''t there. The other guests were smart enough to notice that, so they did not stay too late but left after they had fun. In the Magic Tower, Roland had been teaching the apprentices tricks regarding the derivative spells of Hand of Magic. The magic apprentices were rather enthusiastic. They would rather not sleep to figure out the mechanism of the spells. Roland didn''t need to sleep. Unwilling to betray their passion, Roland taught them patiently until time stopped. Crawling out of the virtual cabin, Roland habitually opened the official website of the game, only to discover that an announcement was made on the website that had previously remained unchanged. "First update of the game, to be implemented on August 17!" Roland exclaimed when he read the title and clicked it. The announcement was simple and included three pieces of information. "A unique numbered ID will be added to the character system to distinguish people of the same names." "Female players will be protected by systematic underwear. Nobody and nothing can negate the system against the female players'' will, so that they will not be offended by NPCs and other players." "Guilds are now open to the public. You may register your guild through Torry-Boursin in the Holy Realm of Fareins Kingdom. He''s a high-ranking noble. You can barely see him unless your reputation is high or you have special people to introduce you. Please try to increase your reputation in the game." The first two pieces of information were not important for Roland, but he was impressed by the third. The country that the players were at was called Hollevin. Where was the Holy Realm of Fareins? He did not have the vaguest clue. Roland opened the forum. Everybody was asking the same question. Such rich players even offered thousands of bucks for an answer. Some well-informed players bragged on the forum, saying that they knew where Fareins was but wouldn''t speak it. Roland estimated that those people were receiving countless private messages right now. The first person to establish a guild Most ambitious groups would want to claim the glory. But Roland did not care too much. His friends talked about building a guild, but it was just going to be a small one. They did not intend to compete with the big guilds. At this moment, his phone rang. He accepted the call and asked, "What''s up? It''s early." "About the guild in the game. I''ve informed Brazil and Li Lin. Come to the old spot." Half an hour later, Roland went to the cold drink bar by bike. It was not seven yet, and the waitress hadn''t come to work yet. So, Schuck brought food and drinks to entertain his friends on his own. Pouring each of them a cup of juice, Schuck said, "I think we can be the first to establish a guild." Roland nearly spewed out the juice in his mouth when he heard that! "Why?" "Didn''t I tell you before that I had to study the doctrine of the Church of Light in the Holy Realm?" Schuck explained with a gloating smile, "The Holy Realm is in Fareins, and I''ve met Torry-Boursin and talked to him several times. He''s a nice guy." His friends were all lost for words. 61 Graduation It was stated in the official announcement that the person who registered and established the guild was a high-ranking noble. If ordinary people wanted to see him, they would need to be renowned, but Schuck had already seen him several times before. It seems like F6 could really seize the glory of being the first to establish a guild in game. With these thoughts in mind, everyone was somewhat excited, wearing smiles on their faces. After all, they were all youngsterswho didn''t like to seek fame? However, Betta, who sat on the side, soon discovered a blind spot. He looked at everyone and said, "We clearly have seven people here, why are we called F6? Shouldn''t we be called F7?" The other six people all looked at each otherin the end, the five people''s gazes all landed on Schuck''s face. Schuck stood up, sat down next to his cousin, wrapped his arm around his shoulders, and said, "We''ve played together since we were kids, and no matter what the game was, any guild we created was F6that''s never changed, for a dozen years and almost twenty years now. We don''t want to casually change this practice and custom." "I see." Betta scratched his head, feeling somewhat disappointed. He thought he had successfully blended in with these people. Then, he felt that this was quite normal. It had only been less than two months since he came, while these people were childhood friends that grew up playing together for nearly twenty yearsthe depths of their relationships were naturally incomparable. Although Betta understood this, he still felt somewhat upsethe inevitably felt excluded somehow. Schuck continued by consoling him, "You''re our supernumerary member, the very important kind. Besides, think about it, it''s already common sense that there are five members of the four heavenly kingsF6 essentially having seven members is something quite easy to understand, isn''t it?" Betta rolled his eyes helplessly at his cousin and said, "Do you think I''m a three-year-old child, to be deceived so easily?" Schuck laughed awkwardly, moving past this matter. Afterward, Schuck explained the identity of "Torry-Boursin"this person was a great leader of a mercenary guild and any exploring party that created a guild would have to pay a visit to the mercenary guild. This was possibly why the system allowed this NPC to become a registrant. As for why Schuck could strike up a conversation with him, the reasons were quite simple. Firstly, Schuck had a high charisma, and secondly, it was Schuck''s identity as a Saint Samurai. The class Saint Samurai, in the eyes of the masses, were equivalent to high-ranking nobles. The more they talked the more excited they became. They even began to drink some beer. They drank all the way till the afternoon, to the point where their heads got somewhat dizzy. Roland staggered out of the cold drink bar. He didn''t ride the public shared bikes and instead walked slowly back home. Beer wasn''t something that people got easily drunk off of. When Roland got home, he was already completely sober. He went on the forums again. There were more and more players posting about guilds. Many people had unfettered imaginations about what the basic function of a guild was! The majority of the people thought that it was probably the capability of distant communication. Roland also thought so. The game''s map was too large and players were too scattered, so communication was extremely difficult. Although many players liked to explore and interact with the NPCs, there were even more people who liked to play with their friendsplay with people they were familiar with. The concept of community was present all the time. Players and the local residents of the in-game world had great discrepancies between their world views, values, and outlooks on life, so they couldn''t quite get along. Apart from the posts about guilds, there were also many posts on experience. For example, some people analyzed how warriors should assign their attributes, choose their specialty, and how to attack and what attacks to use at the start of a battle. And there were also many people who posted about the cultural landscape of the peripheries of the city and its traditions. Roland found these things quite interesting to read. Then, a peculiar post attracted his attention. "What a Terrifying Errand of a Quest!" The general idea of the post was about a male player who unexpectedly received a letter-delivery quest. It was to deliver this letter from one village to another. Originally, he assumed this was a simple quest that rewarded three silver coins after the letter was delivered. After he accepted the quest, he spent three days delivering it to the destination. In the end, this matter wasn''t over so quickly. After the recipient read the letter and gave him the reward, the recipient had him deliver another letter to the next location. Only a basta*d doesn''t accept questswith these thoughts in mind, this player accepted the new letter-delivery quest. However, what he never expected in a million years was that this was actually a chain letter-delivery quest. Afterwards, each time he delivered a letter to the new destination and after the new recipient finished reading the letter, the new recipient would have him deliver a new letter to someone else. Since the game launched till now, he walked from Hollevin''s northern border to Hollevin''s central area. During this period, he died several timeskilled by robbers, chomped on by beasts, starved to death in the wild, and so on. Since the letter was always stored in the Backpack by the system, it wouldn''t get lost. He could always deliver the letter without fail. In this way, he now received the seventh letter-delivery quest. In the time of two months, he constantly traveled over land and water. He almost never participated in any battles, nor did he do anything else except traveling incessantly. The person who issued the quest changed from a villager to a small noble. The experience he received didn''t increase by much, but he received more and more money. Ultimately, this player exclaimed in such a way, "If I continue to deliver like this, would I end up delivering a letter to the king?" Many players replied in this thread, all expressing their surprise followed by a request to have the author of the post record a video. They were all quite curious as to who this player would encounter in the end. Because this quest was too interesting. Roland also left a message in hopes that the author of the post would record a video. He usually possessed a degree of respect for people with such determination. Then, he turned off the computer, took an afternoon nap, and went to the boxing club. Inside the boxing club, he and the coach practiced for over an hour. In the end, the coach sat down on a chair, panting, while Roland had only sweated slightly. At this moment, the coach looked at Roland as if he were looking at a freak, and ultimately said unhurriedly, "Those who learn Tai Chi won''t see results in three years, while those who box can kill someone in three months!" "Isn''t it supposed to be those who train Baji[1] can kill someone in three months?" Roland was confused, responding with a question. The coach waved his large hand and said sourly, "Don''t argue with me, as long as you know what I meant. Anyway, boxing is easy to learn, and it''s easy to use in practice. You''ve surpassed me now, I can tellyou were pulling your punches earlier." Roland wanted to deny this, but the coach should have been able to tell since he was a coach after all. If he continued to deny this, he would instead seem fake and argumentative. So, he nodded in agreement. He had certainly pulled his punches with the coach, because he discovered that the coach''s movements seemed a little slower, making his attacks easy to dodge or block. "I have nothing more to teach you." The coach breathed out a long sigh, wiped away the sweat on his forehead, and said, "Although we''re a for-profit educational organization, teaching people for the purpose of money, I still want to say this: learning boxing is for self-defense and strengthening one''s bodydon''t every try to show off or be meddlesome! Don''t tread in my footsteps!" Faced with the coach''s painstaking advice, Roland nodded seriously. [1] A type of Chinese martial arts 62 Language Proficiency Characters? Although he was considered to have graduated, his coach didn''t drive him away. After all, Roland paid money. He was free to use the training equipment inside the building for a year anytime he wanted. Even if he stopped boxing, he could still use the bodybuilding equipment. Not to mention whether or not it was Roland''s illusion, he discovered that the ratio of female students in this boxing club was somewhat high. Logically, it was judo or taekwondo clubs that had a slightly higher ratio of female students, because these two things were "introduced species" in the eyes of normal people, regarded as being relatively higher class. The majority of females either trained taekwondo or judo, whereas, in their eyes, boxing was something that, in name alone, sounded unfashionableno one normal would like it. However, inside this particular boxing club, the female members took up over half of the total number of people. This was too unreasonable. Roland explained this question to his coach who was resting off to the side. As a result, the coach, who wore a flattop haircut, looked at him with a mysterious gaze. Roland was somewhat uncomfortable from his staring. Fortunately, the coach soon spoke. "Didn''t you come because you saw our advertisement?" "I saw that there were a lot of people here, so I assumed that the coaches were not bad, that''s why I came." Roland shook his head. "I''ve never seen any advertisement." The coach was dumbfounded for a while before laughing lightly. "If a normal man were to say this, I wouldn''t believe it. However, you really have put your mind completely on training latelyyou probably didn''t think about all that nonsense." The curiosity on Roland''s face was even more apparent now. "Our club president is a beauty," the coach said with a smile. "The advertisement used an upper-body photo of her as the model." Roland''s line of thought turned around immediately. He blinked and said, "That''s not right. If a beauty was the model, shouldn''t more men have been drawn here?" "Yes" The coach seemed to be considering his use of words, and then he said, "Our club president is the neutral kind of beauty!" Once Roland heard these words, he immediately understood. So it turned out the club president was a valiant and formidable-looking tomboy This indeed could attract many girls. Not interested, bye! Roland got up and was about to leave. Also an old hand regarding these matters, the coach obviously understood what Roland was thinking. He shook his head and said in disdain, "You seem just like the kind of shallow men who only look at someone''s figure and not at their temperament." Roland wouldn''t fall for the coach''s provocation. He shrugged and turned to leave. When this girl brushed past Roland, she turned her head to size him up, and then, expressionless, she shifted her gaze, as if she had just encountered a passerby who was a little unique and simply took one extra glance. When Roland brushed past the tomboy, he thought that the tomboy was probably the club presidentand as expected she wasn''t his type. As flat as a steel platehe wasn''t interested at all. The tomboy walked through the club and found the coach. She looked around at the students who were training, asking, "Where''s that student who you said was quite talented?" "Club President, you''re a bit late. He just left." "Tsk!" The tomboy clicked her tongue in disappointment. "Then tomorrow, if he comes, you call me right away." The coach was somewhat confused. "Club President, there''s actually no need to go through so much trouble. We''ve registered all the students'' phone numbersif you have any business with him, you can just call him to invite him for a meeting." The tomboy frowned. "As a girl, how could I casually ask a single man of the same age out on my own accord! People will gossip." "Oh my goodness, Great Beautiful Club President." The coach facepalmed and said painfully, "What age is this already, how are you still so feudalistic? It''s just a meeting, not a one-night stand. No one''s going to gossip." "My parents!" The tomboy sneered, "If I have contact with any unmarried men, they''ll immediately ask me when I''m getting married, hmph!" After saying this, the tomboy turned and left. From behind, the coach shook his head helplessly. "Such is the pitiful love that all parents have." Roland rode a publicly shared bike back home. After making a meal for his family, he habitually browsed through the forums. There were a lot of idiotic netizens who experienced various outlandish scenarios. Just by looking at them act like idiots and scrolling through strategy guide threads, Roland passed a lot of time. After entering the game again, Roland continued to instruct students on how to learn Hand of Magic. At this moment, there were finally some apprentices who couldn''t endure any longer. They went back to rest first. There were only a few people who were still desperately hanging on. Seeing this situation, Roland said, "All of you go to sleepif you guys don''t get enough sleep, no matter how much you train, there won''t be much of an effect." These few people dragged their weary bodies back to their own rooms. Vivian was the last one to rest. Before she went to sleep, she considerately prepared a fruit wine for Roland. On the other hand, Roland returned to his own magic lab and continued to study Language Proficiency. When learning level-zero tricks or level-one spells, there were relatively fewer magic nodes and the process of elimination could be used to test out the node connections. However, with level-two spells, due to the increase in the number of nodes, the number of combinations also increased. With an increase of five to six nodes as an upper limit, according to different lengths of combinations, the number of combinations would increase by a hundred times and even a thousand times. It would be impossible to use the process of elimination at this point. At this moment, it was very necessary to create a mathematical model. The greatest use of mathematical models is to expand and derive with existing data. The more data, the easier the derivation will be. With each test on a different node, Roland left a data record and added it into the mathematical model. This way, he would be one step closer to success. If he were to use the process of elimination he would spend forever testing the several millions of combinations. A book was placed in front of Roland. He opened to a random page. He couldn''t recognize any of the characters on there. However, after he cast a Language Proficiency spell on himself, he was able to understand three words. "People,""sea," and "power." Roland swiped his finger across these three words, and then with a thud, he closed the book forcefully. He revealed an excited look on his face. It was as he had expected. If the suitable node combination was found with Language Proficiency, he should be able to read and understand all the characters. Although he could only discern three characters now, the spell he cast was considered to have failedat least, this was a good start. If he was given a bit more time, he would soon be able to figure out the derivative spells of Language Proficiency. At this moment, Aldo appeared at the entrance. He looked at Roland and said, finding it odd, "Your Language Proficiency spell just failed." These words became meaningless in Roland''s ears. This was because Roland''s Language Proficiency wasn''t cast in the orthodox way. He immediately broke the spell and cast a new and normal Language Proficiency on himself. "What did you say? I didn''t hear clearly." Aldo stared pensively at Roland for a while, and then said with a smile, "I''ve already handed your Hand of Magic model illustration to the headquarters. They''ll probably send over someone to inspect it soonat that time, you''ll probably face some troubles." 63 Used "Is it very problematic?" Roland asked somewhat curiously. Aldo nodded. "Considerably problematic." He revealed a contemptuous expression. "Unlike the majority of the local subbranches, those guys at the headquarters act high and mighty. In their eyes, apart from the holy lands of each kind of magic, any other organizations or people, even subbranches like ours, are regarded as desolate places of magic and its people barbaric. They simply don''t find us worthy of their attention. Now that you''ve handed in that diagram for Hand of Magic, it''s the same as slapping them on the face." "So they''ll be very hostile toward me?" Roland asked interestedly. Aldo sat down opposite him, twisting his upper body a little to adjust to a more comfortable sitting position. Then, he said, "They definitely won''t believe that such an excessive magic model would come from a sub branch of a remote areato literally raise a level-zero trick to a level-two spell, this is something that hasn''t happened in over several hundred years. That''s why they''ll spare no effort to find ways to make things difficult for you, so as to prove that this model of nodes wasn''t your making." Roland looked at Aldo for a while. "You seem to want to see such a scene?" "Of course!" Aldo said straightforwardly, "I''m a cowardI wouldn''t dare to challenge the authority of the headquarters, but you can! I want to watch the people from the headquarters hit a snag, as they break their heads and lose all face at your hands." An apparent malicious intent came from Aldo at this moment. His face even had a slightly twisted smile, as if he already saw the end of those people from the headquarters. Roland observed him for a few seconds and then asked, "If the headquarters truly wanted to deal with me, they needn''t meet me by force. They only need to conceal my magic model. An unknown mage versus a large organization, anyone would be inclined to believe in the latter." "if something like this really happened, what would you do?" Aldo asked curiously and leaned forward. In his tawny eyes, there was a peculiar ray of light, like a sharp intangible blade, its chilling glare threatening. "Just let them conceal it for now," Roland said with a smile. "When I''m stronger, I''ll find a few close friends and fight our way to the association to reason with them." His words were gentle and light, but they harbored concealed wrath. "You''re that confident that you can deal with the Association of Mages?" asked Aldo, shifting back to his original position and lifting his eyebrows in concern. "You also know that we can''t die. I''ll have an infinite number of chances." Roland didn''t speak and continued to look at Aldo. Seeing that Roland wasn''t going to actively ask him why, Aldo suddenly felt somewhat disappointed. Such an action was uncooperative with his attempt to show off and irritated him greatly. "It''s actually quite simple. Before handing in the node model to the Association, I already offered a model to the Magic Goddess in your name. And the goddess accepted it." "Magic Goddess?" Roland instinctively replied with a question. "Yes, it''s said that she created all magic in the world." Aldo shrugged. "However, the elves say that the Magic Goddess was only a human in the past! That''s why we can''t determine whether the Magic Goddess was a human in the past or a god to begin with. But, she indeed rules over the magical elementsthis is indubitable." "So the Magic Goddess acknowledged this model?" "Yes," Aldo said, as an expression of schadenfreude surfaced on his face again. "For those investigators to conceal your node illustration, they must prove that you don''t have the ability to create the illustration. This is just the thing I wanted to see. They''ll target you frantically, and after they fail to achieve anything, they might even threaten you." "And I, as it happens, am undying, so you''ll be able to watch the show on the side, watching us break each other''s heads?" Roland sighed. "Your utilizing people in this way, not to mention speaking so arrogantly about it in front of the one being exploited, aren''t you afraid that I won''t cooperate?" "Now that the circumstances have been set, you can''t avoid it," Aldo said with a smile. "I know you''ll be somewhat unhappy, but I''ll compensate youas long as I can do it, you can ask for anything." After some deliberation, Roland said, "I want to know why you''re always targeting the headquarters." "Must you know?" Aldo squinted his eyes. A dark and oppressive air came from Aldo. Roland shook his head. "I''m only curious; if you don''t want to tell then forget it. But I won''t guarantee that I won''t leave this place." The smile on Aldo''s face disappeared. Aldo looked at Roland and suddenly said, "Do you think Vivian is cute and considerate?" "What? What does this have to do with her?" Roland frowned. He couldn''t understand why Aldo''s thoughts suddenly jumped to someone else. Ignoring Roland''s look, Aldo was engrossed in his memories. "When I was still a mage apprentice, I knew a young female apprentice the same age as me. She was just as cute and considerate as Vivian; I liked her very much. Can you guess what happened afterward?" Roland seemed to guess the reason why Aldo always held hostility toward the headquarters. "That girl was a genius and she created a magic model or made some great contribution, and then the results were concealed by the headquarters?" According to Roland''s usual line of thought, this would probably be the best plot. "Hahahahaha!" Aldo let out maniacal laughter. Roland felt that he seemed to have brought up a heartbreaking matter for Aldo. He even thought that the young girl might already be In the end, Aldo laughed for a while and suddenly stopped. His expression made a 180-degree turn. With a frigid look, he said, "No, you guessed wrong. The person who found results in their studies was me. At the time, I was too happy: I shared my own theory with this tender young girl and even gave her the illustration. The next day, she disappeared from the Magic Tower. Soon after, a young, genius female mage appeared at the headquarters." Dang! "I went to the headquarters to confront her. I was humiliated, but I still found out her identity. It turns out she was a distant relative of the chairman of the headquarters. I will never forget that moment when she so arrogantly threw twenty gold coins at me, saying that this was a pittance for me." Aldo covered his face and laughed maniacally again, his laughter sharp and unpleasant. "Do you know? At the time, the more furious I was the more cowardly I feel now! I don''t even have the courage to look her in the face." "You don''t dare to resist?" "I don''t!" Aldo looked at Roland through the crack of his fingers. The expression in his eyes was like a beast''s, trapped in a cage. "I still have parents, friends, and relatives. I wouldn''t dare! I can''t harm them with my fury. But you''re different you Golden Sons aren''t afraid of death and are very kind-hearted." Roland closed his eyes lightly. He opened them after a long while and asked seriously, "So, you''ve wanted to use me all along!" "After I saw the craziness of your two fellow compatriots, I came up with this idea. However, they aren''t mages so there wasn''t a good way to broach the topic. Just when I was faced with difficulty, you came." Aldo stood up and said with a sliver of regret, "I knew you were in the city from the moment you entered. Even if you didn''t come find me, I would''ve gone to find you. As someone who is also a mage, even if you didn''t create the model this time, I would still have thought of ways to guide you to stand in opposition to the Association. "I just never imagined the chance would come so quickly." 64 F6 Roland looked into Aldo''s eyes as if he wanted to see through all of this person''s thoughts. However, Aldo only had a look of epicaricacy and a little bit of madness. It was quite hard to discern anything else. "I''m your chance?" Roland laughed and said, "You''re not afraid that I''ll lean toward the Association?" No matter who it was, being used, being considered as a chance, a foothold to achieve someone else''s ends, they would feel uncomfortable. This was the same for Roland. His rhetorical question was the reaction that the majority of people would have. If it were a normal person being questioned like this, they would most likely be somewhat flustered, but Aldo said in a calm and collected manner, "This possibility isn''t large. The people from the headquarters are almost all of a noble background, and they''re all descendants of noble families that have existed for several hundred and even several thousands of years. They even have many distant relatives acting as apprentices or assuming posts in various subbranchesthe headquarters will know immediately of any of the slightest movements in the majority of the subbranches. Of course, for a genius like you, if you were willing to kneel down to be their dog, you should be able to blend in with them, hahahaha." After hearing Aldo''s mockery, Roland looked at Aldo''s crazy expression. He didn''t quite like it. "Are you sure I won''t be a dog?" Roland sighed boredly. "Someone who isn''t even afraid of death, it''s impossible for them to be someone else''s dog!" Aldo snickered, his contempt on full display. Such a good point. For someone who can''t die, how could they be willing to be a dog!? Players only had two punishments upon death. The first was losing one-tenth of their current total experience. If they could retrieve their corpse, they would be able to reduce the experience lost by fifty percent. In other words, if they picked up their corpse, they would only lose five percent of their total experience. The other punishment was the potential loss of equipment on the corpse. This depended on whether the NPCs would loot it off their bodies. Roland felt that they would definitely take it away. After all, this equipment was like spoils of war. Roland felt that not many players would be willing to be dogs in the gamenowadays, everyone had a little bit of pride. Yes if it were being a servile dog to a great beauty, many male players might be willing. After a moment of silence, Roland asked, "Your revenge, how far do you want to take it?" "I don''t know." Aldo looked out the window and his emotions gradually settled. "I want to see that woman kneel in front of me. I want to see her family vanish like smoke in thin air. I want to see her regretful expression at its extreme." "You don''t want to kill her?" Roland had an interrogatory stare. "I understand," Roland said with a smile. "I won''t lean toward the headquarters for now. Of course, the specifics will still depend on the people who come from the headquarters, whether or not it will be like you saidwhether they''ll leave no stones unturned to conceal my model at all costs." "Hahaha!" Aldo laughed madly as he stood up. He spread out his arms and said crazily, "You will see a show! A play called arrogance." "I hope so." After Aldo left, Roland used Hand of Magic to close the door from a distance. The room quieted down, leaving only the sound of high winds brushing lightly past the window. Roland''s thoughts rolled over and over. He actually didn''t care about being used by Aldo. As a player, over ten years of experience in single-player games and multiplayer online games resulted in an immunity toward some "unreasonable" plots. Although this world didn''t seem as simple as a game, the old saying still goes: only stories and novels need to consider whether things seemed reasonable or unreasonable, while reality doesn''t. Roland didn''t think it was necessary to take Aldo''s revenge seriously. What he really cared about was the madness Aldo had just displayed. A person who suffered psychological trauma, a mage, someone belonging to a class with high-level knowledge, relatively high intellectthese traits all conformed with the clues that Roland discovered in his previous investigation. It seemed more and more likely that Aldo was the killer. If his suspicions were only at thirty percent before, they were now at least at fifty percent. After meditating inside the room for a while, Roland continued to study the derivative spells of Language Proficiency. With more and more data, the mathematical model on this spell became more and more refined. Now, each time Roland cast the spell, he could discern a dozen words on a page in the book. If he were given two to three more days, he would definitely be able to complete the derivative spell, Character Proficiency. Some time in the afternoon, Vivian, who had just woken up, delivered lunch to him. It was quite sumptuous. There was fried eggs, cakes, thick meaty soup, and a vegetable that Roland didn''t know the name of. "Sorry to trouble you." Roland felt the advantages of having power more and more. Not to mention that he would receive money each month, the resources were free to use, and more importantly, there were people who specifically took care of his basic necessities. He didn''t have to worry about these things at all. He only needed to focus on doing his own things. Vivian shook her head. "This is not worth mentioning compared to what you''ve given us." She had already been at the Magic Tower for three years. Previously, the chairman only spent a pitiful amount of time instructing them. But when Roland came, Roland gifted them a precious node model illustration and spent a whole night teaching them with great care. Although some of the things Roland said were different from the education they normally received, after they experimented on their own, these things did indeed worka single day''s progress was worth the progress they made in roughly half a year. This was what led them to be even more grateful to Roland. In essence, however, Roland didn''t do anything so exaggerated. He simply taught these apprentices the correct method and skills to connect mental nodes. If the method was wrong, it would be useless even if the apprentices worked hard for an entire lifetime, and the apprentices simply didn''t find the suitable connection method for mental nodes. The chairman didn''t teach them. "Deputy Chairman, do you need me to teach you how to read?" Vivian looked at him somewhat expectantly. Roland shook his head. "Oh" Vivian left, somewhat dejected. After breathing out softly, Roland looked at the wooden door for a short while, and then shook his head. He was just about to eat lunch when suddenly he received a system notification. "Congratulations to the first establishment of a players'' guild, F6. Founder: Schuck!" After Roland read the notice, he laughed happily. "We took first as expected, those guild leaders in the large guilds are probably pissed right now." Although it was only a brief system notification, Roland could guess that this would definitely shock many players. He ate his lunch happily, and then went down to the second floor, gathered the apprentices, and continued to teach them his spellcasting experience. Once it got late, he rushed the apprentices off to bed, while he continued to deduce derivative spells on the eighth floor. He continued to do so until the gaming time was over for today. After climbing out of the virtual cabin, Roland habitually opened the forum and casually skimmed through it. He discovered that the forum exploded, as expected. The entire forum seemed to be asking: What the heck is F6, and who is Schuck? This was especially the case for those guilds that were famous in other games. The guild leaders of Church of Garland, Eternal Kingdom, Warm Moon Valley, and all the other large guilds even started a reward thread, incessantly pinging Schuck in hopes thatseeing that everyone was from Chinahe would provide them with a method to quickly establish a guild. In return, he would be thanked with a hefty sum of money. Now Schuck was also going to be famous! Just when Roland had this thought, his smartphone rang. 65 Club President Jin It was naturally Schuck who called him. After half an hour, the seven of them gathered inside the cold drink bar. On the black glass table inside the panda booth, there were Red Bull, beer, fresh seasonal juice, and two kinds of soft bean curd. Of course, there were youtiaos. Everyone drank beer and ate youtiao, and although it tasted somewhat strange, no one cared. Everyone scrolled through the forums on their phones while they ate. Looking at the discussions on F6, everyone felt elated to the degree of when Zhu Bajie[1] ate a ginseng fruit[2]. Logically, there wasn''t much significance being the first to establish a guild in game. However, it was different this time. There was a great sense of honor in being the first players'' guild in the first immersive game in the world. Apart from the attention of the five hundred thousand players in the game, there were also many organizations throughout the world, as well as gaming enthusiasts, who paid close attention to this game. State organizations and forces wanted to know what the theory behind these kinds of immersive games was. On the other hand, players simply wanted to freely play this game that surpassed its erathe game that was the first of its kind. Around the world, its popularity was extremely high. Not to mention on Weibo, Zhihu, and places of that sort, the game''s popularity there never tumbled out of the top three. Moreover, some time ago, Fan Six Hundred Million[3] attempted to return to the entertainment industry. She posted on Weibo that she spent over a million to buy an immersive cabin, and she also said that she would upload her own gaming videos from time to time. This indeed generated a good deal of traffic. Not only did Fan Six Hundred Million receive a lot of attention, but the World of Falan also attracted a lot of entertainment industry fans who didn''t follow games. Soon after, a certain billionaire''s son, Principal Huang[4] also posted a photo of his own immersive cabin, and at the same time, he called out Fan Six Hundred Million: "With that little IQ of yours, if no one helps you, you''ll probably end up being tricked and sold off at the slave market. A smart person like me spent over one million to buy a full set of magic equipment, yet I''m still only level twoyou need IQ to level up in this game." However, soon after, Fan Six Hundred Million released a gaming video. She used the dancer class in this game, and she was already level three. She embarrassed him right away. And then, a hush fell in the comments section of Principal Huang''s Weibo. In an hour''s time, there were over thirty thousand comments ridiculing Principal Huang''s 250 IQ points[5]. This made Principal Huang turn off the Weibo comments section for an entire week. The members of F6 and Betta scrolled through the forums while drinking sweet and savory tofu curd. They were all in good spirits. Suddenly, Raffel turned over his phone and waved it at Schuck. Pleasantly surprised, he said, "Fan Six Hundred Million @ you, she said she wants to join F6." For all the players who entered the game, their names would be bound to the game''s forum. Fan Six Hundred Million''s forum account had been authenticated: not only did it have her personal portrait, but her name was also in gold, typically symbolic of wealth. Below this thread, there were a bunch of people who spammed that they ate lemons[6], and some people even spammed incomprehensible things like how they also wanted to "become a member of the cavalry squad."[7]. Everyone soon found this thread. It was too easy to find, being pinned to the first page, and it even had a popular thread label. Then, they all looked at Schuck. Under the gentle lighting, Schuck, who had a flattop haircut, smiled and said, "Not adding her. Not even Betta can become a core member, what gives her the right!?" There is an old saying on the internet: a flattop haircut is the only standard to examine whether someone was truly handsome. Even with a flattop, Schuck was still handsome to the point where females didn''t dare to look straight at him. If he had long hair and tied it into a ponytail like the scholars in the old days, he could easily turn a straight person gay. The majority of teen male idols didn''t stand a chance in a fight against him. Regarding Schuck''s words, no one found this strange. If it were them, they might give in because of Fan Six Hundred Million''s attractiveness, whereas Schuck they''d never seen him show any affection for women other than those in his own family. Roland and Schuck''s relationship was the closest, so Roland jested, "You''re so handsome, you might be able to get on intimate terms with her." "What a joke, I look better in women''s clothing than she does," Schuck sneered. Everyone extended their middle fingers at the same time. Roland narrowed his eyes. "I don''t believe it. If you have the guts, try on women''s clothing!" Schuck was somewhat tipsy, he suddenly slapped the table and roared, "It''s just one time" Soon after, he immediately came back to his senses. "Dang, you actually tried to set me up." Everyone let out exclamations of regret. "F**k, you don''t even want a good womanI''m dying here in droughts and floods." Shortly after, Li Lin said sourly, "God''s too unfair." "Yeah, God''s not fair." Raffel looked at Li Lin''s well-shaped and strange body that was tempered during two years of military service, and then he looked at his own short and stout physique. "Some people are born tall or wealthy. I was born with nothing." Oh Li Lin suddenly didn''t know what to say. Everyone messed around for a little while longer. Shortly afterward, they all left their numbered IDs in the game and dispersed once again. In yesterday''s update, everyone got their own numbered ID. This was the identifier required to invite players remotely to join one''s guild. Roland went to the boxing club and continued to strengthen his body. Although the coach said he had nothing left to teach him, they could still spar and exchange blows. After he fought with the coach for two rounds, a short-haired tomboy came to stand on the side. After Roland took off his gloves, she walked over and said, "Can we have a chat?" Normally, inside these proper training clubs, there would be resting rooms and drinks. The two of them each ordered a cup of juice. Because this wasn''t a bodybuilding club, it wasn''t that strict on calories in food or drinks. This tomboy''s appearance was rather beautiful, except for her slightly frigid expression. Her vibe was too proud and formidable and her physique was lacking. Her face could score 90 points, but unfortunately in Roland''s eyes, as a whole, she could only score 75 points. After sitting down, the tomboy sized up Roland for a while, and then said, "Hello, I''m the club president here. My surname is JinJin Wenwen." Club President Jin[8] Roland blinked, and for some unknown reason, an irresistibly quirky laughter suddenly rang in his ears. And then, he especially wanted to laugh, but in order to avoid being disrespectful, he could only desperately hold back. This made his facial expression seem somewhat strange. Seeing Roland''s slightly twisted expression, Jin Wenwen still had a frigid look. "If you want to laugh, just laugh. I''m already used to it." Roland took in two deep breaths before suppressing his own urge to laugh. Then, he said, "Sorry, it''s just honestly a little erm, President Jin Lady Jin, what can I do for you?" "I heard the coach say that you''re improving in boxing at an incredible speed recently." Jin Wenwen gently stirred the watermelon juice in her cup and continued, "In less than two months, from a complete newbie, you became a qualified beginner boxer who can defeat him." "The coach exaggerated my improvement," Roland said with a smile. "The coach has already been on the job for five years here. Before, he never praised any students, instead he scolded them for being hopelessly stupid everyday." There seemed to be a delighted expression in her eyes. "You''re the first student he''s ever praised, not to mention in front of me." "All right, even if that''s the case, there''s no need for Lady Jin to personally have a chat with me." "I want to know why you improved so quickly." Jin Wenwen stared intently into Roland''s eyes. Roland felt her gaze to be somewhat piercing. He instinctively circulated the mental barrier that he learned in the game, and then, surprisingly, her eyes didn''t feel so piercing anymore. "Maybe I''m just talented?" "Is it not because of the immersive cabin?" Jin Wenwen stopped stirring the watermelon juice with her spotlessly white hand. Her pitch-black eyes were like a cold, bottomless pond. [1] Character in Journey to the West [2] Fruit in Chinese mythology [3] Fan Bingbing, actress, model; Chinese authorities fined her between 600 to 800 million CNY for tax evasion [4] Wang Sicongson of billionaire, Wang Jianlin. He is often called the principal of one-night stands in the gaming community, and he likes to criticize celebrities [5] 250 means halfwit [6] Internet slang: Chi Ning Meng, lit. eat lemons, the first letter of each word CNM, lit. f**k your mother [7] Qi Bing Lian, lit. cavalry squad, the character Bing here is soldier, which can be replaced with the character ice that is in Fan Bing Bing''s name; the calvary "rides" horsespeople who have had s*x with the actress [8] Reference to Three Kims/Master Kims/Mr. Kim vs Mr. Kim vs Mr. Kim 66 Beggars Union Proud and tall, with a beautiful face but doing things hastily: these traits couldn''t be considered unattractive, but for men, a woman''s attractiveness would surely be lowered by quite a lot. Of course, there were many men who liked this type of woman, but relatively, a girl with this type of character would attract the same sex much more easily. This was also the reason why there was a higher proportion of females in this boxing club. "Is it not because of the immersive cabin?" After Jin Wenwen said these words, her gaze sharpened again, like two long swords striking down. She stared at Roland, and even the indistinct mental barrier didn''t seem to exist. However, Roland still calmly sipped his juice, and after he set his cup down, he said unhurriedly, "The immersive cabin you''re speaking of, you mean the world''s first immersive game? What does this have to do with boxing?" "You don''t know?" Jin Wenwen''s expression was as if she were saying he ought to know. "It''s said that the game is almost a complete virtual reality, apart from the spells and special abilities. In there, people can fight as they please. This is extremely beneficial to training martial arts skills." "Sorry. Although I like playing games, an immersive cabin is too expensive for someone who has only been working for less than two years. It''s somewhat too much of a burden to bear," Roland said, somewhat disappointedly. "Recently I''ve also been watching the news. I heard that a girl could easily take down a male ruffian because she played that game. I really regret not buying it. If I''d known earlier, I would''ve taken a loan just to buy it." "Is that so?" Jin Wenwen started to stir the watermelon juice again, noncommittal. Afterward, the two casually chatted for a little while. Roland found an excuse to leave first. The light inside the resting room was still bright. Jin Wenwen sat on the chair, quietly sipping on the watermelon juice from a glass cup. Shortly, the coach walked in. He sat down opposite of her and asked, "Did you get it out of him? Is it because of the immersive cabin?" "He said it isn''t." Jin Wenwen shook her head slightly. "Oh? That''s a shame, I thought that other people in the city had also bought an immersive cabin." The coach sighed deeply. "He says no, and you just believe him?" Jin Wenwen laughed lightly. "Uncle, I don''t believe this world has that many geniuses, let alone one that can surpass you after training casually for two months. If he doesn''t have an immersive cabin, then he must have a special scientific training method. But if he truly had such a training method, why would he come to our boxing club?" The coach leaned back in the chair, silent. Normally speaking, boxing clubs all registered the customer''s information. However, in the operation of a business, it was natural to allow what the customer wanted. As long as the customer paid, anything went. As for whether the customer filled out their personal information or not, this didn''t matter as long as they got the money. It was because of this practice that the boxing club didn''t make it compulsory for Roland to fill out all of his personal information. Sighing lightly, Jin Wenwen put out the slim scented cigarette that had only burned by a third. She said, "Uncle, do you have any method to reach him?" "Find out his home address from his phone number!" Jin Wewen shook her head helplessly and said, "That''s impossible! We Jins are only a normal family. Even if we have a martial arts inheritance, we''re still essentially a normal family. My parents are only the owners of a small supermarket, I''m only the boss of a boxing club, and Uncle, you''re just a freelancer. What gives us the right to investigate his phone number?" Laughing a little bitterly, Jin Wenwen continued, "We don''t have friends in the telecom companies, nor are we acquainted with anyone in the security system. We can''t find anything, and I guess he probably won''t come to our boxing club in the future." The coach said somewhat irritatedly, "We''re not trying to harm him. We just want to ask if he has an immersive cabin and buy it at a high price from him. He''s way too cautious." Hearing the coach''s complaints, Jin Wenwen stood up abruptly. "No matter, I''ll continue to ask for it online. If 200,000 won''t do, then 500,000." With this, she left in a rush. Roland rode a public bike and wandered the city randomly, and then he turned into a small park and sat down. He called Schuck, Betta, and the others and explained to them what just happened, then warned them not to tell any outsiders about the immersive cabin. Fan Six Hundred Million spent over a million to buy an immersive cabin. If people with aspirations found out that all seven of them had it, even if they didn''t suffer something as exaggerated as theft or threats, it was still quite possible for many people to come knocking on their doors, either seeking to purchase the immersive cabin at a high price or borrow it for personal use. Things like this didn''t matter if they happened once or twice, but it would be considerably problematic once it became frequent. After getting off the phone, Roland rode the bike back home. Just like Jin Wenwen anticipated, Roland no longer went to the boxing club. It was apparent that they were interested in the immersive cabin. He didn''t need to trouble himself by going there again. Besides, he also had bodybuilding equipment at home. The room he lived in was also quite spacious, enough for him to go through a series of boxing movements. At ten at night, Roland entered the game again. The moment he entered the game, he received a system notification. It was an invitation notification sent remotely from Schuck. He naturally confirmed without hesitation. The next second, a semitransparent and light silver screen unfolded before his eyes. The guild name F6 was written on the system panel, as well as the list of current guild members. At this moment, the only official guild members were him and Schuck. Shortly after, Li Lin and the rest were invited, while Betta was pending on a list of "extra" members. This guild interface was quite simple. There was only the guild name and the list of members, as well as a tab labeled "guild speak." After clicking it, Roland discovered that this page was a simple chat room. He found the character input bar at the very bottom and "touched" it with his thoughts, and then a bright semitransparent keyboard appeared before his eyes. It was controlled with one''s thoughts. Schuck: "Hello brothers, can you see what I''m saying?" When Roland was about to enter a few words, he saw that Schuck had sent a message first. And then, the screen refreshed below as Li Lin and the others replied. They were all talking about how they could finally connect. Roland had a brief and casual chat with them, and then he went off to the slums and just happened to run into Hawk and Link. The two of them were in a bit of trouble right now. In the narrow, muddy alley, the two of them were surrounded by a group of beggars. At first, Roland assumed that they were being maliciously targeted, but when he walked closer, he knew that his assumption was wrong. The beggars were kneeling before them. The leader of the beggars was malnourished and sickly in appearance, the clothes on his body torn from years of use, black and dirty, and full of holes. "Respected Golden Sons, please offer us shelter and some food to eat." Roland heard these words as he approached them. 67 Use Someone Elses Scheme as Ones Own Twenty to thirty beggars surrounded Hawk and Link. They knelt down before the two, and although they had a timid look in their eyes, they stubbornly stayed. The alley was very quiet. Hawk looked around at the circle of beggars and frowned. "You just said that you hope we can lead you and help you guys make a living What gave you such an idea?" The middle-aged beggar put on a placating smile and said, "You two big shots have hung around here for a while. We''ve seen that you guys are never starving, and you guys even bought a home and added furniture. That''s why I''m thinking, you two big shots definitely have ways to let us fill our bellies. We don''t have any skills other than doing what we''re told. As long as we can fill our bellies, we''ll be willing to do whatever you Sirs want us to." The bustling noises of the main streets came faintly from the turn before the alley. The group of beggars knelt on the ground, their expressions serious to an almost devout degree. Link was somewhat moved. He looked at Hawk, seemingly about to say something. However, at this moment, Hawk suddenly sneered. He reached out and grabbed the middle-aged beggar''s collar and lifted the latter up. Then, Hawk rammed the beggar into the wall of the alley. With a thump, this middle-aged beggar''s face twisted in pain. He grabbed Hawk''s hands forcefully, trying to twist free so that he could come down from being suspended in midair. However, he was only a beggar who couldn''t fill his belly all year round, whereas Hawk was someone with a class. Despite being at a low level, Hawk wasn''t someone a beggar could contend against. From the moment Hawk lifted up the beggar to the moment the beggar was rammed against the wall, only a few seconds passed. These two movements were too quick. When the other beggars came to their senses, half of the kneeling beggars immediately ran off, and many others climbed up from the ground and ran to a safe distance. Link simply stared at Hawk. He didn''t understand why Hawk would bully a beggar, but as a good friend, he didn''t ask any questions. Being lifted up this way, the beggar found it more and more difficult to breathe, and his face soon turned red. Hawk kept the beggar lifted off the ground and asked in a cold voice, "Those words you said earlier, who told you to say them? A mere beggar like you can''t possibly speak so coherently. If you had such skills, you would at least be able to fill your stomachyou wouldn''t need to be a beggar at all." The beggar shook his head forcefully. "I see that you don''t want to talk." Hawk''s expression was somewhat sinister, he lifted the beggar and rammed him against the wall again. "Still don''t want to talk?" Hawk struck a posture as if he were going to ram the beggar against the wall again. Hearing these words, the beggar struggled even more fiercely. At this moment, Link said, "Hawk, he might be strangled by his collar. He can''t talk and breathe." "I know, I''m doing it on purpose." Hawk threw the beggar onto the ground, then he squatted down and said with a sinister smile, "A beggar like you doesn''t know how to speak like that. Who told you to say that?" The beggar gasped for air while looking at Hawk in horror. After his body wasn''t so lacking in oxygen, he immediately sat up and pushed with his feet to move his body backward, but unfortunately, Hawk stepped right down on his ankle, fixing him in place. "Ah, my leg, please, let go!" The beggar let out a miserable shriek. Hawk remained unmoved. He said coldly, "These past two months, I''ve killed at least two hundred people if not three hundred, adding you to the count won''t matter. If you don''t tell me who told you to come up to me, don''t think about leaving this alley alive." While saying this, Hawk continued to apply pressure with his foot. The beggar screamed againeven the faint cracking and splitting of bones could be heard. The middle-aged beggar wasn''t a person with a strong will, so he immediately wailed, "I''ll tell, I''ll tell, please let me go." Hawk removed his foot. Towering above the beggar, as if he were looking down at a tick, he said, "Talk." "It was the city guards'' Captain Lucian." After the middle-aged beggar finished speaking, he immediately stood up and ran off. He looked back as he ran, and seeing that Hawk wasn''t chasing after him, he ran even faster. Hawk''s expression was all the more gloomy as he watched the beggar escape. Even on a scorching hot day, the alley''s atmosphere was slightly chilly. Link sighed, stroking the long strands of hair on his forehead, and said indifferently, "What does he want to achieve by having the beggars join us Troublesome matters one after another. Let''s change places for our development, Hawk. Now that we have a few gold coins anyway, we can hire a slightly better carriage to travel to another city." Link''s voice became somewhat soft and expectant toward the end. Hawk, however, shook his head. "I won''t let this slide. If we go now like this, we''re no different from stray dogs." "But it seems like we''ve been targeted by the nobles." Link looked somewhat weary. "I just want to play the game happily and relaxedly. I don''t want to play this game like it''s just battles and endless slaughter." "Link, you''re too naive." Hawk shook his head. "Even if we go to the next city, our experience will be roughly the same as it is now." Link pursed his lips, looking timid. "But when we arrive at a new city, we can think of ways to get on good terms with the noblesjust like Roland." Hawk was at a loss for a moment, then he forced a smile. At this moment, Roland turned the corner and walked into the alley. He said as he walked, "I''ll explain in advance, I didn''t get on good terms with the nobles." Hawk and Link were both a little surprised to see Roland. Upon seeing their expressions, Roland said with a smile, "I have a favor to ask of you guys, I never expected to see this drama." Hawk regained his composure and said, "Don''t stand by the door, let''s talk inside." The three of them entered the house and sat down. Link served up a cup of water. Although they were in a game, Link seemed to have brought his habits in reality with him. After Roland took a sip, he said, "Continuing the topic earlier, I didn''t build a good relationship with the nobles." Link sat down on the side and said, "But you entered the Magic Tower." "Spellcasters have prerogatives. Although they aren''t nobles, they have a high status," Roland explained. "And more importantly, the nobles aren''t just targeting you guys; I''m also within the scope of their attacks. They just haven''t done anything for the time being." Hawk and Link immediately recalled the matter on the party invitation. The both of them sighed. Hawk recalled the name the beggar revealed at the end. He asked, "Roland, what are your thoughts on the name the beggar gave?" "It might be a strategy to kill two birds with one stone. If you took in those beggars, it would be a burdenyou would have to take care of them, hear them complain, and you would have pawns planted right next to you." Roland contemplated for a while and said, "If you go look for trouble with that small captain, you might just be playing into the hands of the mastermind behind the scenes." Hawk nodded. "That''s what I thought as well F**k, we have too little information. Regarding the division of this city''s influences, organizations, territories, and so on, we know nothing at all. It would be difficult even if we wanted to just deduce the basic layout of the situation." "It''s actually not that difficult." Roland smiled. "Why not use their schemes as your ownhow about you guys really organize a group of beggars? Of course, those beggars just now you can''t accept. The both of you have large guilds backing you anyway, you guys should have a degree of organization and mobilization skills. The beggars'' information gathering abilities shouldn''t be bad." "You''re saying we should create a beggar''s union?" Roland nodded. "That''s right. NPCs can create organizations, and we certainly can toothere''s a high degree of freedom in this game." 68 You Decide The room quieted down again. Roland slowly sipped on the warm water, waiting patiently for Hawk to ponder quietly over this idea. For a person like Hawk who had been in charge of a large-scale guild, before anything was done, he would ponder it ahead of time. Even back when he was killing nobles, he contemplated it beforehand. Could it be done and should it be done? What effects will this bring to the organization? He had to consider all the aspects. It wasn''t as simple as getting a good idea and just doing itthat was the way of a lone wolf. It wasn''t the attitude a deputy leader of a guild should have. Roland had already finished three cups of water before Hawk finally spoke after contemplating for nearly ten minutes. "It''s not a problem to gather the beggars, but how should we cooperatehow should the power and benefits be distributed?" "It hasn''t even been done. You''re already starting to consider the power and benefits?" Roland was slightly surprised. "Of course," Hawk said matter-of-factly. "Even for a gaming guild like ours, with a mere few hundred people, the majority are still occasional playersthere will still be disputes of interest. Not to mention, if we really could gather the beggars, the benefits that arise may be even greater than we imagined." Roland nodded; he couldn''t help but agree with Hawk''s point. It was just as Hawk had said: in places where there are lots of people, there will always be disputes of interest. Even if the members of F6 were all childhood friends, there were still small hidden groups amongst them. For example, Roland and Schuck had a better relationship with each other, while Raffel and Li Lin were even more familiar with each other than they were with the rest. There were at least over ten thousand beggars inside this city. Even if they only gathered one-tenth, that would be over a thousand people. A thousand people would undeniably be considered a large force inside this city. "Actually, I''m not interested in establishing an organization." Roland thought for a moment and said, "For me, those things are too problematic." Hawk was somewhat confused. "Then why did you give me this idea?" "As I said earlier, I want you to investigate something for me," Roland explained. "As for the matter of the beggars, I just happened to see this and came up with the idea in passing. After all, I don''t want to be taken as a pushover and be messed with by the nobles. If they control or force you guys away, Betta and I will have to deal with their malice next." "We''re on the same boat, at least that''s what they see." Hawk sneered in disdain. "Those nobles don''t dare to face us head-on, so they thought of this despicable method to chase us away!" The room went silent all of a sudden. The three of them all thought of different scenes. The scene that surfaced before Hawk''s eyes was the corpses of the boys and girls drifting on the river, while what emerged before Roland''s eyes were the dozens of bones inside the cave. "This ignorant, cruel, and primitive world." Hawk clicked his tongue in disgust. "I really want to smash it to pieces." Within his words, there was an indistinct wrath. This was a passionate young man. If he weren''t so, he wouldn''t openly go against a noble for the sake of the corpses of those young boys and girls. "Then you should recruit more people, and perhaps there''ll be a change," Roland said with a smile. "As a guild''s deputy leader, this should be something you''re good at." Hawk''s thick sloping brows knit into a frown, then somewhat puzzled, he said, "I can''t help but feel that this is a little unfair. We''re doing all the bitter and strenuous work and we have to gather information for you, while you only have to come up with the idea." "There''ll be places where I can help," Roland said with a smile. "I''m currently the deputy chairman of the Association of Mages in this city anyhow." Hawk was momentarily startled. He stuck his thumb up in approval. "I thought you simply joined the Association of Mages, but I didn''t realize you were already in the upper echelons." Roland chatted with them for a little while longer. He then left after he cast Language Proficiency on them. Then, he returned to the Magic Tower and continued to work on the derivative spell Character Proficiency. As he produced more and more data, he progressed faster and faster. Another four days passed in the game, then he finally completed the derivative spell Character Proficiency. Excited, Roland wasn''t in a rush to cry for joy. Instead, he held a book in his hands and lost himself in reading it. The book''s title was Meditation Techniques and Important Cautions. This was also the specialty that Roland wanted to learn the most right now. Before he arrived at Delpon, Falken told him that this was a specialty skill specific to mages and one that must be learned. The so-called Meditation Spell was, in essence, the combined application of mental power and spirit. Enter a calm state between sleep and awareness by sitting cross-legged or lying down, then condensing mental power, one would be able to enter their own spiritual world. Afterward, they would be able to mobilize their own mental power and form a mental world within their spiritual world. Since it was a mental world, one could transmogrify the majority of the physical scenery of the world in the game. Most importantly, one could conduct magic simulation experiments that wouldn''t cause any substantial harm to one''s own body and spirit. This Meditation Spell was easy to explain but hard to do. For the majority of people, after they entered a state of calm, they would immediately fall asleep. Roland was no exception to this. He tried four times, and once he emptied his mind, he would start snoring in less than three minutes. And then, he would be forcibly ejected from the game world, because after players entered the game, they were already sleeping. It was absolutely impossible to be in a state between sleep and consciousness, this in and of itself was a paradox. Moreover, Roland couldn''t help but think it was a little similar to lucid dreaming. However, Meditation Spell simply had the addition of using mental power. Could it be that we players can''t learn this Meditation Spell? Although Roland had this thought in mind, he still tried many times and succeeded in none of them, unfortunately. After the gaming time for the day was over, Roland got up from the immersive cabin. He first went to upload the Character Proficiency node model illustration onto the forums, and then he went to the game''s suggestion and bug feedback section and explained the effects of the Meditation Spell. He said in his post, "We players are essentially already lucid dreaming, so it should be impossible to enter another kind of state of sleep, right?" Afterward, he closed his computer, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and ate breakfast. When he was halfway through his breakfast, his phone rang. He thought it was Schuck calling, but once he checked his phone, he saw that it was an unfamiliar number. Seeing that it didn''t seem like a disturbing advertisement number, he picked up the call. Soon, a feminine-sounding male voice came from the other end of the phone. "Hello, may I ask for Roland?" "This is he, and you are?" "I''m World of Falan''s head planner, Ma Huajun[1], you can call me Old Ma." "Oh, hello, Mr. Ma." Roland was somewhat surprised, thinking that this person might be a swindler. "We''ve investigated the bug you submitted, it is indeed a problem." Ma Huajun''s voice sounded unusually clear through the phone. "Now, we have two courses of action. The first is to change Meditation into an active support specialization. For example, after activation, the next few spells will increase in damage or have their effects amplified. The other is to change it to a passive skill. For example, while out of combat, one will speed up mental power regeneration. Because you discovered this bug, we thought that you should decide whether or not to change it into an active specialty or a passive specialty." [1] MC in another book (axed) by the same autho 69 I Want All of I "It''s up to me?" Roland was startled for a moment. Now he thought the possibility that the other party was a fraud was low. However, he still found this strange. "I remember when I filled out the information, I didn''t leave my phone number, just my ID. How do you know my phone number?" "Erm About that, although it''s a little after the fact, I''ll still divulge some information to you." The voice inside the phone had a peculiar sense of mysteriousness. "Actually, this game was already cooperating with the country. All the players already passed a round of investigation on their personal records. After ensuring that each player had no stains on their record, they then were allowed to purchase an immersive cabin. If even their personal records were investigated, your commonly used phone number would naturally be in our database." So that''s how! However, Roland thought this was quite normal after giving it some thought. For such an advanced and time-surpassing technology, if the country wasn''t safeguarding from behind the stage, Penguin Corporation, even with its size, wouldn''t be able to defend against the mauling of wolvesnot to mention there were corporate spies and things of that sort, as well as the pressures from certain large countries. Private corporations had extremely little power in a broad environment that involved industrial upgradingleaning on a large backer was the correct way of handling this situation. It was no wonder there were very few paid comments that tarnished this game. Even if there were, they would be suppressed quickly. "Since it''s up to me" Roland''s voice quivered. He then said resolutely, "Isn''t there a meme on the internet that says, only children make choices, adults want it all!" "Hahahahaha!" A candid laughter came through the phone first, then Ma Huajun said, "Sure enough, you''re a greedy adult. Unfortunately, I, Ma Huajun, love to say no to arrogant people the mostchoose one over the otheryou can only choose one. Besides, we have to take class balance into consideration. Mages are already quite impressive. If Meditation possessed both active and passive effects, that would be too ridiculous." Roland didn''t expect the head planner to go along with his joke. After some thought, Roland said, "What''s the full effect of the passive skill?" "Don''t worry, it''s only slightly worse than the active skill, but it''s superior in that it has continuous effects." "Then, passive effect it is," Roland said after a moment''s thought. He didn''t choose this arbitrarily, but it was rather that he already sensed the fact that mages had slow mental power regeneration. It wasn''t the equipment or the number of spells that troubled mages, it was mental power. The amount of mental power and its endurance decided a mage''s ability to last in a fight. However, the passive mental power regeneration would forever be your own. "Sure, the passive effect it is." Ma Huajun''s voice came through from the phone. "Then I''ll hang up now. In a while, you''ll be able to see the bug fix announcement on the official website." "Wait!" Roland suddenly shouted. "Is something else the matter?" "I just wanted to ask, those NPCs, are they really just artificial intelligence?" "What do you think?" A profound voice came from the phone. "If you think they''re NPCs, then they''re NPCs, if you think they''re real humans, then they''re real humans. This game is actually quite idealistic." After Ma Huajun finished speaking, he ended the call, giving Roland no chance to ask another question. When Roland tried to call back, however, he discovered that the previous caller ID was displayed as eleven zeros, even though the caller ID had been perfectly normal just now. Could he have remembered wrong? This number couldn''t be called. Idealistic? What''s that supposed to mean?! Roland couldn''t understand it, for it sounded mysterious and unusual. He shook his head helplessly, and hastily finished eating breakfast. He had wanted to go to the boxing club again, but when he recalled that Jin Wenwen seemed to be rather interested in the immersive cabin inside his house, he gave up on the idea. Although he paid a year''s worth of tuition, it was merely a few thousand yuan. However, in his bank account, there was already nearly 300,000 yuan in savingswasting a little was harmless. Why not go to another training club to learn a weapon of some sort? Roland remembered amongst the basic weapons mages were proficient with, swords were one of them. How about fencing? However, he might as well learn the basic military sword techniques from Betta. Besides, the growth in agility of Mages was quite average, only slightly better than normal people, and he didn''t learn any buffs, so he wouldn''t have much use for it for the time being. However, it was always better to be prepared, just in case! No matter what, he should just learn it first. He had nothing better to do in the daytime anyway. He searched on the web and discovered that there actually weren''t any places in the city center that taught swordsmanship. Yes eighteenth-tier small cities had precisely this flaw. Although normal basic needs weren''t a problem, it was a difficult place to engage in any sort of advanced entertainment or learn any advanced skillsit was lacking in a lot of areas. Just when he was disappointed, he actually found a miaodao training club on the map''s navigation. By the looks of the location, it should be in the eastern suburban districts. Miaodao techniques! This was south of Xinjiang where there were a lot of people of Miao ethnicity. And as a national minority, the Miao people had the prerogative to carry sabers. However, this society was now safer and stabler, so it was rare for people of the Miao ethnic group to walk around carrying sabers. Apart from occasionally wearing their own ethnic clothing, they were already no different from the main ethnicities in terms of habits and customs. Besides, even with superficial historical knowledge, Roland knew that the saber associated with the Miao ethnic group wasn''t the miaodao. Miaodao only appeared after the establishment of the Republic of Chinait was merely the name of a type of saber. It was said that miaodao techniques referenced Wajin''s[1] two-handed saber and its techniques, but the attack patterns were more suited toward the Chinese people''s habits of being bold and grand. After all, the average height of the martial artists of China were greater than that of the Wajin martial artists. Was this miaodao club a bait and switch, simply advertising itself as miaodao, or did it teach the orthodox Chinese miaodao techniques? He would know once he went to check it out. Roland used a public bike and arrived at the suburbs following the map''s navigation system. This took him nearly half an hour. After leaving the city center, there were clearly a lot less people on the streets, and on the two sides of the roads, some farmlands that planted vegetables and fruits started to appear. On a vacant land prepared to be opened up for development, Roland found the miaodao club. The midaodao club occupied a lot of land, but it was quite simple and crude. Two galvanized iron sheets combined to form a shed used to block the sun and rain, then there was a wide, flat, glossy cement floor which could even reflect light a little. A red brick wall up to Roland''s chest surrounded this land. A wooden signboard hung at the doorway. Unlike the simple and crude site itself, this signboard was quite refined. It was a square base of brown lumber that had been polished to lustrousness, the two words "Miaodao Club" engraved one-third deep into the wood, then polished with black paint. It looked rather sharp and imposing. His line of sight passing through the low perimeter wall, Roland saw four students in uniform, brandishing long wooden sabers high above them. On the side, a young girl was carrying a bucket, spraying water on the cement ground, seemingly in order to lower the temperature. There was another young man leaning on the load-bearing metal pillars of the large shed. He was watching the four young students train. When Roland''s line of sight landed on the young man, the young man also turned to look at Roland. The young man''s eyes were like that of a dead fish, a gaze without any luster or spirit. However, inexplicably, Roland felt a bit of pressure. [1] Ancient people in Japan, China, and Korea 70 Youre Screwing With Me, Right? Although this young man had no spirit in his eyes, he had a very well-shaped body, his height roughly 180 centimeters. He wore an ordinary gray short-sleeved shirt with a pair of jeans. His spiritless eyes stared at Roland for a while, and then he walked over. Separated by the low red brick perimeter wall, he asked in a weak voice, "Friend, what are you doing here?" "Just taking a look." Roland shifted his gaze away from the young man. He stared at the two students sparring on the field and said unhurriedly, "I heard that this place was a miaodao club, so I came over to see if it was real." The young man grinned impassively, as if he were smiling without the intention of doing so. "Feel free to look around." The two sparring students held two long and curved wooden sabers, which indeed looked very similar to the tachi[1] of Wa[2], and the sequence of movements and attacks between the two were quite similar to kendo[3] at first glance. No wonder people thought that miaodao techniques drew from kendo. After watching the two spar for a while, Roland was certain that this miaodao club was indeed genuine. After all, he had trained in boxing for two monthsalthough he wouldn''t dare claim to be very strong, only slightly more impressive than a coach who has been teaching for over ten years, his discernment was also improved during this time. One who trained in boxing naturally had to learn how to supply strength and withdraw strength, basic concepts that also existed in swordsmanship. The strength when brandishing the saber and the skillfulness when sheathing the saber, Roland could discern these things from the sparring studentsthey certainly had established some foundation. After watching for a while, Roland asked the young man, "Fellow brother, where''s the boss and coach for this miaodao club?" "I''m both." The young man still had a dispirited and apathetic expression. He sized up Roland and said, "You seem to have established some foundation in martial arts." "Yes, I trained in boxing for two months!" "Two months?" The young man finally showed a minute change in his expression, as if a light feather landed on the surface of a tranquil lake, setting off a light ripple. "Yes." Roland nodded. "I see" The young man weakly mumbled a few words, and then suddenly his right hand cut diagonally upward, the tip of his palm seemingly about to jab Roland''s ribs. On his part, Roland reacted extremely quickly at this moment. He titled his upper body backward as his knees instinctively came up and charged toward the young man''s abdomen. However, all of a sudden, he stopped his movements. Because he saw that the young man''s karate chop was only a feint that stopped halfway. It was merely a test, one without any ill intent. After about two seconds, the two of them simultaneously stood straight and smiled awkwardly at each other. The young man no longer had that apathetic expression he had earlier; his eyes had a somewhat excited expression in them. "It seems you''ve done well in your training. Want to come inside and spar?" "Like I said, I''m a boxer, you''re a swordsman, I couldn''t possibly be a match for you." Roland shook his head helplessly. "I guess." The young man sighed in disappointment, his expression back to that corpse-like lifelessness. "Actually, I''ve come to learn miaodao techniques." Roland looked at the young man and said with a light smile, "It seems the teaching here is quite orthodoxhow much is the tuition?" "Thirty thousand!" "How much!?" Roland suspected that he''d heard wrong. "Thirty thousand." The young man yawned and continued, "Guaranteed to teach you until you''ve mastered it. If you''re stupid and can''t master it in a short amount of time, then I''ll teach you until you''ve mastered it. But you don''t look like a fool." Roland felt his head ache. "That number of yours is too outrageous. And the environment you have here doesn''t seem that good either. It feels lacking in classit''s not worth that much money." As he said this, he pointed at the shed supported by two layers of galvanized iron sheets. This sort of place appeared very much like a skating rink inside a small town twenty years ago. In reality, what he guessed was actually right. Over ten years ago, this place was indeed a skating rink. However, once Internet cafes started to appear, the skating rink couldn''t make a profit. This resulted in its abandonment, and then a few years prior, the young man opposite him took it over at an extremely low price. The young man said indifferently, "You guys pay a fee to learn swordsmanship, not to enjoy the setting, so what does it matter if the environment is good or not? This place is actually better for training in the hottest summer and the coldest winterit toughens one''s willpower." "You can''t make it any cheaper?" Roland asked. "No!" The young man almost had no change in his expression. But the more that this was so, the more it showed his determinationthe words he said were almost impossible to argue. Roland looked at the four students who were training under the large shed and asked, "Did they already pay thirty thousand?" Thirty thousand was a figure that wasn''t much at all for rich people. Sometimes they could throw away several times this number in a night to entertain guests. However, for a normal person like Roland, this amount was quite a lot. Even if he had nearly 300,000 yuan in his bank account, he still felt that it was a little expensive. He saw that the four students, who were training swordsmanship under the large shed, didn''t appear to be very rich, so he suspected that the boss and coach before him was trying to scam a little bit of money. "They''re my relatives, of course it''s free for them," the young man said matter-of-factly, and at the same time, he took out a wrinkled and unsealed pack of Hongmei[4] cigarettes and handed one over, asking, "Want a smoke?" "No thanks, I don''t smoke." Roland waved his hand. So it turned out they were the young man''s relativesRoland had no way of taking this argument further. The young man lit a cigarette for himself, took a puff, and blew out a smoke ring. "It''s good that you don''t smoke. One who trains martial arts shouldn''t smoke, it''s bad for the lungs. If the lungs are unwell, the vital energies won''t be able to rise. If one is deficient in vital energies, not to mention training martial arts, it would be good enough if one''s normal livelihood wasn''t affected." With a strange expression, Roland stared at the cigarette in the young man''s hands, the expression in his eyes piercing. "You mean me?" The young man dangled the cigarette in his hand and spoke in that same emotionless tone. "I''m just keeping it in my mouth, not breathing it in the lungs." Then what''s the point of smoking like that? Roland was somewhat confused, but he didn''t want to understand why the young man formed such an eccentricity. He thought for a while and asked, "Then how long have you been operating here for and how many students have you recruited? Not including your relatives." "Over half a year, and not a single student from the outside." The young man seemed to be quite frank. Roland frowned even more, but just when he was about to speak, his phone rang. He made a gesture toward the young man to excuse himself. He walked to the side and picked up the call. It was a call from Schuck. "The official website came out with a new announcement, did you read it yet?" "I''ve got something to deal with, I didn''t have time to pay attention to the official website." "You better look at it now, it''s related to you." With that said, Schuck hung up the call. Roland remembered that the head planner had said that there would be a new announcement soon. Could it be because he was the one who posted about the bug feedback that the announcement mentioned him? However, Schuck had a relatively calm personality, he wouldn''t be the type to make a fuss because of a small matter like this. Roland opened the browser on his phone and went on the game''s official web page. As expected, there was a new announcement. After clicking it, he slapped himself on the forehead, speechless. "Game planner, you''re screwing with me, right!?" [1] Japanese sword worn by samurais [2] Ancient name for Japan, could be considered derogatory [3] Japanese martial art that uses bamboo swords [4] Means red plum, cheap cigarette brand in China 71 Two Small Goals? Once he opened the official website on his phone, he immediately saw the pinned announcement, "Questions Concerning The Meditation Spell Bug." "Roughly two hours ago, a mage player, Roland, reported a bug concerning the mage''s specialty, Meditation Spell. After we were informed, we verified it immediately. It is indeed as Roland described; the mage''s specialty Meditation Spell can''t be learned in-game. Therefore, we made a difficult decision. In the future, Meditation Spell will become a unique specialty for NPCs, while the players'' Meditation Spell will be changed to Roland''s Zeal. As a passive specialization, its effects will be as follows: Mages with this specialty will have mental power regeneration of two multiplied by the player level and possess three times the player level of psychological spell resistance. "At the same time, the nature of this specialization will be changed to a unique specializationthe player Roland will default as the creator of this specialization and enjoy twice the effect of this specialization. A statue of Roland will be uploaded somewhere in the outskirts of Hollevin''s capital. It will be set as a special structural unit, indestructible and immovable. Mage players who want to learn this specialty can obtain this specialty by tossing a gold coin at the basin of the statue of Roland. This gold coin will naturally appear in the player Roland''s Backpack after a certain amount of time, serving as tuition. This is the only unique specialty that Mages can learn on their own with a ding[1]. Please cherish this." After Roland finished reading this post, he knew that he''d become famousno wonder Schuck specially gave him a call. He sighed, sensing a slight oncoming headache. Although becoming famous could be considered a good thing, to become famous in this way, it almost felt as though the planners wanted to push him into a pit of fire. He didn''t know if the other Mage players would isolate him. Roland didn''t really want to see the game''s forum right now, but after a moment''s hesitation, he still opened it. Escape was no use, he had to face them sooner or later. Just as expected the players of other classes were all watching the show, while the majority of the Mage players were complaining. Why? The price of a single gold coin was now driven up to almost 16,000 yuan. Although Roland also received quite a lot of tips on the forum, he obtained these tips from thousands, even tens of thousands of players in each thread. However, now what the game producers did was tantamount to directly taking out 16,000 from every Mage player''s wallet. It would be strange if the players didn''t complain. It would be strange for players not to eat lemons[3]. The atmosphere on the forum was foul. Some people were envious, some people rebuked the decision angrily, and some people said that Roland was a gaming official who deliberately conducted tests to rake in money in a roundabout way. Of course, there were also some relatively richer players and nouveau riche that expressed this wasn''t a big deal. It was quite profitable to exchange a practical specialty with 16,000 yuan. One could only say that the worldviews of normal people and the rich were too different. Feeling that he''d been played by a certain game planner surnamed Ma, Roland had a constipated expression as he turned off his phone and put it in his pocket. Then, he walked to the young man who was waiting for him. "Coach, what do you go by?" "My surname is Qi, I''m called Qi Shaoqiu," the young man said in a dull voice. "You can take a look at our training before deciding whether you want to come learn or not." Roland was startled for a moment. Before coming here, he also did some simple investigation. It was said that miaodao techniques were called Xinyou sword techniques before the establishment of the Republic of China. Reportedly, when Qi Jiguang[4] fought the pirates of the Wa people, he absorbed the Wa people''s sword techniques and created this sword technique for killing enemies on the battlefield. This young man was also surnamed Qi was there a connection here? Roland looked at the four students under the large shed, shook his head, and said, "There''s no need. I know you teach the genuine skills here. However, I still have to consider for a while. After all, 30,000 yuan is certainly a little expensive." "All right, you take your time." Under normal circumstances, when someone says they''ll consider, they''re declining in a disguised wayit''s merely a relatively tactful way to talk. Qi Shaoqiu felt that Roland was also this type of person. He nodded and said, "All right, then I''ll go back to the training club now, take your time to consider." With that said, Qi Shaoqiu returned under the large shed. The girl, who was sprinkling water, walked in front of Qi Shaoqiu, put down the bucket, stood with her arms akimbo, and said something fiercely. Qi Shaoqiu, who never quite showed any expression, actually revealed an ingratiating look, almost nodding and bowing his head. Is is this person reliable? Roland started to feel a little worried. This young girl looked average. Her skin was quite white, which made her appear a little pretty. After all, a white complexion is powerful enough to hide seven faults. Seeming to sense that someone was watching her, after the girl reprimanded Qi Shaoqiu with a few words, she suddenly turned to look at Roland. The distance between the two wasn''t considered far. Roland could clearly see a beautiful and indistinct shine flickering in the girl''s eyes. It was quite enchanting. Roland nodded slightly as an expression of farewell, and then left on the public bike. After Roland was far in the distance, the girl quickly withdrew her gaze. She looked at Qi Shaoqiu and asked, "I just saw that you guys were about to come to blows." "It was just a test." Qi Shaoqiu still hadn''t completely wiped off the fawning look on his face. "That guy''s reaction speed is quite fast, it seems like he has trained in boxing for at least five years or more. However, judging from his age, he hasn''t trained for over ten years." "Are you his match?" "Maybe not empty-handed." Qi Shaoqiu wiped off the fawning look on his face at this moment. He said in a tranquil and calm voice, "However, if I had a miaodao, even with three of him, I could still cut them all in half." "There''s nothing impressive about using weapons to bully empty-handed people!" the girl said harshly. Qi Shaoqiu chuckled. "Using tools is a skill that only we humans have." The girl snickered. "Who was it that kept mumbling something like, ''Since the era of firearms, it''s been an age of grief for martial artists''?" Qi Shaoqiu''s face wrinkled at these words. He said somewhat awkwardly, "Little sister, I''m your older brother anyhow, save me some face, will you?" The girl snorted and said unhappily, "I told you before, your 30,000 yuan tuition is too high a price. See, even a real expert ran off after hearing that number. If things continue like this, we''ll really just be spending money and not earning any." At this moment, Qi Shaoqiu lit up another cigarette for himself, took a puff and held it in his mouth, and then breathed it out lightly. The light white wisps of smoke rose straight up. Qi Shaoqiu said seriously, "Don'' worry, if I still can''t recruit any outside students in half a year, I''ll close this training club. I''ll earn money by being someone''s bodyguard." The girl''s expression eased. "I''m not forcing you to close the training club, I only want to remind you to be mentally prepared for failure." "I understand." Qi Shaoqiu smiled, but there was a hint of disappointment in his smile. The girl said no more. She picked up the bucket again and resumed spraying water on the cement floor. [1] The sound of a gold coin; as in buy [2] A small goal is an internet meme made famous by Wang Jianlin, Chinese billionaire, who said a small goal was to make a 100 million, often used sarcastically [3] Refer to ch. 65 [4] military leade 72 Purchasing in Large Quantities After Roland returned home on the public bike, his parents stopped him. The dazzlingly bright LED home-use light hung high above. Roland''s parents sat across the table from him. His parents wore serious expressions, their faces stiff like statues. "I heard you quit? Why didn''t you discuss this with us?" Roland''s father asked with a tone that clearly attempted to suppress his anger. Roland knew this day would come. He nodded in response. "What plans do you have without a job? Were you wronged at the company?" Roland''s mother''s tone was much softer. However, as their son who interacted with them for twenty years, how could Roland not know what their game was? One played the good cop while the other played the bad cop. As a child, he always thought his mother was on his side. He would tell his mother some secrets after she systematically and patiently guided him to do so. In the end, his father would know in less than two hours. If the situation was optimistic, his father would solemnly educate him on virtues, and if the situation was grim, he would take a boot to the butt. As he grew older, he saw through his parents'' game and understood their painstaking care. The majority of parents wished the best for their children. "It has nothing to do with the company." Roland sat across them and replied with a smile, "It''s simply because I found something more interesting." "What?" Roland''s father questioned as he looked at his unperturbed son, feeling somewhat disappointed. In the past, Roland would definitely appear somewhat panicky when interrogated like this, but now his son appeared calm and collected. "I''m playing a game." His parents frowned almost at the same time. They couldn''t be blamed for this. In the eyes of the older generation, playing games would never be a proper job. "These are my current bank savings." Roland took out his phone and placed his bank balance in front of their eyes. "All of this was earned within two months of playing the game." Both parents took a look and saw that there were already nearly 300,000 in savings. Honestly speaking, their combined savings were roughly this figure. A lot of the time, when you claim how impressive you are, other people might not understand. For example, if you say you''re a level-ten machinist[1] people who didn''t understand this would assume that it was just a rank evaluation for a kind of technical job, one that paid a little more. In essence, this understanding wasn''t all that wrong, but in terms of awareness of details, it would be far from the truth. If Roland said how impressive this game washow it could subtly increase lifespan, train social, fighting, and learning skillshis parents definitely wouldn''t believe him or try to believe him. They didn''t understand what an immersive cabin was. Oh this game can make money, lots of money. Upon seeing this balance, his parents were both somewhat doubtful and in disbelief, but they trusted that their son wouldn''t lie to them about such an important matter. "Games are ultimately not a proper pathcan you play for your entire life?" Roland''s father thought for a moment and said this. Roland''s mother also chimed in. "I think it''s best to be more realistic." After some thought, Roland eventually said, "How about this, Mom and Dad: if I don''t have one million inside the bank account within two years, I''ll listen to you guys and take the functionary exam. The job title of a functionary was one that the majority of parents liked. The functionary exam in large cities was truly a single-log bridge. It was even possible for several tens of thousands of people to contest over a single popular post. However, in an eighteenth-tier small city, the functionary exam wasn''t difficult. There were many posts that stayed open for several periods, unable to gather enough exam-takers. Roland graduated from University of Luo, and he had always been an excellent student as a child; it was a sure bet for him to pass the functionary exam in a small city. The reason why he didn''t become a functionary right after graduation was none other than the low salaries of functionaries in small cities. After he returned home from graduation, he made inquiries. The lowest functionary base salary was near 3,000, in addition to all sorts of benefits and wage subsidies, but the total amount still couldn''t surpass 4,000. The advantages of being a functionary in a small city were only that it was comfortable and easy and that it provided five types of insurance and a housing accumulation fund. When Roland said these words, he had a serious look, without a sliver of doubt. Roland''s father contemplated quietly for a while and said, "You''re an adult now, it''s normal to have your own thoughts, so it''s settled. Remember, two years'' time." "Okay." Roland smiled. He assumed that it would take quite a bit of effort to persuade them, but unexpectedly, his father had agreed so easily. It was probably the bank balance that played a big part in this. After speaking with his parents for a little while longer, Roland returned to his own room, opened the forums, and discovered that topics regarding him were still in discussion. At the same time, many players expressed that in the future, they would find ways to discover bugs. After all, if one found a bug, they''d be rich and famouswhich youngster didn''t like that? Perhaps only some of the truly rich would be able to view this matter with equanimity. At night, Roland punctually lay down inside the immersive cabin. Right when he logged on, he received a system notification. "You''ve learned a unique specialty: Roland''s Zeal (True)." Roland opened the specialty panel to discover that this specialty truly had its effects doubled. Then, he went down to the fifth floor to carry out some tests. He released over twenty consecutive spells, almost emptying all his mental power. Because there was a special magic array that suppressed the power of spells on this floor, Roland''s spells didn''t cause any damage. Once he almost emptied all his mental power, he sat down to the side and read a book while waiting for his mental power to naturally regenerate. During this process, he could sense that there were large amounts of magical elements in the air replenishing his body. Before, he wouldn''t have sensed this so clearly. After roughly two hours, Roland felt that his mental power had been fully replenished. One hour and fifty-seven minutes since I had some leftover mental power, it''s two hours to completely regenerate all magic power? Since I have double the effect, the other Mages will take roughly four hours to completely regenerate magic power? This was pretty good. If he had equipment that sped up magic regeneration, this time would shorten even more. Even without double the effects, Roland''s Zeal was an extremely practical specialty, not to mention the psychological spell resistance it brought. Because under normal circumstances, the majority of Mages had to wait for at least over ten hours for magic power to naturally regenerate. People with poor resistance attributes would probably take even longer. With this specialty, the Mages'' problem of endurance could completely be resolved. In the future, when selecting Mage equipment, he could simply consider just the number of attributes on it, or focus on strengthening his defensive power. At this time, Vivian walked up to this floor. Her eyes lit up when she saw Roland, and she walked over and said, "Deputy Chairman, there''s a Golden Son looking for you outside." Roland assumed it was Betta. In the end, he found Hawk when he went down. Roland brought him to his study and asked him to sit. Meanwhile, Vivian promptly served up pastries and fruit wine. Hawk watched Vivian leave, and then with an envious look on his face, said, "The secretary takes care of everything, and when there''s nothing You''re living quite the life." Roland rolled his eyes helplessly at him. "Can your thoughts not be that filthy? Talk, what matters bring you here personally? Did you encounter troubles with the plan to gather beggars?" "It''s a little related." Under Roland''s somewhat puzzled gaze, Hawk continued, "I told this matter to the guild leader, and the leader thinks it has potential, but to gather and establish a force of beggars, a large amount of funds is needed in the early stages. That''s why the guild leader wants to establish long-term cooperation with you!" Roland asked curiously, "What sort of cooperation?" "We purchase your gold coins in bulk at market price. However much you''re willing to offer is however much we''re willing to buy!" [1] A nonexistent level, just a Chinese legend denoting people who have hands that are as accurate and fast as machines 73 So Many People Searching How wealthy was a gaming guild in reality? Roland wasn''t too clear on this. However, he knew that the majority of rich gamers came from gaming guilds, and even established their own gaming guilds. These rich people were all very wealthy in real life, but they couldn''t find anything exciting to dothey didn''t smoke or gamble, so they could only invest in online games. Acquiring the finest equipment that cost several hundred thousand yuan was as simple as eating a meal and drinking water. Roland once heard a news story that was quite credible. In a certain turn-based game based off Journey to the West[1], a rich player bought the finest weapon which had no level restriction and guaranteed critical hit off the official auction house. The weapon was worth roughly one million yuan. And according to the rich player himself, he had spent nearly ten million yuan on the game. This was merely one of the many rich players inside the game. This rich player was only a solo player, whereas some rich players recruited other players to form a small organization with themselves at the center. Those organizations that were relatively better and properly organized slowly developed into gaming guilds. Upon hearing Hawk''s words, Roland knew that the Silver Wings guild leader was also definitely a rich person. Moreover, judging from Hawk''s gold purchasing behavior from before, he was also most likely a rich person. "But I don''t have many gold coins every month," Roland said after a moment''s thought. Hawk, however, laughed. " Yeah, you don''t have much money now, but you will have a lot of money in the future. So long as one is a Mage, they''ll have to pay you one gold coin as tribute. This matter is unavoidablein the future, you''ll be the richest player in the game." Pay as tribute These words sound quite embarrassing. Roland thought for a moment and said, "All right, if I really have a lot of gold coins in the future, I''ll sell them to you at market price." Upon seeing Roland agree, Hawk laughed happily and said, "Thanks, it''s a pleasure to work with you. Oh, that''s right, our guild leader told me to advise you once again to join Silver Wingsthe pay can be negotiated." "Sorry, I already joined a guild." Hawk''s expression suddenly turned into one of confusion. There were only a few famous large guilds in the gaming world. They were in the middle amongst them, not being very famous but having some sort of relevance. However, their guild leader had a strong sense of foresight. He acutely felt that this game had great prospects, so he bought immersive cabins in advance for many players in the guild. Everyone moved as a collective. The guild leader''s original idea was to use the advantages of unity to do something big, seizing the resources in game. However, he never expected that every player''s spawn point would be randomized. Moreover, the game''s map was exceptionally large. Hundreds of members were scattered across the various lands of Hollevin. As a result, they didn''t even cause a splash. "What guild?" Hawk couldn''t help but ask. "F6!" "Oh!" Hawk let out a sigh of relieffortunately, it wasn''t their adversary, Church of Garland. Then, he immediately came to a realization. "F6, as in the first guild inside the game?" Roland nodded. At this moment, Hawk looked to be somewhat at a loss. The appearance of the guild F6 confused many people in the world of gaming guilds. They wondered what game this guild emerged from and how come they never heard of them. Something that large guilds like them couldn''t do at the moment, how could a small guild possibly accomplish? Was it luck, or was it pure strength? There were many theories. After staying silent for a while, Hawk suddenly said with a brazen look on his face, "Since you''re a member of F6, seeing that we''re friends, can you divulge how you guys created a guild and how you guys did it so quickly? And whether or not a guild has any special functions?" Hawk was a pretty good person; Roland felt that this player was someone worth deepening ties with. Besides, this wasn''t some important secret. And anyway, they had already seized the glory for being the first to establish a guild. So now it would be beneficial to make Hawk owe him a favor by giving Hawk the information. Then, Roland told Hawk everything he knew about guilds. After Hawk finished listening, he stood up immediately and said, "Thank you for your information. I''m going back right now to deliver the information to the guild, I''ll be leaving now." Roland waved his hands. Hawk turned and left without delay. Now, apart from F6, only Silver Wings knew about the fact that guilds possessed a communication function. This function was very importantat least in Hawk''s perspective, the strategic value of it was tantamount to a remote command post. It had to be acquired as soon as possible. After waiting for Hawk to leave, Roland shook his head. He was always using the guild''s chat function, but the members of F6 were too familiar with each other. If it wasn''t necessary, they wouldn''t chat nonstop. They would only leave information or messages that were relatively more important in the chat room. For example Raffel saw elf slaves inside the city two days ago. He asked whether Schuck and Betta, the "rich people," wanted to buy onethey truly looked very beautiful. Li Lin soon rushed over to get his hands on onethe two of them spawned relatively closer to each other. It was approximately on the second day that the word "awesome" was left on the chat interface. Then, after half an hour, he left another message: "Seeing that this female elf slave is somewhat pitiful, I already set her free." This person born with a silver spoon in his mouth was purely having a taste of novelty. At the time, Roland instinctively asked, "How many gold coins did you spend to buy a slave?" "Eight!" Yes Roland still couldn''t understand the world of rich people. Roland opened the guild chat room again. Although there were a few more messages, none of them concerned him, so he continued to derive spells from Language Proficiency. This time, he wanted to combine Language Proficiency and Character Proficiency. Otherwise, this would normally result in being able to understand words but unable to read them, or being able to read words but unable to understand them. He would have to change back and forth between spells, quite a problematic matter. Deriving benefits from the skill, Roland''s Zeal, Roland, at this moment, had greatly increased mental power regeneration. And with a substantial increase in the number of experiments, his efficiency became much higher. While he was focused on deriving spells, Vivian came in again. "The chairman, Mr. John, wants to see you." Roland looked up. He felt it was somewhat strange: what sort of day was this? Why were there so many people visiting him? But no matter what, he still had to meet the chairman. After all, the chairman was a noble. After several minutes, John came in and sat down in the study. He sized up Roland curiously, and after a while, he said, "Mr. Roland, to get a meeting with you is truly somewhat difficult." Roland frowned at this. Although the other side spoke with a smile and a gentle voice, those words undeniably carried a hint of rebuke. He looked at the other man, smiled lightly, and said, "Mr. John, are you referring to my not attending the party? I''m very sorry. At the time, I was taking care of a small problem regarding magic theory. I wasn''t much in the mood for attending some party." "I don''t mean that." John had blue eyes and blond hair, he looked quite handsome, but compared to Schuck, there was still quite a gap. "I just wanted to say, Mr. Roland, it''s been some time since you''ve come to Delpon, but you''ve always stayed inside the Magic Towerthis isn''t something that a qualified spellcaster should do!" Roland was startled for a moment. "What should a qualified spellcaster do?" [1] Fantasy Westward Journey 74 A Foolish Wastrel Studen "What should a qualified spellcaster do?" This didn''t mean that Roland would act according to what the other party said. He was simply curious as to how a qualified spellcaster in this game''s world should behave. John laughed candidly. "A qualified spellcaster naturally establishes his own networks and organization. And this is inevitably linked to the support of nobles." "Can you explain in more detail?" Roland gestured for him to continue. "You also know that we Golden Sons come from another dimension, which has extremely different social customs compared to yours." "Nobles and official Mages have a relationship that can''t be clearly explained." John leaned back slightly in the chair and said, "Official Mages are inseparable from the support of nobles, while nobles also need help from official Magestheir relationship is just like fish and water." "Who''s the fish and who''s the water?" Roland asked smilingly. John was startled for a moment, then shrugged helplessly. "Is it necessary to distinguish them so clearly?" "Of course it is." The room went silent for a while. In the end, John stood up and said with a bitter smile, "Mr. Roland seems to have some opinion of me?" "Perhaps I have an opinion of all the nobles in this city!" Roland started to laugh lightly. "It''s just a community problem, it has nothing to do with you." "Mr. Roland, it''s very easy to walk down a narrow path by being so unyielding." Roland snickered. "That''s not a problem. At worst, I''ll just move to another city to continue learning magic. In this world, the proportion of nobles definitely doesn''t surpass five percent." John''s expression changed subtly. "Are you Golden Sons all so unyielding?" "No, actually the majority of us have quite pleasant personalities." A keen light reflected off of Roland''s eyes. "It''s just that we frown upon some affairs and issues, yet we can''t find a chance to vent our feelings." Having spoken to such an extent, there was no need to talk any further. John still acted very sophisticatedly. He even patiently made a few remarks for the purpose of social etiquette and then left the Magic Tower. After a short while, Vivian knocked on the door and walked in. The young girl wore a somewhat worried expression. She stood next to Roland and said, "John is the son of the mayor. Deputy Chairman, you might be in danger now that you''ve offended him." "Don''t worry, if it influences the interests of the Magic Tower, I''ll leave on my own accord," Roland said indifferently. Vivian was truly worried now. She waved her hand forcefully. "Deputy Chairman, that''s not what I mean, I''m simply worried for you!" "I know," Roland replied in a soft voice. His expression certainly didn''t have any trace of anger or impatience. Soon after, she asked somewhat curiously, "Deputy Chairman, why don''t you like Mr. John? He is a good man rarely seen amongst the nobles, he also treats commoners very well!" "Very well?" Roland asked in a calm voice. "Very well, how?" "He won''t randomly bully commoners, and occasionally when he sees commoners in dire straits, he''ll also lend a helping hand. This is quite rare." "Hehe!" Roland snickered, the corner of his lips curved up into a contemptuous smile. "He''s the son of the mayor, in other words, this city will be his in the future, isn''t that right?" Vivian nodded. "According to the ideology of the Golden Sons, even in such a feudalistic age, the city''s mayor has the responsibility of governing commoners and ensuring their safety." Roland sighed and said, "However, this city has nobles who harm his people by cutting open and devouring their hearts, this he ignores; outside the city, there are serial killers who specifically target young girls, this he ignores; there are tens of thousands of beggars in the city, this he ignores; even the city''s basic facilities and the city''s appearance are in shambles, this he also ignores. Not doing anything, simply putting on an amiable smile all the time, and occasionally doing some so-called benevolent actsa noble like this, is he worthy of my time?" "Oh Deputy Chairman, you''re quite strict." Roland sighed. "This isn''t strict, this is the ideology of the majority of the Golden Sons. Not even protecting his own people, completely ignoring them and only collecting their taxes, if this happened on our side ha!" Vivian''s heart thumped rapidly. She felt that Roland, who at this moment had a disdainful expression and even somewhat righteously rebuked John with stern words, displayed an extremely attractive charm. She left the room, blushing. She didn''t dare to stay any longer. Inside the Magic Tower, Roland continued to work on Language Proficiency, and yet another fulfilling day went by. Climbing out of the immersive cabin, he went on the forums to check out the gaming strategies and experiences of other players. Shortly after, he ate breakfast and rode a public bike to the suburbs. It was still quite early at this time, roughly a little past seven. Under the iron-sheet shed, there were already four students practicing sword technique routines. Once Roland arrived at the doorway, Qi Shaoqiu walked over. "It seems you''re planning to learn sword techniques, or else you wouldn''t come over at this time." Qi Shaoqiu took out a cigarette, lit it up, took a puff, held it in his mouth, and then breathed it out. "I still got the same words for you, 30,000 yuan tuition, no less." Roland quite liked Qi Shaoqiu''s straightforwardness. "I have a question to ask. Your surname, ''Qi'' What''s your relationship with General Qi? Don''t tell me you''re his descendant." "Of course not. According to our family history, we are descended from General Qi''s personal bodyguards who were granted his surname." Qi Shaoqiu scratched his head, appearing somewhat irritated. "You probably don''t want to learn after hearing these words. Originally I could''ve deceived you by saying that we''re descendants of the Qi family, but thinking about how my ancestors never deceived others by claiming to have connections with those of higher status, we as descendants naturally shouldn''t do so." Roland snickered. "No, I want to learn even more now. If you had said you were General Qi''s descendant, I would''ve immediately turned to leave." Qi Shaoqiu looked at him with narrowed eyes. "You''re quite a strange person. Come in." Roland entered the yard, followed behind Qi Shaoqiu, and arrived at an unfinished brick house next to the large shed. This house wasn''t painted, but the windows were installed. He could see a girl working busily inside. After getting closer, Roland could smell the aromatic food. He took a light breath. Yes, it''s the smell of boiled noodles. Herbs seemed to be mixed within. Although Roland already ate breakfast, he actually felt a little hungry after smelling this aroma. "Little sister, there''s a student here to sign up." Qi Shaoqiu pushed open the door and entered, shouting, "Accept the payment with your phone!" Roland also went inside and discovered a large black pot placed on the kitchen stove in front of the young girl. Inside the pot, noodles were boiling, the broth a light brown color. Beside the kitchen stove, there were two balls of Chinese medicine wrapped in white cotton cloth. The outer layer of the cotton cloth was wet, faintly giving off steam. Noodle soup simmered with Chinese medicine? Roland was somewhat surprised at this. The young girl turned around and looked at Roland, the expression in her eyes full of bewilderment. "There''s actually a foolish wastrel that''s willing to spend 30,000 yuan on tuition?" Once she said these words, Qi Shaoqiu''s face quickly turned green in annoyance. 75 Frailty Although his face was quite green and his mood was quite sour, Qi Shaoqiu didn''t say anything. His own younger sister had an awful personality. She had a sharp tongue and loved to pull the rug out from under his feet. She had a lot of flaws, but she was ultimately his sister. He wasn''t willing to scold her. This was why he could only show a green face and not say anything. Although he was called a foolish wastrel, Roland didn''t seem enraged at all. This was because he saw a strange ray of light flicker in the girl''s eyes. It was a little sharp and seemed to implore him, as if she were saying: If you dare not pay the tuition now, disappointing my brother, I''ll break your legs. Roland could often see such an expression in one''s eyes. As close friends, they usually acted this way, pulling out the rug from under each other''s feet, fickle in their emotions, but this was a daily interaction amongst childhood friends. If any outsiders dared to use similar words to insult one of them, they would undoubtedly rush to give them a good beating. This was why Roland didn''t mind. He took out his phone and said, "I''ll scan it!" The girl took a smartphone in a light pink casing and opened her own payment code. Roland scanned it. The girl''s avatar and online alias appeared on his phone. The avatar was a small sprouting tree; her online alias was Night Tide Sands. The online alias was quite a pleasant name. Roland entered the amount in his phone. Shortly, the girl saw the transfer notification on her phone, the amount paid in full. She looked strangely at Roland and said, "Let''s eat some noodles together." "No need, I already ate breakfast before I came." The noodles inside the pot really smelled delicious. It really got Roland''s appetite going, but he wasn''t a foodie. In addition, this was their second time meeting and they weren''t familiar with each otherher invitation was a form of courtesy. If you really rushed to eat the noodles, then you''d be a clueless idiot. However, the girl sincerely said, "Since you''ve paid the tuition, you should eat these noodles." Huh? Roland was somewhat surprised. This place also took care of the student''s meals? "Our orthodox miaodao technique training will be quite exhausting, and it''s more demanding on one''s constitution and endurance. We''ll add some body strengthening and invigorating Chinese medicine into our breakfast to improve blood circulation," Qi Shaoqiu explained. "However, I''m sorry that I can''t give you the recipe for this Chinese medicine. Even so, since we''re responsible for your training, we''ll cover your breakfast in the future." "Was this a last-minute idea, or was this stipulated when you guys opened for business?" Roland asked out of curiosity. "It was set when we opened up for business, and the other students will eat with us as well." "Don''t rush, wipe off your sweat first." Night Tide Sands'' expression was distinctly gentler towards these young boys compared to her expression when facing her own older brothershe was clearly two different people. While these young boys were wiping off their sweat, the girl ladled out four large bowls of noodles and placed them on the table. Then, Qi Shaoqiu and Roland both received a bowl. The girl had her own small bowl. There was only soup left in the large pot. The four youngsters sat down by the table and started gobbling up the noodles. Qi Shaoqiu held his large bowl and squatted down in a corner. As he ate, he signaled with his eyes to Roland to eat quickly. The girl held her own bowl and watched him silently. Okay Roland imitated Qi Shaoqiu and ate squatting in a corner. After a mouthful, he discovered that these noodles really did taste pretty good. Although there was a medicinal taste, it miraculously blended with the noodles. It was quite delicious. After eating a large bowl of noodles, Roland felt nice and warm all over. He couldn''t help but ask, "Is it very costly for you guys to use Chinese medicine every day to simmer noodles?" "It used to be very costly," Qi Shaoqiu said with a smile, "but in the last ten to twenty years, we''ve benefited from large-scale Chinese herbal medicine cultivation. Now that herbal medicines are increasingly cheaper, the most costly medicinal ingredient is now the cheapest." Roland was even more curious now. "Then just how expensive was it back then?" "I heard from my grandpa that back when he was in his teens, before the foundation of PRC, eating a bowl of noodles with Chinese medicine would consume six to seven days of food for our family of five." Qi Shaoqiu sighed deeply and said, "In the past, the saying that the poor learn to read and only the rich learn martial arts was not a joke. Now that living standards are good, everyone can fill their bellies, but not many people are willing to learn martial arts anymore. The status of martial artists is also increasingly getting worse." Roland really wanted to say that since the Song Dynasty, the status of martial artists didn''t rise. However, he naturally wouldn''t foolishly say these words. At this time, the girl had also finished eating. She put down her bowl and said to the four youngsters, "You guys wash the bowls, I''m taking your junior brother to the storehouse to pick out some things for learning martial arts." The four youngsters murmured in agreement. Meanwhile, Roland pointed at himself. "Me? Junior brother?" "Yes, you," Qi Shaoqiu said with a smile. "You''re now the little junior brother." "What age is this, that''s out of fashion." Roland felt somewhat gauche at this appellation. However, the girl on the side said, "Do you find it gauche when people call each other senior sister or junior brother in college?" "I wouldn''t feel that way." "Then it isn''t." The girl stood up and said, "Follow me." "All right, junior brother it is." Roland stood up and followed behind the young girl. The two left the kitchen, wound around the perimeter wall, and headed toward the back of the large shed. Following behind, Roland smelled a light fragrance in the air; it was a little like the smell of osmanthus flowers. Roland quite liked osmanthus flowers, so he habitually sniffed a few more times. At this moment, while leading the way, the girl asked, "Why do you want to learn miaodao techniques? Isn''t your boxing pretty good?" Roland couldn''t possibly say that he wanted to learn the techniques of a weapon in order to guard himself from warriors or bandits at a close proximity in a game. He pondered for two seconds before replying, "It''s just that I feel learning boxing has its limitsagainst people with weapons, the chance of coming out victorious isn''t large." "My brother said that he probably can''t beat you if he doesn''t have a weapon. This means that normal people can''t defeat you even if they have a weapon." The girl stopped, turned around, and looked Roland in the eyes. "You absolutely have no need to learn miaodao techniques." Roland also looked into her eyes. Her eyes were truly beautiful, like two black glass gems. "Senior Sister doesn''t seem to be welcoming me to learn miaodao techniques." The girl was startled for a moment. Then she turned around, began walking slowly again, and said, "I don''t know miaodao techniques, so don''t call me your senior sister. I''m just worried that your passion is just a passing fancy. After a few days, your mind might take a turnyou''ll feel that the tuition is too expensive and not want to learn, then have us give you a refund. My brother is proud and arrogant; on the surface he''s all smiles, but he''s actually quite sensitive and frail. He finally got a student after waiting for such a long time. If you leave, he''ll definitely be quite upset." "Don''t worry, I won''t leave until I''ve mastered it," Roland said casually. "I''m just saying, nowadays there aren''t many youngsters who can endure hardships." The girl''s voice gradually lowered. "In the past, there were at least twenty distant and close relatives that learned sword techniques from my older brother. Now, only four remainthey wouldn''t even learn if it was for free." Roland continued to speak in a casual tone. "I really will continue learning." The girl stopped once again and looked at him. "Really?" Roland really wanted to say that even if he stopped learning, he wouldn''t have them give him a refund. However, the expression in the girl''s eyes was quite seriousstubborn with a trace of pleading, a faint light flickering in their depthsand all of a sudden, Roland swallowed the words he''d meant to say. "Really." His tone was still casual, but it held seriousness and sincerity. The girl gazed at Roland for a while and then said, "I''ll believe you for now, but if you really stop learning halfway through, I''ll hate you forever." 76 Acquainted? Strange. Roland felt that this girl''s words seemed quite odd. Indistinctly, this girl seemed to give him a familiar feeling. However, after Roland gave it some thought, he confirmed that he really had never seen her before. She looked quite pretty and sophisticated, and she definitely would''ve left an impression on him if he''d seen her before. Seeming to feel that she had spoken a little too much, the girl turned back around and walked forward in silence. The two of them arrived in front of the storehouse behind the large shed, and the girl opened the door with a key. There were many weapons inside, along with some protective gear. "Choose one that you like." The girl walked in first. Roland walked into the storehouse. He discovered that there were miaodaos placed horizontally across a wooden weapons rack, and also sword sheaths. He randomly picked one up. Although it was wooden, the length of the miadao was apparent; it was somewhat heavy in his hands. The sheathe was made of bamboo, the workmanship decent, and the shaft was quite glossy, seemingly having been immersed in tung oil. Roland raised the miaodao. He wanted to draw it from the sheathe for a closer look. But in the end, the miaodao was too long and he couldn''t draw it out. "It''s easier to unsheathe it if you hold it horizontally." The girl said this while she held a tape measure and approached him. She sized up Roland for a while and said, "Stand still." Soon afterward, she started measuring Roland''s height, and the circumference of his chest, waist, and arms. After the girl got close, that sweet osmanthus fragrance was even stronger. Roland was somewhat surprised. He let her take his measurements, but he still asked, "Before learning miaodao techniques, I still need to go through a physical examination?" "This is for making your protective gear." The girl measured the dimensions of the various parts of Roland''s body while saying in a quiet voice, "Even a wooden sword is quite dangerous." Roland was somewhat astonished. He said, "But I didn''t see those youngsters wear any protective gear." "It''s obviously unnecessary when practicing the routine movements." The girl stood up and said matter-of-factly, "However, when sparring, you''ll have to wear them, otherwise even a slight hit from a wooden sword would be quite painful." "Do I have to pay separately for this protective gear?" Roland asked. He felt that this was a separate hidden fee! The girl shook her head. "It''s free." "Free breakfast, free swords and protective gear, the benefits are pretty good," Roland said with a smile. At this moment, the girl had already finished measuring his physical dimensions, and upon hearing his words, she said in a light voice, "Although the tuition is a little expensive, the things we teach are actually worth the price." Roland keenly recognized this. He was somewhat surprised, and after a while, the strange feeling he had become more apparent. Somewhat baffled, he asked, "Have we met before?" The girl spared a glance at him, her expression serene. "What do you think?" Roland felt that he had over-thought it, chuckling awkwardly. Then, he picked a random wooden sword and left the storehouse quickly. At the large shed, Qi Shaoqiu was already there waiting for him. This man leaned against the load-bearing metal pillar of the large shed, smoking a cheap cigarette. His emotionless dead fish eyes had a kind of sorrowfully cool feel to them. Of course, this was only an illusion, as Qi Shaoqiu''s air changed the moment he spoke. "If you spent a little more time alone with my sister, I would''ve gone to beat you." Roland couldn''t help but roll his eyes. "All right, now that you''ve chosen your saber, you can bring it home later or leave it here with us for safekeeping." Qi Shaoqiu pinched out the fire on the cigarette then placed the cigarette into his pocket, and said, "Since you''ve trained in boxing before, then we don''t need to do the basics like stretching the muscles and joints. Now I''ll briefly explain the basic footwork of miadao techniques. In sword techniques, the majority of movements can be completed with the exchange between goose-steps and horse stance, so for the stereotypical horse stance, you''ll have to practice it for half an hour each day. Then there''s the basic way to hold the saber, unlike the Wa people" Qi Shaoqiu instructed and demonstrated at the same time. Soon, the morning went by. When it was near the afternoon, Roland turned down Qi Shaoqiu''s invitation to each lunch together and rode off on a public bike. Watching Roland leave, Qi Shaoqiu said to his sister, who was next to him, "Today, you seemed a little off. You had a lot of mood swings. Do you know that guy? Don''t tell me he''s your former classmate." Night Tide Sands stayed silent. Qi Shaoqiu waited for a while and turned his head in surprise as the cigarette in his mouth fell to the ground. "Don''t tell me I hit the nail on the head." Night Tide Sands pursed her thin pink lips. "Not my classmate: he was my senior in high school. One grade higher than I was." "A senior in high schoolyou don''t need to have such a deep impression of him. How many years ago was it wait!" Qi Shaoqiu was stunned for a moment before he asked, "The two exceptional students in the ninth middle school that you mentioned often in high school, they''re close friends who passed the University of Luo''s exam together, and he''s one of them?" Night Tide Sands nodded in response. Qi Shaoqiu leaned over to pick up the cigarette, blew lightly on the cigarette filter, and then placed it back into his mouth. "So that''s how it is, no wonder!" After Roland''s figure became an indistinct black dot on the street, Night Tide Sands withdrew her gaze. "How talented is he? How long will it take for him to learn miaodao techniques?" "He''s quite talented. He grasped the techniques of withdrawing and exerting power once I explained them and drew many inferences from thatas expected of a talented student. He''ll probably graduate from my teaching in half a year!" Qi Shaoqiu exclaimed in admiration, and then looked at Night Tide Sands and said with a crooked smile, "But don''t you worry, I''ll teach him slowlyat least have him learn for one year." Irritated, Night Tide Sands turned around and said, "No need, I don''t need you to meddle in my business." She returned to the storehouse, looked at the recorded measurements on the table, and said lightly, "He''s a lot taller than before!" In a daze, she remembered the events from seven years ago. At the time, she was only a silly little girl, and the high school she attended was a boarding school. She dragged her heavy luggage over the cement ground of the campus, and there just happened to be a small slope that she couldn''t get over. After attempting several times, she didn''t have any strength left to try again. She wanted to sit down to rest. At this moment, an average-looking senior, who had average vibes and wore average attire, extended a helping hand. She remembered that at the time, the autumn sun was hanging high above, the sky was blue, and the senior was in plain white clothing. Even if he wasn''t outstandingly handsome, he gave her a gentle sensation like a warm jade in her bosom. The senior helped her take her luggage to the girl''s dormitory. She had thought that she wouldn''t have anymore interactions with this senior in the future. However, she never expected that in the following two years, she would hear news of this senior every month. This senior had an outrageously handsome childhood friend. The two of them occupied the top two of their class in grades and took turns to be number one. They were in the oratorical contest and the International Mathematical Olympics, and they could even place in school sports. What was more ridiculous was that they also participated in fights and brawlsthey were even the initiators. If it weren''t for their good grades that convinced the principal to actively cover this up, they would definitely have stains on their school records. In the end, the two of them went to University of Luo together. Night Tide Sands''s first-choice university was also University of Luo, but she didn''t pass the entrance exam. She felt that she had almost forgotten about this high school senior, but unexpectedly, he appeared in front of her again. His appearance hadn''t changed much compared to before. She recognized him. He didn''t recognize her. He wouldn''t recognize her to begin withthey were just strangers coming together by chance. Thinking of it this way, Night Tide Sands felt her heart ache a little. 77 The People From the Headquarters Are Finally Here Roland returned home. After eating lunch, he took an afternoon nap, then went on the forums to see other players brag. After all, amongst the 500,000 players, there were quite a lot of people who were willing to share their tips and experiencesRoland was also one of them. He slowly read through them. Some boasted, some talked about the local conditions and customs of the city they were in, and some gave an account of the weaknesses, habits, and other traits of wild monsters and beasts. Roland read with great pleasure. Those who hung about in the forums all knew that once they encountered a topic of interest, they would kill a lot of time lingering in the forums. Before Roland noticed, when he had become weary, it was already evening. After eating the dinner his mother had made, he took a shower. Then, once he practiced the horse stance in his room, he entered the game again. He first oversaw the magic lab on the fifth floor, dispelling the magic apprentices'' doubts. After the morning went by and he finished the lunch Vivian had made, Aldo came by his study. Vivian was in the middle of asking Roland some questions, but she smiled at Aldo and promptly left the study. Aldo looked at Vivian as she left; he was somewhat surprised. "You actually haven''t touched her?" Roland''s mouth twitched helplessly. He didn''t want to be led by the nose on this topic, so he asked straightforwardly, "Chairman, what matter do you have this time?" At this moment, Aldo''s expression turned stern. He said slowly, "The people from the headquarters are about to arrivethey''ll be in the city in roughly an hour." "Isn''t this just as you wished?" Roland chuckled. They''re finally coming. Aldo laughed aloud. "Yes, I can finally see someone resist those evil frauds from the headquarters. I hope you won''t disappoint me. "You should say that you hope the people from the headquarters don''t disappoint me. I hope they''re just as you said: bossy, greedy, and condescending." Roland closed a book. He made new progress on the derivation of Language Proficiency: he could carry out language and character translation simultaneously, but it didn''t work one hundred percent of the time as occasionally, some sentences carried odd tones. "Then what plans do you have next?" "In a battle between two giant dragons, we weak little b**chy rabbits naturally have to hide in the sidelines first." Chairman Aldo laughed, completely paying no mind to his own cowardice. "So I''ll disappear for the next three days for some important business. All matters, large or small, inside the Magic Tower, can be handled as you please." "What if I run off?" Roland asked. Upon hearing this, Roland smiled. "It seems everything is within your expectations!" Aldo shrugged smugly. "All right, I have to go, it''ll be too late if I don''t go now." With these last words, Aldo left the Magic Tower. Roland stood by the window of the upper levels and watched Aldo''s figure disappear amongst the buildings of the city. If the headquarters was really as Aldo had said, he would eventually end up going against the headquarters anyway, so it was harmless that Aldo used him for a while since some of the tower''s interests were already in his hands anywaygold coins, resources, and the books in the library collection. During his time here, in the spare time away from his magic experiments, he already used the system''s built-in photography function to record over half of the collection inside the library. This was the most essential part of a Magic Tower. Even if he stopped working at the Magic Tower, he would have gained something. Besides, he didn''t completely trust Aldo: this was why he chose diplomacy before resorting to force. There was no rush to burn bridges. After waiting for a while, Roland went down to the second floor, rang the golden bell, and gathered all the magic apprentices. "You have all now learned the basic form of Hand of Magic, but progression will be slow from study aloneit''s better to put it into practice," Roland said. "Outside the city, there are two Golden Sons gathering beggars, even building houses for them. Now, all of you, go out and use Hand of Magic to transport building materials and dig holes for them. More practical use will be greatly beneficial to the growth of your magic power." The magic apprentices looked at each other. They''d never been given such a mission. To their minds, the missions of mages were to appraise magic items or to help out with matters that only mages were suited to handle. For example, incidents related to ghosts, or incidents involving invasions of negative magic energy. It was the first time that magic apprentices like them were made to do civil engineering work. Seeing the doubts of the magic apprentices, Roland smiled faintly and said, "This is the chairman''s orders. If you guys have any complaints, don''t blame me for making things difficult after this." Upon hearing his threat, the group of magic apprentices immediately ceased any and all sorts of complaints. They all expressed that they would obey the deputy chairman''s commands. Roland then said to Vivian, "Bring all the guards up and have them protect you." Somewhat confused, Vivian said, "If there are no guards here, who''re going to protect the Magic Tower and the deputy chairman?" "This is the Magic Tower, how many people would dare come here to stir up trouble?" Roland said in a light voice. "Besides, I''m a Golden SonI''m not afraid of anything happening." "Okay, I''ll listen to you, Deputy Chairman." Vivian bit her red lips lightly. After everyone left the Magic Tower, Roland returned to his study. He intentionally sent everyone away, in fear that something really would happen. He wasn''t afraid to die, but what if the mages from the headquarters vented their anger on the magic apprentices! With so many of them, he didn''t have the confidence to protect them all. After waiting for a while in the study, he could distinctly hear displeased voices coming from the bottom of the Magic Tower: "Where are the people of the tower? Where the hell did they all go?" Roland stood up and walked down unhurriedly. When he arrived at the first floor, he saw two youngsters standing on the glossy floor. They were wearing magic robes, their expressions arrogant. Behind them, there were also six men in similar magic robes, their mental energies quite weakthey were probably all magic apprentices. Roland simply stood on the stairs, looking down on them. He asked a question he already knew the answer to: "May I ask who you are?" "The people from the Association headquarters, come down and greet us!" One of the males, who looked like a magic apprentice, shouted up at Roland. The two youngsters at the front sized Roland up with scrupulous gazes. Roland silently looked at them for a while and then said in a gentle voice, "Yes, all right, please follow me." The two youngsters'' expressions changed drastically, but they didn''t speak. They simply looked on silently at Roland. The magic apprentice that spoke earlier said furiously, "Are you an idiot, didn''t you understand? We''re from the headquarters, what''s with your attitude!" Domineering, as expected. Roland felt that Aldo''s words were more and more believablelike master, like servant. Another magic apprentice looked at the surroundings and also shouted furiously, "Where''s that despicable man Aldo, have him come to greet us. What''s he trying to do by sending a pretty boy to see us?! And where are the womenthe welcoming party?" The two youngsters at the forefront were clearly in charge. They still didn''t speak, but the fury in their eyes grew more and more apparent. They''re truly more condescending than I imagined, and they''re completely overbearing. Roland felt his head ache a little. To have dealings with these kinds of people was actually a very painful thing. Because it would be quite easy to lose one''s restraint and hit them. 78 Snide Remarks Roland was a top student in school, but this didn''t mean that he was a completely well-behaved child. He and his childhood friends played together since they were young. Where there are many people, there are many quarrelsthe six of them fought with other kids a few times and became the neighborhood overlords. After they grew up and went to elementary school, they were unrivaled, and then when they were in middle school, they also fought hoodlums a few times. As for high school They even fought in a few big fights. In reality, apart from Roland and Schuck, the other four all had major demerits on their record. However, in the last semester of their senior year, the school erased their demerits. Generally speaking, as long as the offense wasn''t too excessive and if the student wrote a repentance letter, the school generally wouldn''t let their students graduate without any stains on their records. Since Roland was young, he had been in many group fights, so he wasn''t the type of person who could particularly restrain himself. However, as he gradually grew older, he was more and more able to control his impulses. If Roland were still in high school, or even freshman or sophomore year in college, If someone dared to speak so arrogantly to him, he wouldn''t even waithe would just roll up his sleeves and smack them. But he wasn''t so impatient now. After becoming a part of the working society, he developed some basic patience. "First, this is a sub-branch and not your headquarters," Roland said with a smile, "a small remote place that the king has no ability to interfere with, and the headquarters can''t interfere much with, either." Once he said these words, the expressions of the people below changed drastically. "Aldo, this lowly man, how did he teach" The magic apprentice, who had just hurled insults, reached out his hand and pointed at Roland, shouting furiously. Then, Roland waved his hand through space and a giant blue hand immediately appeared out of thin air. With a peng, this person was smacked into a wall, falling unconscious. "Chairman Aldo is undeniably an official mage, and one at the elite level. You, a magic apprentice, directly insulting him as a despicable lowlife, isn''t that a bit too excessive?" Although Roland was facing the unconscious magic apprentice when he said this, everyone below clearly knew that these words were directed at all of them. After a temporary silence, the expressions of the people below changed drastically again. The few magic apprentices looked at their fellow apprentice off to the side and walked forward indignantly. Mental power surged as they were about to retaliate, but another Hand of Magic appeared in midair. The two giant Hands of Magic were so large that they seemed to be able to squeeze all of them in their clutches. At this moment, one of the youngsters at the forefront suddenly started to smile. "You must be Mr. Roland. Your usage of Hand of Magic has really been brought to perfection, as expected. It''s a pleasure to meet you." After hearing this youngster speak, the other people''s murderous expressions were suppressed, but the gloominess and ruthlessness still lingered on their faces. Roland looked at him and asked, "May I ask who you are?" At this moment, Roland still stood high up on the stairs, looking down on them and giving off a feeling of superiority. In negotiations or confrontations, the one who held the high ground would have an intangible oppressive power. The youngster naturally noticed this point. This made him quite uncomfortable, such that he had to take a deep breath. He said in a displeased manner, "Towering above us, is this the proper way to treat guests?" "Barging in through the host''s door, is this the proper attitude of a guest?" Roland laughed lightly. "Come on up. Since you guys have displayed the attitudes of unwelcome guests, don''t expect me to have a good attitude." The other people scowled in an unsightly manner at these frank words. If these people were in the capital or at the headquarters, they would exercise some restraint. However, in Delpon, which they saw as the countryside and just a sub-branch, so what if they were arrogant? It wasn''t like they had never been to other sub-branches, and each and every time they were treated as great lords. However, now that they were slapped on the face once, they felt extremely resentful. Besides, this sub-branch, Aldo''s Magic Tower, was one that had been treated as a joke at the headquarters. Before they departed, they already harbored feelings of superiority and a derisive attitude. However, unexpectedly, the moment they entered, they were met with stern rebuke. After Roland arrived on the second floor, the magic apprentices followed behind the two youngsters, their expressions full of disdain and impatience. "Mr. Bard, why are you letting this guy go? He''s just a normal deputy chairman." "Yeah, Mr. Bard, with so many of us, should we still be afraid of him?" The youngster named Bard clicked his tongue, a grudging look all over his face. "We should be scared. When he used Hand of Magic, the mental power ripples were clearly already that of an official mage, and I reckon close to one at an elite level." A youngster who also appeared to be a noble frowned and said, "Aldo is also an elite mage, we still degraded him to a dog. Now he doesn''t even dare to appear in front of us. This brat is just a deputy chairman, how could he dare act violently toward us?" "He did dare he knocked one of us out. If Aldo wasn''t lying, this person forcibly turned a level-zero trick into a level-two spellit''s natural for him to be lofty." At this moment, Bard, whose young face could label him as inexperienced, had a surprisingly shrewd and ruthless expression in his eyes. "We don''t know who or what he''s relying on right now, so it''s best to endure a little first." The youngster on the side gave this some thought and nodded in agreement. It was rather the magic apprentices who still had resentful expressions. However, they didn''t dare to disobey Bard. Two people went to support the magic apprentice who was knocked out. Then, Bard looked around the Magic Tower, snorted, and said, "I''ll talk to him directly. You guys spread out around the Magic Tower and see if there are any other people. Find ways to rope them to our sidetell them if they cooperate, the headquarters will remember them." The rest nodded. They threw the magic apprentice who was knocked out to the side, and dispersed. Meanwhile, Bard walked up the stairs. There was no one on the second floor, no one on the third floor, and no one on the fourth floor At this very moment, Bard was somewhat flustered and irritated, and on the fifth floor, he finally saw Roland standing at the head of the stairs. After catching his breath, he looked at the surroundings and discovered that this was a magic lab. There were no receptionists, no party, not to mention beautiful women, and singing and dancing. Bard was extremely unaccustomed to this. As a noble, without a party and beautiful women by his side, he felt that he''d lost half his meaning in life. However, the current circumstances didn''t allow him to think about these things. "Sir, what are you implying by waiting for me here?" Bard asked with a frown. Roland instead asked in confusion, "Didn''t you all come to investigate whether the derivative spells of Hand of Magic were created by me? I naturally have to demonstrate this a few times for you." Bard took a deep breath. "Sir, do you really not get it or are you just faking it? We rushed here all the way from the capital, and you not only don''t welcome us but also don''t let us rest. Instead, you immediately start with tests. What are you trying to do? Drive us out of here quicker? Looking at your appearance, you should also be a person with high classyou should know basic etiquette." At Bard''s criticism, Roland mockingly said, "I believe in reciprocating kindness with kindness, and an eye for an eye. You guys treated me like a dog the moment you entered. I naturally won''t treat you as humans either." Bard had never been rebuked like this by someone his own age. He was startled for a moment. In the capital, even the descendants of great nobles paid particular attention to maintain appearances, and if they truly wanted to harm someone, it would be in the shadows. This place truly was a crude and savage small city in the countryside. Bard didn''t speak, so Roland continued, "How about it? Let''s start now." 79 Purple Quest Triggered "How about it? Let''s start now." Seeing Roland beaming, Bard felt a wave of fury rise all the way to his chest and almost spurt out from his mouth in the form of curses. However, he just said so himself: nobles still maintained the basic etiquette, so he could only hold back. "There''s no rush, we can talk about this after we''ve rested for a day or two. After all, we''ve had a long journey, and we''re very tired," Bard said with a blank face. "When a suitable time comes, we''ll come to find you." After saying this, Bard immediately turned to go down the stairs. He feared that if he stayed any longer, he wouldn''t be able to hold back from hurling insults, losing his poise. On the first floor, the unconscious magic apprentice woke up, muttering incoherent curses. Bard frowned, walked down, and asked, "What''s the matter, not a single person was roped in?" "There''s no one inside the Magic Tower." Looking confused, the young noble mage standing in front said, "While you guys were having a chat, we even went up to the sixth, seventh, and eighth floor only to find no one there." Bard was stunned for a moment, then he sneered, "In other words, the people inside the Magic Tower already left? Was it Aldo''s handiwork or Roland''s? No matter who it was, our actions were all within their expectations. Interesting." "What do we do now?" the young noble mage asked. "What else can we do!" Bard said bitterly. "We have to first find a place to stay. I''ve met with the mayor''s son John a few timesour relationship''s decent, let''s stay at his place for a few days before doing anything else. We can slowly think of ways to deal with that damned Roland." "It''s up to you," the young noble mage said. Soon after, the group left the Magic Tower, and before going out, Bard stared fiercely at the Magic Tower for quite a while. Roland was on the eighth floor, and through the window, he watched them leave. When he was preparing to continue his magic experiments, he suddenly received a system notification from the guild. Inside the guild Betta @''d Roland: "Quickly come to the 25th house on the east block, there''s an important matter." Roland replied, "What''s the matter?" "An important quest, possibly a small scale dungeon." Dang! Roland felt his own unluckiness. Betta had quite the luck for triggering quests. Up until now, all the quests Roland completed were triggered by Betta. A small scale quest wasn''t worth mentioning, but this one was actually a dungeon quest. He immediately stood up and left the Magic Tower. Of course, before leaving the Magic Tower, he used Hand of Magic to close the tower''s heavy stone door. Generally speaking, bandits couldn''t enter. Unless they grasped the high-level trap mechanism removal technique unique to the bandit class. Roland hurried over to the 25th unit on the east block. At the entrance, a thin, yellow girl stood at the door, wearing a black-and-white maid outfit. Upon seeing Roland, she bent down slightly and said, "Mr. Roland, Master Betta asked me to wait for you here." Roland sized up this young girl and discovered that her complexion looked a lot better. He said with a smile, "It looks like you''ve been doing well lately." The young girl revealed a smile. "This is all thanks to you and Master saving me." Then, she turned around and brought Roland into the house. This was a second-hand house, the furniture inside readily available, and although it looked somewhat old and worn, it was very clean and tidy inside. There was no one in the living room, but the sound of someone cooking came from the kitchen. Roland found this somewhat strange. The maidservant bent down slightly in apology, and said, "Master is inside the kitchen. This is originally something that I should do, but the things I make are too unpalatable." The young girl hung her head, looking very disappointed and ashamed. This was Betta''s maidservant. Roland wouldn''t console herwhat if Betta was interested in her? Roland would be put in a suspicious position then. Roland fetched himself a chair and sat down. The young girl immediately served up a cup of warm water. Roland took a sip. Betta was definitely the one who taught her this kind of etiquette of serving guests with warm water. After two sips, he saw Betta emerging from the kitchen with two small dishes. The dishes were placed on the table. Roland discovered that one of the dishes was salted fried peas, and the other was cabbage and fried meat. Then, the maidservant placed two yellowish-white chopsticks on the table. The chopsticks were quite new, clearly recently made. Finally, the maidservant carried two cups of fruit wine to the table. "Eat, don''t stand on ceremony," Betta said with a somewhat smug look. "Frying vegetables!" Roland looked at the things on the table for a while and said, "These past two days, this is what you were fiddling with?" Betta nodded. "After all, we Divine Nobles don''t need to learn skills the way mages do. Anyway, I have lots of time to explore this world. Besides, these past few days, I''ve gotten quite sick of eating the things herethe tavern''s cooking skills are too terrible. I honestly couldn''t stand it, so I requested a blacksmith to make an iron pan and spatula. Although the bottom of the pan is a little thick, under the heat of Fire Spewing, the pan can still be heated up quickly." Roland frowned at these words. "I discovered that your Fire Spewing is either used for roasting meat or stir-frying. It''s not being used for the proper purposes." "I actually feel that this is the proper way to use skillsto use them in daily life. Isn''t that much more interesting than using them in battle?" "It''s not wrong to say so." Roland picked up a slice of meat with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth, then let out a sound of surprise. "The flavor isn''t bad." Betta smiled quite smugly. "In this world where culinary skills are lagging behind, I''m a master chef." Roland clicked his tongue. He picked up a salted fried pea and placed it into his mouth, then took a drink of fruit wine. As expected, there was an indescribable refreshing sensation. Then, he asked curiously, "What''s up with the quest?" "This is how things went down." Betta ate as he spoke. "Roughly two hours ago, I was at the fair searching for ingredients that could be used for flavoring, like fresh ginger and things of that sort. In the end, I bumped into a bandit stealing a pedestrian''s wallet, so I chased the bandit down and gave him a beating. When I searched the wallet, I found a smelly parchment with some signs on it, then the dungeon quest was triggered." This luck Roland shook his head helplessly. This guy''s hidden talent should be great luck. "Hold on, I''ll share the quest with you." After a few seconds, Roland received a system notification, and after he chose to accept the quest, he saw a purple quest on the system display bar. Unlock The Secrets to Delpon''s Necropolis (party suggested) (recommended level 3). It was actually a purple quest. Roland thought for a moment and said, "With only the two of us, it might be somewhat problematic. How about we add others?" "Hawk and them?" "Naturally," Roland said and nodded. Betta thought for a moment and said, "But that''s only four people; five people is the standard for a small party. Besides, we''re lacking a healer." "How about we go on the forums to search for a healer." Roland pondered and said, "See if there are any priests near Delpon." Betta thought this was a good idea. "You can post about recruitment. After all, you''re more renowned." Roland contemplated this, then agreed. "Sure." At this moment, a faint smile surfaced on Betta''s face. "This should be the first dungeon quest on the whole server. Recruiting in the name of F6, this will definitely set off a heated discussion on the forums." 80 Start of Dungeon Raid, Come Heal Leaving Betta''s temporary home, Roland felt a little dizzy. Although the alcohol content of fruit wine wasn''t high, his eyes were a little blurry after five consecutive cups. Roland rushed out of the city before the city gates closed. The setting sun at dusk assumed a golden color. People were coming and going at the city gates. There were merchants as well as travelers in a hurry: some entered the city, and naturally some caravans exited the city. Wherever Roland passed through, people would give him a berth of two to three meters in advancehis magic robe was the best certificate of passage. After exiting the city, Roland walked westward along the city wall. After walking for half an hour, he finally saw Delpon''s pier outside the city. A large river stretched before his eyes, and along the river, there were dozens of adobe houses erected. There was also a group of people shouting out work chantsdivided into several smaller groups, several people used ropes to pull up giant stone slabs, tossing them into the air and letting them fall heavily back onto the ground. At the same time, in the air, there were several blue Hands of Magic moving the earth. Roland walked over and saw Hawk and Link on construction site, one to the left and the other to the right, commanding at least a hundred workers. Hawk''s eyes were quite sharp. Although he was very focused on his job, he still saw Roland''s approach in his peripheral vision. He first gestured to the workers to continue working, and then jogged up to Roland and said with a smile, "What''s this, the magic nerd is finally willing to come out of the Magic Tower?" Roland looked at the buzzing construction site and exclaimed, "How many days has it beenyou guys already built so many houses? Have you done similar work before?" Hawk shrugged. "I graduated with a civil engineering degree and interned on a construction site for a while. Though I only have a small business now, I still have a lot of experience." No wonder. Hawk looked at the many Hands of Magic flying in the sky and said, "However, I really have to thank you. Although these magic apprentices only came for a single day, they''ve really helped a great deal. They can lift things that are several hundred kilograms, up to nearly two tons." "Don''t thank me, just pay them in wages." "Sure thing." With that said, Hawk frowned and said, "But we''ve exhausted almost all our gold coinsdo you still have any gold coins that you can sell us?" Roland nodded. "I haven''t received this month''s salary from the Magic Tower. At least, I haven''t received the money from learning my specialty for the time being. The other mage players probably haven''t found the learning location." Roland shook his head. "No." Hawk looked somewhat puzzled. "Then what?" "Betta triggered a purple quest, a small-scale dungeon!" After Roland said this, he kept watching for changes in Hawk''s expression. It was just as he had expected. Hawk was first stunned for a moment and then blurted out an obscenity. "Oh sh*t!" "Impressive, right? Actually, I''m also quite impressed by his luck." Roland said helplessly, "It''s been almost two months since I''ve started playing the game. Out of the few quests I did, all of them were acquired by him." "Damned lucky player," Hawk said hatefully, and then his eyes lit up. "You''ve especially come to tell me this, it''s not to make me eat lemons, right? Could it be?" Seeing Hawk''s slightly expectant expression, Roland nodded and said, "It''s just as you guessed. I want to invite you and Link to join our party. This way we''ll have four players." "Thanks." Hawk patted Roland on the shoulder gratefully. "However, Hawk and I are still just level twoI hope you don''t mind." "Of course not," Roland said indifferently. "Players won''t truly die, this is a huge advantage. Besides, we can''t be certain whether the NPCs of this world can enter dungeons." "Give it a test and you''ll know?" Hawk gestured to Link who was in the distance, and then continued, "There''s only four of us anyway, how about you recruit a professional NPC?" Hawk''s suggestion was pretty good, but after Roland did some deliberation, he still rejected it. "Forget it, it won''t be fun if the NPC dies in the dungeon." "Good point." "Does Silver Wings have any healing professionals nearby?" Hawk threw up his hands. "Although I also want people from my guild to freeload some experience from the dungeon, I''m certain that there''s no one from my guild nearby." "Then I can only recruit people on the forums. If I really can''t get a healer, then we''ll go as fourwe can''t die anyway and failing a few times, we''ll eventually find a way to pass it. If we still can''t pass it, at worst, we''ll just come back at a higher level." Hawk laughed aloud. "This is the greatest advantage we players have." "When I''ve recruited someone, I''ll come back to notify you." Roland patted Hawk on the shoulder and left. He walked to Vivian''s side and said, "In the coming days, it''d be best for you guys to stay outside the city. Don''t return to the Magic Tower." Vivian saw Roland arrive a while ago, but upon seeing that he was speaking with Hawk, she held back her inclinations, continued working, and didn''t approach Roland. In reality, she already wanted to return to the Magic Tower. It wasn''t that she felt the work was tiring, but she simply wanted to stay by Roland''s side a little longer. This was why when she heard these words, she was somewhat shocked and worried. "Did something happen?" "Some conflicts." Roland looked at the setting sun and said with a smile, "You guys best not get caught up in it, or else it''ll be very problematic." Recently, Roland also read through the personal information of these magic apprentices. Apart from Vivian who was from a small noble family, the rest were all of a common background. If they were official mages, they would have some ability to resist, but just some. Even Aldo, who was an official mage, was still being controlled, unable to act freely. The best way to not be blown away by a hurricane is to stay away from it. "Deputy Chairman, you''ll be fine, right?" Vivian''s eyes were filled with worry. "Don''t worry," Roland assured her. "You also know my identity, death isn''t even a punishment for me. After things have passed, I''ll call you guys back to the Magic Tower." Somewhat hesitant, Vivian bit her lip. "Okay." After staying a while at the construction site, Roland returned to the city before the sun set. Upon his entering the city, the soldiers closed the city gates. Today, the city gate''s closed a little later than usual. It was actually a captain, who saw Roland returning from the city wall who gave the order to close the gates ten minutes later than usual. After returning to the Magic Tower, Roland continued to work on the derivation of Language Proficiency, and then after the gaming time was over, he climbed out of the immersive cabin and posted a recruitment thread on the forums. Recruiting a Member for Dungeon Raid, Come Heal. 81 The Tragedy of Mages Inside this thread, Roland clearly indicated the city he was at, set a time limitbest that they arrive in two daysand requested a priest who at least knew Lesser Healing and Abolish Poison. Of course, the more supporting spells the better. First come, first served. Once the thread was up, it became a popular thread in less than a minute. Roland randomly refreshed the page and a large number of posts appeared. "S*it, I can only say, the strongest mage Roland proves himself again! To actually open a dungeon, as far as I know, this should be the first player who unlocked a dungeon in the game." "It might not have been unlocked by him. It should just be said that he''s the recruiter. After all, he''s famous on the forums, it''s easier for him to recruit party members." "Is no one curious about who the other three people partying up with him are?" "I have white skin and beautiful looks, love to wear gothic style dresses, and can pull out a large weapon. Please take me as a mistress." "Upstairs, why is it you who''s driving off[1] again." "Driving off what, how come I don''t understand! (smirk)" "Roland, if the dungeon drops have any good physical class equipment, this principal will reserve it. You name the price." "Oh, sh*t, respect to Lord Principal[2]." "Oh, sh*t, respect to Lord Principal." "+1" Instantly, there were nearly two to three hundred copy-and-paste replies. Roland thought that this would continue, but in the end, someone forcibly stepped in and broke off this process. "Roland, if there is magic equipment, this beautiful dancer will also reserve it. You name the price as well. If you want, I can also send you a signed poster, one with special benefits." The avatar of this post was Fan Six Hundred Million, with an authenticated name in gold. Although Principal Huang was very famous, Fan Six Hundred Million was even more well known and also a beauty. Beautiful women had prerogatives. Once this post went up, the entire thread''s popularity exploded. First, a huge group of players expressed that they also wanted signatures, and then someone replied how much they worshiped Madam Fan Six Hundred Million. However, for some reason, the posts became quite uniform in the end. "I really want to become a member of the cavalry squad." "I really want to become a member of the cavalry squad." Then, in less than ten minutes, over ten thousand posts of this were in the thread. Moreover, the repeated posts still continued. These two celebrities really knew how to jack the popularity of a post. Roland clicked his tongue at this. If it were anyone else who saw that celebrities replied to their own post, they''d probably be on cloud nine. Of course, this wasn''t disadvantageous in any wayat least it allowed his thread to be viewed by more people. Then, he opened the back-end of the forum and found large amounts of system notifications as expected. He first looked at the system notifications with tips. The tips that came from the thread on the insights of Language Proficiency barely surpassed ten thousand yuan. There were roughly two thousand people who gave tips an average of five yuan per person. Although the money from tips was still quite a lot, there were clearly a lot fewer people donating. This meant that the number of mages still continued to decrease. Roland remembered that at first there were nearly ten thousand people who gave him tips, though the average tip at the time was only around 1.5 yuan. This was mainly because magic was too difficult to learn. Even for Roland, who had the advantage of a hidden specialty, he still had to stay inside the Magic Tower to derive spells, having almost no time to stroll outside and enjoy the game. Those players without hidden specialties who didn''t learn advanced math probably progressed not even half as fast as Roland in learning magic. It would be natural for them to feel frustrated. Under normal circumstances, the scarcer a class was, the more important it was. if it were anyone else, they might hope that they were the only mage in the entire world. However, Roland clearly knew that mages, a highly technical class, needed more people to better develop and progress further. With more people, there would be more schools of magic that emerged. The compiled insights and experiences of everyone would be able to push the mage class rapidly forward. In the neighboring warrior forum, there were various strategy guides and all sorts of types of warriorsagility type, physical charm type, balanced type, physical intellect type, and so on. This resulted from different combinations of attributes, and after that, there were even schools of sword techniques. Currently, apart from the basic military sword arts, the learning prerequisites and instructor NPCs for other advanced military sword arts were also discovered. Many people had already started to learn them. There were even fortified sword arts from reality like Wudang Swimming Dragon Sword, Mount Tai Goose Descending Sand Sword, and so on. Moreover, the types of weapons were also different, and even with the same sword arts, the effects were also slightly variable. There were also sub-branches of the warrior class. For example, a shield warrior, a magic swordsman, a battlefield commander, a berserk warrior if these sub-branches were all listed, there would be a dozen more names. Finally, there was a difference in specialization The specialization that each person chose was different, resulting in different fighting habits. The same class, and the same sword arts, and the same weapons would unleash different effects. This was truly like a hundred flowers in bloom. The majority of warriors were quite frank. Whenever they discovered something fun or had any insight into something, they would publish this enthusiastically and wait for other players to compliment or boast about them. If they were wrong and mocked, at most they would just shoot their mouth off, forget about it afterward, and play the game enthusiastically again, killing small monsters. Since warriors were so vivacious, they had the highest population and took up almost 50% of all players. On the other hand, on the mages'' boards, there were only one or two people writing about their insights and experiences. Out of all the pinned and featured threads, over half were Roland''s handiwork. One could imagine just how much the popularity of the mage class had dropped. What was even more lamentable was that in the community of warriors, there was already a small group of elite level-five players who could select a subclass. On the side of warlocks, there were also a few players who selected a subclass. On the side of mages, Roland assumed that he was probably the most advanced at level four. The majority of other mage players were all still at level two. On the mages'' message boards, he saw many disheartened posts, lamenting that the mage class wasn''t one that people could easily play. Warriors were traveling everywhere, killing monsters, embracing women, drinking wine, leading a luxurious life, and leveling up just by bragging. Whereas mages were calculating and deriving magic models every day, scrunched up in a small place without ever seeing daylight. Their temperament and image became gloomier and gloomier. Many mage players said that if they couldn''t learn a certain spell in a certain amount of days, they would delete their accounts and change to another class. Roland felt somewhat dispirited from reading this. He turned off his computer and rode a public bike to the miaodao club in the suburbs. Breakfast had already been made. Seeing him arrive, Night Tide Sands ladled a bowl for him. Even after eating the hot steaming noodles and drinking the tasty herbal soup, Roland''s mood didn''t improve much. Standing on the side, Night Tight Sands peeked at him and then placed down her bowl and chopsticks and ran off. Shortly, she returned with a comb of bananas, distributed one to each person, and said, "Noodles for breakfast isn''t enoughsupplement with some vitamins." Roland ate the banana, and his mood became slightly better. Yes bananas were a happy fruit, some elements inside could make people happier. After throwing away the banana peel, Roland stood up, went to the storehouse to acquire his own wooden miaodao, and went to the large shed to find Qi Shaoqiu. "Just directly teach me the sword routines," Roland said seriously. "I want to learn faster." Night Tide Sands carried a bucket over. She wanted to spray water on the cement ground to do some cleaning. Upon hearing his words, she almost let the water spill out of the bucket. Qi Shaoqiu took a glance at his younger sister and said expressionlessly, "No, we''ve accepted your money, so we have to take responsibility to teach you properly. Get the basics down first!" [1] Make sexual innuendos [2] Principal Huang 82 The Gossip Is All True Roland left the miaodao club after training for the entire morning. Before he rode off on a public bike, Qi Shaoqiu stood in front of his bike, took out a cigarette pack, slipped out a cigarette, and lit it up. He asked, "Are you coming in the afternoon? Training is like rowing a boat upstream, no progress means retrogression. If you have spare time, continue coming here in the afternoon. Don''t you want to learn faster?" Roland shook his head. "I have other business in the afternoon." Then, Roland rode off on the bike. He certainly did have other business in the afternoon. Right now, there were more and more strategy and insight threads on the forums. For example, on a country''s geography, environmental conditions, and social customs, and the secrets of some NPC organizations. These were all worth taking note of for Rolandhe might be able to use such information in the future. And apart from these things, he had to understand the fighting style and experiences of other classes. Although Roland always felt that this game wasn''t as simple as it seemed, players were undying and their actions were occasionally imprudent, so there would definitely be conflicts in the future. If he didn''t understand the other classes at all, when a conflict really happened, he would be in a terrible bind. After watching Roland ride off on the bike, Qi Shaoqiu turned around and surprisingly discovered that his little sister was also pushing out a bike. "What are you doing?" Qi Shaoqiu asked curiously. Night Tide Sands said indifferently, "Going to buy groceries." "Didn''t you buy some early in the morning?" Qi Shaoqiu found this a little strange. "Can''t I suddenly have a craving for something?" Night Tide Sands said sourly, then rode off on the bike. Qi Shaoqiu shouted at her from behind, "Then when are you coming back to make lunch?" Night Tide Sands ignored him. QI Shaoqiu sat down dejectedly on the clean cement floor. The four teenage relatives walked over and asked somewhat worriedly, "Cousin, is she not going to prepare lunch for us?" "Go, go eat at your own homes." Qi Shaoqiu spoke bitterly. He took in another intense puff and then breathed it out. Oh Although the four youngsters hesitated for a while, they still left in the end. Qi Shaoqiu waited for roughly an hour, and seeing that his little sister hadn''t come back, just when he planned on calling for delivery, he saw his little sister return. Inside the basket of the bike, there were two kinds of vegetables and a book. Exalted, Qi Shaoqiu went to greet her and shouted, "Little sister, you''re finally back. I thought you didn''t care if I was dead or alive." While he was talking, he peeked inside the basket and found that written on the cover of the book was "An exquisite breakfast packed with affection to make your lover''s burst with joy." When Night Tide Sands discovered her older brother''s subtle gaze, she blushed and stared at him fiercely. Qi Shaoqiu immediately pretended he''d seen nothing. After Roland returned home, ate lunch, and took an afternoon nap, he then started to browse through the forums as usual. He browsed through the forums until he entered the game. Inside the Magic Tower, after he did derivations of Language Proficiency for roughly two hours, he felt somewhat dizzy so he stood up. Outside the window, the majority of the city was dark. Only in the direction of the castle was there a field of bright light. A party seemed to be in swing over there. "It''s probably the people from the headquarters that ran over to the mayor''s residence for free lodging," Roland muttered amusedly. In reality, he guessed right. John was the one who held the banquet going on at the castle right now. The purpose of this was to welcome Bard and the others. A noble and a mage, such an identity was well regarded anywhere except with players. The banquet at the castle was joyous, harmonious, and lavish. Countless cups, ten times the price of the untouchables, contained red or yellow fruit wine. The nobles took delicate sips and feigned expressions of pleasure, and then bragged with each other. Meanwhile, on the balcony of the second floor, John and Bard were overlooking the group of people inside the banquet hall, their expressions somewhat ruminative. Bard sipped on fruit wine and said, "These people have noble identities but don''t have noble souls. They''re not interesting at all." "What is considered a noble soul?" Bard asked laughingly. "One like Mr. Bard''s," John said, "with the status of both a mage and a noble. Only a soul like this is considered noble, whereas they are just empty shells, feeble souls, puppets with no self, inferior to even commoners." Bard swayed his own wine cup lightly. "Mr. John, your standards are too strict. I think they''re quite all right." "If it were one month ago, I would also have been able to accept their incompetence." John sighed. "However, after seeing what true talent looks like, I discovered that these people really are of no use. They can''t protect the city or campaign for the country, and now they don''t even want to pay taxes." Bard laughed lightly. There weren''t many nobles who wanted to pay taxes. This was quite normal. Then, he asked curiously, "What exactly caused your views on them to change?" A hesitation. He didn''t seem to want to speak about this, but after a while, he still said slowly, "Recently, two people came to our city, and a later investigation found that they were both Golden Sons." "Wait, what are Golden Sons?" Bard asked in surprise. Eyes wide, John stared at him. "You don''t even know the background of the Golden Sons?" Bard shook his head then smiled. "Mr. John, can you tell me about the Golden Sons?" "Golden Sons are undying humans from another plane." John laughed and said, "They''re inclined toward neutral good" Bard was greatly surprised. "What did you say? Undyingthat''s impossible. This is probably unconfirmed information." John instead looked at Bard with a strange gaze. "How''s it impossible! I saw with my own eyes, even after those two guys were diced into mincemeat, their bodies could reappear from the Church of Life. I find it rather strangelogically, the capital should be quicker to catch on and more abundant with news, how come you guys don''t know about the advent of Golden Sons?" Bard still felt that this information was absurd, but John didn''t seem to be lying to him and had no need to do so. "Mr. John, can you explain to me in detail about the Golden Sons?" After roughly half an hour, John finished explaining. Bard stayed silent for a long while, and then he abruptly gulped down all his fruit wine, his posture and expression no longer appearing graceful but more nervous. "Is one of the Golden Sons called Roland?" John nodded. Bard was stunned. He slowly sat down on the chair and seemed to be pondering something. John looked at his appearance and grinned slightly, "I also heard gossip that some nobles secretly hid the corpses of the Golden Sons after they died. It''s rumored that some tried the taste of themthey seemed to have special effects!" Bard''s eyes froze. "What effects?" "They became younger by several years!" 83 Battle Pries Immortality was impossible in the real world, but inside the world of this game, it was a basic configuration. Not to mention the immortal gods, the near thousand-year lifespan of elves was enough to make people envious. In this world, there were magic items that could increase one''s lifespan, but they were extremely hard to acquire. For example, the world tree would bloom every three hundred years or so. It bloomed without bearing fruit. It was rumored that other races, for example, humans, or orcs, if they ate the petals of the world tree''s flower, they would be able to increase their lifespan by ten yearseating ten flowers, they would be able to possess roughly the same lifespan as that of the elves. The world tree was the largest tree in the entire world. Its height was over 600 meters and the diameter of the treetop was roughly 1.3 km. Every time it bloomed, there would be at least ten thousand flowers. Logically, every time the world tree bloomed, many people would be able to acquire lifespans of a hundred to a thousand years. However, in reality, the flower of the world tree never circulated beyond the Elf Forest, and the elves wouldn''t pluck any of the world tree''s flowers. They simply let these flowers fall to the ground and blend in with the mud. If any outsider attempted to steal flowers from the elves then they''d be the mortal enemy of all elves. Because elves were born from the world tree, in their eyes, each flower of the world tree could become their kin. Even if this didn''t turn out to be the case, the flowers were still the remains of their kinthe flowers came from the mother tree, and after they fell to the ground and became mud, they returned to the mother tree, waiting to reincarnate as flowers once more. There were also meats of powerful monsters or certain limbs of demons that had similar effects when eaten. For example, the brains and hearts of dragons. Or the Crimson Flame Core of fire phoenixes. Regardless of whether it was the world tree, powerful monsters, or demons, these weren''t things that these nobles could provoke at will. However, if it were Golden Sons they weren''t that powerful, so perhaps there was room for manipulation? "It sounds quite interesting." Bard smiled very happily. John said, "I personally don''t really believe in these rumors. Besides, eating other humans just feels disgusting. We''re humans, not orcs." Bard smiled in agreement. Then, the two talked about other subjects. John stood on the balcony and told Bard which young ladies below were prettier and easier to get one''s hands on, and which ones were relatively cleaner. Bard remembered each and every person in his mind, and then he found a reason to go down to the banquet hall. His smile was like a small sun. After the banquet was over, Bard, who had been soaked in fragrance, returned to rest in the guest room the host had provided him. Lying on the bed, Bard laughed lightly. He could tell that John said so much for no other reason than to make him initiate conflict with the Golden Sons. To initiate conflict with a group of undying people, was he really being taken for a fool? Of course he wanted to have a taste of the flesh of the Golden Sons. If there truly were effects, he could give his grandparents a taste. However, the problem was: did he have to fight against the Golden Sons to acquire their flesh? Could he buy it with gold? He felt that he definitely couldn''t buy Roland''s meat. Roland looked too proud, and if he were to approach Roland, he would definitely be humiliated. However, he could try the three other Golden Sons. Then, he closed his eyes to rest. It was soon morning again. Because there was no need to sleep, Roland was always working on Language Proficiency. Now he was one step away from truly completing the double effect of listening and reading. However, he was stuck here. He discovered that he was lacking some data, and after attempting several times and failing, he couldn''t find the solution. If he were to use the process of elimination, he would have to test till god knows when since there were too many remaining nodes with tens of thousands of combinations. At this moment, Roland felt that his intelligence and mathematical knowledge was lacking. He somewhat regretted that he didn''t attend graduate school and take the exam for doctorate studies. How about seeking help from the netizens on the forums? The netizen who pointed out he had a hidden specialty seemed impressive right off the bat. Later on, when he logged out of the game, he would go on the forums and @ him to see if he could get some help with the calculations. Because Vivian wasn''t at the Magic Tower, Roland could only go out and look for food himself. When he arrived at the entrance to the Magic Tower, he saw Hawk, Link, and a man in a chainmail suit walk over. Roland assumed that the man was another warrior at first, but then he discovered that the man actually had obvious mental energy waves emanating from his body. This was the mark of a spellcaster. Moreover, this man''s body was quite upright. He appeared only to be 17 years old, but the expression in his eyes was quite mature! A player? It couldn''t be helped; the vibe of the players compared to that of the NPCs were too obvious. Just like the majority of Chinese people, they could easily distinguish between people of the Celestial Empire[1] and people of the Fusang[2]. This person is also from Silver Wings? Just when Roland was thinking this, he heard Hawk say, "Roland, this is the priest you recruited online. He found us first, so I immediately brought him over to you." Priest? Wait, this is a priest? The man was in heavy armor from head to toe, carrying an iron-made square shield on his back, with a small iron mace hanging on his waistthe mace was even studded and looked quite lethal. And the man''s neck and the part of his wrists which were not covered by his armor, were clearly marked with striated muscles. The muscles in these areas were quite hard to train. If the man could train these muscles to such prominence, then the muscle on other parts of his body was definitely not bad either. "This man is obviously of a close-combat class, and you tell me he''s a priest?" Roland found this somewhat inconceivable. In his impression, priests were definitely similar to Falken, wearing a magic robe and holding a staff. "I''m really a priest," this man in the chainmail said seriously. "I''m a battle priest, and Master Roland, you can''t bring your previous experiences in other games to this one. I''ve already stayed two months in the Church of Life, and I can tell you confidently that if anything happens in the various large churches, we battle priests are on the frontlines. Close combat, support, and healing, we''re all proficient in. The priests you''re talking about are clerks that know theurgy. Their responsibility is to ensure logistics, spread the faith, as well as appease the believers. They almost never participate in battles. If they did participate in battles, then that would be a time a sect''s survival was in the balance." I see Roland said with a smile, "Sorry about that. I''m inside the Magic Tower deriving spells most of the time and very rarely participate in battles with others, so I don''t understand much regarding these matters." "No worries, everyone''s a newbie. There are too many things in this game for us to understand," the man said with a smile. "You can call me Jett." "Jett have you had breakfast yet?" Roland asked. Jett shook his head. Hawk asked with an excited look, "Are you treating us? So rich!" Roland nodded. "Of course. Let''s go to Gray Sand, the atmosphere is slightly livelier. I''ll notify the party leader as well." Jett had a somewhat confused expression. "Roland, aren''t you the party leader?" "No, a friend in my guild is. Wait, I''m leaving a message for him with the guild system." At this moment, Jett''s eyes lit up. "Guild system the guild F6?" [1] Ancient name for China [2] Ancient name for Japan 84 Day and Night Switch The four of them arrived at the Gray Sand tavern first, and it was not long before Betta joined them. The Gray Sand tavern in the early morning was quite empty and seemed very quiet. The five of them sat around a black, circular wooden table and introduced themselves to each other. Then, Roland said, "This game is different from the ones we''ve played before, so we can''t apply our past experiences to it. However, we can still try the classic wedge formation, after all, none of us have experience with dungeons in this game" He turned his gaze to Jett and said, "You may have a strong combat ability, but don''t rush into battle when you get into the dungeon. Just follow us and observe, save your strength as much as possible, and help us with support magic at crucial moments." Jett nodded. "All right, I''ll follow your lead." Roland turned his gaze toward Hawk and Link. "You are both warriors. Tanking and main damage output will fall to you guys. But it''s better to divide in two, one at the front of the line, and the other at the rear." Hawk said in response, "I''ll be at the front. I just happened to have learned a shield specialty." Link laughed and said, "I''m a greatsword warrior, I''ll just stay in the back." Roland looked toward Betta. "You''re a hybrid class. I won''t restrict your positiondo as you see fit according to the battle situation." Betta nodded. Roland looked around at the group and said, "We''re just talking in theoreticals now. As to exactly what to do, in reality, we''ll still have to raid the dungeon once to know. The NPCs in this game are dead smart, so I think the kind of slow advancement we see in other games won''t work." Everyone felt that Roland made a good point. Jett said coolly, "You''re the mage. You should be the smartest amongst us, so you should be in charge for now." His meaning was quite clear. It was to listen to Roland first, and if Roland couldn''t command well, then have another person take command. This was nothing new. If one wasn''t competent, then they''d be replacedit was just that simple in games. And honestly, Roland didn''t really want to command people outside of F6. F6 members trusted and tolerated each other. Even if one of them made mistakes, the others would comfort and help make up for them instead of being angry. It was difficult to say for outsiders. If not acquainted, who would tolerate your mistakes? As they spoke, breakfast was served. Honey bread, boiled mutton with a rank smell, fresh vegetables and fruit wine. It was very inconsistent with their tastes, but it couldn''t be helped and they could only put up with it. Meanwhile, inside the castle, Bard woke up, and under the care of the maidservants in the castle, he got dressed, showered, and went downstairs to the hall. When nobles held banquets, they wished for this to a great degree. John sat at the head of the table, and an upper-class woman and a young girl sat next to him. He recognized those two people, John''s mother and sister. They were quite good-looking. In last night''s banquet, the two of them didn''t show up. Generally speaking, in those kinds of chaotic welcome parties, the female members of the host''s family wouldn''t show up. After Bard said good morning to the three of them, he sat down and ate breakfast. Compared to what Roland had, the breakfast style here was about the same, except with fresh milk and some exquisite cake. But even with these seemingly simple items, these dozen people consumed the worth of at least a hundred commoners'' living expenses for ten days in one meal. For the majority of commoners, it would be quite satisfying just to fill their bellies with brown bread. After breakfast, Bard said he was going for a stroll in the city, so he left the castle with his companions for the time being. A dozen of them loitered on the streets, and wherever they went, people would make waythey completely appeared to be evil local tyrants. After walking for a while, the group dispersed into multiple groups and went off to find their own entertainment. Meanwhile, Bard and the other young noble mage walked to a tavern and booked a room for a private discussion. "Last night, John told me some very interesting things." Bard paraphrased to the young man opposite him what he had heard the night before, and then said, "How much of what John said do you think is true?" "It''s all true. There is no need to lie to us since all of these things can be confirmed with a simple investigation." The young man sneered. "However, his intentions are impure. He seems to be pitting us against Roland and the other Golden Sonsthis is quite interesting. The waters in the Capital are ten times deeper than the waters here, and we''ve lived in a hubrous way up till now. Does he really think we''re all fools?" "Then what are your thoughts?" Bard reclined in his chair, took a sip of wine, and asked, "How do you want to get to Roland?" "Continue to act harshly. We''re the sons of great nobles and the people of the headquarters, we have no need to yield to him." The young man laughed mischievously and said, "But remember, we fight without breakingwe can have a bad relationship, but we can''t be mortal enemies. I wonder why John would want to pit us against the Golden Sons. I think there is something to be gained in this." Bard sneered. "I also think so." At this moment, Roland''s five-people party departed. Betta shared the quest with the others, and then the five of them followed the quest''s instructions to leave the city, heading north of the suburbs, passing through mountainsovercoming all sorts of obstacles on the wayand entering a valley surrounded by mountains, where they finally found the entrance to the tomb. The entrance was completely covered with dense weeds. If not for the system notification, they would not have believed this place was the entrance. Even so, it took Hawk and Link nearly ten minutes to clear the weeds near the entrance with their long swords. In the darkness, a considerably deep entrance presented itself to the five of them. They looked at each other and immediately arranged themselves into an array. Hawk led the way with his shield in hand, Betta followed second, Roland and Jett were third, and Link, according to the plan, came last. The moment the five of them entered the cave, they stopped. They all simultaneously received a system notification: Dungeon quest detected, would you like to unlock the dungeon? They looked at each other and then immediately clicked Confirm. After they confirmed, the surrounding space suddenly distorted, the sun whooshed below the mountains, the moon rose, and the stars shone brightly in the sky. Day and night switched places in a matter of seconds. "A forced plot environment?" Roland muttered to himself. Hawk took out a torch from his Backpack and was about to light it up, but Roland was one step fasterfour bright light balls appeared out of thin air, suspended around them, brightly illuminating the vicinity. "How truly convenient." Hawk stored his torch and exclaimed in admiration, and then he asked Jett, "Can priests do that?" "Illumination is the most basic of spells, it has no attack power." Jett shrugged. "This evaluation alone made us completely abandon it. Priests have limited spell slots. Only mages will learn such thingsthey don''t have limited spell slots." Betta interrupted them at this moment. "I reckon that there aren''t many people amongst mages who''d want to learn it. They aren''t like us warlocks and priests who can learn a spell with a ding. They have to analyze magic models on their own. It''s quite a waste of time. Brother Roland is a rare case." "There are now fewer and fewer mages." Hawk sighed. "About half of the mages in our guild forum have already deleted their accounts and started anew. There are many who are still barely holding on. They say that this class is really boring, calculating data and conducting experiments all day. I suppose the game''s developing team deliberately used this method to limit the number of mages." Upon hearing this, Roland was also somewhat disappointed. He then sent a light ball into the cave and said coolly, "Let''s go through the dungeon first and talk about other things later." Hawk nodded, took out his longsword and shield from his Backpack, and then walked forward carefully at the front. 85 Dungeon Quests Arent Easy The Light Ball from the illumination spell drifted ahead, moving in sync with Roland as he moved forward. It could be suspended roughly 20 meters away from Roland, so it was able to completely illuminate the scenery ahead. One shouldn''t underestimate this small amount of distance. A lot of the time, this tiny bit of distance could eliminate certain ambushes or dangers. The cave wasn''t very wide, but it could accommodate three people walking side by side, so it didn''t seem too cramped. A musty, earthy smell rushed past everyone''s noses, but they didn''t take it too seriously. They walked slowly, trying not to make too much noise, and at the same time cautiously surveyed their surroundings. By the looks of the shape of the cave wall, it must have been artificially created. Hawk held his shield as he walked forward, and after a while, he stopped suddenly. Everyone was startled for a moment, and then they adopted battle stances. Hawk didn''t say a word and simply shook his head. Then, he grabbed a handful of mud from the cave wall, sniffed it, and tasted it with the tip of his tongue. The four bystanders felt somewhat uncomfortable at his actions, as if they themselves had eaten the mud. Then, Hawk threw away the dirt under the puzzled gazes of the other four and whispered, "I found it strange earlierthe smell of this cave is a bit ''fresh,'' so I tasted the dirt. This passage was dug only recently, less than three years ago." Jett''s eyes widened. "Oh dang, you''re a tomb-raiding officer[1] in real life?" "Bug off, I''m a civil engineering graduate," Hawk said bitterly. Jett, however, nodded. "They''re about the sameboth are excavating jobs." "Far from it." Hawk stood up and said helplessly, "One builds upward, one digs downward, how could they be confused with each other." Then, Jett noticed something odd. "Do the current civil engineering students have to learn the skill of tasting how long silt has been dug out for?" "No, it''s just a school specialty," Hawk explained. "Every university has a different instructor in civil engineering, so the specialty differs. For example, the unique skills for talents that graduate from Qing Something University''s[2] civil engineering are ridiculous personnel commands and dreadful time control. They are best at building large projects in a short period of time, using the scientific tactic of an overwhelming labor force. They''re representative of brute force aesthetics in civil engineering. Dumbfounded, Jett said, "Oh f**k, I suddenly feel that I''m wasting my life, having mediocre skills and only passing the exam to be an instructor without any unique skills in a second-rate university." Roland felt that this was quite normal. His instructor was quite impressive in the area of artificial intelligence but had recently vanishedhe more or less knew why, now. The two of them chatted softly and continued to walk forward slowly. Logically, in situations where one didn''t know whether there were dangers ahead or not, one should remain quiet. However, being too quiet was adverse instead. As they walked further inside, the natural winds and chirps of birds and insects were already cut off from outside. If they didn''t speak, only the sounds of their heartbeats, their footsteps, and the rubbing of their bones would reverberate inside the passageway. Without the mixture of sounds of nature, such silence could drive people to irritation, or even drive them crazy if they had poor psychological resistance to stress. This was why they talked quietly all the time, and Roland occasionally cut in on the conversation. Before entering the dungeon, they assumed they would encounter enemies halfway throughghosts, for example, or monsters. However, they ended up walking the entire length of the tunnel into a massive rock hole without encountering any enemies. In front of the entrance was a stone field, and in the distance there seemed to be a faint flicker of light. Roland controlled two Light Balls and sent them forward so that the five of them could clearly see the space. It was a large square space, the ground laid out with gray unknown rock, about a hundred black sarcophagi in a semicircular shape encircling a flight of steps in the distance. The steps were about a meter high, and above them lay a large white sarcophagus, which seemed especially conspicuous amidst all the gray. Behind the white sarcophagus was a tall white stela. Glowing light blue lines resembling veins slowly emerged and faded from the stone, repeating in this way. This place was very quiet, so quiet that it was as if they were in a void. It was also very cold. Hawk let out a long breath and a white mist came out of his mouth. "This situation is a bit familiar. When we walk over, will those glowing lines enter our bodies? And then a ghoul will rise from the white sarcophagus with a long frost sword and yell at us with unrelenting force[3]?" "You''ve played too much Maiden Scrolls[4]." Jett laughed and teased, "And you probably installed a lab[5]." Roland, Hawk, and Link all revealed mysterious smiles at the same time. Betta asked rather curiously, "What''s Maiden Scrolls?" Roland was at a loss for a moment and said helplessly, "Go search it yourself online, I can''t explain." The other three people snickered. While the five of them were talking and laughing, they walked out of the passageway and carefully entered the vacant square space. A Light Ball flew up into the air. There were pillar-shaped rocks above their heads and temporarily no danger in sight. In the middle of the hundred sarcophagi, there was a passage that divided the sarcophagi between two sides. The five of them walked over and had just reached the end of the passage, but they suddenly stopped. Their line of sight had been obstructed by the sarcophagi, but they discovered that at the end of the road, four bodies were lying in the corner of the steps beneath the white coffin. "Be careful, corpses mean danger." Hawk inclined his shield in front of his body and walked forward slowly. At this moment, Roland had a strange expression on his face. He looked left and right and suddenly said, "All of you wait, I think something is not rightit feels a bit uncomfortable." Upon hearing these words, the other four immediately retreated and surrounded Roland in the middle. Hawk diligently looked right and left, trying to find an enemy. Jett started to cast status magic on himself, things like brute force enhancement, agility enhancement, nimble body, and so on. The atmosphere was tense all of a sudden. Roland said quietly, "Let''s retreat a little." Everyone retreated as he said. Retreating back to near the passage, the other four people relaxed their nerves a little. Under their puzzled gazes, Roland said, "I am a mage, and I can sense the mental power fluctuations of others within a certain range. Walking down the aisle just now, I suddenly noticed that the coffins in the surroundings also exerted mental wavesit might have been because the sarcophagi isolated them that I could only recognize them when I got closer." Everyone felt shivery as they instinctively looked toward the sarcophagi. Jett asked, "How many are there?" "Almost all of them." Now, the other four didn''t want to speak even moreno wonder Roland''s reaction just now was so strange. Hawk was startled for a while before he gasped out, "I knew this dungeon quest wasn''t that easy." [1] An actual military post in Ancient China [2] Tsing Hua University [3] Reference to The Elder Scrolls [4] Mods that turned all the women in the game into young women [5] Loverslab adult-themed mods 86 Dungeon Quests Are Actually Quite Easy The things lying inside the sarcophagi could all actually move? Even knowing that they themselves could revive, they were still quite panic-stricken. This game was different from normal games. It was very realistic. What would they do if the dungeon closed when they failed? Such a possibility couldn''t be ignored. They retreated to the entrance of the passage and prepared to make a detailed plan first. Over a hundred "living" creatures, no matter how weak, were still problematic, for fear of if one was disturbed, the rest would all come climbing out of their sarcophagi. Moreover, according to their past gaming experiences, the one sleeping inside the white sarcophagus was most likely the dungeon''s boss. If it were also disturbed, their party would definitely be wiped out. They stayed near the entrance of the passage, somewhat at a loss. "This dungeon has no tips." Jett scratched his head. "It''s somewhat problematic." Hawk leaned on the corner of a wall and said helplessly, "Look at the surroundings, there are no spots that are easy to guard and hard to attack Does the passage behind us count?" Betta also looked left and right, seemingly trying to find some clues to pass this dungeon. Clues Roland looked at the tall stela up ahead. The magical, blue, veined patterns that slowly lit up and slowly darkened looked somewhat strange, zigzagging across the rock, a little like characters. He instinctively cast Character Proficiency on himself! On the other side, Hawk and Jett were discussing whether or not a lot of the undead would jump out of the black sarcophagi when they approached the white sarcophagi. "There definitely will be a lot," Jett said confidently. "This is a dungeon, if it didn''t require surviving a fierce battle, how could it be called a dungeon? Besides, the bright day just turned into dark nightclearly a forced plot of the questand there are also a few corpses over there. All of this indicates that this is an elementary small-scale dungeon or a learning stage where death shouldn''t matter. However, the problem is that we should try to avoid death. After all, we''ll lose ten percent of total experience, and for people at level four and above, dying once basically means going down a level." "But there are no hints at all." Hawk scratched his head and said helplessly, "After we trigger the boss, how many waves will the small monsters inside these sarcophagi be divided into? Or will they all emerge at once?" Betta interrupted them at this moment and said, "We can open the sarcophagi on our own accord and kill the small monsters inside first. How about this?" It wasn''t a bad method. The other three nodded and felt that this method was reliable, at least much better than directly fighting the boss. At this moment, the other four didn''t understand what he meant. Hawk even said, "Only if it were completed" Soon after, he came back to his senses and shouted at Roland, "What, you completed the dungeon quest?" The rest of them also stared at Roland in surprise. "You guys can look at the system notification for yourselves." Roland also felt this somewhat unimaginable. The four of them immediately opened the game interface and checked the system notification. As expected a server-wide system notification: "The player Roland is the first to complete the main dungeon quest. The Mind-Calming Necklace is specially granted as a reward." "What what what!" Completely at a loss, Hawk stuttered, "You just stood there, did nothing, didn''t even start on the boss, or fight small monsters, how did you complete the quest?" Jett also chimed in: "Did the game glitch?" Roland pointed at the stela and said, "Those are elven words. It details the rise and fall of this cemetery! Once you understand it, the main quest will be considered completed. The quest reward has already been delivered into my hands." Roland turned over his right hand and a crystal necklace appeared in his palm. The necklace emitted a faint white light. It was clearly a piece of magic equipment. "You can read elven words?" Hawk had a confused look in his eyes. Roland said with a smile, "I know Character Proficiency." "I''ve only heard of Language Proficiency," Jett said somewhat confusedly, "and I also know Language Proficiency, but this spell doesn''t allow one to understand characters." "Character Proficiency is a derivative spell I learned from studying Language Proficiency," Roland explained. "I posted a magic model of this spell on the mage section of the forum. If you guys check it out, you guys should be able to see it." "I''m not a mage, I wouldn''t go to those message boards!" Then, Hawk asked smilingly, "Can you cast Character Proficiency on us?" Even if he hadn''t asked, Roland would''ve cast it on them. After roughly five minutes, everyone completed the dungeon quest. Then, a system notification immediately popped up in front of everyone''s eyes: "Everyone has completed the dungeon quest. Preparing to exit the dungeon instance, starting the countdown!" 10, 9, 8 After several seconds, the surrounding scenery distorted again, and then they discovered the scenery before their eyes changed completely. Compared to the somewhat intact cemetery earlier, the cemetery now was a complete mess. All the sarcophagi had already been opened and many yellowing skeletal remains were scattered around the sarcophagi. There were also various rusted weapons on the ground here and there. The white sarcophagus was also open, and the stela behind the sarcophagi no longer had any blue veined patterns. The elven words had already disappeared. This cemetery was completely robbed. Roland and the others walked up to the white sarcophagus and looked at the empty interior. All of them sighed. "Seeking death, these tomb raiders." Roland sighed lightly. At this moment, their quest changed. From "Unlock The Secrets to Delpon''s Necropolis" to "Find the Vampire and Seal Him Back Into the White Sarcophagus." In the brief introduction, the follow-up of the quest was detailed. The cemetery of this sealed vampire had been robbed. The tomb raiders adopted the strategy of first killing the "protectors" inside the black sarcophagi, and after eliminating these obstacles, they then opened the white sarcophagus. The vampire that had been sealed for over a hundred years came out and immediately sucked the blood of the five tomb raiders, then escaped from these sealed grounds. The corpses near the white sarcophagus that Roland and the others saw in the dungeon was actually another group of tomb raiders. They didn''t eliminate the protectors and instead directly opened the white sarcophagus, and thus had their blood sucked dry. However, the white sarcophagus had inhibition magic. Once the white sarcophagus was open, the protectors would be awakened. The vampire was soon after sealed by the hundreds of protectors, and the protectors that completed this task went into slumber again. However, unexpectedly, three years later, another group of tomb raiders broke in. Roland and the others would''ve experienced the plot of these tomb raiders who had died inside the dungeon. They would''ve been destined for death. It was almost impossible for them to survive because the vampire was almost Master-level. Then, after they exited the dungeon plane, they would receive a new main quest where they would have to copy an inscription of the ancient elven words and have someone decipher the translation. There were very few people who understood ancient elven writing in the human world. This was a very long errand of a main quest, and it was the introductory quest. Then, players would be guided step by step to hunt down the vampire. However, absolutely unexpectedly, Roland already knew Character Proficiency. Not only did they not have to die once, they immediately completed the main introductory quest. 87 Mind-Calming Necklace After completing the introductory quest, everyone received equipment pertaining to their own class. Hawk received a shield with the enchanted attribute of stoutness, while Link received a chain mail with fire resistance. Jett''s reward was a black scepter with a spiked iron ball hanging from the top. It was absolutely unlike a scepter and more like a meteor hammer. However, Jett himself quite liked it. Betta was the luckiest. He obtained a fire element long sword. It was glowing red all over and looked extraordinary. This weapon would burn its user, but he had the blood of red dragons, which gave him additional fire resistance. This thing in his hand was just like a hand warmer. Roland''s luck was normal. He received a staff with two attributes: +2 spell power, +6 maximum health. After receiving this staff, he immediately carried out a test by using a normal small fireball. The spell''s power certainly increased, but not obviously so, just slightly better than nothing. However, the increase in maximum health was not bad either. The best equipment he received was an achievement reward for being the first to complete the main dungeon quest. Inside his system''s view, Mind-Calming Necklace was a piece of equipment with a gold name and it had only one effect Mind-Calming: Continues to absorb and store mental power unintentionally emitted by the wearer, and if the wearer''s mental power is lower than 50%, the stored mental power will be fed back to the wearer. Feedback speed: 30/s, continues for 3 seconds. Mental power was MP. Inside the system''s quantitative value, Roland''s current MP was 140/140. Even if Roland leveled up to the highest level, he supposed that his own MP''s upper limit wouldn''t surpass 400, but the Mind-Calming Necklace''s storage upper limit was 500. In other words, it was an equipment that automatically regenerated mental power and could be used from the early stages to the late stages of the game. It truly was a piece of gold equipment. Roland naturally wouldn''t flaunt a piece of equipment like this. It could be said that this equipment was a hundred percent in line with Roland''s gaming style. For mages, equipment was just complementary and didn''t give them much of a boost. However, what restricted the performance of mages was often MP and the number of spells. MP was the more important of the twothis was the prerequisite of all spells. No matter how good your equipment was, and how impressive the spells you learned were, without MP, they would be of no use. In addition, Roland really liked to study derivative spells. This required the non-stop use of a single spell. Although the specialty Roland''s Zeal could quickly replenish mana, if an experiment was conducted too frequently, a period without spellcasting would still emerge. Delaying neither learning nor battle, and it could be used for an entire "lifetime," it was absolutely a godlike equipment. None of them was the type to flaunt. No one deliberately revealed the attributes of their newly acquired equipment and no one asked on their own accord. Exiting from the tomb''s passageway, they discovered that it was already afternoon in the game''s world. "Let''s go back to the city first," Hawk said bleakly as he gazed at the sun, which was already inclining to the west. The others replied weakly in agreement. Although they completed the dungeon quest, apart from Roland, the other four weren''t all that excited. The reason was a little unimaginablethe dungeon was cleared too easily. For players, sometimes a suitable amount of torture was a part of gaming happily. They rushed over here full of expectations, looking forward to what kind of gaming experience this dungeon quest in this unique game would give them. Even if it were extremely arduous and challenging, they would accept it. Game progression for high-end players was a sense of achievement. However, they never imagined to pass it so easily, and they almost didn''t use any effort. Not to mention their expectations falling through, they also felt a sense of disappointment at the fact that they weren''t of any use. However, Roland was rather happy. Firstly, he received a piece of gold equipment, and secondly, he proved that his painstaking efforts in studying derivative spells could pay off. At least, Character Proficiency came in handy now. Unlike the other four, whose player mentality was predominant, Roland was a pragmatist. As long as he could accomplish the objective, neither the process nor the method was important. Moreover, to use the skills and knowledge he acquired to complete a quest, this was an enjoyable process in and of itself. They returned to the city walls. They weren''t in a hurry to get back inside. Roland said to Jett, "What plans do you have? Return to your original city?" "No, I''m staying here," Jett said with a smile. "In my previous city, I was the only player. Although NPCs are very intelligent, no different from real humans, our views differ too muchthere are no common points of conversation. Since you four are in this city, with me, there just happens to be five. We can chat on and correspond with each other on other matters." These words were quite to the point. Roland then asked, "Have you found a place to stay?" "I''m a battle priest of the Church of Life. As long as there''s a Church of Life, I can stay there for free, and the church is responsible for all three of my meals." Listening to this, Hawk''s expression was sour as if he had eaten a lemon. "The organizations that you spellcasters belong to are truly generous, providing all sorts of benefitsso **cking good." Roland asked curiously, "As far as I know, you warriors also have your own association." "We do. But we warriors have to pay **cking pay money to enter the association," Hawk said bitterly. "Not only that, after joining the Warrior''s Association, we also have to complete some specific quests without compensation. No one in hell would join them." "It''s impossible to just have obligations without power or benefits. Otherwise, the other warriors would already be making a large fuss!" Hawk said helplessly, "There are, but they''re useless. For example, if warriors of the association encounter any troubles, they can help mediate, but it''s not a hundred percent guaranteed to work. Other than that, it''s cheaper to learn unique specialties and skills." Indeed, this was pretty useless. Unlike mages, the other classes'' specialties and skills would automatically be learned upon leveling up. After reaching a certain level, there were multiple special skills or abilities to choose from and there was no need to deliberately learn them. As for mediating trouble did the players seem like a community that feared trouble? They were eager for NPCs to come looking for trouble so that they had excuses to beat them. "Then we''ll break up here now. If anything comes up, just contact each other," Roland said with a smile. "As for the next main quest, we''ll talk about it when we''re at a higher level." The others all nodded. The next main quest had "Recommended level: Level 5" written in its description. It belonged in a gray status that couldn''t be triggered. The five of them split up. Roland returned to the Magic Tower and discovered that there was someone waiting there. Bard had two magic apprentices with him. He was looking pensively at Roland as he walked over. When Roland was in front of him, Bard said with a smile, "Golden Son, your inability to die is where your confidence comes from?" 88 Buying a Piece of Your Flesh Although Bard''s expression was still quite arrogant, Roland was acutely aware that the pride in Bard''s eyes had diminished by quite a lot. As expected, this world emphasized strength: pure, plain strength. If you were stronger than them, even an arrogant person had to curb their temper. However, Bard still spoke in a tone ride with ridicule and resentment. Roland sized him up for a moment and admitted with a smile, "Yes, we can revive. Why can''t we rely on such a great ability?" Bard laughed lightly. "Don''t you think that''s quite shameless? Originally, in battles, things like courage are precious only because of the threat of death. The fact that you Golden Sons can revive is a dire insult to the courage of others. An insult to those who face you directly, to those who fight you." Upon hearing these words, Roland smiled. "According to your logic, you nobles are also a bunch of good-for-nothings, knowing only to maintain your meager existences based on the glory of your ancestors. If you have the guts, separate from your family and make a living as a commoner, and don''t rely on your status as a noble. How about that?" Bard frowned, feeling his stomach ache a little. The person in front of him was quick-witted. If he criticized the other side for cowardice, the other side would criticize him for being useless, unwilling to take a loss. It matched with the information he had acquiredGolden Sons were a group that didn''t care about nobles at all. Although Bard was proud, he wasn''t an extremely obstinate and inflexible person. Since the other side currently had strong sentiments against him, he would retreat for the time being. He immediately smiled and said, "Your argument is quite interesting, but don''t let other nobles apart from me hear, or else they''ll never stop bothering you." After hearing these words, Roland revealed a smile, contemplative with a trace of mockery. Bard shivered on the inside from this look. He was even somewhat irritated, but he couldn''t vent his feelings. He no longer smiled. He was, after all, the son of a great noble family from the capital. He was already quite out of sorts not being regarded as the center of the world, and now a Golden Son directly attacked him verbally. He took a deep breath and said expressionlessly, "I have some matters to discuss with you that''s unsuitable to talk about outside. Besides, as one of the masters of the Magic Tower, aren''t you going to invite me in?" "Please come in." Roland still wore that contemplative smile; his tone when he spoke was also quite odd. Bard was even more enraged at this. He very much wanted to leave but he still endured it. Finally, the two of them found a table on the second floor and sat down face to face. "I don''t know how to do these things." Roland shrugged indifferently. "Besides, you''re not worthy enough for me to do so." "Are you deliberately baiting me?" Bard asked with narrowed eyes. Roland was indeed deliberately baiting this man. Only under an infuriated state will certain people reveal their true nature. This is why the majority of prominent figures had a calm personality. They didn''t want their nature to be seen through and their weaknesses seized. Roland smiled. "No way! I simply don''t like you." "As it happens, I also dislike you a lot." The rage inside Bard was getting fiercer and fiercer; he almost couldn''t hold it in anymore. "I''ve only come to ask you this: do you sell your flesh?" Roland''s mouth gaped slightly. These words were truly too shocking, at least for Roland. Soon after, he started to feel his balls hurt and his butt clench, black ink even dripped from his dark and sullen face. "Do you want to die!?" Roland said this one word at a time, fuming with rage. At the same time, he mobilized large amounts of mental power and a giant transparent blue hand appeared above their heads, ready to smash down any time. Roland was level four, and after completing the dungeon quest, he received a large amount of experience. He only had about ten percent more experience to earn to get to level five. And there was a disparity in levelBard was only level two. Moreover, Roland''s character attributes'' growth interface was the template of a Golden Son belonging to the Commander level, with high attributes, multiple abilities, and multiple specialties. Bard''s was at most of the Elite level attribute growth. Some basic information could be found on the official website of the game, including the character attributes template level. According to the information provided by the official website, the class templates from low to high were: Normal, Elite, Genius, Commander, Overlord, Demon God, Divinity. The players'' overall attribute growth was considerably high. From a certain perspective, they could be considered as mid-level bosses. At this moment, Roland''s imposing manner was quite terrifying. Bard felt like he was facing a massive human-shaped dragon. He swallowed and said in a hurry, "I have no ill intentions." "You can leave now. Do so before I break both your legs." Roland stared at him unwaveringly. Bard got up and left without hesitation. Bard left the Magic Tower with the two magic apprentices, his expression sullen. He was very furious and he very much wanted to go back and beat up Roland for boldly frightening him, the son of a great noble family. However, he only thought about this he wouldn''t dare go back. The magic apprentices following at his side were already frightened to the point of breaking out in a cold sweat. "Bulls**t," Bard cursed as he walked. "This Roland''s got problems. What''s the big deal with trying to buy a piece of his flesh with gold coins, did he need to act so murderously? I knew I shouldn''t have come to him." Meanwhile, at this moment, Roland was rubbing his forehead. He originally wanted to infuriate Bard, but unexpectedly, Bard infuriated him. Mainly because Roland felt Bard''s acting was too real, the thirsty expression that emerged from Bard''s eyesBard definitely wanted to buy his chrysanthemum[1]. Nobles were disgusting creatures, as expected. I can''t beat you or win in an argument, so I''ll be your "good friend," is that how things work? Afterward, Roland discovered that he received a system notification. "You''ve comprehended ''Mental Deterrence (specialty)''." What? Roland clicked on the details of this specialty. Mental Deterrence: When you are in the state of casting and in the state of anger, you will launch a psychological attack in a radius of level x10 to all living things, regardless of friend or foe. The success rate is determined by the level difference between the two parties, as well as the difference in resistance. An intelligent living thing that fails to pass the exemption verification will fall into a state of panic. Panic: all character attributes decrease by 10%. This specialty looked quite impressive, but after Roland pondered it, he found that it wasn''t practical. Since he had to be casting and infuriated this didn''t conform to the battle style of mages. When mages fight, they need to remain calm and cast suitable spells at the right time and place in order to achieve the perfect results. In a state of fury, a mage with sparking flames in the left hand and a large fireball in the right, shouting out the enemy''s name and crazily bombarding the enemythere was absolutely no aesthetics in this Wait, it might seem a little cool. Perhaps, it would have surprising effects in some special situations. Obtaining a new specialty was a good thing anyhow. Roland was in a slightly better mood now. He was about to conduct magic derivation experiments, but he received another system notification. Don''t tell me I learned another specialty. With these thoughts in mind, however, he discovered that it was Betta who @ him in the guild system. "Brother Roland, come to my house, there''s something wrong." Though there were only a few words, Roland sensed a seriousness in this. [1] Slang for anus 89 Something Within Expectations When Roland arrived at Betta''s house, he saw that the door was halfway open. He pushed the door completely open and entered without hesitation. Once he entered the living room, he saw two women embracing each other, crying, the sorrowful atmosphere pervading. It was the maidservant and her freckle-faced sister. Betta stood by them, somewhat ill at ease. Upon seeing Roland, he immediately came to greet him and said, "Brother Roland, there''s something wrong." Roland looked at the two women who were sobbing and embracing each other. He could guess the gist of what was happening, but he still asked, "What exactly is going on?" "Lisa''s family was assaulted. Her big brother and sister-in-law were killed on the spot, her parents are missing, and the corpses of her second and third older brother and youngest brother were thrown out around the house." Betta sighed softly after he said this. In reality, they already expected such a situation. Since Lisa didn''t die, the murderer, assumed to be intelligent and proud, would most likely come for revenge. For this reason, Roland and Betta suggested that Lisa''s family leave this city. Lisa became Betta''s maidservant, so she was relatively safer, and because her older sister was usually at some tavern as a courtesanplaces like those were usually protected by certain important figuresshe was also relatively safer. This was why those who were met with disaster were the family members that stubbornly stayed in the city and wouldn''t leave. In actuality, Lisa''s parents were betting that Betta would constantly protect them. However, Betta felt that Roland made a good point previouslyhe couldn''t protect these people forever. Moreover, he was willing to escort these people out of this city to live elsewhere. But they weren''t willing, they insisted on staying, on dying in the city! He was already extremely benevolent. He didn''t feel any guilt, but he was somewhat emotional hearing the two women crying. These two women were reasonable. They knew that this matter couldn''t be blamed on Roland and Betta, so they naturally wouldn''t shout nonsense like "Why didn''t you protect us?!" However, being reasonable was one thing. They would still feel sorrow and pain even if their parents courted death of their own accord. "You stay here and protect these two. The enemy might come to this place." Roland looked at the weather outside and continued, "I''ll go find Hawk and the others to explain the situation to them." Betta nodded. Even if Roland didn''t say anything, he would''ve done so. After leaving Betta''s home, Roland wasn''t in a hurry to leave the city. He first made a trip to the Church of Life. Inside the prayer hall, Roland saw Jett kneeling on the ground, facing the statue of the Life Goddess, eyes closed and appearing very devout. Roland walked in, walked up behind Jett, and asked, "Are you interested in doing a quest without rewards with me?" "Sure." Jett opened his eyes and stood up. "I didn''t interrupt your prayers, did I?" "It''s fine, so long as the goddess is inside my heart." Roland couldn''t help but laugh. "You sound somewhat like you''re praying to the Buddha." "It''s pretty much the same," Jett said quite plainly. "The Buddha is a god, the Life Goddess is also a god, just change the name in the prayers." Believing in pragmatism In essence, this should be considered a false believer. However, this didn''t really concern Roland. He waved his hand at Jett and led him out of the city. On the construction site by the riverbank, Roland found Hawk. Upon seeing him, Hawk immediately brought them into a house, which was newly built but had no furniture inside. Inside the rooms, it smelled of fresh mud, and for some people, this smell was quite pleasant, but others didn''t like it. Jett didn''t like it. He gently fanned the air in front of his nose. "You asked me to put some beggars on the lookout for the Ritter family in the slums. Some time ago, the beggars came to report that something had happened. I guessed that you would come to me soon." Hawk looked somewhat angry. "I don''t know much, and the beggars aren''t professional scouts, but the perpetrators were definitely north-district gangsters. They killed Old Ritter''s sons that night and kidnapped the Ritter couple. They''re quite arrogant, treating human lives like bugs." Roland looked at Hawk''s expression and sighed. "There''s no need to be so furious. Didn''t we already know that humans devour humans in this world? No matter whether it was the heart-feasting incident you took part in, or the missing-girl case Betta and I were caught up in, those important figures honestly never treated the lives of commoners as human lives. Take it easy." Jett knew that Roland was involved in a missing-girl case, but he didn''t know about the heart-feasting incident that Hawk participated in. This was why he looked very curious right now. "What infuriates me the most is that the commoners here have no intention at all of resisting. They''re only glad that it didn''t happen to them, as if resigning themselves to fate." Hawk''s square face was filled with resentful disappointment. "This has made me want to carry over the contents of the little red books[1]." Upon hearing this, Jett was immediately excited. "Well, that sounds quite interesting. I think something can be done." It was evident that he was someone who liked to join in on the fun and cause more trouble. However, Roland shook his head. "It''s impossible. This world''s productive capability and military strength are all centered in the hands of professionals and nobles. They can use magic to improve crops, so the land also belongs to them. A fully armed physical professional, not even at an elite level, can easily get rid of dozens of villagerseven if these villagers took up simple weapons. Not to mention there are still professional ranks of Master, Legendaries, and so on, so the disparity in battle power is too great. I''m personally not too optimistic about such a course of action, unless we players increase our levels to a certain degree and possess our own organizations and influences. Otherwise, it''s best not to start something like a revolution." The three of them had all mechanically memorized political textbooks, or else they wouldn''t have been able to pass college examinations. The simple truth was clearone had to have enough firepower to seize political power. The two of them were discouraged upon hearing this, but they had to admit that Roland made a good point. Roland saw that they had given up on this idea and continued: "Although we can''t do anything major right now, we can still do some minor things. How about we take a stroll in the eastern suburbs?" With a cheerful expression, Jett said, "Sure, no problem." Hawk nodded. "Give me a few minutes, I''m going to have a few words with Link." After roughly twenty minutes, Roland and the other two arrived at the slums of the eastern suburbs. Things like criminal gangs often developed better in impoverished lands, whereas in the nobles'' neighborhoods, who had their own private soldiers and guards, they would only be hammered violently. So, they could only bully commoners and absorb the flesh of the weak, relying on such a way to survive and expand. In the alleys of the slums, it was very quiet. There wasn''t anyone walking around. Roland looked from side to side, occasionally seeing the eyes of a pauper peeping through a crack in a window, but noticing Roland staring at them, they immediately retreated into the darkness and closed the window tightly. These pairs of eyes were filled with alarm and fear. In the alleys, there was an indistinct scent of blood. [1] Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tung, usually printed in red 90 Nothing More Than a Coincidence The atmosphere in the alley was very wrong, a kind of somber chilliness. If it were any ordinary person, they probably would''ve already turned away. However, the three players knew that they could revive, so at the moment, they continued to move forward fearlessly. The alley twisted and turned, and as they approached the depths of the slum, the smell of blood gradually became stronger. Then they turned a corner and saw, at the end of the alley, a rather luxurious three-story building. There was a plaza, a lawn, a fountain, and some lifelike statues in front of the building. It was the work of a wealthy aristocrat, at the very least. It was truly unbelievable that such a house could be built in a slum. And in front of the building, many people were lying on their backs or stomachs, their bodies surrounded by pools of fresh blood. Things bode ill for them. In front of the entrance to the small building, there were even more corpses lying on the ground. The three of them found this somewhat unexpected They stormed over here looking for trouble, but they never expected to see such a scene. This criminal gang was most likely already uprooted. Who did it, though? While they were thinking about this, a group of people appeared at the entrance to the small building. Roland was startled for a moment because he recognized this group of people. It was Bard and his magic apprentices. No wonder there were faint traces of violent surges of magic elements in the air. Bard walked at the forefront, and when he saw Roland, he was also startled. Then he smiled lightly and walked in large strides toward Roland. Behind Bard, the magic apprentices were dragging a middle-aged man and woman. Bard walked up to Roland, briefly glanced at Hawk and Jett, then said with a smile, "You guys came late. We''ve already taken care of things for you guys, the righteous Golden Sons." His tone was complacent. Hawk couldn''t help but ask, "Do you know this guy? I really want to give him a beating." Upon hearing this, Bard instantly felt somewhat annoyed. He looked at Hawk, sized up his appearance, and then felt somewhat fearful. Not long ago, Bard had his subordinates make inquiries and learned a lot. This large bearded youngster should be the one who died countless times to forcibly ruin the lives of a small noble family. To confront such a barbarian was an action that only an idiot would take. What if this guy really went crazy and got into an endless dispute with him? Roland smiled as Bard was forced to yield, then asked, "What are you doing here?" Following Bard''s smug laughter, Lisa''s parents were thrown before Roland. The middle-aged man and woman had been so frightened that they turned pale and trembled all over. But when they saw Roland, they erupted with immense power: their expressions became wild and resentful at the same. The two of them dove in front of Roland and grabbed onto his legs. There was malevolence in the man''s frenzied expression. "Why? Why didn''t you protect us!? Why? Aren''t you guys good people? Aren''t you guys supposed to protect weak commoners like us? You guys are no different from the murderers! Murderers, slaughterers." The woman''s eyes were wide open as if they were going to pop out of their sockets. The expression in her gaze was malicious and resentful. She looked at Roland as if she''d seen the murderer that killed her own son. "You wicked man, why didn''t you come to protect our home, why didn''t you come, why didn''t you come!?" They spat out curses, resentment and the vilest of words all placed on Roland. Bard froze for a moment, and then laughed smugly and merrily at the sky. His laughter grew louder and louder, and in the end overpowered the curses of the middle-aged couple, until it broke out into strange wheezing. His face and neck turned deeply red as if he would pass out the next second. However, Bard finally recovered. He took a few breaths and looked at Roland with an expression of mixed irony, smugness, and triumph. "These are the commoners you were protecting, brought so low. Are you happy Shut up!" The last words, shut up, were not directed at Roland but shouted at the middle-aged couple, whose voices he felt annoyed with for influencing his speech. Being shouted at by Bard, the middle-aged couple immediately stopped with their curses. "You see, these are commoners." Bard spread open his arms and said with a feverish expression, "Is it any fun for you to mingle with these shameless, ungrateful commoners who can''t even understand the circumstances? I know you Golden Sons don''t seem to like us noblesare these commoners any better than we are? Golden Sons, aren''t you a bit idiotic to stand up for these people?" Looking at Bard''s smug expression, Roland merely smiled and raised his eyebrows. The other two also wore amused expressions. Upon seeing their expressions, Bard''s smug expression gradually became somewhat stiff. Hawk chuckled. "When did we say that we were standing up for them?" Bard looked at Hawk. "Aren''t you? I''ve investigated you. You previously fought against a noble family for those commoners who had their hearts cut out!" "Yes. I did fight and say that it was for those kids, but mainly, it was in defense of our own values," Hawk said indifferently. "We merely resented the actions of that noble. As for this married couple, before we came, we already guessed more or less how they would end up." Bard looked toward Roland. "You guys already guessed the outcome?" "Before, when they weren''t willing to leave this city and still wanted Betta and me to protect them, I realized what kind of people they were. We don''t like this couple either." Roland shrugged and said indifferently, "However, we still came. Saving them would have been something done in passing; we simply wanted to find a reason to eliminate the criminal gang here or the nobles who act without restraint and violate the bottom line of our values." Bard''s eyes slowly opened, his expression one of extreme and utter disbelief. "This married couple was only your bait?" Roland nodded. "You could say that. We only help those commoners who are willing to live on, who are willing to save themselves. Such death-seekers have never been in our scope." "You''re all crazy." Bard''s expression no longer held that complacency from beforeit was even somewhat ashen. "You guys want to dispose of us nobles!" "There''s no such thing." Roland denied this resolutely. "We only want to eliminate some evil people, and those people just happen to be nobles. I know that there are still a lot of good nobles, for example, someone like you, Mr. Bard." 91 Trail Gone Cold and New Trails The night was completely dark. Bard sat on the balcony of his room, gazing at the starry night sky. The candlelight passed through from behind him inside the room, shining on the expensive glass cup in his hands. The clear yellow fruit wine reflected mouthwateringly beautiful rays of light, but the wine cup trembled incessantly, causing the wine to ripple. Bard''s hand was still trembling. The contemplative smiles Roland and the two other Golden Sons had worn still surfaced before his eyes now. "We know that there are still a lot of good nobles, for example, someone like you, Mr. Bard." These words kept appearing inside his mind. Now he understood why Roland and the other two Golden Sons smiled in that way! That was the kind of smile one revealed when they saw prey, an easy mark. Prey! An easy mark! These words prodded and even stung at Bard''s cranial nerves. He wanted to rage, to roar, and to smash the ridiculously expensive glass cup in his hands to pieces on the spot. However, a sense of shivering fear that stemmed from his soul forcibly suppressed his rage and paralyzed him. Even when he had offended the fourth prince three years ago, he wasn''t afraid to such an extent. Those three truly wanted to kill him. They were waiting for him to make a mistake. In their eyes, there was no respect for nobility, no respect for power, let alone fear. How many Golden Sons were there? If they were small in number, they wouldn''t have much influence, not even if they could revive indefinitely. Their influence would be too small. However, if they were large in number the nobles would have difficulties in the future. There was even the possibility that they would be suppressed into the common class and replaced by the Golden Sons as the new noble class. With these thoughts in mind, Bard questioned whether he was being too fearful and thinking too much. However, his hand trembled uncontrollably, and his instincts told him that this was truly possible. "I''m truly mad!" On one hand, Bard felt this was impossible, but on the other, his subconscious told him that this was very likely to be a fact of the future. He was distraught with anxiety by these two conflicting ideas. "How are you crazy?" A familiar voice came from behind Bard. Bard didn''t turn around, he continued to look ahead and asked, "How did you come in?" "You didn''t close the door." The other noble mage, who accompanied Bard, walked up next to Bard and watched the night sky as Bard did, but he saw nothing beautiful. Then, he asked curiously, "What''s the matter with you? You look depressed." "Something happened today." Bard didn''t know how to tell his companion, for he was afraid of being laughed at if he spoke his mind. Nothing! Bard sighed, feeling tired. "I''m going to go to the tower tomorrow to carry out the authentication with Roland, and then get back to the capital as soon as I can." The young noble frowned. "What happened? Didn''t you try to humiliate Roland this afternoon? Why do you look so unhappy to me?" Unhappy? It was good enough not to be scared to death. Bard sighed helplessly. "After tomorrow, on the way back to the capital, I will tell you what I think, and you better not laugh at me then." The young noble mage somewhat helplessly said, "So mysterious. Forget it! Anyway, you''re the auditor, I just come here to playdo as you wish." Bard smiled faintly, but his smile was somewhat bitter. Roland returned to Betta''s house. The two women, still weeping, their eyes swollen like peaches, looked expectantly at him. "Your parents are safe." Roland nodded and said, "They should be home by now, but I still ultimately advised them to leave this city. We still haven''t figured out who the killer behind the scenes is." The two women bowed to him and left Betta''s house. Meanwhile, Betta took a dish of salted fried peas from the kitchen and put some wine on the table. "Tell me what happened exactly." "You already prepared the food to accompany the talk?" Roland smiled, sat down, drank some wine, and said, "When we arrived at the destination, the targets were already killed. However, I also recognized the one who killed the targets. It was Bard from the capital!" "Did he want to erase the trail?" Betta asked. Roland shook his head. "No. Before he came to Delpon, your maidservant already suffered an accident. This matter has nothing to do with him. He only scouted out what we were trying to do and carried out our plan one step ahead of us, trying to humiliate me with this." "This person''s got issues?" Betta also ate some salted peas with a frown. "How could we normal people understand the young master of a noble family." Roland recalled how terribly frightened Bard had been by the three of them and couldn''t help but laugh lightly. "Before Bard left, he told us that the boss of the criminal gang took everything on himself. Reasonably, this should be the end of the matter." "But he''s clearly taking the rap?" Betta went on to say. Roland nodded. "We guessed that Lisa was pierced through the heart by an ice sword, that was why there were no traces of her blood on the scene. The murderer must know magic. That gangster boss was fat, his arms larger than his headhe couldn''t possibly be a mage! And I didn''t sense any signs or a sliver of magical element in the gang leader." Betta was somewhat irritated. "The trail has gone cold again?" "No, there is a new trail instead." Roland sneered slightly. "Bard was originally not too interested in us. He was at most haughty and sought to deny my merits, but then he mentioned that we were Golden Sons, and it seems that he only found out not long agoclearly someone told him information concerning us in the past few days." Betta was also quite acute; he instantly understood this. "Then the place Bard recently stayed in is?" "The castle!" Roland said. "The mayor is out with his troops, so who''s the one in charge of the castle now? Who''s the one with complaints about us Golden Sons?" Betta''s eyes lit up. "Are there traces of magical elements on that person?" "Although he tried extremely hard to hide it, I could still sense it. There are!" Roland''s fingers tapped lightly on the rim of the wine cup, a faint passion in his eyes. "Originally, I thought Aldo was more likely the culprit, but now John has also entered my sights." Betta took a deep breath. "This man has a good reputation among the commoners, and many said that he is the good conscience of nobles." "It''s just a superficial act." Roland sneered. "I told Vivian that if he really cared about the people, he should focus on reducing the number of beggars in the city and maintain the security of the city, instead of ignoring the fact that some nobles eat people''s hearts." "I''ll try to keep an eye on him." Betta knocked the wine cup in his hands against the table. 92 Cabbage, Oh, Cabbage It was a new day. Roland climbed out of the immersive cabin. He first went on the official gaming website and checked the forums. Just as expected, the forums blew up again. As the first person to complete the main dungeon quest, the posts discussing him almost filled the entire forum. Theories on Whether Roland Is the Son of the Game Development Team. Is Roland Really That Lucky? Roland, Act More Lowkey, You Can''t Take All the Good Things. Similar headings like these constantly appeared, and it almost smelled of a party. Originally, being the first to complete a dungeon wasn''t a big deal, but for better or worse, the game producers on the forum posted the achievement reward for being the first to complete a main dungeon quest. A gold equipment, and one that was extremely practical. Even President Huang was discussing this matter, whereas Fan Six Hundred Million was even more outrageous: she directly started a thread and @ Roland. Inside this thread, she said that she hoped Roland would sell her the gold equipment; the price was negotiable. Roland clicked on the post and clicked away right after reading the contents. He wouldn''t sell the equipment, at least not now, Only when he found a piece of gold equipment more practical than this one. At first, this was just a matter of an equipment and the players would post about eating lemons to express themselves, but when Roland prepared to go offline and practice saber techniques at the miaodao club, another thread that immediately caught his interest suddenly appeared. The Secret to Roland''s Ability to Being the First to Complete the Main Dungeon Quest. Upon seeing this title, Roland''s interest was piqued and he instinctively clicked on it. Then, he discovered that the poster was actually Hawk, who recorded the entire process of the five of them going through the dungeon. The five of them entered the dungeon, walked to the boss''s room, then completed the quest and left. Because the video was edited, the length of it was less than a minute. In the end, the conclusion given was that Roland knew Character Proficiency so they directly skipped over a lot of steps in the storyline, and this was why he was able to be the first to complete the quest. This post was completely aggravating the situation. Many players started to express their discontent. Is This a Bug Exploit, or Was This Deliberately Done by the Game Planning Group? Is the Game''s Outcome Important or the Process? Mages Can Do So Many Things, Are the Other Classes Too Pathetic? Cheat Prevention, Loophole Prevention, Roland Prevention At first, the players'' emotions were about to settle, but once this post came out, they immediately roused to fever pitch. Many players even requested the game producers to provide an explanation. And now the first person to complete the dungeon was actually a solo player. Most importantly, the means used were not the standard. This made them quite bitter. Then, some players, who hoped to create an even bigger deal out of this, even ran to the bug feedback section and desperately reported Roland for using the game''s bug to his advantage. Roland also went over to check it out. The report posts instantly filled several pages. If one were to say no one was behind the scenes deliberately leading this mob, Roland wouldn''t believe them. However, Roland didn''t panic. He had a feeling that the game planners would be quite pressure-resistant this time. They probably couldn''t be forced by the players to give an explanation! He was too tired to read the contents of the posts. After quickly washing his face and brushing his teeth, he rode a public bike to the miaodao club. The weather was quite nice today, the morning breeze a little cool. He felt especially comfortable when the wind blew on his body. Roland arrived at the miaodao club and saw that Night Tide Sands had already carried out breakfast. The breakfast was also quite sumptuous today. Not only were there noodles, but also buns and wontons. The noodles were still the medicinal kind, but the buns and wontons looked quite exquisite. "What day is it today?" Roland sat down by the table, looking somewhat surprised at Night Tide Sands. Night Tide Sands ladled a bowl of noodles for him, placed a plate of buns and a bowl of wontons in front of Roland, and said indifferently, "You paid tuition, so we have more ample funds for breakfast." I see! Because everyone had the same breakfast, Roland didn''t have any other suspicions. He first tried the bun. It tasted pretty good. Then, he drank some broth from the wonton bowl and discovered that it also tasted pretty good and quite fresh. A breakfast like this was certainly better than the takeout he ordered. He started to gobble down the food immediately. Seeing that he was eating happily, Night Tide Sands grinned a little. On the side, a youngster ate quite happily and couldn''t help but shout, "Cousin, the breakfast you make is too good. Marry me in the future." The others all let out friendly laughs. Night Tide Sands patted the youngster''s head neither lightly nor heavily. "Relatives can''t get married to each other." The youngster put on a disappointed look. After a filling breakfast, Roland took more than half an hour to digest the food before his stomach felt less swollen. Under Qi Shaoqiu''s guidance, he trained in the horse stance for half of the morning and also learned three ways to hold the miaodao. This was all basic knowledge of saber techniques, which if he didn''t learn now, would hinder him later on. Then, Qi Shaoqiu put on a sour face like that of a dead person''s. "Later, you and my sister can go downtown to buy some things." "Buy what things?" Roland didn''t think about this, he just asked. He was quite satisfied with breakfast, and now that he was familiar with Qi Shaoqiu and Night Tide Sands, they could just barely be considered friends. It was quite normal to help out a friend. "The materials needed to make your protective gear. Night Tide Sands is a girl, so you can help her carry some materials and things of that sort." I see then I really should accompany Night Tide Sands to the city center. As they were speaking, a pickup truck drove to the side of the cement floor and started honking its horns. Roland turned around and saw that Night Tide Sands was actually the one sitting in the driver''s seat. "How are your driving skills?" Roland walked up to the car. Night Tide Sands took a glance at him and turned her eyes toward the front again, her tone somewhat unhappy. "You''re like those chauvinistic swine online that look down upon female drivers?" "I didn''t mean that." Although Night Tide Sands'' tone wasn''t very pleasant, after their time together, Roland knew that Night Tide Sands was cold on the surface but soft on the inside, so he didn''t care about it at the moment. Instead, he circled around the car and sat in the passenger seat. After he got in the car, he discovered that Night Tide Sands was wearing a white minidress. This stunned Roland a little. Previously, Night Tide Sands always wore long sleeves and long trousers, slightly more conservative attire. This was the first time Roland saw her wear a dress. Night Tide Sands was quite fair to begin with. Now that she wore all white, she appeared even more like the snow in the heavenly mountains. Roland circled his gaze around Night Tide Sands once before withdrawing it. Night Tide Sands miniskirt was the relatively slim-fit kind. Although Roland''s gaze stopped on Night Tide Sands for less than two seconds, Night Tide Sand''s ears still turned slightly red. She hurriedly started the pickup truck, using the rumbling sound of the engine to conceal the sound of her rapid heartbeat. Under the shade of the large shed, Qi Shaoqiu watched as the pickup truck drove off. He let out a long sigh. "The cabbage[1] at home is going to be dug out by a fat pig" [1] Refers to a young beautiful girl 93 A Strange Atmosphere A young girl driving a pickup truck looked strange no matter what. There was a strong smell of gasoline inside the car, but gradually, the smell disappeared, leaving only a faint scent of osmanthus around Roland. This made Roland''s passenger experience extraordinarily comfortable. The pickup truck was driving quite slowly. Roland looked at Night Tide Sands and discovered that she seemed somewhat nervous. Was it because she didn''t usually drive? This was understandable. A female driver who hadn''t been on the road much, it was no wonder she was nervous. Wait I''m in danger now. Now it was Roland''s turn to be nervous. He looked at Night Tide Sands and saw that her face, which was as white as jade, was slightly red. Was this because she was too nervous? Roland instinctively looked at his own bodythe seat belt was fastenedand then he unobtrusively grabbed the safety handle on the right. Fortunately, things didn''t go as he had feared. Night Tide Sands drove the pickup a little slowly but steadily. Neither of them spoke. Half an hour later, the truck stopped in front of a shop. Roland finally breathed a sigh of relief when he jumped out and planted his feet on the ground. This was a sporting goods store with a retro name, Red Star Sporting Goods. An old man smoking a water pipe sat in a rocking chair in front of the shophe was on cloud nine. Upon hearing the noise, the old man with grizzled hair looked up and squinted as he saw Night Tide Sands and Roland jump out of the pickup truck. "Senior Uncle Yu, here I come again to buy some rope and thick bamboo sheets." Night Tide Sands walked up to the old man, her tone quite different from usual, seeming considerably gentle. The old man put down the yellowing water pipe in his hands. He sized up Night Tide Sands for a moment and cracked a smile. "It''s the first time I''ve seen you wear a skirt. It looks quite nice." Then, his gaze shifted to Roland. "Is this your boyfriend?" Night Tide Sands'' ears turned slightly red, but she said in quite a calm manner, "No, he''s just our newly recruited student. He''s here to help me carry some things." This old man called Senior Uncle Yu stood up, his sallow, wrinkled face appearing quite happy as he smiled. "This is also the first time you''ve had a man help you with work. This is how it should be. Girls should treat themselves better. Don''t be too stubborn and try to do everything on your own." "No, my brother often helps." Night Tide Sands glanced at Roland, and seeing that he didn''t have much of a reaction, she felt a little relieved. She then went on to tell the old man, "Well, Senior Uncle Yu, save the small talk. I still have something urgent to attend to laterfirst, give me the things I asked for." When the three of them were about to enter the store, the sharp, clear sound of something breaking came from not too far behind them. A small white car parked in front of the shop and then a proud and formidable woman got out of the car. When Roland saw this person, he was surprised for a moment. He recognized this woman, Club President Jin of the boxing club. His eyes narrowed slightly; he also felt somewhat awkward at the same time. After Jin Wenwen got out of the car, she saw Roland right away. Her eyes looked slightly surprised, then she smiled. Find nothing searching high and low, yet stumbling across what you''re looking for. Some time ago, Jin Wenwen had been searching for Roland constantly, but she found no leads. She never imagined bumping into him at this place. Night Tide Sands also saw Jin Wenwen, and her expression was instantly somewhat displeased. Roland saw this out of the corner of his eyes. He found it somewhat strange. Although Jin Wewen was a beauty, she had the imposing manner of a man when she walked. She walked up to the two of them, looked them both over, and said with a smile, "I never expected to see two acquaintances." Two acquaintances? Night Tide Sands looked at Roland, showing a puzzled look. Roland nodded. "It''s been some time since we''ve last met, Club President Jin." Regarding this woman, he didn''t have any favorable impressions, and of course, he didn''t have any negative impressions either. "Why haven''t you come to train these days?" Jin Wenwen looked curiously at Rolandthere was even an interrogative look in her eyes. This woman seemed to be habitually aggressive. There was a commanding tone within her words. She did this both intentionally and not. Upon hearing this, Roland felt somewhat uncomfortable. He replied slowly, "You guys don''t have anything to teach me, right?" His tone sounded peaceful, but the rhetorical message was quite clear. Jin Wenwen slightly frowned; she wasn''t used to men of the same age talking to her like this. On the side, Night Tide Sands found an opportunity to interject. "Do you guys know each other?" Roland nodded. "Yes, I learned boxing at Club President Jin''s boxing club for a while." "Oh." Night Tide Sands suddenly realized. "So you learned your boxing skills from them. You learned quite well, even my big brother says he isn''t your match empty-handed. It seems Club President Jin taught with great care." At this moment, Night Tide Sands smiled, which she rarely did, but it felt feigned. As one of the few "physical skills" clubs in the city, Night Tide Sands knew Jin Wenwen, and Jin Wenwen naturally knew that Qi family''s miaodao arts were quite impressive. At this moment, Roland started to feel that the atmosphere was a little strange. Jin Wenwen considered Night Tide Sands'' expression for a while, then swept her eyes between Roland and Night Tide Sands. Finally, she smiled smugly. "Yes, I almost taught him all my most valuable skills. In the end, he ran off after learning them. Don''t you think he''s irresponsible?" Night Tide Sands'' expression started to become somewhat sullen. Roland didn''t quite understand confrontation between women. Although he was a die-hard sciences man, his emotional quotient wasn''t low, and he could read the atmosphere. He immediately said, "Club President Jin speaks rather ambiguously. Do you speak like that to all men?" Night Tide Sands was slightly startled, her expression no longer cold and indifferent. On the other hand, Jin Wenwen frowned again, this time more deeply than before. A few words broke through the strange atmosphere, and he immediately set his standpoint on the same front as Night Tide Sands. "I''m only joking. You''re overreacting." Jin Wenwen feigned a helpless look. "We don''t know each other well enough to take a joke," Roland replied indifferently. This woman was after the immersive cabin in his house, and neither her tone nor attitude was goodhe didn''t need to feign civility with her. Then, he shifted his gaze toward Night Tide Sands. "Let''s go get the stuff. I have some things to take care of later." "Okay!" The corner of Night Tide Sands'' lips raised slightly. Meanwhile, watching from the side, Senior Uncle Yu was grinning from ear to ear. His smile almost wrinkled his face into a butthole. Before he turned around and entered the shop, he gave a look that said "all men understand," seeming rather like a compliment. Roland felt baffled at this. He felt that Senior Uncle Yu seemed to be hinting at something but he couldn''t figure out what. Out of the way, Jin Wenwen watched them work. Roland and Night Tide Sands ignored her, loaded several heavy bags of thick bamboo onto the back of the pickup truck, and drove away. Jin Wenwen took out a slim cigarette, took a puff, and said to the old man, "Senior Uncle Yu, I''m here to buy some tincture for bruises and to improve blood circulation." 94 The Game Officials Are Formidable and Assertive Night Tide Sands was in a very good mood. She even drove a little faster. After returning to the miaodao club, Roland helped unload a few bags of bamboo sheets, declined Qi Shaoqiu''s invitation to eat lunch, and rode a public bike home. Qi Shaoqiu looked at his younger sister, somewhat confused, and asked, "After being out and about with your sweetheart, even your mood''s different?" Night Tide Sands blushed, turned around, and ignored her brother. Qi Shaoqiu felt even more heartbroken. He couldn''t even maintain the dead fish eyes expression unique to a venerable recluse. Roland returned home, opened the game''s official website, and found that the game officials issued an announcement as expected. Just as he had anticipated, the officials completely ignored the reports of players who purposefully stirred up trouble. The game producers even directly wrote these words on the announcement. "Everything that the player Roland does in the game is consistent with the rules of the game, and to reiterate, everything is consistent with the rules of the game. This game''s world is open and interactive, there are no fixed processesall roads lead to Rome. Players can use a variety of ways to meet the quest requirements set by the game''s system, as long as they are abilities, methods, or skills of the game. We can''t punish a normal player. In addition, some players are clamoring to leave if Roland is not punished. At such words, we are quite disheartened, sad, and aggrieved Except that''s not all true! We are not disheartened, but we actually want to laugh. You want to leave the game, go ahead. We will be very considerate and send people with a car to recover the game cabin. We still have the same words: we''ll give a full refund! Then, we''ll sell it to anxiously waiting players who are willing to pay a high price." These words could be said to be extremely arrogant and extremely assertive. Roland already expected the game producers to give a similar reply, but when he personally saw these words, he was no longer worried. After all, current society allocated things based on noisewhoever cried the loudest would be the one who received privileges. The game producer''s actions instantly made him a fan of theirs. However, the forum was overturned. The Most Official Cheeky Statement Directly Rebuking Players, Completely Unprecedented. Are the Game Producers Retards? To Offend Several Major Guilds for a Single Player? Waiting for the Game Producers to Swallow Their Words. Although I Don''t Agree With the Threat of Leaving the Game, It''s Too Much for the Officials to Rebuke Players. There were large amounts of threads similar to this upon refreshing the page. There were also a few posts from rational players, but they all got lost in the posting frenzy. Roland felt that something was wrong. The atmosphere gave him the feeling that a storm was coming. And at this moment, his phone rang. The caller ID was 11 zeros. Roland took a deep breath. He knew who it was. The call connected, and Ma Huajun''s voice sounded through the receiver. "Roland, there''s no need to be nervous or afraid. We''re on your side in this matter. All you need to do is rest well, do nothing, take a good nap, and continue playing the game at night." Roland had wanted to ask what was happening, but after hearing this, he swallowed the words back into his stomach. Then, the call ended, and listening to the beeping tone, Roland laughed helplessly. He then went to eat lunch with his parents, sat down and rested for a while, and took a nap. Across the distant shore, a blond-haired, blue-eyed middle-aged man hooted, "All of you, post, post with everything you''ve got. You can even use automated software to do so or copy and paste. A single forum reply for 0.2 bald eagle dollars[1]work more gain more. Remember to reply with the main points: you must say they do things without scruples, no service for the players, no intention of treating players as gods. At the same time, lead the netizens to heckle, guide the discussion, to let the gaming company hand over the game development and the monitoring rights to the public scrutinylead them to say things like ''the public should have the right to know, especially with this kind of time-surpassing technology.''" And around this middle-aged man, there were a lot of black-haired and yellow-skinned people in front of monitors, diligently operating computers, each and every one of them drenched with sweat. Similar situations were happening in secret locations of many countries. Of course, these things were unrelated to Roland. After he took an afternoon nap, he woke up to discover that the forums had collapsed. Penguin Corporation''s server was currently the world''s strongest They used blade servers, which many countries'' gaming corporations used, but there were none that had as many as Penguin Corporation. The number of blade servers that Penguin Corporation owned was a little more than that of the sum of all the other gaming corporations. If even a server of this scale collapsed, one could only imagine how great of a data attack Penguin Corporation suffered. However, since the game authorities made a special phone call, Roland was too lazy to pay any more attention to this matter. Thinking that it was only mid-afternoon and not even close to ten in the evening, he called Schuck. Schuck also seemed to have just woken up; his voice seemed weary. "You''re too famous now. Come to the usual place." Not much needed to be said between close friends. Roland immediately hung up and rode a bike to the bar. Schuck and Betta were already inside the booth, and the rest of them had no time to come because they either had work or children to take care of. Currently, the three of them had the most amount of free time. Schuck simply didn''t need to work. Right now, he was just a pretty boy being supported by his wife and the head of a family with a strong say in things. School still hadn''t started for Betta. Roland sat down, grabbed a watermelon, and started to eat it. Schuck clicked his tongue. "Even the officials have spoken for you, how impressive. This is the second time, right?" Betta nodded. "It''s the second time." Roland said helplessly, "I''d rather not be in such a limelight!" "Although it doesn''t suit your personality, it''s still a good thing," Schuck said with a smile. "The more famous you are, the more famous F6 will be in the future." Roland certainly didn''t like such meaningless fame, but if such fame was beneficial to F6, to their small group, he wouldn''t resist receiving fame. "Enough about me, how are things on your side going?" Roland asked. Schuck sipped on Red Bull and said, "All right, just a few too many rulescan''t do this, can''t do thatIt''s a little problematic for someone so negligent like me. It feels restricting." "What level are you now?" "Level five," Schuck said, somewhat self-satisfied. "It''s relatively easier for professions of god to obtain experiencejust pray every day. For some reason, my praying efficiency is unusually high. Praying for half an hour every day, I can receive at least one hundred points of experience. I''m currently the fastest progressing Saint Samurai; even the pope was alarmed. That busy man opened up half a day just to have a conversation with me." Roland looked at Schuck''s overly handsome, seemingly increasingly handsome face and said, "Why is your praying efficiency so high, you ask? Don''t you have a little bit of a clue?" "Hahahahaha!" Schuck laughed wildly, utterly smug as he very narcissistically posed as an assertive lady-killer. Roland''s face almost twisted in bitterness, while Betta directly stuck up the middle finger of his right hand. [1] USD 95 The Attitudes of Players He talked idly with his two friends at the cold bar until around eight at night. He rode home slowly on a bike. After he showered, there was still around one hour before the servers opened. Roland habitually opened the game forums and discovered that the collapsed forums had already been fixed. Players were still furious, but there were a lot less sheep-herding posts, and posts containing rational discussions were gradually starting to appear. There were already many people who were speaking for Roland. Roland let out a slight sigh of relief. He started to search for strategy posts in the forums. This time he focused on insight posts about selections of class sub-branches at level five. Now the majority of players who reached level five were of the warrior class. This class was simple and rough. There was no need to overthink things: simply learn a basic military sword technique and fight. They had powerful vitality and strength, and even without equipment, they could wrestle with monsters. If they had good equipment, they would be ridiculously strong. For example, Principal Huang had a set of low-level magic equipment, learned basic military sword arts, and a convenient slashing specialty, and so he was able to cut down werebears, goblins, and other evil creatures in the forest like vegetables. These monsters couldn''t even break through his armor. Principal Huang would upload his own battle videos every day. He was quite high-profile. Eliminating monsters quickly, having strong survivability, and completing quests highly efficiently, one''s leveling speed would naturally be fast. Comparatively, Mages were pitiful Although they could level up by learning spells, were spells easy to learn? And learning magic was a very dangerous matter. Any mistake could result in a head explosion suicide. Currently, the average level of mages was level two, Roland being the highest. Only after completing one main dungeon quest was he approaching level five. Although there were no strategy guides for mage class sub-branches at level five, he could check out the other classes and borrow insights to help make his own choice. After reading for a while, Roland suddenly remembered to put the derivative spell model of Language Proficiency on the forums and @ the deputy director at a data center, explaining his doubts and asking him to help take a look. He wanted to combine Language Proficiency and Character Proficiency, but he always fell one step short, unable to find the crucial point. After publishing the model, Roland looked at the time. It was almost ten at night, so he changed into pajamas and lay down inside the immersive cabin. Shortly, the gray game world brightened and the frozen time flowed again. Roland went outside the city and found Hawk, who was still commanding the beggars. And Roland discovered that the number of workers seemed to have increased a little. "It seems like you guys are progressing smoothly" Roland laughed. Hawk looked at the dozen single-story houses that had been built and smiled gratifyingly. "It''s on the right track. But with more people, the more food we consume, and we don''t have a stable source of food So, where are your gold coins?" "Here, eight gold coins." Roland took them out from his Backpack and handed them over to Hawk. Hawk took a brief glance and stored the gold coins into his Backpack. Then he said, "When the game time is over today, I''ll transfer the money through the forums, at market price as usual." Roland was somewhat happy that another hundred thousand yuan was going into his account. Only when people have money will they have the confidence to do things, and do them with ease. Roland, who was in high spirits, continued, "There''s another matter I''ve come over for this time." "Say it, I''ll definitely help you if I can." "Help me monitor the mayor''s son John." Hawk''s hand trembled for a moment. Hawk turned to look at Roland and asked in a low voice, "What are the odds that it''s him?" "At least fifty percent." Roland lowered his voice and said, "At first, I didn''t suspect him, but he has done too many petty little things." "I see." Hawk nodded in response. "I''ll send some shrewd beggars along the main roads to keep an eye out for John''s movements." "Sorry to trouble you." "You''re welcome. It was your idea to recruit beggars as assistance, I should be the one thanking you." Hawk looked at the sky and suddenly had a gloomy look on his face." John is the mayor''s son. What are you going to do if it''s him?" "What else can I do? Run up recklessly from the front and beat him to death." The numerous skeletons in the cave made Roland feel uncomfortable even now. "The real murderer does not deserve to live in this world." "The mayor of the city is different from the little nobles I dealt with before. When his army comes back, there will be thousands of regular soldiers." "I''m still killing him. We''ll just leave the city afterward." Hawk smiled. "Count me in." Roland shook his head. "No, this is my mission." Hawk''s expression was quite bitter at this moment. "You don''t think of me as a friend?" "Just an acquaintance, not a friend." Upon hearing this, Hawk''s expression suddenly became twisted, not in indignation, but in disappointment with a little bit of distress. Seeing his appearance, Roland immediately said, "Just kidding, it''s just that it''s not suitable for you to act recklessly again." "What makes you say that?" "Betta and I have nothing to worry about. We''ll leave after the kill. If the mayor is that mighty, then he can chase us all over the world. Even if we are killed, we can come back to life. It doesn''t matter." Roland patted Hawk on the shoulder and explained, "But you''re different. You are now the leader of a small group. If you''re involved in this, and the mayor investigates you, you can revive or walk away. However, these beggars who''ve found a new way of life, or in other words, normal people, what will they do? There is no way they can come back to life." Hawk rubbed his face and said somewhat disappointedly, "I understand. I''ll distance myself from you at all costs, then." "As it should be." Soon after, Roland called over Vivian and the other magic apprentices, and said, "You guys can go back to the Magic Tower now, but I personally hope that you can come and help if you have time. You can get money and train your magic control, killing two birds with one stone." The magic apprentices naturally listened to Roland''s instructions. Roland and the other two frightened Bard so terribly yesterday. Roland thought that Bard wouldn''t stir up any trouble for a while, so the apprentices could go back and continue living and studying at the Magic Tower. When Roland returned to the Magic Tower with a group of magic apprentices, he discovered another group of people standing in front of the tower. Bard, in gray magic robes, stepped forward to meet Roland with a dry smile. "Mr. Roland, let''s begin the magic ownership review." Roland raised his eyebrows, rather surprised. "You''re actually willing to conduct a magic review? I thought you guys would take a lifetime to do so." Bard looked a little upset, but he smiled with difficulty. "How could that be! We always do things directly and efficiently." "Is that so?" Roland faked a smile. The young noble next to him had so much pent-up anger that he wanted to step out and berate Roland, but he took a look at his friend and held back from doing so. 96 To Each Their Own Just as Bard had said, their review efficiency was quite high right now. Roland showed them the derivative model of Hand of Magic, performed a few of the derivative effects of Hand of Magic on the spot, and after simultaneously explaining the principles, he passed the review. It took less than an hour from beginning to end. Bard then indicated for Roland to come and talk to him alone. Inside the study, Bard sat opposite Roland, upright, and even in a serious manner. Roland now looked at Bard and saw that he looked a little dispirited and had dark circles under his eyes. It may be assumed that he didn''t sleep well last night. "The world is changing so much that it takes us by surprise." Bard looked into Roland''s eyes and said slowly, "There is no news of Golden Sons in the capital. But I suppose by now something similar has reached the ears of the noble families." Roland raised his eyelids slightly. He didn''t know what Bard meant by saying this all of a sudden. "If I wanted to recruit you to become the consecrated mage of my family, would you be willing?" Roland was startled for a moment. "Your words are too sudden. I can''t help but doubt your intentions in recruiting me, when not so long ago our relationship was quite stiff." Bard chuckled. "Yes, it''s too sudden. I have a question that I would like you to answer." "That''ll depend on the question!" "How many Golden Sons are there exactly?" "Five hundred thousand." Roland answered readily. This wasn''t some important information, and even if Roland didn''t say it, they would be able to find out eventually. However, when Bard heard the number, he gasped in astonishment and looked frightened. His face turned pale from fright. Roland wondered, was 500,000 a terrifying number? This wasn''t a lot of people. There were nearly a million people in Delpon, and it was said that there were nearly two million in Hollevin''s capital. Logically, Bard couldn''t have been frightened by this number. Then, Roland saw the fruit wine cup in Bard''s hands trembling. Some of the wine even spilled out. Now Bard looked like a patient with Parkinson''s disease. Bard then finished drinking the wine slowly, and as he did so, he slowly grew quiet, his complexion gradually returning to normal. He put down the fruit wine, pretended that nothing had happened, and said, "I still want to extend my sincere invitation to your excellency. We, the Bard family, are much, much better than a Magic Tower, both in our magic book collection and in our resources. If you are willing to become our consecrated mage, you will have the same resources as a successor, and you won''t need to bear too many responsibilities and obligations." Bard''s expression was serious, and Roland could also feel that Bard was quite serious. "You have strength, great strength." Bard uttered the classic Hollevin proverb, "We nobles are willing to get down on one knee, even to serve, for those of mighty strength and power." Roland smiled inwardly at this. This might sound elegant, but it was really in essence giving in to the strong. "Give me some time to consider!" Roland tactfully replied to Bard in this way after a moment''s thought. "The Bard family will always welcome you." Bard got up and said, "Then I''ll be returning to the capital. If you ever come to the capital or pass by, be sure to visit my house." The saying goes, do not argue further with one who seeks to make amends. Although Roland didn''t like Bard very much, the latter still gave in, and there was no antagonism, so Roland naturally wouldn''t act unpleasantly. Between him and Bard, it was more a matter of disliking each other''s vibes than of actual conflicts of interest or a life-and-death feud. "If that day does come, I will go to your house and have a chat with you." Roland also stood up. Bard smiled at Roland and suddenly said, "I hope you won''t become our gravediggers!" Roland pondered over this. With these words, Bard left the Magic Tower, taking his friends and subordinates with him. Roland stood at the window, watching Bard and the others leave in the night. Vivian pushed the door open and entered. She placed pastries and some dried fruits on the table then walked up to Roland and also watched Bard gradually disappear into the distance. After a while, she said, "Deputy Chairman, the reason you asked us to go out of town was so that we could avoid this man. He''s very dangerous, isn''t he?" "You saw through my intentions!" Roland chuckled. "We''re not stupid. Actually, we all guessed that was the case." Vivian said with a slight sigh, "Even the Chairman avoided him, he must be a very troublesome person. You left us outside the city and asked your friends to protect usit must''ve been dangerous for you to face them alone. We all feel a little apologetic and quite ashamed." "It actually has nothing to do with you guys, but it''s more suitable to say that the Chairman and I almost got you guys into trouble." "Do you really think we''ll believe that?" The rims of Vivian''s eyes were slightly red. "Deputy Chairman, please remember, we are also members of the Magic Towerif there are such matters in the future, please do not exclude us." No It really had nothing to do with you guys. However, Vivian left the study before Roland could explain. In the days that followed, Roland found the magic apprentices in unusually high spirits. They went out of town during the day to help build houses and returned to the tower at night to practice magic until the middle of the night. They were already very diligent, and now they were even more diligent, almost to the point of desperation. Diligence is a good thing, Roland thought, so he didn''t clarify anything with them. Because Language Proficiency was at a bottleneckstuckRoland did not derive the spell again these past few days. In the library of the Magic Tower, he found another spell that was quite interesting. Spell Puppet. It was also a type of level-zero trick. Like Hand of Magic, it was known as a spell of little worth. However, Roland found it quite interesting. Level-zero spells were easy to learn. Roland looked at the spell model, and in less than ten minutes, he successfully cast a blue elemental puppet. The puppet was about the same height as Roland. It had no eyes, no nose, no face or anything of the sort. It was simply a magic figure. In addition, this thing had no soul, no consciousness. However, it inherited some of the summoner''s instinctive knowledge. It could distinguish between friend and foe and understand most of the language commands. Its strength was not considered great, so it could only assist mages with some delicate experiments or handiwork. Hand of Magic was used for heavy lifting, so it was not possible to use it for delicate work. In contrast, Spell Puppets were created for this purpose, but many mages found them to be of little use. This thing only inherited some knowledge of its summoner, so it often made mistakes in experiments. Magical supplies were very expensive, and if it failed several times, a mage would become impecunious. In the end, the purpose that remained for this thing was cleaning up and staying on alert for foreign enemies. However, it would simplify matters to just recruit a few more magic apprentices. After all, maintaining a Spell Puppet required constant consumption of mana. After about an hour of looking at the spell model of Spell Puppet, a lot of bold and daring ideas emerged in Roland''s mind. 97 Conducting Experiments Is Very Fun Although the Spell Puppet was slow, didn''t deal much damage, and seemed to be easily smashed into pieces, Roland didn''t mind. Since entering the game, he had created many derivative spells, thus accumulating plenty of insights on spell variations. Speed, damage, and even physical resistance could all be optimized based on the combination of nodes in the spell model. However, there were limits to these optimizations, and after a certain point, it was very difficult to optimize, and it required a lot of effort or resources. His bold idea was to give Spell Puppets equipment. Not equipment in the physical sense, but rather magic equipment. Since the spell puppet would inherit some of the summoner''s basic instincts and cognition, then the spell puppet would understand some of his basic instincts and knowledge. But this was just conjecture, the exact details would have to be tested to find out for sure. Roland took a couple of steps back, looked at the barely human-shaped magical element, and gave his first command. "Do a round of the seventh set of broadcast gymnastics." The blue magic puppet stood in place, and the magic source at its head shimmered with light red. This was the Spell Puppet''s reaction to being unable to recognize the intent of the command. Hm I can''t seem to remember how to do the seventh set of broadcast gymnastics, does this have something to do with it? "Boxing routine." The blue light on the magic puppet''s head flared briefly, then it immediately began to throw punches on the spot. Roland observed for a while and found that although the magic puppet executed the boxing routine correctly, it followed a prescribed pattern to the letter, appearing somewhat inflexible. "Breakdance!" The magic puppet didn''t respond. "Make the gesture of eating with chopsticks." "High jump." "Make a swimming posture." Roland dispelled the magic puppet in front of him and summoned a new one. Then, he issued out commands one by one again. About three hours later, Roland came to a simple conclusion. Although the magic puppet inherited some of the caster''s basic cognition and knowledge, It was generally random. It was difficult to guarantee what skills the newly summoned magic puppet would have, but the deeper the impression of the caster''s knowledge or skill, the more likely it would be inherited. Such a magic puppet''s awareness was too poor, and the inheritance of knowledge and skills were too random to meet Roland''s requirements because using tools was something that required sufficient basic cognition. Therefore, it was necessary to transform the magic puppet to improve its cognitive ability and to enhance the breadth and depth of the knowledge it inherited from the summoner. Although limited by the shallow structure of the spell model, he still quickly created a highly cognitive model of the magic puppet. Then, Roland performed a summoning experiment, in which a ridiculous amount of magic power was drawn out compared to before, and a magic puppet appeared in front of Roland. This puppet was bluish-white, and inside its round head was an elemental core that seemed to pose as one of its eyes. It looked a little like a miniature titan. "Boxing routine." "Triple jump." "Spin in circles!" One by one, the white magic puppet executed each command perfectly. At this moment, Vivian came in. She looked at the magic puppet as it swayed in front of her eyes and did strange movements. A confused expression showed on her smooth face as she turned and asked, "Deputy Chairman, this is a Spell Puppet, right? Why isn''t it blue and acting so strangely, like a lunatic?" Roland''s face twisted as he heard this. The white magic puppet inherited his knowledge of the world, and if it looked like a lunatic, then he was probably not far from it. This young girl really didn''t know how to speak properly. Roland coughed lightly and said, "This is the new derivative spell I fixed up. It certainly is a type of Spell Puppet, but it''s very different from normal puppets." Vivian looked at the white puppet and asked, "What''s the difference?" "It''s smarter and understands our intentions more easily." Roland thought for a moment and said, "Well, you definitely don''t have a direct impression just from hearing thisyou''ll understand when I show you an experiment Spell Puppet, dance." Upon hearing Roland''s command, the magic puppet started to move, but instead of dancing immediately, it first formed a light ball in its own hands! Roland was stunned for a moment. Could this puppet possibly know the new gymnastics dance? He did watch several new gymnastics competitions some time ago. Those ladies in tights were so energetic that he really couldn''t take his eyes off them. However, beyond Roland''s expectations, the white puppet didn''t do the gymnastics dance, instead, it dribbled the light ball between its legs with intensity, quite rhythmically. Vivian looked on at a loss. Roland was already beginning to think something was wrong. Then, the puppet spun the ball around, threw it aside, turned its back on them, and began to make strange postures, shaking its right shoulder up and down, looking extremely strange. Vivian looked on with wide eyes. At last, the puppet turned around again, with its left hand over its crotch and its right hand pointing aggressively at Roland, as it swayed back and forth, dancing with a devilish stride[1] F**k Roland suddenly slapped himself on the forehead. He''d watched too many comedic remix videos some time ago. Vivian blushed and left. She couldn''t help but feel that the Deputy Chairman deliberately made the puppet do those obscene movements. She didn''t mind if something happened between her and the Deputy Chairman, but it was still daytime. Roland flicked his fingers and dispelled the white puppet that was jumping up and down, with its left hand on its crotch and its right hand waving like a monkey, doing a strange dance. Then, he sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. Sigh, I''m exhausted! Although Roland embarrassed himself in front of Vivian, he was fairly certain that the magic puppet being able to do this dance routine indicated its inheritance of an abundant amount of knowledge from his past and that its cognitive ability was high. Then all that was left was to conduct the equipment experiment. Roland summoned a new magic puppet, and transformed Hand of Magic into a magic pike and placed it into the magic puppet''s hands. Then, Roland pointed at the wooden figure ahead and said, "attack it." The white puppet walked over, and when it was one meter away from the wooden figure, it stepped forward forcefully with its right leg, and then the pike, like a dragon, instantly pierced the wooden figure and shattered it into pieces. Roland''s eyes lit up at the sight of this. But before he could rejoice, the white puppet suddenly burst into pieces and transformed into magical elements again. All that was left of the scene was a long blue magic pike floating in midair. Too fragile It seems that in addition to cognitive ability, its resistance also needs to be fortified. If its resistance was strengthened, then its basic speed and strength also had to be strengthened. This would be a large undertaking. Roland rubbed his chin, his eyes alight with excitement. [1] Artist: SWIN-S, Song: Just Because You''re So Beautiful. Cai Xukun member of SWIN-S dances to this song with a basketball. https://www.bilibili.com/video/av52156615/ 98 Scapegoa It wasn''t difficult to improve the cognition of Spell Puppets alone. But if under the premise of ensuring this basic ability, he had to also improve the puppet''s resistance, speed, strength, and the ability to isolate an enemy, and so on That would be very problematic. After several experiments, Roland disappointedly discovered that he could only accomplish two and a half of those objectives at most, as subjected to the nodes and capacity of the spell model. In other words, he could only increase the puppet''s cognitive ability, resistance, and some speed that was barely noticeable. A magic puppet like this didn''t have much battle prowess. If its movement speed wasn''t quick enough, it would simply be a live target. In addition, its resistance wasn''t particularly strong either, so it couldn''t even qualify as a fixed fort. "If only the spell model had more nodes or more space. I would be able to put more mental power into it." However, Roland couldn''t find a way to expand the spell model''s space or memory. His basic knowledge of magic was still too deficient. Roland sighed and wandered around the library for a while, but found no books on this subject. It wasn''t surprising. The magic apprentices couldn''t even learn the basics of level-zero tricks properly, and besides, this place wasn''t even considered a major center of magic. It was only natural that there weren''t many valuable books that the Magic Tower could store in its collection. The experiments consumed too much of his time and mental power; his mana bar was exhausted and the reserve in the necklace was also used up. Roland was sitting in his study resting, regaining the large amounts of mana he had lost through the magic experiments. At this moment, Betta used the guild system to @ him. "Brother Roland, come quickly to the forest outside the city, where we were looking for people last time. Hawk and his men have caught the murderer." Caught John? Roland was surprised. Then he hurried to the grove outside the city. There were already a lot of people present at this moment. A young nobleman with fine features held a civilian girl hostage, leaning against a tree and panicking. About twenty meters to his left and right, Hawk and Link obstructed his path of escape, while Betta stood at his front. The three of them all had unfriendly expressions, indignant with murderous intent. Slightly further away, a large crowd of onlookers stood nearby, gesticulating. There were commoners, beggars, and of course, there were nobles. The nobles had epicaricacy in their eyes, the commoners had delight in their eyes, and the beggars were simply numb to all this. The three groups were entirely separatethere was a physical gap between them. He studied the young nobleman, who was sweating and holding a dagger to the young girl''s neck. Terror-stricken, the young girl''s face was pale without any signs of blood, and the young nobleman, too, looked frightened. Roland walked over to Betta and asked, "Did he admit it?" Betta nodded. "He confessed. Now he''s taking hostages. He''s asking us to leave, or he''ll kill the hostages." Roland felt that something was wrong. The murderer committed crimes for at least a few years, killing at least over thirty girls, and from the crime scene one could tell that the murderer had an extremely composed psychologysomeone who was highly intelligent. It was impossible for him to look so scared out of his wits, and also impossible to be caught in this kind of place. It would just be too foolish. It was as if he deliberately acted like this. Roland chuckled. The young nobleman looked nervously at Hawk and Link, and after a while he noticed Roland. Then his pupils contracted and he cried in horror, "Mage! Tell the mage to leave, quickly, leave quickly, or I will kill this woman at once!" He looked quite frightened, and his whole body was shaking. The dagger in his hand was shaking and accidentally cut the young female hostage''s neck. A sliver of blood ran down the side of her neck. The girl felt the pain; she cried intensely but didn''t dare to move. She just bit down hard on her lips to the point where she didn''t even realize her lips were bleeding. Roland retreated slowly. "Back up a little further," growled the young nobleman, and he quickly glanced from side to side to see if Hawk and the others were closing in on him. He was quite vigilant. Roland retreated a dozen more steps. Then the young nobleman''s frantic mood calmed down a little. Spellcasters had miraculous powers, and no one would dare say that they didn''t feel lacking in confidence when facing a spellcaster. "Let me go, and I''ll let the girl go," the young nobleman shouted with all his strength. But Roland and others ignored him and just stood still. In contrast, there was a burst of laughter from the group of nobles in the distance. Seeing that Betta and others didn''t move, the young nobleman screamed in despair, "I am a noble, so what if I played with a few untouchable women! For the sake of those women, you want me to die. It doesn''t make sense, it''s unreasonable!" Roland could sense a sort of dissatisfaction in his piercing scream. "I''ll say it again, I''m a noble!" The young man roared with a hint of imploring in his voice, "Set me free, and I will give you money. Enough to buy a dozen of these women." Hawk, Link, and Betta all sneered. They looked at this young nobleman as if looking at a fool. At this moment, Roland said, "I can let you go, but you have to tell me who your partner is." The young man froze for a moment, and then cried out even more crazily, "I have no partnersno partners, I did it all myself!" Then he looked toward the center of the city, but his line of sight was blocked by the city walls. Finally, he looked at Roland and smiled miserably. "I did it all. If you guys want me to die, then I''ll die." At this moment, in the young man''s despairing smile, there was a trace of some relief. Roland shouted, "Stop him, he''s going to kill himself." Whoosh Betta charged right at him, so quick that a lingering shadow was left behind. But it was too late. Although Betta had succeeded in knocking the young man away, the young man had already pierced his own heart with the dagger. Large amounts of pixels spewed from the front and back of his chest. For such injuries, there was no way to recover from this even with an Advanced Treatment Spell. The young man fell to the ground. His spiritless eyes looked towards the sky, and after his hands and legs twitched a few times, all signs of movement ceased. The young girl screamed, covering her neck as she ran toward the city. She was almost scared to death. Roland walked up to the young nobleman and sighed helplessly as he looked at the corpse gradually losing its warmth. The group of nobles was still gesticulating toward them, while the commoners and beggars gradually dispersed. A few moments later, two noblemen who were even younger came over, their faces aghast. They threw themselves on the young man''s corpse, cried out, "Brother!" and broke down in bitter tears. One of the young noblemen was crying and peeking at Roland and Betta from time to time. His eyes were full of vengeful fury. Betta sensed the young nobleman''s gaze. He stood beside Roland and said, "Should we ask them for the details? This clearly doesn''t seem righthe seems more like a scapegoat." "I saw through it," Roland said in a low voice. "We''ll pretend that this matter is over. Later, I''ll have Hawk withdraw the men who are monitoring John." "Play cat and mouse?" Roland nodded lightly. 99 Scoring Off Hawk, Roland, and Betta left. The crowd of beggars and commoners dispersed, leaving only the gesticulating nobles at a distance. These well-dressed high-class figures let out boisterous waves of laughter from time to time. It seemed that the death of the young nobleman had given them great pleasure. Roland looked for a moment at the small group of nobles, sighed a little, and then walked to the front of the two young nobles. Watching the two teens cry bitterly as they held the body of their eldest brother in their arms, Roland waited until they had no more strength to cry, no more tears to shed, and said slowly, "What family are you guys from? Where are your parents?" The young nobleman had been dead for a long time now, and even his two younger brothers had come running to him. There was no reason why their parents wouldn''t have heard the news. Upon hearing Roland''s words, the boys looked up at him. The older boy had anger in his eyes, but not much hatred. But the other boy, staring at Roland for a moment, his eyes, red from crying, was full of hatred and rage. Suddenly, he stood up and threw himself at Roland, shouting furiously, "I''ll kill you, slaughterer!" Roland stretched out his leg and kicked the boy back down, turning him over and over. This young noble was just an ordinary person. Although Roland was a mage, he was now level four, and even though the growth of his constitution attribute was much lower than that of warriors, he was much stronger than a normal person. His reaction was also faster than a normal person''s. After the boy was kicked back, he lay prone on the ground and stared blankly for a while, then wailed in pain and hammered the ground forcefully with his fists, doing so until his skin tore open. The other boy took one look at his younger brother, then turned to face Roland. "Please, Sir, allow us to collect the remains of our eldest brother. If you have time come quietly to our house later in the night. I have something to tell you." When saying those last few words, the boy was very, very quiet, and his lips almost didn''t seem to move. However, Roland heard it. Now that''s interesting Roland pretended to hear nothing and turned to leave. The nobles were still having a good laugh off to the side. When Roland passed by, the nobles lowered their voices but their repulsive smiles still didn''t cease. Roland didn''t want to deal with this group of people. After all, they were not of the same world, spiritually or physically. But just as Roland was about to pass this group, he heard a voice. It was so low that he could just barely hear it. This seemed to be done on purpose. "Do you really think you''re the emissary of justice? The life of the untouchables, not even worth a silver coin, are they really worth fighting so desperately for?" It was a rather haughty young man. Roland curled his finger at him. "Come out!" "I won''t come out. Would you dare hurt me in front of so many people?" The young noble said the most cowardly words with the most arrogant attitude! Roland recognized the meaning of the young noble''s words: apart from the nobles, all other people weren''t human. Moreover, he seemed to think that Roland wouldn''t dare act violently given the presence of so many nobles. To act out on the spot would be not giving face to the other nobles. To put it crudely, it would be trampling on the dignity of the noble class. Roland laughed lightly. When he was still a high school student, he dared to beat up a "hoodlum" in front of his teacher. He, Schuck, and the other four childhood friends also used to fight against the senior student hoodlums. In that peaceful, even overly regulated society, he dared to strike out in anger. In this lawless, even extremely primitive game world, how could he be more cowardly and more tolerating than he was in the real world? After he chuckled, he raised his hand. An Inferior Fireball instantly scorched the young nobleman''s arrogant face, and after the sound of an explosion, the young noble was rolling on the ground, wailing in pain. Roland reduced the magic power of the Inferior Fireball making it less powerful, and the strength of its explosion was about that of a slightly larger firecracker. But even so, it shocked the young nobleman excruciatingly. After all, there were quite a lot of pain receptors on the face, and the skin was quite fragile there. "Ah, I can''t see!" "My face hurts!" "Someone''s committing murder, help!" The young noble let out a cowardly scream, quite embarrassingly. "How could you" One of the more mature-looking nobles seemed to want to scold Roland, but Roland''s fake-smiling eyes swept past and the man immediately shut up. Roland''s gaze swept over the nobles, and no one dared to look him in the eye. The Mental Deterrence specialty was already in effect. Roland, somewhat amused, walked up to the young noble, who was still on the ground writhing and wailing, his hands covering his face. He looked down on him and said, "The life of an untouchable is not worth a silver coin in your eyes, and similarly, your life is not even worth a few coppers in my eyes. I''m in a bad mood today. If you jump out and talk ambiguously behind my back, don''t blame me for hurting you." The young nobleman on the ground trembled. He hid his face and didn''t dare to scream anymore. Having said this, Roland glanced around at the surrounding nobles, and still, no one dared to look him in the eyes. Roland turned and left. After he left, a male nobleman, with somewhat graying hair, quivered with rage. "Arrogant, too arrogant. He''s trampling us into the mud. Are we going to let the Golden Sons ride roughshod over us? Before, they dared to kill an entire family, and now there are more and more of them, and one day he will come after us." "So what can we do?" A nobleman smiled and asked, "Why don''t you lead us to fight against them, Sir?" Upon hearing this, the gray-haired nobleman immediately shut up and stopped talking. Only an idiot would charge at the forefront! Roland walked down the street, and people still moved out of the way when they saw him. Roland wasn''t used to it before, for he always felt a strange awkwardness. But after two months, he no longer found this strange and he was quite accustomed to it. Roland was in a much better mood nowwhen people are depressed, they really should get some exercise to feel better. After returning to the Magic Tower, Roland gathered all the magic apprentices. Apart from Vivian, all the other magic apprentices had deep, dark circles under their eyes. One could imagine how hard they had been practicing. Roland gave a slight cough and said, "You''ve all learned Hand of Magic, you can save the practice for derivative spells for later. There''s a degree of difficulty for you guys, after all. Now I''ll teach you guys another level-zero trick, the Spell Puppet." If it were in any other Magic Towers and the instructor only taught level-zero tricks, the magic apprentices wouldn''t say anything aloud, but they would definitely harbor some objections inside. Here, however, all the magic apprentices already knew how impressive Roland was at "creating" magic. There were six types of derivative spells from Hand of Magic, each of which was quite practical. So, if Deputy Chairman Roland wanted to teach them Spell Puppets now, it presumably also had many derivative spells. They were going to learn it without a doubt. Everyone took out their precious notebooks. 100 The Organization Found Me In this world, paper was very expensive. Normal people couldn''t even afford a notebook even if they went several months without eating and drinking. The Magic Tower provided lodging and food, and a stipend, however little, could be saved for three to four months in order to buy a notebook. Roland drew the model for Spell Puppets on a wooden board and explained a few important precautions. Just as he was about to ask the magic apprentices what they didn''t understand, the world turned black and white and time stopped. The gaming time was up. Roland climbed out of the immersive cabin, and after he stretched his body, he immediately felt completely refreshed. Since Roland went to bed at ten in the evening every day and woke up at six in the morning every day and changed his awful habit of sleeping late at night, he naturally felt more and more energized. He habitually went on the forums to see what new things idiotic players were talking about, and he found quite an interesting thread. Can''t Make Glass, and Can''t Make Gunpowder. The general idea of the thread was about a certain player who, inspired by a certain online novel, took note of the sky-high price of glass in the game and the immense lethality of gunpowder, which could be used as a supporting method. If one could get their hands on these two things, the problem of money and firepower could both be solved. However, to his surprise, the recipe for these two things in this world was not the same as in reality. The silica sand dug out of river channels didn''t turn into glasswhen it was burned it would turn into a black mushy paste, and when it cooled down, it would turn into a kind of strange rock. The recipe for gunpowder wasn''t the one part sulfur, one part charcoal, and three parts saltpeter that people were familiar with. Instead, the thing formed from these ingredients was a bunch of waste products. In addition, many of the rules of physics, or common phenomena of nature, have been slightly altered. Such changes were hard for the average person to discover, but they could have a huge impact on many things. For example, some chemical formulas in the real world could no longer be used here. In short, anyone hoping to climb the tree of technology in this world might be disappointed. Logically, it was supposed to work, as long as one could thoroughly understand the physical and chemical laws of this world, but How many of the gamers were real researchers? Those who had the ability to research were in their own institutes conducting research every second; they couldn''t possibly find the time to play games. Below, there were many players'' replies. "It''s unreasonable that an NPC can create glass and we can''t." "I clearly saw dwarf firearms." After reading the posts on the forum, Roland was about to go to the saber arts club for breakfast when he found out that one of the whitelist members of the forums sent him a message. Roland turned off the function of adding friends and private messages because too many people wanted to add him as a friend and @ him too often. Only someone on the whitelist could send him a message. Once he clicked it open, he saw that it was the mighty deputy director at the data center. This person''s current online alias was O''Neal. "Roland, I''ve already read the data you sent me. Yesterday, through four hours of repeated derivation, I confirmed that there''s nothing wrong with your data." "If there''s nothing wrong, then why do I feel like a node is missing?" Roland felt somewhat perplexed. "I also can''t find out the specific cause. However, I have a vague idea." "Please do tell." "Do you think it''s possible the spell model of Language Proficiency itself is lacking one node? I''m not talented at magic in the game, so it''s hard for me to feel what a complete spell model is like." Pa! Roland abruptly clapped in realization. That''s right, there is this possibility. Perhaps the Language Proficiency that players received was an incomplete version to begin with. He truly was a venerable person. His suspicions and conceptual ability was much stronger than that of a normal person like Rolandhe immediately found the blind spot. Roland would have loved to test the idea right away, but unfortunately, there was no way to do so now that the game''s server was shut down. "Thank you, I''ll try again when I enter the game at night." "You''re welcome. Oh right, are you interested in joining our Mages Communications Group? Everyone here is wholeheartedly determined to play mages. If you join, others would be very welcome." Roland only considered for about three seconds and agreed immediately. Even the venerable man was in that group, so presumably, the discussions of magic must be quite frequent. Roland was then pulled into a penguin chat group called "Pursuit of Arcane Magic." The number of group members was a little over eight hundred; most of them were online. After Roland joined, he immediately sent out a message: "Newcomer fresh off the boat, seeking protection and guidance." "The same old rules, newcomers have to send a photo of themselves in a female dress, or else you''ll be treated as an invisible person (NosePick)." "Yes, yes, newcomers must show a photo first." "Don''t listen to them, new friend. I''ve got you just send the photo of you in a female dress privately to me first (Shhh)" At first, it was the classical "hazing" from the old group members, but then a member sent a message saying: "Don''t you guys look at the online alias? The newcomer is Roland." After a short moment of silence, messages flooded the group. "Oh s**t, it''s really Roland. Mighty group administrator finally dragged in our gang leader." "Haha, this group finally feels legitimate." "Our reliance is finally here. Gang leader, I have so many questions to ask you. Although group admin''s math is very impressive, he''s actually a magic idiot in the gamehis ability to sense magical elements is much worse than the majority of us!" "Roland, my skin is pretty, and I know how to flirt and pull out a large weapon. Please take me as a mistress!" Roland''s mouth twitchedwhy was there an idiotic crossdresser everywhere that he went. Group administrator has kicked netizen White-Skin Cute Suckling Pig from the group. Upon seeing this system notification, Roland sighed in relief. The enthusiasm of the group members was quite high. They threw out many questions regarding magic. Most of them were simple, problems that Roland had encountered not long after he had learned magic two or three months ago. For example: How to effectively mobilize magical elements? Roland answered: "If all attribute points are added to intellect, at level three, you can clearly sense the freely drifting magical elements in the air and the amount of magical elements within your own body. At that time, you don''t need the system interface at all to clearly know how much MP value you have left. You can easily mobilize the magical elements at this time, but before that, it''ll be a little difficult and not very efficient." "I always feel that the word ''difficult'' in the eyes of the experts is not the same word in the eyes of the novices." "Agreed, +1" "It''s not difficult for us to mobilize the magical elements, it''s very difficult. It takes complete concentration, without any other distracting thoughts, to barely be able to circulate the magical elements as we wish in the nodes." Is it that difficult!? Roland frowned. Then, Roland suddenly recalled the specialty Magic Power Control. Could it be this specialty at work? It should bethe specialty''s name alone reveals what its effects are. 101 Clever Like Me Roland chatted for a while with other mage players in the group and learned about the current state of most mages. For example, currently, the majority of mages were unassociated mages. There were very few like Roland who belonged to an organization, and unlike Roland, they didn''t immediately sit in high-ranking positions. Most of them were idling in the position of magic apprentice, while a very small portion became official mages, their benefits decent, but incomparable to what Roland received. Because they usually mastered only one or two spells, they were currently only slightly better than the magic apprentices, and an extremely few number of people reached the entry-level of an official mage. In contrast, Roland''s starting point was too high in comparison. Roland was level four, almost nearing level five, and most importantly, although Roland only grasped a few spells on the surface, counting the derivative spells, he could use at least over twenty spells. It was no wonder the other mage players would view him as the gang leader of mages. After answering many questions thrown out by the group members, Roland closed the group chat, left his house, and rode a public bike to the saber arts club. Today, the weather was not so good. The sky was covered in dense black clouds, seemingly about to pour heavily. The air felt quite muggy. By the time Roland arrived at the saber arts club, everyone had already eaten breakfast and their bowls were cleaned. Roland was a little disappointed. He had tried his best to rush over on the bike, but he was still late. This was mainly because he had such a good time chatting with the group members and forgot about the time. Currently, he was still practicing the basics of miaodao arts, such as how to move the saber and how to breathe while holding it. These things looked very insignificant, but the more that they seemed so, the more Roland knew that what Qi Shaoqiu taught was genuine. Although the boxing club''s techniques weren''t bad either and allowed him to establish a basic fighting strength in two to three months, in terms of depth, it was clearly not as strong as what Qi Shaoqiu was teaching. Even just practicing these basic skills, moving the wooden saber that weighed 1.5kg to 2kg from left to right for a whole morning was quite exhausting. If he was hungry, he wouldn''t be able to endure until the end of the training session. Just as Roland was thinking about ordering takeout, Night Tide Sands, who was in the large shed for her routine watering and cleaning, saw him, put down her bucket, and walked over to him. She asked, "You didn''t have breakfast, right?" The sweet, faint osmanthus fragrance entered his nose. "I didn''t." Roland nodded as he pressed the delivery app on his phone. "I was caught up with something." Roland was somewhat surprised. "There''s breakfast left over?" Looking frigid, Night Tide Sands nodded. "Come over." The two of them went into the kitchen. Night Tide Sands took out a big plate from the cupboard. There were hot spring rolls, dumplings, and a bowl of dry noodles. The spring rolls and dumplings were fine, but the dried noodles were white, without any oil or seasoning. How do I eat this? Roland wasn''t used to eating dried noodles. Roland frowned. At this moment, Night Tide Sands took out a bowl of soup emitting the light aroma of Chinese medicine from a heat preservation pot and poured it onto the dried noodles. In a flash, a bowl of delicious warm noodles came out. "Eat slowly," Night Tide Sands said in a calm tone. Roland obviously saw that Night Tight Sands had reserved this for him. He said with a smile, "Thank you." "I won''t save it for you next time. Remember to come early." Night Tight Sands left the kitchen after she said this. This... Is someone who''s cold on the surface but soft on the inside? It doesn''t seem very cute. However, she looked quite pretty, and also had class, somewhat different from ordinary girls. Breakfast was still very delicious, whether it was spring rolls or dumplings, there was a kind of indescribable deliciousness once it was in his mouth. He could taste that they were made diligently. After breakfast, Roland came to the large shed. Qi Shaoqiu had just reprimanded two teenagers who practiced the routines in a disorderly way, and then said to Roland, "You don''t need to train right awaylet the food digest first." Roland nodded and sat down on a bench off to the side. Qi Shaoqiu also sat down. He took out a cigarette, held it in his mouth, and asked, "I heard that the other day you met Jin Wenwen at the entrance of Red Star?" Roland nodded, then asked curiously, "It seemed to me that Night Tide Sands knew her." "She used to be my girlfriend. Night Tide Sands almost called her sister-in-law." Shock was all over Roland''s face. Qi Shaoqiu guessed that Roland would show such an expression, and he smiled radiantly. "Why, is it strange that someone like me and Jin Wenwen used to be boyfriend and girlfriend?" "It''s a bit of a surprise, but it seems to be within reasonyou''re both the same kind of people," Roland said after a moment''s thought. The two of them were both martial arts practitioners who opened a training club, so it was quite normal for them to have connections. "She''s a bit of a pushy and competitive person, and I didn''t like admitting defeat either a few years ago, especially when faced with women." Qi Shaoqiu said quite calmly, "We dated for two years, quarreling and quarreling unhappily, so then we split up." Roland looked into Qi Shaoqiu''s eyes and found that they were still the dead fish eyes with no luster, void of any emotion, and then he asked, "What do you want to know? To tell you the truth, I don''t know her very well." "I heard Night Tide Sands say Jin Wenwen is pestering you?" "That''s half of it." Roland thought for a moment and said, "I have what she wants, but I don''t want to give it to her, so I stopped going to the boxing club." Qi Shaoqiu looked at Roland and said, "I know Jin Wenwen well, she''s always trying to get what she wantsat least, she will not give up until she''s tried every which way. My personal advice to you is to cease any relations with her, not because I''m jealous, but because she''s just one of those women who''s hard to deal with." Roland laughed. "If you hadn''t added that last line, I really would''ve suspected that you were jealous. "Get jealous of what?" Qi Shaoqiu''s expression changed. "I''m glad I broke up with her now. Really." Looking at the blue sky in the distance, Roland said helplessly, "I''m afraid that she''ll come here. After all, she has seen Night Tide Sands." "She won''t come, she''s not brazen enough to." Qi Shaoqiu said these last words and got up to instruct the four youngsters. Roland was somewhat curious, but it was a private matter so he didn''t ask any further. After training all morning at the saber arts club, Roland rode a public bike home. He turned a corner and found a woman''s sedan parked in a temporary parking space at the intersection. She leaned on the door of the car and waved contentedly when she saw Roland. Pretending not to notice, Roland pedaled on by. "Roland!" From behind, Jin Wenwen shouted in a tone of clearly suppressed anger. Roland still ignored her. Then, he pedaled on for another dozen meters and passed directly through a sidewalk. After crossing to the other side of the road, Roland looked back and saw Jin Wenwen sitting in the driver''s seat, looking at the sidewalk with a helplessly angry expression. On the left and right side of the sidewalk, there was a car barrier, and Jin Wenwen couldn''t drive over unless she dared to drive across the sidewalk. Roland smiled at Jin Wenwen and pedaled the public bike into the traffic of the non-motorized vehicle lane. 102 Success It was rush hour at this time. Roland mixed with the throng of people coming home from work, twisting and turning in the central city districts, especially searching for small lanes and alleys to worm through. After half an hour, he took a shortcut back to his neighborhood. If Jin Wenwen could still track him like this, Roland would surrender to her. In the afternoon, Roland stayed at home reading the forums and chatting with the idiotic mage players in the group, occasionally answering their questions, but mostly bragging with them and telling dirty jokes. It was quite a pleasant and fulfilling afternoon. Hawk''s transfer of 120,000 yuan had arrived, and in addition to the recent tips here and there on the forums, Roland''s personal balance was now close to 400,000 yuan. This was before mages even started paying for his specialty. Roland''s dream of a million yuan in savings should be easy to realize if the mages started paying specialty fees. With money comes confidenceeven if Roland didn''t go to work and chatted on the Internet, idling his time away, he didn''t feel any anxiety or pressure. Even if the game stopped working tomorrow, nearly four hundred thousand yuan was enough for him to live for a while. And if he didn''t want to join a company and work as a corporate slave, he could be a bodyguard now that he learned boxing and miaodao artsperhaps, he could meet a rich lolita and rise to the peak of his life. Mm this is quite a good daydream. At night, after Roland showered, he climbed back into the immersive cabin. When the real world was about to connect with the gaming world, he always felt a sense of weightlessness. Before his eyes, there would be a winding passage flowing with streaks of light, it was as if he were passing a wormhole of some kind. The world before his eyes was black and white. Vivian and the others still maintained their previous actions. Roland couldn''t movehe couldn''t even turn his head. After a few minutes, the world changed back to its original color. Vivian and the others started to move again. They didn''t know they had been frozen for nearly 16 hours. After instructing the magic apprentices for a little while, Roland was eager to return to his laboratory. He unfolded the model of Language Proficiency in his mind, and after looking carefully over a hundred nodes, he checked them with the data and confirmed the function and effect of each node. Finally, assuming that the magic was successfully cast as the answer, he estimated that there were seven possible solutions to the problem. He imported the previous node data into these seven solutions, and used backward reasoning on each of them, testing them one by one. That should be a bridge node. However, this node didn''t exist in the spell model. Perhaps, the existing spell model didn''t indicate this node. Roland took a deep breath. It was time to test his conjecture. He closed his eyes, and his mental power followed the path of the spell''s nodes, carefully probing. When you focused on the spell model, you would feel the illusion of walking through a large pipeline that ran in all directions with turns all over the place. This was also why spell models were needed to cast spells. Without the guidance of a spell model, humans would definitely be lost in these labyrinthine mental power channels. Then, the failure to cast would recoil upon their mental power. With a ba, their heads would explode. Roland carefully channeled his mental power into the vicinity of the hidden node, and then began to look for channels nearby, and sure enough He found a way to the unknown node. Suppressing his excitement, Roland guided his mental power to slowly spread, and after about two seconds, his mental power was connected to an unmarked node in the spell model. At the moment the connection was established with this node, two beard-like connecting lines between nodes brightened slightly with this node at its center as if inviting Roland to pour in his magic power. Roland remembered that one of the magic circulation diagrams he had derived from his experiments looked something like this. Then it had to be right. He injected his magic power and the two nodal lines lit up immediately. There was a flash of azure light on Roland, and he felt like he had successfully cast the spell. Then, he opened the system interface and found one more system icon on his status, as expected. It was a question mark. Roland''s consciousness clicked on it. The system displayed this: For unrecorded spells, as the creator, you have the right to name them. Magic never seen before? Roland was stunned for a moment. He immediately went to the library, turned over several books, and found that he could read the characters of Hollevin. Then, he ran to the third floorseparated by a single floorand listened to the conversations and discussions of the magic apprentices below. He also understood them without any hindrances. Having both the effect of Language Proficiency and Character Proficiency he succeeded! Roland clenched his fist and almost cried out in joy. Then, he calmed down, reopened the system interface, and gave the spell a name. Unhindered Communication. As soon as the name was given, a system notification popped up, bright red and long, to Roland''s surprise. System notification: F6 guild, player Roland, created a spell, "Unhindered Communication," preliminarily determined as a level four-spell, prophetic type. As the creator, Roland is rewarded a special exemption bonus for this spell; the casting difficulty will be the same as a level-two spell and consume half as much as it would for a normal player. In addition, Roland will receive a unique specialty: Spell Seeker. Spell Seeker: +50 maximum mental power, +10 maximum health. Once this announcement was released, Roland was stunned. Then the guild chat box flashed incessantly. Schuck: Kickass. Betta: Kickass. Brazil: Kickass. All the members of the guild expressed their respect for Roland in a uniform manner. Now Roland not only became famous, but even the existence of F6 was also refreshed in the players'' minds. Currently, F6 was still the only player guild, and although Silver Wings received a lot of information from Roland, they seemed to be having a little trouble dealing with Boursin. Boursin didn''t want to meet with them, or even talk with them, unwelcoming to them because of their low statuses. Roland went back to his study, lay back halfway on his chair, and snickered a few times, his heart filled with pride and satisfaction. He was a young man, and no matter how staid he usually appeared, he still had some vanity. The first innovative spell and a server-wide announcement. He could brag about this achievement until the game was shut down. Half an hour later, Roland stood up. Now that Unhindered Communication had been created, the rest of his time would be spent on strengthening Spell Puppet. He returned to the magic lab and was surprised to find Aldo coming up the stairs. In the ten days since they''d last seen each other, Aldo seemed to have become somewhat haggard and his beard had grown quite a lot. They stood facing each other in the doorway of the magic laboratory. Roland looked at him, and after sizing him up, he said, "You must be very unhappy that I didn''t come into conflict with the headquarters." 103 Pitiful Mages "You must be very unhappy that I didn''t come into conflict with the headquarters, right?" asked Roland. He had been examining Aldo''s face as he asked, as if to read Aldo''s mind. At this moment, Aldo looked a little depressed. He seemed to have experienced some major upset in life, and his eyes had no spirit in them and even appeared somewhat numb. He shook his head numbly at Roland''s question. "It has nothing to do with that. It was the handsome young talent of the Bard family who came, so it''s quite normal for him to know when to advance and when to retreat. With the personalities of the Golden Sons, sooner or later you''ll be in conflict with the headquarters. I''m in no hurry." "Then what the heck is with your lovelorn appearance, Chairman?" Roland found a chair and sat down. There were extra chairs, but Aldo didn''t sit. The dim light in the lab made the chairman''s expression seem even gloomier. "My child is gone!" Upon hearing this, Roland instead replied with a question. "I don''t recall you having a child." "You know I have taken in many female slaves; most of them have relations with me." Aldo sighed softly. "Some time ago, when I led them away from the people that came from the headquarters, I hid in a nearby mountain where I have a secret sanctuary. But one day, a woman had a miscarriage, the baby was six months along, and I didn''t notice. I didn''t know until after she had a miscarriage." Posterity was certainly a really important matter. Roland followed with a sigh and said, "My condolences. Although it''s a little improper to say this, you''re still young, so why don''t you have a few more babies?" Upon hearing this, Aldo looked at Roland in a strange way. "Don''t you Golden Sons ever worry about having children?" "We do worry, and this might come to you as a surprise," Roland shrugged and said, "I don''t have any offspring yet, but I''ve heard from my elders that raising a child today is a lot of trouble and very expensive." Aldo looked at Roland strangely. "I don''t know about what goes on in the plane of the Golden Sons, but it''s very difficult for mages to reproduce here." Roland froze. "I''m curious as to why that is." "Because of the disparity in individual strength, it''s very difficult for ordinary women to conceive the children of professionalsthe greater the strength gap is, the smaller the chance is. So people who are professionals tend to link with professionals, and there''s a good chance that their child will also be a professional." Would professionals gradually become a different species as they grow stronger? Roland thought for a moment and asked, "Then it also isn''t easy for normal males to impregnate female professionals?" "Yes, but you could also find a female warrior who''s much weaker than you, or some female agility-type professionals, the chances aren''t low either. However, they''re not easy to find. They like men who are sturdierwe''re not their first choice." Roland sighed deeply. "Listening to you speak, I don''t even want to be a mage as much anymore." Aldo finally laughed at Roland''s antics, but he still looked miserable. "I''ll always be blacklisted at the headquarters, and it''s almost impossible to find a female mage of similar strength now. I had given up and was going to die with a bunch of ordinary women or adopt a son. I just never imagined that there would be a woman who was pregnant with my blood. I never even imagined that the Magic Goddess would give me hope and then take it away from me." Roland felt curious. "Didn''t the woman who was pregnant with your blood tell you that she was pregnant? By six months'' time, she should have a slight bump on her belly, and no matter how dull she is, she should have realized that she was pregnant." "She didn''t dare." Aldo smiled bitterly. "Because we mages are more mysterious in the eyes of normal people, and also lofty. I never mentioned the matter of offspring, so they didn''t dare to expect anything. And she was afraid that if she, a slave, conceived my child, it would be aborted as a bastard who should not have been born. So she had been constantly enduring it. She planned to wait another half a month, to save more money, then sneak away and have the baby." "It seems quite reasonable for her to consider things like this." Roland sighed. "Why did she have a miscarriage?" "She went to the foot of the mountain to draw water, and when she carried it halfway up the mountain, her foot slipped and she rolled downalthough she rolled less than 20 meters, her stomach hit a stone." Roland sighed again. At first, he thought he could hear some imperial-harem drama. "I was just a little way up there, and when I saw her roll down, I went down to help her up, but I saw a lot of blood coming from her lower body. And she grabbed onto my pants, and no longer tried to conceal it, crying for me to save her babymy baby." Aldo put his right hand to his forehead and inhaled painfully. "But I only know offensive spells, and some enhancement spells. I don''t know about healing spells. I frantically sent people back to the city to get the priest from the Church of Life, but it was too far away and the child was gone." His voice was of pain and remorse, and he had that haggard look across his face. Roland could vaguely feel how much Aldo was suffering. Aldo continued, "Even though she didn''t bear the child anymore, I decided to let her get wellshe could conceive my baby once, so there might be a second time.'' Roland thought Aldo was right about that. "I''m not in the mood to manage the Magic Tower right now." Aldo walked to the head of the stairs, looked at Roland, and pleaded, "So you''ll be in charge of the operation of the Magic Tower for a long time." "I''ve still got those same words: you''re that reassured about me?" "If you were going to abscond with the Magic Tower''s resources, you would have done so long ago. There''s no need to wait for me to return." With that said, Aldo left. After a while, Vivian came up with some drinks and cakes in her hands. She placed the plate on the table and then said, "The Chairman is a little pitiful." Roland asked, "You heard all of it?" "You guys didn''t try to keep your voices down. We all heard." Vivian sighed. "I''ve heard about the Chairman''s past. He''s got it a lot harder than what Deputy Chairman imagines. Especially the two years after his woman betrayed him, the Chairman was almost broken." "How did he bear through it?" "He seemed to have come to accept it," Vivian said simply. 104 The Living and The Dead Roland Accepted it? This was a simple phrase, but Roland could guess how much suffering Aldo had gone through in order to accept it. Vivian also sighed lightly and went down the stairs. Roland drank fruit wine and let his thoughts run wild for a while. He thought about Aldo and about John and mixed in thoughts about magic modelsanyway, it was a mess. Then, he put down the wine cup, closed his eyes to rest, to eliminate the distracting thoughts in his mind, and then continued to derive his Spell Puppets model. He was greatly inspired by the hidden node in Language Proficiencythe other spell models might also have hidden nodes. There weren''t many nodes in level-zero spells, so it was quite easy to extrapolate data. After about four hours of experimentation and data extrapolation, Roland was surprised to find that there did not appear to be any hidden nodes in the level-zero spells. It seems that not all spells had loopholes like Language Proficiency. It was really a pity. With a few more nodes, Roland felt like he could give the magic puppet a few more characteristics. For example, he could have the magic puppet grow a few more hands, which would allow it to carry more equipment. Or, enhance the magic puppet''s identification between friend and foe Wait a minute! Since the spell model of a Spell Puppet had no hidden nodes, how about adding one or two himself? Once this idea sprouted, it seemed to grow in Roland''s mind like a weed. Why is it that game NPCs can create their own magic, and I can only alter other people''s spell models? Can''t I create one on my own? After a moment of excitement, Roland quickly became discouraged. Ideas alone wouldn''t do. Motivation was also needed to turn thoughts into reality, and a knowledge base. How was a spell model constructed? What were the combinations of spell model nodes? How to determine the meaning and function of a node in the spell model? These three basic problems alone baffled Roland, not to mention the practical difficulties that emerged. It seems that he had much more to learn. At least, he had to first figure out what the nature of magical elements was, what the nature of mental power was, and what the principle of the reaction between the two was. Roland felt that he had to figure out these three things before he could talk about creating a blank spell model. There were many books in the library, but none of them had basic core contents he needed. The majority was advanced use of mental power, as well as some insights on the practical use of advanced spells. None of the books in the library touched on the basic theories or nature of magic. Was it the local Magic Tower that didn''t have this knowledge? Or did the entire world fail to establish a fundamental theory of magic? The former was highly probable, the latter unlikely. Even if humans didn''t have such a system of knowledge, what about the elves? This race was said to have the highest level of magic attainment and a long life expectancy. Did they have a fundamental theory of magic? Time passed quickly as Roland pondered in a disorderly way. The white moonlight shone down at an angle from the window and formed a semicircle of white light on the ground. The whole city had quieted down; it was late at night. Roland got up. He had an appointment to keep. But unexpectedly, just as he went down to the second floor, he bumped into Vivian. She had a sleepy look on her face. She held a glass of water in her hand. It seemed that she was thirsty and wanted to fetch some water. When she saw Roland, she was so startled that her sleepiness disappeared. Both shocked and pleasantly surprised, she asked, "Deputy Chairman Where are you going this late at night?" "Going for a walk!" Roland smiled and continued, "You should go to bed early. Don''t stay up too late. Staying up late is a great enemy of women." With that said, he went down the stairs. Watching Roland''s figure disappear at the bottom of the stairs, Vivian was a little bit disappointed, but then she suddenly stared into the distance with wide eyes: Deputy Chairman is still young and vigorous, what else can he be doing out so late at night? With these thoughts in mind, Vivian grudgingly wanted to bite on her handkerchief. Clearly, I can also do it. Why didn''t the Deputy Chairman come to me? Do I not have the least bit of charm? There was a curfew in Delpon, but it only affected ordinary people. Nobles and most professionals ignored this prohibition. However, Roland couldn''t exercise this privilege now, so he took ordinary clothes out of his Backpack and put them on in a private place. Then, he especially searched for a dark and hidden road, came to a rich neighborhood, found a relatively remote small manor, and climbed in. Although he was a mage, the strength of a professional still gave him decent physical flexibility, and he was also a Golden Son; their overall growth rate was higher. Mages only appeared to have a weak body and spirit relative to Warriors, but compared with ordinary people, they were still very powerful. The small manor was quiet, with no guards patrolling it, and no servants, it seemed, on standby. Only in the small room on the second floor was there a faint glow of candlelight. Roland tread on the grass passing through the smooth courtyard and arrived at the entrance. He pushed gently The door wasn''t closed. When he entered the building, he found that the building was quite ostentatious. It looked luxurious on the outside, but inside There wasn''t much furniture. The living room looked empty, with only a table and a few chairs. The room with lights on was on the second floor. Roland found the stairs and went up to the second floor. The door of one of the rooms was ajar, and the faint light of the candle peeped through the crack, leaving a long orange mark on the floor. Roland walked over and gently pulled the door open. Inside sat a young man who looked nervously at the door as it was pulled open, but he sighed lightly in relief at the sight of Roland. After entering the room, Roland closed the door. The young man blew out the candle on the table. The room darkened, but since the moonlight shone in, it didn''t appear gloomy; instead, there was a sense of tranquility. Roland sat down across the table and asked, "Little Edward, did you ask me to come over this evening to tell me something?" "My eldest brother is the fall guy," Little Edward said earnestly as he looked at Roland. There was deep sorrow hidden in his eyes. Roland had found time during the day to make inquiries. The young nobleman who had been made the fall guy was called Roland Edward, the same name as Roland''s. When Roland learned this, he finally realized why the nobles watching from the sidelines were roaring with laughter. They were not only ridiculing the dead Roland but also ridiculing the living Roland. And the mastermind behind the scenes specially selected a person with this name to take the blame for himthe significance was already quite clear. I can give in, but I still have a way of making Roland die. This was what it meant. The sense of dilemma unique to noblesobviously afraid but still forcibly resisting and boastinghaunted by a contradictory, boring, distorted sense of self-esteem. Roland really wanted to laugh. 105 Are There Any Useful Clues? Making death threats against a player was the most ridiculous and outrageous thing Roland had ever seen. Under the wash of the moonlight, Roland''s smile seemed somewhat mysterious in the dark. Little Edward saw this and felt an inexplicable sense of adoration in his heart. Unlike his dim-witted younger brother, Little Edward was quite smart. He could see details that nobody else could. For example their eldest brother who was usually optimistic unexpectedly showed a gloomy expression two days before he went to kidnap young girls. And there were, for no reason, an additional fifty gold coins in the storeroom of their house. Combined with what he had heard and seen in the last two days, one thing became clear to him. His own brother took the fall for someone else. Such things were common in the noble class and were the default rule. When someone did something wrong and was investigated by someone of similar standing, if both sides ended up in a fight, neither side would win, and then the wolves watching the show would gain small advantages from this. At this time, the wrongdoer could throw out someone lesser than himself and have them take the fall for their mistake, thus eliminating the grudge through death. If the investigator had the intention of promptly minimizing damages, then both parties would reach a mutual understanding and never mention this matter again. After smiling, Roland looked at the boy who was young and inexperienced but had a somewhat mature temperament and said, "I know your eldest brother was the fall guy. We didn''t intend to kill him. We even wanted to save him. It''s just that he was too unwaveringhe immediately killed himself. We do feel a little bit of responsibility for this, but we''re not going to apologize." "I understand." Little Edward was also very clear that this matter certainly had nothing to do with the Golden Sons. Although the Golden Sons were quite notorious among the noble class for their disregard for the nobility''s honor and privilege, infuriating the nobles, they had to admit that Golden Sons were all neutral-good professionals. The five Golden Sons had been in Delpon for two or three months, but they had never bullied anyone for no reason, not to mention doing anything evil, or even causing mischief. They just killed a family of heart-eating nobles, saved an untouchable girl at a great price, and now they were trying to find a way for beggars to live. These were the only three things they had done. Every single matter was a good thing. The Golden Sons were good, no matter whether it was their motive or the end results of their various causesthe only misfortune was their eldest brother. He was a sacrifice in the struggle between the two sides. Little Edward shook his head. "No, our big brother usually doesn''t like to tell ushe didn''t want to give us too much pressure. If anything, he''d been going out more often." Roland tossed another question he had held inside for a long time. "Where are your parents?" "Long dead." Little Edward''s voice trailed off. "Big Brother has always looked after us. We are only the descendants of merchants, our so-called noble status is only quasi-noble, only a false name, without any real power." The real power of the nobility was perpetuated by only two things: estates, even small estates counted, and the right to recruit soldiers. The right to recruit soldiers varied according to the title, but the maximum number of troops that could be recruited was also not the same. From Earl and above, there was no limit to the number of soldiers that could be recruited. As to the other rights like a badge and tax exemption and so on, these were all just minor benefits. The so-called quasi-nobles were generally titles obtained by merchants who donated large quantities of gold coins. Roland sighed. He reckoned that the murderer took the two young boys as bargaining chips to get close to their eldest brother to take the fall and, of course, a sufficient reward was offered. Fifty gold coins That was considered a lot of money. "Why did you tell me to come, then, when you know nothing?" Roland asked crossly. "I don''t know anything, but I wanted to give you something." Little Edward took out a small wooden square plate from inside his clothes. It was about the size of his palm. "My eldest brother left it on his desk. I thought it might be useful to you." Roland accepted the wooden plate and found that it was quite hard and had a light blue surface, with a white cloud sign on the front and a black spiral pattern on the back. After a few glances, Roland stored the wooden plate into his Backpack. Then, he placed a number of drawings on the table. "Here are some of my magic tips and experiences. Keep them for yourself." "Magic? Can I do it?" Little Edward looked at the drawings, a little emotional, but more so unconfident. Roland had just discovered that Little Edward''s mental power was quite active, only a little less so than Vivian''s. Vivian was now adept at using Hand of Magic and she could turn it into a magic pike, so Little Edward might be able to do the same. Of course Roland wouldn''t teach him. After all, if Little Edward had too much contact with him, the mastermind behind the scenes would probably come for Little Edward. "Try it. I won''t take your money anyway. It doesn''t matter if you failthe recoil from level-zero tricks won''t kill you." With these words, Roland left. Little Edward looked at the drawings on the table in silence. Then, he wiped away his tears and was about to put the drawings away when the door opened again. A boy a little younger than him came in, rubbing his eyes. "Second elder brother, this is where you were. You scared me. I thought you also didn''t want me and left on your own." The young boy had an anxious expression on his face. "Don''t worry, we brothers will always be together." Edward looked at his younger brother, then at the drawings on the table, and decided. Roland sneaked back to the Magic Tower and changed back into his magic robes. Then Vivian came in, with slightly dark circles under her eyes. As she served up the pastries and fruit drinks, she looked at Roland and said, "Deputy Chairman, you''ve worked hard. Here is your breakfast." Breakfast? It''s only two or three o ''clock in the morning at mostit''s no time for breakfast! But Roland stroked his stomach and found he was indeed a little hungry. So, he smiled and thanked Vivian. Vivian walked out of Roland''s study and immediately smiled. The Deputy Chairman didn''t have the smell of women on him, and he didn''t look tired, which means that he didn''t do anything naughty. Very good, very good! Vivian thought she could have a good night''s sleep at last. After eating some pastries, Roland went on to study the derivative abilities of Spell Puppets. The capacity of the spell model was limited, so he had to figure out how to use the limited capacity to allocate the properties of Spell Puppet in order to ensure the highest return. Like this, a few more hours passed, and then the game time stopped again. He climbed out of the game cabin, turned on his computer, entered the official gaming homepage, and saw the game update announcement. 106 Idiotic Netizens Intellec Currently, the game was in the alpha testing phase, so it was quite normal to have updates from time to time. Those who wanted to play the game seriously would carefully read the updated content of the game. After all, you could acquire a lot of information that could definitely be used in the game. Roland was no exception to this. Clicking on the update announcement and looking at it for a while, Roland was rather pleasantly surprised. The game''s updated content: 1: Added a "browser" to the game system interface. From now on, players can also watch videos, read novels, and communicate through chat rooms in the game. 2: Increased the activeness of the magical elements. The casting difficulty has been increased slightly, and the damage of spells has been increased moderately. Warlocks benefit greatly, while the normal mage has no benefits in the early stage but a greater increase in the middle and late stages. 3: We noticed that the warrior class has too great of a population, which has surpassed more than half the total number of players. Therefore, the benefits brought by the "constitution" attribute have been reduced, and at the same time, the learning requirements of some warriors'' unique powerful specialties have been added. 4: The Bandit class''s unique specialty Stealth has been optimized to make it more hidden at a distance and slightly less hidden at closer proximity. Instead of being completely transparent, as it is now, only special skills can see through this specialty. 5: Considering that the current players'' leveling speed is too slow, we''ve appropriately increased the trigger rate of side quests. 6: Optimized the artificial intelligence of NPCs again: reduced their mechanical logicality, increased the influence of butterfly events in the sandbox environment, and increased the influence of personality on their actions. The sixth update was serious news. The system announcement of Roland''s innovation of a spell was all over the place yesterday, and by now the forums should still be talking about him. But as soon as the official announcement was made, the fact that Roland had created his own spell became old news. No matter how small the updates, all of them would have a great impact on the game. Now there were six consecutive updates: it could be seen that the game producers were really tracking the data of players during this time, but they also really intended on improving the game. It was just strange to Roland that he always thought he was entering a real world, but the game producers could actually have an impact on this world! Who were they really? Or did he guess wrong, and it was really just a game world? Opening the forums, Roland wanted to see what other players thought. This thread was extremely popular. The original poster claimed to be a repeat student in high school. He originally bought the immersive cabin only for better sleep quality at night; as for the virtual reality game, he didn''t believe this thing at first. He never expected it to actually be real. So then, he started playing the game happily. This immersive cabin not only made his sleep quality extremely good but also because the time ratio between the game world and the real world is 3:1, he could count it as a day of play and study. His mind and spirit received a great amount of rest and relaxation, such that he felt less psychological pressure, and his grades were steadily improving. However, he still had some regrets, because there were 24 hours in the game and he didn''t always have things to do, so sometimes it was very boring. But once the browser function came out, he would be able to browse Wunian Gaokao Sanian Moni[1] question poolthis meant that he had a heck of a lot of time! He truly would be able to break time in half and spend it! Then, a group of working members of society left their comments below, laughing and cursing! "Why didn''t I have this when I took the college entrance exam?" "The OP sees things from a shocking perspective. I''m defeated." "My dream of Tsing-Hua University and Peking University!" "I''m crying out in indignation for the students who didn''t get to buy the immersive cabins: this is unfair!" "Thanks, OP, for your ideas. I will aesthetically process this thread and share it in the groups of uncles and aunties. They''re even willing to spend several million for a trashy 10-square meter school district house. This kind of thing that can greatly improve studying and testing scores, it would be improper not to spend four to five million, right? I am sure that I can hype it to around 10 million yuan. I''m telling you guys, I already have four immersive cabins stocked upI''ll be rich in no time!" Oh s**t. Roland was dumbstruck by this reply. This way of making money was too f**king crafty. Scrolling further down the page, as expected, a large group of netizens was shocked by this reply, expressing that they were kneeling in the presence of a god. Roland clicked off the thread with a sense of admiration, and then randomly clicked into another popular thread. I Can Finally Do a Live Stream. Roland didn''t see the title until he got into the thread. Then, he froze for a moment and looked at the poster again. It was Fan Six Hundred Million. The general idea was that with the browser connected to the whole network, she would broadcast every second of her time in the game in the future. No matter whether it was the players inside the game or the players outside the game, they would be able to see her beautiful appearance in the game. Erm for someone who''s almost forty, is it really suitable to act cute? Leaving this thread, Roland clicked into another popular thread. How Much Will the Weakening of The Constitution Attribute Affect Warriors? This was a data association. After reviewing the current number warriors, class specializations, quest capabilities, attack and self-preservation abilities, group combat abilities, and other data, they came to a conclusion: warriors were too strong, much easier to get started with compared to other classes, easier to master, and had strong universality. The number of professionals was the best indication that the nerf from the game producer was quite normal. The constitution attributes were nerfed, but as long as they were still 90% of what they were, warriors would still be the greatest class. Besides, the constitution attribute was required by every single class. After all, constitution was life. Warriors were indeed nerfed, but other classes were too. At most, Warriors were nerfed by ten percent, while the other classes were nerfed by five percent. It scratched only the surface. The truly pitiful ones were the Mages. Clearly, Warlocks were strengthened with the increased activeness of magical elements, but for the Mages, their casting difficulty greatly increased again, and if this continued, the number of Mages would drop down to about two to three percent of the total player base. However, Mages were lucky to have a leader, which might have an effect on curbing turnover. In contrast, there was no such gang leader in the Warrior group for the time being. Even Principal Huang, who was fully equipped with magic equipment, wasn''t able to establish the image of a Warrior leader in the hearts of the players. Roland sighed lightly as he saw this. The increased activeness of magical elements ultimately meant strengthening Mages, but for players, a class with an overly difficult early stage was soulless. Roland reckoned that after this update, the Mage community would see another wave of account deletions. He clicked into the Mage section, and sure enough grief was all over the place. After some thought, he opened the option to start a thread and wrote a title like this. The Voice of One: The Mage''s Attribute Allocation Adaptation Under an Unfavorable Version of the Game. He spent two hours writing an impressive three thousand words on his insights and experiences. After checking for incorrectly written characters, he published the thread. Then, he rubbed his face and was about to stand up and take a sip of water when the forum system issued a ding. He clicked on the latest system notification and found that his thread had been highlighted. Hm, that fast. The forum administrator''s guarding me? [1] Most well-known textbook for college entrance exams, title advertises that it takes the best-simulated questions in recent 3 years and actual text questions in recent 5 years 107 The Malice of Game Producers Roland was currently level four and soon to be level five. He had a great understanding of how every attribute worked, so he had some ideas of his own. "Intelligence determines the maximum amount of mana and the power of spells; it''s the most important core attribute of Mages, so adding all points to it is the right thing to do. But this game is different, and other attributes are also quite important. Resistance determines your mana''s base regeneration speed, ability to control magical elements, and good resistance to magic recoil. Constitution, as everyone knows, represents your maximum health and your base strength value. "Along with the increase in level, a mage''s resistance to magic recoil increases, but only as a result of the increase in resistance and constitution. Since that''s the case, why don''t we reduce the upper limit of intelligence growth a little bit, reduce it from 10 to 9, and distribute the extra 3 attribute points to resistance and constitution, so as to form the allocation method of 9 points in intelligence, 7 points in resistance, and 7 points in constitutiona trade-off: lower spell damage for better magic control and survivability. This way one wouldn''t easily end up in a head explosion from magic recoil. "The other 7 points in constitution growthafter learning melee combat enhancement spells, one should be able to substitute out as Gandalf to deal with situations where the magic environment is unfavorable." The above was the core of Roland''s post. At the start of account creation, the attribute growth for players was five, with ten freely assignable attributes. When attribute growth increased, the cost of the number of freely assignable points would increase gradually. When attribute growth was at six to seven, it would only cost one freely assignable point. At eight to nine attribute growth, two freely assignable points were required, and to increase to ten, it would cost three points. The player''s growth upper limit was ten. If an attribute''s growth was maxed, it would use up nine freely assignable attribute points, the remaining point would be added elsewhere; Roland added it to resistance. His attribute growth was 5 constitution, 5 agility, 10 intelligence, 6 resistance, and 5 charm. Roland was much better at magic control than the average player because of his unique specialty of Magic Power Control. He also had 6 points of resistance growth, so the effect was very obvious: he was quite strong in the operation and control of magic. However, if the other players wanted to do this, it would almost be impossible, so they could only find ways from an attribute perspectivehigher resistance and higher constitution to fight against the damage of magic recoil. This was Roland''s strategy in response to the current version of the game. "I''m going to enter the game first and see how much the activeness of magical elements will affect us this time. If the casting difficulty really increased significantly again, I will have to delete my account and try the attribute allocation method mentioned by Roland." "I am too lazy to struggle any more. Today, after going online, I''m immediately deleting my account to go be a Warrior." "Brother, weren''t Warriors nerfed today?" "It''s still more pleasurable than playing the mage." Roland sighed lightly at this exchange. He''d tried his best. He had been uploading spell models and trying to find an easier way for mages to get started. This was the limit of what he could do at present. After all, he was only an ordinary guy, not some genius, not some amazing personhe couldn''t do something as exaggerated as turning the tides. Turning off the computer, Roland rode a public bike to the saber arts club. Because he wasn''t in a good mood, his motivation to study was lacking, and he was constantly making mistakes in training. Qi Shaoqiu shook his head and didn''t say anything. Everyone had days where they were unhappy. On the other hand, Night Tide Sands, who was always at a close distance, appeared to want to say something but hesitated. However, Roland didn''t seem to notice this. On the way home from the saber arts club, Roland took a detour, deliberately going in the opposite direction, and then circling into an alley, going back home slowly. This was mainly to prevent being entangled by Jin Wenwen. In the evening, Roland entered the game world right at the usual time. The black and white world only lasted for a dozen or so seconds before the surrounding scenery returned to life again. Roland opened the system interface, and sure enough, he found an icon of a blue circle and white clouds in the lower right corner. This was Penguin Corporation''s browser icon. Clicking on it, Roland randomly entered some of his frequented websites and tested the connection speed. He found that the network response speed was extremely fast, almost opening immediately right after he clicked it. Videos almost instantly finished buffering. Roland opened the official gaming forums and found Fan Six Hundred Million''s live stream advertisement pinned at the top of the announcements. When Roland clicked into it, he saw a pretty, blue-eyed, blond-haired dancer in a revealing outfit dancing provocatively in a tavern-like room. There were a lot of men around, and judging from their temperament, about half of them were players, and the rest were NPCs. The shape of the dancer''s face was seventy percent similar to Fan Six Hundred Million''s. She molded her character based on her actual face? Tsk, tsk! Roland clicked his tongue in exclamation, but suddenly his eyes were fixatedhis gaze was attracted by several male players behind the dancer. These male players their striated muscles were like long worms that clung to their arms, and their physique was also much bigger, looking exceptionally imposing. Wait! Is there such a body type option for the Warrior players? Shouldn''t it be beautiful and well-proportioned muscles, dressed to look thin, but muscular when clothes are off? Moreover, the expressions of these players were grief-stricken as if they''d lost their parents. Their depression was enough to break through a thresholdthey didn''t even want to watch Fan Six Hundred Million dance. At the same time, their eyes seemed to be fixed somewhere. They seem to be reading the forums? Roland immediately opened the gaming forums and found the general forum area had exploded with posts. Roland opened several popular threads, and after reading them, he couldn''t help but kneel in laughter, hammering his fists on the ground. Although the game producers reduced the gains from constitution for Warriors, in fact, in numerical terms, there wasn''t much of a reduction. They executed another type of nerf restoring the true shape of the warrior''s physique. The warriors that had 7 points of constitution growth were already muscular from head to toe, and at 8 points of constitution growth, the degree of their muscularity could be comparable to the world''s bodybuilding champions. For warriors with 9 points of constitution growth, their physique was like a gorilla''s, and as for warriors with 10 points of constitution growth, they were the living embodiment of a human weapon. Their height not only surpassed two meters, but their muscles were also exaggerated to a terrifying degree; even their neck muscles were larger than their heads. No one would doubt it if they said they were strong orcs. And constitution-type warriors had it even worse. The males were all pretty-looking Nezhas[1], while the females were King Kong Barbies. On the forums, warrior players were lamenting everywhere, and of course, there was an extremely small minority of people with muscle fetishes that felt this was unusually charming. Roland laughed for at least three minutes before barely stopping. Then, he opened a thread and saw a picture of a bitter King Kong Barbie, and he rolled on the floor laughing for another few minutes before standing up. The game producers really knew how to have fun. This certainly decreased the benefits of the constitution attribute especially for female players, it indeed was more of a loss the higher the constitution attribute wasthe benefits indeed were greatly reduced. Roland believed that this "nerf" really could control the population of Warriors. [1] protection deity in ancient China 108 Really? After laughing, Roland left the city to find Hawk. Hawk had become a strong monster with a massive figure like a large gorilla. He sat down on the stone steps and stared, engrossed, at his bulging muscles, looking rather pleased. Originally, Hawk specifically created his character''s face with sideburns to appear more imposing, and the current changes were just in line with his intentions. Link didn''t change too much. Although his figure was slightly more muscular, it didn''t influence how he appeared to others. The beggars were surprised, but not afraid, at the changes in Hawk. The stronger their "masters" were, the more sheltered and safe they were. They had had enough of the life of being displaced, bullied, and never having a full belly. As long as their leaders could protect them, they wouldn''t have any problems with them even if they turned into giant dragons. When Roland saw Hawk brimming with joy, he couldn''t help but shake his head. "Your aesthetic view is so unique." "What do you know? This is what a man should look like." Hawk struck a professional bodybuilder''s pose, his muscles dancing like mice scuttling under his skin. It was extremely disgusting to watch. Roland gave a look of disgust and said, "Withdraw all of your beggars. Let the missing girls'' case go for a while." Hawk was startled for a moment. "You''re just going to give up?" Roland shook his head, "How could I. I''m just trying to use the culprit''s scheme, rolling out the fishing line to catch a big fish." Hawk smiled. "I understand." Returning to the city, Roland came to Gray Sand. This place was still extremely raucous, but as Roland entered, the noise became less and less, and finally, it stopped almost completely. A master of magic had honored them with his presence, and they didn''t dare to make much noise impudently. Besides, Roland''s reputation in Delpon wasn''t low, especially after the three of them had yesterday "surrounded and killed" the eldest of the Edward familyalmost all the leading figures of this city recognized him. For someone who even dared to kill nobles, killing a few commoners was just entertainment! Roland was not used to the heavy smell of alcohol mixed with sour body odor, but he had to put up with it. He found a table and sat down. The bartender came over in a humble manner and asked cautiously, "Mr. Mage, what would you like to drink?" "A glass of the best fruit wine." Roland smiled gently. "By the way, I''d like to meet Gru." "Understood." The bartender backed away, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve as he turned around. Soon a glass of fruit wine was served by the barmaid. It was the best wine they had at Gray Sand, and they didn''t usually sell it, at least not to ordinary people. He stood in front of Roland and said rather sheepishly, "Sorry, I was out on business. I came as soon as I was notified." "It''s okay. Rather, it is my fault for disturbing you on your formal business." Roland nodded in apology. Gru was relieved to see that Roland was as easy to speak to as before. He sat down before Roland, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief, and asked, "Is there anything I can do for Sir this time around?" The tavern was very quiet. Although they didn''t speak very loudly and no one was looking at them, Roland knew that the drinkers around him were straining their ears to hear what they were talking about. Although people were generally afraid of power, they also liked to sabotage power. Eavesdropping a little was not a big deal. Looking left and right, Roland asked, "Do you have a more discreet place to talk?" "Yes, yes!" Gru stood up at once. "Sorry, I''ve been negligent." He immediately stood up and showed Roland the way. Soon after, they entered a small room. Thick wooden doors and solid wallsthis certainly could guarantee sound insulation. They sat down again around a table. Roland placed on the table the small plate he had brought from Edward''s house. He asked, "Do you recognize this coat of arms?" Gru took the coat of arms, looked at both sides, and said apologetically, "Sorry, I''ve never seen it before. None of the nobles in Delpon uses a coat of arms with this design." It wasn''t someone from Delpon! However, this didn''t come as a surprise. The other side wouldn''t give the game away so easily. This might be the other side''s method of deliberately misleading him. "It''s okay that you don''t know." Roland continued, "I''ve asked about the history of the Gray Sand Gang, and you guys are relatively rule-abiding" Upon hearing this, Gru broke out in a cold sweat. It was clear to everyone in Delpon that these Golden Sons were all of the neutral-good alignment. Whenever they saw a crime being committed, they would step up and stop it, and ensure justice with physical means. Not to mention the major event two months agoin the last two months alone, a Golden Son named Betta had broken the hands of many thieves and kicked down many tyrannical scoundrels. There were also two Golden Sons outside the city finding a way for beggars to survive. A few small gangs that relied on "sucking" the flesh and blood of the beggars were cut off from their source of revenue, so they went to reason with them and hadn''t intended on getting violent. But in the end, they were still beaten to the point of being unable to distinguish between north, south, east, and west. This Roland before his eyes was the most low-key and the most mysterious. An orthodox spellcaster, and currently the deputy chairman of the Magic Tower. He was investigating the missing girls'' case. The nobles appeared unimpressed by Roland''s actions, and regarded them as futile, or assumed that he was just pretentious. However, Gru knew very well that the nobles were all afraid that Roland would find out something and place the blame on them. The intense disdain on the surface couldn''t cover up the fear in their hearts. This was why the first half of Roland''s words already terrified Gru immensely. "There is something wrong with your methods, but to be honest, you guys are more disciplined." Roland smiled at Gru, who appeared deathly pale, and said, "So I have something I need you guys to help with." "Please go ahead." Gru breathed a long sigh of relief. "I need you to find out for me the names and ages of all the girls who have disappeared in the last few years near that grove. It''ll be even better if you found out the approximate time they were murdered." Gru nodded heavily. "I''ll make it happen." It was a difficult matter, but Gru didn''t dare reject him. He feared that if he refused, the Gray Sand Gang would become evil in Roland''s eyes. Roland also sighed inwardly in relief. It was the first time he had ever pretended to threaten someone. Success was great, however. Then, he thought for a moment and said, "I have neither money nor any properties" "There''s no need. It''s Gray Sand Gang''s pleasure to serve you, Sir." "Hear me out." Roland continued, "We Golden Sons are particular about an equivalent exchange. You and your boss can choose some of the more intelligent-looking children among you and send them to the Magic Tower. I will choose one or two talented ones to keep so that they can become magic apprentices!" Gru put his hands down heavily on the table, jumped up abruptly, and looked at Roland in disbelief. "Really?" 109 Misled by an NPC There were very few people who were suited to being Mages in this world, but that didn''t mean there weren''t any. In a city with a population of a million people, there had to be at least a hundred or so children with magic talent. Whether or not they were willing to learn wasn''t the point. The main factor was whether they could learn. The poor children that wanted to learn to read, and commoners that wanted to learn magic? Even if you scraped together enough tuition, no one would be willing to teach you. Writing was in the hands of nobles, whereas magic was even more mysterious. They wouldn''t even be able to find the right connections to learn it. But now Roland said he was willing to teach two commoner kids to become magic apprentices. It was no wonder that Gru would be so emotional. Looking at Gru''s excited expression, Roland nodded and said in a soft but certain voice, "I honor my word." Gru straightened up, a feverish excitement in his hazel eyes. "Rest assured, Sir, that we Gray Sang Gang will do everything to find the information." Roland nodded. "Don''t go overboard." Gru nodded repeatedly. "I understand, I understand." Roland looked at Gru, who was acting a little meek and subservient and sighed inwardly. In actuality, when Gru had just arrived, although he appeared to be humble, Roland could see that it was more of an act. Gru simply feared his strength and status, but inside, he still had a bit of pride. But now, this bit of pride was gone, leaving only genuine ingratiation and flattery. Roland had actually seen such a look before. When he was an elementary school student, the whole country was generally not well-off. There was a classmate whose family was very poor, and they couldn''t even pay for books and uniforms for compulsory education. Roland had seen this classmate''s father pleading in the teacher''s office for more time to pay for the school uniforms and textbooks. At that time, the father maintained a smile, so humble that his face was buried in the dirt. Gru''s smile now was the same smile that he had seen as a child. After a short silence, Roland got up and said, "I''ll be waiting for your good news at the Magic Tower." As Roland spoke, he began to walk out, and Gru rushed forward to open the door for Roland, bending down to see him off like a servant. Roland frowned and said nothing more. He had little understanding of this kind of mentality. For the growth and future of their offspring, it didn''t matter how lowly one was and how much hardship one endured. Roland left the Gray Sand tavern, and it was not until he had gone a ways away that Gru straightened his slightly bent waist. Meanwhile, the voices in the tavern gradually recovered. Gru took a deep breath and ran to the top of the tavern, to a door. The man was counting silver and copper coins, looking quite happy. Gru flung open the door and rushed in. Startled, the man turned and took a dagger out of his sleeve, but he was relieved to see that it was Gru. Gru was so excited that his speech became somewhat incoherent. "Boss, the Golden Son Roland said that if we help him do something, he''ll give us one to two quotas for magic apprentices. Let our children have a go!" The middle-aged man was surprised for a moment, then he shook his head and said, "Gru, you sure you''re not dreaming? The great mages couldn''t possibly give us commoners an apprentice quotathey even look down on nobles a little." "Boss, I''m really not lying, trust me." Gru rushed up to the middle-aged man, grabbed his shoulders, and shook frantically. "This is our best chance. You have to believe me. Mage Roland personally made the promise." Looking at Gru''s red eyes and twisted expression, the middle-aged man gradually began to wonder. "Really?" "I wouldn''t joke about such an important matter, Boss." The middle-aged man closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and an ecstatic look showed on his face. However, he still wasn''t as emotional as Gru; his speech only became slightly rushed. "What are his terms?" "Help him acquire information." Instead of returning to the Magic Tower, Roland went to the castle. Although Roland didn''t come in a carriage, his magic robes were the best proof of identity. The soldiers guarding the castle didn''t dare to be negligent. After inquiring as to why he came, they immediately ran into the castle to report. It was not long before John, sleepy-faced, came out to meet him. "A rare visitor, indeed." John looked somewhat surprised. "I thought it was Aldo, but I didn''t expect it to be Mr. Roland." "I took the liberty of visiting you to ask a few questions." John shifted his body and pointed at his castle. "Come in and have a chat. At least let me entertain the distinguished guest." Roland shook his head. "No, it''s a very simple matter. I''ll be gone once I ask the questions." "You''re not giving me any respect." John scratched his head. "A noble comes to my door, yet he won''t come into my house. The other nobles will laugh at me if they hear. Well, do as you please. You Golden Sons are all strange in character, and I dare not provoke you." John''s words were merely superficial, and if John truly didn''t dare provoke them, he wouldn''t have deliberately sought to turn Bard against him. Roland took out the little wooden plate again and asked, "You nobles are very good at heraldry. Help me to see which family''s coat of arms is this." John took it, looked over it for a moment, and said, frowning, "It is not a real family''s coat of arms!" "What?" Roland was somewhat surprised. "It''s more like an imitation of a family''s coat of arms," John said. "Every noble family''s coat of arms has a strict meaning and production process. This thing is just a piece of craft made as practice." Roland took a deep breath and said, "I see. Thank you." With that said, Roland turned and left. Roland''s face was somewhat sullen as he walked down the street. He found that he had indeed been misled. Perhaps John did have a problem with the Golden Sons, but it was unlikely that he was the murderer. This had suddenly occurred to him when he had heard from Gru earlier that the coat of arms did not belong to Delpon. And now John''s words further confirmed his thoughts. He was deliberately led to doubt John. There was indeed an unspoken rule of "taking blame" amongst the nobles, but if John was putting the blame onto someone else, as the son of the mayor, the future mayor of Delpon, the status of the fall guy was certainly not too lowit definitely wouldn''t have been a quasi-noble merchant family like Edward''s. It could be said that Big Edward was not even qualified to take the blame for him. There was also this wooden sign, most likely left behind by Big Edward. As a merchant family, they wanted to become a real noble family, so it was quite normal to make a preliminary version of the coat of arms in advance. And John''s connection to the girls'' disappearance, like this coat of arms, looked genuine, but in reality, it wasn''t. John held enmity toward Roland and other Golden Sons, but he wasn''t necessarily related to the disappearance of the girls. There could be other reasons. If it was really John, his fall guy would have been a true son of the nobility, not the son of a merchant. Then suddenly he remembered the frantic look, the sad, angry, and desperate look with which Big Edward had seized the girl and looked at him. Roland suddenly felt a chill. No wonder he had felt that something was wrong lately. Oh **it, I was almost crushed intellectually by an NPC. 110 Untitled Roland felt a little speechless. He had just told Hawk not too long ago that some players might end up ashamed of themselves due to the NPCs'' actions, and now he was almost slapped in the face. Indeed, people shouldn''t think too highly of themselves. Roland clenched the fake wooden coat of arms tighter and returned to the Magic Tower. Instead of calling the wooden coat of arms a clue, it was more a warning that Big Edward had left for him before he committed suicide. After thinking it through, there were many points of suspicion. If it wasn''t for John, who would have sent the gangs to kidnap and kill Lisa''s loved ones? Who would have threatened Big Edward into taking the rap? Moreover, when Hawk sent a beggar to watch over John''s movements, Big Edward appeared to muddy his monitoring just five days later. The gang had been wiped out by Bard, so there was no way they could find anything new. And the true murderer seemed to know about the actions of the Golden Sons. The news was leaked from Hawk''s beggar? The more Roland thought about it, the more he felt his head hurt. Such a case that did not have many clues was really thorny. He was working off of pure speculation. He finally understood why there were so many surveillance cameras everywhere in China. No matter how intelligent a criminal was, it would be useless once they were captured on camera. When he returned to the Magic Tower, Roland spent four hours deriving the Spell Puppet before he calmed down. He decided not to think too much about it for the time being. The murderer would definitely be lurking around during this period of time. He would consider it after the Gray Sand Gang investigated the matter. It was already evening. Vivian served him dinner and placed a few thin books in front of Roland. "What is this?" Roland asked in surprise. "Our Magic Tower''s income and expenses from last month," Vivian explained. "The chairman was supposed to be responsible for the review, but he isn''t around, so the job is now yours." So that''s the case. Roland looked at the accounts book as he ate his dinner. After a while, Roland raised his head and asked, "Who made this record?" "Claus," Vivian replied. "Of all our magic apprentices, he''s the best at numbers." Claus was the young man that brought Roland to Magic Tower for his first visit. He was a relatively talented individual among all the magic apprentices. He learned magic very quickly and was very friendly. "What''s going on with these additional ten gold coins that appeared for no rhyme or reason?" Vivian glanced at it and smiled as she said, "This is the tax collected from our surrounding areas. With the Magic Tower as the center, the surrounding two kilometers is our territory." "There''s no need to label them. They just need to submit 15 gold coins each month." Vivian smiled. "Our Magic Tower doesn''t care about anything else. We only care about collecting money and maintaining peace in the area." Vivian''s words were very gentle, but she had a lofty air about her when she spoke against others. However, it was very normal if one thought about it. After all, Mages were very respected and feared professionals, and they were also synonymous with mystery. As a spellcaster, even if she was just a magic apprentice, Vivian had reason to be proud. After reading through accounts, Roland came to understand where the Magic Tower''s money came from. This also meant that Roland had officially taken over the operations of the Magic Tower. Especially when Aldo was hiding to recuperate. All the matters of the Magic Tower were thrown onto Roland. He had to meet the nobles or merchants who had something to ask for. He had to come to agreements with them, such as clearing ferocious beasts or magical beasts near Delpon City. Otherwise, it would be to help in an exorcism. This busied Roland greatly. He led a few magic apprentices everywhere. This greatly reduced the time he had to experiment with magic. He had no choice in this matter. He had received a high salary from the Magic Tower. It was a simple principleyou work for the money received. However, thanks to the recent update of the game, the chances of triggering Quests had increased. During this period, he had triggered a few small Quests such as getting experience after resolving a certain problem. Thanks to the completion of these Quests, Roland was now only one step away from Level 5. His experience bar was just a sliver short. Then, he locked himself in the magic lab and instructed Vivian not to have anyone disturb him. Then, he spent more than five hours in the magic lab and finally finished the Spell Puppet''s first derivative spell: Enhanced Spell Puppet. Roland had considered many ways of carrying out the enhancement, but all of them had their cons. Finally, he decided to try a synthetic enhancement. The first enhancement was of course not very effective, but what about the second and third enhancement? Of course, before that, he had to solve the problem of the lack of "space" in the spell models. The moment he summoned the Enhanced Spell Puppet, he immediately received a notification from the system. "You gained proficiency in Spell Puppet magic. EXP +140." "You have leveled up to Level 5." "Please choose your Class''s Mastery skills." Then, a section of Class skills appeared on the system''s menu in a list. Roland breathed a sigh of relief. He was finally Level 5. It wasn''t easy. After reaching Level 5, the experience needed for leveling up would be greatly increased. From this level, even Warriors would experience a slowdown in leveling speed. Roland looked at the system menu and read the names of the Mastery list. Evoking Specialization, Divination Specialization, and Summoning Specialization. He scrolled down and at the end of the list, he found the specialization he wanted. Spatial Specialization. This world was very large and inconceivably large. As a result, the ability to travel was extremely important. The players on the discussion forums were already complaining. They often received missions to transport goods to other cities, and even Quests to go overseas. Now, they weren''t even proficient in the language of Horlais, let alone overseas. They felt like crying just from needing to walk to another city. Compared to the convenience of modern society which had an efficient transportation system, this world''s better roads were dirt roads. Many areas were rugged mountain roads. There was no need to mention the distance. Most of the time when they traversed the mountain roads, they would encounter ferocious or magical beasts that ate humans. If one was lucky, one would be able to get a huge pile of meat to eat for a few days. If one was unlucky, one could return to the city for free and lose a portion of their experience. Sometimes, they would even encounter bandits. It was a thrilling adventure. Hence, unlike most other games, the ability to travel long distances in this real game world was rather important. That was unless one wished to stay in a fixed area for the rest of their lives and never leave. This was Roland''s greatest reason for choosing a Spatial Specialization. He wished to travel in the future. Since the world was so huge, why not travel it? Whether it was a moving mount or flying magic, it was definitely not as easy as snapping a finger to teleport to another city. And it was freaking cool. 111 Everyone is Selfish Spatial Specialization: Casting difficulty when using spatial magic will drop by one level. Mana consumption will decrease by 20% and effects will be increased by 20%. The three effects were all useful. The drop in casting difficulty meant that Roland would be able to learn high-level spatial magic earlier on. In battle, having a decreased casting difficulty meant a higher success rate of casting. There were too many factors to take into consideration during a battle. One easily failed casting magic spells that they weren''t too familiar with or had recently mastered. The enemy would also most likely disrupt the spellcaster. Thus, the difficulty of casting spells was rather important in battle. The lower the difficulty, the better. This was also the reason why it was rare for mages to use advanced spells from the very beginning. The reason why Roland immediately learned Spatial Specialization was because there was a spatial magic spell model in the Magic Tower''s library. Teleportation Spell! This was a Level 3 spell, but with Spatial Specialization, it was only a Level 2 spell to Roland. The Teleportation Spell had long been recorded in his system gallery. After learning the Specialization Skill, he immediately began to learn the Teleportation Spell. He had been coveting this spell for a long time. A Teleportation Spell greatly improved a mage''s mobility in battle. For example, they could use the terrain to maneuver, making melee combat Class enemies cry. Furthermore, it could also be used to travel. In Roland''s opinion, this was a magic skill that Mages must learn. Roland looked at the model again and again and slowly memorized the 200 nodes. At the same time, he deduced the purpose of these nodes. About two hours later, he began testing the connection between the nodes. On the second floor, Vivian was using a small blue Hand of Magic to carefully pick up a glass filled with water. This was a way for her to train. Naturally, it was taught by Roland. All of the magic apprentices in Magic Towers treated Roland as their real instructor. After all, the chairman was often nowhere to be seen. Moreover, the chairman''s method of teaching was very crude. It was to throw a spell model right at them and get them to figure it out on their own. They were to understand and increase their affinity with magic to naturally learn it. Roland, on the other hand, was different. He would explain the use of every node and the things that one should pay attention to when moving magic power to the corresponding node. At the same time, he would teach them small tricks to learn magic. He would even teach them according to everyone''s progress and talent. The difference in teaching standards was like night and day. While they were grateful, they also felt a little disappointed. But no matter what, in their eyes, Roland bore the image of a "subordinate-loving" man. Under the effect of the Hand of Magic, the cup slowly floated to the ceiling. Then, it slowly landed back to its original position. Vivian dispersed the Hand of Magic and heaved a sigh of relief. She took out a towel that she had prepared earlier and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She looked at the sky outside. She estimated the time and was about to prepare dinner when she suddenly felt a peculiar magic wave coming from the top of the Tower. All magic apprentices had a basic sense for magic, so Vivian was stunned for a few seconds. She immediately understood that this was a magic wave created by Roland''s mental power. The magic waves were different from before. This time, they were stronger, and the frequency of the fluctuation changed. Vivian''s eyes lit up. She understood that this was a symbol of Roland becoming stronger. He was already an elite mage. She excitedly pushed open the door, eager to head up to congratulate Roland. However, when she came out, she discovered that almost all of the magic apprentices had left their rooms. They were all blocking the staircase. Everyone looked at Vivian. Vivian would be the best person among them to congratulate Deputy Chairman Roland. This group of magic apprentices even hoped that Vivian''s congratulations would be more daring. It would be best if she spent the night there. Vivian''s face was a little red, but she gritted her teeth and mustered her courage to head up. The magic power fluctuation transmitted downward at a rather high frequency. Moreover, the fluctuation became a different type of smell It was very profound and spacious. Was this the magic power fluctuation of space? All of the magic apprentices looked at each other before their eyes lit up. Spatial magic was a system that was only second to prophetic spells. If defensive magic represented a mage''s survivability, and evoking magic represented the attack power of a mage, then spatial magic was the combination of the two. Not only was it rather damaging, it also possessed an extremely powerful survivability in terms of battle strategy. Mages had the most powerful escape magic, the most powerful concealment magic, and the most powerful travel-type magic. The legendary Mystra''s Magnificent Mansion was spatial magic. Once Deputy Chairman Roland was proficient in spatial magic, they would naturally be able to learn some things as well. Vivian, who had intended to congratulate Roland, immediately dismissed this thought. Once a Mage began conducting magic experiments, they didn''t like to be disturbed. The apprentices suppressed their excitement and returned to their rooms. Soon, only Claus and Vivian remained in the hall. "Vivian, there''s something I want to talk to you about," Claus suddenly said as he walked up to Vivian. Vivian was surprised. "What is it?" As Claus appeared very serious, Vivian was a little puzzled. Claus pointed to the nearby table and chairs, and Vivian immediately understood what was going on. They walked over. Vivian sat down first. Claus sat opposite Vivian and said, "I can tell that the deputy chairman hasn''t touched you yet." Vivian blushed, a little angry. "What do you mean by that, Claus?!" "What I mean," Claus said seriously, "is the deputy chairman is a genius, a real genius. We don''t have many things at our Magic Tower that can attract him. Although he looks like he''s short of money, he''s not a greedy person." Vivian frowned. She didn''t understand what Claus was getting at. "People eventually leave. After Deputy Chairman creates a series of magic spells, he''ll definitely become famous in the entire association in the future. When that happens, the other cities will definitely invite him over." There was a hint of anxiety in Claus''s voice. "We''re only a branch. We don''t have much money and we don''t have a lot of resources. The only thing we can barely afford is you a very beautiful magic apprentice. Although the other Magic Towers also have female magic apprentices, there aren''t many who are prettier than you or have better personalities than you." Vivian already understood what Claus meant. Claus continued, "The deputy chairman is getting stronger. There will be a day when he will leave this place. However, you have not made any progress, so you have to be more proactive. Otherwise, what will happen if the deputy chairman leaves and doesn''t take you with him?" Vivian felt awkward. "If you try to take the initiative now, you can use your body to distract Deputy Chairman Roland so that he can improve a little slower. This will extend the time before he leaves us. This way, we will also receive more guidance." Vivian was a little embarrassed, but the look in her eyes was very odd. "Claus, you''re a little selfish." Claus chuckled. "Who wouldn''t be selfish, hoping to have such a good teacher teach us more? Aren''t you being selfish by taking the initiative to approach Deputy Chairman Roland?" Vivian immediately fell silent. 112 I Dont Chase After Stars The Magic Tower was made of stone. Aside from a few ventilation ducts on each floor, there were only one or two windows. As such, the lighting inside the tower wasn''t very bright, especially on the second floor. There were fewer illumination magic crystals here than the other floors. Vivian''s smooth side profile reflected the orange glow of the magic crystals. She was silent. Claus continued, "Think about Jerry. His hair already turned white by the time Deputy Chairman Roland came. Do you think it''s easy for a good leader like Deputy Chairman Roland to appear?" Vivian still didn''t say anything. Claus was anxious. "Why haven''t you figured it out? Listen to me, be more proactive. Put on your most beautiful clothes and stand in front of Deputy Chairman Roland." Vivian still didn''t say anything. Seeing her lifeless look, Claus sighed and said, "Sigh, it''s fine if you don''t wish to be progressive, but you can''t just hand our chances away." At this moment, Vivian finally spoke. "Why should I be responsible for your opportunity?" "Even if it''s not for me, you''ll have to take responsibility for the opportunities of the other apprentices." Claus said helplessly, "Our Magic Tower is a whole body. No matter how long Deputy Chairman Roland stays here, he will decide how strong our future is. And you''re one of the important factors in keeping him here." At this moment, Vivian suddenly smiled. "You make a lot of sense, but I''m not stupid. I don''t know why an important matter like retaining the deputy chairman should fall on a woman like me. Are you not going to do anything besides push me forward?" "If he likes men, I''ll take off my pants at once." Claus looked at her quietly. "You should understand what I mean." Vivian shook her head, and stood up. "I do like the deputy chairman a lot, but my love is very fragile. It can''t withstand the weight of your ideals. I hope that the deputy chairman and I can have a clean relationship that isn''t tainted by such matters." After speaking, Vivian left. Claus watched as she returned to her room and closed the door. Then he slammed the table and cursed, "Dogsh*t." Roland did not know what was going on downstairs. Once the door to the magic lab closed, the sealed barrier made it difficult to hear the noise outside. Although it was a Level 3 spell, due to his Spatial Specialization, if he truly derived it, it would be much easier than a Level 2 spell like Language Proficiency. He experimented more than ten times before succeeding. Magic surged. Half a second later, he appeared six meters in front of where he was before. After a brief moment of joy, Roland''s face turned pale. He bent down and retched loudly, vomiting all the contents in his stomach. That nausea was exactly the same as carsickness. After spitting out his bile, Roland finally felt much better. He sat back on the chair weakly. He had guessed the start. With Spatial Specialization, the Teleportation Spell was indeed very easy to learn, but he had not guessed that there would be such a tremendous side effect. His magic could succeed 100% of the time. Then there was only one possibility The side effects were a part of his physical reaction. It was just like how people would feel carsick on their first ride in a car. It''s so disgusting Roland felt the sourness churn in his gut again. No, he couldn''t be the only one suffering this disgust. Without another word, Roland directly uploaded the Teleportation Spell model onto the discussion forum. At the same time, he uploaded a video. He only showed the successful casting of the spell, editing away the scenes of him vomiting. Looking at the thread, Roland laughed happily before a wave of stomach acid surged to his throat, making him extremely disgusted. At that moment, the system sent him a notification that Brazil and Li Lin had both @ him at the same time. They also gave him a live stream room number on the "Zwitch." Roland did not know what it was, but he clicked it out of his trust for his friends. Then, he saw Fan Six Hundred Million belly-dancing in a tavern. The surrounding drunkards cheered and wolf-whistled. The scene was extremely hot. "What does this have to do with me?" Roland asked in the chat. Li Lin: "She''s in Delpon City now. She seems to be in a tavern called Gray Sand." Brazil: "Quick, go and take a look. It''s rare to see a famous celebrity. Perhaps we can get some connections and autographs." Fan Six Hundred Million has come to Delpon City? What is she doing here? As soon as this thought came to mind, Roland felt that he was asking too much. This was a game world; she could go anywhere she liked. It was none of his business. "Not interested! It''s not like you guys aren''t aware that I''m not interested in celebrities." Li Lin: "Tsk!" Brazil: "It''s a good opportunity to become a member of the riders. Why don''t you give it a try?" Roland: "Heh!" At this moment, Betta sent a message. "Brother Roland, let''s go take a look. I''ll be leaving Delpon City after taking a look. Let''s treat it as a farewell celebration." Roland: "???" Betta: "Let''s talk in detail at the Gray Sand." Okay! Roland got up helplessly. Although he still felt a little nauseous and his legs were a little weak, he had to understand why Betta was suddenly leaving Delpon City. Ten minutes later, he arrived at the Gray Sand Tavern. Before he even entered, he heard a loud commotion coming from inside. It was deafening. Roland went in. In the large hall, the tables and chairs in the middle had all been cleared. There was only a beautiful, blonde, green-eyed dancer dancing in the middle. Beside her, there was a player who looked like a bard. He was playing the brisk song, "Little Apple," with a lute. In the middle of the hall, Fan Six Hundred Million''s waist was twisting like a snake. The surrounding guests were flushed red with excitement. A drunkard could not stand it any longer. He grabbed a man beside him and knocked his forehead heavily against his. The man fainted with a loud thud. The victim fainted while the perpetrator''s face was covered in blood as he continued to scream wildly. He waved his hands like a gorilla. There were at least a hundred patrons in the entire tavern. The sounds they made could almost blow off the roof. Roland covered his ears and looked around. Soon, he found Betta. He occupied a table by himself. After all, he was a "noble." Typical customers did not dare to approach Betta. Roland walked over and sat down opposite Betta. Betta watched Fan Six Hundred Million. He nodded along to her dancing, gyrating to the music. It had to be said that the bard had some skills. Even with such deafening noise, the music he played could still be heard clearly by everyone. 113 Famous Person Effec After Roland sat down, he looked at the crazy men around him and sighed. It was probably the same scene in reality when chasing a celebrity. As soon as Roland sat down, Li Lin from the Guild @ him again. Li Lin: "I see you and Betta in the livestream. Yes, the comments are exploding; many people know you." Seeing this, Roland could not help but check the livestream. Then he saw a bunch of comments flying past. "Oh, Almighty Roland. Why is he here to see our Fan Fan dance instead of being his Mage shut-in self?" "It''s normal for shut-ins to like celebrities!" "Don''t they like paper waifus?" "Why do you think our Fan Fan came to Delpon City?" "I think they want to buy Roland''s magic equipment. Completing the first main dungeon quest rewards magic equipment. I heard it''s gold equipment. It''s just that the effects are unknown." "Why can''t it be Fan Six Hundred Million traveling all the way to find her love" The moment he said this, the comments stopped. Then, a large number of comments swarmed the screen: "Scram!" Although Fan Six Hundred Million had indeed made some mistakes that shouldn''t be committed in real life, she still had a lot of fans. The person who had sent the comment had obviously angered the masses. Then, he was banned by the moderator. Fan Six Hundred Million was all sweaty from dancing in the middle of the hall as the music came to an end. The handsome bard stood up, holding onto the lute. His upper body leaned backward, almost as though he would break his own back. And the music ended at this moment. Fan Six Hundred Million spun and sat on the ground to wrap up the dance. The surrounding customers stopped shouting and fell to the ground one after another, unconscious. Only a few people could stand, just barely, but they also looked weak. Roland did not even need to think about it. There was definitely another wave of awkward comments of praise in the livestream channel: "Fan Fan''s dance is so beautiful that it makes people faint" or "Perhaps the audience cannot bear to have the dance end; their sadness made them faint." However, he had to admit that Fan Six Hundred Million''s dance was indeed beautiful. "A hot dance will typically make people faint after seeing it," Fan Six Hundred Million said as she walked toward Roland and Betta. She sat down in front of them without any propriety and continued, "Only a professional can hear it to the end, and experience a temporary increase in their abilities. So you don''t have to worry about anything happening to them. They will wake up soon." The bard also walked over and sat on the remaining chair. Roland looked at Fan Six Hundred Million and smiled. "I''ve heard so much about you." Hearing this, Roland felt his scalp go numb. He knew that the comments in the live-stream were going to explode. What was this vixen up to? As the other party was livestreaming, Roland deliberated over his words and said, "Don''t joke with me, Miss Fan. You''re a famous celebrity and we''re just ordinary citizens. A simple joke from you might bring us a lot of trouble. I reckon someone is already cursing my parents in the livestream." Roland''s guess was correct. Many people had begun cursing. Fans were almost always irrational. They didn''t wish for anything to happen between their idol and someone of the opposite sex. Even a joking conversation was prohibited. Of course, this mistake wasn''t the fault of their idol, but on the other party. "Then wait a moment." Fan Six Hundred Million said. Then she said to the air, "Dear fans and viewers, I''m sorry. Roland doesn''t seem to like being live-streamed. His personal privacy should be protected, so I''ll temporarily be pausing the stream. Once the discussion is over, I''ll naturally resume the stream. At the same time, thank you for watching. Thank you very much." She then turned to Roland and continued, "All right, I''ve paused it. I''m very sorry." She''s so kind? Her temper was so good in this moment that she did not seem like a celebrity. There were rumors that said she was very proud and had a bad temper! It seemed one shouldn''t believe the tabloids so easily. At this time, in the guild chat room, Li Lin was crazily @-ing him again. At the same time, he was spamming the screen: "The livestream has been paused. I can''t see Fan Fan anymore. Can you help me record a video in the game?" Li Lin had always been Fan Six Hundred Million''s fan. It was not surprising that he had such thoughts. Roland replied in the chat room, "Since she''s not live, I can''t record her. Otherwise, wouldn''t my words be contradictory?" Li Lin: "Okay." He diverted his attention from the guild. Roland looked at Fan Six Hundred Million and said, "Then, Miss Fan, why are you looking for me?" "I want to buy your magic equipment," said Fan Six Hundred Million with a smile. "That gold equipment." As expected The netizens in the livestream had guessed it. Roland thought about it and said, "Sorry, I don''t have plans on selling." The Mind-Calming Necklace was very useful to Roland. He would rather not have the finest staff than lose this equipment. Fan Six Hundred Million''s skin was very fair, and the clothes she wore were very revealing. She placed one hand on the table while the other held her cheek. She looked rather cute and pretty. "One million bucks." Roland was taken aback. He smiled bitterly and said, "As expected of a woman who claims to be from a rich family. The price is really generous." Fan Six Hundred Million chuckled. It was so beautiful that no one could take their eyes off it. In reality, she was already pretty enough. She was even prettier in-game. She had likely maxed out her Charm attributes. He wondered if she had the same Extraordinary Charm as Schuck. Roland took a deep breath. "I''m sorry, but I''m not selling." "Then two million?" Fan Six Hundred Million refused to give up. Roland continued to shake his head. Fan Six Hundred Million wanted to raise the bid again, but the bard suddenly said, "Roland, don''t be too greedy." The moment he said this, the other three people were stunned. Especially the gossipy Betta who was watching the development with interest. He widened his eyes. Roland frowned as he looked at the bard. Then he turned to Fan Six Hundred Million and asked, "Is he a manager?" "How is that possible? He''s just a friend I met on the way. He''s very nice. He escorted me all the way to Delpon City." Upon hearing Fan Six Hundred Million''s praise, the bard trembled in agitation. His face turned red. Hmm looks like he''s a fan too. Sighing softly, Roland continued, "Miss Fan, I''m not planning on selling it. I hope you don''t raise the price again. I''m worried that I won''t be able to resist the temptation of money." Rich people always did things fearlessly. For the sake of their pride, their actions had to be exaggerated. What if Fan Six Hundred Million increased the price to ten million!? Roland believed that he would sell it. When Fan Bingbing returned with the necklace, she would probably feel cheated after that mood of refusing to concede defeat waned. If she were to get a refund from Roland, he would probably refuse to return the money. Then, Roland might be reported with a claim that he had engaged in fraud. The courts would probably not dismiss the case, and there was a high chance that the court would determine that Roland was guilty of fraud. It wasn''t worth the price for this string of data. Roland had seen similar matters mentioned in the newspapers. Therefore, the moment he opened his mouth, he stopped Fan Six Hundred Million''s chance of raising the bid again. 114 Omen The atmosphere was rather gloomy. Fan Six Hundred Million looked at him for a moment before smiling helplessly. "It looks like I was too presumptuous. Sorry." She then stood up and walked away, swaying her hips as she left. The bard left with Fan Six Hundred Million. As he went, he glared fiercely at Betta. Once the two were gone, Betta asked curiously, "Why didn''t you reject her more tactfully? Perhaps you could become friends with her." "It''s meaningless. We are destined to be people from two different worlds." Roland smiled and asked, "You said in the guild that you were leaving. What''s going on?" Betta happily said, "I''ve risen to Level 5." Roland was stunned. "So fast?" "I''ve been doing a lot of missions recently." As he spoke, Betta seemed a little excited. "There are three branches of the Divine Noble, but no matter which branch it is, they can contract five Knights of the Round Table as their subordinates. Their overall strength will be boosted, and they must be game NPCs. Players won''t do." "It feels like a contract summon?" Roland asked. Betta pondered for a while, then nodded and said, "That''s true. However, my Knights of the Round Table can each contract another five lesser knights. After that, the lesser knight can also contract five other knight apprentices." "Wait!" Roland was stunned. His expression turned odd. "Why do I feel like your Class is like a multi-level marketer?" Betta spread his hands smugly and smiled. "That''s what I call the correct way to unlock a hidden Class." There were indeed many ways to play this game. Roland smiled bitterly and said, "What you''re telling me makes me want to delete my account and train to become a Divine Noble. I can be rich and also have a large number of subordinates. Doing the math, a complete Divine Noble can have 155 subordinates. And all of them are enhanced professionals?" "Based on what I''ve seen for now, that''s the case." Betta drank a mouthful of fruit wine. Roland scratched his head. "So you are leaving Delpon City to search for your Knights of the Round Table?" Betta nodded. "Yes, I''ll be searching for those with better growth stats and those with better personalities to become my knights. I can''t just randomly choose them." The logic was not wrong. Although Roland was a little worried about the fact that Betta was still young and would be easily fooled, it was not a big loss to be deceived in-game. It would not be a bad thing to let him do it alone. So Roland asked, "When do you set off?" "Tomorrow." Betta thought for a while and said, "I''ll buy a horse carriage and bring Lisa along. As for my house, I''ll give it to you, Brother Roland." "I''ll take care of it for you." Roland did not want to take advantage of him. "It''s very comfortable living in the Magic Tower, and convenient." They were both people who did not care about money. That house could be sold for a few gold coins, but neither of them took it seriously. Of course if it were an outsider, they would definitely ensure maximum profit. The two clinked glasses and drank some fruit wine. As time passed, the unconscious patrons gradually woke up. The group of people clamored about looking for that unbelievably beautiful dancer, claiming that they would marry her. However, as they spoke, they pissed off one another and a brawl quickly took place. The scene turned to chaos. However, no matter how chaotic it was, those people maintained their rationality and did not dare to "play around" in the direction of Roland and Betta. Betta drank until he was dizzy. Then, he was taken away by his maidservant, Lisa. Just as Roland was about to pay, Gru walked over. He respectfully placed a few pieces of parchment in front of Roland and said, "This is the information we found during this period of time. I can''t guarantee that everything is correct, but we''ve done our best." "I''ll head to the secret chamber from last time." Two minutes later, Roland sat in a chair in the secret chamber and looked at the parchment in his hand. The more he read, the more he frowned. Finally, he asked, "There''s nothing wrong with the information regarding the Belly Snake gang, right?" With his back slightly bent, Gru smiled bitterly and said, "The Belly Snake gang is our opponent. We know them better than they do. I''ve personally reviewed this intelligence report, so it can''t be wrong." The Belly Snake gang had kidnapped Lisa''s family, and they were later wiped out by Bard. "I really didn''t expect it," Roland murmured softly. Then, he shook his hand and a flame rose on his fingertips, burning the parchment into ashes. "Get ready and send over a dozen children. I''ll pick one or two of the most talented ones, perhaps two or three to be magic apprentices." Roland stood up. "This is what we agreed on." Gru let out a long sigh of relief. He had been worried that Roland would not be satisfied with the information, but now he found his heart back in its spot. He immediately smiled and said, "Please rest assured, Sir. We will definitely arrange everything within three days." Roland thought about it and said, "In addition, our teaching is a little strict and there might be slight punishments. I hope you don''t mind." Upon hearing that, Gru''s eyes flashed with a cold glint. "Sir, don''t say that. If the children aren''t being attentive, you can hit them. You can use all your might. It doesn''t matter even if you kill them." Gru meant it. In this world, the chances of getting the guidance of an official Mage was very slim. If such a good opportunity was presented before his eyes, why would such an idiot be kept alive if they were not to cherish it and let the opportunity slip away? Be a leech? Looking at the fierce expression on Gru''s face, Roland sighed. He remembered that when he was in primary school, his father had brought him to school. When he saw the form teacher, he said, "Teacher, I''ll have to trouble you with my child. If he''s naughty, go ahead and hit him. As long as he isn''t killed, even if his legs are broken, it doesn''t matter. He''ll be fine after two or three months." Roland still remembered his father''s serious expression. It didn''t look anything like a threat or a joke. Most of the older generation believed that it was only right for the teachers to punish disobedient students. The times were different now. A teacher''s reprimand could be put online for netizens to judge. After returning to the Magic Tower from Gray Sand, Roland leaned against the chair and recalled the content of the few goatskin parchments. Many of the puzzles that had initially stumped him were resolved. He had already locked onto some suspects. It was time to verify his speculations. But the more things unraveled, the more low-profile Roland was. He did not mention the disappearance of the young girl, as if the case had already been closed. Then, he devoted himself fully to magic experimentation. Time passed quickly and another two months went by. Roland walked out of the magic lab with disheveled hair. It was very difficult to create derivative spells from the Teleportation Spell. He had made zero progress and hadn''t eaten for two days. If not for the fact that the body of a professional was stronger than the average person''s, he wouldn''t have been able to take it. Just as he was wolfing down his food, Vivian suddenly came up and said, "Deputy Chairman, there''s a powerful orc-like monster outside. He wants to meet you." Hawk was here! It was time to pull in the net. 115 Its Black Under the Ligh Hawk''s figure was much brawnier than before. He was unable to sit in his usual chair and could only stand and chat. Roland also stood with him. However, it felt like a tall wall was standing in front of him. It made Roland feel oppressed. He looked at the muscular monster helplessly and sighed. "Do you really think this image of yours is very good?" "Very good," Hawk replied in a booming voice. Then, he asked curiously, "Could it be that your style of aesthetics if one of young and androgynous beauty?" Roland shook his head and said, "That''s not the case. I''m a neutral. My ideal image is to appear thin with clothes on and muscular with clothes off." "Tsk, you neutral guys are worse than those who like young, androgynous beauty. You''re just fence-sitters," Hawk said angrily. Roland scoffed. "You guys are too extreme. Besides, the aesthetic standards of the masses are what''s most important. Since the previous game update, the total population of Warriors has already decreased to 30% of the overall population, and it''s still slowly decreasing. Doesn''t this mean anything?" "Those people don''t have strong willpower, nor do they understand the beauty of muscle. In reality, I don''t have the ability to train my muscles, but I didn''t expect that I would be able to achieve it in-game." As he spoke, Hawk put on a very showy posture. It was very difficult for him to set his hands on his waist, and his clothes were about to explode thanks to his bulging muscles. Then he said seriously, "Let''s cut the jokes, what do you plan to do next?" "Two months is enough to paralyze that person," Roland said slowly. "According to the clues we found earlier, he would kill a girl every one or two months. He probably can''t hold back any longer." "I understand what you''re thinking." Hawk nodded. "After the past few months of training, those intelligence agents have barely gained some level of mastery. This time, they definitely won''t alert the enemy." "I''ll be troubling you then." Roland smiled. "You''re too kind." Hawk shook his head and said, "If you didn''t sell us a sum of gold coins every month, we really wouldn''t be able to build a faction here. Now that we''ve just barely gotten on the right track, we''ll be self-sufficient in the future. I''m curious, how did you determine it''s him?" Roland sighed and said, "Previously, when we were in the dark, we kept our eyes on the outside and almost got tricked by him once. Fortunately, the fake coat-of-arms left behind reminded me that the person knows magic and is highly intelligent. He might not be a noble or a member of our Magic Tower. The definitive evidence that allowed me to confirm the murderer''s real identity was given to me by Gru. You definitely wouldn''t have expected that the Belly Snake Gang that Bard destroyed previously is our Magic Tower''s puppet organization." "I didn''t expect that this puppet gang wasn''t even known to Chairman Aldo, either." A strange smile appeared on Hawks face. "In other words, whoever has the most contact with this gang is the most suspicious!" Roland nodded. "Then I''ve guessed who it is." Half an hour later, Hawk left the Magic Tower. Roland continued deriving magic spells and teaching the magic apprentices as usual. Several days later, the 23 children from the Gray Sand Gang were sent over. They lined up in two rows on the first floor of the reflective Magic Tower, looking nervously at the youth in front of them. Roland''s gaze swept across them, but he did not say anything. The children''s expressions became more nervous and expectant. After waiting for three minutes, Roland picked two children and said, "It''s the two of you. Vivian, Remember what they look like. They''ll be apprentices in the future. If they aren''t literate, teach them how to read and write. Make arrangements for their rooms. As for the rest, they can leave." The two children were naturally ecstatic, while the other children looked disappointed. Some secretly wiped away tears. Such a good opportunity was rarely seen in hundreds of years, but they did not manage to grasp it. The leader of the Black Sand Gang was waiting anxiously outside the Magic Tower with a few members of the Association. When he saw the group of children, and the two familiar-looking people in the crowd, he broke into a smile. "Don''t worry. Even if you weren''t chosen, you''ll still be the backbone of the Gray Sand Gang in the future," said the leader generously. "Work hard. The future of the Gray Sand Gang will depend on you guys." The children instantly perked up. Vivian led the two selected children up to the second floor when she bumped into the white-haired Jerry. Jerry was very old. Even though his mental power was the highest among the magic apprentices, his frail body was a burden to him. His rate of improvement was far inferior to Vivian''s. Even so, Jerry didn''t give up. He knew very well that as Mages improved, their lifespans would slowly increase. He would slowly improve himself, and his life would slowly extend. He could continue his ignoble existence until he became an Elite Mage one day. When that happened, he would apply to turn his body elemental and become a different Elemental Mage. This would give him a few hundred years of life. Of course, this was the most optimistic scenario. He knew very well that his talent was lacking, and his chances of holding out to that point in time were low. Hence, when he saw the two children who were less than twelve years old, he could not help but show envy and jealousy. How good would it be if he had met Deputy Chairman Roland at this age! He walked over and looked at the two children who were nervous and afraid. He sighed and walked down the stairs. One of the children asked, "Is he the chairman?" "No, he''s a magic apprentice like me," Vivian explained. "He''s already so old, but he''s still an apprentice. It''s hard to learn magic, right? Will we be able to master it?" the child asked worriedly. Vivian explained gently, "I''m not sure about the other Magic Towers, but our deputy chairman is very good at teaching." The two children finally gained some confidence. At that moment, someone pushed open a door. Claus walked out and saw the two children. He asked, "Are these the new apprentices chosen by the deputy chairman? Hmm, they look rather normal." Upon hearing this, the two children immediately felt disheartened. "I''m sorry, I''m sorry. I don''t mean it. I''ll buy you something as an apology." Claus smiled. "You''re going out too?" Vivian was a little surprised. "Other than me, who else goes out?" Claus was surprised. Vivian replied, "Jerry went out as well. He didn''t look too happy." "Jerry, he''s probably going to visit his grandson," said Claus with a smile. "He visits his grandson every month or two." "Where are you going then?" "I''m going to the slave market for a walk. Since you''re not willing to take the initiative, I''ll be checking to see if there''s anything good there. I''ll buy one for the deputy chairman." Vivian''s face immediately darkened. "How dare you!" "Then you should take the initiative." Claus grunted and went down the stairs. 116 Dead Roland continued to derive the Spell Puppet model in his study. Two rays of light shot in from the window and left two spots on the gray stone wall. Following that, one spot slowly spun clockwise while the other slowly spun counterclockwise. Roland stood up when he saw the two spots of light. This was the signal that he had arranged with Hawk, which meant the murderer had made a move. Finally, after two months of waiting, the murderer could no longer hold back. Roland quickly made his way down the stairs and bumped into Vivian, who was taking the two kids upstairs for a tour. "Deputy Chairman, are you going out too?" Vivian found it a little strange. Why was almost everyone leaving today? Most of the time, Mages were shut-ins. They stayed in the Magic Tower all day to research magic. It was rare for three people to head out in less than an hour. Mages always complained about lack of time, almost yearning for there to be 240 hours a day. "Yes, I''m going out for a walk. My brain is almost melting from doing magic experiments every day." Vivian really wanted to offer to join him, but she dismissed this thought when she looked at the two children beside her. Since Roland had handed the task to her, she couldn''t possibly go out and have fun without completing it. Otherwise, not only would she not be able to fulfill the idea of shopping with Roland, she might even be labeled as irresponsible. "Chairman, have fun then." Roland smiled and waved at Vivian before leaving the Magic Tower. Then, his expression changed and became very serious. There was even a hint of murderous intent. He quickly arrived at an appointed location where two beggar-like people were waiting. When they saw Roland, they immediately lowered their heads and said, "Sir, our leader ordered us to escort you out of the city." Roland nodded and did not say anything. He followed the two beggars out of the city center and quickly walked to the forest to the northwest of the city. To avoid attracting any attention, the murderer had even changed the location of the crime. After entering the dense forest, they walked for about 100 meters. In the dark forest, Roland saw Hawk and Link standing not too far away. There was another man sitting in front of themClaus. There was also a girl from a farming family wearing disheveled clothes. She stood timidly to the side, looking terrified. Upon hearing the sounds from behind, Hawk and Link turned around. When they saw Roland, the former smiled and said, "Next will be the internal affairs of your Magic Tower. We won''t be involved." Roland nodded. Then, Hawk and Link left with the bewildered girl. Only Roland and Claus were left in the forest. Claus hung his head low, not daring to look at Roland. Roland had always thought that as long as he found the murderer, he would kill him without any hesitation and not give him any chance to speak. After all, such a villain couldn''t be spared from death. But after discovering the murderer and finding out that he was someone familiar, Roland felt that he should listen to his defense. It wasn''t that he planned on letting the murderer go. He was just curious as to why Claus did this. At this moment, Claus finally lifted his head and looked at Roland in shame. "I''m sorry, Deputy Chairman. I didn''t want to do this. I just can''t help it." "Why must you attack ordinary girls and even kill them? That''s too much." Claus stood up. It was only then that Roland realized that his hand had been dislocated. His head was covered in sweat and his face was pale. "I''m a noble. How could I be seeking out those dirty women!" Claus''s handsome face twisted. "Then why did you kill them? I believe that with your status and looks, it''s not difficult to find a relatively clean lover," Roland said calmly. Claus said calmly, "I am a noble." Roland understood. Some people valued such things when it came to differences in status. When Roland was free, he had heard from Vivian that Claus was a member of a noble family which had waned. Normally, he couldn''t tell, but this person had a strong sense of self-esteem and was very sensitive. He was afraid that others would look down on him. Everything was hidden in his heart. Such people easily went to extremes. Roland did not understand such a person''s mentality and did not want to understand. He looked at Claus and said calmly, "Do you have any last words?" Claus turned even paler. "Deputy Chairman, are you kidding?" "Do you think I''m someone who would joke about such matters?" Roland looked at him, solemn. "It''s just a few cheap girls I can pay." Roland looked at him quietly. "Deputy Chairman, you can''t be so cruel. Those girls are really lowly. I''ve never done anything to noble maidens." Roland continued to look at him quietly. Claus''s face turned pale. He knew very well that the situation was very serious once a calm person like Roland fell silent. Claus''s legs went weak as he knelt down. "Deputy Chairman, look at all the efforts I''ve put in to serve you" At this point, a huge blue fist suddenly appeared in front of Roland and struck him with a gust of wind. It was one of the derivative spellsHand of Magic, which Roland had taught. Claus had used it well. Unfortunately, the huge blue Hand of Magic held the fist in its hand. This was only a feint attack by Claus. He never believed that he was Roland''s match. The attack was merely to create a window of opportunity for his escape. At the sight of the two Hands of Magic colliding into each other, Claus sprang up and ran deeper into the forest. His movements slowed down just a few steps later. In less than two seconds, he stood rooted to the ground. He looked at the ground. At some point in time, the ground around him had been frozen by a large layer of frost. His legs were frozen. Ice Ring! Claus looked at his legs and was shocked. Frost climbed up his legs at an extremely fast speed. Very quickly, he lost the feeling in his legs. He twisted his upper body with difficulty and turned his head to look at Roland. He wanted to speak, but all the heat in his body was being siphoned away. He couldn''t control his muscles any further. Two seconds later, the frost reached his face. Half a second later, Claus turned into a snow-white ice sculpture. At this moment, everything within a hundred meters of Roland became a world of frost. Even the trees were covered in a layer of white frost. Roland walked up to Claus and sighed softly. Killing someone but he didn''t have that feeling that he had actually killed someone. He felt like he had squeezed a small insect to death. Although he felt poignant, his heart wasn''t in pain. Was he ultimately treating this as a game? Or was he born to be cold-blooded? Roland was confused. 117 I Killed Him With the absolute difference in strength, little tricks and schemes were useless. The main reason was that Claus was still too weak. He couldn''t even withstand an Ice Ring spell. If it were Hawk and Link, it would only affect their positioning. It would be impossible to root them in place. At most, it would slow them down. He stood rooted to the ground in a daze. Roland summoned two Hands of Magic to lift up the ice sculpture and walked back. He walked out of the dense forest, walked through the city gate, and finally returned to the Magic Tower''s square. Along the way, everyone who saw this human-shaped ice sculpture scrambled to the side in fright. More timid women even covered their eyes, not daring to take another look. No one came looking for trouble with Roland. Even the guards at the city gate did not dare to stop him when they saw the corpse. They just turned a blind eye and took two steps back. Claus was quite famous in Delpon City. After all, he was in charge of many matters pertaining to the Magic Tower. Seeing his frozen corpse being carried by Roland, many people were surprised and news started to spread between friends. When Roland returned to the square, the important factions and organizations already knew that Magic Apprentice Claus was dead. It was suspected to be Roland''s doing. When he arrived at the entrance of the Magic Tower, the two guards looked at the floating Claus. They were shocked to see that he was obviously dead. Then, they lowered their heads. They feigned ignorance and didn''t dare ask. Roland entered the Magic Tower and said, "Close the door. No one else is allowed to enter except the members of the Magic Tower." The two guards immediately closed the heavy stone door and stood outside to guard it. They dared not stay inside the Tower. Roland continued to carry Claus''s ice corpse up to the second floor and happened to see Vivian walking down with the two new magic apprentices. Vivian''s face was first filled with joy when she saw Roland, but when she saw Claus, she was puzzled as to why he was being held in midair. Then, the color in her face drained as she covered her mouth with both hands. She couldn''t feel Claus''s mental power at all. It was obvious that he was dead. The two magic apprentices were from the gangs, so they were no strangers to death. After looking at Claus for a moment, they hid behind Vivian timidly. Roland carefully put down Claus''s corpse and straightened it. Ice magic power didn''t dissipate that easily. At this moment, Claus still maintained his last pose, so he could easily "stand" on the ground. "Ring the golden bell and gather everyone." Roland''s tone was a little low and a little disappointed. Vivian put down her hands and walked to the table to ring the bell. Though she wasn''t on good terms with Claus, she still felt sad that such a close friend had died. Soon, the magic apprentices came out of their rooms or from the magic labs. They were shocked when they saw Claus''s corpse. Some of them had already started cursing, commenting on the audacity of the culprit''s attack of a Magic Tower member. Roland ignored them and just stood there quietly. Soon, all the magic apprentices were gathered. They had been so angry that they wanted to seek revenge, but when they saw Roland standing there quietly, his expression calm as water, the clamoring slowly turned to silence. Vivian led the two new apprentices to the ranks of the magic apprentices. Roland''s gaze swept across the magic apprentices. Everyone, including Jerry, who had visited his grandchildren, had returned. "As you can see, Claus is dead." Everyone didn''t have much of a reaction. Roland added, "I killed him." A loud gasp sounded like an explosion. This drawing of breath undulated across the crowd as everyone broke out into whispers. However, they quickly calmed down and looked at Roland, wanting to hear his explanation. In the eyes of all the magic apprentices, Roland was a kind person who cared for his apprentices. If he really killed someone, he would have a legitimate reason. "You should know that I''ve been investigating the girls'' disappearances." Roland looked at everyone and paused. Vivian looked at the ice sculpture of Claus before asking, "He was the murderer?" "It''s him." Roland nodded and said with some discomfort, "If possible, I didn''t want it to be someone I knew." Everyone was silent. Although Claus was not especially outstanding and talented, it wasn''t something worth celebrating to see someone they knew die. "Are you sure it''s him?" Vivian asked timidly. In fact, she was not doubting Roland, but using this method to give Roland a chance to continue, creating an atmosphere and reason for him to continue speaking. Thus, Roland told them everything he had found out, including Claus''s plans to get a scapegoat. He even mentioned the embarrassing matter of how he almost fell into the trap. "He''s a very smart person, but his brain wasn''t put to work on the right path. If he could stop, I''d have just been suspicious. I wouldn''t touch him if I didn''t have evidence." Roland sighed. "I brought Claus''s corpse back to tell you that even if you don''t wish to be a good person, don''t be a bad one. A lot of Golden Sons, including me, prefer people like Claus who do things without a bottom line; we can kill them for a good reason. It wouldn''t leave a stain on our consciences." All of the magic apprentices broke out in cold sweat. In particular, the two new magic apprentices looked at Roland with fear and admiration. "Jerry, go inform Claus''s family and get them to collect the body. If possible, ask their family head to come and talk to me." Jerry answered immediately, "Understood. I''ll get it done immediately, Deputy Chairman." And at this moment, in a mountain a hundred kilometers away Betta found spring water and stopped the carriage nearby. Then, he took out cutlery from his spatial backpack and took out the fresh black wolf steak to roast. Meanwhile, his maid, Lisa, did other miscellaneous chores. Betta was rubbing the spices happily when he suddenly froze. After about ten seconds, he turned to the maidservant behind him and said, "Lisa, the murderer who bullied you has been found." Lisa''s face paled, and a look of fear appeared on her face. What happened that day was too terrifying for her. She remained silent for a while before asking, her eyes filled with hatred, "Who is it?" She knew that her master had a special ability to communicate with other Golden Sons across distances. "Magic Tower''s Magical Apprentice Claus." As soon as this was said, Lisa sat on the ground in a daze. Roland was the deputy chairman. Since the murderer was from the Magic Tower, it was impossible for Roland to kill him. At least Lisa felt that way. Furthermore, she did not want to force Roland to kill Claus. After all, she was a little maid who knew how to repay kindness and compromise. However, Betta continued, "Roland has already frozen Claus into an ice sculpture. He''s dead now, so you can be at ease in the future." After being stunned for two or three seconds, Lisa''s eyes lit up. Her whole face beamed like it could emit light. 118 A Certain Player is About to Make Waves Roland knew very well that Claus''s death would cause a certain reaction in Delpon City. But he was wrong. It wasn''t a certain reaction, but a huge reaction. To some extent, it was even more unbelievable than Hawk and Link''s feat. The reason was simple. Even though Claus was only a magic apprentice, he was still young with a high chance of becoming an official Mage in the future. Secondly, Claus was also a member of the Magic Tower. No matter what, he was Roland''s subordinate and, especially now that Aldo obviously didn''t want to manage matters himself, he was a de facto administrator of the Tower. Moreover, Claus, who was also good at interacting with outside factions, was considered a capable person. He should have been well-liked by Roland. But to everyone''s surprise, Roland had actually killed Claus himself. Just because Claus had killed over a dozen lowly girls? Almost everyone who had some power felt that Roland was crazy. A promising future spellcaster, his right-hand man, had been frozen into an ice sculpture just because he had killed several cheap female peasants. There was no mercy. Such a decisive execution made all the nobles feel chilled. They could understand the madness of Hawk and Link. After all, they were killing outsiders. It was the first time they had seen someone like Roland take action on a promising subordinate. Sick! John shared the same sentiments. He slammed the table in his study and, with a whoosh, he said in extreme exasperation, "I was wondering why beggars kept wandering outside my door a few months ago. So that punk was suspecting me. Dogsh*t, isn''t he looking down on me? Am I the kind of person who would harbor designs on ugly peasant girls?" In front of him, John''s sister laughed as she rolled on the bench. John was a proud person. He felt that it was needless to say that girls that deserved him were beautiful. They had to be noble as well. Just touching a lowly commoner made him feel like he was tainting his family''s honor. The girl who had finally stopped laughing straightened her body and said, "I think that the Golden Sons are quite interesting. They don''t seem to treat us as nobles. I''ve interacted with that Betta a few times, and I have a strange feeling. You can call him proud, but he''s able to have a good time with the peasants. But if you don''t call him proud, he shows no fear when speaking to me. He even dares mock my style of dressing." "I also think that your outfit doesn''t look good," John said helplessly. "Who wears a black long-sleeved gown matched with light green clothes underneath? It looks strange." "As long as I like it, it''s fine. It''s not like you''re the one wearing it." "All right, as you wish." John faced his sister with an exasperated attitude. "Are you really going to the capital?" John looked out of the window and said casually, "It''s good to establish connections with the Aristotles. Their devil-training skills are very good. If we can get some magical knowledge from them, we''ll make a killing." "It''s difficult." "Yes, it''s very difficult." John let out a long sigh. "Betta seems to have gone to the capital too." "How do you know?" the girl unconsciously asked. When she saw her brother''s strange gaze, she immediately covered her face in embarrassment. So that''s the case! Damn it, these Golden Sons are really annoying. They either steal my limelight or view me as though I''m a perverted beggar that can''t be a chooser. Now, they are even stealing my cute baby sister. He even thought of the Golden Son named Betta appearing in front of him after half a year or so with his sister in his arms. With an annoying expression, he would say, "Your sister tastes like a donut." Damn it, I really want to beat him up. Seeing the strange expression on her brother''s face, the girl ran off with her hands clasped over her face. After letting out a sigh, John called for the butler and said, "Prepare four invitations for me and give them to the four Golden Sons in the city. You must speak to them with a respectful attitude. Tell them that we hope to invite them as guests in my castle tonight. This is a private banquet. Apart from the five of us, no one else will participate. We will discuss the safety of Delpon City." The butler immediately bowed and left. At this moment, Roland was browsing the discussion forums. He had already uploaded the video of the girls'' disappearance on the forum yesterday, which had caused quite a stir. And now, he was looking at a post by a gamer named Carl: "Let''s change this rotten and backward world." The gist of it was that the gamers should gather themselves and occupy an unclaimed territory. They would take in wandering slaves to form a small country. They could use the systems of modern society to abolish slavery and the aristocracy. Ideals such as equality were to become the mainstream. This thread was already the most popular thread, and it was even pinned by the forum moderator. The players on this thread were divided into three factions. The first group was in agreement. They liked this idea and were already excitedly discussing the first steps of the plan. The second faction was naturally against the idea, and there were all sorts of strange reasons for their objection. Some people just wanted to experience this primitive system, while others wanted to study it; therefore, they didn''t want the system to disappear. There were also those who simply wanted to enjoy the life of being "lofty" in a system of slavery. After all, professional players had more standing among the people of this world, especially spellcasters. Some people simply thought that the person who came up with this plan was power-hungry. The third faction was made up of spectators. They said that if the players were stronger, they would help the NPCs. If the players were too weak, they would work together. The moment this faction spoke, they were immediately met with ridicule: Do you think you are the successor of Mohism[1]? Roland frowned as he read most of the replies. Then he left behind five words in a huge, bold font. "THE TIMING IS NOT RIGHT!" After closing the discussion forum, Roland went to the saber arts club. During breakfast, the Qi siblings sized him up, their expressions strange. After breakfast, Qi Shaoqiu called Roland to the empty space behind the shed. He took out a cigarette and lit it. The morning in the south was hot, but Qi Shaoqiu''s words were cold. "You saw blood yesterday?" Roland was stunned. "What blood?" "I can feel the murderous intent on you." Qi Shaoqiu''s expression was serious. "Coupled with that warlike aura, you look fierce. I''m not teaching you how to use a blade now because I do not want you to think too highly of yourself and end up battling evil. Tell me, what did you do yesterday?" Killing intent I see. Roland thought of Claus. "I don''t know what to say, but I can only tell you that I didn''t do anything against the law." Qi Shaoqiu looked at Roland and was silent for a while. Then, he smiled and said, "You didn''t do anything against the law, but was able to produce a trace of murderous intent? I know what''s going on. It''s no wonder that chick, Jin Wenwen, is thinking of ways to stop you. In that case, I''ll get my little sister to teach you Daoism''s Nourishment of Life." [1] Mohism is best known for the concept of "impartial care." Its founder, Mozi, believed that the essential problem of human ethics was an excess of partiality in compassion, not a deficit in compassion as such. His aim was to re-evaluate behavior, not emotions or attitudes. 119 I Dont Know What Expression to Use "No." Roland said calmly, "I''m already exhausted from learning the saber arts. How can I find time to learn some Daoist Nourishment of Life?" Qi Shaoqiu rolled his eyes. "It''s not like you need to pay for it." "Even more reason I shouldn''t learn it. Nothing good comes from cheap stuff." Roland smiled. "Get lost." Qi Shaoqiu raised his middle finger unhappily. Roland asked curiously, "Do you know why Jin Wenwen is hindering me?" "It''s easy to guess," said Qi Shaoqiu matter-of-factly. "You suddenly have a hint of killing intent, but it''s not something illegal. It''s probably murder in some virtual reality game, as spoken in rumors." Roland was slightly surprised. "You know about this game?" "It has spread across our martial arts circle, all right?" Qi Shaoqiu sighed and said, "A certain outer sect disciple of Mt. Wudang is being very smug now. In that game, he is crazily culling people, accumulating a large amount of experience, and increasing his strength greatly. Just those few months can cover years of arduous cultivation. Now, we are all thinking of getting a virtual cabin for ourselves so that we can improve further, but" So that was the case. No wonder Jin Wenwen was so eager. Was there a need for actual combat? It was normal to think about it. Whether it was saber techniques or the traditional martial arts, it was not created for the goal of killing. In the current law-abiding, peaceful society, there was no need for warriors. Without actual combat, their strength was naturally inferior to their predecessors. "It doesn''t matter if you don''t learn the Daoist Nourishment of Life." Qi Shaoqiu looked at Roland with eager eyes. "In the future, you can practice more saber techniques in-game. It''s not a bad idea if you can master the miaodao technique well." "You''re not jealous?" Roland sized him up. Qi Shaoqiu''s pupils regained their lifeless look. "What''s there to be jealous of? Everyone''s luck is different. Our Qi family has already thought it through. Otherwise, we would not be willing to come to Xinjiang. As long as the person who learns the miaodao technique isn''t evil and doesn''t use it for wanton killing, wouldn''t our Qi family share in the fruits of success, regardless of how great it is?" Roland could not find a reason to refute that. This time, he stayed in the saber arts club for an entire day and ate takeout for lunch. He spent the whole day practicing his saber technique before returning home. At night, Roland washed up and entered the game again. Due to the excessive magical experimentation, his mana was empty. He could only sit in the study room to rest so that he could trigger Roland''s Zeal and quickly recover his mana. Since there was nothing to do, he naturally read the forum. Let''s form the Moism Brotherhood. The idea was that since someone wanted to stir up trouble in the game, they would stop this bunch of people from causing trouble. It was interesting only to have the game world in its original form. If they wanted to experience the system of the modern world, they could just live in reality. Why should they create another similar world in-game? It would be meaningless. Many players responded to the thread. After the initial period of unfamiliarity with the game, were the gamers finally starting to stir up trouble? The other post was titled "Exploration Players, Gather Up." This was a player like Betta who had discovered a hidden Class, Lorewalker. A Lorewalker was a Class that mixed the living of life and combat. Their talent was to quickly learn languages, iron stomach, disease resistance, animal affinity, poison resistance, and hunger resistance. There were a lot of talents, but most of them were for support. A small portion of them were to protect themselves in combat. As a result, the fighting prowess of this Class was more than enough to protect their lives, but they lacked offensive capabilities. It was a Class meant for exploration. To be able to learn languages quickly was quite a good talent, but after Roland''s Unhindered Communication appeared, this talent was reduced to trasheven though there was no one other than Roland who could use Unhindered Communication. The poster first complained that Roland had turned his talent into trash. Then he said that he had already dug out four very interesting tombs. He had a lot of special clues. As an archaeology student who hadn''t graduated, he had already accumulated a lot of archaeological experience through the game. His ability would soon surpass his teachers''. Then a group of players replied, "This isn''t a Lorewalker, but a Tomb Raider." In the end, the original poster even @Roland and posted a picture. It was written in ancient Elven. He could not understand it, so he hoped that Roland could help translate it. Upon seeing the picture, Roland subconsciously used Unhindered Communication to translate the ancient Elven. This was the story of a certain female elf''s happy life. From this text, this woman was the overlord of the tomb! Could it be that Hollevin used to be the territory of elves? After sending out the translated text as a message, the original poster replied not long after. "Indeed, just as I guessed, ancient elves once ruled the entire world!" Then, another group of players replied: "F*ck, it feels like a huge secret." "The development team has put in too much effort. Not only do they have a few hundred dialects, they have even hidden such a back story?" "Hehehe, do you still think that this is just a game?" "If it''s not a game, what else can it be? An alternate world?" "''I don''t know, I don''t dare to ask!" Roland frowned when he saw the group of silly netizens playing dumb on the forum. He would have laughed out loud in the past, but now he felt that something was amiss. There seemed to be something very important that his intuition had vaguely noticed, but his subjective consciousness did not react. What was it? But the more he thought about it, the more he couldn''t figure it out. He scratched his head in frustration. At this moment, the original poster sent another reply. "It''s really good to know languages. If only I could learn it. Oh right, there are a few books here. I''ll have to trouble you to translate them." Roland was about to make a move when he suddenly slapped his own thigh and made a loud sound, causing Roland to jump up in pain. "F*ck, translating across worlds!" He was browsing the forum in-game. The pictures were posted on the forum, which was in the real world. In other words, he was in-game now. Even like this, he could understand the text that appeared in the real world. If this idea was extended, would he be able to understand other words in the real world? Roland''s eyes lit up. He immediately opened YouTube. As expected, he could understand all the words Then, he slapped his own forehead. F**k, I know how to read English to begin with, all right? He immediately changed the website address. Korean I can understand. Japanese I can understand. Qauqaut I can understand. German Also understandable. He didn''t have to test it anymore. The result was clearUnhindered Communication really worked. Roland''s face was devoid of expression because the truth was too impactful. He did not know what expression to use. 120 Trouble is Brewing After a while, Roland returned to his senses. He opened the webpages of other countries and realized that no matter what language it was, he could read it. However, when he saw the characters of an ancient civilization, he realized that it was a mess that he could not understand at all. Roland returned to his senses and leaned back against his chair. He decided not to reveal the fact that he could translate words in real life. He could imagine that once this was discovered by others, he would be in trouble. Right now, he was the only one who could do so. He wanted to make sure this was the case for as long as possible. However, he suddenly frowned because there was a reply almost immediately. "Is Roland able to translate the words on the forum in-the game? Doesn''t that mean that Roland can translate all the languages on the forum?" "Wow, blind student, you''ve discovered something new again." "This reasoning is very logical. @Roland, come out and say something or try out the websites of other countries." Holy sh*t Roland felt his head hurt. These silly netizens played dumb when they should be smart, but could be abnormally intelligent when they were supposed to be idiots. He sighed softly and closed the webpage, his attention returning to the game world. Vivian brought the two children up. Seeing his reaction, Vivian asked, "Deputy Chairman, what''s wrong?" "Nothing. It''s just some personal matters." Oh! Vivian didn''t ask further. She nudged the two children forward and said, "These two kids are called Kendis and Nancy. They are both illiterate." Roland was stunned for a moment. He looked at the two skinny children. He originally imagined that they were two little boys, but he did not expect one of them to be a girl. "Then teach them how to read and write. As a spellcaster, being illiterate won''t do." Roland thought for a while and continued, "According to the rules, you need to charge a fee to teach others language. You can collect two gold coins as additional payment later." "All right." Vivian narrowed her eyes with a smile. To her, two gold coins was already quite a large sum. "Then I''ll take them down first." Vivian asked, "Is there anything else that you want to eat, Deputy Chairman? Or is there anything you want to eat now?" "Not yet." Vivian chuckled before leaving with the two children. He looked at the sky outside before heading to John''s place. Hawk, Link, and Jett were already waiting at the door. "Sorry, I seem to be late," Roland said as he walked over. The other three shook their heads. Hawk said, "It''s nothing. We just arrived a few minutes ago." After studying for more than ten years, and with them having a gamer mindset, even if they didn''t have money or power, they constantly had a faint arrogance. Moreover, these four were still elites among the players. The four of them were brought into the castle by the guards. In a place like a castle, military defense was more important. Thus, there were rocks, rocks, and more rocks everywhere. There was nothing worth looking at. The butler appeared and greeted the four before leading them into the main hall on the first floor. The long table was covered in delicacies and wine bottles. John sat at the head of the table. When he saw the four, he stood up. "It''s not easy to invite the four of you here." Previously, John had invited everyone, but none of them came. Later on, he suddenly realized that the Golden Sons had their own thoughts and seemed to have seen through his plans. Thus, he decided to invite all four of them over. In the end, all four of them came. How united. If us nobles could be this united John shook his head slightly. It was impossible. The four found their own seats and sat down. Roland said, "Previously, everyone had some matters to attend to, so we couldn''t accept your invitation." The other three nodded. Before they came, they had already come to an agreement. Roland was to deal with the noble scion. John was, after all, a person who had received an elite aristocratic education. With one look, he knew that he had to abandon one of his plans. He suppressed the unhappiness in his heart and smiled. "Everyone, have some food and drink. Since it''s a banquet, you have to eat and drink merrily." The four of them did not move. Roland said, "Sir, most of us Golden Sons are very straightforward people. Since you invited us here, why not be frank about it? If we can accept it, we''ll discuss it carefully. If we can''t accept it, we''ll just leave. Otherwise, we don''t have the mood to eat anything." John felt a headache coming on. He ordered this sumptuous spread to win them over. Furthermore, many people became relatively "loose" with their words when drunk. When that happened, things became relatively easy, be it in terms of raising conditions or gleaning information. This was also a common strategy for nobles. However, he did not expect that these Golden Sons wouldn''t fall for it at all. John felt a little pressured when he saw the four gazes zero in on him. He kept silent for a while and then said, "In that case, I''ll be honest about it. I have two goals for inviting the four of you here." The four of them quietly looked at him. "I wonder if my family can be involved with the new pier of Mr. Hawk and Mr. Link?" As expected Hawk and Link exchanged glances. Roland said, "I don''t think it''s required.. In this territory, all organizations and factions that are involved in commercial activities have to pay taxes to your family. Can''t you just collect more taxes?" Hawk and Link wanted to build a new pier and build a fishing company themselves. Then, the extra dock space would be rented out to be used by others. Delpon was a big city and there were many people who traveled by sea. As long as the matter was successful, they would receive a lot of money every month. Moreover, such a transport dock was a very good place for intelligence gathering. For such an important location, Hawk naturally wanted his Silver Wings Guild to have complete control over it. If the mayor wanted to be involved, they would definitely have to be apprehensive in carrying out their plans. It would be extremely inconvenient and meaningless. Therefore, Roland felt that there was no problem with paying more taxes. John glanced at Roland before looking at Hawk. "I never expected Mr. Roland to also be one of the leaders of the pier?" Such words seemed crafted to sow discord. It was obvious that Hawk wouldn''t fall for it. He smiled and said, "I''m quite stupid. I don''t know much about negotiation, so I usually leave such matters to the professionals to handle." The other three laughed softly. John''s mood became more depressed. These Golden Sons were excessively cunning. They just didn''t fall for any traps. Furthermore, it seemed like there was no way to force them. Two Golden Sons were enough to wipe out a family. Now that there were two more spellcasters, John didn''t dare to rage in front of the four of them. How exasperating. John had never felt so aggrieved before. 121 Decision The mayor of Delpon, John Senior, though only an earl, was a powerful lord with estates and military powers, and his actual status was so high that it made John Junior, his successor, also have a very high status. The son relies on the father''s prosperity. This was quite normal! Even when John went to the capital, he was the kind of man who was more conspicuous and talkative. Even members of the so-called royal family, who had no real power, had to speak politely to him. However, there were four Golden Sons opposite him, and none of them cared to give him any respect. He felt aggrieved, but he dared not get angry. His father had taken most of the soldiers, and now there were too few armed forces in Delpon to trap the four Golden Sons. The problem was even if there were a large number of soldiers, was it really suitable to hold a grudge against a group of undying people? He sighed helplessly again. "Can the John family really not be brought in on the business on the docks?" Hawk shook his head. He had spent months and a lot of money and effort to build and lay the foundations of a company with a modern concept. How could he let anyone come in and pick the fruits of his labor? "I see." Looking into Hawk''s determined eyes, John dropped his pestering. He said, "Let''s talk about the second matter, then." The four looked at him. John reclined in his chair and said, "If the four of you would be interested in serving under us John''s, I''ll provide you guys at least one knighthood, quasi-noble status." The four of them looked at each other with surprise in their eyes. They''d been in this game for nearly half a year, and they already knew a lot of the common customs here. For example, there were also differences in the status of the quasi-nobles. The quasi-noble status acquired by merchants through donations was almost impossible to progress any further. Their children and grandchildren would all be merchants with quasi-noble status. However, the quasi-noble under the title of a knight was different. This was a noble rank belonging to the military, one that could progress upwards as long as enough credit was obtained. Moreover, quasi-noble knights could also gain a very small estate as their own territory and train hundreds of private soldiers as their own defensive force. In other words, the quasi-noble knight essentially had one foot in the noble class. Only the nobles with the title of earl or above were qualified to confer knighthood, and this conferment was limited. After all, each knight would share some of their master''s territory, so it was impossible to confer too many titles. Now when John opened his mouth, he gave four quotas, which was generous indeed. An ordinary professional would definitely have been thrilled to drop down on one knee and claim him as their master. It was a pity that the Golden Sons were all lofty. They remained completely unmoved. Roland took the initiative to speak. "Sorry, we have no intention of finding a master for ourselves at the moment." The other three also smiled in response. John noticed Roland''s expression was quite determined. Although he was a little upset, he still smiled radiantly and said, "Forget it. Let''s enjoy the food first." Then he clapped his hands, and a band of musicians came out and began to play a slow, sweet tune nearby. The atmosphere was good, but only John knew how unhappy he was. About two hours later, Roland and his companions came out of the castle. "We refused John," Hawk said as he walked, "so he''ll definitely join up with the other nobles to suppress us. Be careful." "He would certainly not dare to use military force, but cheap shots are inevitable. Everyone, just be careful but don''t worry too much. We can start all over again. It doesn''t matter how many times we fail. It''s different for himit''s over if he fails once." The other three chuckled with pride and pleasure. The four of them parted at an intersection. Roland was about to return to the Magic Tower when he suddenly saw a system notification flashing incessantly. Someone in the guild used @ on him. He opened the guild chat interface and saw that It was Schuck who was messaging him madly. "Things are serious, go see for yourself on the forums." This message was sent a dozen times. Roland replied, "Got it," and then opened the forums. In the general discussion area, he found a lot of threads related to him. In the system notification on the forum, there were countless people using @ on him. He clicked on a popular thread and found that it was his previous "cross-world translation" that had been made into an illustration and posted to various online forums and Weibo. Then, the entire domestic Internet world exploded, and even in the middle of the night, there were a large number of non-cultivating netizens scanning forums and Weibo. Originally, the World of Falan had already been under national attention. In the virtual but realistic world, the time ratio of 1:3 was equivalent to having one more life. After opening up the function of watching web pages in the game, there was indeed a mastermind who began to hype the special function of "browsing test questions" in the immersive cabin and successfully promoted the immersive cabin, which had been hyped from one million yuan to the current four million yuan. Now, if Roland''s Language Proficiency could be used to translate the entire world''s languages, then the ambitious parents who wished for their sons'' success would definitely go crazy, and the price of the immersive cabin would surely rise again. Now many non-gaming netizens had come to the forums to watch the show, some even desperately forcing Roland to come out and explain. With more and more people joining in, the capacity of the forum server had reached its peak. Seeing countless netizens and posts on the forum, Roland felt a little overwhelmed. This was the first time he had ever encountered such a situation. Just when he found things difficult, a blue, circular magic door appeared on his left. Roland instinctively took two steps back, while the people around him were also startled, retreating as far as they could. A young man emerged from the blue magic door. He was dressed in a white gown, giving the impression that he was either a doctor or a scientific experimenter. "A player? Roland was startled for a moment, staring at the blue magic door behind the young man. "Long-distance teleportation portal. That impressive?" He thought he was the highest level amongst the mages, but he had no idea that there was someone more impressive than him who could even cast a teleportation spell. "I''m Ma Huajun." The young man laughed and said, "Let''s go to a quiet place nearby and we can have a chat." What? It''s the GM! It''s not surprising then that he knew teleportation magic. They walked to the roadside under a large tree. Leaning against the tree, Ma Huajun said with a smile, "You really know how to stir things up. It''s incredible the commotion you''ve created." Roland shrugged helplessly. It wasn''t like he wanted to. Looking at Roland''s slightly embarrassed expression, Ma Huajun continued, "Don''t be so nervous, I''m just joking. We expected this to happen when the game came out. I came here just to say that whatever choice you make, we will support you. If you want to hide it, we can help. If you want to reveal it, we can help then, too." Ma Huajun was quite handsome, not as handsome as Schuck, but not too far off. Moreover, Roland felt a powerful mental power from Ma Huajun. Was it because he was the GM that he could adjust the attributes on his own? Roland looked at him, contemplated quietly for a moment, and then asked, "Does the country''s influence play a part in this game?" "That''s only natural; otherwise Penguin Corporation would''ve been swallowed up even with all its money," Ma Hua Jun said simply. "We just released the game in the name of Penguin Corporation." Roland looked at him and continued, "But your name is very similar to Penguin Corporation''s chairman. Are you his cousin or something?" "It''s just a coincidence." Ma Huajun looked at Roland and said, "Now make a decision. Do you want to hide it and play the game with ease, or do you want to expose it and let the country gain something too?" "Let the country gain something?" Roland asked curiously. "How could the country profit from this?" "Of course it can." Ma Huajun explained, "The emergence of virtual worlds already created a wave of prestige for our country. If word gets out that you can translate the languages of the entire world, it will also help our country rise in soft power. What a great promotional starting point for great technology it would be." Roland closed his eyes and began to think about gains and losses. Ma Huajun was not in a hurry to rush him. He just waited quietly. After a few minutes or so, Roland said, "I choose to expose it, but I have one more question. Why can''t I read the Egyptian hieroglyphics of the Pharaoh civilization?" "I don''t know." With a playful smile, Ma Huajun said, "Maybe you should read some street stall books about the Pharaoh civilization? All right, I have to leave now. Since you''ve made a decision, we will try our best to cooperate with you. You just act according to your own ideas. And you can rest assured, we''ve already set the highest security measures to protect your privacy. There is no need to worry about meddlesome netizens and spies finding you through the Internet." With that, Ma Huajun waved to Roland, walked into the blue magic door, and disappeared instantly. Roland stood in place for a moment before returning to the Magic Tower. Upon entering his study, Roland instructed Vivian, "Don''t let anyone disturb me." Then, he shut himself in his study. Sitting in a soft chair, Roland took a deep breath, applied for a studio on a live streaming website, then opened the game forums, and published a thread. Regarding Language Proficiency. In the thread, Roland acknowledged that Language Proficiency indeed could work on all the characters in the various countries in reality. At the same time, he would also carry out a livestream, interact with netizens, and answer some questions, and at the end of the post, he posted the room number of the studio. Closing the forums, Roland rubbed his brow, turned on the livestream, and connected the stream port to his game ID. Before the livestream officially started, a group of netizens rushed in. "First blood, I''m the first to come in." "I''m waiting here now, to see the work of the great mage. Translating the characters of the entire world in a game, it is a little miraculous." "This is impossible. This is only the Celestial Empire''s propaganda, magic to deceive people around the world." A netizen with an English name sent out this message. 122 Acciden The studio seemed silent for a few seconds at the news, then a pile of smirking icons was sent. It was in quite a uniform manner. Roland watched as the number of netizens in the studio grew, and soon exceeded 50,000. And yet, still more netizens continued to surge in. Most of them were likely to be World of Falan players, mixed in with many netizens from the real world. It was Roland''s first livestream, but he wasn''t too uncomfortable. It was standing in front of the school podium that was more painful. Standing above, looking down at the dark masses of two or three thousand heads, he would feel an immense amount of pressure. In contrast, the studio was much better. One only had to face a pile of numbers and online IDs. There was no pressure at all. As more and more people entered, the chat room was now flooded with messages. Roland took a casual look and found that it was all nothing of significance. He cleared his throat and said, "This is my first livestream and probably my last. Now I would like to explain to everyone the matter of cross-world translation." With that said, Roland paused as he noticed that there was suddenly no one talking in the chat room. He looked at the number of people in the chat room, which was still growing, and the "live" sign was still properly lit up. In other words The game producers intervened and directly banned everyone''s right to speak. After pausing for a few seconds, Roland continued, "I''ve done experiments whilst in the game where I''ve been able to read most of the language in the real world after using Language Proficiency. But the hieroglyphs of the Pharaoh civilization are an exception. In my recognition, it''s a pile of mojibake! I don''t know why either." At this moment, a netizen with the ID "I am the mountain lord" sent a message, which was quite obvious because he was the only one who could speak. "Can you do a few tests to prove it?" Now almost everyone couldn''t speak, but the "I am the mountain lord" netizen could speak. This person was presumably the one Ma Huajun said would assist him. "Sure." Roland said this and snapped his fingers. Milky light swirled around him and then faded away. "It''s time to start." For ordinary netizens, news from the entertainment industry was always the type of news that was pushed the most. However, today was an exception. Breaking News, He Can Actually Translate the World''s Languages Like This. A Young Man Under 30 Who Put Linguists Around the World to Shame The Pride of the New Generation, If You Don''t Share This You''re Not Chinese Even He Couldn''t Read Pharaoh Hieroglyphs, Could It Really Be As Certain People Have Conjectured? The monotonous breaking news headline flooded the sights of the netizens that went online the next day. It could be said that even those who didn''t want to see this couldn''t help but feel curious after seeing all these online news websites promote the topic. Almost hundreds of millions of people opened a link at the same time. In the video, there seemed to be a teenage cosplayer who snapped his fingers, and then a white light entered his body. "It''s time to start." Time to start what? Hundreds of millions of people simultaneously expressed their doubts. Then, they looked at the young man show off stylishly. No matter which language appeared, he would be able to translate it extremely accurately. Not to mention oracles, he could even read some of the languages of the lost tribes of the tropical rainforests. The more they watched the video, the stranger their expressions became, and the wider their mouths gaped. Some people didn''t quite believe it, and instinctively retorted: This is just an act. "An act my ass, even CCAV online network media published this video." Someone immediately countered them. If it was any other media, it was possible that they''d faked this, but CCAV wouldn''t. This state media chose to report some news, but as long as it was reported, it was true. How could a young man translate the languages of the world? What did he do, how did he become such a genius? With these thoughts in mind, many people began to look for the cause and effect of this matter on the Internet, and then matters concerning the immersive cabin entered the sights of the masses again. Roland crawled out of the immersive cabin, and after he took a shower, he got a call from Schuck. "Hey, superstar, come over and talk to us?" "I''m so irritated right now, don''t mock me," Roland said bitterly. "I''ll be there in a minute." "Okay, I''ll wait for you at the usual place." Roland called Qi Shaoqiu and said he couldn''t practice saber arts today, then rode a public bike to the cold drink bar. It was Saturday, and the others didn''t have to work, so after Roland arrived, Brazil, Li Lin, and others arrived one after another. When they came in, they would laugh and tease him for being a superstar. Roland was a little annoyed, but most of it dissipatedlistening to his close friends'' jesting, he could only reluctantly take it with a wry smile. "Now you''re really famous." They drank beer and cooked youtiao and steamed sweet potatoes for breakfast. Li Lin was the one who bought steamed sweet potatoes on his way here. Only a rich second generation like him would drive a sports car to buy sweet potatoes. Li Lin continued, somewhat enviously, "After revealing your identity, perhaps you can become an Internet celebrity." "I''m not going to reveal my real identity." Roland chewed on his youtiao and said slowly, "There''s no point in being an Internet celebrity. There''s no need." Li Lin shrugged a little regretfully. "As long as you''re happy. I just think it''s a wastenow that you''re famous." Li Lin nodded. "That''s quite a good point." "Oh right, speaking of Language Proficiency," Schuck interjected, "when you were livestreaming last night, I also opened videos from other countries to see what they were saying by using Language Proficiency, and it didn''t work I had no idea what the foreigners were gabbling about in the videos." What? Roland was surprised. At this moment, Betta also said, "I tried too, it doesn''t work." "But I can understand them very well." Roland felt this a little strange. They all knew the Language Proficiency, so why could he do it and they couldn''t? Schuck thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that the Language Proficiency that Betta and I have were given by the system, so we don''t know any magic models or magic channels at all? It doesn''t belong to us, so it only works in the game. But for you Mages, the spells are released after you''ve fully understood the magic model, the so-called magic channels. Could this be the reason?" Yes, it really is possible. "If this inference is correct, then doesn''t it mean that in-game spells can also be used in real life?" Betta looked naive as he said these words. Everyone was stunned for a moment, then they all burst out laughing. It was impossible to use magic in the real world. Li Lin chuckled, then held up the beer bottle, took a sip, and said, "Why don''t you try it? Let Betta give up on this idea foreverit''s impossible to use magic in the real world." Roland had already drank three bottles of beer. He hadn''t been good at drinking. He usually only drank one or two bottles when he was with his friends. Now he was a little tipsy, and after listening to Li Lin, he laughed in a daze and said, "Sure." He instinctively held out his finger, recalling the spell model, and then snapped his finger lightly. The snap was light and crispnothing happened. Some of the other drunk childhood friends laughed aloud, and Betta sighed disappointedly. However, at this moment, Schuck frowned lightly. He suddenly discovered that something was wrong with Roland. At this moment Roland was still. His eyes gradually turned white and two streaks of blood flowed out of his nostrils. Before Schuck could react, Roland fell off his chair with a thud. Roland toppled a lot of wine bottles on the table as he fell, the sounds of glass shattering for a moment. They gawked at Roland who was lying on the floor, watching the blood gush from his nostrils. Then several of them jumped up at the same time. "Oh f**k!" "Help him up." "Don''t touch him, call 120 first." "Stuff his nose with a tissue first so he doesn''t bleed too much." "What happened, he was fine just now." The scene was extremely chaotic. When Roland woke up, it was almost twelve in the afternoon. As soon as he opened his eyes, a familiar voice said, "Oh s**t, you finally woke up. You scared us to death." Roland turned his head and found Betta and his childhood friends beside the bed. He looked bewilderingly at the surroundings; the smell of disinfectant filled his nostrils. This was a hospital. Roland looked back at Schuck. "I remember I was drinking. How did I end up here?" "You fainted earlier, bleeding out at least a bottle of mineral spring water from your nose," Li Lin said with a horrified expression. "We thought it was something major and called 120 to bring you here. In the end, the doctor gave you a check-up from soup to nuts and found nothing wrong. The doctor just said that you were sleeping deeply because you''re probably too tired." Sleeping deeply, that''s impossible! Yesterday he was still playing the game; his body rested amazingly well inside the immersive cabin. Schuck also added, "The doctor''s check-up couldn''t find anything, so it shouldn''t be anything major. Roland, do you feel any discomfort anywhere?" "A little tired, weak, and hungry." Roland sat up and looked at his clothes, covered in a pool of bloodstains. "I really had a severe nosebleed?" Until just now, he still thought that he had drunk too much beer, passed out, and his childhood friends were joking with him. But now, it seemed they definitely weren''t. "What happened to me exactly?" 123 Attemp Roland recalled what he did earlier. He drank a little beer and tried to cast a spell in reality! F**king hell, that''s the reason? If Roland had told someone earlier that he was trying to cast a spell as he did in the game and then fainted from a nosebleed, he would probably have been mistaken for having eighth-grader syndrome. But now Roland had a strange intuition. The reason why he fainted was definitely that he tried to castthis was definitely the reason. He was lost in thought. Schuck, who was watching him on the side, also suddenly showed a subtle expression as if he had thought of something. This speculation distorted Roland''s perspective of the world. After a brief daze, he found his phone on a small table beside the bed, gestured for his childhood friends to stay quiet, and then dialed a number. A few seconds later, a familiar voice came on the line. "Dad, I''m not going back for lunch. Schuck told me to come drink at his place." "Don''t drink too much and come back early." "Yes, no problem," Roland replied in the most spirited tone. As soon as the call ended, he was immediately back to his listless self. "Don''t tell my family." Roland looked at his childhood friends and smiled weakly. "And Li Lin, I will transfer some money to you, help me buy a set of clothes. These clothes are covered in blood. I''m afraid that my family will find them If I bring them back home." "Don''t need the money!" Li Lin muttered, then turned and left the ward. Betta asked, "Brother Roland, are you hungry? I''ll go outside to get you something to eat." "No, I''ll get a lean pork congee takeout." Roland felt hungry and empty. In his college years, when he got his ex-girlfriend to eat meat at night, he wasn''t even as tired as he was now after five kenja times[1] in one night. Brazil, Raffel, and Husseret saw that nothing was really wrong with Roland, so they let him know they were leaving. Schuck and Betta stayed behind, intending to take care of Roland because they were the ones with the most amount of free time. After a while, the congee was delivered. Roland woofed it down, then lay on the bed and chatted with Schuck and Betta on and off for less than ten minutes before gradually falling asleep. Schuck had Betta go home first. He would stay here to take care of Roland. It was evening when Roland woke up again. The doctor came to examine him, found nothing wrong with him, and allowed him to leave the hospital. Then, Schuck put a bag on Roland''s bed. "These are the clothes Li Lin bought you. He had some urgent matters and went home first. See if they fit you." A.P.C''s clothes, minimalistic, were quite in line with Roland''s tastes. After changing in the dressing room, Roland and Schuck left the hospital. "Don''t worry, I''m not the kind of person to bite the bullet." The two parted at the fork of the road and Roland went home. He especially avoided his parents, went to his room, changed into a pair of pajamas, and then went to the living room. After chatting with his family over dinner, Roland''s father suddenly asked, "Son, today I was watching the news, and it said that the knowledge and skills learned in a ''virtual'' game could be applied to reality. Is that the one you''re playing?" Roland nodded. He assumed that his father had probably also seen today''s popular news feed. "If that''s the case, even if you don''t make any money, you should play for a while longer," Roland''s father said slowly. Roland said with a smile, "I still have to make moneythe savings in my bank account have already surpassed 500,000 yuan." Roland''s parents looked at each otherhow much time had it been? It seemed that their son should be able to succeed in his plan of earning a million yuan in two years. It was hard for them to clearly express their feelings. Although they were quite happy that their son had made money, as people of the older generation, they always felt that playing too many games wasn''t a good thing. In their hearts, they hoped that their son wouldn''t achieve this goal so that he would go take the functionary exam and have a lifetime of peace and stability. Something like playing a game to make money, from their perspective, this would always seem like a bit of a fantasy. No matter how much you earned, you wouldn''t have a sense of security. They just couldn''t find a reason to stop their son from developing in this direction. This was why they didn''t seem too happy, even after hearing that Roland had made a lot of money. After dinner, Roland returned to his room and lay in bed. He was not in the mood to browse the forums right now; instead, he was thinking about the previous events. He fainted because of casting. Assuming this was the case, then the proposition that one could cast spells in the real world would be plausible. But why did he faint? Mental power recoil? Or there were no magical elements in this world, so one couldn''t cast spells? Or perhaps both? The spell model of an Inferior Fireball emerged in Roland''s mind. That morning, he had attempted to form an Inferior Fireball to scare his friends, but he passed out in the end. The Inferior Fireball was a level-one spell. If he passed out because of it, then what if he tried a level-zero trick? Roland''s heart began to thump rapidly, the thrill of exploring the unknown flooded through his body. Level-zero tricks didn''t require much mental power, and the effect of magic recoil was minimal. Give it a try? What if I have a nosebleed again? Give it a try? I''ll scare Dad if anything happens again. Give it a try? He went back and forth between these two thoughts in his mind. Roland sat up straight, his expression cycling between thrill and hesitation. Finally, he slowly raised his right hand. In his mind, he already switched to the Light Ball model. Ba! A soft snap. There seemed to be a faint surge of light in the air, but nothing happened. Roland lowered his hands, and when he was about to feel disappointed, a sharp pain assaulted his head. The pain was quick and sharp, like a needle going in between the eyebrows, then turning in the brain several times, and finally going down the spineall the way down. The pain was exactly the sensation of a needle moving through one''s veins. It tingled with a kind of nerve-twitching sting. Roland grabbed the edge of the bed tightly with his hands. The veins near his forehead sprung up one by one. His face was red from the pain. Crowded together, beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down from his forehead. It was really painful. The pain lasted for about ten minutes before it slowly went away. Roland lay back on the bed and laughed aloud elatedly. Although he did not succeed in casting, he understood one thing one could cast spells in reality, or he wouldn''t have felt so terrible. There was a simple reason why casting failed. He had no magic power! Or, it was that this world didn''t have magic power. Mental power was only a catalyst. Magical elements were the roots that shaped magic. He rested on the bed for a while, and when he recovered, Roland went to clean himself up. At ten p.m., he entered the game world punctually. After entering the game, he instantly felt the magical elements in the air. He finally knew why every time he returned to the real world, he would always feel that something was missing in the air. The magical elements were what was missing. [1] kenja time. lit. wise man''s time, Japanese slang for a period of emptiness after an org**m 124 The Mayor Returns In the game, Roland could feel the presence of a lot of magical elements in the air, but in the real world, he couldn''t feel them at all. Were there no magical elements in the real world, or anything like them? This was most likely the case. However, there was another possibility! Roland thought that maybe his attributes in the real world were so poor that he couldn''t feel the presence of magical elements to begin with. After all, in the game, his attributes were much higher than in reality. After pondering over this, Roland felt that if it was the first possibility, then there wasn''t much else to think about. However, if it were the second possibility, then he had to start to consider how he would raise his "attributes" in reality. After pondering over this, he still had no idea how to go about it. It was probably useless to do bodybuilding. Many bodybuilders had made their muscles look like that of orcs, but they were still ordinary people. Not to mention breaking the void with their fists, they couldn''t even break a strength-testing machine with a single punch. They were too weak. Requesting help from the so-called Qigong, or internal cultivation, also felt unreliable. If it could be done, people would be practicing Qigong all over China. After all, Qigong flourished back in the day, when hundreds of millions of people practiced Qigong at the same time. Even a great scientist had fallen into the craze and wrote a lot about Qigong. If it really worked, then there should have been successful cases. After all, there were hundreds of millions of people, it was impossible that there was no talent suitable for cultivation amongst them. So it was almost impossible to increase attributes through normal methods in the real world. How about searching for ways inside the game? This was a game, and wasn''t a game. Some abilities also worked in reality, such as Language Proficiency. What about other spells or magic items that worked in reality? Could he really find what he wanted? Roland heaved a sigh as he subconsciously went to the window of the Magic Tower and looked at the turquoise skyline in the distance. This was a wonderful world, and they knew so little about it. Therefore, Roland felt that he shouldn''t be in a rush. He should take things slowly and improve his own strength first. When he had enough strength, he would explore elsewhere. For example, Aldo had mentioned a lot of strange things to him when they chatted. The world tree''s flowers, dragon flesh, dragon blood, and other things of that sort. When the time comes, he would bring these things back With a goal in mind, Roland immediately returned to the magic lab to work on the derivation of spell models. However, he didn''t have any experience in this area. After deriving for a while, he watched the white magic puppet hold a blue miaodao, cutting all the wooden dummies within ten meters of it into pieces like a harvester. The blue miaodao was simply the compression and enhancement Hand of Magic. Yes. The offensive magic puppet is complete. Its speed and ability to recognize friend and foe, as well as its basic cognition, had already reached the limit of what Roland could accomplish at his current level. With attack comes defense. It was necessary to create a magic puppet with a shield that could protect a spellcaster. However, Roland wasn''t in a rush to continue spell derivation, and instead, he went to visit Aldo''s house. After identifying himself, Roland entered the manor and was taken to a study. Aldo looked a little bit more haggard than he did before. He sat behind the desk, his eyes sunken like two dark holes in his face. "Chairman, how did you become like this?" Roland was surprised. Aldo waved his hand weakly. "Don''t mention it. I''ve been trying to make a baby for two months, almost day and night, but still no maidservants have gotten pregnant. My mind is so weary." Roland was speechless. He thought that because Aldo had lost his only son, Aldo was so sad that he couldn''t eat, drink, or sleep, resulting in his current appearance. He never expected that it was because of exhaustion. He worried about him for nothing. Aldo smiled apologetically at Roland who wore a disdainful look, and said, "I haven''t been able to go back to the Magic Tower for a while, so I''ll have to keep troubling you." "Is that all right?" Roland sighed deeply. "If you go on like this, I''ll take all your authority." "Take it, then." Aldo snorted, "I''m not interested in that position at all. Now that someone has finally come to take on my responsibilities, I couldn''t be happier." Rolands expression was awful as if he had eaten crap. He also didn''t want to deal with worldly troubles. He was devoted to the study of magic. However, one who receives gifts sells his liberty Aldo didn''t attend to matters, so he had to as the Deputy Chairman. After a long sigh, Roland said, "I have a few more questions to ask you this time." "You''ve grown tremendously and are now on the same level as me." Aldo sized Roland up for a moment, then said, "In my experience, although we are of the same level, I am probably not as capable as youI don''t think I have anything to teach you in magic." It was just as Aldo had said: Roland''s comprehensive attributes far surpassed his. Aldo''s "attribute growth interface" rating was Elite at best, not even Genius. Even Golden Sons'' attribute growth interfaces and number of skills were ranked as Commander level. The difference was huge. It was safe to say that three Aldos wouldn''t necessarily rival the current Roland in a fight. Roland shook his head. "Strength is strength, knowledge is knowledge. Chairman, I''d like to ask, do you know how to expand spell models?" When Aldo heard this, he coughed repeatedly, such that he almost coughed his lungs out. His complexion had a morbid flush. This was the result of too much excitement. "What are you thinking? An expansion of the spell model is something that can only be done by professionals, at the Legendary level at least. If you do anything recklessly now, your head will immediately go boom." Roland frowned. "It has to be at the Legendary level?" "Only Mages above the Legendary level can touch the threshold of the laws," Aldo explained. "Expansions and changes to the spell model are all linked to the laws, even for level-zero tricks." So that''s how it is! "I know you Golden Sons are all exceptionally talented, but don''t even think about the expansion of spell models for now. The correct path is to just diligently learn more magic and level up." After Roland left the manor, Aldo''s words still rang in his ears. Aldo was incompetent as Chairman, but he was also a pretty good man. Those words were his sincere advice. Roland went back to the Magic Tower and contemplated Aldo''s words for a while. He had to admit that Aldo had a point. One''s level was really important. Once one was at a higher level, learning magic would be quite easy. Thinking of this, he opened the game forums and came to the Mage section. He wanted to see what other interesting spell models the other players had uploaded. In the end, he saw a new pinned thread. A Little Problematic but a Super Stable Spell Model of Inferior Fireball. The poster was the data expert, O''Neal, who helped Roland last time. The content of the post was about as follows: "Roland''s Inferior Fireball circulation channel''s speed is very fast, very powerful, instant cast, and doesn''t consume much But that''s not right. According to the NPC mages that I came into contact with within the game, after I got on good terms with them, I found out that when they cast Inferior Fireball, they had a long cast time of roughly two seconds. Even though they are at the Elite level. And once you learn Roland''s, it''s instant cast. Don''t you guys get it? "This is the difference between a function monster and an ordinary person. "If we cast according to Roland''s spell model, even if we learn it, the casting success rate is not high, and we might hurt ourselves. So after learning that other spellcasters took up to two seconds to cast, I redesigned a new circulation route based on Roland''s Inferior Fireball spell model. There will be more connected nodes, but they will all be simple and convenient node paths. The casting difficulty will be reduced by at least one level, which is similar to casting difficulty of level-zero spells. The spell will be extremely stable, but the cost will be longer casting time and lower power. "We can''t compete with a function monster, so let''s first successfully cast the spell, at least possess fighting strength, then talk about the rest. "In addition, I strongly recommend the balanced point allocation method that Roland mentioned before. I have already deleted my account and started over. Now, with my new spell model of Inferior Fireball, the success of casting is infinitely near 100%. "Finally, I''d like to state that I hope you all remember Roland''s spell model. That simple casting path will be ready to use when we are at a higher level." There were a lot of tearfully grateful replies at the end of this thread. "After nearly half a year of persistence, Mages have finally ushered in a new dawn." "Both of them are big shots. Roland''s point allocation method and brute force circulation route are strong, while Mighty O''Neal has off-the-charts data analysis abilities. Now we Mages have two leading figuresrejoice, rejoice." "I just tried it. O''Neal''s circulation route was really dang comfortable." "Even though I''m using O''Neal''s circulation route, I prefer Roland''s way of castingit''s pure force." Roland also memorized this spell model and tipped O''Neal 100 forum coins. Roland then closed his browser after collecting a few spell models on the forums. At this moment, neither Roland nor O''Neal knew It was from this point in time that the Mage players were split into two factions. The academic faction headed by O''Neal, later called Arcanist. The beast faction headed by Roland, later called Battle Mage. The two factions competed and cooperated with each other. Focusing his attention back onto the game, Roland was about to conduct a magic experiment, but he saw Vivian trotting in. With a surprised expression, she said, "Deputy Chairman, the mayor, John Senior, has come back." Once Roland heard this, he immediately walked over to the window. The Magic Tower was tall enough to see beyond the city. A cavalry regiment of several hundred men was slowly coming through the city gates. The cavalry split into two columns and moved slowly. At the forefront was a general in cyan armor. Roland couldn''t see his face because he was a little too far away, but even at such a distance, he could sense an austere energy from that man. 125 The Older, the Wiser The return of the mayor sent a ripple through the entire city. Many nobles took comfort in this. In the days since the Delpon knights left, many things happened in the city that bewildered them. In particular, the powerful Golden Sons, whose "love and protection" for the common people made all the nobles feel uncomfortable. This was why they desperately needed a bellwether to stabilize their morale and keep them together. John Junior may be the future mayor of the city, but his popularity and personal charm were nothing compared to John Senior''s. From the tall Magic Tower, Roland watched the cavalry''s stately return to the castle and the beaming nobles greeting John Senior along the streets at a distance. He turned back to the desk to sit down. Vivian hadn''t left yet. Roland asked, "What kind of man is John Senior, the mayor of the city?" Vivian was glad to chat with Roland. She sat down and told him what she knew about John Senior. John Senior was now about forty-seven years old, a professional Lancer, and since he was a professional, although he was nearly fifty, he looked as though he were in his early thirties. His personality was unyielding, and he rarely backed down in a conflict. In addition, because of his profession, John Senior believed in cavalry above all else. In his opinion, cavalrymen were the strongest branch of soldiers, so he made supreme efforts to train cavalrymen. However, he was different from other lords who preferred heavy cavalryhe took the path of light cavalry. Apart from being equipped with a lance, some light cavalrymen were equipped with either a one-handed sword or a crossbow and some arrows as secondary weapons. As for infantry and bowmen, they were, in his opinion, the ones who were more useful in guarding the city, and came in handy in defending from sieges and other outside threats. As for how the cavalry would siege a city Taking advantage of the mobility of the light cavalry, when the enemy advanced against them, they would retreat, and when the enemy retreated, they would harass. They strategically encircled the city, cutting off water and food supplieswithin three months, any city would fall without being attacked. This was John Senior''s method of war. Because John Senior was one step ahead in the arts of war compared to the other lords, he was undefeated in foreign conquests. This was why he was very renowned in Hollevin. And in Delpon, his will would be executed to a T. Hm Sounds like a troublesome man. Roland thought that theythe four playerswho were still in Delpon might encounter some trouble when John Senior returned. In fact, Roland''s intuition was quite right. It was late at night after the triumphal banquet. However, the castle was still brightly lit. In the bedroom on the second floor, John Senior was sitting on a chair in his loose pajamas. John Junior was about eighty percent similar in appearance, except John Senior seemed more mature. John Junior sat across from him, looking a little ill at ease. "I''ve heard about the specifics." John Senior took a sip of fruit wine and said with a smile, "You did a good job. You kept your temper and didn''t act recklessly toward four undying professionals." John Junior, who had been worried that his father would blame him for not being tough enough, was relieved to be praised unexpectedly. "So, how much do you know about the personalities of the four Golden Sons?" "Betta has already left Delpon, so I won''t mention him for now. Roland is a spellcastera typical spellcaster. He studies magic all day long, seldomly comes out, and his personality leans toward kind." After a brief pause, John Junior also drank some wine to moisten his mouth, and then continued, "As for Hawk and Link, their personalities are rather savage and impulsive, and I suspect that they are of the lower class among the Golden Sons. And, the last time I invited them, they were obviously following Roland''s lead." John Senior nodded. John Junior continued, "As for Jett, the priest, who, like Roland, spends his days in the Church of Life praying and occasionally giving alms with other priests of the Church of Lifehe''s also a man whose course of action can be predicted. But the four of them are so united that it''s hard to take them down one by one." John Senior took his wine cup, looked up at the ceiling, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Have you ever seen a female Golden Son?" "Not yet." John Senior said slowly, "I wonder, if we make love to female Golden Sons, will our offspring be undying as well?" John Junior looked stunned for a moment, then stared in admiration. His father thought of problems from quite a different and unique perspective, unlike young men such as himself. Nobles attached great importance to the inheritance of bloodlines and liked to optimize their family bloodline. This was why elves, vulperas[1], and succubi were of interest. "If there are male Golden Sons, there must also be female Golden Sons. Tomorrow, you''ll take a small cavalry squad and roam around some other cities. Try to bring back one or two female Golden Sons, by any means necessary." John Junior felt this somewhat difficult. "They never die. It''s hard to catch them." "Then lie, or lure them with gold coins. Women are different from men. They are sensitive and like shiny things. As long as you diligently put in some effort, you''ll eventually dupe one or two." John Junior stood up and expressed his gratitude for the advice. When his son had left the bedroom, John Senior stood up. He opened the drawer of his desk and took out a piece of parchment he had just received. A sentence was written on it: After testing, the news that eating the flesh of Golden Sons can prolong life is a rumor. John Senior sighed softly. "Surely, eternal life can''t be that easy." Although John Senior had constantly been campaigning abroad, he had heard a lot about the Golden Sons in the army. He also dispatched people to look into it. He also pondered over what effects the arrival of the Golden Sons would have on the world. But judging from the way of things now, the impact was small. This was because the Golden Sons hadn''t yet fully permeated through the world. After they stayed a little longer and became more connected to the world, and after they became stronger, they would be a force powerful, enough to destroy a country. So before that happened, they had to be divided. Gender differentiation could be carried out as the first step. According to intelligence, most of these female Golden Sons were quite interested in the life of nobles and wanted to be part of it. The male Golden Sons were generally interested in female elves, beautiful female orcs, succubi, and other races. This was an area that could be exploited. John Senior thought for a moment, took out a blank piece of parchment, and wrote down his thoughts. Then, he shook the bell and said to the butler who came in, "Take this scroll to the capital, to His Majestyit''s of the utmost priority." The butler took the parchment and left the room. He went to the workshop on the ground floor, carefully rolled it up, stuffed it into a cylinder, and sealed it carefully with black paint. Finally, the cylinder went to a family messenger. [1] Fox people 126 The Players First Joint Law Enforcemen Roland continued to derive and experiment with magic in the Magic Tower. The shield-wielding magic puppet gradually began to improve. Roland estimated that in three or four days, he would be able to finish creating the defensive type of magic puppet. For fights in the future, he could first summon an offensive and a defensive guard, in addition to Teleportation Spell, not to mention his battle prowess, his survival ability alone would be greatly enhanced. Roland also firmly believed in the saying that only with survival can damage output be produced. The death penalty of this game was also quite high. The corpse would be left in place after death, not to mention the equipment being stripped away, but one would also lose 10% of the current level''s maximum experience. The higher the level and the better the equipment, the greater the loss. There was also the danger of decreasing a level. So in this game, it was best not to die if possible. Roland sat in his chair, waiting for his passive ability to regenerate mana, and meanwhile, he opened the forums and read other people''s posts. More and more players began to write about their own insights and experiences, as well as their experiences on leveling up. It was quite interesting to read. Moreover, there were some players who left Hollevin and went to other countries. For example, the kingdom of light, Fareins, or the desert kingdom, Urganda, and so on. Some players even formed caravans. They were planning to follow the example of NPCs and become traveling merchants. Sure enough, there were so many ways to play this game that everyone could find their own way to live. It was at this time that in the low-value posts section, a highlighted thread attracted Roland''s attention. I''m Quitting, but Before I Do, I Hope the Netizens Will Give Me Justice. Roland thought something had happened to the netizen in real life, such as the immersive cabin being stolen. In the end, when he opened the thread for a look, he found he guessed wrong. It was related to the game. After reading the post, Roland couldn''t help but sigh. This was a female player. She added points to intelligence and charm and was the very rarely seen profession of Strategic Commander. Her individual strength was average, but she was "born" with two legion-level command skills, as well as some group-enhancing spells. Because of her added charm, although she was unattractive in reality, she was considered a beauty in the game. She was born in a medium-sized city called Mory, with a population of about two hundred thousand. When she was born, since she looked relatively beautiful, she suffered a lot of harassment, which she resolved. Then once when she was in danger, a young nobleman appeared and saved her. After a month or two, they became lovers and the female player moved into a small castle as if she were going to be the future lady of the castle. The young nobleman was kind to the female player, granting her almost whatever she askedtaking her to familiarize herself with the rules of the noble class, this city, and the world. The passionate and romantic days were lovely for this female player. The nobles even spent a great number of resources on the female player to allow her to quickly level up. So quickly, the female player reached level five. Amongst female players, she was one who reached the elite level a little earlier than most. Then, the young nobleman ran into some trouble. An evil assassin organization, for some reason, pursued the young noble. Both parties were equally matched, and many people died. As his lover, the female player naturally refused to see her man being bullied, so she fervently requested to participate in the war. Although her individual strength was lacking, her effect in group warfare was too powerful. After reaching level five, she learned an even more powerful legion buff. Once she cast three legion skills on the army, the fighting ability of the young nobles would rise two or three levels immediately. They very easily annihilated the enemy. With his mortal malady eliminated, the young nobleman was even kinder to the female player. The female player thought this young noble would be her future home. Even if it was a game, even if it was an NPC, she felt that she could spend a lifetime with him. However one day a big shot came to the city. On the night banquet that day, the young nobleman purposely left her alone with the big shot. At first, she didn''t think much about it. It wasn''t until the big shot started to make a pass at her that she felt something was wrong. She wasn''t good at fighting, so she drove a knife right into her heart when she was about to be humiliated by the big shot. By then she had forgotten that female players were protected by two systematic bikinis, and if they didn''t want to, no one could force them. At the time, she felt nothing but resentment and fury. After reviving, she went to the young nobleman. In the end, the young nobleman scolded her instead, saying that he didn''t mind that she spent a night with the big shot and that this could''ve brought his family even more benefits. However, she did mind. She cursed that the young nobleman wasn''t a man. In the end, he showed his true nature and threw her from the third floor to her death. After two deaths, she downgraded to level four, at which point she began to suspect that she had been used all along. After reviving, she directly went to find the assassin organization that was destroyedto inquire about why they targeted the young noble. Although the process was quite exhausting, she eventually found them. The remnants of the assassination organization killed her five more times, but she wasn''t angry. After reviving, she let them kill her and didn''t even fight back. After five times, the remnant members barely trusted her and told her why they tried to assassinate the young nobleman. The young nobleman was a wicked man. After he became the mayor of the city, he began to commit crimes. For several years, he killed, burned, raped, and plundered many people. They were an organization united by the victims and a few high-minded rebels. Originally they had some chance of winning, but the appearance of the female player directly led to a serious power imbalance in favor of the nobles. As soon as the assassin organization had told the truth, they were surrounded by armed troops. It turns out the female player had been stalked. At this point, the remaining assassins mistakenly believed that the female player deliberately tried to lure them out. They killed the female player three more times before they died. The female player didn''t fight back. She stared blankly at these NPCs of the resistance; the latter stared at her with venomous, hateful eyes, dying with remembered grievances. She was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. At last, the young nobleman laughed wildly and beheaded the female player, looking very pleased with himself. This post had over 40,000 words. Judging from the word count alone, she wrote this for at least several days. The female player wrote at the end of the post, "I am a stupid woman, a shallow woman, a woman without self-knowledge, but I also have a conscience. When I do something wrong, I''ll accept my punishment. I''ll leave the game and sell the immersive cabin. It''s just that I can''t accept this. I don''t want those NPCs in the resistance organization to die meaninglessly because of me, and I don''t want that scum to live happily ever after. But I can''t get revenge. I''m not good at fighting and I''ve died too many times that I''m level three now and I can''t do anything. So I earnestly ask everyone to help mehelp me kill that scum!!!" This time the idiotic netizens didn''t stir up trouble. Instead, they replied very seriously. "Copy that. Mory is only 300 kilometers from here. I can walk there in a few days." "Copy that. More than 200 kilometers for me. Guys, don''t inadvertently alert the enemy, gather outside the city first." "Copy that. It''s also 200 kilometers from here." Roland thought for a moment and also left a reply. Mory was roughly 300 kilometers away from Delpon. 127 Be Particular About the Method Roland wasn''t in a hurry to leave. Since the players varied in distance from Mory, they agreed on a time on the forums to meet in the woods on the eastern outskirts of Mory within 10 days. Currently, more than a hundred players had signed up, but Roland estimated that only half would make it without a hitch. This was not the modern world, where one could drive hundreds of kilometers by car on the highway or take a high-speed rail or plane and arrive in a few hours. This was an alien world with extremely primitive transportation. More importantly, apart from the ranges where humans moved about, there was also dangerous no man''s land between cities, crawling rampantly with wild monsters and magical beasts. Diseases, weather, and emergencies, these could all make people disappear on the road. Travelers and merchants could make a lot of money because they were fighting for it with their lives. Unlike Roland, who directly joined an organization and received pay, most players were as broke as can be, so then there were players clever enough to take advantage of the system''s Backpack. In contrast, it was much more convenient for players to be traveling merchants. For one, they were professionals, and in groups of three to five, their strength was quite something. Ordinary bandits wouldn''t dare to do anything reckless. And even if they were robbed, the goods were all stored in the Backpack and wouldn''t be lost. It was very safe, and at worst, they could just take a detour. A two-by-two-by-two Backpack could also hold a lot of things. All they had to do was find those small, but more valuable things to transport. It took the better part of a month, but they could earn a gold coin or two. Then, other players who wanted to make money followed by example, and in a short while, an indistinct trend of a "running business" was formed. Using the forums, they could also communicate about what goods were missing in which location, and what the specialties of different cities were. Roland dedicated his time in Delpon to studying magic and didn''t go out much, so he didn''t know much about the current state of the players'' world. Now, apart from the two titles of undying and Golden Son, there was also a vague addition of the title "great merchants from another world." Those traveling merchant players were just "economic coolies" at the lowest rung, while the high-end players were already attempting to control the prices of certain special items in their cities. For example, the people around Principal Huang and Fan Six Hundred Million. Of course, these things had little to do with Roland. But before he left, he made a special trip to see Hawk and Link. Now the docks here had begun to scale, the next part was the problem of how to attract investors and expand channels. Hawk sat in a high place and looked down at the docks with a perfectly content look. For civil engineering slaves, leading and completing a big project was in and of itself something to brag about for a lifetime. Although this was only in a game. Roland found Hawk, took two handfuls of gold coins from his Backpack, and put them in Hawk''s large hands. "Here are 20 gold coins. You can count them." "So much this time around?" Hawk''s eyes lit up. Again, the Silver Wings Guild was currently paving the way for the future with money, so they would accept whatever gold Roland had. Roland also sat down and said, "Over the past few days, people have successively found my statue in the capital and started learning my skill. Now, one or two gold coins come into my account every day." "Tsk, it''s so nice to make money lying down." Hawk sighed. "Once Silver Wings paves the road, it''ll be even more profitable." Roland looked down at the majestic docks. "I guess your guild leader wants to create a waterborne transport logistics company in the alternate world." Hawk smiled and said nothing. Large guilds were great for this point. They had a wide range of talent and abundant resources, and they did things on a grand scale with a sense of perspicacity. "The mayor is back. What are you guys going to do?" Roland asked. Hawk pointed to the distance and said, "Pay more taxes in exchange for full autonomy. We''re willing to follow the rules here, but if they''re too greedy, like trying to get their hands on a key part of the Silver Wings waterborne transport and logistics companyit''ll be impossible. The elites of Silver Wings are already starting to shift toward this area. How many players do you think can topple a city?" "I''d say fifty," Roland answered after a moment''s thought. Players were undying. Moreover, the players of large guilds were more disciplined and their commanders had plenty of experience with "armchair strategies." Some large group battle games, such as Shadowbane and PlanetSide, had already raised the strategic vision and improvisational command ability of large guild commanders to a certain extent. Intersperse, divide, and outflankthis kind of mobile warfare in games was something they were already skilled at playing. Besides, Zhao Kuo[1] wasn''t a bad armchair general, he just met Bai Qi[2], quite unfortunately. These commanders were all armchair strategists like Zhao Kuo with plenty of room to grow, but what made them more fortunate than Zhao Kuo was that they had countless trial and error opportunities. NPCs only had one. Fifty players was Roland''s most conservative estimate. At this moment, Hawk smiled. "We''ll have 83 guild players." Upon hearing this, Roland began to laugh. Eighty-three players, eighty-three professionalsthe mayor of any city would be terrified. "Apart from giving you money, I came over to ask you to take care of Magic Tower!" Looking at the river stretching into the horizon, Roland spoke these words slowly. "I thought so." Hawk sighed. "I read the forum post and saw your message. I wanted to go too, but I really can''t get away from here." His voice seemed disappointed. Being unable to participate in a special event that was destined to leave a mark in the history of the game and that feeling of his heart and lungs being scratched made him extremely out of sorts. Roland smiled and said, "I''ll help put in more effort in your stead." "Then, thank you very much." Hawk''s voice had a hidden bitterness to it. It was disgusting to see a muscular, steel man make such an expression. With a look of disgust on his face, Roland patted the goosebumps on his body and left. He hired a coach and coachman in the city and drove slowly away from Delpon. There were no good roads in the world. The carriage moved slowly yet unsteadily. The swaying made Roland uncomfortable. Then, he turned his attention to the front and saw the coachman, who was intently driving. The coachman was an old black man who didn''t look sturdy. Roland was curious. "Why are you willing to travel alone with me? This trip will be quite dangerous." The coachman didn''t turn round. His voice was timid. "Better die on the road than die of hunger. My family is running out of food." Not even afraid of danger for the sake of family? Because this world was too dangerous, the mortality rate was very high, and one would generally pay half the deposit in advance when hiring guards, coachmen, and so on. Roland had paid the driver 10 silver coins before he set out. The 10 silver coins should already be in the hands of his family. The price for hiring this coachman was 20 silver coins for a trip. It was quite expensive, but Roland thought it was too cheap in terms of human life. Fortunately, there were no major incidents along the way. Occasionally, a few small, ravenous wild beasts emerged from the woods on either side of the road and were frozen into ice by Roland immediately. Then these became "rations" in the driver''s hands. Four days later, Roland reached the outskirts of Mory. He gave the driver the remaining 10 silver coins, and said, "If you trust me, you can wait for me in the city of Mory. I will return to Delpon in a few days, and then I can take your coach again. I just don''t know how to find you then." "Master Mage, you may come to find me at the stable. I''ll try to stay there." Roland nodded and let the coachman leave. Roland opened the forums and found a map of Mory''s region posted on the forums by a certain player. Following the map, he found the agreed upon gathering spot in a mountain forest. There were a few wooden cabins already built, and a few player-like people gathered around a campfire in the middle, roasting the meat of some unknown beast and talking and laughing. Roland walked over and they noticed him at once. After being stunned for a short moment, some players exclaimed in admiration. "Oh, the great mage Roland is here. Come quickly, you sit here and eat barbecue first. I''ll go buy you some oranges[3]" Roland laughed. "Bugger off. You treat me like I''ve never attended junior high school. I joined Hongxing[4] after my third year of junior high school." The other players suddenly burst into laughter. It was the easiest to integrate with idiotic players. With a simple meme, he was connected with themhe was one of their own. Then Roland joined them and ate the roasted meat. At the same time, Roland also saw the "victim" that they were helping this time. She was a beautiful girl. People with added charm were different indeed. This female player was truly quite beautiful, slightly prettier than Vivian. However, the thought that she was plain-looking in the real world seemed to make her less pretty. The female player smiled at Roland as she saw him size her up. There was a lot of unsettled resentment showing on her face. "We will wait for another four days. After four days, most of the other players should arrive by then. Once there are enough people, we''ll storm the city." "Should we branch out into two or three routes? To create a diversion." Players surrounded the campfire, exchanging ideas. Roland contemplated for a while, coughed, and the others instantly stopped talking. "The man we are going to kill is the mayor." Roland looked around the crowd and continued, "This is no little nobleman, but a man of considerable importance. If he were killed by us in public, it would certainly cause a violent backlash of the noble class." Everyone frowned. They thought Roland wanted to persuade them to give up this operation, but they didn''t say anything for fear of guessing wrong. They wanted to wait for Roland to finish. "It''s not going to be good for our development in this world," Roland continued. "If we just kill the mayor without batting an eye, the other mayors will surely feel sympathetic. Then, we players will definitely become the thorn in the sides of the nobles. Moreover, we''re generally not strong yet, and if we do this and cause the nobles to collectively denounce us, there''ll be a lot of trouble." Finally, someone couldn''t help but retort, "You mean, we shouldn''t kill him?" "We will kill him, but we have to be particular about the method." [1] the hapless general of Zhao state who led an army of 400k to total annihilation in the battle of Changping [2] Famous general of Qin state who won in Changping [3] Meme; a scene where a father goes to buy oranges for his son, originates from Retreating Figure by Zhu Ziqing. Now used to indirectly say "I''m your father" [4] A fictitious Triad in the movie Young and Dangerous 128 The So-Called Being Open Seeing that Roland was leaving them hanging, the surrounding players all put on expressions as if they were saying, "You''re the boss, you talk." Instead of giving a direct answer, Roland looked over to the female player, who was lost in thought, sitting a short distance away, and asked, "Girl, got a question for you: what''s the name of that resistance?" "Ahoh!" Because her mind wasn''t present, the female player was startled for a moment before reacting. "You can call me Allie. The resistance''s name is Gray Eyes." "We''ll pass ourselves as Gray Eyes." Roland smiled and looked at the other male players. "Of course, we''ll have to cover our faces." Startled for a moment, the players in the surroundings started to laugh and joke. "Oh s**t, why didn''t I think of that? Now we''ve got a good reason." "As expected from one who plays with spells, a cunning bast**d." "F***ing hell, I have a bad feeling that when the other mage players level up, we barbarians that know only how to chop will be led by the nose!" Of course, this was only the players'' banter resulting from their excess admiration. The male players all understood what was implied, but Allie, the female player, was a little confused. "But the Gray Eyes resistance members are all dead. If we want to impersonate them, we should at least find one of them." "Hmm" The players around were somewhat surprised and then relieved. They reckoned that it was because she was so adorably stupid that she was duped so terribly by the young nobleman. Now, most of the male players had even more hate in their hearts. To terribly deceive such a simple and cute girl, the noble, as well as the mayor, had even more reason to die. Roland coughed and said, "There are still four more days. It''s not productive to stay here and do nothing. Why don''t we do some preliminary work?" "Sure, we''ll listen to you," a group of male players shouted. They were all wise people. The advice Roland provided just now proved that he indeed had the brains for this. It would be fine to listen to him. Besides, Roland was still the strongest mage at this stage, and probably no one on the scene could rival him. Generally speaking, players believed in the unspoken rule of "the one with the bigger fist talks" in the game, and Roland not only had big fists but also seemed to have a good IQ. Roland took out two gold coins. "I need an average-looking friend who is good at bargaining to go to the city and buy forty to fifty black clothes and black scarves. In addition is there anyone here good at drawing? Let''s get a map of Mory drawn out, so we can make our combat plans." "I''ll go and buy some clothes. I''m pretty good at bargaining." A handsome archer stood up. Roland looked at him and said helplessly, "Are you sure you look average?" "Then I''ll draw out a map." Another bandit-like player stepped forward. Roland counted the number of players on the scene and said with a smile, "As for the others, let''s go and cut trees together." "What are you cutting down trees for?" someone asked. "To make a simplified catapult." Roland explained, "Even if it falls apart after being used three times, it should be useful to smash the gates of the castle." "All right!" The rest of the group stood up. Honestly speaking, they were tired of waiting here for days, and having something to do was always a good thing. Allie walked over, her expression still very depressed. "So what can I do?" Roland thought for a moment and then said, "How about you write an official declaration for Gray Eyes denouncing their enemy from the point of view of the victim? I saw your post on the forums, your writing should be pretty good. "I graduated with a major in literature," Allie said simply, and then asked, "A passionate, or indignant tone?" "Indignant." Allie tilted her head aside in thought and said, "Okay, I''ll alter Luo Binwang''s declaration against Empress Dowager Wu." Roland, a sciences student, was speechless. She sounded so impressive and sophisticated. At this moment, a grinning male player approached him and said, "Roland, you''re having an official declaration to denounce the enemy written and building a simple catapult. Do you want to attack head-on?" "Certainly, to vent anger for one of our own, we definitely have to be both open and insolent," Roland said matter-of-factly. The grinning male player was instantly struck by the originality of Roland''s idea. "But we have to cover our faces, does that count as open?" "It''s not a contradiction to tell them we''re openly hiding our identities." "You''re awesome!" This player gave him a thumbs-up. "The netizens in the livestream chat all say that you''re not only a cunning bas***d but also b**chy!" Roland was shocked. "You''re actually streaming this." "How fresh." This player''s expression seemed to say, "You just realized?" "I was the first to come, and at the request of the vast number of netizens, I''ve been streaming for four days." At this time, Roland also received a system message. He opened it and saw that the rest of the F6 members were @ him. Li Lin: "Do your best, show the stylishness of our F6 military strategist." Betta: "Brother Roland''s so awesome." Schuck: "I''m watching the livestream. It feels a little strange. This is the Roland that we don''t usually see." Raffel: "Unfortunately, I''m too far from Mory, or else I would''ve taken part." This was actually being livestreamed If he''d known earlier, he wouldn''t have stood out so much. He felt a sense of embarrassment as if he had a break-out of eighth-grader syndrome and was seen by his family. Having something to do, time would feel as though it passed more quickly. Four days passed in the blink of an eye, the players that could come all arrived, and those who couldn''t come, probably returned to their city for free halfway here. Over the days, they built eight simple catapults from trees and vines. The clothes and maps were already prepared. Roland looked at the map for a while and drew two lines. Then, he said to the forty-plus people whose faces were covered and who were dressed in black gowns, "Wait for the second team to infiltrate into the city first, and then we''ll appear in front of the gate. Seeing our sinister appearance, the gate will definitely be closed. We''ll read what Allie wrote up for denouncing the enemy, and afterward, we''ll smash the gates with the catapult. "At this point, the enemy''s attention will surely be drawn. If the mayor leaves his castle with his troops and comes to the wall to provide assistance, then the second team will infiltrate into the castle and stir things up, For example, setting fire to the house, which will make him anxious and confused. If he stays obstinately inside the castle, the second team will storm the walls from behind and help us open the gates. But I don''t think the second plan is likely. That young nobleman will probably come to the wall to see what is the matter with us." A player asked, "Didn''t you say we were doing things openly? Sending spies inside is too underhanded." Confused, Roland threw his hands up in the air and said, "We are openly sieging the city." 129 No Rationality In the small castle of Mory, the mayor Bettel was celebrating. The Gray Eyes organization was destroyed, and the immortal female monster hadn''t been seen for over ten days, most likely because she was scared of being killed and walked away. His two serious problems were all taken care of at once, and now Bettel felt that life had never been so easy and pleasant. A group of his subordinates came obsequiously over to toast him, and some of the city''s minor nobles came over in due time to show their affection. Wade, who had the best relationship with him, took a glass of wine and said rather regretfully on the side, "It''s a shame you let that woman named Allie go. She''s undying and beautiful. There can be many ways to play with her. If you didn''t want her, you should have sent her to me." "You couldn''t handle her." Bettel recalled the special feeling that Allie had given him all this time, and then smiled contemptuously. "That woman, though idiotic and stupid, and not very good at fighting head-on, had a sense of pride. Completely different from any woman you''ve ever met before. I wouldn''t mind making her the true lady of the city if she were a little willing to be weaker." Wade was stunned, then laughed aloud. "How many women have you said that toI''m tired of hearing it." "Really, that woman is different. She doesn''t seem too interested in things like wealth, but more so, just the style of life." Bettel said rather regretfully, "And she''s different from the average woman when she''s making love, bewitching but not vulgar, aggressive but not giving a rustic feel. It''s the first time I''ve ever met a woman like this, but she''s just too proud and hard to handle." After hearing this, Wade said, "I''m even more interested hearing you say that." "There should be more than one female Golden Son, and when we look for them in other cities later, we''ll trick one or two more over here. Hopefully, all the women Golden Sons are as stupid as Allie." Thinking of certain indescribable scenarios, they both laughed aloud at the same time. Just as they finished laughing and were about to go and talk to the others, there was a strange muffled sound coming from the east; even the bustling banquet hall couldn''t completely hide the sound. All of a sudden, the banquet was much quieter, with only the sound of musical instruments being played. Then there was another muffled sound, and now many people could hear it clearly. It was the sound of a heavy object being thrown from a great height and hitting something. Most of the guests'' expressions were confused, not knowing what was going on, but a few of their expressions became strange as they had heard this, or sounds similar to it. A bad feeling circled their minds. And that included Bettel. He raised his hand, and all those musicians stopped. "Giant throwing stones!" Bettel''s expression was uncontrollably gloomywho was it that dared to attack his city with siege engines at this time? As he was about to go out, a soldier ran in in a panic and said in a frightened manner, "Mayor, it''s terrible, the people of Gray Eyes are back! This time they''ve brought several catapults and are attacking our gates." "That''s impossible!" Bettel roared. "Gray Eyes has been annihilated." The soldier chattered, "But that''s what they were shouting outside the city." "How many of them are there?" Bettel asked angrily. "At least fifty," the soldier replied in a small voice. As soon as Bettel heard this, he kicked the soldier to the ground and roared, "Fifty men? There are at least five hundred city guards, not counting the reserves, but you still don''t dare to charge?" "We''ve tried. We sent two hundred men out earlier and" The soldier lowered his head. "Like an adult cleaning up after a child, the battle was over in less than ten minutes. More than a hundred men on our side died, and the rest ended up as prisoners. And those fifty people, nothing happened to them at allthey are all professionals." "That''s impossible!" Bettel heavily smashed his cup on the floor, the clanging sound unusually harsh in the quiet banquet hall. "Even over at the capital, it''s hard to assemble fifty powerful professionals. We''re in a remote area, not to mention fifty professionals, being able to gather fifty average people would already be pretty impressive. The Gray Eyes resistance was already so greatly sapped of strength that they couldn''t gather fifty people, let alone fifty professionals." The soldier lowered his head, not daring to speak. Wade, who was next to Bettel, walked up to him and said, "Now is not the time to seethe at a small soldier, let''s take the soldiers over to see what''s going on." Bettel took a deep breath and showed an embarrassed smile to the guests around him. "Sorry to spoil the party. That concludes it, your excellencies, please return to your homes." The guests were soon all gone. It almost seemed like they were fleeing in defeat. Bettel, on the other hand, set off with the remaining four hundred elite guards in the castle and headed for the walls. Just as he left the castle with the soldiers, six extremely unremarkable-looking players appeared near the castle, and although they were scattered around the castle in different directions, they almost simultaneously revealed wicked smiles on their faces. When Bettel brought his army to the bottom of the castle wall, he was just in time to see a huge stone smash down from midair and hit the wall directly. Amidst the screams, two soldiers were smashed into pulp on the spot, while five or six other soldiers were injured by shattered rock fragments, their injuries varying in severity. "Archers, come up the wall with me, the others stay near the gate to defend." Bettel shouted orders, trotting straight up the walkway up to the wall. The city wall had already been hit by four boulders, and although it looked miserable, with broken rocks and bricks everywhere, and even a section of the battlements collapsed, it was not substantially affected. Bettel ran to the battlements and saw about thirty masked, black-robed people standing in a small square formation in the distance ahead. Beside the small square formation, there were many corpses of city guards. At the back of the square formation, there were more than twenty black-robed people fiddling with three catapults, and several sturdy black-robed people were working together to place huge round stones onto the catapults. Although all of these black-robed people had their faces covered, their eyes revealed expressions of ridicule, mixed with reserved haughtiness. Such arrogance he was familiar withAllie''s eyes also contained it. He took a deep breath and a discouraging thought came to mind. Then, he saw a familiar person come out from behind the catapults. It was Allie. The people fiddling with the catapults stopped. Allie was holding a piece of parchment in her hand, looking at Bettel from a distance with a derisive expression. The player who was in charge of the livestream jumped and scurried around, constantly giving close-up shots of the two. A player cast Sound Amplification onto Allie''s body, while Roland cast Unhindered Communication. Allie quietly looked at Bettel with a slight nostalgia in her eyes, then revealed a look of determination and read aloud, "The Mayor of Mory, Bettel, whose nature is cool and indifferent, is of a base background. He once served Gauri with his chrysanthemum" Gauri was the big shot who wanted to make a move on Allie. Allie''s rather pleasant female voice resounded throughout the city under the effect of Sound Amplification. Due to Unhindered Communication, everyone could understand the words, and as they listened, everyone''s eyes drifted a bit, not daring to look at Bettel. Because the insults were too fiercewithout a single profanityunder the effect of Unhindered Communication, what the whole city heard was Allie with an especially authentic ancient aristocratic accent, telling the story of Bettel killing, burning, raping, and plundering, and using his own body to flatter the big shot Gauri. The filthiness of which was completely beyond the imagination of the citizens, and more importantly, Allie also said that he colluded with Gaurithere was a suspicion that they were conducting demonic sacrifices, trying to turn the neighborhood into a demonic paradise. Anyway, all the charges that could be pressed were pressed. In the end, she even roared "One might well ask who rules this domain today!" Yet, what the NPCs heard was, "Oh God, is this city of Mory still the land of the humans? Is it still the paradise you once gazed at?" Both the soldiers and the citizens were all touched when they heard this beautiful and sorrowful declaration against the enemy. Especially the soldiers, their morale had obviously dropped a whole lot. Bettel had never heard anyone dare hurl abuses at him so viciously, or even falsely accuse him. He had only ever been the one to falsely accuse someone else, but today, he was framed by someone, a stupid woman in his eyes. This stimulation was extraordinarily large. He was so angry that his whole body shook and his face turned white. He finally roared, "Shoot arrows, give me arrows, shoot them to death." A wave of arrows was fired high from the walls, then landed sporadically a little in front of the black-robed formation. The players had already estimated the range of the enemy''s bows and arrows, so they wouldn''t be foolish enough to enter their range of attack. After reading the declaration against Bettel with furious energy, Allie felt a sense of relief course through her body, and then the players who were fiddling with the improvised catapults started to move about again. Bettel gritted his teeth and roared, "Move our catapults to the city walls as well." "That will take time, Mayor." Catapults were usually quite huge, and splitting and assembling them took time. "Damn it those in black robes must all be Golden Sons." Bettel was also a professional, an agility swordsman, and his eyesight was much better than the average person''s. "Their catapults are terrible, and they''ll all be scrapped after a few more uses." Bettel punched the battlement and roared, "Just wait until all of their catapults are damaged, that''s when we''ll fight back." Bettel calmed down with a long sigh of relief, thinking that he still had a good chance of winning. The declaration against him just now had affected him quite a bit. For nobles, this kind of verbal lethality was sometimes far more frightening than swords. Because it would directly harm a family''s honor. He took a series of deep breaths and was about to calm down completely, but then someone beside him suddenly shouted, "My god, the castle, Mayor, the castle is on fire. It''s on fire!" Bettel twisted around to see the castle in the distance shrouded in a cloud of black smoke, where "fire dragons" could be faintly seen from time to time. Half a second later, a string in Bethel''s head, called sanity, snapped. It broke! 130 Roland Who Completely Exterminated His Own Teammates It was very difficult to burn down a castle. After all, the building materials are all stone. But what happens when six players, each using their Backpacks, load up on a 2x2x2 volume of a special flammable substance, something that resembles coal, but burns more efficiently than coal? The consequence was that a castle was set on fire. "Hahahahahahahahahaha!" Such a strange laugh came out of Bettel, who clutched his hair wildly with both hands, his face flushed, his pupils dilated, seemingly about to pop out of their eye sockets. Looking at him, everyone around felt shivery and backed away slowly. It was natural for him to react this way. A castle like this could only be built slowly with the efforts of at least three generations of their family. And there were many precious things in the castle, such as collected gems and gold coinswith this fire, the efforts of several generations could have been burned to nothing. Most importantly, the castle was their last line of defense, and a noble with a castle and a noble without a castle were two different concepts. If even the castle fell, then it meant that the family was going to be in decline. Bettel really couldn''t accept this. It was supposed to be a celebratory banquet todaythe Gray Eyes resistance was no more, the woman that he used as a tool was gone tootwo good things together should have been a much happier matter. How did it turn out this way? With strands of hair ripped out of his scalp, Bettel''s expression grew more and more twisted, the corners of his mouth had white saliva running out of them, and his eyes looked like they were about to turn psychotic. At this time, Wade, who had been following beside him, came up and slapped Bettel hard in the face, cursing angrily. "What are you waiting for? Give the order to put out the fire." The slap was heavy, and the clear sound of it could be heard for dozens of meters around. The five red marks on Bettel''s face quickly swelled. However, this also made him much soberer. Gratefully looking at Wade, Bettel bellowed to the side, "The second and fourth regiments stay behind to defend, the others follow me back to the castle immediately to put out the fire. Exterminate the enemy within the city! One silver coin for every enemy killed." The castle was definitely not going to be saved, but he was going to salvage as much as he could. Bettel rushed down the wall with a group of soldiers in the direction of the castle. Now that he was much more awake, he didn''t take all of the soldiers from the walls. Hearing the sound of the heavy impact coming from the rear, Bettel couldn''t help but look back, just in time to see countless pieces of rubble exploding on the walls. Some of it reached his vicinity. He instinctively clenched his hands into fists. Allie! You b**ch! How dare you bring people back to trouble me. When I get through this Wade, who was next to him, immediately interrupted his declaration of hatred: "What are you waiting for, Bettel, get moving." Bettel turned his body upright and spurred his horse to run toward the burning castle. On the front side of the castle gate, the players couldn''t help but cheer as they watched another rock hit accurately. The player in charge of calibrating the firing line laughed proudly. "I''m so damn awesome." But then the players let out another cheerful cry. Because even though the view was blocked by the wall, the black pillar of smoke that rose up in the distance appeared in their eyes. "It''s a success, those six bandits have successfully taken down the house." "Sending them to lurk in the city in advance was indeed correct." "There are clearly fewer guards on the city walls now." "Proceed to the next step, proceed to the next step, break the city gates." The players'' cheerful discussion stopped here, and everyone''s attention was focused on the black-robed man in the middle of the first row. This was Roland. He took a few steps forward, took out the magic staff from his Backpack, and pointed it in front. A tiny fireball appeared three meters away from the front of the magic wand, then quickly grew larger and brighter. At first, the fireball was dark yellow, and when it expanded to half a meter in diameter, it turned orange. The temperature had obviously increased greatly. At this time, the fireball was still expanding, and it quickly became about a meter and a half in diameter. At this moment, there were already some blue flames sprouting on the surface of the fireball. And the air around Roland had begun to distort, and the green grass around the soles of his feet was gradually yellowing. But, the fireball was still expanding. At the same time, Roland''s body began to glow, dense white spots of light appearing and then merging back into his body. This was the effect of the Mind-Calming Necklace being triggered. The magic power that Roland had accumulated for ten days that barely filled the storage limit of the Mind-Calming Necklace began to flow back into his body. It''s well known that every time the radius of a sphere is increased by the same length, its volume is multiplied several times, and when it grows again to a certain extent, it will be ten times, even hundreds of times what it was before. Roland''s own magic bar could maintain the diameter of the Inferior Fireball to about a meter and a half, but using up all the stored magic in the Mind-Calming Necklace, the total amount of magic power of nearly three times Roland''s, had only barely enlarged the fireball to two meters. But it was enough! The fireball with a diameter of two meters, taller than most players, looked extremely overwhelming. At this moment, the sprouting flames on the surface of the fireball had already turned blue, and the air around Roland was distorted even more. About ten meters around, the grass had already fully yellowed and was now starting to spontaneously combust. The surrounding players kept retreating, and they were now more than twenty meters away from Roland. All of them were stunned. The livestream chat was also buzzing. "Holy sh**, this atmosphere, this special effect, who said mages are trash." "Blue flames, 2,000 degrees of heat, overkill (Table Flipping)." "Mages are trash, Master Mages aren''t trash. You have to understand that they are two different classes." "I''ve decided, I''m going to train as a mage. For this atmosphere, it''s worth it!" "Being handsome is a lifelong matter." "Are you sure you never flunked advanced mathematics in college?" "Upstairs, you cut me to the quick." While the idiotic players in the livestream were excited with banter, Roland, who almost at the limit of his mental power, used the last of his mental power to eject the large fireball. It was a real ejection, similar to the kind of ejection from an electromagnetic rail gun. With a whoosh, the heavens and earth seemed to darken for an instant, and the large fireball turned into an elliptical shape, drawing out a straight line of lightning and instantly smashing into the wall above the city gate. However, this was just a visual illusion created by the large fireball flying too fast for those observing it. The shape of the fireball remained the same. And the moment the large fireball hit the city wall, it bloomed with a light that did not differ in brightness from a flashbang explosion, and at the same time, it erupted with a tremendous sound, so loud that it was like a mortar bomb exploding directly in the ear. It shattered the eardrums. The netizens watching the livestream cried that their titanium alloy dog eyes[1] were blinded. Meanwhile, the players on the scene had it even worse; not only could they not see, but their ears were also ringing. One by one, they were crying terribly and lightly patting their ears frequently at the same time. At this moment, they couldn''t see, nor hear, their ears were buzzing all over. A few of the more composed players could still cover their ears and stand dumbfounded in place, while jumpy ones were already rolling on the ground, cursing and talking nonsense, though they couldn''t hear what they themselves were cursing. The scene was extremely chaotic. [1] A meme from WoW, Originally Hardened Khorium and Titansteel (in-game rare metals) were used in the phrase, mainstreamed to titanium (real rare metal); used to mock oneself or others when surprised 131 Get Rid of All Evil Roland didn''t expect his magic this time to be so powerful that it would be exaggerated to this extent. They had clearly been three hundred meters away from the city wall, but still, their eardrums were shattered by the sound of the explosion. There wasn''t much pain. After all, it was only a tenth of the original, but what was unbearable was the mental devastation. Now everyone was blind and deaf, unable to see or hear, all in a state of bewilderment, so many people rolled around in fear on the ground, making a fool of themselves. In addition to being unable to see or hear, Roland himself also felt extremely weak, which was a natural reaction of the body when mental power almost hits rock-bottom. Logically, this was the best time for them to attack the city, but everyone was blinded, and no one was able to move at all. At first, Roland was a little worried that the enemy would attack, but he waited for a while without hearing the enemy''s war cries. It took about four minutes before the players gradually regained their sight, but their eyes were red and swollen as if they had pink eye. Two priest players from the Church of Water recovered and began to use Group Hydro-Healing. This was a kind of healing magic that didn''t work very fast but had quite a large range. The healing effect was pretty good from their combined efforts. Ruptured eardrums might be a bit of a problem in modern society, but here, it was treated as a minor injury, and a healing spell would do the trick. The players could gradually see things in the distance. The dizzying effect from the sonic shock was fading, and then they saw the scene in the distance. All of them were speechless with surprise. The city gate had been lifted off its head, so to speak, turning from a height of six meters to less than one meter. And the thickness of the city wall was three meters, so one could imagine how much damage Roland''s large fireball had caused. What was even more outrageous was that near the central explosion point, at least fifty meters to each side of the city walls had collapsed. Even further away, the surface layer had cracked, and it seemed that it was not far from collapsing. And in these places, there was still black smoke billowing and dark red lava at the center of the explosion. "With this kind of power, a single shot can break the city wall. What''s the need for a siege suicide squad, wouldn''t a few mages solve everything?" The other players all looked like they agreed with this. There was a similar conversation in the livestream room. A group of players breathed a sigh of relief. The audience in the livestream also felt much better. Fortunately, at least there was a way to counterbalance such a terrifying class. The group of people walked near the city wall and found fragmented corpses everywhere. Most of the city guards were dead, a small number were waxed into charred corpses by the terrible heat, and guards further away were shocked by the impact such that they bled from the seven orifices to their deaths. Even the players, professionals, who were 300 meters away were temporarily rendered incapable of combat by the sonic shock, not to mention these much weaker soldiers. There was some discomfort in the players'' eyes as they looked at the scattered corpses, but no one would blame Roland. There were none of them who didn''t have two or three NPCs'' blood on their hands. Moreover, they also had a just cause. None of these soldiers who had helped the oppressor were innocent. However, encountering soldiers who were not completely dead yet, those priests were still willing to save them. After watching near the city gate for a while, a player murmured, "With this kind of power, even if I''m wearing magic-resistant equipment, I feel like I''ll still be shocked to death." "Then just learn a specialty of sonic wave resistance?" someone interjected. "There''s no way I''m going to learn a bunch of skills and specialties aimed at countering Roland but are trash against others." "So you do know that the Roland is the only Master Mage right now." A few players quarreled, avoiding the dark red lava that was still burning, stepped over the meter-high city wall, and entered the city. "Proceed according to plan?" "Of course!" All the players smiled knowingly, and the Sound Amplification spell was cast across them. Then they rearranged their square formation, shouting the slogans they had prepared beforehand as they advanced towards the castle. The booming voices began to ring throughout the small city of Mory. "We are the Gray Eyes resistance, the avengers who have crawled back from hell." "Only the head of evil, Bettel, will be put to death, and no one else." "Bettel is an absolutely vicious and utterly heartless man. The wrath of the people will not be quelled until he is dead." "We''ll return to hell after Bettel is killed. Please don''t stop us or you''ll suffer the consequences." Attack one''s mind before killing them: the players were well aware of this. In order to reduce the enemy''s resistance and also reduce unnecessary casualties, such a slogan had to be shouted. It was just that the players were always a bit whimsical, and as they shouted, someone started to screw around. "That ass-selling b**ch Bettel deserves to be a noble too?" "Bettel is ugly and repulsive, so bad that he has sores on his head and pus on the soles of his feet, and whoever associates with him will be punished by god eventually." "Bettel is a pervert. He won''t even let an eighty-year-old woman go." As soon as this was said, all the players looked at the player who had just shouted this. This player instinctively cringed. The players shouted as they walked, and then they realized that something was wrong. There was really no one stopping them on their way. The main road that led straight to the castle actually didn''t have a single person. It seemed that everyone was hiding. The city even seemed quiet. What was going on? Could it be that the enemy had laid in ambush and was trying to sneak up on them? Or were their slogans really that effective? All the players looked at each other. At this moment, a bandit player jumped down from the roof and rolled the instant upon landing to lessen the impact. He said hurriedly, " Bettel ran away from the east gate. Who caused the commotion just now, f**king scared the hell out of me. It felt like five thunderbolts exploded in my head. The people in the whole city were scared out of their wits, and Bettel stopped putting out the fire immediately and just fled with his soldiers from the east gate. The other five of us have already followed, and they sent me back to ask you guys if we should just let him live, or kill every last one of them." Everyone''s eyes turned to Roland. Roland forced a laugh and said, "You can''t say something as ruthless as killing every last one of them. We''re good people, we want to say we''ll get rid of all evil. We can ignore other people, but Bettel must die." Allie was also in the crowd. She said fiercely, "Bettel has to die." "Then let''s keep chasing them. I don''t believe they have more endurance than us professionals," a player shouted. The crowd let out mischievous laughter, a little wicked, a little unpleasant to the ear. 132 Bettel Falls and the Thieves Are Full Rewind time to half an hour ago: Bettel was frantically rushing toward the castle with his soldiers. However, suddenly the sky lit up and immediately went dark again! This was actually an illusion. When their backs were turned to the intense and rapid flash of light, it created this reversed visual disorientation. Bettel, who was riding on a horse, froze for a moment, not knowing what was going on. Then, he heard a loud bang like thunder erupting a little behind his head. His eardrums were almost shattered. Even the well-trained horses were now neighing uneasily in fear. Bettel was not a bad rider, and the horse beneath him was quite stout and spirited. He spent less than two seconds to calm it down, and then he looked back and his eyes and mouth gradually widened. A huge "firework" flew up from the wall, covering the sky in a vertebral pattern. The dense red and blue fireworks scattered like rain in the air, filling people''s vision and falling again. Bettel watched with his mouth agape as these fireworks fell from high in the sky, watched them extinguish in midair, and turn into small black rocks that crackled and fell down a short distance behind. It was like a shower of rocks. The cries of many children in the city rang out but were quickly muffled by the adults. There were sounds of doors and windows being shut hastily on both sides of the street. Soon, the city quieted down. Bettel stared dumbly at the wall that had collapsed in the distance, his face pale. After a while, he looked in disbelief at Wade, who was equally stunned. "An Archmage?" Because mages had quite a high status, Master-level mages had their own exclusive title of Archmage. When Wade heard Bettel''s words, he returned to his senses and swallowed hard. "An evocation one. Bettel, this is no longer something the Wade family can interfere with." With that, he spurred his horse to slowly backtrack out of the squad and stood at the opening of the alley by the side of the road. It seemed as if he would turn and flee at the first sign of any unusual behavior from Bettel. Bettel smiled miserably and said nothing, waving his hand and departing swiftly with his soldiers. He didn''t go back to the castle but ran toward the east gate. As a noble, Bettel knew very well that he had really provoked the wrong person this time. He had no idea that Allie, who was stupid but had rather decent supporting and strengthening abilities, actually had such a terrifying power behind her. The regret was like a viper devouring his heart. If he was given a chance, he would have spoiled Allie to the heavens. But it was all too late. The gates had broken down, the castle had been burned, and now he could only flee to his grandmother''s house, hoping that his grandfather and grandmother would shelter him. After all, his grandfather was an earl with an even more powerful army. Even the Golden Sons would have to weigh their choices. With that thought, Bettel left through the east gate without hesitation. However, when he left the city and trotted down the dirt road with his soldiers, he found five people hanging far behind them. By their looks, their movements, and their body shape and gait, they were either bandits or scouts, the professional kind. Was this to eradicate him and his army? Bettel clenched his teeth in hatred and waved his arms to make the army hurry at a faster pace. Only he himself sat on his horse while the soldiers ran on two legs. At first, the soldiers could just barely keep up, but as time slowly passed, the number of soldiers who fell behind increased. However, those five people weren''t interested in the soldiers who fell behind. They took a slight detour and didn''t try to clash with those desperate soldiers who might have mistakenly thought they were going to be killed because they had fallen behind. Was he the only target? Bettel gritted his teeth, not daring to run too fast. Since many of the soldiers found that the pursuers, who were behind them, seemed to have no interest in them, apparently harboring other intentions, many of them deliberately fell behind and deserted. If he ran faster and the soldiers couldn''t take it anymore and all fled, then he, who was all alone, would definitely be caught by those five bandits. Soldiers were the guarantee of his personal safety. So, he had to slow down. But even so, the number of soldiers behind him was dwindling. By the time evening came, the number of soldiers still able to follow him was less than forty, all of them panting, looking like they would be wasted and unconscious if they continued to run. Bettel knew very well that he could not run any further. It was necessary to sit down and give the soldiers rest and something to eat and drink. But they''d left in such a hurry that they hadn''t brought a supply line, only a little bit of water and food on their persons. And after running most of the day, they had eaten all that was available. Bettel got off from his horse. He looked at his beloved horse and saw that it was not well. There was a little foam on the side of its mouth, and if he did not give it water, the horse would die a sudden death. However, where was there water right now? The surroundings consisted of a meadow and a small forest. Meanwhile, the five people who had tracked them came closer, about forty meters away. Some of the soldiers strenuously picked up their knives to be on guard. The five people stopped approaching and just watched them from a distance. One of them took out a large muskmelon from somewhere, divided it into several portions with their short sword, and each of them took a piece, chewing in large mouthfuls, and even from a distance of 30 to 40 meters, the crisp gnawing sounds could be heard. One could tell that the melon was sweet and juicy. These five people were staring at them teasingly as they ate the melon. Many soldiers were subconsciously licking their lips. Bettel also felt unusually thirsty. He stood up and shouted to the five people, "Two gold coins to sell me a muskmelon. I know you Golden Sons have spatial storage on you. There should be some extra." The five players smiled strangely and didn''t answer. Was the money offered not enough? Or did they only bring one muskmelon? Bettel took a deep breath and continued, "Then we''ll work together in a different way. If you don''t chase us, I''m willing to give each one of you five gold coins as a token of gratitude. If you''re willing to escort us, I''m willing to hire you for one gold coin a day until I''m safe." The five players laughed even more oddly and mockingly to the point of even sounding a bit vulgar. "If you guys think that''s too little, we can still negotiate." Bettel believed that there was no one in this world who didn''t love money, even godsotherwise, how could a god like the goddess of wealth, Waukeen, exist? At this moment, a player burst out in laughter, spewing out all the melon directly from his mouth, appearing extremely indecent. He wiped his mouth and laughed. "Bettel, your castle was set on fire by us. We turned your castle over long before we set it on fire! A total of sixty-three gold coins and thirty or so cyan crystalsthe gems are more valuable, right? By the way, this melon was also stolen from your house." All of the bandit players activated the three intrinsic skills of Secret Door Intuition, Scavenge, and Pilfer. Because of the time limit, they might miss a few things, but they would never leave behind anything that was truly valuable. Bettel instantly felt like his head was hit by a battering ram. It buzzed with pain, and he almost couldn''t stand up straight, his eyes flashing with black and white. 133 Im Not the Las The scenery before Bettel''s eyes distorted. Nothing of the outside world could be heard, his ears were full of buzzing sounds; and his body swayed twice, about to fall, but he was held up by his own personal guards. The smiles of the five people in front of him were like demons''. "You despicable and shameless bandits." At the thought of his family''s accumulated assets over several generations being destroyed by these five people, Bettel felt himself vomiting blood on the inside. What was even worse, the other side was still eating his family''s muskmelon and mocking him. He felt the thrum of a stream of blood rushing toward his head, and his head was about to explode from it. The personal guard patted him hard on the back and hurriedly said, "Mayor, don''t get too worked up, don''t get too worked up, catch your breath, catch your breath." With the help of his personal guards, Bettel was finally barely able to suppress the fiery emotions that were so sorrowful and indignant that he wanted to take down the other side with him. He stared viciously at the five bandits and shouted angrily, "Since you burned my castle and robbed me of my money, why don''t you come and kill me now? Come and kill me. You five are all professionals, it''s easy to kill us mere mortals, right? Come on, come on!" At the end of the shout, his emotions flared up again, his face red as a monkey''s butt, the veins in his neck bulging. Like a rabbit driven to a dead end, he broke out in a suicidal, verbal counterattack. The melon-eating bandit player laughed and said "You do deserve to die, but not by our hands. The one who is going to kill you will be here soon." Bettel''s pupils narrowed. "Who is it?" He had actually guessed who it was, but he still responded with a question automatically. "Speak of the devil." One of the players at the back pointed into the distance. At this time, Bettel saw a group of masked black-robed men running at the end of the road. They were quite fast and stopped before him in a short time. At this point, Bettel no longer had the strength to run. His horse was close to collapse, and his personal soldiers were sitting on the ground, unwilling to get up. When a person was extremely tired, if he didn''t rest, he might be able to walk for a while longer, but once he sat down, he would have little strength to crawl back up and walk around, unless adequate rest was taken. He couldn''t walk even if he wanted to at this point, and besides, he had some mental preparation. The square formation of black-robed people came close. The bandit players stepped back and took out their black robes from their Backpacks and put them on, finding their positions in the square formation and taking their place. "So it''s you." Bettel saw Allie and smiled bitterly. Allie stopped about ten feet away from Bettel, looked at the soldiers, who were standing in front of them, barely on guard. She smiled, and said, "Me and my friends are only interested in Bettel, so leave." These soldiers were all personal soldiers specially trained by the Bettel family and were extremely loyal. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have followed Bettel desperately to this place. They didn''t hesitate or get confused. It was as if those words had landed upon deaf ears: they continued guarding Bettel. "I had thought you were all just following orders, so I thought about letting you guys go, but you don''t appreciate it." Allie''s gaze swept over the soldiers, murderous intent in her cold voice. "But all these years, Bettel has all committed all sorts of evil deeds, and you guys must have followed along and done a lot of bad things too, so after some thought, it''s best if you guys go to hell with Bettel." Events were still streaming at this time, and the players in the livestream were a bit surprised. "Hm, this Allie''s temperament has changed a bitshe''s gotten smarter." Bettel looked around at the soldiers and smiled bitterly as he stood up. "Oh Allie, one thing I don''t understand is, since you have such power behind you, why you didn''t tell me. If you had just told me, I definitely wouldn''t have done anything to you." "No, we''d get to this point sooner or later." Allie shook her head. "I was just caught up in your fancy words before. Just give me a little more time and I''d still discover your true nature. We would still clash then. After all, our views are very, very different." Bettel laughed miserably. "You''re going to kill me yourself?" Allie nodded. "What a cruel woman." Bettel stepped out of the protective circle and said, "I can go with you to the grove. Give me one last bit of a noble''s dignity, and don''t let my faithful subordinates see my miserable end. Let them go." The group of soldiers was immediately impassioned by these words, and though they had little strength left, they still clamored to join Bettel in life and in death. Roland snapped his fingers and Group Hypnosis immediately enveloped them. In the pale yellow light, these soldiers fell down one by one. The success rate of Hypnosis, especially Group Hypnosis, was actually not very high. The reason why Roland was able to make all the enemies sleep in one move was that these soldiers were too tired and had no mental resistance left. Bettel looked at the group of sleeping soldiers and laughed bitterly. He then looked at the players and his bitter smile gradually became strange. "You guys are quite daring, really. You''ve done a terrible thing. To the other lords, you''re no different than devils. I should be the first lord to die at your hands, but I won''t be the last. One day, you guys will come into conflict with the entire noble world, and I will watch from hell to see if you guys are victorious, or if you guys are banished back to your original world." With that said, he straightened his clothes and walked into the grove, Allie following him. The players waited in place. After a short while, Allie, with a bit of blood on her face and a large dark red stain on her big red dress, came out. However, these things were censored into pixels. Then, the players'' expressions became somewhat ambiguous. A beautiful woman with a few white pixels on her face immediately washed away the sorrowful atmosphere and even added some joy. Allie walked up to the player in charge of the livestream and said, "Bettel has been killed. I will keep my promise and quit this game. I''m also planning to sell the game cabin, and those of you in the livestream who are interested can follow the official auction led by the spice girls provinces[1]. It should be offered for sale in the near future." At this moment, someone among the black-robed people advised, "Sister, just delete the account and restart. You can just remodel your face againno one will know who you are. This is a rare opportunity, and once the immersive cabin is sold, it''ll be hard to buy again later." Allie shook her head. "I''ve already made up my mind, this game is not for a naive woman like me." Although Allie looked lost and melancholic, none of the players who looked at her would feel the same way. They frowned awkwardly, wanting to laugh but too embarrassed to do so. The pixels on the girl''s face really ruined the atmosphere. At this moment, someone interjected, "So, our mission is considered complete, how about we all just break up?" "Wait, don''t be in a hurry to disperse." A bandit jumped out, took the loot from his Backpack, and threw it on the ground. "This is the spoils of war I scavenged from the castle. Divide amongst yourselves, everyone''s got a share." The other five bandit players also jumped out. "Here''s more." Then, a pile of gold coins, silver coins, and gems piled up in front of everyone. Although there were only 60 gold coins, when the price of the gems was factored in, each player who participated in this activity would at least get a share of the 3 gold coins. A "eat lemons" statement emerged from the livestream. "Oh sh**, why didn''t I attend? That''s a lot of money." "I regret it so much, I should have had a share. If a brothel worker hadn''t sucked the energy out of me on the road" "Sure enough, those who commit murder and arson get rich!" [1] Girls from China''s spice belt 134 Brave and Wimpy That pile of cyan, different-sized gems was worth about 90 gold coins after a rough evaluation by the six bandits, and with the addition of 60 more gold coins, they had scavenged about 150 gold coins from the castle. If converted into yuan, it would be just over two million. This money might not sound like much, but almost all the players felt that it was a huge sum of money. Money was something that depended on purchasing power and also on the current demands of society. For example, in the 70s and 80s in China, it was about 60 to 70 cents for a catty[1] of porkcheapbut there were still very few people who could afford to eat pork. At that time, eating meat itself was a luxury. Imagine what it was like to have a savings of over two million yuan in the 70s and 80s when pork cost less than a yuan a catty. In this game world, the prices and the purchasing power of the people were even lower than in the 70s and 80s of China. Honey white bread, known as the entry-level luxury item, was only two copper coins, which also sounded cheap, but ordinary commoners didn''t dare to eat it indiscriminately, because one copper coin could already buy several kilograms of wheat, and the food that two copper coins could buy was a family''s rations for ten days. How could they dare to eat it recklessly? This was why this pile of gold coins and gems, in this world, was already a huge sum of money. And Bettel was still just the mayor of a small city. Because the main force behind setting the castle on fire and scavenging the loot was six bandits, they naturally had a larger share, so they took out sixty gold coins'' worth of stuff and gave it to the six bandits to share. The other ninety gold coins'' worth of things were divided equally among the other thirty or so players. It didn''t really matter if Roland took the money or not. Now that the number of mages going to the capital to learn his specialty was gradually increasing, his Backpack had an additional thirty gold coins nowhe wasn''t short of money. But if he didn''t take it, he would most likely be secretly labeled as being unsociable, ostentatious, acting rich, and other negative labels, so he symbolically took a small white gemstone as his own reward. The players then ate, drank, and bragged outside of Mory for two days before slowly dispersing on their own. All food and drink during that time were bought from the city of Mory. At first, the entire city''s residents and merchants were very afraid of this group of crazy players outside the city. These Golden Sons didn''t need to sleep, and after getting drunk in the middle of the night, they banged gongs and drums, shrieked and howled some strange songs outside the city. This was scary to listen to and the children didn''t dare to cry at night. There were some more daring ones that actually dared to come and freeload food and drink. The players didn''t care. They poured them drinks and gave them meat; they were extremely generous. Even the liveliest feast would eventually break up. Roland was amongst the last to leave, and as he was about to move, a squad of soldiers escorting a young boy found him. It was a small boy who was a bit dry and skinny, a bit timid-looking, and he couldn''t hold his bearings even in his noble clothes. However, he faced Roland and still used the most wishy-washy demeanor to say something very much in line with the field of equal diplomacy. "Your Excellency, the esteemed Archmage, I am a distant relative of the Bettel family, and as the last heir to the city of Mory, and as the current lord of Mory, I think I should be qualified to ask Your Excellency something." This little boy was truly afraid. He spoke with a tremor and seemed to have tears in his big eyes, but he still bravely looked straight into Roland''s eyes without any shiftiness. Roland looked to the guards next to him. These soldiers were the ones that had accompanied Bettel the other day, the ones that wanted to live and die with Bettel. But when they faced Roland''s scrutinizing gaze, they all subconsciously turned their heads to avoid meeting his gaze. Roland returned his gaze to the little boy and smiled. "Go ahead and ask." The little boy''s voice was still trembling. "Have you accomplished your immediate goal of revenge, and will you come back to attack our city of Mory in the future?" Roland saw how afraid the boy was, so he asked a little curiously, "What are you going to do if we come back next time?" As Roland said this, the remaining few players who hadn''t left and were in charge of disposing and burying the trash also leaned over, and for a moment, several black-robed people stood together, eyeing the opposite side with great intimidation. "I" Looking at the increasing number of black-robed people across the street, the little boy''s voice not only trembled more this time, but even his lips were also turning white and trembling. "I feel like fighting killing, no good We can do it another way, we can hand over a certain amount of gold coins every month as acknowledgment of submission, please spare our commoners in Mory!" The guards beside him were gulping and acting extremely uneasy, wanting to put their hands on their sword hilts, but not daring to for fear of irritating the group of black-robed people across the street. The little boy was less than ten years old, and as Roland watched him bravely restrain his fear, he took some pity on him and reached over, wanting to stroke the little guy''s head and soothe him. The action ended up frightening the little boy, who screamed lightly and closed his eyes. But he still stood straight and didn''t step back. Several guards had closed their hands on the hilt of their swords, but they just didn''t pull their swords out. Roland patted the little boy''s head and said gently, "The mayor''s position is a bit toughif you do a good job, we won''t come here anymore." After saying this, Roland left. Several other players came up, each of them patting the little boy''s head and saying, "Do a good job." "Do a good job and don''t be like your predecessors." "Work hard and be a good mayor." Then the players left in pairs, the sound of their banter heard even from far away. "That little boy is so brave. If I were in his place, I would be so scared that I''d defecate on the spot." "That''s disgusting and wimpy. If it were me, I''m sure I''d just pass out frothing at the mouth." Then there was a string of self-indulgent, obscene laughter. The little boy who had been trembling couldn''t help but fall to the ground as he watched the unmasked black-robed men leave until their silhouettes almost disappeared. He covered his face with one hand and cried quietly, "It''s terrifying. They scared me to death, they scared me to death." As the words were spoken, a water stain appeared on the ground beneath him. Discovering this, the little boy''s cries were even more shameful. A personal guard squatted down and gently patted the little boy''s back. "Little Master, you''ve been brave and amazing." Roland returned to Mory and found his former coachman. He took the original carriage in the same direction he had come from. He hadn''t been in the carriage for long when he received a guild message from Betta: "Brother Roland, there''s a thread on the general discussion board of the forum saying how to deal with you!" Roland was stunned. Had he offended someone? He immediately opened the forum and quickly found the thread. Regarding How to Target the Strongest Mage Roland. The poster claimed to be a "Spell Breaker." [1] Chinese unit of mass 135 A Little Pressure I''m not the ultimate boss, do I have to be targeted like this? Despite thinking so, Roland clicked into this thread and started reading it. The original poster claimed to have found the hidden profession of Spell Breaker, which was a special profession specifically targeting magic professions. As long it was a profession using magic or theurgy, it would be bad luck to encounter them. And among spellcasters, Mages should be the strongest, but a while ago, he felt like a hero who learned the art of dragon-slaying but had no dragons to slay. After all, Mages were few and far between. Bullying the Warlocks and Priests was no fun at all, and only by defeating powerful Mages could he feel somewhat worthy of existence. After all, apart from having a bit of an advantage over magic professions, Spell Breakers were a bit weaker against Warriors and agility professions. So whether Mages are strong or not, and how many of them there are, these questions were of existential significance to Spell Breakers. Just when he felt that he might not be able to do anything of significance in the future, Roland appeared. He was happy. He wanted Roland to become stronger. This way he would have a higher sense of accomplishment by defeating the strongest Mage on the entire server. At the same time, he also wished that more powerful Mages would appear, or else how could Spell Breakers appear important and powerful. Ever since Roland became famous, he had been following Roland like a stalker. And all this time, he had an obsessive sense of superiority over Roland, believing that he should still have some advantage over the strongest Mage. Until two days ago, when he saw Roland blowing down the city wall with a big fireball on the live stream. His sense of superiority disappeared. "Countering a profession only grants a relatively larger advantage. However, that advantage can be wiped out or even overtaken. Our magic resistance as Spell Breakers is indeed high, but that has its limits. That fireball, not to mention me, even my teacher wouldn''t be able to resist it. Now the profession of Mage is quite polarized: ordinary Mages are frighteningly weak, many of them can''t even let out a basic Inferior Fireball; whereas the strong ones, like Roland, seem to be as exaggerated as a boss." After complimenting Roland, the original poster went on to write, "We Spell Breakers can disrupt the magical elements within a certain range, and increase the casting difficulty for Mages by a level or two, but this disruption is meaningless with Roland''s level of magic control. I''ve said all this: it''s not that Roland is invincible, he has obvious weaknesses as well. "First of all, casting a spell at full strength requires a long time of ''chanting'' to achieve enough power. "If he''s under heavy protection, it''ll be necessary to have sniper-type archers, from a hundred or two hundred meters away, strike him at long range, preferably attacking his eyes. "If lucky, it is possible to kill the spellcaster directly, and if unlucky, it can also serve to disrupt the spellcaster''s incantation. "When the spellcaster''s lengthy incantation magic is restricted, they will definitely turn to a relatively less powerful instantaneous magic. "This kind of magic is still very deadly, but it won''t be strong enough to blow down the walls of the city, and this is where the magic-resistant equipment comes init can effectively resist the damage of instant cast magic. "That''s why I personally believe that to deal with a boss player like Roland, you need to form a squad of at least five people, and the configuration must have a long-range expert and spellcasters or Spell Breakers who know Dimensional Anchor. After all, last I saw Roland had uploaded a model of the Teleportation Spell. In other words, he''s getting into spatial magic. In order to prevent him from strategically maneuvering to kite us, the Dimensional Anchor must be brought along to block off a large area of spatial magic effects. "A Mage without spatial magic is no different from a lackadaisical person. "This is just my humble opinion as a Spell Breaker, but finally, I''d like to ask the development team whether making the Mage so strong fitted their ideology. Don''t classes need to be balanced? Even I, a Spell Breaker, feel like I can''t handle him, so how can the other players get an advantage over him?" Then the players who posted replies got into a fight about this. "I really don''t understand, why does a Mage player have a boss strategy too? He''s not Sanji Dao[1].'''' "This one is much fiercer than Sanji Dao. You didn''t watch him bombing the city walls a few days ago. He''s a god." "Thirteen seconds of casting a single skill is only good for being a glass cannon. Once he''s targeted, he''s trash." "Don''t forget, Roland is so scary now when he''s only level five. If you let him reach level 10, is it possible for him to rain down meteorites from where you can''t see him?" "As I recall, some Mages seem to have skills in secondary stealth spells, skills similar to that of bandits." "A Mage''s magic is only something you can''t imagine, there''s nothing they can''t do. Whether it''s stealth, enhancement, or summoning, all of it is no problem. It just depends on whether they can learn or not." "I think he just has a head-start advantage, and I don''t believe he''ll always be able to sit in the position of the strongest Mage. Can those rich people watch him act so arrogantly?" "Sorry, Principal Huang is a rich man and has a 250 IQ, but he only plays Warriors." "Hey, feel free to discuss, but don''t drag me into it." As soon as a golden ID, symbolic of wealth, replied, the entire thread was sidetracked. "Principal Huang has made an appearance. Are you short on leg accessories[2]?" "Principal Huang, can you give me your dog''s unwanted Apple watch?" Roland closed the forums, feeling a bit of a headache because of how he had been targeted by these idiotic players. But when he thought about it, he realized it was quite normal. This game wouldn''t prohibit PK between players. In other words, in the future, group battles and guild battles should be a common thing. It would be impossible for F6 to stay immune from this, and one day they''d come into conflict with other guilds. And he was probably the professional with the most destructive power on the surface at this stage. This was a great threat in a guild war. Therefore it was indeed logical for those guild executives to use him as an imaginary enemy. It seems like I''ll have to be careful when I go out in the future. Maybe there will be bandit players or assassins secretly trying to conspire against me. As long as he kept the information of his level a secret, the threat would be greatly reduced. No I have to find a way to learn to think anti-stealth magic. This Spell Breaker''s post put a certain amount of pressure on Roland. With this thought in mind, Roland asked the other Mage players in the penguin group, but they all said that they had never seen anti-stealth magic. Four days later, Roland returned to the Magic Tower. He didn''t rest and went straight to find Aldo. After hearing Roland''s intention, Aldo smiled. "There are many anti-stealth spells, but only two of them are more practical. One is the most basic, Manifest Dust Shimmer, and the other is the Small Wishing Spelljust wish ''I can see the invisible'' as a casting condition will do." Roland asked urgently, "Where do you learn this?" He had already rummaged through the library of the Magic Tower and knew that these two spells were not recorded there. "Manifest Dust Shimmer is a Transmutation type of spell, you can learn it from an old Mage named Kemir at the capital. And as for the Small Wishing Spell, you''ll have to go to the Church of Destiny and donate money." "How much donation money is required?" asked Roland. He remembered there was a church for the goddess of divination in the city. "At least forty gold coins." Aldo smiled. How expensive! Roland felt his headache intensify. He thought he was already rich, but the gold coins in his Backpack weren''t enough to learn a single spell. [1] Lit. Three Seasons Rice, famous Chinese WoW player, lit class necromancer, known for killing players in the Alliance [2] In Chinese, to hug someone''s leg is to depend on someone 136 All Life is Equal Aldo''s maidservants were of the highest average quality amongst all the big shots in Delpon. Moreover, these maidservants were extremely loyal to him. At this moment, Aldo was embracing maidservants on the left and right, and one of the two maidservants was feeding him wine and one was delicately feeding him fruit. Aldo still had that haggard appearancecaught between life and deathas he did before. When he saw that Roland seemed a little anxious, he slowly said, "Don''t be in a hurry to learn anti-stealth. The Small Wishing Spell is not only expensive, but it''s a level-four spell. You shouldn''t be able to learn it yet. But Manifestation Dust Shimmer can be learned, it''s just that Kemir is a proud man, a pure-blooded noble, and doesn''t treat commoners or new nobles too kindly. I guess you Golden Sons would not be liked by him either." Upon hearing this, Roland temporarily put an end to the idea of learning anti-stealth magic. "I don''t know why you seem to be in such a hurry, but you''re a Golden Son, there''s no need to fear death, right?" Aldo teased with a smile. Roland shrugged and then left from Aldo''s manor. Indeed, as Aldo had said, Roland logically had no need to bother with the bandit class. But Roland had a feeling that the greatest threat to him was not some Spell Breaker, but rather the professions like bandits, assassins, and hitmen that could be invisible. Although everyone was a player, it was precisely the community of players that was more correct on cardinal issues of right and wrong but would be jumpier on small matters. There was no telling what they would do. It wasn''t like PK between players really resulted in death, so Roland reckoned that in a little while, PK would become the norm. In addition, there would always be people who resented those in the limelight. Roland was now considered to be one of the more prominent among the players, known as the number one Mage. Now there were already people openly talking about how to target him on the forums, and secretly well, he didn''t know how many people wanted to step on him to get to the top. This was why Roland felt it was necessary to take precautions. Back at the Magic Tower, Vivian was quite happy to see him. She made pastries, brewed fruit wine, and massaged his back and shoulders. Then, Vivian sat down and started chatting with Roland. She talked about the recent events at the Magic Tower, the funny things that had happened to the two new little ones, and what happened when Claus''s family came to claim the body. "Claus''s father''s hair is all white. Claus was the family''s only hope, but" At this point, Vivian''s happy expression darkened and she sighed slightly. "You think I''m unreasonable, right?" Roland asked bluntly as he observed Vivian''s expression. Nobles were always a bit proud, and although Roland didn''t have much contact with them, he could tell that they didn''t look too kindly on commoners. There might even be a lot of people who felt that while Claus was wrong, killing him outright was excessive. Vivian shook her head. "No one else knows, but I wouldn''t think so. I can tell that you''re most sentimental, Deputy Chairman." As she said this, the young girl''s eyes seemed to reveal a spring-like flow of light. Vivian then left. Roland ate some food and then rested in the study. Before he knew it, he''d been playing this game for half a year now. He had also stayed for almost four months in the Magic Tower. Indistinctly, this place seemed to have become a new home. There was always a sense of peace of mind when he stayed in the study. After resting for a while, Roland began to derive Spell Puppet. Since he couldn''t learn the anti-stealth skills for the time being, it would suffice to make the puppet have an anti-stealth mode. He started right away, but as soon as he set his hands on the task, he was stunned. What was the principle of a stealth spell? Optical invisibility? Visual illusions? Becoming transparent on one''s own, a transient change in biological genetics? Hmm Roland immediately used the guild system to @ his close friend Husserat. Roland: What is the principle of the stealth of bandits? Husserat: How would I know? It just works. Roland: You should study it. Husserat: Get lost! You''re giving me a hard time, as a tertiary diploma mill graduate and a loser who played LoL for four years of college. Roland: Then you come over here and let me study it? Husserat: !!!! Li Lin: !!! Schuck: (Stunned) Roland, when did you start having these tastes? Roland was speechless for a moment. He left a despicable emoji in the guild and then gave up on the idea of getting the puppet to learn the anti-stealth ability for now. However, this opened his imagination. If he couldn''t create an anti-stealth model puppet, then he could create a scout type puppet first. Reduced body size, improved perception, increased speed, and so on! Thinking about it this way, Roland immediately became motivated again. Making large robots and puppet dolls and whatnot was a man''s innate hobbies. Roland then wholeheartedly devoted himself to the making of the puppet doll. The days passed quickly. Because the news in this world spread somewhat slowly, it took nearly ten days before the mayor, John Senior, received the news that a group of black-robed people had killed the city of Mory''s mayor, Bettel. The sunshine outside the window was excellent, but John Senior''s heart was a little cold. John Junior, who was going to go to other cities in two days to search for female Golden Sons and was packing up his luggage, now looked a little bewildered when he was called to his father''s study. "See for yourself." A piece of parchment was thrown in front of John Junior. After reading it, John Junior thought for a moment and said, "It must have been done by the Golden Sons. Dozens of people, all professionals, such a force, an average lord couldn''t possibly possess something like that, not even us. The royal family is just barely capable of it." John Senior nodded. "But we''re just freely evaluating the evidence, there''s no way to prove that they did it, so there''s no way to condemn them." "These Golden Sons are slippery," John Junior said irritably, "so daring as to do such dreadful things, and yet they conceal the truth of the matter. Shall I call them cowards, or shall I call them brave and resourceful?" "You still haven''t seen the deeper picture." There was some disappointment in John Senior''s eyes. "If they dared to kill Bettel of Mory, they''ll dare to kill us one day, so long as they find an excuse to." John Junior was a little puzzled. "No matter how small the city of Mory is, Bettel is still a mayor. This means that the Golden Sons don''t see us as nobles." John Senior slapped the table heavily. "In their eyes, there is no difference between a commoner and a noble. There''s no difference between us and commonersit''s just that we have more money and more people. In their eyes, we might even be a legitimate gang." John Junior suddenly felt a little cold. 137 Soap Opera John Junior was actually smart enough to sense early on that he and the Golden Sons were not on the same page, but more often than not he just thought that it was just a problem of sociability. He wasn''t used to that kind of hypocrisy from the Golden Sons. It was true that commoners should be loved a little bit, but there was a limit. If a commoner was harmed, then the Golden Sons would kill the noble responsible. This was too overboard. Originally, he had assumed that the Golden Sons were just using this tactic to remove dissent. But now his father''s words had opened a window for him. The Golden Sons treated them like ordinary people. No wonder he always felt something was wrong. There was cold sweat on Little John''s forehead now. When John Senior saw that his son seemed to have figured it out, he said, "What''s even more impressive is that the Golden Sons acted impeccably this time. They impersonated the Gray Eyes resistance and removed themselves from the scene. The person who came up with this idea should have read the situation and known that all they need to do now is hunker down until they have the power to topple the entire noble class." "They don''t see that far ahead, do they?" John Junior found this a little incredulous. "Never underestimate your opponents and don''t pin your victory on their folly." John Senior snorted. "You invited the four of them to come together last time, but nothing came of it, right?" John Junior nodded. "Now then, go invite them again, in my name." John Senior laughed softly. "I''ll see these four Golden Sons for myself, and see how they measure up." At the Magic Tower, Roland spent most of the day designing the new scout puppets and was just about to test them when the game time was up. He woke from his immersive cabin and casually browsed the forums before heading to the saber arts club. Just after stepping off the public bike, he saw Qi Shaoqiu leaning against the entrance with a pair of dead-fish eyes half open and a Jia Tianxia[1] cigarette in his mouth, acting like a lonely expert. "Brother Qiu, why are you here and not eating breakfast?" After almost two months together, Roland, Qi Shaoqiu, and Night Tide Sands had become very familiar with each other. Qi Shaoqiu was three years older than Roland and was his teacher, so Roland was forced to call him Brother Qiu. Qi Shaoqiu nudged his mouth in the direction of the large shed and said, "Look who it is." When Roland looked over, he noticed that Jin Wenwen was in the large shed chatting with Night Tide Sands. Jin Wenwen''s expression was somewhat smug, seemingly smiling, while Night Tide Sand''s expression was cold and even a bit displeased. "What''s she doing here?" Roland felt a little troubled. "Didn''t you say that she wouldn''t come over?" "Then I''ll go home first today?" Roland asked as he turned his head. "It''s no use since she showed up here to wait for you. If she can''t get to you, she won''t leave. Waiting today, waiting tomorrow Even if I don''t give her a chance to come in, she can still wait at the door." Qi Shaoqiu sighed helplessly. "Can you possibly not come every day? Why don''t you just meet with her, lay it out plainly for her, and let her give up." Roland thought about it and felt that this was the right way. While these two were talking, Jin Wenwen saw Roland, then smiled proudly. At the same time, she came over. "You''re really good at hiding." Jin Wenwen walked up to Roland and said with a smile, "Forcing me to come to this place." Roland was about to speak. "Speaking as if my place is some kind of inhospitable environment, you don''t have to come if you don''t like it," said Qi Shaoqiu in a very sociable manner, holding his cigarette and blowing out a smoke ring. Jin Wenwen turned her head to look at him and frowned. "Look at you, three years and still nothing has changed. I''m talking to someone else, why are you interrupting?" "I''m living a good life, why should I change?" Qi Shaoqiu snorted. "This is my territory, Roland is my student, so I''m obligated to protect him from some troublesome woman." "Oh, so now you feel responsible, why weren''t you so manly back then?" "It''s not my child, why would I want to raise it!" Qi Shaoqiu sneered. Sheesh Upon hearing this, Roland gasped in astonishment. There was so much information in Qi Shaoqiu''s words that he had already started to imagine some eight o''clock soap operas. "Scum." Jin Wenwen snorted. "If you don''t want to be responsible, just say so, don''t use the baby as an excuse." "The amniocentesis was done three times, and all three times it was fake?" Jin Wenwen turned her head with a gloomy look and stared at Qi Shaoqiu fiercely, then turned her head to look at Roland. "Come with me, I have something I want to talk to you about." Roland was about to speak again. At this moment, Night Tight Sands, who had already walked over, spoke up. "Roland, come over for breakfast." Jin Wenwen turned her head to look at Night Tide Sands. "You siblings are working together to bully me, right?" Night Tide Sands looked at her coldly. "If you''ve got business, wait until Roland finishes his breakfast. It''s easy to get stomach problems if you''re on an empty stomach for too long in the morning." This reason was too realistic, causing Jin Wenwen to be very displeased as she stared at Night Tide Sands in annoyance. However, Night Tide Sands was completely oblivious and instead turned her head to look at Roland, her tone intensifying a bit. "What are you waiting for, come quickly or else breakfast is just going to get cold." Roland smiled. "Okay." Then he followed Night Tide sands to breakfast. Jin Wenwen stayed back, staring hard at Night Tide Sands with slightly red eyes. Roland was sitting in the kitchen, eating a hearty breakfast while watching the two outside through the window. Jin Wenwen glared furiously at Qi Shaoqiu. And Qi Shaoqiu was leaning against the doorpost, smoking a cheap cigarette, twisting away, ignoring Jin Wenqiu, his attitude relaxed and natural. Roland was quite curiousthere was obviously a story between those two. Night Tide Sands sat opposite Roland, looked at him for a while, then said, "Big Brother used to have a good relationship with Jin Wenwen. Three years ago, when they were talking about marriage, Jin Wenwen got pregnant and Big Brother was happy, but a friend told him that he saw Jin Wenwen and some man go in and out of a hotel several times and that Big Brother should reconsider. He and that friend had a very ironclad relationship and he probably wouldn''t talk nonsense. So Big Brother went and had Jin Wenwen do amniocentesis for a DNA test. At first Jin Wenwen was reluctant and said that Big Brother didn''t trust her, but he was adamant. After three consecutive tests, all three tests came back; it wasn''t Big Brother''s offspring. "Then they broke up, and Jin Wenwen aborted the baby." Night Tide Sands spoke quickly and simply, but Roland''s mind already played the contents of a super long TV series. No wonder Qi Shaoqiu usually looked like a spiritless person who had seen through the vanity of lifeso it turns out there was such a story behind this. If I were to encounter something like this oh, it''s better to never encounter it. "So you hate her a lot?" "She is my brother''s demon." Night Tide Sands showed a rare expression of anger. "Ever since that incident, Big Brother''s saber arts haven''t improved." [1] cigarette brand 138 Night Tide Sands, Before and After Roland hadn''t really expected that Qi Shaoqiu actually had such a history. From an onlooker''s point of view, if what Night Tide Sands said was true, then Jin Wenwen really had gone overboard. From an affinity point of view, in terms of getting along with each other on a regular basis, Roland was more willing to believe Night Tide Sands'' words. Therefore, he already didn''t have much of a favorable opinion of Jin Wenwen, but now it directly dropped to the negatives. He withdrew his gaze from the two outside and began to focus on eating breakfast. He was actually not interested in such things as gossip about acquaintances. After finishing his breakfast, he said to Night TIde Sands, who was still taking small bites of her noodles, "The breakfast you make is getting better and better." Night Tide Sands'' lips were slightly pursed, but there was no smile on her face. She just said faintly, "Just eat, what''s with all the superfluous talk!" The words sounded very impatient, but Roland somehow heard a coquettish tone in them. And after spending the last two or three months together, Roland also knew that Night Tide Sands was the kind of person who was cold in appearance but was actually very passionate. The icy personality seemed to be just a protective shell around her. Helping to clean up the dishes, Roland suddenly said, "Last time Brother Qiu said that he wanted you to teach me some kind of healthcare technique? Is it a kind of qigong?" "Yes, Daoist''s Nourishment of Life, a commonplace qigong mental cultivation technique." Night Tide Sands turned her head to look at him. "Although anyone can practice this kind of qigong, in our Qi family, it''s usually only practiced by women." Hmm Upon hearing this, Roland lost interest. All this time, he had been looking for a method that could exercise his mental power in reality, and he had looked up a lot of information and visited some relevant forums and asked the netizens who were interested in this. Things like Zen cultivation, yoga, and the like were on the list of recommendations from the netizens. But he always felt these were a little unreliable. Come to think of it, the only people around him who could be linked to this area was the Qi family. After all, a family that passed on martial arts should always have some knowledge in this area. It was just that last time he had directly rejected Qi Shaoqiu''s good intentions, and if he went back to him to tell him this, he would most likely be ridiculed The more closely they acquainted, the more they would love to mock people at times like this. This was why he came to ask Night Tide Sands about it. When he heard that it was commonplace Qigong, he subconsciously thought that it was something left over twenty years ago after the Qigong craze, the so-called intelligent Qigong or something like that. Hmm? You didn''t use to look like this? Does this Qigong have the power of plastic surgery or the ability to change one''s appearance? That''s too creepy! As Roland''s expression was getting more and more bewildered, Night Tide Sands furrowed her nice thin brows slightly. She dried her hands with a cloth and said, "Help me wash the dishes. I''ll get something to show you." Then Night Tide Sands turned to leave. Roland was stunned for a moment, and then he cleared the table and started washing the dishes. Night Tide Sands had been making him extremely hearty breakfasts for almost three months now, so what if he helped this girl wash the dishes once! Just after he cleaned the dishes, Night Tide Sands came back in again, this time with something in her hand: a photo album. "Come here!" Night Tide Sands beckoned to Roland, placed the photo album on the table, opened a random page, and said, "This is the old me." There were many photos in the album, but most of them were pictures of a young girl''s life. With just a glance, Roland recognized the young girl as Night Tide Sands. But unlike the current Night Tide Sands, the young girl in the photo was dry and thin, with yellowish skin and hair with little luster. She looked quite ordinary, even below the standard line as a girl. But the current Night Tide Sands her skin was snow white, her lips red and her teeth white, and she also had that very attractive body shape. It was the so-called "one point less is thin, one point more is fat'''' body shape, which was extremely suited to the aesthetics of the East. Although her looks had barely changed, this comparison revealed that the current Night Tide Sands was really extremely charming. Her temperament was also excellent, quite like the aloofness of a cold beauty. Roland flipped through the photo album and exclaimed, "That''s quite a difference." Night Tide Sands'' ears were a little red and she didn''t say anything. Flipping through the album, Roland saw some photos of Night Tide Sands on a school campus, and he felt that the scenery was quite familiar. "Huh it seems like I''ve seen this somewhere before. Wait, isn''t this the Eleventh High School building. Were you also a student of Eleventh High School?" Night Tide Sands nodded, not speaking. "So you''re my junior sister." Roland was quite pleased. "I''m from the class of ''01, how about you?" "Class of ''02!" Night Tide Sands looked at Roland for a little while, slightly disappointed. Roland didn''t remember her from beforein vain, she deliberately brought the photo album over. Roland didn''t think much about it. He continued to look through the photo album until it was finished and found that Night Tide Sands was an extremely unremarkable type throughout her high school years. "You mean, you practiced the Daoist Nourishment of Life before you became the beautiful person you are now?" Night Tide Sands nodded. "Whether I''m pretty or not is another story. Both my internal change and my external change came after I practiced Daoist Nourishment of Life. I was just starting college at that time." Roland, however, had a question. "Then how can you be sure that it must have been the work of the Daoist Nourishment of Life? Couldn''t it be that you''re starting to develop normally? A girl changes eighteen times before reaching adulthood, you should have heard this before." "When I was a senior in college, I was busy with internships and writing papers in the second half of the semester, so I didn''t practice it for a while." Night Tide Sands'' had a lingering fear in her expression. "Within three months, I almost turned back to my original yellow and skinny appearance, and then when I restarted training, this slowly got better." So that''s what happened. After hearing this, Roland was somewhat interested. A technique that could regulate the development of the body, or condition the body, might really be something special. "I''ll bring you the notes on my experience later." As Night Tide Sands was saying this, there was a soft knocking sound at the window. The two of them turned their heads to see that it was Jin Wenwen. Her eyes were slightly red and she looked at Roland through the window. "Finished your breakfast, I assume. Can we talk now?" Night Tide Sands'' eyebrows were knitted and she was about to speak. But this time Roland was quicker. "Okay, let''s talk." He said this as he walked out of the kitchen. On the other side, rather unhappily, Night Tide Sands watched him and Jin Wenwen leave, then also walked out. But instead of following the two, she went to the entrance of the saber arts club and found her big brother. "Why did you let Jin Wenwen in and let her harass Roland?" Qi Shaoqiu laughed lightly. "It''s not like you don''t know Jin Wenwen''s personalityher pestering is troublesome. Let her talk to Roland, and after talking things out, the matter will be resolved. Or else, she''ll be stuck here every daynot to mention Roland, we wouldn''t be able to stand it." "But in case Roland gets bullied by her" "Don''t worry, that Roland kid has an even heavier murderous aura than before and an even calmer temperament." Qi Shaoqiu said disdainfully, "Besides, Roland is a tough-minded person at first glance, while Jin Wenwen is just a bit more aggressive and naggy in temperament. It would be good enough if her attempt doesn''t backfire when she tries to bully Roland." 139 Being a Pretty Boy Starting From Today? Jin Wenwen brought Roland to a remote part of the saber arts club. As it was almost autumn, osmanthus flowers were blooming. The smell was quite nice, and there was a faint fragrance of osmanthus everywhere. With a white shirt on top, skinny jeans underneath, short ear-length hair, and a refined vibe, this kind of tomboy would indeed give some people quite a shock. But not for Roland; he liked feminine girls. Moreover, after listening to Night Tide Sands'' story, he had an extremely bad impression of Jin Wenwen, so he didn''t think she looked at all outstanding. "You sure can hide." Jin Wenwen took out a slim cigarette and skillfully lit it, inhaling and exhaling smoke rings before continuing, "I can''t believe you made me chase you here." Roland laughed at this. "But still, haven''t you come over here shamelessly?" Upon hearing this, Jin Wenwen''s brow furrowed deeply. "You seem to have a lot of complaints about me?" "To put it another way, Miss Jin, if you''re being stalked every day by a pervert trying to figure out where you live, how would you feel?" These words were beating around the bush by calling her a stalker, the same nature as a pervert. Jin Wenwen was immediately so furious that the cigarette in her hand almost shook off, and it took her a while to suppress her anger and say, "Since you don''t like to talk to me much, I''ll keep it simple." Roland raised his eyebrows, an expression of "If you have something to say, just say it." Jin Wenwen took a deep breath. "You must have an immersive cabin at home." "No." Roland shook his head. "You can''t fool me." Jin Wenwen smiled somewhat smugly. "I noticed as soon as I saw you just now that you were starting to develop a murderous aura. A few months ago, when I first saw you, you were so clean that you were no different from a baby. But now, you have a murderous aura, and it''s very strong. It''s not something that can be formed by killing one or two peopleyou''ve killed a lot of people." Roland chuckled. "If I really killed a lot of people, I would have been arrested by public security already. Do you really think the public security officers are that incompetent?" "Yeah, it''s obvious that you''ve killed a lot of people, but nothing happened. Then is there any other possibility besides a virtual game?" Jin Wenwen walked up to Roland and stared at him seriously. "Only in that game, you kill people at will and don''t get caught up in real-world consequences." Roland yawned, looked at Jin Wenwen, who was very close to him, and said, "That''s just your guess. I still have to tell you I don''t have one." "It doesn''t matter if you say there isn''t, as long as I think there is." Jin Wenwen''s smile took on a dark quality. "Honestly, that immersive cabin left in your hands is a pure waste. Giving it to us martial artists is the best choice." "That kind of immersive cabin was made to be used by martial artists. It shouldn''t fall into the hands of ordinary people like you." Roland laughed lightly. "What era is it now, there are still people who think they are nobler? Have you forgotten all about the history of Cheng Sheng[1] taught in junior high school? Don''t tell me you were out boxing without even finishing middle school." "You!" Jin Wenwen threw her lady''s cigarette to the floor in a fit of rage and stepped on it hard, her legs long and straight as a pair of compasses. "I''m not going to bull**** with you that muchhalf a million, let me have the immersive cabin." Roland shook his head. "I don''t have one." "Don''t be stubborn. Don''t blame me for using some dishonorable tactics if you really piss me off." Roland was even more amused when he heard this. "Now that the fight against crime is so serious, it''s always in the limelight, yet you actually dare to threaten me, an ordinary good citizen. Believe me, I''ll report you." It was different now compared to a decade or two ago. Triads and the like weren''t rampant at all. Jin Wenwen took a deep breath. "Fine, you win. Then, I''ll raise the price againone million." "I said I don''t have it, it''s not about the money." Roland looked at her mockingly. "Do you not understand what I''m saying, or are you simply deaf?" Jin Wenwen was almost driven crazy. She said hatefully, "Fine! You''re good, brat." Then, she twisted around and left. Roland then returned to the large shed and saw Night Tide Sands and Qi Shaoqiu waiting for him. As soon as Qi Shaoqiu saw him, he laughed. "I saw that Jin Wenwen was pissed off and left, that expression she had was like she ate sh**. Back then I broke up with her, her expression wasn''t even that ugly. Awesome!" After that, he even patted Roland''s shoulder excitedly. Night Tide Sands, on the other hand, asked, "What did she say to you?" "She insisted that I had an immersive cabin and said she wanted me to sell it to her for a million yuan. I said I didn''t have one, and she didn''t believe me and got mad and ran away," Roland said casually. But the two of them obviously didn''t believe thisthey knew Jin Wenwen very well. if it was as simple as Roland said, Jin Wenwen wouldn''t be angered to such an extent. Roland must have said something obscene to piss her off. "She still hasn''t let go of her ambition to fight for the women''s championship," Qi Shaoqiu lamented, as if recalling something. Night Tide Sands put her hands behind her back and looked into the distance. "You guys are also martial artists, aren''t you curious as to whether I have it or not?" Roland asked somewhat curiously. Qi Shaoqiu said indifferently, "So what if you do or don''t? You will naturally tell us if you want to, and you won''t say anything if you don''t want to. It''s futile to askinstead, it will just damage our relationship." Night Tide Sands looked at Roland, and there seemed to be autumn water rippling in her pretty black pupils. Roland sighed. "Actually, I do have it." Everyone was familiar with each other, so there was no point in speaking falsehoods. Qi Shaoqiu laughed lightly, showing some relief. Night Tide Sands, on the other hand, took out her hands that were behind her back. An old vellum notebook that was decades old was held in her hands. "These are my experiences, the insights on how to train the Daoist Nourishment of Life are all in there. You can take it and read it, and then return it to me after reading it." Roland accepted it. The notebook still had the girl''s body temperature. Roland was stunned for a moment, and then said solemnly, "Thank you." Night Tide Sands smiled once again, which she rarely did. "No need to thank me." At noon, Roland returned home from the saber arts club, and after having lunch with his parents, he lay down on his bed and looked through Night Tide Sands'' notebook. The first words that entered his sight were Daoist Nourishment of Life Insights, in a beautiful and graceful writing style. Roland flipped through the pages one by one. The notebook contained Night Tide Sands'' hand-drawn diagrams of human meridians, qi circulation routes, and some of her insights. After a cursory reading, Roland found that there was a major flaw in the insights and experiences. As a girl, Night Tide Sands'' was too focused on the whitening effect of this technique. Almost all the articles were full of things like circulating qi to what acupuncture points and how long to maintain it to make the skin whiter or firmer, and so on. It was either that or the secret technique for darker hair. Was this thing useless? No, it was very useful. But for Roland, what he would like to see more was an insight into improving his mental power. And not this kind of thing Was he going to train himself to be a pretty boy? Hmm, doesn''t seem like a bad idea. This thought suddenly flashed across Roland''s mind. [1] A self-proclaimed king whose reign lasted for only six months 140 Playing Dumb Could one make a living by being handsome? Of course! Roland had a classic example of this close to him. From a young age, Schuck had taught him in a series of surprising ways that when a man was handsome enough, just how much imperceptible good treatment one would encounter. For making the same mistake, Schuck was rarely punished, and when there was something good, he was given priority, and as for girls fawning over Schuck to the point where he felt it troublesome. Going out with girls, it was always the girls who took the initiative to pay. Now that he was married, there was no need for him to work at all, as long as he paid his "male rations" in the evening. Roland had envied and pondered before why he wasn''t a handsome man. Then he realized that there weren''t many people in the world who were as blessed as Schuck. Now even the game world admitted that Schuck''s attractiveness index had already exceeded the limits of the human race. But now that there was an opportunity to be a pretty boy in front of Roland, should he seize it? Of course, he would seize it people who thought that others who made a living off their looks were incompetent were just envious. Although even if he turned into a pretty boy, he would definitely not be able to compare to Schuck, no one would mind if they themselves were more handsome or more beautiful. Provided that they didn''t use surgical means to change their face. Roland turned off the lights in the room, then sat cross-legged, closing his eyes and entering a meditative state. After all, in the notes, the most basic introductory teaching was thiscalm one''s mind. The light coming in through the window flickered on and off, and after about ten minutes, Roland opened his eyes abruptly, then grimaced as he used his hands to force his legs straight. They were so numbalmost too numb to move. He slapped his own legs hard to alleviate the symptoms, all the while frowning, struck by a great deal of frustration. For someone who had never sat cross-legged, this position would easily cause the blood in the legs to flow poorly. He rested for a while, and when his legs weren''t numb, he began to close his eyes and meditate again. Only this time, it was even shorter than the last time. He slapped his legs again and smiled bitterly. Then, he got off the bed and walked for a while. When his legs were completely numb-free, he sat down in front of his computer and opened a web page to look up information on how to meditate without resulting in numb legs. The responses were virtually the same just sit like that a few more times. Fine. Roland had given up on cross-legged meditation for the time being tonight. After browsing the forums for a while, the time came and Roland entered the game punctually. And now, he was getting tired of staying in the real world. The real world always gave him a feeling of emptiness and even a little restlessness. He went to the magic lab and continued to derive the new characteristics of Spell Puppet. Shortly after, Vivian came in. She placed an invitation in front of Roland and said, "John Junior sent it over." Roland took the invitation and read it. It said that Roland and the other three Golden Sons were once again invited to the castle for a banquet, and it would still be a private one, only this time John Senior would also like to meet them. Hehe, finally making a move? John Senior hadn''t made any moves targeting the players since he came back, but now it seemed that he couldn''t sit still any longer. It was good to meet the other side. Roland also wanted to see what kind of person the other side was, after all! In the evening, Roland, along with Hawk and the others, went to the castle for the banquet. The person who received them was still John Junior. After not seeing each other for a while, John Junior was still as handsome as he was before. When he saw Roland and them, he bent slightly at the waist and said, "The four of you are finally here. I''ve been waiting for a long time, please come in." He volunteered to be an attendant and personally led the four of them into the castle''s banquet hall. Several thick candles were placed in each of the four corners of the banquet hall. These candles were magical creations that burned for a long time and were extremely bright, and they didn''t give off any odor or black smokeit was a luxury item, the price relatively expensive, and the average small noble dared not use it. It was one thing to be able to afford it, but using such precious things without the corresponding status would easily lead to the other nobles secretly ridiculing one for not knowing their status. This was already an unspoken rule. Roland and them didn''t recognize this. When they came in, they just felt that this candle was a bit brighter than usual, almost as good as household LED lights. So they just took one more glance and then shifted their gazes. Their actions were also seen by the Johns. John Senior was sitting at the host''s seat, and when he saw Roland and them coming over, he didn''t get up. He simply gently raised his glass and said, "Finally, the four of you are here." When guests arrived and the host didn''t stand up, it was just a matter of seeing that the visitor was not of high enough status to merit his standing up. That in itself was a rather impolite thing to do. Although Roland and the others didn''t understand these hidden noble rules, the "lack of etiquette" was something that both worlds had in common, so Roland and the others all frowned slightly. But they were fine with that and just started looking for a place to sit down. This was also a gesture statement. It was considered rude for a guest to directly sit down when the host had not asked them to sit down, and it was a strong act of contempt for the owner unless the visitor was very close to the person, then an exception would be made. This meant roughly the same in both worlds, and both John Senior and John Junior were a little surprised to see them sit themselves down. Both father and son then hid their emotions well, their faces still wearing hospitable and gentle smiles. When they sat down, Roland looked at John Senior. John Senior''s appearance was very similar to John Junior''s, but the former looked much more mature and much stronger. Roland looked at the other side for a moment and smiled. "The mayor invited us over, but is just sitting down and watching us without talking. Why is that?" "I was wondering how I should open up to you." John Senior laughed aloud, his gaze sweeping over the other three before finally landing on Roland''s face. "After all, what I''m about to say, It might be a bit forceful." "If it''s a bit forceful, then please don''t say it, Mayor." Roland waved his hand dismissively. "So as not to hurt the feelings of both parties. After all, we have a pretty good relationship with John Junior, and if there is any conflict with you, it would be hard for John Junior to be caught in the middle. A friend on one side, a close relative on the other, pains on both sides." Upon hearing this, John Junior felt as disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly. He really didn''t expect Roland to be so shameless. So shameless as to say such words. John Senior smirked inwardly. He was quite experienced and knowledgeable, and he had seen such a situation before. He chuckled and said, "However, these words, even if they are forceful, even if they will cause some misunderstanding between us, they still have to be saidthey''re very important." Roland sighed. "Since you insist, Mayor, then please speak." "How about we talk while we eat?" "No, let''s get down to business first." Roland waved his hand and said, "I''m not even in the mood to eat until I''ve heard the main business." Meanwhile, Hawk, Link, and Jett, all three of them were gorging on food. When they heard Roland''s words, they smiled slightly and started to wolf down their portions. 141 Sand Sculpture John Senior finally understood why his son had previously evaluated the four Golden Sons in the city with adjectives like "treacherous" and "slippery," adjectives with a clear emotional bias. These Golden Sons were no less capable of saying one thing and doing another than the nobles themselves. "Since Mr. Roland demands it, then I''ll be straightforward." John Senior peeked at the other three and realized that although they were gorging on food, their attention was actually still on him, so he smiled and continued, "I must put some people in at the new docks. I wonder what you four have in mind?" "Must you?" Roland asked. Hawk and Link both put down their knives and forks. "I must!" John Senior nodded heavily and said, "This is the John family''s territory; anyone who builds something on this land has to get our family''s consent. It''s not good that you built it privately without asking us. According to the laws of the kingdom, you are to be imprisoned for three months and have all your properties seized." Roland wasn''t nervous at all, and Hawk and Link were even smiling. "So we''re going to go to jail next after eating these delicacies?" Roland asked. A breeze blew over and the candles in the corners of the banquet hall began to flicker, and the few people in the center, their shadows twisting and lengthening around them, very much resembled the ghosts of a carnival. Shortly after the breeze swept by, the twisted shadows gradually became normal again. John Senior laughed: "How can that be? We are all reasonable and sensible people who understand the larger picture. We wouldn''t make the situation awkward at all." Roland looked at Hawk, who began to resume eating. This was the signal they had agreed on before: the negotiations would be continued by Roland and their bottom line remained the same. Roland''s attention returned to John Senior. He said in a soft voice, "Yes, I''m sure you''re a reasonable man, Mayor. Hawk worked hard to build the docks and helped Delpon solve the problem of employment and housing for hundreds, if not thousands, of beggars and vagrants, and in the future, they''ll also pay a lot of taxesreceiving no merit for their hard workso shouldn''t the mayor reward him?" The mayor''s smile gradually froze as he looked at Roland. Roland was still smiling and looking at him. The mayor''s imposing manner grew stronger and stronger. However, Roland still remained indifferent. After a while, the mayor stood up and said, "I''m a bit sleepy, son, help me entertain these four gentlemen for a while." John Junior nodded with a blank face. There was silence in the banquet hall afterwardno one spokethere was only the sound of Roland and the others eating. After about ten minutes, Roland casually found an excuse and left the castle along with Hawk and the others. Walking away from the castle and watching the drawbridge behind them close up at a rapid pace, Roland snorted. He turned his head to Hawk and said, "Be careful. John Senior looks like he''s going to make a move on us." Jett asked, "Why didn''t you just try to get around?" "There''s no way around it." Roland shook his head. "The other side is forcing us to take a stand, and that''s bound to cross Hawk''s bottom line. If we didn''t stick together this time, he would''ve found a way to knock us down one by one." "We''re undyinghow could we possibly be afraid of him?" Jett was slightly disgruntled. "We can resurrect, but if we''re struck down one by one, he can kill us back to level zero," Roland explained. "Our strength is decent, but there are still too few of us. He has an elite army under him, not the private soldiers of small nobles Hawk dealt with before, and he''s also a professional himself. We have little chance of winning, and we make even less of an opponent when we''re separated. We''ve only barely made it to level five in half a yearhow many half a years are there in life?" Jett tsked. "Can''t tell he is unexpectedly cunning. He appears like a martial brute." Roland turned his head to look at Hawk. "How many days until your Silver Wings is assembled here?" "The first group of people will arrive in five days." "Then we''ll just have to endure for five days." Roland thought about it and said, "It''s best for all four of us to stay together in the next few days. Let''s meet at the dock. I''m going to the Magic Tower first to turn over some things, I''ll be there later." "Then I''ll go back to the Church of Life first and pack up." Then the four of them dispersed for the time being. Roland returned to the Magic Tower, rang the golden bell, gathered everyone together, and said, "I''ll be staying to the docks outside the city for a while in the next few days. Vivian, later on, you will invite Aldo over to oversee the Magic Tower, and remember, just say that it was my request, and if he refuses, then what I promised him before will no longer apply." The crowd of magic apprentices was stunned, then they all started talking at once. "Deputy Chairman, don''t drive us away from you. Whoever has a problem with you has a problem with the Magic Tower. Who are we, the Magic Tower, afraid of?" "Yeah, Deputy Chairman, don''t go. We''ll fight together if something happens. Although our families are all small noble families, united, we''re still a little reputable." Vivian said, "Deputy Chairman, you leave us out every time something happens, we''re quite unhappy like this." The two newest young arrivals were a bit overwhelmed. Roland laughed. "It can''t be helped. You guys just failed to meet expectations! If all of you were official mages, I''d stay here." The group of magic apprentices was all embarrassed after hearing this, but although Roland''s words were unpleasant to hear, they didn''t feel offended at all. After all, they really failed to meet expectations. Roland looked toward Vivian. "I trust you the mostremember, be sure to tell the chairman exactly what I just said, understand?" Roland''s expression was very solemn, and Vivian could only nod her head helplessly. Not long after, Roland left the Magic Tower and went directly to the docks outside the city. A curfew was a rule that didn''t exist for spellcasters. And it seemed that the general guarding the city hadn''t received the message from the mayor, so without any hesitation, he let Roland out of the city, and then Jett also walked out of the gate. An iron black basin of charcoal glowed red in the highest and largest wooden square-towered building on the docks, and a larger, wooden basin of freshwater held this iron basin in it. When lighting a fire inside a cabin, it was necessary to take precautions against widespread fire. And on top of the charcoal basin, there was a pot with a variety of ingredients boiling in it. The aromatic flavor of the hot pot soup base permeated the air. Roland, Hawk, Link, and Jett each sat in one orientation, chatting while browsing the forums. Browsing the forums, Link suddenly laughed. "Hahaha, Roland''s an idiot." This sudden insult almost broke everyone''s backs. Link''s eyes turned away and he covered his mouth and snickered. "In the picture section, there''s a highlighted post, check it out for yourself." Roland clicked in and quickly found the post, and sure enough! It was indeed "Roland''s an idiot[1]." It was a sculpture made of sand. [1] Sha Diao, sand sculpture, a homonym of idiot 142 Entrapmen The statue of Roland, which stood outside the capital, was located on the shore of a lake. The statue, made entirely of silvery-white sand, was protected by game rulesit was unbreakable and immovable. The statue was about three meters tall and depicted a young man wearing an ordinary magic robe, with arms akimbo, looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, giving off the vibe of an artistic young man. What''s more, there was a large, ridiculously shaped "gold" basin, like a broken bowl, at the sand sculpture''s feet. It was actually a copper basin, and since it hadn''t oxidized yet, the copper was golden in color. Roland felt the malice of the game''s production team deeply after reading it. A sand sculpture, a big broken bowl for begging, one in the gold color symbolic of the nouveau riche. This was too much of a spoof. As for whether this was insulting? Roland did have his own opinion on this. The game development team created this sand sculpture, and all mage players who wanted to learn the passive mana regeneration skill had to come before this sculpture and throw money into it. A conservative estimate was that Roland would receive at least 10 or 20 million yuan, and if one were to assume boldly, over a hundred million was possible. In other words, the game development team had directly sent tens or even over a hundred million yuan directly to Roland, so what was wrong with getting a spoofed sand sculpture? Moreover, Roland felt that the development team had some deep thoughts in doing so. Receiving tens of millions of yuan for finding a bug, and that money would come from the playersregarded as a flock of sheep. Even if the majority of people were sensible, as long as a small number of people were envious and felt that Roland took advantage of them for his own gain, they would assemble online and deliberately lead the discussion with their posts, such as saying that Roland had a PY trading[1] relationship with the gaming company, or that he was the game development team''s relative or acquaintance, using these kinds of methods to rake in money from players. This would cause a commotion easily. Although most people wouldn''t believe it, as long as a small number of people believed it, it would be a troublesome thing for Roland. It would also have an impact on the game company to a certain extent. Roland reckoned that the game producers helped to design the sculpture in this way to get a laugh from most of the players who paid to learn this specialty, imperceptibly lowering their ill feelings toward Roland. Of course, this was just Roland''s personal speculation. Shaking his head helplessly, Roland knew that the title of idiot was definitely bound to him in the future, so he felt a little dejected. "The culinary arts in this world are abysmal. Most things taste terrible, even the big meal we had yesterday at the mayor''s place wasn''t very tasty." Hawk, whose food consumption had become much greater now that he was extremely bulky, said as he ate fiercely, "It''s better if we make it ourselves." Roland put a piece of meat on his plate and sighed. "Most people can''t even get enough to eat, so why would they study how to make it taste good?" "I do think it''s a matter of racial talent." Link ate in a cultured manner, chewing slowly and occasionally holding his hand over his mouth when he ate and spoke. "For example, even if ''the empire on which the sun never sets''[2] has been rich for so many years, they haven''t been seen to make their food very tasty." The other three burst out laughing at the same time. In the real world, there were a few things that everyone had no problem mocking and were recognized as a source of joy. For example, the culinary skills of the empire on which the sun never sets. The gentlemen of Fusang[3] on buses and trains, and so on. Delicacies were easily finished. Everyone had soon eaten everything in the pot, leaving a little soup base. While picking at his teeth, Hawk asked, "Roland, what do you think they''ll do to us?" "If we gather together, they will definitely respond cautiously. But here''s the problem." Roland pointed to the city wall in the distance, and because of the torches on it, the towering wall looked abnormally tall and majestic in the night. "This dock of ours is built on this city, after all, and if they don''t fight us head-on, they''ll block our right to enter and leave the city. By then, do you think it''s necessary for this dock to continue to exist?" Hawk nodded. "That''s what I find worrying too. Even if after a few days, when our guild comes, they won''t let us enter the cityany travelers who disembark from our docks will not be given entry, and we''ll have built this dock for nothing." On the side, Jett said matter-of-factly, "Can''t we just fight our way in? Just the mayor of a city, with slightly more soldiers, we can resurrect and kill themtheir loss is permanent." "But the problem is that we don''t have a just cause," Roland said simply. "This quest system thing is very metaphysical, and according to my personal intuition, it will always issue quests that are more inclined toward the good alignment. Even if a few dozen professionals from the Silver Wings came over and sieged this city, wouldn''t that make them no different from robbers? Do you think the system will issue a quest called ''Remove Fallen Gamers'' or something like that?" Jett winced at that. He was a player himself and knew very well the terrifying kind of motivation that wouldn''t fail until a quest was completed once it had been issued and received. Even if Silver Wings was powerful, could they wrestle with hundreds of thousands of players? It would be a wonder if the entire guild didn''t get hunted down to level zero. Hawk was a little upset. "Are we just going to have to defend passively?" "Not necessarily, we can try entrapment!" Roland smiled. Hawk''s eyes lit up. "Oh, Brother Kong Ming, how do you plan on strategizing?" Meanwhile, in the castle, John Senior and John Junior sat facing each other, and beside them stood a number of young military officers. The fire in the fireplace blazed brightly, illuminating everyone''s faces. Amidst the occasional crackling sounds, John Senior said, "Now the Golden Sons have finished their assembly early, and they have also dug many long trenches two or three meters wide and deep near the docks, one after the other, such that there are ten, forming a semi-circular entrenchment that protects their docksthe warhorses will never be able to rush through. Moreover, they have also placed wooden planks on the trenches, so regular people can walk around freely, but our warhorses definitely can''t. The load while carrying men is too heavy, it will collapse once they get on." A few young officers showed disgust. "This kind of tactic is only for cowards; those Golden Sons have no chivalry at all. War should be fought upright. How incompetent are they for using this method to restrict our cavalry?" The crowd all looked depressed. They actually knew very well in their hearts that they could only say this in front of their own people, and if it really got out, it would be a wonder if the other nobles and lords didn''t laugh to death. If John Senior''s battle tactics were truly upright, he would have emphasized heavy cavalry and would not have given crossbows to the cavalry. It was nothing more than trying to take advantage of the mobility of the light cavalry to curb the deaths and injuries. This kind of fighting style was clearly one of the cowardly tactics they were talking about. Especially John Senior: he thought that the light cavalry under his command was invincible, but the other side dug a few trenches and fatally limited his strongest fighting force. After a moment of silence, John Senior said, "I''ve fought and led for more than twenty years, and I''ve seen trenches before, but they were only used to keep out mages from intense fireball bombardment. Usually, there would only be one horizontal line that our cavalry can pass over in one jump. But the trenches made by these Golden Sons are ten in a row, and even the best horseman can''t spur a horse to jump ten trenches in a row. And the distance between the trenches is too short. It''s clear from this aspect that they know how to deal with cavalry." "I, however, think they didn''t realize that this was the way to deal with cavalry. Perhaps they were just thinking of digging more trenches, and in the event of a battle, they could burrow into the earth and escape like rats." The young officer laughed after he said this, but no one echoed him, and he quickly shut his mouth in embarrassment. "The fact that the other side didn''t use cheval de frise, but this more prudent method, shows that they have at least learned how to conduct a war." John Senior thought about it and said, "This could be Roland''s ployhe''s a mage, erudite, so it''s not surprising that he has some military knowledge." The others nodded in agreement. Even in a hostile relationship, they would acknowledge the erudition and mysteriousness of spellcasters. But in reality this decision was made by Hawk, who was the second-in-command of the guild, often taking over the command of large-scale PKs in games, and had also taught himself the art of command and military tactics and formation theories over time. Digging multiple long vertical trenches against cavalry was as basic as it could be. "Do you have any methods to force them out of the docks?" John Senior looked at the others expectantly. "Otherwise, we''ll have to fight a drawn-out war with them. While a long war would be good for us too, it would have a great effect on our reputation, and outsiders would say that we can''t even defeat a few hundred beggars and four professionals." Everyone shook their heads. They couldn''t think of the right method at the moment. There were four professionals on the other side: a mage, a priest, and two warriors. Two were Elites, and the other two warriors were close to Elites. Moreover, the other side had the geographical advantage, and in that situation, even if the infantry were to charge forward regardless of their lives, they probably still wouldn''t be able to make it through. Instead, the soldiers would just die in large numbers. After all, the infantry in Delpon really wasn''t very good. Everyone sighed long and deeply. At this moment, a scout trotted in and said, "Mayor, there''s movement on the target. According to our observations, they seem to have gotten into an argument, and the two spellcasters left the dock on a small boat, heading downstream." John Senior''s eyes lit up. "Really?" This scout nodded vigorously. "We can guarantee this one hundred percent." "An argument is beneficial." John Senior stood up. "Send a message for our navy to come down from upriver at once and go and sink those two men into the river." John Junior said somewhat worriedly, "Father, I''m afraid this is a ploy." John Senior waved his hand. "It doesn''t matter even if it is a ploy. As long as they separate, whether it''s a ploy or not, it''s a wrong move. Separating the troops means dispersing the battle force. Immediately have the infantry and archers leave the city and surround them." John Junior felt something was wrong, but couldn''t find a suitable reason to contradict his father, so he let it go. The other officers ran excitedly out of the study to carry out John Senior''s orders. Then John Senior turned his head and said, "Son, help me with my armor!" [1] Meme; PY is the first letters for the words anus/friend in Chinese, essentially a dirty/scandalous trade, or simply a trade between friends [2] Describes the Spanish Empire and British Empire [3] An Old Chinese name for Japan; gentlemen, in this case, refers euphemistically to perverts 143 Standing and Kneeling John Senior wasn''t wearing a knight''s heavy armor, just hard leather armor. It wasn''t that he was too old to wear heavy armor The lifespan of a professional was much longer than a normal person, and even aging was much slower than a normal person''s. Although John Senior was in his forties, he now looked, at most, to be in his early thirties, and that was because he had purposefully grown a full beard. If he had shaved off his beard and gone out on the street with his son, John Junior, people who didn''t know them would have thought they were brothers, not father and son. Having someone help with putting on armor was a ritual, usually done by a knight''s apprentice, and if a close offspring was asked to help with it, it was to tell them that it was almost time for them to go to war, and it was time to get used to the atmosphere of the battlefield beforehand. John Junior was thrilled to hear his father''s words. As the only heir, he had been well-protected before and had never set foot on a battlefield. The more that people weren''t allowed to do, the more that people would focus on them. John Junior had a special interest in the battlefield, but due to his father''s orders, he never actively approached such a place. And now, an opportunity to observe the battlefield directly, without any danger, lay before him. John Junior didn''t want to miss this opportunity. John Senior also didn''t want his son to miss this once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity, where he could teach in person. With his son''s help, John Senior finished donning his full-body hard leather armor, then turned to John Junior and said, "Son, from today onward, you will officially appear in everyone''s sight as the future heir of the city of Delpon, and from today onward, the skylarks will sing of your glory, the brooms will bloom for you, and you will become one of the most honored persons in Hollevin." John Junior''s whole body trembled with excitement, and he dropped to one knee and looked adoringly at John Senior. "I will always love you, my beloved father." While the mayor''s family was showing fatherly love and filial affection, Roland and Jett were sitting in a small boat. Although the sun was blazing overhead, so much so that one''s hair was almost on fire, Jett''s face was a little pale. Roland sat across from him, flipping through the magic books he had taken from his Backpack as he said, "Are you afraid of water? Don''t you know how to swim?" "No, I''m seasick!" Jett laughed awkwardly and dryly. "I''m a little nauseous with this boat rocking back and forth on the waves." Roland thought about it for a moment, peeking over the side of the boat, and he extended his finger and tapped lightly on the river. The thin layer of ice then rapidly thickened, and soon became a floating platform with a thickness of at least half a meter. The small boat was also frozen in it. Although the ice layer was still floating on the surface of the water and slowly drifting down the current, at least the boat was fixed and would no longer be bobbing around. Jett was so happy that he jumped onto the layer of ice, stepped on it, and found that it was solid. He exclaimed, "Oh frick, this is too awesome. What kind of magic is this? Ice Ring, or the Fingers of Frost?" "Neither, but simply converting the magical elements into ice nature and injecting it into the surface of the river." "Like the feeling of dropping a bit of ink into freshwater?" Jett asked. Roland nodded, and he too jumped from the small boat and stepped onto the ice. The five-meter radius circular ice floating platform was already quite large if it was considered a riverboat. With both of them on it, it still seemed very spacious. Due to the chill of ice layer, the two of them gradually felt that the temperature was becoming quite cool. Jett looked at the floating ice beneath his feet and then at Roland, asking the question he had been wondering: "What is your current mana limit?" "200!" This wasn''t important information, so Roland didn''t hide it. There was a formula for mana growth that could be applied, and with the addition of the Spell Seeker title, it would be clear to anyone who had the heart to do the math, so there was no point in lying about it. Jett looked at the sky with a bit of sadness. "I''m only at 82, and that''s also counting the specialty additions. We''re all spellcasters, and our levels are the same, so why is there such a big difference in our mana bar values?" Roland said helplessly, "We mages mainly stack intelligence growth, whereas you priests mainly stack resistanceone has a high mana cap and one has a fast mana regeneration speed. We can''t compare with each other." "But you have a special exclusive mana regeneration skill, double the effect!" Jett looked at him grudgingly. "It''s much better than what we have." Oh it seems to be true. Roland not only had twice the maximum mana Jett did, but more importantly, his mana regeneration was much faster than Jett''s, who was a priest. Although priests didn''t have to learn spells to cast them as mages did, when they cast spells, they had to use their mental power to communicate with the gods'' spiritual power and borrow the power of the gods to accomplish the purpose of spellcasting. This was why things like mana were important to priests as well. "Forget it, there''s no comparison between an ordinary person and a genius." Jett was also quite open-minded. "Do you think John Senior and them will fall for it?" Roland thought about it and said, "There should be a good chance that they''ll fall for it." "Why would you make such an inference? As for John Senior''s personality, we all shouldn''t know much about it." Roland threw the magic book back into his Backpack and said, "I don''t know if you''ve ever played the online game Mount \u0026 Blade, the kind where you can lead an army." Jett shook his head. "Mount \u0026 Blade is supposed to mimic cold weapon warfare. I like to use light cavalry the most. Once I saw someone on their own or slightly away from the main army, I would instinctively take advantage of this opportunity to charge and strike," Roland said rather nostalgically. "Most of the time, it would be successful. The players who mainly played cavalry had this habit of looking for ''openings''it was even an instinct, a rather confident kind. it''s just that, sometimes, it''s a trap set by the enemy, and when you charge in front of them, you''ll find a few troops suddenly rushing out next to you to surround you." Jett understood somewhat. "So you''re judging based on your own experiences, assuming that John Senior will surely make a move when he sees us ''divide the army''?" Roland nodded. "I''ve played nearly ten thousand games of cavalry in Mount \u0026 Blade for several years. I can''t say that I''ve fought all over the server without a single rival, but I also have an extremely high win rate, and I usually only play cavalry, believing that cavalry is the supreme type of soldier. Even in street battles, I would use cavalry. I was scolded harshly by my teammates, hehe." "This kind of thinking seems a bit like John Senior!" Jett froze for a moment, then realized, "You guys are one of a kind." "Yep, so I think there''s a good chance he''ll launch an assault," Roland said in a casual tone. Jett was a bit disappointed. "I suddenly feel a big difference compared to you guys who play with tactics. Hawk has a civil engineering background, and with a few hundred vagrants, he easily built a dock and constructed an anti-cavalry entrenchment overnight, whereas you actually used your opponent''s fundamental personality to launch a counter move. In contrast, I can only go to the church and pray for blessings, which is utterly useless. Looks like I''ll have to read some psychology or something from today onward." Roland laughed aloud. "That''s just my personal speculation, John Senior may not fall for it" Then, Roland was proved wrong. "Ding~! Hawk has shared an epic-level quest with you." Repel the Attack of the Delpon Army. At this time, all four of them were in the group interface, and when they saw the request to share the quest, they directly clicked confirm. Quickly reading the details of the quest, Jett looked at Roland with a kind of disdain, one extremely like a meme: Shang Wai, and say you don''t know martial arts[1]! Roland played along with a laugh, then he looked into the distance and said, "The plan worked, but we''ve got to settle some troubles before we go to back up Hawk." Upstream behind them, there were two medium-sized battleships just riding the current downstream, and they were fast. The large white sails were painted with the shield-shaped insignia of the city of Delpon. At the same time, Hawk and Link were standing on a tower, watching a fully armed infantry come out of Delpon. There were about seven hundred of them, and they came out of the city and ran directly to the docks. Then the formation spread out and surrounded the entirety of the docks from a far distance. A group of archers was assembled behind the infantry. A visual estimate of about two hundred men, almost a thousand people in total. There was no cavalry. Link looked behind him at the big river, then turned back and said, "The river is also blocked, but there are two battleships going downstream. They should be going after Roland and Jett." Hawk drew in a breath. "All as Roland had guessed. This guy is really strong in his schemingif only he could be pulled into our guild, I''d be willing to give him the position of deputy leader." Link just smiled. "You''re the only one I recognize as deputy leader." Hawk didn''t mind; he and Link had met in a game a long time ago and had switched games many times since then. Although they hadn''t met in reality, they were soul brothers, the kind that understood each other. Hawk waited for a moment and said, "Let''s go mobilize our troops." The two of them descended the bartizan. There was an army of about three hundred men waiting before them. These men stood very straight, with their hands on their outer thighs and their heads held high. They looked spirited. Hawk looked at them and said sternly, "We were originally beggars, filthy and lowly. The nobles were unwilling to pay attention to us, the merchants looked down on us, and the commoners stayed away from us. No one was ever willing to help us, and now, we''ve finally made a good living on our own through great difficulty, but they don''t seem to want us to live better, they want to destroy everything we have now, they don''t think we deserve a good life. They want to trample us back into the mud again! Are you resigned?" These simply-dressed soldiers had fury in their eyes. "Now, it''s time to test our unflinching righteousness. Why were we born low, why can''t we live a good life, why can they ride on top of uspiss and sh** on us!" Hawk patted himself on the chest and roared, "I''m not resigned! Live on your knees or die standing up, what is your choice? Tell me aloud!" The soldiers were stirred up such that their faces were red, veins popped out on their foreheads and necks, and they raised their weapons high in the air. "Die standing up!" "Die standing up!" "Die standing up!" The continuous roars were like a dragon''s roar, frightening away all the nearby birds and sending wild dogs crawling with their tails between their legs, afraid. Hawk pressed his hands down and the soldiers immediately quieted down, but the pupils of everyone''s eyes seemed to burn with fire. "We can make a happy life for ourselves with our own hands, with a hoe and sickle. Now, with our own hands, we can also take up arms, defeat them, make them look at us squarely, even fear us, and strip the word ''lowly'' from us, so that our future generations can walk the streets of the city with dignity! They won''t be without a fixed dwelling, they won''t panic at the sight of merchants and nobles, and they won''t feel ashamed because of their own status." In the eyes of these beggar soldiers, there had only been flames of fury, but now there was something more: hope. Hawk laughed lightly. "So, defeat them and we can live standing up!" "Live standing up!" It was as if the roars of hundreds of lions rang out at the same time, and the loud noise seemed to shatter the low-hanging nimbus clouds in the sky. The clouds parted piece by piece! [1] A line from Hail the Judge, 1994 HK film made into a meme 144 Carriers Roland and Jett stood on the ice, watching the two battleships that were rapidly catching up to them. Jett was a bit excited. He had already taken his mace, as well as his studded small round shield, out of his Backpack, licking his lips in excitement. He had the frenzied expression of a maniac who was about to jump over and go on a killing spree when the battleships got closer. However, after waiting for the battleships to get closer and waiting for the soldiers who stood by the ship''s railing to show their faces, Roland and Jett both had disappointed expressions. These two battleships weren''t large; at most they could only be considered medium-sized ships. After all, this was just a large river, and the riverbed wasn''t deep enough to support a truly large battleship. But what really disappointed Roland and Jett was the mental state of the sailors on board. Although the other side stood taller on their ships and had more people Roland and Jett could both tell that the faces of these sailors had frightened expressions on them, especially when they saw Roland. "Doesn''t seem interesting at all." Jett sighed, putting away his weapon. This group of sailors clearly had no intention of fighting. The reason was actually simple: these sailors were in fear of war. How much training time could the inland lord''s sailors have under a feudalistic empire? It was already good enough to be able to form a navy. Besides, John Senior was only fond of cavalry, and only haphazardly trained other types of soldiers with the attitude of using them to "clean up" or to serve the cavalry. So, it was already a good thing that a navy was built, and that there were six not-so-small ships. It was not like this place was some harbor-type territory. Many of the other cities built on riversides didn''t even have a navy established, much less warships. The two ships had cast off their anchors from afar and were set to stay in place. The soldiers standing on the ship, though in two rows, had their bows behind them and didn''t even take the action of drawing their bows to prepare for battle. The young man taking the lead looked somewhat familiar to Roland. After a moment''s thought, he realized that it was the young officer on the city wall from that time he and Betta were transporting the seriously injured girl back to the city at night. Seeing that the other party didn''t seem to have any fighting spirit, Roland didn''t take any action, but when he used magic to freeze an ice path on the river surface that extended to the shore and was about to leave, the young officer on the other side suddenly shouted, "Mr. Roland, please stop." It was a little far away, but the voice came through. Roland twisted around to look at him. It''s probably actually more than stopping! Roland could see that the young officer had lied. It was only normal for John Senior to give an order to at least capture them alive, or kill them. But after all, they were Golden Sons, undying, and simply killing them was uselessit was more just a delay, which was also John Senior''s purpose. For these soldiers, fighting two undying spellcastersscary monsters at the elite-levelwas no different from committing suicide. This was why they were afraid. Now they were on a large river, and as the navy, theoretically, they had a huge advantage. So this young officer had some confidence in this mission at first. After all, the other party was only in a small boat, while they had a large ship. If the other party didn''t cooperate, he could just knock them over and drown them. The Golden Sons would be reborn in the Church of Life after they resurrectedthere was an ambush of a large number of elite soldiers laid by the mayor waiting there. It was safe to say that, before acting, the mayor John Senior had considered almost everything he could think of and had given orders to that effect. This was a very reasonable arrangement. However, the young officer could now be certain of one thing: the mayor had still underestimated Roland''s strength. The enemy was indeed in a small boat, but now they were standing on top of a huge floating ice platform, and even the small boat was frozen in the floating ice layer. It was a hot day now it would be quite difficult to create a larger piece of ice, even for an official mage. However, the reality was even more exaggerated, as such a large block of floating ice appeared right in front of his eyes. If Roland could create a block of floating ice like this, then he could definitely create a bigger and more exaggerated block of floating ice. Even if the other party didn''t use any magic attacks, they could just use ice to jam their shipstheir ships weren''t large warships with anti-magic shell hulls that had the ability to break ice. Their two ships would definitely be unable to move if that happened. Plus, their sailors rarely trained, and without their ships, it would be impossible to put up much of a fight when they went on land or fought on the ice floes. The sailors'' role was only to deter those tax-evading "water bandits." Roland didn''t pay any more attention to the ships and just smiled at the other side. Since the ships didn''t dare to come up, there was no need for him to deliberately deal with them. Using magic, an ice bridge to the shore had been formed on the river. Roland and Jett began to walk toward the shore. By this time the young officer was anxious, and he had a bad feeling, for Roland had gone straight to shore after their appearance, a move that seemed decisive and obviously prepared. It couldn''t be that their departure was a ploy in itself, could it? The young officer''s heart was trembling. Even though he knew that he was no match in this situation, the young officer still shouted, "Mr. Roland, I''ll repeat myself, if you leave, we''ll have to take some forceful measures." The young officer''s face hardened and he raised his hand at the rear. The sailors disorderly set arrows on their bows, but none of them drew all the way. Roland looked at the magic reserve in the Mind-Calming Necklace and found that nearly half of it was already filled, so he turned around and gently knocked on the ice bridge with his staff. The magic power materialized due to a large amount of condensation, and white ice fragments danced around Roland. First, a streak of white ice spread on the river at an extremely quick speed and suddenly turned in front of the two battleships, drawing a white, marked line on both shores of the large river. Then this white line thickened and widened speedily. The sailors on the battleships, dumbfounded and even terrified, watched as, before their eyes, an ice platform that completely spanned the entire river and was almost a meter thick appeared in front of them. It was a vast expanse of white, gaining a dazzling luster in the sunlight. And all this, from start to finish, took less than fifteen seconds. Roland nodded in satisfaction. Half of his own mana bar could accomplish thishis effective use of magic power had gone up another level. At least three months locked in the magic lab, vigorously studying and experimenting with magic was quite good for the growth of his own abilities. Then he and Jett both turned away, never looking at the two ships again. "Archmage!" The young officer stared blankly at Roland''s back. "The mayor may be in trouble this time." He breathed a long sigh of relief, then said to the lieutenant behind him, "Raise the anchor and ram it." The lieutenant gulped. "It won''t move, the ice is too thick. Our ship will be damaged instead." "I know," the young officer said indifferently. "This time, Delpon will definitely fall, but these Golden Sons probably won''t rob the John family of their military rights and territory. They are quite good in nature and are of a good alignment. So, we will still be working for Delpon in the future, and if we don''t put in some ''effort'' now, without any losses, that''s cowardice and disobedience to commandthere''s no telling what kind of underhanded punishment the heir of John''s family will give us in the future." The lieutenant suddenly came to his senses and looked at the young officer with an expression of admiration. "I see. I''ll secretly break the legs and hands of some more soldiers and try to make this look as perfect as possible." The young officer smiled and nodded. Shortly afterward, the two warships crashed into the thick ice floes with unyielding momentum. At this moment, Roland and Jett were walking on the shore, and instead of going directly to the docks, they took a detour toward the entrance of the city wall. Jett had been silent, but suddenly he said, "Roland, you''ve incited a conversation again." Roland was stunned for a moment, then came to realize "You''re on the air?" "Yeah," Jett said with some excitement. "The last time you guys went to the city of Mory, the guy in charge of the livestream got tens of thousands of yuan in tips, so I''ll give it a try this time. You, Hawk, and Link all have your own things to doyou''re all busy peopleso, I''ll be the one to livestream this time, and get some pocket money to use in passing." Roland laughed lightly and said, "You say it so bluntly. Aren''t you afraid that the netizens won''t give you tips?" The truth was quite the opposite. Because of what Jett had just said, he instead got a small stream of tips worth several thousand. Although the tips were given, the discussion in the livestream was still about Roland-related topics. "The ice layer that was just created across the river is so scary and awesome. What kind of magic is this? Ice wall spell?" "There is no such thing as an ice wall spell, only a fire wall spell." "I do think it''s the dynamic use of Ice Ring." "I''m poorly-read, don''t lie to me, is this what Ice Ring looks like?" "That''s why he is the number one mage and you guys are just little warlocks." "A mage is someone who learns magic and can use it dynamically, changing the way it manifests. You warlocks just simply use magic." "Warlocks never produce magic, you guys are just magic carriers." "The thing about magic is, can it be said to be carried? Anyway, now it''s we warlocks who are more powerful on average, the only renowned mage is Roland. There are many gods among us warlocks, such as the famous livestream uploader, Demonic Warlock Griefwind." "Stop saying those words, it''s humiliating to watch. Roland, that guy is simply a player-boss of another level. If he came to our warlock side to kick ass after knocking down a bunch of people, he could still arrogantly shout: who else? I want to beat five more!" A player named Griefwind immediately left a message. "Hahaha" There was a lively atmosphere in the livestream. Roland and Jet, on the other hand, arrived at a small forest almost a kilometer outside the city walls. In the shadowy woods, more than a hundred sturdy men stood in silence, and before them was Link, who held a blade of grass in his mouth. Upon seeing Roland and Jett enter, Link spat out the grass and revealed a very gentle smile. "I''ve been waiting for you guys for a long time." 145 Repeating an Old Scheme Nearly a thousand soldiers gathered at the front of the dock, a little confused as they looked at the rows of horizontal trenches in front of them, unable to see a single enemy. How should they fight this? They hadn''t encountered this particular positional warfare before. John Senior was on horseback on a small hill in the rear, surrounded by a group of his own guards. John Junior was with him. "These rats are hiding in the trenches, our archers can''t attack. Boy, what ideas do you have?" Little John wore a suit of one-piece heavy armor. The faceplate on his helmet was opened to reveal his rather handsome face. "Father, I personally suggest the army directly advance. They are all hiding in the trenches, and we can easily kill them with our lances and bows when we get over there and take the high ground." Little John spoke after contemplating the issue. He was well aware that this was his father testing him, testing his ability to cope on the battlefield. John Senior nodded. "A very normal idea, but too normal and maybe it won''t work." John Junior was a bit confused as to why. John Senior signaled to the officer next to him, and this officer immediately went to the army and gathered a small group of shield soldiers, lancers, and archers, and charged straight ahead. As a result, just halfway there, the first archers suddenly appeared out of the first trench, and then there were arrows raining down. Because there were large shield soldiers in front of them, most of the arrows were blocked and only a few of them hit people. And even if the arrows hit, they didn''t seem to have much power. Many of the soldiers had arrows stuck in their bodies and continued forward, while some others just plucked out the arrows and barreled ahead. When they reached the trenches, these soldiers were surprised to find that the archers in the trenches had suddenly disappeared, and upon further inspection, they found that between two trenches, each several meters apart, had a small passageway that connected them to each other. Those archers used these small passages to retreat to the next trench. Then, these soldiers didn''t know what to do. The trench was more than two meters wide, and if they were lightly equipped like they were normally, they would be able to jump over it in a light sprint, but they were now wearing light armor and carrying weapons, so it wouldn''t be that easy to jump over. Jumping down into the trenches in pursuit of the enemy? This was an even stupider idea. While these soldiers were lost in thought, a bunch of heads suddenly popped up in the second trench, and these men were swinging something with their hands raised. A closer look revealed that the enemy was swinging rocks. The soldiers were so shocked that they planted their large shields in front of them, their whole bodies cowering behind the shields. This was the correct response, but the problem was that there were too many rocks thrown by the other side, and they were also too large. Coupled with the added centrifugal force effect when swinging, the rocks that came crashing down were no less than the heavy blows of a low-level warrior professional with a hammer. The repeated sounds of thuds rang out, and after some time of this, the shield-wielding soldier''s hands started to go numb. They backed up rapidly, hitting the soldiers behind them, and the formation was suddenly in disarray. Then, there were more rocks being swung over. It wasn''t long before the space between their thumbs and forefingers began to crack and they couldn''t hold their shields any longer. Then the rocks came down from all over the sky, and in less than a minute, there weren''t many of the hundred or so soldiers who could still stand. The few remaining soldiers who could still run fled in a panic and were soon caught by the barrier troops and dragged in front of John Senior. Hearing the faint cheers from across the trenches, John Senior snorted. Then he looked to a kneeling deserter, jumped off from his horse, walked up to the cowering deserter, and reached behind him to dislodge an arrow. The deserter groaned, not daring to speak. The arrow was a purely wooden arrow, the arrowheads were just sharpened. It would be difficult to pierce through even soft leather armor, not to mention iron armor, and to be wounded by such an arrow meant that the soldier was not very lucky. "Holding this kind of weapon and daring to fight us, the incentive power of the Golden Sons is not ordinary." John Senior snorted. "But this kind of stone-throwing attack is a bit innovative." Beside him, John Junior said, "Father, it seems that my plan is not working, so what should we do?" Old John was his father and the mayor of the city, and it was up to him to decide who the heir would be, so the proud John Junior felt that it was not a bad thing to admit to his inability in front of his father. "A forceful assault can definitely take them down, but the terrain of these trenches is quite complex and we will suffer great losses," John Senior said coldly. "The Golden Sons are somewhat clever, but unfortunately I''ve been at war for decades, and I''ve seen every kind of scheme. This entrenchment is just a disguised multi-wall formation. The difference being one is built toward the sky and one is dug toward the ground. The best way to deal with this situation is a fire attack. Richard, go back and bring out the supply lines, and have them bring in plenty of hay, fuel, and at the same time bring out the catapults. "I don''t believe that these trenches can defend against fire stones." One of the officers immediately took a small party and turned back to the city. John Senior got back on his horse and looked at his son. "That''s what war is all about: testing each other, looking for opportunities, breaking the opponent''s move down. The outcome is never quick. If you''re feeling impatient, you can rest in the back for a while." John Junior certainly wasn''t that stupid. "Father, I''m not tired. This is a good opportunity to gain experience in war, I don''t want to miss it." John Senior nodded with satisfaction. Little John was relieved to see that. Although he was ostensibly the sole heir now, who knew if his father had raised illegitimate children somewhere else. If he was mayor of the city, he would definitely have two or three sons in the open, but he would also have two or three more in private, just in case the descendants in the open were killed by enemies. The secret descendants could survive and possibly turn the tables. The army waited here for a long time, and nothing seemed to happen in the trenches opposite of them. Only somehow, John Senior began to feel that something was wrong. An intuition cultivated from being on the battlefield for a long time told him that the atmosphere wasn''t right. At this time, a soldier ran over and said breathlessly, "Mayor, the battleships responsible for tracking the mage Roland and the priest Jett hit an ice floe. Both ships were completely destroyed, and Roland and Jett are nowhere to be found." John Senior''s expressions immediately changed, becoming a bit upset and scary. John Junior felt this a little strange. "How big must the ice floe be for it to destroy the ships? It''s currently the end of summer, how could it be!" "Dam* it!" John Senior suddenly cursed. "We''ve been fooled, quickly bring the troops back to the city." Just as he said this, a sudden burst of white light shone behind him, almost blocking the sun''s rays. Then deafening explosions were heard from the direction of the city walls. The sound of it was like thunder. Almost all the horses were so frightened and restless that the soldiers could hardly manage them. The soldiers, however, all looked in the direction of the city gate, their faces pale. From afar, they could see that the city gates were gone! Morale immediately dropped to an extreme low. 146 Chaos One move to deal with all situations. If I can blow up the city gates in one shot with an extremely effective large fireball, why do I have to think of so many roundabout ways to breach the city walls? The mages were called the kings of war for this reason. With enough strength, mages could always find various ways to tear an opening in the enemy''s defenses. In skirmishes, archers and thieves were the mage''s nemeses. However, it was unlikely that archers and thieves could do anything to target mages on the battlefield who were under heavy protection, and it would be difficult for them to bypass the protective net of the army. The dumbest and easiest way to fight against mages was to build walls using magic-resistant building materials, but they were expensive and not used in non-border cities or strategically important cities. The other method was to find another powerful spellcaster, or a group of spellcasters, and interfere with each other''s spell effects to reduce the power of the spell after it formed. If you can''t beat him, join him This was the best way to go. The only problem was that spellcasters were really rare. Whether they were warlocks or mages, the more powerful they were, the less they bothered to get involved in mundane matters. They preferred to stay in their Magic Towers and study magic. And now, an Archmage was actually born amongst the Golden Sons? John Senior immediately thought of someoneRoland! At this moment, it had also occurred to John Junior as he turned his attention to his father. Both father and son wore fierce expressions. John Senior roared, "All of you go back to the city and kill all the enemies in the city first!" He was truly enraged. He had thought that the other side didn''t have many troops and had dug the trenches planning to defend to their deaths. However, he hadn''t thought that it was just a cover, and the other side had actually sneaked around back and attacked. This feeling of being on the receiving end of a successful sneak attack by someone he despised was quite irritating. John Senior was also aware that he had taken the enemy lightly and committed a cardinal sin in war. More importantly, there wasn''t even a hint about when Roland became an Archmage. No wonder the city of Mory had been sieged so easily. There was also a lot of inexplicable news coming from Mory''s side, much of which was deliberately hidden. If he knew that Roland was an Archmage, John Senior knew that he would definitely not have acted rashly. But no matter what, he now had to go back to the city first. He looked at the broken city gates from afar, his expression chilling. Soldiers were immediately mobilized. They turned around and began to retreat. They let out strange battle cries and charged forward, and with the force of their sprint, they hurled their stone pikes. After throwing one, they threw another, and when they had finished throwing the spears in their hands, they immediately ran back to the trenches, as if to get new ones. These two hundred or so famished men threw a large number of stone pikes in just ten seconds or so. The ones in charge of the rear were naturally the shield soldiers who were at the frontline not long ago, and although they raised their shields in time, a large number of stone pikes came down followed by chaotic crashing sounds. There were still some unfortunate people who were hit in the head by the stone pikes, and even though they were protected by iron helmets, the violent impact still knocked them unconscious. At this moment, the archers who were at the rear, now considered the front, reacted and were trying to fire a wave of arrows. In the end, as the enemy screamed oddly, all of the arrows were fired toward the trenches. The arrows rained down, but they didn''t seem to hit a single person. A certain officer in charge of the command spat angrily, "These cowardly untouchables." Although John Senior had been hurrying toward the city gate, he took the time to look behind him. He suddenly realized that this kind of warfare, where one retreated when the enemy advanced and when the enemy retreated one would harass, was very familiar. Then on second thought, his face turned somewhat sullen. Actually using his own best battle method against him? These da**ed Golden Sons. He immediately reined in his horse and said to the officer beside him, "You take two hundred infantry and one hundred archers to guard those damned rats. If they come after us again, don''t think about staying in the army in the future." "Yes!" The officer gave a knight''s salute and immediately turned back with a group of soldiers. And once again, John Senior spurred his horse to the front. He was followed by several young officers who were also on horseback. They were naturally fast on horseback, but when they arrived at the city gate, they found that the entire gate had been blown away, and there was a roughly ten-meter wide gap in the city wall. The stone bricks scattered around had been charred black, still emitting wisps of light smokeone could imagine how powerful the magic that had just blown down this city gate was. "How did this happen!" John Junior looked at the castle gate, feeling this somewhat inconceivable. "How did Roland become an Archmage without us knowing anything about it? Even Aldo didn''t tell us." "Regardless, let''s go back to the castle first." John Senior endured the anger in his heart and proceeded hurriedly. The few men continued to spur their horses forward, and shortly after they bypassed the castle gates, another blinding flash of light shone in the distance, followed by the sound of a huge explosion. They managed with difficulty to calm the frightened horses before they saw a cloud of black smoke drifting skyward from the direction of the castle. "Roland!" John Senior finally couldn''t hold back anymore and let out a furious shout. At the same time, the castle''s front door was blown apart by Roland''s derivative self-destructing fireball spell, and then he slumped down to the ground. "I''m done, I really can''t move." A frighteningly pale Roland said to the people beside him, "Get me to safety." Two soldiers immediately came over with an improvised stretcher, moved him on it, and carried him quickly away from the battlefield. Link gestured with his hands, and the hundred or so soldiers behind him immediately dispersed and began pulling apart the thick twine coiled around their bodies and tying it to tree stumps on either side of the road, or wrapping it around rocks that had half their volume buried in the earth. And then, they set up a small mechanism that used leverage, so that with a little force, they could pull the twine straight. In a short time, more than twenty horse-tripping twines were set on the road. Soon after, another group of soldiers got some sandy soil from the side and carefully covered the tripping twines on the road, so that from a slight distance, it was impossible to tell that there was rope buried there. Then, these men quickly hid. Meanwhile, soldiers left behind in the castle were all scared out of their wits by that self-destructing spell and hid in the inner city, not daring to come out. Soon, there was the sound of heavy hoofbeats in the distance This was John Senior''s elite cavalry, and because of the trenches, they would not be needed in this battle. Therefore, they stayed in the barracks at the rear of the castle. Unexpectedly, two successive explosions first broke the gate, then the castle seemed to be under attack. The officer who stayed behind was a trusted aide of John Senior, and his loyalty was obvious. He immediately came to the rescue with all his cavalry. Roland was carried to a small forest, then he lay down on the stretcher and turned on the livestream. The idiotic netizens in the livestream room were showing off their so-called intelligence in various ways, speaking in extremely pleasant voices and mixing it with strange moaning sounds. Roland then observed as John Senior''s cavalry rushed over from afar, and watched the horse-tripping twines pop up from the sandy soil one by one. Roland watched the masses tumbling over each other, the miserable shrieks of men mixed with the neighing of horses. It was brutal and enjoyable. 147 Miscalculation Roland''s task at this stage had been completed, and the rest was all up to Hawk and Link''s efforts. Even with the specialty of Roland''s Zeal which had the effect of doubling mana regeneration, he still wouldn''t have any combat power for at least three hours. The two self-destructing fireball spells completely drained his mana bar, and the magic recoil caused by an empty mana bar directly created a debuff that was recognized by the system. "Heavy Magic Recoil: You have extremely overstretched your mental powers, so you will be unable to use any magic for three hours." There was also a small icon at the back that was responsible for indicating how much time was left for this debuff. Roland had just tried it in disbelief to see if it was true that he couldn''t use magic, and as a result, his head hurt so much that it nearly cramped his cheeks. And at this moment, in Jett''s live feed, the chat records directly started pouring on to the screen. "Holy s**, this Link is cunning, not only did he set up heel ropes but he also actually covered them with mud." "Isn''t this a normal operation?" "As a prairie folk, I despise this kind of horse-unfriendly behavior (Doge)." "I was just thinking, what a pity that all this horse meat is going to waste. It can be steamed, boiled, fried, or roasted, it''ll all be delicious. What a waste." "No, don''t you guys feel speechless? Another home invasion tactic, can''t they just go in openly? People will turn dastardly if they keep fighting in this sneaky way. Especially that Roland, always blasting open people''s gates with a single magic shot, is that interesting at all?" "What the f***, there''s something wrong with the upstairs. Roland and the others have less than half the numbers of the other side, no armor, no weapons, and they''re still using stonesstone pikes. In this situation, you actually say you want to fight openly. You''re probably brain damaged." "If I were Roland, I''d find it interesting." "+1" This was followed by a series of uniform responses. Roland cracked up at this. These idiotic netizens were quite funny. However, compared to Roland''s relaxed mood, John Senior and John Junior were not so delighted. It could even be described as a gloominess of the lowest possible threshold. When they rode anxiously back to the front of the castle, they found that the elite cavalry regiment that their family had managed to cultivate was almost completely wiped out, most of the men and horses lying on the ground. The screams of the men and the painful neighing of the horses mingled together, and it was almost tearjerking to hear. The horses that had tripped and fallen to the ground, with their front legs broken, lay on their sides, screaming helplessly. "You!" John Senior''s face turned extremely cold as he looked ahead at Link, glaring at him gloomily and gritting his teeth as he hacked out these words from his throat: "Golden Sons." The voice had a slight hiss to it, cold and gloomy like a viper that had just crawled out of hibernation and was flicking out its tongue. Link stood in front of the ruined castle gate. The soldiers behind him had taken control of the entire castle. John Senior saw his wife and daughter, who had been forced to sit on the second-floor balcony. Although they were not tied up, they looked nervous, stiff, and obviously in great shock. John Senior dismounted, took two steps forward, and said furiously, "You are in rebellion. Put down the weapons in your hands, and honestly accept due punishment. Otherwise, you will be enemies of the entire noble class in the future." "You can''t represent the entire noble class." Link smirked. "I''ve heard such threats too many times, and they''re too baseless. Let''s talk about something more substantial." John Junior also jumped off his horse and interjected with a roar: "Link, I considered you all as friends before, and this is how you repay us?" Labeling and occupying the moral high ground were all common aristocratic debating tactics. "Repay you?" Link tilted his head to the side, looking quite cute though he was obviously a sturdy man. "What have you done to benefit us? Give us a job, a salary, or a life? You''re a funny one, aren''t you? You think you''re so high and mighty as a nobleman that to smile at us commoners is a gift from heaven?" John Junior''s expression turned sullen. Link was indeed right. John Junior had always believed that he was good to the commoners, and that was because of his pride as a noble that prevented him from causing problems with the commoners. He considered it a great gift to Roland and the other Golden Sons that he had invited them to his first two banquets and expressed his goodwill. But he never felt that there was an obvious, malicious intent toward Roland and the others in his actions. John Senior stopped John Junior and glared at Link. Suppressing his anger, he said slowly, "What problems do you want to talk about?" "Now that we''re victorious, we want to make a pact. After all, we love life and don''t want the battle to get out of hand." Link continued to speak with a smile. "What pact." "A non-aggression pact, and you''ll have to compensate us with enough gold." "That''s impossible!" John Senior said, emphasizing each word. Link smiled cheerfully. "It was Hawk''s idea, I wasn''t sure I agreed with it. It''s times like these when you have to destroy the root and branch, but he''s the deputy leader, so I have to listen to him. Old Mayor, if you don''t want to accept this ordinance, I''ll be the happiest one, so if you want to reconsiderdon''t make me so happy, okay?" Dog sh**t, this Golden Son has mental problems. Looking at Link''s slightly twisted smile, John Senior''s fury grew even more. At this moment, a large number of messy footsteps came from the rear. It turned out to be several hundred city guards rushing overtwo legs weren''t as fast as four, after all. With the soldiers by his side, John was even more confident, and he waved his big hand and roared, "All of you, attack, kill them all for me." John Junior was shocked. "Father, Mother and my sister are still in their hands, what if they" "No need to worry, son, I''ll teach you another lesson." John Senior looked at his wife and daughter and said indifferently, "It is true that women are meant to be used for love, but they have a duty to sacrifice for the family at a critical time. They are usually well fed, well clothed, and don''t have to worry about anything. This good life, in due time, has its price to pay." John Junior still wanted to say something. "But" John Senior waved his hand offhandedly. "If I have scruples this time, all of my enemies in the future will use this method to force me into submission. Remember, once you become the mayor of the city in the future, you must at least have no weaknesses in your feelings." John Junior looked at his mother and sister not too far away, turning his head and closing his eyes helplessly. The infantrymen behind him swept past him like water. Link stepped back, and a hundred or so beggars rushed out from behind him, one group setting up their thick wooden square shields first, while another group hid with their pikes, slipping only their pikes through the gaps. John Senior''s eyes narrowed: a phalanx formation! With this formation set up, the entrance was directly blocked. It was almost impossible to storm the castle. Where did these beggar soldiers get their weapons? The tip of each pike was made of iron. 148 Pincer Attack Old John felt an extreme headache coming on as he watched the phalanx formation placed at the entrance of the castle. This kind of dense formation was most suitable for defending narrow terrain. Very few people could get past at once, and the opponent had large square shields that were almost unaffected by the long-range bows. "Bull****!" John Senior cursed extremely indecently. "Charge up and kill them." In this situation, the only way to get past was to do it forcefully. Immediately the shield soldiers of Delpon came forward with their shields raised. They walked side by side, shielding themselves and their fellow soldiers tightly. A troop of spearmen was right behind them. It wasn''t that they didn''t want to use more men, but the entrance to the castle wasn''t wide enough, and only four men could walk side-by-side at the same time. Four shield soldiers advanced with heavy steps. They wore heavy armor and held iron shields. On the beggars'' side, the soldiers held large wooden square shields and wore light leather armor It was something that couldn''t be helped. Hawk and the others had prepared beforehand even though they had expected today''s events, but they still hadn''t acquired enough weapons and armor. The fact that they were able to make a hundred or so iron pikes in such a short period of time by smelting iron themselves was a pretty remarkable thing. The soldiers in the phalanx formation wore somewhat heavy expressions. If the other side''s shield soldiers were to just come over, it would definitely be the beggar army that would suffer after a stalemate. In such a narrow place, it depended on who had the higher morale and the most courage, as well as better equipment. The beggar army''s equipment was too poor. Although it was difficult to take down the phalanx formation, with several times more men and better equipment, John Senior felt that, after some time, he could eventually wipe out these rebels. Just as he was thinking this, Link, who had been at the back of the phalanx formation, suddenly moved. He jumped up, leaped over the phalanx formation, and smashed right into the enemy''s square formation. The violent shockwave sent the surrounding people flying, and he smiled sweetly. Then, with him as the center of the circle, he spun the greatsword in his hand. Onc circle, two circles, three circles, a whirlwind casting sand and stones in all directions. The greatsword hadn''t been sharpened. Everywhere it passed, the soldiers were thrown into the air, and if they were touched by the greatsword, they were either killed or crippled. After spinning five consecutive circles, Link stopped. Warrior specialty: Whirlwind Slash followed by Cleave. There was no longer a single living person four meters in his vicinity. They turned back and didn''t attack Link. Instead, they threw away their own shields and walked to the side with their hands up, trembling in fear. Only an idiot would fight against such a professional. When John Senior saw this, he turned to ask John Junior, "Didn''t you say that Link and Hawk weren''t very strong?" "It''s true that they''re not very strong." John Junior swallowed and said, "Six months ago, five or six well-coordinated soldiers could kill them, and their only advantage was nothing more than being able to revive from the Church of Life after death." "So now what''s going on?" John Senior pointed at Link who was standing in a pool of blood. "I''m not sure, either. There''s no explanation for why he became so strong in half a year." This was mainly because Hawk and Link hadn''t shown their strength in public since six months ago. However, in reality, while the two of them were building the docks, they also looked for quests to complete so that they could quickly level up. This was something that neither John Junior nor John Senior could have imagined or understood. Link stood in a pool of blood and thrust his greatsword into the ground. He leaned on the blade of the sword and said with a smile, "Mr. John Senior, I would still suggest that you consider your options." "There''s no chance of that, lowly robber!" John Senior snorted and waved his large hand, signaling the army to press forward again, but this time a few young officers followed in the ranks. These young officers, all professionals, might not be as high-level as Link, but they could still be a hindrance to him. The heavy infantry assembled once more and continued to press forward at a steady pace. The archers had begun to draw their bows and mount their arrows in the rear. Link immediately retreated and quickly ducked behind the phalanx formation, shouting from a distance, "Old Mayor, even with your wife and daughter in our hands, you''re still being so forceful. Aren''t you afraid we''ll do something irrational?" The mayor''s wife and youngest daughter, who were both on a balcony close to the castle, were shivering with fear and looking at John Senior with pleading and expectant eyes as they heard this. And without even looking at them, John Senior continued pressing forward. John Junior still didn''t say anything, even though an unbearable emotion showed in his eyes. Seeing that her husband and son were completely disregarding her own survival, the mayor''s wife, who was on the balcony, was first stunned, then revealed a resigned and bitter smile. She knew this would be the case the moment she was caught. There was no kinship or love among the nobles, only naked interest. She understood that. The youngest daughter, for her part, was crying. She still couldn''t understand why her father and brother were unwilling to save her and her mother. It was obvious that all that had to be done was to agree to the robbers'' conditions. It was only the loss of some money anyway, they would all be able to earn it back later. The archers finished firing the first wave of arrows, but to little effect. Although the beggar army''s shields were wooden, it was still no problem for them to block arrows. A wave of arrows came down, and only one of the beggars was hit; the other arrows were all blocked by the shields of the formation. Just when the archers were about to launch a second volley, a small squad of ten people suddenly appeared from the side. The leader of the squad was Jett. He was emitting green light all over his body This was the external manifestation of the Goddess of Life''s blessing theurgy. Then, he roared and led the small group toward the archers. John Senior snorted. "While it''s true that most archers are not good at melee combat, how can a hundred people be outdone by a dozen" Before he finished speaking, he was shocked to see Jett charge like a tiger into the array of archers and go on a killing spree. The small mace swung down, brains splattered, tin helmets were dented with large holes, then the men''s eyes rolled white and they fell straight to the ground. And all attacks were blocked with a small round shield. Then, a dozen or so beggar soldiers followed, and also rushed to the archers'' formation to slaughter. The archer formation soon collapsed and deserters began to appear. The two young officers shouted to stop this, but to no avail. "These filthy beggars, untouchables!" John Senior went berserk with rage. Normally, he would have left an infantry squad to guard the archers, but now that he had made one wrong step, every step after that was wrong. He was completely led by the nose, with no room to advance or retreat, and had forgotten to even set up such a simple thing. Link saw Jett rushing out, and he took the lead to charge at the enemy while bellowing, "All charge!" The phalanx formation immediately dispersed. The soldiers roared and followed his lead. That wasn''t the end of it. There was another group of men on horses galloping wildly at the end of the road. The one in front was the muscular, beast-like Hawk. John Senior looked at the castle, and then behind him and laughed sorrowfully. 149 Were Not the Same Although there were more soldiers under John Senior, they were attacked from the front and back, and their morale was greatly reduced. And three of the Golden Son professionals took the lead, reaping the lives of their enemies. In cold weapons warfare, without the spellcaster involved, a warrior or battle priest was a fierce general equivalent to a hundred people. They took the lead and for every enemy they killed, their own party''s morale rose while their enemy''s fell. This was the most important role of generals in battle. Just about five minutes after Hawk joined the battle, the enemy was utterly crushed as their morale collapsed. John Junior, who was seeing a real battlefield for the first time, was completely at a loss and didn''t have the same attitude full of mettle as he had before. His ears were filled with the screams of war, the muffled sounds of longswords cutting off limbs, or the clang of blunt weapons striking shields and knocking on armor. He watched as the soldiers around him fell one by one. He was pale from fright and too scared to move, but no one came to trouble him. He watched as his father led a small army to apparently try to force a breakthrough, but Hawk held him back. Hawk was very strong, stronger than Link. Link''s Cleave plus Whirlwind Slash could only spin five times. But Hawk could spin ten times in a row, and his greatsword was even bigger and longer, moving as he spun, flying through sand, blood, and flesh. What was even more outrageous was that although he only wore soft leather armor, the soldiers'' stabs couldn''t even pierce his muscles. After spinning he just swung and slashed normally. The greatsword had a wide range, so two or three soldiers would die in one strike, and after cutting down ten people, he would start to spin again. John Junior just watched as Hawk spun like a whirlwind There were no more soldiers nearby who could stay standing. Finally, he saw his father go up against Hawk and watched as his father along with his horse was cut in half by a charging swing from Hawk. John Junior shuddered as he watched his father fall in a pool of blood in the distance; then he finally came to his senses and rushed over with all his strength. In the process, there was still no enemy to stop him. He ran to the top half of his father''s body and fell to his knees dazedly. Benefiting from being a level-two professional, Lancer John Senior had a more resilient vitality, and even though the lower half of his body was no longer attached, he didn''t die right away. Lying in a pool of blood, he saw John Junior run over and shakily raised his right hand. John Junior grabbed it and wept as he watched his father''s face slowly turn gray as his innards flowed out of his abdomen. After saying these last words, John Senior closed his eyes completely. John Junior was holding his father''s hand, and although he didn''t cry, his body was trembling terribly. The mayor was dead, and the battle naturally came to an end. Jett came to John Junior''s side and shook his head slightly as he looked at the heartbroken John Junior. In the livestream chat, the players were also discussing. "John Junior is a bit pitiful, his own father died right in front of his eyes." "He''s not pitiful. Maybe he''s laughing in his heart, because now that his father is dead, he''ll be the mayor." "Upstairs, you''re too inhumane." "You talk about humanity with these feudalistic lords? If they had any humanity, there would not be so many beggars in the city, nor would they have thought of going to the docks with violence and driving Hawk and the others away." "Agreed, he deserved to be punished. Can''t just give everything away when others come knocking on your door." "Human nature is something I don''t understand. I just feel like these soldiers are so useless, nearly half of them died in less than half an hour of fighting." "In war, the advantage of professionals is too great. I reckon if it is a properly configured party of five level-fives, they can fight against hundreds of regular troops head-on." "Don''t be too cocky, Hollevin is a newbie village and is relatively weaker among all the countries. There are many powerful countries out there, such as Fareins, where they have a much greater number of professionals in their armies than Hollevin. There''s also the desert kingdom, Urganda, where everyone is a soldier, and the number of professionals in their armies may be as high as ten percent. As for the Froststar Kingdom further out, I heard there''s a clan of Frostwolves who are professionals at birth, mysterious and powerful. They worship the Winterwolf God, and the Winterwolf Saintess was said to be at the Legendary level when she ascended the throne." "Upstairs, who are you? How come you know so much?" "The ID of the person speaking is called Schuck isn''t that the founder of the F6 guild!" "Oh sh**, the only guild leader in the game right now. It''s a big shot, my bad, my bad." "You flatter me, the goddess sees that I''m handsome and is just rewarding me with a meal." "Tsk! These big shots all like to show off their good looks. Principal Huang also keeps saying he''s handsome." "It''s better to be a show-off than to be lofty and look at people down the nose." "Good point." Even looking at this rather bloody and sad scene, the atmosphere in the livestream room was still idiotic. For most of the players, no matter how realistic this world was, their sense of identity and immersiveness was still not too deeply engaged. John Junior hugged his father''s body, feeling that it had become cold. His heart also became ice-cold. The sounds of the battlefield were suddenly much quieter, and the battle cries had become very faint. Most of the soldiers had thrown away their weapons and crouched down with their hands on their heads in surrender. Only a small portion of the extremely loyal soldiers was still persistently holding on. Hawk, dragging his greatsword, walked up to John Junior, looked down at him, and said, "What are you going to do next?" John Junior looked up woodenly, a hint of sarcasm on his grief-stricken face. "Didn''t you want to kill me? Why are you still asking so many questions?" Hawk laughed, and because of his sturdy, beast-like body and the fierce look on his face, he looked rather malevolent. "Depending on your answer, we''ll decide whether you live or die." John Junior placed his father''s body carefully on the ground. He stood up slowly and said, "You ask." Hawk looked around; there was no one still resisting stubbornly. "Would you be willing to be a puppet?" John Junior looked around as well. The living soldiers were stupefied as they were herded together by the beggar army, while the streets were filled with human limbs and corpses. Some crippled soldiers were lying on the ground, moaning in pain, and the priest Jett was doing his best to save the dying, friend and foe alike. While this was partly a noble side of humanity, it was more so because saving people could farm experience points. Ninety percent of the soldiers in Delpon were here now John Junior withdrew his gaze and he looked at Hawk bitterly."Do I have the right to refuse?" "Yes." "At the cost of death?" Hawk nodded. Taking a deep breath, John Junior asked, "What are you going to do with the castle maids, my mother, and my sister? " "If they want to go, they can go, if they want to stay, they can stay. We won''t do anything to restrict them, provided, of course, that they don''t provoke us and go on quietly being dames and damsels." "Your soldiers would agree?" John Junior wore obvious sarcasm on his face. "No novelties after besieging the city, it would be strange if they don''t mutiny." Hawk sneered and said contemptuously, "Don''t compare the army trained by us Golden Sons to the private army of you noble lords!" 150 A Mediated Invitation As the sun set, the afterglow dyed the entire city blood-red. The beggar army began to clean the streets of corpses. They didn''t mind the dirtiness or weariness, and they moved all the bodies outside the city. And they also had people spread the news in the city that they hoped the families of the deceased would come to claim the bodies, and if no one claimed them, they would bury them all and erect a nameless monument. Although the news spread, a large number of soldiers were buried by nightfall, and not many people came to claim the bodies. This was quite normal. Now that the city of Delpon was changing its ruling banner, everyone understood that the mayor''s family was considered finished, and it was up to the Golden Sons to decide whether they should live or die. In this situation of uncertainty, who dared to rashly meet with the Golden Sons, who took hold of authoritywhat if this was a trap? The bright moonlight shone on the castle. John Senior''s two severed body parts were being pieced together, and several dieners were carefully mending them. The mayor''s wife sat with a spiritless look and watched the silver moon in the sky, thoughtful. Her youngest daughter, on the other hand, was sobbing off to the side, her voice low and suppressed, not daring to make any noise. After all, there were a dozen or so beggar soldiers watching over them. In addition, Jett the priest was there pretending to sleep. John Junior looked at his father''s corpse, and then at the full moon in the sky. The clear, cold moonlight emanated an inexplicable chill, and he couldn''t help but clasp his hands to his chest and tighten his body. Until now, he was still a little confused, and even felt as if he was in a dream. In less than a day, he had become a prisoner, and in his eyes, his incomparably powerful father had also died. It didn''t feel real at all. He truly wished it was a nightmare. It was almost dawn, and the mayor''s wife was sitting in her chair, seemingly showing signs of falling asleep. Her husband''s corpse was being stitched up just a short distance away, yet she was able to sleep, which was a skill in itself. The youngest daughter had stopped crying, as if she had cried enough, and her voice had become hoarse. John Junior got up, walked over to Jett who was pretending to sleep, and said, "It''s about time we got an answer as to how we''re going to be dealt with." After he said this, he discovered that his voice was quite hoarse. Jett opened his eyes and said indifferently, "There''s no need to rush. As long as you guys don''t cause any trouble, you won''t diewait until Roland and the others finish discussing." Roland, at this time, was deriving magic models in the Magic Tower. He had already gotten a feel for the Spell Puppet used for scouting. Then, there was the environment and terrain adaptability. It had to be able to climb mountains and go into water at least, and as for flying Roland couldn''t even figure out the principles of magic flight at the moment, so it was skipped for now. Then according to these requirements, Roland created the puppet, but when Roland watched the fist-sized, one-eyed magic "spider" crawl around the lab at an extremely high speed, he felt that something was wrong. Watching and thinking for a while, he realized that it was still too conspicuous. A fist-sized spider that was also light yellowthis thing was indeed conspicuous. How could the presence of this thing be reduced Making it smaller was the most effective way, but the problem was that Roland''s model had already minimized the size of this Spell Puppetit couldn''t get any smaller. Roland was a little bummed out. If this thing wasn''t yellow, maybe it wouldn''t be so conspicuous change the color wait! Roland suddenly had a light-bulb moment. This Spell Puppet could change colors, so wouldn''t it be possible to make it have a chameleon mode? As long as it was similar in color to the surrounding environment, even a spider the size of a fist would be hard to detect. He couldn''t help but snap his fingers and give his own idea a thumbs up. When he was about to use this feature to start making changes to the spell model, there was a soft knock on the side of the door from the back. Roland turned back and found that it was Aldo. "You''re quite adaptable to be in the mood for magic experiments at a time like this." Aldo smiled as he walked in and looked at the spider puppets scurrying around the room, slightly stunned. Then he said somewhat enviously, "Another new derivative magic, you''re really quite talented." "Because I spend all my time on magic, unlike a certain chairman who uses it on women." Aldo laughed aloud at these words. "I''d love to you should know why I''m here." "Yes. On behalf of the other nobles and great merchants in the city, you''re here to help pull strings for us to meet, or want to hear my opinion and views." "Indeed." Aldo said with a nod, "You''re clever as expected." "I''m actually here doing magic experiments while waiting for you to come. I don''t know the other nobles well enough for them to make peacethey need someone they know to deliver the message, and you''re the perfect person for the job." "Hahaha!" Aldo laughed aloud. His smile had a bewildering elatedness. "Those nobles, they finally begged me for help. You don''t know, although I am considered a well-known person in the city, no one actually looks up to meafter all, too many people know that I used to be a dog." Roland sighed softly. "Bringing you into our Magic Tower was indeed the right choice." Aldo sighed, facing the sky, and seemed even a little self-satisfied. "Although you haven''t had a conflict with those guys from the headquarters yet, you''ve now taken out the mayor. I''m more and more convinced that you''ll make waves with the people from the headquarters in the future, and that''s when it''ll be a good show." Roland said with a smile, "Then I''ll avoid Hollevin''s capital in the future." Aldo was mortified and said helplessly, "Can''t you let me be happy for a little longer?" Roland shrugged. Aldo sighed. "Okay, down to business. The nobles want to see you." "To pick peaches[1] while they''re at it?" Because of Language Proficiency, the words "pick peaches" were translated into a colloquialism with a similar meaning in Hollevin. Aldo laughed contemptuously and said, "They don''t dare to take the creditthey just want to get some bones to eat from your hands. You guys even dared to kill the mayor of the city and nearly a thousand elite soldiers were slaughtered, so who here dares to have a disagreement with you?" "What can they do to help us?" Aldo said matter-of-factly, "A lot." Roland was silent for a moment. The nobles were a bit annoying as a group, but he couldn''t do without them at the moment. Whether or not the entire city could be stabilized would also depend on their cooperation. Of course, in the long run, Hawk and Link should have a way to deal with these nobles. He would just have to put up with them at this stage. After a long while, Roland said, "You can help me set a time and place." "Well, let''s simply go to my house. This way, both sides will feel much more at ease." "Then thanks for the trouble." [1] to reap what one has not sown 151 Division of Interests Delpon, which used to be much livelier, now seemed much quieter. There were still street vendors hawking their wares, but they didn''t dare to make so much noise anymore. Even if they were buying and selling goods with pedestrians, they would subconsciously keep their voices down. After all, there were still black bloodstains on the roads. The beggar army had been outside the city burying corpses for an entire night, and there were still a small number of soldiers who had not been buried. There was a change in the garrison on the walls, and the traders going in and out were quite unaccustomed to this. In the past, even if they brought some contraband with them, they would only need to slip some money to pass through, but now they couldn''t figure out the temper of those lofty Golden Sons, so they were simply waiting for things to come to a conclusion. Whether it would be strict or loose, there would eventually be a standard. And the fear was that, in this kind of chaos, there would be no standard, and then anything could be singled out as a reason to screw with them. In addition, they had heard that tonight the Golden Sons would be attending a banquet held jointly by the nobles and that a definite conclusion would be reached about the rules and the distribution of interests. Almost everyone was waiting for the party and for the news after its end. Waiting was torturous, and the nobles, great merchants, and even the mercenaries collectively agreed that today was the most unbearable day of their lives. But no matter how unbearable it was, no one would die, and time would eventually pass little by little. In the evening, the whole city was almost alive. The nobles who were eligible to attend the banquet were already at home ready and waiting, so they waited for it to get dark, brought their wives or lovers, and headed straight for Aldo''s manor. The small nobles or merchants who were not eligible to attend also left their homes. They gathered in the taverns, inns, and other places near Aldo''s manor, waiting for news, and took up almost all the spots in these places. Some even fought over a seat. In the manor, in order to express the solemn atmosphere, Aldo took out all the spare magic lamps used to illuminate the Magic Tower and hung them all over the manor. He borrowed dozens of good cooks from the various noble families that were somewhat familiar with him to help with the work, as well as a few seasoned butlers to take care of the scheduling and preparation of the entire venue. The many magic lamps created a bright curtain of light that could almost compare to daylight. The whole manor grew clamorous as more and more guests arrived. They broke up into a dozen small groups, boasting to each other and chatting about delightful topics. The maidservant he doted on the most snuggled up to him and said, "I''ve never seen you so happy." "Because my manor has never been so crowded." Aldo had an elated expression, even a bit of frenzy, having been set free from extreme repression. "Once I knelt down to that woman, I no longer had the dignity that a spellcaster should have. But now I have it again, and even though it was earned for me by someone else, and even though it''s illusory, it makes me just as happy." The maidservant looked at Aldo with pity, knowing full well that her master, though usually playful and critical, was actually under heavy internal pressure. The maidservants of the entire manor were fighting openly and secretly, but inwardly, they were all grateful to Aldo. So all these open and secret battles were kept to a limit, never annoying their master or letting him know. After all, it was Aldo who had rescued them from that slave market where there was no justice and given them a place to stay. The maidservant was caught up in her memories, but suddenly she noticed the silence below, the chatter of the bustling crowd barely audible, and then she heard Aldo''s slightly happy voice. "They''re here." Four young men in simple attire arrived at the entrance of the manor, each one very conspicuous. Whether it was Hawk who was sturdy and scary like an orc, covered in muscles; Link who was very robust but gave a sophisticated feeling; Jett who had the mystifying air of a religious fraudster; or Roland who was erudite and steid at a glance. Their demeanor and appearance were clearly out of step with the world. When they entered the manor, almost everyone stopped talking and just watched them. Roland, Hawk, and Link were all used to grand occasions, so they walked naturally. Jett, however, was a little nervous, but he put on a straight face and didn''t make a fool of himself. After entering the manor, Roland immediately saw Aldo who greeted him with a hug and a smile on his face, then greeted Hawk, Link, and Jett in turn. Then Aldo led the four of them to the banquet hall. It turned out to be very crowded in the front courtyard, but as soon as Aldo took over the welcoming duties from the two butlers, a path opened up in the middle. The nobles crowded together as far back as they could, not wanting to get in the way of the four Golden Sons. Entering the banquet hall, Roland found that it was much brighter in here than it was outside. And at the long table in the middle of the banquet hall, five people were already seated. When they saw Roland and the others, they stood up in unison. Aldo brought Roland and the others over. The two sides took the measure of each other across the long table. Aldo, on the other hand, stood at the host''s seat, coughed softly, drew all eyes to himself, and said, "These four must be familiar to all of you and are our main guests, so I won''t introduce them. The four Excellencies, Roland, Hawk, Link, and Jett, this time, allow me to introduce you to these five gentlemen and beautiful ladies who are pivotal in the city of Delpon." Among the five, there was an old woman who, hearing Aldo''s words, used a feather fan to lightly cover the lower half of her face, and her old wrinkled eyelids actually managed to smile in the shape of crescent moons, from which it could also be seen that she must have been a great beauty when she was young. This was followed by a series of awkward boasting about the five by Aldo. As was the custom of the nobility, these five people were given all the titles that Aldo could give them. On the other hand, Roland used his own logic for a streamlined analysis. All five were nobles, and each one of them even had a monopoly on the city''s ironware business, grain business, pelt business, gemstone business, and spice business. Roland looked at them, considered briefly, and asked rhetorically, "Actually, you''re all related to the mayor''s family, the Johns, right?" "Amazing that you actually guessed it." The old woman put away her fan. "As expected of the knowledgeable and witty Master Mage." Roland sighed. "It''s not hard. The things you run are all quite important. If I were the mayor of the city, I wouldn''t just hand it over to an outsider; I would definitely have to have my own people in charge to feel at ease. It''s a very simple logical deduction that my friends are surely able to figure out." When these words were said, Hawk''s expression was fine, but Jett and Link both looked guilty. Their expressions were taken in by the five people across from them, all of whom gave a slightly teasing look that wasn''t obvious and didn''t sting. Roland turned his head to look at Link and Jett, rather speechless. In this case, even if you guys didn''t think of this connection quickly, don''t reveal a guilty expressionit''s just smacking your own face. 152 Dirty Politics Looking at the helpless look on Roland''s face, the nobles on the other side were all smiling. It didn''t affect their opinion of Roland; after all, the other Golden Sons acted in a manner befitting their status as brutes and a priest who dedicated his piety to God. They weren''t very smart, but wasn''t that normal? Therefore, the person they valued the most and were most apprehensive about was still Roland. This young mage clearly looked to be at the Elite level, but in reality, he might be an Archmage. The old woman''s name was Caroline. She looked at Roland and said in a slow tone characteristic of old people, "Indeed, we are all distant relatives of the John family, so what do you have in mind, Your Excellency?" "If you''re all related, I''m just curious as to why you can sit down and talk to us peacefully instead of planning to avenge the mayor?" Not only was Roland curious about this question, Hawk and the others were also quite curious. "Because it was John Senior who made the first move, and besides, you didn''t kill every last one of them. The John family is still currently the leadership of the city. They just lost a single person and some benefits." So that''s it as long as the inheritance of the John family''s bloodline isn''t at risk, is anything negotiable? In fact, this was the reason why the incident at the city of Mory didn''t cause too much of a ripple in the noble class. Everyone''s hands were unclean, not to mention the fact that Bettel, the mayor of Mory, was a brutal man who had seduced a female Golden Son and actually threw her to her death from the third floor when he was done playing with her! Anyone else who had enough power in this matter would not have spared him easily. And the Golden Sons just happened to have the power. They had killed John Senior and almost all his soldiers, but they still hadn''t eliminated John Senior''s bloodline. Even after all this the position of mayor was now in John Junior''s hands. This kind of restraint was extremely in line with the characteristics of the great noble class that fought without breaking. Everyone could fight for their interests, and some of their descendants could die, but they must never go to the extremes and strip someone''s title, or their lordship. If someone dared to do so, he would definitely be ostracized by the other nobles. Then next time, his entire family would be killed, and no one would speak up for him. Looking at Roland''s expression of realization, the old woman smiled and said, "Next, we can talk about interesting things. For example the few mines outside the city, what are you going to do with them? If it''s not convenient for you to manage it, we, the Gawain Family, can do it on your behalf, as long as you''re willing to pay us some management fees." The nobles were somewhat surprised, and the old woman looked a little puzzled and said, "Your Excellency, please speak." "How about letting us have the position of sheriff?" Roland smiled and said, "I don''t care who the current incumbent is, but this position, we Golden Sons must have it." "Why?" The old woman shook her head, expressing her puzzlement. "We have our own reasons, which we''re not at liberty to say." The five people across the room began to mutter amongst themselves, even giving each other glances. Roland continued to add fuel to the fire and said, "We are determined to get this position, and for that, we can accordingly give up some other benefits." The five people on the other side were astonished, and the old woman used her blue fan to cover her mouth. Her eyebrows quirked as she said, "How much interest can be conceded?" "For example the mines, we can give up one!" The negotiations went more smoothly than expected. Link got the position of sheriff, Hawk''s docks would soon be officially open for business, and he acquired the old docks that were already present. Jett got unlimited missionary rights in the entire city of Delpon. As for Roland, he only wanted money a third of the city''s monthly taxes would be distributed to Roland from now on. Most importantly, they could guarantee that the mayor''s residence would declare to the public that John Senior died of an illness, rather than being killed by a weapon. Naturally, the next step was for the hosts and guests to eat and drink for a while. Afterward, Roland and the others left the banquet hall. The group of nobles and merchants were still waiting at the door, and when they saw Roland and the others come out, they didn''t dare to ask any questions and just made way for the four to leave the manor. After the four of them left, the old woman came out. The nobles looked at her anxiously. After looking around, the old woman said softly, "The deal is done. Everything will continue as usual tomorrow." The nobles were delighted, but they were gentlemen and ladies and would not cheer as the lowly would, simply applauding. And so thunderous applause sounded. Roland and the others walked out of the manor. Hawk walked in front of them, and as he walked, he laughed disdainfully and said, "Those guys talk quite nicely, but they''re not actually apprehensive about our power yet. If we were commoners, ordinary people, they would have already pinned as with the accusation of plotting a rebellion." Tonight''s moonlight was quite nice, and Roland was in a pretty good mood. He smiled faintly and said, "Don''t bother about so many things. It''s all very normal to study strength, looks, and family. If there was an ugly girl in front of you and you were asked to marry her, would you do it? If it''s a beautiful girl, you might be willing to sit down and talk. In the same way, we have the power, so naturally, we can get them to sit down and talk things over. Don''t think too much about the rest, it''s not good for you." Hawk sighed. "Yes, justice without power is nothing." At this time, Link, who was on the side, suddenly asked, "Roland, why do you only want gold coins? Isn''t it good to cultivate some of your own forces and personnel?" "That''s too much of a waste of energy. Magic is a very profound skill, and I don''t have that much time to manage organizations and stuff like that." Roland sighed. "Besides, I saw a mage''s autobiography, and the first sentence on the first page said, ''A poor man is not qualified to become a high-level mage.'' That''s why I need to make more money first, to lay some foundation for the future of ''spending money like water.''" "Wouldn''t it be better if you simply switched to Warlock" Hawk turned back and laughed as he walked backward, but suddenly he froze. "Hey, where''s Jett?" Roland said indifferently, "He just now left and got into a carriage with a noblewoman with a gourd-shaped figure." Hawk''s eyes looked back and noticed a carriage there at the entrance to the manor, which seemed to be rocking gently. "This guy''s quite lucky with the ladies." Hawk smacked his lips. "I''m so envious." Link looked at him askance. Hawk subconsciously shivered and patted his arm. "Strange, why do I suddenly feel a bit cold?" Roland laughed. The three then parted at the fork of the road and Roland returned to the Magic Tower. Vivian was resting on the table in his study, and when she heard him open the door, she immediately stood up and said joyfully, "Deputy Chairman, you''re finally back. I''ve made you some soup that will sober you upwait, I''ll heat it up and bring it over." Roland wanted to refuse, but thinking that it was her goodwill, he didn''t say anything. Not long after, Vivian came over with a bowl of porridge that smelled pretty good. Roland took it, and as he drank it, he asked, "How have those two little ones been learning latelyhave they been naughty?" "They''re very obedient and they''re learning diligently." Vivian hesitated a little. "It''s just that the others don''t like the two of them very much." 153 Im Pondering Why? Roland was tempted to ask, but then he remembered that the two little ones were commoners. All the magic apprentices had the status of noble descendants, which was nothing more than the difference between a great noble and a small noble, fallen or not. Originally a harmonious little group, suddenly mixed with two outsiders of different status, the other magic apprentices would naturally not like it very much. "Did the others bully them?" Vivian shook her head. "That didn''t happen. After all, the two of them were personally recruited by you, Deputy Chairman." It was already late. Roland thought for a moment, but still said, "Go get those two little ones. If they''re asleep, just wake them up." Vivian looked a little surprised, but went downstairs as she was told. Not long after, she led the two little ones up. A boy and a girl, two small children, rubbed their eyes while looking at Roland timidly. They were worried they had done something wrong to upset the Deputy Chairman, which was why he woke them up late at night to scold them. "You guys must have had a bad time lately because the others don''t like you very much." Upon hearing these words, the two children had aggrieved looks in their eyes, but it was more of a stubborn expression. Roland laughed lightly. "This doesn''t matter. Isn''t it normal for nobles to look down on commoners? Now that you''re in, learn well and don''t worry about other people''s opinionsat least, in my presence, they won''t bully you and you guys won''t have any less learning resources. But most importantly, it all still depends on you. Even if you are commoners, once you become official mages in the future, who would dare to underestimate you, and who would dare to talk about your status again? "Both of your talents aren''t bad, so as long as you work hard, you will eventually become an official mage." After hearing these words, the two little ones were beside themselves with excitement. They looked at Roland adoringly, their faces flushed and their eyes shining. "All right, go get some rest." Roland waved his hand gently. The two little ones bowed slightly and left, bouncing vivaciously, and after they went down, their jubilant laughter could still be heard faintly from the stairway. Vivian put a hand to her mouth and yawned lightly, then asked, somewhat curiously, "Are those two little ones really gifted?" "They''re decent." They were actually quite average, but the advantage was that they were still young and very malleable. As long as they were taught carefully, and if the two little ones were not lazy and worked hard and diligently, Roland felt that it wouldn''t be difficult for them to become official mages before they reached adulthood. "Then how gifted do you think I am?" When Roland looked over, he saw all the things he shouldn''t have seen. Though he was stunned for a moment, Roland calmly said, "A very good gift, one rarely seen." Vivian stood up straight again. She looked embarrassed for a moment, but then she tilted her head up slightly and seemed very proud. The moonlight slanting in through the window enveloped Vivian, and a few flecks of dust illuminated by the moonlight, like scattered stars in the sky, surrounded this beautiful, proud, shy, emboldened young woman, setting her off like a spirit appearing in the middle of the night. Vivian''s eyes were as bright as clear water as she gently placed an object on the table and then said, "You can come to me whenever you want." After saying that, she turned around and left. After exiting the study, she shrieked "yah" softly, holding her face that was about to ripen with both hands, and ran downstairs in a panic. On the desk, a pale yellow wooden key was left behind. Roland looked at this key, deep in thought. Finally, he put this key into his Backpack. Then he went to the magic lab and kept doing various magic experiments to calm down his somewhat jittery emotions. It was soon dawn and time stopped. Roland climbed out of the immersive cabin and after washing up, as usual, he went to the computer and opened the game forums. Although it was possible to read the forums in the game, the time in the game was too important. Dealing with Magic Tower affairs, teaching magic apprentices, and doing magic experiments, he didn''t want to waste a single second. Therefore, the daytime when there was nothing too important to do would naturally be a good time to browse the forums. Jett had already posted the agreement they had made with the nobles as a video. Now the general discussion board was almost entirely filled with posters discussing the incident in Delpon. A large number of players began to analyze how they fought, and how the benefits were distributed afterward. Roland clicked into a thread that received the most likes. The Impact of the Delpon Incident on the Hollevin Noble Class, and the Influence on the Future Behavior of the Players. The poster was actually the data expert O''Neal whom Roland knew. The post used detailed data and many classic historical cases to analyze this event. In the end, two conclusions were drawn. "The characteristics of brutality, weakness, and compromise particular to the aristocratic and bourgeoisie are completely exposed." "High-end battle power has too important of a role in warfare." This post clearly explained the Delpon incident in easily understandable terms, logically detailing the future implications that each of their actions could bring about. Roland even felt a bit shocked after reading it. "Isn''t this a bit over-interpreted?" But come to think of it, this was the reason why O''Neal was a data powerhouse whereas he only graduated with a bachelor''s. After reading the forums for a while, Roland hopped on a bicycle and pedaled to the saber arts club. As he ate the delicious breakfast made by Night Tide Sands, he chatted with the two siblings. When he was about to finish eating, Qi Shaoqiu suddenly said, "Oh right, another student came to visit yesterday afternoon. I guess he''ll come over later to pay the tuition fee. When he comes, you behave yourself and help me improve my impression, that way he''ll be more likely to stay, got it?" "Sure." Roland nodded. Now that the three of them had gotten to know each other well, it wasn''t an overstatement to say that they were good friends. Besides, Roland still ate the delicious breakfast made by Night Tide Sands every day. One who receives gifts sells his libertyhe had to help even if he didn''t want to. After finishing breakfast, Roland wanted to wash his own dishes, but Night Tide Sands took his dishes away first. Then Roland walked under the large shed, and right after putting on his protective gear, he saw a red sports car parked in front of the saber arts club. Qi Shaoqiu patted Roland''s shoulder. "Here comes the local tycoon! Be more energetic." Roland, however, narrowed his eyes. "I think this sports car looks quite familiar." Qi Shaoqiu looked at him in confusion. Then the wing doors of the sports car opened and a man got out. Roland helplessly quirked the corner of his mouth. F***ing hell, isn''t that Li Lin? Why did he come over here too? Li Lin circled his gaze around the saber arts club, and when he saw Roland, he was also stunned for a moment before walking over quickly. 154 Try Me Li Lin quickly walked up to Roland and said in quite a surprised manner, "Roland, why are you here?" Roland looked at his head, crinkled his nose, and said, "No, ask about that later. What''s with you dyeing your hair blue?" Now that Li Lin had dyed his hair blue, he looked extremely strange. "Red and blue match," Li Lin said with a smile. "I recently got together with a girl and she dyed her hair red, so I dyed mine blue." Roland was speechless. "Another one you found at a nightclub?" "Right," Li lin said without a care. "As you know, I usually only like to hang out in places like that." "But you should have been playing the game lately, so why are you at nightclubs again?" "I just go to have a few drinks, sit around, and be home by ten o''clock." Roland sighed helplessly. At ten o''clock, nightclubs aren''t even considered officially open, yet you still managed to get a girl like this? At this moment, Li Lin took a look at the simple bamboo protective gear on Roland''s body. "You''re practicing the saber here? You''re the one the coach said was very talented yesterday?" "I''m really the only student here; whether I''m talented or not is another story." Oh! Li Lin nodded and said to Qi Shaoqiu, "Coach, I''ll pay my tuition now." Qi Shaoqiu gazed back and forth between Li Lin and Roland for a moment and asked, "So you guys know each other. By the way, aren''t you going to think about it a bit more? After all, it''s thirty thousand yuan, and once it''s paid I won''t give it back." "My brother is learning here, you guys must teach well." Li Lin took out his phone and shook it. "Straightforward!" Qi Shaoqiu gave a thumbs up, then shouted to the back of the kitchen, "Little sister, come here, time to collect the money." Shortly after, Night Tide Sands came over from the kitchen. She already had a rather cold personality, and her expression became even colder when she saw Li Lin''s blue hair. However, Li Lin''s eyes lit up a bit, and he couldn''t help but look at Night Tide Sands a few more times as if he were interested. Expressionless, Night Tide Sands showed her QR code, and after Li Lin scanned it, she walked over to Roland, gently tugged on his shirt, and said, "Come help me move some stuff, I can''t move it by myself." "Okay." Roland immediately agreed and didn''t think much of it. The two of them left. But when Li Lin looked at Night Tide Sands'' small gesture of lightly tugging Roland''s sleeve just now, he contemplated this. The look of interest in his eyes quickly faded and soon disappeared without a trace. He laughed lightly and muttered to himself, "I didn''t think that this kid Roland would pick up a girl over here without a word." Then he asked Qii Shaoqiu, "Coach, how long has Roland been studying here?" "It''s been four months." "This guy, he''s done a pretty good job of keeping secrets. He came here right when he saw a pretty girl," Li Lin muttered. Qi Shaoqiu vaguely understood, and he was tempted to say that these two weren''t boyfriend and girlfriend yet, but thinking that his little sister did have feelings for Roland, he held back for fear of saying something that would ruin their relationship. Not long after, Roland returned from behind the kitchen. When Li Lin saw him come over, he smiled and said, "Why don''t you spend more time with the pretty girl?" Huh? When Roland was stunned for a moment. He knew that Li Lin had misunderstood and said, "Night Tide Sands and I are just friends." "Just keep pretending." Li Lin had a look on his face that said "I see through you." Sighing lightly, Roland asked in return, "Why did you think of coming here to learn saber arts?" "I only learned a basic military sword technique in the game, and then I hit a bottleneck," Li Lin said helplessly. "Because the Barbarian profession is very discriminated against in the game, I wanted to learn better sword skills but no one taught me. So I reckoned I''d learn a set in the real world, but I ended up going to a fencing hall and felt like those students were so awful. I said this to the owner of the club, who wasn''t happy about it and insisted on fighting me, but I ended up beating them all up by myself, including their instructor." Roland was caught between laughter and tears. "You haven''t changed your violent temper." "I didn''t actively cause trouble," Li Lin cried out rather aggrievedly. "They''re awful and they won''t allow others to say so, and they still wanted to beat me up to prove me wronghow could I not retaliate?" At this time Qi Shaoqiu interjected, "So you''re also playing that virtual online game. No wonder yesterday I saw that although your movements were swift and fierce, your fundamentals were unstable. It''s reasonable to say that you have plenty of combat experience and the right posture, but your foundation is too poor. I wondered what the reason was this must be it." Roland blinked. "So you and Brother Qiu exchanged notes yesterday afternoon?" Li Lin was a little guilty. "He bragged so much about his saber arts, of course I had to try." Roland snickered. "You lost, right?" "I lost, but not by much." Li Lin defended himself. Qi Shaoqiu laughed at the side, quite happy. "That''s because I was pulling punches, afraid that if I beat you badly you''d be shamed into anger and wouldn''t come as a student. Now that you''ve paid your tuition, I''ll tell you the truth, you''re actually this" He finished his sentence and held up his little finger[1]. "I don''t believe it." Li Lin jumped up in anger. "Let''s fight again." "Me competing with you is bullying you." Qi Shaoqiu put on his signature dead-fish eyes. "Roland can pin you down and hammer youif you don''t believe me, try it!" "Try me." Li Lin shouted to Roland, "I''ve fought no less than a hundred life-and-death battles in the game, and I don''t believe that I can''t beat a Mage in melee combat!" Then, Li Lin went to the storeroom to get a set of protective gear and a longsword. Although this was the miaodao arts club, other wooden weapons were also available. The two of them stood facing each other in the large shed. Qi Shaoqiu shouted weakly beside them, "Start." As soon as the word was said, Li Lin''s expression immediately became fierce and he banged his long sword randomly on his right side diagonally behind himthe repeated clacking of wood hitting cementas he slowly walked forward. At this time, Night Tide Sands also walked to the edge of the field. She frowned and said, "What an annoying way to fight." "That''s the way the sword arts of the Western barbarians[2] is. It focuses on a preemptive show of strength and powerful strikes. Although it looks crude, with the quality of the swordsman''s stature over there, it''s still quite troublesome. A heavy sword slash coming down with frightening strength One without a shield wouldn''t dare to parry it, they can only dodge." Night Tide Sands wasn''t too happy to hear this. "You mean Roland will be in trouble?" "How is that possibleLi Lin isn''t even a Western barbarian. Although he has good physical qualities, Roland''s physical qualities aren''t bad either, so there''s no qualitative difference between them. But after Roland practiced for such a long period of time, and me sparring with him, he''s already used to the fighting style of cold weapons." Night Tide Sands let out a slight sigh of relief. As Li Lin entered the field, the tapping of Li Lin''s sword on the floor was getting louder and louder, and he was swaying his upper body in time with the tapping. Combined with his fierce appearance, he seemed quite imposing. [1] insignificant, clumsy [2] people living outside the borders of ancient China 155 One Move Roland seemed very quiet. He just stood in a front horse stance and held the hilt of the saber in both hands while the back of the blade rested on his left shoulder. Because the miaodao was very long, it would be quite laborious to hold in one''s hands if one didn''t wield it. It was also impossible to wear it at the waist, and it was even more difficult to use it if it was carried behind the back. Therefore, most of the time, the miaodao would be mounted on the shoulder, making it easy to carry, and therefore, most of the time, the movement of the miaodao strike would start with this posture. Li Lin''s wooden sword was still striking the ground, the sound becoming heavier and heavier as Li Lin continued to approach slowly. The atmosphere was getting more and more tense, and on the side, Night Tide Sands subconsciously clenched her small fists. Just when he was still three meters away from Roland, the wooden sword suddenly struck the concrete floor with heavier force, and with the strength of the rebound, he stepped forward and suddenly struck forward and down with the longsword in his right hand. The speed of the strike was extremely fast, like lightning. However, Roland''s reaction speed was even faster, and the moment Li Lin swung his longsword, Roland was already moving. He took a sudden step backward while the miaodao struck forward and down with the strength of his wrist. Roland retreated so fast that Li Lin directly slashed the air with his sword, and before Li Lin could withdraw his strike, Roland''s much longer miaodao slashed directly at his shoulder guard. It bounced upward with a clacking sound. This was the effect of Roland withdrawing his strength. "Stop!" On the sidelines, Qi Shaoqiu shouted, "Roland wins." Li Lin removed the protective gear and then tapped his shoulder, somewhat bewildered. Although he was shielded by the protective gear and Roland had withdrawn his strength, his shoulder still felt somewhat numb from the wooden saber coming down. He asked strangely, "How do you have such fast reflexes?" Roland smiled. "Maybe it''s because I''m more talented." Li Lin clicked his tongue and didn''t speak againa real expert reveals the truth or falsehoods at once. Although Li Lin hadn''t systematically practiced cold weapon techniques. He had learned basic military sword techniques with veterans in the game, and for over half a year, he participated in nearly a hundred battles of all scales. His number of deaths had exceeded twenty. Because he had too many deaths and lost experience at every turn, he had yet to reach level five. After so many battles, he found that he was approaching the limit in terms of his melee abilities, and although he could continue to improve by leveling up and learning more specialties, those were mere numerical improvements rather than skill improvements. With that thought in mind, he went offline to learn cold weapon techniques. Although he was not yet good at these techniques, his eyesight was trained during this time. The reaction speed of Roland''s retreat just now was very fast, and the moment he raised his hand to attack, Roland had already retreated. It was almost synchronized. Otherwise, his sword wouldn''t have missed so easily. "A person with quick wits also has fast reflexes?" Li Lin felt that it was a bit unfair. He slumped against the concrete pillar next to him. "How can we ordinary people live when you talented people are so impressive?" Roland laughed and removed his protective gear. "But you have money." When Li Lin heard this, he looked even more upset. He said timidly, "Generally speaking, isn''t that usually how we local tycoons talk when we meet geniuses and embarrass them? No matter how outstanding your abilities are, I just need to say I have money. And now, instead, you''re directly comforting me with those wordsthe ways of the world" Qi Shaoqiu was laughing at this, and he came up and said, "See, your fundamentals are too poor, you can''t even move while holding a sword, so start learning the basics first." Li Lin grunted. Then, Li Lin, under Qi Shaoqiu''s tutelage, first learned the most basic movements, while Roland practiced the routines on his own. Soon it was noon and Roland was about to go home when Night Tide Sands pulled him aside and asked, "How''s your Daoist Nourishment of Life training going?" Roland shook his head. "Not much progress." It was true that he hadn''t made much progress. Currently, he would take an hour every day before entering the game to meditate for a while. But he didn''t feel any miraculous warm currents, nor was there any sense of qi produced. If he had to say where there was a bit of progress, it was that now he wouldn''t feel his legs go numb even after sitting cross-legged for an hour, and seemed to be quite comfortable with it. "There''s no need to rush, you''ve only been practicing for a month. I was practicing for almost a year before I got a sense of qi." Night Tide Sands looked indifferent before shoving something into his hand. "This is an aromatic incense, it has a calming effect. I usually light some when I''m having trouble practicing qi, take it and try it." "Aromatic incense is quite expensive, isn''t it." Roland found the aromatic incense wrapped in a handkerchief that had a unique texture and felt pleasant to the touch, not like it was mechanically made, but like it was handmade. "I''ll pay you." "What''s a grown man doing being so wishy-washy! It''s not expensive," Night Tide Sands said with a light tone, turned around, and left. "Thanks." Roland waved at Night Tide Sands'' back. At this moment, Li Lin came over and asked with a smile, "How''s this girl?" "Pretty good. A very hardworking girl, with a seemingly frigid personality, but she''s actually cold on the outside, warm on the insidenice to the friends she knows." Roland thought about it and commented so. "Sounds quite suitable to be a wife." Li Lin laughed ambiguously, then asked, "Do you want me to take you home?" "Forget it. I came over on a bicycle." Roland waved his hand dismissively. "That''s fine, I''ll go first." They parted in front of the saber arts club, and the red sports car whirred away. Roland, on the other hand, rode his bicycle slowly home. After lunch, Roland opened the forums as usual, then found that the data powerhouse O''Neal was privately messaging him, telling him to get in the group chat as soon as he saw the messagethere was something important. Then, Roland opened the group chat. O''Neal was online, and as soon as he saw Roland come online, he immediately sent a message over. "Yesterday a player found a strange drawing in the black market at the capital. He thought it looked like a magic model, so he sent me a third of it, and I thought it looked like that too, so I paid a lot of money for it." "And then what?" Roland asked. "I can''t understand it!!!!" O''Neal entered several exclamation marks in a row. Then he continued. "The magic models we''ve been exposed to now for the past six months have all been traceable to the same origin. But this model is clearly not the same system as the magic models we''ve learned." "Elven magic?" Roland asked. "It''s possible." Roland thought about it and said, "Can I see it?" "Now who''s to see if it''s still useful but you? I told you to come online just to see if you could comprehend something. If you figure it out, let me know." Roland replied, "No problem." Shortly after, an email was sent over. Roland opened the attachment and a strange "painting" appeared in the center of the computer screen. 156 At Odds What was in the middle of the screen was indeed a painting, but not a literal painting. This was a particular kind of intuitive recognition he had. The spell models that Roland recently saw and learned were all points and lines. This model, however, was a square formation. The long, square blocks were piled together, and the squares also had colors, appearing garish and green and looking chaotic, but with a unique design. It was like an abstract and vintage kind of painting. Then Roland also found himself unable to understand it. Could this thing be an architectural cutaway? But it doesn''t look like one either. After looking at it for a while, he sent a message to O''Neal: "I can''t understand it either, can I make a copy? When I get into the game, I''ll go ask Aldo about it, maybe he''ll know something." "It was meant for you, do as you wish." After a casual conversation with O''Neal, they both went offline. Roland, meanwhile, helped the family with some chores, and when evening fell, he borrowed an ashtray from his father. After he had washed it clean, he cut out a little of the aromatic incense and lit it up. Afterward, he sat down cross-legged on his bed and began to meditate. Probably because of the aromatic incense, his meditation went exceptionally well this time, and when he felt his legs go numb and opened his eyes, he found that it was already midnight. "Oh, s***!" Roland jumped up from his bed, changed into his pajamas, and lay inside the game cabin. Maybe it was because the meditation effect was so good just now that he wasn''t sleepy anymore. It took nearly an hour of hard tossing and turning in the game cabin before he was able to sleep. When he entered the game, he saw Vivian in his study, looking at him with a look of having seen a ghost, and then her expression immediately became calm. Roland calculated that he hadn''t entered the game for three hours, which meant that nine hours had passed since the last time this world had temporarily stopped. In other words, there were about nine hours where he was not in the Magic Tower. No wonder Vivian had such a look on her face. Roland smiled at her apologetically. "Did I scare you?" Vivian nodded repeatedly. "Deputy Chairman, you suddenly disappeared. No one saw you for several hours, and the guards said you didn''t leave the Magic Tower. You scared us. We looked for you everywhere and couldn''t find you. We thought you had been swallowed up by some spatial apertureafter all, you have been practicing spatial magic lately." At this moment, Vivian''s dainty face was a little pale, and it was obvious that she was really freaked out. "Well, I went back to my original dimension." Roland was suddenly a little curious. "Oh, that''s right, I just appeared out of nowhere, right? How did I appear?" Hmm is that the effect of logging into the game? Vivian looked at Roland, suddenly propped her hands on the desk, and said, "Deputy Chairman, if next time you have to go back to your original dimension for a long time, please tell me and don''t make me worry." Looking at the imposingly "fierce" Vivian, Roland subconsciously looked at her collar again, and then shifted away after two seconds. Due to the acuteness particular to females, Vivian was startled for a moment. She immediately blushed, then straightened her body, and glared at Roland angrily before she walked out of the study. Roland let out a sigh of relief and then walked out of the Magic Tower. The two Magic Tower guards saw him and were relieved. They were really afraid that the deputy chairman had inexplicably disappeared. Roland arrived at the docks and found Hawk in the largest house. At this time, Link, and Jett were already here. They all greeted Roland when they saw him come in. Hawk called out, "You''re an hour late." "Sorry, something delayed me from getting into the game cabin until midnight." Roland found a chair, sat down, and asked, "Why did you suddenly ask to assemble here?" Hawk sat down as well, looked around at the others, and said, "Next, we''ll have to discuss how we''re going to work in Delpon. We''re all players, so naturally, we should be allies, and there are some things that must be aired out early, otherwise, it may be a bit late to communicate later when a conflict of interest arises." "Can''t the three of you just talk about this?" Roland waved his hand. "I don''t have any forces." Hawk chuckled. "You don''t think you have any forces? The Magic Tower is your force now. I''ve heard that Aldo doesn''t give a damn now, and you''re in charge of all the apprentices in the entire Magic Tower." The other two laughed softly. Roland frowned. "Anyway, the Magic Tower has a lot of influence," Hawk said seriously. "I want to do something in DelponI want to achieve some ambitions here that can''t be achieved in the real world, so I''m hoping for a more benign environment. And we players are naturally more likely to cause trouble, so I feel the need, right now, to make things clear." Thinking of dividing forces so soon? Roland looked at Hawk for a moment, then smiled inwardly. He knew that this was quite normalwhere there were people, there were interests, and the "interests" in Delpon were pretty significant right now. Whether it was Hawk, or Link, or Jett, each one of them would definitely have demands. Roland himself also had demands. He only needed gold coins so he didn''t seem so urgent. "It seems that you guys already agreed on a deal before I arrived." Roland shook his head. "I still have the same conditions as before; I''ll take a share of the city''s taxes. As for the other territories and organizations, I won''t ask any questions. Of course, the Magic Tower will still be the same as before, and I also hope that whatever happens to you guys, you won''t get the Magic Tower involved." These words were a direct way to pierce the thin layer of paper window between the four. Hawk sighed. "Since you have no objections, then it''s settled." Roland stood up and said with a smile, "I have some things to do, so I''ll be going first." As he watched Roland leave, Link looked a bit disappointed. "We were clearly comrades who fought side by side yesterday, and this is what we''ve become today." "It can''t be helped. We have to be responsible for the entire guild." Hawk also had a pained look on his face. "The guild leader is already planning to move the entire guild over herewe definitely have to have our own established territory." Jett stood up and said with a smile, "I''ll be leaving then, I hope we''ll always be friends and won''t meet in arms." Hawk and Link both nodded. Roland left the docks and walked down the avenue, looking lost. He could understand what Hawk, Link, and even Jet were thinking, but just because he could understand it didn''t mean he wouldn''t be in a depressed mood. Yesterday, everyone had been good friends, tight as a taut rope, and now it was obvious that they were defensive and suspicious because of their interests. Interests were something that no one could hide fromnot even themand Roland felt he couldn''t either. He walked slowly and arrived at Aldo''s manor. After seeing Aldo, Roland placed the new model that he had traced in front of Aldo. "Chairman, do you know what this is?" Aldo took it and looked at it for a moment and said with a strange expression, "Where did you get this thing?" "You know it?" Roland was delighted. Aldo nodded. "A magic array!" 157 New Benefits Roland really didn''t think that Aldo would actually know what it was. Honestly, he wondered at first if it could possibly be the doodle of some bored artist. "A magic array?" Roland was stunned. He had recently read many of the books in the Magic Tower''s collection, and he hadn''t seen any book mentioning this at all. Aldo laughed meaningfully and said, "Do you think that the noble''s monopoly on knowledge means spell models? There are others." Roland sat down, a yearning look on his face. "Enchantment and scroll-making, you should have seen these two things in books!" Roland nodded. "These two techniques are used by the advanced subclasses of mages, and they are quite difficult to learn. But the true unheralded secret is the magic array." Roland frowned. "Magic array what kind of thing is it?" "It is not just a thing. It''s one of those advanced techniques that can only be approached when magic theory is perfected to its extreme." Aldo had an enchanted expression. "When you can learn magic arrays, it already means that you are at least close to a Legendary spellcaster, and there''s more to magic arrays than just the achievement of magic theory: they''re versatile and have a variety of functions." Roland said, "Can you give me an example?" "Underneath the royal palace in Fareins, there is a huge magic array that can be activated directly in times of war, creating a powerful magical boundary that envelops the entire city. It''s said to be able to withstand the full force of at least two Demigod level elites." Aldo looked up at the ceiling with a yearning expression. "That magic array is the work of Demigod Duncan. Do you know about Duncan''s past achievements?" Roland shook his head. "Duncan is a genius in the world of magic. He personally invented a lot of magic, such as Magic Missiles, Lightning Palms, Giant Sonic Wave, Acid Splash, and so on. It''s safe to say that at least a third of the magic we use is his work." Roland gasped in astonishment. Aldo stood up and continued, "Evaluating how respected a mage is is not how powerful the magic he uses is, but rather whether he can master enchantment, magic scroll-making, or magic arrays." Roland''s gaze was set on Aldo. "So do you know magic arrays, Chairman?" "Don''t speak of magic arrays, I haven''t even figured out what the deal with enchantment is. That''s why I''m a pawn that couldn''t be more ordinary and ended up in the grasps of the headquarters, unable to move forward." Roland asked curiously, "So where can I learn all this stuffthe headquarters?" "The Magic Tower!" "Magic Towers in other cities?" Roland chuckled. "Naming your organization after colors? Quite capricious." Aldo shrugged agreeably. "These Magic Towers are hidden away and are invite-only. Until you''re strong enough to be exposed to that level, they''ll send an auditor out to quietly investigate you, and when they think you''re capable enough to be a member, that''s when they''ll show up in front of you." "So mysterious?" Aldo felt quite happy to pass on his knowledge. "Although the headquarters in Hollevin is very domineering and looks very powerful, it is simply childish compared to the major Magic Towers." Roland sighed. "Looks like I''ll have to find time to learn some enchantment magic." "Before that, you''re going to have to learn Summon Magic Pet." "Huh? What''s this now?" "After reaching the Elite level, a mage can contract an animal to become a magic pet." Aldo turned around, pulled out a series of books from his bookcase, and solemnly handed one over to Roland. "These are my spellcasting tips, it contains the spell model for Summon Magic Pet. Take it." Roland took the book and looked at Aldo silently for a moment, then suddenly said, "Chairman, are you planning to leave?" Aldo froze for a moment, then smiled bitterly. "You can tell?" "Intuition." Aldo sighed dejectedly as he sat back in his chair again and said slowly, "You''ve done a major thing in the past few days, even killing off John Senior. I''m truly impressed." "Did this give you trouble?" Aldo waved his hand. "That''s not it. It''s just that watching you guys act so recklessly, I''ve suddenly figured something out. I''m still young, I still have a lot of time left in my life, so why should I waste my time here with the headquarterscan''t I go to other countries? Mages are rare everywhere, and even if I don''t get along well, it''s much better than being pinched like a rat by the headquarters. That''s why I plan to leave secretly in a few days." Roland was silent for a moment, then smiled. "I didn''t hear anything just now." Chuckling, Aldo stood up and patted Roland''s shoulder. "You''re an impressive kidnot to mention your talent, your emotional intelligence isn''t low either. You can definitely become a big shot in the future." "Forget about being a big shot. I''m only interested in magic right now." Roland looked around. "Since you know how to Summon Magic Pet, then where is your magic pet, Chairman?" "It''s gone, it was killed by the people from the headquarters." Aldo''s eyes had an indistinct look of hatred and anger. "Each mage can only contract one magic pet in his lifeyou see what I mean." Roland sighed. "It''s like killing one''s kin." "So no matter what, my feud with the headquarters will never go away." Aldo laughed dryly. Roland didn''t say anything; he didn''t know what to say. If he offered consolation, it would make Aldo seem weak, and if he didn''t offer consolation, it would make himself seem a bit cold. However, Aldo''s expression quickly became normal. He waved his hand. "All right, you go back first From now on, the Magic Tower, it''s up to you to look after it. Vivian is also a good girl, so do as you see fit." Roland still had many more questions he wanted to ask, but Aldo was clearly no longer willing to talk more. After thanking him, Roland returned to the Magic Tower with the book on Summon Magic Pet. As soon as he sat down, Vivian carried a glass of freshly squeezed juice over. "Deputy Chairman, you''ve been working outside for a long time, you must be thirsty." Roland looked at Vivian and asked, "Have you heard of magic pets?" Vivian nodded evenly. "I''ve heard of them, but it''s said that only powerful mages are qualified to contract magic pets." "If you could contract a magic pet, which animal would you choose?" "Of course, it would be a unicorn." Vivian''s eyes sparkled. "I heard that''s the representation only for holy maidens." Roland wore a helpless expression. Even he, a greenhorn of common sense in the magic world, knew clearly that unicorns were awfully rare, and only occasionally appeared in the territory of the elves. Actually wanting to contract a unicorn, Vivian''s girlish heart is really quite innocent and unaffected. 158 Strongest Counter After saying that, Vivian suddenly understood something. She looked at Roland with bright eyes. "Deputy Chairman, are you going to start contracting magic pets?" Roland nodded. "Great." Vivian was genuinely feeling happy for Roland. "A mage with a magic pet will have a considerable increase in strength." Roland took the book on Summon Magic Pet out of his Backpack, placed it on the table, and said, "Are you interested in reading it?" "Forget it." Vivian shook her head. "This requires an Elite-level mage to learn the skill, it''s still too early for me." With this said, Vivian left the study. Roland subconsciously watched her back as she left. Ever since Vivian gave him the key a few days ago, Roland would occasionally subconsciously give her a second and third glance. For example, right now, Roland felt it was quite attractive when Vivian''s waist twisted under the wide magic robe as she walked. No, I can''t think too much Roland opened the book on Summon Magic Pet and read it slowly. The allure of knowledge was far greater than that of women, and in less than a minute, Roland was swimming in a sea of knowledge. All spellcasters could contract a magic pet, but the one with the highest success rate would always be the mage. Whether it was a Warlock or a Priest, to learn how to Summon Magic Pet, a certain amount of luck was needed. The chances of a Warlock awakening the spell Summon Magic Pet differed depending on their bloodline. Generally speaking, Warlocks with the White Dragon bloodline had a higher chance of awakening this magic on their own, while others were average. As for the Priests their theurgy was given by the gods, when and what magic they could learn to use all depended on the whims of the gods. Only mages could take the initiative to learn the spell of Summon Magic Pet, but the problem was it was a quasi third-level spell, and although Elite-level Mages could learn it, it was still quite difficult. It wasn''t as hard as divination magic, but it wasn''t far from it. Roland didn''t rush to look at the spell model, but flipped over and continued to read the insights Aldo had written. Aldo contracted a black cat magic pet Felines possessed good stealth and extremely high anti-stealth abilities. They were good at sneak attacks, not very good in frontal combat, and possessed good movement speed but poor stamina. He then went on to talk about other animals'' strengths as magic pets, and as if he had guessed that other people would see this book of insights, he clearly indicated a special note with the word "hearsay." The canines had anti-hiding and great tracking abilities, with slightly higher endurance, but average combat strength that was even less than that of felines. Rabbits were generally not recommended, for they didn''t have the ability to fight, and everything they could do, the felines could also do. The more unusual magic pets were pigs and bats. When a contracted small boar grew older, the boar would become quite smart, much smarter than the feline and canine families, no less skilled at tracking than the canine family, and its fighting ability was extremely powerfulit had thick skin and amazing stamina. The most important thing was that this thing''s diet was amazingly consistent with that of humansit could basically eat everything that humans could eat, which made it extremely easy to raise. Those bats were even more special. After the contract, the master could receive the Night Vision specialty, and the bat''s reconnaissance, stealth, and anti-stealth abilities were all very strong, but it was just a little weak in combat. In addition, no matter what breed of bat, they loved to suck the blood of their masters when they became magic pets, so many mages who contracted bats died from a sudden plague. After Roland finished reading, he closed the book. If he hadn''t started researching Spell Puppets, then the magic pet of choice would be either feline or canine. After all, each one had anti-stealth abilities and was easy to find. But now that he decided to work on an anti-stealth magic doll, choosing to chase after felines and canines would seem like a bit of an overlap in abilities. Then birds, boars, and bats were on his list of considerations. But instead of rushing, he opened the forums and went to the Warlock section. Since the spellcasters could contract magic pets, someone on the Warlock side should have learned the magic by simply leveling up. He searched the section using "magic pet" as keywords and indeed found a few threads. One of them, a player named Griefwind, wrote a post that caught Roland''s attention. Demonic Character, Magic Pet''s Character. This player was a Demon Warlock, a profession that could not only contract magic pets but also summon demons to become their helpers. The magic pet that Griefwind contracted was a horned sheep Surely, Aldo was considered a pretty good mage, but in terms of attempting things, he was nowhere near players. Horned sheep were a special type of sheep, unicorn-like and beautiful, only a little less so than actual unicorns. When this creature became a magic pet, not only could it be ridden, but it would also be quite good in combat, and was born with the ability to use some special light magic. Then, the demon he contracted was a Cerberus, not the succubus that most male warlocks were fond of. He spoke in elegant words about the reliability and power of the horned sheep and the Cerberus, and it was clear from the words that he had a great love for both his magic pet and demon. He was a great master. Then, Roland went to see what other Warlocks had posted and then realized that the players were all quite talented. Aldo said the boar was very special. Some players had tried it long ago, and it was really impressive. Its charge, ram, and tusk attack, as well as the thick armor it had, made it remarkably similar to Warriors. The warhorse was also contracted as a magic pet. Generally speaking, warhorses didn''t have much stamina, but after becoming a magic pet, not only was their speed increased, their stamina also became very strong, making them an excellent means of transportation. As for ducks, chickens, geese, and such, there were also players who contracted them. Even more outrageously, one player got bored and took a white maggot from a cesspool to become a magic pet. Then, this thing became a nightmare for most players, especially melee players. Because after this maggot became a magic pet, it grew to nearly two meters long in three weeks. This was nothingwhat was truly disgusting was that this thing would spew feces when fighting, and what it ate would not be discharged, but would instead be digested into feces that accumulated in a particular gastric pouch, and then spewed out whenever necessary. In addition to this, it spewed fire. Methane produced by the feces was stored in the fifth gastric pouch, spewed out when necessary, and then quickly ignited with some flame magic, its power incredible. This spraying technique was abbreviated as "feces fire." This player also provided a video of this maggot''s combat ability in the post. A fat white worm spewed a diffuse yellow and white substance directly at a female player, dousing her all over. The female player then passed out on the spot as her eyes rolled, then her health continued to drop and she died in less than ten seconds. Roland''s cheeks twitched incessantly at the sight, and even through a screen, he seemed to be able to smell the stench coming over him. 159 Find Nothing Searching High and Low At the end of this post, there were already a large number of Warlocks, as well as Priest players, who said that they wanted to learn from this forerunner and also contract a maggot to use as their magic pet. These players were of average talent, and although they were much better than most NPCs of the same level, they were in the lower-middle class of players. "We don''t have much combat power, we''re not talented in PK, but we can disgust the other players to death." "Good point, good point, let''s form a group." "Not for victory, but for disgusting the top players who look down on us." "Hehe, that sounds interesting, I''ll join too." Roland''s eyebrows furrowed as he read. If this group of players who specialized in stirring up trouble really gathered, then this game was going to be chaos in the future. In fact, his intuition was right. The "flying feces" fighting style that would later become quite famous, hated by all the female players and shunned by most male players had its beginnings at this moment. The style of play was just making things as disgusting as they could be. At first, it was just physically disgusting and later developed into being mentally disgusting. In the mid to late stages, Mages began to join them, hard at work researching a lot of strange and bizarre mental magic. Not only did the players suffer from it, but so did the NPCs, becoming an alternative force that really shouldn''t be provoked. Roland closed this rather interesting post and found a few other ones to read. After about three hours, he had finished reading all the posts about insights on magic pets. The experiences that the players had summed up were more practical than Aldo''s. First of all, the success rate of contracting a magic pet had a lot to do with the size of the pet. For felines, contracting an ordinary black cat was not difficult, but contracting an adult tiger was almost impossible, and one player paid three head explosions for it. In the end, he stole a tiger cub that hadn''t been weaned yet, and that was how he succeeded in contracting it. After an animal was contracted into a magic pet, it would have roughly the intelligence of an eight-year-olda wild boar''s was even higher, with the IQ of a twelve-year-oldand all magic pets were able to communicate with their owners telepathically using a mental channel. Magic pets were not a hundred percent loyal to their masters. Both parties had to mesh with each other. However, canines were extremely loyal, and felines were well, everyone knew their personality. Most avian pets were annoying, talking in mental channels almost every minute of the day, chirping, and taunting their masters, but they were actually quite loyal. It sounded like Roland''s scout-type puppets were useless. However, this wasn''t the case. There would always be only one magic pet, but scout-type Spell Puppets could be used five at a time, or even ten at a time, in the future. Those who understood the importance of intelligence could never have too many eyes. Given the many benefits of magic pets, the sooner one contracted a magic pet, the better. Roland made a list of most of the animals that he had access to right now, their strengths and weaknesses written on the back, and made it into a table. He looked at it and contemplated for a while, then got up. When he reached the second floor, he just happened to run into Vivian, who was getting ready to go out. The young lady had changed out of her magic robe and into a long, white, pleated skirt, and her hair was also let down from its ponytail to drape around her face, having the mixed appeal of maturity and cuteness. When she saw Roland, her eyes lit up, and she came up and asked, "Deputy Chairman, are you planning to go out too?" Roland nodded. "I also happen to want to go out on the street to buy some things, why don''t you come along?" Vivian asked expectantly. Looking at the young girl''s bright eyes, Roland couldn''t say no, so he nodded. Vivian smiled happily as she took the initiative to walk to Roland''s side. As she got closer, Roland seemed to be able to smell a light, comforting fragrance of pears. The two of them left the Magic Tower and walked down the street. Although Vivian''s dress was not flashy, the long, white satin dress was not something that ordinary commoners could afford to wear, and with Roland''s magic robe, although the two of them were walking on the crowded street, in reality, no one dared to stand in a one-meter radius. Vivian looked at the side of Roland''s face as she walked and asked, "Deputy Chairman, what are you planning to do this time?" "I''m looking for an animal to contract as a magic pet and was just about to head over to the animal market." Vivian''s eyes lit up. "Great, do you need me to give you some advice?" Roland nodded. "Sure, help me with my reference." Vivian''s eyes curved into crescent moons in happiness when she heard Roland say that. The two of them came to the animal market, where there were quite a few unique animals for buyers to choose from, some choosing to take them as pets, while others came with the intention of seeing what delicious animals they could find. Wooden and iron cages lined both sides of the street, each and every cage with a wild animal trapped inside. Cats and dogs were quite common, but there were also plenty of birds and long snakes too, plus some rather unique animals. For example, multicolored spiders, or brightly colored frogs. The vast majority of these animals, Roland had seen players contract them on the forums. He wanted to find a more special, unseen, or rarely seen animal to contract. Of course, it would have to be more normala dung maggot or something like that, he would never consider. The place where the animal market was located obviously didn''t smell very good, with animal feces and urine in the cages and even fur and body odor mixed in. This was why the place smelled so awful. Vivian took out two handkerchiefs, one for Roland and the other for herself. They slowly looked at the cages on both sides of the street, observing the animals inside. After walking for a while, Vivian asked, "Deputy Chairman, what kind of pet do you want? " "Something rare," Roland replied. In fact, he had the idea of testing something new. In his opinion, the abilities of magic pets varied, and the players on the forum were unconventional and tried all sorts of strange things, but they were using the one chance they had to contract a magic pet to provide experience for those who came later. Roland felt that he should also do his part for the list of magic pet abilities. This was also the purpose of him coming to the animal market. When Vivian heard this, she said, "Then there''s no need to look here, the animals sold here are more common animals. If you want rare pets, you will have to go to a shop specially opened for nobles where exotic beasts are sold." "Where is it?" "The only exotic beast shop in town is at the end of the street." Vivian covered her nose with a silk handkerchief in one hand, and with the other, she took Roland''s hand confidently and pulled him forward. "You should have just said so earlier," Vivian said with a smile. "The shop is owned by my family." Roland was stunned for a moment, then relieved. Vivian''s family was a small noble family, having a business was normal. 160 White Amber This exotic beast shop was large, with square-shaped cages stacked up on the left and right, containing small or medium-sized pets of different shapes and colors. Although there were many animals, there was no odor in this shop, only a peculiar medicinal fragrance. Roland reckoned that it was this medicinal fragrance that covered up the body odor of those exotic animals. Moreover, these cages were very clean, so presumably, someone had been taking care of them from time to time. When Roland entered the shop, he discovered many strange exotic beasts. Rabbits with long horns, lizards with a tuft of fire feathers on their foreheads, six-legged birds that looked like a platypus, and so on. Vivian pointed at the vast array of exotic beasts in the shop and said, "Deputy Chairman, take whichever one you like, I''ll give it to you." The attendants in the shop had already recognized Vivian and stood to the side casually waiting for her orders. Roland walked around the shop. He essentially had no interest in what kind of pet he would contract, but simply wanted to find a kind of magic pet that the players on the forum hadn''t contracted yet while learning about their abilities and skills. "You can help me choose." Roland looked around and found that there were indeed a wide variety of exotic beasts, and almost all of them were types that the players on the forum hadn''t contracted. Spellcasters only had one chance to contract a magic pet, so it was all the same to him whichever one was chosen. He didn''t think it mattered which one it was. But Vivian didn''t see it that way. Contracting a magic pet was a rather important, if not sacred, thing for NPC mages like herself. What kind of magic pet they chose, and what kind of abilities the pet would have, they would usually not let outsiders know. And yet, Roland had left such an important matter for Vivian to decide. What did this mean? He trusted her very much. Vivian''s eyes became watery all of a sudden. She suddenly thought of something very important and took the initiative to take Roland''s hand again. "These exotic beasts are so-so, let''s go to my house, I''ll give you the White Amber." White Amber? Vivian led him from the street to the manor, which wasn''t that far away, about a thirty-minute walk. Vivian''s home was in a wealthy area in the north of the city. Although it wasn''t large, it was still a rather luxurious villa. The entrance of the villa was also guarded by several private guards whose physiques looked average. When they saw Vivian, they opened the door on their own accord, then looked at Roland whom Vivian was pulling along with a surprised look. It was the first time their lady had ever brought a man back. Roland was stunned for a moment. He hadn''t even introduced himself yet, and the other party already knew his identity? Seemingly having read Roland''s mind, the butler said matter-of-factly, "If the lady brings home a male friend, then it must be Sir Roland." Hmm Thinking of the key that was lying quietly in his Backpack, Roland also understood what the reason was. As Vivian''s cheeks flushed red, she glared at the butler, then asked, "Where are my father and mother?" "They went to the Corseys." "Where''s my big brother and second brother?" "Out on a hunting trip." Vivian was relieved and said, "Send some fruit wine to my room later, and make it Green Rain Fruit flavored." Having been Roland''s "secretary" for almost a little over half a year, Vivian naturally knew what flavor of fruit wine Roland loved the most. She then dragged Roland up to the fourth floor and into a room filled with the scent of pear blossoms. The room was decorated girlishly, and the color palette was mainly light pink. Roland felt a little awkwardthis was a girl''s room after all. But Vivian didn''t think much about it. She directly picked up a small white animal from the pale pink bed and placed it in front of Roland like a treasure offering. "Look, this is White Amber!" It was a small animal that Roland had never seen before, about the size of an adult domestic cat, and its pure white, snowy fur looked quite beautiful. It looked a bit like a puppy, but its ears were long like rabbit ears, except they hung down and stuck to the sides of its head. It also had a long tail, like a fox''s. It looked cute and pretty. Roland looked at it for a while and asked, "This is your pet, right?" "Yeah." Vivian nodded vigorously. "The White Amber is a relatively rare species in the Elf Forest that possesses many special abilities, such as natural healing, swift movement, as well as the ability to summon vines and the like." Roland said in surprise, "This already counts as a type of magical beast, doesn''t it?" "That''s right. White Amber was bought by my father for my companionship when I was a child, and then when I grew up, he wanted me to contract with it." Roland shook his head. "I can''t take that." "I want you to contract it." There was a hint of pleading in Vivian''s expression. "White Amber is old, and if it doesn''t become a magic pet within two or three years, it will die. But there''s no way I can become an Elite-level mage in five years." This little thing''s eyes suddenly opened slowly. Its irises were beautiful, a pale gold like clean, flawless amberno wonder it was given the name White Amber. Vivian smiled bitterly as she finished her sentence. Roland understood what Vivian meant. After any animal became a magic pet, their lifespan was theoretically unlimited, but only in theory, of course. Their lifespan was limited by the survival of their owner. If their owner died, they would follow suit. Of course, they could also be killed by their enemies. So it was only a theoretically infinite lifespan, as the vast majority of mages would eventually die. Except for the magic genius Mystra, who had yet to become a god back then. If Roland contracted this White Amber, it would be able to continue living. Roland looked at Vivian''s slightly tilted face, a pleading expression showing in her eyes. "All right." Roland agreed indifferently. To him, it didn''t matter which kind of magic pet he contracted, and the fact that this would help Vivian was a good thing in itself. "Then wait for me for a moment." Roland took out the book on Summon Magic Pet and sat down on a chair beside him, and began to study the spell models in the book. Summon Magic Pet was a level-two spell, and under normal circumstances, it was recommended that one only start learning it after level five, which was the Elite level. After all, contracting a magical beast was very dangerous, and if one was not careful, one''s mental power would recoilif the recoil was light, one would end up lying on their back for a short period of time, and if if the recoil was heavy, one''s head would explode. But that was relative; Roland, as a player, had no such affliction. Moreover, his comprehension wasn''t bad. The spell couldn''t be more difficult than Language Proficiency that was the same level, and most importantly, Roland had been studying magic all this time, and he already had a certain understanding of how it worked. One could make progress if one tried, and most of the models of magic were traceable. After Roland sat idly in Vivian''s room for nearly an hour reading a book, he stood up. "We can start." Vivian placed the small thing in her arms on the carpet covered with animal skins. The little thing seemed surprised to leave her warm embrace and looked up and around. Roland crouched down and put his right hand on the right side of his forehead for a while, then pulled out a blue, translucent gelatinous object. And then this thing, held in his hands, became the size of a ping-pong ball. 161 Attemp Looking at the transparent blue ping-pong-sized ball in Roland''s hands, Vivian covered her mouth, her eyes wide. Though she was not good at magic, she knew a lot of common sense about magic since she started learning it at eight. She knew that contracting a pet was essentially cutting off around 2% of one''s own soul and melding it to an animal''s soul, so that the animal would be much more intelligent and able to cast spells. Generally speaking, the 2% of the soul of an Elite spellcaster was the size of a little finger. However, it was the size of a ping-pong ball for Roland. Was Roland actually a dragon? The size of his soul was unbelievable. Vivian observed Roland, trying to see through him. Roland didn''t notice her eyes, because he was holding his head and gasping hard. Although Aldo''s books had mentioned that soul separation would be painful, the agony was still beyond his expectations. It felt almost as if someone had kicked him in the nuts. He would''ve cried out if Vivian weren''t present. It was not until he rested for five minutes that he finally pressed the ball in his hands into White Amber on the floor. White Amber had been too old to move earlier, but it suddenly opened its eyes uneasily at this point. As the ball approached it, it struggled more and more intensely. Vivian, on the other hand, held it and said gently, "White Amber, just deal with it. You''ll be able to live on in such a way." She was gentle but also slightly reluctant. After all, White Amber would belong to Roland after it became Roland''s magic pet. This little creature struggled hard, but since it was not strong, it was not able to break free. While it stared at Roland in fright, Roland pressed the blue ball into its head. The moment the ball entered White Amber''s head, it trembled and shrieked hard in the awful squeak of a mouse. Vivian stroked its back, tears in her eyes. "Hold on, White Amber. You can do this." Roland simply watched them patiently. It was dangerous and difficult enough for a Mage to cut off their soul, and whether or not a magic pet could be successfully contracted depended on the resolution of the animal. In comparison, it was much easier for Warlocks and Priests to contract pets. They could cast their spells on an animal and contract it after about ten seconds of channeling with a success rate of almost 100%, unless the animal was really too huge for them, like an adult tiger or a big stallion. White Amber was still screaming and struggling, and Vivian was still holding on. She was weeping as she painfully watched her pet and friend who grew up with her suffer like this. Two minutes later, White Amber finally stopped screaming, but then its fur started falling in chunks. Roland, of course, was even more puzzled. The two of them watched White Amber become hairless. Then, the pet suddenly stood up beyond Vivian''s control. Its eyes were even brighter than before. Looking at Vivian and Roland with what could almost be called shame, it suddenly crawled to the bottom of the bed. Greatly scared, Vivian shouted, "White Amber, what''s up? Come out! You''re scaring me!" Roland didn''t know how to help at all. After Vivian shouted for a while, a voice that sounded like a six-year-old girl suddenly came from underneath the bed. "Vivian, I''m naked. Can you make me some clothes?" Vivian immediately jumped to her feet in delight. "It worked? You can talk now, White Amber?" "Yes!" The voice from underneath the bed grew louder. "Vivian, can you ask my master to go back for now? I''ll go to him after I grow fur in a few days." Vivian looked at Roland hopefully. Roland nodded. "That''s not a problem." He smiled at Vivian and left the room, and the butler outside of the door was apparently regretful to see Roland. But soon, he became solemn again and asked, "Are you going to leave, sir? Please let me give you a ride." "Thank you for your trouble." Roland nodded at the old man. Back in the Magic Tower, Roland checked the updates in the system. Magic Pet: White Amber (divine creature) Age: Nine Body Size: Small Abilities: Claw Attack, Ultra-Sensitive Hearing, Ultra-Sensitive Scenting, Night Battle, Quick Movement, Slow Healing, Scorching Ray (Unavailable), and Sunlight (Unavailable). Roland was rather shocked to see White Amber''s abilities. The physical abilities at the beginning were common for most magic pets, and White Amber was almost weak at melee fighting. However, its three magic abilities were extraordinary. Roland had seen a lot of magic pets on the forum. He had never seen a magic pet who had healing abilities. Besides, Scorching Ray seemed to be an offensive spell, and Sunlight looked like a group buffing spell and could suppress necromancy. That was too unbelievable. Roland thought for a moment and posted White Amber''s abilities to the game forum. As he expected, the forum was on fire five minutes later. He saw various comments. "Damn it. Half of the Priests will lose their jobs now that this pet has appeared." "That''s unlikely. This pet only knows Slow Healing, and the Priests know many more methods of healing." "But at least a spellcaster is less dependent on Priests if they have such a pet." "Roland is indeed the best Mage. Even a pet that he contracts is so awesome." "Is it really awesome? I, for one, find the fiery maggots stronger." Then, Roland received a lot of notifications that other players tipped him. He turned off the forum and started simplifying Summon Magic Pet. When Roland used the magic, he discovered that, considering the players'' abilities, a level-two player rather than a level-five one was already good enough to use it. He spent four days in his magic lab and uploaded the simplified spell model to the forum on the fifth day. On the same day, Vivian returned to the Magic Tower with White Amber. Roland was greatly surprised to see White Amber. It probably shouldn''t be called White Amber now, but Blue Amber. Its white furs had turned bright blue and reflected spots of light smoothly, which made it very beautiful. It jumped to the floor, walked to Roland, and said to him sweetly, "Master!" 162 Property Transfer It was possible to communicate with magic pets through the mind. However, mental communication would consume mental power, so talking was more convenient if a man and a pet were to communicate over a short distance. "White Amber?" Roland was surprised. "Why have you changed color?" "I''m not sure." White Amber climbed along Roland''s sleeves and almost reached Roland''s shoulder in the blink of an eye. "My new fur is blue now that my old fur is gone. My knowledge is mostly inherited from you. I certainly don''t know what you aren''t aware of." Essentially speaking, a magic pet was partially a clone of a spellcaster. Because of the spellcaster''s soul piece that was melded to the pet, the pet''s knowledge and personality were similar to the spellcaster''s. At this moment, Vivian suddenly interjected, "I was told that if a spellcaster has a special bloodline that has been passed on through the soul, their magic pets might go through physical changes on the surface, and the change of color might be one of them. Deputy Chairman, do you have any special bloodline?" Roland thought for a moment. "I don''t think so. My ancestors are all ordinary." Vivian nodded, not entirely convinced. It was not that she didn''t believe Roland, but she thought that Roland might be unaware of his special bloodline himself. It was not unusual for the offspring to forget the glory of their ancestors. They chatted for a moment, and Vivian said with White Amber in her arms before she left, "In any case, we''ll still call it White Amber even though its color has changed. Also, it''s still my friend even though it''s your magic pet now, so you must let me know if you''re bringing it anywhere." Roland nodded. The terms were not harsh. Vivian was happy that Roland accepted her requests so willingly, so she made some cakes and fruit wine for him to thank him. Roland secluded himself in the magic lab, but only two days later, a middle-aged butler asked to meet him and gave him a letter as well as a deed to a house. Opening the envelope, Roland found that the letter was from Aldo. "Deputy Chairman, by the time you see this letter, you will be Chairman already, and I will be away from Hollevin. We haven''t known each other for long, but I admire your integrity and respect you as a lifelong friend. However, there are many more things I want to do, and I can''t stay in this country any longer. I''m taking away the women and most of my property, but I''ve left something important for you, such as my personal understanding of magic. I''ve also hidden an interesting item in a secret place in my manor, but I won''t tell you where it is. You''d better find it within three days, or it will expire." Roland shook the envelope, and a bronze key slipped out. Was he gone? Roland leaned back in his chair, somewhat at a loss. This was not reality, where planes, trains, and ships could take people far away easily. In this world, every long-distance journey was a life-and-death gamble even for professionals. This made the long-distance teleportation spells all the more important. Regretfully, Roland couldn''t study such sophisticated spells at this time. A surprise that could expire? Roland played with the bronze key for a while and went downstairs. When he passed the second floor, he saw Vivian talking to White Amber. Vivian had been devoted to speaking with White Amber since it learned to talk, as if she was telling the pet all the things that she had wanted to tell it in the past. They both saw Roland and looked at him curiously. Roland thought for a moment and asked, "I''m going to Aldo''s manor. Are you coming with me?" "Sounds good to me." "Okay." Both Vivian and White Amber liked to spend time with Roland. Ten minutes later, they arrived at Aldo''s manor. Aldo''s manor was very quiet, and only a few guards were still fulfilling their duty. Roland''s arrival filled the guards with hope. They volunteered to open the gate for Roland, before they stood straight and saluted him. In the meantime, a middle-aged butler ran to them from a house. He seemed anxious, but he still bowed politely and asked, "Mr. Roland, are you here to take over the manor?" "Yes." Roland nodded and gave the deed to the middle-aged butler. "Keep this for me. Also, hire more people so that the manor can be revived." "As you wish!" replied the butler affirmatively and excitedly. He knew that his job was safe now. "Wait!" Vivian suddenly realized what was going on. She asked with wide eyes, "Where is Chairman Aldo?" "He''s gone." Roland sighed and said, "I''ll explain to you later." Vivian was smart enough to not ask anymore. They went to the study on the third floor. Roland looked at the shelves that were laden with books and found a few notebooks in the drawer. He sat in the chair in contentment, as he had found the most valuable things in the manor. As for the other things in the manor like wine, wheat, or poultry, they were not really important to Roland. Then, Roland explained everything to Vivian. Vivian looked at the spacious manor through the window and said in shock, "Chairman Aldo''s manor is among the most spacious ones in all of Delpon City. I didn''t think that he would offer it to you." "Do you like it?" Roland smiled. "I can transfer it to you." "No!" Vivian declined his offer without hesitation. "I''m just an inferior magic apprentice. I can''t live in such a manor. It''s not about money but qualification." Roland thought for a moment and asked, "Why don''t you help me manage it? I need someone trustworthy to take care of a manor this big. You can live here." Vivian slightly blushed. "I think that could work. I''ll live here then." That''s not a problem at all! The girl couldn''t be more delighted. Vivian had been looking out of the window with her back to Roland, so Roland never saw her face, or he would''ve realized something. Pondering for a moment, he rose and said, "All right, it''s time for a treasure hunt." Vivian turned around, stunned. Roland closed his eyes His enormous mental power transformed into tentacles that stretched through walls and rocks, covering almost everything. Vivian couldn''t help but swallow at the center of Roland''s mental power. Although Roland''s mental tentacles avoided her this time, Vivian had grown stronger and could sense that Roland''s mental power enshrouded the whole manor like a gigantic spider web. It was rather scary. Half a minute later, Roland opened his eyes. "Got it!" 163 This Treasure Is Rather Tricky Establishing a field of mental power could be exhausting, and the larger the field was, the more exhausting it would be. Roland''s mental power almost enveloped the whole manor. Although it felt slightly thin after it was stretched out, what he did was still impressive. The thinner, the more vulnerable. After Roland expanded his mental power, his mental power had turned into a veil, but he still managed to maintain the field of his mental power without letting it break, which suggested his control over his mental power was remarkable. After he found the target, Roland retracted his mental power. Then, he caught his breath on the chair. Holding White Amber in her arms, Vivian asked, "What have you found?" "A treasure left by Aldo." While restoring his mental power, Roland explained, "He thought that it would take me a long time to solve his mysterious puzzle, but he didn''t know that I could cheat with my mental power." Vivian was quite envious, because mental power represented a Mage''s potential. Roland was only an Elite for now, but he could already unfold such an unbelievable field of mental power. It suggested that Roland had huge potential. "Do you want to come with me?" Roland stood up after a brief rest. Naturally, Vivian was curious about what the chairman had left for Roland too. The butler saw them when they left the room. He hurried over to them and asked, "Master, is there anything I can do for you?" Roland gave the bronze key to Vivian and said, "She''ll help me manage this manor while I spend most of my time in the Magic Tower." The butler blinked his eyes and immediately realized that he had met the future lady of the manor. Vivian was the daughter of a noble and a magic apprentice. She was a minor celebrity in Delpon and the butler knew her, so he simply nodded and said, "Yes, Master." Then, Roland and Vivian walked to the back of the manor, which was an orchard. This was still part of the manor. They walked in the orchard and reached a fake hill. Roland searched the grasses and found a ring. He pulled it hard, and a wood cover was lifted along with the grasses that covered it, revealing a dark tunnel. Mages were weak only in comparison. Without the enhancement of magic, it was true that Mages were not as strong as Warriors. However, Roland, as a Mage and a Golden Son, was still very strong compared to the ordinary person. He could beat five regular men easily. Thanks to his previous investigation with mental power, Roland knew that there were no dangers in the tunnel. A ball of light floated ahead and illuminated the way while Roland and Vivian descended with the pet. After about twenty meters, they found themselves before a thick black door. Roland knocked on it, and the noise echoed in the darkness. Slightly stunned, Vivian walked forward and inserted the key into a square hole at the center of the door. She then twisted the key, and the door clicked. Roland went forth and pushed the door open. The door opened with a dull noise, and the things behind it were slowly revealed. It was a secret chamber that was almost empty. There was nothing but a simple bed, as well as someone who seemed to be sleeping on it. Roland cast the light ball toward the bed, and the person on the bed became clear. The beautiful curve of her back and her blond hair suggested that she was a girl. Woken by the light, she suddenly turned around and sat up, squinting at Roland and Vivian warily through the dazzling light. The girl was tall and slim, but the most surprising was her pair of long ears. Was she an elf or a half-elf? She was wearing thin white clothes that seemed to be a prisoner''s uniform, but the clothes did not conceal her sexiness at all. "Is this the treasure that the chairman left for you?" Vivian looked at Roland unhappily. Roland also didn''t suspect that an elven girl was inside this chamber. Earlier, he had only sensed a special, powerful source of magic from the chamber, and he thought that Aldo left him a piece of excellent magic equipment. But as it turned out, it was an enslaved elf. Stunned, Roland pinged Li Lin in the guild system. "I''ve got an eleven slave too. What do I do?" Very soon, all his friends sent rows of exclamation marks in the chat. In the end, Li Lin suggested, "Do her before you talk to her." Roland shook his head as he found no constructive advice. He then turned off the system menu. Seeing the two human beings, the elf stood up and said something indifferently. Her voice was brisk and pleasant, but neither of them could follow her. Roland imposed Language Proficiency on both himself and Vivian, before he coughed and said, "Okay, you can repeat yourself now." "Language Proficiency?" The elf stopped not far away from Roland, with more disgust than surprise on her face. "You''re my new buyer?" Roland sighed. "Technically speaking, I didn''t buy you; someone gave you to me." The elf sneered. At this moment, Vivian secretly compared herself to the elf. Face! She lost. Height! She lost. Waistline! She lost. Chest circumference! She finally won! The elf''s breasts were surprisingly flat, which gave Vivian an advantage. Thinking about that, Vivian tried to stand straighter. Roland was observing the elf too. He had sensed that the elf was powerful and was aware of magic too. He soon understood Aldo''s intention. "Do you want freedom?" The elf looked at Roland warily and stepped back without talking. Roland smiled. "You must know the special natural spells of the elves, yes?" The elf was still quiet. "Write three spell models of the natural magic of the elves for me, and I''ll set you free." The elf frowned and obviously didn''t trust Roland. "Human beings are treacherous." "You don''t have a choice." Roland chuckled. "After all, you''re just a slave right now." The elf was very calm, probably because she had been enslaved for a long time. Instead of screaming and shouting, she considered for a moment and said, "Human beings can''t learn the magic of elves." "It doesn''t matter." Roland waved his hand. "That''s my problem." Pondering for a moment, she looked Roland in the eyes and said slowly, "This is the last time I trust human beings. You''d better not let me down." Roland shrugged and did not argue with her. At this moment, actions spoke louder than words. "All right, do you want to come out with us?" "No!" Vivian suddenly interrupted Roland and said solemnly, "No elven slaves can be shown in public, unless you think you can defeat the Guardian Druids." 164 Counterattack "Guardian Druids?" asked Roland in confusion. Knowing that he did not have much common knowledge about this world, Vivian explained to him carefully. As it turned out, Druids were a special class of elves. They were a huge percentage of the population and enjoyed a high social status. However, because of their different ideologies, they were divided into the Balancers and the Guardians. The Balancers focused on maintaining the balance of the elven forest. They killed wolves when there were too many wolves and they killed rabbits when there were too many rabbits. They weren''t interested in the outside world, but if any human being dared to set foot in the forest, they would turn into nightmares and hunt down the intruders. They were indifferent to their compatriots who left the forest and believed that they deserved anything that happened to them, and that they wouldn''t be enslaved by human beings if they had never left the forest. Therefore, they had no sympathy for the elven slaves. However, the Guardians were different. The Guardians believed that every elf was part of the forest, and that the stray elves were just like dandelion seeds in the wind. They also believed that it was their duty to protect all elves. Whenever they heard that an elf was captured as a slave, they would immediately take action to rescue their compatriot and kill the slaver as well as the buyer. If nobody bought the slaves, nobody would be hurt. They believed that the buyers were as guilty as the sellers. So, most of the time, the nobles would keep the elven slaves in secret even if they caught any. Hearing what Vivian said, the elven slave chuckled proudly. "That explains why Aldo locked her up here." Roland sighed. "Are the Guardian Druids good?" Vivian nodded. "It''s not about if they''re good. The Balancers and the Guardians are capable of similar spells despite their different ideologies. The real tricky thing is that all Druids can transform. They can take the shape of wolves, elephants, dragons, or humans easily. So, you have no idea how many Guardian Druids are roaming the world of humans." Elves as humans Roland didn''t find it odd. If the Druids could turn into wolves and leopards, which were significantly different from themselves, then it was even easier for them to turn into human beings. They only had to shorten their ears and change the color of their eyes. Roland understood what Vivian meant. The Druids among elves were reasonably strong, but more importantly, they were highly unpredictable. Once the message that somebody had an elven slave was out, they would probably be surrounded by the Guardian Druids without them realizing it at all. By the time the Guardian Druids revealed themselves, it would be time for the slave owners to die. The elf stared at Roland in surprise, before she smiled disdainfully. She thought that the man was lying. Were there really human beings that couldn''t be killed? She didn''t believe that the world had changed so greatly during the few months she was caged. Vivian remembered this too. She was so concerned about Roland that she forgot his identity. Roland looked at the slave. "However, I don''t like trouble. Madam, let''s continue our deal. I''ll let you go as long as you write down three elven spell models for me." Vivian looked at Roland with both surprise and delight. Although she had slight advantages in a certain aspect, the elf was much more attractive than her in looks, height, and aura. The elf''s slim but somehow captivating body tempted even her, despite her being a girl. However, Roland ignored the elf''s charm and was willing to let her go. Did it mean Vivian couldn''t help but have a lot of thoughts. The elf looked at Roland with obvious distrust. However, Roland merely looked back at her with a smile. It seemed that Roland''s attitude slightly reduced the elf''s wariness. She said, "Do you really honor your promises?" "No, you need to honor your promises." Roland nodded at Vivian. Vivian stepped forward, and the elf immediately retreated, uneasiness returning to her face. Vivian waved the bronze key in her hand. The elf understood what they meant. She touched her neck, where there was a magic ring that constrained her and suppressed her natural magic power. "I can give you freedom right now, so you are the one who needs to keep your word." The elf took a deep breath. "You''re very unique, human." Roland said narcissistically, "I think so too." Vivian stepped forward again, and the elf didn''t retreat again this time. Vivian unlocked the elf''s collar with the key, and Roland picked up the magic collar with Hand of Magic and put it in the Backpack. Sensing that the magic power that had been suppressing her was dwindling and her natural power was regenerating, the elf stared at Roland with bright green eyes. "Human, my name is Serrari. I don''t want to tell you my last name, because I don''t want to embarrass my family. So What''s your name?" "Roland." "I need food and water. I need a safe space, preferably one with a big bed where I can take a good rest." Roland looked at her. "It''s very safe here. If you''re unafraid of darkness, you can stay here, and we can offer water and food to you." "I''ve had enough of this dark, suffocating place," said Serrari angrily. Vivian smiled. "If you''re willing to trust me, I can arrange your accommodation for the next few days. Chairman Roland''s manor is now empty. Dozens of elves can live there. That is, if they don''t cause trouble." "A magic apprentice." Serrari glanced at Vivian and then asked Roland with a mocking tone, "You''re very weak. Are you not afraid that I would run away after my magic is restored?" Chuckling, Roland said confidently, "That''s why I said that you were the one who needed to keep your word. Elves are known to be the epitome of kindness, justice, loyalty, and determination. Give me a chance to appreciate your virtues." Looking at Roland''s face, Serrari clicked her tongue and said, "Cunning humans. Those who caught me and those who intend to release me are all so cunning." 165 Elf An interesting thing happened in Delpon recently. An elf was spotted in Aldo''s manor, but Aldo was gone. Nobody knew when Aldo disappeared to. His manor then belonged to Roland. A lot of rumors spread in Delpon. Some said that Roland killed Aldo to steal his power, and some said that Aldo escaped because he feared Roland''s formidableness. Apart from all the rumors, everybody focused their attention on the elf. What were elves? They represented beauty, grace, and loyalty. They were human beings'' favorite species. Despite the risk of being attacked by Guardian Druids, most nobles still wanted to get an elf for themselves in secret so that they could have elven offspring. Because of that, a lot of half-elves had emerged. However, even the boldest nobles, including the royal family, dare not show the elven slaves to outsiders. Those Guardian Druids cared little about identity. The moment they found that any elf was being sold as a slave, they would take action. But in Aldo''s or Roland''s manor, the elf appeared freely to the public. Then, people discovered that the elf was not wearing a magic suppressor on her neck, which meant that she was free and was Roland''s guest. Therefore, many young nobles expressed their wish to visit Roland''s manor, but Roland refused all of them for their blatant intentions. However, there were three people that Roland couldn''t turn down. They were Hawk, Link, and Jett. Though they were slightly more estranged than before, they were still very close to each other. In Roland''s manor, the four of them sat down around a table. "An elf," Hawk said enviously. "I didn''t know that you could invite one of them as your guest." Roland found it odd. "You''re interested in elves?" Hawk nodded hard. "When I played R18 games in college, I only played those with elf elements." Roland frowned hard. Jett burst into laughter, but Link was absolutely unmoved. "You''re truly blunt." Roland smiled bitterly. Hawk shook his head. "Why shouldn''t we be? We''re men here. What can men talk about except politics and women?" Roland and Jett both smiled in acknowledgment. Link was as calm as before. "So, you''ve come here for the elf?" asked Roland. Hawk nodded. "Our organization intends to reach out to the elves, so I''m wondering if you can introduce us to your guest." Roland looked at Jett. "What about you?" Jett shook his head and said, "The Church of Life and the Druids are aligned, so I''m obliged to help the elves in danger To put it simply, if she''s an elven slave, can you let me rescue her? I''ll be rewarded with abundant experience points. Of course, I''ll give you coins in exchange." Jett shrugged helplessly. Hawk was relieved. He was afraid that Roland would deny him. After all, Roland belonged to F6. It was understandable if Roland didn''t want him to talk to the elf in the best interests of Roland''s guild. At this moment, Vivian served the guests fruit wine. Roland said, "Go and bring Serrari here. My friend wants to talk to her." Vivian nodded. She only wished that Serrari could meet more men other than Roland. Putting her tray down, Vivian went upstairs. Hawk looked at her back and said enviously, "You''ve got a great secretary." "Your Link is not bad either." "No." Hawk agreed with him. Then he said, "But he is a man." Link rolled his eyes. "I''m sorry for being a man." "It would be great if you were a woman." Hawk counterattacked habitually. Link didn''t fight back but was deep in thought. Roland and Jett looked at each other, both feeling that they couldn''t join their conversation at all. At this moment, Vivian returned with Serrari. Serrari had already rested for a few days. She looked much better than a few days earlier. In a green dress, she slowly walked down, her soft blond hair shining in the light. Her lake-like eyes and her figure made everybody feel that she was a goddess that had arrived in the human world. Both Hawk and Jett took a deep breath, and Link was obviously jealous. "Why did you ask for me?" asked Serrari proudly after she walked to Roland. She didn''t even bother to look at Hawk and his companions. "My friends would like to meet you," replied Roland casually. Serrari glanced at Hawk and his companions unemotionally and refocused her eyes on Roland. "I didn''t know that you were a pimp. Or are you simply bragging that you have an elf?" "You have a sharp tongue." Roland sighed. "They''re here for business." Serrari thought for a moment and said, "Fine. For your sake, I''ll listen to what they have to say." Roland smiled bitterly. Hawk and the newcomers looked more or less the same. They had heard that elves were proud and condescending, and what they heard proved to be true. "Beautiful elven lady, I am the deputy chairman of Silver Wings," Hawk said politely. "We''ve always admired elves. After we learned that you''re here, we hoped that we could meet you here and seek to establish connections with the elves." Serrari gazed at Hawk in silence, and the disdain on her face thickened. "Your so-called Silver Wings is just a guild of mercenaries, is it not?" "I guess you can say that." "Then what''s your problem? How idiotic are you to think that a mercenary group can cooperate with a nation?" Hawk was stunned, and so was Link. They suddenly remembered that they were indeed a small group while the elves were a nation of sorts. However, Hawk, as a deputy chairman, was famous for his diplomatic abilities and his quick wits. He soon found an excuse. "Big organizations and small ones have their respective advantages; it''s possible for us to help the elves in ways you can''t foresee." Serrari scorned them and stood up, before she said to Roland, "I''m tired. I''m going to bed. Don''t let such fools disturb me again." She left after saying that. Hawk was fascinated as he stared at her back. "She''s as proud and mean as the elves in the R18 games. How cute" Link said angrily, "Why? Do you want to play an R18 game with elves in this game?" For some reason, Hawk felt scared and rubbed his arms subconsciously. Roland shook his head and said, "Hawk, how about a deal?" 166 Gap "What business do you have for Silver Wings?" asked Hawk curiously. Roland raised his cup at the rest of them and drank a mouthful of the wine, before he continued: "How many Mages are there in Silver Wings? I''m talking about the dogged players who would not delete their characters halfway." "Around ten." Hawk thought for a moment and continued, "You know that Mage is too hard a class. Not everybody is as gifted as you. We have a lot of spellcasters, but most of them are Warlocks and Priests." Since the appearance of the Warriors was weakened, the number of Warlocks had soared. After all, Charm was the main stat for Warlocks, and Warlocks could automatically learn skills when they reached certain levels. As a result, Warlocks were handsome and easy to play. Everybody liked that. "I''m planning to establish a study group," Roland said. "You can ask the Mages of your guild to come to our Magic Tower and study together with the magic apprentices." Huh? Not just Hawk, but Link and Jett were confused too. Hawk asked Roland in confusion, "Aren''t you already the best Mage? Can''t you teach those magic apprentices?" Roland replied in embarrassment, "I can teach them the theories, but when it comes to understanding and action, there is a gap between me and them." After a long, stunned moment, Hawk said helplessly, "Got it. The basics in the eyes of the experts and the basics in the eyes of the ordinary people are different, aren''t they?" Roland found it awkward too. "I really don''t know how I should explain myself." Indeed, Roland had explained every spell model detailed and clearly, but some of the simple actions for him were very hard in the eyes of the magic apprentices. For example, an apprentice once asked, "Deputy Chairman, how can you export magic power from this point to another point quickly?" "You just focus enough magic power on the start point and push it to your destination with more mental power," answered Roland. But the magic apprentice was stunned. "But how can I know whether or not I''ve gathered enough magic power?" Roland said matter-of-factly, "You can easily tell with your instincts." Then, the magic apprentice refused to talk to him again. Looking at the apprentice''s state, Roland remembered an old joke. An experienced worker was teaching a student, and the student asked, "Sir, how can you notice the flaw in the part we''re working on just with your hand?" "You just put your hand on the part and close your eyes." In the end, the student changed his career and became an equipment operator. Although Roland believed in hard work, he had to admit that the gap between people in terms of talent could be desperately huge. The magic apprentices were in a swamp, and they couldn''t see Roland even if they were to raise their heads. They couldn''t understand Roland''s perception of magic power. From his high altitude in the sky, Roland couldn''t see the swamp either. He couldn''t understand how the apprentices felt when they couldn''t utilize the magic power that was right before their eyes. So, it occurred to Roland that he could invite the Mage players who were as gifted as the apprentices to the Magic Tower, so that they could learn and make progress together. Hawk couldn''t agree more with the proposal. But out of the instincts of the deputy chairman of a guild, he asked, "Then what can we get from this?" "The books in the Magic Tower are open to all players. Besides, the players can apply for magic resources." Roland smiled. "But not too many, of course. The resources of the Magic Tower are limited anyway." Hawk pursued further: "How much money''s worth of resources will they get each month?" Roland calculated the numbers and the revenues of the Magic Tower, before he said, "No more than thirty silver coins per month." "That''s too little." Hawk smacked the table. He didn''t feel that he used a lot of strength, but since he was a Warrior with great constitution, the table shook and the tableware jumped. "You earn ten gold coins per month, and you give only thirty silver coins to the players you hire. That''s pure capitalism. You should give them at least one gold coin." "After your dock starts to make a profit, would you give the NPC helpers one gold coin as reward?" Roland sighed and said slowly, "We''re all players, so we''d better drop the meaningless talk. Thirty silver coins is already my greatest compromise for the sake of our friendship. If you''re unwilling to take it, I''ll make posts on the forum. I''m sure that a lot of players who are not in guilds would be willing to join our Magic Tower." Looking at the casualness on Roland''s face, Hawk sensed confidence and vague estrangement from it. Hawk was slightly disappointed, but he knew that it was his own fault. For the interests of his guild, he had pushed Roland aside earlier, and for the interests of his guild, he felt that Roland''s terms were not good enough this time. Roland had shown his friendliness by offering to cooperate with them. His threat to work with someone else was completely understandable. "Fine." Hawk was rather frustrated. "Let''s do what you said." Hawk didn''t like it, but as the deputy chairman of his guild, he had to be responsible for the hundred members in his guild. It was a matter of position, not one of morals or integrity. Then, they chatted for a few more minutes, before they said goodbye to each other. Roland returned to his study in the Magic Tower. He was not in a good mood even though Vivian had made delicious pastries for him. After sitting for a while, he subconsciously opened the forum and decided to lift his spirit by reading the posts on the forum. But very soon, he spotted a post that had been marked by the moderator so many times that the title of the post was almost black. The title said, All Pretty Boys Should Be Killed! There were more than ten thousand replies to the post. Hmm? Excited, Roland clicked the post. 167 The Only Requirement Is Handsomeness The player who made the post cursed in an angry and desperate tone. "All the pretty boys should be killed! I can live with you when you steal we ugly men''s girls in reality, but you''re stealing our girls in games too? Do you have any conscience at all? I found the girl first. I courted her for more than half a month. I tried to meet her coincidentally every day I did everything I could, and my best result was that she finally looked me in the eyes. But after you came, you lured her away with nothing more than a lollipop! That''s a girl dragon! My god! Had it not been for you, I would''ve become a dragon knight who had a beautiful girl as my partner! "Ahhhhhhhhh! The pretty boys like you should all be killed!" A girl dragon? Roland grew even more curious. He read on and saw a video that the player posted. Roland played it. It was a video shot in the first perspective with a monologue. A Warrior player traveled a long distance to Fareins Kingdom. He found a lonely girl who often roamed by herself in the woods outside of a big city. Then, the girl was featured on the video. Her long hair was so brightly red that it was almost on fire, her skin was fair and smooth, and her eyes were the same color as her hair and looked like rubies. Her face was pretty too. With her red dress and her slim body, she looked innocent and appealing. Even Roland found the girl cute. Even more surprisingly, there was a pair of tiny, adorable horns on the girl''s forehead, which made her seem even more exotic. Horns? Remembering the "girl dragon" that the player mentioned, Roland immediately realized her identity. She was a dragon! The Warrior player began to make moves on this girl dragon. As he said, he resorted to every method, like talking or giving her gifts or food. But the girl dragon kept ignoring him. The Warrior was not frustrated. In the recording of his conquest, he cheered himself up every time he was ignored. "Day one. Failed. It doesn''t matter. I''ll work harder." "Day two. Failed. It''s fine. I''ll keep it up." "Day three. Failed" "Day sixteen. She finally looked at me! That''s huge progress! I''ve never felt more confident!" The Warrior sounded proud and ecstatic, but any normal player would''ve noticed that the girl had looked at him with disdain instead of interest. Then, on the seventeenth day, something unexpected happened. A handsome guy appeared out of nowhere. The guy was so gorgeous that staring at him was like staring at the sun. His hair was short, and he was riding a horse that was clad in heavy golden armor while wearing a similar suit of armor himself. When he jumped off from the horse, everybody''s eyes were fixated on him. Roland even heard the ominous gasp of this Warrior player. It was none other than Schuck. Schuck walked up to the girl dragon and asked, "Are you the lost young princess from the Fire Dragons? We received a request to take you back, or the Fire Dragons will come to the human world in search of you" The girl dragon stared at Schuck, stunned. Her eyes grew brighter and brighter, as if a fire was burning inside. "Did you hear me?" Schuck waved his hand before the girl''s face. Seeing no response, he took out a lollipop from his Backpack. "Little girl, here''s a candy for you. Tell me, are you Princess Margret?" The girl subconsciously accepted the lollipop. Then she blushed and moved her eyes away shyly, only to see the horse in golden armor. She suddenly turned cold. Then, she gave everyone a big surprise. She ran off so fast, it was like an arrow had just been released. Then she leaped and kicked the abdomen of the horse. The poor horse was kicked away before it had a chance to cry out and was dismembered while in midair. Then, the girl dragon returned to Schuck. Schuck''s face turned cold, but even so, he was still fascinatingly handsome, as if he were a sculpture made of marble. "Why did you kill my horse?" The girl fell on one of her knees before Schuck, her face red and her eyes full of passion. "That creature was too lousy to be your mount." "What do you mean?" Schuck asked unhappily. The girl kissed the back of Schuck''s hand and said, "I''m the only one qualified to be your mount." Schuck was dazed. Then, a gigantic red magic circle surrounded both of them. The girl touched her forehead to the back of Schuck''s hand. Soon, the magic circle was gone, and the girl rose again, with an additional pink triangular symbol on her forehead. Then, the girl stepped back, and to the surprise of all the players who watched the video, she was enshrouded by fire, until an enormous red dragon broke out of the flames. The dragon was about four meters tall and ten meters long. The red dragon crouched before Schuck and lowered its enormous head. Schuck was quiet for a while, his eyes closed, as if he were communicating with his mind. Then, he opened his eyes. With a weird look on his face, he stepped on the back of the dragon, using its wing as stairs, and sat down. The red dragon roared in excitement, shaking the trees nearby. Then, it flapped its wings and soon disappeared into the sky with Schuck. Roland sighed. A dragon Recalling the dragon''s body size, Roland wondered whether or not he could wound it with a full-blown Fireball? Probably not. While he was thinking, he noticed that the perspective of the video was lowered, and he could see that the person who shot the video knelt on the ground with tears dripping onto the grasses before him. He could hear the suppressed sobbing. That was the end of the video. Roland scrolled the page and read the comments. "You give everything to a girl, but you get nothing in the end. I feel that I just saw myself from years ago. I''m crying." "Women like nothing but looks." "That guy was too handsome. Even I almost turned gay. It''s not surprising that a girl couldn''t resist him. Don''t cry. Let''s be tough." "What''s that class? I''d like to build a new character." Roland thought for a moment and left a reply. "Saint Samurai, a special class that will be among the leadership of the Church once you transform. Its only requirement is handsomeness!" 168 Again Roland''s ID on the forum had turned gold, a symbol that he had been authenticated. So far, there were only authenticated players on the forum, and Roland was the ninth. Also, he was the only one who was authenticated as a player. So, he was quite surprised to see that his nickname''s color had changed. Then his reply was soon upvoted to the top. "Shoot! Roland, the strongest Mage, is here!" "Does Roland know that handsome guy?" "It seems that Mages are truly aware of a lot of critical information." Seeing that the players were throwing random guesses, Roland simply replied, "It''s Schuck, the founder of F6." Half a minute later, his reply received another bunch of comments of amazement. "So, the leader of F6 is a Saint Samurai. No wonder he set up a guild so easily. I''m told that Saint Samurai enjoy a high position." "Not high, but very high. They''re like the adopted children of the Goddess of Light." "They''re like the children of a CEO that are sent to the bottom level to gain social experience. Those clerics and mortals certainly have to show them respect." Reading the pages of replies, Roland put on a vague smile. Schuck was a lone wife. Even though he was playing a game with many friends, he preferred exploring the game on his own unless his friends asked him to join a mission. Roland didn''t think that it was inappropriate in other MMORPGs, but since this game was very real, Roland hoped that Schuck could shoulder the responsibility as the chairman of a guild. To be famous! The chairman of a guild generally had two responsibilities: to manage the guild and to be famous. F6 was a guild of family and friends, and there were few people in it. So, it required little management, which meant Schuck''s sole mission was to be famous. When the chairman of a guild was famous, the guild would also be famous. F6 was famous enough as the only guild in the game at present, but Roland didn''t think that it was enough. The first established guild and the best guild were not the same. Therefore Schuck had to be famous. Besides, Schuck was an influential Saint Samurai and a handsome dragon knight: it would be too wasteful if Schuck were to dawdle along every day. After it was done, Roland pinged Schuck in the guild channel. "Dragon knight. That is indeed a fancy title, isn''t it?" "Get lost! I''m very upset now. Though I''ve found the young princess of the Fire Dragons, I''m in great trouble. The Fire Dragons said that they would teach me a lesson." "You captivated their princess. Hey, do you need our help?" Then, Li Lin, Husseret, and his other friends all said that they would help him. Schuck, however, fell silent, and didn''t rejoin the guild channel until about two hours later. Roland gasped hard. "Shoot. Your Goddess of Light really adores you, doesn''t she?" Waging a war seemed a casual thing for this goddess. Schuck said, "She adores all the Saint Samurai. It does feel great knowing that someone always has your back. It was the right choice to be a Saint Samurai." Roland said, "If there''s nothing else, I''ll do other things. Right, I''ve helped you increase your popularity. You''re welcome." Schuck: "???" Roland chuckled and turned off the guild channel. The next day, eight Mage players from Silver Wings joined the Magic Tower. After they participated in and discussed activities with the magic apprentices, the magic apprentices made much faster progress than previously. The Magic Tower also became livelier. Most magic apprentices had a strong sense of hierarchy. Few of them dared to talk to Roland except Vivian. So, Roland spent most of the time studying magic by himself. Although he liked being alone, he found it boring when he was alone for too long. The players, on the other hand, couldn''t care less about hierarchy, and they would talk to anyone when they were tired of practicing magic. Roland was naturally among those they talked to. Roland enjoyed chit-chatting with them during his breaks, too. After all, they were the same kind of people. They knew each other very well, and certain memes were only intelligible for the players. For example, Vivian was called "secretary" by the players. She didn''t quite understand what it meant, but she accepted it, thinking that it was just a nickname. She had no idea about the implications of the word. Five days passed, and unexpected guests came to Delpon. They were not entirely unexpected, as they were Roland''s old acquaintances who promised to return. Bard had come to the magic tower again with the reward from the headquarters. Bard was not nearly as condescending as he was last time. When he approached the Magic Tower, he said to his followers, "You''ll wait here while I deliver the declaration of visitation." Two descendants from noble families had come with Bard. Both of them found it odd to hear that. However, before they entered Delpon, Bard had stressed that they must not do anything unnecessary in the Magic Tower, and that they should just watch and listen. Their familial backgrounds were not as great as Bard''s, so they could only listen to him. But they were still puzzled even though they obeyed instructions. Bard was somewhat scared to see the Magic Tower, which wasn''t imposing at all. The four Magic Towers in the capital of Hollevin were all taller and more magnificent than this one, but he just felt that this Magic Tower gave him much more pressure than those Magic Towers did. He gave his card to a guard, and the guard took it away in fear and ran upstairs. Before the guard informed Roland, two Mage players had arrived to enjoy the show. Although the players were no more gifted than the magic apprentices were, they couldn''t die and therefore could make all kinds of attempts, so they were making progress much faster than the NPCs. The two Mage players who went downstairs were level two and level three respectively. In the eyes of the NPCs, they were both powerful Mages already. Bard didn''t know that those two were players, but he sensed that they were as good at magic as he was. He was greatly shocked. Was Roland really so good at teaching? He had raised two official mages so quickly? Then, he grew even more solemn. Since he returned to the capital, Bard had been receiving updates on Delpon City. After he learned that Roland''s team killed the mayor of Delpon with a few hundred weaklings, his jaw almost hit the floor. That''s too outrageous. Bard had never felt more lost. 169 Can You Tell Me More About It? Bard always had the feeling that the Golden Sons would do something big. His feelings had proven correct. Those guys had already done something huge by killing two mayors inside less than three months, but because they abided by some sort of rules, they did not garner the attention of all the nobles in Hollevin even though they caused some impact. Bard had talked to his father about this before, but his father was not interested at all and laughed at him for overthinking it. But was he really overthinking? Looking at the official mages, Bard began to feel that he was wrong and that his father had lost his keenness of mind due to senility. The Mage players observed Bard while Bard observed them. They gazed at each other for a long time, until Roland came downstairs. When he saw Bard and the team of around twenty people behind him, he walked to Bard with a smile. "It''s been a while, Mr. Bard." Bard smiled too. "It indeed has. I''ve brought the headquarters'' reward for you." Roland was briefly stunned. He had thought that Bard had brought him terms and conditions. After all, according to Aldo, the headquarters of magic in Hollevin were always unreasonable and even predatory. Although Bard approved him for his new magic last time and promised him rewards, Roland did not take it seriously. If Aldo was to be believed, his reward would probably be embezzled, and he would get nothing but some praise. However, Bard had returned with a convoy. "Thank you for bringing it to me." Roland smiled at the friendly newcomer. "Let''s talk in my study." "There''s no need to rush. We can catch up later." Bard pointed at the convoy behind him and said, "Please check the rewards from the headquarters first." Bard then went on, "It''s a rule, we''ll have to ask for your signature later." After a brief moment of surprise, Roland nodded. Bard waved his hand, and the servants behind him immediately carried the heavy black boxes to them. After the first box was opened, Bard said, "A hundred gold coins." Roland was stunned again. The gold coins were so dazzling under the sun that he could barely keep his eyes open. The two Mages also gasped hard. "Good lord. That''s more than 1.6 million yuan." Both of them seemed envious. Roland looked at Bard. "Isn''t it too much? I think it should only be fifty gold coins." "After I returned, the board in the headquarters reevaluated your spell and all agreed that it was an epic modification. It has the learning difficulty of a level-zero spell, the consumption of a level-one spell, and the effect of a top level-two spell," said Bard solemnly. "I think so, too, so the reward is doubled." He stressed the "after I returned" part. Roland understood his implication very well. He nodded and said, "Thank you for your help, Mr. Bard." "About five hundred gold coins'' worth of magic materials," Bard continued. "They''re not for the Magic Tower, but for you." Roland raised his eyebrow. Magic materials were very expensive. But those who were not spellcasters found it unreasonable that the roots and rocks everywhere to be seen on the road became much more valuable the moment they were associated with magic. Therefore, those people had been trying to lower the price of such materials. But for the spellcasters, magic resources were much more useful than gold coins. So, the price of magic resources could fluctuate greatly most of the time. But despite the flux, those magic resources were definitely not cheap from any perspective. Roland nodded. "Got it. Thank you again, Mr. Bard." Bard kept smiling. "You''re too kind. Then, it''s the appointment from the headquarters. You will be the chairman of the Magic Tower in Delpon, and Aldo will wait for a new assignment at the capital." Roland slightly frowned; he sensed from the order that someone was maliciously trying to turn him and Aldo against each other. Seeing Roland''s face, Bard walked close and said in a low voice, "I personally objected to the order, but I was too insignificant to change anything. It was Kurs from the Aristotle family who gave the order. He is a proud man." After a shock, Roland looked at Bard''s sincere eyes and slightly nodded. "And that''s all the rewards." Bard was relieved to see that Roland didn''t burst into fury. He summoned his deputy and said to Roland, "Please check the resources and sign here." Roland glanced at the list and then the dozen boxes. Feeling that the number was probably right, he simply signed his name on it in Chinese. Bard was briefly dazed to see the exotic square characters. Then he smiled. "Okay, business is done. Now, isn''t it time for you to treat me to dinner as the host, Mr. Roland?" "Of course." Roland waved his hand, and a dozen magic apprentices from the Magic Tower took the boxes, while Roland led Bard and his team to Roland''s manor. Standing out of the manor, Bard asked in surprise, "Isn''t this Aldo''s manor? What happened?" "Settle your men first. We''ll talk in the study." Roland summoned his old butler and asked the man to take care of Bard''s people. Several minutes later, Roland and Bard sat down in the study. Roland told Bard that Aldo had left and said, "By the time I learned of it, Chairman Aldo was already gone." Bard was slightly surprised, but then he sighed. "It''s understandable. I would''ve left a long time ago if I were Aldo." "You think it was unfair to Aldo too? Why didn''t you try to help him?" Bard thought for a moment and said, "Let me put it this way. Aldo was not worthy enough for me to help him. He was too meek to fight for his interests as a Mage. More importantly, he was weak. As one of the nobles, I couldn''t have turned against my friends and acquaintances for a stranger, could I?" Roland looked him in the eyes. "Then why did you fight for my interests? Do you think I''m worthy?" Bard sat straight. "Because I see potential in you. Apart from all that, I admire you for killing John Senior. I want to be your friend. Even though I can''t get anything in return, at least I wouldn''t die because of a minor accident like John Senior did." Looking at Bard''s solemn face, Roland was briedly lost for words. After all, killing someone was not exactly a glorious thing. Bard then continued, "Now more and more Golden Sons are emerging in the capital, and we found a sculpture of you outside of the capital. It can''t be broken, as if it was the sculpture of a god. What''s that about? I''m very curious. Can you tell me more about it?" 170 Im Not a Fool Roland immediately knew what he was talking about. To be honest, Roland was quite speechless at the game developers'' humor. At first, Roland thought it would be a common functional sculpture. However, the sculpture turned out to be an amusing one that was holding a ragged bowl. For players, it was nothing strange that the buildings in a game couldn''t be destroyed or moved. However, for the NPCs in the game, it was rather weird, if not marvelous. In their eyes, there was only one explanation for that. It was a miracle. In fact, Roland''s sculpture was discovered three days after it was made. After all, the bowl near the sculpture looked like glittering gold. At first, many people tried to take the bowl away, but they couldn''t even move it away from the ground despite their attempts. They tried digging into the soil around the sculpture, only to discover that the soil within ten meters of the sculpture would be restored even when it was affected by magic. This caught the attention of many nobles and spellcasters. They read plenty of books and files but found no tales about the man that the sculpture was made after. Finally, they discovered a Golden Son who threw a gold coin to the bowl near the sculpture, and the gold coin disappeared with a shimmer. Then, they realized that the sculpture must have some use. So, they stopped the Golden Son and elicited a piece of important information from him with food and girls. As long as one threw a gold coin into the bowl, they would be given a special ability. Their Magic Power Regeneration would be increased, and they would gain more mental resistance. At first, the nobles were not entirely convinced, but since many nobles had nothing better to do and they were spellcasters themselves, some of them threw a gold coin into the bowl as a test. Then they really did get the ability. Their Magic Power Regeneration was boosted. As for mental resistance, they had no chance to test it yet. All the nobles in the capital grew excited and threw their gold coins into the bowl. But eventually, it was found out that only spellcasters could acquire the ability. Then, led by the Association of Mages, the nobles set up perimeters and barriers near the sculpture, and only people they approved of could approach it. They called the sculpture a sacrificial gift for the Goddess of Magic. Bard told Roland what was new in the capital. Roland was quite amazed. It explained why his income of gold coins had increased fast at first and then slowed down later. "You do know something." Bard had been observing his face. Noticing Roland''s weird look, he knew that Roland was related to this. "Can you tell me?" Roland shook his head. "I don''t know where to start." He thought for a moment and said, "Let''s talk about something else. A lot of Golden Sons are gathered here now. Are you going to consider this place as your base?" Roland was surprised. "Why would you think that?" "I couldn''t help it." Bard sighed. "What would happen to John''s family?" "Nothing, I suppose." Roland shook his head. "They''re still the real masters of the city, but their commands are unlikely to reach the bottom level of it." The bottom level? Bard was quite interested in the phrase. Because of Language Proficiency, the phrase was properly translated and he understood it quite well. Bard secretly remembered the phrase. He had a strong desire to study the Golden Sons and wouldn''t let go of their vernacular. He then said, "In any case, I don''t want you to hurt John''s family anymore. The situation now is quite good. They have a chance to regain their power, and you can also claim enough interests. If you take it a step further, the balance will collapse." Roland nodded slightly. Then, they chit-chatted for a while, before Bard left the house with an excuse. He took a carriage to John''s house. The gate of the castle was being repaired, and the castle itself was gloomy. There were sufficient guards and servants, but they were obviously timid and in low spirits. Bard sighed and soon met his old friend, John Junior. The hot beverage on the table between them was steaming. John''s chin was stubbly, not nearly as charming as before. "It''s been more than three months, John," said Bard calmly. John Junior put on a regretful smile. "Yes, it has. The world has changed in three months, hasn''t it?" "I''m sorry about what happened to John Senior," Bard said sincerely. "If you need my help, please tell me. I''ll help you as long as I am able." John Junior suddenly raised his head grimly and crazily. "What if I say I want all the Golden Sons to die? You can do that, surely." Bard felt that his skin was stinging under John Junior''s killing intent. He frowned and said, "That''s impossible. I can''t do that." "But your family can." John Junior stared Bard in the eyes. "As long as you cooperate with the other three families, it will be very simple to kill the Golden Sons in Delpon and suppress them back to level zero. You should know that the Golden Sons lose power after dying even though they''re immortal. If they die enough times, they would be no better than ordinary people." Bard narrowed his eyes. "It was the noble families in the capital who spread the intelligence. Of course we know." "If they''re the same as ordinary people, I''m confident we can imprison them in the Temple of Life for good." John Junior whispered like a demon, "I know that you won''t help me easily, but if you do, I''m willing to give you two-thirds of the territory near Delpon City, including 27 towns, 38 villages, and four mines." Hearing the terms, even Bard, who had been born and raised in a wealthy family, was greatly shocked. "Have you lost your mind? Your family will be handicapped without those properties." John bashed the table so hard that all the tableware jumped and crashed, fluids splashing everywhere. His face tightened and eyes bloodshot, John Junior declared, "Can it be any worse than our life right now, which borders on imprisonment? It will be difficult for my family without the estates, but we''ll lose everything if we don''t have freedom." After a brief silence, Bard said, "Your terms are very tempting." John Junior was delighted. "Are you going to accept them?" "A sculpture appeared outside of the capital," Bard said casually. "It''s quite marvelous. It can''t be broken or moved, but you can pick up a special ability by throwing a gold coin at it." John found it odd. "It does sound marvelous, but does it have anything to do with our discussion?" Bard looked at him with absolute tranquility. "That sculpture looks identical to Roland." John Junior''s pupils suddenly constricted. 171 Bards Struggle John Junior was not a fool. If he were, he would''ve attacked the Golden Sons before Bard arrived. He planned to achieve his purpose by cooperating with an outsider. Because he was not a fool, he sensed something unusual from Bard''s remark. A sculpture that could be called a miracle looked identical to Roland. What did it indicate? John Junior was silent for a while, before his face was overcome by desperation. "Those Golden Sons are indeed powerful. They can even make a miracle There''s no hope for my family to rise again." His soft voice couldn''t disguise his heavy grief. "I don''t think it''s just a miracle." Bard had a mouthful of the fruit wine, which was supposed to be sweet but somehow tasted bitter. "I threw a gold coin too, and I too have the special ability. There''s a voice that tells me that this ability is named Roland''s Zeal." John Junior didn''t say anything else. He simply looked out the window even more grimly. Seeing that, Bard began to talk about the interesting incidents in the capital, not considering if John was in the mood for them. What could they do at this point except chat? Enact revenge? That was impossible. Very soon, it was already evening. Night always fell quickly in winter. The wind at night was slightly cold. Bard subconsciously pulled his clothes tighter around himself. When he jumped off from his carriage, he discovered, to his surprise, that a lot of carriages were parked before Roland''s manor and a lot of nobles were entering it. Still more carriages were approaching. Before he could do anything, the butler who was responsible for reception had seen him and greeted him. "Mr. Bard, you''re finally back. Fantastic!" Bard pointed at the manor that was ablaze with candles and lights and asked curiously, "What''s this about?" "A party that my master has arranged for you. The influential nobles and merchants in town have been invited." While leading the way, the butler said, "Master is waiting for you in the study." Bard greeted people he was familiar with on his way, and the nobles who weren''t familiar with him asked their friends who he was. At the party, Bard saw a group of people that were obviously different. Their attires were somewhat odd but definitely formal and not out-of-the-picture. More importantly, Bard sensed an aura similar to Roland''s emanating from them. After a brief shock, Bard became alarmed as he thought of a chilling possibility. Looking at those people who were fooling around at the party, showing a lack of manners, Bard went to the third floor. He felt that his back was cold. He touched it, only to detect cold sweat on his skin. Then, he took a deep breath and entered the study, where he saw Roland by himself. Bard sat down before Roland and asked seriously, even with criticism, "Are those people downstairs all Golden Sons?" Roland nodded. Bard''s face cramped. "All of them are professionals?" Roland nodded again. Then, Bard heaved a long sigh and looked out of the window, as if he had abandoned everything. Before Roland could ask anything, Bard said, "Poor John Junior." Roland was puzzled; he couldn''t keep up with Bard''s line of thinking. When he left Roland''s study about a quarter-hour later, Bard was even more dazed. He was manipulated by Roland, his strings pulled like a puppet''s. He watched Roland make an amusing speech before the party and raise a toast to all the nobles, before he was pushed to the stage and made to smile at everyone like a doll. Bard didn''t come back to himself until most of the nobles left late at night. The later it was at night, the colder it would be. Bard took a long breath, and he was already breathing out vague mist. Seated by the window, he was holding a glass of green fruit wine. Instead of drinking it, he watched the silver ripples of the cold moonlight while the cup shook in his hand. Bard had known that the Golden Sons were good and would affect the nobles sooner or later. However, he didn''t know that it would happen so quickly. Tonight, he raised his cup to the moon and didn''t drink it. It was a sleepless night. The next day, Bard came to Roland and said, "I intend to stay here for a while. Can I join your Magic Tower for now and learn the fundamental magic knowledge with them?" Roland smiled and said, "Not a problem." The party the previous night was actually Roland''s improvisation. After all, Bard had gotten almost double rewards for him, including gold coins and magic resources that sometimes couldn''t be bought even when one had the money. So, as a gesture of gratitude, Roland threw a party for him according to the tradition here. Because he made the decision hastily, Roland thought that few people would attend. But beyond his expectations, almost everybody that his butler invited came. The players at the party, on the other hand, were the members of Silver Wings that moved here a couple of days earlier. There were about seventy of them. Though they were generally level two and level three, they were still a powerful force. Roland held the party partly to welcome Bard and partly to see if the players could assimilate into the nobles of Delpon. As it turned out, the result was not promising. Though the two parties tried to communicate, their beliefs and ideologies differed too greatly. Their conversations died off very soon, and it was fortunate enough that they didn''t call each other names right then. Although the attempt failed, the party raised quite some talk in the forums. A player had recorded the video and posted it after editing. The title of the post said, A Real Party of Nobles. What an Eyeopener! A lot of players replied to the post. "They look like gentlemen and ladies, but they''re actually thieves and bitches." "My friend, where did you get that from? Why did I sense nothing but the grandness of the party?" "Different people see different things, young man." "Had it not been for respect for Roland, those guys would''ve blown out the candles and started horsing around right there." "Wait, how exactly did you see those signs?" "I don''t see any either." "Of course you decent people don''t understand. Those who can understand are all wealthy guys that hold parties all the time. They can understand the body language of the participants at the party very well, just like me." It was Principal Huang who replied this time. His reply which was in a unique gold style raised another riot. At this moment, Roland led Bard to the Magic Tower and said to the magic apprentices, "Mr. Bard will stay for a few days in the Magic Tower. He will discuss and learn the basics of magic with you. Let''s welcome him." The magic apprentices clapped their hands, but they obviously looked rigid and nervous. The Mage players, on the other hand, seemed calm and even interested in the stranger. 172 The Gorgeous Guy and the Dragon It was a piece of shocking news in Delpon that Bard stayed in the Magic Tower. He was born in a family of grand nobles from the capital, and he was a sorcerer himself. Yet, he chose to learn under Roland? That was very interesting. As a result, Roland''s guidance was further endorsed. Roland was famous to begin with. Having blown up a city gate and a castle gate with his fireballs, he was the well-acknowledged best Mage in Delpon even when Aldo was still in town, and he was even more so now that Aldo was gone. However, the people in Delpon never really knew exactly how strong Roland was even though they knew he was strong. After all, all spellcasters were strong to the small folk. It was indeed impressive to blow up a city gate, but it didn''t sound as awesome as the fiery meteors that could wipe out a country, cast by legends or demigods. So, people felt complicated about Roland. They thought that he was good, but not as good as the celebrities from the tales. However, Bard''s arrival gave them a direct frame of reference. Even a noble from the capital wanted Roland''s guidance. It meant that Roland was really good. After that, a lot of nobles pulled strings and hoped to send their relatives into the Magic Tower. Vivian, in particular, suffered plenty of "harassment." After all, she was the closest person to Roland, and she was a woman. At this moment, Vivian said gloomily with her head on Roland''s desk, "My father received a lot of requests, and some of them were not to be turned down. He could only lead them to me. Now, whenever I come home, I will be surrounded by people. How annoying." "You can hide in my manor." Roland smiled and said, "I don''t think anybody would dare to trespass on my manor." Vivian''s eyes bulged and she immediately sat straight. She asked hopefully, "Can I?" "Of course you can. I asked you to take care of the manor anyway," said Roland matter-of-factly. "Okay, I don''t have any problem now." Vivian cleared the tableware and went downstairs happily. Roland began to continue perfecting the models for the Spell Puppets. He was working devotedly when Vivian came and informed him of Hawk''s visit. Then, Roland asked her to bring Hawk to him. A few minutes later, Hawk sat down opposite Roland side and heaved a long sigh. Roland asked in surprise, "Why are you sulking at my place instead of planning for the future of your guild?" "A third of the people in my guild are gone," said Hawk, upset. Roland raised his eyebrow in surprise. "What happened? Did other guilds lure them away?" Hawk shook his head. "It''s all F6''s fault. Do you really not know?" Roland was even more puzzled. Roland got it. "So, thirty players in your guild deleted their characters and built new ones?" Hawk nodded heavily. "They''ve abandoned their hard work in the previous half-year so easily?" Roland didn''t think it was smart. Hawk looked at Roland speechlessly. "You haven''t seen more videos recently, have you?" "No, I haven''t. I don''t have a lot of time." "Now, even more people have posted their videos. The classes with high charm, such as Bards and Warlocks, can easily pick up girls." Hawk couldn''t have looked more awful. "You know that this game world is very big and the players are all scattered in the human world. So, the players with high charm simply go to small towns and villages, where they hit on girls with their pretty faces. Their careers are much easier. Some of them even studied psychology in reality and simply prompted the rich women that they conquered to offer resources to them. They''re leveling up by lying in the bed every day. I''m told that some female players have adopted the same approach and are making remarkable achievements." Roland was rather shocked. "I have to admit that our compatriots are truly smart in certain aspects." "You think that''s all?" Hawk smiled bitterly. "A player found a temple for the God of Love at a border city of Hollevin. If you become a believer in the God of Love, you will receive a lot of power in enchantment. The higher your charm is, the more effective the power will be. Many players have grown interested in this religion. Fan Six Hundred Million is already searching for the temple." Roland was not just shocked now; he felt that his face was cramping. "That is to say, the number of Warriors is declining, and the number of Warlocks and Bards is rising, right?" Hawk said regretfully, "Ye., I don''t understand. We can achieve a lot of things with hard work, but why do they want to achieve the same with a pretty face? How many players who maxed their charm are really gorgeous in reality?" Roland was of a mind to tell him that, apart from everybody else, Schuck was truly handsome in reality, and that he was even acknowledged by the game world. Then, Hawk continued, "So, it''s completely F6''s fault. If Schuck weren''t so handsome and he hadn''t stolen the girl dragon of that poor Warrior, things wouldn''t have escalated to such a point." Roland didn''t like the sound of that. He said angrily, "That Warrior couldn''t have got the girl dragon even without Schuck''s interference. Didn''t you say that she was already annoyed back then? If she were harassed for a few more days, she would''ve probably kicked that Warrior like she kicked Schuck''s horse." Seeing the anger on Roland''s face, Hawk knew that he had misspoken. He sighed and said, "Thirty people have deleted their characters in the past days, and more might do the same later. Don''t they know how difficult it is to level up in this game? It will take them half a year to raise the level of their new characters to their current level, and those who never deleted characters will be far ahead of them by then." "It''s just a game. Don''t be too bothered." Roland could only comfort Hawk insincerely. Half of the hundred people in a guild were deleting their characters and creating new ones. It was definitely a great loss of combat ability and resources. "That''s the end of my complaint." Hawk straightened up and said, "The chairman of Moon Shadow knows that I know you, so he asked me to give you a message." Roland had a bad feeling. "I don''t want to hear it." "You shouldn''t, but I have to forward his message to you," Hawk said gloomily. "The chairman of Moon Shadow hopes that Schuck can transfer the dragon knight contract to him. He would like to offer a thousand gold coins, or fifteen million yuan in reality." 173 Cause The room fell into silence. After a brief pause, Roland said casually, "Although I''m not Schuck, as far as I know, it would be like slapping him in the face, throwing some cash to him and saying ''go take that money.'' Someone would be brutalized they he told Schuck that to his face." Hawk opened his hands helplessly. "I''m just a messenger. Don''t be angry with me." Roland thought for a moment and asked, "Who is this chairman of Moon Shadow?" "He''s from a rich family based in a central city on the shoreline, and he''s willing to pay in games." Hawk smiled. "Of course, he''s good at making money too. Most importantly, he''s kind of a tyrant, if you know what I mean." "A tyrant?" Roland found it amusing. "All right, got it. You can go now and tell him that Schuck said no." "You''re speaking for Schuck?" Hawk felt a headache coming on. "Besides, we''re friends anyway. Is it appropriate for you to just kick me away?" "How can I entertain you as a friend after you forwarded that to me?" said Roland. Hawk sighed and left. They weren''t familiar with each other anyway and only became friends because of the dungeon quest and the battle at the dock. However, Hawk estranged himself from Roland for the interests of his guild before they could get closer. Now, the two of them were only acquaintances with a subtle relationship. After Hawk left, Roland immediately pinged Schuck in the guild channel and said, "The chairman of Moon Shadow offers a thousand gold coins or fifteen million yuan for your dragon knight contract." Schuck soon replied, "What''s his problem? As a Saint Samurai, I earn twenty gold coins each month, and I have subsidies for high/low temperature and equipment maintenance. I make at least thirty gold coins every month. Does he really think I''ve never seen money?" Roland said, "Hehe. He probably thought that the six people of F6 were all bumpkins." "Seven!" Betta suddenly interjected. At this point, the other members of F6 all typed ellipses in the guild channel to show that they were reading. Roland said again, "Hawk said that that guy is some sort of tyrant." Then, the guild channel became lively. Li Lin: "Tyrant? I like playing with tyrants the most." Raffel: "From the sound of that, we''re going to do what we did again, aren''t we?" Brazil: "That''s great news. I happen to be bored." Husseret: "I''ll gather intelligence first. I''ll send a rendezvous point to you after I confirm everything." Roland: "It''s settled then. I''m otherwise occupied. Talk to you later." At this point, Betta sent a long series of dots in the channel, as if he were speechless. Exiting the guild channel, Roland went to the second floor and taught the magic apprentices the key points to Spell Puppet and its derivative spells. Leaving the derivative spells aside, Roland''s perspective on magic was very unique and different from what he knew. He benefited a lot from it. After a simple theoretical class, Roland was about to resume his magic experiments, when Serrari came to him. To be honest, she was waiting for him outside of the Magic Tower. When Roland went downstairs, he saw Serrari standing in the square charmingly. Thanks to her fantastic figure and the unique aura of elves, she was dazzling even though she was only wearing a simple green dress. At this moment, Serrari was protected by five human beings. They were two females and three males. All of them seemed calm and different from ordinary humans. They were purer and cleaner. Also, those humans somehow made Roland feel wary. Druids in the shape of humans? After a brief daze, Roland realized what was going on. He then was amazed. He had no idea when those Druids arrived. No wonder the nobles kept their elven slaves top secret, or they really could''ve been killed without seeing it coming at all. "Mr. Roland, thank you for your protection." Serrari walked to Roland and smiled. "As per our agreement, these four spell models are yours." She gave four parchments to Roland. Roland was surprised. "Didn''t we agree upon three?" "I accidentally wrote one more." While talking, she hugged Roland and continued, "You''re the most decent and trustworthy human I''ve ever seen. I''m going back to the Elf Forest. Let''s hope that fate will let us meet again." Serrari''s hug was warm and utterly unprovocative. Naturally, Roland too was not as overwhelmed as a boy who would swoon over a hug of gratitude. Just like Serrari said, she was very grateful to Roland. They didn''t talk much in the past days, but Roland did offer her shelter until her people came for her. Only when one was tricked many times would they know how precious promise keepers were. Serrari was gone. Many young people in the town received the message and cried regretfully. Some even tried to stop Serrari and persuade her to stay in the city. Of course, none of them really succeeded. Roland returned to the Magic Tower with the elven models of natural spells and started examining them with fascination. Spell models were generally made of nodes and lines, and magic arrays were congregations of squares. However, the elven models were made of circles and spheres! Well they were indeed incomprehensible. Roland had been prepared for that. Having picked up a lot of common knowledge about magic, he knew very well that the magic of elves and that of humans belonged to different systems. He only asked Serrari to give him the models to try his luck. Besides, just because he couldn''t understand them now didn''t mean he couldn''t understand them in the future. While he was examining the elven models, Vivian came to the lab with White Amber. The moment it saw Roland, White Amber jumped off Vivian and climbed onto Roland''s shoulder along his clothes, before it squatted there. Vivian said jealously, "White Amber, I''m your master. Why are you so intimate with him so quickly." White Amber said in the brisk voice of a little girl, "I haven''t seen Master in a long time." "It''s only been half a day," argued Vivian unhappily. Roland coughed and interrupted Vivian and White Amber''s bickering. "Is there anything I can help you with?" Vivian turned solemn and said, "A few noble lords want to talk to you about the territory separation in Delpon City." 174 Blades Ou Roland was not much of a leader. He was not very interested in the daily lives and futures of the people in Delpon. Although he had only been a Mage for half a year, he had contracted the occupational diseases of Mages. For example, he didn''t like managing things, and he didn''t like socializing. Was partying, hunting, dating, or other social activities half as enjoyable as magic models? Were girls as beautiful as the patterns of magic? They were nothing worth mentioning. The only people he thought to be important were the players he knew and the magic apprentices in his Magic Tower. Among them, Vivian was the closest to him, so whoever asked Vivian to forward the request must be related to her family. For Vivian''s sake, Roland had to meet those people in any case. Following Vivian, Roland came to another manor that was not far away from his own. He was welcomed by the butler with flawless manners. Then, he met the person who invited him on the balcony on the second floor. She was an old woman that Roland met before, and her name was Christine. She offered Roland a seat and asked the servants to serve cakes and beverages. Then she said with a smile, "It''s not easy to invite you, Mr. Roland. I wouldn''t get to see you if Vivian weren''t my remote relative." Roland chuckled and said, "I don''t think so. Whenever you want to see me, madam, you can just let someone inform me." "Try the flower water. I''m told that elves like to drink that." Christine pointed her wrinkled finger at the cup before Roland. Roland tried it and said, "It tastes not bad at all." Christine said with a smile, "I know that time is precious for Mages, so I''ll cut to the chase. I want to know what the Golden Sons are up to exactly." Huh? Roland stared at Christine, with obvious confusion in his eyes. "The sheriff named Link has been clearing the streets and ensuring the safety of the neighborhoods, which is reasonable." The old woman turned grave. "But he began to intervene in many other matters." Roland had another mouthful of the tea. It did taste good, but he found it odd that they called it "flower water." He asked, "What is he meddling in?" "Not any particular trade. It''s just that he''s going so far in ensuring street safety that he practically can''t tell right from wrong now." Roland smiled and said, "That''s impossible. I know a thing or two about Link. He won''t wrong anybody." The old woman stared at Roland without blinking. Roland looked back at her with a smile. After a long time, Christine said slowly, "You too think that Link is doing the right thing?" Roland certainly didn''t trust everything that the nobles said. Besides, it was only her side of the story. He wouldn''t suspect his compatriot just because of what she said. "It seems that you''re well-informed although you stay in the Magic Tower all the time, Mr. Roland." Christine looked at Roland with a vague smile and continued, "All right, since we both know the situation well, let''s just talk openly. It''s fine that Link wants to ensure public safety, but please stop him from beating our dogs." "Our dogs?" Roland sat straight. "It seems that you''re collectively imposing pressure on me." Christine shook her head. "We''re not. This is just a request. We hope that you could save some dignity for us." Roland sighed. "Sorry, but I can''t promise you anything. Link is the sheriff, and I''m only a mage who has no power." Christine found the spellcaster extremely cunning although he seemed young. This guy seemed blunt but actually revealed nothing useful. He was like an old fox. "Mr. Roland, it''s impossible for you to raise big fish if the water is too clear." Roland smiled. "But Link wants the water to be clear so that people can drink it. He does not intend to raise fish. If people drink dirty water, they will have health problems." "But there won''t be any big fish in the water," said the old woman coldly. Roland raised his eyebrow. "Why do you have to keep fish in the water? Can''t you just drink it? Even though there are no fish, the water can still sustain people by irrigating the farmland. Besides, even if you raise fish, do the ordinary people get to eat them? The fish will all end up in the stomach of ferocious beasts." Christine turned even colder. "So, you''re not going to talk sense into Link, Mr. Roland?" "As I said, I have no power, and I don''t want to persuade him to do anything. Actually, I think he''s doing the right thing." Roland stood up and said to the old woman, "I too hope that the water in Delpon can be clear." "You wouldn''t change your mind even if Vivian begged you?" asked the old woman. After a brief shock, Roland laughed. "You really think you can make her do that? Besides you think you''re qualified to negotiate with me with all the estates and properties you received from the mayor, but don''t forget how the mayor''s thousand soldiers disappeared! When the old mayor was here, you dared not do anything; but now that he''s gone, you''re bold enough to threaten the people who made the old mayor disappear? Is it really smart?" The old woman suddenly felt chilled as Roland stared at her with disdain. She slowly closed her eyes. "Got it. However many wolves are gathered, they can''t beat a lion. However, maybe we can reach a different agreement. For example, if you can restrict Link, each of us will give away some interests to you, and you will earn a lot more than you do right now. As far as I know, things haven''t been going very well between you and Link." Roland was silent. He could tell that this was the old woman''s real intention or fatal attack, and that what she said earlier was just a prelude. The blades of the nobles were out now. They intended to turn the players against each other, like what Little John tried a few months back. However, they did it at a better time. They even figured out that Roland and Hawk''s group had disagreements. Noticing Roland''s silence, the old woman smiled gloatingly. "Other than that, we can make you a shadow mayor of Delpon, and we will be your loyal allies and partners." 175 Negotiation Why did they want to cooperate with Roland? Roland knew their plan very well. A mage devoted to magic wouldn''t be interested in matters beyond magic, which meant that the nobles, as his allies and partners, could wield his power in his place. Though the mage might seem to be the man in charge, the actual power would be held by his allies and his partners because of his inaction. In the meantime, the nobles would have a "shield" on the surface. While splitting up their earnings in private, they could shift the blame on their "boss" when bad things happened. Underneath their beautiful promise was a venomous trap. A less thoughtful man might have fallen for the trap, but Roland wouldn''t lose control of himself just for some insignificant flattery. He simply shook his head and said, "Not interested." "Even the position of shadow mayor can''t interest you?" The old woman looked at him with more confusion than anger. "Then what are you interested in?" "Magic." Roland stood up and smiled. "I''m a mage. Isn''t it only natural that I''m interested in magic?" Then Roland turned and left. He would rather not stay here after the conversation fell out. The old woman in the room had a pale and awful face. Roland went downstairs and asked Vivian to go with him. On their way back to the Magic Tower, Vivian asked, "What did they give you?" "Huh?" Roland turned around and asked, "How did they convince you to forward the request to meet?" Vivian said with a sweet smile, "They said that they were going to give you a big gift and you would love it. That''s why I agreed to help them." Roland frowned. "Did they not give you anything?" Vivian''s smile was gone. She became nervous and slightly angry. "They dug a trap for me and wanted me to jump in." Roland explained what happened just now. "I didn''t know that" Vivian clenched her fists coldly and was about to return to the manor. But Roland grabbed her hand and said, "Forget it. I didn''t suffer any losses anyway. Besides, it''s just my personal speculation." Vivian grew happy when Roland held her hand. "Okay, I''ll listen to you." At this moment, White Amber, who had been squatting on Vivian''s shoulder, suddenly hooted. But Vivian simply ignored the pet. When they were back at the Magic Tower, Bard came to them. "I''m planning to return to the capital." He spoke to Roland casually. Roland was surprised. "Really? It''s not been half a month yet, has it?" Bard shook his head and said, "I would love to stay longer. The atmosphere here is great. Everybody is diligent, nobody is lazy. It''s probably because their chairman has set an example for them. I''m told that you spend your whole day perfecting spell models without sleeping." "You should know that Golden Sons don''t need to sleep." Roland was surprised. "If you like it here, why are you going back so early?" "For some important personal business." Although Bard could be arrogant and condescending, he had much more common knowledge on magic than anybody else in the Magic Tower did. In the past few days, the man had unintentionally revealed a lot of anecdotes about mages. If possible, Roland wished that Bard could stay longer until he offered all of his knowledge. But now that Bard was determined to leave, Roland couldn''t ask him to stay. So, Roland could only say, "Have a safe journey." "Are you trying to kick me away?" Bard put on a teasing smile. "Right, I''m told that you''re busy with the Spell Puppet. How''s it going?" "Not bad, but still far from perfection." Bard said enviously, "You''re truly a genius to tweak spells. If only I were as capable as you." Roland smiled and accepted his compliment. "I hope that I will be the one who delivers your rewards next time." Bard left with his men after saying that. For some reason, Roland found him lonely when he stared at the man''s back as he walked away. Then, he devoted himself to magic experiments until a new day started. Roland got up from the game cabin. After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he went to the panda booth in the cold drink bar. He came rather early, and only Schuck and Betta were there. About half an hour later, the rest of the gang all arrived. While having the breakfast that Schuck asked the waitress to prepare earlier, they talked. Husseret slurred while he ate a banana, "According to my investigation, the chairman of Moon Shadow is named Cedarnik. He''s a Warrior with reasonably good equipment and is about level six. He''s said to be good at PK and knows very much about about Warriors. He has posted two articles on the skill and equipment build of Warriors on the forum." Schuck chuckled. "Why have I never heard of his name before? He can''t be too good." Husseret explained, "It''s because Moon Shadow was mostly devoted to another old turn-based game. You know, the game is already obsolete, so Moon Shadow was never famous, but they''re actually quite united and powerful. I''m told that Cedarnik is a magnate in that game." "No wonder he''s willing to pay more than ten million for your dragon," said Li Lin angrily, before he winked at Schuck. "Have you tasted the girl dragon yet?" Schuck glared at him. "You''re too filthy. You need to purge yourself." "Coward." Li Lin shook his hand proudly. "You need to learn after me in that aspect." Schuck sneered. "Hey, the love god is about to teach me how to hit on girls!" It was a critical strike. Remembering that he was cheated on a couple of times every year while Schuck had girls begging to date him, Li Lin almost lost his cool. Everybody chuckled, and Husseret went on, "This Cedarnik is quite proud, but he keeps a low profile and has never done anything monstrous. If we attack them without a reason, it will probably affect the reputation of F6." Schuck waved his hand. "That''s not a problem! That guy sent me a lot of texts on the forum recently, mostly threats, claiming that he would ask a hacker to identify and locate me. I took a snap of the texts. After we beat them up, we''ll release the snaps, and people will stand on our side." Everybody was delighted to hear that. Li Lin, in particular, threw his bowl on the table. "That guy is only bold on the Internet. If he comes here in person, we''ll teach him a good lesson as the offspring of corrupt officials and tough bandits." Ever since the Tang Dynasty, this place had been one of the destinations where outlaws were exiled to. Even Du Fu had briefly stayed here. The house he once stayed in was now cherished as historical, although Roland felt that the house had been renovated too many times because it looked too new to be authentic. Most of the locals had read the list of their ancestors and knew their identity, which made them even tougher. It was for that reason that people here were unusually aggressive. A decade ago, a fight between two youngsters was likely to escalate into a battle between two families with hoes and sickles. In recent years, most young people were drawn to the Internet and had little interest in fighting one another, so the area became much more peaceful than before. From that point of view, the Internet had truly changed the habits of the people without them realizing it. Although it was much more peaceful than before, the locals were not scared of outsiders who asked for trouble. How could the outsiders beat a family or a whole village? "They''re based in Isnas, which is said to be the place where princesses live before they''re married. Now, a princess is living there." Husseret chuckled. "Cedarnik set up his base there probably because he wanted to hit on a princess. If that works, he would become one of the nobles of Hollevin." Husseret was a short and slender guy who was interested in gossip, which was why he was perfect as a Rogue. He had gathered a lot of intelligence in the past few days. Schuck unfolded a map of Hollevin on the table and soon found Isnas on it. He prodded at the map. "How far away are you from this place?" Everybody looked at it and said, "Not far away." "I can arrive in no more than fifteen days." Schuck smiled. "I''m in the Holy Realm of Fareins, which is four thousand kilometers from there. But it''s fine. I can fly there on dragonback." Everybody glared at him angrily. Schuck gloated, "You''ve either contracted a pet or an animal partner. Useless. It''s not half as good as contracting a dragon. Hahahaha!" Everybody raised their middle fingers at him to show their disdain. Li Lin gloomily drank a mouthful of the wine before he suddenly smiled and said, "Right, there''s a secret that I would like to tell you. Roland has been dating a girl, but he intentionally kept it from us. Do you think we should beat him up for that?" In a moment, everybody looked at Roland with accusation in their eyes. Roland was stunned. "I''ve been dating a girl? Since when? Why do I not know this?" 176 Unexpected Acciden Everybody was surprised to see that Roland was really confused. Could Li Lin have misunderstood something? Li Lin, however, smiled. "That girl looks exactly like a caring wife that you want to marry. She''s beautiful and graceful. More importantly, she''s obviously nice to Roland." Everybody else nodded with great interest. Roland began to list all the girls of his age that he knew and categorized them. Soon, he found the girl that best matched Li Lin''s description. He was shocked. "Are you talking about Sands? She likes me? That''s impossible!" Li Lin simply said, "Just recall when you''re with Night Tide Sands!" Roland thought for a moment and said, "I''m pretty sure that she absolutely doesn''t like me." In the past months, Night Tide Sands had left Roland the impression that she was cold and tranquil. She never rushed into anything. Although she was rather mean when they first met, she was easy to get along with although she could be indifferent. Roland thought that Night Tide Sands was a nice girl, but he never thought that she liked him. Roland had girlfriends in college, and he knew that a girl''s eyes would glow when she saw a guy she liked. Night Tide Sands'' eyes did not glow at all when she saw him. But she was a great girl. She made delicious breakfast and seemed good at embroidery. After they got to know each other, Roland felt that she would make an excellent wife too. However, it didn''t mean that she would like him back. That was not the same. Li Lin frowned at Roland. "You can''t see it because you''re in the game." Roland shrugged. "I suspect that you''re only overthinking it." "Fine." Seeing that Roland was not to be convinced, Li Lin sighed. At this point, Schuck asked, "Did you do something fun together?" "Yes." Roland told them what happened. Everybody was lost for words after hearing that. Pouring a cup of cola for himself, Schuck said, "Li Lin is a barbaric Berserker, it''s not unusual for him to learn blade arts. But why did you join him when you''re a Mage?" "Hehe. After I learn all of the buffing spells, I can beat all of you with a miaodao!" Since they were close friends, Roland simply chuckled and said, "Just don''t cry and ask for your mom then." He received five middle fingers, and Betta simply chuckled at them. At this point, Roland said to Betta. "I''ve always felt that something is wrong. It turns out to be you." Betta was surprised. "What''s wrong with me?" "Your semester started three months ago. Why are you still here?" "My college is located in a neighboring city." Betta chuckled. "It takes me only an hour to go there by train Besides, it''s the weekend. Is it really surprising that I come home during the day? I can always return to my game cabin in the house I''ve rented in that city before half past ten at night." There were not many good colleges in the local area, and the one in the neighboring city that Betta went to was not as good as it sounded. Roland was told that Betta had great grades. He wondered if Betta could''ve selected a better school. However, he wasn''t very close to Betta, and it was not really his business. "All right, let''s leave Betta aside. I have a thought," Li Lin suddenly interjected. "I think we all should learn the miaodao techniques. Look, even Roland, a pure Mage, has learned a melee skill, and the rest of you who are gifted in melee fighting should learn more. Schuck is a Saint Samurai, Brazil is a Hunter, and as for Husseret I think you could consider turning into a Rogue with heavy weapons in both hands." Nobody objected. After all, Li Lin was telling the truth. "The tuition fees are not very high. I''ll pay it for you." As he spoke, Li Lin dropped a hint at Roland. Roland thought for a moment and did not reveal his lie. "All right, we''ll meet again later. I''ll pay in the saber arts club first. We''ll gather there tomorrow." Li Lin finished his beer and left the booth. The rest of them all left the booth in the next hour. Roland didn''t go to the saber arts club on this day, because he had to pay tribute to his ancestors with his family in the afternoon. The ancestral hall of his family was in a village in the suburbs. Different from other people, his family had always paid tribute to ancestors on a special day. Roland returned to his hometown with his parents. They were among the first ones to return. Because most people had moved to the city, the previously lively village was now dilapidated, and the only residents were the elderly and the children. Those children were Roland''s remote nieces and nephews. They had to go to another town ten kilometers away for school on bike every day. It was an arduous journey a decade ago when the roads were not built yet, but now that all the roads were established, the ten kilometers would only take about half an hour. Roland greeted the old people in the village. They were his uncles and grand-uncles. An hour later, most of the members of the family returned. There were almost sixty people including the children. After chitchatting for a while, they went to the ancestral hall at the back of the village with firecrackers, paper money, and candles. Firecrackers were forbidden in downtown but not so in the villages. Nobody would investigate as long as no fire was started. The ancestral hall had been renovated and did not seem ragged at all. There was even a spacious square before it. As usual, Roland''s fourth grand-uncle hosted the ritual. In fact, the ritual had been greatly simplified. If it were a few decades ago, they would''ve been obliged to abide by more rules, such as no drinking or eating in the day before the ritual. At first, Roland thought that it would just be a regular ritual, same as all the rituals before. However, when his fourth grand-uncle asked everybody to bow and pay tribute after burning up the paper money, Roland sensed something and cast his eyes at the ceiling of the hall. He could tell that energy was taking shape above his head. It was weak, but it was undoubtedly energy. It was similar to magic waves, but of a different frequency. 177 Hospital Again At first, Roland thought that it was only his imagination. But as the ritual went on, the energy above his head became more and more obvious, turning from a tiny ball into the size of a basketball. Among his family members, Roland sensed the energy waves quietly and occasionally peeped at it. But he couldn''t see anything except the plumes of smoke that were slowly rising and disappearing. Roland''s father was right next to him. Sensing that his son was looking above now and then, he raised his head too, only to see nothing special. He asked, "What are you looking at? Is there gold up there?" "There''s a huge spider." Roland made up a random lie. At this point, the energy was still expanding, and it was gradually emitting a strange aura that electrified Roland''s nerves and feelings. For some reason, Roland began to feel thirsty, and the energy up there looked like sweet water. Roland held back his desire and stopped himself from sensing it. Who knew what it was? What if it was poisonous? He had to choose a better time if he wanted to absorb it. The ritual was going on. Because it had been simplified, his fourth grand-uncle finished the process in no more than three hours. In front of the sacrificial table, his fourth uncle announced the end of the ritual after he completed the final song in a high-pitched but unique tone. All the participants were relieved. Although the ritual was simplified, most people felt their feet go numb after three hours of standing. They talked to each other and left the hall, but Roland didn''t. He asked his parents to go first. According to the tradition, nobody was to leave the village until they had a meal together after the ritual. Roland stayed in the hall and kept sensing the unique ball of energy. He was thirstier and thirstier, and he couldn''t help but drunk up the bottle of water he carried, only to no avail. However, he could still suppress his desire with self-control. Fewer and fewer people were left in the hall, until Roland was by himself. A few kids intended to play here, but they ran off too. After all, this old ancestral hall was remote and quiet. It could be creepy when few people were in it. As the people left, the energy ball on the ceiling began to dwindle much faster than it took shape. Roland frowned. If this thing disappeared, he would probably have to wait another year, until the next ritual, before it showed up again. He looked around and found a tall bamboo ladder through which one could climb to the rooftop. Roland walked to it and carried the ladder. At first, Roland thought that it was going to be heavy, but he picked it up easily. He walked to his destination and erected the ladder next to the beam. He hurried to climb the ladder and sat on the beam. The hall was big and the beam was thick. It would be fine even if another five adults were to sit on it. In Roland''s perception, the energy ball was half a meter before him. But he couldn''t see the energy ball or anything special. He could only detect it with his instincts. The energy was shrinking to the size of a ping-pong ball. Roland felt much less thirsty than before. He simply sat in silence and didn''t do anything. After another while, the energy became the size of a finger, and it was shaking as if it would fall apart. It was time. Roland licked his lips and reached his hands out for it. Earlier, he didn''t do anything because he feared that it was poisonous. However, this thing was only one percent of its previous size, and it seemed to be disintegrating. It would be gone if Roland didn''t take any action. Roland knew that a lot of things were poisonous only when their quantity reached a threshold. He didn''t know whether or not the finger-sized energy ball was harmful, but he knew that it was much safer than a basketball-sized one. He extended his hand and grabbed something invisible. It was indeed invisible, and Roland wasn''t really holding anything in his hand. But Roland somehow knew that he had captured that thing. It was a complicated feeling. Before Roland could be delighted or surprised, the energy ball broke the moment he grabbed it. It stabbed into Roland''s hand like shards of glass before it melted into his flesh and blood. Roland sensed that a cold breeze was spreading throughout his body quickly from his right hand. It was really cold. He shook his head. He didn''t feel anything wrong except for the coldness. Roland descended from the beam via the ladder and put the ladder back where it''d been. He walked out of the hall. He was wondering what he had just touched, when he suddenly felt that his legs were wobbly. Then, he felt that he lost all his strength. His legs shaking, he hurried to sit down on the stairs. He touched his forehead. His body temperature was normal. He touched his chest, only to notice that his heart was beating fast, and the air he breathed out was hot too. Was that thing really poisonous? Roland smiled bitterly. At this moment, the world was swirling before him, as if he were drunk or having a stroke. It''s really poisonous? Roland smiled wider. He had been prudent enough to grab that thing when it was in its minimal size and was about to disappear. However, it turned out to be fatal nonetheless. At this moment, Roland saw a child. Though he couldn''t see the child clearly, he recognized him to be one of his nephews. He hurried to call him: "Deshui, fetch some water for me. I''m feeling queasy." The simplest solution for poisoning was to drink water. After a shock, the boy immediately ran back to the village. The world was spinning faster and faster. Roland struggled to take out his phone and tried to make an emergency call, when his head became dizzy and he fell into darkness. After he didn''t know how long, Roland opened his eyes. He saw a white ceiling, as well as a fan hanging there. He looked around and saw iron bunks and white sheets. He also smelled intense disinfectants. Ugh I''m in the hospital again. With a bitter smile, Roland was about to sit up when his mother came in. Seeing that Roland was up, she approached him and said angrily, "Don''t sit up. Just lie there." His mother seemed angry, but she was actually relieved. Roland looked around again and saw nobody but himself in the ward. Also, there was an IV in his arm. "What happened to me? "You scared me." His mother''s eyes were bloodshot. "Back in the village, Deshui ran to us and shouted that you passed out. We came to you and couldn''t wake you up. We called an ambulance and sent you to a hospital, but the doctor found nothing wrong after all the tests. He said that your symptoms are like those of oxygen intoxication and that you only need some rest." Oxygen intoxication? De-adaptation to high altitude? Roland''s eyes widened. "It''s not like I came down from Mount Everest. Why would I get oxygen intoxication?" "That''s what we said too." His mother snorted. "But the doctor couldn''t find any illness after the examinations." Roland was lost for words. At this point, Roland''s father came in with a male doctor. Unemotionally, the doctor looked at Roland''s pupils, examined his tongue, and tested Roland''s body temperature, before he said, "It seems that you''re fine. Go back now. It''s only a waste of money if you stay here." Roland''s mother said worriedly, "Doctor, why don''t you let him stay here for the night. His illness was too weird." "We really can''t find any problem. It probably should only be oxygen intoxication. He''ll be fine after a few days'' rest. Staying here won''t make him recover faster." The doctor left after he said that. Having no choice, Roland checked out from the hospital with his family. He didn''t feel much when he was in bed, but the moment he got up, he felt weak and dizzy. It was past 21:00 after he returned home. Roland had some porridge and then crawled into the game cabin. Soon, he fell asleep and entered the game. In the game, he felt that his body was as strong as before, utterly unaffected by his weakness in reality. "So, the soul is really not affected by the body?" Roland warmed himself up as he murmured to himself. Then, he saw that people were talking in the guild system and the other guys of F6 were pinging him. Schuck: "I saw the girl Li Lin mentioned. Her name is Night Tide Sands, right? She''s not bad at all." Brazil: "I think so too. She''s definitely going to make a great wife. Most importantly, she behaved normally when she saw Schuck." Husseret: "She''s beautiful and graceful, almost as good as Schuck''s wife." Raffel: "Keep it up, Roland. We''re expecting to celebrate your wedding in a year." Were they at the saber arts club this afternoon? Roland scratched his head and replied in the guild channel, "She doesn''t like me. Don''t talk as if we''re a couple!" He then turned off the guild channel and found Vivian. "I''m traveling to Isnas later. You''re going to run the Magic Tower and the manor for me." 178 Youre Getting the Hang of I Hearing that Roland was leaving, Vivian was of a mind to propose to follow him. But on second thought, both the Magic Tower and the manor had to be supervised, and since Roland gave such an important mission to her, it meant that she was someone he could trust. Thinking that, Vivian was a lot happier. Roland continued, "In case anybody is mean to you, White Amber will stay with you to protect and help you. Also, you can talk to me over a long distance with the mental communication ability of the pet. If anything happens, just tell me, and I''ll try to return as soon as possible." Vivian nodded, indicating that she got it. It was true that people would hardly follow her instructions if she were by herself, but things would be different if she had a White Amber. The level of a pet was affiliated to the level of its master, which meant that White Amber was also level five. It might not seem very impressive, but it was only slightly weaker than Roland, and it could crush general magic apprentices and low-level soldiers easily. Probably only the three players in Delpon City were stronger than Vivian plus White Amber. Vivian thought for a moment and asked, "When will you go?" "The day after tomorrow." "Then I''ll make some delicious food for you in the manor tomorrow." Roland smiled. "Thank you." The food that Vivian made in the game was not bad. Of course, her food was not exactly delicious, but it still tasted much better than what was sold in the restaurants. Vivian smiled delightedly and went downstairs with White Amber. The girl was so happy because she felt like a wife making food for her husband before a long journey. The thought of that made her heart race. After she left, the room fell quiet again. Roland began to consider the incident in reality. Because of oxygen intoxication, his head had felt dizzy, and it would hurt whenever he thought too hard. He was sleepy too, which was why he fell asleep almost immediately after he entered the virtual cabin. So, he could only consider the problem he met during the day in the game. What was that energy? Familial bond? Spiritual energy? Or magic elements in reality? Whatever it was, it definitely had an influence on his body. Roland felt lucky that he didn''t grab it until the energy ball became smaller. If he had grabbed it when it was the size of a basketball, he would''ve probably passed out on the beam and fallen from above, ending up either dead or crippled. Roland tapped the table with his finger. The result of the medical tests was oxygen intoxication. It meant that the weird thing caused similar biophysical changes to this disease, and the doctor was misled. Actually the doctor might not be misled. That weird thing replaced and banished all the oxygen in his body, which made him seem like he was suffering from oxygen intoxication. Roland felt amused at the thought of that. The human body was used to energy transportation and exchange through oxygen. It couldn''t be replaced so easily. All in all, Roland felt that the first possibility was more plausible. That weird thing reacted with something in his body and resulted in abundant oxygen. However, what was that thing exactly? It was the same question he had at the beginning. Because of the lack of intelligence, Roland found that all the three options were possible. However, no matter whether it was spiritual power, familial bond, or magic power, it was some sort of energy anyway. What Roland needed to do was to see if he could find such energy elsewhere after his body was better in reality. But he was slightly frustrated a moment later. He would have to wait a year for the next ritual, and if he were to attend other families'' rituals, he would also have to wait about half a year until the Tomb-Sweeping Day. Roland heaved a long sigh. He was so upset that he decided to improve his mood by running magic experiments. He enjoyed magic experiments for a whole day until the game froze. Roland sat up in the cabin and stretched out his arms. Then, he leaped out of the cabin agilely. He was stunned after he walked a few steps. He had found on the Internet that it would take days of rest before one could fully recover from the sequelae of oxygen intoxication. However, he felt extremely excited and energetic at this moment, and his drowsiness after he just woke up was completely gone. He looked at himself in the mirror in the bathroom. The face of the young man in the mirror was whiter, not pale-white but jade-white. His previously red lips had become pinker, making him look like a girl. Shoot! I''ve changed so much after one night? What exactly is that energy? Roland felt a strong headache coming on. He washed his face, only to find it even fairer after washing. Well, it was almost disgusting. Roland was reluctant to accept his new image yet. He sulked in the bathroom for a long time, before he finally rode his bike to the saber arts club. Qi Shaoqiu was making a pose at the entrance of the club with his back against the wall and his cigarette that seemed never to be lit. Roland stopped his bike before the man and observed him for a moment, before he smiled. "You do seem to be in a good mood." Qi Shaoqiu glared at Roland and sat straight. "Don''t be so nasty. Can''t I just enjoy a moment by myself?" "What made you so happy?" "I have four more students." "Four? Not five?" Roland was slightly surprised. "The guy named Betta didn''t sign up," Qi Shaoqiu said regretfully. "He says that his college isn''t nearby, so he''ll pass." Roland locked his bike and said, "Congratulates." "I know that they''re your friends. Thank you." "Don''t thank me." Roland waved his hand. "It''s Li Lin who paid for them." Qi Shaoqiu nodded. "I know, but I believe in fate If you hadn''t learned saber arts here, Li Lin wouldn''t have come, and if he hadn''t come, your friends wouldn''t have joined. So, you are the cause of everything." "It''s only a few people. You may have earned some tuition fees, but I can''t guarantee that more people will come." Roland shook his head. "I can''t claim the credit." Qi Shaoqiu chuckled. "That''s where you''re wrong. The more people a club has, the more people will be attracted to it. If you practice here every day, you will bring more students here. It''s like how my relatives attracted you when I taught them." Those kids had stopped coming here since their school started. Qi Shaoqiu was feeling confident after he finally recruited several real students when he had opened the saber arts club a year ago. Naturally, Roland decided not to bum him out too much. "Then, let''s hope that you can have more and more students." Roland crossed his hands and congratulated him. Qi Shaoqiu crossed his hands back to Roland and laughed. "Thank you wait." He suddenly shrieked and observed Roland for a while, before he asked in shock, "You''re getting the hang of it?" "What do you mean?" Roland was stunned. "The saber arts? I''ve already picked it up. I can take you down in a few months." "No, I''m talking about the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life." Qi Shaoqiu circled around Roland and clicked his tongue. "You give me the same feeling as my sister does. Innocent and clean." Did that mean that he had gotten the hang of it? Roland remembered that Night Tide Sands was unusually white too. Was it possible that Night Tide Sands had absorbed that strange energy ball too? "What would happen after I got the hang of it?" asked Roland. Qi Shaoqiu shook his head quickly. "I''m not sure. I''ve never practiced it before. You should ask my sister." Roland nodded and went to the kitchen next to the shed. He opened the door and saw that Night Tide Sands, as tall and slender as ever, was busy cooking. There was a vague fragrance of osmanthus in the kitchen, although it was not the season for osmanthus. Hearing the sound, Night Tide Sands turned around and put on a casual smile when she saw Roland. "You''re here! Take a seat. The breakfast will be ready soon Huh? You''ve gotten the hang of it?" Night Tide Sands'' smile was just like before, but she was unusually delighted toward the end of her sentence. It was the first time that Roland had seen such an expression on her. He somehow felt that Night Tide Sands was adorable. "I don''t know. Probably." Roland thought for a moment and said, "I sensed some energy from the ancestral hall yesterday and absorbed some of it Hmm? What''s wrong?" Night Tide Sands'' face changed. She jumped to him and held Roland''s left hand to examine his pulse in a panic. A moment later, she gradually calmed down. Seeing Roland''s surprise, she tossed Roland''s hand aside as if Roland''s hand were burning hot. "Were you intentionally scaring me?" Her face was slightly red. Though she was trying to pretend to be cold, she still looked and sounded cute from every perspective. Roland shook his head. "I wasn''t scaring you. I did sense energy when I paid tribute to my ancestors yesterday" Night Tide Sands patted his hand softly and said, "Didn''t I say in my notes that you must not go to places that are too dark or practice the arts in a thunderstorm? Or something will likely go wrong." Well Roland thought for a moment and decided to not talk about the energy ball anymore. He rose and looked out of the window, only to see none of his friends. He asked, "Didn''t you tell Li Lin that you offer breakfast?" "You are the first student here, so you''ll be the only one who can have breakfast here." Night Tide Sands became as tranquil as before. Delivering the delicious-looking porridge to Roland, she said slowly, "More and more students will come here, but I can''t make breakfast for all of them. So, this will be your privilege." Roland gloated. "That''s indeed a great privilege. Hehe. Schuck and Li Lin will definitely be jealous of me." Night Tide Sands smiled but sighed without drawing any attention. 179 Arriving at Destination After breakfast, Roland began to practice the basic moves of the saber arts under the shed. His friends came soon. They greeted Roland first, before they were gathered by Qi Shaoqiu to practice standing in a line. Standing was the foundation for almost all traditional martial arts, including the miaodao technique. Roland couldn''t help but laugh when he saw his friends'' legs were shaking as they practiced. He had experienced these miseries before when he practiced boxing. He had to be stretched out first, practice standing later, before he finally got to study the moves. After half an hour of standing, his friends'' legs were as soft as noodles. They almost collapsed when Qi Shaoqiu told them to take a rest. Schuck, in particular, was the worst of all, probably because he was too busy in bed last night. He almost fell on the ground. Li Lin and Brazil had to drag him to a bench nearby. "Aren''t you melee classes?" Carrying a long wood miaodao, Roland walked to them and smiled. "Why is your performance even worse than mine?" All the five of them raised their middle fingers at Roland, but they were too exhausted to show their disdain. Qi Shaoqiu joined them and said, "It''s their first training session. They''re not bad at all. Better than most." His friends finally looked better now. Roland sat down and chit-chatted with them. After a brief rest, his friends continued practicing the basics, such as squatting movement, horizontal movement, etc. Roland, on the other hand, began to practice with Qi Shaoqiu. For a moment, the two of them were engaged in a heated fight under the shed. Their actions were powerful and noisy. Roland''s friends were attracted to the noise and were quite amazed. They had all learned basic melee techniques and been through many battles in the game. Naturally, they could appreciate the battle experience and skills that Roland and Qi Shaoqiu demonstrated. "It seems that the owner of this saber arts club knows what he''s doing." Schuck smiled exhaustedly. The rest of them couldn''t agree more. At noon, F6 dispersed and everybody went home. At home, Roland began to look for files after lunch. There was still half a year to go before the day when most people offered tribute to their ancestors, but Roland felt that he could find similar things in places like temples. So, he tried to see if there were any famous religious places near him. However, he realized that neither Buddhists nor Daoists were popular in the local area. It was needless to mention external religions. The only famous place was the Matsu memorial in his neighboring province, but it would take him four hours to get there. He probably wouldn''t be able to make it back by night if he were to go for the Matsu memorial. Roland didn''t like that. More importantly, even if he found the energy ball again, should he absorb it or not? If he didn''t absorb it, it would be too wasteful; but if he did, what if he passed out again in another province? Thinking about that, he gave up the idea of an excursion. Then, he went to his bed and meditated there. As he gradually calmed himself down, he sensed the cool wind wandering inside his body. The calmer he was, the more clearly he could sense it. While he couldn''t make use of the cool wind yet, he felt very comfortable just by detecting it. Gradually, he couldn''t sense anything except the flow of the cool wind in his body. After a long time, the wind gradually stopped moving, and Roland exited the state where he was comfortable and didn''t want to think at all. He turned his head back, only to be shocked. The orange setting sun had left a red square spot on the ground through the window. Roland rose and looked out of the window, before he checked the clock. It was 18:36. He remembered that he started the meditation around 13:00. It meant that he had been sitting on the bed for five and a half hours. He patted his feet They were not numb. Had he really gotten the hang of it? Just because of the energy ball the size of a finger? Roland felt complicated as he sat on the bed, both happy and lost. What should he do next now that he was already a beginner? For example, how should he build up the aura in him, and what could it do? Could he do anything special with the aura, like flying or unleashing it as an attack? Thinking for a moment, Roland browsed the notes that Night Tide Sands left for him and frowned. Then, he called Night Tide Sands. The phone was picked up very quickly. "Hey, Roland? Is there anything I can help you with?" Night Tide Sands sounded rather delighted. Roland didn''t quite realize that, because it was the first time he called her after he got her number. He simply said, "What should I do next to improve my Nourishment of Life now that I''m a beginner? That''s not stated in your notes." "I don''t know either." For some reason, Night Tide Sands sounded softer over the phone than face to face. "They''re all the notes passed on in my family. However, I''m told that anyone who finds the real offspring of General Qi might get more of the notes." "Do you know where the offspring of the Qi family are?" "I''m told somewhere in the northeast." Shoot! From the southwest to the northeast of the country? That seemed too far. "We''ll talk later. Thank you." Roland was about to hang up the phone. However, Night Tide Sands said earnestly, "Wait, let''s go to the Red Star Sports Equipment Store tomorrow. We need to prepare gear for your friends." "Okay, not a problem. See you tomorrow." Night Tide Sands'' voice sounded even softer. "Okay." After he hung up the phone, Roland had dinner downstairs and spent three hours on the forums, before he entered the game again. He rested in the manor for a day and took a carriage to Isnas. Vivian waved goodbye at him from the city gate and didn''t go back until Roland''s carriage disappeared over the horizon after half an hour. For most people in this world, a carriage was the most convenient and comfortable way to travel long-distance. However, for a moderner like Roland, it was suffering. The carriage was too slow Also, it was bumpy due to the lack of tires. His butt was falling apart after only two days, and he had to ask the coachman to slow down, and as a result, the journey was even longer. Thankfully, he could still log into the forum and watch videos, which made him feel better. He came across two groups of bandits on his way. All of them were blown up by his Inferior Fireball. He didn''t think that he needed to show mercy to such outlaws. The coachman was horrified to see how violent Roland was. His legs were shaking when he talked to Roland. After thirteen days, Roland finally arrived in Isnas. This was a special city, well-known for the princesses who lived here. All the princesses of the royal family would live a couple of years in this city before they married. Looking at the high and ancient city wall, Roland said in the guild channel, "I''m at the city gate. What about you?" 180 F6 In the Game After sending out the message, Roland had a rest under a tree next to the road. His carriage had entered the city. Roland gave the coachman twenty silver coins and told him that he would like to hire the man again when he returned to Delpon. But the coachman for some reason turned him down, although it would be much safer if he were to return with Roland. There were too many robbers on the road nowadays. Watching the coachman drive the carriage into the city, Roland suddenly had an idea. He couldn''t help but sneer. One of the two groups of bandits who robbed him were probably the coachman''s accomplices, or at least informed by him. But what was the point? Robbing a mage? What was the guy''s problem? It was unreasonable. While Roland was thinking, someone suddenly appeared before him. It was so surprising that Roland almost unleashed his fireball, but he stopped when he saw the newcomer. Standing before him was a young man in a black robe. He was not short, but he kept his back hunched, which made him look grim. "Husseret, why do you look like this? It''s rather horrible." He was one of F6, and he came here immediately after he saw Roland''s message. "I was normal too at first, but after being a Rogue for half a year, I realized that I couldn''t stand straight anymore, and that I prefer shadows to light." Roland noticed that Husseret was indeed standing in the darkest spot in the vicinity. "I think you''re too devoted to your character," said Roland casually. Husseret immediately mocked him back. "Don''t talk about me, you''re just the same. Look at you, you''re like a classic abstinent mage. I suspect that you will lose interest in women soon." Roland shook his head. "I hardly think so." At the very least, he was truly excited when he accidentally saw Vivian''s boobs earlier. "Forget it, let''s talk about something else. Isnas is sort of Moon Shadow''s territory, and you''re a celebrity on the forums. We''d better not alarm them." Husseret led the way for him in the shadows along the city wall. After about half an hour, they reached the west side of the city wall. Nobody was here, and it was very quiet. Also, there were weeds as tall as humans at the bottom of the wall. Husseret looked around and squeezed through the weeds. Roland followed his example. At this point, the difference between professionals became obvious. They were both walking with their backs bent. Husseret was fast and barely touched the weeds, but Roland moved more heavily and disturbed the weeds all the time. After a while, Husseret stopped amidst the tall weeds and lifted a cover from the ground, revealing a secret tunnel. He walked down first. After Roland joined him, he put the cover back again. The tunnel immediately turned dark. The tunnel was suddenly as bright as day. Husseret was quite amazed. "How convenient." They walked further down. The more they walked, the more shocked Roland was, as he had taken a dozen turns, and every turn was a crossroad. "This tunnel must span across the underworld of Isnas, no?" asked Roland. Husseret nodded. "This is the base of the Rogues in Hollevin. Actually, this whole city is infiltrated by the Rogues. On the surface, this is a territory for the princesses, but if the Rogues are willing to, they can kidnap the princesses in an hour." Roland said in admiration, "Then, the princesses are nothing but birds in your cage?" "Not really." Husseret explained, "The Rogues can''t be seen in public. Actually, the royal family knows that there''s a maze below Isnas, but they''ve been ignoring it. Even if we capture the princesses, so what? They''re nothing more than tools of marriage, and the royal family can always create more of them. However, if we dare to kidnap the princesses, the royal family will have a good reason to deal with us. They have always wanted to control us." Roland was somewhat amazed. "You seem familiar with the politics of Hollevin." "Of course. As a Rogue, it''s my duty to collect and sort intelligence," Husseret said proudly. "The Rogues in the game are mostly fixated on several important people because of their limited knowledge and vision, but I''m more interested in exploring the big picture of the major forces. I''ve reached my position because I submitted a lot of analysis reports on the forces to the guild." From what Husseret said, Roland could tell that his friend was an important person in the Guild of Rogues. It did make sense on second thought. This secret maze he was in was obviously of paramount importance, and not everybody in the Guild of Rogues was qualified to know the layout of it. Without a map, it was barely possible to walk out of this huge and intricate labyrinth. Besides, his friend even brought Roland, an outsider, with him. After a few more minutes, Husseret went upward from a certain crossroad with Roland. Then, Roland realized that it was another maze on the upper level. A double maze It was impossible for any outsider to get through this. They walked for another half-hour in the upper maze, before they finally crawled out of a half-closed hole. When they were out, Roland found himself standing next to the grasses behind a pigpen. The hole was not easy to spot, and a man who looked like an old peasant had been watching the pigpen. The peasant''s eyes were sharp. Husseret made a gesture at him, and the peasant immediately dropped his wariness. Getting out of the stinky pigpen, Husseret led Roland to a house not far away. Three people were waiting in the house. They were enjoying ale around a table. They were two strong Warriors and a man whose body was rather balanced. There was also a black leopard resting in a corner. It opened its eyes when Roland walked in but immediately closed them. Though they looked greatly different from reality, Roland could tell from their auras and their eyes that they were his friends Raffel, Li Li, and Brazil. When they saw Roland, they smiled and said, "Hey, our best Mage is finally here." Roland sat down at the table and asked, "Where''s Schuck?" "He should be near the border of Hollevin. He probably has to fly for another day." Fly? Then, Roland realized that Schuck was a dragon knight. "We don''t need to wait for Schuck any longer." Li Lin, whose upper body was naked showing his queer tattoos, said while drinking wine, "We''ll make plans first. When he''s almost here, we''ll take action first, and he''ll join us as our unexpected reinforcement and fatal attack." As he talked, Li Lin swept his arm across the table, knocking all the bowls and cups to the floor. Husseret summoned a big map from his Backpack and put it on the table. "Here''s the camp of Moon Shadow." A dagger was stabbed to the southwest corner of the map. 181 The Sadness and Sorrow of a Rich Player In Moon Shadow''s base This place included a dozen low, shabby houses. The yellow walls and the brown roofs that were made of grasses were not awe-inspiring at all, but this place was truly the base of Moon Shadow. Actually, most guilds in the game did not even have a base. It was great enough that Moon Shadow had one. The nobles were all petty about their estates. Moon Shadow had earned a lot of money, approximately two thousand gold coins, and they paid more than four hundred of them, which was twice the market price, in order to buy this desolate land in the corner of Isnas. Then, they asked the craftsmen in the city to help build the houses. Moon Shadow would love to build nice houses too, but none of the members in the guild had any architectural knowledge. They tried to hire the best craftsmen to help build the houses, but they found that those capable of building nice houses were all working for nobles. They could only hire the apprentices of those craftsmen, or the workers who only knew how to build low-level buildings. As a result, Moon Shadow''s base did not look magnificent at all at this point, but was more like a slum. So, Cedarnik was pissed. Very pissed. He was sitting in a crude chair, faced with a crude table. There was the vague stink of mud in the room. The food was awful too. Most importantly, Moon Shadow still hadn''t become famous yet. He had become more and more upset because of all the things that didn''t go well recently. He had intended to make a name for himself before he led the members of his guild into this game. He had both money and personnel. In his plans, he would easily acquire the best equipment and the best players with his riches. Then, he would be one of the few players at the top of this game. However, the reality turned out to be chilling. At this point, Moon Shadow hadn''t done anything influential yet, and a few bumpkins had somehow established a guild first. Fine, he could live with the fact that those people were the first to build a guild. However, the greatest contributor in the team who finished the first dungeon raid was the Mage from F6, who was also known as the best Mage in the game. His own guild, in comparison, didn''t have any top player at all. He held back his anger again. But before he digested his fury, F6 had done yet more things. One of the handsome guys in that guild contracted a girl dragon without any trouble. That was a girl dragon! It was every man''s dream to be a dragon knight! Cedarnik was not an exception. Besides, he found the human form of that girl dragon, who was both innocent and slutty, both perky and proud, highly appealing. It was impossible for him to find such a charming girl in reality. However, another man had contracted her and stolen her from him. After brooding for days, he asked a friend to go to Roland and tell Roland his wish and his offer. Cedarnik felt that he was very sincere. Fifteen million for a secondhand product was definitely generous enough, but outside of his expectation, Roland turned him down. He finally burst into fury as he was upset in the first place. He cursed Schuck on the forum and even threatened the man. He did find a hacker, as he promised, but the hacker indicated that they couldn''t find the detailed information of a player from the game or the database in Penguin Corporation. After Penguin Corporation developed this immersive game, their firewall was mysteriously upgraded too. Now, too many hackers were attacking Penguin Corporation every day, or trying to decipher the data packages of the immersive game, only to no avail. They couldn''t even locate the data packages. It was because only 10K bytes of data were transmitted every second the game cabin was running. There was no telling whether Penguin had hidden the real data traffic with special technologies, or this immersive game simply didn''t need to exchange a lot of data. After hearing the hacker''s explanation, Cedarnik had to reluctantly give up the idea of identifying Schuck. But he got even more upset. He felt like crying every time he thought that he couldn''t have the girl dragon who was so appealing to him. While he was sulking in the room, a man walked in and said to him, "Chairman, the money has been collected. Most people didn''t earn much this month. Only twenty gold coins were gathered." "Got it." Cedarnik nodded. In Moon Shadow, the members'' coins would be gathered by their leader. Of course, the coins would be reimbursed in reality. Cedarnik was not short of money For him, it was harder to make money in the game than it was in reality. "On the other hand, the princess has declined your card of visitation." The man put a delicate gold-edged card on the table. Cedarnik sighed and asked, "How many times has it been?" "Seven." "Damn it. This princess is really hard to get." Cedarnik was enraged. "I should have played as a Mage or a Saint Samurai instead of a Warrior. In that case, that bitch princess would''ve been begging for mercy under me." The man before the table put on a fawning smile. Looking at his unbelievably strong body, Cedarnik asked, "Right, have you found the procedure for the promotion of Saint Samurai?" "According to our investigation, no Saint Samurai has been promoted in any of the guilds, except the leader of F6." The man was slightly puzzled. "The main attribute of Saint Samurai is charm, but many have tried to pray in the Temple of Light after setting their charm to max and didn''t receive any reply from the Goddess of Light. We''ve also sent a lot of spies to talk to the reverends. They told us that there were only eleven Saint Samurai in the whole Church of Light, seven females and four males." Cedarnik asked again, "How many believers does the Church of Light have in total?" "The Church of Light is the second biggest religion only next to the Church of Life. By conservative estimation, there should be around five hundred million believers of light in the whole world." "Five hundred million Eleven!" Cedarnik said in disbelief, "Why was F6''s leader promoted to Saint Samurai? Is he a bastard son of one of the game developers?" 182 In Position "Schuck must be aware of some information we don''t know, which made him a Saint Samurai. To keep his advantage, I don''t think he would reveal how he became a Saint Samurai." Listening to his deputy''s report, Cedarnik pondered for a moment and said, "Hire some people to post on the forum that the chairman of F6 is selfish and unwilling to share with other players how to be promoted to be a Saint Samurai when he knows it. He doesn''t deserve to be the leader of the best guild, and he''s nothing more than a pretty boy. Just try to ruin his reputation." His deputy smiled and said, "Everybody has actually been angry at Schuck''s handsomeness. As long as we direct them, we can throw him into a swamp. Chances are that he can never turn things around in the game, and he would have to build a new character and start all over." Cedarnik laughed hard in contentment after hearing that. At this point, Roland was still staying in the house with his friends. They were either talking or browsing the forums. Husseret was not here. He was out for scouting. A plan had been made. They only had to patiently wait for the best timing. At this point, however, Raffel suddenly shouted, "Something is not right. Many people are smearing Schuck on the forums." The rest of them were stunned. They dropped whatever they were doing and logged into the forums. It was true Half of the posts on the first page in the general discussion section were slander against Schuck, claiming that he was a girl-stealer, a selfish man who was reluctant to share his knowledge, and an unapproachable man because he didn''t allow anyone else to join F6. Some posts even claimed that he was gay. "This is obviously an organized attack." Roland chuckled. Li Lin bashed the table and yelled, "Damn it. Who did this exactly?" Everybody looked at Roland. Roland thought for a moment and said, "Schuck is too handsome. A lot of guys hate him. Just think about it: have any of our male peers been friendly to Schuck in the past twenty years since we knew each other?" The four of them thought for a moment and all shook their heads. There were about twenty boys of their age in their neighborhood when they were little, but only they could hang around with Schuck. Many girls, on the other hand, were more interested in playing with him. They played cute to him or even tried to drag him to play toys with them. Schuck was so annoyed that he was cold to the girls of his age for quite a while. "Most of these people are trolls." Roland thought for a moment and said, "Search the threads about Schuck and find the earliest ones." Raffel searched quickly and soon found the dozens of threads that were posted earliest. Roland checked each of them and smiled. "All of them are made by new accounts. It''s indeed trolling." "Probably Moon Shadow." Roland smiled. "Cedarnik, the chairman of Moon Shadow, is the only person who is in conflict with Schuck for now. Also, he''s rich and could easily hire an army to attack him." "What if it isn''t him?" Roland chuckled creepily. "It has to be him We can''t let go of him after he threatened to identify Schuck with a hacker''s help. Those rich boys are very bold; he probably hired a hacker, except that the hacker couldn''t break through the firewall of Penguin Corporation." Then, Roland said unhurriedly, "So, never be too honest. We would be fools if we try to defeat the enemy with honor when they''re playing dirty tricks on us. We should use the same tricks too." All the rest of them laughed in agreement. They were old friends and knew each other very well. At this moment, Husseret pushed the door open and walked in. Slapping his clothes to get rid of the dust, he sat down in an empty chair and said gloomily with his back hunched, "A minor noble is holding a dinner party tonight. Cedarnik and his assistants will attend. Should we ambush him on the way?" Roland asked in surprise, "Why would we ambush him? We''ll just go straight to their base. Haven''t you investigated it before? Moon Shadow doesn''t have good fighters. Cedarnik is himself the best one. If he leaves with his two good assistants, how many people in Moon Shadow''s base are capable of resisting us?" "They''re level three on average. Cedarnik, his deputy and one of his trusted subordinates are level five, but all of them are going to the party." Roland smiled. "We''ll launch an attack at their base. When they return in a hurry, we''ll ambush them halfway." "Good idea." Husseret nodded and said, "I''ll talk to the city garrison and my friends in the Temple of Life first." "Also Those are what you asked me to buy." Husseret took out what Roland asked him to buy from his Backpack. They were cans of oils, bags of quicklime, and countless caltrops. Raffel claimed the oil, Li Lin took the quicklime, and Brazil got all of the caltrops. Husseret disappeared from the room again. Soon, it was night. Roland and his friends, who had been staying in the house, began to take action. Roland went to the bottom of the northwest city wall, where some soldiers were patrolling and Husseret was waiting for him. Husseret gave the captain of the soldiers some silver coins, and the captain waved his hand at Roland. Following them, Roland ascended the city wall until he reached the middle part on the northern city wall. Observing from his high position, he saw the base of Moon Shadow on the ground four hundred meters ahead of him. A dozen low, shabby houses were built in a circle. At the center of the circle was a big, bright bonfire. Even though he was far away, he could see thirty people chatting and laughing around the bonfire. Vaguely, he could even hear loud but terrifying singing. "My love for you wouldn''t change even after I''m dead" "It''s terrible, isn''t it?" The captain said at Roland''s side, angry. "Those idiotic Golden Sons sing rather than sleeping every night. It''s so awful that it''s like a bald merman sawing wood right next to your ears. It''s disgusting." "So you want them to disappear?" "No, you want them to disappear." The captain shook his head. "I don''t know anything. My patrol is over." Smiling, he left with his soldiers after saying that. Then, the city wall fell into silence. There weren''t even the chirps of insects or birds. The moon was bright in the sky, spraying cold light all over the ground. The wind was blowing too. Roland somehow recalled what he read in a wuxia book once: The brighter a moon is, the more you want to kill someone; the quieter a night is, the easier it is to kill someone. Back then, Roland was too little to know what it meant. However, now that he was placed in the same environment, he suddenly understood the quote and thought that whoever wrote that must''ve been a pervert or a serial killer. New messages popped up in the guild channel. Li Lin: "In position." Raffel: "In position." Brazil: "In position." Husseret: "Traps in the Temple of Life have been set up." Roland turned off the guild channel. Staring at the silver moon in the sky, he straightened his right arm and opened his hand. A flame took shape above his right hand, before it quickly warped into a fireball. 183 Voluntary PK The little fireball quickly expanded into a big fireball, before it turned into a gigantic blue one. At first, it was as bright as a torch, but in the end, it was as dazzling as a searchlight. Its light could be seen on the city wall even from one kilometer away. Actually, the people of Moon Shadow realized something five seconds after Roland starting gathering his magic. They were singing and enjoying a hotpot around the bonfire, when they sensed a concentration of enormous magic power not far away. They stood up and looked at the part of the city wall where Roland was standing, only to see a small sun. "Damn it. What''s this? Is it morning already? But didn''t night just fall?" One of the players was obviously too drunk to react normally. The other players were smarter. "Damn it! A Superior Fireball! It''s definitely aimed at us! Run!" After a moment, the players around the bonfire were all running as fast as possible toward the dark corners. These people indeed had abundant battle experience. After all, as a major guild, they had a lot of group activities together. If it were a common magic attack, they probably would have escaped by doing that. After all, few spells could lock onto a target except the special mental ones. So the players of the classes that highlighted agility always said that if they ran fast enough, magic wouldn''t be able to catch up to them. However, their common sense did not apply to this scenario. Roland stepped forward and waved his right hand heavily, throwing the enormous fireball more than two meters in radius above his head. It was a throwing movement, but it was more of his habit than something of actual significance. Physical methods could barely influence magic elements. It was the mind that mattered. He made the throwing movement unconsciously. After all, it had only been half a year since he became a Mage, and he hadn''t changed all the habits of an ordinary person yet. The enormous fireball flew in an elegant parabola across four hundred meters, illuminating the ground below its path, before it hit the distinctive bonfire at the center of the base. The bonfire flashed like a bolt of lightning, followed by the most deafening explosion. Roland had covered his ears in advance, but his ears were still humming after the explosion. His body was slightly numb too. Then, an enormous red shock wave that looked like a donut appeared on the ground and spread out like a tsunami. At the center of the explosion, a red mushroom cloud was rising. The cottages in the base as well as the trees had already been leaning outwardly before the donut arrived. The moment the donut hit them, they were set on fire and turned the same color as the donut. Some of the others were stronger or good at dealing with noise. They survived the sound attack in the first wave, but most of them couldn''t run faster than the shock wave. They were caught and consumed by the shock wave after running for no more than thirty meters. Some other people decided to hide behind rocks, only to be burnt up when the shock wave swept across them. The dreadful heat did not disappear until it expanded by more than a hundred meters. All the trees and houses within its reach had become fiery torches. After only one spell, half of Moon Shadow''s base had become an ocean of fire. The members of the guild who had been at the outskirts at the beginning and who ran fast, on the other hand, managed to escape from the blazing inferno. When they finally felt safe, they turned around, only to see that half of their base had been enshrouded in flame, and at the center of the explosion was a pool of magma around twenty square meters wide. Who did this? Only half of the members of Moon Shadow survived. Most of them had been gathered around the bonfire, and Roland wiped out twenty of them in one attack. Then, another twenty of them were burned to ashes by the heat. Now, only fifty of them remained. The survivors quickly congregated. It was human instinct to gather together in the presence of danger. Where was the enemy? Who were they? Everybody looked at the top of the city wall. They had all seen that the gigantic fireball was thrown from there. However, because the fire was exuberant and bright and the city wall was relatively dark, they could see nothing but darkness on the wall even though there was a silver moon in the sky. Everybody looked at each other in bewilderment. A long time later, to their surprise, someone walked out of the fire. He was a Warrior. Though covered in ash and dust, he didn''t seem hurt. Those who were familiar with him shouted, "Ah Feng, hurry up! You''ll get burned!" "It''s fine. I''ve got 94 points of fire resistance, and I''m wearing fire resistance boots. Even dragon breath is nothing to me!" The Warrior couldn''t have been cockier as he walked out of the fire, but then his eyes suddenly bulged because an arrow pierced into his throat. He quickly plucked the arrow. His blood was spewing, but he seemed fine. Warriors were highly vigorous. It was not fatal even if his throat was shot. For the Warriors of higher levels, they could survive for a long time even if their heart or head was shot. When Ah Feng drew the arrow out, the hook on the arrow tore part of his flesh off, and his blood gushed out like a spring. He roared, but he couldn''t make any sound because of the hole in his throat. His blood seemed to be spilling even faster. "Everybody, disperse. There are more enemies. Take out your equipment!" They were a big guild, and they had basic battle common sense. All of them retrieved their weapons from their Backpack and dispersed. In the meantime, a dozen more arrows were shot from the darkness, wounding three of them and killing two. "Southeast!" A Warrior who had been on alert at the periphery charged into the darkness with a round shield and a crescent saber, only to be flung back in no more than a second. A Warrior who was wearing heavy black armor and holding an iron tower shield ran out like a bull and stopped in front of the guild members, before he set up the tower shield before him with a huge noise. 184 Unscrupulous Such a large, heavy shield suggested that he was a Shield Warrior. It was not easy to break through the defense of a Shield Warrior, particularly in narrow places. When they held their enormous tower shields and cast the myriad of shield skills, even a powerful Mage could barely get past them. However, this place was a broad road, and one Shield couldn''t block all of it. The guild members could circumvent him. They thought so and did so. Several players who were very agile rushed past the Warrior on both sides, only to scream and retreat. The three agile players who passed from the right side of Raffel, the Shield Warrior, scrambled back with their heads contaminated by some white stuff. They retreated while they screamed, "Ah! My eyes hurt! That''s too unscrupulous! You used quicklime!" The players who attempted on the left side were beaten back. Their faces had been disfigured by sharp claws. The players could endure the physical pain which was only one-tenth the normal, but they were still suffering a lot of mental pressure. Li Lin roamed out of the darkness with a bag of quicklime in each hand. He chuckled creepily. With his bald head and the tattoos all over his body, he couldn''t have looked scarier. Berserkers usually didn''t wear any armor, not even the leather kind. Their upper body was always naked. Their abilities were based on their tattoos. If they put on any clothes, the abilities or attributes provided by the tattoos would be reduced by 30%. "Who are you?" Seeing that the road ahead had been blocked and it was impossible to pass, one of the prestigious members of Moon Shadow made a gesture, asking them to retreat and their own Shield Warriors to step forward. Different from Raffel who was using an enormous tower shield, the three Shield Warriors of Moon Shadow were only using griffin shields, which didn''t look half as intimidating. Hiding behind the Shield Warriors, the temporary commander glared at Raffel and Li Lin. "Has Moon Shadow ever done anything to you?" Li Lin said mockingly, "That, you would have to ask your trouble-making chairman." The temporary commander was briefly stunned. "You''re F6?" "You figured it out?" Li Lin chuckled. "It seems that you do know something." Of course he figured it out. The temporary commander knew that Cedarnik had conflicts with Schuck on the forums. Besides, the enormous fireball just now was too classic. Among the players, only Roland, known as the best Mage, could cast it. Considering that, it was not hard for him to conclude that the strangers were F6. "You''re truly bold. A minor guild of only a few people dared to attack us." "What''s wrong with a small guild? A small guild can still beat the sh*t out of you." Li Lin smiled delightedly. While roaring, the temporary commander looked back, and the fire set up by magic was already reaching him. If the guild members didn''t leave, all of them would be burned to death here. None of them were Ah Feng, who specialized in fire resistance and had a pair of rare fire-resistant boots. Speaking of Ah Feng The temporary commander looked down, only to see that Ah Feng seemed to be dying on the ground. After all, he had a big hole on his throat, and blood was flowing out crazily. That loss of blood was too much even for a vigorous Warrior. The people of Moon Shadow charged forward Raffel and Li Lin had blocked one side of the road, and on the other side, some kind of monster was lurking in the darkness. But in any case, the people of Moon Shadow still outnumbered their enemy. Under normal circumstances, a larger number was always an advantage, unless the other party was far stronger than themselves. However, Li Lin didn''t play normally at all. Seeing that the players were coming at him, he hurled out the two bags of quicklime in his hands. Both of the bags hit the heads of two players precisely. There was no telling how the quicklime was packed, but the bags exploded the moment they hit a target, and the victim''s face was covered by the white powder. They couldn''t see anything anymore, and their eyes were itchy and painful. Their tears flowed out, which reacted with the quicklime and made it release heat. The two players who were hit cried and scratched their eyes. Because the pain had been reduced, they could tolerate it, but it was still itchy, and it was torturous not to see anything. They dug at their eyes for a long time, until they couldn''t hold it anymore. One of them shouted, "Kill us! I don''t want to suffer anymore! I want to be resurrected in the Temple of Life and return to kill those idiots! Ugh This feels terrible! Be quick!" The temporary commander stepped forward and stabbed their throats. Soon, they stopped struggling. Li Lin squinted and threw out another two bags of quicklime! Seeing the misery of the first two victims, the other guild members learned their lesson and hurried to retreat. But one of them was still hit, in the chest instead of the face. However, some of the quicklime still splashed into his eyes after the bag broke. The man was ruthless enough to stab into his own heart before the quicklime reacted. The temporary commander roared, "Is there anyone capable of barrier techniques or spells of the wind class? Blow it back!" "Almost all the spellcasters were around the hotpot just now. They were too slow and have been killed." "Then we''ll set up our defense until they return and reinforce us." The temporary commander shouted, "Shield Warriors stay in the front! We''ll retreat slowly." At this point, forty of the guild members were forced to step back by only two men on the surface. On their two sides were houses, and they couldn''t rush through them. Two Rogue players jumped on the roof, trying to bypass the enemy, only to be shot by arrows from the darkness. "They''re intentionally trying to trap us here." The temporary commander felt a lot more at ease once he saw the three Shield Warriors. He continued, "You''re too shameless. Don''t play dirty tricks like spraying quicklime if you think you''re good." "You''re too many. We can''t defeat you without wisdom." While speaking, Li Lin slowly pressed forward. The members of Moon Shadow slowly retreated, trying to buy themselves time. Raffel slowly walked forward behind the tower shield, which rustled as it rubbed against the ground. Neither of the parties were moving fast, but as they retreated, the members of Moon Shadow moved to the edge of the fire. Behind them were the burning houses and trees, as well as flowers that were about to die out on the ground. They couldn''t retreat anymore. The temporary commander could sense that his back was on fire. He said to the Shield Warriors, "Stay there. I think the reinforcements are coming." However, at this point, Raffel, who had been holding his shield all this time, stored his shield into his Backpack. Then, two dark cans appeared in his hands. The temporary command''s heart raced crazily as he recognized what Raffel was holding. They were cans of oil! Behind the guild members was a field of fire, and there were flames on the ground too. Damn it! These people were too freaking shameless! 185 You Must Turn This Around Raffel''s seemingly innocent face now wore a cruel smile. The two cans were thrown high above the members of Moon Shadow and fell into the fire behind them under everybody''s watch. The two cans exploded the moment they hit the flames. They were not very powerful, but the oil in them splashed out after it was ignited. The members of Moon Shadow who were in the rear were hit. When the burning oil touched them, they couldn''t get rid of it no matter how they tried. Although it was not very painful, they fell and writhed on the ground out of instinct. Then, Raffel threw out another two cans, this time at the people who were writhing on the ground with fire all over their bodies. It was rather vicious. More and more cans were thrown and detonated, and more and more guild members were stained with fiery oil. Raffel, on the other hand, was laughing so excitedly that his face twisted. The temporary commander of Moon Shadow, who was in the front, was not hit, but seeing Raffel taking out another two cans, he roared in fear, "Charge, everybody! We''ll be killed if we keep waiting!" The people in the front rows, seeing the misery of their friends behind them, charged forth. However Li Lin, who had been waiting for them, took action. He threw another few bags of quicklime at them. The Shield Warriors blocked the bags with their shields and were not affected, but as for the rest They fell on the ground holding their eyes. But the three Shield Warriors weren''t any better! The quicklime had been well-made and would fly everywhere. Although the Shield Warriors tried to narrow their eyes, some of the powder did enter their eyes. Now, they already felt their eyes itching. Some players covered their eyes and charged forward, only to be knocked to the ground by the bags of quicklime too. After all, hands, unlike masks, had gaps. The temporary commander turned desperate looking at the surroundings. A dozen of his companions were writhing and digging at their eyes before him, and another dozen of his companions were screaming on fire behind him. Their cries and screams were horrifying as hell. He looked around and saw only the two shameless devils who knew nothing but dirty tricks. He gnashed his teeth and roared, "Kill yourselves! We''ll make a comeback after we''re resurrected in the Temple of Life!" This temporary commander was not just a talker. He drew his sword and cut his head off, dying a painless death immediately. The rest of the guild members, after a brief shock, began to kill their screaming companions. Ensuring that they were dead, they all glared at Li Lin and Raffel before they slit their own throats. Li Lin and Raffel, at this point, stopped attacking the players who were killing themselves, although they kept their mocking smiles on display. "Wow, a piece of magic equipment. It''s worth at least thirty silver coins." "Damn, this guy didn''t put his money in his Backpack. There''s more than one gold coin here. What a lucky day!" "Wait, leave some for me!" Brazil charged out of the darkness with his leopard. He began removing the equipment of the players from their bodies too. Apparently, all three of them were familiar with the task. On the other hand, after the temporary commander died, the world became blurry and black-and-white. He couldn''t see other creatures, and he could only vaguely detect the fire that was dancing nearby. When players were turned into souls, they couldn''t see other creatures if they didn''t have specialties, just like ordinary people couldn''t see ghosts. Soon, a system notification popped up: "Do you wish to be resurrected in the nearest Temple of Life?" Yes! "You''re now the 21st in the queue of resurrection." He had to wait in line to be resurrected? But it did make sense. After all, only one player could be resurrected in the Temple of Life every ten seconds. After a four-minute wait, it was finally his turn. In dimness and dizziness, the temporary commander felt his body again. He opened his eyes and was about to sit up, when his chest suddenly hurt. He managed to raise his head, only to see an expressionless Rogue in a black robe who had stabbed a dagger into his chest. Then, the Rogue soon pushed his body to the ground, and a new body immediately appeared on the ritual table. Without any hesitation, the black-robed Rogue simply stabbed his dagger into the heart of the next resurrected guy. The temporary commander felt a lack of strength, but he wasn''t dead yet. He saw a few more people in black running to him and carrying his body which was wearing nothing but underwear out of the temple. The world was darker and darker for him, until those people threw him onto a wagon. This wagon was fully loaded with bodies, and what he saw were all faces that he was familiar with before he fell into complete darkness. Too vicious Those guys didn''t even let go of the resurrection point. That was too vicious. The temporary commander, who had turned into a soul again, was beyond infuriated, but he couldn''t do anything as a soul, not even open the forums. He simply exited the game, crawled out of the cabin, and opened the homepage of his guild. But when he opened the forums, he found a lot of posts made by his companions in the guild. All the posts were swearing and complaints. He didn''t have to remind them He then called the leader of his guild, but nobody picked up the phone. He almost threw his phone in fury. Then, he opened the forums, only to see a boom of threads in the general discussion section. There were all kinds of posts, but mostly mocking ones, like "Moon Shadow, a guild of dozens of members, was annihilated by a handful of people. How hilarious." He couldn''t help but hold his head and moan, "We''re screwed. We really shouldn''t have livestreamed it." The temporary commander was named Aruslin. He was the No. 5 person in Moon Shadow as well as the PR manager of the guild. Ever since the game started to support livestreaming, he always livestreamed his gameplay to interact with other players and promote Moon Shadow. A few minutes before the incident, he had organized some spellcasters to hold a hotpot party. It was quite good and attracted a lot of people who loved livestreaming. So, many players who watched his livestreaming had observed the destruction of Moon Shadow from the first perspective. The accurate fireball attack from hundreds of meters away, the trap made of quicklime, oil, and arrows, and the slaughter at the resurrection point were all recorded. Moon Shadow''s reputation was at stake now. He took out his phone and tried to call the chairman again, but nobody picked up. Upset, he continued refreshing the page, but a post got his attention. He began to feel a headache after he read the title. The title of the post was, "F6 will definitely try to kill the chairman of Moon Shadow. I''ll try to livestream it." Aruslin knew very well that Moon Shadow would be a laughingstock if their chairman was killed. So, he began to pray that the chairman could escape, or even make a comeback if possible. 186 Stalking Aruslin knew very well that Moon Shadow was on the brink of destruction. If his chairman was too distracted by the party to notice the messages on the Internet, things would be very bad. Thankfully, what he feared didn''t come true. A few minutes later, he saw Cedarnik''s reply on the homepage of his guild. "All guild members, whether you''re souls or hiding, go to the town ten kilometers to the northeast of Isnas. There''s another Temple of Life over there. You can resurrect and gather there. The temple in the city has been occupied. Don''t resurrect there, or you will lose 10% of your EXP points after each death." Aruslin was relieved to read the post. He crawled back into the cabin and rejoined the game. About fifteen minutes earlier Seeing that Li Lin, Raffel, and Brazil had everything under control, Roland was relieved and walked east along the city wall to descend via the stairs at the corner. But he saw a team of soldiers waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs after he took a turn. Under the cold moon, the fifty soldiers were wearing gray leather armor and holding long spears. The tips of their spears were particularly chilling in the night. Roland''s first reaction was that those soldiers were ambushing him at Moon Shadow''s instruction. Subconsciously, he was going to cast Ice Ring, but he soon dropped the thought, because all the soldiers moved their heads aside when they saw him, not daring to make eye contact with him. Also, the commander of the soldiers was obviously the captain who led him to the top of the city wall earlier. So, it''s them Roland was relieved. "Why are you still here?" Roland asked as he walked down to them. The captain behaved normally when he spoke to Roland earlier, but his eyes held much more fear now. "It''s our turn to take a rest." You call this a rest? Roland raised his eyebrow, but unwilling to meddle in other people''s affairs, he said, "Please enjoy your rest. I''m leaving." "Suit yourself," said the captain with a smile. Then, Roland left. The captain sighed a long breath of relief when Roland was gone, and the other soldiers did more or less the same. Looking at the crimson fire not far away, they were all frightened. After descending from the wall, Roland recalled the map and walked to a remote crossroads that was surrounded by tall weeds. He sat on the ground, and the weeds perfectly disguised him. If Cedarnik were to return to Moon Shadow''s base, he had to pass this spot. Roland snapped his fingers, and four transparent magic spiders the size of ping-pong balls emerged among the weeds and dispersed. Three of them stayed on alert near him, and the last one rushed to the rich neighborhood along the road. Roland sat in silence. A few minutes later, he saw still images in his head every five seconds. The chairman of Moon Shadow and his deputies left the manor of the minor noble and went east to the city gate. Cedarnik gave the guard who was defending the gate a gold coin, and the gate was slowly opened to let them through. After they passed the gate, the gate was slowly closed again. At the critical moment, the magic spider dashed out through the gap right before the gate was fully closed. Roland stood up and sent a message in the guild system. "Cedarnik is out of town." Li Lin: "Just like you expected." Husseret: "It''s Tom the Big Belly who guards the gate tonight. He won''t refuse anyone as long as you''re willing to pay." Roland: "Got it." Roland quickly walked to the city gate. He happened upon several groups of soldiers who were patrolling. They shouted on the street and asked the civilians to stay in their house, but they fell into silence when they saw Roland and his magic robe. They simply ignored and passed him. Since the Guild of Rogues established their base here three hundred years ago, the local nobles, the Guild of Rogues, and other forces had reached an unspoken agreement after decades of fighting. In the day, the city belonged to the royal family and the nobles, but at night, it belonged to the Guild of Rogues and other professionals. So a lot of miserable accidents happened at night, and the nobles were happy to see the professionals attacking one another as long as they were not involved. Roland walked fast. Very soon, he reached the city gate. All the soldiers who guarded the gate were greatly alarmed when they saw a mage at night. After all, they saw an enormous fireball launched at the northwest corner of the city. However, they did not have the courage to challenge a mage. Though nervous and scared, they did not draw their weapons. When Roland was close, he took out a gold coin and raised it high to show his intention. The fat commander was greatly relieved. He wiped off his sweat with a handkerchief and said, feeling lucky, "It''s great that this esteemed spellcaster is willing to abide by our rules." Then he shouted, "Open the gate." After that, he ran down from the top of the city wall. He was surprisingly fast for a man as obese as he was. When he ran to Roland, Roland finally realized why he was named Tom the Big Belly. His belly was truly big, not only because he was fat, although it was definitely one of the reasons. But it was also because his belly was disproportionately huge even for a fat man. Looking at the gold coin in Roland''s hand, he said with an adulating smile, "Sir, I can''t accept a gold coin from someone as honorable as you. It would be an insult to your identity and position." Roland was briefly stunned. "Then why did you take Cedarnik''s gold coin just now?" Tom seemed to have realized something, but he then pretended he didn''t. "You''re different. Cedarnik is just a barbarian. He can''t compare to a spellcaster like you." Well Warriors were truly pitiful. By logic, Cedarnik was an Elite and the leader of a minor force. He should be a powerful man, but those nobles still disrespected him. Roland, as a strange spellcaster that Tom had never met before, was actually more revered. Although he refused it, Roland still put the gold coin into Tom''s pocket. He smiled and walked out of the slightly open gate. Tom asked his men to shut the gate and returned to his position on the top of the city wall. He said to the soldiers near him, "Did you see? That''s what a noble gentleman should be like. That Cedarnik just now was only a barbarian. His gold coin reeks of mud, which I don''t like. I''ll ask my deputy to buy a few goats for you so that you can enjoy some meat." The soldiers cheered in delight. On the muddy road, Roland freed the three magic spiders again. They crawled near him and stayed on alert. Now and then, pictures were sent from the magic spider that was stalking the targets. Cedarnik was quite fast A ten-kilometer journey would''ve taken two hours on foot, but because of his anxiety, it took him only forty minutes to reach his destination. It was a town without a wall. Around eight people were already gathered on the road outside of the town. They were all talking to each other loudly, making the night noisier than usual. Cedarnik and his deputies drew their attention upon their arrival. "They''re here! The chairman is finally here! We can go back for revenge now!" 187 Teleportation and Ice Ring Are the Bes Cedarnik was infuriated. In the group mode, he could see that, except for the players who weren''t in the base and those who had abundant EXP points at this point, all the guild players had dropped a level. It meant that their guild had worked hard in the previous month for nothing. However, the drop of levels was trivial compared to the fact that they had been provoked. As a major guild, they were ambushed and almost annihilated by a minor guild. If they didn''t make a beautiful comeback, Moon Shadow would be a laughingstock to the whole game. Chances were that some people would even upload videos of their humiliations to make fun of them. That was very possible. For example, in a very famous game years back, a well-known guild was disbanded because the central persons of the guild cheated one another. The incident was still brought up now and then years later. Cedarnik did not intend for Moon Shadow, to which he had devoted his time and effort, to end up as a joke and a lesson for other people. F6, Schuck, Roland! You think this is over? Just wait for it "Line up and listen to me." Cedarnik stood on a rock and spoke to all the guild members coldly. "As far as we know, it was F6 who attacked us. After all, nobody except Roland could''ve launched that big fireball. So, this is a war, a war which will not end until they or we quit this game." "Well said, chairman!" "Take them down!" "Those little bastards had the guts to ambush us!" The guild members shouted their indignity, their loud voices spreading far. The lights in many houses in the town were on, and people were yelling. The local sheriff came with a dozen militias, but when he saw almost a hundred professionals shouting at the entrance to town, he immediately lost his courage and stepped back. "There should be only seven people in their guild," Cedarnik continued, "but we have 91 people in total. They may have Roland, the best Mage, but Roland is not invincible. We''ll just never give him a chance to accumulate power for his spell. We can totally suppress them as long as Roland doesn''t kill too many of us in the first wave of attacks. "So, here''s your mission" Near the road was a wood, and Roland was hiding in it. Because of the long distance and the cover of the trees, he couldn''t see or hear what was going on over there clearly. He could only hear random noises. However, Roland had his scouts. One of the magic spiders was lying in the grasses, and the other was hiding on a tree, while they sent what they saw to Roland. "Too bad I can''t hear anything." Roland immediately knew how he should upgrade the scouting puppets later. He then pinged Schuck in the guild system and said, "Are you ready? They''re at the entrance of the town. It''s spacious and within the range of my teleportation." After reading the message, Roland began to calm himself down. He placed a magic spider below his feet as a space beacon first. Then, he focused on connecting the two spiders that were monitoring the Moon Shadow members. He had the one in the grasses crawl to the back of a stone five meters behind the crowd. Under normal circumstances, Spell Puppets would release magic power, but the magic spiders were small, and the dozen spellcasters of Moon Shadow were unleashing magic waves too. As a result, the waves from the spiders were eclipsed. They were as inconspicuous as ants on the road. After setting up the space beacons, Roland summoned the blue guardian puppet and laid his hand on the puppet. He was ready! At this point, Cedarnik was still giving orders. "The Rogues will leave first in stealth. When they spot the enemy, they will leave a message on the homepage of our guild about the position and number of the enemy. When the Priests are not in battle, they will read those reports and give us the information" While he was talking, he suddenly frowned. Something was roaring in the distance. It also seemed to be coming closer. Cedarnik didn''t really care. After all, there were plenty of powerful monsters in the woods around the cities in this world. He lowered his head and continued, "Now, Schuck hasn''t shown up yet. I estimate" As he spoke, Cedarnik suddenly realized something. Stiffening, he looked at the night sky. Under the blue moon, a shadow was flying toward them extremely quickly. It was too fast. In no more than two seconds, the shadow was above them and hovered there. Thanks to the moonlight, they saw that it was a red dragon that was not particularly huge, and a man in platinum armor on the back of the dragon. Schuck! Everybody raised their heads and looked at the dragon. They all sensed strange, overwhelming magic power from above, heavy as if a mountain had been placed on their heads. Seeing that his companions were still dazed, Cedarnik roared, "Disperse!" Now is the time Through the picture that the magic spider sent, Roland determined that it was the best timing. Teleportation With the magic spider that he had hidden earlier as a beacon, Roland appeared behind the crowd in the blink of an eye with a bright blue dusting of light. At this point, everybody was too distracted by the dragon knight in the sky to notice that a stranger had sneaked up on them. Roland took a deep breath. "Ice Blade!" He concentrated 50% of his magic power on this spell. Centered around Roland, rings of ice rose on the ground and spread out quickly with massive magic power! Those who were sensitive to magic turned back in fear, only to see Roland as well as the ice blades that were cutting them from the ground. "Jump!" shouted a Rogue who was responsive enough. But they were too close. Only the players who were in Agility classes managed to jump in time. The ice blades cut the feet of more than eighty people and then froze their legs. As blocks of ice were stuck to their legs, their mobility was severely affected. That wasn''t all. Layers of frost appeared on the ground where the ice blades passed. When the players who jumped and avoided the ice blades landed, the ice immediately spread to their legs. In about three seconds, their feet and shoes were covered in ice too. Though they couldn''t move any longer, their upper bodies still belonged to them. They turned aside and attacked Roland remotely with arrows and darts. The arrows and darts were all shot at Roland''s plain face, only to be blocked by the blue guardian puppet with a bright blue magic shield. In the midst of the attacks, Roland unleashed an enormous ball of light to the sky, which was a signal for Schuck to attack. Then, he waved his hand at the members of Moon Shadow with a smile behind the shield, before he quickly disappeared. Cedarnik had finally freed his feet from the ice at this point. He was about to say something, when he saw the dragon knight right before him and the red dragon spewing out a long, thick pillar of fire. When they were swooping from the sky, they sounded like a storm. The fiery breath of the dragon raged and splashed like a waterfall. Even more dreadfully, Cedarnik saw that the waterfall of fire was quickly moving toward him. No! Cedarnik roared in desperation. 188 Mock With Your Bes The fire that dragons breathed out was more sticky and flammable than the fire caused by common spells. The fire of Mages was not as destructive as the fire of dragons of the same level. So, it was understandable that Cedarnik roared in desperation when he saw the enormous pillar of fire. The pillar of fire passed through the crowd and then moved away. More than thirty men in the crowd were set ablaze. They struggled and collapsed, soon falling quiet. The scent of roasted meat spread in the air, but the dragon fire was still burning. The pillar of fire had gone far away. Because of the heat of the dragon fire, the ice that Roland summoned was thawing, and the victims could easily free their feet from it. But they couldn''t walk fast. Roland''s Ice Blade was sort of a physical attack. Now, everybody''s ankles had been cut to some extent. Although their legs were not broken, it was unavoidable that their ligaments got damaged. So, they weren''t fast even though they could move now. At this point, a young man in heavy platinum armor dropped from the sky. He had a pair of golden wings on his back, which illuminated the environment and added to his magnificence. He almost looked like an angel that had come to the human world. Saint Samurai was the most omnipotent of all classes. They were capable as attackers and support. They even had skills that could help in a group fight. However, their greatest weakness was that they couldn''t fly until they developed two pairs of wings. They could only float with one pair of wings. Also, they couldn''t learn Charge and Leap Slash, two skills of the Warriors. So, they could be slow when their level was low. However, this weakness was no longer a problem, because Schuck''s enemies had been half crippled. Holding his giant, glittering golden sword, he put on a friendly smile for the people of Moon Shadow. Then, it''s needless to say what happened next. Moon Shadow was annihilated again. Soon, the players on the forums learned of the incident. The reason was very simple. It was because of selfishness. Cedarnik had stressed again and again that nobody should livestream the battle until they were sure winners, so that their plan could be kept a secret from F6, but not everybody in the guild was completely willing to listen to him. It was easier to attract fans with livestreaming, and fans meant tips. Nobody would refuse money. Therefore, somebody secretly started livestreaming when they were gathered. Now, the conflict between F6 and Moon Shadow was a heated topic, and he wanted to use it to attract more fans. But then Roland showed up His strengthened Ice Blade froze everybody in Moon Shadow, and they certainly had no time to pay attention to the forums anymore. Then, Schuck came on a dragon and killed half of the members of Moon Shadow with one breath of fire. After that, he slowly landed and eliminated the rest of the crippled enemies awesomely. The whole process had been livestreamed. Someone even recorded it. Half an hour after Moon Shadow was annihilated again, countless new posts appeared in the game forums. How To Deal With Mages Who Are Capable of Teleportation and Crowd Control. "Saint Samurai is not bad, but Saint Samurai plus dragon night is too OP." "The developers should reconsider the balance of classes, or the players will be frustrated." "Two men destroying a whole guild. That''s the funniest thing I''ve ever seen." Too many similar posts had been submitted. Their response was understandable. It was shocking but acceptable when Roland and Hawk conquered a city with several hundred people. After all, Roland and Hawk had overwhelming advantages against the NPCs in the game in terms of attributes. Besides, they had several hundred beggars with them. It was not too unbelievable. Overall, that had been a tactical victory. But it was different this time. Both parties involved were players, and Moon Shadow was not a small guild but an organization of almost a hundred people. Most importantly, Roland and Schuck were only level five, and Moon Shadow had three level five players as well as even more level three and level four players. By logic, Moon Shadow was much stronger and should have crushed Roland and Schuck. But the truth was the opposite. Roland and Schuck, one controlling and the other killing, gracefully and easily knocked down a whole guild. They had never given their opponents any chance to fight back. The leaders of the guilds and organizations were all shocked after watching the video. They could imagine that their guild would''ve ended up similarly if they had confronted F6. Almost every spellcaster was capable of Inferior Fireball, but who could cast one with a radius of more than two meters and a blue color? The fireball even looked like an atomic bomb when it exploded. Whose Ice Ring could cut and freeze people''s legs? Even more unbelievably, it could be seen from the video that the effective range of Roland''s Ice Ring was at least a hundred meters in radius. Most level-five Warlocks could only have an effective radius of five meters when they cast Ice Ring. Also, they could not cut the enemy''s feet or freeze the enemy with thick ice. The best they could do was to add ice to the enemy''s legs and slow down the enemy''s blood flow, so that it would be less convenient for the enemy to move. Roland''s Ice Ring, in comparison, had truly rooted the enemy for a very long time. As for Schuck, the dragon knight, he demonstrated his ability to deal damage. The fire from the dragon was devastating and that was only a girl dragon who was only several meters long. When she grew up into an adult dragon more than twenty meters long, how destructive would it be when she spewed out fire? Also, after Schuck landed with his pair of wings, he waved his thick heavy sword as if it were as light as a toothpick. He also attacked as fast as if he were only holding a dagger. Physical laws did not seem to apply to him. The viewers could see nothing but gold on the screen when he attacked. His sword was so fast that they could only see its shadows. Every time he cut an opponent, not only would his opponent break in half, but the opponent would also melt in golden light as if he were made of snow. From the start to the end, Schuck had never used any real aggressive technique. Based on the information from other NPCs, all Saint Samurai were adept at destructive divine techniques against individuals. Besides, Saint Samurai were also capable of supporting and aura skills. So, Schuck had only revealed half of his capabilities. Saint Samurai was indeed one of the strongest classes recommended by the game developers. After watching the video three times, Cedarnik quit the game and dialed a number gloomily on his phone. "It''s very late, Mr. Cedarnik. What''s the matter?" "Go check the game forums, and slander them with your army. Do you understand?" 189 All Settled In a dark tunnel, Husseret, in a black robe, was faced with another few people dressed just like him. They might look similar, but their auras were not entirely the same. Husseret was creepy, and the people with him bordered on horrendous. A few carts were pushed at them, loaded with naked bodies. Husseret said, "All of them are bodies of professionals. They''re intact except for heart damage. They should be perfect material for you to make death knights." A man came close and examined the carts. He nodded in satisfaction and returned to his teammates. "Like we agreed, one gold coin for each corpse." The man in the lead nodded, and another man threw a big bag to Husseret. Husseret tossed the money bag lightly and listened to the clink of coins. Then he remarked in surprise, "I think this is too much." "That''s a hundred gold coins. The additional ones are rewarded for your trouble." The man in black said, "If you find so many excellent bodies again, please do contact us." Husseret put on a rarely seen smile and said, "Okay. I''m sure we can cooperate." "Let''s hope so." They said goodbye to each other in the tunnel. Returning to the ground, Husseret left a message in the guild channel. Husseret: "I''ve sold the bodies for a hundred gold coins. What''s your situation?" Li Lin: "I''ve got a piece of magic equipment, and some silver coins." Raffel: "I got two pieces, and several gold coins." Brazil: "I''ve found nothing but garbage." Husseret: "Do you have any bodies that are relatively intact?" Li Lin: "There are about twenty." Husseret: "Okay. I''ll ask someone to collect the bodies later. Their password is ''no cavities.'' Don''t be fooled by other Rogues." Li Lin: "Got it." A moment later, Schuck left a message too. "I''ve succeeded too, but I''m afraid I don''t have a complete body here. Margret has blown all them to smithereens, and those cut by me were all purged by light without leaving any trace." Everybody typed ellipses to show their speechlessness. Roland: "We''re really famous now. Also, a lot of posts are slandering us." Schuck: "Isn''t it within your expectations? When do you think we should launch our counterattack?" Roland: "Let''s wait until this incident gets more heated." Schuck: "Okay. Just drop me a message when we''re good to go." Although Roland and Schuck were close, they didn''t intend to meet. Mages were very fragile, or at least, Roland was fragile at this point. It was possible that he would be ambushed if he were to stay with a dragon knight. The people of Moon Shadow could resurrect in the temple in the town; F6 didn''t have enough people to lock down this resurrection point. It wouldn''t be good if they spotted Roland. After all, Roland had run out of mana. Even the mana in his Mind-Calming Necklace had been used up. He was terribly weak at this point. Schuck, on the other hand, was hovering above the town on Margret. "All the residents of this town, I am Schuck, a Saint Samurai from the Temple of Light. I''m now fighting a group of nefarious and shameless Golden Sons who can resurrect. So, please stay in your homes. You will be regarded as an enemy and attacked if you leave this town." Thanks to broadcasting spells, Schuck''s words echoed throughout the town. All the residents in the town were relieved. They all trusted the Temple of Light and the Saint Samurai. They still didn''t dare to go to sleep, but they were not as scared as before when they were worried that the dragon would rain fire upon them. The members of Moon Shadow who were hiding in the town after resurrection burst into fury. Nefarious and shameless? You ambushed us first, and you claim that we''re the bad guys? That''s too shameless! Immediately, many players of Moon Shadow made posts in the forums, complaining that F6 was shameless and blamed other people for the PK that they started. At this point, Roland was sitting against a tree in the woods and monitoring the forums. Naturally, he read the posts of the Moon Shadow members. He browsed through them and saw more and more trolling. At first, the posts were technical discussions about how general players of a guild could deal with Roland and Schuck. However, as the trolling took over, more and more players began to question F6. "Can you do whatever you want just because you''re strong?" "PK without any reason? Can other players ever feel safe again?" "It''s perfectly normal that you forget who you are after you grow strong!" "It''s in the nature of people. Humans have never been civilized!" More and more posts were made. Eventually, someone even argued that F6 was the epitome of the deep-rooted bad habits of the people in this country. Some players asked the authorities to punish F6 to ensure the interests of other players, or they would quit the game. Roland felt that it was good enough. He pinged Schuck in the guild system. Roland: "You can post what you have prepared." Schuck: "Got it." Two minutes later, a post made by someone nicknamed "Schuck" appeared and was pinned one minute later, and people were replying to it faster than ever. "The reasons why F6 attacked Moon Shadow!" The post mostly consisted of snapshots of a chat between Schuck and Cedarnik. Schuck simply left one remark in his post: "Those who insult other people must be prepared to be insulted." Then, it was the replies of the funny netizens. "That explains why F6 suddenly attacked Moon Shadow when they usually kept a low profile. Also, the attack was obviously well organized instead of an improvisation. I take F6''s side." "I feel lucky that I didn''t comment when I saw the posts earlier. I thought that Schuck definitely had a justifiable reason. What a calm and smart girl I am!" "Hey, my friend, you were just too into Schuck''s looks to get to the bottom of everything, weren''t you?" "Huh? How did you know?" "Haha. Cedarnik was generous enough to offer fifteen million for the girl dragon. Just think about it. The equipment in the turn-based game that he played before is already worth that price. The girl dragon in this immersive game, in comparison, can not only improve your strength but also let you travel day and night. You want to take her with only only fifteen million? That''s too far-fetched." "Hey, don''t talk dirty to me, or I''ll punch you." "It''s hard to say whether or not the price is acceptable, but it''s outrageous to threaten someone when he doesn''t want to sell it to you. All the profanities seem unnecessary too. If I were Schuck, I would''ve tried to kill you more times." The atmosphere in the general discussion section was completely changed by the post. Cedarnik saw the post too. He angrily called someone with his phone. "I''ll give you ten million. Delete that post for me." "I''m sorry, Mr. Cedarnik. It was Director Ma who highlighted and pinned the post. I can''t delete it." Shoot! His extravagant phone of the latest model fell on the ground and cracked into pieces. 190 Everything Is Over The incident between F6 and Moon Shadow was over. Every decent player supported F6. They believed that F6 was justified to fight back in the game after Schuck was insulted in reality since it was impossible for them to do anything in reality. However, Cedarnik did not give up. He hired an army of trolls to defend himself, claiming that F6 was bullying him, that F6 was too brutal and aggressive, etc. His trolls might have succeeded back when the Internet was just invented and still new to most people. However, people had already been through all kinds of bizarre things on the Internet. Many of them knew that they would be fooled if they only listened to one side of a story without seeing the big picture. Now, F6 had offered valid evidence on why they attacked Moon Shadow, and many believed that they would do the same if they were in F6''s shoes. So, everybody was cursing Moon Shadow on the forums. They didn''t even bother to read the troll posts anymore. Half a day later, the posts about F6 and Moon Shadow gradually disappeared, and more players started discussing how to deal with Roland and Schuck. Those two were too strong. Every guild who had ambitions to dominate the server couldn''t ignore them, unless they could draw Roland and Schuck into their own guild. It was already morning in reality. Cedarnik found the sunlight that pierced into his room through the gap of the window dazzling. He closed the curtain heavily and yelled at his new phone, "Like I said, try to convince the guild members to stay. Tell them that I''m willing to give them each a gold coin if they stay." "I already talked to them, but many declined it. Mr. Cedarnik, the players who can afford a game cabin can''t be too poor," said someone exhaustedly over the phone. "How many people in our guild will stay?" "Around thirty, and the number might drop again. After all, F6 is still hunting the lone members of our guild and won''t let go of them unless they withdraw from Moon Shadow." "Got it!" Cedarnik hung up the phone. The more he thought, the more pissed he was. He was about to smash his phone again, but he stopped and sighed in frustration. He knew that he had completely failed. He didn''t know that Schuck had kept the record of their chat. More importantly, he failed to bribe the moderator of the forum to delete the post. If Schuck''s post had been deleted, F6 couldn''t have turned things around at all. Who was this Director Ma? Even ten million was not tempting enough for him? The methods that he was familiar with in the past all proved useless. Damn it It''s truly lucky. Should he really delete his character and start over? His current ID was probably a joke to other people now. On the other hand, Roland rose from the game cabin in his southern city. Stretching out his arms, he couldn''t feel more comfortable. He had enjoyed himself in the battle. Years of pressure seemed to have been unleashed. Even the sky seemed a lot bluer when he looked at it through the window. When he was in a good mood, everything was more beautiful. Then, he rode his bike to the cold drink bar. Schuck was the earliest to arrive. After all, as the host, he had to prepare breakfast for his friends, who would criticize him if the breakfast was bad. Roland sat down, greeted Schuck, and drank a mouthful of the soybean milk. Then, he chit-chatted with Schuck. Soon, Li Lin and the rest of the gang except Betta all arrived. It was not the weekend, so Betta had classes. After they were all gathered, they began to brag about how awesome they were in the PK last night. Brazil said, "Those boys tried to avoid my arrows by jumping. How juvenile. Don''t they know that making an arrow take turns is a basic trick for a qualified Hunter?" Raffel said, "Their fat was dripping under my fire. The scent of barbecue smelled great." Li Lin said, "I was lucky enough to find two pieces of magic equipment." Husseret said, "I''ll share the money that I got by selling the bodies with you later." As for Schuck, who had killed the most people, and Roland, who made the greatest contribution, they didn''t talk at all. After the bragging was mostly over, Schuck said, "Since we''ve met each other in the game, I think we can get together more often. We can carry out quests and fight other players together." Raffel and the other three friends nodded in agreement. Roland, however, shook his head. "I have to go back to the Magic Tower. I''m different from you. Level is the only thing that matters for you, but not for the Mages. Knowledge of spells is also important for us. If I''m engaged in quests and PK with you every day, other Mage players will catch up with me soon." "That''s indeed a problem." Schuck frowned. Frowning with a wrinkled face, Raffel asked, "Then what do we do? It''s not fun if we don''t play together." "Actually, there''s no need to rush." Roland thought for a moment and said, "You can hang out first for now, and I''ll try to learn Long-Distance Teleportation, so that I can reach you immediately if anything happens. What do you think?" "Is that spell easy to pick up?" asked Schuck. Roland shook his head. "I have no idea." That was only natural. The magic apprentices, including Vivian, didn''t know where to learn spatial magic, and Aldo, the most knowledgeable person Roland knew, was gone. Roland felt that he was like a headless fly that was buzzing about randomly, not knowing his destination. "I can ask for you back in the Temple of Light." Schuck thought for a moment and said, "There''s an enormous library in the Holy Realm. I think it must contain books on magic. With my identity, I can take out a few books for you." Roland shook his head. "I doubt it can help. Yours are divine techniques, and ours is magic spells. They''re not the same." "Then I don''t think I can help you." Schuck sighed. However, Roland thought of something else. "You have reminded me of something. The headquarters of the Association of Mages at the capital of Hollevin might have teleportation spells. I can pay a visit there. I have sort of a friend there. The capital is close to Isnas too. A trip there wouldn''t take much time." "Okay then. We''ll hang out together next, and you can play on your own for now." Schuck continued with slight disappointment, "Let''s keep in touch in the guild system." "Got it." They went to the saber arts club later. In the afternoon, Roland browsed through the forums and chatted with his Mage friends on his social networking apps, accepting their admiration and adulation. At night, Roland re-entered the game. He found himself back in Isnas. He intended to have a talk with Husseret, when someone who looked like a butler stopped him. "Esteemed mage, Princess Evelyn wonders if you can meet her." 191 Tool For a Ques A princess? Isnas was a city of princesses. It was normal that a princess lived here. However, he and the princess differed too greatly from each other. Why would she ask for him? Was this butler-like middle-aged man a phony? However, Roland found it unlikely after thinking for a moment. He was a Mage, and few people dared to deceive Mages. Besides, he was a player that could be resurrected. Even if he was killed, he would lose nothing more than some EXP points and equipment. However, since he was in a hurry to meet with his partners, he was going to turn the butler down, when he was stunned. It was because he saw a quest notification: "Listen to the princess''s worries." That was a blue quest. Roland was rather excited Finally! He had finally triggered an important quest for the first time. Luck was on his side this day. Before, Betta had always been the one who triggered quests, and he could only look on enviously. His friends would certainly forgive him for being late if he were occupied with a quest. "Okay, lead the way." The butler was obviously relieved when Roland accepted his request. The butler invited Roland to a carriage nearby. Then, he got into the carriage himself and escorted Roland into a heavily-guarded castle. Then, in a study that was decorated fully in a girl''s style, Roland met Princess Evelyn. The princess was very pretty, even prettier than Vivian. But of course, she was not as beautiful as Margret, or the female angel that Roland met at Falken''s funeral. Evelyn had blond hair and blue eyes, a typical look for nobles. She seemed to be only around fifteen, but she was very calm and patient. Her body figure was quite attractive too. However, Roland felt that the princess was incomparable to Vivian in terms of body figure. A beautiful porcelain cup was delivered to Roland, half-full of golden fruit wine. The maid bent before Roland softly and left. Princess Evelyn sipped the fruit wine and smiled. "Mr. Roland, thank you for accepting my invitation." "Princess, you''re too kind." Roland sat confidently and stared the girl in the eyes. "What do you want to talk to me about?" Such a straightforward way of conversation was considered rude in the social occasions of the nobles. However, Roland was a Mage, and the proud Mages were well-acknowledged to be queer and unapproachable. So, Evelyn was not surprised at Roland''s bluntness at all. "Was the big fireball that made everybody in the city feel that hell was arriving last night your masterpiece?" Was she going to hold him accountable? But Roland still nodded. He didn''t think that Princess Evelyn would give him a hard time. "It was truly a horrifying view. My fingers are still shaking even now." Evelyn put on a weird smile. Roland was curious. "Did you see it too?" Evelyn slowly nodded. Last night, she couldn''t fall asleep, so she had some snacks on the balcony outside of her bedroom. She was enjoying fruit wine and some delicious cake when she sensed the frightening congregation of magic elements in the distance. She turned around only to see an enormous blue fireball falling somewhere from the city wall. The deafening explosion almost made her choke on the cake. She patted her chest a long time before she finally managed to swallow the cake. Even so, her face was still red due to shortness of breath. After that, she saw the tsunami of fire. Her nightdress was fluttering in the hot wind even though she was three kilometers away. It was not hard to imagine how powerful the attack was. "I don''t know who your enemy was, Mr. Roland, but I''m sure that they must be very regretful right now." Roland smiled. "I think so too. So, what exactly are you trying to say, Princess?" He found the princess too talkative. The princess glared at Roland and said helplessly, "Actually, I heard about you before, Mr. Roland!" Roland was rather puzzled. "Young Bard is my cousin!" Evelyn smiled. "He talked to me about you a while back when he visited me." Oh, that explains a lot. My identity has been dug out after only one out. The royal family is truly good at intelligence gathering. "Speaking of Bard, I''m planning to visit him in the capital," said Roland with a smile. It was truly his plan to ask Bard in the capital about long-distance teleportation spells. However, it never occurred to him that Bard was related to the royal family. But it did make sense on second thought. Bard was from a grand noble family in the capital. It was not unusual that his family was related to the royal family by marriage. "He told me that you''re capable of Language Proficiency," Evelyn said in admiration. "He said that you picked up the spell by yourself!" Roland nodded. "But it''s not perfect yet." "You''re too modest, sir." Evelyn stood up and fetched a book from the shelf behind her. "I was wondering if you could translate something for me." She opened the book and turned to a page that had a golden leaf as a bookmark. Among the page of Hollevin words were a few sentences written in Elvish. "This has been bothering me," Evelyn said sincerely. "They''re ancient elvish scriptures copied from elsewhere. Only three people in Hollevin understand them, but I''m too insignificant to ask for their help. However, if I can''t understand these sentences, I can''t understand the following content. Who does ''she'' refer to in the book?" Just that? Roland cast Free Communication on himself and the princess. "You can cast your spell on other people?" The princess''s beautiful eyes stopped briefly on Roland''s face, before she lowered her head and read the elvish scriptures. "She was the queen of a dynasty, the first demigod of the elves. She had been a rogue, a general, and the strongest summoner. Her name was Cocoyala, the most beloved daughter of the world tree!" The sentences were short, but Roland sensed a long history behind the words. The princess closed her eyes and then slowly opened them. "So, she was the queen of the elves. No wonder she did so many awesome things as a woman. Is it true that the elves once governed the world? Does her tomb exist too? Ah, how I wish I could see it." However, Roland''s attention had been distracted by the system notifications. Quest: ''Listen to the princess''s worries'' completed. "You''ve received 244 EXP points." Evelyn''s fondness has been increased by ten points. Huh? It was the first time that an NPC''s fondness was mentioned in the quest notifications. Was this NPC very important? While he was still surprised, a new notification popped up. New quest detected: Origin of the Elven Queen (Main Quest). Roland''s eyes bulged. This quest was a gold one, and it was suffixed with "Main Quest." He had never known how to pick up the main quest after it was interrupted. Little did he expect that he would resume it here. 192 Quest Sharing Seeing the main quest, Roland immediately grew fond of Princess Evelyn. It was not exactly love but simply the good feeling when two people were getting along. Wasn''t it perfectly normal to feel great about a beautiful NPC who could issue quests for him? His attitude changed a lot when he found Evelyn more amiable. At the least, the smile on his face was more genuine now. Evelyn, who had been born and raised in the royal family and was good at dealing with people, keenly noticed the change. She wondered in surprise what she had done to make the proud young Mage friendlier than before. Roland focused his attention back on Evelyn from the system notifications and said with a smile, "Princess, can you tell me more about this elven queen? Or rather, can you lend me this book?" Evelyn looked at Roland in surprise. "You''re interested in ancient history and folklore too?" Roland didn''t even know much about the history of his country in reality, and he was certainly not interested in the history of an alternate world. However, he had to learn more of this elven queen since she was involved in the main quest. "I think I''m drawn to this character," said Roland with a smile. Holding her chin and thinking for a moment, Evelyn said, "You''ve done me a great favor, sir, so I might as well explain it to you." "Would it waste too much of your time?" asked Roland. Evelyn shook her head. "That''s fine. I''m bored most of the time anyway, or I wouldn''t spend so much time reading." "Then thank you, Princess." Roland subconsciously sat straight. After that, the princess shared everything she knew about this Cocoyala with Roland. Actually, Evelyn didn''t know much either. The life of this queen was only mentioned in some primeval legends, and she was only referred to as "she." Also, as time passed, a lot of the legends mutated greatly. In many of the legends, this Cocoyala was a Rogue, a divine descendant, a demigod, and occasionally a human being. Some even said that she was a dragon. "Of all the books I''ve read, this one has the most anecdotes about her." Evelyn pointed at the book before her and said, "But the key information is all written in Ancient Elvish. It was very confusing for me until you came. There are other things in this book written in Ancient Elvish. I guess that they''re about the queen too." Roland thought for a moment and asked, "Princess, can I take a look at the book? I''ll only borrow it for ten minutes. Is it okay?" "No problem." Though slightly puzzled, Evelyn pushed the book to Roland. She found it strange. Was this Mage going to memorize the whole book in ten minutes? Her speculation was exactly Roland''s plan. However, he was not using his memory, but the snapping function of the system. He took a photo of each page of the book. The princess stood up and said, "Thank you very much for your spell, sir. I hope we can meet again." Roland nodded and left the heavily-guarded castle under the guidance of the butler. When he was out of the castle, he opened the quest system. He had been informed that his quest had been accomplished after listening to Evelyn''s introduction. Quest: Origin of the Elven Queen (Main Quest) You''ve received 366 EXP points. New quest received: Secrets in Ancient Elvish (Main Quest) He had received a lot of EXP points as well as a new main quest. This Princess Evelyn was indeed helpful to him. Feeling great, Roland opened the guild system and left a message. "I''ve received a new quest from a princess. I''m going to share with you." After half a minute of silence, everybody spoke almost simultaneously in the guild system. Schuck: "I don''t know what I should say now Awesome, Roland!" Li Lin: "You have my admiration!" Raffel: "I can''t believe that you got a quest so easily!" Brazil: "Me neither!" Husseret: "Stop teasing each other. Come to the cottage we stayed in a couple of days ago. We''ll share the quest and the money." Betta: "I''m in Sisilia. Do I have a share?" Husseret: "No." Betta: "My heart hurts." Very soon, Roland reached the cottage, and Schuck and his friends were already waiting for him. They were seated around a table that was full of gold coins. By conservative estimation, there were at least a hundred of them. The light reflected by the gold coins was dazzling. There was a beautiful red-haired girl in a corner of the room. She simply sat and held her head high proudly. The girl dragon Roland looked at her once and ignored her. He sat down and shared the quest. As he expected, everybody received the main quest. As Roland had anticipated, some steps of a quest that were not critical could be skipped. Reading the content of the quest, Schuck asked, "We''re going to look for Wilson the Linguist and ask him about the secrets of Ancient Elvish? Well, that''s a challenging quest Who is this Wilson? His age, his hometown, and the places he often goes to are not mentioned at all. All we have is just a name. This game is too hardcore." Roland frowned too. Husseret, however, said, "It''s not too hard. Wilson the Linguist must be a famous person considering his title. I can ask the nightingales and the owls of the Guild of Rogues to look for him." Schuck thought for a moment and said, "You can work on it now." Roland stood up. "I''ll go to the capital first. If you find the linguist, inform me through the guild system." "Hey, we haven''t split the money yet. Why the rush?" Husseret shouted. "Come here and let''s divide the coins." Roland shook his head. "It''s fine. I already have more than three hundred gold coins. You should know that all Mage players will each give me a gold coin later on." "I forgot that you''re a magnate." Husseret shook his head jealously and helplessly. Walking out of the cottage, Roland stood in the sunlight. Nobody would refuse additional money, but it did not seem right to compete with his brothers when he already had a lot. He hired a carriage in the city and took the carriage all the way north to the capital of Hollevin. 193 Shock On the shaking carriage, Roland cast Language Proficiency to himself and began to translate the book that he just recorded. He then wrote the translation in another book. The task was not very difficult for him. In no more than fourteen hours, he translated the whole book. During the translation, he had read the whole book too. The author of this book was a bard. Toward the end of his life, he wrote what he believed to be real history into this book. Historical heritage was not appreciated in this world. Hollevin, for example, did not even have official historiographers. So, much of the history of the world had been passed on by word of mouth. But as the stories were told and retold, they tended to change from the original versions. So, there were a lot of contradictions in this book. The elven scriptures, in particular, had only two sentences that were of actual significance. The rest were all elven prayers for rituals and sacrifices. The bard did not understand Ancient Elvish. He simply copied the Elvish words that he thought were important and related to some legends in his book. But thanks to luck, two sentences that he copied actually hit the jackpot. The bard had discovered those elven scriptures in some ancient relics. After finishing the translation, Roland turned it into an e-book and posted it on the forums. "The ''book'' required for the main quest has been translated. I wonder if you can trigger the quest." Roland''s ID on the forums had been authenticated and was quite eye-catching. Very soon, his post became a hot topic. A lot of people replied to him. "Yes, I can. Thank you, Master Mage Roland." "Wait, I haven''t even completed the main quests in the prologue yet, and I can trigger this one?" "Me too! Is this a bug of the quest system?" "Probably not. The prologue is probably only guidance for beginners and not really important." "Is this the real start of the main quests?" "Why are the main quests all related to Ancient Elvish? They almost seem to be designed for Roland. I''m pissed." "The game developers probably didn''t see it coming that someone would pick up Language Proficiency so quickly. It''s said to be a spell above level ten. I have a Mage friend who hasn''t learned Language Proficiency at all. Without Roland, we would have to find a specialist who could speak Ancient Elvish if we want to accept the main quest. Even if we can find one, it remains to be seen if they''re willing to translate the book for us. So, the quest should have been very difficult, but Roland made it much easier." "Are you saying that knowledge can change your life, my friend?" "Hahahaha. I totally get you, my friend. I feel the same." Seeing that the book he translated could help other players trigger the quest, Roland was relieved. Then, the rider of the carriage said hoarsely, "Sir, we''ve arrived." Roland jumped off from the carriage. He saw a magnificent city wall under the sun. The gate of the capital was very large, or at least much larger than Delpon''s. Convoys and travelers were passing the gate busily, and a dozen fully-armed guards were defending the gate intimidatingly. A team of archers were staring at the gate on alert from the arrow mound above. Further away, a few more teams were patrolling. Roland gave the rider a silver coin after he got off. Then, he walked to the gate. As he approached the gate, more and more people noticed him. There was even a riot among the travelers who were waiting in line to get into the city, as many of them were subconsciously making way for the Mage. Then, a soldier who was wearing heavy armor came to him voluntarily. He stopped three meters away from Roland and said, "Greetings, honorable Mage." Most Mages did not want other people, particularly not the physical classes, to be too close to them. That was why the soldier talked to Roland from far away. Roland stopped too and, sizing the guy up, said, "Greetings. Is there anything I can help you with?" "You look strange. Is this your first trip to the capital?" The soldier''s head was fully covered by a thick helmet except for an opening over his eyes, through which one would see that his eyes were blue. "This may sound rude, but I would like to ask the reason for your visit." "Do I have to tell you?" Roland was slightly curious. Almost all the travelers were looking at them. Seeing that their conversation was going in the wrong direction, many of the travelers secretly moved away. The soldier said with a heavy heart, "I hope that you can give me a reason. This is the capital, after all." "I''m here to visit someone." Roland sighed. "Whom exactly?" Roland said, "Young Bard." "And your name is?" "Roland." The soldier then turned around and told another soldier, "Ride a horse to Bard''s house and ask him to come here." The second soldier shouted, "Yes, sir!" before he rushed into the city on a horse. The first soldier then looked at Roland and took off his helmet. "I''m sorry, but spellcasters have caused some minor trouble in the capital recently, and they''re forbidden from entering the city unless someone can vouch for them." That explains a lot Then Roland was stunned, because the soldier who took off his helmet was quite beautiful. His hair was short, his nose was small, and his eyes were big. He also had pink lips. He would leave anyone the impression that he was a girl, but Roland saw his Adam''s apple. Well, a guy in a girl''s look? The soldier was indeed good-looking and could even compare to Vivian, but Roland still felt that Schuck was much more handsome. Schuck was a specially handsome guy who was also beautiful and had feminine looks but who would never be mistaken for a girl. Even if one were to only look at him from the back, Schuck would still leave them the feeling that he was unimaginably handsome. It was almost uncanny. After a brief shock, Roland was soon back to normal. Then, Roland asked, "May I know what happened in the capital?" The soldier asked warily, "Are you interested?" "I just want to know what happened, so that I won''t do anything inappropriate after I get into the city." The soldier smiled, which made him even more look like a woman. "It''s not a secret. I can tell it you. Last night, a spellcaster kidnapped the queen." Roland''s jaw almost hit the ground after a brief silence. 194 I Always Treat People With Sincerity The queen was kidnapped by a spellcaster? Well Roland suddenly thought of a lot of irrelevant things, which were understandable, because the queen must be very beautiful according to common sense. Roland had met the princess yesterday. She was beautiful, so it was only natural that her mother was beautiful too. Then, a spellcaster took the queen away. He didn''t kill her but kidnapped her, and her beauty must be one of the reasons for that. So, Roland''s random thoughts were normal and reasonable for a man of his age. Seeing Roland''s reaction, the soldier chuckled. "You seem very surprised, don''t you?" Roland asked back, "Are you not surprised?" "Not really." The soldier shook his head. "She''s the king''s third queen anyway." Huh? Roland was even more surprised. "Three queens have been taken away?" The royal family of Hollevin seemed too lousy. Three queens had been taken away from the heavily guarded royal palace, and no lessons were learned at all? The soldier''s pretty face now revealed a smile. "They weren''t all taken away. The first queen was assassinated by a foreign country, the second queen died in an accident, and I don''t think the third queen will meet a good end." "It seems that being the queen of Hollevin is a dangerous job," Roland couldn''t help but remark. The pretty soldier nodded. "Indeed. I''m told that every king in history had a couple of queens. The deceased queens died either in assassinations or in accidents. They say it''s a special curse, but I don''t know if it''s true." "Every king?" Roland secretly clicked his tongue. The pretty soldier nodded. Roland suddenly thought of another question. "Which queen is Princess Evelyn''s mother?" "You know Evelyn?" The pretty soldier was surprised. "I''m just asking." Roland didn''t tell the soldier that he had talked to Princess Evelyn only yesterday because it would sound like bragging. The pretty soldier glanced at Roland with his big eyes and smiled. "Princess Evelyn is the first queen''s daughter." Oh Roland nodded. People were entering and exiting the gate. Many of them peeped at Roland and the soldier and left quietly. The pretty soldier turned his head aside and said, "I think it will take a while before Bard arrives. Do you want to take a rest in our lounge?" Roland thought for a moment and said, "Okay, thank you for your trouble." It was definitely not comfortable to be stared at by everyone on the road. The pretty soldier said, "You''re too kind." Then, he led Roland to an aisle next to the city gate and opened a secret door. There was a small room behind the door with a coverage of about fifteen square meters. Three soldiers were talking and laughing around a table. The pretty soldier nodded at them and said gently, "Get out. I need to occupy this place to entertain this Mage. If you see Bard outside, please tell him to come here." The soldiers ran out of the room quickly. "They seem scared of you!" Roland sat down on a chair. "I didn''t know you were named Antis." Antis had been staring at Roland''s face. Seeing no reaction from him, he sat down too and smiled. "You don''t seem to know what my name represents." Roland shrugged. "Sorry for my ignorance." Antis smiled as sweetly as a teenage girl. "You must be a Golden Son." Roland nodded and asked back, "How did you recognize me?" "I''ve seen a few Golden Sons," Antis said slowly. "Though your personality and behavior are different, your aura is the same." Antis seemed bummed when he talked about Golden Sons. "I have some questions for you regarding the Golden Sons." Roland made a "feel free to ask" gesture. Then, Antis told Roland what happened to him. About two months earlier, a few undying Golden Sons arrived at the capital. Almost all the nobles were interested in them, and many of them invited the Golden Sons to visit their houses. When they were all half-drunk, some malicious guys said that they wanted to see how undying the Golden Sons were. It seemed that the Golden Sons did not sense the nobles'' maliciousness. They simply said that they would lose what they called experience points if they died, so they wouldn''t perform unless they were given three gold coins. Three gold coins for each person was not much for the nobles at all, who were eager for the entertainment. The Golden Sons honored their promise after acquiring the coins. They stabbed their swords into their chests and died on the spot, making all the noble ladies scream and shout. The male nobles didn''t look too good either. Having never been to a real battlefield, they had never seen such gory scenes before. Then, the Golden Sons returned from the Temple of Life naked. They even reclaimed their bodies after they returned, which was quite amazing. It was a hit in the capital. Too many noble families invited the Golden Sons to perform. As a result, the Golden Sons each earned more than a hundred gold coins for suicide performances in only two months. Their income was even more than the income of many minor noble families. Then one day, Antis'' family invited the Golden Sons over. But the moment the Golden Sons saw him, they started talking dirty like "I love drag queens" and "I''m so excited." A lot of people were at the party back then. The male nobles tried to stay neutral, but all the noble ladies were chuckling while covering their mouths with a handkerchief. Antis was so angry that he slashed the Golden Sons immediately. The Golden Sons did not resist at all. They even had a "my life has been fulfilled" look on their face when they were cut into pieces, which was incomprehensible. Those Golden Sons didn''t even want their bodies any longer after their resurrection. They cheered and ran out of the capital naked. The city guards were so dumbfounded that they simply watched the Golden Sons leave. Now that Antis thought of it, the Golden Sons were probably not being malicious. There was nothing but excitement and joy in their eyes, and nothing negative. Roland could only hold his forehead after hearing the story. Although their methods were humiliating, those players were indeed great moneymakers, and they even managed to escape after making a great amount of money. "Your eyes are very similar," Antis said slowly. "You look at everybody as if they were gold coins that could walk." Roland was stunned. "Mine too?" "More or less." Roland found it hard to accept the remark. He had always treated everybody with sincerity. How could he have left the soldier such a first impression? He was about to argue when the door opened, and Bard walked in delightedly. 195 Quid Pro Quo Both of them stood up when they saw the excited Bard. Bard hugged Roland upon his arrival, which slightly surprised Antis. Bard and Antis were both descendants of grand nobles in the capital. Bard''s family focused on magic, and Antis''s family were famous for their swordsmen. They were also in charge of the city guards. Both of them were related to the royal family. Antis''s family was closer to the royal family than Bard''s was. So, they were actually related too, although only distantly. Antis knew that his relative was very proud. After all, the man was a Mage and a noble; he had every reason to be proud. He had often been condescending to Antis, yet he was willing to hug an outsider. It was quite interesting. "Bard, he''s all yours. I''ll resume my patrol." Antis patted Bard''s shoulder. "Drop by if you have time." "Thank you. Please send my best to my uncle." Antis nodded and looked at Roland again before he left the room. After Antis left, Bard sat down and smiled. "Actually, I was going to Delpon for you. I didn''t expect you to come to the capital first." "Huh? Is there any particular reason why you wanted to come to me?" Roland asked. "Nothing serious. I was just wondering if I could buy the derivative spells of Spell Puppet," Bard said. "Please don''t be angry and let me finish." Roland nodded. Looking at Bard''s nervous face, he guessed what the guy had in mind. Taking a deep breath, Bard said, "I would like to purchase a derivative spell of Spell Puppet that I can sign my name on, if you know what I mean. I''m going to pay you well." Just as I expected Roland thought for a moment and asked, "Are you in some kind of trouble?" Bard smiled bitterly. "You''re right, my friend. Before you consider, can you at least hear my terms? I can offer you many gold coins and magic resources." Roland''s eyes suddenly glittered. He was here to ask Bard if he knew any books or magic models related to long-distance teleportation. Roland was already prepared to ask for his favor. However, it seemed that they could make an equivalent exchange now! "Can you set aside the magic resources for something else?" asked Roland casually. Bard was much more delighted after hearing that. He knew very well that Roland was implying that he had accepted the proposal. "Please tell me what you want. I''ll do whatever I can." Bard subconsciously rubbed his hands, which was the merchants'' favorite movement and was considered humiliating by the nobles. Since Bard was the descendant of a grand noble, he shouldn''t have done that. But for some reason, he still did it. Then, he realized what he was doing and put his hands down awkwardly. Bard was stunned for a moment. Then he frowned. "Yes, but you can''t take it away." "I won''t. I only need to read them for about ten minutes." "Only ten minutes?" Bard found it odd. "Long-distance teleportation is a fourth-tier spell with thousands of nodes. It''s more like a gigantic folded parchment than a book. Are you sure you can remember all the nodes in ten minutes without making any mistake?" Staring at Bard''s face, Roland suddenly smiled. "You''re worried that I''ll rob you of the book and run away instead of only reading it for ten minutes, aren''t you?" Bard tried to laugh, but it was actually indeed his concern. After all, Roland was much stronger than him, and according to what he had gathered about the Golden Sons, all of them had a Backpack which was allegedly their racial talent. The Backpack could contain a lot of things and was bound to the soul, so it was impossible to steal. Therefore, if Roland stored the spell model in his Backpack, it would be impossible for Bard to take it back. "If you don''t believe me, there''s nothing I can do." Roland sighed. Though Roland seemed disappointed, Bard was even more so. He understood Roland''s implication. If he didn''t allow Roland to read the spell model for ten minutes, Roland probably wouldn''t sell the derivative spells of Spell Puppet to him. Bard was frustrated at the thought of that. Seeing his gloom, Roland said, "Rest assured. I''ll still sell the derivative spells to you even if you don''t show me the spell model. We''re friends anyway." Bard was stunned for a moment after hearing that. Then, he stared at Roland in silence. After a long time, he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I believe you." Roland smiled. "This is not the right place to talk. You can stay in my manor for a couple of days." Bard stood up. "Okay." They left the room. Noticing them, Antis, who was still on duty, nodded at them politely. Bard waved his hand at Antis, before he led Roland to a carriage behind the city gate. In the carriage, Roland observed the street through the window. The roads in the city were broader and smoother than those in Delpon. The buildings were taller too. More important, the people in the capital, both the nobles and the beggars, seemed to be very proud. Other than that, the capital was bigger and more beautiful. Roland also saw the imposing walls of the royal palace far away. Dazzling sunlight was reflected on the ivory walls. Roland moved his eyes back into the carriage. Bard, who was sitting opposite him, smiled and said, "You don''t seem to be interested in the capital, do you?" "As a matter of fact, I am." Roland said, "But I''m more interested in the teleportation spell right now." The capital of Hollevin had a population of about two million. It was a big city in this world but far away from the modern metropolises. Roland was only enjoying the exotic atmosphere here. For him, this capital was only as large as an eighteenth-rate city in reality, with much inferior infrastructure. There was really not much to look at. Bard raised his eyebrow but didn''t talk. He could sense Roland''s disdain for the city. After ten minutes of silence, the carriage stopped in front of a manor. Hardly had they gotten off when they saw another carriage that rode close and stopped nearby. Both carriages had a star emblem which depicted a starry sky against a blue background. Seeing the carriage, Bard furrowed his brow hard. Then, a young man similar to Bard jumped off from the other carriage. He put on a mocking smile the moment he saw Bard. "Hey, my good brother, are you still in the mood for entertaining guests?" 196 Uneasy Kaka The stranger seemed rather cocky. He reminded Roland of Bard when they first met. At that time, Bard was as condescending and sarcastic as this man. But Bard''s attitude gradually changed after all the incidents that followed, and he and Roland finally became friends. So, Roland had deja vu when he saw the man, as if he were back to months earlier. "Felwood, why are you in my manor?" Bard seemed unhappy, if not angry. The man slowly walked toward Bard and mocked, "Isn''t it perfectly normal for an older brother to care for a younger brother who is about to be kicked out of the family?" Roland was slightly surprised to hear that. Bard looked at Roland guiltily and said, "Stop being a hypocrite, Felwood. You should be the happiest to see that happen." "Hahaha!" Felwood burst into laughter, then focused his eyes on Roland. Observing him for a while, he asked weirdly, "A Golden Son?" He seemed both disrespectful and somewhat scared. So, the smile on his face became very odd. At first, Roland didn''t understand why he was wearing such an expression, but then he realized that it was probably because of the players that Antis mentioned. Stabbing themselves for money, resurrecting again and again after death, and running about naked, the players did leave an impression that they would do anything for money. But they also made everybody envious because they never died. Furthermore, Roland was dressed differently from the previous players, who were all Warriors or agility classes. Roland was a Mage, and every spellcaster was revered even if they were from a different race. For example, even though people hated orcs, nobody dared to underestimate a Shaman diplomat in the human world or make any racist comments in front of him. Thinking that through, Roland smiled and said, "Yes." Felwood observed Roland for a while longer and said with much less mockery, "Mr. Mage, you probably don''t know the latest news yet, but your friend, my brother, is about to be kicked out of the family. If he lied to you, you''re free to visit my manor. It''s not far away from here. Anybody on the street knows where it is." It was blatant poaching. Young Bard''s face was dark as if it had been dyed with ink. He glared at Felwood furiously and clenched his fists, but in the end, he didn''t do anything. Roland nodded. "Got it." His voice was as casual as before. There was no telling how he felt. Felwood couldn''t figure out Roland just yet. After waiting a few seconds, he looked at Bard with a gloating smile, before he returned to his carriage and left. Bard didn''t say anything until Felwood''s carriage disappeared at the end of the street. Roland heaved a sigh and asked, "How many brothers do you have?" "Two," Young Bard said. "He''s my second brother." "When Antis''s envoy arrived, we were all in my father''s manor," Bard said. "He mentioned your name, so I came to you." Roland immediately got it. "No wonder he arrived the moment we reached your manor. He must''ve been eager to find out who your guest was and if your guest could help you make a comeback." Young Bard couldn''t have looked more awful. Roland asked again, "Since you''re all surnamed Bard, I think I''d better distinguish you. His given name is Felwood. What''s yours?" "Kaka." "Well, that''s a simple name." Roland nodded. "You mean a stupid name." Young Bard, or Kaka, looked at the sky and said grimly, "It was my mother who gave me the name. My mother is the daughter of a merchant. I was mocked a lot for my name when I was little." "Is that really important?" Roland asked slowly. "Even if your name is Kaka and it''s unsophisticated, it doesn''t change the fact that your father is a grand noble. I think you''re too emotional." "You wouldn''t understand. Anyway, I don''t quite understand the Golden Sons." Kaka sighed and said, "I''ve met a few other Golden Sons besides you. You have different personalities, but your eyes are similar. You stare at everybody as if they were loot." Roland burst into laughter. "Just a while back, Antis said that we looked at everybody as if they were gold coins." Kaka was briefly stunned. "I didn''t know that Antis felt the same But it does make sense. He killed three Golden Sons in person. Also, he''s smarter and more gifted than me. It''s not unusual that he saw through things so clearly. Besides, the Golden Sons who were here a while back were truly indescribable." Roland had been observing Kaka Bard and realized that he was truly not as confident as a few months earlier. Roland looked at the manor and asked with a smile, "Are you not going to ask me to come in?" "Oh right." After a shock, Kaka led Roland to the gate of the manor, and two guards opened the gate and let them in. At the entrance, Roland found that the guards were respectful but unnatural, as if they were only pretending to show respect. They passed the courtyard and entered the study on the top floor of an extravagant three-story building. There was the vague aroma of lavender in the study. Looking around for a moment, Roland''s eyes stopped briefly on the bookshelf, before he asked, "I''ve been meaning to ask since just now. Why are you being kicked out of your family?" Kaka Bard''s mood had obviously been improved, but he was depressed again after hearing Roland''s question. After a long silence, he finally said, "My father asked me to be the mayor of a town next to Sisilia, which is one of our family''s fiefs." "Inheriting a fief is not exactly being kicked out of your family, is it?" Roland asked again. "The town only has a population of fifty thousand. The environment is terrible and the place has few yields. It''s always been the place where the members of my family are exiled when they make mistakes." Roland nodded and said, "Now, I understand why you''re buying derivative spells from me and even their copyright." Kaka Bard sighed helplessly. He had intended to keep it a secret from Roland, so that he could better negotiate with Roland. However, now that Roland had learned the secret, he could only accept whatever prices that Roland gave him. He only hoped that Roland''s price wouldn''t be too much for him to pay. 197 Im Really Not a Sain Kaka Bard was quite uneasy, but Roland felt that it might be a great opportunity for him. "Actually, I don''t think it''s a bad idea for you to develop your own fief." Roland thought for a moment and said, "In the tales among the Golden Sons, many unappreciated descendants of nobles were exiled to desolate places, but instead of giving in to their fate, they tried to develop their territory and even gained control over their family in the end." Kaka was apparently not convinced. He said with a vague smile, "If I hadn''t known you for a long time, I would''ve thought that you were instigating me to kill myself." Roland chuckled. "You need more sense of humor." "I''m about to be kicked out of my family. Humor can''t help me." Kaka heaved a long sigh. Roland looked around. Butlers or servants should have served them beverages, but nobody was here although they had been in the study for a while. It seemed that Kaka Bard was really in trouble. Even the servants were losing respect for him. He took out the fruit wine and cake that Vivian prepared for him from his Backpack, which could prevent the food it stored from turning bad. Then, he took out two cups, one for each person. Roland filled bright green fruit wine in both cups. He had a mouthful of the wine first and said, "Why are you being kicked out of your family all of a sudden?" "The queen was kidnapped." Kaka seemed rather angry. "I was defending the perimeter of the royal palace that night. Right, I was also a junior royal Mage. So, the fault was almost exclusively mine. My father pulled some strings so I didn''t have to go to prison, but my father said that he would banish me to Sisilia as a punishment for my failure." "So, you want to restore your position in your family through the Association of Mages?" "Yes. My father will reconsider his decision if my magic abilities are acknowledged," said Kaka affirmatively. Roland enjoyed the wine unhurriedly. From what Kaka described, it was indeed a sound plan. Spellcasters were prestigious in this world. If Kaka showed enough talent in magic, it would prove his value. In such a case, the patriarch of his family had to consider if it was the best decision to cast out a genius. "Not a problem. I can teach you a derivative spell of Spell Puppet." Roland put the empty cup on the table and said, "I''ll also ensure that you can totally understand it and won''t expose yourself." Kaka was ecstatic. "Fantastic. You''re truly a great friend. Since you''re so loyal, I''ll certainly return the favor. After the derivative spell is approved, all the rewards that the headquarters give me will be transferred to you with sixty additional gold coins and a batch of magic resources. That''s all that I have." Sixty gold coins It was impressive enough that the son of a noble could save so much money. Kaka lowered his head in silence. A moment later, he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay. After the derivative spell of Spell Puppet is submitted, my position in the Association of Mages will be improved, and it shouldn''t be too hard to borrow the spell model for long-distance teleportation." "Then you''ve got yourself a deal." Roland didn''t reveal his feelings, but he was secretly relieved. He was fully aware of the value of advanced spells now. Though such spells had a price, whoever owned them would never show them to outsiders as long as those people were not idiots. Sixty gold coins and some magic resources for an advanced spell was a bargain. Kaka smiled. "The deal is greatly in my favor. I''ll repay you if I get the chance." "That''s unnecessary." Roland thought for a moment and asked, "Why don''t you try to find the queen to make up for your mistake?" Kaka''s expression turned weird. "It was an Archmage who took the queen away. I don''t know who he was, but the waves of his magic power were daunting. The king knows it too. He''s only venting his fury on us. He can get a beautiful woman anytime he wants, it''s not worth it to piss off an Archmage for a woman." "How pathetic." Roland sighed. Kaka thought that Roland was talking about the king, who had to hold such humiliation back even though he was the monarch of a country. He was indeed rather pathetic. However, Roland was actually talking about the queen. After she was taken away, nobody wanted to get her back, not even her king husband. Roland felt sorry for her just thinking about it. Considering for a moment, he asked, "Can you show me where the queen was captured?" "Yes" Kaka was puzzled. "What''s your plan?" "I want to see if I can find any leads on the missing queen." Roland stood up. Kaka raised his eyes and said angrily, "Is our Golden Son going to play hero again?" Having investigated the Golden Sons for a long time, he knew that most of the Golden Sons were very kind. They were willing to help the weak and the poor. When they happened upon robbers on the street, they would fight the robbers excitedly even if the enemy was much stronger. "What do you mean?" Roland snorted and said, "I''m only fulfilling my duty." Roland wondered if he could trigger another quest while he searched for the queen. He refused to believe that he wanted to trigger a quest because the queen was pitiful. Kaka shook his head. "You can go to Antis. He''s in charge of the search now." Oh No wonder that pretty swordsman stopped him at the gate. Roland drew the spell model of Guardian Puppet, a derivative spell, and explained the designing principles of the spell as well as the effect of each node. Then, he asked Kaka to consider it on his own, and he went to the city gate. Antis, the pretty swordsman, was still on duty at the city gate. Roland got his attention upon arrival. He asked his soldiers to keep on alert while he walked to Roland. He took off his heavy helmet again, revealing his fair and feminine face. He asked in confusion, "Are you here for me?" "You have a great sixth sense." Roland nodded. "I''m hoping that you could tell me the details of when the queen was captured and the progress of your investigation." Antis immediately narrowed his eyes, like a leopard that was observing its prey. "What''s that supposed to mean?" 198 Quest Triggered Roland was surprised at Antis''s drastic change of attitude. He waved his hand and said, "I''m just curious. Just keep it to yourself if you''re unwilling to talk." "Why is a Golden Son from the outside so interested in our investigation?" Antis questioned Roland and laid his hand on his sword coldly. Was he being suspected? Roland looked at the guy''s right hand gloomily. But it was understandable on second thought. He did look like a murderer who was asking about the investigation of a crime that he committed. Roland waved his hand quickly and said, "I am interested, but not the way you think. I''m just wondering if I can help you find the queen." "Help us find the queen? Why?" Antis narrowed his eyes. "Can you tell me the reason?" "I''m a Golden Son," replied Roland casually. "I know." "Most Golden Sons are nosy." After a long silence, Antis relaxed his right hand and said, "Follow me." They reentered the room where they talked earlier. Since it was inconvenient for Antis to sit in his heavy armor, he leaned against the wall and said, "I''ve known that the Golden Sons are nosy. But why are you meddling in this instead of helping your friend Kaka Bard?" "Kaka doesn''t need my help. He has his own plans." Roland smiled at the guy''s feminine face and said, "I had nothing to do, so I thought I could pay you a visit." Antis was silent. The Golden Sons were a special group that all the nobles were investigating. The people in this group all had weird quirks, like those who made money by killing themselves and who ran everywhere naked. Although they were quite unpredictable, most Golden Sons enjoyed doing good things. They even challenged nobles when a poor man was unfairly treated. Now, Roland had come to him, claiming that he wanted to help with the search. It would''ve been suspicious if Roland were anybody else, but his reason sounded legitimate since he was a Golden Son. Besides, he was a Mage, who was usually wise and knowledgeable. It was possible that he could track the missing queen. However Thinking for a long time, Antis suddenly asked, "You''re willing to help even if it might''ve been a powerful Archmage who captured her?" Roland nodded. "Yes." "Of course you are. You''re unafraid of death because you can''t die," Antis said enviously. "Okay, if you''re willing to help, you can join us." He curled his finger at Roland and led him to the top of the city wall through the stairs behind the city gate. There was a pavilion on the wall, which was the command center of the city guards. From here, it was possible to view both the royal palace and the outside of the city. The city wall was at least ten meters thick, but this pavilion was not huge. It only had a coverage of around twenty square meters. Antis took out a new parchment and unfolded it before Roland. "All Mages should be literate. You can read it yourself." The new parchment had a weird scent. Roland slowed his breath and opened the parchment, before he cast Language Proficiency on himself. Antis, who was holding his arms and observing him, was surprised, his eyes bulging. The parchment included all the records of the investigation on the queen''s missing case. The handwriting was new and elegant. It was the style of a woman, but there was toughness between the lines. Roland nodded in satisfaction after reading the parchment, because he had indeed triggered a quest. New secondary quest received: The Kidnapped Queen. The description of the quest was simple: "Rescue the queen of Hollevin." Staring at Roland''s face, Antis asked, "You seem very satisfied with our progress, don''t you?" Progress There was actually no progress at all but only basic information, like the estimated level of the mage who kidnapped the queen, or whether the queen displayed any unusual behaviors before the incident. There were also some speculations on the case. Roland put on a smile of satisfaction when there was no progress, so Antis was naturally suspicious. Roland smiled. "It''s not about this case. I just ran into something good." Antis didn''t give a comment. Looking Roland in the eyes, he asked, "I saw you cast a spell just now You can''t read?" "To be more exact, I can''t recognize the written language of Hollevin. After all, the Golden Sons are from another dimension." Roland shrugged. "I''ve never seen a spell that can help you read. I''m told that it can only help you understand what people say at most." Antis became even more solemn, as if he were trying to find something unusual in Roland''s eyes. Roland nodded. "That''s right. But I''ve improved Language Proficiency." There was a brief silence in the room. Roland began to feel curious when Antis stopped talking. A long time later, Antis''s face was finally unfrozen. "That couldn''t have been an easy improvement." "Indeed it wasn''t. It took me more than a month." Roland put the parchment aside and took out fruit wine and cups from his Backpack. Filling the cups with wine, he said, "Would you like a cup?" Antis shook his head. "No, I don''t like drinking." "Why?" "Because a lot of people have tried to get me drunk, both men and women." It took Roland quite a long time before he figured out what Antis meat. He shivered hard and put the other cup of wine into his Backpack. He said regretfully, "I won''t offer you any wine again." Antis smiled. "I''ve shown you the progress of the case now. Any thoughts?" "How many archmages are in the capital right now?" "Six," replied Antis. "Can you investigate them?" Roland asked again. Antis shook his head in self-mockery. "They''re all big shots with a major family at their backs. Even the royal family dare not piss them off. You think I have the courage to investigate them?" "Good to know." Roland nodded. He took a minute to reexamine the quest. It was indeed a gold one, meaning that it was an epic quest. So, it was natural that the investigation was hard. "In that case, can you tell me more about the queen?" Roland took out the cake that Vivian made from his Backpack. "If you don''t drink, would you like some food?" Antis''s eyes glowed. He took off his gloves and had a piece of the cake. He then chuckled charmingly. "It''s delicious. The files on the queen will be my payment for the cake." 199 Second Brother Isnt Stupid About an hour later, Roland left the command center. Antis had told him a lot of things about the queen. He didn''t know if Antis kept anything from him, but he did feel that he had acquired plenty of useful information. This queen was the daughter of a noble and a swordswoman who majored in agility. Though she was not strong, she was really a professional. Because of that, the king took her as his queen, because healthier, stronger women were more likely to give birth to smarter, sturdier kids. The queen''s name was Windy Charles, which was changed to Windy Hollevin after her marriage. She was overall a regular noble lady, slightly vain but also caring. Before she was kidnapped, she had a huge fight with another noble lady. The queen''s identity was honorable enough, but the lady whom she fought with was a blood relative of the royal family backed by a major force. In this society, the king, the lords, and the nobles were dependent on each other. Although the king was the most powerful on the surface, he still had to consider the attitudes and interests of other grand nobles as well as the members of the royal family. Apart from the fight, Antis also told Roland about the hobbies and habits of the queen. Roland was slightly surprised when he heard it. He asked Antis why he knew so much about the queen''s private life. Antis, however, simply said that the queen was his distant relative and they used to play together as kids. Well Was this big capital nothing more than a small pond for the grand nobles? Roland was going back to Kaka Bard''s manor for a rest, when a carriage stopped in front of him. Seeing the shield-shaped emblem on the carriage, Roland knew that it probably belonged to Felwood. As he expected, when the curtain on the carriage was lifted, a familiar face appeared and said, "Mr. Roland, please wait." Roland raised his eyebrow. Felwood put the curtain down and got off the carriage. He stooped before Roland and said, "It''s an honor to meet you here, Mr. Roland." Felwood had been arrogant earlier, but not now. There was only delight on his face at this point. "It seems that you''ve investigated me." Roland eyed Felwood in an unfriendly way. Felwood nodded and said, "I apologize to you if it upsets you." It''s difficult to hate someone who''s smiling at you. Feeling less angry at him, Roland asked, "How can I help you?" "I''m wondering if you would like to visit my manor as a guest." Roland was stunned. Was it a gesture of friendliness? He thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, I don''t think so. I''m going to Kaka''s manor." "Are you saying that you want me to abandon Kaka and take your side?" Felwood waved his hand and said, "That''s my intention, but I know you wouldn''t do that, and I would be insulting you if I asked you to do so. I merely hope that you can drop by and have a chat with me in my manor when Kaka loses everything one day. I admire experts like you, and I believe we can be good friends." This Felwood is really good! Roland was quite impressed, but he had known Kaka before he knew this guy. Heaving a soft sigh, he said, "Let''s talk about that later." Hearing what Roland said, Felwood put on a smile. "I hope that we can talk about life and the future in my manor someday, sir." Then, he bowed and bid Roland farewell politely. The people in the capital were indeed more open-minded Although Felwood and he didn''t start off great, Felwood had come to show his friendliness after figuring out who Roland was and Roland''s value, trying to reduce the awkwardness between them. Felwood''s reaction suggested that he was smart and knew what was best for himself. Back in Kaka''s manor, Roland met Kaka in his study. Kaka was studying the derivative spell that Roland taught him, bummed. He couldn''t help but give the graph to Roland and ask, "Doesn''t this node require too much magic power all at once? I can''t do that." "You can try a few more times. It''s a level-zero trick anyway. You wouldn''t be hurt even if the attempts fail." Roland smiled and said solemnly, "I met your second brother on the way here." Kaka was stunned. "What did he say to you? Did he threaten you?" "Not exactly." Roland repeated what Felwood said and concluded, "Your second brother is not simple. He found out who I was in only half a day, and he has promptly given in. I don''t think I can just beat him up next time I meet him." Kaka smiled bitterly. "Neither of my brothers are easy to deal with." "I think all three brothers are as good as each other." Kaka smiled and changed the topic. "Did you make any progress with Antis?" "Not exactly." Roland shook his head. "He did give me some general intelligence, some of which was detailed and related to the queen''s private life. But it can''t help me find her." "There are certain things that he can''t say." Kaka thought for a moment and said, "He certainly didn''t tell you anything about the six Archmages in the capital, did he?" Roland nodded. "We all know that one of them captured the queen, but none dare to investigate," Kaka said. "Mages are the noblest of all classes, and Antis is just a swordsman. Even though he is a noble, so what? The six Archmages are nobles too. They''d be revered even if they weren''t. Antis dares not look into them. In fact, I don''t think he wants you to investigate them either." "You are a Mage too, but you''re being kicked out of your family," observed Roland with a smile. "That''s only because it was a Mage who kidnapped the queen. They''re only venting their fury on me." Kaka felt that he was wronged. Roland said with a smile, "What do you know about the six Archmages? Is there anything you can tell me?" Kaka suddenly rose and walked to the window. He looked outside for a while before he closed the window and returned to Roland. He said in a low voice, "I can tell you the basic information of the six Archmages. Just don''t tell people that you learned it from me." "Speak." Roland was interested. Then, Kaka spent half an hour telling Roland everything that he knew about the Archmages. After hearing him out, Roland asked, "Who do you think has most likely captured the queen?" "If I have to give a name, I think it was Tobian." "Why?" Kaka smiled. "The other Archmages are too old to be interested in women, but Tobian is only in his forties. As a professional, he''s as strong as a twenty-year-old ordinary person. So, you know" "But if it''s just about biological needs, he could''ve just asked for a prostitute, no? Besides, as a powerful man, he must have a lot of female servants, right?" Kaka shrugged. "Who knows? It''s possible that he likes the exciting title of queen." 200 A Bear Mage Roland felt that Kaka had a point. Different men were into different types. For example, Roland liked nurses best, and Schuck liked businesswomen. It was perfectly normal that someone liked the queen for her intimidating position. However, Roland did feel that it was one thing to appreciate her, and it was a whole other thing to kidnap her. Roland answered Kaka''s questions regarding the derivative spell and rested for a night in the manor. The next day, Kaka kept studying the derivative spell. Despite Roland''s guidance, there were still several nodes that he hadn''t fully understood. Roland, on the other hand, went out. Walking out of the manor, Roland turned his head. Players did not need to sleep, but a curfew had been imposed in the capital since the queen was kidnapped. Any person who wandered the streets at night would be questioned and even thrown into prison. As a Mage, Roland had unspoken privileges, but since it was a Mage who committed the crime, Roland decided to stay in Kaka''s manor to avoid being regarded as a suspect. Because he couldn''t go out, he spent the whole night on the forums and even declined two beautiful maids that Kaka offered him. He was on the forums for eight hours, and he was quite tired, so he left very early in the morning. However, this incident reminded him that it was time for him to learn a spell that could hide him or let him act in secret, like Secondary Stealth or Alternate Dimensional Roaming. Otherwise, it would be very boring if he couldn''t take any action openly, or if he wanted to do anything in secret. Leaving the neighborhood of the rich, Roland reached a busy street. He was surrounded by people. The roads in the capital were about thirty meters wide. The ten meters in the middle were for carriages, and ordinary people walked on the sides of the roads. Further away on the curb were peddlers whose booths were of different sizes. There was barely any gap between the booths. The peddlers were all shouting to attract customers and sounded like a rising tide. Occasionally, when a luxurious carriage approached the edge of the road to make way for another vehicle, the noise would come to a stop until the carriage was far away. However, when Roland walked on the road, few civilians nearby dared to look him in the eyes after seeing his robe, much less peddling their products to him. Roland didn''t want to bully anyone. He was simply walking on the street and looking at the booths with great interest. Most of the things to be sold were crafts, but there were some interesting gadgets, including a fashioned skull bowl and a bong made of the femur of an unknown animal. Roland observed them with great pleasure. He had devoted most of his time to magic since he came to this world. He had little time for entertainment or playing. He felt unusually relaxed while he went shopping. It took Roland about two hours to reach the Magic Tower at the east of the city from the busy street. In the meantime, he had bought a lot of fruits for himself. He was enjoying the fruits as he walked on. After swallowing a juicy, sour fruit, Roland made it to a bright blue Magic Tower. The Magic Tower was rather quiet. There was a spacious square before it, but few people dared to pass through. Two guards were on duty at the gate. Seeing Roland, they subconsciously stood straight. They didn''t know Roland, but the robe that Roland was wearing suggested that they should respect him. Roland came to them and smiled. "I am the chairman of the Delpon branch of the Association of Mages. I''m here to visit Master Tobian." "Please wait a moment." Hearing Roland''s self-introduction, the guards knew that they couldn''t decide for their master whether or not to meet this guest. One of them ran into the Magic Tower and soon returned. Catching his breath, he said, "Master Tobian is willing to meet you, sir. Please follow me." "Thank you." Roland nodded at the guard. The guard was slightly surprised. Then he led the way. The blue Magic Tower was bigger and more spacious than the Magic Tower in Delpon. It was more luxuriously decorated too. It was needless to mention the smooth, mirror-like floor, which was typical in all Magic Towers. The magic crystal lamps were twice in number and in two colors, blue and orange. They looked much more appealing than the lamps in the Magic Tower in Delpon that only released pale light. Roland followed the guard upstairs and encountered a magic apprentice when he passed the second floor. The guard grew nervous when he saw the magic apprentice. He stooped and said, "It''s an honor to meet you, Mr. Lenard." The magic apprentice snorted and didn''t even look at the guard. His face was numb too. He then noticed Roland. Seeing that Roland was also wearing a magic robe, he frowned, as if he was not happy. But then he sensed the magic power in Roland from close up. The magic power was condensed and felt like the water in an ancient well. Greatly scared, he immediately made way for Roland and lowered his head. Roland smiled at him and continued following the guard upstairs. After Roland was gone, the magic apprentice wiped away cold sweat and murmured, "Where is this guy from? He''s so terrifying." The guard led Roland to the fifth floor and pointed at a gold-edged door. "Sir, the master is waiting for you inside." Roland went over and knocked on the door. The confident voice of a male came from inside. "Come on in." Roland pushed the door and walked in. It was an extravagant study. The bookshelves seemed exclusively made of crystal. The other furniture was also embedded with gold and silver. However, Roland was not distracted by any of those things. He simply looked at the owner of this place, who was a middle-aged man with a big beard and a bald head. The man seemed very strong and had broad shoulders. His sleeves had been rolled up and revealed his thick arms as well as his bushy hair, which made him look like a bear in human skin. He could''ve easily convinced anyone that he was a Warrior instead of a Mage. However, Roland sensed an incredible magic power from the man. It was about 20% more than his own magic power. It must be noted that, thanks to full intelligence growth, he was among the people with the highest capacity of mana. Also, because of his achievements, the upper limit of his mana had been increased by fifty points. General Mages had only half of the mana that Roland had. So, the abundance of the magic power in this middle-aged baldy who looked as tough as a Warrior suggested that he was undoubtedly an Archmage. Roland was slightly surprised. But the baldy was even more surprised to see Roland. 201 An Unexpected Surprise Tobian was a genius among mages, both in his own eyes and those of the people around him. When he was a teenager, he grew to a meter and a half at the mere age of fifteen. Because of his strong body, his father considered him to be a good candidate for a warrior and wanted to send him to the Guild of Warriors to be trained strictly. However, Tobian didn''t go, being shrewish and making a scene and saying that he was going to be a Mage. This was nonsense What was the image of a Mage? Not a strong but well-proportioned looking body, a refined manner, and eyes filled with intelligence. Tobian was herculean, his thighs larger than the head of a child at his agewhy be a damn Mage! However, his father spoiled him, and when he saw how determined Tobian was to become a Mage, his father let him be a magic apprentice for a few years, assuming that he wouldn''t make any progress and then come back crying and begging to become a Warrior. It turned out Tobian really had the talent for being a Mage. Where others studied for at least three years to learn a level-zero trick, he could do it in half a year. And as he grew older, he learned magic faster and faster. He was the youngest of the six great Archmages in the capital right now. This was a testament to his abilities and talent. Because of such solid experience and achievements, Tobian never doubted his talent and gifts, and even if he wasn''t the world''s most talented Mage, he was at least one of those at the top of the pyramid. But what was with the young man in front of him The young man was obviously only at the Elite level, but that volume of magic power was only one step away from his own. He himself had two types of magic equipment equipped that boosted his magic capacity, a ring and a necklace. If he took off these two types of equipment, his own magic power might be a little worse than this young man''s. Thinking of this, Tobian felt a little out of sorts. He sized up Roland for a moment and asked, "You''re the chairman of Delpon. I remember that it was a coward who served there originally. I think his name was something like Arminto." "Aldo." Roland walked in and said with a smile, "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tobian." As he said this, Roland took out a basket of fruit from his Backpack and placed it on the table. "I couldn''t prepare properly for such a rash visit, so I could only bring some fruit up here." It was a custom of the Chinese people to bring some fruit with them when they visited someone''s home. The kingdom of Hollevin actually had a similar custom, and of course, friends didn''t need to bring anything of value over, so they either brought some flowers or some fruits just to show courtesy. Tobian looked at the fruits in the basket, then gestured to invite Roland to sit down and asked, "Sir, what is your reason for coming here?" His attitude was nonchalant. Roland didn''t find this strange. He placed the spell model he had already prepared in front of Tobian and said, "Your Excellency, Mr. Tobian, I encountered a few minor problems while learning Teleportation. This point, and this one, why is the magic power not so smooth connecting to these points? I hear you have some knowledge of spatial magic, so I wanted to ask you for advice." Tobian glanced briefly at the spell model and said, "Why should I teach you? I didn''t even know you." Roland nodded and said with a smile, "Indeed, my visit was a bit impertinent, so I prepared something as a gift." As he spoke, he took a magic staff out of his Backpack and placed it on the table. Tobian didn''t rush to look at the magic staff on the tabletop, but stared at Roland and said, "It was the same just now, there were no spatial magic fluctuations when you took out somethinghow did you get the things out of a spatial Backpack?." "This isn''t spatial magic." Roland was about to continue his explanation, but Tobian slapped the table heavily, preempting the answer. "Golden Son?" Roland nodded. Breathing out softly, Tobian repressed certain thoughts. He looked at the magic staff on the table, froze for a moment, then picked it up. This magic staff was the reward Roland got for completing the sequel to the main quest, and although the attributes were pretty good, it wasn''t quite useful to him. For example, the magic regeneration effect it was like an inferior add-on compared to the specialty of Roland''s Zeal. Although holding a staff would regenerate magic faster, there was basically no difference between three hours and two hours and fifty-five minutes. Besides, it was rather inconvenient to hold a long magic staff when regenerating magic, which only worked if one held it in their hands. One also had to hold it with both hands. After all, it was a two-handed weapon in the settings of the game. It was quite inconvenient. Roland preferred to read a book while he was regenerating magic, which required the use of both hands. He could also browse the forums, which requires calling out the AR virtual keyboard for typing, which also required the use of both hands. However, the increased strength of the spells that came with the wand was almost useless with Roland''s berserk fighting style where he compressed all his MP at every turn and fired it off all at once. For example, Roland''s damage value in a self-destructing giant fireball is 3000, and if he held the magic staff, that would add 20 more damage. The ultimate result is 3020, which had little to no effect. But if it were any other Warlock player using small spells, a small fireball is 50, plus 20 is 70, which meant a 40 percent increase. For them, it was the finest equipment in the early stages of the game. This kind of magic equipment with added magic strength was actually best suited for players who used quick and small magic. It was naturally useful for Tobian as well. No matter whether it was the magic regeneration effect or the increased magic strength effect. Tobian picked up the magic staff and gently stroked the light brown trunk of the staff, his eyes growing brighter. "This gift of yours is too precious for me to take." Tobian placed the magic staff back on the table and pushed it in front of Roland. Although he said that, his eyes were filled with reluctance. "Good things are only meaningful in the hands of those who truly know how to appreciate and use them." Roland endured the feeling of nausea and said ingratiatingly. "And a powerful spell like Teleportation is very important to me. Sir, your advice is far more valuable than this magic staff." "In that case!" Tobian thought about it and said, "I can teach you Teleportation until you learn how to use it. Also I have a model of Dimensional Anchor here, would you be interested in making a copy?" Roland was stunned for a moment, then said in surprise, "Yes!" Originally he had put the magic staff out there just to get close and fish out some more news about the quest. After all, the only thing he had on him right now that was worth gifting was this magic staff. However, there was actually an unexpected surprise in return. Dimensional Anchor fourth-level magic, not too high, not too low, but it was obvious to him in the general knowledge of magic that Roland had read before in the library of his own Magic Tower This spell was the father of all other spatial magic. Any spatial magic would be broken by Dimensional Anchor, as long as the difference in power between the two sides of the spellcasters wasn''t too outrageous, like the difference between an apprentice and a Legendary. Arguably, it was one of the must-have spells for all Mages, along with Teleportation. 202 Ideas From Different Standpoints Seeing Roland''s willingness to copy it, Tobian nodded with satisfaction, his bald head seeming to shine even more. He took down a book from the bookshelf and placed it in front of Roland and said, "This is Dimensional Anchor, you have the next two hours to copy it. I''ll have the butler send up the paper and ink later." Then, he picked up the staff again and caressed it gently, so delighted with it that he could hardly bear to put it down. Roland opened the book It was a very, very large piece of sewn vellum, which looked like a book when folded together in a specific way. Turning on the system''s photo function, Roland photographed the Dimensional Anchor spell model from four angles. Then he said to Tobian, "All right, sir, I''ve got it down." Tobian was shaking in fear and almost dropped the staff in his hands to the ground. "These thousandsalmost ten thousand nodes, and you''ve memorized it all?" Roland said with a smile, "We Golden Sons have a special method of recording." "How enviable. Undying, and also quite capable of memorization." Tobian sighed; the staff in his hand didn''t seem so appealing to him anymore. "Are all of you Golden Sons monsters?" Roland smiled modestly. Although the nobles were mutually disinclined to talk about the Golden Sons in public, these guys were different from ordinary commoners after all and had no fear of them. If the circumstances were normal, they would have already bullied this group of Golden Sons like they oppressed the commoners. But the problem was that the Golden Sons really weren''t easy to mess with. Not to mention being undying, all of them were professionals, and their overall strength seemed to be stronger than the average professional. What was even more disgusting was that these Golden Sons were very meddlesome, and as long as it was something they were uncomfortable with, they had to meddle with it. There were fewer Golden Sons in the capital, and they weren''t quite as eye-catching. Only a few of them came a while ago and ran away after "duping" the nobles of a large sum of money, not even wanting their clothes. It only caused some commotion and discussions. But the nobles were not bad at gathering information, and they had heard intermittently that two mayors had already lost their lives at the hands of the Golden Sons. Although in the end, the Golden Sons still abided by the unspoken rules and didn''t steal the mayor''s heritage, neither the mayors nor the current heads of the noble families wanted to fall dead. In addition, now that more and more information was coming in about the Golden Sons standing up for beggars and commoners, many noble families had an intuitive impression of them. A group of peculiar aliens with outlooks comparable to golden dragons that were lawfully good. Now there was another group, the Golden Sons. Life for the nobles was getting rough. Tobian lowered his staff, then said, "Where are those two nodes you just mentioned? Point them out to me again." "Here." Roland immediately placed the spell model he had prepared on the table. In fact, he had already understood, but going through with the acting, he naturally had to make a show of listening intently. Tobian was indeed worthy of being a master Mage. He only looked at it twice before saying, "These two points are indeed a bit difficult, especially for a Mage like you who has just reached the Elite level. The key at this point is that the magic power delivery must be steady and fine, but at this point, the magic power delivery needs to be stronger. All nodes have different magic power requirementsyou have to get the feel of it." "I understand." Roland nodded. "By the way, can I have another look at this spell model?" Tobian then suddenly asked. Roland said with a smile, "Of course, no problem. It''s for you, Archmage." "Thank you." Tobian stroked his bald head, feeling rather embarrassed, and then said, "My Magic Tower still has two empty floors, so why don''t you stay here for the duration?" "No, thanks." Roland waved his hand gently. "I''m staying at Kaka Bard''s placeI know him well." "Ah, the Bard''s boy, I hear he''s been having some trouble lately. Did you come over to help him?" Roland shrugged. "I didn''t know about it until I came here, but I can''t help much. I''m just a Golden Son with no roots or power in this world. I can only be there to comfort him. But I heard that he has his own plans, so I''m not sure." "Oh, he can still survive in this desperate situation?" Tobian said with great interest. "I''d like to see that." Roland now looked out at the sky and said, "Mr. Tobian, thank you very much for your answer, coming to visit you was indeed the right choice. I would also like to listen to your teachings again, but now I have some important business to attend to, so I will take my leave for now." After speaking, Roland stood up. "Come back when you have time." Tobian nodded with a smile. Then the butler standing outside came in and led Roland down the Magic Tower. The westerly sun shone in from the window, shining brightly on Tobian''s bald head. It was hot and uncomfortable. In the past, Tobian would have immediately gone over to close the window. He didn''t like his bald head being exposed to the sun, and he would usually wear a hood when he went out on a sunny day. It just so happened that magic robes usually came with a hood, and when he put it on, his head was covered and his face was hidden in the shadow of the hood, giving him the more mysterious look of a Mage. But right now, he was mesmerized by the Teleportation spell model before him. Compared to a normal Teleportation spell model, this spell model had more nodes, and the connections and distances between the nodes were more in line with his perception. In other words, if he cast spells according to this spell model, the many steps he used in the past could be omitted, so that he could teleport the same distance with less mental power. Most importantly, since this spell model was very accurate, if he could correct his previous casting habits, he would be able to control the teleportation distance more precisely. The phenomenon of trying to teleport to the top of a palm-sized rock, but teleporting too far, would not occur. This allowed him to teleport to some very complex terrain, which was of great tactical value in the field. Did Roland make this spell model drawing himself? What a genius. Wait Roland''s name sounds familiar. He suddenly remembered something, flipping out the derivative spell model of Hand of Magic and looking at the name noted in the back. Roland! And then, he thought about how Roland introduced himself earlier as the chairman of the Magic Tower of Delpon. So it''s him! "Perhaps, in the future, I''ll have to suggest to the headquarters to restrict the access of the Golden Son Mages to spell models and not allow them to progress too quickly. Otherwise there will be no place for us to stand in the future." He somewhat regretted giving Roland the Dimensional Anchor spell model. Roland returned to Kaka''s manor and saw a few carriages at the entrance. A group of people was in the flower garden surrounding Kaka and pointing at him. Kaka wore an annoyed expression. What had happened? 203 Advanced Pixelation Technology The two guards who stood at the door both had expressions of enjoyment as if they were watching a show, but when Roland came over, they immediately opened the door. Roland stopped next to them and asked, "What happened?" The two guards seemed to despise their master, but they didn''t dare to have a similar attitude towards Roland. One of them immediately replied, "Someone was sent over from the main family to urge him to leave this manor quickly, as the Third Young Master is no longer qualified to live here." Roland sighed and walked in. Surrounding Kaka Bard were all noble-looking people, men, women, and children alike. As soon as Roland approached, he heard an old woman shouting, "Kaka, now that this manor is no longer yours, why are you still staying here? Have you no shame?" "Then at least let me clear out the manor first. Don''t think I don''t know what you''re up to." Kaka looked increasingly annoyed. A middle-aged man shouted, "Everything in this manor belongs to the Bard family, and you have no right to take it." "Why don''t I have the righteverything in here was bought with my own money. My last name is still Bard, my father just told me to go live outside, he didn''t say anything about taking away my last name." Kaka looked angrily at the middle-aged man. "Zaun, if you have the guts, go talk to Father about taking my last name away." "Fine, you think I don''t dare?" the middle-aged man barked, enraged. "I, Zaun, always do what I say, go wherever I want to gojust you wait." This middle-aged man very impolitely pointed his finger at Kaka and then turned around to leave, but just as he turned around, he saw Roland. He was already in a bad mood, and when he saw an outsider there, he cursed. "What''s wrong with the guards, what''s with all these nobodies" He swallowed his words halfway through his scolding. Roland was dressed in a magic robe, so he was clearly not an ordinary person. Although Kaka was also a mage, it was clear to everyone in the family that Kaka''s status as a Mage was a bit awkward. Someone who relied heavily on their family''s resources to become an official Mage didn''t really have much fighting ability, and when it came to a real fight, they were probably just a little bit stronger than a magic apprentice. This Mage in front of him, however, had an unknown origin. The Bard family was originally a family of spellcasters, and this middle-aged man was also an official Mage, but of course, he was the kind that used his plentiful resources to reach such a status. Like Kaka, his own fighting ability was not strong, but he was still able to mentally perceive the opponent''s magic power. Prodding a little was harmless. He immediately found that the other party was actually at least an Elite-level Mage who had incredibly high magic power. Seeing that Roland was here, Kaka was slightly relieved. Oftentimes, when people lose their power and authority, it would feel different if they had a friend who could back them up a little. Roland was that kind of friend. Roland smiled at this middle-aged man. "I''m here to look for Kaka." The middle-aged man wore a strange expression. Usually, only friends would call each other by their first name; otherwise, they would call each other by their last name. For someone like Kaka in the noble class, he was generally known as Little Bard. His father was called Old Bard, and his elder brother was called Big Bard. So Roland calling him Kaka, in itself, had shown which side he was on. The middle-aged man looked at Roland, then at Kaka, forced a smile, and said to the people around him, "Let''s go." The group of people didn''t say anything and immediately left. Just before leaving the manor, the middle-aged man stared at Roland viciously. Roland sensed this and looked back. The man was so frightened that he immediately turned his head around. "I''ve made an embarrassment of myself." Kaka sighed and leaned on the stone pillar at the entrance of the room, looking very lost. "How troublesome." Roland frowned. "Didn''t you say that there was still some time before you left to take up your post? Why are they here so soon to force your hand?" "Second Brother''s people." Kaka looked at the sky and said, "Let''s go inside and talk." They went up to the third floor and sat down in the study. Kaka reclined in the chair and pressed his hand to his brow. It was a while before he spoke up. "I guess he''s a little anxious because you''re here and you''ve made my second brother think I might still have a chance of turning the tables." "Looks like it''s my fault?" "No, if you hadn''t come, I might have been in a more difficult position." Kaka added with a smile, "The only thing I can depend on right now is the fact that you''re my friend." "Don''t worry." Roland smiled. "I''ll be staying here until you get honored at the Association''s headquarters." "Thanks," Kaka said sincerely, breathed a sigh of relief, and asked, "How was your visit to Tobian''s Magic Tower?" Roland stayed silent for a moment, then said, "From the looks of it, Tobian is indeed a man with great physical needs. There''s a saying where we come from that the more powerful a man is in that area, the less hair he has on his head, but the more body hair. And with Tobian being completely bald and having as much body hair as a gorilla, theoretically, he fits our suspicions." Kaka found it quite amusing. "There''s actually a saying for that?" "That''s just what we say over there, I don''t know if it applies to you here." Kaka leaned in. "So, you think it''s Tobian too?" "It''s just more likely." Roland shook his head. "I won''t see him as a murderer until there''s actual proof." Kaka blinked, then lowered his voice and asked, "You''re so concerned about the queen''s capture, did you get a beeping or something like that?" Roland was stunned and asked in surprise, "What beeping?" "Our family has been investigating you. Our distant relatives in remote areas have gotten several Golden Sons drunk and inquired as to why they are so nosy." Kaka had a strange look on his face. "They gave it all up, but when it comes to keywords, there''s this weird beeping sound that comes out of their mouths. We don''t know what that beeping is, so we''ve been guessing." Roland was stunned for a moment, then said with an odd expression, "Did you say ''quest''?" Kaka clapped his hands heavily and said excitedly, "Yes, that''s right, your words just now were the very harsh beeping sound." Roland''s expression immediately turned strange. The systematic level shielding effect was a bit powerful. He thought about it, stretched out his fingers and dipped it into the wine from the glass beside him, and then wrote the word "quest" in Hollevin on the tabletop. As a result, Kaka was stunned when he read it. "What kind of magic is this one little square overlapping and flashing around and turning into a big square? It''s kind of dizzying to watch." Heh this pretty da*n interesting. To use systematic censoring technology in a realistic world, there''s some serious power behind the scenes. 204 After Turning Around Roland thought about it and wrote two sentences in a Tibetan poem style in Hollevin script. The first two words from the two lines linked together formed the word "quest." Then he pointed to the first two lines and said, "Do you understand the meaning of the two words that are connected?" Originally Kaka had watched with interest as Roland finished writing the two sentences, but when Roland pointed to the first two words of each line, his expression turned odd. "I could just make out what the words were, but now they''re all turning into these weird flashing squares. And I can''t remember what the first words of the first two lines of the sentence were. Strange!" Then Kaka''s expression became a little wary. "You used an illusion on me?" Roland shook his head, "It has nothing to do with me. It''s a big shot among the Golden Sons who seems to have used special powers to censor keywords. And the detection source seems to be coming from our side, so it has nothing to do with you. You are only temporarily affected." "I see." Kaka nodded, looking significantly better. The two of them then chatted for a while, then Roland went to his room to rest, as it was almost night. After Roland left, the first two words of the two lines of the sentence were no longer pixels. The water stains still remained on it, and Kaka looked at them and saw that they read "quest" in conjunction with each other. Quest? The kind of quests one finds in a mercenary guild? Is that why the Golden Sons are so nosy? There''s a strange force that gives them quests, making them nosy, and then this force doesn''t let them spread news like this? Hehe, quite interesting. The power behind the Golden Sons, even their own power, seems to be related to the gods. It was only natural for Kaka to think so. It seemed to him that such great power could only be wielded by a god. Roland returned to the room where he had temporarily settled, then in the system photo album, he reopened the spell model of Dimensional Anchor. The densely packed nodes gave him a headache. It was more complex than any spell model Roland had ever seen before. Many of the nodes were even leaning on each other. These kinds of nodes that were close to each other also existed in the previous models he learned. However, there were usually only two or three aggregated together. Roland called such nodes aggregated nodes. The nodes of Dimensional Anchor, however, not only had many large nodes, but many were also four or five nodes gathered together. This kind of composite node would greatly affect the difficulty of circulating the magic. "Somewhat troublesome." Roland closed the album after reading it. He still had to figure out how to make the scout-type Spell Puppets not only have the ability to transmit images, but also have the ability to transmit sound. Roland was working hard on it, and so was Kaka. He was still digesting what Roland had taught him. The more he learned, the more he admired Roland. Adding new nodes to an already perfect spell model in order to change the function of the spell This was easy to say, but actually doing it would be much more difficult. Would the new nodes cause damage to the original nodes? Would they affect the smoothness of circulating the spell? Would they change the original spell''s function and make it worse? All these things had to be taken into account Otherwise spells wouldn''t have remained the same for thousands of years. This was why Roland built mathematical models for the spell models. Each node''s function and characteristics were recorded, and then it could be roughly deduced what the effect would be if a new node was derived nearby. This was the reason why it was easier for Roland to change the form of the spell. Of course, this was only one of the reasons. The main reason was still his Magic Power Control. There were many players who knew mathematical modeling, and there were many capable people who were good at data analysis, but Roland was the only one who was ahead of all the Mages, and the main reason was this specialty. And now Roland also felt more and more the power of this specialty. When other players used magic, a fixed amount of MP was consumed. They only waited to increase the damage ability of the same spell by raising their level, strengthening their equipment, and learning new specialties. But Roland was different. He could infuse extra magic power into this spell to achieve the purpose of boosting the damage of the spell. Normally, he could add as much as he wanted, and the one thing that could restrict him from raising the damage cap was the strength of his mental power, which controlled magic power and his own mana limit. So in the future, if he chose a specialty, he would develop it in these two areas. After more than four hours of deriving nodes, Roland felt a little dizzy. After making a backup of the new spell model, Roland browsed the forums. After more than half a year of training, most of the players now had a clear idea of what kind of path they should take in the game. Players who liked to play at commerce, for example, were already running businesses, and while they were scattered all over the world, they could use the forums to exchange the current market price of items then post it on the forum. Soon after, the Commerce section was opened by the administrators in response to this, and they even established their own Cornucopia guild to progress together. Their ideal was to become great capitalists in this world, controlling the prices and flow of goods in a city, or even a country. Of course, at the moment they were all still small merchants, relying on their Backpack to carry their goods, running between the wilderness and the city, dying from time to timethese "merchants" had the lowest average level. Those who liked to dig up history, almost all of them were employed as Lorewalkers, collecting gossip and legends every day and compiling them. And then there were those who liked to dig up other people''s graves, and under the cause of archeology, they robbed graves. The disparity between the rich and poor of this group of people was very seriousthe rich were extremely poor, while the poor were so poor that they chewed on bark everyday as food. It was good that there was an Iron Stomach specialty, and after reaching a high level, one could even digest dirt so that they wouldn''t starve to death. There was no need to mention those who liked adventure. Everyone knew what those people did. What was really surprising was a group of casual players They became proficient in the instruments of this world and began to form groups to tour major cities, now gaining fame among the noble class. Opera, pop music, pure music, and symphonies. Eastern, Western Central Asian. There was so much music, so many songs to draw from in reality. Their shows were never repeated, and already many noble debutantes, who brought their own servants and carriages, were tailing behind them to watch their shows, becoming fangirls. "We''re going on a cultural invasion." That was their slogan. After looking at it for a while, Roland found a thread in the general area. Newcomer Seeking Guidance, How Should I Add Points if I Want to Become a Powerful Mage? There''s a newcomer? Roland clicked into the thread curiously. 205 Who Dares to Take Our Stuff? Roland had always felt it was his duty to make it easier for new Mages to get started on the path of magic. He intended to give the newcomer some advice, but it turned out that he didn''t need to speak at all when he clicked in. Answers had already been provided by enthusiastic players. This was a lucky person who got the immersive cabin from a court auction. It cost over four million. He''d heard that Mages were powerful, that one big shot had wiped out half the guild and demolished the city gates all by himself, and then he had also especially found the video of this. As expected, he was impressed and filled with excitement. He asked in the thread how to become a powerful mage like that big shot. "If you think you have talent, then you can do full intelligence growth with 6 mental power. But I''d still suggest you do 7, 5, 9, 7, 5 balanced type of attribute point allocation. Those who used it have said it''s good, it can save you from taking a lot of detours, and it was created by the big shot you speak of, even the data powerhouse O''Neal praised it ceaselessly." "Why can''t I pick the 10, 6 point allocation? That big shot should have this kind of point allocation." "Why? Because there are thousands of Mages and only one Roland.'''' "Maybe I can do it too." "Hahaha, there are many people who think so, but it turns out there''s still only one Roland." "Upstairs, just let him try. How will you know how ordinary you are if you don''t try!'''' Seeing this, Roland closed the thread. Because he felt a bit embarrassed. Then, accidentally, he saw another thread. We Have Established Ourselves on the Outskirts of Sicilia, Comrades Who Are Willing to Overthrow This Rotten World Please Come and Fight With Us. Roland frowned and clicked into the thread. The content of the post was all dry. Firstly, they talked about how they had cultivated fertile land in the outer forest of this commercial town and built a lot of cottages, repaired wheat fields, and established a clean water source. Now many NPCs have also been brought into the fold and were being taught what slavery is, what feudalism is, and what advanced productivity concepts are, and so on. These NPCs were the sparks of the future. And they needed more players to act as instructors and leaders to grow the organization. The responses at the bottom of the thread were pretty polarized. There were lots of supporters and lots of naysayers, about half and half. "That''s pretty interesting, count me in." "You''re all crazy, it''s just a game, what''s with starting a reform." "One has to have some ideals. There''s always something one will go crazy for. I feel like it''s fun, I''d like to join." "Don''t joke about this, a game is a game, don''t get so worked up." He takes action quickly. It was just that Roland still didn''t like their actions. Productivity and combat power was predominantly advantageous for the nobles as well as the major churches of this world, and there were gods, an existence like a nuclear bomb. At Falken''s funeral, Roland saw angels descending from the sky. It was clear that there were gods in this world. A reformation, but even the gods would be struck down. Would the latter stand idly by? Even if they didn''t personally come down and just sent a few demigods, there probably wouldn''t be many people who could stop them. Roland was now one of the best combat players himself, and he knew too well how useful high-end fighting ability could be in a battle, or battlefield. He thought about it and didn''t leave a message. And then he went to look up other threads. About three hours later, it was dawn. Roland had breakfast with Kaka on the first floor, then he went to another Archmage''s Magic Tower to find an old Mage named Thor. It turns out the old Mage wasn''t there. Roland shrugged and left this Magic Tower and returned to the streets, but was surprised to see a black-robed man dragging a little girl along the ground by her hair. The little girl screamed awfully, and when it got a little louder, the black-robed man immediately turned back and punched her on the head, which Roland heard from a great distance away. Soon, there was a strand of blood plasma flowing from the little girl''s head. The black-robed man was dressed like an assassin who loved to operate in the shadows. There were many pedestrians in the surrounding streets and many people stopped to watch, but no one went up to intervene. Roland sighed and walked up to the black-robed man, blocking his way. This kind of matter was common in this worldit was the norm, survival of the fittest. Roland told himself many times that he couldn''t care about too many things. However, upon seeing this scene, he still couldn''t help but come forward. When the black-robed man saw Roland blocking his way, he was stunned and asked, "Sir, what do you mean by this?" Roland sized up the other man for a moment. "What exactly do you mean by abusing this little girl?" Huh? The black-robed man looked at Roland''s attire and smiled. "Sir, you''ve got your eyes on this girl?" "That''s not what I meant." "That doesn''t matter, it''s yours." The black-robed man''s face was hidden in the shadows of his hood, but a sneer was evident at the corner of his mouth. "Just think of it as making a friend." After this person finished speaking, he tugged at the little girl''s hair forcefully, throwing her directly in front of Roland. The girl rolled to Roland''s feet, eyes closed and already unconscious. There were bruises everywhere on this little girl''s body. Roland''s face gradually turned cold. "A warmhearted master Mage? That''s rare." This black-robed man smiled, but then his expression grew stern. "Wait, you''re a Golden Son?" This black-robed man finally noticed that Roland''s temperament and expression seemed to be very different from ordinary people. "So what if I am?" Roland asked indifferently. This black-robed man took a deep breath. "I''m sorry. I have no intention of angering you, nor do I want to make an enemy of you." This black-robed man slowly retreated, and after stepping a few meters away, he turned into a black shadow and slithered away on the ground like a snake. This made him seem a little wretched. Roland looked at the little girl on the ground. The blood plasma flowing from her head had begun to coagulate. He sighed, picked up the little girl, and walked toward the Church of Life. The Church of Life was not far from the palace and occupied a large piece of land in the street. The main body of the church building was about thirty meters tall, and the gates were fifteen meters tall. Many commoners were kneeling under the churchthey didn''t dare nor could they approach the church. The only people who could enter and exit the church were nobles and powerful professionals. Roland carried the little girl inside, and immediately a priest in a white robe with green edges greeted him. He looked at Roland and then at the little girl, and kindly asked, "Do you need treatment?" Roland nodded. The male priest brushed the little girl''s hair aside, looked at the wound, and said, "It''s not a serious injury, one silver coin will do." Roland laid the little girl flat on the altar and took out a silver coin. The male priest sprinkled a green light on the little girl''s forehead, then said, "It''ll be about half an hour before she wakes up." Roland had to sit down on the bench next to him and wait quietly. A shadow wandered against the corner of the street, entered an alley, and then wormed under the door of a certain room. Inside was a large warehouse, and a dozen similarly dressed black-robed men were gathered there as well. The serpentine shadow reverted to its human form, and he looked at the only sitting black-robed man and said, "Boss, the target has been taken." "Who dares to rob the Shadow Assassins Guild?" "A Golden Son." "F**k, these damned off-world monsters are always ruining our business. How many times has it been this month?" "Boss, I don''t think we can be that high-profile anymore. Isn''t it good to go back to being a rat again? The Golden Sons even dared to kill the mayor of a city. If we do something in broad daylight and they bump into us, they will definitely step in our way." 206 Talen The seated black-robed man snorted and said unhappily, "Why do we of the Shadow Guild have to live in the shadows? It''s understandable that we hide in the shadows when we go on missions, but when we live in general, why must we be sneaky? Don''t you want your own daughter to proudly tell others that her father is a powerful assassin?" "We''re assassins, boss. Not good at open combatbeing identified is about as good as having a weakness exposed." "That''s because we''re not united, and we''re not intimidating enough." The black-robed boss suddenly stood up and shouted in extreme annoyance, "Spellcasters who also aren''t good at head-on conflict, why are they so respected? Because they brag. They climb into the noble class and find ways to make a name for themselves, and in time, they become the benchmark for all professionals. Don''t you want to be like the Mages who usually stand in the sunlight and live?" The others all revealed yearning expressions. The black-robed man who had just been scared away by Roland sighed long and deeply and didn''t say anything else. He wanted to live in the sunlight as well. The little girl that he had just dragged on the street was the daughter of a debt dodger who owed money to their guild. The other party refused to pay back the money, so he had no choice but to seize the other party''s daughter. This little girl looked smooth-skinned and was also rumored to be literate, so selling her might barely pay the debt. The reason why he had to act so strongly on the streets was to follow the pattern laid out by the chairman. This way, it would instill a threat in the minds of the civilians around him and directly demonstrate to them the power of the Shadow Guild. If people with an overabundance of righteousness got in the way, and if they were weak or looked like they had a chance of winning, throw the hostage at them first. Wait for them to relax their nerves, then just immediately stab their heart with a dagger. In this way, the world would be warned not to mess with the Shadow Guild. They were just going to rob people in broad daylight and hang out in the open in a dignified manner. The night was theirs, and they would also have their share of the daylight. This was a good idea, and the boss was also a very well-organized person. He thought it was good. The idea had been implemented well at first, and although it had caused some resentment from some of the professionals'' guilds, those guilds hadn''t said anything. They were able to come out in the daytime for a breath of fresh air and do something big to intimidate civilians or other professionals and strengthen the deterrent effect of their Shadow Assassins Guild. They just didn''t expect that a few months ago, a group of special humans who called themselves the Golden Sons would suddenly appear. It wasn''t like they hadn''t seen any creatures from a different plane beforeSuccubus, Cerberus, and angels of the divine realm, and so on were all from a different plane. But the Golden Sons were different; they were very meddlesome. No matter whether one was a guild executive, a noble, or a commoner, as long as they didn''t see eye to eye with you, they would pick a bone with you. And then a problem arose when they had some conflicts with the Shadow Guild''s operations. At first, these Golden Sons were weak, and killing them was easy. But within two or three hours of killing them, these guys fought back, only to reveal later that they were a special race of undying beings. If this one case was just an accident, then that was fine. But then, many of the quests of the Shadow Guild in various locations were spoiled by these guys. Although the Shadow Guild was able to come out in a big way during the day after all this mess, they were still used to working at night. The Golden Sons, these eyesores, actually didn''t need to sleep. They were just also just as energetic at night and loved to scurry around, taking a second glance at things that were any bit abnormal. Then things got very unpleasant, and many Shadow Guild operations, such as assassinations, family exterminations, were all intercepted by them. When they were terrorizing civilians during the day, they clashed with them again. Over the past two or three months, the two sides had broken out into at least a thousand battles in various places. At first, they were able to keep the Golden Sons at bay, but after two or three months, the Golden Sons got used to fighting and beat them down one-sidedly. This black-robed man had also participated in several battles against the Golden Sons, and although he hadn''t been killed, his mentality had taken a toll. He already knew the Golden Sons'' character and temperament well. He thought there would be no Golden Sons in the capital, but he still unexpectedly encountered one. The temperament of the Golden Sons was very uniquearrogantbut different from the cold arrogance of the nobles, with a kind of "I am more literate and more experienced than you" kind of arrogance. This was quite irritating. After holding back his resentment, this black-robed man thought for a moment and said, "Boss, I have an idea. Since the Golden Sons are so powerful, why don''t we find a way to recruit a few of them?" The guild boss''s eyes lit up. "Good, you''ve got a good idea. As long as we have the Golden Sons as a bridge, we''ll be able to know what those monsters are thinking. In future missions, we can also find ways to avoid them. It''s even possible to drive them to kill each other." Everyone in the room laughed mischievously. In the Church of Life, Roland sat down, and only then did he find a quest notification. Opening it, he found it a bit funny. Completed secondary quest: Save the Bullied Little Girl. Received 64 EXP. Completed secondary quest: Find a Way to Save the Little Girl. Received 142 EXP. Just now he was so focused on saving the little girl that he didn''t even notice that he had already received the notification for quest completion. This could be thought of as good karma. Roland smiled. At this time, the little girl on the altar woke up. As soon as she opened her eyes, after a moment''s confusion, she immediately crawled up in shock, rolled over and got off the altar, then leaned her back against the altar, sat down and shrank into a ball, and kept looking left and right, extremely scared. Roland stood up, walked over, and squatted down in front of her. When this little girl saw Roland, she was even more terrified, holding her head in her hands, shaking all over, not daring to look at anyone. "It''s okay. You''re safe." Roland gently reassured her. "Where''s your house? I''ll take you home." Certain children had a strange intuition and knew whether someone was good or bad just by listening to them. This little girl probably had a similar intuition. When she heard Roland''s voice, she timidly raised her head and said, "Mijil''s family lives on the east main street Big brother, can you take me back to my dad?" "Of course." Roland smiled. Then the system sent a message. New secondary quest received: Escort the Little Girl Home. It really was good karma For the current Roland, quest experience was a pretty important thing. The experience points gained from learning magic alone was no longer effective in leveling up. He just liked this kind of simple and convenient quest. It would be nice if there were a few more of them. And half an hour later, Roland found that his wish seemed to be fulfilled. Just when he sent the little girl back to the east main street, he actually triggered two quests in succession. New secondary quest received: Mediate. New secondary quest received: Clues About the Queen. Hmm? 207 Quest System Anomaly Clues about the queen? Roland looked to his left and right. There were pedestrians all around him, all seemingly normal, nothing unusual at all. Why was this secondary quest suddenly updated? He hadn''t done anything himself. He was confused when suddenly there was a cry from the front: "Mijil!" A graceful woman rushed over and hugged the little girl, crying. Roland, on the other hand, continued to check his surroundings, or see if there was anyone special nearby. But for the time being, there was no one to be seen. The quest was updated, which meant that there must be a clue to the missing queen nearby. At this time, an obese middle-aged man came over, he stood in front of Roland with some apprehension and said, "Sir, it was you who sent Mijil back, wasn''t it?" Roland nodded. He had little desire to talk to this man and was inspecting the surroundings, afraid of missing something abnormal. This middle-aged man had a very average appearance, with a mustache and a very average male face, the extremely ordinary kind. When he saw that Roland didn''t say anything, he gritted his teeth and continued to ask, "Sir, if Mijil is sent back, will those men from the Shadow Guild still come to trouble me?" "I didn''t know what troubles there were between you." Roland''s gaze finally turned to the middle-aged man, who looked a little confused. "I just saw on the street that Mijil was about to get killed and went to save her." When the middle-aged man heard this, his face became unhappy. "Sir this, you''re a bit." Hmm? Roland looked at the other party somewhat strangely. The middle-aged man felt uncomfortable all over after being stared at by Roland like that, but he still said forcefully, "Sir, we owe money to the Shadow Guild, and they wouldn''t have bothered us if they''d taken Mijil, but you sent her back again." The middle-aged man didn''t say the next words, but Roland understood that the former felt him a nuisance for being nosy. Roland''s mood suddenly turned sour. The woman who was holding Mijil crouched on the ground and cried out as she heard this. "You''re crazy, how can you be willing to sell Mijil. Didn''t you hear that they were going to beat Mijil to death?" The middle-aged man, however, was even angrier. He practically jumped up and shouted, "If we didn''t let the Shadow Guild take her, were we going to let them take Cruz and Gawain? Or take you to pay our debts as a strumpet for them?" The middle-aged woman was dumbfounded for a moment, unable to speak, and could only weep silently. Then she hugged her daughter even harder. Mijil looked to be six years old, and she could already understand a lot of things. She also understood that her parents didn''t seem to want her anymore, and suddenly her little face blanched and tears fell down in heaps. He didn''t know anything about the cause and effect but simply felt that neither parents were qualified at all. After some thought, he walked over, took the little girl''s hand, and said, "Come on, I''ll take you with me first, and I''ll find a place for you to settle." The woman let go of Mijil and turned to wipe her tears. The middle-aged obese man was relieved. Roland pulled the little girl away. It was not a good idea to think about the quest in this situation, so he simply gave up for now. The little girl very obediently let Roland lead her, but she looked back from time to time as she walked away, watching her parents gradually grow distant, her tears flowing more and more profusely. However, she never cried out. Roland pretended not to see anything and tensed his face, but in reality, he felt awful. After walking for a while, he suddenly cried out inwardly in surprise. He stopped and used his mind to open the system notification. Secondary quest renewed: Find the Kidnapped Queen. Secondary quest: Mediate failed. Hmm? Roland looked behind him, his eyebrows quirked as he retreated a few steps with Mijil. As he had predicted, the quest was refreshed again. Secondary quest renewed: Clues About the Queen. As expected, this was the quest area. However, the Mediate quest didn''t refresh again, so it seemed to be a time-sensitive quest. He smiled slightly, vaguely understanding some of the basic principles of the quest system. Then he continued forward. Secondary quest renewed: Find the Kidnapped Queen. This time Roland didn''t bother with the quest system anymore and just brought Mijil to Kaka''s manor. When Kaka finished his study of derivative magic, he just happened to be walking in the garden and was a little surprised to see Roland return with a little girl. "Who''s this?" Upon seeing Kaka, the little girl instinctively hid behind Roland''s back. Roland patted the little girl''s head, signaling for her not to be afraid, and then he explained what happened. Then he continued, "For the time being, I''ll leave this little one here. Don''t let those servants of yours bully her." "I''m already a little powerless to defend myself, so it might be hard to take care of her." Kaka shook his head helplessly. It wasn''t that he didn''t want to help, but now that most of his servants had been bribed by his eldest and second brothers, the thoughts of the rest were already with someone else. These servants still didn''t dare to disobey the orders that Kaka gave now, but he could tell that they didn''t respect him much anymore. It was just that he was still the third young master after all, and the servants didn''t dare to go overboard. But if it was this little girl, the situation would be different. The servants wouldn''t dare to trip up Kaka, but it was hard for him to guarantee that they wouldn''t bully this little girl behind his back. Roland scratched his head, he now felt more and more the importance of Teleportation. If he knew Long-Distance Teleportation, he would just take Mijil and teleport back to Delpon''s Magic Tower first, settle her down, and then teleport back. How convenient that would be. Instead of the current situation, there was no way to find a place to house Mijil. Just when Roland was in a dilemma, Mijil suddenly pulled the hem of Roland''s robe and said, "Mijil has a place to stay." Oh? Roland then let Mijil take him by the hand and lead him out of the manor, all the way to the west of the city. Turning from the west commercial street into an alleyway that was off the beaten path, Mijil then pulled a key attached to a red cord from under her own neck and unlocked the door to the two-story building in front of her. No one seemed to have lived here for a very long time. The house smelled of earth and mold, and there were plenty of cobwebs hanging from the corners. "This is where my grandma and grandpa live. They left the key to Mijil when they went to the kingdom of gods." Mijil looked a little distressed. It seemed that she already understood the concept of life, old age, sickness, and death. Are all the children in this world so mature? They cleaned the small building, then found the closet in the bedroom on the second floor, took out the mattress, and laid it on the bed. Mijil sat in the corner of the bed with her arms around her legs. The circles around her eyes began to redden again. Roland didn''t comfort her because he thought it was better for children to cry if they had any grievances; suppressing them could easily lead to neurosis. Mijil did begin to cry, sobbing stiflingly for a long time. Then in the evening, she fell asleep. Roland tucked her in, then left a defensive Spell Puppet and a magic scouting spider behind the window. Then he left and went to the east main street again. As night fell, the capital was under curfew again. Roland found a hotel on the east main street. It was the most luxurious hotel and it was in an excellent location. He sat on the fifth-floor balcony and drank fruit wine. The view was excellent and he could observe almost the entire stretch of the east main street. Roland looked at his quest system. Secondary quest renewed: Clues About the Queen. Then he casually threw down two scout-type magic spiders. 208 Quest Loophole Before nightfall, Roland had walked three or four circles around the east main street and had already scouted out the general range of the quest area. It was basically a circle, and the center point was in a very large brothel compound. The quest area was about a three hundred meter radius with this building as the center. In other words, the clues related to the queen''s disappearance were in this area. The two magic spiders disappeared from the balcony with great speed. Then, an image or two flashed in Roland''s mind from time to time. One spider went directly to the most central point of the quest, the extremely luxurious brothel compound. The other one went from house to house to see if there was anything unusual. Having only two magic spiders to scout wasn''t too efficient, but it was much better than Roland risking being discovered during the curfew himself. Originally there were three of them. Roland also kept one beside Mijil in case the Shadow Guild came looking for trouble againonly one guard puppet was still a bit unsafe. If he had eyes there, then it would be better to know what was going on, and in case something really happened, the rescue would become more targeted. He wouldn''t be like a headless fly ramming into things all over the place. The first spider had lurked unnoticed from the shadowy corner of the street into the backyard of the brothel mansion, then crawled along the wall to a balcony on the second floor and infiltrated the room after verifying that no one was watching. Meanwhile, the second spider had been moving in and out of the merchant buildings on the street, looking for anything suspicious. These Spell Puppets would inherit the summoner''s common sense and some cognitive abilities, while the magic spider had been specially enhanced by Roland in these areas until they were at a similar level as Roland. In other words, the anomalies or clues that Roland could find, it was reasonable to say that they could as well. Roland sat quietly on the balcony, enjoying the night view while savoring fruit wine. All he had to do was to sit quietly and wait for the snippets of footage that the spider sent back. But even then, Roland still felt that it was not very efficient. There were only two If there were a hundred, or even if there were only forty-five, then the efficiency of scouting would be greatly improved. It was just that as a level-zero spell, the Spell Puppet''s model capacity was so only so large, and now it was just about at its limit. Roland estimated that fixing up another sound transmission function for it was the limit. In other words, it was fine for scouting a small area or tracking one or two enemies, but it was less capable than desired for a large area search like this. ''How should I increase the number of scouting magic spiders?'' If he wanted to increase the number, he had to give up something, but both picture transmission and synchronized sound transmission were important. "Is there any specialty in spell cloning or something like that?" Roland said to himself. Then more and more images were transmitted into Roland''s mind. There were merchants working on their tables, scholars reading books, and goblin couples fighting[1]. And when the first magic spider completely entered the brothel compound, there were more images of goblins fighting. Roland felt a bit helpless, wanting very much to summon the first spider back, but the brothel compound was the central point of the quest area, so the search could not be abandoned. Two spiders were still too inefficient in their search and found little that was useful or peculiar. It would soon be morning, and the marble white color of the dawn sky already appeared on the horizon. Roland reckoned that he might have to return home empty-handed tonight, but just then, the second spider suddenly sent over an image of several black-robed people holding a cloth sack, walking towards a gloomy alley. Something seems to be wiggling in the cloth sack? A kidnapping? This world really was darkat night, just by sending two spiders out, he could see terrible things. Roland pondered for a while. Not waiting for him to decide whether to go and see what was going on or not, the quest system triggered once again. Received secondary quest: Save the Poor Commoners. It was a quest, a system-certified questit had to be completed no matter what. Roland stood up and looked outside. Although the curfew hadn''t ended yet, this time of day was close to dawn, so the night curfew wasn''t really that important anymore. Moreover, Roland was a Mage, and even if he was caught violating the curfew at this time, the patrol would most likely turn a blind eye. Although the queen''s disappearance was orchestrated by a Mage, a few days had passed and the king''s anger had subsided quite a bit. It was a simple desire of the rank-and-file soldiers to not offend a Mage if they could. Roland got up and left the hotel, heading straight to the location of the kidnappers. Since the spider had been following the black-robed men, Roland wasn''t worried about them getting away. Halfway there, Roland did encounter a patrol. But just as he guessed, the heavily armed patrol didn''t show any hostile intent when they saw Roland, and the lead officer even gave him a slight nod in greeting. Roland naturally nodded lightly as well. The two sides simply walked past each other. Roland could feel that the soldiers let out a light breath of relief. Arriving at the entrance of the alley, Roland walked right in. It was dark inside, and Roland subconsciously wanted to illuminate it with a Light Ball, but he was afraid of being caught off guard and had to stop. The alley stunk, the disgusting smell of urine mixed with that of feces. Roland held his nose and walked forward slowly; it was dark after all. After a few turns, he stopped at the corner, thinking about how he should deal with the dozen or so black-robed men. There weren''t any houses here, just two walls, and further back, a wide wasteland, and even further away, the city walls. The dull sound of a beating came from ahead. It was accompanied by talking. "Sironato, now it''s time for you to tell me where the hell you''ve been hiding the person." "I don''t know." A suppressed voice could be heard. "It doesn''t matter if you don''t say anything, I''ll kill you, and then your wife and son." A voice that sounded quite gentle said these disturbing words. "I''m a very reasonable person. You wronged me first, but for the sake of old friendship, I don''t want to trouble you. But now you actually hid the person. Don''t you know they''re very important to me? If the person can''t be found, I''ll have to die." "I really don''t know!" the voice yelled and coughed twice. "Alas, I really don''t want to do anything to you," this gentle voice said. "Even though you betrayed me, my life and the safety of my brothers are truly at stake." This seems a little off. Roland looked at the panel given by the quest system and then thought about the quest area, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Dyat, I really don''t know," the voice cried out. "I know I''ve wronged you, but I really don''t know about this." "You really don''t know?" "I don''t know!" The man''s cries grew louder. "Then forget it." The gentle voice sighed. "You can go now. I''ll trust you one more time, and if you''re still lying to me, you know the consequences" Then there was the sound of stumbling and hurried footsteps moving away. Roland looked at his system''s panel. Quest failed: Save the Poor Commoner. Roland tsked inwardly. He was looking for clues about the queen, but instead, he saw a bug, or loophole, in the quest system! [1] Not really goblins fighting 209 My Stupid Brother Roland watched as the quest bar that turned red faded away and then disappeared. He kind of understood now how the quest system worked. It seemed to be that if anything was found on the player''s side, it could be converted into a quest. But there was a conversion rate, or at least Roland felt that his quest acquisition rate was far lower in Red Mountain Town than here. Was it because there were fewer quests in the newbie village and more quests in the advanced maps? Most importantly, the quest just now seemed to have gone wrong. The quest was intended to save the "pitiful" commoner. But from what he had just heard, the commoner wasn''t pitiful at all. Or the quest was right, the civilian was actually pitiful, and what he had heard was just false information? Interesting. Roland gave the magic spider a new order to follow the black-robed man. On the other hand, Roland headed back, but instead of going to the hotel, he went to Mijil''s house. He unlocked the door with his key and lightly entered the house before gently pushing open the bedroom door. The Guardian Puppet was still sitting crouched in the corner, and the magic spider was still hanging from the window. Mijil was still sleeping. Roland watched her for a moment and was about to leave when Mijil woke up. She crawled up and screamed, "Daddy, don''t sell me" Mijil''s eyes were open wide and her face was filled with fear as she looked around and finally came to her senses with a depressed expression on her face. Roland walked over to her and gently stroked her little head for a moment, consoling her. "It''s okay, get up and eat breakfast." Mijil nodded. She found the clothes her grandmother had prepared for her in the closet and changed into them, then followed Roland downstairs. Roland took out the cakes that Vivian had made from his Backpack It was also fortunate that the system came with a spatial backpack, otherwise, these cakes would have rotted long ago. Most children loved sweets, and Mijil was no exception. After she ate a few bites, she was in a significantly better mood. Roland hastily ate some dry food, then pointed to the blue guardian puppet that followed him down and said, "Mijil, this is the little friend I summoned to protect you, so don''t be afraid." Mijil had already seen it, but she saw that Roland didn''t speak to her about it, so she didn''t ask any questions. It was a little heartbreaking to be so sensible at such a young age. She nodded her head to show that she understood, then asked timidly, "Big brother, are you going out?" "Call me Roland from now on," Roland said gently. "It''s true that there''s something going on, and I might not be able to take care of you if I bring you with me. So will you just stay at home?" Mijil nodded vigorously. Mijil nodded slightly again. After giving some instructions, Roland left the house. As she watched Roland leave and close the door, the room became dark again, even a little cold. Mijil sat on a chair and folded her legs. She cupped hands on her knees and buried her head in her legs, then soft crying sounded in the room. Roland arrived at Kaka''s manor and ended up being stopped at the door. He found that the guards who stopped him were fresh faces, no longer the two he had seen yesterday. "Kaka and I are friends, can you go give notice?" Roland said in a low voice as he looked at the two guards. But the guard shook his head. "Sorry, but Kaka is not seeing visitors right now." Hmm? Roland''s gaze passed over the two guards and saw that there was actually a group of soldiers standing in the distant garden. And Kaka was right in the middle of this group of soldiers. Only his back could be seen, but his hair and magic robe were disheveled. And then his growling voice was faintly heard: "Let go of me, or don''t blame me for being rough with you." He could vaguely be seen struggling, but that didn''t seem to help. Is he being forced? Roland snapped his fingers and an extremely low-powered Ice Ring appeared close to the ground, staining the ground within a five-meter radius with a layer of white frost. The two guards were frozen in place with a look of horror. Roland smiled at them. "Don''t worry, it will unravel itself in a few minutes." Then he ignored the two guards and pushed straight through the door and walked in. When he got close enough, someone from the group of soldiers, or private soldiers, who held Kaka, spotted him and immediately drew their sword, yelling at him, "Sir, stop. Please do not come any closer, or we will consider you an enemy." Roland lightly waved his hand, and the slightly enhanced Ice Ring struck again. A ring of ice swept across the ground, and with him as the center, the grass about ten meters around him was frozen. Everyone''s feet were frozen in the ice. Including Kaka''s When Kaka saw him, his formerly indignant expression began to ease, even showing joy. "Why do you look more and more wretched?" Roland asked as he stepped forward. Karka Bard was about to speak when the lead junior officer immediately snapped, "Master Mage, please, you''d better think about how you conduct yourself. This is the Bard''s house, and this is internal Bard business, so please don''t interfere recklessly." "But Kaka is my friend," Roland said with a smile. The officer snorted. "Since you''re a Mage, you should know the Bard family''s position in the Association of Mages'' headquarters. If you really annoy the Bard family, even if you''re a Mage, you''ll have a hard time." "Does this count as a fox masquerading as a tiger?" Roland laughed. The game world didn''t have the idiomatic expression "a fox masquerading as a tiger,'''' but Roland had Language Proficiency cast on him at this moment, so it translated into a colloquialism with similar meaning. The officer''s face immediately turned red, and he began to use more force, his right leg starting to slowly pivot out of the ice layer, directly cracking a large chunk of ice next to him. The small officer looked at Roland with a smug and fierce look and was about to set his sword to strike. As a result, Roland stretched out his fingers and a cloud of intensely cold air was directly pulled from the atmosphere, wafting into the officer''s legs The cold air struck too quickly and the officer couldn''t move freely at the moment, so he had no chance to dodge and was directly hit by the cold air. Then his legs were frozen again. This time the ice around him increased by a huge amount, freezing all of his calves below his knees into the ice. "You actually" The officer was shocked, struggled hard for a moment, and found it impossible to break free, so he shouted angrily at Roland, "You''re finished! Eldest Young Master won''t let you go." "So rampant?" Roland looked to Kaka. "What is his identity?" "Big Brother''s trusted subordinate, and the future leader of the Bard is expected to be Big Brother, so he feels like he''s half a master of the Bard family." Kaka shrugged helplessly as he pulled his legs out of the ice. As he was also a Mage, his magic resistance was quite a bit higher than the average professional, so the restrictions of the Ice Ring weren''t that effective on him. "Yesterday it was your second brother, today it''s your big brother, you''re really not welcomed by your family." Roland chuckled. Kaka said indifferently, "How much affection can there be in a big family! I''m used to it." "You can''t say thatI''ve always loved you, my stupid brother." A voice sounded behind the two. Roland and Kaka turned and saw a young, handsome man in red magic robes come in from outside. Behind him, he was followed by four graceful and charming female Mages A handsome man and some beautiful women, coupled with their firm strides and noble aura, looked extremely ostentatious. 210 Discovery The big red magic robes were quite eye-catching, not to mention the four female Mages behind him. Aldo couldn''t even find a female Mage to have children with, so he had to work on his maidservants every day, hoping for a miracle like last time to grant him offspring. And this guy was followed by four of them The distribution of resources was so unbalanced. The two of them looked at the visitors. Kaka''s face was gloomy and alert, while Roland was a bit curious. Because this visitor was obviously Kaka''s big brother, and unlike the obvious hostility of Felwood, this young man even wore an expression of hatred. "Lance," Kaka muttered. "Call me Big Brother." The young man, who was extremely ostentatious, stopped a few meters in front of Kaka and said, "I can''t remember when our relationship was this bad." Roland wrinkled his brow. "You didn''t send these people?" Kaka pointed at the soldiers frozen in the ice. "They''re your direct subordinates. You''re going to kill me, and you won''t allow me to treat you any worse?" The expressions of these soldiers suddenly turned quite foul, but there was no sign of fear. "They are indeed my soldiers," Lance said with a smile, "but there are others who can command them besides me. Father and Mother, for example." Kaka froze, then looked at the officer. "Who the hell sent you?" The officer looked at Kaka, then at Lance, and said helplessly, "Young masters, please give our two masters some face. I don''t want to say, and I can''t say." Lance chuckled softly. "I understand. All right, you guys can get lost now." These soldiers, still frozen by the ice, turned their attention to Roland after hearing this. Roland snapped his fingers and undid the Ice Ring. Then Lance turned his attention to Roland. "This must be Mr. Roland. Kaka has been under your care for the past few days. Please allow me to say thank you." Roland waved his hand indifferently. "Come in and talk." Kaka pulled open the door and said, "Mr. Roland, please come in as well." The three of them went up to the second floor of the study and sat down around a table. The four female Mages guarded the door. "I''ve been busy with a very important matter for the past few days, so I didn''t have time to help you. And according to what I gathered, it should be some time before you go away to inherit the territory, but I didn''t expect that you would be targeted." Kaka was feeling depressed now and he shook his head. "I can understand Felwood sending someone to drive me away, he never liked me much. But why would Father" At this time, Lance looked at Roland. And Roland immediately understood that the two brothers had a private matter to discuss, and he stood up and said, "Oh right, I have some things to take care of, so I''ll leave first." With a smile, Roland left the room and the manor under the gazes of the four female Mages. As he was walking toward the west main street, a middle-aged woman knocked on Mijil''s door. Mijil, who had been sitting on a chair without moving, looked up, and somewhat delighted, she trotted to the door of the room, waited for a moment, and asked expectantly, "Is it big brother?" "Mijil, it''s me, Mom." After a brief moment of stunned silence, an astonishing brightness burst in Mijil''s eyes, and she immediately opened the door. The middle-aged woman dashed in and hastily closed the door again, then grabbed Mijil and said sobbingly, "I knew you were here, my baby. It''s so good that you''re okay." Feeling the warm, familiar embrace, Mijil began to cry as well. Mother and daughter cried for nearly half an hour before they slowly restrained their overflowing emotions. Taking her daughter''s hand, the middle-aged woman was about to go upstairs when she suddenly saw a strange blue man standing in the shadows of the corner of the room, and was so startled that she covered her heart and almost screamed. "It''s okay, Mom. It''s a magical creature left behind by big brother to protect me, it won''t hurt us." The middle-aged woman was relieved. Since the Spell Puppet would inherit the summoner''s knowledge, it had recognized that this was Mijil''s mother, so naturally it wouldn''t do anything. They went upstairs and the Spell Puppet followed them. "Mom, are you taking me back?" Mijil asked expectantly. The middle-aged woman shook her head. "No, your father still owes a lot of money, and even if the assassins don''t take you away, the other creditors will do so." "What am I supposed to do?" "You will live here, with that benevolent Master Mage," the middle-aged woman said faintly. "Remember to keep your keys. The deed of this house is written in your name. Your father does not know and you must never let him know. Understand? Otherwise, you won''t even have a place to settle in the future." "What about you guys? And Big Brother and Second Brother, will they be taken away too?" Mijil asked in a quiet voice. "It doesn''t matter. In fact, your father has quite a bit of money stashed away and when he''s forced to, he''ll take it out so no harm will come to me or your two brothers," the middle-aged woman said softly. Mijil''s eyelids dropped and her head lowered. "Father never liked me." The middle-aged woman smiled bitterly. There was a reason for that. In fact, her husband was a pretty nice guy. But the problem was that Mijil wasn''t his daughter. More than six years ago, a minor nobleman had framed her husband for tax evasion, and it was she who had volunteered herself to serve him with her life, which finally made the minor nobleman give up on suppressing her husband. This sort of thing was common in the noble class, far too common. Her husband felt ashamed to face her, so he had actually been very good to her. It was just that Mijil was born nine months later, much to the husband''s resentment. Because she was the daughter of that minor nobleman, not his. At that time, the husband had been frightened out of his wits by the minor nobleman and didn''t dare to abort Mijil, so he had to let her have the baby. Later on, as Mijil grew up, the minor nobleman''s power grew more and more. Recently, however, the minor nobleman moved his family away, and Mijil was left without a source of protection. The husband, on the other hand, had the idea to take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of Mijil. He didn''t dare to really hurt Mijil himself, so he had to resort to letting her take the fall for his transgressions. The middle-aged woman held Mijil in her arms, talking softly and soothing her gently, and it wasn''t long before the little girl was asleep in her arms. The middle-aged woman carefully placed her on the bed and stood there red-eyed for a long time before she left the little house. Using his magic spider''s perspective, Roland was already aware of the middle-aged woman''s arrival, and he slowed down purposefully to allow the mother and daughter to spend more time together. As he hesitated, searching for a tavern to drink something and browse the forums to kill some time The magic spider hiding in the brothel compound sent a rather interesting image. A rather sumptuous silk dress hung on the back of a chair in a small, dark house. And the small house had a bed, on which someone appeared to be sleeping. 211 Goods Acquired The gown was lavender, and the silk was embroidered with many decorative patterns, and at the waist of the gown, there were fragmented crystalline gemstones, intertwined and twisted with silver threads to create a shimmering water drop ornament. Silk was very expensive The way it was made was something that humans didn''t know, only the elves did. The elves and humans didn''t trade much and silk itself was very difficult to makeeven among the elves, silk was considered a high-grade fabric. This was why most of the time silk dresses were usually one of the symbols of female members of the royal family. And most of the female members of the royal family weren''t yet qualified to wear it. Roland directed the magic spider to crawl through the ceiling, then followed the wall to approach a small bed and found that there was indeed someone sleeping in the bed, but it definitely wasn''t the queen. Because the woman sleeping in the bed wore heavy makeup and was obese, and most importantly, she was at least fifty years old. And the queen was said to be a beauty, just under thirty. Where did that gown come from? Roland didn''t believe that such a silk gown, which was obviously a slim-fit style, would be worn by an old woman. He immediately changed direction and turned toward the east main street quest point. Arriving directly at the entrance of the brothel compound, Roland took a deep breath. Although he had had s**ual relationships before, this was the first time he came to such a place. Whether it was in reality, or in the game. The johns that came in and out of the doorway didn''t greet each other when they saw each other, they just showed a peculiar and amusing smile, as if everything could be understood if left unsaid. Closer to the door, the more Roland could smell a strong fragrance. This fragrance was very much like some sort of incense that seemed to be used to mask certain smells, such as the smell of photina[1]. Roland had just arrived at the door, causing many johns to be surprised. Why would a distinguished Master Mage come here? Wouldn''t it be easy for him to find a woman? With a beckon of the hand, even noble ladies were very willing to have some negative distance friendship with them. Several prostitutes standing at the door to receive customers, seeing Roland approaching, seemed to be even more nervous, wanting to go forward but not daring to do so. They felt that their bodies were dirty, and if they went up rashly, they might displease the Master Mage and he would turn them into frogs in anger. But as Roland got closer and closer, a braver prostitute eventually stepped forward. Her expression was stiff and tense. "Master Mage, may I ask if you are here as a guest?" Most of the people who came here were ordinary peoplenot professionals. Only those who had nothing better to do would get in the way of a Master Mage. Many heads even peeked out the windows on the front-facing floors, all seemingly quite interested in the matter of a Master Mage''s visit to the brothel. Being stared at by at least a hundred pairs of eyes, and all of them looking at Roland in a familiar and even approving way This made him feel some pressure. Who the hell is acquainted with you johns? Roland was extremely upset, but he calmly said, "I have something I need to look for." Many people smiled knowingly when they heard this. Because of the game character''s constant 16-year-old appearance, Roland still looked like a child now. It''s the first time you''ve come to a brothel to learn the experience I understand, I understand! The surrounding people all nodded their heads inwardly, identifying with Roland even more. Finding another subtle change in the eyes of the surrounding crowd, Roland felt quite annoyed. It was good that the prostitute who was talking to him didn''t dare to show such an expression, and she also said respectfully, "What are you looking for, Master Mage? Just tell us, as long as we have it, we''ll help you find it." "No, I''ll do it myself." Roland bypassed the prostitute in front of him and went straight through the door. The prostitute wanted to shout, but didn''t dare tell him to stop. She just followed quickly. When Roland entered the compound, he saw a soft red carpet on the floor, and two or three magic crystal lamps, pale yellow in color, which increased the illumination to a certain extent. However, the interior was still very dim and set an ambiguous and sensual mood. The compound covered a large area; there were men and women walking around everywhere. Roland sensed the location of the magic spider and then headed for the stairs. When he went up to the second floor, the prostitute who was following behind him finally couldn''t help but ask, "Master Mage, what exactly are you looking for?" Roland ignored her. He was about to go up to the third floor when a man hurriedly walked over. He looked rather gentlemanly in his black flashy suit and a black cap. He walked quickly, straight up to Roland, and asked, "Master Mage, if you need anything, just tell me. The ordinary women here are not good enough for you, so if you want, I can call out some of the best beauties in this compound to serve you." This was the boss on the surface of the brothel compound. Roland smiled slightly. "Don''t worry, I know what I''m looking for." The owner gave a look at the prostitute to make her leave, then said, "Sir, please allow me to accompany you." Roland nodded. He knew exactly what the other party was thinking, and it was nothing more than the fear of him messing things up around here. Following the Mage, if the other party really wanted to stir up trouble, he might not be able to stop it, but at least there was the possibility of communication. That was what the boss had in mind. Roland went up the stairs to the fourth floor, then went to the right, found a small room, and said, "Open it for me." "This is a room for a lowly staff." The boss had a confused look on his face. "She''s not very good-looking." "If you don''t open it, I''ll have to do it myself." Roland grabbed an apple-sized fireball in his right hand. Looking at the magic radiating heat, the boss gulped and immediately opened the door with his key. It was a very dark room, and the woman on the bed was still sleeping. Roland snapped his fingers and four light balls came out, then he quickly walked in, taking the silk gown in his hands. The boss came in as well, and when he saw the silk gown, his face turned green and rather unsightly. He knew only too well what a silk gown meant. It could be said that all the female workers in the compound together were not worth as much as this gown. Thinking back to the recent case of the missing queen, the boss''s legs began to go soft and inevitably began to tremble. Roland put the long skirt into his Backpack, and then said with a smile, "It''s too bad I didn''t find what I was looking for. Isn''t that right, boss?" After being startled for two seconds, the boss nodded frantically. "Yes, yes, yes." "But may I ask the lady some questions?" Looking at the damned fat woman who was still sleeping on the bed at this moment, the boss kicked her in anger and said, "Hurry and get up, you idiotic woman." [1] Photinia serratifolia; a flower that smells like semen 212 The Gown Left Behind in the River The obese middle-aged woman was kicked in the belly, but fortunately, she had an extreme amount of belly fat, and although the compound owner''s lower leg strength was quite something and she woke up screaming in pain, she actually suffered little damage. "Who kicked" The obese woman cursed, rubbing her stomach, but when she looked up and saw it was her boss, she was shocked and immediately jumped off the bed. Because she had been sleeping, she was barely dressed, but neither Roland nor the compound''s boss had any thoughts of that aspect at all when they saw her, and they even felt a bit nauseous. After all, there was really nothing aesthetically pleasing about layers of overlapping fat jumping up and down in front of your eyes. "Boss, what are you doing here?" The woman''s expression was somewhat apprehensive and ingratiating. "This esteemed Mage has something to ask you." The owner of the compound pointed at Roland. The woman looked at Roland and immediately lowered her head again. It was a spellcaster that outranked even her boss, so she naturally didn''t dare to have an awful attitude. "This gown, where did you get it?" Roland held up the silk gown again and placed it in front of the woman. "I believe this is definitely not something you can afford." When the obese woman saw the silk gown in Roland''s hand, she immediately turned pale, jumped up, and threw herself at Roland, shouting, "That is mine, mine, give it back!" However, just as she jumped up, she was pressed down by two blue Hands of Magic, unable to move. The boss gulped as he watched the two huge blue translucent hands. The fat woman, who was pressed to the ground, now finally came to her senses and remembered that she was facing a spellcaster. In the stories amongst commoners, spellcasters were terrifying, turning people into frogs or rats at every turn, then drying them out and grinding them into magic potions. They also heard that the effects of magic potions made from humans were much better than ordinary magic. In short the image of spellcasters among commoners was extremely frightening. "Answer me, where did you get it?" Roland asked. Roland didn''t have much of a negative expression, not at all fierce, but this calm appearance was the calm before the storm in the eyes of the frightened woman. She shuddered and stammered, "By the river behind the east street." "Tell me in detail how you found this gown." The fat woman was afraid that Roland would truly be infuriated and immediately recounted the process. It turned out to be yesterday morning, early in the morning, when she went to the river behind the street to wash her body after receiving some old men with little money. Although she was a commoner, she was a woman and had an innate notion of whether a gown was good or not and whether it was worth anything. She carefully folded the gown on the spot and put it inside her own clothes to cover it She was fat and tucking another folded light silk gown inside, no one could tell from the outside that she was hiding something. Then in this way, she took the gown back to her little room. She tried to wear it today, but found that she was too big to fit into it, and in a depressed mood, she threw it on a chair and went to bed first. But she never imagined that it was accidentally discovered by Roland''s magic spider. "This thing doesn''t belong to you, I''ll take it with me first," Roland said bluntly. "I picked that up Sir, you can''t do that." The obese woman made a final struggle. "Please give it back to me." Roland was about to go, and when he heard her say that, he smiled back and said, "You should be glad that I was the one who found this gown. If it had been found by someone else, such as the city guard Antis, you would be in prison right now, being brutally tortured." The obese woman was too frightened to cry out anymore. Roland said to the owner of the compound, "If you guys are smart, you better forget about this matter, or else the consequences" The owner of the compound turned pale. Although he was rich, he was only a merchant. Even though there was a nobleman from a good family standing behind him, there was no way he would go against a Mage for him. Upon hearing this, he nodded vigorously. Roland stored the gown in his Backpack and left the rather strange-smelling brothel compound. As he walked, he dispelled the two magical spiders. Now that the clues for the quest had been obtained, keeping them would only slowly deplete his magic power. Walking down the street, Roland opened the quest system. Secondary quest completed: Clues About the Queen. You''ve received 221 EXP. Secondary quest received: Find the Next Clue. Roland arrived at the city''s river not far behind the brothel compound. According to what the obese woman said earlier, this was where she found the silk gown. Roland stood on the grass by the river and subconsciously held his nose. The entire area of the capital, including the suburban towns and villages, had around two million people living on this land. And within the walls of the capital, there were nearly half a million people. The wastewater from half a million people was discharged into this river that passed through the capital. There were many clumps of yellow and white things floating on the surface of the river. The river stank severely, and there were many untouchables who were now carrying their masters'' feces and pouring it into the river in a wooden manner. There were also many poor people taking their morning baths by the river; they didn''t seem to find it stinky. After hanging around nearby for a while, Roland couldn''t stand it any longer and threw down two magic spiders and ran away. He was now glad that he had derived a scouting spell early on. Otherwise, if he were to search around this river by himself, he would probably have to give up and delete the quest in less than half an hour. Even if the quest was gone, he could trigger others, but to have him, a modern, clean-loving man, working in such a stinky environment was something he really couldn''t stand. Call him petulant or lacking in willpower, he wouldn''t do it anyway. It was not like it was a matter of life and death. He retreated to the vicinity of the east main street, letting the two magic spiders search the area while he casually found a tavern and sat down. The tavern had been quite noisy, but after he went in and sat down, it was much quieter. After ordering a glass of fruit wine, Roland began to think about this queen''s business. There were still too few clueshe was certain that the queen had been captured by a Mage, and then found a gown related to her. The appearance of the gown by the river represented many possibilities. For example, the queen had appeared by the river, or something nefarious had happened there. It was also possible that this was a diversionary tactic by the murderer, deliberately dropping a piece of clothing to draw people toward the river, while he escaped with the queen from another place. However, these were just guesses and not really accurate, but there was one thing that Roland was at least sure of. The queen had a good figure. The silk gown was narrow at the waist, and the silk at the bust had two clusters of silk that stretched outward in an arc This was a clear sign of it being pushed out. I''m so scrupulous, I really have the talent to be a detective. Roland was a bit pleased with himself. 213 Self-Acknowledgemen Roland pondered the problem in the tavern while waiting for the results of the magic spiders'' search. And in a small town a thousand miles away, Douglas was very depressed. He climbed up woodenly from the altar of the Church of Life. How many times was it now that he had resurrected? The ninth, or tenth? The black rocky statue of the Life Goddess stood tall behind him, and the bright and beautiful sun could be seen through the windows of the chapel, but he was in no mood at all to look outside. The excitement of being new to the game three days ago was now worn away by endless frustration. The game was a good game, a real virtual reality gameit was just too real. Real enough to make one want to cry. As a famous person born with a silver spoon in his mouth in Jiang City, he hadn''t believed in virtual reality games. During the time when the virtual cabin was on sale, he was playing with cars, guns, and women, living blissfully, and even put the word out in front of his friends that Penguin Corporation''s virtual game was just false advertising and mostly just a more advanced VR game. However, he was soon embarrassed. It upset him, but then it also intrigued him immenselya real world! He started to use his connections to buy a virtual cabin from Penguin Corporation but was told there were none left. He then set his sights on other players, and in the end No one was actually willing to sell it, even when he bid up to over three million. In this modern society, no one was stupid. Who would be willing to sell a device that gave you twice as much time as others out of thin air, unless as a last resort due to an accident? This was a disguised increase in life expectancy. Penguin Corporation kept their players'' information very secure, and most smart players wouldn''t just reveal that they had a virtual cabin. Even if it was known and they didn''t want to sell it, there was nothing you could do about it. His rich friends who acted recklessly all had criminal records. He didn''t want to follow in his friends'' footsteps. After waiting for half a year, he finally got a virtual cabin from a judicial auction. He spent over four million yuan and finally bought it. Before entering the game, he even asked the veterans of the forums how a Mage should add points. In reality, he just wanted to use this method to show that he had come to this game world, and as a rich man, he felt that he had the power to change the game''s landscape. Whether it was his own ability and wisdom, or his ability to dump money. It was said the only one with these kinds of stats in the entire game was the strongest Mage Roland; the other mages had all changed to the balanced-type method. If Roland can do it, I can do it too. If the others can''t, that''s because they''re trash. With that in mind, Douglas entered the game and started with his choice of Language Proficiency, as well as Inferior Fireball. The game was really realistic and he marveled at the power of the new technology as soon as he entered the game. But the real game also gave him the most realistic experience it had to offer. Frustration. Language Proficiency spellcasting failures would directly result in a head explosion, and Inferior Fireball failures would result in a massive nosebleed and a violent death. After three days into the game, he couldn''t even understand what the NPCs were saying. He even entered a prolonged state of weakness due to too many resurrections. In a weakened state, even walking felt tiring, let alone casting spells. Sitting at the edge of the altar, Douglas looked down disappointedly at his palms and lowered them. Three days ago, his own lofty words on the forum seemed to have become a joke. I think I can do it too. What an overly confident thing to say. And one of the netizens who replied said it well. "How do you know how ordinary you are if you don''t try." He really nailed it on the head. Douglas connected to the forum again and read what other netizens had posted, but finally, he made up his mind, looked at the statue of the goddess, and said silently: Apply to log out of the current character. Application received, please silently confirm. A message box popped up in front of his eyes, and Douglas reconfirmed once more, while his vision gradually blurred back to the character''s establishment screen. The faces of the humans in the game were slightly altered to match one''s true appearance, and there weren''t many options to change it. The next step was to add the character''s attributes in a balanced way. The specialty that was chosen by Roland was Magic Material Exemption. The Almighty''s choice should not be wrong. There was also Magic Power Control, which couldn''t be found and seemed to be a personal specialty. He sighed deeply. He was born rich, but in this game, he really had no sense of superiority at all. He then selected Magic Power Mastery from the list of specialties, which boosted his magic power control by twenty percent. According to the guesses of the veterans on the forums, this should be the inferior version of Magic Power Control. After the specialty was selected, he then clicked to start the game. His vision blurred, then he appeared on the altar once again. But then he noticed that the location where he was "born" was different from last time. Last time it was a chapel, but there was a lot of space here. And there were quite a few NPCs praying beside him, and they were all surprised to see Douglas suddenly appear on the altar. Fortunately, the priest in charge of guiding the prayers was calm and had heard the rumors about the Golden Sons. This helped settle down the praying believers and avoid a commotion. Douglas climbed down from the altar, moved his body, bent slightly to the priest in apology, and then slowly walked out of the church under the strange gazes of the Life Goddess''s believers. Arriving outside the church, there was a bright and lush green world in front of him. The air was fresh, and compared to before, Douglas could feel that this body was physically stronger and mentally more activethe only downside being that it had slightly less control over the magical elements. But it was quite comfortable. The weather was good, his own spirit was good, and he had plenty of stamina. Douglas suddenly had a feeling that he would be successful in casting the spell this time. He recalled the spell model and nodes of Inferior Fireball and then attempted to inject the magic power into the casting route. As Douglas felt the magic power rapidly forming in the invisible lines in the air, his eyes grew wide and his breathing couldn''t help but quicken. Then a small flame appeared in the palm of his hand, swaying as if it were about to go out. Douglas couldn''t help but open his mouth wide and was about to laugh when the small flame went out. Although it was extinguished, Douglas couldn''t help but laugh aloud. For the first time in three days, he finally managed to create a magic flame. After laughing for a while, he wiped away the tears from his eyes and excitedly went to the forum to post a message. Mage''s Balanced Addition Method Is Really Impressive, Roland Is Awesome! 214 Acciden The two magic spiders were no bigger than ping pong balls and were transparent, making them hard to spot even in daylight. They rummaged around by the river for valuable clues, avoiding people when they came across them or hiding in bushes or small holes that were easy to miss. Finally, a spider found a sewer entrance not far from the river. Covered by long weeds, the hole of the cave was barely visible. A magic spider accidentally found the place along the river''s sand wall. This sewer was about 1.5 meters high and estimated to be about half a meter wide. There was no sewage coming out of it, so it was more of a secret passage than a sewer. One magic spider was waiting, while the other immediately rushed over. After reuniting, the two spiders climbed the rock wall at the same time and began to explore the interior of the sewer. Roland sat in the tavern and perused the dark and mysterious images that came from time to time from the magic spiders, and he finally felt like he was "playing" the game. It was like exploring during the newbie stage. Roland thought that he could at least find something in this sewer, but to his surprise, the two magic spiders explored the entire sewer and didn''t find anything strange. Could he have guessed wrong? Roland found it unlikely. He had the magic spiders search the area again, inch by inch, tirelessly. The work was worth itin the end, one of the spiders found something of value. A long blonde hair that looked like a female''s. It was in the deepest part of the sewer. There should be secret doors around here. Roland had the two spiders search back and forth where they found the hair, but hours passed and still, they didn''t find even the slightest peculiarity. There was nothing else to be found until the evening. Roland gave the two magic spiders instructions to continue their search, while he himself got up and headed for the west main street. After all, there was a little girl he needed to take care of. Just when Roland was almost back to Mijil''s grandmother''s house, he was suddenly stunned and his expression turned stern. He began to run at full speed, almost as fast as the sprinting champions on Earth, but he still felt that he was too slow, and finally began to use Teleportation continuously. The pedestrians on the street, preparing to go home, saw a series of blinking dots and cried out in surprise. Teleportation was really much faster than running. When Roland quickly returned to Mijile''s grandmother''s house, he saw several black-robed men blocking the doorway, and another black-robed man who tried to jump onto the second-floor balcony, only to be knocked off by a blue Spell Puppet. Since there was no chanting time and no accumulation of power, the range of this Ice Blade was not great. Three of the six black-robed men jumped, mostly because they had Intuitive Reflex, a practical specialty of the agility class. Three others had their hamstrings severed first, with gaping wounds in the bones of their feet, which hurt like hell. And before the wound spurted blood, the ice layer brought by the Ice Blade directly froze their ankles. The blood was directly blocked in their bodies. The three black-robed men all screamed, but these three were ruthless enough to pull out many throwing weapons with both hands from beneath their robes and throw them at Roland at the same time. The three black-robed men who jumped into the air did the same, each throwing at least five knives at Roland. In an instant, there were at least thirty or more throwing weapons that were flying rapidly at Roland. Normally, at such a distance, if there were no spells like magic boundaries or force field magic like anti-range arrow shields, Mages would most likely die. And as of now, Roland hadn''t been a Mage for too long and these defensive magics had not been learned at all. But a blue magic puppet appeared in front of him. All the throwing weapons were blocked by the light shield held by this Spell Puppet and bounced to the side. "Stop, we have no intention of making an enemy of you." A black-robed man landed on the ice and shouted at Roland. Roland naturally didn''t believe that the six people would mutually throw so many long-range attack weapons at the same time if they didn''t have killing intent You think I''m stupid? Roland snorted and reached out his hand to point at the middle of the three who had managed to avoid the Ice Blade. When this black-robed man saw Roland pointing at him, fear flashed in his hazel eyes, and his instinct was to dodge to the side. He already knew that Roland could instantly fire powerful magic. For normal Mages, in combat, it would be good if they could chant and cast spells without making mistakes due to nervousness, interference, and so on. The Mage in front of him was completely different from the others. The Ice Ring alone, which could slice a person''s hamstrings, was enough to amaze and even frighten people. All the melee professions didn''t have much confidence when they encountered such an instantaneous Ice Ring. And this man had just sent out a peculiar, strange puppet with a magic shield. A summoner? Not quite And now the other man pointed his hand at him. Escape This black-robed man had just had this thought, but his head was clouded, and he was suddenly immensely sleepy. His eyes immediately narrowed into slits, and his entire body fell to the ground as he became weak. Seeing the ground coming at him at a very fast speed, this black-robed man used his last bit of consciousness to move his right hand to shield his face. And then his entire body crashed right into the ground. It was a good thing that his hands were covering his face, or he would have been disfigured. Hypnosis! This didn''t work too well on people, so Roland just tried it, not expecting that it would actually succeed in one shot. After knocking out one person, Roland only pointed his hand at the other two black-robed men who weren''t restricted by the Ice Ring The other two tried to run as well. The one on the right was knocked out by Roland and fell asleep while sprinting, falling straight to the ground at a great speed, and then grazing forward quickly on the floor for five meters before stopping. There was a faint bloodstain underneath him, so he probably had a damaged facedisfigured for sure. The other man was actually not hit by Hypnosis, but he was directly pinned to the ground by a huge blue Hand of Magic. In less than six seconds, Roland was able to subdue all six of the black-robed people. The three black-robed men, who were frozen in place, took out their throwing weapons again and tried to struggle a bit. But Roland hid behind the puppet''s light shield and formed a large blue fireball with a radius of about half a meter in his right hand, then squinted and smiled, looking at the other side. These three saw the situation and obediently threw down their weapons. They could feel that the big fireball would directly burn them to ashes. Hypnosis, Roland had never liked because it didn''t work very well. When he was level two, he experimented with Hypnosis on the children in Red Earth Town and found that the success rate was less than 30%. But he never thought that it would work so well against these assassins now. It actually put two people to sleep in a row. It seemed that the assassins'' mental magic resistance was really low, but of course, that had a lot to do with the fact that he had leveled up. Then he looked at the three black-robed men who were frozen in place, and although he was smiling, his tone was quite cold. "You Assassins Guild members won''t even spare a child?" "We''re not from the Assassin''s Guild." 215 Shifting Troubles Roland naturally didn''t believe it. The black-robed people were good at using long-range weapons, and it wasn''t long ago that Mijil was captured by the Assassins'' Guild. It had only been a few days since, and then again another group of black-robed people cameanyone would have thought they were Assassins sent by the Assassin''s Guild. However, this black-robed man shouted in a pathetic tone, "We really aren''t from the Assassins'' Guild." The sadness of his voice and the helplessness of his expression were moving. Roland froze for a moment, extinguished the large blue fireball in his hand, and asked, "Then who are you?" Upon seeing Roland, a slaughterer in their eyes, dispersing his terrifying magical fluctuations, the three black-robed men whose feet were frozen were all relieved. The one who spoke just now continued, "We are from the Guild of Rogues." Heh, that''s how it is. Assassins were a subclass advancement of the profession of Rogues. A Rogue could steal, open locks, detect traps, kill stealthily, and so on. The Assassin was a specialist in stealthy killing. With higher levels of shadow stealth, more powerful Assassination abilities, and even blind fighting or night vision, the Assassin could be said to be the king of the dark Provided, of course, that they didn''t encounter high-level Mages or Saint Samurai of the same level or above. Not to mention that Saint Samurai were naturally strong in melee combat and were skilled in light-type theurgy, they had a very keen sense of shadow-type abilities. Mages and Assassins were a pair of archenemies: they countered and feared each other. Mages had several spells that could detect stealth, and also had various force field spells to prevent being approached, but they couldn''t always have detection spells and force fields cast upon themselves. Even if magic power was abundant and could never be used up in a lifetime, people also needed to resteven gods had times when they napped, let alone humans. And this was often the time when Assassins made their move. After all, one couldn''t guard against a thief for a thousand days. In addition, Assassins hated Mages, who had all kinds of scouting spells that disgusted them. When they went to kill Mages who''d finally dropped their guard, the Mages would have a magic pet by their side. Most of the Mages'' magic pets had good anti-stealth abilities. Most of the prerequisites for an Assassin to be able to take out a Mage was whether or not they could get past the magic pet''s anti-stealth abilities. When he heard that they were from the Guild of Rogues, Roland''s expression got a little better, but he still asked, "Why are you guys here?" "We received a commission from Mijil''s father to help him get his daughter back." "How can he commission you if he owes someone else money?" "So you guys investigated and then followed the trail here." The three black-robed men laughed helplessly. "You''ll have to leave this alone, I''m the one protecting Mijil now." The three black-robed men showed a slight look of disdain, and the one who had just spoken continued: "Sir, although you are a Mage, the one standing behind us is an entire guild." Roland said indifferently, "I am a Golden Son." The three of them suddenly felt somewhat speechless. One of them suddenly cursed. "Shit." The other two didn''t look too pleased either. The black-robed man who cursed was silent for a moment and said, "Sir, we, the Guild of Rogues, have put this matter behind us, and we will compensate a gold coin to Mijil. How about we both pretend nothing happened after this?" Most of the people in the Guild of Rogues were either slippery or easily swayed. This was a result of their professional characteristics. When they encountered a strong person, they would cooperate if they could, or hide if they couldn''t. Against a Mage, they could still boast the guild''s banner to give themselves courage. But if this Mage was also a Golden Son, it would be a different story. This group of undying beings They were inhumane. Every one of them wouldn''t let go once they bit down, and if you offended them, they''d chase you to the ends of the earth to settle the matter. The Guild of Rogues'' intelligence network was quite wide and large. They had already received information about many Golden Sons meddling in their affairs more and more, and eventually, they even heard rumors that the Golden Sons dared to go against the noble families. In fact, two mayors had already died at their hands. In comparison, they were just nobodies. So they simply conceded defeat and even offered compensation. Dignity was something that didn''t mean much to Rogues. If they ran out of gold coins, they could always steal morethere was always a way to earn it back. If their life was gone, there was no way to get it back. "Sure." Roland nodded. He didn''t have the mind to cause any more major conflicts with the Guild of Rogues, now that he had the queen''s quest to deal with and the main quest hanging around, and a little girl to take care of. It would be best to keep conflict to a minimum. One of the black-robed men threw a gold coin at Roland. Roland, on the other hand, removed the control effect of the Ice Ring. They quickly retreated, taking their unconscious companions with them. Roland went upstairs and found no one in the bedroom, only a Spell Puppet standing in front of the bed. He froze for a moment, then crouched, and sure enough, he saw Mijil lying under the bed, cowering in the corner. When she saw Roland, she crawled out on her hands and knees and hugged Roland''s thighs, clenching onto them tightly and crying. Roland knew she was terrified, so he stroked the top of her head and comforted her in a soft voice. It wasn''t long before a strange multitude of footsteps came from downstairs and stopped at the door. Feeling a little confused, Roland went to the window and looked down, then spotted Antis with a dozen city guards in gray leather armor and carrying lances. Antis had been watching the window and smiled when he saw Roland, as if a beautiful maiden was meeting her lover. Roland shuddered, feeling strange. "So it''s you," Antis said from below. Roland looked down. Antis said, "I received a report from the citizens that the scum of the Guild of Rogues were trying to bully people here, so I came over to take a look." "It''s over." Roland thought about it and continued, "I found some clues about the queen, would you like to come up here and hear about it?" Antis''s eyes narrowed. "Seriously?" "There''s no need for me to lie to you." Half a minute later, Antis appeared in the bedroom, dressed in black tight-fit armor, without a helmet surprisingly. "What''s the clue?" Antis asked urgently. Roland brought out the silk dress. "Take a look, see if this is the queen''s dress." Antis looked it over, closed his eyes and thought for a while, and said, "I have indeed seen this dress on the queen." "And is the queen blonde?" Roland took out a strand of hair. "Yes!" Roland laughed with a somewhat meaningful expression as he explained the process of finding the dress and hair, then continued, "I don''t know much about the hidden chamber mechanisms, so I can''t find it. Maybe the city guards can?" Roland didn''t like that kind of filthy place, and since Antis was also responsible for it, it wouldn''t be much to ask for him to share some of the burden. "I understand, but you have to come with us." Roland was reluctant now. "No." Antis said fiercely, "If I can go to that disgusting place, so can you." "It''s not exactly my responsibility to find the queen. I''m just helping out of the kindness of my heart." Roland shrugged. "It''s beyond my capabilities." "The Mages'' obsession with cleanliness is so annoying." Antis walked away very upset. Roland threw down two magic spiders to follow him. 216 Flaws Shared by Most of the Princesses of Hollevins Royal Family Roland wouldn''t want to go to a place like that againit was too dirty and smelly. The two magic spiders were climbing on the walls by the side of the road and had been trailing Antis. Roland, on the other hand, comforted Mijil, who would most likely have been captured if not for the presence of the defensive Spell Puppet earlier. However, it was strange that Mijil''s father actually knew that his in-laws had left a house for Mijil. In addition, Roland felt quite anonyed that it was clear that Mijil''s father was after his own daughter, but on second thought, this meant the middle-aged merchant didn''t really think much of Roland. He knew it was Roland who had taken Mijila Mage who had taken his daughter, a daughter he didn''t want. He had to be grateful to Roland for that, according to sense and reason. However, he had hired Rogues to come and snatch Mijil. It seemed as if there was no consideration for Roland''s identity or profession at all. Roland felt sorry for Mijil to have been born to such a father Roland didn''t know that Mijil wasn''t the middle-aged merchant''s biological daughter. But it was good that her mother was not bad. As Roland thought about this, he took Mijil''s hand and led her to Kaka''s manor. The guards switched back to the original two, and when they saw Roland, they opened the door without saying a word. Roland nodded to thank them, and there, at the door, he met the steward of this manor, who brought the two of them outside the door of Kaka''s study. Knocking lightly on the door, Kaka''s voice came from inside. "Please come in." Pushing the door in, Roland found Kaka bent over his desk studying spell models and asked, "How''s the learning going?" "It feels almost done." Kaka waved his hand and a blue shield-holding Spell Puppet appeared in front of him, almost identical to the one Roland had summoned, but much smaller. This was due to Kaka''s lack of magic power. Just summoning this Spell Puppet had almost left him without mana. After catching his breath, he stood up and said, "I plan to turn in this spell model at the Association''s headquarters tomorrow." "Don''t you want to be more skilled at it before doing so?" Roland asked. Kaka shook his head and smiled bitterly. "In five more days at the most, I''ll be leaving the city, so I can''t put it off any longer, and after turning it over to the headquarters, It''s also going to take at least two days or so for the judging period. If it drags on, it will have to be issued." In that case, it really couldn''t wait any longer. "Then I''ll start by wishing you success." Kaka smiled. "Thank you By the way, have you found any clues about the queen?" "Just found a dress, a silk gown." Roland shrugged. "Then it looks like the queen''s done for," Kaka said rather regretfully. "Her clothes were stripped," Kaka said helplessly. "The queen is very pretty, and if I were alone with her, I would most likely get some ideas." Roland was a little surprised. "Is she really so prettyhow does she compare to Princess Evelyn?" "Each has her own charm, but the queen''s more elegant." Kaka showed a yearning look. "At a glance, she''s the kind of woman that makes you lose yourself." It seemed that Kaka liked mature women, and Princess Evelyn looked a little too immature. Roland came to this conclusion as he sat and said, "Do you know a relatively safer place?" "Hmm? Are you in trouble?" "It''s not me, it''s this little girl." Roland stroked Mijil''s head and told him what happened. "I still have to investigate the queen''s affairs and can''t quite focus on her. The Guild of Rogues is here and I have a feeling the Shadow Assassins Guild isn''t far away, so" When Mijil heard this, she looked at Roland with some concern. Kaka contemplated for a moment, then said, "There''s no way I can help you. You''re an outsider and you don''t know your way around, so I don''t think there are many people you can trust. But if it''s somewhere safe, I do know of one, but it might be a bit of a problem." Roland leaned forward. "Oh, how so?" "Princess Evelyn is almost old enough to get married, that''s why she went to live in the city of Isnas for a while," Kaka explained. "The royal family has three other princesses living in the city. One of them, Veronica, doesn''t live in the palace and has her own manor and a private army." Roland frowned. "And so?" "Princess Veronica is a Warrior she doesn''t think much of Magesshe thinks we''re too weak." Kaka chuckled. "But she is quite an interesting person. If a Mage asks her for help with a job, she would have the Mage duel her, and if the Mage wins without using offensive magic, she''ll be willing to help with anything." "Willing to help with anything?" "Right!" Kaka smiled in an obscene way that all men understood. "Including that sort of thing, let alone just fostering a little girl. But until now, no Mage has ever been able to beat her without using offensive magic. It is an impossible thing to begin withhow could a Mage fight a warrior hand-to-hand and win." Roland nodded. "I can try." "I think you can give it a try too." Kaka pointed at the blue puppet in front of him. "As long as you summon a few more of these puppets, you should have a bit of a chance of winning." After thanking Kaka for his advice, Roland took Mijil and followed Kaka''s instructions to a manor. Compared to Kaka''s manor, the manor in front of him was not only much larger but also had a much more diverse landscape of plants. When the guards at the entrance saw Roland, their eyes became vigilant. Roland walked over and said through the iron fence, "Please tell Princess Veronica that I have come to challenge her." After a brief silence, these guards almost burst out in laughter as they looked at Roland''s thin arms and legs. Still, one of the men ran in, and before long he came out again, pulled open the iron fence, and led Roland and Mijil inside. Skirting a grove of trees that obscured his view, Roland reached the front courtyard and found a circle of soldiers already standing there, and a table and some chairs. A young girl in white close-fitting plain clothes sat on a chair and looked at Roland with a smile. Mijil was a little scared. Roland took her hand, walked over, nodded slightly and said, "Princess Veronica, it''s nice to meet you." The young girl stood up. She had blonde hair, tied in a ponytail, and her eyes were a rare blood-red color, like a ruby, clear and transparent. She was extremely beautiful. She looked Roland up and down, smiled, and asked, "Before the duel, I would like to ask, what is the prize you want?" "Help me take care of this little girl for a while." Roland patted the little girl''s head. The young woman looked surprised. "That''s it?" "That''s it." "I thought you wanted to sleep with me like the other male Mages." With a very innocent expression, Princess Veronica said something that tickled the mind. "Even the Archmage Tobian dueled me, and his condition was that he wanted me to sleep with him for a few days. I ended up almost beating his nose off." Only then did Roland begin to study Princess Veronica, and then he shook his head lightly. Too flathe didn''t like it. Veronica, for no apparent reason, developed a feeling of discomfort. She wanted to break the nose of the man in front of her. 217 Who Says A Shield Cant Attack? Feeling the "malice" in Roland''s gaze, Veronica was quite upset. In reality, Veronica was quite pretty, with a white, soft, oval face and willowy eyebrows. She was a little prettier than her sister, Princess Evelyn, but the problem was that she was so skinny that it detracted from her overall image. Vivian, who had the better figure, was not as good-looking as Veronica, but if the two of them were put in front of Roland and he had to pick one, he would definitely choose Vivian over Princess Veronica. "Looks like you''re a man with a more normal orientation." Upset as she was, Veronica still acknowledged Roland more; at least Roland wasn''t the kind of beast that rutted when he looked at a woman''s face. "So we''ll start now?" Veronica beckoned, and the guard beside her handed a broadsword to her. The broadsword was longer and wider than a normal longsword, and slightly heavier. It could be used as a two-handed sword or a one-handed sword, quite flexible in its usage, hence its popularity with most melee professionals. After all, they weren''t players; they didn''t have Backpacks, so they couldn''t carry dozens of weapons on them and switch or choose different options depending on the combat scenario. This was why a weapon that could adapt to most combat scenarios was so important. Planting her broadsword on the ground, Veronica received another small round shield from the soldier and pinned it to her left arm. This small round shield wasn''t large, a little over twenty centimeters in width, and barely interfered with the user''s ability to hold the weapon with both hands, or to dual-wield weapons, and it could serve as a shield for limited blocking at critical moments. She was an agile warrior Most female warriors were agile. Of course, there were many voluptuous commanders as well. After equipping her weapon, Veronica smiled at Roland and said, "Don''t worry, my broadsword hasn''t been sharpened, and I''ll keep my hand on itit shouldn''t kill anyone, at most, it will break a few bones Are you ready?" Roland signaled for Mijil to stand next to him, then he stepped back onto the grass and snapped his fingers, and a blue Spell Puppet holding a shield of light appeared in front of him. "I''m ready." "What a strange Spell Puppet. Looks like a guard." Veronica lowered her body slightly. The broadsword hadn''t been sharpened and she used it to slightly brace her body. This way it looked as if she didn''t have a point of support to exert power, but a professional couldn''t be evaluated with common sense. This was a sign that she was about to charge. "It''s just a Spell Puppet" Just as Roland spoke, Veronica''s eyes lit up and she charged forward. She was extremely fast and extravagantly supple yet with the elegant beauty of power, like a golden cheetah on the hunt. Roland had thought that the other party would just hit the Spell Puppet, and he had even conjured Hand of Magic, ready to give her a hard time when she hit the Spell Puppet. However, Veronica suddenly twisted, and her entire body shifted two meters to the right without any warning signs. She suddenly appeared on Roland''s left side, bypassing the guard-type Spell Puppet. Z-Charge, a high-level Warrior specialty. This specialty still hadn''t been learned by any players up until now. It wasn''t that the player Warriors weren''t smart enough, but no one taught it. Got you! Looking at Roland, who was less than two meters in front of her, Veronica had a smile on her face, but there was a hint of disappointment in her eyes. She thought that this peer who didn''t covet her for her beauty could show her a different result. Unexpectedly, it was still just like the others who lost after two or three moves. Are all magicians really not good at melee combat? Next, she just had to push her broadsword forward to win the duel. The man has a nice personality, so I won''t break his bones. While thinking this, Veronica suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck and hurriedly lowered her head. A sharp wind passed over her head. There were cries of surprise from the guards standing on the sidelines at this moment. Veronica didn''t know what was happening, but her Warrior instincts made her not think much about it. When her instincts drove her, she not only didn''t retreat but also didn''t look at what had just attacked her. She just lowered her head and charged at Roland, while thrusting forward with her broadsword. It was just that she was one step too slow because she lowered her head. The guard-type puppet that had been bypassed was once again in front of Roland. And her broadsword stabbed right into the puppet''s light shield. After the clashing sound, the puppet took a slight step back, almost crashing into Roland. Veronica took a big step sideways with her right leg, and with a twist, she completed a spin sideways. The broadsword in her hand also spun around and slashed at Roland''s left shoulder with the force of the spin. The way agile warriors attacked and moved was just so elegant. It would have been impossible for a heavily armored warrior to make such a nimble move. At the same time, through a surprised glimpse, as she spun, Veronica saw that what had just attacked her was a white magic doll, carrying a very long, curved blade in its hand. What the hell kind of weapon is that first time I''ve ever seen one. On the other hand, the white puppet was now warmed up and would probably be ready to strike again in the next half-second. So Veronica had to be able to complete the Cleave in half a second and get ready to respond to the attack from behind. The broadsword drew a circle, the tip shining in the sunlight. This time Veronica spun and shifted, once again bypassing the guard puppet and slashing her broadsword at Roland''s right shoulder. At this time, there was also suddenly a blue miaodao in Roland''s hand, transformed from Hand of Magic. The miaodao blocked the broadsword, and after the sound of the clash, Roland borrowed the momentum to take three steps back. Veronica didn''t rush to chase after him, but turned around abruptly and used the small shield on her left hand to block the white puppet''s miaodao attack. She was about to counterattack when she heard the wind assailing her back and the broadsword on her right hand suddenly moved toward the back of her shoulder, blocking Roland''s forward-stepping slash. Roland was not as strong as the offensive puppet, and Veronica''s body merely wobbled, but he himself was instead bounced backward with his blade by the counter-shock force of the block. At this time Veronica turned her head fiercely and smiled lightly at Roland, her pretty, innocent face full of pride. "No more moves, right? It''s my turn next Ah!" Veronica suddenly let out a cry of pain and her entire body was knocked four or five meters away, falling to the ground. She rolled to her feet, then realized that it was the blue shield-bearing puppet that had knocked her off her feet. A group of soldiers rushed over, shouting, and protected Veronica, all the while glaring at Roland. Veronica was stunned, then looked at Roland and smiled somewhat happily. "I lost. I didn''t expect that your blue puppet could actually attack." Roland breathed a sigh of relief and snapped his fingers, dispersing the two Spell Puppets. Veronica walked up to Roland. "I''ll fulfill my conditions and help you take care of this little girl Are you sure you really don''t need me to do anything else?" "No need." Roland shook his head. "Good." Veronica nodded and smiled widely. "Because if you wanted me to sleep with you as other men do, I would have torn up the verbal contract, maybe even killed you. You''re a good man, you got away with it." Roland tsked, a little annoyed. 218 The Queen? Roland''s expression was quite unpleasant and he was tempted to say "You''re insulting my character, how could I do that to a washboard." But thinking about it, he still had to trouble her to take care of Mijil, so he didn''t say anything. "Your Spell Puppet is different from normal people''s. Is it your creation?" Veronica tossed her broadsword aside and two soldiers picked it up. She smiled as she continued, "You seem to be quite the genius." "It was Kaka Bard who made it." Roland shrugged and said, "I''m his friend, he taught it to me." Since Roland had already agreed with Kaka that the latter would be the one to publish the spell derived from the Spell Puppet, he wouldn''t argue about this. Veronica sat down in the chair and gathered her long blonde ponytail to the left side of her chest, then fiddled it with her little finger, a gesture that added to her femininity even though she was still a young girl and very flat. She looked directly into Roland''s eyes. "But as far as I know, Kaka isn''t that smart. Derivative magic is a profound technique that even the few Archmages haven''t figured out, and he can do it?" "He''s just discreet." "But I think you''re using it rather skillfully." Veronica laughed softly. "Besides, I''ve never seen Kaka use similar spells before." "Maybe he wanted to surprise his acquaintances." Veronica was naturally not too convinced. The young people in the few big families in the capital knew each other, and everyone was clear about what level Kaka was at. To say that the eldest of the Bard family had created the derivative spells wouldn''t sound too strange, but if it were Kaka just forget about it. There were just some things that you were well aware of in your heart, and it wasn''t good to talk about them so thoroughly and clearlyit wouldn''t be good for either the speaker or the listener. Veronica shook her head helplessly, then looked to Mijil not too far away. "You want me to take care of this little girl, no problem. But for how long? I can''t take care of her forever." "As short as ten days or as long as a month or two." "Okay. I understand." Roland bent down, stroked Mijil''s little head, and said amiably, "In the meantime, will you follow this sister princess? When I''m done with things, I''ll come to get you." Although Mijil looked worried and scared, she was very sensible and nodded her head gently. After handing Mijil over to Veronica, Roland was about to leave when the latter suddenly said, "By the way, the long saber you used just now, what''s it called?" "Miaodao." "Meowdao?" Veronica''s pronunciation wasn''t quite right. She stood up and said, "It seems to me that it has a matching sword training method, can you teach it to me?" Roland looked at the other with some surprise. "What spell?" "Stone to Mud, and its derivative spell Mud to Stone." "Haven''t learned that." Roland revealed a rather intrigued expression. "This kind of magic isn''t very handyit''s usually used against cavalry," Veronica said with a smile. "This is a trophy I got from last year''s expedition. Many people don''t use this kind of magic, and it consumes a lot of magic power, so it''s not actually very effective. It might be a bit insufficient in value to trade it for your sword arts, but I really don''t have anything better." This was really just a misplaced sense of one''s own value. The things one likes, of course, felt important, and the things one didn''t like, even if they were great, would be discounted. This was the mindset Veronica had right now. When Roland used the miaodao just now, it was obviously quite methodical, and it could be seen that it was a fairly mature system of sword arts, so she was naturally excited to try it. Roland, on the other hand, felt that it was too good a deal to trade the miaodao arts for a type of magic. "I''ll trade. I''m willing to pay for any magic that I haven''t learned, and if you have any other magic books, Your Highness, you can trade them." Roland now had over three hundred gold coins in his Backpack. His current possessions were already comparable to a mid-level noble familya rich man could speak with confidence. "I only have that one, magic book trophies are rare." Veronica was also quite happy. Roland spent the next half a day at the manor, drawing models of miaodao stances before teaching Veronica how to stand and move with the saber. Veronica learned quickly; after all, she was a Warrior and had a foundation to build on. In just half a day''s time, she had become more proficient in the movements of the miaodao arts. After Roland left the manor, Veronica said to the steward, "Help me build six of the same weapons according to the model on this piece of paper and send them over. Then send this little girl to the guest area and leave her in Ashe''s care. Don''t neglect her, understand?" The steward received his orders and left. Veronica, on the other hand, drew her broadsword from the side and brandished a set of stances with this weapon instead of the miaodao for the time being. After brandishing, she murmured, "Strength and agility in equal measure it seems like a battlefield sword art, but it''s also not bad in a solo fight. How does a Mage know how to use a sword art like this?" I''ll ask him about it the next time I see him. Roland put the magic book in his Backpack and walked out of the princess''s manor and then to Kaka''s manorand just in time to bump into Kaka''s second brother, Felwood, as he was leaving, his expression full of displeasure. Before he left, he gave Roland a hateful stare but didn''t say anything harsh. Instead, he just left in a carriage. Two minutes later, Roland appeared in Kaka''s study. When Kaka saw him and didn''t find Mijil next to him, his expression suddenly became one of great surprise. "You really won against Veronica, without resorting to offensive spells?" Roland sat down. "The princess held back." "I don''t believe it. How could I not know her personality?" Kaka shook his head, then he smiled lewdly. "I can''t believe you didn''t make that kind of request since you won against Veronica. She''s one of the most beautiful amongst the young noblewomen." "I''m not that horny." Roland sighed, then asked, "I saw your second brother just now, what''s the situation?" Kaka wore an extremely dissatisfied expression. "He''s forcing me to take up my post in the field right now, his attitude is very unfriendly. Obviously Big Brother is on my sidewhat''s his hurry? It''s not like I''m stealing the family fortune from him." Roland laughed. He didn''t want to pay too much attention to other people''s family affairs; he simply asked to make conversation. He thought about it, reclining in the chair, and asked, "Are you confident in the matter of the derivative magic being turned over to the Association?" "I''ve sent someone to inform the headquarters'' chairman, and he replied that a review meeting will be held tomorrow morning." With that said, Kaka''s expression grew visibly excited. "I wish you success." Roland was about to say more blessings, but he suddenly frowned. A picture came from the magic spider of Antis finding a woman in a secret passage in the dark. 219 Racial Gifts The image sent from the magic spider was of a voluptuous woman in a white dress sitting in a hidden chamber. The chamber wasn''t large, but it was well-furnished, with bright lights made of magic crystals, a large bed, a table and chairs, and a wardrobe. And there were many fruits on the table, as well as golden cups and goblets thoroughly embedded with various gemstones. The few things on the large bed were all made of silk, and the woman looked extremely well, not at all haggard, and had evidently lived comfortably without any abuse. Antis, on the other hand, was down on one knee in front of the woman. Although he couldn''t hear their voices, looking at the several images streaming into his mind continuously, it became clear to Roland that this woman must be the queen. Just as Roland was thinking about this, a system message suddenly popped up. He opened it and was slightly surprised. Quest failed: Find the Next Clue. He then watched the quest font turn black and finally fade away from the quest list. So a quest interfered with by an NPC will result in quest failure? Roland found himself knowing a little more about quests. The failure and disappearance of the quest was not a big deal to Roland. It was just a quest. It wasn''t a huge loss of character experience or equipment, so obtaining useful information from the failure was a profit. It seemed that in all future quests, he would have to avoid too much interference from NPCs. When Kaka saw him lost in thought, he asked, "What''s wrong?" "Nothing, just some small matter." Roland stood up. "I was expecting to be here for a long time, but something went wrong. Now it seems that in two or three days, I''ll be leaving after you''ve successfully turned in your derivative magic." "So soon?" Roland shrugged. "It''s been a long time since I''ve been back, and without a Magic Tower, I haven''t even had time to test and learn magic, so it''s time to return." Kaka laughed. "Then at least for the next two or three days, you can stay at the manor and help me keep the situation under control." "Sure." Roland was indifferent. Roland then stayed in the manor for a while, and using this time, he started flipping through the magic book given to him by Princess Veronica. There were two types of magic noted in it, Stone to Mud and Mud to Stone. In reality, this was the reverse application of the same magic. This was a level-two spell, and although there were quite a few nodes, it was much less difficult compared to Language Proficiency. Besides, now that he was at a higher level than before, and had the experience from learning several spells and creating several derivative spells, he quickly got started with it. Using this against cavalry indeed could work wonders. Not to mention cavalry, the heavy infantry squads would also be instantly annihilated. There were a few guards who happened to be patrolling the area at this time, and when they saw such a large swamp, they gulped in fear. Roland then began to learn Mud to Stone, which was easier to learn since it was just a reversal of the previous magic. It only took an hour to successfully cast it. With a wave of his hand, he turned the swamp in front of him back into a rocky ground, which was originally just grass and mudit was now a fairly flat square of stone slabs. Well I used a little too much force. Roland repeated casting Stone to Mud and Mud to Stone several more times before finding the right level of force to turn stone back into normal mud. Mud to Stone was simple to learn but somewhat difficult to master. Whether it was turning a swamp into mud or stone, it was all up to the Mage''s control. He practiced these two spells several more times, and feeling almost finished, he was about to leave and return to his room to rest and recover his magic power when a sudden light flashed in his mind. Roland once again used Mud to Stone. This time he deliberately made the area of the swamp small, then using his mental power, he forced the mud of the swamp to mold into the shape of a ball, and then unleashed Mud to Stone on it. In the earthen pit ahead, there was a large, round stone with a rather shiny surface. Roland walked over to the large round stone and stepped on it with his foot, finding it very, very hard. Then he froze for a moment, then slowly smiled in a Crayon Shin-chan[1] way. Hehehe! When Kaka returned from the Association headquarters, he hopped off the wagon and walked at a brisk pace to the backyard of the manor before his eyes widened. The space in the backyard was filled with all sorts of strange things. A statue of a naked man in a contemplative pose, a cherub showing its bird peeing, a giant octopus, a big round ball with a quirky, squinty-eyed, wacky grin on it, and so on. All were stone statues, some very crude, but others were clearly quite exquisite. Then he realized that, looking from left to right, it just happened to be a process of crudeness slowly becoming exquisiteness. "What the what the hell!" What''s going on here? Kaka gulped. Didn''t he just go out for a few hours? How did his own backyard become like this? Roland saw Kaka and smiled somewhat proudly. He said, "I''ve found the correct use of Stone to Mud." He snapped his fingers and all the statues before him turned to mud and fell to the ground, which was rapidly turning into a vast swamp. Kaka instinctively stepped back. Then the swamp moved strangely, first bulging out with four walls about two meters high, then synthesizing into a square shape, then the walls continued to rise and synthesized into another two-meter high square shape. Then a hole began to appear in the square shape on both the upper and lower levels. A larger vertical rectangle appeared on the mud wall facing them on the first level. At first, Kaka didn''t know what Roland was doing, but seeing this rectangular shape, he suddenly realized that it seemed to be a door. At this moment, Roland snapped his fingers again, and this mud hardened at a very fast rate, then turned into a very good quality stone. In the blink of an eye, a small, square, two-story building with a door and windows appeared in front of Kaka. "Oh my god!" Kaka felt like his worldview had been refreshed. "You used this magic to build a stone building?" Roland nodded proudly. "Yeah, I just thought of it while making the statues. With this spell, we Mages will be able to go anywhere in the futureeven in the middle of nowhere. As long as we can build this kind of stone building, we won''t have to be afraid of wild animals and poisonous insects, nor of storms." "No one has ever thought that this spell could be used like this." Kaka stared blankly at Roland with a frightened expression, as if he had seen a demon. "How does that head of yours work?" [1] Japanese anime and manga 220 Ah, Women They walked into a two-story square building with nothing in it but a sloping slab of stone leading to the second floor. Kaka looked at Roland with a hint of a smile on his face. There was a path to the second floor, but with such a smooth slab of stone as the stairway at a rather straight angle, it would be impossible to climb up without a bit of kung fu. Roland chuckled. "It can''t be helped. It''s my first time, I''m inexperienced at building a house with magicI''ll get it after a few more times." Kaka went to the wall, knocked on it, and found that it was thick and hardthe thickness was estimated to be around thirty centimeters. Although the defensive ability certainly wasn''t comparable with castles and the like, living in a house like this in the middle of nowhere, even if the conditions weren''t very good, was ten times better than living in a cave, or around a campfire under a tree. "If this catches on, in the future, Mages who specialize in Transmutation will become extremely sought after in the mercenary world." Kaka looked at Roland with profound admiration. "Even if one doesn''t know any attack magic, as long as one knows this spell, they will be the guest of honor of all the mercenaries, and if one knows Language Proficiency, then their position in the mercenary group won''t be any lower than the commander''s." As someone in the magic world, Kaka knew all too well how exaggerated this ability to build a house in just a minute or two was. Now that he was building a house, he could just as well create terrain if he was in a battle. For example, providing archers with high ground and on-the-spot battlements. Or, he could create swamps to block enemy movement. Wait. With enough imagination, this magic can have all sorts of variations. "Don''t restore this stone house, leave it there," Kaka said, touching the wall, enthralled. "I think this thing will spur me on and make me aware of how big of a gap there is between me and the top Mages." "Leave it here? Can you keep living here?" Roland said, slightly stunned. "Looks like you successfully turned in the derivative spell?" "Yes," Kaka said happily, "First the six Archmages vetted the magic, and they all agreed that ''my'' spell was quite groundbreaking, and finally the headquarter''s chairman came along, affirmed the spell, and promised that tomorrow this significant event would be announced to the entire Association of Mages, and broke the rules to grant me the title of Elite Mage. "That''s good." "It will be some time before the rewards from the headquarters are distributed," Kaka said sincerely. "How about you stay here until then?" Roland remembered that the last time rewards sent to him by the headquarters had been delayed for two months. Even if it took almost a month to transport it from the capital to Delpon, there was still a month''s preparation period. He thought about it and decided to let it go. "I''m heading back to Delpon, just send me the reward sometime later." "Sure." Kaka was a little disappointed. He felt that Roland was the first real friend he had had in twenty years, the kind that he could open his heart to. There was no friendship between nobles; there was even less affection amongst kin. This was why he valued this friendship and hoped that Roland could stay here longer. However, Roland was leaving and he couldn''t force him to stay. "Then let''s go to the tavern for a few drinks together later." Roland said with a smile, "Sure." Though he said a few drinks, in reality they were drinking heavily. The fruit wine had a low alcohol level, about the same as beer. Although he was a Mage, as his level increased, Roland''s constitution also increasedthis little bit of alcohol had no effect on him anymore. On the other hand, Kaka was only level two, and his constitution growth wasn''t as high as Roland''s, a Golden Son, so he started to get tipsy after drinking some more. Then he placed a parchment book in front of Roland. "This is the information and model of Long-Distance Teleportation you wanted to see. I applied to the headquarters at noon to borrow it for the day." Roland''s eyes lit up. He immediately found a clean table beside him and slowly opened the single-sheet parchment book into a giant piece of parchment. Then, he turned on the system''s photo function and took pictures of the densely packed nodes on it. About five minutes later, he closed the parchment back up and handed it to Kaka. Kaka smiled drunkenly and placed the spellbook in his garment pocket. They drank for another half-hour, and Kaka''s vision had become quite blurry. Kaka bobbed his head and said, "Roland, I know you will become a legendary Mage someday. Others may fall midway, but you Golden Sons are different, you are immortal, and the only thing that limits your growth cap is your self-control. And you are one of the hardest working Mages I''ve ever met." Roland nodded; he also felt he was quite diligent. It wasn''t self-glorification, but an objective fact, and he wasn''t guilty of admitting it. "I don''t know if you''ll still recognize me as a friend after you become a legend." Roland reached out and patted Kaka''s shoulder. "Don''t worry, I will. I, Roland am not the kind of person who forgets his poor friends when he gets rich." Kaka laughed softly and happily and didn''t say another word; the impending parting made him a little upset. To Roland, Kaka was also a friend, and parting was not something that was too hard to bear. After all, now that Long-Distance Teleportation was already in hand, as long as he studied it diligently, he could learn it in a short period of one or two months, or half a year. Once he learned it, he would be able to teleport everywhere and wander around, and it would only be a small matter to come to the capital, so there was no need to be sorrowful now. He parted with Kaka at the tavern. Roland walked to Princess Veronica''s manor. He planned to take Mijil to Delpon, which was his own territory, and at the Magic Tower, Mijil could be well taken care of and also learn magic, killing two birds with one stone. But on the way, Roland met Antis, who was patrolling with a group of soldiers. Upon seeing Roland, Antis nodded at Roland, and his mouth opened as if he wanted to say something. Roland waved to him in greeting. Antis hesitated, shook his head, and said no more, leaving with the patrol. "Something about him seems strange." Roland frowned but didn''t think much of it. He soon arrived at Veronica''s manor and met this Princess Taiping[1]. At this time, Veronica had changed into a gown, appearing very dainty and lovely, and had emerald earrings pinned to her ears, as if she were going to attend some kind of party. "I''m here to pick up Mijil." Veronica looked at Roland with some surprise. "I thought it would be for a month, it''s only been a day." "Things have gone awry." Roland shrugged. "Suit yourself." Veronica smiled indifferently. "Any interest in coming to the party with me?" "I have to get back." Veronica wore an expression as if she were looking at an idiot. "Are you unable to understand the subtext of a lady''s words?" "You simply want me to be your male companion and help you block pursuers," Roland sneered. "Not interested." [1] A Tang Dynasty princess that was known for her beauty 221 Phase One Targets Have Been Exceeded Veronica''s expression was foul as if she had eaten three pounds of crap. Originally, she wanted to exchange insights on miaodao arts with Roland, but now she was so angry that she was in no mood for anything. She said with a stiff face, "You mean if it''s not to deter pursuers, you''d be interested if I was genuinely inviting you? Are you lusting after my body?" "I''m not interested in either." Roland shrugged. "Hmph, take the girl and go." Veronica waved her hand, turned, and walked away. Her good mood upon attending a banquet was gone. She walked out of the manor and got in the carriage. Meanwhile, Mijil was brought out. When the little girl saw Roland, she immediately ran up and hugged Roland''s thigh, looking very happy. Actually, she was not happy in the princess''s manor. She had no problem eating and sleeping, but those servants weren''t nice to herthey were very cold. There was no physical abuse, but most of the time, it was the coldness that was the most horrible abuse for a small child, and sometimes even if you beat them, they wouldn''t feel too scared. Roland took Mijil to the horse market, rented a carriage, and also hired a coachman to take the little girl with him to Delpon. Although it was a long way to go, since they could build houses in the wild using Mud to Stone, and there was a lot of food in his Backpackthe food wouldn''t get cold insidetheir journey was like a relaxing outing. It really would have been a pretty enjoyable excursion if it weren''t for road-blocking bandits that appeared twice on the way. When these bandits first jumped out, they were frozen in place by Roland with an Ice Blade, then a direct Fireball incinerated them such that not even ashes were left. Whenever Mijil saw Roland using magic, her eyes always became sparkly and filled with admiration. About thirteen days later, Roland returned to Delpon. Vivian was waiting at the city gate with his magic pet, White Amber. As soon as Roland''s carriage arrived at the city gate, White Amber rushed into the carriage and lay down in Roland''s arms, snuggling against him. The magic pet was essentially of the same mind as its master, Even if the relationship wasn''t excellent at first, the relationship between the pet and its master would eventually become more and more harmonious with the passage of time. Vivian could know that Roland had returned because White Amber had told her. Vivian then also walked up to the carriage. She looked at Roland with bright eyes, but then saw a little girl sitting next to Roland and froze for a moment. "You got another student?" "Yes, she''s quite you understand. She''ll be a member of our Magic Tower from now on." Roland patted the little one''s head. Mijil looked at Vivian a little timidly. She was a little worried that this older sister might not like her. As the carriage moved and shook, Roland''s body came into slight contact with hers, and she felt very content and cozy. A man and a woman sitting side by side and holding a childit was just like a family of three. Vivian blushed a little at the thought. The carriage soon returned to the Magic Tower, and as soon as Roland got off the carriage, he saw a group of magic apprentices waiting to greet him outside the door. They even held a ceremony. Roland was helpless at the sight and immediately fiercely drove all these people back inside the Magic Tower so that those who needed to study could study and those who needed to rest could rest. Then he went back to his study and looked at the place, neat and clean. It was obvious that Vivian had been tidying up. "Thank you," Roland couldn''t help but say to Vivian. "This is my duty." Looking at Vivian, who was holding Mijil and blushing slightly, Roland was startled, and he suddenly remembered the key he had in his Backpack. Although that key was no longer needed now that Vivian lived in the manor most of the time, the meaning it represented hadn''t changed. Should I respond to the invitation? It''s a bit of a dilemma. Although Roland had been experimenting with magic for the past few days, and his concentration was high, the thought would occasionally pop up when he was resting. Vivian was beautiful, had a good personality, her gift[1] was big and white, and she loved to do housework. From a male perspective, such a woman would be perfect for a wife. Just like Night Tide Sands. Wait! Roland was suddenly shockedwhy did he suddenly think of Night Tide Sands? Just when Roland felt baffled and couldn''t figure it out, Hawk came to the magic tower to look for him. Hawk''s physique seemed to be getting sturdier and sturdier. He opened the door and said, "How many gold coins do you have now? We''ll buy all of them at market price. They are still going up right now, it''s already at 18,000 yuan per gold coin. Just sell it to us at that price." "I have about four hundred of them available to sell right now." Roland thought about it and said, "I''ll have to keep some for myself for later." "It''s still too little, can''t you sell it all to us?" Roland gasped. "Why do you guys want so many gold coins?" "The guild leader has decided to continue building docks in other cities with rivers, with the intention of building a network of water transportation logistics. Our guild intends to specially develop the water transportation business in the future, starting with a monopoly in Hollevin." "Good spirit." Roland shook his head admiringly. "It''s nothing," Hawk said somewhat worriedly. "Garland has already started working on forming a large commercial organization and has absorbed many NPC merchant groups into it. Now, they already have some influence in the south." "You large guilds, you guys are really something." "There are also many small and medium-sized guilds that are starting to develop what they''re good at," Hawk said indifferently. "If you''re one step ahead, you''ll always be one step aheadno one wants to fall behind." "They''re all burning money to gain market share, so that''s why the gold price is being ramped?" Hawk nodded. "Still four hundred gold. I really have use for the rest." Roland threw up his hands. He then took the gold coins out of his Backpack and placed them all on the table. The four hundred gold coins were piled extremely high, golden and heavy, almost collapsing the desk. Hawk just casually looked at them and put them away. "When today''s game time is over, I''ll immediately go out and ask the guild leader to transfer the money to you." Roland nodded indifferently. It wasn''t the first or second time he worked with Silver Wings. The other party''s reputation was quite good, and this was still credible. Moreover, if the other party dared to deny the debt Roland wasn''t afraid. The worst-case scenario was to blow up the other party''s heart and soulthe docks. After Hawk left, Roland continued his magic experiments. When today''s game time was over, Roland climbed out of the virtual cabin, and instead of going to the saber arts club today, he rested at home. At around nine o''clock, Roland''s phone received a message. With 7.2 million yuan credited to his bank account, he went to online banking and checked to make sure it was correct. By all rights, he should be thrilled to have such a sum of money, but for some reason, his emotions didn''t fluctuate much. Of course, he was still happy. Then he found his parents and showed them the balance on his mobile banking app. Roland''s parents were silent for a long, long time. 222 Dirty Politics Roland''s father didn''t want Roland to play any games; even though it was very lucrative, he didn''t want his son to waste too much time on it. The only time one could really work hard in life was about 20 years after one graduated and got a job, and the first few years were especially important, so if one didn''t work hard, it was better to take the functionary exam. But he couldn''t say the words to lecture him now, and with an addition of 7.2 million yuan, Roland''s bank account now had a total of nearly 10 million yuan. He had promised that as long as Roland could make enough money within the specified time, he would no longer care if Roland played games or not. As a result, it had only been about six months and Roland had made several times his original target, and in a fraction of the time specified. If it had only been a few hundred thousand, or a million, it would have been possible to lecture him. But now it was nearly ten million. Can playing games really make that much money? Am I already behind the times? Roland''s father was now at a loss. Roland''s mother, however, snapped out of her daze more quickly, and she looked at the bank card on the table and asked with some excitement, "Ming, should we go to the suburbs and buy some land? I heard that the future is in the south. We should take a piece of it while it''s still not expensive." Ming was Roland''s father. By this time Roland had left the room; he had left his bank card behind and had told both parents the PIN number. Nearly ten million yuan was indeed a lot of money, but Roland wasn''t too interested in it lately. Besides, he would still receive a steady stream of gold coins in the game, and as long as the gold coins don''t drop in price, he would still have lots and lots of money. This game had its own set of economic systems. Gold coins were precious metals that were finite, not paper money that could be printed infinitely. As one of the three most important currencies in the game, even if the exchange ratio fluctuated, the price of gold coins wouldn''t drop by much. Unless the game server was shut down. This was the most dreaded possibility for all of those who played games to make money. Roland''s father thought about it and said, "Okay, I''ll ask my friends at the construction bureau to see if there''s any inside information or something like that." Since his son had handed over his bank card, it was a sign of trust in them as seniors. They naturally had to think about their son''s future. As long as one had a piece of land, even if one had no money in the future, they could build a home out of the ground. Small cities were different from big cities. The suburbs here still had a lot of land auctions that could be used as private residential land. She was wearing a white short-sleeved top and tight jeans underneath, the kind that wrapped around her hips and showed off her figure completely. Just looking at her back gave people a rather youthful, energetic, slim, and beautiful impression. Plus, now that Night Tide Sands was doing housework all the time, it also gave her an air of being a good wife and loving mother. As expected She is perfect for a wife. Roland stared blankly at Night Tide Sands, and Night Tide Sands seemed to sense this, looking back at Roland and saying with some surprise, "Why are you looking at me weirdly?" "Oh, it just struck me that you seem to be a very virtuous woman." "Tsk!" Night Tide Sands gave Roland a blank stare and then turned around to continue housework, but her lips were slightly pursed and her pupils brightened. After Roland ate a delicious breakfast, he went to the shed. Qi Shaoqiu was happily smoking a Jia Tianxia cigarette in his mouth, while Roland sat on the side, looking up and lost in thought. At this time, Li Lin and the others hadn''t come yet, so the place looked very empty. "Young man, I see that you seem to have something on your mind." Qi Shaoqiu sat down next to Roland. Roland thought about it, then said, "I suddenly realized Night Tide Sands is perfect for a wife, and I was wondering if you would beat me up if I pursued her." Qi Shaoqiu looked at him quietly, expressionless. Roland felt a little guilty. Telling someone about hitting on their sister, this was something that would normally make people mad. After staring at Roland for a while with ugly dead fish eyes, Qi Shaoqiu stood up and said disdainfully, "You''re the most clueless idiot I''ve ever seen." Sure enough, Roland sighed as he was scolded. When he returned home in the evening, after having dinner, Roland practiced the Daoist Nourishment of Life and meditated until about nine-thirty, then took a shower and lay down in the virtual cabin. Roland continued his original game life, staying in the lab to optimize the Spell Puppet''s abilities, and when he got tired, he went to teach the apprentices the basics of spell casting theory. The days passed with little or no commotion. Another fourteen days or so went by like this. Then, a special guest came to the Magic Tower. The famous "postman" from the forum came to the Magic Tower and brought a letter to Roland. The postman had a travel-worn appearance. He was a little excited to see Roland, and he shook Roland''s hand with both hands and said quite happily, "Almighty Roland, I have always admired you, and now I am finally meeting you in person." "I admire you even more. Focusing on only one thing, that''s something that the average person can''t do." Roland laughed. "I can''t believe there''s a letter for me, is it from Kaka Bard?" Speaking of letters, the postman''s expression immediately became serious as he placed a white letter in front of Roland. "You should read this letter now." Roland was a little surprised by the postman''s change of expression, and he opened the envelope accordingly. Inside was a piece of white papernot parchmentfilled with words. A white paper like this was quite expensive; it cost roughly two silver coins to buy one. The words on the paper were scribbled and even a little messy, and one could tell that the person who wrote this letter must have been in quite a mess of emotions at this point. "My friend Roland, by the time you read this letter, I will surely be dead." Roland''s brow immediately furrowed. "I''m sorry that I can''t give you the reward anymore. The queen pointed at me the day before yesterday and said that I had taken her captive and violated her. Even though I found an alibi, everyone believed the queen''s word and no one spoke up for me, be it family or in-laws, even including the headquarters'' chairman who had previously looked upon me favorably. The royal family has decided to hang me in a day''s time, along with the punishment of burning at the stake. "I''m under house arrest in the manor, just waiting for my execution tomorrow, and it just so happened that a postman delivered a letter to the manor, so I asked him to bring you a letter. Please forgive me for unilaterally breaking our previous verbal contract. Now that I think about it, there were already signs before, but I was too naive to think to this levelpolitics really are dirty. "Now I don''t know what to say, I don''t want to" There was a passage covered by heavy black stains. "Anyway, getting to know you and becoming friends with you is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life." The letter ended here. Roland crumpled the letter into a ball forcefully with his right hand. "What the hell is going on?" "I''m not sure." The postman shook his head. "I was passing by the manor, and it just so happened that this employer stopped me. He made me wait for half an hour and gave me a letter to bring to you." After a pause, the postman continued, "By the way, I watched this employer being hanged and then burned at the stake. He shouted before his death that someone would avenge him, and that those who targeted him would soon be punished." Roland squeezed his hands into fists, his knuckles whitening from overexertion. 223 Preparations Although Kaka had quite a few shortcomings, like looking down on ordinary people and such To Roland, he was still a pretty good friend. "Can you tell me what you know about what happened?" A little over ten days ago, Kaka had looked like he was confident in his victory, and the worst that could have happened then would have been nothing more than exile to a remote territory. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was hanged and burned at the stake? The postman cleared his throat and said, "I''m not sure of the details. I was only there for a day, but I heard that the Bards lost a lot of their interests and gave up Kaka, and that''s what saved them." Roland''s fists unclenched slowly and his expression gradually returned to normal. "Is there any other news worth mentioning?" "I got an epic-level quest." The postman thought it didn''t seem appropriate to talk about it now, but after some thought, he said slowly, "It''s about Kaka, do you want me to share it with you?" Roland waved his hand. "I received it too, it''s called Kaka''s Revenge right?" The postman nodded. "It seems that we can receive this quest whenever we come into contact with Kaka''s letter. Almighty Roland, will you complete this quest? If you will, will you take me with you?" Roland looked at the opposite party, his expression a little strange. It took a while before he slowly said, "No problem." "This is the first time I''ve received a real quest instead of a letter delivery quest." The postman laughed and said rather apologetically, "Besides, it''s also an epic-level quest, and I''d like to get some experience and equipment anyway. I''ve been wearing this outfit for half a year." The postman did indeed look travel-worn and in dire straits, probably due to the fact that he was running through the wilds almost every day. Roland laughed lightly and didn''t say anything. Seeing Roland in this state, the postman got up and said, "I''ll stay at an inn in this town, and if you''re leaving, remember to call me." Roland nodded in agreement. When the postman left, it was quiet again in the study. Roland stood quietly at the window, lost in thought. The setting sun outside the window was blood red, just like Roland''s mood at this moment. During dinner, Roland said to Vivian, "I''m going to go to the capital again." "Going again?" Vivian, who was eating the cake, was a bit surprised. "Why, you''ve only been back here less than half a month." "Kaka''s dead." Vivian was stunned for a while before saying, "That''s so sudden." "I have to find out what''s going on." "The Bard family is considered a great noble family in the capital, and even they couldn''t protect Little Bard, so it wouldn''t make much sense for you to go." "Just because you can''t die doesn''t mean you won''t get hurt." Vivian looked seriously at Roland. "The capital is different from our city of Delponthe professionals there are stronger and more numerous. You have to be careful yourself." Roland was a little surprised. "I thought you were trying to stop me." "I know I can''t stop you." Vivian shook her head and said, "Take White Amber with you this time. The magic pet is one half of a Mage, it can do a lot for you if it''s around." Roland shook his head. "No, White Amber stays in the Magic Tower. Otherwise I''ll be worried." "Fine." Vivian sighed, feeling a bit depressed. She thought Roland would be able to stay at the Magic Tower for a long while this time. She had worked up the courage to be more proactive, and then this happened. "When do you leave?" Roland thought about it and said, "There''s no hurry. I guess I''ll have to leave in ten days." Vivian let out a sigh of relief. It was still good to get along for a while. Roland''s reason for postponing his trip to the capital was simple: to learn Long-Distance Teleportation. After dinner, he opened the model of this spell in the magic lab and felt a jarring headache as he looked at the densely packed nodes on it. In the spellbook, there was already a pre-made magic power circulation route, outlined with a thin, light red line. It was reasonable to say that with this circulation roadmap, it should be quite easy. But this wasn''t the case, because this route passed through more than three hundred nodes. In contrast, the number of all the nodes in Language Proficiency, a more difficult spell to learn, was just over two hundred. However, in Long-Distance Teleportation, there were more than three hundred nodes to pass through alone, and before that, one had to know where each node was, which meant that the spell model had to at least be memorized. Based on his previous learning experience, Roland felt that it might be a bit difficult for him to learn Long-Distance Teleportation in ten days. But after actually attempting to learn it, he suddenly realized it didn''t seem too difficult. Did I get smarter? Just as this thought came to his mind, he realized the real reason. The Spatial Specialization specialty. It reduced the difficulty of learning spatial magic and reduced the mental power and magic power exhaustion incurred when using spatial magic. For the rest of the day, he invested all of his time and energy in learning the new spell. He spent twenty-four hours in the magic lab, eating meals that Vivian had to bring over and not seeing anyone, including Hawk. It took him four days to barely memorize the circulation routes of over three hundred nodes. It took another four days to manage to run a complete simulation of over three hundred nodes at a time, and then he used mathematical models to infer and discover that one successful Long-Distance Teleportation could drain all of his magic power. This wasn''t right. Long-Distance Teleportation could only be considered a level-four spell, it couldn''t possibly consume that much. He had a full intelligence growth attribute allocation and a piece of equipment to increase his mana cap, and even though he was only at the Elite level now, the amount of mana he had should be about the same as an NPC Archmage, like Tobian the bear-like Mage, for example. There was no reason why an Archmage would use Long-Distance Teleportation once and be drained of all mana. So there was something wrong with this spell model. It may have deliberately used routes that could successfully cast teleportation, but were more magically draining. But this was just a guess, and it had to actually be cast successfully to determine if this guess was correct. Leaving the Magic Tower, Roland went to the outskirts of the city and found an empty and uninhabited location. Unlike other spells, the side effects of spatial magic were actually immense. Teleportation was fine, as it was only low-level spatial magic and the distance of the leap was not much, at most a hundred or two hundred meters, causing very little spatial shock. But Long-Distance Teleportation was different. Hundreds of kilometers, even thousands of kilometers of teleportation distance, caused a very, very strong spatial shockthe farther the distance, the stronger. If it was successfully cast, the spatial shock would calm instantly, but if it failed, the spatial shock set off would turn into a spatial tsunami, directly engulfing everything around it, dragging all matter within the area of influence into the void. Therefore, Roland had to experiment in a deserted place, so in case of failure, the impact would be minimized. After confirming that there were no sentient creatures within sight, Roland closed his eyes and concentrated. Magic power gathered around him and soon condensed into tangible, blue streams of magic power that manifested around him one by one, turning into a magic cage and enveloping him. Then Roland suddenly opened his eyes, and the streams of magic power around him faded away. "This is" Roland frowned. "Directional Teleportation?" 224 Assemble The Magic Tower had a library full of books on general magical knowledge. There were also simple, but more important explanations and instructions about Long-Distance Teleportation. Before Long-Distance Teleportation was activated, it would leave a hidden magic mark in place, which could only be detected by the spellcaster themselves, and even if they were separated from it by a dimension or two, it would not be affected unless it was forcibly uprooted by Dimensional Anchor, an anti-spatial spell. The first successful Long-Distance Teleportation would perform teleportation in place, as there was only one magic mark. And for the spellcaster to teleport somewhere else, either someone had to be willing to share their magic mark, or the spellcaster themselves would have to personally make a trip to their destination and use Teleportation once there, leaving their own private mark behind. So, if it was a successful Teleportation, Roland should have just left a mark in place. But just now, when the spell hadn''t succeeded, Roland found a magic mark forcibly shoved into his consciousness. If the spell continued to operate, he would be teleported to an unknown place. He then immediately aborted the magic''s operation. Thanks to the unique specialty of Magic Power Control, Roland''s control over the running flow of magic was probably second to none, excluding the gods. After forcibly interrupting the spell, he didn''t suffer any negative effects, but the unidentified magic mark in his consciousness that emitted peculiar fluctuations from time to time made him feel quite uncomfortable. He immediately mobilized his mental power and tore this mark into pieces. "No wonder this circulation route consumed almost all of my mana." Roland laughed grimly, softly. "So it''s two spells and a trap." This spell model was actually two spells combined into one. The first half of the route was meant to create an unidentified mark and then force it into the spellcaster''s consciousness, while the second half was the teleportation. Is this attempting to capture Mages who are masters of spatial magic? It wasn''t surprising that Roland immediately had such a suspicion because the spell model didn''t have any special notes and the mark was forced into his headit was full of malice. It would be a wonder if it wasn''t a trap. "Who made it?" It definitely wasn''t Kaka. Although the spell model was brought to Roland by Kaka, Kaka''s magic abilities were actually very ordinary. He couldn''t learn any kind of teleportation, let alone create a new type of spell that could insert a mark into a person''s head. Most importantly, these two kinds of spells merged into one was an extremely genius piece of work. Roland recalled that he remembered Kaka had said that the spell model was borrowed from the headquarters. Now that''s interesting. In the next two days, Roland began to eliminate the excess nodes in the spell model, and after two days of no sleep and non-stop testing, Roland finally recreated this compound spell and reverted it into two different spells. Long-Distance Teleportation, after eliminating the extra nodes, was only eight hundred and seventy-five nodes in total. And the number of nodes to go through was only one hundred and seventeen. The degree of difficulty has decreased substantially. And Roland saved the model of the other "trap" spell. He felt that he would use it in the future, and when he was stronger, such as after he was a Legend or a Demigod, he would teleport over to see where the destination of this spell was. He was really curious. In addition, this compound spell gave Roland a new idea as well. How to combine two spells into one. Although he still hadn''t figured it out, it had at least opened a path for him. Once he grasped the principles, then he might be able to use some special signature spells in the future. For example, fusing an Inferior Fireball and Ice Blade together. Frostfire? Hmm, it''s very cool to think about. After a successful use of in-situ teleportation in the suburbs, Roland got his first private spatial mark. He then uploaded the simplified Long-Distance Teleportation spell model to the forum and left a message. Long-Distance Teleportation Spell Model, Casting Materials Required. That''s right, Long-Distance Teleportation required casting materials: a colorless cat''s eye gem that weighed at least ten grams. Since Roland had the specialty of Magic Material Exemption, he didn''t need them when casting spells. Then the netizens replied at the end of the post. "Oh damn, can I go anywhere without needing transportation after I learn this spell? I feel like I''m at a great loss having contracted a traveling horse as a magic pet." "Also contracted a traveling horse as a magic pet just to make traveling easier, and I felt my heart bleeding when this spell was revealed." "Hehe, I took a look, there are over a hundred nodes in the circulation route, do you people even have enough intelligence? Without even learning Language Proficiency, don''t even think about learning Long-Distance Teleportation for a year or two.'''' "Wait, does anyone know how much a colorless cat''s eye gem, ten grams in weight, roughly costs?" "Upstairs, at least forty silver coins and up. I''m a traveling merchant, specializing in gemsthey''re small in size, high profit, and the Backpack can carry a whole bunch of them Did you not learn the specialty Magic Material Exemption?'''' "I thought it was a poor man''s talent, so I didn''t learn it." "Ha, it is indeed a poor man''s talent. Rich people don''t care about this amount of money." "For Summon Fire Meteor, top-level magic, the casting material is rumored to be a twenty-gram ruby, which should cost one gold coin. Also, the more top-tier the magic, the more likely it is that casting materials will be needed. For example, Resurrection will require five grams of Fire Phoenix''s blood, which is priceless, because it can''t be bought.'''' "Damn, it''s not just about the money Looks like I''ll have to delete the account and restart." "Same! This is the third time I''ve deleted my account." "Upstairs, you''re so pitiful." Roland looked at the forum for a while and didn''t find any valuable new information, so he closed the forum and then found the postman who was messing around with the prostitutes in the hotel. Upon seeing Roland, the postman awkwardly wiped off the red lipstick on his face and asked, "Is it time to go?" Roland nodded. They went to the horse market where they rented a carriage and departed. On the swaying carriage, Roland left a message in the guild system: "I need help, meet me at the Wild Horse Inn in the capital in seven days." Shortly after, the rest of the guild members, including Betta, all just uniformly left the words "copy that" in the guild chat room. No reasons asked, and not a word of nonsense. Seven days later, the carriage stopped at the city gates of the capital. The person in charge of the defense of the city gates was still Antis, and when he saw Roland jump down from the carriage, he was stunned for a moment. A trace of guilt flashed in his eyes, but it flickered away, then he took the initiative to welcome him. "You''ve come again." Antis took off his helmet, revealing his pretty, delicate face. "May I ask what you''re here for?" "Kaka," Roland replied calmly. 225 Antis Frustration Antis'' expression immediately became strange, and he was silent for a moment before saying, "Follow me." It was still that small house under the city gate, but this time there was an extra postman next to it. Antis seemed to know the postman as well and nodded in greeting upon seeing him. Sitting down inconveniently in his full body armor, Antis leaned back against the uneven wall, clasped his hands to his chest, and said slowly, "I knew you''d come back when Little Bard screamed those words before he died because the only friend he had was you." Roland stared into the other man''s eyes and asked, "I thought you were a friend of his too." "Just an acquaintance, not a friend." "You''re still distantly related." Upon hearing this, Antis laughed; not at Roland, but with a self-deprecating smile. "A distant relative is nothing; real family members are honey-mouthed and dagger-hearted. I didn''t take advantage of the opportunity to strike him while he was down for my own gain, and that''s more than kind enough." It sounded very cold, unreasonable even, but in fact, it was quite fair. Roland did develop the idea that Antis was already kind enough. "How much do you know about why Kaka died?" Roland asked indifferently. Antis'' delicate fingers pressed lightly against his pretty face as he pondered what to say and what not to say. After a while, he looked up and said, "Little Bard''s death was the result of a struggle between the royal family and the Association of Mages. That''s all I can say; you''ll have to look into the details yourself. After all, I''m also on the royal family''s side, and there are some things that can''t be said from my standpoint, at least not by me." After speaking, Antis put his helmet back on, covering his sweet, charming face. Then he walked outside and was about to leave the room when Roland''s deep voice came from behind him. "Thank you." Antis paused for a moment before he slowly walked out. The room quieted again, as the postman breathed and said in an incredulous tone, "It feels like a big show. The royal family, the Association of Mages, the queen, Little Bard, the outcast and that''s just what we see on the surface. It''s not even clear how many other families are involved privately. Just thinking about it, it gives the impression of a joint and coordinated palace drama." "You think too highly of them." Roland got up and said disdainfully, "It''s just a few families fighting over a bone and biting at each other like dogs." The postman shrugged indifferently, not arguing. He was well aware that Roland was in an extremely bad mood right now. It sounded very much like Roland was in an incompetent rage and on a ranting tirade. Now the postman had already made preparations for a live broadcast. He also often hung about in the forum, and the first two players who livestreamed Roland bombing the city gates each received more than 100,000 yuan in tips. This made him quite envious. Now it was finally his turn. Although he told Roland that he was to complete the epic quest, it was a small matter compared to the income from the livestream. Besides, now that he didn''t have a letter delivery quest for the time being, it shouldn''t be too much to follow Roland and gain popularity and some money. Roland walked out of the room. The postman followed, asking as he walked, "Now what''s next?" "Meeting up with friends." Friends? The other members of F6? The postman''s eyes lit up. It had always been a secret how many F6 members there were: some said six, some said seven, and now the ones standing in the open were Roland, the strongest mage, and Schuck, the Red Dragon Knight. The identities of the others were still a mystery, except the fact that there seemed to be a Rogue, a Berserker, and a Hunter? Livestreaming now, there should be many watching to figure out their identities. They walked down a few commercial streets to a tavern. The plaque on the door of the tavern was a stallion, so the tavern was called the Wild Horse Tavern. There were many red-faced drinkers inside. Most of them were professionals or people related to mercenaries. In fact, there weren''t that many professionals in Hollevin at all. Many of the men just had the strength to learn some fighting skills, so they said they were professionals, such as swordsmen, battle axe fighters, and the like and reported to the Mercenary Guild. The Mercenary Guild accepted everyone as long as one could cut down beasts and complete their tasksthey didn''t bother with whether you were a professional or not. They were only responsible for issuing missions. Your life was your own burden, and if you thought yourself capable, go for it. This was why the mercenary business was a mixed bag, with real professionals and a huge number of ordinary people. Due to the extremely high mortality rate in this industry, most mercenaries lived in the moment. When they had money, they gorged on meat, drank large bowls of wine, and got drunk with women in their arms. When they didn''t have money, they''d get down to business, carrying their longswords and axes and fighting hard for a living. If they died, they''d be a set of white bones in a deserted suburb, but when they lived, they would continue with their previous life until the money was gone again. Then it would be another cycle. It sounded very romantic to look down on life and death, but in reality, this was a bunch of pitiful people. They were insecure, they couldn''t see a future, and they had to paralyze themselves in this way. Over ninety-five percent of mercenaries didn''t live to be fifty. In this tavern, except for a few who were low-level professionals, the rest were ordinary people disguised as professionals. They saw Roland in a magic robe and immediately calmed down. Spellcasters were also known as "robed ones" among the physical professional mercenaries, and excluding the difference in social status, if there was a robed one in a team, then they would definitely be the core to be protected. The spoils of war were picked first by the robed one, and when dividing the benefits, it was also the robed one who took more. They knew very well that as long as there was a robed one in the team, the completion rate of the mission and the survival rate would skyrocket. After all, this was a world of magic, and many matters related to magic could only be settled by the robed ones. This was why the robed ones had always been the hot cake of the adventuring teams. But even so, robed ones rarely went out on adventures, rarely appearing in mercenary adventuring teams. But now a robed one actually appeared in the Wild Horse Tavern. This tavern was the humble home of the Mercenary Guild, and many mercenary squads that were about to go on a mission liked to get drunk here before they left. This was quite a rare sighting. Did this robed one want to find a team to train his skills? Immediately, someone was tempted to get up and try to invite the young robed one. The chances were slim, but what if it worked? However, after Roland entered the tavern, he didn''t stop but went straight up to the second floor. Sighs sounded, and then the tavern became noisy again. Roland knocked on a door on the second floor. A familiar voice came from inside. "Come in." Roland pushed through the door and immediately saw a few of his friends. But he looked around the room and asked, somewhat surprised, "Where''s Schuck?" "The little dragoness doesn''t like places with too many people, she thinks it stinks." It was Li Lin who spoke, shrugging his shoulders and saying helplessly, "So Schuck stayed with her outside the city. If we start making a move, he''ll fly right in on the red dragon for air support." 226 Gifts Left Behind Indeed, as a Dragon Knight, Schuck''s most logical method of attack was airstrike. There weren''t many Mages who could fly, and even if they could, only an idiot with his brain caught in a door would engage in aerial combat with a dragon in the air. And this dragon had a Saint Samurai riding on its back. One had to know that Saint Samurai were an all-rounder class, capable of buffs, melee, and long-range damage-dealing, as well as healing spells. Because of the dragon knight contract, the combined abilities of the human and the dragon were greater than individual skill. Since the little dragoness didn''t want to come in, so be it. It was fine if Schuck came. Roland walked into the room and sat down, while the postman greeted sensibly, "Hello, brothers." The members of F6 were regular readers of the forum. The postman was also a celebrity and they were all happy to see him. Brazil, in particular, jumped up and shook the postman''s hand vigorously. "Oh damn, so it''s the brother postman, come come come, I most admire your perseverance. I''m Brazil, a small Hunter, come along to drink and brag." The postman was rather flattered. Generally, small groups like this were more exclusive. Rarely would there be such warm hospitality. The others leaned in and struck up a conversation with the postman, especially Betta. He was the youngest and was especially impressed with people of great determination. About thirty percent of people''s enthusiasm was nothing more than polite courtesy. Only Betta was genuine. Soon, the postman became acquainted with the F6 crowd. While they were chatting, Husseret leaned in close to Roland and asked, "What happened, for you to call us all in such a hurry?" In fact, the five of them were working on a rather troublesome quest that was in progress, and when they saw Roland''s message, they didn''t say anything and just interrupted the quest to come over. Roland shared the quest Kaka''s Revenge. Husseret looked at the golden words on the quest bar and was shocked. "Damn, an epic quest." The other F6 guys also shifted their attention simultaneously. They didn''t know that Kaka and Roland were close. An epic quest was not easy to find, and they were about to cheer and celebrate when they noticed Roland''s expression wasn''t quite right. Facing the inquisitive gazes of his close friends, Roland slowly told them how it all happened. The room was quiet after he finished speaking. After a long while, Husseret stood up. "I''m going to find out for you what caused Kaka to be hanged." "Sorry to trouble you." "Why are you being so polite, old friend?" After Husseret went out, and after staying seated for a while, Roland also stood up, saying, "You guys drink first, I''m going for a walk outside." Betta and Li Lin and the others knew that Roland needed to be alone, so they didn''t say much. Walking down the street, the capital was still very lively. In a population of two million, one or two people less had no effect at all. Kaka''s death might just cause a small commotion, providing the people of this city a little bit of a bedtime chat. Roland had been walking aimlessly through the streets, but as he walked, he came to Kaka''s manor. The ones in charge of guarding the gate were actually the same two guards, and they wore somewhat frightened expressions when they saw Roland. After all, they also knew that Roland and Kaka were friends. And now that Kaka was dead, they were afraid that Roland would take out his anger on them. Roland walked over to the terrified pair of guards and asked, "Did someone help erect Kaka''s tomb after he died?" "Yes, sir." "Where is it?" "The north corner of the city''s western cemetery, it''s the newest one with the large tombstone." Leaving the manor, Roland arrived in front of the gate of the city''s west cemetery. The environment here was very secluded. A huge grey stone wall enclosed the cemetery, and it was only accessible through a black iron gate. The hunchbacked graveyard keeper sat in front of the iron gate, and when he heard the sound of footsteps, he didn''t look up, only said in an indifferent tone, "You have to pay to enter the cemetery, three copper coins per person." Roland didn''t have any bronze coins, so he bent down and placed a silver coin in front of the graveyard keeper. Seeing that it was actually a silver coin, the graveyard keeper looked up in surprise, and upon seeing Roland dressed in a magic robe, he gulped and immediately sat up straight, not daring to move. Only when Roland entered the cemetery and walked away did he reach out abruptly with his pale, gray, dark hand to quickly store the silver coin in his clothes. Then he grinned slightly. The cemetery was large, with mossy, grayish-black tombstones that had a harsh sheen. A large tombstone at the north corner had the most glaring reflective luster. Roland stood in front of this tombstone. The top read "The Tomb of Kaka Bard," while the right side had his epitaph written on it. "This was a young man who lived a very confusing life, unable to distinguish between friend and foe or good and bad. But he was still a good boy." At this epitaph Roland frowned slightly. It was noon. The direct sunlight hitting the earth was so hot that it made one feel as if they were in a fireplace, and the chirping of insects came from the surrounding trees. The quiet cemetery seemed to be a small neighboring space separated from the rest of the world. Roland was somewhat despondent. Just in the blink of an eye, a person who was alive and kicking in his memories was lying under a layer of mud. He had now truly realized what the saying "affairs of the world are inconstant" meant. There were footsteps behind him. Roland turned back and saw a fat man slowly walking toward him. It was Kaka''s second brother, Felwood. "Isn''t this epitaph interesting?" Felwood walked up to Roland, the two of them side by side. His voice was gentle, no longer arrogant and harsh like it had been some time ago. "I wrote it up." "You wrote it?" Roland was surprised, then realized something. "Did you erect this tomb?" "Kaka can''t be placed in the family cemetery because he has offended both the royal family and the Association of Mages. If he were placed in the family cemetery, it would put the Bards on the back footwe''re in a treacherous environment as it is." Felwood''s eyes, which seemed tiny because of his obesity, flashed with a trace of anger. "But I can''t let my little brother''s corpse dry out in the wilderness, so I had to find a plot of land for him here in the cemetery. In order to differentiate him from the commoners, I built his tomb big." Roland didn''t speak; he didn''t know what to say. Felwood stepped forward and gently touched the tombstone as if this would allow him to touch his brother. "When I heard you were back, I figured you might be here, and sure enough My brother said before he died that someone would avenge his death is it you?" Roland remained silent. "It doesn''t matter if it''s you or not, the man is gone anyway." Felwood''s little green eyes looked very seriously at Roland. "I don''t know what you came back to the capital for, and I don''t want to know, but there is a gift left for you in Kaka''s manor that Kaka cried and begged me to tell you about the day before he was hanged. Take this key and go receive your gift." A bronze key was thrown into Roland''s hand. Felwood turned to leave. 227 The Queen Isnt Really Worth Much It was already evening when Roland returned from the cemetery to the Wild Horse Tavern. Since the queen''s captivity was over and the curfew had been lifted, the streets were still full of merchants and pedestrians even now that it was nearing night, and there seemed to be a few more drinkers in the Wild Horse Tavern. It was also much noisier. Roland went up to the second floor and into the room under the watchful eyes of a large group of people. Husseret had returned to the room. He was bragging with the group of friends, and when he saw Roland, he patted the chair beside him and said, "Sit down and have a drink first, I have something to tell you." Downing a sweet glass of wine, Roland felt that his dry throat was much more comfortable. "All right, go ahead." At this moment, the voices of the other close friends chatting lower, subconsciously not wanting to disturb the two of them. Husseret''s temperament was becoming gloomier and gloomier, and his voice contained the kind of flatness that reminded one of serpentine coldness. "According to the information that the Guild of Rogues gathered, the reason why the queen was taken is that the Association of Mages has a claim against the royal family. They are using this method to tell the king that ''we can take the queen and also threaten your safetythe condition we propose, you had better agree to it.''" Roland frowned. "The Association of Mages is so arrogant?" "They''re definitely arrogant!" Husseret said, throwing up his hands. "Seventy percent of the personnel of the Association of Mages are nobles. This is a feudal society, and although the royal family is the biggest and strongest noble family, the lords everywhere are not much worse than them, and most importantly, the ''grouping'' effect of the Association of Mages is too strong. They may be inferior to the royal family in pure battle power, after all, they have no military power, but the various intricate relationships are like a big net that has caught the entire country of Hollevin, such that even the royal family is very apprehensive. Now the situation is that leadership has been rendered ineffectual." "So what are the demands of the Association of Mages?" Husseret shook his head. "I''m not sure; even the Guild of Rogues couldn''t find out. We only know that the headquarters'' chairman talked to the king himself." Roland listened attentively and subconsciously took a sip of fruit wine. "The queen wasn''t mistreated, and it is said that the Association of Mages deliberately threw the queen''s clothes into the river to be found," Husseret said thoughtfully. "As for why the Bards were used as a sacrifice, no one knows except the two leaders. Kaka''s fate was sealed from the start, after all, it was while he was on patrol that the queen was taken captive." Husseret laughed and said, "Not necessarily, we can ask another party." Roland couldn''t think of who. "The queen!" Roland was slightly surprised. Three hours later, Husseret brought Roland to a remote manor on the western side of the palace. The manor was surrounded by a dense forest, and the main gate was a small path that could only accommodate one carriage. Husseret brought Roland through the forest, the bustling of the capital seemingly cut off by these woods. They came to the front door of the manor and saw a white mansion bathed in the moonlight. But the mansion was silent, and there were no sounds of people: only a candle was lit on the second-floor balcony. The flame was blown by the slight night breeze, flickering as if it would go out anytime. There was a guard there at the entrance of the manor, and Husseret went over and handed the guard an odd white scroll. The guard offered a strange smile and opened the gates of the manor. Then Husseret pointed inside and said, "Only one person can go in." Roland nodded, and when he entered the manor, the guard immediately closed the door. He wondered why meeting the queen gave him a furtive feeling. But he didn''t think too much about it and followed the green stone pathway to the entrance of the mansion. When he looked up, he could see a beautiful woman sitting on the balcony on the second floor. She was wearing a thin silk dress, and under the moonlight, certain special parts of her were showing indistinctly. Roland frowned, feeling that something was wrong. Then an elderly steward came out from the doorway, bent forward slightly, and said, "Please follow me, Mr. Mage." Since Roland was already here, he decided not to think too much. He took a slight breath and followed the old steward up to the second floor, then to the entrance of the balcony. The old steward bowed and left without a word. Roland walked onto the balcony and saw a beautiful woman with long brown hair sitting on a chair. She was dressed scantily. Silk was a highly visible fabric; the better the silk, the higher the visibility. And the silk clothes this beautiful woman was wearing should be of the highest grade, usually used for ceremonial outerwear. For a moment, Roland felt like he had nowhere to rest his eyes, but finally, he had to look at the woman''s face. He sat down across from her. "May I ask if this is Her Majesty the Queen?" The beauty who had been looking outside turned her head. She sized up Roland and was a little surprised. "It''s actually a young and promising Mage? I thought it was a fat-headed old thing. In that case, it''s not much of a loss for me." Roland seemed to understand something. "Before we begin, I want to know your name." The queen''s expression looked torn. There was a kind of helplessness and fateful resignation emanating from her. Roland shook his head slightly. "I''m here to ask you something." "What? Just to ask me something, you used the very valuable atonement scroll?" So the scroll that Husseret gave the guards is worth a lot of money? The queen had been watching Roland''s expression, and when she saw that he looked confused, she became rather curious. "You didn''t know what was going on before you came?" "I didn''t know, I really just wanted to come and ask you some questions." "Ask them. We''ll both get to know each other a little better if we talk, and when we do things later, it might make my resistance a little less strong." The wind suddenly got a little stronger and blew out the candle. In the moonlight, the queen''s smooth face reflected a bright luster, and her expression held resentment that looked quite charming. Roland took a deep breath, feeling this a little inconceivable. "You''re the queen, how did you end up in such a state?" "The queen?" She laughed softly, her voice clear and weighed by bitterness. "After tonight, I will no longer be a queen. How can a woman whose reputation is tarnished and who will have to sleep with other men qualify to be a queen again?" Roland was getting more and more puzzled. "You don''t seem to know anything." The queen looked at Roland again for a moment and asked, "Who gave you the atonement scroll?" "My good friend." "That''s quite a sacrifice on his part." Roland''s expression was rather strange. "I still don''t understand why the king would let you do such a thing." 228 The Answer is a Little Heartbreaking Roland had heard that some men were psychologically unsound and liked to be cuckolded, a psychological disorder associated with masochistic tendencies. Does the king also have the same tendency? The queen didn''t care that her body was exposed. She placed her hands on the table, leaned forward, looked Roland in the eye, and said, "Not many of us queens of the Kingdom of Hollevin will have a good ending. We either die of disease or a serious illness at a young age. It''s already good to have been the queen for four years." "Why would you want to be the queen of Hollevin if it''s so dangerous?" "Isn''t it obvious?" The queen laughed disdainfully. "Most women either want to be a princess or a queen. And since I couldn''t be a princess, wasn''t it only natural that I dreamed of being a queen?" Roland still couldn''t understand women''s train of thought. "Even if it''s life-threatening? Is it worth it?" "Are you men not just as insane as to risk your lives for the title of the best in the world? Are you qualified to speak of us women?" The queen sneered. Roland was at a loss for words, unable to find a retort. "Hehe, you seem to be a reasonable man." The queen extended her smooth fingers and flicked the silver wine glass in front of her, which gave off a tinkling sound. "My name is Andonara, what is your name?" "Roland." "So what do you want to talk to me about, Mr. Roland?" Andonara looked at Roland with considerable interest. In her eyes, Roland was a teenager who was only about sixteen years old, and although he wasn''t handsome, he wasn''t ugly either. Most importantly, this teenager had a calm and wise temperament and appeared quite attractive. While she herself was a twenty-three-year-old "old woman"she was actually the one who lucked out. "I''d like to know why you identified Kaka as your assailant." Andonara''s smiling expression immediately went cold. "You just wanted to ask that?" "Yes." "Are you a friend of Little Bard?" "Yes." Andonara''s cold expression eased. "Little Bard yelled before he was hanged that someone would avenge his death. That was you?" "Just assume that it''s me." Roland nodded. "So, in your eyes, I''m one of the murderers, too?" Andonara''s expression was calm. Roland nodded. "I''ll have to see what your answer is before I decide." Andonara''s fingers lightly traced the rim of her wine glass for a moment before she said, "My husband told me to say that. Do you think I have the right to refuse?" "His Majesty the King?" Roland felt a bit incredulous. "If word of this gets out, not to mention your reputation, but also the reputation of the royal family will be damagedwhy would he order so?" Although Andonara was smiling, whether it was in her eyes or at the corners of her mouth, there was a chill that appeared quite sarcastic. Roland felt somewhat disbelieving. Andonara was a beauty, on the same level as Princess Evelyn. However, she was a bit more attractive than Princess Evelyn; after all, Andonara had a much better figure, and she was even a queen. And now, this very beautiful, formerly high and mighty queen had become a peddler''s item "You''re going to die tomorrow?" Andonara nodded. "Most likely." "Then why not escape?" "Where can I escape?" Andonara said sorrowfully. "I used to be just a commoner with no influence. These few years of queenship have been too short, and I haven''t had time to build up my own circle of contacts and influence. I have to die if it''s my husband who wants me to die." "Not going to try to resist?" "The consequences of rebellion are even worse." Andonara had some tears in her eyes. "If a woman of great nobility becomes a queen, backed by her family, fearing nothing, that''s a true queen. A common-born queen like me is only a tool for procreation and a pawn to be used by the royal family in their games." Roland hesitated for a moment and said, "Perhaps you could try to get our help." "The Golden Sons?" Andonara''s expression changed a little, less resentful, and she really began to consider Roland''s suggestion. "I did hear that the Golden Sons are very meddlesome." Even in the palace, Andonara had heard of the Golden Sons, not to mention the suicides to scam money and the running around naked. Many jokes and embarrassing stories about the Golden Sons were widely circulated among the nobles. But underneath all the jokes and embarrassment, anyone with a normal intelligence quotient could see one thing. As long as it was reasonable to ask for help, and as long as the Sons heard it, they would help. No matter who the enemy was, nobles or demons. Their help and actions would either fail or perhaps go overboard, but they really never refused. "So is it okay if I ask you for help?" "No problem, of course," Roland said, smiling, "but you''ll first have to tell me why Kaka was hanged and why the king insisted that you identify him as the one who violated you." "I know some of the ins and outs, but not all of it." Andonara''s tone was lighter. "The Bard family is both of royal blood and close to the Association of Mages. All three heirs are Mages and many of their relatives serve in the Association of Mages. This two-sided double-dealing is disliked by many, including the royal family and the Association of Mages. "So when the Association of Mages made their move to kidnap me, they specifically picked the days and routes of Little Bard''s patrols. Using this as an opportunity, the royal family put the Bards in line, forcing them to stand their ground and taking many benefits from them. On the other hand, the Association of Mages ordered the Bards'' Mages to take revenge on the royal family privately. Where we couldn''t see them, the Bards became the center of the battle for both sides. "The punishment that Little Bard received was only superficial, a show for the other families. Originally, Little Bard would not have died, he would have been a few years in prison at most," Andonara slowly explained. "The Bard family, as a tool for both sides of the tussle, lost a great deal. The Bard family was already planning to take sides at that time, but Little Bard seemed to send something to the headquarters'' chairman during this period. It was rumored to be very important, and then the headquarters'' chairman harbored the intent to kill Little Bard, such that he even took a step back and gave up some benefits to the royal family in exchange for the royal family killing Little Bard." What! Roland jumped to his feet abruptly in shock. "Do you know what Kaka sent?" Andonara shrugged. "Sorry, I was locked in the hidden chamber at the time, sp I''m not quite sure." Roland slumped down. 229 Who Doesnt Have Any Hidden Trump Cards? Roland already knew what Kaka had sent to cause his death. His own derivative spell. Roland didn''t think it was his fault, and he didn''t think that Kaka''s death was in any way related to him. He didn''t do anything wrong by giving something to a friendwhat could be wrong with helping a friend? The only people at fault were the evildoers who were greedy and wanted to take other people''s property or gain from their ruin. He simply felt that it was his miscalculation for not considering that the headquarters'' chairman would get greedy about this derivative magic. After all, the Bard family was a big family in the capital. It was this notion that gave him the false impression that Kaka wouldn''t suffer the same fate as Aldo, who had his achievements stolen from him. There should be a difference between people with and without a background. But neither he nor Kaka had any idea that the Bards were being surrounded in those days. And Kaka had come up with something really good that had directly incited the greed of the headquarters'' chairman. Roland sat staring in his chair. Andonara was in no hurry, watching him quietly. After a long while, Roland stood up, his expression returned to normal and smiling faintly. "Your Highness, if you want to leave, now is the best time. Would you like to leave with me? I''ll have my own companions escort you to safety." "Of course I would." Andonara stood up. She knew very well that she would probably be disposed of tomorrow. A woman of common origin with a tarnished reputation and with an atonement scroll used on her by someone elsethere was no way the royal family would let her stay. What was the point of struggling if she was eventually going to die? Looking at Andonara, who stood up wearing this highly visible dress, Roland frowned slightly. "Your Highness, won''t you change your clothes? If you walked down the street in that dress, we''d probably have to fight a bunch of men every hundred meters we walked." Andonara covered her mouth and chuckled. She tugged at her dress without a care in the world to make it even more transparent. Then she narrowed her eyes, her eyebrows resembling those of a smirking fox. "You cute little Mr. Mage, are you really not going to use the powers of the atonement scroll? It''s a rare opportunity, and there''s still time anyway." She smiled lightly, like a demon fox coming out of the moonlight. Roland took a deep breath, then shook his head slowly. Andonara fit his aesthetics perfectly, not to mention being pretty and with a good figure. Her talent was on par with Vivian''s. Under normal circumstances, Roland wasn''t sure he wouldn''t have been tempted. But right now, he really didn''t have much interest. "Change your clothes." Roland averted his eyes from her body. Then she began to change her clothes in front of Roland. In fact, with the silk she wore, she may as well have been wearing nothing at all, and Roland had seen everything he should and shouldn''t have seen. This was why she simply and boldly put on her leather armor, pinned her long sword to her waist, and then finally bunched up her long hair, forming a long and beautiful ponytail. "Whew, this outfit is still one that suits me." Andonara then slowly walked up to Roland. "All right, take me away." Roland grimaced at the sound of that It sounded like they were eloping. But he just tsked, then turned around and went downstairs. The queen was a Warrior, as many people knew. And the queen was actually pretty strong. When they left the room, they saw the old steward standing in the shadows of the stairway. When he saw the queen''s outfit, he took a step forward, blocking the doorway of the stairs, and said gloomily, "Your Highness, please stay back and don''t make things difficult for me." The old steward, who had been bent over, gradually stood up straight. His aura became more imposing, and his clouded pupils, too, became clear. But at this instant, Andonara moved. The longsword was unsheathed. The chilling glare of it was like lightning, disappearing in the blink of an eye, and Andonara appeared about ten meters ahead in an instant. The old steward''s entire body was pinned to the wall next to the stairway. The longsword pierced straight through his heart. With a look of disbelief, the old steward stared fiercely at Andonara. He wanted to speak, but a mouthful of blood gushed out of his throat and he couldn''t say anything. "It is true that three years ago I was not as strong as you. As a queen, although I was very much out of my husband''s favor, it was easy to get whatever resources I wanted. For the past three years, other than serving my own cheap husband, I''ve had no other hobbies, I only attended a few banquets. The vast majority of the time was spent exercising my sword skills." The old steward spat out another mouthful of blood, his eyes increasingly disbelieving. "Old dog, do you really think I don''t know that you''re the one he sent to execute me?" The old steward''s body twitched twice, and his eyes gradually lost their spark. Roland came from behind and exclaimed, "That was fast." Andonara should be an agility Warrior, with her surprising speed. Even though Roland mastered miaodao arts on an elementary level, he felt that if Andonara had suddenly attacked just now on the balcony, he would have definitely been unable to fight back and would have been beheaded on the spot. This woman''s appearance was so deceptive. "Anyway, I''m a great swordsman." Andonara smiled flirtatiously and approached Roland. "Although I didn''t tell you, it''s not a lie. After all, you didn''t ask me, did you, so don''t get mad!" Her lovely feminine fragrance came toward him. Roland subconsciously shifted a step across the room, pulling away from Andonara. "If you are so strong, why don''t you escape on your own?" "A woman needs a backer, no matter how strong she is. Alone and without a companion, a woman will always feel insecure, and an insecure woman doesn''t have much courage to resist authority." Andonara giggled and said, "So I''m happy that you''re here and willing to help me. Because of you, I feel like I won''t be afraid anymore." After Andonara finished speaking, she stepped forward briskly and even started to hum a little tune. This woman''s personality was quite mercurial. Roland followed behind Andonara, his brows furrowing more and more. This woman was powerful, so how did that Mage kidnap her? It wasn''t long before they were downstairs. Walking out of the manor, they came to the entrance. When the soldier guarding the gate saw Queen Andonara dressed in leather armor and equipped with a longsword, and then Roland next to her, and the black-robed Rogue Husseret, who was standing outside the gate, he swallowed hard. Then he raised his shield and knocked it hard against his head. After a loud thud, the soldier fainted and fell to the ground. "Quite clever," Andonara said smilingly. Husseret watched Roland walk out with an odd smile. "So fast? I originally estimated that you''d be at least an hour or two Is a Mage''s body really as weak as the rumors say?" In a foul mood, Roland gave him the middle finger. 230 Escape Looking at Roland''s disdainful middle finger, Husseret''s sinister face showed a hint of a smile. "I originally wanted the queen to keep you company, to get you to relax. It seems that it was quite effective. I just didn''t expect that not only did you sleep with her, but you''re actually trying to elope with heryou''re too greedy. Aren''t you afraid of being hunted by the whole Hollevin royal family?" "I didn''t do anything to her." Roland looked at Andonara and then said helplessly, "By the way, I heard from the queen that the atonement scrolls are very expensive. I''ll give you the money later, just tell me how much it cost." "Just give me fifty or sixty gold coins," Husseret said after some thought. "I also used some tactics to buy it at half-price." Andonara was a little surprised to hear this. "Atonement scrolls are usually only held by certain special people in the royal family, how did you get it for half-price?" "It''s a secret." Husseret wiggled his eyebrows, then looked at Roland. "Do you really want to take her?" Roland opened the system panel and shared the newly acquired quest. Special secondary quest: Escort Queen Andonara Safely Out of the Capital. "Oh, there''s a quest, that makes things easier." Husseret clapped his hands. "I''ll go and share the quest with the others, and also go outside the city to share the quest with Schuck. Roland, you''re in charge of your woman, take her to a safe place first, and leave a message in the guild system if you need anything." After speaking, Husseret turned around and walked away, and under the effect of stealth, his figure became transparent at a very fast speed, and finally disappeared completely before the two of them. "Your woman." Andonara looked at Roland with an odd look in her eyes. "Your friend is quite the talker." Roland didn''t bother picking up on her remark. He realized that a woman like Andonara was very good at stirring things up, and the more you responded to her, the more she would get a kick out of it. Of course, Roland wasn''t saying that women with this kind of personality were bad, but right now he wasn''t in the mood to play any ambiguous games with Andonara. "Let''s go." Roland spoke insipidly and walked ahead. "How unromantic." Andonara tsked, following Roland rather bitterly. They followed the path to the main entrance and ended up walking out of the belt of woods, but they saw a figure standing in the middle of the path in front of them. It was a young girl, carrying an unsharpened broadsword, with a small round shield pinned to her small left arm, wearing pale blue leather armor and she had a very flat chest. It was Veronica. The young girl''s golden ponytail fluttered slightly in the night breeze. Andonara gazed at Veronica, her long ponytail also swaying slightly. Not in looks, but in temperament. They were both crisp and clean. "Have you come to kill me?" Andonara smiled at the girl in front of her. "Kill me, a woman who has disgraced the royal family." Veronica glanced at Roland. "Is this the man you''ve looked for, the backer?" "What?" Andonara said, still smiling. "Can I not?" Veronica took a deep breath. "He''s too young for you." Well after all, Roland''s current game character appearance was only about 17 years old. Andonara, however, laughed. "I like the younger ones, don''t I? Or are you not only trying to stop me from leaving, but trying to stand on the moral high ground and judge me?" "I didn''t mean it that way, you are after all my mother in name and my teacher." Veronica bowed her head slightly and tossed her broadsword aside. "I came over here to save you, but I didn''t realize that you had already found someone." Roland tsked slightly and didn''t say anything. Andonara saw from her peripheral vision that Roland didn''t interject. She raised her eyebrows, then looked at Veronica and said, "It''s none of your business anymore. If you want to stop me, I won''t be polite to you, but if you still have a little bit of affection for me, then please move aside." Veronica froze for a moment and stepped aside. Andonara was relieved and walked straight ahead, saying softly as she walked past Veronica, "Thank you." Veronica''s body trembled a little, then she hung her head down. Only after Andonara and Roland had walked away did Veronica slowly raise her head, her eyes a little red. At this time, Andonara and Roland had already walked down the street. There was no curfew right now, so several commercial streets in the city were brightly lit and there were many pedestrians on the road. The two of them were very conspicuous as they walked down the street. After all, Andonara was very beautiful. But not many people dared to look at them directly. After all, Andonara was equipped with a long sword, while Roland wore a magic robe. They were a combination that was not easy to mess with at first glance. Andonara clasped her hands to her chest, feeling a little cold. She wouldn''t actually feel cold. As a professional and as a great swordsman, this little bit of night breeze couldn''t make her feel cold. She just didn''t feel safe. She''d been in the palace for the past few years, and suddenly she felt a bit overwhelmed by the sudden escape. The relatively unfamiliar surroundings and her unknown future, accompanied by all sorts of considerations and thoughts, filled her head and left her in a dazed state. Roland, on the other hand, was looking for a safer place. The Wild Horse Tavern was out of the question. That kind of place was too crowded, and going there would be the equivalent of directly telling the royal family their location. If it were any other city, he could have blown the gates open with a large fireball and left with Andonara. But the walls of the capital were different, mixed with magic-resistant materials. Even if a big fireball came down, it would break through two meters of the wall at best. The thickness of the wall of the capital was at least twenty meters. The walls of almost every kingdom''s capital were built with magic-resistant materials. It was to prevent powerful Mages from screwing things up. This was why Roland had to be patient and wait for Husseret to find a way out. If that was not possible, he would have to rely on Schuckhave him take the little dragoness into the capital, then find an empty spot where the dragoness could shift back into her dragon form and fly away from the capital with Andonara. Of course, this was the last resort. They didn''t want to expose Schuck and the dragoness for the time being, after all. When dealing with the Association headquarters, they were the trump card. In the end, Roland thought about it and took Andonara to the west side of the city, next to the cemetery. The cemetery was a place that people generally didn''t like to come to, so there were very few people here. There was also a small forest around the cemetery, and in the forest, Roland used Mud to Stone to build a small cottage, and then took Andonara and hid inside. With the woods as cover, it would be difficult for the average person to spot the small cottage. After Andonara entered the small, narrow cottage, her expression, at last, eased considerably. It seemed that this temporary lodging gave her a lot of security. She looked up at the leafy canopy outside through the tiny ventilation window, and after a while, she said, "I guess the royal family is already looking for me." Roland sat leaning against the wall and didn''t say anythingwhat she had just said was quite obvious. Andonara turned her head to look at Roland. "I''m actually very powerful. Even the few Archmages in the city are no match for me." Hmm? Roland was a little surprised, but also a little helpless. This woman''s thoughts were so capricious, he had no idea what her next words were going to be. 231 The Thoughts of All Parents In the darkness, Andonara''s eyes reflected a silvery luster. Roland was silent for a moment and asked, "So I''ve been wondering just now, since you''re not even afraid of the Archmages, who could take you captive?" "I did that on purpose." Andonara hugged her legs, her chin resting on her knees, and spoke indifferently. "My husband had been quite cold to me. I just wanted to see if my husband would care if I was taken away." Roland was speechless. Isn''t there a very common saying in society nowadays human nature can''t bear to be tested. Looking at Roland''s helpless expression, Andonara laughed lightly in a somewhat lonely manner. "Just as you imagined, after I disappeared, my husband really had no heart to search for me at all. And when I returned to the palace, the first thing he did was send a trusted Mage over to use Lie Detection on me, asking if I had been abused and if I had betrayed the interests of the royal family. Isn''t that callous? Shouldn''t a normal husband be concerned about his wife first?" Roland sighed. He didn''t really want to hear this stuff. Although it was true that Andonara was rather pitiable, no matter what, there was no changing the fact that Kaka was involved by her. Even if Andonara made herself sound pitiful, Roland didn''t have much of a favorable impression of her. Seeing that Roland didn''t react much, she turned her head to look at the man next to her and asked softly, "Do you also think that what my husband did was right?" "I didn''t say that." Roland shook his head slightly. "I was just thinking about other things." "I''m right in front of your eyes, can''t you be a little more gentlemanly and think about me a little more?" Andonara''s eyes were shining brightly. "There will be time for that." Andonara tsked. "What a perfunctory answer." Then they fell silent at the same time. Andonara had discovered that the man beside her was really not very (sexually) interested in her. She had never had a good way with such men. Like her husband the king, both of them were of the type that did not think much of women. Is this like just getting out of one pit and almost jumping into another? Is my life that hard? Andonara''s mood was utterly bitter. And on the top floor of the Association headquarters, the headquarters chairman Dalton Wynn was looking at a spell model. This derivative model, handed in by the Bards'' youngest son, was full of genius-level imagination, and the spell nodes were laid out and connected with no redundant steps at all. Such a simple yet perfect spell model was rarely seen. After looking at the spell model, he snapped his fingers and a blue shield-holding magic doll appeared beside him. "It''s at least a level two Summoning spell." Dalton nodded in satisfaction. "And the magic doll inherits a part of the caster''s common sense, its intelligence is quite high. This kind of spell is definitely not something that Kaka can come up with." Who''s the one behind him? Just as he was wondering, a knocking sound came from the door. Without looking back, he said, "Come in." A young man entered the room, dressed in a magic robe. He was thin with a moderate appearance and a crew cut, and looked quite spirited. "Father, you wanted to see me?" "Yes, take this spell model and learn it in three days. There are notes below, as well as the effects and abilities of each node. Memorize it allfrom now on this spell is your original creation. Call it Rourke''s Protective Doll Summoning Spell, understand?" Although somewhat puzzled, the young man named Rourke picked up the spell model and looked at it for a moment. His eyes gradually lit up. "It is indeed a level-two spell that never existed before. Father, where did you get it?" "You don''t have to worry about it." Dalton looked kindly at his only son. "Memorize it by heart, don''t miss a word of it, and you have to understand all the principles in it. When you figure it out, I''ll apply for magic certification for you, and that way you might get the attention of the Green Magic Tower." Rourke nodded excitedly. "I understand, Father. I''ll go back to my studies now." "Good, go on." Dalton smiled softly. When Rourke left the room, Dalton continued reading. Soon after, a soft knocking came from the door again, and this time, it was a middle-aged man with a wooden expression who entered. "Head Chairman, the shadows of the royal family moved not long ago. We checked and found that they seem to be looking for Her Highness the Queen." "The queen?" Dalton was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "The queen has actually disappeared again? This time we didn''t do it. Are they looking for us?" "No. The shadows of the royal family weren''t looking for us, but for some Golden Sons?" Dalton was startled for a moment. "When did the Golden Sons get involved with the queen?" "Not sure at the moment." "Then find out right away." Dalton grunted in discontent. "Do I have to teach you how to do that?" "Yes, sir." The middle-aged man was about to leave, but then Dalton suddenly spoke again. "Wait. Send a couple of men to the Bards later and tell the head of their house: the incident this time is over, but remember, don''t be a fence-sitter in the future and try to take advantage of both sides. You''ll end up with neither." "Yes, sir." When the middle-aged man left the room, Dalton sat for a moment, then went out onto the balcony. After reciting an incantation, a light breeze surrounded him, then supported him upward and took him into the night sky. About thirteen minutes later, he landed in front of a white Magic Tower. When the soldier in charge of the gate saw him, he immediately ushered him to the sixth floor of the Magic Tower. Tobian, the bear-like Mage, was planning to sleep at this time, ao when he heard that the head chairman was coming, he had to put on a white nightgown to meet him. As they sat in the study, Tobian stroked his bald head and said, "What do you need at this late hour, Head Chairman?" "Look at this spell model." Dalton handed over the Spell Puppet derivative spell. On this drawing, he deliberately deleted many of the notes on the nodes, as well as the basic node connection principles. These things were originally written on the edges of the drawing by Kaka, and without them, this spell model was simply a spell modelit could still be learned, but the principles with regard to it would be unknown. There was no way Tobian would be able to take it for magic certification. "A very intricate model," said Tobian, who was very knowledgeable, his eyes growing bright. "How about it? It''s a new spell my son worked out," Dalton said with a smile. "Do you want to learn it?" Tobian''s eyes had been shining with excitement, but suddenly his expression turned odd, and he closed the drawing and returned it to Dalton. "Sorry, I suddenly realized that this spell isn''t suitable or me." Hmm? Dalton found it a bit strange that Tobian wasn''t interested in this simple and practical level-two spell that was also entirely new. However, he saw that Tobion''s expression seemed serious, so he had to hold back his curiosity for the time being and left after talking with Tobian for a while. After Dalton left, Tobian found a spell model from the bookshelf, looked at it for a moment, and then compared the route of the nodes he had just memorized. He sneered, "It really is the same style. This isn''t a spell created by Rourke at all. It should be the handiwork of that Golden Son. Chairman Dalton, you might be in trouble." 232 Jinx Although Tobian was also going to suggest limiting the progression of the Golden Son Mages, that didn''t mean he wasn''t aware of the consequences of actually messing with the Golden Sons. With the deaths of two mayors and countless minor skirmishes with the nobles, it was clear that the Golden Sons just didn''t seem to know how to spell the word fear. "What kind of benefit can you get out of this?" Tobian the bear-like Mage stared at the spell model on the table, pondering. Then he laughed. There were some things that might be worth fighting for. The capital was not peaceful at this time, and although there was no curfew, some people with keen senses had noticed that something was not quite right in the atmosphere of the capital. Black-robed men were haunting the streets, each and every one of them with sharp eyes, seemingly searching for something. There was also a group of the capital''s city guards going in and out of various taverns. When they saw a beautiful adult woman, they would go and size her up. It was obvious that something was wrong. The residents of "sensitive" places like the capital had a good sense of danger. Less than an hour after that, there were noticeably fewer pedestrians on the streets, and it was continuing to decrease. Antis walked the streets with a group of his trusted subordinates behind him. As the city guard officer, he certainly couldn''t avoid being sent out on search missions when it came to such things. The queen had actually disappeared again According to the guards, it was a Mage and a Rogue who had taken the queen captive. This time, they also killed an old steward who was dedicated to serving the queen. Antis knew the old steward was quite strong. He went to the scene and, judging from the wound, the old steward was pierced through the heart with a sword, and the murderer had struck with great speed and accuracy as well as great force. It was reasonable to say that it should have been a Rogue''s handiwork, but strangely enough, most Rogues used daggers and rarely used longswords. Because Rogues had to move stealthily, a slightly longer weapon would hinder their movement. Unless one had spatial equipment or magic for quick storage of gear. Hmm Golden Sons? All Golden Sons were said to possess a piece of large spatial equipment bound to their souls. What about a Golden Son Mage? Antis suddenly thought of someoneRoland. It could only be said that the affairs of life messed with people. Antis was wrong to have guessed that it was Roland. Walking down the street, Antis was a little disappointed. Roland, is this how you help Kaka get revenge? By taking and killing the queen, who identified Kaka as the kidnapper? Antis was walking and letting his thoughts race. After a short walk, he said to his men, "Disperse, go to the taverns and inns to inquire about a Golden Son Mage, the one I saw twice at the city gates. You should remember what he looks like, go!" After his subordinates dispersed, Antis found a nearby tavern and sat down. He was handsome, but silver-white heavy armor of high quality was definitely a high-grade product that ordinary mercenaries couldn''t afford to buy and wear. He was also accompanied by a few soldiers, so he was either a noble or someone with authority. Although the drunkards in the tavern were a little drunk, most of them were not idiots, and they knew very well who could and could not be messed with. Even if one or two of them were drinking to the point of losing their rationality and tried to say something nonsensical, as soon as they opened their mouths, their companions pressed their heads dead against the table to keep them from acting recklessly. Antis sat quietly, waiting for a response from his men. Soon after, his subordinates returned one by one, and they told him all the information they had gathered. Because Roland and the queen, one aMmage and the other a beautiful woman, were really noticeable in the streets, Antis''s subordinates got a lot of information just by asking random people. Then Antis pieced the information together and quickly came up with where Roland was going. "Western city cemetery." Antis stood up and said coldly, "Mobilize four hundred men from the city guards and surround the cemetery immediately, don''t let a single rat out." The few subordinates immediately left with their orders. Soon the city guards descended upon the cemetery in great numbers and surrounded it, searching it inch by inch. They soon spotted the low cottage in the woods. Antis entered the stone cottage and didn''t find anyone, but a faint fragrance was left in the room. He sniffed and muttered to himself, "This is the royal perfume, sourced from the Elven Forest. It seems that the queen should have been here for a decent amount of time, but we were a little late." Through the tiny window, Antis looked out. The marble white color of the dawn sky had already appeared. By this time Roland had already reunited with Husseret, and the F6 members had also arrived. The postman was now very excitedly circling the queen, which caused her some puzzlement and displeasure. The postman was actually livestreaming The chat was already filled with wild shrieks and howls. "Oh damn, is this the queen? She''s too beautiful, a certain actress really can''t even compare." "Fox eyes, big fierce weapons, and long legs, as well as her heart-stopping status as a noble. Wait, let me take a screenshot, she''ll be my spiritual food for the next six months." "Roland has even seduced a human queen? I saw it just now, there''s obviously something else about the way the queen looks at Roland." "The members of F6 are so awesome. Guild leader Schuck stole the dragoness that someone else desperately pursued but could never get, and now Roland has stolen the queen of the Hollevin royal family. I''ve already brainstormed tens of thousands of words for an R18 drama." "Write down the brainstormed scenario and share it with us users, brother." Roland and others were not aware of the situation in the livestream at this moment. They were at the foot of the north wall. Husseret pointed upward and said, "I''ve paid off a patrol squad, there will be no soldiers patrolling the walls in this area for the next twenty minutes. There are only twenty minutes, so it''s up to you, Roland." Everyone looked at Husseret with some surprise. Even the capital''s patrol squad could be bought off This "tactic" was too impressive. Everyone then looked at Roland, and the queen''s eyes shone even brighter. Roland stepped forward, snapped his fingers, and in the next second, he appeared on top of the forty-meter high wall. Teleportation If Roland applied it with all his power, he would be able to teleport directly to any place within sight. Over forty meters high, it really wasn''t difficult for him. Then he cast a thick rope, which he had already prepared, down from the wall, while the other end was tied to the battlement. Ordinary people with training could climb a cliff hundreds of meters high by relying on a rope, let alone a professional, and besides, the height of the wall was only forty meters. Soon, everyone climbed along the rope to the top of the city wall. Andonara jumped on the city wall, and her murderous weapons[1] trembled up and down. The livestream was spammed with comments again. Then she looked back at the majestic palace in the middle of the city with mixed feelings. "It seems things are going to go more smoothly than we thought" Husseret said, smiling, but he suddenly turned his head to the other side of the wall and laughed bitterly. "I jinxed us." Not far away, a dozen thin black shadows were slithering toward them, moving against the ground at great speed. "Illumination!" Roland snapped his fingers, and an extremely large ball of light appeared above them, as bright as a searchlight, directly covering a radius of over fifty meters around them. All the shadows left without a trace due to the bright light, and the dozen or so black-robed men were forced to show themselves and abandon their state of quick, stealthy movement. "It''s the Assassins of the Shadow Guild." Queen Andonara spoke with her voice lowered, then drew her sword and stood in front of Roland. [1] Xiong means murderous, but also a homonym of breasts 233 Surrounded It was an unwritten rule in the mercenary world that in the event of a surprise attack, the first priority of a physical melee professional was to protect the spellcaster first. This was an ironclad rule, one that the mercenary world had taken hundreds, thousands of years to learn, a lesson paid for in blood. Physical professions only had two functions: kill or protect. But spellcasters were different; as long as they were prepared, they could not only do the first two, but also heal, alter terrain, alter climate, control enemies, or summon creatures as reinforcements. Even if you were surrounded and in danger, as long as the spellcaster was still alive and able to cast spells, there was a possibility of turning the tables. On the other hand, if your own spellcaster was dead, or if you had no spellcaster but the other side did, it was just as dangerous as long if you didn''t have tremendous advantage in numbers. Because you would have no idea what strange things the spellcaster could do next. Andonara had worked as a mercenary for a few months before she became the queen, so she was aware of this unwritten rule, and she was standing in front of Roland, though not just because of the rules. Nineteen of them! There were nineteen black-robed Assassins that were forced into the open by the glare. In just the blink of an eye, everyone on Roland''s side counted the number of enemiesnone of them were weak, after all. The number of shadow Assassins was twelve more than the number of people on Roland''s side, which was the reason why they dared to launch a sneak attack. There was always some advantage in numbers. Looking at the nineteen Assassins who were as ferocious and quick as ghosts, Roland was the one who had the slowest reaction. The others had already set up and were preparing for the onslaught of the enemy, especially Raffel, who, being a shield warrior, had taken out his huge tower shield from his Backpack and taken up a defensive stance. But then, someone made a move. It was Roland. Although Roland''s reaction was the slowest, it was only relative. He allocated full intellect and concurrently high resistance growth. His coordination, the attribute in charge of reaction speed, softness, and sensitivity of the body, was only the most basic at 5 points. He was surely a little slower than the others, roughly about 0.05 seconds slower, but as he leveled up, his reaction speed would grow even further apart from that of the other physical professions, unless he used reaction speed enhancement spells. The others would have taken at least half a second to draw out their weapons and take their stance. Roland''s spells, however, were all instantaneous. Then Roland snapped his fingers. Hypnosis! Instantly, four charging assassins fell asleep. Like hungry dogs snatching food, they directly dove toward the ground, sliding on the stone ground for four or five meters. The other three were deeply dizzy, feeling weak all over, yawning repeatedly, and they stopped after running a few steps and smacked their heads hard. Although they didn''t fall asleep, they lost their fighting strength. With this one spell, Roland made the enemies lose almost half of their momentum. This was something that Roland had discovered when he had clashed with the Shadow Assassins Guild before. It seemed that many assassins had very poor mental resistance, and a single Group Hypnosis could hit about a third of their targets. "Well done." Raffel shouted a commendation at the sight and directly launched a shield charge. The city wall was less than twenty meters wide. When Raffel charged over, the relative speed of both sides was too fast. There were two assassins that couldn''t dodge in time and were knocked back on the spot, blood spurting wildly from their mouths. The moment Raffel knocked them off their feet, to his left, the sound of a bowstring rang three times in quick succession. A black-robed Assassin waved his dagger wildly as he dashed, parrying two arrows, but then with a gushing sound, an arrow pierced his throat, and half a second later, he fell to his knees, gagging. Eventually he fell face-up, looking at the sky. Brazil, on the other hand, jumped five meters back and drew his bow again. Now, there were only nine Shadow Assassins before them. The two sides then skirmished, with Husseret scaring off three Shadow Assassins with a smoke grenade, while Betta and Li Lin each held back an opponent. Betta, because of his talent, was apt in defense but lacked in offense, and for the time being, he was locked in a battle with the Assassin. Li Lin, on the other hand, was a Berserker and moved slightly slower, but every time he swung his greatsword, a strange whirring sound would emit, and the Assassin he was fighting would turn around in fear upon hearing it. Li Lin stomped his feet on the spot. "Why did you run away? Come and fight me for three hundred rounds!" The Assassin ran even faster. The bowstring rang out again, and Brazil killed another Assassin, a bloodthirsty grin on his face. The most spectacular was Queen Andonara, who appeared directly behind the three Assassins with a Z-charge. The top halves of the three rose up into the sky: they had actually been bisected at the waist in an instant. The postman who was in charge of cheering off to the side saw this and couldn''t help but whistle. This strength is kind of impressive. It had been less than five seconds, and in the blink of an eye, there were only four Assassins on the field, with three more just coming out of their stupor. When they saw the situation, they immediately turned around and ran. They came quickly and left quickly. All except for one Assassin who had fallen behind, who suddenly fell to the ground. He looked back, so terrified that his eyes were almost bulging out. A blue Hand of Magic grabbed him by his left ankle and dragged him backward. This Assassin had grief in his eyes, and with the flash of a chilling glare, he directly slashed his left leg with his dagger. Blood splattered everywhere; he had been too hard on himself. Roland and the others were dumbfounded. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Assassin jumped to the edge of the battlements on one leg and then tumbled down. Roland and the others ran over and saw that because the bright light was gone, the Assassin had turned into a serpentine shadow in midair and slithered against the surface of the city wall, quickly disappearing into the darkness. They looked at the far side of the city wall and noticed that the huge ball of light Roland had just created had attracted the attention of the other patrols, and people could be vaguely seen running over. Husseret said, "The Shadow Guild must have received a mission from the royal family. This group should be their elites, they shouldn''t be able to threaten us for the time being. We should just leave straight away from the city walls." The rope was thrown to the other side of the wall this time, and several of them climbed it and went down quickly. Roland, on the other hand, didn''t need to go to that much trouble: he just used Teleportation and waited for them below. Once a few of them were down, two patrol squads also ran to where they had just been, and a torch was lit on the wall, but unfortunately, the torches didn''t illuminate a wide area, and these soldiers only saw a few indistinct shadows leaving. Because the postman had been livestreaming, the livestream was now in a commotion once again. "Oh sh**, is this the strength of a top-tier guild? It''s outrageous. Half a dozen or so Shadow Assassins were instantly put down, while the rest were scared off?" "Not a top-tier guild, it''s the only guild on the entire server for now." "Roland snapped his fingers and four fell, three more lost the ability to fight. Mages are too strong, we should nerf Irelia[1]." "''The queen is also awesome. Z-charge, it''s said to be a high-level specialty, how did she learn it?" "Oh d***, it''s good to be strong, even such a powerful queen could be picked up." The discussion in the chat room continued, showing no signs of subsiding for now. Meanwhile, Roland and the others encountered some minor trouble in the groves outside the capital. "Why wasn''t the quest completed?" The postman was a little surprised. The quest was to escort the queen to safety, but the quest status still hadn''t changed. In other words it still wasn''t safe here? The intelligence of everyone present was not bad, and they immediately were on guard. It was then that they suddenly realized the woods were a little too quiet. After some thought, Roland instantly sent four giant balls of light into the air, illuminating a radius of about 150 meters. Husseret looked around the woods, narrowed his eyes, and said, "We''re surrounded." [1] LoL champion, nerfed frequently 234 Hidden Enemies Surrounded? Apart from Queen Andonara''s somewhat nervous expression, no one had any reaction. For one, they were players: they wouldn''t really die, and the worst that could happen was that they would lose equipment and experience. Secondly, they still had backupSchuck and the dragoness were just a short distance away. Roland sighed and said, "Looks like we''ll have to get Schuck over here to help." However, Husseret waved his hand and said, "No hurry, let''s wait and see. I think the enemy will slowly surround us, and maybe even communicate with us. There are some things I would like to ask." Roland shook his head slightly. "But our first task is to protect the queen and escort her to safety." Upon hearing this, Queen Andonara suddenly looked at Roland, her pretty face wore an expression of utter surprise. She seemed to have misunderstood the meaning of Roland''s words about the quest, and thought it meant something else. None of the men present noticed the expression on Queen Andonara''s face at this point, only the audience watching in the livestream did. "Oh sh**, that subtle expression on the Queen''s face, she''s truly fallen." "All on her own?" "This why can''t I have such good luck? I hooked up with a wife and got my banana peeled by her husband[1]." "Wait! The brother upstairs, you''re the famous flayed man." "Encountering the real person, how lucky." "Can you tell us how you felt at the time?" Then the conversation sidetracked, and the interests of the players in the livestream were focused on the flayed man. Women were not as interesting as gossip! Not to mention this was an extremely rare kind of gossip. And here on the scene, Husseret said to Roland, "Why don''t you take the queen and leave first, while the others stay with me. I''d like to see who is so impressive that they have calculated our escape route so accurately." Oh so it''s Husseret who''s in a sour mood. He had been a bit stubborn since he was a kid and didn''t like it when people guessed what he was thinking. He had planned this escape route and now they were surrounded by people, so naturally, he wanted to figure out what was going on. Roland thought about it and said, "Why don''t the postman and Betta escort the queen away first, and I''ll stay behind too. With a spellcaster around, you''ll at least get good support." Andonara glared coquettishly at Roland. Husseret''s gloomy face revealed a rarely seen smile. "No need to be so troublesome, the queen probably only trusts you. Besides, if we stay, we can also bring up the rear." The postman was tempted to say that he too wanted to escort the queen away with Roland first, but he looked at the queen''s coquettish expression and immediately understood what was going on. It was quiet around them, and getting quieter by the minute. "Don''t worry." Husseret made an OK gesture, and the others gave Roland a thumbs up, which seemed to have a strange encouraging meaning. Roland felt a little bewildered and wondered what they were encouraging. Roland then retreated and left with Queen Andonara. He threw down three magic spiders and summoned a shield-wielding doll. The three spiders didn''t go into the grass, moving forward in sync with him, but separately monitoring the front, left, and right for any approaching enemies. The shield-wielding doll, on the other hand, protected the queen. They walked slowly through the woods, Roland''s expression was somewhat heavy as the net was definitely shrinking and he would have to make a run for it through the gap in the rear before he was completely surrounded. However, Andonara''s expression was rather relaxedvery relaxed. She followed Roland''s lead, her face full of smiles. It was as if they were not on the run, but instead having a romantic night out. Thanks to the advanced vision of the three magic spiders, Roland avoided the encirclement, and using the magic spiders, Roland saw a heavily armored infantry regiment that was quite well-equipped slowly completing the encirclement. These were not the city guards under Antis, they were definitely royal guards. However, this was quite normal. With the queen missing, it was reasonable to dispatch the royal guards. It was rather strange that the royal guards weren''t deployed previously when Andonara had been kidnapped, which was why Kaka''s suicide note said that politics was a dirty business. After successfully avoiding the encirclement, they stepped onto the public road. There was no one on the public roads at this timeafter all, it was late at night and no one would be traveling freely except for some merchants in a hurry. And still, at this moment, there was no sign that the quest was complete. Roland was a little surprisedexactly where did he have to take the queen? The surroundings were quiet, and Andonara stood quietly at Roland''s side and also looked at him quietly, not saying anything, but her eyes were bright. After some thought, Roland asked, "Queen, what are your plans?" "Don''t call me queen." Andonara shook her head. "There are no plans, you''re the one protecting me now, so I''ll go wherever you take me." "Not afraid I''ll sell you?" Roland joked. This was just him being a player and simply having fun. Andonara, however, smiled proudly and said, "Are you willing to? Look at this figure of mine, look at my strength! I can be your sharp spear or your gentle scabbard, where will you find such a good woman!" This woman was too narcissistic. However, he was curious: "What does scabbard mean? I don''t use a sword much." Andonara looked at Roland''s belly and smiled meaningfully and charmingly. Roland understood immediately. This woman who had been a wife was quite liberal. Vivian definitely wouldn''t have been able to say such a thing. Roland sighed and pretended not to understand Andonara''s words. He looked at the quest. They were several kilometers away from the capital and it still wasn''t considered safedid he have to send the queen to another city? Give it a try? Roland said to Andonara, "Is there anywhere you''d like to go?" "I told you, you''re the one protecting me now, you can take me wherever you want," Andonara said without a care in the world. "What''s the closest city to here?" "The city of Isnas." That was also the royal family''s territory, but it wouldn''t hurt to go there to see if the quest would be counted as complete. He set off with Andonara, only to find a group of people blocking the mud path ahead of him after walking for less than a dozen meters. The leader of the group, surprisingly, was an old acquaintance of his. Antis. He didn''t wear a helmet, and under the moonlight, his shiny, slender eyes, along with his delicate face, had a kind of hazy beauty that made it possible for him to be on par with Queen Andonara in looks. "Sure enough, I found you here." Antis waved his hand, and behind him, a hundred city guards surrounded him in a semicircle. Roland took a deep breath and condensed a ball of blue flame with a radius of half a meter in his hand. "How about moving aside? You should know the power of this fireball," Roland said bluntly. "I don''t want to kill my own acquaintance." Just as Roland finished speaking, a hidden arrow shot silently at his brow. Because the arrow was black and even used a special material that was used to target Mages for assassination, Roland didn''t even notice it. Even the shield-wielding puppet didn''t move. Seeing that he was about to be in trouble, at this moment, Andonara suddenly intercepted it and knocked the dark arrow away with her scabbard. 235 It Really Is One of the Bugs With a clink, the black arrow bounced back and landed a short distance in front of Antis. At this moment, Antis''s face was as black as charcoal, and he turned around, shouting angrily at his soldiers, "Who released the arrow?" Not a single one of the more than one hundred city guards uttered a word. Antis narrowed his eyes and shouted, "Change back to squad mode, each squad leader will check for any strangers in their ranks." As soon as this was said, a soldier in the city guard immediately crashed through his fellow soldiers next to him, retreating swiftly. Antis was already prepared at this point. He raised his hand, clutching a small crossbow. The sound of the bowstring vibrating rang out and a silvery white arrow shot at the back of this fleeing soldier. However, this soldier seemed to have Intuitive Reflex, and his body twisted eerily as he ran at a fast pace, barely dodging this silver arrow before disappearing into the darkness. "Sh**, it''s either the Assassins Guild or the Guild of Rogues." Antis stroked his eyebrows, extremely unhappy. "When did he get mixed in with my team?" Then he turned to Roland and Andonara. "Sorry, that really wasn''t my guy, I didn''t mean to attack directly." Roland didn''t say anything. Andonara lowered her longsword, a sneer forming at the corners of her lips. If it wasn''t for her quick reaction just now, that silent arrow would have hit Roland''s forehead directly. She had heard that the Golden Sons were immortal, but as a human, the pain was inevitable and it would hurt quite terribly. Seeing that neither of them spoke, Antis sighed and continued, "I''m part of the royal family anyhow, of course. I have the right to arrest you, Roland, there''s no need to be so hostile towards me." "How could Roland be in danger if you hadn''t brought people to stop him?" Andonara snorted. Antis looked at her rather strangely. "Your Highness the Queen, are you speaking for Roland?" "Yeah, so what?" Antis frowned. "You''re not being held hostage by him?" "Held hostage?" The queen sneered. "It''s safe to say that if I don''t want to, no one among my peers can hold me hostage. Even you, known to be a warrior genius rarely seen in a hundred years, are no match for me." Naturally, Antis didn''t believe it, but he spoke in a measured manner. "I''ve always heard that Her Highness the Queen is a powerful female warrior. Of course, I''m no match for you." "You speak with tongue in cheek." The queen smiled and shook her head. Antis shrugged, not embarrassed at being called out on his thoughts. Instead he looked at Andonara curiously and asked, "If Her Highness the Queen is not being held hostage, why are you heading outside the royal city? You''re not afraid of being misunderstood by His Majesty the King?" Antis stared at her with wide eyes. Roland coughed twice in shock. "No, she''s not, don''t believe it." Roland hurriedly explained, "I''m innocent with Her Highness the Queen." The queen looked at him grudgingly. "You''ve clearly seen all of someone''s body." Indeed, I saw all of it Roland opened his mouth and was left speechless. Antis was so frustrated that he pressed on his brow. He himself was a member of the nobility and knew very well how chaotic the private lives of the nobles was. It was just that there were some things that people understood in their hearts, and it was not good to say them. He had more than a hundred city guards behind him, and everyone had heard. The more people, the more talk. Did he have to kill all the city guards to hide the news? This was impossible! "It''s good that Her Highness the Queen is not being held hostage." Antis thought for a moment and made a quick decision, not wanting to get involved in this muddle. "Then I''ll go back to the capital first." "You''re not arresting us and taking me back?" Antis shook his head. "My duty is only to be responsible for the safety of everyone in the capital. If Your Highness is not being held hostage, how you act is your decision. It''s beyond my duty, nor can I control it." He waved his hand and was about to head back with his own men. As he brushed past Roland, he suddenly turned his head and said, "I was quite impressed with you. With Kaka dead, your willingness to come back and avenge his death proved your character. But I didn''t expect that you wouldn''t avenge him, and instead indulged in lust first. The queen is not like any other noblewoman, and if you engage in illicit relations once or twice now and then, without letting too many people know, perhaps His Majesty the King will turn a blind eye. But if you directly take her away, things will get ugly. The royal family also needs to save face." It seemed that the other side had really misunderstood. Roland sighed in his heart. It was just hard to solve such a misunderstanding. Because of the quest, he had to escort the queen to safety. Moreover, even if there was no quest, a poor woman who might be executed tomorrow was in front of him, he had to save her. Once the queen was escorted away, the "illicit relations" between the two of them would practically become a fact. Not only would this affect his reputation among NPCs, there was also even a great possibility that it would make him a target of the royal family. But he felt that this wasn''t a big deal. In reality, he couldn''t be such a hero because he was concerned about his life, his family, and other factors. However, in this game, in this world with no threat of death, no family to worry about, and in a situation where there were almost no encumbrances, if he wasn''t even willing to stand up and protect a "weak woman," then he really would''ve had grown a stick for nothing. This was why he didn''t care about Antis''s misunderstanding and persuasion. "It''s a bit of trouble, but it''s better than having a guilty conscience." "Having illicit relations and eloping, that''s having a real guilty conscience, isn''t it?" Antis subconsciously felt that something was wrong and retorted. Roland laughed lightly. "Think whatever you will." Antis stared deeply at Roland for a while, then finally waved his hand and left with his soldiers. After Antis left, Andonara walked to Roland''s side and said with a smile, "Aren''t you afraid people will get the wrong idea about you? Or are you willing to get intimate with me now?" Roland said helplessly, "It doesn''t really matter to me whether other people misunderstand or not. Rather, you should have exercised restraint with your words just now, almost making Antis and us fight because of your nonsense. There were so many of them, and if they attacked, I might not have been able to protect you." "I''m not afraidI''ll protect you." Andonara smiled and said with a matter-of-fact expression, "Didn''t I say, no one in the entire capital is a match for me. Although Antis has a lot of men, it wouldn''t take much time for me to kill them all." Roland naturally didn''t believe it. "Your Highness the Queen, you''re quite a liar." "You don''t believe me?" The look on Andonara''s face was quite mischievous. Roland shrugged. "Then I''ll show you half of my strength." After Andonara smilingly said this, she pressed her hand on the hilt of her sword and then with a clank, the trees to her right all broke in two. Trees of all sizes fell down, and thirty meters ahead, within a fan-shaped range of about eighty degrees, everything was severed. "I can use an attack like that at least ten times a day." Roland was stunned for a moment, then slowly closed his gaping mouth. No wonder the Great Swordsman was also one of the three officially certified bug professions. This power, this attack speed who was protecting whom? Without the need for F6''s protection, the queen could charge out of the capital by herself. After a while, Roland looked at her and asked, "Can I use my mental power and detect your rank?" "Sure." The queen closed her eyes and tilted her head up a little, looking like she was at his mercy. 236 Feeling Uncomfortable All Over A thread of mental power gently touched Andonara''s forehead, probing her consciousness a little before withdrawing. Andonara opened her eyes and looked quite happy. Roland gasped lightly. "Eleventh rank, level eleven you''re actually a Master Swordsman!" The players'' attributes were strong, but Andonara''s wasn''t bad either, and she was probably an extremely rare talent among NPCs. She was quite young, and she was already level 11, enough to prove how outrageous her talent was. The Great Swordsman itself was a bug profession, alongside the Saint Samurai and the Summoner. All the players were Warriors for now, and there was no way to assume the profession of a Great Swordsman. There were quite a few Great Swordsmen among the NPCs, but they didn''t have the ability to help people change their profession, and the NPC experts who know how to change professions to Great Swordsmen were all in the top ranks of the Mercenary Guild, all above Master level. In other words, Andonara had the ability to help people change professions. He suddenly remembered that Princess Veronica was also a Great Swordsman and that Andonara had previously said that Veronica was a student she had taught. That''s quite something''Roland suddenly thought of something. "What are your plans after you leave the royal family?" "None at the moment, do you have any arrangements?" Roland walked forward slowly as he said, "After you leave the royal family, you have to live in a place that is out of the royal family''s reach." "I''ll listen to you." Roland frowned. The other party''s trust made him extremely uncomfortable. This kind of major life event that involved one''s own safety and future, how could one just listen to someone else? It hadn''t been more than ten hours since the two of them met. "Your own affairs, you decide." Andonara said with a matter-of-fact look on her face, "I did decide on my own. I decided to listen to you." Roland was so helpless that he wanted to bang his head against the wall straight away. "You''re a rare Great Swordsman anyhow, and at the Master level, unbelievably strong. Why aren''t you a little more independent?" "Can you not rely on men if you''re strong?" Andonara said with a strange look on her face. "If you''re strong, you have to fight everything yourself? Roland, I think your words are unreasonable." Andonara did have a point. Everyone had the right to choose how they lived. Roland also understood this, but he just felt that it was a bit of a shame that Andonara was so powerful but so insecure and only willing to be the vine of a tree. Otherwise, she should be a rather brilliant, wonderful woman. Then he sighed helplessly again. And Andonara looked at him with a smile on her face. Her expression seemed to say she''d do whatever he said. Roland thought of Andonara''s abilitysince she could help people change professions, she could also help players change professions. If he posted this message on the forum, a large number of people would go to Delpon in the future to increase her fondness toward them in order to change professions. This way, the players would spontaneously protect this "queen" who could help players transfer to the profession of Great Swordsman. There would absolutely be no problem with security. Andonara blinked. "Is that where you''re based as well?" Roland nodded. "That''s fine, we''ll go there together later." Andonara smiled quite happily. Just as Andonara finished speaking, Roland received a system notification. Quest completed: Escort the Queen to a Safe Place. Received 784 EXP. The fondness of royal forces decreased to -10. Wait Roland felt that something was wrong. It was still incomplete before, and the two of them were just walking at a slow pace. They hadn''t walked for much distance at all, so there couldn''t possibly be the idea of reaching a safe area. Could it be that the so-called safety didn''t refer to certain places or locations, but to Andonara''s perception? Only when she felt that she was safe would the quest be considered complete? Peace of mind is home? Roland wasn''t sure if he should be happy He had Andonara''s trust, which was really the main factor in completing the quest. But that trust gave him a sense of burden. To be honest, he kind of didn''t want to carry it. However, now that it had come to this, he would just have to carry it. He sighed long and deeply in his heart, and looked to the sky. There were no stars around the silvery crescent moon, it looked very lonely, coupled with the sound of the night wind that whistled from time to time. All of a sudden, Roland actually had the illusion that life was as bleak as snow. After a moment of sighing, Roland looked down at Andonara and said, "Next, I''m going to get revenge for Kaka, and I''m going to have to fight the Association headquarters, so" "Yes, I''ll help you kill them," Andonara said without hesitation. Roland wore a bitter expression. "No, I was going to say, why don''t you go to Delpon by yourself first?" Roland wasn''t worried about Andonara''s safety. It was unclear in other countries, but a Master-level Great Swordsman in the Kingdom of Hollevin was probably the ceiling of combat power. Her safety on the journey shouldn''t be a concern; what should be a concern was the stream of robbers who''d dare to treat her unkindly. However, unexpectedly, Andonara shook her head gently. "No, I''ll follow you into action. Whoever you want to kill, I''ll cut them down for you." "This is the capital, and if the royal family sees that you haven''t left and is following a man, they''ll probably go crazy, and then we''ll have to face two enemies." "I can mask my face and disguise myself," Andonara said hastily, "and I will never cause you any trouble." Roland was tempted to say that her following him was already quite a problematic matter. But then Andonara''s expression became a little panicked and worried, and she looked so pitiful that he just couldn''t say the words. After a moment of silence, he said, "Fine, multiple strong combatants will be good for us." "You''re too kind." Andonara smiled and came over to put her arms around Roland. It was at this moment that a red dragon flew over them. Under the moonlight, the red dragon''s wings spread out, appearing immense. Andonara instinctively stood in front of Roland, her expression nervous. "It''s actually a dragon, and a red dragon at that. Roland, let''s hide first." As she spoke, she tugged on Roland''s arm, about to go hide in the woods. Roland shook his head. "This is my friend, he''s a Dragon Knight." Andonara stopped and she looked surprised. Dragon Knight that title hadn''t existed for over a hundred years. The red dragon swooped down about ten meters above them. The strong currents of air could almost blow people away, and on the back of the dragon, Schuck twisted around to look back, while waving at Roland. His handsome face in the moonlight was as if a god had descended. Andonara gathered her long hair, which had been disheveled by the strong wind, a look of disgust on her face. "Your friend is so handsome that it makes me uncomfortable." 237 Kill Him Although Schuck was extraordinarily handsome, human beings had a unique sensory system, and just because his Charm was high didn''t mean that all females would like him. Extreme things could often inspire strong like or dislike. For example, sweet douhua was delicious, but some people preferred salty douhua and found sweet douhua disgusting. By the same logic, Schuck could make about twenty percent of girls fall in love with him the moment they saw him, and another twenty percent would also like him after getting to know him. But that was his best. Roland would not find it odd whether or not Andonara had feelings for Schuck. Noticing that Schuck left for the woods, he knew that Husseret had achieved something. He turned in that direction too. After all, the epic quest to escort the queen to a safe place had been accomplished. It was not a problem at all to return. More importantly, Roland found that Andonara was so strong that she didn''t need his protection at all. Walking on foot was naturally not as fast as flying with wings. So, when Roland arrived at the spot, he saw nothing but the fierce wildfire as well as the bodies of the royal guards. Most of the bodies were blackened, emitting the fragrance of meat. Some of them had been slashed or stabbed by sharp weapons. In the middle of the fire, F6 looked at the dozens of royal guards that had been "surrounded" by them. At the center of the royal guards was a young man in glamorous clothes who was gnashing his teeth at Betta and Husseret. The young man also looked fearfully at the hovering red dragon now and then. Roland and Andonara hid in the shadows in the woods. Crouching right next to Roland, the queen said in a low voice, "That young man is the second prince." A prince? Roland was slightly surprised. "He set up an ambush against us in advance? Why?" "He has atonement scrolls in his hand. The atonement scrolls your friend got probably came from him." Andonara smiled and said, "He must be here to block me instead of you." Roland turned around and looked at her in confusion. "The second prince is a lustful guy," Andonara said in embarrassment. "He''s one of the few people who know my strength. He probably wanted to force me to leave the royal family with the atonement scrolls so that he could kidnap me." Roland subconsciously felt that it was not right. "You''re allowed to do anything with the atonement scrolls, right? Since he''s interested in you, was he not scared that someone else would take advantage of you?" Roland knew very well that Andonara was wearing highly-revealing silk pajamas a few hours earlier. At that time, Andonara seemed to have given herself up. Well Roland had to admit that women were natural-born actresses, and that the more beautiful they were, the more deceptive they would be. He felt lucky that he was not one of those men who was a slave to their sexual urges. It seemed that the prince had lost both his woman and his soldiers. Wait Andonara was not exactly the second prince''s woman. But he still got nothing in the end after all his schemes. Actually, the queen''s guess was only partially correct. The king did not intend to kill Andonara. It was the second prince who spread the rumor that the king would do so. The old butler worked for the second prince too. It was just a show and a chance to distribute the atonement scrolls. They also implied that the atonement scrolls could only be applied to Queen Andonara. They planned to force the queen to run, so that the second prince could intercept, capture, and hide her. As for the ambush It was because only one of the guard squads would have accepted Husseret''s bribery, and those guards were the second prince''s men. Therefore, it was very easy for the second prince to know where Roland was escaping to. Also, if Roland had watched the livestream, he would''ve known that the second prince stated to Husseret that he wanted his stepmother not only because she was pretty, but more importantly, because Andonara could raise Great Swordsman. Veronica was a perfect example. The second prince intended to train a batch of Great Swordsmen who were absolutely loyal to him so that he could compete with his big brother. But to the second prince''s surprise, he had pissed off the worst enemies. If Roland and his gang weren''t involved, his plan could have worked out. But now, his four hundred guards were almost all dead, and he had been surrounded. Though F6 had surrounded the second prince, they were faced with a problem too. Should they kill the second prince or not? The guy voluntarily asked for brutalization, and they should satisfy the guy''s wish. However, they had no quests about the second prince, and if they killed the second prince, they would be the powerful royal family''s sworn enemy. If it were different circumstances, they could''ve walked away after pissing off the royal family. However, they also had to deal with the headquarters of the Association of Mages. If they killed the second prince, the royal family would definitely stab them in the back when they dealt with the headquarters. That being said, the royal family had been insulted even if the second prince was left alive. After all, hundreds of royal guards had died. So, the royal family would probably choose backstabbing if Roland''s team was involved in a fight with the headquarters. The only difference would be the intensity of the royal family''s counterattack. In the chat room of the guild, Husseret pinged Roland and asked, "Do we kill him or not?" Roland asked, "How many princes are there in the royal family?" Husseret said, "I''m not sure." Roland turned around and asked Andonara, "How many princes are there in the royal family?" "Six, not counting the bastards." Roland immediately dropped a message in the guild system. "Kill him, but let the surviving royal guards go. If we don''t kill the prince, the royal family might think we''re weak. We''ve already pissed them off anyway, so we might as well see how far we can get." Husseret said, "Copy that!" The second prince''s handsome face was twisted and covered in white ash and black smoke. He roared, "I''m a royal prince! If you dare to kill me, not only will you die yourselves, but my father will also make your family and friends die miserably." The second prince, too, knew that his enemies were invulnerable Golden Sons from an alternate dimension, but he was so frightened that he subconsciously resorted to this instinctive threat. The fire illuminated and reddened his face, almost making it look unreal. The enormous dragon lunged from the sky. Scared, the second prince stared at the red dragon, fearing that it would spurt fire at him. The soldiers were scared too. Nobody dared to overlook a swooping dragon. But the red dragon only passed over their heads without doing anything. The second prince''s eyes were frozen. An arrow had been shot into his throat without warning. Soundless Arrow was not the Assassin''s unique skill; Hunters were capable of it too. After all, many animals and magical beasts had great hearing, and they could dodge incoming arrows if the arrows were noisy. The second prince slowly fell backward, his eyes still wide open. After a brief shock, all of his guards fled in panic. Very soon, nobody could be seen anymore. At this point, everybody was exclaiming in the livestream channel. "They really did it. Awesome. F6 is confronting the royal family!" 238 What Are You Thinking About? After the livestream, the postman was delighted at the tens of thousands of yuan that he just received in tips. He then turned off the livestream channel. The players who had watched the livestream and those who watched the recording at three times the speed continued their discussion on the forum. The players were all from modern societies that were based on law, but they all had learned history and held a slight reverence for the crown. Apart from everything else, the royal family was a rather powerful force, which was a fact that everybody acknowledged. So, the players had intense discussions on the forum about that. "Would what F6 did further foment the nobles'' dissatisfaction with the players? The non-spellcasters are being despised as it is, but after this incident, wouldn''t the melee classes be even more biased against us?" "Does the degree of prejudice really matter?" "I, for one, think that it''s an opportunity for us to make the nobles treat the players fairly." "We believe in reform. Let''s reform this corrupt and underdeveloped alternate world with this opportunity. I believe that our friends from F6 thought the same, or they wouldn''t have attacked a prince." "You''re missing the key here. How could you have neglected the queen? She can transform other people into Great Swordsmen! Does anyone want to win her favor together with me?" "In your dreams! She can only see Roland in her eyes. She eloped with him abandoning her title as the queen." "You can get any woman if you''re skilled enough Hehe, Roland is not as handsome as Schuck. I think I have a chance." "Let''s hope that you''ve still alive after you try." The discussion went off-topic again from here as the players turned to sexual subjects. Most players believed that what F6 did would change the storyline of the game, but they did not know how great the impact would be. How great could the impact possibly be? Hollevin was only a small kingdom. Even if all the nobles in Hollevin rejected the players, so what? The hardship would be over soon. Besides, the players did not believe that all the nobles were on the same boat. Wherever there were humans, there was betrayal, and this world was not an exception. Also, the more powerful a man was, the more likely he would be involved in conflicts of interest. In the royal palace, the white-haired king was sitting on his bed. In front of him was a man in a black robe who was on his knee. He was a loyal assassin that the royal family had raised. He was also responsible for intelligence collection. "What exactly happened last night?" The king''s eyes were clouded, and he did not look very healthy, but he was nonetheless intimidating as a king. "I seemed to have heard dragon roars." It was still dawn, and the king had been rather drowsy after just waking up, but his eyes bulged when he heard that. "What happened?" The man in the black robe told the king everything he knew. The king was curious at first, but he calmed down as he listened on. "The second prince tried to get his stepmother?" The king sneered. "Then he might as well die, though it''s a shame that three hundred royal guards were killed with him." As Andonara said, the king had six legitimate sons, and counting the bastards, there were at least thirteen heirs to the royal bloodline. It was not really a big deal that the second prince had died. The man in black lowered his head. He would rather not take part in or listen to the clandestine issues of the royal family, as it was too dangerous. The king stood up and patted his fat belly, before he asked, "What about that dragon?" "If our intelligence is correct, it should have been ridden by Schuck, a famous dragon knight in the Church of Light." The king was surprised. "A dragon knight? There hasn''t been one for hundreds of years, no?" "That''s right." The man nodded. "So, the Church of Light has been telling everybody the news, which spread to Hollevin a couple of days ago." The king frowned. "The Church of Light would be more powerful with a dragon knight." With his head lowered, the man in black continued, "Also, this Schuck is a newly-promoted Saint Samurai. He seems to be favored by the Goddess of Light." Hearing that, the king couldn''t help but evince shock despite his usual calmness. "A Saint Samurai and a dragon knight, do you know that that means?" The man in black said slowly, "We''ve confirmed this again and again." The king heaved a sigh. "A Saint Samurai plus a dragon knight means it''s impossible to avenge my second son." The Church of Light was only second to the Church of Life in terms of size. Also, the Saint Samurai had a high position. They were only second to the pope and were on the same level as the Holy Ladies of Light. They even had more actual power than the Holy Ladies of Light did. The prince of a small country was really nothing in front of a Saint Samurai. The man in black dared not say anything. The room was quiet for a long time, and the king simply stood in a daze. He seemed quite sorrowful, until he asked casually in the end, "What about Andonara?" "She seems to be eloping with a Golden Son." The king thought for a moment and said, "Find a way to tell her that I''m willing to forgive her infidelity even though she ran away with someone as long as she comes back. After all, it was my second son who caused the whole thing. We''re at fault." The man in black robe nodded. After the man left, the king''s face became slightly twisted, but it was soon back to normal. Very soon, a guard reported that the crown prince wanted to meet him. "Let him in." Very soon, a middle-aged man walked in. He slightly stooped and said, "Father, I''m told that my brother" The king waved his hand. "I already know. You''ll collect the bodies of the royal guards right now and try to suppress the incident." "Are we going to do nothing about my brother''s death?" The king looked at him and smiled. "If you''re willing to, I won''t stop you." "Oh" The crown prince was speechless for a moment. Then he said, "We should at least get the queen back." "You want to look for her?" The king stared at his son with a smile, like a lion king gazing at another male lion. The prince was rather panicked and slightly lowered his head. The king knew his son''s thoughts too well. The royal family had always been fully aware of Andonara''s capabilities. They knew that she was a very strong Great Swordsman, and that she could even teach someone else to be one. However, they had been suppressing her. After all, it had been no more than four years since Andonara was married, and her loyalty couldn''t be confirmed yet. She had to be tamed, whetted, and polished, and the king would not really accept her into the royal family until her loyalty was fully confirmed. Everything had been going well, until the second prince completely ruined the king''s plan. So, the king was both angry and regretful about his second son''s death. The king thought for a moment and said, "You''re free to look for the queen, but she can''t just disappear. I want to see her dead or alive, do you understand?" The crown prince said solemnly, "Yes, Father." 239 Fishing The capital at this point was not as lively and prosperous as before. Most people stayed at home, be they regular citizens or small merchants. The roars at midnight last night had terrified them. They hadn''t completely recovered yet. Margret was still little. As a girl dragon, her might was not enough, but that was only for the professionals. For most ordinary people, the roars of the girl dragon penetrated their souls and made them unable to sleep at night. They could only shiver in bed with their spouses. The fear still lingered even though hours had passed. Those who could resist the might of a dragon were only professionals and the elite, well-trained soldiers who were in large groups. After all, one tended to be bolder when one was in the company of others. In the woods a kilometer outside of the city, a gray, square, three-floored building emerged out of nowhere. It was not very large and covered only slightly more than a hundred square meters, but any place where one could rest in the wilderness was comfortable. Besides, inside this building, there were chairs, tables, and even food and wine. The circumstances couldn''t be more favorable. Brazil sighed. "Damn it. Why can''t Hunters learn this skill? Not only are we haunted by vermin and beasts in the woods every day, but we can also barely start a fire on a rainy or misty day. If we''re lucky, we may find a cave, but if we''re not, we can only endure the uncomfortable wetness. Our lives would be much easier if we could create buildings like this." "I''m told that one of the advanced classes for Hunter is Predator. They seem capable of all skills below level three. Mud to Stone is a level-two spell. You should be able to pick it up by then." It was Andonara who spoke. Her smile was quite sweet. However, the atmosphere in the room was slightly awkward. She was sitting next to Roland, almost stuck to him. F6 all looked at her in a weird way. Brazil, who had made a remark just now, did not know what to say. F6 had been treating her as an NPC, but the queen had somehow turned into Roland''s "intimate companion." So, it was kind of awkward. They couldn''t accept her new identity so quickly. No matter what Roland thought, that was the opinion of the rest of F6. It was just like the dragon girl Though everybody agreed that she was Schuck''s "friend," they wouldn''t talk to her freely most of the time. Besides, the dragon girl was always nonchalant and never talked to anyone, so F6 never felt awkward. Andonara, in comparison, was much more talkative. Schuck and the rest of them looked at Roland. Roland found it inappropriate too. He thought for a moment and said to his friends, "It''s fine. Just treat her as a friend of ours." In the eyes of F6, so-called friends in the game all served to expand their social connections. So, they immediately understood how to keep a distance from Queen Andonara. Then, the atmosphere was a lot easier. Husseret said, "Now, let''s talk about the headquarters of the Association of Mages. According to the message of the Guild of Rogues, Rourke, Dalton''s son, is going to publish his new derivative spell." Roland frowned coldly. Andonara looked at him and subconsciously wanted to stroke his eyebrow, but she gave up the thought since so many people were around. Everybody waited for Roland to speak. They all knew that Roland''s attitude mattered most in this matter. After a long silence, Roland said, "Let''s go with assassination. The headquarters are in the downtown of the capital. If we''re engaged in a head-on clash with those Mages, too many civilians would be accidentally killed." Roland would love to charge into the headquarters openly to unleash his fury, but it would mean a lot of unnecessary casualties. He had to take that into consideration. "But the problem is that Dalton prefers staying home to going out." Husseret dropped the parchment about Dalton on the table. "He never leaves the capital unless it''s for something really important." "Then we''ll find a way to lure him out." Roland asked Husseret, "Does Dalton have any hobbies?" "He likes to collect powerful magic equipment and models. Does that count?" "Magic models?" Roland shook his head. "That''s easy, but I fear that he might be alarmed. After all, the matter with Kaka was caused by magic models. He should be more prudent now after the first incident. "We can only choose magic equipment." Roland thought for a moment and continued, "I''ll take out the Mind-Calming Necklace. Husseret, you try to draw Dalton to us with that. How about it?" Schuck remarked, "That''s a piece of epic equipment. What if it''s lost?" "That''s not a big deal. I can always look for another piece," Roland said unconcernedly. "I''m not in the mood for learning magic without taking care of Kaka''s issue." Schuck nodded. He knew that Roland was a man of his word, so he stopped questioning him. Husseret thought for a moment and grabbed the Mind-Calming Necklace. "Rest assured, I''ll get it done." Andonara listened and watched Roland throw the piece of powerful magic equipment to Husseret casually. As a Master, she could tell how good the magic equipment was. It was possible that a family or a whole city would be wiped out just in order to get such a piece of great equipment. Yet, Roland gave it away just like that. They seemed to trust each other too much. Were Golden Sons all so loyal to each other? At this point, Betta said, "Are we done? Let''s make barbecue then. I''ve prepared beef, mutton, pork. and spices. We''ll enjoy a delicious meal!" F6 were all rendered speechless by the foodie. In the next five days, the dragon never showed up again, and people gradually recovered from their fright. Dalton had been worried that whoever was behind Kaka would come for him. He had prepared two plans. Firstly, he could offer valuable terms and conditions. He believed that the guy''s support for Kaka definitely had a price. But of course, if the guy was so greedy that his demand was unacceptable, he still had a backup plan. It had been one month since Kaka''s death, but nobody had shown up yet. His investigation suggested that Kaka must''ve been backed by the Golden Sons, who were a troublesome group. A few days earlier, some Golden Sons kidnapped the queen. The queen had accused Kaka earlier. Did they think that the queen was the culprit? It would be great if that were the case Thank you for taking the blame for me, Queen Andonara. I''ll be grateful for you. With a smile, he watched the release ceremony of the new magic model, knowing that his son would be well-acknowledged as a genius soon. At this point, someone who looked like a magic apprentice came in and said, "Sir, I''ve got a piece of interesting news." "Speak." Dalton did not raise his head. "It''s said that an ancient tomb was unearthed thirty kilometers away from the capital, and a team of adventurers found a piece of powerful magic equipment in it." The magic apprentice said in a low voice, "But they were defeated by the guards in the tomb, and they''re planning to try again." Dalton immediately laughed. "That must be a rumor. If the magic equipment is so awesome, they would be looking for help in secret instead of letting everybody know about it." The magic apprentice, however, continued, "They didn''t let everybody know about it. I''m the only one who knows apart from you, sir." "Huh?" Dalton grew interested. The magic apprentice proudly told Dalton how he acquired the intelligence. As it turned out, the magic apprentice ran into a mercenary he knew by chance on the street. The mercenary seemed to be in a hurry. They talked for a while and the mercenary intended to leave, but the magic apprentice insisted on buying him a drink. The mercenary got drunk very quickly, partly because the magic apprentice toasted too much. After he was drunk, the mercenary cockily described what he ran into in the previous day in a low voice. Then, the magic apprentice immediately put the mercenary to sleep and came to report to Dalton. Dalton smiled after hearing that. "It must be fake. The mercenaries always exaggerate. The magic equipment must be a common gadget, if it''s a piece of magic equipment at all." The magic apprentice, slightly frustrated, hummed a response and backed off. Dalton did not consider it a big deal. However, the magic apprentice was different. He didn''t think that his mercenary friend was a liar. Besides, it was difficult to lie when one was drunk. He thought that he should look for more evidence. If the magic equipment was a real thing, he would definitely be acknowledged by the chairman. The magic apprentice found the mercenary again. At this point, the mercenary had just woken up, still drunk. He had slept for four hours on the table. The magic apprentice, however, immediately filled a cup for the mercenary. "Let''s keep going! Don''t say that you''re too drunk to have any more." "I''m not drunk at all!" the mercenary shouted crazily, as it was humiliating and unmanly for a mercenary to be drunk. He shouted, "Give me more!" The magic apprentice asked the tavern boss to serve the hardest liquor. Half an hour later, the mercenary''s face was as red as a boiled crab, and he seemed to be falling asleep again. Seeing that it was about enough, the magic apprentice asked in a low voice, "Brother, can you really prove that you found something awesome? You weren''t lying, were you?" "No Not at all" The mercenary fumbled in his pocket, but he was so drunk that it took him a very long time before he finally took out a parchment, and he even dropped it a moment later. He stooped, trying to pick it up, but the moment he lowered his head, he fell under the table and fell asleep. The magic apprentice picked up the parchment. It was old and yellow. He felt it would be broken if he handled it carelessly. 240 Bait Biting After the magic apprentice gave the old parchment to Dalton, Dalton had to consider if the whole thing was real even though he was not fully convinced. The parchment was apparently ancient, and the words on it awed Dalton as they were written in Ancient Elvish. Only three people in all of Hollevin knew Ancient Elvish. Two of them were elsewhere, and only the last was in the capital. Touching the parchment, Dalton said to the magic apprentice excitedly, "Come to Master Irwin''s manor with me." The magic apprentice was delighted. "As you wish." Getting into the carriage with some simple but considerate gifts, Dalton visited Master Irwin. Irwin was not a professional, but he was one of the nobles. In this dark feudal society, only the offspring of the nobles and the big merchants were qualified to learn how to read. Not everybody could pay a tuition fee of one gold coin for a hundred words. Arriving at a mid-sized manor in the rich neighborhood in the north of the city, Dalton got off and informed the guard of who he was. The guard soon returned with the butler. Politely, the middle-aged butler invited Dalton and the magic apprentice into the manor. Then, Dalton met an old man with a white beard in a side room at the manor. This side room was essentially Irwin''s study. It was rather big, but it was nearly filled with shelves that were laden with books. Some of the books were in parchment, some in papyrus, and some were even in the white paper of the elves. As a result, the room smelled funny. But Dalton did not really care. Nobody would. For them, it was the fragrance of knowledge. Irwin was studying something in front of a big desk where an assortment of books and paper had been piled. Noticing the presence of newcomers, he raised his head. His long beard seemed disproportionate to his slim body. "Welcome to my study, Mr. Dalton." Irwin rose and slightly bowed. "How may I help you?" Dalton smiled. "I''m just here to have a chat with you, Mr. Irwin." Irwin was naturally unconvinced. As a minor noble, he was only appreciated by the grand nobles for his extraordinary knowledge, but not very much. Unless they encountered something they couldn''t understand, those grand nobles would barely visit his study that was filled with a weird stink. After all, few of them had even invited him to dinner. "Sorry, Mr. Dalton, but I have important studies to work on, so I''m afraid I don''t have time for chit-chat." Looking at the skinny Irwin, Dalton smiled and said, "I''m indeed here for something. Here''s an elvish book that my man found, I''m hoping that you could translate it for us." Irwin seemed delighted. "A book of the elves? Give it to me." He was very excited. Irwin opened it quickly, his eyes glittering. "It''s indeed Ancient Elvish, but there are a lot of uncommon words that I don''t recognize." "This is the biography of a female general named Cocoyala. Well I think I saw the name somewhere before." "Wait, the content of the book changed." As he turned the pages, Irwin''s eyes grew brighter and brighter. "The latter half of the book is about the life of an elven captain who was promoted to be a ranger commander." "Hiss. Magic equipment with special powerful abilities?" "A necklace?" "I think I''ve read it somewhere before." Irwin scratched his head hard. "The uncommon words are really a headache, Mr. Dalton. Can I have the book for a while and give it back to you when it''s fully translated?" "Not a problem." Dalton nodded and was about to leave. He was already half convinced. "Wait! I remember it now!" Irwin slapped his thigh and jumped to his feet. He ran to a bookshelf and found another parchment book. This book looked quite ancient too. Irwin opened it softly. It was written in Ancient Elvish too. "In this book, a female general named Cocoyala gave the Mind-Calming Necklace, her favorite magic equipment, to a ranger commander. It seems that those two books are connected. Mr. Dalton, can I keep your book to crosscheck them?" "Not a problem." Dalton nodded and left with the magic apprentice. Irwin studied the newly-acquired Ancient Elvish book in fascination until midnight. He had some snacks and returned to his bedroom. He found a young man in a black robe sitting inside. Irwin was not scared or nervous at all. He slowly sat down in front of the young man. "You are a good actor, sir." Irwin chuckled. "Whoever has lived more than seventy years will be good at acting." "Actually, Dalton returned three hours ago and observed you with Secondary Stealth. I noticed him, but I didn''t dare to approach him." The man in black was Husseret. Every Archmage had innate spells that could be triggered, and it was difficult to assassinate them. Husseret only managed to discover Dalton because he was better at stealth and the Rogues were sensitive. However, he couldn''t simply assassinate Dalton. The guy was much stronger than him, and he would only alarm him. Irwin smiled. "I guessed it." That was why Irwin had been staying in his study as if he were deeply immersed in the new book. "This is the reward that we promised." Thirty gold coins were put on the table. Irwin nodded. Husseret then jumped off from the window and disappeared in midair. Most Rogue players had chosen the skill build of Stealth-Treasure-Hunting-Theft-Pillage-Hidden-Door-Localization-Unlocking, which focused on individuals. But Husseret was different. He had chosen the skill build of Stealth-Advanced-Stealth-Anti-Stealth-Advanced-Anti-Stealth-Trap-Searching-Trap-Eloquence for dungeon raids. Walking in the darkness, few people noticed him. It was not until he approached the stone building in the wood that Margret spotted him. Dragons'' eyes were naturally endowed with True Vision, allowing them to see through most stealth skills. Margret only peeped at Husseret, then ignored him. Andonara was the second to find Husseret. Her level was high, and as a Great Swordsman, she had better hearing. She noticed Husseret when he was ten meters away. Roland was the last. The field of Roland''s mental power had a radius of around five meters when he was fully relaxed, allowing him to vaguely perceive Husseret''s arrival. Then, Husseret suddenly appeared before them. None of F6 were scared, but Brazil''s contracted leopard jumped back in fear and growled with raised hackles. It didn''t relax until Brazil petted and reassured it. Accepting the skewers that Betta gave him, Husseret looked odd. "Roasted locusts?" Betta nodded quickly. "Yes. They''re quite delicious." Over the past few days, Betta had been a bane to the creatures in the woods. He roasted everything he caught. But the food was all very delicious. It was hard to tell where he got all the seasonings. Husseret shook his head. He took a bite of the roasted locusts, only to find that they were greasy and tasty. While having a roasted rabbit, Roland asked, "How did it go?" "The bait has been released," Husseret said with a smile. "The guy is very interested too. Now, it''s time to let him see the bait." Andonara was eating roasted meat like a lady. She asked, "Would Dalton send someone to check it out?" "As a cautious man, he certainly would." "But there are no tomb guards in that cave, and none of us is capable of dark magic." Andonara looked around. Husseret smiled. "It doesn''t matter. All we need to do is to let his scout see the equipment being moved out of the cave." F6 immediately understood what Husseret was up to, but Andonara had to think for a while before she found the answer. Obviously, she was not as smart as them. As for Margret, she had no response at all, as she was too busy eating the food. She had the smallest body size in her human form, but she ate the most. She had finished at least fifteen kilograms of roasted locusts from morning to dusk, but she did not seem satisfied. All the insects had been caught by her in person. She couldn''t refuse the food after tasting it for the first time. In the headquarters of the Association of Mages, the magic apprentice rushed into Dalton''s study and said, "Sir, the mercenaries are gone. I asked the city guards. They left the city in a hurry." "It seems that they realized that we might compete with them." Dalton nodded. "Don''t worry, I''ve sent someone to follow them." The magic apprentice was deeply relieved. As the chairman of the Association of Mages, Dalton had a lot of men at his disposal. Some of the city guards were his spies. They had been hiding very well, and Antis couldn''t find them out. If the whole thing was real, they would report it back very soon. Soon, Irwin''s butler visited Dalton with the new translation in the evening. According to the Ancient Elvish words, the necklace that Cocoyala gave the ranger commander was a piece of epic equipment that could store tremendous magic power for future usage. Why would a ranger need tremendous magic power? But Dalton immediately remembered that elves were natural-born magicians, and that whatever class they were, they could use some spells. The magic power that was tremendous for the elves must be stupendous for human beings. Could that be stored? At this point, his spy at the city gate arrived and reported, "Sir, they''re fighting amongst themselves. That piece of magic equipment is real. It''s really good." Dalton rose and asked earnestly, "Tell me the details." 241 Press You to the Ground The spy had been following the mercenary squad. After the magic apprentice took away the Ancient Elvish book and left the tavern, the mercenary was found by his friend and beaten up. Then, they yelled at each other and left for the woods outside of the capital. The spy followed them and watched them enter the cave. He waited outside until he saw the mercenaries leave the cave and have a fight. One of the Mages among the mercenaries heavily wounded a few of his teammates. When he was out of magic, he pinched the necklace in his hand, and he was immediately filled with magic power and became as energetic as before. Because the spy was too close, the Mage spotted them, and they could only escape first. Dalton''s heart was on fire after the spy''s tale. Any Mage would''ve been excited by a piece of magic equipment crafted by elves that could store magic power. Now, Dalton had been fully convinced. The Ancient Elvish checked out, the mercenary checked out, and his spy was very loyal and unlikely to deceive him. He took a deep breath. Although he was trying to hold it back, delight and earnestness were surfacing on his face. "Point to me where the Mage went to." The spy pointed at the north. "You''ve done a good job." Dalton smiled at the spy. "It''s an honor to serve you, sir." The spy lowered his head happily. With a smile, Dalton pointed his staff at the spy. A few Arcane Bullets had been saved in the staff. They were very close to each other, and the Arcane Bullets were famous for their speed, so the spy was swallowed by a few rainbows before he had any time to react. Because he was not exempted from the obliteration feature of the Arcane Bullets, the spy was simply reduced to ashes. Apart from their speed and destruction, the Arcane Bullets also had the feature of obliteration, although it could only be triggered on the victims who had little magic resistance and who were in poor health. Odds were little to none that the feature could be triggered on a professional. In comparison, Finger of Death, a level-five spell, had much better chances of obliteration. Dalton opened the window and soared to the sky with a flight spell of the wind class. The ashes in the room was also blown out of the window by displaced air and dispersed into the sky. At this point, the mercenary group came to the rendezvous point. They all seemed to have been terribly wounded, but they would actually be healed in a day or two. The Mage of the squad reluctantly gave his necklace to Roland, before they all left with twenty gold coins. Dalton rushed across the sky to the woods in the north. Very soon, he established a web with his mental power to search for his target. The mental power web of a Master was as massive as Roland''s. How could you outrun someone who was flying? Dalton smiled confidently and chased the target. When he was above the feeble mental power, Dalton chanted while flying and threw out an orange fireball the size of a basin a second later. After an intense explosion, a pit about three meters in diameter appeared, and the trees nearby all collapsed. Fire magic was splashing everywhere. The fireball had landed somewhere ahead of the target. Dalton did not miss the target; he did it on purpose, fearing that he might break the precious magic equipment. Then, Dalton landed and blocked the way of the Mage, whose mental power was weak. Dalton had expected to see a panicked runner, but to his surprise, the young man was staring at him unusually calmly in a bright gray magic robe. Dalton felt that something was wrong, but his eyes glittered when he saw the magic necklace in Roland''s hand. Though he was several meters away, he could sense the intense aura of magic from the magic necklace. It was indeed a piece of equipment that could store magic power. For a Mage, magic power was the foundation of everything. Without it, they couldn''t cast any spell however powerful it was. Magic power was attack, defense, and life. "Young man, hand it over," Dalton said kindly. "You know what I''m talking about. You can''t get away after stealing an artifact from the Association of Mages." His kindliness and casualness suggested that he felt that everything was under control. Roland waved the necklace at Dalton and slowly put it on his own neck. His movement was slow but steady, filled with mockery. Dalton''s face contorted. He said with a faint smile, "Young man, you don''t seem to be very smart." Roland chuckled. "Kaka Bard sends his regards from the underworld!" Dalton knew that it was a trap the moment he heard that. He suddenly raised his staff and pointed it at Roland. A dozen rainbows were unleashed at Roland, with long exhaust flames behind. But in the next second, a blue puppet with a shield appeared out of nowhere and took all the magic bullets. Generally speaking, the spells stored in a staff couldn''t be too powerful, although they could often catch the enemy unprepared. The magic resistance of the shielded puppet was more than enough to block them. Dalton was surprised to see the blue puppet. Wasn''t this the derivative spell model that Young Bard submitted? Was this guy the real creator of the derivative spell? Run! Now that this guy was bold enough to trick him to come here, it wouldn''t be easy for him to escape. If he stayed any longer, something might happen to him. Dalton immediately soared to the sky, but when he was only ten meters high, someone announced behind him in a magnetic voice, "Decree: No Flying!" Dalton immediately sensed that a strange force was pressing him down. Decree? A Saint Samurai? While trying to resist the invisible force, Dalton struggled to turn around, only to see a young man in platinum armor behind him. The man was holding a heavy sword and emitting bright golden rays of light. Damn it! He''s really a Saint Samurai! It was a trap against him. Even his flight spells of the wind class had been taken into consideration. He tried his best to summon his magic power to resist the divine power of the Decree. It was a direct competition of strength. Decree: No Flying could only suppress the flight spells that were weaker than itself. It remained to be seen who was stronger. Although Schuck was only Level Five and Dalton was Level Ten, thanks to the high attribution growth of the Golden Sons and the unimaginable class buff of the Saint Samurai, Schuck was actually slightly stronger than Dalton despite the major gap between their levels. As a result, Dalton, frightened, watched himself to be pressed back to the ground from midair. The whole process took slightly more than four minutes. In the meantime, Roland simply observed in silence without doing anything. 242 Shattered Dalton''s face was as red as a monkey''s butt after he was pressed to the ground by Decree: No Flying. It was not exactly because he was embarrassed, but because he had exerted too much of his strength just now. He looked at the Saint Samurai far away, who didn''t do anything else after pressing him to the ground. At the same time, another five men appeared around him. All of them looked quite strong. Most importantly, he even saw Queen Andonara. Before, it was he who ordered Andonara''s kidnapping. All of the strangers kept a distance from him. Dalton felt that he knew their intention. "Do you want to duel me?" "Duel?" Roland chuckled and said, "That''s one way to look at it." "Will you let me go if I win?" "How is that possible?" Roland smiled indifferently. "If I can''t defeat you, my friends will attack you together. The result will be the same for you." "But you will die too. If I can''t live, I can kill some of you with self-detonation." Dalton persuaded them calmly. "You''re all very young. Why do you want to waste your lives on a dying old man?" He then glanced at Andonara. "However much the Bards or the queen has paid you, I''m willing to pay double." Hehehe! You''re threatening a player? Roland''s laughter was lower and not unpleasant, but it was rather nasty to Dalton. Gloomily, Dalton was of a mind to burn the arrogant boy into ashes, but the shielded puppet before the guy meant that his low-level effects would be nullified. Dalton looked around and summoned a magic puppet with a shield too. Although the two puppets were almost identical, the one before Roland was obviously deeper in color and seemed more condensed. Dalton had offered his terms, but nobody bothered to talk to him. Betta even took out a skewer of roasted locusts from the system backpack and observed the show while enjoying the food. The long silence made Dalton feel awkward. Dalton took a deep breath. "I don''t understand what Kaka Bard gave you to make you so stubborn. I can definitely offer whatever he gave you." Roland kept smiling. "You can''t understand it." "How can I understand it if you don''t tell me anything?" Dalton was even more annoyed. The guy was very calm and showed nothing but a smiling expression. The guy''s casualness suggested that he was determined to kill him. Holding his staff tightly, Dalton considered how to combine his spells in order to defeat the enemy and escape from the siege. Everything would be fine as long as he could escape. At this point, Roland raised his hands and opened them. A blue fireball appeared in his hands and grew larger quickly. A good chance! Seeing that Roland was chanting, Dalton launched yet another attack. From his two hands, two torrents of magic bullets went in two directions, before they took a turn and attacked Roland from two sides simultaneously. Dual Casting This was a rare magic specialty. As the chairman of the Association of Mages, Dalton definitely had capabilities of his own. The magic bullets were quite fast. The queen subconsciously covered her mouth, fearing that Roland might be hurt. Though the Golden Sons would never die, she would still feel pained if Roland was hurt. Dalton seemed rather cocky. He had envisioned Roland''s death, because it was barely possible to cast another spell while chanting. Besides, when so much magic power was dispersed after being concentrated, it would likely cause a severe mental recoil to the spellcaster. However, when the two torrents of magic bullets were about to hit Roland, two puppets appeared at Roland''s sides and blocked all the magic bullets with their shields. Two shielded puppets? Dalton was greatly shocked. At this point, Roland''s blue fireball had expanded to one meter in diameter. Damn it! Even though he was a dozen meters away, Dalton could sense the horrifying magic inside the fireball. He even detected heat spreading from that direction. Run! Dalton immediately jumped. He subconsciously tried to fly away, only to fall again. He glared at Schuck in this distance. Decree: No Flying was still working. He cast a fiery barrier to protect himself, before he squatted and laid his hands on the mud. "Mud Transformation!" A long and narrow swamp appeared before Dalton. Caught in the mud, Roland began to sink. Roland looked around and snapped his finger with his left hand, which was empty. He suddenly flashed to the meadow fifteen meters to his left. But his fireball was not disrupted at all. The magic power was still accumulating. "That''s impossible!" Dalton shouted in fear. "How can you possibly chant the fireball while teleporting? That''s a trick that even the elves are incapable of." Though Dalton had a Dual Casting specialty, he could only cast the same spell with both hands, and its power would be reduced by twenty percent. If the power of his regular magic bullets was "1," its power would be "0.8*2" under Dual Casting. The increase of power was not too great. The real purpose of Dual Casting was to attack continuously and from different angles. Dual Casting was itself an advanced specialty, but Roland''s Teleportation while he was preparing a fireball was completely against the common sense of spellcasters. It was almost impossible. No wonder Dalton lost his cool. Dalton had investigated with his mental power and found that Roland was level five at best. Logically, this man should be far weaker than him. But although the additional magic puppet blocking the bullets just now could be explained with Delayed Casting, it was impossible to explain the Teleportation spell. Something was greatly wrong with this guy. The more Dalton thought about it, the more terrified he was. He turned around and tried to flee, but the eight people around him blocked all directions. He immediately made a decision. He would try to break free from the queen''s direction. After all, she was the only woman here. Besides, the queen had lived in the royal palace for a long time. Even though she had been a Warrior before that, how strong could she possibly be at this point? He rushed at the queen and chanted spells in a low voice while he was running. After a dozen steps, a whirlwind more than two meters tall came into being before him. Consuming the branches of the trees nearby, the whirlwind swept at the queen. The whirlwind moved at more than 25 meters per second, and it soon reached the queen. The queen, however, combed her hair that was messed up by the wind with her left hand and drew her sword with her right hand. A silver light struck, up to down. The vertical aura of the sword flew even faster and cut the moving whirlwind in half. The whirlwind immediately vanished. The sword aura, on the other hand, pressed on and nearly hit Dalton. Dalton, frightened, hurried to stop, and the sword aura disappeared when it was fifteen centimeters from his nose''s tip. Andonara winked at Dalton in a flirtatious way and put her sword back into the sheath. "You can''t be the queen. The queen can''t be so strong," Dalton roared. "Who are you?" Andonara rolled her eyes, not interested in talking to him at all. At this point, Dalton turned around, only to discover in shock that Roland''s fireball was three meters in diameter. Dalton was trembling. He could sense the horrifying magic power within the fireball. He turned around and fled again, this time toward Betta. Betta was still chewing on the roasted locusts at this point. He did not seem to be a competent warrior. But at this point, Roland finally took action. The big blue fireball was thrown. The enormous fireball chased after Dalton in a curve as if it were a guided missile. A powerful Mage could rectify the trajectory of the spells they had already cast with mental power. Dalton was a traditional Mage who was not athletically impressive. Now that his flight spells were neutralized, his speed was not worth mentioning. He had only run five meters when the big fireball was two meters behind him. Dalton already sensed that his back was being scorched by magic. The terrifying magic crashed into his back like a mountain. The fear of death twisted Dalton''s face. "Fiery Barrier! Magic Barrier! Frost Barrier! Arcane Shield! Fortification! Continuous Healing!" Dalton unleashed all his potentials and cast all the defensive spells he was capable of on himself, seeking a chance at survival. But his efforts were in vain. The blue fireball hit Dalton''s back at a high speed. The blue magic shield was immediately broken, and the ice shield and the fiery barrier were more vulnerable than glass to the fireball. The blue fireball then exploded. After a deafening sound, as if a cannon had been fired right next to their ears, everybody could see nothing but a white flash. In the end, the hot waves spread out to all directions like a tsunami. Everybody, including Roland himself, was flung away by the blast, except Andonara who managed to keep herself steady. A round pit thirty meters in diameter, from which magma was still flowing out, emerged on the ground. Roland and the rest of them stood up from the ground, their faces all covered in ash. 243 Angels or Devils? The center of the explosion was still releasing enough heat to keep anyone from getting close. Li Lin wiped his face and looked at the pit regretfully. "Both he and his equipment are ashes now. I was hoping that I could loot some extraordinary equipment from his body." Betta patted his chest fearfully. He had been blown away when he was eating the roasted food, and the skewers nearly stabbed his eyes. Schuck looked at the pit and felt shocked too. "They say that Saint Samurai is one of the three OP classes, but I think that Mage is the real OP one." The queen was barely affected, but she also pursed her lips at the red magma at the bottom of the pit. Roland was actually no match for her. She could''ve killed Roland in a dozen ways when Roland was accumulating power for his spell. The Great Swordsman always had the most various and effective methods of attack. However, it was impossible for a Great Swordsman like her to perform such a daunting attack, not even if she were to become a Legend. She might be able to do that when she became a Demigod. But for now, she could only dream of being a Demigod. After the initial surprise, Andonara''s eyes were even brighter when she looked at Roland. She had liked Roland not because Roland was strong but because of Roland''s attitude toward her. Actually, as a young, level-eleven Great Swordsman, she could go anywhere she wanted. What she lacked was merely a sense of safety that only a responsible man could give her. However, it didn''t mean that she didn''t want her man to be strong. Margret, who was standing next to Schuck, seemed warier than before. She had observed the whole incident from behind Schuck''s back. As a queen of the red dragons and a creature on the top of the pyramid, Margret had always despised human beings. She came to the human world only because there was more fun to be had here. Schuck was the first man that she respected and liked. After all, Schuck was too handsome in her eyes. She wasn''t interested in any of Schuck''s friends, and she had always been reluctant to talk to the so-called Golden Sons. However, Roland''s fireball just now made her feel death. Even though she was strongly resistant to fire as a red dragon, she knew that she couldn''t have survived that magic attack. An adult red dragon might''ve been able to take it, but the problem was that Roland still had a lot of potential. When Roland became a Master, even an adult dragon wouldn''t be able to take an accumulated fireball from him. If he ever became a Legend her father, the current king of the red dragons, would have to flee. Even the elder dragons had to consider carefully before dealing with him. Thinking about that, Margret wondered if it was wrong of her to underestimate Schuck''s friends. "That''s unnecessary. Too many people would be killed." Roland shook his head. "The culprit is dead. Let''s prune the crooked branches next, for example, Dalton''s unworthy son." "All right, I''m on it," Husseret said with a smile. "I''ll find out who in Dalton''s family deserves death." Two days passed. Dalton, the general chairman of the Association of Mages, was found missing. Two days earlier, the other five Archmages in town all sensed his magic from the north of the city, and an intense explosion spread out of the woods at the time. After the chairman was confirmed to be missing, investigators were sent to the woods. But they found nothing but an enormous pit that was slightly wavy. There was no sign of the chairman. The investigators were 100% sure that the pit was created with magic, because a lot of fire elements still lingered on the spot. Then, the investigators announced that Dalton was probably in danger. However, anybody who was not an idiot knew that Dalton had probably been killed. The enormous pit could''ve only been caused by a Mage above the Master tier with a spell above five rings. The result was obvious. Considering that the royal family lost the second prince as well as more than three hundred guards earlier, it made sense that an enemy was going against certain forces in the capital. Undercurrents were surging in the capital of Hollevin at this point. In a large manor in a rich neighborhood at the west of the city, Rourke was in a daze. His father had disappeared. Many enemies and even acquaintances had been trying to swallow his family''s properties. His mother dealt with them. But his mother was a noble lady who had never taken charge of such issues until this moment. She was under a lot of pressure. Not every female had the qualities of a queen. Rourke could not idle by while other people appropriated his family''s properties. He tried to reach out to his friends. But he didn''t find any. His friends were either sick or out of town. He certainly did not buy that. Rourke sighed and left his house. The courtyard of his house had always been crowded with nobles and ass-kissing Mages, but nobody was around now. It was chilly. Very chilly. When he walked out of his house, he saw a man in a black robe ahead. The man looked grim and unfriendly. Subconsciously, Rourke wanted to step back inside his manor, but something the man said made him stop. "Do you want to know why your father died?" His eyes bloodshot, Rourke snarled like a wild cat, "What did you say?" The man shook his head and said, "Do you want to talk to me somewhere else?" Gloomily, Rourke stared at the man, but nodded his head in the end. They came to a small lake nearby. Few people passed this place, and it was very quiet. Rourke had been gazing at the man, ready to use his magic scroll if something went wrong. He was an elite Mage anyway, he could protect himself. "My name is Husseret. In the way you address us, I''m a Golden Son," said the man casually. After a brief shock, Rourke grew even more vigilant. The Golden Sons were now famous all over the capital. He was told that the queen was kidnapped by the Golden Sons after they killed the second prince, but oddly enough, the royal family did not plan any retaliation. Was his father''s death related to them? It was only his guess, but what the man said next twisted his face. "Your father, Dalton, was killed by one of my brothers." After a brief silence, Rourke roared, "I''m going to kill you pieces of sh*t!" He reached for his pockets and was about to tear the magic scroll apart. But his enemy was even faster. The man crossed several meters in the blink of an eye and kicked Rourke right in his genitals. Rourke immediately collapsed to the ground, blushing. He wanted to scream but he couldn''t. Eventually, he could only writhe while holding his groin. Husseret, on the other hand, stood aside in silence with a weird smile. After a long time, the pain finally receded, and Rourke looked at the man and roared angrily while his legs were still shaking, "You shameless scoundrel." "Are you calmer now?" Husseret smiled. "If not, I wouldn''t mind giving you another kick." Rourke''s face immediately paled. "Then let''s continue," Husseret said. "Your father was killed by my brother, but that was because he killed Kaka Bard for Kaka''s derivative spell model, and Kaka Bard was my brother''s friend." "You killed my father for a derivative spell?" Rourke struggled to his feet and shed tears. "My father was such a great man" "Your father killed Kaka for a new derivative spell. Why can''t other people kill him for the same reason? Revenge is justified." "I don''t buy it!" Rourke roared. "My father was a good man!" "Where do you think the derivative spell you''re learning right now is from?" Rourke was immediately stunned. After a long time, he asked, his lips quivering, "The derivative spell model for the magic puppet?" Husseret nodded. Rourke felt frustrated and disappointed. He wondered what he should do. He knew that Kaka Bard died an uncanny death, and he even laughed at the guy''s fate when he chit-chatted with his friends. But now, someone was telling him that Kaka Bard was killed by his father, who had always been gentle and kind and never reprimanded anyone? And it was only for a derivative spell model? Rourke fell to his knees. His eyes were filled with tears and his vision got fuzzier and fuzzier. "We had thought to kill most of Dalton''s family. After all, if Dalton was so vicious, we inferred that his family should be like him." Husseret''s voice became more and more distant. "But after investigation, I found that most people in your family could almost be called good people. You never hurt anyone, and the worst thing your mother ever did was beat up a maid who stained her clothes, but she didn''t kill her and even offered her balm afterward. "Although it was just crocodile tears, you''re still much better than other nobles. "So, stop thinking about revenge. It''s pointless because the Golden Sons are undying. You might as well focus on helping your mother and preventing your family from being overtaken by other nobles." Husseret''s voice grew further and further away, until Rourke eventually passed out. When he woke up, he found himself in his own bedroom. The familiar environment almost made him feel that he had a nightmare. But seeing his cloak on the bed covered in mud, he knew that it was not an illusion. With a miserable smile, Rourke looked out of the window, surprised. "Golden Sons, are you angels or devils?" 244 Is It Exciting? Dalton''s disappearance and the decline of his family were heated topics in the capital. Even more interestingly, Rourke, Dalton''s only son, stood out when his family was in peril. He managed to get a few supporters for his family with diplomatic skills at the cost of some of his family''s interests. In the end, he successfully saved half of his family''s interests and influence. Although the temporary decline was unavoidable, there was still hope for his family to rise again later. In any case, Rourke had made a name for himself. Earlier, people had thought that Rourke was only a baby bird under the wings of the eagle that was Dalton, but now, a lot of nobles, including the royal family, believed that he was a mature head of a family now. Many nobles thought that he was a good candidate for a marriage alliance. Roland and his crew spent a few days in the capital. Seeing that Rourke and the royal family had no intention to retaliate, they decided to retreat. The members of F6 each had their own business. Roland planned to go back to Delpon to continue his magic studies. He had planned to teleport back, but the queen insisted on going with him. So, he could only use Teleportation once outside of the city to record the coordinates of the capital. They had hired a carriage and were leaving the capital, when Andonara, who was looking out of the window excitedly, exclaimed and said, "Stop. Roland, I need to go out." Roland craned his head and found a small squad next to the road. They were Veronica in a princess''s long dress and about twenty guards. "You can go." Andonara blinked her eyes at Roland gratefully, before she jumped off and walked to Veronica. "You''re waiting for me?" Andonara looked at her former student. Veronica took a deep breath and asked, "Do you know what you''re doing?" She seemed angry and regretful. "Of course I do." "Do you not feel guilty for abandoning your husband and your daughter just like that?" "The royal family wronged me in the first place. Why are you talking like I''m the bad guy here?" Andonara said with a smile. "Besides, have you ever called me your mother? You never even called me Madam." "Mother! Mother! Mother!" Veronica roared with a red face, before she looked at Andonara embarrassedly. "Are you happy now?" The vague smile on Andonara''s face was gone. She said solemnly, "Though it''s rather late, I''m happy that you''re willing to call me Mother. I tried to be your mother a year ago, but His Majesty did not seem to have feelings for me. I was just a toy for him when he felt lonely. He barely talked to me." "My father is old and not as capable in that aspect as before! Please be considerate." "It''s not true. That was all my second brother''s lie in order to take you away," Veronica said anxiously. "My second brother is already dead." "So, nobody can deny it now, right? Although I never liked the second prince, is it really appropriate to blame everything on a dead man?" Andonara asked with a smile. "It was really my second brother''s scheme." Veronica almost burst into tears. Then she remembered something else. "Right. My father asked me to tell you that you can come back after you have enough fun. He won''t blame you." After a brief daze, Andonara laughed so hard that she almost shed tears. "Do you think I would believe that, Veronica? If I do go back, I would probably be imprisoned and disposed of quietly." "Really. My father meant it." Veronica stared at Andonara seriously. "He knew that you wouldn''t believe it, so he asked me to bring this to you." A guard immediately delivered an item that was covered in a handkerchief. Veronica opened it for Andonara, and it turned out to be a crown encrusted with multiple blue and white gems. It was the crown of the queen. After a brief shock, Andonara began to sneer. He thought that a crown was enough to win her heart back? She was not as cheap as that! Andonara turned around and was about to leave, but then she remembered something and picked up the crown. Spinning the crown with her finger, she said, "All right, you can go back now. I''ll take the queen''s crown. It''s mine anyway." Veronica was greatly relieved to see that she kept it. Then, she thought for a moment and said, blushing, "My father probably wouldn''t care if you''re intimate with Roland or not, but remember not to make a baby, or my father would probably go nuts." "That''s none of your business." Andonara grimaced at Veronica and returned to the carriage. Watching the carriage wobble away, she couldn''t help but wipe her eyes. Familial bonds were really rare for the members of the royal family. Veronica had only sensed a familial bond, or rather, friendship, from Andonara for a year or two. After all, the two of them were of a similar age, and all her skills were taught by Andonara. Now, her only family was gone, and there was no telling when they could meet again. Naturally, she felt upset. On the carriage, Andonara put on the crown solemnly, which made her appear much more sacred than before. She then approached Roland and smiled. "I''m still the queen! The king hasn''t terminated my rank yet." Roland was slightly confused. "I know you''re the queen. What''s wrong?" "You have a queen that you can do anything to" Andonara rolled her eyes, then narrowed them charmingly. "Are you not thrilled and excited?" After a brief shock, Roland slapped his own forehead. It seemed that he was returning with a big problem But it was definitely exciting! It took the carriage about ten days to reach Delpon. They didn''t run into any robbers on the way. After all, Roland had killed too many robbers in the past two months, and other robbers had learned a lesson and decided to go elsewhere. When Roland returned to his manor in Delpon, Vivian was waiting for him. But when she saw Roland getting off from the carriage with a crowned woman, her face was so dark that ink seemed to be dropping. Holding White Amber, she managed to ask with a smile, "Roland, who''s this?" "Queen Andonara." "Queen!" Vivian''s eyes widened. The news was so shocking for her that she even forgot her jealousy. Andonara promptly went forward and grabbed Vivian''s hands, before she smiled gently. "You must be Vivian. Roland talked a lot about you." Vivian looked at Roland and then the queen, before she asked in delight, "Really?" "Of course, let me tell you" The queen walked into the manor holding Vivian''s hands, as if she were the hostess of this place. Roland couldn''t help but click his tongue. It was true that the more beautiful a woman was, the more deceptive she would be. He had indeed mentioned Vivian to Andonara on his journey back to Delpon, but it couldn''t have been more than three times. Yet, it somehow became "a lot" in Andonara''s mouth. After returning to the manor, Roland bonded with White Amber first. He certainly had to care for his own magic pet. Then, he had dinner with the queen and Vivian. He discovered, to his surprise, that the queen and Vivian were already quite close. They were talking and laughing like blood sisters. But it had little to do with him. He only kept Andonara here to fulfill his promise that he would give her a safe place to live in. There was no place that was safer than Delpon, which was the players'' territory now. After dinner, Roland opened the forum in his study and made a post. "Whoever wants to be promoted to a Great Swordsman or learn advanced specializations, please come to Delpon." He briefly mentioned in the post that Andonara was in Delpon and that she could help with promotion and teach advanced Warrior specializations. As for the tuition fee, it would be high but mostly depended on the queen''s mood. He had talked to Andonara about it on the ride back to Delpon. Andonara did not care about what he said at all. She seemed so obedient, as if she would listen to everything he said. After he uploaded the post, many players replied in less than a minute. "See? I was correct that Roland would take the queen to Delpon." "F6 are all pretty boys. Schuck counts on the dragon princess, and now Roland makes money through the queen. Damn it. Why is the gap between people so huge?" "I don''t care if she''s pretty or not, I support Roland. Do you know how difficult it is to be promoted to be a Great Swordsman? 99% of the people can''t even meet the identity requirement. Now, Roland has given us a chance, and you''re cursing him? That''s too ungrateful." "I''m not a Warrior. Why should I be grateful? I''m just cursing him. What can you do?" "If you have balls, tell me where you are in the game. I''m a LV5 Warrior. I''m going to duel you." "Does anybody know the queen''s fee? It''s time for the rich players to check it out." "I think you''re implying her fee for other services, my friend, but forget it. I think I''m more or less rich. I''ll ask for the fee for the advanced specializations in Delpon. Wait for my update." Roland took a quick glimpse at the replies and shook his head. He was about to turn off the forum when he was drawn to a short message. He had refused private messages from most people. Only his friends on his whitelist could message him. Hawk: "We''ve accepted an epic dungeon quest, and we need a powerful Mage. If you''re interested, please come to the docks ASAP." 245 Counted as Two Although Roland wasn''t as close to Hawk as before, they were still friends. It was already midnight when he read the message, but as a player, Roland did not need any rest. He left the study and just walked to the courtyard, when Andonara flashed to his front like a white shadow. The speed of a Great Swordsman was almost as good as that of a Rogue. "Where are you going?" asked Andonara, who was in pure white. Most of the time, women would look more beautiful in the moonlight. Andonara was beautiful enough as she was. In the white dress, she struck Roland as a goddess who had just descended. Though they had been in each other''s company for a couple of days, Roland was still deeply amazed. She was the second most beautiful woman that Roland had ever seen. Even the elf that Roland set free last time was not as pretty as Andonara. The most beautiful was the angel that he saw at Falken''s funeral. Roland moved his eyes back and said casually, "I''m going to meet my friend." "I''m going too." "Why?" Roland was puzzled. "I have to protect you." Andonara smiled next to Roland. "Isn''t it natural for a melee class to protect a spellcaster class?" "The Golden Sons do not die." Roland waved his hand. "I don''t need any protection." Andonara pretended to be pitiful. "But" "Really. It''s a party of Golden Sons. All of the participants are men. It''s inappropriate for you to go there." Andonara pursed her lips. "Fine." Roland smiled and left the manor. Roland was sort of surprised that Andonara was clingy. It was late at night. A curfew had been imposed in Delpon, and nobody could leave the city freely. But Roland, Hawk, Link, and other players were the actual controllers of the city now. So, when Roland came to the city gate and said that he wanted to go out, the officer immediately asked the soldiers to open the gate for Roland and close it again after Roland was out. Many merchants and mercenaries were waiting for dawn outside of the city gate. Sitting next to their fire, they were stunned to see Roland. Some of them intended to talk to him and see if the young man could bring them into the city in advance. But they dropped this thought when they saw Roland''s magic robe. They simply watched him disappear into the moonlight. Several minutes later, Roland felt that he was too slow, so he began to use Teleportation. But after another teleportation, his face became pale Though he had arrived at the docks, he couldn''t help but throw up again. After vomiting everything in his stomach onto the grasses nearby, Roland sighed helplessly. After gagging for a while, he walked into the docks and found Hawk at the old place. Near Hawk were a few professionals who were obviously players. Their hilarious husky-like vibe could barely be mistaken. Seeing Roland, Hawk walked to him. The Warrior, who looked like a strengthened orc, intended to give Roland a hug, but he was stopped by a magic puppet. "Sorry, but I don''t feel like hugging men." Hawk backed off, not offended. He laughed and said, "You''re rather pale. Has the queen already drained you?" The players nearby all grimaced. Everybody who frequently visited the forum knew that Roland had lured the queen away. Also, Roland did seem exhausted at this point. Roland raised his middle finger at them Boundaries were unnecessary when dealing with players. Then, he sat down and said, "Let''s talk about the raid." "Take a look yourself." Hawk pointed his finger in midair and operated on the system menu that was invisible to others. "I''ll share the quest with you." After accepting the quest, Roland turned on the quest system. Conflict Within Elves: Nature or Retribution (Epic). Wow The title of the quest was epic enough as it was. Roland opened the quest introduction. "The elven Druids now disagree with each other on whether to retreat to the forest or declare war on mankind. Their choice will influence the future of the elves, but for mankind, there is only one option, which is to help conservative Druids. Now, find friends to help the conservative elves to defeat the Druids who believe in retribution. (Large secondary raid. Suggested number of participants: 10)" After reading the quest introduction, Roland looked at the surrounding players and only counted seven including himself. He couldn''t help but ask, "The system suggests ten participants, but only seven of us are going?" "They''re the most suitable candidates in my guild." Link, who had been silent, said helplessly, "This game differs in other games in that a dungeon will be closed for good once the raid fails, unless it''s special. So, we have to find the best candidates and try to complete the raid in one go." "Do you want me to include the friends in my guild?" Hawk nodded. "That''s exactly why we wanted to meet you." If possible, Silver Wings would rather not involve any players from other guilds in the epic quest that they triggered by good luck. But there wasn''t a choice. Everybody in this guild with a reasonable combat ability had been gathered here. So, external help was necessary. Roland left a message in the guild channel and asked if anybody in his guild was willing to come. But everybody except Schuck and Betta was either occupied or too far away. As a dragon knight, Schuck could easily fly ten thousand kilometers in a day. Betta, on the other hand, had returned to a town near Delpon for a quest. It would take only him half a day to come to Delpon City. After reading their replies, Roland said, "Schuck and Betta from my guild can join this quest." Everybody was delighted. As a dragon knight, Schuck had high combat capabilities and was definitely dependable. The odds of passing the dungeon raid would be much higher with him. Betta was a capable boy too. A Divine Noble who was capable of both melee and magic skills could deal with all kinds of circumstances. After the initial delight, Link frowned. "But we''re still short of one person." "Do we have to hire people from the forum?" Hawk scratched his head. "I don''t trust strangers." "Actually, I think we already have ten participants," said Roland casually. Everybody else was puzzled. Roland explained, "Schuck is a dragon knight. So he should be counted as two people." After a brief surprise, everybody realized what he meant. 246 Charge More After the participants were decided, the players from Silver Wings were all relieved. It had been more than half a year since the players started the game, but their journey of leveling up had been tough. In order to level up quickly, one had to trigger as many quests as possible. The lesser quests could be easily triggered, but their EXP reward was little. The quests above the blue level were often beyond their abilities, and when they died, the protection or escort quests they got would fail. When the NPCs they protected were killed, it was impossible for them to retry the quest. The dungeon quests would mostly disappear, too, after the first failure. More importantly, a player would lose ten percent of their total experience when they died, which further affected the unskilled players'' speed in leveling up. They didn''t feel much before level five, but after level five, every death would mean that their half-month of hard work was in vain. If their current experience was too little, their level might even drop. Considering the trend, if they died after level ten, their efforts in the previous half-year would probably be rendered useless. So, the players had been trying to avoid death after level five. Not everybody was good at fighting. Besides, many players were here to appreciate scenery or enjoy a different life. There were now guilds for cooking, fishing, hunting, forging, etc. founded by players who loved those skills in reality. As a result, the average level of the players was further lowered. People believed in different things. Some liked fighting and adventures, and some preferred an easy and casual life. Also, the second type of players had their own motivation: if they honed their skills in cooking or crafting in the game, they could put the skills into practice in reality. They could work in a restaurant as a chef or sell delicate handicrafts that they made. They might be able to make a fortune. As for forging The handmade swords nowadays could be unbelievably expensive, although forging could hurt one''s back. What could the battle-oriented players do even if they were experts at fighting? Could they pick a fight in reality? They would only be handcuffed by the police. For various reasons, only around three percent of the players had reached level five at this point. Birds of a feather flocked together. Those whom a high-level player was involved with were mostly also high-level players. So, Roland always had this illusion that there were many more level-five players like him. But actually, there weren''t so many. Every guild only had a few of them on average. After all, many strong lone wolves were unwilling to join any guild. As a result, most guilds were seriously short of high-level fighters. The other guilds often only had one or two high-level fighters. F6 were probably the only exception. Everybody there was a level-five at the top of the pyramid. Roland talked to them for a while. After they decided when to set off, Roland was about to leave, when Hawk suddenly said, "Roland, there are a few friends in my guild who want to be promoted to be Great Swordsmen. What are the conditions and the fee?" "You would have to ask the queen in person." Hawk asked in surprise, "Isn''t the queen your woman? Can''t you say something for us, or at least introduce us to her?" Up until this moment, Silver Wings hadn''t been officially registered in the game yet. The NPC in the Holy Realm who was responsible for the registration of guilds was too proud to talk to regular people. Even though Schuck said something for them, the NPC still proposed three troublesome demands. Some people in Silver Wings were trying to meet the demands. But they felt that it wouldn''t be long before their guild was established. Because of that, most players learned that the grand nobles appreciated decorum and manners, and that most of them had little time for non-celebrities. Subconsciously, they applied the lesson they learned to the queen. They thought that the queen, as an honorable noble and a high-level Great Swordsman, probably wouldn''t meet any random guy. But thankfully, they could ask someone to speak for them. That was exactly what Hawk asked Roland to do. "There is absolutely nothing between me and the queen," Roland said solemnly. "Watch your mouth, or I''ll sue you for slander." Hawk chuckled and shrugged scornfully. Link was grimacing too. Fine. None of them believed him. Actually, Roland didn''t think that he would''ve believed it himself if he were in their shoes. Unwilling to explain it any further, Roland thought for a moment and said, "I''ve posted it on the forum and talked to Andonara. If you want a promotion, go talk to her. But of course, it''s up to her whether or not she''s going to teach you." "Can you say something for us?" Hawk patted Roland''s shoulder and begged him. "You know that things might go completely differently if you say something for us." Roland thought for a moment and decided to accept his request. After all, he was only going to deliver a message for them; he wouldn''t do much if Andonara was unwilling to help. Hawk was rather happy that Roland accepted his request. He patted Roland''s shoulder and said, "Bro, I owe you one." Roland smiled and did not take it seriously. Verbal promises didn''t matter; what mattered was action. Roland and those people were close at the beginning, but for their interests, Hawk and Link elbowed Roland out of the decision-making circle of Delpon. Although Roland never planned to call the shots behind the curtain, quitting on his own and being kicked away were different. It was dawn when he left the docks, and the city gate had just opened. Roland entered the city with the merchants waiting outside. When he returned to his manor, he saw Andonara at the dinner table. She smiled at him when she noticed him. "You''re back?" Roland nodded. Then, Vivian walked out of the kitchen with a tray of freshly-baked bread. She smiled at Roland. "You came at the right moment. Fresh bread." Roland sat down and had breakfast while he told Andonara about Hawk''s request. "If they''re your friends, I''ll teach them well." Andonara nodded and accepted it. "But don''t forget to charge fees." Andonara blinked her eyes and suddenly said charmingly, "Then I''ll charge those I like slightly more, and those I don''t like double. How does it sound?" As a queen, she was quite observant. She could tell from Roland''s tone that he was not too enthusiastic about those people, and that he did not seem willing to help them, although he had to deliver the message to her for various reasons. Tsk Whoever made Roland uncomfortable would make her uncomfortable. But she couldn''t do anything to them except charge them more. After breakfast, Roland wiped his mouth and said, "I''m going to the magic tower for experiments. You do whatever you want." After that, Roland left the manor. The atmosphere in the living room did not turn bad without Roland''s presence. Andonara finished the rest of the bread and sat down next to Vivian, before she said, "Let''s go shopping later. I can teach you the most popular combination of clothes in the capital. You can definitely captivate Roland." Vivian nodded, her eyes glittering. All the magic apprentices cheered for Roland''s return. Since Roland had been away recently, they had no teachers to teach them anything. There were another two Golden Sons in the magic tower. They were quite strong, but they weren''t good at teaching. They were even not as good as regular apprentices in terms of magic common sense. Instead of doing magic experiments directly, Roland answered the apprentices'' questions on magic that had accumulated in the past two months first. It took him two days to answer all the questions, and he only had time for experiments at night. Two days later, Schuck and Betta arrived. Schuck didn''t fly into the city on the red dragon. Instead, he asked Margret to take human form and walked in with her. After all, the entrance of a dragon would''ve been too terrifying. Roland asked them to take a rest in the manor. He then met the guys from Silver Wings with them at the docks the next day. After they introduced themselves, as the second-in-command of Silver Wings, Hawk did not hesitate to adulate Schuck. Margret seemed disgusted, but she did not say anything and responded with silence. Naturally, Schuck took the chance to praise Hawk too. As the atmosphere grew warmer and warmer, Hawk introduced the classes and specialties of the participants on his side. As for those from F6, they were too famous to need any self-introduction. Schuck went straight at the topic. "I''ve read the quest. Correct me if I''m wrong, but we have to leave Hollevin and pass Urganda in order to meet an elf named Ans at the edge of the Elven Forest before we can continue the quest, right?" Hawk nodded. "That''s right." "Impressive. You''ve already spread your influence to the Elven Forest!" Roland said somewhat in admiration. Hawk smiled and said, "There are a lot of adventurers in my guild who like traveling. One of them roamed at the edge of the forest and got in touch with the elves. He triggered the quest and gradually passed it on to us by sharing it with other players before deleting it." "It sounds quite distant." Roland felt a strong headache too. He had been too occupied to study any new spells. He was quite upset. "That''s right." Hawk explained with a bitter smile, "It will take twenty days if we take horses. If the weather or the road is bad, it might take a month." Everybody shook their heads with bitter smiles. "The world in this game is too huge." Roland was now even more determined to invent a "Quick Travel" spell. If he could arrive at the destination quickly, he could then teleport his pals to his location. Therefore, he had to put the revision of Long-Distance Teleportation on his agenda too, so that he could teleport other people besides himself. 247 Disgusted In Roland''s manor, two men were enjoying afternoon tea in the pleasant sunlight on the balcony. The afternoon sun shined on Andonara, and her milky skin glowed brightly. She was not scared of tanning, as most professionals weren''t. They couldn''t be blackened by the sun unless they were black in the first place. Drinking a mouthful of the milk wine, she couldn''t feel more comfortable. She had never lived such a peaceful life before. When she lived in the royal palace, she had to be prudent all the time in case she did anything wrong or upset anyone. Even when she was with her "family," she had to pay attention to etiquette all the time, and if she did anything inappropriate, someone would immediately stare scornfully. She had always been criticized because she was not born in a noble family. But that was not the end of it. She was the royal princes'' step-mother, but she could always see a disgusting sense of possession in their eyes, even though the seventh prince was only twelve. It was not horrible that there were enemies outside; it was horrible that enemies were all around her. As a result, Andonara had been in a dilemma. If she did anything, she would be scolded; but if she didn''t do anything, she would be angry. Even more chillingly, her husband did not seem to have feelings for her. He did not just refuse to be intimate with her. He simply seemed to not care about her at all. Andonara had been mired in a sense of insecurity when she was despised and rejected by her "family" even though she was the queen, to the point that she almost became depressed. She held herself back for a long time, until she couldn''t anymore. When the Magic Tower came to kidnap her, she proposed a test. But the result was heartbreaking. The king did not intend to look for her at all. After she returned, the king even forced her to identify Kaka Bard as her kidnapper. Even more outrageously, she was held in custody in a manor outside of the royal palace a few days later, ready to be sentenced to death the next day. It was at that point that her heart grew cold. Back then, she had made up her mind to kill whoever came to her with the atonement scrolls even though they were grand nobles, before she marched all the way back to the royal palace and died in battle. After all, there was no place for her in this vast world anymore. But surprisingly, it was Roland who came. The man who came to kill her, after learning everything, was willing to get her out. Such a man was like a magnificent tree, and she was like a vine that couldn''t survive without clinging to a tree. Now that she had run into one, she did not let it go. Roland was going to be away for a long time, but Andonara was not anxious at all. All she needed to do was protect everything in this home, including her rival, Vivian. She was still the queen, not because she still loved the title, but because the title seemed to be tempting to Roland. Therefore, it was worthwhile to keep the title. At this point, Roland was throwing up above the grasses next to the road. After vomiting out the food in his stomach, he began to discharge gastric acids. In the end, he felt like he was vomiting his kidneys out. Of course, it was only in his mind, but it was evident enough what poor condition Roland was in. He had thought that a remote teleportation would be no problem for him since he was already used to short-distance teleportation, but he realized that their consequences were not on the same level at all. Short-distance teleportation was like taking a shaking boat in the middle of a surging storm, but remote teleportation was like being thrown into a laundering machine and spun again and again before he was dried. It was a nightmare. At this moment, he barely had any combat ability and couldn''t cast any spells. Even a ten-year-old could stab him to death with a sharp sword. Thankfully, this place was unpopulated, and more importantly, he was wearing his magic robe. So nobody came to him even though he was crouching on the ground palely. After sitting on the ground for almost two hours, Roland finally stood up. However, his legs were trembling too hard for him to walk. He had to drink some warm water and rest another twenty minutes before he finally felt better. After all, as a professional, his speed of recovery was much higher than normal. If he were an ordinary person, it would''ve taken days before he recovered. Roland walked to the city gate again and met Antis there. The pretty young man was surprised to see Roland''s pale face. He asked promptly, "Are you poisoned?" "No." Leaning on the bricks of the city wall, Roland waved his hand lethargically. "Then you''re exhausted by the queen?" asked Antis teasingly. Roland rolled his eyes. "That''s even less possible." "It doesn''t matter whether you admit it or not, because it''s transparent in my eyes." Antis looked at Roland in admiration. "You seduced the queen, but the royal family did not put you on the wanted list. Even the queen''s title is kept. Tsk, tsk. How did you manage that?" Leaning against the wall, Roland thought for a moment and said, "The king may have a special ''quirk.''" "How''s that possible?" Antis grinned like a beautiful girl. "Enough talking. I don''t want the royal family to suspect me. Look at you Why don''t I call a carriage for you?" "That would be great." The carriage soon arrived. Roland took it and asked the driver to take him to the Bear Mage''s Magic Tower. After he told the guards his name, he was soon invited to the study on the upper level of the magic tower. Tobian, the Bear Mage, opened the door and welcomed him in person this time. "You do not look well. Have you been exhausted by the queen?" Tobian''s bald head reflected the brilliant sunlight. Roland couldn''t have appeared more speechless. "Enough. Why do you all think that this is caused by the queen?" "Otherwise, it''s inexplicable how a Mage could look so awful when you''re not poisoned." Tobian laughed. "I used Long-Distance Teleportation for the first time." Laying his elbows on the desk, Roland rubbed his temples and said, "Master Tobian, were you not queasy when you used it for the first time?" Tobian grew solemn. He stared at Roland and said casually, "I''m incapable of Long-Distance Teleportation. I can only do the Teleportation spell." Oh? Roland looked at the guy in surprise. "Don''t look at me that way," Tobian said casually. "Spatial magic is an arcane and sophisticated system only second to prophetic magic. I''m already a genius in Hollevin to have picked up Teleportation. As for Long-Distance Teleportation, there are only two people capable of that to my knowledge, and both of them are Warlocks rather than Mages. They learned it because of their talent, not their intelligence." Roland felt somewhat disbelieving. He did not think that Long-Distance Teleportation was so hard. He had to thank the twenty years of systematic education that he had received in reality. Apart from everything else, the education system had taught him how to learn. Seeing that Roland was silent, Tobian continued with a smile, "Mr. Roland, what''s the purpose of your visit?" "I''d like to buy some magic models from you," Roland said slowly. "The advanced ones, the lowly ones, anything will be fine as long as I''m not capable of it yet." Tovian searched his bookshelves and found a few models. He placed them before Roland. "They''re all yours. For free." Roland was not delighted. He simply stared at the man in silence. He knew very well that free stuff might demand an enormous price in the future. "Why? You don''t want them now?" asked Tobian with a smile. Slightly leaning back, Roland asked, "What do you want in return?" Solemnly gazing at Roland in silence for a while, Tobian said, "I hope that you won''t stop me from becoming the general chairman." "That''s all?" "That''s all!" Tobian nodded. Roland asked somewhat confusedly, "I''m just the chairman of a branch in a city at the border. I can''t decide whether or not you can become the general chairman." Tobian said affirmatively, "Yes, you can." Roland smiled. "I know very well what I''m capable of and what I''m not." Tobian shook his head weirdly. "Too much modesty is arrogance." Looking at the man''s face, Roland was even more puzzled. "Earlier, I was told that there was a statue outside of the capital which could grant you higher magic power regeneration." Tobian looked Roland in the eyes and said, "But I never believed it until I paid a visit to the statue yesterday. I did get quick magic power regeneration." Roland sighed helplessly, knowing that the guy had a misunderstanding. "Actually, you''re more famous than you think, at least here in the headquarters." Roland considered for two seconds and then nodded. "Rest assured, I won''t stand in your way." Tobian smiled in relief and made a "please" gesture at the models on the desk. After examining them, Roland found that only two of the models were new to him. One of them was Spatial Bubble Squirt, and the other was a magic barrier. The former was a special offensive skill in the spatial class, and the latter was a generic defensive spell. It was the first real defensive spell that Roland had ever acquired. After getting the models, Roland left Tobian''s Magic Tower and left the capital. Now, he would have to teleport himself back. Roland touched his belly and couldn''t feel sadder. He would be nauseated again after the teleportation, and he felt uncomfortable just thinking about it. But a man had to be tough on himself. After a long hesitation, he gritted his teeth and activated the spell. After the world swirled in front of him dizzily, he felt that his feet were on the ground again. Then, his legs became sore, and he fell on his knees. He gagged so hard that he almost vomited his intestines out, because there was absolutely nothing in his stomach anymore. 248 Human Tool After gagging for almost half an hour, Roland finally felt much better. He immediately set off for the docks. Two carriages had been prepared. The plan was that each would accommodate five people, but Schuck said that Margret couldn''t be too close to regular animals even in her human form, or those creatures would be terrified by her dragon''s aura. So Schuck and Margret would fly in the sky without taking the carriages. They could also scout for the team that way. Naturally, there were no objections. In the evening, their caravan took off. Generally speaking, evening was not the best time to start a journey, because the night would fall soon and spending the night in the wilderness could be dangerous if the travelers couldn''t reach a town. But for the professionals, especially a quest team with a perfect combination of classes, it was not a problem. If night fell, they could simply use their illumination skills. When Roland cast a dozen balls of light to the sky and made them follow the caravan, the hundred square meters nearby were as bright as a football field with a match going on. Most nocturnal magical beasts were scared of light. Such intense light could prevent 99.99% of the animals from drawing close. Even the robbers would step back when they saw a dozen lights floating in the sky. So, a lot of unnecessary trouble could be avoided. In the carriages, everybody was in the mood for talking at first, but two hours later, they all lost interest and began to surf on the forum or watch online movies. Thankfully, in-game access to the Internet had been enabled by the developers, or it would''ve been hard to weather through the boring journey. Roland, on the other hand, was looking into a magic model. It was not one of the models from Tobian, but was bought on the forum earlier and had never really been studied by him. The name of the spell was Body Fortification. It was only a level-one spell with few nodes. With Roland''s experience in magic, he soon picked it up. He tried it on himself first. After a green flash He frowned, as he did not sense anything different. Then, he clenched his fists, only to discover that he was indeed a lot stronger. The member of Silver Wings on his opposite side just quitted the forum. Seeing the flash on Roland, he asked curiously, "Roland, are you doing a magic experiment? Don''t blow up our carriage!" "It''s just a buff spell. It won''t blow up anything." This particular member was named Suel, an agile Warrior. He was also one of the special talents of Silver Wings. Whether or not the quest was completed, he would go to Andonara to be trained into a Great Swordsman. "Seriously?" Roland was rather surprised. "That''s just a major failure. I''m too lazy to count the minor failures." Roland nodded, as it was quite normal. He had failed a lot in his own experiments too. However, thanks to the magic arrays in his tower, no severe consequences had ever come of failed experiments. Suel asked curiously, "What''s the effect of your new spell?" "Body Fortification." While talking, Roland snapped his fingers and buffed Suel. Then he smiled. "You''ve been buffed! Now go feed yourself!" "Hahaha." Suel burst into laughter. Then, he warmed up his hands, only to be slightly surprised. "It''s quite effective." At this point, the other two people in the carriage came back to themselves from the forum. One of them was Betta. He shouted excitedly, "Brother Roland, give me one!" Roland snapped his fingers again. Betta moved his hands and exclaimed, "It''s very effective!" As a balanced professional, his strength was lower than that of an agile Warrior, so he sensed it more clearly. The lower one''s stats were, the more clearly they would feel the buff. "If I''m capable of this spell, I''ll be confident in fighting a Warrior who focuses on strength, provided that he doesn''t have such a buff." Sensing a strength that seemed to be surging out of his body, Betta couldn''t be more confident. At this point, the member of Silver Wings next to him said to him with a smile, "Dispel!" The magic light on Betta was apparently weakened. After a brief surprise, the member of Silver Wings shouted again, "Dispel." It was not until then that the magic light on Betta was completely gone. Roland was briefly stunned, as he didn''t know that buff spells could be dispelled. But actually, the member of Silver Wings was ten times more surprised than he was. That guy was a Priest who focused on ancillary spells. His Dispel had been specifically enhanced, allowing him to remove three buffs on his target, including Magic Shield, which was the Mages'' strongest defensive spell, at one time as long as the target was not three levels higher than himself. However, it took him two tries to remove a regular buff from Roland. It was unbelievable. In a life-and-death battle, successful dispelling after one try and after two tries would be completely different. In a battle between people on the same level, those few seconds could''ve decided who the final winner was. He was level five, and so was Roland. It didn''t make sense. Somehow, the Priest became jealous. Seeing that Dispel was so powerful, Roland became greedy. Regretfully, the Priest''s divine skills were blessings of the gods, or Roland would''ve offered to pay for the man''s magic model. At this point, the atmosphere in the carriage became odd. Most players'' silliness was only their disguise. They were actually all very sophisticated. The other two people in the carriage both saw the weird look on the Priest''s face. Immediately, nobody talked anymore. They reopened their browsers and logged in the forum. Although he did not understand why the guy was suddenly upset, Roland was not interested in asking. He continued devoting himself to his magic experiment. If the buff spell could be dispelled, he would increase the "thickness" and "length" of the buff and see if it could be dispelled again. Roland tried to reconstruct the nodes of the spell and infer the more suitable nodes through modeling. About three hours later, the effect of the new spell was out. Body Fortification (Enhanced): This will temporarily improve the target''s constitution by 0.6*(the spellcaster''s current level) for 1*(the spellcaster''s current level). After it was done, Roland cast it on himself, and the flash was brighter this time. Although Suel pretended to be checking the forum, he had actually been paying attention to Roland. Seeing that Roland cast another buff on himself, he asked curiously, "You picked up another new spell? Hearing his voice, Betta and the Priest turned their heads too. Roland nodded and snapped his finger at Suel. Hardly had the spell taken effect when Suel felt a warm stream flowing in his body. He clenched his hands and looked at his system menu, only to be shocked. "I''ve got three more points of constitution! That''s awesome!" Betta was envious and even more eager to learn this buff spell. At this point, the Priest, who had been reticent, waved his hands at Suel, performing Dispel. Once, twice six times! It was not until the sixth time that he finally removed Roland''s buff. The Priest''s face was strange, as if he couldn''t feel anything anymore. A dozen seconds later, he finally opened his hands and said, "I''ve failed. I really can''t compare to a genius." He knew that he had failed brutally. He had succeeded in removing the buff after six attempts, but it would''ve taken him ten seconds to do that in a real battle. More importantly, performing Dispel required tremendous mental power. If he were to remove the target''s buff by performing Dispel six times in a battle, he would be no better than an idiot. It would be a waste of his time, and he would lose too much magic power. At first, the Priest was rather jealous of Roland, but no longer. It was pointless to be jealous of a genius you could never catch up to. Looking at his companion''s face, Suel felt lucky that he was not a spellcaster, or he would''ve really been bummed knowing that there was such a genius above him. Roland showed no response. He was still not satisfied. The buff had been dispersed by a level-five Priest after a few attempts. What if he ran into someone of a higher level? Roland began to reconstruct the spell nodes again to further increase the "thickness" and "length" of the spell. Soon, the caravan stopped, and Hawk smacked Roland''s carriage from the outside and shouted, "It''s time to rest." As it turned out, it was already midnight. The players needed no rest, but both the drivers of the carriages and the horses had to take a break. Roland jumped off and established a three-floored building with Mud to Stone. He also set up a simple stable for the carriages and the horses to protect the horses from the cold wind at night and the stalking beasts. The players, on the other hand, went to the building. Betta even made barbecue on the roof. After feeding the horses, the two drivers went to the roof and had the roasted meat that Betta gave to them in a corner. In the end, they were too sleepy and went to the second floor to sleep. Schuck and Margret had descended from the sky. At this point, Margret was holding a dozen skewers of roasted locusts in her left hand. She relayed each skewer to her right hand and then raised her right hand to her mouth. Then, all the roasted locusts would be gone. Roland was still reconstructing the nodes. He was holding a skewer of meat too, which Betta had given him. He was only biting it now and then subconsciously, and the meat was still unfinished after half an hour. Another half-hour later, Roland cast a new Body Fortification spell on himself. This time, the flash of the spell was as bright as a light bulb, attracting everybody''s attention. Body Fortification (Extreme): This will temporarily improve the target''s constitution by 0.8*(the spellcaster''s current level) for 1.5*(the spellcaster''s current level). The effect was much better, but naturally the cost of magic power had increased too. Roland looked at the Priest. But the Priest shook his head quickly and said, "That''s it. I''m done with being a tool for your tests." 249 Meeting With Ans Although he made the declaration, the Priest could only sigh helplessly when everybody looked at him eagerly. After all, nobody in the team was capable of Dispel except him. Putting down his skewers, the Priest waved his hands again and again. After his every performance, the light on Roland would grow dimmer. Everybody counted the tries. After ten times, the Priest stopped. But the magic light on Roland was still quite bright. At this point, Hawk shouted, "Go on! We''d like to see how many times it requires to remove the buff. You''d better finish what you started! Are you out of magic power?" Everybody else nodded in agreement. The Priest lowered his head gloomily. "I have magic power, but I''m out of my spellcasting quota." Then, everybody finally remembered that the Priests and the Warlocks could only cast their spells limited times in a day. When their levels were higher, their quota would be increased, and they could pick up new spells. However, when their levels were still low, they were often caught in the awkward situation where they used up their quota. For example, the level-five Priest could only cast Dispel ten times a day. Everybody sighed in disappointment. The Priest was even more disappointed. Supposedly, the Priests were a player-friendly class. They could obtain EXP by praying to the goddess''s statue every day. The divine skills they learned were random but highly practical. Most importantly, the Priests were also good with melee abilities and could put on armor, shields, etc. However, it did not seem as impressive as this Mage. As Deputy Chairman of his guild, Hawk wouldn''t let his companion be embarrassed for long. He stood up and said, "Roland, cast it on me and let me try it." Hawk was enshrouded in a white light. Two seconds later, he felt extremely weird. Then, he roared like a chimpanzee and jumped off from the third floor. Everybody ran to the edge of the roof and looked down. In the moonlight, Hawk, who looked like a gigantic chimpanzee, had embraced a short tree around thirty centimeters in diameter and was exerting his strength. All over his body, his muscles were protruding and twisting like hard rocks. Dull cracks spread in the soil as the roots of the tree were torn up. Eventually, the tree was completely plucked from the ground. "Damn it. You are a living Lu Zhishen[1]!" Betta exclaimed. "WThe willows are generally no more than twenty centimeters in diameter. This is much more impressive." Link''s eyes were full of delight. Margret snorted in disdain. However strong a human being was, they could never compare to a dragon. Everybody thought that Hawk was done after he showed his strength by plucking the tree, but then he began to spin the tree. A lot of the pebbles scattered toward the players even though they were on the third floor. "Shoot. This Whirlwind Slash is rather powerful." Schuck clicked his tongue in amazement. The disdain on Margret''s face was gone. If Hawk were holding a giant sword, she would''ve been hurt if she were hit by such a Whirlwind Slash in her dragon form. After reducing the environment into a complete mess, Hawk was finally somewhat exhausted. He threw the tree, whose crown was already bare, to the ground and ran back to the roof. While catching his breath, he shouted, "It''s really satisfying!" Though it was Hawk who gave the performance, everybody focused their eyes on Roland, because Hawk couldn''t have done it without Roland''s spell. Noticing their excitement, Roland shrugged and cast Body Fortification on every one of them. For a whole night, those people sabotaged the wood and played freely. Not only were they plucking and spinning trees, some of them even broke trees with their bare hands. Hawk even did frog jumps while holding two boulders weighing more than fifty kilograms. They were truly hilarious. By morning, they''d finally had enough fun, and they resumed the journey after breakfast. The drivers did not look great, as they barely slept last night while the players were horsing around. However, they dared not complain at all. What could they say to a bunch of professionals who plucked trees for fun and paid them money? On the rest of the journey, Roland began to study Dimensional Anchor. Then, he realized that it was more difficult than Long-Distance Teleportation. The main problem was that the connection in the model seemed wrong. He failed every time he cast the spell according to the node connection in the model. Thankfully, Dimensional Anchor was not an offensive spell, and there was no danger even if he failed. Nevertheless, his research on Dimensional Anchor was stymied. Since it was rather difficult to stay concentrated in a shaking carriage, Roland abandoned his magic studies and turned to the forum. A journey was only a journey when you had things to do. Time flew. In the blink of an eye, they had spent a fortnight eating, drinking, laughing, and playing, and they reached the edge of the Elf Forest. Roland played an irreplaceable role on the way. The temporary houses built with Mud to Stone could keep them safe from rain and storms. Only the seasoned travelers knew how comfortable it felt to have a roof above their head. When they passed Urganda, Roland''s Unhindered Communication proved useful again. Naturally, the language of Urganda was different from Hollevin''s. Although Betta was capable of Language Proficiency, he could only cast it five times in a day, and its duration was shorter than Roland''s. After Roland cast the spell once, it would be effective for most of the day. More importantly, Unhindered Communication allowed them to read too. So luckily, they did not turn dumb and deaf in Urganda. One other thing made all the members of the team feel that it was really the right decision to have Roland in their team. Three days earlier, they had to pass a river when they crossed the border of Urganda. Unfortunately, due to a storm a few days before, the river had surged and collapsed the bridge. Though the river was no longer as turbulent as before, it was still impossible for the players to pass without a bridge. Also, there were only four days to go before the deadline. They couldn''t afford wasting their time here. Hawk suggested that Margret carry the team across the river one by one, but then Margret burst into fury, changed into her dragon form, and whipped Hawk with her tail. Hawk was flung a dozen meters away. Thankfully, he was sturdy enough and not badly hurt. Margret would''ve kept beating him if Schuck hadn''t stopped and appeased her. Finally, she changed back to her human form. A dragon would only let her knight ride her. Nobody else could be on her back. It was a matter of principle. Hawk hadn''t been clear about it before. After Schuck explained it to him, he apologized to Margret and Schuck. When nobody knew what to do, Roland stood out. Using up all his magic power, he created a bridge of ice above the river with a span of more than a hundred meters. Because the current was still quite rapid, the ice bridge had to be tough, which was even more exhausting. Thankfully, Roland made it in the end. The players reached the other side of the river, followed by a few particularly bold convoys. After crossing the border of Urganda, the players arrived at the Elf Forest. It took them two days before they found the rendezvous they agreed upon. In front of them was a dense forest. The air here was damp, warm, and comforting. This place was a boundary between the prairie and the forest. Their feet were buried in the green grasses, and unknown flowers bloomed around them. Emitting a faint fragrance, the white and red flowers attracted colorful butterflies to them. They waited for a long time, but nobody came. When they were puzzled, they noticed a black spot drawing near from above. The stranger landed before them about three minutes later. It was a male elf, who had a green ponytail, watery eyes, and crescent-shaped eyebrows. Those were the features of a pretty girl, but the stranger was a male elf. All the humans lightly gasped. This male elf could be described as gorgeous from every perspective. In Roland''s eyes, this elf was even more beautiful than Antis. He was almost on par with the queen in moonlight in terms of appearance and aura. The elf was rather cold. He eyed everybody as if they owed him three hundred gold coins, but it did not affect his attractiveness at all. "You''re the Golden Sons who are willing to take my mission?" The elf looked around and then fixed his eyes on Betta. "Mr. Human, would you like to introduce yourselves?" Betta was slightly surprised, and so were the rest. Why would the elf think that Betta, instead of Hawk, was their "leader"? Roland thought for a moment and realized that it must be because of the characteristics of the Divine Noble. In the eyes of the NPCs, Betta was a noble, and as his level increased, he would become more and more like one. Betta remembered his class features too. He smiled and said, "Who we are doesn''t matter as long as we can complete your mission. You must be Ans, right?" Ans nodded. Betta asked again, "Can we know the details of your mission, so that we can make pertinent preparations?" "Not a problem." Ans looked at everybody with his hands behind him, before he nodded and said, "You should prepare. Please follow me." He led the way, and everybody found that wherever Ans went, the grasses would split apart in advance, as if they were making way for him. Elves were indeed the children of nature. Ans took the team into the forest. After a few minutes, they reached a lodge next to a lake surrounded by dense trees. The lodge looked small from the outside, but when they got in, they found that it was rather spacious. It was furnished with wood, emitting the aroma of trees. Ans asked everybody to take a seat. He closed his eyes for a while, then opened them and said, "Actually, I''m not a conservative. I belong to Nature''s Wrath, an organization of the radicals." [1] a fictional character who plucked a willow to demonstrate his strength. 250 Tragedy All the players were slightly surprised to hear this Their first thought was that this was a trap, but they did not overreact at all despite their shock. After all, they wouldn''t really die, and even if they were killed in this trap, they could make a comeback after their resurrection. Seeing that the players wore odd expressions but remained calm, Ans nodded in satisfaction. He continued, "Although I''m a radical, I too believe that they''re outrageous." Realizing that the elf was about to tell a story, the players each found a chair. But there were only six chairs in the lodge, and Ans had claimed one. So, four players had to sit on the ground. Schuck was among them. Margret sat on his thigh, yawning now and then. Ans''s face changed slightly when he saw the cute dragon horns on Margret''s forehead. Then he went on: "Half a year ago, Nature''s Wrath annihilated a human village at the border of Urganda. They killed all two hundred people in the village, including the elderly, the women, and the children, just because one of the villagers sold a female elf in the past." Everybody''s faces changed when they heard that. The players sitting on the ground all stood up. When Schuck suddenly rose, Margret was flipped off, which was quite unexpected for her. She didn''t blame Schuck. Instead, she glared at Ans, because Schuck wouldn''t rise all of a sudden if not for him. Sensing Margret''s anger, Ans was rather nervous, which was understandable as nobody would feel comfortable when a dragon glared at them. Betta asked indifferently, "Are you sure it''s true?" "I don''t need to lie about that. I''m an elf anyway," Ans said painfully. "Nature''s Wrath believed in punishing the devils who ruined nature and who polluted the earth with evil magic powers, but now, it has become a group of extremists who believe that human beings are the cancer of the world." Ans covered his face with his hands, making it impossible to see his expression, but everybody could hear infinite disappointment in his voice. They could sympathize with the elf. The destruction of one''s ideal and the corruption of one''s community were worse than death, and that was what happened to Ans. After a brief silence, Ans raised his face from his hands. "Two months ago, it happened to another village. Half a month ago, they slaughtered a town. None of the three thousand residents survived. They''re completely crazy now. A dozen days ago, a brother questioned the justification of their behavior, but then he was brutally murdered and transformed into a tree by the lake." Everybody couldn''t have looked more awful after hearing that. Roland couldn''t help but ask, "Sorry, not that we''re suspecting you, but do you have any evidence?" Ans seemed to be expecting that question. He unfolded a piece of paper on the table. It was a map. Everybody glanced at each other, and then Betta said, "Please give us a few days to consider." Ans nodded. "Of course." They left the lodge. At the edge of the forest, Roland set up a stone house with magic, and everybody got in. Betta and a friend from Silver Wings took out tables, chairs, fruit wine, and of course, barbecue. Everybody ate the food unhurriedly and silently. In the end, Roland said, "How much do you believe what Ans said?" "Fifty percent." Schuck put down the barbecue and said, "In any case, we have to look into it carefully. I don''t want to be anyone''s pawn or tool." At this point, a Warrior of Silver Wings said, "Don''t bother with that. Let''s just complete the epic quest. After all, it''s not going to be humans that we kill. It''s just elves." Roland sighed. "Are you not scared that this is a trick quest that will turn our inclination from Neutral Good to Evil?" The Warrior immediately shut up. As frequent visitors to the forum, they had read a lot of posts of other players on "trick quests." One of the players, who accepted every quest he encountered, was directed by a sordid NPC to kill many innocent people. He didn''t realize what was going on until his inclination changed from Neutral Good to Chaotic Evil. Now, he was wanted by the game system. Multiple players had triggered the quest "Eliminate the evil Golden Son and reduce him to level zero." The EXP reward for that mission was quite high. The player couldn''t even delete his character. The option was unavailable after he entered the Temple of Life. He could only be killed by other quest maniacs again and again. Of course, nobody wanted that to happen to them. "Let''s divide into three groups and check the locations marked by Ans," Schuck suggested. "Margret and I will go to the farthest place. You can split into two parties and search the other two." Hawk pondered for a moment and said, "I fear that what we see will be what the elf wants us to see." Roland smiled. "But there will definitely be traces. It will be fine as long as we remain careful." Everybody nodded and agreed with the plan. They quickly finished the meat and left in three groups. On Margret''s back, Schuck took off and soon became a black spot in the sky. Craning his head at them, Betta said enviously, "I wish I could fly too." Roland said with a smile, "You can try to pick up the flight spells of the wind class later." "The spells that the Warlocks can awaken are random except for the ones related to the dragon blood power." Betta sighed. "Chances are few that I can pick up a flight spell." "You can still learn to make a magic scroll and then pick up the magic model of flight spells. Then, you can fly with the scroll," Roland suggested. Although Roland was incapable of making magic scrolls yet, he had read relevant knowledge in the library in his magic tower. So, knowledge was only beneficial. With more knowledge, one could plan better for the future. Betta nodded. "I could try that later." Then, the four-person squad set off. Roland''s squad included the Warrior named Suel and the frustrated Priest, as well as Betta. According to Ans''s map, it would take them two days to reach that village at a normal speed. But as professionals, they had much more stamina that normal people did, and most importantly, they needed no rest. They walked without stopping. When they were out of stamina, they would eat while they walked. As a result, they arrived at their destination after only a day and a night. When it was dawn, they saw twenty ragged grass cottages as well as a few low houses made of red bricks. Far away, many birds were chirping on top of the dilapidated buildings. The village was quiet. At the entrance of the village, they found that the wooden fences around the village meant to keep out beasts had been broken. As far as their eyes could reach, skeletons in clothes that were riddled with holes were scattered on the road. Some of the bones were stuck to dried, blackened flesh. There were also clear bite marks on the bones. There was no telling if it was their imagination, but a vague stink was spreading in the air. Subconsciously, Roland walked forward with his nose covered. As they pressed on, they saw more and more skeletons. There were both adults and children who were no taller than one meter. Suel looked quite awful, and Betta was similar. Roland and the Priest, on the other hand, seemed natural, but they were not as peaceful as they appeared. Those dead bodies, after being tormented by storms and beasts, actually couldn''t have any scent left. The vague stink was merely their imagination. Thinking that through, Roland dropped his hands from his mouth. Standing in front of a dry well, he looked around and said, "Check the bodies and see if we can find any leads." They dispersed and regathered half an hour later, each lifting a white skull with a wooden stick. Betta said, "I found no weapons, but it occurred to me that most skulls had a hole in them." He showed the skull on his stick. The other three showed their skulls too. Though the holes were at different locations, there was indeed a hole of similar size and shape on each of the skulls. Holding the skull with Hand of Magic, Roland observed it for a moment and said, "I found no weapons in the places I explored, but all the skulls had a tiny hole in them, which means that they were indeed killed by small pointy weapons." "Arrows!" Betta suggested. Suel frowned. "But I didn''t see any arrows. They couldn''t have collected all the arrows that they shot, could they?" "I read from books that the elves are naturally endowed with magic power. Their expert archers can form arrows with magic power" Roland suddenly paused and frowned. "Wait. What''s that smell?" Roland turned back and looked around. Eventually, he looked down at the well before him. Gradually, he became grim. He extended the blue Hand of Magic and picked up a big bucket from the bottom of the well. The bucket was placed on the ground, and everybody gathered around it. Inside the bucket was a body that had almost rotted into fluid. Though disfigured, it was probably only a baby, two to three years old. The body was very slim. Though it was also rotten, a little pus was in the bucket. Though the air was getting smelly, nobody covered their nose. Observing it for a while, Roland clenched his fists, but his voice was very soft, as if he feared that he might wake up the kid. "He was starved." Suel''s and the Priest''s eyes were immediately bloodshot. Betta turned around and kicked the tree nearby into pieces, before he roared desperately. "F*ck!" The birds in the village, shocked, all flew away in flocks. 251 Lunatics Everybody dispersed and collected all the bones. With Stone to Mud and Hand of Magic, Roland easily dug a pit and pushed all the bones that they could see into it, before he put the bucket and the baby in the pit with Hand of Magic too. His magic power burst out, and the rolling mud covered everything. Eventually, the mud rose into a round tomb and hardened into stones. All of them were quite grave after they left the village. It was not until a day later that the atmosphere finally improved. Looking at the long green horizon of the Elf Forest far away, Suel said regretfully, "I should''ve livestreamed this." "Why?" asked the Priest. Suel sneered. "To show other people what elves are exactly. Now, there''s a strange opinion on the forum. Some people think that elves are kind, beautiful, and righteous, and that everything about the elves is great." The Priest shook his head. "It''s unfair to criticize a group for some of the people in it. Some human beings have done horrible things too, but are all human beings evil? The problem is Nature''s Wrath, who caused this. Everything will be fine after we eradicate it." Behind Suel, Roland said casually, "I agree with Rommel." The Priest was Rommel. Betta was still in a trance. As the youngest in the team, he was not nineteen yet, and it was impossible for him to calm down after such a tragedy. Hearing his companions'' disagreement, Suel said after a brief silence, "But in any case, Nature''s Wrath is dead for sure. I won''t let them go, with or without this quest." They walked for another day before they returned to their previous rendezvous point. In the stone house, Schuck and the rest had waited for a while. They shared their intelligence, only to find that the victims they saw all had a rhomboid hole in their skull, which was clearly caused by arrows. There was not a second hole in any skull, and no arrows were left at the locations. The experts among human beings could''ve done the same, but it would require too many of them in order to slaughter a whole village, leaving no survivors. Human beings had a large population. It was possible to gather such a team, but those people were in different places and belonged to different organizations. It was barely possible to gather them all at once. Therefore, only the elves could''ve deployed so many expert archers that easily. The answer was obvious. At this point, Roland found that not just them, Schuck and Hawk''s squad were not in a good mood either. Margret was probably the only unaffected person. After all, a dragon''s viewpoint could be very different from that of human beings. They rested for two hours, before they found Ans by the lake. As a "noble," Betta was responsible for the negotiation. Ans nodded. "Naturally." Then, Ans told them the basics of Nature''s Wrath. Nature''s Wrath had hundreds of members, but of course, not all of them needed to be killed. Only the leadership had to be eliminated. In Ans''s opinion, there were twelve leaders that had to be killed. The most important one of them was Ans''s teacher, a Druid close to the level of Legend. He could transform into an emerald dragon. However, since he was not a Legend, he could only use half the strength of an emerald dragon even if he became one. The other eleven elves were the administrators of Nature''s Wrath, including the deputies, the supply officers, the field commanders, etc. After hearing Ans out, Betta took a long breath. "There are hundreds of people in Nature''s Wrath, and we only have ten. Even if we''re undying, it''s troublesome for us to kill so many of them, and they will be warned if we try and fail." "I''ll create an opportunity for you, an opportunity where only the twelve leaders will show up," Ans said with a vague green light flashing in his eyes. "The opportunity will arrive soon, and all you need to do is wait." Everybody nodded. At this point, Roland said, "I have a question." Ans looked at Roland. The elves had enough respect for spellcasters too. He said, "Please ask." "According to you, the two villages and the town that were slaughtered did take part in slave deals." Roland stared the elf in the eyes and said, "From the perspective of the elves, Nature''s Wrath should be heroes. Why would you destroy it?" "Like I''ve said too many times, Nature''s Wrath will consume the elves very soon." Ans rose and shouted in agony and fury, "You think I like this? But my teacher and his partners are truly mad! Let me tell you the truth. I don''t care how many human beings my teacher killed, but he shouldn''t have pointed his weapons at his own people. Alashee was executed just because he opposed my teacher''s policy, and Barns, another opposer, is now missing. I can''t find him at all." Everybody looked at Ans, who suddenly burst into rage, in surprise. Ans breathed hard. He was quite emotionally unsteady after the catharsis. "I can see that more and more conservatives will become my teacher''s worshipers, until all the elves will be radical and aggressive." "Isn''t it great?" Suel snorted and said, "From the perspective of the elves, that''s a sign that you will conquer the world." "Great?" Ans jumped to his feet in fury, his handsome face twisted. "Are you mocking me, young human boy? Don''t think that I don''t know that the elves'' doom will be underway once we become aggressive. This world belongs to human beings. We can kill the humans who enslave our people because we have the right to, but if we start a war, we will lose our justification, and all humans will consider us an enemy." "You''re not scared of human beings. You''re so strong and proud." Suel chuckled. Ans took a deep breath to calm himself down. "We have every reason to be proud, because we''re more beautiful and cultured than you. But it does not change the fact that human beings are the dominators of the world." Margret was angry to hear that. She raised her head and said, "Dragons are the dominators of this world." Ans looked at Margret and said scornfully, "Individually speaking, the dragons are indeed the strongest, but collectively speaking, dragons are no better than elves. You are just a peripheral race that only has deterrence but no actual power of governance." Margret jumped to her feet and shouted, "What did you say, chump?" Legend had it that all elves were the children of the World Tree, so other races would call the elves chumps when they were pissed. Ans maintained his mocking smile. "Am I wrong? If the dragons are really a powerful race, why don''t you reign over mankind instead of hiding on Rhodes Island?" Margret''s face was pale with fury. "It''s because we don''t want to reign over them." "The kobolds dig tunnels every day. They certainly don''t want to admit that they''re related to dragons either." Kobolds were essentially miniature lizards. It was said that they were a sub-dragon species created by a male dragon and a half-meter-long lizard. There was no telling how the male dragon did it. All in all, the kobolds did have a dragon bloodline, though it was quite diluted. There were often dragon-bloodline Warlocks among kobolds, but due to their congenital deficiencies, they could rarely grow strong. Hearing Ans''s sarcasm, Margret almost assumed her dragon from and spewed fire at the elf. Schuck put his hand on her head in time and calmed her down immediately. Seeing Margret fall silent, Ans decided not to argue with her anymore. He continued, "The elves can''t afford to be aggressive. If we declare a war on humanity, we will be wiped out for sure. There are more than two billion humans on this continent. Even if every elf can kill a thousand human beings, we can only kill fifty million humans in total, which is too small a portion. We can''t win at all." At this point, Margret asked in surprise, "How many human beings? Two billion?" "You don''t know?" Ans chuckled coldly. "It seemed that dragons are even more egotistic and ignorant than elves. I''m told that you are a princess? Well, well" Margret was enraged, but she couldn''t come up with a rebuttal. She could only seek comfort in Schuck''s arms. As for the players, they were all stunned. Ans had revealed a lot of information just now, including the total population of elves, which was about fifty thousand. Looking at the silent players, Ans went on, "I understand that you might distrust me or despise me for betraying my people, but I would like to make it clear that I''m inviting you to kill my teacher and my compatriots not because I want to help humans, but because I want to save the future of the elves. "In any case, if my teacher joins the Council of Elders and the radicals come into power, the conflicts between elves and mankind will reach a peak within a hundred years." There was grief in Ans''s left eye and ruthlessness in his right, and on his face, there was the holiness of self-sacrifice. When the three expressions mixed into one, he appeared like a complete lunatic. 252 Problem of Perspective The air in the Elf Forest was indeed fresh and comfortable to breathe. If the air in the human world could be compared to a brook with a vague scent of fish, the air in the Elf Forest would be the clear and sweet water from a spring. Standing next to the lake, Roland watched the white-tailed fish swimming casually in the water. It was really a pleasant environment, but Roland was not in a mood to appreciate it. Next to him was Schuck and Margret. Margret was upset, as Ans had bluntly unveiled a fact that she had been intentionally ignoring: though powerful, dragons were not the dominators of the world. As a result, she felt that the world seemed to be collapsing, because she had been so proud of her identity for decades. Looking at the fish for a while, Roland asked, "What do you think of Ans?" "A lunatic, but also a politician," Schuck said gloomily. "To carry out his political aspirations, he asks for outsiders'' help to kill his teacher and his compatriots. He''s a self-contradictory person to me, but it''s not my place to criticize him. After all, he''s an elf, and I''m a human." Roland nodded. "We''re just outsiders. Besides, it''s hard to say what''s right and what''s wrong in politics. Most of the time, it''s just a matter of perspective." Heaving a soft sigh, Schuck asked, "Do you want to take this quest or not?" "Of course I do." Remembering the little body in the bucket, Roland said, "Whatever Ans''s purpose is, it''s a fact that Nature''s Wrath slaughtered the villages and the town. I don''t want to think now. I only want to choose the side of humanity and avenge them." The forest was even quieter than before, leaves rustling in the wind. Looking at Margret gently, Schuck said, "I''m definitely on the side of humanity too, but I think that we need to consider the opinions of other species now and then and try to reach a balance. After all, agree to disagree is the mainstream." Roland glanced between Schuck and Margret and realized something. He nodded slightly. Even best friends would inevitably have subtly different opinions on the same matter. After another length of silence, Roland asked, "Where''s Betta? I haven''t seen him in a while." "He''s out, probably looking for wild fruits, ingredients, or seasonings." Remembering how his cousin ran out enthusiastically, Schuck smiled. "He''s liked making his own food since childhood. He''s certainly going to explore the Elf Forest." Roland smiled too. After all, Betta was only slightly over eighteen and not as sophisticated as they were. He could easily be caught by grief, but he could get rid of it easily too. As Schuck expected, Betta returned to the stone house from the depths of the forest two hours later with a lot of fallen leaves as well as spiky little fruits. "A lot." Betta took out his findings from his system Backpack. "Look at these fat spiders. This grass is spicy and can be used as pepper. This grass can be used as spices. This is a horned rabbit. I don''t know how it tastes." Looking at the things that Betta took out, everybody was lost for words. Did he personally try all the grasses he picked? Looking at the fat white spiders, Margret subconsciously swallowed. Roasted locusts were already delicious enough; roasted spiders would definitely be more palatable. For most humans, the Elf Forest was dangerous. Apart from the large predators in the outskirts, there were also patrolling elves who could hunt trespassers regardless of their identity or race. But for Betta, this was a treasury full of ingredients and spices that he had never seen before. If possible, he would be willing to stay a couple of years here. Then, Betta made barbecue on the roof. Delicious food was indeed one of the best solutions to depression. When everybody chit-chatted over fruit wine and strange barbecue, they felt a lot better. Of course, it did not mean that they completely forgot what they saw. They simply buried it in their hearts. In the following days, they rested in the stone house. At first, they feared that the patrolling elves would spot them and cause unnecessary trouble. But during these days, they encountered no elves in the forest except Ans. Also, Betta pressed further into the forest every day when he looked for ingredients, but he did not run into any patrolling elves either. That became a question for everybody on the team. Five days passed in the blink of an eye. Ans was finally here. He was rather solemn, his hair slightly messy. "Tomorrow night, my teacher and the leadership of Nature''s Wrath will have a bonfire at a certain place. They will discuss the plan for Nature''s Wrath in the next two decades." The elves had a long life, so all their plans were made according to decade. A massive map was unfolded on the table, and Ans began to observe the stone house. The magic power in the stone house was gone, but with his extraordinary magic talent, he realized that the stone house was a magic product. Mud to Stone? Even he did not have such a high precision. This human being was capable of doing that? Ans glanced between the Priest and Roland before he eventually focused on Roland. Most Priests would not waste their skill slots on spells that could not be practical in battle. Only the Mages, who were not restricted by skill slots, would learn this special spell. Was this human adept at magic control? But that was not obvious. Roland was looking at the map when he noticed Ans''s gaze. He raised his head, but Ans had moved his eyes away. Roland was slightly puzzled. The party from Nature''s Wrath would meet not far away from here. According to the scale of the map, it was only twenty kilometers away. After studying the map, Betta nodded and said, "Got it. We will go at least six hours in advance to set up an ambush." "I hope that you can succeed." Ans glanced at them and said solemnly, "It''s our only shot. I''m told that the Golden Sons can be resurrected in Temples of Life. I''ve set up a simplified temple for the Life Goddess outside of the location. I hope that it can be of some use." Roland was quite surprised to hear that. Betta asked, "Don''t the elves worship the Goddess of Forests?" "The Goddess of Forests does not reject other believers or force us to worship her. On the other hand, I''m actually a believer of the Life Goddess." Ans smiled. "That''s why I know of the Golden Sons." That explained why Ans requested the players to help him accomplish the quest. Ans slightly bent and said sincerely, "Thank you for your trouble in advance. I need to go back to prepare now." Everybody nodded. After Ans left, Roland''s team began to make preparations. They examined their weapons. The Priest and the Warlock checked if the spells in their slots were suitable for the upcoming battle. The Warlock, on his part, summoned a maggot. The maggot showed up with an unusual stink. Everybody couldn''t help but cover their nose. Hawk shouted, "Get it back! Get it back now! Do you want to stink us to death?" The Warlock shrugged but had no choice except to recall the maggot. He said pitifully, "I fear that the magic waves would alarm the elves if I summon it right before the ambush." "Then you should''ve at least waited until we''re out of the house," Link said in disgust. "Besides, why did you choose a maggot as your magic pet? That''s gross." The Warlock said matter-of-factly, "The maggot is strong. Strength is the only thing that matters. Can you feed on prettiness?" After he said that, everybody looked at Schuck and the dragon girl next to her. "Fine. It''s true that you can feed on prettiness." The Warlock was bummed and walked away. Hawk took a long breath and said, "Since everybody is ready, I''d like to speak about our plan. "I, Link, Dorfer, and Solomon will be the vanguard." Hawk pointed to the east of the mark on the map and continued, "According to the map, there''s a hill here. It''s a perfect spot for an ambush." Dorfer was a Hunter and Solomon was a Warlock. Both of them could attack remotely, and the whole party would be within their range of attack from that hill. "Rommel, Betta, Suel, and Rommel will be the supporters responsible for the buff spells. Suel, remember that your duty is not to fight but to protect Roland from the elven archers. Betta and Rommel are both complex classes. You can look for opportunities of attack on your own when it starts." Eventually, Hawk looked at Schuck. "Because of the dragon princess''s intense dragon aura, you will be perceived by the elves if you''re too close to the party. So, Schuck, please stand by with the dragon princess at the periphery. Three minutes before we strike, we will give you a signal. You and the dragon princess are the strongest fighters on our side. We need you to deal with the Druid who can turn into a dragon." Schuck nodded. "Not a problem." "This is the first time we''ve ever fought elves. I don''t really have a detailed plan. Everybody will have to improvise after the battle begins." Everybody chuckled in excitement. 253 Please Nerf the Warlocks A bonfire party was a traditional evening activity for elves. Privileges of entertainment were understandable since the elves could live a thousand years without meeting any danger their whole lives. However, different from the corrupt means of entertainment of human nobles, the bonfire party of the elves was positive and even sophisticated. Around a bonfire, the elves at the party would display the artwork they recently made, such as paintings, poems, or sculptures for their friends to appreciate. When they were done talking about art, they would sing and dance. Such a bonfire would usually last until dawn. A lot of things had to be prepared when one was to throw such a party. For example, they had to prepare the special firewood that had a pleasant fragrance and wouldn''t yield too much smoke. Fruits, wine, and fresh meat were compulsory too. In the end, they had to inform the possible participants of the party of the time and location of the party. Delivering invitations to them could be a troublesome job. It was because the Elf Forest was huge and the population of the elves was small. They were all distant from each other, and it could be time-consuming when a lot of people had to be notified. But still, Ans completed the job carefully. Also, in case the many guests he invited felt crowded, he considerately divided the bonfire party into two parts. The leadership of Nature''s Wrath was on the east, and the other elves were on the west not far away. Although the elves'' sense of hierarchy was not as strong as that of mankind, they still had it. The night soon fell. After arranging the party at the two places with his subordinates, Ans, exhausted, sat on a single chair that was in the luxurious style of the elves and took a rest. A male elf came to him. He had the handsome look of a normal elf and smiled. "Ans, thank you for your trouble. You''re always so careful." Ans opened his eyes; it was already dark. Because of the tall trees in the Elf Forest that blocked the sunlight, the night fell much earlier here than in the human world. He snapped his fingers, and a bright purple ball of light illuminated the place. It was an illumination skill of the elves. Because the leaves of the World Tree were purple, purple was the most honored color among the elves. As a result, even the rays of their illumination skills were purple too. "Graniso, why are you here instead of accompanying your expectant wife?" "Don''t mention it. She kicked me out." Graniso pulled a chair and sat down, then he smiled gently. "She said that a man should be doing things outside instead of pacing around a woman all the time. That was so unfair. I only wanted to spend some time with her. But you know how moody an expectant woman can be." "I chose it a long time ago," Graniso said excitedly. "If it''s a boy, Jakka, and if it''s a girl, Nanna." Ans nodded. "They''re great names. Rest assured, you''re going to have a healthy baby." "Thank you." Graniso patted Ans''s shoulder. "Then, when are you getting married? Many beautiful girls are waiting for you." "I don''t want to pursue love before my dream is realized." Ans shook his head. While they talked, more and more elves gathered. They carried an assortment of items with them, including baskets of fruits, strange sculptures, and some snacks. Everybody around the bonfire seemed to be smiling. Looking around, Ans stood up and said, "All right, most everyone is here. Let''s get started." The elves were familiar with each other. Therefore, there were no boring speeches or self-introductions at the beginning of the party. Ans walked forward and ignited the enormous pile of firewood at the center of the gathering. As more and more pieces of wood were ignited, the bonfire grew brighter and brighter. The elves around the bonfire all clapped their hands. A party of around twenty people would be neither too crowded nor too awkward. The elves exchanged and appreciated each other''s artworks. Ans sat down and enjoyed the fruit wine. Not far away, another bright fire was ignited. Obviously, the leadership of Nature''s Wrath started their bonfire party too. Ans sat and smiled in silence. He knew that something unusual would happen soon, but he was not anxious at all. When he finished a cup of fruit wine, Graniso approached and sat down next to him. "Wow. Dolly has made great progress in painting!" Ans''s eyes glittered. "Really? I''m going to take a look." Actually, he couldn''t care less about painting at this moment, but he pretended to be curious. But the moment he rose, he noticed a bright and transparent magic wall rising far away. The strong light of the wall could be seen despite the blockage of the dense trees. "What are the leaders of Nature''s Wrath doing?" Graniso scratched his head in confusion. "That magic wave is weird. Are they doing human magic experiments?" Many people noticed the anomaly too. They all stood up and pointed at the wall, whispering to each other. Observing it in silence for a few seconds, Ans said to Graniso, "Something seems to be wrong. I''m going to take a look." "I''ll go with you." Graniso rose and stood next to him. Shoulder to shoulder, they walked toward the shining wall. Four minutes later, they arrived at the foot of the wall. Both of them were extremely surprised. Graniso even swallowed. "What''s this?" An ivory curtain of light rose to the sky and blocked their way. After a shock, Ans took off and flew higher and higher with elven spells. He did not see the complete picture of the shining wall until he was two hundred meters high. It was a square, glittering, massive barrier that covered almost eight hundred acres. Descending from the sky, Ans said to Graniso quickly, "Inform the other members of Nature''s Wrath. I think something is wrong." "Okay." Graniso ran back quickly. Soon, Ans was left alone. He had been looking grave, but now he put on a smile. Inside the massive barrier, Hawk''s team were all stunned. They had been fully prepared for an ambush, but two minutes after the people of Nature''s Wrath lit the bonfire, the quest system dropped a notification on their system menu. "Epic quest activated. A large dungeon environment has been established for six hours until all the elves within the dungeon are executed." After the notification, the surrounding space was immediately locked down by a special barrier. The members of Nature''s Wrath who were about to have a party, all shocked, grabbed their weapons vigilantly. It was impossible to ambush the elves now. Hawk simply stood up from the bush and roared, "Forget it! Just attack!" Then, he charged at the bonfire before everybody else, closely followed by Link. Dorfer, the Hunter, stood up and shot three consecutive arrows at an elf next to the bonfire. The Warlock summoned his maggot and gave the order "Squirt Poop." The three-meter-long maggot wriggled and bulged. Eventually, all its bulging parts were gathered at the center of its body, before it spurted out a mass of black and yellow stuff. The Hunter was subconsciously taking breath after just shooting three consecutive arrows. But the moment he inhaled, a strange smell squeezed into his lungs through his nose. He trembled and paled. Then, he stepped back and gagged, before he looked in fear at the maggot which was "accumulating strength" again. Dorfer stepped further away. The previous three consecutive arrows did not land. The target dodged them and had found his location. Then, multiple bows were aimed at him. Even though Dorfer and Solomon the Warlock were more than a hundred meters away, they felt that pointy weapons seemed to have been stuck to their forehead. But thankfully, the black and yellow stuff the maggot spurted out had reached the people of Nature''s Wrath in a parabola. A male elf, who was the tallest among them and had dragon horns on his forehead like Margret did, raised his staff and pointed at the black and yellow stuff, launching a small fireball. Then it exploded. The black and yellow stuff, heated and sticky, fell like boiled rainwater. The coverage was appallingly huge. Many people of Nature''s Wrath were stained. They extended their fingers and rubbed some of the matter off. They observed it and even sniffed it. For intelligent creatures, they needed time to recognize special, stimulative smells, which could take a couple of seconds. After that the twelve elves near the bonfire trembled hard with pale faces, both disgusted and infuriated, as if someone had killed their whole family. Three of them were even vomiting in fury. The male elf with dragon horns lowered his head and looked at the stains on his clothes. Then he slowly raised his head. His previously green eyes were now bloodshot. His body expanded nonstop, green magic power around him. In no more than two seconds, he became a green dragon six meters long and four meters tall. The green dragon flapped his wings, and a thunderous roar rumbled under the sky. "Filthy and shameless human beings, I''m going to kill you!" At this point, the maggot, which had accumulated enough material, squirted a second time. In the meantime, the fireball in Roland''s hand expanded to around half a meter in diameter. 254 Major Gap in Combat Ability The emerald dragon that the Druid turned into flapped his wings while he leaped, raising an appalling wind, before he surged into the sky and charged at Solomon. Before he drew near, all the players had already sensed heavy pressure when the dragon rushed at them, as if a mountain was hanging above them. Solomon''s first reaction was to recall his maggot and send it back to the special space where magic pets were kept. It was definitely a smart decision, as the emerald dragon had spurted out a mouthful of green saliva the moment he took off. The saliva crashed into the second mass of black and yellow stuff and vaporized it. Then, it hit exactly where Solomon was standing. Though Solomon was defending himself with the magic barrier that he had randomly learned as a Warlock, the dragon saliva consumed him. His magic shield broke within half a second. Then, Solomon was reduced to bones before he even had the chance to scream. It was a spew of acid, one of the emerald dragon''s special skills. After the green acid melted Solomon, it splashed everywhere on the ground, and when it hit trees, grass, or mud, there would be a rustling sound of collision and a surge of foam. Dorfer, the Hunter who was slightly far away, was hit by a drop of acid on his left arm. Then, his leather armor was immediately blackened. His left arm was sore too. Greatly scared, he cut his left arm with his dagger for self-defense, slashing off the part of his flesh that was stained by the acid. The flesh dropped to the ground and was soon gone because of the corrosion. However, Dorfer found that his bow trembled hard when he tried to pull it with his wounded left arm. Because of the weakened sense of pain, Dorfer did not really feel any agony from his left arm, but the wound inevitably affected the strength and stability of his arm. He had a try, and his arrow simply missed the target fifty meters away. His tentative arrow was spotted by the elves. Realizing where he was, they shot a dozen regular and magic arrows at him. Dorfer hurried to dodge, but the emerald dragon had discovered him too. The dragon flew back abruptly and craned its head, taking a deep breath. It was not hard to say that another mouthful of saliva was upcoming. But at this point, Roland finally took action. The blue fireball that was almost one meter in diameter was thrown in midair. Actually, Roland had been hit remotely at least four times, but the attacks were all blocked by Suel with a round shield. Roland suspected that Suel had special skills against remote attacks, because he had accurately blocked the zigzagging arrows, some of which were even magic, with a tiny round shield that did not have a large coverage. Those four attacks were just a prelude. More elves had focused their eyes on him. If Roland didn''t attack, he would be faced with a rain of arrows soon, which Suel might not be able to block. The blue fireball flew at the emerald dragon in the sky, and the emerald dragon looked at it in disdain. Seeing the fireball coming at him, the dragon moved horizontally to avoid the trajectory of the fireball. However awesome a spell was, it was pointless if it could not hit the target. Right when the fireball and the dragon were about to pass each other, Roland snapped his fingers. The fireball immediately glittered in an intense explosion, swallowing the dragon in overwhelming flames. That was not all. The blast and heat waves caused by the explosion reached the ground from midair. The trees within dozens of meters were all bent. Some of the seedlings were easily broken apart. Hawk and Link had almost reached the elves, but under the tremendous waves, Hawk nearly fell, and Link fell on one of his knees. Link was greatly shocked and thought that he was dead for sure. After all, the elven archers were aiming at him. But then he realized that the elves were even more badly hurt. They were almost all lying on the ground. Hawk was overjoyed to see that after he regained balance. He simply activated Leap Slash. He leaped to the nearest archer and knocked him to the sky, before he slashed the handsome archer into two with his sword. At this point, Link got back to his feet too. The pure physical pressure could only be resisted with a sturdy body. Since the elves were generally vulnerable and hadn''t activated their defense spells, they were terribly affected. But they were agile. Right after Hawk killed the first elf and was about to launch a second attack, two arrows hit his chest at the same time. As it happened, two archers had stood up and shot two magic arrows. Hawk roared. He sensed that his strength was dwindling. He was about to cheer himself up with a roar, when an arrow penetrated his throat and another one stabbed into his eye, revealing the arrowhead at the back of his head. Hawk trembled and fell backward, his eyes losing focus. Seeing that, Link roared and performed Leap Slash, but before he landed, six arrows had been shot at him. He blocked four arrows with his sword, but the last two hit his chest and his right hand. When he landed, he knocked away an elf. When he was about to behead the elf like Hawk did, another ten arrows flew at him. Pu! Pu! Pu! After the consecutive hits, Link collapsed with twelve arrows in him, not far away from Hawk''s body. "Sh*t!" Suel roared after seeing that. These elves were all elites. Some were even close to the Master level. Their archery was impressive too. It was both fast and accurate. Suel was far away from them and had time to react, but Hawk and Link were too close to them to dodge after they shot the arrows. At this point, the flames in the sky finally dispersed. The emerald dragon had turned into a "black dragon." Almost all its scales had dropped. There was no blood, because the blood had been vaporized. But the dragon was still flying and seemed to be capable of fighting. His bloodshot eyes were fully focused on Roland. 255 Dragon Versus Dragon How does it feel when a furious dragon glares at you? Were it a question on Zhihu[1], there would be many vividly made-up answers as if dragons did exist in this world. But at this point, Roland only wanted to say that he did not really feel anything when the dragon gazed at him, because he had no time to consider that. Summoning three shield-wielding magic puppets, he backed off quickly, not to hide from the dragon but to avoid the remote attacks from other elves. At least six elves had aimed at him. While retreating, Roland said, "Let''s disperse, or we will be immediately turned to slush if the emerald dragon spits at us again." As instructed, Suel ran ten meters away and shouted, "The dragon is on us! When is Schuck coming? I think only a dragon can defeat a dragon!" "I''ve informed him in the guild channel!" Roland shouted. "He''s probably going to be here soon." As they talked, another few arrows were shot at them. Suel blocked two of the arrows, and the rest were taken by the three magic puppets. But of course, the three magic puppets slightly dimmed after that. Roland continued backing off. He tried to gather more massive fireballs, but whenever he summoned a fireball, multiple zigzagging arrows would be coming at him from his sides. Thankfully, Roland''s three magic puppets had him fully covered. However, after the multiple attacks, two of the puppets disappeared at the same time. There was a limit to the total attack damage that a magic puppet could take. For a magic puppet with a defense of "10" and an HP of "100," any attack greater than 10 would eliminate the magic puppet directly, and if the attack was lower than 10, the magic puppet would still be gone when it lost all 100 HP after multiple attacks. The HP of a magic puppet was essentially the quantity of magic power that formed the puppet. Although the magic puppets blocked the arrows, two of them disappeared on the spot. It must be said that the elves were much better at archery than human Hunters on average. Without the two magic puppets, seven arrows were immediately shot at him. Roland had to pause the accumulation of magic power and hurl out the fireball, the diameter of which was less than thirty centimeters. This time, Roland aimed at the archers far away. He did not throw it at the emerald dragon because even the fireball one meter in diameter failed to kill him, so this one would be useless. Roland had thought that this fireball might hit one of the elves and heavily wound them even if it couldn''t kill them. But Roland''s wish did not come true. Although the constitution of elves was relatively low, their intelligence and agility were high. The fireball had been hit by four magic arrows at the same time when it was halfway through. Suel roared and rushed forward, but he was forced to step back by nine archers. They shot four arrows at him every second, and the only thing that Suel could do was wave his left arm to block all the arrows with his round shield. At the same time, those elves shot at Roland now and then. Roland summoned another two magic puppets to block the arrows for him. At this point, the green dragon that had been staring at Roland took action. He raised his head and, half a second later, suddenly lowered it again, spurting out a much larger mass of acid at Roland. The acid flew at a high speed. Roland was not a melee class and could not run fast. Logically, he couldn''t have escaped from the acid. However, he disappeared after a snap of his fingers and then reappeared under the tree sixty meters away. It was Teleportation, a life-saving skill for a spellcaster. However, the emerald dragon reacted even faster. He captured Roland the moment he reappeared and spewed saliva at him again. After just recovering from the dizziness of teleportation, Roland saw another mass of dragon drool. Having no choice, he could only teleport again. Seeing that his attacks failed again, the emerald dragon was apparently upset. At this point, Betta and Rommel, who had been absent since the beginning, each appeared beside an elf. Both of them had acquired Secondary Stealth randomly, so they had decided what to do since the beginning. They would kill the enemy as assassins. It must be said that their plan was successful. With two screams, two elves collapsed on the ground, holding their backs. Betta and Rommel, on the other hand, were riddled with holes by other archers after they exposed themselves and collapsed. "Another two are down." Roland smiled. As long as things went like this, victory would be his soon enough. At this point, the green dragon spurted out another mouthful of acid. Roland disappeared and reappeared on a rock nearby. The dragon was more than infuriated when his attack missed the target again. He roared desperately, and countless transparent chains appeared, as if they were restraining the space. "Dimensional Anchor" Roland sighed helplessly. Now, he had sensed with his mental power that the space around him had changed from a lake into a stone, and it was impossible for him to teleport again. After the Dimensional Anchor took effect, the emerald dragon craned his head. "It seems that I have to die once now." Roland sighed, regretful about the EXP that he was going to lose. It was the most dangerous moment for Suel too, because too many arrows were being shot at him. Even the hardest shield could not fully cover him. When the emerald dragon was about to spew acid again, a red dragon broke through the curtain of light and joined the battle. The red dragon then crashed into the burnt emerald dragon, and both of them fell to the ground. While rolling on the ground, they bit and mauled each other. With a pair of golden wings on his back, Schuck slowly descended from the sky. "Sorry I''m late." While Schuck was talking, the green dragon suddenly grabbed the red dragon''s neck and threw her off. The emerald dragon was much heavier though it was a flying creature. So, it successfully threw Margret toward Schuck. After a heavy collision, the red dragon rolled, leaving a pit on the ground. After throwing the red dragon, the green dragon sat up and was about to take off, when the red dragon quickly regained balance and lunged at him, tackling the green dragon to the ground again. "We might turn this around" Roland''s eyes glittered. "Schuck, you''re not helping her?" [1] a Chinese version of Quora 256 Im Very Curious While the two gigantic dragons were brutalizing each other, the earth shook each time they rolled on the ground and collided. Although dragons were flying creatures, they were good fighters on the ground too. They had thick bodies, hard scales, sharp teeth, and dragon spells. Many people thought that they would be victorious if they forced a dragon to land, but in fact, a dragon was worse when it was on the ground. When a dragon was in the sky, it was only agile and could launch remote attacks, which were not nearly as destructive as they were on the ground. This was exactly the case. When the two dragons bit each other, a shower of blood rained down. In the meantime, they were also spurting dragon''s breath at each other. Flames and acids were splashing everywhere. The flowers and grass were set ablaze and then corroded until they were almost fully gone. Margret was a real dragon, and the emerald dragon was only transformed from a Druid. Logically, Margret should be stronger than the emerald dragon. But the problem was that Margret was still too young. She was no more than a hundred years old; in terms of dragon strength, she was only a girl and at level six. The Druid, on the other hand, was at level eleven. He had much more battle experience and special skills at his disposal. Even though the scales of the emerald dragon had been burnt up by Roland, Margret was still on the losing end in a close-range battle with the emerald dragon. That was why Roland asked Schuck to help her. "I was only scared that you would accuse me of abandoning a friend for a girl." Schuck rolled his eyes. He turned around, only to see Margret be hit by another stream of acid. Most of the scales on her front had dropped, and under the sprinkle of acid, her flesh was immediately blackened, smoke rising up. Schuck was immediately infuriated. He cast Light Rapid Healing on Margret and shouted, "Margret, step back!" Though she was furious, Margret heard him and flapped her wings, flying back a dozen meters and raising a strong wind. In the wind, Schuck raised his swords and shouted, "Decree: Falling Sun!" Dazzling light appeared above the green dragon, and a gold ball of light descended with an extremely high temperature. The green dragon raised his head at the sun in vigilance. Then, surrounded by golden streaks of light, the emerald dragon transformed into a strong, naked male elf in no more than a second. Then, Schuck was stunned. His Decree lost its target, which resulted in the failure of spellcasting and caused a magic recoil. Schuck grunted, pale, and the golden ball of light in the sky disappeared after it broke into countless spots. "It lost the target?" Schuck found it hard to believe. Essentially speaking, both a black leopard and an emerald dragon was the elven Druid. But from the perspective of magic, the black leopard, the emerald dragon, and the elven Druid were three kinds of targets or lives. The naked male elf grinned at Schuck hideously and ran at him. While he was running, he turned into a black leopard. After another few steps, the black leopard was gone. While stepping back, Schuck cast two defensive spells on himself. The moment he finished, the black leopard appeared two meters before Schuck and pranced at him. His sharp claws gleamed with cold light as they snatched at Schuck''s head. Schuck raised his sword to block. After a clang, Schuck was forced back, and the black leopard flipped back with the counterforce and landed. The moment he landed, the black leopard jumped back again, and a pillar of fire hit where he had just been standing. Avoiding the fire attack, the black leopard looked back in disdain at Margret, who was spurting out fire. At this point, Schuck checked his giant sword, only to see three small holes in it. They could''ve only been caused by the black leopard. He couldn''t help but gasp at the sharpness of the black leopard''s claws. His sword was forged with the finest steel. More importantly, it was imbued with the power of light. Yet, the black leopard''s claws had left three holes in it. What were the black leopard''s claws made of exactly? Actually, as a special class of the elves, the Druids had their unusual qualities. Morph was the central skill for the Druids. The Druids could assume the form of multiple animals to deal with different environments. The emerald dragon was the Druids'' strongest form with average abilities. This form was excellent in terms of survival, destruction, mobility, etc. There were no shortcomings. The black leopard form, on the other hand, was the most destructive of all the Druids'' forms. After turning into a black leopard, the Druids would acquire Natural Stealth, and the hardness of their claws would increase with their level. The black leopard claws of a level-five Druid would be considered a Penetrative Weapon, and those of a level-ten Druid would be considered a Mithril weapon. Mithril was a hard metal and a good suppressor of magic. If the attack was powerful enough, a weapon made of Mithril could easily tear a magic shield apart. That was why three holes were punctured in Schuck''s giant sword. The black leopard entered stealth mode again. Immediately, flames hit somewhere nearby and forced him to reveal himself. But the black leopard was extremely fast. Like black lightning, it jumped elsewhere and entered stealth mode again. This time, even Margret failed to track it. The black leopard''s stealth ability could hardly deceive the eyes of a dragon that could see through disguises. It must be somewhere that Margret could not see. Margret flapped her wings and shouted, "Schuck, come here!" Since the enemy had advantages on the ground, they should fly into the sky. That was Margret''s simple thought. But Schuck shook his head. On Roland''s end, after blocking another dozen arrows, Suel was finally hit on the forehead, before multiple arrows shot his throat and his heart. He fell backward. Even though he specialized in blocking arrows, he could not guarantee he''d block all arrows. It was still a matter of intensity. Just now, Roland threw out another three fireballs, but they were all blown up by the enemy. Besides, Roland had no time to accumulate power. As long as he dared to accumulate his magic power to cast a spell, he would be faced with a lot of tricky arrows, and he had to summon shield-wielding magic puppets to protect himself. At this point, Roland finally understood why most Mages required the protection of Warriors. It was true that chances were few for them to cast a spell when a strong archer was onto them. At this point, Roland, the Hunter, Schuck, and Margret were the only ones left on the battlefield. The black leopard suddenly appeared ten meters ahead of Schuck. With bloodshot eyes, he suddenly spoke in the human tongue. "You are a Saint Samurai. You''re supposed to be a symbol of justice and order. Why did you ambush us?" The other elves stopped attacking, although they still aimed their long bows at Roland and Schuck. Schuck sneered. "You slaughtered so many humans in two villages and one town without even sparing the babies, and you''re asking me why I ambushed you?" After a brief silence, the black leopard asked, "How did you know that?" "Nothing can be kept a secret forever." "It doesn''t matter how you learned it. We''ve done nothing wrong. The human beings who imprison and enslave elves deserve death." Schuck shouted angrily, "You could''ve killed the criminals and spared the innocents. Why did you kill the infants and the children? Do you have any morals?" "Some of my people were tortured to death by them. As far as I know, the folk in the villages and the town all enjoyed the show excitedly. When death drew near, none of them were innocent." The black leopard looked at Schuck and Roland and then said, "I don''t want to discuss philosophy with you. It''s boring. All I want to say is that your men are mostly dead. If you kill the other two human beings, I will let you and the red dragon go." Hearing that, Roland grinned and pinged Schuck in the guild system. Roland: "Buy us some time until Hawk and the rest of them resurrect and come back." Schuck: "Got it." After replying to Roland, Schuck looked at the black leopard and smiled. "You''re willing to let us go?" "Although I''m not happy to admit it, if a Saint Samurai and a dragon knight dies in my home, the Church of Light would definitely seek retaliation on the elves." The black leopard said casually, "Thank your defensive goddess, unwise Saint Samurai." The black leopard''s voice was low and full of regret and helplessness. "They say that the elves are innocent, but you''re rather sordid in my opinion." Schuck snorted and smiled. "The Saint Samurai have to abide by the virtues of knighthood; we cannot abandon our comrades. If I let you kill my friends, I will definitely be forsaken by the goddess and corrupted into a Dark Knight, and you won''t let me go after I turn into a Dark Knight. So, all of us will die in the end anyway." The black leopard stepped back. Gazing at Schuck, he said in vague surprise, "You''re smarter than I thought, human." Actually, it was exactly the Druid''s plan, but it did not occur to him that Schuck would see through him so easily. "You could''ve turned into a Dark Knight yourself and saved each other''s time." The leopard walked along gracefully and continued, "You''re going to die anyway. Why don''t you tell me the truth before you die? I''m very curious about who told you of the slaughters." 257 Harder Than Imagined Saint Samurai was a very powerful profession, so powerful that the game development team called it a bug. The core specialty unique to the profession was Body of Light. The profession''s use of any melee weapon rendered it a "weightless" weapon, meaning that even a greatsword could be brandished as easily as a dagger. In the simplest measurement conditions, the heavier the weapon, the faster it could be swung, then the higher the impact damage it could naturally do. Using a ten-kilogram greatsword, swinging it with the same attack speed as a dagger Daggers, on the other hand, were generally around a kilogram, a tenth of the base weight of greatswords. This was why, even with a focused addition on Charm, the Saint Samurai''s melee base damage ability was not far from that of Warriors of the same level. However, the average Saint Samurai wouldn''t purposely learn melee combat specialties, so their melee combat abilities could catch up to that of Warriors, but not surpass them. Body of Light had another effect: any armor worn was rendered "weightless" armor, and the power of light would continuously strengthen the armor, transforming it, slowly and permanently increasing its defensive resistance and magic resistance. The maximum effect was the character''s level multiplied by three. Therefore, Saint Samurai would not normally change their armor, because, after three to five years of wearing it, their armor would become divine armor with considerably strong defense, not much worse than the armor of Heroes. The Saint Samurai''s secondary profession specialty was Wings of Light. Once the character was at level five, they would automatically learn Wings of Light, which allowed them to use light theurgy to condense a pair of golden wings of light behind their back, giving the spellcaster the effect of Rudimentary Acceleration as well as the ability to levitate. From this level onward, the attractiveness index of the Saint Samurai would be further enhanced. After level ten, the Wings of Light would become two pairs, and the spellcaster would be able to obtain the ability of Intermediate Acceleration, which would not only greatly increase movement speed on the ground, but also increase one''s own attack speed, and allow short-distance flight; the longest flight distance was character level times two kilometers, the fastest flight speed was character level times 1.5 meters per second, the maximum flight height was character level times two meters, and the maximum accumulation limit for the number of flights was their level divided by four'', which would naturally accumulate once every eight hours. The Saint Samurai was very, very powerful, but their limitations were quite obvious. First of all, they derived their power from the Goddess of Light, and their alignment had to be good, or at least neutral good. If their thoughts and actions deviated from the good alignment, they degenerated into Dark Knights, or also known as Dark Samurai. A Dark Knight would lose the Goddess''s favor and the power of light. At the same time, they would be given power by certain demonic gods in the demon realm, and from then on, their strength and personality would change. According to the records of the Church of Light, the higher the level of the Saint Samurai, the more likely they would be tempted by demonic gods. Or to put it another way, most demonic gods were quite interested in corrupting Saint Samurai. A powerful profession was bound to have considerable limitations as well. If Schuck dared to abandon Roland and his other teammates, under normal circumstances, there would be a spontaneous alignment test, which would cause the gods'' fondness value to drop and their strength to drop, even if they weren''t directly expelled from the Saint Samurai "household." This was the true weakness of the clerical professions; once you lost the favor of the gods, you would be nothing. This was why the Druid explicitly said that he was concerned about Schuck, a dragon knight, and was afraid of the forces behind him. But in reality, he was pushing Schuck to his death, and if Schuck believed him, Shuck would suffer great losses. Upon hearing that the black panther was quite interested in who the traitor was, Shuck smiled, cast another healing spell on Margret, and then said, "Again, it would be betrayal if I told you who the traitor wasyou''re clearly just an elf, yet there''s a trap in every word you speak." The panther snickered twice. "But it''s better than you dying right now. Maybe we can compromise and you can get that dragon to tell me who betrayed us! That way it won''t count as your betrayal." It was indeed a solution, though just as likely to deviate his alignment, but not much; after all, the words didn''t come out of his mouth. It was sort of a tricky way to do it. However, it couldn''t be done many times, or there would be alignment shifts just the same. Now, all Shuck had to do was stall for time, so he said faintly, "Is it possible for me to think about it?" "Yes." The black panther nodded very much like a human. After transforming into a black panther, his eyes had turned light purple and seemed to hold a seductive power. "But the other two humans must die. After all, we only promised that you and the red dragon could live." Roland gave Schuck a look that told him to keep stalling, then he shouted to the Hunter, Dorfer, "Run!" Dorfer instantly got the message and bolted in the direction of the resurrection point. The black panther signaled and several elves immediately chased after him. As they ran, an arrow that could turn a corner shot at them. Because this space was all locked up by the Dimensional Anchor, Roland couldn''t use Teleportation and could only run wildly on foot. It was a good thing he summoned three shield-wielding dolls to cover his retreat, and after running for a few meters, he wasn''t hit by any arrows. Just how could a Mage outrun an elf without Teleportation In less than a minute, an arrow caught up to Roland and hit the right side of his back, the tip of the arrow piercing through his chest. A pool of blood erupted like a geyser, and Roland took a few more steps due to inertia before collapsing to the ground. Because of the reduced pain, it didn''t hurt so much, but his entire body felt weak. Several elves caught up with him and fired an arrow at his head. Now Roland was really dead. His soul was released and then he was reborn in a plain church. Jumping up from the cold stone altar, Roland took out plainclothes from his Backpack and put them on. Now players had learned the way and put clothes in their Backpacks so that they wouldn''t be naked after respawning and have trouble finding something to wear. This was the second time he had died since he entered the game, and he had to admit that an epic-level quest was really difficult. Not to mention a Druid who could turn into a dragon, the eleven elves alone were all so strong. In other words, it cost them eight lives to achieve the deaths of the other three elves. It didn''t matter. It was good that they could trade their lives They could come back to life infinitely anyway, it was just that the loss of experience might be a bit high. He subconsciously looked at his character''s experience bar and felt a pang of pain. He was already at about 65% of his experience bar, but as soon as he died, it went straight down to about 7%. If he died again, he would definitely drop a level. No, I have to get the corpse back, so I can retrieve 50 percent of the lost experience. After changing his clothes, Roland immediately raced to the battlefield. After running for over two minutes, Roland finally saw his companions who were fighting against the elves of Nature''s Wrath. Link was down on the ground again with six arrows in his body, Dorfer was also down, and meanwhile, Betta was tangling with an elf, and Hawk was chasing an elf, like a gorilla chasing Tarzan. And the male elf was indeed like Tarzan, pivoting and shifting from tree to tree, going high up and then back down. Hawk, on the other hand, swung his greatsword, chasing from the ground, and with strike after strike, like a spinning windmill, knocked down all the trees in his path. The scene gave Roland the impression of a heavy tank opening up a path. Although the elf looked to be in great peril, he wasn''t really threatened at all, and he was able to return fire as he jumped, firing an arrow at Hawk from time to time. Roland immediately used Body Fortification on Hawk, the extreme kind. Hawk''s speed increased a bit more, his body seemed to grow a little bigger, his mouth was spewing white gas, and he had at least six arrows hanging off his body by now, but none of them hit vital points, all stuck inside the sturdy, huge pile of muscle. "Jump trees for the rest of your life if you can, elf monkey." Hawk didn''t care about the arrows in his body and ran after the elf. Roland slowed down after following for a while, and he realized something was wrong. He had just seen the dead Dorfer, the dead Link who had died again, and the mad Hawk. But the problem was where were Betta and the Priest? And the Warlocks? Roland subconsciously summoned the magic shield-wielding doll. Because he had just been revived and was still in a semi-weak state, all of its attributes had decreased. After looking around and not finding any other traces, he slowly retreated to the plain respawn point. After all, the spells he was learning now were not comprehensive. If he knew any other spells involving magic shields, agility acceleration, attack acceleration, and so on, he would definitely cast it all and fight the other side head-on. But he was still in the development stage of the Mage profession, and his own state was not good, so he planned to retreat first and join up with Link, who was preparing to be resurrected, and Dorfer. Together, the three of them could look out for each other. While thinking this, he suddenly heard the sound of bowstrings snapping three times. As his expression changed, three magic dolls immediately protected him with a triangular formation. Although two arrows were blocked, the third arrow actually shot down from a parabolic arc and pierced Roland''s shoulder. If it wasn''t for Roland''s quick reaction and side-step, the arrow could have hit him directly on the top of his head. It could thus be seen how powerful the elves'' archery abilities were. He fiercely plucked the arrow from his shoulder, taking a piece of flesh with it. And then he looked around, but didn''t see any enemies; it was too dim around here. He snapped his fingers and the three orbs of light were extinguished by three arrows as soon as they rose into the air. However, Roland also judged the approximate location of the enemy from where the three arrows were coming from and shot out an instant-cast Self-Destructing Fireball. With a swoosh, the fist-sized fireball flew to the location Roland had judged with great speed and then detonated immediately. Although it was only lnferior Fireball, it was quite powerful, no less powerful than a grenade. A loud bang, a large handful of fallen leaves, and several shattered tree branches There was no sign of any enemy being hit. Roland exhaled slowly, letting the three magic dolls protect him, and carefully retreated. 258 Prepare Two Hands Roland backed away as he rapidly thought about the current situation on the battlefield in order to try to find information about the enemy. Aside from the Druid who could turn into a dragon, the elves seemed to be Hunters. They were quite good at archery, moved very fast, and were able to get high up in the trees. This rendered Roland''s Ice Ring completely useless. Ice Ring was a ground-based group offensive spell that was quite effective against enemies who loved to stand on the ground, but it had little to no effect against such enemies who bounced around and alternated between up and down. And most importantly, all elven Hunters also practiced nature magic; their average magic resistance wasn''t something humans could compare to. From this battle, Roland discovered many problems with himself. When encountering an extremely mobile enemy like an elf, his trump card Inferior Fireball and Ice Ring would not be useful. The opponent''s speed was really too fast and it was hard to lock on. In addition, he barely had a chance to use the "accumulating fireball." The elves'' projectile interference was really annoying, and Roland finally understood why the Mages'' general knowledge he had read in the library said that Hunters were one of the Mages'' early arch-enemies. Letting the three puppets guard him, Roland slowly retreated on the ground of withered leaves, setting off rustling sounds. After retreating about ten meters, three consecutive arrows were fired. This time the other party didn''t use any more overarching shots, it was just a normal horizontal shot. The three arrows with natural energy almost hit the same point on the same puppet''s light shield, directly destroying the puppet. Roland had been vigilant, and the moment the puppet disappeared, he summoned a new magic doll. As a result, as soon as this puppet appeared, its shield and body of magic were pierced by a long arrow. But for this magic doll, it wasn''t a fatal injury. The doll plucked the long arrow out of its body and threw it to the ground. It was only then that Roland realized that the arrow was at least fifty percent longer than the previous one, and the arrowhead was spiral-shaped. This was a typical powerful penetrating arrow. If Roland had been half a second slower just now, then even if he had a magic shield on his body, he would most likely have been pierced through. Exhaling softly, Roland continued to retreat. However, by the time he had almost retreated to the simplified Church of Life, he wasn''t attacked again. The two of them, Link and Dorfer, were also wearing plain clothes, having been reborn from the resurrection point and had joined him. "Is everything all right, Roland?" Link, carrying a standard greatsword, asked. "It''s fine, just being targeted by the enemy." "My current experience is relatively low, and I''ve also dropped a level." Dorfer laughed bitterly. Not only had they dropped a level, but they were also in the weakened state of being reborn, meaning that their strength was greatly reduced. Roland took a moment to look at his system interface and found that the state of weakness was gradually reducing. Then he said, "No matter what, even if weakened, we have to go up to support themotherwise, if we die a few more times, we''ll lose even more." Dorfer said depressingly, "I hope this epic quest gives enough experience to at least give us a slight surplus, otherwise we''ll lose a lot." "Don''t think so much about it yet." Link stepped in front of Roland and the puppet as he walked, scanning left and right very vigilantly for any traces that might be revealed by the enemy. "Let''s go support the front line first." Although they were very vigilant, the three of them were not slow, and soon reached the place where Link had died before. Link and Dorfer immediately retrieved their corpses, and the stream of light pixels merged into their bodies. Then they looked much more relaxed. After retrieving their corpses, they not only got back about 5% of their total experience but most importantly, they removed their state of weakness. The three of them continued forward, faster this time, and in the process, they found a blood trail, which they followed, and then they found Hawk''s corpse. A huge, majestic body that resembled a strong orc was kneeling on one knee. Underneath him, there were pools of blood that dripped as if they were on the side of a small lake, and there were at least thirty arrows stuck on the front side of the corpse. Hawk was not mortally wounded; he bled to death. Link looked at Hawk''s hanging head and pursed his lips softly, his expression cold and gloomy. Dorfer, on the other hand, looked around. He was the Hunter and the best scout of the three. There were no enemies around, and no attacks had been made. Link looked behind him and asked, "Should we wait for Hawk?" "I don''t think it''s necessary." Roland shook his head. "We should go to the front line right now and support Betta, Suel, and the others." The other two felt that it made sense after some thought. Then they continued forward. This time they started to jog. After running for a few minutes, they saw the body of an elf in front of them. Checking it out, they found the cause of death to be a direct smash to the back of the head. "Must be the handiwork of Rommel." Link tsked. "A Priest, but with stealth abilities comparable to a Rogue, and wearing heavy armorour guild is so fu**ing weird." They moved on and found another elf''s body, this time pierced in the back by a sword-shaped weapon. This needed no guessing. It was most likely Betta''s handiwork. And the three also noticed that the elf''s body, face, and neck had strange yellow spots. "It''s finally working." Link smiled grimly. "No wonder they can stab these elves in the back. It''s time for the elves to be on the back foot." Roland was confused at first, but then remembered that this should be the Warlock''s handiwork. As a magic pet, the white maggot''s feces had magical properties and wasn''t just mere dung. Roland remembered the forums mentioned that the White Maggot''s crap had four properties, including corrosion, toxin, plague, and stink. This world had Mages, magical beasts, and naturally, magical viruses. Whether it was the toxins or corrosive effects, they were all just icing on the cake. The real killing feature of the White Maggot was actually the invisible, untouchable plague, which was a super virus. When crap landed on a person or animal, the corrosive effect would pierce through the clothes as well as the skin of the attacked person, and the toxin was actually a paralyzing poison so that no pain could be felt and allowed the virus more time and quantity to enter the flesh and blood of the attacked person. When the virus moved around in the enemy''s blood, dividing and reproducing, because of its magical nature, the virus'' rate of reproduction as well as the rate of eating was incredibly fast. Depending on the individual''s constitution, the onset time ranged from one to two hours. Of course, there were many races that were immune to the virus, but elves were not among them. "Then let''s hurry up and support them." The three of them ran quickly and soon arrived at the previous battlefield. Roland saw his own corpse first, then he saw the black panther that the Druid had transformed into, standing on a high white stone platform opposite them. Seven yellow and ill-looking elves were hiding behind the panther, using Abolish Poison and healing on each other. Schuck and Margret both stood across from it, their expressions relaxed. Both Betta and the Priest Rommel were nowhere to be seen, but they were mostly invisible. The Warlock and Suel, on the other hand, were standing not far behind Schuck, one on the left and one on the right. Roland immediately went to "pick up" his corpse. The black panther had an awful expression on his face. He looked at Roland and then at Link, his light purple eyes filled with grief and anger. "You can resurrect. You''re Golden Sons." Schuck nodded. "Then I know who the traitor is." The black panther looked towards Schuck. "There aren''t many of our people who believe in the Goddess of Life, and there is only one in Nature''s Wrath." Ans! A furious roar echoed throughout the enclosed space. Then the black panther stared hard at Schuck, grinning, its sharp teeth gleaming coldly. "You can resurrect, you''re not afraid of death. So you were pretending to consider my offer, but really, you''ve been trying to stall for time." Schuck smiled and didn''t say anything. The black panther looked back at his clansmen who were healing each other with magic to get rid of the virus. Then the corners of his mouth lifted in a grin and he said, "Actually, I''m also stalling for time." As soon as he finished speaking, he took advantage of the moment Schuck was startled, and like black lightning, pounced at Schuck. At the same time, his entire body shone green. The panther''s body began to change, becoming gargantuan, fur turning into green scales, forehead sprouting a pair of horns. In less than half a second, the elf transformed from a black panther to a huge green dragon. The green dragon pounced on Schuck. Schuck had just brought up his greatsword, then helplessly lowered it. The other party was too fast to even use Power Word theurgy, let alone control the other party''s actions. The worst that could happen was to die once, nothing more. Just as Schuck thought this, Margret dashed from the side and collided with the green dragon. There was a loud thud as the two collided, and while the green dragon was fixed in place, Margret flew backward. She bounced and fell more than twenty meters away, then rolled ten times on the ground before stopping. Dust flying everywhere, she crushed into countless trees along the way. Schuck turned back sharply and looked at Margret, who was struggling on the ground but couldn''t seem to get up. The ever temperate Schuck had red eyes as he bellowed at the green dragon, "Damn you!" The green dragon fanned his wings low in the air, raising a cloud of dust and weeds, its eyes filled with mockery. At this time, the green dragon was covered with beautiful green scales, and that charcoal look that Roland had burned into him with the Great Fireball had disappeared. The Druid''s Morph was to change a creature''s appearance and then obtain a projection, so no matter how many injuries one had suffered in animal form, once they returned to their elf appearance and turned into an animal again, they would find that the injuries they had suffered before would disappear. This was a unique ability of the Druid, and the only flaw of Morph was that there was a time limit before one could change into the same animal, which was commonly known as cooldown. This was why the black panther was stalling. It needed a healthy, true green dragon body in order to fight the enemy in front of it. Schuck drew his greatsword. And then Roland slowly backed up, while whispering to Link, "I''m retreating into the woods to use my accumulating spell, you must help me divert this Druid''s line of sight so he doesn''t spot me so quickly." Link nodded gently. Roland touched the Mind-Calming Necklace on his chestthis time he was going to challenge the technique of quickly accumulating power. If he could get the Self-Destructing Fireball out in four seconds, then the green dragon would definitely be unable to resist it, even with a new set of scales. 259 Actually, It Doesnt Seem Too Difficul Seeing the green dragon, which the Druid had turned into, return to an undamaged state, Roland knew that things were far from good. Morphing into a magical beast did not make one as powerful as the original beast of the same level. However, a Druid could rely on nature spells to make up for this. In addition, the advantage of Morph was obvious: one could obtain a new intact body by switching forms. This was why when fighting a Druid, one must kill him in a short amount of time, or else once he switched forms, one would have to fight a "brand new" enemy. However, Druids were not without weaknesses. The interval between Morphs was at least half an hour, and no matter how much a Druid changed, their soul was unchanged, which meant that mana was always depleted. So if there was no way to kill a Druid in a short period of time, it would be a good idea to find a way to drain their mana, or attack their soul with spirit magic. And that was precisely the Druid''s greatest weakness. The elves were considered the second in resistance amongst all the races, with the first place being the Frostwolves. However, after they transformed into beasts, not only did they lean toward the beast in their habits, their resistance would also decrease drastically. This was normal. The brain of a beast itself was small, and the soul and body were complementary. A healthy, soul-compatible body would make it easier for the soul to be nourished and protected. And human bodies and beast bodies naturally had the problem of not being a good match. This caused a Druid''s intelligence, as well as resistance, to decline when they became a beast. The most obvious manifestation of this was the problem of fewer nature spells that could be used and less power in those spells. This was why Druids were not called a bug profession even though they were clearly so strong. They were powerful in their strengths and quite obviously weak in their defects. But the biggest problem right now was that no one knew spirit magic, and in addition, the Druids were too high-level and the elves had high magic talent. Their magic power wouldn''t run out that easily. Roland slowly retreated. After all, the green dragon had decided that the most important target was just Schuck and Margret. When he retreated into the woods, he stood still. Betta and the others, on the other hand, stood in front of the woods without a trace. Roland pinged Schuck in the guild system: "Find a way to keep him under control for at least three seconds, and I''ll fire a big bomb at him." Schuck: "Got it." After a brief moment of distraction, Schuck exited the guild chat system, then looked over at Margret who had rolled over and climbed back up. Thick blood with a fiery tinge dripped onto the ground like lava. Schuck cast a healing spell on Margret, but it wasn''t very effective as Margret''s mass was much larger than a human''s. This was a healing spell specifically for human-sized beings, not for behemoths. Upon hearing Schuck''s words, Margret immediately transformed into human form. Dragon to human form was essentially the Morphing spell as well. After becoming human, she was in a harmless state. Schuck''s furious expression calmed down a bit when he saw her in this form. Due to the fact that Druids could change into dragons, and dragons could change into elves or humans, and because of the world''s special worship of power, many people mistakenly believed that the elves'' Morph was learned from the dragons, but the truth was the exact opposite. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the green dragon floating in midair began to glow, emitting wave after wave, and within just six seconds, he cast ten spells. "What''s he doing?" Schuck felt that something was wrong. "He''s casting enhancement spells on himself, things are going to be troublesome." Margret''s small face tensed. "Schuck, let''s run away first." "Didn''t you say that normal enhancement spells didn''t work on a dragon''s massive size?" Schuck asked in surprise. Schuck had tried to boost Margret''s status in the past, but the results had been minimal. "The elves are different, their magic comes from the World Tree, which helps add status magic to the Ancient of War, and also works on dragons. And I seem to have heard that the dragon''s magic is actually nature magic derived from the Elves." Margret''s expression seemed embarrassed and slightly awkward. Shuk was taken aback, but the situation in front of him didn''t allow him to be startled any longer. He hurriedly said to Margret, "You leave first. We are Golden Sons, we won''t die, but if something happens to you, it''s over. And you''re far weaker in human form than in dragon form." Margret pursed her lips. "Take care of yourself." Schuck nodded. The green dragon in the air had already finished casting his spells and looked as if his entire body had grown. Margret turned and ran off into the woods. The green dragon continued to float. His huge pupils revealed a teasing expression, and he fluttered his wings, about to go after Margret, but then Schuck raised his greatsword high and bellowed, "Power Word: Forbidden Space!" Immense pressure was suddenly piled on the green dragon''s body. The green dragon''s body plummeted downward, almost falling to the ground. He flapped his wings vigorously, fanning a whirlwind on the ground and sweeping up a large amount of grass and leaves. Seeing Schuck make a move, the people next to him charged forward. Betta spewed dragon flames straight over from a distance, but the fireball was deflected before it even got close. The others rushed up and were toppled back in a huge whirlwind, crawling away. "F**k, there''s no way to fight this." The Warrior in heavy armor cursed angrily. With that said, these people still rushed up again and again and then were blown back again and again by the fierce winds. Roland was now hiding in the woods, staring at the green dragon''s position through the gaps between the trees, the blue fireball expanding rapidly in his palm. Roland used his full strength this time. Using all his mental power, Roland frantically injected magic power into the fireball. His cheeks were twisting, veins were popping on his forehead and his neck and face quickly turned red. At the same time, the Mind-Calming Necklace hanging around his neck began to glow, and in less than three seconds, he had injected almost his entire body''s magic power into the fireball, triggering the passive magic replenishment effect of the Mind-Calming Necklace. The diameter of the fireball was already more than a meter, and some of the surrounding trees were already burning. Three seconds was actually a very short time, and at this time Schuck''s nose had already started to bleed. Forbidden Space This Power Word theurgy was essentially using mental power to tussle with the enemy. It benefited from the addition of divine power, and the effect of this theurgy was usually very good, but the green dragon itself was a Legendary creaturebesides, he''d also piled on at least ten enhancements, such as increased strength, increased toughness, invigoration, and so on. Schuck used every last ounce of his strength, but he was laughing. He was laughing at the green dragon for taking the enemy lightly. Just now, the green dragon had been looking at Schuck with ridicule, and he didn''t take the initiative to attack. He just flew slowly upward, trying to use brute force to exhaust Schuck bit by bit. After all, he was at the peak of his power now, unlike before, when he pounced right after he turned into a green dragon, and was tricked into a large fireball, which burned off all his scales. Speaking of which where was the Mage? The green dragon watched with satisfaction as Schuck shuddered and bled profusely from the nose, and he felt that his opponent''s Forbidden Space was generating less and less pressure. He reckoned that in a few seconds, this Saint Samurai would not be able to take it anymore and would suffer mental recoil, thus bleeding to death from the seven apertures. He watched Schuck''s predicament while looking left and right for Roland. It was at this time that the green dragon felt a violent magic power being generated in the woods ahead of him. It was very, very fast, and in just a few blinks of an eye, it was already at a level that made the green dragon feel afraid. S**t, I was careless again. Turning into a giant dragon decreases intelligence too much. The green dragon cursed himself angrily in his heart, and after that, he didn''t wrestle with Schuck anymore. He opened his mouth and the green acid sprayed out like a high-pressure fire hose directly onto Schuck''s body. In less than two seconds, Schuck and his armor were corroded completely, leaving no residue behind. The green dragon then reversed the direction of his head, and this dragon''s breath swept right past Betta, Suel, and Solomon, and the others as it turned. These people turned into dust once more. Having learned his lesson, the green dragon that had gone all out with his full strength completely crushed everyone in the small quest party. The green dragon then flew straight forward, flying above the forest in less than half a second, and spewed out acid like an angel scattering flowers into the forest below. Because of the tree canopy, the green dragon couldn''t see Roland; he could only estimate his approximate location based on the magical scent. The green acid quickly corroded the trees, and the green dragon saw Roland at a glance through the hole, as well as the huge blue fireball he held aloft, which was already almost one and a half meters in diameter. However, this wouldn''t kill the green dragon directlyat least Roland thought it couldn''t. "It''s still a little soon, just need half a second more." Roland looked at the green dragon in the air, and because it was so close, the gale generated by the green dragon flying at a low altitude was blowing Roland backward. Looking at the human on the ground whose entire body was glowing blue, the green dragon began to take deep breaths. What came next would definitely be the dragon''s breath. The fireball was already quite large at this point, but Roland still felt that it was not powerful enough. If thrown, it might not kill the green dragon, but if he didn''t throw it, he would be dead. Just as Roland was considering whether to throw it, a white spear of light descended vertically from high in the sky, so fast that it left afterimages. Roland watched as the spear of light suddenly appeared within the boundary and then pierced straight through the green dragon''s body, pinning him down through his center. The green dragon felt severe pain and roared, turning his head to see what had hurt him. And with the twist of its head, Roland finally got nearly half a second. The fireball that Roland held up high had finally exceeded a meter and a half, and it was powerful enough that he didn''t hesitate to throw it. The green dragon''s eyes were wide open and filled with fear as he looked at the huge fireball that was crashing toward him. He flapped his wings vigorously, but in the end, was unable to move. Then an explosion A huge roar, flames and smoke in the shape of a giant mushroom slowly rising and quickly dispersing nearby. After Roland threw the fireball, he directly covered his ears, lunged forward, and lay prostrate on the ground. The heatwave generated by the explosion directly blew the surrounding trees askew to the point they nearly kissed the ground. 260 Spear of Light Recognizes Its Master When Roland got up from the ground, he found that his surroundings were ablaze. Roland covered his nose and left the burning forest. In front of him was a huge crater with not only a bit of lava bubbling over at the bottom, but also a huge burning corpse. It was burning very, very slowly, and only the very bottom part of it had burnt where it was in contact with the lava. There was also a huge, milky white spear of light stuck in the corpse. Roland immediately used a wide-range Ice Ring to freeze the magma at the bottom of the crater into a chunk of black rock, and the flames on the corpse disappeared, while the spear of light remained intact. "I wonder if the Morphed dragon flesh and skin will have the same effect as a real dragon''s." Roland stood at the edge of the crater and muttered to himself as he looked down at the huge dragon corpse that was already smelling somewhat like roasted meat. He then took a moment to look at a few elves in the distance. They were already almost on the verge of death. Their health was poor due to the White Maggot''s "feces poison" that they had been hit with, and then they were directly deafened by the loud explosion, simultaneously stunned. After that, they were sent flying by the heatwave that erupted close by and landed a dozen meters away, hitting trees like volleyballs. The quest wasn''t complete yet, and the huge dungeon boundary was still present. In other words, it was necessary to go and end those elves. As Roland tried to go over and do this, Hawk, who was the first to revive and had been running, roared, "Don''t fight over it with me, I''ll end them! I''ve died twice and lost a level." The ground seemed to be shaking as a giant gorilla ran out of the flaming woods. Roland also happened to not want to do anything to the unarmed elves, so he nodded to Hawk. Hawk was still enraged at this point. He dashed and took off right in front of the crater. This jump took him at least twenty meters and landed him on the other side of the crater, then he roared and rushed into the woods on the other side. Not long after, a system notification appeared. Roland opened the system message interface. Quest completed: Nature or Retribution.[a] Received 2100 EXP. Character level increased to level 6. As expected of an epic mission, it gave so much experience. He was instantly level sixthe quest gave him a full bar of experience. Then he looked at the spear of light stuck to the dragon corpse at the bottom of the crater, grew curious, and walked down. The closer he got to this spear of light, which was at least three meters tall, the more uncomfortable Roland felt. And as he got closer, it got louder. But Roland still reached the dragon''s corpse, and he climbed up its nearly two-meter tall body. He was close to this spear of light, so close that there was only about half a meter between him and it. Roland felt as though a substation was shoved into his head. The buzzing sound was so noisy, it was as if his brain was boiling. Roland pressed one hand to his head, which made him feel better, then extended the fingers of his other hand and lightly touched the bright surface of the spear of light. With a buzz, Roland''s fingertips darkened a great deal. Then he jumped off the dragon''s body and went back to the crater''s edge because he couldn''t stand that noise in his head. It was driving him crazy. Standing at the edge of the crater, that buzzing sound finally disappeared. He looked down at the tip of his right middle finger, where there was a black patch, then he rubbed it with his left hand and the blackened epidermis fell to the ground, along with a red, cooked piece of fingertip flesh. Roland froze for a moment and raised his finger in front of his eyes, finding that there was almost no flesh left at its tip. Through a thin layer of pink flesh, he could almost see bone. Damn a small area of superheated skin? His magic resistance wasn''t lowthat spear of light what the hell was it? Roland put his middle finger in his mouth and sucked on it, then finally some blood came out of the wound. He found a bandage from his Backpack and wrapped his middle finger. This was when Schuck, Betta, and the others finally arrived from the resurrection point. They saw Roland and all rushed over to give him a light punch, admiring him. They all thought that if it wasn''t for Roland, the green dragon really might not have been killed this time, and maybe the other party would also obstruct them at the resurrection point and then keep killing them until they were level zero. However, Roland pointed to the spear of light at the bottom of the crater and said, "The credit isn''t mine, it was that spear." It was then that the crowd noticed a spear of light at the bottom of the crater. "It looks like a very powerful weapon." Suel looked at Roland in surprise. "When did it appear?" "It flew down from the sky," Roland explained. The crowd stared at the spear of light for a moment longer. Then Shuck''s expression suddenly froze, as if he were listening attentively to something. And Margret, who had been holding Shuck''s hand, noticed this. Suel looked at the spear of light with a gluttonous look, and he asked Roland again, "Haven''t you tried to get it?" "I tried." Roland showed him his bandaged middle finger. "It''s burned up." Suel was stunned, then he took a deep breath, fixed his gaze on the spear of light at the bottom of the crater, and said, "I won''t die anyway, I''ll try it and see. I feel as if it''ll recognize a master." "Then what makes you think it will recognize you as its master?" The Priest next to him, Rommel, asked curiously. "Because I''m a Warrior," Suel said matter-of-factly. "Isn''t weapon identification usually based on the profession? The spear is obviously a Warrior''s, so I''ll try." What Suel said seemed to make some sense, and the crowd didn''t stop him. Schuck, at this moment, still seemed to be listening attentively to something. Suel trotted to the bottom of the crater and jumped on top of the dragon''s corpse, looking at the spear of light. He spat some spittle between his hands and rubbed them hard for a moment, then grabbed onto it hard. Even from nearly ten meters away, the crowd heard a buzzing sound and Suel''s hands began to smoke, then burn. He let go of the spear of light and stared at his burning hands for two seconds, then with a wretched shriek, he ran out of the crater as fast as he could, placing his hands quickly on the ground and slapping the ground hard. On the side, Link grabbed a big stick of dirt and pressed it into his hands. Soon the fire was out, and Suel pulled his hands out of the dirt. They were dark, like charred chicken feet. Suell appeared distressed as he looked at his hands and said discontentedly, "It doesn''t hurt much, but this looks so terrible. Rommel, hurry up and heal me." A green light wrapped around his hands. The crowd frowned as they looked at the spear of light. And then, Schuck made a move. He went to the bottom of the crater and the crowd looked at him with some surprise. Schuck walked up to the dragon corpse and grabbed the spear of light with one hand. The crowd thought there would be another buzzing sound, but this didn''t happen. The spear of light quickly shrank, shortened, and condensed in Schuck''s hands. Schuck pulled it off the dragon''s corpse. The spear of light continued to shrink, finally bending and connecting at the beginning and end, emitting a dazzling white light. The crowd narrowed their eyes. Finally, the white light faded and the crowd noticed that Schuck had a necklace in his hand. The necklace was pure white and covered in dense starlight. [a]the quest name was different when it was first introduced, i think 261 Additional Quest Rewards Looking at the appearance of the necklace, everyone knew that it was definitely a very impressive piece of magic equipment. Schuck put the necklace around his neck and then it disappeared. They weren''t too surprised, for some of the special small magic equipment had the feature of turning invisible when worn. This piece of equipment seemed to have it too. It was unclear as to whether it was an illusion or not, but Schuck seemed a little more handsome when he wore this piece of equipment. Then Shuck walked over and smiled. "This is a gift from our goddess." Roland and Betta didn''t reveal any particular expressions. Their brother had obtained something good, so naturally, they were happy for him. However, the friends of Silver Wings weren''t so calm. Suel walked over and asked with an eager look, "Schuck, what properties does that piece of equipment have?" "About a five percent enhancement in light theurgy," Schuck said with a faint smile. "Take it out and show us." Suel didn''t seem convinced. At this moment, the Warlock Solomon also came over. "Schuck, this equipment is from the dungeon, we should have a share too." "As I said, this equipment was given to me by the goddess," Shuk said bluntly. "It''s not a drop." Several people frowned as they looked at the tattered dragon corpse at the bottom of the crater. Dragon blood and flesh was really valuable and could be used to make equipment, or used in alchemy, but the imitation wouldn''t be as good. Could it be that this dungeon only granted experience? This would be too much of a loss. After all, it was a month''s round trip. In reality, this was an insatiable mentality. The average player who triggered small quests and did a hundred of them wouldn''t earn as much experience as this one epic quest granted. "That''s just your word," Suel continued. "Let us take a look at the attributes and notes, then we''ll know if the Goddess of Light gave it to you." Schuck frowned, looking a little annoyed. Seeing the situation, Roland immediately walked behind Schuck. The two of them had been best friends for twenty years, and with a look at each other''s expressions, they knew what they planned to do. Schuck was ready to start a fight. Betta was a little slower to react and froze for a full three seconds before walking closer to Roland. All of a sudden, from the outside of the scene, two sides formed, left and right against each other. Link was originally just watching on the side; he was also quite interested in the necklace. He just didn''t expect that the positions of both sides would become rattled all of a sudden. He immediately came out and stood in the middle of the two sides, blocking Suel and the others, saying, "Don''t rush, let''s talk about things." Link frowned. Although he was considered a senior guild member, he only had a normal status and no privileges. Besides, he stayed with Hawk most of the time, not having much of a personal circle, or any say in affairs. Seeing that Link had the intention of backing down, Suel''s gaze once again fell on Schuck. "Guild Leader Schuck, what do you think?" "What else can I think? I''ll stand and watch." Schuck smiled sarcastically. "I understand what you''re up to, and I''ll reiterate, this is a gift from the goddess, not a dungeon drop, so if you want to grab it, you can go ahead." Suel frowned. "We just want to confirm the attributes of that equipment, and at the same time we can confirm if what you say is true or not." Schuck pursed his lips in a sneer, the greatsword already in his hand. Because his armor was dissolved by the green dragon''s acid, Schuck was now wearing regular clothes, all dressed in black, and with a charisma value that was already as high as sixteen points, he looked immensely charming. And the more handsome he was, the more irritating he became when he smiled mockingly. Suel was about to lose his temper, and Solomon''s expression wasn''t too good either. The more annoyed Suel got, the more happily Schuck smiled. The atmosphere between the two sides was growing charged, and as it was about to explode, Hawk, who had finished killing the elves, jumped over. With a loud bang, he Leap Slashed to the edge of the crater and came over with a smile. "Haha, that was awesome, this quest sure was Erm, what happened?" His smile quickly stiffened, then he noticed something wrong with the atmosphere and asked, confused, "What happened?" Suel spoke first. "Deputy Leader, there was a piece of equipment that dropped from the dragon corpse, and it was stolen by Guild Leader Schuck." "Do you dare to swear on your conscience?" Shuck sneered. "I''ve been recording this since half an hour ago." Suel''s expression became noticeably worse, and he tsked lightly and didn''t say anything else. Hawk turned his head to look at Schuck. "Guild Leader Schuck, did the dragon corpse really drop the equipment?" "It wasn''t from the dragon corpse, it was a gift from the Goddess of Light," Schuck said bluntly. "This is the last time I will reiterate that fact." Hawk took a deep breath and was about to speak. At this moment, Suel said in a sarcastic manner, "You saying so doesn''t mean it is so. If you have the guts, show us the attributes. Going off about how it''s a gift the Goddess of Light gave to youyou think you are her mistress?" Schuck''s eyes narrowed, and he was prepared to raise his greatsword. Roland was ready to attack as well, with his summoning spell at the ready. At this moment, an elf appeared next to their two teams, very conspicuous as he stepped out of the dying forest fire. The crowd''s attention immediately refocused and the atmosphere eased a bit. "What are you guys doing?" Ans asked curiously as he came over. Betta came forward voluntarily and said, "Nothing, just discussing some issues." Ans smiled, a smile that at first glance looked a little odd, but on closer inspection was quite normal. Roland and a few other more mature people realized that Ans was watching in amusement as they made a fool of themselves. It was just not easy for them to explain. Ans walked to the edge of the crater and looked at the dragon corpse below. He was a little surprised, not by the dragon corpse, not by the death of his teacher, but by the fact that the spell had created this huge crater. He turned back, looking at Roland with an odd expression. He then stretched out his hand in front of Roland and the others, and in his white hand, there were a few purple petals. The petals were translucent, and one could see the venation in them. They had a smooth surface, like they were glazed over. They looked at each other, but it was Roland who finally walked up and took a petal in his hand first, breaking the awkward atmosphere. The others then followed suit and took the petals from Ans. After each person got a petal, Ans withdrew his hand and said, "This is a treasure from the World Tree that bloomed and fell thirteen years ago; it''s too tacky to give you gold coins. This is greatit can extend your life for more than ten years without a doubt." "But we are inherently immortal." Suel smirked; he didn''t think it would work in reality. In the game, they were inherently immortal, so eating this stuff seemed to be useless. Ans continued, "The extension of lifespan refers not only to the body but also to the soul. I can see that your souls aren''t substantially strong, and only three of you have stronger souls. If my guess is correct, your bodies are indeed indestructible, but your souls may not be." Hmm Everyone''s expressions changed somewhat. 262 Everyone Has Their Own Ideas "You can tell how much soul strength we have?" Link pursued curiously. Ans nodded. "Although we elves don''t have many skills, we are very shrewd with detecting soul fluctuations." His gaze traced over Roland, Schuck, and Betta in turn, and finally stopped at Link and said, "I can see that most of you Golden Sons don''t have truly long lifespans." "Can you see how much life I have, then?" Link asked. Ans smiled, and instead of answering him, looked at Betta and said, "I should leave, or else the patrols will find me with you guys." As a noble elf, Ans was reluctant to talk to barbarians. After he said that, he slowly flew up and quickly disappeared into the night sky. When Ans left, the atmosphere at the scene became stiff once again. Hawk looked at the three men from F6 and the dragoness, and after some thought, he said, "Schuck, why not let Suel look at the attributes, or he won''t be pleased." "He won''t be pleased, but I will?" Schuck''s expression grew gloomier. "I told you it was a gift from the goddess, a gift from her to me, and it definitely is. Not to mention that when Suel gets it, he might just stuff it in his Backpack and not return it, and might even soil my necklace." "What are you talking about? Schuck, don''t think I''m afraid of you just because you''re a Saint Samurai with a little dragoness!" Suell snorted. "How dare you doubt my character?" "Hehehehehe!" Not only did Schuck laugh, but Roland and Betta both laughed. The faces on the other side were all gloomy. When Schuck finished laughing, he said, "What, you can just doubt my character, but I can''t doubt yours?" Suel yelled, "You''re just shoving false arguments down my throat!" He then looked to Hawk. "What do you think, Deputy Leader?" Hawk looked at Suel, then at Schuck, and began to frownhe too found this situation difficult to deal with. Suel saw that Hawk didn''t take action, but he put his hand on the hilt of his sword first. Schuck and Roland both became expressionless at the same time, a sign that they were ready to make a move. But it was at this moment that the Priest Rommel, who hadn''t uttered a word beside them, spoke. "No need to argue. To tell the truth, that spear of light is indeed densely covered with the divine power of light. And we all saw that the spear of light was stuck into the green dragon''s corpseit couldn''t possibly have committed suicide." Suel turned his head sharply and snapped at Rommel, "Shut your mouth, you double-crossing idiot." Rommel frowned deeply and looked at Suel, not saying a word. Hawk took a deep breath. "Rommel, is everything you said true?" Rommel nodded gravely. "One hundred percent divine power of light, no impurities at all." "I told you to shut up." Suel''s face was full of humiliation and anger. "Can''t you understand human language?" This furious shout was so sharp and violent that everyone looked at Suel. Suel stared at Rommel as if he wanted to devour him whole. Now that the situation was clear, Schuck snorted, took Margret''s hand, and turned to go. Roland and Betta both immediately followed. As the F6 members were about to leave, Suel was about to draw his sword, but Hawk stopped him. "Don''t chase them. They should have footage, and if they really post it on the forum, we won''t stand to reason." "Fuck!" Suel thrust his sword heavily into the ground, then panted heavily. The woods behind them were still burning, and although the fire was much smaller, it still cast the surroundings in red. The Silver Wings members were silent. Suel found it hard to calm his anger, and the more he thought about it, the more furious he got, and the more he really had to let it out. Finally, he looked at Rommel and said sarcastically, "It''s hard to grow our guild with a traitor like this." Rommel glanced at Suel and ignored him. Hawk took a deep breath. He looked at Suel and said, "You shouldn''t have said that. Like this, even if we''re in the right, we seem unreasonable. Pay attention next time." Suel said in a peculiar voice, "There will be a next time?" Rommel still ignored him but looked at Hawk. "Does the Deputy Leader also think I acted wrongly?" "You didn''t do anything wrong, you just took the wrong standpoint." Hawk laughed bitterly. "Just pay attention next time." Rommel sighed long and hard. Suel scoffed. "You''re just so clever and just. You think I don''t know that that equipment isn''t a dungeon drop, you think I don''t know that that thing recognizes its master? I''m fu**ing doing it for everyone, all right?" Rommel opened his mouth slightly. Suel patted his chest. He felt a lot of fire reverberating in his chest, some words had to be spat out. "That equipment, it''s definitely an epic piece of equipment, maybe it''s even a divine piece of equipment. As long as we take a look at the attributes, we can say that all those who witnessed it deserve a share. No matter how we say it, we can make Schuck bleed moneywe could definitely get him to pay out twenty or thirty gold coins. Now that our guild is thoroughly in development, money is needed everywhere. If we could negotiate a sum, it''s better than nothing, but you''ve let more than twenty gold coins fly with those damn words. That''s two or three hundred thousand yuanyour teeth are made of gold. Every time you speak, it''s hundreds of thousands of yuan down the drain." Rommel sighed softly. Everyone thought he knew he was wrong, so they had no desire to lecture him anymore. Hawk said, "Let''s go back. if we stay any longer, an elven patrol might come." The crowd started to move forward, but Rommel didn''t budge. "Deputy Leader, I want to withdraw from the guild." With those words, all the members of Silver Wings were stuck to the ground. Hawk turned his head, his expression somewhat displeased. "Now is not the time to get upset, be more mature, all right?" Suel snorted and snickered. Link walked over and advised, "Rommel, we didn''t say you were wrong, but you just didn''t take a good standpointjust pay attention next time, we really didn''t take this matter to heart." "But I took this matter to heart," Rommel said with a smile. "I don''t want to stay with a bunch of short-sighted people who can''t distinguish right from wrong, it''ll make me uncomfortable." Hawk took a deep breath and said, "I know you have a grievance in your heart. After all, it''s true that you haven''t done anything wrong, I understand that. However, it''s not a good idea to throw away the guild that has been taking care of you just because of this grievance." Suel fanned the flames. "As I said, he''s a traitor, an ingrate." Rommel glared at Suel. "The guild taking care of me? I wasn''t a member of Silver Wings before I entered the game, I only joined halfway through when I heard that Silver Wings was a good guild. I never even took your virtual cabin purchase allowance, I never received your personal development funds. From the opening of the server until now, I haven''t enjoyed a single benefit of the guild. Instead, for the development of the guild, as long as a Priest was needed, even if far away, I would rush over to follow you guys to do dungeons and complete questsI even donated all three gold coins that I saved." Everyone was a little surprised and had a bad feeling about this. Link hurriedly said, "All the more reason for you to stay, then, and next, you should enjoy the development bonus." This time it was Rommel''s turn to sneer. "Do you really think I''m just speaking for the sake of justice? I''m doing you all a favor and you guys can''t even see it?" Hawk was puzzled. "Explain?" "Do you really know what the profession of Saint Samurai stands for?" 263 Isnt It the Good Life? "Do you really know what the profession of Saint Samurai stands for?" Rommel said these words with a wry smile and a distinct hint of sarcasm. Everyone''s expressions were a bit foul. Suel was extremely upset, and he shouted, "Say what you have to say, don''t play coy over there. Isn''t it just a particularly powerful profession? What''s the big deal." "You guys really just think of the Saint Samurai as a profession." Rommel chuckled and shook his head. "Even though many people now think of this world as a real world, there are some concepts you still haven''t really grasped." Hawk nodded and said, "The Saint Samurai hold a high position in the Church of Light, we know that." "No, you still don''t get it." Rommel laughed aloud, a tremor in his voice. "You only think of the Saint Samurai as a profession, and you completely ignore its background notes. You subconsciously bring your previous gaming experience into this game, and you don''t take these annotations as real at all." The others didn''t quite understand yet. But Link''s expression, sensitive and pure as he was, changed drastically. Hawk took a deep breath and his huge body took two steps forward. "Please elaborate." "One of the basic principles of a Saint Samurai is honesty, which means that Schuck didn''t lie at all just now, and that piece of equipment must have had an attribute that enhanced light theurgy, and that equipment must have been given to him by the Goddess of Light." Suel said impatiently, "I told you, we know all this, we''re just trying to force Schuck to give us some money. Everyone in F6 is rich anyway, how nice it''d be to extort some money out of them. if it''s just this crap, you don''t need to repeat it again." "This is just the beginning, what follows is what I''m really trying to say." Rommel looked at Suel and continued to maintain his enigmatic smile. "Saint Samurai are above tens of thousands of people and only below one person in the Church of Light. They are magistrates themselves and have the privilege of initiating holy wars." Suel leaned back, held his belly, and laughed aloud. "Spouting about the right to initiate a holy war, you think too much of Saint Samurai." Rommel shook his head helplessly. "This is why your mindset still hasn''t fully turned around. This is a very ''real'' game, and the annotations are all real." Everyone was silent. Rommel continued, "Although Schuck looks no different from uswe are all playersin the eyes of the NPCs, Schuck is much nobler than us. As you have noticed before, Ans was willing to talk to the F6 trio but didn''t really want to talk to us. Even though Hawk sometimes asked questions, he wouldn''t answer directly, but looked at Betta and told the latter the answer." The members of Silver Wings still remained silent. The crowd was looking more and more unpleasant. Sol argued forcibly: "That''s impossible, I don''t think Schuck is that powerful. If he''s that powerful, why doesn''t he send an expeditionary force to complete the quest? Why does he need to do it himself?" "That''s because Schuck''s player habits haven''t completely changed and he still subconsciously thinks of himself as a commoner." Rommel smirked. "But if you guys really want to take his equipment, he can always start a small-scale holy war and define Silver Wings as a hostile organization, and at that point, the guild will be attacked by the followers of Light wherever they are. Not to mention continuing development, it would be nice just to survive." Suel''s expression turned rather unpleasant. Hawk was silent for a long moment, and then he said somewhat ruefully, "Things aren''t that exaggerated." "Things aren''t that exaggerated?" Rommel laughed lightly. "I''m just an ordinary bishop now, but in fact, I can already apply for control of a church in a medium-sized city. The church''s food, clothing, development plans, personnel arrangements, all are at my discretion. Think of it from another angle: who are Saint Samurai, aren''t they ten times more powerful than a small bishop like me? What I can do, can he not do? Can''t he do even more?" Now there was no one dared to look Rommel in the eyes. Looking at the silent players, Rommel didn''t want to bother with them any longer, so he turned and walked away. "Where are you going, if you withdraw from the guild?" Link couldn''t help but ask. "I''ll go back and inherit the church," Rommel said in a relieved tone as he walked forward. "I had nothing better to do before so I stayed with you idiots. Isn''t it a good life, to go back to the days of being in charge of the church, being a local tyrant, and teasing the priestesses whenever I want?" Hawk would have stopped him, but by the determined look on the other man''s face as he turned around, he already knew the matter was irrevocable. "Making the wrong decisions again," Hawks said, rubbing his face in vexation. "This game is too real, it''s absolutely not on the same level as the previous games. That old way of managing the guild, diplomatic strategies, and so on can''t be used. It all has to be overturned and started over again." Link consoled, "It''s not your fault, we''re all still figuring things out. You''ve done a good job. At least we didn''t get annihilated as Moon Shadow did." That wasn''t a very appropriate consolation, and for a moment, Hawk''s expression was even more depressed. After a while, he said, "Let''s go. If we stay any longer, the elven patrols will come for sure." They started to move out of the woods, but their backs looked a bit sluggish, not at all happy about completing the epic quest. Roland, Betta, and Schuck walked out of the woods, and into the borders of the prairie. Stepping on the soft grass and riding the night breeze, the three of them subconsciously looked up at the sky. Without the shade of the forest canopy, a sea of stars appeared before their eyes. Due to the heavy light pollution on Earth, the stars were no longer visible in the cities. But here, they could be seen clearly. No matter what time of day, the starry sky offered a profound sense of serenity. The three of them were silent for a while. Schuck pulled up Margret''s hand and said, "Let''s disperse. I''ll make a trip back to the Holy Realm first. Oh right, you guys watch out for the guild chat interface later." With that said, Margret shifted back into her dragon form. The red dragon''s gargantuan body was still bruised but much better. Schuck jumped onto the dragon''s back and waved to Roland and Betta. Strong winds blew as the dragon flew up into the night sky. And Roland and Betta soon saw Schuck''s message in the system chat interface. It turned out that he posted the information on the equipment in the chat room. "Heart of Light." Roland clicked on this tag, looked at it for a moment, and said with a smile, "No wonder he wouldn''t show it to outsiders." 264 I Have Cheats Heart of Light (divine artifact) Light Empowerment: Increases the base strength of all light theurgy by 5%. Simplify: All light theurgy consumption is reduced by 40%. Amplify: Doubles the number of times light theurgy can be cast. Providence: Every 24 hours, you automatically gain 50 EXP. Grace: +1 to all the wearer''s character''s base stats. Soulbound: Yu Kunpeng. Five magic attributes, all of which made one envious. Ordinary magic equipment only had one attribute, and the ones with two were superb. Not to mention the exaggerated values of each attribute. But it was the last one that Roland was really surprised by. There was nothing wrong with soulbound equipment, it was the name that was the problem. Schuck''s real name in reality was Yu Kunpeng. This was the real reason why Schuck didn''t want to show Suel the equipment''s attributes. Nowadays, everyone knew that it was best not to reveal their own information on the internetpeople''s hearts were sordid and who knew what people would seek from the internet after finding out your name. Although there were probably dozens or hundreds of people in the country with the name Yu Kunpeng, it was still easy to find the right one. Plus, this thing, presumably the first divine artifact, was genuinely good enough to make some envious people harbor malicious thoughts. Anyone the least bit smart would not have shown the attributes of the equipment to anyone else in this situation. Roland couldn''t help but leave a message in the guild chat room: "Why did you tell the Goddess of Light your real name?" Schuck: "I didn''t, I never did." Roland: "How does she know?" Schuck: "I don''t know, I''ll ask her about it when I get in touch with her next time." Are gods omnipotent? This thought came to Roland''s mind, but he thought it a little ridiculous and unlikely. If they were truly omnipotent, they wouldn''t need believers. It was probably a unique theurgy that could detect one''s real name. After coming to this conclusion, Roland looked to the side of Betta and asked, "What do you plan on doing next?" "I''d like to stay here a little longer, a month or two." Roland was somewhat surprised. "Why? Aren''t you afraid that the elven patrols will chase you down ceaselessly?" "I''m not afraid, I know Secondary Stealth." Betta smiled. "There are many spices and wild herbs here, I''ll see if I can find a way to cultivate them. In the future, I''ll buy an estate in the big city and grow more spices and wild herbs and see if I can transplant them. Eating greasy meat every day has almost got my throat filled with thick phlegm." Well this kid has a strange obsession with food. But it''s good to have pursuits. Betta said enviously as he watched Roland be surrounded by pale blue magical light and then whoosh out of sight, "One has a flying vehicle and one can teleport. I''m the only pitiful one, taking the 11th route bus[1], ugh" He sighed in self-pity, then suddenly saw a figure walking over, swaying. Betta instinctively used Secondary Stealth and crouched down in the grass to hide. He had the Darkvision of dragons and when the figure came closer, Betta saw that it was a man a skinny elf, swaying toward the woods. This elf was very feeble, and Betta reckoned that he didn''t even have a profession. Although this elf was dressed in a gaudy suit, it was all dirty and he looked awful as if he was very weak. Then Betta noticed that elf''s gaudy suit was in the extravagant style of a human tailor. It was completely different from the extremely flashy and exquisite style of the elves, and then he noticed that this elf had pointy ears that were a little shorter than the average elf. A half-elf! As soon as this thought occurred to Betta, the elf suddenly stopped, stood in place, and began to list from side to side, rocking for a while before falling to the grass. Betta walked over and found that the elf had fainted. He didn''t know healing spells, so he could only take out a canteen from his Backpack, fill the elf''s mouth with some water, and stuff in a piece of jerky. The elf instinctively drank the water and ate the jerky, and about half an hour later, he woke up. The elf''s golden eyes were numb and nerveless, barely registering any emotion even at the sight of a stranger standing in front of him. He looked at Betta steadily for a moment, then asked in a weak tone, "Why would you save a loser like me?" Betta asked with some surprise, "Young man, the world is such a beautiful place, but if you''re going to seek death, it''s too much of a waste of life. Besides, you''re so handsome. Even if you don''t do anything and freeload, you''ll be able to live well." The elf scoffed as his gaze swept over Betta''s face for a moment. "I''m almost thirty years old, human boy." In terms of a half-elf''s lifespan, thirty years old was only just entering adolescence. "Oh, but why do I think you''re so immature? More immature than I am," Betta said with a nod and a smile. The elf closed his eyes and ignored him. Betta walked around the elf twice from left to right, then asked, "Well, how about becoming my knight, elf boy?" "I can''t even take the post of the most basic militia profession, let alone be a knight." The elf''s expression was rather sorrowful. "It doesn''t matter." Betta waved his hand. "I''ve got a cheat here, the Knights of the Round Table system, so even if you''re the most useless kobold, it can still allow you to have the profession best suited to you." The half-elf opened his eyes abruptly. "Are you lying to me?" Betta laughed quite happily. "No! You''re not a beautiful woman, there''s no use lying to you. What''s your name, youngster?" "Glinton!" On his part, Roland teleported back outside of Delpon, and as soon as his legs jumped onto the ground, he crouched down and retched hard. Although Roland had teleported many times, he still hadn''t gotten used to it. After retching for nearly ten minutes, Roland finally felt much better. He walked slowly toward the city on his weakened legs. However, this time, the vomiting sensation was not as heavy as the last two times, presumably because of the increase to level six; after all, his physical qualities had improved. He walked back to his manor and ended up seeing a figure screaming and falling in front of him before he even entered the door. Then Andonara''s dominating voice came out of the manor: "How many times have I told you that I have no interest in you lewd-faced idiots? The next time anyone sends me flowers and says something disgusting out loud, I''ll just bust their balls." Roland followed the sound and found Andonara, resplendent in her tight leather armor, standing in the middle of the garden with her hands on her hips. And then Andonara saw him. "Ah!" Andonara squealed with glee, appeared in front of Roland with a Z-Charge, then hugged Roland''s right arm and looked at him with burning eyes. "I''ve missed you so much." [1] 11th route refers to one''s feet 265 Cutting Andonara pressed her entire body against Roland''s, her cheeks flushed and radiant with her high spirits. She looked incredibly happy. At this moment, a Warrior-like man walked past Roland, pretending to spit as he walked beside him. "Tui, get a damn room." He used Chinese. Following the man, there were three other Warriors, who also pretended to spit with a tui and walked past the two of them. In a few moments, there were no outsiders in the garden. Andonara hugged Roland''s arm, smiling and unwilling to let go, although Roland pulled lightly a few times A Mage''s strength was quite a bit higher than the average person''s, but it couldn''t possibly compare to a Warrior''s. Back in his room, Roland sat on a bench to rest. Players didn''t need sleep. As long as they didn''t exercise strenuously, they could quickly recover their strength. Soon, Vivian also came back from the Magic Tower, and her eyes shone when she saw Roland, White Amber in her arms. The three of them chatted for a while and ate something, then Andonara continued to watch the house while Roland and Vivian went to the Magic Tower. Although he hadn''t been back for over a month, the Magic Tower was functioning as usual, and Vivian managed everything well. When Roland returned, he was immediately welcomed by the magic apprentices. After more than a month of accumulated academic questions and puzzlements were brought forth, they lined up to ask Roland questions, a process that lasted nearly two days. It was only at the end that the two players came up to the study. They were not like the other magic apprentices who acted very respectful and even humble in front of Roland. It was just that their expressions were also a bit awkward. One of them said, "Roland, I just learned of the conflict between our guild and yours from our own guild''s homepage. I don''t want to comment on who is right and who is wrong, I just want to ask if we can still learn magic and use the resources here." Roland sighed. "I was going to discuss this matter with you guys in a few days. If you guys are willing to leave Silver Wings, then it''s no problem." The one who spoke had a somewhat suspicious expression and drooped his head in contemplation. On the other hand, the other magic apprentice said unhappily, "Why are you such a petty person? What stake do us ordinary players have in the fight between you higher-ups? How can you just sacrifice our interests?" "That''s a bit contradictory." Roland laughed lightly and said, "Since the matters at the top have nothing to do with you, then it''s also irrelevant whether you leave the guild. Since you want to be loyal to Silver Wings, you can''t say there''s no relation." The man immediately ran out of words, only he looked even more upset. "You''re crazy!" "I''m not crazy." This man shook his head. "It''s been more than half a year since the game started, and I''ve never been taken care of by the guild. If I must say that I have, it''s just that I was recommended to be a magic apprentice here, but in essence it was Roland who gave me help, not the guild. And in the past six months, we''ve done so much for Silver Wings, even donated money, and what have we gotten? I''m a little tired of it. Now, I just want to study magic, not engage in so much fighting and scheming." "But just two or three more months of this and we''ll get the bonus." "Don''t you see it yet?" "See what?" This player who was going to withdraw from the guild smiled and said, "Silver Wings is changing into a company. Don''t you think the routine is familiar? Recruit staff to come in and work first, make them work for nothing and then excite them, saying that as long as they stick with it, they''ll win, and after the company makes a profit or goes public, we''ll all be shareholders and get a lot of money. Without effort, there''s no gain." "This" "But how many capitalists keep their word? Even Jack Ma, who used to be a teacher, now considers 996[1] to be a blessing." "Well, I trust the guild leader and the deputy leader." "I plan to stay here." Having said such things so plainly, the player who wasn''t willing to quit the guild gave Roland a hateful glance, then turned to leave. The one who stayed smiled at Roland and said, "It''s much more comfortable to get the words out. I don''t want to stay in Silver Wings anymorethe relationship between the ranks is too serious and the sense of utilitarianism is too strong." Roland looked at this player, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Vincent, you should be level three now, how many spells have you learned?" "I didn''t learn much, just finished learning the Hand of Magic''s derivative spells, and now I''m learning Self-Destructing Inferior Fireball." This player looked a little embarrassed. "I''m not very talented, most of my math knowledge from college was returned to the teacher again, and now I''m making it up, but it''s hard. After all, my concentration is not as good as in college." Roland thought about it and said, "Do you want me to raise your salary a bithow about a gold coin?" The player''s name was Vincent, and Vincent had a pretty good personality, based on Vivian''s observationsanything he knew, he would teach to other magic apprentices for free. It was safe to say that with Vincent around, Roland''s pressure to teach had been reduced by at least a third. Moreover, Vincent was also level three, which was already an official mage, so a little salary increase was in order. But Vincent couldn''t be compared to Roland. Roland came here with highly valuable derivative spell modelslots of new spellswhereas Vincent was simply there to learn, only teaching his juniors in his spare time. If a simple and easy to understand analogy were to be made, then Roland would be the university lecturer, with multiple titles and seniority, while Vincent would be the lecturer''s assistant at best. The salary and rights of the two men were, of course, different. Roland thought that the other party would gladly accept it, but he didn''t expect that the other party would actually refuse. "No, just give me more spell resources." Vincent smiled. "Do you know how much gold coins I''ve donated to Silver Wings in the past six months?" "Twenty to thirty?" Roland guessed. "No less than a hundred and fifty." Sheesh another rich person. Roland then pressed his forehead and said helplessly, "This is going to be a problem. I predict that when Hawk gets back, he''s going to come rushing at me." Roland was sort of directly abducting a "shareholder" of Silver Wings, and it was the kind of shareholder who just invested money and didn''t want a return. Vincent chuckled. "The greater the ability, the greater the burden." "Saying responsibility is a burden it also makes sense." Roland laughed. "I''ll talk to Vivian about doubling your magic resources in the future." "Thanks." Vincent nodded to Roland and left the study. Shortly after, Vivian walked in. Roland said to her, "Double Vincent''s monthly resources from now on. Also, how many channels do we have in the Magic Tower that are sticking with the docks? Sever them as soon as possible." Vivian was a little surprised, but she didn''t ask any questions and just nodded her head to show that she understood. [1] Working from 9 AM to 9 PM, 6 days a week, common saying in large tech companies 266 Division The following days finally saw things start to slowly settle down. The operation of the Magic Tower wouldn''t stop just because a magic apprentice left, and the production from the side of the manor was also quite stable. The first batch of wine was in the process of being made, and there were already quite a few minor nobles who had servants come over to ask Vivian if they could sell some of the wine to them when it was ready. It wasn''t that the wine in Roland''s manor was that good, the nobles purely wanted some good luck. Just like the auspicious idea that rice in the house of the top scorer of college exams tasted especially delicious and that children could be enlightened early if they ate lots of it, the nobles believed that the places where Mages lived were enveloped by magic elements all year round, and everything had more magic content, including wine. Wine with more magic might have a special effect when drunk. It was this idea of seeking auspiciousness that was at work, and the wine that Aldo used to make sold very quickly and well, and was also very expensive. Now that it was Roland''s turn, it certainly wouldn''t be any worse. Afterward, Roland thought long and hard about it and gifted Vivian with the petals of the World Tree that Ans had given him. World Tree Petals (epic) Effect: Swallowed, it increases lifespan by ten years and slightly increases magic affinity. Lifespan Roland believed that lifespan in the game shouldn''t affect reality, and it wouldn''t be of much use to eat it himself. And magic affinity was even more ignored. His specialty was Magic Power Control, which sounded many times grander than affinity. Andonara was a Great Swordsman and didn''t need magic affinity at all, so giving it to Vivian was the perfect choice. Vivian, who got the World Tree Petals, cried tears of joy on the spot, while Andonara, although a little jealous, was still wholeheartedly happy for her. In reality, Roland still underestimated the huge influence of the World Tree Petals in the human world. Everything about the elves was superior in the eyes of the human world. The moon over the Elf Forest was whiter and rounder than the one seen in the human world. The sculptures made by ordinary elves were all supreme works of art in the human world Of course, the artistic culture of the elves was indeed a dozen notches above that of humans. And as the birthplace of the elven race, the famous World Tree was like a deep-rooted, true-to-life myth and legend in the human world. According to the legends, eating one of the World Tree''s petals could increase lifespan by ten years. Eating an entire flower, one could transform into a half-elf with the same lifespan, beautiful looks, and exaggerated magical affinity as the Elves. Therefore the World Tree petal was a kind of honor, and the symbolism was many times greater than the actual use of it. After eating the petal Vivian began to fall asleep, roughly taking about three days to change her constitution. Roland, on the other hand, used this free time to start reflecting on his trip to the dungeon. First of all, he lacked any real means of protection. The summoned defensive shield-wielding puppet was adequate, but the degree of defense wasn''t enoughit wasn''t responsive enough, or agile enough, and sometimes it had to be controlled personally, making it easy to get distracted. Distractions in battle were a big no-no. And there was a lack of superfast ballistic magic skills. Inferior Fireball didn''t need power accumulation, didn''t have a fast trajectory, and had little power, making it extremely easy to dodge. Once it underwent power accumulation, the speed and power of it would increase dramatically, but it could be easily interfered with, especially by long-range professions. He couldn''t always be protected all the time. There was also a lack of skills against flight. The wide-range Ice Ring was indeed powerful, but it was a skill that stuck to the groundthe produced freezing effects were all on the groundand it didn''t have much effect on those who loved to jump around. It had no effect at all on enemies who flew. Finally, there was a lack of means of regeneration. He couldn''t put all the recovery expectations on the Priest, and in case the Priest got killed first, then the Mage should step up to and heal and regenerate the minimum amount. So Roland realized he had taken a detour before. A Mage should learn more spells to play the role of attack, support, control, logistics, regeneration, and so on before considering the innovation and improvement of derivative spells. "It''s time to go to the capital and buy some miscellaneous magic from the Bear Mage." Roland found a time to teleport to the capital. After seven or eight minutes of routine retching, Roland found Antis again at the city wall entrance. The two of them went into the small dark room again. Antis took off his helmet, revealing his pretty, charming trademark of a face. "Why are you in the capital again? It''s at least a fifteen-day round trip from here to Delpondo you have a lot of time? Are you that unoccupied?" Roland said with a smile, "I know Long-Distance Teleportation." Antis''s hand quivered for a moment, then he spoke oddly. "Mr. Tobian can''t even do Long-Distance Teleportation and he''s an Archmage, yet you can?" "Is it rare?" "It''s kind of rare." Antis sighed helplessly. "I used to think I was talented, that no one my age was a match for me in swordsmanship. I always thought so. But then I met Queen Andonara." Hmm Andonara, the youngest Great Swordsman in Hollevin, and her attributes were surprisingly high, with an estimated base growth similar to that of a player. "And then you Golden Sons popped up." Antis''s tone was a bit depressed. Roland chuckled, a little proud. Antis wanted to punch Roland''s smug face, but he held back. He felt that Roland wasn''t very good-looking after all. If he punched him again, what if he got ugly and the queen didn''t want him anymore? It would be too cruelit was better to be kind. Antis swept away the loose strands of hair on his forehead and said in a rather pitiful tone, "Forget it, I won''t argue with you. The royal family has made some moves recently, and it''s related to you Golden Sons." Roland felt that he had been looked down upon by Antis, but he had no proof and could only ask gloomily, "Oh, what exactly? Care to elaborate?" Antis nodded. "It''s nothing unspeakable. The royal family plans to employ Golden Sons as advisors, or if they are willing to recruit other Golden Sons, they can be promoted to commander, captain, general, and the like. Even willing to make you ruling civil officials if you have the ability. Roland was stunned. "Wait, is your information reliable?" "Very reliable," Antis said quite seriously. "The royal decree has been sent to every noble family and lord everywhere. It''s estimated that in five or six days, the official recruitment will begin." Roland was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The plan of division!" Antis stiffened immediately. 267 Troubled Hear Antis was rigid for a while, but he gradually relaxed. He tried to smile though he was upset. "You''re really smart to have guessed the intention of the royal family." Roland chuckled. "Smart? This is just normal, all right? You haven''t seen the real smart Golden Sons. They almost seem to have nine heads." Naturally, Antis didn''t believe in the existence of a world where everybody was like a dragon. Even in Fareins, the most powerful country of all, the literacy rate was not much higher than that in Hollevin. If the literacy rate in Hollevin was around 1%, that in Fareins it was about 1.5%. The difference was not huge. The literacy rate of the elves was much higher. Almost all of them could read. However, the fertility of the elves was too low. It was said that their population was slightly more than fifty thousand. So, it was impossible for their race to rise. Considering Roland''s remark as him being modest, Antis continued, "Actually, I think it will be better if you work for the royal family, who acknowledge your capabilities." "Even after I lured the queen away?" Roland put on a weird smile. "Even if the members of the royal family are okay with it, I don''t think the king will be, will he?" "Lured away? That''s a very wrong perspective," Antis said rather angrily. "The queen is out for traveling and only staying in Delpon for now." Roland was lost for words. "Whatever you say." "Speaking of the queen, do you know her real identity?" asked Antis. Antis still liked leaning against the wall. Roland suddenly remembered something he read from a book: those who preferred to talk to other people against the wall were essentially troubled by a sense of insecurity, and they would rather show their back, or their vulnerabilities, to other people. Was Antis troubled by a sense of insecurity? After the idea popped up in his head, Roland asked after a brief surprise, "Do you know it?" "Of course I do." Antis nodded and said, "I''m part of the royal family anyway. It''s been four years since the queen was married to the king. I took part in her vetting back then. Do you want to know about her?" Antis seemed to be grimacing. Ignoring the guy''s teasing expression, Roland nodded casually. Andonara was now his friend anyway, and Roland did not know for sure what she would be in the future. It was not a bad idea to know more about her past. "The queen was already famous when she was a girl." Antis smiled gently. "She was both beautiful and strong. She became an Elite Warrior at the age of fifteen. Then, she was promoted to be a Great Swordsman and spent two years as a mercenary, until she grew tired and retired. As it happened, the king was choosing a new queen, so she participated in the competition." There was deep affection in Antis''s eyes. "You have no idea how gorgeous Andonara was when she was a girl. Among all the noble ladies, she was wearing simple, tight white clothes, with a sword on her waist and her long hair tied back. She did not wear any makeup or accessories, but she was the focus of all the men''s attention just by standing there." Antis liked Andonara too? Roland reached this conclusion. "The king picked her the moment he saw her." Antis seemed to be lonely. "As a minor captain of the royal guards, I was involved in the investigation on her. "The queen was born in a small merchant family that had a clean history. But as we pressed our investigation, we found that the queen''s father was actually a remarkable Warrior too." "How did a Warrior become a merchant?" "We investigated and then found that Andonara''s father was surnamed Reed." Roland frowned; he seemed to have read the surname from a book. Seeing Roland''s look of confusion, Antis smiled and said, "That''s right. He''s exactly the Reed you know. He''s Hero Kelter''s descendant." Roland was briefly stunned. "Hero bloodline? No wonder she''s so good." Nodding in agreement, Antis went on: "After Hero Kelter Reed defeated Diablo, he bought a village near Winterwind as his territory and named it Reed Village. Andonara''s father belongs to a branch of Hero Reed''s family but is not entitled to the territory. So, he became a merchant with some of his family fortune. His daughter is both pretty and strong. The king married her exactly because he wanted her to give birth to children who boast a Hero bloodline. Now, you must understand why she was chosen as the queen while the daughters of the grand nobles weren''t." Roland nodded and had to admit that the king was reasonable. He could understand why the king wanted a better child. Antis chuckled. Roland asked curiously, "Why are you telling me this?" "I just want you to know how precious the queen is." Antis walked to the door. Then, he suddenly turned around and said, "Actually, I do envy you." Antis quickly left after saying that, almost as if he was fleeing. Roland left too. On the street, he was considering what Antis said. He knew that Antis was implying that he should cherish Queen Andonara and not fail her expectations. But the problem was that Roland had obstacles in his heart. He was a traditional man who was unwilling to make a move on any woman that he couldn''t give a promise to. Or, to put it more frankly, he would rather not hit on any woman he couldn''t marry. After the peaceful breakup with his ex-girlfriend, the thought had been lingering in his heart. Even to this day, he remembered his girlfriend''s sobbing over the phone on the day of the breakup. Both of them were rational enough to know that long-distance relationships never worked out, but it was impossible for them to just let go of their four years together without feeling anything. Naturally, Roland could see that both Vivian and Andonara were great women. But as an outsider, he couldn''t stay long in this world. The day would come when this game was over. So, how should he give them promises? Gloomily, Roland wandered on the street without a target and finally arrived at the Bear Mage''s Magic Tower in the evening. The guards recognized him and reported to their master. Soon, the Bear Mage came down to welcome him in person. Several minutes later, both of them sat down in the study, and Tobian smiled in delight. "I''m glad that you''re visiting my Magic Tower again." Roland smiled too. "Should I call you General Chairman Tobian, or Master Tobian?" Tobian waved his hands and said, "Just wait for a while longer. There''s something else that has to be taken care of. I''ll ask someone to send an invitation to Delpon when it''s done. So, what can I do for you this time?" 268 Another Quest Tool "I would like to buy level-one and level-two magic models that I''m incapable of." Roland added with a smile, "For the sake of our friendship, please give me a fair price." Tobian''s bald head reflected the setting sun into a glittering spot like a rainbow. He considered for a moment with his eyes closed and then said, "Did you mention that the Golden Sons have a special ability to remember everything they see?" Roland nodded. That was exactly the camera function of the game system. "That''s great. I can show you all my spell models for half an hour for free." Tobian smiled. "There will be no charge at all." Roland was briefly stunned. "Then what should I pay?" "As I said, it''s for free." Roland slightly frowned. "But it''s a famous saying among the Golden Sons that the free stuff is often the most expensive." Dazed for a moment, Tobian grinned. "Fine. Your vigilance is truly remarkable. Firstly, you''re only reading the models for half an hour without taking them away, which is not a big deal here. Secondly, like I said before, I don''t want you to stand in my way to becoming General Chairman. If you are an ally, you should have privileges." Roland knew that Tobian was trying to make him side with him. Before he came here, Roland had concluded that he needed to pay almost a hundred gold coins for all the level-one and level-two spells according to the market price. That was a huge sum of money. If he could take a photo of the models, he could save a lot. Thinking for a moment, Roland smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble, General Chairman." Tobian knew Roland''s choice from the way he addressed him. He immediately grinned. "That''s no trouble at all. Please wait a moment, I''ll have the models delivered." Two hours later, Roland left Tobian''s Magic Tower. He had acquired 37 models. They were not all the level-one and level-two spells, but they covered most of them. There were a couple of spells in each category, such as regeneration, assistance, and damage dealing. The night had already fallen in the capital, and the curfew was on. Roland found a tavern. He enjoyed food while he examined the newly-acquired models in the system album. Those who like reading should understand that time passes particularly fast when eating and reading a book of interest. One tends to eat a lot before they realize it. Fascinated by the beautiful spell models, Roland partook in the sumptuous mutton and alcohol now and then. Time went by quickly. The customers in the tavern came and went, until Roland was left alone. Both the boss and the waiters were yawning hard. Eventually, the boss couldn''t hold back his drowsiness anymore. He summoned his courage and said, "Honorable Mage, I''m truly sorry, but we''re about to close." "Your Excellency, generally speaking, the brothels are the only 24-hour establishments." Having no choice, Roland could only leave the tavern after paying two silver coins. Since it was late night and the capital was under curfew, there were few people on the street. Occasionally, royal guards in squads of five or six walked by. But when they saw Roland''s magic robe, none of them dared to ask for trouble. Roland intended to check in at an inn, but on his way, he found a group walking very hastily as if they couldn''t wait to reach their destination. They were all in black and wearing black hoods, with a person with a long black robe at their center. Judging from the person''s posture, Roland speculated that she should be a young girl. But he moved his eyes away without meddling. She was not being kidnapped. Besides, a woman in a black robe was not nearly as interesting as magic models. Now, he only wanted to continue parsing the models he just acquired in a peaceful inn. When they were about to pass by each other, the woman who was under protection suddenly said, "Mr. Roland, please wait." Roland was briefly stunned, because her voice sounded familiar. The woman in black quickly walked to him and took off her hood. She had blond hair, big eyes, a small nose, and cherry lips. Roland immediately realized that she was the princess who issued quests. He immediately smiled. "It''s been a while, Princess Evelyn." Roland had been fond of the quest distributors. Was she here for another quest? Roland was quite happy at the thought of that. Holding Roland''s left hand, Princess Evelyn said anxiously, "Great! It seems that the Goddess of Fortune hasn''t given up on me yet now that I''ve run into you at such a perilous moment." Was she really giving him a quest? Roland asked rather delightedly, "Princess Evelyn, is there anything I can help you with?" Roland was happy that he had another quest, but Evelyn mistook Roland''s smile for his interest in her. After all, she was really pretty. "Can you accompany me to the royal palace? I need your protection." Roland''s smile was gone. He shook his head and said, "Sorry, but I don''t think I can help you." She must be kidding. The royal family was generous enough not to hunt him down after he lured the queen away, but if he went to the royal palace, he was sure that they would burst into rage. Roland tried to shake Princess Evelyn''s hands off, but she grabbed him tightly. "Why?" Evelyn was confused. "I really need your help. I can give you a lot of gold coins, or anything else you want. I''m really in an emergency. I can''t find anyone else to help me." Roland explained, "You must''ve heard that I took Andonara away. If I go to the royal family, someone is definitely going to be pissed." "I know, of course I know! I admire you for doing that." Evelyn pulled Roland''s hand to her chest and said anxiously, "If you come with me, it will be a great chance for you to ease the tension between you and the royal family!" Roland was slightly surprised. After considering for two seconds, he asked, "Can I know what it''s about first?" "Can I talk to you while we continue the trip?" "No problem." Evelyn covered her head with the hood again. Then, she stepped forward quickly and said in a low voice, "Veronica was poisoned. It''s a special poison that cannot be expelled by magic and can only be resolved with a certain medication. Now, she''s being protected by my father in the royal palace. I''ve found the antidote, but I cannot guarantee that I can return to the royal palace safely." 269 It Never Hurts to be More Pruden Roland found it absurd. "This is the capital, and you are a princess. Yet you think your safety is not guaranteed here?" While walking, Evelyn put on a bitter smile. "The royal family is not as powerful as you think. My father is not a pope that controls everything. Essentially, we''re just a bigger noble family. Many other grand nobles are as powerful as us, and too many forces in the capital are malicious." Evelyn was speaking the truth. It was true that the royal family did not have absolute power. For example, the Association of Mages even dared to kidnap the queen. So, it was not too unbelievable that someone poisoned a princess or set up an ambush against another one. "Fine." Roland turned on the quest menu after receiving the notification of a new quest. He checked the quest, only to discover that it was a green one. Quest received: Escort Princess Evelyn Hollevin to the royal palace. There was indeed danger. Roland did not find more information from the introduction of the quest, which was basically the same as the title, but he somehow felt odd. He turned off the quest menu and looked around. Everybody was fully in black, and Roland''s bright green magic robe was quite unique. "Do you have more black robes that I can use?" Roland asked Evelyn. "Or it will be hard for me to hide among you." "Excellency Morahu, are there more?" asked Evelyn in a low voice. A man in a black robe turned around. "I''m sorry, princess, but we didn''t bring additional clothes." The princess spoke to the man with an honorific? Was the man not her subordinate but an outside helper? Then, Roland realized that, as a princess soon to be married off, Evelyn was expected to spend her last days in Isnas in peace and did not really need a private troop. Then, Roland retrieved a black magic robe from the system backpack. It was a simple robe, not a piece of magic equipment. Vivian had prepared it for him, as well as magic robes in other colors in his system Backpack, except that some of the colors were too slutty, like white or pink. While following them, Roland put another black magic robe on himself. Though it was a different style from the others'' clothes, their colors were at least the same. Since it was night, they looked similar at a distance. None of the other guys stopped Roland from putting on the black robe. Actually, they probably hoped that he could do that. After a while, the leader suddenly took a right turn. Evelyn briefly stopped. It was not long, but Roland was right next to her, and he had much better senses than regular people as a Mage. So, he keenly perceived her pause. Looking at the royal palace far away, then the road ahead of them, Roland asked casually, "This is not the way to the royal palace, is it?" That was a justifiable reason. Evelyn seemed to be relaxed. But Roland was not. There was nothing suspicious, but he simply thought that it would take much longer for them to reach the destination if they took a turn, and these guys seemed to be pressing forward without thinking. They seemed reckless, even if they were in a rush. What if there was an ambush in this direction too? Roland tossed two magic spiders down. Magic waves would be caused whenever magic was used. Although the waves when the magic powers were created were insignificant, they were still perceived since everybody was right next to each other. The moment the magic spiders landed, Morahu, the leader of the team, turned around. His face was hidden behind a black mask, and his brown eyes glimmered in the darkness. "What''s the meaning of this, Mr. Mage?" Everybody stopped and looked at Roland. "I''m just checking if there are enemies up ahead," Roland replied casually. "We''re going too fast. It''s better to be careful." "Don''t do anything redundant. Just stay back." Morahu sounded angry. "What if your magic waves alarm the enemy?" Roland frowned. "The magic waves when spiders are created can only be perceived within a two-meter radius. If the enemy is alarmed, the enemy will be right under our nose Hehe is it you?" It was only Roland''s sarcasm because he was angry about their attitude. But the moment he said that, everybody''s vibe completely changed. Roland was now at level six, and since he added his stat points to intelligence and spirit as a traditional Mage, his senses were quite keen, and he immediately noticed something wrong. There was a shocking determination of killing in Morahu''s eyes as he stared at him. Shoot! Roland cursed in his head. Their target was not Veronica but Evelyn! Poisoning Veronica was just a way to lure Evelyn out of Isnas. No wonder Evelyn, a princess to be married, had access to the antidote. All the puzzles that Roland had were answered. But he still wondered why they were trying to kill a princess who was about to be married. He summoned and transformed puppets. Roland unleashed his mental power with his best, trying to summon the shield-wielding puppets as fast as he could. On the other hand, those guys had extended their right hands to the bottoms of their robes. Then, Roland saw the dazzling gleam of weapons. He had to be faster as he had seen the tips of their daggers. Roland simply watched the daggers stabbing at his head. At this point, the speed of his mind was higher than the instinctive reaction of his body. After reaching level six, he had finally made a breakthrough in mental power. Although he was not as good as a Warrior, or even the agility classes, in terms of physical qualities, his mind was much faster than theirs. Everything around him moved in slow motion. As if he were watching a movie, he saw that the enemies straightened their arms, and that the bright moonlight was reflected on the tips of the daggers. The reflection was slowly moving back as the daggers were pushed forward. When the daggers were thirty centimeters from Roland''s head, a blue shadow grew out of the ground and appeared before Roland. Cling Roland''s instant spellcasting turned out to be faster. A shield-wielding puppet protected Roland. Though Morahu''s attack was blocked, the other men in black initiated their attacks too. Another two magic puppets were summoned. In a triangle formation, they protected Roland and Evelyn at the center. The enemy''s attacks were temporarily blocked, but clinks were echoing continuously and the three blue puppets were dimming fast. "Forgive me!" While Evelyn was still stunned, Roland suddenly took her in his arms. 270 Trick and Anti-trick "Ah!" Evelyn screamed and struggled subconsciously, but she covered her mouth quickly. She was not stupid, although her reaction might be slow. She was scared that her scream would affect Roland''s spellcasting. The princess was light and not burdensome at all But of course, it was also because Roland''s strength had increased after he reached level six. The three magic puppets blocked the enemy''s crazy attacks. They were so weakened that they were almost transparent. He couldn''t wait anymore. Roland simply activated a massive Ice Ring. The white Ice Ring spread out on the ground, freezing the magic puppets too. But only half the men in black robes were frozen. The other half jumped in time. After all, as agility classes who used daggers, their reaction was timely. They reacted the moment they saw the ice below Roland''s legs. It was basic for the melee classes to avoid such spells by jumping. After they landed, they continued attacking the three shield-wielding puppets and soon dispersed two of the puppets. But at this point, Roland activated Teleportation. After a blue flash, Roland disappeared and reappeared ten meters away. After adapting to and making sure of his new position within 0.1 seconds, Roland suddenly realized that there was no weight in his arms. He lowered his head, only to discover that the princess was gone. He blinked his eyes and grabbed the air subconsciously. Where''s the princess? She was here just now! Exactly at the same time, he heard Evelyn''s scream from his back. He looked back, only to find that Evelyn had fallen to the ice from midair, her butt hitting it first. He felt pain just by looking at it. He wondered if her butt would be broken after the hit. The enemies who missed their target were all stunned when they looked at the princess on the ground and Roland who was ten meters away. Damn it. Roland had forgotten that he could not take anyone with him during teleportation. The men in black robes were still dazed. Their first reaction was that Roland was trying to flee. They considered if they should pursue and kill Roland first. After all, Princess Evelyn could barely put up any resistance, and one or two of them was enough to keep her under watch. But while they considered, Roland reacted at a higher speed. Two blue magic circles appeared before him and charged at the men in black robes. During their trajectory, they turned into two enormous hands. It was Dual Hands of Magic. The two hands had been clenched into fists. When they pressed forward, they almost looked like rockets. For a moment, all the men in black were in a flurry to evade the fists. But the fists stopped when they reached Princess Evelyn. They became hands again and grabbed her quickly, before they took her to Roland. "Damn it!" Morahu roared and charged at Roland while throwing daggers, trying to stop the princess on the way. However, the two Hands of Magic protected Evelyn and blocked all the daggers. The other men in black realized what was going on and rushed at Roland with their sprinting skill. With this skill, they could burn their adrenaline and activate shocking speed. For a moment, they were even faster than the Hands of Magic. However, a muddy wall suddenly appeared before them when they were about to catch up to the Hands of Magic. It was Mud to Stone. Roland was still short of rapid ballistic spells. It was impossible for him to hit those guys who were fast enough to avoid the Ice Ring with Inferior Fireball. More importantly, there were too many of them. Roland could''ve dealt with them easily if there was only one or two of them. Therefore, the control skills that could be cast quickly were the main approaches he could adopt. The muddy wall blocked the whole street and grew higher and higher. But the men in black robes did not decelerate. They jumped and stepped onto the wall, before they climbed almost ten meters on all fours like geckos at an amazing speed. Morahu was the first to cross over the wall. When he jumped off, he saw that Roland was sinking quickly with the princess in his arms. Around Roland, mud was rolling and splitting apart. After Roland completely submerged into the ground, the rolling mud closed and blocked the cave. Morahu threw out daggers anxiously. But it was too late. The soil had been sealed again, and the daggers were simply deflected when they hit the ground. The road had turned into hard gray rocks again. A few men in black surrounded the entrance of the cave and tried to stab the rock with their daggers, but they failed to cut through, their daggers almost bent. Another man in black robes looked around and found a boulder. He picked it up and threw it at the cave. There was a crash from the ground and even echoes from the underground. After a while, when the guy had grown exhausted, the rock that blocked the cave was as hard as before. Morahu''s eyes were bloodshot. The princess had been about to be lured to his turf, but someone had taken her when she was only several hundred meters away. But he soon calmed down. Making a mouth-zipping gesture at his subordinates, he said in a low voice, "I don''t believe that they can stay there forever. How long can the air down there support them? Listen to the noises. If they move, just follow them." The men in black nodded. Two of them immediately crouched and stuck their ears to the ground. About five meters into the ground, a hollow about two and a half meters tall had been created. Roland put the princess down and cast a luminous ball. The dark underground world became bright, and the princess took a soft breath of relief. She was about to say something, but Roland put his finger before his lips, hinting for her to remain silent. Then, he concentrated enormous magic power and created a broad channel ahead of him with Mud to Stone and Stone to Mud. Also, he intentionally made it noisy. As a result, the princess saw a round channel taking shape in front of her with rumbling sounds. She thought that it was a channel of escape that Roland had prepared, but surprising her expectations, Roland sat down and made the same gesture at her. The princess blinked her beautiful eyes and understood Roland''s intention. On the ground, the two men in black who had been eavesdropping jumped to their feet and pointed at the direction of the underground channel. Morahu pointed at five people and asked them to track the sound. He also dropped a hint to make them walk more heavily. The five people understood his intention. They tracked the rumbling sounds from the underground with intentionally heavy footsteps. Morahu and the other two men in black robes, on the other hand, simply stood by and waited in silence. 271 Trap The cave was as bright as day. Though there was only one luminous ball, the light was still sufficient because the cave was not large. But the tunnel that Roland had just dug with magic was still dark where rays could not reach. Also, strange dull noises echoed around them, like monsters growling in the dark. Evelyn, who was sitting on the ground against the wall, subconsciously held her legs and laid her chin on her knees. On her opposite side, Roland was sitting in silence too. He even closed his eyes. Men and women have different ways of thinking. To put it more simply, women tend to be sensitive and imaginative, particularly on certain occasions. For example, Evelyn was entertaining a lot of random thoughts. We''re alone here. Will he suddenly jump me? How long are we going to stay here? Is he creating an opportunity for us to be alone? Veronica will not die just yet, but her pain will be over sooner if I deliver the antidote in time. He''s silent. Is he thinking about things that he shouldn''t be? It''s dark and creepy over there. All of this happened in Evelyn''s head. It was not because she was particularly paranoid, but because most women tended to be troubled by possibilities. However, Roland''s eyes were closed; he was actually checking the forum. He guessed that the enemy would leave a couple of people behind, so he was not in a rush to go. It was midnight, and the battle just now was quite noisy. So, the city guards would definitely come within half an hour. He did not believe that the enemy had bribed all the city guards. In that case, the royal family would be truly hopeless. Roland had fun reading the posts on the forum, and Evelyn was gradually reassured after he did nothing to her. Her random thoughts were gone, and she began to worry about her sister Veronica, who was still lying in bed, in pain because of poison. While she was worried, her eyes became fuzzy, and she fell asleep on her knees. After all, she was only a weak girl, and she had been exhausted. On the ground, Morahu and the other two men in black robes waited for ten minutes but nobody came up. He looked around, only to see that someone was coming. He made a gesture, and the three of them ran off with heavy footsteps. Roland was browsing the forum when he heard the footsteps. He raised his head and looked above, before he closed his eyes and focused on the forum again. Evelyn was still asleep on her legs. On the ground, four minutes later, eight men in black appeared on the rooftops on the two sides of the street. They stared at where Roland had disappeared for five minutes and then vanished. About six minutes later, Morahu and his two pals returned. This time, they quickly left after a glimpse. Antis was the captain. Looking at the wall in the middle of the street, he raised his eyebrow and laid his hands on it, only to discover that the wall was hard. He waved his hands, and a few city guards immediately left. They returned with a simple battering ram half an hour later. Working together, they broke the wall. Antis passed the collapsed wall and looked around. He saw no enemies, but then it occurred to him that part of the street was colored differently from the rest. Right when Antis was about to give it a closer look, Roland appeared a few meters away from him. Antis was so shocked that he drew his sword and leaped back four meters. After he saw that it was Roland, he took a breath in relief and said, "It''s you. What happened here?" "Someone tried to kidnap a princess." Roland shrugged. Antis looked quite odd. He was slightly surprised but not too much so. "Princess Evelyn?" This time, it was Roland who was surprised, if not vigilant. "How did you know?" "I guessed it," Antis said with a hint of mockery. "I''m a remote relative of the royal family, I can guess what''s on His Majesty''s mind." The king was behind this? Antis took a deep breath and asked, "Where is Princess Evelyn?" Roland didn''t say anything. Antis continued, "Rest assured. I bear the princess no ill will. Although we''re not the closest friends, I''m not her enemy." "Then who''s her enemy?" "Those who intend to make use of her." Antis smiled. Roland was silent for a while. The soil around him began to surge and soon revealed a cave. Antis walked to the edge of the cave and looked down, only to see a person in a black robe sitting in the cave. With a closer look, he found that it was Evelyn, asleep. "Princess Evelyn!" Antis shouted. Evelyn woke up and raised her head. She was delighted to see Roland and Antis up above. She looked around to find a way up and then saw a ladder that had just been shaped. She climbed the ladder and was relieved to see the city guards behind Antis. "Great, I''m finally safe now." Looking at Evelyn, Antis asked, "Why are you here, Princess Evelyn?" Roland was slightly surprised. Didn''t Antis already know that something had happened to Princess Evelyn? As if he sensed Roland''s surprise, Antis turned around and explained, "I only know the beginning and the end, but I don''t know the process. That''s why I''m asking." "Why am I here?" Evelyn seemed puzzled. "Didn''t you send someone to inform me that Veronica was poisoned and that I had to bring the antidote here from Isnas? I was asked to bring it in person because the antidote was extremely precious." Antis asked, "Who told you to do that?" "Medel, the seneschal." Antis nodded. "As far as I know, the antidote that Princess Veronica needs can only be produced by the alchemy workshops in Isnas, but it doesn''t have to be brought over by a princess." Roland listened for a while and already knew what happened. Evelyn understood too. Her face dimmed as she said, "Those guys from the Guild of Assassins were hired by Medel too. Why? He has served the royal family for more than thirty years. He should be reliable." "I guess that Medel is probably away from Isnas now." Antis chuckled. At this point, Roland received a system notification. The quest had been completed, and the princess was safe. He got 132 EXP, and the royal family''s fondness went from -50 to -35. He was about to leave, when Antis said, "Roland, why don''t you escort the princess to the royal palace? Also, the king asked me last night to invite you to the palace next time I saw you." Roland raised his eyebrow. "Huh? Is he going to punish me?" 272 With the Victim Antis smiled casually after he heard what Roland said. "If the royal family intended to punish you, they wouldn''t ''invite'' you." Evelyn looked at Roland hopefully. Actually, she did not trust Antis. She found Roland, who just saved her, more reliable and wanted him to escort her to the royal palace. If a seneschal who had always been by her side had betrayed her, how trustworthy could a remote relative like Antis be? Although it was unlikely that she''d be attacked again, Evelyn exemplified the saying, "Once bitten, twice shy." Roland thought for a moment and nodded. Then, Antis took them to the royal palace with the city guards. On the way to the royal palace, Roland saw multiple men in black robes on the top of the tallest building far away. Morahu was obviously among them. Though they were far away, Roland could sense that they were glaring at him and their eyes were like sharp daggers, cutting him into pieces. Roland smiled and curled his finger at them. Seeing that, all of them disappeared from the rooftop, probably out of fury. Seeing Roland''s movement, Antis looked at where he was looking at, only to see nothing. But he guessed what was going on. They did not visit the king directly, but went to a side building first. Antis took Evelyn to Veronica, who was still sleeping. Veronica could not sleep deeply due to her ailment. She was woken up when someone opened the door. There was a maid in the building, and a candle had been lit. On the glamorous blanket, Veronica looked at the door and was delighted to see Evelyn. But she was angry when she saw Roland. "What are you doing here, jerk? Are you trying to deceive Sister Evelyn after deceiving Andonara?" Veronica tried to sit up. At this point, Antis had left. Evelyn hurried to run to her and support her. She said quickly, "You''re still poisoned. Don''t act tough." Veronica panted weakly. "Don''t worry. My poison has already been taken care of." After a brief surprise, Evelyn managed a smile. "I was really an idiot to be tricked so easily." Actually, it was only because she was concerned about her family. She wouldn''t have fallen for such a trick if she had no feelings for them. Veronica was dazed. Then, her attention was distracted by Roland again. "Sister Evelyn, why did you come with this liar? How can he come to the royal palace?" "Our father invited him." Leaning against Evelyn, Veronica said angrily, "Why did our father invite him instead of putting him in prison, when his third wife has been lured away by this man?" Amused, Evelyn did not know what to say. Veronica glared at Roland for a while. Then, she grew dizzy from agitation. After all, she was not fully recovered yet. Following Antis, Roland passed a corridor and encountered a spacious room ahead of him with at least twenty royal guards outside. Those royal guards all looked intimidating in their heavy armor. Antis opened the door and closed it softly after Roland came in. The room was quite big. A white blanket stretched from the door to the throne at the end of the room. On the throne was an old man who seemed strong, though his hair was already white. He was wearing white informal clothes, and the skin on his face was already loose. But still, he sat very straight. On the two sides of the blanket, two rows of well-trained royal guards were standing by. Their heavy armor, with the blue background and the white streaks, was quite artistic. Roland stepped forward, and a man stopped him when he was about ten meters away from the king. "You can stop here. Do not intrude upon the king." Roland shrugged unconcernedly and observed the king. The king observed him too. They stared at each other for a minute, until the king broke the silence. "You''re different from what I thought." "What did you think I should be like, Your Majesty?" The king replied slowly, "You should be handsomer than you are." Roland smiled but did not say anything. "I have to thank you for escorting Evelyn back," the king went on. Looking the king in the eyes, Roland said, "But it seems that you don''t really want her back, Your Majesty." In silence, the king gazed at Roland gloomily. The room''s atmosphere grew more and more suffocating. Some of the guards were already sweating and swallowing. Roland stared back at him with a smile, not flinching at all. In the end, the king dropped his angry front and said slowly, "It''s the responsibility of a member of the royal family, particularly the female ones." Actually, Roland had guessed a lot of things. The betrayal of the seneschal was actually the king''s order. How could a man who had served the royal family for thirty years betray them so easily? Evelyn was just a chess piece to set off conflicts between two particular forces while the king took advantage of both of them. As for Evelyn''s safety, it was not within the king''s consideration at all. It would be best if she was fine, but if something happened to her, he would have a good excuse to swallow the two forces. He knew that the Guild of Rogues was definitely one of the two forces, but he didn''t know the other. He had too little intelligence to run any analysis. After all, Isnas was the territory of the Guild of Rogues, and Evelyn lived there. Such speculation was not far off. Roland did not say anything. He didn''t agree with the king''s decision to use his daughter as a chess piece, but he also knew that the king was willing to pay a certain price when he was determined to do something. The king rose and continued, "My daughters have been living a luxurious life since they were born. But you have to pay for what you enjoy, which is only natural. I''ll send her to the battlefield without hesitation if I have to." "You are truly a nonchalant father." Roland shook his head. "There are no feelings within the royal family." The king seemed rather natural. "But I didn''t invite you to talk about Princess Evelyn. I just want to know if Andonara is all right." Roland felt rather guilty. Although nothing happened between him and Andonara, it was undeniable that he took someone else''s wife away with him. He had to take responsibility. "She''s fine." Roland nodded. The king seemed rather pained to talk about his third wife. "I never thought that Andonara would leave me." 273 Dutiful Or No "I never thought that Andonara would leave me." Roland was not moved at all after hearing that. He even felt like laughing. It was quite amusing for a king to say such things that were completely beneath him. Roland did not say anything. "Do you not feel guilty at all toward me, the victim?" At this point, Roland chuckled. The soldiers around immediately glared at Roland. "What are you laughing at?" The king was as calm as before. "Do you feel guilty about Kaka?" Roland asked. Though it was mainly the general chairman who caused Kaka''s death, it was undeniable that the royal family played a part too. "Kaka?" The king seemed confused. He seemed to have heard the name before, but he couldn''t remember who the guy was. At this point, the servant who was by the king''s side whispered something to him. The king was enlightened. "You''re talking about Young Bard? Why should I feel guilty about him?" Roland secretly sighed. The fact that the king didn''t remember who Kaka was meant that he never considered the royal family''s plots against Kaka a big deal. But it was understandable that the big shots couldn''t remember the little guys who were killed by their machinations or who were simply useless. "If you don''t feel guilty about Kaka at all, why should I feel guilty toward you?" The king stared at Roland in silence. Roland displayed no emotional response under the king''s eyes. He was like a pine tree at the peak of a mountain. After a while, the king moved his eyes away and said, "Did you lure my queen away in order to avenge Young Bard?" Of course not. But Roland gave the contrary answer. "You can think that way." The king seemed graver than before. "Are you provoking me?" "Again, you can think that way." The king''s servant was infuriated. He was about to go forward, but the king stopped him and said, "Are you not scared of death?" Roland replied gently, "I''m undying." The king''s pupils constricted. Then he went on, "But I can deal with the people around you, for example, your friends in this world." "It doesn''t matter." Roland chuckled and said, "When I lose one friend, you will lose ten. Don''t underestimate an undying Golden Son. Besides, I have a lot of compatriots." "Such as the dragon knight, the Saint Samurai?" asked the king while leaning forward. Roland smiled but did not say anything. "I''m often threatened." Instead of bursting into fury, the king sighed and said, "But this is the first time I''ve been threatened by a young man who has no power, rather than other nobles, lords, kings, or even the pope. Yet, I don''t have any way to counterattack." While speaking, he leaned back against the throne weakly. Then, he turned around and left, not caring if the king allowed him to go or not. But after he turned around, the king suddenly said, "Let''s make a deal about Andonara." Roland had lost interest in talking to the king, but since it was about Andonara, he could only stop and ask, "What kind of deal?" "You claim that you took the queen away for revenge, but you must''ve been attracted by her beauty. So, we can make a deal about that. You''ve seen both Veronica and Evelyn. They''re both top-rate girls, only slightly worse than Andonara. I can marry both of them to you in exchange for the queen, how does that sound?" Roland simply sneered. Seeing that he was uninterested, the king raised his offer. "What about an additional dowry of 150 gold coins, as well as the post of a royal Mage in the court?" Roland was too lazy to reply to the king, who thought so differently from him that any negotiation would be pointless. Seeing that Roland disrespected the king as such, the royal guards went forward, trying to subdue him. But the king shouted, "Let him go." Under their furious gazes that stabbed like swords, Roland walked out of the room casually. Outside of the door, he found Antis waiting for him up ahead. He walked to Antis and said, "Take me out of the royal palace." Antis seemed rather surprised. "But the king hasn''t given any orders yet." "You want me to fight my way out of the royal palace?" Roland asked back with a smile. Antis took a deep breath, suppressing his rising anger. Roland was disrespecting the whole royal family, but after thinking for a moment, Antis realized that there was nothing he could do about the Golden Sons. Their ability of resurrection was their greatest strength. Antis waited for a moment. Receiving no orders from the king''s room, he led Roland away and asked, "What did the king tell you? You don''t have to tell me if it''s inconvenient." "It''s not a big deal. He simply wants to exchange Veronica and Evelyn for the queen," Roland said with obvious mockery. "He''s truly a classic king who has absolutely no feelings." "The queen is more important than the two princesses. That''s the king''s choice after weighing the gains and losses," Antis said slowly. "I''m not trying to change your opinion of the king, but he''s a worthy king in our eyes. He never levied heavy taxes, placed the burden of the royal family on his subjects, or waged war for selfish interests during his thirty years on the throne. Furthermore, to protect his people, he often chose to stay back if there was no chance to win, for example, when you took the queen away." Roland thought carefully for a moment and realized that it did make some sense. It was true that the conclusions drawn from different perspectives could be highly different. When they came to the gate of the royal palace, the sun was rising in the east. Antis said, "Let''s say goodbye here. Since we can almost be called friends, I need to tell you something from the bottom of my heart. I don''t know what the countries in the dimension of the Golden Sons look like, but in this world, our king is really a great king. If you ever visit another country, you''ll know that our king has really been governing the country and restricting the lords with his best efforts. So, don''t be too demanding on the royal family, and if possible, give the queen back to us, so that the royal family won''t be completely humiliated." After that, Antis returned to the royal palace. Roland chuckled, impressed by Antis''s eloquence. 274 Turning Poin Born as an elite from the royal family, Antis was truly a great speaker. He had spoken as if the king was only ruthless for the sake of his country. Normal people might''ve been fooled, but Roland wasn''t, and nor would most players be. Antis''s defense, which was purely focused on the difficulties of the king but ignored the losses of others, could''ve only tricked young, unsophisticated people. As long as they kept an open mind, they would only be amused when they heard his reasons. It was already dawn. Roland left the city through the main road and activated the Long-Distance Teleportation spell. Back in the royal palace, the king looked at Antis and asked, "Have you said everything you should?" "Yes." Antis nodded and said, "But I don''t think he''ll buy it." "Why?" Antis replied, "Because he is a Mage. Although most Mages are only smart in terms of magic, Roland is an exception. After my encounters with him, it has occurred to me that he is well-educated and has his own opinions on what''s right and what''s wrong." "Are you saying that we might fail to draw Roland to our side?" asked the king. Antis nodded. The king closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Then he said, "Then just change our target. Find the Golden Sons who are mediocre, easy to control, and have obvious likes and dislikes, preferably the unsocial ones. Give them whatever they want, just so that they can stop the other Golden Sons from attacking us when it''s necessary." Antis said, "After three months of investigation, and based on the data from the Guild of Mercenaries, we have found about four thousand Golden Sons that meet our needs." "Let them be sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, or lieutenants in the military. Their salary will be twice that of the officers of the same level." The king thought for a moment and said, "Only the undying can deal with the undying." "But they''re mediocre and can''t defeat the stronger Golden Sons." "The gap between them can''t be that huge." The king smiled. "They can stall the stronger Golden Sons because they''re undying too. Besides, if our plan works, the Golden Sons will be divided." "But there are five hundred thousand Golden Sons in total, according to them," Antis said worriedly. "Four thousand people are just a tiny portion." "Ours is not the only country in this world. It''s already good enough to include several thousand Golden Sons in our bureaucratic system." The king smiled unconcernedly. "Our country is too small for so many Golden Sons. They''ll travel to vaster countries beyond Hollevin after they grow stronger. Like lions and eagles, they will leave Hollevin for Fareins, Urganda, the country of orcs, the country of dwarves, or even Rhodes Island." Antis took a breath in relief. He felt that the king had a point. On the other hand, Roland gagged as usual after he teleported back to Delpon. Then, he returned to the Magic Tower and began to study new spells. Thanks to his new level and his experience in analyzing and reconstructing spells, Roland knew magic models very well now. He could learn most of the level-one spells within three hours and use them freely in six. The level-two spells were trickier, but it would take him no more than two days to learn them. When he was about to pick up all the level-one and level-two spells, Hawk and Link returned from the Elf Forest. They were incapable of Long-Distance Teleportation, which could''ve saved them a lot of time despite the nauseating side effects. They had been riding horses as fast as they could, but they were still caught up in a lot of trouble along the way. For example, when there was a storm, they had to look for hideouts and sometimes had to wait for two days. At night, they were troubled not just by insects but also by magical beasts. It was during these moments that they missed a Mage who could present a comfortable house to them anytime. On the other hand, they did not know the local tongues. With Roland''s Unhindered Communication, they could''ve listened, talked, and even read. Supposedly, Rommel was capable of Language Proficiency, too, as a Priest. But since he quit, there was no one else who knew that skill. All in all, they were dumb and deaf throughout the journey. It was inconvenient for them to buy food and they couldn''t rest well. They needed to rest now and then, though they didn''t have to sleep. After all, their stamina was limited. In the end, they almost had a meltdown. After they finally returned to Hollevin and could talk again, Hawk read on the forum of his guild that Vincent, one of the shareholders of the guild, quit, and Roland was behind it. So, he rushed to Delpon and went straight to the Magic Tower without drinking any water. He found Vincent first and tried to persuade him to return to the guild. But while practicing Inferior Fireball, Vincent said casually, "We agreed earlier that it''s fine to join or quit the guild. Besides, I didn''t ask you to return my funds. You should be happy now that you have more dividends after a shareholder quits." Hawk certainly could not admit that he and the chairman wanted Vincent to increase his investment. Therefore, he came to Roland in a hurry. "Please help me convince Vincent to return." Roland sat opposite Hawk and said, "Vincent is an adult who is free to go anywhere and do whatever he wants. It''s not my business." "If you hadn''t deceived him" Roland raised his hand to stop Hawk from going on. "I know what you''re going to say next, but just keep it to yourself. We''re both adults. You know that our guilds must be separated after all the conflicts, and since Vincent is between us, he has to make a choice. You know very well whether I deceived him or not." "I know that we were wrong," Hawk said solemnly, "but don''t you think it''s a shame if our alliance is completely ruined because of that?" "No, it''s not a shame to me," Roland replied solemnly. "It''s the third time that you''ve completely ignored our interests for your own, and no mistakes should be repeated thrice!" 275 Combination of Spells Hawk walked out of the Magic Tower, somewhat at a loss. Link, who had been waiting for him, took out a flask of water from the system Backpack and gave it to him. After sprinkling water over his head for a couple of minutes, Hawk wiped his face. Finally feeling refreshed, he said, "Link, I''m feeling that I''m less and less suitable as Deputy Chairman." "Why? Is it getting too hard for you?" Hawk nodded. "I''m an architect. It''s very easy for me to plan or supervise a project on a construction site, but now that I''m running a guild and have to take charge of public relations, it has occurred to me that I''m not gifted at management at all." Link sighed. "You''ve never been gifted at management. You managed the guilds well before only because you were diligent and friendly. Also, in other games, the interests involved are few, and the conflicts between guilds are mostly emotional and easy to deal with. But things are different in this game. The interests in the game are too huge, and everything will be different when too much is at risk." Hawk walked along the street slowly, followed by Link. After a while, Hawk said, "Why don''t I resign and let Perfero be the deputy chairman? He''s always been greedy for the position anyway." Link smiled. "You have my full support if you''re willing to give up, but can you really bear to do that after having paid so much?" Sigh! Hawk was really reluctant to let go of everything. He was quite pissed. Besides, Perfero had always been at odds with him, and he did not intend to simply give his place away. They left downtown hurriedly and returned to the docks. After kicking Hawk away, Roland put that issue aside and refocused on magic. For Mages, the number of spells they were capable of was their foundation, which Roland did not know until the raid in the Elf Forest. After he learned all thirty spells, Roland realized that they included all the abilities he wanted. So, was it entirely a waste of time to have parsed and modified spells until now? Not exactly. At least, Roland''s understanding and creativity in magic had been increased through the exercises. It was one of the reasons why he could learn thirty level-one and level-two spells within a month. After he grasped all the spells he acquired from the Association of Mages, he uploaded them to the Mage section of the forum with the functional routes of the spells. Again, he was praised by the other players and received tips of around twenty thousand yuan total. Because the appearance of the Warriors had been nerfed, many players had chosen to be Warlocks and Bards instead of Warriors. The population of Mages had increased too, but they still couldn''t compare to Warlocks and Bards, two classes that focused on Charm. Then, he distributed the models of a few level-one spell models in his Magic Tower. He didn''t distribute more spell models for the sake of the magic apprentices. After all, spell models were very valuable. If anyone learned that there were so many spell models in such a defenseless Magic Tower in this remote area, they might consider robbing it. Although Roland could protect the Magic Tower, he did not intend to spend the rest of his life in the Tower in case anyone came looking for trouble. That kind of life was too boring. After learning the spells, Roland was briefly vacant and did not know what to do next. Then, he recalled his objectives and plans and finally remembered that he missed something very important: fast travel. Through teleportation, he could only go to places that he had been to with spiritual coordinates. Among the level-one and level-two spells, there was only one that could increase one''s speed by thirty percent. The effect was not obvious. It might be useful in a battle, but for long-distance traveling, it was not even as good as a horse. Among the level-three spells, some could make people fly. However, he couldn''t learn the level-three spells yet; their basic requirement was level seven, and if he specialized in Transmutation, he could learn it at level six. Alas, Roland specialized in space. Then how could he find a way to fast travel? Roland thought hard for several hours, to no avail. He massaged his bulging temples and looked out of the window to relax. At this moment, he saw a few kids kicking a ball at the edge of the Magic Tower''s square. It was a kids'' game that was similar to soccer. One of the kids kicked a brown ball, which was ugly and full of patches, to the kid opposite him. The ball flew quite fast. The second kid was about to be hit by the ball, when he suddenly flipped and kicked the ball to the next kid, making the ball go even faster. The third kid kicked the ball like a whirlwind, altering its direction without affecting its speed. Roland was dazed as he observed their game. Inspired, he returned to his desk and found a piece of paper, on which he wrote "consecutive ejection of spatial bubbles." He then left the Magic Tower for the meadow outside of the city, where nobody was around. Instead of casting spells right away, he tried experiments first. He absorbed a rock weighing more than fifty kilograms into a spatial bubble, before he spurted it out again. The rock roared and spiraled upward for thirty meters before it was finally about to drop. At this point, another spatial bubble absorbed the rock and spurted it out half a second later, giving another boost to the rock. But no spatial bubbles could absorb the rock anymore, because it was already out of Roland''s range of spellcasting. Well The speed was good enough. However, the problem was that the rock would spin when it flew out of the spatial bubble. If the rock were a human being, their sense of direction and altitude would definitely be affected Writing the discoveries on the notebook in his system, Roland was deep in thought, wondering how to stop the item from spinning when it was ejected from the spatial bubble. He tried multiple methods, such as changing the magic power he invested in the spatial bubble, or the way he gathered his magic power, but nothing worked. Then, he shifted attention to the item being ejected. He changed the size of the item and found that the heavier an item was, the slower it would be and the less likely it would spin when it was ejected. Should he increase the mass of the item? It did not seem reliable, as it would significantly affect the speed of the item being ejected. What should he do? Looking at rocks of different sizes, Roland suddenly had a eureka moment. He could try casting a buff spell on those items. Though it did seem feasible, common sense in this magic world was different from that in reality. 276 Human Cannonball Actually, Roland''s random idea proved successful. He was probably the first person who had ever cast Body Fortification, Swiftness, Intelligence Improvement, and other buffs on a rock. The spinning speed of the same rock was different when it was ejected from the spatial bubble with certain buffs. So, the buffs actually worked, though not quite effectively as expected. Eventually, Roland put a magic shield on the testing rock. As it turned out, the rock did not spin at all when it was ejected from the spatial bubble. "It worked!" Roland was quite delighted. Then, it was time to experiment with living creatures. Returning to Delpon, he held back his disgust and grabbed three rats from the sewer. The first rat was absorbed into a spatial bubble without any buff. It skyrocketed after it was squirted out. When it was about to crash, Roland picked it up with Hand of Magic. The rat was already dead. There was no external damage, but via dissection, he found that its bones were all broken. He threw it away and picked up the second. This rat was enhanced with Body Fortification and Swiftness before it was absorbed by the spatial bubble. When the rat was ejected, Roland grabbed it with Hand of Magic again. The rat was alive, but seemed so exhausted that it was dying. Roland observed for a moment and found no external wounds on the rat. Very soon, this rat died too. After dissection, Roland found that this rat suffered internal injuries too, albeit much more lightly than the first rat did. Was it because Body Fortification increased the rat''s sturdiness? The third rat was experimented on after being covered with a magic shield. Then, Roland discovered, to his delight, that the third rat did not spin when it was launched, and that it was running about agilely with the magic shield after it landed. In the end, he decided to experiment on himself. Roland cast Body Fortification on himself first. After all, his odds of survival would be greater in this way. Then, he covered himself in a magic shield. After that, a spatial bubble was established behind him, and the weird attraction force swallowed him into a space gap. Roland had been curious what was behind the purple gaps on the spatial bubble. But after he got in, he finally realized that there was nothing. There was no gravity, no landscape, but only purple light everywhere. He couldn''t see anything half a meter away. It was completely different from the case when he would enter a strange cosmos when he used teleportation. Then, a strange force bound him and pushed him forward. Thanks to the protection of the magic shield, he felt that he was being pushed, but not too fiercely. He flew into the sky at an unbelievable speed. Despite the blockage and protection of the magic shield, he still heard raging wind. When he was about forty meters high, Roland''s speed dropped significantly, and he was about to fall. Then, Roland snapped his fingers, and a new spatial bubble enveloped him and spurted him out again. His speed was further increased. Then, more and more spatial bubbles appeared, and Roland flew across woods and mountains like a jet plane. He didn''t know how fast he was moving exactly, but he couldn''t be faster than sound, because he didn''t see any clouds caused by sonic explosions. But the speed was enough as it was. As more and more spatial bubbles were generated, Roland gradually got the hang of controlling the power and angle of the boost of the spatial bubbles. Now, he was already capable of establishing a spatial bubble when he was about to crash, so that he would propelled upward again. He looked like a dragonfly dipping on the surface of the water. Flying had always been a dream of mankind. One would inevitably feel thrilled when they were flying at a high speed. Roland was overjoyed. He flew forward past mountaintops and raced with birds. He opened his hands and cheered like a delirious madman in the sky. He ran out of mana, but it was fine. There was still the Mind-Calming Necklace. When the mana in the Mind-Calming Necklace was about to run out, Roland finally cast Slow Landing on himself. It was a spell that he didn''t pick up until recently. He slowly fell from the sky and landed on a meadow in a place that he didn''t know. Exhausted, Roland lay on the ground, his arms and his legs stretched out. It had been four hours since he started flying. The setting sun was hanging on the horizon. The orange glow of the sun covered the whole meadow. With eyes that were partially obstructed by the grass, he could see the gray shadows of the grass touching the red orange on the horizon in the gentle breeze. Roland was still laughing in great delight. It was his happiest moment since he started playing this game. He hadn''t been as happy even when he acquired epic equipment from dungeon raids or millions in money. He had invented a new way of flying in his own manner, and it was even more successful than he''d imagined. It was almost the most enjoyable entertainment. He was not as satisfied even when he did it with his ex-girlfriend. Roland posted a thread on the forum and uploaded the video of his experience in the previous four hours. There was no telling what the network of the game cabin was based on, but it took only three seconds to upload the 20G video. A flying skill that I''ve invented myself for Mages. "Please see the video for more details. You can fly without Wind Soaring. Also, this skill is not very difficult. As the inventor, I''ve named this set of tricks ''Human Cannonball.''" Two minutes after Roland posted the thread, it was marked as red and bolded. In the meantime, it was included among the featured threads. Then, the players'' comments came quite fast. "A video of four hours? Roland, are you trying to kill me? I kept fast forwarding, until I stopped doing that and started crying in the end. The whole video is just your personal shadow. Can you take our feelings into consideration for one moment?" "I skipped through the video too. I can only say that you can never tell how many weirdos are out there or what they will possibly do on the Internet." "We can learn Wind Soaring at level seven. Why would we learn this Human Cannonball? It seems difficult to control. Wouldn''t it be a waste of time?" "My friend, you don''t know aerial warfare at all. I''m told that Wind Soaring can''t be faster than 35 meters per second, but look at this Human Cannonball It can easily outrun Wind Soaring." "Based on the retreating speed of the clouds in the video, the movement of Roland''s hair and his clothes, and through the aerodynamic formulas, I''ve concluded with my remarkable mathematical abilities that Roland was flying close to the speed of sound." "That''s too unbelievable. You can catch up with a dragon at such a speed. I strongly demand the effect of spatial bubble be reduced." "I''m a Mage specializing in Transmutation, and I''m learning the spells of the wind class to learn Wind Soaring in two months. I''ve even prepared the money, but I feel like crying after watching this video." "Is there nothing you want to say about the name of this skill? Human Cannonball? I feel like jumping off the building!" "Let go of me! Let go of me! The Hummer I contracted can run three hundred kilometers a day without any gas Let go of me! I''m not crazy!" 277 Inciden Roland knew that his use of this combination of magic would certainly change things and cause some astonishment. However, the impact it caused was much greater than he had imagined. It wasn''t that he hadn''t thought of it at all, he hadn''t started thinking about it to begin with. After all, he had just figured out a new way to use magic and it seemed practical, and the exhilaration and satisfaction took over his brain for the time being. And on the forums, the players were just marveling at first. Then a player started a thread that gave data on how terrifying the spell was. On the Use of Bugs With Spatial Bubble Spell. "A lot of players should have seen the new work of the number one Mage Rolanda projection spell being used as a flying spell. A lot of people are just watching without realizing how serious this is, so I''ll tell you how scary this spell is. "Based on the video, one can conclude that Roland''s fastest flight speed is close to the speed of sound, and while it''s true that he didn''t start out too fast, after a dozen consecutive ejections from the spatial bubble, the speed is at a point where it''s unimaginable. "I don''t know how fast a dragon can fly, I haven''t seen one after all, but it took at least forty years from the time the first airplane was built to the time it broke the sound barrier, and how long did it take Roland between learning and flying fast enough to almost break the sound barrier He still doesn''t even know a real flying spell. "So if this isn''t a bug, what is? "In four hours of video, Roland has flown at least 3,500 kilometers. Many of you don''t know what this means, but for example, Roland can run from Guangdong to Dongbei in about four hours, close to the westerner territory. "That''s almost on par with the speed of some of the faster domestic airliners. "This makes the oversized map meaningless to Roland. "He himself is an airplane. "In the future, all Mages could be airplanes. "In comparison, the Warlock''s contracted horses, with the cavalry''s riding skills, can only move a maximum of 300-400 kilometers per day; after all, living things need to rest. "And this spell seems to have a low learning level, presumably from level four onwards. "How can you tolerate such a big difference? "I, for one, can''t stand it. I''ve already gone to the feedback section to complain, the Mage is overpowered and there''s no balance to be found. "If you can''t tolerate it, though you can also complain about it, at least strive to get some benefits for us Warriors." A lot of players were just watching on in amusement, but after reading this post, they left comments about going to give feedback and send complaints, and in less than an hour the post became a red post, which meant it was a popular post. The average number of complaints posted reached about a hundred per second. Of course, if there were those who opposed it, there would be those who supported it. Many Mage players, for example, said that the game was free, that how magic was used was up to the individual, and that if they were uncomfortable, everyone could play as a Mage. Apart from Mages, there were also many players from other professions who were supporting Roland. But overall, it was the number of people who opposed it that slightly prevailed. Anyway, it wasn''t long before the comments section manager locked the complaints down, and at the same time, gave an announcement on the forum that the comments had been uploaded to the development team and to wait for a response. The feedback board was locked, and the battle went to the general discussion section, otherwise known as the low-value posts section. The two sides started threads to begin the debate, each side believing that they were correct. Although both sides had merits, most of the time, the truth was not clearer through the debate; rather, the more the debate went on, the more furious they grew, and there were even many posters who hurled insults at each other. Roland did not know about this. He lay on the prairie for a while. The sun had gone down completely, and then it was dark all around him. At some point, the sky was filled with dark clouds, and there was no sound other than the whistling of the wind and the rustling of the dancing grass. An eerie silence. Roland stood up, looked around, and then looked at his mana value. Long-Distance Teleportation was not going to work, after all, the distance was too farthree to four thousand kilometers of teleportation would have to use up at least about seventy percent of his mana value. But Mud to Stone was not a problem. A small two-story rock building was built, and Roland purposely sealed the doors and windows, leaving only a few small ventilation holes. Because the prairie was overly quiet and always had a strange atmosphere, Roland worried that some strange vermin or magical beasts might attack, so he sealed the doors and windows and thickened the walls of the house. Then he took out small tables and chairs from his Backpack, as well as food and drinks, and cast a Light Ball. Then he browsed the web while eating. He didn''t look at the forums but watched a movie. It would be a bit annoying to read the forum every day, and it wasn''t a bad thing to enjoy entertainment and relax once in a while. As he was watching, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. The surroundings were very quiet, so quiet that he could hear his own heartbeat. This was abnormal. Being in a natural environment, even if it was quiet, there would always be some noise. It would either be the sound of biological activity or the sound produced by other natural phenomena. If there really was a situation where there were no outside sounds whatsoever, then one''s own body would become an echo chamber. The sound of the stomach moving to digest food, the sound of the blood flowing, the sound of the heart beating, and so on. All of these sounds would be infinitely amplified in the silence, causing normal people to become neurotic and even begin to develop fear. Roland was now level six and had high mental resistance. He wasn''t afraid, but he started to feel uncomfortable and even quite depressed. And instinctively, he sensed that something was wrong. A very uncomfortable aura enveloped him. Roland stood up. There was no window in the room, so naturally, he couldn''t see the outside. In this situation, he didn''t want to "open" a window, in case something jumped in. He threw down three magic spiders and ordered them to crawl to the outside through the ventilation holes. Then several images came in through the mental channel. Around the house, several giant spiders appeared. At first, Roland thought it was a giant spider he had seen in Red Mountain Town, but then what the magic spiders transmitted back shocked him. These spiders were all three meters tall, silver-white, and most importantly, they all had a huge human face on their backs. Initially, Roland thought that this was a pattern on the spider''s back, but then the images sent back from the magic spiders showed that these faces were smiling and laughing weirdly. These spiders were weaving cocoons, and together, they had already built an empty, tall, egg-shaped cocoon around the house, and now they were just missing the opening at the head of the house. The strangest thing was that when they moved, there was no sound at all, and even the sounds from outside seemed to have been eliminated. Were they capturing him? Roland looked at his mana value; it had recovered to around 51%, thanks to the specialty of Roland''s Zeal. His mana value was still recovering quite quickly. It was expected that by the time these human-faced spiders had woven the cocoon, Roland would have more than enough magic power to use Long-Distance Teleportation. Roland had thought that these spiders would seal themselves in with their prey, after all, it was like a means of rounding up prey. However, unexpectedly, these spiders crawled out from the opening on top of their heads and finally sealed that as well. They seemed to have trapped Roland inside. Hmm is this like storing food? Roland''s interest was piqued. 278 Drows Roland was now interested in finding out about those spiders. A kind of spider that could eliminate the sound around it was probably a magical beast, and it could also build cocoons and knew how to work as a groupthese spiders were countless times stronger than the giant spiders in Red Mountain Town. What was their ability to eliminate sound, magic, or was it caused by their own special organs? It was most likely magic, so what was the principle? He had heard that there was a silence spell in magic, but it only eliminated the sound of one''s footsteps when moving. Sounds like clothes rubbing, blood flowing, heartbeats, and so on couldn''t be eliminated. These spiders, on the other hand, were clearly eliminating all sounds within a large area. This technique was many times more powerful than the silence spell. He really wanted to figure out what the principle of this magic was. This was why Roland didn''t rush to use Teleportation to go back, but directed the three magic spiders to go to a suitable monitoring position, and used his magic power to make the outer layer of the stone house grow some small untraceable holes. Then the magic spiders wormed in, and continued to monitor the outside while staying in a blind spot. Roland was waiting until those spiders came back. He was afraid that if he destroyed the cocoon, he would drive the spiders away. After all, magical beasts that knew how to eliminate sound were usually lurking hunters. The "guts" of the average lurking hunter were particularly small. Roland continued to watch movies and occasionally visited the forums. He had thought it would take at least two or three days for the spiders to return, and was prepared for a long wait; after all, he had quite a bit of food in his Backpack. But he hadn''t expected that less than three hours later, the magic spiders responsible for monitoring the outside world would each send back surveillance footage. Several silvery-white armored claws picked apart the top of the white cocoon, and then three spiders jumped down through the hole in the broken cocoon. They all had a humanoid creature sitting on them. When they landed on the ground, it was clear that the impact was so strong that their bodies almost flattened, but still no sound came from them. Roland stretched out one of his mental threads. This mental thread was very thin, so thin that it was like hair. Generally speaking, even if it touched a person, it would not be perceived unless the person being touched was shockingly perceptive. The mental thread passed through the thick rocky wall, but it was quickly blocked by a thick layer of magic. What''s this? Roland''s mental thread moved at a fast speed adhering to this thick layer of magic, spinning up and down in less than thirty seconds. The cover seemed to have the effect of isolating sound and was very much like a boundary. Even spiders can use boundaries? Roland withdrew his mental thread. The magic spiders continued to send images back. Three people jumped off the spiders'' backs. They wore gray robes that hid their faces and forms. The three then approached Roland''s stone building, one of them raising their hand. The stone walls rapidly disappeared as they turned stone to mud and sand. This person also knew Stone to Mud, but in terms of casting speed, it was much worse than Roland''s. If Roland wanted to resist the other person''s Stone to Mud, he would use Mud to Stone to make up for it and he would definitely be faster than the other person. Roland was sure that if his magic power was not used up, the other party would not be able to break up the small building. But Roland also wanted to get in touch with the other party. It didn''t matter if they were good or if they came with malicious intent, at least he had to know what kind of magic they used to cut off the sound. Roland then set himself up with Language Proficiency. This wasn''t Hollevin, and the other party mostly likely didn''t speak Hollevin''s language. Soon, the front wall of the stone building was gone. Roland stood at the edge of the second floor, looking down at the other party of three people and three spiders. Without the wall in the way, Roland smiled down at the three people in a gesture of friendship. Then the three people opposite him lifted their hoods. Roland''s expression was a bit strange for a moment. These three people were dark-skinned, had long ears, and were quite good-looking. Three dark-skinned female elves Drows? The drows were something that Roland had naturally heard of. This race that was exactly the same as the elves in form, but with opposite skin color and opposite temperament, was famous throughout the world. Words like tyranny, filth, and renegade were used to describe drows. When Roland saw the three dark-skinned elves and then thought about what he had read in the books about drows, he felt a bit overwhelmed. The three drows broke the boundary that could shut out sound, and then the three of them looked at Roland, their eyes growing brighter. One of the drows even licked her lower lips: the excited expression of a cat seeing a mouse. The other two drows stared at Roland, their pupils filled with a wicked possessive glare. Roland was about to say something, to give a friendly greeting, but they ended up talking to each other first. "Such clean and pure magic power, he''s mine, no one can take him from me." "Why should he be yours, he was discovered by all of us, everyone has a share." "Siesta, I haven''t settled the score with you for the last time you sucked that sturdy Barbarian swordsman dry, so let me have it this time." "She sucked it dry, I didn''t, so how come I don''t have a share?" "Can''t we all just shut up and have one day each?" Roland stood on the second floor and listened with a furrowed brow. The books he had read said that drows had a matriarchal clan system, with a queen in power and high statuses for women. And the status of male drows they did all the hard work, ate less than dogs, and worked more than cattle. And they were beaten and scolded by women every day. They lived terribly. Roland listened for a while, and when he saw that they were getting more and more ridiculous, he coughed and asked, "You three drow ladies, what are you implying by surrounding my house?" The three drows looked up at him at the same time, as if they had seen a ghost. Then they realized something. "Language Proficiency." "This Mage is pretty good. I''m getting more and more interested." "Stop arguing. The fellow has some strength, one of us isn''t a match for him, so let''s join hands and try to catch him first." As the three of them spoke, their gazes toward Roland became fervent. The drow standing in the middle pointed at Roland and called out excitedly, "Servants, go up and grab" As soon as she spoke, a bolt of lightning blasted directly at her. Roland had recently finished catching up on level-one and level-two projectile spells. As a level-two Evocation spell, Lightning had the characteristics of being fast to cast, and its trajectory was incredibly short. The only downside was that it was not too powerful. This drow flew back and quickly stood up with a kick-up. Her long black hair frizzled outward and her voice quivered, which was the result of the lightning numbing her tongue. "Grab him." The three human-faced spiders opened their large mouthparts and dove straight at Roland on the second floor from a distance of six meters. 279 I Want to Recreate I If it had been a month ago, Roland would have definitely summoned the shield-wielding puppet to protect himself. However, there was a big flaw in that kind of protection: the puppet was easily knocked away and had no protection against attacks from above. But Roland didn''t need to go through such troubles now that he had Magic Shield, the Mage''s strongest defense, a defensive spell that could be used for the rest of his life. Three human-faced spiders landed half a meter in front of him, huge sharp-toothed mouthparts stretched out, and all were blocked by a transparent Magic Shield as a result. The mouthparts shattered inch by inch under the high-speed impact, and the three spiders screamed before being bounced back. As for the other two drows, one went invisible, the other leaped back several meters and with a movement of the hand, three throwing knivesone on the left, two on the rightflew in an arc towards Roland''s Magic Shield. They were fast, and although Roland reacted in time, he didn''t dodge; he had the intention to test the strength of the Magic Shield. In the end, two of the three throwing knives were bounced off the instant they hit the Magic Shield. The one on the other side, on the other hand, pierced through the Magic Shield, startling Roland. But that was allit broke the Magic Shield, without a doubt, but it was stuck in between layers of the shield. Roland discovered that the curved, red-handled throwing knife actually had magical energy flowing through it. Roland took the dagger down and placed it in his hand. Enchanted weapons? Spell-breaking effects? As Roland was startled, the drow who had disappeared suddenly appeared behind Roland. The moment she appeared, she stabbed at Roland''s back with a sharp short sword. However, it was blocked by the Magic Shield just the same. Roland turned back, and the drow that failed to sneak attack tried to pull away and flee, but a red figure suddenly appeared behind her. A horizontal slash came from a long miaodao. This drow was so scared that she immediately rolled sideways. A normal person''s tumble was simply a tumble, but an agility profession''s tumble was an ability. Depending on one''s coordination (agility), strength, and whether or not one was good at tumbling, there was a huge difference in the tumbling ability of the agility professions. Some people could only tumble two or three meters in half a second, while others who specialized in tumbling could do so in about 0.2 seconds and they could tumble for more than 10 meters. It was almost comparable to a Mage''s Teleportation. The world of magic simply couldn''t be surmised with common sense. After she tumbled and escaped, she shouted to her previously electrified companion, "Make a move already." This drow was finally released from her paralysis from Lightning and she was about to make a move, only to have another Lightning hit her. Once again, she fell into a state of paralysis. The other two turned and fled as soon as they saw this, and they jumped onto separate human-faced spiders, about to ride their mounts out of the cocoon. But Roland snapped his fingers, and the wide-ranged Ice Ring was launched immediately. A ring of white frost spread directly along the ground, and the first to be hit was the electrically paralyzed drow, the ring of ice freezing her legs. The Ice Ring then spread along the inner layer of the cocoon directly upward, and actually reached the spider legs of the two human-faced spiders that were about to crawl out of the cocoon''s gap, then froze the opening of the cocoon at a very fast speed. The two drows defied gravity and sat down on the spider''s back upside down as they looked at the frozen exit with expressions of despair. Roland looked up at them and said with a smile, "Won''t you come down and talk?" Although drows were tyrannical, they actually knew when to advance and when to retreat. When they were strong, they would kill their enemies in brutal ways, and when they were weak, they would flee of their own accord. When they really couldn''t escape, they would fall to their knees and beg for mercy. Integrity was something that, to them, was discarded at birth. The two drows looked at each other, then they jumped down onto the ice and both got down on one knee. One of them said with a flattering smile, "What can I do for you, esteemed Mage?" The other drow touched her own thigh seductively with one hand and moved it slowly upward, her voice was full of suggestiveness. "Sir, anything can be promised as long as you don''t hurt us." Heh obscene, just like the books say. The three drows, while all quite beautiful, were no match for Andonara, and were about on par with Vivian. However, they all had great figures and surpassed Vivian in this aspect. However, Roland still wasn''t interested. If he truly had that need, it would be better to seek Andonara. Besides, it was rumored that drows were quite dirty, and if he acted recklessly with them, he might even contract some disease. Many of the viruses of that kind of disease were magical creatures[a][b], and even Abolish Poison wasn''t effective on them. Unless, of course, the one abolishing the poison was very, very strong. The other drow was now finally struggling out of her paralysis. She didn''t dare to attack Roland again, but instead followed the example of her two companions and got down on one knee. Roland looked at them and first summoned two more offensive puppets to surround the three of them. The three drows faltered at the sight of the three offensive puppets, and then immediately twisted their figures even more enticingly. It was also hard for them to make seductive poses while kneeling on one knee. Roland shook his head helplessly. "Just tell me how those spiders managed to eliminate the sound in this area." The three drows looked at each other, and finally, the drow who had become invisible said, "Esteemed Mage, that is a Sound Barrier. Haven''t you heard of it?" Roland shook his head. "Of course not. Do you know how to use it?" The three drows didn''t speak. Their skin was so dark that their expressions could hardly be discerned. Their lips, however, were similar in color to cherry blossoms and looked strange when paired with their black skin. "If any of you can teach me, or tell me about the spell model, I''ll let you three go." The three drows'' expressions became even more bewildered. The drow whose hair was electrified and standing on end couldn''t help but say, "Esteemed Mage, the Sound Barrier is a divine spell of our goddess, Lolth, and outsiders can''t learn it." "Then why can spiders use it?" "These human-faced spiders are created by the males of our clan, and they are still essentially drows themselves." The drow continued to explain, "When they become spiders, they gain some special abilities, and the Sound Barrier is one of them. it is convenient for them to help us catch our prey." "You all know it, I suppose." The drows nodded. Roland smiled. "Then use it in front of me a few times and I''ll see if I can recreate it." [a]i don''t understand this [b]Many of the viruses of ''that kind of disease'' (as in STDs) are living magical creatures. Feel free to adjust the sentence so that it sounds more understandable. 280 You Stay For the average person, divine magic was a gift from the gods, and outsiders couldn''t learn it. Whether one was good or evil, many people felt that this was basic common sense. But as Roland learned more and more magic and increased his own level, he was able to sense more and more things with his mental power. For example, he could perceive danger and incoming projectiles, but these were just additional effects. The really powerful benefit about having strong mental power was that he seemed to be able to feel the tip of the iceberg when another person used magic. In other words, he had an inkling of the spell model''s circulation route, though it was only a few nodes. However, this was a breakthrough in progress. Going from one to nine wasn''t really hard, it was going from zero to one that was hard. The drow looked at Roland, was silent for a moment, and said, "Sir, we are using divine magic, not magic." "It doesn''t matter if it''s divine magic, as long as you use it more often," Roland said with a smile. "Don''t worry, if I am sure I have no way to learn it, I will also let you go." The three drows were all relieved. Then they took turns using Sound Barrier at Roland''s request. At any given time, Roland could only capture a few nodes, but he was in no hurry and recorded every node he captured, using the notepad that came with the system. The three drows didn''t have much magic power. Each of them would run out of mana after casting Sound Barrier three to four times, and in less than half a day, Roland had drained them of their magic power. Looking at the three dispirited drows, Roland said with a smile, "Come stay in my small house, I have enough food, and take your time to recover your magic power. I''m in no hurry." The three drows looked at Roland''s smile, and for some reason, they had the impression of seeing a demon. Next, the three drows ate and slept, slept and ate, and in between, they cast Sound Barrier a few times during the daythey were being raised as pigs. Roland''s Backpack had a lot of food and rations stored inside. After all, there was nothing worth storing for him, so he subconsciously stuffed a lot of dry food into it, purely as a kind of obsessive compulsion, always wanting to fill it up. Unexpectedly, a large number of rations actually came in handy in this situation. For the past ten days or so, all three drows had been well-behaved. One aspect of this was that Roland was indeed stronger than them. Drows were a very practical race that worshiped power, and when they were defeated, they wouldn''t act recklessly if they didn''t have a chance of winning. Another aspect was that the rations that Roland took out were a real pleasure for them to eat. But in reality, this prairie where he was now had little food production. There were also very few animals; there were only birds, insects, and other small creatures. The kingdom of drows was built underground, and there was even less food underground, most of which was in the hands of the big shots. This was why the majority of the time, the hungry drows would venture to the surface for food. The rations that Roland gave were all meat It was a rare treat for the drows. To them, even rations were still a delicacy and quite filling. This was why they had no intention of running. Instead, they tried even harder to seduce Roland, wanting to stay by his side. However, Roland was unmoved. Roland was also wondering why in the beginning these drows were somewhat rebellious, but now, they were well-behaved. Of course, being well-behaved was a good thing. Then after a few more days, Roland finally wrote down all the magic nodes of the Sound Barrier. He looked at the tightly packed nodes on the notepad, then smiled at the three drows and said, "Well, you can go now." But then, none of the three drows moved. One of them even said, "Sir, how about we follow you?" "What are you guys thinking?" Roland laughed. "Drows are evil creatures and are considered hostile to us humans. Under normal circumstances, a drow entering the human world would be killed, unless she''s wearing a slave ring around her neck." "Then why didn''t you kill us, sir?" Roland thought about it and said, "Right now, I don''t see you guys doing anything bad, so I can''t kill you. Besides, you guys didn''t try to kill me before, you just wanted to kidnap me, right?" In fact, Roland''s suspicion was correct. These three drows did indeed have the intention of kidnapping Roland and bringing him back to the underground kingdom for breeding. In the matriarchal society of drows, a woman often had three or four husbands. Their self-esteem was very high, and the number of husbands was related to how high their invisible social status was. Multiple human husbands were no big deal at all. And Mages had always been the first choice for breeding. Looking at the stunned expressions of the three drows, Roland was about to snap his fingers and teleport away, but he suddenly remembered something and took out a throwing knife from his Backpack. He said to the drow who had thrown it at him before, "This is a magical weapon, dp you know enchantment?" This drow nodded, a look of anticipation in her eyes. The other two drows looked at her enviously. "Can you teach enchantment to me?" This drow nodded vigorously, "Although my enchantment abilities aren''t great, I can teach you all the basics." "Well then, you stay." This drow perked up while she proudly looked down at her two companions next to her. The other two drows looked at her with resentment, then left with very reluctant expressions. Roland sat this drow down and said, "Learning enchantment wasn''t part of my previous conditions. I''ll pay you some gold coins when you''ve taught me the basics." The drow smiled and said, "Sir, you''re very principled, much more responsible than our male drows." Roland had no interest in the drow''s flattery and asked, "How much do I have to pay for tuition?" "Before that" this drow said, looking at the cocoon hole above her head, "we need to get out of here. I know my people too well, and they''ll soon return to the underground kingdom and find friends and family to ''welcome'' us." Roland wasn''t surprised, as he had actually considered this, "So do you have any place to hide your tracks?" The drow stood up, nodded, and said, "Yes. Also, sir, you may call me Mirna." Not being very authoritarian, Roland took Mirna''s advice and changed locations, walking at least thirty kilometers across the steppe before burrowing into an underground pit. "I dug this myself. I was going to spend my last moments here when I was too old to hold a weapon, but also as my graveyard." As Mirna stood in the round pit, her expression had an eeriness to it. Roland instinctively took two steps back; he had just felt a strange power in Mirna''s body. It wasn''t Mirna''s power, though: it was as if she had been briefly possessed by something. 281 Its Really Not Difficul "What''s the matter with you?" Mirna was flustered by Roland''s gaze. It wasn''t that Roland''s gaze was aggressive, the drows were never afraid of any lusty gazes or looks; rather, they quite liked it, as long as the males staring at them didn''t look too ugly or disgusting. At this moment, Roland''s eyes were toned with some scrutiny, so Mirna felt a little scared. "Nothing." Roland withdrew his gaze. Mirna''s clothes were quite revealing, giving people a wild and revealing impression, especially after she entered the pit and took off the black cloak. Her curves were fine and tight, making her look extremely attractive. Roland was also a little aroused, but that was just his body''s instinctive reaction. His spirit, on the other hand, did not fluctuate at all. In reality, this was what was bound to happen when a Mage''s mental power was strong to a certain degree. A Mage''s soul and spirit would always be stronger than their body, and the distance between the two would increase as they leveled up, and in a few more levels, Roland could even manage the instinctive reactions of the body directly with his spirit, without even a chance of getting aroused. Roland felt that the special power he had just felt could be Mirna''s hidden power. He didn''t think it was his imagination. His mental power was already strong to this degree, all of his perceptions and senses could hardly go wrong anymore. Unless he was under a psychic spell. This was why he secretly prepared himself, fearing something unexpected. But he still acted as if he didn''t perceive anything and said with a smile, "Well, now that we''re here, no one should be bothering us anymore." "Of course not." Seeing Roland''s gaze return to normal, Mirna was relieved and said, "I only know a little bit about enchantment so" "It''s okay, just teach the foundations to me," Roland said with a smile. "It''s hard to learn," Mirna said. "I''m considered to be of a little above average among my race, and I''m young, but I''m smart, and it still took me nearly a decade to get the basics." Roland shook his head indifferently. "It''s okay, just speak. Still, if it''s my personal problem that I can''t learn it, I won''t take my anger out on you." Okay Mirna found this a little strange. Growing up in a matriarchal family, Mirna, who had always seen men as tools, suddenly felt as if it was indeed normal for men to be strong. When she grew up in the underground kingdom, she always heard from her aunts and uncles that human males and the good-for-nothing drow males were two completely different thingshumans were quite charming and bold. She never used to believe it very much. How could males be courageous? It was just a matter of resisting their seduction techniques for a little longer, what more could there be? They were truly different. Although they were also somewhat frail, their temperamentacute and dauntlessmade her heart flutter. And then she became more and more well-behaved, of course Seduction from time to time was an opportunity; this was the drow''s instincts. Roland''s body clearly reacted to a small degree, but there was still clarity in his eyes. For over a month, Roland didn''t touch Mirna even once. This made Mirna almost doubt her own charm. In Mirna''s eyes, the level of Roland''s effort could not be described in words. Never sleeping, he would experiment every day after listening to her explanation. He was very serious and very focused. When conducting basic introductory experiments, when there were no magic materials, Roland would tie her up without saying a word and just teleport away. The first time Mirna saw Roland use Teleportation, her jaw almost didn''t close for half an hour. Teleportation was hard enough to learn, but the difficulty of Long-Distance Teleportation was almost on the same level as a divination spell. If they weren''t a super genius, one simply couldn''t learn it. Are all the males in the human world monsters? After seeing the Teleportation, Mirna completely gave up on running away, or even seducing him. She fully understood that the two of them were not on the same level. Each time Roland teleported back to Delpon, he would chat with Andonara and Vivian, replenish his rations, and get his magic supplies before teleporting back. And after more than a month of study, Roland finally understood the nature of the so-called enchantment. In essence, it was a chemical reaction with magic involved. It was simple in essence, but the recipe was very troublesome. Because everyone''s mental fluctuations, as well as the nature of magic power, were different, there was no way for the dose of magic power, the most important catalyst, to be reliably set. And there were also a lot of impurities. Even if Roland had the Magic Power Control specialty, he could not precisely control the trace input of magic power. In addition, magic materials were a big problem, probably due to the purification process. Even the magic materials brought over from the Magic Tower were not extremely pure, greatly affecting the effect of enchantment. The two factors added up to a success rate of less than sixty percent for even the simplest enchantment to reduce the weight of a weapon. And the weight reduction effect fluctuated randomly from ten to thirty percent. Roland furrowed his brow deeply at this. He felt the need to find ways to improve his control over magic power, as well as the need to also purify his magical materials. Otherwise, the expense was just too great. Magic materials were generally very expensive, and because of this, Roland was now very glad that he had chosen the specialty of Magic Material Exemption early on. Otherwise, he would have lost at least a third of his gold coins. After spending a month and a half, Roland learned a lot about enchantment from Mirna. For example, how to identify the properties of magic materials, how to taste the effects of magic plants with your mouth, and the fixed measures of magic materials. According to Mirna, enchantment was a very profound discipline, and these were just the basics of the foundation. Feeling that he had learned almost everything he could from Mirna, Roland flicked the dagger in his hand and threw it back at Mirna. "Well, it''s time for me to go." Mirna stood up and didn''t say anything, but her expression looked a little reluctant. After a month and a half of being together, although it was a bit unpleasant at first, the two sides were at peace with each other and slowly became familiar with each other, and their relationship became relatively better. It couldn''t be said that their relationship was extremely good, but they could be considered acquaintances. Roland took out a dozen or so gold coins and handed them to her, slipped her a packet of jerky, then continued, "I hope we don''t have the chance to meet again in the futureafter all, humans and drows are enemies." Mirna pursed her lips, not knowing what to say. Roland turned roughly in the direction of Delpon, and held out his hand, about to snap his fingers to use Teleportation. This was his fixed casting gesture, which had a certain psychological effect that sped up the casting of silent spells. But the moment his two fingers were about to touch, a strange power suddenly appeared behind him. His hair instantly stood on end. 282 An Explanation The weird power behind him raised goosebumps all over Roland''s body. He suddenly turned around, only to see a thin, fair hand reaching for his throat. The fingers on this hand were pointy, with blood-like nail polish. Roland suddenly leaned back and unleashed all his mental power to create a Magic Shield. Magic Shields were generally transparent, but this one was milky, no longer as thick as an eggshell but at least three centimeters thick. By logic, such a Magic Shield could''ve resisted all attacks below the level of Legendary. However, this tiny hand only squeezed it softly, and the Magic Shield was already creaking as if it were falling apart. The cracks were spreading out from where the Magic Shield was being squeezed. Roland had foreseen the possibility a month earlier. Though uncomfortable, he was not really nervous. The Magic Shield gradually turned transparent, and Roland stared at the owner of the tiny hand Mirna. At this point, Mirna did not look as obedient as before. Her smiling lips looked like a crescent moon and seemed quite creepy. Also, her eyes turned from bright brown to deep green. They seemed to be glimmering too. More importantly Mirna had a white arm though her skin was dark. Mirna smiled even more creepily and delightedly when Roland stared at her. Although cracks were spreading on the Magic Shield, it was still functional at this point. Staring at her, Roland asked casually, "Who are you?" In silence, Mirna squeezed the Magic Shield for another while. Though more cracks were appearing, the Magic Shield was still intact. At this point, a wound appeared on the hand Mirna had on the shield, and blood squirted into the air. Then, the mist of blood dispersed. Another two seconds later, another mist of blood spurted out. Roland slightly raised his eyebrow. There were no more cracks on the Magic Shield. Three seconds later, multiple streams of blood squirted simultaneously, and Mirna moved her hand back. She stared at Roland for a while and suddenly said, "This body is too meager. You''re lucky today. But don''t be relieved yet. I''ll come back again." Her voice was weird because it seemed to be echoing. It was rather intimidating, but pleasant too. After that, Mirna put on a thoughtful smile, before she closed her eyes and lay on the ground. Roland went over and checked Mirna''s status. He was relieved to find that she''d only passed out due to exhaustion. After that, Roland left the cave through Teleportation. About four hours later, Mirna woke up in a shock. She looked around and then between her legs. Feeling her own body again, she sighed in disappointment. That man was really a coward to have done nothing to her. Roland, on the other hand, had teleported back to Delpon. He returned to his manor after several minutes of gagging. Seated in a chair, he enjoyed Andonara''s massage while he considered what had happened just now. Mirna was obviously possessed by a powerful soul lurking in her body. There was no telling if it was a ghost or a devil. That thing did not reveal any ability, but only used some physical strength. After all, Mirna''s body was not the best container. Actually, Roland had his guesses. He felt that it should be a certain someone. Andonara was quite a good masseuse. Roland enjoyed her service for a while and then left for the Magic Tower. He gathered his notes on enchantment in his study and was about to upload them to the forum, when he noticed something wrong after he logged in. There were a lot of short messages and system notifications. He checked the notifications, only to discover that they were basically the same. "Big Pineapple has reported you for maliciously using bugs." "Boiled Chicken has reported you for maliciously using bugs." "has reported you" Stunned, Roland scratched his head, having no idea what happened. He had spent the last two months on the prairie. He didn''t do anything, nor was he livestreamed. He had always been by himself. Why was he reported? He immediately checked the feedback section and the public discussions. Then, he finally realized what it was about. As it turned out, it was because of his spatial bubble skill. After all, the speed boost that Human Cannonball could provide, as a set of skills, was too unbelievable. However, the authorities never issued any announcement on the matter, showing no interest in forbidding it. The players had argued for more than two months but failed to convince one another. But the discussions were getting less heated. They would probably move on to other topics in ten to fifteen days. Roland, for one, did not consider it a big deal. If the authorities considered it a bug to use the spatial bubbles in such a way, they could ban the spell. However, they hadn''t done anything in the past two months, which indicated that they did not consider it a bug. Roland wrote down the key points on enchantment. Because too much information was involved, he wrote thousands of words and pointed out that it took him a month and a half to learn enchantment. Since players did not need to sleep, it would''ve taken three months for a regular person to learn the skill. It was not hard to imagine how difficult it was to pick up enchantment. "Because enchantment is too challenging, I can only make a brief introduction here. Whoever wants to learn it, feel free to find me at the Magic Tower in Delpon." After concluding his article, Roland uploaded the thread. The players soon found the thread and posted a lot of replies. "The cheater is finally here. Are you done hiding after two months?" "My friend, he was not hiding at all, all right? He was learning enchantment." "That must be an excuse." "While you criticized him, he was working hard. No wonder he is so much stronger than the rest of you." "I''m told that enchantment is an awesome life skill. I didn''t know that someone already picked it up He really deserves to be the Best Mage." "The Best Mage? More like the Best Cheater." "You can cheat too if you''re capable. Isn''t it shameless to consider everything you can''t achieve as cheating?" "You''ve complained and tried to force the authorities to speak up for a month, but the authorities haven''t said anything. Doesn''t it prove anything?" "I''m going to lower the experts to the level of the noobs where I will beat them with my abundant experience as a noob." "Let me repeat. If the authorities don''t give an explanation in two days, I''ll initiate a petition and report the game to the government bureaus. It''s really unfair that they''re turning a blind eye to us!" 283 A Thousand Kilometers in a Day Roland wandered on the forum for a while and found a lot of discussions on whether the special results that were achieved with features of magic were bugs or in accordance to the spirit of a sandbox game. The debaters on both sides had made valid points, but essentially speaking, it was an argument between Mages and other classes. After all, only the Mages were 100% sure that they could learn spatial bubbles, while Warlocks and Priests could only pick up magic randomly. Few players could learn Magic Shield and spatial bubbles at the same time. Besides, they also needed Slow Landing when they were to descend from the sky. Unless they were terribly lucky, it would be hard for Warlocks and Priests to make use of this move. However, since there were too few Mages, the opinions on the forum were pretty much one-sided. Roland stopped after reading a few threads, as most of the points made in those threads were similar. All the players had received systematic educations and were good at debating. None of them could convince the other side. Roland did not intend to meddle. It was up to the authorities whether or not Human Cannonball was allowed. After all, even if this approach was forbidden, Roland would still look for other ways to fly. Also, he had more inspiration these days. For example, he could change Hand of Magic into aerodynamic wings and power it with a fire spell. By hanging himself on the wings and reducing his weight through Slow Landing, he would be like inventing a simple flying suit. Of course, Roland did not possess sophisticated knowledge of aerodynamics, but he could always ask around and search for information. There was always a solution. Roland viewed the forums for a while and found that the players were generally playing in the same way as before. The entertainment players and the battle players were all working hard in their own way. The merchant players kept making money, and the PVP players fought each other and made more and more enemies. Apart from the spatial bubble incident, lots of the posts in the forums were about the conflicts between players who threw profanities at each other. Also, it occurred to Roland that fewer and fewer people were willing to share their experiences. The players began to keep their new discoveries to themselves. After all, the profits behind certain discoveries were too huge. People had changed but it was quite understandable. Roland read for a while and found no useful guidance threads or tips. So, he began to clear the garbage in his mailbox. But in the end, a private message from a player drew his attention. The message was sent not a while earlier. "Roland, I''ve found something about the Red Magic Tower that you''ll be interested in. Let''s talk on WeChat. My ID is 5521*****." The advanced organization of hermits on magic? Roland had seen a thing or two in the library in his Magic Tower. Certain people who were gifted and capable had been gathered and established multiple Magic Towers according to the magic classes they were good at. The Red Magic Tower, for example, specialized in evoking magic, and the Gray Magic Tower focused on spatial magic. Wait! The Association of Mages in Hollevin was only a middle school compared to those Magic Towers that were essentially research institutes. Roland had picked up almost all the level-one and level-two spells in the Association of Mages. It was time that he moved on to higher levels. It was impossible to open WeChat App in the game, but that was not a problem, because WeChat also had a web version that Roland could open in the game. He friended the guy on WeChat, and very soon, the guy accepted his request. "Are you Roland?" "Yes." "I have information on the Red Magic Tower. I guarantee it''s true." "How much do you want?" "Ten gold coins." "That''s rather expensive. Isn''t it too much to charge ten gold coins for one piece of information?" "Not at all, because a token would be offered to you too, without which you can never find the Red Magic Tower." "Fine, it''s a deal." "I''m in Sisilia. Come to me, please. You''re very fast when you fly anyway." Sisilia! Roland remembered that the reformers were based near that city. "Okay. I''ll try to go ASAP." "I''ll wait for you at the Center of Chambers of Commerce in Sisilia." This player went offline after saying that. Roland, on the other hand, returned to his manor and spoke to Andonara and Vivian about his trip to Sisilia. Vivian was not happy. "But you''ve only been back for a day." Roland smiled. "I wasn''t really away, was I? Besides, I''ll be back from Sisilia in no time." Roland had teleported back every other day while he learned enchantment from Mirna. So, for Andonara and Vivian, he was never really away. Andonara said casually, "This is where his home and roots are. Wherever he goes, he will come back. Don''t worry too much." Andonara was now more and more relaxed and graceful. Before, she had tempted Roland now and then, but she rarely did that anymore. The longer she lived here, the more reassured she was. As she grew closer and closer to Roland, she found it unnecessary to bind Roland to herself with a physical relationship. Vivian found it quite unbelievable, seeing Andonara''s graceful look. She remembered clearly how sexy and attractive Andonara was when she arrived, but Andonara had become a majestic queen now. Also, Andonara liked wearing the queen''s crown in front Roland, although she never did that to other people. It seemed to be a special way to have fun for her. Though Vivian was reluctant, Roland still set off an hour later. He activated the spatial bubbles on the top floor of the Magic Tower. After multiple times swallowing and launching, he left Delpon at a high speed. The earth was retreating fast in front of his eyes. Before his departure, Roland had memorized the map. Also, he was lucky enough to not meet any bad weather. Two hours later, he landed outside of Sisilia successfully. It truly felt great to cover a thousand kilometers within a day. He felt that inventing Human Cannonball might be the best decision in his life. Hollevin was a small country but this world was simply too big. This small country actually had a huge coverage. It was slightly bigger than India. Sisilia was an important city on the border between Hollevin and the desert kingdoms. It was also a city of commerce. Merchant convoys were waiting in line to enter the city. The line stretched two kilometers. Thankfully, the pedestrians had another entrance, but their line was almost five hundred meters long too. As a Mage, Roland had his privileges. The guards let him through the moment he came to the gate. However, before he got a full view of the city, someone came to him. "Are you Roland?" The person seemed to be quite delighted. 284 Change Needs Time "Are you Roland?" The person before Roland was excited. He had golden hair, blue eyes, and an athletic body, although something about his face was unusual. It was obvious that he was a player. Roland blinked his eyes and asked, "And you are?" "I''m Ziegfeld, from the Coalition of Progress." The player shook hands with Roland warmly and firmly. "I''ve been meaning to talk to you, but I never had time. I didn''t expect to meet you here. It''s really great. I''m quite lucky!" Roland could barely stand the guy''s enthusiasm. The young men nowadays, including Roland, were unusually not good at dealing with people who were particularly warm to them. It was not because they were short of social skills, but because they treated colleagues, clients, and friends in different ways. They could greet strangers normally, but they were quite unused to talking to them warmly or being talked to in the same way. So, Roland could only manage a smile and say, "Hello, I''m indeed Roland. What can I do for you?" "Can we talk for a while in the tavern over there?" Ziegfeld pointed to one side. Roland pondered for a moment. He was about to decline the request, but Ziegfeld was too hopeful and earnest. Having no choice, Roland could only agree to his request. They sat down in the tavern. There were few people in the tavern, probably because it was not rush hour yet. After ordering two cups of fruit wine, Ziegfeld said, "You must''ve heard about the Coalition of Progress, right?" "I''ve read your posts on the forum that are hiring new people and looking for new friends." Ziegfeld smiled happily and continued, "We''ve been paying attention to you too. Most players nowadays are selfish and are unwilling to share their new discoveries or research results. When they do release their findings, they will still charge forum coins." Roland listened in silence. He had noticed the trend too. "But you''re different. You''re still publicizing your knowledge for free," Ziegfeld said in admiration. "You have the spirit of community. The central members of our group all agree that you should join us." Roland was briefly stunned. "Right now?" "Of course right now. It''s never too early to start." Ziegfeld smiled and said, "We need powerful partners who can understand us." Roland frowned. "But now is still not the time." "Why not?" Ziegfeld was slightly surprised. "The players are not strong enough yet," Roland explained. "Personally, I don''t object to your ambitions. I don''t like the aristocracy in this world either. But this is really not the best time." "Are you saying that we''re too weak?" asked Ziegfeld slowly. Roland nodded. Roland was much more reassured after hearing that. He asked curiously, "How many members have you recruited?" "A thousand players have joined our group." Ziegfeld smiled and said, "There are also more than ten thousand ordinary people, who live with us in the suburbs. We have established a small town that is run completely according to the system on our side." Roland gasped after hearing that. "More than ten thousand people?" Ziegfeld nodded in satisfaction. "That''s too huge a target," Roland mumbled. "I feel that something might go wrong." "That''s fine. We''ve taken that into consideration too. If they come, we''ll beat them." Ziegfeld smiled. "We know the soldiers of the lieges nearby well, and we''re not scared." "No." Roland shook his head. "I''m scared that the gods will be involved." After a brief silence, Ziegfeld said, "Personally, I''m rather worried too. That''s why we live in the suburbs and try to stay away from the believers." Roland drank the fruit wine in silence. Observing Roland for a while, Ziegfeld asked, "Roland, are you willing to join us?" Roland thought for a moment and replied, "Can I consider it for a couple of days?" "Of course. You can find us in the suburbs when you think it through. You won''t miss it." Ziegfeld smiled and stood up. "It''s getting late. I have to deliver the salt to the town." The good thing about the system Backpack was that nobody could see what other people were carrying or rob them. After Ziegfeld left, Roland finished the fruit wine and asked the bartender where the Chamber of Commerce was. Then, he left for his destination. This was a crowded city of business. While he walked, Roland considered what Ziegfeld said. It was unquestionable that Ziegfeld and his group were doing the right thing, but they were too hasty. They had already copied the system and the ideas from reality and even established a town. They were quite effective, but they were not powerful enough. More importantly, they had shown their intentions, and should they be discovered, the gods would be wary of such ideas in the future. In such a case, it would be much harder to disseminate similar ideas. Roland only hoped that he was overthinking it Soon, Roland arrived at the Chamber of Commerce. He was about to ask the guard if there was a Rollaford in this place, when a young man walked out and waved his hand at Roland. "Roland, here!" Roland walked to him and asked, "Rollaford?" The player nodded. Without further ado, he took out a black gem from his system Backpack. "This can help you find the Red Magic Tower." Roland gave him ten gold coins. They exchanged the black gem and the gold coins. After taking the gold coins, the player seemed to be leaving. But he suddenly turned around and asked, "Right, are you willing to be hired by players?" Roland was puzzled. "With the system Backpacks, you needn''t worry about someone robbing you of your merchandise, do you?" Oh, so they were interested in Roland''s Language Proficiency. "Is it a tricky quest?" "Not exactly. We''ll pay you one gold coin for your service. How does it sound?" Rollaford thought for a moment and continued, "Also, this quest probably rewards a lot of EXP. It''s a blue quest." "Deal." Roland nodded. The guy was truly a smart businessman to discover Roland''s need. Roland did not care about a gold coin, but EXP was definitely attractive to him. At this point, Roland needed EXP more than he needed money. Rollaford smiled and said, "Fantastic. The quest we''ve been stuck on for five days can finally be resolved." 285 Game and Dream Roland had thought that if Rollaford was a businessman, his boss should be a businessman too. However, when he met the boss in person, Roland realized that he had made a mistake. This boss was a Lorewalker. Some players in this game were plain and some attractive, and this man was among the pretty ones. He must''ve added stat points to Charm. Extending his hand with a smile, he said, "Roland, how fortunate of us to meet you here." After more than half a year, most people had realized the benefits of Charm. Even though they only added two or three points to Charm, they would gain invisible advantages during interaction with NPCs. For example, it would be easier for them to bargain, make a good first impression, or hit on girls or guys. There would be much fewer social obstacles and many more opportunities. Even though the players knew that the pretty face in the game was virtual, they would inevitably back off or be more generous when they saw a good-looking person. Roland smiled and said, "Hello. You are?" "You may call me Kennedy." "That''s really an impressive name" Roland gasped, not knowing what he should say about the players. Kennedy laughed and said, "It''s just a common Western name. Please don''t overthink it." Okay. I won''t think! At this point, Rollaford said next to them, "Our deputy chairman is Lincoln, our minister of diplomacy is McKinley, and our minister of execution is Garfield." Roland was even more speechless. Kennedy slightly shook Roland''s hand, smiling delightedly if not proudly. The namesakes of those four people ended up the same way in history. They were truly bold enough to give themselves such names. Looking at Roland''s face, which seemed to indicate that he was constipated, Kennedy laughed. "That''s exactly what I hoped to see. We''ve told a lot of people our names, but only one0third of them know that these names belong to celebrities, and only one-fifty know who they are." Roland did not know how he should comment on those weirdos, because he wasn''t one. After a brief silence, Roland said, "Let''s talk about the quest." Kennedy seemed disappointed. "It''s rare to meet someone who can understand our names. But aren''t you too boring? Can you praise us a little bit?" "Attaboy!" Roland clapped his hands with the eyes of a dead fish and then said, "Okay, can you share the quest now?" It''s really annoying to deal with a guy who knows why you''re fun but refuses to be amused. Kennedy sighed and led Roland to his home. It was a two-storied building in a mid-sized neighborhood. The second floor was a library, where the bookshelves were laden with quaint books. Also, there was the stink of mud and dust on this floor. Kennedy led Roland to the desk and shared the quest with Roland. New quest received: Translate the ancient words (Excellent). Roland cast Unhindered Communication on Kennedy and said, "Take a look yourself." Kennedy eagerly looked at the painting on the desk. Roland looked at it too. It was more of a collection of hieroglyphs than a painting. At first look, those words seemed to be Elvish, but then Roland disapproved of the idea, because the Elvish writings were beautiful and elegant, while the words here were crude and simple. They were not nearly as attractive as the Elvish writings. Thanks to Unhindered Communication, Roland understood what they meant. "We''re falling back. Our brothers and sisters who have monopolized our mother''s love are driving us away from our mother with their fine weapons. That''s unfair. Why are they so beautiful and smart? Our mother didn''t treat us fairly." It was everything on the painting, without any context. Roland, however, found that Kennedy was shaking. The man blushed and then laughed so hard that his laughter echoed throughout the building. "My speculation is true! The trolls and the elves are of the same origin. They''re both the children of the World Tree. This is the evidence! "This is the evidence!" While laughing, Kennedy shouted and danced as if nobody were around. Roland shook his head and left the building. Rollaford walked him out of the building and said, "Sorry about that, but that''s just what our boss is like. In reality, he is a civil servant who graduated as an archeology student two years ago. He loves archeology, but it''s hard to make ends meet as an archaeologist, so he became a civil servant. However, he still considers himself an archaeologist, and he''s always excited whenever he discovers anything in the game." Roland nodded in sympathy. He was actually similar. When he found a new magic theory in his Magic Tower, he would laugh aloud too. He was definitely not in a place to mock Kennedy. Then, Rollaford gave the gold coin that he promised to Roland. After thanking him, Roland left. On the street, Roland turned on the system menu. Quest "Translate ancient words" accomplished. EXP +214. The reward was a lot for a blue quest. However, Roland''s EXP bar only increased by a tiny bit. Starting from level five, the EXP required for a level-up had soared, and hundreds of EXP points were not nearly enough. Leaving aside the Masters who were older than fifty, Roland was confused about how Andonara became a Master Swordsman when she was only in her twenties. It didn''t make sense. She didn''t have a system and couldn''t accomplish quests. Did she automatically receive EXP every day due to her Hero bloodline? He decided to ask Andonara later when he had time. Then, Roland took out the black gem he bought and examined it in the sunlight. He found that the silver stripes within the black gem seemed to have formed a strange magic array. Enchantments, magic scrolls, and magic arrays, the three advanced magic ancillary skills, could decide the upper limit of a Mage to some extent. Now, Roland had learned a thing or two about enchantment, but he did not know where he could study magic scrolls and magic arrays. But there was a magic array in this black gem. Did it mean that those major Magic Towers had lessons on magic arrays? Roland focused his mental power on the black gem, and soon, a red spot moved in the gem and stopped at one side of it. "The east!" Roland turned the gem, and the gem simply pointed at the east without turning. It was truly an indicator. In a corner, Roland activated Human Cannonball. While everybody exclaimed in shock, Roland took off into the sky at an unbelievable speed. 286 Hybrids Human Cannonball was quite fast, but even so, the red spot was still pointing east after Roland flew for two hours. He stopped and built a small building to take a rest. After his mana was recovered, he continued his journey to the east. His magic regeneration was slower than his consumption. So, without using the Mind-Calming Necklace, Roland could only fly two hours and rest five hours in order to replenish himself. It was because the capacity of his mana had soared after his level-up. Though his magic regeneration had been slightly increased by Roland''s Zeal, it couldn''t catch up with the growth of Roland''s total mana. After all, he had added all his stat points on Intelligence, which decided the basic damage of his spells as well as the upper limit of his mana. Based on the direction of the black gem, Roland kept flying eastward. He passed the prairie and the desert, weathering wind and thunderstorms. He even happened upon a silver dragon, which was surprised to see him and intended to catch him, but it couldn''t catch up with Roland at all. Roland lost the dragon after only half an hour. Roland was not interested in the silver dragon at all. He only wanted to find the Red Magic Tower at this point. Flying two hours and resting five hours, Roland continued the journey day and night. He estimated that he had crossed a handful of countries before he finally reached the sea. Before Roland was a shallow, beautiful blue sea. The view here was beautiful. The bottom of the sea could be seen from the sky, and all kinds of creatures were swimming beneath the surface of the clear water. The silver beach was glittering under the sunlight too. This would''ve made a famous tourist site on Earth, but Roland was rather desperate at this point. He slowly landed from the sky and stood on the highest rock near the shore. The sea before his eyes was beautiful, but also boundless. The wind from the sea, carrying a fishy scent, blew at Roland''s robe. Staring at the horizon for a long time, Roland finally heaved a helpless sigh. If it were on the continent, he could''ve reached his destination however far it was even though it might take him some time. But things were tricky if it was on the other side of the sea, which was impossible for him to fly across, unless this was not a sea but a channel. Without a place to rest, he would only drown in the sea and end up in a fish''s stomach. Roland stood in silence on the rock for a quarter-hour before he flew south. He wanted to look for a city and ask the residents there about this sea. It would be even better if he could find a map. He could simply fly across it if it was only a channel. However, if it was a massive sea, he would consider other solutions. As he expected, he found a city after flying for half an hour. The tall wall of the city reflected green light under the sun. From above the city, Roland found that the buildings of this city were rather primitive. The houses and towers were all built on uneven green stones. As a result, there were protrusions on the surface of every building, but it was weirdly beautiful. The city was not quite large. It was shaped like a square, four kilometers in length and three kilometers in width. From the sky, Roland could see a lot of people walking on the streets below. Casting Unhindered Communication on himself, Roland landed on an empty ground that felt like a square. However, he noticed something wrong the moment he landed. The residents around him all had foxy ears, gray hair, and long fluffy tails, regardless of their gender and age. Roland looked at them in surprise, and they looked at Roland in surprise too. Then, their curiosity was gradually replaced by apprehension, until one of the females shouted, "Ah a human Mage! Run!" Her scream was like some sort of signal that activated all the people in the square. In panic, they fled from Roland, crying out. Many of them even threw whatever was in their hands away in order to run faster. A senior, holding his crutch, shouted, "Take the children away first! The valiant of you, stall this human Mage with me!" Though frightened and barely steady, the senior staggered at Roland. Some of the middle-aged residents intended to flee, but looking at the crying children, they gritted their teeth and charged at Roland despite their fear. It was quite a mess. Roland was stunned. Looking at the people who were charging at him with their bare hands, he softly sighed. Activating the spatial bubbles, Roland soared to the sky and disappeared in the horizon before those middle-aged residents reached him. Although Roland was gone, the riot in the square lasted another ten minutes. Soon, everybody in the city learned that a human Mage was here. Uneasiness spread through the city. In the mayor''s office, the handsome young fox was on one of his knees. "Father, please let me hunt this human Mage down with three hundred soldiers." The middle-aged vulpera who was seated high above looked at his son and said slowly, "Hirlow, are you confident in killing him?" "No." Hirlow, the young lord, raised his head. His white hair had been tied into multiple ponytails, a typically female hairstyle, but he looked quite handsome. "But we can''t keep retreating now, Father. We have to teach human beings a lesson and make them feel pain, or we will always be despised by them, and they will catch us any time they want, until we all become slaves." The middle-aged mayor thought for a moment and asked, "Do you have no alternatives? As the future leader, you should not risk yourself." "Father, nobody is stronger than me in this whole city. Who else is more suitable for the mission than me?" The mayor sighed and said, "Go now. Three hundred soldiers are not enough. Take five hundred." "Yes, Father." Hirlow stood up in excitement. Receiving what he asked for, Hirlow left in delight. At first, he sniffed in the square and recorded Roland''s scent, which wasn''t completely gone yet. Then, he rode a gigantic wolf out of the city with five hundred soldiers. Instead of hunting Roland directly, he went south to the shoreline where a lot of small cabins had been built. Many green-skinned shorties were entering and exiting these cabins. 287 Whats That? Those green tiny creatures were rather tense when they noticed the strangers. Soon, a squad was gathered, and the short, green, human-shaped creatures cheered and charged out with wooden spears and lances at a rather high speed despite their awkward movement. Though those green creatures seemed aggressive, Hirlow was not anxious at all. A moment later, the squad approached Hirlow, and they all stopped when they were about to attack. The leader of the squad heaved a breath of relief and said, "Hahaha. It''s you, Young Master Hirlow." The short creature who was speaking had green scales all over his body, which was the shape of a human''s. He also had a fish head. When he talked, transparent mucus dripped from the sharp teeth behind his lips. The murloc was a vassal race to the vulpera. Because of their hideous appearance, the murloc''s social status among the hybrids was quite low. They were no better than kobolds. Nobody was willing to live with them except the vulpera. The vulpera''s reasoning was simple. They didn''t care if their vassal races were beautiful, because none could be more beautiful than themselves. With that logic, the vulpera was the only advanced hybrid race that was willing to accept the murloc. "It''s been a while, Chief Uluru." On the gigantic wolf, Hirlow smiled gently. "How have your people been doing?" "They''re fine." When the murloc talked, there were bubbling sounds from his throat. The murloc all looked similar to other races, but thanks to their keen noses, the vulpera could distinguish them by scent. Hirlow looked around and found that the population of the murloc had increased a lot. He said, "A human Mage arrived at our city a while back and fled soon after." "A human Mage?" The murloc''s bulbous eyes widened even more. "They''re here again?" Hirlow nodded. "So, I want you to patrol on the shoreline and contact us if you find anything." The murloc nodded quickly. "Okay, got it. All humans should die. We''ll try our best to defend the shoreline." Hirlow was reassured after receiving Chief Uluru''s promise. What he worried most was that the Mage would escape from the shoreline. The smell from the sea would cover the smell of a human. It would be difficult even for the vulpera to track a human next to the sea. But the murloc were different. They were familiar with sea scents and sensitive to foreign smells. So, they were the best guardians of the shoreline. After that, Hirlow led five hundred wolf-riders to the wood in the west, leaving a trail of smoke and dust rising to the sky behind them. When they were some distance from the wood, the rider in the lead slowed down, and when Hirlow caught up to him, the handsome vulpera archer said, "Young master, I smelled the human. He must be in the woods." Then, Hirlow raised his hands and roared, "Everybody, speed up, and don''t let the human escape!" The five hundred wolf-riders echoed him at the same time. At this point, Roland was taking a rest at the mountaintop. He had hidden himself inside a two-storied tower that only had ventilation holes. However, Roland had learned his lesson and released three magic spiders in advance as his sentinels. One of the spiders crawled to the top of the tallest tree and observed the environment. Soon, the dust raised by the wolf-riders caught the spider''s attention. After that, the images were transmitted to Roland''s brain through their mental connection. Roland opened a gap in the building''s wall and reduced his weight with Slow Landing, allowing him to climb the tree easily. Then, he saw the wolf-riders. Were they here for him? Roland did not want to cause any trouble during his search for the Magic Tower. But things didn''t go as planned. Roland saw that the riders got off from their mounts and surrounded the hill he was on, before they pressed uphill. As hundreds of people disappeared into the woods at the foot of the hill, Roland knew that he had to react. Though he didn''t know how they found him, he couldn''t stay here anymore. He didn''t consume much magic power this time. After two hours of rest, he was almost fully recovered. Since those people dared to search the mountain, they had probably prepared magic restrictions or special gadgets to deal with him. If he was surrounded by them, the consequences would be terrible. Roland turned the building back into mud. Then, he swooshed himself to the sky and projected himself to the sea. It was quite noisy when Roland was flying. Besides, the magic waves from the spatial bubbles were obvious too. The dozen vulpera who had been aiming at Roland since the moment he took off dropped their bows helplessly. Roland was too fast. They couldn''t predict his trajectory at all, and even if they could, their arrows couldn''t catch up with him. Hirlow knew a thing or two about Mages, but when he saw Roland passing him by from above and disappearing into the horizon, he was dumbfounded. "What''s that?" It took Roland four minutes to reach the sea. He really hated to give up halfway, not after he had already made it here. It was possible that he could find the Red Magic Tower after he crossed this sea. However, the problem was that he couldn''t cross it at this point. The sea was quite vast. In order to fly across it, he would need places to rest on his way. Though it was possible to freeze the seawater with Ice Ring, a tiny piece of floating ice would be useless on the sea, because the waves on the sea were almost two meters high even without wind and could easily flip the ice. As for bigger ice How much magic power would it consume? Creating ice in the sea was meant for him to recover his magic power. Wouldn''t it be self-contradictory if he wasted a lot of magic power on creating the ice? Besides, the weather on the sea could be fickle. Should he be caught in a storm, even a large piece of ice wouldn''t be safe. Standing next to the shoreline, Roland was quite gloomy. While he was sighing, he suddenly saw a squad of green human-shaped creatures running toward him with a weird gait from his left. He even heard their cries. Observing them more closely, Roland found that they were fully green and had big eyes that looked like light bulbs. Together with their imposing chins, they were so hideous that they were like aliens. "What''s that?" Roland made exactly the same remark as Hirlow did earlier. 288 Trying His Bes It was the first time Roland had seen such hideous humanoid creatures. He even felt that his eyes were burnt. Then, he decided to retreat. Although it was inappropriate to discriminate against someone for their look, they were really too ugly for Roland. The other reason was that he seemed to be on their patro routel, and a conflict might burst out if he trespassed on their territory. Therefore, Roland intended to get out of their way. But right then, the patrolling murloc suddenly stopped, and their leader sniffed and charged at Roland with his weapon. Roland was taken aback. He didn''t know that those creatures were so aggressive. However, seeing that they were holding wooden spears and lances, he knew that they should be intelligent, so he thought to talk to them. Hardly had he cast Language Proficiency on himself when the murloc, who were running with a hilarious posture, let out cries. In Roland''s ears, they were shouting, "The ugly human is spotted. Get him!" Roland nearly choked after hearing that. Though he was plain-looking, it was downright outrageous to say that he was ugly. Even more frustratingly, it was a bunch of real hideous monsters that had made the malicious remark. Taking a deep breath, he was about to talk, but a few spears, with huge fishing nets behind them, were hurled at him. Roland snapped his fingers and flashed ten meters back. After that, he activated spatial bubbles and flew away from the seashore while those murloc wailed furiously. After flying for half an hour away from the seashore, Roland took a rest to recover his mana. He snapped his fingers, ready to use Long-Distance Teleportation. However, he was dizzy. He checked his status, only to discover that his mana had been used up. The Long-Distance Teleportation failed. This place was so far away from Delpon that he couldn''t return even after he consumed all his mana. He could only put on the Mind-Calming Necklace to recover his mana. Then, he established a stone building and stayed inside. After resting for a few hours, Roland flew back with Human Cannonball. When half of the journey was covered, he recorded the coordinates and finally teleported himself back to Delpon. In his manor, Roland rested for half a day comfortably and had afternoon tea with Andonara and Vivian, before he teleported himself to the capital and found Tobian and the headquarters of the Association of Mages. Tobian, who had convinced most of the councilmen of the Association of Mages to support him, was quite delighted. Sitting opposite him and looking at his bald, bulbous head, Roland said with a smile, "Though it''s still early, I must say congratulations, General Chairman." Tobian smiled delightedly. "Thank you, Mr. Roland. You must be here for something. What is it?" "Use a boat!" Tobian thought for a moment and said, "Don''t ever attempt to cross the sea with Wind Soaring or other flying spells. Almost every Mage who tried that has died." "Almost?" Roland asked. Tobian nodded and explained, "As far as I know, only two people who survived after crossing the sea with magic: Duncan the Demigod, and Mystra, who was not yet a goddess. Both of them crossed the sea as Legends." So, it was capabilities that really mattered. That was the orcs'' territory anyway. Even if there were boats, human beings had no access to them. Roland thought for a moment and asked, "Then, do you have any spells that can let me rest on the sea?" Tobian scratched his head and mumbled, "Waterwalking? But it''s designed for rivers and lakes, and you may be knocked down by the waves if you use it on the sea. Underwater Breathing? No there are too many magical beasts in the sea. You don''t want to feed yourself to them" Thinking for a long time, Tobian finally said, "If I must say, there is one option." Roland slightly leaned forward. "Mystra''s Mansion." Tobian explained: "It''s one of the three spells that the Goddess of Magic created before she became a goddess. This spell can create a special space in the void for a Mage to rest in until his magic power is fully recovered. It''s a must-learn spell for every Mage, but it''s up to your talent whether you can pick it up." Roland''s eyes glittered. "It sounds interesting." "When you quit Mystra''s Mansion, you will appear in the coordinates that you set earlier." Tobian added in fascination, "Though this spell deals no damage, it''s known as the best life-saving spell for Mages." It was the right choice to consult the experienced. Roland was not aware of such an amazing spell. "Then, I have only one question. Where can I learn this amazing spell? What should I pay?" Tobian sighed and said, "I think you can only find the spell model in the Monochrome Magic Tower that specializes in spatial magic." Roland was disappointed to hear that. He couldn''t even find the Red Magic Tower, not to mention the Monochrome Magic Tower that he had no leads on. Seeing Roland''s look, Tobian continued, "The only other place that may have it is the Holy Realm in Fareins." Huh? Roland looked at Tobian and gestured for him to continue. Tobian chuckled at Roland''s earnestness and said, "There''s a grand library in the Holy Realm that keeps the books collected and submitted by the believers of Light. You can find all kinds of books there. I think the model for Mystra''s Mansion might be among them." Roland stood up happily. "Thank you, Master Tobian." "You have connections in the Holy Realm?" Tobian''s attitude seemed weird. "More or less." Leaving Tobian''s Magic Tower, Roland found a tavern nearby. He enjoyed fruit wine while he pinged Schuck in the guild system. Roland: "Are you still in the Holy Realm, Schuck?" Soon, Schuck replied. Schuck: "I just came back. What''s up?" Roland: "Can you check in your grand library if there''s the spell model for Mystra''s Mansion for me?" Schuck: "Wait a moment. I''ll ask the Holy Lady. She keeps the high-level spell models." Roland: "Thank you for your trouble." Schuck: "We''re brothers. Don''t be so courteous." About half an hour later, Schuck left another message. Schuck: "There is. However, the Holy Lady says that this spell model is not to be borrowed, and that you have to apply in the Holy Realm if you want to read it. Just now, I tried to take a snap of the book, but then I was warned that my Grace would be reduced if I did something which is to be considered theft. So, you''d better come here in person. I''ll pull the strings for you." Roland: "Got it." 289 The Holy Lady of Ligh Three days later, Roland met Schuck, who picked him up outside of the Holy Realm. As the sanctuary of the Church of Light, all the buildings in the Holy Realm were built with large, smooth white rocks, including the city wall. The city wall of Hollevin''s capital was tall and thick, but it couldn''t compare to the city wall of the Holy Realm at all. Standing at the foot of the wall, Roland saw the reflection of sunlight on the white gigantic rocks, which were so imposing that they almost seemed like steep hills. However, he still had the urge to fly into the Holy Realm. After all, no Mages should take the ordinary path. But thankfully, he stopped himself from doing that. This was the sacred land of a church, not the capital of a kingdom. A king would need to weigh gains and losses, but zealots would not reason with him. If they thought that he insulted their faith, they would swear to kill him. Schuck welcomed Roland in casual clothes. They greeted and teased each other. Then, Roland asked, "Why are you always in the Holy Realm? I thought you would be traveling on Margret all the time." "It''s not that I don''t want to travel," Schuck said helplessly, "but the Holy Realm doesn''t want Saint Samurai to run about. They want me to stay in the Holy Realm if I''m not on missions." Walking next to Schuck, Roland asked curiously, "Why? Are you not trusted in the Holy Realm?" "No, they''re only scared that something will happen to us." Schuck smiled bitterly. "After every dozen years, one or two Saint Samurai will be corrupted into Dark Knights, who launch attacks at the Holy Realm. It''s quite the occasion. The Holy Realm is scared because it happens frequently." Roland understood what he meant. The moral demands on the Saint Samurai were too high. Apart from the temptations of evil, they were also prone to setups. For example, a guy lied to a Saint Samurai about a serial murderer, and the Saint Samurai killed the so-called bad buy, only to be punished by the god. Also, the Church of Light was not entirely bright. It had Inquisitions to do dark things for the interests of the church. If the Saint Samurai ran into his own people doing bad things when they were out, their faith might collapse. Therefore, the Saint Samurai were never expected to wander about, unless they had specific goals and requirements. However, neither the pope nor the Holy Lady of Light could order the Saint Samurai to do anything they disliked. They could only persuade the Saint Samurai gently. Most Saint Samurai were good-tempered. Naturally, they listened to instructions. There were lines at the gate on the city wall, and Roland and Schuck were at the end of a line. Though Roland was wearing his magic robe, he didn''t have any privileges this time. After entering the Holy Realm, Roland saw an extremely broad street that was as wide as a standard eight-lane road that he knew. On the two sides of the street were tall and low buildings made of white rocks. Moving his gaze to the distance, Roland saw an enormous white temple on the horizon that seemed to block half of the sky. He could feel the magnificence and sacredness of the temple that was surrounded by a shiny halo even though he was a kilometer away. After a brief shock, Roland sighed. "It''s like looking up at a huge dam right from the bottom of it." Schuck nodded. "That''s exactly my feeling when I saw the Temple of Light for the first time. That building is as impressive as any in our place." As they walked on the broad street, a lot of people passed by them. Most of them were wearing white cloaks or robes. Few were in other colors. There were a lot of merchants on the sides of the street, but none of them were peddling. They simply sat in silence and looked at the passersby earnestly. Though the population of the Holy Realm was high and the street was rather crowded, it was not obstreperous at all. Not all the passersby were silent, but when they talked, they kept their voices as low as possible. Schuck took Roland to the Temple of Light and said, "I won''t show you around. Most of the places are not open to you since you''re not a believer of the Church of Light, and misunderstandings may result if we break in. I''ll just take you to the grand library. After all, nothing here is really impressive for us." That was exactly what Roland wanted. He had feared that Schuck would show him around the city like a friendly host. He was not even interested in women at this point, not to mention scenic spots. After walking for another ten minutes, they finally reached the bottom of the Temple of Light. This temple was essentially a hill. The foundation of the temple, piled with infinite white square rocks, were unbelievably huge. Roland observed it for a while and sighed. Was the grand library inside this temple? It seemed heavily guarded. Roland had seen that multiple entrances of the temple were all guarded by the Guards of Light in white robes. He was sure that he wouldn''t be qualified to go in if it weren''t for Schuck. While Roland thought about that, Schuck suddenly turned right and took him to another building that was relatively much smaller. "This is the grand library." Schuck smiled. "Are you disappointed?" Roland shook his head. Schuck continued, "You only feel that it''s small because it''s built next to the temple. It''s actually quite huge." Roland was not entirely convinced yet, but after he entered the building and the temple could not be seen anymore, Roland realized that Schuck was right. This grand library was truly grand. The bookshelves were like trees that formed a boundless forest. Many female clerics were moving around and classifying the books. At the reading area not far away, clerics in white robes were turning pages in silence. One of the female clerics who was busy working saw Schuck by chance when she raised her head. Her eyes glimmering, she walked to him and asked, "Mr. Schuck, why are you here?" "I''m here to talk to the Holy Lady. I have an appointment with her." Schuck smiled. "The Holy Lady is in the reading room on the third floor." "Thank you." Schuck nodded and left with Roland. Behind them, the female cleric was still staring at Schuck''s back affectionately. Four minutes later, Roland met the Holy Lady of Light in a spacious but simply decorated room. 290 Dragons are Less Reputed as Air Dominators The first floor and the second were full of books and therefore had the smell of paper, but there was nothing but a faint fragrance in this room. The Holy Lady of Light was quite beautiful, with red hair and green eyes. She seemed warm, but there was innocence and purity in her gaze. She was petite and looked young. She couldn''t be more than fifteen years old. But that was quite normal. The demands for the Holy Ladies of most religions were devoutness and virginity. Also, the Holy Ladies were the faces of those religions, so they needed to be both pious and pretty. Before, the Church of Light paid little attention to the appearance of the Holy Lady as long as she was devoted and capable. However, the case changed decades ago when the gods convened a meeting on the compatibility issues of the churches. After all, the doctrines of certain churches were contradictory to those of other churches. Both the pope and the Holy Lady took part in the meeting. When a dozen churches gathered at the periphery of the Elf Forest, the Holy Ladies of the other churches were all gorgeous, but that of the Church of Light was only plain. She did not seem more capable than other Holy Ladies either. It had been an embarrassment to the Church of Light for years. People mocked in private that they could not find a girl who was both pretty and capable when they had so many believers. The plain-looking Holy Lady could''ve kept the position for another ten years, but she applied for retirement only three years later when she heard the rumors. For the reputation of the Church of Light, she resigned voluntarily and became a bishop elsewhere. Ever since then, the Holy Ladies who the Church of Light chose were also the pretty ones. The young Holy Lady nodded at Roland and smiled at him politely. Then, she looked at Schuck, her eyes glittering. "Mr. Saint Samurai, is this the friend you referred to?" Schuck nodded. "Yes. He''s my best friend." "Got it." The Holy Lady took out a thick book from the drawer and put it on the table. "In the next half-hour, I''ll be cleaning the bookshelves downstairs. You can suit yourselves." After that, the Holy Lady stood up and left the room. Roland walked over and opened the book. It was indeed the spell model. Instead of reading it in a hurry, he turned the pages and took a picture of the magic nodes with the camera function of the system. Schuck waited quietly. After a dozen minutes, Roland finally finished capturing the whole book. Roland was not entirely satisfied, but he did not ask Schuck if he could read more of the books. What the Holy Lady said and her eventual departure suggested that Schuck was helping him with his power as a Saint Samurai, or the Holy Lady wouldn''t have shown Roland the spell model. "Are you done?" asked Schuck. Roland nodded and said, "I''ve captured all of it. I''ll learn and analyze it later. I''m going back to Delpon." "You''re not spending a few days here?" asked Schuck. Roland shook his head. "That''s unnecessary. I only want to learn this spell at this point." Schuck sighed. "You''re more and more like a pure Mage now." "Is it not good? That''s a synonym for rationality." Roland felt that he was in a good state. He was full of curiosity, and he was much more active than before. "I don''t know if it''s good." Schuck thought for a moment and said, "But everybody changes, quickly or slowly. Just follow your heart." As they talked, they left the room and went downstairs. Then, they saw that the Holy Lady was really cleaning the bookshelves. When she saw Schuck and Roland, she smiled at them in greeting. Then, she resumed cleaning. Schuck led Roland out of the grand library, but a red-haired girl in a white dress was glaring at them angrily below the stairs with her hands on her hips. Schuck walked down and asked, finding it odd, "Margret, why are you here? Didn''t I ask you to stay home?" "I thought you were here to chat with the Holy Lady." Margret looked at Roland and said, "It seems that you weren''t lying when you said that you would be receiving a friend." Schuck was amused, and Roland somehow smelled jealousy. Dragons were connected to their knights. They could feel each other even when they were thousands of kilometers apart. So, when Schuck came to the grand library, Margret, who could tell where he was although she was at home, immediately set off to catch him. Schuck approached her and petted her. The girl looked upset at first, but after Schuck stroked her head, she smiled happily again. Then, Schuck led Roland out of the city. On the empty meadow outside of the city, Roland said, "Okay, let''s say goodbye now. I''m going back." "By teleportation?" asked Schuck. "No. This is too far away from Delpon and I don''t have enough mana," Roland said helplessly. "I need to fly half of the way before I teleport myself back." "How long is it going to take?" Roland ran an estimation and said, "No more than a day." Schuck sighed, "That''s really fast. You''re even faster than Margret." Margret, whose mood had been improved, was not happy to hear that. "I don''t believe it. You must be bragging." Roland tilted his head and looked at Schuck. Cleverness flashed in Schuck''s eyes. He found it quite interesting. "Do you want a race?" "Why not?" Margret shouted and jumped aside, glowing red. In less than ten seconds, she turned from a human girl into a red dragon. Schuck jumped onto Margret''s back. Roland sighed. Actually, he did not want to compete. However, Schuck had already patted Margret''s back gently. Realizing his intention, Margret flapped her wings and ran a few steps, before she took off at a high speed and soon accelerated to the highest speed of a dragon. I''m the fastest anyway. While Margret was thinking that, a stranger suddenly appeared next to her. She focused her eyes, only to find that it was Roland. Also, Roland''s speed was still increasing. Margret, who was unwilling to give up, tried to flap her wings, but it didn''t help. She could only watch Roland go faster and faster. Swallowed and ejected by the spatial bubbles, the man became a dark spot on the horizon in no more than three minutes. Even his shadow was nowhere to be seen. Margret slowed down and hovered in midair. Her pitiful voice was passed to Schuck''s head through the mental connection of the dragon knight. "That''s unfair. He''s not using a flight spell at all." Schuck replied, laughing, "But he did fly away at an astonishing speed, didn''t he? Margret, as I''ve kept telling you, human beings are very strong in general, and they have a lot of geniuses. Don''t underestimate them, or you may suffer great setbacks one day." After a long time, Margret''s gloomy voice finally sounded. "Okay. I won''t underestimate human beings anymore, all right?" 291 New Version Upon returning to Delpon, Roland was about to study Mystra''s Mansion when Vincent visited him. "Mr. Chairman, can I ask you a question?" Vincent pointed at a spot on a spell model. "According to your teachings, this magic node should have three functions, but we can only get one function out of it no matter how we try." "Disperse your magic power when it runs to this node, and it will automatically become three functions." Vincent''s face was rather dark. "Boss, I don''t know what I should say. We''ve already tried our best by pushing our magic power to this node, now we have to split it into three parts?" "It''s really not that hard," said Roland unconvincingly as he looked at the guy''s gloomy face. "Damn it. I will never speak to a cheater like you again." Vincent was quite angry. He left with a bitter heart. Roland finally had the chance to study Mystra''s Mansion. Back in the Holy Realm, he was too busy taking photos to read it. Now, after he read the book in silence, he closed the book heavily. It was too hard Thousands of nodes formed an enormous network. Additionally, those nodes were all connected to each other. It was too complicated for someone of Roland''s level to pick up. Roland estimated that he wouldn''t be qualified to learn it until he was level ten. His journey proved to be useless. Roland returned to his manor from the Magic Tower. Seeing that he was rather unhappy, Vivian and Andonara both tried to cheer him up. Then, Roland drank fruit wine with them all night and chit-chatted until the next morning. Five minutes before the server paused, a system announcement popped up. "An important update is underway. Light and Shadow, the new version, will be open to the public after the update. This update will take seven days, or 168 hours. Please forward the information to each other. We''re sorry for any inconvenience caused" The announcement was repeated a dozen times. Roland was stunned for quite a while, until the game time was up and the server was closed. He was ejected out of the game. Opening the game cabin, Roland rose and sat down before the computer. He turned it on and opened the forums. The update was announced on the forums too. But the introduction was simple and only contained four sentences. "The sense of reality will be further increased in the game." "The Realm of Gods and the Realm of Devils will be opened to the public." "The Void will be opened." "Multiple hidden classes have been added. Please explore them on your own." The players were all replying to the thread. The number of replies was increasing at an exponential speed. "I didn''t know we had no access to the Realm of Gods or the Realm of Devils yet!" "Those hidden classes sound like fun!" "Why are they not replying to the matter of Roland? Are they really going to let a cunning bug dwarf the real flying spells?" "Well, well, well. Someone is still jealous." Roland refreshed the thread and found nothing worth a read. He left his home for the saber arts club on bike for breakfast. Since F6 had been practicing here, many people who passed the saber arts club would stop and watch them for a while. After a few months, the saber arts club was growing famous in this small city. Though the tuition fees were high, a few more students had paid to learn saber arts. After having the delicious breakfast that Night Tide Sands made, Roland sat down on the cement floor to take a rest. Soon, the rest of F6 came, along with three new students. However, the three new students were still practicing the basics. They hadn''t learned any moves yet. When F6 were gathered, they all seemed quite upset. No game to play for seven days That''s going to be rough. All of them sighed. Qi Shaoqiu, who was teaching the three new students, drew near and asked curiously, "What happened to you?" Seeing that the three new students were still practicing, and knowing that Qi Shaoqiu had guessed that they had game cabins, Schuck said, "The server will be shut off for seven days for an update." "Oh." There was sympathy on Qi Shaoqiu face when he said, "I''ve played multiplayer games too. It''s really a bummer when the sever shuts down for half a day because of bugs. Seven days is going to be a long wait." Roland proposed, "Why don''t we take a trip somewhere? Speaking of which, it''s been a long time since we hung out in other places together." "Well" Schuck thought for a moment and said, "Okay, but I need to talk to my wife first." "Where exactly?" Though Schuck''s wife didn''t want him to leave, she was always reassured when Schuck was out with his friends, so she usually wouldn''t refuse him. Therefore, they simply discussed where they should be going. At this point, Qi Shaoqiu suddenly said, "Why don''t you come to the full-armor combat match with me?" Huh? What''s that? F6 had never paid attention to combat matches. They had never heard about it before. Of course, it was also because full-armor combat was not really popular. "You can look for the information on your own." Thanks to smartphones, everybody could look for knowledge anytime and anyplace. About half an hour later, F6 all had a basic understanding about what the match was. Watching the videos on his phone, Li Lin frowned and commented, "They''re only attacking randomly. Their gait is unsteady and unskilled. I can defeat three of them on my own." Qi Shaoqiu shook his head and said, "Don''t underestimate them. Most of them are well-trained. They may seem unimpressive, but ordinary people are no match for them at all." Roland turned back and looked at Qi Shaoqiu. "Did you participate in the match?" "I took part in the team match in Berlin last year, but I lost." Roland was rather surprised. "But you''re so good. How did you lose?" "My enemies weren''t weak either. Also, due to a lack of experience, I was wearing full heavy armor and carrying a war hammer instead of my miaodao. I couldn''t carry out my capabilities at all, and I was hit in the head after I defeated two opponents. I almost passed out and had to quit the match." Qi Shaoqiu blushed as he talked. "Then I don''t think we can win," said Schuck casually. "You''re different. I can see that you have great teamwork." Qi Shaoqiu''s eyes glittered. "We''ve participated in full-armor combat a few times, but our performance is never good, partly because our bodies are weaker and partly because we don''t have professionals. You must have a lot of field experience, having played in the game for such a long time. So, I think you have a great chance at winning." Roland thought for a moment and said, "But we only have seven days." "That''s enough. There will be a team match in Jingnan the day after tomorrow. It''s held in our country to expand the market here," Qi Shaoqiu said excitedly. "The team match will only last three days. We can take the express back after it''s over. The trip will only take five hours. You won''t be delayed from rejoining your game." F6 were all tempted. 292 Participating In Full-Armor Comba Upon seeing the expressions of the F6 members, QI Shaoqiu immediately knew that he had to strike while the iron was hot. Instead of trying to persuade them, he just picked up the phone and dialed a number. Soon the call came through, and Qhi Shaoqiu said, "Old Li, help me sign up for the team battle right away, I''m pulling up a team myself." The F6 members all looked over. Qhi Shaoqiu paused for a moment, waiting for the other party to finish speaking, then continued, "Right, right. They''re all temporary participants and don''t have armor, so please ask the clubhouse to help lend out a few suits. Also, my iron-coated miaodao are still there, right? I remember there are seven of them. "They''re all there, then?" Qi Shaoqiu''s expression grew happier and happier. "Good, I expect to be there tomorrow afternoon, please arrange a room for us to practice, and if possible, it would be best to ask a few brothers to practice a few games against my friends. "Thank you." Qi Shaoqiu hung up the phone delightedly. "All right, it''s all ready, then it''s off to the competition." They were still just interested and considering it, but as a result, Qi Shaoqiu made such preparations and now they couldn''t not participate. Besides, their relationship with Qi Shaoqiu was actually quite good, so what did it matter where they went to have a wild time? It was fine to help out a friend. And fighting real simulated battles would really help them get back some of the feeling of "playing" in the game. "Let''s go, then." Everyone nodded. Qi Shaoqiu excitedly patted himself on the thigh. "Then tomorrow we''ll meet at the entrance of the station, we''ll contact each other by phoneeveryone go to sleep early." "No problem." After spending two hours at the saber arts club, everyone went home to get ready. Qi Shaoqiu returned home and also began to prepare his luggage. As he did so, there was a knock on his door. He opened it and found that it was his sister. Night Tide Sands looked at him unhappily. "How could you let Roland do something so dangerous?" "What''s the danger? All covered in soft iron armor, even if he gets hurt, it''s only a minor injury." Night Tide Sands pursed her lips. "But it hurts just as much when you get hit and the impact passes through." "What''s wrong with a little pain?" Qi Shaoqiu said with a matter-of-fact look. "If he can''t even stand a little bit of pain, I''d be worried about letting you marry him." Night Tide Sands instantly blushed. "What about marrying or not marrying! Brother, you just can''t utter anything decent out of that filthy mouth." After saying that, Night Tide Sands turned and ran. Qi Shaoqiu smiled smugly. The six of them met at the entrance of the train station, and then took the express directly to Jingnan. Qi Shaoqiu led them to the Tiger Leopard Red Star Martial Arts Club. A chubby guy who looked fat at first glance but was all solid muscle on closer inspection received them. Chi Shaoqiu took the initiative to hug the fatty, then introduced him to Roland and the others. "This is Lin Zhaotong, one of the founders of the clubhouse and a classmate of mine from college. He was the one who tricked me into full-armor combat." Lin Zhaotong smiled a silly smile. "How can you say that I tricked you, it''s a choice of the soul." The F6 members were somewhat surprised. This fatty Lin Zhaotong talked a little like an eighth grader. Qi Shaoqiu explained, "Those who play full-armor combat all behave like this. Think about it, how can you play full-armor combat if you''re not this kind of person?" Li Zhaotong smacked Qi Shaoqiu''s shoulder in indignation. "You''re no different." "Cut the crap," Qi Shaoqiu said. "The day after tomorrow is the competition. First help us find the right armor, then give us some basic weapons." "No problem." While speaking, the fatty Lin Zhaotong also took the chance to size up Roland and the others from time to time. He found that they looked quite average and didn''t even look like they were people who played full-armor combat. All of them were on the thin side except for one dumpy guy. In full-armor combat, physique was very important. It was because of a lofty physique that one had more muscles and was able to move and attack in the arena with armor that weighed dozens of pounds. However, Lin Zhaotong trusted Qhi Shaoqiuafter all, Qhi Shaoqiu was also slim, but the latter''s strength and stamina were much higher than expected. Perhaps the same was true for these five people. Lin Zhaotong led them into the clubhouse and then allocated a training area for them, which had already been prepared with different sizes of full-body armor. Roland took a look at the armor and said, "It seems to be Ming Dynasty armor, but it''s been altered. The helmet has a facemask here, and it''s thickened in many places, so it''s more like European full-body armor with a Ming Dynasty look rather than Ming Dynasty armor." Qi Shaoqiu clapped his hands and shouted, "All of you choose your full-body armor! Next we will train and tell you the rules of full-armor combat." The five chose their appropriate full-body armored suits and picked up the iron-coated wooden miaodao that Lin Zhaotong had already prepared for them. After wielding the miaodao in his armor, Roland found that the armor wasn''t too heavy, which probably had something to do with the fact that he had been exercising for the last few months. What really gave Roland a headache was that wearing the helmet greatly limited his vision. To protect the head, there was only one slit in the helmet that allowed one to look out, but it did limit the vision. However, Raffel and Li Lin who both had Warrior backgrounds were quite used to it. Raffel was a shield Warrior and wore heavy armor. Li Lin was a barbarian Warrior, and although he didn''t wear armor and ran around bare, after the Barbarian went berserk, his field of vision would be filled with red except for a very small area. This was pretty much the same experience as wearing a closed helmet. As for Schuck and Brazil, they both felt similar to Roland in that the helmets were getting in the way. They were very new to walking around in their armor, and they also used their miaodaos to slash each other a few times. Although they didn''t use much force, they found that the miaodaos were useless for slashing at full-body armor. Although it was iron-coated, it wasn''t sharpened. The destructive power of it was indeed a bit low. While Roland and the others were puzzled, Lin Zhaotong came in, followed by five "warriors" in full-body armor and equipped with swords and shields. Lin Zhaotong smiled and said to Qi Shaoqiu, "I''ve also brought you people for the drills, so do you want a match next? There''s only a day before the matches, your team must get into shape quickly." "No problem," Qi Shaoqiu said with a smile, then looked at Roland and the others. "The five of you will try a match first, and I''ll be outside watching how well you work together, as well as seeing what weaknesses you have." The two sides lined up in the tournament hall. Both sides were fully hidden in their armor; not even their expressions could be seen. Lin Zhaotong acted as a referee in the center of the field. With the word "Ready," both sides took large strides forward. Less than five seconds later, thuds sounded for a dozen seconds, and then all five of the sword and shield team were put to the ground. Lin Zhaotong said with a strange expression on his face, "The left side wins." Roland lifted his mask and shouted, "Qi Shaoqiu, this miaodao is no good. The opponent''s armor is thick, and even after a few days of slashing, the opponent didn''t respond. If we didn''t all know grappling techniques" This was truethe miaoadao was not useful at all just now. Roland and the others found something wrong after slashing a few times, so they switched to wrestling to take down the enemy. Instead of being cut down on the ground, the sword and shield five-man team was thrown, pushed, tripped, and forcibly pressed to the ground. 293 The More Tools, the Better The shield-sword team of five were trainees from the clubhouse and had been training here for over a month. They weren''t very strong, but their basic fighting skills were still there. However, they didn''t expect that they would be put down in just ten seconds, and the other side didn''t even break a sweat. Roland said to Qi Shaoqiu, "It''s no good, the miaodao can''t break the defense." As he said this, he waved his miaodao twice more, looking disappointed. "Of course it can''t break the defense." Qi Shaoqiu shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly, "The current rule is that you can''t use hammer-type weapons, and then all sharp weapons can''t be sharpened and can''t be thrust. It''d be odd if you can break defenses. If weapons could be sharpened, then armored combat would be a bloodbath. With the material crafting and edging technology of today''s weapons, it wouldn''t be hard for someone with higher strength and skill to split a helmet with a single blow." "Damn, then how are we supposed to fightjust take out the enemy with grappling techniques like I just did?" "It''s fine, we''ll change to shields and swords when the time comes," Qi Shaoqiu explained. "Now it''s just so you can get a feel for things." "Shield and longsword?" Raffel took off his helmet as well. He said simply, "That would be my world." As a shield Warrior, he was quite good at using shields and longswords. And at this moment, Lin Zhaotong pulled Qi Shaoqiu to the side and asked in surprise, "Brother, where did you get these fierce men from?" Lin ZHaoong had participated in two full-armor combat competitions, and usually practiced with his members from time to time, so it could be said that he was quite experienced in fighting. But what he had just seen The five people Qi Shaoqiu had dragged in had incredibly fast reflexes, and as soon as the battle began, they, with their miaodaos in hand, kept enough distance and used their weapon advantage to slash wildly at the other side. Although they didn''t break the other side''s defenses, they knocked the other side wide open. Even with their shields, the other side was confused and disoriented. The five then almost charged up in unison, throwing away the weapons they had and slamming the opposing shield-sword team of five right down or pinning them to the ground. From start to finish, it was no more than twenty seconds. It could easily be described as a crushing victory. Their combat abilities were simply not on the same level. Qi Shaoqiu looked at Lin Zhaotong''s surprised face and smiled proudly. "I taught them. How about it? Impressive, right?" Qi Shaoqiu felt a bit guilty. "Ah, we''ll talk about this later, let''s talk about it later." At this moment, trying out the feeling of moving in armor on the training field, Li Lin moved his body and said to Schuck, who was not far away, "Want to spar in full armor mode?" "Sure," Schuck replied. Roland and the others had already gotten used to the fact that Li Lin enjoyed competing with Schuck, and often pestered Schuck to spar when he practiced at the saber arts club. Of course, he lost more than he won, but he never got discouraged. As soon as the people from the clubhouse saw that there was a solo battle, they immediately became interested as well, and the shield-sword team of five immediately stepped to the side and also took off their helmets to watch the show. Lin Zhaotong, who was chatting with Qi Shaoqiu, also looked over. In the center of the field, two men in full-body armor stepped sideways squarely at the same time, their bodies lowered slightly, and both of them lightly mounted their miaodaos on their shoulders. It looked rather like a Japanese samurai duel. In reality miaodao arts were certainly of the same origin as the Japanese swordsmanship, and most importantly, the miaodao was created to counter Japanese swordsmanship. The two of them were silent for a moment, and then Li Lin moved first, launching a forward-step vertical slash. Schuck immediately stepped back and slashed diagonally. But Li Lin''s action was a feint, and he withdrew his sword midway, took half a step back, and waited for the instant Schuk''s sword slashed down. Then, he took a step forward again, and at the same time, with the right leg in front as the center, he turned to the right in a circle. The miaodao in his hand also simultaneously used the momentum of the turn and horizontally slashed forcefully to the right. This was the most powerful of all the miaodao stances, and its range of attack was also the largest. Under normal circumstances, as Li Lin was turning, Schuck could''ve avoided Li Lin''s move in time by taking two steps back. But the problem was that now Schuck was wearing full-body armor and it was extremely difficult for him to move, and he only stepped back when Li Lin''s miaodao was about to hit him. In a hasty decision, he could only hold the blade down vertically, while jamming it on the floor, blocking his right side. The miaodao that had rotational force added to it struck Schuck''s blade heavily, and after a clang, the miaodao in Schuck''s hand was knocked away. He took the opportunity to take a step back, his voice coming through his helmet: "I lost." The miaodao flew several meters away, hitting the wall and rebounding to the floor with a clanging sound. Li Lin took off his helmet, not at all happy about winning the fight. He frowned and said, "Schuck, why was your reaction so slow?" "I can''t help it, the full-body armor is too heavy. I''m not used to it." Schuck also wore heavy armor in the game, but because of the Body of Light, he couldn''t feel the weight of the armor at all. Although Li Lin''s profession was Barbarian, he could unleash one hundred and twenty percent of his combat power without wearing armor. But occasionally, he still had to wear armor when it was needed. For example, when the opponent had a bow and arrow formation, not wearing armor would be courting deathit would be strange not to be shot into a hornet''s nest. This was why he was also used to wearing armor. The members of F6 surrounded them, and Brazil nodded and said, "Reaction speed does feel a lot slower when wearing armor." Raffel said with a smile, "It''s okay, I''m used to it. Who wants to practice with me later?" They hissed, expressing their displeasure at Raffel''s shameless act. Only someone who was ill would go head to head with a shield Warrior in reality while wearing heavy armor. On the other side, both Lin Zhaotong and the shield-sword team of five were somewhat stunned. Although Li Lin and Schuck''s fight lasted less than ten seconds, the skill and power that was displayed in it made them feel ashamed. In contrast, they felt like they were just dancing around with their shields and unsharpened long swords kind of like when they were in elementary school and got excited after watching a martial arts movie, picking up a stick and making swishing noises, while running around and swinging it. Li Zhaotong was stunned for a while, then pressed his hands against Qi Shaoqiu''s shoulders and said quite seriously, "You guys must take the field It''d be best to participate in both individual and team battles." "Forget it, they have things to do, they can only take part in the team battlesthey won''t be here for long." Lin Zhaotong said rather frustratedly, "How can this be What''s more important than gaining honor?" "Many things." Qi Shaoqi slapped away the hands pressed on his shoulders unhesitatingly. "Anyway, it''s decided, so you can help out more." "Okay." Lin Zhaotong''s eyes shone briefly. "I''ll pull two more teams of new trainees to give them more practice. How about playing a few more matches and then letting them rest for a day?" Qi Shaoqiu laughed. "That''s how it should be." The shield-sword team of five felt a bit of a chill creep down their spines. 294 Main Team Loses at the Star Two days later, the skies were clear and the full-armor combat competition was held as scheduled. The clubhouse dispatched a car and delivered Roland and the others to the venue, and also lent them rather nice full-body armor suits to use. For free. They already came up with the name of their team. Northern Barbarian Fish, or NBF. The arena was placed in a soccer stadium in the south of Jingnan and then separated by a dozen or so tournament sections. Since they were taking up the slots of the teams belonging to the clubhouse, they were considered official participants, but they were also the secondary team on the slots. And according to the contract, they had to give half of their winnings to the club if they won. None of this mattered. The F6 members all made a lot of money in the game, and even if they won the championship in five-player team battles, the prize money was only a mere 50,000 RMB. With half of it paid to the clubhouse, divided amongst six or seven people, less than 5,000 remained for each person, so they didn''t even care for it. Entering the interior of the stadium from the players'' tunnel, the ones who walked in front were naturally the main team''s players, while Roland and the others followed behind. As for the armor and weapons, there were naturally students from the clubhouse who volunteered to help transport them. This kind of thing was normally not required for the players to do. After all, they had to keep their stamina up before the match. Today''s team match was 5v5, each team having several substitutes. This was why one of the F6 members had to be a substitute like Qi Shaoqiu. Roland originally wanted to be a substituteafter all, he was a Mage in the game, and he definitely didn''t have as much melee experience as the others. However, Husseret said, "Not to mention melee experience, I don''t even have much frontal combat experience. You should go on. Besides, you''ve been practicing miaodao for half a year, you''re much better than me." Husseret was a Rogue in the game, good at ambushing people from behind, and it was true that he hadn''t fought many frontal battles. Originally, Qi Shaoqiu also wanted to go on the field, but during a few drills yesterday, he found that his addition to F6 not only did not improve the overall combat power but also became a drag. The F6 members were all childhood friends, familiar with each other and well-coordinated. After he came on, he destroyed that coordination. This was why he was willing to be a substitute. After all, Qi Shaoqiu wasn''t the kind of person who had to play in a match. He just didn''t want to see his countrymen keep getting beaten in such games without taking any enemies down in a lost battle. He wanted to contribute. There were quite a few people at this full-armor combat tournament. Although this event was very niche, a month ago, the domestic event hosts still did a lot of publicity work. Plus, Jinan was a large city with millions of people, so no matter how non-mainstream the tournament was, as long as the promotion was in place, it could still pull in a sizable audience. Most importantly, admission tickets were free. Roland and the others were in the players'' room and saw that there was already a vast crowd outside. Looking around the large football field, Roland calculated what spells he would have to use and how much magic he would have to expend to get rid of the thousands of people in one go. The others also looked at the sea of people in a less than friendly manner, all subconsciously considering how they should react if they encountered so many enemies. The only one who seemed milder was Husseret, who was probably thinking about whether he could find any secret doors here, obtain any treasures, and so on. This was why he had no murderous aura. In short, being fresh out of the game, a lot of their instincts hadn''t been fully restrained. A few people from the main team accidentally saw the look in Roland''s eyes and froze, then subconsciously gulped. They felt that something didn''t seem right with the second team. The routine leader''s speech was short, less than five minutes, and then began the routine lottery to select numbers. After that, the game started straight away; it wasn''t anything too tedious. Roland and the others were assigned number twenty-seven, the second group to take the field. The main team drew the number nine, and they were in the first group of matches. After the draw, all the contestants donned their armor. Roland and the others followed the main team to the fourth arena. Soon, the opponents of the main team also came, and when they saw the national emblem on their opponents'' shields, they sighed inwardly due to their bad luck. Their opponents were Russians, and it was their country that first organized and popularized full-armor combat. They were a traditionally strong team that often took first place. Although the main team felt unlucky, they were not discouraged, and after encouraging each other and shouting aloud, they got past the fence and walked to the contestant preparation area and stayed there. At this moment, Roland and the others saw a pretty good-looking girl not far away from them. She held a smartphone pointed at herself, and said in a rather pleasant voice, "Look, everyone, I''m now at the Chinese team''s section, the players are all ready, and their opponent is There''s no mistaking that this flag should be Russia''s." As she spoke, she angled her phone''s camera to capture the players of the main team inside the arena, as well as the Russian players. Because of the full-body armor, there was only a slit in the helmet, so naturally, the players'' faces and expressions couldn''t be seen. "Physically, we Chinese players seem to be a little shorter, so that''s a bit of a disadvantage, I guess." The girl spoke in an uncertain tone. "Seems like a popular streamer," Roland said softly. "I''ll go ask what the platform is called, and what her name is," Schuck said. Then he walked over. Although Schuck''s appearance was completely covered by his helmet, his voice was quite attractive and pleasant, and he managed to get the girl''s attention as soon as he struck up a conversation. Half a minute later, Schuck walked back and said, "A streamer from Mouya, the stream room number is 2255441. Roland shrugged. "The problem is we can''t look at our phones right now." They were wearing full-body armor and also had iron handguards on them, so there was no way they could mess with touchscreen phones. At this moment, Qi Shaoqiu said, "I have it installed, I''ll open it to show you." Because they were substitutes, neither Qi Shaoqiu nor Husseret were wearing full-body armor. Soon, the Mouya app opened, and the sweet voice of the female streamer came out. IT seemed to sound a little better than her live voice. "The referee is coming over, and it looks like it''s about to start, do you guys think the Chinese main team has a good chance of winning?" The female streamer had quite a few followers, almost a million followers, and when she spoke, densely packed bullet-screen comments flew across the screen. "I think it''s unlikely. In cold weapons combat, the physique is a very important factor." "In full-armor combat, the Russians have always been very strong. Our national team has too few participants and lacks experience, such bad luck to encounter the popular boss team right at the start." "I guess it''ll be a single-match trip, how embarrassing that this tournament is still being held in our country." "To be able to cut down two of the opposite side would be considered an exceeding performance." In short, the netizens were generally not optimistic. Soon, the match started. As predicted by the netizens, the first team was no match for the Russians, and they lost two in a row out of three matches. But the main team did their best, and even when their shields and weapons were knocked off, they attempted to grapple their opponents and try to make them fall but the other team was strong and fit, and instead, they were hit by shields, slashed by swords a dozen times, knocked on the helmet, and shocked to the point of extreme pain. When they couldn''t take it anymore, they fell to the ground, barely conscious. Most of the nation watched the national team''s match, and when the main team was beaten, it looked so bad that many girls screamed and even begged, "Stop fighting, just admit defeat, there''s no shame." There were many comments of that sort. The livestream had a similar atmosphere. The first team did try their best. The female streamer sighed. "The main team lost, but we still have the second team, so maybe a miracle will happen." With that, the female streamer pointed her phone at Roland and the others. Roland and the others were watching the livestream with relish. When suddenly a few of them appeared in the livestream, their expressions became strange. 295 Rolands Saber Arts are Strong Too Roland and the others were also in full-body armor, even wearing helmets. After all, full-body armor was not very convenient to wear, and to be able to participate in the competition in a moment, they usually put it on and didn''t take it off until the competition was over. Meanwhile, the netizens in the livestream howled when they saw how Roland and the others looked after putting on the armor. "The second team is essentially the replacement team. Take a look at the difference in physique between the first and second teamthere''s even less hope." "And do you see what weapons they''re using, two with a sword and shield, and three with long tachi? Is this a national team or a Japanese team.'''' "Is this a team in Monster Hunter Online going to hunt Lunastra?" "Wake up, Monster Hunter Online is long gone." "A bunch of ignorant ones, that''s a miaodao. A pure domestic weapon." "Don''t mention the miaodao, even the Green Dragon Crescent Blade is not good enough to use in a full-armor combat competition. When the national team first competed in the full-armor combat, didn''t they use the Green Dragon Crescent Blade and get their brains beaten out?'''' "There''s no chance anyway, the second team is obviously just a stopgap. But that''s normal, full-armor combat is too non-mainstream. Many of our countrymen don''t want to participatethere are too few talents. Can''t you guys see that there''s not even enough people to make up the third team?" The female streamer also noticed the gloomy atmosphere in the livestream, she laughed dryly and said, "Don''t be so pessimistic, there might be a miracle! One has to look on the bright side, right?" In reality, even the female streamer herself didn''t think highly of Roland and the others. It was just that she was officially paid to promote full-armor combat; otherwise, she, a female streamer with nearly a million followers, would only have come to such a stinky acid-smelling place to livestream if she had gotten sick in the head Wouldn''t it be much better to stay in a cute house, sell her adorableness, and sing songs just to gain countless accolades? But it couldn''t be helped; the officials offered a price that she could not refuse. After the female streamer finished speaking, there was another wave of bullet-screen comments; there were those who were discouraged, those who were jesting, and those who thought there might be a miracleof course, just a very small number. The main team left the tournament area dejectedly. Lin Zhaotong immediately greeted them and said, "It doesn''t matter if you lost, you guys met a strong team after all. It''s good that you performed this well." The other players of the main team sighed deeply. The other matches were soon over. There was quite a big difference in strength in full-armor combat competitions, and generally, the stronger ones like the Russian and German teams were big and powerful. The small team battles didn''t take much time. Soon the second round of matches would start, so Roland and the others moved quickly to the seventh arena. The female streamer held her phone and followed them. Under the guidance of the staff, Roland and the others entered the arena from the right side. Their opponents also entered the arena. Three opponents had swords and shields, and two had long two-handed axes. Judging from the flag carved on their chests, they were from some small South Asian country. The people in that region weren''t very tall and were similar to the people from southern China, so on the surface, both sides seemed to be evenly matched. The female streamer pointed her camera at the arena, sweeping it left and right two times slowly, and then said into the Bluetooth mic, "Although the second team doesn''t look as strong as the first, they seem to have good luckthe other team doesn''t look very strong. There''s a chance of winning." There was a similar atmosphere in the livestream. "Not bad, this small South Asian country is very average, even the second team can beat them, I think." "At least it won''t be as ugly as getting a shaved head." "This world is always balanced, the strong meets the stronger, the average versus the average." "If they''re lucky, they might even be able to get into the top five. The strength of the full-armor combat teams is average except for three or four strong teams. In reality, our main team is quite strong, just unlucky to have bumped into the Russians.'''' At this moment, Qi Shaoqiu was also looking at the livestream and the bullet-screen comments on there. Qi Shaoqiu smiled affectedly, like some basketball superstar[1] from an emoji bundle. Lin Zhaotong, who was standing at the side, was stunned to see such an odd smile from Qi Shaoqiu. He leaned over and looked at the bullet-screen comments on the phone, also immediately revealing an affected Kazuo Hirai[2] smile. The referee arrived on the scene, and after first confirming the number of people on both sides, and whether the weapons used were within limits, he signaled for the two sides to begin. The five players from the small country of South Asia were lined up in a row, all of them with their hands open, bellowing as they walked forward. On the other hand, Roland''s side didn''t say anything and just held their weapons and slowly stepped forward. There were immediately more bullet-screen comments in the livestream. "Look at that, the other side''s imposing manner, and then look at our side, one can immediately tell who is the better. I think there''s not much of a chance this time." "That''s right, it doesn''t matter if you''re not strong, you should at least have an imposing manner. Cold warfare is all about being formidable." "Sigh, it''s the second team, after all, be lenient." At the scene, the other party was still about three meters away from Roland and the others, and they continued to roar because based on experience, the opponents could not attack at this distance. But Roland, Brazil, and Schuck moved at the same time. The three of them took two steps at the same time and then used the stepping frontal slash at the same time, so uniformly as if they had rehearsed it. The length of the miaodao was about one and a half meters, and with the length of the arms, it was a full two meters of reach. Stepping and leaning forward, one could get almost another meter of distance, so three meters was almost the limit attack range for the miaodao. The blade struck downward, directly at the other''s head. The players from the small South Asian country were still roaring to bolster their imposing manner. As a result, none of them had enough reaction speed to avoid this slash, and although they had shielded upward in a protective action, they were still too late. The end of the miaodao struck directly on the opponent''s helmet, leaving a short dent after a clang. If it was an edged weapon, it could really split this helmet in half. But without an edged blade, it just couldn''t break the defense. But even so, the other side still didn''t feel good. To an outsider, it sounded like a crisp clang, but to the attacked, it was a loud thud. Somewhat dizzy from the shock, the player who was attacked by Roland made a move with his shield to protect his head as he retreated. Roland switched feet again to step forward, but this time it was no longer a vertical chop, but a diagonal upward slash. This player had to raise his left arm to protect his head, which exposed his armpit. The upward slash directly hit him on the armpit, also making a clanging sound. The full-body armor also shielded this area, but the defense would be lower. If there was no protection, Roland''s miaodao could still injure his opponent''s shoulder joint even without an edged blade. The small South Asian player felt numb under his armpit at this moment, and his left hand went a little soft, so he was even more frightened into stepping back. Roland took one more step forward, quickly retracted the miaodao onto his shoulder, then turned around sharply and used the most powerful turning horizontal slash amongst the miaodao stances. In the process of turning around, Roland suddenly noticed that the surroundings seemed to slow down for a moment, and he seemed to have cut through something. Like white lightning, the miaodao then slashed at the opponent''s helmetthe position of the temple. The saber sliced through the air with a whistling sound that was quick and sharp. The end of the miaodao blade swept through the opponent''s helmet, and the small South Asian contestant''s entire body was knocked down to Roland''s right. On the side, Qi Shaoqiu stood up abruptly, a look of disbelief in his eyes. [1] Yao Ming Face [2] Sony''s former CEO, who is also famous for his smile 296 The Second Team is Very Strong In the rules of full-armor combat, falling to the ground was considered defeat. Roland didn''t pursue any further, but just looked at his miaodao a little strangely. He really felt as if he had just cut through something. But looking around, he didn''t accidentally hurt a teammate. The astonished expression in Qi Shaoqiu''s eyes also gradually returned to normal. He whispered, "Must''ve seen wrong. In this era, it''s impossible to see this kind of person who wields the weapon with the mind. Besides, he''s only been practicing saber arts for a short amount of time." He sat back down on the small red plastic square stool he''d temporarily acquired. Roland looked left and right again and saw that his close friends had all but put their opponents down. The last person to take out the enemy player was the shield Warrior Raffel. Qi Shaoqiu looked down again and started watching the livestream. At this time the female streamer''s voice finally came out from the livestream. "This this this is too fast, is that South Asian country so weak? This took less than half a minute, and we won?" As the female streamer spoke, the chat room that had been silent for nearly half a minute finally came alive as well. "Oh sh**, what did I see? These guys are so fierce." "Although the full-body armor will be more flexible than one would think, these people are so fast when they wear it, I don''t even move as fast as they do without it." "Three tachi struck down three people with a few hits, then two shield warriors directly used left shield strike with right sword slap, smacking the opponent''s head for ten seconds in a row. Their actions were fast and steady. Even if they had helmets to protect them, they would''ve been disoriented." "Hell it''s not a tachi, it''s a miaodao." "Damn, the national team is so underhanded, so the second team is the trump card?" "Sadly I''m uneducated, I''ll say oh sh** to everything." Not only the livestream but also the surrounding crowd was impassioned. This was the fastest winning team they had ever seen, so fast it was like they had played a fake match. Surprised, they also began to discuss it spiritedly. The referee, a foreigner, came over looking oddly at the fallen players from the South Asian country, then at Roland and the others, and declared Roland and the others the winner, though his expression still looked confused. But just at this moment, there was a scream from the crowd. It turned out that the man who had been knocked down by Roland stood up, he took off his helmet, and there was blood flowing down from his right temple. There had been an accident. A group of people immediately rushed over, but this player waved his hand and showed his right forehead, then wiped it down, a very shallow wound showing, then slowly oozing blood. Injuries in full-armor combat were very commonscrapes, bruises, and such were perfectly normal. The man looked seriously injured, but it was just a flesh wound, which could be treated with some iodine. The referee picked up the man''s helmet and found a pretty neat gash on the side, the kind that looked like it had been cut by a sharp object. The referee then walked up to Roland and told him to surrender his weapon. Roland handed over the miaodao, and the judge carefully examined it, then ran his hand over the edge of the blade and found that it was unsharpened, before returning the weapon to Roland. The referee checked the helmet again and found that the injured player had been cut by the sharp metal stubble on the broken edge of the helmetit seemed that the helmet''s quality was too poor. After the matter was investigated, the second team''s score was naturally valid. Next, Roland and the others would watch the other countries'' matches. Since each country could field a maximum of four teams, the first round of elimination matches were barely finished in one day. Tomorrow, the small team battles included only twenty-one countries and thirty-seven teams. An odd number There would definitely be one team that would not be matched. Roland and the others left the arena and returned to the clubhouse to take off their armor. A player from the main team came up to them and asked, "Brother, where do you train?" He could clearly tell that they were trained. Previously, the first team was all doing their special training. They were proud and didn''t think too highly of the new trainees in the clubhouse, and they had heard of Roland''s temporary team, but since they were seriously preparing for the battles, they didn''t inquire much about the new team. They didn''t expect that the second team was much stronger than them. "We''re all learning miaodao." Roland smiled, pointing at Qi Shaoqiu next to him. "If you want to train, you can ask him." The people in the first team naturally recognized Qi Shaoqiu. Qi Shaoqiu used to be in the first team as well, but at that time Qi Shaoqiu was also a temporary member of the team and left the team after losing to go back to his hometown and open the saber arts club, so they weren''t really familiar with each other. The person who spoke was the captain of the first team. He walked up to Qi Shaoqiu and said with a strange look, "Were these people really taught by you?" Qi Shaoqiu said indifferently, "Of course." "Was everything you said before true?" Qi Shaoqiu chuckled, not speaking. "Train us, too." "Thirty thousand per person," Qi Shaoqiu said indifferently. The captain of the first team swept his eyes over Roland and the others. "They all paid?" "They all paid." "Then we''ll pay too." The captain nodded. "So where''s the study site?" "How about right here. I''ll take two days out of my week to come over and teach you guys. It''s convenient now there are high-speed trains anyway, and it''s not expensive." This captain nodded to show that he understood. "Well, I will collect the money and give it to you tomorrow." After he finished speaking, he left. Those who could do full-armor fighting were at least people with a bit of spare cash. Qi Shaoqiu, on the other hand, had a look on his face as if he''d made a lot of money. Li Lin walked to Qi Shaoqiu''s side and said with a smile, "Looks like we''ve gotten you some business, won''t you buy us a meal?" "Not now, you''re still in the competition. It''s not good to mess up your tummies with food. When the competition is over, I''ll buy you guys a big meal." The crowd then laughed and joked for a while, and then stayed in the dormitory provided by the clubhouse, which had a nice living environment. When Roland and the others appeared at the arena the next day in full armor, the female streamer who had been waiting there since early in the morning took the initiative to come up and asked, "Hello, I''m the official promoter of full-armor combat, and now I have some questions I''d like to ask you, if it''s okay" "Wait until the match is over." Qi Shaoqiu blocked in front of the female streamer The female streamer was quite disappointed and moved aside. The members of F6 waited for half an hour before it was their turn to compete. Since they were the only remaining national team, many people gathered around their side of the field. This time they were up against some oil country in the Middle East. They also seemed to be competing for the first time, using dual-wielding machetes. In the end, Roland and the others easily knocked them down. Dual-wielding was not a combat technique that could be used by the average person. It was not as simple and straightforward as a sword and shield, nor did it have the distance advantage of a long two-handed weapon. This time Roland was the last one to put the enemy down, because he was slightly worried about using too much power and killing someone. The guy who got hurt yesterday was a forewarning. But even then, it didn''t last more than forty seconds for the win. The buzzing bullet-screen comments went across the female streamer''s livestream. "I can see that the second team is really fierce." "Damn, maybe they''ll win the title." "Winning the championship is unlikely, the Russians are too powerful. Over half of the gold medals have been won by them over the years. The second team isn''t very big physically, but although they are fast, in cold weapon combat, weight and size is the biggest advantage." "It would also be satisfying to get third." "That''s right, I think it would be awesome to get third." "I watched the Russians'' games too, am I the only one who thinks that the Russians don''t seem to be better than the second team?" 297 Entering Top Eigh Another morning, and the top sixteen of the small team battles were finally determined. And Russia accounted for three teams thus showing how strong they were overall. The F6 members were being stopped by the female streamer at this moment. "You promised me earlier that you''d accept my interview." However, Roland shook his head at Qi Shaoqiu; they didn''t want to do any interviews. Qi Shaoqiu immediately understood. He stopped in front of the female streamer again, smiled, and said, "Sorry, the contestants are already tired, they need to rest." This was a very legitimate reason, and the female streamer had no choice but to get out of the way again. But the viewers in the livestream were not quite satisfied. "Hehe, took less than a minute to end the battle, tired my ass." "9494[1], I just love the way they''re showing off." "It''s cool to show off now, but if they lose in the finals, you guys will still hurl lots of insults at them!" "Praises to victors, curses to losers, isn''t that quite normal?" Ignoring the discussion in the livestream for the moment, Roland and the others returned to the players'' area, took off their helmets, and began to sit and eat the lunch provided by the venue. The semifinals would start at 2:30 PM, so they had about two hours to rest. Lin Zhaotong came over and asked Qi Shaoqiu, "What if you guys really win the title, you still won''t give interviews?" Qi Shaoqiu looked at Roland and the others. Roland shook his head. "Forget it. We''re just here for fun." Hearing this, Lin Zhaotong felt a chill in his heart. The group of people from the club trained for a few hours every day and worked very hard, just to stand in the arena for a little while longer, and it was their dream to win the championship and be interviewed. But this was a dream that they didn''t want. Lin Zhaotong was a little depressed. He had been working at the club for several years now, and when the country''s first full-armor combat competition had taken place, he had been on the field and had been defeated by the French with his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, but of course, it had to do with the fact that they were competing for the first time and didn''t have any experience. He then began to move into logistics, and together with other like-minded companions, he nurtured a small organization of only five people to its current size and became the Chinese host of the full-armor combat competition. In recent years, the national team had been slowly improving, but they never had the opportunity to aim for the title. Moving behind the scenes, Lin Zhaotong treated the championship title a little differently than before. The contestants aimed for the title for glory. If the championship team was interviewed, the topic would be very popularespecially in the second team, that Schuck guy was so damn handsome, those teen idols seemed just like ordinary people compared to him. If he could appear in the video, he could definitely draw in a great amount of traffic. But the other side didn''t even want to be interviewed. This was such a waste of talent. Lin Zhaotong still wanted to say something more, but Qi Shaoqiu shook his head. Qi Shaoqiu was a very responsible person. He felt that since he brought Roland and the others here, and they were willing to help him fight a full-armor combat competition, then some of the troublesome things that they were unwilling to do, he had to find a way to handle himself. Lin Zhaotong sighed helplessly. After that, he left. Roland and the others closed their eyes during the break for nearly two hours before coming back to the arena. The elimination match wasn''t a one-battle match, but instead, it was a best of three. Perhaps it was because their luck ran out, but after the draw, Roland and the others'' opponent for the first match of the finals was Russia''s second team. The female streamer said with an incredulous look, "This is too unlucky. They''ve made it to the finals with great difficulty only to encounter Russia''s second team. Are they fated to be sixteenth?" In the livestream, a wave of bullet-screen comments popped up. "With great difficulty? It''s quite difficult when each match doesn''t last more than a minute." "When you put it that way, it does seem that none of the Russian teams were able to end the battle so quickly." "That''s why I think the second team is actually very strong." "That''s because the second team met all the rookie teams, okay." "Let''s all stop arguing, whether they really are strong or not will be clear soon.''" At this time, players from both sides took to the field. The Russian players were tall and sturdy, every one of them one meter eighty or one meter ninety, making Roland''s side seem even more delicate. Especially Raffel, who was only a little over one meter sixty making him almost seem like a dwarf in contrast. The spectators around the room sighed in unison at the difference. The vast majority of people thought it was a lost cause. But the results were unexpected. The battle was still over in under a minute. Previously Roland and the others were all fighting individually, one versus one, but this time they started working together straight away. Three miaodaos struck almost simultaneously at the Russian players on the front of the line. This team of Russian players was very cautious; they were prepared to defend themselves from three meters away. However, it was still useless. Roland acted the fastest because Lin Zhaotong had told them before the match that they would have to do their best when they met the Russian teams. So he did his best. The miaodao in his hand seemed to cut through something again, and then it hit the opponent''s small shield with a strange whistling sound. The Russian player blocked it. It was a strong team, after all, so this reaction speed was to be expected. But after the clang, he felt as if his shield had been struck by a giant, toothed club, and the strange force shocked his left hand and turned it numb. He almost couldn''t hold onto the shield, which was thrown backward all of a sudden. Then the other two miaodaos cut on his helmet. Duang-duang. The Russian player was dizzy from the shock and blanked out. Li Lin then quickly rushed up and the two of them slammed into this Russian player with their shields, toppling him over. The whole process actually lasted only five seconds. Li Lin, Brazil, and Raffel then immediately surrounded two people, while Roland and Schuck held the other two back. They split up the battlefield. Instead of rushing to knock down their enemies, Roland and Schuck used the range of the miadao to hold them back, slowly retreating as they fought and kicked the opposing players back a few steps out of the blue. After holding them back for about ten seconds, Li Lin and the other two had put down the two Russian players they had surrounded, and then immediately surrounded the last two enemy players. After a lot of smacking and banging, the two remaining Russians also fell to the ground and admitted defeat. The whole process was so quick that the onlookers'' perception was that the second team did some dodging, each of them striking a few times, and then the other team went down. When the referee announced that the second team had won, the crowd, who was still a bit unresponsive, cheered deafeningly. There was also a flurry of adulations in the livestream. The female streamer froze and said, "So impressive." The sight of someone with a much smaller body knocking down enemies cleanly and with great speed gave people a strong contrast impact. The streamer was a woman, after all. She took a deep breath and said, "Our second team took advantage of their speed advantage and took the opponent by surprise, but this is a best of three. The opponent should carry out defensive measures in the next match, so the second team should not be complacent. They must play steadily." The second match soon started. This time, it was a 2-3 formation, no longer the previous spearhead formation. But it was still useless. Three miaodao knocked one into a daze, two shield warriors rammed into and knocked the opponent down, and then the battlefield was split again. There was no way for the other side to defend themselves. The second match even took a few seconds less than the first. Roland and the others of the second team directly advanced to the top eight. [1] Means exactly, or agreed 298 The Game Servers Open Roland and others continued to rest and recover their energy while waiting for a new match. Behind them, the captain of the main team was talking to Lin Zhaotong. "How do you think this second team is practicing? They strike fast and hard and seemingly with a lot of power." Lin Zhaotong shook his head. "Indeed, they strike fast and ruthlessly, but their power isn''t really great. It''s just that they know more techniques on how to exert force." "Techniques to exert force this kind of stuff really works?" the captain said helplessly. "The most important thing about strength is to train the muscles, build up mass, and you''ll have it naturally." Lin Zhaotong grunted, and after a moment''s silence, he said, "I actually don''t find power and attack speed difficult. I think you guys should be able to do it too; what I find most outrageous is their coordination and control of the battlefield." The captain of the main team was a little puzzled. Lin Zhaotong continued, "I''ve been observing every game and even recorded videos, watching and studying it over and over again. Their performance at first glance looks like it''s just fast, but I think they have very keen battle instincts. When to attack and when to cooperate, they distinguish this very clearly and are quite well coordinated." "The difference is in experience?" The captain of the first team frowned. "It doesn''t make sense that they would have more combat experience than we do. At least we''ve been in three tournaments, this is their first time in combat." "It could be actual combat experience elsewhere. For example, their internal sparring." Li Zhaotong shrugged. "They''re Qi Shaoqiu''s students after all." "That makes sense." The captain of the first team looked at Qi Shaoqiu, his gaze burning. Soon the eight-team tournament began, and this time Roland and the others encountered the Korean team. The Korean team was worse than Russia''s second team, such that they didn''t even need to cooperate. They simply just went up and hacked away. Roland and the others thought this was quite normal. The Korean team was about the same size as they were and far weaker than Russia''s second team. The livestream audience was excited, clamoring for them to avenge the national soccer team. In the final four matches, they encountered Russian''s third team. By this time the Russians had noticed the dark horse that was the second team and had prepared specifically to take them on. However, it was still useless. It only took an extra ten seconds to knock them down. Then it was the championship. Almost all eyes were focused on the center of the stadium. The female streamer held up her phone with a portable charger attached to it as she nervously said, "Finally, it''s time for the championship match. I hope the second team wins." Almost all of the country''s team captains turned on the video recording on their phones. They felt that if this dark horse of a national team could beat the Russian team, there must be something they could learn from their formations, battle tactics, and so on. The Russian team lined up in a compact 3-2 formation this time. It did act as some protection against surprise attacks, but it was still useless. The main Russian team was indeed a little better than their second team, but only by a little; they were not substantially different. Roland and the others had already been through a lot of battles, big and small, in the game; all of them were life or death battles. Roland''s combat experience was arguably the least outstanding amongst them, but it had to be better than the opposite side. At this moment, Li Lin and Raffel, the melee professionals, truly showed what cold weapon combat was all about. Although their opponents were much larger, the two used the center of gravity and shield fighting skills they had learned in the game to break through the opposite side''s defensive formation and knock down two men. After that, it was easy. With miaodaos, three of them kept their distance and pincer-attacked with the other two, cutting down the remaining three Russians. One of the Russians was tough, hugging the fence and refusing to fall, an almost shameless act. Raffel had no thought of being polite, hitting hard with a shield strike and a longsword slap across the opponent''s helmet. After a rapid succession of blows, the Russian was actually knocked unconscious. After obtaining the victory, Roland and the others were treated almost as heroes, but they were not excited and left the arena without even taking off their helmets. Since single-player battles were coming up, the award ceremony would have to wait until four days later, which was just what Roland and the others wanted, as they refused to be interviewed by the female streamer and went straight back to the contestant area, taking off their armor and slipping away. They then traveled around Jingnan for a day and a half before taking the high-speed train home. As for the trophy and prize money, Qi Shaoqiu would claim it in their stead. Roland threw his backpack on the floor and couldn''t wait to turn on his computer, as the server update ended in the evening and the server reopened. He wanted to see if there was any important news or content on the forum, but all he could find was idiotic netizens spamming posts like "Time is so hard to pass" and "I''m dying without a game to play" and other posts without substance. It was hard to wait until ten in the evening. Roland, already washed up, got into the virtual cabin. He soon fell asleep, and when he woke up, he found himself standing in the middle of the manor''s study. Roland took a deep breath, the magic in the air pouring into this body like water. He was stunned for a moment. Before he left, he was obviously full of MP so how come now, his MP was almost completely gone? He breathed out and sat back in his chair. Then he looked around and a feeling of comfort came over him. Although he had loved ones in the real world, he had to admit that it was this world that made him feel more comfortable. The ubiquitous magic could fill his mental void. After sitting in his chair for a while, Roland realized that his MP was a fifth of the way up and no longer affected his movement, so he opened the door and went out, and then saw a maid on the sidewalk staring at him agape. Roland was wondering why the maid looked like she had seen a ghost. The maid then turned and ran, shouting as she did so, "The Master is back, the Master is back!" "Huh?" Roland was even more bewildered. At this moment, Roland suddenly heard a swishing sound and a silhouette appeared in front of him, leaving a dozen afterimages along the way. Then he felt himself being embraced in a warm hug. "You''re back, finally!" It was a familiar voice, containing a trace of hidden bitterness. "You''ve been gone for 21 days, I thought you didn''t want me either!" Andonara cried pear-shaped tears. Her expression was haggard and she even took on an air of sickness and weakness. 21 days? Roland understood something. At this moment, there was the sound of running from the stairway and Vivian appeared in the corridor with her skirt lifted. When she saw Roland, she wiped her red eyes hard with her hand. Seven days! 21 days! Roland found it odd that the servers used to routinely shut down every day and the time in this world would stop. However, why was it that time was still passing during this update? 299 No Regrets After comforting the two women, Roland took advantage of his free time and immediately logged onto the forum. As expected, the entire forum had blown up. Twenty-one days had passed in the game world. The game world had changed a lot and the natives involved had done a lot of things since discovering the disappearance of the Golden Sons. Most of the merchants had their goods stolen if they rented land and hired someone to look after them instead of keeping them in their Backpacks. For example, those who had a grudge against the Golden Sons would take their revenge on the native people who were acquainted with the Golden Sons. What''s more, some even directly took up all the assets of Golden Sons. Roland''s Magic Tower was not affected much due to its relatively superlative status. Most importantly, three or four days ago, Andonara had killed more than a dozen people who had stretched out their hands in random ways, two of whom were even descendants of minor nobles, forcibly cutting off the unnecessary thoughts of certain people. The deterrent power of a Great Swordsman was still extremely high. However, Silver Wings wasn''t so lucky. It was unclear elsewhere, but the docks of Delpon had indeed been devastated. Silver Wings took the elite control route, where all the middle and upper management of the docks were the players, while the rest of the small foremen and the dock employees were all ordinary citizens, and most of them former beggars. They didn''t have any defensive capabilities, nor did they have the ability to adapt. At first, there was little response for ten days, and on the fifteenth day the forces of Delpon began to test the waters, and on the seventeenth day, several forces began to seize control of the docks from each other. It was always easier to destroy than to create. It took months to build the docks, and less than four days to reduce them to rubble. Hawk almost fainted when he entered the game and saw the wreckage, which was still smoking slightly in front of him. If it wasn''t for the fact that his body in the game was very strong, he probably would have spurted out a mouthful of blood. "How did this happen!" Standing by the river, his eyes red, Hawk roared up at the sky, "Whoever did this, I want them dead!" Many of the unrelated people who had stayed on the outskirts of the docks quietly slipped away. And a large group of workers, who seemed to be beggars, wiped their tears and gathered back around. In the end, the anger on this side hadn''t subsided yet, and then Hawk found out from his guild''s homepage that not only the docks in Delpon but also the docks built by Silver Wings in other cities had been destroyed. It could be perfectly described as all achievements vanishing overnight. He handed things over to Link and immediately went offline. At this time, Roland had also finished listening to Vivian''s report about the docks. The matter about the docks was indeed considered a big deal in Delpon. He thought for a while, and said to Vivian, "Go inform the people of the Magic Tower, as well as the people in charge of the relevant industries to pay more attention. Dhrink their share of the industry, and don''t extend your hand where you shouldn''t." Vivian was startled for a moment. "Is there going to be a danger?" "The docks of Silver Wings were destroyed," Roland said helplessly. "I know my people too well, what follows will be a big ordeal." Vivian was stunned for a moment and said, "I understand." Then she left the manor, while Roland planned to go to the Magic Tower to stabilize the situation. Andonara followed him and at the same time said, "I''ll protect you. Mages need Warriors, especially in such dangerous times." Andonara''s watery eyes held a hint of entreaty. Roland knew that she was afraid that he would disappear again, and he couldn''t handle this naturally insecure woman, so he nodded his head. The apprentices of the Magic Tower were delighted with Roland''s return. During Roland''s absence, especially in the last few days, they could clearly feel a gradual change in the attitude of the outside forces toward them. The desire to devour them was gradually building up. The good thing was Queen Andonara was there, and Chairman Roland soon returned. Roland spent less than half an hour at the Magic Tower, and then Gru from Gray Sand Gang asked for a meeting. Having someone bring Gru up, Roland gestured to him to sit, then smiled and said, "What can I do for you, Mr. Gru?" Gru didn''t dare to sit down. He lowered his head in trepidation and said, "Sir, I can''t bear to be called that. Mr. Roland, I have taken the liberty to come this time to ask you for a favor." "Tell me what it is first, If I don''t know what it is, I don''t know if I should agree." Roland frowned. Gru took a deep breath. "A few days ago, the Gray Sand Gang was involved in the fight for the docks." As expected Roland sighed lightly. The Gray Sand Gang was essentially a group of poor people who couldn''t live on so they banded together to protect themselves. Although there were some criminal elements involved, it was still mostly fair, and they could at least play a role in stabilizing the order of the chaotic underground world. The underground world of Delpon would be even more chaotic if the Gray Sand Gang was suppressed. Plus, children of the Gray Sand Gang boss were Roland''s magic apprentices, so the Magic Tower and this gang were related. "Who led the team? You, or your boss?" Gru shook his head vigorously. "Of course we wouldn''t do such a thing, we''ve been following your instructions and haven''t messed around for a long time. This time, it was Cummings who led the charge and we had no idea." "You were really unaware of this?" Roland said, looking fixedly at Gru, and after a moment, he said, "Or was it a deliberate scheme to get someone else to do the dirty work?" Gru''s body immediately stiffened. By this time, Roland had sensed that Gru''s mental fluctuations were very chaotic and knew that the other party''s mind was in turmoil, so he knew he guessed right. Looking at Roland''s emotionless eyes, Gru''s body began to tremble slightly. He found that Roland''s imposing aura was much stronger than it had been half a year ago. And most importantly, Roland had only been back for less than two hours, and he had already seen through their scheme. This was a kind of intellectual dominance that terrified Gru and made him at a loss for what to do. Roland sneered, "You guys can settle this matter yourselves, I don''t want to care about what Silver Wings do to you." "Mr. Roland" Gru dropped to one knee. "Please" "I heard a long time ago that you mobsters are all about the word ''life,'' and if you don''t have anything, you''ll fight with your life for everything, emphasizing the value of no regrets," Roland slowly said. "Before your gang hung on to the Magic Tower, I said restrain your men, don''t do anything bad, and don''t act recklessly. But now that you have your own ideas and have acted on them, you will bear the consequences by yourselves." "We, Gray Sand Gang, are the dogs of the Magic Tower, and if we are destroyed, the face of the Magic Tower will suffer as well." Gru was begging now. "Please, Mr. Roland." Roland shook his head slightly. "Go back, but don''t worry, those two little ones will always belong to the Magic Tower. Bad things won''t touch them unless they rebel against the Magic Tower themselves." 300 You Do It If Youre So Able Gru left in a daze. In fact, Gru was personally always against sending someone out to take over the docks, but he couldn''t stand up to the boss, who was enticed by the idea. After all, the Golden Sons disappeared for twenty-one days. At first, everyone thought the Golden Sons would just disappear for two or three days. But as time passed, and the Golden Sons didn''t return for five or six days, someone had wicked ideas. Then all kinds of rumors came out. On the seventh or eighth day, people were already getting restless, and after a dozen days, they started fussing. After fifteen days, almost everyone assumed that the Golden Sons wouldn''t return. One of the most popular rumors was that the Goddess of Life felt that the Golden Sons were too insensible and abandoned them. The noble forces of Delpon, however, were already quite apprehensive about the Golden Sons, so they decided they could wait seventeen or eighteen days before taking action. After all, Hawk and Link''s crazy actions were the epitome of Golden Sons, followed by the astonishing act of the Golden Sons teaming up to kill the mayor, which had left the forces of Delpon trembling in fear. But as strong a deterrent as it was, it gradually diminished with the disappearance of the Golden Sons after more than twenty days. And then there was the allure of profit, which in most cases was much stronger than the deterrence. Andonara, who was watching the entire process, said with a sort of lingering fear, "Not to mention them, even I thought at the time that you had been abandoned by the Goddess of Life I was even ready to commit suicide." Commit suicide? Roland thought at first that this was just an exaggeration. However, when he looked at Andonara, her expression was calm, even bearing a slight smile. Her eyes, calm as the water at the bottom of a well, were without ripples. Roland''s hand trembled, and he immediately understood that Andonara hadn''t lied. That was truly how she felt. At this moment, he was a little touched, but there was also an indescribable pressure that fell on his shoulders. Hawk climbed out of the virtual cabin, rubbed his face, and turned on his computer. Then he logged onto QQ and entered the guild''s higher-ups group. The invitation to a group video chat was already up, and he immediately connected. Half a second later, a video window appeared on the screen and a reduced video feed of fourteen people appeared in a large window. Hawk clicked to zoom in on the video feed of the guild leader while a stifled voice blasted out of the speakers. "I don''t care what your situation is now, remember one thing, we Silver Wings don''t wimp out. Whoever eats our stuff, make them spit it all out, and pay us back double, got it?" Silver Wings'' guild leader was a middle-aged man, average-looking but imposing, who looked like he had been in a top position for a long time. "Dongshan, you''re in charge of legal affairs. Can we get the game officials to compensate for this?" A bald middle-aged man said, "It''s impossible. First of all, the game is only in alpha testing and does not charge for game content, so we can''t do anything in the area of consumption, and the other thing is that the game officials have already affirmed that they do not support the exchange of real money and game currencythey are not responsible for any such exchanges, nor any interest disputes that arise." The guild leader was upset and said, "But we paid for the virtual cabin, so can we do something in this area?" The bald middle-aged man smiled bitterly. "That would be hard, too. The virtual cabins are only connective devices, so as long as it''s not a product quality problem, we can''t do anything about it. Besides, this is a game content problem. However, the game is still in alpha testing, not in beta testing. The most we can do is say that the game''s content has problems and resulted in an extremely unpleasant experience, then have the gaming company buy back the virtual cabins at the original price and pay a small amount of money for mental damage or something along those lines." However, this was also a bad idea. Now that the virtual cabins'' prices had been inflated to more than three million, to return it at the original price It would only be fifty thousand yuan, and the emotional damage costs or whatever would be no more than ten thousand yuan. It added up to about 60,000only an idiot would return it to the game officials at the original price. The guild leader thought about it and said, "No matter what, the officials still have to be pressured. Asura, you''re in charge of diplomacy, go join up with the other guilds and find a way to put pressure on the game officialsthere''s strength in numbers." A young man nodded and didn''t say anything. Then the Silver Wings guild leader pushed aside the small shredded bangs on his forehead, "Hawk, how is the situation on your side?" "Like the docks in other cities, it was all destroyed, and everything that could be taken was taken. Not to mention the ships, not even a single piece of linen was left." "I remember you have a tycoon over there named Vincent, can you persuade him to donate some more money to us? We''ll increase his dividends later." Hawk sighed deeply. "Did we lose a lot?" "A significant amount; the most conservative estimate is a loss of twenty million." Hawk was silent. It was a while before he said, "Vincent has already left the guild. He doesn''t even want the 1.5 million in donation bonuses." After a moment of stunned silence, the guild leader''s angry scolding rang out: "Hawk, what''s the matter with you, how can you let such an important member just drop out of the guild!?" Hawk said dejectedly, "He didn''t want to stay, and we couldn''t stop him." The guild leader held back his anger, "Hawk, tell me what happened. I want to know exactly why that tycoon left the guild." Hawk immediately told the whole story of how it had happened. The Silver Wings top executives all fell silent after hearing this. Were Hawk''s actions right? Were Suel''s actions right? From Silver Wings'' point of view, it was right. After all, if your ass was sitting on this side, you certainly had to think about the guild, and due to their fast expansion, the guild had already started to run out of money. Any amount of profit was significant. However, the consequence was that the money was not acquired and they also fell out with F6. And Vincent was forced to take sides and ended up choosing Roland''s Magic Tower. They invited only trouble without receiving any rewards. After about a minute of silence, the guild leader said seriously, "Hawk, we''ll put the matter with F6 on record for now. The most important thing now is to find a way to retaliate and make them spit out our losses. I remember Delpon is essentially under Silver Wings control, right? Can we get seize the tax revenue of Delpon as well?" The guild leaders'' message, which everyone understood, was to use the taxes of Delpon to make up for the guild''s losses. Hawk shook his head. "A third of the taxes in Delpon is Roland''s, the other two-thirds are the mayor''s." "Why would something as important as taxation be split with Roland of F6?" A senior executive immediately cast the first question. "Hawk, are you stupid?" Hawk retorted, "At the time, the interests were divided, and Roland had yielded much, much more, or else how could we have gotten two mines, half the city''s granaries, the old docks, and the sheriff''s post?" "No one can get enough profit." The executive continued to criticize him. "Since Roland was easy to talk to, you should have continued to strike while the iron was hot and gotten the taxation right into our hands as well. If you didn''t get it, you were derelict in your dutyincompetent and taking up a good position for nothing." "Roland did the majority of the work, but would receive nothing? Do you really take him for a tool? Do you really think people are that stupid?" Hawk was also furious. He was already in a bad mood, and he immediately spat back, "F**k, hell, if you have the ability then you do it, don''t b*t*h if you don''t have the abilityat worst, I''ll give you the post of deputy leader." This executive said in a peculiar voice, "Oh, starting to threaten people now and throw away responsibilities once you''re in a foul mood. If you don''t want to be the deputy leader, I don''t mind taking it up." 301 Magic Tycoon, No One Other Than Me At this moment, the guild leader scolded, "Jason, stop. Hawk and Link built a dock prototype on their own. He''s more capable than you. If you want to be the deputy leader, you''ll need a few more years of training." The man called Jason stopped talking in embarrassment. "Also, Hawk, take the people from Delpon and move to Bluewater Harbor right now to assist Brenda in managing that place. As a single woman, she lacks some dominance, and the situation in Bluewater Harbor is not too optimistic right now. She''s about to lose control of the situation." Hawk said with some confusion, "Can''t we let the others go? I''ll make her unhappy if I show up out of the blue." "She can''t wait for you to get over there," someone blurted out. The others would have laughed, and would most likely have laughed boisterously if the situation wasn''t really dire right now. Hawk scratched his head. "What about Delpon?" The guild leader said bluntly, "Let Jason take care of it. I''ve still got those same words: whoever advocates the matter will take charge of it. Jason, since you think you can take the taxation power from F6''s Roland, then you do it." Jason revealed a delighted expression. "I understand." Hawk hesitated for a moment and said, "Maybe I''d better stay in Delpon; Roland and I are friends after all, and my words still hold some sway. If we let Jason go over there, with his personality, there will really be no way to redeem the situation." "It doesn''t matter now that things have come to this, it''s okay to burn bridges." The guild leader in sipped his water and continued, "Maybe Jason can change the situation with bared fists. Even if he fails, the situation won''t be any worse than it is now." Everyone nodded in agreement. Hawk sighed. "Okay, you guys decide." The guild leader continued, "Finally, I''ll reiterate one more point. No matter what kind of conflict you have with another player, don''t bring the fire of war to the NPCs. Players'' matters are settled between players, and if you want to achieve your objectives by threatening and killing NPCs familiar to your opponent, don''t blame me for being harsh if I find out about it." After that, that guild leader said quite a bit about the dilemma facing the guild and how to deal with it, and Hawk listened in a daze. He seemed to have listened to everything, but remembered nothing. After the guild leader dismissed the meeting, Hawk, muddleheaded, got into the game''s virtual pod and entered the game again. Link was just a short distance away, directing the workers to clear the debris, and when he saw him come online, he immediately trotted over and asked, "What did the guild leader say?" "We''re being transferred." "Oh." Link didn''t care. "Going anywhere is the same." "We''re going to Bluewater Harbor to help Brenda." Hawk showed a faint sadness. "The guild leader''s orders. He wants to take down JasonRoland''s not that easy to get along with, and when Jason fails, he''ll have a reason to deal with him." Link clicked his tongue. "The guild is looking more and more like a real company now." "There was no chance before, but now that there''s a chance to show his business leadership skills in the game, the guild leader is sure to move the guild toward the corporate side." Hawk sighed. "I don''t know if that''s good or bad." At this moment, Roland was in the Magic Tower, analyzing the principles of enchantment. He learned all the magic that he could now and forgot about the magic that he couldn''t learn for the time being. With so many nodes and exaggerated magical space capacity, Mystra''s Mansion would absolutely be a 100% head explosion if it failed. He put it aside for now and tried to figure out enchantment first. Roland studied for a while, typing out the properties of several magical materials, then opened the forum and was about to upload his findings. However, he saw a message from someone he''d whitelisted on the forums, opened it up, and found it was the data powerhouse O''Neal. "Roland, after seeing this message, please stop uploading free magic models to the forum. Upon our discovery, some unscrupulous Mages are taking your derivative spells and earning money and supplies from the Association of Mages in other countries. What''s even more outrageous is that they actually changed the author''s name as well, pretending it''s their own. You may not want the benefits, but this trend can''t continue." Roland smiled bitterly in helplessness. In reality, he had guessed that something like this would happen, but he thought that it would take at least half a year. Roland was well aware that his derivative spells were quite valuable. Otherwise, Kaka wouldn''t have died. Since the magic models couldn''t be uploaded, enchantment was something that shouldn''t be uploaded even more. Roland sighed slightly and closed the game forum, reclining in his chair and blanking out in silence. After half an hour, Roland regained his composure and continued to research the properties of the magic materials and also conducted some small experiments on enchantment. Sharp Edge and Weapon Material Hardening were taught to Roland by that Drow. The success rate of these two enchantments for the Drow teacher was also less than forty percent, but Roland''s was now over sixty percent. He had excelled beyond his teacher. Besides, after wasting nearly a hundred gold coins on magic materials, and after nearly a month of sifting through materials, recording them, tasting them with his mouth, using mental power to analyze them, conducting mixing tests, and analyzing data models, Roland finally discovered the low-level enchantment of Lesser Magic Power Regeneration. Of course, a lot of byproducts were produced during this time. For example, energizing and winterizing enchantments were also results of the study. The effects of these enchantments were average. The effects were there, but not very noticeable. However, it was still better than nothing, right? What Roland valued the most was the Lesser Magic Power Regeneration enchantment. Although there was already the specialty of Roland''s Zeal, the regeneration speed was not enough to keep up with the needs of his level. And as Roland learned more and more advanced spells, the amount of magic power he consumed increased, and now he had to sit and rest for more than five hours after conducting magic experiments to fully regenerate his magic power. This was why Roland planned to make himself a set of magic regeneration equipment that would allow him to conduct magic experiments for a long time. He opened the system interface and confirmed the few pieces of equipment that worked for a player. Earrings x2, necklace x2, necklace, hat, clothes, cloak, belt, weapon (no dual-wielding specialty), shoes x2. Rings and handguards shared the same equipment bar, so the handguard would have to be removed. After all, Mages didn''t need to wear iron handguards. There were twelve pieces of equipment in total. For rings and earrings, he asked Vivian to find herself the right type for a man to wear. After that, Roland spent nearly a hundred gold coins and spent seven whole days in the magic lab, and with a success rate of only roughly 60 percent, he finally attached the magic regeneration effect onto twelve pieces of equipment. Then he put on all his magic equipment and looked in the mirror. He discovered that he looked gaudy, glowing with light blue magic from head to toe. He looked exactly like he''d had a string of Christmas neon lights wrapped around him Emanating the idiotic air of a magic tycoon. 302 Why Should I Help You? This was too gaudy. Not to mention that showing up on the battlefield would make him look like an idiot, but just walking down the road, he''d receive the contemptuous gazes of many people. Roland was getting ready to take off these pieces of magic equipment. He had decided that this appearance would remain in the lab from now on and that no outsider should get a glimpse of it under normal circumstances. However, just as he was about to take off his magic equipment, Andonara, who had been standing and watching on the side, trotted over and stopped him. "Roland, what are you doing? Why are you taking off such a good-looking outfit?" "Good-looking?" Roland tugged at the corners of his mouth. He thought Andonara had meant the opposite; he wanted to take it off even more. However, Andonara pressed down his hands, this queen''s eyes bursting with bright light. "It''s really good-looking, it suits you." This was when Roland realized that Andonara''s eyes were so full of affection that it didn''t seem like she meant the opposite. Then Vivian came in with fruit wine and some cakes, and also suddenly looked as if she were astonished to see Roland''s current outfit. Roland now had a pair of large earrings shining with blue light, bearing an awkwardness like Cai Xukun[1]. Somewhat sissy-like, but there was also a mysteriousness to it. Are these two women aesthetically challenged? What''s so great about this shiny outfit? Men valued a low-profile look and reservedness. But then he thought about it for a few seconds and had a vague understanding of why Vivian and Andonara didn''t find the costume too gaudy. This had to do with the era and the cultural context. In the modern world, there were neon lights everywhere, so no one would think that shiny things were that special. However, in ancient times, a few pieces of broken glass could sell for a high price, not to mention jewelry that glowed, which could definitely fetch sky-high prices. Women in ancient times were into this kind of thing. And with the context of this world, there was no problem in saying that Andonara and Vivian were women of ancient times. More importantly, the light blue flash on Roland''s body was a magical light. Magic represented knowledge, mystery, and nobility. So in the eyes of Andonara and Vivian, Roland, a genuine Mage, had no problem wearing this outfit. If it had been anyone else, such as a Warrior or merchants and the like The two of them would most likely ridicule it. Even with the two women revealing their honest thoughts, he didn''t want to go out in this outfit. He had to figure out a way to cover up the glow of the magic equipment. While Roland continued conducting experiments in the Magic Tower, Jason finally arrived at Delpon. A slight breeze blew on Jason''s face and he smiled. "A dog with its tail between its legs." Then he turned around and said to the guild members he had brought with him, "Let''s go get the guild''s things back." This world had never been truly peaceful, though Delpon had been in a rare peace for nearly a year after the death of the old mayor. During this time, no evil people dared to cause trouble in Delpon, and even the nobles had restrained their behavior. But on this day, the kind of violence that made people feel terrible once again appeared on the streets. More than a dozen Golden sons dragged out a few middle-aged men, then threw them in front of the west commercial street, before a shop called Torrey''s Ores. In front of the shop manager, they broke the bones in the legs of these middle-aged men, raining down strike after strike. For a moment, there were incessant screams, and the people ran off, leaving the entire street nearly empty. All the building windows were closed. Jason wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead with a white silk cloth. He was dressed in all black, and he smiled very gently. "Shop manager of the Torrey family, tell your master to give back everything that he took from Silver Wings. Whatever you ate, you have to spit it all out. Also, we need equal compensation. The demand is not great, a hundred gold coins are enough. As far as I know, you killed at least eight of our employees and injured more than twenty, wouldn''t it be right to pay five or six gold coins for the medical expenses of these people?" The manager wasn''t calm on the inside at all, but he forced himself to calm down. "By doing this, you are making an enemy of the Torrey family." Jason said with a smile, "We even dared to kill the mayor, the Torrey family is nothing. Remember to relay to your master that I will only give him three days." With that said, Jason took his men and left. Then, they appeared in front of a certain shop on another street, and the same show was performed again. And again. Later that evening, many people sought out Roland outside the Magic Tower. Roland invited them into the study all at once. The good thing was that the study wasn''t small, and the dozen or so people didn''t feel crowded when they sat down. These people were all nobles, and their expressions were all terrified. Roland sized them up, having a pretty good idea of what they were coming for. However, he didn''t want to speakhe couldn''t care less. In the end, it was the Torrey family''s master who couldn''t stand this silent atmosphere and took the initiative to say, "Mr. Roland, I''m sure that you must''ve heard about what happened during the day. This matter is indeed our mistake. As you are both Golden Sons, could you get around the matter with him?" Roland shook his head. He felt that these people were really shameless. "As far as I know, you all tried to take event my Magic Tower for yourselves; it would have most likely changed hands if Andonara hadn''t helped me control the situation." Roland smiled happily. "In fact, I''m quite happy to see you in trouble, so why should I speak for you guys?" As soon as this was said, all the visitors'' faces turned green. At this moment, a young nobleman muttered, "You guys disappeared for over twenty days, and everyone thought you weren''t coming back" "That''s not the way to say it, young man," Roland said, staring at the small nobleman. "You take your servants, go out hunting for ten days, and don''t come back. When I don''t see you, I assume you''re dead, and then run to your house to be the master, sleep with your wife, and beat your son with your gold. When you come back, I say, ''It''s your fault for going away for so long,'' to get over the matter. Would you be so accepting?" The young nobleman was green with anger He happened to have been married for less than three months; his wife was tall and beautiful, and he was quite fond of her. Roland''s words were almost a knife stabbed directly into his heart. Torrey took a deep breath. "Mr. Roland, what do you want to intercede on our behalf? Or rather, what price do we need to pay?" "I invited you up here to tell you one thing: Silver Wings is in the right in this matter. You ran into someone''s territory and set fire to it, and you also destroyed the docks that they had worked so hard to build. Now that they''ve retaliated, you have to take the consequences on yourselves." Roland laughed. "I won''t help you, so it''s time for you to leave." The dozen or so minor nobles were in an uproar. Torrey quietly pondered for a moment and said, "But the Gray Sand Gang under you did the same thing as usyou''re not innocent. As long as we join hands, we should have enough numbers to win against them. But to win against them, we have to at least make them feel pain so that they don''t do whatever they want so blatantly." [1] Male Chinese artist 303 I Said So Roland laughed when he heard that. Hurt the players! From a physical point of view, it was impossible. After all, players weren''t afraid of death. "Have you forgotten the Golden Sons are immortal?" Roland gestured for them to leave. "I told you, I won''t interfere with this matter, and neither will the Gray Sand Gang." Torrey shook his head in disappointment. "Sir, you will disappoint a lot of people by doing this. Is it possible that in your eyes, the organization under you is only meant to be abandoned during critical moments?" The crowd was wagging their tongues. Roland''s heartlessness seemed somewhat unbelievable to them. If one were to look at them with just the eyes, these people''s expressions were all well feigned; some looked calm on the surface but had disdain in their eyes, and some frowned with annoyance. It was as if Roland''s lack of concern for the gang was something contemptible. Roland didn''t believe these nobles, and big merchants would be so noble as well. Besides, now that Roland''s mental power was quite strong, he could clearly distinguish that these people''s mental fluctuations weren''t significant, meaning that their feelings didn''t match their apparent expressions. To put it simply, they were acting. Playing Roland. Roland said indifferently, "It''s none of your business what I do, right? Or do you bigwigs who usually bully commoners with great vigor suddenly want to stand up for the Gray Sand Gang? No matter, I''ll accept it." Everyone was in awe. No one spoke. Torrey continued, "Sir, if you are willing to protect us, we''re willing to serve up a good deal of money. How about three hundred gold coins to start with, and then every month, all of us will raise you another fifty gold coins for ten years in a row. How about it?" This was definitely an exaggerated figure. Even if it was a great noble family, they would have to seriously consider it when they heard these numbers. However, Roland still gestured for them to leave. He doesn''t even want this much money? This group of people sighed at Roland''s sneering look and then left all at once. After they left, Adonara came out of the inner room and said unhappily, "These people have actually joined forces against us. Is it because we''re easy to talk to?" "I don''t think so." Roland went to the window and watched the group of people leave the Magic Tower''s square. "These people seem to have been united by someone." Andonara was stunned for a moment. "Torrey led them?" "Torrey is not a man with much power." Roland shook his head. "It is reasonable to say that if he has enough trouble dealing with the threat from Silver Wings, it''s impossible for him to go against me unless" Roland smiled as he watched Torrey''s carriage leave, and turned back to his study. Torrey returned to his manor and went to his own study. Soon the sun was setting. Two men in black cloaks entered Torrey''s manor from the back, then went through the backdoor to the mansion, and finally, led by the butler, they arrived in Torrey''s study. The two visitors pulled off their black hoods and then sat unceremoniously across from Torrey. "What''s the situation?" Torrey shook his head. "Sorry, Mr. Jason, Roland isn''t falling for it." Jason was somewhat disappointed, and he said unhappily, "When you said you were going to give him gold, he still didn''t let up?" "Rather, he seemed angrier." Torrey smiled bitterly. Jason thought for a moment and said, "Since you didn''t succeed, the compensation will be the same as it was." "Sir, please give us another chance." Torrey stood up abruptly. "Your terms are too harsh. It will cost us everything we have." "At least it''s better than not being alive, isn''t it?" Torrey''s teeth were chattering, but he absolutely didn''t dare to retort a single word. "You''re lucky I''m the one who came here." Jason stood up and smirked. "If it was that reckless Hawk, it wouldn''t be over until half of you were dead." Jason took out a white handkerchief, wiped his hands, then threw it in Torrey''s face and turned to leave. The greatly humiliated Torrey''s eyes were bloodshot, but he still didn''t dare to say another word. Jason and the other player headed out of the manor. The player following Jason said, "Looks like Roland isn''t falling for it. He won''t join forces with the other minor nobles, so what''s next?" "If Roland dared to join forces with those nobles for the sake of profit, then we could upload this to the forum and discredit him," Jason said with great annoyance. "I just didn''t think that Roland wouldn''t fall for a down payment of three hundred gold coins and a monthly flow of fifty gold coins. If he''s not a glutton for this, then what is he a glutton for? Beauty? We can only put this matter aside for now. Let''s clean up these nobles and merchants who took our money, and then we''ll clean up Roland when we get the chance." The player on the side clicked his tongue. "That Roland brat is too lucky." After taking two steps, just outside the entrance to Torrey''s manor, Jason suddenly stopped, then stared ahead. "Looks like it wasn''t luck." The player next to Jason froze for a moment and looked ahead, then noticed two people slowly walking out of the dark roadside grove in front of him. He saw that it was Roland and Andonara, who was wearing the Queen''s crown. Jason stared at Roland and wondered if he could sophisticate his way out of this. But that was when two magic spiders sprang up behind him and swept quickly past him. They scuttled under Roland''s legs and up his robes, then paused on Roland''s shoulders. Under the faint moonlight, the two magic spiders shone light blue. It was as if Jason saw both of the magic spiders laughing at him. There was no possibility of playing dumb. Roland stared at the other party and said slowly, "It seems like Silver Wings is coming to screw me over, right?" Jason didn''t say anything. "Let''s see, what''s in it for you to ruin my reputation?" Roland''s smile under the dark moonlight held the grimness of a villainous boss, mainly because his eyes were just too calm and had a weird coldness to them in spite of the smile. "Force me to leave Delpon, or force me to delete my account and start over? Or even force me to leave the game? Then you can have exclusive control of Delpon, including taxes." Jason''s bland expression loosened a bit. Roland shook his head. "Even taking away the only benefit that was previously promised to me, it seems that Silver Wings''s financial chain has reached the verge of collapse." "So what if you know? What are you going to do? Kill me a few times?" Jason said with a smile. "From now on, you Silver Wings guild members, except for the docks, don''t take another step inside of Delpon, or I''ll kill you when I see you." After a pause, Roland tilted his head up slightly, his eyebrows raised. Even though he was about the same height as Jason, this expression and gesture made him look as though he was looking down on the other side from above. "I said so." 304 The Mages Heart is Always Dirty Roland''s words were arrogant and cocky, even ridiculous. However, Jason couldn''t speak for a moment, and his lips moved twice, not knowing what to say. The same words, when spoken by a clown, were naturally a joke, but when spoken by a Tyrannosaurus Rex, they would be a dragon''s roar. Roland, as the number one Mage on the server, had an undeniable reputation. Jason was stunned and didn''t speak for a moment. In gaming terminology, he was shocked by "words," failing the immunity check, and lost an action for a single round. But players were players after all: new age youths who grew up reading words like "My life is up to me" and "I can replace him." Jason took a deep breath and threw that little bit of panic he had just felt down to the bottom of his heart. He smirked and said, "Yo, who''s afraid of who, why don''t we do it now." As soon as he spoke, he charged over with a swoosh. The two sides were extremely close, and in less than 0.3 seconds, Jason rushed in front of Roland. The longsword was drawn from beneath his black robe, silver light flashing before he cut Roland in two with a single strike. Got him Before Jason could rejoice, he saw Roland, who had been broken in two, turn into nothingness. Illusion! Mirror image? When? Jason froze for a moment, and then felt a large amount of magic gathering behind him. As he turned around, he saw a dozen colorful spheres of light with long trailing flames flying toward him. Prismatic Spray a level-one spell that was quite lethal, and although it was slightly slower, it was much more powerful than spells like Chain Lightning. Jason knew what it was, and he immediately dashed to the right. Prismatic Spray could be guided to a certain extent under Roland''s control. Several rainbow light clusters deviated from their instant trajectory and caught up with Jason. Jason continued to speed up his sideways dash while using his longsword to deflect the three rainbow clusters. At the same time, he tumbled sideways to disengage from the Prismatic Spray. He was trying to shorten the distance between him and Roland again with his Second Charge specialty when he suddenly realized that his steel longsword had been broken in half after deflecting three rainbow light clusters. Shoot! Jason tossed away his sword in annoyance, then flipped his wrist; another steel longsword appeared in his hand. Warriors nowadayswho didn''t have a few more weapons in their Backpack? After all, some players were mischievous, always learning specialties and skills that required destroying weapons. Andonara had been watching the show She had taken a large step back from the battle circle when the battle began. Naturally Andonara hadn''t wanted to stand by, and she wouldn''t listen no matter what. Roland had no choice but to use the words he said to the little girl next door when he was still seven or eight years old: "If you don''t listen, I''ll ignore you later." Andonara dread this the most and had to do as she was told. She was happy to see Jason''s weapon break, but then she saw Jason take out another weapon and couldn''t help but mutter to herself. It was true that Andonara''s abilities were much better than others of her level, but she felt that one day she would encounter Golden Sons who were not far behind her in strength. Even if she had the advantage, what if the other side destroyed her weapon and could summon an endless stream of weapons? This was a tough problem. And at this moment, Jason had just gotten his weapon out. The other Silver Wings player finally reacted. He charged, and when his sword was ten centimeters short of stabbing Roland, it hit a transparent eggshell. Magic Shield! A defense that a Mage would use throughout their life. Until the Magic Shield was broken, Mages would virtually be unharmed. The Magic Shield received a huge impact and rippled. Roland looked sideways at the Silver Wings member and snapped his fingers. Ice Ring, with a radius of about two meters, froze the opponent''s legs, and then a huge blue Hand of Magic smashed at the opponent''s head. After a thud, a giant shield suddenly appeared in front of this player, blocking the blue Hand of Magic. "Surprise, I''m a Shield Warrior. Keep hitting me if you can." It wasn''t that the Silver Wings member was a silly person, but that was what Shield Warriors were supposed to dodraw the enemy''s attention and create attack opportunities for the damage-oriented professions. Roland withdrew his Hand of Magic, then extended his hand and aimed his palm against the Shield Warrior. In the blink of an eye, electricity appeared in Roland''s palm. This Silver Wings member sensed danger and tried retreating, but his legs were still frozen and he couldn''t move. Then the branching bifurcated lightning struck the iron shield and penetrated it, wrapping around the Silver Wings member. Instantly, the Silver Wings member''s whole body tensed, and all his hair stood straight up. There were strange oohs and aahs coming from his mouth. Lightning magic was extremely penetrating to metal, but as soon as magic-resistant materials, such as gold granules, were mixed into the shield, the penetration of lightning magic would be drastically reduced. However, his shield didn''t have any! This was a melee magic spell, Thunder Palm, which could continuously output lightning attacks at a short-range, and it was quite appropriate to use in this situation. At this moment, Jason used his Second Charge specialty to come straight at him again. There were a swish and a crunch. Jason was also level five, and he specialized in the power of charge. The more times he charged in a certain amount of time, the faster and more powerful the charge became. With a charge, the longsword hit the Magic Shield, which began to crack rapidly. Because Roland had diverted a lot of his magic power to launch Thunder Palm, the hardness of the Magic Shield was affected. It was estimated that the Magic Shield would shatter in less than half a second. Andonara looked stern, already having thoughts of going up to help. Through the Magic Shield, Jason looked at Roland with a sardonic smile. As soon as this Magic Shield shattered, it would mean Roland''s death. He felt that Roland was indeed strong, but Roland was too close to them to begin with, and most importantly, there were two of them. But at this moment, Roland laughed even more happily. "You''ve taken the bait." After saying this, Roland whooshed and teleported back three meters. And then Jason finally found himself with his feet in a swamp. He bent his knees and tried to jump up, but he sank deeper and the mud reached his knees all of a sudden. "When?" Rock to Mud required time, not just casting time, but the material transformation time, which took about two seconds. The reaction speed of an agile warrior like Jason was quite good, and if it was cast directly under his feet, as soon as the hardness of the land was the slightest bit off, he would immediately leave, and it would be hard to get him again. But Roland deliberately left an opening, pretending to attack the other player with all his might, while quietly casting Rock to Mud in an area around himself. Double-casting wouldn''t make Roland''s magic shield any less hardtriple-casting would. He just waited for Jason to crash into it himself. Jason was trapped in the mud, still sinking slowly, and the Shield Warrior was frozen in place by the Ice Ring. Roland was three meters away, slowly condensing a fireball in his hands. Three seconds later, Jason looked at the big blue fireball the size of a basin slamming into him and stopped struggling. Only one word was said: "F*ck!" 305 Stubborn? Im Almost as Stubborn A large fireball, a double kill, a huge pothole, and no bodies left. When Jason was resurrected in the Church of Life, he took a spare tunic out of his Backpack and was speechless for a long time. Not long after, the other member was resurrected as well. Both in a weakened state, they looked at each other for a moment, and finally sighed at the same time. Together they left the entrance of the Church of Life. Then at the doorway across the street, they saw Roland again. Roland stood across the street and mouthed to them, "Leave Delpon in ten minutes, or I''ll kill you again." Jason was so angry that veins were popping on his forehead. He looked at Roland with resentment, wanting to attack again. After only holding back for a moment, he had to bow his head and pretend he didn''t see Roland. He left Delpon directly. The other Silver Wings member also followed behind. They were just like two stray dogs. Roland waited for them to leave before walking slowly back to the Magic Tower. When they left Delpon and returned to the ruined docks, Jason looked at the messy surroundings and cursed furiously. "How come I''ve been out so long and you guys haven''t reorganized this place?" At this time, a player next to him who was directing the dock crew to clear the rocks frowned and said, "It doesn''t take time to clear the rocks? You''ve only been away less than fifteen hours, and it''s not like you haven''t seen the situation hereit can''t be flattened in just a few days." Jason said unhappily, "That''s because you''re not strong enough. If it was Roland, he would use Mud to Rock and then Rock to Mud, everything would be smoothed out. You''re a Mage too, why can''t you do it?" This Mage player frowned. "Jason, why are you flying off the handle? Talking so oddly" Jason froze for a moment, then he said helplessly, "Sorry, I shouldn''t be so agitated. Gather everyone for a moment, I have an announcement to make." After ten minutes, Jason recounted Roland''s words to them. Now, a few Silver Wings players erupted. Someone shouted angrily, "By what right! It''s not like Roland owns this place, why won''t he let us in." "That''s right, is Roland so domineering just because he''s strong?" Of course, there were also people who saw things very clearly. "We wanted to screw him over, so when we''re discovered, isn''t it normal for him to retaliate? What''s the use of shouting here! If you have the time to do so, it''s better to find a way to complete more quests and level up quickly, then we might be able to crush Roland." "I don''t believe that he would really dare to do that. I''m going to walk around Delpon tomorrow, he can try to kill me." Jason said helplessly, "Personally, I wouldn''t recommend you go back into the city. Roland will be watching very closely for a while, after all, he''s made it clear." The crowd looked at the man who spoke, and they didn''t advise again. They also had the idea of letting him try to see if Roland would keep his word. As a result, the next day, this man really swaggered into Delpon. Then in less than two hours, Roland threw this Silver Wings member, who had crystallized into an ice sculpture, right off the city wall, crumbling into shards of ice. After this person was resurrected at the church, he ignored Roland''s warning to leave the city in ten minutes and stayed at the entrance of the Church of Life. As a result, Roland came forward and froze him into an ice sculpture, once again throwing him off the wall. After this man was resurrected a second time, he cursed at Roland. And Roland, who was ruthless and untalkative, froze him into an ice sculpture and threw him off the wall again. The third time this person hooted at the entrance of the church, "Roland, I won''t leave, kill me back to level zero if you can." "I can''t believe you''re asking for the same thing as Huang Tangjing[1]." Roland laughed evilly. "I''ll really satisfy your wish." Then Roland went up and just iced the man, then dragged him on top of the wall and threw him down. This Silver Wings member was also a stubborn one, and he just sat at the entrance of the Church of Life after his resurrection. Roland just cut the superfluous talk and froze the person and threw him down the wall. The two sides worked quite well together. As it went back and forth, the whole city came to learn about it. Then the number of onlookers grew. And as more and more deaths occurred, the stubborn player''s level became lower, and he became weaker, and there were dozens of weakened status effects stacked on top of each other. His strength was not far from that of a child for the time being. Soon the nobles were alarmed, and even Little John, who had been staying in the mayor''s residence and just getting by, came out to see what was going on. After Roland threw the ice sculpture off the wall once more, a city guard officer took the initiative to step forward and said, "Mr. Roland, you don''t need to go back, we''ll go and seize the man for you." "No need." Roland shook his head. "He is immortal after all, it would be bad if he remembers your faces for revenge later." This officer immediately felt a bit of a chill on the back of his neck. He knew that he made a very poor suggestion. Fortunately, he didn''t execute it. Roland continued to walk in the direction of the Church of Life. At this moment, more than ten hours had passed, and it was another day in the evening. When Roland went to the entrance of the church again, he found that the player who had been clinging to the church was missing. When he was confused, a small noble-looking man ran up and said, "Mr. Roland, that person has run away." Roland sneered, figuring the other side couldn''t endure the loss of even more experienceafter all, it was about half a year of effort. Roland then returned to the Magic Tower and had the men continue to monitor the players at the docks and come and inform him if anyone dared to enter the city. Then he just continued to study enchantment. After half an hour, a message was sent through the guild system. Betta: "Brother Roland, the forum is in an uproar about you." Roland roughly guessed what had incited it, and when he entered the forum, it was really someone from Silver Wings who had started the thread. This Is the True Face of the Number One Mage. You Guys Judge, Is This Right? The video was made in first-person view, in which Roland''s expression was eerie and terrifying, inhumanely freezing the protagonist in the first-person view and then throwing him off the walls, over and over again. And then interspersed with Roland''s words: "I''m just going to kill you to level zero." It was dark and ruthless. Then the posters below really exploded with comments. "Roland''s ego is inflated, so the number one Mage is this kind of person?" "This is excessive, being killed dozens of times for no reason, is Roland still human?" "That''s how the poor folks are, they get power and forget what it was like before." The majority was scolding Roland. However, there were also those who spoke up for Roland, though the number was somewhat small. "I think we''d better wait for Roland to speak before we pass judgment. Isn''t there plenty of news nowadays that turns things inside out?" "A person who is willing to upload spell models for free can''t possibly be insane and go berserk to this extent." "I think there must be a reason for this, what do you think, Yuanfang[2]?" These people who were sticking up for Roland had IDs that Roland was quite familiar with; most of them were Mages. After all, Roland had also been in the Mages'' forum for a while. Roland had guarded against this move. He wrote a post about it as well, and then uploaded a video. [1] A man in 1845-1900 whose job was similar to a lawyer. The author is referring to part of a movie, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4FUNjYP_Cc [2] Guard captain and assistant of Di Renjie, aka Chinese Sherlock Holmes; like Watson is to Sherlock 306 Study Tour On My Personal Conflicts with Silver Wings. Unlike the other side''s kind of cut-and-paste video, Roland''s was longmore than three hours, from Torrey taking people to the Magic Tower to set up the pitfall, to Jason meeting with Torrey, to Roland taking a stanceand only at the end, there was the man who had been made into an ice sculpture dozens of times ignoring the warning and stubbornly not leaving. Roland''s post became a highlighted post as soon as it appeared, but it also took an hour or so for posts with substance to appear. "I knew things would backfire. The members of Silver Wings are really despicable. Dince bridges were burned, just fight fair and properly. It means nothing to use this kind of tactic to sully one''s reputation." "Even if the members of Silver Wings are in the wrong, killing those who don''t resist dozens of times in a row isn''t reasonable either, right?" "Roland has given his word and the other party is still stubbornly staying in the city, what is this if not provocation? If Roland doesn''t kill the other party just because they don''t resist, doesn''t that make him a person who only bullshits?" "But all in all, it''s not good to kill people dozens of times." "Roland didn''t kill anyone, it''s just normal PK. It''s only considered killing if he kills NPCs, but killing players it''s just messing around." "I''m on Roland''s side." "Most people have a scale in their hearts, and after this video came out, it''s obvious who''s right and who''s wrong. It was originally Silver Wings who played dirty tricks first, trying to unite NPCs to trap people, and doing so unsuccessfully. After being discovered, they use this set of bitter tricks, how annoying." "Is Silver Wings really going to clash with F6 this time?" Looking at the replies, Roland smiled, then exited the forum to continue his own research on enchantment. After researching for so long and making little progress, Roland gave up on his research for a while and then began to consult the books in the library. He wanted to find some useful information in them. Then, not long after, Vincent showed up at the library as well. As a player, Vincent was quite attached to the Magic Tower, and he naturally had access to the library as well. He also came here to look up information, and when he saw Roland, he froze for a moment and then said with a smile, "Yo, Lord Chairman, you''re finally willing to come out of the lab?" Roland scratched his head. "Well, I''m getting a little dizzy from all the research." "Why not go out for a walk?" Vincent suggested. Roland replied, "I go out a lot." "Not you." Vincent waved his hand. "I mean you take the magic apprentices and go out on a study tour." Study tour? Vincent shook his head and laughed. "You''re the only chairman who would think like this, most of the other chairmen probably wouldn''t bother. But you have to understand, the fledgling will eventually fly. Right now there are a few magic apprentices whose strength is stuck at level two, and my personal guess is that they''re just short of some experience. Because they can''t learn the higher level magic, they can''t get more experience points." Roland immediately understood what Vincent meant. Vincent was asking him to take some magic apprentices to level up. He hadn''t really wanted to do that, after all, he hadn''t even had much time to study enchantment. But then he thought about it: he was a Magic Tower''s chairman, and in the past half-year or so, he had just been studying magic on his own. Although he taught his apprentices theoretical knowledge from time to time, as well as new spell models, the progress of the apprentices had indeed been slowing down lately. And he hadn''t really cared about how the apprentices'' studies were going. In a way, it was too easy for him to be the chairman. Roland muttered, "You have a point, I''ll think about it." Vincent smiled when he saw that Roland had taken his words seriously, picked up a book in the library, and left. After pondering in the library for a while and sensing the status of all the magic apprentices with his mental power, Roland quickly decided on six candidates. Vivian, Hans, Crozoa, Domingo, Leos, and the oldest, Jerry. All six of them were just short of a final push to leveling up, and it should be good to take them out for a walk. Roland then rang the resonance bell to assemble all the magic apprentices. The names of the six trainees were announced, and then Vincent was announced as the deputy chairman, who would be in charge of the basic operation of the Magic Tower while Roland took the trainees on a trip. The six people named went to get ready in high spirits, while Vincent couldn''t help but walk up to Roland. He said, "There''s no need to make me the deputy chairman." "It''s not like the deputy chairman is a privileged position, it''s a responsibility." Upon hearing this, Vincent rolled his eyes helplessly. "You order people around even more than Silver Wings." "But I''m more humane than they are," Roland joked. "Okay," Vincent said, "I''ll keep an eye on the Magic Tower for you while you''re gone. There aren''t many people in Delpon who would dare to mess with you now. That idiot man from Silver Wings thought himself clever to upload a video, and you reverse checkmated him. Now Silver Wings is getting a bad reputation on the forum. Soon they''ll have to save their reputation, so they won''t be bothering you for a short time. You can go out and play without worry." "Isn''t it a study tour?" Roland said with a smile. Vincent shrugged. "It''s all the same." The next day, Roland hired four carriages to carry the six magic apprentices, Andonara, and some rations and clothing, and went first to the mercenary guild north of the city. Since it was going to be a training experience, it was basic common sense to register a small mercenary group and use the mercenary guild''s intelligence network to receive missions and decide the goals of the trip. However, there was a hiccup in registering the mercenary group. The main hall of the mercenary guild was large, and at least hundred mercenaries were sitting inside, though only about a tenth of them were professionals. And when Roland brought the six magic apprentices and Andonara and said that they wanted to register as a mercenary group, everyone was dumbfounded. This included the female receptionist in charge of registration. Generally, only five percent of mercenary groups had spellcasters among them. After all, spellcasters had a very high status, whether it was a Mage, a Warlock, or a Priest. But what was going on with this little mercenary group before them? An Elite Mage, six magic apprentices, and a Master Great Swordsman! The team''s professional configuration was too luxurious. Countless teams begged for a spellcaster but couldn''t get one, yet this small mercenary group actually had seven. The dumbfounded female receptionist recorded the information about Roland and the others in a daze. The name of the mercenary group was Prismatic Spray, a name that Vivian had come up with. Because the spell Prismatic Spray was as beautiful as a rainbow to her, she loved this spell the most. Playing with the mercenary dog tag in his hand, Roland asked, "So, what do we do next?" Andonara didn''t speak even though she had been a mercenary. She knew that Roland was not asking her, but was testing the magic apprentices. At this moment, the female receptionist who had been watching them from the counter couldn''t help but say, "Sir, you should start with the most basic quest." Roland waved his hand. "Thanks for the clarification, but sorry, we''re not here to make money!" The receptionist froze. Vivian and the other magic apprentices had never been outside the boundaries of Delpon, so naturally, they didn''t know how to answer. In the end, it was the aged-looking Jerry who said, "Chairman, if it were me, I would use my mercenary status to inquire where there are any magical anomalies. The mercenary guild''s intelligence network is quite powerful, so perhaps there will be a pleasant surprise. If there is no surprise, then I''d go to the Magic Tower in the neighboring town and have a friendly academic exchange." Roland shook his head. "No, I think you need to prepare your camping tents first. Before we left, I checked the carriage and there were only rations and clothing. Do you understand now?" 307 Teach Them a Little Bi Hearing that Roland asked them to prepare tents, the nobles who had never traveled afar asked, "Are we not going to spend the night in towns or villages?" Roland chuckled, and so did Andonara and Old Jerry. Among the six of them, everybody except Jerry was an adolescent descendant of the noble families, or one who had just come of age. They had never been outside of Delpon, and they did not exactly know what travel meant. This world had not reached an era where information and knowledge could be disseminated quickly, either. For people who lived in the information age, they understood how traveling in the wilderness felt like even if they never experienced it in person. It was because they had access to various sorts of books and could find all kinds of information online to teach them what they were going to face. Even if they were completely uninterested, the information they accidentally read in one year was the same as what the ordinary people in this world could take in their whole lives. But of course, it was another matter whether or not they could make the best use of that knowledge. If someone from the information age heard such a question, they would probably laugh in amusement. But actually, it was only because they lived in a different age and world and possessed much more information. More importantly, the young nobles who generally stayed indoors never had to consider these things. Seeing Roland''s grin, the young man who asked the question scratched his head in embarrassment, knowing that he had said something silly. After that, Jerry stood out and said, "Mr. Chairman, I''m going to buy tents and necessary tools with those guys. As for Miss Vivian" "Andonara will take me shopping." Vivian held Andonara''s hand and put on a sweet smile. There were certain things that they would rather their male companions not see after they bought them. Andonara nodded. Roland said, "Then I''ll wait for you here." They left the mercenary guild, and Roland sat down at an empty table, then he surfed the game forums. This made him seem to be in a daze. The mercenary guild was a lot quieter. Even though a hundred people were here, they subconsciously kept their voices low, and those unaware of the situation imitated them. It was never wrong to copy what the majority was doing. As a matter of fact, Roland was the greatest invoker of fear in Delpon at this moment. Killing the mayor and stealing the queen were both punishable by death, but he was still living a nice and casual life. Those who made a living in Delpon all knew Roland''s name. Hawk and Link used to be as fearsome as him, but those two were gone now. While Roland was in a daze, those who did not know him asked their pals who he was and why the atmosphere in the guild changed upon his arrival. Then, Roland''s name was passed on among the newcomers. The eyes of seven mercenaries at another table glittered when they heard it. They looked at each other, and their captain sat down before Roland and said, "Mr. Mage, may I have a word with you?" He was very polite, if not deferential. He acted the opposite of his wild appearance. Hearing the greeting, Roland brought his consciousness back from the forum and smiled at the mercenary, who seemed to be a Warrior. "Of course." "It seems that you''re going to travel with your students. I don''t think you have a destination yet, do you?" The Warrior then said, "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I''m Graseck, a mercenary." "Then what can I do for you, Mr. Graseck?" "If you don''t have a destination, I''m wondering if you could escort us to the border. Of course, we will pay you well." Roland found it odd. "You could issue a quest in the guild, couldn''t you? That''s why you are here, no?" "Indeed we can." Graseck nodded and spoke slowly, "But we think that a team with a powerful Mage is much more reliable than one without." Roland observed the mercenary for a moment and shook his head. "Sorry, but I can''t escort you. We''re leaving to travel, not make money." "But you can escort us while you''re traveling," Graseck said quickly. "Besides, we''ll give you a lot of money." Roland continued to shake his head. Graseck sighed at Roland, who was not interested at all. Then, he went to the counter and released the quest. Everybody was shocked after the release, because the payment was thirteen gold coins. It was a rather high payment for the mercenaries'' standards. Roland ignored them. He deleted the blue escort quest that just popped up in the system and then continued browsing the forums. About an hour later, the five male magic apprentices returned, and so did Andonara and Vivian another half an hour later. Roland did not check if they had prepared everything they needed. After all, the preparation was part of the test for the trip too. They left the guild and packed the items they bought on the carriages, before they left the city. In the leading carriage, Roland said to the coachman, "To Liguburg City." Jerry had confirmed in the guild that there were no magic incidents or accidents nearby. So, Roland had decided to visit and trade with the branch of Association of Mages in Liguburg City. The carriage left Delpon and wobbled forward on the muddy yellow road. At first, the magic apprentices were quite excited and talked to each other nonstop in their carriage. But very soon, they all grew bored and turned silent. After another three hours, when everybody''s asses were aching, Roland looked at the sun and said, "Find a spacious shade and let''s have something." Soon, the leading coachman took the carriages to a wood. Roland jumped off first. He unleashed his mental power and scouted the wood before he recalled it. It took him no more than ten seconds. The magic apprentices got off too. Two of them rushed to the wood, eager to answer nature''s call. Roland looked at them and said to Andonara, "You can teach them how to ensure their safety while they''re resting. Harsh words and methods will be preferred." Andonara smiled like warm sunlight. "I''m going to teach them well." 308 Thats What Traveling Should be Like The two magic apprentices returned from peeing, relieved and relaxed. But Andonara ran forward and kicked them to the ground while yelling, "You two idiots didn''t do the basic reconnaissance at all. What if there were enemies in the woods?" The magic apprentices writhed and screamed, holding their heads. However, Andonara didn''t really kick them that heavily, and they were only trying to avoid further beating with such a trick. Magic apprentices, as future Mages, were definitely clever. One of them rolled and shouted, "Your Majesty, we were just peeing!" "You think that''s an excuse?" Andonara exerted more strength when she was challenged. "Certain sordid enemies like to attack you when you''re peeing. If you''re attacked, you''ll have to fight the enemy while you''re holding your penis to pee. Do you think that would be fun?" Everybody was lost for words. If they were attacked when they were peeing, they would definitely be too anxious to finish peeing. However, they did realize that Andonara had a point. What if there were enemies who set up an ambush for them? After the kicking, Andonara said casually, "You have no experience in traveling at all, so you have to create a safe environment regardless of what it takes, particularly when you''re still weak." She pointed at the carriages and said, "Those carriages are actually the best tools for defense. If you place them in a semicircle, you will be able to resist attacks from at least one direction." Jerry immediately led the coachmen to reorganize the carriages into a semicircle. "Ask a couple of them to scan the dense grasses with Hand of Magic. Be careful. While it''s unlikely that you''ll find an enemy, you may spot venomous snakes." Jerry then led the guys to drive away the little animals and clear the vermin. "One of you will stay on alert at the edge, and the rest can have some food." Domingo, who had the best eyesight, left to watch the surroundings, and the rest of them had food. Half an hour later, Jerry replaced Domingo. Roland and Andonara had some food too. While eating gracefully, Andonara remarked with mixed feelings, "Things were much harder when I was a mercenary years ago. Nobody looked out for me. There was not sufficient food or vehicles either. I couldn''t always fight in my best state, not to mention that my teammates might turn out to be my enemy." Roland was of a mind to ask why teammates could become enemies, but when he looked at Andonara''s beautiful face, he understood a lot of things. "That''s why you quit being a mercenary?" Roland really did not know that so much had happened to Andonara. Soon, everybody was full, and the coachmen began to feed the horses. At this point, galloping horses could be vaguely heard from far away. Andonara was the first to react. She laid her hand on the hilt of her sword. Roland was next. He dropped three magic spiders, which quickly passed through the line of carriages and crawled to the horses. Several seconds later, Roland grew solemn and whispered to Andonara, "Be careful. I saw fourteen people. I met seven of them in the mercenary guild earlier." "Judging from the sound of the horseshoes, they''re in a hurry to somewhere and can''t be coming for us." Andonara leaned her ear closer to Roland''s mouth and smiled. "But we still should be careful." Roland leaned back slightly and nodded. They had been prepared while they talked. It was not until this moment that the magic apprentices heard the horses. They had no reaction at all but simply glanced at the source of the sounds curiously. Seeing that, Andonara scolded, "Be smart and don''t just wait there. Defend yourselves. What if they are enemies?" Those horsemen could be enemies too? After a brief shock, the magic apprentices immediately came back to themselves and summoned Hand of Magic. Hand of Magic, as well as its derivative spells, was now a standard spell for the magic apprentices in the magic tower of Delpon. It could be used to grab, dig, or even attack. Most importantly, its magic cost was low, and even the apprentices could use it for a long time. Very soon, the horses drew near. From the road on the horizon, a cluster of dark spots were approaching quickly, followed by a trail of smoke. When horses galloped, their speed could impose a heavy pressure, and now that a dozen of them were running together, they were even more intimidating, their hooves pounding the road. When they were closer, it could be seen that the riders on them were all armed and donned with leather armor. They looked aggressive. The magic apprentices'' faces slightly changed. Vivian even slowly retreated toward Roland. She was a girl, after all. Were they enemies, or were they just passersby? The magic apprentices got more and more nervous. Soon, the dozen riders came to the road right before them. Some of the riders looked at them, but none stopped. They seemed to be defending against something too. Then, they quickly passed through the area. Watching the riders vanish into the smoke that their horses raised, everybody greatly relaxed, but not Roland and Andonara. Roland asked them to take a brief rest, before he said, "Let''s continue." The team went back on the road. The magic apprentices might''ve been silent and bored earlier, but they were slightly anxious now. The riders just now were quite an excitement for them What if those people had been enemies, and the chairman and Queen Andonara weren''t around? What should they do? What might''ve become of them? They considered all those things. For long-distance travelers, beasts, vermin and bandits were not the only problems; fickle weather could be a challenging enemy too. After the carriages pressed on for two hours, an expected storm stopped the team in a wood. Though the trees could block some of the rainwater, a lot of rainwater still dripped from the leaves. Very soon, the canopies and the branches of those trees would be laden with water, and it would be raining as hard in the woods as it was outside of them. So, Roland built a big pavilion with a rock floor using Mud to Stone. He and Andonara sat in the pavilion to stay away from the storm. The coachmen also took shelter after putting grass cloaks on their horses. However, the six magic apprentices were turned away. Raising a luminous sphere in the dark wood, Roland looked at the apprentices, whose clothes were soaked, and said, "Now, you need to protect yourselves from the rain on your own. You can use the tools you prepared earlier, or you can just be creative." All six magic apprentices were rather stunned. 309 Hollows and Pits Since Hand of Magic could be reshaped through derivative spells, the magic apprentices'' first idea was to hold Hand of Magic above their head in the shape of an umbrella. This did prevent them from being drenched for now. However, Roland smiled from the pavilion; he did not think that it was a good idea. It was true that Hand of Magic could be reshaped, but keeping it going could be very costly. Even though its magic cost was low, one would still be worn out if it was used for too long. Even Roland would lose at least one-sixth of his mana if he kept a Hand of Magic of the same size going for a night even though his mana regeneration was doubled by Roland''s Zeal. It was needless to mention those magic apprentices who had much less mana than Roland did. It would already be a miracle if they could endure three hours. But the clouds in the sky were thick, implying that the rain wouldn''t stop soon. The magic apprentices took food out of the waterproof bags from the carriages and ate. They sensed something wrong after they stood for a while. It had almost been an hour, and they had lost half of their mana, but there was no sign that the rain was stopping. More importantly they were all starting to feel drowsy. Probably in another hour, their Hand of Magic would be gone, and they would be awash with rainwater. Besides, even if they could keep their Hand of Magic for a whole night, they would still need a place to sleep. The ground was too wet to sleep on. But if they didn''t take a rest, the journey the next day would be exhausting. None of the magic apprentices felt good. Jerry, as an old man, had much more life experience than other magic apprentices did. He cast his eyes to the stone pavilion. It was a dark, rainy night, but the bright sphere hanging above the pavilion illuminated the whole place. Even though owls were hooting in the darkness, it did not feel creepy at all. There was only a deep quiet and serenity brought by the rain. Sitting straight on the rough stone chair, Roland was in a daze. While Roland was on the forums, the apprentices, and even Andonara, always thought that Roland was meditating. It was because Roland''s magic power would quickly regather when he was resting, which was also the corollary of meditation. Jerry stared at the big pavilion, deeply fascinated. He was quite impressed that Roland could use such a common spell so casually and marvelously. It never occurred to him that Mud to Stone, which was only used to block enemies, had such a usage. He was not dissatisfied by Roland''s decision to kick them into the rain and let them take care of themselves. He even felt that it was how a qualified magic mentor should behave. So, Jerry was quite devoted to this trip. He did not want the chairman to think poorly of him because of any mistakes he made. If possible, he wanted to learn and grow under the teaching of this young talented Mage for his whole life, even though he was in his sixties. He stared at Roland in admiration for a while, before he turned around and whispered to his companions, "We''re going to be soaked soon. Besides, there''s no way we can sleep like this. So we have to try something else." Vivian frowned and asked, "How exactly are we going to manage? Our magic power won''t sustain us until the rain stops." "That''s why we have to cooperate, like how we helped those people build the docks in Delpon a few months earlier." Vivian''s eyes glittered. "Do you have an idea?" Jerry nodded and proposed his plan. The other five magic apprentices'' eyes got brighter and brighter. They then split up. Vivian and Domingo untied the horses and tethered them to a tree on the other side. Of course, the coachmen, who were resting in the pavilion, helped them the moment they saw them. Those coachmen were of a low social status and had been hired. They dared not idly watch their bosses do the job. After the horses were tethered, Vivian and Domingo pulled the carriages with Hand of Magic and arranged them in a circle of about four meters in diameter. Very soon, the other four apprentices returned with a bunch of branches. They rubbed down the branches with Hand of Magic and removed all the leaves. Then, they placed the branches over the carriages, establishing a simple wooden roof. In the end, Jerry took everybody''s tents out of the carriages and unfolded them on the roof, before he weighed the corners down with a few stones. A simple waterproof shelter had been created. The six magic apprentices were all relieved when they heard the raindrops splashing above their heads without reaching them. But it wasn''t over yet. The six of them dug into the mud with Hand of Magic and soon made a huge pit. The mud they dug out was pushed to the side of the pit and solidified into a round, half-meter-tall wall to resist water. They kept digging, and after half a meter, the soil was finally dry. Then, they expanded the pit to about two meters in diameter and one meter in depth before they threw the bare branches they prepared earlier into the center of the pit. At this point, everybody except Jerry had almost run out of magic power. Jerry launched fire at the branches with Inferior Fireball, and the water in the branches was soon vaporized. After a few moments, they were smoking and burning. Sensing the warmth of the fire that was driving their cold away, the six magic apprentices stayed in the dry pit and listened to the rain with a strong sense of safety. Roland came to the pit at some point. A magic shield protected him from the rainwater. He looked at everyone and smiled. "Nice job." All the magic apprentices were very excited to be praised by Roland. Andonara was standing next to Roland, a blue transparent umbrella in her hand. It was made by Roland with Hand of Magic. Andonara said in admiration, "If my teammates were as clever as them, my mercenary life wouldn''t have been that hard." Roland said, "Mages should create comfortable environments with their abilities. I personally think that Mages are entitled to a comfortable life." "If you were only as strong as them, what would you do?" asked Andonara curiously. Roland pointed at the trees that were all over the place. They were very thick and mostly around one or two meters in diameter. "I would dig a hollow in one of those trunks with Hand of Magic and hide in it. It''s much easier than to dig a pit." 310 Trouble Deviation Though Roland''s method seemed plain and not as impressive as the tiny shelter that the six magic apprentices had created, both Andonara and Jerry knew that it was much better. This pit couldn''t have been created without the teamwork of so many magic apprentices, but under most circumstances, there were few Mages in a mercenary squad, as most Mages would not operate with the "vulgar" mercenaries unless they were experiencing difficulties or had a special quest. Besides, a shelter of such a size couldn''t have been accomplished by any single magic apprentice. Even if they could, their magic power would be exhausted. In the wilderness, a Mage was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person without magic power. Things would get tricky if they were caught in an emergency. For example, the six apprentices had run out of their magic power at this point, which was a mistake. If Roland and Andonara weren''t around, a few hungry wolves could hurt them easily. In comparison, Roland''s hideout inside the trunk was much easier and more convenient. But Roland still praised the apprentices. After all, they were all from noble families and had never traveled before. It was actually not bad that they came up with such an idea. "I''ll be on watch tonight. You can take a rest." Roland smiled at them and returned to the pavilion. Andonara fetched her blanket from the carriage and followed Roland back to the pavilion. She unfolded the blanket on the floor and peeped at Roland who was one arm''s length away, before she closed her eyes. Very soon, she fell asleep. If anybody else were on watch, Andonara could only rest with her eyes closed; but since Roland was on watch, she could sleep deeply. Roland dropped three magic spiders, which quickly left the camp and patrolled in a triangle. The rain was still going. Everybody was getting drowsy except Roland. Generally speaking, night watching could be strenuous and boring. But Roland could surf on the forums and watch videos while the three magic spiders were on duty. If those spiders whose night vision had been fortified couldn''t spot a possible enemy, then neither could Roland. Therefore, he was quite casual when he was absentminded. Very soon, the coachmen were asleep on the blankets in their clothes, and the magic apprentices were sitting or lying in their shelter with their blankets too. It was still raining, and the leaves were rustling in the night. This time, Roland found a lot of interesting posts on the forums. For example, a merchant described some interesting anecdotes from when he sold goods between Hollevin and Urganda. There was another post whose author claimed that, after accidentally saving the only daughter of a small noble in a quest, he became a lord after marrying that daughter. Even so, a lot of people posted jealous replies, because the only daughter of that noble was quite pretty. It was easy to kill time with those threads. Roland quite enjoyed himself. Very soon, it was already midnight. Though it was raining less heavily, it did not stop. The rain would probably linger on to the dawn. Roland rose and warmed himself up. He walked around the pavilion for a few rounds and was about to sit down when he found something. After standing for three days, he walked to Andonara and woke her up. Andonara immediately rose and asked in a low voice, "Anything going on?" Roland nodded and woke up the coachmen, before he said to them, "Please bring the horses to the pavilion. Quietly." The coachmen did what he asked. Andonara, on the other hand, woke up the apprentices and brought them from the pit. Looking around and ensuring that everybody was here, Roland snapped his fingers. The mud outside of the pavilion seethed and ascended, before it closed above Roland''s head into rock. Just like that, everybody was surrounded by a four-meter-tall stone tent without gaps. Roland heaved a sigh of relief. It was rather exhausting to create such a huge building so quickly. Andonara leaned close and asked, "What did you see?" "Something weird is chasing a group of mercenaries," Roland replied. "They''re coming in our direction." "They must''ve been attracted by the light." Andonara looked at the luminous sphere above and said, "They''re probably looking for helpers." Roland nodded. It was why he created this impenetrable stone tent that felt like a secret chamber. "Then how do we know what''s going on out there?" asked Vivian. "I left three magic spiders outside for reconnaissance." In Roland''s head, a picture was delivered by the magic spiders every other second. Almost ten mercenaries were running unsteadily in the rain. They were quite anxious. Now and then, they looked back at a couple of eerie humanoid shadows running far behind them. However, those creatures had a strange posture. They would crouch and accelerate with their forearms now and then, before they stood again and roared oddly. One of the running mercenaries had a big beard. He suddenly shouted, "Where''s the strong light we saw?" "They must''ve doused it when their scouts noticed us. Keep running!" shouted another mercenary. They sped up and soon came to the place where Roland rested. Then, they were all stunned. The place was very dark because it was a rainy night, but they could still see an odd, gigantic rock tent before them. They ran around the rock tent, only to see no doors or windows. "Nobody''s here?" They checked the place and got frustrated. The bearded mercenary cried, "Those cowards must''ve fled when they saw danger!" All the mercenaries seemed to be frightened and desperate. Water splashed noisily as the creatures behind them stomped through puddles. The leading mercenary, with his back against the rock tent, roared, "Stop thinking! It will be worth it if we each kill one of them!" The mercenaries immediately turned around and raised their weapons at their pursuers. The dozen humanoid creatures stopped fifteen meters from them and dispersed, surrounding the enemy in a semicircle. In the end, a swarm of bats descended from the sky and changed into a charming woman in a black dress that revealed her shoulders. Her magic shield kept her protected from the rainwater. "Hehe. Why are you not running anymore?" 311 A Magic Power Competition? Seeing the woman, the leading mercenary roared, "Wretched vampire, just give it up! We don''t have the Black Bones anymore! You''ll never know where they are!" The woman walked forward gracefully and stood five meters away from the mercenary. Then she smiled. "Vampire? Only humble human beings dare to call us that. Even the elves have to treat us with respect. Who do you think you are?" The mercenary was soaked with water, which made him highly uncomfortable. The rainwater was flowing into his eyes, but he dared not wipe them, fearing that the vampire would attack suddenly. "Haha. Vampires are vampires. You are a dark creature, however noble you pretend to be. Just walk in the daylight if you think you''re capable of it!" The woman in black was not angry. She simply went on with her alluring, mature voice: "It''s fine. I can walk in daylight when I become a Legend. But you should be more concerned about yourself right now. Bring out the Black Bones, and I can spare half of you." "Let me repeat, we don''t have the Black Bones!" The leading mercenary was anxious, but he still roared at the woman. "You can get nothing by killing us. Besides, we''re not so easy to kill." The woman laid her fingers on her fiery lips and laughed so hard, she shook. "You''re not easy to kill? I would like to have a try!" Though they were under the threat of death, the mercenaries felt lustful when they heard her laughter. They were even more frightened. When the woman appeared, the dozen black humanoid creatures fell quiet, but they were getting aggressive again as she laughed. All of a sudden, the atmosphere was full of tension. The black humanoid creatures crept forward and pressed on. "Let me say it again. Hand me the Black Bones, and I can spare half of you." The woman glanced at the mercenaries. Someone was immediately tempted. After all, it seemed that they couldn''t get away from this, and the instinct for survival was strong in most people. One of the mercenaries shouted, "My lady, I don''t know about the Black Bones, but I know that Simba hid something. I caught him meeting someone we didn''t know in the mercenary guild two days earlier." The leading mercenary turned around and looked at his companion in disbelief. "Korotia, how can you" The woman in black rolled her eyes, which were emitting a faint red glow. Her voice was not loud, but she interrupted the leading mercenary and said, "Okay, you can go now." The mercenary named Korotia slowly retreated, holding his weapon. Those hideous humanoid creatures opened a gap for him to pass through. Korotia slowly moved backward while holding his weapon, and when he thought he was at a safe distance, he turned around and ran. Very soon, his back disappeared into the hazy rain. But after they waited a while, she really didn''t do anything. "Okay, I''ve already set one of you free" Noticing everybody''s strange expressions, the woman chuckled and said, "You think I would go back on my word?" She glanced at all the mercenaries in disdain. "Don''t compare vampires to pitiful human beings. Lies are expected for you, but not for the vampires." Everybody was silent. The woman grinned and said, "Now, who else is going to provide intelligence for me? I''ll let them go too." Now that Korotia had set an example for them, almost everybody lost their steadfastness. Quite a few mercenaries quickly stepped away from their leader. The leading mercenary looked at them and roared, "I paid a fortune for your service! How can you abandon me at such a crucial moment?" "Sorry." One of the mercenaries wiped the rainwater on his face and said calmly, "But I don''t think gold coins are as important as my life." "But if you fail a quest from the mercenary guild" "I can''t receive another quest in the next two years." The mercenary slowly retreated and said when he was a dozen meters from the leader, "I can afford the wait." His face twisted, the leading mercenary declared, "I really shouldn''t have hired you to protect me." "I really shouldn''t have worked as your guard! Look at how many of my brothers have been killed!" the defecting mercenary roared. "You stupid coward, you told me that there might be minor problems. But vampires are involved and you''re telling me that that''s a minor problem?" The woman in black smiled cockily now that they were fighting. In the darkness, her glimmering red eyes were like wind in the moonlight. After cursing his leader, the mercenary turned around and said to the woman, "I don''t know anything about the Black Bones, but we split up three hours ago, and a team went southeast." "Got it." The woman in black nodded. "You can take three men away with you." The mercenary was relieved, but he still did not drop his weapon. "Thank you, my lady." Another three mercenaries immediately came to him The woman in black waved her hand, and the humanoid creatures let them pass. Those four immediately moved back and then ran away without looking back at all. While the leaves were rustling, the leading mercenary looked at the dozen humanoid creatures as well as the woman who was getting cold, knowing that he would be dead for sure if he didn''t do something. "My lady, why are you still killing us when you know that we do not have the Black Bones?" "I gave you a chance," the woman said expressionlessly. "If you had told me that another squad went in a different direction earlier, I would''ve spared half of you, or even all of you if I was in a good mood. But you shouldn''t have taken your chances and wasted my time." The woman pointed her finger at the leading mercenary. "Let''s fight her!" The leading mercenary roared, and his two remaining companions charged with him. But the moment those mercenaries took off, a tornado was formed on the woman''s fingertip, before it expanded into a gigantic cannonball and blew at the three mercenaries. A tunnel of empty space was left behind when the air bubble was launched. On its path, all the raindrops were blown away by the unbelievable blast. The leading mercenary was hit first. He was flung back into the wall of the rock tent and immediately shattered into smithereens. The blood on the tent splashed radially but was soon washed away by rainwater. After hitting the leading mercenary, the bubble turned into countless air blades that cut down everything within five meters. The other two mercenaries were chopped into countless pieces by the dense air blades. It was impossible to tell that they used to be humans. Their blood flowed and sprawled on the ground along with the rainwater. The woman in black turned her eyes at the rock tent that she had found odd from the start. She could tell that it was likely a magic creation made through a transformation spell. Also, just like those mercenaries, she had seen strong light coming from here before, but the light was now gone, which indicated that someone might be hiding in the rock tent. She made a gesture and asked the humanoid creatures to surround the rock tent. Then, with a pair of black bat wings growing on her back, she flew around the rock, only to find no entrances at all. She simply kicked it. After a thud, she was blown back five meters. She subconsciously frowned. The wall was so hard that her feet had become numb. If she couldn''t break the wall, neither could her subordinates. Many books had it that the vampires were magic creatures and bad at melee battles. But that was a lie. The vampires were weak during the day and would be heavily wounded in sunlight, so they could only deal with enemies with spells. But vampires would be in their peak state at night, and their dark powers were specially enhanced during this time. The vampires were actually good at both physical and magical abilities, except that they preferred spells. After all, gracefulness was the pursuit of every vampire. "I know that someone''s inside. You may have special ways to see what''s going on outside and hear my voice," the woman said casually. "I''ll give you five minutes to come out. I don''t want to waste my strength. If you''re unrelated to those mercenaries, I''ll let you go." While those inside the rock tent were unlikely to be connected to the mercenaries who stole the Black Bones, she was not 100% sure. If those mercenaries were only lying and they had stored the Black Bones in the rock tent, wouldn''t she be the greatest joke of she were to believe them and chase the rats who had fled southeast? In that case, whoever was in the rock tent could take the opportunity to run away. Flapping her wings slowly, the woman in black dress floated in midair. After waiting for five minutes, she heard no replies from within the shelter, so she sneered and pointed at it while she chanted, "Stone to Mud." A circle with a radius of about two meters appeared on the wall. At this point, Roland saw that the woman was taking action through the picture that the spiders delivered, and that she was using Stone to Mud, which he was quite familiar with. Roland immediately reacted. He snapped his fingers and said, "Mud to Stone." Outside of the tent, the woman was briefly stunned. When she had just softened the wall and it hadn''t really turned into mud yet, a stream of magic power flowed from inside the tent and turned the circle into hard stone again. "Huh?" A magic power competition with me? The woman''s wine-colored eyes glowed even brighter. She licked her lips in obvious excitement. 312 A Man Should Be Enduring The magic spiders could only deliver images but not sound, which was a problem that Roland had yet to resolve. The wall of the tent was so thick that it physically blocked the sounds from outside. Therefore, Roland had no idea what the woman in black said. He only saw that the woman killed three mercenaries more than easily. His eyes glittered when he saw how she changed her air cannonball into multiple wind blades. Roland had been meaning to learn the trick to change the effects of a spell model, but nobody ever taught him that Or rather, nobody in Hollevin was capable of that. He was of a mind to ask the black-dressed lady how to alter the qualities of a spell model. But after seeing that Simba was squashed and his two fellows were cut into pieces, Roland gave up the idea. There was no telling if this woman would go crazy and attack the magic apprentices. Roland considered himself an even match with the woman, and Andonara could kill those weirdly-shaped creatures. But the problem was that Roland wouldn''t be able to protect the magic apprentices and the six coachmen. Roland could dodge the air cannonball, but the multiple wind blades with a radius of several meters could kill a couple of apprentices or coachmen easily. If he were by himself, Roland would''ve jumped out and asked the woman about the variations of spell models. It would be fine even if she were to kill him a couple of times. If that didn''t work, he could ask his friends to help him control her and force the knowledge from her. After all, the woman did not seem like a nice person, and he wouldn''t feel guilty interrogating her. But regretfully those around him needed his protection. Then, seeing that the woman cast Stone to Mud on the rock tent, he subconsciously cast Mud to Stone to counter. Watching the wall that turned solid again, the woman licked her crimson lips and pointed remotely, and the wall softened again. Then, the magic power from inside the tent hardened the wall yet again. "Interesting." The woman pointed at the rock tent even faster. The wall softened. But the person inside the tent reacted faster too and solidified the wall. "Hahaha!" The woman laughed crazily and pointed at the tent faster and faster. After that, counterattacks were initiated from the tent in accordance with her speed. Then things got interesting. The woman pointed at the same spot on the wall, which was softened and hardened again and again. It was quite a funny scene. The woman stopped laughing at one point. Her eyes were already as bright as lanterns. Black mist was gathered and absorbed into her body. The vampires were almost never short of mana at night. The woman pointed so fast that her fingers almost blurred by the end. She was delighted at first that someone was bold enough to play a war of attrition with her, a master of magic among vampires. But then she was rather surprised, wondering what was possibly inside the rock tent to have such a great capacity of magic power that it wasn''t used up after two hours. But it would probably run out after another hour. But an hour later, the rapid reaction from within the tent informed the woman that the guy still had sufficient mana. At this point, the woman''s delight had been replaced by competitiveness. She grinned, baring her cute teeth, which were then covered by her red lips. At this point, she began to point with both hands! Dual Casting was her ultimate technique. It worked at first, as the wall was obviously softening much faster. But in no more than two seconds, whoever was inside the shelter improved their speed too. The two parties were caught in an impasse again. Actually, the woman felt that she was on the losing side. After all, the enemy could only fix whatever she messed up, which meant that their speed of restoration was higher than her speed of destruction. Four hours later, the woman stopped and wiped her sweat. Now she felt that the opponent inside the tent couldn''t be a human being, but was an elf or something with a dragon bloodline. Those were the only two creatures with such a copious storage of magic power except vampires in the night. She took a few breaths, and the black mist nearby flowed into her body like clouds. Even the rain was twisted by the rapid absorption. Sensing that the power in her was increasing, the woman cast Stone to Mud again. Another round of the battle started. Another two hours passed. The rain had stopped, and the east was turning bright. It was almost dawn. The woman was covered in sweat, as if she had just been doused in water. Her dress and her brown hair were stuck to her skin, making her less appealing than before. Her face had gotten much paler too. Even though she was a vampire, and she had Night''s Kin, using spells for such a long time was too much for her. Her head was aching badly. Besides, the sun was coming out. If she didn''t find a hideout, she would be burnt into a fireball by the sunlight within two minutes. It was impossible to continue the competition anymore. The humanoid creatures near her feet were getting uneasy too. The woman declared to the rock tent regretfully, "Just wait for it! I''ll come back tonight!" Then, she morphed into a flock of bats and disappeared into the woods, followed by the humanoid creatures. She''s finally gone! Inside the rock tent, Roland helplessly looked at his thumbs and his middle fingers. It was his habit to snap his fingers when he cast a spell because it looked cool. However, the vampire in the black dress had taught him a lesson today. He couldn''t remember how many times he snapped his fingers tonight. Was it five thousand? Or maybe ten? The skin on his thumbs and his middle fingers on both hands had been worn off, exposing the red flesh to the air. It looked very miserable, but since he could only feel one-tenth of pain, it was not very uncomfortable. Was this the repercussion of being cool? It seemed that he shouldn''t snap his fingers anymore. If another lunatic approached him, he might lose his fingers. Andonara treated Roland''s fingers in sympathy. When the sun was up, Roland finally created a door in the rock tent. Everybody came out and resumed the journey. The magic apprentices didn''t really know what happened, but they could guess that their chairman ran into a formidable enemy, or he wouldn''t have snapped his fingers for a whole night. As a result, they were hearing things. Even though they were in their carriages, the snap of fingers was still echoing in their heads continually. 313 Again The carriages moved on to their destination. The road conditions were very bad. After a whole night of storms, the road became muddy and ragged. At first, Roland had flattened the road with Mud to Stone, but as they approached their destination, their speed dropped because Roland ran out of mana. Differently from the competition with the female vampire the previous night, repairing the road on a large scale was much more costly. Metaphorically speaking, he had sprinkled water with a tiny pipe last night but was unleashing it with a hydrant at this point. Looking at his mana, down to its last third, and then at the bumpy road ahead, Roland gave up. They might as well take their time. Supposedly, the destination was only forty kilometers away, but they only covered thirty kilometers after five hours. They had to take a rest in a wood next to the road. When they stepped out of the carriages and onto the wet ground, their boots filled with mud. Uncomfortable as the magic apprentices were, they were patient enough to scout the environment. Confirming that there were no anomalies, Jerry dried the ground where they were resting with fire spells. Then, they arranged the carriages in a circle and built a shelter in the same way they did last night. Then, they dug a pit and started a fire. After they were done, Roland built an enormous wall around them with his remaining power to protect them. The wall Roland built could block the rain, and it seemed unnecessary for the magic apprentices to build the shelter, but Roland still wanted them to do it. After all, it was homework and had to be done. These students still had a lot to learn. Looking at his mana that had been fully consumed, Roland gritted his teeth and put on the mana regeneration equipment from his system backpack. Immediately, he became blue and shining. The coachmen dared not look at him, and the magic apprentices were full of envy. Andonara''s eyes were full of passion, and little red hearts seemed to be popping up around her. Roland, on the other hand, was quite awkward. But he didn''t have a choice. By his estimation, the vampire would come again tonight. The books he read in the library all mentioned that vampires could be vindictive. The female vampire had been tricked by him for a whole night. If he were her, he would''ve been pissed too. But he had to trick her. It was not like he could let her break into the tent and go on a killing spree. The magic apprentices began to eat, and Roland ate beef jerky. They took a rest after having food. This time, the ground was dry, so the apprentices paved the ground and lay down. They didn''t sleep well the previous night, and they had been on shaking carriages all day. They were all exhausted. Andonara was sitting right behind Roland. While having food, she asked slowly, "Was the enemy last night good?" "Kind of." Roland nodded. The magic apprentices and Andonara had been in the rock tent and had no idea what happened outside. Before they came out in the morning, Roland had sunken whatever was left of the three dead mercenaries into a swamp and turned the swamp to stone. Therefore, the magic apprentices only knew that something dangerous happened, but they didn''t know what it was. "Then it''s time for me to play my part." Andonara shook her fair hands before Roland and said, "I''m a Master Great Swordsman. Few people in Hollevin can compare to me." "It was a vampire." After a brief shock, Andonara was disappointed. "Well, they''re quite tricky." The Great Swordsmen were strong, fast, and capable of area skills. But the problem was that, as dark magic creatures, vampires could fly, change into bats, or even turn into mist. The Great Swordsmen were only adept at physical attacks and could hardly deal with them, unless they had weapons enchanted with Soul Damage. The three kinds of spellcasters were the real experts in dealing with dark magic creatures. They chatted in low voices to not disturb the others. Very soon, Andonara yawned too. Roland said to her, "You take a rest. I''ll keep watch." Andonara nodded. She knew he didn''t need sleep, so she didn''t argue with him and simply lay down on a blanket next to Roland. Very soon, she fell asleep. Roland, on the other hand, opened the forums again. He had deployed three magic spiders to the trees nearby to monitor the surroundings. About two hours later, Roland quit the forums as the spiders sent pictures to him. Differently from the previous night, it was quite lovely tonight. The round silver moon was shining, illuminating the woods since few clouds were in the sky. Then, a bunch of black bats, which seemed to have flown out of the moon, hovered around the shelter and turned into a woman. The spider sent her image to Roland. It was indeed the woman from last night. This time, she was not wearing a black dress, but a red one. Her delicate, smooth shoulders vaguely reflecting the moonlight. Why is this woman so fond of off-the-shoulder dresses? Roland mumbled inside the tent. The woman looked at the rock tent and smiled too. The vampires'' noses were as keen as those of werewolves. She had tracked Roland''s team by smell even though it had been a whole day. She felt that the person inside the rock tent understood her, and for that understanding, she would not kill them, but would let them go after insulting them. It was her mercy toward an equal. Then, she pointed at the rock tent, and the magic counterattack came two seconds later. The woman laughed even more delightedly. With her big red dress, she was almost like a rose spirit. Like the previous night, the stone softened and hardened again and again. But the woman was not as desperate as she was the previous night. Gradually, she began to enjoy the competition. Also, she was no longer obsessed with a fixed area. Instead, she flew around the rock tent and pointed randomly, putting vague colorful squares on the wall. Then, those colorful squares quickly returned to their original color. Giggling, the woman "drew" a flower on the tent, then the flower was gone. She drew a rabbit, then the rabbit was gone too. She hadn''t had such fun for hundreds of years, and she was more and more amused. She was about to draw a dragon, when she suddenly stopped and looked back at the moon with a cold smile. Very soon, another group of bats approached in the moonlight. They croaked and turned into a man before her. The man had black hair, blue eyes, and a long, thin face. He was handsome, but seemed grim and creepy. 314 Tricked Elves were mostly pretty, and so were most vampires. The elves were positive and uncompetitive. They could spend a whole day appreciating the sun, the moon, and flowers. But vampires were not only bloodsuckers, but also quite ruthless. They were no strangers to plots and schemes. Any intelligent creature would prefer a harmless beauty. Therefore, even though vampires were as gorgeous as elves, the elves were still known as the most attractive race. When the woman''s face went cold, she looked like a venomous scorpion with her chilly air. The man''s eyes were narrow, and his pupils were small and white. They were like a snake''s eyes. When they stood face to face, there was a weird sense of compatibility, as if they were a couple. After all, their vibes were too similar. But the red-dressed woman asked coldly, "Edmund, why are you here?" "Lord Bruce asked me to see what had distracted you from the pursuit of the Black Bones." The male vampire named Edmund gazed at the rock tent and frowned. "What''s this? Your magic creation?" Edmund moved his eyes back to the woman mockingly, implying that she was too old for such mud castle games. Ignoring his mockery, the woman said coldly, "I''m still working on the Black Bones." "Do you have any leads?" "No, do you?" the woman asked. The man''s twisted smile froze. He stared at the woman for a long time, before he launched a wind blade to her right. The dark black wind blade cut the rock tent, leaving a long mark on the wall. Edmund said frigidly, "Don''t presume that you can sit above me because Lord Bruce appreciates you, Christina. Don''t forget that you''re just a third-generation vampire Wait." Edmund looked at the rock tent in surprise. He knew how powerful his wind blade was. It might not be the most destructive skill, but it could easily break a dozen of the finest armors. But what happened here? It only left a shallow mark on that piece of rock? He suddenly turned to Christina. "What''s that?" "A pile of mud that I built when I was bored." Christina sneered. "I''m leaving, if that''s all. Are you coming with me?" Edmund''s eyes moved between Christina and the rock tent. Then he shook his head and said, "No, I just remembered something delightful. You can meet Lord Bruce alone." Christina intentionally peeped at the rock tent and frowned, before she flew away as a flock of bats. After Christina disappeared into the moonlight, Edmund looked at the rock tent with a creepy smile. Inside the rock tent, Roland put on a helpless smile. Was this a relay match? Because he couldn''t hear what they said, Roland only saw that the woman had a friendly conversation with the black-haired man, smiling all the while. Why were the vampires so interested in him? Did they bear any grudges? Edmund flapped his wings and flew around the rock tent. All of a sudden, he condensed a black energy ball and smashed it at the tent. The energy ball hit the rock tent, and after an intense explosion, a dent ten centimeters deep and twenty centimeters in diameter cratered its surface. "Huh?" Edmund narrowed his eyes. "This shelter is outrageously hard." Then he chuckled. He thought that he figured out why Christina did not go after the Black Bones. There must be something valuable, or magical, inside the stone. However, Christina was too weak to open it. If he could not blow it up with his dark lightning ball, there was no way that she could open it. However only brainless people would resolve every problem with violence. Smart people always had better solutions. Edmund approached the rock tent. Then, he became a black mist and leaked inside. It was Atomization, the vampires'' special skill that only some of them could learn with their talent. With this skill, they could ignore physical attacks and penetrate barriers for about one meter. Those who were strong might be able to press in for two meters. Edmund, in Atomization, fumbled through the dark rocks. Then he perceived a dozen human-shaped creatures ahead of him, and the massive magic waves from one of them. His vision when he was in the state of Atomization was similar to thermal imaging. What''s happening? Before Edmund realized what was going on, the human being full of magic power had charged at him. A beam of lightning hit him. The excruciating pain on his soul almost made Edmund pass out. With a strong sense of crisis, Edmund turned around and fled. He returned the same way he crawled in. In no more than a second, he squeezed out of the rock tent and resumed his human shape. "Damn it!" Sensing that his soul had been hurt, Edmund almost went crazy. Had Christina set this up to hurt him? Was she trying to kill him? The possibility cropped up in Edmund''s mind. While he was thinking, he found that the wall on the tent softened, and that a hold appeared three seconds later. Then, a human being, covered in magic equipment that was flashing blue from head to toe, appeared. Edmund was dumbfounded to see the man''s outfit that was expensive but not fashionable at all. His heart was trembling as he recognized the luxurious equipment of a Mage. Run! It was Edmund''s first reaction. As a 173-year-old vampire, he hadn''t been able to put together a magic outfit yet, but this human Mage had. Whether or not the man was strong, it wouldn''t be easy to deal with him. If he was strong, he could beat Edmund easily; and if he wasn''t, he must''ve come from a powerful background with that gear. Edmund turned around and flew toward the moon as a flock of bats. Roland resealed the tent and looked at the flying bats. A vampire whose soul was hurt would lose one-third of their power. So, Roland simply let him fly for two seconds. Then, a space bubble absorbed Roland and squirted him at the moon two seconds later. Edmund flew quite fast in this morphed form. He was moving at about fifty meters per second. He had thought that he was out of danger and was feeling happy, when he suddenly sensed high-energy reactions from his rear. The bats turned around, and he saw a psycho whose body was radiating magic blue light and whose arms were stretched out like the wings of an eagle with lightning in both hands. The psycho was also swooshing straight at him. 315 Miscalculation Vampires were known to be the second fastest intelligent creatures. The first were, undoubtedly, the dragons. The Mages, with Wind Soaring, could only fly 35 meters per second, and around 126 kilometers per hour, which was very fast in this world where transportation was inconvenient, although the spell was flawed in that it cost tremendous magic power and required a day of rest for two hours of flight. The bat form of the vampires was much better. They could fly 50 meters per second, or 180 kilometers an hour. More importantly, the bat form was just one of their many shapes and did not consume anything. They could fly for a whole day as long as they had enough stamina. While the dragons were faster than them, the dragons were too big and had a low acceleration, and they were not as agile as the bat form of vampires at low altitude. Therefore, vampires were all very confident about aerial warfare. But Edmund was completely dumbfounded at this point. All the little bats'' eyes and mouths were wide open. What was this thing which was crashing into him at an unbelievable speed with a bolt of lightning in each hand and a magic shield? How could a human being fly so fast? It took him only a short moment to think, but during that short moment, Edmund had sensed a sharp pain in his soul. The human being that was emitting blue light, in the midst of whistling wind, passed right through his bats. After a collision, blood and meat burst out like raindrops, leaving a human-shaped hollow with outstretched arms on the cloud of bats. Then, this blue shadow was swallowed by a spatial bubble after it penetrated through the blood, before it was spurted upward. It then took a curve and swirled back. Gravity could not be completely upset even though this was a magic world and he had a magic shield. The bats were stunned for quite a while. Then, they tried to fly down into the woods. At this point, Edmund couldn''t care less about who the blue Mage magnate was anymore. Having been hurt both spiritually and physically, it was impossible for him to defeat that monster above him, who was about to swoop at him again. Run. He had to run. Now, half of the bats were already gone. Those little creatures were flapping their wings with their best. They were closer and closer to the woods, but the magic waves behind came even more rapidly. Edmund exerted all his strength, and so did all his bats, but the magic waves behind him were still faster. Looking at the woods before his eyes, Edmund knew that he didn''t have enough time. Gritting his teeth, he abandoned most of the bats, and one of the bats slipped away and flew in another direction. Pa Dum! The trees were all shaking under the intense earthquake. At the center of the crash, a crater three meters in radius and half a meter deep had appeared. Squatting in the crater, Roland felt numb. Though he was protected by a magic shield, the counterforce caused by the collision had consumed two thirds of his mana. If his body were as weak as it was in reality, he would''ve had broken bones all over. After quite a while, he rose from the crater, only to see no enemies nearby. He secretly sighed. He had hoped to capture this male vampire and see if he could draw back the female one. He was quite greedy about the female vampire''s ability to change a spell model. But he did not expect the male vampire to be so smart as to escape like a gecko cutting its tail. It was hard to kill a vampire. As long as one of the bats escaped, he would come back again after a year of rest. Fine I''d better find a chance later. Then Roland looked around. He was concluding the lessons he learned from the battle. At first, he had intended to electrify the bats with the lightning in his hands. But then, he found that his collision was even more powerful. Those bats had been reduced to bits the moment they hit his magic shield. It was understandable on second thought. Just now, he was flying at about five hundred kilometers per hour, and he weighed around 65 kilograms, so his momentum was surprisingly massive. If he flew at the highest speed, he could reach about eight hundred kilometers per hour. Instead of crashing into the enemy, he could shape Hand of Magic into a long miaodao and cut the miaodao through the enemy! How powerful would that be? Roland took a deep breath, excited by his idea. Would he be able to cut a dragon in two? Also, if he controlled it well and flew at a low attitude, he could use the skill as some sort of Charge. Under the boost of a spatial bubble, he could raise his saber and fly past a couple of enemies. It was quite thrilling. He thought in excitement for a while, before he returned to the rock tent with Teleportation. He had saved the coordinates of that place earlier. The moment he returned, Andonara and Vivian jumped out and examined him. They weren''t relieved until they confirmed that he was unhurt. He told the magic apprentices that they were safe now. After they went back to sleep, he stayed on watch. In the meantime, he opened the spell model of Spatial Bubble in the system and tried to further improve the impetus of the spatial bubbles, reduce the time cost for activation, and increase the range of the items that they could absorb. Time went by, little by little. The three magic spiders encountered no intruders up until dawn. In the morning, everybody had breakfast and continued the journey. The road conditions were much better after the previous day. They finally reached Liguburg City, their destination. This was a medium-sized city with a Magic Tower in it. The city guards were greatly alarmed when Roland''s team arrived at the city gate. Generally speaking, few Mages traveled in groups. Those guards feared that the strangers were enemies. But they were too afraid of Mages, who were known to be mysterious, powerful and temperamental, to stop them. While they hesitated, the six carriages entered the city and went straight to the local Magic Tower. The Magic Tower was usually the tallest building in every city, so it was impossible for them to miss their target. The six carriages stopped before the Magic Tower, and Roland jumped off. The soldiers that guarded the Magic Tower came to him in fright. The fastest of them had already left to inform the master of the Magic Tower. A moment later, a middle-aged Mage in a crimson robe walked out of the Magic Tower. He was slightly surprised to see Roland, and he exclaimed in shock when he saw Andonara. "Your Majesty, why are you here?" 316 Knowledge Exchange Though the Association of Mages and the royal family weren''t exactly on the same side, their relationship was quite complicated. The chairmen of most Magic Towers had been invited by the royal family to dinners and entertainment. Although Andonara was not crazy about parties, there were certain occasions where she had to show up with her king husband. Therefore, a lot of people actually knew her and had met her before. Andonara, being an antisocial person, remembered few celebrities she met, but she had left a deep impression on everybody who had seen her with her beautiful appearance. Many of them fell in love with her, or even wanted to do other things with her, after meeting her. The chairman of this particular Magic Tower had seen Andonara at Princess Veronica''s birthday party a year earlier. He was quite mesmerized by her. A year had passed, and Andonara was now before his eyes again just when he was starting to forget her beauty. Holding Roland''s hand, Andonara was rather surprised. "And you are?" "Yelia, chairman of the local Magic Tower." The middle-aged man glanced at Roland in confusion. "Your Majesty, who is this guy next to you?" Because the royal family kept a low profile, only few nobles and some people in Delpon knew that Andonara had been lured away. Those informed nobles might gossip with each other but would not spread the news. Many people in Delpon were aware of it, but they were too insignificant and uninfluential to convince people in other cities. So, in Yelia''s eyes, Andonara was still an honorable queen who was supposed to stay in the royal palace instead of here. Besides, did the king know that the queen was so intimate with a young man? Andonara was about to reply that he was her man. But Roland spoke faster. "I''m Roland, chairman of the Magic Tower in Delpon." "Roland from Delpon?" The middle-aged man''s eyes glittered. He had been rather interested in Queen Andonara, but the moment he heard Roland''s name, he forgot all about the queen and stepped forward. "The Roland who invented the derivative models of Hand of Magic?" Roland nodded. "That''s me." "Come on." He grabbed Roland''s hand and pulled him to the Magic Tower. "There''s something that has been confusing me. Please enlighten me." Roland chuckled and followed Yelia into the Magic Tower. Andonara and the rest of the group followed them. Andonara couldn''t help but smile at Roland''s background. She was slightly worried when Yelia focused all his attention on her without talking to Roland first. After all, identity and face mattered in this world, and Andonara feared that she would be the center of most people''s attention because of her old identity, like what happened just now, and that Roland''s pride as a man would be hurt. In any case, Roland was the best Mage of his level, and he could easily attract people''s attention, while she could be the woman behind him. Yelia entered the Magic Tower holding Roland''s hand. The Magic Tower of Liguburg City was larger in size than the one in Delpon. Its first floor was also in the KTV style, with all kinds of colorful magic crystal lamps on the wall. Yelia led Roland to the fourth floor of the Magic Tower while the magic apprentices and Andonara were entertained on the second floor. Andonara, in particular, was served by three female magic apprentices and four maids that a butler-looking man sent. Both parties exchanged formalities warmly and discreetly. Until the two chairmen returned from the fourth floor, they couldn''t really decide how they should get along with each other. So, they kept up formalities for now. In the magic lab, Yelia presented the model of a derivative spell of Hand of Magic and pointed at one of the nodes on it, while he asked earnestly, "What did you think, or what mechanism did you follow, when you modified this node?" "This is a pattern control node. By relocating it here from its original place, you can change the shape of a spell model." "Then how did you know that it''s a pattern control node?" "I calculated it," Roland said matter-of-factly. "There are few nodes in Hand of Magic. After establishing a database, you can figure out the functions of the nodes through data confirmation and deduction." "A database?" Yelia scratched his head, as he was not sure what it was. "Was it not endowed through the perception of mental power?" It was Roland who was stunned this time. "Endowed through the perception of mental power?" Both of them fell silent and sat down. Roland offered to say, "Let''s exchange our special knowledge." Yelia nodded in delight. "That''s what I hope too." The magic apprentices waited for five hours on the second floor, before the two chairmen finally came down from the fourth floor. Yelia asked his magic apprentices to clean up the third floor and had a welcome party prepared. Roland and Andonara, on the other hand, were invited to the fifth floor, which was empty. They could stay there for now. After the welcome party, the magic apprentices all took a rest. Roland and Yelia returned to the lab on the fourth floor. After another two hours of academic communication, they decided to take a break. Having a mouthful of fruit wine, Yelia suddenly asked, "Why is the queen with you?" "For reasons that I would rather not tell." Roland smiled bitterly. Yelia asked enviously, "The king is not doing anything about it?" "He doesn''t seem to be!" Roland found the king''s decision on this matter rather perplexing himself. "Then is she still the queen?" "Yes!" Roland thought for a moment and said, "Her title hasn''t been revoked yet. The king does not seem to be taking her crown away." Hiss! Yelia took a deep breath. Deep in his heart, Roland did not want to talk much about Andonara with an outsider. He changed the subject and asked, "Right, Chairman Yelia, how much do you know about vampires?" Yelia was briefly stunned. "You met vampires too?" "Too?" Roland raised his eyebrow in surprise. Yelia nodded and said, "Vampires have been spotted near our city recently. Some girls have gone missing as well. I''ve been entrusted by the mayor to investigate the matter. I met two vampires and had three battles with them, but none of us won." He then suddenly chuckled. "Do you want our Magic Towers to deal with the vampires together?" At this point, Roland saw a quest notification: Quest received: Clear the nest of the evil vampires together with the Magic Tower in Liguburg. 317 How Lucky Roland was of a mind to cancel the quest. His main responsibility was to travel and learn with the magic apprentices. Difficulties were welcome, but he didn''t want to put their lives in danger. But after some thought, he didn''t cancel it. He could keep the quest in the system even if he didn''t want to do it. It wouldn''t be a big deal. Seeing that Roland was still silent, Yelia continued, "Those two vampires aren''t strong. I fought them to a standstill by myself last time. If I have your help, it will be more than easy to kill them." Roland was rather tempted. After all, this was a blue quest that promised tremendous EXP. He thought for a moment and said, "I have to be responsible for the safety of the apprentices. The vampires are already onto me. If I piss off more of them, I may have problems." Roland was certain that the vampires that Yelia came across weren''t the two that he met. He had sensed that Yelia wasn''t very strong. Since they were close to each other, they could perceive each other''s spiritual waves. Though Yelia had a great capacity for magic, about two-thirds of what Roland had, the problem was that Yelia''s spiritual waves were unstable. The more stable a spellcaster''s spiritual waves were, the more likely their casting would succeed and the more powerful their spells would be. Yelia''s spiritual waves were stable in general, but unfortunately, they would suddenly spike or plummet every other minute. It only happened within a few milliseconds, but Roland still perceived it. It meant that Yelia''s spiritual power had hidden problems. It was fine in peacetime, but it would affect the speed and power of his spells in battles. So, Yelia was not actually as strong as he appeared. Though he was an elite, the strength that he could carry out was probably only LV4. Even so, he had overpowered two vampires, which meant that those two couldn''t have been the same two that Roland ran into. The two vampires that Roland ran into were both close to the Master level. If the male vampire hadn''t recklessly atomized himself only to be hit in the soul by Roland''s lightning when he was defenseless, it would''ve been tricky for Roland to deal with him. "Wouldn''t it be better?" Hearing that, Yelia smiled and said, "If the two vampires you met are here too, we will destroy them altogether." Roland thought for a moment and said, "Let me consider for a night." Yelia nodded with a smile. He knew that it was not a thing that could be rushed. After some chit-chat, Roland went to the big chamber on the fifth floor that was prepared for him. Andonara was waiting for him inside. She smiled when she saw Roland. "I want my pajamas." Andonara''s personal items had all been kept in Roland''s system Backpack. But Andonara did not need that. She was very strong, and Roland could vaguely tell that Andonara was growing stronger even without much exercise. Was the Hero bloodline so powerful? No wonder the king was reluctant to abandon her. Roland took the pajamas out of the Backpack, and Andonara began to change. Seeing things that he shouldn''t see, Roland closed his eyes and said helplessly, "Please be more careful. I''m a man, you know. If you''re always so ignorant of me, I may do something one day." "That''s fine." Andonara smiled in her pajamas. "This body is yours anyway, as has been acknowledged by the king. You can do whatever you want." Toward the end of her sentence, Andonara''s voice became lazy and alluring. Roland clicked his tongue and ignored her. Andonara chuckled and lay down on the bed. Roland opened his eyes and considered Yelia''s proposal before the desk. Now that he had pissed off those vampires, running was not the best solution. Yelia was right that all the troubles would be gone if he killed them. But it remained a problem how to ensure the safety of the apprentices. Vampires were not barbarians who had more brawn than brains. They were cunning, proud, stealthy, and rather vindictive. Roland wasn''t sure whether or not the vampires would send their subordinates or kin to attack the magic apprentices while he dealt with them. What should I do? Roland subconsciously held his chest and contemplated. "You seem to be troubled by something," Andonara said from the bed. "Would you like to talk to me?" Roland told his concerns to Andonara. After, Andonara smiled. "You''re overthinking; you care too much. In fact, if the vampires want to retaliate against the magic apprentices, you can use them as bait." The dilemma in Roland''s mind was immediately resolved. Since he had been born in a peaceful age and country, the last thing that Roland wanted to see was the death of his loved ones. So, Roland was always restricted when he had a target that he needed to protect. It was not easy to break free from cultural shackles. What Andonara said, however, gave him a new idea. The next day, he went to Yelia and said, "Chairman Yelia, I would like to deal with those vampires with you." Yelia patted Roland''s shoulder delightedly and said, "Okay, you won''t regret your decision. The vampires are rich. We''ll split their wealth after we kill them." Roland didn''t say anything. He was not interested in any wealth, not as much as he was in EXP. After having the breakfast that the Tower prepared for them, the magic apprentices of both sides exchanged their understanding of magic. Roland talked to Andonara in private about the things she should pay attention to, then he left the city in a carriage with Yelia. Almost all the roads outside of cities in this world were in terrible condition. While the carriage shakily rode on, Yelia said, "The Magic Tower is funded by the city and therefore is responsible for removing dangers to the citizens. I''ve been a chairman for a dozen years, and I''ve killed many magical beasts, foul creatures, walking dead, and so on, but this is the first time that I deal with vampires." "You''re a little bit nervous?" asked Roland. "No, I just feel that they don''t deserve their fame," Yelia explained. "According to the books, vampires are very strong, but the two I dealt with were rather weak." "Maybe you were too strong." Roland smiled casually. Roland was not stupid. He knew that Yelia was actually weak and might have run into two vampires that were even weaker, but those thoughts should be kept to himself. Sometimes, the truth could be hurtful. "Hahahaha." Yelia was rather delighted. He felt that Roland was interesting and not an arrogant man. He said, "In fact, I wasn''t very strong, but I had some good stuff. A few days ago, a mercenary team ran to my city and sold a piece of magic equipment to me at a high price, claiming that it could suppress dark creatures. It did work on the vampires." "What is it?" Roland was rather curious. "This is it." Yelia took out some kind of black brick from his robe. "Those mercenaries call it ''Black Bones.'' It''s a strange name." 318 Home of Vampires The black brick seemed plain at first glance. But if one were to perceive it more carefully, they would feel the strangeness emanating from inside. The strange waves were so feeble that they couldn''t be detected when Yelia kept the brick under his robe. Roland stared at it for a while but failed to recognize it. Yelia simply threw it to him and said, "Would you like to take a look?" Roland was briefly stunned. Just now, Yelia said that it cost him a fortune. How could he have thrown such an expensive item so casually? Noticing Roland''s surprise, Yelia smiled. "It''s just an odd magic item. It may be worth some money, but not a lot for Mages. Mr. Roland, it hasn''t been long since you took over your Magic Tower, has it?" "Only half a year." Roland weighed the black brick in his hand. "Then it''s understandable." Yelia smiled and said, "When I first took over my Tower, I found gold coins very important; but after a dozen years as chairman, it has occurred to me that gold coins are just a concept with which we buy magic materials. They''re just numbers and we''re never short of them. Though this magic item is somewhat strange, it''s nothing but a couple of gold coins." Roland realized that the guy was telling him that money shouldn''t be a Mage''s concern, and that the guy was only treating the item as an unimportant toy. Shifting his attention to the black brick, Roland found that it was made of odd materials. At first, Roland thought that it was a brick or a stone, but then he found that it was more like a piece of jade. But after touching it for a while, Roland found that it was not jade either. He had a few pieces of jade in reality, and he knew how jade should feel. This definitely felt different. It was smooth but not as vulnerable as jade. It was very elastic and tensile. Roland thought it gave him the feeling of ivory. Elephant tusks were very expensive, but there was one at Schuck''s home that allegedly dated back a hundred years. Roland had touched it many times when he visited Schuck. It felt similar to this unknown black brick. Was it a tooth? But wasn''t it too huge? Was it an elephant tusk too? Roland narrowed his eyes. The carriage moved on and soon left the city. Yelia lifted the curtain and, looking at the unmoving woods outside of the window, said, "As dark creatures, vampires are most vulnerable during the day. Though they''re nested in caves or underground, they will be affected. We can totally crush them if we join forces." Roland threw the Black Bones back to Yelia and said, "You said that the vampires are rich but didn''t you say that gold coins are not important?" Roland seemed both surprised and confused. Yelia was delighted to see Roland''s expression. He said proudly, "Many Mages do not know that the blood of vampires is a useful catalyst that can add special effects to alchemical potions. Their teeth and bones can also increase the hardness of weapons and armor if added during forging." Roland was surprised. "Seriously?" "Their bone powder is the best of all!" said Yelia in amazement. "If vampires are killed by powerful spells of the light class, they will turn into bone powder, which is a great magic material that can significantly boost enchantment." Roland immediately grew interested. "It''s a material for enchantment?" "Yes!" There was a cavern in the hill about sixty kilometers from Liguburg City. Inside the cavern, Christina, the woman who competed with Roland for a whole night, was standing before an old man in a black robe and a black cape. The man''s hair was silver. He seemed old, but he was still handsome and graceful, except that his pale skin made him a little creepy. Seated on a rough stone chair, the old man looked down at Christina and asked, "You still haven''t found the Black Bones yet?" "Lord Bruce, those humble human beings split up. I was misdirected by them." Bruce nodded and then looked at a little bat that was hanging on the wall upside down not far away. "Edmund, what happened to you?" The bat squeaked and shook its body excitedly on the wall. Christina burst into laughter after hearing what was said. Bruce looked weird too. He seemed to be trying to hold back his laughter. "A human being disbanded your bats in midair? Did you meet a dragon in human shape?" "Creak! Creak! Creak! Creak!" The bat shivered even harder. Bruce stood up and said slowly, "Are you sure he was a human being? Christina was after him?" At this point, Christina frowned and said, "Are you talking about the guy in the rock tent?" The bat squeaked again. Bruce looked at Christina and asked, "You met the man too?" "Yes!" Immediately, Christina told him what happened to her earlierof course, without the unnecessary details, such as how she felt that whoever was inside the rock tent understood her. Bruce, the old man, clapped his hands, and a few gorgeous men and women appeared from behind him. "You will investigate in Liguburg and try to find the Black Bones." Those pale but gorgeous men and women nodded. Then, Bruce said to Christina, "You should remember the smell of the man who hurt Edmund, right? Bring him to me." Christina frowned. "Lord Bruce, since Edmund has been so heavily wounded by him, I don''t think I will be able to defeat him." "That''s fine." Bruce clapped his hands again, and another few pale men and women appeared. "You will follow Christina and listen to her commands." "Yes, sir." All of them accepted the mission. Christina revealed no emotion, but her eyebrow was slightly furrowed. On the other hand, Yelia''s carriage had taken Roland to a wood. "Based on the intelligence I''ve gathered, those two vampires must be hiding in this wood." Yelia smiled and said, "I spent a lot of time and money to find their shelter." 319 Ethnic Sociology After Christina and her crew left the cavern, Bruce opened his mouth at the little bat hanging on the wall. The two sharp teeth in his mouth could be clearly seen. Then, crimson magic power spurted out of his mouth and sank into the bat''s body. The little bad immediately expanded. When it became the size of an adult pig, it disintegrated into hundreds of smaller bats that flapped their wings and squeaked noisily in the cavern. Bruce slightly frowned. He could barely tolerate the noise even though he was a vampire too. But thankfully, those bats were soon regathered into a little boy who had blue hair and blue eyes. Edmund, as a kid, fell on one of his knees and almost cried out. "Thank you for your help, Lord Bruce." "That''s all right." Bruce nodded and continued after a cough, "I can tell that you''re grateful, but it''s not good that you are not cooperative. The vampires of the Bruce family should always love and help each other. Our family cannot thrive unless we stand together. I know that you''re not fond of Christina because you''re scared that she will monopolize my love." Edmund shook his head hard. "Lord Bruce, I won''t think that way anymore." "Very good." Bruce nodded in great comfort. "You''re both my kids, and I treat you equally. There''s no need to worry. You''re only half as strong as before. Take a rest for a few days. If you need virgin blood, go to Cormon. Get recovered soon. We still need you." Edmund almost shed hot tears even though his vampire body was cold. "Yes, Lord Bruce." After Edmund left, Bruce heaved a long sigh and said, "How exhausting." He closed his eyes and took a rest. Soon, a young male vampire appeared. Different from the other vampires who were gloomy, this vampire was rather sunny and perky deep down in his soul even though his skin was pale too. He walked to Bruce and, without bowing or greeting, gave Bruce a manuscript that was written on precious paper, before he said, "Lord Bruce, here are some of my ideas. I hope that they can be helpful." "Three-Year Execution, Five-Year Planning?" Reading the title on the cover of the manuscript, Bruce turned the pages and skimmed through them. The male vampire explained solemnly, "After a month of observation, I''ve found a lot of problems in our group. The deficiencies in our system are grave, but we can take our time to fix that. Our priority at this point is to improve the quantity and quality of our food." Hearing that, Bruce''s eyes glittered. "What are your thoughts?" Bruce asked curiously, "How are you going to provide a stable source of food?" "It''s very simple. Improve the living environment of the virgins, give them more liberty, and promote the virgins who are more inclined to us and who have leadership skills to manage the rest, so that they will be less scared of us." "How will we benefit from that?" "A happy life will make the quality of their blood better. Their ability to produce blood will be improved too." The young vampire smiled. "More importantly, it''s the first step to transform them into our vassals." Bruce asked in confusion, "Why should we transform food into our vassals?" "Don''t underestimate human women." The young vampire smiled mysteriously. "If you raise up some human girls and teach them that they are connected to vampires, they can be our most powerful shields and spears." Bruce narrowed his eyes. "That''s an interesting theory. You must be a big shot among the Golden Sons." "Not exactly. I''m just a common graduate student" The young vampire smiled. "Or in the vernacular of this world, I''m a Scholar." "A Scholar?" Bruce was surprised. "Impressive! What field of knowledge are you best at?" "Ethnic sociology!" "What''s that?" "It studies the relationship between powerful and weak peoples and how they get along with each other." Bruce nodded slowly. "So, you came to us and willingly turned into a vampire from a Golden Son just to study how we got along with human beings and to provide data for your studies?" "It''s only part of the reason." The young vampire smiled and said, "The other reason is that the vampires really have a lot of potential, and I dream of becoming an expert too." Bruce nodded and said, "Kid, I think you''re qualified to call me Father now." "Sorry, but I have to refuse." The young vampire waved his hands and said, "My parents are still alive." Bruce sighed. "What a shame." Yelia and Roland climbed to the top of the hill. Yelia pointed at the depths of the hill and said, "The nest is over there. I''ll go to the entrance in the front. There''s also an exit in the rear of the hill." He placed a map before Roland. "You will attack from the rear and surround the two vampires with me. We will not let them escape." There was anger in Yelia''s eyes. "They really should''ve known better than to mess around on my territory." Roland chuckled. "Okay. That seems like a sound plan." Yelia was a responsible man to attack from the front, which would usually encounter more resistance. It was usually less dangerous to attack from the rear. "Remember, if you run into the vampires, don''t hesitate and just try your best. They''re good at mental spells. Don''t be enchanted by them." "Got it!" Roland nodded. Then they split up. Roland came to the rear of the hill and found a cave where an iron door had been established according to the map. Shoving the weeds away, Roland pushed the door, only to see that it had been locked tightly. He examined it again and found a finger''s gap below the door. Roland dropped a magic spider down, and it soon crawled behind the door through the gap. Then, many pictures were sent into Roland''s head. After that, Roland squeezed a Hand of Magic to size and sent it into the gap, before he restored it to its normal shape. In the end, he removed the plug on the back of the door and pushed the door again. It opened. A strange stink of urine wafted out from behind the door. 320 A Simple Matter Roland couldn''t help but back off when he caught whiff of the stink. But he managed to hold it back. He cast Magic Shield, Body Fortification, Agility, Hearing Increase and other buffs to himself, before he stepped into the cave. Thanks to the protection of the magic shield, the stink of urine that Roland smelled was not as insufferable as before. The moment he stepped into the cave, Roland established a field of mental power. It was not very large. He intentionally kept it within a range of ten meters. The cave was extremely dark and he could barely see five meters in front of him. Also, the terrain was complicated in the cave. There might be a couple of crossroads on every path. However, it had been three minutes since Roland met the last crossroad. As he pressed deeper, the cave grew darker and darker still. He walked as softly as possible. Up until now, he hadn''t found any enemies. But then he heard some queer noises from up ahead. Sounds were more or less deformed because of the echo in the cave, and when they were transmitted far away, they became so creepy that they were like the whispers of ghosts. Those obscure noises were blood-freezing in the darkness. Roland walked forward, but he suddenly detected a secret chamber nearby with his mental field. Inside the chamber were a dozen human-shaped creatures. The chamber was not locked. Roland pushed the door and opened it easily. He was vigilant at first, but then it occurred to him that those human-shaped creatures were very feeble and their spiritual waves were unsteady. Roland waved his hand, and a tiny, dim ball of light appeared before him. Then, he saw a bunch of naked girls crouching or lying inside the secret chamber. They were clean and did not reek, but they were all asleep. Roland examined them, only to see red flecks on their neck and arms. Upon closer look, he found that the flecks were bite marks. Were they left by the vampires after they enjoyed the food? Those girls must be the so-called "blood slaves." Roland was going to treat the girls, but then he realized that he should probably annihilate the two vampires as well as the dark creatures under their control first in case they were alarmed. He exited the secret chamber and walked several meters. Then he stopped. He saw a crossroad ahead of him; he only needed to set up an ambush here. He closed his eyes and waited a few minutes. Then he heard hasty footsteps from ahead. A woman rushed closer in panic. She stopped when she was ten meters from Roland, and she stared at him with her crimson eyes. Naturally, Roland saw her too. Her red, vicious eyes were too obvious in the darkness. "You nosy Mages, do you know who you are dealing with?" The woman''s fingernails were growing, and hatred and humiliation were on her pretty, pale face. "Those blood slaves are in the service of the great Lord Bruce" It was indeed the case! Roland felt that he had done something redundant. There were too few good vampires in this world for him to run into one. Two bolts of lightning appeared in Roland''s hands and joined into a glittering, jumping net of electricity. Lightning spells took the least time to the cast among all spells. This vampire was quite weak. She had been hit by the blue and white net before she could react. The lightning bolts licked the vampire''s body and tied her up. Roland was very strong. The lightning was very powerful too, not to mention that he used Dual Casting. The female vampire couldn''t move at all. Her eyes were white, and her body was darkening and dehydrating fast. Vampires were most susceptible to theurgy of light. Lightning spells were next. Fire spells worked well on them too. The beautiful vampire was about to be electrocuted to death, when a swarm of bats squeaked and flew close. It took the shape of a man and roared, "Humble human being, let go of her!" The man was covered in blood, and his clothes were ragged as if he had been cut by countless blades. In fear and panic, he watched his partner be controlled by the lightning. He was about to lunge at her and rescue her. Vampires were sturdy and could still be saved despite such heavy wounds. But before he jumped to Roland, three blue ropes darted to him from behind and tied the male vampire up. He fell on the ground. "Stop! I ask you to stop!" On the ground, the male vampire struggled and wriggled like a worm. He was so desperate and frightened that his tears and snot were flowing. It was quite an ugly scene. Unmoved, Roland increased the output of his magic power, and the female vampire stopped cramping. Her body had been blackened and shrunk in size. Roland stopped casting when the female vampire was reduced to a pile of ashes. "No!" The male vampire struggled to raise his head and looked at the ashes not far away in grief. "Vampires can cry too?" Yelia came close and stepped on the back of the male vampire''s head, before he roared in fury, "When you kidnapped the girls in my territory, did you consider how sad their families would be? You can survive on animal blood, but you insist on drinking human blood. You are evil, corrupt creatures." The male vampire did not hear a thing that Yelia said. He simply stared at the ashes and bashed the ground, wailing. "Speak. Where are you hiding the girls you kidnapped?" Yelia stared at the vampire below him coldly and stamped the vampire''s head with his foot. "If you tell me the truth, I''ll give you a quick death." The vampire simply stared at the ashes and wept. "I found a secret chamber in the rear. There were thirteen unconscious girls inside," said Roland suddenly. "They''re all alive? The number is right too." Delighted, Yelia sneered at the male vampire and stepped back to chant. Three seconds later, eight colorful rainbows smashed into the bound male vampire at the same time, turning him into bone powder. When Prismatic Spray killed an enemy, there was a small chance that Obliteration would be triggered, and the enemy would be turned into ashes. Looking at the gray bone powder, Yelia was quite satisfied with his luck. He smiled and said, "The bone powder here is worth at least fifty gold coins, and it''s always in demand. It''s yours now, Mr. Roland." 321 Another Acciden Roland thought for a moment and put the bone powder in the system Backpack. Vampires were rare. If their bone powder was helpful with enchantment, he certainly couldn''t miss out. After all, enchantment was what he was studying at this point. "I owe you one," Roland said to Yelia with a smile. Although the bone powder of vampires was only worth fifty gold coins, Yelia had mentioned that it was always in demand. Roland might not be able to find anyone who sold it when he really needed it. Yelia smiled too when he saw that Roland accepted the bone powder. Few Mages were dumb. As the creator of the derivative models of Hand of Magic, Roland was apparently gifted. More importantly, Roland was very young and seemed to have just reached adulthood. So, his future was nothing but promising. It was definitely a good thing to make friends with such a young man. "It''s a shame that we can''t find the treasures that the vampires hid," Yelia said helplessly. "I don''t want to ask the people of the Guild of Rogues to help. One-third of the fortunes in places they examine will be gone, and they will split the remaining two-thirds with you. They''re downright bandits." Roland thought for a moment and asked, "How about investigating with mental power?" "To be honest, I''ve already used up two-thirds of my magic power." Yelia shrugged and said, "Besides, this cave is rather huge. I''m afraid we can''t scrutinize every corner after we use up all our mental power." "Is it really that huge?" Roland had read the map outside of the cave earlier. The hill was not very huge to him. Yelia looked at Roland strangely. "Let me have a try." Roland closed his eyes and fully unleashed his mental power, but naturally, the tentacles of his mental power avoided Yelia. A probing sphere with a radius of around 75 meters was established. Everything within the sphere was reflected in Roland''s mind. Different from eyesight that could be blocked, the vision of the mind had no blind angles. At this moment, magnificent magic power flowed out of Roland''s body, fluttering his robe like wind. Yelia watched it in silence expressionlessly. About half a minute later, Roland recalled his mental power, and his fluttering robe stilled. He opened his eyes and said, "There''s indeed a big secret chamber somewhere up ahead. Let''s go and take a look." They walked on for twenty meters, and Roland tapped a wall and said, "The chamber is behind this wall, but the door" The detection of mental power could only see the rough shapes of items and could not reveal details. Examining the wall and searching for a trigger, Yelia asked, "Do you have an elven bloodline?" "No. Why?" He found a weirdly shaped stone. He twisted it and heard a click from inside. Then, both of them pushed the heavy door hard and opened it. A luminous ball was sent in, illuminating several boxes inside the chamber. Yelia smiled and said, "They''ve indeed hidden something, but don''t open the boxes recklessly. Vampires can be sordid. They often set up traps against enemies who covet their treasures. In moments like this, we need to trigger the traps with Hand of Magic, or crack the traps with the Unlocking spell." "I only know Hand of Magic." Yelia stepped away and smiled. "As the creator of the derivative models of Hand of Magic, you must show me this spell." Fine Roland snapped his fingers, and two gigantic blue hands appeared in midair, before they reshaped into hammers. Yelia''s face became weird. "This is not Hand of Magic so much as a combination of Weapon Summoning and Weapon Morphing, isn''t it?" "Really?" Roland did not reply but simply smashed the boxes with the blue hammers. After a few smashes, one box started to ejaculate green gas, and another was darting out green daggers. There were indeed traps. Roland realized that he could learn a lot of things from experienced folk. They quitted the chamber, and Yelia cast Detoxification within. He seemed rather envious. "You are too gifted." Roland smiled shyly. After several minutes, they reentered the chamber and opened all the other boxes with violence. They found almost a hundred gold coins and a pile of gems. "Those were two rich vampires." Yelia separated the loot into halves and gave one to Roland. "This is yours. The two halves might not be entirely even. Please don''t mind." Roland put his part into the system Backpack, and Yelia packed the gold coins and the gems in a black bag, before he hung the bag on his shoulder. Checking the time in the system, Roland asked, "What about the girls? Our carriage is too small to accommodate all of them." "Don''t worry." Yelia said, "I informed the city guards before we came. If I''m not back in five hours, they will send a search party for us. We''ll ask them to transfer the girls." Oh Roland found that the guy was very considerate. "The smell here is funny. Let''s get out." Yelia was quite happy that the vampires'' treasures were looted and the girls were rescued. Walking out of the cave, they were about to catch their breath, when they saw at least seven groups of bats swooping at them. Those bats were quite dense and scary. After two seconds of silence, Yelia jumped to his feet and shouted, "Run!" It was already evening, and the sun had set. The astonishing number of bats were charging at them. The glittering redness in their tiny eyes could be seen even though they were still far away. Roland shouted to Yelia, "You go first! I''ll cover you!" "You" Hearing that, Yelia was about to stay and fight with him, but then he remembered that Roland, as a Golden Son, would not really die. So, he turned around and left without hesitation. "Brother, we''ll meet again at the Temple of Life." In Yelia''s eyes, there was no way that Roland could survive this; he would have to die once. Seeing that Yelia was running quickly, Roland even had time to cast Acceleration on him. Then, Roland focused his attention on the swarming bats. It would take at least five seconds for the bats to reach him. Enough Roland took a deep breath, and a blue fireball took shape in his palm. 322 I Think I Know Who He Is The blue fireball quickly expanded into an enormous fireball one and a half meters in diameter in only five seconds. At this point, those bats were only thirty meters from Roland. It would take the bats no more than one second to fly across thirty meters, but as bats, they had no ability to attack, so they had to turn back into human shape first, which would take another half a second. Therefore, they had to stop and transform. As a result, Roland had an additional second for preparation. Actually, those bats were already scared when they stopped. The intense magic power inside the enormous blue fireball was frightening even though the bats were still thirty meters away. Should they run? The bats hesitated. They were supposed to run, but they outnumbered the enemy, and more importantly, none of the seven vampires were weaklings. It would be too embarrassing if they fled when a human Mage cast nothing more than a fireball. This fireball couldn''t be very fast, and they could just dodge it when it came. While they thought, Roland took action. "Let''s get going!" Roland roared and stomped, pushing out the gigantic fireball in his hand. The fireball was indeed not very fast; it only moved about thirty meters per second. After only two blinks of the eyes, it reached the bats. Having predicted the trajectory of the fireball, all of the bats evaded its path. They were quite responsive. If everything went as expected, the fireball would pass through the gap between them until it disappeared into the sky as fundamental magic elements. However, the fireball brightened like a sun and exploded when it was in the middle of the swarm of bats. It sounded as if thunder rumbled right next to them, or a hundred cannonballs were detonated simultaneously. The bats a dozen meters away were immediately turned into pulps of blood by the explosion. Those further away fell from the sky, almost like a rain of bats. Ripples spread quickly on Roland''s Magic Shield. It seemed it would fall apart at any point. Roland peeped at his mana bar, only to swallow. As the red flames burst out and were pushed away by the blast of the explosion, the bats that fortunately survived the explosion were burnt into ashes in the airwaves, which had a temperature of hundreds of degrees. Roland was only forty meters from the center of the explosion. The red airwaves raged like a tsunami, and all the trees near him were crumbled and set ablaze. Roland had no time to run at all. He was flung away by the explosion, crashed into numerous trees on his way, and did not stop until his momentum ran out and he hit a huge boulder. He struggled back to his feet, only to see that he was surrounded by fire. The trees were on fire, and so were the grasses. He hurried to take out the Mind-Calming Necklace and put it on his neck. The magic halo appeared, and Roland''s mana was restored. He was able to maintain his shield. At this point, not a single bat remained in the sky. The wood here was burning, and Roland suddenly remembered something. Under the protection of the Magic Shield, he went to the vampires'' nest through the fire and smoke and blocked the cave with a few rocks. After all, there were still a dozen unconscious girls in the cave, and if the smoke spread into the cave, they would probably be suffocated. After he sealed the cave with the rocks, Roland was relieved and left the field of fire. He couldn''t go on anymore despite the support of the Mind-Calming Necklace. On the other hand, Yelia''s clothes were covered in grass, mud, and ash. He didn''t stop until he rolled a long time under the blast. At this point, Yelia''s ears were still ringing. He wasn''t deafened because he was luckily a hundred meters away from the center of the explosion. Staring at the wildfire in shock, he heaved a long sigh and said, "What the hell is this?" Hundreds of meters away from the explosion, a dozen plump and even somewhat cute bats landed on the grasses and turned into a beautiful girl with pale skin. If Roland had seen her, he would''ve recognized her to be a younger version of the female vampire in the black dress he saw earlier. This vampire girl was looking at the fire far away, not fully recovered from her fright. To this moment, her ears hadn''t recovered yet, and she couldn''t hear anything. But she was lucky enough to still be able to assume human shape. The scattered bats above her head could not transform into humans anymore. What was that human being? How could a fireball be so powerful? Was he a Legend? No The girl shook her head and vetoed the thought. She stopped thinking and turned into a group of bats again, flying behind her people. About three hours later, Christina returned to Bruce''s camp, which was located near a lake far from human cities. There was an enormous castle here, built right next to a steep mountain. The bats flew through the ancient castle and into a cavern in the mountain. Bruce was still ensconced on the crude stone chair, accompanied by the sunny male vampire. He was stunned to see the scattered bats that just flew in. Eventually, Christina flew in and turned into a little girl. Bruce couldn''t help but point his pale finger at the bats on the wall and ask, "Christina, what exactly happened?" With a bitter smile, Christina said, "We ran into a human Mage, and he launched a big fireball at us." "How''s that possible?" Bruce was stunned. "He couldn''t have wounded you like this even if it was a big fireball. There were several of you, and you must''ve had plenty of bats." "That fireball is the most terrifying fireball of my memory." There was still fear on Christina''s face. "Its effective damage covered at least a hundred square meters. The sound of the explosion alone destroyed half of my bats." Bruce took a deep breath. "Is he a Legend?" "No, he''s just a young human male." "That''s unlikely. As far as I know, every Legend is an old man except those elves. Did you mistake an elf for a human male?" Christina shook her head and said affirmatively, "I couldn''t be wrong. I know the odor of a human when I smell it." "That''s odd" Bruce frowned. The sunny vampire nearby, however, suddenly asked, "Christina, how did the human Mage look?" "Golden hair, blue eyes, plain face. But he did have a unique vibe. He''s different from most people but somewhat similar to you, except that he''s much more daunting." The sunny vampire smiled bitterly. "I think I know who he is now." 323 Youd Better Not Do Tha "I know who he is now." The sunny vampire smiled bitterly and said, "If I''m not mistaken, the man must be Roland, known as the strongest Mage among the Golden Sons." Christina, in her little girl version, frowned. Bruce asked, "What makes this compatriot of yours the strongest Mage?" "He''s stronger than all the other Golden Sons who are Mages," the sunny vampire explained. "We''ve only been in this world for a year, and he has already turned into an Elite Mage. More importantly, he can modify spells. His modifications are remarkable." Christina''s eyes glittered. "The astonishingly powerful fireball is his modification?" "Yes. That''s his ultimate skill." The sunny vampire asked back, "Did you see him cast the spell?" Christina nodded. "But we did not expect it to be so powerful." "How long did he charge the spell?" Christina thought for a moment and said, "About five seconds." "Five seconds." The sunny vampire shook his head and said helplessly, "He''s even stronger now." "How so?" asked Bruce. "He''s the strongest Mage of my people, and his talent is Magic Power Control." The sunny vampire explained, "He can charge a spell for a long time in order to increase the effects of the spell. He can charge a big fireball for ten seconds at most before launching it." Bruce found it hard to believe. "I never heard of such a talent before." "Do you mean that we would''ve been more miserable if he had charged for ten seconds?" The sunny vampire nodded and said, "I don''t think any of you could''ve made it back." Bruce said casually, "Now, that has to be an exaggeration." Christina''s eyes, on the other hand, glittered. "Chief, if it''s really Roland, I suggest we stay away from Liguburg City." "Why?" Bruce was slightly angry. "We''ve operated there for a while. If we give up, all our efforts would be for nothing. I need an explanation, Wenger." "Roland has a high prestige among my people." Wenger, the sunny vampire, smiled and said, "If he learns that there''s a camp of vampires here, he will probably launch an attack." "An Elite Mage is nothing to be scared of. All we need to do is to prevent him from charging." Bruce chuckled. "He''s outnumbered." "He has allies too." Wenger smiled bitterly. "He has a Saint Samurai friend who is also a dragon knight." Both Bruce and Christina were greatly shocked by that. What were vampires most scared of? Spellcasters! Only spellcasters could hurt them easily. Of all the spellcasting classes, Saint Samurai was the most fearsome for them. Favored by the Goddess of Light, the Saint Samurai were jerks whose very pores emitted the power of light. Vampires could fight other spellcasters, but they had to run from Saint Samurai even if they were a level higher than the enemy. The Saint Samurai were their natural enemy, and they would be helpess if they didn''t run! "Then we probably need to keep a low profile for a while," said Bruce helplessly. Then he held his forehead with his hands. Wenger smiled and said, "Wise decision, chief!" Bruce waved his hands and dismissed the visitors. Wenger nodded and left the cavern. He intended to pick and raise up a couple of blood slaves to confirm the conclusions of his research projects in reality. Now, Wenger felt that the smartest thing he had ever done in his life was to buy the immersive cabin when he had never played any other games before. He didn''t expect the AI of this world to be so vivid. Of course, some players claimed that it was not AI but a real world. Wenger agreed with them. If AI was alive and could think, this certainly would count as a real world. The realer a world was, the more likely it was he could acquire useful data and conclusions. The experiments that he couldn''t conduct in reality could be done in this world when he found necessary resources. Wenger strode out of the cavern, and little Christina caught up to him. Walking next to him, she asked, "Can you tell me more about Roland?" Wenger turned around and looked at her. "Are you interested in him?" "His spell is unique. I''d never known that a fireball could be intensified to that point." Christina thought for a moment and continued, "If possible, I''d like to make him my servant." Wenger stopped and said, "I don''t think that''s a good idea." "Why not?" Wenger started to walk again. Then he said, "The Golden Sons are undying. Even if you make him your servant, he can always switch to a different body. After all, for a spellcaster, the level is not as important as knowledge and tricks, with which he can grow strong again and come back. Then, you would be faced with an undying monster who pesters you every day. Do you think you can escape from him?" Well Christina realized that her idea was indeed bad. In the end, Wenger smiled at her and said, "I''ve got things to do, my lady. I''ll take my leave if that''s all." "Okay." Christina sighed. After Wenger left, she was going back home when she saw a black-haired kid. "Well, well, well, if it isn''t Christina. I''m told that you were also reduced to a little girl by a fireball from that man. Is it fun?" Christina walked to him and measured their heights; she was clearly one foot taller than him. She smiled and said, "I was better than you, anyway." Edmund snorted and then grew solemn. "Are you interested in dealing with that man with me?" "Are you trying to get killed?" "The Golden Sons may be undying, but so what?" Edmund chuckled and said, "I''ve heard a lot about the foreign race. They will be weakened after each death. As long as we kill him a couple of times, he''ll be at our mercy." "What if he changes body?" "Why are you so stupid?" Edmund looked at her as if she were a moron. "Can''t you plant a seed on his soul after you defeat him? That way, you can recognize him however different he looks. You know that trick." "That''s a good point." Christina''s eyes glittered, but then she grew vigilant. "Why are you helping me? What are you up to?" "I want the man''s body after you kill him! No matter how many times you kill him, I want all his bodies." 324 Competition Roland saw that Yelia returned while he waited for the wildfire to die out. They met at the hilltop. Looking at the wildfire, Yelia asked, "Did you cause this?" Roland nodded. "What spell was that?" There was disbelief in Yelia''s eyes. "It''s as powerful as a forbidden spell." "Inferior Fireball." Yelia snorted angrily and sat down on the rock without care for his image. "Now is not the time for jokes." Roland said sincerely, "It''s really Inferior Fireball." Yelia turned around abruptly and looked at him. "Are you serious?" "Yes." Roland sat on the rock too and said helplessly, "Do you want me to show it to you again?" "That will be unnecessary." Yelia waved his hands. Then, he clutched Roland''s sleeves and said, "I''ll give you five hundred gold coins for the spell model. Those are my savings from the past twenty years." "Okay." Roland smiled and said, "I''ll write it down for you after you go back to the city, but for the record, I do not guarantee that you can perform it as well as I can." Roland had optimized the model of Inferior Fireball a lot and improved its speed and power. It was greatly different from the model he uploaded to the forum when he just started playing the game. He was very proud of his work, and five hundred gold coins seemed to be a decent price. Yelia nodded and said, "I understand. Everybody has different gifts." As a Mage who was close to the Master level before he was fifty, Yelia was considered a genius by many people, but he knew very well that he was only mediocre and couldn''t compare to the real geniuses. He had seen a traveling Mage from the Fareins Kingdom. The spells of the wind class that the Mage used were unachievable and even unimaginable for other people, but he played with them casually. So, Yelia knew very well that he needed only to try his best and walk forward steadily. It was unnecessary to compete with the prodigies. However, Yelia did hope that he could meet a talented student. Even though he could only be a Master throughout his life, it would be great if he could raise his student into a Legend. In that way, he would have privileges because of his student''s influence. It was impossible for him to best Roland since the man was so young and so good, but if his students were stronger than Roland''s, it would be very comforting for him. At this point, the magic apprentices of the two parties were having a friendly meeting in the Magic Tower in Liguburg City. Liguburg: "What? You''re only learning Hand of Magic?" Delpon: "Yes." Liguburg: "Is that so complicated? Isn''t it an elementary trick?" Delpon: "Our chairman said that the elementary stuff had to be well grasped." Liguburg: "Your chairman is too young." Delpon: "Beg your pardon?" Delpon: How about a match? Most of the magic apprentices were young, and as the children of nobles and big merchants, they were proud too. Those from Liguburg, as the hosts, had a sense of condescension, especially since Yelia was obviously older than Roland The six magic apprentices of Delpon, on the other hand, were taught by Roland step by step. They admired and worshiped Roland and would not let anyone question his ability. Now that neither of the two parties could convince each other, a match would be the best way to resolve the quarrel. "Let''s go to the magic lab. In case you complain that we took advantage of you, we will only send six contestants against you." "All right!" They ran to the lab on the fourth floor and split into two groups. A magic apprentice from Liguburg stood out and, crooking his finger at the guests, declared proudly, "I''m Smail, and I''m capable of seven level-one spells, including Inferior Fireball, Wind Blade, Frightening, etcetera." Vivian was of a mind to step out, as she was the strongest of her team. But Old Jerry walked out before she did. He declared to the people of Liguburg, "I''m Jerry. Of the six students traveling with our teacher, I''m the most worthless." The thirty magic apprentices on the opposite side all secretly chuckled at the old man. Such an old magic apprentice was rare to come by. It was not hard to infer how untalented he was in magic. "I''ll not take advantage of you. I''ll only deal with you using Inferior Fireball," said Smail with a critical smile. The magic apprentices of Liguburg City all covered their grinning mouths. They didn''t go so far as to burst into laughter. After all, they had to show the guests some respect. "I''m capable of Inferior Fireball too, but my Hand of Magic is better," said Jerry calmly. The apprentices of Liguburg giggled again. Hand of Magic, as a trick, was used when the magic apprentices grabbed items. What could a gripping and grabbing force of one kilogram do? Smail thought that he was the sure winner. He playfully condensed a yellow fireball and looked at Jerry. He was about to say something, but a gigantic blue hand grabbed him and heaved him in midair. Seized by the blue hand, Smail couldn''t move at all, not even struggling. The small fireball immediately disappeared. While Jerry''s Hand of Magic couldn''t compare to Roland''s, it was not a problem for him to pick up something of three hundred kilograms. With such a force, it couldn''t be easier to grab a normal-sized adult. "I win." Looking up at Smail who was hanging in midair, Jerry said, "If I throw you hard, you will be killed. Do you acknowledge that?" Smail, who was three meters from the floor, was grim-faced, but he had to agree with the man. The five magic apprentices from Delpon all smiled. Andonara looked at them from the rear and shook her head in amusement. In her eyes, the battle of those magic apprentices was no different from a toddlers'' fight. The magic apprentices from Liguburg, on the other hand, were at a loss. What happened? How could Hand of Magic be like this? Seeing that Smail surrendered, Jerry slowly put him down and glanced at the magic apprentices from Liguburg. Nobody was laughing anymore. "Who''s next?" Jerry said as casually as before. He had learned the tone from Roland, who had always spoken in the same way. The magic apprentices of Liguburg looked at each other in bewilderment. After a while, someone finally stood out. "Are you going to be my next opponent?" asked Jerry. The magic apprentice shook his hand hard and asked, "I only want to know what spell this is." The man pointed at the gigantic blue hand floating before Jerry and asked, "What''s that?" "Hand of Magic!" said Jerry unhurriedly. "That''s impossible! Hand of Magic can''t be like that. It should be like this." A blue translucent hand the size of a regular hand appeared. It was to Jerry''s big blue hand what a baby was to an adult. 325 Everybody Has Their Own Problems Seeing the contrast, the magic apprentices of Liguburg City knew that they were sure losers. That gigantic Hand of Magic could totally be used as a shield, and none of their level-one spells could break it. In the meantime, the enemy could attack them easily from behind the hand. Thinking about that, all the magic apprentices of Liguburg City looked awkward. They were as embarrassed at this point as they were scornful of the people from Delpon earlier. As an old and worldly man, Jerry knew from their expressions that they had submitted in their hearts. Instead of pressing them, he canceled the Hand of Magic and smiled. "Different from most Mages, our teacher believes that the basics are very important, and that if you are fluent in the elementary spells, it will be easy to grasp the advanced spells." The people of Liguburg City remembered the gigantic Hand of Magic they just saw Was that what fluency with elementary spells looked like? The magic apprentice who stood out just now asked, "Are you all capable of that modified spell?" All the magic apprentices from Delpon laughed. Jerry said, "Of course, and I''m the worst at it. Vivian can summon two hands at the same time. Our chairman can summon even more, with a much greater gripping and grabbing power." The magic apprentices of Liguburg City whispered to each other. Though they were not very strong, they had seen a lot in the circle of Mages. The Hand of Magic that Jerry made was obviously not a trick but something close to a level-two spell. A level-two spell for magic apprentices? That was very significant. The magic apprentices of Liguburg were no longer proud. They even started to feel bad about themselves. On the other hand, Roland and Yelia waited on the slope, and it was not until the fire died out and the night completely fell that the city guards who were informed earlier finally arrived. They entered the cave and moved the dozen naked girls out. Roland cast Lesser Healing on them, and Yelia cast Clarity. Then, some of the city guards were asked to take off their cloaks for the girls. The girls panicked at first when they woke up. After they calmed down, they sobbed in low voices with the delight of survival. A minor incident happened during the rescue. One decadent soldier took advantage of his identity and secretly touched a girl''s back. The girl was a civilian and dared not say anything about the soldier. But Yelia accidentally spotted it and simply twisted the soldier''s arm with his mental power. Roland smiled nearby. Then, the city guards grew much more obedient. Back at Liguburg City, after the girls were escorted to their respective homes, Yelia was about to take Roland back to the Magic Tower, when the soldier whose arm he broke came with a young man who seemed to be a noble. "Yelia, aren''t you great?" The young noble looked at Roland and then back at Yelia. "Having attacked my man so ruthlessly, you are really supercilious, aren''t you?" Yelia looked at the young noble with a complicated expression and said, "I didn''t know that he was your man." At first, Roland thought that Yelia was scared of the noble, but then he realized that Yelia was more guilty than he was scared. "Of course you didn''t." The young noble nodded and stared at Yelia for a while, before he said, "It will be my father''s birthday in four days. Are you coming?" "I definitely will." The young noble looked better and left with his subordinate. Though Roland was full of questions, he did not want to pry into someone else''s affairs. They slowly wandered to the Magic Tower, and Yelia spoke a moment later. "The man just now is my wife''s brother." Roland listened quietly. After a second, Yelia continued, "My wife is dead. I accidentally got her killed. So, Benny has always hated me. He was very close to his sister." "How did you get your wife killed?" "It was ten years ago." Yelia heaved a sigh. "I was from a poor family. I became a magic apprentice because of my talent. Then, I met my wife Carmena. She was a sunny, gentle, ad kindhearted woman who treated me fairly despite my destitution and even accepted my proposal. We were happy after we were married, but an accident happened during an experiment ten years ago, and she died in the chaos. Even her body was never found." "I''m sorry to hear that." "It was indeed horrible," Yelia said in a low voice. "It took me ten years to walk out of that shadow, and Benny still hasn''t yet." Roland estimated that Yelia couldn''t have been responsible for the accident, or he wouldn''t have freed himself from the trauma so quickly. "So you never married again after the accident?" asked Roland. "How do you know that?" "I accidentally overheard your magic apprentices discussing it last night." Yelia said slowly, "There are few women who are like Carmena. I''ve never met anyone similar to her other than Queen Andonara." Roland raised his eyebrow and understood a lot of things. "Okay. Enough of that. Let''s talk about magic models." Roland waved his hand and said, "I, for one, believe that you should be more focused on defense against vampires. My fireball might seem impressive, but it couldn''t have killed a lot of them. Most of them must''ve escaped." Yelia said with a smile, "That''s not a problem. Vampires have been active in Liguburg since a few years ago. I''ve been prepared. Although I''m not as good as you, I''ll catch them any minute and cook them in the sunlight if they dare to come into the city." "Good to know that you''re prepared." Roland smiled. "Regarding Spiritual Endowment, I still find it hard to understand how you leave your spiritual coordinates in the nodes." "It''s very simple," Yelia said. "First, you separate your mind into pieces and remember the features of those pieces" They talked about magic while they walked to the Magic Tower. In the woods ten kilometers to the east of Liguburg City, more than thirty swarms of bats arrived. Those bats all turned into pale but charming vampires. "I''ve smelled them. Their odor is getting more and more intense. They must be in Liguburg City," Edmund, who had turned into a teenager, said coldly. Vampires could recover from wounds as fast as trolls as long as they had enough virgin blood. 326 A Competition of Numbers? 1 Back in the Magic Tower, Yelia found that the magic apprentices were getting along. He nodded in satisfaction. It was a delightful thing for him to see that the students were working hard. Roland, on the other hand, was "haunted" by Andonara. She greeted him and wiped his face with a towel as if she had forgotten that she was the queen. Yelia watched for a while before he moved his eyes to the dark sky outside of the window with additional gentleness. Seeing that their chairman was back, the six magic apprentices of Delpon returned to Roland. The other magic apprentices, who had been taught a lesson, asked Yelia if he knew the derivative models of Hand of Magic. Yelia peeped at Roland and replied, "I''ve acquired the derivatives of Hand of Magic from Mr. Roland, but I haven''t understood them yet. I''ll teach them after I grasp them." The magic apprentices of Liguburg City all cheered. It was already late. Accompanied by Andonara and Vivian, Roland had a nice dinner. Then, the magic apprentices of the two sides communicated again until midnight. Roland taught Yelia the basics on data-recording and deduction, and Yelia described the details of Spiritual Endowment. At about two in the morning, Yelia couldn''t hold back his drowsiness anymore and went to bed. Roland did not need any rest. He was carefully considering what Yelia just said. Essentially speaking, Spiritual Endowment served to label the magic nodes. The NPCs weren''t aware of databases or mathematical models, but they had a basic approach, which was to mark certain nodes as important. That way, they would be able to distinguish the important nodes from the unimportant ones. After they were used to it, they could habitually direct their magic power to the important nodes, which would reduce the time spent spellcasting. Also, the labels in Spiritual Endowment were of different tiers according to their importance. It was a rather simple method. Though it seemed shabby, Spiritual Endowment was not easy to learn. Firstly, it had a high demand on mental power; secondly, one had to be very familiar with the nodes. Spiritual Endowment did not sound very impressive, but it occurred to Roland that, after he was used to it, it would enable him to cast spells faster. For example, it would take him less time to charge the fireball, which could be very strategically important. Even if the time cost was only reduced by one-third, down to six seconds, this skill would still be much handier. However, Spiritual Endowment also had shortcomings, which was that it could make the learner inflexible. After all, when the conditional reflexes on the mental level were formed, they might cast the spells in battles without properly adapting the spells to the actual circumstances first. All the players knew that no abilities were useless in the hands of a man who knew how to use them. That being said, they also knew that, even though all the abilities could be useful, there was a fine line between abilities that were useful and those which were very useful. For the spells that required few variations, such as Self-Exploding Fireball, Thunder Palm, and the buff spells, Roland could fixate them with Spiritual Endowment in order to cast them faster. But as to the spells that must be applied pertinently, he would not use Spiritual Endowment on them. After the decision was made, Roland began to practice Spiritual Endowment. After a night, he found that he made little progress. He didn''t make no progress, but this ability was much more difficult to grasp than he anticipated. When the sun was up, Yelia asked a butler to invite Roland and his crew to breakfast. It was a hearty breakfast. Obviously, the people of Liguburg had put a lot of thought into it. Everybody was satisfied. Roland and Yelia discussed magic problems while they ate, and the magic apprentices listened quietly. They did not have the opportunity to listen to the talk of two chairmen every day. They subconsciously ate more slowly for fear that they might miss a word or two that the chairmen said and misunderstand them. When breakfast was about to be over, an officer suddenly walked in. He nodded at Yelia and then looked at the strange faces in confusion. "Excuse me." Yelia smiled at Roland apologetically and walked over to talk to the officer in private. The officer soon left, and Yelia returned to Roland with a heavy heart. "The mayor''s house was attacked last night, likely by vampires. Would you like to check it out with me?" "Okay." Roland wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up. "I''m going too." Andonara stood up as well. "All right." Roland nodded as Andonara could be a powerful ally. The vampires might run away from her if she was by herself, but now that two Mages were with her, they would be committing suicide if they atomized themselves. Yelia looked at Andonara in surprise. "You shouldn''t risk yourself, Your Majesty." "We might be no match for her even if we attack her together." Roland shrugged. "She''s a Master Great Swordsman, and probably the strongest fighter in Hollevin." Andonara smiled in delight. Yelia, on the other hand, widened his eyes in shock. Few people in the capital knew that Andonara was very strong, not to mention the residents of other cities. Vivian stood up. She wanted to go with them too. But Roland waved his hand at her. He then summoned White Amber and threw it to Vivian. "You stay in the Magic Tower. Inform me if anything happens." Vivian bit her lip and nodded. Roland took Andonara''s longsword out of the system pack and gave it to her. Then, he left for the mayor''s house with Andonara and Yelia. At this point, the mayor''s office was heavily guarded, but they cleared the way and let Yelia in the moment they saw him. It was obvious that Yelia was rather prestigious in the mayor''s house. Passing through the moat, they entered the castle and found a group of people talking in the hall. Soon, they noticed Yelia. A young man with golden hair shouted in excitement, "Brother-in-law, you''re here!" Yelia nodded and joined them. He pointed at the slim young man and introduced, "This is Sarog, the mayor''s youngest son." Then, he introduced the strangers to them. "This is Roland, the chairman of the Magic Tower in Delpon, and this is Queen Andonara!" Hearing "queen," everybody turned around and looked at Andonara in surprise. Andonara, on the other hand, was holding Roland''s arm very naturally. 327 A Competition of Numbers? 2 Everybody was amazed to see Andonara. The oldest noble among them observed her for a while, before he bowed at her and greeted in surprise, "I didn''t expect to see you here, Your Majesty." Staring at the middle-aged noble, Andonara thought for a moment and smiled. "It''s been a while, Earl Chesamon." As the lord of this city, the man had visited the capital now and then and attended the parties of the powerful. Naturally, Andonara had seen him before. She didn''t remember him clearly, but she managed to recall his name after thinking for a moment. Gazing at Andonara''s arm around Roland''s, Chesamon turned to Roland and asked in confusion, "Your Majesty, with all due respect, how is this young man related to you?" "He''s my man!" Andonara said without hesitation. Everybody exclaimed in shock except Roland and Yelia. The answer was too surprising for them. Though everybody knew that nobles lived a messy life, it was best kept secret. Few people were like Andonara, who appeared in public with another man and seemed to enjoy it. They somehow envied her. Chesamon frowned. "Your Majesty, not that I''m nosy, but if you want the best for this man, please respect yourself. Would the royal family simply watch you do this?" Andonara said with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, but Roland has openly stolen me from the king, who didn''t say anything." Hiss! Everybody gasped at the same time and looked at Roland enviously, before they moved their eyes away. The fact that he stole the queen from the king blatantly without being hunted suggested a lot of things. Either the young man was from a powerful background that even the royal family was scared of, or he was extremely capable himself. Whichever of the cases was true, Chesamon certainly couldn''t afford pissing off someone that the royal family didn''t dare to. Chesamon immediately dropped the suspicion in his eyes and looked at Roland with a smile. "Your Excellency, welcome to the Chesamons'' house." Roland nodded. "I''m here under Yelia''s invitation. Thank you for your entertainment." Seeing that Roland was quite polite, Chesamon was relieved. He knew that he hadn''t been exactly friendly, and that it would be bad if the man was infuriated. Though Chesamon was not scared of him, it wouldn''t be the most pleasant thing to make a powerful enemy. At this moment, Yelia walked forth and said, "My lord, I''m told that something happened here." "Yelia, it''s great that you''re here," said Chesamon gently. Everybody dispersed and smiled at Yelia, except the young man who Roland met the previous night. He snorted at Yelia. Yelia was not bothered. He went to where the crowd gathered earlier and found a girl''s body on the floor. Her clothes had been taken off, which was rather demeaning. Chesamon said, "We didn''t do anything. The body was like this when it was delivered." Roland came close too. They looked at the body and the girl''s face. Both of them were quiet. Mages had high Intelligence, so they all had great memories. They remembered the girl to be one of the victims they rescued the previous night. The skin of the body was blue, not a typical color for those who died a natural death. Roland observed the body more carefully, only to find more than twenty tiny holes on the girl''s neck. There were more than ten holes on each of her arms too. Chesamon remarked, "We examined her just now. The blood in the girl''s body has been sucked away." "This was undoubtedly done by vampires." Yelia stood up and said gravely, "I didn''t know that they would come so soon and in such a large number." Roland was angry too, but he didn''t show it on his face. He asked, "Didn''t you say that you made preparations last night?" "I did." Yelia nodded and said, "I had set up magic items that could detect dark creatures at the top of my Magic Tower. It would inform me if a vampire was in town. This girl must''ve left the city last night. But I told her not to leave the city so soon. She disobeyed me." "What if she didn''t go out voluntarily but was deceived?" asked Roland. Yelia nodded and said, "That''s also a possibility." Then, he turned his eyes to his father-in-law. "My lord, was the girl found outside of the city?" "Yes." "Then we should investigate who let her out of the city last night." Yelia stood up and said, "My lord, I hope you can do it for us." "There''s no need to be so courteous. We''re family. Besides, it''s the Chesamons'' responsibility to protect the residents of this city." Roland was surprised to find that this lord seemed to be a nice person. Then Yelia said to Roland, "Let''s go out and do some searching too. We''ll go back to the Magic Tower for the dark creature detector and then take a walk out of the city. We may find something." "Sure." Roland nodded. In a dark wood outside of Liguburg City, countless bats were hanging from the trees. Very soon, a bunch of cute, plump bats flew in and turned into a girl in the darkness. Looking at the thousand bats hanging upside down from the branches, she cursed, "You idiots, you knew that our enemy was in town, but you still lured the girl out with Enchant. Not just that, all of you sucked her blood until she died. What''s your problem? The enemy will be alarmed!" A group of bats descended and transformed into Edmund. He said unhappily, "We could smell her more clearly than we could smell other people. She had been our food until she escaped. What''s wrong with killing her or alarming the enemy? We''re going to make everybody in this city live in terror for the days to come. Next, we will suck a girl dry every day, until the people collapse in fright." "The Mage capable of a modified fireball is still in the city. Do you want to be killed?" "We might be scared of him if we didn''t know anything about him." Edmund chuckled. "But things are much easier now that we know he has to charge his powerful spells. Ten seconds will be more than enough for us to kill him many times." "He''s a Golden Son. He can''t die." "As Wenger said, the Golden Sons will be weakened after their deaths, and the more they die, the weaker they will be, until they''re like ordinary people." With hate in his eyes, Edmund said, "As long as we kill him once, we can surround the Temple of Life and kill him again and again until he becomes an ordinary person. Then, we''ll take him back and chain him up, so that he will forever be our food. I''m sure that an undying man definitely has delicious blood." 328 A Competition of Numbers? 3 Looking at Edmund''s twisted expression, Christina shook her head helplessly. "Have you lost your mind? You think you''re stronger because you outnumber him? I quit. I don''t want to die here." Edmund snorted. "Christina, we invited you here because we respected you. You think thirty of us can''t beat two Mages? It doesn''t matter whether you are here or not." "Then good luck." Christina transformed into a group of tiny bats and flew away from the woods. Edmund snorted. "What a coward." Then, he turned back into bats and flew to the branches, hanging himself there again. Back in Liguburg City, Yelia and Roland roamed outside of the city with a black gem, but they did not spot any dark creatures after a long walk. In other words, the gem did not show any reaction at all. They returned to the city in the afternoon. The moment they passed the gate, a soldier ran to them and said, "Esteemed Mages, the mayor invites you to meet him." Yelia and Roland looked at each other and moved on quickly. They saw a tied man on his knees on the lawn next to a few soldiers the moment they entered the mayor''s castle. Seeing Yelia, one of the soldiers greeted them and said, "Mr. Yelia, according to our investigation, this man took the dead girl out of the city last night. There are several eyewitnesses." "The city gate is closed at night. How did he take the girl out?" "He''s the gate officer''s'' son." That explained a lot! "The earl must be busy arresting the rogues, yes?" None of the soldiers said anything. It was no small thing that someone opened the city gate without orders. Punishment and purging were due. Yelia walked to the man on his knees and asked him, "Why did you take the girl out of the city?" "I don''t know." The kneeling man sweated hard. "There was a voice in my head that kept telling me to take the girl out. I couldn''t control my body and did its bidding." "Then why did you come back alive? Or rather, what did you see?" "Bats! There were countless bats in the chestnut woods west of the city," the man said fearfully. "Some of the bats manifested into a young man. He said that he would spare me if I took another girl out of the city tonight, or my head would explode! Mr. Mage, can you help me? I don''t want my head to explode!" "That''s just the vampires'' deception." Yelia shook his head and said to Roland, "The vampires are best at enchanting human beings. They may not be as good as the Succubi, but very close." "Do you want to go and take a look?" Roland looked at the sky and said, "It''s still early. I think we can fight them." "Okay." Yelia scoffed. "Liguburg City is my territory. Vampires or any other creatures cannot stir trouble here without my permission." When the sun was setting, they rode to the chestnut woods. Yelia took out the black gem and filled it with magic power. Very soon, vague purple light emitted from the gem toward the wood. "They''re indeed here. The reaction is very strong." Yelia''s delight was replaced by graveness. "There are at least twenty dark creatures." "That''s a lot." Roland was slightly surprised too. Yelia said solemnly, "I think we should retreat for now and come back after we''re more prepared." Roland nodded and said, "Agreed." They were about to turn around, when the night suddenly fell, and nothing could be seen after only two seconds. Roland instantly cast five luminous spheres into the air, but they barely had any effect when they used to be able to illuminate a football field. He was still enshrouded in darkness. Most rays from the light spheres seemed to have been absorbed and could only reach five meters away. "Dome of Darkness? Such a huge one?" Yelia exclaimed. While appeasing the shocked horse, he cried, "Mr. Roland, we have to run!" "There''s no time!" Roland said determinedly and quickly, "Mr. Yelia, please resist all attacks for me in the next five seconds." At this point, bats were flapping their wings from all directions. The rustling sounds were as though a swarm of worms were gnawing leaves. We''re tricked The enemy has lured us here on purpose. The same thought flashed in their hearts. Gritting his teeth, Yelia roared, "Five seconds? Okay. It''s up to you whether or not we can make it back alive!" Roland nodded, and a blue fireball took shape in his palm. Yelia took a glass cube that contained a blue fluorescent fluid out of his magic robe. He drank most of the fluid without hesitation and shouted, "Massive Magic Shield!" A magic shield that looked like a round glass cover sheltered them. In the first second, bats flew out of the darkness and transformed into thirty pale vampires that surrounded Roland and Yelia. In the next second, the vampires, seeing that the fireball in Roland''s hand was expanding, launched their spells at the enemy without a word. In the third second, a myriad of spells of different colors barraged the magic shield simultaneously. Dense, overlapping ripples spiraled across the transparent shield at first, before cracks began to spread. In the fourth second, the fireball in Roland''s hand had been expanded to one meter and a half in diameter. More spells were volleyed. Unleashing black lightning, Edmund roared hideously, "Try harder! Kill them!" Yelia vomited blood and fell on one of his knees. Then, he drank the remaining blue fluid in the container. Though a lot of cracks were appearing on the magic shield, it did not fall apart. In the fifth second, Yelia lost all strength and nearly fell over. His Massive Magic Shield was finally broken. Edmund was delighted. But at this point, Roland threw the blue fireball in his hand, which was almost two meters in diameter, before he quickly created a rock tent with Mud to Stone, protecting himself and Yelia. All the vampires were fixated on the fireball. Edmund was the first to come back to himself. He shouted, "Run!" But there was no time. In the darkness, the fireball emanated brilliant light like a rising sun, burning a lot of the weaker vampires into ashes. Then followed an intense explosion. Even the air warped. Some of the vampires fell from the sky with bleeding faces. Eventually, the red "tsunami" caused by the explosion consumed everything. The Dome of Darkness, like a round bubble, was blown apart by the airwaves until it cracked. All the vampires were consumed by the blast. The weaker of them fell from the sky as ashes, and the stronger of them had been completely blackened even though they survived. Edmund crashed to the ground and tried to turn into bats, but he failed. He had been too badly wounded. Besides, with fire elements all over the place, it was hard for him to communicate with dark elements. The Dome of Darkness was broken, and the afterglow reached everybody. Many vampires smoked and screamed when they were illuminated, but none of them died. Different sunlight had different intensity. The afterglow could only injure the vampires'' skin and was not fatal. The rock tent was canceled, and Yelia and Roland walked out. Yelia fell on his knees again after a couple of steps. Due to the severe mental recoil, he was too exhausted to do anything now. Roland looked around and burned the struggling vampires into ashes with fireballs, before he collected their bone powder in his system Backpack. Then, he walked to Edmund and kicked him into the shade of a tree. Edmund felt much better without the afterglow and stopped screaming. Standing before him, Roland looked down at him and demanded, "I remember that you were crippled by me before." "Even the Dome of Darkness was broken by you. So, we didn''t surround you; you surrounded us" Edmund burst into crazy laughter. "But that''s fine. Lord Bruce will be exasperated that you killed thirty of my people. Later, fifty or even a hundred of my people will come back for you." "Bruce?" Roland was rather curious. "Lord Bruce is a second-generation vampire and the first vampire who was transformed by the True Ancestor. You''re dead for sure now that you''ve pissed off the Bruce family." Edmund laughed so hard that he was spasming. Roland was stunned. He was reading the system notifications. Personal main quest received: Destroy Bruce''s nest and find the information on the True Master of the vampires! (Epic and nightmarish; it''s recommended to recruit as many mercenaries for the quest as possible.) "Huh?" "You have no idea how many people the Bruce family has and how united we are. Lord Bruce will avenge us" Edmund was still shouting crazily. Roland shook his head. "But you won''t get to see it." He burnt Edmund into bone powder with a blue firepower and then packed it up. "Besides, you think you''re large in number?" Roland immediately took a photo of his personal epic quest with the system camera and then uploaded it on the forum in a thread. My personal epic quest. I wonder if you can trigger a chain of quests after you read this. Roland generally described what happened in the thread. Very soon, someone replied. After all, Roland was a celebrity, and his posts were always popular. "Shoot. I''ve really triggered a quest. I''m being asked to kill vampires. For each vampire I kill, I will have two credit points. If I kill Bruce, I get fifty. If I offer Roland leads on the True Ancestor, I will have a hundred. What can credit points do?" "Me too." "Me too." The thread soon became heated. Before long, most players would read it. Roland smiled and clicked off the forum. As he expected, certain special quests could be shared with other players in posts, like the main quest he had last time. But on the other hand, what was the usage of credit points? There was no place to exchange them in the game, and the authorities did not release any announcements, either. That was rather mysterious. 329 Another Fire Yelia vomited two mouthfuls of blood. He cast Lesser Healing on himself and then looked around at the unbelievable wildfire. "This is too powerful, isn''t it?" He turned around and looked at Roland as if Roland was a rarity. "I''ve prepared my gold coins. Give the model to me the moment we''re back." Roland smiled and said, "Not a problem." Five hundred gold coins was a large sum of money. If they weren''t exchanged into money in reality, a lot of things could be done with those gold coins in the game. Speaking of money Roland remembered something else. He logged in on the forum and made another post. Tips on How to Deal With Vampires. He mentioned the vampires'' vulnerabilities to light, fire, and lightning. He also informed the melee classes that the vampires could atomize themselves, in which case they would be immune from physical damages. At the end of the post, he wrote, "The vampires burned in high-heat fire may yield bone powder which is very valuable. It''s about fifty gold coins per kilogram, and it''s in high demand. Of course, if a lot of vampires are killed and the productivity of bone powder soars, the price may fluctuate." However, Hollevin was just a small country; Fareins, Urganda, and other bigger countries were still out there. In those countries, there were a lot of Mages and Alchemists too, who were also in dire need of the bone powder of vampires. Everybody was excited after reading the post. The players were very interested in the quest in the first place. They didn''t know what a credit point was yet, but it wouldn''t hurt to earn some first. Besides, there must be wealth in the nests of vampires. Many guilds had set up teams of Rogues who were adept at stealing and excavation. They were about to take off. Roland''s post was like lighting a fire under their butt. They immediately jerked upright and rushed to Liguburg City. One pile of bone powder equaled fifty gold coins, which almost equaled 800,000 yuan in reality. They were determined to kill a vampire whatever it might take. The post became popular very soon, but few people replied. Everybody simply logged off and contacted their brothers and friends after reading the post. They had no time to write a reply. Only the players who were too far away were lamenting that they didn''t have enough time to get there. Roland logged off and said to Yelia, "Let''s go back to the city first." "Okay." Yelia looked around. The two horses that they rode here had been turned into cooked meat in Roland''s fireball explosion. They had no choice except to go back on foot. Roland shook his head and said, "I don''t think you need to call for aid." "Why not?" Roland said easily, "Because I already did. I''m a Golden Son. It''s not a problem if I need some people to give me a hand." "How many people will come?" Yelia was obviously delighted. "Probably more than a thousand." "A thousand professionals?" Yelia was so stunned that he paused and looked at Roland. Yelia''s reaction was understandable. It was very costly to deploy a thousand fully-armed elite soldiers, not to mention a thousand professionals. "Mr. Roland, I owe you a big one." Yelia was both happy and helpless. It was a good thing that Liguburg City would be safe, but it would be difficult to return the favor. "It''s not because of you. I simply don''t want to be haunted by a bunch of stealthy, sordid vampires." Yelia felt that Roland was only being polite. He simply remembered the favor in his heart and didn''t say anything. At this point, a group of plump bats were hovering in the sky a kilometer away. They watched thirty people establish the Dome of Darkness, they watched the Dome of Darkness be blown up by a solar explosion, and they saw that none of their fellows escaped. Then, they flew away quickly and returned to the Bruce family''s base late at night. In the cavern behind the castle, Christina, in the appearance of a girl, was on one of her knees before Bruce. She reported what she had seen in a low voice. "Thirty of my children were killed outside of Liguburg City?" Bruce was bellowing despite his usually good temper. His immense mental power twisted the air. The whole cavern was shaking with his fury. After a long time, Bruce finally managed to suppress his anger and put an end to the shaking. "Very good! Very good!" Bruce stood up and left his stone seat. "Inform all the family members who are out and ask them to return to the base. In three days, I''ll lead them to conquer Liguburg City." "Three days are unnecessary." At this moment, Wenger came out and said, "Chief, let''s evacuate. We need to get out of here right now." "What''s that supposed to mean?" Bruce squinted and stared at Wenger. "Are you telling me to just let it go?" "My people have found this place," Wenger said helplessly. "Roland has summoned at least a thousand Golden Sons. They''re coming from all directions." "A thousand?" Bruce''s eyes were narrowed into tiny slits. "That''s a conservative estimate." Wenger smiled bitterly. "My personal, bold estimate is that at least three thousand are coming." Three thousand professionals were not to be underestimated even if they were all level one. In fact, many Golden Sons were close to the Elite level, which was level four. There must be a bunch of level fives and even a dozen level sixes among them. With such an overwhelming force, it wouldn''t be hard for them to destroy a small country if they didn''t fight amongst themselves. "On your knees!" Bruce suddenly shouted. Wenger''s legs softened and he was about to kneel, but at the critical moment, he laid his hands on the ground and fell on only one of his knees. At this point, Wenger''s face was pain-filled and twisted, as if his body was beyond his own control. "You''re truly good." Bruce chuckled at Wenger, who was fighting his instincts. "You''re so determined that you can resist an order from your direct superior." "I only kneel to the heavens, the earth, and my parents!" While struggling to reply, Wenger tried his best to rise and stand straight. His face was awful, with sweat dripping from his forehead. It was exhausting enough for him to just stand there. "I have my pride." Looking at Wenger, who was unbent, Bruce sighed and said, "I''ll spare you this time for your resolve. Christina, lock him in the dungeon and don''t let him come out." "Yes, Lord Bruce." 330 Army of Locusts There was a dungeon for vampires deep inside the cavern. At first, the prisoners would be suppressed by special enchanted equipment, before they were put in special iron cages. Those cages were very tight, with holes only the size of a finger. The prisoners couldn''t escape in bat form. As for Atomization Since the cages were meant for vampires, that problem had been taken into consideration too. Those cages were partly made of gold, an inert metal that wouldn''t react with magic power and could block Atomization. After Wenger was imprisoned, Christina did not leave but simply stood nearby. She asked after a brief silence, "Do the Golden Sons have special ways to communicate?" "Yes, we do." Having lived for some time in the Bruce family, Wenger had met a lot of people. He wasn''t very familiar with Christina yet, but they greeted each other every time they met. He had been quite fond of this girl, who was both pretty and had principles. "Why did you change from a Golden Son to a vampire?" "Actually, I''m still a Golden So,." Wenger said with a smile. "I can still resurrect, and I can use all the functions of the system. The abilities of vampires are just added onto my previous identity." Christina snorted and said, "Is that why you can resist Lord Bruce''s order?" "That''s part of the reason." Nobody else was in the dungeon, and it was deep and quiet underground. So, they sounded quite loud even though they kept their voices low. Christina rubbed her eyes and asked again, "What kind of person is Roland among your people?" "I have no personal contact with him. I''ve only learned of him through special channels." Christina furrowed her brow and said, "Why don''t you tell me about it?" "He''s the strongest Mage. He has powerful friends. He''s generous and amiable too." Wenger said with a smile, "If I have to comment on him, he''s like one of the Mage protagonists in the knight novels." "He''s so good?" "You''ve already met him. Do you think he''s good?" Remembering the fireball that exploded like a sun, Christina''s heart was still shaking even now. She was rendered speechless. "Christina, a word of advice: you will only be killed if you stay here," Wenger said solemnly. "My people will arrive in five hours at best, and more will come later. By then, there will be no time for you to escape." "Seriously?" Christina was still unconvinced. "Thousands of professionals are coming here? Are they all crazy?" "They''re here for money." "The vampires don''t have much money." "Bone powder." Staring at Christina, Wenger said, "Roland stated that the bone powder of vampires is valuable on our communication channel." After a brief shock, Christina had goosebumps all over her body. "Your people are killing us for money?" "How could you" "Why couldn''t we?" Wenger said matter-of-factly. "If you regard human beings as prey, isn''t it fair that the Golden Sons regard you as prey?" "But we''re vampires" Christina murmured. "And we''re the Golden Sons." There was pity in Wenger''s smile. "Why can''t the vampires be prey?" Christina was horrified by Wenger''s smile. She subconsciously stepped back and staggered out of the cavern. Prey! We''re prey! The thought rang in Christina''s head. By the time she woke up, she found that she had flown away from the Bruce family''s base. What am I doing? Christina was of a mind to fly back to the family base, but what Wenger said popped up in her head. "A piece of advice: you will only be killed if you stay here." "If you regard human beings as prey, why can''t you be regarded as prey?" As a colony of bats, Christina flew aimlessly to a wood and hid herself there. She was about to take a rest when she heard horses passing rapidly the wood. She sent one of her bats out of the wood, only to see a dozen people riding horses to her family base. All of them were professionals and had the same vibe as Wenger''s, indicating that they were Golden Sons. "They''re really so fast?" Christina was rather panicked. Soon after they passed the wood, she saw another twenty people galloping toward her family base on horseback. Seriously? They''re really coming? Christina really felt frightened. This was only one direction. What about the other directions? While she was thinking, she heard horses coming up from behind her again. This time, one of the riders was even shouting, "Horse tracks! A lot of people are ahead of us! Let''s hurry up! There''s only a limited number of vampires!" Hide! Hide now! Christina dared not fly out of the wood or up above. She simply flew inside the wood in the opposite direction of her family base. At this point, Roland had come to the edge of the Bruce family''s base too. Hardly had he climbed the hill when he heard battle cries from the castle. About a hundred people had launched attacks on the castle from all directions. Since it was the day, the vampires were greatly affected. The weak, patrolling vampires at the periphery had been caught by big nets while they were flying. Net Casting Specialty! It was a special trick available for Hunters and Rogues that could even catch angels when their levels were high enough. Looking at the bats, who were angry but dared not assume human shape, the players all laughed. After all, it was still daytime, and the sun was strong. They would be burned to ashes if they transformed into vampires. Then, magic flames were thrown into the nets. Very soon, all the bats were burnt into bone powder and collected into system Backpacks. "I''ve earned hundreds of thousands." The players who made a fortune laughed crazily. Then, more and more players scored. In no more than two hours, all the patrolling bats outside of the castle were gone. The bats that luckily survived had flown back to the castle. At this point, the players were ready to attack the castle as more and more of them were gathered here. Two hours earlier, there were only a hundred, but their number had exceeded a thousand at this point. Standing on the hilltop, Roland watched the players charge forward and shout. "Spare some for me!" "You can kill them, but please leave their ashes to me. I like spraying ashes best!" The hundred players in the lead looked back, only to be shocked. They rushed at the castle even faster. At this moment, there was obviously not enough meat for everybody, and they intended to claim their share first. Anyone who stopped would be a real idiot. However, when the few players at the front were about to break into the castle, they were flung away by a strange power and blown into pulps of flesh and blood in midair. Then, a black ball rose from a balcony in the castle and expanded into a black round dome that surrounded the entire valley in the hills. The players in the middle of the Dome of Darkness could not even see their own hands. 331 Rabid Golden Sons When the massive Dome of Darkness was deployed, all the players within its range lost their vision. Only the players who had learned Dark Vision or night battle specialties could see at all. Then, the commanders of the guilds and the teams were all shouting, "Activate the illumination skills, or light torches if you don''t know any!" Very soon, hundreds of luminous spheres and torches were raised. According to common sense, such a large number of sources of light should''ve illuminated the whole valley, but they were nothing more than matches in the darkness. They were so pitifully weak that it seemed like dusk despite all their light. "The enemy''s dark spells can absorb the light." Some commanders realized this and shouted, "Are there Priests of the light class? Can you try casting Sunlight?" Very soon, a few small suns were raised at the bottom of the valley and on the slope, making the place slightly brighter, but it was still not as bright as it was supposed to be during the day. Also, a crescent moon had emerged in the sky. The environment was quite creepy. It was as if everything was covered in a black haze. But the players were excited. Many of them were shouting, "It seems that the boss is coming out!" As they expected, a dense colony of bats flew out the moment they said that. Different from the small bats they saw earlier, those bats were at least three times that size, and their wings were almost a meter wide after being unfolded. When those bats came out, they were followed by countless smaller bats, their emergence like plumes of smoke roiling from the castle. "We''re getting rich! There must be a lot of vampires behind those bats!" The players cried in delight. Some of them even subconsciously wiped away drool. The big bats in the lead combined into an old man with pale skin and elegant black clothes. Bruce looked around and roared in fury, "You goddamn Golden Sons, we''ve lived here for hundreds of years, and you trespassed on our territory. You''re asking to be killed" Before Bruce even finished his sentence, a dozen fishing nets had been thrown at him, followed by numerous arrows and colorful magic bullets. From a distance, they were like a constricting halo. "The boss is here! Attack the boss! Let''s deal damage first! Whoever kills him will earn fifty credit points!" The ranged classes dealt damage crazily, but there was nothing that the melee classes could do when the boss was floating in the sky. "Get him down! Get him down! We''d like to participate too!" All the remote attacks that were aimed at Bruce came to a stop three centimeters from him. A simple Decay had rendered the spells useless. "You''re nothing but ants!" Bruce waved his hand, and the bats behind him turned into vampires and cast spells from the sky. He created dark energy spheres with both hands and tossed them down. The spheres swirled and turned into black tornadoes, which revolved quickly and caught everything within a certain range before spewing them out in pieces. The players initiated counterattacks in haste and successfully took down a few unlucky vampires. Then, the living players burned the vampires that had fallen with natural or magical flames with no consideration for their own lives, before they collected the bone powder that was still red in their system Backpacks. Because there were too many players, some of them only picked a few grams of the bone powder. But even a few grams would still earn a lot of money. Looking at the Golden Sons who were fighting for the ashes, Bruce was even more furious. But he was also somewhat chilled despite his wrath. At this point, on the hilltop where he was standing, Roland was not enshrouded in the Dome of Darkness. He could only see an enormous black sphere but nothing inside. But more and more players were joining him. Some players were even building simplified ritual tables of the Temple of Life nearby. Then, as green light flashed, many players were reborn from the ritual tables. They charged into the black sphere again crazily with the players who came late. Standing next to Roland, Yelia looked at the relentless Golden Sons in fear. He looked at the back of the hill, only to see more people riding over from far away. They must be Golden Sons too. By his estimation, there must be more than three thousand Golden Sons here. "Are your people all lunatics?" Watching a player who shouted "Save my ashes for me!" with bloodshot eyes after being resurrected on the ritual table, Yelia couldn''t help but make the remark. "They want to make money. One vampire equals fifty gold coins. The vampires are dark creatures, and they don''t feel guilty killing them. Why shouldn''t they make money?" Watching the crowd of Golden Sons charging into the Dome of Darkness, Yelia''s mouth went dry. He couldn''t help but loosen his collar, saying, "But there''s no need to be so crazy, is there?" "They''re no match for the vampires without this craziness," replied Roland casually. "Then why are you not taking action?" Roland said with a smile, "I''m waiting for the right moment." At this time, the vampires noticed something wrong inside the Dome of Darkness. They had killed at least three thousand Golden Sons, but why were more still coming? In their surprise, a couple of vampires were caught by fishing nets or hit by arrows and magic bullets. Though the Golden Sons'' counterattacks were weak in general, some of the vampires would be hit and brought to the ground now and then. Then, the well-prepared Golden Sons would lunge forward greedily and turn them into ashes in less than a minute, burning their bodies. Then, they would fight for the ashes like hungry dogs fighting over s*it. After that, they would raise their heads and stare at the vampires with bloodshot eyes, like hungry dogs that were looking forward to more excrement. Although the two hundred vampires in the sky were still slaughtering the Golden Sons with their overwhelming firepower, all of them had a terrible feeling, including their chief, Bruce. 332 Escape Vampires were always known to be mysterious, creepy, and powerful. They were most intimidating to human beings, only second to the dragons. But dragons were too far removed, and most people never saw them in a lifetime. Vampires, on the other hand, were parasites that depended on human beings. Though the Light Priests were their bane, their population had been growing thanks to their special abilities. As hunters, they had always despised human beings. After all, no creatures would consider their food a big deal. Even the Saint Samurai and the Light Priests never regarded them as prey but tried their best to destroy them. It meant that they were never underestimated. So, they never felt lesser to mankind even though the Saint Samurai were their natural enemies. But what was with these Golden Sons? There was no fear in their eyes at all, but only passion, like when vampires saw the ultimate meal in an ultimate girl. Those were the eyes of someone looking at food. After realizing that, Bruce was enraged. "Everybody, increase your magic power output and kill them. I don''t believe they can be infinitely resurrected!" The other vampires understood it as well as Bruce did. The feeling of offense popped up in their heads, followed by unspeakable rage. The vampires, who had always considered themselves superior to mankind, were provoked for the first time. They unleashed all their magic power. Those whose magic power had been exhausted even lunged at the Golden Sons with their swords. Bruce increased his magic power output too. The black tornado became bigger and faster. More and more players were consumed, cut into smithereens, and cast out. Blood was flowing all over the ground. But very soon, the blood was burned up by magic fire and turned into dark mud. As long as one vampire descended, the melee players who had enough waiting would charge like wild wolves and tackle the enemy even if they had to be hit and cut to do so. Then, they would shout, "I''ve got him! Someone burn him up!" Then, when magic flames were launched at the vampire, the melee players would roll aside, and other players would put out the fire on them. The vampire who was on fire would be surrounded by more flames. In a few minutes, he would be burned into bone powder, and many players would come to pick it up. Bruce saw personally that a melee Golden Son, after being blown into two, crawled on the ground with both hands, leaving a trail of guts behind him, while he shouted, "Please give some privileges to the disabled! I''ve lost my legs! I''ve done my part!" Then, this Golden Son reached a vampire who had just been burned up. Picking up a handful of bone powder, he laughed in contentment before he died. He increased his magic power output again, expanding the size of the black tornado. Then, he waved his left hand and evoked another black tornado. As a result, the casualty rate of the players soared. Even many vampires were affected. Outside of the Dome of Darkness, Roland saw many players resurrecting from the simple ritual tables. Then, one of the commander-like players roared, "The boss is using new skills. He must be in the second phase now! Let''s try harder!" The players cheered again and rushed into the Dome of Darkness in excitement. Outside of the hills, more players were coming. "We''re too late. There''s no meat for us now. Let''s hope that we can still have some soup." A team of players cried and ran past Roland and Yelia. "Are you really not going down?" Yelia asked. "That''s unnecessary." Roland shook his head. "If he were a Legendary vampire, no players could expect to beat him, but he''s only a Master vampire. I estimate that he will run in half an hour." "So, those people on the hilltop are waiting for the vampires to escape?" Yelia pointed at the players who were standing at the hilltops around the valley. "I believe so." At this point, the hills around the valley were almost jam-packed with people. Most of them were latecomers. Instead of joining the attack, they simply stayed on the hills. After turning into bats, the vampires could fly very fast, but not very high. In order to escape, they had to fly across the hills, and they would be within ten meters of the players who were at the hilltops. The archers and the Rogues could catch them easily even with their eyes closed. Inside the Dome of Darkness, Bruce''s two dark tornadoes had killed too many players. This area spell was powerful and destructive. Even a well-trained army should''ve collapsed already, but the Golden Sons just kept pressing in from outside of the Dome of Darkness. Also, they seemed to have learned from the battle, and their counterattacks were more and more powerful. More and more vampires were caught and burned into ashes. Bruce finally realized that he made a horrible mistake. Why should he declare war on those undying monsters? Now, half of his people had been killed and reduced to bone powder. His bloodshot eyes glittered again, and the two tornadoes revolved quickly, blowing a bunch of players away. He opened his mouth and bared his long fangs, shrieking in a high pitch. The earsplitting noise echoed throughout the battlefield. After a brief shock, many vampires transformed into bats and flew up. "They''re running!" some players shouted. "How can they run? They''re gold coins! Someone stop them!" More than thirty fishing nets were cast up, mixed with countless arrows and magic bullets. But only three unlucky vampires were caught. The other arrows and magic bullets only hit some of the bats. Looking at the valley that had nearly been filled with the flesh and blood of the Golden Sons, Bruce was in agony. It had been his home for hundreds of years. Little did he know that he would be forced to escape from his home by a bunch of monsters! "I will come back very soon." Bruce affectionately looked at the castle down below, before he turned into a colony bats and soared into the sky. "The boss is running too?" All the players were dumbfounded. They had known that this game was different from the games they played before, but they still found it hard to believe that a boss was running. That was fifty credit points! But halfway through his flight, Bruce realized that something was wrong. Bats were raining from the sky. His people who fled earlier were either falling with arrows in them or tied up in fishing nets. What had happened? When Bruce flew out of the Dome of Darkness, he found a circle of Golden Sons on the hilltops. What did this happen? Bruce suddenly remembered what Wenger said: at least a thousand Golden Sons were coming. But there were definitely more than a thousand of them here! Looking at the group of big black bats, Roland smiled and said, "It''s time for me to take action." 333 I Really Didnt Mean To Die With Him Though vampires were fast and could move around in sunlight as bats, they were very feeble in such a state. The little bats were shot by the players. Many of them passed out because of the explosions of the fireballs too. But Bruce''s big bats were different. As a Master vampire, he was much stronger than other vampires. His bats were faster and sturdier than the rest. However, they were so obvious that the players on the hilltops immediately recognized them to be the boss. So, a barrage of arrows and magic bullets was launched at the bats. However, a magic shield was generated before the attacks hit, blocking all the damage. Bruce flew past the hills, but few bats were following him. "He''s running." Watching the big bats fly away, Yelia asked, "What are you going to do? Big fireball again? But it will be too slow, won''t it?" The greatest weakness of the big fireball was that it was very slow. Even Roland did not have a good solution to that yet. However, Roland had other approaches. "I was waiting for him to leave the Dome of Darkness as bats." Roland smiled and snapped his finger. Then, to Yelia''s surprise, a blue spatial bubble swallowed Roland before spurting him out half a second later. Rendered speechless, Yelia watched Roland shoot into the sky like an arrow. Several seconds later, a new spatial bubble appeared and repeated what happened. During the process, Roland grew faster and faster. "You can play with spatial bubbles in such a way?" Yelia''s expression was beyond words. The players at the hilltops were watching the boss escape in regret, when they saw a shadow swooshing above their heads. The blast from the launch forced the people down below to step back. "It''s Roland." Some players recognized him. At this point, Bruce was leading a dozen colonies of little bats away from the hills. But suddenly, he sensed intense magic power approaching from his rear. He turned back, only to see a human being flying toward him at an unbelievable speed with a lightning bolt in each hand. The dead Edmund would''ve found the posture very familiar, but Bruce was only startled. How could a human being fly so fast? And what was that posture? Was it some kind of weird spellcasting requirement? While he was puzzled, the human being smashed through the little bats behind him like a horrifying meteorite. The unbelievable momentum triggered a visual effect of blood exploding in a chain. The little bats that were hit were reduced to smithereens. Then, the human being joined the lightning bolts into what appeared to be a longsword and slashed out. He was too fast. Even though Bruce spotted Roland, Roland was only ten meters behind him by the time he perceived Roland''s speed. Although every big bat had a magic shield that could resist arrows and common magic bullets, vampires were naturally susceptible to lightning. More importantly, the lightning caused consecutive damage when it was performed by Roland. The magic shields on the big bats were weakened, and Roland simply penetrated through all of them. The immense momentum opened a huge hole among the big bats. The magic shields on the big bats had been weakened, and Roland''s was as hard as could be. So, the high-speed collision was in Roland''s favor. At least half of the big bats had been squeezed into pulps of meat and dropped from the sky after the crash. Bruce''s soul screamed in pain, but since he was a colony of bats, the sound he made was only angry squeaks, not intimidating at all. Roland, on the other hand, began to ascend, before he turned to Bruce from above. As a natural-born flying creature, Bruce knew that he didn''t have a chance to escape. There were no clouds in the sky, and it was impossible for him to reach the woods so quickly. The enemy was already faster than him, and he would gain even more speed if he swooped down from above. There was no way that he could escape. In the form of bats, Bruce could not put up a fight at all. So, he had to change and counterattack. The dozens of bats combined into a young version of Bruce. According to common sense, he should be stronger after going from old to young. But on the contrary, Bruce was only half as strong as earlier. Because of the intense noontime sunlight and because he was in midair, smoke sizzled from all over his body. Even though he was a Master vampire close to Legend status, he was still greatly restricted by the sunlight. He glared at Roland who was diving down vertically. Then, he extended his finger, creating several black bone spears that swooshed at Roland. Roland was almost close to the sonic speed, and the black spears were very fast too. Their relative speed was much higher than the speed of sound, so Roland had been hit by one of the spears before he could react. The impact when the black spear hit his magic shield was so huge that the black spear cracked into pieces and Roland''s magic shield was broken too. Bruce was about to laugh when he saw that, but then his smile froze. The two lightning bolts in Roland''s hands were combined into an electric sword a dozen meters long, which stilled Bruce where he was. Then, Roland crashed into him in a raging wind. The moment before the collision, Bruce saw Roland''s face, which had been twisted into waves by the powerful wind with the dynamic vision of the vampires. Then, Bruce couldn''t see anything anymore. He had been completely reduced into pulps of meat, and so was Roland. From the perspective of the players, after Roland crashed Bruce, too many broken pieces burst out. The remains of Roland spurted downward, whereas Bruce''s flesh spread out in a circle. At a distance, it was a rather beautiful picture, like a high-speed bullet penetrating through water. After all, Roland was too fast at that point. Boosted by gravity, he was a tiny bit away from sonic speed. From Yelia''s perspective, he had created a beautiful flower of flesh and blood. "Mutual death," Yelia remarked helplessly. "It''s really immoral that a Golden Son plays such a demeaning trick just because he''s undying." Actually, Roland didn''t mean to die with his enemy at all It just never occurred to him that the boost of gravity would be so powerful when he dived down from a high altitude. He had crashed the enemy before he was able to alter his direction. It ended in disaster due to a lack of experience. By the time Roland was resurrected from the simple ritual table, half an hour had already passed. 334 Ending After resurrection, Roland immediately put on his clothes and checked his system menu. Well He had dropped from level six to level five, but his EXP bar was 95%. As long as he completed the epic quest, he would return to level six, with a huge sum of additional experience points. There were many other simple ritual tables, but no players were resurrected anymore. After all, the battle was already winding down. Most players had broken into the castle for looting. Some players were even fighting among themselves for gold coins. The resurrection point was not far away from Yelia, who approached Roland and asked enviously, "How does it feel to be resurrected?" "Like nothing!" Roland smiled. "It just makes you less scared and gives you more courage to charge." "I don''t think it''s as simple as that." Yelia sighed and said, "It seems to me that you quite enjoyed dying together with your enemy." Roland quickly shook his head. "That''s definitely not true. Death is actually a huge loss for the Golden Sons too." They would lose many experience points. Though the ratio was the same, their total experience was bigger now that their level was higher, and a loss of ten percent could be heartbreaking. As they talked, a team made exclusively of girls appeared at the hilltop. These girls were all sexy and attractive. It was not hard to tell that they had added all their stats points to Charm. Next to the girls were a lot of unusual beasts, which made Roland speculate that the girls were Summoners. There were about twenty girls in the team, and they drew most people''s attention upon their arrival. "It''s the Phoenix Guild." Roland heard whispers all around. Hearing the name, Roland realized who they were. There were three guilds in this game that were exclusively made of females, and the Phoenix Guild was the most famous of them. The girls of this guild often posted on the forum about their traveling experiences and love stories. Also, they only recruited Summoners who focused on Charm, which was an easy requirement for the females. Most women liked simple classes, and Summoner was a great class. One only needed to ask her pets to charge while she stayed safe and sound in the rear of the battlefield. Therefore, Summoner was well-acknowledged to be the most suitable class for girls. The leading woman was most attractive. The rest of the team was riding horses, bears, or wolves, but she was the only one whose mount was a unicorn. The pure-white unicorn, emitting feeble brightness, looked holy and noble, and even somewhat delicious. Yelia was stunned. "Why is a unicorn from the Elf Forest with a human woman?" Then, he said thoughtfully, "So, the Golden Sons are actually a race on par with the elves?" On the tall unicorn, the woman, who was wearing a plain silk dress and a colorful wreath of flowers on her head, was quite pretty. Roland could sense that the wreath was releasing magic power stably and subtly. It was a piece of awesome magic equipment. Then, she jumped off from the unicorn and threw a bag at Roland from three meters away. "Your ashes!" Roland was rather puzzled. He opened the bag, only to see a pile of material that was dark and looked like the ashes of the vampires he picked earlier, except that the ashes in the bag were of a higher quality with more magic waves. Roland raised his head and asked, "The ashes of the boss?" "Yes." The woman nodded and said, "We came late, and you crashed right ahead of us. So, we picked up whatever was left of you and the boss and burned it altogether. Now, the two of you are inside each other." Roland frowned to hear that. He said helplessly, "Would you please not be so gay?" "I like men loving and fighting each other best." The woman didn''t mind exposing her hobby at all. "I''m Solisa, chairman of the Phoenix Guild. I''ve heard about you, Roland the Master Mage." Roland cupped his hands and smiled too. "I''ve heard a lot about you too, Chairman Solisa. It''s not easy to manage a guild that''s exclusively made of women." "That is sexist, isn''t it?" Solisa squinted and said with a smile, "I''m going to punch you as a defender of feminism." Roland shook his head speechlessly. "Enough joking." Solisa said solemnly, "I would like to ask you a favor." "What is it?" Roland found Solisa to be a nice person. Bruce''s bone powder was apparently better than that of other vampires, and it clearly weighed more than a kilogram. Therefore, it was worth at least seventy gold coins, which equaled almost a million yuan in reality. Yet, Solisa had returned the bone powder to Roland after picking it up. Either Solisa was a billionaire in reality, or she was really a person of integrity who would not claim someone else''s possessions. In either case, money was not her greatest concern. "I would like to ask you to improve a summoning spell." Roland was rather surprised. "A summoning spell? That''s not really my field." Solisa extended four fingers and said, "I''ll give you four million. I only have two requirements: reduce the magic cost, and streamline the magic nodes." Roland took a deep breath. He would''ve refused it, but the reward was simply too tempting. "What''s the spell? Let me take a look." Though Roland had lots of money, he was still poor compared to the real magnates. Only an idiot would refuse money. Besides, in order to improve the summoning spell, he would have to learn it first, which meant that he could acquire a spell model for nothing. Solisa was relieved that Roland accepted her request. Seeing that the boss was dead, the players rushed into the castle and rescued the blood slaves, before they began to scour the place for treasures. It must be admitted that the Bruce family had a lot of collections. Gold coins, gems, magic materials Valuable items were unearthed one after another. Finally, one team entered the cavern behind the castle and found Wenger, who was still being held in the dungeon. Wenger heaved a sigh when he saw the players who just broke in. Bruce had indeed failed. Wenger knew that those players would save him as long as he revealed his identity. But he didn''t want to be exposed just yet. He decided to keep a secret that a vampire player was very strong as long as possible. Taking a deep breath, he bared two long fangs and shouted scarily, "You humble human beings, why are you here? Lord Bruce will make you into the most delicious blood soup and cut out your guts" He was enshrouded in magic flames. A few minutes later, the players looked at the white powder in the cage and remarked, "Huh? It''s not the bone powder of vampires, is it?" 335 Serial Quests The locust-like players turned the castle upside town, searching for valuable items like gold and silver. After the valuable items were looted, they began to move the furniture. The quaint tables and chairs were simply collected in the system Backpacks. If they were too big for the system backpacks, the players would separate them first before packing them. After no more than three hours, the castle was utterly empty. The players had even appraised the stones in the castle. Well-hidden items had been dug out by the Rogue players who specialized in looting. Soon enough, the glass skull hidden in the basement was brought to Roland by a guild. The leader gave the skull to Roland, and after he was notified that he had earned a hundred credit points, he laughed and led his guild members away. When Roland picked up the skull, he received a system notification too. Quest accomplished. EXP +3,214 points. He returned to level six and was very close to level seven. Now, Roland observed the skull in his hand. The glass skull was delicate and even somewhat cute. The glass was pink and felt warm as Roland held it. True Ancestor''s Skull (Epic). Introduction: This is the skull of the True Ancestor of the vampires. Find the other body parts of the True Ancestor, and you can choose to revive him or kill him. Quest picked: Light and Dark (Personal, Epic) Introduction: To be good or to be evil, it''s entirely up to you. After reading the quest, Roland tossed the skull in his hand and put it in his system Backpack. There being no more valuable items in the castle, the players began to disperse. Some of them greeted Roland, and some raised their middle finger at Roland, not maliciously but purely for fun. Roland, on the other hand, raised his middle finger back at those people. Yelia was rather puzzled. "Your people don''t seem very friendly to you. Did you force them to come here?" "No, I tempted them to come here with rewards." Roland smiled. "On one hand, they didn''t want to work for me, but on the other hand, the rewards for the mission here were too great to resist. So, they''re both angry that they ran errands for me, and happy that they made a profit with the mission. Now that the mission is over, they have decided to return their tiny dissatisfaction back to me instead of keeping it to themselves." "You Golden Sons are really interesting." Yelia shook his head speechlessly. At this point, Solisa, who had been watching the drama, threw a scroll at Roland. "Here''s the spell model. Send it to me on the forum when you''re done." After that, Solisa left with the pretty Summoners. Roland opened the scroll and was lost for words when he saw the dense and overlapping square nodes on it. Wasn''t it a spell of the elves? No wonder Solisa offered a generous pay of four million. Roland remembered that he still had the spell model that he got from the elven slave after freeing her. He decided to study them together. The valley was rather grotesque at this point. In the eyes of the players, the blood and flesh in the valley had been censored. But the gore was undisguised to Yelia''s eyes, except that the players recycled their "bodies," however broken those bodies were, before they left. Therefore, few remains were left in the valley after the players left, and all of them belonged to the vampires. It was already evening when everything came to a close. Roland and Yelia returned to Liguburg City. Vivian and Andonara, who had been waiting anxiously, were relieved to see them return. The other magic apprentices were naturally delighted too. A party was held at the Magic Tower at night, and many nobles and celebrities were invited. At the party, Yelia announced that Liguburg City would no longer be troubled by vampires. Since hundreds of years ago, Liguburg City had been plagued by vampires, and dozens of girls went missing every year. The prettier and neater a girl was, the more likely she would be captured. After all, vampires attached great importance to the appeal of their food. It would be impossible for them to suck the blood of smelly old women. So, the victims were mostly the daughters of nobles and big merchants. They were the happiest to hear the news. Yelia ascribed all the credit to Roland without claiming any of it. Therefore, Roland was the center of attention at the party. Almost everybody expressed their gratitude to him. But since he was a high and mighty Mage, most guests simply toasted him and said a few short words before they left. He wasn''t really haunted by those people. After the party, Roland rested in his room. Andonara, on the other hand, was sleeping soundly on his bed with sexy pajamas. Roland opened the forum. Video posts were all over the forum at this point. Many players who took part in the battle uploaded the videos they captured to the forum. In the battle, the players spotted the weaknesses of different classes. They also discussed how they should cooperate against strong foes. Roland''s trick of high-speed flying was mentioned too. Many people were considering how to react to this special spell. Even vampires, who were good at flying, had been shot down by Roland. The players didn''t think they could beat Roland even if they picked up flying too. "Why are they all targeting me?" Roland mumbled gloomily. Hearing his voice, Andonara opened her eyes and, seeing Roland''s back, fell asleep again. He browsed through the forum again and found another heated post in surprise. I''m going to establish a guild named Ghost Blade. In short, the post stated that, since the vampires were valuable and wealthy, the author of the post would establish a guild that focused on hunting vampires and wanted everybody to share intelligence with him. There were many vampires in this world, and they had multiple bases in Hollevin as well as other big countries. The vampires were also among humanoid creatures, like hybrids and dwarfs. They signified a huge fortune. Instead of making money by doing business or completing quests, it seemed easy and convenient to just slay vampires. Vampires weren''t anything good anyway. Few of them would be innocent even if a hundred thousand of them were killed. Killing vampires was justified and rewarding, and it could also improve the players'' reputation in the human world as well as their battle skills. It was definitely a good thing. Most players replied to the thread, feeling that it was a sound plan. Roland thought for a moment and sent a short message to the author of the post: "Bro, I''m going to share a quest with you. If you find any special items related to vampires, you can bring them to me. I''ll pay you a high price." 336 Unusual Treasure? Very soon, Roland received a reply. "Wow! I didn''t expect to receive a message from a big shot! You can send me the quest." Roland took a picture of the personal epic quest he received and sent it to the man. Very soon, the man replied with another picture and a message. "I''ve triggered a special quest. Thank you!" Roland read the picture that the man sent back. Special child quest received: Help Roland find the True Ancestor''s body parts. Items Retrieved: 0/5 The quest system seemed quite intelligent. Judging by the description, five body parts were still missing. Very soon, another message was sent over. "If I may ask, how much are you willing to pay for each item retrieved?" Roland thought for a moment One kilogram of vampire''s bone powder equaled fifty gold coins. Although not every vampire could yield a kilogram of bone powder after incineration, depending on whether or not they were heavy and healthy, Roland would be too embarrassed to make an offer that was lower than that price. He said, "I''m not a rich guy. How about one hundred gold coins for each body part?" The five hundred gold coins he earned from Yelia would probably all be invested in this quest. However, it might not be possible for Roland to find all the five body parts without the help of a player group that focused on hunting vampires. Besides, Roland quite agreed with what Yelia said earlier. Money was not really a problem for him. With his current abilities and his influence, it was not hard for him to make a fortune. On the other hand, he had to learn and parse more spells, improve the spell from the Phoenix Guild, and travel with the magic apprentices. He was rather occupied. Now that he had some additional money, it was time to put it to good use. Very soon, the man sent a message back. "How generous! As expected of the best Mage. We''ll take the quest and let you know when we find anything." Done. Roland was relieved. After chatting with him for a while, Roland quit the forum. Roland spent the next couple of days in the Magic Tower, exchanging experience in spellcasting with Yelia and speaking to the magic apprentices of Liguburg City on his principles in magic. After seven days of this, Roland left with the magic apprentices. Yelia was rather reluctant to let them go, as Mages with unique perspectives like Roland were rare. The seven days of communication were worth years of contemplation for him. Roland had learned a lot too. Spiritual Endowment alone was very helpful to him, not to mention Yelia''s personal understandings in magic. After all, Yelia had studied magic for almost thirty years; it had only been only one year for Roland. Only the experienced knew certain tricks that rookies didn''t. It was not unusual. Upon leaving Liguburg City, the six magic apprentices from Delpon were reluctant. The magic apprentices from both sides had grown fond of each other after the competitions. In the one-sided matches, those from Delpon had crushed their opponents, who could barely put up any resistance. Confidence couldn''t be developed without time and experience. When they just set off, the magic apprentices from Delpon weren''t really confident. Back in Liguburg City, when Roland''s principles in magic were mocked by the magic apprentices of Liguburg City, Vivian and the rest of them weren''t confident either. Jerry only stood out because he couldn''t stand the humiliation and wanted to defend their dignity. However, it never occurred to them that their opponents would be no match for them at all. After the seven days of "communication," they found that Hand of Magic could be used in support, offense, and defense. Although it was not the best in any of these aspects, it was a very practical spell in general. "Practical" might even be an understatement. It was a rather powerful spell. Besides, the upper limit of the spell was very high. They had seen that when their chairman used it, the gripping power, the number, the variations, and the thickness of his Hand of Magic were much better. They would be qualified Mages when they could achieve half of what their teacher could. Besides, their teacher was still young. When he grew stronger, Hand of Magic would definitely be improved further. If he became a Master, Hand of Magic could probably be upgraded into a level-three spell. In that case, their chairman would definitely be a famous Mage worldwide for creating a level-three spell that magic apprentices could learn. With those thoughts in mind, the magic apprentices looked at Roland with more reverence. Their morale was higher too. After they left Liguburg City, they were rather willing and active in reconnaissance and camp construction. Nobody found the journey tedious anymore, even when they were trapped on a slope in a storm. Each magic apprentice seemed exhausted but hopeful. Standing at the window of the stone building, Roland looked out gravely. Andonara was piling blankets and quilts. Having been paying attention to Roland, she noticed his unusual expression and asked, "What''s wrong?" "Something is wrong with the rain," Roland explained. "I sense that the magical elements in the air are weirder and more lackluster than usual, but I''m not sure whether it''s a natural phenomenon, or if it''s because of the influence of certain magic creatures." In this magic world, there would always be all kinds of accidents on a journey. After all, a world based on magic could be much more unreasonable than one based on science. Andonara also stood next to the window and looked out at the apprentices, who were building a camp to keep away the rain. She thought for a moment and said, "Don''t worry. Nobody will blame you even if anything happens." Roland looked at her. Andonara smiled and leaned against Roland. "Mages usually travel and learn on their own. Few of them are organized and protected by their mentor. You''ve done enough." Roland didn''t give any comment. When Roland was about to take a rest, he noticed a strange white light from under the slope. The light was quite bright and eye-catching in the dim storm. "Is it an unusual treasure?" For some reason, this idea popped up in Roland''s head. 337 Meeting Angel Again Looking at the light that was more and more dazzling in the rain, Roland felt that something was not right. The magic apprentices noticed it too and looked at it from a distance. Roland dropped three magic spiders and waved his hand, raising the mud and covering the whole camp with rocks again. He snapped his finger, and three spheres of light ascended. The magic apprentices immediately gathered before Roland''s building. Roland walked down and said, "I''m going out to take a look. You stay here and be careful." The magic apprentices all nodded. Then, Roland said to Andonara, "Please protect them for me if anything happens." With a brilliant smile, Andonara said, "Don''t worry." After leaving the instructions, Roland left the rock tent. Inside the rock tent, Vivian heaved a sigh and said, "It''s really boring that Mr. Chairman''s got us covered for everything." The other magic apprentices didn''t look well either. They had pride too, and it was rather annoying that they were protected all the time like kids. But they also knew that they were too weak to be of much help at this point. After exiting the rock tent, Roland did not investigate in a rush. Instead, he walked slowly while the magic spiders explored the way ahead of him. It was less eye-catching this way. After all, Human Cannonball could be very noisy. The magic spiders were quite fast and soon arrived at the scene of the accident. From the pictures sent back, Roland saw that a crater had been left in the woods as if something had just crashed down from the sky. It was the source of the brilliant light. Then, from another picture that the magic spiders sent, Roland saw someone sitting inside the crater. All the raindrops were blocked by an invisible force five meters above the crater, so there was no water in the crater at all, even at its deepest point. As the magic spiders drew near, the pictures they sent back became clearer and clearer. Then, Roland gasped. The "person" inside the crater had a pair of white wings and feather armor of the same color. She was holding a translucent shield in the shape of a cloud with strange green energy circulating in it, and there was a white longsword in her right hand that seemed to be made of clouds. At the hilt of the longsword, there was also a pair of tiny decorative white wings. The woman was very beautiful, and Roland had seen her before When Falken died in Red Mountain Town, it was this angel who directed his soul to the Paradise of Life. An angel had fallen from the sky, wounded! She had a sword wound on her back. White energy was surging around the wound, as if it was healing her, but a stream of green energy was disrupting it. "This is definitely an epic quest." But now he had to be responsible for those around him. The safety of Andonara, the magic apprentices, and the coachmen who had been driving the carriages for them all depended on him. His decision would determine their fate. Nothing that involved gods and angels could be trivial. Roland sighed and left a pair of magic coordinates, before he returned to the rock tent. He canceled the rock tent and spoke to everyone, "We will set off right now. We have a problem." Though everybody was puzzled, they did not propose any objection but take action immediately. Soon, the carriages moved on. Sitting next to Roland, Andonara saw the worry and regret on his face and asked in a low voice, "What happened exactly? Or rather, what did you see?" "An angel!" "Why? It was lucky of you to run into a gorgeous lady in the wilderness" Habitually, Andonara thought that Roland was referring to a beautiful woman as "angel." She was about to tease him, when she realized what was going on. "A real angel?" Roland nodded. Hiss! Andonara felt a strong toothache. What was an angel? They were the strongest fighters in the Paradise of Life. They were born as demigods, and they represented the honor and power of the Life Goddess. But now, an angel had fallen from paradise. What exactly happened? Andonara did not even dare to think of it. The carriage fell silent again. The carriages moved slowly in the storm. In the evening, the head coachman came to Roland and said, "Mr. Mage, we can''t go on anymore, or the horses will die of exhaustion." Roland frowned. He cast Body Fortification and Lesser Healing on the horses, before he said, "Feed the horses and let them rest for half an hour. Then we will proceed." "But" The head coachman was about to say something else. Roland shook his head and said, interrupting him, "There''s grave danger behind us. Do what I say if you don''t want to die." The head coachman, greatly alarmed, replied immediately, "Got it, sir." He walked away and talked to the other coachmen. They fed the horses and continued the journey. Thanks to Body Fortification and Lesser Healing, the horses were trotting as fast as before. Roland cast the same spells on them every four hours before letting the horses rest for half an hour. Moving and resting, the carriages finally reached Encart City, their destination, in the morning. Roland finally felt relaxed after they got into the city. Everybody was exhausted. They checked in at an inn, and the head coachman spoke to Roland excitedly. "Mr. Mage, our horses are fine, except that they''re tired. But they''ll be as good as new after they rest a couple of days. So, can we stay here for a day or two?" Encart was a mid-sized city and more than eighty kilometers away from the angel". Even if a great battle took place back there, this city would likely be unaffected. Roland thought for a moment and felt that they should be safe now, so he said, "Okay, we''ll stay here for a few days." It was also a good chance to communicate with the local Magic Tower. The coachman thanked him and left gratefully. Roland looked west through the window in a room on the third floor of the inn. It was the direction the angel was in. He kept thinking that he should go there and check it out. His heart was itching with curiosity. It was really painful not to pick up a quest knowing that it was out there. After considering for a few minutes, Roland said to Andonara, who was readying her bed, "I''m going to take a look at the angel. You stay here and protect Vivian and the others." Briefly stunned, Andonara came close and said, "I''m going too. I can protect you." "I''m a Golden Son, and I don''t die. But you''re different," Roland explained. "The angel must be very strong, and so is her enemy. I can be reborn even if die. Though you''re strong, you''re only a human being." Andonara bit her full pink lips regretfully. Roland patted her head and left the city. Then, he returned to the place where he left coordinates through Long-Distance Teleportation. The brightness that drove away the dark was gone. When Roland came to the crater, nobody was around. He could hear nothing but the chirps of insects and birds, which only made the woods quieter and creepier. He was too late! But all of a sudden, Roland saw a feeble flickering light at the bottom of the crater. He jumped into the crater, only to find that it was a glittering white feather. 338 Cultural Invasion in the Alternate World The glimmering white feather was so astonishingly attractive that anybody who saw it would be eager to pick it up. But Roland was not in a hurry to pick up the feather. Instead, he stepped back and investigated the surroundings with three magic spiders. It took the three magic spiders quite some time to look into anything suspicious within hundreds of meters. But they didn''t find any human beings or other intelligent creatures. There was no sign of fighting either. Had the angel flown away on her own? She was a powerful angel and an envoy of the Life Goddess, who specialized in healing. So, it was not strange that she treated herself. Roland walked to the edge of the crater and looked at the white feather. He picked up the feather with Hand of Magic and waited for a moment. Seeing no anomalies in the white feather, he was relieved, convinced that it was nothing dangerous. Roland brought the white feather to himself with Hand of Magic. Soon, the information on the feather popped up in Roland''s vision. Item: Minor Divine Power Crystal Introduction: This is the essence of an angel''s divine power. Effect: Upon usage, it will grant many experience points and even special skills or talents (Legendary). Many experience points? Enthused, Roland grabbed the white feather, but he felt that something was wrong the moment he touched it. A strange sense of pain emerged from his palm. Then, he saw that his right hand was crystallized quickly and he couldn''t sense it anymore. To Roland''s surprise, the crystallization was going further down on his arm. Immediately, Roland struck the end of the crystallization heavily with his left hand. After a crack, his crystallized right hand was cut off from the elbow and dropped on the ground. A lot of blood spurted out of the fracture on his elbow. Roland''s face was slightly pale. He cast Lesser Healing on himself and raised his broken arm, watching his skin and flesh regenerate and cover the fracture. Though it was slightly painful, it was not entirely insufferable since the pain had been reduced to one-tenth. Next, the missing arm would keep growing, and it would be intact again in five days. Waving his arm, Roland smiled bitterly. "I can play a one-armed knight now." Then, he looked at his crystallized hand on the ground, which was still holding the white feather. It seemed that the feather was only usable for Legends. Roland felt that he had been cautious enough. Little did he expect that the feather would directly respond to touch. This time, he did not touch the feather with his hand, but collected it with the absorption function of the system Backpack. Looking around, Roland found nothing interesting, so he flew back to Encart City with Human Cannonball. "Spatial bubbles can be used in such a way? Human beings are really interesting." Roland returned to the inn in Encart City. His missing arm naturally made his companions surprised and sorry. But they knew that Roland''s arm would be back in a few days, so they were not particularly sad. Roland asked the magic apprentices to take a rest in the hotel, while he took Andonara to the Magic Tower. Since this was a trip for learning, they certainly would not miss any Magic Tower on their way. This was a mid-sized city that was inferior to Delpon in terms of both the size and the population, but it was a prosperous city nonetheless. When Roland and Andonara passed a square at the center of the city, they found a crowd in the square. As an antisocial person, Roland was going to walk past them when he suddenly came to a pause in surprise. Then, he dragged Andonara toward the crowd. When they were closer, they heard that someone was singing a rather poignant tune. Andonara listened for a while and remarked in surprise, "What a strange melody It''s nothing like what I''ve heard before. Besides, it''s played by multiple people." As the daughter of a merchant and a queen who had a basic understanding of art, she had promptly discerned that those people had a vastly different music style. Andonara looked at the performers in the square and then at Roland. "Are they Golden Sons too?" Roland nodded with a smile. "What''s the name of the song? Is the singer the creator of the song?" "The name of the song is ''A Long Time Later,'' created by the Milk Tea Group." Andonara nodded. "It''s a nice song." Those players were either Bards or Dancers, who had all been focused on playing and singing skills. Therefore, their performance of the song was even better than the original. Roland knew those players to be the leisure players who waged a cultural invasion in this alternate world. It was said that they were rather famous among the nobles of Hollevin. Roland looked around and found a lot of nobles in the crowd. All of the audience were crazy fans, passion on their faces. After the singer was done, the players began to play the rock version of ''Canon'' with their respective instruments. There was no electric guitar here, but the smart players achieved a similar effect with a weirdly-shaped six-stringed lute. As the music spread, more and more people stopped and listened. Some even started clapping along with the beats. Very soon, even Andonara was mesmerized and clapped the beats along with other people. The atmosphere grew more and more heated, attracting more and more people to the concert. About three minutes later, the performance was over. "Another song! Another song!" The audience cried aloud. Hundreds of people were gathered here. At this point, a male player stood up and said, "My friends, we will hold a concert outside of the city the day after tomorrow. If you''re interested, you''re free to enjoy our programs in the woods east of the city. Sixty-three performers and singers will bring you unconventional acoustic entertainment." Hearing that there would be more programs the day after tomorrow, most of the audience left, but some zealous fans stayed, hoping to have a chance to speak to the musicians. Andonara seemed reluctant to leave too. At this point, a female player approached them and asked, "Are you Roland?" "Yes." Roland nodded. "I didn''t expect to see you in this city." The female player observed Roland for a while and said, "You''re handsomer in person than you are on videos." Hearing that, Andonara immediately grabbed Roland''s hand and looked at her warily. The female player was rather pretty and must''ve added points to her Charm too, but she was still not as good-looking as Andonara. Roland looked at her and asked, "And you are?" "I am Britney, leader of the Vienna Opera Company." Roland blew a whistle teasingly and said, "Those are interesting names, the Vienna Opera Company''s and yours." Britney smiled and said, "Thank you, Roland. I would like to ask you a favor. Could you help us establish a small opera house outside of the city?" 339 Who Do They Think They Are? Britney was very graceful. She had apparently grown up in an artistic environment. With her pretty face, she was personal in every aspect. "You want me to build an opera house for you?" Roland hesitated and said, "Although I know some construction spells, I can''t create anything huge on my own. After all, I only have limited mana." "I''m only talking about a small amphitheater," Britney said with a smile. "Why don''t we talk more about it in a tavern?" "All right." Several minutes later, the three of them sat down in a tavern. This tavern was more lavishly decorated than other taverns, and the drinks served here were more expensive. So, there were fewer guests here. It was rather quiet. Britney ordered fruit wine for them. She looked at Andonara''s face and her body enviously, before she said, "We have been touring in many cities, but we can only perform in the squares each time. Most cities do not have huge opera houses. That''s really a problem." "But almost all cities above average have an opera house. With your performance, it shouldn''t be a problem to rent an opera house for a couple of days, no?" Andonara was confused. Britney replied with a smile, "But those opera houses can only accommodate a few hundred people at best. We don''t want to just play for nobles and big merchants. We want everyone to hear our music." "But you can''t make money that way. Nobles and big merchants dislike the company of ordinary people." Andonara asked, "How can you make a living for your group?" "We have been performing in the squares. The circumstances are not the most favorable, and we never advertise," Britney said with a smile. "But even so, we have some noble fans. As for money, we''ll be satisfied as long as we make enough for our operation." Andonara was still confused. "But without the acknowledgment of nobles, it is unlikely for you to disseminate your music principles." Britney burst into laughter after hearing that. "To quote what a great man once said, it is not the place of the nobles, who only take up one percent of the population, to decide what the people like or don''t like." Andonara found it hard to accept. Having been born in this world, certain ideals were etched to her bones, and it was hard for her to change them. At least, she believed that nothing without the approval of nobles could really be classic. However, Britney''s crazy laughter told Andonara that she really didn''t care if nobles liked her performance. "Well said, sister." Roland raised his thumb with his left hand. "For that quote, I will build a small opera house for you for free, but of course, it will be a rough one made of rock. I don''t think I can make delicate murals or sculptures for you." Britney was rather delighted. "Thank you, Roland. But your hand wouldn''t be a problem for your spellcasting, would it?" Then, Britney put the construction blueprint of a small opera house on the table. She paid for the wine and left after throwing Roland an air kiss. Andonara seemed rather angry. Roland picked up the blueprint and walked out of the tavern with Andonara. On the crowded street, Andonara couldn''t help but ask, "Are you really going to build an opera house on your own?" "Not on my own, but with Vivian and the rest of them." Roland said with a smile, "I will provide necessary aid, but they will do most of the work. It''s partly meant to better familiarize them with magic, and partly because as their chairman and their mentor, I don''t have to do everything myself." Andonara smiled. "That''s true. You did too much for them in the past." On the second day, Roland took the magic apprentices out of the city to build a small opera house in an open space. Roland created a gigantic mold with magic first. He then threw soil into the mold and transformed it into mud. After the mold was full, he turned the mud into huge flat rocks. The magic apprentices, on the other hand, took those rocks and piled them up like a pyramid. After only half a day, a high, smooth platform had been established. After that, they built a semicircle wall behind the platform based on the mechanism of sound amplification, so that the singer''s voice could be enhanced. In the end, they began to pave the floor and build the auditorium. They heaped the rocks in a sector on different levels in the structure of a classic theater. But of course this theater did not have a roof. The opera house was constructed quite fast under the eyes of many people, who witnessed the rocks being passed here and there before a large open-air opera house took shape before their eyes. For the players, it was only a small opera house. After all, there were too many massive buildings in the information age. But for the locals, it was already a massive opera house. Britney dropped by, only to be surprised. "It''s bigger than planned, isn''t it?" "I''ve helped you expand the auditorium," Roland said with a smile. "We have time and we don''t have anything else to do. It''s a good chance for those apprentices to exercise." "That''s fine with me," Britney said with a smile of her own. "Or rather, that''s what I hope." Looking at the sky, Roland asked, "How''s your promotion going?" "Not bad. The whole city should know now." Britney combed long hair back from her cheeks and said, "I wish that you could be with us all the time. That way, we can have a opera house wherever we go." Roland smiled but didn''t say anything. It wasn''t a problem for him to give them a hand while he was here, but he was not interested in joining the music group. Britney heaved a disappointed sigh when Roland didn''t reply. Then, she smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble. I''ll treat you to dinner later." "No problem." Everybody was excited that the Vienna Opera Company was going to play outside of the city the next day, especially after a massive opera house had been established out of thin air. Vivian and Andonara looked forward to it too. They were both nobles, and they had always liked music and opera performances. But an accident happened on the second day. The city guards had blocked the city gate since morning. Many people were stopped from leaving the city. Roland went to the city gate with Andonara and the magic apprentices and asked them what was going on. Seeing Roland''s Mage robes and Andonara''s glamorous clothes, the city guards dared not be violent and told them the truth. "The mayor asked us to close the city today. Only the nobles and the merchants who paid money can leave." "Why?" "Because the civilians are not qualified to appreciate a performance together with the lords." 340 Leave Them Be By Roland''s estimation, more than three thousand people had been blocked at the city gate, and still more were coming, which caused a traffic jam. If it were the information age, people would''ve protested against such an unreasonable order, and whoever was in power would be blamed. But in this world, the whole Encart City belonged to the mayor, and when he closed the city, the civilians did not really have a justifiable reason to argue with him. Even Andonara and Vivian didn''t feel anything was wrong, not to mention the common citizens. But Roland didn''t really agree with them. He was not aggravated. Instead, he simply asked, "Can we go?" At this point, Andonara suddenly grabbed Roland''s left arm, as if she was worried that he would do something. "Sure." Naturally, the city guards dared not stop a Mage and two women who were apparently nobles. They left the city from a side gate, and Andonara finally released Roland''s arm a little bit. Under the shade of the tree, Roland looked at Andonara''s obviously anxious face and asked, "Were you scared that I would attack them?" Andonara nodded. "I know what you did in the past. As far as I know, you''ve blown up two city gates. I feared that you will blow up this one too if you get too upset." "Am I really so unreasonable?" Andonara peeped at him. "None of the Golden Sons are really sensible." "That''s just a misunderstanding." "I''ll be damned if I believe you." Andonara mocked him. Vivian looked at them enviously. She wanted to talk to Roland naturally like Andonara did, but as an unmarried girl, she was more reserved than Andonara was, who was more open-minded in certain aspects. For example, she slept in Roland''s bed every night, taking advantage of the fact that Roland needed no sleep as a player. When they came to the open-air opera house, they found that a lot of carriages had arrived. A team of about twenty soldiers was even guarding the entrance. When Roland arrived, the captain of the guards looked at him and let him through. In the opera house, Roland saw that the three rows in the front had been taken by people in decent clothes who seemed proud and intimidating. Roland and his companions attracted most people''s attention upon their arrival. After all, their outfits were too eye-catching. Roland was wearing his magic robe, which granted accessibility to most places, and both Andonara and Vivian were cute and beautiful. Naturally, everybody noticed them. Roland looked around and ignored the nobles. Instead, he went to the musicians. At this point, the musicians were chit-chatting and enjoying snacks. When Roland came, Britney was talking to a female player. She stood up and smiled. "You''re here!" Roland looked around and asked, "Are you not going to perform?" "Impressive!" Roland raised his thumb and asked, "Can I stay here and enjoy the drama?" "Not a problem at all." Britney was very happy. "We''ll be more confident if you''re rooting for us won''t we?" Britney suddenly shouted at her fellows. Then, all the players turned around and replied lethargically, "Of course." Then, they resumed their own business, continuing chit-chatting and enjoying the snacks. If they were battle-type players, they would probably greet and talk to Roland. But these were leisure players who were mostly singers or singers-to-be in reality. They played the game for a different reason than Roland and other pure players did. They were from a different circle, so they were not excited to see Roland even though Roland was famous. After that, Roland spoke with Britney backstage and soon got along with the other players. Andonara and Vivian had a good time talking to Britney too. Time flew by, and the nobles in the auditorium soon ran out of patience. They sent a servant, asking when the performance would begin. Britney turned around and said, "Tell your master that we''re not interested in performing when the audience are too few." The servant was about to burst into fury, but seeing that everybody here was a professional, he held himself back and returned. Very soon, a young man in glamorous clothes arrived with four soldiers. He looked at everybody backstage and asked, "May I know which of you is Ms. Britney?" Nobody replied to them. At best, they simply glanced at him and continued doing whatever they were doing. The young man''s face reddened in fury. He shouted angrily, "Where are your manners?" Still, nobody talked to him. The young man was even angrier. He glared at everybody for a while, before he left with the soldiers. After he left, Britney said, "Just wait for it. Someone with a great temper will come soon." "How are you going to deal with them?" asked Roland. "We will wait," Britney said casually, "until they''re willing to open the city gate, or we will leave three days later. There''s no need to fawn to those condescending jerks." Roland smiled. At this point, the young man returned to the auditorium and spoke to a rather intimidating middle-aged man. "Father, those Bards were unwilling to talk. They didn''t even bother to look at me. They''re too arrogant." The young man was rather loud, and everybody heard him. They were all shocked. The middle-aged man slapped his thigh and asked, "Are you not exaggerating?" "No." "Those Golden Sons show absolutely no respect for us." At this point, a fat middle-aged noble injected. "There are more than two hundred nobles and magnates here. Why can''t they offer service to us alone? After we leave, the bumpkins can come in. Do they really expect us to watch the performance together with those bumpkins? That would be too humiliating for me." "I''ll talk to them in person." The middle-aged man stood up. "That''s unnecessary." Another noble who had a mustache stood up and said, "You''re the mayor. Let me go talk to them. I''m the sheriff of this place and a viscount. They have to show me some respect." The mayor thought for a moment and sat down. The sheriff summoned thirteen soldiers and strode backstage. Seeing that the players were talking and eating lazily, he immediately burst into fury. "Do the Golden Sons have any basic manners?" The noble was so angry that his mustache was almost standing on end. "Two hundred audience members are waiting for you, and yet you''re enjoying your time here. Do you have any respect for your patrons?" 341 Simple As Tha Roland, Andonara and Vivian didn''t talk but simply stared at the mustached noble in silence. Britney stood up and scoffed. "Patrons? Did you build this opera house? Have I charged ticket fees from you?" The mustached noble was immediately rendered speechless. The Vienna Opera Company had now toured in half of Hollevin. They were in cities and villages, but they never charged any fee from the audience. As for the gold coins needed for their operation it was partly exchanged from their money in reality, and partly earned by accomplishing the quests from the Guild of Mercenaries, since Bards were a rather omnipotent class too. They had skills in melee fighting, magic, support, and healing. As a team, they could deal with most problems, and there was always a solution as long as the enemy wasn''t overwhelmingly powerful. Since the living expenses in this world were low, and based on the funding from reality and what they earned now and then, they could manage to make ends meet. Also, for these people, it was pointless to pursue a luxurious life in the game; they were more determined to hone their professional abilities in this second life. It was barely possible for most performers to tour and perform in reality, because it was too costly. However, it was very simple in this world, because they stayed young and healthy. This world was also a dessert of culture and art. Their performance in every city had been a hit. They were really exhilarated. They were having a lot of fun while they improved their professional abilities. It was one stone that killed two birds. As for battles, those were just occasional spicy fun for the performers. Because they did not count on the sponsorship of the nobles, the performers of the Vienna Opera Company were quite confident. Besides, they were undying, which made them further look down upon the proud nobles, because they were even prouder. "If you have nothing else to say, go back now." Britney smiled and said, "Tell your mayor that either he will enjoy the performance with his people, or we will leave in three days." The mustached noble glared at Britney. "Are you not scared that we''ll inform other lords and make them reject your entrance?" Britney yawned and looked at him as if he were an idiot. "How powerful is your mayor? Does he command all of Hollevin?" The mustached noble was immediately rendered speechless. Britney continued mocking him. "Besides, Hollevin is a rather far-flung country. There are still the Fareins Kingdom, Urganda, and the Desert Kingdom out there. You think you can influence them?" The mustached noble was even gloomier. In the end, he grunted in dissatisfaction and left with the soldiers. Britney chuckled and continued her conversation with Andonara. Andonara, on the other hand, looked weird. Very soon, a middle-aged man arrived, with about thirty nobles as well as a male Mage wearing a blue robe and a blue hood. The intimidating middle-aged man looked around at everybody, and the Mage stared at Roland with great interest before he focused his eyes on Andonara with a weird expression. But very soon, he moved his eyes back. The middle-aged man walked to Britney and looked down at her, because he said casually, "You''re deriding us." "No." Britney slightly shook her head. "By asking the ordinary people to be seated with us, you''re deriding us." The mayor spoke with a casual but breathtaking tone. "From the bottom of your heart, you believe that we''re equal to them. What''s that if not derision?" "That''s the fairness that we pursue." Britney stood up and grimaced. "It''s the ideology of the Golden Sons." "Men are born unequal." The mayor raised his voice, looking at Britney as if she were an alien. "We nobles are born superior, as is the will and approval of the gods. Why do you think you can change that?" Britney knew that it was impossible to discuss fairness with someone who was born in an unequal world and who had been taking advantage of the inequality. They would pretend that they didn''t understand even if they did. The reason was simple. Nobody would be willing to abandon their positions and interests. So, Britney simply shook her head. "That''s just your opinion, not ours. I stand by what I said. Either everybody enjoys our performance together, or we will leave in three days." "There are no other options?" asked the mayor. "No!" The mayor nodded and stepped back. At this point, the Mage next to him stood up. "Beautiful lady, it''s true that the Golden Sons are very strong, but it has occurred to us that you seem to be under a lot of restrictions. For example, you can''t kill people randomly without a justifiable reason, can you?" Britney frowned in confusion. "So what? Doesn''t it mean that we''re different from you?" "Being a good person comes with a great price." The Mage smiled and said, "I am Redding, chairman of the Magic Tower in Encart City, and a brother to Tobian, the current chairman in general of the Association of Mages." Britney was still confused. "So what? You want the Association of Mages to censor our group or even kill us?" "Why would we do anything so evil? Wouldn''t that give you a reason to attack us?" Redding was rather grim and when he smiled, he seemed like a squinting viper. "But I can ask my brother, Chairman Tobian, to give an order, so that no Magic Towers or the organizations affiliated to those Magic Towers would offer any kind of help or service to the Mages among the Golden Sons." Britney was immediately stunned. Though the Association of Mages was not powerful, it was in charge of the teaching of magic skills and the trade of magic items. If the Association of Mages really forbade its subordinates from offering help to the players, the Mages would definitely start crying, and other players would be greatly affected too. For example, the trade of magic equipment concerned every player. When they looted a piece of equipment that they couldn''t use, they could only sell it via the Association of Mages. The players were too scattered throughout the country for them to directly make deals with each other. In order to sell to other players, the buyers and the sellers must be close to each other, or it would be tricky to complete the transaction. So, it was best to sell magic equipment to the Association of Mages. Their offers were fair in general. Besides, a lot of magic materials from the Association of Mages were needed by all spellcasters, including Mages, Warlocks, and Priests. Even the Bards had to buy items from the Association of Mages now and then. Spellcasters were very important in every team and could decide the difficulty of many dungeon raids. If the spellcasters were short of magic materials, all the players would be affected. If the Association of Mages really refused to serve the players anymore probably all the other players would blame the performers. They were only a minor performing group of several dozen people. The pressure was too huge for them. Britney hesitated. Redding chuckled and said, "We''re not forcing you to do anything. All you need to do is perform for us first, and the civilians can watch you later. It''s simple as that." 342 Im Sure We Can Be Friends Redding was obviously coercing Britney to perform for them using the interests of the community as a whole. Britney was rather angry. Things had always gone smoothly since she started playing the game. Even if there were obstacles, she had overcome them with her identity as a player. She had never been caught in such a dilemma before. If she didn''t accept it, the players would blame her for their losses. Even if some of the players could understand her, not all of them would. They would likely admonish her the moment their interests were hurt. But she was still unwilling to accept the demand. Why would she perform for a few nobles? She considered herself an artist, not a trouper. It was frustrating enough that the artists had to bend over for money in reality. She didn''t expect that she would experience the same in the game. Seeing that Britney was hesitating, Redding smiled in satisfaction. "It''s not entirely unacceptable to perform for us first, no? Besides, we can donate some money to you. It won''t be much, but you should earn several dozen gold coins." Several dozen gold coins were a lot. They were enough to found a small family. All the nobles smiled. One or two gold coins wasn''t a problem for them. They would be happy if that was all it would take for the Vienna Opera Company to compromise. The nobles weren''t stupid. They had realized that the Vienna Opera Company was trying to demean the nobles by treating them the same as the bumpkins. It was not just about the performance per se anymore, but about their dignity. It was even safe to say that, if the nobles were to give in on this matter, their nobility would be more or less affected, and certain civilians might have thoughts that they shouldn''t have and be less obedient. So they had to fight for it. "I can donate three gold coins." "I don''t have much money, but I have one." The nobles chuckled and shouted. The mayor smiled too. "As the local host, I will donate ten gold coins." After he said that, the nobles behind him immediately hooted. "Our mayor is truly generous!" "Beautiful lady, are you still not thanking the mayor?" Britney looked rather awful. She was of a mind to beat them up, but though they were disgusting, they hadn''t done anything that deserved physical punishment yet. At this point, whoever attacked first would be unjustified. The dozens of people from the Vienna Opera Company all stood up and gathered behind Britney, ready to beat the nobles up at her command. Those nobles could be crushed easily by them, but Britney knew that the problem couldn''t be resolved through violence. Seeing that Britney was still not giving an answer, Redding sighed and said, "My lady, make a decision now, or I''ll have to make one for you." At this point, Roland, who had been sitting the whole time, stood up. He passed Britney, attracting everybody''s attention. After all, Roland was wearing a magic robe, and whoever dared to stand out at this point must know what he was doing. "Chairman Redding from Encart City?" Roland smiled at him. "Hello. I was going to visit you." "You are?" Redding observed Roland. This Mage must be capable since he was not timid when so many big shots were staring at him. At least, he was very calm, and the magic waves he released were balanced, indicating great talent. If possible it would be great if he could be hired as an assistant in Redding''s Magic Tower after being taught a lesson. Since the Golden Sons could be resurrected, he would take over the dangerous magic experiments. "I''m Roland, chairman of the Magic Tower in Delpon. I''m on an instructional trip with a few apprentices, and I was going to communicate with you on magic. I didn''t expect to meet you here." Roland spoke peacefully with a gentle smile and a missing right arm, but for some reason, all the nobles felt that he had a sharp edge. "Roland? Chairman?" Redding was stunned. "Did you build this opera house with the magic apprentices in only a day?" Roland nodded. "Yes. My apprentices are untalented and exhausted from the journey, so it took them almost a day to build this, when they should''ve completed it within half a day." Hearing that, everybody from the Vienna Opera Company held back their laughter, amused when Roland pretended to be modest while he actually complimented his apprentices. Redding nodded casually. "It''s indeed not bad." Despite his calmness on the surface, a tsunami was surging in Redding''s heart. It was unbelievable enough that such a high-quality open-air opera house could be built in one day, but the guy said that the time cost could''ve been shortened to half a day. He was quite pissed by the blatant bragging. He had thought that the young man was a promising cub and intended to recruit him. Little did he expect that the young man was actually a wyvern in a cub''s skin. There was nothing that Redding could do except to pretend that nothing happened. "Speaking of which, we can totally be friends." Roland smiled and continued, "I''m very close to Chairman Tobian, who offered me many spell models for free. He''s a great chairman." Redding was surprised. This young man knew his brother? Then he realized something. "You''re Roland? The guy who created the derivatives of Hand of Magic?" "That''s me." Roland smiled modestly. "I didn''t know that Chairman Redding knew my name too." Taking a deep breath, Redding, who had been expressionless, smiled for the first time and said, "Chairman Roland, I''ll be waiting for you in my Magic Tower. I''m sure we can be friends." After that, Redding shrugged at the mayor apologetically, before he stepped away in a hurry. The nobles all exclaimed. They didn''t anticipate that Redding, who had a powerful supporter, would chicken out. Who was that Golden Son Mage? The vague smile on the mayor''s face faded. He looked even more awful than before. He looked at Roland, not exactly unkind but definitely not friendly. Roland smiled shyly and stared back at him. About a dozen seconds later, the mayor looked at Britney and said angrily, "Okay, you''re good. But we will never watch a performance together with civilians. So off you go. There''s no need to wait three days." The mayor turned around and left with the pissed nobles. 343 I Have a Long... Pillar Watching the nobles leave in frustration, the players of the Vienna Opera Company smiled triumphantly, but before long, they all sighed in disappointment. They were here to perform. Since Roland had built such a great open-air opera house for them, they had intended to give a great performance, but now this incident had occurred. Looking at her crew, Britney sighed and said, "Let''s pack up and move on to the next city. If they''re unwilling to rejoice with the people, so be it." Britney had a high prestige in the group, and other people had no objection to her decision. They simply put their items in the system Backpack. The advantage of players was that they could carry almost everything with them without worrying about packing. Looking at Britney, Roland said, "Then we''ll go back to the city." "Sorry. I thought that you could appreciate the performance too. You even helped us build an open-air opera house. This is not what I expected." Britney seemed embarrassed. "That''s fine." Roland waved his hand. "Right. Won''t you tear this thing down?" Britney stomped on the stone floor and said, "After we''re gone, this place will only be confiscated by the nobles, and the civilians won''t have access to the opera house at all." Roland thought for a moment and said, "Fair enough. I''ll tear it down after you''re gone." Britney smiled and took a deep breath, before she left to appease and organize her teammates. With Andonara and Vivian, Roland left the open-air opera house and waited under the shade not far away. The sunlight leaked in from the gaps among the leaves, leaving spots of light flashing on them. Roland suddenly had an idea. Very soon, Britney returned with the group and said to Roland, "We''re leaving now. Thank you again, and let''s meet again in reality if we have a chance." "Let''s talk about that later." Scratching his chin and staring at the opera house, Roland was deep in thought. "I just had an immature idea." Britney looked at him in surprise. "Are you scared of heights?" "Not in this game, I think." "What do you say if I create a pillar of a stage a hundred meters tall?" "If it''s too high, none of the audience down below can see or hear us, can they?" Roland thought for a moment and said, "There''s nothing I can do about visuals, but I know a spell that can amplify your voices throughout the city." After a brief shock, Britney asked in excitement with glittering eyes. "You can really do that?" "I can try." "Thank you for your trouble." Britney took a deep breath and said, "We''ll pay you this time. We can''t ask for your favor without giving you anything in return all the time. We don''t have much money, but we can gather several dozen gold coins. I hope they''re not too few." "Okay, no problem." Britney immediately ran back to her crew and informed them of Roland''s decision. Soon, everybody got excited. Then, they waited thirty meters away from the opera house. Roland, on the other hand, took the Mind-Calming Necklace out of the system Backpack and put it on. At this point, the Mind-Calming Necklace had been fully charged and was emitting blue light. Roland checked his mana regeneration on the system menu. Gritting his teeth, he held back his embarrassment and took out the whole set of mana regeneration equipment. Then, he left for the woods, before he returned in a blue halo. The intense light of magic was flashing obviously even though it was daytime. He was like a light bulb. Andonara and Vivian both looked at Roland with glittering eyes. For them, Roland''s equipment represented his superiority and his magnificence! But almost everybody in the Vienna Opera Company was amused. Even Britney had covered her mouth. The players and the NPCs had vastly different aesthetics. In the eyes of the players, Roland was now a shiny enormous LED light. His outfit couldn''t have been tackier. But knowing that Roland only dressed like this to help them, they all held themselves back, and nobody really laughed. One of the players in the group reacted fast enough, opening the stream system and establishing a channel. Sexy and Shiny Roland Is Here. Roland''s name was very popular on the forum. Very soon, a bunch of players had flooded in. After putting on the equipment, Roland looked at the beautiful opera house and activated his mental power. Stone to Mud! A corner of the opera house was softened, like wax under fire. The enormous rocks were turned into mud at great speed, before they slushed down. The performers in the Vienna Opera Company and the players in the stream channel watched the enormous opera house collapse into a yellow swamp after only one minute in shock. After it was done, Roland checked his mana, only to see that he had used merely one-third of it. It should be enough. Then, he unleashed his mental power again, and the mud in the swamp began to swirl and compress, before it gathered into a gigantic pillar that spiraled upward slowly. It seemed slow at a distance, but the pillar of mud was actually growing very fast, by at least one meter per second. As the pillar grew taller and taller, the air around Roland was weirdly twisted as if it was being scorched by intense heat. About half a minute later, the pillar was thirty meters tall, and Roland almost ran out of mana. At this point, the Mind-Calming Necklace kicked in. Many blue spots of light emerged around his body and slowly submerged in him. The scene was so beautiful that everybody was amazed. In the stream channel, there were nothing but "wow" comments. The round pillar kept rising, and when it was a hundred meters tall, the light spots around Roland were finally gone. The energy of the Mind-Calming Necklace had been used up too. At this point, Roland''s forehead was covered in drops of sweat the size of beans. He then snapped his finger, and the yellow mud soon hardened into a real pillar that rose to the sky. Andonara looked at the pillar with great excitement. Apartment from exclamations, many players commented in the stream channel, "Is he creating the Tower of Babel?" 344 Outrageous A round pillar a hundred meters tall wasn''t exactly impressive in reality, but in this world, it could be considered a gigantic building. The city wall was only thirty meters tall, so when the pillar was erected, many people in the city noticed it. Their exclamations drew the attention of others, and after several minutes, everybody had seen the pillar that appeared out of nowhere. Surprise and uneasiness were proliferating. Nobody knew what it was for. What if it was a tower for archers? Similar thoughts were popping up in the minds of many people. A few minutes earlier, the mayor of Encart was talking to Redding on their way. "Why did you back off now just?" the mayor asked in confusion. "Is the young man named Roland good?" Redding nodded and said, "Not good, but very good. As far as I know, the deaths of at least two mayors are related to him. Besides my brother told me that he stole the queen, but the king did not hunt him down." "Wait!" The mayor came to a sudden halt and looked at Redding. "Is he the Roland?" "I think so." Redding smiled and said, "I really can''t be tough against someone who is undying and unrestrained." The mayor was deep in thought. "I found the beautiful lady next to him very similar to the queen. I didn''t realize that she was the queen." Encart was a remote city close to the border, so it was not always up-to-date regarding the latest intelligence. Recalling the queen in his memories, the mayor shook his head. "If I had known that he was Roland, I wouldn''t have shown up before him." "I didn''t know that you could be scared too." "If he has killed two mayors, he can kill a third." The mayor scoffed. "I''m not an idiot." They moved on to the mayor''s house. Following him, Redding pondered for a moment and asked, "What about the city gate?" "Keep it closed for now." "Are you not scared that Roland will blow it up?" "No." The mayor smiled and said, "Though we don''t have the latest intelligence in Encart City, I know what I should know. The Golden Sons abide by a strange rule of self-defense. They will not kill anyone randomly unless they notice your wrongdoing." Redding nodded. "I''ve heard about that rumor too, but I don''t know if I can trust it" Redding suddenly stopped and looked west of the city wall with an awful expression. "What''s wrong?" asked the mayor. "Intense magic waves." Cold sweat emerged on Redding''s forehead. "Is Roland really crazy enough to blow up the city gate?" The mayor was infuriated. "How dare he I haven''t done anything to him yet. How can he" Ordinary people couldn''t sense the waves of magic elements, but Mages could. In Redding''s senses, a tsunami of magic power was coming from outside the city, with overwhelming tides that reached as high as the sky. Redding was going to say that they could run first, because such immense magic waves were too much for him to resist. If Roland were all by himself, it wouldn''t be very terrible. Mages had many weaknesses. For example, they would be greatly weakened when they were out of magic power. But the problem was that dozens more Golden Sons were outside of the city, and all of them were professionals. If they joined forces, the soldiers of this city couldn''t resist them at all. But a second later, he swallowed "flee" into his stomach, because he saw a gigantic pillar of mud rising beyond the city wall. The mayor saw it too. After a shock, he asked in confusion, "What are they doing?" Redding didn''t answer, because he was unsure too, but there was no need to run since it was not an offensive spell. When the pillar of mud rose to a hundred meters, it quickly consolidated into rock. "Are they" The mayor had a guess. "Are they building a high stage?" Redding sweated even harder. Even his face was pale. The mayor looked back at him and asked in confusion, "Why are you so scared? It isn''t an offensive spell, is it?" "No. I just don''t feel very comfortable." Redding tried to smile. As a Mage, Redding knew how dreadful the overwhelming magic waves were, and even more unbelievably, these magic waves lasted two minutes. Whoever caused such dreadful magic waves definitely had a huge capacity of magic power. Not just the Masters, even Legends could barely have so much magic power. Was it possible that Roland was as strong as a Legend? Redding wiped his forehead. The mayor ignored Redding and returned to his house. Redding stood there for a while, before he left for his Magic Tower. The mayor walked to the roof of his house and looked at the rock pillar far away. Soon enough, he saw helical stairs being generated at the surface of the pillar, stretching upward. After a while, many human beings were climbing those stairs. "It''s indeed a high stage." The mayor bashed the fence on the roof and yelled, "Those bloody Golden Sons do have sordid tricks. They''re determined to degrade us to the civilians'' level." The mayor''s eyes were bloodshot. Many nobles in the city had similar thoughts. They were staring at the pillar outside of the city maliciously. They had all understood the Golden Sons'' plan, and they felt that someone was remotely slapping their faces again and again. The nobles were superior. They must differ from civilians in terms of food, clothes, accommodations, transportation, and sources of knowledge. The nobles were born with privileges. It was a concept that they had been inculcating in the civilians for hundreds of years. This concept allowed them to enjoy the service of the civilians and exploit them matter-of-factly. Now, those Golden Sons were asking them to have fun together with the people. That was really unacceptable. They were nobles! How could they appreciate music and plays with those filthy, humble untouchables? Had it not been for the previous conflict, or if the performers were only performing in the square in the city, they wouldn''t mind clearing the ground for them, because they could appreciate the show from their carriages. There wouldn''t be any real contradictions between the two parties. But now after their mayor closed the city, those Golden Sons still believed that the nobles and the civilians should be equal before them. They had even torn off the wreath of privilege above the nobles'' head and thrown it into the mud. That was really outrageous Did they really think that nobles were all meek? The mayor gritted his teeth and was about to command a troop to charge at the Golden Sons. But rationality got the better of him, although his face had been twisted by fury. 345 The Golden Sons Are The Most Artistic People The performers of the Vienna Opera Company were climbing the helical stone stairs around the pillar. At this point, Britney finally understood why Roland asked if they were scared of heights earlier. It was fine at the start, but after thirty meters, the view down below was rather breathtaking. More importantly, though the stairs were broad, there were no handrails on the side, which made the climb even more intimidating. "Why didn''t Roland leave us any defensive measures?" A female player slowly walked up against the inner wall, not daring to look out at all. Her legs were shaking too. "I''m about to pee my pants." "He created such a massive building in only two minutes. I don''t think he can be so considerate on the details," a male player explained. "What he has done is already impressive enough. Though I don''t know the battle-type players very well, it would''ve been difficult to create this without cheating." Leading the team, Britney said, "I know a thing or two about the battle-type players. He should be the strongest Mage player now." "Tsk, tsk. If only you could seduce him into our company to work for us, chief." The girl who almost peed herself slowly walked up while holding the wall and said, "If he can build a stage anywhere and is so good at fighting, he can protect us from all future troubles." Britney sighed helplessly. The male player chuckled. "Nice thought, Daphne. Roland is with the queen, who is as pretty as Chief Britney without adding Charm to herself. Also, did you not notice that another cute girl was with him too? If I were Roland, I would be a fool to ditch them for our chief." Britney was rather upset. The female player named Daphne retorted, "How can you compare the NPCs in a game to a real person?" "Why can''t I?" "Those NPCs are all fake. They''re gone when you take off your immersive helmet," replied Daphne matter-of-factly. "But our chief is real. She still exists in this world without the immersive helmet. If Roland were smart, he would choose our chief." "But our chief is not as pretty without the immersive helmet as she is now, right?" the male player pointed out. At this point, Britney suddenly looked back at the male player angrily. Knowing that he had misspoken, the male player shut up in embarrassment. Daphne said angrily, "You men care about nothing but a pretty face. Can you be more sophisticated? You''re too shallow!" "Would you like to marry a man who weighs 120 kilograms, who doesn''t have any money, who is greasy and filthy, but who is gentle and willing to give everything to you, Daphne? If you do, I will acknowledge that you are a sophisticated woman, and I will apologize to you." The male player had almost given up, but since Daphne had criticized all the people of his gender, he couldn''t help but fight back. Though she was an art student, Daphne was only eighteen in reality, so she tended to be a little bit unreasonable. Such bickering was actually routine in the group. The others listened and laughed while they walked to the top of the pillar in a long line. A hundred meters would''ve been covered in two minutes on the ground, but since it was a dangerous climb, it took him almost ten minutes to reach the summit. Then, almost everybody exclaimed in surprise. The top of the pillar was a flat, smooth circle about fifty meters in diameter, enough to accommodate an orchestra of two hundred people. "Take out the tools with which you make a living and sit down at the center." Britney clapped her hands and said, "We''ll begin when Roland is up." Hardly had Britney finished when a person swooshed out from one side of the pillar and slowly landed before the performers. It was Roland. "Flying is really great," Britney said enviously. "You can do anything you want." "I wouldn''t go that far." Roland smiled and, looking at the performers who had sat down, asked, "May we begin?" A lot of stuff could be kept in the system Backpack. An additional chair was definitely not a problem. Britney took out her own chair and instrument too. She sat down in the middle of the performers. Then, the conductor walked to the front of the performers with a baton, ready to direct the music. "We''re ready." Britney smiled at Roland. Roland stepped back and snapped his fingers with his left hand that was still intact, and a white halo of magic appeared before everyone. Britney cleared her throat and began to speak. Half a minute later, a slightly distorted female voice echoed throughout Encart City. "Since the mayor has closed the city, this is the only way we can perform for you. Because of the distance between us, three shows had to be canceled. Special thanks to Roland who has provided a special stage for us." Everybody in Encart City heard the voice. They all pushed their windows open, left their houses, or walked to their rooftops and looked at the enormous pillar. "The first program will be an orchestral version of ''Sound of Silence.'' Please enjoy, my friends." Then, pleasant music came from the sky. The music in this world was almost exclusively introduced by Bards. Most Bards played solo, and they mostly performed recitations that feathered stories of Heroes. Most recitations were performed with a similar melody, with barely any variations. The audience had grown tired of them after hearing too much. But the music in modern society was different. It had several genres and was much more technically mature. The orchestral version of "Sound of Silence" immediately amazed and enchanted most of the audience. The nobles found it pleasant too, but they didn''t really feel great. After "Sound of Silence," it was the modified versions of "Scarborough Fair,""Croatian Rhapsody," and other famous songs. Then, four delightful pop songs were played. Because they weren''t sure what the residents of this city liked, the performers had prepared a few songs from every genre. Some were slow, some blue, some cheerful, and some were even heavy metal. Everybody in the city dropped their work and looked at the enormous pillar in silence. Even Andonara, who had a deep understanding of music, greatly enjoyed herself. She even closed her hands and rubbed her thumbs, with an expression that suggested she was holding herself back, when she particularly liked a song. The performance lasted more than two hours. When it was over, everybody was still staring at the pillar, as if they didn''t want it to end so soon. After several minutes of silence, Andonara said to Roland, "The elves are no longer the people that are best at music and art; you are." 346 A Third Meeting with the Angel The performance was so successful that even Andonara, a queen, had become a fan of modern music, not to mention other people. When the Vienna Opera Company descended from the top of the pillar, they suffered from the heights again. After a few minutes of rest, Britney walked to Roland and said, "We''re going to Delpon next. Will you come with us?" Everybody in her crew looked at her in surprise. Roland shook his head. "I have to continue my trip with the magic apprentices. Maybe later." Thinking for a moment, Roland continued, "But Delpon is more or less my turf. You can talk to Vincent in the Magic Tower. It shouldn''t be hard for him to build a small theater for you outside of the city with the magic apprentices." Britney smiled and said, "Okay, thank you." After nodding at the performers again, Roland left with Andonara and Vivian. He found that the performers seemed odd, but he didn''t think too much about it. Their way back to the inn was a trail in the shade of trees that was interspersed with bright golden spots of sunlight. Walking in a row, Andonara came back to herself from the music and said to Roland, "That lady was inviting you to go with her." Roland failed to understand what Andonara meant. He replied, "But I have to continue the trip with Vivian and the rest." "That''s not what I meant!" Andonara looked at Roland''s face of confusion and chuckled. "Forget it. It''s nothing." Vivian was also wearing a smile. Roland was not an idiot, but he had focused most of his attention on magic. Besides, with Andonara and Vivian by his side, he did not want to attract more women in the game, so he subconsciously refused to understand Britney. Back in the inn, the magic apprentices were discussing the music they heard excitedly. Most civilians, due to the lack of education, could only comment with things like "superb" or "marvelous." But the magic apprentices were all nobles. Jerry, for one, gave a much more refined critique. "I felt like I was a baby sleeping in a cradle of clouds, and the holy, beautiful angels were whistling in my ears with a voice as sweet as honey. If possible, I wish that I would never be woken up from such a pleasant dream." The other magic apprentices'' comments were as complicated as Jerry''s. Some of them were even too thrilled to talk. Roland was somewhat embarrassed to hear these comments. But it was understandable. In a chaotic and underdeveloped world that had few historical records, even if a great song was created, how long could it survive without being written down and recorded? There were no techniques or systems in this world. From a modern point of view, this place was a complete cultural desert. It was not surprising that the people here were shocked by modern music. When they stepped into the room, Andonara grabbed his left hand and was about to speak, when Roland sensed something and suddenly pushed Andonara aside. Then, he snapped his fingers and darted an Inferior Fireball at a corner to their right. Andonara realized the danger too. She squatted and unsheathed a short sword from her dress. Though she was a Great Swordsman, it did not mean that she could only use heavy weapons. On the contrary, she was good with any weapon. Even if Andonara was given a cudgel, she would still use it well. She liked swords only because swords were more graceful. The fireball was frozen halfway through its flight, and Roland said quickly, "Back off." But Andonara did not listen to him. Instead, she stepped forward and protected Roland. Then, she shook her wrist, triggering a sector of sword aura that was faster and more powerful than a real sword. But same as the Inferior Fireball, the transparent sword aura disappeared before it approached the corner. "Run!" Andonara looked at the corner in panic. She was a strong Great Swordsman, and the sword aura was one of her bloodline skills and extremely powerful. How magnificent must the enemy be to make her attack disappear? Standing before Roland, Andonara retreated, trying to push Roland out of the room. The only thing that she could think of was to protect Roland, who was more vulnerable as a Mage and the first man that she had ever chosen for herself. In dangerous moments like this, one did not have time to think too much. That was why people said that a person''s character would never be revealed until they were in peril. Roland laid his hands on Andonara''s soft shoulder, trying to pull her back. But he found that he couldn''t move her at all. Instead, Andonara had been pushing him with her back, and he was about to be forced out of the room. She was a Swordsman, and her level was higher than his. It would''ve been weird if he could pull her back. "Andonara!" Roland roared. "You idiot, I''m a Golden Son. I don''t die" Suddenly, dazzling light burst out from the corner. Roland and Andonara could not see a thing anymore, but neither of them blinked their eyes. They grew more vigilant, fearing that the enemy would attack them at this moment. Roland cast Magic Shield on himself and grabbed Andonara''s shoulder again, trying to pull her back. However, Andonara stood before Roland unwaveringly and pushed him back again. While they were in a deadlock, someone said in a teasing tone, "Aren''t you a sweet couple?" The voice was refreshing, pleasant, and even sacred, evoking awe and admiration. Now, Roland and Andonara could see what was before them. A beautiful woman with a pair of wings on her back was standing at the corner. "An angel?" Andonara was slightly relieved. In the legends, angels were Lawful Good and wouldn''t attack people randomly. But Andonara did not completely let go of her wariness. After all, there was no telling why this angel was lurking in the corner. Seeing Andonara''s vigilance, the angel smiled and said, "Rest assured. If I meant you harm, you would''ve been killed a long time ago." Roland was much calmer in comparison, because he recognized the angel to be the one from the Paradise of Life who fell into the crater a couple of days ago, and who directed Falken into the paradise a few months earlier. "I''ve met you before." Roland walked out from behind Andonara''s back. The angel looked at Roland and said, "I remember you too." Andonara''s mouth tasted sour, as if she had drunk certain special seasonings. 347 Human Bug Trigger Andonara felt greatly threatened. In terms of status, the queen''s title, although it sounded good, only belonged to that of a small kingdom and was not that compelling. However, an angel The name alone would make one feel the thrill of wanting to defile it. In terms of looks, even if Andonara was confident, she couldn''t possibly compare her looks to an angel''s. If temperament was taken into account, it would be an even greater difference. And this angel said she remembered Roland. When a woman remembers a man, generally, how would their relationship unfold? In an instant, Andonara''s expression was a bit grudging as she dreamed up a bunch of love and action scenarios. It couldn''t be helped. Andonara was just so insecure. But then Roland said something that allayed Andonara''s anxiety. "Holy lady angel, may I ask" Roland''s expression was a bit guarded. "Why have you been following us all this time?" Seeing Roland''s guarded expression, Andonara finally put her mind at ease. Roland didn''t seem to have a close relationship with this angel. It was only then that Andonara had the presence of mind to take stock of her surroundings, and then she was surprised to find that the room was surrounded by a layer of milky white energyit seemed to be a boundary, but she didn''t feel any magic fluctuations. The angel took two slow steps forward, and a fresh fragrance wafted over. This fragrance was very comforting, faint, and almost indiscernible. "Give me back what''s mine." The angel turned over her right palm at Roland. What''s mine? Roland was stunned for a moment before realizing what she meant. He thought for a moment and took the white feather of light out of his Backpack and sent it to the angel with Hand of Magic. Once the white feather of light was placed in the angel''s hands, it turned into dancing specks of light and finally merged into the beautiful pair of wings behind her. "This is a trap I use to draw out my enemies." The angel looked at Roland with a smile. "When you took it away, I thought you were the enemy, but after following you for a few days, I realized that you have no relationship with those people. Don''t pick up anything strange in the future, you might get into trouble. Luckily, it was me this time. If it had been my sister, you would have most likely been killed the moment you got this feather." Roland laughed awkwardly. However, he didn''t think there was anything wrong with how he acted, and as a player, wasn''t it normal to see something "strange" and put it in his Backpack? If there was a next time he would definitely pick it up again. "Your hand!" The angel looked at Roland. "It''s hurt because it touched my feather, but you know healing magic yourself so I won''t bother. This is for you as compensation." Roland cast his gaze onto the palm of his hand, and soon an item interface appeared in his vision. Item: Dull Divine Crystals (inferior) Effect: Use it to gain a large amount of EXP. Roland was surprised and looked at the angel across the room. The angel was still smiling. "I see you were injured a few days ago, what can I do for you?" Roland was thrilled. This stuff was good, and it could be used right now. If he could fish out an epic quest from the other side and get a lot of inferior Divine Crystals, he might be able to level up a level or two. He was greedy for this stuff. The angel had a startled look in her eyes, then shook her head in amusement. "An enemy that even we angels find tricky, how can you, a small Elite Mage, hope to face?" "Don''t underestimate us Golden Sons," Roland said very seriously. "As long as you offer enough reward, I''m confident that I can help you pull together a team of thousands of people, all professionals and possessing immortality. How about it?" Looking at Roland''s confident expression, the angel slightly raised her thin, pale golden eyebrows. "Can you fly?" "Huh?" Roland froze. "Literally." The angel was still smiling. Roland seemed to be able to see a teasing expression on her face, but it seemed to be an illusion. "Can your people fly??" "Oh" Roland finally understood what the other party meant, and then he fell into speechlessness. This angel spoke quite frankly, and currently, amongst the players, the only two who could truly fly in the sky in the true sense were probably him and Schuck. If the quest required flying, it would truly be difficult. Upon seeing Roland''s helpless expression, the angel shook her head slightly, then suddenly began to ponder. After a while, she said, "If you can really pull together a few thousand people, then there''s a quest you can take care of instead." "Please do tell!" Roland was somewhat excited. He had been in the game for almost a year, and this was the person with the highest status he had ever come in contact with. As for kings and nobles, in the magical world, they were really just background characters. A game like this was really more interesting when one had to deal with gods and demons. "At the border between the Desert Kingdom and the Kingdom of Hollevin, there should be an evil god that escaped from the void," the angel said indifferently. "He should have survived there for hundreds of years, but we didn''t discover him until the commotion got a bit excessive, so if you can wipe out more than half of his subordinates, then for all the professionals who participate in the battle, we will count their merits and hand out rewards." When Roland heard this, he immediately looked at his quest system interface, and there was indeed a reaction. New quest received: Path of Light (Solo Epic) A good angel appears before you and entrusts you, who is wise and farsighted, to gather a powerful team to sweep away evil and darkness. Another solo epic quest that granted lots of EXP, and this angel also promised quest rewards. A greatly profitable quest. Roland looked up abruptly and asked, "I''ll accept this quest." "Okay, let''s see what you can do." The angel smiled slightly, and then the white boundary around her quickly became smaller, contracting until it was a dozen centimeters in front of her body. It then became a white cocoon of protective light. Then the beautiful white wings of light spread in the cocoon, and with a gentle flap, the light cocoon soared into the sky. After a loud crashing sound, it broke through the roof and disappeared in the sky through the large hole. Cough, cough, cough. Roland covered his mouth and coughed a few times. The angel shook free a considerable amount of dust when she crashed through the roof. Andonara looked at Roland with a very odd expression and a little grudging jealousy in her eyes. "Roland, I didn''t think you even knew about angels." "I just met her once and earned a quest from her." Roland responded casually, and then he posted the video he had just recorded, the screenshots of the quest, and screenshots of the profile of the inferior Divine Crystals to the forum. Solo Epic Quest Is Back, and It Could Mean a Lot of EXP. In less than three minutes, there were plenty of replies at the bottom of this post. "Roland''s freaking awesome!" +1 +1 The replies were in quite a neat formation, and just as Roland was about to close the forum, a system announcement suddenly popped up in his vision. "Due to player Roland progressing too fast in the game and coming into contact with the special epic quests twice too early, a bug in the world projection logic has occurred. Immediate emergency maintenance will be performed and everyone will be automatically disconnected from the game world after three minutes." Roland was dumbfounded. 348 Dont You Have the Slightest Damn Clue? In any case, Roland was frightened. Did he crash the gameplay system by accepting two epic quests? This was the second time, so the first time was Roland recalled and thought that the greatest possibility would be the quest to round up the vampires not long ago. Was his progression too fast? Were these not quests that could be taken on right now? Roland felt baffled. After spacing out for a moment, Roland realized that a minute had passed. He said to Andonara, "We Golden Sons may disappear for a while, and I don''t know for how long, so you''ll have to take care of Vivian and the others." Andonara subconsciously took Roland''s hand and pursed her luscious red lips, but didn''t say anything else. Roland then took out Andonara''s clothes and some trinkets from his Backpack and gave them to her, and after some thought, he gave her more than fifty gold coins and put them in a cloth bag, which was quite heavy. Since he didn''t know how long the system maintenance would takethe time ratio between reality and the game world was one to threeRoland had thought to give her more, for example, one to two hundred gold coins. But after some thought, he gave up on the idea. It was not that he was reluctant to give money, but that Andonara didn''t need that much money at all. Besides, having too much money could easily lead to some trouble. Fifty gold coins were enough to buy a small manor to live on for a long time for Andonara. After passing on everything to Andonara, before he could even say another word, the game world just disconnected. Climbing out of the virtual cabin, Roland looked at the time on the digital clock on the wall: 04:33. It was still early. However, he couldn''t sleep anymore and had no desire to sleep. It was already late autumn and the night was a little chilly, so Roland put on a coat and then sat down in front of the computer. He turned on the computer and clicked on the forums. He immediately saw the system announcement on the home page. "Due to Roland''s overly fast progression, the game deduction function has a slight bug and is undergoing an emergency repair. It is estimated to take 24 hours, and after the repair is completed, the points exchange system will be released, as well as more points quests." Roland was relieved to see the announcement. Luckily, it wouldn''t take long; it was only twenty-four hours. Based on previous experience, when the game was under maintenance, the time in the alternate world would continue to pass, and if the maintenance lasted for several days, a lot of things would change. Roland was about to go on the forums to take a look, but suddenly, his phone, attached to the charger on the table, rang. Wen he looked at the caller ID, he saw eight zeros; he could already guess who it was. "Fellow Roland, please take it easy and don''t engage in so many shenanigans, our server here is about to collapse." Roland was a little embarrassed. "It''s Director Ma, right? Is it something big?" "Of course it''s big. The Realm of Gods and the Realm of Devils both almost hit the main realm." Ma Huajun sounded somewhat frustrated. "You F6 guys can really get into trouble. Those rats, Schuck and Betta, also dug out a bunch of resources. What you three have obtained, normally, would take other people two or three years to qualify for." Roland laughed dryly. "This has nothing to do with us. We''re just playing the game normally." "Playing the game normally?" There was some disdain in Ma Huajun''s voice. "Also, how about I give you a suggestion?" "Go ahead." Roland felt a little embarrassed. "There''s no going back now that the quest to kill the evil god has been made public, but you can''t participate, and don''t take your close friends with you either. Of course, the quest rewards will still be given to you afterward." Roland was somewhat surprised. "Why?" "The amount of information you and those two rats are carrying is too largeyou can look at it as bytes. It''s hundreds of times more than the average player," Ma Huajun explained. "And the amount of information on the important NPCs is also very large, such as the evil gods in the quest. When the evil gods appear, plus the angels that will descend later in the quest, you''d best believe that the area will directly collapse due to the gathering of too much information. You''d better not contact the gods and demons and other NPCs for six monthswait until we expand and stabilize the server''s capacity again." "That exaggerated?" Roland''s expression was even more surprised. "We''re hundreds of times better than the average player? But I don''t feel like I''m much better than the average player!" "Whether you three are strong or not, don''t you have the slightest damn clue? Must you force me to yell at you?" Roland laughed aloud for a while. "It''s good that you agreed to it." Roland thought to himself, I haven''t agreed yet, but he didn''t dare to stand up to the GM. It wouldn''t be good if he made the other guy angry and got his character messed with. "Of course, I''m not that unreasonable. The quest you released is actually quite profitable, and if you''re not allowed to go, although the quest reward will still be given to you, there''s bound to be some losses." The voice in the phone was silent for about ten seconds before continuing, "Then I''ll reveal a piece of information to you. The wifely queen beside you has quite an important identity. After the maintenance, take her to Reed, where she can obtain her bloodline ability and strengthen her power. As for how to obtain it, you''ll discover for yourself when the time comesunraveling the game, it wouldn''t be interesting anymore if I spill it." Andonara''s identity is important? At this point, Ma Huajun continued, "Well, I''m off to maintain the world frag game world, bye." Then there was the sound of the phone hanging up. Roland heaved a sigh of relief. He flipped through his contacts and dialed Schuck''s cell phone. "Hey, how about breakfast at your store. Call Brazil and the others." "Okay." Schuck yawned into the phone. Roland then changed, scanned a public bicycle, and rode it to the cold drink bar. Only he and Schuck had arrived; the others were probably still on their way. Sitting in the booth, Schuck looked mentally exhausted and had faint eyebags. Roland was a bit surprised. "Playing games every day, going to bed early and waking up early, you''re actually in such bad spirits?" "Well, that''s what married people are like now." Schuck subconsciously touched his waist. "It''s hard to make up for it." When Roland thought about Chen Hongdan''s looks and figure, which were indeed top-notch. It was normal for Schuck to work hard every day, so he smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "When are you going to have kids?" "Waiting until Dan opens a few more branches. We can have kids only when we''re successful in our careers." Schuck poured a glass of happy fatty drink[1] for Roland. "Let''s not talk about me. You''re making a lot of big moves now. Yu''ve crashed the server again, and now the people on the forums are scolding you." Roland smiled bitterly. He also reckoned that a lot of people would be cursing at him, so he smiled helplessly. "I didn''t meant to." "I saw that quest you put on the forum, and I also received a branch quest." Schuck smiled. "There are two points for killing a cultist, killing an evil god gets you a thousand, and the point system is about to open, so we F6 can gather up and screw around." Roland laughed a little awkwardly. "The GM won''t allow F6 to go." Schuck''s eyes widened. "Huh?" [1] coke 349 If Youre in Trouble, Take the Initiative Schuck was confused as to why F6 was banned from this quest. It was just unreasonable! Roland laughed bitterly and recounted what Director Ma had said. After hearing this, Schuck frowned helplessly. Roland looked at him in surprise. "I did kind of take a lot of resources, but he said that all three of us took too much, and you won''t even refute that?" Laughing bitterly, Schuck said, "I''m not sure about Betta, but let''s just say that you have the epic equipment and I have the divine artificial, which are both the only of their kind right now." Roland nodded, and that seemed to be true. "And talent-wise, I have Extraordinary Charm and you have Magic Power Control; both are unique as well. Then I have Margret, a dragon as my mount, and you stole the queen away. If you count our other abilities, the two of us are indeed much stronger than the average player." Schuck thought for a moment and said, "As for what resources Betta got, I''m not sure, but since even the GM said so, I guess he had some fortuitous encounters." Roland said in annoyance, "I didn''t steal the queen." "I didn''t steal Margret either, but the players on the forum and you terrible lot also joke about me robbing someone else''s dragoness," Shuck said also in annoyance. When Roland thought about this, it really seemed to be the case. He had really laughed a few times at the fact that Schuck became a dragon knight and stole that Warrior''s dragoness. However, he never thought he''d end up in this situation now. Could this be the so-called "god''s way goes in a cycle"? He suddenly turned sullen, and the sprite and soft bean curd tasted like nothing at all. It didn''t take long for other F6 members to come over, except for Betta. The kid was still studying in college, and it wasn''t vacation time. Once everyone was present, Roland told them about Director Ma''s request and apologized to his close friends for dragging them down. The others didn''t care much at all. Husseret said with a smile, "I''m running an information network in the Guild of Rogues, so I''ll have to think about it if you let me go." Brazil said he was preparing to go find and capture a second utility pet, so he also didn''t have time. Raffel and Li Lin both had their own things to do as well. Roland was well aware that all his friends were just making up random excuses. Who didn''t know how good the payout was for epic quests; just the large amount of character experience alone would make people leave most things behind to go over and participate. They grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then they rode public bikes to the saber arts club. They squeezed in and found that Jin Wenwen was talking to Qi Shaoqiu, but both of their expressions were a bit foul and the atmosphere was clearly unfriendly. Jin Wenwen''s looks and temperament were rather neutral, but today she wore a plain dress rather than her usual attire, looking a little more feminine. "Today is the seventh year we''ve known each other, and I have something I want to talk to you about, but you won''t even agree?" Jin Wenwen''s tone seemed a bit annoyed. Qi Shaoqiu snapped, "I wouldn''t dare become acquainted with a young lady like you." "It''s not up to you. If you don''t agree, I have all sorts of ways to mess up your saber arts club." Jin Wenwen clasped her hands to her chest. "You should know my personality, I''ll do what I say." Qi Shaoqiu was about to hit the roof. At this moment, Li Lin, who had the most explosive temperament in F6, stood up, his hands in his trouser pocket. He walked slovenly straight toward the two of them, then looked at Jin Wenwen and smiled arrogantly, "Miss Jin, I don''t like what you''re saying." Jin Wenwen looked at Qi Shaoqiu and frowned. "Young Master Li, this is a matter between the two of us. It''s not a good idea for you, an outsider, to get involved." "Qi Shaoqiu is my teacher and my friend." Li Lin shook his head and flicked long strands of hair on his forehead to the side to block one of his eyes. "Not to mention that I''m learning saber arts here, so why is it none of my business?" "Young Master Li, if you want to learn martial arts, you can come to our boxing club. You can see that the venue is poor here, and there''s only one member on the coaching staff!" Jin Wenwen didn''t want to clash with Li Lin; the Li family was quite influential in this small city. "I just love learning the saber, I don''t want to learn boxing." Li Lin sighed. "I don''t care what personal disputes you have with Coach Qi, that''s really between you two, but I''m not happy about you threatening to bring down his saber arts club. You''re getting rid of what someone does for a living, how can you be such a venomous person?" Jin Wenwen''s face turned pale. "Young Master Li, please speak more conscientiously!" "So what if I''m not conscientious." Li Lin spoke with increasing arrogance. "You''re about to ruin someone''s business, so can''t we use harsh words? It makes no sense not to." Jin Wenwen looked at Li Lin for a moment, then turned her gaze back to Qi Shaoqiu again. "Why have you been so quiet over there? Where''s the pride you had before? It''s not like the old you to let someone else stand up for you." "I was too proud before, that''s why you played me." Qi Shaoqiu pulled out a cigarette and skillfully lit it, saying indifferently, "I also have to thank you for teaching me what a beating from society is." Jin Wenwen gave Chi Shaoqiu a hateful glance and turned to leave. After she drove away in her sports car, Qi Shaoqiu said to Li Lin, "Thank you, Little Lin." Li Lin waved his hand. "You''re welcome. It''s important to respect your teacher." "But you guys better be careful. I know what she''s thinking," Qi Shaoqiu said coldly. "This woman, Jin Wenwen, I know what she''s thinking when she storms off. It''s nothing more than trying to ease relations with me so she can ask for your addresses. Li Lin''s family is rich and well-connected, she probably won''t mess around, but the rest of you guys have to be careful. She''s interested in virtual you understand." Because there were other students beside him, Qi Shaoqiu only said half of what he intended. Looking at Qi Shaoqiu''s slightly worried expression, the F6 crowd laughed. Li Lin said as he started to walk out, "I''m not going to practice today, I''m going to go talk to some friends." Qi Shaoqiu looked at Li Lin with some concern as he vaguely guessed what the latter intended to do. Roland, on the other hand, was pulled into the kitchen by his sleeve by Night Tide Sands, who then brought out a bowl of noodles that was still steaming hot. "It''s reserved for you." Roland drank some soft bean curd from Schuck''s cold drinks bar but was only half full, so he lifted the bowl as he heard this. Night Tide Sands was watching him eat happily, and her expression softened as she said, "You really have to be careful. That woman, Jin Wenwen, has a very vicious heart." Roland laughed softly. "Li Lin went to trouble her, and if Li Lin can''t do it, Schuck will also get help from his family." Night Tide Sands was taken aback. "Is Schuck very powerful?" "Schuck''s family is very powerful, to be exact," Roland explained. "Before all sorts of political elements got involved, this little city used to be just a county, and it had an alternative name called Yu Countydo you understand now?" Night Tide Sands''s eyes widened slightly. She knew Schuck was surnamed Yu. 350 Maintenance Complete When Roland saw her like this, he continued with a smile, "The Qi family shouldn''t have been in this small town for more than twenty years." "It''s only been about twelve years." Night Tide Sands sat down at the table. She looked tenderly at Roland as he ate and talked to herself. "I followed my father to this town in the fifth grade of elementary school when it was all still wasteland, and I went to elementary school at the second elementary school near the city''s Children''s Palace[1]." "The second elementary school" Roland said with a thoughtful expression, swallowing the noodles in his mouth. "Don''t you think the second elementary school isn''t quite the same as the other elementary schools?" "I discovered that long ago. It seems to have been converted from an old building, with green bricks and tiles, a front yard, a welcoming room in the middle, and a backyard." Night Tide Sands asked curiously in return, "Is there some kind of story?" "That elementary school is a building from the dynasty of braids[2], the period of a certain emperor in jocular stories who loved to mingle with women secretly. It was actually the ancestral hall of the Yu family. Later on, during the years of political turbulence, the Yu family was broken up into several branches, and the ancestral hall that represented the glory of the Yu family was also confiscated and transformed into an elementary school. It has been used until now." Night Tide Sands was even more surprised now. "Such a large ancestral hall!" Roland chuckled lightly. "Here in the southern border, unlike the Central Plains and the north, the feudal forces were not so thoroughly swept away. Many clans were reduced to nothing and hidden in the ocean of the people. Although the clans can no longer hold much influence in current societyas they say, a centipede dies but never falls down, and it''s still possible for it to come out and spew bubbling poison at critical times. Li Lin''s family connections are on the surface, while Schuck''s family connections are in the dark. Schuck''s family is a direct line of descent, and he is the only son, so in fancy terms, he is actually the young clan leader. So he is essentially a remnant of the feudal forces. Of course, nowadays, no one in this society still calls anyone a young clan leader or whatever. It would be laughable for outsiders to hear." Night Tide Sands covered her mouth. "That''s no way to talk about your best friend." "True friends don''t hold back," Roland said with a smile. "I used to call him a foolish son of a landlord." "So how did he insult you?" Roland curled his lips. "Ugly." Night Tide Sands laughed even harder. After finishing the noodles, Roland came back to the training ground, where Qi Shaoqiu was already instructing a group of new students. Brazil bumped Roland''s shoulder. "How''s it? How''s it going with Night Tide Sands, when are you getting married?" "What the hell, we''re not even dating. When did we get to the point of marriage?" Schuck also wanted to laugh at Roland, and just as he was about to comment, his phone rang. He picked it up and immediately answered it, asking, "Li Lin, what is it?" There was an indistinct voice coming from his phone. "Some trouble? No problem. I''ll make a call to the elders." Then Schuck stood up and made another call. He stepped aside, his voice low, barely reaching Roland and the others. "Mom, have my third uncle scratch the blisters of the Jin family''s boxing club, and its related companies or industries." "Yeah, there''s a girl in the Jin family trying to do something harmful toward me and a few friends Li Lin''s already made his move, but he can''t seem to handle it on his own." "What, parasites? No need for parasites!" Schuck''s voice grew a little louder. "Nowadays, in this scientific society, where are there any parasites Not even if it''s inconspicuous. Back then, my father-in-law was almost scared to death by you, and here you go again!" When Roland and the others heard this, they felt sweat bead on their foreheads. According to Schuck, his mother, before she married, had been the Bai clan''s maiden witch, of mixed Chinese and Bai ancestry. Though growing up, Schuck always told his few close friends that there was no such thing as parasites or Gong Tau[3]. But Roland remembered clearly that he had seen large centipedes at least thirty centimeters long squiggling in the shadows and the cracks of the room on more than one occasion when he used to go to play at Schuck''s old house. He''d also seen sharp-nosed vipers as thick as an adult''s thighs squirming on the beams of Schuck''s old family home. Anyway, they didn''t quite dare to play at Shuck''s house, and instead asked him out to play. Shortly after, Schuck put away his phone and sat next to Roland. Roland said, "There''s no need to alarm Aunty about this small matter." "My old man took my stepmother to the capital. It seems that my stepmother''s father is seriously ill." That explains a lot! They then practiced their miaodao arts and sparred for a while, and soon it was noon. They wiped off their sweat with towels that had been prepared earlier, changed their clothes, and then prepared to leave the saber arts club together. But as soon as they reached the door, they saw a red sports car brush up against the door of the saber arts club. Jin Wenwen, who wore a plain dress, got out of the car, her face dark and very gloomy. She went to the door, blocking Roland and the others, then scanned them one by one. Of course, Roland and the others were not afraid of her. They were all smiling and looking at her directly. Qi Shaoqiu, who was in the training hall, also saw Jin Wenwen, and he put a Jia Tian Xia in his mouth, lit it with a lighter, put his hands in his trouser pockets, and walked slowly to the door. Upon seeing Qi Shaoqiu come out, Jin Wenwen said furiously, "Good, Qi Shaoqiu, you''ve become a man, uniting outsiders to bully your ex-girlfriend." "Heh!" Qi Shaoqiu sneered and used his hand to remove the Jia Tian Xia from his mouth, then breathed out the smoke and said disdainfully, "Of course I''m a man, it''s not like you haven''t tried me before." Roland and others held back their laughter. Jin Wen Wen said furiously, "You sure know how to talk nowthat honest look back then was all a disguise?" "Whatever you say." Qi Shaoqiu shrugged. "You''re not welcome here, so if there''s nothing else, please leave." Qi Shaoqiu no longer had any good thoughts about Jin Wenwen, so he appeared indifferent. Jin Wenwen noticed this as well, and she turned her attention to Roland and the others, staring at them again. After a while, she gritted her teeth and said, "I don''t know which one of you and Li Lin came together to deal with me, but I admit defeat this time. Come at me if you can. I can close the boxing club, and you all can even toy with me together if you want, but don''t touch my parents'' property. Don''t you understand the principle of not afflicting misfortune to one''s family?" "We''re not mobsters, we don''t know your jargon." Schuck shook his head. "This is just a warning, so don''t ever get any ideas about us again." Schuck then left, and Roland and the others followed and left the saber arts club on public bicycles. "To think that you''d be in this situation!" Qi Shaoqiu revealed a happy expression at Jin Wenwen and turned to leave. Left alone in the doorway, Jin Wenwen stood trembling with anger for nearly half an hour. Roland returned home, ate lunch, and opened the game''s website habitually, then immediately saw the new official announcement. "The game''s maintenance went faster than expected, and the servers will start tonight. Please understand the inconvenience caused to all players during this period." Roland was extremely happy after reading the announcement. When he got into the game at night, as he usually did, just as he showed up in the hotel, a soft body fell into his arms. "You''re back!" Andonara''s smile was like a hundred flowers blooming. [1] An institution where children can take part in extracurricular activities [2] Qing Dynasty [3] Aka. Tame Head, Black Magic of Southeast Asia 351 Leveled Up Andonara and Roland snuggled and basked in tenderness for a while before she left his side contentedly and went outside to find some drinks for Roland. Honestly, Roland wasn''t thirsty or hungry, but he had to accept Andonara''s kindness. Sitting in the room, Roland sipped his fruit wine as he asked, "How many days have passed?" "It''s only been a little over two days, not yet three days." Andonara smiled like a beautiful flower. "I thought it would take you ten days to get back." "No one came to bother you ,right?" "No trouble-seeking ones," Andonara said with her hands on the table and a somewhat bewitching expression. "But there''s a crop of people who have ill intentions toward me in that way." Roland shrugged. This was quite normal. Andonara was really beautiful, with a great sense of style and a perfect physique. The other day, even though it looked like she was a little inferior compared to the angel, there was no qualitative difference between the two. It was perfectly normal for such a woman to attract many men. After chatting with Andonara in the room, Roland went out to meet Vivian and the other six magic apprentices, putting the latter few at ease. Then he brought them to the Magic Tower at Encart. Chairman Redding received them personally, and Roland explained the purpose of their visit, hoping that they could exchange experiences and insights on magic. Redding naturally assented. But after the exchange really began, Roland found that the other party was deliberately hiding something, throwing out some very common, well-known magic theories. Roland initially thought that he wasn''t being sincere enough. Since he caused some friction with the local nobles a few days ago, it was normal for the other side to have reservations. This was why Roland took the initiative to tell him about some of his special experiences, especially about the derivative spells of Hand of Magic. Redding looked at the record in his notebook, stunned for a moment, then smiled socially. "Mr. Roland, your theory is brilliant. I am so impressed, I''m mediocre compared to you, sir." Roland looked at him for a while and shook his head before saying softly, "Sir, you''re too humble." Redding felt a little awkward from being stared at. Then Roland sighed, stood up, and said, "In that case, we''ll be leaving. We can exchange ideas again if there''s another chance in the future." With that said, Roland left with his own people. Redding stood up and escorted them out of the Magic Tower. Outside the Magic Tower, they climbed into their respective carriages. Roland sat in the carriage, and Andonara looked at Roland and said indignantly, "That Redding didn''t want to exchange knowledge at all. You suffered a loss giving him what you''ve learned, Roland." Andonara looked at Roland and smiled when she saw that he really didn''t seem to care. "I''m glad you weren''t angered by that kind of person." They went back to the hotel, rested for the night, and left the city of Encart the next day. Redding stood at the top of the Magic Tower and watched as the carriages slowly drive away from the city, turning into black dots and disappearing over the skyline. Then he looked down, and looked at the manuscript in his hand, on which all the insights Roland had told him yesterday were written. Last night, he had experimented according to what was written in the notes, and the results were quite good, especially the stability and grip of Hand of Magic. Mages who were willing to communicate like this were actually rare in this world, and Redding was already feeling a bit petty about his actions last night. He wondered, if Roland could stay for a few more days, and the two of them could communicate more often, would he be able to improve even more? He felt somewhat regretful. Then he looked at the distant skyline and heaved a long sigh. As the carriage drove along the merchant road, Andonara sat by the window, looking with great interest at the lush green plains in the distance. With Roland, she was happy wherever she went. This was why she never actively asked Roland where their next destination was. But then Roland took the initiative and asked, "Andonara, where is your hometown?" Andonara looked at him with some surprise and asked in response, "You want to go to Reed?" "Yes, in the next city, if we can, we''ll head straight for your old home." "Why?" Andonara asked, extremely surprised. She suddenly thought of something and sat directly beside Roland, holding his left arm and looking at him with bright eyes. "Do you want to go and mention our affair to my father?" "Where is your father?" "Although he occasionally stays in the capital, when he returns from his sales, he lives and rests in the village of Reed." Andonara rubbed her thick front armor against Roland''s arm. "He''s just a merchant, so if you see him, be sure to show me some respect and don''t be too mean to him." Roland said helplessly, "I''m afraid he''s going to try to beat me up; after all, I''ve taken the queen out of the capital." "He won''t." Andonara smiled. "Father never really wanted me to marry the king, and almost disowned me over it." I see Roland looked at Andonara with some surprise. He had thought that Andonara''s father would be really happy that his daughter became the queen. "Tell me, why did you suddenly think of Reed?" As much as Andonara hoped that Roland was there for her to meet with her father and talk about marriage and such, she knew very well that Roland hadn''t touched her up till now and that his feelings for her weren''t deep enough to be about this matter. Roland thought about it and said, "Antis told me that you''re from a Hero bloodline, and I have another friend who said that there was a secret in Reed that would enhance your strength quickly." "So that''s it." Andonara was a little disappointed, but then she was immediately happy again. Although Roland''s purpose in going to Reed was not for their future, it was ultimately for her. This was enough to satisfy her, and then she started to imagine fragments of her future life with Roland. She giggled a little when she thought of the happy parts. Seeing that Andonara was alone in her happy imagination, Roland took the inferior Divine Crystals given to him by the angel from his Backpack. Looking at it briefly, he unhesitatingly clicked "use." The crystals, which emitted a white light, turned into a stream of light and disappeared into Roland''s body. Roland then saw the system notification. You''ve absorbed 3312 EXP and leveled up to level seven. This inferior Divine Crystal is too outrageous, it gives so much experience. If it was that feather, the weak Divine Crystal, how much EXP would it grant? It''s a pity it was taken back. Then Roland suddenly had an idea. The angel''s white feathers were all Divine Crystals, and if someone charmed an angel, wouldn''t they be able to pluck a feather from time to time to level up? It probably wouldn''t take long to rise to Legendary status. This seemed quite awesome. Breathing softly, Roland looked at his character attributes which had risen a bit, and then he took the three elven spell models out of his Backpack. He was going to take advantage of the time he had while traveling to crack the magic of the elves. 352 Wheat and Rice The roads'' conditions were bad, and the carriage was shaking hard. But Roland still sat steadily because he was far stronger than ordinary people. Even in such a horrible environment, Roland could still concentrate. Andonara, on the other hand, lay against the window and looked at the view outside of the carriage. As a woman who once stayed in the royal palace, she had received an education before she became the queen. She knew when she should keep a man company, and when she should give him time and space to mind his own business. A long trip could be boring most of the time. The beautiful scenes out there would become monotonous as time went by. In the end, Andonara had no choice except to stare at Roland''s face. Then she discovered, to her surprise, that it was a good way to kill time, because Roland''s face was never monotonous for her. At this point, Roland didn''t know what was going on at all. He could hardly perceive the carriage anymore. When one was fully focused, they tended to forget everything around them. That was Roland''s situation. The spell models of elves were very different from those of human beings, which were made of nodes and lines. But the elves'' were made of complicated overlapping circles. Roland pictured the spell model in his head and did not invest any magic power, but still, it was quite a headache. He could barely understand what the triple concentric circles were for at all. Everything was all too confusing. Since he couldn''t understand it, Roland tried to regard the circles as nodes and the intersections as the routes of magic power. But he only got a meaningless spell model in the end. That was not a helpful approach. Roland thought for a moment and began to picture the simplest trick of all human spells, the sphere of light, which only contained a dozen nodes. Then, he expanded all the nodes with his mental power, but the capacity of the model was not changed. As a result, the spell had become extremely obese on the model level. Undoubtedly, this approach had failed again. An abnormal, irregular sphere of light that looked like a hedgehog was created. The light was not bright, emitting some uncanny colors that looked like a rainbow. Though he failed again, Roland felt something was slightly different, but he couldn''t exactly tell what it was, so he tried the same approach again. He felt something more, but he again failed to locate the differences. Roland tested it again and again. He cast this obese version of the illumination spell three hundred times in four hours to grasp the differences. Eventually, he marked the nodes with Spiritual Endowment and finally found the difference. In the node that had been mostly enlarged, a green feeble magic power appeared before it quickly disappeared one second later. Even a Master NPC couldn''t have felt it without extraordinary talent. But Roland had. He had added his stat points to Intelligence and Spirit, as a traditional Mage would. Together with Magic Power Control, he had a keen sense of the magic elements around him. Seeing the unusual green magic power, he was briefly stunned, and then his eyes glittered. Inputting intense magic power into a node and then compressing it would lead to other magic elements? Excited, Roland said to Andonara immediately, "Ask everybody to stop. I''m going to have a magic experiment." Then, he jumped out of the window to the meadow next to the road. He summoned a magic light ball and filled it with magic power. With his previous experience, he abandoned the other nodes and focused all his magic power on the node that had the greatest capacity. Soon enough, this node was full. The white ball became bright green. Then, it exploded like a water balloon. Bright green magic power spurted out like mist, before it slowly vanished in the air. At this point, all the magic apprentices and Andonara had gotten off. They were all surprised to see the green magic power. "A natural spell?" "It''s not a spell. I think it''s the magic power of the elves." Andonara asked Roland in surprise, "Do you have an elven bloodline?" "How''s that possible? I''m a human being." Roland slowly panted. After four hours of consecutive tests and the great investment of magic power just now, he had run out of mana. As a result, he was weak and pale. But now that he was making progress, he didn''t want to rest yet. He took out the Mind-Calming Necklace and put on the whole set of mana regeneration equipment. Surrounded by blue light, he found that his mana had recovered rapidly. Then, he sat down and rested. About ten minutes later, when his mana bar was full, he tried compressing the magic node again. The effect this time was even more unbelievable. The irregular ball of light exploded after he ran out of magic power. There was no heat or deafening noise, but the blast blew Roland several meters away. The green magic power waved crazily like the tentacles of an octopus. Andonara and the magic apprentices, frightened, hurried to retreat. However, the green tentacles dimmed quickly before they disappeared into the air after no more than six seconds. "Did you succeed?" Andonara stepped forward and asked, "Can you use elven spells now?" "I failed." Roland shook his head and said, "I used up all my magic power but only created a wind that carried no damage at all. If I had used a human spell, this place would''ve been razed to the ground just now." Andonara was not a Mage, so she did not understand what Roland meant. The magic apprentices, however, realized that Roland was saying that the transformation of magic power didn''t go well. There were huge losses when elemental magic power was transformed to natural magic power. But Roland did learn something. He had remembered the frequency and features of natural magic power, and he had vaguely sensed the difference between elemental magic power and natural magic power. If he must compare them, they were like rice and wheat. Though they were both food, rich and wheat tasted completely different from each other. If a southerner who grew up with rice had noodles made of wheat for the first time, they might not enjoy it at all, and the case was the same when a northern who grew up with noodles had rice for the first time. That was exactly the situation for Roland. As a human being, he could only transform the natural mental power of the elves at a very low efficiency. The structures of mental power of the two races seemed greatly different. "We have a problem." Roland scratched his head, upset. 353 Encounter With a Compatrio Roland had thought that elven spells were merely encrypted spells, and all he needed to do was to remove those layers of mystery. But he didn''t know that the greatest difference between natural spells and elemental spells lay in the nature of mental power. Roland remembered the frequency of natural magic power. He could even simulate it now. But the problem remained that the efficiency of transformation was too low. It was like forcing a carnivore to be a herbivore. After understanding what natural magic power was, Roland understood the spell models he had. Those circles were actually deformed nodes. Different from the elemental spells of human beings, the spells of elves were not based on transmission between nodes, but on the expansion and intersection of nodes that triggered magic effects. When magic nodes were expanded, they were highly unsteady and likely to cause vaporization. It was exactly the image that Roland had seen earlier. It was difficult for human beings to harness such natural power with their souls, but the elves could do it easily. They had the greatest control over magic power apart from the gods. Besides, the natural magic power was based on the World Tree, and as the children of the World Tree, they would reign over magic power easily. In fact, elves could use elemental spells easily too, but they weren''t interested in them. Why would they adopt the barbarians'' approach if they could achieve their purpose with natural spells? In the meadow, Roland found a simple elven spell model and tried to use it. He established the layout with his mental power first, then he flooded magic power into the designated nodes. His first attempt failed. The magic model was broken halfway through. The second attempt failed too because Roland had charged some of the nodes too fast. The third The fourth All his attempts failed. Then, looking at his empty mana bar, Roland had no choice but to sit down and rest. Because of Roland''s Zeal and the set of mana regeneration equipment, he replenished his mana quickly. The magic apprentices began to clear the meadow and drive the mosquitoes away. They had figured out that their chairman was too devoted to his studies to move on. So, they might as well take a rest here. Then, the magic apprentices began to build a camp and waterproof tents together. When his mana bar was full again, Roland resumed his experiments. It was indeed very difficult for a human being to use the spells of elves. After another three failures, Roland finally cast out the simple elven spell, Tree Enlivening. As nature''s favorites, elves had certain weird spells. For example, they could turn trees into their companions and give them the ability to think and move. Roland cast the green ball of light in his hand at a tree on his right. The light disappeared into the trunk of the tree. Soon enough, the tree cramped weirdly and turned into a skinny treant that walked toward Roland, to everybody''s surprise. There was even a pair of black eyes at the top of the trunk. The treant looked at Roland, and Roland looked back at him. Very soon, the skinny treant raised his left hand, launching an attack at Roland. But before the treant''s left hand hit him, it had been blown back and cut into three parts, spraying white sap, before it rolled on the road. Andonara put her longsword back in its sheath. Roland shook his head at the "body" of the treant on the road. It must be a counterattack of the summoned For the spellcasters who lacked Restriction and Charm, the creatures they summoned were likely to attack them. It was exactly what happened to Roland. Besides Roland felt that the treant just now was acting on instinct instead of reason. Roland''s spellcasting had definitely succeeded. He merely lacked the skills and the Charm needed by a Summoner. At this point, Andonara took out her handkerchief and wiped Roland''s nose gently. Then, Roland saw the red stains of blood on Andonara''s handkerchief. He had a nosebleed? When did that happen? Was it because he ran out of mental power just now? "Let''s take a rest." Andonara asked Roland to sit down and said, "You''re working too hard." Seeing that Andonara was worried, Roland sat down against a tree and closed his eyes. Players couldn''t sleep, but if they closed their eyes in the game, their health regeneration in the game would increase by 15%. Soon after Roland closed his eyes, he heard noises around him. He opened his eyes, only to see that Andonara was holding her sword before him. The six magic apprentices were also standing by vigilantly next to the road. "What''s wrong?" Roland stood up. "Did they wake you up?" Andonara pointed into the distance and said, "It''s nothing. A merchant convoy is approaching. We''re just taking precautions." Roland looked into the distance and found that it was indeed a convoy. This conclusion could be easily drawn based on the wagons and the horses that only a merchant convoy would have. As the convoy came closer and closer, Andonara became graver and graver, because all twenty merchants in the team were emitting the vibe and mental waves of professionals. Professionals were definitely not so common that they could be seen everywhere. Also, it was highly unusual that any professional would rather be a merchant instead of a bounty hunter. Roland, however, seemed quite relaxed. "Well, it''s a convoy of Golden Sons. There''s no need to worry." Andonara was slightly surprised. "Do you know them?" "Not exactly." "Then how do you know that they''re your compatriots?" "Because of their aura!" Roland smiled. Those merchants looked magnificent and intimidating, but they left the impression of huskies with bulging eyes, something which could only be seen on the players. Seeing how confident Roland was, Andonara was much more reassured. The merchants came close slowly and warily. When their leader saw Roland, he was briefly stunned, before he shouted, "Shoot! Isn''t this the almighty Roland? Why are you here instead of with the queen" Then, the man noticed Andonara. His eyes glittering, he ran to Roland and Andonara, before he turned around and activated the system camera. "Cheese." This player took a selfie of himself beside Roland and Andonara with the system camera. 354 Youre Quite Unconstrained When You Have Noodles The "V" gesture when taking photos was very common for players, but Andonara was unaware of it. She almost cut down the player when he made the gesture, but she managed to hold herself back since he did not show any malicious intent. Roland was quite helpless too. He was not a superstar. Why did everybody want a photo with him? When the rest of the merchants arrived, they all surrounded Roland and Andonara in a circle and made a "V" gesture while shouting, "Cheese!" Then, they all laughed and dispersed in satisfaction, resuming their business. The wagons were pulled to the meadow in a circle, and the players set up sheds and fires. Very soon, a fire was started, and a huge pot was placed over it. The first player who took a photo with Roland was pointing his fingers nonstop, as if he was uploading the photo to the forum. Seeing how weird these people were, the six magic apprentices subconsciously gathered near Roland, and Andonara said, "Your compatriots seem rather odd." "In fact, they''re very normal," Roland said. "Except that they may have slightly different habits and behaviors." Slightly different? Speechlessly, Andonara watched what was going on before her. After setting up a shed, the players soon sat down in a circle and took out simple musical instruments from their system Backpacks. One of the players even took out a pair of hammers. Some players spread a blanket over the meadow, and the rest of them piled fruits and meatloaf on it. The guys with instruments started playing, and the players who sat down around the blanket began to sing loudly: "Don''t give up your dream as long as you still have heart" Their voices were as not exactly pleasant, but it was entertaining nonetheless. The players who had fruits clapped their hands and echoed the lyrics now and then, making the camp very lively. Normally speaking, traveling merchants would keep a low profile for fear that they might attract professional bandits, or that they would piss off other travelers who would turn into bandits and attack them. In many cases, there was not a clear boundary between merchants and bandits in the wilderness. But what were those Golden Sons doing? They were singing loudly! They were more like a team of cocky nobles on a trip than a group of merchants. The first player who took a photo with Roland seemed to have uploaded it. He rubbed his hands and walked to Roland, then said, "Almighty Roland, I didn''t expect to meet you and the beautiful queen here. How lucky I am!" Roland was amused. "I don''t have any evidence, but I suspect that you''re being sarcastic." "That''s a groundless accusation," the player said with wide eyes. "I respect you as the almighty Roland from the bottom of my heart" "Don''t be angry. I''m just kidding." The player continued, "I am Ashrosfin, the deputy chairman of Cornucopia, the guild of merchants!" The player then looked at Andonara and said, "Your Majesty, greetings." Andonara snorted but didn''t say anything, because Ashrosfin just called her a "beautiful queen" in a frivolous tone that she didn''t quite like, and in front of Roland, too. She feared that Roland might have misunderstood her. Ashrosfin was a businessman, and businessmen were good observers. He immediately said with a smile, "You and Roland are a perfect couple, Your Majesty, your children will definitely be both beautiful and smart." Andonara was much more fond of Ashrosfin after hearing his adulating remark. She had thought about it herself too. If she ever had a baby with Roland, the baby would definitely be both beautiful and smart regardless of its gender. With that, she found Ashrosfin much more agreeable. "I''m pleased to meet you." Ashrosfin nodded at Andonara and spoke to Roland. "I read news and watch your videos on the forum all the time and I''ve always admired them. It''s not easy to meet you in person." "There''s no need to admire me. I was just lucky enough to obtain some rare resources." "You''re only being modest," Ashrosfin said in admiration. "Why did you get the rare resources when others couldn''t? Only because you''re capable. I do envy you." At this point, the other players had finished their song. They roared at the players who were playing instruments, demanding the next song. Roland glanced at them and moved his eyes back. Then he asked, "I remember that you used to do business by suicide. You carry the goods in the system Backpack and kill yourselves at specific locations, so that you can be instantly resurrected in a remote Temple of Life. Why are you shipping goods with wagons now?" "That was the 1.0 version of business. Death means a great loss of experience points, which are essentially wealth too," Ashrosfin said with a smile. "Everybody has to make progress. Now, we''re merchants in the 2.0 version. The valuable goods are stored in our system Backpacks, and the goods that are in demand are in the wagons. Though we''re not strong as individuals, we are quite good as a team. Only a team of soldiers of over two hundred people can expect to loot us." At this point, a player who had been busy with the pot tapped the pot with a spatula and shouted, "Time for dinner!" Hearing that, the players who were listening or playing music dropped whatever was in their hands and swarmed to the pot. Then, everybody took out a big bowl from their system Backpacks and waited in line before the player who was in charge of distribution. At this point, the fragrance of cooked noodles drifted over. Ashrosfin said to Roland with a smile, "Let''s have it together. Bring your friends." Roland felt hungry the moment he smelled the noodles. He looked at Andonara and Vivian. But Andonara, Vivian, and the others all shook their heads, because the players who had gotten their bowl of noodles had squatted in a line next to the road and started gobbling and slurping the noodles noisily. Born as nobles, Andonara and the magic apprentices were rather unaccustomed to that. Roland, however, did not have such concerns. He asked the distributor to give him a bowl of noodles. After thanking the man, he squatted at the end of the line and devoured the noodles. The noodles were rather delicious, made with meat and vegetables from this world. More importantly, the noodles were hot. Having hot food in the wilderness was really enjoyable. Soon enough, Ashrosfin squatted next to him with a bowl of noodles and asked, "How does it taste?" "Very delicious." Ashrosfin smiled and said, "We made the noodles and the meat. It''s a shame that people in this world are mostly too poor to have food in restaurants, or we could''ve started a nice noodle restaurant." "You can make business with the nobles, can''t you?" "No, someone tried it before." While eating, Ashrosfin said, "The nobles are truly generous, but their tempers are too bad, and they may propose outrageous requests. For example, they ask for our recipes, or a share of the profits of the restaurant. We''ve suffered enough in reality. Why on earth would we suffer more in this game? So, we''ve decided not to serve those people. The bottom line is, it''s not easy to run a restaurant in this world." "But nobody gives you a hard time when you''re doing business?" "We''re selling the goods in demand. They all need us. Haha." Ashrosfin eyed Roland and remarked, "That''s a rather strange squatting-and-eating posture. Are you from Guanzhong[1]?" "Not exactly." Roland shook his head and said, "But I spent more years in Xiluo[2] in college." "Then you are a half-Guanzhong native." Looking at Andonara who was eating meatloaf gracefully under a tree far away, Ashrosfin nudged Roland and said, "You will pass Bianca City if you go this way with the queen. Are you not worried?" "Worried about what?" Roland was rather stunned. "Bianca City is the first prince''s territory. The brothers and sisters of Cornucopia are almost all over Hollevin." Ashrosfin drank his soup and wiped his mouth. "Therefore, we have collected a lot of information that may or may not be useful." "Oh?" "Because of your native squatting-and-eating style, let me tell you something for free," Ashrosfin said. "About a month ago, the first prince had a party. He was drunk and made a statement." Ashrosfin paused. Looking at Ashrosfin in the eyes, Roland said, "Would you like to enlighten me?" "The first prince said, ''Queen Andonara is a bi*ch. It''s a shame that she is in Delpon and too far away from me. If she ever comes to Bianca City, I''ll definitely capture her and give her a good time. After I''m tired of her, I''ll return her to my father. " Roland looked rather gloomy. "Is this first prince''s head full of s*it?" "No. On the contrary, he''s very smart." [1] part of Shaanxi, China [2] part of Shaanxi, China 355 The World is Changing "Smart? How come?" Roland asked curiously. "The king is dying," replied Ashrosfin casually. Roland was quite surprised. He remembered that the old thing was rather healthy the last time they met each other. "You even know that the king is gravely ill?" Roland swallowed the noodles in his mouth and said enviously, "According to common sense, the king would suppress the news if he''s ill, right?" Ashrosfin took out a waterskin from his system Backpack and was about to clean his bowl and chopsticks. However, Roland snapped his fingers with his right hand, which had grown back, and a few water balls floated around Ashrosfin. After a brief shock, Ashrosfin understood Roland''s intention. He washed the bowl and the chopsticks in the water and said in admiration, "The Mages do have a lot of helpful tricks for life." The other players had finished their food too. When they saw the water balls, they quickly joined them and stuffed their bowls and chopsticks into them. Very soon, those water balls became very dirty. These merchant players had the good habit of not wasting resources. After all, as people who traveled all the time, they only had limited clean water in their system Backpacks, and even though they had ways to replenish it, there were always accidents. So, they always used water as judiciously as possible. Seeing that they were all expectant, Roland had to summon a dozen more water balls for them to do dishes. After having enough food, the players gathered together and resumed the party. Andonara and the magic apprentices, sitting under the tree, found that something was weird with these happy players. They felt that the players were too carefree and unserious. It seemed that these people did not care about anything. They did not exactly like such an attitude, but for some reason, they approved of it in their hearts. Ashrosfin put the bowl and the chopsticks back into his system Backpack, before he continued, "The news has been blocked, but not very effectively. After all, the king''s control has been weakened now that he''s seriously ill." "So why did the first prince make that statement at the party? For the throne?" Roland was confused. "Andonara has no influence in the royal family. His speech could only reveal his lack of manners and tolerance, which can''t be in favor of him in the competition for the throne, right?" Ashrosfin looked at Andonara nearby and explained, "But of people he invited, three were the queen''s enemies, who are very powerful right now. He was only telling them that he would be their ally if they wanted to deal with the queen. As for the cause of their enmity with the queen, you can ask her in person." "You know this too?" "That''s nothing to be amazed at." Ashrosfin smiled and continued, "A professional merchant has to know about goods and power. We have to predict the future market based on the decisions of the big shots." "So" Roland glanced at the wagons and said, "Your cargo this time must be standard equipment, right?" "Impressive. Roland, you can definitely be a merchant too. Weapons trade is really profitable." Ashrosfin praised him and said, "There are five princes, including a bastard son, who have claim to the throne. Thirty big noble families are involved in this too. The turmoil may last for years in Hollevin after the king''s death." "Then, it will be the best opportunity for merchants like you to make a fortune." Ashrosfin shrugged proudly and looked at the sky, before he said slowly, "I failed many times in business in reality. Though I didn''t go bankrupt, I lost my determination to go on. I got this immersive cabin for fun, but I didn''t expect that I could continue my dream here. In the turmoil of Hollevin, Cornucopia will definitely rise." After a brief silence, Roland asked, "You have invested in one of the princes?" "Smart!" Ashrosfin clapped his hands and said, "Very impressive. As expected of a man who became a Master Mage. Are you interested in joining us? Though Hollevin is small, you will earn a lot after we win!" Roland looked Ashrosfin in the eyes. The man looked like another husky. He looked at the singing players and had a lot of mixed feelings. No matter how hilarious and silly the players might seem, they had all received a dozen years of systematic education. Many college students and graduates felt that they hadn''t learned anything after a decade of education, but they were only comparing themselves to their peers. When those seemingly plain people were placed in this barren world of little knowledge and culture, they were all the best talents. They might seem funny, but essentially, they were ferocious wolves in the disguise of husky skins. After almost a year in this game, the players had gotten used to it. They were ready to bare their fangs at this world and take off their husky clothes. Roland said after a brief silence, "If you have invested in a prince, other guilds must''ve invested in other princes, right?" "Probably. At least, the Temple of Jalan has already got a target. Any guild that is keen about current affairs is taking action. Only the unconnected players do not know what''s going on yet." Ashrosfin stood up and said, "A powerful player like you will be a guest in every guild. I''m sure that many more people will invite you, but I don''t think any of them can be richer than us. Our rewards will be copious." Roland''s eyes moved to Andonara. After a while, he glanced at Ashrosfin and said, "I think I''ll pass." Ashrosfin looked at Andonara too. Then he shook his head and said, "You do prefer love to power, don''t you?" Then, Ashrosfin stepped forward and shouted, "Okay, it''s time to go!" All the players jumped to their feet, packed up their stuff, and led the wagons to the road. Standing on the road, Ashrosfin shouted at Roland, "You''re always a guest at Cornucopia, Almighty Roland." Then, he waved at Roland with a smile and left with his team. The wheels of the wagons crackled and rolled far away. Andonara approached and grabbed Roland''s hand. "You were friendly when you spoke earlier. Why did the atmosphere suddenly become grave?" "He said that the king was dying." Roland observed Andonara''s face carefully. It took Andonara a while to understand what Roland meant. She was rather surprised, but not sad or upset at all. She even complained, "Huh? Why is he dying already? Then won''t I lose my identity as the queen very soon?" Roland asked casually, "Do you care about your identity as the queen so much?" "Of course I do." Andonara stuck her face to Roland''s arm and said matter-of-factly, "You only find me exciting because I am the queen, or I would be no different from any other woman." Well Roland found it hard to keep up with Andonara''s train of thought. But Andonara suddenly grinned alluringly and rubbed Roland''s arm gently with her breasts. "Do you not want to try it while I''m still a queen? It will be very thrilling if you do it with a queen, and that feeling will be gone when I''m no longer a queen later!" Roland felt that he was full of passion under Andonara''s mature attraction. But after only two seconds, he suppressed the passion with his magnificent mental power. "Let''s talk about it later." Andonara glanced at him with a smile, as if she were mocking him for holding back his desires when he was already tempted. Roland coughed and changed the topic. "Just now, Ashrosfin also told me that Bianca is the first prince''s territory, and he seems interested in you." "I''m not surprised," Andonara said. "Not just the first prince, all the princes who are old enough to know sex have privately and provocatively invited me to their fiefs or manors. I just ignored them." The royal family was really a mess. Roland sighed, full of mixed feelings, and said, "Bianca is the first prince''s territory. We were going to take a rest there, but I guess we have to bypass the city now." "Well, I think it''s better to bypass the city too." Andonara nodded. "Although the first prince is weak, it might still be dangerous if Vivian and the rest of them encounter a great number of soldiers." Roland looked back at the team of merchants and could see the slowly moving spots on the horizon. He had a feeling that a war among the players would break out soon. Everybody had different interests. Players were not exceptions. But the players were undying. If they had conflicts with each other, this world would definitely be devastated. 356 Heros Home Thanks to Ashrosfin''s reminder, Roland''s team didn''t enter Bianca City but circumvented it via another road. The first prince spent most of his time in the city, especially at this critical moment, in order to win more allies and make fewer enemies. Although the first prince had made a bold statement, and the soldiers of Bianca City had been searching for the queen, it was impossible for them to inspect everybody who passed Bianca City. Besides, Roland never really entered it, so the soldiers had no idea that the queen dropped by. Then, Roland passed another two cities and communicated with the chairmen of the Magic Towers. He was quite lucky that both of them were open to communication. Roland talked to each of them for a couple of days and learned a lot. The magic apprentices learned a lot too. Due to this communication and overall traveling time, it took the team almost a month to reach Reed Village. It was already evening at this moment. The carriages were riding on a narrow, muddy road, and the trees were wreathed by the sunset. Andonara was rather uneasy in the carriage, probably because she was getting closer and closer to her home. Roland was still studying the elven spells. He had been considering how to reduce the transformational losses. Now, he had two options. The first was to reduce the energy cost by changing the effects of the nodes on the elven spells, and the second was to change the structure of his mental power. But neither of the options was easy. In fact, there was a third option, which was to create an alchemical device that could store elemental magic power and change its frequency. Regretfully, Roland did not know alchemy, and he was only a beginner in enchantment. So, he had to give up the third approach and focus his attention on the first two options, which were more likely to be successful. When one was completely focused, it was hard for them to sense the passage of time. It had been six hours since Roland devoted himself to magic at noon, but he maintained the same posture and expression. If he hadn''t kept himself from tumbling around inside this shaking carriage, an observer would''ve thought that he was a vivid sculpture or puppet. The carriages came to a stop before a village. This village was surrounded by a wooden fence that was laden with mosses. A muddy trail stretched out to the center of the village. There was a wooden gate on the fence. Seeing the carriages, several kids in dusty, patched clothes opened the gate together. After the carriages entered the village, Andonara spoke to the driver. "Go straight and take a right turn on the first crossroad. Then stop at the tallest and most beautiful building." "Got it," the driver replied. Before the building was a fence that had been overtaken by green vines. The yellow and white blossoms on the vines made the fence look like a beautiful wall of plants. Hearing the carriages, a rather handsome middle-aged appeared on the second floor. Very soon, a ten-year-old boy showed up on the balcony too. They looked at the carriages with great interest. Andonara sat down next to Roland and shook his arm gently, before she said, "We''re at Reed Village." Woken up, Roland was stunned for a moment, before he got out with Andonara. Andonara saw the middle-aged man and the boy on the balcony the moment she jumped from the carriage. She smiled and waved at them. The middle-aged man was surprised to see her. He disappeared with the boy from the balcony. Very soon, they walked out of the building and opened the door on the fence. The middle-aged came close and looked at Andonara and then at Roland weirdly. He didn''t say anything. But the boy spoke to Andonara excitedly. "Cousin, you''re finally back! How long will you stay here?" The boy was rather cute. Andonara petted him and smiled. "At least four to five days." Then, Andonara raised her head and looked at the middle-aged man who was standing like a pineapple tree. "Uncle, I''m back." "I can see that." The middle-aged man looked at Roland and asked, "Anna, why don''t you introduce your friend to me?" Andonara had always been addressed as Anna by her family. The more the middle-aged man observed Roland, the more shocked he was. He was a complex class and could cast spells, so he had a good sense of mental power. Andonara, on the other hand, was a purely physical class as a Great Swordsman. She could barely sense mental waves. So, the middle-aged man could detect the astonishingly magnificent magic power in Roland. "This is the man I''ve chosen, Roland." Andonara shyly introduced them to each other. "Roland, this is my uncle, Cage Reed." "Hello, Mr. Reed." Roland slightly bowed at him. Since the man was Andonara''s senior, he had to show the necessary respect. "Hello, Mr. Roland." Cage looked at Roland with an extremely odd expression, as if there were a lot of things that he wanted to say. But eventually, he simply smiled and said, "Nice to meet you." At this point, the boy jumped and complained, "You haven''t introduced me yet!" Andonara patted the boy''s head and said, "This is my cousin, Kaido Reed." Roland smiled at the boy and said, "Hello, young Reed." "You''re wearing a magic robe. Are you a Mage?" Kaido looked at Roland in admiration and asked innocently, "Can you teach me magic?" "Of course, if you want to learn," replied Roland. Cage shook his head and said, "Sir, just ignore him. He can''t learn magic. Or rather, nobody in my family can learn elemental magic." "Why?" Roland was slightly confused. He could tell that both Cage and Kaido harbored enough magic power for them to cast simple level-two spells. "It seems to be a result of our bloodline," said Cage with a smile. "The Hero bloodline?" Roland subconsciously asked back. Cage, however, frowned and looked at Andonara, as if he were blaming her. Naturally, Roland noticed his look. He said, "It was not Andonara who told me, but someone else." Cage asked further, "Who was it?" "Antis." Cage was silent for a while. He naturally knew who Antis was. He was a noble too and had spent time in the capital now and then. He had met Antis often when Antis was little. Antis was related to the royal family and had grown up together with Andonara. Cage had thought that they would become a couple, but surprisingly, Andonara showed absolutely no interest in Antis at all. At this point, Vivian and the other magic apprentices got out of their carriages. Realizing that they were all from noble families, Cage greeted them with a smile. "Welcome to my humble abode. Please come in." Then, he cleared the way and invited the guests to come inside. A middle-aged butler came out and directed everybody into the house. The moment they entered the house, they saw an enormous painting on the wall in the hall. In the painting, a warrior, holding a fiery blue sword and a shield that had a phoenix background, was stepping on a gigantic red demon and was about to kill it. All the guests were drawn to the painting. Seeing that, Cage secretly chuckled in satisfaction. Relaxed now that she had come home, Andonara looked around and asked, "Has my father been around recently?" "He took a merchant group to Urganda." Cage asked the guests to take a seat and said, "That was three months ago." "You sit here. I''ll prepare dinner for you." Andonara went upstairs and soon returned in regular clothes with two maids. She looked like a caring wife in her new outfit. She asked, "Roland, what do you want to eat?" "Anything!" "Anything" was definitely the most difficult food to make. Andonara rolled her eyes at Roland and went to the kitchen with the maids. Roland, on the other hand, introduced the magic apprentices to Cage. Hearing that they were traveling magic apprentices, Cage spoke with reminiscences of the past. "I worked as a mercenary for years when I was young. I still dream about it often even to this day." "I didn''t know you were a mercenary too," Vivian said in surprise. "Andonara used to be a mercenary. She must''ve learned after you." Cage scratched his beard in satisfaction and said, "I taught her how to use a sword, but she is probably stronger now." Since he saw Cage in the beginning, Roland had vaguely guessed that Andonara was taught by him. Andonara had mentioned that her father was a small noble and a merchant who traveled all the time. Whenever he left for business, he would entrust the young Andonara to his big brother in Reed Village. So, Reed Village was Andonara''s second home. Cage chit-chatted with them warmly for a while. When the butler came down, he asked the butler to take the magic apprentices to the guest rooms that had been cleaned up. Then, he crooked his finger at Roland. Roland followed him to the balcony on the third floor. Looking at the low, shabby cottages far away, Cage asked slowly, "What''s with you and Anna? Why is she hanging around with you when she''s a queen?" 357 Simple Woman Roland found it hard to answer Cage''s questions. His relationship with Andonara was complicated. They weren''t exactly lovers, but they were definitely more than friends. As long as Roland was willing, he could take the final step anytime he wanted. Therefore, Roland did not reply but simply stood in silence. After waiting for a long time without hearing a reply from Roland, Cage was slightly disappointed. He looked at Roland and said solemnly, "Anna grew up under my watch. I''m both her sword art teacher and her uncle. To some extent, I''m half her father. I barely stop her from doing what she wants, but why do you think the royal family would allow you to take her away?" Because of the slow transmission of news, and because the royal family had been keeping the queen''s elopement a secret, Cage didn''t know that the royal family had given up on the queen. Roland said with a smile, "There''s no need to worry about the royal family." Eyes wide, Cage observed Roland suspiciously for a while, before he frowned and asked, "Are you being confident, or cocky?" "It''s been a couple of months since Andonara came to me." Roland stepped forward and said with his hands against the stone guardrail on the balcony, "If the royal family had intended to deal with us, our lives would''ve been much harder." Cage patted the guardrail and said, "You''re quite good. I can sense that you''re one of the best in the younger generation, but you''re not as good as Anna. The royal family couldn''t have backed off because you''re strong." "What if I''m undying?" Cage was shocked at first. In silence, he understood everything. "So, you are a Golden Son. That explains a lot." Isolated as Reed Village was, there were still travelers here, and Cage had heard about the Golden Sons. Not just other people, even Cage would feel scared if he had to fight a Golden Son, who could be resurrected even if he was killed. Roland smiled at Cage modestly. Cage turned around. With his back against the guardrail, he held his arms and said, "Since she''s willing to give up her title as the queen and go with you, she must trust you very much." Roland nodded. He had sensed it too. "So, live up to Anna''s expectations for you." Roland secretly sighed and asked, "Andonara is very strong, but why is she troubled by a sense of insecurity?" It was what puzzled Roland. Supposedly, a woman as strong as Andonara should be confident and determined, but she was very clingy. Roland''s heart palpitated. Cage, however, continued with a peaceful tone. "Their manor was in a remote corner in the capital. After my sister-in-law died, the four-year-old Andonara spent a month in the manor on her own. A month later, Cassel came home with a fortune, only to see the gravest tragedy." Roland clenched his hands and subconsciously squeezed them. Taking a deep breath, Cage said, "Cassel saw his wife''s body on the bed, half-rotted, with maggots everywhere on the wet yellow blanket. Anna, who was nothing more than a bag of bones, was sleeping in a corner with her mother''s clothes. Many maggots were crawling in her hair and clothes too. "At that time, Anna was already dying, and if my brother had come home a day or two later "Later, we estimated that Anna had not been fed for a whole month. My brother even found a lot of rotten fruits and stems next to his wife''s pillow. Anna must''ve picked them in the manor. She ate some of them and placed the rest next to her mother, probably hoping that her mother could wake up and play with her again after eating those fruits. "We couldn''t imagine how frightened she must''ve been alone in that gigantic manor, unable to wake up her mother at all. Nobody answered her call in the dark nights, nobody comforted her, and her mother was getting smellier and weirder after each day. I can''t possibly imagine the horror, not to mention a four-year-old girl." Roland raised his head at the sky and blinked his eyes hard. He felt that his eyes were moist. "My brother asked a Priest to save Anna and buried his wife. Then, he burned the manor to the ground and bought a much bigger mansion in a rich neighborhood with the money he made. After Anna woke up, she started looking for fruits on the lawn, claiming that she was doing it for her mother, and her mother would play with her again after eating them. But she couldn''t find her mother in the new home and she kept running away. She would yell at whoever tried to stop her." Roland asked, "Is that why Andonara has always felt unsafe?" "It took a year before Anna finally stopped looking for fruits and forgot about her mother." Cage sighed and said, "She has been cold to her father since then. They weren''t close in the first place, as my brother traveled a lot for business, and after the incident, Anna subconsciously kept her father at a further distance. She had forgotten a lot of things, but she still blamed her father in her heart for not coming home sooner to save her mother. Things weren''t improved until she was twelve." Roland had heard and read a lot of tragedies in the information society. But those victims were all outsiders, or people he wasn''t familiar with. Though he was sad when he learned what happened to them, the feeling was never real. He only felt sad because of his empathy, and those victims were in fact nothing but strangers to him. But this was different. Andonara was a friend that he was very familiar with. Listening to a tragedy that happened to a friend was completely different from listening to one that happened to a stranger. Roland really didn''t know that Andonara, who was always needy although she was strong, had such a tragic past. No wonder she left with him so easily when she was the queen. It was only because the royal family "abandoned" her and he promised to protect her. She was really a woman with simple needs. 358 Manuscrip It was completely dark outside. The crescent moon in the night sky was bright and clear with few stars. The silver moonlight shone on the village, which was quiet as most villagers had gone to bed. Nothing could be heard except the occasional barks and the cool breeze from the mountains. The whole world seemed chilly. The two men stood in silence on the balcony for several minutes. Eventually, it was Roland who moved away from the grieving atmosphere first. He shook his head slightly and said, "You taught Andonara her sword arts. So, are you a Great Swordsman too? As far as I know, a Great Swordsman doesn''t have magic power." Cage smiled and rubbed his fingers together. Then, a blue flame appeared on his finger. Roland subconsciously leaned back. He sensed destructive energy from the flame. In terms of quality, it was even better than his two-thousand-degree fireball. If the flame could be expanded beyond half a meter in radius, it would be a horrifying spell equal to a nuclear bomb. But Roland knew very well that Cage couldn''t do it. At this point, the magic power in Cage''s body was plummeting, and he could only maintain the flame for three minutes at best. Even if he was to unleash it in an outburst, it would only be powerful enough to blow up the balcony. But a fireball that Roland built in five seconds could easily raze this building to the ground. Showing off the flame on his finger, Cage blew it out and said cockily, "Though we can''t use real magic, we can form a special fire with magic power. This fire can deal tremendous damage to foul creatures. That little bit of flame just now can easily burn an inferior devil into ashes." "It can suppress evil? Is it the Hero''s power?" Cage nodded and said, "Probably." "Probably?" Faced with Roland''s confusion, Cage said helplessly, "We know that we''re heirs to Hero Kelter. But the problem is that our great-grandfather didn''t leave us any notes on how to carry out our power. He disappeared after my grandfather was born, leaving nothing but legends of himself, this house, and the noble title." "That sounds irresponsible." "Yes. My grandfather said that he didn''t remember his father, the legendary Hero, at all. He didn''t know if that man was the one on the painting in our living room. My grandfather disappeared when I was seven. I thought he went missing," Cage said with a self-mocking tone. "But then I realized that it was our family''s destiny. When I was eight, my father said that he sensed the arrival of evil, and he left home with his longsword, never to return. My mother raised me, but when I was eighteen, she passed away because she was too exhausted and she missed my father too much." Hearing that, Roland suddenly said, "I haven''t seen your wife yet. Has she" Cage nodded. "She died three months after she gave birth to Kaido." "Her fragility." Cage couldn''t be more regretful. "I had been slaying evil everywhere since I became a mercenary at eighteen. When I was thirty, I realized that I was getting old and I had to have children. But I didn''t want to repeat the tragedies in my family. I decided that I would be a regular small noble and stop fighting. So, I married an ordinary woman, hoping that I could dilute my family bloodline. But I miscalculated." Cage looked around and, confirming that his son was not around, said in a low voice, "I didn''t know that the babies of our family would absorb the vitality of their mothers when they were born. My ancestors had married professionals who were strong, so they were fine. But my wife was merely an ordinary woman. I got her killed." His eyes were red when he talked about that. He had been keeping it to himself for a long time, and he always wanted to talk to someone. Roland left a good impression on him. Selected by Andonara, the man was partly his family too. He didn''t feel it was a problem to tell him. Roland sighed. He found that the Reed family had indeed been unfortunate. Since Hero Kelter, fathers and mothers had been dying in this family, such that it was a miracle that this family still had descendants. Was the family cursed? Very likely. Nothing was impossible in a world of magic. Cage felt a lot better. With his guilt for his wife, he gave up the Reed family''s mission of banishing evil and stopped going on missions. He stayed here and raised his son. For a man who used to travel a lot, staying a while at home would be restful, staying a year would be boring, and staying a couple of years would be downright frustrating. Since his wife had passed away, he had been quite unhappy. But he felt a lot better now that Andonara visited him again and Roland was willing to listen to him. Roland didn''t talk, nor did he know what to say. The guy did not seem in need of comfort. Roland was not used to comforting a man either. If it were Andonara, he might have tried to comfort her. After a few minutes of silence, when Cage calmed down, he asked, "You must be here for something, no?" Roland turned his head in surprise. There was a teasing smile on Cage''s mature, handsome face. "Don''t look at me that way. I traveled for almost twelve years. I''ve met everyone that I should and shouldn''t have met. Besides, Anna grew up under my watch, and I know what''s on her mind. She''s obviously here because of you." This was an experienced man who was much more sophisticated than Roland. After a moment of silence, Roland said, "My intelligence suggests that Andonara can grow stronger here." "She''s already very strong." Cage found it odd. "She''s a Master Great Swordsman. Though she is focused on Agility, her physical qualities are not bad at all." "I know, but she can be stronger." Cage hesitated for a moment, as if he were too embarrassed to talk, but in the end, he said, "I''m not saying that. Not that I disrespect you, but you''re only an Elite and some distance from being a Master. While you can make out with Anna now, you won''t be able to poke her if she grows stronger." Roland didn''t get it first, but after considering for a few seconds, he almost burst into laughter. He was of a mind to say that he still had Extreme Body Fortification if necessary. But then, he realized that he might fall into the guy''s trap if he said that. He stared at Cage and said, amused, "Is that what an uncle should do? Mmake fun of your niece?" "That''s a serious question," Cage said solemnly. "Anna was the queen in the past, so I didn''t say anything. But now that she''s with you, she must have children, mustn''t she? A woman''s life is incomplete without children." Roland waved his hand. "I don''t want to talk about that." "Then let''s talk about something else," Cage said with a joking grin. "Is your friend very familiar with the Hero''s family?" "Yes, he is." "Well, can you tell me his name?" "I can''t say it." "You can''t say it, or you daren''t say it?" asked Cage. Roland said solemnly, "I can''t say it." "Then it''s odd." Crossing his arms, Cage said in confusion, "Andonara hasn''t inherited much of the Hero bloodline power, as can be seen from her inability to cast blue flames. She''s simply a talented Warrior." Roland listened quietly. "But your friend is very confident that there''s a way for Anna to grow stronger here?" Cage considered for a moment and said, "Am I missing anything here? It doesn''t make sense" Roland was about to talk, when Andonara called from downstairs, "Uncle, Roland, come here. It''s time for dinner." When they went to the dining room, they found that everybody was in position except them. Cage sat down at the host''s seat, and Roland sat down next to Andonara. It was the only empty seat at the table. Everybody had specifically saved it for him. The dishes on the table looked delicious. Instead of giving a long and tedious speech, Cage simply expressed his welcome again and asked the guests to enjoy the food. The dinner tasted quite nice. After dinner, everybody chit-chatted for a while before they returned to their bedrooms. After all, they were all exhausted after the long journey. Roland, on the other hand, was taken to a room on the third floor by Andonara. "This is where I lived when I was little. My father would drop me here whenever he had to travel for business." Andonara spun in the room, and her dress swirled like a white flower. She obviously missed the good old times. Roland looked around. The room seemed plain without much furniture, but upon closer look, he found that all the furniture was made of expensive wood. Also, the room was tidy without any smell, which implied that it had been cleaned regularly. Andonara dragged Roland to the bed and laid her hand on Roland''s shoulder, before she said in disappointment, "I had planned to introduce you to my father. But he''s still out." Roland hadn''t been able to talk yet when someone knocked on the door. Andonara opened the door, only to see Cage outside. "Uncle?" "Sorry to interrupt you." Cage walked in and put a manuscript before Roland. "I thought about what you said for a long time. If you have to name one thing that''s strange in this house, it will be this manuscript." "Didn''t you say that Hero Kelter didn''t leave any kind of notes or records?" "He didn''t, but this manuscript is rather odd." Roland accepted it and opened it, only to be surprised too. 359 Phoenix Blood Roland''s reaction was understandable, because the manuscript was made of weird triangular symbols. They seemed to be a mess, but Roland had found that they were special spell models that were different from humans'' elemental magic and elves'' natural magic. The first few pages were depictions of models, and the rest of the manuscript was written in a language of triangles that he had never seen before. "Have you ever asked a Mage to decipher this?" "I let a few trustworthy Mages read it, but none of them could understand it," Cage said with a bitter smile. "But one of them said that the words may be written in the devil language. So, I estimate that this manuscript might be a loot that my ancestors got. Now, few human beings can understand Elvish, not to mention the devil language. Besides, there are many kinds of devils, and there''s no telling which dialect this is." As a book lover and collector, Roland had learned more about this world. The devils actually had more categories than the number of intelligent races in the main plane where human beings lived. Most devil races had their own languages. Even the inferior devils, who could barely count as intelligent creatures, had their unique languages. So, it was hard to translate the manuscript even though it was of evil origin. "Then let''s translate it." Roland put the manuscript on the desk. Cage was surprised. "You know the language?" He was even slightly alarmed. Could this young man be related to the Realm of Devils? Roland snapped his fingers, and all the three of them were wreathed in a halo. Cage was surprised at first. Then, when he looked at the manuscript, he realized that he could understand it now. He was even more surprised. "What kind of spell is this? I''ve never seen any spell that can let you read something you don''t understand!" Andonara was quite proud, as happy as if it were her who had cast the spell. "This is a spell that Roland modified. He''s the only person capable of it in the whole world." Cage looked at Roland in surprise. As a noble and a Warrior, he was literate and had received a good education, but he never considered himself smart. Though he knew that he was not smart, he was aware that whoever could modify spells were the best geniuses. This young man was strong, smart, and had huge potential. No wonder Andonara eloped with him. Cage thought about that for a while. Then, he read out the words that he could now understand. "''I am Kelter from the Reed family. If you can comprehend these words, it means that your bloodline power has been awakened. I''m writing this so that the future generations can understand something very important.''" Hearing that, Roland stood up and said, "I''m going to take a walk." He''d better keep a distance from family affairs. Andonara immediately grabbed his arm and smiled. "I''ll go with you." She was only from a branch of the family, and it seemed inappropriate for her to read the Hero''s notes that had been intentionally written in the devil language so that nobody else could understand. "That''s unnecessary. This is Anna''s room anyway." Cage closed the manuscript and said, "I''ll go back to my room." That would do! Roland and Andonara stayed in the room. Andonara talked to Roland for a while before she went to bed. Roland, on the other hand, continued cracking the elven spells. Firstly, he needed to figure out the function of every round node. Then, he could establish mathematical models with the data. With enough data, he could infer the functions of all the nodes and even seek new combinations. Roland had always believed that math could explain 99% of things in this world. The last percent accounted for the complicated, unreasonable, and even chaotic feelings of intelligent creatures, which even the greatest mathematician couldn''t calculate or predict. The elves'' spell models were much more complicated than those in elemental magic. Metaphorically speaking, the natural magic would be a 2D picture, and the elves'' spell models would be a 2.5D picture with shadow and perspective, but they were not exactly a 3D hologram either. Thanks to almost twenty years of systematic education, Roland was a great self-learner. He was not exactly the best student, but he was definitely one of the geniuses of this world. Even though the spells of elves weren''t designed for human beings, Roland had parsed and optimized them for a whole night. Also, he had classified the magic nodes with Spiritual Endowment, which he recently learned. After a night of hard work, he had successfully reduced the magic cost of Plant Enlivening by five percent. It did not seem significant, but there was nothing more he could do. This spell was for elves and not human beings. It was already impressive enough that Roland improved it so much after a single night. The next morning, Cage knocked on the door. He was quite shocked when the door opened, as it was a half-meter-tall treant that opened the door for him! What exactly happened? He was about to kick the treant away, but sensing no maliciousness from it, he managed to hold himself back. Roland and Andonara were standing behind the treant. "What''s this?" Cage looked at them weirdly. "Have you made a baby already?" As a married woman, Andonara did not feel shy about the subject at all. Instead, she said naturally, "I wish this was our child." Roland rolled his eyes at her and explained, "This is a magic experiment I did last night. Your potted plant in this room is gone." Cage looked to the right of the dresser, only to see nothing but a pot of mud. He squatted and observed the treant. It was very thin, with a girth of the width of two fingers. Two narrow, long vines stretched out from its head, each with a green eye on it. Then, there was an organ that looked like a mouth at the center of the trunk. "This looks rather disgusting," Cage couldn''t help but remark. But this treant appeared to understand what he said. After a brief shock, it rushed to a corner and retreated its eyes into its leaves, as if it was very sad. Cage looked at Roland in confusion. Roland chuckled and explained, "This plant has been living here and looked after by you. So, it might consider you a father, or a master." "Really?" Cage was slightly confused. "But normally speaking, don''t summoned creatures always follow who summons them?" Roland said helplessly, "This is the second time that I''ve used this elven spell, so I may have made a mistake. It doesn''t consider me its master." "It''s better than the first time, when the treant Roland summoned attacked him as an enemy," said Andonara with a smile. An elven spell? Cage''s eyes were fixated on Roland. There was no telling what was on his mind. After a while, he moved his eyes back to the sad treant in the corner and said, "If you regard me as a master, you can stay in this house. But you must be responsible for cleaning. Also, after you grow up a little bit, you need to help me protect this home. How does that sound?" The treant suddenly stood up, its eyes moving up and down as if it were nodding. Then, it hopped in excitement. Seeing that Cage was willing to take the treant in, Roland was relieved and asked, "Mr. Cage, why did you come to wake us up in person?" Cage closed the door and said in a low voice, "I read the manuscript last night. There are certain things that I can''t tell you, but I can tell you something." "Such as?" asked Roland. "My ancestor mentioned in the manuscript that if his descendants are under enormous pressure or threat, or if this world is scourged by evil and we don''t have enough fighters in the family, we can go to a special space to obtain three bottles of Phoenix Blood. They can trigger a bloodline power after they''re taken." Cage looked at Andonara and at Roland, before he said, "This is not exactly a dangerous moment, but Andonara is part of the family, and I wouldn''t know any of this at all if you weren''t here. So as chief of the family, I should give you one bottle. You''re here in order to make Andonara stronger anyway, aren''t you?" Roland nodded. It was exactly why he was here. Andonara thought for a moment and asked, "Uncle, the three bottles of blood must be very precious, no? Didn''t our ancestor say that we should not use them until our family or the world is in danger?" Cage smiled and said, "You are the queen, but you''re with him. Although the royal family keeps a distance from you now, as soon as you show the slightest weakness, those wolves will lunge at you. The stronger you are, the safer you will be. If you use this when you''re in real danger, there may be no chance for you at all Besides, even if you use one bottle, we will have two more bottles, right?" Andonara was rather moved. "Thank you, Uncle." "There''s no need to be courteous with me." Cage gently patted Andonara''s head and said, "We''re family. Let''s grab some breakfast first and set off for the three bottles of Phoenix Blood. I''m getting excited. It''s been a long time since I had an adventure." 360 Repulsive Stuff After breakfast, Cage spoke to his son and asked the butler to take care of him, and Roland simply told Vivian and her companions to rest at Cage''s place. In fact, the magic apprentices would rather take action with Roland. After all, it seemed inappropriate that the magic apprentices stayed behind while their boss was working. But Roland stubbornly declined their request. In fact, Roland didn''t think that the adventure would be dangerous. However, the secrets of the Reed family were involved. It was fine for Roland to join in because he was very close to Andonara. Besides, had it not been for Roland, Cage might not have learned about the blood at all. Therefore, Cage brought Roland with him. The three of them left the village. This village was actually quite beautiful, with fruit trees next to the road. However, the excrement of sheep and cows and the smell of human urine completely ruined the peaceful, idyllic atmosphere. On their way out, they happened upon some villagers, who all greeted Cage warmly. Cage replied to them delightedly too. There was no sense of separation between them at all, as if they were equal. Some of the older villagers greeted Andonara too. "Young Anna, it''s been a while." Andonara reacted with a sweet smile too. Roland took a long breath when he was out of the village, as the stink in the village was rather suffocating to him, who loved cleanliness. There were two roads extending from the north of the village, one leading to Winterwind and the other to the top of the mountain. Goats could be vaguely seen on the mountain in the distance. Taking a deep breath, Cage said, "According to the manuscript, the three bottles of Phoenix Blood are hidden in a cave on the mountain, but they may be tricky to get." "How exactly is it tricky?" asked Andonara voluntarily. She was wearing soft brown leather armor that was rather tight, making her look neat and perky. Cage said, "Our ancestor said that, in case anyone accidentally breaks in and takes the bottles of blood, he had set up some traps in the cave, which are easy to pass for the members of our family, but impossible for outsiders." Roland remarked quickly, "The exorcising effect of the Hero bloodline power? Some kind of devil must be watching the cave." After a moment of shock, Cage shook his head and said, "Are all Mages as smart as you?" Roland said with a smile, "It''s just a simple deduction. Anybody could''ve guessed that." Andonara said, "I couldn''t have thought of it at all if you hadn''t told me." Roland was lost for words. He didn''t know what he should say about Andonara. She might seem slightly silly, but Roland felt too great about himself under her admiring eyes to dislike her. He even found her cute. Both Roland and Andonara smiled awkwardly. Cage''s wife had been dead for years. He could''ve remarried but he didn''t, fearing that his new wife would mistreat his son. So, he simply visited Winterwind every fortnight to communicate with the most beautiful escort in town. "Let''s go." Cage led the way to the foot of the mountain. Roland and Andonara immediately followed him. Roland climbed the mountain with ease in the beginning, but halfway through the climb, he found that he had problems. This mountain was desolate. Behind the trees were thorny bushes or vines. Wearing his long robe, Roland was hindered by the thorns now and then. That was not all. He could deal with the hindering thorns, but the rugged road made Roland extremely uncomfortable. The mosses were so damp that he might easily lose his balance and fall. There were quite a few places that required a jump. While Cage and Andonara could make it easily, Roland had to climb with all fours. As a Mage, Roland did not have as much stamina as the two Warriors did. He soon began to sweat. Andonara leaned close to him and said gently, "I''ll give you a hand later." Cage was walking in the front. He turned back and said with a smile, "This is normal for Mages. They may be good in battle, but they will be burdens in long journeys. I saw this a lot when I used to be a mercenary. Rest assured, we''ll wait for you." Cage was describing a rather common situation among the Mages. It was true for most Mages and Warlocks. The real capable spellcasters who were above Master level were as rare as pandas and would never appear in any place other than their own towers or the dinner parties of the nobles. Therefore, mercenaries always carried the stereotype that spellcasters were destructive but vulnerable. Roland stopped and caught his breath, before he said, "There''s no need to wait. I can handle it." "There''s no need to play tough." Cage smiled gently. "Mages can''t do everything." "I''m not playing tough." Roland sighed and said, "I was only stupid just now. Instead of following your pace, I decide to use our tricks." Cage was rather confused. Roland began to snap his fingers nonstop, and halos of magic emerged around him. "Extreme Body Fortification." "Floating." "Magic Shield." "Agility Strengthening." Then, two Hands of Magic helped him clear a path among the bushes. Also, when he had to climb again, Roland simply used Teleportation. After all, a close-range Teleportation was not costly. He could replenish his magic power with Roland''s Zeal, which doubled mana regeneration. It was Cage who was lost for words now. Watching Roland who was flashing easily here and there, he couldn''t help but ask, "Why are you capable of so many spells when you''re still so young?" "I learned them." Moving the grasses aside with the sheath of his sword, Cage asked, "As far as I know, learning spells can be costly. How much money have you spent?" "Not counting the spells that I sold" Roland thought for a moment and said, "I''ve paid almost two hundred gold coins for spell models." Cage looked back in surprise. "Wait, why are you so rich?" As the leader of a villager Cage lived a rather extravagant life, but he couldn''t compare to the real grand nobles. It wouldn''t be bad if the taxes of the whole village could surpass one gold coin each year. Most of his current savings were earned when he still worked as a mercenary. Mercenaries didn''t really make a lot of money. After ten years of hard work, he made no more than forty gold coins, and that was not counting the maintenance cost of his weapons and armor as well as traveling fees. Deducting all the expenses, he had only made some twenty gold coins after ten years as a mercenary, but he could already be counted as a rich guy. His brother made more money as a merchant. After ten years of business, his brother had made a net profit of more than a hundred gold coins. But the real estate in the capital was expensive. The two manors almost cost all of his savings. Therefore, Andonara''s father was still busy making money as a traveling merchant. Roland, in comparison, had spent almost two hundred gold coins on spell models. Cage couldn''t help but click his tongue. "No wonder people say that Mages are a class that is both wealthy and poor. I didn''t know that a Mage could spend hundreds of gold coins without batting an eye." Although Cage was a mercenary for a decade, he had never really talked to any Mage expert. The best Mage he had met was an Elite who was not much higher than Roland''s level. Also, to be honest, the Mages and Warlocks who hung out with mercenaries were mostly poor. If they could afford magic materials and spell models, no spellcaster would risk their life making money. But of course, the players were exceptions. For the players, being a mercenary was not only profitable but also a good way to level up. With its missions and intelligence, the Guild of Mercenaries was the best training ground for the players. After the exclamation of amazement, Cage shook his head and continued the journey. While he was free, Roland cast Extreme Body Fortification and Floating on Andonara and Cage too. Immediately, they moved much faster over the terrain. Zigzagging through the woods, Cage finally stopped somewhere near the summit. Before him was a pile of stones. Recalling what he read last night, Cage said, "According to the manuscript, the secret chamber is right below the stones. Let''s see if we can clear them." Roland stopped Cage, who was about to roll up his sleeves, and said, "Wait. Let me do some reconnaissance first." Then, Roland closed his eyes and unleashed his enormous mental power into the mountain. Roland controlled his mental power well and did not touch Cage or Andonara at all. Still, Cage felt that he was surrounded by heavy pressure, which was rather uncomfortable. Andonara felt differently from Cage. Sensing that Roland was close around her, she couldn''t be more reassured. About three minutes later, Roland retracted his mental power, face pale, and said, "There''s indeed a secret chamber down there, but it''s occupied by some repulsive stuff that seems invisible. I don''t feel happy about it." 361 Curse That thing was a ball of energy with unknown colors. When Roland''s net of mental power approached it, he was nauseated, and even more surprisingly, that thing could absorb his mental power. Though it was slow, Roland had no doubt that he was being drained. So, Roland quickly retracted the threads of his mental power. "It must be the watcher that our Hero ancestor left behind." Looking at the stones, Cage said, "It will be tricky to clear these stones. Also, the watcher below might launch an unexpected attack when we''re about to move the stones." Cage''s concerns were well-grounded. As a former mercenary, Cage was still vigilant though he hadn''t fought for almost ten years. He knew very well what would become of him if he was attacked during his work. He had experienced it before. While he was hesitating, Roland stood out and snapped his fingers. Then, the stones melted like ice under the scorching sun. They turned into a swamp with a vortex at the center, before the mud in the swamp flowed down. "Impressive!" Cage complimented in amazement. "Instantly casting Stone to Mud, a level-two spell, at such a young age means that you''re more than a genius." Andonara grinned delightedly. She liked it best when other people complimented Roland. Roland smiled modestly. But then Cage frowned and said, "The mud is sinking into the secret chamber. What if the three bottles of blood are buried?" "Don''t worry. I''ve just investigated it with my mental power. This secret chamber is rather huge." Looking at the bubbling swamp, Roland said, "Even if all the mud falls in, there will be nothing more than a three-centimeter-tall layer of mud on the floor of the secret chamber." Cage was much relieved after hearing that. Soon, most of the mud was drained in the vortex, revealing a dark entrance in front of them. Roland snapped his fingers again, and the remaining mud became stone. Cage looked at Roland again and shook his head in admiration. They approached the entrance together. There were supposed to be stairs here, but because of the mud, the stairs had been reshaped into an irregular slide. Cage and Andonara both looked at Roland. Roland snapped his fingers again, and the slide of mud was hardened. At this point, a cold wind was blown from below, reducing the temperature of the air quickly. Very soon, everybody could see their own breaths. "This is unusually cold." Cage drew his longsword and wiped it with his left hand, and blue flames immediately bounced on the longsword, driving the coldness away. He continued, "I''ll go down first. You can follow me." Then, he jumped into the cave. Because Floating was still functional, Cage was not worried that he might fall. He was dropping at a very low speed. Andonara followed Roland. The three of them, wobbling, landed in the secret chamber from above, right after the three luminous balls did. Under the illumination of the spheres, they could see the whole secret chamber clearly. On the floor was a rock layer about ten centimeters thick, which was particularly thick and uneven at the front. Roland peeped at Cage, who had jumped fearlessly when there was absolutely no light. It could only be explained in two ways. Firstly, Cage might be very familiar with the secret chamber, which was unlikely. The second explanation, and the more plausible one, was that Cage had Dark Vision. Normally, it was a special ability for rare species, such as kobolds, drows, or nocturnal magical beasts. There were only a couple of races in the main plane who had Dark Vision. But the cases were different for the devils. It was said that the devils lived in a dim world, so everybody in the Realm of Devils used Dark Vision for survival. Recalling the words he read last night, Roland had some guesses. But he didn''t give it a lot of thought, because his attention was attracted by what was before his eyes. At the center of the secret chamber was a huge platform that appeared to be a ritual table. Above the platform was a red bronze box with a white key. What really attracted their attention was the black, surging energy above the box, which looked like the seething clouds before a spring thunderstorm. In the middle of the energy were two red spots that stared at the intruders like eyes. They were absolutely still and inert. Andonara drew her longsword and subconsciously stopped before Roland. "Is this the watcher?" Cage looked around and waved the longsword with blue flames, before he said with a smile, "So, it''s a dark creature. All of them are susceptible to our family. No wonder the ancestor said that it''s not challenging for us." "But I feel that it''s tricky." Andonara pursed her red lips and said uncomfortably, "I''m a Great Swordsman. I can''t deal with anything that doesn''t have a real entity." "Then let me destroy it first." Cage picked up the blue fiery sword and walked forward. "Wait!" Andonara suddenly stopped him. "Unlessunless you''re going to relocate the Phoenix Blood to your home, you''d better keep this thing here as the watcher, or any intruder could take away the rest of the Phoenix Blood easily." Cage moved his foot back and said, "You do have a point." "Then what do we do?" Cage looked at the black energy and remarked, "If we don''t kill it, we will probably be attacked the moment we step forward." "Can''t you cover yourself with the blue flames, open the box, and then come back with the bottle?" Roland thought with the mindset of a Mage and said, "The blue flames of your family suppress the dark creatures. I don''t think it will dare to attack you." Cage looked at Roland speechlessly, which puzzled Roland. "Did I say something wrong?" Looking at Roland''s innocent face, Cage said in depression, "We''re Warriors, not Mages. We can''t control magic power precisely like Mages. It took me ten years to learn to attach my flames to my sword without burning anything up You want me to cover myself with flames? Though I won''t be hurt, they will consume my clothes and my hair. Besides, I can''t complete such a complicated operation at all." "Then it seems that we can only destroy it." Roland opened his hands. Cage stepped forward with his sword, but at this point, the two red balls in the collection of energy grew brighter and bigger, turning from apricots into apples. Then, weird sounds echoed in the secret chamber, nasty and discomforting. They sounded like someone scratching an iron blackboard with their fingernails. Cage subconsciously stepped back in a defensive posture, and Roland immediately summoned two blue shield-holding magic puppets before Andonara. In the meantime, he prepared to cast Prismatic Spray. "The offspring of the Phoenix family are really weak." The high-pitched voices made everybody in the secret chamber extremely uncomfortable. The voices also came with intense mental attacks. Cage had the bloodline power of a Hero, which contained the Valiance specialization. He was immune to regular mental attacks. Roland''s mental power was high, and he was protected by a magic shield. So he was barely influenced. Andonara was more affected than Roland was. As a pure Warrior, she was less resistant to mental attacks. But since the Great Swordsman''s defense against all magic attacks, including mental ones, had been strengthened, she felt a headache but wasn''t really hurt. Cage looked at the black energy and said in surprise, "You''re conscious? The manuscript said that you''re just a simple pale soul." "Hehehe!" The black energy smirked mockingly. "I''ve been here for almost a hundred years. It''s not strange that I would get my consciousness back, is it?" Cage looked rather awful. A conscious soul was much stronger than an unconscious one. Since his Hero bloodline power was not apparent, it might be troublesome for him to deal with a soul that was conscious after a hundred years without dispersing. Then, he looked at Roland and felt glad that he was with a Mage. Spellcasters were natural enemies to energy creatures. "So to speak, you have a name and a past?" Roland secretly concentrated his magic power, ready to attack. "Of course." The ball of black energy expanded and reshaped into a gigantic human-shaped monster with two horns. It was about three meters tall and looked rather magnificent. Roland found it familiar and narrowed his eyes slightly. Cage and Andonara, on the other hand, couldn''t have looked more awful. "It seems that you remember my appearance, offspring of the Devil King Phoenix who betrayed the details." The black horned monster laughed furiously. "That pitiful traitor and scoundrel gave up the Realm of Devils where he was born and raised and only hoped to become a dog of the main plane. It was your ancestor who destroyed our best chance to conquer the world of human beings. Phoenix, you will forever be cursed by all devils. You will spend half of your life in painful slumber, and your descendants will lose their loved ones in their happiest moments. I see it I see the curse growing and roaring inside you two. Hahahaha!" Due to his gloating, malicious laughter, the secret chamber was shaking and dust was falling. Both Cage and Andonara were so pale that there was no hint of blood in their cheeks at all. 362 No Accidents Cage and Andonara''s anxiety was understandable, because they remembered what happened to their family. Cage''s father had gone missing, and his wife died soon after childbirth. The death of Andonara''s mother was quite uncanny too. Though she was not very strong, Andonara''s mother was a Warrior. It was very strange that she died abruptly because of illness. However, everything was possible when curses and spells were involved. Seeing that they looked awful and lost their fighting will, Roland realized that they might''ve been hit by the psychological attack. The purpose of such attacks was not always to cause delirium or unconsciousness. Triggering depression was a way to fight, too. In a battle, grimness and low morale could affect one''s performance. Roland immediately said, "Don''t overthink yet. Let''s get rid of this enemy first." Hearing that, Cage and Andonara broke away from their devastation. Their faces immediately changed. In fact, they were not exactly weak or undetermined. This cunning specter wouldn''t have affected them so easily if it hadn''t torn apart their defenses with a few simple words. But now that Roland had woken them up, they looked at the weird specter gravely and seriously. It was impossible for the specter to put them in such a position again, unless it was really far more powerful than them. The horned specter burst into fury at Roland''s nosiness. It slapped Roland so quickly that barely anyone could''ve reacted. But Andonara did. She stepped quickly in front of Roland and pressed her sword forward. However, she was a pure melee class without any energy attacks. The gigantic hand of the specter penetrated through Andonara and hit Roland''s magic shield. Roland was thrown into the wall, leaving a huge dent on the wall. But thanks to the protection of the magic shield, Roland was temporarily stunned but wasn''t really hurt. Andonara''s face became pale, and she fell on her knees. She would''ve collapsed if she hadn''t been supporting herself with her sword. She felt cold and absolutely exhausted. She didn''t pass out only because of the high magic resistance of the Great Swordsman. If a random Warrior were hit like that, they probably would''ve been killed. "Diablo, you can go back to hell!" At this point, Cage charged and slashed his longsword of blue flames, which drove the coldness away. The specter, greatly scared of the blue flames, suddenly drifted two meters back, and Cage''s attack missed its mark. Then, the specter pointed at Andonara, launching a ball of pale flames at her. Cage turned around and cut the pale fireball into halves. Though the latter half of the fireball was gone, the front half kept flying at Andonara. Greatly shocked, Cage tried to stop it again, but there was no time. However, the shield-holding puppets that everybody ignored took action and stepped before Andonara. The pale hemisphere of fire hit the blue shield and exploded, blowing the shield into pieces, which turned into elemental power and disappeared into the air. The pale hemisphere was gone too. Though the shield was broken, the puppet was still there. It condensed another shield and raised it, although it looked smaller than before. Slightly relieved, Cage looked at the specter. At this point, the specter looked awful and exasperated. It grew larger as it floated forward and bashed at Andonara''s head with its two hands. Cage rushed to Andonara''s side and lifted his longsword, hoping to block the attack with the blue flames. But at this moment, the specter smiled hideously. Its fists came to a sudden stop halfway through the bashing, and a sharp thorn protruded from its abdomen and pressed forward. The bashing was only a distraction! Cage was rather cautious, but having not been in a life-and-death fight in ten years, he had lost his battle instincts. Caught unprepared, he was stabbed in the chest by the spirit thorn. There was no blood or wound, but Cage''s face suddenly became pale. The blue flames on his longsword vanished, and he fell on his knees helplessly. Retracting the thorn, the specter laughed crazily. While it laughed in greatest satisfaction, a gigantic rainbow was launched and hit its face. Then, the rainbow exploded together with the specter''s head, resulting in colorful pieces of magic power. Roland shook his head and walked forward. He had gotten rid of his previous dizziness, and he had realized his weakness again. His reaction was too slow. The greatest disadvantage of a focus on Intelligence and Spirit was the slow reaction. It was true that his reaction was much faster than ordinary people''s, but he was not nearly as good as the melee classes or the Rogues. Just now, even Andonara had reacted to the specter''s sudden attack, but he failed to. Therefore it seemed necessary for him to learn Foresight, a level-three spell, and keep it on permanently. While walking, Roland snapped his fingers, and two blue puppets appeared next to Cage and Andonara and protected them. Then, Roland cast Lesser Healing on them. The paleness on their faces gradually faded away, and they were regaining their strength. At this point, the specter had regrown its head, but its size had been reduced too. Seeing that Roland was healing Andonara and Cage, it roared in fury and pointed at Roland. The pale brilliance of magic was taking shape on its fingertip. But Roland would not let it attack again, not after the setback that he suffered just now. In fact, Roland had never stopped casting. From Prismatic Spray, to summoning the magic puppets, and then to healing, he had never stopped working. The brief gaps between them were only illusions when his magic power was regenerating. Thirty blue bullets of light were generated around Roland, before they were shot at the specter with fuzzy shadows behind them. Greatly shocked, the specter stopped casting and flashed two meters away. But Roland had seen it coming. His magic bullets were not concentrated but scattered, like a spray gun. Though it flashed away, the specter was still hit by four magic bullets. The magic bullets were not powerful individually, but they could be fatal collectively. Hit by the four magic bullets, the specter went somewhat stiff like a living creature even though it was made of energy. Then, Roland''s second wave of magic bullets was ready. This time, Roland reduced the range of the magic bullets, because he could tell that the specter could only flash two meters at best. Therefore, he only had to cover the area within two meters from the specter. The specter flashed again, this time to the left. Because the magic bullets were more concentrated this time, it was hit by six more bullets. It roared in pain, shaking off some of the dust on the ceiling. It staggered back like a normal creature, and it shrank in size. Cracks could be found on its black body of energy too. "Damn it. Who are you exactly?" The spirits ruthlessly glared at Roland. "An Elite Mage can''t cast such destructive spells so fast." It was well known that when a Mage was still weak, it was impossible for them to cast a spell both fast and destructively. In fact, it was not wrong. Even Roland had to prepare for five seconds in order to build an Inferior Fireball into a big one. However, compared to other Mages, Roland was fast, and in addition to being fast, his spells were more powerful than other people''s. Unwilling to waste his time with the specter, Roland began to condense fire. Since the specter had been hurt, Roland only needed to prepare for one second to build a fireball powerful enough to kill it. As the fireball on Roland''s fingertip grew larger and more powerful, the specter was frightened at first, then it dropped its concerns and stopped struggling. "Wait." Cage stood up. Thanks to the power of the Hero, he was resistant to the foul energy of specters, so he recovered faster. He said after he got back to his feet, "There''s something that I''d like to ask him." Roland closed his hands and extinguished the fist-sized fireball. Very soon, Andonara stood up too. She seemed frustrated and even slightly guilty. "You''re not Diablo." Cage looked at the specter and spoke slowly. After a brief shock, the specter burst into laughter. "Who else can I be if not Diablo? Your ancestor Kelter" "You''re not the real Diablo," Cage said confidently. "Diablo is a Devil King. His soul can''t be so weak that a Mage can take it down so easily. He''s better than that as a Devil King." After a moment of silence, the specter smiled. "You''re right. I''m not the real Diablo. I''m just a piece of his soul, one that is only the size of a fingernail." 363 A Cheater The soul pieces of a Devil King, after hiding in a dark corner for decades, finally gained wisdom and revealed itself It was a cliche in knight novels. But art was often based on reality. Such cliches suggested that similar things had happened in reality. It might not be a Devil King, but could be some other kind of devil, such as a Succubus. However, the specter before their eyes indeed seemed to be a soul piece of Diablo. The piece the size of a fingernail had turned into a giant three meters tall. How big would the Devil King''s original soul be? In this magic world, the quality of the soul could totally reflect the upper limit of one''s abilities as long as their body was good enough. Good bodies, on the other hand, could give birth to powerful souls too. Most Warriors seemed to have more brawn than brains, but in fact, none of the high-level Warriors was an idiot. Even if they seemed to be, it was usually a show to fool people. They were only less smart than the spellcasters of their level. By the same logic, a high-level Mage wouldn''t be physically weak either. Both Cage and Andonara were quite silent. They felt lucky that they came early and that they brought Roland. If they had come a dozen years later, this soul piece of the Devil King would''ve grown stronger, and it would''ve been trickier to deal with it. Chances were that the Reed family could have been destroyed by it. "You''re frightened?" The specter smiled in disdain and looked at Roland, before he focused his eyes on Cage again. "You want to ask me something? Why do you think I would reply?" The specter was not as strong as before, only two meters tall. But his cold smile was still intimidating. Cage thought for a moment and said, "Because you are a Devil King. As far as I know, a Devil King is an evil but honest devil hybrid." The specter chuckled and said, "Diablo is Diablo, and I am me. We''re two individuals since I gained consciousness." "You''re his clone and have his memories. Do you not have the same personalities?" "You human beings are all from your mothers'' uterus. Are you your mother''s clone?" said the specter coldly. Cage was lost for words. After a while, he finally said, "What I want to know is if the curse you mentioned is real." The specter laughed again, merrily and cockily, "Of course it''s real. Phoenix betrayed all the devils as a Devil King. How could he have a happy ending?" "How can the curse be lifted?" Cage stepped forward and glared at the specter. "Kill all the Devil Kings." The specter continued laughing cockily. "But do you think it''s possible?" Cage looked even more awful. Andonara walked back to Roland and looked at him concernedly. If the curse was real, and Roland was her love, would anything happen to him? Andonara realized that this made sense and took a breath in relief. "What''s a Golden Son? You seem rather bold!" The specter had been observing Roland. Hearing his reply, it mocked, "Nobody except the gods can resist a curse from all the Devil Kings." Roland smiled but didn''t say anything, and Cage and Andonara looked at the specter in a weird way, as if it were a bumpkin. Cage turned around and looked at Roland and Andonara. "Do you have any questions?" Andonara shook her head. Roland didn''t have any questions, either. "Then it''s time for you to go." Cage covered his longsword with blue flames again and spoke to the specter. "Is there anything else you want to say?" "You want me to beg?" The specter shrugged unconcernedly. "Although I''m not the same person as Diablo, he is sort of a father to me anyway. You think I''m going to denigrate him?" "That''s not what I meant." Cage shook his head and slightly raised his longsword. "I was only asking you if you have any last words." The specter chuckled. "Is that the mercy of a Hero? How hypocritical." Cage slashed the longsword across the specter''s shapeless body, but the blue flames on the sword were left on the specter and burned it up. The specter had completely given up resistance. The power of a Hero was indeed a bane to all evil. The flames weren''t powerful, but they were fueled by the specter. In no more than ten seconds, the two-meter-tall specter was burned into nothingness, and the blue flames were gone too. The coldness in the air gradually went away. Then, all the three of them looked at the box on the stone table. Cage walked over and opened the box with the key. Inside the box were two round bottles made of natural glass. The bottles were full of crimson fluids. Both Cage and Andonara felt that they were connected to the blood when they saw it. But then Cage shouted, "Why are there only two bottles? Aren''t there supposed to be three?" "One of our ancestors probably took a bottle away." Andonara observed the bottles carefully and said, "Uncle, one bottle is missing. Can I still take it?" Cage considered for three seconds and said, "Take it. This is exactly the moment that you need it. You''re part of the Reed family too." Andonara picked up a bottle from the box and placed it before Roland. "Can you feel the magic power in the blood? I feel that it''s connected to me. Every organ on my body is urging me to take it." Roland nodded heavily. He had indeed sensed it, because an item menu was popping up in his vision. Item: Phoenix Blood (Legendary) Effect: Usable at LV10; it will grant Phoenix bloodline power after usage. The user will automatically receive Hero''s Power, Valiance, and Seething Magic Power. If the user has the Phoenix bloodline, the level restriction can be ignored, and all the basic stats and the stats growth of the user will be increased by two. Hero''s Power: You can naturally wield blue flames, which can deal tremendous damage to evil creatures. Valiance: You''re strongly resistant to mental debuffs. Seething Magic Power: Your magic power circulates quickly and passionately. The fiery spells you cast will be strengthened by twenty percent. After reading the detailed introduction to the blood, Roland couldn''t help but exclaim in shock despite his usual calm. That blood was too useful. Apart from the Phoenix bloodline, the three additional specializations were already attractive enough. If someone from the Reed family took it, their stats and their stats growth would be increased by two. That was unbelievable. No wonder Kelter could seal Diablo in the past. The Heroes were indeed cheaters. 364 Immortal Bird A legendary item was right before Roland''s eyes. If he were to sell it, he could earn at least a thousand gold coins. He was somewhat greedy. But he soon gave up the idea without any regret. Everybody felt greed, but the difference between a normal person and a glutton was whether or not they could hold it back. Shaking the bottle of blood before Roland, Andonara said, "Should I take it here?" Nobody could predict what would happen after the Phoenix Blood was taken. Based on her experience that the more powerful an item was, the more unbelievable its effects could be, Andonara even suspected that she would sleep for a long time while her blood was cleansed. Therefore, she hoped that Roland could protect her. "Don''t worry." Roland smiled at her. Seeing that, Cage said, "Then I''ll go first. You can block the cave." As he spoke, Cage picked up the last bottle of Phoenix Blood from the case and said, "I''ll take this. If my son is too useless later, this will be his last hope." Naturally, Andonara and Roland didn''t object to it. They were both grateful to Cage. After all, not every chief of a family would give something so important to a distant descendant who was also a woman. Cage walked out of the secret chamber, but he suddenly craned his head and said with a mischievous smile, "You can spend a day or two down here. I''ll help you entertain those magic apprentices." Roland''s expression remained the same, but Andonara''s eyes glittered. Then, Cage left the secret chamber. Roland snapped his fingers, and the mud blocked the entrance of the secret chamber before it turned into rock. With the luminous spheres, the chamber was as bright as before. Andonara walked to Roland with the bottle of blood. She looked rather weird and appeared both determined and hesitant. Eventually, she stood on her tiptoes and whispered to Roland, "Although this was left by my ancestor, I don''t know what side effects I will suffer during the transformation. If I become hideous after the transformation, just burn me into ashes with your fireball." "Should we really go that far?" Roland said with a bitter smile. Andonara said without hesitation, "I''m a woman. The prettier a woman is, the more concerned she''ll be with her appearance. I would rather die than turn ugly. I don''t want you to remember me as an ugly girl." "It won''t happen. Even if it does, I will make you beautiful again with everything I have," Roland said with a smile. "If it''s a magical effect, there will always be magical solutions." Well Andonara was quite happy to hear Roland''s promise. Then, she opened the bottle and poured the blood in her mouth. Normal blood would''ve gone bad after being stored for a hundred years. But this Phoenix Blood was still red and glittering. There was even a vague blueness in it. After swallowing the blood, Andonara was both hopeful and nervous. She had always been confident in her capabilities. After all, few of her peers were a match for her. But the problem was that she found that she was little help to Roland if she couldn''t deal with magic creatures. It happened once with the vampires, and it happened again just now. She was completely useless. So, she was eager to help Roland. Actually, she could sense that Roland could have the Phoenix Blood too, but she didn''t want him to. She hoped that she could stay by Roland''s side and help him. It was her last chance and her personal wish. She didn''t want Roland to leave her behind. It was obvious that Roland''s future was nothing but promising even without the Phoenix Blood, but she was not as gifted as him. Activating the Hero bloodline without giving the good stuff to Roland was the most selfish thing she had ever done. After drinking the blood, she sensed a heat that felt like magma entering her stomach, before it spread to every part of her body. It was very hot, but she couldn''t be more comfortable. It almost felt like when she secretly drank a lot of wine when she was fourteen Though she was sick and vomited a lot afterward, she enjoyed herself at that moment with the wine. Her body trembled. She looked at Roland. For some reason, her eyes became blurry. Then, she passed out. From Roland''s perspective, Andonara staggered and almost fell. He hurried to help her stabilize herself. When he laid his hand on her hip, he found that Andonara''s body was horrifyingly hot. Her cheeks were red too But Andonara did not evince any discomfort. Instead, she was like Snow White, sleeping soundly or rather, the alluring queen with the mirror. Roland picked her up and placed her on the stone table at the center of the secret chamber. When Roland put her down, he found that she was even hotter. He subconsciously stepped back. Seeing that Andonara was still sleeping deeply, he was reassured. Then, he stared at Andonara for a while. Seeing that she was not waking up anytime soon, he opened the forum and read the new posts. But after reading only a few posts, he felt that his forehead was being scorched. He closed the forum, only to see that Andonara was covered in blue flames. The surface of the stone table had turned from black to red because of the high temperature, and Andonara''s clothes had been burnt up. Inside the blue flames, Andonara''s beautiful naked body could be clearly seen. Roland intended to approach her, but the intense flames forced him to retreat. Also, the temperature in the secret chamber was so high that he had to protect himself with a magic shield. He stared at Andonara on the stone table. The blue flames had risen by half a meter after only several minutes, and the stone table seemed to be melting. All the hairs on Andonara had vanished. She turned bald. Then, new hair and eyebrows grew out. Her hair grew longer and denser until it covered her in a golden cocoon. Blue flames were still crackling from the cocoon. Roland looked at his mana bar, which was almost empty because his magic shield had been protecting him. He had to keep retreating and enlarging the secret chamber with Stone to Mud. After he was eight meters away, he finally reached a balance between the cost of his magic power and its regeneration. Roland watched it in silence. Gradually, the blue flames died, until the golden cocoon cracked and Andonara sat up. She looked at Roland and smiled. Her long blond hair reached her heels like golden, translucent silk. Her sapphire eyes and her fair skin reflected a fascinating sheen. Roland took a long breath. He had never been more amazed by Andonara. It was almost like when he met the angel for the first time. 365 Vampire Woes Previously, Andonara had been a brunette, but now she was a blonde. It was also the typical hair and eye colors of the people who had more condensed bloodline power in the Reed family. A change of hair and eye colors would usually trigger a novel feeling and wouldn''t lead to qualitative changes. Or rather, one wouldn''t be more beautiful when their hair and eye colors changed. But Andonara was different. She had really grown a lot more beautiful. She had a more charming vibe now. Roland remembered the additional effect of Phoenix Blood. Whoever had Phoenix bloodline would have +2 basic stats and stats growth. Naturally, Charm was one of the attributions that had been increased. It was the reason why Andonara suddenly looked more beautiful. Andonara walked to Roland slowly and gracefully. Laying her hands on Roland''s neck, she smiled. "Do you want to try it?" After a brief shock, Roland said helplessly, "I can''t break your defense even with Extreme Body Fortification." After awakening the real Phoenix bloodline, Andonara had grown significantly stronger in every perspective. Andonara chuckled and kissed Roland, before she said in a clingy tone, "That''s fine. I''ll wait for you." They cuddled for a while. Roland found that Andonara''s skin was even smoother than before. He took out backup clothes from the system Backpack for her. They left the secret chamber, only to find that night had fallen. When they went back to Reed Village, everybody was surprised to see her. Neither Cage, Roland, or Andonara spoke the real reason. Andonara simply said that she had awakened her family bloodline. Vivian couldn''t have envied her more. Any woman would be jealous of a family bloodline that could make one beautiful. Then, a dinner was held to celebrate Andonara''s advancement. The whole manor turned warm and lively. In a forest ten kilometers to the east of the manor, a group of rather plump bats were hanging on a tree. Some of the bats were gobbling fruits. When they were done, they coalesced with the rest of the bats into a woman in black clothes with an intriguing figure. She looked around carefully and opened a cave with Stone to Mud, before she hid herself inside. Creating a space that was similar to a basement for her to rest, she sealed the cave in case she was exposed. It was a trick that she had learned from Roland. Inside the absolute darkness of the basement, Christina finally had a slight sense of security. She had really been terrified by the Golden Sons recently. Her family had been destroyed. Bruce, who was magnificent in her eyes, had been killed by the Golden Sons with weird suicide attacks and burnt into ashes. But none of her compatriots believed her, although they did take her in. During a fortnight, no Golden Sons came, and Christina gradually overcame her wariness, but on the fifteenth day, a squad of Golden Sons found this family of vampires. Though this family of vampires weren''t convinced that a group of human beings were hunting vampires, they had listened to Christina''s warning. So, the moment the squad of Golden Sons showed up, they were ambushed and killed. The vampires burst into laughter seeing how worthless their prey were, but the next night, their nest was raided by the same squad, who had been resurrected. After losing about one-third of their family members, they annihilated the squad again. But they came again on the third night. This time, the squad was better prepared, with both scrolls of theurgy and even silver weapons. It seemed that their capabilities and equipment were upgraded after each battle. Back then, Christina was baffled, but recently she had found out that these Golden Sons were regarding the vampires as "goods" since their ashes were excellent materials for enchantment. Like human beings who like to capture elves as slaves, those Golden Sons treated the vampires like walking coins. When they made more money, they could naturally afford better equipment. Christina fled to another two families of vampires, asking for their protection. But no more than twenty days after she arrived, the squad of Golden Sons would come again. At first, she thought that she had been carrying a tracker, but then it occurred to her that those Golden Sons were merely attacking the gathering places of vampires. She was only so lucky that the families she ran to happened to be the targets of that squad. Since then, she had been wandering alone, too scared to contact her people. She did not even dare to drink blood anymore, fearing that bloodsucking would betray her, and fed on fruits instead. The Bruce family were fruit bats. Eating fruits was not a problem for them at all. As to why they had to drink blood It''s like how human beings wanted meat when they could live their whole lives as vegetarians. The basement was very cold. Hugging her knees, Christina leaned against the wall and sat down to get some sleep. Soon enough, she closed her eyes and fell asleep. But after no more than an hour, she woke up and stood abruptly. She looked around in panic. Then, realizing where she was, she slowly sat down again. Then, she covered her head with both hands, feeling so bad that she almost wept. She just dreamed the same fuzzy face again. The flying Golden Son who had a lightning bolt in each hand visited her almost every night, and he was getting more dreadful by the day. Why was her life so miserable? It was lucky that she turned from a scavenging orphan into a vampire, but after living well for no more than ten years, she now had to scavenge again. Didn''t they say that vampires were the strongest creatures apart from dragons? Why were they being crushed by humans, such that even their bodies were burned to ashes and sold as goods? She grumbled in self-pity for a long time. Then, she became hungry. After all, she only had a few fruits, which might be enough for regular bats but definitely not for a vampire. "I''m going to look for some food. There must be a lot of food in that human village. It will be fine as long as I don''t drink anyone''s blood." Unable to deal with her hunger, Christina flew out of her temporary shelter. When she came here, she had spotted a village not far away. 366 Capture Though the Reed family was a noble one, it was in the lowest rank. Cage was only a baron, and Andonara had only been a baroness-to-be before she became the queen. They were nobles on the surface, but they didn''t have the power or panache of the nobles. They were essentially ordinary people with more privileges. On the other hand, Reed Village was just a village, and the dinner here couldn''t be as extravagant and messy as the dinners of nobles in the city. It was nothing but a barbecue in the backyard. Everybody enjoyed the food while they shared interesting anecdotes of the village. Roland chewed the skewers of meat that Andonara gave him. The meat was tasty and succulent. He had to admit that, though Andonara was a queen, she was as good at cooking as Betta was. At this point, Cage was bragging about himself to Jerry, the oldest magic apprentice. "When I just became a mercenary, I wasn''t very worldly, but I was really lucky. I met at least three beautiful women every month. Let me tell you" Jerry was lost for words. As a half-dead old man, he found beautiful women to be like poppy: they were delicious, but could be lethal if he got addicted to them. Now, he was only one step away from turning into an official Mage. If his advancement failed because he slept with a woman, he would regret it for the rest of his life, if he didn''t die of fury right after the test. However, Reed was the host, and he had no choice but to listen to his bragging as a guest. Roland was much more at ease. He was enjoying Andonara''s and Vivian''s services simultaneously. Nobody disturbed them. The glow of the bonfire drove away the darkness, but the fragrance of meat attracted unannounced guests. A group of bats flew nearby from the darkness prudently. They perched on a tree sixty meters away and observed the party in silence. Darkness was the best cover for bats, but the moment they landed on the branches, Andonara turned her head toward them, and Cage did the same half a second later. "That smell" Cage sneered. "The cold air of darkness An extraordinary guest has come to our home." Eagerness beamed out of Andonara''s blue eyes. She said, "Roland, can I see how strong I am now?" After drinking the Phoenix Blood, Andonara knew that she was a lot stronger, but she had not really tested her new abilities yet. So, she was eager to try. "Be careful." Roland nodded. The Hero bloodline power could suppress evil creatures. Since Cage said it was a dark creature, it should be no match for Andonara under normal circumstances. Also, Roland realized that he didn''t know where the enemy was at all, while the two persons with a Hero bloodline did. Her long hair that was as bright as silk on her back quickly weaved itself into a long, shiny braid that dangled all the way to her heels. Then, Andonara picked up the braid and made a bow-knot at the end of the braid with the torn fabric from her dress. Then, Andonara tossed the braid to her back. She looked around and grabbed the spear on which a goat was being roasted, before she shook it gently. The remaining half of the roasted meat was deftly thrown to the table. Then, blue flames spread out on the spear, cleansing the fat and the leftovers from the spear. The spear, slightly reddened from the high temperature, was grasped by her. Everybody looked at her in surprise. At last, Andonara looked at a certain tree in the distance. With a grin, she took action. Turning into a blue, zigzagging bolt of lightning, she charged at the tree. Her motion could barely be perceived with the naked eye, especially on such a dim night. Of all the observers, Cage was the only one who saw Andonara''s movement clearly. She used Leap Slash and Z-Charge at the same time while she was wreathed in blue flames. It was also why she impressed everybody as a blue bolt of lightning. After she reached the tree, Andonara jumped and thrust the spear in her hand. The blue flames were reshaped into an enormous bird. Unfolding its wings, it soared into the air, illuminating the sky, before it dived down straightforwardly. Everybody who saw the scene heard the strange but pleasant roar of a phoenix. Andonara landed and put the spear back. She watched the tiny bats falling before her like rain. More than half of the bats had been consumed by the blue flames and burned to ashes. The few remaining bats could only flap their wings on the ground and try to regather. Very soon, they coalesced into a pitiful girl in black clothes. She looked at Andonara fearfully. Andonara was still holding the spear. The cluster of flames at the tip of the spear was floating in the wind like a blue flag. Staring at the little girl for a moment, Andonara grabbed her collar and returned. Half a minute later, Andonara came to the backyard of the manor. She threw the girl to the ground, before she stabbed the roasted goat with the spear again and hung it on the grill. Everybody looked at the girl. The girl was holding her legs and shivering on the ground, her face buried between her knees. "What kind of dark creature is this?" asked Cage. He didn''t see the scene where Andonara killed the bats. "She''s probably a vampire," Andonara said. "I killed more than half of her bats. That''s why she''s a little girl now, or she would be an old woman." Roland subconsciously said, "I''m told that vampire ashes are very valuable. I got a lot of them earlier!" Everybody looked at Roland in surprise. The little girl jumped to her feet after hearing that. She was about to cling to Roland''s thigh and beg for mercy, but Andonara was fast enough to stomp on her again. "Do you want to assault Roland?" Unhappily, Andonara exerted more strength with her foot until the girl''s spine was cracking. "Don''t kill me! Don''t burn me!" The girl crawled on all fours. She struggled crazily and cried, "I can do anything for you! Please don''t kill me! Please!" Her childish voice couldn''t have sounded more poignant. Everybody looked at each other in bewilderment. 367 Lets All Keep An Eye To be honest, vampires begging for mercy was not unfathomable for most people. According to human beings'' stereotype of vampires, vampires were proud and evil, and they would mock whoever captured them in an irritating tone even when they were beat. They might even threaten their captors condescendingly. Only after they were tortured would they shut up, and some of them would beg for mercy. That was the typical procedure when a vampire was caught. Yet, this vampire was crying in fear before she was even tortured. A little girl struggling crazily and begging for mercy hysterically was indeed surprising and somewhat pitiful. Human beings were particularly tolerant of children. Even though they knew that this girl might actually be an old woman, they still hesitated when they saw her as a little girl. More importantly, this girl was rather pretty, which further increased their tolerance. Of all the people here, Andonara was the strongest, but her heart was the softest too. Seeing that the girl was crying miserably, she couldn''t help but move her feet back although she knew that this was a vampire. Without the restrictions, the little girl crept to Roland on all fours and tried to hug his feet. Fearing that he might be attacked, Roland had established his magic shield, so the girl in black could only stick her face to the shield and wail, "Don''t kill me! Please! I''ve never murdered any human beings! Even though I drank their blood, no blood slaves were killed because of me. I never did any bad things." Hearing the girl''s miserable cries, Andonara felt sorry for her, and so did Cage. Both of them were of the Hero bloodline. Kindness was their innate quality. The other magic apprentices also looked at the girl in sympathy. Roland wasn''t really moved. He had seen a vampire manipulating monsters and dividing mercenaries in order to eliminate them easily. It seemed nothing strange if those treacherous creatures turned into little children to trick others. Thinking about that, Roland found the girl quite familiar. He felt that he had seen her before. Under Roland''s gaze, Christina felt less and less confident. As a matter of fact, she was both bitter and desperate. She had been too hungry just now, and when she smelled meat, she thought that she could regain her strength by eating some meat. She never even thought to suck anyone''s blood. But out of her expectation, when she had just landed on the tree and was about to figure out if she could steal some food from the party, the blue flames had soared to the sky and almost frozen her soul. Because of the natural suppression, she realized Andonara''s real identity immediately. The woman was a descendant of a Hero. Christina had long heard that a Hero who once defeated a Devil King lived in Hollevin as a hermit. But it was just an unconfirmed rumor. In fact, almost all the evil creatures that ever approached Reed Village had been killed by Cage, who could smell them from a hundred meters away. Those evil creatures who luckily escaped, due to their pride, wouldn''t tell their fellows that they''d been beaten. Besides, evil creatures only wished that others were more unlucky than them, so they would not reveal where the descendant of the Hero was hiding at all. At this point, Christina felt that she must''ve been cursed by the Goddess of Misfortune. Since three months ago, every family she had joined was destroyed by the Golden Sons, and now that she was acting alone, she ran into the descendant of a Hero, who swore to kill all evil creatures ruthlessly. She knew that resistance would be futile. The descendant could''ve killed her easily, not to mention that a powerful Mage was standing by her side. At this point, she had recognized that Roland was the powerful spellcaster who crashed into and killed her chief Bruce with a lightning bolt in each hand. There was no chance of escape for her at all. So she could only beg for mercy. Hearing Christina''s devastating cries, Andonara hesitated. She looked at Roland, asking with her eyes how to deal with the girl. Roland thought for a moment and said, "It would be great if we can figure out whether she''s speaking the truth or not." "She probably is." At this point, Cage came close and circled Christina, before he said, "There''s evil in her, but it''s very mild, only as much as a human bully. She''s not a dark creature that deserves death. One might even say that she''s a good guy among the dark creatures." Roland was rather impressed. He didn''t know that a Hero could see the evil inside a creature. He asked curiously, "Then how much do I have?" "None." Cage shook his head. "You never harmed anyone intentionally or maliciously." Andonara looked at Cage and asked in surprise, "I have the family bloodline power too, don''t I? Why can''t I feel anything?" "The female offspring of the Hero do not have this ability. But as compensation, their other abilities are strengthened, usually in terms of fire. So, you''re much more skilled with the blue flames than I am. I remember that my aunt who went missing a long time ago was a great fire user too." That explains a lot! Andonara was greatly enlightened. "Since she''s not a fiend, let''s just set her free." As a woman, Andonara had a tender heart. "She''s rather pitiful when she''s crying." Christina, who was wailing next to Roland''s feet, raised her head and stared at Roland with her cute watery eyes. She had realized that Roland had the largest say in the crowd. Her long messy hair, her lovely little face, and the tear tracks were most harrowing. Roland didn''t think too much. The girl was caught by Andonara, and since she was not a nefarious villain, it did not seem a big deal to let her go. Besides, Roland knew that the boundary between righteousness and evil was not always clear, and it was a matter of perspective most of the time. "Then we can just let her go." Hearing that, Christina was stunned at first and then overjoyed. Half a second later, she realized something and clutched Roland''s magic shield even harder. "I''m not going! I''ll starve, suffer, and be hunted every day even if I go! Mr. Mage, why don''t you take me as your maid? I can do anything for you as long as you give me some meat and fruit. I can stay away from blood." Everybody was dazed. Then, two people shouted at the same time. "No!" They were Andonara and Vivian. Both women glared at the girl in black furiously. The girl was pretty enough as she was; wouldn''t she be even more attractive when she grew older? They certainly couldn''t tolerate another woman with Roland, who had already been occupied by them. Everybody moved their eyes between them, and those who were smart were already smiling. Vivian was slightly shy. She lowered her head and slowly retreated, hoping that everybody could forget her. Andonara, on the other hand, did not concern herself with other people at all. Was a woman wrong when she did not want another woman to be with her man? She looked at Christina and said, "You can''t be with Roland, but you can follow me. How can I ensure you loyalty? What if you assassinate me when you have the chance?" Follow a descendant of the Hero? Christina didn''t feel that it was right, as this woman belonged to the class that loathed dark creatures most. Could she really work for her? But then, an idea popped up in her head. "I can sign a slave contract with you and respect you as my master." Christina crawled to Andonara and looked her in the eyes, before she said, "As long as you don''t kill me, and you give me food and a place to rest." Andonara frowned. Would it be okay if she asked a dark creature to follow her? Although she was the strongest person here, she was also the most indecisive. She looked at her uncle first. Cage shrugged and said unconcernedly, "Though we''re descendants of the Hero, we''re not so orthodox. After all, my great-grandfather was a man who conquered a Succubus in the legends." Andonara glared at his uncle who had brought up the ill-considered tale and moved her eyes to Roland. Roland said with a smile, "It''s up to you." Andonara began to consider and analyze the pros and cons. Staring at Andonara pitifully, Christina said with a meek, sobbing tone, "Master, my life is so hard. Please take me in." Andonara was a woman and she couldn''t stand the pitiful look. She said helplessly, "Okay. What do we do?" "I''ll draw a magic array. Then, you will stand in the master''s position, and I will stand in the servant''s position. Everything will be done when the array takes shape." Andonara asked, "Simple as that?" Simple as that! Christina drew a blue round magic array with what was left of her magic power. She pointed at the center and said, "That''s the master''s position. Master, you can stand there." Andonara didn''t move but looked at Roland. At this point, Roland had turned on the camera in the system. In the meantime, he said to Christina, "I want all the information on his magic array, including the spell model and the nodes." After a brief silence, Christina said, "Okay!" 368 The Guild is No Longer Useless Plots and schemes were anything but unusual in this world. Accidents might happen when one thought they were safe. Though this vampire seemed wretched and could not resist, what if she was duplicitous and had pointed at the servant''s position instead of the master''s position? Then, would Andonara become her servant instead? Therefore, Andonara did not step in hurriedly after Christina established the contract magic array. Roland took a picture of the magic array that was running and asked Christina for the spell model. If she refused to offer it, she would be up to something. If she offered it, Roland could learn this magic array based on the model and confirm whether or not this vampire was really surrendering. When Roland demanded the model, Christina nodded without any hesitation and drew the model on the ground with a branch. Cage observed them and nodded in satisfaction. Both his niece and Roland were remarkable young people with promising futures, but their achievements might be restricted by their personalities. Many young geniuses would''ve made great accomplishments if they had lived longer, but they were too confident and reckless and often died in the enemy''s trap before they could achieve anything. Roland and Andonara''s caution and capabilities could protect them from most dangers. Roland squatted and looked at the spell model on the ground. It was the second time he had ever studied a magic array. The nodes that were in squares and the special symbols were absolutely meaningless to him. But he could always ask Raising his head, Roland looked at Christina and pointed at one of the squares. "What''s the usage of this node?" "It hardens the ground and stores magic power. It''s the second pool of magic power," replied Christina immediately. "What about this one?" "It identifies the person who enters. Together with the node below that confirms mastership" "Don''t explain the nodes that I haven''t asked you about yet." Roland glanced at Christina and pointed at a random node, before he asked again, "What about this one?" Scared, Christina said, "It dictates the shape and size of the array" Then, Roland pointed at another few nodes, and Christine explained quickly. The others all watched them. The magic apprentices were particularly focused. Magic arrays contained advanced magic knowledge anyway, and few Mages in Hollevin knew much about them. Now that they had seen the model of a magic array here, and someone was interpreting it, they had to listen on even if they barely followed. The opportunity was too rare. After pointing at half of the nodes, Roland stood up and said to Andonara, "Let''s keep an eye on her first and wait a day or two before formalizing the contract." Andonara naturally nodded and agreed. At this point, Christina suddenly said shyly, "Masters, can I eat something first?" While talking, she stared at the half-roasted goat not far away and subconsciously swallowed. "Of course." Andonara fetched the goat and put it before Christina. "How much do you want?" "Can I have all of it?" Everybody was lost for words. Can you really finish so much meat when you''re so little? But at this point in the barbecue, they were mostly full, and they wouldn''t mind giving away the remaining meat to the girl. Roland said to them, "I''m going to study the spell in my room. Andonara, keep an eye on the little one and don''t let her do anything." "Okay," said Andonara with a sweet smile. Roland turned around and went to his room. Watching Roland return to his room, Andonara moved her eyes back to Christina. The girl was already eating the meat. She seemed to be eating gracefully, but some of the meat would disappear after every bite, and she swallowed it without much chewing. Everybody watched her finish the roasted goat. Her belly did not bulge at all. Christina burped, and Andonara asked her, "Are you full?" "Almost!" Christina put on a happy expression. "But in fact, I don''t eat much. I can be fed easily." Having been eating fruits in the wilderness for three months, she finally had something nice to eat now. Obviously, nobody was convinced by her statement. Cage said, "Let''s call it a day. Everybody go back and take a rest. Anna, keep an eye on the girl." Andonara nodded. Then, everybody returned to their rooms, and Andonara brought Christina upstairs too. Opening the door, she found that Roland was in a daze before the desk. Having been with Roland for a long time, Andonara naturally knew that this was typical when Roland was considering and studying magic. Christina, on the other hand, felt rather weird. Why had the descendant of the Hero taken her here? The bed was big enough for multiple people, and a man was here. Could it be Certain thoughts popped up in her head. But she wasn''t really surprised. She knew of the decadence of human nobles. Besides, she was in no place to judge human beings, as vampires were even more unbelievable in that aspect. After all, almost all vampires were transformed from human beings, and they inherited human beings'' deep-rooted bad habits. She looked at Roland. Although this man was not exactly handsome, he had the pleasant, enjoyable vibe of a knowledgeable person. It wasn''t so hard to accept that she had to sleep with such a man. But to her surprise, Andonara found a blanket from the closet and threw it to the floor, before she said, "You''ll sleep on the floor tonight." Christina pointed at Roland and said in surprise, "Don''t you want me to serve him?" "Nice thought." The gentleness in Andonara was replaced by gloom. "Even I haven''t touched Roland yet. You think it''s your turn?" Seeing Andonara''s threatening eyes, which resembled those of a leopard protecting its food, Christina shivered and said quickly, "I didn''t mean that, Master." "That''s good." Andonara was a lot of more relaxed. If it were Vivian, she would turn a blind eye to her. After all, Vivian knew Roland first, and she was sort of a third wheel. But she wouldn''t let any other women approach Roland. Christina rolled herself in the blanket to a corner and closed her eyes. Very soon, she fell asleep. She was too tired. She hadn''t slept well for three months, always waking up from nightmares. Though the "demon" in her nightmares was right behind her, she was no longer scared, and now that she was not anxious, exhaustion immediately kicked in. She was sound asleep after no more than ten seconds. Andonara was going to talk to her about the rules, but seeing that the girl had fallen asleep, she decided to drop it. Then, she took out a soft cloak from the closet and covered Roland with it. Although a professional was unlikely to catch a cold, she still wanted to make this gesture. Roland turned and smiled at her, before he devoted herself to deduction again. He had obtained a graph on a magic array earlier, but he couldn''t understand it. Now, with Christina''s explanations of the nodes, he could extract the data into the math models that he built earlier and separate the key model in the magic array with the formulas proposed by O''Neal. Then, he was able to filter out the encryption part of the magic array. He was not sure that it was 100% correct, but he had separated the two parts successfully. It was the most important part of reverse engineering. After this was worked out, things would become easier. He compared the model of the contract magic array with the shell of the model he had earlier and found a lot of similar square nodes. He estimated that they must be the structural nodes of magic arrays. Delighted, he compared the shells of the two magic arrays, concluding the similarities and differences. He also imported the data that he acquired from Christina and inferred the formulas. Very soon, he had made great progress. Time flew quite fast when he was devoted to studying. He was just beginning to feel that he was onto something when the game time ended. He reluctantly quit the game and habitually opened the forum, only to see a new official update announcement. "Because of our negligence, the guild system is now utterly useless. The real-time cross-area chat in the guild system has no advantages compared to the innate Internet accessibility in the game, which discourages players from establishing guilds, to the point that there is still only one guild in the whole game world right now. In light of that, we have decided to offer more privileges to the guilds. Whoever joins a guild will be able to learn an additional general specialization in the guild, which comes with no cost. This specialization, once picked, cannot be altered or deleted. If you leave the guild, the specialization will be frozen until you return to the guild or join a new one. "The designers of this game are still considering more privileges for the guilds. We will try our best to create an easy and enjoyable world for all players. Have fun in the game!" Roland raised his eyebrow, knowing that Schuck would become popular again. He then entered the general discussion section. As he expected, he saw the heated discussions among the players. It was the leisure players who complained most. "It''s really difficult to establish a guild. No big guilds have ever been officially established apart from F6. What can we do? Are we going to lose out on a powerful specialization just because we''re not in a guild?" "Hear, hear." "You can join a guild. It''s not like you''re forbidden from doing so." "Will we still be lone wolves if we join a guild?" Roland clicked off the page and was rather excited that he could acquire another specialization for nothing. What should he pick? Increase the upper limit of his magic power? Increase the range of the evoking spells? Magic Initiative? Well, there were so many excellent specializations. Roland found it difficult to pick one. 369 Hybrid After surfing the forum for a while, Roland took a shower and changed his clothes. Then, he left for the saber arts club. Actually, there was not much he needed to learn now. But he didn''t want to leave since all his friends were there. Besides, the breakfast that Night Tide Sands made was too great to miss. Would Qi Shaoqiu complain about him? That was unlikely. More and more students were joining the saber arts club. Other than F6, there were another fourteen students who practiced there. The cement floor had been spacious in the past, but it was rather crowded now. On the other hand, Qi Shaoqiu had charged hundreds of thousands of yuan from them in tuition fees. Counting the students who practiced full-armor combat from the neighboring province, Qi Shaoqiu was quite rich at this point. He planned to redecorate the saber arts club, expand the training ground, and even put more advertisements in the city. But Night Tide Sands stopped him. She said to her brother, "Our city is too small, and the miaodao is just a niche technique. It''s already a miracle that a dozen people are learning here at the same time. Instead of advertising, you may want to teach them well first and market again when we open new branches in other cities." Qi Shaoqiu was only a highschool graduate; he knew that his sister knew better than he did. So, he followed her advice and dropped any plans of expansion. After resting to digest breakfast, Roland practiced with Qi Shaoqiu. Their wooden miaodao were clinking. They were evenly matched, and their battle was enjoyable. A lot of people always watched them whenever they practiced. Most students had never been interested in the miaodao technique until they saw a spar between Roland and Qi Shaoqiu by chance. So, Roland was half of the reason why the saber arts club had so many students. After exercising and working out a little bit, Roland came home and took another shower. Then, he had lunch and practiced the Daoist Nourishment of Life. Now, he could already sense the so-called "aura," but nothing more. He had searched some other ancestral halls in the countryside for the weird energy balls, but he never found any. When he was free, he also visited the ancestral halls where rituals were being held in honor of the ancestors. But he didn''t make any new discoveries. When it was night, he lay down in the immersive cabin. The game had been back online in time after the update. The moment he entered the game, a system notification popped up. "You have joined a guild. You may now learn a general specialization in the guild menu." Roland immediately opened the guild menu. He found a square behind the name of every member on the list. He clicked the square, and a new menu popped up, with a long list of specializations. Roland opened the categories one by one, only to discover that the general specializations were all available, which meant that he could learn any of the specializations with no consideration of his class. That seemed rather unbelievable. Roland examined the categories one by one. He found a lot of specializations that were very practical but had attribute demands. For example, Lightning Reflex, which required an Agility growth of eight points, could significantly increase the reaction speed of the user. However, since Roland could learn Foresight as a Mage, he was not interested in this specialization. The Warlocks, whose spells were random, would find this specialization much more useful. Or another example: Life Tenacity, which required a Constitution of eight points, could keep a player''s combat ability at a normal level even if they were stabbed in the heart. The duration of this effect was decided by the character level and the maximum Constitution. Mages had to worry about the critical strikes of stealthy Assassins most. With this skill, the spellcaster would never die even if they were fatally injured. The privileges for guild members were really generous. Roland clicked his tongue in amazement. He could learn the specializations of his class sooner or later, but things would be completely different if he could learn the specializations of other classes. He would be able to make up for his shortcomings, or even create an unbelievable character build. It was crazy enough even if he could only learn one. Roland read about all the specializations, deciding which of them could benefit him the most. While he was considering, Roland saw an icon behind Schuck''s name on the list of members. He moved his consciousness there, only to find that Schuck had picked Spirit Enhancement. Roland understood why Schuck picked this specialization. It was true that the Saint Samurai were omnipotent with their divine skills, but the upper limit of their mental power was not higher, and its regeneration was very slow too. Therefore, Schuck was trying to improve the capacity of his power, which was a sensible choice. Then, other people in the guild picked their specialization too. Roland scrutinized all the specializations, which took him almost an hour. He desired many of them, but regretfully, he could only pick one. After much deliberation, Roland finally made up his mind and moved his consciousness to a complex specialization, Hybrid. Under normal circumstances, this complex specialization could only be learned by the Warlocks whose Charm and Constitution growth was higher than seven points. That was a rather harsh requirement. But it didn''t have a threshold at all as part of the guild privileges. Hybrid: As a Warlock, you find that you have not just the dragon bloodline but also another bloodline, and you have purified it to a certain extent. (If you pick this specialization, you may choose one of the known humanoid races as your bloodline ancestor and receive their racial abilities. You may only make the choice once in your life.) Then, more than twenty icons popped up before Roland, including Dwarves, Gnomes, Vulpera, Murloc, etc. Roland scrolled down and found the bloodline that he wanted. Elf. Looking at the icon that was a purple tree, Roland pressed it without hesitation. He had a sudden fever, but it was quickly gone. His ears were somewhat itchy. He scratched his ears worriedly and was finally reassured after realizing that they weren''t lengthened. Then, he read the system notification that just popped up. "You have purified your elven bloodline. The cost of all natural spells is reduced by 30%. Hidden classes are unlocked: Destructive Druid, Elven Summoner, and Arcane Windrunner. Roland was not surprised to see the notification, but then his expression turned slightly weird. It was no secret that Hybrid was a Warlock specialization. Detailed information on it had been posted on the forum a long time ago. In fact, every class had their own powerful specializations, such as the Warriors'' Life Tenacity, the Archers'' Hawk Eye, the Rogues'' Shadow Escape, and the Mages'' Dematerialized Casting. Apart from their powerful spells, the Warlocks relied on the free combination of bloodlines. With Hybrid, they could create a myriad of battle styles by combining the dragon bloodline with other bloodlines. This made the Warlocks full of variations. Though they did not have a large number of spells, one wouldn''t know which bloodline they belonged to, and with their magic pets, their moves could be unpredictable. But of course, they still couldn''t compare to Mages. Many Warlock players had chosen the elven bloodline, so the information on the elven bloodline was most detailed. Supposedly, this bloodline could reduce the magic cost of natural spells and unlock Elven Summoner, a hidden class. However, what were Destructive Druid and Arcane Windrunner? There was no information on those two classes at all. Had he triggered a special bloodline because he was a Mage? That had to be the reason! Ravage was slightly confused about the two newly unlocked classes. Weren''t Druids either Balanced or Feral? What were the Destructive Druids? Besides, there was no telling what Arcane Windrunner was from the name at all. "Should I consider a transfer?" Roland muttered to himself. Then, Andonara said from behind him, "What transfer?" It was morning. Andonara had just gotten up from the bed. She was sitting lazily, her bright blonde hair scattered and flowing behind her like a golden waterfall. "Certain choices about my future as a Mage." "Then you have to consider for yourself. After all, I don''t know one thing about Mages." While talking, Andonara looked at the corner, only to find that the girl was gone. Then, she went over and lifted the blanket. She saw a dozen fat little bats sleeping inside the blanket. In the sunlight, every little bat hid their head under their wings and continued to sleep. Roland came to the backyard of the manor and cast Enlivening on a random tree. He intended to find out how it felt to use natural spells with the elven bloodline. Very soon, the tree was turned into a treant. His magic cost had been reduced, and Roland found the treant jumping and shouting delightedly in front of him once it was enlivened. It was very friendly to him, utterly unlike the previous two treants who regarded him as an enemy or a total stranger. At this point, the treant enlivened by Roland a couple of days earlier crawled out and hopped in front of the new treant. Then, the two treants played together. At this point, someone said from upstairs behind Roland, "Why don''t you enliven a few more treants so that they can protect us after they grow up in this village? If you''re taking away the greatest treasure of the Reed family, you should at least give me something in return, shouldn''t you?" Hearing Cage''s voice, Roland turned around and found Cage by the window on the second floor, smiling in a shady manner. 370 You Never Told Me Tha "Arcane Windrunner?" Cage recalled his unrestrained life as a mercenary and shook his head. "I''ve never heard of it before. Which race is this class related to?" "The elves." Cage thought for a moment, then said, "I still don''t remember anything. But speaking of which, I met a few elves when I was young. Though those skinny poles from the forest are condescending, if you live a long time with them and win their approval, you''ll find that they''re passionate." Putting on a smile that every man would understand, Cage said, "Very passionate." Roland couldn''t help but roll his eyes. Although Cage was a senior, he was still a child deep down in his heart. He was a funny man and often told dirty jokes that Roland couldn''t understand for the time being. "Regretfully, elves are too loyal. Once you get involved with them, you can never get rid of them." Cage jumped off from the second floor and asked, "Have you met any elves before?" "I bought an elven slave," said Roland truthfully. "Oh, what happened?" Cage was still smiling, but his face was rather grave. "I set her free a long time ago." Roland pointed at the hopping treants and said, "In exchange for a few elven spells. But they''re rather tricky." Cage''s expression improved. The two treants played a while longer, before they grabbed each other''s hands and went to the wood, probably to irrigate or fertilize other trees. Cage smiled and said, "You''re practicing magic so early. No wonder you''ve become an Elite Mage so young. But you''re still not as good as Anna, so you''d better work harder." Roland smiled. In fact, he had spent the whole night working on magic, not just the early morning. Seeing Roland''s modest smile, Cage smiled too and asked, "Is the information on the Arcane Windrunner very important to you?" "Yes, it may decide my future path," replied Roland. He was telling the truth. The hidden classes were generally stronger than regular classes. If the Arcane Windrunner or the Destructive Druid had great class-related specializations, he could consider transferring to them. Besides, those two classes were obviously focused on magic too. As for Elven Summoner All the girls of the Phoenix Guild were Elven Summoners. The information on Hybrid, the specialization, was posted by them too. The frequent visitors of the forum all knew the advantages of the Elven Summoners: high regeneration, summoning an ocean of beasts, and riding a unicorn. The unicorn, as one of the three Saint Beasts, was very powerful, but could only be summoned by virgins with elven bloodlines, such as Solisa from the Phoenix Guild, who asked Roland to improve the elven spell. The Elven Summoner was a class in girls'' favor, but not guys''. Therefore, this hidden class was not within Roland''s consideration. After a shock, Roland said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Cage." "Call me Uncle!" Cage said gently, "It feels like we''re strangers when you call me Mr. Cage." Roland furrowed his brow. He found it quite awkward. Though he was very close to Andonara, nothing had really happened between them yet, and they weren''t married. Should he really call the man Uncle? Seeing Roland''s hesitation, Cage sighed and said, "Anna is even prettier now. What are you waiting for?" Roland smiled bitterly. He felt that the knot in his heart hadn''t been untied yet. Dropping the subject, Cage smiled at Roland and said, "Let''s have breakfast." Then, he returned to the house. After breakfast, everybody left the village in carriages. Roland, Cage, and Andonara were in the same carriage. In the meantime, thirteen plump little bats were hanging from the top of the carriage. Normally speaking, a dozen bats hanging above one''s head might be repulsive, but not these batspartly because they were small and partly because they were fat and cute. They even looked rather adorable. At first, Christina was unwilling to join the trip. She would rather stay home and sleep. After all, it was not convenient for a vampire to travel in the day. Though they wouldn''t be killed by sunlight in bat form, their natural instincts for survival made them hate the sun even when they were bats. Therefore, Christina preferred staying in bed to going out. But fearing that she would sneak away, Andonara threatened her. Roland didn''t know what exactly she said, but when the little bats flew out, they were all crying as if they were very sad. In the carriage, Andonara asked, "Uncle, where are we going?" Cage replied, "To Timbal City. The mayor of the city is my friend. His wife is an elf and his son is a half-elf. I figure that he must know something." "Thank you for your trouble." Knowing that Cage made the trip for Roland, Andonara spoke gratefully. "That''s all right. We''re family." Roland was slightly embarrassed, but he couldn''t say "Uncle" out, at least not for now. Then, the three of them chit-chatted, and Cage talked about the interesting situations he encountered when he was a mercenary. About three hours later, the carriages came to a city. After the regular inspection, the carriages entered. There was not a Magic Tower in the city, so the six magic apprentices simply went shopping. They were too humble to meet a mayor. Cage took Roland and Andonara to the mayor''s house. Without submitting an invitation card or anything, he simply said to the guard with a smile, "Tell Zell the Baldy that I''m here." From that, Roland knew that Cage must be a regular guest of this place, and he was very close to the mayor. As expected, the guard replied with a smile, "Mr. Cage, Mayor Zell has been upset. He keeps yelling at us. It''s great that you''re here. Talk to the mayor and have a drink with him, he''s been lambasting us." "Huh? What''s Zell mad about this time?" Cage shook his head and said, "Go tell him that Cage is here with his niece and nephew-in-law." The guard glanced at Andonara. Flabbergasted by her beauty, he didn''t come to his senses until a moment later. Then, he ran back into the house, blushing. Soon, a man in black and white formal clothes, who had a gloomy face and a slim body, walked out of the house. He seemed rather angry, but he smiled the moment he saw Cage. It was like a shiny beam of sunlight in a sky full of clouds. "You finally got the time to visit me." The man moved his eyes to Andonara. He was astonished at first and puzzled soon after. "Have we met before, beautiful lady?" Andonara smiled and said, "I am Andonara. If I remember correctly, you must be Lord Pettus Zell." After a shock, Cage said with great enlightenment, "We must''ve met in the capital before." "But I remember that Queen Andonara had different hair and eye colors," remarked Pettus in confusion. His eyes were full of suspicion. "I had a minor accident recently." Andonara smiled gracefully. "My hair and eye colors were slightly changed." "Is that so?" Pettus seemed convinced. After all, Andonara''s face was still the same, and she looked even more gorgeous than before with the new hair and eye colors. He moved his eyes to Roland and said, "Then, I assume that you must be the renowned Mage Roland and the legendary Queen Stealer." Roland was stunned. "Is that my title?" "It''s your secret title. Taking the queen away without being punished by the royal family, you''ve done what most men wanted but never had the guts to try." Pettus praised Roland and looked at Cage. "Then, how are you related to the queen?" "She''s my niece!" After a brief silence, Pettus complained, "You never told me that before." "For a good reason," Cage said solemnly. "My niece was young and ignorant back then, and you were lustful and had a sweet tongue. I feared that she would be tricked by you, so I intentionally never talked about Anna with you." With pain on his face, Pettus said, "You don''t trust me? If I had known she was your niece and she was so beautiful I would''ve definitely pursued her." "Get lost." Pettus shrugged and said, "Come in." Everybody entered the manor, and Pettus led the three of them to the terrace on the second floor. Then, the butler served fruit wine, cakes, and local snacks with the servants. This manor was located at the top of a hill, and the terrace was faced with a lake. The view was quite good. The gentle breeze from the lake was comforting. Raising the wine cup, Pettus sipped it and asked, "Old friend, what has brought you here this time?" "Can''t I just come to check up on you?" "I don''t buy it," Pettus said without hesitation. "You were beaten by me last time, which was very humiliating. I estimated that you wouldn''t be back until at least half a year later." There was curiosity in Roland''s and Andonara''s eyes. With embarrassment flashing on his face, Cage coughed and said, "I''m actually here because I want to ask you about something." "What is it?" "Have you ever heard the term Arcane Windrunner before?" Pettus was briefly dazed. "Where did you learn that name?" 371 Traitor Pettus became quite solemn, if not grave. "Where did you learn that name?" Seeing Pettus''s change of expression, all three visitors knew that something might be wrong with that name. Roland was about to speak the truth, but Cage said first, "I overheard it from some mercenaries in a tavern in Winterwind. I''m rather curious." Staring at Cage, Pettus smiled and said, "That''s impossible. The regular mercenaries are too illiterate to even spell ''elf.'' How can they know anything as mysterious as ''Arcane Windrunner''?" "So you do know it?" Cage looked at him. Pettus nodded and put his cup down. He tapped the table more and more heavily, and the tension was building too. Eventually, Pettus stopped his movement. He stared at Cage and tried to speak as calmly as possible. "You haven''t answered my question yet. Where exactly did you learn that name?" Frowning, Roland was about to talk again. But Cage leaned against the back of the chair and said lazily, "Like I said, I overheard it from some mercenaries. What''s wrong?" Pettus glanced at Roland and Andonara, before he focused his eyes on Cage again. "We''ve been friends for years. You must be responsible for what you say. That name couldn''t have been known by random people." "I said that I overheard it. If it represents something scary, you can just tell it to me. There''s no trouble that we can''t share, is there?" Pettus stared Cage in the eyes for a long time. Cage looked back at him without giving in at all. A moment later, Pettus slightly lowered his eyes and smiled. "Okay, I''ll answer it since you asked." Then, he stood up and said, "Follow me. You two juniors, come with me too." Andonara and Roland looked at Cage, asking him what to do with their eyes. Cage nodded. They followed Pettus through the manor. In the end, they passed a dark trail, climbed circular stairs for a long time, and walked through a black wooden door, before they were embraced by light again. Before their eyes were blossoming flowers and green grass. Many two-meter-tall trees had been arranged in a circle. At the center of the circle was a cottage with many potted plants around it. Faint music was coming from the cottage. Roland took a deep breath and couldn''t feel more comfortable. He raised his head, only to see a high wall behind the trees. Behind the wall was the sky. The wind roared and raged above their heads, but it echoed with the music from the cottage, creating a weirdly quiet, harmonious atmosphere. Cage looked around and said with a smile, "I''ve never been here before. I didn''t know that you had a paradise hidden here." "This is where Sejuani rests. Of course I have to make it nice." Pettus smiled and said, "You know she doesn''t like the tumult of our world." She looked at Cage and said, "It''s been a long time." "It indeed has." Cage sighed and said, "I''ve always been curious about how you could''ve endured the human world for so long. But I get it now." Chuckling, Cage gestured at the environment. The female elf replied with a gentle smile and pointed at the few wood stools before the cottage. "Let''s talk there." Everybody went over. At this point, Andonara approached Roland and asked in a low voice, "Which one is prettier, me or her?" "You, of course," replied Roland without hesitation. Andonara immediately giggled in delight. Roland was telling the truth. This female elf was indeed beautiful, but she was not even as pretty as the previous Andonara, not to mention the present Andonara, whose Charm had been further improved after her family bloodline was accessed. Besides, the elves were generally skinny, whereas Andonara had attractive curves. So, in conclusion, Andonara was much more charming than this female elf. They sat on the wooden stools. Cage spoke to the female elf. "Sejuani, this is Andonara, my niece. You may call her Anna. This young man is her man." Then, he introduced her to Andonara and Roland, "This is Sejuani. She was a partner when I worked as a mercenary. By the way, Pettus was my partner too." Roland and Andonara were both slightly surprised that the mayor used to be a mercenary. In her bright green dress, Sejuani was slightly confused. "Pettus, you''ve never brought an outsider here before. What happened?" "They asked me what ''Arcane Windrunner'' meant." Pettus was quite grave. Sejuani had been quite relaxed until she heard this phrase. She then became somewhat nervous. "Where did you learn that phrase?" Cage immediately replied, "I overheard it from a mercenary." Pettus snorted. "You''re still not telling the truth? Do you not consider us friends at all?" Sejuani also said, "That''s impossible. Whoever knows that phrase is either involved or dead." As he spoke, Sejuani laid her eyes on Roland and said gently, "I can sense an elven vibe in you that is just like mine. It must be you who want to know what it means, right?" Cage hesitated, but in the end, he simply scratched his head and didn''t say anything. Pettus chuckled and stared at Cage. Cage did not look back at him. Seeing that Cage "flinched", Roland said, "Yes, that''s what I wanted to know." "It would be weird if Cage, a pure human, asked that." Sejuani looked at Roland with approval and said, "But since you carry the elven bloodline, I can basically understand why." Roland sensed enormous natural magic power inside the female elf, but the power was rather queer and different from what Roland simulated. Of course, Roland wasn''t sure that the natural magic power he simulated was correct. After all, she was a legit elf with a pair of long ears, and her natural magic power should be authentic. Roland''s was only counterfeit. Roland said, "I only heard the phrase from a strange being. My instincts tell me that there''s something more behind Arcane Windrunner. I actually caught another name as well: Destructive Druid." Pettus seemed slightly surprised. Sejuani also looked at Roland in surprise. Then she said, "If you know about Destructive Druid, you are indeed qualified to know this. "The so-called Arcane Windrunners are traitors among the elves," Sejuani said solemnly. "If a pure-blood elf discovered an Arcane Windrunner or a Destructive Druid, they would attack them so crazily that they would rather die together with those traitors." 372 Its Nothing Like Tha Traitors? Roland was rather surprised. The wind in the sky roared ten meters above him, but blocked by the tall wall and the trees, it had been reduced to a gentle breeze when it reached him. Sejuani''s eyes had been focused on Roland. She said, "I don''t know where you heard the name, from your bloodline subconsciousness or from your compatriots, but I''m warning you. You must not explore the meaning of that name any further." "I''m not interested in the secrets of the elves." Roland nodded and said, "I just want to know what abilities the Arcane Windrunner and the Destructive Druid have." Roland was so blunt that almost everybody else frowned at once, except Andonara. "You only want to know their power?" Sejuani put on a subtle expression. Roland nodded. For the players, power did not represent anything. Even the evilest power couldn''t be as evil as the Warlocks who played fire of feces, which was too disgusting. Power was just power. All that mattered was who used it. Even though this class was disliked, it was only the elves'' opinion. As long as it was powerful enough, Roland wouldn''t mind its background or meaning. "Is power very important to you?" asked Sejuani. Roland nodded. "It is." Everybody fell silent, and Andonara kept looking at Roland in admiration Cage and Pettus were peaceful, but Sejuani was slightly resistant. "Those who are obsessed with power will eventually be consumed by power," Sejuani said solemnly. "Given your thoughts, I cannot reveal information of the two names to you." "But you can never achieve your ideals in this jungle of a world without power." Roland stood up and said, "Thank you for your time, Ms. Sejuani." It was clearly a sign to leave. The other four were all surprised. Andonara stood up and asked, "Roland, you''re not asking any further?" "No." Roland shook his head. "I''m not convincing enough to persuade a stubborn elf, but in any case, I''d like to thank Mr. Pettus for giving me a chance to ask." Pettus was slightly angry that Roland gave up so easily. After all, he wouldn''t have taken Roland here had it not been for Cage. But his anger was gone after he heard what Roland said. Cage also stood up and said, "Thank you, Pettus, and sorry for the disturbance, Sejuani." Sejuani gently bit her lip. She was somewhat embarrassed. Seeing that Roland was really going to leave, Sejuani sighed and said, "Okay, it seems that you will try to acquire intelligence on the two classes from other people if you can''t get it from me. Instead of letting you run about and catch the elves'' attention, I might as well tell it to you." Roland was going to leave when he heard what Sejuani said. He was relieved. "Thank you very much, Ms. Sejuani." Pettus was the same. He even shook his head. "He''s playing hard to get. What a cunning man." Roland felt rather wronged. He wasn''t playing hard to get at all. He simply didn''t want to waste his time here. Because the elves lived a long time, they often had a steady outlook and could barely be convinced. Roland had read more than one book where the author cursed the stubbornness of his elven companions. Besides, even Cage, who obviously knew Sejuani as an old friend, did not help him at all. Naturally, Roland wouldn''t waste his time trying to convince her. It was beyond his expectation that Sejuani was willing to talk under no pressure. After Roland sat down again, Sejuani said, "The Arcane Windrunner and the Destructive Druid are not the elves'' unique class, but a class of the half-elves." "Half-elves?" Roland remembered his Hybrid specialization. "Windrunner is a branch of the elven elves, and the Arcane Windrunner sounds like a special class of magic archers." Sejuani shook her head and said, "But that''s wrong. The Arcane Windrunners are special Mages who are highly agile. They''re as unpredictable and traceless as wind." Roland''s eyes glittered. As a player who had played games for a decade, he knew exactly what a high-mobility class or character could do in a real-time battle. That sounded like a suitable class for him. After all, he was trying to improve his mobility at this point. Flash, Teleportation, and Human Cannonball had all been created for that purpose. Then, he couldn''t help but ask, "What about the Destructive Druid?" "They''re the Druids who are adept at elemental magic. They can transform into various sorts of powerful devils." Oh! Roland, Cage, and Andonara all realized why the Destructive Druids were hated by the elves. But Roland was still slightly confused. "Why are these two classes regarded as traitors? Even though one or two people of these classes have betrayed the elves, it seems outrageous that everybody is considered a traitor, doesn''t it?" "Because the last step in order to become either of these classes is to swallow the sap of the World Tree." Roland was immediately shocked. Any intelligent creature knew what the World Tree meant for the elves. It was essentially their mother. They loved and worshiped the World Tree more than any other creature did. Even if a god was going to touch the World Tree, the elves wouldn''t hesitate to die with the god. However, those two classes had to drink sap from the World Tree, which was essentially the World Tree''s blood. That was unforgivable. No wonder these two classes were regarded as traitors. They intended to harm the World Tree when they had the elven bloodline. "You must understand now." Sejuani smiled and said, "The elves never reveal the two classes because we fear that hybrid elves like you will be tempted." "Then why are you telling it to me now?" "Because you don''t look like an obstinate person." Sejuani put on a foxy smile and said, "You didn''t even try to persuade me, which suggests that you hate trouble. To take the sap of the World Tree is almost an impossible task. You certainly wouldn''t do that. Besides, even a regular Mage can be very powerful after he grows up. You have the gifts, and your future path is smooth and flat. There''s no need to risk your life. If you reveal so much as a slight intention to become an Arcane Windrunner or a Destructive Druid to a pure-blood elf, you will be hunted by all elves." Half an hour later, Roland left the mayor''s house. The dozen bats were still hanging from the top of the carriage, not having attempted to flee. After Vivian and the other magic apprentices returned from their shopping trip, everybody left in the carriages. In the carriage, Andonara leaned close to Roland and asked, "Did you really give up convincing Sejuani because it would be too troublesome?" 373 Who Are You? "It''s not that I''m afraid of trouble," Roland explained, "I just don''t want to waste time." "Why?" Cage asked as well. He shared Andonara''s doubts. Roland explained, "As I said before, I didn''t want to convince a stubborn elf that it would be a considerable waste of time even if it worked. At that time, I just wanted to find another breakthrough." "You really weren''t playing hard-to-get?" Roland shook his head. "No, I was just thinking that since there are these two professions, there must be some other people in this human world who know what they are. Since Sejuani won''t talk about it, I''ll go find someone else." "How will you find them?" Cage asked. "Do you know any other elves or half-elves?" "That''s not the case," Roland said with a smile, "but I would think that a particularly well-informed organization like the Mercenary Guild, the Assassins Guild, or organizations like the Assassins Guild would have information on these two professions." "But they may not be willing to tell you." Roland laughed lightly. "It''s not that I underestimate them, but the courageous spirit of these guilds is nothing special. If ten gold coins can''t buy them, I''ll give them thirty; if thirty can''t buy them I''ll give them fifty; if fifty isn''t enough, I''ll give them a hundred. This should be their limit, and besides, intelligence is something that is meant to be sold. There is no information that money can''t buy, as long as the price is right and a channel is found. I''m sure it''s even possible to find out exactly what color the underwear of the queens of all the countries wear every day." Cage laughed aloud. Although he was the senior, he was also a rather open-minded man due to his early years as a mercenary, and could even be said to have a rather heavy prodigal air about him. Roland''s minor dirty joke was actually quite to his liking. He thought Roland was an interesting person, not one of those pretentious, dull Mages. Moreover, this person''s mind was quite flexible. He wouldn''t be stubbornly fixed on a point and knew how to go around any obstacles, and most importantly, when Roland chatted, his innocuous words would reveal a message from time to time. He was rich very rich. To buy a piece of information for a hundred gold coins without blinking an eye, his niece probably wouldn''t face any hardships if she followed him. After these two or three days, Cage had become quite agreeable to Roland as a person and thought that he was indeed worthy of his niece. After returning to Reed, Roland and the others stayed there for three more days before setting off on their tour again. Roland''s expression turned stern as he said, "I understand." Then Roland and his party parted with Cage. Andonara was a little reluctant; after all, since childhood, Cage treated her as if she were his daughter. Nothing noteworthy happened in the leg of the tour that followed. Roland passed through twenty more cities with Magic Towers, and only a third of the chairmen were willing to share their experiences with him. But even that was enough. Roland picked up many tricks learned through experience with magic, and after blending them all together, he also comprehended a native specialty on his own. Metamagic: You can infuse small amounts of magic power from other schools of magic into the spell you''re currently casting and produce special, unknown effects. This technique was quite useful. After infusing some wind magic power into the large fireball, the stability of the large fireball would be reduced, but the ballistic speed and the power of the blast generated when it exploded would be increased. And by infusing a little spatial magic into the Ice Ring, the Ice Ring would produce a "leap" effect, no longer a circle cast with the caster at its center. However, Roland still couldn''t control the distance and direction of the leaps, and didn''t find a pattern in it for the time being. If the leap ability of Ice Ring could be fully controlled in the future, then Ice Ring would have a remote control effect without Roland having to teleport to cast it at a close range every time. This greatly enhanced his own safety during combat. By the time they had circled the country of Hollevin and returned to Delpon, nearly another six months had passed. During this time, both Jerry and Vivian, due to the extensive knowledge and experiences exchanged, finally made a breakthrough and managed to advance to the rank of official Mage, or level two. The other four magic apprentices felt that they were also close. Both Roland and the magic apprentices benefited greatly from this study tour. Of course, Andonoar was the one who gained the most. After purifying her family bloodline, she had not only gained some unique specialties but her strength had also soared in the past six months. She was now level thirteen and starting to climb toward the Legend rank. Roland was going to have to work harder to break her defenses. Back outside of Delpon, Roland discovered an open-air theater just outside the city, and he realized that the Vienna Opera Company had been here. Then, back at the Magic Tower, the magic apprentices sat down and rested, all with a lazy look of "finally home and don''t want to move." Vincent, on the other hand, looked even more exaggerated. He sprang out of the Magic Tower''s lab, shook Roland''s hand vigorously, and choked out, "You''re finally back. I couldn''t keep the situation in check." "What''s wrong?" Roland was somewhat surprised. "It was Silver Wings again. The first two months after you left, they were quite restrained, but then they started joining forces with other nobles to target the Magic Tower," Vincent said gloomily. "Although I''ve already clashed with them several times, I''m not a match for them as I''m outnumbered. So now some of the Magic Tower''s businesses have been swallowed by them." Roland was stunned for a moment, then said helplessly, "These people from Silver Wings have no memory at all. Didn''t I say that if they dare to enter Delpon, I will kill them once I see them?" As Andonara heard this, she immediately came over and said excitedly, "I''ll go with you to cut people down." "No need." Roland waved his hand. "This is an internal matter for the Golden Sons." "Tsk!" Andonara pursed her lips in disappointment. It was only then that Vincent noticed Andonara and asked in surprise, "Chairman, who''s this!?" He thought Andonara looked familiar, but he''d never seen such a pretty blonde before as far as he could remember. "The queen." Huh??? Vincent looked like he had question marks written all over his face, then he realized that the general features of this great beauty before him were really Queen Andonara''s. He was startled for a moment before he pulled up the system camera to take a few pictures of Andonara. Then he opened the forum quickly and wrote a post. Roland''s Too Terrifying, It Took Him Six Months to Sc**w the Queen into a Blonde[1]. Then he uploaded Queen Andonara''s photos along with the post. All of this was done in one fell swoop. [1] Blondes represent cuckoldry in popular Chinese online memes and culture deriving from anime and eroge 374 Not Challenging at All Now "Roland" was the popular word. Rather, it had always been a popular word. As long as a post was tied to Roland, the number of clicks would soar in a short time. This post was no exception. There were layers upon layers of replies after a short while. "Oh sh*t, this is the queen? I remember she was brown-haired and brown-eyed, why is she blonde now? And she looks like a village girl with a long braided pigtail. Do they have hair dye and cosmetic contact lenses in this game?" "Hehe, have you seen such a beautiful and elegant village girl? You''re probably a dull guy, right? Braided pigtails mean village girls? If you''re able, go find a village girl like this." "Is upstairs a girl? Village girl in those geeks'' mouths is a compliment, and only a great beauty with the queen''s figure and braids is qualified to be called a village girl." "Does anyone have Roland''s contact details? I''d like one of these head-swapping plastic surgeries." "Even if you get sc**wed?" "Women can pay anything for beauty, so what does it matter if she gets scr*wed? Besides, Roland isn''t bad. It''s hard to say who''s taking advantage of whom." "Roland''s back in Delpon. Hehe, now there''s going to be a good show." "Come place your bets on whether Roland will clash with Silver Wings or not." "My guess is he will." "Definitely." "F6 even dares to go against the royal family, Silver Wings is nothing." "Gee, it looks like there''s no way to place a bet, it''s all in favor of Roland." Players who hung around the forums a lot all knew that F6 were bellicosethose guys didn''t know what fear was. In reality, this was the case. Roland didn''t know that Queen Andonara was already generating a lot of heat in the forums. At this moment, he was heading out of the city. He walked out of the city gates and came to the docks. The docks were more thoroughly rebuilt compared to a year ago, but they were still a long way from what they were under Hawk''s leadership. A large part of this was due to the lack of help from Mages. When Hawk was in power, Roland had magic apprentices help build the docks with Hand of Magic, greatly speeding up the construction time. But with the extremely poor relationship between the Magic Tower and Silver Wings now, they certainly wouldn''t help. As soon as Roland appeared near the docks, the members of Silver Wings noticed. He was thinking about how he should find the members of Silver Wings, and unexpectedly, a group of murderous people immediately appeared in front of him. The leader was naturally Jason, followed by a dozen or so players. Jason stopped ten feet in front of Roland, sized him up, and said, "Roland, what are you trying to do by coming to our dock?" "Looking for trouble." Jason snorted. "Alone? You really think you''re the best in the world?" "I don''t mean that. I don''t dare to claim to be the best in the world, but I''ve no problem dealing with you guys." Roland laughed lightly. "What I said before I left was, if you guys dare to take a step into the city, I''ll kill you once I see you." "What a joke. You''ve been out of Delpon for almost a year, which eye of yours saw us go into Delpon?" Jason sneered. "Free evaluation of evidence isn''t that Silver Wings'' favorite tactic." Roland pointed with his finger. "Besides, do you really think Vincent is an idiot He''s already recorded you guys going into Delpon and loitering around." "That traitor" A multicolored rainbow light with a tail shadow fired straight at Jason. Prismatic Spray had some wind element attached to it, increasing its speed quite a bit. And the ballistic speed of Prismatic Spray was fast to begin with, so this coupling was quite remarkable. Just as Roland pointed his finger, Jason saw a large multicolored cotton flower crashing toward him. He hurriedly dodged to the side, using both his Quick Roll and Intuitive Evasion specialties, which barely managed to avoid the Prismatic Spray''s trajectory. But the guild member behind him wasn''t so lucky, as he was directly hit by the rainbow light and couldn''t even scream, turning into a cloud of flying ash. He was instantly killed! Silver Wings was dominated by Warriors, and almost all of Jason''s men were warriors. While most of them weren''t considered to be at a high levelonly level fourthe high vitality of the Warriors still ensured that they would be useful in most situations. But now, a level-four Warrior couldn''t even resist a shot of Prismatic Spray. One could imagine how powerful Roland''s spells were in terms of damage. "Spread out and attack him as you''ve been trained." Rolling onto his side, Jason immediately pulled his longsword out of his Backpack while bellowing, "We have an advantage in numbers, and he doesn''t have a frontal guard, screw him up!" Roland chuckled softly and snapped his fingers. An Ice Ring as sharp as a blade, with Roland at its center, spread out close to the ground. The members of Silver Wings jumped up almost simultaneously and then came crashing down on where Roland was standing. Leap Slash! Roland snapped his fingers again and disappeared, appearing fourteen meters away in the next second. Jason and a dozen other Warriors smashed into the area where Roland had just been with a thud at the same time. Then Roland snapped his fingers again, and a dozen blue Arcane Bullets swished forth and shot at those warriors. The damage from the Arcane Bullets wasn''t high, but they couldn''t stand the sheer numbers, and several of the Warriors were knocked to the ground. Although they didn''t die, they were either spitting out pixels or had broken arms and legs and couldn''t move. At this time, a long arrow suddenly came flying from afar, turning into a dark light, fired at Roland''s temple. But ten centimeters away from Roland''s head, it suddenly stopped, a pale blue wave blocking the arrow, and half a second later, the arrow bounced away. Roland side-eyed the direction the dark arrow flew from, and a magic spider appeared imperceptibly and silently crawled in that direction. "Roland, you''re dead." Jason charged forward with a swoosh. The ground was already slippery with a thin layer of ice due to Roland''s Ice Ring, but Jason seemed to be well-equipped, and his shoes could step firmly on the ice without being affected by the slipperiness. Then a shadow came crashing in. Snapping the fingers of his left hand, Roland''s entire body disappeared once again, this time teleporting forward and appearing directly twenty meters behind the Silver Wings crowd. And then another Ice Ring. Leap Slash had a cooldown. However, Roland''s Ice Ring didn''t. Jason''s charge came up short, and when he was about to adjust his body, he felt a chill behind him. Then he realized that his legs were fixed to the ground. All the members of Silver Wings were hit by the Ice Ring. He turned back with a rather laborious twist and saw Roland teleport again to a point more than forty meters away from them. And then a blue fireball appeared in Roland''s hand. Two seconds later, a violent explosion of flames engulfed the dozen or so Silver Wings players. Roland clapped his hands. These people were too weak and not challenging at all. Then an image came from the magic spider he had just released: a human with a bow was running away in the woods. Roland was stunned for a moment. "Huh, it''s not a player?" 375 The Devil on Earth doge The man with the bow wore leather armor, and his hair was so dirty and disordered that he could almost be said to be wearing dreadlocks. This man was a little hunched, and his temperament seemed very gloomy, with a sense of lifelessness. Players were different. Because they treated this world as a game and never truly died, most of them were full of lively and upbeat traits, and even some special professions, such as Thieves and Assassins and so on, had a peculiar auraa cold, calm kind of professional temperament. They couldn''t possibly have a sense of lifelessness, a sense of despair as if there was no hope. After all, players had a fallback no matter what. Even if the character couldn''t be used and was being hunted by NPC forces, the worst that could happen was deleting the character and restarting the game. This was why players couldn''t possibly have a lifeless temperament. Not far away, the magical flames were still burning, and it would take at least half an hour for them to extinguish. Jason and the other members of Silver Wings even had their iron armor burned away, not to mention their bodies. Not even the ashes of their corpses could be found. Roland didn''t bother to wait for the other party to resurrect. Besides, even after they revived, they would never dare start trouble with him again. He then cast his gaze in the direction the magic spider had tracked, estimating the distance. The bow-wielder who sneaked-attacked him ran fast and was about to run past the range that the magic spider could track. After all, Roland''s mental power also had a limit, and there was a maximum distance at which he could control the magic spider and receive the images sent back. A spatial bubble swallowed him and jetted him out. The whistling wind soared into the sky with him, disappearing in an instant. Roland didn''t fly high; he could see the trees below him sweeping by like water, chasing after the magic spider''s mental imprint. Within a minute, Roland saw a silhouette of a man running through the woods below, appearing and disappearing at times. And the magic spider''s mental imprint was a little behind the man. That''s him. With a thought, Roland had the spatial bubble project him toward the ground. His entire body transformed into a streak of white light, and the sound brought about by his high-speed flight was like a thunderous boom that smashed directly into the ground. The huge momentum directly hauled up all the material around Roland in a radius of more than ten meters, and the trees a meter further were blown back to the point of almost kissing the ground. He dashed quickly while turning his head back. After the strong wind swept by, only smoke and dust were left. The bow-wielder''s lifeless face revealed some surprise. It was the first time he had ever seen such exaggerated power when someone crashed down from the sky. However, this being the case, he fled with all his might. This person was clearly a monster. Just before he ran a few steps, he suddenly saw something seemingly emerging from the smoke and dust, and a faint white light. Just when he found this strange, he felt his blood run cold at the sight that suddenly appeared before him. As an agile professional, the specialty of Intuitive Reaction worked in his favor this instant. He instinctively jumped, then saw a white ring of ice almost graze his feet. Then he saw a Mage in a black robe smiling ten meters in front of him, pointing a finger at him. The blue Arcane Bullets that covered the skies were like a flower blooming before his eyes. There was no way to exert power in the air; it was unavoidable. However, this was actually just an illusion. Facing a power stronger than one''s own and things that were prone to cause harm to oneself, one would instinctively exaggerate them; the Arcane Bullets that seemed to cover the sky in this bow-wielders'' eyes were actually no more than twenty-four. But this was enough. The Arcane Bullets that erupted as if they were canister shots enveloped a great spatial range and the bow-wielder, who jumped in midair, was flooded by the wave of bullets. Several Arcane Bullets hit him, knocking him backward in the air and into a tree before he slid down limply. This man wasn''t dead and was even struggling and thrashing around, trying to get up. The life force of a professional was indeed much, much stronger than that of an ordinary person: an ordinary person would have undoubtedly turned into a puddle of mud after taking so many Arcane Bullets. Roland walked up slowly. The bow-wielder smiled miserably and stuffed something in his mouth. Roland raised his hand and cast two successive spells of Detoxification and Minor Healing. The bow-wielder took a poisonous pill, and just as his face started to turn green, the poison was immediately removed by Detoxification, and the other spell slowly healed the bow-wielder''s body. The bow-wielder''s dirty face covered in black mud showed some surprise. "It''s not that easy to die," Roland said gently. "Name the man who commands you, and I can let you go." The bow-wielder slowly stood up, threw aside his bow, pulled out a dagger from his back, and sneered, "To actually heal me, an Assassin, and even willing to let me go, what a benevolent lord of a Mage." Hearing the other party''s mystifying voice, Roland was unconcerned and continued, "I can guarantee this with all my honor." "Hehe!" With a disdainful sneer, the Assassin shifting into an attack stance, and an immense killing intent rushed forth. Roland said helplessly, "You''re already heavily injured. Even with a healing spell, you won''t heal that quickly, you''re no match for me. And besides, I''m a Golden Son, so even if you get away with killing me, I can just as well" It was then that the Assassin smiled as if his scheme had prevailed and the dagger in his hand plunged into his own heart. Roland was stunned. And then the Assassin sliced the dagger diagonally with more force. Half of his heart cavity was cut open, and bright red blood spurted out like spring water. The Assassin''s smile solidified on his face and his body collapsed backward. This kind of critical and serious injury could not be saved by Minor Healing alone. Roland was stunned for a while and said, depressed, "Oh, a martyr." He snapped his fingers, and the mud swirled, burying the man''s corpse in the ground. This was sort of giving him a place to be buried without leaving his corpse laid out in the wilderness to be eaten by wild animals. Roland was silent for a while before flying back to his Magic Tower. At this moment on the forum, someone else posted a thread about how Roland had just crushed over a dozen players from Silver Wings. The Professions Are So Unbalanced, My Hands and Feet Are Cold, What Do You Want From a Warrior? Despite choosing an exaggerated title, the content was pretty simple and straightforward, without any words but a video. It was the process of Roland one-sidedly beating over a dozen Silver Wings Warriors in a minute. The entire video was in black and white, with a mournful shawm melody. The noteworthy part was Jason''s incompetent rage of yelling "Best Cheater," which was edited with a savage method of repeated slow playback, highlighting his extreme frustration and anger. It gave people a feeling of bitterness, unfairness, and wanting to crack up. Players responded with a heavy heart, and the one that got the most thumbs up was this one. "Alas, hell is empty, and the devil is on earth (doge)." 376 Is It Fun? It was already evening when Roland returned to the Magic Tower. Andonara was lying in Roland''s study, a dozen fat bats hanging on the ceiling. It was a weird scene from any perspective. Seeing him, Andonara held her head with one of her hands and lifted her collar with the other. She said with a smile, "Welcome back. You must be hungry. Would you like some freshly-made strawberry cake?" Well Roland raised his head and looked at the dozen bats on the ceiling. At this point, all the bats were awake. They were staring at Andonara and Roland curiously. Roland couldn''t help but roll his eyes. Chuckling, Andonara jumped off from the bed and grabbed Roland''s arm. She said happily, "I''m about to sign the contract with her. Watch out for me." "Sure." Roland smiled and summoned his magic array. On the floor of the study, a bright green magic circle popped up. Though Roland spent most of his time on Enlivening in the past year, he did study the contractual magic in his spare time. He had learned what he should know, and he was capable of using it now. Looking at the bright green magic circle, the tiny bats flew down and gathered into a girl at the servant''s position in the circle. Though Christina hadn''t drank blood for a while, she could subsist on fruit and cooked meat and gradually recovered. Half a year was enough for her to turn back to a teenager from a little girl. As a teenager, she was slightly more nonchalant than before and not as cute as when she was a little girl. In the servant''s position, Christina asked regretfully, "Can''t you trust me? We''ve been together for half a year." Roland chuckled and said, "Some people can''t be seen through even after a whole lifetime." Christina glanced at him and asked, "What about Anna? I''ve asked her. You completely trusted her no more than one month after you knew her." "Do you think you''re the same as her?" snapped Roland. Andonara was so delighted that she felt her heart melting when she heard that. Christina was rather devastated, but she remained obedient and didn''t complain. Andonara stood at the master''s position. Once they were in position, the magic circle glittered with dazzling green light, and they began to absorb the green light around them. Soon, the magic circle dimmed and disappeared. Andonara looked at the center of her palm and found the pattern of a fat fruit bat. Closing her eyes, she sensed it for a while, only to exclaim in shock, "I think I can use dark magic power now." She waved her hand, and a black wind blew out of the window. Though it caused no damage, it was undoubtedly dark magic power. "Am I not a descendant of the Hero?" Andonara was confused. "Aren''t evil powers naturally suppressed by us? Why can I use dark magic?" Seeing the flame, Christina subconsciously stepped back. By completing the mastership contract, the master could learn one of the servant''s abilities randomly. The effect and power of the ability would be based on the servant''s strength. Thinking for a moment, Roland said, "I remember that the soul fragment of Diablo said that Phoenix, your ancestor, was one of the kings of the Realm of Devils." "That''s not possible," Andonara said. "Don''t you think that''s just something the soul fragment said to mess with our heads?" So you never believed that? But Roland didn''t think that the soul fragment was lying. If Phoenix was, in fact, a Devil King, the truth of the Hero''s power could be more complicated than it seemed. "It''s always a good thing to learn more abilities," Roland said with a smile. "The only disadvantage of the Great Swordsman is that they can''t deal effective damage to pure magic creatures, but you''ve made up for that. If you keep growing, I''m sure that few people will be a match for you in this world." "But you''re definitely one of them." Andonara walked to Roland voluntarily and drew a circle on Roland''s chest with her finger. "I could never resist you. You can put me in any position you want." As she spoke, her eyes sparkled as if they were speaking for her. Roland felt that he had to calm himself down. So he ran out of the Magic Tower and left for the mayor''s residence. He had been told that John Junior''s lifestyle had been quite fixed. The man took care of his garden every day and occasionally visited the best prostitutes in town. He was living his life like the unworthy son of a magnate. He seemed to have completely lost his determination and ambition. When Roland came to the mayor''s residence, the two guards were about to stop him, but after recognizing Roland, they didn''t say or do anything and simply let him walk into the castle as if they didn''t see him. Soft green grass was growing everywhere in the spacious yard inside the castle. It was a sunny day. Under an enormous parasol, the mayor''s wife and daughter were having afternoon tea. There were a lot of cakes, fruits, and delicious fruit wine on the table. A couple of servants and three cooks were at their service. The mayor''s wife and Miss John were having a great time, until Roland''s sudden arrival drew their attention. When they saw Roland, they both stood up nervously. They had hated Roland before. But now that a year had passed, their hate was mostly gone, and all that was left was fear. The nobles were generally not very close to their kinsmen and friends. Roland came to them and smiled. "Sorry for the intrusion, but I would like to speak to John Junior. Is he at home?" "He''s in the study on the second floor," said the mayor''s wife timidly. "Thank you." Roland nodded and entered the castle. Watching Roland disappear into the castle, both of the women were greatly relieved. As a matter of fact, they loved their present life. They were carefree, and their living standards had been improved. Though Roland claimed half of the taxes, their expenses had been greatly reduced because they did not need to maintain a troop of three thousand soldiers anymore. Now that the money was spent on their personal lives, they couldn''t have enjoyed themselves more. Also, Roland never forbade them from going anywhere. They were even more at ease than when the old mayor was alive. Roland found the study on the second floor and knocked on the door. "Come in." Pushing the door open, Roland saw a gloomy young man reading what appeared to be the biography of a knight in front of the desk. John Junior turned around and saw Roland. His expression immediately became complicated. Holding his arms against the door, Roland said mockingly, "Is it fun to try to assassinate me while the Golden Sons are in conflict?" 377 No Excuses "Is it fun to try to assassinate me while the Golden Sons are in conflict?" asked Roland with a smile. The muscles on John Junior''s face cramped. Staring at Roland, his eyes were bloodshot, and his body was shaking. Eventually, he stood up furiously and threw the book in his hand to the desk with all his strength. He panted heavily; the veins on his neck were bulging. He roared like a lion, his hair and his beard rising. "Roland, that''s outrageous! I''ve been at home every day. What do you want from me? You''re still blaming me when you''ve humiliated me like this? Are you not going to be satisfied until I''m dead?" "I''ve never wanted you to die." Roland smiled and said, "But it suddenly occured to me that it wouldn''t be bad if you were dead." John Junior''s hands were shaking and he was gnashing his teeth. His wrath and his frustration seemed to be overflowing. Seeing how the man was enraged but too scared to do anything, Roland sneered and said, "Don''t take others for fools. You want to instigate conflict among the Golden Sons so that you''ll have a chance to rise again. But don''t forget that other people are no more stupid than you." "I never did that!" John Junior finally couldn''t hold back anymore and roared in exasperation. "I can forgive you this time. You should feel lucky that it was not my family and friends that you set up." Roland stood straight, and his eyes turned cold. "But if it ever happens again, you should know the consequences." "Heh!" Roland sneered and left. The door closed, and darkness was restored in the study. Inside the room, the muscles on John Junior''s face kept shivering, which made it look twisted and hideous. The anger and hate on his face were gradually replaced by helplessness. In the end, he fell back on his chair in frustration, all his spirit gone. When Roland left the castle, he saw that the mayor''s wife and his daughter were still having afternoon tea. They stood up again the moment they saw Roland. Roland walked to them and said with a smile, "Sorry for the disturbance." They were rather anxious to see Roland, but the mayor''s wife managed to offer an invitation. "Mr. Roland, would you like to have afternoon tea with us?" "Thank you." Roland declined. "But there''s something I have to do. Maybe I can chat with you beautiful ladies next time." "What a shame." After turning them down, Roland left the courtyard. The mayor''s wife sat down in relief. "He doesn''t have that ruthless vibe. He can''t be here for trouble." After a brief silence, the mayor''s wife said, "But I''m scared that your brother will do something! After all, men are not as easily content as women." The daughter heaved a long sigh. "I wish that my brother wouldn''t do anything, not after my father failed." Roland, walking on the street, wasn''t aware of their conversation. Actually, he felt kind of guilty just now. He was not as calm as he seemed when he was faced with a widow that he made and the daughter of his victim. He thought that those two women must loathe him as much as John Junior did. What he didn''t know was that familial bonds were thin among the Johns. Also, the year of peaceful living had worn out the women''s hate. More importantly, Roland still had the power. While walking, Roland observed the streets. The city was a lot cleaner than a year ago. Ever since Roland, Hawk, and their crew dominated the city, they had been building some infrastructures, such as a sewer system and public toilets. They also advocated the importance of personal hygiene. It was not very effective, but at least, the city was not as dirty as before. Also, after the fallout with Silver Wings, the Magic Tower had claimed the position of sheriff, which became Vincent''s responsibility. Vincent was a dutiful man. Though he disliked the job because it reduced his time learning magic, he had never slacked off. After a year, he had beheaded three small nobles for their wrongdoings, and imprisoned hundreds more thieves and robbers. So the whole city was a lot safer, and the civilians were much more comfortable. The sense of safety was intangible, but it was there, as could be seen in the smiles of the passersby. Roland came to the base of Black Sand Gang[1] and walked straight in. The gangsters were horrified to see him. They hurried to fetch Gru from upstairs. "Mr. Roland, it''s been a while." Gru was quite embarrassed to see Roland. Because they chose the wrong side last time, the Black Sand Gang hadn''t been favored by the Magic Tower, but since the Magic Tower never officially abandoned them, they managed to survive to this point. However, life wasn''t easy for the Black Sand Gang because of Sheriff Vincent''s diligence. Roland looked around and laid his eyes on Gru. He said, "I''m going to have a banquet in the square in front of my Magic Tower. You''ll inform all the celebrities in town for me, including the nobles, the scholars, the merchants, and the bosses of other gangs. "Tell them that I want them all to be there if they have nothing important to do. "No excuses!" Looking at Roland''s calm face and hearing the last phrase, Gru nodded quickly and swallowed. He had a feeling that something big was going to happen. Roland then returned to the Magic Tower and asked everybody to prepare wine and food for the banquet. Andonara was slightly confused. "After your travels, the local celebrities should be holding a dinner to welcome you back. But why are you entertaining them?" "Because someone is going to be killed at this banquet." Andonara''s eyes immediately glittered. "Really? Great. I''m going to whet my sword. I''ll cut down whoever you want me to cut." At this point, Christina joined them and asked hopefully, "Master, if any noble girls are going to be killed, can you let me drink some of their blood before you kill them?" "No!" Roland turned her down without any hesitation. Christina pouted so hard that a bottle could be hung from her lips. [1] This is the same as Gray Sand Gang; the original author simply forgot what he wrote. 378 Im Very Disappointed The guys from the Black Sand Gang tried their best to inform the celebrities. Roland hadn''t given an order to the Black Sand Gang for a whole year, so Gru certainly wouldn''t miss this opportunity. The whole city turned lively. Many celebrities who were invited accepted the invitation quickly, but after the messenger left, they immediately visited their friends and discussed what Roland''s possibly malicious invitation meant. After all, Roland killed the fellows from Silver Wings the moment he returned. Though those guys were soon resurrected, it was obvious that Roland had won the internal conflict among the Gold Sons. The nobles who chose the right side were delighted, and those who didn''t were greatly worried. The neutral parties were concerned too. They had no idea what Roland was going to do next, but since Roland invited so many people, he was clearly going to change some of the rules. The whole city seemed to be caught up in a wave of anxiety. In the evening, a heavy rain fell. Raindrops the size of beans hit the ground crazily, leaving puddles all over the street in no time. Nobody wanted to go out in such weather. However, Roland''s messenger had made it clear. No excuses. No excuses? Why? Roland claimed that the banquet would be held in the square before the Magic Tower, which was too small to accommodate all the guests. But if the banquet was held in the square, how long could they keep themselves dry in the storm even if they had umbrellas? They might catch a cold if they were drenched. Chances were that Roland was only screwing them over by doing this. Some people, enraged, looked at the storm and sneered. They stayed at home and pretended that they weren''t invited. But some others sighed and asked their servants to prepare umbrellas and carriages, before they set off for the Magic Tower. Old Conan Doyle was one of them. Looking at the storm outside, he heaved a helpless sigh. His wife said, "Roland is obviously giving you a hard time by inviting all of you to a banquet in such terrible weather without accepting any excuses." "I know, but I don''t have a choice. I chose the wrong side. Now that he''s back and sent an invitation to me, our family may be wiped out if I don''t go." His wife exclaimed in panic, "How dare he!" "Why daren''t he? He''s a Mage," Old Conan Doyle said painfully. "Even the royal family never did anything after he took the queen. Why do you think we can resist him? We''re old enough to die now, but our children deserve a future." The woman sobbed with red eyes. She thought that her husband probably wouldn''t return from Roland''s banquet. "Don''t cry yet. I don''t think he''ll go that far," said Conan Doyle without any confidence. Then he spoke to the butler. "Let''s go." The storm was so powerful that the top of the carriage kept rattling. Conan Doyle closed his eyes; his body was shivering along with the carriage. He was completely at peace. For an old man who was ready to die, nothing could scare him anymore. After a long time, the carriage stopped, and the butler said, "My lord, we''re here But something is not right." "Something should be wrong." Conan Doyle lifted the curtain of the carriage and said, "Roland said no excuses, and a huge storm has come in. It''s not strange that he predicted the storm as a Mage. Or rather, he may have personally evoked the storm to teach us a good" Then, Conan Doyle''s face froze too. He saw the most magnificent light before his eyes. The whole city had been covered in darkness under the thick clouds and the heavy rain. But what did he see now? It was a gigantic building that seemed like a temple, with nothing but a roof and dozens of rock pillars to support the building. It had no walls. In every direction was an entrance. The building seemed simple, but it was truly enormous. It was at least twenty-five meters tall, with an unbelievable presence. It would take ten seconds for one to move their eyes from the left end of the building to the right. Luminous spheres that were emitting vivid light were floating under the roof. Shouldn''t this place be the square of the Magic Tower? Conan Doyle subconsciously looked at the back of the huge "pavilion" only to see the high-rising Magic Tower back there. He was pretty sure that this building did not exist here half a day earlier. Was this the splendor of a powerful Mage? Conan Doyle stepped off the carriage and entered the massive building under an umbrella. The building was shocking enough from the outside, but after he came in, he found that he had underestimated it. He felt that he was nothing but a mouse inside a large garden. Closing the umbrella, Conan Doyle saw many acquaintances. He wasn''t the first to arrive. He looked around and found a few friends. He walked to them. Before he joined them, someone from the Black Sand Gang approached him and said respectfully, "Your Excellency, please sign your name here. Mr. Roland would like to know how many guests are here tonight." He immediately wrote his name. At this point, Conan Doyle had a feeling that the banquet might not be a disaster, as proven by the building and the signature. If Roland intended to kill them, such trouble would''ve been unnecessary. After he signed his name, two close friends came to him, and one of them whispered, "Old Doyle, do you have any inside news? Why has Mr. Roland summoned us?" Conan Doyle shook his head. Then, they began to throw out speculations. There were other groups of people near them, all discussing similar things. As time went by, all those who were willing to come to the banquet were mostly present. Though there were more than a hundred of them, they were still too few to fill up the vast building. When the banquet was about to start, the members of the Black Sand Gang, as temporary servants, served the wine and the food on the tables. The stone tables and chairs in the building were in a crude style, but nobody dared to despise them. The rear end of the building was connected to the Magic Tower. Then, the people from the Magic Tower showed up. Roland was leading the group, followed by Vincent and the queen. Vivian and Jerry were behind them. The other magic apprentices were at the back of the group. Seeing the host, the hundred guests hurried to stand up and greet him. Standing on a dais, Roland looked around and said with a smile, "I thought that the Magic Tower would be too small to accommodate all the guests, so I built a larger building with magic. But it seems that my appeal is much less significant than I thought." All the guests felt a cold sweat on their backs. 379 Im a Vengeful Person "I''m very disappointed." Almost everybody felt cold sweat drip down their backs after he said that. But there were exceptions, such as Vivian''s family and the families of other magic apprentices. Those people were on Roland''s side, as they had always been. "In the spirit of friendship and reciprocity, I wanted to invite the celebrities of this city to discuss the future of Delpon. After all, this city belongs to every citizen living in it. However, some people have given up this opportunity." Roland shrugged with a smile. Immediately, all the guests relaxed. They realized that Roland didn''t want to do anything to them. They felt lucky that they took the risk. They might enjoy some privileges for joining this banquet. "Before our discussion, I would like to make two announcements." Roland nodded at his sides and continued, "After a year of traveling and learning, Vivian and Jerry have become official Mages." Hua! Everybody exclaimed. Vivian''s and Jerry''s families, in particular, applauded vehemently, so excited that their faces were all red. Mage was a class that was highly dependent on talent. Many people who were considered promising had been stuck as magic apprentices in their whole life. Now that they had become official Mages, it meant that they could make greater advancements later. Their future was nothing but promising. More importantly, official Mages generally lived long lives, unless they died in accidents. The Elite Mages could even live more than two hundred years. In comparison, though Warriors had tough bodies, their souls would decline when they grew old. Unless they became Masters and invigorated their souls, the souls of the Warriors would collapse, making it impossible for them to control their bodies. Therefore, the spellcasters in this world generally lived longer lives. It meant that Vivian and Jerry could protect their respective families for at least a hundred years. How could their families not be excited? Vivian and Jerry stepped forward and stood next to Roland. They were wearing the black robes of official Mages, with pride all over their faces. Jerry, in particular, had been stuck as a magic apprentice for decades. He felt bittersweet now that he had finally been acknowledged by the Magic Tower after such a long time. They stood for a while, accepting everybody''s cheers and congratulations. Then they stepped back, returning the spotlight to Roland. After the exclamations died down, Roland continued, "Next, we''ll talk about reciprocity. "The Golden Sons respect rules. Everybody knows that I don''t want to go back on my promise on the distribution of interests." Roland looked down at everybody and saw confusion on their faces. It was because their eyes were never opened. Though the nobles had more knowledge than the civilians did, there were few smart nobles who could see through disguises. Roland was not exactly a smart person, but thanks to the twenty years of systematic education and the seemingly useless information he read on the Internet, his vision had been broadened. The information on the Internet was useless because smarter people had already used it. In a modern information society, speed was all that mattered. When everybody has access to the same information, the winner would be the person who first made use of it. Roland was only mediocre in modern society in terms of knowledge and vision, but in this world, he was way better than most of the nobles and merchants. "I have many ideas, but it''s too premature to implement them now, so I''ve decided to start with the basics." Roland intentionally paused to let the suspense build. Everybody stared at him eagerly. Vincent, as another player, vaguely guessed what Roland was going to do and put on a smile. "Education!" While a hundred people looked at him hopefully, Roland spoke that word. "In the eyes of the Golden Sons, education is the foundation of everything and the most rewarding investment." All the nobles whispered to each other after hearing that. On the dais, Roland waited patiently for them to calm down. After they whispered for a while, the noise gradually died down. "You must be thinking that education is uninteresting for you. Why would you bother to study at my place when you have your own teachers in your family?" Roland smiled cunningly. "But what if I were going to systematically teach Mages on a large scale? What do you think?" After a brief silence, exclamations suddenly burst out in the hall, as if someone had just detonated a bomb. While everybody chatted vehemently, one of them shouted at Roland, "Mr. Roland, are you serious?" Everybody wanted one or two Mages in their family! Everybody! But not all of them had the talent, or mentors to teach them. They did not question Roland''s capabilities. Roland was just an official Mage when he came to Delpon, but he was now an Elite Mage on the threshold of being a Master. They had no doubt that Roland had an effective way of training on account of his fast growth. Besides, Vivian and Jerry had become official Mages too, after only a short time. It wouldn''t be long for the other four traveling magic apprentices. If other people''s children could make it, there was no reason why their own children couldn''t. "Mr. Roland, how are you going to choose candidates?" "Mr. Roland, I have a few children, both boys and girls. They''re all lovely. You''re free to choose any of them." Their exclamations were almost lifting the roof. They gradually approached Roland. They would''ve surrounded him if they weren''t intimidated by his identity as a Mage. Roland pressed his hands down, asking them to be quiet. The hall immediately fell quiet. Nothing but the rain could be heard. The guests even subconsciously held their breath. "You''ve shown me respect by participating in my banquet despite such a heavy storm. Therefore, the first batch of magic apprentices will be selected from among your young children as well as the children of civilians half a month from now. As for the people who didn''t attend this banquet, their children will wait at least three years, if I''m still in the mood to teach them." In the end, Roland squinted and smiled. "I''m a petty and vengeful person." 380 No Visitors After the announcements, Roland had some of the food and left the banquet. While he stayed there, the guests could not enjoy themselves. That was very normal. Roland was level seven anyway. His comprehensive attributes were very high. Even though he was holding himself back, the mental power that he accidentally released could be awesome for ordinary people. It was a level suppression based on biological energy. The degree of the suppression was decided by the gap of the attributes between two parties. The dragon''s might was essentially an advanced application of deterrence with biological energy. The same rule applied to Andonara. But since she was a pretty woman, her intimidation was slightly weakened. Roland was about to take a rest in the Magic Tower, but Vincent followed him back. "Why are you here? Are you not going to hit on a few noble ladies in the banquet?" Vincent shook his head with a smile. "The queen is the most beautiful one there, but she''s yours. I''m not interested in other women." "Fine. You do have a high standard." Roland sat down in a chair and asked, "There must be something you want to say to me, right?" "Yes." Vincent sat down. Leaning against the back of the chair like a big boss, he said, "Attract some of the enemies and strike the rest, so that you will have more friends than enemies. You''ll really put that great man''s experience in politics into practice." Roland shook his head. "It''s just a lesson I learned at work. I was taught that by the management." "Hahaha." Vincent laughed and asked, "Are you really going to build schools? It may result in conflicts with the headquarters." Roland thought for a moment and said, "Tobian is smart, but I can tell that he''s too focused on the headquarters'' business in the capital to bother us. After all, we have few talents here. Besides, after we recruit the first batch of students and get the initial funding and assets, we won''t need to worry that the headquarters will cut us off. After a few years, when we grow stronger, we can raise more official Mages, and there''s nothing the headquarters will be able to do about us." Vincent looked at Roland in surprise. "Are you thinking to unite the Mages in Hollevin?" "That''s an idea." Roland nodded. "After my year of traveling, apart from the breakthroughs in magic tricks, I''ve gained my own understanding in a lot of matters." "Tell me about it." "The power of individuals is limited." Roland sighed and said, "Earlier, I counted on the players, my own people, but I was too optimistic. I posted the spell models on the forum so that everybody could learn from each other. It worked fine at first, but you''ve seen what happened recently." Roland was rather chilled when he thought about that. "It''s better on O''Neal''s side, but not all his people are trustworthy, either. I found that some models that had only been slightly improved were sold by the group members." Vincent sneered in disdain. He despised those people. "So, I''m too lazy to upload models to the forum now." Roland shrugged and said, "But the systematic structure of the Magic Towers and the credit system in some guilds gave me an idea. After our school raises enough students and we''re powerful enough, we''ll establish a credit contribution system. I''ll write down my tricks and thoughts and put them in the library, and so will other people. Everybody will be given credit points for submitting their unique personal experiences. With those credit points, they can buy other spell models and tips. I don''t think that many Mages would be able to say no to such a system." Vincent squinted at Roland. "Are you sure it''s not an adaptation of the sect system from Wuxia novels?" It was Roland who burst into laughter this time. "I''m only borrowing it. It''s just an idea anyway. Nobody can charge me any patent fees." "I think that''s a good idea." Vincent''s eyes glittered. "How will you ensure fairness?" "With detailed regulations." Roland thought for a moment and said, "But you should know that fairness is only relative and never absolute." Vincent slapped the armrest of the chair and said in excitement, "It''s a great idea. I''ve always found it ridiculous that the headquarters charge several or even dozens of gold coins for each spell. If you had told me about your lofty ideal, I would''ve helped you a long time ago." Roland was quite surprised by Vincent''s excitement. "Didn''t you come to my Magic Tower because you hated management? Why are you so enthusiastic about this?" "That''s not the same," Vincent said rather angrily. "Those guys from Silver Wings are only good at fighting each other. Their idea to monopolize waterborne logistics wasn''t bad, but they lacked money and weren''t capable of realizing their plans. In the end, they even ended up on bad terms with such a capable Mage like you, who could''ve been a great help in infrastructure work. I couldn''t watch it anymore. That''s why I came to you." "But I''m establishing a new Association of Mages and a new system partly for my own selfish reasons too." Vincent said unconcernedly, "Selfishness is the greatest motivation. If your idea can be implemented, a new system will be built, which will be in the interest of most Mages. That''s already enough. Light cannot be shed on everybody." "Thank you." "You''re welcome." Vincent stood up and patted Roland''s shoulder. "I haven''t thanked you for taking me in yet Right, recruit more magic apprentices in the first batch. I can take care of a class for you." "No problem." They looked at each other with smiles. The storm stopped when the banquet was over. The guests dispersed, returning home thrilled. They summoned all the descendants of their family in the night, even the children of their remote cousins. After all, the more children were sent for screening, the more likely that some of them would pass the test. The nobles who didn''t participate in the banquet were all shocked and pale after receiving the news. They all knew that they had lost an opportunity. They couldn''t have regretted it more. They even thought to put pressure on Roland together. But when they remembered Roland''s and the queen''s capabilities, and Vincent who had just become an Elite, not to mention Vivian and Jerry, they knew that they didn''t stand any chance at all. As someone had wisely put it on the Internet, after you build yourself up by working out, you''ll be able to make idiots talk to you peacefully without any quarrels. The "celebrities" who didn''t come to the banquet and were thereby marked by Roland visited Roland one after another, hoping to have a conversation with him. But Roland turned all of them down! 381 Necessary Showoff That was very rude, but nobody dared to complain even if they were angry. At best, they could only curse Roland in their hearts. After all, Roland had invited them last night, and they had slighted their manners by not showing up at all. So, they could only accept the subsequent disrespect. Since it was impossible to talk to Roland, they went to those related to Roland. The families of Vivian, Jerry, and all the other magic apprentices in the Magic Tower were pestered in the following days by acquaintances. Some even wanted to send their children to those families. Other than them, the other guests of the party were harassed similarly. Were it a different time and place, those guests might have been willing to help them. But this concerned the teaching of magic apprentices. Besides, Roland had publicly stated that he was petty and vengeful. What if the man renounced the privileges of their families after he found something? So, only an idiot would help them. Or at least, nobody would help them in the first batch. By the time Roland''s anger was gone in the second or third batch, they might have a try. While the privileged guests were unwilling to help, the refused guests grew angry, because there were only two days to go until the test. The two parties were in conflict. At first, only some families were yelling at each other, but since many nobles were related, it soon escalated into a huge fight between the two parties. Reading the report submitted by the Black Sand Gang, Roland smiled and said, "Well, just as I expected, they''re infighting. Not bad at all." "That''s really an evil smile," remarked Vincent in disdain. Roland put the report in his drawer and chuckled. "I''m only doing the villain''s laugh. Those nobles always conspire to set up the Magic Tower. I''ve had enough of that. They think that we can''t play tricks? They can enjoy being pawns for a while." "Those who don''t know you will really think that you''re vengeful." Vincent shook his head and said, "Divide and conquer does work, but it has to be backed by power. What''s next on your mind?" Roland thought for a moment and said, "Try to recruit more civilians in your class." "As loyal supporters of the Magic Tower?" Roland nodded. "Yes. The descendants of the nobles are half-loyal to their families no matter how we raise them, but the civilians are different. If we give them a chance to change their lives, they will be mostly attached to the Magic Tower." Vincent nodded. "Got it." "On the other hand" Roland pondered a moment and said, "Try to inculcate the ideas such as ''familial background is nothing'' and ''you can be anything you want to be'' into their heads." Taking a deep breath, Vincent subconsciously sat straight. "You''re playing with fire!" "Are you not afraid that they will turn the new Magic Tower upside down after they grow up?" Roland said matter-of-factly, "By the time they grow up, our new Magic Tower will have become a gargantuan organization. If they can still destroy it, so be it Besides, if they''re capable of doing that, it won''t be hard for them to eliminate other forces, such as the churches." Vincent smiled at him, deep in thought. "You''re up to something big." "Not at all!" Roland tried to deny it. "I''m just one of those guys who want other people to be unlucky when we''re unlucky." "Heh!" Vincent scoffed, not convinced at all. Two days passed. The newly-established temple-styled pavilion hadn''t been dismantled yet, so the tests were held there. Outside of the pavilion was a huge crowd of mixed civilians and nobles, who had completely surrounded the place. Seven hundred children of appropriate ages were sent into the pavilion. The descendants of nobles, merchants, and civilians formed three different groups. The children of merchants and civilians were much humbler than the cocky noble descendants. The children of the civilians, in particular, were wearing clean but patched clothes, too shy to look at anybody else. The square was even noisier than the busiest market. Roland felt that his ears were ringing when he came out. Then, he cast the soundproof barrier that he learned from the drows to cover the whole pavilion. The place immediately became quiet. The soundproof shield was almost transparent. The people outside could see what was going on inside, but couldn''t hear anything. Roland and Vincent, as two practical men, didn''t want to waste their time on any splendid speeches. They simply walked from the Magic Tower to the children. They examined the children and, now and then, patted their shoulders, asking them to go to another side. Every time they patted a child, his or her relatives would cheer loudly outside as if it were themselves who were picked. Soon enough, Roland picked thirty apprentices. Half of them were the children of nobles and merchants, as could be seen from their attire, and the other half were skinny and emaciated civilian children. Vincent picked forty apprentices and ten more civilian children than Roland did. After the candidates were chosen, Roland canceled the magic barrier and spoke to the crowd with a broadcast spell, "We''ll have a test every year in the future. Only the descendants of those who are close to the Magic Tower will be qualified. As for the qualifications for civilians, the Black Sand Gang will be responsible for that." Then, the magic apprentices came out to clear the grounds, creating an empty space on the right side of the Magic Tower. Though confused, nobody wanted to argue with the people from the Magic Tower at this point. Besides, those apprentices had the right to kick them away from the Magic Tower''s territory. After enough empty space was cleared, Roland walked over and snapped his fingers. Under everybody''s eyes, the square turned into a swamp at first. The mud in the swamp then rose as pillars and beams as if in a dream. After that, the walls were established too, enclosing a square, five-story building that had a huge coverage. At this point, many people had realized what Roland was doing. He was doing final renovations for this massive building. Watched by tens of thousands of people, a huge teaching building almost as high as the pavilion was erected. Though the teaching building was shabby, undecorated and crude, and some windows were even crooked, nobody felt that it was ugly. Magnificence was the greatest beauty. It was a simple law that applied in architecture too. Besides, such an unbelievably huge building had been built after no more than five seconds. The soon-to-be magic apprentices who were just chosen looked at Roland''s back in awe and admiration. 382 Strange Game Authorities The next day after the test, the children all went to school. Of course, they had to pay one gold coin per semester, twice a year, as their tuition fee. According to the curriculum Roland devised, they had to study at least five years before they could graduate as useful magic apprentices or official Mages. Naturally, the children of the poor couldn''t afford the tuition fees, but Roland asked them to sign a rather loose contract, in which they could pay part or all of their tuition fees by running errands for the Magic Tower, depending on their amount of work. Also, the loan could be paid back over a period of thirty years, with no interests charged. It meant that, if the students were willing to work a couple more years in the Magic Tower, they could soon pay their tuition fees in full. After all, it was not hard for Mages to make money. So, they were almost studying for free. All the civilian students signed the contract. They were young, but they knew that it was their only chance to climb higher on the social ladder. They would sign the contract even if the terms were ten times harsher. The children of the merchants and nobles who weren''t wealthy signed it too. A minor problem happened on the first day of school. While most noble children could read, none of the civilians were literate. How could a Mage not read? Eventually, the two classes were rearranged. Those who could read were placed in one class, and those who couldn''t were placed in the other. Essentially, the rearrangement was based on their familial backgrounds. Roland would mix them up again a year later when the civilians knew how to read and write. The gap between nobles and civilians was huge as it was. If they were taught separately, they would likely become two hostile communities that would never talk to each other. So after the civilians became literate, the two classes had to be mixed and taught with additional lessons on behavior. After the classes were rearranged, Roland and Vincent left them alone for now. Vivian and other magic apprentices could teach the students how to read and the rudiments on magic. Roland and Vincent didn''t have to do it personally. At this point, Roland and Vincent were having fruit wine and chit-chatting in the lab. "I have a question." Vincent drank a mouthful of the wine and asked, "Will we accept players in the future?" "Of course we will." Vincent frowned and said, "But the players can be very playful and naughty. As players ourselves, we know them very well. I don''t think we can control them." "Fair enough." Roland thought a moment and said, "Then we''ll only accept the players we approve of. There shouldn''t be a problem if there aren''t too many of them." "You''re talking as if we''re dying." Roland found it amusing. "No, I''m worried that the server will shut down." Vincent heaved a long sigh and said, "It''s been more than a year since the game was launched. They said that this was a beta test, but how can a beta test be so long? No more game cabins have been built, and in-game purchases never opened. The rich players can''t pay any money even if they want to. Even more unbelievably, a secondhand immersive cabin is already five million yuan on the market, but the authorities still haven''t produced any more cabins." Roland fell silent too. He knew that Vincent was speaking the truth. Capitals were meant to reproduce. But up until now, the game authorities hadn''t made any money yet except for the revenues from the sales of the initial 500,000 game cabins. Even if the game was free and there were no in-game purchases, there should at least be advertisement spots in the game. But there weren''t. Twenty-five billion yuan had been earned by selling the game cabins, but it couldn''t have been nearly enough for this unprecedented technological project. How much longer could the twenty-five billion last? The maintenance of the servers and communication facilities and the salaries for the staff must be costly. Roland estimated that the money should be used up in maybe a year. He thought for a moment and said, "I don''t know. Maybe they''ll try to make money when they need it." "I don''t think so." Vincent shook his head. "Like I said, a corporation should seek profits. The cabins for this game are perfect, but why aren''t they producing more? It''s completely against the nature of capitalism that they''re not making any profit." "So do you think that there is a reason why the game company can''t open in-game purchases?" Roland asked. "Do you have any inside news?" Vincent raised his eyebrow in surprise. "You do have keen instincts." "So that''s a yes." Vincent nodded. "Can you tell me about it?" "I can''t talk outside, but it doesn''t matter here," Vincent said. "Everybody knows that the game cabin represents a second life. Some people mocked it before but can only regret it now. However, there is nothing they can do about it. So, those who have powerful parents are convincing them to work together to impose pressure on the game company by changing the game-related policies in this country. That''s all legal, and nobody can say anything about it." Roland frowned deeply. "Besides, there are other countries who are trying to force the company to hand over its technologies. It''s literally beset with difficulties both at home and abroad," Vincent said worriedly. "But the company is simply determined not to build one more game cabin. I really don''t know why!" Roland didn''t like the sound of that. He too found it perplexing why the company was not producing more cabins, and why it was going against so many superpowers. It was not like the game world would collapse with several hundred thousand more players. What was on the mind of the game authorities? Roland found it impossible to keep up with their line of thinking. Vincent continued, "In any case, I have little hope for the future of this game, unless the authorities announce that they will make more cabins." Roland was rather upset. He loved this world and this game. Now, his future had been bound to this game. If the game was gone, his bright future would have to be shattered and redefined. He was rather angry at the thought of that. 383 People Change, Including Players When the game paused, Roland climbed out of the game cabin. Roland was now energetic every day, partly because he slept early and partly because he exercised every day. The miaodao technique was definitely not simple. Waving it hundreds of times every day could be an arduous task, not to mention the regular training on movement. The third reason was that Roland''s mental power had soared compared to a year ago. His body in the game, undoubtedly, had unbelievable mental power, but his body in reality had higher mental power than average people did, too. So, he did not feel drowsy at all when he woke up. He was in the clearest state of mind the moment he opened his eyes. Sitting at the edge of the bed, he looked at the black glass cup on the table and snapped his fingers. A blue hand appeared out of nowhere, seized the cup, and slowly delivered it to Roland''s right hand. When Roland grabbed the cup, the blue hand vanished in the morning sunlight as glimmering blue dust. It was Hand of Magic or the ultimately weakened version of it. Such a spell carried no damage. It was even slow for delivery purposes. However this was reality. What did it mean if one could cast spells in reality? That was exactly the reason why Roland was worried in the game last night. It was indeed worth celebrating that he could cast spells, but he hadn''t learned a lot yet. What if the game authorities shut off the server because of the pressure? He had taken this ability from the game. What if he couldn''t learn more knowledge and tricks of the magic from there? "I hope that the company can endure a few more years." Roland sighed. Ever since he spotted the weird ball of energy in the ancestral hall, Roland had been searching for similar energies in the past year, only to no avail. But he had been practicing the arts of Nourishment of Life without any interruption. Perhaps because of his familiarity with mental power in the game, he was able to apply the mental power that he cultivated through Nourishment of Life in reality. More importantly, he could absorb the magic power in the air with mental power. Though magic power was pitifully rare in reality, it was not nonexistent. Roland had accumulated magic elements from the air for half a year before he finally stored enough to cast Hand of Magic. And it was the ultimately weakened version. There wasn''t much magic power in reality, which was probably why there were few people with superpowers in reality. Roland didn''t go to the saber arts club this day. Instead, he searched for news on the game company. Though some news had been blocked, Roland was able to infer a lot of things from what he had access to. After reading the news, Roland leaned against the back of his chair, wondering what he could do. Eventually, he realized, to his disappointment, that there was nothing he could do. In reality, he was just an ordinary person without power or influence on anything. So, the only thing that he could do was acquire as much knowledge and magic tricks from the game as possible. As long as he learned enough, he would still be able to apply his magic knowledge to reality even if the game was shut down someday. However Roland also realized that his pessimism might be ungrounded. Whoever produced this game couldn''t be scared of any regular old pressure. But it couldn''t be wrong to be prepared for the worst. After he made the decision, he began to practice Nourishment of Life. He had to double the time in Nourishment of Life later in order to increase his mental power in reality, so that he could understand and apply the magic knowledge from the game. Soon, night fell. Roland finished his half-day training and washed up, before he entered the game again. The following days in the game were rather monotonous. Roland conducted experiments in the Magic Tower every day and checked up on the new apprentices now and then. Occasionally, he would spend some quality time with Andonara. Though he couldn''t really have sex with her, Andonara, as a young woman who had received special lessons from the royal family before her marriage, knew a lot of ways to play. In the meantime, Andonara made a fortune by helping the players transform into Great Swordsman. This dull but busy life lasted about a month, until an event was exposed on the forum, shocking everybody, including Roland. A sheriff player asked for help on the forum. The sheriff was hired by Winterwind. It was one of the results of the royal family''s divide-and-conquer policy. But the player treated his job solemnly. After all, he was paid regularly every month, and he had a bunch of NPC soldiers as his subordinates. He was more successful and powerful here than he was in reality. However, for reasons he didn''t know, the guys of Jalan Temple and Silver Wings all came to Winterwind. Also, those two parties were in conflict. At first, they were fighting on a hill outside of the city, and the sheriff, with his men, looked at the intruders in fear. The players caused such a racket that everybody in the city was scared. But as they fought on, and after multiple deaths and resurrections, they really burst into fury. Eventually, Winterwind was involved in the battle. The resurrected players fought right near the Temple of Life. Soon, the whole of Winterwind became their battlefield. Though the players had intentionally kept a distance from the civilians, it was not easy for them to pay enough attention to outsiders when they were enraged. The spellcasters, in particular, could easily hurt civilians by accident with their area skills. The archers might accidentally shoot civilians too. Even Warriors might crash into a house, causing civilian casualties if they missed their target during their charge. Some civilians tried to escape, but more hid at home, too scared to come out. After all, where could they possibly flee to? There was no food or shelter for them outside. Because it was early winter, they might be frozen in the frost. The civilians were not professionals. They were less sturdy against unfavorable circumstances. The sheriff cried in his video that more than three hundred civilians had been killed, and that he had no time to calculate the number of wounded. He called for someone to help the ordinary people in Winterwind and stop the players from fighting in the city. The post immediately attracted the attention of the players, and those two guilds were reprimanded by other players too. Normally speaking, the players who were accused on the forum would lay low after they stirred public indignation. However, the two guilds did not stop at all. Instead, they fought harder and harder. The other players were all confused about why the two guilds hated each other so much. But then, an anonymous player threw a bomb on the forum. "Although I''m a member of one of the guilds, my conscience can''t stand it anymore as I watch the innocent civilians fall. Let me tell you the reason. Jalan Temple and Silver Wings discovered a high-purity gold mine on the hill outside of Winterwind. They''re fighting for the gold mine." At this point, more than a thousand civilians had been killed in Winterwind. 384 All Crazy Roland clicked off the forum and looked out of the window, heaving a sigh. So, the two guilds were fighting so hard because of a high-purity gold mine. Even an idiot should know the wealth it represented. The video included in the sheriff''s post clearly recorded the moments when the players of the two guilds accidentally injured or killed civilians. Roland subconsciously frowned as he watched the helpless civilians fall. "What''s wrong?" Andonara put delicious cakes on the table before him and remarked, "Your mood has been heavy since the morning." "Something happened among my people. It involves Winterwind." "Winterwind?" Andonara thought for a moment and asked, "The small city on the northwest border?" "That''s right," Roland said. "Two factions of the Golden Sons are fighting in the city and have hurt countless civilians. They''re fighting because they found a gold mine. Now, more Golden Sons are going there, which will make the situation more complicated." This incident would spread throughout the world sooner or later, so it didn''t matter if he told Andonara first. After a shock, Andonara asked, "So, you''re going there too?" Roland nodded. Andonara was slightly disappointed, but she held herself back and said with a smile, "Then I''ll wait for you to come back. When are you leaving?" "Tomorrow." Andonara said, "Be home soon." Okay. After a night, Roland activated Long-Distance Teleportation in the morning. Winterwind was near Reed Village, where Roland had left a space beacon. Therefore, the fastest way to go to Winterwind was by teleporting himself there. Blue light glittered in the hill behind Reed Village, and Roland surfaced from the void. Pale, he stepped on the grass and rested for several minutes before he finally recovered. Even the mental power that came with level seven could not completely remove the negative effects of Long-Distance Teleportation. Then, Roland cast Swiftness on himself and quickly walked to Cage Reed''s house. He rang the bronze bell at the door, and soon, the old butler that Roland knew came out of the house. "Where is Cage?" asked Roland in a hurry. "My lord went to Winterwind. Something dreadful happened there" Had the descendant of the Hero left to stop them? But Cage wasn''t too strong. It wasn''t a problem for him to deal with two or three players, but there were almost three hundred of them. "Got it." Before the butler finished, a spatial bubble had swallowed Roland and spurted him out. With the wind raging outside of his magic shield, Roland observed the horizon from the sky. Soon, he spotted a city and flew there at a higher speed. Human Cannonball was so fast that Roland had reached the city after no more than a minute. He simply dived down at a hill. Walking out of the pit, Roland observed the city from a height and found that it was a mess. Also, he could see collapsing buildings everywhere and heard cries and screams. Taking a deep breath, Roland flashed consecutively and soon reached the city wall. Normally speaking, the city wall was garrisoned by soldiers, but nobody could be seen here except a person in ragged clothes who seemed to be a player. He was looking down in grief while lying on the wall. Roland saw battles everywhere in the city. The professionals were too strong. The players, in particular, had higher comprehensive attributes than NPCs of the same level. Therefore, their battles could be very destructive. The wind they raised when they waved their sword could easily hurt ordinary people. Roland walked to the stranger and asked, "Are you the sheriff?" The man turned around and looked at Roland with a bitter smile. "That''s me, a useless sheriff Wait, you''re Roland?" Roland nodded. Then he asked in surprise, "Why are you only level two? I remember that you were level five." "I took my men to stop them. But my men were all killed, and I died at least twenty times too." As he spoke, the sheriff squatted and wept. "They were all good guys who had their own families, but they have all been killed by the so-called Golden Sons. What can I tell their families? I''m just garbage. There''s nothing I can do to stop them." "F*ck!" Roland couldn''t help but bash the wall. Even he couldn''t help but curse at this point. Ignoring the sheriff, he flashed into the city and saw that four people were fighting. They were three Warriors and a Hunter, who were engaged in an intense battle in the ruins. The sword auras were sharp, and arrows flew now and then. Not far away on the battlefield, an old man was hiding under a collapsed wall with a boy. He finally summoned enough courage to run with the boy, but he drew everybody''s attention the moment he rose. The archer immediately shot an arrow at him. It was purely his instinct to shoot any non-ally objects that were active. Thankfully, he didn''t aim well and only hit the old man''s shoulder. The old man screamed and fell. The boy in his arms was thrown to the ground and burst into tears. None of the four players showed any reaction. They still attacked each other crazily, trying to kill the enemy. The old man''s scream and the boy''s crying did not earn their empathy at all. Roland was more than infuriated to see that. He pointed his fingers at them, launching twenty-four Arcane Bullets. Both parties immediately retreated and looked at Roland. Noticing that Roland wasn''t on their side, they spoke at the same time: "Jalan Temple/Silver Wings are working here. Get lost now." Damn it! Roland''s lungs were exploding in fury. He pointed his fingers again, initiating another wave of Arcane Bullets. Those four people dodged simultaneously, but Roland suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind one of them. Ice Ring! Prismatic Spray! One of the Warriors was immediately down. Roland then looked at the archer. The other three players immediately fled. They had recognized that this stranger was Roland, the best Mage server-wide. It was impossible to defeat him. "Today is your lucky day." Instead of chasing them, Roland ran to the unconscious old man and plucked the arrow from his shoulder, before he cast Minor Healing on the victim. "I''ll escort you out of here." But the old man was frightened to see Roland when he opened his eyes. He immediately fell on his knees and hit his head on the ground, while he cried desperation, "Mr. Golden Son, please spare us! You can kill me, but please let go of my grandson! Please!" The old man kowtowed hard, making loud noises. Roland was instantly frozen, an awful look on his face. 385 Smash Your Po After a shock, the old man was both excited and scared. He quickly ran to the boy who just fell and took him back to Roland. In the meantime, he looked around vigilantly, fearing that someone else would hurt him and his grandson. "Follow me." Roland examined the surroundings and found a way to the city gate. He also snapped his fingers to cast Body Fortification, Agility, Endurance, and other buffs on the old man. Feeling strong and comfortable, the old man trotted after him. At this point, the boy who was no older than four suddenly cried at the remains of a house on the old man''s shoulder, "I want Mom! I want Mom!" The old man closed his eyes in pain. Dazed, Roland searched all the remains with his mental power and found four human-shaped objects in the debris. All of them had been disfigured and emitted no mental waves whatsoever. Heaving a long sigh, Roland turned around and left. With the boy who was crying for his mother, the old man timidly followed him. They came across battling players on their way. If they were too close, Roland simply got rid of them with Ice Ring, Arcane Bullets, or Prismatic Spray. As for those far away, Roland had no time for them. After all, he had to protect the old man and his grandson. Collapsed walls were everywhere on the street, adding to the difficulty of the journey. Since the old man was holding the boy, his pace was quite slow. From the relatively intact buildings on the two sides of the street, many eyes were watching Roland take the old man and his grandson away through the gaps in their drapes. But when Roland looked at them, those eyes were immediately hidden in the dark. "I''m going out of the city. If you want to go out, you can join me. I can keep you safe." Roland stopped and shouted with the help of the broadcast spell. He waited a moment, but received no response. Nothing but the noises of fighting and screaming could be heard nearby or indistinctly. Roland sighed and kept walking. When he approached the city gate, he saw a lot of bodies. Most of the bodies belonged to players, who hadn''t reclaimed them yet, but some bodies were civilians. It was quite obvious. All the players were young people. Even the Warriors had soft, smooth skin although they were tough. The civilians, in comparison, had rough, dark skin. It was easy to distinguish them. The old man was even more anxious when he saw the bodies. The boy was also too scared to cry. At this point, three players ran out of the city, and Roland subconsciously kept the old man and the boy behind him. Roland looked at them, only to see that they were old acquaintances. They were Jason and another two members of Silver Wings, who used to run the docks in Delpon. Roland said with a smile, "It''s been a while since I saw you. I didn''t know that you were here." "Roland, get out of here." Jason waved at him angrily, "A good dog doesn''t block the way." Roland sneered and snapped his fingers, and they all jumped aside in fear. But actually, Roland didn''t activate any spells. Then he said to the old man, "You should leave now. There are no dangers outside yet. You can find shelter for yourselves." The old man nodded heavily and ran out of the gate. Roland then turned around. He was about to speak to Jason, when a squad of five suddenly emerged behind Jason''s team. The moment the squad came, they launched fierce attacks at Jason and his companions. They must be from Jalan Temple. Jason and his companions immediately reacted. All of them were engaged in a fight in the neighborhood nearby. Very soon, they were collapsing the buildings or ruining the doors and windows. Then, they would charge out of one falling building and continue the battle in another. Thankfully, the people near the city gate had mostly escaped. No civilians were hurt in their battle. Roland didn''t stop them. He knew very well that this was just one of the dozens of battlefields in the city. He couldn''t stop all of them. His power was too insignificant. Instead of putting out fires everywhere, he might as well cut out the source of the fire. Roland flashed several times back to the city wall and found the devastated sheriff. Grabbing his collar, Roland asked earnestly, "Where is the gold mine they found?" "On the mountain over there." The sheriff pointed north lethargically. Roland immediately put on his magic regeneration equipment and flew north with Human Cannonball. Then, as he expected, he found several battles at the foot of the mountain. Both parties seemed to be fighting for the advantageous terrain so that they could win the ownership of the gold mine. Flying further up, Roland soon found his target. Some of the trees in the woods halfway up the mountain had been cut off, revealing a cave. In front of the cave, a hundred people were fighting. The battlefield was quite huge, and reinforcements were coming nonstop. Roland was simply too noisy in his flight. The moment he arrived, most of the people engaged in the battle had spotted the flying object. Immediately, countless arrows were shot at Roland at the same time. But Roland was simply too fast and agile. He made a turn and flew vertically to higher altitudes. Aiss, the deputy chairman of Silver Wings who was commanding the battle, was rather uneasy to see Roland disappear. "He''s up to something!" Another commander said, "The gold here blocks magic power. Regular spellcasters cannot cast any spells in this place. That''s why neither we nor Jalan Temple are summoning Mages as reinforcements, isn''t it?" "I hope so." Roland flew high into the sky, before he turned around and performed a freefall. In the meantime, the blue fireball in his hand quickly expanded! "You''re fighting for a goldmine without any respect for other people''s lives?" Roland roared ruthlessly. "Let''s see what you can fight for after I smash this mountain into smithereens." All the magic power in his body and in the Mind-Calming Necklace was compressed into a blue fireball three meters in diameter. Roland was a hundred meters high in the sky, but the unbelievable power of the blue fireball drew everyone''s attention. It was like a small sun blazing in the sky. Feeling that he couldn''t control the fireball any longer, Roland threw it down with all his strength. The hundred people in the battle looked at the sky simultaneously. The whole world fell into silence. When the blue fireball fell from the sky, a visible sector of airwaves was formed right below it, so massive that the whole sky seemed blocked. The players who were right under the cover of the airwaves watched the ripples spreading out crazily and the enormous fireball crashing. Their mouths were dry. The invisible, overwhelming power made them want to escape or fall on their knees. Stunned, Aiss, the deputy chairman, remarked, "Has Roland just thrown the entire sky at us?" 386 Ive Tried My Best Despite the Circumstances The magic power stored in the Mind-Calming Necklace was used up. He too was almost drained. On the other hand, certain elements of the wind class were added to the fireball to make it faster and more volatile. After he cast such a fireball, he would have to wait three days before he could do it again. That was because it would take three days for the Mind-Calming Necklace to be refilled. The three hundred players of the two guilds before the mine desperately watched the enormous fireball drawing close. Even though it was dozens of meters away, the pressure of the fireball had raised a strong wind on the ground. Everybody''s hair was waving crazily except for the Warriors who were bald. The fireball was about to hit them, but it suddenly stopped when it was twenty meters away, as if it was stuck by an invisible power. All the players were overjoyed. Roland was confused to see that when he slowly descended from the sky. What happened? What had stopped his fireball? Then, Roland suddenly realized it Damn it. It was the magic resistance created by massive gold. In this world, gold was an excellent magic-resistant material. But since it was too expensive, an armor made of pure gold would likely raise jealousy, so it was usually shredded into powder before it was added to the equipment in order to increase the magic resistance of the equipment. However, the magic resistance of gold powder was not high and did not work for the spellcasters who specialized in Magic Penetration, or whose spells were particularly powerful. But here, it was a whole mountain of gold below Roland. Because of its huge quantity, the magic resistance of the gold extended twenty meters high from the ground. The blue fireball stopped at the periphery of the magic resistance. It shivered slightly at first and then faster and faster. The players under the fireball had stopped fighting and focused their attention on the fireball. They knew very well that it was up to this fireball whether or not they could continue the battle here. Under their eyes, the blue fireball trembled more and more violently, before it finally imploded. The magic resistance of the gold could stop the outburst of magic power, but it could not block the shockwaves. It was like a thunder had just rumbled over their heads, or a bomb had been detonated right next to them. Instantly, everybody''s eardrums were broken. The players with lesser health, such as Rogues, Assassins, and Hunters, were half-dead, their brains shattered into smithereens. The agility classes whose levels were higher only passed out, blood flowing from their faces. However, blood was running from the ears of all the Warriors. They were dizzy and could barely keep themselves steady. But that was not over yet. The fireball, after the explosion, turned into a blue ocean of fire that sprawled crazily. Though its power could not penetrate the field of magic resistance, it could be paved above it. Roland saw that the blue ocean of fire unfolded in midair and then flowed downward. As the ocean grew wider and wider, the color of the flames turned from blue to orange. Intense hot waves surged from down below. Because Roland''s body was light under the floating skill, he was easily propelled to the sky by the hot waves. Roland could sense the heat in the air even despite the barrier of his magic shield. The Warriors who were alive were even more miserable. As the ocean of fire was only twenty meters above them, their hair was soon ignited, and they were covered in sweat. Many Warriors took action by running into the mine with Leap Slash, Charge, or whatever they could use. Those who were fast enough to run into the mine survived, and those who were too slow passed out halfway and were dried into jerky. Before they passed out, they saw that their health was plunging at an unbelievable speed. About thirty Warriors made it to the mine. Before they could catch their breath, they found hostile players around them, and they immediately attacked the enemy crazily again. Gold glittered everywhere in the mine. The purity of the gold mine was very high. One could see pieces of gold with their naked eye. By conservative estimation, the gold in this mine was worth at least a hundred billion yuan after it was fully refined. Roland waited two minutes for the ocean of fire to disappear. Seeing that the mountain was not reshaped at all, Roland gritted his teeth and flew back to the city wall of Winterwind with his remaining magic power. Then, he sat down and took a rest. Soon, the sheriff player came close and asked Roland hopefully, "Problem solved?" "Though most of the players near the mine were killed by me" Roland shook his head and said rather helplessly, "The mine is absolutely fine. I had intended to blow up the mountain and kill all the players from the two guilds, before I sank the gold mine deeper underground with Stone to Mud while they were being resurrected. But I forgot the magic resistance of gold. I couldn''t have done it even without the players. The magic resistance of gold is too huge." The sheriff player''s eyes glittered as he said, "Killing them is also a solution. They won''t dare to do anything now." "You''re underestimating the draw of the huge gold mine," Roland said regretfully. "Unless they''re really dead, they will attack whoever occupies the gold mine relentlessly. There are only two ways right now. Firstly, to sink the gold mine deeper underground, and secondly, let a powerful organization that no players could compete with claim the gold mine." Roland took a breath and continued, "Besides, all the players are aware of the gold mine here now, and more people will come and try to take a slice of the cake, or to fully claim it. This place will only become messier." "F*ck!" The sheriff player jumped to his feet, his eyes bloodshot. "I''m going to fight them with my life!" Roland didn''t stop him, because he couldn''t. Besides, the players wouldn''t really be killed. At worst, their level would be reduced to zero. Thinking for a moment, Roland introduced the matter in the guild channel and asked, "Buddies, I''m at my wit''s end. Do you have any solutions?" All his friends replied with emojis and emotes, saying that there was nothing they could do. But at this point, Schuck suddenly said, "Your intelligence is incorrect. Actually, more than twenty thousand civilians have been killed in Winterwind. The players from those guilds have achieved maximum evil, and the gods have been warned. Now, our goddess has issued an oracle. Three Saint Samurai are leading ten thousand Knights Templar to Winterwind. I will be among them. Also, I''m told that an archangel might descend in the Temple of Life to judge the evils. In order to avoid any misunderstanding, you''d better leave Winterwind as soon as possible, Roland." Roland was greatly chilled to read that. He knew how powerful the angels could be. Immediately, he swooshed away from Winterwind through Human Cannonball with whatever was left of his magic power. He didn''t land on a hill until he was ten kilometers away from the city. 387 Silent March They belonged to Last Exile, a guild of old nerds, and they had been riding day and night. Narudo, leader of the guild, turned around and shouted, "My falcon saw Winterwind in the sky. Everybody, hurry up! We''ll try to dig out as much gold from the mine as possible before the other players do! Remember, don''t fight anyone, and don''t enter the city. We''re here to make a fortune, not to kill. When you get gold, just store it in your Backpack. Dig as much as possible, understood?" "Understood!" "Got it!" "Chairman, you''ve repeated it too many times for anyone to forget!" Hearing the different accents behind him, Narudo was rather helpless. The members of his guild were friendly but not very hardworking. Most of them were not interested in this mine robbery. He had tried his best to persuade them to come here. "In any case, we must be fully prepared in order to steal food from the tigers" As he spoke, Narudo suddenly felt that something wasn''t right because of his connection to his pet. As a Hunter, he was as close to his pet as the Mages were to their magic pets. He subconsciously raised his head, only to see his falcon flying down and perching on his shoulder. It was also hiding its head under its wings in fear. What''s going on? Narudo looked back. He was so shocked that he swallowed hard. Behind them, a legion of knights in white were quickly approaching them. They were so densely packed that they were almost next to each other. The knight in the middle of the first row was holding a golden sun banner. Those knights, in their neat formation, blocked the whole road and pushed close like a white wall of iron. Also, they seemed to be infinite. They were all heavily armored knights. Both they and their horses were donned with white armor and white helms that revealed nothing but their eyes. Slightly above the legion of knights, a man in golden armor with golden wings of light was floating. The golden aura around him was massive. All the knights within his aura were riding soundlessly and extremely fast, as if they were actually light cavalry. In the sky over the legion of knights, a red dragon was hovering too. Looking at the red dragon and the man who emitted golden light, Narudo knew who he was. That was Schuck, the leader of F6. "Clear the way! Clear the way now!" Narudo shouted, and everybody from Last Exile immediately rode to the woods off the road. Soon, the torrent of heavy knights flooded before their eyes without a sound. The feeling was rather weird. It was like a long train had just passed them at a high speed, but there was absolutely no noise, as if they were watching a soundless movie. Thankfully, the legion of knights completely ignored them. They waited two minutes for all the knights to pass. A long time after the ghostly knights disappeared, they finally came out of the woods. One of the members sighed. "Who are they? I didn''t know that the NPCs had such a powerful troop." "They must be Knights Templar, the most powerful legion of the Church of Light," Narudo remarked in amazement. "I saw the golden sun banner and the Saint Samurai with them. They must be going to Winterwind. The Saint Samurai''s Silent March is as good as it''s described. There''s really no sound at all." "So, the Church of Light wants the gold mine too?" "Are you kidding me?" Narudo scoffed. "The Church of Light and the Church of Life are the two biggest religions here, with an equal number of believers and similar territories. They don''t need any gold mines. The tributes from believers are more than enough for them." Another member asked, "So, they''re going to stop Silver Wings and Jalan Temple?" Narudo nodded. "Probably." "Then I guess there''s nothing we can do. The Church of Light will definitely lock the gold mine down." A member shrugged and asked, "Are we still going there?" "We can still watch a show even if we can''t steal. Do you not want to watch that gorgeous Saint Samurai beat up the villains?" said a girl with glittering eyes. Narudo agreed with the girl. It would be fun to watch the NPCs fight two guilds. "Let''s follow them." He waved his hand and continued riding to Winterwind. Roland was still on the hill at this point. His magic power had been mostly restored. He was considering if he should rescue a few more civilians, when he saw a silver line rising from the horizon and moving toward him at a high speed. He also spotted the hovering red dragon. "Schuck is here." Looking at the man with golden wings in the sky, Roland chuckled. "He''s truly magnificent to bring an army here. He''s probably the only person who can do that now." When Schuck led his Knights Templar to Winterwind and blocked the gate, another two white lines appeared on the horizon in the south and the west. The two white lines drew near very fast. Very soon, they reached Winterwind. They were another two legions of heavily armored knights. The three legions of Knights Templar joined and surrounded Winterwind. Roland was about ten kilometers away from Winterwind, so he could only see a shiny white ribbon that tied Winterwind up in a circle. The hill was quiet, with nothing but the sound of wind and rustling leaves. Roland waited patiently. Very soon, Winterwind was covered by a golden dome. Roland muttered, "Is this meant to trap the players of the two guilds in the city? Or are they trying to protect the civilians?" While Roland was speculating, streams of green light fell from the sky right above Winterwind. They were so dense and massive that some of them even fell before Roland''s eyes. Roland reached his hands to them, only to find that they seemed to be illusions. From the green light, two spots slowly descended from the heights and floated above Winterwind. Roland was too far away to see what the two spots were, but he guessed that they must be two angels. Roland was relieved. If the angels were here, the incident should be handled now. But he wondered how the players whose evilness had maxed out would be punished. After thinking for a moment, Roland opened the forum. 388 Would You Like To Worship Our Goddess? They were mostly taken by other players. Not everybody was interested in the gold mine. They were more interested in helping the civilians and recording the battles. Now, all the trending threads were about the tragedies in Winterwind. Of course what Roland did earlier had been recorded too. In the video, Roland''s fireball fell from the sky and, blocked by the magic resistance of gold, spread out into a blue ocean of fire that consumed the whole mountain. When it became orange, it further expanded and nearly reached Winterwind when it disappeared. "S*it! Roland is even more powerful than before!" "Devs, it''s time to nerf Roland! How can other players enjoy this game if you don''t nerf him?" "Schuck must be nerfed too. That man is a freak." "But there are still solutions. Didn''t you see that the magic resistance of gold blocked Roland''s spell? If we wear armor of gold in the future, Roland and other Mages would be garbage for us." "You are really a smartass. Let''s forget how expensive gold armor is. Do you dare to wear it even if you have one? If you do, I''m going to cut your armor into pieces and loot all the gold. Besides, the magic resistance of gold armor can''t possibly compare to that of a gold mine." "He''s probably planning to build a gold Gundam with tens of tons of gold. Then, he would sit in that, beat Roland the Supervillain, and save the world." "A gold Gundam. I can totally imagine that." "The bottom line is, Roland has to be nerfed." "Why do you want to nerf Roland but not all Mages?" "Because the other Mages are natural. The best of them can only cast a dozen level-one and level-two spells that aren''t powerful. They''re not even as good as Warlocks of their level. But Roland is simply unbelievable." "The Warlocks are daddies, and the Mages are the Warlocks'' sons, but Roland is the Warlocks'' daddy." Roland was rather lost for words when he saw so many people crying to nerf him. He then closed the thread and browsed through other trending posts, searching for what he wanted. Soon, he found it. I''ve just arrived at Winterwind. This is a live stream. Many heavy knights in white armor just came. The post was made only half an hour ago. Roland immediately opened it and found the stream channel number in the post. After half a second, the video was out, mixed with the streamer''s excited voice that he was trying to hold back. Many people were in the channel. Dense comments were flying on the picture. The streamer was aiming at the sky. Keeping his voice low, he said, "Two angels, one with four wings and the other with six wings. Both of them have long legs and big boobs. My hands would be occupied if I were not busy streaming." The four-winged angel, covered in milky light, could not be seen very clearly, but Roland found her rather familiar. Not just him, even the other audience felt the same. "I think I saw that four-winged angel somewhere else." "I think so too." "You men say that to every beautiful woman you meet. That''s the worst pickup line." "I really think I met her somewhere before. I remember her." Staring at her for a while, Roland suddenly realized that she was the angel that he had seen twice before! She was here now too? While Roland was thinking, the four-winged angel suddenly turned around and looked at him. The comments paused for a while. Then everybody said things like, "Ah, she''s looking at me. She''s so beautiful. I''m going to die." Even Roland felt that his mouth was dry. He knew that the angel was looking at him. He was not flattering himself; he had truly sensed it with his mind. The angel had seen him through the stream? She was so good? Then, Roland suddenly realized that, while he was watching her through the stream, they were in fact no more than ten kilometers from each other. Were her senses so keen? At this point, the streamer suddenly said, "I think the six-winged angel is doing something." Then, he zoomed in, and everybody saw that the indescribably beautiful six-winged angel drew out a green crystal sword from her waist. She raised the sword above her head. Without any chanting or prayer, a green circle of light emerged from the tip of the sword and quickly expanded, sweeping across everything, including the plants, the buildings, and even the people. But the circle of light caused no damage at all. It seemed to be simple scanning. After it was done, the six-winged angel opened her pink lips and said, "It''s all yours now, the Agents of the Goddess of Light on Earth." All the three Saint Samurai flapped their wings until they were on the same level as the two angels, before they bowed and paid their tributes. The six-winged angel nodded with a smile and flew into the sky as a beam of light, leaving nothing but several bright feathers behind. The massive pillar of green light was gone after the six-winged angel left. Everybody thought that the four-winged angel would leave too, but she flapped her wings and flew north. The streamer asked in surprise, "What''s the four-winged angel doing there?" The audience commented "?" too. Roland turned off the forum and was about to defend himself, but then he gave up. A spot of light quickly flew close from far away and instantly stopped before Roland in complete defiance of inertia. She was wearing a white skirt armor and a wing-shaped hair accessory. Floating two meters from the ground, she smiled at Roland. "It''s almost been a year, hasn''t it?" "Indeed it has." Roland smiled bitterly and said, "Beautiful madam, what can I do for you?" "You''re good!" the angel suddenly remarked. Roland was apparently confused. "You saved an old man and a kid, and you tried to blow up the gold mine with a super fireball. We all saw it, and so did the goddess." Roland was of a mind to ask if they were all peepers. But he was too smart to say it aloud. The angel continued, "The goddess finds you excellent. You have a kind heart, powerful abilities, and enough talents Since you haven''t declared your faith in any god or goddess yet, why don''t you believe in our goddess?" Roland was stunned. Was the Life Goddess going to take him in? Well, he was somewhat excited. 389 There Are Always Black Sheep After all, it was an acknowledgment of his integrity, capabilities, and prospects. But Roland declined after only two seconds of thought. He shook his head and said, "Sorry, but I don''t know how to devote my faith to a goddess." Stunned for a few seconds, the angel put on a weird expression. "Why? This is an invitation from a goddess. Shouldn''t you feel honored?" "I am honored." Roland sighed and said, "But it doesn''t mean that I have to worship any goddess." "Any goddess?" The angel shook her head and said, "Occasionally, there are such Mages. Then let me ask you, what are gods and goddesses in your eyes?" "Powerful beings, so powerful that we cannot understand them yet." The angel asked with a smile, "Yet? Does it mean that you will try to understand them when you''re capable enough?" Roland nodded. Hearing that, the angel slowly descended to the ground. She didn''t look down at Roland anymore, and the ivory light around her was gone. "As expected of the descendants of Goddess Mystra," said the angel gently. "Then let''s put it in a different way. How would you like to be Favored?" The Favored were the people who were favored by gods and goddesses. Essentially, the Saint Samurai, including Schuck, were Favored. But Roland shook his head again. Schuck was much handsomer than other people, and the females were quite tolerant of him. They wouldn''t feel that he was a terrible person even though he did something inappropriate. But Roland knew that he wasn''t as charming. Besides, the Favored were in a weak position. They were like the pets of the gods and goddesses. Of course, some pets might be appreciated because they were lovely, but Roland didn''t think that he would receive Schuck''s privileges with his unremarkable face. He knew that most Saint Samurai were careful and cautious every day. They would sincerely pray to their goddess and try their best to fully comprehend the doctrines. But Schuck was different from them. He traveled on his red dragon every day and paid little attention to the rituals, but he was the Saint Samurai who was making the fastest progress. Every time he hung out with his friends, Schuck would always talk about the beautiful scenic locations and wonders he saw. He was a battle-type player, but it was almost like he was a player who was only here to enjoy the scenery. Roland was never jealous of Schuck''s appeal to women. He never dreamed to be like Schuck. Every person was unique. It was impossible to copy other people''s success or lifestyle. Therefore, Roland was not interested in becoming one of the Favored. In Roland''s eyes, the Life Goddess probably intended to raise a puppy, preferably one with sharp fangs that could help her bite her enemies now and then. Pretending to think for a moment, Roland raised his head and said, "Sorry, but I''m not qualified to be Favored." Though he claimed that he wasn''t qualified, it was an obvious declination. The angel was smart enough to get Roland''s implication. She was rather angry, but she seemed angrier at herself than she was at Roland. As she was upset, even her white wings became dimmer. Eventually, she heaved a helplessly sigh and glanced at Roland pitifully. Without a word, she flapped her wings and soared away, quickly disappearing. Several white feathers fell. Roland subconsciously picked them up, only to find that they were illusions. The feathers penetrated Roland''s hand and slowly vanished. Pulling his hands back, Roland took a deep breath and smelled a vague apple fragrance. Roland was rather tired after the angel was gone. He sat down on the grass and opened the forum again. He intended to find out what the function of the green circle was and what was going on in Winterwind. The previous stream channel was still on. The streamer seemed to have come to somewhere near the Temple of Life. "Look. The players of Silver Wings and Jalan Temple all have a leaf on their faces." The streamer said quite excitedly, "It seems that they were marked by that green circle Wait, the Knights Templar of the Church of Light are coming." On the picture, countless Knights Templar in white armor broke into the city and dispersed. Most of them cleaned up the remains and rescued the civilians buried under the debris. In the meantime, the strongest of the heavy knights began to chase after the players with leaf marks. They would charge at such players like rabid dogs the moment they spotted them. With their advantage in number and equipment, they would simply cut the marked players into pieces, and cut them down again after the players were resurrected. Eventually, the three hundred players were blocked near the resurrection point in the Temple of Life. They couldn''t get away at all under the siege of thousands of knights. Though it was impossible to see the Knights Templar''s faces with their helmets on, they were obviously full of angry indifference and showed no mercy to the players who had leaf marks. The gory images were displayed in the stream channel. The bodies of the players were everywhere and almost blocked the gate of the temple. Dozens of rivers of blood were flowing. The whole place reeked of rust. The streamer was surrounded too and trembled in fear. but the Knights Templar ignored him after finding that there was no leaf mark on his face. Roland closed the stream channel and sent a message to Schuck in the guild system. "Will the black leaf disappear after several deaths, or after a certain amount of time?" "No!" Schuck soon replied. "Those people are doomed. That is retribution from the Church of Life. The leaf mark will haunt them forever. Anyone who kills a person marked with a leaf will not be considered a murderer." Roland was rather surprised. Silver Wings and Jalan Temple seemed doomed. Then he asked, "What about the gold mine?" "The Church of Light will protect and manage it for now. It will be returned to the local mayor or his heir. He''s a poor man. His soldiers and himself were all killed. If his wife and his children weren''t hiding in a secret shelter, his whole family might''ve been wiped out by Jalan Temple." Roland heaved a sigh. He had been proud of his identity as a player earlier. However, after seeing the miseries in Winterwind and learning what happened to the mayor''s family, he suddenly felt that the players weren''t any better than the natives of this world. They would also commit all kinds of heinous crimes for their self-interests. Those people weren''t qualified to play this game anymore! 390 I Knew I He was slightly worried. According to the old butler, Reed Cage had come to Winterwind, but he didn''t see Cage or his body in the city. He wondered if the man had returned in advance. Back at Reed''s small manor, Roland rang the bell again, and the butler came down very soon. He was delighted to see Roland. "Fantastic, Your Excellency. Please follow me. My lord is heavily wounded." Hearing that, Roland immediately followed the butler to the master bedroom on the second floor. He smelled the odor of herbs the moment he came in. A man was lying on the bed palely, and Kaido was weeping next to him. Roland walked to them. Cage opened his eyes and smiled at Roland. "Forgive me, but I can''t rise I''m too heavily wounded." Roland lifted the blanket that covered him and saw bandages all over his body. Below the bandages were remains of black and yellow herbs. "Who gave him the herbs?" "The mayor," the butler replied. "He''s the only doctor in our village." "Do you have scissors? Cut all the bandages for me." The butler hesitated. But Cage grinned and said, "Listen to him." The butler immediately found a pair of scissors and removed the bandages as well as the herbs. Then, Roland saw the wounds on Cage. His upper body was full of cuts caused by sharp blades, some minor and some serious. There were also three perforation wounds. Judging from their sizes and shapes, they were caused by a spear, an arrow, and a sword respectively. Bright red blood was slowly leaking from the wounds. They hadn''t scabbed over yet. The perforation wound caused by the arrow was right above his heart. If the arrow had hit slightly lower, Cage probably couldn''t have made it back. "How about it? Aren''t they medals for a real man?" Cage smiled proudly, but he was too tired and looked miserable. Roland put on a helpless smile. Then he cast Minor Healing. After the white healing magic power was instilled into Cage, Roland cast Body Fortification on him to further increase his sturdiness. In the end, he cast Hypnosis. Cage was too heavily wounded to resist Roland''s spell. He fell asleep instantly. Then, Roland left the room, and the butler followed him nervously. The butler asked worriedly, "Is my lord going to be fine?" Roland nodded. "He''s fine. Don''t worry, he''s a strong warrior. He could recover on his own even if I didn''t come." The butler was greatly relieved. He was really scared earlier when Cage returned home with blood and countless holes all over his body. His lord seemed to be dying in every way. Actually, Roland hid the truth. If Roland hadn''t come, Cage would''ve been weakened and died. He might''ve been able to recover himself if there were only one or two wounds, but he had too many injuries and he lost almost half of his blood, which affected all his organs and would make him weaker and weaker. It was impossible for him to recuperate on his own. During their brief conversation just now, Roland could sense that Cage''s mental power was declining. But thankfully, Roland was here. Minor Healing could only be used to treat minor injuries for other people, but since Roland was level seven, and his magic power was of a high quality, the spell was as good as the healing of a Priest. Also, since the Warriors were tough in the first place, Cage could be saved. Besides, Roland even cast Body Fortification on him, which temporarily enhanced Cage''s vitality. Roland was sure that Cage wouldn''t die. Then, Roland stuck around. He wanted to make sure that Cage could wake up before he left. Cage slept for a day and a night and finally woke up the next morning. Roland was having breakfast in the living room, when Cage swaggered down the stairs. "Hahahaha. Roland, thank you." Cage sat at the host''s seat majestically and said excitedly, "I''m fully recovered. Your healing spell is quite good." "Stop pretending," Roland snapped. "Your unsteady mental power has exposed the fact that you''re still weak." Cage, frustrated, put on a helpless expression. "I knew that I couldn''t hide it from you Right, what''s going on in Winterwind?" Roland''s hand which was holding the spoon briefly paused. Then he said, as if it were nothing, "Everything''s been taken care of by the Church of Light and the Church of Life." "What are the civilian casualties?" "I''m told that there are more than twenty thousand." Roland sighed. Cage was about to have breakfast. Hearing that, he dropped his spoon and fell into a long silence. Roland didn''t say anything either. He simply chewed his food. After a long time, Roland finished the breakfast and asked, "How were you so wounded?" Cage was absentminded. He didn''t realize that someone was talking to him until several seconds later. Rubbing his forehead, he said, "The day before yesterday, I was informed that something happened in Winterwind. I went there and saw many professionals fighting each other. I tried to stop them, but they fought me too. At first, I was only defending myself, but then I found that they were fighting more and more ruthlessly and even killing many civilians. I got angry and began to attack them." "They were both weak and strong. They might have lacked battle experience, but they felt utterly no fear of death, which was quite problematic." Cage thought a moment and explained, "They weren''t brainlessly fearless, like the Berserkers. Instead, they would only fight with their lives when they had no chance of escape. At first, I killed a dozen of them, but then I was exhausted and they were still infinite. I was wounded and desperate. Having no choice, I had to run back." Roland said helplessly, "The Golden Sons can be resurrected, and there were too many of them. Of course you can''t eliminate them. They resurrected faster than you killed them." "Were they really Golden Sons?" Cage said with both envy and regret on his face. "That explains why they were weakened but more and more experienced. Some of them could even predict my attacks." "They probably remembered it because you''d killed them once." "That''s probably it." Cage tried to put on a smile. Then he asked solemnly, "If the Golden Sons are undying, Roland, how are you going to deal with your people who have perpetrated dreadful crimes and are no different from demons?" Roland raised his head and replied carefully, "I speculated that you would ask that question. Or rather, someone would ask me that question sooner or later." 391 Law Online "Socially dead? What do you mean?" "It means that what they did will haunt them for the rest of their lives. We can''t kill them or evict them from this world, but" Roland said with a smile, "Those people will be on our blacklist. Nobody will ever cooperate or communicate with them, or help them when they''re in need. They''ll be jokes to everyone. That''s a social death. All the Golden Sons are well-informed. Now, almost everybody knows what happened." Cage was relieved. "I thought that you would cover for them." "Don''t worry. The Golden Sons have basic morals." "That''s good. That''s good." Cage nodded quickly. Roland spent one day in Reed Village and didn''t return to Delpon until Cage was fully recovered. When he returned to his manor, he found that Andonara was teaching several Warrior players on what Great Swordsman meant. Seeing Roland, she told the players to come again tomorrow, before she took Roland into their room. They cuddled for a while. Then Roland told her about what happened in Winterwind. When she heard that Cage almost died, her red lips immediately turned pale. Clenching her fists, she asked fearfully, "Is he okay now?" "He''s fine," Roland said. "I healed him and confirmed that he was fully recovered before I returned." Relieved, Andonara threw herself into Roland''s arms and enjoyed the silence for a moment. Then she raised her head and said, "Roland, I''m going to be away for a while." "You want to kill someone?" Andonara nodded. "My uncle always treats me as his own daughter. I couldn''t have survived without him. Besides, as the patriarch of the family, he even gave the Phoenix Blood to me. As his niece and his family, I can''t stand by after hearing what happened to him." "I don''t have a reason to stop you." Roland grabbed her hand and said, "I''ll go with you." With a smile of delight, Andonara said, "Thank you, but no. This is the Reed family''s business. This is my business. It''s inappropriate for you to be involved in my revenge as a Golden Son." "The Golden Sons are not as united as you think," Roland said with a smile. "Nobody will blame me if I kill those who have a black leaf on their faces." "It''s really unnecessary." Andonara held Roland''s hands and said, "Actually, you would only be a burden for me if you came with me!" Roland was quite startled to hear that. As the best Mage among the players, he could destroy a city with a fully-blown fireball. Yet, he was considered a burden. That was utterly unreasonable. Well Roland had to admit that Andonara had a point. Roland''s most powerful spell was the big fireball, but it required time and a safe distance. Also, he could only cast it once. Apart from the big fireball, he was still quite good with his other spells, but he was not inhumanly strong. Andonara was different. After activating the bloodline power of her family, she was undoubtedly the strongest person in all of Hollevin. "Then take Christina with you," Roland said. "She''s your servant anyway. She can take care of you." At this point, a bunch of fat bats flew into the window and crashed into Roland''s head. It wasn''t very painful but quite annoying. Roland had to protect his face with his hands from the little bats. He didn''t want his unremarkable face to be even more unremarkable. Andonara smiled and closed the windows. As the room fell dark, the bats turned into a girl, who ran to Roland and said angrily with her arms akimbo, "You Golden Sons are as mean as demons, and yet you want me to fight them? Are you trying to kill me because I''m a third wheel between you and Anna?" Andonara covered her mouth and chuckled. After spending some time with Roland and Andonara, Christina knew that they were very approachable, and she didn''t have to behave like a servant even though she was one. "Don''t worry." Roland patted her head and said, "Ghost Blade is now hunting vampires in Urganda. You''re safe in Hollevin." Christina was relieved. "Besides, you don''t have to fight the Golden Sons directly," Roland said. "You only need to watch out for Andonara during the night." "Okay. I''m fine with that." She was completely reassured. Then, Roland told them the vulnerabilities of the players and the things they should pay attention to. For example, if possible, they should dispose of the players'' bodies after the battle, preferably by feeding the bodies to beasts. This way, the players would lose experience points and would be feeble for a long time after their resurrection. It would be easy to kill them again. For example The players liked to work in squads of five, but the female players generally lacked battle awareness. They could be the weak links of the squads. After Roland introduced the habits and weaknesses of the players, Christina immediately grew cocky. "If you had told me the Golden Sons'' weaknesses sooner, I wouldn''t have been scared of them." Roland merely chuckled. In any case, Andonara left the manor with Christina the next day. Roland returned to the Magic Tower and stayed there. Vivian was the happiest of all, because Roland would be solely hers for now. While continuing his magic studies, Roland focused on the forum. Silver Wings and Jalan Temple were truly doomed. They couldn''t remove the black leaf on their faces after resurrecting, nor by recreating their character. Many members of Silver Wings had tried recreating their character. But after they were born in the Temple of Life, the reverends there would simply hit them with a cudgel and hit them again after they were revived. The reverends of other churches would also attack the Golden Sons who had a black leaf on their face without giving them any chance to explain or beg for mercy. They were only lucky that the black leaves were not carried over into reality. Now, it was the most heated subject on the forum, but the authorities simply ignored it. Altogether, four hundred people from the two guilds were marked with black leaves. Another two hundred players who tried to make a profit in the mess were marked too. They initiated a class-action lawsuit against the game company. The session was scheduled three days later. Also, the local court had announced that the trial would be streamed The news became a hit all over the Internet and claimed the headlines of some of the most popular social media news outlets. Three days passed quickly. At home, Roland turned on the stream channel of Law Online. 392 Scheme of the Developers This game had already been considered the best game ever, in terms of both technological performance and groundbreaking innovations, by all players. Also, because of the limited number of game cabins, the game had been promoted by hunger marketing. Though many people hated hunger marketing, if the product was excellent and irreplaceable, it would inevitably be considered rare and precious when hunger marketing was adopted as a policy. Besides, the game was claimed to give players a second life or additional time of learning, so too many people were craving a game cabin. Too many companies and forces were hoping to acquire the technologies of the game too. Therefore, more than ten million people crowded in the stream channel of the trial the moment it started. Then, the number increased and soon surpassed thirty million. Roland estimated that it would go beyond a hundred million later on. There was no telling how the program was supported, but the server did not crash even with such a huge number of people. By the time the trial officially started, more than eighty million viewers had entered the channel, but the streaming was still smooth. Normally speaking, the comment function was shut off in such channels. But someone was fast enough to type and send "moron" the moment the channel was activated. The comment function was turned off in another second, and this comment was the only one in the whole channel. Roland couldn''t help but chuckle when he saw that. He knew that the guy would be kept in custody for a few days for disrespecting the court. But the trial ended with a surprising but not unreasonable result. The plaintiff argued that the game developers ruined the experience of the seven hundred players by maliciously setting up a certain function in the game. They hoped that the black leaf could be canceled, and that they could be properly compensated. After the repetitive deaths and resurrections, they were almost back to level two. The defendant, however, maintained that the function was deployed by the strong AI in the game, not by the developers of the game, and that the players could cancel the black leaves on their own. Roland laughed aloud when he heard that. Indeed, from a magical point of view, if the players grew as strong as the six-winged angel who judged them, it would be possible for them to wipe out the black leaf marks. But the problem was that the players would be killed every time they appeared in public. How could they grow strong when their level was dropping? Then, the judge was still confused. He asked, "Do you mean that historic events like the Crusade are replayed in the game?" Both the plaintiff and the defendant were in deep self-doubt. The players before their computers, on the other hand, all laughed aloud. After that, the plaintiff and the defendant argued again about the new points. Though the judge wasn''t familiar with games, he was more inclined toward consumers. So, he ruled in the end that, because of the poor quality of the game, the game company would pay for this trial and buy back those players'' cabins for twice the original price. When he made the ruling, the judge put on a sophisticated smile. The plaintiff''s lawyer was dumbfounded, and the defendant''s lawyer gravely announced that they would accept the ruling, but the delight on his face suggested that he wasn''t really disappointed. Roland turned off the channel and returned to the forum. He found that everybody was talking merrily. Everybody said that the members of Silver Wings and Jalan Temple had won. They made a 100% profit after a year and a half''s investment. That was even better than investing in real estate. In the following half-month, more and more black leaf players quit the game and sold their cabins. They didn''t have a choice, because they would be hunted whenever they were in the presence of a reverend of the Church of Light or the Church of Life. Most players of the two guilds had been reduced to level zero. It was impossible to recreate a character, so they could only sell their cabins. The cabins they sold did not go to the market at all but fell into the hands of certain people. Then, certain players with arrogant tones emerged on the forum. They were all talking about collecting gold coins and equipment and establishing connections. They sounded polite, but there was undisguised condescension in their words. Roland''s ID was pinged most. The rookies who recently acquired the game cabins offered to buy his gold coins, his equipment, and even his ID. After all, Roland''s character in the game was already a mature Mage, who was also in the company of the most beautiful woman in Hollevin. Their offers were very high, but Roland wasn''t interested at all. He simply put his account on "No Disturbance" mode. He continued his studies in the magic tower, though he was slightly worried about Andonara. But now and then, the players posted videos of their encounters with Queen Andonara on the forum, offering updates on Andonara to Roland. He was much more reassured to know that she was fine. About a month after the tragedy in Winterwind, Roland estimated that Andonara would be back soon. But two unannounced guests came to him earlier. They were Hawk and Link. Neither of them had a black leaf on their face, and they were still level five. "It''s great that you were not involved in the mess at Winterwind." Roland asked Vivian to serve fruit wine to them and said, "I thought that you" Hawk shook his head and said, "We had been ostracized from the management of Silver Wings before that. We didn''t even know about the gold mine." "Now that Silver Wings is gone, what will you do next?" asked Roland. "We''ll visit other countries." Hawk grabbed Link''s hand and said, "Hollevin is the base of the players. A lot of people know us. Though we did not participate in the incident in Winterwind, we might be affected. That''s why we''re here to say goodbye to you. Also, there''s something that you might be interested in." "What is it?" "We found something interesting in Bluewater Harbor," Link explained. "There''s a strange seal on the island ten kilometers away from the harbor. Inside the seal is a longsword that emits the same blue flames that your woman does!" 393 Unfortunate Mages Hawk said with a bitter smile, "I had reported it to the guild and hoped that someone would team up with us to draw that sword out, as the places where swords are sealed are mostly guarded by powerful creatures. But my guild is gone now." Hawk was clearly at a loss. He seemed to have lost his purpose and his ambitions. He looked like a totally different person from the "madman" who destroyed a small nobody family at the cost of infinite deaths. Roland sympathized with him. He knew that Hawk had been a member of Silver Wings since his freshman year in college, and that he had always been a member of that guild in every game. Seven years had passed. How many seven years could a person have in his own life? "Actually, I don''t think you need to go to other countries." Roland shook his head and said, "Schuck and I talk a lot about the game in reality. You should know that he''s in Fareins almost all the time. According to him, Hollevin is among the weakest countries in this world. The average performance of the professionals in this country can be much lower than that in other countries." Hawk couldn''t help but ask, "How wide is the gap?" "Schuck said that he can defeat five Warriors of his level with similar equipment in Hollevin, but in Fareins, he can barely beat two. It must be noted that Saint Samurai is the top of the three OP classes. Things will definitely be harder for other classes." "That''s because he''s not riding his dragon, right?" Link suddenly asked. Roland shrugged and said, "Of course not. It would be too one-sided if he rode a dragon." After a brief silence, Hawk asked, "You don''t think we can make a living in other countries?" "That''s partly what I meant." Roland nodded. "More important, you can only speak the tongue of Hollevin, can''t you? If you go to another country, there will be a couple of months when you can''t talk to anyone. Are you sure you can deal with that?" Both of them were deeply chilled. They remembered the time when they just entered this game. They didn''t speak the language and couldn''t afford their food. They starved many times. Though as level-five Warriors they could keep themselves fed by hunting now, they would rather not experience the helplessness in communication anymore. "So, you might as well stay in Hollevin." Roland thought for a moment and said, "The docks have been left unattended, but because of me, nobody has claimed them yet. Why don''t you just take them over? It was you who built them anyway." "You''re willing to give the docks to us?" Hawk didn''t say "return the docks to us." Although it was them who built the docks, too many things had happened since then, and they weren''t in a position to claim ownership of the docks anymore. "Didn''t you inform me of the nice sword in Bluewater Harbor?" Roland smiled and said, "Friends should help each other, right?" Hawk was rather tempted. He did infinite work to build the docks. He was definitely reluctant to let them go. However, he knew that it was barely possible to reclaim them. He was only back to Delpon to look at the places where he strove for the last time. Little did he expect that Roland would give him the docks for free. Thinking for a long time, Hawk said in appreciation, "Okay, got it. Half of the profits of the docks will go to your Magic Tower." "That''s unnecessary" Roland was about to say that he wasn''t short of money. But seeing how solemn Hawk was, Roland stopped convincing him and said, "Vincent has been helping with the management of the docks. You can talk to him. He''s on the third floor." "Okay." Hawk stood up. Link immediately stood up too. Roland continued analyzing his spells. He had already finished Enlivening. During his research, Roland found that the success of this spell was highly dependent on luck. It was up to the age of the tree, its luck, and Roland''s own luck whether or not the tree could be enlivened to be a treant. Roland had actually hit the jackpot when he successfully enlivened them three times in his first three attempts. He never made it again in the following half-year, as if the three previous successes had drained his luck. However, just because the trees weren''t enlivened didn''t mean that his casting failed. Having been a Mage for a long time, Roland was well aware of the difference between a successful spellcasting and the achievement of his purpose. For example, one could successfully cast a fireball but fail to blow up the enemy. It didn''t mean that the spellcasting was unsuccessful; it was just that his purpose was not achieved. Roland reached out to Solisa on the forum and delivered the new spell model to her. Very soon, Solisa sent the rest of the payment. Then she sent a picture of herself with an old treant at least four meters tall with gray leaves behind her. The treant was holding a long dry branch that had a silver lantern at the end of it. She succeeded after one try? Also, it seemed to be a Tree of Wisdom. She was really lucky! Elven Summoner was indeed a remarkable class. Roland couldn''t help but look at his "Hybrid" specialization. Reading the description of "Elven Summoner" on the list, he knew that he could transform into that class without the sap of the world tree. Also, the Summoner was one of the three officially-approved OP classes. It must have a lot of powerful features. But the problem was that Roland''s Class growth was only five points, which was too low. Had he known this class earlier, he would''ve added his stats points to Intelligence and Charm, in which case he could cast powerful spells and evoke hundreds of summoned creatures around him. Who could possibly kill him? But he didn''t know that earlier. Roland considered a moment and felt that he should pick a hidden class. A pure Mage was indeed powerful, but relatively unremarkable. If he intended to improve his mobility, Arcane Windrunner would be an excellent class. Also, as a hidden class, Roland didn''t think that it would be any worse than Elven Summoner. Then, he pinged Betta in the guild system and asked, "I''m told that you''re close to the elves. Can you reach out to Ans again? There''s something I need to talk to him about." 394 Silver Fox After that, Betta told Roland how to go to Ill. "Thank you." "You''re too kind." Turning off the guild system, Roland informed Vincent of his trip and then teleported to the edge of the Elf Forest. He had left a magic beacon here after the epic quest in this place. Then, he followed Betta''s instructions and flew westward along the border of Urganda. He found a town at the border of the forest. It was a trading post between mankind and elves. Though the elves generally lived in seclusion, there were daily necessities that they needed, such as salt and ironware. Salt was extremely rare in the Elf Forest and had to be imported from human beings. As for metals like bronze and iron, although the elves did not have a high demand for them, they still needed those metals. There were plenty of mines in the Elf Forest, but exploiting the metals would destroy the environment. As friends to the environment, the elves simply imported metal products from the human world to keep the forest minimally polluted. By the same logic, the raw materials for most of the dyes among the elves were imported from the human world, too. Ill was a town that was established at the border between the two peoples after regular, long-time trading. Roland slowly descended from the sky and looked around. The town was not huge, surrounded by a symbolic wall about three meters tall. The town was divided into two parts. The rear half of the town was full of trees. Many cottages could be vaguely seen from the crowns of those trees. The human part of the town was much more natural. Black smoke was rose from the blacksmith shops. The entrance of the town was quite huge. Wagons and carts were coming and going. Many merchants were chit-chatting excitedly. Roland drew a lot of attention when he landed from the sky, but they soon moved their eyes away. Mages were indeed revered among human beings, but this was the border with the elves, who were all spellcasters and who were all charming. Human Mages weren''t as remarkable as them. Actually, Roland liked the atmosphere. He didn''t like special treatment. Walking on the street, Roland found that the town was very clean. The human beings here might''ve adopted better hygiene habits under the influence of the elves When he thought about that, a patrol team of elves came close and stopped in front of a shop. The leading elf dragged the shop owner out and pointed at the trash near the shop. "This is the second time in a month. If I catch you a third time, your shop will be closed for ten days." So that was the case. Seeing that, Roland knew to whom the cleanliness of Ill should be ascribed. He was about to leave, when the elven sheriff saw him and walked to him quickly, frowning. Although he was a dozen meters away, he stopped in Roland''s way after only three steps. Shadow Walk! Roland stopped and smiled at the handsome elven male. "Is there anything I can do for you?" "You''re new here, and you are a Mage." The elven sheriff observed Roland up and down. "What are you doing here?" "I''m told that many herbs here are perfect magic materials." Roland found a justifiable excuse. "And they''re very cheap. So I''m here to see what I can find." The magic materials related to plants were mostly from the Elf Forest, so Roland''s claim was absolutely understandable. The elven sheriff was convinced. He nodded and said, "As long as you don''t cause any trouble. We welcome all merchants and guests, but we have no mercy on troublemakers." "I understand." The elven sheriff cleared the way for him seeing how obedient Roland was. When Roland was about to walk on, the elven sheriff suddenly said, "If you grow tired of the human world someday, come back to our home in the forest. Though your ears are short, you will not be despised." Roland was rather puzzled. The elven sheriff put on a friendly smile. Roland quickly realized why the elven sheriff said that. He had chosen the elven bloodline when he acquired the Hybrid specialization. Therefore the elven sheriff regarded him as a half-elf. "Well I''ll think about it." Roland left, not knowing what he should say. He had read that elves treated half-elves fairly without discrimination. It seemed true. Roland wandered on the human side of the town and checked in at an inn that seemed reasonably good and had many guests. During dinner, he threw a silver coin to a waiter and asked, "This is my first trip to Ill. Is there any taboo or anything that I should know?" Looking at the silver coin in his hand, the waiter replied with gleaming eyes, "Honorable Mage, the same rule in the human world applies here. It''s fine as long as you don''t cause trouble. Right, you don''t want to go to the elves'' side of the town without an invitation, or you might be thrown back." "Anything else?" "Well Red-faced Ralph is a powerful person on the human side. He has a lot of connections in the town. He''s quite ruthless, but I''m sure you aren''t scared of him. You can go to him if you have any problem." Roland tossed another silver coin and asked, "If I want to make acquaintances with the big shots among the elves, who should I turn to?" "Undoubtedly, Susie the Silver Fox," the waiter said without any hesitation. "She''s a slut. She''ll do anything for you if you can get her appreciation, including introducing you to all the big shots in the town." She was so good? Roland asked, "Where can I find her?" The waiter pointed out of the window and said, "The manor with red tiles, white walls, and golden windows. It will open in the evening." In the evening, the town brightened. Though lanterns and candles were lit in every house on the human side of the town, the town was mostly illuminated by the tremendous balls of light on the elves'' side that were circling the crowns of the trees. They were special creatures of the Elf Forest, officially known as Light Element Larvae. But people preferred to call them wisps. When Roland came to the manor that the waiter pointed out for him, he found a long row of carriages parked outside of the manor. Five guards were on duty at the entrance, only letting in the guests in glamorous clothes. The servants of the guests could only wait outside. Roland''s magic robe was the most convenient pass for him. He entered the manor and found the woman who was the center of attention. She was lying on a long chair and laughing lazily now and then, her silver hair dangling to the grass. Her clothes were revealing, and her skin was dark. She was a drow. 395 Redundant Panache Also, she seemed quite respected here. Looking around, Roland found that most guests here were male human beings. There was not a single elf. Those around the drow were clearly in three circles. There were only several men in the innermost circle, including a middle-aged man whose face was so red that he seemed drunk. Was that man Red-Faced Ralph? Those men were all young, proud and majestic. The men that were in the outer circles seemed much more restrained. The drow turned around, vaguely showing some of her body parts. Her smooth obsidian skin reflected light under the candles like a gem. Almost all the men were looking at her with obvious lust, but they had to hold themselves back, which made their faces weird. Outside of the third circle, Roland watched the drow laugh inside and couldn''t help but compare her with Andonara. In terms of looks, she was as good as the old Andonara but not as beautiful as the current Andonara. In terms of vibe, truth be told, both of them were quite slutty, except that the drow was slutty in public and Andonara cast her sexual appeal on Roland exclusively. In terms of body figure, the drow was quite attractive, but not as attractive as Andonara. Anna crushes her in every way. She''s the best. Roland watched the show calmly. Before he came, the waiter had stated that if anyone could please Susie, she would fulfill all his demands unless she couldn''t. It seemed that a young man was trying to please Susie. "Beautiful lady, I''ve acquired one-third of a petal from the World Tree from an elf. Now, I dedicate it to you and hope that you can stay beautiful forever." "One-third of a petal cannot keep me beautiful forever." On her chair, Susie held her head with one hand and extended the other. "Show it to me. If it''s real, I''ll do anything for you." The young man respectfully delivered a quaint silver box with both hands. Susie subconsciously sat straight and opened the box, full of hope. Inside the box was a golden handkerchief where one third of a pink petal was placed. Susie''s excitement gradually faded. She yawned, closed the box, and threw it back to the young man. Then she said, "It''s fake. Get lost." "That''s impossible! An elf sold it to me! I paid dozens of gold coins!" the young man cried palely. "Elves don''t lie!" "Who told you that elves don''t lie?" Susie lay back on her chair and smiled disdainfully. "Besides, it might not be a pure-blood elf you met. Half-elves can be very treacherous, don''t you agree, the new Mage here?" Roland raised his eyebrow. The young man seized the opportunity to squeeze out of the crowd and flee. Putting on a sexy smile, she pointed her finger in Roland''s direction. Like Moses dividing the sea, the crowd separated, presenting a straight aisle. Roland was at the end of this aisle. Susie had noticed Roland since the moment he entered the manor, not with her eyes but with her mind. Though Roland habitually concealed his mental power, the magic power that circulated around his body was obvious to the experts. The drows were essentially elves and natural-born spellcasters. They were as sensitive to magic power as the elves were. Roland smiled and came to Susie through the aisle. He looked down at her. Susie sat up and frowned. "I don''t like your eyes!" All the men looked at Roland weirdly and gloatingly. No adult drows were weaklings, or Susie would''ve been claimed and swallowed by the male nobles with her charm. She would never have a chance to fool around with men brazenly in this town. Some men in Ill had made a move on Susie before, but they didn''t have nice endings. Some of them went missing, and some were hanged in the square. Also, the elves had no objection to Susie''s behavior and simply let her do anything. Every time before Susie killed anyone, she would say, "I don''t like your blah blah blah." This young man is going to die! Roland sensed her anger too, but he was rather puzzled. "I don''t think my eyes are offensive, are they?" "It''s an offense when you look at me without any desire." Susie stood up, with nothing but a few luxurious yet simple pieces of cloth that covered her private parts. Her long and firm legs were almost completely exposed, making all the men around swallow subconsciously. She pointed at them and said with a smile, "That''s the way that a man should look at me. Have you ever seen a female more beautiful than me?" "Yes, more than one." Roland nodded. He was speaking the truth. Both Andonara and the four-winged angel beat her from every perspective. Even Schuck''s mount, the princess of the red dragons, was better-looking than her. Susie''s face turned dark. All the men around subconsciously stepped back. Their legs were even slightly shaking. But Roland was calm. As a Golden Son, he wasn''t scared of death. More importantly, Roland didn''t sense any huge reaction from Susie''s face, so Susie was only pretending to be angry. A few seconds later, to the men''s surprise and jealousy, Susie burst into laughter and said, "Not bad. Not bad. I like your joke. You can stay here for the night. The rest of you will leave. The party is over." All the men left, radiating jealousy. Red-Faced Ralph was about to barrage Roland angrily before he left, but he held himself back, probably because of Roland''s magic robe. After the men left, Susie asked the guards to close the manor. Then, the sexiness on her face was gone, and she asked solemnly, "You are a powerful human Mage. What do you want in the Elf Forest?" "I want to find someone." Susie poured a cup of fruit wine for Roland and asked, "Who are you looking for?" "Ans." Susie''s face really turned dark this time. "Are you kidding me? How can I possibly know such a big-shot elf?" You certainly don''t deserve your panache. Roland was rather disappointed. 396 Greedy Mages Susie felt insulted, but she really didn''t know Ans. How could a naturalized drow like herself possibly know that big shot? You must be kidding me. Susie managed a smile and said, "Why don''t you ask for something else, like a night with me?" Taking a deep breath, Roland snapped, "You wish!" To be honest, Susie couldn''t even compare to Vivian in Roland''s eyes. If he could be enchanted by any beautiful woman, he would''ve taken Vivian a long time ago. Susie seemed even more helpless. "I can''t help you find Ans." Susie sighed on the chair and held her breasts to make them even more obvious. "Do you really not want it? I am a drow. We''re the best in terms of entertaining men." Roland asked back unconcernedly, "Even better than the Succubi?" Well Susie was rather bummed. Then she smiled rather delightedly. "What an odd man. In fact, I haven''t slept with anyone since I returned to the elves. So don''t worry, I''m clean." "It''s not that." Roland waved his hands and said, "It''s fine if you don''t know Ans. But do you know Losandel, the half-elf?" "I know that one." Susie nodded. "But he''s out collecting herbs in the Elf Forest. He won''t be back until days from now." "How many days exactly?" "I''m not sure." Susie shook her head. "He will return sooner if he finds anything, and later if he fails to." Thinking for a moment, Roland said, "Then I''ll leave for now. If he returns in the next five days, tell him that I''ll visit him six days later." Susie nodded. "Okay, I''ll forward that to him. You''re the first man that''s unwilling to touch me. Is it possible that you''re into guys?" "Heh!" Roland turned and left immediately. After he left the manor, he dropped two tiny magic spiders and sent them to the grasses to monitor the gates of the manor. Then, he returned to the inn. Eating the specially flavored barbecue served at the inn, Roland checked the forum. He intentionally searched for the threads with "queen" as a keyword. He found many videos about Andonara. Roland organized them chronologically and watched all of them. Andonara had become quite famous. She had slain more than three hundred black leaf players, not counting the repeat kills. Also, she was so ruthless that every enemy in the sector twenty meters before her would be cut into halves after she unleashed her sword auras and blue flames. At least in the videos, none of the black leaf players could take one attack from her. More importantly, Andonara would burn the players'' bodies into smithereens after the kill, giving them no chance to reclaim their bodies. She even burned and melted down the players'' equipment. Earlier, the players treated her as Roland''s woman, an NPC for teaching skills, and the queen. They never treated her seriously. But right now, almost all the players found the woman tough and unbelievably beautiful. It was a shame that she was with Roland. Then, more and more people pinged Roland on the forum, hoping to acquire his account. Their offers were getting higher and higher too. But since Roland was on "No Disturbance" mode, none of their messages were received. While he was surfing the forum, Roland received images from the magic spiders. Susie, alone, left the manor quietly in a black cloak. The two spiders followed her. Roland began to control the magic spiders. During the past half-year, Roland had been trying to improve the magic spiders, so that they could be smaller, faster, and stealthier. More importantly, Roland finally made it possible for the magic spiders to transmit sound. Though the sound was distorted and occasionally intermittent, it was still huge progress. The magic spiders were only the size of fingernails and almost fully transparent. They could barely be recognized. Susie zigzagged in the human side of the city for half an hour before she finally reached a two-floor building. Then, she climbed into the building from the window in the backyard. The two magic spiders immediately followed. One of them stayed below the window, and the other crawled into the house through a gap. Then, the image was delivered again. In the dim room, a half-elf was sitting opposite Susie. Roland also heard Susie''s slightly distorted voice. "A human Mage just came. He asked about Ans first and you later." The half-elf asked slowly, "Who is this human Mage? Why does he know Lord Ans?" "I''m not clear. I''ve never seen him before. He''s a total stranger." Susie sighed. "I tried to seduce him for more intelligence, but he was not tempted." The half-elf was surprised. "Is there any man who can resist your temptation?" "That''s nothing to be surprised at," Susie said unconcernedly. "I''ll ask the patrol teams to check up on him tomorrow. You''d better leave the town for now. After all, you''re really mediocre, and that Mage might be very tough." "Okay." The half-elf stood up and said, "I''m leaving now." "That''s right. The sooner, the better." Susie was satisfied with the half-elf''s decision. Seeing that, Roland immediately took action. Based on the picture sent back by the magic spiders, Roland hid himself in the woods at the exit of the town in advance. Susie walked the half-elf to the exit of the town and said, "I''m going back. My identity can''t be exposed yet." The half-elf nodded. Then, the half-elf left Ill on his own. Ill was only a trading post at the border. A strict curfew was implemented here. No residents were allowed to be on the street past midnight. Besides, this place was far away from other cities, so there were few travelers outside of the town at night. It was very quiet, and the moon was very bright, allowing the half-elf to see the road clearly without a torch. But he suddenly came to a stop, because a human male had blocked his way. The man was wearing a blue magic robe, which was rather grave and intimidating in the moonlight. A Mage The half-elf suddenly remembered what Susie said. He turned around and tried to flee, but when he''d just started running, extreme coldness caught up to him from his back. He turned around, only to see a huge ring of ice expanding quickly on the ground and leaving frost everywhere. The half-elf subconsciously jumped, but the moment he jumped, a gigantic blue hand appeared out of nowhere and smashed him to the frosted ground. His handsome face hit the ground so painfully that he almost passed out. The ground was cold, but the half-elf''s heart was even colder. 397 Ans, Who Never Hurts His Compatriots He didn''t know why the human Mage was attacking him, but the man was obviously not a friend. He even thought of suicide, but his limbs had each been restrained by a blue Hand of Magic, making it impossible for him to struggle. He could only manage to raise his head and watch the human Mage approach him from the dark. He was both angry and frightened. What would the man do? Torture him, or kill him instantly? Losandel had always been fond of moonlight. He suddenly found it romantic to be killed on such a night when the moon was shining brilliantly. It was every elf''s wish to die next to their favorite things. That way, their withering would be beautiful too. Observing the half-elf''s face, Roland found that he was scared first, relieved later, and even somehow delighted in the end. He couldn''t help but wonder if something was wrong with the half-elf''s head. He sighed and asked, "May I ask if you are Losandel?" "Why bother asking my name? Just kill me if you want." Losandel, like a drama queen, scoffed. "I will never betray my people." Roland raised his eyebrow and heaved a sigh. There was obviously a misunderstanding, but he didn''t have a choice. The half-elf would''ve fled if Roland hadn''t caught him. Next to the road were trees, and the elves were in the woods what fish were in a deep lake. It would be barely possible for Roland to find him, so Roland could only capture him, albeit more roughly than he should''ve. "I don''t want to do anything to you." Squatting before him, Roland said, "Betta recommended I come here. I need you to help me contact Ans for something important." "Betta." Losandel looked at the stranger in surprise. "Wait. What''s your name?" "Roland." "Why didn''t you tell me that sooner?" Losandel cried pitifully. Roland smiled awkwardly. "You would''ve fled if I hadn''t caught you, and I might not be able to find you again." "Can you let go of me now?" Losandel stared at Roland, not very happily. Roland shrugged in embarrassment. Half a minute later, Losandel patted his clothes and said, "Both Betta and Elder Ans mentioned your name before. You must be of some significance to Elder Ans. I can deliver a message for you, but it''s not up to me whether or not you will be received." "Of course. Thank you very much." Roland thought for a moment and said, "Why don''t I buy you dinner as compensation?" "Dinner sounds good." Losandel''s eyes glittered. Then, Roland led Losandel to the inn and ordered a lot of food for him, which cost Roland almost one gold coin. Losandel quite enjoyed himself, and Roland elicited a lot of intelligence on elves from him. Losandel left when it was almost dawn. Soon enough, Susie came to Roland. She seemed rather angry. "You followed me." Roland pointed at the other cup of fruit wine on the table and smiled. "It seems that Losandel has talked to you. Yes, I followed you." "Do you want to die?" Susie sat opposite Roland and glared at him. Her furrowed brow, like sharp sabers, was quite intimidating. "You dared to follow me on my turf?" "How could I have found Losandel without following you? You told him to leave town." That did make sense, but Susie was still angry. She was a Sword Dancer, a special hidden class that was a combination of Warrior and Rogue. The class boasted remarkable stealth and anti-stealth abilities, and could fight head-on battles as skillfully as traditional Warriors. It was beyond her imagination that, as a Sword Dancer, she had been tailed by a Mage. She was quite pissed. "That was very rude of you. I want you to apologize." "I''m sorry," said Roland casually. Susie almost burst into fury. Roland''s prompt apology made her feel that he didn''t mean it. It was like an adult teasing a child. But she couldn''t throw a tantrum at Roland, because Losandel had told her that Roland seemed to be an important person, and that Elder Ans thought highly of him. "Okay, I''ll remember you." Susie stormed out and slammed the door. Roland found that both Losandel and Susie were slightly childish. In the following three days, Roland waited for updates in the inn. Of course, he spent most of his spare time on the forum and with his magic studies. Three days later, Ans came to this inn. Asking the waiter to serve fruit wine and cakes to Ans, Roland said with a smile, "I''m surprised that a big shot like you would visit me in person. I thought you would ask me to meet you in the Elf Forest." Ans was as handsome as before, but with more exhaustion in his eyes. "I dare not let the lawless Golden Sons come to my home." He had a mouthful of the fruit wine and observed Roland for a while. Then he said, "Besides, you''re growing too fast, which discourages me from inviting you into the forest. I remember that you were barely an Elite a year ago, but you''re on your path to mastership now. Are all the Golden Sons as good as you?" "I''m just lucky." Roland finished his cup and refilled it. Then he continued, "I''m here because I need to ask you a favor." "What is it?" Ans said with a smile, "I hope it''s not too outrageous." "I want the sap of the world tree. One drop will be enough." Crack! Ans squeezed the silver cup in his hand into twisted metal. The fruit wine splashed all over the place, including toward Ans and Roland, but it was blocked by their magic shields. Ans glared at Roland scarily. "Do you know what you just said?" "I do." Roland nodded. "Do you know how important the Mother Tree is to us?" "Yes." Roland nodded again. "Then how dare you propose such a request?" Ans smashed the deformed cup on Roland''s face, but it was blocked by Roland''s magic shield. "Do you want to die?" "Of course not." Roland shook his head and said, "But I''m not asking for too much. Just one drop." Ans rose and was about to leave. Roland shouted, "I''m not asking for it for nothing. I can help you do something that you''re not willing to do, as long as it''s not anything evil." "I will never hurt my mother or my kins." His eyes slightly widened, Roland asked back, "Really? Then how did your teacher, the green Druid, die?" 398 Special Entertainments But he managed to hold himself back and sat down, before he observed Roland carefully again. He wondered whether Roland was coercing him into submission, or he was up to something else After all, in the eyes of a politician, every simple move might have deep implications. What did Roland want by threatening him? But after his observation, he found the vibe of kinship in Roland. Startled, he asked, "Wait, you''re related to the elves? But aren''t you a Golden Son?" "I am a Golden Son. As for my elven bloodline, I don''t know what that''s about." Roland would rather not reveal his Hybrid specialization. After all, probably only the players could choose this specialization, and it would be hard for him to explain himself. "Maybe one of your ancestors had an elf as his spouse," remarked Ans casually. He believed that, if the Golden Sons could come to this world, the natives here could go to the Golden Sons'' world too. Elves had been captured as slaves for thousands of years. It was not too strange that some of them were sold to an alternate dimension. Sensing the vibe of kinship from Roland, Ans seemed much less hostile. "Then, what do you want to do with the Mother Tree''s blood?" Ans stared Roland in the eyes, trying to ensure that he wasn''t lying. "I want the truth." "Destructive Druid and Arcane Windrunner." Roland paused. Seeing no huge reaction from Ans, he continued, "I want to transform into one of these classes." Ans said calmly, "It seems that you know a thing or two about these classes. No wonder you want Mother''s blood." Roland nodded with a smile. "I don''t think it''s too hard for you to obtain the sap of the World Tree as an elder of the elves." "But why would I help you? Just because you''re related to us? However, if you''re willing to come back and swear to the Mother Tree that you will stay in the forest forever and fight for your people, I may be able to do something for you." Roland sipped the juice and considered. At this point, a new dialog box popped up on his system menu. "Ans is inviting you to join the elves." "Accept!" "Decline!" Thinking for a moment, Roland shook his head and said to Ans, "I''m sorry, but I still feel that I''m a human being." The dialog box flashed and disappeared. Ans was apparently disappointed. If there could be an elf who was invulnerable and talented, he would be a perfect candidate to resolve tricky matters for the elves. The dangerous and even life-threatening tasks could be assigned to him. He could also be used to deter outside foes. Ans knew very well that the elves were getting weaker and would''ve been destroyed by mankind without the protection of the Mother Tree. Regretfully, this Golden Son with elven bloodline was unwilling to join But Ans was not frustrated. He knew very well that people could always change, and that he''d better keep the man hooked so that he could persuade him again. "Okay, since you''re unwilling to return with me, let''s talk business." Ans pondered a moment and said, "The blood of the Mother Tree is very precious. I can get it for you, but the price will be huge. So what can you provide?" "The Golden Sons have nothing valuable except our ability to fight. Besides, I don''t think you''re interested in money." Roland thought a moment and said, "So, I can only promise you that I can help you when you''re in serious trouble and can''t handle it on your own, provided that it''s nothing evil." The miseries of the black leaf players were still fresh. Roland didn''t intend to end up like them. Considering a moment, Ans said, "Okay. You stay here for three days. If I don''t come to you in three days, you can go." "Is that a yes?" Roland was slightly surprised, not expecting Ans to be so reasonable. Ans rose and chuckled, before he turned around and left the inn. Walking on the streets of Ill, Ans was rather comforted to see the lively town. Ill wasn''t established until a hundred years earlier, due to his hard work. This town solved a lot of problems for the elves, such as the shortage of salt and iron, and acquisition of intelligence. Also, as a buffer between the elves and the outside world, many half-elves reached out to the elves, who were basically secluded, through Ill and returned. It meant that his political ideal was correct, and his master''s was wrong. Blindly protecting the elves and hurting all other races that drew close like hedgehogs was essentially suicide. But even so, indirectly killing his master was an external trauma in his heart. Seeing that the elves and human beings were living in peace in this town, Ans put on a smile of satisfaction and left. Roland, on the other hand, continued his magic studies in the inn. A three-day wait wouldn''t be too long. But outside of his expectations, he had minor problems on the second day. Some nobles came to ask for trouble. They weren''t here to duel him, but to embarrass him. For example, they offered Roland ten gold coins and asked him to perform a strip tease. If Roland were as destitute as he had been when he just joined the game, he might''ve considered the offer. But he had hundreds of gold coins in his backpack. Did he really need the money? Immediately, he threw the nobles out of the inn with a magic whirlwind. In the meantime, he learned why so many people were coming to him. As it turned out, Susie, angry that she was followed, announced that she would sleep with whoever humiliated Roland. She thought that Roland wouldn''t dare to piss off all the nobles. Connections were her advantage. Since she was not strong enough, she would rather beat Roland with her connections. Lost for words, Roland slapped the table and left for Susie''s manor. He tried Flash, Ice Ring, Hypnosis but none worked. Therefore, he simply grabbed Susie with Hand of Magic and tied her up, before he hung her on a tree outside of her manor. Then, he sat under the tree and read his books, while he beat whoever came to rescue her. For a moment, all the young men in Ill were crying for their mothers. The elven sheriff was here. He shrugged at Susie, whose life was not at risk though she was being punished, and smiled at Roland. Then he left. Susie hung there for three days without any food or water. The professionals were very sturdy, but even so, Susie was still half-dead. She had been cursing Roland vehemently at first and struggling like a stranded fish, but she was begging for mercy now. Then, Ans arrived in the evening on the third day. When he found Roland, he looked at the exhausted drow whose clothes were all messed up and smiled at Roland. "I didn''t think that you liked such entertainments. Our women are all very obedient. If you return to the elves and find a partner, such a way of entertainment will be nothing." 399 Unexpected Choice It was now the conference room for the two big shots. In the living room, the long black dinner table had been cleaned, and Roland and Ans were each seated at one end. In the middle of the table was a dark gold box that had complicated silver patterns, full of the lavish artistic beauty of the elves. "It''s inside." Ans nodded at the box and said with a smile, "Are you sure you want to take Mother''s blood? You should know that both Destructive Druids and Arcane Windrunners are public enemies for the elves." Roland asked, "Will the elves send hunters to kill Arcane Windrunners in the human world?" "I don''t think so," Ans replied. "Are there a lot of elves in the human world?" "Not too many." Roland asked again, "Can the elves identify Arcane Windrunners instantly?" "No. They can''t confirm it until they spend some time together. Even I have to wait half an hour before I can confirm an Arcane Windrunner." "That''s good enough," Roland said unconcernedly. "Chances are few for a human being to run into an elf. I can always keep a distance from them." Ans frowned. It was not exactly the conclusion that he had hoped for. He really wanted to convince Roland to join the elves. But if Roland never interacted with the elves again, his plan would never work. However, he had been prepared for such a possibility. So he continued, "In fact, if you intend to grow stronger, you don''t have to become an Arcane Windrunner, which is a tricky class. I think you have a better choice." "Well? Do tell me about it." "I wonder if you''ve heard of the class Sword Dancer," said Ans casually. "The combination of Warrior and Rogue? Susie is one of them." Roland nodded. "But I''m a Mage." Ans gently pointed at the box and said, "That''s just the Sword Dancers among human beings. I''m talking about the Sword Dancers among the elves." "What''s the difference?" "They''re an advanced class of the Mages who use the power of the elements as their sword and who are born for fighting. Only those with elven bloodlines can transform into this class. They''re more powerful than the Arcane Windrunners. They''re known by human beings as Lords of the Elements. This class has been passed on since more than ten thousand years ago. Though nobody has been transformed successfully recently, we still have the complete heritages. If you pursue power, why don''t you try this class?" Ans''s voice couldn''t be more alluring. A notification immediately popped up on Roland''s system menu. "Would you like to accept the quest on a special hidden class: Elemental Lord (1)?" It was an epic quest, and only the first part of it. Taking a short breath, Roland asked, "What''s the price, Ans?" Clearly, Roland was not convinced. He looked at the box and asked, "I don''t need the sap of the World Tree to advance into an Elemental Lord, do I?" "It''s a gift for you." Ans nodded. "Indeed you don''t need it. But the blood of the Mother Tree can improve your physical qualities. However, I suggest you keep it safely instead of drinking it now and enchant it into special magic equipment after you learn alchemy. It will be more effective that way But most importantly, if you do drink the sap, you can only be a Destructive Druid or an Arcane Windrunner." "Thank you." Roland guessed that Ans had other motives to give him this gift, but he hadn''t noticed any harmful intent yet. Accepting the box, Roland asked again, "Then what''s the first step to becoming an Elemental Lord?" "Bring me the crystals of the five elements, including wind, earth, fire, water, and lightning. I need to go back to my people and copy the heritages of the Sword Dancer. If you can''t find me in Ill later, go to Susie. I''ll ask her to keep the heritages." Roland nodded. Then, Ans stood up and said, "It''s time that I go back. There are many things that I have to attend to. I hope that you can be my neighbor someday, my friend." Ans smiled at Roland and left. Roland put the wooden box in his system Backpack. The sap of the World Tree was too precious, but it would be absolutely safe in the system Backpack. Under Susie''s silent fury, Roland left Ill and set up a magic beacon. Then, he teleported himself back to Delpon. He returned to his Magic Tower and was about to sit down, when someone lunged at him, causing a fragrant breeze. Roland hugged Andonara and kissed her forehead. He was about to talk, but he was shocked first. Since they were very close, Roland''s mental power had fully covered her, allowing him to detect that she was already level fourteen, only one step away from Legendary, which was level fifteen. But she had only been out for a month. That speed at which she leveled up was too unbelievable. "How did you advance so fast?" Roland asked in surprise. Roland was now level seven, and it required incredible experience for him to reach level eight. Also, the demand for every level-up would be doubled onward. Delighted, Andonara said proudly, "I don''t know, but every time I killed a Golden Son with the black leaf, some power would flow into me. If I burned up their bodies, I would get more. I don''t know how many Golden Sons I''ve killed, but I grew tired and couldn''t find any more of them, so I came back." Roland was rather stunned. Could Andonara have claimed the experience that the players lost after their deaths? That did seem likely. As a descendant of the Hero, Andonara was a natural enemy of evil, and the black leaf players had all achieved maximum evil. According to the legends, Heroes would grow very fast when they fought evil creatures. Well Roland suddenly realized how he could help Andonara level up. When Andonara became a Legend, she would probably be the strongest woman in the whole world. She was also a queen. It was truly exhilarating to sleep with such a woman in his arms "You seem to be thinking about something interesting." Andonara rubbed Roland with her breasts and asked, "Would you like to tell me about it?" 400 Building the Base The Magic Tower was undoubtedly the greatest power in Delpon, but someone always wanted to play dirty, including those from the mayor''s house. Because the Magic Tower was short of hands, particularly when Roland was traveling and Vincent only had time for important matters, there were loopholes that escaped Vincent''s attention. The nobles and merchants, on the other hand, were best at taking advantage of loopholes. Andonara''s return meant that the Magic Tower was even more powerful than before. Also, as the queen, Andonara was familiar with politics, or she wouldn''t have been disappointed by the royal family and turned to Roland. Besides, Andonara had Christina to serve her. Though Christina was basically useless during the day, she could handle the strenuous paperwork during the night. The Magic Tower did not shelter her just for decorative purposes. After a two-day rest in the manor, Roland visited Hawk and Link at the docks with Andonara. After more than ten days of recruitment and reorganization, the docks seemed to be thriving again. After all, it was Hawk and Link who built the docks from scratch. They treated the common workers fairly, and now that they came back, many people were willing to work for them again. Hawk set up a table and entertained Roland and Andonara on the top floor of the highest building at the docks, where they could appreciate the view. He had prepared a hot pot, the perfect food on such a freezing day. Link didn''t come. Though the docks had been rebuilt, there were still many things to be settled. Hawk picked up a piece of meat and pointed at the river that already sported a thin layer of ice. "The workers all say that it''s colder than usual this year. The river was never frozen before, and this is still early winter. So, I guess that this winter will be hard for the poor." Roland asked, "Are you implying that I should help the poor?" "Yes." Hawk nodded without hesitation. "You are the only person capable of helping them in Delpon." Roland looked at the horizon and saw a white layer of ice on the banks of the running river, but since the water was turbulent in the middle, there was no ice there. So, water was running with ice in this river. He remembered that the river in Delpon indeed did not freeze the first winter after they entered this game. "I''ll try my best." Roland made the promise and said, "Also, I''m here mostly to discuss the sealed place with you. I''m planning to explore it with a team. Do you want to come with me?" Hawk thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, thanks. I''m pretty occupied with the docks. I don''t have time for other things until everything is worked out here." Although Roland was capable of Minor Healing and some buff spells, he was not as good as the Priests, who were professional healers. Hearing Roland''s reiteration of "reliable," Hawk couldn''t help but put on a bitter smile. He understood Roland''s bias against Silver Wings because of the absurdities they did recently. With a bitter smile, he continued, "Don''t worry, she''s definitely reliable. But she''s in another city. It may take about ten days for her to come here." "All right, we''ll wait for her." Roland nodded and said, "We can use the ten days to make arrangements for the poor who might die in the cold." Then, Roland finished his meal and left the docks. Instead of going back to the Magic Tower, he took Andonara to the mayor''s house. Stepping on the frost and snow on the lawn, Roland pushed the gate open. Though two guards were on watch, neither of them dared to stop him. The gate opened, and hot air surged out of the room, in major contrast to the coldness outside. The fireplace where red flames were burning could be easily seen, and a maid was adding firewood to it. Next to the dinner table, the mayor''s wife and his daughter were having afternoon tea. They weren''t wearing any thick clothes. After all, the room was cozy due to the fireplace. Roland found that the mother and daughter seemed to be having afternoon teaon the terrace, in the courtyard, or before the fireplaceevery time he visited. How carefree their lives were. They weren''t as frightened as before when they saw Roland. They stood up and warmly invited Roland and Andonara to share the food and wine. Andonara accepted the invitation, partly because she liked afternoon tea with other women, and partly because she didn''t want to follow Roland when he was here for a formal meeting. Roland knocked at the door of the study on the third floor and walked in. He sat down in front of the unfriendly host and asked, "What measures do you usually take to prevent the poor from dying from coldness and starvation?" "Nothing," John Junior said coldly. "The untouchables who don''t work hard enough to survive a winter can go to hell. We''re merciful enough to bury their bodies for them." "How can the population increase if you don''t protect the ordinary people?" Roland sighed. "Really?" John Junior smiled disdainfully. "When the Johns just became the mayors two hundred years ago, the population was only four hundred thousand, but now, it has surpassed a million, counting the towns and villages nearby." "They are tensile souls, aren''t they?" said Roland in admiration. "The untouchables are just weeds. They will always proliferate as long as you don''t intentionally uproot them." Staring at John Junior, Roland said, "It seems that our ideas differ greatly. Right, I need to borrow your census officer for a while. Ask him to work with me." "Do you really need my permission?" said John Junior sarcastically. Roland was not offended. "I''m just letting you and your supporters know that the Magic Tower will do something huge, and that you''d better not make trouble, or I won''t be very nice." John Junior said with a faint smile, "Would I dare? I''m just a coward." "Live your life well, and don''t think too much." After saying that, Roland left the study. Then he went downstairs and took Andonara away. John Junior furiously smashed the items upstairs. After this winter, the Magic Tower would be more respectable, and chances would be even slimmer for him to make a comeback. The mayor''s wife and daughter, on the other hand, were thinking that they should invite the queen for their next tea party. They had a pleasant conversation just now. 401 People Are the Foundation of Everything The managers of all the properties under the Magic Tower''s name were here. There were about forty of them, who were partly nobles, mostly merchants, and some special people, like those from the Black Sand Gang. "I''ve summoned you because there''s something important for you to work on." Roland glanced at them and continued, "I''ll cut to the chase. I believe that many of you have felt that it''s colder than usual this winter." Confused, everybody looked at Roland. "But there are still a lot of poor people in the city, whose shabby sheds cannot resist the freezing snow in this cold weather. Also, many of them are short of food. I think thousands of people might not survive this winter." Roland''s voice echoed in the conference room. Everybody was slightly surprised because they vaguely guessed Roland''s intention. Was Roland going to help the poor, filthy untouchables?" Rescuing untouchables in winter wasn''t rare. The Church of Life and the Church of Light would save some devout untouchables every year, but not too many, and they were all specialy selected. But what was Roland''s purpose? He didn''t need any believers. Those untouchables were meaningless to him. They couldn''t even suffice as cannon fodder. Besides, there were tens of thousands of poor people in Delpon. How many of them could Roland save? Helping them retrofit their houses alone would cost half of the budget of the Magic Tower. Counting the food supply every day, the Magic Tower probably would go bankrupt after the winter. Would Roland really going to do something so stupid? Perplexed, the participants of the meeting were eager to discuss with their friends, but since Roland was staring at all of them, they dared not whisper at all. "I want to save them!" Roland declared. "Even if there are tens of thousands of them!" Their speculation was true. This time, everybody couldn''t hold back anymore and began to whisper. Someone even shouted at Roland, "Sir, that''s an impractical thought. You''re underestimating the consumption of tens of thousands of people." Vincent was the only one who sat in silence without any excitement. After they discussed for a while, Roland said, "I know what you think, but I''ve carefully considered the decision. For starters, the tens of thousands of people are not homeless. Most of them have a place to stay in and some food in stock, although it''s not enough for them to survive the winter." Everybody in the conference room listened quietly. At this point, someone interjected, "But even so, it will be a huge financial burden for the Magic Tower to keep all of them fed." "Why do we have to keep them fed? We can let them work." Roland smiled. "The sages among the Golden Sons have considered the problem, and the solution is simple. They will have to work for the relief." Everybody was baffled. Roland didn''t explain it further. Instead, he presented a map and pointed at a circle on it. "This is a forest to the north of the city. It''s quite large. If we organize several thousand people for logging, I think the trees can be cut within half a month. Then, the grasses and the roots will be burned, before new houses are built on the empty land with the timber. The more, the better. The rest of the ground can be cleaned and given to people who''re willing to live there. "After the people settle down, the place can become a satellite city for Delpon, or just a new town, after some time of development." "But how can we make thousands of people cut trees? They wouldn''t listen to us. Are we going to force them?" Hearing that, Roland spoke to the representatives of Black Sand Gang. "Gru, you will ask your men to disseminate in the slums that the Magic Tower will hire as many loggers as possible tomorrow, and that whoever is willing to do the hard work will have two pieces of white bread for each meal, three times a day. Also, they will be paid 150 grams of wheat every day. Make sure that everybody in the city knows that." Roland had carefully considered the numbers. Two pieces of bread for each meal were enough to feed an adult and support their work, but they wouldn''t have the energy to stir trouble. As for the old and the children, they would take the bread home if they couldn''t finish it. A hundred and fifty grams of wheat, after processing, was also enough to sustain an adult for a whole day. Therefore, every worker could keep themselves fed and bring additional food to their family. Then, Roland continued, "Merchants, start acquiring food from other cities as soon as possible; nobles, take your servants with you. Each family will supervise a certain number of workers. You will restrain them and tell them what to do when. I''ll give you a detailed daily schedule tomorrow." Everybody frowned after hearing that, because Roland was obviously asking them to pay. But at this point, Roland said with a smile, "Of course, your work will be repaid. You must''ve heard about the credit point system to be implemented here later. By working for me now, you will receive credit points based on the specific work you do. More importantly, you can transfer said credit points to your children. If you have a magic apprentice in your family, those credit points can be very useful." At this point, Old Conan Doyle asked, "Mr. Roland, what can we buy with one credit point?" "The model of a level-one spell. The level-two models cost two points, the level-three ones cost four, and so on." Roland smiled and said, "It can also be exchanged for certain magic materials, or privileges. For example if your child is almost qualified to be an apprentice, the credit point can be taken into consideration when his grades are calculated." Everybody was stunned and fell quiet. They stopped talking and gazed at Roland with sparkling eyes. Seeing that everybody understood his intention, Roland nodded in satisfaction and looked at Vincent. "You will oversee the whole project and make sure that there''s no dereliction of duty, corruption, or slacking." Vincent looked around at everybody in the conference room and grinned. Everybody except Roland subconsciously shivered. Then, Vincent declared with the unique arrogant tone of a rich kid, "No problem! I like catching people''s misbehavior best!" 402 The Druids Are Here It was because they had never experienced such a thing before in their whole lives. When they were drafted by the nobles to work, they would at best be given a piece of black bread, which was made of the crust of grains and some flour, after a whole day of work. They were often hungry after only four hours. Most of the time, the drafted workers had to prepare their own food. More importantly, the drafting of their noble lord was mandatory. They had to come, and if they couldn''t complete their work in time, they would either be hanged or have one of their limbs severed. After all, by the laws of this kingdom, all the civilians living on a fief were essentially the belongings of their lord. But now the Magic Tower was offering food and wheat for the workers, and the task was not even mandatory. The guys of the Black Sand Gang had made it clear that it was not compulsory, but only a simple recruitment of workers, and that they could refuse to come if they didn''t want to. The poor people mostly hesitated at first, fearing that the big shots were only tricking them. But as a bottom-level organization itself, the Black Sand Gang knew very well how to convince the civilians. To wit, they would tell the poor in disdain that it was an opportunity for them because the Mages felt sorry for them and were being generous, and that it didn''t matter if they didn''t come. Though the poor people didn''t have much faith in the nobles, it was in their nature to take advantage of anything because of long-time destitution, which affected their judgment. It was not their fault, but just their instinct for survival because they had been poor and hungry for too long. If the Black Sand Gang had begged them to work, the poor people wouldn''t have dared to accept it. They were always vigilant of whoever courteously asked them to do anything. But when the Black Sand Gang informed them of the news with a cocky and condescending attitude, most of the poor people trusted them. Those guys should be cocky when they were offering food for free. More and more poor people, along with their whole families, staggered out of the slums and gathered at the city gate, where they were given two pieces of white bread. Then, they were taken by the servants of the nobles out of the city and offered axes for logging. Standing on the city wall, Roland watched the teams of workers walk while eating the white bread. He looked back and saw more and more people coming out of their homes and waiting in line at the distribution points at the city gate. Vincent was standing next to him. His magic cloak was rustling in the raging wind. "Ensure that all the workers are paid and safe. As for the rest, just turn a blind eye as long as they''re not too outrageous." Roland heaved a sigh. Vincent asked back with a smile, "Are you saying that we''ll watch the lackeys of the nobles rule over the workers?" "We can only live with that. We''re short of hands anyway," Roland said helplessly. "They''ll be useless when our own magic apprentices grow up." Vincent said, "It seems that you''ve got a plan. That''s good. I''m going to work. To be honest, this game is quite interesting. It shows you different worlds and different lives. Apart from magic, I now even have a chance to experience how the bottom-level workers do their job." Roland replied with a smile, "Isn''t it great? You''re from a rich family. Some of the experience you earn here can be applied to reality and may help your family corporations." While walking, Vincent waved his hands. "My family is just a regular one." Hehe. You think I would believe that? Roland shook his head and got off from the city wall, returning to the Magic Tower. The Magic Tower was now empty. Everybody had been sent out, including the students. They were helping their seniors by offering tea, mopping the floor, or delivering messages. The kids weren''t playing an important role, but they could learn devotion and diligence from their seniors. As time went by, more and more poor people were applying for the job. Now, there were thirty bread distribution points, but they were still swarmed. The inns and taverns under the banner of the Magic Tower had asked all their men to make bread in order to ensure the supply of food. After several days, the wheat and flour in the warehouse of the Magic Tower disappeared at an unbelievable speed. They were running out in five days. Thankfully, Roland had made arrangements. The first batch of merchants he sent out had shipped abundant flour with wagons, enough for three days of consumption. More food was underway. Though Roland had never commanded a large activity or project, as a man who had received twenty years of education, he was definitely knowledgeable and experienced in this world. The logging project was not exactly challenging or technical. The only things that he needed to pay attention to were safety and supply. He had been very careful. Vincent had been helping him, and he checked the daily consumption and supply every day, trying to make sure that everything was perfect. The logging went quite well. Half of the forest in the north had been cut down. The nobles and celebrities in the city felt that they had known another Roland. He had commanded almost twenty thousand people, offering them food and making them work in an orderly manner every day without any mistakes. He was apparently capable of commanding an army as a general. Many nobles who weren''t impressed by Roland gradually changed their opinion. But John Junior broke even more items in his study. Everything was on track. But for some reason, Roland felt uneasy. He stood on the city wall for an hour every day, checking if he had missed anything, but he found nothing. He got more and more anxious. On this day, he was overseeing the work from the city wall as usual. It was snowing. Vincent rode close from far away and rushed to the city wall. Panting, he said, "Something is wrong. A lot of outsiders came to the forest. They seem to be all spellcasters, but they don''t look like Mages. They''re not friendly." Spellcasters? Enlightened, Roland finally realized why he had been feeling ill at ease. It was because of the Druids, the extremist environmentalists of this world! 403 Who Are You Insulting? Many people thought that Druids were a special class of the elves They were not wrong. Only the elves had real Druids. But there were Druid organizations among humans too, established by people who believed in the ideals of the elven Druids. They didn''t understand natural spells or shape-shifting so they created certain spells to make them look like Druids while they practiced the principles of the Druids. They usually hid themselves in crowds, and it was impossible to distinguish them, but when they believed that someone had broken the balance of nature, they would reveal themselves. The wood to the north of the city was quite large. Those Druids arrived when half of it was cut down. There was no telling how they learned that trees were being chopped here. Did they have special tricks? Could the tricks be learned? Roland slapped his face, knowing that it was not time to consider that yet. He immediately said to Vincent, "Go to the lumber camp and ask the workers to evacuate first. If those guys attack, try to stop them, but retreat if you can''t." "Got it." Vincent cast Feather Landing on himself and jumped off from the city wall. Roland, on the other hand, returned to his manor quickly through consecutive flashes. He opened the door and found that Andonara was having afternoon tea with the mayor''s wife and daughter in the living room. Earlier, Andonara was invited to the mayor''s house, but she turned it down, claiming that she would not visit another male''s house in case Roland misunderstood her, and that the mayor''s wife could come to Roland''s manor if she wanted to have afternoon tea with her. Then, after a day of consideration, the mayor''s wife took her daughter here. It was the third time that they had afternoon tea together. Seeing Roland, all three women stood up. Now, the mayor''s wife and daughter were not nervous at all to see Roland. Roland said to them apologetically, "I''m sorry, but I have to borrow Andonara for now. I need her help." Andonara looked at Roland in confusion. Roland said to her, "Put on your armor, grab your sword, and come with me." Andonara''s eyes glittered. It was the first time that Roland had ever really taken her to battle. "Okay." Andonara rushed upstairs and soon returned with her leather armor and her longsword. Seeing that Roland had business to attend to, the mayor''s wife and daughter bowed and bid farewell. In the lumber camp, the ten thousand workers began to evacuate. Most of them were quite upset. It was not easy for them to find a job that could keep them fed in winter. Were they losing it? They had been doing their job well until those strangers popped up. At first, Vincent, who seemed mean but was actually quite friendly, rode away quickly, and after he returned from the city, he ordered everyone to stop working and go home. So, it must because of those strangers. Many poor workers looked at the vague shadows at the edge of the woods. However blank they were, there was a hint of hatred in their eyes. The Druids that came here belonged to the Hollevin branch of Green Shade. Heather, as a new member, looked at the trees that had been chopped down and said with grief, "How dare they They''ve ruined such a huge forest after no more than seven days. Whoever initiated this logging project deserves a hundred death sentences." All the Druids were wearing long green robes with hoods that covered their faces. Black Thorn said coldly, "They''re very smart. They seem to have figured out who we are, but there''s no point in stopping now So many trees have been killed. They would think that there are no human Druids in Hollevin if we don''t slay the culprits." "My men are investigating the initiator of this project. The result will be out soon." A dozen more people were silent, their hands hidden in their long sleeves as if they were immobile statues. As they talked, Heather suddenly frowned. "Do you feel that a certain maliciousness is taking shape against us?" "I do." Black Thorn looked at the poor workers far away and said, "It''s them." "The sheep are bold enough to evince hostility to lions." Heather scoffed. "How interesting." When they talked, they found that the spellcaster who escaped earlier came back to them. The man stopped in front of the Druids and shouted, "Good sirs, why have you come to Delpon under disguise? I don''t think you''re here as visitors, are you?" Ignoring Vincent, Heather turned back and spoke to Heather, "This man is clearly one of the culprits. We should kill him first as deterrence." "Okay." The moment "okay" was uttered, Vincent threw out a blue Hand of Magic and seized Heather. In the meantime, he roared, "You want to kill me? Who do you think you are?" Smirks burst out from the dark hoods of the Druids at the same time. For the human Druids, the destroyers of nature were not living creatures but pure demons. Heather muttered, "Vines." Several green thorny vines extended from the ground like the tentacles of an octopus, tying up the blue hand and freezing it. Then, Heather pointed at Vincent, and three small tornadoes were formed before him and grew larger. At this point, Vincent roared, "Too slow!" He extended his right hand and made a shooting gesture at Heather, darting a red fireball at the enemy. But it was blocked by a green shield, although it successfully drove the three tornadoes away. "You''re rather gifted." Staring at Vincent, Heather said, "It''s a shame you will die here." Vincent, however, burst into crazy laughter. "I will die here? You idiots, did you not do any intelligence work before you came? I will die? Who do you think I am?" Vincent closed his hands and began to chant a spell. While stepping back, he mumbled, "XY52Z, 1X56Z45" As he chanted the coordinates, the blue light was more and more obvious on his body, until it formed an egg-shaped protective magic shield. The Druids were all stunned. A long time later, Black Thorn remarked, "He created a magic shield in no more than two seconds. That''s very fast." Heather said, "The spell he chanted was interesting too. I never heard it before." Vincent laughed even more delightedly, and his face was even getting twisted. "You think that was fast? Who are you insulting? I would''ve been too ashamed to use the spell if I can''t cast it instantly, morons." The Druids were not pissed. Instead, they looked at each other, and Black Thorn said, "I think something is not right. Let''s take this man alive and retreat first. We''ll decide what to do after we learn everything he knows." 404 Mages and Druids Are Differen What kind of freak was that? Although the Druids were confused, what they said was indeed sarcasm to Vincent, a proud young man from a rich family. Under normal circumstances, it was indeed something to be proud of for a Mage to activate their magic shield in two seconds. But the problem was that most players were perfectionists in their hearts, who loved to climb for higher goals. Roland, on the other hand, was the peak of Mages. Almost all other Mage players regarded him as a role model. Even those who weren''t Mage players would subconsciously compare a Mage to Roland when they evaluated that Mage. Roland could cast almost all the spells he was capable of silently and instantly. They had to do the same too, or it couldn''t prove that they had grasped the spell. Almost all the Mage players believed in that, and Vincent was not an exception. It had been a year since he came to the Magic Tower. He watched Roland master more and more spells and level up quickly. Now, the players were level five on average, but Roland was already level seven and soon to be level eight, higher than all the other players. He had been leveling up remarkably fast. For Vincent, if he could not cast a magic shield instantly, how could he protect himself in extremely harsh environments? Two seconds were more than enough for the Agility classes to kill him multiple times. Therefore, Vincent felt that they were mocking him. As a short-tempered rich kid, Vincent gathered a fireball in his hand that was about forty centimeters in diameter, before he charged with his magic shield on. Since they were only ten meters from each other, Vincent simply threw the fireball out after sprinting three meters. It was exactly the self-exploding Inferior Fireball that Roland uploaded to the forum on the third day after the game was launched. The orange fireball flew at the targets at a reasonable speed, but all the Druids were grave. They had sensed the enormous magic power and the danger of the fireball. Immediately, magic reactions were glittering. Vines grew quickly from the ground, turning from small to big and from bright green to verdant after only one second. They looked like infinite tentacles, or the flagella of a gigantic worm. Those "flagella" grabbed the flying fireball, followed by infinitely more vines that tied the fireball up like a cocoon. The fireball exploded, but the cocoon merely shivered with a weird dull noise, and nothing happened. Seeing that, Vincent was about to cast more fireballs. The magic shield cracked and was broken instantly. The vines quickly wreathed Vincent like flowing water. His bones were broken, and he was almost squeezed into a pulp of meat. But the Druids saved some of their strength. Vincent was still alive. Then, the vines were gone, leaving only one branch that was holding Vincent, who had lost the ability to fight. He was completely soaked in blood, and there was not an unscathed part of his body except his head. He looked like a disfigured monster. But he was still smiling. The pain was insufferable for regular people, but since it had been reduced to one-tenth, it was not enough to make Vincent scream. The Druids were all chilled by Vincent''s smile. They couldn''t understand how such a bloody man could be smiling. Confused, Heather stepped forward and asked, "You''re really unafraid of death?" "Why should I?" Vincent sounded weak but full of disdain. "It seems that you really haven''t investigated who we are." "Who are you?" "You''ve chosen to attack us. Why would I tell you? Hahahaha." Feeling that he was tricked, Heather extended his finger and was about to strangle Vincent. But suddenly, she sensed an immense magic reaction from the sky. The dozen people raised their heads at the same time, only to see a blue fireball quickly taking shape. Before they had the time to exclaim at how fast the fireball was being concentrated, it was upon them. Has it missed the target? Right when the Druids thought that, the fireball exploded and deafened them. Dizzily, they were flung away by the overwhelming, fiery blast. The flames soon caught up to them and burned the corners of their magic robes. The cluster of vines were partially burned, and the rest stood up like a wall to block the flames. The Druids rose from the ground and put out the fire on their robes, before they looked at the sky. A Mage in a blue magic robe was slowly descending. On the other hand, Vincent had been rescued, and a gorgeous lady with long golden hair in braids was standing before him. "Who are you?" Black Thorn felt that something was wrong. Roland didn''t say anything and simply cast Evil Detection. A bright blue circle of light swept past them. All the Druids'' faces changes, as if they had just been fed s*it. Evil Detection was a handy spell, but not used very frequently. It was often cast on strangers or suspects for mockery. Using Evil Detection on someone without saying anything was like a stranger saying to another stranger, "I suspect you are a thief. Take off your clothes and let me examine you." It was even more outrageous than that and a downright insult. Whoever received that spell would instantly become an enemy. Therefore, even the Saint Samurai of the Church of Light would not use the spell randomly. Scanning them with Evil Detection, Roland found that the dozen Druids were all emitting white light, which meant that they were neutral and not evil. "You jerk." Heather was the most imprudent one of the Druids. He opened his hands, trying to create vines again in this area to hang this man. But Roland snapped his finger, and a ring of ice froze the ground. The vines were frozen and couldn''t move anymore the moment they rose from the soil. When the Ice Ring reached the Druids, the special protective spells on them were triggered. As green light spread, the places they were standing on were immune from the ice. "Interesting." Roland turned around and cast a healing spell on Vincent, who was nearly dying. He had completely ignored the enemies. Evil Detection and his following action made all the Druids burst into rage. 405 Speculations on Alignmen Roland''s fireball made them feel quite complicated. They had inferred how strong Roland was, after experiencing the explosion in person. Roland performed Extreme Body Fortification on Vincent and asked, "Which of them hurt you?" Vincent looked much better. He couldn''t move yet, but he could focus his eyes on someone. He was staring at Heather. He didn''t know exactly who attacked him just now, but he could always vent his fury on his least favorite target. Heather, on the other hand, had been talkative and arrogant. Roland looked back at Heather and said to Andonara, "Let''s see what you''ve got." "No problem." Andonara laid her hand on the handle of her sword happily. At this point, Heather was panicking. Because the Great Swordsman focused on both Agility and Strength, they were not as brawny as pure Warriors. It was hard to tell how strong they were from their appearance. Besides, Andonara was a beautiful young woman who had a sexy body. Even though she was wearing leather armor and carrying a sword, one would inevitably think that she was just a noble lady who was wearing a costume to experience an alternate life. Even so, Heather was still panicked, knowing that whoever stood next to a powerful Mage couldn''t be weak. He was about to talk, when Andonara drew her sword. The sword was unsheathed as quickly as it was replaced. Something transparent seemed to flash by. At the same time, Heather was suddenly cut into symmetrical halves from the middle of his body. His guts and blood splashed everywhere. It was so fast! Roland only managed to see how Andonara attacked and the vague sword aura she launched in the air. If he were Heather, he probably would''ve been out of mana and blown ten meters away even with his magic shield on. A Mage without magic power could be killed as easily as an ordinary person would be by a Warrior. None of the Druids had seen Andonara''s movement clearly. Heather''s death changed their exasperation into shock and fright. Ignoring the body on the ground, Andonara looked at Roland with a smile, asking for his approval. The Druids were silent. After a long time, looking at the two halves of Heather and the rivers of blood, Black Thorn asked Roland slowly, "You killed our people without saying anything?" "Didn''t you try to kill our people?" Roland pointed at Vincent behind him. A Druid came close and declared, "You cut down countless trees and destroyed a big forest. You deserve death!" You want to debate with me? Roland had set a trap for them. If they admitted that they didn''t care about human beings, it was possible that those Druids would be more evil-aligned. It was also his test. Actually, after the incident with the black leaf players, Roland had been considering what evil meant, or how the six-winged angel judged evilness. Evil Detection was a level-two spell. Because of its taunting nature, Roland had never used it until the black leaf incident. After Andonara returned, Roland began to study the spell. Though it was rude to use the spell on outsiders, he could use it on those who were close to him. Under the scan, Vivian showed neutral white light, whereas Andonara gave brilliant gold light, a sign of Lawful Good. But Roland knew Andonara well; she was essentially a woman who preferred to stay home. It was understandable that she was neutral, but considering her unconventional opinion on love, she was more likely to be Chaotic Neutral than Lawful Good. The only thing she did recently was slay hundreds of black leaf players again and again. Therefore Evil Detection was more about what a person did, instead of who they were? After that, Roland secretly cast Evil Detection on many ordinary people late at night. The ordinary people couldn''t sense magic waves. Naturally, they didn''t know that Roland cast the spell on them. Roland considered them to be evil, which was why he ran the test on them. To Roland''s surprise, while some of them emitted feeble redness, indicating that they had done bad things, most of the subjects were neutral. One of the nobles who was extremely harsh on his servants and physically abused them was neutral too. Some of the slavers in the city were also neutral. Those people were all guilty from the perspective of the players, but Evil Detection deemed them to be innocent. Roland even thought that something was wrong with his spell. Then, he found that they had something in common, which was that they never really killed anyone, and that what they did befitted their identity. Therefore, the rules of this world had given them a blessing to do what they did. Roland found the conclusion unbelievable and almost cursed aloud. Making further extrapolations, Roland was able to understand a lot of things that he didn''t before. For example, the slavers who caught elves deserved to be killed in the players'' opinion, but no righteous human beings ever gave them a hard time. It was because slaves existed objectively and legally in this world. Even the righteous Saint Samurai could not say anything to the slavers. But the elves could. From the perspective of the elves, all the slavers who captured elves should be killed. Therefore, the result of Evil Detection had a lot to do with the target''s identity. Now, Roland had set up a trap to test if his guess was correct by making that statement. He was waiting for Black Thorn''s answer. As a Mage, Black Thorn had sharp instincts. He somehow felt that Roland''s question was malicious. Since they were enemies, it was reasonable that Roland was malicious. But the strong sense of insecurity made Black Thorn highly uncomfortable. He decided to think carefully before he gave an answer. But someone was less gingerly. One of the Druids, seeing that Black Thorn was silent, thought that he lost his courage. So, the Druid stepped out and roared, "How can human beings compare to nature? Ten untouchables are not as valuable as one tree." It was exactly what Roland was waiting for. He snapped his fingers and activated Evil Detection again. Everybody''s alignment was displayed in Roland''s eyes again. The Druid who just stood up showed less white light than earlier, but only slightly so. Therefore, what he said could not change his alignment greatly, but Roland''s guess was correct. Evil Detection was indeed based on races and identities. The Druids were even angrier. They felt that their pants had been taken off again when Roland did that. They were infuriated. If their faces in the hoods could be seen, one would see that veins were bulging on their foreheads. The Druid who just spoke pointed his finger at Roland rudely and was about to curse, but Andonara laid her hand on her sword. The Druid subconsciously put his hand down. Roland smiled and said, "We''re cutting down those trees. If you think trees are more important than human beings, you''re free to come to me. Now, please go. This is Delpon, not the Elf Forest." "We''re human beings, not elves!" Black Thorn declared ruthlessly. "But you''re no different from elves in my eyes." Roland smiled intimidatingly. "Delpon doesn''t welcome fake elves like you. We''ll decide what we will do with the things on our own territory. You outsiders don''t get a say in that. Now, get lost." The human Druids glared at Roland angrily and seemed about to say something. But after a time, they didn''t say anything, not even tough talk about what they would do next time they came. They simply covered Heather''s body with special vines, which consumed his flesh and left his bones, before they all left in frustration. Roland, on the other hand, took Vincent, who had been badly wounded, to the Magic Tower. On the bed, Vincent looked better after the simple treatment, but it would take at least five days for his skin and bones to recuperate. "Five days of absolute stillness on the bed, are you sure you can deal with that?" Roland suggested with a smile, "Why don''t you just die once? You''ll be as alive as can be in ten minutes." "No." Vincent turned down Roland''s suggestion quickly. "I''ve just reached level five. I''ll fall back to level four if I die, and my last three months of hard work would be for nothing." Roland chuckled. After level five, because of the increase of total experience, the experience loss in each death was truly heartbreaking. "Then I''ll command the workers to go back to work," said Roland. He was about to leave. "Wait. I need to ask you something." Roland stopped and asked, "What is it?" Vincent tried to turn his head to Roland and asked, "Why didn''t you kill the Druids just now? They might cause trouble again after they walk away." "They''re all neutral. It will be bad to kill them. Andonara lost a lot of gold light after killing one of them. If we killed them, we would''ve likely ended up like black leaf players." "So we''ll just hold back? I''m afraid that they will stir trouble in secret," said Vincent concernedly. "Don''t worry." Roland smiled and said, "I''ve already got a solution for them." 406 Come On, Battle of Public Opinion They were filled with a sense of safety when they felt the lush greenness and heard the chirping of the birds around them. All the Druids fell on the ground. Leaning against a tree, Black Thorn sighed and turned his hood down, revealing a face that was not very handsome but manly and weatherbeaten. He remarked, still frightened, "That woman is almost Legendary." The other Druids didn''t say anything. They had more or less guessed it. Otherwise, considering the temper of Green Shade, they wouldn''t have left obediently after one of their members died. It was only because they really couldn''t beat her. None of them saw clearly how the woman attacked. They had no idea what happened when Heather was killed. Besides, the woman was next to a fire-class Mage who could fly and seemed rather powerful. The big blue fireball did not seem even to be his most powerful attack. They didn''t stand any chance of winning. The Mage would''ve been tricky enough on his own. Their plants were most scared of fiery magic attacks, which meant that they were vulnerable to the Mage, not to mention that he was protected by a Warrior who was almost Legendary. They certainly would rather not recklessly enter conflict with such a team. Recalling the beautiful half-Legendary female Warrior, Black Thorn sighed and asked, "Didn''t they say that the strongest person in Hollevin is just a Master? Who''s that woman? How can she be half-Legendary when she''s so young?" Nobody could answer that. After all, they were barely involved with secular matters and weren''t aware of the latest news. Actually, they had very good reasons for that. This world had actually been changing very slowly. For thousands of years, there had been no great changes in general except for the rise and decline of certain noble families. Sometimes, a city would be absolutely the same after a hundred years, except for the change of the citizens'' names. Besides, they were not completely secluded, but would go out every couple of years for the latest news. After a while, someone asked, "What about Heather''s family?" Heather was a new member of the group. He was only recently married, and his wife was reasonably beautiful. Black Thorn thought a moment and said, "Don''t worry. I''ll take care of his family." The atmosphere immediately turned weird. Many people hesitated, but none dared to talk. A moment later, rustling sounds came from far away in the woods, indicating an intruder. All the Druids stood up and looked at the source of the sound warily. Soon enough, a person that they were quite familiar with showed up. They were all relieved. It was a plain-looking man, who couldn''t be distinguished at all if he was in a crowd. "I''ve got everything." The man took a breath and continued, "Delpon was previously led by the Johns, until Roland, a Golden Son, seized power. They''re cutting off the wood right now because Roland looked for a reason for the poor workers to work and be paid in winter. It''s just a sense-of-justice thing. Roland is a Mage as well as the chairman of the Magic Tower in Delpon." The same man''s face popped up in the Druid''s head, a face that they would rather beat up and spit on. Frowning, Black Thorn asked, "Golden Son? What does that mean?" The man swallowed and said, "Don''t be shocked, but the Golden Sons are human beings from an alternate dimension that the Life Goddess has invited here. Their greatest feature is that they''re undying." All the Druids were shocked. Some of the people on the ground even jumped to their feet. Black Thorn shook his head. "That''s not possible!" "It''s real," The intelligence agent said firmly. "I''ve asked twenty people, even with the enchantment spells of human beings. But the answer is the same. It''s already common knowledge that the Golden Sons can be resurrected." All the Druids looked at each other in bewilderment. Black Thorn looked awful. If the intelligence agent weren''t lying, they would be fighting monsters that they couldn''t possibly defeat. After a while, he said, "Let''s go back and report the matter to the headquarters in Fareins. We''ll wait for their instructions." Everybody found his suggestion reasonable and nodded simultaneously. On Roland''s side, he asked Andonara to oversee the project and ensure the lumber camp''s safety in place of the wounded Vincent. As for himself, he went to the Guild of Mercenaries and paid thirty gold coins for intelligence on Green Shade, and another thirty gold coins in the Guild of Assassins for the list of members in the Hollevin branch of Green Shade. The Guild of Assassins reminded him that the correctness of the list was not guaranteed, as it was hard to infiltrate Green Shade. They had done their best. Roland nodded and didn''t think that it was a big deal. He read the intelligence in the Magic Tower first, before he teleported himself to the capital. The capital was as prosperous as ever, and Roland found the Guild of Bards in a corner in the south of the city. The Guild of Bards was much smaller and more poorly decorated than the Guild of Mercenaries and the Guild of Assassins. Also, there were no guests here at all. Even the receptionist was taking a nap on the counter. Roland tapped the counter and woke up the receptionist. Then he said, "I would like to meet your chairman. I have a deal that''s worth at least fifty gold coins." Seeing Roland''s magic robe, and hearing the number that Roland proposed, the receptionist rushed upstairs in a hurry. Soon enough, a rather handsome middle-aged man wearing a gray-and-white robe came down. He invited Roland to a study on the second floor warmly. After the receptionist served fruit wine, he poured a cup for Roland and asked with a smile, "Sir, what business do you have in mind that needs our help?" "My name is Roland. I wonder, have you heard about Green Shade?" The chairman was briefly stunned. Then he continued with a smile, "Of course I have. Sir, you may call me Viki. How is this organization related to our business?" Roland took out a bag from his system backpack, with at least fifty gold coins inside. He said, "I don''t like this organization, so I''d like your bards to subtly slander them while they sing legends or knight stories in the taverns." Viki, chairman of the Guild of Bards, was stunned. He took a deep breath and said, "That can be dangerous." "This is the payment for the second month." Roland took out another bag. "Of course, you will be paid on the third month too. I wonder if you''re willing to accept the task." In the meantime, Roland opened the bag, and gold coins were sparkling inside. Thinking for a moment, Viki raised his head and grinned hideously. "How exactly do you want them to be slandered, sir?" 407 Flatten Their Moral High Ground Firs The Guild of Mercenaries, Guild of Assassins, Guild of Rogues were all wealthy, or at least could make ends meet. The Association of Mages was even full of magnates. Most of those guilds could accept contracts and they were very strong. Therefore, their members could find jobs anytime, providing taxes and revenues for their guild. As for the Bards Well, they weren''t capable fighters, and they weren''t as good at support as Priests. Unless it was absolutely necessary, no mercenaries would ever invite them on an adventure. Besides, while their teammates were fighting life-and-death battles, the Bards would be singing and playing musical instruments behind them Their partners couldn''t be happy even if they won a battle. More importantly, the enhancement of the Bards'' performance was indiscriminate, which meant that the enemy would be buffed too. Therefore, they were really not competent as teammates. Only after the Bards learned "Precise Push" at level five would they be able to enhance selected targets, but the problem was that the Bards could only level up slowly if they didn''t take part in battles. There were few Bards above level five. Even if they reached level five, they were still not as good as Priests of the same level, who were both sturdy and helpful. Therefore, Bards could only spend most of their time singing for alcoholics in the taverns. To make more money, many Bards even learned dirty songs. Even so, a Bard could earn no more than fifty coppers a night in tips. Sometimes, when the customers were too few, or too petty, they couldn''t earn any money at all, and the tavern would only offer them a couple of coppers as a gesture of kindness. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for a Bard to grow rich, and if they weren''t rich, their guild couldn''t have money either. Poor people had few ambitions. That was the truth in most cases. Of course, there were always exceptions who built up an enterprise from scratch purely based on their own capabilities. But those people were too rare, and Viki was clearly not one of them. He had been dazzled by a payment of 150 gold coins for three months. The headquarters of the Guild of Bards in Hollevin could only earn no more than twenty gold coins for a whole year with the taxes from the branches. Subtracting the maintenance cost and the salaries of the staff, it wouldn''t be bad if they had three gold coins left by the end of the year. Green Shade was indeed a tricky organization, but definitely not as tricky as poverty. Besides, it wouldn''t be a head-on clash. Viki didn''t think that it would be hard for the Bards to smear their reputation by singing. Anybody would be touched by someone who thought they were capable when the whole world thought they were garbage. Then, Roland discussed with Viki on how to delicately and gradually ruin Green Shade. For example, they would make up some stories where human Druids appeared as neutral but ended up as obstacles for the protagonists. Also, those human Druids would say philosophical things like: "Trees and beasts are part of nature, but human beings are not. Human beings are the disease of this world." "A human''s life can be compared to a seedling or a cub. Nature is merciful enough to let you log and hunt so that you can survive. But there is a finite quantity of wood you can cut and meat you can have, and you should die if you surpass that limit." "Nature is always right, and human beings are always vile." And so on! Also, in many stories, the contradictions between the protagonists who tried to save people and the human Druids who were determined to protect nature were depicted. For example, when a village suffered from a storm and many villagers were trapped in the flood, the protagonists were going to cut down trees and make rafts to save them, but the human Druids showed up and stopped them. Though the Druids were defeated in the end, a lot of time was wasted, resulting in the deaths of many villagers who could''ve been rescued. Or, in order to save the hundreds of thousands of residents in a city, the protagonists set up a fire on a mountain to stop the demons, buying time for the evacuation of the residents and indirectly saving them. But after the human Druids learned of it, they hunted the protagonists on account of their ruining nature. They also conspired with demons and nearly killed the protagonists. Similar incidents were mixed into the lore and the knight tales. Besides, Roland didn''t make them up. Similar things had been described in the intelligence he purchased from the Guild of Mercenaries and the Guild of Assassins, but few people knew of them. What Roland asked the Guild of Bards to do was to bring those things to light. Viki immediately declared that he would get the job done, and that there would be a huge difference in Hollevin within a couple of months. Before he left, Roland said, "If our cooperation turns out to be successful this time, we''ll definitely come to you again if we''re in need." "No problem." Grabbing the bag of gold coins, Viki bashed his chest. After seeing Roland off, he immediately asked his secretary to summon every person who had actual power in the guild and announced the big news excitedly. "We''ve finally had a big deal!" Viki was filled with hot tears at the meeting. Roland, on the other hand, teleported himself back to Delpon and continued supervising the logging project. After days of treatment, Vincent recovered. He dedicated himself to safety assurance and order maintenance again. Because Andonara, a half-Legend, was with them, they didn''t really have to worry about safety. Besides, Christina could watch over the workers at the lumber camp during the night and ensure their safety. Delpon had never been livelier. In the day, a swarm of people would leave the city, enjoy the white bread, and cut the trees diligently. At night, the same swarm of people would return with 150 grams of wheat. The quota for an individual was not much, but every poor family usually had a few workers taking part in the business. As a result, not only could they keep themselves fed and save their own food, but they could also return with around one kilogram of wheat. Though the income was not very much, the workers all felt hopeful and satisfied about the job. As long as they could be fed, they could survive the winter however cold it might be. They were genuinely grateful for the Magic Tower, which organized the project. As a general manager who focused on the big picture, Roland didn''t see the poor workers'' gratitude directly except for the numerical changes, like when they turned from Neutral to Friendly. But as for Andonara, Vincent, and the other magic apprentices in the front line, they had sensed it in person. The workers were scared of them at first, but they were now looking at the supervisors with more admiration than fear. Most people liked being treated positively, so the magic apprentices were even more hardworking. Even Andonara and Vincent felt very comfortable in such an environment. The workers spent another seven days on the job, cutting the last tree in the forest and shipping the timber away. The precious wood was moved to and stored in the Magic Tower''s warehouse. In the meantime, a lot of wild animals were hunted, and many plant magic materials were collected. When Vivian calculated the worth of the timber and the magic materials, she discovered, to her surprise, that the stock was twice as valuable as their total budget. Therefore, they didn''t lose a dime but actually made a fortune, not to mention the reputation that they earned. At the conclusion meeting of the Magic Tower, Vivian reported the result in disbelief. Neither Roland nor Vincent seemed surprised. Roland simply didn''t care about the gains or losses. In his opinion, certain costs were necessary in order to realize his plan. He never considered a profit. Although he had made a hundred gold coins, it wasn''t really important to him. As for Vincent, he didn''t even think that a hundred gold coins were money. As a rich kid, he donated millions of yuan to Silver Wings without asking for anything in return. That money was nothing for him. Andonara, Christina, and Jerry, on the other hand, were as shocked as Vivian. They had never thought that one could make a fortune by doing good deeds. It was a great eye-opener for them. Roland patted the table and said, "We have to clear the land next. Like before, Andonara and Vincent will ensure the workers'' safety and order under the help of the magic apprentices. Vincent and Jerry, you will investigate with the Black Sand Gang and find the real poor households and how many people each family has. Make a list. We''ll distribute the land later according to the census." Everybody nodded and accepted the task. Roland announced that the meeting was over. Then, a guard reported to him that a Priest wanted to meet him. A Priest? Roland realized that the reliable Priest that Hawk recommended was finally here. He went down the Magic Tower with Andonara and saw a female player at the door. She was wearing chain armor, carrying a square shield, and holding a gigantic hammer. She looked very intimidating. Reliable Definitely reliable. She was definitely a great helper in battles. Andonara looked at her face and then her breasts. She then slightly nodded. The female player was plain-looking which meant that she didn''t add any of her points to Charm. That was highly unusual for female players. Roland walked to her and asked, "Are you Hawk''s friend?" "Yes, I''m a Priest from the Water God Church. I''m told that you are in dire need of a supporter and muscle, so I came here on foot happily." 408 Inhumane Smearing Roland had heard about the church before. It was a small church that worshiped a virtuous goddess. But the problem was that this church had never been reputable. It was not because the members of this church were untrustworthy or treacherous, but because the Priests of this church were rather funny. The core doctrine of this church was to hold yourself back as much as possible before a battle. But actually, the believers of this church never bothered to hold themselves back. That was not really impressive. What was really amazing was that they were all battle maniacs who could blow up their armor. They could literally blow up their armor. It was a rather powerful skill. Armor Detonation: When you''re in peril, you can tear apart your equipment and burst it to deal powerful penetrative damage to your enemies in front of you. In the meantime, your speed, health, and magic resistance will be significantly improved, based on your Resolve and the quality of your armor. The duration of the enhancement is based on your Resolve (Praise the cute and sexy Water God). The Water God''s intention was simple. She hoped that her believers could fight back or escape with Armor Detonation when they were in danger. Yet the Priests of the Water God Church used this skill more often than they should. They wouldn''t care if they were really in danger. As long as they ran into a worthy opponent, they would blow up their armor and simply charge at the target. The problem was that armor could be expensive, especially the high-quality ones. The effect of this skill, on the other hand, was highly dependent on the quality of the armor. Therefore the best Priests in the Water God Church were the poorest Priests, because they had blown up too many armor suits. No wonder the girl said that she came here on foot. It was obviously meant to save money. Looking at her, Roland couldn''t help but ask, "How many sets of armor have you prepared?" "Don''t worry. I''ve kept thirteen armor suits in my system Backpack," the Priest declared quickly, "They''re definitely enough." "But something happened on my side. We can''t set off yet," said Roland. The Priest stared at Roland, waiting for him to continue. She believed that Roland must''ve made arrangements for her. Roland was glad that she was so patient. He said, "So, we will hire you as our security manager for the time being and pay you five silver coins a day, how does it sound?" The Priest grew excited . "Five silver coins. That''s eight hundred yuan. Not bad at all. I''ll take it." The Priest and Roland both found it worthwhile. Another reason that made Roland feel that his payment was worth it was that the Priests of the Water God Church were the only Priests who could heal unlimitedly. Armor Detonation was the lifesaving skill of the Water God Church, but their essential skill was Battle Boon. Battle Boon: Every time you deal damage to an enemy, you will cast Rapid Healing on yourself or your teammate. Many people thought that the Church of Life was best at healing, but they were wrong. The Water God Church was actually the best, but they were never discussed because they were too few. Rapid Healing was as effective as Advanced Treatment, and it didn''t have any side effects. Therefore, the Priests of the Water God Church were never scared of injuries. It was said that they fought like Berserkers. The Priest''s arrival did not raise too much attention. After all, the people in Delpon had already grown accustomed to the Golden Sons. In the ten days that followed, the remains of the forest was burned to the ground and changed into farmland. The timber that was piled next to the lumber camp was used to build cottages too. Thanks to the plan that Roland made in advance, a small town was established quickly. The town was named Aden. A road that connected Delpon and Aden was also paved before the first blizzard. At this point, forty days had passed. The homeless poor people were settled down in Aden. Everybody had a place to live in and a piece of farmland. The rest of the timber was chopped into firewood and distributed to every household in Aden. Roland had done everything he could. If anybody starved or died from cold, it would be their own problem, not nature''s fault. As snowflakes fell from the sky, Roland listened to Vivian''s report inside the warm study. "Old Conan Doyle got 32 points, Gru got 27, more than twenty people got 15 to 20 points, and more than forty people got 10 to 15 points. I didn''t calculate the rest." Closing the notebook, Vivian asked in a low voice, "Have we given away too many points?" "No. We''ve gathered more than forty level-one spells in our Magic Tower. Thirty-two points are not even enough to learn all of them. It''s not too many at all." Roland said with a smile, "Old Conan Doyle almost went bankrupt for those points. We should be generous. Besides, it won''t be easy for them to garner points again later." Vivian was relieved. "As long as you have a plan." Roland had a bite of Vivian''s cake, which was as delicious as ever. "In a day or two, Vincent, Andonara, the Priest from the Water God Church, and I will go out. The Magic Tower will be in your hands." Greatly surprised, Vivian waved quickly. "No, no, that''s too much for me." "It''s all right. You are an official Mage now," Roland said with a smile. "When I took over the Magic Tower from Aldo, I had just become an official Mage too. Besides, you''ve been following up the work in the Magic Tower. I''m sure you''ll do a great job." Vivian said bitterly, "But I''m not very confident in myself." "If you run into any problems, you can ask Christina for advice. Though she''s practically useless in the day, she has a lot of life experience since she has lived decades." Vivian thought for a moment and accepted the task. "Okay, but be back soon." "Of course we will." Roland looked at the snow outside of the window and said, "No place can compare to a home that you build yourself." Vivian nodded in agreement. Since they wouldn''t set off until tomorrow, Roland was free for the rest of the day. Feeling lazy, he decided to take a walk to relax. There were few passersby on the street. Most people were hiding at home to keep themselves warm. But Roland found that every tavern was crowded and tumultuous. Recalling the deal he made with Viki about a month ago, he went into one of the taverns and checked the progress. He covered his head with the hood of his magic hood, hiding his face in shadow, which was a classic way for Mages to play mysterious. The civilians subconsciously fell quiet when they saw the Mage, but when they found that the Mage went to a corner and didn''t talk, they grew bold again and resumed their carnival. The Bard, on the other hand, continued his narration amongst the heavy stench of alcohol, "Druid Aslan, holding his dying partner Kira in his arms, cried, ''Don''t worry, Kira. I''ll treat your wife like my own wife, and love your daughter as my wife too. You can rest in peace'' Then, Kira pointed his shivering fingers at Aslan and kicked the bucket." The alcoholics immediately scoffed at the shamelessness of this Aslan. Some of them made dirty gestures, raising another round of laughter. Roland was rather dumbfounded. Wait! I didn''t ask Viki to smear them like that, did I? Is that really something a decent man should do? 409 Arrival at Bluewater Harbor The Bard narrated that Aslan buried Kira in grief and returned to the secret base of the Hollevin branch of Green Shade, where he informed Kira''s wife of the devastating news. Then, under Aslan''s consolation and coercion, Kira''s frightened wife had to accept him. Here, the Bard even sang a dirty song about the helplessness of Kira''s wife in bed, which captivated the alcoholics. In the end, Aslan laid his hands on Kira''s twelve-year-old daughter. But at this point, Kira''s wife burst into rage. Determined to protect her daughter, she stood up to Aslan. Aslan, infuriated, didn''t punish the mother and the daughter, but exiled them from the base of Green Shade. Eventually, they went missing, never to be seen again. That was the end of the narrative poem. The alcoholics who just came back to themselves from the dirty song all despised Aslan. Even the bottomfeeders had morals in their hearts. Claiming someone else''s wife and even his daughter was definitely heinous. Besides, earlier in the story, Green Shade had been hamstringing the protagonists under the excuse that they were protecting nature. The audience had long been angry with them even without the ending. Roland was quite satisfied. Though the Guild of Bards seemed to have crossed the line in their smearing, Green Shade, who considered human beings a disease, would never come to a humble place like a tavern, so they could never hear it. Therefore, they would have no reaction to the Bards'' smear campaign. By the time they realized something was wrong, it was possible they would already be a public enemy in Hollevin. When that day came, Roland would be happy to see if they would judge human beings from their moral high ground again. Roland returned to the Magic Tower from the tavern. It was already late at night. Andonara was lying in bed when she heard his footsteps. She immediately walked out. She was wearing an almost transparent nightgown, same as the one that she wore when Roland first met her. She was very alluring. Taking a deep breath, Roland sat down at the edge of the bed. Andonara embraced him softly, warm and flagrant. They cuddled for quite a while. Roland had to admit that the premarital lessons of the royal family were indeed extraordinary. They sat next to each other, shoulder to shoulder. Andonara asked in a low voice, "Is this trip because of me?" "Yes. Hawk said that a sword is sealed in that place, and that the flames it emits are blue, like yours." Andonara said happily, "Actually, you don''t have to go out for me. You can focus on your own business. I''m satisfied just to be with you." "That''s fine. I don''t have anything else to do anyway." Roland waved his hand. Roland shrugged. "That sword," Andonara whispered, "it may be my great-grandfather''s weapon, Sword of the Hero. I heard about it when I was little. I only knew that it was hidden somewhere by my great-grandfather. I didn''t expect that the Golden Sons would find it!" Roland was rather surprised. "Why would Hero Kelter hide it instead of leaving it to his children?" "I don''t know." Andonara shook her head, her blonde hair flowing like waves. "He didn''t leave any of his Hero equipment for us. I don''t know why." "Maybe it''s in Cage''s book!" Roland thought a moment and said, "I''ll ask around in Reed Village before we set off tomorrow." Andonara said, "That''s not a bad idea. He might have had a special reason. It''s a shame that you can''t take anyone with you when you teleport, or I would visit my uncle too." "Do you want me to bring any gifts for you?" asked Roland. "Yes, I should prepare some gifts." Andonara got up and covered herself in a coat. Then, she was busy. About half an hour later, Andonara returned with meatloafs, fruits, and some seasonings. She gave all of them to Roland and asked him to put them in the system Backpack. Then, she returned to bed and went to sleep. As a player, Roland didn''t need to sleep. He continued optimizing spells, this time those concerning magic arrays. Christina didn''t know much about magic arrays. Her contractual magic array was just something she memorized. But through his own analysis and mathematical modeling, Roland had grasped some of the basic applications of magic arrays. For example, he had learned how to embed spells into the magic arrays through their shells. He had found the door to the knowledge. What he needed to do next was to open the door so that he could learn all about magic arrays. That being said, he didn''t have sufficient data for magic arrays, even though he had acquired a lot of data with mathematical models. He still lacked something critical. Though he had found the door, he still needed a key, or a bomb. If only he could find information on other magic arrays. Regretfully, nobody in the Association of Mages in Hollevin knew magic arrays. When it was dawn, Roland left the Magic Tower and went to Reed Village by teleportation. Then, he rang the bell of Cage''s manor. Soon, Cage walked down with a woman in heavy makeup that looked like a prostitute. Roland raised his eyebrow. Cage stuffed a silver coin into the woman''s cleavage and said to her, "Your service is quite good. I''ll ask for you again next time." The woman hesitated with the silver coin. In the end, she sighed at Cage and left unwillingly. After she left, Cage directed Roland to his living room and smiled. "You must''ve been embarrassed to see that. Please don''t tell Andonara. I would rather keep my image as an uncle before her." Roland nearly coughed up the tea in his mouth. He said helplessly, "With all the dirty talk you spoke in front of Andonara, I''m sure that your image has been ruined since a long time ago." Cage chuckled but didn''t say anything. Roland thought for a moment and asked, "Why don''t you marry again if you have such a strong need? It shouldn''t be hard for you to find another beautiful lady, right?" "Forget it." Cage shook his head. "As you know, the Reeds are cursed. I already got my wife killed. I would rather not harm anyone else." Roland sighed. Sensing that the atmosphere was heavy, Cage changed the topic. "Right, how is Anna?" "She''s doing fine. Healthy and pretty." "She''s a lot stronger than before, isn''t she?" asked Cage. Roland was briefly stunned. "You know about that?" "I heard it. The Bards in many taverns were singing about her stories where she killed the black leaf Golden Sons. The descendants of the Hero bloodline always grow fast when they remove evils," Cage said in great comfort. "I know that she was avenging me and the victims in Winterwind, so I''m quite happy." Now that they were talking about Andonara, Roland seized the chance to take out the gifts from his Backpack and stacked them in a corner of the living room. Though the gifts weren''t expensive, they were a gesture of love. After Roland sat down again, Cage smiled and said, "You must be here for something else, aren''t you?" As a senior who had traveled to a lot of places and met a lot of people, he knew that Roland had a purpose here. Roland nodded and told him about the fiery sword. Cage shook his head unconcernedly. "The book did not mention the fate of the Hero equipment, so I''m not sure if the fiery sword you described is the one that Kelter used. You can take it if you want. Why bother asking me?" "The sword belongs to the Reeds." "Anna is a member of this family too. It''s fine for her to claim it, isn''t it?" Cage said angrily. "Don''t think that we won''t acknowledge her anymore after she follows you." Well Roland felt that he had underestimated Cage''s generosity. After chit-chatting with Cage for a while, Roland said goodbye to him. After all, the rest of the team were waiting for him to go to Bluewater Harbor. Teleporting back to Delpon from Reed Village, Roland shook his dizzy head and met the fully-armed Andonara, lightly-suited Vincent, and the girl from the Water God Church at the city gate. The Priest girl was named Liz. She seemed to be a college student. The system Backpack of the players was very convenient. Roland bought a carriage, and Liz drove it. They did not hire a driver. As a Priest of the Water God Church, she worked hard to make money every day, and she had ridden too many carriages. She even picked up a specialization, Carriage Familiarity. Not only could she drive a carriage smoothly and quickly , but even the horses would need less food. It was not scientific at all. Bluewater Harbor was not far from Delpon, and there was no trouble on the way. It only took them five days to reach the gate of Bluewater Harbor. Before they entered the city, they had smelled the intense stink of seawater. The city gate was wide open, and caravans were entering and exiting busily. More importantly, no taxes were levied on those who entered the city, exactly like Delpon after Roland controlled it. In the city, Roland looked at the streets that were even busier than those in Delpon and remarked, "The mayor of this city must''ve either hired players as advisors or been usurped by players, like in Delpon." Vincent asked in surprise, "How so?" "The business atmosphere here is too intense. Also" Pointing at a team who was patrolling the street, Roland said, "Do you not find their gait familiar?" The patrolling team was strutting in goose steps, like soldiers who were trained for parades. 410 How I Envy Them After a long time, Vincent said, "We have conclusive proof that the sheriff in Bluewater Harbor must be a player, but we don''t know about the tax officer yet." "Do you want to meet them?" Liz jumped off from the carriage and said, "This is their territory anyway. Wouldn''t it be rude if we don''t pay them a visit?" Roland waved his hands. "That''s unnecessary. We''re not here to make trouble. If any tourist has to visit the player in charge, I would''ve been occupied every day in Delpon." Vincent chuckled. Liz felt that it did make sense. She only proposed the suggestion because of her habit as a Priest of the Water God Church. It was a rule of the Water God Church that their Priests had to register in the temples of the church when they visited other cities if there were such temples. That was a measure to help locate those Priests. After all, the Water God Church was too small. If anything happened to the Priests, it would be easier to investigate if they knew where the missing person last showed up. Though the Priests of the Water God Church were battle maniacs, they were quite united amongst themselves. Roland and his crew checked in at an inn and took a rest for the day. Then, they asked the boss how to rent a boat in Bluewater Harbor, not one of the cargo boats but only one that could accommodate a couple of people. But the boss whispered to them, "K?mpfer the White Beard is the boss at the port. He''ll only charge some taxes if you are a capable merchant team with your own boats, but it wouldn''t be so simple when there are only so few of you, especially not when you have a beautiful woman with you." Roland frowned. "Is the local sheriff not doing his job?" "She certainly is. The new sheriff is very nice. The city is much safer than before." The boss sighed and said, "But it''s really tricky on the port. K?mpfer the White Beard has a dozen professionals and hundreds of sailors under his command. Even the sheriff can do nothing about him for now." Roland thought a moment and said, "It seems that we really need to pay the sheriff a visit." His companions all heaved a sigh too. Then, they went to the city hall. Hardly had they revealed their identity when they were let in by the guards, who seemed to be expecting them. In the room, Roland and his team had just sat down, when a brawny woman who had a pretty face walked in. Seeing her look, Roland knew that she was a Warrior who focused on Charm. She was a typical battlefield commander. High Charm allowed her to learn many commanding skills, and a strong constitution ensured her survival on the battlefield. While pure Warriors were focused on individual strength, the Charm Warriors relied on teamwork. The woman named Brenda smiled at them and looked at Roland. "You''re finally here, Roland." Stunned, Roland connected the leads in his head and slapped his thigh. "We''ve been tricked. Hawk intentionally manipulated me to come here." Both Vincent and Liz were confused. Brenda chuckled. "As expected of a Mage. You''re truly responsive. It''s true that we manipulated you to come here, but we didn''t lie to you. There''s indeed a blue fiery sword sealed on an offshore island." Andonara pulled Roland''s arm and asked, "What''s wrong? How did Hawk manipulate us? Is the sword not real?" It was really true that women with bigger boobs tended to have less brains. Roland sighed and said, "They''re from the same guild. I imagine that Hawk and Link were here for a while, but you couldn''t deal with the criminal group that occupies the port, so you drew us here with the fiery sword." Brenda personally poured a cup of fruit tea and gave it to Roland with both hands. "Hawk didn''t have a choice. After all, things didn''t end well between Silver Wings and you. He couldn''t simply ask you to help us. But when you''re offered a piece of intelligence on some good equipment, you can clear some villains and accomplish some quests for it. Isn''t it much more acceptable?" Roland shook his head but chuckled a moment later. Though Hawk played a trick, it was not too annoying. The man''s intelligence was real. Though they were slightly manipulative, they had expressed their sincerity by giving away what was likely to be a piece of epic equipment. "Then let''s talk about this K?mpfer at the port." "So you''re willing to help?" Brenda''s eyes sparkled. Roland nodded. At this point, he had to help them, or this trip would be for nothing. "Thank you." Brenda couldn''t be more delighted. Then, she introduced the situation at the port. As it turned out, the port at Bluewater Harbor was actually not controlled by the mayor of the city. The mayor had a lot of troops, but they weren''t good at sea battles. K?mpfer the White Beard conquered the port with six warships thirty years ago, but they didn''t attack the mayor because they were bad at land battles. There was nothing the mayor could do about the six warships, either. They were caught in this predicament for years. After they both lost a lot of men, an unspoken agreement was established. The taxes of Bluewater Harbor were divided into halves. K?mpfer levied taxes on the business ships, and the cargoes would be taxed again on the land by the mayor. It would be fine if it was only about taxing, but the problem was that K?mpfer often crossed the line. Now and then, he would capture the women in the city and sell them to other cities as slaves. Also, the areas near the port were very unsafe. Crimes happened all the time. Brenda said, "After I took the post of sheriff, I confronted K?mpfer''s men more than twenty times, with more losses than victories. I only managed to maintain the situation and even reclaim some of the areas he occupied because I''m undying, but that was the best I could do. The enemy is very cunning. He would go back to his warships and seal the port if things didn''t look right. In the end, we had to negotiate with him and apologize to him." "So you want me to blow up his warships?" "Yes." Brenda nodded. "It''s barely possible for other people, but it''s as easy as pie for a high-altitude bomber like you." "Not a problem. Why don''t you describe the warships for me?" Delighted, Brenda said, "They''re easy to recognize. There are altogether six warships, all anchored outside of the port, with the symbol of a white-bearded old man on their sails." Roland pointed at the table and said, "Heat the wine for me. I''ll be back shortly." Then, he turned around and left. Vincent gasped. "I found that scene very familiar." Brenda thought that she had seen it from somewhere else too. At this point, Liz said gloomily, "It''s how Lord Guan cut Hua Xiong while his wine was still warm[1]! After a daze, Vincent burst into fury and slapped the table. "Damn it, that''s so awesome. I''m so jealous of him. I want to be as cool as him! Why can''t I? Why?" [1] a story from Romance of the Three Kingdoms 411 Seal Lifted Though he trusted Brenda, he was careful enough to fly above a warship with Human Cannonball and cast Evil Detection downward. Then, redness glittered all over the warship. He cast Evil Detection on another warship, only to find that it was brimming with redness too. Hovering in the sky, he found that every warship was so red that they were almost black. Without any hesitation, he rained fireballs down. Those fireballs weren''t too huge, only about one meter in diameter. Probably because they never encountered Mages before, those warships weren''t prepared for a flying Mage. Though many archers were shooting Roland, most of them missed the target, and the arrows of those who did shoot Roland were deflected by his magic shield. Roland''s fireballs, on the other hand, were thrown to the middle of the warships and blew them into halves, sinking them. After blowing up three warships in a row, the remaining three warships grew anxious and raised their sails. But it took time for a warship to sail away. Its acceleration would be very slow before it could reach the highest speed. Besides, even if it reached the highest speed, so what? Could it be faster than Human Cannonball? One minute later, sending the last three warships to the bottom of the sea with blue fireballs, Roland returned to the city hall. Hardly had he entered the room when Vincent tried to put a simple green hat on his head. He said angrily, "You want to play Lord Guan? Wear a green hat[1] first!" Lost for words, Roland slapped the green hat away. Liz and Brenda watched the drama with a smile. Andonara wasn''t familiar with the interaction of the players. She was puzzled by their interaction, wondering why Roland hated the green hat so much. It looked fine to her. Vincent only made the joke on Roland because they were very familiar with each other. After the fuss, Brenda stood up and said, "It''s the patrol team''s responsibility now. Roland, thank you for tolerating our trick. When you return from the raid, I''ll buy you a great dinner as an apology." Estimating that K?mpfer the White Beard would fight with his life now that he lost his warships, Roland asked, "Do you need our help?" "We can handle it." Brenda stood up and said, "This is the responsibility of the Bluewater Harbor Patrol. If we ask for other people''s help will everything, then our job here will be pointless." "Someone might be killed," said Vincent. Brenda stood up with glittering eyes. "That danger is expected of members of the patrol team who are paid much higher than the civilians are." Roland asked curiously, "What''s your profession in reality?" "A special police officer." Then, Roland and his team enjoyed a great show. Losing the warships that were his shelter, K?mpfer the White Beard initiated a desperate charge at the mayor''s office with a hundred men. But Brenda was long prepared for that. She had set up an ambush of a thousand heavily armored soldiers on the way, who surrounded the hundred men. The spears of those soldiers rose like a forest. Even though K?mpfer had a dozen professionals under his command, they were not strong enough to change the course of a battle on land. Besides, Brenda was a commander player who had three commander auras, namely the Valiance Aura, the Attack Speed Aura, and the Defense Aura. Her highly remarkable skills doubled the combat ability of her troop, making the soldiers as good as professionals of the lowest level. It was impossible for K?mpfer the White Beard to win. He was only good at sea battles. The battle was over in an hour. The hundred pirates were all executed save a few. Roland was nearby when K?mpfer was caught. A few soldiers took K?mpfer, who was covered in blood and too weak to move, to Brenda. He was a very strong old man. Had it not been for his white hair and the wrinkles on his face, he would''ve impressed anyone as a young man with his physique and firm muscles. The man stared at Brenda arrogantly and glanced at Roland''s team. Eventually, his eyes focused on Roland with hatred. "It was you! It was you!" K?mpfer struggled crazily, his eyes bulging. "We had no grudge in the past. Why did you blow up my warships? Why?" Vincent was wearing a gray robe, and Roland, a blue one. K?mpfer saw vividly from a tavern at the port that someone in blue blew up his warshipshis fortunes, his shelter, his futurefrom the sky. He had been enjoying himself at Bluewater Harbor like a king, but after only one moment, the world was changed. Looking at the old man who was struggling and roaring, Roland subconsciously cast Evil Detection on him. The man was glittering red. Roland shook his head and ignored him. Andonara and the rest followed him away. Brenda was quite fast. Half a day later, K?mpfer was judged in public in the square and hanged. Tens of thousands of people took part in the trial. Everybody cheered after he was hanged. They had suffered because of K?mpfer long enough. At night, the mayor, who had never showed up, appeared at the celebration party with his son Theodore. Theodore was not interested in the Golden Sons, not as much as he was in Andonara, but Andonara simply ignored him. After a few failed attempts, the young man went to a corner, bummed. The next day after the celebration party, Roland received a boat from the mayor with a whole crew. The island was actually not far away from the port. It could be seen on the horizon from the higher places in the city. Roland could''ve flown there, but he was not confident of accomplishing the raid on his own. The sea was different from rivers in that the waves in the sea were much higher than those in rivers even without wind. Many people thought that any boat could go to sea, but this was wrong. The boats built for rivers generally had flat bottoms, and they could be toppled over easily by the waves in the sea. The boats built for the sea usually had round bottoms, which made them steadier. But even so, this particular boat trembled on the way to the island. Vincent''s face was pale, and he threw up multiple times. Andonara and Liz were sturdier and didn''t feel sick. As for Roland having experienced the dizziness after Long-Distance Teleportation, he could barely feel the shaking. The journey did not seem long, but it took the boat almost four hours before it reached the destination. It was almost three in the afternoon. Stepping on the soft silver beach, Roland took out Hawk''s map and calculated the distance. Then he said, "Let''s walk two hours first. When we''re close, we''ll take a rest for the night so that we can be rejuvenated." "Okay, no problem." Everybody agreed with the plan. Barely anyone had ever been to this island. Weeds and thorns were everywhere, making the trip rather difficult. Roland cleared the way for everybody with a pair of gigantic Hands of Magic. He also had two shield-wielding puppets who forged ahead. Few large animals could be found on this sea island, but there were plenty of venomous snakes. After two hours, Roland''s team found a place that was relatively flat. He built a two-story building with Mud to Stone, with a few air holes on the roof. Then, they took a rest inside. To be honest, the snakes here were quite disgusting, but thankfully, Roland had built a safe house with his spell. They had some food to replenish themselves on the clean and cool second floor. But when it was late at night, Andonara suddenly held her chest and looked at the center of the island uncomfortably. "What''s wrong?" asked Roland. "Something seems to be calling me from there." Andonara furrowed her beautiful brow. "But another power that makes me very uncomfortable is urging me to get away." Everybody looked at her strangely. "Will it affect your combat ability?" Andonara shook her head. "Then take a rest first." Roland thought for a moment and said, "Let''s see how it will turn out tomorrow." The next morning, they had some random breakfast and took off. It was not until noon that they finally found the cave marked on the map. Looking at the dark cave, Roland remarked, "This is really an inconspicuous place. How did Hawk find it?" "Maybe with his habit of exploration," Liz explained. "You Mages study the nature of magic every day, but for us who don''t study magic, there''s nothing we can do except explore the map when we''re free." Fair enough. Those physical classes could indeed get rather bored if they didn''t have any battles they could fight. Andonara, on the other hand, looked at the cave with great discomfort. Roland had been observing her expression. Seeing her reaction, he said, "Let''s just abort!" "I''m not uncomfortable." Andonara shook her head and explained, "It''s more of a palpitation. My instincts tell me that this is a dangerous place and we shouldn''t be here, but they''re also telling me that I should go in and check it out. So I''m in a dilemma." She felt such foreboding when she was almost Legendary? Roland thought for a moment and said, "Why don''t you stay here and let us explore it? We can be resurrected." Andonara shook her head. "I''m going in with you." Roland thought some more and replied, "Okay, but remember that you should run immediately if you''re in danger. You can''t be resurrected like us." Andonara nodded. All four of them entered the cave. Liz, who had been fully armed, led the team. After about three minutes, they saw a gigantic space. The space was not natural but hollowed by someone. The cavern was tall and wide, with about a hundred blue fiery birds flying inside. They shrieked and swooped at the intruders. According to their plan, everybody was about to shoot down those fiery birds. But Andonara suddenly said, "Don''t do anything!" Everybody looked at her weirdly. Andonara stepped forward and extended her right hand, and blue flames started burning on her fingertip. Those little fiery birds immediately stopped and flew to a sword that had been stabbed into the ground at the center. Roland and his team didn''t notice the sword until this moment. When the fiery birds all lunged to the sword, it was wreathed in blue flames that veiled the sword. They could see nothing but a dark shadow underneath the flames. Then, the flames spread along the body of the sword and soon reached the ground. After that, blue stripes glittered one after another, constituting an enormous blue magic array that looked like a spider web. The whole cavern was illuminated by the blue light. Vincent sighed and said, "Hawk said that those fiery birds were very tricky. They''re immune to physical attacks and can only be destroyed with magic, but they can regenerate. I didn''t know that you could get rid of them so easily." He peeped at Andonara as he talked and then looked at Roland enviously. Not only could this NPC get rid of the birds, but she could also do other things like warming the bed He was too jealous. Roland squatted and threw a stone into the magic array, but there was no reaction. He turned around and asked Andonara, "How do you feel?" "Better." Andonara nodded. "I''m going to draw the sword now." "Wait." Roland stopped Andonara and said, "We don''t know the purpose of this magic array. It could be a trap. Let me try it first." After he said that, he asked the two shield-wielding puppets to pluck the sword. But the puppets were burned into basic elemental particles by the blue flames the moment they touched the sword. "Very powerful." Roland thought a moment and remarked, "It seems that we can only toughen up now. Liz, you are a Priest of the Water God. Do you have any irrigation spells?" "No," Liz said helplessly, "I''m a Battle Priest. All my skills are for battles." "Then let me do it," Roland said. "I''ll turn this place into a swamp with Rock to Mud to sink the sword and destroy the magic array. That should be able to put out the fire on the sword." At this point, Andonara said, "That''s unnecessary. I''m going to draw the sword out." "But" Andonara said with a smile, "The blue flames can''t hurt me. After all, it''s a special ability of my family." After a brief silence, Roland reminded her, "Remember, run immediately if anything goes wrong." "Got it." Andonara was very happy that Roland cared about her so much. If other people weren''t around, she would''ve jumped into his arms and made out with him. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the magic array and grasped the handle of the sword. By doing that, she seemed to have triggered a certain mechanism. The blue flames were simply concentrated and absorbed by the sword. The brilliance of the blue magic array died down too, revealing the real appearance of the sword. The handle of the sword was bright gold, but its body was blue, with florescences flowing inside. They were the only two colors on the sword. It seemed plain but left an extraordinary impression on everybody. Hardly had Andonara exerted her strength when the sword was drawn. Then, shadows of flames surged inside Andonara''s blue eyes. Five seconds later, Andonara said, "I''ve acquired a memory. Roland, get out of the cave right now and prepare for battle. It''s coming out." [1] referring to a man who''s been cuckolded 412 The Real Devil King Roland''s team immediately exited the cave. When they just got out, the whole mountain began to shake. With rumbling noises, tremendous black magic power surged out of the cave, chilling everybody and giving them goosebumps. Also, the magic power smelled horrible, almost like rotten durian. "We need to go back further." Holding the blue sword, Andonara said solemnly, "We''ll be faced with an evil god." Her teammates all looked weird after hearing that. Vincent licked his lips and said nervously, "An evil god? That''s rather a lot. A god must be at least above level fifteen, right? The queen is close to Legendary, but the rest of us are merely Elites. Can we really deal with it?" "It seems that we can''t escape now even if we want to," Liz declared passionately. "Let''s fight the battle first." She raised her square shield before her and shouted excitedly with her hammer raised high, "Lovely Lady of Water, please bless your loyal believer with courage." A blue streak of light descended from the sky and formed a watery shield around Liz. "Sexy Lady of Water, please bless your loyal believer with power." Another streak of light fell. "Beautiful Lady of Water" Despite the enormous earthquake before them, everybody was distracted by Liz''s unique prayer. Vincent was slightly anxious at first, but he only wanted to laugh at this point. Roland quickly cast Extreme Body Fortification, Swiftness, and other buffs on everybody. In the meantime, he turned around and asked, "Andonara, is the thing that''s coming out powerful?" "Yes and no." Andonara thought for a moment and said, "It should be very weak at this point, after being sealed for a hundred years." Looking at her sword and sensing the boiling power inside her caused by the magic buffs from Roland, she said, "We can win!" "Okay! Let''s try it." Hardly had Roland spoken when a strand of black light shot out of the cave. Roland''s team reacted fast enough and dodged it. The black light drew a circle and expanded the entrance of the cave. Then, a giant three meters tall, with horns on his head and crimson skin, thudded out. With every step he took, the earth would tremble slightly. He looked similar to a human being, but his cheeks were more chiseled and covered in monstrous scales. His eyes were blue and black. Seeing him, Roland was immediately reminded of the specter he came across at Reed Village. "Diablo." Roland took a deep breath. Vincent asked, "What now? Do you know it?" Liz suddenly shouted at this point, "Look at the suffix on his name! He''s Extremely Enfeebled!" Roland and Vincent looked at it and realized that it was true. So, could there be a better opportunity for a battle? Roland raised his hand and launched Prismatic Spray at Diablo''s face. Vincent, on the other hand, cast Inferior Fireballs and even sprayed a handful of sand on Diablo''s eyes with Hands of Magic. Liz slightly bent and then roared, "Armor Detonation!" Except for her weapon and her shield, all the equipment on her instantly turned into blue pieces and spurted out fast and deafeningly. Diablo''s eyes had been focused on Andonara ever since he came out of the cave. From that woman, he had smelled the magic power that he hated most, that which belonged to Phoenix. "You''ve turned into a woman! Where''s your dignity, Phoen" Halfway through his sentence, Diablo saw a Prismatic Spray coming at his face. Probably because he had just woken up and his head wasn''t clear yet, he didn''t take any protective measures but simply watched the huge colorful rainbow smacking his face. After a slap, the colorful rainbow imploded. Diablo leaned back greatly and nearly fell over. He took several steps back to regain balance. He felt that his nose was sore. Touching his nose, he found that it was bleeding. Diablo was about to burst into fury, when Vincent''s Inferior Fireballs arrived. The Inferior Fireballs weren''t powerful, not even enough to break his scales. But what really disgusted him was the handful of sand, which was sprayed into his eyes when he was unprepared. "Ah, you goddamn unscrupulous" Then, Liz''s attack hit him. Countless blue pieces of iron were nailed into Diablo''s body, penetrating at least three centimeters deep. In the end, the monster was riddled with more than two hundred iron shards. Green blood was gushing out of him. These wounds were fatal for a regular creature. The loss of blood alone could''ve killed it. But Diablo simply roared. There was no telling what evil sorcery he used, but his body further expanded. He grew from three meters tall to three and a half, and his muscles seemed even more bulging. Having reduced her armor and her helmet into shrapnel, Liz was protected by nothing but a bikini that the system gave her, and her square shield. But with intense fighting will bursting out of her eyes, she charged at an unbelievable speed and reached Diablo only half a second later. Then she roared, "Shield Charge!" She stretched her right leg out, pressing her momentum and her weight on the shield. With a weird noise of wind, the shield was thrown out and hit Diablo''s lower abdomen. It would''ve hit Diablo''s face if Diablo weren''t too tall, but the monster was simply too magnificent. If Liz were a dwarf, the Shield Charge would''ve merely hit Diablo''s foot. Hit by the powerful Shield Charge, Diablo was blown back to the wall near the cave and half-embedded into the wall. "This one seems rather weak," muttered Liz. Andonara looked at Roland and the rest, lost for words. By logic, shouldn''t they have given a heroic speech before dealing with a devil or a strong enemy? That was what happened in the knight novels and folklore. And that was what Diablo did. However, those Golden Sons didn''t act according to the script at all. Andonara blinked her eyes and stared at Diablo. Having retrieved a piece of ancestral memory, she knew that Diablo couldn''t have been beaten by such attacks even though he was enfeebled. As she expected, Diablo pulled himself out of the wall and wiped his nosebleed, before he grinned hideously and said, "Human beings courageous human beings. You''re bold enough to attack me. If you had been there a hundred years ago, Phoenix wouldn''t have needed to send his son." Then, Diablo gazed at Andonara. "You''re not Phoenix, but his descendant? It''s been a long time since" Then, Roland attacked again. He cast spells while he retreated, launching incessant Prismatic Sprays that were aimed at Diablo''s face. Vincent and Liz were prepared to attack too. But at this point, Diablo suddenly burst into rage. "Little bug, don''t interrupt me when I''m talking" All of a sudden, Diablo appeared before Roland''s face. It was not a flash, he was simply fast. He crashed all the Prismatic Sprays on the way to Roland. But he wasn''t hurt again this time. His velocity despite such an enormous body was almost unbelievable. He extended his right arm and swept. The right arm alone was bigger than Roland. When it was about to hit Roland, Andonara suddenly appeared before Roland with her sword, helping Roland resist the attack with her sword. The red right arm with the claw hit the sword, causing a metallic noise. With the brunt strength pushing on the sword, Andonara couldn''t help but fly back. She was greatly anxious, not because she was wounded but because Roland was behind her. As a half-Legendary Warrior, she was extremely sturdy and wouldn''t be badly hurt, but Roland might not be if she crashed into him. After all, Roland wasn''t very sturdy as a Mage, and he didn''t have talents or specializations that increased his vitality or defense. But he still had his magic shield. He should be fine. Fearing that she would crash into Roland, Andonara flew backward for three meters but didn''t bump into anything. She regained balance in the air, but then she suddenly saw Roland right behind Diablo. Roland had flashed away! Andonara was immediately relieved. She stabbed her sword into the ground to stabilize herself. Then, she watched, to her shock, as Diablo simply turned around and swept his right arm again the moment Roland flashed to his back, as if he had eyes at his back. Caught unprepared, Roland was hit by the arm. His magic shield glittered and cracked. Roland, on the other hand, was flung away and broke three trees on his way, before he fell into the weeds. "Roland!" Andonara cried out in shock and fury. Although she knew that a Golden Son wouldn''t really die, Andonara was still pained to see Roland being blown away. Then, she couldn''t be more exasperated. You hit my man! You should die! As if it sensed her mood, the Hero''s sword in her hand ignited into intense flames, which quickly spread out and enshrouded her, creating a fiery blue bird around her that was about to fly away. The legendary devil, the legendary beast, and the legendary Hero''s flames. The Phoenix flames. Diablo turned around and looked at Andonara. "Blood of the traitor, I''m going to drag you back to the Realm of Devils, throw you in Phoenix''s face, and then torture you until you die." Roaring, Diablo charged at Andonara at an extremely high speed. 413 Meeting Falken Again Magic power that was as filthy as s*it flooded out. Vincent and Liz, who were close to him, both felt dizzy. Actually, it was not an odor of magic power but a special skill that was similar to the dragon''s might, which could mentally trouble inferior creatures. Roland''s teammates were only nauseated because they were strong, but if they were below Elite level, they would have peed their pants under this area deterrence skill. They would''ve cowered instinctively even though they were not scared. Though Diablo was enfeebled, he was still a dominating creature in terms of level. Because of the mental influence, Vincent cast spells much more slowly. He was the weakest of the team to begin with, and the mental deterrence made him even weaker. His Inferior Fireballs could barely tear off the scales on the monster''s face. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Passing through all the Inferior Fireballs on the way, Diablo rushed to Andonara and slashed using both claws. A traditional Hero, such as Kelter, would''ve blocked the attack with Hero''s Shield. But Andonara was no traditional Hero. She dodged Diablo''s attack with a weird gait and turned to Diablo''s left. Diablo''s body was too huge. He was fast only compared to Roland and the others whose level was lower than his, but in general, he did not have many advantages in dexterity because of his body size. Andonara, on the other hand, had a smaller body size and was faster than the monster. The blue flames that were attached to her looked like a gigantic flying bird. Blinking to Diablo''s back, Andonara stabbed her sword, and the fiery bird pecked too. The sword was aimed at Diablo''s back, and the bird''s beak went to his neck. Scorching fire and sharp auras were attached to the sword. The pecking of the fiery bird, in the meantime, was both a magic attack and a physically penetrative one. When the bird pecked, a strange rustling noise burst out, and even the air twisted. Diablo had no time to dodge. Because of his enormous size, he couldn''t have acted faster than Andonara, who was petite. He only had the time to turn back before he was hit. The moment Andonara hit Diablo, a black magic shield blocked her sword and the pecking of the blue fiery bird. But the attack from a half-Legend was too powerful, not to mention that she had the Hero''s sword. Besides, Andonara had been exasperated and had used all her melee specializations. How powerful was a fully-blown attack of a half-Legend? Although Diablo had established a dark magic shield, it suffered an enormous explosion when Andonara hit the shield. Time seemed to have paused. Then, with a deafening noise, Diablo, who was more than three meters tall, was blown back like a cannonball. Vincent and Liz were flung away at the same time. Rumbling noises echoed from far away as Diablo knocked the trees down. But a pair of wings suddenly grew out from his back. He flapped his wings and stopped in midair. But Andonara did not stop after the first strike. With coldness all over her face, she turned into a fiery bird and charged at Diablo in a stream of scorching air. This time, the black magic shield couldn''t block Andonara''s attack anymore. The fiery bird broke the shield first. Then, a longsword pierced through Diablo and struck him toward the sky. Blue magic energy ran amok inside Diablo''s body. In his agony, Diablo extended his claws and tried to grab Andonara. But Andonara simply kicked between Diablo''s legs with her knee. After a crack, Diablo''s eyes popped out. Andonara seized the chance to chop off Diablo''s head. His headless body fell from the sky. The enormous body hit the ground, and blue flames burned all over it. But he was still alive. The head on the ground stared at Andonara delightedly, as if its plan had worked. "Thank you, little girl, for sending me back to the Realm of Devils. Don''t worry, I''ll come back soon. I''ll kill everybody in the Phoenix family. The death of your man is just the beginning." Thinking that Roland had already died, Diablo burst into laughter. He remembered that his strike must''ve shattered half of Roland''s internal organs. No Mages who were not a Master could''ve survived such heavy wounds. Andonara seemed even angrier, but she was not sad. Diablo found it odd. His head was deformed by the fire, but he could still talk. "You''re not heartbroken?" Andonara snorted but didn''t say anything. "So, you''re as heartless as Phoenix. You''re both willing to abandon the people who are most important to you without any hesitation," Diablo said in a weird tone. "Apples never fall far away from the tree, right?" Andonara smiled after hearing that. At this point, Roland came out of the woods holding his chest. He was very unsteady, as if he would fall the next second. "You''re still alive!" Diablo roared in fury, and his body jerked, as if he were trying to kill Roland again. But at this point, Andonara pierced her sword into Diablo''s forehead and instilled the blue flames. Soon, his head was burned to ashes. A gigantic shadow suddenly emerged from nowhere and grinned at everybody hideously, before it slowly disappeared. Did he return to the Realm of Devils? Roland walked to Andonara and asked her in surprise, "You''re already Legendary!" Andonara nodded. At this point, Vicent and Liz came out of the woods too and both looked at Andonara in shock. The aftermath of Andonara and Diablo''s battle was powerful enough to blow them away. It was too unbelievable. "We''re just here to hold you back." Looking at Diablo''s burning body, Vincent sat down in disappointment. "Damn it. I couldn''t even break his scales. I really wonder if I should continue my magic studies." Liz sat down next to him and comforted him. "You''re now a level-five Mage. You''re already among the best. Don''t compare yourself to Roland. That''s meaningless." Roland waved his hand and said, "I didn''t do anything, either. Andonara did all the work." "At least you could hurt him, and Liz could blow him away. You were able to break his defense." Vincent admitted regretfully, "I couldn''t break his defense at all, which means that I couldn''t have beaten the monster even if I were here with forty teammates. That''s really frustrating." Liz added, "This evil god was extremely enfeebled. What could he have done if he were in his best state?" "He could''ve summoned meteorites and sunk this island." Andonara grabbed Roland''s arm like a clingy little bird and said, "The memory I acquired told me that Diablo was actually a Mage and not a Warrior. However, he cast nothing but a shield just now." "Damn it. He''s so good at melee battles when he''s a Mage?" "He''s an evil god." Liz sighed and asked, "But why didn''t he use spells?" "Because of the sealing," Andonara explained. "The Phoenix descendants are naturally capable of suppressing magic." "What if he comes back for revenge after he recovers?" Roland looked at Andonara worriedly. Players could always be resurrected, but if anything happened to Andonara, she would cease to exist. "Don''t worry," Andonara said with a smile, "I estimate that it will take at least twenty years for him to recover. Besides, it''s not easy to come to the main plane. He has to prepare cross-dimensional portals. He can''t come back until decades from now." Roland was much more relieved after hearing that. A couple of decades were enough for Roland to grow up. If the game was still open by then, he would be confident to teach Diablo a lesson as a player. They talked for a while. Then, the blue flames burned Diablo''s body into black ashes, so black that the ashes were almost absorbing light. Roland divided the ashes into three parts and said, "If the ashes of vampires can be sold for money, so must an evil god''s." "Aren''t you smart?" Vincent chuckled and put his share of the ashes into his system Backpack. Liz did the same. She said with a smile, "I hope that they can be sold for a dozen gold coins." "I think they''re worth more than that." Vincent stood up and looked at Roland, before he continued, "You and the queen can go back to Delpon first." "You''re not returning with us?" Vincent shook his head. "I intend to travel and learn like you did. Hopefully, I can pick up more things. Although I''ve been growing in the Magic Tower, I always feel that something is missing." Roland nodded. "Fine, but be back soon. You''re the deputy chairman." "Okay, no problem." "I''m going back to the Temple of the Water God." Liz had already put on a linen robe from her system Backpack. She smiled and said, "You two enjoy your honeymoon." Roland took out five gold coins and gave them to her. "This is the payment that I promised." Liz accepted them with a smile. The Priests of the Water God Church were always short of money. Together, they went to the beach and returned to Bluewater Harbor on the boat. Then, they split up. Roland checked in at an inn in Bluewater Harbor. He intended to take a rest first. Andonara fell asleep soon after a bath. Though the battle didn''t last long, she was actually quite exhausted. Roland, on the other hand, continued his magic studies. But when it was late at night, he started to feel drowsy and soon fell asleep. Players didn''t need sleep, but he somehow fell asleep on his desk. When he woke up, he found himself in a special space where everything was ivory-colored. He was standing on a ritual table, surrounded by a lot of people that were of different ages and genders. He looked around and, to his surprise, found a familiar face. "Falken?" 414 I Dont Want To Cause Any Misunderstandings Roland''s surprise was understandable. He personally watched Falken pass away, and his soul rejuvenated and taken to the Paradise of Life. Falken squeezed out of the crowd and looked at Roland in surprise. "Why are you here? You''re dead too?" Then he shook his head. "Wait. You''re not a believer of our goddess. How did you end up here?" It was not until this moment that Roland realized that everybody here was translucent and emitting ivory brilliance except Roland. He was also translucent, but he emanated no light. Then, a crazy thought popped up in his head. "Falken, is this place the Paradise of Life?" Falken nodded. He looked much stronger as a young man. He hugged Roland and smiled. "No matter how you got here, I''m really happy to see you again." Seeing that Falken knew the stranger, the souls around Roland dispersed. Roland patted Falken''s arm with mixed feelings. He thought that he would never meet Falken again after he was taken to the Paradise. He didn''t expect that he would have another chance. They walked and chatted. Roland looked around, only to see nothing but white clouds in the Paradise. The souls were sitting, sleeping, or chatting passionately. They could also create food out of nothing and enjoy it. It did seem to be a peaceful place. All the souls here were smiling, without any sadness or sorrow on their faces. Noticing Roland''s surprise, Falken said, "There''s no death, no pain, no hunger, and no departure in here. Roland, now that you''re here, why don''t you stay? People toil away their entire lives in the main plane just so that their soul can rest in peace after they die." Roland shook his head. "I have a lot of unfinished businesses." "Such as?" "Like mysteries of magic." After a shock, Falken shook his head and said, "As expected of a Mage. It seems that you won''t be here for long." "How should I go back?" At first, Roland thought that he had come to the Paradise of Life because he triggered a special quest. But he just checked the system menu and found no notifications. Then why was he here as a soul? Wait, a soul? Roland looked at his translucent body. Based on his speculations, this should be a real world, so did it mean that he was in the soul state? If he could study it further, would he gain a better understanding of the nature of souls? Could he learn the basics of soul spells? While Roland considered, Falken suddenly fell on one of his knees. Stunned, Roland subconsciously raised his head, only to see a four-winged angel descending and landing before him. Falken lowered his head even further, but Roland looked the angel in her eyes and even examined her. "It''s been a while." Withdrawing his gaze from her breasts, Roland looked her in her eyes again and asked, "Did you bring me here?" "Devout soul, please keep yourself away for a while. I have something important to say to this Mage." Falken nodded and stepped back with his back bent. As a soul and a believer in the Paradise of Life, he couldn''t refuse an angel''s order. He could barely even look at them straightly because of the level suppression. Roland was reticent as he watched that. Falken was not a coward. His optimism before his death proved his generosity and bravery. But here in the Paradise, he had become a humble servant. Roland was not fond of this change. After Falken backed off, the four-winged angel smiled at Roland and said, "You must know where you are by now, don''t you?" Of course! Roland nodded and looked around again. The world was ivory and seemed boundless. Roland could sense the exuberant power of vitality in the Paradise of Life, but it seemed that he couldn''t use it. "Actually, it''s our goddess who wants to meet you." The four-winged angel curled her finger at Roland and then flapped her wings, slowing taking off. Automatically, Roland followed her. Flying in the sky, they were embraced by a balmy breeze. The four-winged angel sighed and said, "Actually, we didn''t want to bring you here. After all, you''re not a believer." Roland was dazed. "Then why did you bring me here?" "Because we can''t visit the main plane frequently," the four-winged angel explained, "The main plane is highly suppressive for divine creatures like us. Our every condescension would consume immense power of faith. It''s very difficult." "That explains a lot." Roland finally understood why gods and devils barely revealed themselves in the human world. "Can you give me a heads-up? Why does the Life Goddess want to meet me?" Roland was quite curious. The four-winged angel shook her head. "I don''t know." "Then what''s your name?" "Nia." The four-winged angel pointed at her face and said, "I''m the youngest of all angels." "You haven''t reached adulthood yet?" "Not yet. I''m only 132 years old." One hundred and thirty-two years old, yet still an adolescent Roland secretly clicked his tongue and glanced at the four-winged angel. She had such an attractive body figure and such great boobs, yet she said that she was not an adult. Hehe. As they talked, they flew to a place that had a gigantic cloud pillar. Then, they both landed. The cloud pillar was unfathomably tall and huge when seen from below. Roland estimated that it must be more than five hundred meters in diameter, and three kilometers high. On the top of the cloud pillar was an enormous round building, and a line of stairs made of clouds that led to the heights. "You have to climb on your own from here." The four-winged angel landed and smiled with her arms akimbo. "Flight is forbidden here. Even we have to climb it when we want to meet the goddess." Roland didn''t know if it was his imagination, but this Nia seemed much cuter here than she was in the main plane. Was it because she felt more at ease when she was home? Looking at the stairs that spiraled up around the pillar, Roland swallowed. Then, he stepped on the stairs under Nia''s hopeful eyes. There was a handrail at the edge of the stairs, so it was safe. Also, as a soul, he wouldn''t be exhausted, although the climb was slightly boring. After half an hour, or maybe an hour, Roland finally reached the top. Getting off the stairs and stepping onto a huge platform, Roland saw a six-winged angel before him. She was at least two meters tall. Same as Nia, she had curly blonde hair that reached her shoulders. But she was much more indifferent, and conservatively dressed, than Nia was. Her body had been fully covered by white leather armor. "Roland the Golden Son, please come with me." The six-winged angel turned around. Following her, Roland asked, "May I know what your name is?" "Claudia, the War Angel." Her tone was cold, but she did not seem rejective. "I saw you a while back. You cast a spell on all of Winterwind. What''s its mechanism?" "I don''t know. It''s the grace of the goddess. I was born with it." "According to aerodynamics, you can''t fly with your wings, so are your wings actually decorative? Or a device to activate certain magic?" "You''re quite smart." That was indirect acknowledgment. As he expected It was impossible for a human-shaped creature to fly with wings. Claudia took Roland to the front of a round pavilion while she talked. Roland looked at the pavilion and found a person sitting before a cloud table. But oddly enough, Roland couldn''t see her face, her clothes, or her body size. He only knew that it was a "she." Certain theurgy on the level of natural law had blocked his senses. Roland was quite surprised. This was the first time he had seen a natural-law ability. He was of a mind to discuss with the goddess on what natural law was. But on second thought, could he learn natural laws when he hadn''t studied level-three spells yet? He''d better drop the idea and focus on the basics. Then, he nodded and sat down before the human-shaped mosaics. Claudia opened her cherry lips in surprise. She was about to say something, but she held herself back in the end. Roland was seated in a cloud chair, which was cozy and comfortable. He raised his head and said, "It''s great to finally meet you, Lady Elyse." "Are you disappointed?" Her voice was very gentle. Roland nodded. "This is the first time I''ve met a goddess. I was told that Lady Elyse is the most gorgeous goddess, and I thought that I could appreciate your beauty, but all I see is just a swirl of energy." "You can''t look at a goddess directly until you become a Legend." Elyse spoke with a pleasant voice. "If I cancel the disguise, your head will explode immediately, and your soul will be heavily wounded and sent back to the main plane." Well Roland learned something new. So, all he needed to do was kill his soul in order to leave the Paradise. He''d better write it down. It might be useful later. Roland smiled and asked, "I wonder, is there anything I can help you with, since you have specifically summoned me to your Paradise?" "Of course, or I wouldn''t have sent for you," Elyse said. "You''ve beaten Diablo back to the Realm of Gods, which means that you are a man of integrity and reasonable strength. So, I have a dangerous mission that I would like you to help Nia and the other angels accomplish." Roland thought a moment and said, "But it was Andonara who defeated Diablo. You should''ve asked her." "A soul who lacks a sense of safety and whose heart is not as strong as she appears cannot shoulder this responsibility." Roland looked at his system menu. It already had reactions. Epic quest detected: The Fallen Angel Must Die. Would you like to pick it? Yes. No. Roland pressed yes. Looking at Elyse, he said, "It''s just a mission. You could''ve asked Nia to pass word to me instead of meeting me in person, no?" "You Golden Sons are too proud. If I had asked a servant to inform you, you would''ve hated us, claiming that we''re all pretentious and condescending." Well Roland was going to say that it was impossible, but then he realized that it wasn''t. The players were definitely a group whose behavior couldn''t be predicted with common sense. 415 What the Heck? That explained why the angels were always hasty and even furtive in the main plane. Actually, Roland''s previous guess was wrong. The angels were only careful when he was involved, because they usually did not talk to non-believers. "Then, may I know the details of this mission?" After a brief silence, the goddess continued, "One of the angels in this Paradise defected." "Okay," Roland replied softly. He was not too surprised, partly because of the quest notification, and partly because it was not unusual for good guys to degenerate. Besides, the goddesses in this world weren''t omnipotent or omniscient. So, it was totally understandable that someone might betray them without them knowing it. "You don''t seem surprised." Roland shrugged. "There''s nothing to be surprised at. I saw Nia wounded last time. She couldn''t have been hurt by someone much weaker than herself." "Smart. As expected of a Mage." The goddess praised him. "You''re clearly much better than my children." Claudia, the War Angel, was standing right next to them. She unhappily stole a glance at Roland. For the angels, the goddess who created them was their mother. No child would feel happy when their mother praised a child from another family. Sensing Claudia''s gaze, Roland turned his head, but Claudia had moved her eyes away. However, her face seemed even colder. "Don''t bother with Claudia. She simply doesn''t like men," the Life Goddess suddenly said. Claudia seemed embarrassed. She couldn''t argue with her mother though her mother was undermining her, so she could only keep quiet. Roland suddenly asked, "Men? Does it have anything to do with the fallen angel?" Claudia suddenly opened her eyes and stared at him. The goddess said casually, "What sharp intuition. I''m growing jealous of Mystra." Huh? This had nothing to do with Mystra. Though Mystra, as the Goddess of Magic, should be the deity that the Mages worshiped, she didn''t have many believers. First of all, the Mages who understood magic were few. Most of them were partial believers, if not non-believers. Also, because Mystra became a goddess as a human being, she had inspired every Mage to learn after her and become a god. Nobody with such great ambitions would submit their faith obediently! Noticing Roland''s confusion, the Life Goddess continued, "Just as you speculate, that fallen angel is a man. He''s the only male angel in the Paradise of Life." The only male angel should be like a boy who had a bunch of sisters in his family. He should''ve been popular and loved. Why would he fall? This time, the Life Goddess did not explain. She stood up and said, "That boy is named Parn. He''s hopeless now. Claudia will brief you on the rest." After that, the Life Goddess disappeared. She didn''t go stealthily, but simply vanished all of a sudden. Roland looked around, but all he could see were soft clouds. The Life Goddess was nowhere to be found. Claudia said, "Follow me. I''ll take you down and inform you of the important details." Following Claudia, Roland observed her three pairs of white wings. The more he watched, the more enthused he was. The feathers on her wings were all glimmering. They were crystals of divine power. However, Roland''s level was too low for him to use them yet. Besides, he dared not pluck her feathers. Going down from the high pillar, he found that Nia was waiting for them. The moment she saw them, she hopped close and said happily, "Sister, let me take care of this man. You can focus on your own matters." Claudia''s cold face was a lot more relaxed. She even put on a smile. "Okay, I know you''re bored. He''s all yours. Tell him everything about Parn." "I know." Claudia walked to Nia and patted her shoulder. After a dazzling flash, Nia''s sexy low-cut long dress was replaced by a rather conservative green one. "Don''t wear such revealing clothes in front of men. It will trigger their nasty thoughts." "Okay." Then, the War Angel left in satisfaction. Nia, on the other hand, looked at her green dress and mumbled, "I don''t like green." Roland felt that it was a shame that he couldn''t appreciate her boobs anymore. He asked, "Lady Nia, can you tell me more about Parn?" Nia seemed upset when Parn''s name was mentioned. "He''s a bummer. Everybody loved him and cared for him, but he found the Paradise boring and ran to the Realm of Gods. He even turned himself into a demon." Roland raised his eyebrow. "But if that''s all, the Life Goddess wouldn''t have sentenced him to death, no?" A church that protected life couldn''t have executed anyone easily, not to mention that he was kin. This world was bright despite the lack of sunlight. Nia''s smooth face reflected the light when she lowered her head and said, "When Parn left, he obliterated Sophie and Krameze, his two sisters, and wiped out many devout souls in the Paradise." After a shock, Roland understood everything. So, Parn had not just run away from home, but also killed two family members and even burned some of the family property (the souls). Such a rebellious son should be punished. Besides, the reputation of the Church of Life would be tarnished if a fallen angel committed evil all the time. With those factors in mind, it was natural that the Life Goddess intended to execute him. "I know what to do now." Roland nodded. "What''s the time limit for this mission?" "Ten years." Nia pulled her collar, feeling uncomfortable that her breasts were squeezed. "Parn is very strong. You''re no match for him yet. But you''re growing fast. The goddess believes that you can kill him." "Last question." Roland thought for a moment and asked, "There are many people in this world who are stronger than me. They should be able to accomplish this mission much faster. Why are you entrusting it to me when I''m not even a Master yet?" Nia looked at Roland weirdly and said, "Would you please not be so intuitive?" "So, there''s really a reason?" This four-winged angel was not as cold as the War Angel. Her feelings were all over her face. She hesitated a moment, and eventually, she gave up and said, "Do you know Grand Benediction?" Roland nodded. "Of course." "The goddess used Grand Benediction to search for the most appropriate person to deal with Parn." Roland pointed at himself. "Was it me?" "No." Nia shook her head. "It''s the goddess herself. Then, she looked for the second most appropriate person, which turned out to be you." Grand Benediction It was the best spell of divination class that could make anything that one wished come true. Lesser Benediction was remarkable enough as an ability, and the effect of Grand Benediction could only be nullified by divinity and natural law. Therefore, if Roland was capable of Grand Benediction, if he made a wish that the most beautiful woman in the world will fall in love with him, that woman would definitely fall in love with Roland as long as she did not have any divinity or natural-law-level protective equipment, whether or not she had seen Roland or had a loving husband. Of course, the requirements for Grand Benediction were very harsh. First of all, the spell was very tricky. No human beings had ever cast it in recorded history. Secondly, Grand Benediction would consume precious magic materials, which could not be spared with Magic Material Exemption. "I still find it odd. Why am I the second most appropriate person when so many experts are out there?" Nia shook her head, making her curly long hair shake with her. "I have no idea." Fine Roland thought some more and asked, "If that''s all, can you send me back now?" "You don''t want to stay here a while longer?" Nia asked in surprise. "Too many people crave for Paradise but never have a chance." "Maybe later." To be honest, Roland found the place boring. It was free from pain and disaster, and everything was so beautiful. But still, it was boring. "Okay." Nia walked to Roland in disappointment. Then, she extended her hand and patted Roland''s soul. Roland was enshrouded in ivory brilliance and couldn''t see anything. By the time Roland regained his sight, he found that he was back at his inn. He was still sitting before the desk. Checking the time on the system menu, he realized that time elapsed at the same speed in the Realm of Gods, and that three hours had passed. Roland began to review his current quests. There were three important things for him to do, namely to build and develop an ideal guild system for the Mages, to search for elemental cores so that he could transform into the hidden class, and to accomplish the epic quest he just picked up, "The Fallen Angel Must Die". Considering the time limit and the difficulty, he should focus on the second task first. About the elemental cores Boom. Suddenly, the ceiling of the inn was smashed by an explosion, and a person fell amidst bricks and broken wood. Roland immediately assumed a battle posture. He began to summon and concentrate his magic power. Andonara jumped up from the bed too, holding her Hero''s sword. She stared at the person in the dust aggressively. But in the next second, something glimmered in the dust, and two pairs of wings were unfurled. Then, with a swoosh, the intruder flew away from the hole on the ceiling and disappeared. Roland was dumbfounded What the heck was Nia doing? 416 Magnificent Nia As for Andonara, she quickly put on her clothes and jumped out of the window. As a Legendary Warrior, she could keep her body untainted, but she couldn''t keep her clothes that way. However, clothes were necessary for any normal person. Therefore, she could only leave the place first. After all, every pretty woman hated dirt. Roland packed up in the room, storing his research files and the clothes that Andonara took off into his system Backpack. Then, a fatty in his pajamas broke in. He was sleeping when he was woken up by the huge noise. He tracked the noise and found the hole in his inn. He was about to burst into rage, but he swallowed it back when he saw Roland''s magic robe. Seeing the boss, Roland was rather embarrassed. He gave the man a gold coin and said, "Sorry, I accidentally broke your roof when I practiced magic. Here''s compensation." One gold coin was more than enough to fix the roof. The rest was Roland''s compensation because the inn couldn''t be open when it was being repaired. The boss was too scared to take it at first, but he accepted it seeing that Roland was very gentle. After all, one gold coin was almost his half-year income, and it was too much for him to refuse. After packing up, Roland left the inn and met with Andonara. They took a carriage away from Bluewater Harbor. The boss of the inn, on the other hand, scrutinized the gold coin. He didn''t suspect that it was counterfeit; he simply found it odd. As a forty-year-old innkeeper, he had received quite a few Mages in his establishment. All of those Mages were cocky and condescending. They wanted the best service, and whenever they were dissatisfied, they would threaten that they would turn him into a frog permanently, which was rather scary. This Mage, on the other hand, was as gentle as an ordinary person. That was too rare. The boss couldn''t understand why a Mage would be so approachable, so he examined the gold coin again and again. Out of Bluewater Harbor, the driver they hired drove the carriage on the country road. Neither of them was appreciating the view outside. Instead, they whispered to each other now that they were finally alone. After they cuddled for a long time, Andonara gave the Hero''s sword to Roland and said, "Please help me safeguard it." That was really a gesture of trust. For a Warrior, their weapon was their second life. Besides, this Hero''s sword was an epic weapon and could probably be sold for ten million yuan in reality. The moment he grabbed the weapon, the detailed information of the item popped up. Item: Phoenix''s Sword (Epic) Penetration: 24 Cleavage: 18 Durability: 233 Sharp Edge: This provides additional penetration. Magic Suppression: This makes it easier to break magic shields. Soul Tenacity: The mental attacks on the user of this weapon will be weakened. Reincarnation of the Immortal Phoenix (Requires Phoenix blood) Self-recovery (Requires Phoenix blood) Tsk, tsk! Roland looked at the qualities and shook his head. This weapon''s qualities were really appalling. Normally, a nice longsword wouldn''t have a Penetration of more than 15 points, but this weapon had 24 points of Penetration, and 18 points of Cleavage. As was universally known, swords were mainly used to stab, so their Cleavage was usually not high. A Cleavage of 18 points was already the average performance of two-handed axes. Besides, the weapon had three general enchantments which didn''t require special blood to be triggered. It was an excellent weapon from every perspective. Roland complimented it in amazement and put the sword in his Backpack. In the end, Andonara whispered in Roland''s ear, "As far as I know, the Reeds have another few pieces of Hero equipment. Can you help me find the rest?" "Okay." Roland nodded. "Do you have any leads?" "No." Andonara thought for a moment and said, "Let''s go to my uncle''s and search for my ancestral house. We may find something." "You have an ancestral house?" Andonara said matter-of-factly, "Of course we do. I was told that we lived inside a cave before we established that small manor." Roland was dumbfounded. Hero Kelter was so poor back then? "Then let''s go to Reed Village." "All right." Andonara was quite happy that she got to spend more days with Roland. After all, Roland would be busy and partly occupied by Vivian after they returned. Therefore the opportunity for a few more days together was rare. She didn''t really care if they could find the equipment. The carriage wobbled on. In the sky a hundred kilometers to Roland''s east, there was a hole in a cloud as if it had just been hit. Soon, a four-winged angel appeared above the cloud. Nia patted her chest, and her breasts shivered perkily underneath her clothes. Then, she said, not without regret, "Not bad, not bad. There was so much dust, and I flew so far away. Roland couldn''t have spotted me, or it would''ve been too embarrassing." She looked at the terrain from the sky, stunned. Then, weird white colors emerged in her eyes. In Nia''s eyes, the whole world turned black and white, with some bright green spots and some deep green ones. Eventually, she chose the nearest place with thick greenness and flew there. Soon, she reached the sky above the green spot. Below her feet was an enormous Temple of Life. Since it was the day, believers were entering and exiting the temple like ants. "The power of faith is strong here. It shouldn''t be a problem for me to drop an oracle here." Nia nodded to herself. Then, she rubbed her cute face with both hands. After a while, the smile on her face was replaced by coldness. Then, she pulled the corner of her eyes with her finger, so that she would look tougher. At this point, she had turned from cute to high and mighty. Then, she opened her wings and added a lot of light effects to herself. Eventually, she slowly landed at the prayer hall of the temple from the roof. Seeing the descension of an angel, the believers fell on their knees and lowered their heads, excited and overflowing with tears. The person who was kneeling before everyone was the backup bishop who had been praying. He was also the only person who dared to look at the angel. But his eyes were also filled with crazy admiration. Nia suddenly felt uneasy, but she didn''t know why. Slightly raising her eyebrow, she said, "Angel Parn has fallen from Paradise. Henceforth, his name shall be removed from the Holy Scroll. On the other hand, the goddess has sent someone to destroy him, but this person is still weak and growing." With zealousness bursting out of his eyes, the backup bishop asked, "Holy angel, please tell me the name of the Favored. I shall go to him and follow him." "Don''t worry, the goddess has made plans." Nia''s voice was chilly, as if it were from the high sky. "You will know who he is in good time. By then, all the clerics in all temples shall work with him unconditionally." "Yes, madam. We the servants shall bring glory to the goddess." Nia nodded in satisfaction. "Spread the goddess''s decree to all Temples of Life within a month." "Yes, madam." Nia pointed at the backup bishop and continued, "You are a devotee. The goddess knows your name, Donald, so you will be given extra rewards." The backup bishop shined. His soul was concentrated at an amazing speed, and his mental power grew a lot stronger. The backup bishop trembled, thrilled, as if he was about to burst into tears. His emotions were even more uncontrollable than those of the other believers. It was the greatest honor for any believer when the goddess they worshiped knew their name. Nia did not ramble on. She simply flapped her wings and soared into the sky. The backup bishop slowly stood straight. The brilliance in him still hadn''t dispersed yet, making him look like a saint. "Write down what Her Highness said as a Holy Scripture and submit it to the headquarters." A cleric stood up and wiped away his hot tears. He then immediately started working. Nia, on the other hand, took a deep breath above the clouds. Her coldness was gone, and she became a cute girl again. "My job is done. I might as well have some fun before I go back to Paradise." She chose a random direction and stretched out her wings, slowly flying into the clouds. It took Roland and Andonara three days to reach Reed Village by carriage. Since they were in the carriage, they did not meet any of the villagers. When they reached Cage''s place, they found that it was awfully quiet. There was absolutely no sound from the manor, and nobody answered the door after they rang the bell many times. Andonara jumped over the fence and groped near the door. She found a spare key and opened the door. Soon, she came out and said to Roland, "My uncle isn''t here, and neither are the butler or Kaido." "Are they out to visit family or friends?" "That''s a possibility." Andonara slightly bit her lip, unwilling to think of the worse possibilities. Looking at Andonara''s worried face, Roland said, "Why don''t we ask the villagers? They must know something." Andonara nodded. They found the nearest villager. Before they asked anything yet, the villager jumped to his feet the moment he saw Andonara. "Anna, you''re Little Anna, aren''t you? Why are your hair and eyes a different color now?" The middle-aged peasant was quite excited. "Not good. Your cousin Kaido and the butler were captured. Cage left to save them, but he''s been away for two days." Andonara grew anxious after hearing that. She grabbed the peasant''s hand and asked nervously, "What exactly happened?" 417 The Black Leaves Last Hope The peasant paused. Andonara asked anxiously, "What next?" The peasant caught his breath and continued, "Cage was not at home then. He was in Winterwind. After he returned, the butler reported the incident to him, and he left to save his son with the butler. That was two days ago." "Where did they go?" "In the direction of Winterwind." Hearing that, Andonara was going to set off immediately, when Roland stopped her and said, "Don''t be hasty. Let''s gather the details first." Then, Roland asked the peasant, "Did you see the strangers? What did they look like?" The peasant thought about it and replied, "They were all young men, with golden hair and blue eyes." Roland had a bad feeling when he heard that. As he expected, the peasant continued, "The weirdest thing was that they had a black leaf on their faces." Stunned, Roland fell into silence. Andonara was surprised at first. Then she burst into fury. Her clothes were shaking though there was no wind. Her long braids were fluttering too. The peasant had watched Andonara grow up from a little girl. Even though she had always been strong, he was never scared of her until this moment. He felt that he was about to pee his pants uncontrollably, as if a dragon were gazing at him. This peasant never made eye contact with a dragon before, but it was exactly his feeling. "Calm down." Roland put his hand on Andonara''s shoulder. Andonara''s aggressiveness immediately dropped. She was still angry, but she was no longer scary. "Clearly, it was done by the Golden Sons." Roland grabbed Andonara''s hand and said, "Let''s go. Don''t be too anxious. It''s not that terrible. Cage is not weak. A few players whose level has plunged so many deaths can''t beat him easily." Andonara nodded docilely. Andonara''s hand, usually smooth and warm, was now rather cold. As a woman who always lacked a sense of safety, she was rather overwhelmed when her family was in danger. The Life Goddess was right. Andonara was essentially just a weak woman at heart. On their way to Winterwind, Roland summoned White Amber, the magic pet he barely used. After White Amber appeared, it looked around and climbed on Roland''s shoulder, before it asked in surprise, "Master, you''ve never summoned me over a long distance. Are you in trouble?" "Yes." Roland nodded. "You will follow Andonara later and work as a bridge of communication between us. Got it?" White Amber nodded. "Don''t worry. I''ll keep the queen safe." "Thank you," said Roland. Then, Roland and Andonara split up for the investigation. Roland took off and searched from the sky, and Andonara simply went to Winterwind. Winterwind was being rebuilt, but the Guild of Mercenaries and the Guild of Assassins were already operating again. Those two guilds were famous for their intelligence. It couldn''t be wrong to go to them. In a forest ten kilometers to the east of Winterwind, six players with a black leaf on their faces were warming themselves near a bonfire. A little boy with golden hair and blue eyes was sitting next to them with tears in his eyes. He was gritting his teeth to stop himself from crying. That boy was Kaido. The whole incident was not very complicated. These black leaf players were quite smart. Though they were killed several times, they managed to hide themselves in the woods and subsist on brooks and wildlife. They successfully survived the manhunt. Then, they passed Reed Village by accident when they were moving to the border of Hollevin. Reed Village barely had any interaction with the outside world. The villagers didn''t know who the black leaf players were at all. Kaido didn''t know, either. Those black leaf players behaved obediently at first when they came to Reed Village. They paid for everything they ate, and they were very friendly. Then, Kaido, who was playing in the village, went to the players curiously. The black leaf players didn''t want to do anything to Kaido at first. They even had a lot of fun with Kaido. After all, it was in human beings'' nature to play with kids. Kaido grew even more enthusiastic seeing how friendly they were. Kids tended to trust the people who were nice to them, and disclose things that should''ve been kept a secret. Kaido claimed that he had an awesome dad and his cousin was the queen, but the black leaf players simply laughed at him. As a six-year-old boy, seeing that the players weren''t convinced, Kaido bragged innocently, "My sister Andonara had brown hair and eyes at first, but after she took my father''s potion, she got golden hair and blue eyes. She also grew much stronger." Then, all the players were excited. Every player knew that Roland''s queen changed her appearance and grew significantly stronger. Immediately, the players asked questions. In the end, Kaido said, "My father said that the last bottle of potion is for me. I''ll be as good as my cousin after I grow up and take the potion." As a matter of fact, Phoenix Blood should''ve been kept a secret from Kaido. But Kaido had been eagerly asking his father why his cousin had a new appearance. Cage couldn''t stand the pestering anymore and gave him a rough answer. Cage thought that, since Reed Village was quite far-flung, few visitors would come here, and even if they did, they might not be interested in talking to little kids. Even if they were, they wouldn''t take what a kid said seriously. However, the black leaf players were convinced, because they knew Andonara''s example. Immediately, they tied up Cage and searched for Phoenix Blood in the manor. Failing to find it, they beat up the butler and left a message that the strengthening potion must be submitted to them in order to get Kaido back. After returning from Winterwind and learning this matter, Cage immediately tracked them down with his longsword. But the players set up a few traps. He only managed to escape with a broken arm. It was winter at this time. Snow was everywhere. Everybody was sitting around the fire. In fact, as professionals, they could barely be affected by the cold, even the Mages. However, a fire in a cold winter was always reassuring. Besides, there was still a kid here. A player, who was adding dry branches to the fire in his boredom, suddenly said, "The man named Cage will definitely come back. He''s not as strong as before. Do you think he''ll come with the potion?" "Probably," Jess said gloomily. "He only has one son anyway. I think he should know very well which is more important, the potion or his son." "But there''s only one bottle of potion. How are we going to divide it?" "Whoever makes the biggest offer will have it," said Jess casually. "If we can become as strong as Roland''s queen, the black leaf wouldn''t be a big deal," a player said. "We will easily be able to beat up a dozen people, and if more are coming, we can always run away. Nobody can stop us. This game is my second life. I don''t want to quit it." Everybody was silent. None of them wanted to quit this game. That was why they had been hiding and keeping a low profile. Besides, they all had the same understanding. Sometimes, even though someone did a bad thing, the bad thing might be forgotten if they were strong enough. It worked especially in this world. If they could be as strong as Andonara, whoever intended to deal with them had to consider carefully. Power was everything in this world. With the potion, they would leave this country and live in remote places using masks. After they became Legends and Demigods, the black leaf on their faces would be nothing. "Whoever gets the potion must remember that we can only survive as a group. I won''t show you any mercy if you quit this group the moment you get the potion." The others all nodded. They all knew that the power of a community was always better than that of individuals. They had to stick close to each other at a moment like this. Then, they all fell silent again. Soon, heavy footsteps came from the front, and snow was being stomped on. The seven black leaf players all rose. One of them walked to Kaido and laid his sword on Kaido''s shoulder. Looking at the sharp blade next to him, Kaido trembled even harder in fright. Though he shed tears, he gritted his teeth and kept himself from crying out. "Release my son." Cage, witnessing it a dozen meters away in his leather armor, was both furious and regretful. He hated himself for telling such important information to an ignorant child. Had his wisdom and vigilance really dropped so much since he retired as a mercenary years ago? He had almost been killed by the Golden Sons earlier. Yet, he didn''t remember the lesson. He really did a horrible thing. With his intact left hand, Cage took out the Phoenix Blood from his clothes and showed it to everyone. "Golden Sons, this is the blood you want," Cage said gravely. "Can you let my son go now? I will not give the blood to you until he''s safe, I would rather smash it on the ground and let nobody have it." Jess turned his head, and the player who threatened Kaido put his longsword away. Cage put on a smile on his stubbly face. "Kaido, get out of here and run out of the forest. The butler will pick you up." "I''m not going, or they will bully you. Your hand is gone. It must be painful. I was wrong, I shouldn''t have talked to these bad guys!" Kaido couldn''t hold it back anymore and wailed. He sounded pitiful and helpless in the cold wind. The players all felt uneasy when they watched him cry. Jess said, "Make him go right now. If you''re willing to give the blood to us in perfect condition, you can go too." 418 Recruit Family as Talents "I''m not leaving!" Wiping his tears, Kaido cried and said, "Those people They will beat you. I don''t want you to be beaten!" Many people said that children could be blunt. But on many occasions, what children said could be most touching. Cage smiled happily after hearing that. Why should he not feel happy when he had a son who cared so much about him? He only regretted that, as a father, he failed to create an environment where his son could grow up safely. His son would definitely be traumatized after this. Cage said gently, "Be a good boy, or I''ll be angry. Go find the butler. Got it?" "I''m not leaving! I''m not leaving!" Kaido grew stubborn and shook his head hard. Seeing that, Cage was both sorry and anxious, fearing that the kidnappers were agitated by his crying son. After all, the cries of little children could be very annoying for certain people on certain occasions. Also, Cage found that all the Golden Sons had changed their expressions. Growing even more anxious, he was about to demand his son to leave in a harsher tone in case the kidnappers changed their minds, when something unexpected happened. One of the players suddenly became violent. He violently slashed to the side and chopped a tree as thick around as a bowl. The truck of the tree collapsed, and the crown and branches crashed into the snowy ground, raising a white rustling mist. Terrified, Kaido cried in a much lower voice and started to sob. Everybody looked at the man who suddenly moved. Cage''s heart palpitated, knowing that it was not good. He subconsciously clenched the Phoenix Blood in his hand. Breathing hard, the player tossed his longsword to the ground and roared angrily, "Damn it! I hate this! I''m done!" Cage was already prepared for battle, but he was surprised by what he heard. The other six players, though also surprised, weren''t as clearly stunned as Cage was. Jess said coldly, "Roald, what''s the meaning of this?" "What do you think? I''m here to play the game, not to be a villain," the player named Roald roared and stepped back. "I have my own children. I can''t watch this anymore, okay?" Jess looked even colder. "But we had a deal!" "And you think you can''t go back on your promise?" Roald stepped back and waved his hand as if he were slapping something off. "When I was little, I swore to be a hero of justice, but what am I now? I don''t want to do more wrong. If they''re players, we can rob or kill them when we''re stronger than them, but those NPCs can''t respawn after they''re dead. I can''t do anything to them." Jess fell silent. Roald picked up his weapon, turned around, and left without any hesitation. Briefly stunned, Cage couldn''t be more delighted. Though he couldn''t really understand the players'' language, he could tell that they were having a disagreement. Watching Roald go, another two players retracted their weapons and followed him in silence. In no more than ten seconds, another two players gave up and left. The player who was holding Kaido sighed and sheathed his longsword. Staring at him, Jess asked hoarsely, "Are you leaving too?" "Let''s go." The player didn''t leave alone. Instead, he went to Jess, grabbed his neck, and dragged him away, while saying, "It''s unnecessary to carry on anymore. If we continue, we will fail even more miserably." Though he seemed rather reluctant, Jess''s body followed the player without much struggle. However, he said, "That bottle of blood is worth hundreds of gold coins, which means millions of yuan in reality." "Yes, I know." "Is it not tempting to you?" "Of course it is, but you see cash carriers every day, and each of them may contain millions of yuan. Will you ever rob them? Jess, I think our negative feelings are magnified in this game, perhaps because we''re powerful and unrestrained." "This is different. Reality is reality, and a game is just a game" "But this game is too real. It''s no different from reality." The two of them chatted and walked away slowly. Stunned, Cage watched all the kidnappers leave, and ran toward his son a long while later. He picked up his son with one hand and examined him. He was relieved to see that the boy was unscathed. Burying his head in his father''s arms, Kaido cried loudly. He had been terrified during the past two days. Though the strangers never physically abused him and only cursed him at most, as a small child, he was still scared. Staring in the direction the players left in for a while, Cage slowly stepped out of the woods with his son. The butler had been waiting by the road nervously. Seeing his master and his young master, he instantly ran to them and was relieved to find that the young master was unhurt. They went home along the main road. After they walked a while, they saw a white storm pressing at them. Cage was about to take a defensive posture, but then he relaxed. It was Andonara, with White Amber on her shoulder. Having been close to her since her childhood, he recognized his niece by her figure even though she was far away. Andonara approached in ecstasy. Looking at Kaido who had cried himself to sleep and Cage''s broken arm, she burst into fury. "Uncle, where are the people who hurt you?" asked Andonara dauntingly, holding the Hero''s Sword. Cage shook his head and said with a smile, "That''s unnecessary. They''re just kids who made a mistake. They''ve recognized their wrongdoing, and they''ll change. Just let them go." "But" Cage shook his head firmly and then asked, "Why are you here? Weren''t you going to search for the Hero''s Sword?" "It''s the sword I''m holding!" Andonara secretly sighed. She knew that her uncle was a good person. Although he loved communicating with Lamb Girls on how to take care of men''s excessive energy, he was really a good person in general. Cage''s eyes glittered. But only one of his hands was available, and it was holding his son. So he said, "Let''s go home before we talk about it." They walked on for a while. Then, Roland landed from the sky, as White Amber had informed Roland that Cage was found using telepathy. Seeing Roland, Cage said with a smile, "Hey, you''re here too." After Roland landed, he cast the healing technique on Cage the moment he saw the man''s broken arm. Cage smiled and said, "Thanks. Let''s go home and talk." Back in the manor in Reed Village, Cage took a shower, and young Kaido fell asleep in bed while the two treants tended to him. When the players broke into the manor, both of the treants hid themselves. It was very easy for them to hide. All they needed to do was to stand still among trees or grasses with their eyes closed. Kaido had been frightened for almost two days. He was calling his dad even though he was sleeping. Cage patted his son''s head gently and then went down to the living room. "This trip was really an eye-opener," Cage said with a smile. "I''ve never seen kidnappers who aborted their kidnapping when they were about to get the treasure they wanted. Roland, you Golden Sons are rather interesting." Roland, however, blushed, feeling that Cage was mocking him. Andonara asked, "What happened exactly?" Cage told them everything. Andonara burst into rage again. "Those goddamn Golden Sons are doing evil things brazenly just because they''re undying." Cage smiled. "That''s fine. I''m told that many Golden Sons with black leaves have left this world. They couldn''t stay much longer even if they wanted to, because they were hunted everywhere." Roland nodded and said, "Cage, I think you should consider moving to another place." Cage thought for a moment and said, "You do have a point." He was a good person, not a fool. Now that his Phoenix Blood was no longer a secret, his son might be kidnapped again if he continued living here. Also, what if the Golden Sons regretted their choice and came back? It would be very stupid to stake his life on other people''s kindness. Andonara''s eyes glittered. "Why don''t you come to Delpon? Roland''s manor is spacious and empty. Besides, Roald has a magic school in Delpon where Kaido can study magic. We can look after each other if we live together." For Andonara, Roland was the most important person in the world, and her family came right next. Her father had been a traveling businessman that she didn''t feel very close to. It was her uncle who raised her. In her heart, her uncle was her father, and her birth father was more of a mere relative for her. If her uncle came to live with her, she would feel much safer as the needy woman she was. A magic school? Cage was rather tempted. Though his son was born much more talented than ordinary people with the Hero bloodline, he wouldn''t mind if his son could pick up more skills and spells. The abilities that the Hero bloodline granted were limited and focused on dealing damage. If his son could learn ancillary spells like Healing, he would be stronger and with a better chance of survival. Considering a moment, Cage said, "Okay, I hope we won''t disturb you." "Fantastic!" Andonara jumped to her feet in delight. "I''ll pack up for you. We''ll take off in a few days." "Let''s not rush into anything yet," Cage said. "We should at least wait until my broken arm recuperates, right?" Andonara thought a moment and realized that they should. So, she sat down again. Then, Cage looked at Roland and asked, "You''re here for something else, aren''t you?" Roland and Andonara looked at each other. In the end, Andonara said, "We''re here for the ancestral Hero equipment." She laid the Hero''s Sword in her hand on the table and said, "There are another few pieces of equipment. I want to find all of them." 419 Say Something I Can Understand "It can''t be wrong. This is the Hero''s Sword that my great-grandfather once used." He unsheathed the longsword and gazed at the blue blade for a while, before he put the sword on the table affectionately. "Uncle, if you like it, you can keep it. You''re the one who should inherit this weapon anyway." Cage subconsciously looked at Roland after hearing that. In his opinion, Roland had a say in the ownership of this weapon, as Anna''s man. He didn''t know how much the Hero''s Sword was worth, but nobody would refuse a good weapon. Those two must''ve found the sword together. Wouldn''t Roland be angry if Andonara gave it to him just like that? But after staring at Roland for two seconds, Cage didn''t notice any change in his expression, as if he wouldn''t have a problem no matter whom Andonara wanted to give the sword to. Cage smiled and felt rather delighted. Though Andonara was a prestigious queen, Cage had always worried that her identity as a queen might upset Roland. Every man wanted their woman to completely belong to them without ever having other partners. But of course, the nobles were a mess. It seemed no nobles cared how many men their women consorted with previously. They seemed generous and open-minded, but Cage could see the emptiness in their hearts and their mistrust toward their wives. Most noble husbands and wives were indifferent partners who shared a bed though they appeared to be lovely couples. It seemed that Roland and his niece were different. Such a weapon was more than enough to trade for a knighthood, but Roland didn''t even frown when Andonara gave it to him, which suggested lots of things. Looking at the longsword regretfully, Cage shook his head. "That''s unnecessary. You''re much stronger than I am. It''s more suitable for you." He was indeed fond of the weapon, but he was too proud to compete with his niece for it. Cage thought about Andonara''s plan to gather all the Hero''s equipment and said, "I can''t remember where my great-grandfather kept his Hero suit, but we can check our old residence." "Okay, where is the old residence?" asked Andonara hopefully. She knew that there was an old residence of her family''s that seemed to be a cave, but she didn''t know where it was exactly. "It''s actually not far away." Cage stood up and said, "You can follow me." The two of them left the manor behind Cage. Soon, they arrived at the foot of the mountain out of the village. There were few travelers here. After all, this place had no mines or fruits. Cage pushed aside the wild grasses with one hand, revealing the entrance to a cave. Walking further inside, they saw a stone door. Behind the door was a long aisle where blue magic stripes stretched along its two sides, forming a path of light that illuminated the cave. What a marvelous technique. As Andonara exclaimed, Cage said proudly, "Isn''t it awesome? I lived here for a while when I was little. But unfortunately, I moved out later." For the outsiders of the trade, it was just a splendid show, but for the insiders, it was inspiring. In Roland''s eyes, the magic stripes on the wall were running according to a special pattern in association with the shell of magic arrays. Roland had been looking for new magic array routes. This new discovery was of great help for him. As he examined the stripes attentively, he got closer and closer to the wall and almost stuck his face to it. Cage pointed at Roland in surprise. Andonara made a mouth-zipping movement and said in a low voice, "He''s always like this when he studies magic." "No wonder he''s so good despite being so young." Andonara was quite proud of her man after hearing her uncle''s compliment. So, the two of them went inside first. This cave had actually been built like a regular house. It included seven rooms as well as bathrooms and toilets. Andonara opened one of the toilets, only to find that it was a squat one, and water was burbling from down below, suggesting a natural sewer. "Everything in this old residence was very comfortable," Cage said, missing the good old days. "But it was too dark even with the light of the magic lamps. Because, that light did not have any heat. It''s not nearly as enjoyable as sunlight, so my father moved out." They continued examining the cave''s rooms one by one. Every room was fully furnished. Though most of the furniture was made of stone, it was absolutely dustless. That was quite natural. This place had no windows, and the door was sealed. There couldn''t be any dust. Also, there were beddings and clothes in the closet of every room. Even more amazingly, the beddings and clothes were still new. They did not even have any smell, and certainly did not have any bugs. After examining all the rooms, they came to the hall at the end of the cave. Because of the magic stripes, the place was very bright. On the inner wall of the hall were a few abstract clay paintings that were made of lines and circles. "What are those paintings for?" asked Andonara. "I have no idea." Cage shook his head. "I asked my father. He didn''t know either." Andonara clicked her tongue. "Those paintings are hideous. I doubt our ancestors had any sense of beauty." "They were all Warriors. What could they know about beauty?" Cage shrugged. At this moment, someone said behind them, "Those paintings are all magic models." They looked back, only to find that it was Roland. "They''re magic models?" Andonara''s eyes widened. "The Reeds are exclusively Warriors. Why would they hang magic models here?" "Let me check them first." Roland walked closer to the six paintings. He understood the first magic model, half of the second one, and as for the third one He gasped. The remaining magic models had more and more nodes, and some of the nodes were quite unique. He couldn''t comprehend them at all. Seeing that Roland was frowning, Andonara couldn''t help but ask, "Can you tell what they are?" "They''re all model graphs of fire-class spells that I''ve never seen before." Roland pointed at the first model and explained, "This is an offensive fireball spell, but it''s greatly different from the fireball spells I learned. The nodes in this model are simplified and bizarre. Its mechanism to concentrate magic power is very strange and wrong for ordinary Mages, but according to my deduction, it works fine. So those unique nodes probably require special mental structures, like elven spells." Andonara and Cage felt a huge headache listening to him. In the end, Cage scratched his head and said, "Say something I can understand." "These are likely bloodline spells." Roland opened his hands. "Special spells that only the Reeds can use." Bloodline spells! Dazed for a while, Cage couldn''t help but create a cluster of blue flames in his palm. "This is our bloodline spell. Also, as Warriors, we can only awaken the fixed bloodline spell, and we can''t learn other spells." "But I think you can." Roland thought a moment and said, "According to what Diablo said, we can infer that your ancestor should be Phoenix the Demon God. It''s normal that a Demon God can cast spells, right? So, you should be capable of learning spells too. Your application of magic power as fire is probably only a low-level instinct of the Phoenix family." Roland had a point. After hearing what he said, Cage too found it odd that he was incapable of magic as the offspring of Phoenix. But he felt a strong headache when he realized what a slow learner he was. He would rather maintain his dignity by practicing sword techniques instead of learning magic. However, while he couldn''t learn magic, his son could. His son was still little and could learn a lot of things. Therefore, it seemed that he had to go to Roland''s magic school now. Cage was only slightly interested in sending his son to the school before, but at this moment, he completely agreed with the plan and looked forward to it. His Hero ancestor had left excellent legacies. This ancestral residence, the Hero equipment, and the Phoenix Blood were all very useful. So, the special bloodline spells must be very powerful too. "Well, when are we leaving for Delpon?" Cage suddenly asked. Andonara asked weirdly, "Uncle, didn''t you say that we should wait until your arm recuperates?" "Hey, there''s no time to wait. Education is very important for kids. The later they go to school, the later they will grow up as talents." Andonara looked at the magic models and then at Cage. She realized something and smiled. "Let''s look elsewhere for leads on equipment." Cage''s face was slightly red. "There may be pleasant surprises." They separated and searched for a while, but they didn''t find any surprises. As for leads on the other Hero equipment, they didn''t find any. After they left the ancestral residence, they sealed its entrance again. Cage asked the butler to pack up, ready to take off the next day. Everybody could see that he was eager to leave. As a minor noble, Cage had a carriage at home. He, his son, and the butler took the carriage, so Roland and Andonara wouldn''t be disturbed. They did not encounter any problems on the way and returned to Delpon safely. Vivian ran to them the moment they arrived at the Magic Tower. She hugged Roland and said quickly, "The headquarters sent someone to you. They''ve waited for four days. They say that they have something important to tell you." "What is it?" "I don''t know. The messenger is waiting on the third floor." It seemed rather urgent. Roland asked Andonara to settle Cage''s family down. Then, he went to the third floor. A haggard-looking man ran to him and fell on his knees before Roland, before he said in a tone as if he had just survived a disaster, "Mr. Roland, something happened at the headquarters. Please go there and help Chairman Tobian!" 420 What If You Just Take It Away? The man immediately told him why he was here. As it turned out, Tobian pissed off a minor noble family in his arrogance when he was young. The noble family moved away from Hollevin to Fareins a dozen years earlier. However, the descendants of this noble family had returned and engaged in a fight with the Association of Mages, and Tobian was humiliated by them every day. Oh So that''s what it''s about. Roland looked at his quest bar and saw no notifications. He shook his head and said, "I don''t want to meddle in Master Tobian''s personal affairs." The messenger crawled to him on his knees and cried, "Mr. Roland, you''re the only person in Hollevin that can save Master Tobian! You''re friends!" Roland almost laughed aloud after hearing that. His relationship with Tobian was purely based on mutual interests. In exchange for Roland''s support for him to become the General Chairman, Tobian gave Roland copies of all the level-one and level-two spells at the headquarters. The deal had been completed. Though Tobian was the General Chairman and Roland a Deputy Chairman, Tobian couldn''t just command Roland, as it was not unusual for the local deputies to disobey their superior''s instructions. How shameless was the man to claim that Roland and Tobian were friends? "Sorry, but I''m too occupied to get involved in Mr. Tobian''s personal affairs." Roland waved his hands. But the man kept crying and begging: "Mr. Roland, you''re really my master''s only friend. You''ve got to help him." Roland was even more amused. But he managed to hold back his laughter and said, "Sorry, I''m incapable of helping him. Tobian is a Master-level Mage, and I''m only an Elite one. Besides, his family has been based in the capital for hundreds of years. He''s far stronger than me in terms of personal strength and familial background. I can''t be of any help if the situation is tricky for him." "But if we outnumber them, there''s a chance to defeat them!" the man blurted. "If we outnumber them?" Roland said with a vague smile, "It seems that Master Tobian sent a lot of messengers to gather reinforcements, and you said that I was his only friend?" Oh The man was instantly lost for words. Looking at the man''s stunned face, Roland knew that he had been acting. How could a Master-level Mage only have one friend, who was a young man he only saw a couple of times? Even a fool wouldn''t have been tricked so easily. The man stood up. There was less sorrow on his face, but he continued, "In any case, our lord is indeed in serious trouble. He is the General Chairman of the Association of Mages, and if he is humiliated, all the Deputy Chairmen including you will be dishonored too. So, Mr. Roland, please come and help." However, he still dared not look Roland in the eyes. After all, Roland was a Mage that a man as insignificant as him couldn''t piss off even with Tobian at his back. "I think I''ll pass. A weak Mage like myself shouldn''t participate in a fight between the big shots." The man stood up, his small eyes glittering. "Are you really so heartless as to not offer any help?" "I can''t afford any help." "What a shame." The man heaved a sigh in disappointment and left the Magic Tower. Roland sneered at his back. The man was a pure liar. Tobian pissed off someone but the person he pissed off moved far away? Did Tobian think that other people were idiots? Tobian must''ve been a bully and forced the person to leave. However, the person made a comeback a dozen years later. Knowing that it was not good, Tobian tried to fend him off while he asked for help everywhere, hoping to kill him with the support of the local powers. At this moment, Vivian came close and asked, "Are you really not going to help Chairman Tobian? Our plans have just begun. We may face huge obstacles if he notices." "Fair enough." Roland nodded. "I''ll go to the capital in a day or two and see what''s going on." Then, Roland stared at Vivian, who seemed exhausted. "Thank you for your hard work so far." "Then give me a reward." Her eyes glittering, Vivian approached Roland and said flirtatiously, "The queen is too strong for you to break her armor, but I''m very weak. You can do whatever you want to me." Vivian was slightly shivering when she said that. She was shy, but also very brave. As an innocent girl with remarkable breasts, she was not as beautiful as Andonara, but she was absolutely a pretty woman herself. Roland took a deep breath; Vivian had become aggressive too. If things went on like this, it was possible that he would be worn out by Andonara and Vivian someday. After he returned to the Magic Tower, Roland took over some work from Vivian, which made Vivian''s life a lot easier. At night, Roland returned to his manor, and Andonara and Cage were waiting for him in the living room. Kaido was on the third floor. He had found himself a room and fell asleep there. After all, he was still a little boy, and he was tired from the long journey. Dishes were all over the table. Most of them were made by Andonara. Roland sat down and had a piece of cake. He was slightly hungry after a busy day. After Roland finished the cake, Cage asked, "Anna told me that this city is essentially your territory now. Is it true?" "The city is still owned by the Johns; I''m only administrating the city for them." "Okay," Cage said with a "I got it" look on his face. Cage didn''t find Roland immoral. In this world, it was very common for nobles to attack one another. The fact that Roland didn''t annihilate the Johns but publicly acknowledged that they were still the land owners suggested that he was very benevolent. He thought a moment and asked, "I''m told that your sheriff is on a learning trip. Do you want me to fill in that position for you for now?" Vincent was the old sheriff, but since Vincent was away, the sheriff''s position was vacant. Now that Andonara had returned, it should be her job. But it would be a good thing if Cage were willing to take the job. Vincent was suited for a sheriff''s position because he was always fair. But as a Mage and a person from a rich family, Vincent was too proud and far high above the regular city watchers. But Cage was different. He was a noble, but only one in name, without any actual power. More importantly, Cage worked as a mercenary before, and he liked making dirty jokes, which made it easier for him to get along with the bottom-level people. Therefore, it was easier for him to maintain the safety of the city than it was for Vincent. Roland couldn''t be more glad to give him the job. After dealing with political affairs in the Magic Tower for two days and inspecting the school for half a day to ensure that everything was normal, Roland went to the capital through Long-Distance Teleportation. Instead of going to the headquarters of the Association of Mages directly, he went to the Guild of Mercenaries first. With a bag of gold coins as advance payment, Roland issued a bounty of the highest level at the Guild of Mercenaries. He asked for an elemental core of Wind, Water, Earth, Fire, and Thunder, offering twelve gold coins for each core. Though elemental cores were very rare, the reward he offered was 1.5 times the market price. If it were before, Roland would''ve looked for the elemental cores himself, but now he realized that he could hire other people to run errands for him as long as he was rich or powerful. Roland was now very rich, and he was establishing his influence. He had figured it out recently. It was one way to enjoy the game by growing strong or appreciating centenaries in the world, but it was also enjoyable and interesting to build up one''s own force. After leaving the Guild of Mercenaries, Roland slowly walked to the Magic Tower. There were clearly fewer passersby on the street. Even the peddlers had lowered their voices. The whole capital seemed to be under immense pressure. Standing before the headquarters of the Association of Mages, Roland found that its gate had been blocked by a group of men in white robes. The golden radiance of theurgy glittered from the strangers now and then. "Are they from the Church of Light?" Roland mumbled. They were from Fareins, which was the base of the Church of Light. Well, this was getting interesting. Roland was about to leave for a tavern for intelligence, when he saw a man standing not far away from him. He was a man much prettier than most women with red lips and fair skin. Who else could it be if not Antis? Antis had been staring at Roland. Roland walked to him and said with a smile, "It''s been a long time." "It indeed has." Antis didn''t look very friendly. "Why do you have to come here when you could''ve stayed in Delpon with the queen?" Roland smiled. "Why can''t I come here? I''m told that the drama here is very exciting, so I came here to watch." Antis seemed a lot more relaxed. He asked, "You''re not here to help Tobian?" "Of course not." Hearing Roland''s reply, Antis completely relaxed. He walked away and turned his head back while he said, "Come, I''ll take you to a place where you can enjoy the drama." Roland immediately followed him. A dozen minutes later, on the balcony on the second floor of a very luxurious hotel, Roland sipped delicious fruit wine and asked, "Where''s the drama that you mentioned?" "Wait a moment," Antis said coldly. Roland could only shrug. Soon enough, four men in white robes came down from the third floor and passed by Roland and Antis. Then, they took a turn and descended to the ground floor. Reaching the center of the lobby, they were about to leave the hotel, when a bunch of people came in from the door. All the newcomers were in gray magic robes. They were led by a brawny bald man. "Tobian." Roland was slightly surprised. "You knew that they would have a conflict here?" "I was the one who told Tobian that Alfred would stay here today." Antis smiled rather creepily. "It was also me who told Tobian that Alfred was his bastard son." Roland was stunned. "I know very well what you did in Delpon. Instead of establishing your own organization, why don''t you just claim the Association of Mages for yourself?" 421 All the Hate In the World Is Due To Killing and F*cking "Of course we have," Antis said angrily. "How can we not watch you when the queen is with you?" Roland chuckled. "Watching me wouldn''t help. She''s unwilling to go back." He was rather blunt, but he said it on purpose to upset Antis. The royal family sent spies to Delpon obviously hoping to get the queen back from Roland. Earlier, the queen had shown her capabilities and could raise Great Swordsman. After she awakened her Hero bloodline, which changed her hair and eye colors, she was even stronger than before. The king and the other members of the royal family couldn''t be more regretful after learning that. In this world, lineage was very important for nobles, especially that on the mother''s side. The king married Andonara because of her Hero bloodline. But since she wasn''t very obedient at the beginning, he wanted to discipline her into obedience through manipulation. But it didn''t occur to the king that one of his sons had inappropriate thoughts on his stepmother, and even more unfortunately, a Golden Son who was not afraid of the royal power "rescued" the queen and stole her heart. That was really a sh*tty ending. If it was a regular expert who took the queen away, the royal family could''ve tried to kill him. After all, the man could be assassinated or poisoned if he was too strong to face in a head-on clash. However, the problem was that this Gold Son could be infinitely resurrected. That problem couldn''t be taken care of. Antis felt rather miserable when he heard Roland''s laughter of satisfaction. When Andonara was little, she spent time in the capital now and then. He had known her since then. They had played together as children. At that time, he had some feelings for Andonara. After all, noble children matured early. Later, as they grew up, his feelings for Andonara became stronger and stronger. But he never considered marrying her. After all, as a daughter of a nominal noble and merchant, she was too lowly for him, a relative of the royal family. She could be his mistress, though. He had planned to turn her into one. However, before he could put his plan into practice, Andonara had left to work as a mercenary. After she returned, she became the queen before he could confess his love. He was one step behind every time. Andonara was unhappy after she became the queen. The royal family wasn''t suitable for her, someone who was straightforward yet sensitive. Antis saw her misery but couldn''t do anything. It was impossible for him to go against the royal family. However, he was quite unlucky, as Roland emerged out of nowhere. So, he was actually quite envious, if not jealous, of Roland. He even wanted to beat Roland up while Roland was feeling good about himself. But unfortunately, he knew that he couldn''t beat Roland. In his fury, he could only shift his attention elsewhere. He looked down and said, "The drama is about to begin. Let''s watch." Roland looked down too. The baldy who stood in Alfred''s way stared at the young man in the white robe in fascination. Alfred had a square face and was as stout as Tobian. Also, they were a lot like each other. The man must be his son. Tobian remembered that, when he was young, he claimed a woman for a few days against her will. Then, she went abroad with her husband. He didn''t know that she was pregnant with his baby. However, this young man did not seem to be aware of his real identity or the relationship between them. "I think we should talk." Tobian had no children yet, as it was hard for professionals to have offspring. He was rather delighted to see one. "This doesn''t have to happen between us, son." Alfred''s face became awful at first. Then he sneered, "Who do you think you are? You think you''re qualified to talk to me in private? Get out of the way!" Looking at Alfred''s face that was as cold as ice, Tobian subconsciously stepped aside. He was not afraid of the young man; he simply didn''t want to have a direct conflict with him. He thought that the two of them could still talk. Watching Alfred go away proudly, Tobian took a deep breath and left the lobby too. Chewing a fruit, Roland asked, "Is this the drama you mentioned?" "It is, in my eyes. A father and a son have become sworn enemies. Is it not fun?" Antis laughed. "More importantly, both of them know their relationship." "Huh?" Roland was briefly stunned. "Alfred knows that he''s Tobian''s son?" "Yes!" "How?" "Because Alfred''s adoptive father, the minor noble that Tobian kicked away, was very nice to Alfred. Though his wife gave birth to someone else''s son, he really treated Alfred as his own. He loved his wife and his adopted son. However, he was tied up by Tobian and thrown in a corner while he watched his wife being raped, going without food and water for days. Although he survived, he was traumatized and couldn''t be healed even with mental spells." After a brief silence, Roland said, "He''s a good man of a rare sort. Tobian is too wicked." "Three years ago, the minor noble died because of his trauma, and his wife died of depression too. She told Alfred who his father was before she passed away, hoping that her son would have someone to count on, even though that person was her nemesis." Roland was even more reticent. After a long time, he finally smiled sarcastically. "What a caring mother." "I think so too." Alfred continued, "But Alfred doesn''t think so. He thinks that he only had one father and one mother, and Tobian is the murderer who killed them." There were many sad stories in this world. Though Antis kept it bried, Roland was able to infer what happened. But he was slightly surprised. "Why do you know so much about Alfred when he''s far away in Fareins? Has your intelligence organization infiltrated Fareins, the most powerful country, so well?" Antis chuckled but didn''t say anything. He was so charming when he chuckled that even the waitresses nearby couldn''t help but peep at him. Roland thought for a moment and said, "I got it. You had been gathering intelligence on Tobian because you were trying to deal with him. You learned about Alfred along the way." Antis''s hand holding the wine cup trembled. He put the cup down and said, "You''re really smart. That''s right; we''re trying to take down Tobian. Going back to what we discussed earlier, would you like to be chairman with our support?" Roland waved his hands and refused him without any hesitation. "Why?" Antis was not surprised at Roland''s refusal. He was only curious about the reason. "You can achieve what you want easily with our support. Dozens of years of hard work can be avoided. Isn''t this good?" "But your terms will definitely be harsh. Let me guess: it must be about Andonara." This time, Antis was rendered speechless. Roland was right. To win the royal family''s support, he would have to return the queen. Seeing Antis''s expression, Roland smiled very delightedly. A long moment later, Antis asked again, "She''s just a woman. Can she compare to the whole Association of Mages?" "Wrong. She''s much more valuable than the Association of Mages," Roland said casually. "I can create a better Association of Mages, but Andonara is too great a woman to give up." Roland''s tone was casual but unyielding. Antis had no doubt that he was speaking the truth. "Andonara is more valuable than the Association of Mages?" Antis finished his wine and smashed the cup on the table, before he smiled. "I''m better-looking than you, my family is better than yours, but I''ve suffered brutal failures. Roland, if I had known you a few years earlier, I might have become your woman!" Pu! Roland spewed out the wine in his mouth as he was shocked. He looked at Antis in fright. "Are you a woman in men''s clothes?" It was not impossible. Antis was too beautiful to be a man. Seeing Roland''s shock, Antis smiled as alluringly as a woman. But he became grave very soon. "Have you ever heard about the Kualis?" Roland shook his head. "Look into them if you have time. You should be able to find something as a Mage." Antis stood up. "If you do not plan to help Tobian, you can just stay on the sidelines and watch the drama. As long as you don''t stand in our way, I assure you that the supplies for your Magic Tower won''t be cut off in five years." "So, after the royal family completely grasps the Association five years from now, you will take action against Delpon?" Antis put on a sophisticated smile. "It has been proven that not all the Golden Sons are on the same boat. You''re human beings with desires and demands. You''re not invincible, Roland." Then he left. After a while, Roland stood up and left a gold coin, before he left the luxurious hotel. After he left the city, he teleported back to Delpon. It was unnecessary to stay in the capital any longer. Faced with his son who was back with a vengeful wrath and the support of the royal family, chances were slim that Tobian would survive. Besides, even if he could survive, he would have to hide all the time, unless he escaped from Hollevin. Roland did not have to waste time on Tobian anymore. So, he only needed to focus on his magic studies and the operation of the magic school. As for the transformation to Elemental Lord and the mission to kill the Fallen Angel, they couldn''t be completed any time soon, so he might as well put them aside for now. That was Roland''s plan. However, there were always pleasant surprises. The mission that Roland issued in the Guild of Mercenaries to collect five kinds of elementals was completed within half a month. Roland almost couldn''t believe his ears after hearing that. 422 The Golden Sons are Getting More and More Influential So, not many of them were available on the market. Besides, it was even harder to gather five kinds of elemental cores at the same time. Therefore, Roland was rather surprised that the Guild of Mercenaries delivered the five types of elemental cores so quickly. Meeting with the men from the Guild of Mercenaries and giving them the final payment, he got the five elemental cores. Roland had read introductions to elemental cores from the books in his Magic Tower. They were said to be rhombic crystals the size of an adult''s fist. Different elements would result in different colors. Those cores were rather beautiful. They seemed to be crystals, but there was flickering magic light flowing in them like very tiny shooting stars. Roland put the five elemental cores into the system backpack. He planned to go to Ill in a couple of days and learn how to transform into an Elemental Lord. After finishing the business about the magic school and the Magic Tower, Roland activated a teleportation spell out of the city and came to Ill, the unique border town that was split between human beings and elves, again. Because it was near the Elf Forest and under the cover of the magic power of the World Tree, the air here was particularly fresh. One would be relaxed and reinvigorated if they took a deep breath. That was how ordinary people would feel. However, as a Mage, Roland could tell that the effect of the air was because of the abundant natural power in it. Compared to the elemental magic power, which was neutral, natural magic power had more qualities of life because it was preferred by all natural life. Of course, the natural magic power could slightly strengthen all natural life too. The most obvious example of the enhancement was that the human beings living around the Elf Forest were much healthier than those living in the middle of the human world. Entering the town, Roland was about to go to Susie''s manor when he met a patrol team of elves. The sheriff saw Roland and came to him promptly with a smile. "Hey, kin, it''s been a long time." Kin Roland was stumped for a moment. Then he remembered that he picked the elven bloodline for his Hybrid specialization. Players like Roland only regarded themselves as human beings, and their bloodline was nothing more than a background setting for them. They never took it seriously, so they never really felt anything special about it. But in the eyes of the elves, Roland was really a half-elf. That was a cognitive dissonance. The handsome sheriff was rather warm. "You''ve come to the town again. Are you going to stay here henceforth?" Roland shook his head. "I''m here to meet someone." "What a shame." The sheriff pointed to his left and said, "Do you see the giant white eucalyptus tree? My tree house is right above it. Drop by if you have time." Roland was slightly surprised by the enthusiasm of this elf. They weren''t wary of him at all just because he had the eleven bloodline? Well, that was true. The elves barely suspected their own kind except for the drows, unless the drows had really done many things that made the elves trust them. Smiling at Roland again, the sheriff left with the patrol team. Roland came to Susie the Silver Fox''s manor. Perhaps because the guards recognized Roland, they let him pass without stopping him at all. The moment Roland came in, he saw the sexy long-eared drow lying on a long chair in revealing clothes and giggling in the middle of lots of men. Susie spotted him immediately after Roland showed up. She quickly stood up and said to the other men. "My date is here. You can go back now." All the men were frustrated. They glared at Roland angrily for a moment, before they all reluctantly left. After all the outsiders in the manor were gone, Susie said, "You''re finally willing to come here? Lord Ans waited for you for half a month, before he had to leaven to tend to his business." "Sorry about that," Roland said rather awkwardly. "I was delayed by many things." Susie walked by Roland and said, "Follow me." Roland walked behind Susie. As they moved on, Roland could smell Susie''s scent. Roland had thought that a drow as unrestrained as Susie would wear lots of perfumes, but on the contrary, her perfume wasn''t strong but very pleasant. It was like the fragrance of flowers. They climbed to the third floor of the building, and Susie pulled out a dark golden suitcase from the bottom of her bed. She opened it in front of Roland. Inside the suitcase were two hardcover books, whose paper was white and whose writing was black. There were also plenty of handwritten, complicated patterns at the margins of the pages. Both books were rather quaint. Susie picked up one of them and displayed it before Roland. Roland saw the familiar pictograms again. Then, Susie closed the book and asked proudly, "Ancient Elvish is incomprehensible even for most elves. Can you really understand the book?" Roland shook his head. "I can''t." "I can teach you." Susie sat down on the bed. As she leaned back, her long, straight legs were crossed and fully revealed before Roland''s eyes. "But you have to find me another set of elemental cores." "That''s at least sixty gold coins." Roland clicked his tongue. "Your tuition fee is really high." "High as it may be, you still have to learn the language." Susie seemed determined to rip Roland off. "You can always learn it from someone else, or give up the prospect of being an Elemental Lord." Roland stared Susie in the eye. "You want to be an Elemental Lord too?" "I''m a Sword Dancer," Susie said matter-of-factly. "The Elemental Lord is also known as a Sword Dancer among the elves. You think I''m not interested in that?" Roland smiled and took the book from Susie''s hand. He then snapped his finger and cast Language Proficiency on himself. The drows could cast spells too, so Susie recognized what Roland had just cast easily. She jumped to her feet in shock. "You''re capable of this spell?" "Is it strange?" Roland looked at her. Susie sighed and lay on the bed in disappointment, her arms and legs stretched out. With her messy and revealing clothes, she couldn''t be more inviting. Roland moved his eyes away. He had seen this too often from Andonara, and he had gained enough resistance. Besides, Susie wasn''t as beautiful as Andonara, and her body and her vibe weren''t as good either. The only aspect in which she dwarfed Andonara was her wildness. Some people liked wild girls, but some didn''t. Roland was one of the neutral people who appreciated such girls but weren''t crazy about them. While turning the pages, Roland asked, "It''s just sixty gold coins. I''m sure you can gather them yourself, can''t you?" "Just sixty gold coins?" Susie turned her body around. "That''s sixty gold coins! Did you know that this manor only cost me thirty gold coins in total? I''ve never had savings of more than twenty gold coins. Sixty gold coins is something that only the big nobles and magnates can take out casually." "But you charged sixty gold coins for teaching me Ancient Elvish?" "That''s Ancient Elvish that few people in the world can understand! I spent forty years learning it," Susie shouted in discontent. "It''s just an unpopular language," Roland remarked unconcernedly. "It''s only of some historical and archaeological significance. I don''t think it''s a big deal." "You''re too pragmatic. The fluency in Ancient Elvish shows that you are a man of knowledge and depth." Susie lay back on the bed again. "But all the good Mages are just like you." Roland thought for a moment and said, "While I don''t need you to teach me Ancient Elvish, you can teach me other things." "I don''t think there''s anything else I can teach you." "What about the tricks in enchantment?" Susie was briefly stunned. "The tricks of enchantment I know are not worth sixty gold coins." "What do you know?" "A lot. But all the tricks are rudimentary." Susie thought for a moment and said, "I can teach all of them to you, but they''re worth a dozen gold coins at most." Enchantment was very important for Mages, but few human beings were capable of it. Roland could hardly find a teacher to learn it. The drows were naturally capable of enchantment, although some knew more tricks than the rest. Now that he had come across a drow, he might as well learn it first. "After I return to the human world, I can try to gather a set of elemental cores for you, and you will teach me the tricks of enchantment to me in exchange." Roland thought a moment and said, "In the meantime, you will owe me a favor. I may ask you to do something for me when I need you." The drow looked at Roland in disbelief. "You''re so generous? That''s a price difference of more than forty gold coins." "Sometimes, a favor is more valuable than that." Susie laughed after hearing that. "You have faith in a favor promised by a drow?" "I have faith in the credit of the elves," Roland explained. "You''re in elf territory, but none of the elves come to you for trouble. So, you must have qualities to make them trust you." Susie smiled, helplessness shining through her smooth, dark face. "Do you have to be so smart?" "I''ll go back." Roland put the book back into the suitcase and closed the suitcase. He grabbed it and said, "I''ll come back to you after I gather the elemental cores." Sitting on the bed, Susie hummed a response. Roland teleported himself back to Delpon from Ill. He instantly released another mission for a set of elemental cores at the Guild of Mercenaries. Though Susie claimed that her tricks were cheap, enchantment was really invaluable in the human world, because there was nowhere to learn it. Besides, Roland could build big data models for the enchantment tricks he learned. The more he learned, the more patterns he would find. With enough data, he would be able to infer a lot of things. At this moment, Roland had almost completely cracked the mystery of the magic arrays. Thanks to the exam-oriented education he received in his previous life, he was best at analyzing math problems and inferring the solution to these problems when he had their answers. After he arrived at the Magic Tower from the Guild of Mercenaries, Vivian immediately came to him and said, "We''ve received a message that Chairman Tobian is dead. The headquarters do not have a leader now. All the branch chairmen are being summoned. On the tenth of next month, a new General Chairman will be elected." "Was he killed by his bastard son?" "No." Vivian shook her head. "According to our intelligence, he was killed by five Golden Sons." 423 Transformation Into an Elemental Lord Also, the Golden Sons were very credible. They would try their best to complete their mission after they took it, and they would apologize if they really couldn''t. They were all very capable and polite. Therefore, many nobles liked hiring the Golden Sons to run errands for them. Besides, on many occasions, only the Golden Sons could deal with other Golden Sons. After all, only the undying could defeat the undying. It was nothing too strange that Alfred hired five players to work for him. Roland thought that was all. After all, Tobian''s death was within his expectations. But as it turned out, Roland accidentally saw a trending video when he browsed through the forum three days later. A Son Has Killed His Father For This Reason. You Will Fall Silent After You Read It. It was one of those articles with a trolling title. Although he knew that most articles with such titles did not contain any useful information, Roland couldn''t help but open it. What if this one was an exception? Roland opened the video in the thread and saw a familiar person kneeling inside a room covered in blood and dirt. There were many bodies around the room. All of them were in magic robes. The man kneeling on the ground was a big bald man. He was Tobian! Briefly stunned, Roland watched on. In the video, Tobian seemed calm though he was breathing heavily. But of course, he might only be pretending to be calm. He said, "Alfred, you might not know our relationship, but I can tell you that you are actually my" "I''m your son, right?" A slightly immature voice said that, and the perspective of the camera moved to Tobian''s opposite. A young man was standing proudly in a white robe, mockery on his face. "Well" Tobian finally sounded shocked. "If you know that, why are you doing this?" "Why am I doing this?" Alfred chuckled. "Because I only have one father, and his name is Gavin Munster. What makes you think you can be my father?" Tobian became agitated, if not angry, after hearing that. "Why? That worthless man doesn''t deserve to be your father at all!" Alfred burst into rage after hearing that. He ran forward and kicked Tobian in the face, knocking him meters away, blood splashing. One of the players in the room couldn''t help but blow a whistle. Everybody immediately looked at him. The player shrugged and seemed rather embarrassed. Alfred''s face was even colder. He gathered a spear of light in his right hand and pierced it through Tobian''s left kidney. Tobian cried miserably and struggled, but he was held tightly by the two players behind him. Such a wound was grave but not critical for a Master-level professional. Tobian wailed palely for a while. He then said to Alfred with a miserable smile, "Do you hate me for not raising you? That''s because I didn''t learn of your existence until recently. I had no idea that such a humble woman was fortunate enough to carry the baby of a professional." Alfred slowly shook his head. His face grew colder and colder, and he stared as Tobian as if he were a maggot. "Do you know that my father and mother were the people I loved most?" Alfred put on a smile. "My father was gentle to me all the time. He treated me as his own son even though I wasn''t. He only beat me once, when I flirted with a civilian girl of my age who passed by my house at twelve. He slapped me for that. He never physically disciplined me again." Tobian burst into laughter. "That weak man did not even have the courage to piss off civilians after he left Hollevin?" "That''s right. He was afraid." Alfred suddenly grabbed Tobian''s collar and heaved him up, before he roared, "He was afraid that I would become a scumbag like you, because half of your blood ran in my veinsfilthy, unscrupulous, inhuman blood. After the slap, my father hugged me and cried. He cried like a little baby when he was a white-haired old man. Though he became as gentle as before a day later, his tears and his pain are still vivid to me even to this day." Tobian found it hard to believe. "You sympathize with a coward?" "You haven''t figured out why I''m here to kill you even at this moment." Alfred sneered and said, "I couldn''t believe my ears when my mother told me that my father wasn''t my birth father. But I didn''t hate you back then. I only wanted to find out who my birth father was. But after I learned what you did to my mother and father, I understood why my father cried so painfully. The filthy blood in my veins was so repulsive that my first reaction was to kill myself." Tobian seemed even more frightened. "You wanted to kill yourself when you''re my only descendant? Why would you kill yourself when you can inherit everything of mine?" "But I thought it through later." Alfred threw Tobian to the floor and looked down at him. "No matter whose blood flows in my veins, my soul will always be Gavin Munster''s son. The body ages and withers, but the soul never changes." Tobian stood up and roared, "You''re only fooling yourself. You will always be Tobian''s son. Nobody can change that." "But it can be changed, by killing you," Alfred said casually. "As a Priest of Light, I can''t murder anyone, but I''ve investigated you for days since I came. Why else do you think I never really attacked you the past few days?" Tobian''s expression gradually became awful, and he completely lost his cool. "I''m not surprised at the result of the investigation at all. You are a scumbag. You turned decent women into whores, you laid your hands on adolescent girls, and you stole beautiful married women and made them disappear." Alfred smiled creepily. "So, I have enough reasons to kill you without violating my doctrines." Tobian grew anxious after hearing that. He rose and shouted, "Don''t kill me! I''m your father! You can inherit all my possessions, including the Association of Mages and the family properties! It''s much better than working hard to get them by yourself!" "I am a white-robe bishop. My future is nothing but promising," Alfred said in disdain. "A trash Association of Mages and a minor noble family in a far-flung country are as hilarious as an orc tribe. There''s nothing to inherit." "You can''t do that. No gods will encourage a son to murder his father." "But you''re not my father." Alfred nodded at one of the players, before he turned around and left. That was the end of the video. Tobian''s ending was very obvious. Roland heaved a sigh after watching the video. If such a family ethical drama was made into a TV series, it would definitely be criticized by the audience, but it was very real in the game. Or rather, the drama was itself something that really happened. Based on the players'' replies, most of them supported Alfred in killing Tobian. After all, what Tobian did was too disgusting. Also, based on Alfred''s investigation, Tobian deserved to be killed. But there were some objections. Tobian deserved to be killed, but his execution shouldn''t be ordered by Alfred, who was his son. Patricide couldn''t be justified in any case. Roland felt that both sides had their points, and Alfred was right no matter what he chose. So, he simply stayed away from the debate on the forum. Then, he placed the five elemental cores on a table. Over the past three days, he had read the two books he got from Ans. The Elemental Lord was referred to as a Sword Dancer by the elves because it was a pure Battle Mage class. The so-called "Sword" was actually a philosophy to apply the elemental power. The elves believed that the magic power concentrated through spells was a weapon, and "Sword" was just an abstract term to refer to such a weapon, because the sword was the noblest of all weapons. Of course, that was just the opinion of most elves. Many other organizations and forces actually didn''t agree with them. For example, the Church of Light, the Church of Life, and the Druids all believed that the hammer was the most sacred weapon. The elves regarded the sword as a straightforward weapon and attached deeper meanings to it. For example, they would say that elves should be as noble as the sword, or their integrity should be as unbroken as the sword. It was not hard for Roland to understand. It was similar to the spirit of swordsmen in Wuxia novels. The second book specified how to make use of the elemental cores to coordinate the elemental power and modify the body in order to become an Elemental Lord. The book said that it was hard, but it wasn''t so at all for Roland. The two key factors to become an Elemental Lord was the elven bloodline and the ultimate control over elemental power. Roland had both of the key factors. He had Magic Power Control, a talent that none of the elves had. According to the book, Roland drew a magic array on the ground, threw the five elemental cores into it, and squeezed all the elemental cores into evenly mixed magic power with the pressure of the magic array. Then, he directed the magic power back into his body to polish his body, so that his body would be more receptive to elemental power. It sounded easy, but it was actually extremely hard to put into practice. First of all, mixing five kinds of different elemental power was itself a tricky task. They would implode if their proportions weren''t right. Besides, the power had to be directed into one''s body. With the tiniest mistake, the temporarily jumbled magic power would explode inside the body and tear it apart, killing or heavily wounding the person. However Roland succeeded very easily. 424 Certain People Shouldnt Be Indulged Anymore Class Specialties: Elemental Enhancement, Elemental Embodiment Below were explanations to the two specialties. Elemental Enhancement: All the elemental spells you cast are 25% more powerful with a 25% lower cost. Also, the difficulty to learn all elemental spells is reduced by one level. Elemental Embodiment: You are still made of flesh and blood, but you may transform into the elemental form in which you will have no fatal weaknesses. The spells you cast in the elemental form will be strengthened. In the meantime, your Health will be improved by twice your Intelligence points. The elemental form will continue consuming your magic power until your magic power is used up or you cancel the elemental form. The two specialties were very simple, but after reading their detailed introduction, Roland fell silent. Powerful They were too powerful. Someone said that the more awesome a thing was, the simpler it tended to be. This might be an example of that. The Bards, in comparison, had all kinds of fancy talents and specialties, which could enhance melee and remote attacks. They could also cast spells with music effects. But in fact, those spells were very tricky to use, and not very effective. Their songs couldn''t distinguish friend from foe, and they were not nearly as good as the Saint Samurai''s Grand Aura. The specialties of the Elemental Lord, on the other hand, were simple and straightforward. They reduced the spell costs, increased the power of the spells, and most importantly, removed Roland''s weaknesses while improving the upper limit of his Health. It meant that Roland would have barely any physical weakness in the future. As long as he turned on the elemental form, it would be a simple competition of tricks, Health, and abilities. Chances were slim that he would ever suffer a critical injury and be killed by someone far weaker than him. However, he would rather find out what it felt to cast Elemental Embodiment first. Roland used Elemental Embodiment in a lab in the magic lab and turned into a man of fire! He was best as Grand Fireball, so he subconsciously chose the embodiment of fire elements in priority. He was now exactly a man of fire. His whole body was exclusively made of fire. But amazingly enough, he could still experience the sensation of touch. Also, his equipment was not affected by the fire. Still, terrifying hot waves were spreading in the lab, filling the air with the stench of burning. The floor where Roland was standing was gradually turning red and black. It was not very scientific, but very magical. Roland tried casting a fireball. The super massive fireball which would''ve taken at least five seconds before only took him two seconds to cast at this moment. Also, the fireball was even hotter. Roland dispersed the massive blue fireball and tried the embodiment of earth and water elements. The spells of the class of the element that he embodied would be greatly strengthened, and they could be buffed by Elemental Enhancement. But Elemental Enhancement had downsides. When he was in the state of embodiment, he could only cast one specific class of spells. For example, when he was the embodiment of fire elements, he could only cast fier spells, and couldn''t even use Arcane Bullet. Also, the transformation would take at least three seconds, which was too long in high-level battles. So, he had to be well prepared before the transformation. In general, the abilities of the Elemental Lord were really not bad. All those abilities were empowering and not insubstantial. Roland opened the forum and was about to post a guide on how to become an Elemental Lord, but he dropped the idea after a second thought. Earlier, someone had submitted his research results to other countries for rewards, which was quite annoying to him. Of course, communication among the Mages was still necessary, but it shouldn''t be free anymore. They had to exchange knowledge for knowledge. Thinking for a moment, Roland wrote a thread with a different title. The Magic Tower of Delpon Sincerely Welcomes All Mages For Friendly Communication. Roland introduced the credit system of his Magic Tower and his ideas on its future development. He also pointed out the "knowledge points" that he had, including Basic Enchantment, the models of all level-one and level-two spells, the derivative spell of Ice Ring, etc. He specifically elaborated on the abilities and features of the Elemental Lord, but he didn''t say anything about how to become an Elemental Lord. He simply concluded the thread with "welcome to discuss with me." Then, many other players replied to the thread. "What''s the meaning of this? Roland is also selling knowledge for money? Tsk, tsk. This is the day he loses his reputation." "He''s called a mentor to all Mages, but he''s corrupted by money in the end, isn''t he?" "Do you think he''s short of money? Every Mage nowadays has to throw a gold coin to Roland''s bowl in exchange for the divine-level specialty. You think he''s short of money?" "Don''t take him for a fool. You know exactly what certain people did with his hard work." "Not only did you take advantage of him, but you even recorded the whole process and posted it online." "You really think that Roland never surfs online?" "Knowledge should be applied. Since Roland published the knowledge and the tricks, he gave everyone permission to use them. How other people use the knowledge is none of his business. Why is he so jealous?" "Wow, I''m almost impressed by your shamelessness. But no matter how you defend yourself, the people know who''s right and who''s wrong." "Hehe. If you are a celebrity, you shouldn''t think about making money all the time. That''s very demeaning, do you know that?" "You''re saying that Roland should teach you and feed you for free, right? Are you his son? Does he owe you anything?" "What are you fighting for? Stop fighting! Let''s play some music!" Roland skimmed through the thread and shook his head. He had foreseen such a result, and he wasn''t surprised at all. In any case, the Magic Tower of Delpon wouldn''t refuse communication, but it had to be quid pro quo. The visitors could offer money or knowledge, but it had to be as valuable as Roland''s knowledge. Because Vincent had set off on a learning trip, Roland had to teach the magic apprentices in person while he handled the political affairs in Delpon. His life was rather busy. Thankfully, he didn''t need any sleep as a player. He taught the students in the day, and handled political affairs and studied magic during the night. Luckily, he still had enough time. After the training recently, some of the magic apprentices who followed him since the beginning grew up. They gradually took over some of Roland''s work. In the next two months, Roland''s life was occupied and regimented. He never went anywhere other than the school, his study, and his magic lab. Occasionally, Andonara would come to his study and help him relax. His life was very enjoyable. Also, his understanding of magic was becoming more and more profound too. The winter was finally over. Thanks to Roland''s lumbering program, few poor people in Delpon were killed by the cold. When the spring came, every poor person was given part of the land which used to be woodland and started working. As the initiator of the lumbering program, Roland witnessed yet another increase in his Reputation. Most of the citizens in Delpon regarded him as the mayor. As for the real mayor most people had forgotten him. In such an atmosphere, Roland saw Betta''s message for help in the guild menu. Betta: "Brothers, I need your help on an epic quest that''s very important to me. I don''t trust outsiders." Roland and the other friends all promised to help him. But Schuck couldn''t come. He was carrying out a special classified mission for the Church of Light. It was also an epic quest, and he couldn''t get away. Betta: "That''s right. Brother Roland and the others will be enough. It doesn''t matter if you can''t come." Schuck: "I feel unnecessary." Roland turned off the guild system and told Vivian that he was going out. Vivian slightly pursed her lips. "I want to go with you." "It''s something between the Golden Sons." "Okay." Vivian was very disappointed. Even her bright face seemed much dimmer than usual. When Roland returned to his manor that night, he told of his upcoming trip to Andonara too. Roland had thought that Andonara would beg to go with him too, but she simply smiled and said, "Then I''ll wait for you at home." After all, Andonara was much maturer and more considerate than Vivian. She could tell that Roland did not intend to take anyone with him. So, she didn''t ask to go with him. That was the difference between a married woman and an unmarried girl. During the night, Andonara exhausted Roland with her special tricks. Roland was so tired that his teleportation almost failed the next day when he went to the capital. He saw Antis again when he entered the city. The man who was as beautiful as a girl heaved a sigh when he saw Roland and approached, before he asked, "Why are you here again? Tobian''s incident is over. We''ve split up his properties. You don''t have a share." Roland shrugged. "I''m not interested in that. I''m here for a friend." "Don''t cause any trouble." Antis turned his head and said casually, "The capital hasn''t been very peaceful." "Is the fight for the position of crown prince over?" Antis suddenly stared at Roland. "You knew about that?" "I guessed it. Wasn''t it on the street that one of the princes boldly claimed that he would capture Andonara and enjoy her when the king was said to be critically ill? Something is obviously wrong with that." Antis put on a mocking smile. "That''s right. He is an idiot. If you know about it, try to stay away from it. The king doesn''t want too many wildcards." "I''ll try to keep a distance, but if he comes to me, don''t expect me to hold back." Antis looked at Roland angrily but didn''t say anything. He merely waved his hand and let Roland go. After Roland walked away, he suddenly turned his head back and asked, "Who are the Kualis? I didn''t find anything about them." "Who knows?" Fine. It seemed that Antis wasn''t in his best mood. Roland entered the city and went to a manor according to the address that Betta gave him. The manor was very huge. After Roland introduced himself and was led into the manor, he found that his manor in Delpon was nothing worth mentioning compared to this one. Then, Roland saw that Betta was having afternoon tea with a rather beautiful blonde girl under a parasol. Roland was briefly stunned, because he sensed an immense power of light from the girl. A believer of the Goddess of Light? No the power was very similar to Schuck''s. She was a female Saint Samurai! 425 By "My Friend," I Mean Me Roland walked to them. The girl who appeared to be a Saint Samurai stood up too. "Brother Roland, this is Dinah. She''s the person who gave the mission to me." Betta seemed a lot maturer than before. "Dinah, this is Roland, my good friend." "Nice to meet you." The girl named Dinah slightly nodded at Roland. "Mr. Schuck mentioned you before. He said that you''re one of his best friends." "You are indeed a Saint Samurai." Roland smiled. It seemed that his intuition was right. The girl nodded. "I''m also the worst of all the Saint Samurai." While speaking gently, she asked Roland to sit down. She then continued, "I''m not even close to the real geniuses like Mr. Schuck." Roland felt that Dinah was only being modest. He didn''t think that they could be so different when they were both Saint Samurai. But in fact Dinah was telling the truth. Among the Saint Samurai, the gaps between them might be greater than that between a pond and an ocean even though they were the same level. It was well-acknowledged that Schuck was the most talented Saint Samurai. In comparison, Dinah was the least talented. But it didn''t really matter. In most cases, Saint Samurai was a lifelong job as long as they didn''t violate the doctrines, however weak they were or how little progress they made. Only the Goddess of Light had the right to deprive them of their title as Saint Samurai. Pouring a cup of fruit wine for Roland, Betta said, "Brother Roland, you''re the fastest. It probably will take days before the rest of them come." Roland nodded his head. "Teleportation is always the fastest. That''s normal. But what exactly is your mission?" Betta subconsciously looked around, as if he feared that anyone might be eavesdropping. Dinah said with a smile, "Don''t worry. I won''t give this mission to them even if anybody else learns it." The girl stared at Betta with bright eyes when she talked. Roland sipped the fruit wine and secretly nodded after he looked at Dinah and Betta. However, Betta did not seem to understand the girl''s bright eyes. Instead of looking back at Dinah, he said to Roland, "Ms. Dinah hopes that we can fetch some water from the Well of Light in a desolate place. Her reward is a title of viscount under the Hibiscus family, and a rather broad land as my fief." Roland was briefly stunned. "You will become a noble with real power and land?" Betta nodded. Roland looked at Dinah in disbelief. He was rather amazed by the rewards that the girl promised. A real noble and half-nobles differed in that the real nobles had their fiefs and their family properties. The situation would be completely different if he had a fief. There was only limited land in a country. If some people had more, other people would have less. Therefore, land was of critical importance to nobles, who would rather die before giving their properties away. Did the girl have the right to offer such a large area of land? What would her family say about it? Seeing the confusion on Roland''s face, Dinah explained, "That part of land is mine in the first place. Also it''s barely habitable. Betta has to reconstruct it thoroughly after he takes it." Thinking for a moment, Roland asked, "With all due respect, is that land full of woods?" But woods wouldn''t really matter. They could always tear the trees down and build houses there. "It''s a swamp," Dinah said rather awkwardly. "It''s supposed to be my dowry. It''s a gift from the leader of my clan who felt sorry for me and is of little actual significance. Nobody will say anything even if I give it away." That explained a lot So, women were discriminated against in this world too. But Roland had other plans in mind. He asked again, "How big is that swamp?" "More than 4,000 square kilometers!" replied Dinah casually. It was not small at all. It was almost the size of half a modern metropolis. Roland looked at Betta. "What do you think?" "I''ll take it," Betta said casually. "As a Divine Noble, I have a class quest which demands that I have my own fief. The larger, the better." "Okay." Roland stood up. "It''s settled then. I''ll go to the Association of Mages and read some books. Inform me when the rest of the gang gets here." "Then will you stay here tonight?" Betta asked as he stood. "This manor is very large. It can accommodate a few more people. Dinah said that we could all sleep here." While walking away, Roland waved his hand. "That''s unnecessary. I don''t want to be a hindrance." Betta was too young to understand what Roland meant. Dinah, on the other hand, blushed. Roland left the manor. However, he didn''t go to the Association of Mages but to the city wall. Antis was still supervising the city guards as they charged taxes and maintained the order of the city. Roland walked to him and said with a smile, "You seem rather bored." Turning his pretty face around, Antis seemed rather impatient. "Why are you here again?" "To ask you about something." "You come to me when you need me and throw me aside when you don''t. Am I even a friend to you?" "Okay." Roland waved at him. "I''ll buy you a drink." "That''s so insincere!" That being said, Antis still came with him. They sat down in the most luxurious tavern in the capital, surrounded by four beautiful waitresses who were in their service. Roland ordered some random wine and food. After they were served, he sipped the wine and asked, "Do you know Dinah Hibiscus?" "Hibiscus? Dinah?" Antis frowned. "Seriously? You''re laying your hand on a Saint Samurai after you just lured the queen away? Do you love defiling the noble and the sacred?" Roland happened to be drinking the wine. He choked at what Antis said and coughed so hard that the wine splashed out from his nose. His face turned red as he tried to catch his breath. After coughing for a long time, Roland finally came back to himself and said, "I''m not interested in her." "Then why are you asking about her?" Antis held the silver wine cup to his red lips with his jade-like hands and took a sip, before he continued, "Dinah is a Saint Samurai. She''s much trickier than the queen. Don''t do anything to her." "No, one of my friends knows her and is very close to her. He''s living in her manor." Antis chuckled. "I''ve seen too many people making up a friend. By ''my friend,'' you mean yourself, right?" "He''s really my friend. His name is Betta. I wonder if you know him." "Betta, the Homeless Noble?" Holding his tiny, fair chin, Antis finally seemed interested. "He''s known as the Homeless Noble? That''s rather a fancy nickname." "He''s rather famous." Antis continued, "Although we can''t figure out which family he''s from, nobody suspects that his noble identity is fake. It seems that a divine power almost introduces his identity to the people who know him." It was probably the feature of the Divine Noble as a class. "Tell me more about this Dinah." Antis turned his head and looked at him. "You''re not really interested in her?" "I am interested in her, but not in the way you think. I''m only vetting her for my friend in case he''s being tricked." Antis shook his head. "The Saint Samurai never lie." Roland nodded. He knew that the Saint Samurai never lied, but Dinah might not be a Saint Samurai though she seemed to be. She might have talked about Schuck, but so what? Roland could tell that Betta was very familiar with her, and she could''ve learned a lot about Schuck from him. Roland didn''t really trust her yet. After all, the reward that Dinah offered was too unbelievable. She promised the title of a noble with real power and a massive fief. Even if the fief was a swamp, so what? That was still a territory. If it was really worthless, the Hibiscuses would''ve given it away long before Betta showed up. "The leader of the Hibiscuses is a marquis. Like my family, they''re also relatives of the royal family," Antis said with a smile. "Dinah became a Saint Samurai at six. She has spent most of her time in the Holy Realm since then and barely came back, so I don''t know her too well." "Then tell me what you do know about her." Antis heaved a helpless sigh. "Do I owe you anything? As the most distinguished person in the younger generation of the Hibiscus family, she was very loved by the leader of her family, who gave her a swamp land even though she was a woman as her future dowry." Roland thought a moment and said, "But female Saint Samurai are rarely married." "Rarely, but not never," Antis said. "Dinah has a lot of pursuers in the capital. After all, whoever marries her will become a viscount with real power and a fief. It is a swamp, but it''s still a piece of land, isn''t it?" It seemed that Dinah wasn''t lying. Roland asked again, "Then, have the Hibiscuses been in any trouble recently?" "Sort of." Antis thought a moment and said, "You know that the fight for the throne will begin soon. Unlike our family who do not need to take a side, the Hibiscuses have to. Dinah returned from the Holy Realm exactly to support her family, but to be honest, her power and abilities aren''t impressive." "Why not? A Saint Samurai is as influential as any prince or princess." "There are too many princes and princesses who only have a title without any real power." Antis shrugged. "She''s as strong right now as she was when she was six. How much influence do you think she has in the Holy Realm? And how many people will respect her here in the capital?" Dinah had never made any progress since childhood. So, the people in the Holy Realm never regarded her as a real Saint Samurai. Roland was dazed. "But you just said that she is the most distinguished person in the younger generation of the Hibiscuses." "She is," Antis said matter-of-factly. "Because the other young people in the Hibiscus family are even worse than her. If things go unchanged, the Hibiscuses will disappear from the capital in twenty years." 426 Accessibility to Any Level-3 Spells Roland simply listened to him. He wouldn''t be interested if an ordinary woman was gossiping, but as one of the most powerful people in the capital and a relative to the royal family, Antis knew a lot of important information. Delpon was a base in Roland''s plan, and Hollevin would be the country where Roland''s dream would take off in the future. The more he learned about the forces in the capital, the better. The knowledge might come in handy someday. Antis talked a lot. He was one of the most excellent people in the capital among his peers, and he was very good-looking too. He was a rarely-seen genius. As a man who was capable and from a noble background, Antis was proud and had little respect for his peers in the capital. In his eyes, none of his peers in the capital were capable of fighting except Andonara. But Andonara was from a humble family. He never considered her equal to himself even though he liked her. He even despised Dinah, who was a Saint Samurai. A Saint Samurai who made little progress was as good as a piece of garbage. She was a waste of the Goddess of Light''s blessing. At this moment, Roland, a peer who had gotten in touch with him several times, became his friend. More importantly, Roland was smart and talented. Besides, Roland was neither arrogant nor modest and treated nobles and civilians equally. Antis thought that it was good to make friends with him, even though he could be troublesome. Antis had barely talked to anyone of his age, so it was inevitable that he became too talkative now that he found a friend. He rambled on for three hours without stopping. Then, realizing that it was late, he stood up, not fully satisfied, and said coldly, "All in all, the situation in the capital is very complicated. What I just said is only scraping the surface. You''d better not come here often if you don''t have to." "Got it." Roland gave him a promise and then said, "Who''s in charge of the Association of Mages now that Tobian is gone?" "I''m temporarily in charge of it. Until a suitable candidate is found, the position of General Chairman will be vacant." Roland suddenly thought of something. "Can I visit the library at the headquarters?" "You can." Antis threw an iron badge to him and said, "Just don''t take any books. Remember, you owe me one." Then, he turned around and left. Roland picked up the badge and waved at Antis'' back. "Thanks, bro." There was no telling how the sentence was translated by Language Proficiency, but Antis almost tripped over. He turned back and glared at Roland, before he walked away at a higher speed. In this most luxurious tavern, everything was the best in Hollevin, so their prices were high. As an ordinary person, Roland couldn''t tell if the wine was good. He merely thought that the tavern was decorated too cheesy although it looked splendid at first glance. That couldn''t be helped. The people of two different worlds naturally had different aesthetics. Holding Antis'' badge, Roland went to the headquarters. Earlier, it had been soldiers in black leather armor who guarded this place, but they were replaced by elite royal guards in silver armor. They must be the personal guards from Antis'' family. Roland showed them the black iron badge, and two guards let him through expressionlessly. Crossing a long aisle, Roland arrived at the depths of the headquarters. He didn''t encounter any Mages although he saw many soldiers. Roland thought that the Mages at the headquarters had been kicked out, but after he entered the library, he found six Mages reading books. Hearing the entrance of a newcomer, they nodded at Roland slightly, before they devoted themselves to their books again. No wonder Antis gave him a badge so quickly. As it turned out, some other Mages must''ve asked for permission to come here too. Roland suddenly felt that the favor that he owed Antis wasn''t worth it. He subconsciously put on a bitter smile. The library at the headquarters was much bigger than that in his Magic Tower, with a coverage at least ten times that of the library in Delpon. Besides, the library had two floors, and each floor had more than three hundred bookcases that were at least three meters tall. But of course, not all the books here were about magic. Roland looked around and soon found a counter on the left side where a receptionist was seated. He went to the receptionist and asked, "May I know where the magic models above level three are kept?" He tried to lower his voice, but the library was too quiet, and the readers here were all Mages whose ears were keener than those of ordinary people whether or not they had specifically trained, so they all looked at him. Roland thought that his voice interrupted them, so he made an apologetic gesture. At this moment, the receptionist pointed at the north section on the second floor of the library respectfully. Roland nodded at her gratefully and went to the second floor through the stairs quietly. He found the section of magic models. Another male Mage was already reading books in front of the bookshelf. When he heard Roland''s footsteps, he stepped aside and back without raising his head, making room for Roland to pick his book. Roland gave him a quick glance and then focused his attention on the bookshelf. All the other bookshelves were laden with books, but there were only six books on this one. Roland grabbed a random book. It was a thin book with "Blind Vision" on the cover. He opened it and found that it indeed contained magic models and the author''s personal advice. The tips weren''t much, but they could save a lot of the learners'' time. Blind Vision could allow a spellcaster to see in the darkness. This was a special talent for certain special races, but for the Mages, it could be taken care of with a mid-level spell. Also, Blind Vision was not appreciated among the Mages, because it was not nearly as useful as Mind Vision. Eyes could be tricked easily, but the mind could hardly be. Roland turned the pages and took pictures of the book with the camera function in the system. Very soon, he put the book down and picked up another one. He quickly skimmed through all the other five books, only to find that the six level-three spells were all ancillary spells including Direction, Mental Comfort, etc. Every spell had its own value, but from a pragmatic point of view, Roland was only interested in Moderate Wound Healing. Then, there was the last book. Roland looked at the Mage who was standing at his side. He saw the cover of the book that the Mage was holding. The cover said "Flashing Magic Ball." Roland''s eyes glittered, as it was clearly an offensive spell. Though Roland knew a few useful offensive spells, including Prismatic Spray, Arcane Bullet, and Chain Lightning, those spells had their own drawbacks, and it would take very long for him to prepare before he could launch a Grand Fireball. He was in dire need of a spell which was powerful and could be cast quickly. A level-three offensive spell should be able to meet his demand. As if he sensed Roland''s gaze, the Mage closed the book he was reading and turned to Roland. His face was rather plain, but it couldn''t be helped. Most Mages had added their points to Intelligence. They didn''t have enough points for Charm. Vivian was an exception. She was very pretty, so she was only mediocre in magic. The male Mage looked at Roland up and down and asked, "You want to read my book?" Roland nodded. "You''ve read all of these?" The Mage pointed at the bookshelf. "Yes." Roland nodded again. "I have a special memory." "An eidetic memory." The man clicked his tongue enviously. "You must be very gifted." It was well-known that memory was a sign of Intelligence. While the people with high Intelligence couldn''t remember everything that happened, their memory couldn''t be bad. "You can have it." The Mage gave the book to Roland without hesitation. "You''ve finished it?" The Mage shrugged. "In fact, I have no idea what the book talks about." Then why did you seem so fascinated by the book just now? Roland opened the book the moment he accepted it. Flashing Magic Ball was a very powerful spell. Though it was not as good as Grand Fireball, it had a high speed and was very stealthy. As its name suggested, the magic balls launched by this spell could flash, which meant that they alternated between visible and invisible. It was hard to figure out their trajectory. Those magic balls could take turns too. In fact, most trajectory spells could change their direction under the control of the Mages. But the angle of Flashing Magic Ball was bigger. While most spells couldn''t be turned over ten degrees, Flashing Magic Ball could be turned in about thirty degrees. With enough magic power, Flashing Magic Ball could even took a turn back. This was a level-three elemental spell that generally couldn''t be learned until level eight. Roland was already level seven, and his mental growth was high enough for him to learn the spell. Most importantly, for an Elemental Lord, the difficulty to learn all elemental spells would automatically be reduced by a level. Learning level-two spells were now as simple to him as eating food. Reading the spell models for about ten minutes and simulating them in his head, he made a snatching motion with his right hand, and a ball of plasma appeared in his palm. The male Mage had been observing Roland. He was so shocked that he cried out and stepped back. He was frightened. His cry caught the attention of the other Mages, who all looked at Roland in surprise. They had all read the model of Flashing Magic Ball and memorized it, but none of them could cast it yet because it was too complicated for them. Yet, the young man had picked it up already? That couldn''t be true. He must''ve learned it before and came here intentionally to show off. Roland didn''t care what they were thinking. He carefully sensed the ball in his hand and then dispersed the magic power. He shook his head. Not good enough He could tell that Flashing Magic Ball was more powerful than Prismatic Spray and Arcane Bullet, but it was not as good as he expected. After all, he still had Grand Fireball, his ultimate skill. He had to modify the spell. Just as Fireball, this spell could be improved. Roland suddenly wasn''t interested in any quests anymore. He only wanted to go back to his Magic Tower and perfect this spell. But a promise was a promise. He couldn''t renege. Now, Roland finally understood why so many books in the library in his Magic Tower said that a real Mage had no family or friends but only magic! 427 Surrounded Those books were not unimportant. All knowledge was useful. Even the travel journals could be eye-openers for the readers. But different people needed different knowledge. For Roland, he was only interested in magic books at this point. He began to search for useful magic books in the library In fact, he didn''t care if they were useful but simply took a photo of all the books related to magic, ready to copy them and put them in his Magic Tower after he returned. While Roland was "looting" books crazily, the other six Mages in the library were more and more drawn to him. Eventually, it was the male Mage who gave his book to Roland that came to him. After a brief hesitation, he asked while the other Mages looked at him yearningly, "May I know your name, sir?" "Roland!" Roland closed his book and said to the Mage, "Is there anything I can help you with?" "Can you teach us the level-three Flashing Magic Ball?" The eyes of the male Mage were full of hope. Roland looked around again, only to find that the rest of the Mages were all staring at him avidly. So, he might as well teach them. They had all read the spell model, although they couldn''t understand it yet. Roland hadn''t improved the model of the Flashing Magic Ball yet, and those Mages would understand the old model sooner or later, so he might as well teach it to them. Chances were that they would return the favor someday. Then, all seven of them sat down around a table, and Roland interpreted Flashing Magic Ball in great detail. Those Mages were all middle-aged men of levels eight and nine. They could learn level-three spells. Also, Roland''s teaching was very informative. They understood what he said very well. But the more they listened, the more shocked they became. It was because of the details that Roland covered. Generally speaking, it would be knowledgeable enough if one knew whether the magic power should pass a certain node quickly or slowly, but Roland told them the functions of all the nodes, informing them what kind of effects the vibrations of a certain frequency at a certain node would cause, why the magic power must be split at certain nodes, etc. Soon, Roland explained all the nodes in Flashing Magic Ball. The smartest of those Mages could already condense minor plasma balls. In the next four days, the seven of them met in the library each day and discussed magic. Although those people did not know the basics as well as Roland did, they were much older than Roland and had many special little tricks. After listening to their explanation, Roland had a new understanding on the application of mental power. In the evening of the fourth day, when the meeting was over, Roland said, "I won''t be here tomorrow. There''s business that I must attend to." He had learned from the guild channel that Li Lin and the rest of the gang had come to the capital. Tomorrow, they would set off for the quest. "Mr. Roland, when will you return to Delpon?" someone asked. Roland thought for a moment and said, "In one month, if we''re quick, or two to three months, if we''re slow. I''m not sure." "Then I''ll be sure to visit you in Delpon in half a year," said the Mage affirmatively. After the four days, the seven of them were already close to each other. They also learned of each other''s identities. Of the six Mages, four were branch chairmen of the Magic Towers in other cities, and two were Mages in service at the royal palace. Roland had always hoped to facilitate the communication among Mages whether they were players or locals of this world. So, he introduced to them the specialties of his Magic Tower, including the unique spell models he modified. While he talked, he even released magic spiders and magic puppets to be more persuasive. That indeed drew the attention of those Mages. Of course, Roland also told him the rules he would implement. His spell models could only be exchanged with other spells models or magic tricks that were equally valuable, or with an appropriate amount of gold coins. The other Mages promised that they would be fair. After all, special spell models could be very attractive for the pure Mages. After the meeting was over, Roland left the library and checked out at his hotel. Then, he came to the manor of the Hibiscus family. Li Lin and his other friends were waiting inside. Roland walked in and hugged his friends that he hadn''t seen for a long time. They were all very happy. Dinah, on the other hand, smiled to one side. Her eyes were focused on Betta most of the time. After chatting with his friends for a while, he said, "Miss, everybody has been gathered. Can you tell us the details of this mission now?" Dinah nodded and pointed at the long table, before she sat down first. After everybody else was seated, she looked around at F6 and gazed at Betta for two seconds. Then she began. "Like I said earlier, I want you to fetch some water from the Well of Light." "The water from the Well of Light?" asked Brazil curiously. "It''s said to be the tears left by the Goddess of Light. It''s in a certain forsaken place." Roland thought for a moment and said, "Then may we know the usage of such water?" "It can improve your physical qualities and bring you much closer to the light," Dinah said. "It can also significantly improve your theurgy of light." "It sounds rather incredible." Roland nodded. "But I''m even more curious. If you are aware of this information as a young girl, and you have told it to us so generously, other people must be aware of the water''s existence too. Why has nobody taken the water from the Well of Light yet?" The rest of F6 were silent, because Roland generally spoke for them in group operations. Even though Schuck was the nominal leader, he listened to Roland''s command most of the time. "Because only you and me are aware of this right now." Dinah''s eyes were focused on Betta, as tranquil as a clear lake reflecting the bright moon. "The goddess told me this piece of information in my dreams." A favor from the goddess? Then it was understandable. Dinah was a Saint Samurai. The goddess probably felt sorry for her when she made no progress at all. "Okay, you can tell us the location." Roland stood up. "We''ll set off right now." "It''s buried in the Northern Dawn Woods near Pine Wind City Why don''t you wait until morning before you take off?" Dinah bit her lips. "It''s already evening." "The Golden Sons do not need to sleep." Roland added, "Besides, the sooner we go, the sooner we will come back. We''ve wasted a lot of time." "But" Dinah peeped at Betta now and then. "Don''t worry. After we fetch the water and complete the mission, Betta will be one of the Hibiscuses, won''t he?" There was a teasing smile on Roland''s face. His other friends were smiling rather mysteriously too. Betta was the only person who was confused, as if he had no idea why they were smiling so weirdly. As a shy girl, Dinah stomped on the floor and ran back to her room when they teased her. "Let''s go." Roland snapped his fingers at his friends. They rented a carriage Apart from Schuck, Raffel did not come either. Raffel was now learning under a dwarf shieldmaster and would probably turn into a Dwarf Shieldguard. He had also studied the Hybrid specialization and selected the dwarf bloodline. Therefore, the remaining five members of F6 were able to take one carriage and set off. As a Rogue, Husseret naturally knew how to drive a carriage. Nothing strange happened on their journey. Because they maintained a high speed, they reached Pine Wind City in no more than three days. Pine Wind City was at the center of Hollevin with good access to other places. Also, it was surrounded by a fertile plain. So, the city was prosperous and populated. Though it was not as good as the capital, it was the second largest city in the country and had a profound business atmosphere. At the same time, many professionals were active in this place. Many minor mercenary groups even considered the city their base. Roland and his friends checked in at a hotel in Pine Wind City. After a day of rest, they bought enough food and items that were needed in their adventure, before they set off for the Northern Dawn Woods. According to Dinah, the ancient relics were buried deep under the Northern Dawn Woods. However, Roland and his friends ran into trouble when they tried to enter the Northern Dawn Woods. They were blocked by a mercenary squad. "Sorry, the Northern Dawn Woods is the territory of the Silver Mercenaries." Standing before Roland and his friends was a young man with brown hair and blue eyes in gray leather armor. "We''ve rented this area for ten years from the mayor. Everything here belongs to us for the next ten years. So, my friends, please go back. If you want to go hunting, you can go to the Western Dawn Woods over there." Roland and his friends looked at each other in bewilderment. They had gotten off to a bad start. They did not plan to kill those mercenaries to get through. It hadn''t been long since the incident with black leaf players happened. The players had found that the NPCs were strongly protected in this game. Killing ten players might not be as evil as killing one NPC, unless the NPC was an objective in a quest, or if they had done something horrible. They returned to the hotel and sat around a table. "It seems that we have to figure out a way to get into the woods." They all looked at Roland. Considering for a moment, Roland said, "Those woods are huge. I don''t believe that the mercenaries can keep an eye on every part of it at night. Husseret, you sneak there at night and find out the routines and the sentry posts of the mercenaries first. The rest of us can take a rest." "Can we do nothing but wait?" Li Lin scratched his head angrily. "That''s so boring." "We can visit the city." Roland stood up with a smile. "I''ll make preparations to help Husseret at night. Otherwise, it will be too difficult for him to investigate the mercenaries all by himself." But at this moment, Brazil suddenly stood up, walked to the window, and looked down. Then he said, "We''re surrounded. Those people seem hostile." Everybody was confused. They had only been here for half a day, and they hadn''t pissed off anyone yet. Why were they surrounded? 428 You Think Youre Smart? Looking at the crowd that was drawing near, Husseret remarked, "Are they here for someone other than us?" "I don''t think so." Brazil shook his head. As a Hunter, he was very sensitive about other people''s maliciousness. His first specialty as a Hunter was exactly Humanoid Nemesis, which made him very sensitive about the maliciousness of human-like creatures. In game terms, a circle of red spots were surrounding him on his mini-map. Naturally, his friends believed him. Roland thought for a moment and said, "Let''s go down. If they''re here for us, we can''t get away from them. After all, we still have a quest in Northern Dawn Woods." Betta pondered it and asked, "It''s a shame that I sent Glinton away for an errand. Otherwise, he could likely talk to the people in this place." "Is he very powerful?" "He''s the heir to Bronze Drum City. He told me that he knew all the mayors in Hollevin." Brazil failed to perceive Betta''s implication. He asked, "He can''t help us even if he knows the mayors. The people that are coming at us are clearly mercenaries." Betta blinked his eyes and muttered a response. He wasn''t very familiar with Brazil and didn''t know what he should say. Roland said with a smile, "Those mercenaries are clearly members of the Silver Mercenaries who just kicked us away. They rented the Northern Dawn Woods from the mayor, so if we knew the mayor, we might be able to pull some strings." Brazil hummed a response. He was a straightforward person who was too lazy to think about complicated things, or he wouldn''t have become a Hunter dealing with beasts in the woods all the time in this game when he was not with his friends. While talking, Roland led his friends downstairs. As they had seen, the mercenaries had surrounded the hotel and driven away all the guests except Roland''s gang. They were standing in a circle in the lobby. At the center of the circle was a middle-aged man in silver armor. Naturally, the armor wasn''t made of armor; it was simply varnished with silver powder, which didn''t cost as much. Seated in the middle of the mercenaries, the man laid one of his arms on the table, supporting his body, while he drank wine with his other hand. He looked rather majestic. Roland came down leading his friends. Seeing the strangers, F6 all mumbled and realized that they were hostile. There were about twenty mercenaries here. Most of them were level two or three. But the man at the center was a level-ten Master. On his left and his right were a level-five Archer and a level-six Shield Warrior respectively. Their lineup was rather impressive in a small country like Hollevin. Though the enemy seemed powerful, Roland felt that his side had advantages if they started a fight. Li Lin was from a rich family, and he was the most short-tempered among his friends. He simply went ahead and smashed his giant sword on the table, leaving a white mark on the thick desk with a noise. Looking at the middle-aged man, he said angrily, "Why have you surrounded us with all these people?" "A Barbarian?" The middle-aged looked at Li Lin up and down and sneered. "Since when are Barbarians qualified to talk to me? Get the hell out of here if you don''t want to be embarrassed." "S*it!" Li Lin almost jumped to his feet in fury, but he held himself back after a moment of thought. He stood up and said to Roland, "You talk to him." Then he stepped aside. Brazil and Husseret were both laughing to one side. Husseret, in particular, couldn''t be more amused. "Do you not know the social status of Barbarians? You really didn''t learn anything in the past year." "Stop talking." Li Lin heaved a sigh. "It''s really ironic when so many people call me Young Master Li respectfully in reality but look down on me in the game." Brazil and Husseret laughed even more delightedly. They were in a jolly mood. Roland, on the other hand, sat down before the middle-aged man and said with a smile, "Am I qualified to talk to you?" "You are a Mage. You certainly are." The middle-aged man nodded and tapped the table. "Is the noble near you lower than you?" The middle-aged man looked at Betta. As part of his class setting, Betta''s noble identity couldn''t be ignored by regular people. Betta waved his hand. "Brother Roland can take care of everything." "Okay." The middle-aged man found it odd, but he didn''t want to pursue it further. Mages were as revered as nobles. So, if the real noble would rather not talk, it was fine to talk to the Mage. The middle-aged man did not feel humiliated. "You attempted to enter our woods today, didn''t you?" The middle-aged man shook his body. His hair was very short, and his face was quite plain, but he did have the vibe of a leader. Roland nodded. "But we didn''t go in." "It doesn''t matter whether or not you went in." The middle-aged man chuckled. "We know that you''re drawn to something inside." Roland raised his eyebrow. "Therefore" The middle-aged man leaned forward and moved his head closer to Roland. "Can you tell me what you''re trying to find in the woods?" Roland slightly leaned back, not because he was scared of the middle-aged man, but because the man''s mouth stank. The middle-aged man was amused when he saw that Roland leaned back. He thought that Roland was intimidated by him. Roland leaned back further and said, "We were only trying to hunt some animals for their meat. Since it was private property, we simply came back." "Do you think I''m a fool?" The middle-aged pointed at Roland and then at Betta. "You are a Mage and a noble. You''re clearly not short of food or clothes. Even your servants seem rather well-dressed. You''re also living in such a nice hotel. Yet, you hunted for meat? Besides, nobody has ever been to the Northern Dawn Woods for hunting the moment they came to this city, unless they had other purposes." Roland closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened his eyes and said, "Can you keep a distance from me? Your breath stinks!" The middle-aged man was stumped. All of F6 tried to hold back their laughter. "What if I don''t?" The middle-aged man lost his cool with an awful look on his face. "Then we''ll go," said Roland causally. Staring at Roland for a while, the middle-aged man sat straight in his seat. Roland asked again, "May I know your name?" "Spara, deputy captain of the Silver Mercenaries." The middle-aged man snorted. "You are indeed a cunning Mage. You''ve taken the initiative from me. However, mark my words. If you don''t tell me why you''re here, you can never go into the Northern Dawn Woods." Tapping the table and staring at the middle-aged man for a while, Roland asked, "You''re not asking us who we are?" "I don''t need to. We know that you''re Golden Sons. We wouldn''t have come here if you weren''t. Everybody knows that there is fortune wherever the Golden Sons show up. You are a people that pursue gold and wealth, just as your name suggests." This time, not just Roland, but Roland and the rest of them were rather startled too. "You came to us for trouble when you know that we were Golden Sons?" Roland was surprised. "That''s right. It''s really impressive that you don''t age or die," the middle-aged man nodded and said, "but that can''t make us terrified of you. After the incident in Winterwind, we all know the weakness of the Golden Sons." What was that about? Roland turned back and looked at his friends. They shook his heads, indicating that they didn''t know what the "weakness" was. But Betta pondered for a moment and said, "I''m told that the black leaf players all deleted their accounts after the queen killed them hundreds of times. So, rumor has it that if the Golden Sons attack human beings for no good reason, they will be hunted and exiled from this world by the gods." Roland nodded. Betta continued, "Also, the players are indeed a lot more obedient recently, so the locals have a feeling that we dare not attack them randomly." It was not just their feeling. The players really did not dare to attack them randomly, not while they still wanted to play this game. This game was unique in the world. Also, the game developers never released any more immersive cabins. If a player was marked with a black leaf, they would have to say goodbye to this game. Roland turned back and said to the middle-aged man with a smile, "It''s true that we can''t attack anyone randomly, but you can''t attack us either, or we''ll be justified to fight back." "You can only beat us up at best. Do you dare to kill us?" Spara burst into laughter. "We the mercenaries make our living through the most dangerous missions. Do you think we''re afraid of beating when we''re not afraid of death? Besides, we''re not going to do anything to you. We''ll simply kick you away from the Northern Dawn Woods every time we see you if you don''t tell us your purpose. "Just think about it." Spara smiled cockily and left with his men. After the men of the Silver Mercenaries left, Li Lin frowned. "What do we do? They''re rather disgusting. They believe that we''re making a fortune and want a share. Damn it, I hate the smart and annoying NPCs most. You can''t beat them, but if you leave, they will mock you as cowards." Roland stood up and said, "This Spara is rather stupid to challenge the Golden Sons." This time, Li Lin was upset. "Hey, hey. I just stated that he was tricky to deal with, and you said that he''s stupid. Are you insinuating that I''m stupid?" Roland gazed at him without saying anything. "F*ck me!" Li Lin cursed himself helplessly. Roland smiled and said, "Husseret, you look into the Silver Mercenaries, including their scale, their base, their territory, etc. Then, Betta and the rest of us will wander in their territory with your intelligence and try to trigger quests. I don''t believe that such an arrogant group of mercenaries have never done anything bad. We''ll beat them up the moment we pick up a quest. Let''s see how long they can endure!" 429 The Golden Sons Are All Lurkers Even the regular residents within the city amounted to almost a million. The slums were in similar conditions to those in White Elephant State, although they were twice as big. Those slums were the main territory of the Silver Mercenaries. As a Rogue, or as he was commonly called, a thief, Husseret had learned the skills including bluffing, coercing, and convincing, as well as other specialties in "communication" apart from stealth and anti-stealth skills. Besides, he could trade intelligence in the Guild of Rogues here, which gave him more advantages. So, it only took him three days to figure out the basics of the Silver Mercenaries. Inside the hotel, the five friends were gathered in a room reading the city map on the desk. Circles had been drawn on the slum area on the left side as well as other places to mark the territory of the Silver Mercenaries. "We''ll start from this place." Roland pointed at the slums. "This is a world at the bottom level. Based on Husseret''s investigation, the Silver Mercenaries have been sucking the slums'' blood. At least one-third of their revenue is from the slums." Li Lin asked, not entirely convinced, "How much can they suck out of the slums?" "There must''ve been a lot of slums that they took advantage of." Roland continued, "Betta and you will wander in this slum later. Betta is always lucky when it comes to mission-triggering. I don''t think it will take long for you to receive a quest against the Silver Mercenaries." "Then what will you do?" asked Li Lin. Roland was not joining them on the trip to the slums, but nobody thought that he would slack off. "I''ll scout the Northern Dawn Woods from the sky and try to determine where the relics are mostly likely to be located." Brazil was perplexed. "That''s a forest. What can you possibly see from the sky?" "I can cover it with my mental power. Though I can''t cover it all at once, there won''t be a problem if I hover above the woods for several laps." Li Lin clicked his tongue. "You do have a lot of tricks. I didn''t know that Mages could work as reconnaissance drones." Brazil said, "Why don''t you create a Mage character too? I have a feeling that the more Mages we have, the better." "Forget it," Li Lin said without any hesitation. "I don''t think I''m smart enough. It will be embarrassing for a high-school graduate to play as a Mage." Everybody laughed. Li Lin was the only person in the gang who never went to college. He joined the army after he graduated from high school. They had been watching over Roland and his friends, fearing that they might sneak to the Northern Dawn Woods. Actually, normal people would''ve left Pine Wind City when they were watched in such a way, but Roland and his friends were still here, which further convinced the Silver Mercenaries that they were hoping to find something in the Northern Dawn Woods. On the other hand, the Silver Mercenaries were already turning the Northern Dawn Woods upside down, hoping to find the treasure in the forest by themselves. But they hadn''t found any leads yet. So, the people who were sent to watch over the Golden Sons dared not relax at all but followed the targets closely. It was well-known that something important would always happen once the Golden Sons formed a group of five. That was not a secret among the mercenaries. Roland glanced at them and walked to the door, before he swooshed up into the sky. A Mage who could fly Those mercenaries certainly couldn''t follow Roland, so they could only watch over Betta and the rest of them. Betta smiled at them and then led his friends to the slums. Roland flew fast and soon came to the sky above the Northern Dawn Woods. He swooped a dozen meters above the woods and established his mental power field. Earlier, he had learned the trick to colorize the vision provided via mental power from a branch chairman at the library in the capital''s headquarters. He was inspired by the trick and figured out how to further expand his mental power. In such a mode, his mental power couldn''t distinguish the souls of human beings from those of animals, but it could detect the terrain precisely. It was exactly such a mental power field that Roland unfolded. He hovered above the Northern Dawn Woods and blanket-scouted the terrain below. Because Human Cannonball was very fast, and he was flying at a low altitude, he caused loud noises, and the Silver Mercenaries at the Northern Dawn Woods naturally noticed him. The archers at several sentry posts aimed at him, but none of them dared to shoot their arrows, partly because Roland was too fast for them to hit, partly because they had been instructed by their deputy captain Spara not to attack the Golden Sons unless they were attacked. As long as they obeyed the rules, the Golden Sons wouldn''t dare to do anything randomly. The truth was that Spara was only half-correct. He was right about not giving the players a chance to fight back, but the players did not have to attack him to take him down. Roland''s eyes glittered during his seventh lap above the Northern Dawn Woods. He stopped and slowly descended after casting Slow Landing on himself. Since his speed was greatly lowered, this spell could be totally used as a floating spell. Roland perceived the terrain below for a while and then flew back into Pine Wind City. At the same time, Betta left a message in the system. "Brother Roland, we''ve got six quests related to the Silver Mercenaries. Are you coming over?" Roland: "No, you can take care of them yourselves. I''ve found the entrance. I''ll do some shopping and make preparations for our exploration." Betta: "Okay, then we''ll begin our operation." Sitting in the mercenaries'' base, Spara was somewhat ill at ease. The Golden Son Mage hovered in his mind again and again. He didn''t know what the guy was up to. But he didn''t think that he had done anything wrong. After all, he had strictly forbidden his men from inciting conflict with the Golden Sons. All the mercenaries knew that many Golden Sons were branded with black leaves on their faces for ruining Winterwind. Those people were hunted by the Church of Light, the Church of Life, and even by other Golden Sons. During the few months since then, the Golden Sons were clearly much more obedient. They were not as unrestrained as before, and they would not threaten to kill anyone easily now. The mercenaries were most sensitive about that. They could tell that the Golden Sons were really laying low. The truth was that Spara wanted to cooperate with the Golden Sons if possible, as those people were really good at making money. He had seen at least four mercenary groups who made a fortune after establishing connections to certain Golden Sons and completing their special missions. The Dragon Claw Mercenaries in particular, who were his main rival, had cooperated with a group of Golden Sons named "Phoenix" on an escort mission. Though they lost some men, they got a reward and compensation of twenty gold coins. Spara was quite jealous. Why couldn''t they do that if other mercenary groups could? But of course, the Golden Sons were very capable. They would never ask for help if they were confident of taking care of something on their own. So, he had to make use of his advantages and force them to cooperate with him. The five Golden Sons came to his Northern Dawn Woods, which meant that this place had something they wanted. Spara was quite angry that he couldn''t see or touch the treasure when he knew that it was out there somewhere. He had to play some tricks and coerce the Golden Sons into working with him. The Golden Son in the sky left after hovering a while. Spara was supposed to be relaxed, but for reasons he didn''t know, he was more and more uneasy, as if he had neglected something. Time went by gradually, and Spara kept thinking in his chair. He hadn''t figured out what he neglected by the time it was evening. When he was about to return to the city and enjoy some wine, one of his subordinates barged in anxiously. "Deputy captain, not good!" The man wiped his sweat and said quickly, "The Golden Sons attacked us in the slums! Some of our brothers were killed, many were heavily wounded!" Spara stood up abruptly and snapped, "How is it possible? The Golden Sons dare not attack us randomly right now! Are they not scared of getting black leaves?" "I don''t know." The man almost cried in fear under Spara''s fury. "No, I have to take a look." Spara stood up. "You ring the bell and ask everybody to gather. We''ll all go there and find out why the Golden Sons attacked our brothers." In a slum, Betta glanced at the quest menu and said with a smile, "Well, the quest ''Avenge the Blind Girl'' is complete. Next, it''s ''Granny Asana''s Fury,'' which requires us to kill at least two lackeys of the Silver Mercenaries and break the legs of ten." Holding his giant sword on his shoulder, Li Lin grinned hideously. "Roland is indeed smart and vicious. He was right that we could trigger quests in this place. I love slashing those son of bi*ches." Around them, many heavily wounded members of the Silver Mercenaries were moaning in pain. Most of the poor people had been scared off and were hiding far away. At this moment, a skinny boy came to them from the wall timidly. His clothes were dirty and patched, and his hair was as messy as a rat''s nest. He was trembling hard, but he summoned his courage and walked to Betta before he opened his hand. Inside his dirty hand were three coppers. "You''re not scared of the Silver Mercenaries, right Could you help me find my mom, please? She was taken away by them. It''s been three days since I saw her. Please" Would you like to accept the elite quest "Punish the Silver Mercenaries For Compelling a Female to Engage in Prostitution"? They all looked at each other with a smile. Betta took one of the coppers and said, "Buddy, we''ll accept your request." 430 Equivalent Exchange? They had other ways to make money. Although they couldn''t make a fortune, it was fairly easy for them to live a quality life. After all, it was very simple for professionals to work as bodyguards or to protect big convoys. Besides, the Golden Sons were actually well-respected at this moment. They weren''t really despised even after the incident with the black leaf. The NPCs weren''t stupid. They had seen what the players did in the past year and realized that the players were a bunch of nosy professionals with a sense of justice, although their behavior could be indescribably weird now and then. After the incident of the black leaf, the other Golden Sons hunted the men with black leaves too, without sheltering them. Who could be trusted if such a group of people couldn''t be? The greedy gnomes? Or the succubi who called themselves honest and loyal? Most of the time, actions spoke louder than words. By the time Spara arrived at the slum with his men, almost all the members of the Silver Mercenaries had been cleared out. More than forty people were killed, and more than two hundred were heavily wounded. These people were all unimportant bottom-level members of the mercenary group. However, as all of them were cleared out, the foundation of this mercenary group had been destroyed. Spara visited a couple of branches. He saw either bodies or the members of his gang struggling with broken legs. Instead of asking his men to treat the bottom-level members, he kept searching for the Golden Sons. After all, their combat ability would be compromised if he split his men. He had many spies in the slums. Soon enough, they tracked down Betta and his friends with the help of the spies. This place was one of their branches used to control the slums in the north. When they arrived, they saw a lackey falling from the second floor screaming. He crashed to the ground, blood splashing. Seeing that, Spara raised his head, only to see Li Lin carrying a giant sword on his shoulder. The man grinned and leaped from the second floor. With a huge noise, a tiny pit appeared in the ground. Although Spara was with more than twenty men, none of them dared to attack a Barbarian Golden Son, however angry they were. At this moment, it vaguely occurred to them that they were still terrified of the Golden Sons. The Golden Sons laid low because they wanted to lay low, not because they were forced to. If the Golden Sons were to take action, there would be nothing the mercenaries could do. Betta was in the front. He was wiping his bloodstained hands with a white handkerchief while he walked to the mercenaries slowly. He was even smiling. That picture was a major shock for the mercenaries. They even had a terrible feeling, as if Betta were one of those heinous nobles who took pleasure in killing innocent people. "Are you not afraid of being branded with black leaves?" demanded Spara angrily. His face was so twisted that he seemed hysterical. An hour earlier, he was so confident that he had found the weakness of the Golden Sons. Some of the Golden Sons were hunted by the Church of Life and the Church of Light, the two biggest churches in the world. Other Golden Sons, as their own kind, were supposed to learn a lesson from them and keep a low profile. But what did these people do? They went on a killing spree in the slum. Betta stood before Spara and said with a smile, "We''re quite afraid." "Then why?" Gritting his teeth, Spara roared uncontrollably, "Why did you dare to kill so many people?" Betta smiled. "Because we''re justified. We didn''t kill anyone randomly. The people you exploited, bullied, and took advantage of all asked us to take you down." "I still don''t understand why you could kill civilians and ordinary people." Spara couldn''t understand. Could those poor people count as human beings? Were their requests really requests? Shouldn''t the poor work for superior men like him? "You took advantage of the innocent residents here, and you think you''re ordinary people?" Betta shook his head. At this moment, Li Lin and the rest of F6 dispersed and walked to the mercenaries'' flanks, as if they were trying to surround the mercenaries who outnumbered them. Spara keenly realized that and took a deep breath. "Fine. I admit my defeat this time. You''re free to enter the Northern Dawn Woods now." Spara had his own considerations. He didn''t understand why the Golden Sons weren''t afraid of getting black leaves now, but he knew that those people were forcing him to give away the Northern Dawn Woods. Though the Golden Sons were outnumbered, they had a high morale and they were undying. Even if they were killed here, they would still come back someday. Until he found a way to really suppress or limit them, it was best not to go against these people. Spara had thought that he figured it all out, but what happened suggested that it didn''t work. He breathed heavily and lowered his head, before he stepped back slowly. They turned around and were about to leave. But at this moment, a dark shadow slowly descended from the sky. It was Roland. He landed at the end of the road. As a result, Spara and his men were completely penned in. Spara couldn''t have looked more awful at this moment. "What''s the meaning of this? We never wronged you or attacked you. Do you really not fear the black leaves?" Spara was more and more shocked. The threat of the black leaf was the only thing he could count on at this moment, so he clutched it like a drowning man. "If we dare to surround you, we certainly dare to kill you." Betta smiled. Spara and his men all changed their expressions after hearing that. In the end, Spara suddenly turned around and bellowed at the two sides of the street. "What are you looking at, you untouchables? Come out and help me, or I''ll charge dozens of times more protection fees from you after I leave! Do you hear me? Come out!" Spara was rather smart. He vaguely sensed that the Golden Sons might not dare to kill the untouchables although they dared to kill him, so there was nothing that the Golden Sons could do if the untouchables protected him. Though his intuition found it weird, it seemed to be a fact. However, after Spara roared his demand, all the sheds and shacks that could hear him were completely closed. None of the windows or doors were left open. Roland laughed when he saw that. At this moment, Spara, whose face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, turned around with madness in his eyes. He charged at Roland and roared, "Let''s get out of here first!" He was a Warrior, and Charge was among his basic abilities. But he was stopped by a shield-wielding magic puppet before he reached Roland. After a collision, the puppet slightly shivered. Spara''s regular iron sword was broken after it hit the puppet''s shield. He stepped back with his hands trembling. The rest of the Silver Mercenaries were about to fight side by side with Spara, but Betta and the rest of F6 certainly wouldn''t let them. Li Lin simply broke into the crowd and launched Whirl Slash. Brazil leaped back and shot his arrows, and his stealthy leopard suddenly emerged and bit an enemy''s leg before it dragged the enemy into a dark corner. Then, terrible screams rang out. Grabbing his longsword, Betta was about to join the battle. But after he looked around, he found that most of the enemies had been killed by Li Lin''s attack, and broken limbs were flying everywhere. After Spara was pushed back by Roland''s magic puppet, he quickly lowered his body and drew out a dagger from his boot. He had heard the screams behind him, but he couldn''t care about his subordinates anymore. His own life would be at risk if he couldn''t get out. Hardly had he drawn out the dagger when he saw a red blade cutting at him from his right side at a high speed. He quickly backed off. As a Warrior, he reacted fast enough, and he was about to get out of the range of the attack. But the red light suddenly expanded and slashed across his chest. Stepping back, Spara lowered his head and looked at his chest in disbelief, before he raised his eyes at Roland. His eyes soon dilated, and his expression was frozen. At this moment, Roland was still in the posture of forward slash, with a red miaodao at least fourteen meters long in his hands. At the edge of the miaodao was a layer of blue condensed flames. Then, Roland stood straight and dispersed the fire on his miaodao. Finally, Spara''s body fell apart at his chest. The wounds on the two parts of the body were both blackened. No blood was shed at all. "What a weak Master-level Warrior!" Roland found it hard to believe. Was this man one of the Masters who reached this level by consuming special resources? Why was he so weak? Andonara could''ve beaten the current Roland up when she was merely a Master, though she cared about him too much to do that. Now that Andonara had become a Legend and awakened her Hero bloodline, she could even fly as a phoenix for a while. Not just one Roland, but five Rolands couldn''t survive five minutes under her attacks. "He''s not weak; you''re simply too strong. A fourteen-meter-long saber can cut everything in the world. He couldn''t have escaped even if he had run ten meters first." While talking, the stealth-mode Husseret revealed himself. He liked praising others. He put his dagger back. He had intended to ambush Spara, but Spara was killed before he did anything, and he was almost cut by Roland''s fiery miaodao. This fiery miaodao was one of Roland''s abilities after he became an Elemental Lord. His control of elemental spells was greatly improved, and the cost was reduced too. It was barely possible for Roland to build a long saber with pure fire elements in the past. He had to control the fire elements with a spell model. However, he felt that all the neutral elements were at his disposal at this moment. But this was just a basic application. To use more elements or to combine them freely, he would have to reach higher levels first. He would be a lot stronger by the time he became a Master, and he could fully carry out the capabilities of an Elemental Lord when he became a Legend. At this moment, the rest of the Silver Mercenaries were defeated too. The last of them knelt down and begged for mercy, but Li Lin simply slashed him into a pulp of meat coldly with his giant sword. Eventually, he looked at the guy''s body and said coldly, "Did you spare the poor people when they knelt and begged you to?" Husseret, on the other hand, exclaimed when he observed Spara''s body. He cut Spara''s armor with his dagger and tore off a necklace. "So it was because of this!" He glanced at the item and threw it to Roland. "It''s good stuff." Roland accepted the silver necklace and put it in his hand. Soon, the data of the item popped up. Bewildering Eye of the Love God (Excellent) Attributions: Health +20, Stamina Regeneration +10 (when not hungry) Bewilderment: When males wear this necklace, they will appear more powerful; when females wear this necklace, they will seem vulnerable and make males want to protect them. Well it was a nice piece of equipment. An increase of 20 points of Health equaled to the Health growth of a Warrior after two level-ups. Plus the increased Stamina Regeneration, it was truly a piece of good equipment for a Warrior. But bewilderment, the magic effect of this equipment, was rather tricky. It would only be useful at critical moments. Spara was not a Master at all. He simply came across as a Master because of the necklace. It could make someone look stronger so it could be useful. It seemed very useful on females too. "Help me appraise this." Roland tossed the necklace back to Husseret. "I''ll take this one. I''ll pay you later." "Enough nonsense." Husseret threw the necklace back. "You didn''t ask for our gold coins last time, so we certainly can''t take anything from you this time. Besides, he was killed by you anyway. This is your loot." The rest of the team gathered and looked at Roland''s necklace, but none of them were interested. Li Lin, in particular, threw a tantrum and cursed, "Roland, why do you look down on us? You think none of us has seen any gold coins?" The rest of them had a similar attitude. "Okay then." Roland put the necklace in his system Backpack and said, "I''ll claim this item then. We can share other equipment if we find any." Everybody looked around, but no Silver Mercenaries could move anymore. Betta then asked, "Brother Roland, what do we do next?" "Have you completed all your quests?" "There are another two." Betta scratched his head and said, "One of them is to eliminate all the hiding Silver Mercenaries in the slums, and the other is to find the captain of the Silver Mercenaries and kill him. It''s a blue quest, but the system shows that the target is very far away." Roland thought a moment and said, "The captain must''ve gone elsewhere for missions. Let''s ignore him. You clear the slums first and make sure that all of them are caught. If any of them survives, they might be more brutal and make the poor suffer more. I''ll go to the Northern Dawn Woods first to create a tunnel to the relics." "Okay." Roland then left everybody and flew back to the spot in the Northern Dawn Woods that he marked earlier. The Northern Dawn Wood was quiet, with bird chirps and beastly sounds echoing from far away. So, the place was rather creepily quiet. Roland landed and looked around. Then, he closed his hands in his magic robe, summoning two magic puppets near him. Then, four tiny magic spiders showed up too and dispersed in four directions, monitoring the surroundings. After taking enough precautions, Roland stared at the soil before him. Then, the soil three meters ahead of him surged and split apart. An enormous cave appeared. Then, the soil was pulled aside by an invisible power, making the cave deeper and deeper. Roland stared at the cave without moving at all. Magic power interwove and collided around him, forming delicate streams of energy that made the soil roll out according to Roland''s will. The slant cave was deep and dark. Roland threw a light ball down and tried again. But he found that he was too far away from the bottom of the cave, and he had to jump in to continue his excavation. Then, with a thought, he transformed the mud below his feet into stairs that stretched to the depths of the cave. He was about to step down the stairs, when he stopped and looked to his right. In the meantime, he put on the Mind-Calming Necklace to replenish his magic power. Half of his magic power had been consumed as he had been digging the cave with earth elemental power. He looked around and planned to hide, but he stopped because the stranger came faster than he thought. About five seconds later, a person in a green robe with a silver longbow on the back appeared. The stranger was rather slim, but the person''s face was hidden under the hood. The stranger grabbed the longbow upon seeing Roland, but the person soon relaxed. Then, the stranger lifted the hood voluntarily. Roland saw long, straight green hair, and a pair of long ears. The stranger was a female elf, and a very beautiful one. Her eyes were bright green, and her lips were tiny and red. She looked at Roland with a smile. "I sensed a magic power that was destroying the soil, so I came to take a look. I didn''t expect to see a compatriot here." A compatriot Well, Roland realized that he had been mistaken for an elf a lot recently. "What are you doing here?" "I''m digging for something," Roland said casually. "Don''t worry, I''ll refill the cave after I find it." "That''s good." The elf nodded as if she was relieved. Then, she looked at Roland hopefully. "Compatriot, can you buy some salt for me from a human market? Human beings aren''t nice to pure elves, so I don''t want to appear in public. But I haven''t had any salt in two months. I''m quite weak at this moment." Roland thought a moment and took out a piece of meatloaf that Andonara made from his system Backpack. The meatloaf contained a lot of salt. "Thank you." The elf accepted the meatloaf delightedly and put something down in Roland''s hand. "This is for you. Okay, I''m leaving. Remember to fill the hole, compatriot." Then, the elf put the meatloaf in a bag on her waist and quickly left. Was this a special plot? Roland was rather puzzled. He wondered if this was a prerequisite mission for the search of the Water of Light. Then, he looked at his palm, only to be rendered speechless. Inside his hand was a tiny purple flower. The flower was translucent, like a piece of purple glass. A Complete Flower of the World Tree (Epic) Effect: It can significantly increase the soul longevity and slightly purify the elven bloodline after it''s eaten. It can also be used as a valuable magic material. Damn it Had he made a fortune? Did the elven bloodline come with so many privileges? He definitely had chosen the right bloodline. 431 One Glance, One World This item was not very valuable in the game, but from the perspective of reality, it was completely different. Earlier, Roland had only one petal, which wasn''t effective on him. But Vivian''s mental power wasn''t very stable, so Roland gave it to her for her to tranquilize herself. Otherwise, it would''ve taken another year or two before Vivian became an official Mage considering her gifts. Now, a complete flower of the world tree was enough to improve Roland''s soul by a level. But he was not in a rush to use it. He could wait until the quest was over. After all, he didn''t know the side effects of consuming a complete flower of the World Tree. What if he slept for a dozen days? Roland kept digging. He created two luminous balls and made them follow him. While forming stone stairs in the aisle, Roland separated the soil with earth element power and moved it out. After more than three hours, Roland finally came to the entrance of his goal. This place was said to be a city dating back a thousand years. So, it was not unusual that it was buried a hundred meters deep. Then, he rested a while on the stone chairs and put on the full set of magic regeneration equipment. Very soon, Betta and his other friends arrived. The cave was slanted. Because it was too deep, there was absolutely no light from down below. However, weird and creepy sounds were echoing upward, as if it were a cave leading to hell. Betta couldn''t help but leave a comment in the guild system. "Brother Roland, are you really down there?" Roland: "Come down. I''m waiting for you at the bottom." Betta and his friends lit their torches and walked down slowly. The cave that Roland built was only wide enough for one person to pass at a time. It was well-known that one would be nervous when walking in the darkness even though they had a torch because they couldn''t see very far. They would feel that the path was very long, or that they had walked a long time. Betta and his friends felt that the darkness was almost infinite before they finally saw the light balls at the bottom. All of them were relieved and walked down quickly. They came to Roland and were about to speak, but then they saw the round hollow before Roland as well as the profound darkness within. The light from the luminous spheres that Roland summoned was completely consumed by the darkness, so they couldn''t see anything at all. It suggested that before them was a gigantic space that was almost boundless. Also, standing at the entrance of the hollow, they could smell the stink of soil and mud. They even sensed a breeze. Then, he turned around and looked at the entrance where he came in. The soil from up above surged back and soon filled up the long cave. F6 all knew that Roland was taking precautions in case anyone broke in while they were on the quest. But even though they knew that, they were still rather ill at ease now that they didn''t have a way back any longer. After the cave was blocked, the breeze they just sensed was gone too. The place was very quiet, so quiet that they could hear their friends'' heartbeats. While they were all silent, Roland walked into the hollow first. "In any case, let''s go in and take a look." The rest of them took a deep breath and followed him. Roland felt that he stepped on something soft the moment he walked into the hollow. He lowered his head, only to find himself standing on a pile of dry grasses. The dry grasses were on the ground. After his step, the grasses all crumbled into powder, dust clouding everywhere. "They''ve been completely dried?" Roland murmured. Then they moved on. After all, this place had been deserted for more than a thousand years, and even the best-preserved item here was probably already dried up. Roland continued walking on the dry grasses with loud noises. Betta and his other friends quickly followed him. Their footsteps echoed in the empty space. After several seconds, infinite more footsteps suddenly sounded around them. They were light but dense, as if countless people were walking toward them in the darkness from all directions. All five of them were shocked. They came to a stop at the same time. Then, they quickly gathered into a circle with their backs to each other while they looked around vigilantly. But soon, all the footsteps disappeared, as if they had never been. None of them talked. After all, they were in a strange environment, and they feared that they might attract monsters. They waited a long time, but the footsteps never sounded again. Roland was stunned for a moment. Then he realized something. After that, he walked on voluntarily. His friends were going to stop him, but then they decided to follow him. After all, Roland had always been the backbone of F6. All they needed to do was follow him. They walked forward slowly again. Several seconds later, the blood-freezing footsteps echoed again. Betta and the rest of them grew nervous again. They were about to gather, but Roland said ahead of them, "Don''t worry, it''s just multiple echo." Everybody was relieved after hearing that. They followed Roland. The dense, overlapping footsteps continued in the darkness. Several seconds later, Roland''s voice echoed back to them. D-D-D-D-D-D-on''t W-W-W-W-W-W-Worrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry His voice was seriously distorted in the echo. Together with the dense footsteps, it was as if people were talking and walking around them. It was so creepy that they all had goosebumps. Betta had planned to chat with his friends. But seeing this, he lost the will to talk. The rest of them were the same. All five explorers pressed on in silence. Suffering the continual echo of footsteps and the irritating noises, they walked in the darkness in the same direction, losing track of time. They seemed to have walked a long time. They rested three times on the way. Finally, they came to a high city wall. Here, the overlapping echo was finally much less loud. Though it still existed, it was not as creepy as earlier. They took a rest and had some food. Then, they walked along the old city wall in one direction. They were lucky enough to see the city gate very soon. The huge wooden gate was already rotten. It was half-slanted and half-lying on the ground. Roland stepped on it, and a large hole was created in the seemingly thick gate. The gate was dried up too. They entered the city through the gate, only to find that the relics were almost intact. The road on the ground was still hard, but the broad streets were utterly empty. Roland found the nearest house and poked its window. It seemed to be in perfect condition, but it quickly crumbled into powder after he jabbed it. Roland looked into the house. He saw furniture in the house and neatly-placed bowls and dishes on the table. Nothing was out of place. Then, they examined most of the houses nearby, only to find that all the houses were organized and full of a sense of life. It seemed that time was suddenly frozen at one point, and nothing had changed since then except that the residents were all gone. There were no bones or bodies, not even the bodies of animals. The whole city was surprisingly clean and complete. It had been encapsulated in a certain gap in the passage of time. They split up and searched a while, but they found no useful leads or discoveries. They regathered. Roland sent the luminous balls further away. Seeing the flickering light reflected from the center of the city, he vaguely noticed a building that rose to the sky in the dark. He said, "Let''s go to the center of the city. We may find the objective of our quest over there." Everybody moved on. Very soon, they came to the center of the city. Thanks to Roland''s luminous spheres, they finally saw clearly what had been looming before them. It was an enormous building that looked like a pyramid. The pyramid was made up of large black square stones. It was very high. "Let''s go in and take a look." Roland and his friends found the entrance to the pyramid. They were ready for battle. But to their surprise, they found absolutely nothing after they explored the pyramid up and down. There was nothing except the stones that the pyramid was made of, not even murals. There might''ve been murals, but the murals were drawn in lousy paint which volatilized with the passage of time. They found stairs in the pyramid and climbed up until they reached the peak. This pyramid did not have a spire. Its top was flat. The space was much smaller at the top of the pyramid. It only had a coverage of around three hundred square meters. So, the explorers easily saw what appeared to be a ritual table at the center of the top floor. They went to the ritual table, only to find that it was hollow like a large sink. There were several bizarre round symbols around the sink. Roland cast Language Proficiency on himself and read the few symbols. "The Holy Tear of Light!" Huh? The Holy Tear of Light? But it was empty! Where was the Water of Light? Everybody looked at each other in bewilderment. This quest was rather uncanny. At this moment, Betta suddenly pointed nearby and said, "Brother Roland, there''s a stone tablet over there!" Everybody turned around and did see a black tablet standing there. Some words had been carved on it. Roland walked to the tablet and squatted. He then read the strange symbols on it. "Thank XXX for saving our city!" Roland frowned. It was not that he couldn''t understand "XXX"; he simply couldn''t see the name clearly as if something was blocking it. He couldn''t help but slap the tablet, trying to remove whatever blocked the name. But the moment his finger touched the name, the tablet suddenly glittered. Shocked, Roland stepped back and summoned his magic puppets as well as a magic shield. He also shouted, "It''s a magic trap! Everybody, watch out!" Roland''s eyes were completely blank. He simply squatted and listened closely. After all, if an enemy were to attack him, they would likely make a sound. He heard Betta and the other people''s exclamations. Then, he heard a myriad of noises. He also sensed a balmy breeze on his face. Huh? The white flash that occupied Roland''s eyes was gradually gone. Then, he saw a bright and vivid world. 432 I Dont Think Theyre Human Light filled up the view before him, not the stark white glow of the Illumination, but that of natural sunlight. When Roland subconsciously looked up, he saw blue sky and white clouds. Wasn''t he underground? How come Roland''s attention was then drawn to the sounds in front of him, and he saw a group of people in front of him, gesturing around the well he had just been in. What they said, Roland couldn''t understand, so he instinctively set himself up with Unhindered Communication. "This isn''t good, the water in the Well of Light is decreasing. If this continues, it will definitely dry up." "Does anyone know what''s going on?" "I guess the Goddess of Light has given up on us." "What should we do?" "Sacrificial offerings, offer up virgin boys and girls." "Idiot, the Goddess of Light is a goddess of virtuous deity, how could she possibly accept human sacrifices?" Roland listened to their rambling from the rear. At this moment, Betta and the others quietly came around, and Roland set each of them up with Unhindered Communication. Although Betta knew Language Proficiency, Roland''s Unhindered Communication was much more practical, not only allowing the understanding of spoken language but also words. Roland had just applied his magic to his friends before a middle-aged bearded man spotted them. Because their attire was clearly different from that the people here, the man who spotted them wore a strange expression. Then he walked up to them. "You guys are foreigners?" Roland once read about the ancient era. Because this world didn''t thoroughly develop historical records, so much of the history could only be verbally relayed, and this relaying changed the context and details to the extent that it was eventually lost. This was why all content about the ancient kingdom were all based on speculation from some excavated ruins. For example, the ancient kingdom was the predecessor of Hollevin, a country that was once quite powerful and had a much larger territory than the current kingdom of Hollevin, and the structure of its political system was similar. The kingdom''s downfall and disappearance seemed to be because of man-made disasters. However, this was only speculation. Roland reacted quickly. He nodded his head and said, "Yes, we heard that there is Water of Light here and wanted to come over and catch a glimpse." "How did you guys get in here?" The man was a little surprised. "I remember there were guards down there." The eyes of Betta and the others immediately sharpened, already prepared for battle. The man froze and was about to pull away, but he immediately felt that there were some familiar, round metal objects in his hand. And then he understood immediately. His expression became enthusiastic. "Hahaha, I understand, and now we''re friends too." After releasing Roland''s hands, he flipped his palm and put two gold coins into his pocket at a very fast speed, then he wrapped his arm around Roland''s shoulder. "Not bad, you''re a good friend. Come, let me introduce you to this Water of Light." As he spoke, he led Roland to the well. This group of people watching the well were all dressed quite well, looking quite wealthy and respectable. Beside the well, there were a dozen or so armored soldiers who seemed to be the guards of the Well of Light. These guards were all level ten and above, and one was even level 13. These men reacted as soon as Roland''s gaze fell upon them. Roland had to withdraw his gaze. Toward Roland''s group of people who suddenly appeared, many of them leveled curious gazes, but seeing Roland shoulder-to-shoulder with this bearded man, quite familiar with each other, they were all just curious and didn''t say anything more. Roland looked into the Well of Light and found that it held a transparent liquid, and the most miraculous thing about it was that it glowed and was overflowing with large amounts of light element. This was probably what was known as Tears of Light. Even if he was not a follower of the Goddess of Light or a priest, Roland could sense that these Tears of Light contained an exaggerated amount of light element. But Roland then realized that there weren''t many Tears of Light left, and the water level was now almost about one-fifth of the height of the well. It seemed that the Water of Light was drying up, and these people were currently discussing how they should save it. Looking at Roland staring blankly at the Tears of Light, the bearded man smiled proudly. "Awesome isn''t it? This is the miracle of our Reguman City, the Tears of Light. Countless people want to come and taste a sip, but unfortunately, ordinary people can only strengthen their bodies and cure some diseases with itonly the Saint Samurai of the Goddess of Light will increase drastically in their talents after drinking the Tears of Light." "I''m here for the Water of Light, can I take some back with me?" asked Roland. The bearded man laughed and whispered, "I know you''re blending in here for this purpose, but unfortunately, you can''t! If you had come a month earlier, I could still help you figure out a way, but now the Water of Light has been slowly disappearing for some unknown reason, no longer accumulating the light element, but escaping outward instead. Because of this matter, the great white-robed archbishop has almost lost all his hair." Seemingly thinking of the archbishop''s balding appearance, the bearded man laughed joyfully. This caused many people next to him to hold unpleasant looks. The bearded man immediately smiled apologetically at the surrounding people. Then with his arm around Roland, he headed over to the pyramid stairs while saying, "But don''t worry, things will always work out. Stay here for a while longer, you and I will make more friends and I will figure out a way for you." The implications behind the bearded man''s words were quite clear to Roland. He nodded and smiled. "Don''t worry, I''ll be very sincere." It certainly would be nice to be able to buy a portion of Water of Light with gold coins. There wasn''t a single solution to a quest. After staying in this game for over a year, almost two, all players were now aware of this. Descending again into the interior of the pyramid, Roland found that it had become very crowded with white-robed priests walking about or chatting and that there was also a great deal of furniture and apparatus. It was a clear contrast to the previous visit when all the corners were empty. The entrance to the pyramid was still guarded by soldiers, but since the bearded man was leading Roland and others out of the pyramid, they were not questioned by the soldiers. The city was full of summer sunshine and the streets were quite warm. Many pedestrians were coming and going, and when they saw the rather unique fashion of Roland and the others, they would take a few more glances, but they wouldn''t keep their eyes on them for too long. Bringing Roland to a patch of shade, the bearded man let go of the former, and then, with arms akimbo, and a rather bold expression, asked, "Have you found a place to settle?" "No," said Roland with a smile. "I wonder if you have a good introduction to the location, Uncle?" "Then let''s go to my hotel." The bearded middle-aged man laughed and said, "My house is a hotel." Roland was startled for a moment and then smiled. "All right." They were then taken to stay in a hotel not far from the pyramid. Roland got six rooms. This bearded man was quite nicefor six decent rooms, it only cost Roland three silver coins per day. The bearded middle-aged man enthusiastically chatted with Roland for nearly half an hour, while also telling Roland his name. Mippels! After the bearded hotel owner left, the five gathered in Roland''s room for a meeting. Betta was the first to speak, saying, "On the way to the hotel, I looked at the proportion of pedestrians on the street, and there were many women." "It''s no surprise that women love to shop," continued Brazil, tossing a salt bean into his mouth. Betta shook his head. "Not shopping, they were in a hurry and most of them were carrying heavy loads and looked more like they were working." Brazil shrugged. "I remember in the small country of Thailand, isn''t it also women who work and men who sleep? It''s probably not surprising that there is a similar custom here." "That''s true." Betta nodded. At this moment, Roland placed his hand on the tabletop and tapped his index finger on it, contemplating something. Li Lin noticed this and asked, "Roland, what are you thinking? Or have you noticed something special?" "I think it''s too coincidental." Roland thought for a moment and said, "After we officially entered the dungeon, there was the Well of Light in the sink in front of us. At that time, we had two choices. One was to rob the Water of Light by force, but that definitely wouldn''t work. With more than a dozen Master-level guards and a large number of professionals in the pyramid, we''d be dead if we dared try. The other was to bribe a local as I did so that he could take us out of the top floor of the pyramid without alerting the guards and then we could continue the rest of the storyline for the dungeon. Although the system didn''t give any hints, I think we might have followed one of the branch plotsbeing led by the nose by the dungeon quest''s plot." "Why would you think that?" Li Lin asked curiously. His question also represented the others'' doubts. Roland explained, "The first person who spotted us was Mippels, which is too unusual. Logically, it should have been those Master guards who were guarding the well. How could the reaction speed of normal people be faster than that of professionals?" The other four listened and found this quite reasonable. "Besides, it''s the ultimate coincidence that Mippels is also someone who runs an inn. How does a man who runs an inn have the right to be near the Well of Light? Unless he has another identity. "I feel like the details of this dungeon are instantaneously computed. The NPC''s actions, their identities, will change with our actions, creating a massive tree of quest processes." Li Lin looked baffled. He only had a high-school education and didn''t understand what Roland was saying. Brazil and Husseret both went to third-tier diploma mills. Back then, they went to waste time; one picked up girls all day, the other played LoL all day. They cheated on the graduation exams and their theses were half-copied and half-altered. Besides, diploma mills'' graduation exams were not very strict. The two of them didn''t quite understand what Roland was saying, but they could still barely understand what was on the surface. Beta really understood what Roland was saying. "You mean the NPCs in this dungeon are real NPCs, not people?" 433 Books Turned to Ashes But the strategy at the national level, he, a private citizen, couldn''t influence, nor could he see the whole picture, so he could only try to take from it what he wanted, or what was good for him. For example, knowledge and skills. Hearing Betta''s words, Li Lin shrugged his shoulders and then sat down. "I''ll leave this philosophical stuff to you intellectuals. After a conclusion is made, tell us in simple, understandable language." The three then went off to the side to play poker and fight the landlord. Players were able to make wares and instruments in this world, and those who were dexterous could naturally make poker cards. Roland looked at the three of them not wanting to care so much and shook his head helplessly. Betta asked, "Brother Roland, what do you think are the chances of this idea of yours?" "Sixty percent." Roland pondered a little more, gathered some wine on his finger, drew a tree diagram on the table casually, and said, "When we go into the dungeon, if we don''t choose to rob the Water of Light by force, we''ll trigger another plot, and maybe with my actions, Mippels''s personality and identity could change. However, now that things have been computed to this point, Mippels''s identity and personality should be set. But I just don''t know which branching plot we''ll walk down next." Betta''s eyes narrowed, something he subconsciously did when he contemplated. After a short while, Betta asked, "You mean, we can do whatever we want in this dungeon?" "That''s not the case." Roland shook his head. "Have you seen the Warriors protecting the Water of Light? They are all Masters and there are many of them, but looking at their armor and equipment, they are just elite soldiers. Normally, a Master Warrior is always an officer! So, that must be the equipment made by the system to prevent us from robbing the Water of Light. If our levels were higher, we might see that these Warriors are all Legends." It suddenly struck Betta. "No wonder I always felt something was wrong." "The system is forcing us to follow the predetermined plot," Roland said after some thought. "So, we have to go out and look for information. Li Lin, you guys come over here and we''ll assign tasks." Li Lin muttered, "We''re just about to start fighting the landlord." Roland said with a smile, "Husseret and Li Lin, go see if there is a Guild of Rogues or Guild of Mercenaries and the like in this era. If there are, go buy some information from them. If not, go to the tavern and collect it." Li Lin nodded vigorously. He liked to go to nightclubs in the real world, so naturally, he liked to drink. "Betta and Brazil, you two stroll around town and try to see if you can trigger a secondary quest." "I''ll fly up later to see how wide the ''actionable'' range of this dungeon world is." Roland thought for a moment and continued, "I''ll set you guys up for another Unhindered Communication latereffective for about fourteen hoursand before the time is up, come back here to the hotel and I''ll add it again." As Roland spoke, he applied Unhindered Communication to all four of them. "Okay, no problem," the four said in unison. "If there are no questions, let''s get started now." Roland stood up. At this moment, Betta suddenly shouted, "Brother Roland, we can''t seem to connect to the game forums." Huh? Roland was startled for a moment. He opened the browser that came with the game and found that it was indeed showing a 404 error. This was true for the others as well. "Maybe it''s a peculiarity of the dungeon," Roland said after some thought. "Anyway, let''s finish the quest first." With that said, all five left the hotel. Roland found an open place with few people and sensed for magic marks. But he found that he could not perceive the magic marks he had previously recorded. In other words, there was no way for him to teleport anywhere else in this dungeon space. In that case activate Human Cannonball. Roland whooshed and soared into the sky, then rose straight up, but just as he was in the process of ascending, he suddenly felt a little uneasy and immediately stopped, becoming suspended in midair. And then he stared at the blue clouds overhead and felt something off. He condensed an Inferior Fireball and launched it upward. The Inferior Fireball flew less than a hundred meters and seemed to hit something, exploding with a boom. Grey debris was shaken off from the air which seemed empty. Roland casually took some and crushed it in his fingers It was dirt. Ascending at a slower speed, Roland arrived at the spot where the Inferior Fireball had just exploded and reached out to touch a thick layer of mud. Heh as expected. It was still undergroundwhat they had seen, was it really an illusion? An illusion created by the dungeon quest? Landing on the ground, Roland smiled, then looked for a random pedestrian on the side of the road and asked, "Excuse me, where is the city''s library?" The pedestrian pointed to the east. "There, the tall building with the red dome." Roland thanked the pedestrian and walked for a few minutes to the foot of the red dome. The building had a large facade, and its two doors almost looked like small city gates. There were a lot of people in white robes coming in and out of the door, seeming rather tense. Roland stepped forward, blocking a person white robe who seemed to be in a hurry, and asked, "Is this the library?" It was a young man in a white robe. He nodded. "Yes, but please don''t stop me, something big has happened here and I have to report it to the mayor." Then the young man hurried away. Roland was stunned for a moment. He saw that the building didn''t seem to have any guards, so he walked straight in. When he entered, he saw the main hall which was at least ten meters tall and covered a large area. There were piles of dust everywhere on the floor. Many of the people in white robes stood in despair before all this dust and even wept. What happened? Roland thought of the youngster in the white robe he had just met at the doorwere these piles of dust the big event he was talking about? While Roland was thinking, he heard a clear voice sounding high up in front of him. "Why are you all crying? The stuff is gone, we''ll just re-record itit''s not manly at all to cry endlessly!" Roland looked up and noticed a pretty black-haired girl coming down the stairway. The young girl had burgundy eyes and wore a loose white robe. At her waist hung a sword with a red tassel hanging from its hilt, which swayed as she moved. At the sound of the young girl''s voice, the weeping men stopped their crying. The young girl walked down the stairs and looked at the piles of dust. She also appeared distressed, but soon her expression hardened. "Everyone, go back to your rooms and rest for two hours, and gather afterward. We''ll find out what exactly happened. From now on, the library is temporarily closed, no one is allowed to come in or out, including the people of the city. If anyone pesters you, let them come to me." "Yes!" The group of people in white robes responded at the same time and then scattered in twos and threes. The young girl then set her sights on Roland. She looked at him for a few seconds, and her expression looked a little surprised and curious. Then she walked over. Roland looked at her and was also quite surprised. Black hair was not unheard of in the game world, but people with black hair had a mix of brown and black hair and had hair that was naturally curly and black. However, this young girl was different. Her black hair was pure black, very straight, and shiny. She had no tresses, and her long hair hung down like silk and fell to the bottom of her waist. The young girls'' face was on the small side. Although her eyes were burgundy, her eyebrows looked Asian in any case. In this game world, after seeing blond hair, deep-set blue eyes, and aquiline noses, suddenly seeing such an Asian face, Roland felt quite a sense of cordiality. This young girl walked up to Roland, sized him up, and asked, "A foreigner?" Roland smiled and nodded. "What are you doing here? A traveling merchant?" "I''m a Mage, and my biggest hobby is interacting with my peers, as well as going to the libraries of various countries, cities, and absorbing new knowledge." Roland looked around the area. "I heard this is a library but why can''t I see any books?" The young girl''s fair, pretty face revealed a depressed look. "You''re a bit too late. For some reason, all the books here, along with the shelves, turned to dust not too long ago." Roland froze for a moment, then smiled bitterly. The system''s actions were truly airtight. To enhance the sense of immersion, the system had to have the entire city''s institutions and background, including things like knowledge and customs, in place. However, to keep him from gaining extra magical knowledge or learning extra spells, it actually destroyed all the books here. How harsh. Looking at Roland''s helpless eyes, this young girl showed an apologetic expression. "I''m really sorry, you came a long way to our city, but things ended like this" The young girl fell silent, and she returned to looking at the dust on the floor and sighed. Roland, however, said, "It doesn''t matter if the books are gone. There should be many powerful Mages here. I also know some unique spells, let''s see if we can have a mutual exchange!" "A powerful Mage, that there is." The young girl smiled, a pair of shallow dimples in her cheeks. "My grandfather is, but his health lately" At this moment, from the second-floor steps, came a frail elderly male voice: "Lamia, bring this handsome young foreign boy over here." Roland looked up and saw an old man standing on the second flight of stairs, his right hand holding the railings, looking down at the two of them from high above. The young girl turned her head and rebuked, "Grandpa, you''re not well, why did you get out of bed!" "Invite that youngster over, I have something I want to talk to him about." "Okay." Lamia sighed and said to Roland, "I''m sorry, but Grandpa wants to see you. May I trouble you to chat with him?" "Sure." Roland agreed with a smile. Did he trigger some kind of plot? 434 Rothmans Fireball When the old man saw that Roland was willing to come up, he smiled slightly and said, "Foreign boy, come with me." Roland was a little confused when he first saw the old man. This old man had an exaggerated amount of magic power wrapped around his body, much more than him. But strangely enough, this old man''s mental power was quite a mess. There was a sense of it being divided. Logically, such a powerful Mage couldn''t be in this situation, as drawing a large amount of magic power around oneself required a solid and profound mental power. This was why this contradiction struck Roland as strange. The three of them went into a room, the young girl Lamia served a kind of clear soup similar to tea. Roland drank it and felt that it wasn''t bad. Although it wasn''t tea, it had a similar taste, like black tea. The old man sat across from Roland, sizing him up. It was just that his gaze had a sense of scrutiny in it. Roland let him stare, waiting patiently. After a while, the old man stopped examining him and said with a smile, "Foreigner, what kind of magic are you best at?" "More proficient in elemental types of magic," Roland said after some thought, then continued, "Of course, if I had to say one, it''s fire element magic that I''m best at." He was obviously the best A large fireball could level the playing field for all beings below Legend. After transforming into an Elemental Lord, Roland was already qualified to call himself a nuke. When he got to level ten, a large fireball could probably level the playing field for all beings below Demigod. This wasn''t Roland boasting, it was the truth. Hearing this, the old man''s eyes revealed some disappointment, but he still said, "I''m also more proficient in fire magic. I''m good at the Five Fireballs Incantation, which is one of the best techniques of our Enchantment Sect." "Five Fireballs Incantation?" Roland became interested. "Can you show me the power forget it, old man, you are not well." The old man laughed aloud, then coughed twice, and Lamia, who had been staying close by, immediately came up and gave the old man a few pats. "I''m not well enough to use the Five Fireballs Incantation right now, but my granddaughter knows. How about having her show you how?" Lamia was somewhat surprised, but she looked at the old man''s expression and nodded her head in the end. Roland was surprised too. This young girl had a delicate body and was equipped with a long sword, and there was no magic element surrounding her body. At first glance, Roland thought she was purely an agile Warrior. But she could also cast spells? Was the ancient kingdom a thousand years ago so proficient in magical mastery? The old man stood up and Lamia immediately stepped forward to assist him. The three of them went up to the third floor, where Lamia first assisted the old man to a chair before pulling a white headband out of her robe and braiding her long hair into a ponytail. She appeared purer and more valiant. The old man revealed a doting expression. After a glance at Roland, Lamia pulled out her long sword. Several red streaks of light immediately appeared on the body of the longsword. It seemed like some sort of spell model''s circulation route. Is this a magic sword? Roland grew increasingly interested. After half a second, five small fireballs were generated simultaneously around the magic sword, while Roland was still unable to see any magical element from Lamia''s body. Another half a second later, the five small fireballs flew forward at the same time, blowing a stone dummy right to smithereens. The power was not bad. Several seconds later, the debris moved on its own, flew back the way it came, and then reverted back to the dummy it had just been. It has self-reparation? Roland''s eyes were glowing. The magic sword inscription skill and the self-repairing skill, both of these two magic skills were ones that Roland had not come across at all. More importantly, what method did Lamia use to cast Five Fireballs without using her mental power? Does the magic sword store magic elements in it? But it doesn''t seem like it. As for Five Fireballs itself Roland wasn''t too interested. This in essence was just five Inferior Fireballs operating in parallel. It seemed impressive and quite visually shocking, but when one understood it, it was nothing much. It wouldn''t be nearly as efficient as a simple large fireball. Looking at Roland''s surprised and curious expression, the old man nodded his head in satisfaction and smiled. "This Five Fireballs spell Lamia used is not bad, right? Want to learn? I can teach you." "Can you teach me the technique of making a magic sword and the technique of automatically repairing the statue? I can exchange them with spells of my own." The old man almost didn''t catch his breath. This isn''t right, shouldn''t he be craving the Five Fireballs? Lamia was also looking at Roland oddly. Looking at the two of them, Roland thought for a moment and said, "You''re thinking along the wrong lines. Although casting five fireballs at the same time may seem powerful, it''s actually more effective to strengthen a spell to a higher limit in the same amount of time." Magic was a very profound skill, and generally speaking, only a true Mage was qualified to comment on the good and bad, the advantages and disadvantages of a spell. This young man looked no more than twenty years old, but he dared to speak so boldly. Lamia also shared this view, and the way she looked at Roland became a bit different as if she was looking at a boastful and pompous apprentice. When Roland saw their attitudes, he paused and said, "All talk and no action; let me do something practical." After speaking, Roland began to condense a large fireball in his right hand. It had just taken Lamia a little over a second to go from raising her magic sword to firing the fireballs. Then I''ll take it as a second. A second later, the large fireball in Roland''s hand had reached a diameter of more than one meter. At the sight of this, the old man''s eyes were almost bulging out, and even Lamia was intimidated. Because she was closer to Roland, she could better feel the terrifying power of the fireball in Roland''s hand. Then Roland threw this fireball. The giant fireball hit the wall, and although this was a magic test floor with a boundary that suppressed the power of magic, the large fireball still made the entire floor tremble. The sound of the fireball exploding was like thunder in the ears, and then the violent heatwave reverberated throughout the floor, rattling the three''s hair and robes. And the dozen or so dummies in front of them liquified in an instant, without even the ability to repair themselves. It''s so powerful even in a boundary with suppressing magical effects. If it were outside The old man stood up in shock, rushing to Roland''s side like a cheetah, his hands forcefully gripping Roland''s arms, eyes full of fervor. "What kind of magic is this?" "How did you do it?" "What''s the maximum diameter when you cast it full force?" "Teach me!" Roland was just waiting for this last sentence. "Okay, no problem, we''ll exchange. I want to learn the technique of making magic swords first." "Deal." The old man''s face was flushed. "Lamia, go home and tidy up a room, I want to exchange magic insights with this handsome excellency all night." Lamia said worriedly, "But Grandpa, your health!" "It''s okay, I can''t die." The old man laughed. "I''m a supreme Mage after all." Roland curled his lips inwardly. What an old way to call it. 435 Old Men Will Always Be Your Boss He also told them that he was going to pick up some knowledge and magic insight, and might not return to the hotel any time soon, so if Unhindered Communication failed again, Betta could cast Language Proficiency to help out. Although they wouldn''t be able to read, basic communication wouldn''t be a problem; just the speed of information gathering would drop a bit. Everyone expressed that they understood. Knowledge was a Mage''s second lifeeveryone knew that. Li Lin bantered, "Is it a beautiful teacher?" "It''s an old man," said Roland, smiling, "but he has a very beautiful granddaughter. Would you like to be introduced to her?" Li Lin waved his hand. "Forget it, there are plenty of beautiful women in this game, wouldn''t it be exhausting to meet a pretty one and then go talk about feelings? Anyway, there are enough brothel workers and plenty of pretty ones, and I''m not afraid of getting sick in the game, so why should I offer my feelings?" Everyone laughedthis man had found justification for whoring. However, the second-generation rich sons always acted selfishly, so Roland didn''t bother to persuade him. They then exchanged the information they had gathered; there wasn''t much of value. Their main task was to get the Water of Light, but taking it by force was definitely not an option, and stealing Husseret wasn''t confident that his stealth technique could hide him from the dozen or so Master guards at close range. Since there was no solution, they could only continue to gather information. After eating and drinking, they set out from the hotel to gather information again. Roland went to the large library again, and when Lamia, who was waiting outside, saw him, she took the initiative to welcome him and said with a smile, "The room has been tidied up. Sir, please come with me." With that said, the girl took the initiative to walk ahead. She was wearing a wide white robe, and her figure didn''t look good or bad, but judging from the light steps she took as she walked, and her slender, swan-like neck, she was probably a slender woman. Roland took a few quick steps and walked alongside her. Many pedestrians around the area saw Lamia and greeted her, and Lamia responded with a smile. Roland, who took in the situation, had the impression that the girl was a celebrity in the city. On the way, Lamia barely spoke to Roland. "I''m sorry I didn''t have time to talk to you on the way." Lamia''s burgundy pupils fell on Roland. "Also, I have a question you obviously don''t speak our language, why can I understand it?" Roland was stunned. "You don''t know Language Proficiency?" Lamia shook her head, and then she asked, full of curiosity, "Judging by the name, it seems that if you know Language Proficiency, you can understand the languages of all races?" "In theory," Roland said. "For example, I was able to communicate with you guys the first time I came here thanks to this spell!" Lamia''s eyes lit up. "This spell can even read our words?" "Language Proficiency only allows one to understand what people say." Roland straightened up his body and explained, "If you want to understand words, it''s Character Proficiency." Lamia''s eyes were already sparkling. "So if you know both kinds of spells, then you can go anywhere in the world?" "In theory." Roland nodded. Lamia glanced at Roland irritatedly. "Why are you so fond of saying such semantically ambiguous, even vague statements." "Because I can''t guarantee that in some places these two spells are banned." Lamia nodded. "It''s true that it''s possible. I''ve heard Grandpa say that some places forbid magic. But you''re too rigid and not at all romantic, how can you ruin a young girl''s fantasies?" Roland smiled slightly, not arguing or explaining. At this moment, two of the manor''s guards opened the door and Lamia was the first to enter. Roland followed by her side. The manor had high walls, so one couldn''t see the inside of the manor from the outside. After entering, Roland found the manor to be quite interesting. Manor houses like the one in Hollevin were generally open terrain, usually with the house in the middle of the manor, and then large lawns spread throughout the manor, topped off with a little fountain square, or embellished with some decorations high or low. Few trees were planted, and even if they were, they were planted on the edge or outside of the fence to block the view. In any case, there would hardly be any trees within 20 meters of the house. This was to discourage assassins, making it harder for them to hide when they snuck in. However, this manor was different. There were not only many trees planted inside, but also rockeries, small lakes, and even an artificial stream pond. The stone path beneath Roland''s feet was also curved and twisted, and the path ahead was blocked from view, but after taking a few more steps and turning a corner, he could see other scenery. For example, the scenery of a yellow-leafed grove, all of a sudden became a saffron grove, and then after walking a little more than ten meters and turning another corner, the scenery was of a small bridge with running water. It felt as though the winding paths led to various beautiful sceneries. As Roland admired the beauty of the manor''s unique layout, he felt the presence of mental power around him. In the manor, there were at least a dozen guards hidden in the shadows. Roland pretended not to notice and followed Lamia to a small, two-story wooden building. The old man was sitting on a dark yellow wooden recliner by a wooden door. He opened his eyes as he heard noise, and seeing that it was his granddaughter and Roland, he immediately got up, while Lamia walked quickly over to help the old man. "You''re finally here." The old man was all smiles. "I''ve prepared a room, please come with me." The three of them went up to a large room on the second floor, which was spacious but had several bookshelves in the corners, each filled with books. Lamia helped the old man sit down and then went downstairs to prepare something to eat and drink. The old man invited Roland to sit down and smiled. "Foreigner, thank you for being a guest in my home." "You''re welcome, it''s just a matter of trading knowledge," Roland said indifferently. "Don''t make it sound so profit-oriented." The old man laughed aloud. He no longer had many teeth in his mouth. "Can''t it be a process of getting to know each other and confirming each other''s theories of magic?" As expected of an old man who lived for decades, he spoke more smoothly than Roland. Roland shook his head slightly. "Of course, you can also think of it that way." The old man laughed. "You''re quite interesting, young man. It''s not good to see things too clearly." Roland shrugged his shoulders indifferently. After a pause, seeing that Roland didn''t make any comments, the old man said, "Actually, I invited you over to ask you about your spell model, however, I also wanted to confirm one thing with you." "What is it?" "You''re actually from the future, right? Or, relative to the city, you''re children of the future." The words were like thunder, and Roland was stunned. Did the old man see through his identity? Was this the system''s plot, or was this a real person in front of him? If it was the latter, then Roland''s previous guesses were wrong, and a lot of plans would have to be started from scratch again. And as Roland had confirmed, they were still underground. Now the whole situation held a great deal of uncertainty. Whether it was a dungeon or a real world mattered to Roland. If this was just a mere dungeon, then things could be done more boldly and they could be unrestrained, but if these people were real, then things had to be done with careful consideration. Taking a small breath, Roland asked, "Why do you think that?" The old man grinned. "Because it was thanks to my genius that you showed up here." "Where''s the proof?" "That large fireball." The old man said with a smile, "I''m a supreme Mage. My eyes may be dazzled, but my mental power can still be used. In fact, the moment you cast the big fireball, I saw the spell model, although I can''t fully understand it I can understand the general concept. This is not at all the spell theory that exists in this world now, whether it''s the Elf Kingdom, the Orc Kingdom, or Fareins Kingdom, there is no spell model with such theoriesit''s novel, far beyond our time." Roland was silent for a moment and said, "Is there more?" "Of course there is. You''re speaking a language I''ve never heard of, but I understand it," the old man said indifferently. "It should be a spell that facilitates communicationthe future Mages have done well inventing such a convenient spell." Roland let out a breath. "You guessed it, we''re from the future. But I''m curious, you just said that you pulled us into this world?" "Yes." The old man nodded. "I did." "How did you do it?" asked Roland. "It''s only logical that time is irreversible." This was why there was no god of time. There was a level-three spell called Reverse Time, but essentially, it was just a mirror image, used to see what happened in the past. It couldn''t change anything. "Time is indeed irreversible!" The old man nodded. "But time can be accelerated and the tributaries can converge." With paper and pencil already prepared on the table, the old man made a few casual strokes and drew a large river. A tributary appeared on the upper reaches of the river, and a tributary also appeared on the middle reaches. Both tributaries spread diagonally downward, converged on the side of the lower stream, and finally folded back into the river. "See, it is possible to converge at different times. I foretold the imminent destruction of this city." The old man smiled. "So I made a wishI wished that someone would come to save the city." "Wish?" Roland looked at the old man in surprise. "Is it a Great Wish or Small Wish? No, no, Small Wish isn''t so powerful that it can drag an entire city of people to speed up time instantly, so it should be the Great Wish." The old man laughed. "So there is still the saying of a great or small wish in your time. The Wishing spell was created by me, so you may have heard my name!" "Duncan?" Roland jumped up in shock. "No, my real name is Mordenkainen," the old man said bluntly. 436 Grand Arrangemen Books on magic were naturally his focus. There was a lot of common knowledge that could be gleaned from books. For example, regarding Duncan''s (Mordenkainen''s) place in the world of magic. Compared to the mundane world, the magic world still had a bit of recorded history; after all, they were all intellectuals, and some of them had intentions of passing down their legacies. Besides, some spells were named after the inventor. Mordenkainen invented at least about a third of all magic, according to what was now known, and all of it very practical. It could be said that to become an Elite Mage, you would have to have learned at least one spell he invented. For example Hand of Magic. Or, Magic Shield. Amongst higher level spells, more than half of them were his inventions. The one person that a Mage could never avoid, from their initiation until they were buried in the earth. Mordenkainen. The Goddess of Magic, Mystra, became a god by standing on the shoulders of giants. One of these giants was Mordenkainen. The invention of many spells was just a testament to his overwhelming talent. And the real reason why he became the most prestigious person in magic, even surpassing the goddess of magic, was because he pioneered the most important path in magic or rather the system. Spell models. Before the advent of spell models, the number of Mages was about one-tenth of what it is now. In those days, Mages were a rare breed and very weak. Much weaker than Warlocks. Nor could they be compared to Priests. At that time, the three big shots of spellcasters referred to Warlocks, Priests, and the Elven Druids. It was Mordenkainen who invented an easy-to-use spell that gave Mages standing. Then, little by little, high-level magic was invented, making Mages strong in combat. Finally, the spell model system was created, which caused the number of Mages to go up quite a bit. After Mordenkainen, many amazing figures emerged, such as Melf, Bigby, and Mystra. However, they all benefited from Mordenkainen''s spell model system. In essence, they were all Mordenkainen''s apprentices and students. Same with Roland. This was why Roland was startled after hearing Mordenkainen''s name. How could Roland not be surprised when the man in front of him was a legend, and almost everything he had learned was his legacy. After being taken aback, Roland sat back down and then let his emotions settle. As a Mage, it was necessary to control one''s emotions. Roland thought about it and said, "But wouldn''t mood swings affect the precision of spellcasting?" "Indeed," Mordenkainen said, "so all the more reason for you to conquer this weakness, because you can''t always maintain a calm mind. Not to mention the trivialities of life, your enemies might also use some special magic to disturb your emotions, and when you can''t maintain a calm mood, the so-called calm-mind spellcasting becomes a weakness. Therefore, it''s better to cast spells perfectly in any mood without restrictions. This is the experience of an old man." Roland asked after some thought, "How old are you, old man?" "Five hundred and seventy-two." Hiss! Roland gasped. He had known that Mages had a long lifespan due to their high soul strength. However, it was certainly still a bit ridiculous to live for more than 500 years. A five-hundred-year-old man who was also a forerunner of the magic world, his experience definitely had reference value. And having lived five hundred and seventy-two years, judging by the old man''s mental power status, he was indeed about to pass. His old body was beginning to fail to hold his mental power. "Have you ever considered turning into a Lich, old man?" Roland asked. Mordenkainen shook his head and said, "I''ve considered. After all, to us Mages, the body doesn''t matter, it''s the spirit and soul that are eternal. But the problem is, my spirit is on the verge of collapse and I can no longer transform into a Lich." The things that these two Mages were discussing could scare the hell out of people when spoken to outsiders. Lichs symbolized the epitome of terror. But for Mages, especially those who were pragmatists, Lichs were just a life form. Just like holy spirits. Both were immortal creatures, just called by different names, but the nature of the energy they used changed somewhat. As long as they didn''t kill, didn''t prey on other people''s souls, and stayed true to their hearts, what was the difference between an ordinary spellcaster and a Lich? "So, old man, what have you pulled us people of the future over for this time?" "This city is on the verge of destruction, or rather, the entire ancient kingdom is in danger of destruction," said Mordenkainen worriedly. "But I am too old to save this kingdom, so I made a wish to find someone who can help me save this country." Roland raised his eyebrows. "So when you saw me using that huge fireball, you weren''t surprised by the power of it, but you were excited to see a new spell theory and knew that I was someone from the future?" "Hahahaha!" Mordenkainen laughed. "When I was younger, I could just casually summon a Great Meteorite and a city would be destroyed with one hit. A great fireball naturally didn''t catch my eye, but I certainly did see that your theory of magic was very different and that made me happy. And this Language Proficiency cast on you is quite interesting as well." As Mordenkainen spoke, he snapped his fingers and cast Unhindered Communication on himself. This was Roland''s innovative spell, so he best knew of its magic fluctuations. Mordenkainen released it at will, meaning that in less than half an hour, Mordenkainen had completely parsed his spell and replicated it. This ability was way too powerful. He was not even slightly comparable to him. However, Roland calmed down. The old man was a big shot in the magic world, and because of the era, there were very few people who could communicate with him, limited by the level of the magic of the entire era, which made his concepts seem less than the era he was in. Once Mordenkainen was exposed to modern magic concepts, his magic background and philosophy could definitely advance further. At this moment, Lamia came in from outside and put some delicate pastries on the table. Roland thought for a moment and said, "According to the nature of the Wishing spell, you can pull us in, meaning we are the ones who can help you save this country. But as far as I know, the ancient kingdom has been gone for over a thousand years in my time." Lamia was right there at the moment, and she heard this and glared at Roland angrily. Mordenkainen, on the other hand, had a flat expression as he sipped his tea and said, "There are no eternal things in this world. Even gods have a time when their lifespans end, and I''ve seen three gods fall for various reasons, not to mention human nations." "And you?" Mordenkainen continued, "But my prophecy tells me that if we survive this crisis, the ancient kingdom has at least three hundred years to liveenough for Lamia to live to a ripe old age." After hearing this, Lamia, who sat on the side, said, "Grandpa, you don''t have to worry about me. Even if the ancient kingdom is gone, I''ll survive. I''m strong with the sword." "But a peaceful country is much more comfortable to live in than a chaotic one, isn''t it?" Lamia opened her mouth and closed it again. Roland instinctively propped his chin with both hands and started to contemplate, and after a moment, he said, "Old man, I''m a bit confused. Even though your mental strength has dropped so much now, you''re definitely stronger than me, and you''re also very influential here. What you can''t even do, how can we outsiders, powerless and un-influential, do?" Mordenkainen chuckled. "There is no way my Wishing spell can go wrong. Either it doesn''t activate or it does, and then it''s bound to work. Think carefully. In what areas can you help this country?" Roland pondered but didn''t seem to think that he was in any position to help. He wasn''t one of those hotheaded heroes who would cheerfully charge forth when his destiny has been assigned. Or go into immediate action to save this country. Seeing Roland in deep thought, Mordenkainen was in no hurry. He sat quietly, sipping his tea, and waited for Roland to think it through. And Roland thought and calculated, but he didn''t think that he and the others had the power to save a country. "Forgive me for asking." Roland raised his head. "What trouble is this country in?" "The Goddess of Light changed generations, and now she''s a baby." Mordenkainen smiled slightly and said, "The last generation of the goddess reincarnated, so And the ancient kingdom is a country founded under the divine grace of the Goddess of Light. If it doesn''t continue to receive the goddess''s grace, this country will fall apart." So goddesses also reincarnate. Roland smiled. His quest was also a clue provided by the Goddess of Light Wait! Roland suddenly thought of something. Dinah''s quest was related to the Goddess of Light, and the safety of the ancient kingdom was also related to the Goddess of Light. Everything seemed to be quite natural, but Roland still felt something was strange about this, and most importantly, he had encountered an oddity. Great Wishing spell a divination spell. It all tied together, and he understood the key point of the quest. He took the petals of the World Tree out of his Backpack. The translucent purple flower shimmered lightly and beautifully on the table. Lamia''s eyes widened. "A complete World Tree flower." Mordenkainen laughed softly. "It seems your quest is to bring this flower to me." Roland felt quite uncomfortable, even a little irritable. This quest didn''t even require fighting or thinkinghe just had to follow procedure. Simply put his appearance was arranged by the Great Wish. From the moment Betta received the quest, he was affected by the divination magic of the Great Wishing spell. Everything that happened after that was so that he could bring this World Tree flower to Mordenkainen. This feeling of being led by the nose with a bull''s nose ring made Roland feel quite irritated. He rubbed his face and asked, "Old man, is there any way to counter a divination spell like the Great Wishing spell?" "Want to learn? I''ll teach you." 437 The Players Wont Stop Screwing Around Upon hearing this, Roland smiled, nodded, and said, "Of course." How much was a complete World Tree flower worth? Gold coins could act as a measure, but under normal circumstances, no one would sell it voluntarily. "I invented the Great Wish, I know its weaknesses." Mordenkainen stood up and waved to his granddaughter. Lamia immediately stepped forward to support him. The old man smiled at Roland. "Let''s talk as we walk." The old man had been sitting for a long time. He just had to move, or else his qi and blood would easily be blocked. The flower was on the table, and neither Mordenkainen nor Lamia looked at it again. It was not that they didn''t care, but no one could steal it out from this manor. The three of them walked along the cobblestone pathway to the manor, where the grandfather and granddaughter duo were used to the scenery, but Roland still found it a bit strange. As he walked, he looked at the surroundings. Mordenkainen suddenly said, "To fight against Great Wish, you must first be strong enough. Your mental power must be at least Master-level or above." Roland nodded. He understood this. After all, strength was the foundation of everything, and mental strength was a Mage''s foundation. "And then you''ll have to learn at least three levels of divination spells," Mordenkainen continued, "that way you''ll be able to feel the line of karma, or fate, wrap around you." At this moment, Mordenkainen moved his finger, as if picking at an object. "You can''t see or feel it now," Mordenkainen said smilingly, "but the thread of fate of Great Wish is on me now. It''s just that I''ve regressed so much in strength that I can''t see who it''s connected to." A small bug flew down in front of the path they were walking on, and Mordenkainen saw it and waited for the bug to crawl away from the road before slowly continuing on his way. "When you can see the thread of fate, you''ll be qualified to cut it," said Mordenkainen with a sigh, "but there are different ways to do it with different threads of fate. For example, the thread of fate produced by the Great Wishing spell is simplest to cut as long as you can see ituse your mental power as a knife, and simply sever it. However, if it''s an established thread of fate it won''t be easy to cut." "What do you mean?" "As soon as a person is born, their death is set by the Goddess of Fortune, and the only thing ordinary people can decide is who they become before they die." Mordenkainen chuckled. "But someone with great strength can cut this thread and take their fate into their own hands. To reach this level, one must at least reach the Saint level." Saint level Roland reckoned that this meant Legendary. The three of them sat down. The sunlight fell through the canopy trees, speckling them. Mordenkainen continued, "When I was young I cut the threads of fate and had a conflict with the Goddess of Fortune. That bi*ch was seriously injured by me at least three times Now that she''s reincarnated, she won''t think about coming to the main plane for one or two hundred years. Of course, I''m not doing too well either; my mental power was all messed up by her. However, it doesn''t matter. My life is complete, and besides, now you''ve given me the flower of the World Tree." Roland now had a feeling as if he was back in his childhood, sitting and listening to his adult neighbor brag. Saying how great and powerful they were, hacking from the east side of town to the west, with sparks of lightning all the way. Pressured by the old man''s powerful aura, he couldn''t believe it but didn''t dare to disbelieve it. And now, he felt the same way. The fact that Mordenkainen had pinned down and pummeled the Goddess of Fortune was something Roland felt he should believe, but didn''t quite dare to believe. "If I have any regrets, it''s the World Tree." Mordenkainen showed a gaze of remembrance. "I went to see her once when I was three hundred years old and talked to her about magic theory. She was really pretty, and I even courted her, but unfortunately she didn''t like me enough and said I wasn''t wild enough." Roland was stunned. "The World Tree likes orcs and the like?" "No." Mordenkainen looked rather depressed. "She said that the man she wanted had to be able to last at least ten hours and be handsome, in addition to being able to take care of her elven children." Roland''s mouth opened in surprise. Lamia''s face was a little red. Talking to a big shot was unique, and Roland felt as if he had heard a lot of rather remarkable information. "I have to pay you for the World Tree flower as well. On the third floor, there are magic notes I took when I was young, you can go through them all," Mordenkainen said smilingly. "And I will also teach you the techniques of making magic swords, as well as the techniques of automatic item reparation. But you only have ten days to learn. Because after ten days, this space will disappear, and you and I will both return to our own streams of time, and it will be difficult to see each other again in this life." "I see." Roland thought for a moment and said, "Also, I want something else, some Water of Light. Can you intercede for me, old man? I can buy some." "That''s simple." Mordenkainen looked to Lamia. "Go to the altar later and fetch him a jug of Water of Light." Lamia nodded. Roland then bid farewell to Mordenkainen for the time being, and he returned to the hotel and told his F6 friends about Mordenkainen when they returned. Li Lin threw up his hands helplessly. "In other words, this quest doesn''t require any fighting at all, right? Then next, we just have to get by for ten days? That''s too boring. I thought there would be an unrestrained and epic battle." Brazil chuckled. "Isn''t that nice? You can get a lot of experience without having to spend any effort." "It is good, just a bit uninteresting." Li Lin stood up. "For the next ten days, everyone''s free to do whatever they like!" With that said, Li Lin was about to walk outside. Roland said with a smile, "Be careful, don''t get sick." Li Lin turned and gave Roland a middle finger. The others then chatted and dispersed, all finding things to do that interested them. Roland went to Mordenkainen''s manor and spent the day learning how to make magic swords with Mordenkainen, and the evening in Mordenkainen''s study, going over the old man''s notes. He also used the built-in camera to take pictures of them. He had to say that this trait of the Golden Sons not needing to rest was too powerfulone day could be treated as two. And there was no such thing as learning fatigue. Mordenkainen was teaching seriously, and Roland was learning even more seriously. Although the era in which Mordenkainen lived was nearly two thousand years ago, and many of the theories of magic were quite crude and not as refined as those of two thousand years later, most people''s understanding of magic was incomparable to Mordenkainen''s. Except for Mystra''s. However, the Goddess of Magic this was not someone Roland could come into contact with right now. Roland had thought that these next ten days would be a fairly quiet, happy time of study. However, accidents happen. It wasn''t that an accident happened in this dungeon space, but something big happened in the game world. On the sixth day in the dungeon, after the game had been temporarily suspended for the day, Roland opened the forum as usual. Since the forum couldn''t be connected to from within the dungeon, things were already underway when Roland saw the news. It all started when the Coalition of Progress, next to the city of Sisilia, felt that they had reached a certain stage of power and started an uprising. At this time, the Coalition of Progress had over a thousand players and over 50,000 natives. The 50,000 or so natives who accepted their theories and ideas and built a formidable army took Hollevin''s major northwestern town of Sisilia. And they continued to preach their ideas in a city of over a million people. Then more people joined them; after all, they represented more advanced ideas and systems. This was quite appealing. However Just yesterday, all the popes of all the churches received a higher order. Annihilate those who oppose the gods. All the churches mobilized, formed a fearsome religious alliance, and set out in great numbers for the city of Sisilia. Moreover, except for players like Roland who were in dungeons, almost all other players received a quest. Whether or not to help the gods annihilate those who defied the gods. Many players accepted the quest, and many others began making their way to the city of Sisilia, for they wanted to help the Coalition of Progress fight this terrible war. At this point the forum was split into three factions. The god-protectors, the resistance, and the neutrals. After getting a general idea of what was going on, Roland slammed down on the keyboard directly. He didn''t feel the pain although his hands were red and swollen, but said helplessly, "Too soon the average level of the players is not enough. If a tenth of the people reached Legend, the uprising could succeed. Now wait to be annihilated." He sighed, staring at the forum. It wasn''t long before Schuck''s call came. "Come over to chat." And then Schuck hung up the phone. Roland rode a public bike to the cold drink bar. Schuck didn''t invite anyone else; Roland was the only one who came. Pouring Roland a glass of watermelon juice, Schuck said, "You should have already read what happened on the forum." "I did." Roland thought for a moment and said, "You''re a Saint Samurai, which means you''ll have to go against those people?" Schuck waved his hand. "I declined despite the order. But" "But what?" "The order was given by the Goddess of Light herself, and she is the only one who has the right to command us. She looked a little disappointed when I refused," Schuk said rather gloomily. "The goddess is very kind to us Saint Samurai, so I felt bad for refusing her order. But what the Coalition of Progress is doing is rightfreeing the slaves, freeing the productive forces, removing class barriers and building a better society. Who dares say it is wrong? So I''m quite at a loss. I don''t know what to do now." Roland thought for a moment and said, "Why don''t you stay out of the game for a while? Stay away for ten days or half a month, then enter the game again and see what happens?" Schuck sighed. "This is the only solution that''s not really a solution." 438 This is My Greatest Achievemen On one side were people who were brought up with the same views of the world, life, and values, and on the other side was someone who treated him well. It was now a clash of personal feelings and philosophies, so Schuck had no choice. After leaving the bar, Roland didn''t go to the saber arts club but continued to read through forum posts at home. It was now four days before Roland and the others could leave the dungeon, and there was no telling what the situation would be at that time. But looking at the situation now, a war was inevitable. Judging by the number of arguments on the forum, the number of god-protectors didn''t seem to be very large. After all, most of the players, when they graduated from college, passed in politics. But even so, the player community was torn apart. If one added the previous division plan of the Hollevin''s royal family, then the players were now clearly differentiated in alignment preferences. Roland sighed. In this situation, even if he came out of the dungeon, it wouldn''t be much help. The alliance of churches sounded grand, and even if Roland could get out of the dungeon, what could he do? This was a collective order! All the churches probably dispatched Legends. Against the alliance of the few great churches, how could the players survive? With their iron heads? Even if they did have iron heads, they wouldn''t be able to stop them. Roland sighed deeply. It was rare that he wasn''t considering a problem related to magic. He tried to think and see what he could do in this war, but in the end, he realized that he couldn''t do anything. Because he was too weak. What if he had Legendary strength? Perhaps, he might be able to sway some events. An entire day passed quickly in this helpless mood of his. Roland entered the game once again. It was morning in the game, and Mordenkainen, who taught him, keenly noticed that Roland''s spirit wasn''t quite right, so he asked what was going on. After a while of silence, Roland told him roughly what happened. Mordenkainen smiled and said, "Don''t think too much, just wimp out when it''s time and wait until you have the strength to retaliate. For men, it''s not ugly to run away once in a while." Roland then asked, "Then, old man, have you ever run away before? "Of course," Mordenkainen said matter-of-factly. "When I was fourteen, I was invited to a duel by a noble warrior who was so much stronger than me, and three times my age. How could I have won the fight? So I fled, and two years later I returned, broke his legs, and left him in the sun for half a day before I allowed him to go back to recuperate. No one has dared to bother me randomly since." "When I cut the threads of fate, the first time the Goddess of Fortune came to my door, I was terrified and ran away immediately. And I ran away in an ugly way you''d never expect." Seemingly remembering the past, Mordenkainen smiled a little. Roland asked curiously, "In what way?" "I curbed all my mental energy fluctuations, disguised myself as an ordinary person, and jumped into a cesspool. I got covered in sh*t, and although I escaped the Goddess of Fate''s first raid, I didn''t dare to eat meat for ten days afterward. It was disgusting!" Mordenkainen was brilliant and wise in the historical records It was all grand, glorious, and proper. It was normal to wimp out in the fight against nobles. After all, at that time, Mordenkainen was still young and hadn''t begun to create his spells. According to the magic records, it was after the age of twenty-five years that Mordenkainen began to improve and innovate in magic. In other words, fourteen-year-old Mordenkainen was still a weakling. Wimping out was normal. However, it was a bit unbelievable that Mordenkainen, who should be close to a Legend, if not a Legend, after severing the threads of fate, jumped into a cesspool for refuge at such a powerful stage. Roland''s expression immediately turned strange. He didn''t know whether to say that Mordenkainen was flexible, or whether to laugh at him for actually jumping into a cesspool! But Roland also understood Mordenkainen''s meaning. Even such a powerful person like me wimped out before. You''re a young man, so it doesn''t matter if you wimp out once! That was roughly what the point was. Roland felt much better when he heard Mordenkainen''s advice. Mordenkainen''s old, withered hand tapped the tabletop lightly. He thought for a moment and said, "Since you''re from the future, you should know what my greatest achievement is, right?" "Spell models," said Roland. "Wrong." Mordenkainen was rather disappointed. "It seems there''s still a fissure in history, and of course it could be deliberately caused by certain people who wanted to conceal my greatest achievement." Roland gave an oh. "And what''s your greatest achievement, old man?" "The floating city!" said Mordenkainen, rather proudly stroking his beard. The floating city? Roland had no impression of this or rather, the magic records he read never mentioned the term floating city. Hollevin also used hieroglyphics and ideoglphyics. This was why Roland could understand what this term meant. "Pity. It seems that the historical records at your time are no good either." Mordenkainen smiled and said, "I''m much weaker now, but still no one dares to trouble me for the simple reason that I have a floating city. And it''s an astral floating city." Roland understood roughly what Mordenkainen was saying, but he didn''t have a direct impression. "Get up and I''ll show you." With that said, they went outside the building and Lamia came running out. She looked at Mordenkainen and said excitedly, "Grandpa, are you going to the floating city again? Take me, take me." "Okay!" Mordenkainen responded, pointing to both of them. Levitation. This spell Roland also knew, but the true inventor of it was the man in front of him. Then he pulled them both up and flew. Flying higher and higher, Roland said urgently, "Wait, there''s a ceiling up there, don''t rush up." Roland had explored before and found there was an invisible layer of mud on top, so thick that his mental power couldn''t penetrate it. But Mordenkainen just laughed and flew faster anyway. Roland couldn''t help but close his eyes. He sensed an impending aviation accident. And then something dumbfounding happened. The sky twisted, and then an unimaginably huge layer of mud and rock appeared in front of Roland. When this rock formation appeared, the entire city was shrouded in shadow, and the sky and sun seen before were replaced by the rock formation in front of them. Roland''s entire view was blocked, and no matter if he looked left or right, he couldn''t see the end of this rock formation at all. This place wasn''t underground. It turned out to be underneath a huge, terrifying floating city. Roland felt as though he had mistaken the part for the whole. Then Mordenkainen pulled them to a depression where there was a magic streak of light, and as Mordenkainen approached, a magic stone door opened and the three of them flew into it, then went through a long tunnel to finally reach the exit. Mordenkainen pulled on the two and landed on a flat blue surface. Roland looked around and found that the platform was huge, bigger than the city below, almost impossible to see in its entirety, and not far away, there were four majestic giant buildings, lined up in a crescent shape, looking like four small mountains from afar. The huge flat plaza was paved with blue bricks, each of which was the same size and shimmered with magic. Roland squatted down and touched themt. He was surprised to find that these bricks were all high-quality magic energy; in simpler words, they were all magic blocks that were deliberately made into this shape. "You see what it is?" Roland nodded. "These are all the result of my magic power coalescing." Mordenkainen opened his hands, spun around, and laughed. "I extracted some of my magic power every day, made it into bricks, and built it up over time, and then eventually built this great floating city. Standing in this city, I dare to fight even gods, and in the main plane, I never feared anyone again." Roland was speechless. This floating city''s surface area was already at the level of a medium-sized city. And every piece of brick here was Mordenkainen''s spare magic powerit could almost be described as an endless source of magic power at his disposal. As long as he didn''t leave this floating city, Mordenkainen was virtually invincible. At this moment, Lamia began to run to the middle of the square, with Mordenkainen slowly following. Soon Lamia stopped. There were a few special bricks in front of her. All the other bricks were blue, but this brick was pure white. Lamia leaned down and pressed her hand to the white brick, and not much later, the white brick flipped and changed, eventually forming something like an altar. Finally, there was a magic projection on top. A blue circle and guidepostsit seemed to be a three-dimensional map. Lamia put her hands inside and moved a few times, and the entire floating city emitted a faint humming sound. Violent magical currents appeared in the sky, forming countless white vortexes. The sky was distorting; everything outside the floating city was distorting. Roland could sense that the floating city was teleporting. The sky twisted into mush and ended up white. Then the light around them began to dim and eventually became night-like. The distortion of space gradually stopped, and not long after, Roland found that the background of the world outside the floating city had turned pure black. The darkness was sprinkled with many faintly glowing objects. Some were especially large, some were especially small, and they varied in color. At some point, a transparent boundary appeared over the floating city, and from time to time, strange things would hit the transparent boundary and then bounce off. There were some hideous insects that looked like armored black maggots with a mouthful of sharp teeth, but they couldn''t gnaw through the boundary. There were also many stones floating randomly in space, and a cloud of round, square, or irregularly shaped fragments that recorded certain images! Many strange sounds rang out outside the floating city from time to time. Roland couldn''t imagine what kind of sounds they werethey were quite unsettling. Roland also saw that most of these fragments were intermingled with people''s silhouettes, but they didn''t look real. This space was strange, weird, irrational, and yet interesting. Roland looked around blankly. "What is this place?" He already had a guess, but still wanted an answer from Mordenkainen. "The astral plane, Realm of Gods, and the Void are all here." Mordenkainen pointed to the bright white sphere the size of a basketball in the distance. "See that thing there! That is the Goddess of Light''s divine kingdom. It looks close, but in reality the distance is actually infinite, and it''s almost impossible to fly there without acquiring the Divine Spark. What you see here isn''t really the goddess''s kingdom, it''s just a projection sent from a distant world." "The green sphere is the Paradise of Life, a little larger than the Divine Realm of Light." Lamia leaned in and said with a smile, "The purple one is the Goddess of Elves'' divine realm, isn''t it much smaller? It''s about the size of an apple. The more powerful the God is, the bigger and brighter the symbol projected on the astral plane." "What are those red ones?" Roland pointed to the distant, red-spotted starts that twinkled once or twice now and then. "Evil deities," said Mordenkainen indifferently. 439 A Quick Count, Huge Profits At least there wouldn''t be so many bugs floating around in the universe, or some quirky fragment of life, or a slice of time, or incomprehensible and completely unintelligible ramblings and mumblings. "Everything in the Astral Plane is dangerous," Mordenkainen pointed to the armored dung maggots in the distance, "These bugs can eat almost anything, except spatial magic. When I first came to the Astral Plane, I wasn''t sure of the properties of these things, and I was almost swallowed by them." Roland looked at the bugs in the distance. Players could revive and were allowed almost unlimited room for errors, so he didn''t have much of an intuitive sense of danger, but rather the thin layer in the sky indicating the boundary aroused his curiosity. A boundary formed by spatial magic? This kind of magic was the most stable, like diamonds in nature, and it was, therefore, difficult to change its shape and "deform" it into what one wanted, but once the deformation was successful, the boundaries made by spatial magic were almost always the strongest. How did Mordenkainen do this, simply by twisting spatial magic with his powerful mental power? As Roland pondered, his attention was once again drawn to the four giant buildings in the distance of the floating city. What''s the point of building such a large structure when there doesn''t seem to be anyone else on this floating city? Storage of gold and wealth, of books? "You seem to be interested in that building over there?" said Mordenkainen with a smile. Roland nodded. He was indeed curious, and there was no shame in admitting it. Lamia was smiling teasingly. Mordenkainen smiled and snapped his fingers. A few seconds passed and nothing seemed to happen. But Mordenkainen and Lamia both looked nonchalant. After another ten seconds, Roland finally realized something was wrong. A black line appeared underneath the huge building in the distance. And the line was wiggling indistinctly and getting progressively larger. At this time Roland could still feel some faint vibrations on the ground, and with each passing second, the vibrations became more and more obvious, while the black line in the distance also became clearer. Those were all steel puppets, countless as if they were crashing over like a tsunami. Rumbling. These puppets were all bionically designed animal figures. There were wolves, lions, leopards, bears, giant spiders, and plenty of raptors in the air. They looked the same as the animals, but with a lot of extra "equipment." The lion had long steel wings on its back and probably could fly briefly. These enhancements were found on every style of steel puppet. Besides, these steel puppets also had magical veined lights on them, which should be the reason why they could move. And Roland believed that these steel puppets also could cast spells. Mordenkainen should have one or two spell models engraved on the inside of these puppets'' bodies so that these puppets could cast spells as a stress reaction when necessary. The puppets ran up to them and surrounded the three of them. The ground shook terribly and the countless puppets brought with them the characteristic rusty smell of steel. They were overwhelmed by a sea of puppets that blocked all vision around them except for the Astral Plane above their heads. How many steel puppets are there here, a hundred thousand, a million? Roland subconsciously licked his lips. "Your armament could easily destroy the most powerful country in the world." If the floating city stopped over a strategic location and airdropped these puppets down, there was simply no country in the human world that could stop themnone! This meant in the time Mordenkainen was active, there didn''t seem to be any legends of heroes or knights. It would be strange if there was. With such a strong armament, and at the time Mordenkainen was still at his peak, he even dared to fight the Goddess of Fortune. A mere Devil King that dared to come to the surface would have had it good not being captured for human experiments. There was no way for heroes or knights to enter the scene. Mordenkainen laughed aloud. "This was just created out of pique. Back then there was a very powerful Summoner. He was arrogant in front of me, saying that Summoners are the most powerful professionflooding everything with endless summoned creaturesand he also came to trouble me every day. I wasn''t convinced. We Mages aren''t very charismatic, and the creatures we summon are not strong or obedient, but we can build our own." Roland was speechless. Although Mordenkainen was ridiculously strong, his unyielding nature was almost like a child''s. But it was also possible that it was due to this kind of personality that he ended up helping all Mages follow a special path. Roland said with some admiration, "Looking at this, you definitely came out victorious over that Summoning Warlock." "Of course." Mordenkainen snapped his fingers, and these puppets began an orderly retreat. They returned to those giant buildings. "I was actually at a disadvantage at first, because if my puppet was broken that would be it, and it was impossible to repair it urgently on the battlefield, while he only had to summon with all his effort." Mordenkainen chuckled and said, "So I then invented the self-reparation technique, which allowed the puppet to repair itself limitlessly as long as it stored enough magic power. Then I just drowned that Summoning Warlock in a sea of puppets." At this point, Mordenkainen chuckled again. "There is nothing in this world that we Mages can''t do, only things that we can''t think of at the moment." Mordenkainen was very old and looked frail as though he might die at any moment. When he spoke, his voice was soft; even his chuckling was soft. It seemed to have no vigor. However, Roland still heard the wild, unyielding will in his words. Because the scent of it was just too strong, too obvious. He was quite unyielding! Roland tsked inwardly, a little envious. He always knew that Mages were strong, but how strong exactly He had never had a direct impression of what a top-tier Mage was like. Now he knew. A Mage like this was a one-man army, a man capable of destroying a country, a man that defied gods. Seeing that Roland didn''t say anything, Mordenkainen continued, "I can see that you have a very good foundation, even better than when I was young. The path ahead, you can tread it smoothly on your own. All I can teach you are some techniques that you don''t know how to use, like Automatic Reparation and such." Roland nodded. Then Mordenkainen took out a stapled book in his robe and handed it to Roland while saying, "People have a bad memory when they get old and tend to forget things. This should have been given to you a few days agoremembering and forgetting, delaying this till now!" It was a notebook without a title. In Mordenkainen''s time, because of the extreme lack of papermaking, the price of white paper was three times the price of the same weight of gold. This thick notebook alone was worth at least ten gold coins. "Thank you, old man." Roland did not turn it over; after all, there was a tradition of not opening gifts in person. He reckoned this was Mordenkainen''s core personal notes. "This is my experience when I was building the floating city, some of the problems I encountered, and some of the mistakes I made. You can read it." Roland took a deep breath. The many uses of the floating city had now been seen by Roland. Even Mordenkainen had yet to fully realize the true uses of the floating city. It was not just an airshipit was an air fortress and a city! Of course, it wasn''t that Mordenkainen didn''t understand the true uses of the floating city, he was just used to facing everything on his own. After all, he was a lone wolf. With the notes, Roland couldn''t say that he would be able to build the floating city any time soon, but at least it was a possibility, and a great one. "You are still a hundred and eighty thousand miles away from building a floating city, but it doesn''t matter, you have the talent." Mordenkainen patted Roland''s shoulder and said, "I have high hopes for you, so don''t die too early." Roland was tempted to say that he was a Golden Son, a player, and couldn''t die. But after some thought, he just let it be. After getting the notes on the floating city, Roland knew that he had profited greatly from this quest. Not to mention the experience gained after completing an epic-level quest, the automatic reparation and magic sword-crafting techniques alone were worth more than a complete World Tree flower, and even if not more, it was about the same level. And this notebook that recorded the experience of building the floating cityeven if someone offered him five World Tree flowers, Roland wouldn''t want to exchange it. Although it was quite unpleasant being used as a puppet by the Great Wishing spell, now, Roland just wanted to say if there were still such a reward, please do it again! The floating city then drifted casually in the Astral Plane for some time, while the odd, ubiquitous ravings of the Astral Plane grew louder and louder. Roland already found it somewhat harsh, and Lamia, for her part, couldn''t take it anymore. She started covering her ears with a rather uncomfortable expression. But this odd murmuring and whispering directly affected the spirit and soul, and covering the ears was completely useless. It simply depended on the mental power of the person being attacked! Mordenkainen walked over and smiled slightly. "You know it''s dangerous for you to come, yet you come running here." "But I really like the Astral Plane," said Lamia miserably, crouching on the floor. Mordenkainen tapped the controls of the floating city and once again the area around them distorted Soon they were back above the city, then the entire floating city became invisible once more. Bringing the two back to the manor, Mordenkainen first told Lamia to rest, then said to Roland, "You should also go back, I''m a bit tired. I''ll continue discussing magic theories with you tomorrow." Roland nodded and left the manor. He subconsciously looked at the sky Above were blue skies and white clouds, and at first glance there was nothing. But Roland knew that there was a huge, floating city bigger than this whole city parked up there. "I want to have one myself." Roland muttered to himself and opened the guild chat system to find it exploding. Looking at the timestamps of the chat records, most of them were two or three hours old. Li Lin: "Oh sh*t, why is it dark?" Li Lin: "Are my eyes blurring? There''s a floating continent up there." Betta: "I saw it too, what''s going on?" Brazil: "It''s not a quest plot or something like that, right?" Husseret: ''I don''t know, why not ask the miraculous Roland right now, @Roland." About a few minutes later Li Lin: "Roland''s not talking, so it probably has to do with him F**k, the continent is missing." Husseret: "Roland still hasn''t spoken, so it must have something to do with him. The residents around here are pretty calm though. I asked them, they say it''s the floating city of one of the big shots in town." Betta: "Brother Roland''s so impressive. Maybe it''s an exaggerated plot where he inherited some ancient magical legacy." Brazil: "Could it be It might be real." Seeing this, Roland couldn''t help but speak in the chat: "If I could get that floating city, I could destroy Hollevin by myself." Then soon everyone in the guild showed up, and everyone entered question marks. ????? 440 Return The topic of discussion was, of course, the floating city that had just been a surprise to them. Li Lin said rather yearningly, "A floating city, a real aircraft carrier, not floating on the sea, but flying in the sky. It looks like it can even run to the universe-like Astral Plane right To put it another way, this is a giant spaceship. Damn, those sports cars in my house are like toys compared to this thing." Everyone revealed an expression of yearning at the thought of roaming the starry skies. Li Lin continued, "Roland, when are you going to build a floating city? When the time comes, let me drive it for some thrills! It''ll be tens of thousands of times better than driving a supercar." Roland said helplessly, "It won''t be for a long time. I have to be at least close to Legend to start building the floating city." "There''s no need to build that big." Li Lin slapped the table and said hurriedly, "You can build a small one first." "Irrelevant of size," Roland said, laughing bitterly, "to build a floating city, the floating core must be built first. According to the notes recorded in Mordenkainen''s book, the floating core has to be built with magic bricks, and to compress the magic bricks, normal Mages have to reach the Legendary level. We players have high attribute growth, but it has to be close to Legendary." "Then hurry and level up." Li Lin looked a bit excited. "Damn, I''m feeling an urge, I can''t wait." The group laughed softly. Roland thought for a moment and said, "Then how about you come over and help me? Building a floating city requires a large number of supplies, and that floating city up there was slowly built by Mordenkainen over two hundred years. Even if we want to build a small one, it''s not something that our current influence and supplies can provide." "Okay, we''ll all come over and help you." Li Lin thought for a moment and said, "As for Schuck and Betta, they won''t be needed. Schuck is in a powerful position in the Church of Light and can''t get away, and Betta will soon have his own territory and will be busy enough in the future." Roland smiled and said, "Sure." His Magic Tower just happened to be short on staff right now. Betta said in embarrassment, "Sorry, Brother Roland, I can''t help you." "It''s okay." Roland waved his hand. "You and Schuck have your own business after all. I don''t have time to help you guys either. It''s normal." Seeing that Roland didn''t mind, Betta was relieved. For the next two days, Betta and the others continued their own exploration activities in the city, while Roland still went to discuss magic theories with Mordenkainen. This was why it appeared that Mordenkainen had been teaching Roland, but in essence, it was a process of the two sharing ideas. Mordenkainen also felt that he had gained a lot. Today was the countdown to the dungeon''s final time limit. Mordenkainen looked at Roland in his study and said with a smile, "It''s been interesting discussing magic with you these past few days. Some of my ideas suddenly made sense, especially the one you said the nature of all temperature differences is just the vibration and transfer of energy. It''s an interesting idea. With this idea at the core, I''m creating a spell that should be finished in a few months. I don''t know if you''ll be able to hear about it when you return to the future." At this time, Mordenkainen''s figure was already slowly fading away. Knowing that he would soon be leaving the dungeon, Roland asked curiously, "What spell?" "Mage''s Disjunction!" Roland was stunned. The voice gradually became hollow, and then Mordenkainen disappeared completely. In a wave of dizziness, Roland noticed that his surroundings had changed, turning into complete darkness. Roland snapped his fingers and two light balls surrounded him. Looking at his surroundings, he realized he was once again in his own time, at the top of the pyramid. They would probably never meet again. Roland felt a slight sense of disappointment. In the light, he also saw his close friends, all of whom looked dazed and uncomfortable, having been suddenly teleported out of the dungeon. Li Lin had his back against Roland and the others, seemingly tying the waistband of his trousers in a hurry. He quickly tied his waistband and then was about to make his way over to his friends. They all took a step back at the same time, looking at him rather disgustedly. Li Lin looked sullen. "There''s no need to be like this." Everyone curled their lips, not speaking. At this moment, Roland found Betta holding a white worm in each of his hands, fleshy and quite cute. "You didn''t go look for ingredients again, right?" Roland thought Betta was too preoccupied with food. "They''re worms, and while many of them can be eaten, I think you''re better off not eating them. It''s weirdly disgusting just thinking about it. Anyway, I''m not eating them." The others also immediately followed and said that they definitely wouldn''t eat bugs anymore. "I was going to try to roast them so you guys could eat them." Betta was a little disappointed as he placed the two white worms with fleshy heads in the empty Well of Light. "Forget it, it''s up to yourselves to survive." Roland casually took a jug of Water of Light out of his Backpack and gave it to Betta. "The quest item is here." "Thank you, Brother Roland." Betta was quite happy to have this. With it, his territory would be secured. "Let''s go back, shall we?" Li Lin yawned. He exchanged meat-fighting tips with the brothel workers every day, it would be a wonder if he wasn''t tired. "I don''t know how much experience I''ll get after this quest is completed." Roland said, "Don''t be in a hurry. Let''s go to the mayor''s manor and look through it; we might find something valuable. This is a special location formed after being forcibly torn apart by magic, so a lot of things should have retained their original appearance." Husseret, as a Thief, loved this sort of thing, and his eyes lit up at the news. "Of course we have to go, let''s see if we can scavenge something." In the end, the mayor''s manor really allowed Roland and the others to scavenge a lot of gold coins and gems, and after getting a sweet taste of this, they went back to the large manors in the city to scavenge and found a lot more. It took a day and a night, and the results were pleasing: an amount of nearly two hundred gold coins, and many gems. Roland didn''t ask for gold coins. He offered to take all the gems instead because gems were good magic materials. He now had enough gold coins. So, the gold coins were split amongst the others, while Roland received many magic materials. After coming out of the ground, Roland and the others returned to Pine Wind City and they tried to get the carriage back, but the innkeeper looked embarrassed. He swallowed and didn''t say where the wagon was, but said he was willing to compensate Roland and the others for their losses and buy them a new wagon. There was nothing special about the carriage that Roland and the others had come to Pine Wind City in. Presumably, seeing that they hadn''t come back for a long time, the innkeeper thought they were in trouble and died, so he pawned the carriage as if it was no one''s property. This was just a guess by Roland and the others. The innkeeper asked the staff to go outside and bring a carriage back, and just as Roland and the others were about to leave, the innkeeper suddenly whispered to them, "Sirs, don''t go through the east gate, go through the west gate. Someone is looking for you." With that said, the innkeeper returned to the inn as if nothing had happened. They looked at each other, and four of them immediately jumped into the carriage to hide their figures, while Husseret pulled on the hood that was characteristic of the Thief''s outfit to cover his face. The carriage rocked toward the west gate. The west gate here also collected tolls, but since most of the caravans came and went from the west gate, it was very busy, so in most cases, as long as a few bronze coins were given, the soldiers here would let them through without making too many inquiries. Passing the west gate, Husseret uncovered his hood and the carriage drove down the small trail lined with trees. He turned back at the same time and asked, "Is someone looking to start trouble with us again?" "It''s not just trouble for us, it''s trouble for the entire player community." Roland had already connected to the forum by now. "I saw on the forum during the day yesterday that the alliance of churches have surrounded the city of Sisilia, and are probably besieging it now. And we, as Golden Sons, are probably included on the monitoring list. I''ll see if there''s a live feed of the battlefieldfound it, there really is." Li Lin and the others immediately went to the forum to watch the livestream. At this point, the number of viewers in the livestream had exceeded ten million, meaning that many non-gamers, who were also in the real world, stayed up all night to watch the drama at triple-speed. After all, the time ratio between the game world and the real world was 3 to 1. The livestream''s view was that of the players on the defensive, and as soon as it started, Roland saw a hail of arrows and colorful ballistic spells raining down from all over the sky. The livestream camera was incredibly shaky; the livestreamer kept running around. His quick gasps, the explosions of falling spells, the screams around him, and the sound of walls crumbling in the distance all blended together. Just by seeing this scene, Roland knew that Sisilia would never be able to hold. The scene showed soldiers being lifted off the ground by the blast of magic, being frozen, or falling with the wall and being covered in debris in the blink of an eye. At first, this livestreamer worked hard to return fire with his bow and arrow and dragged the living defenders to safety. But as more and more people died in front of him at an exaggerated rate, his gasps for air became tinged with cries. "How did this happen, how did this happen!" The livestreamer fell to his knees at the edge of a pile of crumbling walls, looking at the bodies of his comrades and then at the dense sea of people beyond the walls. The white, yellow, green, and purple Priest robes formed a multicolored alliance that had no end, as if they reached to the end of the world. Countless balls of light from spells rose and fell from the alliance. The protective boundary of Sisilia had already been destroyed, and these balls of light fell unhindered onto the walls and even into the city. Masses of houses were collapsing, and the screams and cries of civilians were clearly audible even amidst the intense bombardment of spells. Countless lives were withering away. Roland sighed and turned off the livestream. He couldn''t watch it any longer. The others switched off the livestream one after another. At this moment, the carriage suddenly stopped and Husseret''s voice came from the front: "Brothers, someone is trying to trouble us." Roland lifted the curtains and saw a procession in purple Priest''s robes stop in the middle of the road in front of the carriage. The group of people looked at them unkindly. 441 The Corruption of the F6 Members In reality, purple was a pretty interesting color with a sense of mystery. As long as you looked good, wearing purple was considered a plus for both men and women. The group of people in front of them were really handsome men and women, more than twenty people blocking the road, smiling and looking at the carriage with teasing expressions on their faces. Roland and the others jumped off the carriage and watched the small group of Priests of love in the way with confused expressions. Generally speaking, the Priests in this world were heavily armored, equipped with shields and hammers in battle, and occasionally there were Priests in robes, but they were usually in civil posts. The Priests of the Church of Love, on the other hand, never wore armor and their robes were very loose, supposedly so that they could easily undress whenever and wherever they wanted. As a neutral alignment church, the love Priests strictly adhered to their doctrines. And the essence of it was: face your heart and desires and don''t get stuck in etiquette and common sense. To put it bluntly, this was a bunch of people who loved to party. They didn''t like to fight with others. Even if you called them names, they wouldn''t bother to argue with you and there weren''t many people who wanted to fight with them; many instead wanted to have a good relationship with them. After all, they acted on mutual consent and didn''t kill or set fires, so what could you do? But it was such a group of people who were aloof from worldly affairs that were now blocking the path of Roland and the others. They walked to the front of the carriage. Hotheaded, Li Lin sized up the group for a moment and roared in displeasure, "Why are you guys blocking our way, want to get beat up?." Berserkers were just this reckless! The group of people from the Church of Love sat on horses and laughed amusingly, and their unattractive condescending looks were infuriating to watch. Li Lin wanted to make a move. Roland knew his character, so he held him back and said, "Don''t act rashly, you''re impulsive and don''t know the gravity of thingsallow me." When he finished speaking, he pointed at the people from the Church of Love. The people of the Church of Love thought that Roland was going to use offensive spells, and each of them immediately cast defensive magic, such as Ballistic Deflection, Magic Shield, and so on. However, Roland used a wide range Muddy Transformation. The place where the group of people stood instantly became a swamp. The horses they were sitting on immediately sank in, and in a flash, they were more than half submerged, their legs deep in the mud. Now they were finally anxious and didn''t dare to put on that superior look again. Roland walked to the edge of the swamp and asked, somewhat puzzled, "The Church of Love itself doesn''t have much fighting power, but it dares to stand in the way of us Golden Sons. Why?" Who wasn''t afraid of the great name of the immortal Golden Sons? The group of Church of Love''s Priests, who were strong in appearance but weak in reality, were riding on shocked and disoriented horses and didn''t dare to dismount, because if they did, they would have to wade into the swamp themselves. The most handsome, flashy-looking male Priest said urgently, "We''re not trying to do anything to you, we just want a taste of you." Huh? Roland and his friends looked at each other in bewilderment. "What do you mean?" asked Roland, his eyes almost in a frown. "I''ve heard that you Golden Sons taste very good. Your bodies are pure and unadulterated, they taste delicious and make you feel quite pleasurable." A blush appeared on the man''s face. "We have many brothers and sisters who say that your sweat doesn''t even taste sour; instead it has a slightly salty taste that you can''t forget once you lick it." Roland shuddered and subconsciously took a step back. By eating, this man didn''t mean eating people, but the adult-oriented "eating." "But even so, the look on your faces before wasn''t quite right. What gave you the courage to stand in our way?" continued Roland. "That is" The man hesitated. "We heard that you have recently been abandoned by all the gods, even the Goddess of Life has given an order that she will repeatedly exterminate those special elements among you, and we also heard that you may no longer have immortality as it will be reclaimed by the Goddess of Life, so we" Roland gave Betta a wink, and Betta immediately went to the forum to see if there was any news about it. "And you think we become useless after we lose our immortality and so try to capture us?" "No, we just thought it was a pity that such good ingredients were about to be goneevery death is a pity. So, we thought we''d try your taste before you disappeared." Because the player''s body was "newly created" and didn''t have long life experience, it was very pure. Roland''s eyes widened. "That''s it?" "We of the Church of Love don''t like to fight, but this is what we desire." F**k Roland couldn''t help but curse inwardly. These people who were controlled by their desires were really incomprehensible. "Forget it, you guys can stay here for a while." Roland sighed, then said to his pals behind him, "Let''s go." Then he was surprised to find that no one but Betta had gone with him. "What are you guys doing?" Roland stopped, having a bad feeling about this. Li Lin said with a smile, "I''ve heard that the Church of Love''s female Priests are quite interesting, but now they''ve actually taken the initiative to come to my door." "No way!" Roland said helplessly. "Their private lives are really chaotic." "How much more chaotic can they be than brothel workers?" Li Lin shrugged. "Roland, you and Betta go back first." Roland looked at the other two. "You guys aren''t leaving either, Brazil and Husseret?" The two shook their heads and laughed mischievously. Brazil even said, "You have a queen of the utmost beauty by your side, of course you do not care about this. This is the typical example of a well-fed man who does not know the plight of a hungry man. There are several girls here that look good. I plan to stay, and have an exchange of feelings with them. After all, it''s a rare opportunity. It''s okay to believe in the God of Love if necessary. After all, everyone can have faith, right?" "But there are also men here!" Li Lin said bitterly, "Of course, let the men f**k off." Betta was gobsmacked. He was the youngest, now in his sophomore year of college, still essentially a good kid, and seeing this had a major impact on his views of the world. Roland sighed. "What about the experience of the epic quest? What if it doesn''t count when Betta hands in the quest because guys are not around?" "Quest experience can be earned again, but a free chance like this is rare." Li Lin waved his hand at Roland in irritation. "Well, if you''re not joining, you can go back first." Half an hour later, Betta was driving the carriage and Roland was sitting beside him, both of them looking rather odd. In reality, information about the Church of Love had been making rounds on the forum for a long time. Many male players had secretly joined the church, as well as a small number of female players. Some things were implicitly revealed on the forums. It was just that Roland rarely paid attention to this aspect of things. After all, he had Andonara by his side, and Vivian, so there was no need to worry about the physical aspect of life. Whereas Li Lin and the others Not even having a sweetheart in the game so far, it didn''t seem too strange to find someone to settle this problem. It was just a bit of a bad idea to get mixed up with the Church of Love. Those people were really too messy. Roland sighed. "Should have let them all be Warlocksat level five, summon a Succubus, and any physical problems are solved for you. No need to find those messy women." Also, when summoned, Succubi were very "exclusive," and would only serve one master until the master died before finding other men, provided that the Warlock who summoned them didn''t treat them too badly. This was why the Succubi called themselves honest and faithful. Everyone laughed, but they wouldn''t argue. After all, they really were very much in the spirit of a professional contract. At this moment, Betta still looked muddleheaded. It seemed that he still hadn''t woken up from the shock to his views. After about two days, Betta seemed to have figured something out when he asked, "Brother Roland looking for brothel workers here, you won''t get caught in reality, right?" Roland couldn''t help but wince. "No way, you want to, too?" Then Roland smacked his own head. "Not good, you''ve been led astray by Li Lin and the others. Schuck will scold me when he finds out about this." "I''m almost twenty." Betta looked a little squirmy. "It''s not a bad thing to think about, right?" "I guess." Roland thought of himself. It was also in his sophomore year of college that he got together with his ex-girlfriend and started eating meat. When he thought about it, he felt he was in no position to educate Betta. While on his way back to the capital, Roland had been browsing the forum. The events in Sisilia were still ongoing. It took less than three hours for the alliance of churches to break through the city, after which they attacked Sisilia forcefully. In street battles, they killed the resisters first, then cleaned up the players. As long as the players who stayed in Sisilia were not mercenaries recruited by their own side, all of them were killed on sight. Until they left Sisilia. After that, they began to purge the natives of this world who had accepted the players'' philosophies. And it was a brutal execution of all generations. Even children, as long as they were taller than the wheels of a carriage, no matter if they were boys or girls, were all killed. In the blink of an eye, Sisilia was covered in blood, and the miserable cries didn''t stop from morning to night, and then from the rise of the moon to the rise of the sun. Bodies were being hauled out on carts. Normally, a cart was used to hold two bodies at most, but now it was like a human pyramid of at least a dozen. The bodies were thrown into a large pit outside the city and then covered when there were two or three hundred corpses. On the east side of Sisilia, there were large pits and holes everywhere or large, fresh mounds of buried earth. "This is too much, is this necessary?" Roland looked at the pictures on the forum and his veins popped out. Originally there were still god-protectors on the forum, but now after these pictures came out, the god-protectors all went silent and then never posted again. Many of the players who had joined the coalition began to withdraw as well. The "Sisilia Incident" lasted seven days, and by the time the alliance of churches began to retreat, this large city that originally had a population of 1.3 million was now only around 600,000 strong. The retreating alliance had left behind several "ember removal squads," which were responsible for hunting down the players that were on their list. Everyone in this squad started at the Master level and the captain of each squad was at the Legendary level. In this incident, thanks to several rogue players stealthily risking their lives livestreaming, the players clearly realized certain things. For example, the nature of churches. Another example was that the players were really not strong at this stage in the game. In a battle where there was an overwhelming power difference, immortality was just a joke. All that had to be done was simply guard the revival points and the players would be killed back to level zero. Those special heretical inquisitors could even track players in soul state, and the latter simply couldn''t escape. 442 The Female Priests of the Church of Storm, Slutty Outside Yet Prudish Inside Dinah, on the other hand, held the Water of Light delightedly. "What will you do next?" Sitting on the comfortable couch and drinking the delicious fruit wine served by the Hibiscus family, Roland asked, "Do you want me to stay with you until you have ownership of your fief?" Roland was worried that the Hibiscus family would trick Betta. After all, nobles tended to be treacherous no matter how decent they looked. Betta was not in a good mood after watching the stream from Sisilia. He waved his hand and said, "That''s fine; I trust Dinah. Besides, Dinah will be vulnerable for a few days after taking the water. I need to protect her as a friend. Brother Roland, you can go back if you have other things to do." Remember how Dinah gazed at Betta, full of affection, Roland realized that his concerns were ungrounded. He left the Hibiscus manor and ran into Antis when he left the capital. Antis called out to Roland and stopped him at the city gate. He asked him in private, "I''ve heard about what happened in Sisilia City. You did not seem to be part of it. Not bad." Though the incident at Sisilia was over, some people were still searching and cleaning up the survivors from there. There were two such teams in the capital, but they were mainly targeting people who had adopted the special ideology and run from Sisilia. As for the players who didn''t participate, the inquisitors certainly weren''t fond of them, but they did not dare to do anything. After all, something huge had happened the day before yesterday when an inquisition team had a quarrel with the Phoenix Guild. It all started when the Phoenix Guild took in a female NPC who had been very close to the guild since the beginning. Also, this NPC was not a believer of the new ideology, and only her family took part in the incident. Then, the inquisition team demanded that the Phoenix Guild give her over. The chairman of the Phoenix Guild was Solisa, who had hired Roland to modify a spell earlier. The girl seemed docile on the surface but was actually very proud, or she couldn''t have run a guild of only girls. She rejected the inquisition team''s demand on the spot. She also provoked them and made them attack her first, so that she would be justified to fight back. Then, the three hundred girls of the guild attacked the team together. There was a Legendary Swordsman in the inquisition team, who was quite strong. But these girls were all Elven Summoners who focused their points in Charm. They summoned a myriad of beasts in the sky, on the land, and in the sea, surrounding the whole inquisition team. The Legendary Swordsman could kill people, but he could not break the siege of the summoned beasts. Eventually, he was surrounded and killed by at least 100,000 summoned beasts. The battle was fought for almost thirteen hours. In the end, it was said that the Legendary Swordsman was devoured by the Celestial Wolves; not even bones remained. Someone livestreamed the battle. The players who watched the battle all joked that the tears of a girl were sharp enough to kill a Legend. Despite the jokes, most players were impressed by the girls'' courage. It was not a problem to be cowardly, and it took real courage to face one''s fear when one was scared. Since this battle, the combat ability of the Phoenix Guild had been well-known. The ocean of summoned beasts was blood-freezing for anyone. The Phoenix Guild was even claiming the title of Most Powerful Guild from F6. The idea that numbers equaled combat ability was gaining popularity. However, Roland felt that nothing fundamental had changed. The Legendary Swordsman couldn''t flash or teleport. If Roland were surrounded, he could''ve escaped with a few consecutive teleportations. It was more of a matter of class mechanism than one of strength. The melee classes were designed to deal with one tough target, not a sea of enemies. The spellcasters couldn''t deal with one tough target, but they could deal a lot of damage. However, faced with a hundred thousand summoned beasts, even Roland would have to flee even if he could teleport away. But unlike Swordsmen, Mages were capable of many area spells. If Roland became a Legend, a hundred thousand summoned beasts wouldn''t be half as threatening as one Legendary Swordsman. Antis had heard about the fall of the Legend too. He said somewhat in admiration, "In any case, it''s already well known that the Golden Sons took down a Legend." "Those ladies are indeed impressive." Roland nodded. "I don''t know whether you Golden Sons are brave or reckless." Antis heaved a sigh. "You''re still causing trouble at a moment like this? You even killed a Legend. Other people would''ve definitely tried to lay low until things were over. However, you have indeed changed the situation with your recklessness. Nobody dares to piss off the Golden Sons anymore after the battle, even when you''re caught in unfavorable circumstances." Roland smiled. It was very typical of the players. They wouldn''t hesitate to kill gods as long as they were allowed to. Looking at the people that were entering the city at a distance, Antis asked, "You''ve helped the Hibiscus family?" "Mission complete." Antis thought a moment and asked, "I don''t want to know what you did. I simply want to ask you if Dinah can support her family in the future. Or rather, is she talented enough now?" "I think she''s fine." "Got it. I''ll ask my family to give a favor to the Hibiscus family." Antis smiled at Roland. "I helped you a lot before. Consider what you just said a reward for that." Then, he waved his hand and returned to the city gate. Roland, on the other hand, left the capital and returned to Delpon through Long-Distance Teleportation. He spent a day with Andonara and Vivian at the manor. Then, Roland resumed his work at the Magic Tower. While he was away, Vivian had been managing the Magic Tower. She was not talented in magic, but she was quite gifted at management. Both the Magic Tower and the school were well-organized thanks to her. On the other hand, Cage did a better job than Vincent did in terms of city safety. A sheriff had to deal with the quarrels and fights of ordinary people, so they had to know what ordinary people needed and how to get along with them. As a person from a rich family, Vincent certainly did not know that as well as Cage did. In her spare time, Andonara taught the players how to train into Great Swordsmen and made a lot of gold coins. Because of Andonara, Delpon was quite famous among the players. After all, the Great Swordsman was an OP class that only Andonara could help one turn into. So more and more players were coming to Delpon. After he returned to the Magic Tower, Roland was focused on magic sword-making and item auto recovery. Neither of the two techniques was hard as long as one changed their mindset first. Item auto recovery, in particular, was a special application of causal magic power. Essentially speaking, auto recovery was a traceback process. An item''s shape, form, and features could be recorded with causal magic power. Once it was deformed, the magic power nearby would be utilized to restore the item. It was easier said than done. What auto recovery needed was the glyph technology that Mordenkainen invented. It was not Enchantment but an unsystematic technique to infuse magic power solely based on his own experience. Different from Enchantment, the glyph technology was more effective, but it was also contrary to common sense. It was one of the reasons why prophecy spells were hard to learn. Most of the prophecy spells were created based on presumptions, but they somehow worked out in the end. Therefore, even though Roland had accurate data for his modeling, it was hard for him to parse the glyphs. Much of the data didn''t match, or was even contradictory. However, having invented Language Proficiency and Unhindered Communication, Roland had known a thing or two about causal spells. After a dozen days, he finally got the hang of auto recovery. Roland smashed a cup with a huge noise. Soon, the pieces of the cup slowly moved on their own. But it was so slow that Roland estimated that it would take more than three days for the pieces to regather. And this was only a cup made of clay. It would''ve taken even longer if the cup were made of iron or magic. He might have to wait a month, or even years if he wanted to recover a large item. That speed was enough for daily use. After all, most items degenerated slowly. If they were recovered every day, they would almost be permanent. However, it was not good enough for battle. If a piece of equipment was damaged in a battle, it would be pointless if the equipment couldn''t be recovered very quickly. "The glyphs are exactly the same as Mordenkainen said, but I''m not as fast as him. What is the key?" Deep in thought, Roland subconsciously checked the math model he established again, hoping to infer his drawbacks. But he failed to find anything after a long observation. All the data was correct, but none was useful when it came to the recovery technique. While he was thinking, Vivian opened the door of the lab and came in. She said, "Chairman, something happened in the city. Cage is already there, but it''s tricky to deal with. He wants you to go and take a look." Oh? What could something that even Cage found tricky be? Roland immediately went there. In front of a small manor, Roland saw Cage with twenty city guards confronting a team in yellow cleric robes. Heavy armor under a yellow robe was the typical appearance of the Church of Storm. Roland walked to them and found a blue triangle on their yellow robes, which was a symbol of the Church of Storm. There were also two female clerics in the team who were both wearing short skirts. All the female clerics of the Church of Storm wore such sexy robes, because their goddess wore such. They did not feel anything wrong at all about dressing in such a revealing way. "What happened?" Roland walked to them. Cage was relieved to see Roland. "They''re going to take Conan Doyle''s family, claiming that Conan Doyle defied their goddess." Roland looked at them and found a bunch of people behind the clerics of the Church of Storm. 443 As Vigilant and Smart as Him Behind Conan Doyle was his wife, his two sons, his two daughter-in-laws, and his two grandchildren. The older of his grandchildren was only ten, and the younger one was around seven. They were all panicked. But awed by the Church of Storm, they dared not move at all with their hands tied up. Roland gazed at them for a while and then turned back to the leading male cleric. He asked gently, "Were they involved in the incident in Sisilia too?" The middle-aged cleric eyed Roland up and down warily, but he did not give in at all. "Who are you? This is the Church of Storm''s business. Get out of the way if you''re not from a significant background." Roland smiled at the man''s arrogance. "I don''t have any background, but I''m in charge of this city for now." Cage nodded in satisfaction. He liked Roland''s attitude which was neither cocky nor humble. He felt that his niece''s man should be exactly like that. "Are you the mayor?" The middle-aged man was rather hesitant. "No." The middle-aged hummed in response. He knew who Roland was now. He had done some investigation before he came to Delpon. He was aware that someone in Delpon controlled the mayor''s house and hence indirectly controlled the city. It was just that he forgot the person''s name a moment earlier. "I understand your capabilities now." The middle-aged cleric nodded. "Out of respect for you, I can explain to you why we''re taking them away. They are the Defiers who are deeply associated with the sinners in Sisilia. By the order of the gods, we will take them away and convict them. Do you understand now?" Turning to Conan Doyle, Roland asked, "Did you really take part in the incident in Sisilia?" "No, not at all!" Conan Doyle was smart enough to recognize that Roland was on his side. He seized the opportunity and roared, "Mr. Roland, I didn''t! I really didn''t! The person he referred to is my brother whom I only had correspondence with occasionally. My family hasn''t left Delpon in a year Ah!" Half way through his speech, Conan Doyle was hit in his abdomen by a young cleric behind him. After a scream, he fell on his knees and vomited nonstop. Roland raised his eyebrow. "Why didn''t you let him finish?" The middle-aged cleric turned back and dropped a hint at the young cleric who just hit Conan Doyle. Then, he turned back and said, "We can''t let him spout nonsense." "But I want to hear it." Roland''s smile was even bigger. Seeing Roland''s attitude, the middle-aged cleric knew that things were getting tricky. He became solemn. "Do you really plan to go against the Church of Storm, sir?" The young cleric''s face changed when he heard that. He stepped forward, trying to punch Roland in rage. But the middle-aged cleric stopped his subordinate. He gazed at Roland with more shock and suspicion. In the end, he said, "You''re too proud to be a noble. All the nobles are respectful when they meet us. There is only one type of person in this world who don''t fear the gods. Are you a Golden Son?" "It seems that you didn''t investigate this city well before you came," Roland said with a smile. "You''re right. I''m indeed a Golden Son" Then, Roland''s expression changed slightly, and his eyes became sharper. After he said that, not just the middle-aged, but the young cleric who wanted to punch him earlier fell silent too. They seemed to be in a dilemma. They wanted to be tough, but they didn''t want to be too tough. It had been two years since the Golden Sons emerged. A lot had happened during the two years. This group of psychos who never slept at night but ran about everywhere, even poking gutters in the hope of finding treasure, had fully revealed their reputation and personalities to the world. Most Golden Sons were nosy and would meddle with everything they found unfair. When drunkards were fighting, they would try to stop the drunkards, but if they were attacked, they would beat up both drunkards. When a man abused his wife, the feminists among the Golden Sons would beat up the husband and walk away. They would also help the seniors cross the street, and amuse crying kids by picking fruits for them. Since they were interested in such trivial matters, they certainly wouldn''t ignore matters of great significance. Those Golden Sons would punish anyone as long as they did bad things no matter who they were. From nobles from the royal family to the tattooed peddlers on the street, nobody scared them. There were several Golden Son Priests in the Church of Storm too. One day, a Golden Son found that a cardinal archbishop coerced a female cleric into sleeping with him. He exposed the scandal, only to be killed by the cardinal archbishop. After his resurrection, the Golden Son launched suicide attacks on the cardinal archbishop several times, to no avail. But for some reason, some Golden Sons from other cities learned the news and teamed up with him. The five of them beat the cardinal archbishop to death. This was supposed to be a huge matter, but the Goddess of Storm did not issue any decree. Also, the pope took care of the matter properly and did not let the scandal become widely known. In the end, the five Golden Sons who killed the cardinal archbishop all became backup bishops Since then, the Priests of the Church of Storm had been aware that once the Golden Sons got serious, they would be on the moral high ground, and things would be tricky. The middle-aged Priest turned around and looked at Conan Doyle who was still gagging. He asked, "Senior, let me ask you, did you really never leave Delpon in the past year?" Conan Doyle shook his head hard. He had a hard time talking because of the pain. "No, I really didn''t, sir." "Then it seems that we were misled." The leading male Priest took out a gold coin and put it in Conan Doyle''s hand. "This is compensation for our disturbance." Conan Doyle looked at the middle-aged cleric who suddenly changed his attitude in surprise. He couldn''t be more clear about these people''s brutality half an hour earlier. They barged into his house and beat him and his sons up without saying anything. Then, they claimed that his family were Defiers and should be burnt. Yet, they apologized to him now? The leading middle-aged man ignored Conan Doyle. He turned back at Roland and said, "Since things are clear now, we''ll be on our way. Until next time, Mr. Roland." After that, the middle-aged cleric waved his hand and led his subordinates away. The two female Priests were wearing short skirts that revealed their long, gleaming legs. The female Priests of the Church of Storm never wore heavy armor. They did not even dare to raise their heads when they walked by Roland. After they were completely gone, Conan Doyle and his family all lay on the ground in relief. Conan Doyle kept thanking Roland. Roland waved his hand and walked away slowly. Cage asked his men to untie Conan Doyle''s family, while he caught up to Roland himself. He asked curiously, "If the middle-aged cleric hadn''t given in, would you really kill him?" "Just because you are Andonara''s uncle doesn''t mean you have the right to slander me. Why would I kill anyone?" Roland asked back weirdly. Cage snorted in disdain. "I went through more battles than you can imagine when I was a mercenary. I could clearly tell that you were all set to kill him just now." Roland chuckled. "Do you think I''m the kind of person who would kill randomly?" "No, but you did want to kill him, so you definitely had your reason." Roland put on a mysterious smile. In his vision, a system notification popped up. "Stop the Clerics from Taking Conan Doyle Away" complete. Character EXP +220. On the other hand, after the middle-aged cleric left the city, he kept walking until he entered a forest. Seeing that nobody followed him, he was greatly relieved and caught his breath while holding a tree not far away. The two female clerics were pale and sweaty too as if they were sick. The other clerics all found it strange. They asked, "What happened to you?" "Roland wanted to kill us just now!" The middle-aged man wiped his sweat and said, "Fortunately, I was vigilant and smart, or we might''ve died there." The clerics looked at each other in bewilderment. The ferocious young cleric asked weirdly, "That can''t be true. His expression was normal to me just now." "He seems normal," the middle-aged man said, not entirely recovered from his shock. "But there was suddenly a strong intent in his eyes. If we had stayed longer, he would''ve killed us. You can ask them if you don''t believe me." The middle-aged cleric pointed at the two female clerics. Both of the female clerics nodded hard. They were Windsingers, a special class of the Church of Storm. Wind was the current of air. As Windsingers, they could read the information in the air around them, including but not limited to odor and other people''s feelings. They sensed it vividly when Roland had the intent to kill them. They were frightened, which was why they did not dare to look at Roland. The young Priest was stunned for a while. Then, in rage, he was about to shout "How dare he?" but then he held himself back. The guy was a Golden Son; he certainly dared to do that. The young Priest punched a tree nearby regretfully and asked, "Bishop, is this the end of our mission? The pope will be disappointed in us. Maybe we''ll be thrown to a jail for a few days." "It''s better to spend a few days in jail than to be killed," the middle-aged cleric said helplessly. "We can''t catch Conan Doyle, not when a Golden Son is protecting him. Kazan the Sword Ghost was strong enough, wasn''t he? But the Golden Sons killed him just to protect a maid. We''re nothing compared to him. You really think he dares not slash us into pieces?" 444 I, Roland, Wire Money Especially the Church of War, they didn''t bother to fight the Golden Sons over the death of the Legendary Swordsman, which further made the entirety of Hollevin, the grassroots of all the other churches, as well as the other great powers of the human world, and even distant non-human nations such as the Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and so on, aware of the Golden Sons who were impervious to reason. And this exaggerated reputation was actually created by a bunch of women. This more or less made many male gamers ashamed. After all, there had been a trend on the forums that said that while female players had some individual characters who excelled, the overall average had poor battle awareness, lack of will to fight, fearfulness, and other shortcomings. In the end, these girls they looked down upon did something great. Those who said that the girls had no fighting ability immediately went mute, and even if someone occasionally took the matter of summoning an ocean of beasts and mansplained, they would be rebuked by other male players. Also thanks to this incident, the Phoenix Guild''s reputation soared, and a large number of female players joined in. The number of people had skyrocketed from three hundred to over five hundred in just a few days. There were still a large number of female players lining up, and the guild''s auditors were so busy that their hair was about to fall out. To join the Phoenix Guild, one had to be female and an Elven Summoner. Also, the higher the summoner''s charisma, the stronger and more numerous the summoned beasts would be, so the Phoenix Guild was only full of beauties. As one of the three big professions, Summoners usually had two or three resident summoning beasts to protect them and summoned a large number of temporary beasts to fight in battle, capable of scouting, guarding, attacking, and so on; one person alone was a small-scale team. At the same time, female players liked to form teams to bolster their courage, so Phoenix Guild''s girls generally traveled in small groups of five. In a battle, there would be at least three hundred to four hundred units of summoned beasts to overwhelm the opponent, and if the strength of the five people were slightly stronger, the number of beasts would rise to over a thousand. More importantly, these summoning beasts weren''t all cannon fodder; there were many beasts with special abilities mixed within. For example, some could heal, some knew offensive spells, and some could use stealth and sneak-attack. The inherent summoning beast could help the master take all the damage. The vitality of the two types of ancient trees was still slightly higher than the top Warriors of the same level and could continue to grow slightly as the Summoner''s level increased. In other words, the Elven Summoner had no weaknesses in any aspects. The only way to deal with an Elven Summoner was to dominate them with pure overwhelming battle power. It was impossible to use other methods like assassination or poison, and so on. To completely crush a Summoner''s combat power, one had to be at least three to five levels above the Summoner. This was in terms of players who had high attribute growth, and if it was a professional in this world, this would probably be five to seven levels. Now that the Golden Sons were becoming more famous and female Golden Sons more popular after the Legendary Swordsman''s death, there was already a situation in the mercenary market where the employers would leave a special message on the mission board saying that if a female Golden Son took on the mission, the pay would be raised by another fifty percent. In the event of competition, preference would be given to the female Golden Sons. The female Summoners not only stole business from the indigenous mercenaries, but they also stole a lot of business from male players. Just in the half a month or so that Roland had been delving into magic, the atmosphere of the forum had changed dramatically. Originally, the players on the forums loved to complain about Roland and Schuck, saying they were ruining the balance. However, there were only Roland and Schuck, and the number of Elven Summoners now almost surpassed a thousand. A female player would almost certainly be an Elven Summoner. This severely ruined the gaming experience for other players. On an epic quest, male players had to consider the cooperation between the tank, the damage dealer, the support, and so on. But Elven Summoners didn''t have to, and just a team of five, plus hundreds and thousands of summoned beasts charging mindlessly, would suffice. They could accept all the mercenary quests and complete them quickly. Having mounts, they came and went like the wind. Originally, the average level of female players was on the lower side, and since the profession of Elven Summoner had been discovered, their growth had far outpaced that of male players. Their average level was now about to surpass that of male players. After another month, the male gamers couldn''t take it anymore, and half of the forum was denouncing the Elven Summoner profession, strongly demanding that the abilities of Elven Summoners be weakened. Of course, now these protesting players had learned their lesson and no longer talked about quitting the game if a profession didn''t change. Because the gaming officials were really not afraid if they quit the game. The female players, on the other hand, were hardly speaking, and whether this was organized or a spontaneous act, there weren''t any female players "laning against'''' the protesting male players on the forum anyway, presumably having the intention of staying quiet and keeping a low profile while enjoying all the benefits. Amid all this commotion, Roland, however, felt good. He could finally be transparent. Every time he went on the forums, he''d see a new post talking about him, which was a bit refreshing and proud at first, but after reading more, he became a bit annoyed. Now he could finally enjoy the show on the forums calmly and not be annoyed. Players had been arguing on the forums for almost a month, and in the end, no official announcements came out, so the male players knew what the intentions of the gaming officials were. If you can''t beat them, join them. Unfortunately, only female players could assume the profession of Elven Summoners, while male players could only be general Summoners. It was also strong, but there was a glaring shortcoming in terms of looks. Elven Summoners had unicorns, flower demons, fairies, vine queens, deer women, and other beautiful creatures, and even the animals were Sirius, rainbow magic ponies, silver-fanged sabers, and other creatures that looked imposing. In contrast, the average Summoner summoned things like bears, porcupines, rotten mud monsters, skeletons, zombies, death knights, and other things that didn''t look appealing. Even the undead summon responsible for damage dealing was completely countered by the two holy summons, the unicorn and rainbow pony. Male Summoners were extremely strong against other professions, but against Elven Summoners, they were just sending themselves to their deaths. Having been beaten up by a girl, a male Summoner cried on the forums, asking, "What to do if what you summon is ugly and weak and can''t beat a girl?" The Devil Warlocks laughed so much that they posted on the forum jokingly that the male Summoner should simply become a Warlock. Although most devils look extremely ugly, there was a beautiful succubus to accompany you all the timewhat was there not to be content with? There was almost no news about Roland on the forums anymore, it was all about Elven Summoners and male Summoners. Regarding the Sisilia Incident, almost all the players deliberately didn''t talk about it. Not that they forgot, but they deliberately avoided it. It was just that some things would remain in their hearts and remembered for the rest of their lives. The players thought that by deliberately forgetting this, things would fade away and pass. Unexpectedly, this pain eventually exploded. On the forum, a quality and popular post appeared, and inside of it was a video. A man, whose face had been pixelated, sobbed and kept apologizing, saying that they were the ones who were too confident, that they had underestimated the power of the enemy''s counterattack, which had led to a large number of natives being killed, and that they knew they had been wrong and would accept punishment. From now on, over a thousand of them would not appear in the game again, and would simply retire from the game. In the end, the man gasped and seized because he was too devastated. There wasn''t much discussion below the post, just uniform replies of one word. "Farewell!" Roland closed the forum and sighed deeply. He wasn''t in the mood to browse the forum or conduct magic experiments anymore. According to the conclusion reached by a deliberate player''s investigation, in Sisilia, after a month of turmoil, from start to end, a total of nearly 900,000 or more civilians were killed, including those later hunted by the alliance clean-up squads. In reality, less than 100,000 civilians had actually been exposed to the progressive ideas of players. In other words, 800,000 civilians died in vain. But this wasn''t the point; what mattered was that the gods felt they had stifled the spread of "corrupted ideas." The players were surprisingly silent on the matter on the forum, but Roland knew that the more silent things were, the greater the strength within it represented. It was like the silence before a volcano was about to erupt. On another morning, when the sun almost reached the middle of the sky, Andonara crawled out of bed and stretched. A good-looking maid came in, fetching her a washcloth and tying her pretty braids. The maidservant stroked her long, bright blond, silky smooth hair and couldn''t help but exclaim, "Madam, how exactly do you take care of your hair? It''s so beautiful, I''m really envious." Andonara smiled slightly. She liked to be called "Madam" by outsiders but would call herself the queen in front of Roland. Because she had always found that by calling herself queen, Roland''s excitement level was significantly higher. Still waters ran deep, but she liked him that way. When the maidservant finished her braids, Andonara got up and undressed, revealing her beautiful body that 99.9999 percent of women would feel ashamed to look at, and then found a wide housecoat in the wardrobe and changed into it while asking, "Where is Roland?" "The master should have gone to the Magic Tower, but left word for you to go find him after your breakfast, Madam." Oh. Andonara responded, smiling as she went down the stairs and sat at the table. She liked this lifestyle, sleeping in till whenever she wanted. If she was still a caged bird in the royal court, she would have to wake up before dawn, and although the services of the king would be done by female officers, she, as queen, would have to be there to watch. Every day, she would follow the king to the council chamber and then sit next to him like a mascot. And feel the salacious, contemptuous, scrutinizing gazes of some ministers. At night, she had to bathe the king, and the king had always been cold to her. She became queen to have the most powerful person in Hollevin protect her, to make her feel secure. Unexpectedly, the longer she spent in the royal household, the more insecure she became. Except for a very few women who were mentally strong and independent, most women relied on external objects for their security. Some relies on money, others on power. And more women depended on men, and Andonara was in that majority. At first, Andonara had her heart set on the king, but after three or four years she realized that she had made the wrong choice and that the king didn''t care about her at all, and didn''t even usually bother to talk to her. Although Andonara was very strong, she was, essentially, just a small woman. Her heart grew cold. And then she met Roland. Unlike the king, Roland was busy with many things throughout the day, but staying by his side, Andonara felt happy. Because she knew that, unlike the king, Roland was the kind of man who would not abandon her. He wouldn''t give her away as some kind of political bargaining chip. Nor would he stare at her from time to time and consider gains and losses. There was no strict security here, nor was there any supreme power, but staying here, staying by Roland''s side, even if it was just eating and drinking, Andonara would be just as happy. After breakfast, Andonara saw several Golden Sons waiting outside the manor. There were men and women. These people had come to see Andonara to change their professions to Great Swordsman. Andonara waved at them and said, "Come back this afternoon, I have to get to the Magic Tower first." The group let out depressed sighs. A male player said teasingly, "She''s definitely going to find Roland." Andonara laughed at this male player and left right away. This male player looked like he was mesmerized, and it took him a while to come to his senses. The surrounding players looked at him and squinted and smiled, especially the female Warrior players, who smiled even more teasingly. This male player straightened his neck and said angrily, "What are you laughing at, what''s wrong with me liking village girls!" The crowd then laughed aloud. Andonara came to the third-floor lab of the Magic Tower, where Roland had been staying recently. She had no idea what he was doing. Pushing the door in, she saw Roland standing in front of a table, seemingly admiring something. She quietly walked over and tried to blindfold him, but ended up only halfway there before she heard Roland say without turning back, "Stop hiding and come here." Andonara wasn''t a Thief, and besides, even if Roland was unconscious, there would be a faint circle of mental energy around his figure, and he would still be able to perceive someone slowly approaching. Laughing softly, Andonara walked over to Roland''s side. She found a blue longsword on the table in front of the two of them. With a Warrior''s keen intuition, Andonara knew immediately that it was a pretty good weapon. Although it was not as good as the Hero''s sword (Phoenix Sword) at home, it was still quite decent. "What''s this?" Andonara''s eyes shone brightly as she looked at Roland. "This is for you," Roland said with a smile. "I know you''re not too keen on using the Phoenix Sword." Andonara had always felt that she had robbed her uncle of the Hero''s sword, and in her mind, her uncle''s family were the rightful descendants of the Reed family and her side was only a side branch. She was supposedly not qualified to take the heirloom. "Really?" Andonara immediately picked up the sword. It felt comfortable in her hand and though it didn''t have the feeling that it was linked to her bloodline as the Phoenix Sword did, it had a smoothness that was quite handy. With a casual swing, the sword sliced through the air without actually producing any sound. "This is no ordinary enchanted sword!" Andonara closed her eyes and felt it. She could now use simple flame magic as well, her mental strength had improved, and she could feel things she hadn''t noticed before. "It''s a magic sword," Roland explained. "A rather special weapon." Andonara said rather excitedly, "How about I try it?" Roland took two steps back and gestured for her to proceed. With a casual swing, Andonara''s blue sword aura directly cut a few wooden dummies in the distance in two. "It''s really good, it boosts my magic and sword aura''s power." Andonara was quite happy. Even if it wasn''t as good as the Hero''s sword, as long as it was a gift from Roland, it was priceless in her heart. Roland walked over to Andonara''s side, pointed at the blue blade of the magic sword, and said, "This sword, like the Phoenix Sword, can repair itself." The Phoenix Sword was a sword made from the blood of a phoenix, and the basic ability of the fire phoenix was to be reborn in fire, so it inherently had auto-repair properties. The automatic repair of the Phoenix Sword, however, had limitations, and only in the hands of Reed''s family did it work. Roland''s magic sword, on the other hand, was the result of pure craftsmanship and had no user restrictions. "I like it very much," said Andonara, hugging Roland and offering kisses happily. "I''ll go back now and return the Hero''s sword to my uncle." Roland nodded. After kissing Roland one more time, Andonara left the lab. After more than two months, Roland had finally cracked the secret of the auto-repair technique. Auto-repair was essentially advanced divination magic that had no patterns and using data from mathematical modeling to analyze it simply didn''t work. One had to use intuition. It was the kind of magic where you kept making or practicing and constantly failed but never stopped, and then as your mind slowly fell into an empty state one day, your brain just had a eureka moment. Success! The third-level or higher divination magic required this kind of arcane and mysterious intuition. It was very unscientific. Roland was quite happy to see how much Andonara liked the weapon, but then he showed a dispirited expression. It cost too much money. Materials for the sword cost money, and practicing and studying auto-repair techniques required a lot of advanced magic materials, which also cost money. The magic school still needed money To build that sword, he used up most of the materials from the Magic Tower, and he teleported to the capital to buy many more materials. His gold coins went down the drain like water. There were less than eighty gold coins left in Roland''s Backpack now. Although the sand statue provided an endless stream of gold coins, it took a considerable amount of time. While the grass grows, the horse starves. The operation cost for the magic school this month would consume another thirty gold coins. Training Mages required a lot of money. He had to make money, but how? Roland looked at the discarded production materials at the foot of the table and thought for a moment, then suddenly had an idea. He immediately logged onto the forum and posted it. Making Magic Equipment for People at a High Price. Then he mentioned in the post: "Helping people make the finest weapons. Provide the original weapon yourself, best that it''s the finest quality. Provide the magic materials yourself, I only provide labor. The cost is 20 gold coins for every piece of equipment. Providing the following list of enchantments: sharpening, silent Attack, weapon reinforcement, and auto-repair. The following magic materials are required" After the post was sent, Roland laughed quite happily. This method allowed him to make money and practice with the client''s materials and weapons, relieving the drawbacks of needing a large number of magic materials to practice auto-repairwhat a great idea to kill two birds with one stone. Once the post appeared on the forum, it was pushed to the top as a popular post. All the second-generation rich players were waving their money wildly at him in the forum. 445 Theres No Need for Tha What was the most important thing about playing the game? Pleasure! Enjoyment! To do things that couldn''t be done in the real world. There was no need to mention things like buying a house and car, or having women on both arms. They''d played with these things so much that there was no sense of novelty since long ago. What did they want in such a realistic world? To travel the world with a sword in hand, enjoy heroism like singing, and no one daring to disobey their orders. However, after entering the game, they found that this world was overly realistic, and after losing the powerful ability to dump money, they weren''t much better than ordinary players. Even with a large amount of money in the real world, they still couldn''t find a place to spend it. What? Eat, drink, and party? How could this world compare to the real world in terms of pleasure! Only by playing with magic, practicing swordsmanship, and commanding the world could their interests be piqued. The problem was that most of the people who came into the game were very smart and were considered to be the elites of society. Even if the rich kids were outstanding, they still only had one brain. The connections that rich kids were intensely proud of also couldn''t be used here. It was still the same even if they invested money to build a guild. After all, the truly elite players were almost always the type that could take on ten people alone. The likes of Roland and Schuck could even take on dozens of average players without a problem. Moreover, it was very difficult to recruit elite-level players. In reality, there might also be various reasons why the average players would temporarily bow their heads to the dignitaries, accompanying them at every opportunity and playing along, but which one of them wasn''t holding back in their hearts, waiting for the opportunity to stand out on top? Inside the game, this pride would be completely released: did the second-generation rich have power in-game? Can you still start a guild? It''s not any worse than relying on an NPC, and no one wants to spoil you or lick your boot stinky boots. In short, the game experience of the rich wasn''t badafter all, they had moneybut it wasn''t great either. They couldn''t call the shots or receive all kinds of adulations like in previous games. Now that Roland had posted that he could help with enchanting, they took a look at the enchantment effects, which were all quite practical, especially auto-repair listed near the end, triggering their covetous eyes What did players fear the most in this realistic world? Dying and losing experience? No, the damage to equipment of the finest quality. This was why auto-repair was something that almost everyone wanted. Playing the game up till now, the rich naturally had one or two superb pieces of equipment. But at a glance at the crafting fee Roland offered, most people were dumbfounded. No one said that Roland was lacking in conscience or anything, because from the material estimates Roland gave, the total cost of these enchantments was around one hundred gold coins, and with the crafting fee, it was around one hundred and twenty gold coins. High-cost materials would have high processing fees; after all, the cost of the failed item had to be taken into account. This wasn''t a price the average person could afford, but the rich could. Was the best equipment worth so much? It was! Again, in a certain turn-based game with Journey to the West as its theme, it was easy to auction off a piece of top-quality equipment for a million yuan. What if it was this game instead? A realistic game? Besides, the enchantment effects Roland offered could turn a lesser fine quality item into a truly fine quality item, and truly fine quality items into epic items. There was a reason why it was expensive. The rich were average in other abilities, but they knew how to spend their money. Roland''s forum account had already rejected the vast majority of people''s private messages, so Roland said the rules after his post. "Bring your own materials, meet me at Delpon. Enchanting up to three pieces of equipment a week, first come first serve." A monopoly business could be that arrogant. Hollevin was a small country on the edge of the world, probably about the same status as Myanmar, with little resources, no transportation (geographic benefits), and no technological capabilities (magic). In such a small country, there were no real technological (magic) talents. Roland, on the other hand, was the tip-top magic talent of this small country. The strongest and only one. In all of Hollevin, only Roland knew how to do it. Of course, the Fareins Kingdom, the Desert Kingdom, Froststar Kingdom, and other super large countries also had talents that were more exceptional than Roland. But the question was could you get a meeting with them? In this feudalistic setting where merchants were only a little bit more powerful than ordinary people and small aristocrats were able to raid huge merchants, no matter how rich you were, if you didn''t have status or a referral, they wouldn''t even glance at you twice. This was true of the nobles of small countries, not to mention the high-level Mages of large countries, who were on par with the great nobles, and many high-level Mages, who were themselves of great noble backgrounds, were even prouder. They would rather not earn your twenty gold coins than be belittled by people of the same class who would say that they actually bent over backward for the money of a yokel. In secret, nobles were shameless and could do anything, but on the surface, their reputation in their classthe reputation of their status at stakecould never be broken. This was their confidence in staying lofty. After posting, Roland got off the forum, and then he just waited for the rich to send money and practice materials over. Then, he started to delve into magic sword creation and auto-repair technique. Especially with auto-repair, he touched a threshold, but the success rate was still not high. That ethereal, esoteric feeling didn''t occur very often. The study went on into the night again. A flock of rather round, smooth-furred fat bats flew in through the window and appeared as a mature woman in a black dress. She walked over to Roland and said grudgingly, "I also want powerful magic equipment." Roland looked at her and said, "Andonara is my woman, Vivian is pretty much the same, but you are just an employee. Besides, I don''t know you very well." "I can be your woman too" Swish! A blue sword flew in from outside and swept right past Christina''s ear, pinning it to the back wall. A woman suddenly appeared at the window, blue flames slowly fading, bright gold braids swaying in the night air. "I knew you''d come here, get out of there, bother Roland again and I''ll break your teeth," said Andonara with a bewitching smirk. Christina, shaken, walked to the window dejectedly and left as a colony of bats. Andonara softly said to Roland, "If this slut bothers you again in the future, you can just beat her up. I have no problem with that." Roland smiled and didn''t say anything. Andonara gave Roland one more flying kiss, and with a gesture of the hand, rolled the weapon pinned to the wall back into her hand with her long braids, and jumped down from the window. A dozen meters high, whooshing to the groundperfectly finejust the sound of landing was a little loud. A certain pair of parts of the body appeared to bounce a little, undulating up and down, the frequency of which was very eye-catching. Roland didn''t take this little episode seriously. Although Andonara appeared to be vicious, Roland was actually aware that the friendship between Andonara and Christina was so good that it was almost lesbian-like. The following days were quiet. Roland did magic experiments every day, went to the magic school when he had time, and caught up teaching the children''s ideological education at the same time. The students who graduated from the magic school didn''t have to be very strong, but at least their views had to be proper. Saplings go crooked if not tended to. A child''s views were the easiest to skew and the easiest to correct. If they weren''t caught now, it would be hard to catch later. But Roland only taught them to be self-reliant, to be merciful, and so on. As for more advanced ideas, Roland dared not say. It hadn''t even been two months since the Sisilia tragedy, and he wasn''t stupid. He was afraid he''d harm the little ones if he spoke rashly. The study of magic was dry and dull, and sometimes when he got bored, he''d go to Andonara or Vivian, to talk about how to make jelly and how he should eat it[1]. This was great for passing the time. This leisurely life lasted for thirteen days, and then the first rich bankroller came. He brought four players with him to the Magic Tower, and a few of them directly emptied all the materials in their Backpacks and then placed three large chests filled with gold coins in front of Roland very seriously and politely, and in a somewhat uneasy tone, said, "Almighty Roland, I want to enchant ten pieces of equipment, is that okay?" There was no cliche plot of a nouveau riche flaunting money loftily. Nor was there any farce with a condescending idiot. This tycoon even showed a bit of humility. Roland invited him to sit down and said smilingly, "You''re the first to come, of course." Upon hearing this, the tycoon was finally relieved and said, "Great, Almighty Roland, you can call me Douglas." "Don''t call me almighty, I can''t bear to be called that, it feels weird." Roland waved his hand vigorously. "Ten pieces of equipment may take a bit longer, you''ll have to wait a month in Delpon. Of course, you can go do your things and come back to pick them up after a month, how about it?" "I''ll just wait for a month in Delpon." Douglas laughed happily; "By the way, AlmiRoland, I heard that you also know the enchantment for magic power regeneration?" "I do." Roland nodded. He looked at the way Douglas was dressed and saw that Douglas was also a Mage. "But this enchantment takes a lot of time too, and just enchanting one piece of equipment doesn''t have much effect. You have to make a full set of equipment and make a magical link to have a noticeable effectit''s time-consuming." "Can you help me make a set, I can pay a lot of gold coins" at this point, Douglas suddenly panicked, he even waved his hand repeatedly. "I''m sorry, it''s not my intention to dump money on you, but I don''t know what to do if I don''t give you a lot of money ah, what the hell am I talking about? In short, Almighty Roland, I don''t mean any ill intent, you have to trust me." Roland looked at the other with some surprisewas this one of his admirers? He thought about it, smiled, and said, "Can we talk about magic regeneration for the equipment a month from now? For now, I''ll help you enchant your equipment, and if you trust me, you can leave the equipment you want to enchant in the Magic Tower." This was obviously not a problem. Douglas took out ten pieces of equipment from his Backpack and placed them in front of Roland. Weapons, armors, wrist guards, earrings, rings, two of each. Roland couldn''t help but whistle inwardly as his gaze swept past the details of these items. They were all top-quality equipment, and even having held an epic weapon like the Hero''s sword, he felt that the equipment in front of him was quite good. A magnate was a magnate as expected, and the natural skill of dumping money could indeed, to a great extent, change one''s fate. This was a full set of equipment for a Warrior, and the chosen attribute effects were all quite effective for Warriors. If Roland''s full set of enchantments were used, every single piece of equipment could become pseudo-epic-level, and with ten pieces combined, even the Hero''s sword would pale in comparison. For the price of this set of equipment, Roland estimated that each piece was at least fifty gold coins if Roland''s enchanting costs and material costs were added. All the money, converted to RMB, could probably buy a flat in a prosperous part of a first-tier city. Even though Roland had recently spent a lot of money, looking at the equipment and the magic materials in front of him, Roland really still felt that these people spent money inhumanely. After giving his equipment to Roland, Douglas said, "Almighty Roland, why don''t I treat you to dinner, and we''ll chat?" Douglas seemed a little nervous. Roland thought for a moment, shook his head, and said, "Time is short, I''ll help you enchant your equipment first." "All right, sorry to trouble you." Douglas sighed, but wasn''t that disappointed, then left with the four players who hadn''t spoken. After stepping out of the Magic Tower and walking for a while, a player finally couldn''t help but speak: "This Roland is too arrogant. Boss, you invited him to dinner. He didn''t accept, but now he doesn''t even keep us for a night at his manor, doesn''t he have any manners and courtesy?" "He was unwilling to eat with us because he wants to start enchanting my equipment right away, it''s professionalism," Douglas said indifferently. "As for not inviting us to stay at his home there''s that beautiful queen in his house, and which normal man wouldn''t want to get intimate with her. If it were me, I wouldn''t want any other man to live in the house. Would you?" The player became speechless, and after a while, he scratched his head and said, "Makes sense!" Douglas looked at the sky; it was noon. He said, "Let''s go buy a small manor to live in first. We might have to stay here permanently later. I''m a Mage after all, and I have to follow Roland if I want to become stronger. Char and Ebony Tower, you two go and get this done." "No problem." The two players immediately left the group. Douglas looked around and picked a random pub that looked well decorated to sit down and get something to eat. Roland put all of these people''s equipment into his Backpack and then asked Vivian to send someone to collect and store all of the magic materials in the Magic Tower''s storage. Then he began enchantment. He could freely experiment with magic now that there were plenty of magic materials at his disposal. There was nothing more blessed than this. Douglas had finished his lunch and was sitting down when Char and Ebony Tower returned. Char said, "Boss, the small manor has been purchased, but there are some troubles we need to take care of." "What kind of trouble?" "The previous owner of that small manor is a merchant, and because he was too greedy, he was set up by some small noble and sucked dry of his assets, and even the manor was about to be lost. If we live there now, it might earn the resentment and hostility of that small noble, and he seems to have lots of ideas about this small manor. But in all of Delpon, this small manor is the only one for sale." "As long as we Golden Sons do things uprightly, no one will dare trouble us." Douglas was somewhat curious. "Has that little noble gotten his head caught in the door before?" Char hesitated for a moment and said, "I heard that this little noble has some connections with Roland." Douglas was beside himself with laughter. "Impossible! Roland''s personality, don''t we players know well? He''s just a magic shut-in with normal views, he wouldn''t incite the small noble to do something so despicable. Not to mention, a manor is only worth so muchnot even thirty gold coins. It''s not even worth three to four days of Roland''s crafting fees, so is it necessary?" [1] Not literally 446 Considerably High-End Tech It was about 20 acres of land, which was about the size of two football fields. Not much for a noble''s estate, but since there were just a few people living there, it was huge, and a little magical experimentation could still be done with the open space. He had no shortage of money or patience, so he waited for Roland to enchant the ten pieces of equipment, and then he could discuss in-depth about magic regeneration equipment. After he moved in, there were at first some sneaky figures moving around outside the manor. The small noble who had set the merchant up wasn''t too keen on giving up the fat meat he was about to get his hands on, but after inquiring about the background of the new owner of the manor, he immediately withdrew all his men. Golden Sons couldn''t be messed with. The people of Delpon, more than any other city, realized how strong Golden Sons were. Douglas had thought he was going to be bored here for a month but never expected to be approached thirteen days later. It was another magnate, and the two of them knew each other in reality. This guy looked quite fat Generally, players'' figures were well-proportioned, but their body shape could still change. For example, If they didn''t eat often, they would starve and become thin, and if they died and came back to life, they''d still be thin. If they ate too much, they''d get fat. Just like in the real world. Players were professionals by nature, and under normal circumstances, rarely got fat. Because just exercising and fighting, one could burn a lot of calories, and it was quite impressive that the man in front of him ate himself into a fatty. Douglas looked at him, sized him up for a moment, shook his head helplessly, and said, "You''re obviously a skinny guy in reality, why do you prefer to eat yourself into a fatty in the game?" "You know in reality I don''t have a good stomach and can''t eat very much, but since almost everything in this world is real, I naturally have to eat what I missed out on." Douglas shook his head again helplessly. The fat man in front of him was called Charles, and he was the chairman of the Cornucopia, a guild of merchants. Because he had to do business and wasn''t a combat-type player, he was still level two, and he ate food everyday nonstop, so he was getting fatter and fatter. Two years and he became what he looked like now. "I just went to see Roland." The fat man looked at Douglas. "He said you''re going to make ten weapons and get a magic regeneration set, right?" Douglas nodded. Fourteen pieces! Douglas said with some envy, "Looks like you''ve made a lot of money in the last two years with this chamber. But I''m sorry, but I don''t want to yield an opportunity like this to anyone else." Fat Charles reclined against the back of the chair and said, "I know that this is a rare opportunity, so that land in the northern suburbs of Lu City, I can decide to let you have itof course, the price will have to be raised by five points." "You''re willing to sacrifice that much?" Douglas froze. "You''re not afraid your father will beat the sh*t out of you?" "You put it so disgustingly." Charles frowned. "My old man actually knows about this, he agreed to it." Douglas closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then said, "It seems your old man is very optimistic about your business in the game. I can do without that piece of land in Lu Cityis there a shareholding for your chamber of commerce in this world? I want a share." Charles froze and looked hesitant. "You know, I don''t like people meddling in my business." "I''m not getting involved, I''m just taking shares and getting dividends." Douglas smiled and said, "The fact that you''re in such a hurry to make fourteen pieces of equipment means you''re in trouble. When my ten pieces of equipment are done and my little brother wears them, I can send him to the chamber of commerce to help you. With your fourteen pieces of equipment, I don''t think many people in Hollevin can pose a threat to us other than freaks like Roland and Schuck." Charles was still considering it. "There is strength in numbers," continued Douglas. Charles looked sullenly at Douglas. "Let me think about it for a few days." Douglas laughed. "No problem." Usually, saying so meant agreement without wanting to admit defeat, so this was a way to back down. Sighing, Charles suddenly said, "I heard that Queen Andonara is still staying in Roland''s manor, aren''t we going to pay a visit? We might get a surprise." With that said, Charles twirled and rubbed his thumb and forefinger a bit obscenely. Douglas''s smile turned cold. "Don''t screw around, Charles. Our equipment still depends on Roland. If you irk him, you and I are the ones that will suffer a loss. You haven''t played enough women in the real world?" "But Andonara is really different from the average woman. Just watching the video of her fighting" Douglas held up a hand to stop the other side from continuing. "Charles, I know you''re interested in good food and have an even less of a resistance to beauty, but if you mess around and touch women you shouldn''t, I''ll reconsider your abilities and character. Not to mention buying shares, I''ll reconsider solemnly the fourteen pieces of equipment cutting in the queue." Charles took a deep breath. "Okay, my bad." Douglas nodded in satisfaction. These past thirteen days, Roland actually had already enchanted ten pieces of equipment with sharpening, reinforcement, life reinforcement, and other enchantments according to the piece of equipment. All the equipment was now missing just one enchantment, which was auto-repair. Since the auto-repair could fail, Roland had actually requested on the forum three portions of materials for each piece of equipment. Nothing came for freeRoland didn''t want to bear all the risk himself. The chance of three portions of materials successfully enchanting was roughly 85 percent. In other words, as long as his luck wasn''t too bad, there should still be some leftover from the thirty portions of materials used to enchant ten pieces of equipment. Even if he was really unlucky, at most, he''d add four or five more portions of materials himself and still succeed. To increase the success rate, Roland took a special day off in the manor. The next day he returned to the lab in the Magic Tower. Six small mountain-high piles of magical materials were piled in front of Roland, and after a moment of calming his mind, Roland began to use his intuition to construct an auto-repair magic model. Auto-repair was a fairly high-level enchanting technique, and Roland gave each of the ten pieces of equipment three practical effects, all of which only took about thirteen days. But enchanting ten pieces of equipment with the single effect of auto-repair took him fifteen days. Roland''s luck wasn''t too good, failing three times in the beginning before applying auto-repair to the first piece of equipment. The second one also succeeded in the fourth attempt but it was after the second successful enchantment that Roland became more skilled and touched the gates of divination magic. The heavy door of divination magic had now been pushed open by Roland, and through this small crack, Roland realized a lot of things. He benefited greatly. After that, it was simple. The remaining eight pieces of equipment were successfully enchanted with an average of 1.5 attempts, and then there were ten shares of materials left. The price per portion of the material was around 20 gold coins. In addition to the 20 gold coins for each piece of equipment, Roland made a huge profit on this single deal. 200 gold coins worth of magic materials, and 200 gold coins of crafting fees. And it was a great way to practice and strengthen his proficiency in divination magic. Roland knew that Douglas had taken up residence in the city of Delpon. Vivian had told him about it. As the most substantial controller of the entire city, Roland was now very good at intelligence-gathering. And it was only natural that someone as important as Douglas would be on the radar of the gangs in Delpon, and thus the information would get into Vivian''s hands. After making the equipment, Roland returned to the manor and had the servants prepare a dinner, inviting all the players, including Douglas, Charles, Hawk, and Link. And some business partners in town. The mayor''s family was also invited. When John Junior received the invitation, his expression was quite awful. His sister and mother, however, were quite happy. The two women had a pretty good relationship with Andonara. And noblewomen, for the most part, loved dinner parties. This was one of their few entertainments at night. Douglas was quite excited when he got the invitation. This meant Roland had gotten his equipment ready. As an admirer of Roland, Douglas was even a little nervous. Charles took the invitation, looked through it for a while, and smiled. "Roland is quite interesting. He actually controlled a city imperceptibly. I originally thought Cornucopia was already quite powerful, and my power extended to many places, but compared to him, it''s still far from it. Moreover, this person''s own strength is extremely significant, and when added together, my achievements are not worth mentioning Say, in reality, how elite is such a person?" "I guess it''s at the level of a top scorer in college exams, or not far from it." Douglas thought for a moment, and continued, "And then at the university, I guess he''s probably an influential figure, the very incredible kind." Charles shook his head. "Or it may be just chanceeven pigs can take off standing in the limelight." "Heh, if it''s just chance, then he wouldn''t be the number-one Mage among the players," Douglas sneered. "After all, I''m a Mage too, and I know very well how hard it is to learn spells. He''s got real talent." Charles nodded. "That''s true too." Then the two brought their own "guard" friends to Roland''s manor. There were already many carriages parked at the gate. They handed over the invitations to the steward, and right after entering, Roland could be seen with Andonara entertaining guests in the center of the garden. Roland was still dressed in his magic robes, but Andonara had changed into a queen''s outfit. The blue and purple royal dress and the colorful crown on her head all set off the already extremely beautiful Andonara as if she were a goddess. Douglas just marveled briefly and shifted his sights. Meanwhile, Charles was amazed for a long time, and then couldn''t help but mutter, "Roland, this kid, is quite the player. What high-end tastes." Roland saw the two men enter out of the corner of his eye, and immediately turned and walked over to them. 447 The Real Purpose of a Noble Banque Both of them were nobles, and for them, frequenting dinner parties was a normal way of life. Although Roland wasn''t too keen on this kind of banquet, partners thinking of and accommodating each other was a proper thing in itself. And with this banquet, Roland also wanted to promote his new enchantment ability to the world. Seeing Douglas and Charles coming over, Roland chatted courteously with them before bringing them to the center of the courtyard, where there was a large table with ten pieces of equipment already enchanted. And there was a large crowd of guests gathered around the table. All of them were intrigued. Seeing Roland coming, they made a path for Roland. Then ten pieces of glowing magical equipment appeared before Douglas''s eyes. Roland more or less understood the rich players'' thoughts. The equipment not only needed to have good attributes but also needed to look cool on the outside. If the appearance wasn''t cool, then it could only be compensated with radiant effects. Looking at the ten radiant pieces of equipment, both Douglas and Charles had quite surprised expressions. That was not to say that the level of appreciation of the two second-generation rich boys was gaudy. The inclination and the level of appreciation would change with the environment and culture. In the real world, these ten pieces would be so garish that they could blind people, extremely unfashionable. But in this world these lights were all emanating from magic. Magic represented knowledge, mystery, and extremely advanced productivity. All phenomena caused by magic were noble. Moreover, in a world where most people relied on candles or torches for nighttime lighting, the light of magic simply represented the yearning to tear through the darkness. So, the neon brilliance that was so unfashionable out in the real world became a symbol of advanced nobility in this world. The onlookers, natives of this world, were exceptionally fascinated by this light. Even both Douglas and Charles thought the ten pieces of equipment were simply awesome in this setting! They swept their eyes over the equipment and smiled at the information that surfaced about the equipment in the system''s view. Douglas was the owner of these pieces of equipment and seeing that the enchantment was successful and perfect, he was obviously satisfied. Charles was also satisfied. Since there were already finished products, his equipment could achieve the same effect as well. After looking at it, Douglas, beaming, placed the equipment into his Backpack one by one; the last thing he stored was the weapon. A local noble from Delpon suddenly said, "Would you allow us to try out this sword, Mr. Golden Son?" Most of the noble descendants were professionals; after all, the family had plenty of resources and they could become professionals with some care. But the problem was that the average noble rarely managed to improve in their professions since it was too arduous and not worth it. Professional status was merely an embellishment in their aristocratic careers, not a primary attitude toward life. But that didn''t mean they didn''t have dreams. The young nobles, too, wanted to be able to stop a hundred people alone and gather hundreds with a single call. They were just lazy. However there were shortcuts. For example, with full-body epic-level equipment, even a pig could become an elite. So they were quite curious about this obviously epic and cool set of equipment. They couldn''t help but want to try it. "Sure." Douglas nodded. In Douglas''s mind, Roland probably had the idea of doing publicity by showing off the equipment in this evening''s banquet. Why else would he put such cool and colorful equipment on the table for people to admire on such an occasion? Since Roland wanted to advertise, he simply cooperated. As for whether someone would take the equipment and run hehe! There were at least ten Golden Sons here, enough to form two small quest teams. Even a Legend might get a headache if they tried it, let alone some low-leveled professionals. Seeing that Douglas agreed, the nobleman thanked him, then took out a white handkerchief and very solemnly and carefully wiped his hands. To this small detail, Douglas nodded slightly. After all, it was his equipment, and it was really polite to do that if they wanted to use it. The man took the longsword and let out a long breath as he said in an odd tone, "I feel like the sword became an extension of my arm." The crowd spread out a bit so that the small noble could test the sword. With enough space, the small noble drilled a basic military sword technique. His foundations were solid, and it was obvious that he''d put in some effort. The entire routine took about three minutes to finish. During this time, the sword lights (neon) crisscrossed and were quite eye-catching. And while the sword was being brandished, there was no sound at all. Only experts knew that, oftentimes, sound was important information in a battle. By listening to the sound of the sword in the air, one could deduce how fast the opponent''s attack was, the attack route, and so on. If there was no sound accompanying the attack, the enemy would be very unaccustomed to it. It was like listening to music with earbuds in, only with a left or right sound channel. This was the enchantment effect of Silent Attack. It wasn''t very useful in low-level battles, but it was extremely useful in high-level battles or battles in dim environments. After brandishing a set of military sword techniques, the noble then cut the table. It was just like cutting tofu, the longsword chopping off one of the corners of the table without any sound. The eyes of the native nobles watching the show narrowed. Reluctantly, he returned the longsword to Douglas and then watched as Douglas put it in the system Backpack. Then the noble turned to Roland and asked, "Sir, how much would such a sword, including materials, cost?" "At least two hundred." Hiss. The surrounding nobles were all distressed. The figure of two hundred gold coins was too much for them, as many people''s entire possessions, including their manor and other real estates, did not add up to two hundred gold coins. And such a weapon was actually two hundred gold coins. It seemed that there were many more aspects of the sword that they couldn''t realize. Still, no one found the sword expensive. After all, oftentimes, a good set of armor would cost ten to twenty gold coins. An epic weapon that sold for two hundred gold coins was very normal. Roland saw that the nobles'' gazes were all on him, smiled, and said, "These weapons and equipment with Sharpening enchantment and such are just minor things" The nobles were speechless. Sharpening enchantment could raise the price of a steel weapon at least four gold coins. No one in Hollevin knew it yet. Minor things Roland''s words were quite arrogant. "Although it has three other enchantments that I added, none of that matters" The nobles'' expressions were even odder. It was known that enchantments occupied space, and a weapon or a piece of equipment had large or small space, but were relatively the samethe magic power it could hold was limited, and multiple kinds of enchantment could easily clash. After all, magic threads, veined patterns, and so on were not ordered. On a weapon, two enchantments could skyrocket its price, and if there were more than three kinds, it would be a legendary piece of equipment (the kind ordinary people assumed to be, not the system-identified kind), and if it were four kinds they dared not think how much gold it could sell for. Even if all four enchantments weren''t very effective, the sheer number of added effects was still there. Watching as they gulped, Roland continued, "What I''m really proud of is that these pieces of equipment can auto-repair That is to say, they theoretically cannot be damaged, unless someone uses Mage''s Disjunction on them." The crowd was somewhat dizzy. Equipment that could automatically repair itself? That was equipment only the Legendary Hero Kelter had. In the legends, Hero Kelter''s sword had this effect, and his sword was shattered at least four times during its long battles but repaired itself. As for Mage''s Disjunction, it was Mordenkainen''s signature skill, and the Goddess of Magic, Mystra, unleashed its full glory. Back then, when Mystra became a god as a human, she blew up the epic equipment of countless elites with Mage''s Disjunction, and the entire world''s professionals all dubbed Mage''s Disjunction as Great Stripping. It would take someone of this rank to destroy the equipment, so imagine how precious it was. With auto-repair, it would become a family heirloom. Once invested, their children and grandchildren would benefit for a lifetime. "I can help people with these enchantments, including auto-repair if I have time." Roland smiled. "But you have to bring your own materials, and the crafting fee is 20 gold coins for a piece of equipment." The crowd was somewhat impressed. A crafting fee of 20 gold coins at a time, they could afford it. But a noble realized the key point. "Mr. Roland, may I ask how much the materials cost?" "If you go buy it yourself, it''ll probably cost about 150 gold coins." A wave of lamenting sighs was heard. The materials alone would cost 150 gold coins. This was not a service that they could afford. Roland was quite satisfied as he looked at their expressions. There were a limited amount of players that he could strip gold from. However, there were many rich people in this world. Even if not in Delpon, there would be some in other cities, and even more so in the great nations outside of Hollevin. So he said these words to advertise himself and precisely advertised to a certain demographic. The nobles loved to scurry around, and with something so interesting, they would definitely spread it around, and by then a hundred people would grow to a thousand people. He believed it would be all over Hollevin within six months. Then, within four or five years, the nobles of other countries would have heard of Delpon as well. At that time, he would not only have a lot of practice but also a lot of money. Roland didn''t think much of money before, and that was because there wasn''t much room to spend it. It was different now. The magic school needed money. More importantly the floating city required astronomical amounts of money to build. He couldn''t just rush to find money when he could at last build it. A lot of things had to be prepared and planned for beforehand so that one wouldn''t get overwhelmed. The Magic Tower helped gather information and materials, but it was not enough to rely on the Magic Tower alone for the money to buy the materials. He had to expand his financial resources. Greatly. Standing at the far end of the garden, in the shadows under a tree John Junior squeezed a wine glass and stared at Roland, his face full of despair. 448 The Man Who Changed the Rules is Back But no one spoke to him, and many people saw him and pretended not to, including some of his relatives. Little John had thought that Roland had invited him here for no other reason than to humiliate him. He didn''t care. He could endure it. Unexpectedly, Roland received him normally, without being overbearing or saying anything shady. This made John Junior uncomfortable, so he stayed alone in a shadowed corner, watching his mother and sister talk with Queen Andonara and other noblewomen. He snorted, thinking that his mother and sister were traitors and that the two of them were so close to the enemy when their father had been dead only a little over a year. They had no conscience. However, he forgot that his mother and sister had watched them, father and son, give up, even to the point of sacrificing their lives. It was just that Roland and the others didn''t have the habit of scourging women and children. This was what allowed the mayor''s wife and daughter to live, and they were now living well and comfortably. John Junior felt like a hero suffering in silence who would lurk until he found Roland''s weakness and a chance to counterattack. At that time, he would return all the humiliation that Roland had brought upon him with a proud attitude. He had come to the banquet tonight because he had heard that many Golden Sons would be attending as well. He came to see if he could rope in one or two, and even if he couldn''t, it would be good to get on decent terms. Perhaps one day he could borrow their strength. Only Golden Sons could deal with Golden Sons. But watching events unfold, John Junior despaired. It took capital to rope in people, and his capital was that he was the rightful heir to Delpon and that he could promise a lot of things. But with Roland''s enchantment techniques any advantage of his own was gone. Capital was something that needed to be compared. Who would the average person prefer to work with, a super talent who could enchant and improve equipment to the epic level, or a so-called heir who lost his influence? This didn''t require any thought. John Junior felt that the whole world was dark, without even a bit of starlight. The banquet was held successfully, and in Roland''s parties, there would be a secret "after-party." When the time was up, everyone was ushered out. Generally, after the banquet, the guests wouldn''t be happy without this kind of reserved event. After all, a party was a social occasion in itself. But now, they felt that it was worth it. The fact that Roland was a brilliant enchanter was great news. And Roland not only advertised himself with the nobles, he also acted on the lower rung. And every month after that, another 50 gold coins would be given to the Guild of Bards to fund this operation for six months. The chairman of the Guild of Bards beat his chest and said excitedly that he would take care of all this properly. Roland then left the guild and went to the Hibiscus family. He had wanted to see Betta, but Dinah had received Roland herself and said that Betta had left three days ago. Dinah was now a little more beautiful, and at a glance at her level, she was already level five. It seemed that the effect of the Water of Light on the improvement of the Saint Samurai''s talent was very obvious. Looking at Dinah''s rather bitter and disappointed eyes, Roland felt a little surprised. Wasn''t it only a while ago that Betta was thinking of breaking his "body of magic" in the game? How come such a nice little beauty was right in front of him, but he didn''t touch her? Though it was strange, Roland wasn''t going to get into Betta''s personal affairs, especially emotional ones. After a casual conversation, Roland returned from the capital to Delpon and then talked to Charles. Charles was significantly more arrogant than Douglas, but not so annoying to the point where he didn''t want to do business with him. Fourteen pieces of equipment along with the materials. The crafting fee was also paid upfront, which was rather impressive. Since Douglas didn''t care about Charles cutting the queue, Roland naturally didn''t either. All he had to do was the processing; he had gotten the money anyway. And this time, not only was there more equipment to process, but Roland was also more familiar with the feel of the circulation of auto-repair. Then he discovered that there was actually a pattern to auto-repair, and the reason why he couldn''t catch the pattern earlier was that there were other "energies," or action mediums, mixed in with divination magic. Time! Time is a concept to usinvisible and untouchable. Because of it being high-dimensional, defining it by thinking in three dimensions was in itself confusing. It was like an ant crawling on an elephant''s body and seeing what was indeed an elephant''s hair, but only hair. The elephant''s form, weight, internal flesh and blood, bones, were not visible. Then the ants recognized the elephant as a layer of skin and hair. As three-dimensional beings, our definition of time is like an ant''s definition of an elephant. The exterior definition is right, but the essence is wrong. Using the little that was seen before to define and apply to low-level divination magic could occasionally work, which could also be called a light-bulb moment. The so-called enigmatic feeling. The reason why Mages could come in contact with time was mental power, which was actually a kind of evolution. It was the key to mankind''s evolution to higher dimensions. Roland''s mental power was almost the strongest among the professionals of his level, and as he kept practicing the auto-repair technique, it was as if he was constantly ramming his shoulder against the door of time magic. And the more he rammed it, the more the door cracked open, thought it was still opening at a very slow pace. The time and knowledge behind the door was slowly flowing out of the cracks. Roland''s spirit could see it and attempted to touch and fuse it. Roland''s current biological level was much like a mutant ant that had grown many slender tentacles, which could replace the ant''s original poor vision and poor range of perception. Roland the mutant ant had been able to see a large chunk of the elephant''s fur, and also penetrate a bit beneath the fur, seeing some fat, some platelets. Roland had a piece of new knowledge about elephants, but it was still a very shallow kind of understanding. Another month passed, and Roland finished helping Charles with his equipment, then announced that he was going to spend ten days in the lab thinking and organizing the insights in his head. During this time, if there wasn''t anything too important, he wasn''t to be bothered. In reality, Roland not only thought inside the game but also thought about the problem of time and magic in reality. He didn''t even go to the saber arts club, and just stayed in his room every day, sitting cross-legged on his bed and thinking about the connection between the two. But in reality, his body was too weak, and his mental power fell short, and even a full day of thinking was not as good as what he got from an hour of thinking in the game. Roland had sensed that in terms of mental power, himself in the game and in reality represented the intellectual difference between a sentient man and a modern man. After ten days of thinking, he emerged from the lab. He seemed to have benefited but didn''t feel a significant improvement. There was this depressing feeling of "the brain says I can do it, but the hands say I can''t" kind of substantial separation. Then seeing that he was upset, Andonara dragged Vivian with her to relieve him of his stress. This was why women were said to be a hero''s harbor. After a day of being lovey-dovey with the two women, Roland was in a significantly better mood. Then he also had the mood to go on the forum. As a result, once he went on the forum, he found that something seemed wrong. Many people were scolding him. Puzzled, Roland clicked through a few posts and understood why, and then looked on, speechless. This was a realistic world, so the economic system was also very real. Magic materials were scarce items in themselves, and Roland''s enchantments consumed a lot of magic materials, especially auto-repair, which involved fourteen common materials, and also a very large amount of them. Everyone wanted to get the best equipment, and a large number of magnates were sweeping up materials in Hollevin, directly flipping up the prices of magic-related supplies throughout Hollevin. This affected the interests of many Mages. Then these Mages also began to stock up, fearing that they would be out of stock in a short time. Then it caused a market panic and everyone started stockpiling all magic supplies. As a result the price of magical goods throughout Hollevin skyrocketed at an exaggerated rate. All spellcasters were affected. In fact, in this world, most spells required casting materials, even Inferior Fireball required a little bit of flint as a medium. Roland didn''t need it because he had Magic Material Exemption. Not everyone had the Magic Material Exemption specialty, especially Priests and Warlocks, who rarely chose Magic Material Exemption specialty. Because very few of the divine spells and bloodline magic required magic materials. However, few didn''t mean there were none, and there were still a few practical spells that required casting materials. For example, the Church of Life''s Life Enhancement required a special grass that was pretty common, a grass that was usually cheap, but now, even this grass was being stockpiled and the price had more than tripled. There are many similar cases. In short, the price of magic materials had gone up like crazy throughout Hollevin. Moreover, this situation was spreading to countries around Hollevin. It would have been fine if only the spellcasting community had been affected. The actual situation was that even physical professions were feeling the pain. Magic scrolls were useful and were sold in the Association of Mages and Guild of Mercenaries. For example, magic scrolls of Illumination and Lesser Healing were the favorites of physical professions. But the magic materials appreciated in value, and now there weren''t even magic scrolls for sale, and when they were occasionally available, they were at ten times the price. Now the entire player community, the entire forum, was cursing Roland except for the magnates. "F*ck, I knew this guy was a scourge. After more than two months of peace, he''s still out to cause trouble." "Can you believe it? No one in our entire guild can actually afford to use the Illumination scrolls now. They''re all exploring the dungeons with torches." "Can Roland get the hell out of the game, he''s so damn harmful." "Gee, that''s a real man. I''d love to be this kind of big shot who can change the game." Roland slapped himself on the head. Damn! What''s this about? I crashed the entire magic materials market in Hollevin all by myself? Is this world''s economic system so fragile? Roland found it hard to believe. And in the game''s guild system, a few of the F6 members were even beside themselves with laughter. They were all laughing about Roland being a market destroying machine. Guess I''ll have to stop doing the enchantment business for now? Roland was slightly bummed. 449 "For Your Sake" is the Most Cunning Trick After all, most people were already satisfied if they could have enough food. Besides, the crop production in this world was very high. A tiny piece of land would be enough to keep a big family full even without a Druid. But the problem was that the lords and the nobles took too much advantage of ordinary people. The nobles would be considered kindhearted if they asked for sixty percent of the yields, and they generally asked for eighty percent. The price of the magic materials in Hollevin was so high that even Roland was affected by the inflation. Although he could ask the magnates to deliver several types of magic materials to him for practice, the problem was that the Magic Tower needed more magic materials than those required in enchantment. Many students at the magic school also needed magic materials to learn basic spells. For example, the Illumination spell required the tails of fireflies, which were worthless and could be found everywhere in summer. However, the students would need a lot of such tails when they practiced the Illumination spell. The tails of fireflies that they paid one gold coin for were usually enough for them to use in three months, but the price had been increased by three times, and there wasn''t much stock. They couldn''t buy a lot even if they wanted to. All the merchants were hoarding. He had been burnt by the fire he lit up. Reading the reports that Vivian submitted, Roland heaved a helpless sigh. Considering for a long time, Roland posted a thread in the forum. "I''ve learned something during my magic practices recently. I''ll study in seclusion in the next half year. My enchantment business is paused." The forum was full of mockery after he posted the thread. "Tsk. Roland chickened out. How much money have you made by purposefully inflating the market?" "Almost a thousand gold coins, probably." There were lots of similar sarcastic replies. Of course, there were people who supported him. "A good kid is a kid who corrects his mistakes. Consider the consequences before you do anything big next time. You''re the most powerful Mage among the players. Everything you do might influence all the other players." It was O''Neal, Roland''s friend on the forum, who posted the reply. "It doesn''t matter. I haven''t gathered my materials yet anyway. I probably can''t in the next half year either." "I''ll come to you again half a year from now." Several days after the thread was posted, the magic material market in Hollevin finally stabilized, and the overall prices slowly declined. However, there were still several materials whose prices were still rising. They were the materials required in auto-repair. The other enchantments, including sharpening and weapon fortification, only added attributes, and auto-repair was the only special groundbreaking one. They could let go of other enchantment materials, but auto-repair was too useful for them to give up. The players with ultimate equipment, in particular, were still busy collecting materials for auto-repair without stop. Charles was the player with the greatest earnings of all. Under his command, the Cornucopia had been collecting the materials for auto-repair. Now, one-third of the materials in all of Hollevin had been purchased by this guild. They were also trying to acquire materials for auto-repair from other countries. When Roland was making the fourteen pieces of equipment for Charles, Douglas came to him during the day of his rest and informed him of Charles''s crazy spending. He then continued, "Roland, after he monopolized the materials, I''m afraid that Charles will threaten you to work for him with the materials. He''s a man who places his own interests above all." Roland waved his hand indifferently. "I estimate that there are no more than ten people in this world who know auto-repair." Roland continued after a pause, "And that''s an optimistic estimation. Based on my speculation, there might only be three people who are capable of auto-repair, myself included. So it won''t matter however many materials Charles hoards. The more materials he has, the more he will have to sell later, and the more losses he will suffer." Douglas nodded. He actually quite admired Roland, as did most of the Mage players. After all, Roland was a pioneer among the players. "As long as you know what you''re doing." After saying that, Douglas returned to his manor. It was only a minor incident. In the following half-month, Roland helped Charles enchant his equipment. His success rate was higher and higher as he got the hang of auto-repair. It only took him 1.3 tries on average before he succeeded. So, the time cost for the enchantment was significantly shortened. On the other hand, Roland was better and better at casual spells. Unhindered Communication, which could only last 14 hours before, had been lengthened to 24 hours. It was a shame that Roland couldn''t find more models of casual spells, or he would''ve learned them to see if he could have new breakthroughs. He had almost learned everything that could be learned from auto-repair. Half a month later, Roland made the delivery to Charles in his Magic Tower. After examining the equipment, Charles nodded and smiled at Roland opposite him. "The equipment is perfect. I''m very satisfied. You did a great job." "Thank you," said Roland casually. He felt that Charles seemed even more arrogant than the last time they met. "Are you really not going to work on any equipment in the next half-year?" asked Charles. Roland nodded. He posted the thread in the forum offering to enchant equipment only for free materials to practice with. Now that he got the hang of auto-repair, it was unnecessary for him to work so hard anymore, or the market would be disturbed and other players would hate him. He had made 480 gold coins from the deals with Douglas and Charles. Plus the additional materials that he didn''t use, he earned at least 700 gold coins. It was enough for him to fund his magic school for a dozen years even if he didn''t have any other sources of income. Besides, the taxes of Delpon, the revenues of the Magic Tower''s properties, and the gold coins teleported from the sand statue made up a lot of money every month, so Roland was no longer in danger of poverty. "What a shame," Charles said. "You could make more money when you have the best opportunity There''s no need to bother with the grunting people on the forum. Money itself is a vindication of your capabilities. People will respect you as long as you''re rich. They don''t care how you made the money." Roland slightly frowned, but then said, "I''m just tired. Besides, I''ve really learned something, and I need to study it in seclusion without disturbance." Charles shook his head and said, "That''s not the right attitude toward wealth. You have to seize opportunities when they appear, or they will slip away." Roland stared at him in silence. He felt that the guy wasn''t done yet. "If you''re only worried about the materials, that''s easy." As expected, Charles continued, "I''ve asked my guild to purchase the materials for auto-repair. We have more than one-third of all the materials in Hollevin." Roland was briefly stunned. "So, the fluctuations of the material prices were caused by you." "It was no big deal." Pride flashed on Charles'' plump face. "I think we can cooperate." Roland was stunned for a moment. He suddenly remembered what Douglas told him a dozen days ago. Was Douglas such a visionary? "How will we cooperate?" Roland couldn''t help but ask. "I''ll provide materials." Charles slightly leaned forward in excitement. "You will be responsible for processing. Then, I''ll sell the equipment to clients. How does it sound? By then, we can monopolize the auto-repair market in Hollevin or even the whole world." "Then how much money can I make?" "I''m responsible for the raw materials, the sales, and marketing." Charles stared at Roland passionately. "You don''t need to do anything other than processing. How about five gold coins per piece of equipment? The amount can be adjusted according to customer satisfaction." Roland was briefly stunned. Then, he began to chuckle. This Charles was really interesting. According to him, Roland''s job was truly easy. He didn''t need to do anything except process the equipment to earn five gold coins apiece. However, the man forgot that Roland was the upper stream of the industry. Why would I work for you? Even if you have materials, clients, and channels, I am the one who can process the equipment, and I''m not short of money. Besides, I have my own channels. The players'' forum is exactly one. Roland shook his head and said, "Sorry, I''m not interested. I''m not really short of money right now." Charles seemed rather upset. "Almost all the materials in Hollevin are in my possession. You will have to come to me even if you want to make auto-repair equipment in the future. Also, I don''t believe that you are the only person capable of auto-repair. Like I said, this is not an opportunity you see every day." "Then you''re free to look for other people who are capable of the technique," Roland said peacefully. "I really don''t have any time." Charles was even angrier, but then he smiled. "What a shame. You are just an ordinary person who''s too scared to grab the opportunity near at hand anyway. Brother, a real man has to take chances, or he won''t achieve anything in life." Roland closed his hands and said, "I think that I will achieve more than you." Roland''s face was calm, but the smile on his lips seemed to be mocking him. Charles was stumped. Then, he was rather enraged. He stood up and gazed at Roland. Then, he shook his head and left the Magic Tower. Standing at the window, Roland watched Charles leave the square before the Magic Tower and waved the ring. Vivian walked in. Roland said to her, "Ask someone to go to the Guild of Mercenaries. I want information on the Cornucopia. The more detailed, the better." 450 They are on the Wrong Path The core of this guild was exclusively players, but there were many NPCs in it who were responsible for simple but laborious work, such as loading, unloading, and watching over the warehouses of cheap goods. As for the expensive goods, they were all stored in the players'' system Backpacks. The guild had about 230 players, but the number wasn''t fixed. Occasionally, new players might join the guild, and old players might quit. They hired more than five thousand NPCs. They had set up warehouses and logistics points in all the commercial cities in Hollevin. They even had one warehouse in Delpon. It was safe to say that the business tentacles of the Cornucopia had been unfurled in Hollevin. They were more or less capable of manipulating the economy of Hollevin. The soar of the magic material prices was actually their work. But interestingly enough, the players of this guild were only level two on average, although the average level of all the players was reaching level two. They were below average. Roland read the report for a while and threw it aside. He completely lost interest in them. Economy and business were indeed important, but not as important as strength. Those players who were only level two cared too much about money. But strength was what mattered most in this world. However powerful the Cornucopia was, could it be more powerful than the Coalition of Progress? The thousand passionate players of the Coalition of Progress were level five on average. They had at least 100,000 NPCs who were armored, well-trained soldiers. If they were a guild, F6 and the Phoenix Guild would''ve been dwarfed. But even an organization as powerful as that had been destroyed in two days. The Cornucopia was nothing worth mentioning compared to them! One-tenth of the Phoenix Guild would be more than enough to annihilate them. "They''re on the wrong path," Roland remarked casually. In a peaceful world, it wasn''t wrong to focus on business, because capitalism was devastatingly powerful in a peaceful world. But in this world, one should not focus on business until they were strong enough, or someone else would attack them and claim their earnings in the end. If the Cornucopia could not hire a powerful mercenary army quickly, something would happen to it within half a year. Roland reached this conclusion after reading the intelligence. Then, he dropped this matter and focused on magic. Though he couldn''t work on casual spells anymore due to the lack of new files, he could practice other spells, such as Grease. Roland had barely used this spell because it was pointless for him. Those Mages would make the enemy slip with Grease, tie them up with Spider Web, and set fire on them with Inferior Fireball. The oil and the spider web could both make the fire burn harder, which indirectly increased the damage. This was the favorite combo of new Mages. Roland had already skipped that phase. An Inferior Fireball from him was enough to ruin half a football field. However, it didn''t mean that Grease was useless. Roland had found that the "oil" summoned by Grease was from the void, and that it was not only flammable but also edible. Besides, it tasted quite good. Then, Roland had an idea Since the oil was edible, he could improve the magic model and increase the amount of the oil that was summoned, unlike other people who focused on making enemies fall with the oil. If he succeeded, he could disseminate the magic model, and the Mages who were short of money and who were from poor families would be able to sell the oil they made every day with this spell, so that their lives wouldn''t be as hard. Oil was rather expensive in this world. Besides, the oil from the void was transparent and tasted good. It would definitely sell well for its quality. Roland even wondered if other Mages would be inspired by him and create other spells that could feed people. If so, the Mages could probably be also known as "producers" in the future. He instantly got to work. Roland secluded himself and began to modify the magic model of Grease. Under normal circumstances, the amount of oil summoned by Grease was half a kilogram each time. It could cover an area of around ten square meters, reducing the friction within to almost zero. The quantity of the oil was too small. He had to make improvements. Roland''s modification plan went well in the beginning. The amount of oil he summoned rose steadily, but it hit a bottleneck when the yield reached three kilograms. He couldn''t increase the yield at all. Roland was rather confused. He changed the model a million times, only to no avail. He didn''t know what the reason was. This time, Roland read the data that he recorded with the math model. After a dozen days and many repeated experiments, he finally realized that a piece of data wasn''t marked in the math model. That was the key point that he had neglected. It was the size of the oil discharge channel. Grease was essentially a summoning spell, and a spatial tube was needed to summon the oil. The size of this tube decided the amount of oil to be discharged over a certain amount of time. Now that he realized that, things became a lot easier. He had to either increase the time of the discharge, or broaden the tube. It was unlikely for him to increase the time of the discharge. He had reached the limits of a level-one spell. To increase the time, he had to infer it into a level-two spell. But if so, this spell wouldn''t be suitable for beginners. As for increasing the size of the tube, it would involve the application of spatial magic. It meant that, if he worked on it, this spell would become a complex one with summoning and spatial qualities. It would be very tricky to cast. That was against Roland''s goal too. Therefore, it was already the best he could do to summon three kilograms of oil each time. Not the best, but acceptable Also, he could reduce the cost of the spell, so that the spell could be cast more often. Roland drew the model on a parchment. Next, he intended to dedicate the spell to the Goddess of Magic. He didn''t want to upload it to the forum anymore. After all, the spells that he modified before were mostly submitted to other countries by immoral players for their own interests. Even more annoyingly, they even claimed that the modifications were their work. They had no boundaries. Roland put the parchment in his system Backpack. At this moment, the door of the lab was opened, and Andonara came in with a big jar. "We''re running out of oil. Get me some." Roland snapped his fingers, and fluids that were as clear as drinkable water sprinkled from a tiny dark space in midair into the jar. Very soon, the jar was filled. The air was filled with a pleasant aroma. Andonara took a deep breath and left with the jar. Ever since she tried the food made with this kind of oil, Andonara had lost interest in other animal or plant oils. Roland had already tested it with mice. The oil wasn''t addictive. It simply smelled great. Vivian came in after Andonara just left. She sniffed and was delighted to smell the remaining aroma in the air. Then she said, "Roland, Mr. Douglas is waiting for you downstairs. He says that he has something important to talk with you about." Roland nodded. "Bring him here." Two minutes later, they sat down in front of each other, and Vivian left the room after pouring a cup of fruit wine for each of them. Roland had a mouthful of the wine and asked, "What''s this important thing? You''re clearly smiling. It doesn''t look like you have anything important." Douglas smiled even more brilliantly. "Important things can be good things too. Hehe. Something happened to Charles'' Cornucopia." "What happened?" Roland was slightly surprised. "A bunch of NPCs together with many masked players raided the Cornucopia''s headquarters and looted countless low-level materials that are in demand," Douglas said with a smile. "It''s not on the forum yet, but it will probably be out soon." Roland was surprised at Douglas''s reaction. "Isn''t Charles your friend? How can you be gloating when something has happened to him?" "He''s not my friend but only an acquaintance." Douglas waved his hand. "There''s no real friendship for people like us. Even if we look close on the surface, it''s only because we want each other''s wealth or power. It''s just an approach to socialization." Roland shrugged, not knowing how to respond to such candor. Douglas continued, "It''s easy if they''re merely robbed, but the real problem is that the royal family of Hollevin and the Association of Mages made a joint statement, claiming that they disrupted the market by maliciously monopolizing the magic materials and demanding that the Cornucopia sell a batch of high-level material materials at a low price in twenty days, or they will be wanted in the whole country." "That''s not surprising" Roland nodded. He had already seen it coming. But he suddenly realized something wrong. "Wait, the royal family actually said that ''they disrupted the market by maliciously monopolizing the magic materials''? Those are modern terms." Douglas raised his thumb. "You''re truly smart. That''s right. Based on my investigation, the royal family recently hired a batch of elite players. Some of them might be financial talents. Anyways, the Cornucopia is now in serious trouble. If they want to stabilize the market by selling the magic materials, they will suffer a lot of losses. After all, they paid three to four times the original price when they hoarded the magic materials." Roland tapped the desk subconsciously and said, "The royal family''s strategy of divide and conquer is working. The players who robbed the Cornucopia probably did it because they received a quest from the royal family." "Are they not afraid of getting red names?" "Their viciousness wouldn''t increase if they killed players in a quest." Roland smiled and somehow remembered Antis. "They probably had something like privateering licenses." Douglas chuckled. "Impressive. This is a nice move. It must''ve been a trick proposed by the players that the royal family hired." Roland smiled bitterly Actually, it was his idea. He talked to Antis when he offered money to the Guild of Bards two weeks ago and told him about privateering. At that time, he was only looking for a random topic of conversation. He didn''t expect Antis to actually put it into practice. 451 Rolands Oil-Making Spell Charles was a minor celebrity on the forum. After all, the Cornucopia was a huge business and recently dominated the material market. It was one of the successful guilds in the eyes of most players. Therefore, many players were filled with indignity after the Cornucopia was attacked, but a couple of days later, they discovered, to their surprise, that none of them received any quests to help the Cornucopia. That was highly unusual. By logic, a help quest should''ve been triggered since the Cornucopia lost so many magic materials, but none received any quests about the Cornucopia. This made the players on the forum feel that there might be other factors behind the incident. Roland also saw the discussion on this matter on the forum, but he didn''t pay much attention to it. Antis was probably behind this. It was true that the privateering license was against the hostile foreign merchants, not the businessmen within the country. But the problem was that nobody seemed to regard the Golden Sons as their compatriots. Even the Church of Life never considered the Golden Sons, who were resurrected in their temples, as their own kind. The players who were hired by the NPCs were nothing more than employees. They were never considered to be part of the community. Therefore, it was not surprising that the privateering license worked on the Cornucopia. More importantly, the Cornucopia made a lot of forces hate them for maliciously monopolizing magic materials, and this organization happened to be weak. Those players were only level two on average two years after the game was launched. It was not hard to imagine how they hated leveling and how crazy they were about money-making. They were a weak but wealthy force, so it was only natural that they were robbed. Nobody robbed them previously because of the possible revenge of the Golden Sons, but since many Golden Sons sided with the nobles and the royal family and led the charge in the robbery, others naturally followed them. After all, if anything happened, they had Golden Sons on their side too. On the other hand, with the parchment where the oil-making spell was written, Roland traveled to the capital through Long-Distance Teleportation again. Then, he ran into Antis who was watching over the city gate as usual. He curled his finger at Roland and led him to the windowless room behind the city gate. "Your method worked well." Antis wasted no time in small talk and simply smiled. "With the privateering licenses, the Golden Sons who took our side had the courage to attack the outrageous Golden Sons. Do you have certain unspoken rules that you abide by?" The rules of the system That was very normal. "Very useful." Antis put on a happy smile. "As long as we give them a mission, or tell them their responsibilities in detail, they will do a marvelous job. I''m even starting to think that you guys are too obsessed with order." Roland raised his eyebrow. "Why don''t you give me an example?" "The capital is very large. We''ve appointed many sheriffs who are responsible for different precincts." Antis narrowed his eyes like a cunning fox. "One of those sheriffs is a Golden Son. Only four months after he accepted the job, he already trained his subordinates well and made his precinct safe enough to walk in the middle of the night. He even solved a crime from years ago. I couldn''t have done a job as great as him." "That does not seem very remarkable." Roland shook his head. In Delpon, Link and Vincent did their jobs as well as this Golden Son sheriff. "You may be too used to this to feel surprised." Antis clicked his tongue. "But it''s almost a miracle in our eyes." Fine People living in a different world tended to think differently. Antis continued, "Why don''t you join the royal family as a Mage in the king''s service?" Stunned, Roland shook his head. "Can the king still tolerate me?" "Is that a surprise? He never put you on the wanted list after the queen spent such a long time with you." Antis thought and said, "Besides, if you come to the royal family, the queen will return with you. In such a way, the royal family will gain their face back, the queen won''t be forced to do anything, and you will have power. Wouldn''t it be a win-win? That''s you Golden Sons'' favorite phrase." "Forget it." Roland shook his head. "You really never stop trying to pull me into the royal family." "A real talent is popular everywhere." Antis heaved a sigh and said after a moment of thought, "Is there any way for us to deal with the Golden Sons apart from the privateering license?" Roland rolled his eyes at him. "Do you really expect me to ramble again?" "Tsk. You''re not a good friend," Antis murmured. "Will you drink with me when you''re done with your business?" "It depends," Roland said casually and left the room. In the capital, Roland soon came to the temple of the Church of Magic. The Goddess of Magic had her temple too, but too few people worshiped her. After all, Mages were rare, and many Mages proudly thought that they could become gods too, so the Goddess of Magic had few believers. Therefore, the temple of the Church of Magic was often set up in the capitals of the countries for symbolic purposes only. The temple gate was open. Roland walked in, only to see that a senior Mage was reading a book carefully behind a ritual table under the enormous statue of the Goddess of Magic. As if he heard Roland''s footsteps, or maybe because he sensed the stranger with his mental power, the senior Mage turned a page and said slowly without raising his head, "Anything I can help you with, young man? If you''re here to pray, go to the prayer room on your right. If you''re here to borrow money, show me your mental power and let me see how valuable your talent is!" The Mage was an extravagant class. Without Magic Material Exemption, they would need countless materials to practice the spells, which could be costly. Besides, they had to spend a fortune on spell models too. The Church of Magic, on the other hand, offered loan service. They would vet their customers, offer an appropriate amount of money to them, sign a contract, and then ask them to pay back their debt in time. The interest rate, which was about 10% for five years, wasn''t very high. It could almost be considered a bargain in this world. Roland walked to the ritual table and said, "I''m here to offer sacrifices and verify a new spell." Huh? The senior Mage suddenly raised his head and looked at Roland in surprise. Considering the magic level in Hollevin, few young Mages could ever reach the level of Master, and only the Masters could consider inventing their own spells. Besides, many of the "invented spells" were absolutely useless. Those Mages simply messed up the magic nodes randomly and created novel but useless spells. For example, they created Fiery Fork, which cost ten times more magic power and dealt half as much damage. It could only boil a kettle of water after a whole minute of casting. There was also Rainbow Bubble Confinement, which would use up all the mental power of an elite Mage and then let out a gigantic colorful fart to cage the enemy. Those spells were new but absolutely useless. The Goddess of Magic would never give any feedback after taking them. Noticing how young Roland was, the old Mage thought that he might be one of those Mages too, so he pointed at the ritual table and said, "Put the spell model there and recite Lady Mystra, the Goddess of Magic, ten times." After that, the senior Mage was devoted to his book again. Roland put the parchment on the ritual table and recited the Goddess of Magic''s name ten times as he was told. After his recitation, the parchment on the ritual table dispersed into spots of light and disappeared. Roland waited a moment but saw no feedback. He heaved a sigh. Either there were similar spells to this oil-making spell, or Mystra didn''t think that this spell was worthy of her feedback. Hearing Roland''s sigh, the senior Mage wasn''t surprised at all. He simply smiled and raised his thumb for himself for his correct prediction. Roland turned around and was about to leave. Exactly at this moment, the gigantic goddess statue at the rear of the temple glowed, and the whole temple was covered by a weird barrier. The goddess statue whose face had been worn out seemed to return to life. She stared at Roland. Magnificent and awe-inspiring mental power stirred above this temple. The senior Mage had already fallen to his knees, his eyes full of passion and his body shaking. Roland, on the other hand, looked at the Goddess of Magic''s statue in the eyes. "A very interesting spell." A female voice which was heavy but rather gentle sounded in the temple. "Young man, what''s your purpose in modifying Grease into this?" The goddess had a pleasant voice! Roland suddenly remembered what Schuck said about the Goddess of Light''s pleasant voice. He also remembered that the Life Goddess, too, had a great voice when she invited him to the Paradise of Life. "I think that life is too hard for the magic apprentices in this world. The magic apprentices who are gifted but poor have no way to make money in the early phases of their life, and they can''t learn magic without money, so they have to quit. I think it''s too wasteful" Roland stated his thoughts in the next few minutes. "I understand." Mystra''s voice sounded even gentler. "What''s your name?" "Roland." "I''ll name this spell Roland''s Oil-Making. Also, I''ll disseminate it to all my temples with my divine power for all the Mages to study." Roland was greatly relieved. That was exactly why he had modified Grease. "Your ideas are not bad. Keep working. This is a reward for you." Two green streaks of light darted out of the goddess statue''s eyes into Roland''s head, so fast that Roland couldn''t even react. Thankfully, the two streaks of light did not carry any damage, and they disappeared two seconds later. Mystra''s enormous divine mental power disappeared at the same time. At this moment, Roland looked at his system menu. You''ve won the Goddess of Magic''s favor. Divine Favor (Mystra): Your maximal health has been improved by 20, and your maximal mana has been improved by 80. Also, you now carry Goddess Mystra''s aura, which will influence your personal relationships as well as your relationships with other forces. 452 A Trap that Only the Unscrupulous Will Fall For But on second thought, as a Mage, he was on the same side as Mystra in nature. Whatever he thought, the circle of Mages was Mystra''s territory in the eyes of other forces and churches, who would never compete with her for it. After all, a divine-level Grand Disjunction was something that few people could resist except the few major gods. Even the Goddess of Light or the Life Goddess would lose all their divine equipment if they weren''t in their best shape. Besides, Mystra was best at spatial magic. She might not be as powerful as the Goddess of Light in a head-on clash, but she was much agiler than all the other deities. When she couldn''t win a battle, everybody had to be careful about her ambush with Spatial Transition. There was barely anything they could do to freeze her. Mystra, the Goddess of Magic, moved her eyes away, and the enormous pressure of divinity disappeared. The senior Mage stood up and looked at Roland enviously. He had been devoted to Mystra, but he had never even seen Mystra''s oracle once in his seventy years of life, until today he met his goddess in person thanks to this young man. It also indicated the future potential of this young man. Even the Goddess of Magic who wasn''t concerned about mortal affairs had specifically showed up for a spell model. Roland left the capital and teleported back to Delpon. Then, he saw that Li Lin and his other friends were waiting for him at the gate of the Magic Tower. Delighted, Roland walked to them and said with a smile, "You''ve finally made it here Wow, you don''t look very great." Roland''s surprise was understandable, because Li Lin and his other friends had emaciated faces and swollen eyes. They were apparently worn out. Brazil and the rest of them all laughed awkwardly. Calculating the time, Roland was greatly shocked. "Shoot. You spent more than three months in the Church of Love? You even called Raffel too?" Raffel couldn''t be more embarrassed. He had transformed into a Dwarf Defender, a special shield warrior class, with the dwarves. When he was done, Li Lin called him and told him that there was a great show, so he went over. It was indeed a great show. He played for more than two months, and Li Lin and the rest of them had already played for more than one month before Raffel arrived. They were all exhausted and planned to leave after the first month. However, the clerics of the Goddess of Love that they fooled around with called the clerics of another city. They overdid themselves so thoroughly that they felt repulsed when they saw women, especially beautiful ones. At this moment, Li Lin suddenly extended his hand and said, "That''s unnecessary. We won''t go to your manor. There''s a beautiful queen in your manor. We are physically nauseated whenever a woman enters our sight." "You can''t be serious." Roland''s face was almost distorted after he heard that. "From dawn to dusk, and from dusk to dawn, we almost never stopped in the past three months." Li Lin covered his face, as if he was too ashamed to talk to anyone. "The women from the Church of Love are all animals. Not only did they come to us in turns, but they also have a special skill that can reinvigorate men. We''ve all been exhausted to death once. We only escaped in the end because we were too sick." Roland scratched his head. "Are you saying that they''re better than the succubus?" "They''re not as good as the succubus, but they''re greater in number." Roland heaved a sigh. "Okay then. Do you want to check in at a hotel first?" "We''ve already found a place to stay. We''re only here to inform you." Li Lin waved his hand in frustration. "We''ll take a rest for now before we come to you for work." Fine! Roland watched his friends supporting each other and limping away from the square before the Magic Tower against the setting sun. They looked rather miserable But they had only themselves to blame for their misfortune. Roland was rather disappointed at them, but remembering the queen and the secretary at his manor, he instantly lost the confidence to despise his friends. Back at the Magic Tower, Roland drew another model of the oil-making spell and convened a meeting. He informed all the official magic apprentices and the five official Mages of the oil-making spell. Everybody in the Magic Tower was very excited. Edible oil wasn''t cheap in this world. More importantly, the food that was served at the banquets that Andonara called for was almost all cooked with the oil from the void. So, this oil that was sweet and tasty had become famous in Delpon. Even nasty brown bread would become delicious when it was covered with this oil and baked. The ingredients of better quality tasted even better. The magic apprentices and the official Mages of the Magic Tower all thought that Roland wouldn''t teach the way to make the special oil. Even if he were to teach he would ask for a high price. They did not expect that Roland would be willing to teach it to everybody for free. In Roland''s eyes, such a spell that concerned people''s lives shouldn''t be kept a secret. After the meeting at the Magic Tower, Roland uploaded the model to the forum too. But this time, he cleverly left out that he had offered the spell to the Goddess of Magic and was verified as its creator. Then, he began his second magic modification plan. Water-making! The success of the oil was a huge encouragement for Roland. He intended to create two spells that could make water and food based on his experience with oil-making. It was well-known that pure magic water couldn''t be drunk Or rather, it was useless to drink such water, which couldn''t replace natural water. It was a congregation of magic power who looked like water on the surface, but it was not real water. After it entered the body, it would be reduced into fundamental magic elements very quickly and would not be metabolized at all. Also, if it was consumed too much, it could even significantly damage the body. Therefore, in order to create a spell that could summon water, he couldn''t start modification directly as he did with Grease. It was because Roland didn''t have a spell that could really summon natural water. This time, he had to create a spell of his own. Take oil-making for example. The oil was summoned from the Astral Plane. It was absorbed from the tomb of the insects through a special technique. Then, with that in mind, all that Roland needed to do was to find a water source that would never dry and summon water from there. In light of the model of oil-making, he could reestablish a framework, set up the spatial beacons, create a channel, and summon the water over a long distance. It was more water-source summoning than water-making. A water source that will never dry out? Roland remembered a book he read a few months ago. It mentioned a place in the Froststar Kingdom that was blessed by the God of Water. The place had an inexhaustible well named Well of Eternity. Should he go there and take a look? But he didn''t know how to get there. Anybody with questions should Google No, go to the forum. Roland was about to post a thread on the forum, when he caught a post by chance. Roland is a vicious and unscrupulous man. Roland smiled. He had a rough guess about what happened, and he opened the threat delightedly to see if his guess was correct. 453 A Dragon is Not as Fast as a Person He cursed Roland for purposefully, inconsiderately, and viciously not mentioning that he had already verified the spell with the Goddess of Magic. This person went to the Temple of Magic and wanted to verify the spell, only to be punished by Mystra with a permanent negative puff named "Divine Retribution," which lowered his health and mana by exactly the same amount that Roland was improved with Divine Favor. Also, what enraged the poster even more was that his character was on the blacklist of the Church of Magic and was wanted. Though he didn''t have to quit the game like the black leaf players, life would be very hard for him in the future. His character had obtained lots of resources and already reached level five. He was among one of the top Mages, but because of Roland''s trick, his two years of work was in vain, and he had to start all over. That was two years! How many "two years" can be repeated in one''s life? The rest of the thread was him yelling at Roland with the most vulgar expletives. He also threw out many questions like "Was it really necessary to set up traps like that?" and "If you already verified it, why didn''t you mention it so that other people wouldn''t take the risk?" It was obvious that this player was mad. Most of the netizens criticized this player in the reply section. "Wow, you were punished when you wanted to take advantage of others, yet you''re still complaining. I''ve never seen anyone as shameless as you!" "Hehe. He thinks he''s the most important person in the world. He has to blame his own problem on someone else." "He''s probably only second to Roland, O''Neal, and the other bigshots among the LV5 Mages. He probably exchanged a lot of the spell models that Roland uploaded freely for resources. Yet, he jumps out shamelessly now that he''s punished?" "Let''s be honest here. This player only made use of a loophole. If a spell is not registered, he can register it and claim it. The ownership of the spells belongs to whoever registers them first anyway." "That''s not fair at all. You don''t want Roland to register the spells, but other people are free to register them? Is it fair?" "I suspect that Roland intentionally kept it a secret that he had already registered the spells, hoping that someone would fall for the trap. It''s understandable, but nonetheless unscrupulous." "You are probably someone who likes to take advantage too, like the poster of this thread." "Is it your business at all what kind of person I am?" Then, the players began to lambaste each other. Most players were on Roland''s side, and some accused Roland for his inconsideration. The rest of the replies had no actual content except curses and name-calling, so Roland quit the forum. He returned to his manor and told Andonara that he was going out. Andonara was slightly upset. Sitting in Roland''s arms and facing him, she wrapped her hands around Roland''s neck and asked, "Can I come with you?" "It''s not convenient. I''m going to the Froststar Kingdom. I''ll be back very soon." Roland was going to search for the Well of Eternity in the Froststar Kingdom. It was possible for him to take Andonara with him, but he wouldn''t be able to fly if so. If they were to take a carriage, considering all the hills and rivers, it would take them a couple of months before they reached the Froststar Kingdom. That was already an optimistic estimation. If Andonara saw beautiful sceneries and wanted to linger a few more days to appreciate them, which was very possible because girls loved beautiful sceneries, or if she stayed at a certain place for the wonderful food, it might take them half a year to reach the Froststar Kingdom. Even if they could find the Well of Eternity quickly, it would still take time for them to return. Chances were that they would have to spend more than a year on the trip, which would be horrible. Women were time killers, especially the beautiful ones. "How long will you be gone?" asked Andonara gently on Roland''s shoulder. "Fifteen days, if I''m fast, or one month, if I''m slow," replied Roland with a smile. "Try to be fast." Leaving the Magic Tower, Roland went to a hotel in the city where his friends lived. After he entered the hotel, he found his friends drinking and chatting with Douglas in the lobby. His friends looked a lot better than before, but they were still weak and emaciated. Roland walked to them and said with a smile, "I didn''t expect you to be chatting together. Douglas, I thought you already left." "I certainly didn''t. I still have magic to learn." Douglas raised his cup and said, "Right, you came at the perfect moment. Can I join F6?" Nobody spoke. Douglas smiled awkwardly and continued, "That seems to be a no. Then another question. Can I join the Magic Tower?" "That''s certainly not a problem." Roland nodded. Actually, Douglas had left a good impression on Roland, but F6 was reserved for him and his friends. He didn''t want to let outsiders in. Even Betta was not officially part of F6 yet. Douglas was relieved. His real purpose was exactly to join the Magic Tower and learn magic from Roland and Vincent. As to why he asked to join F6, it was only meant to make his real request more acceptable. Then Roland said to his friends, "I''ll probably be away from Delpon for more than half a month. You take a rest first. If anything happens, drop me a message in the guild chat room in the system." "Okay, no problem." Li Lin nodded. "We''ll keep an eye on your manor too. We won''t let anybody cause trouble." "Thanks." Roland patted Li Lin''s shoulder with a smile. After drinking and talking with everybody for a while, he left the city and flew straight north with Human Cannonball. The Froststar Kingdom was so far away that he only finished half of the journey after flying for a whole day. After nightfall, he landed and took a rest in a rock cottage that he built with Mud to Rock. He then browsed through the forum. He certainly dared not fly at night, which would be too dangerous. Flying with the spatial bubbles was very fast. Also, the closer he was to the north, the colder and cloudier the weather became. He could barely see anything among the clouds, and he couldn''t sense gravity clearly during flight. Due to the lack of vision, he might lose his sense of direction and crash. If he were to fly above the clouds, even though there was moonlight, he couldn''t see the ground past the clouds, and he couldn''t tell the direction either. At dawn the next day, Roland set off again. Observing the mountains nearby from the sky, and confirming his location with the simple map he took out from the system Backpack, he continued flying north at full speed. When it was almost noon, Roland created magic shields to block the strong wind and ate the meatloaf that he prepared. Because he was too focused on flying and eating, he didn''t notice that a silver spot was chasing after him crazily. It was far away behind him, but the silver spot chased him very desperately. But after four hours, the silver spot finally lost Roland. It gradually slowed down and began to hover. Getting closer, it became obvious that the silver spot was actually a gigantic silver dragon. After hovering for a while, it landed on the ground, folded its wings, and breathed heavily. Its every breath would raise a minor hurricane before it. After half an hour''s rest, the silver dragon was finally less exhausted. Silver magic waves rippling, the silver dragon turned into a mature human woman in silver armor. Generally speaking, dragons prefered to take the shape of elves during their transformation, but many changed to human beings too. While still breathing heavily, the woman mumbled, "He was the human being I saw on the prairie! He used spatial bubbles to push him! I finally know why he can be so fast. Damn it. Why do human beings know so many weird tricks?" Roland didn''t know that he had outrun a silver dragon, which had the highest speed on average among the dragons. After another half-day of flight, Roland saw the white mountain on the horizon at dusk. He took out his map and checked it, only to be delighted. The white mountain was the famous Dragon''s Back. Crossing the mountain, he would enter the Froststar Kingdom. This place was already far in the north. The temperature here was much lower than that in Hollevin. The mountain was white because it was covered in snow and ice. The Froststar Kingdom was exactly a kingdom of snow and ice. Night had fallen again at this moment. Roland landed and took shelter in a rock cottage that he built for himself again. As the night fell, cold wind began to rage outside. It was even snowing. The cottage was small, but its walls were 1.5 meters thick. The cold from outside couldn''t leak in even though a blizzard was going on. Roland was very comfortable inside the cottage. As a professional, he was much more resistant to cold than ordinary people. Lying on the blanket that he took out from the system Backpack, he continued browsing through the forum. The wind was getting stronger and stronger. When it came in from the air holes, weird and nasty noises could be heard. Roland wasn''t bothered. Although the environment outside was horrible, his room was warm and cozy, and he felt tranquil and safe resting and reading the forum here. It was as comfortable as listening to the drizzling rain outside the window on a spring night. But at the same time, faint, bell-like clicks were carried over the freezing wind as a caravan was struggling forward in the blizzard. A dim windproof lamp was hanging on the wagon in the lead and the rear end of the caravan. With the help of the two lamps, the caravan was able to stay intact in the dark, terrible environment where wind was louder than words. At the lead of the caravan, Wallace, leader of the caravan, roared at the guide nearby, "What s*ithole have you taken us to? We can''t see any villages yet. If we don''t find a shelter, the wind will be strong enough to blow us away by midnight. Then all of us will die on this plain." The guide was a middle-aged man who had a chiseled and weatherbeaten face. Without talking, he simply looked around in hope of finding a shelter. Though he looked calm on the surface, he was actually desperate. The night was too dark for him to see what was around. Based on his guiding experience in the past twenty years, he was already dead for sure, although he didn''t show his desperation. In the meantime, he kept praying to the God of Guides and the God of Roads, hoping that the gods could protect him and let him walk away from this doom. While he felt desperate, his god seemed to hear his prayer. A rock building suddenly entered their sight. 454 The Lich The wind was too strong for a torch to be lit, and the windproof lamps were too dim and could only illuminate a radius of a dozen meters. So, by the time they saw the rock building, it was only fifteen meters ahead of them, as if it had just "spawned." Both the leader of the caravan and the guide were stunned at the gigantic, ugly, cubic, rock building. The size was a comparative concept. Roland was used to the super malls in modern society that could easily be as large as two football fields, so the rock house he built was small in his eyes. After all, with a length and width of ten meters and a height of six meters, the house had a coverage of only a hundred square meters. Roland''s house in reality had a coverage of three hundred square meters. He was already used to that. Therefore, a house with a coverage of a hundred square meters was small in his eyes, but it was rather spacious as a single room. The caravan stopped before the building. Everybody looked at the building in the wilderness with fear. Just now, someone had circled the building to examine it. They didn''t find any doors or windows but only several holes which seemed to be for ventilation purposes. The bold ones among them hit the rocky house with a hammer, but only some powder fell after several dull noises. The hitter said gloomily, "It''s at least one meter thick, and it''s very hard." "This rocky building must''ve been established with magic. We''re supposed to leave immediately, but" Wallace, the leader of the caravan, looked at the guide near him. "McKenzie, tell me the truth. Can you take us to the next village in three hours?" After a long time, the guide struggled to say, "No!" His back was further lowered after he said that. He knew very well that, after saying that, his reputation would be ruined even if they could survive the blizzard tonight, and he would unlikely be hired to lead the way for a big caravan again. But he did find it rather queer. He was very familiar with the road to the Froststar Kingdom and had never made any mistakes. He could easily go home with his eyes closed. Why on earth had he taken the caravan to this place? He had no idea what happened. Wallace gazed at the guide angrily, and the guide lowered his head, not daring to look back. After a long time, Wallace shouted at the back of the caravan, "Everybody, listen up. Build a camp around this rocky building and use it to block the wind. It''s up to you whether or not we can survive." Though the wind was strong, everybody heard Wallace''s voice. The guide said in a low voice, "Mr. Wallace, this building is rather weird. Is it really a good idea to stay here?" The guide heaved a sigh and backed off. The people in the caravan instantly pushed the wagons behind the building and arranged them in a semicircle. The wagons were placed outside, the dozen horses crouched in the middle with thick grass blankets to protect them, and the forty people hid themselves in the innermost section. A barrier ten meters wide and five meters tall was rather effective. None of the men or horses were affected by the howling wind, although snowflakes dropped on them now and then. Still, it was much better than spending the whole night in the cold wind. Wallace felt that they would be able to survive the cold night if no more accidents happened. It was a misfortune to get lost. The night wind in the north was too dreadful. Too many caravans and men had been frozen in the wild after failing to reach towns in time. But it was truly a fortune that they found this shelter. He was only curious about the purpose of this weird building. Did it not need an entrance? While having food, Wallace observed the rock building before his eyes and began to speculate. Roland continued surfing on the forum in his room. Actually, he had known about the caravan since the moment they arrived. Three transparent spiders the size of fingernails were monitoring the surroundings on the rooftop. The spiders, with their basic Dark Vision, had rather powerful eyesight. Roland had already noticed the caravan before they found the rock house. Roland wasn''t bothered that they protected themselves against the wind with his little house. Clearly, those people were in trouble, and he could help them without doing anything in person. So, he was glad to offer help. But Roland didn''t intend to do more than that, as those people were merely afraid of the snow and were prepared for everything else. Roland continued surfing on the forum. There were too many funny people online. They were truly a source of joy. Roland wouldn''t be bored even if he were to browse through the forum for a year. However, he exclaimed in the middle of his reading. From the images sent back by the magic spiders, Roland found that he was surrounded by a bunch of skeletons who were covered in ragged clothes. But the people from the caravan weren''t aware of it yet. Because of the dimness of the night, they really couldn''t see things far away. Roland quit the forum and stood up. The pictures were sent by the magic spiders continuously. There were lots of skeletons. Some were barehanded, but some were holding rusty weapons. Roland even saw ghosts with twisted faces floating behind the skeletons. Were they necromancers or liches? Though they could all summon undead creatures, and their abilities seemed similar, they were essentially very different. The necromancers were alive, and the liches were dead. Besides, liches were much more powerful than necromancers of the same level. Necromancers were thirty percent Mages plus seventy percent Summoners, while liches were eighty percent Mages plus eighty percent Summoners. Roland frowned. Those skeletons and ghosts were no trouble for him, but he didn''t think that the caravan could escape. Or rather, those skeletons were here precisely for the caravan. The skeletons got closer and closer to the resting caravan. Soon, they were no more than twenty meters away. The ghosts who were floating in midair ignoring the strong wind exclaimed in joy when they saw so many living people. The ghosts'' exclamations of joy were earsplitting screams in the ears of normal human beings. Hearing the noises, everybody in the caravan stood up. They all screamed upon seeing the purple fire in the eyes of the skeletons around them. Many of them picked up their weapons, but none dared to charge forward. While those skeletons slowly pressed forward, they retreated instinctively and didn''t stop even though their backs had hit Roland''s rock house. Many people began to cry with their weapons in their hands. For ordinary people, everything about magic was unbeatable. Besides, the ghosts in midair Having traveled in lots of places, they had heard the bards'' performances in many taverns, and they knew that physical attacks didn''t work on ghosts. They couldn''t get away from the ghosts even if they could escape from the skeletons. They were already doomed. McKenzie, the guide, had already given up. He sat on the ground and cried while holding his head. Wallace was desperate. "So, this shelter was just bait to lure us here. It''s a trap for the specters to eat us." Their lack of resistance was understandable. It was common sense in this world that ordinary people couldn''t resist magic. Wallace chuckled and fell on the ground with a grim face. He gave up resistance too. At this moment, a noise burst out above them, followed by a dazzling source of light. Three luminous balls illuminated the environment as bright as day. They raised their heads, only to see a young man standing on the rooftop of the rock building in a blue magic robe. "I certainly don''t want to be blamed for that." Roland snapped his fingers, and the hardened snowy ground nearby was turned into a swamp. The slow skeletons sank in the swamp, and those behind them continued moving forward without any awareness. The dozens of ghosts screeched and lunged forward. The ordinary people all had a strong headache after hearing the ear-splitting noises. They covered their ears with their hands, but it didn''t help. Roland extended his finger and hit the first ghost with Lightning Chain, burning it to ashes that were blown away by the night wind. Then, the Lightning Chain jumped and obliterated another seven ghosts before it disappeared. Apart from the spells in the classes of light and life, the lightning spells and the fiery ones were quite destructive to undead creatures too. If he weren''t worried that he might accidentally hurt the caravan, Roland could easily kill all the disgusting creatures with a huge fireball. Now that the eight ghosts were annihilated, the skeletons at the edge stopped walking into the swamp. Everybody in the caravan held their breaths, not daring to move at all. They feared that they might draw attention if they moved. It wouldn''t be a good thing whether they caught the attention of the skeletons or that of the Mage behind them. But they knew that the Mage behind them seemed to be on their side. So, they sincerely hoped that the Mage could win. At this moment, the swamp was about to be frozen again. Roland snapped his finger and turned it muddy. Then, a luminous ball was quickly pressed to the back of the ocean of skeletons, illuminating a "person" in special clothes for Roland. The person was wearing a black magic robe. His hair was as dry as withered grasses, and his cheeks were absolutely flat. He looked like a corpse. His forehead was full of wrinkles. Even the skin had been worn off, exposing the white frontal bone. As for his other body parts, they were all hidden in the black robe and couldn''t be seen clearly. However, judging from his appearance, it was clear that the person was a lich. Roland even saw the health bar above his head, followed by a suffix: "LV9 Elite Creature." The guide suddenly screamed with his eyes widened, "It''s a Tundra Reaper! I know why we got lost! This creature influenced us!" Hearing the guide''s scream, the lich grinned and showed its yellow teeth. Then, he looked at Roland up and down provocatively, as if he were evaluating the quality of Roland''s body. After that, his eyes filled with passion. 455 You Dare to Take Advantage of a Lich However, the bodies possessed by a lich would usually die in two years. After all, dark magic power was lethal for regular creatures. A lich could also exist as a soul, but they were very vulnerable in the soul state. Without the protection of a shell, the damage from mental spells would increase significantly. Therefore, most liches would change their shells frequently. The shells were expendable for them, but there were exceptions. If they ran into excellent shells that were vigorous and talented, they would try to seize the shells and maintain them well, so that the shells could be used longer. Roland''s body was very vigorous, and he was also a Mage. The players had higher stats growth than regular NPCs did in the first place. Their Constitution growth was five by nature even if they didn''t add any points to Constitution. Also, Roland''s maximal health was improved for his achievement of first completion of an epic quest. It was further improved by the Goddess of Magic''s favor. Now, Roland had as much health as that of an agile Warrior of his level. His vitality and his capacity for magic power were both very high. Roland''s body was a rare container for the lich, one it had never seen. His magnificent vitality was almost overflowing, not to mention his terrifying magic power. If the lich could steal the body, it would be perfect as a container. This lich would do anything it could to maintain the vigorousness of such a body. A good body was to a lich what an epic weapon was to a Warrior. Roland sensed the maliciousness in the lich''s eyes, which gave him goosebumps. He instantly snapped his fingers, and the swamp rose into a rock wall and protected the caravan. Hardly had he done that when the lich''s nasty voice, which sounded like rubbing iron plates, came through the fierce wind. "You''re very strong, but you can''t escape. Nobody can break through a lich''s army of the undead unless they can fly. However, even a wind-class Mage can''t fly far in such a strong wind. Let''s make a deal. I can spare this caravan as long as you leave" Roland snapped his finger and suddenly vanished. The lich was stunned at first. Then, it was greatly shocked. While jumping aside, it quickly established a magic shield. But it was too late. A miaodao of pure fire had cut through the lich''s head. Several seconds later, the lich''s head fell to the ground. At the same time, all the skeletons crumbled into pure bone, and the remaining ghosts screamed and ran away into the deep night. Staring at Roland with his head that had already fallen on the ground, the lich struggled to say, "You''re good at spatial spells?" "No wonder you didn''t escape." The lich heaved a sigh, and its voice weakened. "Then why don''t we make peace with each other?" This lich''s reaction was understandable. A Mage capable of spatial spells could barely be killed! Many people knew that Dimensional Anchor could stop spatial magic from being activated. But the problem was that Dimensional Anchor was itself a type of spatial magic. So, one could only use spatial magic to cope with spatial magic. Spatial magic was so hard that it was only slightly less difficult than causal magic. While Roland had posted the teleportation spells to the forum, only O''Neal had picked up Teleportation, and he was working on Long-Distance Teleportation. Even the players found spatial magic hard, not to mention local Mages who weren''t as smart as players on average. "Why should we make peace?" Roland lit up a fire on his finger. "You can protect the caravan for now, but you can''t protect them forever." The lich''s head spoke in a lower and lower voice. "If we make peace, I won''t do anything to them anymore, and we can talk about things that are more important." Uninterested, Roland simply burned the lich''s head to ashes with the magic flames. Then, he flashed back to the rooftop of the rock building and looked down at the caravan below. A bunch of people were standing below. Most of them didn''t have the courage to raise their heads. Wallace was the only person who looked up to Roland. Holding back his fear, he bowed respectfully and said, "Esteemed Mage, thank you for your rescue. We''ll never forget it. May I ask if we can stay here? If we go out, we will all be killed by the blizzard." "Yes!" Roland nodded. The rock wall had almost blocked all the cold wind, so the caravan didn''t have to hide behind the rocky building anymore. The low temperature wasn''t dreadful. It could be weathered through with thick clothes. What was dreadful was low temperature plus crazy wind. Receiving Roland''s permission, they were all greatly relieved and delighted, but none dared to say anything. Gazing at them for a moment, Roland asked, "How on earth did you get lost in this place?" "We must''ve been lured here with magic by the Tundra Reaper." McKenzie volunteered to stand up and said, "It''s said that he shows up every two months and disappears after reaping the lives of a couple of caravans." "Then you''d better be careful. If possible, don''t travel for business in the next year. He must be resentful of you. Liches usually won''t show up in cities. You''d better look after your life first before you attempt to make money." Most large cities were supervised by Mages, and the necromancers and liches had too-distinctive dark magic power. Besides, they were only strong when they gathered enough undead creatures. They were also good at turning human beings killed by undead creatures into new undead creatures. So, they were almost invincible with a storm of undead creatures. But they weren''t really invincible. The gathering of undead creatures couldn''t escape the attention of the Mages in the city. Therefore, necromancers and liches were usually active in the wilderness. They would kill lone human beings or butcher caravans to increase the population of the undead creatures they controlled. The more undead creatures they controlled, the more powerful liches and necromancers would be. With their special class skill, Dark Servant Link, they could establish a legion of the undead, and their necromantic energy would be significantly increased in the legion, which would boost the power of their dark spells. Hearing Roland''s reminder, Wallace nodded and said, "We understand, Mr. Mage." Seeing that it was over, Roland flashed into the house and continued his rest. The people in the caravan relaxed and took a rest too. But few of them could go to sleep that night. For Roland, what happened that night was a minor incident. Though he had never seen a lich before, he wasn''t really surprised to see one. He had seen angels and goddesses, and the lich was nothing compared to them. However, what happened tonight was a huge event for Wallis, the lich. His soul was pulled back into its spiritual coffin, before he was teleported to another body that he had prepared earlier. He walked out of the hidden cave in the rotten body whose flesh was dropping as he moved. Staying inside such a shell was very uncomfortable. But the lich could only hold it back. After all, his other shells weren''t any better. He summoned a skeleton horse. Fast and tireless, such horses were one of the liches'' icons. After half a night, Wallis made it to a graveyard before dawn, and a dozen black body puppets suddenly appeared. Wallis didn''t panic but waited quietly. Those body puppets didn''t attack Wallis. Soon, a tombstone moved before him and revealed a dark tunnel. Soon, a beautiful girl in a black robe who had extremely pale skin walked out of the tunnel. Wallis'' face was too rotten for anyone to see his expression, but judging from his voice, he despised this woman very much. "Karna, you''re using a woman''s body again. Do you not find it repulsive?" "It''s just a shell. Gender doesn''t matter as long as it works fine." The beautiful girl put a smile on her pale face. "Wallis, why have you come to my place?" "I saw an excellent shell. I had never seen a shell as extraordinary as that one!" Karna, the girl in black robe, chuckled. "How much better was it than mine?" "A hundred of this can''t compare to that shell." Karna grew interested. "You''re not exaggerating?" "No!" "Does the shell have a divine bloodline?" Karna winked. "I''m not clear, but it''s really vigorous." "Vigorousness means strength. Since you''ve changed your shell, that man was definitely very tough, wasn''t he?" "He''s capable of spatial magic and teleportation." Karna instantly lost interest. "Then why am I wasting my time here? You think we can catch someone who''s capable of spatial magic?" Karna was about to return to the tunnel after saying that. Wallis hurriedly shouted, "I can''t catch him on my own, but we certainly can if we work together. You''re good at Inferior Prophecy, and I have countless undead creatures. I''ll buy a few Dimensional Anchor scrolls later. As long as we know where he is with Inferior Prophecy, it will be easy to catch him!" "Dimensional Anchor scrolls? You wish!" Karna sneered. "There are only four such scrolls in total in the world of the undead. Why do you think you can buy them?" "Do you not want a better shell?" "He''s only one person. How do we split him even if we catch him? We might have to fight first. Don''t tell me that you want the shell to mate with a woman and have a child" Karna shook her head and was about to return to the tunnel, but she suddenly stopped and said, "However, for old time''s sake, I can tell you a piece of important news." "What is it?" "My puppets in the human world informed me that a new race named Golden Sons appeared in Hollevin. Those people can be resurrected after death, so some of them are willing to sell their dead bodies." "Are they vigorous?" "They''re said to be so, but I''m told that they''re very expensive," Karna said. "The bodies close to the level of Elite are one gold coin apiece, and those above the Elite level are three gold coins apiece." Wallis gasped. "That''s indeed expensive. I can barely afford a hundred bodies Those people are bold enough to make money from liches?" 456 The Jaw-Dropping Frostwolf Holy Lady "Do you have any sources to buy them?" asked Wallis. "If you want to buy them, you have to find a Golden Son and negotiate with him in Hollevin." "Should we set off immediately?" Wallis was rather hasty. Karna walked back into the tunnel and said, "Let''s grab my stuff. I hope I can buy a few nice female bodies. I''m told that the females among them are all beautiful women." "Hiss. Why are you so obsessed with your female identity?" Though his shell was dead and couldn''t feel anything, Wallis felt that his balls were aching. "Do you really not want to be a man anymore?" "How can you know what it feels like to be a woman when you''ve never been one?" Wallis shivered. He began to wonder whether or not he should go with Karna at all. On Roland''s side, he flashed out of the house in the morning. Standing on the rooftop, he glanced at the caravan below. They were all set to move on, but since the wall that Roland created blocked the way, they hadn''t taken off yet. Roland snapped his fingers, and part of the wall before them collapsed into mud, leaving an opening. Everybody in the caravan relaxed. Wallace raised his head and looked at Roland, but Roland had swooshed up into the sky and disappeared before he could say anything. Wallace withdrew his gaze in disappointment. He had planned to hire Roland to escort his caravan to the next city or village. Based on his experience in the past decades, Roland looked like someone who was easy to talk to. If Roland refused, he could also offer him some gold coins. It was beyond his expectation that Roland would simply fly away. An hour later, Roland flew across the high Dragon''s Back Mountain and entered the Froststar Kingdom. The Froststar Kingdom was a kingdom of ice and snow. Every place here was covered in snow and ice. The people who lived here generally stayed in houses made of ice. Though the Froststar Kingdom was bitter and cold, the crop productivity of this country was very high, because it was somehow favored by both the Life Goddess and the Water Goddess. In this snowy world, there were many lakes that were never frozen. The fish in those lakes were even more numerous than those in the ocean. It was said that the Water Goddess had blessed the Froststar Kingdom so that the lakes here would never be frozen, and the Life Goddess had accelerated the growth of the creatures in the lakes. Roland flew for a while in midair and then saw a huge lake not far away. The lake was very obvious because it was the only blue thing on the purely white ground. Roland flew above it and found that the lake was very huge. There was also a city by the lake. He flew above the city and slowly landed with Feather Landing. Although the Froststar Kingdom was a land of ice and snow, the wind was strong here. The tundra beyond Dragon''s Back Mountain, on the other hand, was a real bitter, cold landscape that had nothing except wind and snow. Landing outside of the city, Roland cast Language Proficiency on himself and walked in. The wall of the city was piled on ice bricks. Even the gate was made of thick ice. There were many people coming and going through the gate. Everybody was wearing thick clothes. They also had the smell of fish. Roland found that their coats were black and smooth and looked like the skin of certain aquatic creatures. They all looked healthy. Although their faces were red because of the cold, they weren''t skinny or emaciated. The civilians of the Froststar Kingdom were slightly startled and scared to see Roland, but they didn''t avoid him. They even looked at him curiously. In the line, Roland came to the city gate, and the soldier who charged the head tax was stunned to see Roland. Roland was stunned to see the soldier too. Normally speaking, the soldiers who collected taxes at the city gate weren''t elites, but the soldiers here were all very strong. They wore white leather coats and hoods in the shape of wolf heads. Also, those hoods seemed to be magic equipment, as Roland had vaguely seen the light of magic flowing out. More importantly, all the soldiers were professionals. Most of them were between levels four and five. Three of them were even level five. Besides, Roland also saw a white badge that was a wolf''s head on the left side of their chests. All the dozen soldiers were professionals. Roland was instantly stunned. What kind of country could''ve deployed so many professionals to watch over the gate? Or were they staying on alert because a war would happen soon? But that was still not a reason to send Elite professionals to watch the gate. The soldiers observed Roland. A moment later, their captain came close and asked in surprise, "Are you a foreign Mage? How did you pass Dragon''s Back Mountain?" "I flew across it." "Stop messing with me!" The captain was rather unhappy. "Not only is Dragon''s Back Mountain very high, but it also has a layer of storms that''s three hundred meters thick. The wind there is so powerful that even a dragon will be held back. How can you fly across it when you are merely an Elite?" Roland hummed and said, "I flew here above the layer of storms." The upper limit of regular flight spells was three hundred meters from the ground, so it was impossible to fly across Dragon''s Back Mountain according to common sense. The Realm of Gods was different. With Spatial Bubble Squirt, he could fly to the Realm of Gods or the Astral Plane theoretically. But it was only theoretically possible. Roland had tried it before. For some reason, all the magical elements would become thin after he flew above five thousand meters. So, five thousand meters was Roland''s limit. Dazed, the captain became grave. "Then, what''s your purpose in the Frostwolf Clan''s territory, powerful Mage?" This was the territory of the Frostwolf Clan? Roland found the name very familiar. He searched his memories and soon remembered. The Frostwolf Clan was the strongest clan among human beings. It was not just bragging, but publicly acknowledged. For some reason, all the children of this clan were born to be professionals. As long as they grew up, they would be at least level five, and they could become level ten if they were lucky. The best of them all aimed to become Legends. It was even safe to say that this clan would have dominated the world if their fertility rate was higher. So, he had ended up in this clan''s territory. Roland heaved a sigh and said, "I didn''t know that this place belonged to the Frostwolf Clan. I saw a city after I flew in, so I landed to take a rest and ask about something." The captain stared at him, as if he were evaluating if Roland was telling the truth. Then he said with a smile, "Welcome, guest from far away. The Frostwolf Clan will make you feel at home. But I do wonder, what is it that you want to know? Perhaps I can offer you some leads." "I want to visit the Well of Eternity." The Well of Eternity was a landmark of the Froststar Kingdom. It was not a taboo, or so the books that Roland read said. "Then you''ve come to the right place." The captain smiled. "To visit the Well of Eternity, you have to be authorized by the Holy Lady of our clan. She should be in the Temple of the Water Goddess now. You will find her there." Was it so easy to meet the Holy Lady of the Frostwolf Clan? Roland thought for a moment and asked, "Then is there anything I should pay attention to when I meet the Holy Lady?" "Just keep your eyes under control. The rest is the same as when you meet other big shots." The captain raised a finger. "Don''t look at her rudely." Roland was briefly stunned. The captain patted Roland''s shoulder. "Actually, it''s fine if you look at her once or twice, but don''t cross the line. Okay, you can come in." Roland entered the city, half-confused. The roads in the city were all made of stones. Some people were cleaning the slush on the roads. The city was crowded and lively. With his magic shield, Roland didn''t feel cold. Many civilians were walking on the street on bare feet and in short-sleeved shirts. None of them seemed cold. Roland asked a random passerby where the Temple of the Water Goddess was. The passerby pointed at the ice palace at the highest point far away. Roland went to the ice palace along the road, only to see that many people had gathered here. The ice palace was blue and white, supported by gigantic bricks and rounded pillars of ice. It was about twenty meters tall. Before Roland there were high stairs which many civilians were climbing excitedly. Naturally, Roland followed them. At the top of the stairs, Roland found himself before the gate of the ice palace. Here, all the civilians fell on their knees, lowered their heads, and prayed with their eyes closed. On a high platform inside the ice palace, a girl with long black hair was dancing. Roland looked at her, only to be astounded. She wriggled her alluring body in a patterned way on the ice-made platform while she performed the sacred dance. Also, she was wearing nothing but a red rope that tied her up and covered her private parts. It was even more exciting and arousing than pure nakedness. Roland could barely hold himself back after seeing her. Was she the Holy Lady of the Frostwolf Clan? No wonder the captain said that he could look at her, but not for too long. Roland scratched his head and simply sat down to appreciate her. After watching for a while, Roland opened the system camera and recorded the show. He felt that it would be enjoyable if the queen danced for him in the same way. After all, the queen''s curves were much more charming than this girl''s. 457 The Holy Lady of Winterwolf is Truly Differen The dancing Holy Lady saw Roland but didn''t show any reaction. She simply continued the seemingly sacred but actually alluring dance. There was only so much that a rope could cover. Watching her, Roland began to miss Queen Andonara although he had only departed two days earlier. About ten minutes later, after the Holy Lady finished her ritual dance, all the believers bent and retreated. None of them raised their heads. Roland rose and patted his back. The whole world was made of ice, so it was rather chilly. The Holy Lady suddenly smiled and pointed at Roland''s feet, before she returned to the ice palace. Roland knew that she was asking him to stay there and wait. As he expected, the Holy Lady came out very soon, this time in a white leather coat that covered her whole body, even her feet. Nothing but her head could be seen. With long black hair that reached her waist, blue big eyes, a round face, and a loose white robe, the Holy Lady suddenly became an innocent and vulnerable girl, not nearly as sexy and arousing as just now. But she had left too deep an impression on Roland. Upon seeing her, Roland subconsciously remembered her fair, narrow waist and her bouncing boobs. "Am I beautiful?" The Holy Lady walked to Roland and asked with a smile. "Yes," replied Roland calmly. She knew that he had been watching her. Instead of denying it, he might as well acknowledge it. At least, it wouldn''t make her feel even worse about him. "Thank you." Unexpectedly, the Holy Lady was not enraged. She asked, "May I know why a foreign Mage has come to the territory of the Frostwolf Clan and, specifically, the ice palace of the Water Goddess?" "I would like to visit the Well of Eternity, and I''m told that it requires your permission." "It indeed does." The Holy Lady nodded. "Come in." She walked in the lead, and Roland closely followed her. The ice palace was very huge, but only moderately decorated. There was nothing except some wooden furniture as well as bookshelves. The Holy Lady invited Roland to sit down on a colorful blanket. She sat cross-legged and said, "The Well of Eternity is a creature of the Water Goddess. As a believer of the Life Goddess and the Winterwolf Holy Lady, I have the right to decide everything about the Well of Eternity. So, my foreign Mage friend, what can you do for the Frostwolf Clan?" Wait! Roland instantly noticed something wrong. "Not random at all." The Winterwolf Holy Lady chuckled. "The Life Goddess, the Water Goddess, and the Winterwolf do not forbid their believers to worship other deities. Also, it''s said that those goddesses are very close." So that was the case. Seeing that Roland thought it through, the Winterwolf Holy Lady continued, "The Frostwolf Clan doesn''t want to add to other people''s trouble, but the Well of Eternity is really special to us. If any visitor comes to see it or drink water from it, it will be impossible for us to entertain them, So we set up a rule a long time ago. Whoever wants to go to the Well of Eternity must make contributions to the Frostwolf Clan first." A quest to raise Friendliness first. I''m no stranger to that. Roland was rather relieved. He was not afraid of outrageous demands; he was only afraid of no demands. If they didn''t give him a chance, Roland could only try to sneak to the Well of Eternity using other means. But up till now, he didn''t know where the Well of Eternity was. He might as well as hear the Winterwolf Holy Lady''s demand first. "I understand, Your Holiness. Then what should I do? Fight for you or clear some obstacles for you?" The Winterwolf Holy Lady covered her mouth and chuckled. "That''s unnecessary. The Frostwolf Clan is the strongest fighting clan in the whole world. We''re second to none in terms of fighting." That was true. The guards at the city gate alone had indicated the terrifying combat ability of the Frostwolf Clan. "Then what do you need?" "We need a cultural feast that can brighten our moods." "Huh?" Roland was rather confused. The Winterwolf Holy Lady explained, "Sebastian, our great ancestor, once said that fighting and killing are illusionary, and that only the sublimation of the mind is eternal. Beautiful poems and songs can save the Frostwolf Clan from the swamp of fighting." "I see. You want me to throw a music concert for you?" The Winterwolf Holy Lady nodded. "That''s one way to look at it. We''ve invited lots of bards, but their poetry and music are really unsatisfactory. We''re already bored of the classic epics, but their new works are all dirty songs. We aren''t happy to listen to them." Speaking of a music concert the Vienna Opera Company made of players shouldn''t be a problem. Roland thought for a moment and said, "I know a very good opera group who''s best at orchestra. I can ask them to perform here. However, the problem is that they''re in Hollevin, and it will take at least two months for them to come to the Froststar Kingdom." "What is the name of the opera group that you mentioned?" The Winterwolf Holy Lady''s eyes were glittering. "The Vienna Opera Company." Hardly had Roland finished when the Winterwolf Holy Lady suddenly rose and took off her white robe, revealing her sexy ropes again. Roland''s eyes bulged. Because they were very close to each other, Roland had vaguely seen things he shouldn''t see. The Winterwolf Holy Lady took a deep breath, and the red ropes around her glowed pink. The glow grew brighter and brighter and almost consumed her in the end. After that, the ground trembled as if it were a desk that was shaken by someone. Roland frowned as he sensed that the earthquake came from the Dragon''s Back Mountain far away behind him. After the earthquake, the light from the Winterwolf Holy Lady gradually faded. She put on the white robe gracefully and sat down before Roland. "All right, you can go to the Well of Eternity now. Here''s my badge of approval. Take it." The Winterwolf Holy Lady waved her hand, and a brown wooden badge appeared in her palm. The faint light of magic emanated from the badge. Accepting the brown badge, Roland asked, "Why are you suddenly willing to let me approach the Well of Eternity? I only told you the name of an opera company." The Winterwolf Holy Lady said with a moderate smile, "I already told the information to Lady Winterwolf, and she just responded. You''re right, that Vienna Opera Company can give us what we want. You offered a piece of invaluable intelligence, so it''s fine for you to visit the Well of Eternity." "She responded?" Roland realized what happened. "Was it the earthquake just now?" The Winterwolf Holy Lady smiled but didn''t say anything. Looking at her expression, Roland knew that she was implying that he should go. Taking a breath, Roland asked, "May I know where the Well of Eternity is?" The Winterwolf Holy Lady was stumped for a long time. Then she laughed so hard that her shoulders moved up and down. She stood up and said, "Please follow me." Roland followed her. The Winterwolf Holy Lady took Roland into the depths of the ice palace. Passing several barriers, they came to the innermost sanctum of the ice palace. This was a square secret chamber that had nothing except a pool of water in the center. The Winterwolf Holy Lady pointed at the water and left. Roland reached the pool of water, only to see that it was a spring, and that water was running out nonstop. But no matter how much water flowed out, the water level remained unchanged. The water was clear and chilly. Roland extended his hands into it and picked up a handful of water before he had a taste of it. The water was sweet and tasty. Taking out a bucket from the system Backpack, Roland filled it with the spring water and poured it into the system Backpack. After several consecutive buckets, half of the spring should''ve been emptied. Even though water was flowing out, it would take some time before the water level was restored. But every time Roland filled a bucket, the lowered water level would be restored in no more than a second. It was truly an infinite spring. Roland''s eyes glittered. He extended his hands into the spring and marked the coordinates of this place. After he set up a beacon here, he would be able to teleport the spring water far away by creating a summoning channel wherever he was. A dozen seconds later, the spatial beacon was completed. Roland rose up, only to see a cluster of blue hair in the spring. Greatly shocked, he instantly stepped back. At the beginning, he thought that it was a corpse in the spring. But then, the hair grew longer and longer, until a woman in a blue dress emerged from the spring. Although she came from the water, her clothes weren''t wet at all. It was rather amazing. The woman slowly ascended until she stood on top of the water. She looked around in confusion, as if she didn''t know what to do. Roland couldn''t help but wonder if this woman was mentally challenged. Suddenly, the woman seemed to have remembered something. She delightedly patted her left palm with her right hand. In that moment, her body dispersed into countless spots of light and disappeared into the air. The moment the woman vanished, Roland seemed to notice that she wasn''t wearing any underwear. Stunned for quite a long time, he couldn''t help but smack his head. Though he had only been in the Frostwolf Clan for two hours, he had definitely encountered a lot of "cultural shocks." The Winterwolf Holy Lady who performed her ritual with a strip dance, the minor earthquake caused by an inquiry to the goddess, and the blue-haired woman who had popped up in the Well of Eternity Also, in the vision of the system, the woman had a health bar, except that the health bar was blue. Behind the blue health bar was four skull icons. It meant that, although the woman was a friendly unit, she was actually a level-four danger. Normally speaking, if an NPC enemy was more than five levels higher than a player, there would be a skull behind the NPC''s health bar. Roland had never seen a level-four warning before. 458 Hitting the Bottleneck He had a rough guess as to who the woman was. Confirming that the beacon was working and well-hidden, Roland left the secret chamber and returned to the gate of the ice palace. He found the Holy Lady enjoying the sunshine with her hands in her sleeves on an ice stool before the palace. The Holy Lady seemed like a lazy man at this moment. Her face was as pretty as before, but for some reason, she did not seem as sexy as before. It was true that clothes were very important. She looked like a whole different person in different clothes. "You''re going to leave?" Hearing the sound, the Holy Lady looked back and saw Roland. She said lazily, "Are you done visiting?" Roland nodded. To be honest, he really did not expect that his operation would be so smooth that the city he first arrived in would be the Frostwolf Clan''s territory, or that he would meet the Winterwolf Holy Lady so easily. If he had stopped at another city, he might have to go through many more difficulties before he found the Well of Eternity. The Holy Lady smiled and said, "So do you think you should leave something behind?" "Haven''t I already paid for the visit?" asked Roland in confusion. "With the arrangement about the Vienna Opera Company." "I''m not talking about that." The Winterwolf Holy Lady chuckled and said, "You watched me dance for a long time. The other people all lowered their heads, but you kept staring at me boldly. Although I don''t really care, I''m the Winterwolf Holy Lady and I have my dignity." Well Roland pondered for a moment. "Then what do you want, Your Holiness?" The Winterwolf Holy Lady yawned. "What about a donation of a hundred gold coins?" A hundred gold coins were really a lot. It was certainly not worth it if one was asked to pay a hundred gold coins for an alluring dance. But there were other perspectives. For example, the Winterwolf Holy Lady didn''t give him a hard time but even offered to take him to the Well of Eternity. Also, Roland could tell that the Winterwolf Holy Lady was only joking when she proposed the demand. If she really wanted a hundred gold coins, she wouldn''t have said or behaved so unconcernedly. She probably only wanted to tease Roland and enjoy his embarrassment. After all, she probably didn''t feel very comfortable when a man stared at her while she danced with little clothes on her. It was sort of a retaliation. However, it didn''t occur to her that Roland was a magnate. Roland was relieved when she asked for a hundred gold coins. For him, making money wasn''t difficult. Any problem that could be taken care of with money would be a minor problem. The Winterwolf Holy Lady was stunned. While the Froststar Kingdom wasn''t short of food, this country wasn''t very prosperous in terms of business. After all, the Froststar Kingdom had nothing to sell except dried fish. They didn''t have an assortment of goods. The world only had a limited demand for dried fish. If possible, ordinary people preferred flour and wheat. Fish were cuisines for them and couldn''t serve as staple food. Besides, due to the inconvenient transportation, the business environment wasn''t the best in the Froststar Kingdom. Therefore, the Froststar Kingdom was both rich and poor. As a high and powerful person, the Winterwolf Holy Lady never had to worry about food, but actually, she could only earn about one gold coin per month. Sometimes, her wages were even lower than that. Besides, there were lots of female products that she had to buy. They were a lot more expensive since most of them were imported from other places. Sometimes, she could barely save ten silver coins after a month. Therefore, in the eyes of the Winterwolf Holy Lady, a hundred gold coins was a huge amount of money that she couldn''t gather in her whole life. She felt that, as a young Mage, Roland could hardly offer ten gold coins, let alone a hundred. She asked for a hundred gold coins simply to vent her fury. She didn''t see it coming that Roland would really present a hundred gold coins. The pile of bright gold metal pieces reflected a tillitating light on the ground. The Winterwolf Holy Lady was stunned for a long time. She raised her head and was about to say that she was just kidding. But Roland had already left while she was shocked. When he left the city, the captain at the gate saw him and asked him with a smile, "How did it go? Is the Holy Lady beautiful?" Roland quietly raised his thumb. "Haha, you have keen eyes." The soldier patted Roland''s back heavily and laughed. "You''re welcome to come again, but don''t stare at the Holy Lady next time you come, or she might remember you. As a woman, she''s rather petty. Last time, she yelled at an outsider so harshly when he stared at her that he almost cried." She was so tough? But Roland found her rather amiable. Leaving the city, Roland set up a magic beacon nearby and then teleported back to Delpon. He returned to the Magic Tower and greeted Andonara and Vivian, who were both overjoyed. Then, he continued working on the water-making spell. Writing the magic beacon he set up earlier into the model, Roland performed the water-making spell for the first time. It worked but the amount of water summoned was rather little. It weighed only about 0.5 kilograms. Roland tried to make improvements, but the result wasn''t satisfactory. He could summon 0.7 kilograms at most. If he were to increase the productivity, the magic power to be consumed would soar exponentially. The spring in the Well of Eternity was a blessing from the Water Goddess and slightly divine. Any magic effect would be slightly reduced by it. It was the real reason why the amount of water created by the water-making spell was little. That wasn''t the purpose for which Roland invented the spell. In Roland''s opinion, the water-making spell should be as easy to learn and perform as the oil-making spell. After all, it was a spell for daily life. In order for it to be used in daily life, its cost had to be low. But in the next dozen days, the result wasn''t satisfactory no matter how Roland modified the spell. When he increased the amount of water to be created, the magic cost would become enormous. If he lowered the magic cost, the amount of water summoned would be greatly reduced. It was impossible for him to achieve the two purposes at the same time. For a moment, Roland was caught in his misery. Fully devoted to Roland, Andonara naturally saw Roland''s frustration. One day, after comforting Roland physically, she couldn''t help but ask, "What is the problem that you''re faced with in your magic studies?" Though Andonara didn''t understand magic, it was still a good thing that someone was willing to listen to him, so Roland told Andonara his dilemma. He didn''t expect Andonara to give him a solution at all. However, Andonara put on a weird expression after hearing him out. "Roland, while I don''t know much about magic, I know common sense. Under normal circumstances, nobody will drink a huge amount of water at one time, right? Half a kilogram of water is enough to fill one''s stomach, and one kilogram of water will probably make it explode. Yet, you still want to increase productivity? You want to produce more than ten kilograms of water at one time? Only a dragon can drink that much water." Roland slightly opened his mouth. Because of his magic studies, there had been nothing but magic nodes, spatial beacons, and formulas on the effects of magic power in his head recently. Therefore, he had turned into an idiot. He was too focused on improving the effect of the spell to realize that it shouldn''t be his purpose. What Andonara said pulled him back on the right track. She was right. The water-making spell was a convenient spell, not something to make money with. Therefore, it didn''t have to carry the distinctive "commercial" or "economy" features like the oil-making spell. All it needed was a low cost, and a yield of enough water to quench one''s thirst. Roland hugged Andonara and gave her a long kiss. Then, he returned to his lab. This time, he deleted a lot of magic nodes and tried to reduce the cost of magic power. In the end, he turned the water-making spell into a level-one spell with minimal cost. Every cast of the spell could generate about 0.2 kilograms of water. Even a beginner magic apprentice could mostly cast the water making spell at least ten times. Roland was so excited after completing the spell that he wanted to press on and create the food-making spell. However, he suddenly realized something wrong. The oil could be extracted from the Astral Plane in the void, and the water could be stolen from the Well of Eternity. But where could he find food for the food-making spell? Normally speaking, no place had infinite food. So, he couldn''t play the same cards he used in the oil-making spell and the water-making spell anymore. Roland scratched his head. He had thought for days and read lots of books in the Magic Tower, but he didn''t find any feasible method. Then, he went to the capital with the water-making spell and dedicated it to the Goddess of Magic. This time, the Goddess of Magic accepted the water-making spell and put a purple gem on the ritual table, but she didn''t cast her eyes on Roland. She didn''t seem very interested in the water-making spell. Roland had wanted to ask the Goddess of Magic if she had any insight on the food-making spell. But his plan didn''t work out. He also learned that he couldn''t see a goddess whenever he wanted to. Then, he left the capital in disappointment. He had to postpone the creation of the food-making spell. But on the other side of the boundless ocean, a senior of an organization of magic saw a new magic model on the ritual table of the Goddess of Magic. He observed the model carefully for a moment and slapped his thigh. "This is a great idea! The water is fetched from far away. Judging from the beacon, it''s from the Froststar Kingdom. The Well of Eternity is there. The water is probably stolen from the Well of Eternity. Great idea! It''s such a simple method, but why did the hundred people in our Red Magic Tower never think of it?" "Created by Roland!" "Roland again? He was the one who created the oil-making spell." The elder thought for a moment and rang a bell. After a servant came in, he said, "Send an admission credential to Roland in Delpon and tell him that the Red Magic Tower is willing to let him study here for free. The world of magic needs talented young men like him!" 459 Recruitmen His knowledge of magic theory was still too little. How to transform magic into matter was simply an unknown subject to him. It was a pity that he had the highest mastery of magic in the small country of Hollevin. Did he have to go elsewhere to learn? The other side might not be willing to teach him. Roland thought about it and used the guild chat system to contact Schuck. Roland: "Schuck, can you use your status to introduce me to some magic organization to study, I feel like I''m at a bottleneck." Schuck: "It''ll be hard, very hard!" Roland: "What''s the matter? The Church of Light should be quite powerful in Fareins, right?" Schuck: "It is very strong, but the influence of the Association of Mages in Fareins is not bad either. Most importantly, just half a month ago, our Holy Lady mashed the chairman of the Association of Mages'' son''s family jewels, leaving him with mental trauma, and even though it was healed with magic, he can''t seem to get it hard again. Now the relationship between the two forces is extremely poor, and if I introduced you you''d probably be out of luck." Fine. Roland sighed. The path of networking from Schuck''s side was pretty much cut off. He could only go to Fareins to try his luck. Roland told the two women what he was thinking. Vivian was a little disappointed, but she decided to stay and help Roland manage the Magic Tower and the magic academy. Andonara put her arms around Roland and said in a clingy manner, "I don''t care, you have to take me with you this time." All right, I''ll take Andonara this time. After all, even if he went to Fareins, he might not be able to join the Association of Mages, as even the Association of Mages in Hollevin was wary of foreigners joining. Although Fareins was a large country, it was quite xenophobic. In their view, only the people of their own country were inherently civilized. The people from other countries were all barbarians. Of course, except for those who believed in the Goddess of Light. Roland went to speak with his friends again. Li Lin and the others waved boldly, "Just feel free to go on your honeymoon with the queen. We''ll keep a good eye on things for you in Delpon, now that we''re almost back on our feet." Now that almost two months had passed, Li Lin and the others had finally eased up from their previous "sage"[1] state. As far as Roland knew, Li Lin and the others hadn''t picked up girls or had any negative-distance contact with them in reality in the past two months, so they were probably really disgusted. Even their real lives had been affected. Roland and Andonara hired a carriage and wandered slowly in the direction of Fareins. As for safety, that was even less of an issue. A Legendary Great Swordsman with a Hero''s bloodline, and fully equipped with magic equipment. There was also an immortal Golden Son. Under these circumstances, only more than two Legends could pose a threat to them. Of course, they naturally encountered some small thieves along the way, most of which were cut into pieces by Andonara. A few who didn''t have much of an evil aura were let go after one of their hands was cut off. Roland didn''t have a chance to make a move. Andonara was too fast. As soon as Roland gestured to flick his fingers to cast a spell, all the enemies within thirty meters in front of him would instantly be severed in two. The Great Swordsman was strong in this aspect, fast enough to almost rival a thief, and with a special wide-range sword aura. Fast and furious. They also had good magic resistance, and normally, a Mage of the same level couldn''t beat a Great Swordsman. After more than a month of traveling and stopping, Roland and Andonara both finally entered the borders of Fareins. He wasted no time in communicating with the local Magic Towers in each new city he visited. However, almost all of them rejected him, and those who were occasionally willing to communicate with him harbored ulterior motives. For example, they wanted to deceive Roland into some very special contract before they were willing to communicate. But when Roland took a look at it with Character Proficiency, he found that this contract was full of traps. He immediately left. There was even a Magic Tower chairman who had his eye on Andonara and wanted to exchange ten beautiful slave girls for her. Then Roland and Andonara beat him up together. As a result, by the end of the night, the Mage had gathered a gang of men and tried to snatch Andonara. And he was quite intent on killing Roland. Then the Magic Tower of this border city was flattened by a large fireball from Roland. The group of men with killing intent was also gone. This was just a small episode for Roland. He gradually discovered that the closer he got to the capital of Fareins, the more he advanced deeper into the country, the more discrimination and malice both he and Andonara were subjected to. Because the two of them weren''t from Fareins. When they entered the country, they took an entry card. Roland couldn''t stand the situation and wanted to go to the Guild of Mercenaries to spend money and get fake Fareins citizenship. However, the man from the Guild of Mercenaries arrogantly rejected Roland. "Sorry, the citizenship of Fareins isn''t open to barbarians." Roland was so furious that he wanted to hit someone. In the end, Roland and Andonara had to return to Delpon the way they came. After all, even if he obtained fake citizenship, he still might not be able to join the Association of Mages in Fareins. Mages weren''t stupid and Roland reckoned that the Association of Mages would investigate him if he wanted to join. The fake citizenship probably wouldn''t fool the Association of Mages of Fareins. It took another month and a half or so before Roland finally returned to Delpon with Andonara. The round trip took three months. For Roland, it was a great waste of timetime was money and life. But for Andonara, it had been an extremely sweet three months or so. She was beside herself with happiness having spent three months alone with Roland. Returning to the Magic Tower, Vivian first reported on the affairs of the past three months, and finally placed a peculiar piece of magic paper in front of Roland and said, "Half a month ago, someone left this behind, saying that it was the Red Magic Tower''s admission certificate and that if you could solve the puzzle on it, you would get a free admission." The Red Magic Tower? Roland''s eyes lit up. Is this another way to reach the end goal? The Red Magic Tower was supposed to be a magic organization that specialized in evoking magic, but Roland preferred to enter the White Magic Tower that specialized in transmutation magic or the Monochrome Magic Tower that specialized in spatial magic. But that didn''t matter, as it was good enough to have a place to learn about new magic theories, and when he got the chance, later on, he''d find the other two organizations. Roland took that red cardboard in his hands. Solve the puzzle on it? Roland looked closely and noticed that the red cardboard sheet had a dense pattern of golden threads and nodes. This is a spell model? Roland''s eyes lit up. It certainly was a puzzle, and it was a real entrance exam. Someone with a smattering of knowledge wouldn''t be able to understand the structure of the spell model, and even if they could barely understand it, they wouldn''t be able to parse it and cast it successfully in a short amount of time. But for Roland, this stuff wasn''t even an issue. In the past two years, he had parsed an unknown number of spell models and knew how to improve and create his own. This entrance exam was extremely simple for him, just like a middle schooler doing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division calculations. He spent half an hour parsing the lines and points of the spell model, and then he simulated a three-dimensional model in his mind and finally infused it with magic power. In less than two hours, Roland had managed to cast this spell. The red card in his hand lit up then expanded and cracked and finally turned into a two-meter long floating ark. Roland was hyped all of a sudden. Dang! When you doze off, someone brings you a pillow. This spell was primarily an application of transmutation magic. Although it was just a mass replication of red paper and then combined into cardboard bound together to create a floating ark, it had a levitation magic array engraved on the bottom of it and a special wind magic array as its driving power. It sounded simple, but the mass replication of paper was the conversion of magic power into cardboard matter, which was essentially transmutation magic. As for the two magic arrays under the floating ark, exquisiteness aside, just the fact that they could be compressed into the spell model of the previous small piece of paper and automatically unfolded and shaped after the spell was used showed that someone in this organization was extremely good at the skills of transmutation and compression. Such a skill, at least, was not something that the current Roland could come up with out of thin air. He lacked the theoretical know-how in this area. Roland made the ark smaller again, turning it back into a piece of paper, and then began to study the spell patterns and nodes on it. The more he studied it, the more he realized that this little piece of paper had two words written on it. Simplify. Concise. He was definitely going to the Red Magic Tower. Roland greeted his friends and helped them arrange their posts before taking the floating ark and flying away from Delpon. Andonara and Vivian both waved reluctantly from the top of the tower. With Roland gone, there was no telling how long it would take for him to return. After all, a Mage''s path to knowledge was difficult and time-consuming. But Roland knew Teleportation, so it wasn''t hard for him to come back if he had the time and wanted to. The floating ark''s flight speed wasn''t very fast, at least not as fast as his Human Cannonball combo technique. But Roland didn''t know the location of the Red Magic Tower and had to let the floating ark navigate itself. After flying for about three days, passing over mountain ranges and the sea, Roland arrived on another continent. A continent that was completely paved with yellow sand. An entirely desert world. After the floating ark entered the sea of sands, it flew for half a day and then slowly descended downward. At the same time, Roland saw several other red arks flying in from other directions. These red arks were also descending toward the ground along with his own. Roland laid down on the edge of the ark and looked down to find a sea of yellow sand and nothing more. But when the ark was at an altitude of about a hundred meters above the ground, it suddenly seemed to have passed through a thin layer of magic. Then suddenly a small city appeared below. Among the criss-crossed paths, black dots were walking around. An illusion boundary? Roland narrowed his eyes. [1] Refer to Kenja Time, kenja means sage 460 A Friend From Another Town. Roland jumped down. A few arks were already parked in the square, and a few more were gradually descending. As soon as he jumped down, someone immediately came over. The young mage in red magic robes looked at Roland''s ark, flipped open a booklet, cross-referenced the markings on the ark, and then smiled and asked, "May I ask if you''re Mr. Roland?" Roland nodded. "You''re an important student of ours, please follow me." This red-robed youngster led Roland out of the square. Roland followed behind him while observing the surroundings and the situation. There were already quite a few people jumping down from their arks in the square. They were probably all students, but Roland was surprised to find that not all of these students were human. There were elves and orcs. There was even a green gnome. The Red Magic Tower is quite magnanimous They even have the generosity to accept all races? In the midst of his thoughts, the two of them walked out of the square, and the young Mage leading the way slowed down and walked alongside Roland while saying, "Mr. Roland, you are the only free entrant in this term''s Ruby Class, and it''s obvious how much the council of elders values you." "Don''t the others get free admission?" The youngster shook his head. "That''s impossible. The average person has to pay 30 gold coins, and that''s every year. After all, the Red Magic Tower''s magic materials, teachers, and resources all need to be paid in gold coins. Thirty gold coins per year was not much for Roland, but not necessarily for others. But there was also the old saying in the magic world that an independent Mage had to do everything himself, including funding. It didn''t matter whether one earned it oneself, or if someone else funded it, or even if it was supplemented by the family. A Mage who lacked money was essentially unqualified. Roland looked at the slightly inexperienced youth and asked, "May I know your name, sir?" "Don''t call me sir, I''m just a magic apprentice." The young man shook his head. "Rather, Mr. Roland, you are already at the Elite level and you seem to be advancing to Master. Compared to you, I''m not even close to Mastery. You can call me Claus!" Roland froze for a moment. Claus seemed to sense something strange with Roland''s expression and turned his head to ask, "Whatis there something wrong with the name?" "No, it''s just the same as someone I know." Roland smiled. Claus got excited. "That''s kind of lucky, it seems like we were born to be friends." Roland nodded. He was still smiling on the surface, but on the inside, he was quite torn. And now here at the Red Magic Tower, the first magic apprentice he met was also called Claus! Was the Goddess of Fortune playing games? Settling his mind, Roland asked, "What are the taboos here in the Red Magic Tower, can you tell me about them?" Coming to an unfamiliar organization, one naturally had to know the rules. Although it was said that players were not afraid of death, Roland was now level eight, and if he died once and lost ten percent of total experience, no matter how much extra experience he had, he would immediately drop a level. This amount of experience wasn''t something that could be earned back in a month or two; it would probably take half a year even if he did quests all day long. This was why when players reached level eight, they didn''t dare to die. Sometimes they''d rather throw away an excellent piece of equipment, like a gecko detaching its tail as a means of survival, than die once. "There are many, but when you get to the student''s dormitory, you''ll be issued a school rules booklet, and it''s all written on it," said Claus as he walked. "The student''s dormitory isn''t very good, but if you have the money, you can apply for a more luxurious single large room, and there will be maids and mercenaries serving you." "Oh." As the two of them talked and walked, Roland was still paying attention to his surroundings. They were now walking down a street about ten meters wide. Quite a few people were coming and going, and while there were quite a few Mages in robes, there were far more ordinary people. And around the streets, there were many shops with all kinds of food, clothing, and shelter, and he had already seen a few brothels. Taking a few more steps, Claus grunted and said, "Speaking of taboos, there''s one that comes to mind." "Please tell me." Roland smiled and shook Claus''s hand, a gold coin placed unobtrusively in the other''s palm. A little surprised, Claus clenched his fist, feeling the texture of the metal in his palm. A gold coin. Claus looked at Roland for a moment, then his smile was more grateful and enthusiastic. "Mr. Roland, you''re in this term''s Ruby Class; a new class is formed every five years. Above your class, there are two classes, respectively, Meteorite and Obsidian. Between them, Meteorite is a class that started ten years ago, and that class has the strongest average strength, and Obsidian is second. Be careful when you encounter them, those people are not too good-tempered." Roland nodded, gesturing that he knew. Claus continued, "Then there''s the fact that we''re divided into the east, west, and middle districts. The middle district is where the Master Mages live, the east district is where the magic students and magic apprentices live, and the west district is where the commoners are. In this city, the commoners'' mission is to work for the Mages, and for very little money, you can hire good commoner talents to take care of every aspect of your life." When Claus finished, they came right up to a building. A square building, nothing oddly styled, the ordinary kind, just huge. "This is the dormitory for the Ruby Class." Claus went in, spoke to someone there at the small window in the door, and then a black wood tile was pushed out. Claus handed the wooden tile to Roland. "Here''s your room key." The black wooden tile had several words engraved on it that Roland had never seen before, but with the help of Unhindered Communication, Roland could easily read what was on it. Ruby Class, 602. At this moment, Claus said, "Mr. Roland, this concludes my duties. I hope that we will have the opportunity to meet again in the future." "You''re not going up for a rest?" asked Roland. Claus shook his head. "I''m only a magic apprentice, I''m not qualified to stay in this area for too long or go in." After speaking, Claus bowed slightly to Roland, then turned around and walked away. It seemed like Claus was in a bit of a pickle. No wonder a single gold coin made such a big difference in his expression. Roland entered the building through the front door. The floor was made of gray and black rock. The whole building seemed quiet, probably because the students hadn''t arrived yet. The main hall of the building was large, and a few maid-like people were walking around in it. Over to the left, there was another young man in gorgeous noble attire talking to a maid. The figure was familiar. Roland took a closer look and couldn''t help but cry out in surprise, "Betta, why are you here?" Roland walked over in large strides at the same time. Upon hearing Roland''s voice, the young man who was talking to the maid turned his head, and half a second later also shouted in surprise, "Brother Roland, you''re here too!" Roland walked over and couldn''t help but pat Betta''s shoulder heavily a few times. "You''re pretty impressive. You got the entrance scroll here too?" "Just lucky, I did a quest and got it." Betta smiled. "But I''m still essentially a Warlock, so the tuition had to be doubledit''s so expensive." Thirty gold coins doubled, that''s sixty. Geez, this kid''s pretty rich. But this kid has a talent for picking up money, and with his outrageous luck, he''s probably never been short of it. At that moment, Betta walked further away and said, "Brother Roland, I see the golden pillar of light again, let''s go pick up the money together. We''ll split it." Roland gasped. "It triggered again?" Betta nodded repeatedly. "And the light pillar is particularly large, so I''m guessing it''s a lot of money." "So what are we waiting for, let''s go pick it up." Roland had always believed that hard work and frugality was the only way to get rich, but he was not averse to taking the plunge and making money. "Wait, I''ll ask that maid about the terrain here." With that said, Betta went back to chatting with the maid, and about five minutes later, he came over and said, "Got it. The place where the golden pillar of light appeared is in the west district, commoner''s territory, so we should have no problem getting there." "Let''s go, let''s go." Roland waved his hand. Roland was not a highbrow person, and for him, this "surprise" of picking up money was in itself an extremely interesting spice in life''s journey. Why act stoic when picking up money could make you happy? They quickly left the dormitory and headed to the west district. It took them almost an hour to reach the spot where the golden pillar of light appeared, as they were unfamiliar with the people and terrain, and the streets were not all straight. It was a secluded patch of grass that was rarely crossed, and there were a few rows of small trees on the outside that obscured the view. Beta looked up at the pillar of light that only he could see, then took a shovel out of his Backpack and began to dig. His movements were very skillful and forceful. It seemed that there was no shortage of digging regularly. He had probably picked up money no less than a dozen times. After digging half a meter deep, Betta brought up a stone chest from the pit and smashed it right open with his fist, and a small pile of gold coins burst out. "That''s a bit much," Roland exclaimed. Beta counted. "There are thirty-seven, I''ll take nineteen, Brother Roland you take eighteen, evenly split" Roland smiled and was about to say thanks, but then he suddenly turned his head and pointed abruptly to the left of where they were, ten meters away. Fierce ice ripples spread out on the ground, and a translucent silhouette retreated so fast that if it hadn''t moved so violently, it wouldn''t even have revealed this translucent trace. "You can''t escape." Roland grunted and flicked his fingers on his left and right hands at the same time, and two huge blue Hand of Magic appeared, chasing after this translucent figure. Roland instantly moved behind the translucent figure and a wide range of Ice Ring erupted at the same time. Because it was too close, there was no way for this translucent figure to dodge, and it was directly frozen by its feet. It struggled twice and was about to escape, but two Hands of Magic had arrived from the rear, and one on top of the other directly pinned the figure down on the ground in front of Roland. Invisibility completely lost its effectiveness at this point. A hybrid with a long white tail appeared in Roland''s vision. 461 Step Forward A catgirl! Snow-white cat-shaped ears, short snow-white hair, light green, slit cat eyes, and a frightened, delicate face. Betta came running with the stone box and saw the catgirl, who was pressed to the ground by the two Hand of Magic and looked nimble as she struggled, and cried out softly in surprise. "Oh, it''s actually a catgirl, she''s so beautiful wait." At this moment, Betta suddenly crouched down and threw the stone box aside with the gold coins flying everywhere. He held his head in his hands, his expression looking pained while muttering, "Don''t fight, don''t fight, I know I''m wrong." Because his voice was so low, Roland only heard the word "wrong." So Roland looked at him strangely and asked, "What''s wrong with you?" Betta immediately waved his hand and laughed embarrassedly. "Nothing, it''s nothing." He immediately picked up the gold coins on the ground, then shoved 18 gold coins into Roland''s hand, then without saying anything, he took his share and ran off, almost as if fleeing in defeat. Huh? Roland was confused, then he returned his attention to the catgirl in front of him. "Why are you following us?" Roland''s tone was cold. This catgirl was afraid to speak, pursing her lips and shaking her head vigorously, and there were tears in her big green cat eyes. She tucked her long white cat tail between her feet, not daring to stand up at all. She seemed to be quite scared. Seeing that she didn''t speak, Roland continued to ask, "Talk, why are you following us?" It could be that Roland''s increasingly colder tone of voice really scared the catgirl. Her pupils were shrinking rapidly as she shook her head vigorously. "You weren''t following us?" Roland crouched down and sneered deliberately. "Then why are you here?" The catgirl looked at Roland timidly, not daring to speak. But she noticed that Roland''s expression seemed to look increasingly impatient, and finally spoke softly, quite grievously, "This is my home." Oh! Roland scrutinized the catgirl again. Although she was quite pretty, her complexion didn''t look too well, a yellowish color, and she wore a robe that looked old and worn and even a little dirty. Roland looked around again and asked, "This is a meadow, where is your home?" The catgirl couldn''t move her hands or feet at all with Roland''s two Hands of Magic holding her down, so she had to aim her eyes to the left at a bush that was somewhat out of place in the grass. Roland''s mental power turned into several invisible tentacles probing that bush. Through the probing of the mental tentacles, Roland found that there was actually a small underground space beneath the grass, in which there was bedding and simple furniture. Then it made sense that she hid away and stayed invisible when she saw strangers coming. Roland waved his right hand and withdrew the Hand of Magic. The catgirl swished and jumped up, landing on her hands and feet, looking very nervous and eager to escape, but not daring to do so. She just looked at Roland tearfully. Roland sighed. This was his fault for overreacting. Taking out a gold coin from his Backpack, he tossed it lightly in front of the catgirl and said, "Sorry, this is to compensate you." This catgirl looked poor at a glance, not to mention her bad complexion, and even the place where she lived was so remote and cramped. Anyone who had a little money to spare wouldn''t want to live in a hole in the ground. The catgirl didn''t dare to pick up the gold coin. She was afraid that Roland was playing tricks on her; she had seen more than once someone picking up money and being falsely accused of stealing a noble''s money, and then being beaten to death. Roland roughly guessed what she was thinking and knew that she didn''t seem to trust other people very much, so he turned to leave immediately. Although Roland was walking farther and farther away, the catgirl never dared to moveRoland''s Teleportation had terrified her. Everyone had some common knowledge about magic in a place like the Red Magic Tower Without chanting, that man could teleport by just snapping his fingers and launching a Hand of Magic at the same time, an ability that even most elders couldn''t do. Werecats were known for their sensitivity and grace. They were fast, but in the presence of a Mage who could teleport, their agility and grace were a joke. It wasn''t until Roland''s back completely disappeared that the catgirl relaxed. She wiped her tears and looked at the gold coin in front of her, hesitating for a long time before picking it up and placing it in her robe. Roland walked on the streets of the west district. Compared to the east district, which had better infrastructure, the environment in the west district was a bit hard to explain. It wasn''t much better than the average human city. Even though there were sewers, the streets still had the stench of feces. Roland spread open his Magic Shield, which was able to filter out some of the unpleasant smells, and after walking around the west district for a while and getting a little familiar with the area, he returned to his quarters in the east district. The middle district was the largest, followed by the east district. Since the east district was where Mages and the average students lived, it wasn''t nearly as crowded as the west district. Roland only encountered twenty people after walking in the east district for a little over ten minutes. And two-thirds of them were magic apprentices and maidservants. When Roland returned to the entrance of the dormitory building, he heard the sounds of an argument coming from within. Roland frowned and stepped through the door. Then he discovered that Betta was protecting a maidservant and confronting two noble-looking Mages. The maidservant was trembling behind Betta. Betta, on the other hand, looked furious. Roland swept around and found seven Mages, scattered all over the huge main hall, watching the show. Behind the maid, there was an overturned bucket and a large water stain on the floor. Of the two noble Mages who confronted Betta, one of them had a large wet spot on the lower half of his magic robe. Roland immediately understood what had happened. It was nothing more than the maidservant in charge of cleaning who accidentally dropped the bucket in her hand and then the water that splashed out wet the noble''s robe. The arrogant noble wanted to punish the maidservant, and Betta stepped forward heroically to save her. This kid, he can seduce maids everywhere he goes. Roland clicked his tongue inwardly. Then the noble Mage whose robe was wet angrily rebuked Betta. "Judging by your attire, you are also a noble. Is it necessary to protect a lowly slave girl like this? Why do we nobles have to hurt the peace between us for outsiders, how did your seniors or your family teach you?" "It''s none of your business how they taught me," Betta said unyieldingly. "She indeed did something wrong, but she apologized, and yet you''re going to have her dragged out and killed. Isn''t that too vicious and cruel?" At that, the maidservant behind Betta trembled violently. "Vicious and cruel?" This noble laughed aloud. "Do you know how much a magic robe costs? At least ten gold coins. If she can''t pay up, then isn''t it reasonable to pay it back with her life? Can''t you even figure that out? I''m the one being merciful, not torturing her." "How truly merciful." Betta sneered, then tossed out a dozen gold coins, lifted his chin, and said condescendingly, "Compensation for you." Roland secretly clapped in his heart. This kid is tough enough, worthy of being our F6''s extra member. Now, all the Mages watching the show were moved. The expressions of the two noble Mages became quite wretched. The nobleman with the wet robe, his hands clenched tightly in fists, suppressing his wildly rising anger, gritted his teeth and said, "You, what do you mean by this!" "Don''t you want money? There, pick up the money." Betta lifted his chin again, looking rather arrogant. "You" The noble whose robe was wet was about to rush forward but was held back by the companion at his side. This noble Mage, who hadn''t spoken, looked at Betta and asked, "What country are you from?" "Not exactly a native of any country, but if I must say, I could be considered from Hollevin." With those words, the noble laughed as he shook slightly. "No wonder, just a hotheaded young man. I thought you were the heir of some great power. Brat, since you''re a Hollevin barbarian, I won''t bull**it with you anymore. These dozen or so gold coins, you pick them up and personally stuff them into this woman''s mouth and make her swallow them. If she survives, we''ll pretend that nothing happened. If she doesn''t, that''s her fate." The dozen or so gold coins added up to a weight of only about half a kilogram. However, gastric juices couldn''t digest the gold coins and would keep going down the stomach, causing intestinal obstruction, which was very painful, and if not treated by surgery, the pain would continue for a long time until death. It was a very nefarious method of murder. Betta snorted. "Sorry, you guys are an eyesore. I''m protecting this maid no matter what." "You won''t be able to protect her," said the wet-robed noble eerily. "Your strength is at best similar to ours. One of us can hold you off, and the other can just kill the maid. Since she''s bound to die, wouldn''t it be nice to let her swallow the gold coin and live a few more days?" Betta was starting to get a little furious. He was considering whether to make the first move. The expressions of the Mages in the main hall changed as if they were considering something. But none of them were willing to take sides. At this moment, Roland spoke. "He''s indeed no match for you two alone, but add me to the mix." Roland walked up to Betta''s side. Betta was only level six, both noble Mages were level fiveeveryone was a Mage, and spirit-sensing was a basic skill, so they could roughly know each other''s strength. Two-level fives against a level six had a good chance of winning. At least the odds looked good to them. But in reality, it wasn''t hard for Betta to deal with the two of them, and the fight was guaranteed to end within five minutes. After all, the players'' overall attribute growth was high, and Golden Sons had the highest overall growth of any profession. But there was a maidservant behind Betta, and while he could indeed deal with two of them, there was no way to protect the maid while the two of them attacked at the same time. Roland stepped forward and walked over to Betta. Bertha exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Roland, you''re back!" Roland nodded, then said, "Send the maidservant back to the west district and make arrangements for her." "Okay." Betta agreed and ignored the gold coins on the floor, pulled on the maidservant, and turned around to leave the dormitory. The two nobles each took a step forward as if to stop Betta. But Roland moved two steps across to the front of the dormitory, blocking the two. Then he said indifferently, "Pick up the gold coins, this is Betta''s reward for you." 462 Mages Have to Rely on Their Strength After All If the conversation between Betta and the two noble Mages was just arrogant and unyielding, then Roland gave the impression of being cold and arrogant. It was very arrogant and with ridicule. It was as if they were being treated as two giant slugs. The kind that was disgusting to see. Not to mention the two noble Mages involved, even the seven Mages watching the show next to them felt that Roland had really gone overboard. To look down so much on two Fareins Mages. A reward for you. How high in status did he have to be to dare rebuke two Fareins noble Mages? One had to know that Fareins was the most powerful and wealthiest nation, and had the most advanced magical (scientific) technology in the human world. The nobles of Fareins were the true nobles, and the nobles of the other countries were just small country landowners. Even a foreign king was a country bumpkin to the Fareins nobility. This was already an accepted truth in the human world, even in the orc world. It couldn''t be helped. The Fareins Kingdom had been strong for hundreds of years, undeniably the center of the human world in economics, arts, culture, and military, and had never lost a battle since the founding of the kingdom. Even if they lost occasionally in remote areas, they would always get the advantage back on a larger battlefield. Centuries of friction had caused the entire human world to almost tacitly acknowledge the "boss" status of the Fareins Kingdom. However, the players wouldn''t. After all, the real country the players were in had been the boss for a good two or three thousand years and thought it was a little weaker not long ago, it was now ready to get back on top. The players were inherently quite proud, thinking that the Fareins Kingdom was nothing. Besides, these two nobles, who were about to kill someone just because water was spilled on them, had no concept of life. Moreover, Roland had endured a lot of anger in the Fareins Kingdom some time ago, so now seeing these Fareins'' nobles was very unpleasant. The two factors combined, Roland''s impression of the two nobles was absolutely terrible. Naturally, he wasn''t polite. Roland was too proud, and the two nobles were temporarily stunned. The man with the wet robe asked gloomily, "Where are you from?" Even though Roland was speaking Hollevinian, the other party understood because of Unhindered Communication. However, the other party could also hear that he was using another country''s language. Upon hearing that it was the small country of Hollevin again, the surrounding nobles were a bit shifty, but their expressions were even sterner. Because they could sense that Roland''s strength was already very close to Master. The arrogant young man who spoke just now was from the small, isolated country of Hollevin, yet he had already surpassed the status of Elite, while the one in front of them was already approaching Master. Both of them were so young and promising. When did all the small countries have such great Mage talent? The other noble Mage said indifferently, "You''ve got some guts, don''t you know that all the Magic Towers, be it Red, Purple, Monochrome all these holy lands of magic, at least over half of the masters of magic originate from Fareins. You, from a small country of Hollevin, dare to speak to us like this?" Of the other seven Mages, four looked slightly unhappy and three looked approving. Roland''s lips pursed slightly. "I don''t know and I don''t care. Now I''m just going to make you pick up the gold coins that Betta rewarded you with. You have to accept it properly." Everyone felt a chill run up their heads from their nostrils. Did this man have a backing or was he just hotheaded? The other side had actually implied that they had backers in the Red Magic Tower, and this man had the nerve to talk like that? That was so fu**ing ballsy. This wasn''t a Mage, but a Warrior in a Mage''s skin, right? The two noble Mages didn''t dare to answer. Most Mages, to put it nicely, were called rational, and to put it badly, they knew how to calculate the gains and losses. Especially noble-born Mages, they knew even more to weigh their gains and losses. They already saw that the hotheaded Mage from a small country in front of them was furious and that the two of them might not be able to beat him even if they joined forces. If they fought head-on, and the other side killed them out of anger, then even if their relatives could get revenge for them afterward, they would still be dead in the end. That wouldn''t be worth it at all! This was why they didn''t dare to stand up to Roland anymore. But they were still nobles, and they were Fareins'' nobles, and they had to get the respect that they deserved. So they had to show their attitude by being silent. They were afraid and didn''t dare to stand up to Roland, but they wouldn''t give in either. "It seems you don''t want to." Roland couldn''t bother with this unspoken rule amongst nobles. He said slowly, "I''ll say it once more: pick it up. You have five seconds to think about it." "Five." Roland began to unleash large amounts of ice magic. The white ice patterns were centered around him, rapidly spreading around. "Four." In a second, the floor of the main hall had been turned white. Upon seeing this, the seven Mages watching the show turned pale, the ones close to the door jumped straight out, and three others immediately rushed to the window and jumped out of it in a panic. "Three." The white streaks of ice were thickening and spreading upward from the walls rapidly, and in less than half a second, the ceiling was covered in a layer of frost. Even the dense crinkling sounds could be heard as the layer of ice froze. The sounds were continuous. The two noble Mages had now turned pale and their legs were trembling slightly. However, since magic robes were generally large, no one could see their embarrassing appearance. "Two." The ice on the ground was thickening, and the two noble Mages didn''t dare to move. They were even in a bit of a trance under the pressure of Roland''s terrifying magic power. The few Mages who had fled the main hall watched from outside as the frost climbed up from the outer wall of the dormitory''s first floor to the third floor in half a second, with no loss of speed. There was also a large amount of cold white air spewing out from the entrance to the dormitory. The ice even began to slowly spread from the entrance to the street. The seven Mages gulped in fear. "One." The ice in the main hall was a little thicker. Roland started to raise his hand. This action of his directly awakened the two noble Mages. As if in a nightmare, these two fell straight to their knees and said almost simultaneously, "Please wait, sir, we''ll pick it up right away, right now." They lay down on the ground and dug hard at the not-too-thick ice with their hands. The coins were frozen under the ice, and they had to break the ice to find them. It was much harder than it had been. But they didn''t dare say another word. Roland tsked. "Pity!" They shivered all over again as they heard this. They searched even faster for the gold coins. Most noble Mages had a common weakness. They hadn''t been through hardships. They had a lot of resources and were protected by their families, so they grew up without a hitch and hardly ever encountered any serious ups and downs. They used lots of family resources to level up. To put it bluntly, they were flowers raised in a greenhouse with good fertilizer and water. Roland was different He was bitten to death by a spider before he even left the newbie village. He killed a lot of people after that and then died twice more. In the words of the nobles, Roland''s hands were actually already covered in blood. He didn''t feel it himself, but among those who hadn''t endured danger and bloodshed directly, Roland''s murderous aura was extremely heavy. He released a mental magic power aura with a butcher-like air. Besides, he had really wanted to kill them. How could two spoiled sons who grew up on the grace of their family dare to face a tiger head-on? Roland watched silently as the two noble Mages dug at the ice with their fingers, not daring to stop as the skin on their fingers began to tear and bleed. At this moment, outside the dormitory, a middle-aged red-robed Mage suddenly descended from the sky. He couldn''t help but appear emotionally moved when he saw the entire outer wall of the dormitory building wrapped in frost. Then without saying a word, he opened his Magic Shield and rushed straight into the dormitory building. Then he saw two noble Mages kneeling on the ground, frantically digging at the ice without care for their image as if they were looking for something. "Bild, Heinrich, what are you doing?" This middle-aged Mage wore a rather displeased expression. Hearing his shout, the two noble Mages'' entire bodies shook, and they looked at the middle-aged Mage with aggrieved expressions, but still didn''t dare to stand up. "Why don''t you get up already? It''s improper to kneel on the ground." The two noble Mages shook their heads vigorously, still not daring to move. Their eyes peeked at Roland. The middle-aged Mage turned his attention to Roland who was standing in front of the two noble Mages. "Did you make them do this?" "I didn''t." Roland turned around and smiled. "They''re just helping me pick up the gold coins that fell to the ground." The middle-aged Mage''s gaze swept over the entire main hall, looking at the layer of frost clinging to the entire dormitory, then his gaze returned to Roland. The expression on his face seemed to soften a bit. "Young man, you''re a magic student, right? What''s your name?" "Roland." Roland was ready to lane against this middle-aged Mage. After all, this man seemed to be a relative of these two noble Mages. Unexpectedly, the middle-aged Mage''s eyes lit up. "Wait, you''re Roland, of the oil- and water-making spells?" Roland nodded. "That would be me." "Your oil-making spell is very interesting, improved from Grease so that Mages at the bottom end can make a lot of money with thisit''s very innovative." The middle-aged Mage walked up to Roland and spoke quite excitedly, even gesticulating a little joyfully. "And your water-making spell is also wildly imaginative. I can see that the nodes in the water-making spell are placed quite perfectly, just eight nodes are used, but it is done with very little magic power, opening very small space channels to transport water from other places. Quite a creative idea. Come, since you are a member of the Ruby Class, when a group of us teachers heard you were coming, we all wanted to meet you. After all, it has been more than a hundred years since a spell named after a human creator has appeared." He pressed his hands on Roland''s shoulders. "First come with me to the lab in the middle district, there''s a node I don''t quite understand. Come over and explain it to me." 463 Growing in Popularity Roland sized up the middle-aged man, and he knew very well that this couldn''t continue. Under these circumstances, if he forced the issue, he would be put at a disadvantage. After all, the other party was a teacher who was making amends on behalf of two noble Mages, so if Roland continued, public opinion would be against him. The purpose had been accomplished when the maidservant was saved. However finishing touches still had to be done. Roland said to the middle-aged Mage, "Sorry, I''ve just arrived here, and I haven''t even entered my dorm. Can we talk about magic nodes later?" The middle-aged Mage nodded and smiled indifferently. "That''s quite a pity, but understandable. Mr. Roland, please remember, I will be waiting for you at Building 17 on the sixth street of the middle district. You are welcome to come over as a guest any time." "Thank you." Roland smiled at the middle-aged Mage, then crouched down and said to the two noble Mages, who still didn''t dare to raise their heads, "You got lucky this time that someone came to save you. I''m not sure if your luck will be that good next time. Next time you see me, you''d better avoid me, or I can''t promise to back down." Roland withdrew his outgoing mental power, smiled at the middle-aged Mage, and walked up the stairs. After Roland''s footsteps disappeared from the stairway, the two noble Mages let out long sighs of relief and slumped down on the icy floor. "Scared the hell out of me," said Bild, the noble Mage whose robe had been wet by the maid, still caught up in lingering fears. "Uncle, what''s this man''s story? Even you have to back downand you''re at the Master level." The other mage placed the dozen or so gold coins he had gouged out on the floor and sat down, also looking at the middle-aged Mage with a curious gaze. The middle-aged Mage curled his fingers at them, and said, "Go to my house and rest for a few days to lay low." They both looked stunned, and then they both realized something. Bild said in a feeble voice, "Uncle, there''s no need to be so dramatic, right? We still have to hide even when you''ve stepped in?" The middle-aged Mage only said, "We''ll talk after you''re there." Both Bild and Heinrich stood up and followed the middle-aged Mage obediently. As Roland withdrew his magic power, the layer of ice on the dormitory began to slowly disappear, turning into water. The entire dormitory building became damp, and the seven Mages who had escaped earlier returned to the main hall, looking at the wet floor. No one had a problem with it. A dozen gold coins were placed on the ground in two stacks; no one dared to take them. Then the crowd dispersed. Roland went up to the sixth floor, found room 602, swiped the black wooden tile in front of the door lock, and the door opened. Magic Resonance interesting. The dorm was a single room, not too spacious, and only about forty square feet. It was fully furnished. It wasn''t a problem for a single person to live in. He first folded the blankets and sheets on the wooden bed and set them aside, then took his own bedding out of his Backpack and laid it on the bed. Finally, he laid down on the bed in a star shape. Then his spirit entered the forum and started browsing posts to pass the time. And then, unbeknownst to Roland, his name began to spread in the Red Magic Tower. The middle-aged Mage, Jose, returned home with his two nephews and sat them down first. The smile on his face immediately became serious. "Before you came here, didn''t anyone at home tell you that you had to keep a low profile when you came to the Red Magic Tower? This is the low profile you want?" Heinrich lowered his head and didn''t speak. Bild argued, "Uncle, it''s not that we''re deliberately looking for trouble, but that brat called Betta is so damned despicable. I was just going to punish a maidservant who had made a mistake, what gives him the right to jump out and stop me? It would make sense if the maidservant was a great beauty, but the maid was plain-lookingwhy the hell did he stick up for her? And if he hadn''t jumped out, that Roland bastard in the back wouldn''t have clashed with us either." For Bild, to heavily punish a maidservant was a normal and very reasonable thing to do. This was why he felt quite aggrieved. The middle-aged Mage sighed. "There''s indeed nothing wrong with you punishing a maidservant, but if someone steps up for the maidservant, shouldn''t you just sell it as a favor? Connections aren''t acquired from fighting and cursing, you have to give respect to the other before you can build them up." Bild said softly, "I just couldn''t get over my anger, but I guessed that it''s not someone important to rebuke me over a maid." The middle-aged Mage sighed deeply. He was in complete despair over Bild''s emotional quotient. Heinrich then asked, "Who is that Roland? Do you know him, Uncle?" "Not really, I''ve only heard of him," explained the middle-aged Mage. "He offered up the oil-making and water-making spells consecutively in just two or three months, and the Goddess of Magic recorded both spells and named them with his name as a prefix." Heinrich and Bild were both quite surprised. They were well aware that in the last hundred years or so, the Goddess of Magic had rarely included spells prefixed with a creator''s name, and now that she was including two at once, one could imagine the value of these two spells. The middle-aged Mage continued, "As I just said, whether it''s the oil-making or water-making spell, the spell nodes are quite compact, and even a magic apprentice can learn them with some effort. Such spell node connection skills, not to mention Roland''s peers, even among the teachers of my generation, not many of them can do it." Bild was a little unconvinced. "Maybe he''s just lucky and inspiration hit him and he suddenly made these two spells out of nowhere." "Do you think creating a spell is picking up money? That all it takes is luck?" the middle-aged Mage rebuked angrily. "Things like spells only work two waysyou know it or you don''t. There''s no such thing as luck." Bild looked embarrassed as he scratched his head. Although he wasn''t convinced by Roland, he really didn''t dare to stand up to his uncle. Heinrich thought for a moment and said, "Uncle, do you think this man can be roped in into our family? We could offer extremely excellent compensation, for example, to make him a citizen of Fareins?" "It''s impossible." The middle-aged Mage waved his hand. "I''ve heard that Roland is also a Golden Son. You''ve all heard what bullsh** temper these people have." The atmosphere in the room was suddenly silent, and after a while, Bild said slowly, "If I had known he was a Golden Son, I would have left on the spot and never let him see me do anything bad. No wonder Uncle told us to hide for a few days!" The middle-aged Mage sneered. "Now you know to be afraid?" Bild laughed embarrassedly. Heinrich, on the other hand, felt himself break out in a cold sweat. It had been two years since the Golden Sons descended into this world. In the past two years, they had done a lot of things and made a lot of foreign impressions, but they had also made a name for themselves. Even if only occasionally a few Golden Sons came to the Fareins, the noble families of the Fareins had some knowledge of the group. After all, the Guild of Mercenaries, an organization spread all over the world, could effectively pass on important information. It was now clear to almost all noble families that the Golden Sons were rather meddlesome creatures, and they were usually so kind that they didn''t talk back much, even when they were ridiculed. But once they saw "injustice," or bad things, they would step up, meddle in whatever business it was, and do what they thought was right. Whether you were a commoner, a mobster, a merchant, a noble, even a royal if they thought you were wrong, they would meddle and dared to do so. There were now many nobles who liked to kill people randomly who had had their heads removed by the Golden Sons. Many of the robbers and bandits entrenched deep in the mountains were swept clean by the Golden Sons, and it was said that, oftentimes, when they heard that a mountain bandit had taken villagers, they spontaneously went to help rescue them, living as if they were saints. They had just tried to kill the maidservant, so no wonder Betta had stepped forward. And it was no wonder Roland was so unyielding. They had probably already triggered what the Golden Sons called "bleeping." Because when the player said "quest," it was automatically converted into this sound. So the inhabitants of this world also naturally used the shielding sound effects when the players said they wanted to "do a quest." After hearing that Roland was a Golden Son and that Betta might be too, Bild and Heinrich decided to give in and hide out at their uncle''s place for a few days until Roland''s anger subsided a bit. Time passed day by day. Roland holes up in room 602 and rested, browsing the forums and experimenting with magic, having a great time. Meanwhile, the rumors about him were gradually spreading. After all, Roland''s oil-making spell had been a hot topic lately. The Mage was a money-consuming profession, and children of great noble families naturally didn''t worry too much about magic resources. But for the vast majority of middle-class nobles, or Mages from low-class noble families, money was still something they lacked. Powerful Mages were rich, but that was after they became powerful. In the early days of learning spells, Mages didn''t have many channels to make money. Most Mages borrowed money from relatives or invested in joining great Noble families, trading their future for the money they needed to learn now. But after Roland''s Oil-Making came out they finally had a means of making money. The price of insect oil from the Astral Plane was quite high, so it wasn''t a problem to spend five or six days casting spells to accumulate it and then sell it to make a gold coin or two. And there were many uses for astral insect oil, whether as cooking oil, or for high-grade fuel, or even for something a little more naughty. The consumption of it was extremely extravagant. So even though many people got a hold of astral insect oil, the price of it still hadn''t come down. Many low-level Mages who were short of money had a significantly better time getting by after learning this spell. This was why they were quite grateful to Roland who had created this spell. After Roland clashed with the two noble Mages, his name became known to the others, and word slowly spread. Seven days later, the school year was about to start. Roland emerged from room 602 and walked to the main hall to find the place already full of students. And when people saw him, the looks in their eyes immediately became much more enthusiastic. "Look, that''s Roland." "He really does look like a genius, pretty much what I imagined." "He''s a great man. I heard that the water-making spell was also created to help us low-level Mages." Roland: "????" 464 Come On, Fire At Me No content 465 Position Established No content 466 Fateful Encounter No content 467 Lets Have a Contes No content 468 I Can Do That Too No content 469 Not On the Same Level No content 470 Your Interests Decide Your Stance No content 471 Catgirls Will Never Be Slaves Only two in the Council of Elders weren''t from Fareins. To some extent, the Red Magic Tower was the Fareins Association of Mages'' oversea branch. Therefore, it was not unusual that the Council of Elders fought for Fareins'' interests. It was also an unspoken mutual understanding of the leadership of the Red Magic Tower. Alfred thought for a moment and said, "Let''s not rush into anything yet. After all, Roland will stay with us for a long time. Let''s observe his personality first. Meantime, I''ve had someone go to Hollevin to collect his intelligence. If he turns out to be a decent man, it isn''t a problem for us to invite him to join Fareins. Too many nobles from other countries want to join Fareins but are refused. Do you think he can turn down our offer?" Murphy smiled and realized that Alfred had a point. Indeed, there was no need to rush into anything. Both Roland and Betta were already stuck in the Red Magic Tower for now. Murphy left the Council of Elders and prepared the ten level-three spells he was to offer. At the same time, Roland was in the middle of some trouble. An orc Mage whose face was swollen was standing before him. He looked quite gloomy. "Monitor, I''ve come to ask for your protection." Huh? After a brief daze, Roland looked around and said in a low voice, "Let''s talk outside. We don''t want to cause too much noise here." The two of them came to the tree behind the library. The scorching sunlight passed through the gaps between branches, leaving spots of light on them that moved along with the wind. Roland observed the orc before him. The orc had green skin and sharp fangs, as expected of most orcs. He was very brawny. Roland was much shorter and thinner than him. Orcs tended to despise races that were weaker than themselves, but this one dare not show any disrespect to Roland, not after Roland blew up the main hall of the dormitory building and beat up the elites from the Meteorite Class. Everybody in the Ruby Class now regarded Roland as the real monitor. Besides, Roland treated everybody fairly and answered anyone''s questions as long as he had time. More importantly, Roland had been fair in the library permissions. Everybody had been given the same amount of time to study and copy books in the library. As for Roland himself, he had the right to visit the library freely. Sizing up the orc, Roland asked, "It seems that you were beaten up. What happened?" Besides, hideous as the orc might be, he was still better-looking than the giant spiders that Roland met. The orc said helplessly, "It would be fine if I was only beaten up, but I don''t think it''s fair that my time to study in the library is taken by someone else when you''ve given everybody in our class the same amount of time!" "Huh?" Roland asked back curiously. "You''re the only one who was robbed?" "No." The orc shook his head. "The elves, the dwarves, and the human beings from other countries are all victims. The students from Fareins join their hands to rob us of our time." After a brief daze, Roland asked, "How many natives of Fareins are there in our class?" "They take up more than half of the class." Roland smiled and said, "You can go back now. I''ll take care of it tomorrow." On the next day, after Triton finished his teaching of basic magic theories, while the students were still in the classroom, Roland blocked the door and said, "Guys, please wait a moment. There''s something that I would like to say." Everybody in the Ruby Class looked at Roland. Betta looked at Roland in surprise too. Same as Roland, he spent most of his time in the library, and he didn''t know what happened in the class at all. Roland looked around in the classroom. "Last night, I learned that some of you are ganging up against other students and stopping them from going to the library." Half of the students looked at Roland, frowning, and the other half all seemed delighted. Finally, someone had shown up to defend them. "To be honest, I don''t really want to be involved in this. It''s really a waste of time. I didn''t want to be a monitor either, and the Great Elder simply gave the job to me." Roland gazed at the students from Fareins and said, "However, since I am the monitor now, I have to ensure fairness. Because of the Council of Elders'' permission, I can enter the library freely, but the time to study in the library for each class is limited every day. I''ve been trying to be fair, but certain people are simply greedy and insatiable. They''re taking advantage of the weaker students. "You''re giving me a hard time by doing that." There was vague hatred and disdain in Roland''s voice. Couldn''t you let me study my magic? All the fuss you cause is wasting my time. At this moment, someone from Fareins shouted, "Roland, we don''t mean to challenge you; we''re only taking measures against some humble orcs." Roland snorted. "Do you take me for a fool? I was the one who set up the rules. By breaking the rules, you''re disrespecting me and slapping my face, but you claim that you don''t mean to challenge me? Is that supposed to be funny?" All the students from Fareins instantly put on an awful expression. The other students grew happier and happier. "I''ll forgive you for what you did, but mark my words." Roland''s voice was gentle but unshakable. "My rules will be exactly like before. Whoever breaks them won''t be treated as classmates by me anymore." Roland turned around and left after saying that. Betta packed up his notebook and went away too. Then, the oppressed students were gone. Eventually, only the students of Fareins were left in the classroom. They were all grim. Someone proposed to fight Roland, because there were thirty of them and Roland was alone. But someone immediately retorted, "Roland can flash. Even three hundred men can''t catch him unless you can use Dimensional Anchor." The hawks were instantly frustrated. Dimensional Anchor was too sophisticated a spell for them to learn yet. When Roland returned to his manor, he found an old man standing at the gate, and a catgirl kneeling before him with her white tail dangling and stuck between her legs. She looked obviously scared. Roland quickly stepped forward, only to find that the old man was Murphy, the Legendary Mage he met a few days back. Seeing Roland, Murphy said rather delightedly, "I hope you wouldn''t mind my unannounced visit." Roland shook his head. Then, focusing his eyes on the catgirl, he frowned and asked, "Why are you kneeling here?" Hearing Roland''s voice, the catgirl suddenly raised her head, begging him with her big green eyes. Then, she lowered her head again. "Do you know this catgirl?" "I picked her up. I''m planning to domesticate her into a servant." Roland nodded and said to the catgirl, "Go clean up the room now. Why are you still here?" The catgirl suddenly raised her head and looked at Roland and Murphy. Then, she quickly dashed over the wall in a panic. Watching the catgirl disappear, Murphy seemed slightly regretful. Roland asked with a smile, "Mr. Murphy, are you here to trade spell models?" "Yes. Here are ten level-three spell models. You can take a look." Murphy touched the emerald ring on his left hand, and ten pieces of paper that were full of dots and lines dropped on the ground. A piece of spatial equipment Roland was rather curious. Noticing the curiosity in Roland''s eyes, Murphy said rather proudly, "This is the work of an old friend of mind from the Monochrome Magic Tower. There can''t be more than ten human beings who have such a piece of equipment. Also, the space in it is almost one cubic meter." Roland was instantly rendered speechless, as it was too small. Murphy took Roland''s speechlessness for the silence of envy and jealousy. He laughed and said, "Roland, you''re very talented. You may become a legend if you stay twenty to thirty years in the Red Magic Tower. By then, I''ll ask my friend in the Monochrome Magic Tower to craft a ring for you." "Thanks!" Roland picked up the ten pieces of paper from the ground. He selected three spells that he didn''t know and put them in his system Backpack. He waved his hand again, presenting the model of the self-exploding fireball spell he prepared in advance, before he gave it to Murphy along with the other seven spell models. Subconsciously accepting the eight pieces of paper, Murphy gazed at Roland for a long time before he finally asked, "You have spatial equipment too?" "Yes!" Murphy pursed his lips rather angrily. It didn''t feel great when other people stole his thunder while he was trying to show off. He heaved a sigh and walked away without saying anything. Roland entered the manor and saw that the catgirl was craning her head from the window of her small house in fear. He waved at her. The catgirl stared at the gate for a while. Seeing that the old man didn''t come in, she was greatly relieved. She jumped out of the window, trotted to Roland, and squatted, raising her white tail high. Gazing at the catgirl''s tail for a while, Roland asked, "What happened just now?" "I looked for food outside, and was caught by the old man on my way back. He controlled me to walk to him with a weird spell. I couldn''t escape at all." The catgirl had goosebumps all over her body when she recalled the feeling. Was it Alien Species Control, a level-four spell? Or was it Humanoid Creature Charm? Roland asked, "You didn''t use stealth?" "I did, but he spotted me just like you did." There was fear in the catgirl''s eyes. "Mages are so dreadful. You can all discover me." In fact, the catgirl was quite good at stealth. Nobody could discover her unless their mental power was as extraordinary as Roland''s, or if they were Mages close to the level of Legendary. At least, Betta didn''t discover the catgirl earlier. Roland lowered his back and asked the question that he had always been curious about. "Aren''t you a native of the Red Magic Tower? Why are you so afraid of getting in touch with your compatriots? You even lived underground before and secluded yourself from the world." "The catgirls are all slaves in the Red Magic Tower. I don''t want to be a slave." 472 What a Dilemma "Why are the cat-humans regarded as slaves?" The catgirl''s white furry ears dangled down. Even her tail fell on the ground too. "Because a cat-human Mage led an uprising decades ago. But he failed. Since then, all the cat-humans have been slaves." The catgirl didn''t talk much, but Roland learned lots of things from what she said. The uprising that the cat-humans led failed. What did they rise up against? Considering the demography of the Red Magic Tower, and what happened to the orc the previous day, the answer was obvious. It was true that exploitation existed everywhere. "Do you want to take a walk outside openly?" The catgirl nodded. She certainly wanted that. Ever since she could remember, she had barely communicated with other people, including her family. It was because unowned cat-humans would be caught the moment they showed up, especially if they were females. Earlier, she had been caught by the old Mage, and there might''ve been dire consequences if Roland had come late. "Then you can pretend to be my slave." The catgirl hesitated after hearing that. Roland shrugged and let her take her time to consider, as it was natural for her to be vigilant. Returning to his room, Roland opened the three models of level-three spells and read them for a while. Then, he put them aside. The three spells were all very good, but their priority wasn''t that high for Roland. His primary task was to grasp magic arrays. As long as he knew how to make magic arrays, Roland believed that there would be lots of things he could do. Also, the level-one and level-two spells he knew could already satisfy all his needs in daily life and in battle. The spells of higher levels were only fortifications on the level-one and level-two spells. If he built the foundation well, it would be very easy to construct a high tower. Therefore, he wasn''t in a rush at all. This night, he did a lot of data analysis, only to find that it was even harder to learn magic arrays than he expected. The data involved was much comprehensive than that related to level-two spells. Roland spent the whole night filling his database with errors. The next morning, he was going to school, when he found that the catgirl was standing before his door. Her green eyes were bloodshot, and she looked tired. It seemed that she didn''t sleep at all last night. After she said that, the catgirl felt that she used up all her strength. The cat-humans were sensitive creatures who were naturally curious about everything. Also, they were strongly wary of any creatures apart from their family. They were proud creatures with tender minds. It was very hard to win their trust. Roland hadn''t won the catgirl''s trust yet. She was only wagering on the possibility that Roland was a good man. She had stayed for too long in this place by herself. She wanted to visit her mother and stay with her openly. She wanted to walk on the street without fearing that she might be caught. Roland, on the other hand, was the only person in the past ten years who wasn''t malicious to her. Looking at the uneasiness on her face, Roland smiled and said, "I don''t know your name yet." "Marilyn." The catgirl crossed her arms and said, "I don''t have a last name, because I''m a civilian." "I know. You stay here and wait for me to come back." Roland circumvented the catgirl and left the manor. On this day, Triton was going to teach the fundamental magic theories that Roland already knew, so it was fine to skip the class. Besides, attendance wasn''t demanded in the Red Magic Tower. It wouldn''t matter even if the students didn''t come. After all, they were adults who should be responsible for themselves. If they couldn''t pass the exam next year, they would be banished from the class and had to wait five years before they could study again with the freshmen. Roland went to the business street in the east district and found a store with a piece of purple silk hanging above the door. The board above the store said "Magic Shackle." This was a slave authentication store, and the private business of a certain elder. Chains to control slaves could be bought here, and only the chains sold here were recognized by authorities. Otherwise, many untouchables who didn''t have an identity and who weren''t even slaves could be beaten to death on the street as spies. Therefore, in many cases, the chains were an indirect protection for those without identities. Roland walked into the store and stepped on the black wooden floor. It was quite a huge store. At the end of the store was a black counter. Then, there were several gray chairs for rest and a few tables. Seeing Roland, a pretty female servant who had a white collar came to greet him. She said with a sweet smile, "Mr. Mage, are you here to buy a collar?" Roland nodded. "Then please have a seat." After Roland sat down, the servant stood before Roland respectfully and asked again, "May I know the age of the collar''s wearer?" "Probably around fifteen." "What about their race?" "A cat-human." "Gender?" "Female!" After a brief daze, the servant said, "Sir, you''re truly lucky. The cat-humans are already extremely rare, not to mention a female one." Was there anything special about female cat-human? Roland was slightly confused, but he still looked calm, as if owning a female cat-human was nothing special. The servant took a breath and asked again, "Which level of collar do you want, sir?" "What does the level represent?" "A collar of higher levels means that the slave is important to you. Usually, other people wouldn''t dare to do anything to them." Roland realized that such a collar was an indicator of the slave owner''s wealth and power. It informed others that the slave owner was rich and powerful and they should probably think twice before they did anything to the slave. "I would like one of the highest level." "Got it." Noting down Roland''s requirements, the servant slightly bowed and said, "Please wait a moment, sir. We''ll offer you the collar immediately after we record it." "How much does it cost?" The servant lowered her head. "Ten gold coins." So expensive! Roland frowned. But then, he took out the gold coins and gave them to the servant. Holding the gold coins with both hands, the servant lowered her head and retreated. About ten minutes later, the servant was back again with a black wooden tray. On the top of the tray was a collar purely made of gold and silver, with a key next to it. There were magic stripes on the collar and the key. They were obviously magic items. No wonder they were so expensive. "This is the collar and the key. Please take them, sir." Roland stored the collar and the key into his backpack before he returned to his manor. The catgirl squatted before the stone building and gazed at the clouds in the sky. Hearing Roland''s footsteps, she suddenly jumped to her feet. At this moment, Roland was walking in while examining the collar. The magic array on the collar was very interesting. Roland could understand some of the nodes, but most of the nodes were encrypted in special ways. He had no idea what those nodes were for. Stopping before the stone building, Roland looked at the catgirl and gave her the key as well as the collar. "You can put it on. Keep the key well and don''t lose it. I''m told that it''s unique." Stunned, the catgirl stared at the white collar that she was holding. She swallowed and said, "This is a silver collar. Master Mage, you are really Thank you!" Marilyn, the catgirl, raised her head. Her green eyes were brighter and brighter. Roland didn''t know what the silver collar meant for the catgirl. He only wanted to study magic at this moment. At the same time, at the meeting of the Council of Elders, Murphy slapped the model of the self-exploding fireball spell on the table in front of everybody. He said solemnly, "I tried this spell last night. It''s very powerful." "It''s just a level-two spell. Is it really worth it? You can only make one proposal in a year, and you wasted it on that." "Not just one year, I would''ve gladly wasted it even if I could only make one proposal in ten years. Now, as the convener of this provisional meeting, I demand you read this paper, all right?" The other elders all looked at Murphy, confused. But they didn''t say anything in the end. The elder who was closest to the paper grabbed it. "I''m going to see what this is about and how you can be so sho" The elder shut up after he read the paper for a while. He became more and more serious and grave. Five minutes later, he slapped the table. "Interesting. The combination of those nodes is truly genius. None of the nodes are redundant. Each of them have their own effects and they can enhance each other." "Let me take a look." The elder to the left of this man seized the paper. A moment later, he became delighted and surprised the same as the first elder. Swish! The paper was taken by another man, and several minutes later, the next elder grabbed it. About twenty minutes later, the paper finally came to Alfred the Great Elder. He took five minutes to read the paper carefully. Subconsciously squeezing his nose, he closed his eyes and was silent for a moment, before he said, "What a remarkable kid." "So, Great Elder, initiate the Talent Migration Plan. We have to keep Roland in Fareins even if it''s against his wish, or we''ll need to destroy him." The Great Elder, who had been squeezing his nose in frustration, said, "The agents I deployed have sent back intelligence regarding Roland. It''s very tricky. We can only persuade this kid gently, and we mustn''t force him to do anything." "Why?" asked Murphy in confused. "Because he is one of the Golden Sons." Alfred heaved a sigh. "They''re a tricky race who recently emerged." All the elders looked at each other in bewilderment. They had never heard the phrase before. "This is the intelligence on Roland." Alfred threw out a small notebook and then a bigger one. "This is a general introduction to the Golden Sons. You all can take a look." 473 Its Finally Here The meeting room of the Council of Elders was absolutely quiet. After a long time, an elder who couldn''t hold back the suffocating atmosphere finally asked, "Alfred, are you sure the intelligence is accurate?" "I know it looks unbelievable, but it''s true." Alfred heaved a sigh. "When we lived in seclusion spurning the rest of the world, those Golden Sons ran into our world from an alternate dimension. It was two years ago." "They''re undying?" Murphy snorted. "What if their souls are imprisoned?" Alfred shook his head. "Someone already tried that, but it didn''t work. Their souls seem to be protected by natural laws. After their bodies died, their souls would go into a strange alternate dimension. No spells can work on their souls until they get a new body." Everybody felt a strong headache. Creatures that could resurrect, such as the liches, were already tricky enough. But the liches had obvious vulnerabilities. They could be killed easily when their phylactery was located. As long as one was good at soul magic, they could locate a lich''s phylactery by tracking down the pieces of the lich''s soul after they destroyed the lich''s clone. Of course, the lich would try to relocate his phylactery before he was tracked down. All that mattered was who was faster. In general, while the liches were powerful, they could be dealt with. However, the Golden Sons'' souls were protected. The only way to weaken them was to kill them nonstop until they became like beginners. How many times must they be killed for that? Besides, they could always escape. There was no way to prevent them from making a comeback. It was pointless to make enemies of these people. "It looks like we can''t restrain them forcefully," said Murphy angrily. "Then how should we treat Roland? His spell is as good as any Legendary spell. Most spells can only deal limited damage, but not this spell." The other elders all understood Murphy''s intention. Most low-level spells might become more powerful as their users leveled up or put on new equipment, but the power of such spells had an upper limit. For example, Inferior Fireball could never be more powerful than a Superior Fireball. Even if a god were to cast Inferior Fireball, he could only cast thousands of fireballs at best to increase the power of the spell indirectly. In terms of the power of an individual Inferior Fireball, even one cast by a god wouldn''t be much greater than one cast by a Legend. But the self-exploding fireball that Roland created was different. While he could enhance the damage of the spell regularly, he could also compress magic power into the fireball unlimitedly. The power of the fireball could be infinitely increased as long as the caster could control it. If a demigod were to use the spell with full strength, they could probably even hurt a god. "That''s probably the reason why the Goddess of Magic recalled this spell half a day after releasing it." Alfred spoke of speculation. "After all, Mystra became a god as a human being. It''s understandable that she''s wary of other Mages like us." Everybody thought that the speculation made sense. The gods and goddesses weren''t invulnerable. At the very least, Mordenkainen defeated the Goddess of Fortune several times. After being bullied by evil gods for almost a hundred years, Melf created Melf''s God-Slaying Spell and killed five evil gods in a row, making all of them tremble in fear. Now that a new spell that threatened the gods appeared, it was natural that the Goddess of Magic took it back. "If Roland is so talented, why don''t we support him?" Alfred said with a smile, "Since Murphy only paid three level-three spells for this spell, it means that Roland is not a petty man who keeps all his findings to himself. Let''s make friends with him first. If he has new creations later, we can make deals with him." "That''s a good idea." Many elders agreed with him. But Murphy was still doubtful. "What if he won''t make deals with us?" "That means we aren''t close enough to him." The Great Elder smiled. "We''ll see what we can do if that happens. There''s no such thing as a perfect plan." Then, the provisional meeting was over. Roland''s life was still busy. Every day, the classroom, the library, and his home were the only places he went to. After putting on the slave collar, Marilyn spent little time at home. She wandered outside a lot. In the class, the atmosphere was a lot better after Roland sent out his warning. At least, the students from Fareins dared not openly bully their classmates from other countries or the orcs. Soon, one month passed. As usual, it was a five-day holiday for the students. The students were allowed to leave the Red Magic Tower and travel in other places. Generally speaking, most students would go to Velgat, a neighboring city of hybrids. Most of the residents of the city were vulpera. After the class, Betta came to Roland and asked hopefully, "Brother Roland, do you want to go travel in Velgat?" Roland shook his head. "I need to go back to Delpon first." Although his friends were defending Delpon for him, and he could ask Li Lin and the others to pass his commands through the guild system, the whole city would become uneasy if Roland, the man who was really in charge, was away for too long. Slightly disappointed, Betta ran off alone. Looking at Betta''s back, Roland felt that something was wrong. He felt that two things were hanging on Betta''s back, but when he detected it more clearly, he began to feel that it was his illusion. After a moment of confusion, Roland left the Red Magic Tower and put down a magic beacon. Then, he activated Long-Distance Teleportation. Since this place was too far away from Delpon, Roland had to teleport himself three times before he reached Delpon. Hardly had he returned to the Magic Tower when Andonara hugged him and dragged him to the bedroom. Though he still couldn''t break her defense, Andonara had other ways to please Roland. Vivian joined halfway through. This girl didn''t have a high defense. The two of them made Roland''s back hurt. After that, Roland met with his friends. During the feast, he found that they looked a lot healthier than before. They seemed to have regained their masculinity. "Roland, how many days will you stay?" "It''s a five-day holiday, and I have four days left." They looked at each other, and Li Lin said, "We''ll be away for three days. We''re going to the neighboring city." Roland leaned back. "You''re doing it again?" "You have your queen and your secretary. Don''t criticize us because you''re not as hungry as us." Li Lin seemed rather unhappy. "Okay, you do whatever you want." Roland shook his head helplessly. The next day, his friends rode off from the city in the early morning. When Roland examined the administrative affairs during the month at his Magic Tower, a swarm of plump bats flew in through the window and fell before Roland''s desk as a mature woman in black. She looked awful, and her face was pale. She seemed to have seen something dreadful and disgusting. Tapping the desk, she said, "A group of aggressive Golden Sons came for you. When they saw me, they seemed to want to burn me alive." The moment she said that, Roland realized who the visitors were. He personally went to the gate of the Magic Tower and welcomed them. The visitors were all wearing magic equipment, and their weapons were shiny. It seemed that the weapons were mixed with silver. The young man in the lead wasn''t very attractive, but when he smiled, one would feel like approaching him. "Big man, we''ve found four of the bones that you asked for." The young man took out four bones that were as white and smooth as jade from his system Backpack. The bones were a pair of hands and a pair of legs. Then, Roland took out the skull from his own backpack and placed it on the top of the bones. Then, he realized that the bones on the upper half body were still missing. "I think one part is still missing." Roland was briefly stunned. "We can''t find the last part," the young man said helplessly. "We''ve almost killed all the vampires in the desert and the Fareins Kingdom, but we haven''t found anything. This is what we found. We were told that it was about the last body part, but we can''t understand it." He presented a rather old parchment to Roland. Casting Language Proficiency on himself, Roland smiled and said, "This is exactly the last part." Then, he put five bags of gold coins in front of the young man. "This is your reward we agreed upon." "You are a straightforward man." The young man put five bags of gold coins into his system Backpack. "Do tell us if you ever need us to run errands for you again." The young man left in delight after acquiring a fortune. Roland looked at his system Backpack, only to find that he became poor again. He had made a fortune before, and gold coins were offered to him from the sacrifices at his statue, or he couldn''t have paid for the quest just now. Picking up the slim hand and leg bones, Roland walked to the lab on the third floor with the parchment. He held the parchment in his hand and transmitted his magic power to it. He was not transmitting the magic power randomly but in a fixed pattern. The parchment emitted blue light and disassembled into a big blue circle before Roland. Through the circle, Roland could see twisted views behind it. It was a dim world. A bloody plain stretched forward to the horizon. No plants or animals could be seen at all. Instead of rushing into the world, Roland waited patiently. Soon, the blue circle vanished and became the ragged parchment again. Roland stored the parchment in his system Backpack. The parchment was a magic scroll that had directions on it and could be used repetitively. Roland sensed that the scroll was malicious. That was why he didn''t jump into the magic gate. 474 How Can I Possibly Believe That? So, he would rather not die unless it was necessary. The maliciousness behind the magic gate was so intense that he had to be prepared even if it was a quest with copious rewards. Besides, there were lots of things on Roland''s plate right now. He wasn''t hasty at all. Reviewing the important administrative affairs, Roland found that Vivian was even better at administration than before. As it turned out, she was far more talented in administration than she was in magic. Reading all the files till the evening, Roland found that Vivian made no mistakes in any of the issues. Also, thanks to his friends'' protection, nobody dared to cause trouble in Delpon. The only thing that was unusual was probably the duels that the players had outside of the city. Since Andonara was the only NPC who could help the players transform into Great Swordsman, and many Warrior players would love to transform into Great Swordsmen, they had all come to Delpon. Some of them stayed here for a while. While the players had pity on the lives that could disappear, they weren''t as good-tempered toward their own kind who were undying too. It wasn''t illegal to kill a game character anyway. So, after they got drunk in the taverns and mocked each other, they often started to fight when fury got the better of them. Cage could take care of the weaker players with the guards, but if the stronger players caused trouble after they were drunk, Andonara had to take action. She was a Legendary Great Swordsman. Also, she was beautiful and had an enchanting body. Her performances were truly enjoyable. Many players recorded her battles and uploaded them to the forum. Now, Andonara''s popularity was soaring on the forum and almost surpassed Roland''s. Same as Margret the Dragoness, she had become an icon of this game. Half a month earlier, with her movement of stooping and lifting her dress behind her and her provocative line, she became a hit both in reality and on the Internet. Schuck, as the knight who rode her, became an enemy for most male players. At the same time, World of Falan had raised new reactions all over the world. The leaders of more and more countries negotiated with the producer about technology imports or suggested increasing oversea servers to give them hope for enjoying the game. However, they were all declined with the excuse that the safety of the technologies in this game wasn''t guaranteed and more tests were still required. However, money was still helpful when one had enough of it. For example, the CEOs of certain major corporations and the princes of certain countries, through all their prices and by paying a huge fortune, managed to get a few virtual cabins from the secondhand market. Because of the soul mark, they could barely go anywhere in the game, so they might as well sell the virtual cabins for money. This morning, after Roland quit the game and refreshed himself, he returned to his room. Staring at the key three meters away, he snapped his fingers, and a bright blue Hand of Magic appeared out of nowhere, seized the key from the table, and put it in Roland''s hand. Then, the Hand of Magic vanished. Roland took a deep breath. Though it was still slightly exhausting to use Hand of Magic, he wouldn''t pass out or have nosebleed again, which was much better than a year earlier. Holding the key, he went downstairs and rode a bike to the saber arts club in the suburbs. He went to the kitchen as usual after he reached the saber arts club, and Night Tide Sands put the wontons before him. She seemed to have anticipated that he would arrive at this hour. Then, Night Tide Sands sat down and kept Roland company. Night Tide Sands grew more and more approachable in the past year. She used to be cold and might throw a tantrum now and then, but at this moment, she was completely a gentle girl. Observing Roland for a moment, Night Tide Sands had noodles and said, "You look well. Your skin is fair and smooth. You seem to be getting the hang of the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life." "I must thank you for that," Roland said with a smile. "You''re welcome." Night Tide Sands narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Right, I need to tell you something. We''re going to close the saber arts club tomorrow. We have to go back to Shandong to pay tribute to our ancestors and General Qi. We''ll be away for around ten days." "Well, can I join you?" Night Tide Sands was stunned. Her face was full of surprise. Then, she became somewhat shy. "Why do you want to tag along?" "I want to ask General Qi''s descendants if they know any way of cultivation that''s better than the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life." Night Tide Sands pursed her lips in disappointment, but her face became gentle again. "If that''s all you want, you don''t have to take the trip. It''s already snowing in Shandong this time of the year. It''s much colder than here. I don''t think you can stand the cold." Roland chuckled. "Back when I was a college student in Xi''an, I took cold showers when it was snowing outside." "That was when you were eighteen. You''re almost thirty now. You think that''s the same?" Night Tide Sands rolled her eyes at him and continued, "I''ll ask the seniors in my family about the cultivation methods. Don''t worry about it." "Thank you." Night Tide Sands hummed in response and drank the soup in her bowl quietly. After breakfast, Night Tide Sands did the dishes. Having nothing to do, Roland came to the training ground under the shed. Several students were already training under the supervision of Qi Shaoqiu, who loudly scolded them when they did their moves wrong now and then. Roland walked to him and said, "I heard that you''re going to be in Shandong for ten days." "That''s right." Qi Shaoqiu nodded. "Anything on your mind?'' "I want to fight you." "We are as strong as each other. There has never been a winner between us." Qi Shaoqiu asked curiously, "Besides, is there nothing else on your mind?" "Why would I think about anything else? It''s not like you aren''t coming back." "Well That''s not right." Qi Shaoqiu heaved a helpless sight. "Forget it. There''s nothing but paste in the head of an inconsiderate straight man like you. You never wanted to fight me before. Why are you proposing a duel today?" "Because I think I know how to rein the saber with chi now, and I want to test it." Qi Shaoqiu turned solemn, and his dead fish eyes were glittering. "Are you serious?" "I''m not sure. That''s why I want to give it a try." Qi Shaoqiu snapped his fingers and threw the unlit cigarette in his mouth into a trashcan nearby. Then, they put on the protection gear, picked up their miaodao, and stood at the center of the cement field. The training students immediately made room for them. Holding the saber, Qi Shaoqiu asked solemnly, "Do I need to make any preparations?" "Just stay on alert. I''ll attack the moment I''m prepared without any warning, because my concentrated chi will disperse if I utter a word." "Got it." Qi Shaoqiu stepped back and took a lunge pose, which was the defensive posture in miaodao techniques. Roland took a deep breath and recalled the spell model of Body Fortification. He had specifically simplified it in advance. Invisible fluids flowed from Roland''s head to his torso and his limbs. Roland didn''t change on the surface, but Qi Shaoqiu clearly sensed that his vibe had changed drastically. Seriously? Roland moved while Qi Shaoqiu was still surprised. His right leg suddenly stepped forward, and he lifted his miaodao from the bottom on his left side. This was a tricky offensive move in the miaodao techniques. Human beings always reacted faster to the attacks that came from the front or from above, but they often couldn''t react to the attacks from below in as timely a manner. However, Qi Shaoqiu was too familiar with the miaodao techniques. He knew what Roland was up to the moment Roland made his pose. Therefore, he already started retreating the moment Roland moved. But only after half a step, Roland''s wooden miaodao cut his wooden breastplate and left a shallow mark on it in a light noise. How can he be so fast? Qi Shaoqiu was greatly shocked, as Roland''s attack was much faster than before. Theoretically, he should''ve been able to dodge the attack easily. While he was still surprised, the long miaodao in Roland''s hand quickly landed on Roland''s shoulder when it was raised to the highest point. Then, Roland stepped forth with his left leg and turned around, performing a round slash from his left side. The miaodao swooshed, and Qi Shaoqiu saw a streak of yellow light coming at him. He subconsciously placed the miaodao horizontally on his right side. Ba! The two wooden sabers collided and broke at the same time. Two pieces of the broken miaodaos rolled and rustled. They didn''t stop until they hit the cement stumps at the edge of the field and bounced two meters back. Qi Shaoqiu only managed to regain balance after taking four steps back. Staring at Roland for a moment, he turned his head and said to the other students, "You keep training." Then, holding the other half of the broken blade in his hand, he pulled Roland aside and asked him excitedly, "Why are you so much stronger and faster? Can you really control the saber with your chi now?" "I''m not sure, but I think I can." Roland didn''t divulge the role that Body Fortification played but simply said, "I can manage to control the air currents in the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life now." Besides, Roland could use magic only because the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life had been gathering chi for him. It wasn''t wrong of him to accredit the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life. Qi Shaoqiu was clearly thrilled. "That must be it. F*ck, the legends are true. You can really control an object with chi. I thought it was fake." "You are the descendant of a family of martial arts. How can you not believe that an object can be controlled with chi?" "How can I possibly believe it? Nobody in my family can do that. It''s just a legend. I''m the one in my family with the best miaodao expertise. Who can convince me that it''s possible?" Qi Shaoqiu retorted angrily. "Besides, too many counterfeit chi masters are out there. Just yesterday, a chi master was beaten up by a young man who practiced free combat in five seconds. So, how can I possibly believe that an object can be controlled with chi?" 475 Poisons Only those who practiced cold weapons were still persisting in martial arts stubbornly. As a result, many ancient tricks had been lost, such as chi gung and controlling objects with chi. Qi Shaoqiu didn''t quite believe that. Like he said, many people in the Qi family had practiced martial arts and saber skills. Some even practiced for their entire life. They should''ve been able to achieve something, but none of them had ever offered any extraordinary performances. Even his sister Night Tide Sands, who had started practicing the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life at fourteen, only claimed that she could sense chi. After all these years, she merely had a fairer and better skin. He always thought that it was a breathing technique that could adjust the endocrine system, and that it was essentially no different from physical exercises or yoga. However, Roland had demonstrated an unusual ability. Although it was nothing but a higher strength and speed, Qi Shaoqiu, as a seasoned trainer who had practiced saber arts for a dozen years, could tell that Roland had broken the upper limit of his strength just now. Roland was a lot stronger and faster than he should''ve been a moment earlier. He couldn''t have been boosted so much even if he had taken stimulants. The effect of stimulants was limited. They could only increase the body potential by a certain percentage. Even so, the tiny improvement could be the key to victory for some top athletes. However, by Qi Shaoqiu''s estimation, Roland''s outburst of strength and speed had been improved by at least fifteen percent just now. Looking at Roland, who looked exhausted, he remarked, "It seems that controlling items with chi is very exhausting." "I don''t have enough chi." Roland smiled. "I haven''t cultivated it enough yet." It was very natural, as Roland had never learned the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life until two years previously. Qi Shaoqiu suddenly thought of something. "Can my sister learn this trick?" "I''m not clear." Roland shook his head. "But I don''t think that Night Tide Sands has as much chi as I do." Qi Shaoqiu was lost for words. "Are you saying that you are a genius who''s better than my sister who has cultivated chi for ten years?" Roland nodded solemnly. "I think so." "F*ck." Qi Shaoqiu was rather angry. He never practiced the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life only because he didn''t have the talent to cultivate chi. As for his sister Qi Shaosha That was her real name on the family pedigree. Both of them belonged to the Shao generation. His sister was a top genius in chi cultivation in his family, but she still couldn''t compare to Roland, who only cultivated it for a year, after cultivating for more than ten years. Therefore, he might as well give it up. Immediately, Qi Shaoqiu lost interest in the trick of controlling items with chi. Heaving a sigh, Qi Shaoqiu sat to the side and felt lost. Though the business in his saber arts club was thriving, he was at a loss about what he should do next. He felt that his heart was vacant. Roland stayed in the saber arts club for another while, but his friends didn''t come. He thought for a moment and realized the reason. His friends went to another city that had shrines of the God of Love. Hehe They probably overdid themselves again, and they were so exhausted that they were weakened in reality. Roland secretly mocked them. Then, he subconsciously touched his back and suddenly realized that he was in no position to judge them. Returning home from the saber arts club, he was about to go upstairs, when his mother stopped him. "Son, your aunt set up a blind date for you. Do you want to meet the girl tonight?" A blind date? Roland was briefly stunned. Then, he realized that he was 26 and about to be in his thirties. No wonder his mother had blind dates arranged for him. "No, thanks. I have to play the game at night." "It won''t matter if you play less games or earn less money." His mother tried to persuade him. "It''s a rare opportunity. I''m told that the girl is great." "I don''t care how great she is." Roland waved his hand. "Mom, we are a rich family now. It''s time that we pick girls, not be picked by them. After I make money, there will be plenty of girls who are willing to marry me even if I turn forty. So, don''t be hasty. I can be married someday." After that, Roland went upstairs. His mother heaved a sigh. In fact, Roland wasn''t interested in the blind date because he didn''t think the girl he was supposed to meet could be very great. She probably wouldn''t be two-thirds as great as Vivian, not to mention Andonara. Besides, if the girl were really great, she probably would''ve gotten a boyfriend when she was still in college, or after she just graduated, instead of being set up on a blind date. Even if he had to go on blind dates, the girls he met should at least be as good as Night Tide Sands. While thinking about that, Roland sat cross-legged on his bed and continued practicing the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life. At night, Roland lay down in the virtual cabin and entered the game world. It was another day. Roland continued handling the issues in Delpon. Thanks to the stable and safe environment, more and more people were willing to do business and live in Delpon. Naturally, the tax revenues had increased. Also, things were going on in the satellite city, which didn''t require any more funding from the main city anymore. On the contrary, the satellite city was able to submit one or two gold coins as tax every month. That was a great change. In the afternoon, Douglas, whom Roland hadn''t seen for a long time, came to chat with him. Roland received him at the study. Drinking the fruit wine, Douglas said with a smile, "I''m told that you went to the holy land of the Mages. Congratulations." "Is the news out already?" "A lot of intelligence can''t be kept a secret." Douglas paused a moment and stared at Roland in the eyes. "It''s the same in reality." Huh? Roland looked at Douglas. "Roland, you and Schuck are too distinguished. Many people are looking for you. They''re working hard to search for and confirm intelligence." Roland frowned. "Why?" "Everybody in the world knows the dragoness now. Too many men regard her as their dream lover," Douglas explained. "Also, your queen has grown famous too. Many magnates and powerful men like mature women like her." Roland already understood Douglas''s meaning. "Plus, Schuck is a dragon knight, and you are the best Mage!" Douglas heaved a sigh. "You know that my parents are rich and my grandparents are powerful. In my circle, someone has tested that, if you give your virtual cabin to another person, it''s possible for that person to play as your game character." Roland softly put down his cup. Douglas said worriedly, "They want to find you and acquire your virtual cabins through whatever means possible. Then, they will be Schuck and Roland, and they will own the dragoness and the queen." Roland''s face darkened. "Therefore, Roland, you''d better keep the lowest profile in reality." Roland took a deep breath. "Got it. Thanks." "You''re welcome. That''s what a friend should do." Douglas stood up. "In any case, as a member of the Delpon Magic Tower, I''m naturally on your side." Then, they chatted for a while, and Douglas left. Roland sat quietly for a moment, before he dealt with the administrative affairs again. He didn''t need to care too much about the things in reality. For now, he only needed to learn more spells and comprehend more magic theories. After he became stronger in the game, he would become stronger by practicing the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life in reality. When he was strong enough, he would be able to fight back even if anyone came to him for trouble. In Andonara''s company, the five days passed very quickly. His friends were back, but they all looked awful and pale. Roland teleported himself to the edge of the Red Magic Tower and returned to his manor. Hardly had he passed the hole on the wall when a shadow dashed to him quickly. Then, she circled around him several times and then squatted on the ground. The catgirl looked at Roland pitifully. "What took you so long?" "It was a five-day vacation. I took a trip to other places." Roland walked in while he talked. "You freaked me out. I thought you were gone again." The cat-humans were sensitive and curious creatures. They loved running about and visiting all kinds of places. It was hard for their family or master to see them. But if their family or master was gone for days, they would be scared and stay at home waiting for their family or master to come back, fearing that they were abandoned. But the moment their master returned, the cat-humans would instantly forget their fear and begin to wander about again. "I''m not really your master anyway. Wouldn''t it be better if I were gone?" Roland smiled. "This place would all be yours." "I don''t want it. It''s too huge and scary for me to live here alone," said Marilyn unhappily. Roland clicked his tongue. "It seems that I''m the servant between you and me." "What are you talking about? I don''t understand." Marilyn shook her head and said, "I''m relieved now that you''re back. Remember to inform me next time you go out, or I will be worried." Roland smiled and entered his own house. Marilyn stayed at the door for a moment, before she ran out of the manor stealthily. After cleaning up the yard with a dozen Hands of Magic and tools, Roland intended to spend some time in the library. At this moment, a guest came to visit. It was Murphy. "If you''re not occupied, can we have a chat?" Roland said with a smile, "Of course we can. Why don''t we talk inside?" "That''s unnecessary. I only have one question." Holding his hands in the loose sleeves of his magic robe, Murphy said, "What kind of world do the Golden Sons live in?" Roland raised his eyebrow. "Why are you asking that?" "Because of curiosity, which every regular Mage has. An alternate dimension is always mysterious," replied Murphy casually. "Mysteries are addictive poisons." 476 I Have Special Ways to Make Money Therefore, Roland completely understood Murphy. Murphy was probably thinking that, if the Golden Sons could come to his world, he should be able to go to theirs. Theoretically speaking, one could go anywhere with teleportation as long as they had enough magic power and knew the magic beacon of their destination. They could even go to the Realm of Gods and the Realm of Devils. In fact, Roland had similar thoughts. If this world was real, then he should be able to be teleported to reality with his character in the game. However, there was still a big problem. Teleportation required beacons. In reality, Roland could only use the simplified version of Body Fortification, and teleportation, which was essentially a level-three spell, was too difficult for him to use. Setting up magic beacons was a level-three spell too. His body in reality was pathetically weak compared to his body in the game. Therefore, there was no telling when he would be able to leave beacons in reality. However, since he was able to cast some simple spells in reality, he had finally made the first step. Roland knew exactly how Murphy felt, but he refused to answer his questions. "Sorry, but before we came to this world, we had signed a contract that prevented us from talking about our world." Murphy frowned. "A contract with the gods?" "You may think so." Since the system automatically censored certain words, the NPCs couldn''t hear it even if Roland spoke of the truth. Besides, it didn''t seem wrong to regard the system as a god. Murphy seemed very disappointed after hearing Roland out. Although he was a Legendary Mage, there was still a major gap between him and a god. In order to get a chance to fight the weakest god, he would at least have to become a demigod. Mordenkainen and Melf were the only two geniuses who were able to have head-on clashes with gods when they were still Legends. It meant that it was impossible for Murphy to catch Roland and extract his memories with Soul Interrogation. No wonder the intelligence said that the souls of Golden Sons were protected by natural laws. So, it was because they were under the protection of the gods. Murphy heaved a sigh and left. Now that the holiday was over, Roland continued his busy life. Time always flew fast when he swam in the ocean of knowledge. Half a year later, the lessons on basic magic theories were over, and lessons on Enchantment were added. The new lessons made Roland, as well as Betta, even more addicted. Having been tortured hellishly before the College Entrance Exam, they were completely diligent and concentrated when they were in their learning state. While most of the Mages in this world were hardworking too, they would always spend some time on parties, banquets, and other social activities. That was their instinct, deeply rooted in their noble blood. When they were hitting on girls, Roland and Betta were studying. When they were drinking and chatting, Roland and Betta were studying. When they traveled to other cities for fun, Roland and Betta were still studying. Besides, players didn''t need to sleep. Roland and Betta had more knowledge than them in the first place. After the half-year, their knowledge on magic theories had soared. They also learned a dozen more spells. That was not everything. Betta had gone up straight to level seven, and Roland only needed to fill the last fifth of his EXP bar to reach level nine. Both of them had earned a lot. Moreover, after spending more than half a year in the library, Roland had finally learned everything about magic arrays. However, Roland was not in a hurry to conduct experiments on magic arrays. Instead, he pretended that nothing happened and kept reading books in the library. Another two months passed, and the final exam of the first semester began. Everybody in the Ruby Class passed the exam. That was not a surprise, because they all asked Roland whenever they had any questions, and Roland was always glad to answer those questions. Thanks to Roland, the average expertise of the Ruby Class was probably the best in history. After the first semester was over, the Ruby Class had a holiday. Most students rented a magic boat and flew back to their hometown. Roland, on the other hand, stuffed lots of food in his backpack and waited for Marilyn to return. Just like before, the catgirl was rarely at home. "I''m going to be away from the Red Magic Tower for a while. Be careful, okay?" "Can you stay, Roland?" asked the catgirl unhappily. "I''ll be scared if you''re not at home." Roland smiled. "Then how did you overcome your fear before I came here? Besides, you''re wearing the most expensive slave collar. Nobody will dare to come to you for trouble. If you''re really worried, just stay at home more often instead of going out." Okay The catgirl returned to her small building in disappointment. Roland went to Betta meaning to ask him what he had planned for the holiday, only to discover that Betta was gone. The guy seemed to have run off quickly and mysteriously the moment the school was over. However, everybody had their secrets. Roland would rather not pry into Betta''s. He flew out of the Red Magic Tower with Human Cannonball in a random direction over the continent that was full of red sandstone. After flying almost a thousand kilometers for half a day, he landed. Through Stone to Mud and Mud to Stone, he built a three-story square building that had an extremely thick wall in the middle of the red sandstone. The wall was two meters thick, enough to prevent the desert sun from delivering its heat into the building. It was very cool inside the building. After a brief rest, Roland put on his entire set of mana regeneration equipment and took out the magic materials from his Backpack. Then, he began to draw magic arrays on the floor. After the learning recently, he had realized that magic arrays were essentially a copier and an energy magnifier. The stripes on the magic arrays could be considered as circuits that were connected in series or parallel to each other. The nodes on the magic arrays could be considered as capacitors to store magic power. The combination of the nodes would be logic boards that could "display" the preset magic models. The different designs with serial or parallel connections would decide the energy output when a magic array was displaying a spell, as well as the maximum number of spells that could be displayed at the same time. Everything became simple after Roland figured that out. Actually, Roland wasn''t very familiar with circuits. If the players who majored in circuit analysis and design were to study it, it would''ve probably only taken them one to two months to grasp the knowledge instead of half a year. After drawing a magic array, Roland filled the magic model of teleportation in. Because it was his first experiment, he made a conservative design and set the capacity of the teleportation to one. He had to make sure that the magic array could run successfully first. After filling in the model of teleportation, Roland began to transmit magic power into the array. The stripes glittered one after another, and the whole magic array was glowing by the end. Taking a deep breath, Roland took out a dead bird and tossed it into the magic array. Very soon, the array hummed, and the stripes glowed brighter and brighter. Roland stared at the stripes so hard that he dared not blink his eyes. Two seconds later, the dead bird in the magic array faded away. Simultaneously, the magic array lost its brilliance. Roland snapped his fingers and teleported himself to a wasteland near the Red Magic Tower. A dead bird was lying right next to his feet. It worked! Roland clenched his fists. Then, he teleported himself back to Delpon. He spent two days with Andonara and Vivian first. After that, he found his friends, who were idling in the small manor that Li Lin had bought. Hardly had Roland entered the room when he heard them moaning, "Ah, we don''t have any money. We can''t buy any equipment." "Wait, haven''t I been giving you wages every month?" asked Roland curiously. "They''re all used up," said Raffel gloomily. "The girls who believed in the God of Love are skilled, but also very costly." Fine. They must''ve spent all their money on physical entertainment. Li Lin wasn''t short of money, but he couldn''t just offer his money to his friends. His friends wouldn''t take his money, either. Roland''s eyes suddenly glittered. "Let''s go make money together." "How?" All four of them looked at Roland. "As traveling merchants." Tsk! Li Lin lay back on the bed. "Traveling merchants can make a lot of money, but it''s too time-consuming. It''s not unusual for you to spend half a year on one business trip. Do you not need to study in the Red Magic Tower or administrate this city?" "What if all of us can teleport?" All the four of them jumped to their feet in shock. They asked simultaneously, "Is there a way you can take us during your teleportation?" "Of course there is." Roland smiled. Seven days later, a video post on the forum caused discomfort to almost all the players. The video was about a Mage who worked as a traveling merchant. In the picture, Roland drew a magic array and took some other people to the desert, where they procured countless Red Sand Fruits at a very low price. Then, they swooshed to the Froststar Kingdom. In the country of know where all fruits were in demand, the Red Sand Fruits were sold for three silver coins for kilogram, and Roland and his friends each earned more than thirty gold coins from this one trip. Also, it only took them one day to purchase the fruits and then sell them out. Then, they sold the Red Sand Fruits again and again in Fareins and Urganda, to dwarves, hybrids, and even elves. The elves loved fruits. Besides, the Red Sand Fruits could build up masculinity. Since the male elves mostly looked feminine, they liked such fruits very much. After six days, Roland and his friends each made more than two hundred gold coins. At this moment, Roland felt that he was reaching his limit. His magic power was not running out, but his mental power had almost been exhausted. This teleportation magic array wasn''t perfect yet and would break down after several uses. Also, it was a huge burden on the mind and the soul, as if it were a powerful magic attack on the soul. Roland estimated that it would take him at least a week before he could be fully recovered. But it was all worth it. Both himself and his friends had made a huge fortune. Also, at the home of the Red Sand Fruits, the price of the Red Sand Fruits had risen to one silver coin per kilogram because of their popular demand. Therefore, the profit had plummeted. It was time that they took a rest. Below the thread, all the replies were the same. "Master Roland, please take me to the sky once! Please! Once will be enough!" 477 The Hostesss Gravitas They were like advanced artilleries that needed protection. That was the case for regular Mages, and most other players'' stereotypes of them. However, Roland had managed to inform other players of what a top Mage was capable of with all the things that he did. He was good at dealing damage, surviving, quick movement, healing, and even making money crazily with magic. He was really omnipotent. Also, Roland''s level wasn''t too high yet. He wasn''t even a Master. What would happen when someone like him became a Legend? On the forum, everybody discussed the pecuniary prospects of the Mage as a class. At this moment, Roland was taking a rest in his manor in Delpon after making a fortune. Half of the money he made was transferred to Vivian. Vivian was the manager of the Magic Tower and the magic school now. Although the taxes of the city and the businesses of the Magic Tower had created a lot of revenue, she could barely make ends meet. Training a large batch of apprentices was too costly. Her management would be a lot easier if she had more funding. Actually, Andonara was now a rich lady too. Because she charged a high commission when she helped the players transform into Great Swordsmen, she had saved more than five hundred gold coins. Even many grand nobles didn''t have this much money in their family. Roland spent one month in Delpon, and he barely saw his friends who had also made a fortune during this month. He didn''t even need to think to know where they had gone to. After the month, when the new semester was about to begin, his friends returned as exhausted as before. Roland looked at them and heaved a sigh. "You''ll be left behind if you goof around with the women of the Church of Love all the time instead of gaining experience." Li Lin said unconcernedly, "Don''t worry, all of us are believers of the God of Love now. We can get experience by playing games with the girls of the Church of Love. I''ve already made one level-up." Roland snorted. "That''s really a good thing, isn''t it?" "Don''t tell others." Lying on his bed, Li Lin waved his hand and said, "If more people know this, we''ll have more competitors, and it will be hard for us to level up so easily while we have fun." "Got it." Roland shook his head helplessly. After saying goodbye to his friends, Roland left the city with Andonara and drew a one-time magic array, taking her straight to the Red Magic Tower. Even so, Andonara still gagged next to Roland for almost five minutes, face pale. This was the first time that Andonara had experienced a long-distance teleportation. When Roland tried it for the first time, he vomited for more than half an hour. Andonara, in comparison, only gagged for five minutes. She was evidently sturdier. The two of them entered the Red Magic Tower and returned to Roland''s manor. After they entered the manor, Marilyn ran out of her building when she heard the voices. But when she saw Andonara, her hair bristled, and she immediately retreated to her building. As a catgirl who had keen intuition, she could tell that Andonara was very strong, so strong that she could pinch her into a pulp of meat with two fingers. Holding Roland''s hand with a smile, Andonara asked, "She is one pretty catgirl. Have you touched her yet?" "No." Roland shook his head. "That''s unnecessary." "Really?" Andonara became happy. She knew that Roland wouldn''t lie to her about stuff like this. Roland told her about the catgirl. After hearing him out, Andonara remarked, "Tsk, the cat-humans are all ungrateful and unrestrained. The royal family had a catman slave before, but he couldn''t be domesticated at all. Eventually, the king burst into fury, chopped him into pieces, and fed him to the fish in the moat." Andonara''s voice was louder than usual, as if she intended for the catgirl to hear it. As it turned out, a translucent shadow quickly flashed out of the small building a moment later, but Andonara blinked a dozen meters away and grabbed the back of Marilyn''s neck after she revealed herself. "Roland, give this little creature to me." Andonara looked at the enormous stone building before her. "This place is so large that it needs to be cleaned by someone. I''ll buy a batch of servants and make this place more decent. Now that I''m here, I have to create a home for you where you can live a comfortable life." Roland said with a smile, "It''s all yours." As a queen, Andonara was certainly better than Vivian in terms of home management. Earlier in Delpon, she had been running Roland''s manor too, and everything was well-organized. Marilyn shrunk her body and dared not struggle at all. Intuitively, she knew that her good days had come to an end. The new semester began. Over the last half-year, a lot had changed in the Red Magic Tower. On the campus, in particular, the unreasonable tradition that the juniors must make way for the seniors had disappeared. Also, the seniors dared not ask the juniors to run errands for them anymore. After all, Roland and Betta were always ready to teach them a lesson. More importantly, the atmosphere of learning was quite intense in all three classes. Motivated by Roland and Betta, two studying maniacs, the other students became more diligent than before. However, it was actually the mentors who were most shocked. Over the past half-year, Roland had become acquainted with all the senior mentors, including a few elders. Every time he happened upon a problem, Roland would take some gifts and ask them about it regardless of whether or not they taught the Ruby Class. At first, the mentors could answer Roland''s questions easily. But after the new semester began, Roland was starting to ask questions about the advanced application of magic arrays and the sophisticated tricks in matter transition. For example, how could the capacity of the nodes in a magic array be increased without breaking their upper limit? Or, how could the magic elements be mutually transformed in a magic array? Those questions were tricky even for the Legendary Mages. The fact that Roland was asking such questions suggested that he was on his path to becoming a Legend. Although Roland didn''t become much stronger, he was more and more fluent in magic theories. But everybody knew that, once you laid a solid foundation, you would make progress easily later. Almost all the mentors had realized that Roland had an unimaginable future. For that, a special meeting was held among the Council of Elders. "I have a proposal," said Alfred. "What do you think of transferring Roland to the Meteorite Class and Betta to the Obsidian Class?" "No objection here." All the elders nodded. They had all witnessed the progress that Roland and Betta made. Staying in the Ruby Class would be a waste of their talents. They would be held back. "Also, the annual communication meeting will take place two months from now," said Alfred. "I suggest that Roland and Betta be taken as two of the ten accompanying students with us." "I have no objection." "Seconded." The decision was passed without any objections. Roland and Betta''s class transfer was quite influential. Understandably, the Meteorite Class and the Obsidian Class weren''t too happy. The Ruby Class wasn''t happy either. Both Roland and Betta were willing to share. With their help, everybody in the Ruby Class had someone to turn to whenever they had questions, and they had been progressing much faster than before. But if Roland and Betta were transferred away, they would be in no position to ask them questions any longer. Roland didn''t think much. Personally, he was quite delighted to be transferred to the Meteorite Class. He had already sensed that Triton and Montasisa couldn''t meet his needs anymore. The three teachers who were responsible for teaching the Meteorite Class, in comparison, were all Legends. They were definitely much more capable. As he expected, after three days of classes, Roland found that some of the problems and puzzles that had been bothering him were resolved easily. The optimization of magic arrays was exactly one of those problems. Magic materials were required to draw a magic array. Depending on their size and function, a magic array needed at least one gold coin''s worth of materials, and a massive magic array could easily cost a hundred gold coins. The teleportation magic array to teleport multiple people demanded more than five gold coins'' worth of materials. A large one that could teleport a hundred people at once might cost a hundred gold coins. Therefore, the magic arrays had to be optimized in order to be promoted and popularized. Their cost had to be lowered. Mr. Freud, who taught the Meteorite Class, came up with a trick, which was to manufacture magic arrays with molds. Specifically speaking, he extracted the sap of a cheap magic herb, poured it into a mold, and then "printed" a magic array on the ground. The sap of this magic herb was magically conductive but also highly volatile. So, the magic array would disappear after it was used once. As a result, not only could a magic array be quickly formed this way, but it would also disappear after being used. So, the magic array could be kept a secret, and nobody could steal it. The magic arrays created with such a trick couldn''t cost more than one silver coin per usage. The smaller magic arrays would probably only cost a dozen coppers. But Freud didn''t specify what materials were best to be made into molds, or what materials were most suitable as the stripes of the magic arrays. He asked the students to experiment to find out. That was his unique trick that he wouldn''t fully divulge easily. Roland had to admit that every Legend had his or her personal advantages. Roland returned to his manor, which had already become very beautiful with a large flat lawn and a nice stone road. There were also a dozen plain-looking maids who were busy working. Andonara, on the other hand, was sitting before the house with a round table in front of her. Marilyn, wearing a black-and-white suit for maids, was pitifully being scolded by her. "As I''ve said a million times, the bed belongs to me and Roland. Don''t just crawl underneath every soft, furry blanket and sleep there, or Roland might mistake you for me, take off all your clothes, and do you." Roland was immediately lost for words. 478 I Want to Make a Fortune Without Doing Anything Too 3 in 1 Since Roland was approachable and easy to talk to, Marilyn was quite "haughty" in front of him and treated him as a tool that provided help for her. But of course, she did not dare to be too outrageous. Catgirls were all good at sizing up the situation and taking advantage of other people. But Andonara was different. The queen was quite experienced in managing female servants and slaves. Also, more importantly, she was a Legendary Great Swordsman. From her identity, to her stance, to her strength, she crushed the catgirl in every aspect. The catgirl did not dare to resist, and she could not run away either. Her speed, which she had always been proud of, was absolutely useless in front of Andonara, a Hero. Therefore, the catgirl had no choice except to accept her commands obediently. The moment Roland returned to his manor, Andonara dragged him into the room, and hot food was served. The place felt like home now. Earlier, when he came home alone, the stone building was cold and lifeless. Roland didn''t really mind. After all, he could barely notice anything else once he was devoted to magic experiments. His life was busy, and time always flew quickly. However, it was truly comfortable and cheerful that he was welcomed every time he came home. He tasted the delicious and succulent sauced meat. He knew that the food was made by Andonara after the first bite. Andonara ate the same meat graciously next to him. Drinking a mouthful of the fruit wine, Roland asked, "It''s been a while since you came here. What do you think of this place?" "It''s not bad." Andonara spoke casually. "Although the weather is dry and not very kind to a woman''s skin, this place is my paradise because you''re here." Roland heaved a sigh. To be honest, he felt that he had just been flirted with. On the other hand, Andonara would say similar things multiple times a day. After he listened to her too many times, Roland always had the feeling that he would be exalted to the sky in the next moment. He never realized that he was so great and important! "What I wanted to ask you is whether or not anyone came to you for trouble," Roland said with a smile. Beautiful girls were a rare resource in every world, and their beauty could turn out to be their burden on many occasions. Andonara shook her head. "No, the people here are all quite nice." Roland was greatly reassured. Actually, Andonara hid some of the truth, as she had indeed run into some minor trouble when she got those maids a while back. However, the trouble wasn''t really trouble for a Legendary Great Swordsman. The two Legendary Mages weren''t fully convinced, but seeing that she wasn''t hostile, they simply backed off. Since then, Roland''s manor had been monitored by them. But Roland was too concentrated on magic knowledge to notice that the manor was being watched. The surveillance wasn''t canceled until a couple of days earlier. The Red Magic Tower had probably acquired intelligence on Andonara''s identity and confirmed that she was indeed Roland''s woman. Because Andonara was here, about half of the time that Roland used to spend on studying magic was cut off. After all, Andonara was fond of pleasing Roland. When she saw that Roland was happy, she would be happy herself. While Roland was physically happy, she was spiritually happy. Although he lost a few working hours every day, Roland''s magic studies and his grades weren''t greatly affected. After all, one''s efficiency in working and studying could be significantly increased when one was in a joyful mood. For example, there were certain couples who were all smart students. They did not spend any more time studying than other people did, but their grades were always much higher than their classmates''. It was exactly because they were more likely to motivate each other as lovers. After another two months, Roland optimized the teleportation magic array again. The maximal distance of teleportation was increased by around twenty percent, and the magic materials cost was reduced by ten percent. During the optimization, he understood lots of other theories while he did the actual work, especially theories regarding Enchantment. Some of the fundamental theories of magic arrays could be applied to Enchantment too. On this day, when the school was over and he was about to return to his manor, Freud stopped him. "Roland, we will take part in the annual academic meeting in the Monochrome Magic Tower three days from now," said Freud. "The Council of Elders has decided that you will come along." Roland''s eyes glittered after he heard that. "The Monochrome Magic Tower that specializes in spatial magic?" Freud''s heart palpitated when he saw the excitement and earnestness on Roland''s face, but he did not reveal his concerns outwardly. Instead, he simply said, "That''s exactly the Monochrome Magic Tower I mean. You prepare yourself, because there will be minor contests between the students by then." After a brief shock, Roland immediately realized what was going on. He replied, "Okay, I''ll be prepared!" Roland understood these sorts of things too well. It happened in every family when their relatives visited them during the Spring Festival or other festivals. "Dear god, my child''s grades are really worrying me. He was so careless that he didn''t get a full score on his essay. He almost lost the first place in his school to someone else because of that." "Hehe. My child has passed the test and is now a Grade Eight Pianist." "Your children are both so awesome. My child can''t compare to them at all. He doesn''t go to school at all but keeps playing games and yelling. I really think he''s done." "That won''t do. You need to get a job for him. He will be rotten if he stays at home all the time." "I''ve tried to. I managed to get him a job at a friend''s company, but he was unwilling to take the job because the pay was no more than one-tenth of what he could earn from streaming per month." "How much money does your child make in a month through streaming?" "Not very much. He only earns slightly more than fifty thousand yuan." Then, the atmosphere would turn cold. Roland had too many similar experiences, but the good thing was that he had always been the excellent kid that other parents told their children to learn after. Even Schuck had to be crushed by him on these occasions even though he was handsome. After all, no parents advocated early love, so Schuck could not defend himself with the one thing that he was better at than Roland. Because he knew it too well, Roland wasn''t surprised at all. After he returned to the manor, Roland shared the arrangement with Andonara. Andonara immediately heaved a sigh. "I wish I could go with you as your servant." After a brief daze, Roland clapped his hands. "That does seem viable, but it means you''d have to put on a slave collar. I don''t think you''d like that." "That''s nothing bad. It will be an interesting game." Andonara approached Roland and wiggled in his arms, slightly parting her red lips. "You can even ask me to call you Daddy if you like." Roland subconsciously felt a chill. On the other hand, Freud came to Alfred the Great Elder. "Roland seems very interested in the Monochrome Magic Tower. You know that the people at the Monochrome Magic Tower have no boundaries whatsoever. They won''t hesitate to do anything in order to draw the talents to them." Freud moved a chair opposite the Great Elder and sat down, before he continued, "Are you not afraid that the Monochrome Magic Tower will try to poach Roland during the academic meeting?" The Great Elder put down his quill and said with a smile, "Of course I''m afraid of that, but the odds of that are very slim. Intelligence regarding Roland has been delivered to me frequently. Based on our judgment, he is a man who appreciates loyalty and who has his own boundaries. If we don''t give the slightest trust to him, there will be few people in this world that we can trust." "You really think so highly of him?" "I trust the intelligence that I''ve read." Alfred continued, "Even if he were faking his personality, he wouldn''t gain much by betraying the Red Magic Tower. The Monochrome Magic Tower is better than us in terms of spatial magic, but not by very much. Roland is too smart to neglect that. If he has been faking his personality all this time, it''s all the less likely that he will betray us. A great schemer won''t betray anyone unless the rewards are great enough." Freud thought for a moment and realized that the Great Elder had a point. "Right, what''s with the Legendary Great Swordsman?" Alfred frowned and asked, "Isn''t Roland a Golden Son from an alternate dimension? How could he have gotten himself a Legendary Great Swordsman? That''s something that even the Red Magic Tower can''t achieve." The Great Elder said with an envious look on his face, "She is also a queen!" "A queen!?" Freud exclaimed in shock. "Why did the queen elope with him?" "There''s more to it. The royal family of Hollevin did not put their names on the wanted list at all. Even the queen''s title hasn''t been stripped as of yet." Freud couldn''t help but let out a hiss. "What exactly happened? I''m very curious." "I was going to tell this at the regular meeting tomorrow. I''ve acquired the intelligence about the Legendary queen. Since you want to hear it, I can tell it to you first." Alfred told him all the information concerning Andonara. Most of the intelligence was correct, except that the incident where Andonara drank her ancestor''s blood and activated the Hero bloodline wasn''t mentioned. The intelligence simply said "Queen Andonara finally activated the Hero''s power in her body" and that was it. "What a lucky boy." Freud heaved a sigh. His body had grown old, but his heart wasn''t old yet. Besides, as a Mage, he had a hundred ways to rejuvenate himself. That woman was a queen and a Legendary Swordsman. Her identity was too appealing. Besides, she was also a super pretty lady. Why had he never run into any women like her? Of course, that was only a thought in Freud''s head. He wasn''t planning anything evil. A Legendary Swordsman wasn''t someone that he could piss off. Time passed by quickly, and soon, it was already the third day. An enormous magic boat had landed in the square at the middle district of the Red Magic Tower. The boat had been crafted with the technologies of the Red Magic Tower. It was 65 meters long, 23 meters wide, and 15 meters tall. Made of mystic black wood, it was extremely solid. While this boat was utter crap compared to Mordenkainen''s floating city, it was nevertheless a fancy vehicle in Roland''s eyes at this moment. The magic arrays on the boat, in particular, contained more knowledge than what Roland was aware of. But he wasn''t too bothered. He simply circled around the boat and took a photo of all the magic arrays. Then, he kept moving around the boat and scrutinizing it. Whenever he could understand something, he would go on from there, and if it got too confusing, he would move on to the next part. When he learned something new, he would wave his arms and legs crazily as if he were insane. But nobody laughed at him. All the mentors were aware of Roland''s expertise. They knew that Roland could understand lots of things, and that he was only waving his arms and legs because he learned something. For those who were inept, their mind would be disturbed the moment they drew close to the magic arrays without looking at the magic arrays at all. Nobody except the mentors and Roland could approach the magic arrays on the boat and examine them devotedly. At the same time, Betta was holding the rails on the boat and exclaiming nonstop while he hopped and jumped. He seemed even crazier than Roland. Andonara stood aside and looked at Roland with a smile. She was wearing glamorous clothes and holding a longsword, but there was a wooden magic lock on her neck, which was a symbol of slavery. However, nobody at the square dared to treat her like a regular slave. The mentors who led the team had all been informed of Andonara''s identity. Looking at her attire which was graceful but appeared to have been sullied, they found her thrilling and provocative. They all cried to themselves that the students nowadays really knew how to play. The students had even less courage to look at Andonara. They admired strong individuals even more than regular people did. Roland suppressed the Meteorite Class when he first came to school. After a semester, Roland had grown even stronger, and the students were too awed by him to put up any resistance against him. They had learned that Andonara was Roland''s woman, so they would rather keep a distance from her. Also, some of the students knew that Andonara was also a great fighter besides being beautiful. Seeing that Roland and Betta were both reading the magic arrays, the mentors did not give the order to take off immediately. They simply waited at the square. They waited from morning to noon, but Roland and Betta were still examining the magic arrays. The mentors chit-chatted with each other, and the other eight students simply stood there with their servants. When evening came, Roland finally came back to himself. He left the magic arrays, and Andonara immediately fed the Red Sand Fruits that she had prepared in advance into Roland''s mouth gently. One of the students said jealously, "If I had a maid like her, I would have to eat Red Sand Fruits every day too." All the mentors put on sympathetic smiles. Very soon, Betta returned from the magic arrays. He had learned a lot too. They apologized to the mentors first and then to the other students. Alfred asked with a smile, "Roland, Betta, what have you learned?" "I''ve found a node formation on the body of this magic boat that can adjust the frequency of the magic power outputted by a magic array. I can increase or lower the magic power the way I want." That particular node formation could be compared to an adjustable inductor on a circuit board. Alfred looked at Betta again. "What about you?" "I''ve learned how to switch a magic array on and off." Betta chuckled. "I''m not as smart as Brother Roland." But Alfred was already satisfied. "Not bad, not bad. Both of you have learned a lot. The whole day of waiting was totally worth it." He looked at the other eight students, who were all from the Meteorite Class, and shook his head. "How can the gap between him and you be so huge?" The eight students faintly heard what the Great Elder said. They were all frustrated. Before Roland and Betta came, they had been the superstars of tomorrow that everybody thought highly of. But after Roland and Betta came, they became unimportant side characters. Then, everybody boarded the magic boat. The magic boat was activated and flew westward. This place wasn''t too far away from the Monochrome Magic Tower, and the magic boat wasn''t flying very fast. Its speed was merely around seventy kilometers per hour. Although the magic boat was very large in size, its balance was well-kept during the flight. Every student was given an independent room. Naturally, Roland and Andonara got one too. At first, Andonara intended to help Roland take care of his physical needs, but seeing that Roland was sitting still, she knew that he must be considering magic questions. Therefore, she didn''t do anything and simply fell asleep in her clothes. On the other hand, Roland had connected himself to the forum. He posted the graph of the teleportation magic array, with the note that the teleportation magic array wasn''t a magic trick that had never appeared before, because Mordenkainen was capable of that in the legends. He had merely found this trick that had been lost for a long time, and it was pointless to offer it to the Goddess of Magic. After making the thread, Roland read other players'' posts and learned their tips and experience. He also read about the interesting incidents that other players ran into in the game. Some of the players even posted advice about how to please rich ladies. Three hours later, Roland found that a friend had sent a message to him on the forum. O''Neal: "Roland, I can understand the teleportation magic array you sent, but I couldn''t use it. It''s so weird." Huh? Roland immediately replied, "Is it because your level isn''t high enough?" O''Neal: "I''m level seven. That shouldn''t be a problem." Roland: "Then what exactly is the problem?" O''Neal: "Everything is a problem! It didn''t feel right from the moment I started trying it, as if the magic array was unwilling to acknowledge me." Roland: "Huh? Are you saying that a magic array has consciousness?" O''Neal: ":facepalm:" Roland returned to his thread and found that something was wrong. The replies at the beginning all said that they would learn after Roland and do business everywhere with teleportation. But the replies two hours later almost all became questions. Everybody said that, while they copied Roland''s magic array, it was still impossible for them to teleport anyone. "Damn it, I can understand all the nodes that Roland wrote. They''re not hard at all, but why can''t I use the magic array?" "Has Roland intentionally thrown out a fake graph to trick us?" "Unlikely. As a LV7 Mage, I''ve made a lot of studies on nodes. Considering the theories and the nodes that Roland described, the magic array is indeed about teleportation, but the problem is that I can''t activate it. The magic array accepts my magic power, but it does not teleport anybody away." "Same here." "Shoot! Then what''s going on exactly? Is it because Roland has a special talent that none of us have?" "That''s a possibility." "Ah, my future to be a great merchant who makes dozens of gold coins has to be postponed! Are we all stuck here? How exactly can the magic array be activated?" "All those magic nodes are perplexing and heartbreaking. I don''t know what to do with them at all." Roland read all the replies. Then, he fell into deep thought. That didn''t look right. The magic array was definitely usable, or he couldn''t have sold the Red Sand Fruits. Weird. Unable to think it through, Roland stood up and intended to ask Freud. But when he looked out of the glass window on the boat, he saw that it was completely dark outside. Since it was very late, Freud probably had gone to bed. He might as well ask tomorrow. Hearing Roland stir, Andonara immediately opened her eyes and clung to him. She raised her head at him and said affectionately, "Talk to me. I can''t sleep." Roland subconsciously laid his hands on Andonara''s high breasts. While touching them gently, he talked about trivia with her. Andonara loved Roland''s touch, wherever he touched. Gentleness from the man she loved brought comfort to her mind. For her, peace and delight were far better than physical excitement. Therefore, she got more and more relaxed, and she soon fell asleep after only a brief conversation with Roland. Seeing that she had fallen asleep, Roland smiled and moved his hands away from her breasts. Then, he logged into the forum again. The problem that the teleportation magic array was unusable was still brewing on the forum. At this moment, every Mage wanted to learn that skill, and every guild wanted to hire a Mage who was capable of a teleportation magic array. They were all fully aware of the strategic significance of this skill. Apart from being useful for traveling merchants, this skill could teleport troops, or the players who had just been resurrected, to the front line in a war. So, it was possible to turn things around even if one seemed to be losing a battle. Besides, in peacetime, teleportation would mean that someone could go anywhere they wanted. It was the best skill to complete quests and go traveling. But the problem was that, up until this moment, Roland was the only person who could use the teleportation magic array. As for the skill to teleport oneself, it was said that Master O''Neal had already grasped it. In any case, the matter regarding the teleportation magic array was getting huge. Many high-level Mages were going mad because they knew that the great skill was out there but couldn''t use it. At the same time, certain players who were good at sarcasm started trolling. Of course, some other players had serious analyses on why the teleportation magic array couldn''t be used. In only two hours, they had come up with three possibilities. First, it was because Roland had intentionally kept the central nodes to himself (which was unlikely, as Roland had proven that he was trustworthy with all the spells he had shared earlier). Second, it was because they lacked certain special skills (which was more likely). Third, it was because they didn''t have enough mental power, which decided a Mage''s speed of magic power regeneration. It was very important apart from the magic power. (This was the most likely possibility.) However, Roland didn''t think that any of the three possibilities was true. He had specifically simplified the teleportation magic array. Even an NPC Mage who just became an Elite should''ve been able to use it. But why couldn''t the other players use it? Roland spent the whole night considering the problem. The boat kept its balance well during the flight, and there was barely any shaking. Andonara had a good sleep, but she woke up when dawn just arrived. The moment she opened her eyes, she grabbed Roland''s hands and put them on her breasts without any hesitation. She said with a smile, "I like it this way!" Roland squeezed her breasts helplessly and said, "Okay, rise and shine. Let''s go out and have breakfast. I need to ask the mentors some questions." Andonara got up rather unwillingly. Leaving his room, Roland found Freud in the cafeteria. The man was eating omelets and drinking milk. Sitting down opposite him, Roland said, "Sorry, sir, but a question just occurred to me, and I was wondering if you could answer it for me." "You are really diligent, aren''t you?" Freud disliked being disturbed when he was having food, but since it was Roland who was asking him a question, then it was no problem. He put down his knife and fork and said, "Just ask me whatever question you have. I won''t keep the answer a secret as long as I know it." "I''ve created a magic array, and I want to let my friend use it too. However, it''s impossible for him to use it." Roland didn''t say that he had invented a teleportation magic array, but he told Freud the basic situation without the details. Then, Freud stared at him as if he were a freak. The other mentors in the cafeteria stared at Roland with a similar expression on their faces. Roland felt rather guilty. "Sir, you look slightly odd." Freud heaved a sigh. "Roland, do you know how strong a Mage must be to activate a magic array under normal circumstances?" "He must be at an Elite level?" "Yes, theoretically." Freud nodded. "But only theoretically." "Then how strong a Mage must be to activate a magic array in general?" "They need to be at least Masters!" "Why is that?" Roland found it very curious. "It''s simple. Because normally speaking, few Mages can be so talented as to create a magic array on their own, and even fewer can do so when they are not even Masters yet." Freud cut the omelets so hard with the kitchen knife that they were all shattered into pieces. Roland listened quietly. Freud had lost his appetite. He pushed the plate away and continued, "Spell models are generic standard models that allow anyone to cast those spells as long as they understand the mechanism of the models, but magic arrays are an advanced version of regular spells." Roland nodded his head. He admitted that the magic arrays were indeed more advanced than spells. "Magic arrays are essentially representations of your own mental frequency." Freud''s gaze became weirder and weirder. "That is to say, the magic array you create is a manifestation of your will and an extension of the frequency of your mental power. It belongs to you. Anyone else has to simulate your mental power in order to successfully cast your magic array, unless they have parsed your mental power and modified the nodes and routes based on their own mental frequencies. Do you understand it now?" Roland quickly got it. "Oh, you''re saying that only the Masters can have the ability or skill to modify the frequency of mental power?" "Yes, that''s exactly what I mean." Roland was lost for words. He didn''t know that things were as simple as that. The crux of the matter was, he had made a mistake because of his lack of common sense. After thanking Freud, Roland walked away and sat down with Andonara. He asked for a piece of omelet and had it while he posted another thread on the forum. In the thread, he apologized and wrote the information he just acquired. Soon, all the Mages on the forum learned of the matter. When they realized that the teleportation magic array wouldn''t be available for them until they became Masters, their blood immediately boiled and they were more determined to level up. Of course, some other people began to analyze Roland''s magic array and rewrote the nodes and patterns with their mental power, hoping to transform his magic array into their own. The journey on the boat wasn''t very comfortable, because the students had been forbidden from leaving the cabins in case they were accidentally blown away by the fierce wind. The free fall would be too fast for the mentors to rescue them even though all the mentors were capable of Wind Soaring, because Wind Soaring was too slow. Some cabins were very cramped. There was nothing in them except a bed, a desk, and a chair. Therefore, certain special activities became the only entertainment on the boring journey. This was also why every student was allowed to take one servant with them. Roland was bored too. Although the boat was steady, the noises caused by the wind were quite loud. However, those noises were perfect cover for the special activities in the cabins. The wind noises weren''t a problem for Roland when he was on the forum. After all, it was only entertainment. However, it was impossible for him to do any magic experiments in such an environment, because his mind might be distracted by all the noise. Magic experiments were delicate operations that could end in failure because of one instance of carelessness. Roland, who wasn''t in the mood for the forum, hugged Andonara and cuddled her. He felt strongly that it was truly wise of him to study and develop the teleportation magic array before. Amidst the noises, the magic boat flew for two days and two nights and finally reached its destination in the morning of the third day. After the boat landed, everybody got out of their cabins. Roland discovered that almost all of them were pale and looked exhausted. The mentors who were older, in particular, looked even weaker. Roland touched his abdomen again and felt his kidneys were cold. After getting off from the magic boat, Roland began to observe the surroundings. Around the spacious square were houses that were built with nothing but white sand. None of those houses were higher than three floors. On the right side of the square, three enormous boats of different sizes were docked. It seemed that the other Magic Towers had arrived earlier. Before Roland''s boat, a team of people were walking toward them. One person wearing a long transparent robe that looked like a plastic raincoat approached unhurriedly. "Haha, Alfred, you''re the last to arrive." The old man in the lead hugged Alfred and said with a smile, "You look rather exhausted. I''ve prepared a whole bunch of desert dancers. Do you think you still have the strength for them?" "Humph, I can do it for another ten days and ten nights." Alfred pretended to be magnificent, but then he put on a smile. "I''m just kidding, I''m no longer as energetic as I was. Let''s leave the dancers to our young men. Old fellows like us should be more careful." The old man in the transparent robe patted Alfred''s shoulder and smiled. "This is the first time you''ve turned down my offer. It seems that you are truly old." "I am old." Alfred pointed at the mentors behind him and said, "These are all old acquaintances to you. I''ll save the time of introducing them to you. The students are all here for the first time. You can give each of them a pass. Right give a library badge to the two students in the lead." The old man in the transparent robe subconsciously touched his prominently receding hairline. He observed Roland and Betta and remarked, "The first kid is not bad. His capacity for magic power is as good as that of a Legend. The second kid''s capacity isn''t small either. Also, his vitality is quite high. He''s good at both magic and martial arts; another promising young man. Where did you find these two talents?" "I picked them up by chance!" The old man in the transparent robe laughed. "No wonder you admitted your old age. You were only hoping to best other people through your students. However, I''m told that the Evocation Magic Tower and the Abjuration Magic Tower have both sent geniuses here too. You''d better not underestimate your enemy." Alfred grinned. "You don''t need to underestimate anyone when you''re absolutely stronger than them." Hearing that Alfred was so confident, the old man in the transparent robe observed Roland and Betta for a while longer, and in the end tossed two wooden badges to them. Betta raised his hand and accepted the badge. But the badge thrown at Roland was intercepted by Andonara, who examined it for a while and said after confirming that there was nothing wrong about it, "It does not contain poison or any traps. It''s safe." Roland looked at Andonara helplessly. Andonara''s sweet smile made it impossible for Roland to be angry with her. The old man in the transparent robe finally noticed Andonara. He immediately pulled a long face. "Alfred, what''s the meaning of this? Have you sent a Legendary Great Swordsman to threaten us?" Alfred shrugged and cackled. "It''s none of my business. She is that boy''s personal bodyguard and maid." "You expect me to believe you?" The old man in the transparent robe found it unbelievable. "He asked a Legendary Great Swordsman to be his maid? It''s preposterous even for the lowliest knight novel." "But she is his maid." The old man in the transparent robe took a deep breath and walked to Andonara. Then he said, "I don''t care what you''re here for, but this is the Monochrome Magic Tower during an academic gathering. If you''re planning anything malicious, you''d better think twice. A Great Swordsman is indeed strong, but there''s nothing you can do against thirty Legendary Mages." His words were full of warning. Andonara said with a smile, "Whether or not I''m up to anything malicious is not up to me, but my master. I''ll do whatever he asks me to do!" Andonara''s declaration sounded arrogant, but it delivered one message. She was only the person who carried out commands, not the one who made decisions. She sounded rather threatening on the surface, but she was actually secretly adulating Roland. The old man in the transparent robe looked at Roland, shook his head, and left. As an old and sophisticated man, he knew the real relationship between Roland and Andonara from how closely they were standing next to each other. "These young people nowadays really know how to play." He let out the same remark that the mentors of the Red Magic Tower did. Then, the old man in the transparent robe led the mentors away, and the outside students were received by the local students. Roland''s guide was a young man around seventeen years old, who was apparently nervous and did not even dare to look Andonara in the eyes. That was typical of rookies who were never in a relationship. They tended to be overwhelmed and think too little of themselves when they had a crush on a beautiful girl. Since all the students were guests, Roland didn''t have to stay in a one-room dormitory. Instead, he had been given a house that had three bedrooms and one living room with reasonable decorations. Also, the sand house was quite exotic and interesting to live in. This area was a special guest area. After the young man led Roland and Andonara here, he was reluctant to leave, but in the end, he found that Andonara didn''t even bother to look at him at all, so he could only depart regretfully. Back on the magic boat, Alfred had already informed Roland and the other students of the itinerary of the academic meeting. During the first eight days, the Magic Towers would take turns introducing their academic discoveries in the past year. Roland wouldn''t miss those sessions for the world. On the ninth and tenth days, the students would spar and communicate. The mentors could brag about all their academic findings, and it was easier to find out who was the best in a fight. The mentors were too old and proud to fight each other, so their students would have to fight on their behalf. In the house, Andonara began to check if the beddings were clean and safe. Lying at the window, Roland appreciated the buildings that were entirely different from those in the Red Magic Tower. At this moment, Betta suddenly came to the door and said loudly, "Brother Roland, I saw another light pillar of money! It''s huge! Super huge! I''m afraid that I can''t take it away even if I dig it out! You can come with me. Bring Andonara with you too. We''ll be more likely to claim the money if we''re backed by a Legend." Roland was surprised at first; then he was bummed. Why can you pick up money everywhere you go? Can I quit being a Mage and transform into a Divine Noble? I want to make a fortune without doing anything too! 479 The Academic Meeting Is More of a Contest Among Students Led by Betta, the three of them wandered in the Monochrome Magic Tower, only to discover that the giant pillar of light Betta saw was where the Council of Elders of the Monochrome Magic Tower was. Standing on the rooftop of the sand house, they looked at the office of the Council of Elders in the distance. Roland said helplessly, "Is it possible that their treasure trove has been marked by you?" Betta shook his head. "That''s possible. Only unowned wealth will be marked by my talent. Also, the color and size of the light pillar indicates the amount of the wealth. Right now, there are many tiny silver pillars around us, but they''re too unappealing for me." Roland understood the situation. "So, an enormous amount of wealth is hidden below the Monochrome Magic Tower, and you''re the only one who knows about it." Betta shrugged regretfully. The Council of Elders'' office was probably the most heavily guarded place in the Monochrome Magic Tower. At least, several Legendary Mages were working there all the time. Many Master-level Mages lived nearby too. They could reinforce the Legendary Mages if anything happened. Plus the other local Legendary Mages, it was impossible for Roland''s team to dig the treasure out even if the team were twice as large. "We can sneak back and dig it out secretly after we get stronger or obtain special skills," said Roland with a smile. "According to you, there must be more than a thousand gold coins buried here. It would be such a shame if we couldn''t dig them up." "I guess that''s all we can do." Betta heaved a sigh. He was truly bummed, because the golden pillar of light that only he could see was so huge that almost the entire office of the Council of Elders was consumed. What a super treasure it must be. The three of them returned to the guest area, and Betta and Roland split up. Back in their room, Andonara asked curiously, "I overheard what you said just now. Does Betta have a special talent to find money?" Roland nodded. "That''s really an unreasonable talent." Andonara remarked with mixed feelings. Then, she made food in the kitchen. When they were together, most of Roland''s food was cooked by Andonara. She insisted on cooking for Roland even though there were maids around. That was one of the basic requirements that the royal family of Hollevin demanded of the queen. Andonara had studied carefully back then, and now it was Roland who got to enjoy it. The academic meeting officially began the next day. There weren''t many participants, no more than 130 people in total. Every holy land of magic had sent ten students and between five to ten mentors. They filled up a small hall. The mentors took the front rows, and the students sat behind them. Interestingly enough, he found that the seven Magic Towers were represented by seven different colors in nature, and the Monochrome Magic Tower was the only one whose students wore translucent robes. The same academic meeting had been held too many times. So, the mentors cut to the chase without any ado and presented their findings. The first day was the Monochrome Magic Tower''s session. Three Legendary Mages who specialized in spatial magic introduced their recently acquired knowledge or their latest magic hypotheses. All the mentors were either nodding or shaking their heads. They could all understand the speakers even though they didn''t agree with them. But the students certainly felt differently! Almost all the students were completely dumbfounded. They had no idea what was going on. Roland, on the other hand, nodded now and then, deep in thought. Betta nodded occasionally too. He also understood some of the presentations. However, while the other students couldn''t understand, they could still write down everything the speakers said. Each of them had a tiny notebook before them, and a quill was quickly moving on its own on the notebook, recording everything the speakers said at a high speed. It was Automatic Transcription, a level-two spell. Roland was actually capable of the same spell, but it wasn''t really necessary. Automatic Transcription was purely garbage compared to the system''s camera. The mentors of the spatial Magic Tower spoke from morning till evening, with only two fifteen-minute breaks in between, during which time everybody answered nature''s call and replenished themselves with food. After evening, Roland returned to his room, and Andonara immediately served hot food. Roland took a rest after he ate. Then, he sat on the bed and played the recordings of the presentations again, trying to understand what the mentors had explained. The second day, it was the Illusion (Purple) Magic Tower. The third day belonged to Abjuration (Brown) Magic Tower. Then, it was the Evocation Magic Tower''s turn. That was the Red Magic Tower where Roland was from. Murphy did most of the presentations. He demonstrated Roland''s self-exploding Inferior Fireball and showed its terrifying damage and room for growth. In the end, he said that the spell was a student''s work without pointing out Roland''s name. The members of other Magic Towers all whispered to each other. Naturally, they could tell how powerful the blue Inferior Fireball was. Therefore, they all acknowledged that the Red Magic Tower did the best in this academic meeting, because the Red Magic Tower had presented a real spell when the other Magic Towers only offered theories. Alfred was quite happy when praised by the other Magic Towers. Then, it was another important program, the "academic communication" among students. The so-called academic communication was more of a contest among the students. However, the contest wasn''t really serious but only conducted in order to belittle the other students and show off. On this day, two huge arenas were set up in the square. Those two arenas contained the best technologies of the Monochrome Magic Tower. They were innately built with seven magic arrays that could ensure the students'' safety without suppressing their strength. Therefore, the students could fight each other without worries. Their enemy wouldn''t be greatly hurt even if they lobbed a spell at the enemy''s head. The worst that could happen to their enemy was minor bleeding. After the two arenas were set up, Roland and Betta, who had already been given instructions, each jumped into an arena and looked down at the students and mentors outside. Under normal circumstances, the mentors would discuss with each other and select certain students for the contests in the arena. But if a student was confident in his ability, he could also go to the arenas on his own initiative and receive the challenges of other students. The Great Elder of the Monochrome Magic Tower, in his translucent robe, was unhappy that both of the students in the arenas were from the Red Magic Tower. He walked to Alfred and asked in a low voice, "What are you up to? This is outrageous even if you''re confident in yourselves. You can''t defend two arenas simultaneously. It''s fine with us, but I don''t think the other Magic Towers will be happy." Alfred smiled and looked at the mentors from the other Magic Towers. Many of them were staring at him angrily, and still more looked grim. "That''s fine." Alfred waved his hand. "We''ve sent them there because we''re confident about them." "Then be my guest." The Great Elder of the Monochrome Magic Tower walked off and sat down, shaking his head. At this moment, the students of other Magic Towers grew angrier and angrier and whispered more and more loudly. A Legendary mentor who was wearing a brown magic robe stood up and roared, "What are you squabbling about? You think it''s fun to speak ill of them behind their backs? They''re waiting for you up there. Just beat them up if you''re angry with them and stop whining." Alfred put on a smile. He had been waiting for someone to say that. As he expected, provoked by the brown-robed Legendary Mage, two students stood up and walked to Roland and Betta. Then, the two of them were beaten in no more than two minutes. There were at least thirty blue Hands of Magic behind Roland. Betta, on the other hand, was using both magic and martial arts. He blocked the opponent''s sight with fire and then kicked the guy out of the arena. Betta''s way of fighting seemed like cheating, but all the mentors knew that there was no such thing as cheating in a real-life battle, and every method could be adopted for victory. What surprised them was Roland''s performance. The thirty enormous Hands of Magic startled quite a few Legendary Mages. To control thirty Hands of Magic simultaneously required immense mental power. Even they could barely gather so much mental power. The Great Elder of the Monochrome Magic Tower came to Alfred again. "It''s rather impressive that this guy is using so many Hands of Magic." Alfred smiled proudly. "He is the apex of the Red Magic Tower." "However, it''s very easy to deal with him if he only knows Hand of Magic. No Mages can count on a single trick." The Monochrome Magic Tower chuckled. "The guys from the Transmutation Magic Tower will probably take action." As he expected, a student in a blue robe jumped into the arena. After the duel began, the student simply cast Elemental Shock, a typical spell of the Transmutation school. This spell could shake one kind of magic element and make it impossible to activate. The spell had a massive coverage, so the young student laughed proudly as twenty of Roland''s thirty Hands of Magic vanished, and the last ten were deformed too. Roland extended his finger, and a gigantic ball of light, with a tail of different colors, crashed into the young man and flung him out of the arena. The young man would''ve been burnt into ashes had it not been for the protection of the powerful magic array on the arena. Many mentors got to their feet in shock after seeing the scene. "It''s not a surprise that he can instantly cast a level-two Prismatic Spray," remarked the Great Elder of the Monochrome Magic Tower solemnly. "But it''s highly unusual that the spell was so powerful when he cast it instantly. Even the Prismatic Spray instantly cast by me can only be ten percent more powerful than that. Alfred, he is the student who created the blue Inferior Fireball, isn''t he?" 480 I Think Its the Royal Familys Trick The Great Elder of the Monochrome Magic Tower was quite speechless when Alfred played mysterious, but he was too proud to pursue further, so he simply watched the arena again. In fact, Alfred was just as shocked as anybody else. Normally speaking, the damage of a spell that was cast instantly would be reduced if it should''ve been chanted. Normally speaking, depending on the talent and expertise of a Mage, an instantly-cast spell would be 40% to 80% as powerful as it should be. The Legendary Mages were certainly more than twenty percent stronger than Roland, but since the damage of their instantly-cast spells would be reduced, they couldn''t have performed much better than Roland. It was also the reason why many Mages stood up in shock. They had never seen anyone who could instantly cast a spell without losing damage. The mentors who rose to their feet soon sat down again. The students weren''t stupid. Seeing how shocked the mentors were, and how easily Roland had defeated the challengers so far, they knew that Roland was definitely much stronger than them. For a moment, nobody dared to challenge Roland again. The atmosphere grew weird. Roland waited in the arena for a long time, but nobody came to challenge him, so he yawned as if he was bored. Seeing that from down below, Alfred couldn''t help but smile. The Red Magic Tower had lost more contests than it had won in the previous academic meetings. The reason was simple: the arenas in all Magic Towers suppressed the destructive spells the most. If their suppression on other spells were quantized to five, their suppression on destructive spells would be seven, because someone might be accidentally killed if the latter weren''t suppressed well. As a result, the students of the Red Magic Tower had never been able to fully carry out their abilities. But the case was different this time. Both Roland and Betta had been standing in the arena to this moment, and they beat their opponents easily. The Red Magic Tower had already shown off. Should they stop now? After considering for a while, Alfred waved at Roland and Betta. Then, the two of them left the arena. The students from the other Magic Towers were all relieved, and so were some mentors, because they didn''t know what to do if Roland and Betta stayed. It might seem funny when two super geniuses defeated every challenger that came to them, but it could also be influential. The confidence of the students from other Magic Towers would definitely be greatly shaken. But finally, the two intimidating men came away from the arenas. A while after Roland and Betta left, someone else went to the arenas. After Roland and Betta came back, the mentors of the Red Magic Tower nodded at them. They all felt proud that their students defeated the others. Taking a seat among the students and watching the game in the arena, Roland gradually lost interest in them. Those students were all fighting in old-school ways without any creativity. The competition among the students lasted two days. Two days later, the academic meeting was over. Roland and Betta both received a transparent spatial gem from the Monochrome Magic Tower as a gift. The gem could be made into a necklace, or multiple rings. When put on, it could slightly reduce the magic power cost when using spatial spells. It was a rather excellent magic material. Then, the academic meeting was over, and everybody from the Red Magic Tower returned home. On the flying boat, Alfred sent someone to invite Roland to the captain''s room. The captain''s room was much bigger and better furnished than the single cabins on the boat. Extending his hand and asking Roland to sit down, Alfred said, "Roland, there''s something I''ve always wanted to talk to you about. Is it all right for me to waste some of your time right now?" "I''m all ears, Great Elder." Alfred nodded with a smile, satisfied with Roland''s manners. "It''s been a year since you came to the Red Magic Tower. You must''ve learned a lot of things in the past year, such as the composition of this school." Roland had been staring at him while Alfred talked. He knew that Alfred wouldn''t specifically ask him to come here unless he really had something important to say. But if it was something important, he could always talk to Roland after they returned to the Red Magic Tower, unless the thing he wanted to talk about was clandestine. Hearing that, Roland nodded and said, "I certainly have. More than fifty percent of the mentors and students are from Fareins. Those from Urganda are the second largest group." "You are really a smart man. You know what''s going on around you even though you''re devoted to studies." With the same gentle smile, Alfred said, "Actually, not just the Red Magic Tower, the members of all the other Magic Towers are mostly from Fareins too." Roland didn''t say anything. Slightly surprised at Roland''s calmness, Alfred went on, "You are a Golden Son, and you don''t really have a homeland, so I''m sincerely inviting you to join Fareins. You will be nominated as a baron as long as you''re willing to come." A noble title was very hard to earn, especially one in Fareins, the most powerful country in the world. Roland was briefly stunned. He had thought that Alfred would ask him how he could instantly cast Prismatic Spray without cutting its damage, or that he wanted him to surrender other spell models that he had modified. He never expected that Alfred would try to invite him to join another country. After a moment of consideration, Roland shook his head and said, "Sorry, but I like Hollevin better." Delpon was his base that he had run for two years and invested so much money and effort on. If he went to Fareins, all his work would be in vain, and he had to start all over. That would be very wasteful and exhausting. Besides, Andonara, Vivian, Cage, and his other friends were all from Hollevin. If he went to Fareins, they definitely wouldn''t feel happy about it. Why bother? "Why? Hollevin is just a small country. It''s even smaller than a marquis''s dominion in Fareins. A man like you deserves a broader world than Hollevin, where your talent will be restricted." Roland''s refusal was within Alfred''s expectation. If he weren''t in Roland''s shoes, he wouldn''t change his stance and nationality so easily either. Although the Golden Sons didn''t really have a nationality, they had all first arrived in Hollevin, so it was natural that they regarded Hollevin as their second motherland. Since a mere noble title didn''t work, he had to increase his leverage. "After you become a baron, you will have your own dominion and you can enlist your own army. Considering your gift, I believe many nobles will be willing to marry their daughters to you. In a few years, you may even become a marquis. By then, you will have a territory that''s even bigger than Hollevin. Won''t that be great?" A local Mage of this world would definitely be thrilled when they were offered such terms, because the noble title of Fareins was really tempting. For the people of many other countries, Fareins was the most prosperous, affluent, and civilized country in the world. It was almost a paradise on earth. The right to live in such a beautiful country as a revered noble was something that a lot of foreigners dreamed of. But Roland was different. As a man from an alternate dimension that was in the information age, he didn''t find the identity of being a noble appealing. There were nobles and upper classes in the information age too. But all their ugliness was revealed in a pandemic. The president of a certain civilized country went back on his word and manipulated the stock market with inside information to make a fortune. He also claimed that he knew the pandemic better than anybody else, and many of his supporters were indirectly killed as a result. There was also the prince of a certain country where the sun never set. He was almost forty, but he couldn''t even make ends meet without his mother, and he had to sell family properties. That was exactly the disadvantage of the information society. The real nature of the upper class and the elites that were admired and bragged about in the past had been fully exposed to the bottom-level people who struggled to live. Many of the beautiful bubbles had popped and past dreams had been destroyed. Therefore, Roland no longer felt that nobles and upper-class were good words. Besides, what most nobles did in this world had made Roland further believe in his impression since he started the game. He smiled. "Thank you for your appreciation, Great Elder, but I still like Hollevin better." Alfred slightly frowned. He saw a hint of disdain hidden in Roland''s smile. He didn''t think that Roland was mocking him, but for some reason, he felt that he had been mocked. After a brief silence, Alfred asked, "Is it because you''re unwilling to let go of Queen Andonara? You''re free to take her to Fareins. I don''t think the royal family will dare to take her back from Fareins." "They will never come to take her away." Roland shook his head. "Great Elder, I think you should stop trying to convince me. I''m a nostalgic man and prefer a stable life. I don''t like changes. I do appreciate your kindness, but I won''t join Fareins." Alfred stared Roland in the eyes, only to discover that his student wasn''t lying. This student really didn''t want to come to Fareins. "What a shame." Alfred sighed and said, "Roland, go back to your cabin and think about it. You''re going to spend a long time in the Magic Tower anyway. I hope your mind will be changed someday." Roland rose and nodded slightly at Alfred as a courtesy. Then he left the captain''s room. After Roland left, Murphy walked out of the inner chamber in the captain''s room. "Why is he so pigheaded? He''s a Golden Son, not a native to Hollevin. Why is he so loyal to the country?" "I think it''s because of the beautiful queen. All young men are lustful. The royal family of Hollevin must''ve bound him to their country with the queen." Alfred thought for a moment and said, "Do you think it''s possible to set him up with our widowed First Princess?" 481 Catgirls Dont Die From Hanging Alfred frowned. "Status is something that I don''t think Roland would care too much about. He''s a pure Mage, the very pure kind, purer than you and me. Such a peer, once they reach the peak, they would be like Mordenkainen and Melf, who even dared to go against gods. Do you think Roland, who is just as pure, would care about status? That''s why women just have to be pretty and in shape; that''s what matters most to young people." The clouds outside the crystal window and the constant whistling of the wind made the room seem rather quiet. Murphy was silent for a while, then he suddenly thought of something and said, "But even if we can grasp Roland''s preferences, what about the princess''s thoughts? She''s not just a pretty face to be manipulated by others, and it''s said that Prince Harry was poisoned by the First Princess because he messed around outside and tried to make her a mere figurehead." Alfred smiled. "Although the First Princess does have her own ideas, this is a matter of our Fareins Kingdom''s interests, and as a member of the royal family, she has an obligation to fulfill her duty. Not to mention that Roland is not bad-looking, even if he were an ugly, pus-filled monster, the First Princess would have to recruit him as the new Prince." In Fareins, the husbands of all the princesses were princes but had no real power, only mere titles. "She might not agree." "Then force her to agree," Alfred smirked. "I, a Legendary Mage alone, can''t change her mind, so let''s add a few more. If we can''t get her to change her mind with the help of the entire Fareins''s members of the Red Magic Tower, there are several other Magic Towers as well, and now Roland''s talent is evident to all. Although we are quite conflicted on academic issues, I think our philosophy is the same when it comes to the greater good of the nation." Murphy nodded instinctively. "That would indeed work, but His Majesty the King is also quite fond of the First Princess, and we''ve never gotten a feel for what he thinks, so what if he''s against it too?" Alfred tsked. "Trouble indeed. But anyway, Fareins doesn''t only belong to the royal family, it also belongs to the Association of Mages, and what the royal family won''t do, we''ll force them to do if it''s for the kingdom." Murphy laughed. "I like your dominant character, otherwise you wouldn''t be able to sit as an elder." Alfred laughed aloud and quite happily. Roland returned to the room in the cabin and was nagged by Andonara again to do lovey-dovey things. Roland was also a young man, and being nagged, it was only natural that he would do something pleasurable. Two days later, the magic boat finally returned to the Red Magic Tower. After returning to the manor, Andonara finally stopped clinging to Roland. She first went to Marilyn''s room to look around, and when she didn''t see anyone, she went to ask the maids where the little catgirl had gone. In the end, she heard some unpleasant things. "Marilyn''s outside running around every day." "Marilyn doesn''t like to work; she leaves early in the morning, and comes back late at night." "Marilyn always loves to sleep in the master''s bed." A series of complaints. Werecats didn''t have much of a place in the Red Magic Tower, and even though Marilyn and Roland, the owner of this manor, seemed to be on familiar terms, these maidservants didn''t care too much. Besides, these maidservants weren''t stupid; their "palace intrigue" experience was extremely rich, and they could sense that Andonara, the mistress, wasn''t too fond of Marilyn the catgirl. Of course, it wasn''t a feeling of dislike either, but rather a vague worry. A worry that the catgirl might seduce the master. This was why they couldn''t stop talking about Marilyn''s little mistakes. The more Andonara listened, the more upset she became. She brought Marilyn over, partly to train a more intelligent and clever maid, and partly to keep an eye on her, so that the pretty-looking kitten wouldn''t make a move on Roland. This was two birds with one stone, but unexpectedly, this little catgirl was so disorganized and so undisciplined when they went out. If this had been Hollevin''s palace, she would''ve been beaten to death. However, Roland naturally wouldn''t do such a thingthe death penalty could be avoided, but punishment couldn''t. Andonara sneered and said to Roland, "Go rest first, I''m going for a walk." "Okay." Roland didn''t know what Andonara was planning. He returned to the stone building and went straight into the magic lab. He personally had a very rewarding few days of academic exchange. During the academic exchange, because the instructors of the various Magic Towers presented genuine material that was rather profound, Roland was somewhat able to understand what they said. He didn''t have much time to think and chew on that knowledge. But now he did. The video recorded word for word all of the instructors'' insights and Roland watched it over and over again. He also opened his mathematical modeling database, and translated the instructors'' insights into pieces of data, imported it, and then reverse-engineered it to see if it fit with his previous data. This was when the usefulness of a large database could be seen. A lot of magic theories that were quite comprehensible when converted into data and put into the database for reverse engineering, and a lot of the things that Roland didn''t understand before were made clear. Of course, most of the data was still incorrect. Because a lot of the converted data was just Roland''s educated guess, and there was no matching data chain in the database. However, Roland didn''t feel discouraged. This was quite normal. After all, he hadn''t learned much about magic yet. He spent five days in the lab, without leaving his house, refining some models of level-one and level-two spells based on his newly acquired data and knowledge. For example, the model for the Ice Ring had been changed again. Corrosion damage was added to the Ice Ring. There was a level-two spell called Melf''s Acid Arrow. It was the work of the magical genius Melf, from when he was young. At that time, Melf''s hometown was often raided and invaded by trolls. Trolls, as a powerful race of Orcs, were not only strong in battle but also quite terrifying in their ability to heal themselves. Apart from dragons and a few devils, the trolls had the most impressive regenerative abilities. High-level trolls could survive for a week or more even if they lost most of their heads. Of course, during this time, if someone could shove food down the troll''s esophagus, the troll could grow its head back by itself without relying on magic. Not to mention organs, arms, and legs, they could even regenerate the heart as long as it wasn''t too heavily damaged. Unless they were cut into several pieces. Humans were no match for this almost undying creature and were defeated again and again. Melf grew up in this kind of environment, and he had a natural aversion to trolls because too many of his family and friends died at the hands of trolls. Out of anger, he invented Melf''s Acid Arrow. It was conjuration magic that inhibited the ability of any flesh-and-blood race to regenerate and heal itself. And it was only a level-two spell, easy to learn. After that, the trolls were no longer a match for humans, and from the vanguard race of Orcs, they were beaten back into the depths of the Orc kingdom to survive. Acid Arrow was essentially a liquid that could be mixed with water and then turned into ice. And Roland''s new Ice Ring was a mix of Acid Arrow and Ice Ring. Roland named it "Kill You 3000 Times[1]." This spell came with five effects: cripple, freeze, smooth ice, corrosion damage, and anti-healing. Because it was a mixture of two spell models, this spell immediately became a level-three spell. And due to the new spell created, Roland received a large amount of experience and leveled up to level nine. He was one step away from reaching Master. It wasn''t in vain that he shut himself in for five days, thinking day and night. For the past five days, Andonara had been bringing in hot meals every day. And she didn''t let anyone come over and bother Roland. The others, including Betta, who came to play with Roland were all "chased away" by Andonara with great courtesy. Although Betta could use the guild chat system to reach Roland, he didn''t have anything important to do, so he didn''t bother Roland. When Roland came out of the magic lab refreshed and stretched, he saw the catgirl hanging from a branch across the doorway, swaying gently in the wind. Pitiful and helpless. When she saw Roland, she couldn''t help but cry out, "Help me, help me." Her voice was miserable, with an infantile tone, and one couldn''t help but feel pity when hearing it. Andonara was in the shade of a tree not far away. A round table with two chairs. She sipped slowly at a tea-like drink, smiled, and waved when she saw Roland, then pointed to the chair across from her. Roland walked over and sat down, turned his head and glanced at the catgirl hanging not far from him, and asked, "What''s going on?" Smiling gently, Andonara said slowly, "This little catgirl doesn''t know any better, she keeps running around. So I gave her a little punishment." "She isn''t our maidservant." "Eating from our house, using what''s in our house, and being sheltered by our house" Andonara eyed the little catgirl, her eyes a little cold, but when her gaze fell back to Roland, her gaze was as soft as water. "Who out there would believe her if she said she wasn''t from our house?" At this moment, Marilyn was struggling vigorously again, like a larva jumping around. "Roland, please, put me down, don''t let this evil woman tie me up." Roland withdrew his gaze from the catgirl. "But she certainly isn''t my maidservant." "My dear, you don''t need to take care of the management of the servants in the house, I will manage it for you." Andonara explained slowly, "She is so willful and disobedient, if you are still too lenient with her, then it will be difficult to manage the maidservants in the house in the future if they follow her example. And this little catgirl is too whimsical. If she continues like this, something will happen sooner or later. You can''t protect her foreverrather than watching her go down a dead end, it''s better to wear down her temper and edges while it''s still possible." Roland picked up the cup and took a sip of tea as well. Certainly More than half a year ago, the catgirl was living a careful life, but the catgirl now gave off a somewhat arrogant feeling. "Werecats are creatures that don''t know the extent of their abilities when someone backs them up." Andonara got up and poured Roland another cup of tea. "They''re extremely curious and often do reckless things. They were originally a powerful race, but they turned themselves into a minority among the hybrids." Roland had read about werecats from some books, but it was all just a passing reference. After all, paper was a pretty valuable commodity in this world, and there was no way to waste precious paper writing at length about werecats, a race of hybrids that didn''t have much of a presence. Since Andonara had plans of her own, Roland would not object. Besides, it wasn''t something that would hurt. Marilyn had been living alone, lacking in discipline and inevitably acting wildly, so it was good to have someone to control her. Roland stopped paying attention to Marilyn, and after talking with Andonara for a while, Roland went to the middle district. There was a church of the Goddess of Magic there. He arrived at the main hall of prayer. A young cleric saw Roland and was stunned. He was a member of Ruby Class, a descendant of a small noble. Part of his daily magic power was used to familiarize and practice magic, and the other part was used to summon "astral oil" to make money, and when there wasn''t much magic power left, he would come to the church for part-time work. Mages were pretty short on money in the early stages. Magic materials were too expensive. "Monitor, what are you doing here?" The young Mage walked up to Roland, looking a bit reserved. "Are you also a follower of the Goddess of Magic?" "No." Roland walked up to the altar. "I''m just here to offer up a spell model." The young Mage was stunned. Roland took the drawings out of his Backpack and placed them on the ritual table. In a few moments, the pale blue glow of magic engulfed the drawing. This was a sign of the Goddess of Magic, Mystra, taking the drawings away. The young Mage swallowed hard, then looked at Roland in surprise. And then an energy descended from the void. The whole church was engulfed within a boundary. The energy was felt by the Mages at the Master level and above in the entire Magic Tower. They all instinctively jumped up and rushed outside, looking at where the energy was coming from. The Church of Magic. Alfred stood at the window, staring gravely at the northeast. The average Mage and professional could only feel the arrival of high-level energy. But to the eyes of the Legendary, there was a huge, blurred female figure above the church. "Mystra," Alfred muttered. The shadow''s face couldn''t be seen, but her mouth could barely be seen moving. However, no one could hear her. Presumably, there was someone in the Church of Magic that could hear her. Alfred watched the female shadow quietly. All the Mages in the Red Magic Tower were staring in that direction. After about four minutes, the shadow disappeared. Alfred returned to the table and rang the golden bell on the table. When the servant entered, he said quickly, "Go immediately and investigate who was in the church when the Goddess of Magic descended, and why the goddess descended." [1] reference to the movie From Beijing with Love 482 A Jolly Atmosphere After all, the main plane inhibited gods, and if they descended with their real body, it would be easy to meet their demise if they encountered those with ill intentions. For example, the Goddess of Fortune thought that she could beat everything if she descended with her true form. In the end, it turned out she couldn''t even beat Mordenkainen. Instead, she went back to the divine realm and reincarnated. There was another bunch of evil gods that got killed by Melf. And some weak gods that came to the main plane and even disappeared. They couldn''t even cause a ripple. This was why few gods dared to come to the main plane with their real bodies. Most of the methods used were those like Mystra''s, who came over with a divine shadow, and even if the shadow was broken, it would only cost a little bit of divine power. Mystra, the Goddess of Magic, had few followers. She became a god with the body of a human and could slowly grow stronger by herself without the power of faith. She didn''t need followers, so she didn''t really like to develop or respond to them. They either existed or didn''t. It didn''t matter. She was very low-key, without desires or demands. So, the Goddess of Magic''s consciousness descending was a rather new experience to many people. In the minds of these Legendary Mages like Alfred, there was a reason for all the actions of the big shots, let alone the gods. There must be a very important reason for Mystra''s sudden descent. In the church, Roland felt the Goddess of Magic''s mental power surrounding him. She was "looking" at him. The young man next to him had dropped to one knee, not daring to look up. Roland looked up at the opening above the church and saw the blue female silhouette looming. "We meet again, Goddess Mystra." "Indeed." The mature female voice sounded in Roland''s mind. "I didn''t expect that in less than a year, in this short period of time, you would invent another new spell. This made quite an impression on me, so I came to see you again. This reminds me of myself in the past, before I became a goddess." Huh? With Roland''s total attribute addition to intelligence, his character now had an intelligence of 14.5 and was more than twice as strong as the one on Earth in terms of arithmetic, analysis, and even intuition. Roland estimated that his intelligence on Earth, when converted to the game''s value, was only 7 points at most. So he was pretty shrewd with information in the outside world, and he could notice the slightest thing that seemed off. The Sword of Mystra was a special summoning spell that summoned a projection of an epic longsword with intelligence, which could hover next to the caster and automatically attack enemies. When this sword was held in one''s hand, it granted the holder considerably powerful buffs, so oftentimes, even if the caster picked up the Sword of Mystra, they could act like half a Warrior. It could even be temporarily loaned to melee professionals. As for Mystra''s Mansion, it was the ultimate life-saving skill that all spellcasters yearned for. In the astral plane, a safe space of a three-by-three-by-three-meter cube would be created for the caster to hide in. This space was usually stocked with enough food and water that one could avoid most dangers. Normally, it would be impossible for even a god to find this small cube in the almost infinite astral plane. Greater Prophecy was very effective in the main plane for searching for people, but in the astral plane, even if the direction was known, there would be no way to get to the destination. The astral plane was too vast, and things were too distant from each other. There would also be a large number of astral insects moving around the astral plane on the way. Theoretically, Mystra''s Mansion was the strongest life-saving spell of all. Roland didn''t believe that Mystra, who had invented Mystra''s Mansion and Sword of Mystra, such superb spells, would find the Kill You 3000 Times spell amazing. Hearing Roland''s words, the Goddess of Magic was silent for a moment, then asked, "Roland, do you know what a god is?" "A more powerful living being?" Roland responded with a question, without much confidence. "Very typical line of thought for a Mage." There was laughter in the Goddess of Magic''s voice. "It''s indeed not wrong to put it that way. If that''s the case, the ancient dragons so powerful that they could physically enter the astral plane could also be called gods. But they aren''t. The so-called gods are powerful beings that have mastered the natural laws and have condensed them into a Divine Spark. "The Divine Spark is a powerful thing, it allows the use of natural laws that have been grasped." In the Goddess of Magic''s words, there was a slight sense of disappointment. "However, the Divine Spark is also a prison. It makes it so gods are only able to use what is known of the natural laws and what their believers already know." Natural laws that have been grasped, and knowledge that the believers already have? Roland froze for a moment, and then the synapses in his head connected as if lightning had cut through the darkness. He clapped his hands. "Divine Spark limits your creativity. Goddess of Magic you only know the magic that you already know; your creativity, your inventiveness, are limited by the Divine Spark." "Smart." The huge female shadow in midair nodded slightly to Roland. "Just like you said, I used to be a genius; I could invent and create magic. But now, natural laws prevent me from doing those things. I can only use known magicisn''t that ridiculous!" Roland was silent. The words of the Goddess of Magic revealed a lot of shocking information. The natural laws of this world seemed to have revealed a corner of its entirety to him. Gods were limited by the natural laws and Divine Spark, so further extrapolation Did the two super-geniuses, Mordenkainen and Melf, not become gods like Mystra because they already knew the limits of the gods? It was more important to them to discover the true meaning of magic than having an endless lifespan and great power? Seeing Roland''s silence, the Goddess of Magic continued, "You are the most talented Mage in the last three hundred years or so. A year or so ago, several different spell models were offered to me, but then I noticed that their offerers seemed to be stupid and couldn''t have invented those spells. Now that I''ve seen what you''ve offered, I''ve noticed that these new spells all have the same style, so those spell models are actually your work, right?" "If you''re talking about the blue Inferior Fireball, that is by me indeed." "Very good." The voice of the Goddess of Magic grew lighter. "Roland, let''s make a deal. How about you sincerely believe in me and I give you a tenth of my life force? This will be worth at least two thousand years of lifespan." "You want the knowledge in my head?" Roland responded with a question. "Yes." Mystra''s figure descended from the air, her blue illusory hands made up purely of mental power clasped together as if to hold Roland up. "As long as you become my believer, I can use the knowledge you''ve learned. I can sense that the spell models you''ve offered come from a fairly well-developed system of knowledge. I want it." Roland looked at the hands that were coming together on his left and right, and he instinctively stepped back. It was this movement that caused the Goddess of Magic''s hands that were about to come together to stop. After two seconds, the illusory blue hands slowly withdrew. "You don''t want a long lifespan? And when my life force is restored later, I can convert the divine life force to you again, so theoretically your life can be as long as mine." The goddess''s voice seemed a little stricken and muffled. Roland still shook his head. "Before that, I would like to ask if I can still invent and create magic after receiving your divine power, and if I will be limited by the natural laws as you are." The blue female shadow remained motionless for a while before she said grudgingly, "You guessed it: once you accept my divine life force, you are theoretically part of me or my child, so of course you will be subject to the same restrictions as me." "Then pardon me for refusing." Roland, without hesitation, took a few more steps back. "Alas" Mystra sighed deeply. "It''s rare that someone with such an interesting system of knowledge and who also understands magic comes along. But that''s fine; as long as you continue to study magic, you''ll know more and more. Hundreds of years from now, when you grow old and become afraid of death, will you still refuse my deal?" "We''ll talk then." "But an old soul is one I''m not interested in." Mystra''s voice gradually faded, and the blue female shadow disappeared. A large purple gemstone was added to the ritual table. Roland looked over and saw that it was a magical material. Item: A flawless amethyst. Effect: +20% effect of defensive spells and 10% consumption reduction when carried around. Can also be used as a special magic material, and act as an advanced catalyst in the enchanting process. Roland put the amethyst into his Backpack. It was similar to the gems he got from the water-making spell. These gemstones were very rare in the main plane. Even though it could be used to create magical equipment, it could also be used as a materialit was of high value. Roland didn''t feel as though he lost out. Then Roland turned around and saw that the part-time cleric was still kneeling on the ground. The expression on his face was quite excited, mumbling to himself with his eyes closed as if he hadn''t recovered from the euphoric emotions of seeing a god. Roland ignored him and turned around to leave the church, and as a result, as soon as he went out, he saw a huge blue firebird with a clear cry swoop down from the sky and landed on the ground, transforming into Andonara, who was carrying a long sword. When she saw Roland, she rushed over and threw herself into Roland''s arms, her body trembling incessantly. "That just scared me." Andonara took a long time lying in Roland''s arms before she calmed down. "I thought the Goddess of Magic was going to take you away." In the beginning, Andonara didn''t feel much about the arrival of the Goddess of Magic. She was a Warrior, a Great Swordsman, so even if Mystra descended, it wouldn''t draw her interest or even inspire her to go over for a glance. But after a while, she suddenly remembered that Roland was going in that direction. And Roland had told her something about the spirit of the Goddess of Magic descending when he offered the oil-making spell. And now the Goddess of Magic had appeared again. A woman''s instincts told her that something was wrong. She got up abruptly, first in emotional panic, and then in anger. She charged over with her sword. No one could take her Roland, not even gods. Fortunately, Roland didn''t leave. After comforting Andonara for a while, Roland took her cold hands and left. Then a few of Alfred''s men rushed over and burst into the Church of Magic. And when they saw the part-time cleric, who had just risen to his feet and was still looking very excited, they immediately jumped at him. In less than three seconds, four big men had the young cleric pinned to the ground. To keep the interim cleric from resisting, a strong man in a blue short-sleeved shirt also pressed heavily against the interim cleric''s neck with his knee. "I can''t breathe!" The interim cleric managed to shout with great difficulty. This was a standard action for capturing spellcasters alive, and by jamming their necks, they couldn''t chant to cast spells and their combat strength would be reduced by at least 90%. "Shut up, now you must remain silent and come with us," shouted the sturdy man in blue coldly. This interim cleric nodded his head with difficulty. Because his face was pressed against the ground, this action scraped off a layer of his cheek. He was then dragged up by four large men and carried straight into the backyard of the church. After about half an hour, the sturdy men left. The interim cleric gasped for air and emerged from the backyard in tears. In the Council of Elders, Alfred was silent for a moment as he looked at the information that had just been delivered. Then he put the information on the table and said to the other elders who were waiting quietly, "The matter''s clear, it was Roland. He has invented a new kind of spell and offered it to the Goddess of Magic. There was also a cleric present, but unfortunately, the Goddess of Magic blocked the senses of the others, and this interim cleric only knows that Roland and the Goddess of Magic had a conversation, but he doesn''t know what they talked about." Murphy continued, "Mystra, she''s very low-key, doesn''t like to appear in front of people, and it''s already a great honor for her to descend with her spirit to see what''s going on. But she spoke to Roland for several minutes; I think it''s the first time she''s done this since she became a goddess. What exactly is it about Roland that she values? His powerful ability to invent spells?" Freud smiled and said, "That''s impossible. Even if Roland is smart, he''s not a Master, and the spell he invented, no matter how strong, is bound to have a limit. Compared to Sword of Mystra and Mystra''s Mansion, it''s not even close. Besides, Mystra also invented many low-level spells back then. For example, Protection From Arrows, Anti-Seduction, and so on. She''s much more talented than Roland. She wouldn''t come and chat with Roland just because he invented a spell." "Then what else could it be?" Murphy shrugged and laughed. "Could it be an old virgin coming to nibble on a little boy?" "Hahahaha!" There was a peal of boisterous laughter in the Council of Elders. The fact that Mystra was still a virgin was the eternal laughing stock of the magical world. 483 The First Official Even Mystra was born into a large noble family and had been studying magic since childhood with the support of her family. She was a genius who learned rapidly and by the age of fourteen, she was already an Elite Mage and had created the spell Protection From Arrows. Generally, new spells invented and created by a Mage were related to the environment in which they lived. Because Melf lived in a harsh environment when he was young, he created Acid Arrow to target trolls and then invented Melf''s God-Slaying Spell because of the bullying from evil gods. As for Mordenkainen, he was born in a time when there were very few Mages and when they were weak, so he invented spells, all of which were offensive spells of various sizes, as well as the spell model system to reduce the difficulty of learning spells to train more of his kind. Finally, to fight against the Goddess of Fortune, he managed to create Mage''s Disjunction. And for Mystra, the reason why she invented Protection From Arrows was simple. She was from a great family, and ever since she was sensible, she''d seen her grandmothers, brother, uncle, and other relatives die due to the long-range bow and arrow assassinations of rival nobles. At that time, Hawkeye Archers were a nightmare for all spellcasters. Within 400 meters, if one were to aim for the eye, one would never hit the mouth. However, with Protection From Arrows, it was still easy for a powerful longbow shot to penetrate the protective spell layer, and so Mystra invented Arrow Deflection. Together, the two spells finally gave Mages the courage to stand before Hawkeye Archers. Mages then fought back and put an end to Hawkeye Archers, the most headache-inducing profession for Mages at that time. And severed their legacy in passing. Now there were no Hawkeye Archers in the entire world. In reality, it was not only Mages; other professions also hated Hawkeye Archers, so the entire world watched and didn''t help as Hawkeye Archers were hunted down and annihilated by Mages. The matter of the virginity of the Goddess of Magic was also related to this spell that she invented. Mystra had become quite famous after inventing these two spells. So her family had her marry the son of a grand duke. After the two met, they both felt good toward each other and got along quite well. But unfortunately, a disaster happened. One day, the grand duke''s son invited Mystra to his estateat that time, the Hawkeye Archers hadn''t been annihilatedand someone infiltrated the vicinity of the estate to kill Mystra, the woman who had invented two spells to counter archers. The arrow was deflected toward the grand duke''s son and passed through his groin. The arrow fired by the Hawkeye Archer could easily pass through a centimeter-thick steel plate, not to mention flesh and blood. At that time, the grand duke''s son bled between his legs and passed out. Although he was saved afterward, and that thing grew back with magic, the grand duke''s son suffered from mental anxiety and could never get it hard again. Not even spiritual magic could cure it. After taking out a lot of compensation, there was no conclusion for Mystra and the son of the grand duke. Her family then helped her find a son of an earl, handsome with a wealthy family and an all right personality, and they also got along well. Then misfortune struck again, and it was on the seventh day after the formal betrothal that the son of the earl went with his own family''s private army to exterminate bandits in the mountains, and he returned but only the lower half of his body. By this time there was already a rumor going around that Mystra was bad luck. In the end, the family helped Mystra find another son of a marquis, who was not to her liking, and though it was said to be a marriage to connect families, the son was actually used as a pawn. This man was also very flirtatious. He didn''t dare to mess with Mystra, but he made moves on his own maidservants. Many maidservants were knocked up and then abandoned by him. It was a vicious cycle. In the end, an accident also happened to the son of the marquis, and one night he disappeared. The next day, he was found naked and dead in a ditch outside his estatehis man jewels were also gone. No one dared to marry Mystra after that. In this world, people believed very much in such things as fate or curses. Mystra, in the eyes of the world, had been given the curse of remaining a virgin forever. All sorts of funny, unpleasant rumors came about. This also became an enduring joke in the magic world. Mystra''s virginity was just as magical and charismatic as the Dwarves'' stone wives[1]. After laughing at Mystra, the atmosphere in the conference room fell silent again. "It is logical that after the new spell is offered to Mystra, she would send it back shortly after to the altar for it to be learned by others," said Alfred slowly, "but this time it''s different. The spell model hasn''t appeared after such a long time. This reminds me of the blue Inferior Fireball, which has been known to appear and disappear, so I suspect that Roland''s spell this time is also quite powerful and that the Goddess of Magic wants to keep it for herself and doesn''t want to announce it anymore." "That''s so selfish," shouted one of the elders in displeasure. Another elder said, "But it doesn''t matter, Roland is still with us. It doesn''t matter if Mystra gives us the spell model or not. As long as we''re on good terms with Roland, isn''t it simple to get that spell?" Alfred''s expression appeared relaxed as he smiled. "Mystra''s greatest weakness is that she has too few believers. There are too few of us Mages who are willing to believe in her, which makes her growth slow and puts a limit to it. And her not announcing spell models now is presumably to save them and use it to eventually blackmail and to control us." Everyone nodded, thinking that Alfred had a point. "So I think that in the future, when we have a new spell, don''t offer it to Mystra, the Goddess of Magic. Keep it for yourself; only those who have passed our assessment can learn it. This way, one day we can catch up to Mystra''s level, and finally fling her from her position as the Goddess of Magic, and the throne will be ours to sit on." Hearing Alfred''s words, everyone revealed a mysterious smile. High-level Mages, especially Legendary Mages, were a bunch of maniacs. They believed that since Mystra could become a god, they would also have a chance to become one. However, there was only one Divine Spark of Magic, so they had to drag Mystra down if one of them was going to become a god. Then they would be able to ascend. And they were also working on this. The establishment of the major Magic Towers at first was just for the purpose of an exchange of spells and magic knowledge, but it had grown to the point where the academic fanatics of the various Magic Towers and the Legendary Mages had become quite inflated or confident. They felt that when a Mage reached Legend, the next step was to set their sights on the Demigod level and eventually become the new god of magic. Now, when everyone was weak, they would unite first, and when they were strong, they would then decide on a new magic leader, and when this magic leader became a god, the leader would come back and bring them to the divine realm of magic. So the higher-ups of the various Magic Towers were not interested in Mystra. They even harbored an amount of animosity for her. As for why the various Magic Towers had a church for the Goddess of Magic, they wanted to know just what new spells Mystra had recently acquired. "One more thing, now that Roland has once again refreshed our knowledge of his talent." Alfred tapped on the wooden table to focus everyone''s attention on himself. "Anyway, we''ll have to speed up the implementation of our plan. Next, you guys gather information on Roland, first find out what he likes and doesn''t like, become ''friends'' with him, and find a way to get him to hand over his new spell model. Buy it with gold, exchange it with spell models, and so on; just don''t use forceful and underhanded tactics." "Based on my personal experience, trading with spell models should work," Murphy interjected. "Then you can try that first." Alfred nodded. "I''ll make a trip back to the country next and then invite the First Princess as a guest at the Red Magic Tower." Everyone in the Council of Elders understood something, and they all smiled obscenely. At the same time, Roland and Andonara returned to the manor. Marilyn was still hanging from the tree branch, and when she saw Roland, her large teary eyes were filled with pleading. Roland didn''t look at her and walked straight into the lab in the stone building. Andonara stood below the catgirl, looking up at the latter with a teasing smile on her face. "Haven''t you realized your mistake yet, little catgirl!" Hmph! Marilyn turned her head away from Andonara. She thought that sooner or later Roland would help her. There was no reason whythat was just what she believed. So she couldn''t admit defeat to this vicious woman. Andonara saw the expression on the side of her face and knew what she was thinking. She now said slowly, "You know, I''m a queen, and I know how to deal with disobedient kittens because there are many, many kittens in the palace. But you''re Roland''s cat, so I won''t do anything to you, but if you''re still unconvinced, I''ll complain about you to Roland and tell him that you''re wild and untameable. After a few times, Roland will be disappointed in you and finally throw you out of this house." Originally, Marilyn wasn''t too afraid, but after hearing these words, her fur stood on end. For werecats, being without a home was quite a terrifying thing. Particularly for insecure werecats like her, who had previously lived in hiding. After living for a while in safety, she had become addicted to the peace and security of her life. It would be horrible for her to be like that again, living every day in fear. Now, when she looked into Andonara''s eyes, she was more than a little afraid. Andonara smiled with satisfaction at the change in her expression. At this time in the magic lab, Roland was also stunned. Because the game system popped up with a rare announcement. System: An official event will be held soon, please visit the official website for details. Roland immediately opened his browser and found the newly-released announcement. "The game has been in beta for a year and a half, and the majority of players have enough knowledge of the game''s content. In ten days, there will be a ''strongest squad (group)'' competition, divided into two events, 5v5 and guild battles. Please click on the link below for the rules of the competition." Roland''s eyes widened. This was the first official event that would be held. [1] reference to The Lord of the Rings 484 No Need For Tactics Although Roland did go to Paradise of Life once, it was a passive visit, not an active one. Now even if you asked him to go again, he wouldnt be able to find his way. So it didnt count. Usually, if there was no need, the game officials wouldnt even bother to make an announcement. Netizens called them the most chill game officials. It was surprising that such idle game officials made a game event. Roland clicked on the event details link. The long page of text took some time to read, and Roland tsked, a little upset. The limitations were significant, especially for both him and Schuck, and they were simply the following: First of all, to keep the game fair, there wouldnt be one-versus-one matches, because some professions naturally countered other professions. Second, all participants would be forcibly locked at level five, with the higher going down and the lower going up. Third, half an hour before the start of the game, all players consciousness would be transported to a huge arena. Every players equipment would be stripped and stored in their Backpack, and only equipment provided by the game system could be used, with half an hour given to the players to choose their setup. Fourth, special foreign objects wouldnt be brought into play, such as Schucks Fire Dragon Princess, but a spellcasters contracted magic pet wouldnt be restricted. Fifth, spells with an effective damage range greater than a five-meter radius would not work, such as Rolands nuclear fireball, which was already an epic spell and too powerful and impossible to counter once it appeared in a game event. Sixth, at most 50 people per team would be allowed on the field in the team scramble survival tournament. Seventh, the maximum duration of a team scramble tournament was two weeks, during which the game world would be temporarily frozen and wouldnt affect the flow of the players game in any way. There were other notes on the tournament rules, so it seemed the officials were trying to be as fair as possible. It was fair to others, but the restrictions on F6 were much greater. The dragon princess couldnt participate in the battle, Roland was missing his strongest crowd-attacking method, and the epic equipment they had was sealed. For example, Schucks Heart of Light, a divine artifact, and Rolands Mind-Calming Necklace, both of which were things that could change the situation of a battle, could not be used anymore. Roland opened the forum after reading the detailed description of the event. I dont care if hes talented or lucky, if hes better than me, hes cheating (doge). Its indeed been made fair, but the truth is that its not fair. Roland and Schuck also worked hard to reach this level, they didnt cheat. Who will make sure that its fair for them when the game officials do this? Is there going to be a day in the future when some of us are just as strong and just as restricted as they are, will you still think its fair then? Game events are only interesting when everyones on the same starting line. If we dont restrict these two, then the winner of the tournament will definitely be predetermined. So what if the two of them are restricted, this way the Phoenix Guild, which is full of Elven Summoners, will come out on top. Who can deal with a large number of summoned beasts without a wide-range offensive spell? Maintaining summons requires magic power, but its not a problem for the girls to take turns summoning. Restricting the F6 guild and thinking about the fact that there are still a group of phoenixes gives me a headache. You guys think that limiting Rolands group attack spells limits an extremely talented Mage like Roland? Dream on. Attacking is the basis of all victory. I cant imagine, without offensive spells, what else can Roland do? Whats the difference between him and a normal Mage player? At most, he has better battle sense and positioning, and can fight three or four at a time. This is still within the capabilities of a normal person, and many high-end players can do it. Well never understand how scary a real Mage is. This last comment was from the almighty ONeal. Roland laughed. It was true as ONeal said, although the game officials limited the range of his magical attacks, the blue fireball still had a range to it. Five-meter radius, that meant ten meters in diameter, which wasnt small. Since it couldnt have a wide range, it wouldnt be bad to launch several smaller ones. Besides, Mages didnt only have evoking magic; there were several other types of magic. Many support types of magic were capable of turning the tides if used properly. When todays game time was over, Roland exited from the game and rode a public bike to the cold drink bar. As usual, Schuck was the first to arrive and had already had the waiter prepare breakfast. Roland still wasnt shy about pouring himself a bowl of soy milk before picking up a youtiao and eating it, chatting casually with Schuck while they waited for their other friends to come over. About half an hour later, everyone who was supposed to be there had arrived. Betta, who was still in college, certainly couldnt run back. Schuck finished his soy milk, put down the porcelain bowl, and said, What do you all think about the team survival battle, just the seven of us and no more? No one spoke. At this moment, Li Lin said, But the team survival battle, a group has a maximum of fifty people, and we, including Betta, are only seven people, so I dont think we have much chance of winning. We can work with others for now I want to win. I have a different opinion about that, Schuck said lightly. Seven of us is enough, and calling in others feels like there will definitely be problems with coordination. Its hard to establish a good enough rapport now that we only have ten days, and I wouldnt even want Betta to join us if not for the consideration of how easily the young minds of children can be influenced. Thats cruel, so heartless to even your own cousin. Since youve made your point to such an extent, I have no problem with seven people. Li Lin smiled. Fewer people will make it more challenging. Actually, in a chaotic fight like this, fewer and better may not be a good thing, Roland suddenly said. According to the information given by the officials, what were entering may be a super large map; the event format may be drawn from the current popular battle royale mode. Because its the first official event, the battle time is ten days, so I think that there will be many people participating in this event. Out of the five hundred thousand players, I guess there should be three hundred thousand to four hundred thousand players because I saw an option to randomly match teammates in the registration system. Its estimated that a lot of people will be involved. Wouldnt more people be more disadvantageous to us? asked Li Lin. No, on the contrary, small groups are more conducive to raiding and evading. The maps terrain must be quite complex, and large groups are affected more than small groups. After all, dispatch and command is a big problem. Small teams arent at a huge disadvantage. Li Lin replied, Oh, I understand what you mean. Small teams are more conducive to surviving in a complex natural environment, right? Roland laughed. Hundreds of thousands of people running into the circle[1], a super large map, maybe as large as a municipality, like Shanghai, I feel so excited just thinking about it. They couldnt help but fantasize about hundreds of thousands of people fighting each other on a complex, super-sized map. Forceful attacks, hiding, trapping, outflanking, deceiving, using everything that could be used. After ten days of bloodshed, the person or group that was left at the end would be the winner. Gee, so f**king cool. A real spectacle; the battlefields of World War II were probably on this scale. Schuck breathed out, as he also became excited. For most men, such a scene would be impossible to resist. Well talk about the battle royale later, but for now, lets talk about the team battle at the beginning. Schuck slapped the table and said, There are seven of us, exactly five mains and two replacements. The replacements will be Betta and Husseret. One of you is a balanced professional and one is a Thief, and youre somewhat vulnerable in a frontal five-versus-five battle, so replacements will depend on the situation. Husseret nodded, having no objections. As for Betta, he was still in school, so he definitely wouldnt have a problem. All right, lets lay out the tactical cooperation, Schuck continued. Everyone tell me your abilities and specialties, Ill produce some statistics, and finally leave it to Roland to combine and optimize them and come up with the right tactical play for us. Why me? Roland was a little puzzled. Youre a Saint Samurai, the absolute core of the team. Im just a Mage, I only need to be in charge of controlling the field. Naturally, you should be the one to set up the tactics. Youre already setting up the tactics for us. Li Lin laughed. Then thats settled, develop a corresponding tactical system with Schuck as the core. Schuck frowned. Me as the core, thats not good. Having the ability to fight, tank, heal, deal damage, whether solo or in a group, youre always the boss. Roland chuckled. If youre not the core, who will be? And once you wear armor, it shines with golden light, taunting enemies-only you can be the core. Fine, Schuck said helplessly. Then Ill be the sandbag. Roland came up with a good tactic. No need, just improvise as usual. Roland waved his hand indifferently. Weve all been working together for so many years, playing together since we were kids. What kind of personalities we have, are we all still not clear about that with each other? Just be casual when the time comes, I feel we have a good chance of winning. The F6 members smiled. The odds were very good indeed. Although Li Lin and Brazil and the others werent famous players in the game, they were the top ones. Most importantly, Roland and Schuck were too strong. The other teams had a single core. They had twin engines on their side. For the rest of the day, players called out to others on the forums and formed teams. Surprisingly, a total of 490,000 players opted to participate in the event. It was almost one hundred percent of all players. It could be seen how much players valued and looked forward to this event. Ten days later, as soon as Roland entered the game, his consciousness was transported to a small, strange sealed house. There was a black ball in the middle of the house stereoscopic projector. 485 Feces Fire Tactic is Awesome The black ball was a stereoscopic projector, surrounded by a lot of stereoscopic light and shadows, and one could interact with what was on it by walking up and touching it. They greeted each other and found their position. There was a countdown to the start of the tournament. There were twenty-nine minutes until the tournament started. It also explained the rules for the five-versus-five matches. The tournament was based on a point system, not an elimination system. Three points for a win, no points for a loss, and one point each for a draw. Once the tournament started, there would be a two-minute break for each match that ended, but of course, you could also fight earlier if you felt like it. The tournament matched those with similar scores and didnt guarantee complete fairness, only relative fairness, as the former was impossible. Occasionally, there would be matches where the score difference was more than twenty points. This wasnt a system error, just a matching mechanism issue, and after all, luck was a part of strength. The tournament would last for 24 hours in-game. The team with the highest score at the end of the tournament would be the winner. According to the rules, our equipment set-up needs to have a specific purpose. After reading the rules of the match, Roland immediately said, I looked at the equipment provided by the system and they are all low-grade standardized enchanted equipment, with only one or two special properties. So I suggest that a pure physical professions set up must focus on physical stamina recovery. A balance of stamina, constitution, and magic power for Schuck and Betta, and Ill have pure magic regeneration. Under these match rules, we have to keep fighting, so battle endurance is important. Schuck thought for a moment and said, But this way, our base attributes will be worse than the opponents. Although I also have a combat aura that can boost certain attributes in a wide range, the boost is not large; it mainly has a wide range thats suitable for large groups. Its okay, I can take care of the attributes. Roland snapped his fingers repeatedly, and a magical glow spread over the seven of them. Extreme body fortification, agility, attack speed increase, movement increase, lesser physical defense boost, and so on. At least eight different types of buffs were stacked on them. But I dont have the means to add stamina and endurance to eliminate your fatigue, so combat endurance is of paramount importance to us. Suddenly feeling much stronger, Schuck gave Roland a thumbs up. Mages are awesome. He was originally level eight, but after teleporting in and becoming level five, he felt a lot weaker. Roland smiled. It wasnt like he hadnt prepared for anything in the previous ten days. Since his blue fireball was officially banned, he would naturally make up for it in other ways. So he optimized a large number of enhancement spells first. Some spells could deal with complex environments that were also optimized to gain a greater advantage in the second tournament team battle royale. The F6 members all felt the enhancement in their attributes, and besides, Roland had always been the army adviser type of character in their group, so the others would consider what he said a little more, even if it didnt sound reasonable. Since there was no problem in terms of attributes, then naturally they would listen to Roland Within ten minutes, everyone had their gear readied. The next step was to wait. Schuck and the others were a bit nervous, but Roland seemed calm and collected because of the mental power enhancement that came with the Mage profession. He continued to operate the black balls stereoscopic projection and found that he could search for videos of other teams games. He entered a random number, and the system prompted, The tournament hasnt started, there is no such team number. I see. Roland went back to his friends and chatted with them, making dirty jokes to lower the tension. Time passed quickly and then five minutes before the start of the tournament, they got their team number. 69! Well, thats an interesting number. Everyone revealed ambiguous smiles, including Betta. Schuck then spotted Bettas smile. Boy, it looks like youve lost your virginity, and you even know what 69 means. Betta could only laugh dryly. Li Lin and the others immediately became curious, and they surrounded Betta. They asked him about the brothel where his first rite of passage was held, how old the girl was, if she was pretty, and so on. When men got together, they either talked about politics or women-boring and vulgar was just the way it was. Betta could still only laugh embarrassingly without saying anything. As they pressed Betta to confess, Betta gradually couldnt resist anymore. At this moment, the black ball made a sound: The tournament has officially started, would you like to start matching? They then let Betta off the hook. Betta sighed in relief. Schuck put on his heavy armor, and under the effect of Saint Samurais specialty, Body of Light, golden veined magic patterns gradually appeared on his standardized armor, looking extremely beautiful. He looked at Roland and asked, Surely there will be teams that wont be in a hurry to fight, but will watch the others fight for a game or two before deciding on their equipment set up and tactics. Should we also watch for a while? No need. Roland waved his hand. According to the rules, as long as we get points to place in the top as soon as possible, there will only be the top ten teams that will be matched afterward, and its all those teams back and forth, so we dont need to think about too many tactics. You have to understand that the configuration of the best teams is similar, and the budding players tactics are very strange. The masters tactics can still be traced-how to counter and prevent can be considered. The newbies all kinds of strange configurations, playing against them will be quite a headache. Thats why I think its easier to keep winning by trying to increase our score first and fighting fixed teams. Okay, Ill start then. Schuck, the titular captain, walked up to the black ball projector and clicked on the match option. A pale white circle slowly rotated in the center of the interface, and in a short while, the black ball emitted a ding, then the five people saw a blur and were transported to a grassland. A blue square boundary spread out around them. Roland looked around and saw that the boundary was quite large, about a hundred by hundred by a hundred-meter cube of space. On the opposite side, there were five pixelated shadows. At this moment, it was the battle preparation state, and the personnel involved in the match could be changed. Shuck looked around and said, This is grassland terrain, should we switch Husseret up? No need. Roland shook his head. The grassland terrain isnt complicated, and Thieves have no advantage in this environment, so just start. Schuck chose the option ready to go in the system. It wasnt long before the other side was ready as well, then a gong suddenly sounded in the boundary and the match officially began. The five pixelated shadows on the other side became five archers at once. Roland subconsciously ducked behind Schuck. Next, he snapped his fingers repeatedly and applied all kinds of enhancement spells to everyone, followed by level-two spell Protection From Arrows. The other side is going to lose for sure, Roland said bluntly. After casting enhancement spells, Roland had no desire to attack at all. He hid and watched his three friends charge up, and Brazil, the ranger, slowly moved forward, releasing arrows out of the blue from time to time to interfere with the enemys attacks. His blank panther turned invisible. see The five archers on the other side, all of whom seemed to have special professions to enhance their rate of fire, shot in rapid succession at the same time, and actually produced a kind of Gatling gun effect. A continuous stream of arrows was fired at the four of them, but they were bounced off by Protection From Arrows. Seeing that long-range attack was ineffective, the five began to retreat and fire. Generally, there were limits to defensive spells, and even Protection From Arrows would disappear after blocking a certain number and power of arrows. So they continued to pull back. The archers were good at maneuvering, but unfortunately, Rolands friends with various enhancement spells were not slow either, not to mention that the boundary had a range, and the archers couldnt forever keep their distance. Once they reached the end of the boundary, they were bound to turn the corner, and then they were caught up by the three melee professionals. As a Saint Samurai, Schuck was capable of long-range attacks, but to save his magic power, he chose close combat. With the Saint Samurais unique White Sun Assault Sword Art, the golden wings behind him, and the acceleration spell, he easily caught up with the two archers and took them out with ease. Li Lin and Raffel each took one out. Brasils pet panther, in steal mode, took out an archer. In less than two minutes, the five opponents were killed. They were then teleported back to the small house. Husseret and Betta were waiting there. They had watched the entire match through the projector. As soon as they appeared, Betta shouted, Everyones so impressive. Were number one for now, and we were the first to end our match. Beta spoke as he pointed to the ranks on the black ball projector. But in the few moments that he was talking, three teams won almost simultaneously, and all of a sudden there were four teams tied for first place. Everyone, sit down and rest, and as soon as your strength returns, say so and well continue to match for opponents. Thanks to Rolands previous comment about setting up with endurance equipment, all five of them were able to recover their stamina or magic quite quickly. In less than three minutes, everyones status was at 100% again. Schuck again immediately pressed the button to match for opponents. In the second match, the opponents were a combination of two shield Warriors, an Archer, a Priest, and a Warlock. And that Warlock was the disgusting fire feces Warlock. There was supposed to be an advantage on Rolands side; the shield Warriors and the Archer had been taken out and no one was taken out on Rolands side. Victory was in sight. But in the end, the Warlocks big white maggot self-destructed. Feverishly spewing out massive amounts of hot, yellowish-white liquid feces. With fire feces flying everywhere, there was no place to land in the sky or on the ground. The space within the boundary looked quite large, but not for the smell, and there was no wind! The entire boundary stank and was so disgusting that it made people dizzy and want to vomit. Luckily, with the Extreme Body Fortification, Roland and the others had better physiques than the opponents, and the two sides stayed where they were and endured, vomiting and waiting for each other to die. This battle lasted thirty-seven minutes. When they came out of the arena, Rolands face was pale and his steps were wobbly. 486 There Are Lots of Weird People But the problem was, everyone had combat experience, and after playing the game for over a year, even casual players had a lot of it. So in this competition, everyones starting point was actually similar. At most, it was just that Roland had mastered more magic and Saint Samurai Schuck had higher attributes. Even though the F6 members worked extremely well together, the cooperation of the other groups wasnt too far behind theirs, so this tournament was quite challenging. There were thousands of game masters and thousands of newbies, and accidents happen to everyone. Roland never expected his team to win all the time. They just had to have a high enough win rate so that they would naturally take first place, and he had faith in his small team that even if they lost once or twice, they would quickly find a way to target their enemies. That was what he thought. But this current situation, where the second game was a strange play that messed with his mind, was something he never expected. He had read the introduction and promotional posts of the flying feces method, and he had laughed so hard watching someone get surrounded by heated yellow-white feces and then die from the stench. Now the group of experts who were watching the livestream for F6s battle habits were probably laughing a lot too. Roland squatted on the floor and retched. Although they had escaped from the hell of feces stench, they were inevitably covered in the stench, making the entire chamber stink. The other four looked much the same, all of them pale and lifeless. Betta covered his nose and said, Were first in points for now. Should we take a break first? Definitely need to rest, its too disgusting, Roland said helplessly. Wait for us to recover. Beta covered his nose, stepped to the side, and began operating the stereoscopic projection on the light sphere, clicking on the second-ranked team that was fighting. The second-ranked team actually included Rolands acquaintance, Solisa from the Phoenix Guild. This team was all members from the Phoenix Guild, full of female Elven Summoners. The opening was a non-stop summoning of beasts, and not long after, the five of them filled the entire arena with summons. Their opponents despaired, gave up the fight, and allowed these summoners to beat them back to their room. Then the screen flashed with comments. Thats shameless. How can others fight like that? Ive already said that the biggest winners from nerfing Roland are these summoners. I do think that theyll have a natural counter. A natural counter my ass. I cant figure out how to deal with so many summons without a powerful group attack. Roland, on the other hand, estimated the duration of the fight at over two minutes. Schuck leaned in and asked, What if we run into them? Schuck felt troubled too. If it wasnt for the restriction, he wouldnt even care about this group of summons. Riding on the little fire dragon princess and sweeping flames back and forth in the air, even if he couldnt kill them all, he could still escape. Until now, the only one who could fly faster than dragons was Roland. In reality, in this kind of field with a boundary, Roland was also very restricted. His spatial bubble combo technique would catapult him a distance of more than 100 meters right away, directly hitting the wall, so now he couldnt fly at all. Roland nodded slightly. Their summoning speed is a bit slow. If its against them, you guys dont wait for me to add buffs, just charge forward, Ill back you up with firepower from behind. Summoners needed summoning preparation, which was their biggest weakness. If it was usually fine in the outside world, as they would always be followed by a few defensive summons, but in a match, they couldnt summon until they teleported to the arena, and even if they summoned something, it would be eliminated during the teleportation. Okay, thats my domain. Li Lin walked over and took off his armor, revealing his Barbarian war tattoos. No one is more reckless than us Barbarians. As they gathered, they suddenly noticed that they seemed to smell worse, and immediately pulled away again. Solisas team won again, and now they were first, with Roland and the others back in second place. Shall we go in? Li Lin asked somewhat anxiously. Roland shook his head. Wait a little longer. Although the stamina has recovered, my spirit hasnt. Im still feeling nauseous. Schuck said, Same here. Li Lin tsked. Your spirits are weak, it just stinks, like me blegh! Seemingly thinking back to those yellow and white things on the field earlier, Li Lin couldnt help but run to the side and dry heave. Everyone laughed quite cheerfully, and it seemed that even the stench in the room was reduced. Roland thought that Solisa would take a break for a while, but after the projector went black for three minutes, Roland was trying to see how the other top-ranked teams fought, and then Solisas livestream channel lit up again. This time they were against two Warriors and three spellcasters. And all three spellcasters were followed by a white maggot. The entire F6 crew gaped. The comments on the screen were all ellipsis. As soon as the match started, the three white maggots sprayed yellowish-white matter into the sky, while they plugged their noses with towels. One white maggot was disgusting enoughthere were three now! What grudge did these fire feces Warlocks have against the players? The flying feces covered half of the field on the opposing side. The five beautiful and fair-skinned Summoner girls were drenched. Their forms couldnt even be seen, as they were covered in thick, yellowish-white slurry. The heads of the summons only came out halfway before the summoning stopped. As if time had stopped temporarily, these five Summoner girls fell to the ground simultaneously, splashing liquid feces everywhere and no longer moving. Then the system automatically announced that the maggot Warlocks side had won. A dense, frantic wave of comments now painted the livestream feed. Fu**, what the hell kind of operation is this? I feel suffocated. Damn, how can I fight against such an obscene battle style. Can I abandon the match? Its all right, the chances of encountering a fire feces Warlock shouldnt be high, as long your luck isnt too bad. Believe you, yeah right, you terrible old man. As far as I know, the fire feces Warlocks account for half of the total population of Warlocks, and the number of Warlocks is at least 80,000. The participation rate of the entire player base is now over ninety-five percent, which means that at least seventy thousand Warlocks are participating, and there are at least thirty thousand fire feces Warlocks participating. With their fighting power, their ranking should be quite high, meaning that if anyone wanted to get a good ranking, they were bound to meet fire feces Warlocks. F**k, Im forfeiting the tournament now. Dont be in a hurry to forfeit the tournament, we can make a complaint on the black ball projector. Make the fire feces Warlocks f**k off. Yes, yes, yes, theres still this method. Looking at the projector, the F6 members looked at each other. Li Lin scratched his head in annoyance and said, I take back what I just said. Even I cant resist this situation, I have to save face. Schuck hesitated for a moment and looked at Roland. Maybe we should forfeit the tournament too, I dont want to get drenched in that stuff. Someone as handsome as I am cant stand the humiliation. Though Schuck usually didnt care much about whether his looks would be affected, in reality, he had a lot of idol baggage on the inside. Imagine a super handsome guy getting drenched in something yellow and white. That would be a beautiful picture. Roland thought for a moment and asked, Schuck, I remember that Saint Samurai seem to have an aura ability that speeds up the spell construction process, right? We do. Schuck nodded. Those fire feces Warlocks may be extremely difficult for others to deal with, but it doesnt seem to be much of a problem for us. After all, this stench doesnt discriminate between friend or foe. As long as we can resist it, the only ones who will die from the stench are them. But the problem is, well get drenched all over, so well definitely die of nausea first. Next to him, Raffel was puzzled and said, Do you have any spells to bounce those flying feces back? Roland shook his head. Im not very good at wind magic, but Im good at Mud to Rock, so if we meet these fire feces Warlocsk again, Ill use this spell to wrap us in an enclosed space and wait for them to stink and poison themselves, and well naturally be the ones who win. Oh yeah, theres such a move. Everyones eyes lit up. At this time, everyone received a system message: According to the feedback from many players, regarding the maggot Warlocks fighting style being too indecent our event-planning team members approved the maggot Warlocks fighting style after five minutes of discussion. The match will continue on as usual. Roland and the others werent watching the livestream at this point, but they knew that all the matches were livestreamed and there mustve been anguished wailing. Roland stood up. Schuck, continue with the matches. All right. Schuck stood up and clicked on the option to match for opponents. In less than five seconds, the five of them were teleported again. On the opposite side this time was an all-trades combination of a Warrior, a Mage, a Priest, an Archer, and a Great Swordsman. When they saw Roland and the others and recognized Roland and Schuck, all of them revealed helpless looks. Although they already felt like they had lost, they still took the fight with Roland and the others seriously. It was just that with Rolands various group buffs, their attributes were quite a bit worse than Rolands and the rest. Roland and Brazil, the damage dealers, didnt have much to do, and the opponents were knocked down by Schuck and the other two on the front line. With this win, the 69 team was back at the top of the standings, tied with several other teams. Back in the closed room, thanks to the fact that the entire team chose equipment with stamina and constitution regeneration, they rested for just over a minute, and then matched up again. The white light dissipated and they were transported to a rugged hillside. They had the summit to their right, the cliff to their left, and a barely five-person-wide path leading forward in the middle. And on opposite them were two acquaintances. 487 Victorious in Small Team Battles The F6 team was recognized as the strongest, which could be seen from their two battles. Unlike those teams that won in strange ways, the overall strength of F6 was really strong, with no shortcomings. The front line, backline, support, and healing, they had it all, and none of it was bad. Even such a disgusting stench attack could be endured purely with their attributes, wearing down the fire Feces Warlocks. The win rate for such a team was very high. Also, Hawk and Link owed a lot to Roland. Now that theyd bumped into him if they fought seriously, they would feel sorry for doing so, and if they didnt fight seriously, they wouldnt enjoy themselves and would feel uncomfortable. While they were still at a loss, Roland didnt think about it that much. Whats the point of being a pussy during the match? Just go! Several group enhancement spells were added to his teammates, and the Barbarian Li Lin jumped right over, followed by the Shield Warrior Raffel. Schuck spread apart a pair of light wings, looking unbelievably handsome. Brazil already fired the first arrow. Roland, on the other hand, stared at Link and directly used Hypnosis on him. Based on his previous experience, Roland found that Link had a slightly weaker soul for some reason, and his mental power was slightly lesser as a result. Using mental magic on him was extremely effective. Sure enough, just as Link was about to resist Li Lins Leap Slash, Rolands Hypnosis hit him first, and Links consciousness fell into a trance and his movements stalled. Experts exchanged blows in an instant. During this trance, Li Lin came down from the sky, his giant sword about to slash Link. Hawk noticed that something was off with Link, and blocked directly in front of him to hold off Li Lins attack, but after a loud metallic crash, Hawks entire body was pressed down such that he was on one knee because of the blows immense power. This shook the ground and raised a cloud of dust. But it wasnt over yet, and Raffel charged in, hitting the unsuspecting Hawk. Hawk was knocked right off the cliff, letting out a sharp scream-he was afraid of heights. Link then shook his head, coming to his senses and looking at Hawk who was sent flying backward. He shouted sadly and furiously, No An arrow went right through his eye, and with an Oh he fell on his back, his body seizing a few times before all movement ceased. Li Lin tsked; as a Barbarian he instinctively liked to fight and felt quite annoyed his target was killed. Looking around, he found that the enemies were all dead. Two others also died under Brazils arrows, and one was cut in two by Schucks giant sword. Hawk and Link of Silver Wings, who were already behind Roland and the others in level, and who had recently been running the port business, hadnt clashed with anyone for a long time and were a bit rusty in terms of fighting. Besides, Roland and the others didnt feel any mental pressure when they fought, whereas Hawks and Links mentalities were weakened when they saw Roland. With these two combined, the difference appeared great. The livestream of the F6 teams battle was the most watched. At this time, many people were exclaiming on the pop-up comments: Silver Wings is no good after it disbanded that time, and although it is now reconstituted, their ambitions are gone, and a few core members alone cant accomplish anything. More people were thinking about how they should deal with F6. The team was so well-rounded that it was almost impossible to find any weaknesses. The other teams in the tournament started a lot of shenanigans, but they were also easy to counter. For example, a team full of Summoner girls was instantly annihilated by a shot of yellow and white stuff. The teams with maggot Warlocks, on the other hand, as long as one could endure the stench and toxin attacks better than they could, it was almost a sure victory. Exiting from the playing field, Roland and the others took a break of about two minutes then started the next game. Now that they were in first place, they obviously had to keep extending their advantage. No matter what, you guys just charge forward after I add buffs. Dont wimp out, it doesnt matter even if we lose occasionally, we have a high win rate. As long as the number of fights is high enough, our score will be high. r SCO In theory, Roland was not wrong to say this, but as soon as he finished his sentence, he was proven wrong by a bizarre team. The match was on the beach. The opponents were five Priests. Priests were a very versatile profession, able to resist and fight, capable of long-range and close-range combat. It wasnt unusual to have two Priests in a team of five, but having all five as Priests wasnt good. According to the previous tactics, as long as it wasnt maggot Warlocks, everyone could charge up directly. This was what Schuck and the others did. But that was when the accident happened; as Schuck and the others rushed to the five Priests, they tore their heavy armor to shreds with their magic and spewed it. The Water God Churchs unique skill, Exploding Armor. The dense shards of metal armor spewed out like sprawling black sands, shooting Schuck and the other two, who were rushing forward, into sieves. Their bodies were densely embedded with sharp, irregularly-shaped pieces of metal. Those with trypophobia would pass out on the spot if they saw it. Even having Protection From Arrows didnt help, as too many attacks directly exceeded the strength limit of the protection spell. Brazil, in the middle of the field, was struck by a dozen stray shots of metal armor shrapnel, one of which hit him directly in the heart, killing him instantly. Then in the blink of an eye, Roland was left alone. Rolands eyes widened, appearing extremely surprised. Then he shook his head helplessly. S**t, so the Water God Churchs Exploding Armor skill is this terrifying when multiple people use it at the same time. He then watched as five strong men wearing only their underwear, holding spiked spike hammers, rushed toward him with grim looks. Although he could still resist a bit, his opponents already had no ultimate move and no means of defense and he might win, it would be too much of a waste of time. And wrestling with five muscular, topless, fierce men was not a pleasurable thing to do. Roland didnt hesitate to throw a small blue fireball at his feet, and the violent explosion and flames directly engulfed him. He revived inside the match waiting room. The F6 members expressions were befuddled, and after a while, all seven of them laughed almost simultaneously. This game is too damn interesting. There was always a surprise coming when they thought they were about to be invincible. Roland said, We failed miserably. Next time, be careful when we encounter Priests. Brazil and I will test them with long-range attacks to make sure they arent Water God Churchs Priests, then you guys can go up for melee combat, otherwise, Ill take care of it. Everyone, keep recovering, and once youre in good shape, Schuck will keep matchmaking. Were still in the first place right now, theres no need to rush. It was indeed as Roland had said; they had a relatively higher win rate. The other strong teams each had their own special characteristics, but each of their own natural counters. For example, the Summoner girls had no way to deal with the maggot Warlocks. They would just lie down and admit defeat when they encountered them. And the team of maggot Warlocks wouldnt have it easy if they encountered those that were particularly tolerant of the stench. As F6 continued their games, their win rate increased. Because for the next few matches, they never lost again. And the top ten were also roughly set. Two teams from the Phoenix Guild were on the list, and the Summoner girls had almost no rival other than the maggot Warlocks, who they were most afraid of. Then there were also two teams in the top ten with maggot Warlocks at their core, and in the ranking between the eleventh and the hundredth place, the share of teams with maggot Warlocks was quite high. Among the top hundred teams, those with maggot Warlocks accounted for more than thirty of the teams. Teams with a full Summoner configuration only accounted for five teams. One could imagine how strong the maggot Warlocks battle adaptability was. After a dozen more rounds, Roland and the others battle frequency slowed down. They were the ones who had deliberately slowed down because F6s score was already leading by thirty-three points from second place. The second places score was only half of theirs Once they had enough points, they calmed down and only played one game about every half-hour. The rest of the time they spent watching livestreams. Seeing how the others played, looking at the configurations of the other teams, learning something from them, and also finding ways to target these tournament teams. In the livestream, there was a Great Swordsman who started with a Whirlwind Slash in a sea of summoned creatures, but unfortunately, some of the summoned creatures were flying. The man was then flooded by the spells of summoned creatures flying in the air. Summoning is still powerful. Schuck sighed. Its mostly the rules of the game that limit them, otherwise theyd come out with hundreds of summons and I dont think anyone could beat them. How could they not restrict them? Li Lin grunted, dissatisfied. Youre both restricted, or else one of you would be riding a dragon and one of you would be using super-powerful group attack spells, see if the Summoners can resist! Good point! It would be useless for the opponent to have any more summoned creatures if they did not limit the power of Rolands Inferior Fireball. The five-versus-five team battles are still not very fair, said Roland. The playing field is too small for long-range professions, which basically limits their survivability. The only thing that can really tell if a profession or a group is strong or not is probably the team scramble tournament that will be held tomorrow. Roland started talking about tomorrows tournament, and it was clear that he meant that victory was already in their hands. And indeed it was. Theyd played against the top twenty teams once. The only defeat was a surprising feat by the Priests of the Water God Church and the rest of the games consisted of F6 crushing the other teams. Even after encountering the Phoenix Guilds female Summoners, Schuck and the others rushed up, tangled with the other team, and attracted their attention. Meanwhile, Roland just had to bombard the rear with small blue fireballs with a five-meter radius in a frenzy, and Roland blew up as many creatures as the other party summoned. It was simply ruthless to the extreme. Of course, this was also related to the fact that the opponents summons had been disproportionate in size, or else, once the number was large enough to trigger the summoners unique summoning force field boundary skill, it would be difficult for Rolands fireballs to break their defense. Unless the fireball was increased to more than two meters in diameter. That kind of blast had a tremendous range and was completely powerful enough to break the defense of the summoned creatures force field boundary. Having beaten the maggot Warlocks and the Summoners, they had a clear idea of what the top twenty teams patterns were. There were no more surprises to speak of, and now it was just a matter of waiting for the days small team battle tournament to end. What happened next was just as they had expectedthere were no surprises to speak of. Roland and the others took their time and played another dozen games, maintaining the first-place score until the end of the tournament. The official announcement of the 69th teams win came in the system announcement. Then it was announced that the real highlight of the event, the team scramble, would begin tomorrow at this time. Everyone in F6 seemed quite excited. 488 A Mages First Priority is to Protect Logistics For the first time in the world, more than 400,000 players on the same server were competing These two elements alone combined were already extremely appealing, not to mention the fact that this was the worlds first immersive virtual reality game. This was why all the players who participated were so excited. The previous team battles were not really of great interest to the players, who emphasized participation, but it was a drill to see if the five-versus-five team coordination could be useful on the large battlefield. More importantly, the rewards for the top ten in the five-versus-five team battles were so-so. It was just one piece of excellent magic equipment of each team players choice for the victors. The second to the ninth place was just awarded with some gold coins. The real reward was in the team scramble battles. The first team would receive two additional professional specialties. The second team would receive an extra specialty The third team could choose to receive an attribute boost of one point of their choice. Players were well aware that specialties were fundamental to a profession, the second being attributes. Being able to get two specialties meant that you would have an advantage over others with equipment of the same level that was similar. And some skills and specialties, if paired well, were greater than the sum of their parts. Roland entered the game on time and was transported directly to a sealed room like last time, but it was so much bigger that there would be no problem fitting a hundred people into it. It didnt take long for all the F6 members to arrive. Roland carefully inspected the detailed rules of the team scramble. First of all, the real-time for the tournament was eight hours or one night, but in the games time, it was ten days long. It was no longer a matter of super-advanced technology, and it even gave the terrifying illusion that the game officials could even stop time. The explanation given by the games official was: we temporarily froze the entire game worlds time, giving up the vast majority of computing power over there to put it on this tournament map. Roland snickered after reading it. He certainly did not buy that. He quickly navigated through the rules of the game, then looked at the time. There were still ten minutes until the match started. Only Li Lin was upset and said, The game officials are so troublesome. Its rare that theyve held an event, why cant we just fight or do whatever feels the best. Whats with so many random configurations! I think its more interesting this way. Roland smiled. This is fit to be called a survival battle royale. Li Lin shrugged. Its the same as before: were outnumbered, and well survive as long as we can last in the early stages until the mid to late stages, then well power on. Schuck smiled. No problem. It was F6s habit to set a simple plan for the time being After all, there were a lot of variables in the tournament, and other plans had to be improvised based on the situations after entering the tournament. They sat down and waited patiently, and after several minutes, the system sent out a countdown to the start of the tournament, and as the time reached zero, their vision went white, and then they realized that they had arrived on a hill. There was a blue sky and white clouds overhead, and in the surroundings, there was a purple curtain of light descending from the void in the distance, forming an immeasurably large circular wall, isolating the outside world. It seemed that the purple light curtain was the so-called wall of air and poison. The wall of light was so far away from them that Roland intuited from his own experience that the inner diameter of the circle of light was at least forty kilometers. What a big map. Roland exclaimed. He couldnt help but get excited just thinking about the fact that there were around 400,000 people hidden in this large map. Beside him, Schuck asked, What next? The F6 members all gathered around, waiting for Roland to give orders. The guild system is blocked and the chat system cant be used. Roland had already checked the function of his system. So first we have to figure out long-distance contact. Everyone frowned. The terrain of this map was very complex. Now that they were on the hills, there were already a lot of trees here, and the terrain looked green and undulating from afar. It was easy to lose track of their companions if they werent careful. But if they didnt spread out and explore, it would be hard for them to gain an intelligence advantage. After all, they were already outnumbered; the other groups all had fifty members. Dont worry, I have a way. Roland threw out three magic spiders. The seven of us will split into four groups, Schuck and Betta, the two cousins; Raffel and Brazil; and Husseret and Li Lin. You all take a magic spider with you. Though you cant talk to each other, I can keep track of your actions, and I can make the spider make some simple movements that represent some basic tactical guidelines. For example, a spider jumping three times means make a quick retreat, rubbing its front claws in a certain direction means to go in this direction, and so on. They were delighted. Wonderful, thats a good method. Schuck spotted the shortcoming. Each of our group consists of two people who can look out for each other, so would it be dangerous for you to be in a group by yourself? I can fly. Roland smiled. Normally, Im much safer than you guys. Everyone felt so too. Though Schuck also had a pair of light wings, he couldnt fly very high, just hovering two or three meters off the ground. In comparison, Rolands flying speed was outrageous. Then well depart right now? Schuck picked up a blue magic spider and placed it on his shoulder. Roland waved his hand. Theres no rush, Ill make some equipment for you guys. With that said, Roland snapped his fingers several times, and the dirt on the ground quickly melted into black mud, which then caked into rock. In a short time, four round stone hammers, two long rock pikes, and a rock shield were built. It doesnt have a great touch, but its better than being empty-handed. Schuck, Li Lin, Betta, and Raffel picked up round stone hammers, and Raffel also picked up a rock shield. The two agility types, Husseret and Brazil, picked up the long rock pikes. Schuck tapped the round stone hammer in his hand and smiled. Its pretty hard. Its good to have a powerful Mage around, even equipment can be made. ro The other F6 members all nodded in agreement. At this moment Roland used his magic power to lift the soil on the ground upward, eventually turning it into a tall black rock pillar at least thirty meters tall. Stop flattering me, lets all go out and explore. This rock pillar is the marker; we will gather here later. Roland thought about it and said, During the exploration, if you find anything edible, try to put it in your Backpack and bring it back. Got it. The three teams left in three different directions. Roland wasnt in a hurry to explore, as he tested his oil-making spell first. It works! He quickly used Mud to Rock to create a few irregularly-shaped rock bowls to store the insect oil. When surviving in the wild, there were many wild plants to eat, but not many people wanted to eat them-why? It was too hard to swallow, but it would taste so much better if there was oil to use to fry it. The insect oil was extremely fragrant and came with a flavoring effect and a slightly salty taste that could definitely turn something unpalatable into something delicious. Next up is the water-making spell! It also works. Smiling, Rolands eyes narrowed when he looked at the pool of clear water in his hand. With oil and water, F6 would start with more advantages than the others. They could even use this water to make traps to capture other players in places where water was scarce. While he was at it, Roland summoned more oil and water, made two more rock vats to hold them, and only stopped when his magic power was halfway depleted. In this way, he had saved ten kilograms of insect oil and about twenty kilograms of water. He placed it all in his Backpack. While the poisonous circle was still large, when there were few battles, it would be better to store some supplies first, or else, when they arrived at the middle or late stage, when the poisonous circle would shrink and hundreds of thousands of people would crowd together to fight to the death Not to mention finding food, at that time, there might not even be time to eat; it would be more probable that people would grab a handful of random things to eat during battle. And preparing food and drink in advance might be the key factor in surviving to the end. Roland rested in place for a while afterward and judging from the images coming from the three magic spiders, none of the three groups had encountered any enemies, though Betta seemed to have found plenty of food. A whole lot of edible wild plants, a dozen large white and tender worms, and two long, large worms. Yes this kid is so good at finding food. What has he been through in his previous gaming experience? Roland sat on the grass and rested for a while, and seeing that the magic was back to three-quarters, he used Human Cannonball and launched himself skyward. With the wind whistling in his ears, Roland flew about five hundred meters above the ground and stopped climbing further up. With no magic regeneration equipment, no Mind-Calming Necklace, and no special epic title buffs, Rolands magic power cap was no different from that of ordinary players of the same level. Originally, he could use Human Cannonball casually, but with three or four uses, he now consumed a quarter of his total magic power. Giving himself Slow Landing, Roland looked down at the earth from above. Endless greenery stretched out beneath his feet, spreading into the distance-everywhere was woods and bushes. From the air, he could only see rough terrain, the ground rising and falling. He couldnt see the situation below. This was why ground reconnaissance was the most important thing in this instance. The camera system was also disabled at this time, so Roland could only try to keep in mind the terrain as far as he could see. He looked around in a circle, then suddenly saw a strange place to the southeast, a patch of earthy spots in the endless green as if there were buildings there. Huh? 489 Deflower It was high ground, so the surrounding area could be seen. And if the enemy wanted to attack, they would have to climb the hill and would definitely be at a disadvantage. There were many summoned creatures patrolling the entire hilltop and the bottom of the hill, Sirius, forest leopard, deer women, and so on. There were also many flying summoned creatures in the air, such as black hawks, little fairies, and others patrolling the surroundings. Together, these summoned creatures numbered at least a thousand. This terrifying number was formed by half of the Phoenix girls, the other half of which were not involved in the summoning and were recovering their magic power. Logically, gathering troops high up allowed for ease of attack and defense, and Solisas decision was not wrong. But now, her team was facing a big problem. Some people were starting to get thirsty. And no water source could be found nearby at the moment. Solisa gathered four group leaders together. She looked at the rolling forest in the distance and said helplessly, We are now facing two problems: water and food sources. The situation isnt critical, and the food can be placed down the line of priorities, but the water source has to be addressed immediately. In three or four hours, everyone will be thirsty, and while it wont be to the point of dying from thirst, it will definitely affect our battle power. The other four beautiful girls all sighed in unison. When they first entered the game, they were pretty excited. They believed that the complex battlefield environment of the team scramble was where they could use their true strength. Right from the start, they could summon a large number of creatures to protect themselves, without the weakness of needing to pre-summon. With fifty people working together, even if only half of them maintained their summons, they could form an army of a thousand summons. There were all kinds of land, sea, and air forces, with scouting and striking integrated. If summoned with full strength and the addition of the specialty Special Extra Summons, fifty people could pull together an army of summoned creatures of at least 3000. It was a true sea of beasts that could crush everything e se Roland, who was good at wide-range attack magic, was also restricted, and he could be now considered half-crippled. With no counters, how could they lose! As for maggot Warlocks, heh! Their sea of summons had excellent scouting ability and could move three or four kilometers away from them before the maggot Warlocks even got close to them. This was the high-level tactical systems dominance over low-level tactics. Those maggot Warlocks in particular were their main target of attack this time. There were even already girls who shouted that they could lose the group battle, but the feces fire Warlocks must die. It couldnt be helped-fire feces Warlocks were too disgusting Too obscene. They had suffered greatly during the five-versus-five team battles. They had to take revenge. They had looked forward to the wonderful scenario of their three Phoenix groups killing gods and demons before the game. The anticipation was that the three sub-groups of the Phoenix Guild would kill all the other players and fight it out in the final venue, taking the top three places. Theoretically, this was correct. After all, before the tournament, the vast majority of players believed that everything was in the Phoenix Guilds favor. Even a big data projection company Solisa hired to do a few calculations with a data model thought they had over a ninety-percent chance of winning. However all of them did not expect the game officials inclusion of a hunger bar. If it was said that limiting the power of group damage spells was a great nerf to Roland, to the F6 guild Then, the addition of the hunger bar was a demotivating blow to the entire female population of the Phoenix Guild. The girls of the Phoenix Guild were all born as little princesses; after all, those who could take out 50,000 yuan to buy a game cabin definitely did not come from poor families. Nowadays, it was popular to have rich daughters, so many girls led a pampered life. Even though many girls knew how to cook a good meal, that was only if they went to the food market and bought the food first. Usually, in the game, they could use gold coins to buy food or prepare plenty of delicacies to put in their Backpacks, and the Summoners were so efficient at completing quests that none of them ever lacked money. So there was never any need to worry about food. But now the situation was completely different. Let them survive in the wild? This world was different, the wild vegetables they could eat all looked different. They had no idea how to tell if they were poisonous or not. Eat bugs? No way. Their own summoned creatures were not edible, and the vast majority of them were magical projections. The beasts here could be considered, but how to butcher and gut them, they didnt quite understand. Also, they didnt know how to effectively find water sources, and after nearly three hours of walking, they couldnt even find a small puddle. So now their morale had taken a huge hit. They couldnt even guarantee their survival, let alone win in ten days. Solisa sighed. If things really dont work out, well have to split up into two groups and head in different directions to find water. Since the officials created a hunger bar, there must be places to obtain water sources, and there shouldnt be too few water sources, its just that we havent seen them. The four other group leaders all lowered their heads. Someone said, But this way our advantage in numbers will be weakened. Its better than everyone dying of thirst, and if one group finds a water source, they might be able to inform us, Solisha said bluntly. But at this moment, a big fierce girl in a white robe came running over. She said rather excitedly, Chairman, weve found a water source, a lake, hidden in the woods about two kilometers to the east. Its not big, but in the picture that black hawk sent back, the water is quite clear, and there are fish swimming around, so it should be drinkable water. Great. Solisa waved her hand. Everyone move, the scouting team will go over first, eliminate any danger, and surround that lake. The water is ours, the fish is also ours, the others cant take it. If any other players come near, kill them on sight, dont need to think too much about it. At the command, fifty girls with thousands of summons surged eastward like a tidal wave. They were getting increasingly thirsty and were happy beyond measure to hear that there was a water source. On Rolands side, he was hovering in midair, peering down at the large ruins below and looking slightly happy. They were half-collapsed ancient elven stone buildings overgrown with weeds. There were also vague shadows of something moving about below. Roland slowly descended and found that all that was active below were skeletons. Looking at their levels, all of them were around level three to level five, and there were thirty-two of them as far as he could see. I wonder how many items are inside the building. According to the way the event was set up, the players started out with nothing, and everything had to be acquired, whether it was food or equipment. And this ruin obviously hadnt been explored by anyone yet, so if he wanted to acquire equipment, he had to do it quickly. After flying over the ruins and memorizing all the terrain nearby, he then found a small lake not far. There were also fish there. It was an excellent resting spot, and an excellent hunting ground as well. After considering for a moment, Roland activated Teleportation and returned to the previously marked place. Then he noticed that Betta and the others had already returned. When they saw Roland suddenly appear, they all sighed in relief. All of them shared what they had gathered, whether it was information or food. Bettas harvest was the most plentiful. He had brought back an extremely large amount of ingredients all by himself; even Schucks Backpack had been stuffed with a lot of fat worms as well as wild berries. Roland told them about the ruins he had seen. Then everyones eyes lit up. The equipment provided by the event was definitely better than the stone hammer and stone pike that Roland had createdthere was no need to question that. And better equipment was what would give them a competitive edge against other players over the next few days. Lets go over there right now. Li Lin added anxiously, If we go too late, someone else might take it all. Theres no rush, were thirsty and hungry now, so lets fill our stomachs first. Roland took out the insect oil and a large jar of water and gave it to Betta. Ill leave the cooking to you. Everyone, drink the water if youre thirsty, its clean. They were indeed a little thirsty, so they took the stone bowl and scooped it up and poured it into their mouths. After a while, all six of them drank their fill of water. Li Lin burped. This water is so sweet, where did you get it? Brother Roland invented the water-making spell. Betta explained, Its something that only a small number of Mages are aware of, and the average player doesnt know about it because its not a spell with immense lethality, so very few people are interested in it, including many player Mages. Many of them looked at Roland with strange expressions. Putting aside the invention of spells with destructive power, but actually inventing this convenient little spell, it was truly prescient. Roland then created a stone pot and a stone spatula with a Mud to Rock transmutation. Betta happily gathered some firewood and used this stone pot and spatula immediately, gathering his ingredients and cooking them with insect oil. Shortly after, the aroma began to spread. Betta was a really good cook, and with the insect oil, he was able to make a big pile of vegetables and worms that were quite tasty. Soon everyone was full, and there were even two extra servings of freshly baked greens and fried worms put in their Backpacks. For a short time, F6 didnt need to worry about food. Lets go. Roland looked at the sky; the sun was already off to the west. We need to find a way to get there before dark and take all precautions in case someone comes over while were halfway through the ruins to reap our rewards and kill us. As the inept advisor, Rolands words held quite some weight. The F6 members immediately began to move. Roland released three magic spiders to scout the road ahead. After walking quickly for more than half an hour, passing through a small forest, about ten minutes away from the ruins, Roland suddenly stopped. He gestured to hide, and the F6 members, who were already extremely well-coordinated, immediately found obstacles to hide behind. In a short while, a large, fully white Sirius appeared in front of them. This Sirius also stopped, and it began to sniff around the surroundings, sensing a strange smell in the air. But just at this moment, a high arching arrow suddenly appeared above its head and dropped down, directly piercing its skull and pinning it to the ground. High arching guided arrows, one of the Forest Eangers best skills. The Sirius let out a miserable cry and turned into specs of light and disappeared. Roland gestured and the F6 members immediately retreated from the area. After retreating a few hundred meters away, Roland said to the others, A Sirius scoutinga summons-obviously means that Phoenix Guilds Summoner girls should be up ahead. What should we do? Bypass them and give them the ruins? Li Lin was upset. This kind of team is not easy to fight. There are too many summoned creatures, and we dont have weapons. Roland smiled. A team of fifty is not easy to lead. They wont find food that easily, and if they do, its definitely not enough. Why dont we create some trouble for them and make it less easy for them to gather foodat least starve some of them to death to take the burden off of us later in battle. 490 Forever the King of Adorably Stupid After all, in their past games, there were always only six of them; not to mention their disadvantage in numbers, none of them were particularly outstanding. Everyone was from an ordinary family, and even Schuck, who had the title of foolish son of a landlord and young clan leader, only had more immovable assets, such as land and houses. Most of the old houses left over from the Ming and Qing dynasties had been rented by the government for projects such as cultural heritage exchange centers. Money was paid, but not much. Among the six people, Li Lin was the one who was more in line with the public perception, the true rich second generation, and only the rich second generation of a small county. Although he was considered rich, compared to the top rich second generation in the big cities, there was a gap. So Li Lin was certainly able to spend money on excellent equipment to rank at the top in many games, but there were always a few players who were richer than him, always standing on top of him. They didnt have the numbers, the difference in equipment was too great, and it was impossible for a small guild to win in a head-on fight against a large guild. Under these circumstances, F6 didnt care about winning or losing. They simply messed with peoples minds, irking them. For example, they secretly stirred up confrontations between big guilds and take advantage of conflict, starting an alt account to infiltrate into the enemy guild to stir up trouble, then inducing a change in the feelings of male and female players, undermining the morale of the guild, and even dissolving the guild as a result. Li Lin would also occasionally hire paid posters to smear the leader of a rival guilds reputation. Back then, a certain affair[1] was also fueled by Li Lin in the dark. It was soon night, and the three magic spiders blended into the small lake. The three magic spiders were quite small and hard to spot. Even if they were discovered, it wouldnt matter. There were summons all over the place, and even if someone found a small spider, they would at most think it was summoned by one of their companions. This was why sometimes groups with too many people were hard to manage; it wouldnt even be clear whether an enemy was mixed in among them. The three spiders scouted in separate directions before sending images and some distorted sounds to Roland. It was night, the moon was clear and there were few stars, and the F6 members were taking their time eating the worms stir-fried with vegetables, which actually tasted quite good. The insides of those worms had been cleaned and their heads were removed by Betta, so they were clean and tasted like frog meat. Everyone ate with relish except for Roland, who ate and stopped. He was always distracted because he had to receive information from magic spiders. After a while, Roland said to his friends, I see their leader, an old acquaintance, Solisa. They are now catching fish from the lake and grilling them, saying that the fish is so fishy while eating them, fishier than their boyfriends and that it tastes terrible without seasoning. Everyone laughed at that. The happiest thing in the world was to come out on top after comparing each other. They were eating delicacies here, but the other side probably couldnt even cook the fish thoroughly. Even if one or two girls were good at grilling, that wouldnt help all fifty people grill fish to eat. They still had to catch fish. Li Lin swallowed the last of the worm meat in the stone bowl and asked, Roland, what are we going to do about those chicks? Same old rules, screw with their mindset, Roland muttered. What are they most afraid of now? Feces? Li Lins eyes lit up. Should we throw a few piles of feces in their water source? I can provide a certain amount of chemical weapons. With that said, Li Lin patted his stomach wickedly. Schuck shuddered. Thinking of the flying feces he saw in the five-versus-five match, the remaining insect meat in his hand became unappetizing. Youre a rich second generation, how can you do something so nasty? If you really threw a few lumps in, those girls would hate you to death. Li Lin said with contempt, I wonder who took us to blow up cesspits with firecrackers back when everyone was still young and ruined the entire old villages cesspit several times? Schuck mocked, Hehe, who wasnt a brat back then. It was hard to imagine an adorable little boy whose favorite thing to do back then was to blow up cesspits with firecrackers. Watching the black-yellow and black-red stuff splash up from afar made them smile quite happily. Roland laughed. Theres no need for such troublesome tricks. What they fear most now is indeed feces, but what they hate the most is also feces. If we use such means to pollute the water source, even if we win the tournament, Solisa will hate us to death afterward. After all, she is also familiar with us, so we cant use such nasty means to deal with her. Then what? The usual, harassment. Roland laughed. One thing were good at is being flexible. I already know the effective control range of their sea of summons. The next step is to keep hunting them near their effective range. Theyre in the light, were in the dark, and with my three magic spiders scouting their movements from within, we can take our time hunting their summons. Betta frowned. But thats not a good idea. The Summoners sea of summons is almost infinite as long as they can supply magic power. In theory. Roland nodded. What we want is not to weaken their strength, but to dampen their spirits and lower their morale. Imagine having an unseen, untouchable opponent that has been hunting summons on their periphery at first, they will indeed not be too concerned, but as time passes, they will have to keep up their spirits to deal with it and guess what group is targeting them. Then they will become more and more cautious, and wont dare to randomly send people out in search of food, nor divide their forces. How long can the fish in the small lake supply them with food? Two days, three? Besides, its hard to guarantee that no other groups will come this way, and then it will be a simple matter to lure them into a fight. Betta nodded repeatedly after hearing this. Brother Roland, you have a point, its quite nefarious. This kid really doesnt know how to talk. Roland rolled his eyes at him. So during this hunting mission, we must not let our faces be seen, so we have to be masked. But Schuck, youre still handsome even if you are masked. The girls will easily guess your identity when they see you, so youre not included in this plan. Schuck was extremely upset. Its not my fault for being too good-looking. Also, Raffel, as a Shield Warrior, since your speed and mobility are too poor, you cant participate either. You and Schuck will form a team and find us some food nearby and dig up some vegetables. Raffel nodded. He was well aware of his biggest weakness, which was that he couldnt move fast enough, a problem all Shield Warriors had. At this moment, Roland closed his eyes for a moment and smiled. Well the magic spider sent new intelligence. I know where their defense is slightly weaker. Schuck and Raffel go dig for food, the others come with me. By the small lake, the moonlight reflected off the lakes slightly rippling surface, giving off shimmering sparkles. Solisa picked up half a piece of grilled fish, took a bite, then put it down. It was too fishy. With no utensils, no seasoning, and only the means to grill over a fire, the fish was really unpalatable. And without a knife, it was hard to even remove the scales, which made it taste even fishier to the tongue. Even though many people in the team were starving, they would take a bite or two of the grilled fish and then put it down, then wait until they were hungry again to try another bite. Solisa knew that this couldnt go on. How could they have the strength to fight without eating? And if they didnt eat enough, their magic regeneration speed would become extremely slow. However they couldnt be blamed, and Solisa herself couldnt quite stomach the foul-smelling grilled fish. She sighed as she watched a couple of aquatic summons in the water, bringing up yet another large fish. Before, the girls cheered every time a summon caught a fish. But no one did that anymore. Feeling a little hungry again, Solisa took another bite of the fishy grilled fish. She knew that at this rate, they would definitely not starve to death; after all, when starved to a certain extent, all food smelled good. The problem was, as soon as a little food was in their stomach, the fish would smell foul again. Now she was a little envious of the Lorewalkers who had the specialty Iron Stomach and could even find dirt delicious if they were hungry. When they werent hungry, they wouldnt feel sick from eating dirt, either. Looking at the grilled fish in her hand, which didnt even have its guts completely removed, Solisa wanted to throw the thing away. But at this moment, a girl from the scouting team came over and whispered, Captain, several of the summoned beasts I put in the southwest direction were killed. As expected. Solisa became a little excited. How many of them? Have they seen the face of the enemy? Can we fight now? Let those men see what a pure girls team can do. The girl shook her head. None of the images that came back before the summons disappeared showed anyone, and I dont even know how they disappeared. Southwest, was it? Put a third of the scouting teams summoned beasts over there and try to find the enemy. The girl nodded and left. Half an hour later, another girl came over and said, Captain, somehow over a dozen summoned beasts in the northeast were killed, and we didnt see anyone. Hmm two completely opposite directions? Were surrounded? Solisa sprang to her feet and shouted, Attention, all sisters, bring out all defensive summons, then send out all summons with nighttime abilities and surround the area. We may have encountered enemies. The girls immediately stood up. The magical glow on the edge of the lake shone brightly and dimmed, varying in color. A large number of nocturnal summoned beasts were projected onto the main plane and then dispersed with a silent command. About half an hour later, Solisa frowned. With them as the center, there was a large number of summons scouting and patrolling within two kilometers of them, but they found nothing A level-five Summoner could only allow summons to move within a two-kilometer radius around them at most; any farther than that, they would lose their magical connection. More than a thousand summoned creatures had gone dispersed over the two-kilometer radius, but they didnt see a single person. They did see quite a few small animals, but small animals couldnt make a dozen or so summons disappear at the same time. Just as she was puzzled, another girl shouted, The few leopards I put in the north are gone, they suddenly disappeared. Whats happening? Solisa asked urgently, Did they see anything before they disappeared? No! The girl hesitated for a moment and said, But a celestial wolf seemed to have vaguely seen a husky before it died? Its that one with the blank baffled stare thats often seen. What? 491 Im That Fast and Quick A husky? Solisa froze and said furiously, These guys who attacked us in the dark are taunting us, try to find them! Quick! Solisa didnt have a cranky personality. But most of them were half-starved right now, and those fish were just awfultoo fishy. Often, the power of food could calm people down. On the other hand, if they didnt eat well and starved, most people would become more irritable and temperamental. Wild animals were extremely fierce when they were hungry. Women were oftentimes known as tigresses and could be treated as half-beasts. Because of the awful food, not to mention Solisa, most of the female Summoners were unsettled and short-tempered. Hearing Solisas words now, a sub-captain stood up abruptly and shouted, Captain, let me take people to find the enemy. This place is our home turf, and when our squads summon at full strength, adding three to four hundred more summons to what there previously was, therell be about seven hundred summons. With this many summons, well annihilate everyone and anyone. Even if we encounter an entire team, we also have the confidence to retreat. I dont believe that they can kill us instantly! Hearing such ferocious words from her companion, Solisa instead calmed down immediately. She took a deep breath and said, One group cant go alone, two groups must go. Jessica and Angela, you two go outside together. Remember, dont go more than two kilometers away from us, or it wont be easy to establish contact. The maximum distance level-five Summoners could control a summoned beast from was two kilometers, and as long as they were within that range, they could count as a whole unit no matter where their companions were. Just as Solisa made this decision, another girl ran over and said, There are another dozen or so summoned beasts missing in the north, still no enemy in sight. Solishas face fell. It seems that the enemy is very good at hiding, they should be a group of Assassins who specialize in stealth assassination. You guys summon more deer women, fairies, or little flower demons. They have stronger mental power and know a small amount of magic, they might be able to use magic to find the enemy. Okay. The two squads leaders, Jessica and Angela, immediately set off with their squads. At this time, Roland was hiding underground. It was quite easy to dig a cellar through the interchanged use of Mud to Rock and Rock to Mud. And Roland had made several ventilation holes that were hidden in the grass, not large and almost impossible to detect. The cellar was extremely bright, and a ball of light hung above Roland and the others heads. They sat very quietly and none of them spoke. There were indistinct sounds of chaotic footsteps above their heads. The images sent by the magic spider showed a large group of summons running over them, and after a while, another group of summons came over. Several girls in coarse robes were soon seen coming in pairs. Their demeanor was relaxed, for all around them, both on the ground and in the sky were ranks of summoned beasts, and no one could get close to them. The Phoenix Guilds girls were quite pretty. After all, the main attribute of a Summoner was charm, and all of them had red lips and fair skin. They walked for a while and passed by the ground above Roland and the others. Roland raised his index finger and placed it to his mouth, signaling for Li Lin and the others to stay quiet. Then he focused on receiving the images from the magic spiders. Since the Phoenix Guild had temporarily split up, Roland also had one of the magic spiders follow the two teams of girls who had come out to scout the area. The other two spiders continued to monitor Solisa and the others over at the small lake. There were about twenty girls and they walked very slow. There was a round-faced girl who kept touching her stomach, and after a little more walking, she suddenly said, Captain, my stomachs not feeling well, its probably from eating the grilled fish. I cant stand it anymore, can I go to the side to take care of the metabolic process. The girls started laughing. Someone shouted, Youre out in the middle of nowhere, arent you afraid of people peeking? The girl rolled her eyes at them. This game lasts for ten days. As if you guys dont need to take care of this problem. The girl who seemed to be the captain waved her hand and laughed. Go quickly, go far away, and dont let us smell your poop. Dont worry, it smells like strawberries. The round-faced girl said with a wild look, Want to have a taste? Go, go, go! The group of girls were extremely disgusted and shooed her off. If a man was there, the girls would have acted ladylike. But now they were surrounded by women, so there was no one to pretend to be ladylike for, and if someone did so, theyd be despised by their sisters. The round-faced girl grunted and walked away, then found a thicker grassy area and looked around, nodding contentedly. She then kept her summoned beast at a distance. The others summoned beasts also subconsciously moved away from her. After all, these summoned beasts wills were connected to their owners, and no one wanted to see anyone else relieve themselves. The exception was those with special fetishes. Betta, who had been monitoring them, was now bright-eyed. He certainly had an idea, but it wasnt the obscene kind. Now that the girl was alone and the summoned beasts around her were far away it was a good time. And the girl wasnt far from Roland, at most a little over 100 meters away. Since the magic spiders vision was shared with Roland, Roland already knew the other partys location. Roland estimated the distance between the two sides; he could use Teleportation to go over and still be able to teleport back. Teleportation consumed more magic power than Long-Distance Teleportation and teleported a shorter distance. But Teleportation had one advantage, and that was its speed. It didnt require a spatial mark, and as long as one could see the location, one could go there. As long as there was enough magic power. He stood up. The action stunned his friends in the cellar. Roland continued to make a gesture of silence. Then he disappeared from the cellar. The round-faced girl had just lifted her robe and hadnt even taken off her pants yet. Then she felt what seemed to be a surge of magic behind her, and then her mouth was covered by someone. A stabbing pain then appeared on the left side of her chest. Her screams were trapped inside her mouth, muffled. Her gaze instinctively moved down to see a flaming longsword protruding from her chest. The robe at her chest was burning, and then she felt weak and lost consciousness in less than three seconds. Not even the basic survival reflex of struggling was present. When she was conscious again, she found herself transported back to the dark room. The enemys assassination techniques were too nimble. Huh? Huh? I died just like that? Who did it? How did he manage to walk in from outside the summoned creatures airtight defensive circle? Even the best Assassins would not be able to escape the probing of the celestial wolves, deer women, and fairies that had anti-stealth abilities. The round-faced girl turned on the black balls live feed, but because of the system restrictions, she could only watch her teams actions through the screen. This was the so-called team viewer mode. She then saw her teammates, who were clearly starting to panic. After the round-faced girl was defeated, her summons naturally disappeared. There were more than seventy of them, and with all of them gone at once, anyone who wasnt an idiot could sense that something was wrong. Her teammates quickly arrived at the spot where she had an accident, only to see the body of the round-faced girl, slowly becoming transparent. A girl looked at the wounds on the corpse and said, A fire-attributed blade went in through her back, its definitely a high-level Assassin. The enemy has already gotten equipment in the ruins, but how did he get in? The girls were all nervous. Although this was a magical world, and they were pretty good at fighting, as women, there was still some instinctive fear of unseen enemies. Now, we have to try to stay together and not separate, or else well give the enemy a chance to attack again. The captain of the scouting team, Jessica, frowned and said, Keep up the reconnaissance with the summons, the enemy has snuck in and we still havent found anything. We have to get serious. Let a group of celestial wolves come over and take in the scent, we cant miss any traces. At this point, a girl raised her hand and said sheepishly, What about the metabolism problem from now on? Everyone looked at Jessica with eager eyes. Jessica thought for a moment and said, When the time comes, go as a group of four for support and protection. The other girls showed expressions of disgust. Taking care of the metabolism problem in the wild and requiring protection meant getting close, so wouldnt that mean smelling each others poop? Not cool. Which of these rich fair-skinned girls didnt have some obsession with cleanliness! Its better to smell something than to have your ass blown straight up with a hot, sharp dagger while youre in a squat. At the thought of that miserable image, the girls felt a chill crawl up their spines to the back of their heads. Goosebumps rose all over their bodies. All right so itll stink a little. Roland had teleported back to the cellar, smiling proudly. This quick and fierce strike from a thousand miles away felt so cool. No wonder there were so many people in the sneaky profession of Assassins. It turned out that it really was a particularly thrilling feeling Under normal circumstances, Teleportation would produce magical fluctuations. Anyone who knew a little magic could feel it. But the problem was that there were too many summoned creatures around, and all of them were projections of aggregated magic power. In other words, there were sources of different fluctuating magic power scurrying around everywhere, and the bit of fluctuation generated by Rolands Teleportation was like a small wave in the ocean tide, not conspicuous at all. It would even be treated as a part of the summoned creatures magical fluctuations. When his friends saw his smug expression, they whispered and asked him what had just happened. Roland laughed and whispered, Just stabbed a Summoner girl. Their jaws dropped. Li Lin stared blankly at Rolands abdomen and said with a frightened and exaggerated tone and expression, Youre that fast! 492 Trouble Deviation However, in the process of retreating, Roland got a dozen more summons killed through gaps in defense. From a purely statistical point of view, killing these summons did not affect the summoner. As long as they still had magic power, they could summon again at any time. But from the psychological perspective of the contest, it could put a certain amount of pressure on the Summoners. After all, having an attacker messing around right under their noses and never being able to find them would definitely make them feel uncomfortable. Besides, one of their companions had already been assassinated somehow, but they hadnt even found the enemys shadow. This was a kind of pressure in itself. When the two scouting teams returned to the lake, Solisa thought for a moment and said, Anyway, professions like Assassins and Thieves have a definite advantage at night, and there may be some special skills we havent learned about, but from the fact that he only assassinated one person, there are prerequisites to activate this ability. Therefore, well stay here until daylight before moving on Assassins will be more or less affected during the day. Also, catch more fish and scoop more into your Backpacks, this might be our food for nine days. This was also a word of caution. Solisa was expressionless, but on the inside, she sighed. It was only the first day, hundreds of thousands of players were still scattered over this huge map, and with few battles occurring, they were already starting to suffer losses. And it seemed like they couldnt keep up with the problems regarding survival. Those fish in the small lake, even including all the small shrimp, would at most sustain the entire group of fifty people now forty-nine people for two days. After all, it was only a shallow lake. There couldnt possibly be much fish. And in two days? How would they find food? Find another lake? How were they going to deal with the people who eyed and followed them around? Solisa felt a headache at the thought of this. Since entering the game, the idea of a Summoners legion overpowering everything seemed further and further away from their reality. She noticed that while she could manage a guild, she might not be able to lead it to victory in battle. How to locate the enemy, how to ensure logistics, how to determine the marching route, these were all things she had no clue of and everything she did felt aimless. To put it simply, she didnt have talent as a general. Besides, even if they didnt agree, at this point, taking action was better than no action at all. Someone had to suggest a course of action. Schuck and Raffel harvested some wild herbs and a few small animals. For the seven of them, this amount could only fill the gaps between their teeth, but it was better than nothing. They rested for a while and then traveled for half an hour before arriving in front of the ruins Roland had found. It was a small elven-style town, and it didnt cover a large area, the size of a normal community. It was full of undead creatures, none of which were strong. They had Rolands various enhancement spells on them and Schuck, a Saint Samurai. Saint Samurai countered undead creatures to an outrageous extent. With the Holy Ring of Light on, the weak undead creatures within a twenty-meter radius of him were directly turned into bone powder by an inexplicable appearance of golden light. The stronger ones were just suppressed by the golden light and then were smashed into bone fragments by Schuck using the round stone hammer enchanted with golden holy power. Not to mention the help of Roland and the others. It took less than forty minutes to clear all the undead creatures in the ruins, and then Husseret, a Thief who specialized in Pilfer and Secret Door Discovery, played a big role. It took nearly four hours, and they took everything of value from the ruins. By the time it was dawn, Roland and the others left the ruins satisfied and found a safe place to begin inventorying their weapons. The iron weapons of the elves were a bit rusty, but they were still usable after some sharpening. Several sets of magic leather armor were found, which were perfectly preserved because of the magic. Then there was a large amount of magic materials. Plant-based materials and gemstones. These magic materials would have been worth a huge sum of money in the course of a normal game. However, in this kind of official event, all the equipment and materials would disappear after leaving the event map, so for the vast majority of people, these materials would be of no use at all. But for Roland, it was different. He knew enchantment and how to create magic arrays. Betta also knew some simple enchanting tricks. So these magic materials would be of great use. After having a small breakfast, Schuck and the others set out to explore the surroundings and survey the terrain and vegetation, and see whether the animals were edible. Meanwhile, Roland turned the magic materials into stats. The ordinary iron weapons brought out from the ruins were enchanted with new magic effects. Sharpening, Hardiness, Silent Attack, and so on. All of a sudden these ordinary pieces of equipment turned into magic equipment. Of course, because of the incomplete collection of magic materials, some special enchantments were only available for one or two pieces of equipment. For example, Sharpening. As Roland was focused on adding stats to the equipment, half a day went by without him noticing Looking at the pieces of equipment emitting a magical glow, Roland stood up quite satisfied and stretched. Then he saw the purple circle of light in the distance, which seemed to have become smaller. And about ten kilometers east of Roland and the others, a guild called Last Exile had just wiped out a small guild of fifty people. The captain Algiers stood on a rise, looking at the summit in the distance, and sighed a little. The deputy captain came over and said admiringly, Its just as you predicted, Captain. We didnt lose a single person, and we destroyed everyone on the other side. I guess even those Summoners of the Phoenix Guild are no match for us. They definitely arent our match, said Algiers matter-of-factly, scratching his hair, somewhat gloomy. We have five fire feces Warlocks, ten male Summoners, and all the other professions, so its already quite comprehensive. Its just that the Mages are a bit weaker, but that cant be helped. There are only three or four strong Mages right nowRoland has his own group, and ONeal is not on the same page as us. So thats our weakness. Mages dont count as our weakness, right? The deputy captain didnt quite agree with the captains view. Roland is restricted. The Mages greatest trait is crowd attack spells, and without that, a Mage is like having lost an arm, how strong can he still be? But I always think that Roland will always pull some surprising and unexpected moves. Algiers spoke as he looked at a piece of black cloud flying in the distance, the expression in his eyes startled. A large number of flying summons; it should be one of the three groups of the Phoenix Guild coming over. We just finished a battle and are not in good shape, take shelter for now. While retreating, take everything edible in the area, and dont leave a single insect for those girls. Also, we need to find a water source as soon as possible, we wont last long just by licking tree sap and harvesting loot. At this point, Algiers suddenly remembered something. I remember Roland seems to have invented a water-making spell, I wonder if there are any Mages in our group who know it? Dont think about it, surely no one will. The deputy captain said helplessly, Most Mages are now working on spell models for offensive spells, and only that freak Roland can bother with a spell model of the auxiliary type. If his water-making spell can be used in the event, then he has too much of an advantage, Algiers said with extreme displeasure. If theres a water-making spell, will there be a food-making spell? If there is, then even if Rolands group attack magic is restricted, it still wouldnt have much of an effect on him. Without having to go looking for water and food, he can avoid a lot of unnecessary fighting, which is already considered a cheat in itself. After hearing this, the deputy captain thought of the fifty men on his side who worried ceaselessly over finding food and water sources from yesterday to today. If Roland really knew water-making and food-making spells, then Roland would indeed be having it easy. He felt so jealous. It was too hard on their side. If they hadnt just exterminated a small guild and picked up all the food and water resources that had fallen from the enemys Backpacks, their team might have been divided now because there wasnt enough to eat. Now they had determined that by killing the other players, they would be able to make stuff fall out of the players Backpacks. Going to kill other players when they couldnt find water or food would be a shortcut to getting rich. Eventually, the Last Exile quickly evacuated from the area. Not long after, a large number of summoned beasts passed through here. Other than F6, all the other guild teams were worried about survival. They felt that this was a deliberate move by the games officials to lower the amount of supplies so that the players would fight for resources from the start Rather than letting most people casually survive until the final day. After all, there were over 400,000 players across the map. How boring it would be to let most of them survive until the end. Everyone would be crowded together to fight. Back on Rolands side, shortly after he finished enchanting the equipment, Schuck and the others returned as well. Betta had returned with plenty of wild plants and insects this time, and also captured a few fat rabbits with black horns on their heads. Li Lin didnt bring back any supplies, but he did bring back an extremely useful piece of information. I saw that over to the east, a small group is slowly coming this way. Should we let them make contact with the girls from the Phoenix Guild? That can work! 493 The Oriole Is Behind The guild was named this because all its members were gourmets. They were either cooks or people who were highly interested in food. Essentially speaking, they had nothing to do with the Guild of Cooks, another guild established by players. The Guild of Cooks aimed to develop daily cuisines in this game world, but the Guild of Foodies were more interested in developing unique recipes, because there were more ferocious beasts and unusual plants here than there were in reality. So, how did those ferocious beasts taste? Would they taste differently when they were boiled and when fried? Did the Astral Plane Wolf taste beefier than the Star Frost Wolf? How different was a unicorn from a regular magic horse? Were there special ways to cook the oil of the magic crocodiles and the fire crocodiles? The members of the Cook of Guilds were all leisure players, while those in the Guild of After all, rare magic beasts could be very powerful. Certain weird magic plants could only be acquired in dangerous places too. Therefore, they had to be strong in order to acquire the best ingredients. Now, this group had the most survival resources of the ten thousand existing groups. They could find insects that contained a lot of proteins from under the grasses, and distinguish edible vegetables from weeds. They could also collect drinkable water with rock slices by taking advantage of temperature changes. Betta was quite good at wilderness survival, but still not as good as these people. He was just an amateur, but these people were professionals. On their way, they picked up everything that could possibly be eaten. They were almost all physical classes, so while they were busy looking for food, they didnt notice that their team was being monitored by three little magic spiders. Receiving picture and sound from the three spiders at a distance, Roland said to his friends a moment later, These guys are very good, but they seem to be only looking for food. They will probably dodge the Phoenix Guild even if they encounter them. They wont fight. Then what do we do? Roland thought for a moment and said, They dont want to fight the Phoenix Guild, but we can make the Phoenix Guild fight them! Well taunt the Phoenix Guild later and ask Husseret to lead them to the Guild of Cooks, so that they will think that Husseret belongs to the Guild of Cooks. How does it sound? It will probably work! Everybody nodded. F6 quickly carried out their plan. They killed a dozen creatures that the Phoenix Guild summoned at the edge of their scouting range. Then, all the summoned creatures in the area went on a rampage. Thanks to the mental power reverberation among the summoned creatures, all the female players in the Phoenix Guild saw Husseret and thought that he was the assailant who had accidentally revealed himself. Hes indeed a despicable Rogue, said Solisa angrily. Everybody, summon your mounts and the nocturnal beasts, and try to catch this scoundrel alive. Two thousand creatures were summoned. They swooped in the sky like dark clouds and stampeded on the ground. When the thousand summoned creatures ran at the same time, it almost felt like heavy cavalry charging forward. Husseret pretended to run in panic. He also tried to hide himself, but the celestial wolves behind him as well as the pixies that were flying in the wood drove him out of the stealth status again and again. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for a man to outrun animals. The hundred celestial wolves drew closer and closer to him. They were only thirty meters from Husseret, but then he simply jumped into a pit where a masked man was standing. Then, after a flash of blue light, both of them disappeared. The celestial wolves over close and surrounded the pit, only to see nobody in it. These celestial creatures were quite smart. They searched for their enemies in a larger range out of instinct. As they expanded their search area, they found a team who seemed to be having a barbecue party not far away ahead. A ton of information was sent back to the minds of the girls of the Phoenix Guild. Riding her glittering unicorn, Solisa roared, Enemy spotted! Everybody, summon as many creatures as possible. Lets kill them first. At this moment, a captain nearby said quickly, Boss, this is too uncanny. Somebody might be manipulating us to fight them. It doesnt matter. Solisa waved her hand. They will be our enemies sooner or later. This is a good chance for us to take them down and loot their resources. Solisa was quite confident. She believed that nobody could resist an ocean of beasts as long as she found the enemy. At this moment, she finally realized that the authorities had purposefully minimized the survival resources so that they would fight each other. Now that she had finally run into an opponent, she would be regretful later if she didnt rob them with her teammates who were all Elven Summoners. The captain thought for a moment and realized that it made sense. The top priority at this moment was to loot as many resources as possible. Immediately, she sped up and led the charge before Solisa with her summoned creatures. At this moment, the fifty members of the Guild of Foodies were roasting vegetables and fat insects over a few bonfires. They were enjoying the delicious food they made happily, when they noticed that many creatures were flying toward them in the sky and a hundred celestial wolves were dashing closer over the ground. It was a full moon tonight. Under the moonlight, the shiny celestial wolves were both beautiful and lethally dangerous. When they ran at a high speed, their eyes left streaks of fluorescence that gradually vanished. So many wolves F*ck, its the women from the Phoenix Guild! Theyre coming to us? Should we retreat? Were no match for them! We cant possibly escape. We only have two legs. Its impossible for us to outrun the creatures that have wings or four legs. Lets fight them and kill as many as possible! It would be great if we could penetrate the line of their summoned beasts. As long as we reach the center, it will be easy for us to take down some of those women. All the members of the Guild of Foodies jumped to their feet and charged at the ocean of summoned beasts furiously. Since they were going to lose anyway, they would rather lose in a manly way. Most of them were barehanded. Only some of them carried simple stone hammers or rock daggers. They all lunged at the enemy crazily. At this moment, another advantage of the Summoners was revealed. They didnt really count on equipment. The creatures they summoned were their spears and shields. Even if they needed equipment, their first choice would be beautiful clothes instead of gear with high stats. The members of the Guild of Foodies were all physical classes. They were too busy looking for survival resources during the way to explore any relics, so they had little equipment. Without equipment, the physical classes would lose eighty percent of their combat ability. It was also why a Mage who was capable of Mages Disjunction could easily defeat a physical class of the same level. All their equipment could be shattered by Mages Disjunction, so the physical classes couldnt possibly resist. Actually, the players of the Guild of Foodies were quite strong, but since they didnt have equipment, most of them were tackled by the wolves easily before their throats were bitten to shreds. Only the players who practiced Boxing or who specialized in blunt weapons could deal some damage to the celestial wolves. After all, fists were considered to be blunt weapons by the system, and the damage they dealt was enhanced by Constitution. Those boxers waved their fists as fast as fans and made the celestial wolves around them cry and scream. But then, the deer, pixies, nocturnal leopards, long-horned bulls, and other creatures easily drowned these opponents with their numbers advantage. Whenever a player of the Guild of Foodies died, a bunch of survival resources would drop, including vegetables, water, insects, and the meat of some small animals. Receiving the information that the summoned beasts sent back, Solisa couldnt help but chuckle at the rear of the formation. Its true that war is the shortcut to fortune. The other female players were delighted too. They had really made a fortune this time. I think our previous plan was wrong, continued Solisa with an I got it expression. Searching for water and food on your own is the lowliest approach. The best method in this case is to kill your enemies whenever possible. If you kill other players, you will have food and water. Also, the resource consumption in the whole area will be reduced when there are fewer players. The other girls were all listening. They all felt that their leader had a point. Certain sharp things were sprouting in their eyes and getting brighter and brighter. At this moment, however, Solisa suddenly looked back. Not good. Somebody is attacking us from the rear! Hardly had she finished speaking when a blue Inferior Fireball exploded fifty meters behind them. After the deafening, glittering explosion that was about eight meters in diameter, at least four summoned deer were reduced to magic elements. A Barbarian whose naked upper body was full of weird blue tattoos jumped close with a special iron sword in each hand that glowed with magic brilliance. He crashed into the ground like a meteorite. A long-horned bull was cut into three parts, and another one was flung away by the impact of his landing The Barbarian stared at Solisa and the other female Summoners around her with bloodshot eyes. He was forty meters away, and there was still a defensive line of summoned beasts between them. 494 Everybody Can Learn From Setbacks All the girls were terrified. In a battle, a Barbarian would effortlessly intimidate the enemy. The enemy who was threatened would be given a dice-throw test. The units who didnt pass the test would be stunned for one to five seconds. The result of the throw depended on the Constitution of the Barbarian, as well as the Spirit and the Will Save of the intimidated. Under normal circumstances, a spellcaster wouldnt be intimidated by a Barbarian. Instead, they would only snort, Tsk, what a Barbarian! It was mostly because the spellcasters all had high mental power or high Will Save. For example, Warlocks could have high save stats because of the vampire bloodline. But the Elven Summoner didnt have that. They had devoted most of their growth points to Charm and the rest to Intelligence to increase their mana. Therefore, their Spirit was generally lower than average. It was high for ordinary people, but for the players, it was no different from that of the Warriors. The Warriors had a series of specializations such as Battle Roar and Sturdy Mind to increase their Will Save, but the Elven Summoners didnt have any of that, unless they wasted the slot of free specialization on one of these abilities. But normally they wouldnt do that. They would prefer to increase the number, strength, or distance of control of their summoned creatures with a freely-chosen specialization. Therefore, Summoners were almost defenseless once the enemy approached them. But it didnt mean that they were completely at the enemys mercy once they were approached. While the girls were too intimidated by the Barbarian to move, consciously, they werent really influenced. After all, while Li Lin the Barbarian assaulted from the rear, it wasnt exactly assassination. He wasnt like Roland who flashed to someones back and stabbed her in the heart. The round-faced chick died before she could do anything. At this moment, Solisa had set up a perimeter behind them, and she knew that the enemy was coming Therefore, although their bodies were intimidated, they had been giving their summoned creatures commands via mental links. The summoned creatures all retreated crazily whether they were in the sky or on the ground. But it would take time for them to come back. After Li Lin landed, he immediately started a charge. Since he was thirty meters away, he could reach Solisa and the others with one charge. However, there was still a line of summoned creatures between them. Dum! Li Lin knocked away a long-horned bull during his charge, but he was stopped too. Everybody knew what it meant to be stopped in the midst of enemies. At this moment, Solisa finally came back to herself from the status of intimidation. But exactly at this moment, another Shield Warrior who was in iron armor appeared on their left side and charged at a high speed. The charge of the Shield Warrior was much more powerful than the Barbarians. Like a high-speed car, he flung away seven summoned creatures including two long-horned bulls and a two-meter-tall bear. He almost pierced through the thin line of summoned creatures. The summoned creatures were about to attack them spontaneously, when golden light shone from deep inside the woods. A handsome man with golden wings suddenly emerged above them. Many girls were so fascinated by the mans unparalleled looks that they completely forgot the situation they were in. Decree: Sun Collapse! A golden ball of light descended from the sky. The light ball wasnt big, but it contained an enormous magic power of light. Solisas face changed greatly. She roared, Establish a protective barrier with the summoned beasts. Green light arose on all the summoned creatures around her. They formed a square and protected all the girls. The golden ball hit the barrier, and dazzling golden light burst out. Everybody subconsciously covered their eyes. A moment later, the golden light was gone. The golden wings behind Schucks back were dimming. For him, it was rather exhausting to use Sun Collapse at level five. At this moment, cracks had appeared on the barrier where it was hit, but it was not destroyed. However, at this moment, a colorful ball of light swirled out of the woods, leaving a long rainbow trail behind it, and hit the cracks, emitting rays of various colors. Then, there was a big hole on the green barrier. The central barrier made with the summoned beasts was different from regular barriers which would vanish when any part of them was broken. Even though there was a big hole in the central barrier, the damage could be automatically repaired as long as the summoned beasts provided magic power. The barrier was quickly healing. Solisa was relieved. But at this moment, a blue fireball the size of a fist suddenly appeared from the woods. Like a snake, it slithered through the tiny hole in the barrier that was about to be restored, following a strange path. Watching the blue fireball coming at her sisters not far away, Solisa shouted palely and sorrowfully, F6, Roland, you are Then, her curse was eclipsed by the intense explosion. The Inferior Fireball exploded not far away with a max range of ten meters. It blew up thirteen girls of the Phoenix Guild into pieces. Solisa herself was thrown and crashed not far away. Her unicorn was lying next to her and neighing miserably. Holding the wound on her right hand with her left hand, and looking at her partners that were crying in fear, Solisa was at a loss. They were protected by the central barrier of summoned beasts again, and it was getting steadier and steadier. However Solisa felt that she had completely lost interest in this official activity. They had such a powerful lineup, but they had still been crushed by one ambush. How were they going to play this game? Was the gap between them and the top players so huge? Roland was still so powerful when he was restricted. What if there werent any restrictions? Solisa heaved a sigh. Many girls were crying before her. Apart from the thirteen girls who had been blown apart, many other girls had lost their limbs. They were all sobbing and crying. Ah, my leg is gone! Someone help me! My lower body is gone Its so scary! Im dying! Im dying! I lost my boobs in the explosion! Theyre bleeding hard! Someone treat me! Different from female Warriors who led charges, Elven Summoners barely had head-on clashes with the enemy. They hid behind the beasts they summoned all the time. This was the consequence of avoiding the gore at the front line of the battlefield. They found it impossible to accept the cruelties of war. Most of the remaining girls were overwhelmed and didnt know what to do seeing how miserable their teammates were. Only some of the girls immediately began to treat their partners. But even so, the scene was still a complete mess. Rolands Inferior Fireball achieved the perfect effect. An effective damage radius of five meters was actually not small. But the bigger reason was that the girls were standing almost right next to each other. Therefore, the Inferior Fireball had caused tremendous damage. If it were another group, Roland couldve only killed no more than three people if he had cast such a weakened Inferior Fireball. Solisa turned around and looked out of the barrier, but the F6 members were already gone. However, she was not certain if those people were still around. The central barrier with summoned beasts was very exhausting. If they kept it up, all their magic power would run out within twenty minutes. After considering for several seconds, Solisa shouted, Sisters, kill yourselves if youre gravely wounded or crippled and cant recover soon. The others collect the resources that the other team dropped. Meantime, release all the scouting creatures and dont let anything come close. Solisa was quite prestigious in the Phoenix Guild. After she gave out the order, the heavily-wounded girls gritted their teeth and commanded their celestial wolves to bite their necks. If anyone couldnt kill herself, Solisa would personally order the summoned creatures to finish them. After each sister she killed, there would be more flames in her eyes. After all the gravely wounded teammates were gone, Solisa turned around and secretly wiped her tears. She didnt want to give out such an order, but it would take at least ten days for her wounded partners to regrow their limbs even with the help of treatment skills. They would only be burdens for this activity if they stayed. She then canceled the central barrier and counted her teammates whose bodies were still intact. There were fourteen of them. Soon, the girls who left to pick up resources returned. After they calculated the quantity of the resources, Solisas grim face finally put on a smile. If we use them judiciously, the resources will be enough for ten days. F6 has taught us that number is the least useful factor in this match. You can barely satisfy the needs of fifty people without sufficient resources. Solisa sneered. This environment is so vast and complicated that only an elite squad can secure a victory. Therefore, we will also be divided into two squads. Then, we will attack other players in guerrilla style with our mounts. Well gradually reduce the number of our enemies with our summoned beasts. When the enemy chases us, well retreat. When the enemy retreats, well chase them. Fall back if you encounter F6. Well reunite again on the last day and have a final battle with them. Now, lets split into two squads. Solisa narrowed her eyes. Remember to make the most of our advantages in mobility, and try to live to the end. 495 The Mage Is a Class With High Upper and Lower Limits He estimated that the center would be the battlefield for the final battle. So, F6 marched to that location. On their way, they ambushed many other groups, explored a lot of ruins, and gradually replaced their equipment. With Rolands expertise in Enchantment, the quality of their equipment was increasing. On the sixth day, Roland and his friends came to the center of the map. This place had massive ruins. Taking advantage of their excellent equipment and resources that were enough to last them to the end of the event, they spent a day and a night clearing the undead creatures in this place and looting all the treasures in the ruins. They found equipment of higher quality and countless magic materials. In the best-preserved building among the ruins, Roland enchanted the equipment with the precious magic materials he found. Schuck and the others simply kept an eye on the surroundings from the top of the building. They were the first to arrive at the central ruins. By Rolands estimation, the other players would be coming in half a day or one day. They had to be prepared for skirmishes in the ruins. However, after a day of waiting, when Roland had enchanted all the equipment, no other groups came at all. This was already the eighth day of the event. What happened outside? Everybody was ill at ease. Eventually, Husseret said, Ill go out and take a look with stealth. You wait here. But Husseret didnt come back after a whole night. The weather changed in the morning of the ninth day. It began to drizzle. Roland was standing on the tallest building. He had crafted a set of ultimate enchanted equipment for everybody, and a set of equipment that could increase his mana capacity as well as several accessories that could accelerate his magic regeneration. At this moment, he was glowing with blue magic brilliance, as if he had installed blue LED lights all over his body. As Roland stood on the top of the tower, the rain fell upon his head only to be deflected by his flowing magic power. Husseret isnt back yet. Roland heaved a sigh. Something probably happened to him. His equipment enhances the stealth effect and increases his stamina regeneration. He runs even faster than a ghost. Schuck frowned. Who could possibly catch him? Roland shook his head. Weve only explored the ruins in our path, not all of them. Chances are that other players found equipment that can grant True Sight. Its hard to say. Husseret is a Rogue who specializes in spying, but hes gone missing. What can you do?. I have an advantage he doesnt have. I can fly, and I fly very fast. Schuck thought for a moment and nodded. Thats true. You hide yourselves well. If anyone comes when Im away, just lay low until I come back. Got it. The rest of F6 nodded. Activating his spatial bubbles, Roland swooshed to the sky and flew out. With equipment that increased his mana capacity and regeneration, he had as much mana here as he did in the outside world, so flying with spatial bubbles wasnt too exhausting for him right now. He circled in the sky, and his expression became more and more awful. In the end, he returned to the heights of the ruins at a high speed. He had only been gone for no more than an hour before he returned. Schuck and the others approached him and asked, Did you find anything? The Phoenix Guild has annihilated almost all the other players. I saw at least sixteen squads of the Phoenix Guild killing players in various locations during my flight. They summoned creatures and harassed their opponents while they rode their mounts. Whenever the opponents were surrounded, they would kill them and flee before the rest of the opponents came to reinforce their friends. After they rest for a while in a safe place, they come back and look for other opponents. Guerrilla warfare? Schuck took a deep breath. I estimate that at least fifty thousand players have been killed by the girls of the Phoenix Guild. Roland closed his eyes and said slowly, Not many players are left right now. They have been clearing the ground. They probably want to reduce the number of their opponents before the final battle on the tenth day. Li Lin was quite angry. Does that mean well have to confront a hundred players from the Phoenix Guild and thousands of summoned creatures? Roland nodded. Raffel slapped his shield to the ground and sat on it. How can we fight them? The group attack spells of Mages are limited, but Elven Summoners were not nerfed at all. This is so unfair. Schuck heaved a sigh. Well probably lose this time. When the girls of the Phoenix Guild are united, they can destroy anyone with their advantage in numbers, not to mention that were only level five. If Rolands offensive spells were not restricted, the victory would be ours. Betta and the others all heaved helpless sighs after hearing that. They were willing to fight, but the Phoenix Guild simply had too many summoned creatures. Why are those girls so tough now? Li Lin was confused. They were sticking together and slaughtered stupidly a few days ago, but now, theyve already learned to fight guerrilla battles with their advantages in mobility and number. Damn it. Who enlightened them? They probably understood it as they played on. Leaning on the ragged wall, Schuck looked at the horizon. You can really pick up a lot of abilities in such battles where there are no rules. Everybody sighed again. They had hoped to kill the girls by taking advantage of their lack of experience. However, the girls had already learned and grown. It seemed that they had absolute disadvantages in this situation now. Roland, however, hadnt given up yet. He raised his head and looked at the purple curtain of light not far away, which reminded him of the circles in Battle Royale games. Huh? Circles? Wait! Rolands eyes suddenly glittered. He looked at the ruins and calculated their size. He then looked at his robe of magic power and slapped the wall before him heavily. Wait, Ive got an idea. If my instincts are right, the authorities want the final battle to be held in these ruins, said Roland excitedly. However, if we are to seal the ruins and make it impossible for them to come in, wouldnt they be killed outside of the circle and deprived of the qualification to continue the match? Huh? Thats an idea! Schucks eyes glittered. Li Lin patted Rolands shoulder heavily. Impressive. You college graduates are truly smart. Next, Ill devote all my magic power into the construction of an enormous wall. You must protect me if anything happens. Schuck and the others all smiled. No problem! He transmuted stone into mud and mud into stone. His equipment that enhanced magic power regeneration couldnt be more useful. All the ruins were covered by Rolands mental power. 20US 1 An enormous rocky stump emerged around the ruins. It was only half a meter tall at first, but as time went by, the stump gradually grew taller and thicker. An hour later, the stump was already a meter tall. Schuck and the others stayed around Roland and watched over him carefully. Roland had to rest for half an hour after every hour he used the spells. The rocky stump was only two meters thick at first, but as time went by, it grew thicker and thicker. Soon, it was the morning of the tenth day, which was the last day of the match. When the first beam of sunlight tore the darkness apart, the Phoenix Guild, which had almost annihilated all the players around them, finally reunited. A hundred and fifty of them joined this match, and only around ninety people were left now. Many of their teammates fell in battle and were teleported to the small dark rooms. But it was all worth it. The surviving members of the guild were all battle geniuses who had been through hundreds of battles and each killed more than a hundred players. The better ones among them even killed more than a thousand players. Looking at her intimidating sisters all around her, Solisa smiled. Looking into the distance, she smiled delightedly. Only 89 people are left of the three groups. I dont think there are many players in the whole match area now. I hope that F6 hasnt been defeated by another team yet, or Ill be very disappointed. Next, well split into thirteen squads and march to the final battlefield from all directions. Well show these filthy men what women are really capable of. Ohhhhh! The girls let out pleasant but nonetheless intimidating roars. Solisa led the team and let her summoned creature lead the way. She was stunned when she reached the ruins. A wall that was at least twelve meters tall and had an extremely smooth surface blocked them from the battlefield. Many flying summoned creatures hovered above the ruins and sent information to the girls. The wall was rounded and did not have any entrance. Nobody could see into the ruins. They could be hiding in the buildings inside. It was impossible for the flying creatures to scout inside the buildings or fight enemies there; it would be no different from birds entering a cage. However, they could not find any targets in the sky. On the other hand, the wall was too thick to be broken through. Some of the summoned creatures could climb the wall, but they couldnt carry anybody in. Therefore, everybody in the Phoenix Guild was blocked out of the ruins. Solisa gazed at the enormous purple curtain of light that was pressing close from behind. Pursing her lips, she looked at the high wall before her and finally wept. F6, you scoundrels, Im not done with you yet! Her voice was both desperate and helpless. Ten minutes later, the system announced that the match was over and all six survivors were members of F6, so F6 was the champion of the match. Based on the players kills, Phoenix Guild First Squad, Phoenix Guild Second Squad, Phoenix Guild Third Squad, and the Moon Shadow Guild are in the second to fifth places. The match is over. Please send congratulations to the winning teams. The reward of the match will be delivered to the winning players game characters after the game reopens tomorrow. 496 Give Him Friendship and Warmth Almost every player watched F6s performance in the past ten days in fast forward. Then, they would watch the Phoenix Guilds videos. It took them a whole day to watch the videos even though they used fast forward and skipped through the videos. At first, there werent many posts on the forum, but there were more at around nine at night. Most of the threads had such titles like: Roland proves that the Mage is the real center of a team with his capabilities. All the guilds have to raise their own Mage in the future. Everything is predictable without Mages, but Mages can create miracles. But of course, the most heated thread was this one: Who can tell me how I can become a Mage like Roland? There were all kinds of amusing replies. First of all, go to a good college and relearn advanced mathematics, calculus, and other important courses. Then you may have a chance. I think you can become like him in your dreams. Who needs to pee? Go pee on him and wake him up. Dont be so mean. Everybody should have a dream. I, for example, have finally learned Hand of Magic after playing the game for two years. My future is nothing but promising! You want to become a Mage like Roland? Thats simple! Create a Mage character and name it Roland! This game doesnt forbid repetition of names anyway! Apart from the threads about Mages, there were also a lot of threads about the Phoenix Guild. The biggest reason for the Phoenix Guilds failure is that they unfortunately encountered Roland. This was a popular post too. The person who made the post praised the girls growth after their setbacks at the beginning. They almost dominated the match toward the end, and nobody could resist them at all. It was partly because the Elven Summoner was itself a powerful class, and when they were gathered, it was impossible for other people to defeat them with their mobility. But of course, the girls had shown remarkable determination in fighting too. They couldve won the match in the game. At the end of the match, more than eighty Summoners still lived, and they could summon more than five thousand creatures. F6, on the other hand, only had six members. But the Phoenix Guild lost the match even though their enemy was terribly outnumbered. Their failure was unexpected but reasonable, because Roland was too strong. As long as Mages like Roland existed in this game, Elven Summoners couldnt be the best in the server no matter how many of them were out there. Thats not shameless but smart. Under these circumstances, blocking the enemy with a wall was the best way to win the match. He only took advantage of the Summoners weakness, that they couldnt summon flying mounts at low levels. If the character levels were restricted to LV8 or above, Rolands move wouldnt have worked at all. Roland was already strong enough at LV5. How strong would he be at LV8? Do you think the Mages wont get stronger when the Summoners get stronger? Just leave the flying mounts behind. Dont limit Rolands massive destruction spells if you think youre good. He couldve killed as many summoned beasts as possible. I actually quite admire Roland for coming up with such a method in the end. When almost all the players were eliminated by the Phoenix Guild, I thought that Roland would surely fail. I didnt expect him to win in the end. Im quite impressed by the girls of the Phoenix Guild. They had advantages at the beginning with their strength in numbers, but after they were taught a lesson by F6, they immediately adopted a guerrilla style. Solisa is already like a seasoned general now. Speaking of F6 and the Phoenix Guild, I remember how Roland flashed and killed the girl. He covered the girls mouth, stabbed her, and immediately left. The whole process took less than three seconds. Mud to Stone and Stone to Mud are so useful. They can be used to construct caves and walls, but I dont know how to pick them up yet. Mages can create water and oil. They can cast buffs and work construction. They can chant and teleport. Theyre both good at survival and at dealing damage. They can even change the terrain. Why do some people still think that the Mage is a weak class? The Mage is definitely a weak class, but some Mages are certainly not. The players were quite active on the forum, discussing with each other and expressing their findings. From the chaotic battle, they discovered the advantages and disadvantages of their classes. A battle was always a good opportunity to see if their ideas worked or if their battle principles were useful. They didnt really envy the Summoners in the Phoenix Guild. Those girls were indeed strong, both as a group and as individuals. But they were too dependent on their summoned creatures. Between the third day and the eighth day, many people fought the girls of the Phoenix Guild. They did have a lot of summoned creatures, but most of the time, they only defeated their enemy easily because they caught the enemy unprepared. Now that the other players had learned a lesson, they wouldnt lose so quickly and brutally to the Summoners later. Also, many of them had actually killed Summoners, for example, with the equipment they found in the ruins that could increase the damage on summoned creatures. With such equipment, many people passed through the line of summoned creatures like a kitchen knife cutting butter, slaying the careless Elven Summoners. While such equipment was rare in the ruins, it wasnt too hard to get such an Enchantment in the game world. They could prepare a few pieces of equipment in their system Backpack and use them against the Summoners. It might not be enough for them to beat the Summoners, but they would at least be able to fight back. Roland had been browsing through the forum too. Naturally, he wasnt reading other peoples adulations but the battle analyses the experts wrote. Then, he recalled his battle experiences and cross-checked them with the analyses, turning the knowledge into his own. After a day, he felt that he had learned a lot of stuff. After the game reopened, Roland entered the game again. Waking up in his lab, Roland found that he had another two free specializations. They were the rewards for winning the game. After considering for more than ten minutes, he chose two specializations that were very suitable for him. Extraordinary Smartness: Intelligence +1 Magic Power Coordination: Magic power upper limit +30 The increase of Intelligence could improve the power of a Mages spells and slightly increase their magic power capacity. Magic Power Coordination could also increase the upper limit of magic power. The thirty points were a major improvement. During the chaotic battle, Roland had realized that the Mage was truly very short of mana. Even a great expert like Mordenkainen had built the floating city mainly because it could provide almost infinite energy for him. If Roland had abundant magic power at his disposal at the beginning of the match, he couldve gotten off to a better start. His mana wouldnt have run out after he flew for a few minutes. After selecting his specialties, Roland came to the bedroom. Andonara wasnt in bed, so he went downstairs and found Andonara making breakfast in her pajamas. Roland walked to her and hugged her for a while. Andonara was slightly confused. After all, Roland was passive most of the time. He was never this willful. She decided to drop it since she couldnt think it through. She was a lot happier feeling Rolands love for her. For Andonara, Roland had never been gone. But for Roland, it had been more than ten days since he last saw Andonara. Naturally, he missed her. His life then became peaceful, if not boring. Roland continued studying magic, and Andonara took care of him. A month passed. Then one day, Alfred the Great Elder invited Roland to his study. The study wasnt very large, with only two black wooden shelves that didnt display many books. Alfred was sitting before the bookshelves. Seeing Roland, he pointed at the chair on the opposite side of his desk. Roland sat down. According to rumors, the Great Elder seemed to be more than a hundred years old, but nobody could tell his age exactly. He still looked like a man in his fifties, and he was healthy and energetic. Roland, the leaders of the Council of Elders are going back to the Fareins Kingdom, mainly to meet up with the leadership of the Church of Light. Roland was slightly confused. Why would the Great Elder tell him this? While we meet with the leadership of the Church of Light, we will leave some privileges, for example, permission to enter the Grand Library of Light. Rolands eyes immediately glittered. At this moment, Roland had studied spell models and magic arrays profoundly. It wouldnt be bad if he had a chance to study theurgy. However, not everybody could enter the Grand Library of Light Although Schuck was a Saint Samurai and had a lofty position in the Church of Light, it was not easy for him to let an outsider enter the library. But the case would be different if the Church of Light intended to make a deal with another major force. So you want me to come with you, Great Elder? Alfred said with a smile, You are a diligent learner, and you love reading books in the library. I think you should have this opportunity. Thank you, Great Elder. Since the guy gave him such a great privilege, Roland wouldnt mind fawning over him. Great Elder, whenever you need me, just say the word. Ill do it as long as I can do it. Youll do it only if you can do it? The Great Elder shook his head with a helpless smile. Arent you cunning? Okay, you can go back now. Well set off the day after tomorrow. Roland stood up and asked, Can I take someone with me? I know you cant leave your queen behind. Bring her with you. Theres enough room for her. Roland smiled. Soon after Roland left, Murphy came in with a piece of paper. Great Elder, something is still not right, Murphy said. Ive checked all the port registration records and the rental records of the flying boats. Neither Roland nor the queen is on them. How did she come to the Red Magic Tower across the ocean from tens of thousands of kilometers away when Roland was on vacation? The Great Elder thought for a moment and said, She might have set off a long time earlier and arrived exactly when Rolands vacation was over. But she shouldve been registered at the port. Shes too beautiful to escape anyones attention. Deep in thought, the Great Elder subconsciously scratched his beard. Murphy continued, Also, based on the intelligence we acquired from Hollevin, Roland was indeed in Delpon during his vacation. = Are you suggesting that theyve created a spell that can teleport multiple people? Alfred said with a weird smile. Is it a spell or a magic array? I think its the latter, said Murphy. Roland has been studying magic arrays. He may have made a breakthrough and combined Long-Distance Teleportation with a magic array. Tapping the surface of the desk, Alfred was deep in thought and used more and more strength, until the desk was cracking. In the end, he moved his right hand back and said slowly, Roland is truly a genius, but are you exaggerating his intelligence? Even the Monochrome Magic Tower hasnt achieved multiple-person teleportation yet. Do you not feel that Roland is too young to do that? According to common sense, its impossible. Murphy shrugged and said, But some people defy common sense, such as Mordenkainen and Melf. I still maintain what I said before. Roland will be similar to Mordenkainen and Melf after he grows up. Alfred slightly nodded. He thought for a moment and asked, If Roland has indeed created a multiple-person teleportation spell or magic array, what do you plan to do? How about we ask him to submit it? Murphy took a deep breath and said, He cant expect to monopolize such a spell. Alfred chuckled. Why cant he? Hes an undying Golden Son. How do you plan to threaten him? Also, hes not a weak fighter at all. Im afraid that we might not be able to catch him even if we can suppress him. He can teleport. Murphy heaved a sigh. But my heart is itchy every time I realize that he has the ability to teleport multiple people. I want to see the spell model immediately. 497 I Met You Before Every day, he went to class, read books at the library, studied magic theories, and conducted experiments at home. Then, someone would make warm food for him. He didnt have to consider too many things but only needed to focus on what he wanted. Such a lifestyle reminded Roland of his high school days, when he felt fulfilled and happy while he strove for something. Therefore, after he boarded the flying boat, he felt hollow, both mentally and physically. He could only read the forum or make out with Andonara every day. Fortunately, it only took five days for the boat to fly from the Red Magic Tower to the Holy Realm. Five days later, after Roland got off from the boat, he felt that his legs were soft. Alfred passed by and said with a smile, Young man, take your time. A great life is waiting for you ahead. Itll be bad if you overdo it now and ruin your health. Roland was lost for words. Andonara, however, grunted angrily. The things between us are none of your business! Alfred was a Legend, but Andonara was a Legend too, so she didnt need to show respect to him at all. If they were to fight, Alfred probably couldnt beat Andonara, but since he could teleport, it was unlikely Andonara could capture him. Seeing how protective of her love Andonara was, Alfred heaved a sigh and left. He felt that the world was extremely unfair. As a Mage, he had once been a young man too. Why were none of the women he met when he was young as noble, strong, and clingy as her even though they were beautiful and gentle? Also, when he was young, he was exhausted from all kinds of work that his mentor gave him. But Roland was exhausted by a woman every day. That was yet another heartbreaking comparison. He wished that he could be young again and relive his life. If that could happen, he would definitely steal a pretty queen for himself. But of course, Alfred didnt really think he could. He knew very well that women like Andonara were very rare. Alfred was walking in the front, followed by three mentors and a dozen servants. Roland was at the rear of the group. The flying boat had landed in a very spacious square that was built with giant silver rocks. But there were few people in the big square. Also, the square was surrounded by a circle of five-story-high buildings from which magic power was vaguely emitting. At this moment, a mentor waited for Roland for a moment and started to walk next to him, saying, Roland, this is the Association of Mages in Fareins. This square is very big, isnt it? Its specifically built as a port for the flying boats. The mentor, whose hair had already turned white because of old age, explained, The Association of Mages in Fareins has twelve flying boats, including three large ones, two medium ones, and seven small ones. Theyre all rented by other forces such as the royal family and the Church of Light. The rental fee must be very high, right? Of course, said the mentor proudly. Leaving aside the medium and small boats, the cost to rent a large boat for a month is sixty gold coins, excluding the magic materials consumed during the flight. The renter has to pay the magic apprentices who are responsible for flying and maintaining the boat too. So, you need to spend at least a hundred gold coins every month if you want to use a large flying boat. It was truly expensive. The monthly tax revenues of Delpon were only slightly above a hundred gold coins. Cutting out the expenses to support the operation of the city, the profit was only about fifty gold coins. Therefore, Roland couldnt even rent a large flying boat with the monthly tax of Delpon. But Roland had other ways to make money; for example, with teleportation. He had thought of multiple strategies that could let him earn two to three hundred gold coins in a couple of days. However, that was the most that the market could bear. After he made the three hundred gold coins, he needed to wait half a year before he could conduct this business again. Noticing how shocked Roland was, the mentor gestured around them and said, The blue buildings around the square are the headquarters of the Association of Mages of Fareins. Arent they huge? Almost all the Mages, totaling up to ten thousand people, who are above the level of Elite, live here. They help and teach each other. The best of them will be admitted by the Magic Towers. There are many geniuses among them. Youre free to talk to them if you have time. Roland slightly nodded. In Hollevin, there were no more than ten thousand official Mages in total. But in Fareins, the number of Mages better than Elite had already surpassed that Was that a facet of a superior countrys dominance? Leading Roland, the mentor walked out of the square after a few minutes and came to the entrance of a square building. Then, he gave Roland and Andonara each a blue badge. It exuded the same magic waves as the blue badge Roland received at the dormitories of the Red Magic Tower, except that it was in a different color. Those badges mustve been made in similar ways. Roland funneled some of his mental power into the badge. Then, he helped Andonara direct her mental power into her badge too. Andonaras mental power was actually quite enormous, but she didnt know how to use it. That couldnt be helped. She wasnt interested in that as a Warrior. At this moment, the mentor grimaced. Its a tradition in the Association of Mages that new friends here need to find their room with their own wisdom. But of course, youre free to ask for the help of the Mages here if you cant find it. I hope youll have fun, Roland. The mentor laughed and left. Roland looked at the blue badge in his hand, which had a few interconnected lines. There were dots on the ends of each line. These dots were of different sizes and didnt have any pattern to them. Andonara examined her badge for a moment and murmured, This Association of Mages is too inconsiderate. They shouldnt have left their guests here. Roland, however, smiled. I think this is fine. Lets take a walk together. We can get to know this place, and there will be time for us to go shopping. Andonaras eyes glittered. It was truly a good thing that she could hang out with Roland now. The Association was a considerate host after all. Roland entered the enormous square building, only to be slightly surprised. The building had only two floors. It was supported by enormous pillars. Every twenty meters, three enormous stone pillars in a row would support the thick floor above them. Every pillar was fifteen meters tall, and the distance between the pillars was fifteen meters too. Thanks to the equilibrium between their height and their distance, the building looked very harmonious. The floor of the building was made of a unique smooth stone material. It seemed to be white, but when one looked down at the floor vertically, it would show dark, colorful light. The colors werent vivid or dazzling. They made the building seem low-key but luxurious. Roland estimated that the stone floor alone mustve cost a fortune. There were a lot of people in the building, but since the building was too huge, few people could be seen. Because of the long distance, the Mages had to run if they were in a rush. Some also used Acceleration. Some even cast Floating on themselves, before they simply jumped off from the stairs or the balconies. Roland observed his fellow Mages. Those Mages were observing him too In fact, they were mostly observing Andonara. That was nothing to be surprised at. After all, beautiful girls were always the center of attention. These Mages were quite decent. Though many of them noticed Andonara, none of them came to hit on her after seeing that she had a male companion. Roland was glad that nobody disturbed them. He walked for a long time with Andonara in the enormous square building and saw a lot of things, such as an indoor spring which was created based on the siphon mechanism of magic elements, magic balloons that floated randomly, and wooden maids that could dance on their own but looked as terrible as the ghosts from horror movies because of the bad craftsmanship. All in all, there were many things in this building Andonara found them very interesting, but Roland wasnt as intrigued. There were too many similar things in reality. He understood their mechanisms the moment he saw them. Walking for another half-hour, Roland entered the second floor, which was a lot quieter. It was a long corridor dotted with a black door every five meters. Roland led Andonara to a room that had the number 1002 on the door. He then put the blue badge to the lock. The door opened. When did you crack the secret of this badge? Andonara was slightly surprised. She never doubted Rolands cleverness; she knew that he would find out the secret. But on their way here, Roland seemed to be admiring the wonders without examining the badge. I had a rough idea when I got the badge. Roland pointed at the blue badge and explained. There are six dots that are in different sizes. You can consider them a senary number. Then, those lines are actually a simple map of the passages. With the number and the map, we can know where our room is by comparing what we see to the map. Andonaras beautiful eyes widened. Whats senary? Well Roland scratched his head. It was truly a challenging task to explain what senary meant to a person who was partially illiterate. At this moment, the room next to theirs was opened, and a female Mage walked out. She was tall and blonde with blue eyes. She was briefly stunned to see Roland. Then, she slightly bowed to show respect, because she could tell that Roland was a lot stronger than her. After the courtesy, the female Mage was about to leave, but then she walked back after taking two steps. Staring at Andonara, she said, Ive met you before! 498 There Are No Peers That I Cant Bea She wasnt stupid, but she wasnt interested in thinking about things, particularly not after she got with Roland. She left all the big things for Roland to decide and simply managed the little things at home. Ones brain tended to get rusty if not used very often. Therefore, her memories were actually worse than what she should have with her Intelligence stats. She did find this female Mage familiar, but she had a hard time remembering who she was. It seems that I didnt leave a deep impression on you. The female Mage smiled. A few years ago, when you got married to the king of Hollevin, I attended your wedding as a member of the mission. Back then, your hair was still brown. It looks prettier blonde. The female Mage looked at Roland as she went on. But as far as I remember, the king of Hollevin doesnt look like him, nor should he be so young. As a result, Andonara looked rather awful. She really loved Roland, much more than Roland loved her. Once a person surrendered too much in a relationship, they tended to lose their pride. When they lost their pride, certain things would understandably be considered as stains to them, such as Andonoras previous marriage. Although Roland seemed to like her more for her identity as the queen, Andonara had always been slightly bothered by it. What the female Mage said was like tearing her wound open. She had every reason to be upset. Andonara glanced at Roland. Seeing that he wasnt angry, she was finally relieved. Then, she said rather unhappily, Sorry, I dont know you. I never met you before. But you just said that I looked familiar The female Mage was briefly stunned. Then she realized what was going on and said, Sorry. I think I misspoke just now. As she talked, she curtsied apologetically. Andonara felt a lot better, as this woman did not seem to be cruel on purpose. You two are new to this place, arent you? The female Mage looked at Andonara rather curiously. Can I interest you in afternoon tea here? I know a store that sells the best cakes. Andonara was going to decline her, but Roland said, Of course. Thank you, my lady. Roland wanted to collect more intelligence about this place. Now that Roland accepted her request, Andonara naturally wouldnt refuse. They were taken to a store not far away by the female Mage This enormous square building could accommodate at least twenty thousand people and was as large as a massive mall in reality, so some people had opened shops in the building to make a living. The store was clean and well-decorated. The three of them sat down. Archduke was a noble title only second to the royal family. It was not hard to imagine that Im Andonara Reed. Sharon was briefly dazed. Wait, your name should be Hollevin. Why is it Reed? Youre not the queen anymore? Andonara looked at Roland again and said casually, Im still the queen. The old king dared not take the title away from me. That sounds interesting. Can you tell me why? A weird interest flashed in Sharons eyes. Andonara smiled stunningly. Because I would kill him if he dared to do that. Huh Sharon raised her eyebrow. You seem to be beyond a Master now. Are you on your way to becoming a Legend? Since the woman couldnt see through her capabilities, Andonara would rather not expose herself. She simply nodded and admitted it. That explains a lot. Sharon smiled. Hollevin is just a small country with few experts. Also, as a Great Swordsman, you are already half a Legend if you are a Master. Nobody in Hollevin dares to do anything to you! Actually, when I first saw you, I knew you would leave the old king and Hollevin sooner or later. At this moment, cakes and fresh juice had been served. Andonara loved sweet food. She grabbed a spoonful of cream and crewed it for a moment. Then she said, I remember you now. When we were married, the old king sent invitations to all countries. There were too many guests back then. You didnt leave a deep impression on me. But Im sure that someone else definitely did. The female Mage smiled and said, Our First Princess, Stephanie! Andonara frowned now that the woman was mentioned. That princess who was arrogant and looked down on everybody else? She wasnt arrogant; she was just confident. Sharon chuckled. It seems that the First Princess really left a deep impression on you. You still remember her after all these years although you barely remember me. Of course I remember her. Andonara blinked her eyes. After all, she was the first princess I defeated. Listening the whole time, Roland grew quite curious. You defeated her? Did she cause any trouble at your wedding? Sharon turned around and looked at Roland. Please forgive me for overlooking you. I was too busy talking to the queen. May I know who you are? Roland, no last name. Im a Golden Son. No last name? Sharon sounded rather suspicious. She had thought that this man who made Andonara so sensitive and who didnt look very handsome definitely had a powerful background, or he couldnt have been worthy enough for a great talent like Andonara. But he didnt have a last name. Did this mean that he was a civilian? All the Mages were untitled nobles, but the young man couldnt be very strong. He was still way below Queen Andonara even if he were a minor noble. Why did Andonara end up with such a man? Was it really because of love? Wait a Golden Son? Sharon finally realized what was going on. Although the players hadnt entered the Fareins Kingdom on a large scale, the rumors about them had arrived before they did. Those hilarious and mysterious stories made the Golden Sons quite famous, some in a good way and some in a bad way. Besides, there were Golden Sons in Fareins too. Schuck, the newly promoted Saint Samurai in the Temple of Light, was praised as the most gifted Saint Samurai in the past three hundred years. He had almost become a Master after only two years. Also, his strength was significantly boosted by the red dragon that he rode. Furthermore, rumor had it that a group of Golden Sons who focused on hunting vampires had appeared near the capital. They all wore silver equipment. They usually made a living by taking mercenary missions, but whenever they spotted vampires, they would track them down and demolish all of them. After that, they would sell the vampires bone powder on the market. They were truly a bunch of brutal men. Because of them, the market price of vampires bone powder had dropped by almost twenty percent. Sharon, as a female Mage who spent most of her time at home, had never been in contact with any Golden Sons. Schuck, on the other hand, always stayed in the Holy Realm and rode the red dragon whenever he was out. Only the royal family and the grand nobles could meet him once in a while. The Golden Sons who were devoted to hunting vampires were mysterious and couldnt be seen easily, either. Whenever they showed up, they were either selling bone powder, or on their way to selling Sharon was quite interested in the Golden Sons as a community. She learned that the Golden Sons were mostly active in Hollevin and planned to visit them there someday. She didnt expect to meet a living Golden Son here. She looked Roland up and down and couldnt help but investigate Rolands strength with her mental power, only to be shocked. Youre almost a Master now? Sharon asked in surprise. But youre so young. Youve been growing too fast even if you started learning magic when you were eight. Actually, Roland had studied magic for only two years. But he didnt need to brag about himself at this moment. He simply asked, What did your First Princess do at Andonaras wedding? Sharon looked at Andonara and then Roland and said, I think its best that the queen tells the story. She was beaten up by me. Andonara said rather embarrassedly, She was the head of Fareins mission group back then. At my wedding, she mocked other young nobles and said that they were all weak wussies. Then, she mocked me because I would rather acquire power by marrying an old man than get it on my own Andonara gradually lowered her voice as she talked on. She stared Roland in the eye. Seeing that Roland wasnt mad or upset, she was greatly relieved and continued, I was very angry, so I had a duel with her and almost beat her to tears. A duel with Andonara? Tsk. Roland shook her head. Andonara had been very strong before she obtained the Phoenix Blood. The Great Swordsman was itself one of the three OP classes. It was almost impossible for someone else of Andonaras level to defeat her. Sharon smiled and said, Our Princess Stephanie has always been an independent woman. She believes that a woman can thrive without counting on any man. Also, there have been female monarchs in Fareins before, so the First Princesss dream was always to be the queen. Its not a secret in Fareins. However, she was beaten into tears by you and almost lost her confidence because of it. Andonara cackled awkwardly. I was too furious back then. How I wanted to live my life was none of her business. She had it coming for mocking me on my wedding day. Sharon put on a self-deprecating smile. Fareins was the most powerful country in the human world. What about Hollevin? It was only as big as a medium-sized county in Fareins, which had 37 such counties. A small noble of Fareins would be considered a grand noble in Hollevin, not to mention the members of the royal family such as the First Princess. Not only did Andonara show her no respect, but she even beat her up. It was a miracle that the king of Hollevin didnt punish Andonara. 499 A Rare Kindred Spiri The Fareins kingdom was the most powerful country in the world, and if a comparison had to be made, it would be the difference between a beautiful country and a small African country. It was already a great honor for them to send a princess to your wedding. In the end, due to some sarcastic comments, Andonara almost made the princess cry. If the old king didnt send the queen to solitary confinement, who else would he send? It was probably due to this incident that the old king felt the need to wear down Andonaras temperament. However, Andonara was naturally insecure, and being so slowly worn down by the old king, she grew cold toward her husband. In the end, Roland intervened and easily pulled her away. In any case, the fact that Andonara had beaten up the First Princess of Fareins back then was a truly shocking act. Sharon looked at Andonara with a little admiration. At first, the First Princess had a problem with you, and after she returned, she would talk about you from time to time, but she still believed that a woman should be strong and self-reliant. It wasnt until later on when she got married that she often quarreled with her husband because of her overly dominant personality, and in the end, the two of them were almost like fire and water. It was only then that she occasionally told me privately that she thought that being a little weaker like you might be the way to get along as a couple. Hearing this, Andonara shook her head. Im no good either. My life with the old king wasnt happy. But fortunately, I met Roland. After saying that, Andonara looked at Roland beside her with affection. Sharon sized up Roland for a while longer, then she continued to say to Andonara, Since youre here in Fareins, are you interested in meeting the First Princess? Im sure shell be happy to see you. Andonara froze for a moment. I almost made her cry; itd be a wonder if she doesnt hate me. The First Princess is not the kind of person who seeks revenge for the smallest grievance. Sharon smiled. If she saw you, she would be happy. After all, right now the First Princess needs a friend who can talk to her as an equal without making her feel in danger and wouldnt be treated by her as an enemy. Andonara shook her head. She had been in the royal family for a few years, and she knew too well how small-minded the so-called royal family of Hollevin was. Not to mention getting beaten up, even if you accidentally bumped into them, if you gave them a chance, they would retaliate. The members of the Fareins royal family were probably the same. Sharon didnt mind. She had guessed that Andonara would refuse. For example, the open rivalry between several grand dukes, a certain nobles youngest son not being his real son, and other such upper-class gossip. Essentially, the life of a noble was no different from those of the countryside. Farmers and their wives were at the edge of the fields, holding hoes and forks, talking about household affairs and the effects the phases of the moon had on their crops. Nobles sat in lavish houses, holding the edges of ornate cups with their pinky out, talking about killing and f**king, and deciding where their interests lie in conversation. Apart from identity and status, at the core, the two were of exactly the same nature. That wasnt the information Roland wanted to hear. He was more interested in knowing how much magic materials were available in the Association of Mages in Fareins, which ones were cheaper, and which ones were more expensive than in Hollevin. And what the Association of Mages policy for educating people was. He could learn from that and see if he could use it in his own magic academy. However, Sharon didnt talk about those things. She just focused on talking about noble gossip with Andonara. Andonara listened with rapt attention. Sigh. Roland couldnt help but sigh inwardly. Andonara was good in all aspects, but it was just this part of her personality that wasnt any different from an ordinary noblewomans. Loving gossip. Not at all like a powerful female Warrior who had reached the Legendary level. Roland tapped the tabletop twice with his fingers, making a faint noise to interrupt their conversation, and then said, Andonara, you and Lady Sharon can talk for a while, Ill go walk around and see what else is here. Andonara nodded. She knew her mans personality; he wasnt interested in these things. When Roland left, Sharon said with some uneasiness, Did I snub Mr. Roland, he doesnt seem too happy? Its okay, he has a good personality and wont get angry about it. Andonara smiled. The happiest thing thats happened to me until now is having met him. Looking at Andonaras happy expression, Sharon was somehow envious because she could tell that Andonara wasnt faking it. She was reminded of her own man, a matrilocal husband who knew nothing and could do nothing, but who liked to do things to his maids. Now that there were three illegitimate children, she was contemplating whether or not to drown them. After Roland left the shop, he walked around the neighborhood casually. Other than shops, some open spaces were occupied by groups of Mages gathering and talking about magic. Roland walked past group after group of gathered Mages, and from the occasional statements he heard, he found that these Mages were quite solid in their theoretical knowledge, and when discussing, each one of them quoted classic worksthe Mages in Hollevin were really not on the same level as them. He retraced his steps to the magic fountain, as it was quite interesting in its design. The phenomenon of siphoning was prevalent in nature and was not a profound principle, but it was interesting to apply the siphoning principle to the flow of magic. Roland had tried to apply this, but pure magic power was not affected by atmospheric pressure, which meant that under normal circumstances, the flow of magic could not produce siphoning. How did this man do it? Roland came over just to see how the magic fountain worked. It would be even better if he could secretly tear down this magic fountain! As a result, as soon as he arrived, he saw three young Mages standing nearby as well. They were discussing theoretical knowledge about magic. As they discussed, they had an argument. As I said, the wind element is essentially the manipulation of air currents, and it should be a force field spell, not an evoking spell because it is not a transformation of magical elemental energy, just a flow of energy. The young man with short black hair shouted, Wind elemental magic should be categorized as a force field spell, not in evocation! But that is the decision of the Legendary Mages. The young man with short blond hair and grey magic robes said disdainfully, Who do you think you are to overrule the decisions of the Legends? The other brown-haired youth nodded and said, Thats right, Menon Boris. Dont think that just because people praised you for your genius a few times youre really an omniscient sage. As impressive as you may be, can you be more powerful than a Legendary Mage? The black-haired young man sneered, What? The Legendary Mages were able to overturn some of Mordenkainen and Melfs theories and say that they were wrong, so are their theories completely right? By your logic, I cant say that the Legendary Mages are wrong because I dont have enough of a reputation and am weaker. Then why can they say that Mordenkainen and Melf are wrong!? What! Their argument had been turned against them. The other two were speechless. The blond youngster snorted. Boris, I dont want to argue with you. You should know that even if youre a genius, your ideas and concepts are completely on the wrong path. Magic isnt for messing around with these miscellaneous toys that please women and children. Magic fountains, what a ridiculous thing. Magic is supposed to be used to deter enemies and change the layout of the worldyoure too small-minded. If you dont change your mind one day, youll just sit at the bottom of the well, looking up at the stars, never jumping out. The three of us grew up together, progressed together, and we dont want you to stray from the right path of magic and get further and further away from us. I want you to lead the two of us forward again. Lets go. The two youngsters left, leaving the black-haired young man standing alone by the magic fountain. Roland walked over and asked, Is this magic fountain your work? The black-haired young man was contemplating when Roland suddenly spoke, startling him. He then sized up Roland and asked, A friend from outside? Cant I be a new student here? The black-haired young man smiled confidently. New students can only come in after a year. Besides, I have a good memorythere are 13,274 people in the entire Association of Mages, this includes the servants. Everyones faces are imprinted in my head, but not yours. This memory is a little freakish. Roland didnt know if this person was bluffing or not, but he just assumed it was real for now. He exclaimed, What a genius! With this memory, learning anything is definitely twice as effective with half the effort. Its all right. The black-haired young man sized up Roland again. Can you show your identification? There are quite a lot of spies in the Association of Mages lately. As he said that, Roland sensed that this black-haired young man, Menon Boris, had already been surrounded by extremely subtle magic fluctuations, and the spell was one step away from taking shape. Roland took out the blue card from his pocket and dangled it. Menon relaxed. The subtle magic fluctuations disappeared as well. Friend, may I ask where you are from and your name? Menon didnt have much interest in Roland, most of his mind was still thinking about what his friend had just said. Roland smiled. Roland, from Hollevin, a Golden Son. Menons eyes lit up. Golden Son? The rumored immortal Golden Sons? Youre not an imposter, are you? Roland was somewhat surprised. Are people impersonating us? They are. Menon nodded vigorously. Immortality is a terrifying trait, and people generally dont want to offend you, so some people want to use that for some purpose, like threatening others before a battle. But a fake is a fake, and you can test it out when you try. Test how? One gold coin for a small piece of your flesh and blood. Menons eyes seemed to glow. I want to study how your blood and flesh is different from us ordinary people. My family isnt very wealthy, so I can only offer one gold coin, which is almost all of my savings already. This young man is a research maniac. Roland became interested as well. Theres no problem in giving you a piece of flesh, but I dont want gold coins. Then what do you want? Roland pointed to the magic fountain next to him. Whats the principle of how this thing works? I want to know that. Deal? Deal, of course! Looks like youre also someone who loves to study the nature of magic Wait! Menon suddenly remembered something. Roland, thats a familiar name, let me retrieve the memory Huh? Oil-making and water-making spells? 500 Which is More Important, Depth or Breadth? The vast majority of Mages majored in attack-type spells, and even if they had a minor in protection-type, it was to protect themselves on the battlefield or in battles with others. Menon, on the other hand, preferred to pursue the essence of magic, and he was not interested in magic with lethality, instead preferring to create strange magical items. For example, magic fountains and magic rainbows. This kind of magic that could bring happiness to people was what he was after. And such behavior, in the eyes of his teachers and friends, was simply deviant. A Mage wasnt a Mage if they didnt pursue high lethality and great strength. Menon remained true to his path, and because of it, he drifted away from his friends. While he studied how to gather magic, his friends were learning how to make their spells more lethal. While he researched how to manifest magic to ordinary people and not hurt them, his friends were already building up their careers. If Menon hadnt been from a good family and pulled some strings, he wouldnt have had the right to stand in the Association of Mages. The Association of Mages, the elite gathering place for all of Fareins, was home to a large number of Mages. But Menon had not found anyone who thought the same way as he did. In the Association of Mages, all of his peers except him were seeking greater power. This left Menon feeling particularly disappointed and lonely. Especially when his former friends also started to oppose him, he felt that no one in the world could understand him. Whats wrong with bringing joy to people? Whats so great about fighting and killing. It was at this time that two new spells appeared in the Church of Magic. The oil-making and water-making spells. Both of these spells were created by a man named Roland. Though it seemed from these two spells that the creators intent was still to strengthen Mages The oil-making spell made it easier for Mages to make money, and the water-making spell was also made for Mages, as it could be seen from the amount of water that could only quench thirst. Allowing Mages to make more money earlier on gave Mages more flexibility to survive in the wild. nore 110. This Mage called Roland was essentially still creating spells for Mages, not for all the masses, all intelligent beings. Understanding this, Menons excitement diminished a little. This man named Roland was still seeking greater power just like any other Mage, but he was just pursuing it more comprehensively. However, Menon paid more attention to this man named Roland and his invention of the oil-making and water-making spells. Then, after a few months, Menon gradually lost the name Roland in the depths of his memory. Why are you interested in this magic fountain? Menon asked curiously. After I made this thing, most people said that I put my energy into crooked things. Roland pointed at the structure of the magic fountains shell. This thing is a magic formation that can manifest the flow of magic power, making it visible to ordinary people. But I dont understand how you made the magic flow like water. It is reasonable to say that the magical elements cant produce this siphoning principle of drooping water columns, because they arent transformed into magic water streams. Menons eyes lit up. You can understand! Youre also pursuing the essence of magic? Roland nodded. You could say that. Come, come, Ill show you the results of my latest research. Menon grabbed Roland and headed toward his room. His room wasnt far from here. Once inside, Roland saw that there were drawings all over the place. e were As everyone knew, a piece of white paper was very expensive, and the fact that Menons room had so many drawings was enough to show that he was extremely rich. Look, this is what Ive researched about the conditions and methods of magic elements resonance. Its how the magic element changes its properties for a short time and then produces a seven-colored rainbow-like effect. And this, my masterpiece, the control of the flow of pure magic elementsthe magic fountain is an extension of this concept. Roland grabbed the three drawings in his hands and slowly looked at them. Menon was in no hurry. He was sitting in a chair at the side, looking at Roland rather expectantly. This was Menon showing off and it was also his test. If Roland could understand these things, then Menon would think that he was a kindred spirit. This was why Menon wasnt in a hurry. He crossed his legs and waited patiently. All three things were his masterpieces, and even if Legends came, theyd probably be able to look at each one for half an hour before they could understand it. Roland was not yet atMaster, so no matter how smart he was, it was estimated that it would take five or six hours before he could fully understand it. However half an hour later, Roland finished flipping through the three drawings and then contemplated them. He finished reading so quickly? Menon was somewhat in disbelief! Might he be pretending? Roland then snapped his fingers and the magic around him began to manifest, then formed a small, curved, intertwined string of flowing water. Menon couldnt help but jump at the sight of it. You actually mastered it? So quickly? Thats because your notes are well-written and easy to understand. Menon tsked. He felt like he had been overshadowed and said, not too pleased, You seem to have a good foundation and are almost at this point in your research. Indeed. Roland nodded. He was using numbers to parse magic, so he was progressing rather quickly. But there was a limit to how fast it could be; after all, it had only been a little over two years since he had entered the game. Still, while his depth of learning magic was sufficient, his breadth wasnt. After reading your three drawings, Ill take something out too, otherwise itd be rude of me. Roland thought about it and took out the technique of making the magic sword. Because Menon liked to make things, so naturally this would be to his liking. Then this thing opened Menons eyes. Because aside from Mordenkainen, Roland was the only one who knew how to do this. It was the first time hed ever seen this. After telling Menon some of the key points so that he could learn and experience them for himself, Roland left. Menon didnt send him off either. He was completely immersed in learning. Roland went to the pastry shop first and found that Andonara wasnt there, so he went back to the room that the Association of Mages had prepared for him, and after swiping the door open with his card, he saw Andonara working inside. She was cleaning the floor and laying out the bedding Seeing Roland return, she said sweetly, Ill make you dinner after I clean this place up. Roland had gotten used to Andonaras wifeliness, and he felt like he was going to be a living wreck if he continued like this. He watched Andonara walk around, then asked, How did it go with Ms. Sharon? She keeps trying to take me to see the First Princess, I dont know why. Andonara laughed bitterly. That woman got a beating from me, wouldnt it be provoking dislike to go see her! But Sharons expression and tone were sincere, and I didnt sense any malice in her, so I guess she wanted me to make up with the First Princess Stephanie. Roland was surprised. Sharon was so enthusiastic, but why? Who knows! Andonara shook her head helplessly. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Roland turned back and opened the door to find that it was the Great Elder Alfred. It seems that you have found the right answer, Alfred said happily. As expected of an elite from our Red Magic Tower, you didnt shame us. Roland accepted Alfreds compliment with a smile, then asked, Great Elder, did you come here with any orders? Its a good thing, come to dinner with us, smiled Alfred. The royal family has invited us tonight, and you will be able to meet lots of big shots. Roland pondered. I think its better to stay in my room and study magic. Arent you interested in a large number of beautiful noblewomen? Alfreds enigmatic smile had a hint of crudeness to it. A whole lot. More beautiful than my Andonara? Roland turned sideways and pointed to Andonara, who was busy in the room. Alfred shrugged. I guess there are only one or two with such a figure as a Legendary Great Swordsman. Theres actually as many as one or two? Roland seemed a little surprised. Alfred felt the sourness of envy seep into his teeth like he had squeezed a dozen lemons. He had no choice but to offer a great weapon: But if you dont attend the dinner, how am I going to introduce you to the great figures of the Church of Light? Then you might lose your chance to enter the Great Library of Light. All right, Ill go. Roland stood up straight. I knew it. Alfred rolled his eyes at Roland. Follow me, and call your Great Swordsman queen too. A few minutes later, Roland and Alfred walked out of the Association of Mages. Andonara wore a white one-piece dress that was easy to move in, and she followed behind the two of them. The world outside the Association of Mages was full of square houses made of white stone. There were crowds of people walking along the large, busy streets. Alfred pointed to the towering castle in the distance and smiled. Thats the palace, the banquet will be held there. We dont have a carriage, so well have to figure out how to get to the palace ourselves. For example, the easiest way for us Mages to get is by flying. Alfred laughed and soared straight into the sky with Wind Soaring before disappearing into the towering background scenery of the royal palace. It turned out that the Church of Light did not restrict flying spells. Even if they didnt restrict flying spells, Roland wouldnt bother to fly now. Rather than flying off alone, it was more romantic to walk slowly with Andonara on the streets. Besides, it was still early in the morning, and there was still a long way to go before the sun would set. Roland didnt believe that the palace would start the banquet so soon. Then he was proven wrong. When the sun was still more than half a distance away from setting, a rather beautiful woman in a gorgeous dress suddenly announced that the banquet had officially started. Roland almost couldnt get into the banquet. 501 The Golden Sons Never Fear Trouble In the entire Fareins royal family, discounting the king, the First Princesss words held the most weight. This time, the banquet was held in a corner of the huge palace. Since this was a banquet held by Stephanie herself, and not an invitation from the king, it could only be held at a remote corner. But this was already impressive. The Fareins monarchical power was great, and although it was also in a feudal, segmented state, the royal familys control over the lords of the various regions was much stronger than that of other countries. It could even be said that almost all the lords had some royal blood in them. From the small door beneath the high wall at the side of the royal palace, they entered the location where the banquet was being held. The large white stone slabs paved a huge square, and every ten meters or so, a huge square-shaped pillar was erected, with a large, white, round stone block at its top They were like white, slender mushrooms of different heights. The architectural style of the entire square seemed particularly fantasy-like and otherworldly, and also quite beautifuljust completely different from the style of most buildings in this game world. Inside, there were already many dignitaries standing around chatting in groups, and the atmosphere was quite relaxed and cheerful. And when Alfred himself led Roland and Andonara in, this naturally attracted the attention of many people. Alfred was an old acquaintance of the capital of Fareins. As a Legendary Mage and one of the several heads of the Association of Mages, there werent many people from the capital of Fareins who didnt know him, or who didnt know of his distinguished name. The situation in the capital of Fareins was that of three superpowers and many other forces. The royal family, the Association of Mages, and the Church of Light were the three superpowers, and the other several grand dukes and millennial families formed a plethora of powerful forces. And among the many powerful forces, there were also those that united in twos or threes, but they were barely able to stand up to the three superpowers, much less pose a substantial threat. And most of the noble forces were slightly biased toward the royal family in their hearts. In the capital of the past, the royal family was slightly stronger than the Association of Mages and the Church of Light. But it was a bit hard to tell now since the Church of Light suddenly had Dragon Knight Schuck. This guy was a powerful strategic deterrence. Regardless, the capital still maintained a fragile balance for now. After all, the forces of Fareins had a certain trait, which was to fight but not break. At that time, the kingdom was weakened because the royal family and two major powers were killing each other, and the troops were focused on fighting internal conflicts. This allowed foreigners to take advantage of the situation. A small wandering army of 6,000 or so Barbarians, nomads, and a few green-skinned Orcs broke through the defense of the Fareins Kingdom. And then they fought all the way up to the capital. Although this army was wiped out within the capital, it also caused great losses to the entire Fareins Kingdom. Everywhere it passed, almost nothing was left behind. They burned and killed whatever and whoever they could. Both the royal family and other forces suffered heavy losses, and civilians died in large numbers, over hundreds of thousands of deaths. Because more than two hundred years had passed, this was gradually forgotten by most people. But after all, the Fareins Kingdom was a large country, and although the official records were incomplete, there were still some regarding this matter emphasized in the records of the Fareins Kingdom. So later on, the noble forces of Fareins Kingdom understood one thing. Internal conflicts were fine but in moderation. When the kingdom was weak, families would also become unstable. So Alfred obviously didnt like the royal family very much, but for the sake of the entire Fareins Kingdom, he still wanted to bring a talent like Roland into the country. He even wanted to introduce him to the First Princess. Hopefully, the First Princess would chain down this kid who liked mature women and make him stay in the Fareins Kingdom. Even if this kid was on the side of the capital, it didnt matter; at least it would balance out the Dragon Knight that suddenly appeared in the Church of Light. Amidst the watchful eyes of many interested people, Alfred brought Roland and Andonara to the main stage of the venue. There were more big shots here. Not only were they more flamboyant in terms of attire, but their airs also felt profound. Most of them were middle-aged, and they were gathered around a woman in a pale blue low-cut dress, smiling very elegantly and happily. This woman was wearing a duchesss coiffure, standing in the middle of a group of men, and not to mention her blonde hair and blue eyes typical of an aristocrat, with her pearly round face and a fair, voluptuous, tall figure, one could tell she was a great beauty even from a distance. When Roland got closer, he found that this womans looks were comparable to Andonaras. Alfreds arrival immediately caught the attention of the group. Their eyes shifted over. For a moment, there was joy, hesitation, and indifference; each one had their own expressions. But soon, everyones expressions became the same-a faint smile. The crowd parted of its own accord, and the First Princess Stephanie, who walked like a breezy willow, came out, bending slightly in front of Alfred and smiling. Long time no see, great grandfather-in-law. Thats right Although Alfred was a member of the Association of Mages, he also carried a certain amount of royal blood. This was one of the main reasons why the major powers of Fareinss capital could compromise. Everyone was more or less related. Alfred smiled and said, I heard that you were holding a banquet, so I came over to introduce some friends to you. This is Having said that, Alfred suddenly noticed something strange about the First Princesss expression. She, who had been smiling, changed expressions extremely quickly. It went from doubt, to surprise, to confusion, and finally to a slight surprise again. Everyone next to her saw the change in expression of the First Princess Stephanie, and they all felt rather confused. The First Princess had been known as the Smiling Princess since she was fifteen years old, and most of the time, she was smiling, even when she was angry. Now, however, her expression had changed so much. Alfred quirked an eyebrow and moved slightly aside. The First Princess took a few more steps and stood directly in front of Andonara, staring at the latter for a long moment before she said in a nostalgic tone, Its been a long time, Queen of Hollevin. Huh? The queen? Most of the people in the vicinity wore a baffled look. What queen, didnt the current queen just go back to her mothers house? And she didnt look like thisnot this pretty and voluptuous. Only Alfred, who knew Andonaras identity, wasnt surprised. But Alfred was still curious as to why First Princess Stephanies reaction was so odd. Andonara sized up the other and said indifferently, I dont have much of an impression of you, but you dont seem to have changed much. The changes are definitely there. Stephanie smiled, but this time her smile was genuine. Her eyes were bright and happy, not the fake, masked smile she used to deal with people. Its just that youve changed; even more, your hair color has changed, and you even seem to have grown a little taller. I wouldnt have recognized you if the shape of your face and demeanor werent the same. The First Princess Stephanie was also a big shot in the capital who could cause earthquakes with small acts, and would most likely be crowned queen after the old king died. Most people would be nervous facing her, having to think about how to manage their expressions, their manners, and their speech. But Andonara didnt need to. Oh, anything else? Almost everyone felt shocked when that was said. Although Stephanie was known as the Smiling Princess, she wasnt a benevolent person. Otherwise, she couldnt have gathered such great power. But in reality, Andonara really wasnt afraid of anyone right now. The Legendary Great Swordsman itself was the ceiling of battle power, and with her Hero bloodline, she could even fight monsters at a Devil Kings level. If she wanted to leave, there probably wouldnt be anyone in the entire Fareins Kingdom who could stop her. Of course, she would feel a bit troubled if several Legendary powerhouses were to fight her at the same time. She just didnt feel that the First Princess would dispatch several Legends into dealing with her because of a few simple words. There was no need. Even less so from an interest perspective. Can we talk privately? Instead of getting angry, the First Princess Stephanie spoke gently. I also have something I want to ask you. Ive been trying to find a chance to go to Hollevin again for the last two years, but unfortunately, Ive been too busy to do so. Andonara subconsciously looked at Roland beside her. Roland didnt say anything. He didnt know what Stephanie was going to talk to Andonara about. This was the other partys territory and Andonara had almost beaten the First Princess to tears beforewhat if the other party harbored ill intentions? Andonara immediately understood what Roland was thinking, and she shook her head and said, Sorry, I cant promise you that. At this moment, there were cries of surprise from the spectators. Someone had actually refused the invitation of the First Princess. This was a rather rare occurrence. Stephanie looked at Roland and continued, You can come over with your male companion, in which case you would be willing, right? Andonara looked at Roland again. It was now clear to the surrounding nobles that this beautiful woman, who was valued by the First Princess, was actually dominated by the young male Mage next to her. Roland still didnt nod his head. The First Princess, who hadnt been paying attention to Roland, finally moved her gaze to him. After looking at Roland for a while, the First Princess said, You are Andonaras new man? The old king of Hollevin was removed by you? These words sounded a bit harsh. They implied that Roland had killed the king and taken his wife! This was not only a major crime but also gravely condemned from a moral standpoint. Roland chuckled inwardly and said, I heard that your forces are quite powerful, First Princess. Your intelligence-gathering shouldnt be bad, so wouldnt it be clear to you whats going on if you investigated? A small country with a population of less than 100 million, what is there to investigate. Stephanie was still smiling, but her eyes were sharp. I just wonder how an ordinary young man like you is qualified to obtain and protect Andonara. Roland found this extremely laughable. I dont qualify, but you do? I truly do. Stephanie laughed softly. I am the First Princess and future queen of Fareins. I will be the most powerful person in all of the human world, and if I dont, who does? Roland turned his head to look at Andonara. I think you should beat her and make her cry again. The surrounding nobles paled in fear and staggered back. 502 The Support of the Red Magic Tower The atmosphere suddenly changed when many of the guests noticed that Alfred had brought a man and a woman with him to chat with the First Princes for a while. There was a momentary lull in the banquet. It was as if something unbelievable was happening They even saw many of the big shots take a step back simultaneously. What had happened? Right at the center of everyones attention, several of those involved wore rather strange expressions. The First Princess was livid but seemed a bit expectant. Alfred, on the other hand, was all smiles and seemed to be fine with it. The surrounding major figures, surprised, were staring and waiting for things to unfold. To put it bluntly, they were watching the show. The sweetly smiling Andonara had already moved forward. Roland said to beat her up, so naturally, she had to. The First Princess subconsciously stepped back, and then two young nobles suddenly stood in front of the First Princess. Even if it seemed like a dinner party with no danger, as a member of the royal family, she still had protectors hidden in the crowd. Just a step forward by Andonara, and with two thuds, the two young men covered their abdomens and fell to their knees retching. Andonara struck so fast that only a handful of people could just barely see her move. The First Princess turned a little pale and took another step back. She couldnt beat Andonara a few years ago, and naturally that was even truer now. Just as Andonara was about to strike, Alfred suddenly stretched out his hand and a light blue boundary protected the First Princes. Looking at the blue boundary, Stephanie sighed in relief. She finally felt somewhat safe, then nodded her head slightly to Alfred in gratitude. Andonara looked at Roland. After all, it was a spell cast by a Legendary Mage. This boundary was a bit hard, and she couldnt penetrate it with her bare hands. She had to use her sword. Her sword, however, was stored in Rolands Backpack Roland looked to Alfred and smiled, asking, What do you mean, mentor, you wont let me beat her up? Give me some face. Alfred sighed. She is, after all, somewhat related to me by blood, so I cant just see her lose face. Roland nodded. So can I leave the party now? Although Alfred was not his direct mentor, occasionally when Roland met him, he would ask him about some unclear aspects of magic philosophy. And Alfred usually took quite a lot of care with Roland, so Roland had to listen to what he had to say. Feel free. Alfred shrugged his shoulders and spoke indifferently. In his opinion, the First Princess Stephanie really wasnt as important as Roland. And it was true that Stephanie was considered quite capable among the younger generation of the royal family, but there were a few princes who werent bad, only they had made their moves too late and so had been suppressed. If someone could help them lift the stone that was weighing them down, they might be able to stand on the same high ground as Stephanie did. Roland was different; a Mage was a profession that required a lot of talent, and it would be nice if one could come out of ten thousand. A Mage of Rolands talent might not be able to come out of one in ten million. The First Princess, the queen, and whatnot were not as important as a powerful and innovative Mage. With such a Mage in Fareins, as long as he reached the Legendary level, his lifespan would be at least two hundred years, and he could keep the entire Fareins Kingdom safe for over a hundred years. With Alfreds permission, Roland turned around and left, Andonara following after him. Stephanie stayed in the blue circular boundary, pursing her full red lips slightly as she watched Andonara leave. After leaving the corner of the palace, Roland took Andonara for a stroll through the night market in the capital before returning to the Association of Mages. He didnt know that because of him, the banquet hosted by the First Princes ended much earlier than planned. When Roland returned to the quarters the Association of Mages had prepared for him, Andonara got busy making dinner. The two of them thought they would have a full meal at the banquet, but they didnt expect to be back out again within ten minutes of going inside. And they didnt want to eat in a tavern or something like that, mainly because Andonara felt that it was her duty as Rolands woman to take care of his food and shelter when there were no servants. Roland, on the other hand, sat at his desk and used the systems notepad to continue deriving magic data. As his level increased, and as he understood theories and concepts of magic, some of his previous ideas had become outdated, and much of the data had to be updated according to the current level of his characters attributes. He had to correct the database. The Mage was a profession that had to keep up with the times. They relied mostly on data and not as much on experience and intuition as Warriors, Assassins, and Archers did. He started analyzing his self-destructing Inferior Fireball again, and after three months of studying at the Red Magic Tower, his understanding of the magical elements, and invoking them, had improved significantly. Some of the previous nodes could be altered now. And the capacity limit of this spell could be raised some more. By dialing some nodes away from their current positions slightly, and with the increase in capacity, Roland added three small nodes. If the analogy to the spell model was a sophisticated circuit board, then the function of these three extra nodes was to increase the current output. To put it more simply, the explosion was more powerful. The self-destructing Inferior Fireball, Rolands signature and his killer move, was a spell in which he had invested more energy than all other spells combined. In other words, this spell alone accounted for about half of the total number of hours that Roland usually spent optimizing spells. It might not seem like it was cost-effective, but it was actually worth it for everything he did. Roland had previously uploaded this spell to the forum, and then it was offered to the Goddess of Magic by other players with no shame. However, the Goddess of Magic quickly took the spell back, and also seemed to realize that the creator of this spell should be Roland. Compared to the first version of the Inferior Fireball he submitted, the spell had been optimized several times by now. Without considering the character level, equipment, or specialties; whether it was the magic power input speed, ballistic flight speed, the temperature of the flames, or even the blast range; all of these qualities had increased by at least twenty percent. This was a great improvement. If the rise in spell power that came with Rolands leveling up, specialties, and other aspects were addedand now that he was wearing a full set of magic regeneration equipment-a full-strength Inferior Fireball had a blast range that could almost cover an entire football field. In other words, he was already considered a true long-range destructive Mage. Even at this level, Roland still felt that the spell model of the self-destructing Inferior Fireball could continue to be optimized. Mordenkainens signature spell was Mages Disjunction, Melfs signature spell was Low-Level God-Slaying, and Mystras signature spell was Mystras Mansion. So Roland felt that his own signature spell should beSelf-Destructing Inferior Fireball. He looked at the spell model of his Inferior Fireball over and over again, while listing its data and extrapolating it to see if there was a better optimization solution. Soon, Andonara had dinner ready. Roland sat at the table, instinctively stuffing white bread into his mouth, but his eyes were unfocused, a sign that he was thinking deeply. Andonara was sitting across from him and didnt care. A clingy woman like her was happy as long as her man stayed by her side. It didnt matter if he talked less and didnt know how to pamper her. Just as they were about to finish their dinner, there was a knock on the door. Roland snapped out of his thoughts and went to open the door to find Alfred standing outside. Ah? Great Elder, Im just in the middle of dinner, why dont you come in and have some. Roland gestured for him to come in. Im sure you didnt have anything to eat at the banquet. Alfred waved his hand very gently. No, Im too old. I cant eat too much or my stomach will be upset. Then come in and have a seat. Alfred continued to shake his head. Ill leave you two to your private time. I just came to tell you not to pay too much attention to what the First Princess says, and dont mind her. We, the Association of Mages, and the Red Magic Tower are all on your side. As long as you feel that youre not doing anything wrong, just go for it, and if anything happens, well back you up. Roland was stunned and quite touched, but at the same time, he was also a bit puzzled. First Princess Stephanie should be the one with real power in the royal family. Is it all right for the Magic Tower to offend her for an unimportant person like me? Unimportant person? Alfred smiled. You underestimate yourself. Enjoy your travels in Fareins, dont trouble yourself, and rest well. After saying these words, Alfred slowly left. Roland closed the door and returned to his room to finish the rest of his dinner. Andonara was clearing away the dishes when there was another knock at the door. Roland thought Alfred had left and returned with other things to tell him. After all, he had just arrived in Fareins and didnt have any friends. When he opened the door, he found two mysterious people standing outside the door in white robes, their heads covered by large white hoods. Rolands gaze fell on the mysterious person in the front and he asked in confusion, May I ask who you are? Both of them lifted their hoods a little, revealing their faces, then fell back into the shadows. It was the First Princes Stephanie. And Sharon. Its me. Stephanies voice seemed quite kind, completely different from the aggressive situation not so long ago. After Mr. Roland left, I thought about it for a long time, and I know I forgot my manners and did something wrong, so I came to apologize to you and Andonara Sir, wont you invite the two of us to have a seat in the room? Standing here with this outfit, Ill attract more attention. 503 Big-Mouthed Friends Almost all of the countrys royals used the countrys name as their last name. This trend was also started by the royal family of Fareins. As the First Princess, the kings most favored daughter, Stephanie had never been wronged since she was a child. Life went smoothly all the way. Although she was arrogant at the time, her innate character wasnt terrible, and the other big shots from other forces also couldnt be bothered to fuss over minor matters with a little girl. It wasnt until she was sixteen and really bored that she took the assignment to go on a mission to Hollevin. Then came the first time she was beaten up. Beaten by someone her own age, almost to tears. And she had no reason to be angry; after all, it was normal to get beaten up when she made impertinent remarks at the other partys wedding Moreover, the Stephanie back then wasnt as powerful as she was now, and even if she wanted to deal with Hollevin, it wouldnt be that easy. After all, in a feudal and divided country, even if the royal family had much control over the lords of the various regions, sending an expedition to deal with Hollevin because of this small matter would be impossible. Andonara, who had beaten her almost to tears, had a rather special place in Stephanies heart. As soon as she entered the room, she saw Andonara laying out Rolands blanket in a wifely way. The two of them pulled off their hoods, and Stephanie looked at Andonara and said in confusion, Why dont you find a maid to do these things? You are a queen and a Legendary Great Swordsman, its not right to do these jobs in either capacity. Theres no should or shouldnt about cooking for your man and helping him spread his blanket. Andonara turned back and looked at Stephanie. Its a wifes duty. Or is it that you women of the royal family of Fareins dont know how to get along with their husbands? Hmm! Stephanies expression was stern. Although Mr. Roland is a Golden Son, you really dont have to do this. As she spoke, she looked distressed. Roland interjected, You three can chat, Ill sit in the living room. Three women were enough for a drama, and Roland didnt want to get involved in it. He took the initiative to go to the living room and closed the bedroom door for the three of them on the way. This time he started not by extrapolating magic data or looking at the forum, but instead went into the guild systems chat interface and pinged Schuck. Roland: Schuck are you still in Fareins capital? Im here now too, lets meet up and chat tomorrow. Schuck: Youre here too? Wait a minute I heard just 10 minutes ago that there was a Mage of the Golden Sons who attacked the First Princess Stephanie. It wasnt you, was it? Schuck: Gee, awesome. Lets meet at the Moonstone Tavern in the city tomorrow morning around eight and take care of breakfast as well. Roland: Okay. Schuck: Ive got some work to do here, so Ill see you tomorrow. Roland then had nothing else to do, so he started to open the system interface and continued to extrapolate the data of the Self-Destructing Inferior Fireball. Time passed very quickly while indulging in his research. About half an hour later, the bedroom door was pushed open and First Princess Stephanie came out, and as she passed Roland, she said, Mr. Roland, if possible, I hope that tomorrow afternoon you will bring Andonara to the afternoon tea Im hosting. Roland muttered to himself. In his opinion, the so-called afternoon tea was nothing more than gossip among women. Rather than going to such an event, it would be more enjoyable to lock himself in his room, even if he didnt study magic, just looking at the forums and seeing what breaking news the idiotic players had made. Of course, this was just his thoughts as a dude. If it were other players who were hitting on girls, they would have immediately agreed to it. After all, Stephanie was really pretty and in great shape. Sir, if you really cant be there, its fine to just have Andonara come over. With this one sentence, the First Princess revealed her true intentions. It turned out he was just incidental. Roland shrugged helplessly. Lets talk about it tomorrow. Please Sir, you must consider my suggestion, Stephanie said a little more aggressively, but not harshly. I, however, would love for you to come as well. Roland smiled slightly without speaking. Seeing Roland being so obstinate, Stephanie clicked her tongue slightly, then turned and left with Sharon. Just a few seconds after they left the room, Andonara came out of the room. She sat next to Roland, leaning on him, and said, This First Princess is not the same as before. She used to be arrogant and domineering, but now, she is willing to listen to people. People will always grow up, especially after being beaten by you. Roland smiled. Are you planning to attend the First Princesss afternoon tea tomorrow? Well, I havent decided yet. Now Andonaras perception of the First Princess had changed a lot. She did want to attend the afternoon tea hosted by the First Princess because the First Princess had said that only a few familiar noblewomen would be invited. There would be no other men. This way, it wouldnt make Roland jealous or inspire negative thoughts. It was just that she wanted to be by Rolands side. When Roland saw her struggling expression, he smiled and said, Tomorrow Im going to meet with an old friend, its not a good idea to bring you along. It just so happens that the First Princess invited you, so you can say yes. Having lived together for more than a year, Roland naturally knew very well that Andonara was fond of having afternoon tea with her friends. It was her way of relaxing and socializing. When she was in Hollevin, as long as it wasnt raining or windy, Andonara would always invite the mayors wife and other noblewomen over for afternoon tea. Women could talk very happily into the evening over a few cups of fruit wine and cakes. And they still wouldnt get enough. Hearing Rolands words, Andonara nodded. Then Ill be back earlier tomorrow. The next day, Roland washed up and went to the Moonstone Tavern. As soon as he entered the tavern in the morning, Roland saw Schuck. Schuck was surrounded by three female sommeliers, who were chattering to him about the taverns signature wine and signature dishes. And there seemed to be a bit of a bad vibe between the three female sommeliers. Schuck looked helpless. Roland walked over and sat down across from Schuck. Schuck causally ordered several dishes, and the three female sommeliers had to leave to prepare. The female sommeliers took three steps and then stopped to look back, looking rather reluctant. Roland shook his head helplessly at the sight of them. As expected of you, youre always attracting women wherever you go. Its normal, cant blame me for being so handsome. Schuck smiled matter-of-factly, then asked, Why are you here? Roland then told the story of how it all started. After hearing that, Schuck was a bit confused. Indeed, recently weve cooperated with the Association of Mages, but its something relatively small. I havent heard anything important! Roland threw up his hands. I dont know about that, but I came here just to scrounge up a book anyway. Its probably a confidential matter. After all, we Saint Samurai dont have to deal with internal affairs, so, normally, we wont be told. Schuck nodded indifferently. Roland looked around and asked, Wheres your little dragoness, didnt she come along? Shes still asleep, dragons are rather narcoleptic. As Schuck spoke, a female sommelier brought up a meat dish. She pulled her collar down low, revealing two big fat lumps of meat, and winked at Schuk. Unfortunately, Schuck completely pretended not to see. The female sommelier walked away very lost. Schuck used his fork to pick up some meat from his plate, ate it, and continued, You should be more careful when you stay in the capital, I always feel that something is not right, like something is about to happen. Its just a pity that Ive been here for too short a time, and I havent built up my squad. Im completely blind, and I can only judge a lot of things by feeling. Its none of my business, Im just a passing onlooker. Roland didnt think it was a big deal. Lets say theres a civil war in the Fareins Kingdom, Ill just teleport away before things affect me. Schuck said enviously, Being able to teleport means you can do whatever you want. You still have the nerve to talk about me? You get a dozen gold coins every month for doing nothing, you have a dragon mount, and the status of a Saint Samurai is extremely high. How can you still be envious of me? Schuck smiled. We all envy what we dont have and cant see what we do have. The two of them then ate and drank and talked in the tavern, and although they often met in reality, talking in the game felt like something else. Because there was enough time. Six hours of chatting in the game, only two hours wouldve passed in the real world, and they were still sleeping at night. Starting in the morning, the chat went on into the evening They talked about everything in the game, outside the game, and so on. Often, talking to friends was just about a certain feeling, and it didnt matter what exactly was the topic. When Roland returned to the guest room of the Association of Mages, he found that Andonara had already returned. She was preparing dinner. Did you enjoy your afternoon tea today? Roland stood off to the side, leaning against the wall. Andonara turned her head. It was fine. Stephanie took quite good care of me. She explained the gossip the other noblewomen talked about that I didnt understand, and the fruit wine provided by the Fareins royal family is much better than the fruit wine provided by the Hollevin royal family. Roland could see that Andonara was indeed much happier. When she was at the Red Magic Tower, although Andonara also drank afternoon tea, most of the time she drank it alone. Occasionally, she would bring the catgirl, but how would a little catgirl know how to drink afternoon tea. In the eyes of the noblewomen, the so-called afternoon tea was a means of socializing, a place to exchange information, and even more so, a chance to cultivate relationships. The catgirl just drank juice and ate cake. Hardly talking at all. It was very boring. Soon dinner was ready, and they were in the living room putting dishes on the table and about to start eating, when there was an urgent knock on the door. Roland opened the door and found a group of black-robed soldiers standing outside. The lead soldier said hurriedly, Sir, Im very sorry, could you bring your family members to gather at the airship docking plaza? The Deputy Chairman has been assassinated, and we need your cooperation to find the killer. 504 The Way a Mage Finds the Murderer The forum was where the players communicated with each other. After two years of exploration and communication, they had realized that there were two kinds of quests. The first kind of quest involved the plot of the game pushed by the system. During such quests, the players would be temporarily transferred to a mirror space, and nothing in the game would really be affected. The second kind of quest was given by the NPCs. Such quests were also acknowledged by the system. Anything that a player did during such quests would influence the game world. Such quests were known as sandbox quests, because there was no telling what they would bring. Many players had already been tricked by NPCS; one who, for example, issued a quest claiming that a certain villain robbed him of his wife or something. They found they were fooled after they killed their target, and that the NPC who gave them the quest was the real villain. As a result of such NPC questions, the players reputation in the related area plunged. They were even wanted or hunted by the victims relatives. Under most circumstances, through a sincere apology and a decent compensation, and by avenging the victims for their relatives, the players could get over it. But certain unforgiving NPCs demanded that the players kill themselves for what they did. Under such circumstances, most players would delete their characters and create a new one. Some players would give all their belongings to the NPCs and flee. They would start a new life somewhere far away guiltily. After these things were repeatedly reported on the forum, the players became very prudent when they picked sandbox quests. I Roland spent some time reading the content that other players released on the forum every day. He was well aware of such things. Besides, he had personally been through a similar thing back in Red Mountain Town when he just joined the game. He completed the quest, but his reputation in Red Mountain Town lowered. Roland looked around and found that the other soldiers in black robes were knocking at other doors and saying similar things. He then realized that this gathering wasnt because of him. After that, he subconsciously opened the system menu but found no quest notifications. Of course. The soldier bowed courteously and knocked at the next door. Whoever lived there was either an expert Mage or a powerful noble. He was too insignificant to offend them. Returning to the room, Roland said to Andonara, Lets go to the square first. Andonara was a Legend. Although she stayed in the room, she heard what the soldier said 001 clearly. She looked at the food on the table regretfully. What a shame. We cant have it while its still hot. Roland put all the food in the system Backpack and said, Lets go. We can have it after we return from the square. It will always be hot in my Backpack. Okay. Andonara grabbed Rolands arm delightedly. They left the room and found a lot of people walking to the square. Following those people, they came to the square very soon. The square where the flying boat landed was so vast that it still seemed empty even though ten thousand people had flooded in. Many soldiers were keeping order in the square. They also asked the people to congregate in one area in case they became too scattered. Roland and Andonara stood at a random place casually. They were not nearly as anxious as the other Mages or the powerful nobles. More and more people were streaming out of the Association of Mages building. About half an hour later, the flow began to stem. In the end, four Legendary Mages flew to the sky. One of them waved his hand, and everybody was enshrouded in a purple massive barrier. Two of those Mages were from the Red Magic Tower, and Roland had never seen the other two. Leaning close to Roland, Andonara said in a low voice, Give me the sword. Just in case. Andonara was a woman who always lacked a sense of safety. She felt happy whenever she was with Roland, and she would not let anyone hurt him. The four Legendary Mages had given her some pressure. She felt that she couldnt protect her man without a sword. Roland took out the epic sword, which he had personally forged and enchanted, and gave it to Andonara. Then he said in a low voice, If anything happens, protect yourself first. No, I need to protect you. Dont forget that Im a Golden Son, said Roland toughly. You have to listen to me, okay? But Andonara hesitated. On one hand, she always obeyed Roland, but on the other hand, she felt very uncomfortable at the thought that Roland might be hurt. She was caught in a dilemma as to whether or not to listen to Roland, which made her very unhappy. Actually, most vine-like women had similar issues. When their men were involved in something and their thoughts contradicted their mens intentions, they often hesitated. Everybody had shortcomings. It was not a big problem that Andonara was slightly indecisive when she was gentle and caring. Besides, she had a lot more advantages. Listen to me. Roland grabbed her hand and continued toughly, If anything does happen, your top priority is to protect yourself, got it? Andonara nodded after a moment of hesitation. After the barrier was fully closed in the sky, a Legendary Mage whom Roland didnt know announced with a broadcast spell, My friends, allow me to apologize to you first. You must know what happened by now. Our deputy chairman was assassinated by someone whos hiding among you. Right now, I need to perform a truth test on you. I know its very rude, but were in the middle of a crisis. I hope you can understand and cooperate with me. Just like what the Legendary Mage said, Lie Detection was just as despicable as Alignment Detection. They were as offensive as asking someone to take off their clothes in public in order to confirm their gender. It might even hurt the pride of those who were tested. But since it was a Legendary Mage who gave the order, and whoever had killed the deputy chairman of the Association of Mages could also easily kill the other Mages here, nobody in the square objected to the spell. The Legendary Mage chanted a spell, and a green circle of light descended. Many people were emitting vague green light, but a lot of other people showed no reaction, including Roland, Andonara and most other Mages. Thanks to their high magic resistance, they were immune to the large-area lie-detecting spell. Every spell had an intensity. If ones magic resistance was higher than the intensity, the spell wouldnt work on them. The Legendary Mage had seen it coming. He asked from the sky, Are you the murderer? All the people who had a sheen of green light said, No, and the color on them didnt change at all. If anyone who emitted green light told a lie, the light would turn red. The Legendary Mage made a gesture, and the soldiers around the square left an opening. The Legendary Mage said, The friends who are emitting green light may leave. They made up about one-third of all the people in the square. After they were gone, the Legendary Mage lowered his altitude and put on a cold smile. The rest of you, please stand closer to each other. After the crowd was gathered, another green circle of light fell upon them. This time, the green circle was a lot narrower and brighter. Naturally, the same amount of energy would be more intense if it was focused on a smaller area. This time, a third of the people glowed again. The Legendary Mage asked the same question and then released them. After that, he concentrated on the rest of the people and cast Lie Detection in an even smaller range. He asked the same question and then told them to go. After he repeated the same process three times, there were only twenty people left in the square. Both Roland and Andonara were among them. The Legendary Mage further descended, and white magic stripes flashed on his gray magic robe. Murderer, just come out. Lets not waste each others time. The Legendary Mage glanced at the last twenty people and stared at Andonara for three seconds. All the remaining people here were Mages, except Andonara, who was carrying a sword. Therefore, Andonara looked most suspicious on the surface. But the Legendary Mage quickly moved his eyes aside. He knew very well that anybody could seem like a suspect without valid proof. Since the murderer dared to assassinate the deputy chairman, they must have prepared false evidence of their innocence. Sometimes, those who looked suspicious were actually guiltless. The Legendary Mage landed and shook his head helplessly. It seems that you wont give up until the last moment. He waved his hand, and a dazzling circle of light fell again. This time, almost everybody glowed in green except Roland and Andonara. The Legendary Mage looked at Roland and Andonara in surprise. After a moment of hesitation, he asked the crowd, Which one of you is the murderer? Its not me. Its not me either. After the twenty people answered their questions, none of them revealed different colors. This time, everybodys eyes were focused on Roland and Andonara. The other three Legendary Mages who were floating in midair slowly descended and surrounded Roland and Andonara. Two of them were from the Red Magic Tower and knew Roland and Andonara. They were rather skeptical because they didnt think Roland would do such a thing. After all, it was them who brought Roland here. The Legendary Mage who performed Lie Detection slowly walked to Roland and Andonara. Gloomily and coldly, he said, Why dont you introduce yourselves? Roland, a student from the Red Magic Tower. Andonara, Rolands woman. The Legendary Mage nodded without giving any comment. He then released his mental power, only to retreat half a second later with a painful expression, because he suffered a minor setback from Andonara. Now that Andonara had awakened her Hero bloodline, she had the innate skill Mind Countering, which prevented most negative mental power and spells from working on her. The mental tentacles of a Mage were essentially a special application of mental power, so it was natural that they were restricted. But the Legendary Mage realized their strength after he was countered. He said coldly with his hands behind his back, How interesting. A Legendary Warrior is willing to be the wife of a Mage who isnt even a Master? Do you think Im stupid? Or maybe you are? Generally, any Legend would be welcomed by all the forces. Even a superpower like Fareins wouldnt refuse any Legendary expert. They would enjoy all the privileges here. Besides, this Legendary Warrior was so beautiful that she could even marry a king. Why would she be interested in a student Master who wasnt even a Master? Something must be wrong. Roland said calmly, Sir, I can only say that youre overthinking it. The truth is as simple as it sounds. She is my woman. Right when the Legendary Mage sneered and was about to say something, a mentor of the Red Magic Tower stepped out and said, Teldo, hes indeed a student from the Red Magic Tower, and this Lady Andonara is truly his woman. We specifically brought him here from the Red Magic Tower to broaden his mind. They cant be the assassins. The Legendary Mage named Teldo turned his head back. Wait, Roland from the Red Magic Tower? I remember the name. Isnt he the one who created the oil-making and water-making spells?! The mentor nodded. The Legendary Mage hummed in response and waved his hand. Then it probably isnt him. The assassin mustve left the Association of Mages. Ill inform the city guards to lock down the city. After that, he canceled the barrier and flew into the sky. Greatly relieved, Andonara put her half-unsheathed sword back. She was confident in dealing with two Legendary Mages simultaneously, but things would be tricky if she had to fight four of them. Roland nodded at the mentor who spoke for him in gratitude. Then his face slightly changed. He opened the system menu and found a quest notification. Quest received: Lurker in the Dark (1). Look for clues about the assassin. His fate will be decided by you. (Epic) It was an epic quest? And it was numbered? Was it a quest series? Roland subconsciously accepted the quest. 505 I Think Something Is Wrong With You Both you and Betta are unbelievably lucky. You can get epic quests for yourselves everywhere you go. Roland: Huh??? It is well known that when I type a question mark, it doesnt mean that I have a question; it means that I feel something is wrong with you. You are the only Saint Samurai among the players in the whole server. You have ultimate equipment offered by a goddess. You ride a beautiful dragoness as your mount. As a powerful Saint Samurai, you can even show disrespect to the pope. Youve achieved so many things that the other players dont even dare to dream of with nothing but your pretty face. Yet, you are saying that Betta and I, who have been either working hard or doing magic experiments all the time without any rest, are lucky? Can you be more shameless? Looking at Rolands weird gaze and seeing the glimpse of mockery, Schuck realized that he was being too pretentious. He coughed and said, Since this mission is shareable, should we ask Li Lin and the others to come here? Its not easy to run into an epic quest. I talked to them in the guild system last night, but Roland covered his forehead helplessly. They said that their level was too low, and they were fooling around with the believers of the God of Love again after they recovered. Theyre exhausted again and are now resting in Hollevin. At the moment, they can protect themselves, but they cant really participate in anything important. Schuck clicked his tongue. Those guys are completely addicted. That cant be helped. For them, this is a fast and enjoyable way of leveling up. They are open-minded people in the first place. You must know that very well. Then, a waitress in revealing clothes came to serve the food. She brushed Schucks shoulder intentionally or unintentionally. But Schuck was completely unmoved. A moment later, the waitress left again in disappointment. Roland wasnt surprised at all. After all, he had seen similar scenes a million times since childhood. Schuck drank a mouthful of the wine and said, Lets go back to the quest. I told you yesterday that the atmosphere in the capital didnt feel right. I didnt expect that the deputy chairman of the Association of Mages would be assassinated just like that. I paid special attention to the news and obtained secondhand files from my acquaintances from the Pagan Interrogation Bureau. Pagan Interrogation Bureau. It sounded like a mighty and dangerous agency. Every religious group had similar agencies. Anything else? asked Roland. Schuck thought for a moment before he continued. She was very talented in magic. She was only 67, but she was already on her way to becoming a Legend, so the Association of Mages had high hopes for her. Its understandable why the Association of Mages burst into fury after she was assassinated. If she was already a half-Legend, whoever killed her couldnt have been much weaker than her, right? Roland thought for a moment and asked, Have any good Assassins come to the capital recently? Schuck spread his hands and said with a smile, What do you think? The capital of Fareins is not a place that any organization can play around in. Its fine for groups such as the Association of Warriors, but the moment clandestine organizations such as the Guild of Assassins or the Guild of Rogues reach their hands into this place, the Church of Light will break their hands with a rod. This place is both the capital of Fareins and the Holy Realm of Light. Schucks declaration was understandable. For all of time, the Church of Light had been hostile to organizations such as the Guild of Rogues and the Guild of Assassins. They considered themselves to be light and always despised the scoundrels who hid in the shadows. Most people loathed the Rogues and the Assassins because they feared them and were wary of the dangers lurking in the dark. But the clerics of the Church of Light were different. They spurned the people who dared not walk in the sunlight from the bottom of their hearts, and believed that those people were maggots in the dark who reeked of bad smell all over their body. In other cities, the Church of Light turned a blind eye to the maggots, but they would not allow any disgusting creatures to approach the Holy Realm of Light, the place that was closest to the Goddess of Light, in case the dignity of the goddess was tarnished. However, every force had a counterforce. The shadow-walkers were naturally pissed when they were discriminated against, so they sought retaliation. They often caused trouble to the Church of Lights temples in other cities, or ruined the Church of Lights operations when they had nothing better to do. The two parties had a long history with each other. In the eyes of the outsiders, they were somewhat like a quarrelsome and loving couple. Because the Church of Light loathed Rogues and Assassins, few people of their organizations ever visited the capital. Even if some of them came occasionally, they would be unimportant and unknown. The Legendary killers wouldnt come to the capital of Fareins easily to be humiliated. Not only were there three skills in the theurgy of light to break stealth, but the Pope of Light, the Holy Lady, thirteen Saint Samurai, and a dozen Legendary archbishops always stayed in the Holy Realm too. They were all capable fighters. An Assassin would never come to the Holy Realm of Light to piss them off unless their head was full of seaweed. Having read a lot of books in this world, Roland knew a thing or two about the matter. After Schuck finished, he thought for a moment and asked, Therefore, the Church of Light has ruled out the possibility that a powerful Assassin or killer came here and murdered her? The possibility hasnt been completely ruled out yet, but its unlikely to be true. Schuck thought for a moment and said, From what Ive learned from the Pagan Interrogation Bureau, the deputy chairman of the Association of Mages died from a backstabbing. Someone pierced into her heart from her back and killed her with one attack. The murder weapon should be a short dagger, but it cant be found. No items or clues have been left by the murderer either. Thats everything you know? Roland scratched his head. Schuck heaved a helpless sigh too. Yes, thats all that I know. The Church of Light is barely involved in the political struggles of mortals. We only try to ensure balance. Well, this is really a mystery. Roland heaved a sigh. It isnt easy to complete this epic quest with so little information. Schuck thought for a moment and said, Thats fine. Dont be hasty. Im a Saint Samurai anyway, and I have some power. Next, Ill apply to establish a squad to investigate this case. Tss, thats really powerful, said Roland admirably. He paused for a moment and said again, But the leadership of the Church of Light would think less of you if you use your power for selfish reasons, wouldnt they? Schuck laughed for a moment and said, Roland, youve made a common mistake. You think that a church is just a regular organization. However, all the churches are centered around the gods they believe in. Everything churches do is meant to disseminate the gods doctrines and increase the number of believers. For that purpose, many methods that you cant even imagine can be adopted, except that the churches that worship the kind gods have boundaries and arent so radical. Nothing that concerns faith is a small thing. Does this matter concern faith? Roland was rather curious. Not for now, but it might after we investigate the case. Schuck finished the fruit wine in his cup and said, Ive already understood the nature of Saint Samurai now. You may consider me a relative to the goddess. Not just establishing a squad and asking them to run errands with my power, I can even launch a crusade without asking for the popes permission as long as I have a good reason. Roland looked around and found that nobody was eavesdropping. He sighed a long breath of relief. I know that youre very powerful, but dont get too cocky. After all, the pope is the second-in-command in your church, at least nominally. If he hears what you said just now, he may hold a grudge against you. Roland spoke bluntly and warningly. Under normal circumstances, only ones family or those who were very close to him would say something like that. Schuck was briefly stunned. He touched the center of his eyebrow in a trance. Then, his expression became very weird, as if he thought of something horrible. His face became rather pale. Roland couldnt help but ask, Whats wrong? No, something is wrong with my mental status. Schuck frowned and said, I shouldnt be so cocky. You know that Ive always kept a low profile. Roland nodded. That was why he felt strange and warned Schuck a moment ago. Ill go back first and ask the Holy Lady to check if theres anything wrong with my soul. Schuck stood up and said, Ive already set up an investigation squad. Thats not difficult at all. I think you can run the investigation within the Association of Mages with your identity as a Mage first. Well talk via the guild chat system if anything happens. Okay. Roland nodded. Schuck paid for the meal and left quite hastily. Roland stayed behind and enjoyed the fruit wine. According to logic, the Golden Sons, or the players, were immune to mental influences, unless someone was powerful enough to break the systems protection. Was it possible? From the perspective of a game, it was not possible. After all, the rules of the system were above anything else. However, the problem was that anything could be possible if this game world was considered real. All skills and specializations had their power. If this was a real world, the protection of the system definitely had a power too. Then, how strong must a person be in order to break the mental power influence on the systems level? The person must be as strong as the natural laws. The bikinis that the game authorities prepared for the female players in the game were exactly a piece of natural-law-level protection equipment. To comprehend and make use of natural-law-level abilities, one had to be a demigod or above. Schuck spent most of his time in the Holy Realm of Light, which had always been watched over by the Goddess of Light. Who could possibly influence a Saint Samurais mind under the watch of a goddess? Roland subconsciously looked at the sky, where the brilliant scorching sun was hanging behind the lonely clouds. Heh! Roland finished the wine in his cup. He felt that he was overthinking. Leaving the Moonlight Stone Tavern, Roland returned to the Association of Mages. The atmosphere here was a lot graver than it was on the previous day. Occasionally, teams of soldiers in black robes could be seen patrolling inside the building. Roland came back to his room. He opened the door and saw three women having afternoon tea in the room. They were Andonara, Stephanie, and Sharon. All the three women were very beautiful. Even Sharon, the least gorgeous of them all, was still plumply attractive. They all stood up upon seeing Roland. Roland found the First Princess quite idle, as she had come to his place for afternoon tea for two days in a row. Andonara walked to Roland and helped Roland brush off the nonexistent dust on his clothes. She couldnt have looked more gentle and caring. Roland nodded at the First Princess and said, Sorry to interrupt your conversation. Excuse me. You carry on, dont mind me. Stephanie said with a smile, Wait a moment, Mr. Roland. Were here mainly to talk to you. Briefly stunned, Roland extended his hand and gestured for Stephanie to sit down. Then he sat down himself. Andonara immediately brought a cup of fruit wine to him. Sipping the fruit wine, Roland asked, I didnt expect you to come visit me, First Princess. Is there anything I can help you with? Though she was a princess of Fareins, Roland didnt think that he needed to feel humble. If worse came to worst, he could always leave Fareins. After all, he had never been fond of this country, since he was discriminated against in Fareins before. Stephanies eyebrow slightly twitched as she saw how calm and casual Roland was. She had never seen any peer who could face her with such a neutral attitude. They were either awed by her power and identity, or fascinated by her gorgeous appearance. Only the big shots who were too old to sleep with anyone could talk to her with a peaceful mind. As expected of the man who Andonara has picked for herself. Stephanie secretly heaved a sigh of disappointment and said, Im sure you already know that the deputy chairman of the Association of Mages has been assassinated, right? Roland nodded. Of course he knew that. He and Andonara were almost considered the murderers last night. Had it not been for the support and endorsement of the mentors of the Red Magic Tower, it was possible that he wouldve fought his way out of the capital of Fareins to avoid being captured. Then Ill be honest with you. The deputy chairman of the Association of Mages was on my side. Her death might be an indirect attack aimed at me, said Stephanie in a low voice. The deputy chairman was very, very strong, and she was protected by special magic equipment. But even so, she was still killed. Im feeling very unsafe at this moment, so Im hoping that I can hire someone I can trust to protect me for a while. After she said that, she looked at Andonara. Roland understood what the First Princess meant. He had been considering how to complete the epic quest, or how to start working on it at all. The request that Stephanie submitted met his needs precisely. It was related to the epic quest, and he could find something useful while Andonara worked for her. There was just one thing Roland looked at Andonara. Then he smiled and said, Its up to Andonara. If she wants to protect you, she can go with you. If shes unwilling to, then Im afraid Ill have to pass. Hearing that, Stephanie immediately looked at Andonara with shining eyes. Andonara hesitated for a moment and said to Roland with an uncertain tone, If so I can protect her in the next fortnight, cant I? After the two days of company, and especially after Stephanie was nice to her, Andonara found her to be a rather good friend. Now that her friend was in trouble, she naturally had to help her if she could. However In Andonaras eyes, she still needed to ask for Rolands permission. I already said its up to you. Roland walked over and hugged Andonara gently. Dont worry, and try to have some fun. Ill be staying here to study magic. You can come back and find me when everything is over. Andonara smiled and nodded quickly. Ever since he knew Andonara, Roland found that she had never left home, her comfort zone, on her own initiative, which was a sign of a severe lack of security. In Andonaras world, Roland was the most important and the only thing that mattered. Now that she was willing to get out of her world and make new friends, Roland naturally had to support her. Stephanie was greatly relieved hearing that Roland accepted her request. She was worried that Roland would say no. After all, there was hardly a time when Andonara didnt talk about Roland while they had afternoon tea together during these days. From Andonaras gentle gaze and happy face, Stephanie could see that the woman before her eyes had been living a great life. In comparison, she was a widow who had beaten her husband to death personally. She made a bold statement during Andonaras wedding, but she had been slapped in the face by reality only a couple of years later. Andonara picked up her sword and was reluctant to leave. She wanted to protect the friend she newly made, but she wanted to stay with Roland too. She was as hesitant as before. At this moment, however, Stephanie thought of something and said, Why dont you come to my manor too, Mr. Roland? Thats unnecessary. Ill just stay here and study magic. Roland waved his hands. But theres a huge library in my manor. Its very large and contains a lot of books, said Stephanie with a smile. My late husband was a Mage too. After we were married, he spent almost all his money on books and spell models. The library in my manor has never been opened since he died, but I think that some of the books in that library are definitely new to you. Huh? If you put it that way, then I wont feel bored at all. Rolands eyes suddenly glittered. Okay. Then Ill talk to my mentors first. You wait here for a moment. Andonara couldnt be happier hearing that Roland was willing to go to the princesss manor with her. She hugged Roland first and then Stephanie. The headquarters of the Association of Mages were so large that it took Roland a long time before he finally came to the place where the leadership of the Association of Mages lived even though he had asked for directions. He accidentally ran into a mentor from the Red Magic Tower, so he asked the mentor to tell Alfred that he would stay in Stephanies manor for a while. This mentor was an informant. He knew perfectly well why Alfred had brought Roland to this place. Upon hearing Rolands request, he immediately accepted it on behalf of Alfred. After Roland turned around and walked away, the mentor said in admiration, We havent even tried yet, but you have already made an acquaintance of Stephanie. Are you really so into mature ladies? Having no idea that the misconceptions about himself were still spreading, Roland returned to his room and left the headquarters with the three women. A carriage took them to a manor about three hundred meters away from the royal palace. This manor was surrounded by a square wood which completely hid the manor. Inside the manor, everything was arranged enjoyably. There was a huge green lawn, a pavilion on the left side, and an orchard on the right side. There was a bright golden building in the middle. Behind the building was farmland that was being tilted. There was no telling what would be planted there. She hugged Roland first and then Stephanie. The headquarters of the Association of Mages were so large that it took Roland a long time Put in such a way, it sounded like everything in the manor was very simple. However, if a man was informed that the grasses on the lawn were Starlight Flowers, the bright green pavilion was made of Green Moss Stone from the elves, and the bright golden building was built on the Yellow Eucalypt from the elves, he would know how astoundingly costly the manor was as long as he knew the prices of those materials. In the square wood around the manor were hidden a dozen cottages where more than a hundred elite soldiers were hiding. After they entered the manor, Stephanie personally led Roland and Andonara to the second floor and gave them the best and biggest guest room. After that, she showed Roland the way to the basement. The basement of the building was already half empty. There was a passage here that led to a very large library. Stephanie gave a slightly rusty bronze key to Roland and pointed at the green door before her. The library is right ahead of us. Ive not set foot in this place since my late husband died. The maids told me that they heard my late husband crying from the library. It couldve been his ghost. However, my late husband was far weaker than you. He died soon after he became an official Mage. Hes not nearly as good as you, so I dont think you should be scared even if his ghost is still haunting this place. Roland shrugged. He had seen too many ghosts. He killed one on his way out of Red Mountain Town. Then, in paradise, he saw countless residents who were all essentially ghosts. Smiling, Stephanie dragged Andonara away and said, Lets go and have some afternoon tea. Ive got some elven honey. Its very precious. I wonder if youve ever heard of it. Its as valuable as gold coins of the same weight. After the two women left, Roland opened the door to the library with the bronze key. Nasty creaks echoed in the passage as the door opened. After it opened, there was nothing but darkness before his eyes. Roland snapped his fingers and threw a light ball into the library. When he saw what was before his eyes, Roland couldnt help but exclaim in shock. Rows of bookshelves extended before him. Each of those bookshelves was laden with books. Smelling the intense scent of paper, Roland walked in and touched the bookshelves gently. All the bookshelves were exquisitely manufactured. Although they were of the same size, the engravings on the bookshelves were completely different. But they were all very beautiful. On every bookshelf, the category that the books on it belonged to was written in special ink. Biography, Customs, Spell Catalog Almost all the categories of books could be found here. Roland came to the Spell Catalog section first. At first, he found a lot of books containing tips for spellcasting that were written by different Mages. There were more than four hundred of such books. Roland picked up a few random books and skimmed through them. He found that the previous owner of these books had left detailed notes as well as his personal understandings. Then, Roland found the bookshelf of spell models. It had almost all of the level-one and level-two spells, a lot of level-three spells, and a couple of level-four spells. Roland even found the model of a level-five spell named Fiery Meteor Fall. This is truly an unexpected discovery! Roland was so thrilled that he hurriedly activated the system camera and scanned all the spell models that he had never seen before. This Fiery Meteor Fall was not particularly powerful for a level-five spell. But still, it was a level-five spell! The model of any level-five spell cost at least fifty gold coins. In fact, money was only a secondary motive. In the Red Magic Tower, in order to learn magic, one had to make contributions apart from paying the money. Contributions could hardly be measured. When the leadership of the Red Magic Tower believed that a man could learn a spell, the man would have made enough contributions. After scanning all of the spell models, Roland went to the other bookshelves to see if there were any books that deserved his attention. Then, Roland realized that Stephanies late husband had a variety of interests. Apart from the books in different categories that had been examined by Roland, the man had also collected many books on daily life, such as books that taught fishing and cooking. Of course, these books paper was of awful quality, and it felt like papyrus as Roland touched it. He estimated that these books would crumble into pieces very soon even though they were very well-preserved. Apart from the books on life, the man also had a collection of porn, such as Aarons Scorching Spear and Baked Bread, Fall of the Innocent Girl, and The Daily Life of Me and My Sister-In-Law. Roland even found a few princess-themed books, including The Crying Princess at Night, Princess and Slave, etc. Huh? Wait, isnt your wife a princess? Why do you like these novels? Roland took a deep breath. He was quite amazed by the princesss husbands interests. Browsing through a few random porn novels, Roland shook his head in boredom. This world was a cultural desert anyway, with few written communications. These novels all had cliche plots that were elaborated on very boringly. Most of the porn on the Internet in modern days was much more attractive than such stories. After all, whoever wrote the porn on the Internet had likely received more than twelve years of systematic education. If they were to compile all the essays they wrote, they couldve published a lot of books. Besides, they could also learn from each others strengths and support each other. Their works were much more enticing than the porn writers in this age. Putting those boring books back on the bookshelf, Roland couldnt help but wonder whether or not the First Princess killed her husband because she saw those princess novels too. After all, all the princesses had pitiful fates in those novels. Roland returned to the bookshelves on magic and read the records left by a random Mage. Paper was very expensive in this world, so whoever recorded their understanding in a book must know what they were doing. Roland was fascinated after reading it for only three minutes. He read the book carefully without skipping over a single word. Sometimes, he would read a sentence again and again and then cross-check it with his own experience. Time went by bit by bit as he turned all the pages. When the light ball dimmed, Roland would release another one subconsciously. When he was hungry, Andonara would always show up at his side in time with delicious food. All he needed to do was open his mouth, and then Andonara would deliver the food into his mouth gently. Roland was fully concentrated on the books left by the other Mages. In the books he read in the first couple of days, there were the princesss husbands notes. But as the books got harder and more intricate, the princesss husband could hardly understand them anymore. He merely read them and left nothing behind. However, Roland could understand these books. Some of the Mages books were very whimsical. Some were based on their personal experience, and some were purely presumptions. But all in all, they were all brand-new ideas. Innovation was always advocated in modern society, as if one could get new technologies with nothing but creative thinking. However, they ignored that a solid foundation of knowledge was the prerequisite for any innovation. Ideas that were proposed with unrestrained imagination would be pure nonsense if they couldnt ever be put into practice. Some of those whimsical ideas were indeed very interesting, but none of these Mages could put the ideas into practice, so they had to leave their ideas behind in books. At this moment, all their ideas became knowledge and experience for Roland. That was exactly the importance of a solid foundation. Otherwise, your ideas would only become fertilizers for other people. The Golden Sons did not need any sleep. They wouldnt feel exhausted either as long as they didnt exercise too much. Therefore, Roland had no idea how long it had been, but he had only finished half a bookshelf, and there were still three more bookshelves that carried the Mages journals. He wouldnt feel bored for a long time. Roland sat down on a stone chair that he made with Mud to Rock. On the ground floor, Andonara, Stephanie, and a few noble ladies were drinking fruit wine, having cake, and gossiping in the manors pavilion. Seizing an opportunity, Stephanie asked Andonara in a low voice, Mr. Roland has spent four days in the basement. Does he never get sleepy? This is just what he does when he studies magic. Its not unusual that hes not seen for days. His longest record is two months in the magic lab without leaving it at all. Andonara smiled. Stephanie was rather surprised. Is he so diligent? Then he is a boring man, isnt he? A noble lady interjected. Andonara, youre too beautiful to be stuck with such a boring man. Youre pretty enough to be a royal princess. Stephanie chuckled, as she believed so, too. Andonara, however, said, Im afraid you dont understand things very clearly. Even if a man is incapable of sweet talk, youll feel reassured as long as you know where he is, and that hes not fooling around with other women. As long as I can be with him, Ill feel happy even if he doesnt talk to me and just focuses on his business. However, if a man is loose, and you dont know which woman hes sleeping with when you miss him, will his sweet talk still be a good thing? After she said that, all the noble ladies around her seemed embarrassed. Their men were exactly like that. They didnt know which women their husbands were sleeping with at all. After a brief shock, Stephanie chuckled. So, you prefer a peaceful life even though youre very strong. What a shame. Andonara smiled and said, I can only protect him if Im strong! Looking at the happiness on Andonaras face, a noble lady was pissed and said, Thats because hes never been tempted. Why dont we send someone beautiful down there? Chances are that hell become loose too after he has a taste of other women The atmosphere immediately became chilly. At some point, Andonara had left her seat and placed a short dagger to the neck of the noble lady who just spoke. Bitch, why dont you try that? Andonara, who had always been gentle and friendly, was intimidating now that she became indifferent. While the Phoenixes had a Hero bloodline, Phoenix had been one of the great devils in the Realm of Devils according to Diablo, the Devil King, until he betrayed the Realm of Devils. Therefore, it was not wrong to say that Andonara was the descendant of a devil. I I was I was just playing The noble lady had never been threatened in such a way. She felt that the cold iron blade on her neck was so sharp, it would cut her tender skin apart if she moved. She was so frightened that her face became pale and the stink of urine could almost be smelled. Stephanie didnt stop her. She had been treated by Andonara the same way years back, but Andonara used a longsword back then, and she wasnt nearly as daunting as now. You must pay close attention to what youre saying. Dont ever forget that. Andonara waved her hand, and the short dagger was gone. She looked around at the other noble ladies. Do any of you have similar thoughts? All the nobles shook their heads hard. Thats good. Andonara sat back in her chair and unhurriedly drank her fruit wine. However, the atmosphere had been completely ruined. After she finally calmed down, the noble lady who was just threatened felt that her crotches were cold. Realizing that she had just wet herself, she covered her face and ran away from the manor in tears. The other noble ladies also rose and bowed at Stephanie the First Princess courteously, before they left the manor. Heaving a sigh, Andonara said, Sorry for ruining your afternoon tea. I got too excited. Thats fine. Stephanie refilled her cup and continued, Theyre only acquaintances to me anyway, not really close friends. You can have fun in afternoon tea whether youre with a large crowd or with only one friend, right? Andonara nodded in agreement. Then, she looked around to see if there was any enemy nearby, before she said, You asked me to protect you, but I didnt see anyone suspicious in the past few days. Did you trick me? I dont know if someone would come and kill me either. Stephanie seemed to be at a loss. But it was common knowledge that the deputy chairman was on my side. The enemy probably didnt attack me because I had always stay in my manor. At this moment, Stephanies old butler barged in. Holding his knees with his back lowered, he breathed heavily and said, First Princess, not good! Something happened! General Louis is dead! Hes hanged on a crooked tree behind his manor! What?! Stephanie rose abruptly with fury all over her face. General Louis was her subordinate, and a talent that she had always counted on. She even planned to let General Louis take charge of the royal guards after she became the queen. It was not hard to imagine how much she trusted General Louis. However, at this moment, the man she had trusted and thought highly of was hanged right behind his home. With this, she would never believe that nobody was conspiring against her. Bring the guards and check it out with me. The First Princess slapped the desk so hard that the cups and pots on it suddenly bounced and fell, splashing water everywhere. Ill go with you. Andonara approached the First Princess. Stephanie managed a smile and nodded. At this moment, Andonara suddenly clapped her hands and said, Why dont we bring Roland with us? Hes very smart. He might be able to see something. Can he? Stephanie was slightly doubtful. She already considered Roland to be a nerd as he had spent days reading books without coming out. Those men were knowledgeable but generally werent good at applying their knowledge to real-life scenarios. I want him to come out and take a walk, said Andonara with a smile. Fine, whatever you say. Stephanie smiled. For her, Andonara was her only friend and a unique person. Andonara ran to the underground tunnel happily and soon dragged Roland out although he failed to realize what was going on yet. At this moment, Rolands mind was still concentrated on the tips and writings on magic, and he hadnt come back to himself yet. It was not until Andonara dragged him into the carriage and he saw a naked man who was hanging from a tree and drifting along with the wind after arriving at the crime scene, crawling with more than a hundred soldiers, that he was finally completely woken up. The atmosphere in this world was relatively open. Neither Andonara nor Stephanie was embarrassed at all to see a naked man. They even seemed rather grave, mostly because the victim had died too miserably. There were a dozen long cuts caused by sharp weapons on his body. Each of those cuts had nicked his bones. On the other hand, the naked mans abdomen had been cut open. His pink intestines and other internal organs of different colors had all been revealed. The intestines were almost drooping to the ground. The air was filled with the intense stink of blood. On the ground right below the hanging body was a pool of black blood that hadnt been entirely frozen yet. The surroundings had been cleared. Nobody was around except Roland, Stephanie, and her hundred soldiers. However, the air was rather dull, and an odd, creepy wind was blowing under the scorching sun. The victims eyes were wide open, and his tongue was stuck out of his mouth. The tongue was long and disgusting. Put him down. Stephanie waved her hands coldly. Immediately, several soldiers stepped forward and untied the noose on the victims neck, before they laid him down on the ground. They even kindly put the victims intestines back in his body. Roland circled the victim and looked around. Then he asked weirdly, First Princess, someone told me before I came here that this place is right behind the victims home, right? Judging from the color of the blood, although the victim hasnt been dead for too long, its been at least more than an hour. His home is right ahead of us, yet none of his family came out and took a look? I find it odd too. Stephanie nodded. Ive already sent someone to the manor to see what happened. It seemed that the First Princess was not an idiot. At least, her reactions were normal and rational. Roland finally thought a little more highly of the First Princess. Then, he squatted before the victim and gazed at his face. After that, he stood up, deep in thought. Did you find anything? Andonara walked to Roland. She was already holding her longsword in her hand. Roland raised his eyes and asked, First Princess, was this dead general capable of using magic? No. Stephanie shook her head. General Louis was a pure Warrior. Look at his bulging muscles. How could he possibly have been a Mage? I thought so too, but I was afraid he had been both a Mage and a Warrior, Roland stood up and said, There are certain vague magic elements in his body that are dispersing slowly. Ordinary people cant sense it at all. Your mental power has to be high enough for you to perceive it. Thats why I asked you this question. Stephanie frowned. How is it possible? General Louis never learned magic. Why are there magic elements in his body? If the magic elements do not belong to him, someone else might have blown them into him. Roland stood up and circled the dead body again. I think the sharp cuts on the surface of his body might be a disguise for the real cause of his death. Stephanie was smart enough to understand Rolands meaning immediately. Are you saying that he was killed with magic? Can you tell what kind of magic it was exactly? Roland shook his head. We came too late. The magic has been restored to the most fundamental elements. However, considering that there are sharp cuts all over his body but no scars caused by the evoking magic, he mustve been killed either by a curse or a mental spell. Is there anyone in the Association of Mages who is adept at those two kinds of spells? Stephanie chuckled coldly. There are a lot. However, now that you put it that way, I have a few suspects in mind. Then, she waved her hands and said, Give General Louis a proper funeral first, and make sure he puts on some decent clothes. Several soldiers immediately stepped up and covered the dead body with a straw mat, ready to take him to the manor ahead. At this moment, a few soldiers ran over from afar. Their captain rushed to Stephanie and fell on one of his knees, before he said in panic, First Princess, not good. Everybody in General Louiss home is dead. There are no survivors at all. Stephanies face darkened. Then she burst into fury and gnashed her teeth. Everybody, surround General Louiss home first. Make sure that even a fly cant escape that place. Then, the hundred people ran to the manor and broke in. The yard was rather clean and peaceful. The captain who just appeared led the way while he said, Everybody in General Louiss home has been left in the storage room on the third floor. They died in exactly the same way General Louis did. Half of the soldiers stayed downstairs and defended the door in case an enemy barged in. The other half of the soldiers entered the house and searched every closet and cabinet. Ensuring that nobody was hiding inside the house, they finally invited Stephanie upstairs. Stephanie, Roland, and Andonara smelled the intense stink of blood the moment they reached the third door. Because the building was airless, the stench here was a million times more unpleasant than outdoors. When they came to the storage room, the stench got even stronger. They looked into the room from the door, only to see at least three bodies heaped in the tiny storage room without any clothes. Black blood was everywhere on the floor. The victims were of different genders and ages. All of them had sharp cuts all over their body, and their abdomens had all been cut open. Stephanies face was extremely pale. She could stand one body, but a pile of so many bodies was too much a challenge for her. She covered her mouth and stepped aside, almost throwing up. Roland stood at the door for a moment. Then he walked back and said, Their situation is the same as General Louiss. They all have feeble magic elements in their bodies that are dispersing slowly. I understand. Unwilling to stay here any longer, she quickly went downstairs and took a few deep breaths on the lawn. Then she said to the people around her, Burn this building. I remember Louis has a blood brother whos an honorary knight serving another noble. Inform him that General Louis has died for this country, and that he will inherit his brothers title. If hes willing to, I can perform an investiture for him. The captain next to her nodded quickly. Then Stephanie returned to her carriage. Roland and Andonara entered the carriage too. The carriage moved unsteadily on the road. Stephanie looked at Roland. Is it really impossible for you to figure out the original nature of those magic elements? No. Roland shook his head. But that may be because Im not skilled enough. You can ask the Masters of the Association of Mages to examine them. That will be unnecessary. Stephanie turned around, lifted the curtain, and looked out of the window. Even though they were very far away, the three main buildings of the capital of Fareins-namely the Temple of Light, the square hall of the Association of Mages, and the royal palacecould still be seen clearly. Those three buildings formed a marvelous equilateral triangle, which indicated the balance of the three forces. However, at this moment, Stephanie suddenly had the feeling that, while the royal palace was big enough, it shouldve been higher. She put the curtain down again and looked at Roland, before she said, Since they were all killed by magic, the Association of Mages is definitely very suspicious. If I go ask them to examine the bodies, wont I be indirectly telling them that I already know something? Am I that stupid? Are you testing me? No. Roland shook his head. Hmph. Stephanie snorted and said, You Mages all have infinite tricks up your sleeves. Who can possibly know whats on your mind? Andonara grabbed Stephanies hand and explained to her, I know that Roland is not that kind of person. He only said that because he didnt think that you trusted him. It was not a test whatsoever. Stephanie looked at Andonara and then Roland who was apparently unconcerned. Then, she suddenly put on a smile and said, Sorry for my lack of manners. I was in a bad mood. Please forgive me. Thats fine. Roland waved his hand. After the carriage returned to the manor, Stephanie said, Mr. Roland, I have to go to the royal palace to meet my father. I need Andonaras protection, so youll have to stay in the manor on your own. After all, the Golden Sons are undying. I dont think you need protection, do you? All that Roland wanted was to continue reading the books. He couldnt have been happier to be left alone again. He immediately went to the secret tunnel and opened the library. Then, he sat down and continued from where he left off earlier. After reading this book, he picked up the next one which had the words Elsas Aspirations on its cover page. He thought that it was a book on light magic or mental magic, but after he opened the book, he found that the cover of the page was just a disguise, and that the book was actually a journal. August 14, Year XX Ive finally got Lady Ivanka. It seems that Inferior Human Charming does work as long as you give it enough time September 22, Year XX Stephanie is very beautiful. Her body feels great too. But shes too cold. She isnt willing at all when we have sex. Also, she is a domineering woman. I wonder if its really a good thing to become her husband After reading to this part, Roland realized that the journal belonged to the First Princesss husband. was net Other people might have seized the opportunity to finish the journal, but Roland was never interested in someone elses private affairs. He simply closed the journal and put it back on the bookshelf. Then, he picked up another book on magic. After Roland finished another book, Andonara came back. She shook Rolands arm and woke him up from the ocean of books. Then she said, Roland, the First Princess needs your advice. Something has changed. Well How troublesome. Roland was rather unwilling to go, but then he thought that he should return the favor now that he had read so many books for free, so he followed Andonara out of the library. In the pavilion, Stephanie said to Roland after they greeted each other, Sorry to interrupt your pursuit of knowledge again, Mr. Roland. I have a question. Whats mens favorite thing to do? e Every man likes different things, but if I have to name one thing that all men like, its probably the process during which kids are created. Andonara covered her mouth and chuckled while she blushed slightly. LOW one Stephanie smiled and said, You are too frank. I cant even find a chance to mock you. I just met my father, hoping that I could borrow on or two Royal Guardians from him, but he turned me down. Huh? Why? Stephanie sneered and said, He said that, although he didnt know who assassinated the deputy chairman and annihilated Louiss family, he believed that it was a test for me, and that only if I passed the test could I retain the qualification to be the future queen of the country. But if I fail, I will be married into another country three months from now. I will be the third princess in Fareins whos married into another country in the past two hundred years. Rolands eyebrow twitched. He didnt say anything. This was somebody elses family business. He didnt want to get involved at all. Seeing that Roland was absolutely uninterested, Stephanie was supposed to be mad. But for some reason, she smiled and said, I know that Ive become a joke now. Im clearly the strongest in the royal family except for my father, but I cant find out who my enemy is even though they have launched multiple attacks against me. Its so hilarious. Even I feel like laughing at myself. After that, Stephanie lowered her eyes as if she were devastated. Roland still didnt want to talk to her. At this moment, Andonara walked over, grabbed Stephanies hand, and said, Ill help you. If your father marries you to a foreign man, Ill ask Roland to take you to Delpon and hide you there. Roland smiled after he heard that. He had thought that Andonara would say something like Youre my friend and Ill be there for you no matter what. However, she turned out to have little faith in Stephanie. She didnt want to part with Roland or her friend, so she wanted Stephanie to fail, so that Stephanie would come with her and be by her side as her friend for the rest of her life. Roland had to say that Andonara was rather manipulative. Stephanie was slightly smarter than Andonara. She certainly realized Andonaras plan very well. She was both angry and amused. The feelings were so mixed that even her stomach was cramping. She couldnt help but hold her abdomen. She said reluctantly, Are you trying to help me, or are you hoping that I wont be lucky? Andonara smiled but didnt say anything. Stephanie heaved a long sigh. At this moment, Roland interjected, Dont be frustrated yet. Actually, your father and the Church of Light are just as ignorant of whats going on as you are. The Association of Mages might know a thing or two, but youre too proud to ask them. How do you know that the Church of Light is ignorant of the situation too? Do you know any big shots in the Holy Realm of Light? I know a Saint Samurai. Just keep bragging. Naturally, Stephanie was unconvinced. How long have you been in the capital? And youve already made friends with a Saint Samurai? One of the Saint Samurai is actually a Golden Son Stephanie waved her hand. Ive already looked into it. Actually, not all the Golden Sons know each other. Sometimes you can be in conflict too. That Golden Son Schuck is the most appreciated talent in the Church of Light in the past years. How can you possibly know him? I really know him. We were friends to begin with, said Roland casually. Stephanie asked suspiciously, You really do?. Forget it if you dont believe me. Roland didnt try to convince her, because it was none of his business whether or not she believed him. No, I believe you. Stephanie suddenly jumped from her chair and hopped to Roland. If you are good friends, can you do me a favor? Do you want me to ask him out for you? Seeing her glittering eyes, Roland thought that Stephanie was one of the women who were charmed by Stephanies handsomeness. Stephanie, however, said, It doesnt matter whether I can meet him or not, but can you ask for five red dragon scales from him for me? Huh? Roland was slightly surprised. Why do you want that? To make an alchemical potion, said Stephanie with glowing eyes. Im a Warrior too, but my gifts are limited. However, the case will be different if I have the red dragon bloodline, which can significantly improve my upper limits. Even if I cannot become a demigod, there will be hope for me to become a Legend before I die.Its very precious, isnt it? Stephanie nodded quickly. I cant help you. Roland shook his head. Since the dragon scales were precious, it meant that losing them might be harmful for the dragoness. Roland wasnt very close to the dragoness, but she was his brothers woman, or mount, anyway. He couldnt do such a terrible thing as to beg his brother to harm his mount, just for a princess that he hadnt known for even tens yet. It seems that youre only bragging. Stephanie heaved a sigh of disappointment. Roland knew that she was only trying to goad him into action with mockery. He wasnt fooled at all. 506 Come Out If You Think Youre Good Pondering for a moment, Roland said, But Ive been brought here by Alfred just to broaden my mind. I need to ask him if I am allowed to help you. This was a matter of stance. It was fine when Roland offered a few ideas to Stephanie, but if he were to be hired by Stephanie, he would really be considered to be on her side. He hadnt forgotten yet that he still belonged to the Red Magic Tower. He was now studying in the Red Magic Tower, and he was quite grateful to them. You dont seem like someone who cares about whom you work for. Stephanie wasnt really convinced. Roland agreed. No, not really. I wont join any force easily, but several people in the Red Magic Tower are my teachers. I have to pay them enough respect. Stephanie glanced at Andonara and asked, If the Red Magic Tower is really my enemy, and if Andonara is willing to help me, you still wont help Andonara? Stephanie was apparently trying to turn them against each other. Roland frowned. If Roland were alone, this play wouldnt have worked at all. But Andonara was here. Women thought differently from men. On many occasions, what men thought to be unimportant was the fundamental reason for their disagreement in womens eyes. Right at this moment, Andonara suddenly stood next to Roland. She gazed at Stephanie coldly and said, First Princess, youre making me very uncomfortable. Please leave if you dont have anything else to say. Sensing the shaking body next to him, Roland turned his head and caught a glimpse of sorrow in Andonaras eyes. Stephanie was dazed for a long time, before she finally said, Anna, arent we friends? We were. Andonara shook her head and said, But not anymore. Friends shouldnt play games with each other. Andonara was a queen who spent a fairly long time in the royal palace. She knew all the dirty games of the nobles. She wouldnt mind if Stephanie was dealing with an outsider, but she was quite unhappy that she tried this on Roland. You Andonara interrupted the First Princess. Please go. Stephanie felt extremely uncomfortable seeing how serious Andonara was. She heaved a sigh and took Sharon, who had been watching the drama in silence, out of the room. After Stephanie left, Andonara began to clean the cups on the table. Roland asked, Are you all right? Im fine, Andonara said with a smile. Friends are not as important as family, as my husband. Roland walked to her and held her in his arms. Andonara gently hugged Roland back and buried her head in his chest. This woman was unbelievably strong, yet she had a heart that was as soft as jelly. At night, because she was unhappy, Andonara cuddled up to Roland. She would be happy when Roland was happy. It was as simple as that. The next morning, Andonara made breakfast for Roland after she woke up. Because the Golden Sons didnt need sleep, Roland had been surfing on the forum during the night while he lay in bed with Andonara. Then, during breakfast, Roland received a message through the guild chat system. Schuck: Roland, wait for me at the Moonlight Stone Tavern at around half past eight. Half past eight There was still an hour to go. Roland enjoyed the breakfast that Andonara made and then walked to the Moonlight Stone Tavern unhurriedly. By the time he arrived, Schuck was already waiting for him at the usual table. Roland walked to him and sat down. Then he asked with a smile, Whats the rush? Schuck poured a cup of wine for Roland and said, I applied for an investigation team, and the pope has approved my request. The Saint Samurai are truly powerful. Thats not the only reason. Schuck waved his fingers. The Church of Light seems quite interested in the matter, so they accepted my request the moment I reported it. Rolands face slightly changed. Even the Church of Light is intrigued? This thing does not seem simple. Schuck chuckled. How can an epic quest be simple? Im told that youve made a connection with the First Princess, right? Later, you can acquire intelligence from the royal family while I look for leads on the Church of Lights side. It wont be hard for us to complete this quest. Im cut off from her now. Schuck was slightly surprised. What happened? The First Princess and Andonara became friends, but last time, she tried to play games with me and infuriated Andonara, who said that she wouldnt be our friend anymore. Roland found it rather amusing. What can I say? Women can be very childish when they fight. Thats normal. Schuck nodded and said, All women are sentimental. Thats based on my personal experience. Roland shrugged. Lets put my matter aside. You looked rather awful yesterday. Did you find anything wrong when the Holy Lady examined your mind?. Schuck shook his head. There was no sign of mental control. I assume that I was just too cocky. After all, Ive been an ordinary person in reality but a revered Saint Samurai in this place, so my personality mightve changed. It seems that Im just a scoundrel who becomes arrogant the moment he has power. Dont say that. Roland shook his head. If I were you and had your power, I wouldnt have been better than you. But Schuck was not convinced. You are the de facto controller of Delpon. A million people are under your administration. Youre as powerful as me, but you dont seem too haughty. I am very haughty, said Roland. Schuck raised his head. Give me an example. For example, Im bold enough to claim on the Internet that I have the experience of administrating a small city. Schuck immediately laughed aloud. Youre truly haughty. They talked for another hour. Then, they split up. Roland returned to the Association of Mages, but he saw a person in black robes at the door before he came in. Judging from the figure, it was probably Stephanie the First Princess. What was she doing here? Roland walked to her and asked casually, First Princess, what are you doing here? Im here for you. Stephanies face, hidden in the shadow of her hood, was unclear, but her blue eyes were as bright as two glittering sapphires. I spoke to Alfred a moment ago. He agreed that you could stay by my side and work for me for a while. Im rather surprised Arent you three forces supposed to check and balance each other? Hes my family no matter how we check and balance each other. Theres no need for him to hinder me in this matter. Roland realized that she did have a point. The big men and the powerful forces were supposed to be open-minded. But actually, neither Roland nor Stephanie knew that Alfred only wished that they could spend more time together. Stephanie continued, So, I ask you again, sir. Would you like to be hired by me? My rewards will be satisfactory. Roland thought for a moment and asked, Is there a library in the royal palace? Stephanie smiled. Yes. Do you have the power to let someone visit it? Stephanie smiled even more delightedly. I do. Then youve got yourself a deal. Stephanie looked around. There were few passersby, and none of them were interested in her or Roland. Although Stephanies clothes looked rather suspicious, there were a lot of people in the Association of Mages who had attires that were ten times weirder. So, nobody was surprised at her appearance. Stephanie asked again, What else do you want besides access to the library? Roland thought for a moment and shook his head. I think thats all for now. Very well. Please take Andonara to my manor this afternoon. After that, Stephanie turned around and left. Roland asked at her back, You dont want to come in? Thats unnecessary. Well meet again when you come with Anna this afternoon. Theres no need to rush. Roland shook his head helplessly and opened the door. He found Andonara sitting in the living room. Did you hear? asked Roland. Andonara nodded and hesitated for a moment. Then she said, Roland, you dont need to consider it for my sake. If you dont think Stephanies request is suitable for you, you can simply turn her down. Roland knew that Andonara was telling the truth, but it wasnt easy for Andonara to have a friend. As her man, he should help her with this friendship. Besides, Stephanie was quick to recognize and correct her mistakes. He didnt despise her for long. This is not just because of you. Theres something that I need to take care of too. After all, there was still an epic quest weighing on Rolands mind. If he started from Stephanies side, he could gain more intelligence and clues. After all, she had a lot of men at her disposal. It would be much better than investigating on his own.But Andonara didnt think so. She thought that Roland accepted Stephanies job because of her. She loved Roland very much to begin with, and she was even more moved at this moment. Hugging Roland, she said with a happy and charming smile, There are still more than two hours to go before afternoon. Let me give you some pleasure. Well He wanted the magic experiments, but he wanted pleasure too. That was really a dilemma. It was true that one couldnt play and study at the same time. Eventually, Roland turned down Andonaras enticing suggestion, mainly because he was still exhausted from last nights fun. In the afternoon, Roland took a carriage to the First Princesss manor, only to find that the gate was blocked by some thirty soldiers, who were stopping people from entering or exiting the manor. 507 I Want To Be Undying Too However, the gate of the manor was tightly closed. Nobody even bothered to come out and check, as if they were already used to it. Roland and Andonara observed the situation from a distance. The dozens of soldiers, fully armed and wearing leather armor, looked rather intimidating, but upon closer look, they were clearly skinny and emaciated. Besides, their equipment seemed old and outdated too. Is she the First Princesss husbands sister? Roland observed for a moment and put down the curtain. Should we go home and come back later? Andonara said with a smile, Thats not necessary. We can go in through the secret tunnel on the right side. How do you know that? Roland was rather curious. Stephanie told me, replied Andonara with a smile. Roland was slightly surprised. He raised his eyebrow. Generally speaking, such tunnels were for emergencies and would be kept a secret from anyone that wasnt trustworthy. Even more unbelievably, Stephanie had told Andonara about the secret tunnel even though they had only known each for several days. Was Stephanie a silly and innocent woman? Unlikely. After a couple of days, Roland had already gotten to know Stephanie. He found her to be a rich and pretty lady whose capabilities were above average. She wasnt exactly a genius, but she definitely wasnt stupid. She was slightly arrogant because of the environment she grew up in, but she knew when to reflect on herself and when to give in. She was not bad for a descendant of a noble family. Then, why would such a woman, who wasnt stupid, tell Andonara of the critical existence of the secret tunnel? Was it because Andonara was too approachable? Roland looked at the lovable woman next to him and found it unlikely too. Therefore Could women really build up their friendship so fast? Roland dropped the matter after a moment of consideration. Roland was fairly good at math, but he didnt think that he could solve problems about women. Einstein once said that he could understand the Theory of Relativity but he couldnt understand women. Confucius also said that women could be extremely difficult to take care of. Those two bigshots were among the most brilliant stars in the history of mankind, but even they couldnt figure out women, so Roland would rather not waste time wondering what Stephanie was thinking. The carriage came to the right side of the large manor along the woods at the edge. The tunnel reeked of sand and stone. They walked about five minutes, and climbed about five meters on helical stairs. Then opened the door and saw Stephanie before them in a low-cut white dress. The dress was so thin that it almost looked like a pajama. Stephanie was very happy to see Andonara. She hugged her and held her hand with a smile. I knew you would come this way. Thank you for forgiving me. Andonara nodded. We can still be friends as long as you dont foment trouble between me and Roland again. I certainly dont dare to do that again. Stephanie put on a bitter smile and said to Roland, Thank you for forgiving my impudence, sir. Roland waved his hand. Youre welcome. Im doing this for myself. Roland was talking about the epic quest. It would be a shame to abandon such a huge amount of experience to be rewarded. Stephanie only made a slight attempt to turn him and Andonara against each other. It was more like a next-door neighbors gossip, which was annoying but not a big deal. Besides, she had already apologized. It would be a shame if he were to give up the reward of the epic quest just because he was slightly bummed. But Stephanie didnt quite believe it. She thought Roland was only helping her for Andonaras sake. Holding Andonaras hand, Stephanie walked forward quickly. Her curves were accentuated by her pajamas. Walking behind them, Roland looked at the two womens back and subconsciously compared them. The two of them had similar heights and the same charming curves, but Andonara had a beautiful, bright golden ponytail that almost reached her ankles. It also seemed to be glowing. It made her much prettier. Then, Roland heard Andonara asking, I saw someone was blocking your gate just now. Is she your late husbands sister? No. Stephanie shook her head. My dead husband was an orphan, or I wouldnt have taken him as my husband. But I didnt expect that Forget it, lets not talk about my late husband. The woman outside is one of my fathers mistresses, otherwise I wouldve killed her a long time ago. Her brother tried to molest me in the dark during a banquet. I kicked him in the nuts and blew them up. A normal man would feel pain for a while when their balls were gone, and then they would be fine just like the eunuchs. However, her brother was so weak that he died after his balls exploded. Roland felt extremely uncomfortable as he listened. Andonara chuckled. Thats exactly how you should deal with harassing men. Unfortunately, I only broke their hands before. You are the queen. Did anyone dare to harass you? Andonara heaved a sigh. The old king was very cold to me, so many powerful men didnt think that I was a big deal. But you are a Legendary Swordsman right now. I dont think anybody dares to do anything to you now, do they? Stephanie dragged Andonara into a big room. After Roland came in, she clapped her hands and said to the butler, Serve the wine, fruits, and cakes. The butler left with her order. Roland sat down and asked while she wasnt talking to Andonara, First Princess, have you gathered any intelligence regarding the deaths of the Association of Mages deputy chairman and General Louis? No, not at all. Stephanie shook her head. I even asked Great Cousin Grandpa Alfred yesterday. He said he didnt find any traces either. But I didnt tell him that you found the residues of magical elements. That was understandable. The residues of magical elements suggested that a Mage committed the murder. The odds were slim that Alfred was the murderer, but it didnt mean that he wouldnt keep certain criminal matters to himself for the honor of the Association of Mages after he learned that a Mage was involved. Frowning, Roland was going to ask again, but he suddenly received a system notification. Someone just left a message and pinged him in the guild system. He opened the system menu and saw Schucks message. Schuck: I found a piece of interesting information. The First Princess killed her husband not because her husband cheated on her but for other reasons. If possible, can you ask her about it? My newly-established intelligence squad is too inexperienced. This is the best they can find. Briefly dazed, Roland raised his head and looked at Stephanie. Women were always sensitive about mens eyes, and Stephanie was no exception. She had been talking to Andonara in a low voice, when she suddenly turned to Roland and asked curiously, Whats the matter? Andonara looked at Roland curiously too. Roland thought for a moment and decided that it didnt have to be kept a secret. He had been hired by Stephanie to help anyway. He simply said, I said earlier that I know Schuck. Stephanie nodded. I believe you. For certain reasons, hes looking into the case too, said Roland. Stephanies face instantly changed. The Holy Realm is involved too? What do they want? Stephanies anxiety was understandable; the Church of Light had been keeping a low profile for two hundred years. Was their investigation on this matter the sign of certain changes to come? The Holy Realm isnt involved. This is Schucks personal investigation, Roland explained. When I said that the case was partly related to me, I wasnt lying to you. It involves some secrets of the Golden Sons that I cant talk about. Stephanie glanced at Andonara. She was of the mind to say something like You cant even tell Anna, but having been taught a lesson, she did not dare to say things like that anymore. Roland was not stupid. He knew what was on Stephanies mind from her eyes. He said, You cant hear it even if I tell it to you. For example, capitalism Stephanie looked rather strange, because she had just heard some muffled syllables. Andonara wasnt surprised at all. Back in Delpon, when she overheard Roland and his friends conversation, she heard similar meaningless noises all the time. You Golden Sons are really strange. Stephanie clicked her tongue. That seems to be information blockage on the level of natural law. Roland shrugged. Also, my friend Schuck wants to ask you why you killed your late husband. Hes very curious. Stephanie didnt look too happy. Why is he looking into that? It may be related to the cases were working on. After a moment of hesitation, Stephanie said, Its fine if he wants to know the reason, but we need to make a deal. Can you arrange a meeting for us? Let me ask him!Then, Roland left a message in the guild system. Less than a minute later, Roland said, Okay, hes on board. You can meet him in the Moonlight Stone Tavern in an hour. Stephanies eyes widened. Wait. You didnt even go out or use any magic. How did you reach out to him? The Golden Sons have special ways of communication. Stephanie furrowed her eyebrow. Youre undying to begin with, and you also have special ways of communication? Thats too outrageous. Roland spread his hands. Can I join you? Or can your bloodline be inherited on our side? asked Stephanie. She wasnt the only person who was curious about that. Everybody was intrigued and wanted the ability to be undying. 508 The Innocent Scapegoa Schuck liked to meet people here mostly because their fruit wine tasted great. The beverage tasted like blueberry-flavored coca cola and Kvass. It was rather nice. Sometimes, you only needed one simple reason to be a places regular customer. Schuck was so handsome that most women liked him. However, different people had different aesthetics, some of which were normal, some of which were abnormal. Sitting opposite Schuck, Stephanie felt goosebumps all over her arms as she looked at Schucks pretty face. Ive long been told that the new Saint Samurai of the Church of Light is extremely charming. They didnt lie. Looking at Schucks face, Stephanie said calmly, Is there something you want to ask me? Schuck was slightly surprised at Stephanies calmness. He didnt expect to meet another woman who wasnt charmed by him. But of course, Schuck wasnt one of the cold and condescending CEOs in romance novels who were only interested in girls who ignored them. He wasnt any of those idiots. He preferred girls who were sincere to him, and who were pretty. Why would I suck up to someone who doesnt like me? That was Schucks simple view on love. Therefore, he wasnt surprised at all even though Stephanie wasnt attracted to his handsomeness. He had met such women before. Schuck nodded and said, I probably wouldnt have dared to invite you here without Roland, First Princess. I would like to know why you killed your husband two years ago. Stephanie looked quite upset, but then she put on a helpless smile and said, Mr. Schuck, are you asking about that because the Church of Light instructed you to?. No, its just my personal curiosity. Schuck swallowed a mouthful of the fruit wine and smiled courteously. It might be related to the cases Im working on. Stephanie slightly closed her eyes and said, Rumor has it that I killed him because he had other women outside Thats not very likely. Schuck waved his hand. Based on our investigation, your husband already had a lot of women before you married him. You had investigated him too. Besides, romantic affairs are not uncommon for nobles. You dont look like someone who would kill your husband for such a trivial thing. Stephanie chuckled and sighed. Thats right. In most peoples eyes, I only care about my interests and wouldnt do anything thats not rewarding. The answer to your question is not a great secret, but you need to pay a price for it. What do I need to pay? asked Schuck. I know you have a red dragon. I would like five excellent scales from her. Schuck slightly frowned. I didnt know that until Margret told me. It was about a year ago, when Margret just became Schucks mount. At that time, Schuck earned a dozen gold coins each month, but it was still not enough for him to buy special magic equipment. Then, Margret told him that he could peel and sell her scales, particularly those on her neck. Each of the scales could be sold for five gold coins. When refined into drugs, such scales could grant whoever drank the drugs part of the dragons bloodline abilities. It was up to the drinkers luck as to what abilities they would get and how powerful they would become. But of course, Schuck cared about her too much to peel her scales. Thinking for a moment, Schuck asked, First Princess, are you going to make the drugs for yourself or someone else? Thats a precious drug. Im certainly making it for myself. Schuck glanced at Roland and Andonara who were seated not far away. He asked again, Whats your relation to Roland? Not bad. Were sort of friends. Schuck nodded. Okay then. For Rolands sake, Ill send you five dragon scales after I come back. Stephanies eyes glittered. Thank you. If you must know, I can tell you that I killed my late husband because he wanted to control me with black magic. Schuck nodded. Then he deserved death. In black magic, there was a mental spell called Puppetry. Unlike Humanoid Control, Puppetry would wipe out all the memories and feelings of the controlled and turn them into a walking zombie that would only listen to the spellcaster. Humanoid Control, in comparison, would stun the enemys soul with mental power and force them to listen to the spellcasters command, but when it was over, the target would wake up, and their memories wouldnt be influenced. Puppetry was evidently much more vicious than Humanoid Control. If it were Schuck, he wouldve killed any man who cast Puppetry on him too. That was a nefarious spell. Schuck stood up. Thank you for your information, First Princess. Im going back. What you asked for will be delivered to your manor in a day or two. Stephanie stood up too and said excitedly, Thank you very much, sir. Youre too kind. Schuck waved at Roland and left the Moonlight Stone Tavern. Stephanie, on the other hand, sat down next to Andonara at a table nearby and said to Roland, Thank you. Why are you thanking me? Roland was slightly confused. He didnt eavesdrop on Schuck and Stephanies conversation. Had it not been for you, Schuck wouldnt have agreed to give me five dragon scales. Stephanie managed a smile. You said Schuck is your best friend. I believe you now. Stephanie felt rather frustrated. She had thought that Schuck would show her some respect for her appearance, status, identity, and influence. But if Roland werent here, Schuck wouldnt have agreed to offer her five dragon scales at all. Apart from her frustration, Stephanie was slightly angry too. The Golden Sons were too hard to deal with. Both Roland and Schuck seemed very confident, as if they didnt consider the nobles or the royal family a big deal. Neither carrots nor sticks worked on those people. After all, the Golden Sons all seemed very strong, not to mention that they were undying Why did the Life Goddess throw these people into this world? Stephanie couldnt think of a reason. They had some fruit wine and cakes at the Moonlight Stone Tavern. Then, Stephanie said that the food wasnt as delicious as her own chefs cooking and suggested that they go back. So, the three of them returned to the manor in a carriage. When the carriage entered the woods, Andonara, who had been holding Roland, suddenly sat straight. She grabbed her longsword and her eyes widened. Theres a strong scent of blood. Roland and Andonara both became wary. The carriage moved on for a few seconds and then stopped. The driver spoke in a rather panicked voice, First Princess, a lot of dead bodies are in our way. Hearing that, Andonara instantly jumped out of the carriage, closely followed by Roland. They saw dozens of bodies lying in the middle of the road. Most of them were soldiers in black robes. At the very center of those soldiers was the body of a plump woman. Roland had seen the woman before. She was the one who blocked the gate of the First Princesss manor earlier. Andonara hopped over and turned the womans body over with her sheath. She then examined the soldiers bodies and said, They were all stabbed in the heart and died before they could sense the pain. The murderer is quite skilled. Also, he did not assassinate them. What he did was just stabbing. There were battles in this chaotic world every now and then, and most of the battles were group fights, so under most circumstances, the melee classes preferred to attack multiple enemies at the same time with heavy weapons. The stabbing skill, on the other hand, was often used in duels. After all, only one enemy would be hit no matter how a person stabbed. They were killed almost at the same time without putting up any resistance. Their murderer is probably a Legend. What a freak. How can one become a Legend with an expertise in stabbing? How did he practice it? By stabbing a puppet every day? Hearing about the stabbing skill and the Legend, Stephanie suddenly became pale. Roland saw her complexion and was about to ask, when Andonara suddenly returned and said in a low voice, Were surrounded. The enemy is here. Hardly had Andonara finished her sentence when a group of soldiers who wore gray leather armor and helmets that carried eagle feathers in different colors came from the woods. Their leader was a middle-aged man who was holding a long, thin sword. Seeing him, Stephanie said in a low voice, Biden, why are you here?First Princess, I didnt expect you to be so brutal. The middle-aged was quite handsome with his hawk nose and his chiseled face. The only shortcoming was probably his partial baldness. His Majesty was informed that Nesir came to you for trouble, so he ordered me to take her back. I didnt expect that you would kill her as well as all her guards. Fortunately, I came in time and witnessed how you brutally killed Ms. Nesir after you killed her brother. Stephanie didnt say anything, but her face became colder and colder. Roland walked to her and said, From what I can see, your father seems to be trying to take you down. Stephanie slightly nodded. I dont know why my father wants to kill me. Im clearly the best candidate for the next sovereign of this country. While they whispered to each other, Biden said, First Princess, please come to the royal pal with me and explain this to the king. Roland felt that Stephanie would be dead for sure if she went to the royal palace. Stephanie stepped back. She didnt want to go there. She could foresee what would happen to her. 509 You Guys Are an Impressive Shameless Couple Biden looked gloomy, and the elite soldiers behind him, all with gloomy expressions like the abyss, carrying small shields and long swords and wearing black hard leather armor, were arranged in three groups lined up orderly. He frowned slightly as he looked at Roland and Andonara, who were standing in front of the First Princess. Just as it was easy for Mages to distinguish the approximate strength of their counterparts, Warriors could also distinguish the approximate strength of their counterparts, judging from the opponents temperament, the appearance of his muscles, his aura, his stance, and so on. Andonara was healthy and energetic despite her slender appearance. But that aura that only a high-level Warrior had, as well as the stance, posture of carrying a sword, and movement, could show a lot of things. Bidens eyelids twitched as he looked at Andonara for a moment. Then he turned to Stephanie and sneered, As expected of the First Princess, known for her intelligence: you came prepared in advance. But it may not be a good thing if you dont die this time. Lets go! Biden waved his hand and was about to leave with the soldiers. But Roland snapped his fingers, using Rock to Mud, and a large portion of the road ahead turned directly into a mud puddle, then a three-meter high stone wall appeared. And this stone wall was still slowly rising. This stone wall could stop the soldiers, but not the Legendary Warriors. A single strike of a sword aura could split it. After all, it was something that was put up in a hurry. If Roland was given a few minutes, he would be able to make a cage that could trap Legendary Warriors. However, no Legendary Warrior would be that stupid and allow Roland to keep raising and thickening the rocky cage. However, this also indicated his intentions. He wasnt letting them go. Biden turned and stared at Roland with a cold look. What do you mean by this, brat? Do you really think Im afraid of you? The longsword was once again unsheathed and held horizontally. Then Andonara stood in front of Roland. The First Princess suddenly realized that there was no one else in front of her, and gave a somewhat grudging glance at Andonara, then quickly hid behind Roland. Roland patted Andonaras shoulder, took two steps forward until he was abreast of Andonara, and said to Biden, You still want to kill the First Princess after killing so many people, but now that you see its impossible, youre trying to escape; you probably also framed her What an interesting thing to do. Dont you want to stay and chat about it? Biden laughed sardonically, his longsword raised high. Andonara also drew her magic sword. She was also a Warrior, level four, the weakest except for those soldiers. But poor strength was one thing; it didnt mean she would sit around and wait to die. Then Biden moved, waving his hands a few times, and several sword auras slashed in multiple directions. Two of the frontal ones were blocked by Andonara. But this was only a feint, and those sword auras slashing into the surrounding area were the real killer moves. All of the soldiers around Biden were cut in two. Not a single survivor. Hahaha! Biden laughed and quickly retreated. Extremely swiftly. Stop. Andonara shouted, her entire body covered in blue flames and seemed to turn into a blue firebird, spreading her wings and sweeping across the ground at high speed. Roland saw this and shouted urgently, Dont chase him! As soon as that was said, both Andonara and Biden were already at least forty meters away from them. Rolands face changed drastically, and he immediately snapped his fingers twice, then turned around and dove straight at the First Princess Stephanie. Stephanie was already half-crouching and ended up on the ground when Roland pounced on her. She was a little confused, wondering why Roland suddenly attacked her. But then it became clear. Several flying knives flew behind him, hitting Roland with a clang, but were then bounced aside by the blue Magic Shield. But Rolands body wasnt very wide, and he could only protect most of Stephanies torso, so one of the flying knives still hit Stephanies calf. The First Princess couldnt help but groan. Several shadows suddenly appeared not far away and rushed toward the two. Right at this moment, stone walls appeared on the ground around Roland and Stephanie, quickly closing together before these people rushed over, forming a small rock cover to protect the two of them. These shadows kept throwing flying knives as they approached. And some also threw small nail hammers. These things hit the small rock cover and were bounced off, but they also wore down a sizable piece of the rock cover. More than a dozen long-range weapons were thrown at it, and the gray, cement-like texture of the small rock cover was visibly cracked. These people rushed over and swiftly surrounded the small rock cover, then simultaneously hit it with their longswords or spiked hammers. The combined strikes of multiple weapons were extremely powerful. The small rock cover was smashed through and collapsed, and these men with black scarves over their faces and an ominous glint in their eyes were preparing to kill them. However beneath the shattered rock, there was just plain ground, with no human figure at all. What? What was going on? While they were puzzled, the blue firebird snapped back at an even faster pace from fifty meters away. It was eerily fast. These black-clad men didnt even have time to react. With the clear sound of birdsong, the huge firebird flew across where they were and then stopped ten meters away. The firebird disappeared and Andonaras figure appeared. And the black-clad men had turned into ashes and drifted away in the wind. Their weapons, on the other hand, were left on the spot and turned into red liquid metal. Andonara ran to the small rock cover and searched nervously, not finding Roland and Stephanie. Then tears were welling up in her eyes. Roland, where did you go? At this moment, a hole opened inconspicuously in the ground not far away, and Rolands voice came up from below. Jump in, quick. Andonara was delighted and jumped in without hesitation. The hole wasnt very deep, only about two meters, and there was a sheltering layer in there, which Roland and Stephanie were underneath to prevent Andonara from stepping on them when she jumped down. When Andonara landed on the ground, the hole above closed up without a sound. A luminous sphere illuminated the space below. Stephanie was unconscious, leaning against the rocky side wall and sitting on the floor, her complexion black. Her lips were also black. This was a sign of being poisoned. Rolands hands were glowing with magic, white on the left and green on the right, and he was using Detoxification and Healing on Stephanie. Andonara leaned in. Roland said to her, Just cut off her poisoned right leg from the knee. At this time, Stephanie was unconscious, and when Andonara heard this, she lifted Stephanies skirt and noticed that her right leg was the color of ink. And swollen as if it were leavened bread. Her left leg was slightly lighter in color, turning a yellow soy sauce color. Is this poison so potent? Now Andonara did not hesitate to raise her sword and cut off Stephanies right leg with a single blow. Black blood spurted out. The unconscious Stephanie merely twitched her cheek and made no other movement. The poison is very potent, Roland explained as he cast the spells. Her lips started to change color within ten seconds of being poisoned, and within half a minute she was like this. If I hadnt used both Detoxification and Healing, she would have been a corpse by now. Andonara was filled with self-loathing. Roland, Im sorry, its my fault, I shouldnt have chased him! 1 Its fine, you didnt expect the enemy to be so cunning. Roland shook his head indifferently. Now its up to Stephanie to make it through. Upon hearing that, Andonara tensed up again. After all, Stephanie was a rare friend of hers. She didnt dare to talk much, fearing that it might affect Rolands spellcasting. As time passed, Stephanies right leg continued to bleed from the severed stubble, but the blood had gradually turned from black to red. After two more minutes, it turned bright red. By now Stephanies face had turned from grayish black to white, and her lips had turned a sickly pale pink. This was what happened when one lost too much blood. The hole in the ground was now filled with the smell of blood, and the ground they were standing on was almost soaked in black blood. Rolands left hand that cast the Detoxification shone with a white glow, turning into Healing, and then aimed at Stephanies right leg. The bloody stump began to scab over, and then skin began to wrap around the wound, linking together in a short time, smooth flesh completely sealing the wound. It looked like the leg had been severed for quite some time, completely free of injury. Roland sighed in relief and said to Andonara, Pick her up. Andonara picked up Stephanie as she was told. Roland used Muddy Transformation to open another clean hole in the ground, moved over, and then sealed the hole that was previously filled with blood and a severed leg. Then Roland sat down against the wall, panting softly. It was no easy task to continuously Dual Cast, Healing with one hand, and Detoxification with the other. Andonara laid Stephanie carefully on the ground and asked, Is she all right? Its okay, shell live. Andonara let out a sigh of relief. Self-blame was written across her face, but she didnt know how to express herself. Roland saw this and pulled her into his arms, patting her gently on the back and comforting her. Dont think about it, its not your fault and you didnt want it. Andonaras tense body relaxed considerably. It wasnt long before Stephanie woke up.She was, after all, a level-four Warrior, and her constitution wasnt bad. After opening her eyes for a moment, Stephanie was finally fully awake. She didnt struggle and smiled reassuringly as she saw both Roland and Andonara in front of her. It seems Im not dead and quite safe. Roland was a little surprised. He had never had a good impression of Stephanie. He had previously found that Stephanie had the virtue of self-reflection, but now he found that she also had the good trait of being able to remain calm in critical moments. As expected, it takes a while of getting along with someone to know what strengths and weaknesses they have. Stephanie tried to stand up, but then she felt as if something was missing in her body, and when she looked down, she laughed. I cant believe I became a cripple, but its okay, itll grow back in a few days with Healing anyway. Andonara, did you catch up with Biden? Andonara shook her head in shame. I had only cut off one of his arms when I saw you guys being attacked, so I rushed back. He got away. 510 No One Understands Emotions Better Than I Do A powerful poison could even work on gods. However, it was still influenced by intensity. But again, it was pointless to talk about the power of the poison without dosage. A level-four Warrior had a decent constitution and when she was hit by the poison on the flying dagger, she went into shock in less than five seconds, so one could imagine how strong the poison was. Normally, without a Legendary Priest, it wouldve been impossible to save First Princess Stephanie. But Roland, a Mage who wasnt even specialized in conjuration, was able to pull her back from hell, an absolute miracle. This was why high-level Dual Casting was so powerful Normal Dual Casting was using the same spell with the left and right hand. High-level Dual Casting was the use of different spells with both hands, which required quite a high level of mental and magic control from the spellcaster. Roland suppressed the toxicity with one hand, increased her health with Healing with the other hand, and saved Stephanies life. The moment Stephanie was poisoned, she knew she would probably die. But she hadnt expected that she would live, and get away with a severed leg. With Divine Healing, it was only a matter of time before a severed limb regenerated, so it wasnt a big deal. The question was why Biden wanted to kill her. Stephanie was puzzled. She leaned against the stone wall and thought for a moment and asked, Roland, can you take me to the palace? Roland was a little surprised. Are you sure? I remember you said that Biden was one of your fathers three most powerful men, right? Isnt going to the palace a death sentence? Andonara also nodded; she thought Roland made a good point. Stephanie was very weak. She leaned against the wall and hesitated for a moment before saying, I thought about it for a while just now and I dont think its likely. I know my fathers personality very well. Hes not a qualified king, but hes a very qualified father. To prevent his children from killing each other over the throne, he ordered all the princes and princesses over ten years old who are not very capable to go to his remote territory. Im the only direct descendant of the royal family in the capital. Roland was stunned. No wonder he felt something was off during his time in the capital. The only young member of the royal family he had seen in all this time was Stephanie, making him think that the royal bloodline was thin and Stephanie was the only option. Puzzled, Andonara said, It just means he loves you more, hes just biased. So thats how it is. How could a father who loves his children so much just send someone to kill them? Nor would he just send someone to kill his lover. Stephanie felt weak throughout her body. Her voice trembled and wavered. I was just too surprised to think of that at the time. Roland thought for a moment and said, Its not hard to take you to the palace, but I still think its better not to go. Biden escaped, and hes sure to try to ambush you again, and if you dare to show up, you will surely be attacked as before. Andonara is a Great Swordsman, not a defensive Warrior-shes good at killing, not at protecting people. I cant protect you either, its only pure luck that you survived this time. So what should we do? Lets find a safe place to get well first, Roland said after a moments thought. Youve been poisoned, and if you dont show up for a long time, Biden will most likely think youre dead, and then well watch the situation from the dark. Besides, youll have to get your leg healed first. Good point. Stephanie sighed. I wish Id always had reliable assistants like you and Andonara around me. Roland smiled, not following up with anything. Andonara wouldnt agree to anything either, and in her eyes, Stephanie was indeed a good friend, but compared to Roland, the significance of these two in her lifes journey was the difference between a fireflys glow and moonlight. Seeing that neither Roland nor Andonara answered, Stephanie was slightly disappointed. The silence lasted less than ten seconds before Roland spoke up. First Princess, where do you think it would be better for us to hide? Cant we hide here? Stephanie knew it was a makeshift hole in the ground, and though it was a cramped cavern, the fact that she had two people she could trust with her made her feel quite secure. I dont think anyone would just investigate underground. This is under the road in front of your manor, so its okay to hide for a short time, but in the long term, you have to consider a lot of things, Roland explained. Such as safety, and for long-duration hiding, the size of the space needs to be considered, otherwise you will be depressed if you live underground all the time. Although I can expand this space, I also have to consider the washing, rest, and physical excretion of you two women. With that said, Stephanie understood, and she blushed a little. No matter how beautiful a woman was, she was still a woman, not a god, and she still needed to eat, drink, and defecate. Then she clapped her hands. Why dont you build the tunnel under my library, Mr. Roland? To study and do magic experiments there for long periods, my ex-husband spent a great deal of effort on the library. There is a washroom there that leads to small underground water veins passing underneath it. Roland nodded. Roland had also used the washroom in the library, and it was indeed nice. Moreover, the library was large enough that one could even run around the edges for exercise, a lap estimated to be about 300 meters. The iron gate here was protected by magic and one could only get in with a key. It was quite safe, and no one usually came down here at random. An excellent hiding spot indeed. Now that the target had been decided, Roland immediately started to act. He spread out his mental power to explore the underground layout clearly, avoiding the underground water vein, so as not to collapse the water vein and ruin the underground library when he dug past it. It took about half an hour for Roland to open the underground passage to the library. They were already on the outskirts of the manor and not far from the underground library, so naturally, it was quick. The passage opened up a large hole directly in the wall of the library. Roland jumped in first, looked around, and then scouted the area with his mental power to make sure no one was there before saying into the hole, Its safe, come in. Then Andonara jumped in with Stephanie on her back. Their mood was much better right when they entered the spacious area from the narrow hole in the ground. This was quite normal. A narrow space would give one a sense of safety, but after staying for a long time, one would become gloomy and fearful of going out. It also decreased motivation. After entering the library, Roland found a corner and took out three sets of bedding and rations from his Backpack, and the three of them sat together and ate jerky. Stephanie, being a princess and delicate, would have despised the jerky. But the healing spell drained energy and strength from her, and now she was starving. Besides, the taste of the jerky was satisfactory, and she felt that it was like a delicacy when she tasted it. She looked at Roland as she slowly chewed the jerky. The man was plain-looking, but he truly behaved differently from the arrogant and ordinary noble-calm and steady. It was no wonder Andonara fell for him. If her man was half as capable as Roland, even if he did something ridiculous, she wouldnt have killed him. After Roland finished his jerky, he went back to work in the tunnels, which he had extended so that in case someone checked the library, the three of them could still hide for a long time in the tunnels by taking advantage of its complexity. In reality, Roland could have used the teleportation magic array to teleport all three of them away. That was safer. But Roland didnt want to reveal that he knew the teleportation magic array in Fareins. For any country, the teleportation magic array was of strong strategic importance. It was hard to guarantee that the First Princess wouldnt get any strange ideas when she found out about it. While the three of them hid in the library, it was already a new day outside. Two days later, the news of the First Princesss disappearance spread throughout the capital. Alfred then discovered that Roland and Andonara had also disappeared and that before they disappeared, they appeared to have gone to the First Princesss estate. And there were many bodies of elite soldiers of the royal family at the scene. Then Alfred went to the kingdom to find the old king As an elder and as the person behind the substantial control of the Association of Mages, Alfred merely gave notice of his visit and received the invitation of the king. Alfred knew the palace well and was soon in the kings chambers. At this moment, the king was covering his forehead, half of his body leaning against the right side of the throne. At the sound of footsteps, the nominally most powerful old man in Fareins raised his head. He was slightly fat and wore a kings robe, which was embroidered with a red lion on the chest and trimmed with gold on a white background. The magnificent crown full of jewels had been taken down and put aside. The old king had little blond hair left on his head and was going bald. His eyes were slightly red, and when he saw Alfred, he said, somewhat sadly, Are you here to see Natalisa off, too, Great-Grandfather? That woman is not worth my visit. Youre so cold-hearted, Alfred, shes your great-great-great-granddaughter. There are too many family members for a Mage at my age to keep track of all of them. Alfred found himself a chair. If youre in the mood to worry about your mistress, why dont you worry about your daughter? Theres no use worrying, said old King Londox rather unhappily. As I told her, this is her test, and if she survives it, shell be queen, and if she doesnt, its up to her whether she lives or dies. Of course, whether she succeeds or fails, as long as she survives, shell at least receive a small territory. Alfred thought for a moment and asked, Do you know whats been going on, with recent events? I know a little, the rest is all deduction. The old king rubbed his eyes; he was on the verge of tears. Natalisa, youre so pitiful, your senior only cares about profit and doesnt care about you at all. Alfred frowned. Dont be hypocritical, you dont give a damn about this woman. 511 The Kings Uncle Has Done a Lot of Harm He was a man-child. Although he was in his fifties, his personality was sincere and passionate like a childs. That was the evaluation of the nobles. In reality, old King Londox was not very capable as an individual and was of average quality as a king. But as the king of the strongest human nation in the world, he didnt need to be too capable, because, with great ability and personal qualities, he was bound to think of progress and development. Now the Fareins Kingdom had expanded to a point where any further expansion would inevitably affect ruling and cohesiveness, and eventually, the country would fall apart. The most important task for the king of Fareins now was to maintain the balance between the great powers in the country. To have a good relationship with the lords. To have a good emotional intelligence. If these three requirements were satisfied, one would be a good king of Fareins. In reality, Londox did so well that the vast majority of the nobles and lords thought he did his duty as king. In the last thirty years, there were no major incidents in Fareins. It was only during the past two days that something went wrong. Stephanie was missing. The kings mistress was dead. Biden seemed to have betrayed the king, and his arm was severed. But the noble powers of the capital were calm, expressing that none of this was a problem. It wasnt far from the point where the old king would retire and Stephanie would take the throne as queen, the so-called transition from old to new, and so it was only natural for some strange things to occur. After all, with the addition of illegitimate children, Londox had more than a dozen sons, most of whom were adults, and it was normal for one or two of them to be displeased with Stephanie. It was just internal royal strife, a minor matter. It would be fine after a while. This was the underpinning of the most noble empire in history, the most powerful nation of intelligent beings. So what if the royal family was in turmoil! As long as most of the lords and most of the forces were not in disarray, who would dare to invade the Fareins Kingdom? Even if the dragons attacked, they wouldnt fear. The dozen or so Legendary Mages, two dozen or so Legendary Warriors, and more than a hundred other Legendary professionals in the Fareins Kingdom werent there for nothing. And there was also the pope of the Church of Light and Blackthorn Gus, two rivals, who were both making their way to Demigod. Usually, they didnt like each other, but once a strong enemy attacked, everyone believed that the two of them would put aside their prejudices and work together to defend against the enemy. Now, almost all the nobles, including Alfred, were watching the show. But after talking with the old king, he found out that this incident seemed to be just a farce, a farce of a father testing his daughter. The incident wasnt created by the king, he just knew something and went along for the ride. Figuring out what was going on, Alfred was able to calm down. An immortal Golden Son, so gifted that he seemed to be able to compete with Mordenkainen and Melf, was the one Alfred valued. It didnt matter if Stephanie died or lived in this farce, or how far her relationship with Roland would progress. It would be nice for her to live and have some kind of spark with Roland, naturally. If she died, hed sigh a little, but that would be all. Stephanie was indeed pretty, and a widow, and might be to Rolands liking. But there were plenty of wives in the capital For example, Phyllis, the daughter-in-law of the Impaler, had the plumpest, whitest, tenderest body in the capital, a woman at her best and ripest, and she was also a decent person, with no negative rumors surrounding her, so if Stephanie wouldnt do, Alfred wouldnt mind introducing her to Roland. And the red fox marquis half-Succubus wife, although already forty-seven years old, still had a face like a young girls, and more importantly, she had the dignity of a legitimate noblewoman but also gave people a kind of libidinous sensation that only Succubi could. This kind of mixture of temperament would probably also be to Rolands liking. There were many other similar candidates, and if the capital had no suitable ones, there were over a hundred other large cities and thousands of medium-sized cities with hundreds of millions of beautiful and mature women; there was bound to be those to Rolands liking There was no shortage of beauty in the great Fareins. There was never a shortage. Using one or more women to tie a talented Mage to the chariot of Fareins was a super-cheap deal no matter how one looked at it. Alfred had a few words with the old king and left. Almost all the forces in the city were waiting for the result. Only a handful of forces were still investigating these things. The Saint Samurai Schuck of the Temple of Light. He lived in a house built for him by the Holy Realm, low-profile on the outside and upscale on the inside, and was looking over the information his men had acquired. Margret, the little red dragon princess, wandered down from upstairs with bare feet, then laid down on Schucks lap, yawned widely, and said softly, After all these days of searching, have you found out anything yet? Things are a little strange. Schuck freed a hand and stroked the little princesss smooth hair. Its odd that the whole capital is watching the show. Whats wrong? Schuck explained, Its normal for the royal family, the Association of Mages, and our Temple of Light to watch the show. After all, we have to maintain the balance of power, and wont get involved easily. But its not right for those medium and small powers to be watching the show as well. Its reasonable to say that now is the time for them to perform, and their performance in this farce will directly affect their impression in the hearts of the big powers, and if theyre lucky, they can rise to greater heights and hang onto the larger forces, using them to intimidate others. Margret was almost asleep again. What youre saying is so complicated, I cant understand you. Schuck chuckled. Margret was underage and dragons had never been ones to think too much about things. It was true that she didnt like to listen to these musings. After reading the information, Schuck was not discouraged, even though he didnt come up with any useful clues. Just because he met a dead end didnt mean that Roland didnt obtain anything. At this moment, Roland was standing in front of a bookshelf. He looked at the arrangement of books on top of the shelf, then turned his head and asked, Stephanie, who else have you given the key to this library to besides us? Im the only one with a key, no one else gets in. Stephanie was leaning against the wall, chatting quietly with Andonara, and continued in response, Besides me, only my dead husband had the key, but I retrieved it too. What happened? It seems that other people besides us have been in here, Roland said, pointing to the bookshelves. Ive used this shelf before, and the books werent laid out like this when I left. What! Stephanies expression froze, then became a little nervous. I heard the maidservants say earlier that strange noises are coming from the library from time to time, is there something evil lurking around? Roland shook his head slightly. But I dont sense any gloomy, cold magical elements, or evil mental power. Stephanie asked helplessly, Could it be that youre mistaken? No way! Roland pulled up the photo hed taken earlier before he left the library to confirm how many books were in the collection, and took a picture of each shelf in high-definition, which he then used as a directory. Then a comparison was made, and sure enough, the books on the shelf had changed positions. Next, Roland checked and cross-referenced each shelf once and then realized that only that one shelf just now had two books that were switched. One of them was a diary and the other was the experience of some dark magic Mage. Roland thought for a moment, then pulled out this diary and continued to read it. July 18, XX1. Im a little surprised that Stephanie cares a little about my feelings she doesnt seem as dominating as she appears on the outside. January 9, XX2. Some turtledove coat of arms nobleman actually tried to invite Stephanie to his house right in front of me, he thinks nothing of me. February 27, XX2. This noblemans wife has been seduced by me, shes far worse than Stephanie, but somehow I feel excited. Shallow Charm really works. March 13, XX2. Went hunting with some soon-to-be-adult eighth prince who accidentally shot a little girl who went into the woods to search for money, and then this prince threw the little girls body to the hounds. It was so cruel, but for some reason, I felt a little excited. June 10, XX2. The eighth prince whos reached adulthood has been driven off to another territory, and I have one less friend I can talk to. Ive hooked up with the wife of a turtledove noble again, and for some reason, I feel a little disgusted. September 13, XX2. The fourteenth princess is so whorish, she actually called eight strong men for a group exercise, and looking at her face, which bears some resemblance to Stephanies, and watching her maneuver between many men, somehow made me so excited. July 14, XX3. The seventeenth book on princesses I bought was discovered by Stephanie, who looked disappointed. I was scared on the outside, but excited on the inside. November 4, XX3. Stephanie didnt want to go to those parties, what will I do She even got into a heated argument with me. She told me not to hang out with those scum. What does she know, its those scum that make it interesting. July 6, XX4. Stephanie is too stubborn and careful, she avoids a lot of my set-ups. Its so boring. I expected to see the same plot as in the princess books, but Stephanie doesnt take the bait. Why are you so upright, cant you learn from some of your sisters? August 9, XX4.Im out of patience, I decided to use the Charm on Stephanie. The diary ended here and there was no follow-up. This was a summary of the essence of the diary after Roland skimmed it and read only the important information. No wonder Stephanie killed her husband. If it were any other woman, they probably would have wanted to kill the princesss husband. This is why you shouldnt read those perverted books, read too many of them and your mind will be contaminated. A good couple was indirectly ruined by perverted stories. Roland put the diary back on the shelf. He had doubts as to who else had come into this library beside them and was only interested in the diary and dark magic. Could it be? 512 Youre the Genius She had to give him some respect in any case. She responded, Indeed, he is dead. I cut him in two, watched him die, and then ordered the soldiers to throw him into the river. If he could still live like that, I can only say that he is simply not human. I see! Roland closed the diary, and he had to admit that Stephanie did have a reason to kill her husband. Any woman who had some self-respect wouldnt want to fool around with another man under the watchful eye of her husband. And this husband, who failed to throw his out of the house, actually thought of using mind control on her to do those things. It wasnt about the bottom line anymore. It was about morals. As the First Princess, Stephanie killing her husband made perfect sense to the people of this world. Roland then pulled out the book on the dark Mages insights. After reading it for a while, Roland shook his head. As expected of dark Mages, this book of insights was concise, but the contents of it involved crooked views. Out of all kinds of living sacrifices, those using small animals was mild, but the favorite was the use of virgins. ere There were all sorts of very insidious curses. This was quite normal, as all of them were spells designed to kill, and there was no essential difference between evoking magic and conjuring magic. The problem was that these dark spells casting materials were all human body parts. For example, a babys fingers and such. After reading the entire book, Roland found that these dark spells were probably all very powerful, and he had Magic Material Exemption so he didnt need to use these repulsive things as magic materials, so Roland also took pictures of some of the more practical curses. He slowly flipped through the book, trying to see what else there was to see other than spell models and tips on casting spells, such that the mysterious man would especially come here to flip through it. When he was almost done browsing, Roland suddenly noticed that there was a spell model that was circled. He folded the corner of the page to mark it, then continued to flip through the book, and when the whole book was finished, there was only the circle drawn on the page from before. Flipping back to that page, he then studied it and saw that the spell model wasnt dark magic, but a wind elemental spell from evoking magic. The basics of a magic fountain! Roland was stunned. Wasnt this Menons invention? He took a closer look at it and found that it was indeed Menons work, and the notes on the back of the spell said that it was the insight of a young Mage named Menon. This spell model and the explanation of its principles were circled. Andonara nodded. Stephanie pursed her lips, hesitating to speak. Roland then used Teleportation to leave the library. Teleporting to the manors small woods, Roland scouted around and found nothing special. It was quiet in and around the manor. But this quietness was a little unusual. In Rolands mind, Stephanie was a princess, after all, and she was missing, but the old king didnt even send someone over to investigate and find out why? Was the royal familys affection so strange? Although Roland was a bit confused, he didnt think much about it. He used Human Cannonball to rise directly above the Association of Mages and then used Floating to land. Then he found Menon in the Association of Mages. Menon was talking to two guests, a man and a woman. Both of these guests had a faint glow that looked more piercing than that of the others, and as he came closer, he felt the strong surge of light magic power. And there was something familiar about the womans figure from behind. Roland walked up slowly. Menon was talking, and when he saw him coming, his eyes lit up and he immediately stopped talking and waved his hand to Roland. Mr. Roland! The man and woman then turned around, the man handsome and the woman beautiful. The man was indeed charming, but not nearly as good-looking as the inhumanly handsome Schuck. And the woman was an old acquaintance, Saint Samurai Dinah. Dinah was slightly surprised to see Roland, then curtsied slightly and said, Long time no see, Mr. Roland. Hello, Dinah, the great beauty. This sounded a little frivolous to others, but Dinah was used to it. More than half a year ago, when Roland and Betta,and the others helped Dinah with her quest, they spent a few days with her. At the time, everyone in F6 called her Dinah the Great Beauty, and she was used to hearing it, knowing that it was the Golden Sons unique manner of greeting. It was just a name. When Roland and the others addressed a certain maid of Dinahs, who was a mountain of flesh weighing one hundred and eighty pounds, they also called her a certain great beauty. The man next to him frowned slightly when he heard Roland address her like that, but after seeing that Dinah wasnt angry, he didnt say anything It seems that Mr. Roland is also looking for Mr. Menon on important business, so well leave you to it. Dinah motioned to her male companion next to her with a glance, and then said to Menon, Were done with our questions, Im sorry for wasting your time. Youre welcome. Menon smiled genuinely. Its the honor of my life to serve two Saint Samurai. Both Saint Samurai laughed and then left together. After the two Saint Samurai left, Menon sighed in relief. Its stressful to talk to such big shots. Then he looked at Roland strangely, with a hint of mischief in his eyes. Yo, isnt this Mr. Roland who eloped with Her Highness the First Princess. How come you suddenly appeared heredid you get tired of playing with the First Princess so quickly? Eloped? Rolands eyes almost bulged out. How and where did that rumor come from? The royal family, said Menon enviously. And the top brass of the Association of Mages seems to be spreading this news secretly. You are truly blessed. The First Princess was my former dream lover, and not to mention her beauty, she also has a good figure. But the strange thing is, since you obviously eloped with the First Princess and the royal family released the news, why arent you a wanted man? Because its fake news to begin with. Roland also thought the situation was a bit strange. What was the royal family trying to do by releasing this news? To confuse the enemy in hiding? But this thought only flashed in his mind; Roland didnt forget the purpose of his visit: Menon, I have something very important to ask you. Before me, did anyone else ask you for the spell model and principle of the magic fountain? That question Well, you seem to be caught up in something. Menon shrugged. There was one. He used to be a member of the Association of Mages, specializing in dark conjuration spells, but because all the spells he learned were too malicious, he disappeared and was supposedly expelled from the Association. Whats his name? I only remember his name as Alan Curie. Im not sure of other information, I was simply trading with him. Roland asked again, Besides him, has anyone else asked you similar questions? Menons expression froze, as if slightly surprised, and he thought for a moment and said, A man did ask me a similar question yesterday, but he only asked a few questions. Whos this man, then?. Menon shook his head. I dont know him. He just came up and asked me a few questions about very basic magic theory, then he left on his own. But the man did have the smell of dark magic on him. Do you remember what he looked like? asked Roland, anxiously. Of course! Menon laughed and was about to speak when his entire body suddenly froze, then his face turned pale blue. It turned utterly pale blue. He held a hand over his heart, his eyes gradually widening. Whats the matter with you Roland grabbed Menons hand and suddenly noticed a terrifying dark magic power coming from Menon. His entire body was as if frozen by ice. His blood stopped flowing. Roland subconsciously shrugged off Menons hand, and only then did the cold, dark chill of that magic disappear. But with such a shake of his hand, Menon gradually fell backward and then fell straight to the ground. Not moving at all. Roland recovered from the frozen state and was stunned as he looked at the dead Menon. Women were screeching loudly around them, and soon black-robed soldiers came running and surrounded the scene, as well as Roland. Im sorry, sir, but could you come with us and tell us what happened? Roland nodded. A few minutes later, Roland was taken to an empty room. There were only two chairs in here. Roland took a seat and shortly after, someone came in. It was Alfred. How does it feel to be set up? laughed Alfred as he came in. Dont stay here, come out with me. The chair beneath Roland hadnt even warmed up when he stood up and asked, Great Elder, youve determined that Ive been set up? Menon died from a cold curse, a very high-level spell in conjuring magic, said Alfred with a smile. Youre good at evoking magic and dont have a hint of dark magic on you, so how could it be you. If we cant tell the difference, all of us at the top of the Association of Mages should simply kill ourselves. Roland followed behind Alfred and sighed. Pity for a genius like Menon Genius? As Alfred walked, he shook his head and said, Hes not a genius. Getting a few strange spell devices and magic and figuring out some magic theories doesnt mean hes a genius. This world is too dangerous, what kind of genius is someone who cant even defend himself and focuses all his cleverness on the wrong path! He still found his path. You are wrong, Roland. Alfred turned and said very seriously, It is true that Menon seems to have taken a path of his own, but its a crooked path. There is no one else to walk it. He is the only one; naturally, he can see some sights that we cannot see. A crooked path is a crooked path. If he puts his wits on the right path, on battle magic, on increasing his magical capacity, he might not have died. At this point, Alfred laughed. Just like you, you have extremely high mental resistance and a large amount of magic power protecting you. You were hit by the cold curse that Menon infected you with, but youre fine-understand the difference? Roland couldnt say anything. 513 This Seems to be a Trap The area was much larger, the lighting was also better, and most importantly, the interior was quite luxurious at a glance. Alfred let Roland sit on a white animal skin iron deck chair, seating himself at the hosts seat, then with a slightly teasing tone, he asked, How does it feel to be accused wrongly and framed? Not bad, Roland said in a normal tone. Its not like I havent encountered something like this before. When he first joined a company, he took the blame for his boss a few times. That was when he felt truly depressed, as he couldnt do anything at all. If he didnt take the blame, he would have to resign. The difference here was that the player was immortal and Roland was not without the power to resist. He was only cooperating with the black-robed soldiers because of the Red Magic Tower; after all, he was currently a student of the Red Magic Tower. If he truly felt malice, he would surely resist. Looking at Rolands calm demeanor, Alfred nodded with satisfaction. You should also understand by now that as long as you have the power, you wouldnt be afraid of such despicable things, or at least have the ability to seek a solution to the problem. That is, not having to be instantly killed like Menon, or sitting around waiting for something to happen like a helpless commoner. Roland nodded. Indeed. In a peaceful world, someone like Menon would be a talent indeed. But this world was too dangerous. Even in Fareins Association of Mages, which was already considered extremely safe, he had been assassinated. Seeing that Roland had digested his words, Alfred said with satisfaction, So, you should focus more on battle spells, create fewer spell models of spells like the oil-making spell, the water-making spell, and ideas similar to Menons and more spells like the blue fireball. Roland thought about it and said, But Im a Golden Son, immortal to begin with, and most importantly, ideas similar to Menons have helped me a lot with my magic concepts. Self-Destructing Inferior Fireball more or less draws on techniques of subtle magic control. I see. After some thought, Alfred said, Then progress in both concurrently. Menon is dead, and there should be plenty of information in his room, and if you like that knowledge, go ahead and take it. Roland stood up. Alfred thought for a moment and said, Menon has a wife who is not bad-looking, so if you like, take her in as well to help take care of her. After all, its a way of repaying the favor for taking his things. Roland nodded, and when he reached the door, he turned back abruptly, because he realized that Alfreds words had a strong malice in them. But Alfreds expression was quite serious. Was it his imagination? Roland left the room, inquired the guards on the sidewalk, and soon came to the room where Menon was staying. Menon was rich and the room he lived in was huge. It was a first-class suite. As soon as Roland entered, he saw Menons body in the middle of the living room, already covered with a white cloth. Surrounding the suite were four other black-robed soldiers, who were responsible for protecting Menons body and family, as well as monitoring the property here to keep Menons wife from taking it away. After all, Menon had a lot of magic research data that was classified. A woman in a black dress was slumped against a bench on the side, covering her face and sobbing quietly. Her face couldnt be seen, but her figure was attractive. The eyes of the four black-robed soldiers swept over the woman from time to time with some subtle lust in their eyes. When Roland entered, he immediately caught the attention of four soldiers, one of whom greeted him and asked, May I ask who you are, sir? Pawns like them couldnt afford to offend those who wore magic robes in the Association of Mages and were all from the upper-class. Roland. The soldier immediately bowed his head and said, So its Mr. Roland, youve finally come. The previous lord instructed that everything here from now on is yours. We can leave now. Roland shook his hand, took out several silver coins, shoved them into this soldiers hand, and said, Thanks for looking after this place its a small token of appreciation, take it for a drink. Thank you, my lord. The soldier beamed with joy and bowed repeatedly. The other three soldiers also looked delighted. The three of them had only one silver coin each for a months salary, and now they suddenly received several coins, and although it wasnt much after they split it, it was still extra income. The four soldiers left with profuse gratitude and even closed the door gently for Roland on their way out. The lord was so generous, so they naturally had to let him have some fun. Playing with a mans wife beside a corpse was quite an impressive thing to do, as expected of the high society. They truly knew how to have fun. All four soldiers were impressed. When the door closed, the woman slumped on the bench and sat up. She didnt dare cry anymore. She just hung her head and didnt dare look at anyone. Roland looked at the corpse in the living room and walked over to it, pulling off the white cloth. Menon still had the same look of regret on his face. With a sigh, Roland covered the body with the white cloth. Then he walked up to the woman and said, I am also grieved by Menons death. I would like to ask if Menon has any family or relatives other than you, his wife. He has family in Delonwa County, his father and mother, and two brothers and a sister. Roland thought about it and said, How about this, you can take all the possessions in here, except for the magic resources, and go home. As for how the possessions are divided, thats your business. At this time, the womans face turned pale, she suddenly threw herself at Roland, clasped his legs with both hands, and cried out in fear as she looked up, My lord, dont ever drive me back, or Ill die. Menons father will make me into a terracotta figure and bury me with the Menon family. Please, please, dont drive me back. Roland was stunned. Why is that? The woman immediately explained. The territory of Fareins was large and vast, frighteningly hot in the south and cold all year round in the north. The Desert Kingdom was on the west and the Green Sea Islands were on the east. With such a large territory, the customs were not the same from county to county. There was a custom in Delonwa County, where Menon came from, that if a wife did not leave a child behind when her husband died, she was an unworthy wife and must be buried with her husband and go to hell to continue to give him children. Of course, the custom was not absolute. If the wife was quite powerful, or the mothers family was quite powerful, she could be spared death. And this woman was the daughter of a merchant. She didnt have the power. Menon was dead and had no children, so if no one of sufficient stature took her in, she would surely die. Even escaping would be useless. The Menon family was also a rather powerful noble family, and there would always be a way to find her if they wanted to, as long as she hadnt fled from the Fareins Kingdom. After all, some spells could be used to find people, such as Small Wish. In other words, half of this womans grief was for her husband and half was for herself. When her husband died, she would almost surely die. Its Beatrice, right? After some thought, Roland said, I could shelter you for a while, and even take you to the country of Hollevin to start over, would you like that? Beatrice nodded vigorously. Then you take care of Menons funeral, Roland said, looking at the corpse next to him. Ill take a look at the magic resources here. Okay. Beatrice pointed to the room to the right. Thats Menons study, all his files are in there. Roland took a small breath and walked into the study. The room was quite large, though nowhere near as large as Stephanies subterranean library, but there were a dozen or so bookshelves. There were many handwritten books on it. Roland flipped through a few of them and found that the handwriting was the same. This meant that it was the work of the same person, which should be Menon. Roland took all these books and threw them all into his Backpack, almost filling it up. He then took a notebook to look at it and lost himself in it. Menon loved to do research, so his insights were quite practical. If the Mages tips collected by the princesss husband was a good commodity, then these books were fine research materials that connoisseurs could easily become fascinated with at a glance. Roland was like that. He studied it word by word, fearing that he might miss a word. Forgetting time and hunger. It wasnt until Beatrice, who was already starving, knocked on the door and gently pulled Rolands sleeve that he was roused from the contents of the book. What, ah! Roland cried out, looking around and noticing that the view from the window was a little dim. So its night already. No, its the next morning. Red-eyed, Beatrice said timidly, You havent moved all night. Its been a night, then how come I didnt notice it was dark Roland looked up abruptly to find an illumination ball above his head, condensed from his magic power. He was so enthralled that he subconsciously let a ball of light out after dark and didnt even realize it. Roland put the books back into his Backpack and asked, Are the Menon familys funeral affairs taken care of? Beatrice folded her hands in front of her abdomen. The body has been sent back to Delonwa County in a carriage, using the Guild of Mercenarys men. They can be trusted. Roland sighed. He thought it was a shame that Menon had died. This research information was really useful. So youre coming with me now? Roland looked at Beatrice. As long as you dont mind me, sir. Beatrice said after some thought, Sir, please follow me. They walked to the living room and Beatrice dragged out a large white bag from under the bench, and with quite a bit of effort, she carried it onto the table and opened it. There was a large number of gold coins and silver coins inside. Sir, these are Menons possessions, and all that I could find. They are all yours now. At a glance, Roland swept over and found that there were at least a hundred gold coins in this pile, and there were probably around two hundred silver coins as well. This was a huge sum. Youre his widow, its only right that the money is yours. Beatrice was shocked. But Im already yours, so of course these gold coins are yours. Huh? 514 Combing a Bald Mans Hair If it were any other man, he would have been grinning from ear to ear at this point. But Roland was in no such mood. Without mentioning his personal preferences, whether this widow was pretty or not He already had Andonara and Vivian back home. It was already a great fortune that the two women could get along harmoniously. If he brought another woman back, even if Andonara was gentle, it would be strange if she didnt flip out. This was why Roland didnt intend to take in Beatrice, but it was possible to take her to a safe place. After walking for a while, Roland left the Association of Mages and took Beatrice around the streets for a while, and after making sure that no one was following her with his mental power, Roland led her to the outer woods of the princesss manor. Then they sank into the ground with his magic, found the passage, and walked straight back to the underground library. Suddenly being underground, Beatrice was a little frightened, and her hands had gotten numb and sore from carrying the bag of coins, but she didnt complain at all. When Roland reached the library with her, Andonara heard footsteps and knew that Roland had returned. When she saw Beatrice behind Roland, she didnt reveal any strange expressions, but instead, she smiled and stepped forward to help Beatrice carry the bag of coins. Beatrice was a little worried as she looked at Andonara and then at the bag of coins in her hand. She was afraid that this woman might take this money that belonged to her and Roland. How is the situation outside? Andonara asked. The First Princess, Stephanie, who was sitting in the corner recuperating, also cast her gaze over. At this moment, Beatrice finally saw Stephanie and covered her mouth in surprise. First Princess, what are you doing here? Are you Beatrice? Stephanie was a little surprised. Why are you following Roland? Beatrice attended most of the parties hosted by Stephanie. As time went on, they got to know each other, but not well; there was a bit of a status gap after all. Beatrices eyes turned red when she was asked this. Stephanie looked at Roland with suspicious eyes, because this situation, no matter how it looked, seemed to be caused by something Roland had done. Only Andonara remained unmoved. After spending so much time with Roland, she already knew what kind of man he was. Even a woman as beautiful, as good-figured, and as gentle as she had to nag for nearly over a year to obtain Rolands affection. How could Roland be interested in a woman who came out of nowhere? This was where Andonaras confidence came from. After hearing that, Stephanie sighed. Indeed, if you were to return to Delonwa County like this, you would most likely be made into a terracotta. She then looked at Roland. You already have Andonara, so why dont you have Beatrice follow me? She thought this would be for the sake of Beatrice. However, Beatrice shook her head vigorously. Thank you, Your Highness, but I would prefer to follow Roland. Although Beatrice was not too smart, she knew how to live. She knew how to look at men. It was true that if she followed the First Princess, she would be safe for a while, but what about the future!? She was still bound to be sent away after a while, and she wouldnt be able to pick the man she would meet then. It would be different following Roland. In just these few hours together, she could tell that Roland was a good man. Oftentimes, whether a man was good or bad could be seen in his expressions and attention to detail. Roland had no evil lust in his eyes and also respected her. Although he wasnt very handsome, his mysterious and relaxed temperament, which only Mages had, added a lot more to his attractiveness. Men like that were hard to come by. Or rather, it was hard to come by with her conditions. She couldnt just let go when fate hit her. Otherwise, she would regret it for the rest of her life. That was how Beatrice felt. Seeing that even Beatrice had rejected her and was as devoted to Roland as Andonara was, Stephanie was a little dissatisfied. But she quickly tossed that insignificant thought out of her mind and asked, Continuing with what we were talking about, how is the situation outside? Roland shook his head. Unknown. The Association of Mages doesnt want to investigate, or they dont have the motivation to do so. There is no movement from the palace, and only my friend Schuck is gathering a team like a headless fly. There seems to be a special understanding between several forces. My father told me before that this is a personal test for me, and out of respect toward my father, they are all holding still. Roland sighed. So its not good to have too many children, because family ties are limited, and there is less to share equally among everyone. The survival of his daughter is uncertain, but he only sees it as a test for you. To wear a crown, one must first bear its weight. Stephanie bent her intact left leg, then bent over and rested her cheek on it, with her hands on her knees, which made her look delicate. Im almost guaranteed the throne, but to become a queen, I have to have some sort of plausible deed under my name, at any rate. Does everyone in the royal family take this situation for granted? Roland suddenly felt that the First Princess seemed a bit pitiful. He then almost laughed aloudwhat was a commoner like himself doing pitying a royal? It was like a beggar worrying that the richest man would quickly become poor if he spent his money recklessly. Ridiculous! At this time, a system message notification suddenly came, and when he opened it, he found that it was someone in the guild chat room pinging him. Schuck: Roland, come meet me at the Moonlight Stone Tavern, theres something I want to talk to you about, alone. Roland: Ill be right there. After sending the message, Roland told Andonara and the other three that he had to take care of something. Then, under the reluctant gazes of the three, Roland teleported out of the place. Moonlight Stone Tavern. Still the same seats, the same people; even the scene where Schuck was pursued by the waitresses was almost exactly the same. Roland sat in front of Schuck and asked, Calling me out in such a hurry, did you find anything? Indeed, I have. Shuck laughed and said, I heard that Menon died shortly after my colleagues left him, and then you took the fall. You seem to be pretty well-informed. Schuck shook his head. Thats because I have people watching Menon all the time. Why? Roland was surprised. He saw that Menon was mentioned in the book of magic insights, and Menons philosophies were also highlighted, so he thought to ask Menon about what he had found. As a result, Menon died within three minutes of meeting with him. He had a clue related to Menon, so he went to check on him. Why did Schuck want to investigate and spy on him? Seemingly seeing the question on Rolands face, Schuck smiled and said, We are Saint Samurai of the Church of Light, and have a keener sense of dark magic. Menon came in contact with dark magic before, so he was always on our special list of people. That explains a lot! After Menons death, we noticed a hidden burst of dark magic in the capital, which should have been a curse remotely activated by someone, which killed Menon, Schuck explained, but the other partys tactics were very good, so we didnt even find the actual source of the dark magic. In other words, you still dont know the enemys true identity! Schuck shook his head. Indeed, we couldnt find it; the enemy is very clever. But were not completely out of luck. According to our intelligence officers, the cold curse is not something that ordinary people can use. It seems that only Lichs, or non-human creatures of darkness, can cast it. You mean, theres a dark magic monster hidden in the capital? Yeah, thats what I thought. Schuck sipped on fruit wine. Whether hes human or not, if he can use the cold curse, hes a monster. Im not telling you to be careful-players wont die but the people around you have to be careful; after all, once theyre dead, its almost impossible for them to come back to life unconditionally. Understood. Roland and Schuck then talked for quite a long time, and finally, it was Margret who suddenly appeared and pulled the latter away. The little dragonesss strength was great. She was less than one and a half meters tall and her body looked weak, but pulling Schuck was as easy as pulling a rag doll. Roland went home on his own, but just as he walked out of the Moonlight Stone Tavern, a small white bird suddenly hovered above him. Follow me. A familiar female voice sounded in his consciousness, and then the white bird flew out of the city. Stunned, Roland immediately followed it with Human Cannonball. In a short time, Roland followed the bird to a large forest and flew to the middle of it, where suddenly a pulling force brought him down to the ground. Thirty seconds later, Roland planted his feet on the ground, and he saw that his surroundings had become very strange, with clear green plants everywhere, which all seemed to have become quite vigorous. Before Roland could begin to study why these plants had such strong vitality, a green light came down from the sky. With her wings spread and wearing a white robe, Nia slowly descended from midair. After landing on the ground, she waved her hand at Roland. Long time no see, Roland. It is indeed you, Ms. Nia. Roland smiled. After not having seen her for a while, Nias bosom seemed to have grown a little more. Did angels always have developmental stages? Nia bounced up to Roland, her wings temporarily retracted. It was right to give you the task of defeating Parn; I didnt expect you to encounter him so quickly. Roland was slightly stunned. Isnt the duration of this quest ten years? But if you have a clue in front of you, do you complete it or not? Nia narrowed her eyes and smiled, seemingly a little mischievous. Whats the clue? Because the Holy Realm is nearby, I cant expand my mental power to scan the entire city, and if I did, the Church of Light might fight with the Church of Life. Nia snorted and crossed her arms. But Im awesome, and I already know roughly where that dark creature isin the north of the city. North of the city, isnt that the territory of the Holy Realm? Roland seemed to have a headache. If it wasnt for the fact that Nias eyes were really pure and beautiful, Roland would have suspected Nia of trying to trick him. Going to the Holy Realm to look for creatures of darkness was just like combing hair on a bald mans head. 515 Terribly Unreliable However, having Roland run to the Temple of Light to find creatures of darkness was too ridiculous. It was almost unfeasible. The Holy Realm itself didnt allow outsiders to enter, let alone go in to look for any creatures of darkness. The good thing was that Schuck was a Saint Samurai, which allowed him to make a breakthrough in this quest. Roland immediately pinged him in the guild chat. Roland: I have an angel on my side, saying that you have a dark creature hiding in the Holy Realm. Schuck: Huh? How is that possible! Roland: I was more surprised than you, but it was an angel who said that, so I thought it was more likely. After all, angels are Demigod beings. Schuck: I know, Ill talk to the pope about it, just wait a moment. The place where the Saint Samurai lived was not too far away from the popes audience hall. Although it was communication via mind-typing, it still took time. Nia saw that Roland didnt say anything for a while, so she took two steps forward again and asked, Have you thought of any solutions? The dark creatures associated with Parn are really in here, I can feel it. Im contacting my friend in the Temple of Light to see whats going on. Nia, however, didnt feel it was very reliable. Can your friend influence the decisions of the higher-ups in the Temple of Light? If you say anything out of the blue, you might alert the enemy. Is a Saint Samurai good enough? Nias body trembled, and the two tightly rounded globes of flesh on her chest shook twice under her clothes. She said embarrassedly, Thats good enough. The status of the Saint Samurai in the Temple of Light was clear even to the angels. Actually, we have such a special profession in the Church of Life as well. Nia sized up Roland, nodded her head with great satisfaction, and said, Its called Lifeline Spiritualist, are you interested Wait, how come theres an additional smell of someone else on you? Nia looked a little unhappy. She leaned in toward Roland and sniffed gently. A faint, indescribable floral fragrance came over him. Roland subconsciously took a step back. At this time, Nia also raised her head and said unhappily, How can you be like this? Its obvious that our goddess gave you her providence first, but you accepted the Goddess of Magics providence as well. Nias expression was somewhat grudging as if she was looking at scum. As soon as Roland heard this, he was not too happy. You think I wanted it. The Goddess of Life also left a mark on my body without my consent, and neither one of them said a word. Although, his attributes did increase after being blessed by the Goddesses, especially in health and magic power. But Roland always felt strange from the inside. That was about how it felt. If it was just a goddess granting him providence, he wouldnt have thought of it that way. It could also be seen as a reward. But both of them did so, and now that Nia said something along the lines of proclaiming sovereignty, it made Roland a little upset. Although there was something about having such thoughts that felt like not admitting the benefit hed received, as a modern male with a more independent personality, it was quite reasonable. Roland frowned immediately. And Nia, as an angel, a Demigod, and a Demigod of Life, was very sensitive to subtle changes in peoples emotions. When Roland frowned, she felt it at once. Are you angry? Why? Nia felt puzzled. She was, after all, an angel on high, and although she was very old in the usual sense of the word, she had not yet reached adulthood physiologically, and more importantly, because she was so high up and spent most of her time in the divine realm, she came into contact with angels like herself or constituents of the divine realm. These people were almost always good and upright and would speak up when they were unhappy. And they loved her. She had no true life experience at all. So she couldnt understand Why would Roland be angry over a few words? She hadnt said anything wrong. Since hed accepted the Goddess of Lifes providence, why did he go mingle with the Goddess of Magic? Looking at Nias slightly worried and aggrieved expression, Roland was dumbfounded at first and then laughed inwardly. Whats the point of being angry with an innocent angel? Its not that Im angry, but I just cant understand it. Roland laughed and said, Back to what we were talking about, I can ask my Saint Samurai friend to investigate the dark creature on my behalf, but on your side, can you provide any help or support? Nia clasped her hands to her chest, thought deeply for a moment, and said, This is the Holy Realm were talking about, and although our goddess is not on bad terms with the Goddess of Light, its quite offensive to go in there rashly in any case. However, I will find a way to provide some help, so the rest is up to you. After saying that, Nia very naturally patted Rolands shoulder. A nice scent surrounded him. Roland sighed slightly. Then Ill just have to take it one step at a time. Be diligent, our goddess is very fond of you. Nia smiled like a hundred flowers blooming, then she shook her wings and flew into the night sky so fast that the afterimage of a white line was left behind. Seeing her leave, Roland teleported back to the underground library. Nia flew into the sky, rising until she was above the clouds, then she stopped. Then she hovered high in the air, opened her senses, and found the nearest source of faith in the Goddess of Life-a temple. As she flew over the temple, she gently rubbed her delicate face with both hands again, and slowly, the slightly sluggish and naive temperament she had changed drastically. She went from a naive girl to a cold beauty. After that, she spread her white wings and landed inside the temple. The barrier of the divine power of life was spread out, and all the priests in the temple scrambled to the prayer hall, knelt reverently, and pressed their heads on the ground in excitement. Some darkness has appeared in the Holy Realm, and it is closely related to us, the Church of Life. However, the Church of Light is our allied religion, and we are not at liberty to offend their dignity, but you may secretly send a team in disguise to the Holy Realm to meet a Mage named Roland, who has the providence of our goddess, and follow all his instructions. Your Holinesss command is the direction we move in, the nourishment for our souls to ascend. The Archbishops words were thick with excitement. Nia, who was expressionless, flapped her wings lightly and flew up into the sky. The archbishop of the temple waited for a moment before standing up. He looked up in a daze, looking more and more devout, and finally turned around and said to the dozens of priests in front of him, Im sure you all heard the order from Her Holiness the angel, start forming an execution team immediately. First, find the one with providence named Roland, and then follow his orders! This time its an order from Her Holiness the angel, so its an honorable mission, and Im not assigning any men. You choose amongst yourselves. All of a sudden, the eyes of all the priests were on fire. Being able to work for the angel, if done well and smoothly, might leave an impression on her. When they died and ascended into the divine realm, they might be able to meet her again and talk with her. This was the kind of thing that any slightly devout cleric of life would want to participate in. On Rolands side, he had teleported back to a rather remote place in the capital, so as not to hurt bystanders with the spatial flux, and then teleported back to the underground library. Andonara and the others were still in there, and when Roland returned, they were even helping Stephanie exercise. Now two days had passed, and Stephanies leg was regenerating and had already regenerated up to the ankle, so she would probably be able to regenerate her foot in three or four days. She was able to recover so quickly, partly because of the Warriors high constitution and good recovery ability, and partly because of Rolands healing spell, which was decent. It was almost as effective as the healing spells cast by a cleric of life at the same level. After casting the healing spell on Stephanie again, Roland continued to read the accounts of other Mages in the library. Stephanie looked at Roland, who remained motionless for three hours in front of the bookshelf, and she couldnt help but ask in a low voice, Anna, your Roland, is there something wrong with him? Andonara gave her a puzzled glance. The three of us are all great beauties, and even if Beatrice isnt quite as good, shes still a beauty. But the three of us and him, a man, in a library where sounds within can barely carry outside, and he has no interest at all, just reading those stupid books. Without the slightest thought of that-is he still a young man? Beatrice, who was on the side, looked a little gloomy What do you mean even if Im not quite as good, Im not bad at all, okay? What should be big is big and what should be small is small. Andonara looked at her as if she was an idiot. My friend, being shut in for two to three days, are you even having trouble thinking? Isnt it great that Roland is not interested in you? If he was interested in you, hed just have to say the word, and I would hold your hands down for him. The other two women were shocked at this statement. Beatrice was shocked with delight. She didnt mind having a negative relationship with Roland; rather, it was the perfect way to make him feel a little more affectionate toward her. Stephanie, on the other hand, was purely shocked. Thats your man. If hes sexually attracted to other women, you wouldnt even be mad at him, youd even help? Im just a little woman, Andonara said smilingly. Stephanie felt a headache. In her eyes, Andonara was good in every way, but it was her reliance on men that was maddening to her. Such a strong woman, almost the strongest woman among humans, among the strongest group of professionals, was actually a clingy vine. If Andonara had some independent qualities and joined forces with her, by the time Stephanie sat safely on the throne and gave her a generals post, leading about half of the imperial forces, Andonara could beat up whoever she wanted. Could she not be more powerful than she was now, and much more accomplished? Seeing the look of pity on Stephanies face, Andonara slowly said, Eighty percent of the reason I became the Legendary Great Swordsman I am today and was able to obtain bloodline-strengthening was thanks to Roland. If it wasnt for him, I probably would have killed myself in the Hollevin palace more than a year ago. Her words, spoken softly and plainly, were dreadful to Stephanie. Stephanie was stunned for a moment before she took Andonaras hand and said, Youre my friend forever, and if you were an accomplice in holding down my hands, I would give in even if the man who took advantage of me was an idiot. Andonara laughed slightly. You wish. Roland isnt interested in you. You! Stephanie was furious. Roland was reading a book on magic insights and taking notes. This was a book about evoking magic, which talked about how to reduce ice magics consumption. It was quite enlightening for Roland. This technique could be used for both the Ice Ring and the Ice Domain formed by simply releasing ice breath. Magic was too vast and profound and what Roland understood was just a small tip of the iceberg. Everyone studied different things, and a mutual exchange was needed, but some Mages were too parochial, and even if Roland actively tried to exchange knowledge with others, many would be reluctant to. The book was still a few pages away from being finished when Roland suddenly received a chat message from Schuck. Schuck: I told the Pope what you said, and the pope considered it for a while and began inspecting the Holy Realm-secretly, of course. Roland: Amazing, you can even influence the pope, as expected of a Saint Samurai. Schuck: We are inspecting the Church of Light internally, and if there really are dark creatures within their own forces, there will definitely be a reaction from the outside, so its up to you to monitor the outside. Roland: Okay. After replying, Roland finished going through the insights quickly, and then went to Stephanie and asked, First Princess, if I may ask, you probably still have some hidden pawns you can use right now, right? What makes you think so? The First Princess narrowed her thin, long eyebrows. Now that Im so miserable, you think I have hidden pawns? Roland said matter-of-factly, Because you are the First Princess and the acknowledged next queen, if you didnt have a little something up your sleeve, you would have been eliminated by someone else. Stephanie turned her head toward Andonara and said, See, thats a Mage, clever and narcissistic, thinking that he must not be wrong. Andonara gently retorted, And is he wrong? No, Stephanie replied bitterly, then removed a silver ring from under her left ring finger. Take it, go to the Guild of Mercenaries, find a dwarf with a red beard, show him the ring, and tell him that you are here to learn the art of combing beards from him. Hell know what to do. Roland took the ring, waved his hand at the three, and instantly disappeared from the library. Watching where Roland disappeared, Stephanie sighed. Anna, I owe your man more and more, how do you think Im going to pay him back? Give him lots and lots of money. Andonara thought for a moment and said, Or, lots and lots of precious magic materials. Stephanie was a little surprised. Thats it? Thatll do. Roland is not interested in power and beauty-magic is extremely important, just a little bit less than me. Stephanie was tempted to say that magic was probably more important than her, but also being a woman, there was no way she could say those words. That was too cruel. Roland came to the Guild of Mercenaries. As the organization with the largest number of branches in the world of intelligence, almost all cities above a small size had a branch, so the Guild of Mercenaries had a large amount of information. It could even be said that if all the resources of the Guild of Mercenaries were converted, it would be almost on the scale of a strong medium-sized country. The capital of Fareins was the largest city in the human world and the most prosperous, without a rival. The Guild of Mercenaries here also had a huge presence, only slightly inferior to the local Association of Mages. It was also a huge building, and the area of the quest hall alone was as big as two soccer fields. And the height of the quest hall was around sixteen meters. An intimidatingly large quest hall naturally had a corresponding infrastructure. In an ordinary Guild of Mercenaries quest hall, there were only three reception counters at most. But here, there were sixty. There were many people in the hall, many times more than in the Association of Mages, and even with three thousand tables and more than fifteen thousand chairs, there still werent enough to seat everyone. A large number of bold, vulgar mercenaries sat together to brag. These people forged in blood rain were the most simple and primitive. They did not care for formalities. Talking loudly was just the basics; being bare-chested, picking at their feet, and spitting could be seen at all times. With so many people, air circulation was poor, and with some unhygienic habits, this place should have stunk. But it didnt. The floor was a smooth, special magic marble with a huge magic array engraved on it. The purpose of this magic array was to purify the air and expel the poison so that a large crowd would not be smothered to death in the quest hall. Roland came to the quest hall, and as soon as he entered, he was attracted by the magic array on the ground, and even forgot to look for the red-bearded dwarf. He followed the veined lines of the magic array and walked around the quest hall, spending three hours to finish parsing the magic array. It was slightly rewarding. The concept of this magic array was not quite the same as his style, so it could only be contrasted against the differences but not substantially improved. But it was an unexpected reward. His strange behavior attracted the attention of many people, but there were a lot of people among the mercenaries who were much stranger than him, so it didnt cause any commotion. Roland found a less crowded counter and waited in line for nearly ten minutes before it was his turn. The pretty girl at the counter was a little nervous when she saw him in his magic robes and said in a quiet voice, Mr. Mage, it is a pleasure to serve you. Roland asked, Do you know the red-bearded dwarf? The receptionist was stunned. You must be talking about Wilmot, the red-bearded dwarf who is particularly fond of drinking. If its the red-bearded dwarf, it would be him. The receptionist asked again cautiously, Are you a friend of his? Sort of. Taking a light breath, the receptionist said bravely, Mr. Mage, can you pay for your friends drink? He owes our guild one gold coin, thirty-two silver coins, and seventeen bronze coins for the wine money, and weve temporarily imprisoned him to mine, so hell be released when hes dug enough. But if you can help him pay for the wine, we can release him immediately! Roland opened his mouth in surprise, not even knowing what to say. 516 Unexpected Assaul Fruit wine in this world was generally inexpensive, and even if it was of the highest quality drunk by nobles, one silver coin could buy two or three large barrels. The only thing that was more expensive was the elven nectar wine, which was 1.5 times its equivalent weight in gold. However, not even the elves drank much of this. There wasnt enough to supply the elven royal family and high officials, so it hardly ever flowed to the human world. The occasional people who drank it were legendary sages and heroes-it was more rumor than fact. Or, some humans who were quite friendly with the elven higher-ups were occasionally gifted with it. They hid it for themselves and rarely took it out. In any case, the elven nectar wine was the true luxury alcoholic beverage. The fruit wine that humans drank, no matter how good it tasted, was just a normal drink. The red-bearded dwarf, however, was able to drink himself into so much debt, despite the fact that fruit wine was generally inexpensive, so it could be easily imagined that he must be a hopeless alcoholic. He was probably the kind of drunkard who soaked in a wine jar every day. Looking at the receptionists expectant expression, Roland sighed and handed over two gold coins. The receptionist immediately took it, and then returned the extra money with a red wooden badge. This dwarf is in the mines about ten kilometers west of the city, take this sign and you can bring him back. Again with the wooden badge! People in Fareins really liked to use this thing as a credential. Roland took the wooden badge, and after leaving the Guild of Mercenaries, he flew directly to the west of the city. Human Cannonball caused quite a disturbance, and many people who had an intuitive reaction to magic power felt it. Some even went out onto their balconies and watched as a human silhouette crossed the sky of the capital. It was quite an interesting way to fly! It was very fast. Many people looked on yearningly and some understood its principles, but too few were able to do so. First of all, only with precise control of magic power could one activate Magic Shield and at the same time perfectly cast Spatial Bubble. Secondly, it was dangerous. The Spatial Bubble itself was not dangerous, but sucking oneself in and then flinging oneself out, therein was the danger. It was much more dangerous than Long-Distance Teleportation. Long-Distance Teleportation was dangerous enough, let alone this strange skill of using a Spatial Bubble to throw oneself in a certain direction. Low-level Mages wouldnt dare to do that. Only a Golden Son, who was not afraid of death, could effectively use this spell to fly. Of course, Rolands technique still left impressions in the hearts of many bigshot Mages; after all, its flying speed was incredibly fast and could be used to escape at critical times. A ten-kilometer distance, at the high speed of the Human Cannonball, would take less than a minute. Mines were extremely easy to identify. Wherever there was a road leading to the mountains, and where there was pair of road marks made by crates driving over the road Add to that a large amount of gravel scattered along the roadside, and the road most likely led to a mine. Roland quickly found such a road and landed at the foot of the mountain. As soon as he landed, he saw a crate full of greenish ore driving by. The three miners on the cart saw him and subconsciously bowed. Roland nodded to them, then looked up the hill. This road led to a green forest on the mountain, and the entrance to the mine could not be seen from above, but it could be seen from this road. Seeing many miners along the way, Roland came to the mine cave, where there were several mud houses, presumably for housing the miners. There were even slightly larger stone houses, which probably housed the overseers. Roland walked over to one. The front door of the stone house was wide open, and there was a table and a man in a coarse blue coat sitting behind it, yawning in boredom. When he looked up and saw Roland, he immediately stood up in shock, nodding and smiling at the same time. Master Mage, may I ask why you are here? Roland put the wooden badge on the table and said, Im here to pick up Red Beard Wilmot. The man was immediately relieved. He had thought Roland was looking for trouble. The miners here were strong, but they could never beat a Mage. The man called a miner who was sitting and resting nearby to go get Red Beard, then he said obsequiously to Roland, Master Mage, would you like to go inside the house and rest for a while? No thanks, Ill just wait here. Roland waved his hand. In reality, the environment in the stone house was terriblethe overseers were not hygienic peopleand it was full of stench. This man simply offered; he didnt think that a Mage would go into such a poor house to rest. Roland stepped aside and waited for a moment. Then a red-bearded dwarf carrying a cane frame was seen coming out of the mine entrance. As he walked, he shouted unhappily, You humans are so annoying. Leaving aside not giving me a drink, now you wont even let me dig ore. Of the three most important things for dwarves, you deprive me of two! Do you want me to die of pain and sadness? The dwarfs voice was so loud that Roland felt his ears prickle when he heard it from a distance. The miner who led him out covered his ears and said helplessly, The Master Mage helped you pay for the wine money you owe, its more than one gold coin-I guess he wants you to work for him. Tsk, its not like you dont know that I hate the so-called nobles and spellcasters, all with their noses up higher than their heads. As Red Beard spoke, he saw Roland nearby. He then froze for a moment, and his expression immediately became serious. He threw down the rattan frame with many minerals in it and walked quickly to Roland. What does a strong-looking spellcaster want from a drunkard like me?. Lets talk somewhere else? Roland bobbed his head and motioned the dwarf to go to the side. The dwarf was only as tall as Rolands waist, but his shoulders were much wider than Rolands. His beard was almost all over his face, and only the rough red skin near his nose and eyes could be seen. Wilmot was hesitant. He felt that the Mage in front of him was dangerous and could kill him in minutes. It was just that the other party had already come to his door, and there was no way to avoid it. After thinking for a while, the dwarf nodded. The two of them went to the nearby woods, then Roland took the ring out from his Backpack, tossed it to the dwarf, and said, Stephanie asked me to learn from you the art of grooming beards. After hearing this, Wilmot immediately checked the ring, and after a moment, he was relieved. So its someone sent by the First Princess. Is she going to maneuver us, those who shouldnt be seen in the light? If she doesnt maneuver you, shes going to be out of the game. Roland smiled. Give me back the ring and take me to your companions all of them. Wilmot reluctantly handed the ring back to Roland. In reality, as long as he had this ring and knew their identities and spoke the password, he could command them. Wilmot also wanted this ring. It wasnt that he wanted to seize power, but simply He wanted to collect Stephanies things. No problem, but it will take time to rally them, Wilmot said. How long will it take? At least half a day. Roland nodded. Okay, then Ill wait for you to meet me at the Moonlight Stone Tavern in the evening. Wilmot suddenly brightened up. The fruit wine there is good, wont your lordship buy me a few drinks? Sure, Ill try to see if I can get a big room for all of you tonight and treat you to a good meal, how about that? As a typical Chinese man, Roland felt that the dinner party culture was a bit wasteful, but there was no denying that oftentimes, eating and drinking could really bring people closer together extremely quickly. Roland needed these people to give him information, so wouldnt it be the right thing to treat them to a nice meal and make them work harder? An emperor doesnt dispatch hungry soldiers. The alcoholic immediately got high on the idea. Your lordship is so generous. Wilmot danced a dwarven tap dance out of excitement, spinning Roland several times before he calmed down a bit, but his spirits still seemed extremely high. Good, Ill go and inform those companions. There are seventeen people, and the largest room in the Moonlight Stone Tavern should have no problem fitting over a hundred people. After he finished speaking, he bounced to the side with a gait particular to dwarfs, and with a swish, he disappeared. Then it was clear that there were bushes parting ahead and something unseen leaving quickly. A Rogue Roland was stunned. Generally, for all professionals, the system would automatically indicate their level, and if the other party was too strong, it would be indicated by a skull symbol. For example, Alfred and other higher-ups of the Red Magic Tower all had skeleton symbols in Rolands eyes. But, this Wilmot, in Rolands eyes, had no level indication and no skull symbol. Interesting! A special hidden ability that could fool the system, at the level of natural laws? The First Princess seems to have some capabilities. To be able to recruit such a person If the rest of the hidden pawns all had these kinds of special abilities, it seemed reasonable that she would become queen. Roland teleported to a remote part of the capital and then to the underground library. As soon as he appeared in the library, he felt that something was off. There were strong elements of dark magic in the air. He subconsciously activated his Magic Shield. Right as the shield spread open, a white bone spear that emitted black gas suddenly came from his right and hit Rolands Magic Shield, trembling in the air for a moment, and then bounced aside after its force and magic power were completely neutralized. Fortunately, Roland reacted quickly enough to activate his Magic Shield, otherwise, the bone spear would have pierced his skull. Roland turned his head to find a figure with black gas rolling all over its body standing in between the bookshelves about five meters to the right. The black magic wrapped around the persons entire body; it was impossible to see its face or body shape. Even its height couldnt be determined. Roland didnt hesitate to point at it, and a green Chain Lightning was sent out, instantly wrapping around the body of the black shadow. The lightning and the black smoke produced by magical elements crashed together, creating a strange magic neutralization. The lightning suddenly disappeared along with a chunk of the black smoke, and the other partys face was faintly revealed. But it was still not clear. Then a spatial magic fluctuation was produced, and the shadow suddenly disappeared. Teleportation! 517 A Beautiful Womans Vomit Is Just as Foul And there were no traces of a fierce battle in the library Besides, Roland had left complex tunnels nearby for them to escape. They were probably in the tunnels. Roland opened his great range of mental energy to sense them and indeed found them. The three of them were hiding in a small node of the tunnel The Legendary Great Swordsman had a certain degree of mental power perception, and besides, Andonara was also a Hero, so her intuition was quite high. The moment Roland sensed Andonara, Andonara also suddenly turned her head and looked in Rolands direction through the several dozen meters of earth, revealing a happy expression. She was extremely familiar with Rolands mental power. Using Andonara as a beacon, Roland directly teleported over. As soon as he appeared in the node, Roland was embraced by Andonara. After two seconds of affection, Andonara let go of Roland again. Roland glanced around and was much relieved when he found that none of the three were injured. Why are you guys hiding here? Roland asked. Did you also encounter the man who used dark magic?. enca Not one, but several, Andonara said rather unhappily. They suddenly appeared all together, frightening me, and although I cut them all in two in an instant, I discovered that they were magical replicas and immediately moved away with the others. Andonaras decision was sound. Roland reckoned that all of those magical replicas would explode, but because of Andonaras power as a Hero which came with evil dispelling, it directly purified all those dark shadows. This was why they didnt explode. Anyway, its not safe here now, lets move. Roland snapped his fingers, and the earth around them began to melt and turn into myd, and finally into a stone path; a circular tunnel about two meters high appeared on their side, stretching farther and farther. Andonara, carry Stephanie. Beatrice covered her mouth gently at the exaggerated scene before her. Roland walked ahead and the three of them followed. When they got farther away, the passage behind them automatically closed up, and a large amount of debris blocked the area again. Not knowing how far they had gone, Roland stopped and then created a large underground circular cavity with himself as the center. Were pretty safe here. Roland used his mental power to perceive the surrounding soil and geological environment and nodded his head in satisfaction. Even my mental power cant penetrate the underground library over there, so that dark Mage shouldnt be able to find us. Andonara can overwhelm him, but Im not so sure about me. I guess it would be a draw, Roland said without pretense. If it was just me and Andonara, we would naturally dare to fight him, but with you and Beatrice, our chances of winning would plummet, unless we completely ignored whether you live or die. Beatrice was an ordinary woman who knew she was a burden, so Rolands truth did not affect her at all. But Stephanie was different. She was the First Princess, and no one ever looked down on her. Now she was looked down on by Roland, and her chest rose and fell in anger. Roland saw it and averted his eyes, and clicked his tongue inwardly. It was not as expansive as Andonaras, nor was it as bouncy and vibrant as angel Nias. Andonara smiled and asked, Roland, are we going to wait here then? Roland shook his head. This place is safe for now, but it may not be that much safer. This is the first time Ive encountered a dark Mage who is so powerful, and Ive heard that their methods are very sinister, so Im not sure what other oddities to expect. Im going to move. Move to where? Stephanie sighed. They were even able to get into my basementteleport in, no less. I cant think of anywhere else thats safe but my fathers palace and the Holy Realm. Not even the Holy Realm is safe. Roland shook his head. Then where else can we go? Lets go to Hollevin, Roland said after some thought. Andonara was surprised. Didnt you say that you didnt want Stephanie to know about multiple teleportation? Under such circumstances, the only thing that could move people to the country of Hollevin, which was 7,000 to 8,000 kilometers away, in a short period was Rolands special skill. Roland smiled. Its fine. I suddenly realized that this might be a good investment too. Stephanie looked at the two of them suspiciously, completely unable to understand what they were talking about. Roland also ignored her and directly took the magic materials out of his Backpack, and spent more than half an hour drawing a magic array. Stephanie leaned against the wall, watching Roland work. She had seen many magic arrays, but this was the first time she had seen such an odd one. Other peoples magic arrays were all circular. But Rolands magic array was in the shape of a rugby ball. This magic array is so unique! Stephanie was captivated. Roland actually felt quite embarrassed. He also wanted to draw a circular magic array, but he had no art skills, and couldnt even draw a circle well, and when he drew it, it ended up crooked. In reality, the shape of the magic array didnt impact the effect of the magic array. Just like a circuit board, square or round, as long as all the parts were there and the wires werent connected wrongly, even if it was an amoeba-shaped circuit board, it wouldnt hinder it from functioning properly. The same was true for a magic array. Come in, Roland said to them calmly. Andonara carried Stephanie directly into the magic array. Beatrice stood by Rolands side. And Roland immediately placed Body Fortification on Beatrice, who was a little stunned. Then Roland activated the magic array. After a flash of white light, the four of them disappeared and the magic array destroyed itself, turning into basic magical elements. Roland didnt want other people to see what the magic array looked like. Long-Distance Teleportation wasnt instantaneous, but required a certain amount of time; after all, space had to be folded. Depending on the distance, the time varied. About three minutes later, the four of them appeared in a remote area outside of the city of Delpon. As soon as Beatrice appeared, she collapsed on the ground, her face frighteningly white. She was, after all, an ordinary person, and even with Body Fortification, the burden of Long-Distance Teleportation was still a bit too much for her. But this was to her benefit! When she passed out, she naturally did not suffer from extreme nausea. Passing out itself was a measure to protect humans from too much pain and suffering. But not for Stephanie, and as soon as they teleported out, Andonara threw her onto the grass and jumped to the side. As expected, Stephanie began to vomit wildly. At only level four, she could barely maintain consciousness, but she couldnt counteract the negative effects. She fell to her knees, covered her stomach, and vomited up a mushy, sour-smelling mess. Roland and Andonara subconsciously took another step back. After vomiting for nearly ten minutes, Stephanie finally felt better. She stood up, looked around, and then stared at Roland, her eyes terrifyingly bright. You actually teleported us all out. Where is this place? She now knew why Andonaras words had sounded so odd earlier. The country of Hollevin, the city of Delpon, Andonara replied. Now, even if her foot hadnt fully regenerated, she stood up desperately, jumped on one foot over to Roland, tugged at his lapel, glared at him with her beautiful eyes, and said fiercely, This is a multiple teleportation magic array? It is, isnt it? As a future queen candidate, Stephanie was not very competent in magic, but she had some basic knowledge. The emergence of the multiple teleportation array could be extremely beneficial militarily, politically, and even economically, and what it meant, she knew quite well without having to think about it. It was not surprising that she reacted this way. The country that mastered the multiple teleportation array would hold the power of initiative. She already knew about it and had even experienced firsthand what it was like to teleport with multiple people, but still instinctively couldnt believe that fact. Such a technique hadnt been developed by more than a dozen Legendary Mages in the Fareins Kingdom, but it was mastered by a young man from a small country who had not even reached Master. It was ridiculous and terrifying. She shouted excitedly, but Roland leaned back subconsciously. Stephanie had just thrown up, and her mouth still had some stomach acid residue, full of a sour stench, and as she spoke, it was like being hit with a poisonous gas attack. Seeing Rolands disgusted expression, Stephanie was furious, but she then also smelled the stench that spewed out of her mouth. The nausea itself had not even completely gone away, and once she smelled the stench, her stomach acid bubbled up again, and she turned around abruptly and fell to her knees to vomit on the ground. A beautiful girls feces couldnt possibly be fragrant, nor could their vomit. Stephanie vomited for another ten minutes until there were strands of blood in the bile before she stopped. Feeble, Stephanie was no longer in the mood to question Roland. She sat down on the ground, hugging her legs, and eased her breathing. Vomiting was too painful. It took half an hour before she could stand up slowly. When Beatrice still did not wake up, Andonara picked her up and threw her over her left shoulder like a sack. Then with the other hand, she supported Stephanie and led her slowly in the direction of the city gates. Roland was standing behind them. It looked like Roland was doing nothing. She was doing all the work while he was walking leisurely without giving a hand. But in reality, Andonara would like nothing more. If Roland took the initiative to get close to another woman, Andonara wouldnt have a problem with it as long as he didnt abandon her. But this didnt mean that Andonara wouldnt, intentionally or unintentionally, stop other women from getting close to Roland. Everyone had some desire for exclusivity. It was still a long way from the city gate, and after walking for a while, Stephanie felt much better and less nauseous than before. She asked Andonara, Why didnt you tell me earlier that Roland knew the multiple teleportation array? Were good friends. Andonara said matter-of-factly, A good friend is not as important as my own man! Originally, Stephanie was still a bit bitter, but when she heard this, she was so furious that she didnt even want to talk to Andonara. Of course, the grudging bitterness was gone. 518 You Dont See the Big Picture And as if to express her sincerity and determination, Stephanie continued, Of course, not the kind of noble who only has a title and no real power. When the time comes, I will give you a third of my territory and give you all the rights of the Grand Duke, such as the basic right of conscription, the basic territorial law autonomy, and even the right to wage war. This was already pure lordship treatment. In addition to the title of Grand Duke, as long as Rolands ability wasnt too bad, he would be a rising star of the high noble class in Fareins. The blindingly bright kind. Normally, no one would refuse such a gift if they were young. Even if it was a member of the royal family, most of them would be overjoyed when this happened, and then fall over and call out Long live Her Majesty! However, Roland was not very interested. Not that he was completely uninterested, he was just slightly touched. After all, Stephanie was offering a really, really good deal. But after seeing Mordenkainens floating city, Roland had little interest in the territory on the ground. No matter how big your land was, it would still be fixed in one place. Could it come and go and be as convenient as the floating city? It didnt matter how high the nobles sat; at most, they would have the title of king or queen. They would still be mortal. But once the floating city was built, even if it was small, it meant something different. It would be moving in the direction of transcendence. This was why Roland was indeed a little touched but still didnt quite care. Andonara knew Roland too well, and when she heard Stephanies words, she smiled and said, This condition of yours will work for others, but not for him. Promising him a large library is better than all this power youre using to entice him. He just wants knowledge? Stephanie leaned on Andonara, her body still weak. Power and influence you dont like, Roland, what about beauty? Now Andonara was not happy. What do you mean? Stephanies reaction was also extremely quick, and she immediately said, Dont worry, Im just testing him for you. Dont do that. Andonara stopped and looked at Stephanie very seriously. Human nature cannot bear to be tested, understand? When she spoke, her eyes were grudging and even a little bit murderous. Stephanie felt a chill inside, and she immediately nodded her head. Seeing her concede, Andonara was quite satisfied and said, We are good friends, this is Delpon, and I am the mistress of this placedont worry, you will be safe and happy here. The small country of Hollevin and the small city of Delpon were of no interest to Stephanie. But there was no problem in taking refuge here. Stephanie leaned against Andonara and slowly walked forward, as she asked Roland, Before, you had been unwilling to show me the secret of the multiple teleportation array, but now you are willing to do so, and you even said you would investwhat deal do you want to make with me? Because I suddenly feel that it would be good for me if you became queen. Roland smiled and said, The underground library of a princess like you already has a good collection of books, so the royal library, which is on a par with the Grand Library of Light, should also have many good books, right? It is said that that place is only open to the royal family, so if you become the queen, you should be able to let me in for a long time, right? Thats why you revealed the secret of your multiple teleportation magic array! Stephanie looked at Roland incredulously. Do you know what this secret means? Roland nodded. I think I should know better than you the importance of transportation in making a profit and the significance of smooth transportation to war strategy. Although you are a queen, I should be better than you in other comprehensive qualities, except for the education of etiquette and human affairs. Roland said this with great conviction. It was just like he said; except for the elusive matters of the upper class, in his mastery of other areas of study, after nearly twenty years of systematic education, Roland, both in terms of the breadth and depth of knowledge, completely overwhelmed the First Princess. Stephanie didnt argue. She frowned. Then why did you expose it Just for some books? Just for books. Roland nodded. The amount of knowledge determines the upper limit of a Mages growth. I can give you the territory and get you into the library. These things dont conflict. But with a territory, I wont have as much time to study. By this time they had reached the outside of Delpon, and the Magic Tower could be seen from afar. I have my forces, but I find that just maintaining a small organization like this takes up a lot of my study time, and with another territory, the status of a Grand Duke, and a high position of power, even if I dont manage anything, trouble will still come to me. Stephanie took a hard look at Roland and didnt try to persuade him. It was not that shed given up, but that shed put the issue aside for the time being. A young Mage who could draw a multiple teleportation magic array was worth spending a lot of energy and time on to show favor and rope in. The three of them were silent all the way back to their manor in Delpon. Vivian, who received the news, rushed from the Magic Tower and then hugged Roland hard, refusing to let go. Andonara was considerate enough to give the two of them space to be alone. After all, Andonara had been by Rolands side all this time. In contrast, Vivian not only had to stay in Delpon but also had to manage the Magic Tower, as well as all the affairs of the magic academy. Although Vivian had no complaints about it and even enjoyed it a bit, she was still a girl under twenty and would feel lonely not being able to see her lover for so long. The two of them spent the night alone, and the next day, Vivian went back to handling the Magic Towers affairs in a radiant state. Roland was a little tired and slept until almost noon before he got up from the bed. Coming into the living room, he found that Andonara and Stephanie had already finished eating As soon as Roland sat down, Stephanie said, Getting up so late, you dont seem to be that diligent. Roland smiled and didnt say anything. Everyone took breaks. Roland understood the principle of combining work and rest. But there was no point in quarreling with a woman over such trivial matters, so she could say whatever she liked. Andonara went back to the kitchen and took out the fried egg and a glass of milk she had left for Roland. When Roland ignored her, Stephanie frowned and asked, How long are you going to keep me here and when are you going to send me back!? Roland took a sip of warm milk. Not until Schuck and I figure things out. Stephanie looked displeased. Youre putting me under house arrest? Roland put down his cup and raised his eyebrows. House arrest? Your Highness the First Princess, although we are acquainted and considered close, you are always so suspicious; it is really difficult for our relationship to be harmonious. But you wont tell me when youll let me return to the capital, and if thats not house arrest, then whatre you doing!? Roland sighed. I thought you were a princess and had been hanging around the upper noble class for years, so you should be quite smart. In the end, youre only a little smart; you dont see the situation clearly at all. Those words were somewhat sarcastic. Stephanie was extremely annoyed after hearing this, and her face was much darker. However, she didnt lose her temper, and instead just endured her anger and asked, What do you mean by that? Regarding this matter, there are only three parties involved now, Roland explained somewhat helplessly. The royal family, the Temple of Light, and the Association of Mages. Stephanie sneered, Who doesnt know that? But you fail to understand the attitudes of these three parties. Roland cut the plate of fried eggs into three portions and pushed one of them in Stephanies direction. You represent the royal family, I represent the Association of Mages, and Schuck represents the Temple of Light. Stephanie was tempted to say, Anyone can see this, and you can cut the crap. But she still decided to listen patiently and see what Roland had to say. Logically, most people can imagine how strong these three parties are united. No matter how powerful the enemy is, they should have been discovered by now. But the parties arent investigating and only pushing the three of us to work! Roland sliced the omelet into a dozen pieces. Schuck and I are both Golden Sons and will not die, so there is no problem with how we do things. I think that the Association of Mages has the idea of training me to do things on my own, and the same goes for Schuckthe pope agreed with Schucks idea of forming an investigation team but stopped helping. Isnt that obvious? As for you Stephanie understood what Roland meant. Then her whole body went cold. Sometimes there were blindsides in vision and ideas, and one couldnt change their mind just because they were involved in the situation. Stephanie now understood that Roland and Schuck were both just out to play and that she was the only one who was fighting for her life. Only she was being tested and watched! So, its you whos really at risk. The nobles of the entire capital have only wanted to watch you all along, to see your ability to handle things, to see your ability to socialize, to see your luck, whether you are qualified to be a queen or not. Roland finished his omelet and said slowly, So, the nobles are watching, the Temple of Light is watching, and even the Association of Mages, where an important figure has died, is watching. A cold sweat broke out on Stephanies forehead, each drop the size of a soybean. It was as if she saw three illusory giants in the air of this world, staring at her. Each of the giants had a scrutinizing gleam in their eyes. It was as if they were looking at a little sow struggling desperately to escape from a chopping board. Among the three superpowers, two of them, the Temple of Light and the Association of Mages, had already chosen the future core figures of their organization. The only one who hadnt even completed their exam was the First Princess. 519 Highly Capable Pawns Living under someone elses roof. And she was underestimated. When would she be able to truly have her own power, truly stand up and be able to confront other powers head-on, and not be afraid of them? With this regret, Stephanie looked at Roland with some annoyance, but she could not say anything. Because what Roland said was the truth. She was just so upset; why did Roland target her so much and treat Andonara so well? Would it kill him to say some kind words to her? He wasnt gentlemanly at all. Roland ignored her, finished his breakfast, and then said, Im leaving first. Andonara, stay here to protect the First Princess. Okay. Andonara nodded, and then said grudgingly, Come back early, not once every month or two like you used to. Roland promised, and even went over to Andonara and gave her a gentle hug, saying, Dont worry, as soon as Im free, Ill use teleportation to come back and see you, okay? Andonara was so happy with Rolands reply that she looked like a delighted little girl who got a birthday present. Stephanie felt that she had received an inexplicable mental blow. Her mouth was bitter as if it had been stuffed with something. Then Roland left, and Andonara smiled at Stephanie and said, Ill take you to meet some new friends and have afternoon tea. Dont say youre the First Princess, it wont be good if my friends get scared. Afternoon tea! Although quite worried about the situation in Fareins, Stephanie unconsciously had something to look forward to when she heard that she could have afternoon tea with new friends. But then she immediately noticed that something was wrong. She was obviously worried about the situation in Fareins and taking advantage of this time in safety to plan what she should do when she returned to Fareins, how she should develop her power, how she should deal with the problems from her fathers side, what her first new government should be after becoming queen, and so on These were the problems she should be considering. Now all she could think about was having afternoon tea with other people. When did I become like this? In just these past few days? Something didnt seem right about this. Stephanie sunk into deep thought. Why had she changed so? Another problem surfaced. At that moment, a bewildered Beatrice came down from upstairs, led by a maidservant. She looked at Stephanie and Andonara, and her confused expression finally changed to one of delight. Wonderful, you are both here, First Princess and Lady Andonara. Beatrice almost cried. I thought I had been brought home as a slave girl by some nobleman. Beatrice was about to eat her breakfast when she said, Lady Andonara, I am Master Rolands woman now, and I will not betray him. Andonara frowned. She didnt know what to make of this woman anymore. When Roland left just now, he didnt say what this womans identity was. But based on Andonaras understanding of Roland, this woman was definitely not a lover Roland had found. Then she would treat her as a more distinguished guest for now. Well talk about that later. Andonara smiled. Were going to meet some friends to have afternoon tea with us later, you should come along too. Beatrice knew that Andonara was Rolands woman, and as his lover, it was necessary to have a good relationship with his lady. She agreed immediately. All right, Lady Andonara. Meanwhile, Roland had teleported to the capital of Fareins and then arrived at the entrance of the Moonlight Stone Tavern. Before he even entered, he heard a voice from behind him. Mr. Roland, you seem to have stood us up. Roland turned back and saw the dwarf with a big red beard standing less than two meters away from him. In this position, with the other party being a Rogue, if they didnt make a sound and attacked directly, Roland would be killed. In the game, players didnt fear death. But what if he wasnt a player and couldnt come back from the dead? It seemed that when he was outside, he had to keep his Magic Shield half-activated at all times. These thoughts spun in Rolands mind, then he said, Sorry, I didnt mean to stand you up, but the First Princess was attacked last night, and we spent a lot of time trying to move her to a safe place. See I rushed over here after it was over. In reality, last night, Roland had been playing a game of in and out hide-and-seek with Vivian. He had so much fun that he forgot about it and only remembered it when he was having breakfast in the morning. Then the first thing he did when he came to the capital was to find him and apologize. If you say so. The dwarf Wilmot waved his short, fat hand and he yelled at the top of his lungs, Most importantly, how should you compensate me for my feelings? You know, last night I was looking forward to a night of drinking wine, but I waited all night, and only the evening breeze kept me company. Sir, you have cheated me of my pure and innocent feelings. Are all dwarves so pompous? Roland thought for a moment and said, Why dont we start drinking now? Call your brothers, and well drink all day. Really? Wilmot tap-danced on the spot again. But its going to be a lot of money. Roland laughed. We Mages, were all quite rich. Good, then you get a private room in the tavern first, and Ill go get my brothers. Roland nodded. He turned around and immediately booked the whole Moonlight Stone Tavern for ten gold coins, drinks included. Soon, the dwarf Wilmot came with a group of men. Roland counted thirty-one people. The group was a very mixed composition of men, women, and children, and all of them looked very distinctive. For example, an old woman who had severe buck teeth and ate as if she were a reincarnated starving ghost. A fierce, bald man with only one eye. A hunchbacked old man who walked with a cane but moved fast, as if he were flying. A pretty young woman with a golden nose ring. Wait! Roland really couldnt see Wilmot the red-bearded dwarfs level. However, the levels of all the others, Roland could see. They were generally between levels five and twelve. In other words, there were no particularly weak people in this group. This group of people was quite polite. Every person who entered the tavern, under Wilmots introduction, took the initiative to reveal their identity and abilities to Roland. Not a single one concealed anything. Then the revelry began, and the group of people mingled with each other, sparring over drinks and pigging out. But after they drank for a while, one of them would leave. Roland did not stop them. By noon, Roland and the dwarf were the only ones left in the tavern. You are a good man, much better than the First Princess. You are generous, willing to spend money on us subordinates, and your eyes dont yet have the First Princesss expression of looking at people as if they were inferior insects. Red Beard took a large wooden cup and drank slowly. All of us hidden pawns have approved of you. If they acknowledged me, why did they leave one by one? Roland was confused. Wilmot smiled. All of them went to find information. Whether we approve of someone or not, we dont need to talk about it, we just need to act. Actually, Im a little curious. I can see that all of you are quite capable, but if you dont like the First Princess very much, why are you willing to be taken in by her? The question seemed a little harsh to the dwarf, and then, after a moment, he said, Because the First Princess, among the nobles, is relatively better. Roland understood. When all the options sucked, you could only choose the one that didnt look so bad. Every one of us is a wanted criminal, and it was the First Princess who valued our abilities and took the bounty off our backs. The dwarf smiled. Since you know the First Princess, you will find out about these things sooner or later. The First Princess knows that we are not that loyal to her, so we are just hidden pawns that havent been used since we were established. Roland realized something. She doesnt trust you. The dwarf laughed. Isnt that normal? Among those big shots in high places, who would trust us? Roland didnt pick up on this, because he didnt fully trust these people either. This was obvious, and who would be foolish enough to trust a group of people theyve only known for less than half a day? At this time, the dwarf was no longer as happy as he was when he was drinking and bickering, but he sat beside Roland and said indifferently, You are a Golden Son and the focus of the Red Magic Tower. According to our judgment, your future status may be much higher than the First Princesss, and you may even become the future Great Elder of the Red Magic Tower. Roland waved his hand. Your intelligence is quite impressive, and you investigated me so quickly. The Red Magic Tower did invest some resources in me, but its not as exaggerated as you say. We hyenas at the lower rung are most sensitive to the atmosphere of the city, said the dwarf. When we looked into your matter, we found that all the forces in the capital had hidden their fangs, and at first we thought it was because the enemies you wanted us to look into were too strong, but then we discovered that it wasnt that at allit was the forces that didnt want to move at all. This simply refreshed our outlook. This group of people was quite impressive, truly impressive. Both in their abilities and their view of the larger picture. It was a pity that the First Princess took these people under her wing, but didnt use them. Dont worry, since all the forces dont want to move, then in this situation, the people who move around are highly suspicious. I reckon that in less than a day, well be able to find some clues for you. Just as the dwarf said this, an old hunchback came in from outside the tavern. Roland had even toasted him before. 520 If You Dont Have a Chance, Create One There werent more people, but there was double the consumption, and many maidservants were missing. There was obviously something fishy going on. Amazing, as expected of a professional. Roland was quite impressed. He and Schuck had scurried around for half a day, and even the angel Nia had come, but their search for the enemy was still aimless, like they were headless flies buzzing around randomly. Did this mean that all three of them were stupid? Of course not, everyone had their specialties. Roland played with magic. Schuck was highly charismatic and, as a Saint Samurai, would obviously be a leader in the future. As for Nia, an angel who has lived in the divine realm for a long time, it would be strange if she knew of these human knacks. Exposing them to an unfamiliar line of work and with no one to teach them, of course they would end up doing twice the work for half the result. The hidden pawns who were quite capable but were at the bottom of the social ladder were best suited for intelligence work. Its a pity that the First Princess didnt take you seriously. Roland sighed. Its obvious that youre all good at what you do. The red-bearded dwarf took another sip of wine. Those high and mighty nobles dont care about insignificant people like us. Wilmot shook his head and laughed helplessly, then took another sip of fruit wine, his expression full of bitterness. Take it. Roland handed Red Beard a small bag of gold coins. Here are the operating funds. Wilmot thought Roland had given him a bag of silver coins. After he took it, he subconsciously tossed it, and then he froze. As a dwarf, Wilmot had a strong intuition, which was a racial talent, about metals. Dwarfs could even know what kind of ore they had dug up, and even the purity of the ore, just by hearing the sound of the pickaxe striking the ore. This was why when he tossed the bag and heard the jingle of the coins, it was immediately clear to him. There were twenty gold coins! Thats too much. The dwarf jumped up in excitement, his little feet bouncing nine meters high. This is gold, not silver. Did you give me the wrong bag? He looked like he had never seen money before. Wilmot was embarrassed and said, Those are the members we recruited on our own, they are all poor, please excuse me. Thats because you guys dont want to use your abilities to make money in a crooked way. When these people were eating and drinking wildly in the private booth, Roland could see that they were all poor people who did not have enough to eat. Otherwise, they wouldnt be drinking like starving ghosts that had reincarnated. It was no wonder that these people, who were all quite capable, lived such shabby lives. The dwarf was stunned, for Rolands words had touched his heart. Indeed, every one of them had some ability, not great, but not bad either. But why didnt they use this skill to earn a living? The old hunchback, for example, was clearly a highly-skilled thief, but he still chose to watch the door for commoners, making a little money that could barely fill his stomach and keep him from starving to death. In reality, if the old hunchback wanted to, he could make a lot of money. Every hidden pawn had lived a miserable life, and the reason for their misery had a lot to do with their abilities. Therefore, the hidden pawns were not very interested in using their abilities to make money. Unless they could find someone to shelter them. The First Princess was their common choice, except that she was willing to help them get away with their crimes, but wasnt willing to use them. This made them feel helpless and even a little lost. And now, the right to use the hidden pawns fell into Rolands hands. A Mage who was generous, patient, and seemed to understand the suffering of commoners. It would probably be good to follow such a master. At least he could shelter them. It would also allow them to use their abilities. Excited for a while, the dwarf held the money bag in one hand before he said, How nice it would be if you were the husband of the First Princess. Wilmot knew very well that Roland only had the power to use the hidden pawns for the time being, and sooner or later they would return to the side of the First Princess. But if Roland was the First Princesss husband, it would be different, and they would be able to work for him with no mental barriers. Serving her husband was the same as serving her. Roland smiled and waved his hand. The First Princess doesnt like a little Mage from a remote country like me. The dwarf observed Rolands expression for a moment, shrugged his shoulders, and laughed lightly. Its you who despises her, isnt it? The pride of a famed Mage is much more severe than that of a noble. Roland was rather puzzled. He didnt understand how the other party had come to this conclusion. Tying the money bag to his belt, the red-bearded dwarf wiped his mouth and quickly became sober. Dwarves didnt get drunk; they only got drunk because they felt the need to get drunk sometimes. They could express their emotions through the false impression of being drunk. Happiness, disappointment, joy, inspiration, sadness, and so on. If they could fake being drunk, they could naturally become sober. The dwarf walked away, fast like Shaolin Popey[1]. Roland paid for the room and then teleported to Stephanies underground library again. It was so quiet that no sound could be heard from the ground, and here, without some noise made by others, one could even hear ones heartbeat. Roland walked around the place and didnt find anything special. There was also nothing incongruous like dark elements in the air. Although there were no clues to be found, Roland wasnt disappointed and just teleported away since this place couldnt be inhabited anymore. The other party could also teleport, so if they showed up when he was resting, even if he could win, he would be quite frightened. It wouldnt be good for his health. Roland found a hotel in the capital and was trying to figure out how to get in touch with the hidden pawns when someone immediately came to his door. The old woman with the buck teeth. When she saw Roland, she immediately said, Master Mage, we have confirmed that there is indeed something wrong with the Pine Needle family. Roland asked the old woman to sit down, but the old woman refused. He had no choice but to give up and asked, Wheres the problem? That brat Wild Dog, with his keen sense of smell, has found the group of missing maids. The old womans face was full of sorrow. They were all buried in a big pitthey died horribly. Roland slowly stood up. How many maids died? At least forty. So many people are dead and no one cares? said Roland furiously, out of instinct. He had brought the habits of modern society with him. In China, not to mention the death of forty people, the death of four people at the same time was a big deal. Half of the police in the whole city would have to be mobilized, and then the city leaders might all be held accountable. But then he remembered that this world was not so friendly and peaceful. He sat down slowly and asked, Those forty or so maids were slaves of the Pine Needle family? I believe so. There really isnt a single commoner? Roland asked. The old womans eyes grew bright. Master Mage, you dont mean? We need to find a reason to start trouble, otherwise how can we work. The old woman nodded repeatedly. I understand, Master Mage, just wait here for our good news. Then the old woman also hurried away. Roland, on the other hand, sat in the hotel, browsing the forum. When it was almost evening, the old woman came again, and she was followed by four downcast-looking men. An old man, a young man, and two middle-aged men. Master Mage, these four men are our people in disguise. They are all quite clever, and if you are looking for a reason, they will cooperate with you. Roland immediately felt that the hidden pawns were quite smart. He only mentioned the idea, and they had already made preparations based on his suggestion. Then lets go! Half an hour later, Roland followed the four men to the northern suburbs, and a few others quietly put several bodies covered with gray linen cloth near the entrance of the manor. The four men arrived at the location, dragged the four corpses directly to the entrance of the manor, and then howled and cried. Oh daughter, how come youre gone all of a sudden? Didnt you say you had good food and a good life here every day? Who killed you, who was it!? Oh sister, you died so terribly, even your face is gone, ahhhhh! A burst of crying, with grief-stricken complaints, soon reached the manor. It wasnt long before a private army of about twenty men came out, and was about to use force to drive the four men away when the leader of the private army noticed that there was a Mage in front of them. This honorable Mage, may I ask if you are here to see our master? You could say that, but instead of me meeting him, have him meet me. The leader of the private army looked a little hesitant. The Pine Needle family was the house of a marquis, and this manor belonged to the Fifth Young Master. The Fifth Young Master was tyrannical and would beat people at every turn. Many of the maidservants were dead. Logically, he should drive them away immediately, or else the Fifth Young Master would surely be enraged and then kill him when he heard these cries. But the man in front of him, wearing a magic robe, was not someone to be messed with. What should he do? Anxious, the leader of the private army was sweating profusely. But just when he was in a dilemma, a frivolous male voice rang out. Who is it? How dare you come here to cause trouble. The leader of the private army immediately made way for a young man in blue attire who slowly walked over. He looked at the four men who were crying their hearts out and showed his disdain. Then he returned his attention to Roland and frowned. This honorable Mage, did you bring these people here? Yes. Roland smiled. These people were sharecroppers under my name, but now they tell me that their daughters, sisters, and other relatives are nowhere to be found. Although they have been found now, the people are dead. Im curious, why did you kill all the maidservants from the first batch and replace them with a second batch? The young man raised his eyebrows. Youre not royalty, its none of your business! 521 You Cant Get Away With This Wasnt it normal for a nobleman to kill a dozen or so of his slaves? This was the rule, this was the law. This was why the young man in front of him was so confident. Even if a famous Mage came to his door, he dared to curse at them. It was true that Mages were powerful, but nobles all had a few Mages protecting their estate nowadays. Besides, he knew all the powerful Mages in the capital. This little Mage in front of him was probably not a big deal, so there was no need to concede. As the young man arrogantly walked out, Roland smiled and said, Even if Im not royalty, I still want to meddle. After all, youre stepping over me. What do you mean by that? The young man stopped behind the gate of the manor, looked at Roland through the gaps in the iron gate, and said, And who the hell are you? At this point, this young man already had a scrupulous look on his face. Because he was followed by three Mages. He had no idea, but the Mages behind him could tell Rolands magical capacity was almost touching the edge of a Legend, and such a Mage was simply not an ordinary person. One of the Mages warned the young man in his ear, and then the young mans attitude was much less aggressive. Roland swept a glance at the three Mages. All of them were level five, just having reached Elite, and their magic power fluctuations were not obvious, so they werent strong at all. My name is Roland, and Im here to settle the score for my household servants. A very plain tone, even with a slight smile. Such an attitude was not at all a genuine attempt to settle a score, but rather to pick a fight. The young mans expression changed slightly. Roland then asked, Are you the owner of this manor? I am. The anger on the young mans face slowly subsided, and his tone became calm. This honorable Mage, is there something I have done to offend you in the past? If so, Ill apologize to you right here. Roland turned his head sideways and indicated the four crying men beside him. Didnt I say that these women were my familys servants relatives? They died for no apparent reason, so I had to come and ask about the situation. Seeing that Roland drew attention to them, the four men immediately cried even louder. Oh sister, you died so tragically. Oh daughter, you havent even gotten married or had children yet, its too soon, too pitiful. The young mans face soured into a greenish-blue shade. These four peoples cries were so fake, how could he not know that these people were just acting. Sir, youre here to mess with me, right? He felt his intelligence had been insulted and stared Roland dead in the face. The lives of a few commoners are worth your time against an earls son? Roland stretched out his finger and gently touched the iron door. The iron door turned red at an extremely fast speed, then became liquid metal dripping onto the ground. Sizzle. The hot air twisted between the two parties. Stop it. Im willing to pay, said the young man, enduring his anger. Roland shook his head. Whats your name? Buschdomin Pine Needle. Ill compensate with a large amount of gold to these womens families. The young mans eyes swept gloomily past the crying men, then returned to Roland. Consider it a favor from the Pine Needle family. In the future, we can take care of each other if anything happens. The lives of these maidservants can indeed be repaid with gold coins. Upon hearing this, Buschdomin looked pleased. The lives of a few maidservants, no matter how expensive they were, were at most twenty to thirty gold coins. He could afford it. However, Roland continued with a smile and said, But I also have a dozen or so servants daughters or sisters who used to work for you, but have now disappeared, so I ask you to hand them all over. Rolands smile had a mocking edge to it that was quite unpleasant to look at. Buschdomins hostility finally couldnt be repressed anymore. He knew very well where the previous batch of maids had gone. Now, he stared at Roland viciously. Mage, dont be shameless! We, the Pine Needle family, also have Legendary Mages keeping watch. What does that have to do with me? Roland said to Buschdomin. It seems that you dont want to hand them over, so Ill go in and find out for myself. Dont you dare! Buschdomin was roaring through gritted teeth, his expression quite twisted. Roland raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Stop him. As Buschdomin stepped back, he said to the three Mages and a group of guards, Ill be responsible for anything that happens. You cant bear the responsibility, Young Master Pine Needle. None of the Mages moved forward to attack; instead, they were all slowly backing up with Bushdomin. Hes Roland. If my information is correct, hes the creator of the water-making and oil-making spells. And the Red Magic Tower and the Association of Mages seem to be focused on cultivating and protecting him. Another Mage continued, We are all members of the Association of Mages, so theres no way we can do anything to him. In between the words, the three Mages retreated far away, and then also gave Roland a slight salute, indicating that they would not participate in this farce. Roland also nodded, expressing his gratitude. Seeing that the three Mages instantly rebelled, Bushdomin roared, You traitors, eating whats mine, using whats mine, and in the end! That doesnt sound right, Mr. Buschdomin. The third Mage smiled and said, The one who trained us, taught us, and turned us into Mages is the Association of Mages, not the Pine Needle family. We only have a contractual relationship, and even before we were hired, we already said that we would not go against the Association of Mages. Buschdomin pointed at Roland and said furiously, But he cant represent the Association of Mages. Thats hard to say. Listening to the three Mages who stood farther and farther away and even seemed to be watching on, Bushdomin was so furious that his body was shaking. He had never seen such shameless people before, more shameless than those from his own family. All right, Bushdomin, please get out of the way, Roland said with a rather obnoxious smile. Buschdomin laughed in exasperation. So what if I dont move aside? Are you going to kill me? Thats not necessary. Roland snapped his fingers, and Ice Ring was instantaneously released, freezing Buschdomins legs on the ground After that, he waved his hand and let the men, who were pretending to cry, leave with the bodies of the maidservants. He then walked around Buschdomin, who was staring him dead in the face, and entered the manor. Struggling to escape with all his strength, he was still frozen in place and could not turn around, so he could only roar, Roland, you bastard! We, the Pine Needle family, will not let you go, and will use your blood to wash away the humiliation our family has suffered. Roland was unmoved and walked out into the garden. He was just using the death of the maids as a catalyst for a ploy to force his way in and search. His vast mental power unfolded, and when he was in the middle of the garden, it was just enough to envelop the entire manor within his mental field. It was far more convenient to use the mental field as a means of exploration than to search with the naked eye. Roland closed his eyes as the seconds passed. On the surface of the manor, there was nothing noteworthy. But when Roland probed with his mental power into the ground, he soon encountered a large, smooth dome that isolated all mental threads. This was a peculiar sensation that only occurred when mental energy touched a magic barrier. Theres something underground. Roland opened his eyes after he muttered to himself. He snapped his fingers three times, and under the effect of Rock to Mud, a huge hole appeared and the mud shifted outward by itself. In a few moments, the hole opened up to a diameter of eight meters and a depth of two meters. Then a gray layer of magical barrier could be seen. Dark magic. Roland fired a Chain Lightning, resulting in nothing at all from the boundary, just a faint ripple. The barrier was hard. Roland was going to try another spell, but suddenly, a strong and eerie mental power penetrated the barrier and locked on to him. Although it was only locked onto him, the others could feel it too. The three Mages immediately slipped away, running as fast as they could. They could feel that this dark mental power was deeply malicious. Roland frowned and was considering whether to evacuate the maidservants and guards in the manor, but then he saw many black striped mental threads sticking out from the barrier, densely packed, like black worms squirming in the stinking gutter. The boundary then shrank and disappeared with a whoosh and a person whose entire body was wrapped in dark magic elements and whose appearance and physical features were not visible appeared and slowly rose. Roland recognized his magical fluctuations and noted that it was the black figure who had gotten into a fight with him the day before at Stephanies house. Its you again, Roland. The black shadows voice was strange, rather hoarse, but carried a metallic echo, unlike anything a human could produce. Wouldnt it be nice if we minded our own business? Roland, however, was not willing to chit-chat with him, and first snapped his fingers several times. In the air around them, several transparent chains appeared out of nowhere, looking a bit tattered and easily broken. They hooked directly into the surrounding soil. This was the famed Dimensional Anchor. This was a level four-spell, given by Tobian. Normally, this spell could only be learned after reaching Master and having a great understanding of spatial magic. But Roland had Spatial Specialization, and so this spell was considered a level-three spell that he was already able to learn. It was still a struggle to learn, and the Dimensional Anchor could be successfully cast, but the anchoring space was a bit small and the strength of it was a bit low. Roland originally didnt want to use this move, but there was no other way; the other party could also teleport, and without first forbidding spatial magic, the other party would definitely run away. Seeing the appearance of the Dimensional Anchor, the black figure was silent for a moment, and those black threads suddenly came at Roland. Each one of them was like a black javelin. Roland had no way to move instantly, and Mages didnt have many evasion abilities, so he could only open his Magic Shield to counter the damage. Just after blocking all the black threads with the shield, Roland saw that the black figure had fled to the back of the manor. He was very fast! Roland, however, was faster. 522 Youre So Fas Looking at the sixteen huge blue Hands of Magic, the black figure stopped moving. He didnt care about an ordinary Hand of Magic. A huge Hand of Magic, he didnt care about either. But when sixteen huge Hands of Magic surrounded him in a semicircle, he had to be careful. No matter what kind of magic, as long as the original power wasnt weak, multiplying it by sixteen would have a mighty result. Besides, this Hand of Magic was the result of a special modification. After the black figure stilled, he quickly began to cast. But Roland wouldnt wait for him to finish casting his spell; this wasnt a turn-based game. He snapped his fingers and fired a Prismatic Spray the size of a basin right at his opponents back. The black figures reaction was quite fast, and as he felt the magic power at his back coalesce at a very fast speed, he subconsciously dodged to the side. Although Mages were not as strong as Warriors, they were much more agile than normal people. The jet of Prismatic Spray grazed the edge of the dark magic layer, taking away a large chunk of the dark magic. The dark elements of the opponents body were temporarily swept away, revealing half of his body. It was a somewhat muscular male body a bit strange in color. It was a pale blue and seemed to have little vitality. And then Roland also saw the mans face, the face of a young man, blond and blue-eyed. It turned out he was naked-no wonder he had to wrap himself in magical elements. Couldnt he just put on a shirt? While Roland was confused, the man looked around and realized that he was completely surrounded by sixteen Hands of Magic. And, he was facing a powerful Mage who could instantly cast powerful spells. Teleportation was restricted and there was almost no way to escape. Roland, youre quite impressive. When this man spoke, the expression on his cheeks was quite stiff, as if he couldnt quite control it. Why do you want to help that disgusting, vicious woman, Stephanie! When speaking of Stephanie, the mans tone of voice showed a clear hatred. Arrogant and uncaring she may be, but I dont see the disgusting cruelty you speak of at all. Roland chuckled. You seem to know her well. Who are you to her? The man on the other side simply scattered the dark magical elements from his body completely, and his entire figure was revealed. Roland found that the other mans body had no vitality left, only his mental power was functioning. Im her husband. The man laughed aloud. You probably slept with that bit*h Stephanie, wasnt it great? The scene in front of him was so unbearable that Roland shook his head subconsciously, trying to shake it out of his mind. It truly is the man who wrote that kind of diary. But Im curious, if I really did it with Stephanie, you should have been hiding in the dark, jumping up and down with excitement and panting like a dog. Why did you come out here to stir up trouble? Thats because Im dead! The man had a furious look on his face. Only when I was alive and still her husband and she was defiled could I have the highest and most perfect pleasure, and yet that bit*h, who did not agree with me, killed me! Sheesh! Looking at this man, whose demeanor already seemed quite insane, Roland didnt even know how to describe what he felt anymore. It was the first time he had ever seen such a strange man. To push his beautiful wife out there and then conceal himself and derive pleasure from it. It was a waste of time to talk about this with such a neurotic man. Roland looked around, and asked, Im curious, if you wanted to deal with the First Princess, you could just go after her. What did the deputy chairman of the Association of Mages and Menon do to get in your way that you had to kill them? Upon hearing Rolands question, the man quickly calmed down. He sneered and said, Because I want her power to disintegrate; as long as she doesnt have fangs, shes just a kitten. At that time, shell have to do whatever I tell her to. Thats it? Roland felt that his outlook had been greatly affected. Forget the fact that he wanted to push his wife onto another man before he died, now that he was dead, he was still thinking about such things. He was truly boring and disgusting. Before, Roland thought that killing the deputy chairman of the Association of Mages and killing Menon was probably the result of someones dissatisfaction with Stephanies future position as queen. At least, it was reasonable to assume so. He didnt expect that the murderers reasoning would be so strange. But Roland was still a little puzzled. I understand killing the deputy chairman of the Association of Mages; after all, she was one of Stephanies people. Menon seems to belong to a neutral party, right? Menon? The man snorted, his expression somewhat disdainful. When I was still alive, I wanted to ask him to help me use magic to dazzle and temporarily control Stephanie, but he refused me and even told Stephanie about it. Doesnt he deserve to die? I think you should die. Roland held up his hand and was about to snap his fingers. I dont need you to do it, Ill go on my own. After saying this, the mans expression turned odd, his cheeks twitched, and his entire body quivered. Then the mental power in his body quickly faded, and in less than a second, it disappeared without a trace. The mans body collapsed backward, an odd smile on his face, no longer moving. Roland dropped his hand and dissolved the Dimensional Anchor. He walked up to the corpse and sank it into the ground using the Rock to Mud transmutation. It was a way to help the dead rest in peace. It was just a vessel, a body used temporarily by the Lich. Until the Lichs soul vessel was found, it could not be killed. Roland turned around, looked at Buschdomin, who was still frozen in place, and said, This is the capital and the Holy Realm, and you are harboring dark Mages with the intent to harm the royal family. Do you think you have a chance of surviving!? Buschdomin didnt speak and just stared at Roland with a resentful gaze. Roland shook his head and left the manor. He didnt want to bother with Buschdomins matters, he just needed to talk to Stephanie about it. When Stephanie came back, she would deal with it. Roland returned to the hotel where he was staying and pinged Schuck in the guild chat. Roland: Schuck, I found a Lich in one of the manors of the Pine Needle family, but the Lich abandoned the vessel and left; I couldnt stop him. Schuck: Wait, the Pine Needle family? I see. I seem to have found a clue on my side as well. Ill talk to you later. In the Holy Realm, after reading the chat, Schuck stood up and said to his subordinates, Tell everyone to equip their weapons and armor, and follow me. A small squad of twenty people immediately assembled, with Schuck leading and the others following. The Holy Realm was large, and there were many people. Schuck looked icy cold, and with twenty men, fully armed and moving quickly, everywhere they passed, all the clerics and bishops gave way of their own accord. And the vast majority of them even took the initiative to salute Schuck. Many of them knew of this most gifted Saint Samurai. Schuck walked quickly to a small building, pushed open the stone door with both hands, and strode in. There was an old bishop in the room, teaching the power of light to a dozen young clerics. Schuck took the men with him and surrounded him. The old bishop, holding a book, looked at Schuck and was surprised. Your Excellency, what can I do for you? You seem to look very unhappy. Schuck smiled. I am quite happy because Ive finally found the so-called darkness. The old bishop had a puzzled look. Your Excellency, what do you mean? I dont quite understand. Bold devil, still pretending! I knew you werent human at first glance! Schuck roared, pulled out the greatsword behind his back with both hands, took one step forward, and struck down with the sword. Golden holy light surrounded the greatsword, and the entire hall was filled with golden light. The old bishop took a step back, and all his clothes shattered. Even his skin turned into pieces, flying all over the place. Then a black, humanoid creature stood before them. A pair of black wings slowly spread out behind this black humanoid creature. How did you find me? I should be reasonably well hidden. There was a long crack in the ground. Schuck withdrew his greatsword and said, My friend was out there, and he found another dark creature that was hiding in the Pine Needles manor. In recent times, you have been visiting the Pine Needle Family, which is very strange; there must be a reason. In previous decades, youve rarely gone out. What a pity! The black humanoid creature fluttered its wings and slowly floated up. Dont try to escape! Schuck jumped up with a slash attack but missed. The black humanoid creature crashed straight through the roof and flew high into the air. Schuck rushed outside. Margret, who was already waiting outside, turned into a small red dragon about five meters long within three seconds. Schuck jumped directly onto the red dragons back, and with a clear roar, the red dragon quickly took off, chasing after the black spot in the sky. But then Schuck realized that he couldnt catch up, and the difference in speed was too large. At that moment, a figure passed the red dragon silently from far behind, and it wasnt until the figure flew far ahead that a rumbling sonic boom could be heard. Supersonic flight! With such a sonic boom, Margrets flight was greatly affected and she had to reduce her speed to maintain her balance. Schuck knew who the figure was. Roland! Way to go, brother. Schuck sighed in relief. Its all up to you to get the large sum of experience from the epic quest. High in the air, Roland used all his strength, flying faster than the speed of sound, but could only catch the tail of the black dot in front of him and keep it within his sight. What is it! Flying so fast! Roland found it a bit unbelievable. Werent dragons said to have the fastest flying speed? This black dot in front of him was probably the fastest flying object in the world. Just as Roland was thinking this, from the periphery of his eyes, he noticed a white spot in the sky to his right, flying parallel to him at an extremely fast speed. It was chasing after the black dot, and at the same time, it was approaching him. After ten seconds, the distance between the two sides was only about a hundred meters, and Roland found that the white dot was a bird humanoid. It was an acquaintance of his. Nia, the angel of life. Shes ridiculously fast too? 523 Kill Stealing And Nia looked at Roland with even more astonishment. Her eyes were bulging as if she had seen something extremely strange. Both sides stared at each other for a moment, and then Nia gradually leaned in. Then Roland realized that something was wrong. She also had a pale green Magic Shield around her and her wings were within the protection of the green shield as well. In other words her wings were fluttering, but they were not providing any aerodynamic thrust at all. Rather, she was using a very unscientific, magical thrust. If he could understand the principle, could he not use Spatial Bubble and just use this more convenient and smoother way of flying? Just as Roland was pondering this, Nia made a few gestures to him. These gestures were easy to understand, and Roland immediately understood what she meant. Ill stop him, you sweep behind him! You can go even faster? Roland was shocked, and then he nodded. After receiving Rolands reply, Nia fluttered her wings a little faster. Her speed then increased dramatically, at least nearly one-fifth faster than it was earlier. In a short time, she left Roland behind and was soon behind the black spot. Roland thought about it and turned on the systems video-recording function. After all, it was probably the second time in the game that a Demigod angel fought, so it wouldnt hurt to record it and show it to other players. As soon as Roland opened the recording, a green light suddenly lit up in front of him. Then a disc of light appeared as if an asteroid had exploded. The light was extremely dazzling. Roland gaped at this, and before he had time to react, he saw an exaggerated torrent of green magic power coming at him. He subconsciously increased the power supply of Magic Shield. The shields hardness was already equivalent to about three centimeters of finely-forged steel, but the entire shield still shattered in the instant it came in contact with the torrent of magic. Roland was swept back several hundred meters. But the good news was that the real damage had already been blocked by the Magic Shield when the torrent of magic made contact with Roland, and now he was just being held back by the torrent and flying backward. When he fell into the torrent, he felt the green magic power in every direction, endless. This magic power was quite warm and seemed to have a sweet smell to it. Magic power was like a person! Depending on ones personality, the magic power would manifest itself into a representative substance. In other words, Nia is sweet? After all, it was created by a Demigod, so it was probably quite interesting. Generally, the magic power made by someone else would leave a distinctive personal mark for a short time, and rashly absorbing it would cause a great deal of mental discomfort. It was like type-A blood being transfused into the blood vessels of a person with blood type B. It could be fatal. But again, as usual, it was foolish to talk about toxicity regardless of dose. If only a little was absorbed, there would be absolutely no problem. Even as Roland rolled through the torrent of magic, he was able to remain calm. His mental power was released slightly, capturing a little bit of magic power, then dragging it into his body, wrapping and digesting it with his mental power. Many broken images flickered before his eyes, but they were too fragmented, like a thousand pieces of broken glass. There was no correlation between the fragmented memories, and it was impossible to put them together, so there was no way to know what the other persons memories were. Of course, Rolands target was not the memories. He just wanted to experience what it was like to have Demigod-level magic power. What kind of experience he could get from it! Then at that moment, a squeal suddenly sounded in his ear. Dont lick around, its affecting my performance! Huh? Roland looked around and didnt see anyone. Then he felt that those squeals were quite familiar, and seemed to be Nias voice. He had already flown hundreds of meters backward, and the green magic power around him was fading away. Roland saw a green light and a cloud of gray light tangled together in the distance, charging at each other, and at the moment of collision, there would be a bright flash. Half green, half gray. These different lights were the embers produced after the collision of magic power between the two sides. Just by floating in the air from afar, he could feel the strong magical radiation near the center of the battle ahead. Roland felt that if he ventured in, he wouldnt even have to be attacked; after three flashes of light, he would have to go to the Temple of Life to be resurrected. A Demigod-level battle was so terrifying! Roland took a deep breath. It turned out that the black figure was also Demigod, and it was good that Nia had followed; otherwise, he and Schuck alone would not have been able to deal with the black figure. However, the black figure didnt dare to mess around near the Holy Realm. After all, it was watched over by the Goddess of Light, and in a real fight, the light would suppress the darkness. With at least half a million fanatical believers, thousands of Master clerics, more than a dozen Legendary archbishops, and more than a dozen Saint Samurai even a strong Demigod wouldnt have a good time in front of such a terrifying sea of people. Besides, the Goddess of Light would probably descend. If its identity was exposed, itd be a fool not to run. At this time, a rumbling sound came from the direction of the fight. There were no spells, and both sides were fighting in close combat with magic, a fight with the most basic magic elemental attacks. Roland was frustrated at this point. Nia had him sweep behind, but in this situation, how could he participate in the attack? These two were incredibly fast and strong. Not to mention locking onto them, Roland couldnt even get close to them. What could he do on his own? Roland was floating in the air, his hands in his robe, his thoughts racing, coming up with one plan after another, and then abandoning them one by one. After more than ten minutes of pondering, none of them were suitable. The battle ahead was still fierce. Roland continued to wait. By now, he had an inkling of what Nia was thinking Exhaustion. Demigods were not gods after all, and they would also get tired. Would that be the chance to make his move? Roland continued to wait. Patience is a virtue and an essential quality of a hunter. After half an hour, Roland watched the green dot and gray dot collide with each other, still rumbling in the air, and with every collision, half of the sky would be lit in green and the other in gray. But Roland had sensed that their momentum was not as strong as it had been at the beginning After another half-hour, the speed of their collision slowed, and the moment of inertia after the collision was much lower. They were getting tired. Roland began to approach slowly. Another half an hour passed. When the two dots of light collided, the resulting magical glow produced was already quite faint. The speed of their flight had been reduced dramatically, no longer supersonic. It was estimated to be about the same speed as an ordinary falcon. This was probably the right time. Roland took a deep breath. He used Human Cannonball with all his strength and charged straight at the two points of light at nearly 1.5 times the speed of sound. The flight speed was so fast that the Magic Shield on Rolands body looked like the surface of a lake crumpled by wind resistance. Several hundred meters, this would only take about two seconds. The black figure was in sight, and Roland drew out a long, flaming miaodao with his magic power. A wide, long, bright red light was drawn through the air like lightning, passing by the two bird humanoids. It took half a second for the rumbling sonic boom to register. Nia, holding a green sword of light and a small white and gold round shield, flew backward a few meters from the sonic boom. The black figure remained motionless, and half a second later, his body broke into two pieces. The body below the waist fell straight down, but the upper body still fanned its wings. He withdrew the dark magical elements from his body, revealing a rather handsome face. And a full head of dazzling blond hair. Sister Nia, you win this time, but next time it wont be so easy. The man smiled gently, then closed his eyes, and his upper body fell to the ground as well. But in midair, he vanished into a wisp of black smoke. Nia floated quietly for a moment, a tear streaming from the corner of her left eye, then shook her wings and flew diagonally downward. She soon found Roland in the meadow. At this time, Roland was sitting on the ground, healing himself. His arms were gone and both shoulder bones were exposed. The lower half of his robe was blackened with his own blood. Since there was only a tenth of the pain, Roland didnt feel too terrible, but his face was still awfully pale. The black bird humanoids body was so hard that when Roland slashed it at high speed, although he managed to cut it in two, the powerful reactionary force actually passed back along the flaming miaodao and shattered Rolands hands into pieces. Nia landed on Rolands body and pointed her finger lightly at him. Two green clusters of light directly blocked Rolands left and right shoulders, and in a short time, a large amount of flesh started to bud, and the limbs were growing and recovering at an extremely fast rate. Good job. Nia stepped a little closer to Roland, smiling quite happily. I knew you could take him out when you had the chance. Roland looked up at Nia. He found that she was covered in sweat, hair sticking to her cheeks, and the close-fitting white robe she was wearing was also drenched in sweat and clinging to her body. Roland took less than 0.3 seconds to glance at her from top to bottom, then subconsciously turned on the systems camera and took several photos. Nia was not wearing anything underneath. The close-fitting dress faithfully outlined her body. Two extremely elastic balls of flesh, so clearly shaped that even the color of the flesh could be seen. Hmm since Ive already gotten a photograph, I shouldnt be too blatant about it. Roland subconsciously averted his eyes and didnt look anymore. The Demigods senses were very keen, and another glance might have caused her disgust. Paines clone has been destroyed, and it will take him at least ten years to recast it if he wants to appear on the main plane again. Nia squatted down and placed the small bright gold shield she was holding in her left hand in front of Roland. I dont have anything good on me right now to reward you, so Ill give you this small shield; a Mage can use it too. Roland stared up into Nias big beautiful eyes. Youre going back to the divine realm now? 524 A Noticeable Transformation Has Begun You can add as much as you want, and you can remove the flavor if you want to, but do you really think Im made of mud and can be kneaded as you please? Now Roland was a little upset. Nia was a Demigod after all; she was quite sensitive to changes in peoples emotions, so she was suddenly stunned. Why are you angry again!? Im just suggesting it. I didnt think to force you. Looking at Nias rather aggrieved expression, Roland sighed, and that little bit of displeasure was gone at once. Whats the point of being angry with this unworldly angel Feeling that Rolands mood seemed to have changed for the better, Nia stood up and said happily, Then Ill be going back to the Paradise of Life. If I dont, the Goddess will probably punish me by making me copy the Life Doctrine a hundred times a day. Goodbye. Roland waved his hand. But Nia still didnt leave, her eyes burning and looking at Roland very expectantly. Roland was stunned for a moment, then reacted, and from his Backpack, he took out a not so valuable but quite artistic wood carving and handed it over, saying, This is a return gift, thank you for the round shield. And thank you for the gift. Nia held the wooden carving tightly in one hand and waved at Roland with the other. Ill come down to play with you again when I have the chance. She then turned into a green light and instantly disappeared into the sky. Roland was relieved. Nia had asked Roland for a gift because there was such a rule in the Church of Life. If you send a gift, you should expect to receive a gift back. Roland had read about this custom in a book more than a year ago but didnt take it too seriously, as he didnt have much contact with the people of the Church of Life. It hadnt occurred to him until just now. Nia was an angel who strictly followed the doctrines and didnt have much experience with others. Then, Roland grasped the small round shield in his hand. On the surface of the small, round, golden shield, there was also a cross stamped out from green vines. It looked very beautiful. What surprised Roland, even more, was that the attributes of the shield were quite good. Item: Button of the Goddess of Life (Epic) Attributes: Maximum health increased by 100, maximum magic power increased by 30. Special effects: Life Shield, Auto Block, Breath of Life. Requirements: No profession requirements, no level requirements, no gender requirements, requires neutral or lawful alignment to equip. Life Shield: Convert non-dark magic shields on the wielder to life shields, and benefit from a greater increase in magic power. Breath of Life: While holding this shield, wounds heal faster, limbs regenerate, and magic regenerates at a slightly higher rate. The attributes of this epic equipment were outrageous. 100 points of maximum health was the amount of health that a full-constitution Warrior would attain at level ten without any other specialties added. There was also an increase of 30 points in max magic power which was a value that Roland, a pure Mage, could only increase by leveling up three times. These two attributes alone were scary enough. After wielding this shield, coupled with the special title, the increase in health from the Mind-Calming Necklace and the blessings of both the Goddess of Magic and the Goddess of Life, Rolands max health reached a terrifying amount of over three hundred points, already quite beefy. Most Warriors, in terms of health, were no match for him. The Magic Shield conversion to Life Shield, Auto Block, and Breath of Life were also very practical and special abilities. No wonder Nia said that Mages could also use this small round shield. Even if a new player who had just entered the game and was only level one, with this equipment, their health would be almost on par with that of a level-ten Warrior, and as long as they learned a magic shield ability, their survivability would be quite formidable. Not to mention Roland was a highly mobile Mage, and usually, it would be quite impressive just to be able to hit him once. Even if he was hit, the attack would be blocked by the Life Shield, and if the Life Shield was gone, there would still be Auto Block to parry the next fatal blow. Surviving for five more seconds, he would be able to use Auto Block once again. This would be extremely annoying. It was also an epic piece of equipment, but it was much more powerful than the Mind-Calming Necklace. Roland looked at the small round shield over and over again and couldnt bear to put it down, and the more he looked at the attributes of the shield, the more he liked it, and couldnt help but kiss it. Then he felt a faint scent. Even so, Roland still couldnt calm his inner excitement. He opened the forum and then wrote a post. A Pretty Girl Gave Me a Piece of Equipment, Help Me See if the Attribute Is Good. Originally Roland wanted to upload the video of Nia giving him the small round shield, but then he realized that Nia was in a semi-wet state-semi-transparent. Leaving aside whether or not it could pass the forums moderation, Roland suddenly felt rather bitter showing the beautiful Nia to other Then he just put a picture of the round shields attributes on the forum. Patiently waiting for two minutes, Roland then refreshed the post. It was accompanied by a large number of follow-up replies. WDNMD[1], a gift from a girl, what kind of girl would gift such equipment? I have a friend with a big one who wants to know if I can introduce her to him. Principal Wang cursed and exited the forum. Youre showing off, right? Roland, youve changed. It cant really be from a girl, no, no, no! For sale? Ive got money at home, 10 million RMB, sell it to me. What are you joking about upstairs, do you really not know or what? This kind of top-grade epic equipment, its simply not something that money can buy Roland himself can make equipment with attributes, starting from tens of thousands each. Is he short of money? Roland, be careful as the strongest Mage on the server, Im on to you. Do you all only look at the attributes, not the name? Goddess of Lifes button, what did Roland do, did he strip the goddesss what a terrifying thought. No, you guys think about it more carefully. He said its from a girl, is it from the Goddess of Life? Its possible. Schuck has a divine artifact from the Goddess of Light and Roland has a shield from the Goddess of Life-sounds about right. Anyway, these two cheaters in F6 cant be understood with common sense. Roland is a Mage, why would he get involved with the Goddess of Life! Does the Goddess of Magic have no rep? Maybe the Goddess of Magic has already sent something to Roland, but he just didnt release it for us to see. For example, the Goddess of Magics corset or something like that. Looking at these envious netizens, Roland felt extremely delighted as if he had come out on top in life. The smile on his face was almost twitching. It was awesome to feel this way. Showing off once in a while really could make one happy. After reading the other players replies, Roland closed the forum with satisfaction. Then he opened the system interface. After completing the quest, he received three system notifications and never opened them. After all, his attention was drawn to the small round shield. Completed Lurker in the Dark (1), received 5645 EXP. Automatically accepted the quest Lurker in the Dark (2). Find the lich who wants to harm the First Princess and kill him. You have reached Level 10 and can choose a professional specialization. So much EXP Seeing the exaggerated number of EXP, Rolands eyes were almost bulging. But this was quite normal. His opponents were a lich and a Demigod bird humanoid. Despite having Nia as an external helper, the average person probably wouldnt be able to get past the lich, let alone find the bird humanoid. After the character reached level ten, there would be a huge change because of the Legendary-level profession specializations, the effects of which were extraordinary. However, after level ten, every level up required a huge amount of EXP, and even if one did epic quests vigorously, it would still be difficult to level up again. Leveling up became painstaking labor. Roland opened the character interface, and immediately saw three Legendary-level profession specializations in front of him. Super Magic Guide: All of your spells or divine spells have their casting speed increased greatly, ballistic-type spells have their flight speed increased greatly. Advanced Magic Penetration: Your magic, which has already faintly touched the essence of the natural laws, can penetrate all magic resistances to a certain extent. Body of Magic: Your max magic power is increased by 100, and your magic regeneration speed is moderately increased. After reading these three professional specializations, Roland clicked his tongue inwardly. No wonder it was said that all professions would increase their strength drastically when they reached level ten. All three of these specializations would indeed give Mages a qualitative leap in strength. The first specialization, Super Magic Guide, was clearly for long-range Mages, having faster spell casting speed and faster ballistic speed. The second specialization, Advanced Magic Penetration, was mostly used against fellow spellcasters, or magical creatures. Awesome addition for fighting against the competition. The third specialization, Body of Magic, increased the maximum magic power and magic regeneration speed to a certain extent. It also looked quite good, but compared to the first two specialties, it was not so powerful and eye-catching However, Roland felt that the third specialization was the most suitable for him. He had no shortage of offensive means, and he could compress all his magic power into the Self-Destructing Inferior Fireball and the more magic power he had, the fiercer it would be. Great power could bring about miracles-he didnt need any magic penetration to increase his damage. Adding 100 points of maximum magic power, and 30 points of magic power from the small round shield, Roland reckoned that he could compress these 130 points of magic power into the Self-Destructing Inferior Fireball, enlarging the explosion radius to twenty meters or so. On top of the original explosion range, it wouldnt be a problem to blow up 1.5 times the area size of a soccer field. Besides, more magic power meant that the Life Shields ability to withstand blows was stronger and his survivability would be greatly increased. Finally, from a long-term perspective, when building the Floating City in the future, he would have to condense his magic power to create magic bricks, which was something that would take a long time. Without a super large volume of magic power and the means to quickly regenerate magic power, it would almost be impossible to build a floating city. So Roland only thought about it for about half a minute before picking the third specialization. After feeling the magic flowing more powerfully within his body, Roland received a new system notification. He immediately opened it. The game system has detected F6 guild player, Roland, is the first to reach level Level 10, and rewards the special and unique title Falan Pathfinder. This was a server-wide notification! 525 Deal Between Men and Women +30 Health, +30 Magic Power. It looked moderate, but it enhanced Rolands max health and magic power even more. Health was vitality, and the higher the amount of health, the stronger the survivability of the character. With Rolands current exaggerated amount of health, it was almost comparable to that of a troll of the same level, but without the trolls powerful regeneration ability. The specific manifestation of this was other than decapitation, even if his heart was stabbed, even if half of his brain was cut off, as long as there was no immense amount of damage followed, Roland could still fight at full strength for five to six minutes, and if he had a continuous healing spell cast on him, he could fight half an hour or more; he was almost like a magical troll. Of course, if his head was cut in half, he wouldnt have any sanity, and hed be left with survival instincts. Even if he instinctively used spells at that time, he would only be able to attack indiscriminately. Looking at his now exaggerated character panel, Roland breathed a sigh of relief. This epic quest, from his point of view, was greatly profitable. Not only did he gain a lot of EXP, but he also got half of the super powerful epic-level equipment, as well as a title for leveling up to level ten. It was still possible for someone else to get epic equipment that was similar, or with similar attributes, but the title was unique, and no one else could get it. The feeling of being a whole lot stronger was not an illusion but was supported by solid data. Roland resisted the urge to launch a large fireball in this no mans land. Because this was a prairie, and it was the autumn equinox, the climate was a bit dry, and a little open fire could start a prairie fire. The possibility of a super-sized fireball causing a prairie fire was highly likely. Putting the small round shield into his Backpack, he then saw a notification pop up in the guild chat. He opened it and saw that it was all congratulatory messages from his friends. Presumably, they all saw the announcement of Roland being the first to reach level ten. After a few boastful words in the guild chat, Roland teleported back to Delpon. It had only been two days since Stephanie had come here. Her foot had finished regenerating, but because it was new, it was still not very agile, so it would take some time to get used to it. Rolands return made Andonara extremely happy. She had prepared for Roland to take more than half a month to return; she never thought that it would only be two days before she would see her man again. She gave Roland a big hug and then went to prepare some delicious food for him. Halfway resolved. Roland told them what he had encountered before and then said, Thats what happened. Although we found out that it was your husband who had come back from the dead, we havent caught him yet. After all, a lich is too hard to catch. Stephanie sighed. In other words, its time to go back to the capital? Upon hearing this, Roland was a bit surprised. You dont seem to want to go back to the capital. How can that be! Stephanie flatly denied it. Although she said this, she was still quite disappointed. It had only been two days, but she had slept well; she hadnt slept this well since she was ten. She felt safe. And it was quite a relaxing life here. There was no need to think about anything and no need to be deceitful with other forces. She just drank afternoon tea and gossiped with her friends, and before she knew it, another day had passed. When she woke up in the morning, she felt so relaxed that she even had the idea of staying here for the rest of her life. But before that thought could take root in her mind, Roland came back. He told her that the matter had been resolved. Way to spoil the fun, what an annoying man. After throwing around a few silent curses, Stephanie said, Now youll be teleporting me back to Fareins, so we can talk about the deal. Indeed, its time to talk. Roland sat across from Stephanie. I did you a great favor and I know multiple teleportation magic array, so what price are you willing to pay to gain my friendship? What do you want? Stephanie looked into Rolands eyes. Personally, I cant promise you much right now. After all, youve read all the books in my library. Money and power and things of that sort, you dont like, but magic materials I can collect for you. As for the other things that interest you, I really dont know. At this time, Andonara brought up a plate of honey cupcakes and placed it between the two of them. Roland picked up a piece, took a bite, and said, You cant give much to me right now, but you can when you become queen. I wont do anything that betrays the interests of the country! Stephanie said seriously. Roland waved his hand. No need! I remember telling you two days ago that I want free access to the library in the capital and also that I need a lot of magic materials, not the kind that an organization can provide, but a large country. What do you need so many magic materials for? Stephanies eyes were full of suspicion when she looked at Roland. The magic materials that a large organization could collect were already shocking enough, but what Roland wanted was the materials that a country could provide. This was not a small amount. I want to build a floating city! The two women beside him were stunned. Andonara was the fastest to react. Her eyes immediately brightened, looking at Roland with adoration. Stephanie, on the other hand, jumped in shock. What did you say! A floating city? Roland nodded. The First Princess took a deep breath, her chest puffed up like a balloon; she was really frightened by Rolands words. In the stories of knights and heroes, the kind of floating city that can fly around. Roland nodded. How could you! Stephanie was trembling all over, and she questioned loudly, Even a dozen of our Legendary Mages in Fareins cant build it, what makes you Hearing that the First Princess didnt quite believe Roland, Andonara immediately got a little upset. Because Im a Golden Son, because I know multiple teleportation magic array, Roland said naturally. A high level doesnt mean you know everything. And a low level doesnt mean you dont have the skills to get something done yourself. Stephanie slumped down. If what you say is true, then you are really a monster. Whether its a multiple teleportation magic array or a floating city, they are both things that can change the world. Do you know what would happen if these two things appeared at the same time? Thats why I approached you to ask for your help instead of your father. Roland smiled. An older and more emotional princess, the future queen, who I know well, can be trusted. I trust you to keep my secret and to assist me in the coming years. What if I betray you? Stephanie asked with a sneer. Then Ill cut you down! Andonara was beside herself, wearing a gloomy expression and a bloodthirsty smile. It looked extremely horrifying. Stephanie dared not speak at all. When Roland saw this, the corners of his mouth raised a little smugly. Even if you betray me, it doesnt matter. Im a Golden Son, I cant die. The worst that can happen is that Ill be reborn with a new face. At that time, it will be impossible for you to find me again. And then you will still reap the hatred of a Mage with a floating city. Stephanie sat down slowly, her expression became quite stern. Then, Ill assist you and help you gather magic materials. In return, what can I get? What can the Fareins Kingdom get!? You can have an estate on the floating city, something that will shelter you no matter how big of an incident you encounter. Stephanie was moved after hearing this. In legend, the floating city was the ultimate equipment of a Mage, the most powerful strategic and tactical weapon. It was also the safest fortress. Even a true god would not dare to fight a Mage with a floating city on the main plane. It was said that the Goddess of Fortune was killed three times by Mordenkainen in a floating city. Melf also owned a floating city and killed a large number of evil gods with his Godslaying spell. This was why in the knight biographies or the heroes tales, once the floating city appeared, it would annihilate everything. Stephanie also understood this very well, which was why she was quite moved when Roland said he would leave a piece of land for her in the floating city. Things were unpredictable, and even if she were to become queen, she couldnt guarantee that she would live a peaceful life. In the history of Fareins, many kings and queens had died by assassination and poisoning, or due to internal strife within the royal family. If that truly happened, having a place to settle down, she would still be able to live out the rest of her life. This is a good suggestion. Stephanie nodded. So, what about the country? Wait a few years until I can defend myself. I can help the Fareins Kingdom build several multiple teleportation magic arrays, and as for their purpose, you figure it out. Stephanie was clearly pleasantly surprised. Build for us, and then as a means of control, something that can be held only in the hands of our royal family? Yes! Without hesitation, Stephanie said, Deal! Several multiple teleportation magic arrays, as long as they were placed in the right locations, were extremely useful for the royal family to send troops to stabilize the borders and, of course, for the royal family to control the lords. With such a profitable future, why not invest! Roland was also slightly relieved. Then, Ill have to make some demands. 526 Investment Foresigh Stephanie thought that Rolands concern was natural. If she knew that someone she didnt like was building a floating city, she would definitely think of a way to destroy it before they became too powerful. Not to mention that there were quite a few people who didnt want others to succeed. I see. Stephanie played with the long hair by her ear with her right hand, curling it for a short while. She said, Im announcing to the public that Ive hired you as my royal Mage and that youre responsible for the security of my territory. This way, I will not arouse the suspicion of outsiders when I send you large quantities of magic materials. At the same time, if you are in charge of the security of my territory, you can decide the layout needed to build the floating city without having to specifically ask for my opinion. How about this? Then its troublesome for you, Roland said quite gratefully. She had thought it out for him, so a little gratitude was in order. Stephanie stared at Roland for a moment, then smiled and said, Youre welcome, were partners now. Roland finished the cake in a few bites and said, Then get ready, well leave later when I return from the Magic Tower. He knew well that women always had something to carry, and it wasnt convenient for them if he watched from the sidelines. Okay. Stephanie nodded. After finishing the milk, Roland went to the Magic Tower. After Roland left, Stephanies face, which was quite impassive, suddenly showed a delighted expression. When Andonara saw this, she smiled and said, Its strange that you are willing to cooperate with Roland. Last night, you were clearly saying how ungentlemanly and unmanly he was. A floating city, thats a floating city. Stephanie looked at Andonara with an astonished expression instead. A Mage who can build a floating city is right in front of you, only a fool wouldnt work with him! Andonara was even more puzzled. Do you believe Roland now? Arent you afraid hell lie to you? He could create a multiple teleportation magic array, so the floating city is not unexpected. Stephanie smiled smugly. Although Im not very good at internal affairs, and I dont have much of a broad view, Im not so stupid that I cant see who the real future talent is. Ive studied with my father for more than a decade and couldnt learn anything well, but Im very good at investing. Andonara looked up smugly. Not even close to me, youre just a partner, Roland is all mine. You have it backward, you are Rolands. Stephanie shook her head. Vivian was used to it, and after she went to close the window to block the sunlight from outside, Christina came down in her human form. She looked at Roland rather unhappily. Master, is it proper for you to leave the running of the Magic Tower to us two women when you run around outside every day? I have a feeling you like it quite a bit, said Roland, bluntly. Christina choked on her words. Vivian smiled lightly beside her. Just as Roland had said, the two of them quite liked this job. In this world, this feudal era, the status of women was relatively low. The ones like Stephanie who could become a queen were irregular. After all, the Fareins Kingdom had the tradition of a queen being in power, so the status of women was relatively high. But only a little higher. There was no such tradition in Hollevin, where it was hard for women to get ahead. For a woman like Vivian, to be in charge of a Magic Tower and influence half the city was already an unimaginably high status for her. So she cherished this status and diligently managed the Magic Tower and the city. Sixty percent of her motivation was to help Roland and the other forty percent was for herself. Realizing the value of her own life. That was probably how it felt. Vivian, apart from work, you have to find time to practice magic, Roland said plainly. Just as I delegate my work to you, you can also delegate some of your work and power to other trustworthy members of the Magic Tower. In this world, if you want to become a leader, you need a certain amount of strength at the end of the day. The Magic Tower will get bigger and bigger, and there will be more and more people, and if you cant keep up in strength, you will only be able to manage a hundred or so people. Vivian was stunned for a moment, then she thought about it, nodded, and said, I understand. Christine sighed. I know that this is quite a good position to be in, one we never would have imagined being in before, but We dont always feel very safe when youre away. After all, out there, there are always different ideas and opinions about women, especially beautiful women. This was indeed a problem. Because of the customs and traditions of Hollevin, people outside were still instinctively somewhat contemptuous of women, especially those in high positions. If a man did something perfectly, he would get one hundred percent of the credit. If a woman did something perfectly, she could only get eighty percent of the cred at most, and most of the time only seventy percent. Roland thought for a while and said, Dont worry, in about a year, I wont need to run around outside. At that time, no one will dare to bully you. After a year, Roland estimated that he would be able to create the floating city. Although it wouldnt be large, as long as it stopped over the Magic Tower, it was a proper deterrent. Not to mention the local forces of this world, even if the players wanted to come and cause trouble, they would have to think twice about it. I dont doubt your potential, said Christina, shaking her head, but there is a very troubling matter that you need to deal with at the moment. What is it? Its about the Golden Sons, Christina said. Theres a merchants guild called Cornucopia that has settled in our area, and at first they were responsible for promoting commerce. But now they have a monopoly on several industries and are starting to drive down prices. Vivian has been trying to work around them, but with little success. Their business tactics are systematic, not too fast, but they are effective. Roland was stunned. Cornucopia Whats going on? His relationship with Cornucopia wasnt bad at all. More than half a year ago, he even helped their boss make a few pieces of magic equipment. Here are the specifics. Vivian came up and explained the situation. It turned out that after the Cornucopia was stationed here, they started doing business using business tactics from Earth. They soon monopolized three things: furs, meat, and construction materials. Now they had their sights on food and magic materials. Even more outrageously, they began to contact some local forces that werent getting along with the Magic Tower. They were even starting to contact the puppet mayor, John Junior. After hearing this, Roland frowned. Then he said, Vivian, take me to the local base of operations of Cornucopia, and Ill go ask whats going on. Vivian nodded. Ten minutes later, Vivian and Roland took a carriage to the busiest eastern commercial street and stopped in front of the largest building in the center. When Roland got out of the carriage and looked up, he saw a gold-rimmed sign across the gate. Written in both Chinese and Hollevin, the sign read: Cornucopia. Roland walked up with Vivian. There were two guards at the gate, and they were surprised to see Roland and Vivian. They were even a little timid. They knew Vivian, and they knew Roland even better. Although on the surface, John Junior was the mayor, everyone in Hollevin knew that Roland was the real mayor of the city behind the scenes. Even the mayors wife and daughter often went to Rolands manor; it would be strange if there was no knowledge of this fact. Although timid, at the thought of the large salary paid by Cornucopia, one of them still summoned up the courage to walk over, and said after bowing, Honorable Mr. Roland, Im glad you can come to Cornucopia. Our sub-branch chairman is receiving guests, could you wait in the waiting room for a moment? Okay. Although Roland was a powerful man in the eyes of most people in Delpon, Roland himself had no such perception or self-awareness. He just felt that he had more resources at his disposal and that everyone was equal in terms of character. So he was willing to wait. Seeing that Roland was so easy to talk to, the guard was relieved and invited Roland into the waiting room. Then he left. Vivian sat beside Roland, a little uncomfortable, but Roland didnt say anything, so she naturally didnt make any comments. Not long after, a player walked in quickly. He opened the door to the waiting room, and when he saw Roland, he immediately reached out to shake hands with him and said with a smile, Almighty Roland, its great to finally meet you. Your deeds are truly awesome. You are my idol. This person was quite enthusiastic and seemed to admire Roland a lot. But Roland had been in this society for two or three years anyway, so how could he not see the other partys business-like enthusiasm. Now he also smiled and said, Its nothing, its all nonsense, but your chairman is quite impressive, gathering up such a large force in such a short time. 527 Capital and Power That is indeed true. Husso nodded. After all, the business system of this world is still the small workshop structure of the feudal society, and even the royal family still uses territories and manors as output. They dont know what capital operation is. Isnt it a simple matter to eliminate them? Vivian was dumbfounded, because to her ears, Husso spoke like this: After all, the beep beep is still beep beep She couldnt understand what it meant at all. Roland smiled and said, But isnt this a bit too much? Using a high purchase price to squeeze out other merchants, and when the monopoly is set, drastically lowering the purchase price. Now the quality of life of the hunters, miners, and the like in Delpon has dropped dramatically. Many people work hard for a day and earn barely enough to feed themselves for two days, let alone feed their families. This is normal business practice for us. Besides, a lower purchase price means a lower selling price for the finished product, Husso said. Roland sneered, shook his head, and said, But I asked before I came here. The price of the finished product you made didnt go down, but instead increased by about fifteen percent. Husso threw up his hands. Because we burned too much money in the early stages, the fifteen percent price increase will be canceled after we have recovered the initial operating capital. Hahaha! Roland sneered. Do you think I would believe that? Why dont you believe it? Husso looked shocked. Business is all about integrity. Almighty Roland, you have to believe in the credibility of Cornucopia. What a joke. Capital comes dripping from head to toe, from every pore, with blood and dirt.[1] You guys are capital now, true capital. Roland looked straight into the other mans eyes. Dont tell me you never learned that. Naturally, I have learned it, Husso said righteously. So dont think of us as ordinary capitalists, were not that dirty. We aspire to become the richest men that everyone praises[2]. Roland sneered. He picked up the glass, sipped on his fruit wine, and said, I remember years ago when I was in college, the capitalists used the media to say something very interesting to put power in a cage[3]! Husso frowned. I was so young and ignorant at the time that I actually thought it was right! Roland continued, When I finished college and worked for a year, I understood how terrible capital is when it is in power. The only thing that can deal with capital is power. If the medias deception had truly worked, if they had truly put power in a cage, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Since Roland had spoken to this extent, Husso wasnt going to pretend anymore. Rolands eyebrow quirked. Husso laughed, looked at Vivian, and then said, When you have no level and no power, will your women still follow you? The queen is also following you because of your level and status. He was trying to find a way to anger Roland, preferably to infuriate him enough that Roland would kill him. For a level-two merchant, the experience he would lose when he died didnt bother him at all. Roland didnt get angry as he wished. He stood up, looked at the other man condescendingly, and said, Indeed, if I kill you randomly, I will get a red name. But as I just said, the only thing that can fight against capital is power, and I have power now. What do you mean by that, Roland! Husso jumped up, his expression somewhat gloomy. Roland ignored him and left with Vivian. Half an hour later, Roland showed up at the mayors manor and met with John Junior. The two of them sat down in the study, and John Junior seemed to be looking better than before. He looked at Roland with the same expression of anger and hatred always. You know about Cornucopias monopoly, dont you? Roland leaned back in his chair and looked indifferent. They also came to see you; can you tell me what you talked about? John Junior sneered. Sir, you manage so much, wanting to know everything. Do you even want to know which maid I slept with last night? Roland threw up his hands. I like prying into other peoples private affairs, so theres no harm in telling me if youd like. Ill listen very carefully. VA John Junior was speechless. Roland pursed his lips and snickered. When there was no equivalent strength, sniping at the strong would only bring humiliation upon oneself. Roland knew this too well. Before, when China was weaker, it was picked on by the entire world, without even a chance to talk back. He had seen too much of these things. You can work with Cornucopia, I have no problem with that, Roland continued, but I will take the mayors wife and your sister to live permanently in my manor. According to the laws of Hollevin, a woman can inherit the mayors position after all the men in a family have died. John Junior turned pale. How can you do this! Besides, the mayors wife is still young and beautiful, only a little over thirty-five. With her body, she can have two or three more children without any problem. Roland slowly pressed forward and said in a very intimidating manner, With some luck, she can have another John Junior. Now John Juniors face was all white, his body trembling Dont take my kindness toward you for granted. Roland did not care what state John Junior was in at this point. He stood up, left the study, and asked Vivian to leave with the mayors wife and daughter for Rolands estate. In the carriage, the mayors wife sighed in relief. She looked at Vivian and said, Thank you for sparing us, mother and daughter. I was so worried when John Junior received the people from Cornucopia that I was afraid that one day, some powerful Mage would come and bombard the city gates. Vivians eyes widened in surprise. But you will be living in Rolands manor for a long time, arent you afraid that Roland will have lustful thoughts? Lady Andonara wont let Mr. Roland mess around, The mayors wife said indifferently. Besides, even if that were the case, I would be the one taking advantage! Well that makes sense. Roland then returned to the Magic Tower and called a meeting with the leaders of all the powers under the Magic Towers command. Many people in the city knew about this matter. The nobles and merchant leaders of various trades were all eagerly awaiting the results. How was Roland going to counter Cornucopia, which was also organized by the Golden Sons? Half an hour later, Sheriff Reed, with an elite infantry, set out from the city hall, came before Cornucopia, and in the presence of a large crowd of nobles and industry stakeholders, read the following: According to a month-long study and visit by the City Hall of Delpon, it has now been determined that Cornucopia is an illegal guild, with questionable income, tax evasion, and malicious disruption of the free economic market, causing a great and detrimental impact on the business climate of Delpon. Cornucopia is hereby seized, and three days from now, all members of the guild must leave Delpon. They will be banned from conducting business in Delpon for the rest of their lives, and all taxes must be paid in full before they leave. Then Cage Reed had the whole building surrounded, and at the door, he placed a white seal. There were a lot of discussions going around. When Husso saw this, he almost fainted. He roared, Roland, you scumbag! He thought that Roland was just a martial artist who would be bullheaded and take a swing at Cornucopia. But it never occurred to him that the other side would use authoritative power. This way, all their calculations and dependencies were for naught. After roaring, he looked to the surrounding crowd, in which there was a small group of people who had contacted him and promised him that they would stand up against Roland when necessary. But these acquaintances who were in the crowd averted their eyes; none of them would meet his gaze. It wasnt as simple as that. Roland teleported to the capital of Hollevin, met Antis, and asked Antis to take him to the old king The old king, who looked even older now, met Roland at the visitors palace. How is Andonara? The old king narrowed his eyes and he looked very spiritless. That child Veronica misses her. I would welcome Princess Veronica as a guest in Delpon, Roland replied without humility nor arrogance. The old king sighed. Well, it seems that there is no hope of Andonara coming back. Then, Roland, what is the purpose of your visit? Cornucopia. As soon as this word came out, Antiss expression became a little surprised. The old king, however, looked the same, and said indifferently, It seems that your city, Delpon, has also been affected. I reckon all the counties in Hollevin have been affected by them. Antis said, Yes, they are very troublesome. They first use a high-price strategy to push out all their competitors and when they have a monopoly, they drastically reduce the purchase price, then sell at a high price. Why dont you take action against Cornucopia? Roland said. You can gather information about their evil deeds in the marketplace and then use public documents to drive them away from the city and the territory. The old king and Antis looked at each other, both of them a little shocked. Arent they also Golden Sons? Antis replied incredulously. If we do that, wont you Golden Sons find a reason to beat us up? Roland laughed. They just figured youd think that way, thats why they are so arrogant. But in reality, we dont agree with their behavior, and soon they will be ostracized by us Golden Sons. But until then, I will need some written information, as well as a few speeches from you, Your Majesty! The old king: ??? [2] Rich men that everyone praises: a phrase used by Guancha Syndicate, a news media company, to describe Jack Ma, who said, Business itself is the greatest public welfare. It has become a meme used sarcastically to mock businesses, the rich, and capitalism [3] Comes from Chinese President Xi 528 Mutual Harm? Its Nonexisten Roland didnt explain, because even if he did, they wouldnt understand. It wasnt that these two lacked intelligence, but the whole time they heard bleeps! But the two quickly understood, and the old king said slowly, Documentation on Cornucopias illegal business in various territories, its no problem, we have plenty of it. And as for the speech you mentioned, whats that about? Its not necessarily a speech. You can call a meeting and talk to your ministers about some of the detrimental actions of Cornucopia, talk about how they should be restricted, and finally mobilize your ministers to place restrictions on Cornucopia. And then just let me sit in on it. Both of them looked puzzled. What did this self-amusement mean? Its not a trick? The old king sat on his high throne, looking down at Roland. This seems a bit childish. It honestly isnt. Roland thought about it and said, I swear on my identity as a Mage. As the old king closed his eyes in thought, Antis leaned in close to Roland, his body emitting a slight fragrance of flowers and his delicate face full of curiosity. Ive heard that Golden Sons have a special means of contact, is that right? Looks like youve found out a little bit about us. Roland smiled a bit, not surprised. Even with the protection of the system, the royals and nobles had been trying to find out about the players, trying to figure out what kind of social habits and class structure this group of strange humans from a different plane had. Although the Golden Sons generally seemed to be relatively equal in status, they didnt believe that; a society was bound to have a distinction between lowliness and nobleness. By identifying the true big shot among the Golden Sons, they might be able to establish a partnership and negotiate terms that were favorable for them. Even if that didnt work, they couldnt offend people of high status, lest they elicit even more of an exaggerated response from the Golden Sons. The Golden Sons were already troublesome enough as they were now. I understand. I will convene this meeting soon. After all, even if you didnt mention it, we will still have formulated countermeasures for this matter. The old king nodded lightly. Having received the old kings affirmation, Antis left the palace with Roland. The two of them walked down the street. Antiss manor was close to the palace, so they didnt have to take a carriage. After months of not seeing him, Antis seemed to have slimmed down a lot, and he looked even more feminine and appealing now. Do you and Andonara have any plans for a wedding? Antis asked as he walked slowly. Roland shook his head. This was quite inconvenient. For example, some kind of special amusement. After all, Roland was a Mage and had recently shown great strength and potential. It was understandable to use a queen to follow him around and rally for him. After all, one day, the queen would return to the royal family. In reality, many noble families had done similar things. The aristocratic wife, in this feudal society, had labels such as tool, relation by marriage, and luxury goods, in addition to her status as a wife. When necessary, it was their duty to sacrifice their individuality and dignity for the family in exchange for greater benefits or a hope of survival. This was why although they were somewhat amused, the informed nobles didnt take the matter of the queen following Roland too seriously. They only envied and hated the queen because she was too beautiful. But if a wedding was held, things would be different. The royal family could have still been like ostriches, burying their heads in the sand and saying that by following Roland, Andonara was only pulling in the young and promising Golden Son. But if Andonara married Roland, it would be a slap in the face to the royal family. At that time, the face of the royal family would be completely gone. In reality, as early as a year ago, the royal family had been prepared to be humiliated by Roland in all aspects. Although it was true that the royal family wouldnt make Roland a mortal enemy by going to war with him, their relationship would definitely deteriorate to the level of hatred. The other nobles would also express their disgust at Rolands breaking of the default rules. They would be subconsciously hostile to Roland. At that time, the royal family was prepared for the worst and was already thinking of secretly trapping Roland and making his reputation throughout Hollevin infamous. However, both Roland and Andonara kept a low profile. They spent most of their time in Delpon and seldom socialized with other nobles. Until now, the news that the queen was with Roland had only spread in a small area. The royal family was a little surprised and touched by this. So the time the old king had invited Roland to become the royal Mage was a gesture of goodwill. Although Roland declined, he did not do anything to substantially harm the royal familys interests afterward. Now, it seemed that he had come to help. Even confronting his kind, the Golden Sons. It seemed that putting the queen by Rolands side was not a losing proposition. These were the old kings thoughts, the royal familys thoughts. It was out of this mentality that Antis mentioned the marriage. Inwardly, he wished Roland wouldnt do that and continue to maintain the relationship. Seeing Roland shake his head, Antis was quite pleased. Although he was friends with Roland, he also valued the interests of his royal family quite highly, and no conflict between the two sides was naturally a good thing. The man looked even prettier when he was happy and his face seemed to glow slightly. Where are you staying next? Back to Delpon. And how should we notify you when were ready? Antis walked slowly with his hands behind his back. Were not like you, who can teleport around. Why dont you just stay here in the capital for a few days? Thats fine! Roland felt that Antis had a point. Although there are a few inns in the capital that are considered upscale, there is no guarantee that their bedding and food are a hundred percent clean. Antis smiled slightly. Why dont you come to stay at my manor for now, its close by anyway. And the guest rooms at the manor are large, and so are the beds. Hmm Although Antiss words sounded ambiguous, in reality, this was very common in Hollevin. There was a saying here: when inviting friends into your home, other things can be ignored, but they must sleep comfortably, so a big, soft bed in the guest room is necessary. Roland knew there was no ambiguity in Antiss words, and after thinking for a while, he said, Sorry to trouble you. Antis smiled a smile like a rainbow, appearing very happy. Ten minutes later, the two entered a huge manor. The soldiers guarding the gate looked a little surprised to see their master return with a young man. Of course, their surprise was only momentary. Then it was stifled. Roland followed Antis into the manor, where the layout was similar to that of most noblemens manors, and if there was a difference, it was larger. From the conversation on the way back, Roland learned that this manor belonged to Antis alone. To be able to get such a large piece of land in a place like the capital, it couldnt be done with money alone. Even an ordinary nobleman would not be able to do it. After entering the manor, Roland was treated to the noblemans routine hospitality. All sorts of delicacies and entertainment were offered. Even a few maidservants were sent to sit beside Roland. Of course, Roland didnt touch them. Antis wasnt surprised. Andonara was beautiful and kind. These maidservants were somewhat beautiful, but they were far from Andonara in other aspects. It was already late in the evening when the set of aristocratic hospitality procedures had been completed. Roland sat on the balcony and watched the stars. He had to admit that Antiss cook was quite good, and the fried steak and the tender lamb soup were extremely delicious. He had eaten a little too much, and now his stomach was a bit bloated. Shortly after, Antis came over. He had taken a bath and was wearing a nightgown. His slender form could be seen through the nightgown, somewhat resembling a female body. He sat next to Roland, also looking up at the starry sky, and said slowly, You know what, Roland? When I was a kid, I had a wish to be the greatest Warrior in the world. Roland turned his head to look at him. Not anymore? I was overwhelmed by Andonara, Antis said helplessly. Shes the one with true Warrior talent, and now shes awakened the Heros bloodline. Shes still young, so probably in another twenty or thirty years, no one in the world will be able to beat her, maybe not even the ancient dragons. Yeah. Roland also thought that this was very likely. Even though Andonara didnt train much right now, Roland could still feel that she was slowly getting stronger. This slow was relative After all, when ones strength reached a certain level, it would be extremely difficult to increase it further. Others couldnt increase it anymore, but for her, it was just slow. As for the reason why Roland could feel this they were often lovey-dovey with each other at night, so Roland could tell that the elasticity of some parts of her body was still slowly growing If this kept up, god knows when hed be able to break her defense. Now my wish is just to live in peace alone until Im 80. Roland was surprised. Youre not considering marriage and children? Im too halfhearted, and my body is in a strange situation; I cant change back! Antis said disappointedly. This situation has been documented in our clan, its almost impossible to have children. Roland froze for a moment. He vaguely remembered that Antis was a so-called Quark. He took the time to look up the characteristics of Quarks some time ago. Mainly, he found that they were able to determine their gender based on their feelings. In other words nowadays Antis was both a man and a woman. So complicated. Roland shrugged. He had no prejudice against peoples gender identity Its okay, youre still my friend. Im all right with this. Roland shook the glass he was holding at Antis. Antis looked at Roland steadily, and after a while, he smiled, reaching up and pulling his robe down over his chest to reveal a flat but white patch of skin. Want to see what state Im in? No. Roland immediately turned his head. Hahahahaha. Seeing Rolands aversion, Antis laughed aloud, and after he stopped laughing, he said, Roland, I suddenly want to sit on the kings throne. Will you help me? Roland: ??? I am also a member of the royal family, and with the blood of the royal family of Hollevin, I have the qualifications, said Antis with a smile. The other princes and princesses are so incompetent that making them king or queen would be a curse to us in Hollevin, so I want you to help me, my friend! Roland was silent for a moment. How should I help? You should also know that we Golden Sons are very restricted and cannot do many things, especially evil things. Of course, we can still find out about that, said Antis slowly. I just need you and Andonara to protect me for a while from being assassinated. I can do the rest myself. Thats no problem. Roland thought for a moment and said, The old king are you going to kill him? No. Uncle has been very good to me. He will be free to move about after he abdicates the throne, and if he is too disgruntled, he will only be under house arrest at best, said Antis in an odd tone of voice. Actually, I am of direct royal bloodyou understand. If I stand up for the throne, Uncle will not be angry, and perhaps quite happy. Oh, I see. Antis is an illegitimate child. Gee what a messy circle. Roland felt a whole lot of information coming at him. After getting Rolands reply, Antis left. Roland stayed in this manor for two days, and on the third day, he went to the council chamber, where he watched the old king and his ministers discuss the matter of Cornucopia. There were various complaints and accusations. The king finally followed Rolands suggestion and said in a reluctant tone, They arent strong, but under the protection of the other Golden Sons, we cant resist even if we wanted to. Isnt there anyone in this world who will initiate a sanction against Cornucopia? Roland edited the video of this meeting with a bit of sorrowful music and then opened the forum to prepare the video for uploading. It turned out there was a popular post title that was pretty eye-catching because it had his name. Denouncing Roland for His Shameless Behavior, Taking Control of a City, and Maliciously Oppressing Casual Players. The post was about how Roland had bullied Cornucopia and how he had forcefully and unreasonably kicked them out of Delpon, causing them at least a million or so in financial losses. After reading the content of the post, Roland scrolled down and found that many people had already left comments. Tsk, people get cocky when theyre powerful, and its the same with the number one Mage. People change. A one-sided story, who knows if its true or not. Show decisive evidence. Dont say that. If they could get it, they wouldnt have just written a post, they would have uploaded a video. Roland is really lofty and domineering. Ive fought him and suffered at his hands. Its no surprise that theres such an incident. Tsk, what Cornucopia has done in other cities, you paid posters honestly think we dont know. Casually browsing through this, Roland shook his head. This post must have been made by Hussothe thief crying thief. It might be enough to get some of those who didnt know the truth to fall for it, but the lack of decisive evidence would cause a large portion of the population to choose to watch the show sensibly. And once it was countered, it would be a flash flood that couldnt be stopped. Now Roland was about to strike back. He quickly finished editing the post and clicked post. 529 Can You Believe It! In contrast, Hussos post, which took several hours to upload and falsely accuse Roland, was just a popular post. This was a very real difference. Husso was just an ordinary leisure player, only level two, and also just a branch deputy chairman, working for someone else, with no reputation. His post had become a popular post only because it had rubbed off on the name Roland. Roland was now the highest-level player in the entire server, the first to reach level ten, the strongest Mage in the entire server, and most likely still the strongest amongst players. He had two divine artifacts and controlled a city behind the scenes. He also snatched a queen as a companion. Many other deeds could be told; Husso was not even on the same level as Roland. Hussos previous post only got so much traffic because it benefited from the popularity of Rolands name. And now that Roland himself had posted, there were a large number of people who wanted to see what was going on. Although it became a hot topic in three minutes, it took about ten minutes after posting for someone to reply. After all, it took time to watch the video, even if one had fast-forwarded through it. Tsk, I had thought that Cornucopia only monopolized a small portion of the industry resources in a small number of cities, but I never thought that they had dabbled in all of Hollevins medium and large cities. Amazing, amazing. Monopoly aside, they forcefully lowered the purchase price and greatly increased the selling price, as expected of new-era capitalists. This is even more ruthless than the merchants of the feudal era. I have a say in this matter. I worked part-time as a hunter some time ago. Originally, the purchase price for a complete wolf skin was one silver coin, and the fur merchants selling price was usually around three silver coins, but after Cornucopia pushed out these merchants, the purchase price became thirty-seven bronze coins, and the selling price increased to five silver coins. Now Im no longer hunting. I can only go to the Guild of Mercenaries to take on quests as a bodyguard. I dont quite like to fight and kill, but theres no better option. In my city, Cornucopia has also monopolized the food banks, and now the price of food has risen by at least fifty percent, and a large number of commoners are starving. Its pitiful to look at. For businessmen, isnt it normal to pursue profit? And no ones restricting them. Roland stood out and was framed. Why dont the territories around the world target Cornucopia? Cornucopia is now banking on the players power! Nowadays, all the NPCs know that it is extremely unwise to offend the Golden Sons. They all have qualms and dont dare to do anything to Cornucopia. What can we do? This game has a penalty for malicious killing, and the other side has the players hard-earned reputation backing them, and theyre taking advantage of a loophole in the system to cause trouble, so theres no way to get them. How unpleasant. Na Upstairs, youre all fast-forwarding through the video. I watched the video in its entirety, and now Ive received a blue quest to deal with Cornucopias members in the city Im in at the moment. Kill them and open the free flow of food! ??? F**k, really? Ill try it. Its true, Ive triggered it too. So Almighty Roland is here to deliver the quest? Love you! As expected, I had to watch it all, and I cant even fast-forward one second. A gold quest for me to kill the chairman of Cornucopia? Oh sh*t, Im a bit scared. Ive heard that their chairman is a super-rich man in reality. If I kill him, will he take revenge on me in real life? Idiot, you dont know how to disguise yourself? Its not a traditional online game, your name wont be displayed above your head. Just mask your face, put on a black suit, and kill him. No one will know who did it. The impressive one upstairs, please sit down. I feel like my nine-year compulsory education was in vain. I learned something. Just realized now? Isnt this a basic operation? At least we Thieves and Assassins are masked every day. Ive almost forgotten what I look like in the game. After waiting for nearly half an hour, Roland was relieved when he finally saw that someone had received a quest. The purpose of sending this video was to use the kings speech to release quests. Of course, it was only experimental and not a hundred percent certain. Rolands impression of Cornucopia wasnt very good. It wasnt very good before, and it was even worse now. It wasnt significant to restrict Cornucopia in Delpon alone, but it would be different if a wave could be started against Cornucopia in Hollevin and their roots dug up directly. The situation would be different then. For now, it seemed to be working well. The only ones who could deal with the players were the players, as expected. After exiting the forum, Roland found Antis. At this time he was watering the flowers in his manor. The early morning sunlight penetrated Antis thin bangs, like a beautiful layer of golden velvet on his forehead. Hearing a sound, he turned his head to look at Roland. You look quite happy. It seems that things probably went as you expected. Yes. Next, its the internal affairs of the Golden Sons. Roland stood in front of a bed of red flowers. After that, Cornucopia will definitely have a lot of their information dumped out. If youre interested, you can go and receive it. No, I dont need money. Antis smiled with narrowed eyes. His expression looked increasingly womanly. Roland stayed for a moment and asked, When are you going to do it? Give me time. Six months from now. Antis thought for a moment and said, It takes time to gather resources and find the right time. Okay, Ill come to find you again in six months. Roland waved to Antis and left the huge manor. Teleporting back to Delpon, Roland found Vivian and said, Now that Cornucopia should no longer be a problem, you can continue to manage and develop the Magic Tower according to the plan that was decided upon. Vivians eyes sparkled as she looked at Roland adoringly. Now the people in Cornucopia must be furious. Roland nodded. I guess so. Just as the two of them had thought, Cornucopia was holding an online meeting at this time. Since they could use the browser directly in the game, the guild made their own voice chat web page. This is a very bad situation. Chairman Charles sounded angry. Damn it, who the hell messed with that crazy Roland, for him to screw with us like this. The one in charge of Delpon is the deputy chairman Husso. Charles immediately shouted, Husso, didnt I say not to mess with Roland or with the F6 members! You f**king just didnt listen. Now theyre starting to mess with us, and theyre making us feel real good. Weve had a hard time getting to where we are now. If we dont handle it right, our guild will just be gone. Do you understand? Husso said in an aggrieved voice, Chairman, I didnt provoke Roland. He came to us by himself to target us. Why did he come to target you? You f**king tell me. Charles growled loudly. For a pure research-type player who deals in magic techniques, twenty-four hours a day is not enough time for him to spend on magic research. Hed be bored out of his mind before he takes the initiative to screw you. Husso said, He really came of his own accord, saying that he wanted me not to monopolize the business of ores, furs, and the like. How is that possible! You didnt concede on his word? We are doing business uprightly, why should we concede! Husso was quite unconvinced. I f*** all the women in your house! Charles cursed, his voice seemed a little dull as if his mouth was blocked by something. Although his face couldnt be seen, the participants in the meeting all had the feeling that Charles was talking with his hands over his face. He was probably quite helpless and pained. If your backbone is so hard and straight, dont be a businessman, Charles said bitterly. The previous privateering license incident, we had a hard time settling. Now comes a large number of righteous quests, and I estimate the loss this time to be at least one hundred million! I invested fifty million yuan in it, and money begetting money, got to the current level, and you alone burned down the entire safe that held the money, with no return on the original capital. Youre so damn capable. Husso whispered, I did it for the guild. I cant just let people bully us! Im so f**king grateful that youre so considerate of us! Charles spoke gloomily, then sighed and said, Aaron, go post on the forum and warn all the players who took the quests that there will be consequences for going against us, like a real-life manhunt or something. Of course, you cant say this explicitlyyou have to hint at it. Dont let anyone catch us in the act, understand? Okay, Chairman. Find another group of paid posters to wash the slate for us, not wash it cleanly, just muddy the waters. As for Roland, the son of a b**ch, find a way to flesh him out. Ill see who it is exactly thats so arrogant as to dare play me. This matter will be left to the public relations and logistics department. Also, Beckham, dont play soccer for a few days, find a way to contact that group of Brotherhood players. Ask them if theyll take on the task of assassinating Queen Andonara; Ill pay a thousand gold coins. I must have Andonara die, make Roland cry to death, make him understand the consequences of going against me. Online and offline, I want him to cry. Oh The player called Beckham hesitated for a moment and said, Boss, this is a tough one. Whats so hard to do? Someone already tried to manhunt Roland, Shuck, and the rest of F6, but they seem to be protected by someonethe informations cut off at a certain point-and someone will call to warn you if you investigate further. Ive heard that the phone number is a string of zeros. Is that so? 530 The Rewards Keep On Coming In reality, he didnt dare to call the shots, but at least his words carried weight, and as long as he wasnt up against peers of the same level or higher than himself, it was still easy for him to take someone down. But now, he couldnt even find a way to deal with an ordinary person. Speaking of which someone that I cant even touch is probably not a normal person. Thinking about it this way, Charles felt much better. In that case, lets put aside the matter of Roland and ask the paid posters to do their best to help us wash our slate clean, and muddy the waters along the way. Charles sighed. All branches return all the purchase and sale prices to their previous levels and try to save yourselves as much as possible. Back down and apologize when necessary. Now, regardless of the money gained or lost, survive first! All the chairmen of the various branches agreed. Bringing prices back to previous levels was just a matter of making less money. The biggest problem now was that many players had received missions against Cornucopia, and there was no telling how much they would lose to get through this incident. After the meeting ended, Charles contemplated for a while and then exited the game. Coming out of the virtual cabin, he found his phone and checked the time. 03:12 Then he exhaled and dialed a number. The other side of the line rang and stopped after a minute. He redialed. It stopped again. After three calls, the other side finally picked up the phone. Charles, dont blame me for cursing if you dont give me a reason. You should also know that one minute in reality is three minutes in the game. What cant we talk about in the game, or during the day when the game is down, that you have to wake me up from the game at this time? The other side was clearly suppressing their anger. Charles said slowly, Douglas, do me a favor and tell Roland to take down that forum post. I owe you one! Heh. Some sarcastic laughter came from the phone. Why should I intercede for you, a favor that would make me offend Roland? Dont you know that Im now a part of the Magic Tower of Delpon? If I intercede, what if Roland drives me away from the Magic Tower! Charles, whose knuckles were white with exertion as he gripped the phone, suppressed his anger and said, Will you help or not? After all, we know each other in real life, so is our relationship not comparable to online friends in the game? Charles finally snapped and said angrily, Are you just going to watch those normal people in real life step over us in the game? Whats so strange about that, Douglas snapped. Take away the paternal protection, take away the connections, and what part of us can we say trumps those humble scholars? Now the game takes those two factors out. In reality, we can buy equipment with money, hire other players to help us, and our starting line is already ahead of most players. Dont think about trying to beat everyone. At least I dont dare to think so. The more I study magic, the more I feel how exaggerated Rolands talent is. Hes not on the same level as us, do you understand? Douglas, are you stupid! yelled Charles into his phone. Its just a game, and youre making a game expert your idol! Youre regressing in life. Just a game? Douglas paused for a moment, then said, Although I dont dare to speak for you, there are some things I can remind you of. As you know, my seniors know friends in the Intelligence and Information Bureau, and according to them, the details of this game, the location of the servers, the specific technology used, the players data, even they dont have the authority to look into it; instead, the game company has the authority to investigate personal household data. With that said, a click came from the phone. The call was interrupted. Charles suddenly felt a bit of a chill go down his back. Even the Intelligence and Information Bureau couldnt find out what the background of this game company was. The game was too real, and what was the purpose of its launch? Charles was a little distracted, and he lay back down in the virtual cabin and entered the game again. Regardless of everything, he had invested too much money into Cornucopia. Losses could be incurred, but the foundation could not be destroyed. He had to fight for it somehow. a ON After dealing with the matters of Delpon, Roland then drew a one-time multiple teleportation magic array and teleported Andonara and Stephanie back to the outskirts of Fareinss capital. Entering the capital and returning to her manor, Stephanie summoned the servants and maids from outside. The empty manor became lively once more. At the same time, a large number of invitations were sent out, and in the evening, a banquet was to be held. A celebration banquet. To celebrate that she had survived the trial. Roland, on the other hand, took a trip to the Association of Mages and met with Great Elder Alfred. The old man with silvery-white hair sat on a chair and looked at Roland with great satisfaction. Well done, youve resolved the matter without any support. Whether its relying on your connections, your abilities, or your luck, theres no problemthese are all your strengths. Also, the Church of Light sent the Holy Lady over yesterday to thank us, because according to their newly promoted Saint Samurai, they were able to identify the dark creature lurking in the Holy Realm; your information played a great role, and then they entrusted me to give this to you. Alfred took a silvery-white bracelet out of the drawer and pushed it in front of Roland. Roland picked it up and observed it. Item: Twilight Bracer (Epic) Effect: When its daytime, all your attributes increase by 1, and at night, your mental power recovery speed increases slightly. This equipment was good, worthy of the epic classification. Plus one to all attributes would allow Roland to improve his strength without any shortcomings, and although the improvement wasnt a lot, the all-around improvement was much better than a single attribute greatly enhanced. Mental power recovery wasnt an increase in magic power regeneration, but the speed of the magic regeneration was related to mental power to a certain degree, so it was an indirect increase to a Mages magic power regeneration speed. Of course, it was a nice piece of equipment, but it was nowhere near as good as the small round shield Nia had given him. Even so, this piece of equipment was worth at least 400 to 500 gold coins; the Temple of Light had been very generous. Roland wore this bracelet on his left hand. Its size was quite suitable, and it wasnt uncomfortable. You found out who killed the deputy chairman of the Association. Though you didnt catch him, its not your responsibility to. A monster like a lich is a problem even for me. Alford took another item out of the drawer, a glass bottle with a red liquid in it. This is the Association of Mages reward for you. Theres more? Roland was somewhat surprised. There were so many rewards from this epic quest. He picked up the glass bottle, and the red liquid in the bottle gave off a bright, sparkling sheen. Item: Red Dragon Enhancement Potion (Epic) Effect: An alchemical potion made from special magic materials and the blood of an adult red dragon. After drinking it, it will slightly increase the damage and magic penetration ability of fire magic, and permanently increase the characters health limit by 10 points. It was also something good. Further enhancing the effective damage power of Rolands Self-Destructing Inferior Fireball, 10 points of max health didnt seem like much, but it was the amount of health that all Warriors could only get by leveling up once. It was quite a bit! Strength was something that was slowly piled up by stacking various talents and renewing equipment to increase attributes. Looking at the slight joy in Rolands eyes, Alfred said, You are a member of the Association of Mages, theres no reason why the Temple of Light gives you goodies and we dont; otherwise, wed look like were too stingy. You should also be able to feel the effects of this bottle of red dragon blood. Its best to get someone to protect you when you drink it, because there will be about ten minutes of severe pain and you wont have much fighting power at that time. Thank you, Great Elder, for the reminder. Roland put the potion in his Backpack. If theres nothing else, go do your own thing. Alfred waved his hand and began to shoo him away. Get closer to the First Princess. After this, if there are no accidents, shell be the queen of Fareins. A good relationship with her will be quite helpful to your future; Mages are short of money for researching magic, and the queen of Fareins shouldnt be short of money. Alfred smiled a little ambiguously. Roland pretended not to understand Alfreds expression, and after thanking him properly, he left the Association of Mages. It was already evening when he returned to Stephanies manor. The preparations for the banquet were almost done, and the new steward was methodically directing the work of the servants. When he saw Roland, he immediately came up and said, Sir, youre finally back. The First Princess asked you to come to her study. The study was on the third floor. Roland knocked on the door and a voice came from inside, saying, Come in. As he opened the door, he saw Andonara sitting in the corner, reading a book out of boredom. When she spotted Roland, she smiled and greeted him. Roland then turned his attention to Stephanie, who was sitting at the desk. Stephanie, already wearing an upper-class low-cut corset dress, beckoned to Roland. When Roland came over, she held up a thick white parchment and handed it to him. This is the letter of appointment, granting you full authority as temporary lord of Motasos County, with all lordship powers. When Roland took it and read it, that was indeed what the Fareins script on it meant. It was signed with Stephanies full name and stamped with the red lion seal and her handprint. 531 Dont You Dare! Keenly noticing the chilly atmosphere, Stephanie immediately turned her head and said, Im not trying to separate you and Roland, Anna. Its just that if Roland goes to my territory and takes you away as well, there will be no one to protect me here in the capital. Who else do you think I can trust now besides you two? My damned ghost of ex-husband is now a lich. She made a good point. Andonara hesitated. She wanted to be with Roland more than anything, but Stephanie was one of her few friends. Then stay here and protect her. Roland smiled. I can teleport back to see you every few days, and you can meet me in Motasos County when you are free. Andonara looked at Roland, then at Stephanie, and finally said, All right. Seeing her agree, Stephanie was relieved and full of smiles. Roland then handed over all the equipment in his Backpack that belonged to Andonara. It was a set of epic equipment he had made. It was probably on the level of purple equipment. But if this purple equipment Roland had made were put on the market, it would be a bargain if the full set didnt sell for 300 to 400 gold coins. After leaving the capital, Roland took the map and used Human Cannonball to fly to Motasos County, and then found the city of Motasos in the middle of the territory. It was a large city with a population of one million. It was surrounded by seven small cities with a population of 100,000 and more than thirty villages. In Fareins, there were many cities with a population of one million. And as the First Princess who was most likely to inherit the throne in Fareins, there was a reason why Stephanies territory allocated territory in Motasos County. First of all, the citys proximity to the capital of Fareins made it particularly easy to get from one city to another in a day and a half by carriage. The second reason was the abundance of horses here! It was one of the five major horse-breeding regions in Fareins. Half of the territory of Motasos County was prairie, seven small cities, and more than thirty villages, all of which raised horses. With horses, there was cavalry In this world, cavalry was the height of warfare. The presence or absence of cavalry, its number and strength, determined whether you fought with attrition tactics or simple annihilation. Countries without cavalry units, or with very weak cavalry units, could hardly extend their advantage in victory, even if their infantry was strong The old king of Fareins gave this territory to Stephanie with the true intention of making her his heir. There werent many beggars on the roadside either. It seemed that Stephanie had done a good job of managing the area. Roland found the mayors residence and showed the appointment letter to the soldier guarding the gate. Seeing the seal on it, and Stephanies handprint, the gatekeeper immediately invited Roland into the mayors residence. Like any other territory, the mayors residence was essentially a large castle. Nearly a hundred elite, heavily armored infantry soldiers were stationed inside, while cavalry and other troops were on standby in the rear of the castles barracks. The main hall of the castle was the council hall, with a high stone throne above the steps, behind which was a huge portrait of a woman. In a low-cut dress, Stephanie, sitting sideways a white waterfall could be seen indistinctly looked dignified and noble, with a touch of sex appeal. It was a nice painting, and it had already brought out seventy percent of Stephanies charm. Roland had just stood there for a while when a middle-aged man dressed in a long black uniform and dressed quite professionally came over. He bowed to Roland and then said, I heard from the guards that His Excellency has brought the First Princesss appointment letter? After showing the appointment letter again to the middle-aged steward for a moment, the bit of doubt in the middle-aged stewards mind immediately disappeared. He bent down a little lower and said in a low voice, May I ask what the temporary lords honorable name is? Just call me Roland. Storing the letter of appointment into his Backpack, Roland said, Help me notify the sheriff, tax collection officer, internal affairs officer, and all the officers related to the local defense to come here. I want to see them Tell them, within one hour, I want to see them here, and whoever does not come on time, Ill dismiss him. The middle-aged steward trembled and immediately retreated. Roland, on the other hand, slowly walked up to the platform and sat down on the stone throne. He began to browse the forum. This was a very entertaining way to pass the time, and for Roland, time passed very quickly. In about half an hour, two people had already come in. However, they just found their seats and ignored Roland. Even though Roland knew theyd arrived, he didnt say anything and continued to browse the forum. As time went by, more and more people came in. When almost an hour had passed, eight people had already sat down in the main hall. These eight people sat below, whispering, and even looked at Roland from time to time, arrogance in their eyes. Roland waited a little longer, and seeing that no more people came in and that the time was just right, he closed the forum. He sat up straight, and the eight people below saw his movement, but they all ignored it, still talking among themselves. Roland snapped his fingers, and two huge blue Hand of Magic appeared, clapping lightly. The sound was as heavy as the beating of a drum, attracting the eight peoples gazes. Roland asked the middle-aged steward standing beside him, Is everyone here? The middle-aged steward was about to speak when a voice suddenly came from below, All are here. Hearing this somewhat raspy voice, the middle-aged steward stopped talking and took two steps back. Although Roland did not look at the middle-aged steward, his mental perception ability was amazing, and the steward was no more than three meters away from him, so he noticed something strange about him immediately. It seems that somethings wrong! Roland stared at the man who had just spoken. The man was wearing a relatively loose noblemans formal dress with blue trim and silver background, a somewhat peculiar style of dress in Rolands eyes. But after a closer look, he found that the other man was wearing magic equipment. Seeing Roland looking at him, the man stood up, bent down slightly, and smiled. Sir, the new temporary lord, we are all here. Then introduce yourselves. After all, we are going to spend quite a long time together, so lets start with me first. Roland smiled. I am Roland, a Golden Son, and I have been entrusted by the First Princess to manage all the affairs of Motasos County. All right, youre next. Since the steward has already confirmed the appointment letter, we will not read it. We trust the stewards loyalty to the royal family. The man standing stroked his stubble and said, I am the captain of the cavalry regiment, Judson Fareins. A last name of Fareins? Descendants of the royal family! Seeing this man state his name, the others stood up and stated their names as well. After the eight people introduced themselves, Roland also had a first impression. The three officials involved in government affairs did not have any reaction to Rolands arrival. They were neither happy nor sad. The remaining five people, who were all in charge of the military, were not friendly to Roland. And two in particular, Judson and the other one in charge of the city defense, Tuttle Gram, seemed to have an antagonistic intent toward Roland. After hearing this, Roland swept his gaze over the eight of them and finally said, You dont have an archery regiment here? The First Princess Stephanie had the right to recruit troops, and with her ability and character, she would have created a perfect army. Archers were so useful that it was impossible not to have them. At this time, Judson said indifferently, No, but the captain of the archery regiment has not been feeling well recently and has been lying at home recovering from his injuries, and it is difficult for him to take the field. For the time being, I will also be the captain of the archery regiment. All eight of them smiled in unison, and it looked like they were planning something, but Roland felt that they were laughing at him. It was a Mages intuition. Then Mr. Judson youve worked hard. Roland nodded. I will visit the captain of the archery regiment later sometime, but for now lets get down to business. They looked at Roland silently, and the indistinct scorn on the faces of the five men leading the troops remained. The First Princess has entrusted me to manage all the affairs of the territory. Including you all! Roland swept his gaze over them and said in a slightly cold tone, Within this entire territory, from now on, my words are the same as the First Princesssyou must all obey. The other party was in a confrontational mood, so Roland naturally wouldnt show enthusiasm for their coldness. Besides, before he came here, the First Princess had already said to punish whoever disobeyed; there was no need to worry about her. Stephanie was now very clear on things. A Mage who could build a floating city in the future, and who was already preparing to work on it now, she could imagine how powerful and rare this would be. In comparison, the few officials in her territory, no matter how talented and capable they were, were not worth mentioning. Judson felt Rolands oppression targeted toward him. He frowned and said, Even if your orders are wrong? Of course. Roland smiled. Ill decide whether the order is correct or not, not you. Judson looked a bit upset. At this time, the city protection official, Tuttle, slowly stood up and sneered, Brat, dont be too arrogant. Even if the First Princess makes you the temporary lord, we dont agree. Roland laughed aloud. When did the First Princess make a decision that required your approval? Do you think youre part of the royal family? These words hit the nail on the head. Tuttle was speechless. But he was only upset for a little while before he smiled again. He felt that the pretty Mage had a sharp tongue and that he would not be able to argue with him, but the five of them were of one mind and did not need to take cues from the temporary lord to act. Even against the First Princess, they felt that, together, they could slightly sway her will. Roland looked at Tuttle. Im the temporary lord, thats already a fact. Whether you accept it or not doesnt matter. Anyway, I dont have any expectations of you. At worst, Ill replace you. After a few seconds of silence, a murderous aura suddenly spread. Judson gritted his teeth and stared at the temporary lord. Dont you dare! 532 Youre in Charge of It All To put it bluntly, they were fence-sitters. The five military officials, including Judson, slowly approached Roland. In general, territorial officials would not dare to threaten their superiors so easily. However, the First Princess Stephanie was not in her territory all year round and everything was handled by the eight of them. Over time, they secretly grasped the majority of the power and resources in the territory and even secretly divided the power amongst themselves. Now that a temporary lord appeared out of nowhere, their power would definitely be thinned. This made them extremely uncomfortable. Secondly, Roland was a man. The First Princess was beautiful, powerful, and most likely to be queen in the future. Her ex-husband was dead, and now that she was single, she was an excellent investment stock. If they could benefit from her before she became queen, they wouldnt say that they were the most powerful people in all of Fareins, but they could at least be ranked in the top ten. Married to the First Princess, they could get three things: money, people, and power. And if this pretty young boy who came out of nowhere was the new paramour of the First Princess, then in the future, the affairs of the territory would definitely be under his control, not to mention people, money, and power. They might not even be able to keep their current positions. How could this be tolerated? In reality, when the steward came to inform them that a temporary lord was coming, they laughed at first. How could that be! They had managed the territory so well without any mistakes, so how could the First Princess, who did not care about the troubles in the territory and had her eyes on the throne, suddenly send someone? But the stewards expression was serious. So they came over to see who had been sent. Then they saw a Mage, a pretty boy. In reality, to say that Roland was a pretty boy was just slander in their hearts. Mages were equal to nobles; this was the consensus of the human world. Even if this pretty boy didnt have any status, as long as he was a Mage with some power, then he was a delicious honey egg custard, and any noblewomen would want to have a taste. This was why they reacted so strongly. When they heard Roland say that if they didnt listen, they would be sacked, they even had the willingness to kill. This was a direct way to cut off their money and power; it would end them. If another choice had to be made, Delpon was actually easier to control, as it was already Rolands territory. But Delpon had one big problem, and that was that the country it belonged to was too small. Hollevin was too small. Building the floating city required not only the builder to constantly create magic bricks to pave the chassis, but also a large number of magic materials to build many functional parts. This large amount of materials was not something that a small country could freely provide. Hollevin wasnt too weak, and if they bit the bullet, they could indeed provide for it, but from then on, Hollevin might not have enough magic materials for Mages for decades. Moreover, a large purchase in a small country would be too conspicuous, and it would be easy for someone to find out the truth. But in Fareins, a country with a super large territory and extremely abundant supplies, acquiring a large number of magic materials would hardly cause the entire market of Fareins to fluctuate significantly. It would help hide his true intentions and prevent people from noticing anything unusual. This was one of the reasons why Roland wanted to build a floating city in Fareins. As the five military officers gathered around, Roland snapped his fingers, and fourteen huge blue Hands of Magic suddenly appeared in front of him. Each hand, more than two meters long, lined up together, almost completely blocking the space in front of Roland. The five military officers were also knowledgeable; except for the city guard official, the other four were all Master Warriors. They could sense that it would be hard to break through the dozen Hands of Magic. Then they stopped in their tracks, and each of them looked at Roland with a fierce gaze. Roland looked at them too. Then, in a muddled tone, he smiled and said, Either do it or do what I say. These words carried powerful confidence. The military officials frowned even more. Warriors were a profession that paid much attention to the so-called aura, and they could also feel it; like big cats, most of the time, they had strong battle instincts. Whether the opponent was afraid or not, they could sense it. And now, they could feel Rolands aura rising constantly, and he was even about to take action. In reality, their intuition was quite correct. Roland just wanted them to make a move; in this way, he would have an excuse to suppress them. Of course, Roland didnt want to kill anyone, but just put them under house arrest to seize their power. However, the other five were not fools. They felt Rolands aura and desire to attack, but they wimped out. All five of them retreated to their chairs and sat down, quite decisively, without a trace of delay. Roland was a little stunned. Actually, this was also the result of his inexperience. He spent most of his time studying magic and had relatively fewer real battles compared to other players. The average level of a professional in the Fareins Kingdom was much higher than that of Hollevin. At the same time, most Master Warriors in Holleven were reckless, but in Fareins, Master Warriors were almost all foxes; only a few of them were reckless and didnt live long. So Rolands use of Hollevins combat experience to provoke the Warriors in Fareins was ineffective. On the contrary, it made them retreat. One by one, they shrank back. Fine! Roland knew his plan seemed to have gone off the rails a little, but it wasnt an irreversible mistake; it was troublesome at best. Since you are willing to follow orders, things will be fine. Roland clapped his hands. Everything can go on as usual. The eight of them all looked at Roland, contemplating Looking at the sky, Roland said, Its getting late, go back first. Well still have a lot of time to spend together in the future. This was just a greeting. The eight of them left unhurriedly. The door of the main hall was closed, and the light inside was much dimmer. The steward was greatly relieved. He was really worried that a fight would start just now. Roland waved his hand, dispelling a dozen Hands of Magic, and then said, Steward, you know where the entrance to the castles basement is, right? Take me there. Yes. The steward bowed his head slightly and walked ahead. The entrance to the basement was not hard to find. It was right next to the stable at the back of the castle. There was a small barracks with a hundred elite veterans, a direct unit of the royal family to protect the prince and princess, and under normal circumstances, they only listened to the orders of the protected person, that was, Stephanie. Of course when the appointment letter was issued, they naturally obeyed Rolands orders as well. More than a hundred soldiers in silver and white iron armor formed a circle outside the stable, and next to the stable, there was a small black entrance that he had to bend down to enter. It was narrow inside, a flight of steps high above the ground to keep the rain from seeping in. Then there was a stone staircase going down. The entrance to the basement is so obvious? Roland glanced at the steward with a strange look in his eyes. The steward was old and smart and immediately understood the expression in Rolands eyes. It was the request of the First Princess. The stewards expression was rather helpless. She said that the castle itself is already a defensive measure, and if there really is an enemy and even the castle is breached, the basement would be useless; but it would be better to build something more obvious, and it will be much easier to put something in there later. The veterans who surrounded the area smiled. They all admired and respected the First Princess Stephanie, and this nonsense idea of hers was quite adorable to them. The First Princess was very nice and took good care of them. They received the most pay out of all the troops in the territory, and the best equipment and provisions were provided to them first, before the other troops. Many of them were grateful. So toward Stephanie, they had no malice, only gratitude, and only two thoughts in their minds: to protect her, and to obey all her orders. They knew very well what it meant that Roland was able to hold a letter of appointment signed by the First Princess herself, with her fingerprints on it. The First Princess truly trusted this man. Then they should also trust this man. Roland didnt go into the basement but looked at the group of soldiers surrounding him. Then he looked at the steward. Did you call them out too? The steward nodded. Let them meet and get acquainted with you, sir. Also, sir, the few military officials in the main hall that you offended, although they didnt act out on the spot, they may use some rather dishonorable means when they return. So, sir, you need an escort, and they are completely trustworthy and capable of protecting you. As soon as the steward said these words, they knelt on one knee, and to the sound of clashing armor, the leading middle-aged soldier said, The First Princesss command is everything to us. You are the new lord she has chosen, so we are your shield and your spear, sir. Rolands gaze swept over the group. All of them were above level ten, and three were even at level thirteen. A small, elite army of one hundred Master Warriors. Put them in a small country like Hollevin, and they could directly break through the countrys capital without a sweat. In other words, these people were Stephanies real hidden pawns. Those strange people in the capital werent even pawns. as Although they knelt for him, their loyalty was to Stephanie, not to him. But it was enough; Roland didnt need them to be loyal to him. Just as long as they would listen to him. Rise, Roland said with a smile. The group of people stood up at the same time, moving quite uniformly. Roland thought about it and said, Steward, I have to trouble you again. This time, invite the tax collector over and dont disturb the other officials. Then invite the masters of several big chambers of commerce in the city over. The steward nodded. It is no trouble, it is the servants duty to share his masters worries. After the steward left, Roland looked at the middle-aged soldier who had just spoken. How many other troops in the capital besides you are there altogether? About three thousand three hundred. The middle-aged soldier replied after some thought. But two thousand of them are the militia, not much of a fighting force. Id like to put you in charge of these three thousand three hundred men. Do you think youre up to the task? 533 Cutting the Gordian Kno It was just that the First Princess preferred to think of them as her trump card and wanted them to protect her castle. Roland, on the other hand, thought differently. He believed that spirits and ideas could be spread. The sheep led by a lion would be brave, and likewise, many of the soldiers brought out by the generals loyal to the First Princess would gradually become loyal to her. Of course, this presupposed that the generals thoughts would remain the same; as peoples status and identity changed, their thoughts would gradually change, which was a variable factor. No one dared to guarantee someones eternal loyalty. But Roland did not need the general to be able to carry out the idea of loyalty to the princess forever, just for a few years. A few years, as long as the news didnt leak out, would be enough for Roland to build the base of the floating city. After being stunned for a moment, the middle-aged soldier looked at Roland with a faint smile on his face, and after a beat of silence, his expression was hesitant and gradually became solemn. He said, Of course we are, all of us one hundred brothers are. Roland nodded. Then the matter is very simple. You guys are very strong, I can see that, so I dont care what method you use, just dont hurt the innocent, dont plunge the whole city into chaos, just put Judson and the other five people under house arrest. Although they want to kill me, they were people that the First Princess promoted after all, so some respect has to be shown for her. I see. The middle-aged mans eyes were bright, burning with ambition. What happens after they are placed under house arrest? What else do I have to teach? said Roland matter-of-factly. Receive their men, of course, and then obey my orders and those of the First Princess. The middle-aged soldier held back his excitement, suppressing the slight trembling of his body. He licked his lower lip, which was already a little dry, and once again knelt down on one knee. I will always be loyal to you, Mr. Roland, and to Her Highness, the First Princess, and this feeling will never change. Roland nodded in satisfaction. All right, take action, and when you succeed, tell me your name. The middle-aged man was shocked. He thought he understood what Roland meant: If you dont succeed, dont come back. But in reality, this was just the wrong result of an ambitious persons excessive imagination of those in high positions. Roland simply didnt want to waste any more time and had them act as soon as possible. The middle-aged soldier, with a solemn look and a little nervousness, led his brothers and left the castle quickly. A few candles were lit on the long black dining table, and the castle, built with giant rocks, was cool during the day, but at night, it was especially warm. After all, rocks had the property of absorbing heat during the day and releasing it at night. The dinner tasted delicious, and Roland ate slowly as he browsed the forum. Shortly after, the tax official came in from outside, along with a few overweight middle-aged men. They stood next to Roland and looked a little alarmed. On their way over, they saw the group of elite infantry that had been staying in the castle on the move, divided into five groups, ferociously arresting people in the city. They had heard of this group of elite soldiers made up entirely of Master Warriors, but since the soldiers had only been following the orders of the First Princess and had remained in the castle without action for several years, they gradually forgot about the existence of this group. After all, who would think all day long about something that wasnt a threat? So when this group took action, they were surprised to find that they had underestimated the power of the First Princess. And they also underestimated the determination of this temporary lord who had appeared out of nowhere. Sit down, all of you, Roland said as he gently pushed the dinner aside. Only the tax official carefully pulled out a chair and sat down, while the rest of the merchants remained standing. They were big merchants, very rich. But in front of the nobles, in front of absolute power, their money could not make them stand any straighter, nor could it guarantee their lives or the safety of their families. When he saw them shaking like frightened quail, Roland didnt force them and said, I came here with no intention of killing anyone, nor do I want to change the environment or the situation here. But there are people who dont want me to stay, so Ill have to make the first move, and as long as you dont oppose me, things will be fine. No one dared to speak, including the tax official, who didnt dare to look at Roland. The dual identity of a temporary lord and a Mage brought a considerable deterrent effect. It seems that you guys welcome me. Roland laughed at himself and continued, Tax officer, I want you to do your job and try to collect all the tax you can from this city, and I will send you more men. Remember, we dont over-collect taxes, but we also cant let people cheat on them. If someone refuses to pay, or pays less and dares to resist, you have the power to arrest them directly. If they are too aggressive and dare to resist, you can come to me and I will back you up. The construction of a floating city required a lot of materials, and without stable funds to buy magic materials, the construction progress would definitely be greatly affected. So the second thing Roland had to do was to make sure that the tax collection was going smoothly. The tax official nodded sternly, then wiped the cold sweat off his head and said, Yes, Mr. Roland. As for you guys Roland looked at the merchants and found that their bodies were still shaking, so he smiled and said, Dont be so afraid, as long as you pay taxes properly, I wont give you a hard time. The merchants shook even more severely when this was said. Roland was stunned for a moment, then sighed helplessly. As expected, merchants all die for money. He understood now. These merchants probably all evaded taxes, and when the steward invited them over, these people were panicking, worried that this might be an ambush. In the end, Roland talked about tax collection right off the bat, and they immediately assumed they were done for, and now with the words die for money, they were so frightened that they assumed Roland was the kind to kill to set an example. There were even two fat merchants who had stains on their crotches. Its my first day here, so I wont do anything to you as long as you dont think of getting rid of me. Roland thought for a moment and continued, But tax evasion is a crime, after all. It cant just be left as it is, so Ive decided to give you guys a chance. Within three days, go to the tax official, pay the tax in full, and then pay the twenty-percent fine on top of it. Roland tapped the tabletop, and with the noise, the merchants all subconsciously cringed in fear. This is what Ive decided. Whos for it and whos against it? No one dared to speak out. For some reason, even though Rolands last question sounded very gentle and did not contain any negative emotions, after listening to it, they felt a chill all down their spines, as if there was a cold wind blowing hard at their backs. Cold sweat flowed down their backs, which was sore and aching, but no one dared to move. Very well. Lets put the matter of taxes aside for now. After these words, all the merchants were slightly relieved. Roland placed several sheets of paper he had already prepared on the table, then the steward picked them up and gave them to all the merchants. Im a Mage, and I need a lot of materials to study magic. Rolands gaze stopped on the tax officer for a moment before he said, And you are to help me keep an eye on these magic materials, and if you find them, buy them for me. I will buy all the magic materials on this list at fifteen percent of the market price. I want quantity as well as quality. Hearing that Roland was asking for their help in buying goods, these merchants relaxed a lot more. They could now sense that Roland didnt seem to have much malice toward them, nor did he have that superior attitude. Back from a tour in hell, the merchants didnt dare to quarrel with Roland and said they would definitely help him find all the magic materials on the list. Having the steward send the merchants away, Roland said to the tax official who was still sitting, The money for the purchase of magic materials will be paid out of the tax, but dont let this affect the development of the city of Motasos. Also, how much is the monthly tax revenue of the territory? You have to get me a list of the income and expenditure, understand? The tax officer nodded repeatedly. After the tax officer left, the middle-aged soldier returned. He and other elite soldiers had easily captured the five military officers and escorted them to the main hall. During the arrests, some of the troops saw their leaders being arrested and tried to resist, but they were suppressed without fanfare. Looking at the five military officers who were tied up tightly, Roland was quite satisfied. These hundred elites were as strong as he thought they would be. At this time, Judsons eyes were bloodshot and red. He stared at Roland and roared, Roland, how dare you do thisif I die, the capital will definitely send someone to kill you too. Let me go and I will leave by myself. For Judson, the royal bloodline was probably the last of his cards to play. Once used, it would be gone forever. But it was better to be alive than to become a pile of yellow dirt. Send them to prison, and remember that their food must not be too bad, and they should be kept white and tender to sell at a good price. Roland laughed. If anyone comes to ransom them, each of them will cost a hundred gold coins to free, or else they will be locked away for two or three years. The elite soldiers immediately stepped forward and dragged the five military officers, who had little ability to resist, away. Along the way, Judsons extremely angry curses could be heard. Roland looked at the middle-aged soldier. Well done, and quick, too. Now you can tell me your name. Fauci Doyle, the middle-aged man said with reverence. Fauci, take your men and go seize the property left by those five men. Roland stared into the middle-aged mans eyes as if trying to see through his nature. Remember what Ive said: more work, more pay. 534 Magic Bri... Grapes The city of Motasos seemed to have changed for the better, but it also didnt seem to have changed at all. Large-scale armed confrontations took place at several locations around the city yesterday, but they ended quickly. There were a few casualties among the soldiers, but not a single civilian was killed in the fighting The battles proceeded with considerable restraint. It was said that the heads of all the troops in the city had been changed. This should have been a big deal. But the actual noise that was made was minimal. This wasnt reasonable. At any other time, when there was such a dramatic change in the military hierarchy, there would have been numerous casualties and a large number of commoners involved. This time it was so quick that many of the nobles in the city didnt even realize what happened before things settled down. The merchants eyes almost fell out in surprise. With their intelligence network, they didnt understand what was going on. It wasnt until a few of the chamber of commerces big shots who were invited to the mayors residence and then released, all limp and weak, spoke up that the citys dignitaries got a hint of what was going on. It seemed that a temporary lord had come and clashed with the previous leaders of the army, such as Judson. Then, within three hours, the leaders were replaced. Now they were all detained in the mayors residence. The nobles and merchants who heard about this couldnt help but feel a little frightened. This new temporary lord was a ruthless one. What does he like! How should we approach him, how should we appease him? With the support of such ideas, the big shots of the city started taking action. They walked around, visited each other, and asked who knew about the new temporary lord. The more they walked around, the more surprised they were. What was the origin of the new temporary lord, and why did they have no information about him? Roland had already arrived in the basement of the mayors residence. He had no intention to hide the entrance, but he had set up three big stone doors at the entrance stairway to prevent outsiders from entering the basement. Then he began to dig a circular cavity with a radius of 100 meters with magic. He turned the earthen wall of this cavity into extremely hard rock walls with Mud to Rock. A purely circular shape already had a strong load-bearing capacity, not to mention a wall reinforced with magic, so even if a hundred-meter radius cavity was opened underneath the mayors residence, it would not sink the mayors residence on the ground, and even if multiple residences were built on top of it, there would be no problem. It took Roland nearly six days to open this cavity. Mr. Roland, youve finally come out. All the nobles in the city are planning to hold a joint banquet. Everything has been prepared and they are just waiting for you to come out. The venue of the banquet is the Barker Chamber of Commerces Square in the cityits very spacious and can accommodate thousands of people. The steward handed over a rather beautiful gold invitation. They ask that you attend, sir, and they hope to welcome you. Its not an ambush[1], is it? There was no such word in this world, but Language Proficiency automatically transformed the word into a statement with the same meaning. The steward shook his head vigorously. No, absolutely not. They wouldnt dare. Roland thought about it, took the invitation, and said, Set it for the evening-Ill be there in the evening. The steward was relieved. Ill go immediately to inform them now. The steward had been under tremendous pressure for some time now. Everyone was asking him when Roland would come out of the basement. These people didnt dare to rush Roland, so they could only trust the steward to ask him to come out. But how could the steward dare? He had no idea what kind of personality and temper the temporary lord had, so what if the temporary lord hated to be disturbed while studying magic so much that when he got angry he turned people into animals or burned them to death? Wouldnt that be a meaningless death? He was afraid to go find Roland, but the nobles wanted him to go. Whether a steward was powerful or not, whether a steward had any panache and respect outside, depended on the status and strength of the master. The temporary lord seemed to be powerful, but the steward didnt dare to rely on Rolands background for now, so he could only bear the expectations of all the nobles in the city, and the pressure brought by these expectations. Fortunately, Roland had come out. If the steward had to wait a few more days, he felt that he might have been depressed enough to commit suicide. Roland took a shower. Having stayed underground for a few days, although he didnt sweat much, he wasnt a god; he would sweat some and his body would inevitably smell. After the shower, he closed his eyes and rested for a while. Of course, he stayed in the guest room. The First Princess Stephanies master bedroom, with all its feminine furniture and decorations, was not a place he was comfortable staying in. It took almost an hour for all his magic power to regenerate, and it just happened to be evening by then. Roland went downstairs, got into the carriage that the steward had prepared, and leisurely went to the banquet venue. There were already a lot of luxurious carriages parked there. The venue was closely protected by soldiers sent by Fauci, who surrounded the perimeter of the banquet with around four hundred men. As soon as Roland got off, the sharp-eyed Fauci saw him and immediately shouted, The mayor has arrived, everyone, be quiet. The clamor immediately stopped, and nearly a thousand well-dressed gentlemen and noblewomen turned their heads to look over. Their eyes were filled with curiosity, suspicion, and even hidden hostility. Roland waved his hand at them and calmly walked down the stone pathway into the middle of the banquet. The crowd parted like waves, and Roland came to the center of the banquet, where there was a small elevated platform on which one could stand with a single step and look down on every corner of the square. There were many soldiers standing around the small white stone platform. Fauci was among them. Roland hesitated for a moment, but finally, he stood on the platform. Faces looked up at him, and in the darkness and candlelight, they were like masks of a brilliant life, with a thousand looks and a thousand expressions. Im a Mage, I dont like to talk too much, and time is quite valuable to me. Rolands gaze swept around the square and continued, You invited me over and welcomed me, but Im not happy, and certainly not angry-I just feel a little annoyed because I dont like to waste time. People were surprised, and after a few seconds of silence, a clamorous discussion finally took place. But these voices were still too quiet, blending together like the sound of a rushing tide. More than a thousand people, I think everyone who is well-known is here. Thats good. Now, Im going to say what I think. Roland used Sound Amplification on himself to silence the noisy discussion of the crowd. I have no intention of changing the rules of this city, nor do I want to change any divisions of power. As for the issue of the army changing leaders a few days ago, that was because they dont want to recognize me as a temporary lord. Just because Im easy to talk to doesnt mean Ill just stand around stupidly and be bullied. The guests listened attentively. As long as no one messes with me, I naturally dont mess with them, its as simple as that. Roland clapped his hands. Okay, now that Ive come and the matter has been discussed, its time to leave. Feel free to do whatever you want now; the cost of the banquet will be on my account. Tomorrow, the organizer of the banquet may bring the bill to the mayors residence to ask for the money. The guests were shocked to hear that Roland was leaving immediately. What kind of operation is this, when the main guest arrives and immediately leaves? Roland didnt wait for them to react. He started teleportation and appeared directly outside the square, and then got into his carriage. Only after Roland left did the astonished guests come back to their senses. Then everyone shouted incredulously. The combined sound was like the hiss of steam spewing out of a pressure cooker. Back at the mayors residence, Roland went straight down to the basement, and after lowering the three stone doors, he floated down to the bottom, wearing a full set of magic regeneration equipment and the small round shield that Angel Nia had given him pinned to his arm. The small round shield provided an increase in max magic power and a small amount of magic regeneration speed. Roland then began to gather his own magic power and manifested it in his hand. Normally, pure magical elements were colorless. However, when they gathered together and reached a certain concentration, they formed a transparent solid. This process took Roland nearly a minute. In his hand was a white, glass-like ball. It looked fragile and was also fragile in reality, but when it exploded, its power would be quite amazing. This was a magic energy cluster, not yet a magic brick. There were very few people who could do this. Most of the Legendary Mages could do it, but there werent many Legendary Mages. He tossed the magic energy ball lightly in his hand. It felt light and bright Roland looked at his mana bar, and one-seventh of his magic power was gone. vas nov One-seventh didnt sound like much, but to be clear, Roland was now equipped with a full set of equipment that increased max magic power and magic regeneration. He added all his stats to intelligence, had two epic equipment that increases magic power, had the blessing of providence and a title, and his max magic power was already more than five times the normal Mage of the same level. This transparent mass of energy, the average Mage couldnt create it even if they compressed all of their magic power. The magic brick, on the other hand, was a further compression of the energy ball. Roland closed his eyes for the second time and sent out all of his mental power, splitting it into threads and winding them around the energy ball densely until the magic energy was completely encompassed. Finally, he used his mental power to contract it hard, squeezing the energy cluster as hard as possible. The energy cluster in the palm of his hand became smaller and smaller. As its size became smaller, the color of the energy cluster also changed slowly. From light blue to aquamarine, and finally a completely opaque murky blue. At this time, the magic energy cluster had changed from the size of an apple to the size of a grape. When this step was completed, it was officially a magic brick. However, Rolands craftsmanship was not good enough to make it into a brick shape. It was made in a circular shape. And it was quite small. 535 Solar System in Hand It was weightless and floated in midair after he released it. It was exactly the central chassis that the floating city needed, and the foundation for the floating city to rest on. It was also what Mordenkainen called a magic power brick. Roland, on the other hand, preferred to call it solid magic power, which sounded more academic. It was extremely small and only the size of Rolands thumb, but it was already vaguely absorbing the magic power nearby. Of course, because it was too small, it only absorbed a little environmental magic power. Can the gravity caused by an object of great mass capture the objects around it? said Roland to himself. He tried to describe what he saw with scientific concepts. Is it only absorbing magic elements because its a dense, solid form of magic elements? Roland put the magic power ball aside and compressed a similar amount of magic power into an almost transparent energy ball of magic power in the first phase. The magic power gathered in the transparent energy ball would still disperse, although very slowly. Is it because its mass is not as huge as the first ball, although they are of the same size? Or rather, this ball is too huge for such a mass and cannot produce enough gravity? Roland put the transparent magic power next to the blue ball. They werent right next to each other, but at a certain distance. After putting them aside, Roland began to e a newer, bigger solid magic power ball the size of an apple. At this moment, he began to wonder how he could build magic power into a brick. When he squeezed it with his mental power, it would be a ball. Was it because he wasnt too familiar with the application of mental power yet? Did he have to further study the uses of mental power? Were there courses on that subject in the Red Magic Tower? While thinking, Roland tossed the solid magic power in his hand and was about to put it aside, when he was caught off-guard. It was because he found that the transparent magic power ball moved to a place where it wasnt supposed to be. Dazed, Roland stared at the energy ball and unfolded his mental power vision. Then he discovered, to his surprise, that the dispersing magic power from the energy ball submerged into the tiny solid magic elements in an extremely tiny thread. Roland stared for a while longer. He was even more shocked to discover that the transparent energy ball was truly moving. Although it was very slow, it was spinning around the magic power ball like the moon circling the Earth. How could this happen? Roland was greatly surprised. This wasnt described in the manuscripts offered by Mordenkainen. There were truly no such descriptions. Was it because of its spherical shape? Unlikely. Holding the solid, apple-sized magic power, Roland watched the transparent energy ball circling around the blue ball in silence. He watched its dispersing magic power be drawn to the small ball while the energy ball shrank until it was the size of a grain of rice. Then, it swirled and cut the surface of the blue ball with a long tail behind it, crashing on the blue ball and turning into a blue flash. At the same time, the tiny blue ball shivered too. Having absorbed the energy ball, the tiny ball seemed to have grown a little bit bigger. This process took at least seventeen hours. Roland had stood for such a long time that his feet were almost numb. He stretched his body and then excitedly put a much bigger solid magic power ball next to the tiny ball. A moment earlier, it was like a shapeless mass of magic power around the tiny ball, but at this moment, it was more like the tiny ball was spinning around the solid magic power ball the size of an apple. It was true that a sphere with a greater size and mass under the same density could capture the other smaller solid magic power balls in its orbit, just like celestial bodies. If this apple could be compared to the sun and the grape was Mercury, then An idea suddenly popped up in Rolands head. Then, he created new tiny magic power balls excitedly. Venus, Earth, Mars Jupiter is a huge gaseous planet Well, I should turn it bright blue and make it something between an energy ball and pure solid magic power. Saturn has a ring What should I do about that? Roland thought for a moment and poured abundant pure magic elements into the Saturn ball. Half of those magic elements were attracted to Saturn, and the other half span around Saturn and gradually connected into a beautiful transparent ribbon. Seeing that, Roland increased the output of magic elements. About half an hour later, a shallow, bright blue ribbon of light appeared next to the Saturn ball. Awesome! Roland waved his hand in excitement. It truly felt great to create something he wanted. Then, he built Uranus and Neptune in the same way. When he was about to make Pluto, he suddenly realized that Pluto was no longer a planet. At this moment, there were only eight planets in the solar system. So, the solar system had basically been completed. There was a big apple and eight balls of different sizes next to it, some of which were even surrounded by rings. They were beautiful and harmonious. Also, these balls began to spin in their own trajectory with the apple at their center. As they spun, the surrounding magic elements were gradually attracted to them. Although there wasnt a lot, a dense mist of magic elements formed as time went by. It was invisible to the naked eye, but could be perceived with mental power. Roland had thought that, as magic power congregated, those balls should be able to absorb them and grow larger. Unfortunately, his idea was wrong. Roland observed for almost eight hours and didnt find any sign that those spheres were growing. Having no other choice, he could only release the magic elements stored in his body and pour them into the mini solar system. Then, Roland discovered that those spheres were only absorbing the magic elements that he unleashed, and the wandering natural magic elements were simply gathering here. Those solid spheres of magic elements were all created by him, so they could only absorb energy of the same naturehis energy? That was very likely. After he emptied the magic power within him, that power would soon lose his signature and turn into wandering magic elements in half an hour, under normal circumstances. However, after they entered the effective range of gravity of the solar system, his personal signature didnt disappear but mixed and transformed the environmental magic elements, although the transformation was rather slow. Very soon, the magic elements that were transformed and carried Rolands signature became absorbable for the nine balls. Different balls had different intakes, but in general, the greater their mass, the more they absorbed. However, they absorbed faster than the magic elements were transformed, so about eight hours later, all the magic power that carried Rolands personal signature was gone. At the same time, the mist caused by the congregation of magic power grew slightly thicker. When Roland stood in this circle, his magic power regeneration was increased by at least twenty percent. Was this Magic Power Affluence? Roland remembered that, according to Mordenkainens manuscripts, a bizarre attraction and concentration of magic power, known as Magic Power Affluence, happened after the floating city was constructed. In an environment of Magic Power Affluence, ones magic power regeneration and the speed and power of their spells would be significantly boosted. It was also one of the reasons why the floating city was so powerful. However, Roland had only created nine tiny spheres. He was not even close to building a floating city. Why did a minor Magic Power Affluence occur? Was it because of the solar system? Holding his chin, Roland contemplated. Then he was alarmed by the system notification. He checked the notification, only to find that someone pinged him in the guild. Betta: Brother Roland, come and give me a hand. Ive got my territory, but things are kind of tricky. Roland: Is anyone asking for trouble? Call Schuck and Li Lin and lets cut them down. Betta: No. My territory is purely swampland. There isnt one inch of solid ground where people can stand on. Roland: ??? Betta: Youll know what Im talking about when you see it. Ill wait for you in Delpon. Roland left the solar system in this place and exited the basement. He had stayed for three days in the basement. His butler came to him soon after he emerged. Mr. Roland, a merchant has found many magic materials for you. The butler seemed rather happy. Theyre all waiting to meet you. Theres no need for that. Roland took three gray bags out of his Backpack and gave them to the butler. Here are three hundred gold coins. Confirm that they have the magic materials I need and pay them. It should be enough for the next couple of months. After that, youll make half of the payment with the city taxes and come to me for the other half, got it? Carrying the three heavy bags, the butler was rather burdened, as an ordinary person wasnt as strong as a professional. Also, nobody is to enter the basement. If anyone has an accident there, they wont be compensated. Alarmed, the butler nodded quickly. Ill make sure that the basement is well-guarded. After giving the butler instructions, Roland teleported himself to the capital of Fareins and found Alfred. Great Elder, when will we have that meeting with the Temple of Light? Roland remembered that he would be able to visit the Grand Library of Light after the friendly meeting. He had been looking forward to that for a long time. Its been postponed, said Alfred helplessly. Theyre all frightened by the dark demigod creature that hid inside the Temple of Light. Theyre still conducting internal investigations. By how many days has it been postponed? Alfred thought for a moment and said, Probably a month. If you dont have anything else to do, you can travel to other places for fun. You know Teleportation, you can teleport yourself back in a month. The Mages need common sense as much as devotion to magic. Besides, the knowledge you learn during your trips might help you understand and improve the spells you recently learned. Roland understood this logic very well. However, Roland still felt that it was much more fun to watch videos uploaded by silly netizens. 536 I Have a Lot of Friends Having played the game for so long, he was no longer interested in exploring the world. Why? The reason was very simple. Because it was too dangerous. If one were to wander about without enough capabilities, they would die quickly. The human world was treacherous enough, and the ancient relics, the Realm of Devils, the Astral Plane, etc. could be even more perilous. While the players werent afraid of death, their levels would plummet and their equipment would be looted if they died a few times. The loss was so heavy that all the players above level five were scared of death. But they werent truly scared. When they found that death was inevitable, or when they felt humiliated, they would turn into berserkers and die together with their enemy. Therefore, the players were only scared of death in a relative sense. Roland was himself in such a position. He had calculated that, after level ten, if he hadnt filled more than 50% of the EXP bar, he would drop to level nine after one death. It took him almost half a year to rise to level ten from level nine. It meant that after one death, his efforts in the previous five or six months would be for nothing So, he certainly would rather not get killed! It was also one of the reasons why Roland was the first to reach level ten. The other players had died more than fifteen times on average during their level-ups since they started the game. Some had even died a hundred times. The Warriors, in particular, had died the most times on average among all the classes since they always led the charge in battles. The class with the lowest average death count was the Rogues. Thats right. The Rogues, who could use stealth anytime, run the fastest on the ground among all classes, and liked spraying quicklime, had only died 2.9 times on average. However, the greatest shortcoming of the Rogues was that they couldnt fight head-on battles, and they couldnt get experience by analyzing spells like the Mages could. Therefore, while the Rogues died minimally, the speed of their leveling was only slightly above average. It wasnt too surprising that Roland, as a player who knew most spells, completed most epic quests, and only died three times, had become the player with the highest level. Looking at the shocking number on the EXP bar after he reached level ten, Roland dropped the idea to gain EXP through frequent battles. It was too time-consuming and risky; there were too many variables in a battle. Too many players had been killed by random arrows when they were about to win. There were also epic quests. After all, the rewards of epic quests, including both equipment and knowledge, were all satisfactory. The risks of those epic quests were too insignificant compared to the returns. Leaving the Association of Mages, Roland went to Stephanies manor and saw that an afternoon tea party was going on. A dozen noble ladies with different vibes and styles were seated in the manor in various groups. Andonara seemed very happy among them. Then, she became even happier when she saw Roland. She ran to Roland and jumped into his arms. Telling her that he was going to Hollevin, Roland left the city while Andonara stared at him affectionately. He teleported back to Delpon. Then, not only did he see Betta, but he also met Li Lin and the others. Those beasts had just returned from the Temple of the God of Love in the neighboring county and said goodbye to Roland the moment they met. We cant get much experience anymore when we stay with the believers of the God of Love. Li Lin couldnt have sounded more disappointed. So, we have to get more experience in other places through other ways, for example, in the God of Loves base in Urganda. We want to have more profound communications with the high-level clerics of the God of Love there. Li Lin and the others all looked fascinated. Roland felt that his head was dizzy Wasnt it still the same trick? So, the God of Loves clerics in Hollevin cant satisfy you any longer. Roland estimated that they had probably added all their points to Endurance. Li Lin and the others were now around level right, and the female clerics in the Church of Love were only level six at best. They werent of much help anymore. Okay. It wasnt Rolands place to stop his friends from doing what they wanted, but he was slightly worried. If you fool around in the game so crazily, what will you do if you cant meet any girls in reality who are as beautiful and voluptuous as those in the game? Will you never get married? W Youre one to talk, said Li Lin disdainfully. Both Andonara and the long-legged angel are the most gorgeous girls ever. Theyre at least two levels higher than the female clerics we were with. Why should we be scared when youre not? Well Did we have similar conversations before? Roland had a deja vu for a moment. They found a tavern and had a lot of food and drink. Then, Li Lin and the other three friends wobbled away from Delpon. Without the four powerful professionals, Delpon became much more vulnerable. But thankfully, Vincent returned from his travels. He had reached level seven and was much stronger than before. On the other hand, Douglas had joined the Magic Tower too. Together with Cage Reed, the Heros descendant, they formed the iron triangle of Delpon. Nobody really dared to step up and cause trouble. On the city wall, watching the carriages that Li Lin and the others took disappear in the radiance of the sunset, Roland asked Betta, What exactly is the matter with your territory? Betta gave a magic scroll to Roland. Just come with me and see for yourself. Then, Betta took out another scroll and opened it, before he completely vanished in blue light. Roland sensed the scroll in his hand with his mental power, only to discover, to his surprise, that Betta had engraved Long-Distance Teleportation to the scroll and set up the destination of the teleportation. He was a smart boy, as expected of Schucks cousin. Opening the magic scroll, Roland was teleported too. After a few seconds of blankness, Roland found himself standing on a meadow. Roland looked around and found that it seemed to be a plain. Then, Betta rushed close from not far away, breathing heavily. Sorry, Brother Roland, but Im not very familiar with magic scrolls. The spells I engrave into them cant be perfectly triggered. But this is already impressive enough. Rolands eyes glittered. You can sell the magic scrolls that connect the important transportation hubs between Hollevin and the capital of Fareins, for example. Im sure that a lot of people will be willing to buy that. After a brief shock, Betta said in admiration, Brother Roland, you are truly a business genius. You are the impressive one here. You got the hang of magic scrolls before I did. Betta smiled proudly. Since you were dedicated to magic arrays, Brother Roland, I could only study magic scrolls. Lets talk about business. You said that your new territory is full of swampland. Whats that about? At this moment, Betta put on a bummed expression. Brother Roland, come with me. Then, they walked forward, and Betta stopped. Roland smelled a strong stench that was mixed with water vapor and mud. It wasnt very pleasant, but not nasty either. In front of his eyes were green bushes. They didnt seem odd at all. Then, Betta picked up a random stone and tossed it forward. After a dum, the stone fell into the bushes, making some mud splash, before it sank. It was a swamp! Roland turned around and looked at Betta. All your territory is like this? Betta nodded, depressed. Yes. Roland, however, found it strange. That doesnt make sense. I could tell that Dinah liked you. She couldnt have set you up. She didnt. Betta shook his head quickly. She probably didnt know that the territory was swampland either. She told me that she left home when she was very little to be a Saint Samurai in the Holy Realm. She didnt know her family very well. That was indeed quite possible. Roland nodded and looked ahead. A territory of swampland could barely be called a territory. No wonder the Hibiscus family who cherished their turf so much were willing to give away such a huge piece of land. Nobody could live in such a place. However, the players thought differently from NPCs, especially those who were born in a country famous for its constructions. Then we can simply turn your territory into a hardened habitable land, right? Mud to Stone and Stone to Mud? Betta shook his head. I thought about it before, but I did some calculation and found that it would take years for us to transform this area into normal land even if we worked full time. Why should we work on this alone? asked Roland with a smile. You can always hire more people. The NPC Mages are all learning battle spells. Few of them are interested in Mud to Stone. Betta heaved a sigh. Also, the NPC Mages are too proud. Theyll feel humiliated if theyre asked to do hard labor like this. Roland waved his hand. Lets look for players. I dont know other Mage players. I dont think many of them are capable of Mud to Stone, either. Betta was still pessimistic. I think there are plenty. Roland waved his hand again. Let me take care of this. But youll have to pay a price, for example, by giving some of your land to the helpers. Betta nodded. Thats not a problem, as long as the land isnt too expansive. Roland smiled. Things are much easier now that youve told me that. On the next day, after he got up from the virtual cabin, Roland simply logged in his chat app, found the Mages group, and sent a message to ONeal. Roland: Didnt you want to find a piece of land and build your own Magic Tower? I have a friend who has empty land. Lets make a deal. 537 High-Energy Head Aler Naturally, Roland was neither distant nor too close to them. He chatted with them now and then, explaining magic conundrums to the Mage players or talking about lewd topics once in a while. They could almost be called online friends. Besides, Roland had taught them lots of stuff. They mostly supported Roland. ONeal was different from Roland. Roland was devoted to magic development, but ONeal was focused on both magic studies and socialization, as could be seen from the Mages group he set up. Therefore, it was completely natural and understandable that Roland wanted to talk to him. Seeing the question mark that ONeal replied with, Roland sent another message. A lot of people in your group are now capable of Mud to Stone and Stone to Mud, right? ONeal: Yes. About forty of them can cast that spell now. Its all because of you. In the match, you changed the terrain and secluded the girls in the poisonous circle. Also, you created underground shelters with the two spells earlier, which helped you a lot at the beginning of the match. Besides, you always built houses for rest with the two spells in the previous videos. So, the two spells are what all the players learn nowadays. So, he was actually the reason? However, the two spells were truly useful. Even without him setting an example, the Mage players wouldve learned them sooner or later. Roland sent another message. Forty people should be enough. I have a favor to ask of them! You are the group creator and their future leader. Im sure you can give them a command, right? ONeal: Were just partners on the same path. It doesnt really matter whether or not Im the group creator or the leader. Roland smiled, impressed by how smartly ONeal spoke. Roland: A member of F6 got a territory, but its full of swampland, so I want you to help us turn it into dryland. Of course, you wont be doing it for free. After a city is built in the territory, well give you a ten-acre territory in the business area. After he sent the message, ONeal was silent for a while. About ten minutes later, Roland received a message. ONeal: When can we start? Roland: Its up to you. The sooner, the better. ONeal: Tell me the location, well go over soon. Roland smiled. The wetland to the east of Fezhoasso County. ONeal: Got it. Well meet again in the game shortly. Then, ONeals avatar dimmed. Roland was rather bored. He barely went to the saber arts club anymore because Qi Shaoqiu was absolutely no match for him now. He could read the posts on the forum any time he wanted. His spellcasting training in reality had hit a bottleneck too. His Hand of Magic was slightly bigger than a normal hand, but its grip strength was no more than thirty kilograms, much less than in the game. As for Inferior Fireball, he could light a cigarette with it, but its effective flight range was still limited to five meters. It was almost as if that was his upper limit. Roland was quite angry. Recently, he had visited all the Buddhist and Daoist temples near the city, but he never found the special energy balls again. He visited the ancestral hall a couple of times too, when other people were paying tribute, to no avail. That was a huge disappointment for Roland. The virtual cabin was so huge that he could easily be discovered if he dragged it out of his home, or he wouldve traveled in the country with the virtual cabin and visited the famous temples to see if he could find anything. The more he stayed at home, the more bored and depressed he became, so Roland took a public bike and rode around aimlessly on the street. Then, at the turn of a street, he saw Jin Wenwen, whom he hadnt seen in a long time, walking toward him slowly with her head lowered. Roland saw her, but she didnt see Roland. She seemed rather worried, her face extremely pale. She had left no good impression on Roland at all, so he simply rode past without greeting her. He thought that it was just a coincidence. After all, this was a small city, and it was not strange to run into bums now and then. But as it happened, when Roland was about to go home for lunch after biking for a whole morning, he ran into Jin Wenwen again. At this moment, Jin Wenwen was sitting on the cement stairs before a storefront. Her face was extremely pale, if not blue. More importantly, she was covering her mouth with a handkerchief, which had been dyed red by her blood. A corner of it had nearly turned black. She was coughing, and after each cough, her handkerchief would become redder. She was extremely feeble and not nearly as mean as before. Some passersby were around. Someone had called an ambulance. They all asked Jin Wenwen to lean against the wall and take a rest. However, nobody dared to give her a hand. It was not because they were unsympathetic. Some young men were going to support her, but they were stopped by the elders, who were maturer and more cautious, knowing that the patient would be even more badly hurt if someone handled her recklessly when the situation was still unclear. After hesitating for a few seconds, Roland called Qi Shaoqiu. Roland, what can I do for you? Qi Shaoqiu said in his lazy voice, as if he didnt care about anything I saw Jin Wenwen in Heavenly River Street. I dont care where she is! Qi Shaoqius voice became louder and more impatient. Shes vomiting blood. Shes in a bad condition. Thats none of my business! Qi Shaoqiu shouted, and then he hesitated. Wait, what did you say? Shes in a bad condition? Yes. Roland repeated what he just said. Someone already called it in, and the ambulance will probably come soon, but I thought you should know. After a brief silence, Qi Shaoqius anxious voice emerged from the phone. Give me your location. Ill be right there! Roland hung up the phone and sent his location through the chat app. Then, he observed Jin Wenwen from the crowd. He didnt really like this woman, but he still knew her. It was unnecessary for him to step up and take care of her, but he should give her a hand if anything really happened to her. After all, she was Qi Shaoqius ex-girlfriend, and a human being that deserved his sympathy. Very soon, the ambulance arrived, and Qi Shaoqiu came in time in his pickup too. He parked the car in a parking space next to the road and ran to Jin Wenwen, and the doctor who just examined her shouted, Massive bleeding in her upper esophagus, and strong noises in her lungs! Shes in a critical situation. Is her family here? I am! Qi Shaoqiu shouted and squeezed into the crowd. Then, his face turned from calm and peaceful to extremely awful. Carry her to the stretcher! the doctor urged them. She needs to get oxygen in the ambulance! Without further ado, Qi Shaoqiu picked up Jin Wenwen, who was nearly passed out. Jin Wenwen wanted to struggle, but she had no strength at all. Her eyes rolled and she fell unconscious. Soon, the shrieking ambulance drove away. Roland rode the bike to the hospital unhurriedly. About half an hour later, Roland came to the hospital and found the ER. Qi Shaoqiu was standing against the white wall in the corridor outside of the ER with a weird look on his face. He seemed both angry and agitated. Roland walked to him and leaned against the wall with him, before he asked, Hows she doing? Still in the ER. Her situation is very bad. Qi Shaoqiu subconsciously searched his pocket but found no cigarettes, so he became even more irritated. He rubbed his eyebrows for a moment and said, Thank you for letting me know. Youre too kind. I only did what I should. After a moment of hesitation, Qi Shaoqiu said, This doesnt look right. Jin Wenwen is very healthy. She was a boxer and still practices boxing now. She cant be in such critical condition even if shes ill. Roland raised his eyebrows. What did you find? The doctors simply took her into the ER. I didnt have time to observe her. Qi Shaoqiu looked around and found that the other patients and nurses were all far away, so he said in a low voice, But I could tell that the blood she vomited wasnt the black blood caused by illness or weakness, but the living blood caused by internal bleeding. Roland got it. So, she was beaten up and wounded! Jin Wenwen was a tough, mean girl. It didnt seem very surprising that someone caught her and beat her up. Qi Shaoqiu nodded. Thats exactly my thought. Then what? Are you going to avenge her? asked Roland with a smile. Qi Shaoqiu said with a self-mocking smile, Why would I? I dont want to be involved with her anymore. Im only standing here as her friend. In that case, Ill be on my way. Qi Shaoqiu was greatly surprised. Youre leaving just like this? Theres nothing special between me and Jin Wenwen. Ive already done her a favor by informing you for her. Why should I stay here? Qi Shaoqiu said matter-of-factly, Its true that you dont have to stay here for Jin Wenwen, but you can stay for me. Were friends, arent we? Fine. Roland stayed. The two men barely talked while they waited patiently for the results from the ER. After only a few minutes, two men, one older and the other younger, came to the corridor quickly. The old man, who was bald, was walking in the lead, and the young man behind him looked obedient and walked quickly yet reluctantly. When they came to the ER and saw Jin Wenwen on the door, both of them looked extremely awful. At first, Roland thought that they were Jin Wenwens family or friends. But defying his expectations, the old man asked, May I know if youre Jin Wenwens family? Huh? 538 Less Hair, More Strength He had searched temples and other peoples ancestral halls, but he found nothing. Little did he expect that he would see it here. But it was weird that this energy was stuck to someones scalp. Also, the old man was bald and greasy. Roland had enough respect for old men. He knew that everybody would have greasy skin when they were old. But the problem was that the energy he wanted to eat was hanging on someone elses greasy scalp. He could hardly open his mouth and take it. Roland could hold himself back if the target were a young, beautiful girl. But he would rather pass on a greasy old man. Roland didnt conceal his complicated expression, and the old man became rather angry when he found that Roland was gazing at his scalp in a weird way. Most bald people were very sensitive when other people looked at their head, and this old man wasnt an exception. Young man, I asked you if youre Jin Wenwens family. Why are you staring at my head? Roland smiled apologetically and said, I didnt mean to. Sorry. Also, neither of us is Jin Wenwens family. Were her acquaintances at best. The old man, who had a round and chubby face, seemed even unhappier after hearing that. Then do you know her family, or have her familys number? Both Roland and Qi Shaoqiu shook their heads. Maybe theyre lying to us, said the young man behind coldly. Maybe they dare not admit it because they know that the woman is a troublemaker. That was rather an outrageous remark. Qi Shaoqiu was her ex-boyfriend. Leaning against the wall, he stared at the young man and said slowly, Im not sure if shes a troublemaker, but I do know that her life is still in danger. Nobody can be justified in beating a woman into such a condition, at least not in front of the police. If you were the ones who hurt her and youve come to the hospital to mock her, Im starting to wonder if theres anything wrong with your head. You! The young man, who looked disobedient, pointed at Qi Shaoqiu and was about to curse aloud. The old man stopped him, which left him rather bummed. The old man looked at Qi Shaoqiu. Young man, my son is a bit reckless, please dont feel offended. No matter how you are related to the patient, please help us contact her family and well talk about compensation. Im sure none of us wants to go to the police department for this. Qi Shaoqius face gradually turned cold, and he changed from leaning against the wall to standing straight with his arms crossed. Was she really hurt by you? Both Qi Shaoqiu and Roland were rendered speechless. In the south of this country, many locals had the habit of establishing a hall in their house to enshrine their ancestors. It was one of the local customs. Yet, Jin Wenwen had barged in and thrown their ancestral paintings to the ground. Even the most lenient men couldnt have tolerated that. Im surprised that she wasnt killed. Qi Shaoqiu was rather shocked. Then, he was greatly embarrassed and leaned against the wall again, not daring to look at them anymore. Even though she was at fault, it was still wrong of us to hurt and almost kill her. The old man seemed rather sensible. She rode an electric bike away after she was hit once. We failed to catch up with her. We thought that she was probably heavily wounded, so we came to the hospital hoping to find her. She was so heavily wounded after suffering one hit? Qi Shaoqiu eyed the old man up and down. Did you practice the Iron Sand Fist, or the Eagle Claw Technique? At this moment, the young man stepped up and said, My father didnt do anything. I was the one who hit her. That girl learned some boxing and thought that all the traditional martial arts were no match for boxing and free combat. Fortunately, I practice the Eagle Claw Technique instead of the Iron Sand Fist, or she wouldnt have had the chance to be sent to the ER at all. He was so tough? Roland wasnt entirely convinced. However, subtly looking at the old mans head, he decided that it might be true. If one could make use of that energy, it wouldnt be hard to kill someone with one punch. Qi Shaoqiu slightly nodded at the old man and kept standing Roland, on the other hand, stepped forward and asked, Sir, what kind of arts do you practice? The Iron Head Art. Do you have a problem with that? The old man squinted at Roland. He strongly disliked the man who had been gazing at his bald head the whole time. The Iron Head Art? Now, Roland vaguely realized why the energy would appear on the old mans head. He said, No, not at all. Just asking. The old man didnt talk to them anymore, but the young man kept glancing between Roland and Qi Shaoqiu. He could tell that these two had practiced martial arts. Since they knew Jin Wenwen, it was even more likely that they had practiced martial arts. He was of a mind to spar with someone of his age, but this was clearly not the time to propose such a request. They all fell silent. Soon, the ER door opened, and two nurses escorted the unconscious Jin Wenwen to a ward. Another two doctors walked out with the nurses. One of the doctors stopped and, looking at Roland and the others, asked, Which of you is her family? After a long time, Qi Shaoqiu heaved a sigh and said, I am, sort of. Either you are her family, or you arent. What do you mean by sort of? The doctor looked rather displeased. Im her ex-boyfriend. We havent talked in years. I only learned that she was hurt by chance and came to look after her. After a brief stun, the doctor put on a weird expression and finally said, She has two broken ribs that pierced her lungs. They werent deep, but she didnt come to the hospital immediately after she got hurt. Its already remarkable enough that she survived so long. Also, she has a severe bruise on her upper esophagus, which was probably caused by someone else. You can call the police if you think its necessary. Hearing that, both the old man and the young man looked nervous. Qi Shaoqiu casually said, Got it. How is she doing now? Shes safe for now, replied the doctor. However, in order to be safe, shed better stay in the ICU for two days. Go pay for the ICU stay at the counter first. Qi Shaoqiu nodded. Then the doctor left. There were too many patients in the public hospital for him to linger for too long Qi Shaoqiu said to the old man and the young man, I dont want to be too involved with her anymore. Im only doing this for old times sake. If youre free, you can wait here for a moment. Ill call her family after I make the payment. You can negotiate with them. Then, Qi Shaoqiu went to the counter to make the payment. Roland looked at the old man and peeped at his bald head again. But his secret movement was noticed by the old man, who became even unhappier. After a moment of hesitation, Roland asked, Sir, did you lose your hair because you practiced the Iron Head Art? The old man became even more pissed, if not furious. No! This is genetic! The young man stepped forward and looked at Roland angrily. He knew how sensitive his father was about the matter. Ten years earlier, his father had a dozen hairs left on the head, and his father tended to the hairs every day more carefully than he took care of his family. However, it was inevitable that his hairs would fall no matter how he took care of them. Losing one hair each year, he had become completely bald after ten years. Some people were still happy and optimistic even though they were bald, but this old man was one of those who got cranky after his hair was gone. Roland wasnt scared although the father and the son were both angry. He had a feeling that they were no match for him even if they attacked him together. Dont be mad. Im not mocking you, said Roland casually. I only want to learn the Iron Head Art from you. I can pay tuition. Roland wondered if the mass of energy above the old mans head was because of the Iron Head Art. At this moment, Qi Shaoqiu had just returned from making the payment. He said gloomily, Roland, you still want to learn the Iron Head Art after youve already learned boxing and the Miaodao technique? Youre too greedy. You can never learn too many skills. The old man was less angry after hearing Rolands request, but he still looked at Roland out of the corner of his eyes. Right now, Im in no mood for teaching you any techniques. Roland smiled. Then Ill come to you again if I have a chance. After that, Roland and Qi Shaoqiu left. Both of them scanned the QR code and got a public bike. Then Qi Shaoqiu asked, Ill go back to my pickup. Right, do you really want to learn the Iron Head Art? Im slightly interested in it. In fact, its a popular technique. I know how to practice it too. Why dont you come to the saber arts club and let me teach you? I wont charge you. Roland shook his head. Youre clearly not a professional. Hes already lost all his hair after training, but you still have so much hair. Is this about hair at all? Im only doing this for Forget it. Youre just an idiot. Qi Shaoqiu suddenly became frustrated. Although I have nothing to teach you anymore, you are a student of the Qi family. Come to the saber arts club and have a chat with us when youre free. I will. Dont go back on your promise. Qi Shaoqiu waved at Roland and rode the bike away. Finding a new energy mass, and probably the reason for the energy masses, Roland was very delighted Luck was really a strange thing. He had never found any leads when he specifically searched for them, but he ran into something valuable when he was just roaming. It was truly weird. 539 Surprise Roland was among them. He snapped his finger and turned the two hundred square meters of swamps into rocks, before he transformed them back. The process took him about seven seconds, and other players more than twelve seconds in general. The gap didnt look huge, but the areas that the other Mage players transformed were generally between fifty to a hundred square meters, so the difference was actually very big They had been working here for two days. A very huge swamp had been turned into a regular muddy land. Seeing that his mana bar was almost empty, Roland sat down and took a break while he drank fruit wine from the system Backpack. After that, he picked up a handful of mud that he just transformed and observed it. He was slightly surprised. Did you find anything? ONeal came to him from the rear and asked. ONeal was the leader of those players. Also, he was very capable too. His efficiency of transformation was far from Rolands, but still much higher than that of other players. The swamps here were very fertile, but the soil is apparently much less so after the transformation. It doesnt make sense. In fact, I think it makes a lot of sense, ONeal said with a smile. Considering the conservation of mass, the total mass of the swamps must be lower than that of the solid soil after the transformation, so wheres the additional mass from? The drop of fertility can be conversation of mass from a magic perspective, right? Roland nodded. You do have a point. So, many things that seem unreasonable in this magic world have their own explanations. ONeal smiled. As long as this game is alive for long enough, well be able to uncover more things that can be applied to reality. Roland looked at ONeal in surprise. ONeal raised his eyebrows. It seems that youve already brought some magic ideas to reality, havent you? Rolands eyes widened, as if he had been greatly shocked. What? Magic ideas can be brought to reality? Then, Roland slapped his thigh and laughed. You are a funny man. How can you take the items or spells in the game to reality? If such mysterious phenomena existed on Earth, the government wouldve controlled it a long time. Or are you able to cast spells in reality already? In the end, Roland looked at ONeal up and down with great curiosity. ONeal shrugged. How is it possible? If you cant do it as the best Mage, I certainly cant. I merely think that its a possibility. In fact, I would love to cast spells in reality. Roland put on a melancholy expression. I can destroy the world in the game, but Im just a weak ordinary person in reality. Im always disappointed when I return to reality from the game. S Then, they talked about some magic problems and continued transforming the swamps. They continued doing the job until the daily shutdown of the game server. Roland crawled out of the virtual cabin and wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. As expected of a bigshot with a high IQ. Hes already suspecting that I can cast spells in reality. Roland waved, and two blue Hands of Magic flew out and grabbed clothes for him from the closet. I wonder if my acting tricked him. Roland told nobody that he could cast spells in reality. He didnt even tell his parents or his closest friends, so there was no way that he would divulge it to someone he barely knew. After freshening himself up, Roland called Qi Shaoqiu. Have you checked up on Jin Wenwen recently? I have no time for her, said Qi Shaoqiu in an extremely angry voice over the phone. Ive already suffered a tragic loss by paying thousands of yuan for her. Theres no way that I will check up on her again. You can always meet her and ask for your money back. Roland teased him. Forget it. I dont want to see her family. Qi Shaoqiu yawned. Ill hang up the phone if thats all. I know you want to visit her because you want to ask for the address of the old man who practices the Bald Head Art. Go ask her yourself. Dont bring me in. Its the Iron Head Art. Qi Shaoqiu said helplessly, I dont care about what it is Right, my sister made too much breakfast. Why dont you come and grab a bite? Its your favorite noodles. Okay, Im on my way. Remembering the noodles that Night Tide Sands made, Roland instantly drooled. Her food was really delicious. He rode a bike to the saber arts club for breakfast and chatted with Night Tide Sands for a moment, before he came to the hospital on the bike too. He asked the nurse and learned that Jin Wenwen had been transferred from the ICU to a regular ward, so he went to her ward with the apples he bought on the way as gifts. When he found Jin Wenwen, she was lying on the bed with a middle-aged woman sitting next to her. Jin Wenwen saw Roland the moment he arrived. She was rather surprised. Roland greeted the middle-aged woman and put the apples on a nightstand next to the bed. Then he said, It seems that youre fine now. Youll probably be discharged from the hospital in a few days. Thank you very much. Jin Wenwen couldnt sit up because of the surgery, so she said slowly while still lying on the bed. Before I passed out, I saw you making a call. You were the one who informed Qi Shaoqiu, right? Roland nodded. At this moment, the middle-aged woman remarked angrily, Why did you mention that scumbag? He didnt even check on his girlfriend once. Curse that unscrupulous man. Roland said casually, Aunt, its wrong of you to say that. Qi Shaoqiu is no longer Jin Wenwens boyfriend. It was already responsible enough that he carried Jin Wenwen to the ambulance, paid for the emergency treatment, and signed the surgery consent form. You cant ask more from him. Arent you Wenwens friend? Why are you defending him? The middle-aged woman seemed angry. ma Roland heaved a sigh. Im Qi Shaoqius friend. Im not that close to Jin Wenwen. Slightly surprised, the middle-aged woman sized up Roland. Youre not Wenwens pursuer? No. The middle-aged woman immediately seemed embarrassed. At this moment, Jin Wenwen interjected, Mom, will you give us a moment? Okay, just call me if you need anything. Jin Wenwen nodded. After the middle-aged woman left the ward, Jin Wenwen said with a smile, Sorry, my mom is just like that. Shes always blunt. Roland was rather surprised that Jin Wenwen, despite her usual meanness and cynicism, actually apologized. Stop looking at me as if I were an alien. Jin Wenwen chuckled. I had a near-death experience. Isnt it normal that I had some epiphanies? At this moment, Jin Wenwen was less domineering, rather gentler and more feminine. She looked less annoying than before. When youre free, please tell Qi Shaoqiu to come visit me in his spare time. Jin Wenwen seemed to be at a loss. I want to talk to him about the past in peace. I did many wrong things, but he was partly responsible too. Okay. Roland nodded. Ill relay the message for you, but I cant guarantee that hell come. I understand. Jin Wenwen smiled casually now that Roland accepted her request. Also, youve come to me for something, right? After all, you hate me; you would never visit me unless you want something from me. Roland hummed in response. Actually, I want to know where the father and the son who hurt you live. You want to learn martial arts from them? I think their Iron Head Art is quite good. Roland found a random excuse. He couldnt reveal the energy masses anyway. Jin Wenwens eyes bulged. You will become bald if you practice the Iron Head Art. Well, Ill just check it out. I might not really learn it. Roland felt that he was sweating. Did the old man lie when he said that the Iron Head Art wasnt the main reason for his baldness? But he was going there for the energy masses, not the Iron Head Art. That should be fine He only hoped that he didnt have to practice the Iron Head Art to produce the energy masses. He was still young and unmarried. He didnt want to get bald yet. Looking at Rolands stiffened face, Jin Wenwen giggled, which affected her chest where she had a surgery. She frowned in pain but managed to hold it back. She said, Okay, I have to get some rest. You get on with your business. After I recover, Ill treat you and Qi Shaoqiu to a fancy dinner for lending me a hand even though we have a bad relationship. She sounded very emotionally mature when she talked about that. Roland confirmed that Jin Wenwen was a lot different from before. He wondered if she had been possessed by someone else. After obtaining the address from Jin Wenwen, Roland soon found the old man on his bike. The old man was living in a typical quadrangle courtyard in the village. The red gate of the courtyard was wide open, so Roland simply walked in. He saw the old man smacking red bricks against his head very fast with his legs stretched out. When the red brick in his left hand was smashed, he would smash that in his right hand. The red bricks shattered with a dull noise the moment they hit his head. The remains of the bricks paved a circle of rubble on the floor. There was a heap of about fifty bricks before the old man. Very soon, he smashed all of them. Then, he opened and raised his hands above his hand, before he slowly pressed them down to concentrate his qi on his abdomen as an ending movement. Roland couldnt help but applaud. He was truly impressed. The old man wasnt too happy to see Roland. Young man, its a taboo to peep at somebody else whos practicing martial arts But were in a society of law now, so I wont punish you for that. Roland chuckled and said, Uncle, youre truly generous. Im here to learn At this moment, Rolands eyes suddenly caught a few masses of invisible energy in the hall across the fifteen-meter-long courtyard behind the old man. 540 Both Are Taking Advantage Roland had always thought that the special invisible energy could only be generated on special occasions, such as in ancestral halls and temples. After all, the first time Roland encountered the energy, it was when the ritual to pay respect to ancestors was over. First impression was very important. It was understandable that he reached such a conclusion. However, the one-year search afterward made him begin to question the conclusion, until he saw the same energy masses again. Also, there were plenty of such masses, which were drifting in and out of the hall in the courtyard. Roland was instantly dazed. Noticing his anomaly, the old man looked back and saw his hall. He asked weirdly, "What are you looking at? Is there something wrong with my ancestors'' paintings?" "No, I just feel that the atmosphere here is different from other places. It''s very special," replied Roland awkwardly. Out of his expectation, the old man grew excited after hearing that from Roland. "You can tell that?" "That''s what I''ve felt." "Come on in!" The old man grew even more interested and held Roland''s hand, leading him to the hall. "You seem very perceptive. I like to communicate with sophisticated young men like you the most." He dragged Roland to the hall in the courtyard. Generally speaking, the hall was the place where the ancestors were enshrined during festivals, and where the guests were received on other occasions. Of course, different places had different customs. People in other places might live in other ways. There were a few wooden chairs, and three apparently worn-out rocking chairs. The old man sat down first and pointed at a rocking chair near him warmly. "Take a seat. You probably didn''t know this, but this courtyard was built by me and my father from scratch. It took us a lot of time." Roland looked around. Trying not to look at the energy balls that were flying around him, he asked in surprise, "You built the courtyard on your own? It''s made of green bricks!" The old man was rather proud. "We kilned the bricks on our own. My father was a mason. He knew bricks very well." "Impressive!" said Roland in admiration. This quadrangle courtyard was clearly old. The old bricks all had a long history. It couldn''t have been easy to kiln bricks decades earlier, not to mention building such a big courtyard with only two men. "Tell me what''s impressive about this courtyard." The old man slightly leaned forward. "I want to hear it." Was it some sort of test? Roland only considered for two seconds, before he came up with a theory. Recently, he had found that he was thinking much faster in reality. The old man picked up a fan and waved it softly. "Then what''s its advantage that ordinary people can''t feel?" Roland kept his eyes half open. "Qi. I''ve sensed very feeble qi in this place." The old man''s eyes widened. "Stop talking about qi. It''s not scientific at all but pure nonsense." "That''s not nonsense, it''s exactly what I''m feeling." Roland stared the old man in the eyes without giving in. "I don''t feel a lot of it, but it''s there." The two of them stared at each other for a while, and the old man laughed. "You''re right. There''s indeed qi in this place." "You can feel it too?" Roland looked at the old man in surprise. He wondered if the old man could sense the energy balls like he could. The old man shook his head. "I can''t." Roland frowned. "Then how did you" "But it can''t stop me from reaching a conclusion." The old man stood up and walked to the front of a thick wooden chair. He lifted his right hand and smashed it down heavily. After a crack, the wooden chair was broken into halves. The sharp fractured wood on the chair told everybody that it was a real chair, not a prop. Then, the old man showed his right hand to Roland. There was not even a bruise on it. "Ever since I moved here, I''ve never had any bottlenecks during my practices." The old man chuckled. "I''ve never been sick either, not even with the slightest cold." Roland thought for a moment. "You practice martial arts. It''s not surprising that you''re healthy and strong. It can''t prove anything." "Then have you seen anyone who can be as skilled at martial arts as me?" While talking, the old man punched and broke apart one of the two parts of the chair on the floor yet again. Roland raised his eyebrows. He walked aside and stomped on the other broken chair heavily. It was broken too! However, the long chair was truly of a high quality. Roland''s foot was numb even though it was broken. "You aren''t weak, young man." The old man chuckled. "Since you can feel qi, I don''t think you are a simple person. Tell me why you''ve come to my place!" Roland considered for a moment and said, "I was going to say that I wanted to learn the Iron Head Art from you, but now, I would say that I want to rent one of your houses and make use of the qi in your house." "Hahahaha!" The old man laughed and said loudly, "Not a problem. I love frank young people the most. There are many empty rooms in my courtyard. Only my son and I live here, and he doesn''t stay home often. This place will be more lively if you''re willing to stay. You can take the room over there. It''s three thousand yuan a month." Roland took a deep breath. "That''s too expensive." Although Roland earned at least fifty times more than the rental from the game, it was still too high for such a small city, where a house with three bedrooms and a living room only cost about 1,500 a month. This old man charged three thousand yuan for a room of only twenty square meters. He was truly greedy. Pretending to consider the matter for a moment, Roland gritted his teeth and said, "Three thousand it is then. I''m willing to pay more to practice martial arts." The old man laughed loudly in satisfaction. Roland was expressionless, but he secretly chuckled in satisfaction too. Both of them felt that they were taking advantage of each other. The old man felt that he was a business genius to have rented a room in the suburbs for three thousand yuan a month. As for Roland He felt that it was a great bargain as he sensed the drifting energy masses nearby. Both of them were highly satisfied. Then, Roland took out his phone and paid the rent for the first month. Despite being old, the old man was quite familiar with WeChat. Roland saw that his WeChat avatar was a young and beautiful girl, and his nickname was "Pointy Lotus Leaf." He was truly one slutty old man. Putting his phone back, Roland asked, "Sir, may I know your surname?" "It''s Yu!" Huh? Roland was briefly stunned. "How are you connected to the Yu family?" Nine out of ten people with the surname "Yu" were from Schuck''s family in this city. Even Old Yu from the Red Star Grocery Star was Schuck''s distant relative. It was said that Schuck was even senior to Old Yu in the family hierarchy. "Well, I''m from a branch of the family." The old man looked at Roland weirdly. "Do you know anyone from the Yu family?" "Your young family leader is a good brother of mine." After a brief silence, the old man said carefully, "Why don''t I give your money back to you? Brother Kunpeng will laugh at me if he learns that I took his brother''s money." Roland smacked his lips. The traditionalists were really amusing. This man was already very old, yet he had to call a young man in his twenties brother. "That''s unnecessary. If you and I don''t tell, he''ll never know!" Roland waved his hand. "I do want to rent a room here. I''ll feel guilty if I don''t pay." "Okay." The old man thought for a moment and realized his poor financial condition. "I''m Yu Kunming. You can call me Brother Ming." "I''d better call you Uncle Yu. It feels weird to call someone as old as you ''brother.''" Roland waved his hand and said, "Let''s just consider age." "Okay." Yu Kunming thought for a moment and said, "But don''t think that the rent is too high. This is actually a place of fortunes. It will do you good if you stay here." Roland furrowed his brows. "How so?" "Did you see the hill behind when you came?" Roland nodded. There was indeed a hill behind the quadrangle courtyard. It wasn''t very high, but it was indeed a hill. "The Yu family pays tribute to the predecessors at the ancestral hall, but the coffins and ashes of the predecessors are all buried on the hill back there, which is collectively owned by Yu Village." Yu Kunming touched his bald head and continued with a proud tone, "The Yu family has existed almost a thousand years with quite a few celebrities, even through the turbulent times decades agoall thanks to this place of fortunes where the deceased members of the family are buried. It''s said that a grandmaster surveyed the terrain here and set up arrays." Roland immediately got it. "So, you and your son are actually tomb keepers!" "There''s no such thing as a tomb keeper anymore." Yu Kunming shook his head and said, "Although the main family transfers money and assets to us every year, nobody wants to be beneath others in a society where everybody is equal anymore. I''ll probably be the last generation of tomb keepers." Every person had the ambition to rise higher. Roland could tell that even Yu Kunming didn''t want his son to grow into a tomb keeper. Both of them were silent for a moment when they discussed this heavy topic. Then, Roland checked the room he just rented, only to discover that it was clean despite the lack of beddings and furniture. He intended to bring beddings and daily necessities here when he came the next day. Holding back the desire to absorb the energy balls, Roland left the quadrangle courtyard. He remembered how he passed out and was sent to the hospital when he absorbed the energy ball last time. He didn''t want it to happen again. He would absorb it someday, when the time was ripe, but not today. The energy balls weren''t going anywhere. He could take his time. Delighted, Roland rode his bike home whistling a tune. Hardly had he opened the door to his home when his phone rang. Then, Schuck''s voice came from the phone. "Roland, not good. Come to the saber arts club. Something happened to Qi Shaoqiu." Hearing that, Roland simply pushed out the obsolete 125CC motorbike that had been kept in his family for a long time. Confirming that the gas was still off, he immediately straddled the motorbike. The motorbike roared, and Roland arrived at the saber arts club after only ten minutes. The students were in a circle behind the short wall. Vague cries came from the distance. 541 Poor Love Birds Schuck was treating Qi Shaoqiu''s wound with bandages, but blood was still flowing out of his waist, as could be seen from the stains on the bandages. Li Lin, on the other hand, was helping treat Qi Shaoqiu''s shoulder. Both of them had learned battlefield first aid from NPCs in the game, so they did it quickly and well. Night Tide Sands, on the other hand, kept wiping Qi Shaoqiu''s sweat for him with a towel palely. Qi Shaoqiu was lying on his left side. He had already passed out, and his face had lost all color. He was gravely wounded. After Roland squeezed in, he realized Qi Shaoqiu''s condition after only a quick glance. The man had been stabbed in the back, and his right arm was chopped off. Roland looked around and found Qi Shaoqiu''s severed arm on the ground with blood leaking out. He immediately said to Night Tide Sands, "Go grab some plastic bags and wrap from the kitchen. Put some ice into the bag from the fridge. We don''t need too much ice. A little bit will be fine. Go!" Night Tide Sands knew the kitchen best, so it would be better for her to fetch the stuff. She didn''t have to search. Hearing Roland''s voice, Night Tide Sands raised her head, and she seemed much more at ease. She nodded and quickly ran to the kitchen. Roland asked, "What happened here?" "A quarter of an hour ago, two men came saying that they wanted to learn miaodao. They asked about the price and said it was okay. But when Qi Shaoqiu turned around, they ambushed him from the back." Schuck seemed angry. "Li Lin and I were teaching the new students in the field. We saw them taking out weapons, a short sword and a short saber, from underneath their clothes." "The short sword stabbed his kidney, and the short saber cut his arm?" Looking at where Qi Shaoqiu fell, and considering what Schuck said, Roland was already able to recreate the assault against Qi Shaoqiu in his head. "The criminals were well-prepared. Did Qi Shaoqiu piss off anyone recently?" asked Roland. Both of them shook their heads. The students nearby commented, "Master Qi has spent most of his time in the saber arts club. I don''t think he offended anyone." "I never heard Master Qi mention anything of the sort." "It''s true that no matter how good you are at saber arts, you can be still vulnerable to ambushes!" Roland turned his head and looked at the students who were taking pictures They could attract a lot of attention if they were to post the pictures and videos they took online. Even more unbelievably, some girls were weeping but they didn''t stop filming. Roland was of a mind to ask them to stop filming, but at this moment, Night Tide Sands came back. Roland accepted the plastic wrap from her and tied Qi Shaoqiu''s severed arm up with it. He then put the arm in the yellow plastic bag that contained some ice. The ice could lower the temperature in the bag, so that the severed arm could stay alive longer. He covered the arm with the plastic wrap to prevent bacterial infection. That was because the ice in the fridge actually contained lots of bacteria, many of which were resistant to cold and could cause infections. If Qi Shaoqiu''s arm was recklessly mixed with such ice in the bag, the cut on the arm would definitely be contaminated by bacteria. Then, when the arm was reattached, the doctor would have to do a lot of extra work. The odds of success of the reattachment might be affected too. Therefore, Roland made a sensible choice. Putting the arm in the big bag carefully, Roland asked, "Have you called 110 and 120?" "Yes, we''ve called both," said the students who were watching. Night Tide Sands grabbed a towel and wiped sweat off Qi Shaoqiu again. Apart from blood, Qi Shaoqiu''s clothes were almost soaked in sweat, which was a sign of electrolyte disturbance. Why was the ambulance still not here? Roland was more or less anxious. At this moment, Schuck had already tied up the wound on the back of Qi Shaoqiu''s waist. Under the pressure of the thick bandages, the blood from the back of his waist was condensing and flowing out more slowly. Very soon, Li Lin finished dressing the wound on the shoulder too. Li Lin stood up and said, "It''s pointless for me to stay here. I''ll go and ask the hooligans I know. Perhaps they know a thing or two." Roland and Schuck nodded. Then, Li Lin squeezed through the crowd and drove his car away. One minute after Li Lin left, the police car arrived. This was the suburb, so it would really take some time for the police to arrive from downtown. After the police came, they quickly drove the watching students aside. A policeman was about to ask questions, when he was stunned to see Schuck. "Uncle Kunpeng, why are you here?" "I''m a student at this club too," said Schuck. "Is he your friend?" Schuck nodded. "Yes, so please work harder on this case. Also, help me inform Ah Rong in street patrol and Ah Fa and Ah Yu who are in the traffic police force. Ask them to get the surveillance footage of the cameras on the streets nearby." The policeman nodded. "Got it. I''ll pay extra attention to this case for you as long as my duties allow me to." Roland was quite impressed. He had known that Schuck had a high seniority status in the Yu family, but he didn''t know that it was so high. The other policemen began to ask questions. They asked if there were any security cameras in this place. As it happened, the answer was yes. Qi Shaoqiu had set up the cameras in case of thieves, but they now proved useful for a different purpose. The policemen soon retrieved the footage of those cameras. Then, the ambulance arrived. A doctor and a nurse got off from the ambulance and scurried close with a stretcher and a first aid box. The doctor fluently opened Qi Shaoqiu''s eyes and aimed a flashlight at them, before he said, "Dilated pupils. Give him oxygen immediately." The nurse activated the portable oxygen supplier in the first aid box and stuck a tube to Qi Shaoqiu''s nose. The doctor examined Qi Shaoqiu''s wounds and then said, "Carry him to the ambulance as fast as you can. If any of his family or friends are here, two should come with us." Schuck and Roland put Qi Shaoqiu on the stretcher and then lifted it onto the ambulance. Naturally, the plastic bag that contained the severed arm was taken too. Then, Roland and Night Tide Sands got on the ambulance following the doctor. After the ambulance left, Schuck began to make calls. "Kunlin, are you in the hospital right now? I remember that you''re already the deputy director. Do you have any doctors who are good at operations in your hospital?" "What happened, Old Eight?" A voice came out of the phone. Schuck was the eighth oldest among all his cousins. "I have a friend named Qi Shaoqiu. He was stabbed in the back. His kidney was hit. Also, his arm was cut off too. If possible, could you get your best surgeons to help treat him?" "Okay." The voice from the phone sounded rather old. "Since he''s your friend, Old Eight, I''ll do it myself." "Thank you." "No need. We''re family." After hanging up the phone, Schuck thought for a moment and made another call. "Mother, are you still in the capital? When are you coming back?" "Not anytime soon. Is there anything wrong, son?" A pleasant female voice came from the phone. "I have a friend named Qi Shaoqiu. He was assaulted just now and is in a critical condition. I''ve asked Second Brother to do operations for him, but I don''t feel very reassured, so I want to ask you to help pray for him." Laughter suddenly came out of the phone. "Son, you must believe in science. Although I''m a Saintess of the White Clan, I''m nothing more than a symbol. I don''t know any kind of sorcery" Schuck snorted. "Mom, just keep pretending." "Ha. Give me his photo. I''ll perform a dance that will stabilize his soul. However, I''m too far away from you. I can''t guarantee it will be effective." "I know. It''s up to him whether or not he can survive." Hanging up the phone, Schuck searched for a long time and finally found a picture where Qi Shaoqiu was on it alone. He then sent it to his mother via the chat app. Then, Schuck heaved a sigh. He had done everything he could. It was up to Qi Shaoqiu''s own resolve whether or not he could make it through this. On Roland''s side, he and Night Tide Sands sat silently in the ambulance. Night Tide Sands wiped the sweat on Qi Shaoqiu''s forehead now and then. While the ambulance was on the way, the nurse connected Qi Shaoqiu to the ECG and blood pressure monitors. After they arrived at the hospital, they found a middle-aged doctor and three nurses outside of the ambulance the moment it was opened. The doctor asked calmly, "Is Qi Shaoqiu in this ambulance?" After a brief stun, Night Tide Sands nodded. The middle-aged doctor immediately made a gesture at the nurses and said in a low voice, "Confirm his blood type and prepare for blood transmission." Qi Shaoqiu''s stretcher was moved from the ambulance to a gurney. The middle-aged doctor observed him for a moment, only to be slightly surprised. "His wounds were dressed rather professionally After testing his blood type, give him a blood bag and inform the radiology department to confirm the patient''s wounds and body fluids in his chest immediately. I want to see the films in ten minutes. Let''s get moving." A nurse took Qi Shaoqiu''s blood and left. The other two nurses pushed the gurney to the radiology department. Roland and Night Tide Sands were about to follow them, when the middle-aged doctor stopped them. "You don''t need to come. We''ll take care of the rest. You go pay for the emergency treatment and wait outside of the ER." The middle-aged doctor left without further ado. There were many people in this public hospital. Even though this was the emergency department, a lot of patients and their families were still coming and going. Night Tide Sands had never been to such a place before. Her hands and clothes were still stained with her big brother''s blood, which made her seem helpless. She had no idea what she should do next. Her mind was completely blank. Her body was even shivering. Her face was pale, if not blue. Roland heaved a sigh and held her hand, before he took her to the administration. After making an advance payment of five thousand yuan, Roland bought two bottles of water and gave her one. He then led her to the ER and waited with her. This place was relatively quiet. The red light from the sterilamp on the wall made it rather grave. The electronic monitor outside of the ER displayed "Qi Shaoqiu." There were no chairs here, so Night Tide Sands squatted with her back against the wall. Staring at her, Roland asked, "Have you informed your parents?" Night Tide Sands shook her head. Roland said, "You should call them." Night Tide Sands took out her hand and swiped the screen with her trembling finger. She tried a few times before she finally tapped her father''s number. The call went through. "Dad, my brother he" Hardly had Night Tide Sands started talking when she burst into such devastating tears that she couldn''t continue. Taking the phone from Night Tide Sands'' hands, half against her wish, Roland said, "Is it you speaking, Uncle Qi? I''m Shaoqiu''s friend. He was stabbed. He''s in the ER room in the hospital downtown. You''d better come." The phone was silent for a moment, before a strong voice sounded. "How is it possible? Shaoqiu I''m on my way!" Roland hung up the phone and gave it back to Night Tide Sands. Squatting, Night Tide Sands buried her head in her arms, and her slim shoulders shivered now and then. Stifled cries echoed in the corridor. Roland squatted next to Night Tide Sands and accompanied her quietly. About twenty minutes later, a man and a woman came in quickly. They saw Night Tide Sands and immediately ran to her. Hearing the footsteps, Night Tide Sands raised her head and rushed to them, before she hugged the middle-aged woman and cried. The middle-aged woman cried too. Looking at "Qi Shaoqiu" on the electronic monitor, the middle-aged man turned his head and yelled, "Do you have to cry so loudly? What if the doctors are distracted by you?" The two women immediately lowered their voices. As a matter of fact, it was hardly possible for any sound to enter the ER from outside. The hospital had taken noise into consideration, so the ER was quite soundproof. Then, the middle-aged man looked at Roland and asked, "Are you Shaoqiu''s friend? Can you tell me what happened?" The two men walked aside, and Roland roughly told him the whole story. The middle-aged man''s eyes were filled with fury, and he said while trying back to hold back his anger, "Son of a bitch, they messed with my son when they couldn''t deal with me!" "It seems that you know who did this." Roland looked at him casually. The middle-aged man, or Qi Shaoqiu''s father, had bloodshot eyes. "I probably do, but I don''t have any evidence. After Shaoqiu''s life is no longer in danger, I''ll go question them." Qi Shaoqiu''s father seemed ready to kill someone at this moment. "Uncle Qi, don''t be too reckless. We''re now in an age of law." Sensing that the atmosphere wasn''t right, Roland persuaded him hurriedly. "You don''t want to end up in prison, do you?" Qi Shaoqiu''s father took a deep breath to calm himself down. "I know that." Then, he walked to his wife and daughter and comforted them in a low voice. Roland found it rather awkward to be among the family, so he left the ER for the inpatients'' department where he found Jin Wenwen. Jin Wenwen looked perkier than a few days earlier. She was having an apple when Roland came in. Smiling, she said, "We meet again. Did Qi Shaoqiu send you here? Tell him that he needn''t be hasty. I''ll probably be discharged the day after tomorrow, and I''ll go talk to him after that." Shaking his head, Roland said solemnly, "Qi Shaoqiu is in the ER right now." Jin Wenwen''s half-eaten apple dropped to the ground. 542 Ill Be Your Teacher After a long time, Jin Wenwen covered her chest and asked, "What happened?" "He was stabbed in the back and his right arm was cut off." Roland stared her in the eye. "He lost a lot of blood. They''re still trying to save him." Jin Wenwen was half-lying on the bed. After hearing the news, she wanted to sit up, but she immediately fell on the bed due to the pain in her chest. Then she asked, "You''re telling me this partly for my information and partly to see if I''m involved with the attack, right?" Roland shook his head. "Not exactly. Qi Shaoqiu''s father mentioned that it was probably because of him. I''m simply telling you that Qi Shaoqiu was wounded." Jin Wenwen pursed her lips. "Please tell me the result when it''s out. My phone number is XXXXXXX." Roland saved her phone number and left the ward. Very soon, Jin Wenwen''s eyes became red, and she seemed even weaker than before. Roland returned to the ER. The Qi family all slightly nodded at him upon seeing him. The atmosphere was rather dull. Qi Shaoqiu''s father was holding a cigarette, but he dared not light it up, fearing that the smoke would drift into the ER, distract the surgeons, and get his son killed. Time passed. No one spoke. Because of their anxiety, the Qi family had sweated a lot, but they were in no mood for any water. Five hours later, the ER door finally opened. Two nurses pushed a gurney out, with Qi Shaoqiu lying on it unconscious. There were oxygen tubes in his nose too. Qi Shaoqiu''s mother and Night Tide Sands immediately followed the gurney. Qi Shaoqiu''s mother asked quickly, "Nurse, how is my son?" "He''s all right for now. He''ll stay in the ICU for a couple of days. When his condition is stabilized, he will be transferred to the regular ward." Everybody was finally pacified upon hearing that. Qi Shaoqiu''s mother and Night Tide Sands followed the gurney away. His father and Roland stayed behind. Then, the middle-aged surgeon who came out of the ER asked Qi Shaoqiu''s father, "You must be Qi Shaoqiu''s father, right?" "Yes, yes." Qi Shaoqiu''s father nodded quickly. "Your son was gravely wounded. His arm was cut off, he lost a tremendous amount of blood, and the stab to his back pierced his kidney, causing severe internal bleeding in his abdomen. We had to excise half of his broken kidney after we removed the condensed blood." Qi Shaoqiu''s father shivered. "Will his life be affected?" "More or less, but not too seriously," said the middle-aged doctor with a smile. "Normal people have two kidneys. They can live even if one of the kidneys is removed. It''s fine since your son only lost half of it." Qi Shaoqiu''s father was greatly relieved. Hearing all the "good" news, Qi Shaoqiu''s father was greatly relieved. Roland took a breath of relief too. Then, he and Qi Shaoqiu''s father went to the ICU, but they were stopped from going in. The nurse responsible for the unit even said, "Just go back. You can''t help with anything now that he''s been sent to the ICU. You might as well go home and take a rest. Just make sure that you take all your calls. We''ll inform you to come if anything happens." That was fair and reasonable, but anybody with the slightest love for their family would feel uneasy to see them lying in the ICU. They wouldn''t dare to go far away, much less get some sleep. The Qi family didn''t go home but sat down in the lobby. Roland said to Night Tide Sands, "I''ll go back to the saber arts club and help you take care of things there. Call me if anything is wrong." Night Tide Sands nodded softly. In terms of the time they started learning the saber art, Roland was the earliest. In terms of capabilities, Roland was even stronger than Qi Shaoqiu, so it was fine for Roland to substitute for him. After all, this was a traditional saber arts club, and many people were willing to listen to Roland who was sort of a "senior brother." So, it was a rather rational decision that he went there to take care of the saber arts club. Roland nodded at Qi Shaoqiu''s parents and left the hospital. After Roland left, Qi Shaoqiu''s mother turned her head and asked Qi Shaoqiu, "Is he that Huang Wenwei that you and Shaoqiu talked about a lot?" Roland''s real name was Huang Wenwei. Night Tide Sands continued nodding. "He''s not bad. He was willing to escort Shaoqiu here and help with the procedural work. He paid for the emergency treatment, didn''t he?" Night Tide Sands said softly, "I would''ve been too anxious to know what to do without his help." Qi Shaoqiu''s father sighed. He would''ve been smiling happily now that his daughter had found a good guy if his son weren''t still in the ICU. He could only heave a sigh. "He''s a good kid. You should see him more often." Night Tide Sands slightly lowered her head. "Let''s talk about that after my big brother wakes up." Roland found a public bike outside the hospital and rode it all the way back to the saber arts club. The saber arts club was in a strange atmosphere at this moment. More than twenty students were gathered. They pointed at the condensed blood on the ground and talked, some surprised, some gloating, and some simply scornful. Of course, more than half of them looked worried. They were all ill at ease! That was understandable. Their teacher was already gravely wounded. Could he still teach them saber arts? After Roland arrived at the field, many students found him and immediately gathered around him, asking about Qi Shaoqiu''s condition. Hearing that Qi Shaoqiu was all right for now, they were greatly relieved. After all, they were all acquaintances, and people tended to hope that others were safe as long as their interests didn''t conflict. However, some people always thought differently. "Senior Brother" A man around nineteen years old shouted in a queer voice. "Master Qi was heavily wounded. Even if he makes a full recovery, I don''t think he can teach us anymore with a severed arm. Can you ask Night Tide Sands if we can have a refund of our tuition fees?" "Qi Shaoqiu''s arm has been reattached. He will probably be back to teach you in one to two months." Roland looked around and added, "Until then, I''ll be your teacher." Many students were relieved. They had been studying saber arts here for a long time, so they had all seen Roland sparring with Qi Shaoqiu and knew that Roland was stronger than Qi Shaoqiu at this point. Naturally, they were happy that Roland was willing to take over the teacher''s job. However, a third of the students weren''t aware of that. After all, Roland had barely come to the saber arts club in the recent half-year. He had spent most of his time practicing the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life at home to build up his mental power. Even if he did come, he was only here for Night Tide Sands'' breakfast. He only watched his friends exercise with each other, and he barely went to the field anymore. So, the new students didn''t know exactly what he was capable of. People could do all kinds of things because of ignorance. This third of students began to grumble. "We know you''re a student just like us. Why are you being so pretentious? Do we have to pay tuition fees to you too?" "We''re told that you''re even stronger than Master Qi. Then why didn''t you start a saber arts club of your own? Are you staying here because of Night Tide Sands?" "I want to quit. Can I ask for a refund?" The six men challenged Roland by saying that. They surrounded Roland, not exactly because they wanted to beat him up, but because they wanted to look more intimidating. Hearing what they said, the students who didn''t want to quit before were thinking to ask for a refund and leave too. Roland glanced around at the six students and said, "You''re new here, you can get a full refund. However, we''ll charge you for your equipment. After all, it costs money to make all the equipment." "How much is the equipment?" A young man took a pull of his cigarette and then exhaled the smoke, before he asked disrespectfully, "It doesn''t happen to be exactly the amount of the tuition fees, so that you don''t need to give us any money back, right?" "Not very much. Just one thousand." Roland smiled. "Some of you paid by installments. You should know how much money you can get back." Thanks to Roland''s suggestion, the saber arts club now had different plans and accepted monthly installments. The students could pay the tuition fees over six, twelve, or thirty months; they didn''t have to pay all at once like before. "I''d like a refund right now. Can I?" the smoking guy asked with a smile. "Three of us have paid in full. The other four have paid for several months too. Together, we''ve probably already paid 100,000 yuan. Do you have that much money?" Roland smiled. "Of course I do. Then, are you sure you want a refund?" "I certainly am." The smoking young man blew a ring of smoke. "This miaodao technique is absolutely useless. He was stabbed without being able to put up any resistance." "That''s because he was ambushed. In an open battle not just two people, even the six of you couldn''t have been a match for Qi Shaoqiu." The smoking young man sneered. He crossed his arms and raised one of his hands that was holding the cigarette he''d almost finished. "I believe that Master Qi can defeat six ordinary people, but he''s in the hospital now. You''re the one teaching us, and I don''t believe that you can beat six!" "Let''s try it." Roland smiled. "Let''s." The young man with a cigarette smiled. "But I don''t use miaodao. I want a straight sword. Do you have any in this place?" Roland was stunned at first. Then he smiled happily as if he had seen prey. "It''s in the warehouse. Let''s put on wooden armor before the match." "Are you afraid of being hurt by us?" asked the smoking young man. "I''m afraid that you''ll be maimed." Looking at the confidence, if not arrogance, on Roland''s face, the young man suddenly didn''t feel very good. The other students were delighted to watch the drama. About fifteen minutes later, six men wailed and writhed on the cement floor. The wooden saber could be very painful, even though they were wearing armor. The other students looked at Roland in admiration. Those who were thinking to quit all dropped the idea. The few people spent fourteen minutes putting on the armor, selecting weapons, and warming up. It took Roland only one minute to beat them to the ground. The saber was fast and heavy, but Roland didn''t even break a sweat. It was definitely a bargain to learn from such a master! Why on earth should they ask for a refund? 543 Bad Influence On the Young People Night Tide Sands and her family waited quietly in the lobby. The families of other patients were waiting too. Occasionally, vague sobs could be heard. The Qi family would peep at the source of the sound and then withdraw their gazes. They were rather scared that they would be as hopeless as those crying people later. At midnight, they were so drowsy that they fell asleep on the chairs. Then, they woke up again when their heads subconsciously lowered. They slept intermittently just like that. Very soon, it was dawn. No doctors or nurses informed them of anything for a whole night. Qi Shaoqiu''s father couldn''t hold it anymore. Seeing a nurse coming out of the ICU, he stepped up and asked, "Nurse, may I know how Qi Shaoqiu is doing?" "His condition is stable. He should be slowly recovering." The Qi family were all greatly relieved to hear that. Seeing how exhausted they were, the nurse suggested, "You really can''t help much here. You should go back and take a rest. If you''re overly exhausted, you might not be able to help when you''re really needed. You needn''t take care of anything while he''s still in the ICU. Go back and get some sleep." After that, the nurse quickly walked away. Qi Shaoqiu''s father thought for a moment and said, "You two can go back first. Honey, you get some sleep and make some porridge. Then you can come and replace me. Night Tide Sands, take care of the saber arts club. I don''t think it can operate anymore with Shaoqiu''s wounds." Night Tide Sands pursed her lips. She was very regretful. Her brother and she had devoted a lot of effort to the saber arts club, and it was finally on the right track. Yet, such an accident had happened. Nobody would be happy in such a situation. "The Qi family always finishes what we started. Make refunds wherever you can and apologize to the students." Night Tide Sands nodded. There was nothing she could do however regretful she was. She was incapable of the miaodao technique. Her father was good at it, but he was old and had other work to do. He couldn''t take over her brother''s work. Could the saber arts club only be shut down, just like this? Leaving the hospital, Night Tide Sands also got herself a public bike and unhurriedly rode to the saber arts club. She thought that the saber arts club must be surrounded by students demanding a refund. She heaved a long sigh and rode the bike lethargically. Even though she knew that the saber arts club''s shutdown was inevitable, she wanted to delay it as much as possible. However, although she rode the bike very slowly, she still returned to the saber arts club an hour later. The turmoil that she imagined was nowhere to be seen. Sounds of exertion were coming out of the saber arts club as usual. However, it wasn''t Qi Shaoqiu, but someone else, whose voice made her heart pound, that was giving out instructions. It was Roland. She slowly entered the saber arts club. Many students who were familiar with her voluntarily greeted her. Then, she stood alone next to the cement floor. Roland asked the students to practice on their own. Then he walked to Night Tide Sands and asked, "How is Shaoqiu doing?" "The nurse said that his condition is stable." Night Tide Sands blinked her eyes and pointed at the students. "What''s going on here?" "I don''t think Qi Shaoqiu can teach anybody any time soon, so I''ll substitute for him," said Roland with a smile. "I''m unemployed anyway. It will be fine if I spend some time here every day. Shaoqiu can have the saber arts club back after he''s recovered." Night Tide Sands counted the students, only to see that the number didn''t drop. "Nobody asked for a refund?" "No, no one." Roland waved his hand. Night Tide Sands looked at the saber arts club that was as lively as before and then at Roland who was smiling. She was almost crying. She wanted to laugh too, and her heart beat even faster. There were so many things that she wanted to say but couldn''t get out. Eventually, they were gathered into one simple question. "Have you had breakfast?" "Not yet. I came in too much of a hurry." "Wait a moment. I''ll make breakfast for you." Night Tide Sands walked to the kitchen agilely, her sleepiness completely gone. Roland took charge of the saber arts club. He was already better at the miaodao technique than Qi Shaoqiu was. Besides, as the leader of a Magic Tower in the game, he had enough management experience, so it wasn''t a hard task for him. He spent a whole day in the saber arts club and had his breakfast, lunch, and dinner here. He had to admit that Night Tide Sands was really good at cooking. He thought that Night Tide Sands was best at making breakfast, but the lunch and the dinner were much more tasteful than he had imagined. The lunch she made was already very delicious, but the dinner was even more amazing. She actually made water boiled cabbage in the way it was served at a state dinner, Kung Pao Chicken, and fried meat with peppers. All the foods were astoundingly scrumptious. Although she wasn''t as good as a real chef, she was definitely a great cook for an ordinary person. After Roland came home, he told his parents that he wouldn''t have food at home in the days to come. His mother immediately asked, "Then where will you have food? Who will cook for you?" "A girl. She''s very good at cooking." "When will we see her?" His mother''s eyes were glowing. "Someday." Roland left with that and returned to his room. After a shower, Roland checked the forum. The players were still actively exploring this world, as usual. More and more players had left Hollevin to make a living in other countries. The world was too big, and Hollevin too small. Roland''s life became very simple. He worked as a substitute master at the saber arts club during the day, and transformed the swamps with other Mages in the game at night. Qi Shaoqiu recovered faster than expected. The man was transferred to a regular ward from the ICU after only two days. On the fourth day, the criminals who attacked Qi Shaoqiu were captured. According to their confession, they had conflicts with Qi Shaoqiu''s father, so they blew off their steam on his son. However, when Roland visited Qi Shaoqiu at the hospital, Qi Shaoqiu''s father was there too and they discussed it. They said that it wasn''t as simple as it seemed. That was because although Qi Shaoqiu''s father knew the two guys, they barely had any interaction. The so-called conflicts were just a few quarrels, which shouldn''t have been enough for them to attack his son so brutally. But they didn''t talk any further. It appeared that Qi Shaoqiu''s father didn''t want Roland to get involved in his personal business. Qi Shaoqiu also met Jin Wenwen once in the hospital. Roland didn''t know what they talked about, but Qi Shaoqiu seemed to be in higher spirits and didn''t seem as depressed as before after their meeting. Helping at the saber arts club during the day and in the game at night, Roland spent the whole month following the same routine. Qi Shaoqiu had mostly recovered and could take up the work at the saber arts club again. It would usually take half a year before someone''s reattached arm became fully functional again. However, it only took Qi Shaoqiu slightly more than a month, thanks to his remarkable physical qualities as a martial artist. But during his exercises with Qi Shaoqiu, Roland easily found that Qi Shaoqiu''s right hand was weaker than before. After all, the reattached arm couldn''t really be as useful as it had been before it was severed. In the game, after a month of transformation, Roland and the dozens of Mages turned the swamps into a fertile land. Betta hired someone to design the city, plan the transportation network, and even draft a five-year development plan. There were many talents among the players. One could always hire professionals as long as they had money. On the other hand, Betta assigned a piece of the land in the city to O''Neal as promised. After receiving the title deed of the land, O''Neal shook Roland''s hand and expressed his gratitude. All the land in this world had an owner. Certain places might seem distant but were actually a noble''s private territory. Many players'' guilds had set up their bases on the land that they rented from the nobles. The uncertainty of living on someone else''s land discouraged and disabled many guilds from developing their forces freely. However, the case would be different if they had a territory of their own. That was why O''Neal was so excited. At this moment, there was a territory and a blueprint for a city, but there were no residents or money. It wouldn''t be simple to construct the metropolis according to the blueprint. "Brother Roland, what should I do?" Betta covered his face miserably. "I''ve already done the calculations. We need at least six thousand gold coins to build the city according to the blueprint." At this moment, one gold coin could be exchanged for 18,000 yuan, which meant that it would require a hundred million yuan to build such a city. Betta''s family was only moderately wealthy. He certainly couldn''t afford that. Every major city in Hollevin had been constructed after hundreds of years of development. Betta definitely had to spend a fortune if he wanted to build one in only several months. Roland looked at the blueprint and smiled. "It''s very easy. You can fleece the other players." "How can I fleece them?" Betta didn''t really get it. "How can you be so stupid?" Roland explained, "Just post the blueprint to the forum and tell the players that you need help to build a city, and that all their contributions will be converted to certain ''points.'' Then, allocate two places for the players, one in the city where they can build their own houses, and the other outside of the city for the guilds to build their bases on. The people or organizations with higher points will get larger pieces of land, and those who don''t have enough points to get a piece of land will receive gold coins in exchange for the points to buy the land. I''m sure that the players will be more than eager to help you." Betta was briefly stunned. "That''s a brilliant idea! Why did I never think of that before? As expected of a Mage! You are truly cunning!" After making this positive, or maybe negative, remark, Betta ran off. Half an hour later, Betta''s post appeared on the forum and became a heated topic, triggering an astonishing number of replies and discussions. Roland, on the other hand, returned to Motasos with teleportation. He then left for the basement. He discovered, to his surprise, that the magic elements inside were so thick that ordinary people would have sensed it. The "sun" and the eight "planets,'''' on the other hand, were still moving on their own orbits in exactly the same size. Nothing changed at all, except that they had been significantly slowed down due to the thickened magic elements. "What an unbelievable phenomenon of Magic Power Affluence." Roland absorbed the magic power and found that the rate of his absorption and transformation was surprisingly high. If he could figure out the mechanism of Magic Power Affluence, Roland was positive that it would be, at minimum, half as difficult to construct a floating city as he''d planned. 544 Official Open Beta Tes What he did 24 hours a day was the interminable repetition of inferring magic data, experimenting, charging the "solar system," recovering his mana with the Magic Power Affluence, and confirming the magic data when he was free. However, such a life was boring only for certain people. Those who didn''t like magic would find this life monotonous and unexciting, but Roland couldn''t have enjoyed himself more. It was the greatest joy to update the magic data, slowly lift the skirt of the Goddess of Magic, and pry into the forbidden knowledge of magic. The bigger sense of achievement came when he fixed errors or updated his knowledge by doing experiments with his current magic knowledge. These days, Roland observed the "solar system" whenever he had time. At first, Roland thought that the Magic Power Affluence was why the "solar system" was attracting the magic power nearby. But then he realized that it wasn''t the whole reason. After staying in the area of Magic Power Affluence for a while, Roland gradually sensed the flow of magic elements. About sixty percent of the elements were attracted from outside, but the other forty percent emerged out of thin air. Among many elements, some new elemental particles would suddenly pop up, which was weird. At first, Roland thought that the magic elements were reproducing. He wondered if they were alive. But very soon, he gave up the thought. That was because the elemental particles carried a distinguishable vibe when they appeared. They kind of felt like Roland''s own magic elements after he used Elemental Embodiment. It meant that those elemental particles had a master before, but they had somehow jumped to this place. Roland named them "Void Elemental Particles." He remembered a rumor, or rather, a speculation, about the planes of elements. According to the Mages who were adept with elements, this world contained a few planes of elements apart from the main plane: the Realm of Devils, the Netherworld, the Realm of Gods, and the Astral Plane. For example, there might be a plane of fire elements, or one of water elements. In those planes of pure elements, everybody was made of particles of the same elements, including the elemental lives that resided in those places. Of course, those ideas were pure speculations, because nobody had ever visited the plane of elements. As for the elemental lives in the main plane, most of them didn''t have the intellectual faculty to communicate with other creatures. Even those who could talk were mostly born in the main plane and didn''t know anything about the elemental planes. Even the gods didn''t know much about that. They weren''t even capable of creation. It meant that, while the gods were powerful and more knowledgeable, they hadn''t yet transcended the limits of human beings. They knew all that human beings knew, and they didn''t know what human beings were unaware of. That was why the Goddess of Magic wanted Roland to worship her so badly. The Life Goddess had bet on Roland for a similar reason. All the gods wanted an erudite and creative believer as long as he could understand their doctrine. Getting back to Roland, he sensed that the elemental particles that appeared out of nowhere weren''t right. However, those particles would be assimilated into other particles nearby and turned into free unowned particles in the area of Magic Power Affluence. Was there really a plane of elements? The idea popped up in Roland''s heart. Then, he began to set up a net of mental power to capture the momentary spatial wave when the Void Elemental Particles popped up. If those particles had really jumped here from the elemental plane, energy waves related to space would''ve definitely been triggered. After establishing the net of mental power, Roland had to retract it every five hours to recover his mental power because it was very exhausting. After more than ten days of fishing, Roland got nothing. He didn''t sense any quake of spatial energy at all. There could only be two explanations for that. First, Roland''s guess was incorrect. Second, the elemental particles were so small that the energy waves they caused were too insignificant for Roland to feel. Either way, Roland temporarily gave up the idea of confirming the elemental plane''s existence, and focused on expanding his "solar system." Then, an unexpected change happened during the second month of his stay in the basement. The "solar system" suddenly collapsed. The culprit was the sun, which quickly vaporized and expanded from solid form, turning from a blue ball into a gigantic mass of blue elements fifteen meters in diameter. It swallowed the eight planets and quickly collapsed inwardly to Roland''s surprise. Also, it crazily absorbed the surrounding magic power and drained it in no more than three minutes. The area of Magic Power Affluence rapidly became a magic power desert. The enormous blue energy ball eventually self-collapsed into a small white ball floating before Roland. Roland extended his hand for it and suddenly felt that this white ball was somehow connected to himself. With his thought, this white ball was stretched and transformed into a brick. Oh Interesting. Roland smashed the brick down heavily! The brick, which was almost weightless, was embedded into the rock on the floor, with only a tiny part left exposed to the air. Roland snatched it remotely, and the brick immediately turned into a long stream of water and gathered in Roland''s palm as a ball. Then, the ball transformed into different shapes according to Roland''s will, until it retook the appearance of a brick in the end. Roland gently tapped the surface of the magic brick. It was very hard, and felt like iron. More importantly, it contained at least five times more magic elements than the previous blue ball did. Could such a brick be used as the foundation of the floating city? That could work! Roland was slightly excited. Although it would take some time to build such bricks, he could totally multitask and all he needed to do was inject magic power into the "solar system" over time. After all, it would automatically transform in the end. Roland carefully put the white magic brick into his Backpack. He was about to build a few more "solar systems" when he suddenly saw a system notification. "It''s been detected that Player Roland has reached the boundary of this game''s laws. This game will officially enter the open beta test phase. The server will be suspended for three days for the update after today''s game time is over. Please explore the specific contents of the update on your own. This will be a major update. The NPCs'' time will be frozen in the game, so don''t worry when you log off." What? An update? I''ve reached the boundary of the game''s laws? What''s that about? Roland thought for a long time and didn''t recall any special perks or skills he got. The only thing he obtained that could be related to the game''s laws was the white brick. Or maybe, it was the mini solar system? Roland thought for a moment and then opened the forum. He wanted to know what other players were thinking. He found that most of the posts were about him, and only a very small proportion of them were about Betta''s territory. Roland again. It''s true that when he''s faster than you by one step, he will always be faster than you by one step. If I were one of the devs, I''d definitely nerf Roland''s Intelligence. Will more virtual cabins be released for the open beta test? I''ve prepared fifty thousand yuan. Roland opened the posts and summarized the discussions as followed. "Would you please stop making announcements about Roland all the time? You might as well call your world World of Roland instead of World of Falan." "Friend, it''s really cute when you disguise your inability with cynicism!" "When the server reopens the day after tomorrow, Roland will get another title that enhances his stats. Do the devs still not think that Roland is powerful enough? He already has more abilities than the three OP classes." "Does nobody care about the laws at all?" "Why would I care about the laws? I see them everyday. Aren''t the bikinis that the girls wear natural-law-level equipment?" "Why are guys not protected with natural-law-level underwear? That''s sexism!" Most of the replies were simply expressions of greediness. Few rational discussions could be found among them. Failing to find anything worth a read, Roland logged off from the forum and teleported to the capital of Fareins. There were six hours to go until the server shutdown, which was enough to do a lot of things. He came to Stephanie the First Princess''s manor, and Andonara simply jumped at him. She embraced Roland happily. Her soft, flexible body made Roland''s mouth dry. Stephanie walked out of the manor and clicked her tongue at Roland. "You''re finally out?" "Did anything happen?" Roland could tell that Stephanie didn''t look happy. "Do you have any idea what pressure we shouldered?" asked Stephanie angrily. "You studied magic in Motasos for three months. The Red Magic Tower came and asked us where you were. We knew where you were, but we couldn''t tell them because we feared that they might ruin your work. Do you think it''s easy to shake off the Red Magic Tower? If we hadn''t" At this moment, Andonara interrupted Stephanie. "Don''t listen to her. It''s true that the Red Magic Tower came for you, but I drove them away. They dared not even be rude to me, much less put pressure on us." A Legendary Swordsman, enhanced with the bloodline power of the Hero, was just that strong. She could fight anybody who was not a demigod. Stephanie stared at Andonara, angry that her efforts weren''t appreciated. She couldn''t have felt more wronged. I was only helping you so that Roland would think that you did him a great favor. You really shouldn''t have revealed the truth. Roland was rather helpless too. He was so focused on magic studies that he completely forgot about the Red Magic Tower. It had been almost three months. He didn''t think he could get a chance to visit the Grand Library of Light anymore. After cuddling with Andonara for a while, Roland went to the Association of Mages. Someone was waiting for him and told him that the communication was over and school had restarted in the Red Magic Tower. The Great Elder wanted him to continue his studies in the Red Magic Tower after he received the message. After leaving the capital, Roland teleported to the Red Magic Tower right away. He returned to his manor. Hardly had he stepped through the door when a person in white rushed to him. On all fours, the little catgirl clung to his left thigh and wept hard. "You''re finally back. I was so scared. I wouldn''t have you as my master any longer if you still didn''t come back." Roland calculated the time and realized that it had been almost half a year since he''d left. 545 A Catgirl Never Bends Right after freedom, it was their compulsion for cleanliness. Andonara had restricted Marilyn, which made her really upset. After Roland and Andonara finally left, the catgirl was finally free to do whatever she wanted. She climbed mountains and trees, caught fish in rivers, and had great fun. Because of Roland''s reputation in the Red Magic Tower, she could go anywhere she wanted except for the sensitive, important places that she didn''t really dare to visit. She had a great time at first. The servants in the manor dared not discipline her at all. They could only make nice food for her and spoil her. She even hoped that Roland and Andonara would never come back, so that she could live the rest of her life as happily as this. However, as one month, two months, and then three months passed by, the wild catgirl began to feel that something was wrong. Her master didn''t come back, and neither did the mean woman. The strong Mages started to look at her differently. The local nobles and merchants stared at her with more lust too. In the last two months, the catgirl''s range of activity was more and more restricted. She was playful, but she wasn''t stupid. Also, as a catgirl, she had a very good sense for danger. In the last ten days, she had been hiding in the manor, not daring to go out. She lived in fear every day and wondered if anybody would capture her. It was not until this moment that she finally realized how important a supportive master was to her. So, she was truly thrilled when Roland came back. She clung to Roland''s leg and cried hard, as if she had been greatly wronged. "Let me go," Roland said helplessly and shook his leg. The catgirl shook her head nonstop and would not let go of Roland''s leg. Having no other choice, Roland could only step forward with the catgirl attached to his leg. The servants greeted him warmly. These servants were also worried that Roland and Andonara wouldn''t come back. Although Roland left a lot of money for the manor''s maintenance and their wages, it would be used up sooner or later. Now that Roland was back, they were as reassured as the catgirl. After spending an hour in the manor and finally talking the kitten out of crying, Roland left for the Meteorite Class. The catgirl watched him go at the gate of the manor with obvious insecurity. The campus was rather noisy, and the Meteorite Class was even more so. The class hadn''t started yet. Laughter, cheers, and angry roars were echoing in the classroom. Someone seemed to be getting bullied. There were even people who were applauding and fanning the flames. The few bullies awkwardly returned to their seats. Then, the mentor for the class arrived. He saw Roland and smiled. "Meet the Great Elder after class. He''s been waiting for you." Roland nodded. After the class, Roland walked to the podium and said to the students, "I already said that classmates should help one another, but certain people seemed to have forgotten the rules the moment I left. Now, I''ll give you two days to work out the problem. If anybody complains to me two days from now, don''t blame me for not warning you early." After that, Roland left the Meteorite Class for the Great Elder''s office. The Great Elder was smiling as kindly as before. "I''m told that things are going well between you and the First Princess. Do you want to be her husband?" Roland shrugged. "I don''t want her to get killed by Andonara." Hahahaha. Alfred the Great Elder smiled in amusement, as few young men dared to talk to him so casually. Besides, he had high hopes for Roland to begin with, so he didn''t feel offended at all. "You can treat her as a lover," the Great Elder continued after he was done laughing. "When I was young, half of the dozen most beautiful women in the capital of Fareins were my lovers. Your women won''t complain about your other partners as long as you''re strong." Roland waved his hand again. Andonara and Vivian were already wearing him out. More women? He''d rather pass. Wouldn''t it be better if I spend the time on extracting the magic data into math models? Alfred wasn''t really bothered by Roland''s resistance. Every young man had boundaries at first, but it was more than easy for a man to be attracted and addicted to girls. There was no need to rush. He could let Roland get to know the First Princess and lower his resistance to other women first. Then, he would introduce him to other noble ladies. There were so many beautiful girls in the capital. Some of them must be tempting to him. "Well, let''s leave aside secular affairs. I''ve summoned you here because I have an errand for you. It will also be an exercise for you," said Alfred with a smile. "You''re close to the Master level Huh? You''re already a Master?" Alfred was more or less surprised. He was truly amazed by Roland''s speed of growth. Normally speaking, the Master level was a major challenge, and it wasn''t easy to reach. After all, one had to perceive the special perks or talents of one''s class in order to become a Master. However, the players didn''t have to. They could reach level ten as long as they had enough EXP. Also, different from the NPCs, the players couldn''t choose special perks and talents until they reached level ten. Roland nodded. "Yes, I made a breakthrough during my magic studies earlier." "Let''s see what special ability you''ve got!" Alfred''s mental power unfolded like a thick net and enshrouded Roland. After a gentle touch, the tentacles of mental power retracted. "You chose body of magic power." Alfred was rather surprised. "Why didn''t you choose Super Magic Conductivity or Magic Penetration?" "Because I''m not short of attack power," Roland explained. "Survival abilities are more important. Also, the more magic power I have, the more survival abilities I''ll have." Alfred found it hard to understand Roland. In comparison, he preferred ultimate destructiveness. But of course, as a Legend, he also had enough abilities for him to survive battles. "Everybody has different thoughts. I won''t ask you to change anything." Alfred smiled. "Someone betrayed the Monochrome Magic Tower and seems to be hiding in a city of hybrids named Brown Sand City in the east. According to the Monochrome Magic Tower, it''s a cunning vulpera. It will be best if you can catch it alive, but it doesn''t matter if it''s deadalthough you''ll receive less reward from the Monochrome Magic Tower." Roland looked at the system menu and soon received a quest. Quest detected: The Monochrome Magic Tower''s Traitor (Excellent) Do you want to pick it? Of course he did. Although it was only a blue quest without much EXP, it was still better than nothing. Alfred was happy that Roland was willing to listen to his commands. Didn''t it prove that Roland had some sense of belonging toward the Red Magic Tower? That was a good thing. He should work harder. Leaving the Great Elder''s office, Roland returned to his manor. This wasn''t a difficult quest for him, because the vulpera wasn''t even a Master yet. So, he simply dropped the quest for now and took a rest in the manor while he waited for the server to shut down. Two hours later, the game was shut down on schedule, and Roland was ejected out of the game world. He crawled out of the virtual cabin and read posts in the forum. Now, there were fewer posts that were cursing him. The players didn''t like the server shutdown, so they vented their fury on Roland. But their fury was mostly gone after their catharsis. Besides, it had already been stated that the open beta test would begin when the boundary of laws was reached, and someone would''ve achieved that sooner or later even without Roland. Since nobody was throwing profanity at Roland anymore, Betta''s post was upvoted to the top again. Many players left replies to his post. "Damn it! You''re asking us to build a city for you for free? Are you a fraud or something?" "What fraud? This is exactly the trick of the real estate business." "S*it. Are all the members of F6 as unscrupulous as him?" "I don''t know if F6 are unscrupulous, but I do know that Betta would not only have the city built for free but he''d even make a fortune out of it." "Then let''s not help him at all. F6 will have to build the city on their own." "My friend, we all support you in this. We really do." "I think I''m feeling the vibe of a cynical troll." "Be more confident and drop ''I think.''" "I didn''t know that the Divine Noble could get a territory. I''m planning to delete this character and create a new one." "You''re giving up the character that you''ve worked on for two years so easily?" "What''s the big deal? I''m just a casual player. I''m only level two. I don''t feel regretful to delete this character." "Since the open beta test is starting soon, more people will definitely be joining the game. It will be great if you level up with those new players." Starting from there, they deviated from the topic and began to discuss other things. "I don''t think it''s possible. The number of goods on the page where we buy the virtual cabins online is zero. I remember that our virtual cabins were sold half a year before the alpha test, but there''s no news on the new virtual cabins now that the beta test is taking place." "There are three days to go until the official beta test. Patience." "It''s obvious that you''re never been in the game sales business. A necessary tool to play the game such as the virtual cabin has to be marketed at least three months before the beta test. Can you expect all of them to be delivered to the players within three days? So, I think that maybe there won''t be more virtual cabins even though the beta test is taking place. These 500,000 cabins might be all." "Is that possible? Why would Penguin Corporation refuse the easy money?" "What if this game doesn''t belong to Penguin and it''s just what they want you to believe?" "Can you tell me more? I think there''s something more to this game too." "I''m a programmer in Penguin Corporation. I assure you that nobody in Penguin Corporation knows where the servers of this game are located. Even the devs and ops have never seen them." "My friend, watch out for yourself. Post ''protect him'' to drown his message." The replies behind were all "protect him" so that the man''s original reply wouldn''t be noticed. Seeing that, Roland immediately opened the online shop for the virtual cabins and found that the number of goods available was indeed zero. Scratching his chin, Roland found it quite weird. The beta test was already underway. Were the devs really not going to release any more virtual cabins? 546 The Devs Are Just As Usual Although he was here for the floating masses of energy, Roland wasn''t in a hurry to absorb them. He vividly remembered how he almost died when he hastily absorbed the energy ball in the ancestral hall a year earlier. Now that he had learned his lesson, he naturally had to be prudent. These days, he simply practiced the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life and observed the energy masses with his feeble mental power. He only observed them and didn''t dare to absorb them. Even so, he found that he made much faster progress in the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life than he did back home. It took him more than five days to accumulate some mental power, but he got exactly the same amount after a day and a night. Was it true that there was more spiritual energy where there were more energy balls? His legs were numb after he sat cross-legged for a long time, so Roland wandered around and saw the paintings of the Yu family''s ancestors in the hall. Yu Kunming walked close from behind, ready to practice his Iron Head Art, but seeing that Roland was standing there in a daze, he asked, "Why are you gazing at my ancestors'' paintings?" "Nothing serious. I just find it odd that everybody in the Yu family is so handsome." The paintings in the hall were traditional ink wash paintings. Although the people''s faces were obscure, one could totally feel their charm and gentleness. Schuck was extremely handsome, and his father was also gorgeous. Yu Kunming smiled and said, "Only the family leader''s branch is handsome. The side branches are just average-looking." Was that true? But it seemed true. Roland had seen many members of the Yu family and found that it was true that only Schuck''s closest relatives were gorgeous while the others were just mediocre. The old man shook his head enviously and then grabbed a red brick nearby, before he bashed it on his head. Everybody in the Yu family was jealous of the main branch''s astounding attractiveness. He was no exception; his stomach was filled with jealousy. He could only blow off steam by practicing the Iron Head Art. Roland refined his mental power for three days with the Daoists'' Nourishment of Life, until the game server was about to restart. It was already evening at this moment, four hours to go until the server restarted. He rode a bike home and took a shower. Then, he opened the forum and checked what was new, only to find that the forum was "exploding." Many new accounts were scamming and sternly asking the devs why they weren''t releasing new virtual cabins. There was an unbelievably huge number of new accounts. The servers of this game were so powerful that it actually survived such huge data traffic. Roland opened the page where the virtual cabins were sold, only to see that the number of goods was still zero. Were the devs really not going to release new virtual cabins? Then, how were they going to cover the server maintenance cost and the staff''s wages? Were they backed by a rich company, or even the state government? At this moment, World of Falan was probably the most heated IP in the whole world. Anyone with ambitions would want to take advantage of it. Also, to some extent, this game had doubled players'' longevity. After all, every eight hours of sleep at night meant 24 hours in the game. Also, it was a complete simulation. One could use the in-game browser and access information on the Internet to get a head start. There had been many reports about how some students studied crazily with the additional time that the game cabins gave them and got admitted by the universities they wanted to go to. At this moment, the virtual cabins were already as expensive as an 100-square-meter apartment in the capital. Many people had thought that the devs would release new game cabins for the beta test, but the number of goods was still zero at this moment. However, the game server was about to restart. How could they not be anxious? Roland returned to the comprehensive discussion section and refreshed the forum, only to see several threads claiming that the devs made a new announcement. Roland immediately opened the homepage and clicked the new announcement. "We''re trying to work on the new virtual cabins. However, because the logic chips that are of critical importance in them are based on products from a certain country, and those products are banned from being exported to our country, the cabins cannot be manufactured any time soon. We''re seeking alternative supplies. Although their chips are not as good in terms of performance, we''re trying to do optimizations. With any luck, new virtual cabins will be manufactured in two years." Roland: ? What was wrong with the devs? Everybody had seen the video where someone dismantled and examined the cabins. Apart from a shell, there was nothing but a few LED lights and an independent cable slot. Yet, you claim that there are hidden chips in the virtual cabin? What a blatant lie. Do you take us for fools? Roland was both infuriated and amused. But then he let it go. He had his own virtual cabin. There was no need to be mad about the announcement. He fetched some melons from the fridge downstairs, ready to enjoy the melons while he browsed the forum. He wanted to see how the devs would respond to the newcomers who were desperate to play the game. Then, he subconsciously refreshed the homepage, only to see a new system announcement. "According to our telecommunication service supplier, a million calls were just made to our customer service in the past minutes, causing a huge network jam. Most friends couldn''t reach our customer service representatives. Those whose calls luckily went through cursed them and called our announcement fake news. However, we assure you that what we said is true. The virtual cabins are dependent on certain chips that can no longer be imported to our country. Also, we hope that you won''t associate the world''s situation with our announcement. Our chips aren''t from the Bald Eagle Country. The chips are so sophisticated that you can''t even understand their mechanism even if we tell it to you! Lastly, we hope that you can wait patiently while our new suppliers try to counterfeit such chips." Roland''s first reaction after reading the announcement was to laugh. Devs, you''re doing it again! But then, he felt that something was off. The devs actually didn''t have to lie about this. It was an undeniable fact that the virtual cabins were real and functional. The video that examined the cabins also proved that they were definitely based on cutting-edge technologies. If the chips were from the two chip companies based in the Bald Eagle Country, considering their habit of leaving backdoors, they would''ve already figured out everything about the virtual cabins. However, up until this moment, the Bald Eagle Country hadn''t created their own virtual cabins. Instead, it was coercing the Little Rabbit Country from submitting the technologies, claiming that they were the key to mankind''s evolution and everybody had the right to enjoy them. Then, there was another question. There were only three countries who were capable of creating advanced CPUs on their own, and one of them had already quit the CPU market. So, there were only two countries that were capable of it, namely the Bald Eagle Country and the Little Rabbit Country. Naturally, the Bald Eagle Country was the toughest, and the Little Rabbit Country was about five to ten years behind. The chips didn''t come from the Bald Eagle Country, and the Little Rabbit Country was incapable of creating them, or the devs wouldn''t have said "counterfeit." Then where were they from? It was not like they could be from Wakanda. Remembering the sense of reality in World of Falan, the fact that he could take the magic knowledge out, and his theory that it was a real world, Roland gasped so hard that he almost inhaled all the air in the room. Did his country get in touch with gods from an alternate world in the past, and they were drifting apart at this moment? Could the so-called chips actually be certain special items associated with spatial or soul magic, like the magic bricks? The more he thought about it, the likelier Roland found it. Then, following this train of thought, which god was his country cooperating with? The god must be a central god. The lesser gods and the evil gods weren''t capable of doing this. Was it the Goddess of Light, the Life Goddess, or the Goddess of Magic? The Life Goddess was the most probable. After all, all the players were born in the Temple of Life. Of course, it was possible that all three goddesses were in touch with his country! There are so many secrets behind this! Roland considered it quietly and suddenly realized that his mind had become a lot quicker and many random thoughts were popping up on their own. It was as if his subconscious was picking out the useful information and throwing it to his conscious mind. While he mulled over random thoughts, the game server soon restarted. Roland lay in the game cabin and fell asleep after no more than three minutes, entering the game world. He appeared at his own manor in the Red Magic Tower. He was going to check what had been updated for the beta test, when he sensed something wrong. His mental power seemed to have expanded, and the magic elements around him all seemed to be simmering. He was briefly stunned Normally speaking, this would only happen when he had a level-up and his mental power stat increased. Every time it happened, he had to spend some time adapting to his new status. Had he become even stronger after the update? Opening the character menu, Roland found that his stats had indeed increased. The upper limit of his mental power had been improved by five points, and his mana capacity was thirty points higher. Had all the players been given extra stats as a gift for the beta test? Roland subconsciously pinged his friends in the guild chat system Roland: "The devs have offered stat points as gifts. What stats and how many points did you get? Schuck: "Stat points as gifts? Where can I claim it?" Betta: "Are we given stat points for the beta test? I didn''t see any announcement for that. Anyway, my stats didn''t increase." Li Lin and his other friends all sent "?" too. Roland: "None of you have additional stat points? Then why did it happen to me? Is it a bug?" 547 This is the Specialty of the Cat-Humans None of his friends experienced the same thing. He even read posts on the forum for two hours, but he didn''t see any players saying that their stats had uncannily increased. Was he the only person who had such a problem? Or maybe, had some other players experienced the same thing, but they had decided to play it cool and didn''t want anyone to find out? Roland thought for a moment and decided that he might as well play it cool too. The additional points on Spirit and the thirty points of mana capacity meant that he had a piece of high-level equipment that didn''t take up any slots. Leaving the matter aside, Roland waved at the kitten who was hopping and catching butterflies in the yard. The catgirl ran over to him and looked at Roland with glittering eyes. "Master, are you taking me out to have fun?" Marilyn didn''t dare to go out these days. Cats were both curious and cowardly. When they were scared, it would take days before they regained the courage to embark on adventures again. However, if they had a strong supporter who was willing to take them out, they would still have the courage to go. Looking at the catgirl''s hopeful eyes, Roland nodded and said, "Sort of. Marilyn, as a catgirl, you should have a sharp nose, right?" "Of course!" Marilyn patted her unremarkable breasts proudly. "My nose is even sharper than that of a dog!" Well Although that was true, Roland somehow felt that it wasn''t right. However, looking at Marilyn who was expecting praise, Roland could only say, "That''s truly awesome. I need to find someone in a city in the east. I may need your help." The cat-humans were natural-born Rogues and Assassins. They had both excellent noses and ears. Thanks to their ancestors'' hunting instincts, the professionals among the cat-humans would have reinforced bloodline talents after they became Rogues or Assassins. In many cases, as long as one told a strong cat-human scout or Assassin the name and general appearance of the target and where he recently showed up, this scout or Assassin could likely track the target down even though they had never met before without any other intelligence. It was not very scientific, but rather very magical. A well-acknowledged opinion in the circle of Mages on such amazing phenomena was that the cat-humans were born with a talent that was similar to Lesser Benediction. However, it could only be used for tracing, and its effect depended on the cat-human''s strength. In order to block the intuitive tracking of the strong cat-humans, one had to use special barriers that could resist divination spells. But even that couldn''t be very effective. Besides, even if Marilyn didn''t have such abilities, she still had her nose and ears. After Roland found the vulpera, or acquired some of his personal items, the catgirl would come in handy. Hearing that they were going on a walk to another city, Marilyn flipped backward and scratched the ground with her feet excitedly. She exclaimed, "I certainly will! Master, take me with you! I can help you! When you flirt with other girls, I can watch out for you." Pa! Roland tapped the catgirl''s head. The catgirl immediately covered her head and squatted. Actually, with the catgirl''s nerves, it was easy for her to dodge Roland''s slap, but Marilyn didn''t do that, because she had subconsciously acknowledged Roland as her master. It was just the catgirl was simply too perky to show her obedience. "Come with me. If we''re going out, I have to get something for your protection first." Roland walked in the front and said, "You''re too weak. If a battle happens, your top priority is to ensure your own safety." "Got it. Meow." Marilyn followed Roland and accepted the demand so quickly that she let out her signature voice. Also, her tail was raised high and wiggling, indicating great happiness. Roland went shopping in the western district of the Red Magic Tower with the catgirl and got a fitting light leather armor and two sharp daggers for her. He planned to enchant the two daggers, but he gave up the idea due to the limited time. He also bought a few magic scrolls, such as flash and temporary shield that could be instantly cast, for Marilyn''s protection. They weren''t very powerful, but they might save her life at a critical moment. After they were prepared, Roland added fresh water and food to his system backpack and led the kitten out of the Red Magic Tower. Brown Sand City was about sixty kilometers to the east of the Red Magic Tower. On the way, there was nothing but desert and the occasional sandstorm. Normally speaking, any travelers without experience in desert traveling wouldn''t dare to leave the city easily lest they were swallowed by the sand. However, Mages were never normal, particularly those who were also Golden Sons. Roland took Marilyn out of the city into the desert. Then, he built a square room with Mud to Rock and Rock to Mud in a random place and hid Marilyn inside. He then flew to Brown Sand City in about four minutes. After that, he landed in an empty place outside of the city. He teleported himself back to Marilyn, and then teleported both of them to the city. Blue light glittered behind the hill of sand, and Roland and the catgirl emerged from the light. Then, the catgirl lay down on the sand and vomited crazily. It was typical for anyone who had been remotely teleported for the first time. The catgirl''s fur bristled as she vomited. Her thin tail suddenly became thick, which was rather hilarious. Roland waited patiently. The catgirl didn''t stop vomiting until a dozen minutes later. She had vomited everything in her stomach that could be vomited. The sand was burning under the heat of the sun, but the catgirl wasn''t scared of it. She sat down on the sand, held her belly, and looked at Roland pitifully. Roland took out clean water and food from the system Backpack. After taking a rest and having some food and water, the catgirl gradually recovered. About half an hour later, she finished the food and jumped from the sand, before she scampered to the city wall not far away holding Roland''s hand. "Master, let''s go there! I''ve never been to another city before!" After paying ten coppers, Roland and Marilyn were allowed to enter the city. This was a city of hybrids. Roland saw hybrids of many different races in this place. They looked like lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, dogs, and foxes with different skin colors. There were also dark-skinned drows and even two Lalafells that were sitting in baskets full of fruit. There was no telling where they were being sent to. However, no other catgirls could be seen. Therefore, Marilyn, as a delightful catgirl, attracted a lot of attention. However, when the more brutish hybrids saw the collar on the catgirl''s neck and the human Mage behind her, they could only hold back their inappropriate thoughts. This was a city of hybrids, but many human merchants had businesses and even settled down here. More importantly the famous Red Magic Tower was only sixty kilometers to the west. Only an idiot would offend a Mage who was so close to his base. If they wanted to kill themselves, there were better ways. The catgirl had great fun on the street. There were plenty of residents, and the atmosphere here was livelier than the western district of the Red Magic Tower. This place had a wider variety of goods than the Red Magic Tower did too. That was understandable. After all, as an academic city, the Red Magic Tower only needed enough goods to keep everybody alive. Everybody was more focused on magic-related stuff. In comparison, this was a city of common folk, and naturally it was more energetic. Roland simply let Marilyn wander the streets while he followed her. In the evening, Marilyn finally grew tired. She stopped and said to Roland, "Master, I''m hungry." They were right next to a tavern, from which the fragrance of spicy roasted meat was emanating. No wonder the kitten couldn''t walk on anymore. "Then let''s have some food." Roland walked into the tavern first, and Marilyn followed excitedly. The waiter was a vulpera. He approached and asked them what they wanted to eat. The catgirl said quickly, "I''d like a piece of all the kinds of meat in your restaurant." The waiter looked at Roland suspiciously. Roland nodded and said, "Just listen to her." The waiter slightly bowed and then left. The tavern was a lot more quiet, as the combination of a catgirl, who was rare, and a human Mage, who must not be offended, was quite weird. After a moment of silence, the noise in the tavern grew louder again. Nobody wanted to do anything to the human and the catgirl. Although hybrids were known for their proclivity towards violence, they were actually even smarter than human beings and knew the people they should avoid fighting very well. The waiter soon began serving the food. He also offered a complimentary Desert Red Fruit Wine, which had aphrodisiac effects. That was only because the waiter saw that the catgirl was wearing a slave collar. He thought that he could give her master some Desert Red Fruit Wine, so that they would have more fun at night. However, although Roland drank all the Desert Red Fruit Wine, it didn''t really work on him. The aphrodisiac in the wine was considered a poison by his body. Although Roland''s Constitution wasn''t high at this moment, his health had been boosted by his equipment and his titles. To put it simply, most poisons would be automatically dissolved after he took them. Drinking the fruit wine, Roland recalled what he observed during the day. There were many hybrids in this city, the vulpera making up a huge percentage of them. The vulpera who stole something from the Monochrome Magic Tower chose to hide in this city probably to use his compatriots as cover. Roland was considering how to find the thief without alarming him, when he heard two vulpera on his right side talking about something interesting. "A few days ago, I saw a vulpera compatriot appear out of nowhere in front of me. That was scary." Huh? A spatial spell? Roland subconsciously looked at the catgirl. They had found a lead so quickly. It seemed that the catgirl''s talent of intuitive hunting was truly terrifying. 548 The Catgirl Makes Another Contribution It was indeed impressive, and absolutely unscientific. Speaking of which, Roland was already a Master; he might as well consider studying Lesser Benediction someday. If he were to work hard on the spells and tricks in the divination class, it would significantly help him comprehend the essence of magic. But it remained unknown whether or not the Red Magic Tower had this spell. If it did, he might bring it up to the Great Elder that he wanted to learn it and see if the man was willing to sell it. The more Roland learned magic, the more shortcomings he saw in himself that needed to be fixed. At this moment, he was mostly good at evoking magic. He had learned some of the beginner tricks of other magic schools, but he didn''t touch the high-level spells at all. He was particularly bad at divination. Apart from Language Proficiency, which was sort of an ancillary spell of the divination school, he didn''t know any more spells of that school. Until he became a Master, Roland had always thought that what mattered most to a Mage was destructiveness, mobility, and the ability of support. But after he became a Master, and especially after he simulated the solar system, he vaguely realized that his previous idea was wrong. It wasn''t entirely wrong; it was just that his understanding of magic wasn''t comprehensive. What did magic mean? It meant turning the impossible possible! The powerful damage caused by elements, the swift movement through teleportation, and the ability to help other people change the terrain and weather, were essentially still applications on "energy." That was still what mortals could do. What was the magic that could really turn the impossible possible? The divination spells, or the spells of causality. Recently, it had occurred to Roland that changing causality was the nature of magic. Destructiveness, mobility, and the ability to change terrain and weather were just the foundations for someone to survive in this world. But if they wanted to reach the peak of magic, they had to study divination spells. They had to fully understand the spells'' mechanism. Roland estimated that the peak of the divination spells was probably "let there be light." Of course, it was just Roland''s speculation. He wouldn''t know if it was true until he actually reached that point. Roland asked the catgirl to continue eating, then walked to the two vulpera and asked with a smile, "My vulpera friends, could you tell me where you met this vulpera who was capable of spatial magic?" "Sir, why are you asking this?" Both of the vulpera were rather vigilant. Human beings had taken the best places to live, leaving the worst environments to them. They couldn''t survive without unity. The vulpera were a united people even among hybrids. They were naturally pissed when a human being asked about their compatriot. They would not sell their compatriot out easily, even though Roland was a Mage and could kill them. Roland smiled and put two gold coins on the table. "They will be yours as long as you tell me the answer." The purchasing power of one gold coin was not to be underestimated in this world. The vulpera looked at each other. Then, one of them pointed northeast and said in a low voice, "In the slum next to the White Tower." "Thank you." Roland nodded at the vulpera and returned to his table. Even the elves, who lived in seclusion and felt no pressure to survive, fought and killed each other occasionally for different beliefs. It was needless to mention the hybrids, who were only united by the struggle to survive. The unity of the vulpera was only relative, not absolute. It was only worth one gold coin. After he returned to the table, Roland didn''t leave for the destination immediately but waited until Marilyn was full. The target must''ve already left after two days, so it didn''t really matter whether or not he went immediately. Besides, the catgirl had intuitive tracking. She might be more useful if she was full. Roland waited patiently, and the catgirl was finally full after gulping down meat for half an hour. She patted her bulging belly and said, "Ah, I''m so full." "Then let''s take a walk to help your digestion." Roland stood up. Marilyn seemed surprised. "Huh? Shouldn''t we find a place to get some sleep?" That was exactly what cats did. They would find a place to sleep when they were full. "You can sleep later." Roland paid the waiter and said, "It''s non-negotiable." "Okay." Marilyn''s ears and tail dangled. However, as a perky and energetic catgirl, although she was reluctant, she was in high spirits again after walking on the street for a while. Roland found a random person on the street and asked where the White Tower was. Then he went there. The so-called White Tower was actually a tower built with white sand bricks that were made of the mixture of white sand and the colorless sap of a certain plant. White sand wasn''t common in the desert, and the colorless sap of the plant was even rarer, so the White Tower was actually a fancy, luxurious building. It was said that six hundred gold coins were spent to build it. That was enough money for Roland or Betta to build half a city, or to significantly improve the infrastructures of a city. Even more ridiculously, four hundred meters south of the White Tower was a slum. The master of the White Tower could see the miserable lives of the poor folk in the slum not far away every time he opened the window in the morning. Then he would feel greatly comfortable. The moment Roland came to the slum, he smelled something nasty. The stench was a combination of urine, poop, and decayed garbage. The kitten''s fur immediately bristled again. She covered her nose and stepped back quickly, before she shook her head at Roland. Thanks to the compulsion for cleanliness in her blood, she would rather die before she went into such a place. Roland wasn''t in a rush. He didn''t really have to go in. It was because the vulpera thief was a Mage, who was too noble to stay for long in such a filthy place. He must''ve been gone for a long time. The catgirl was relieved to find that Roland wasn''t forcing her to go in. She stepped far back before she finally lifted her hands from her nose and mouth. "Master, we should find a place to spend the night." "Okay." Roland nodded. "Why don''t you choose a place with your instincts?" To be honest, even he didn''t want to go into such a filthy place although he had a magic shield. "Okay, okay." The catgirl immediately led the way. The desert was already getting cold at night, and the temperature would plummet after ten. At midnight, the temperature would even go below zero. Ordinary people could easily freese to death without enough measures taken against the cold. Therefore, in most cases, there were few passersby on the street after eight at night in desert cities. The only places with candles lit were the hotels that hoped to attract the attention of the travelers. The streets were cold and empty. Marilyn walked by one hotel after another, sniffing the door of each hotel carefully. She was choosing a hotel that didn''t smell and was to her liking. After all, she had a compulsion for cleanliness. After more than an hour, the catgirl finally found an independent hotel. This hotel wasn''t exactly a luxurious one, but it looked very clean. Also, an incense that smelled like mint was burning in this hotel. After they entered the building, a middle-aged old woman received Roland and the catgirl uneasily. This hotel was run by a human being. The old woman looked at them and noticed the collar on the catgirl''s neck. She looked at Roland and asked, "Do you need one room?" The catgirl made no response to that question. She simply glanced at Roland and wagged her tail like a puppy. But Roland shook his head. "No, two rooms." The old woman looked at Roland in surprise, but she didn''t ask further. As a businessperson, she didn''t care what her clients wanted to do. Besides, she could earn more money from two rooms. If the client wanted that, why should she refuse him? Grabbing the keys, Roland led the catgirl upstairs. He intended to take a rest for the night and then wander the neighborhood with the catgirl the next day. If Marilyn''s racial talent wasn''t triggered, he would ask the local Guild of Mercenaries or the Guild of Assassins and see if they could find this vulpera. However, it was beyond his expectations that he would run into someone in a gray robe coming downstairs when he was going upstairs. The person''s face was hidden in a dark hood and couldn''t be seen. When they passed by each other, Roland suddenly paused and asked the person in the gray robe, "Spatial magic power? My friend, can I see your face?" The person had hidden his magic power well, but they were really too close to each other on the stairs. Besides, Roland had very good senses, and he detected the nature of the person''s magic power easily. Hearing what Roland said, the person in gray was stunned. He didn''t say anything but pointed his finger at Roland. Roland subconsciously raised his magic power shield and protected Marilyn behind him. A weird swirl launched from the person''s finger and hit Roland''s magic shield. Although Roland was blown two steps back, he wasn''t really hurt at all. The swirl was blocked by the shield. Seeing that, the person in gray knew that Roland was strong. He instantly turned around, leaped off the stairs, and fled. But there was no way that Roland would let go of him. You think you''re the only one who can cast a spell instantly? Roland snapped his fingers, and the door was instantly blocked by a wall of sand. Seeing that, the Mage took out a staff and pointed it at Roland, before he roared, "Human being, mind your own" Spatial magic power was boiling from him. But at this moment, a dozen enormous, transparent chains suddenly emerged from the void and stabbed into the ground near Roland and the person in gray. Seeing that, the person in gray obviously shivered. Then, he asked in a trembling voice, "These are Dimensional Anchors?" 549 Absolutely Baffled Of course, that was only a joke. After all, Dimensional Anchor was itself a spatial spell. Normally speaking, the person who could swiftly deal with a spatial Mage could only be another spatial Mage who knew Dimensional Anchor. In the circle of Mages, all the Mages above the level of Master would try to learn this spell. However, it remained unknown whether or not they could get the spell model, and if they could really learn it after they did. Dimensional Anchor was rather difficult to learn even for a level-three spell. It was similar to Language Proficiency among the level-two spells. If one did not have any talent in space, it would be challenging for them to learn it even if they were Legends in other magic schools. Therefore, this vulpera didn''t predict at all that this young human Mage would be able to instantly cast Dimensional Anchor. "Who are you?" The person in gray sounded furious. The door had been blocked, and the space was fixed by the Dimensional Anchors. It was impossible for him to flee with teleportation. Besides, even without the Dimensional Anchors, it would''ve taken him five seconds to chant teleportation, or half a second to chant for a flash. He could instantly cast some low-level spells, but not those above level two. In a face-to-face battle, a delay of five seconds could be critical, and even a delay of merely half a second could give the hostile Mage a chance to predict the distance and direction of his movement. He would still be in a disadvantageous position. Looking down at the person from the stairs, Roland smiled. "My friend, I''m on a quest to catch a vulpera Mage who escaped from the Monochrome Magic Tower, dead or alive. But I prefer to catch him alive, because it pays better and I''m not a fan of killing." The person in gray was silent for a long time. Roland waited patiently without being hasty at all. The catgirl had already run to the back of the hotel and hidden herself. She then climbed the wall soundlessly, using obstacles and dead angles, until she reached the wall right behind the person in gray. Catgirls were truly gifted to be Rogues and Assassins. The catgirl didn''t have any systematic training yet, but he already knew what he was doing. The person in gray was still silent. Roland was done waiting and was about to attack, but then the person raised his head and lifted his hood. A pair of pointy fox ears emerged from his black hair. Then, there were long and sharp cheekbones below it. He was indeed a vulpera. "I''m your target." The vulpera looked at Roland regretfully. "Who are you? Why are you here to catch me?" The vulpera in gray sneered coldly. "You mean that you''ve been doing evil things together, right?" "What do you mean?" Roland was rather curious. "In every Magic Tower, the leadership consists almost exclusively of human beings. Even though the Great Elder of the Illusion Magic Tower is a Lalafell, she doesn''t treat the hybrids as her own kind but sides with human beings. I''m not content with that. Why do the hybrid Mages have to listen to human beings?" Roland was briefly stunned. "As far as I know, the few Magic Towers were all founded by human beings, weren''t they? Aren''t human beings already generous enough to let the hybrids study magic there?" The vulpera in gray roared, "Have the hybrid Mages worked in the Magic Towers for thousands of years just for your magic research, as your experiment subjects? That''s unfair! The hybrids are just as honorable as human beings. Why do we have to be your slaves?" Roland rubbed his eyebrows and found it hard to believe. "You care so much about the dignity and future of the hybrids? Do you have a high social status?" "I''m a prince of the vulpera." Hearing that, Roland realized why this person would pass through this city. It was because this city was on the way to the vulpera''s settlement. Roland estimated that people from other Magic Towers had been sent to other places on the way to the vulpera''s settlement to catch this vulpera prince too. "Let me go." Seeing that Roland was deep in thought, the vulpera thought that he was shocked by his identity. "I''ll repay you. If you''re willing to escort me back to the vulpera''s settlement, I''ll pay you even more. If you''re even willing to submit to the vulpera, you will gain more wealth and power than you can possibly imagine." Roland was quite amused as he listened. He had to admit that this vulpera prince was really trying his best to survive. Another Mage might have considered the offer for a few seconds, but Roland had already struck a secret deal of strategic cooperation with the future queen of the world''s most powerful human country. Would he abandon such a bright future and collude with a vulpera prince? Did he look that stupid? Besides, even without Stephanie, Roland would''ve been listed as a must-kill target by the Red Magic Tower if he were to go with the vulpera prince. Only a fool would want such an ending. At this moment, Roland was suddenly stunned. He opened the quest menu with his mind. Special quest detected: "Against the Light." Leave with the vulpera prince and betray humanity. (Nightmarish) Do you want to pick it? The description of the quest was so deeply purple that it was almost black. Of course, Roland chose "No." If it were a regular single-player game, Roland would''ve saved the game and tried the nightmarish quest. But this was a real world with NPCs who had feelings. If he were to go, how was he going to face Andonara, Vivian, and his friends in the Magic Tower? How was he going to face his friends in F6? Would he really fight them in the future? Taking a snapshot of the quest with the system''s camera function, Roland chose "No" without hesitation. Only someone who was mentally deranged would pick up such a quest. But Roland was indeed slightly surprised. He had thought that epic quests were quests of the highest level; he didn''t know that there were nightmarish ones. Staring at the vulpera in gray, he shook his head and said, "That''s not going to happen. The vulpera only have a population of thirty million. That''s not even close to human beings'' numbers. Why would I leave my friends, my people, and go with you?" "But the total population of the hybrids is the same as that of the humans." "Stop trying to persuade me." Roland waved his hand. "Will you surrender, or do you want me to beat you half to death and tie you up?" The vulpera in gray said with an awful expression, "Do you really not want to think about it?" Roland shrugged. He could understand the person''s desire for survival, but his offer wasn''t really an option. The vulpera in gray looked around, but the transparent dimensional chains were still there. He had been intentionally silent for a long time before he made a speech to Roland. On one hand, he really wanted to talk Roland into betraying his people; on the other hand, he wanted to buy himself more time so that the Dimensional Anchors would disappear. Dimensional Anchor was a very exhausting spell. First of all, all the spatial spells were great mana consumers, and Dimensional Anchor was a large-area one. Even a Legendary Mage couldn''t have kept it up for ten minutes. It would already be remarkable if a Master Mage could persist for two minutes. However, it had been three minutes since the Dimensional Anchors were launched, and the human Mage still seemed at ease. Heaving a soft sigh, the vulpera in gray admitted defeat and extended his hands obediently. Roland was about to step forward, but the catgirl descended from the wall and cried, "Let me tie him!" While shouting, she took out a rope from her clothes and tied up the vulpera quickly. The vulpera sneered at the slave collar on the catgirl''s neck, thinking that she was a pitiful and ignorant traitor. But then he got rather confused, because the collar clearly didn''t emit any magic waves. It was a fake slave collar. Then, he slightly narrowed his eyes, pretending that he didn''t notice anything. "Follow me! Follow me!" Dragging one end of the rope, the catgirl strode upstairs rather excitedly. Roland could only shake his head and follow her. The old woman who ran the hotel watched them go to the second floor. She was greatly relieved as the dimensional chains disappeared one after another. Thank god they didn''t really start a fight, or her little hotel would''ve been leveled by the two Mages. It would be hard for her and her family to make a living if her hotel disappeared. As for compensation Had any lord Mages ever admitted their mistakes or offered any compensation? Roland had reserved two rooms. He decided to watch over the vulpera while the catgirl slept in the other room. But the catgirl wasn''t too happy about that. She patted her chest and said voluntarily, "Master, you take a rest in the other room. I''ll keep an eye on him." "We''ve tied him up, but he can still use magic," said Roland with a smile. "You''re too weak. Let me watch over him." The catgirl was rather shocked. She had thought that the vulpera had completely lost the ability to fight. Were Mages so dangerous that they could cast spells after being tied up? "Okay." Marilyn looked at the vulpera regretfully and left. Roland pushed the vulpera into the room and spread the blanket on the bed in a random corner of the room. Then he said, "You can take a break over there against the wall." The vulpera looked at Roland in surprise. Sometimes, one''s personality could be seen from the details. This meant that Roland could be a kindhearted man. The vulpera sat in the corner and didn''t say anything. Roland pulled a chair and sat down opposite him. He then took a book out of his system Backpack and read it. Though Roland wasn''t gazing at the vulpera, he spread his mental power to the entire room. Naturally, the vulpera sensed it too. He was secretly overjoyed but didn''t show it on his face. He felt that this human Mage was getting too supercilious. After spending a significant amount of mental power on the Dimensional Anchors, the man even dared to "watch" him with mental power. Such a massive net of mental power would definitely be exhausting. How long could he possibly persist? This human being would grow tired in an hour or two. Also, it was nighttime. Human beings were diurnal animals, while the vulpera were partially nocturnal. Most vulpera would be active in the deep night and would only go to bed just before dawn. Therefore, the human would become sleepy soon, while he became more and more energetic. As this man''s energy dropped and his energy soared, their positions would swap after midnight. The vulpera thought that and kept waiting and waiting. After midnight, Roland''s threads of mental power were still balanced and steady. Why is he still not tired? The vulpera was rather confused. Then he waited and waited. He was getting sleepy himself when dawn came, but Roland was still reading his book without showing any mental fatigue. What the hell? With his bloodshot eyes, the vulpera stared at the human being in shock. Did this human being never get tired or need any sleep? He was absolutely baffled. 550 Trouble Along the Way Although Marilyn was playful and liked having fun, she was actually trustworthy during errands. Three bactrian camels that looked tall and healthy were bought. With Hand of Magic, Roland seized the vulpera and placed him on one of the camels. Then he and the catgirl each took a camel. After that, they slowly rode out of the city. Many people watched them on the way. After all, it was quite rare for a vulpera Mage to be tied up and escorted like a prisoner. The suffering of a lord Mage was not something they saw every day. There were many vulpera in the city. They were a rather united people. However, seeing that their compatriot was escorted by a human Mage, many vulpera dropped the idea of trying to rescue him. The average IQ of the vulpera was very high, even slightly higher than that of human beings. A high IQ meant that they were rational in most cases. They found that their compatriot didn''t seem to have been tortured. His hands were tied up, but he wasn''t wounded, and he looked okay. He wasn''t deprived of his dignity. More importantly, this compatriot of theirs was also a Mage. Should they really get involved in a fight between Mages? All in all, smarter people would always consider several factors. If the green-skinned orcs saw their compatriot captured by humans, they would''ve charged forward with their axes, not caring if their enemy was a Mage or a Warrior. So, Roland and his companions left the city easily. They spurred the camels and rode to the Red Magic Tower unhurriedly. After they left the city, the catgirl rode her camel near Roland and asked, "Master, why do you not use the spell that can swoosh us back home?" A wind was blowing in the desert at this moment. It wasn''t exactly a sandstorm, but it was nonetheless noisy on the empty, vast ocean of sand. The catgirl''s voice couldn''t be heard by anyone else except the person who was right next to her. Roland shook his head. "I don''t want too many people to know about that, so please keep it a secret." The catgirl nodded quickly. In fact, Roland wasn''t scared of the catgirl spreading the information, because multiple teleportation was too sophisticated a subject. Ordinary people would only think that it was yet another miraculous thing that Mages could do, and the Mages, knowing how hard multiple teleportation was, would not believe her. Even if the catgirl were to blab, people would only think that she was bragging. However, it would be a different matter for someone who had experienced it in person. So, Roland intended to take his time and ride back to the Magic Tower. The vulpera Mage had been observing them. He felt that something was wrong when he left the city. Now, after a while of observation, he finally noticed what was wrong. "My Mage friend, can I ask you a question?" Roland turned around and looked at him. "Speak." "Have you forgotten to bring water and food?" The vulpera prince already felt thirsty. "I think we need to go back." The catgirl laughed aloud. The vulpera prince looked at her unhappily. Roland, on the other hand, took out a waterskin and showed it to him before putting it back in the Backpack. "We''ve got food and water. Don''t worry." The vulpera prince felt that his odds of escape lowered again. They kept moving forward. A trip in the desert could be boring and dangerous. Apart from the scorching sun and the ravenous sandstorms, there was also fatal quicksand that would swallow anyone who accidentally stepped in it. Therefore, even the catgirl did not dare to walk in the desert despite her usual perkiness. After half a day, Roland built a rounded house with Rock to Mud and ate food inside. At this moment, Roland untied the vulpera prince and gave him water as well as some meatloaf. Instead of eating the food in a hurry, the vulpera prince looked around at the house that Roland built in surprise. He had never thought that Mud to Rock and Rock to Mud could be used in such a way. If possible, everybody would love to learn all the spells available. However, people only had limited energy, so they could only choose spells that befitted them. The vulpera prince, for one, didn''t learn these spells, because he didn''t think that they were useful. Now he realized that he was just too ignorant. After the vulpera prince had enough food and answered nature''s call, Roland tied him up again. He then reminded the catgirl to be careful, because he had to answer nature''s call too. The moment Roland left the house, the vulpera prince said to Marilyn, "Catgirl, you people love freedom. It must piss you off being his slave, right?" The catgirl stared at him, stunned. "I have a way to open the collar on your neck. We can run away together. What do you say?" Normally speaking, it would take a dozen minutes for someone to unlock the slave collar without a key. The vulpera prince could tell that the slave collar on the catgirl''s neck didn''t have any magic power. He didn''t know whether the human Mage simply fooled the catgirl with a fake collar or failed to notice the collar''s problem in time. Either way, the vulpera prince felt that it was a chance for him. "You mean like this?" With a crack, the catgirl separated the collar into halves with her hands. The vulpera prince''s eyes bulged. The catgirl then closed the collar back around her neck. The vulpera prince couldn''t be more confused looking at this. One of them was a spatial Mage who was still energetic even though he didn''t sleep at all, and the other was a catgirl who wore a slave collar even though she was free. What kind of weird combination was this? It seemed that regular tricks wouldn''t work on them. After Roland came back, the vulpera prince hesitated for a moment and said, "My friend, do you not want to know why I''m wanted by the Monochrome Magic Tower?" Roland shook his head. "No." "I do!" The catgirl jumped and shouted. Both of the Mages stared at her coldly. The catgirl was so scared that she meowed and jumped back to a corner. Taking a deep breath, the vulpera prince said, "It''s because I stole a very awesome spell model of the Monochrome Magic Tower." "Okay," Roland remarked casually. The vulpera prince found it rather odd. "You''re quite good at spatial magic too. Are you not interested in a powerful spatial spell?" Roland smiled. "You''re not carrying any books, so you must''ve hidden the model." "Yes," admitted the vulpera prince proudly. "I foresaw that I might be caught, so I made preparations. As long as you''re willing to free me, I''ll bring you to the magic spell as well as a huge fortune." "I''m a member of the Red Magic Tower, which is very close to the Monochrome Magic Tower. As long as I continue my studies, there will be a good chance that I can apply for high-level evoking magic and spatial magic when I graduate. Why would I be interested in a spell that''s too powerful for me to learn correctly and will ruin my bright future?" The vulpera prince was stunned as he heard that. After a long time, he said, "You are self-controlled, and you have a good idea of your future. You''re much better than me." After that, the vulpera prince lowered his head and fell silent. After a moment of rest, they resumed the journey. But the vulpera prince didn''t try to talk Roland into betrayal or to bribe him again for the rest of the journey. He simply sat silently on the camel, as if he were reflecting on something. Thanks to the prince''s cooperation, Roland returned to the Red Magic Tower at noon on the next day. After transferring the vulpera prince to relevant personnel, Roland took a break and then met the Great Elder at the conference hall. "I knew you wouldn''t disappoint me." Alfred the Great Elder was rather happy. "Not only have you caught him so quickly, but you were also immune to his bribery and temptation. That''s exactly what a determined Mage should be like." Roland smiled. "Do you know what the vulpera prince stole?" asked Alfred. Roland replied, "He wanted to tell me in exchange for an opportunity to escape, but I wasn''t interested." "It''s Mystra''s Mansion," said Alfred with a smile. "It''s the spatial spell of the highest level. It''s multiple times more practical, and difficult, than Space Obliteration." Roland had read about this spell from random books before. It was one of the spells Mystra created before she became a goddess. It was said to be the most powerful escape and survival spell. Whoever capable of this spell could spit at demons or raise their middle fingers at them. They wouldn''t be scared no matter how many people were hunting them. "How was something so powerful and critical stolen so easily?" Roland found it hard to believe, as the vulpera prince wasn''t very strong and any Master in the Monochrome Magic Tower could''ve beaten him up easily. Alfred smiled and said, "I don''t know about the details, but he had helpers. A lich and a weirdo with black wings helped him. Does that sound familiar?" Roland realized who they were. They were the First Princess''s ex-husband and the Fallen Angel of the Paradise of Life from the incident in the capital. Roland had thought that the thing with the vulpera was only a side quest. He didn''t know that it was associated with his main quest. "If they were his helpers, they must''ve already taken the magic models that the vulpera prince hid." Alfred nodded. "I expect so, too. Your part is over right now. Next, the old people including myself have to do the work. The enemy is very powerful. Although you''re from an alternate dimension and can be infinitely resurrected, your capabilities will plummet, which will jeopardize your future development. So, this matter is too dangerous for you to intervene in now. You got it?" Roland thought for a moment and nodded. He might as well give up the epic quest on Stephanie''s ex-husband. Alfred was right. Now, Roland would drop by one level after each death. It wasn''t really easy to get a level-up. "Now that you''ve accomplished the task brilliantly, I believe a bonus is due. What do you want? A piece of equipment or a spell model?" asked Alfred. Roland thought for a moment and said, "I want the spell model of Lesser Benediction!" 551 Interesting Analysis "Mystra''s Mansion is too advanced for me to learn. I might as well ask for a spell that I can pick up more easily." Roland smiled. Actually, another reason he didn''t ask for Mystra''s Mansion was that he already had it. Thanks to Schuck, he had obtained it from the Grand Library of Light and saved it by taking photos. Also, this best escape and survival spell wasn''t of much significance to him. If he weren''t a player but a local who only had one life, he would''ve been greatly interested in this spell. However, the players could be resurrected after death. While they would lose a tremendous amount of EXP and even equipment upon dying, they could always get it back after they were revived. Therefore, he wasn''t so desperately in need of Mystra''s Mansion. He already had the spell model, but he wasn''t in a hurry to learn it. Lesser Benediction, on the other hand, was more practical for his level. If he could learn it, he could get a lot of ideas and experience to fill in his database. "You''re very self-disciplined." The Great Elder looked at Roland in satisfaction. "I wasn''t half as contained as you when I was your age. The Red Magic Tower does have the model for Lesser Benediction, but few people have ever grasped it After all, most people here major in evocation, and divination magic is rather challenging for us." He paused for a moment and said, "If you need a teacher, you''ll have to go to Circe, who practices both evoking and divination magic. However, she is unfriendly and hates young men, so it will be hard for her to teach you." "Actually, I think I can learn it by myself." Roland put on a smile. "Young people should be confident." The Great Elder nodded in approval. "Then you can try it. If you can''t grasp it, don''t be too stubborn and just come to me. I''ll find a way to make Circe teach you." "Thank you, Great Elder." "You can take a break," the Great Elder said with a wave of his hand. "I''ll have the magic model sent to your manor soon." Roland slightly bowed at the Great Elder and left. He didn''t find the catgirl playing in the manor. She must''ve gone out for fun again. Now, everybody in the Red Magic Tower knew that Roland was back, so whoever was interested in the catgirl restrained themselves. The catgirl, who had a natural instinct for danger, immediately sensed that the environment was safer and began to wander about for fun. Roland had no problem with that. Personally, he didn''t really care too much about her. He considered her an acquaintance, but not exactly a good friend. He studied magic for half a day in his manor. Then, a Mage delivered the model to him. Lesser Benediction was a level-three spell. But that was just the level for casting. In terms of difficulty in learning, the divination spells were two levels higher than regular spells, which meant that Lesser Benediction was as hard to learn as a level-five spell. It was also the reason why few people in the Red Magic Tower knew Lesser Benediction. For violent maniacs who preferred to just blow up everything they were dissatisfied with, such a spell was too challenging. Paving the thick graph of the magic model on the table, Roland felt giddy as he looked at the dense magic nodes on it. Not only were there plenty of nodes, but a lot of the nodes were also represented in vague shadows. That was a special symbol indicating that the function of this node was unclear. It was even possible that this node was not needed at all. "This is rather tricky." Although his head was dizzy after the first glance, Roland tried to calm himself down and analyze the nodes on it. Roland read the model very carefully. He was completely devoted to the world of data, and time had lost all significance to him. A few hours was only a blink of an eye in such a situation. Half a day passed quickly. Roland had analyzed all his notes. Then he realized that something was wrong. Lesser Benediction had a lot of nodes that overlapped with those in Language Proficiency. He found them more and more familiar. Searching his memories for a moment, he remembered something and displayed Blossom Acceleration, an elven spell, from the system recorder. Translating the circular nodes into the nodes on the human spell models, he compared them. Then, it occurred to Roland that part of the nodes in Lesser Benediction overlapped with Blossom Acceleration, and it was the same part that intersected with Language Proficiency. To be more precise, all three divination spells had the same central nodes. Things were getting interesting. Filling this data into the database, Roland calculated and inferred for almost four hours. Then, he reached a conclusion that he could hardly believe. All three divination spells were extrapolations of the same "core." To put it more simply, they were different plants that had grown out of the same seed. Even more surprisingly, based on Roland''s calculations, the routes of magic power in the three divination spells didn''t go through these core nodes. As a result, these core nodes had never been noticed. Even if people did see them, they would only consider such nodes useless. Roland didn''t think that many people could''ve found out the secrets of these special nodes as he did. If he could understand the functions of the core nodes, would he be able to create a new divination spell by adding or compiling other nodes like a programmer? Just the idea of that excited him. Roland had thought that Lesser Benediction would be hard to learn. After all, Language Proficiency had left too deep an impression on him. Besides, Blossom Acceleration was very difficult too. However, at this moment, he found that Lesser Benediction wasn''t too hard, at least not for him. He had to thank himself for deciphering the spell model of Language Proficiency without asking for anyone''s help. He had also learned how to craft magic swords, which also had to do with divination. Many magic swords were designed on the basis of divination spells. Also, Roland had obtained a lot of data by learning magic and creating the magic swords. Importing the data into the database, inferring and comparing the data, and then applying it to the model of Lesser Benediction, Roland was soon able to understand the functions of most of the nodes in Lesser Benediction, except for the cores. Now that he had understood those nodes, Roland could already perform Lesser Benediction. Then, he did a famous experiment in the circle of Mages. He slightly closed his hands and activated Lesser Benediction. White light gleamed from his hands. "I want drinkable water." After saying that, Roland instantly unfolded his magic shield. Then, he waited patiently. About twenty minutes later, the catgirl suddenly appeared by the window. She squatted and said to Roland excitedly, "Master, look, I''ve got you a cup of fruit tea. It''s very delicious. When I drank it, I thought you should have a taste of this too. I''m really nice to you, Master, aren''t I?" Roland looked at Marilyn as well as the pot in her hand, greatly relieved. Both Grand Benediction and Lesser Benediction had a minor shortcoming, which was that when one''s wish wasn''t clear or detailed enough, it would be fulfilled in the most reasonable way. For example, when Roland said "I want drinkable water," a lot of things might have happened, and the catgirl returning with fruit tea was only one of the possibilities. If Roland had made such a wish in the wild, it was possible that a bison would pass by, pee on him, and then go away. The urine of the bison was exactly the result of Benediction. Bovine urine could count as drinkable water too. After all, the people of a certain country were particularly into that. They would be lethargic for three days if a day went by without them having any bovine urine, so Benediction did grant the wish. One had to blame themselves for making too vague a wish. It was exactly why Roland opened the magic shield just now. He feared that something critical would happen to him. The correct way of making wishes was to describe the wish in the most unambiguous and straightforward way before Benediction''s effect was over. For example, "I want a glass of innocuous clean water." That would be much better. Although the way the water was delivered would still be uncertain, as least the water would be drinkable and clean. Another shortcoming of Benediction was that one could not describe how the result should be delivered in the wish, i. e., it was not possible to describe the "cause" but only the "result." For example, one couldn''t make a wish like "I want Angel Nia to bring me a glass of clean water for me to drink." That was not going to happen. They could only say, "I want someone to give me a glass of clean water for me to drink." Even Grand Benediction could not allow anyone to describe "causes." Lastly, Benediction usually wouldn''t take effect in real time, because it would take time for magic power to construct and look for suitable "causes." For example, if someone was dying of thirst in the desert and wished for clean water, and no water sources were around, Benediction would expand the range and prompt someone or some creature from a long distance away to walk to him with clean water mysteriously. However, the problem remained whether or not the guy could survive until the deliverer of clean water arrived. Therefore, it was a taboo to make a wish that didn''t suit the environment or was against common sense through either Grand Benediction or Lesser Benediction, because there would be no telling when those wishes would come true. Also, there was a time limit to Benediction. If the target couldn''t be achieved in three months, the spell would automatically disappear due to the dispersion of magic power. Roland had a cup of the fruit tea that the catgirl brought to him. He considered how he should conduct his next test. Soon, he had an idea. He activated Lesser Benediction again and said, "I want to pick up ten gold coins." The catgirl looked at Roland, amused but not daring to laugh. Eventually, she said in a weird tone as she tried to hold back her laughter, "Master, have you turned into a fool?" 552 Causes and Consequences of Divination So, even if anything bad happened, they wouldn''t be afflicted. Roland wanted the catgirl to go too, but she simply lay on the wall of the manor and gazed at Roland while shouting, "Master, I want to see how you can pick up ten gold coins. I''ll be vigilant. Just don''t kick me away, okay?" Cats were curious animals, and so were catgirls. Roland thought for a moment and said, "Then keep a distance from me and don''t come close." The catgirl lay on the wall and nodded quickly. The catgirl wouldn''t have been interested if it were a regular experiment. But this was about money. If ten gold coins could be picked up easily with a spell, her master wouldn''t be short of money in the future. Could she then ask for an allowance from him? She was truly curious. Because of her curiosity, the perky catgirl held back the urge to play outside and chose to wait with Roland patiently. After casting Lesser Benediction, Roland vaguely felt that it was working. However, he couldn''t exactly tell with his mental power how it was working. He waited patiently, and time went by. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed. Half an hour passed The catgirl was already yawning on the wall. When she was about to fall asleep, her ears suddenly pricked, and she raised her head and looked at the door. A magic apprentice was knocking at the door with a box in his hand. Stunned, the catgirl jumped off from the high wall agilely and opened the door for the magic apprentice. Roland approached too. Upon seeing Roland, the magic apprentice slightly bowed and, while raising the bright gray box in his hands, said, "Mr. Roland, this is a bonus from the Council of Elders for offering the model of the blue fireball and restricting and guiding the students." "Thank you." The average-looking magic apprentice bowed again and left. Holding the box, Roland slowly opened it. The catgirl had already run to Roland''s side at some point. Inside the box were some gold coins and several parchments. "Wow. It''s really ten gold coins!" Marilyn exclaimed. Roland, on the other hand, paid attention to other things. He put the box down on the ground and took out a few magic model graphs. They were all level-three spells, but they weren''t evoking magic but Mental Brutalization in the school of Illusion, Anti-Evil Barrier in the school of Abjuration, and Summon Skeleton Archers in the school of Soul. In the end, he finally grabbed the ten gold coins. The ten gold coins were still emitting feeble magic waves. He confirmed that it was his Benediction. The ten gold coins were truly a result of his Benediction. Did it mean that, without Lesser Benediction, the bonus would''ve only been the three spell models? Huh? Interesting. It seemed that the random causes initiated by Benediction weren''t all negative. Considering the water that the catgirl just brought back, the odds of Lesser Benediction triggering a negative event might not be as big as he thought! But of course, he had only conducted two experiments, which were still too few. He needed a few more experiments. Roland returned to the courtyard, put the box into the system Backpack, and then cast Lesser Benediction again. He closed his hands, and a white ball of light shivered between them. What kind of wish should he make? While Roland was considering, Marilyn looked at Roland and the glittering ball in his hall. Then, she shouted with glowing eyes. "I want ten gold coins too!" Roland didn''t see it coming, but the light ball in his hands disappeared. The spell had been activated. So, somebody else could make a wish through this spell too? Roland wrote down this feature. Then, he frowned and stared at the catgirl gravely, before he said, "The divination spells are mysterious. It''s hard to predict how they''ll work. Now that you''ve made a wish, you''d better stay at home. I''ll ensure your safety." "I don''t need that." The moment he said that, the catgirl disappeared. With Swift Steps and Stealth, she vanished into nothingness in the blink of an eye. Caught unprepared, Roland failed to catch the catgirl even though he realized that she was escaping. Charging at the enemy and fleeing were completely different things for a Rogue. One needed a target if they wanted to attack, so their movement could be predicted. That was why Rogues were usually at a disadvantage when they revealed themselves in battle. However, for a stealth class, the ability to escape meant that they were free to escape to any direction they wanted. Also, they could go stealth or run under acceleration. Therefore, it was barely possible to catch a Rogue who was determined to flee. It was also why the Rogues were the class with the lowest average deaths. Seeing that the catgirl disappeared, Roland subconsciously blinked in her direction. He flashed out of the manor in the blink of an eye, but the kitten was already nowhere to be seen. He couldn''t even find her with his net of mental power. She must''ve fled far away from this place. "She''s making progress rather fast." Leaving aside her ability of attack, her ability to escape was already impressive enough to Roland. "I hope that nothing happens to her." Roland was slightly worried about the kitten''s safety, but not too much. If she was so good at escaping that even he could barely catch her, the negative events caused by Lesser Benediction weren''t likely to hurt her. Roland returned to his manor and kept waiting. He could feel that his Lesser Benediction was working, but he couldn''t tell how or where the Lesser Benediction was taking effect. Also, it was impossible to use Lesser Benediction again until the last wish was fulfilled or had run out of time. After a wait of more than half an hour, Roland sensed that his Lesser Benediction had succeeded. "I hope Marilyn wasn''t hurt." Roland heaved a soft sigh. He waited for the catgirl to come back, eager to find out how the wish was fulfilled by Lesser Benediction this time. After a moment, he heard wheels rolling on the road, getting closer and closer to his manor. The noise became louder and louder. Roland walked to the gate and saw the catgirl walking in the lead. Her head was lowered, and she was holding something in both hands. Behind the catgirl was a flat wagon followed by three men dressed in slaves'' clothes as well as a young Mage. Roland knew this Mage to be one of his classmates from the Ruby Class. His name was Kanye West. The carriage stopped before the gate. Roland keenly discovered that the atmosphere in the group wasn''t right. He walked close, and his pupils constricted. There were two blackened bodies on the wagon. However, from their faces that weren''t completely ruined, he was able to tell that they were both servants who worked in his manor. One of them was Susan, and the other was Tom, who was a gardener. Susan and Tom were among the most common civilian names There could be a dozen Susans or Toms in a random block or village. Roland didn''t look very happy. "What happened exactly?" The catgirl further lowered her head, not daring to look at Roland at all. Kanye the Mage stepped forward and bowed deeply, before he said in a bitter tone, "Sorry, Mr. Roland. I was doing magic experiments at home, when your servants and this cat lady passed by the wall of my manor. Out of everybody''s expectation, my fire experiment failed, and the powerful fiery magic power broke through two stone walls, blew up the external wall of my manor, and unfortunately hit your servants. This cat lady, on the other, was able to jump away and survive the disaster thanks to her quick reaction." Roland turned around and looked at the cat girl. "Is that so?" The catgirl raised her head, her eyes filled with tears. She nodded timidly and then opened her hands. There were five gold coins in her hand. "The gold coins in the cat lady''s hands represent my sincerest apology and compensation, Mr. Roland." Kanye seemed uneasy. "I know money can''t compare to lives at all, but it''s all the savings I have for this month." Staring at Kanye''s eyes for a while, Roland moved his eyes away and looked at the bodies on the wagon, before he heaved a sigh. He knew what Kanye said was true. The man didn''t really want to kill the two servants, because it wasn''t necessary. In both the Red Magic Tower and other countries, civilians'' lives were all cheap. Even if they were accidentally killed, it would be fair enough if dozens of silver coins were paid as compensation. It was absolutely unnecessary to offer ten gold coins. Roland knew that Kanye feared that he would vent his fury on him, so he had paid all the money he had and even voluntarily came to apologize so that Roland wouldn''t be as furious. The man wasn''t the servants'' murderer; he and Marilyn were. Roland managed a smile. "Mr. Kanye, thank you for sending them back. I''m very grateful. You can go back now. This is not your fault. Don''t feel burdened." Seeing that Roland wasn''t angry, Kanye was relieved. He bowed and then left. After Kanye and his servants left, Roland created three Hands of Magic and dragged the wagon into the manor. Closing the gate, the catgirl lowered her head and put the ten gold coins before Roland carefully. Her tail that was always raised high almost drooped to the ground. "The lives of two acquaintances in exchange for ten gold coins, are you happy with that?" Roland asked casually as he stared into the catgirl''s eyes. The catgirl shook her head so hard that teardrops flew from her eyes. Although she had been wandering about every day, she was very close to some servants in the manor, and Susan was one of them. Taking the ten gold coins from the catgirl, Roland said, "Don''t be so reckless in the future. Now, invite Susan''s and Tom''s families here. We need to talk about compensation with them." The catgirl wiped her tears and left the manor. Roland, on the other hand, took a deep breath. He had to cease the experiments with Lesser Benediction now. Its negative effects were much graver than he anticipated. 553 This Man is a Perver They were all grieved to see the blackened bodies, but after Roland gave each family five gold coins as compensation, they smiled as happily as if the victims had died a natural death because of old age, which called for celebration. Roland watched them quietly with no change in expression. He didn''t say anything or make any remarks. The catgirl wiped her tears now and then. She was the only one who really cried. Roland temporarily put the studies of Lesser Benediction on hold. He didn''t give up, but he thought that it was too dangerous and he had to study it more cautiously in a safer environment where nobody else would be affected. Through Long-Distance Teleportation, Roland returned to Motasos. He went to the city hall and checked the civil affairs of Motasos first. This city belonged to Stephanie. She probably wouldn''t be bothered no matter what Roland turned the city into, but as her friend and for his own interests, Roland would be more reassured in constructing the foundation of his floating city if the city was safe and financially healthy. At this moment, many people in Motasos knew of Roland, but few had really seen him. So, Roland went to the city hall with Stephanie''s butler. After the butler introduced him to most people in the city hall, Roland quickly examined the recent reports and found a few noticeable mistakes. He smiled and said, "Although I''m just the acting mayor and my job may be taken by the First Princess any time, I don''t want to see anyone embezzling while I''m still in office." A few clerks were shivering. Several officials and about thirty employees looked at him in the city hall, not daring to speak. A Mage''s warning always carried weight, especially when he was right. "I know that some of you are definitely angry with me. After all, I''m young and I have never been your leader before. But that''s fine. If you think you''re capable or have a powerful background, you''re free to try and topple me." Seeing Roland''s vague smile, the officials and employees at the city hall could only smile awkwardly. "Of course, I''m not an inconsiderate man. I''ve seen your wages, which are indeed too petty, so you make a living through corruption. If I forbid you from embezzlement, you will barely be able to survive. So, I''ve decided to give you a little pay raise. You will all have double your old wages." Hearing that, all the employees in the city hall widened their eyes. Motasos had been the First Princess''s territory since she was ten. The employees at the city hall had been working for her since then too. It had been fifteen years, and they''d never had even one pay raise during these fifteen years. But of course, their living expenses were as cheap as fifteen years earlier too. Therefore, the workers were more or less surprised, and generally overjoyed. Roland was happy to see how elated they were. He gave them a high salary because he wanted a clean government. But of course, he didn''t think that a high salary alone could prevent corruption. His deeper purpose was that, by giving them a high salary, he would have enough excuses to punish whoever was too corrupt without being criticized by everybody as mean and ungenerous. After his debut in the city hall, Roland returned to the mayor''s office and entered the underground hollow. The few solar systems had all finished their evolution and turned into white spheres. Roland squeezed them into bricks and put them in his system Backpack. The magic bricks made in such a way were of a better quality and fully automated. He didn''t have to work on them at all, but could spend time on other things, such as magic experiments. Creating another few solar systems in the basement for evolution, he teleported himself to the capital of Fareins and spent a few days with Andonara. Then, he returned to the Red Magic Tower. Hardly had he entered his own manor when two magic apprentices suddenly jumped him. They stopped in Roland''s path, and one of them said, "Mr. Roland, you must go to the Council of Elders right now." Roland asked back in confusion, "You look rather nervous. What happened?" The other magic apprentice, who was younger, replied, "The Great Elder and a few other mentors came back earlier this morning in less-than-perfect shape. We were told that you were related to the matter." After a shock, Roland remembered that Alfred said that they would deal with the First Princess''s ex-husband and the black-winged creature and asked him to leave it alone. Did anything happen to them during their hunt? After expressing his gratitude to the two magic apprentices, Roland quickly went before the Council of Elders. When Roland arrived, a dozen elders and mentors were having a heated argument. He attracted everybody''s attention the moment he appeared at the door. The conference room instantly fell quiet. The Great Elder waved at Roland and said, "Come here, son!" Under the watch of a dozen old but powerful Mages, Roland walked into the conference room and stood next to the Great Elder. The atmosphere was dull in the conference room. Everybody stared at Roland with subtle expressions, some even with obvious curiosity. Roland found that the Great Elder''s face was pale. "Great Elder, is there anything I can do for you?" Roland opened his mouth and slightly broke the suffocating atmosphere in the conference room. The Great Elder coughed again. This time, he sounded graver and weaker than before. "We found the First Princess''s ex-husband and even locked onto his phylactery with a prophecy spell." Maybe because of his wounds, the Great Elder seemed rather miserable and was trying to hold back his pain. "However, when we tracked him down, the black four-winged angel showed up. We were no match for him. Although we escaped, Mentor Raquel has been perpetually detained in that place, and we''re all badly wounded too." Roland was rather surprised. He didn''t expect such a result when multiple Legendary Mages had taken action. How strong was the black four-winged angel exactly? Looking at Roland''s surprise, the Great Elder smiled and continued, "Although we had to escape, the black angel can''t be in a better condition. He''s gravely wounded too. Also, the First Princess''s ex-husband has been locked onto by our spells and cannot escape. His phylactery cannot be moved away from that place for a hundred days, when our spells run out." "Great Elder, what do you need me to do?" asked Roland. "You are a Golden Son, and you don''t die. I don''t think the black angel will stay there with the heavy wounds. Summon your partners and kill the First Princess''s ex-husband. An evil lich doesn''t get to live on in this world." Roland already had the epic quest to kill the First Princess''s ex-husband. Now that the Great Elder brought it up, Roland was more than happy to carry it out. "Also" Pondering for a moment, the Great Elder continued, "The black angel shed a lot of blood in that place. The blood of high-level creatures won''t decay or disappear easily, and it can scare off low-level creatures. So, a lot of his blood must be still lingering there. Fetch as much of the blood as possible. Understood?" Roland nodded. "This is the location." The Great Elder sent a pair of coordinates to Roland with his mental power. Then Roland left. After Roland left, the Great Elder took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The argument in the conference hall restarted. Very soon, a middle-aged mentor came in and said, "Roland has already teleported himself away. We can continue our discussion about him." The Great Elder opened his eyes. "I stand by what I said. It''s not worth it," shouted a bald mentor who was a Legend. "Roland is just a Master Mage. Do we really have to be so nice to him? Raquel died exactly in order to take care of problems for him. Speaking of which, he is a Golden Son. Does it really matter even if he dies once or twice? He should take care of his own issues. It''s unnecessary for us to help him." Several other people echoed the bald mentor and nodded in agreement. However, the Great Elder asked back, "Cook, it''s unfair of you to say that. I remember that you pissed off quite a few bigshots when you were young, but the Red Magic Tower took care of tons of troubles for you because you were talented in magic. Would you have become one of the elders if we didn''t help?" Bald Cook blushed and said angrily, "I was different from Roland, all right? I''m a Legend!" The Great Elder chuckled. "You weren''t even a Master yet when you were Roland''s age, and you think you''re better than him?" "Alfred, you''re busting my balls. I''m not happy." The bald Mage rolled up his robe and showed his muscular arms. "Come on. Let''s honor the tradition of the conference hall and have a manly duel. Whoever loses will have to endure Sex Transformation for a day." Hearing that, the dozen old men nearby all got excited. They quickly rose and separated the table into a dozen pieces. Then, they fluently rearranged those pieces into a square arena around Cook and the Great Elder. After that, all the Mages discussed with each other excitedly. "Wow, what huge stakes. Sex Transformation! Cook is getting cocky!" "I think he must be confident about the duel. He probably learned boxing from a Legendary Warrior." "I''ve never seen the female version of the Great Elder. The target of Sex Transformation will appear in their younger form. The Great Elder was very handsome when he was young, right? He must be gorgeous if he''s turned into a young woman." "He was very handsome." One of the old men blushed. "I think I can take the female version of the Great Elder!" Shoot! The few Legendary Mages quickly dispersed and looked in fear at the blushing old Mage who just spoke. What a pervert! 554 You Dont Understand The guards around the building all tried to hold back their laughter after seeing her, as if it were nothing to be surprised at. Roland wasn''t aware of the weird tradition among the leadership of the Red Magic Tower. He had already been teleported to Betta''s city in the wetland. He found Betta on the way and pinged his friends in the guild system. Roland: "I have an epic quest here that requires five participants. Who''s in?" Li Lin: "Sorry, but we''re in the God of Love''s temple in Urganda and we''re occupied." Husseret: "Same here." Brazil: "Same here." Raffel: "Same here." Fine. Those four were too addicted to women and should be left behind. Then, Schuck replied, "I''m going to Rhodes Island, or the Island of Dragons, with Margret." Roland: "You''re meeting her parents already? I''m shocked!" Schuck: "Get the hell out of here!" Then, Roland looked at Betta who was not far away. Betta shrugged. "Sorry, Brother Roland. As you can see, I''m too busy with the affairs in the city to leave." Roland looked at the players nearby who were working hard and was rather impressed. He looked back at Betta and asked, "Are you able to keep a record of who does what every day when so many players are here to help you?" "Don''t worry, Brother Roland," said Betta casually. "The Divine Noble innately carries an ''administration'' system, which will be activated as soon as you get a territory. I can issue quests on my territory for the players to pick up, and the system will help keep track of what they do and how many points they should receive." Roland was speechless for a long time. He had to say that the hidden class was really great. The Divine Nobles weren''t the best in terms of combat ability in head-on clashes, but they definitely weren''t weak. They also had plenty of useful tricks, such as a talent in picking up money and the ability to administer their territory. Also, Betta mentioned while chit-chatting that, when a Divine Noble charged with his legion of knights in a formation, they would be boosted by a battle aura. That was something that was war-specific. Under normal circumstances, only the Warriors with high Charm could hope to develop such an aura. On the other hand, the Divine Noble was also a half-Warlock and could cast spells. This class could almost do everything. Roland was even of a mind to delete his character and start anew as a Divine Noble, if his career as a Mage hadn''t been going so well. Even Betta didn''t have any time Were epic quests so unattractive these days? Unwilling to admit defeat, Roland posted the quest on the forum with the requirements for his desired teammates. He promised that anyone of those classes who came to him first and sent an application would become his teammate. In no more than a minute, there were a thousand replies to his original post. After that, a dozen people ran out of the wetland city and searched around. Very soon, they found Roland. Then, like dogs that had just spotted fresh s*it, they scurried toward Roland. It seemed that the epic quests hadn''t lost all their attraction. It was just that his brothers weren''t interested in the epic quests anymore. In fact, Roland was the same. If it weren''t the Great Elder''s command, he wouldn''t have picked the quest at all. Wouldn''t it have been more interesting to spend time on magic studies? All the killing and fighting was too much of a waste of time. The four players who came to Roland first joined his team as he had promised. The slow runners behind them all wailed sadly. Roland drew a magic array for multiple teleportation on the ground. Instead of teleporting them straight to the spot of the quest, he brought them to the basement he secretly built in the desert outside of the Red Magic Tower. It would''ve been brainless if he were to fight a boss with teammates who didn''t know each other at all. Therefore, in the small basement, Roland asked everybody to introduce their abilities and specialties. Very soon, he figured out these people''s combat ability. He found that he had established a rather traditional team. He had a Shield Warrior, a Longbow Hunter with a leopard, a scout Rogue, and a Priest from the Church of Light. Roland sighed a breath of relief. The Priests from the Church of Light were great. Although the Priests from the Water God Church were strong too, their way of fighting was too bizarre. Sometimes, their DPS could be much higher than that of their teammates, and they were great at survival too. When they detonated their armor in extreme excitement, everybody except themselves would be killed. The Priests from the Water God Church often attacked their teammates during their killing sprees and could be even more violent than Berserkers. After informing each other of their battle styles and talents, they spent an hour discussing their responsibilities in the team. After doing multiple oral simulations, Roland drew a teleportation magic array and teleported the five of them to their destination based on the coordinates that the Great Elder offered. They saw nothing but darkness after they stepped out of the magic array. They could barely see their own fingers. Roland immediately cast an illumination spell. Several bright balls of light hovered around them. Three of them rose to the sky and illuminated the environment. They found themselves on a plain full of broken stones, dark clouds revolving in a huge vortex above their heads. The smell of dry grass and decayed corpses permeated the air. Roland also sensed a tremendous amount of dark magic power surging in the air like a human heartbeat. This was a place that they had never been to. It could be dangerous. The Shield Warrior, the Archer, and the Priest, who was wearing heavy armor, immediately protected Roland in the middle. Although Roland''s level was higher than all of theirs, it was the players'' natural instinct to protect the Mage in their team. They had learned this lesson through fire and blood. As for the Rogue, he had already disappeared at some point. In such a dark environment, he was as comfortable as a fish in water. The illumination balls kept flying forward, but they stopped fifty meters away from Roland. That was the maximal distance of those balls. Their spiritual connection to Roland would be cut off if they flew any farther. Without the supply of magic power, the illumination balls would soon die out. Grains of sand were everywhere on the plain. There were no sun, moon, or stars in the sky, either. Therefore, it was impossible to tell orient oneself in the usual ways. "Captain Roland, what should we do now?" asked the Shield Warrior in a low voice while staying on alert. "This place is quite creepy. There''s no sound or anything that can direct us. Also, routes of quests are not displayed here like they are in other games. Do you have any thoughts, boss?" The Priest also looked at Roland. "Boss, it''s time to show your capabilities." Even the Archer looked at Roland with hope in his eyes. Roland took out a round stick that had a flat bottom from his system Backpack. He then erected it in the middle of the sand. All his teammates looked at him weirdly. Roland closed his hands and cast Lesser Benediction, before he said, "I want to know the target''s direction." The green light between his hands suddenly vanished. Half a second later, the erected stick fell to the ground, with its tip pointing in a certain direction. Roland then pointed in the same direction. "Our target is right there." His teammates looked odd, as if they wanted to laugh but didn''t really dare to. They seemed unconvinced. Even the Rogue had dropped his stealth and was gazing at Roland in surprise. "Are you serious, Boss Roland?" The Shield Warrior had a bitter face. "I''ve never seen anyone telling the way by the fall of a stick except in anime or comedies." The other teammates were showing the same subtle expression. They wanted to laugh, but they didn''t really have the courage to. Roland chuckled and said to them disdainfully, "You barbarians don''t know the first thing about the mysteries of magic." Since he was with fellow human players, Roland didn''t think that he had to act serious all the time. They were all playing the game for fun, and it would be boring if he were too serious. Giving each other a hard time without crossing the line was the real way of communication among players. As he expected, the moment he made fun of them, his teammates were no longer as awkward as when they were still awed by Roland. They were a lot closer to each other. The Shield Warrior chuckled in exactly the same way as Roland did. "What if you''re wrong?" "What can I do?" Roland raised his eyebrows and said, "I''ll introduce the most expensive escort in Fareins to you. She might also be the worker with the highest hourly pay in the human world." The Archer was shocked. "How do you know that? Have you tried her yourself?" "No, but one of my friends did. He told me." Roland began to demean his brother. "His name is Schuck." "I have a friend who would like to be acquaintances with your friend." The Rogue quickly picked up the meme. All the rest of them chuckled in mutual understanding of each other. What Roland didn''t know was that the Priest, who had been silent the whole time, secretly turned on the camera function. In no more than five minutes, more than a hundred thousand netizens flooded into the stream channel entitled "Best Mage in the Server Takes Me to a Raid." At this moment, everybody was posting the same comment in the channel. "I have a friend who wants to get to know the worker who has the highest hourly pay too." It was pretty obvious that all men could get closer quickly as long as they dared to tell dirty jokes to each other, no matter who they were. Talking and laughing, they moved forward. They didn''t encounter any enemy in the first ten minutes. But starting from the eleventh minute, they met a huge number of weak skeletons. As they pressed on, the skeletons grew stronger and larger in number. At first, they were bare skeletons. Starting from the fifteenth minute, armed and armored skeletons showed up. Twenty minutes later, many skeletons who carried bows appeared. Thirty minutes later, skeleton knights that rode bone horses joined the battle too. The enemies were large in number, and they weren''t weak at all. Unfortunately, they had to deal with a Priest of Light. The Priest only used one spell from the beginning to the end, which was Sunlight. It was a light spell with a super massive range. It wasn''t very destructive under normal circumstances, but it was a bane to undead creatures. The regular skeletons would fall apart when they were hit by Sunlight. The special skeletons that were strong wouldn''t fall apart, but they would be deprived of most of their combat ability. All Roland and the others needed to do was wave their weapons and cut them apart. Even the Death Knights were greatly slowed under the suppression of Sunlight. Roland also provided a series of buffs including Body Fortification and Agility Increase, which enhanced the overall combat ability of the team by at least fifteen percent. The four Death Knights were soon crushed. In case they were resurrected, the Rogue tore them into parts and stole all their usable equipment. As a result, even though the Death Knights were revived later, they would be in an awkward position where they had no equipment they could use, and they wouldn''t pose any threat. After the four Death Knights were downed, no more enemies appeared again. The team went on and saw a small castle made of unique black rock five minutes later. It was almost impossible to see the building in the dark from a distance. A black, human-shaped creature seemed to be floating at the top of the castle. This human-shaped creature obviously had four black wings on his back. 555 A Demigod Is Still a Demigod Even Though Hes Wounded After all, it was common sense that the boss must be hiding in the most important or unusual place. However this particular castle was far away from the center of the vortex. If the team had searched for the enemy under the dark clouds based on their past experience, they wouldn''t have found anyone. After all, this place was almost completely dark, and nothing could be used as a frame of reference on this desert. The only thing that could direct their path was the vortex of clouds in the sky. On such a dark and vast plain, one would lose their way and wander in circles if they didn''t have a destination or direction. Therefore, Roland pointing the way with Lesser Benediction was the most important factor in locating the target. It was also the way to use Lesser Benediction with the least negative side effects, as written in books on magic. However, although they had found the target, all of them hesitated as they gazed at the black bird man who was distantly floating above the castle. At this moment, everybody in the stream channel was hollering. "S*it. Isn''t that an angel? Is it a dark angel, or a Fallen Angel?" "F*ck. I remember in the black leaf incident last time, the female angel killed almost all the players on the spot all by herself. This angel looks very tough too." "This is a man. Boring." "You can tell that it''s a man from so far away?" "For lustful men like us, we can tell whether someone is a man or a woman by looking at their shadow." "Why is no one discussing if Roland''s team can accomplish the epic quest?" "What can they do about the flying angel? Roland is the only one who''s capable of flying, but I don''t think Roland can be stronger than someone who was born to fly in the sky." "Maybe they have certain critical items for the quest that can restrict the angel''s flight." "That''s a reasonable guess." It was what most people thought, including the four people who teamed up with Roland. The Shield Warrior looked at Roland and said the same. "It''s not easy to hit a target in the sky." "He isn''t our target." Roland displayed the quest in the system. "I''ve already shared it with you. We need to kill the First Princess''s ex-husband, not this black angel." "So, our target is inside the castle, right? I have no doubt that a lot of traps are awaiting us there." The Shield Warrior pointed ahead and asked, "Are you sure that this black angel won''t help? Or do you have any special items for this quest?" Roland waved his hand. "I don''t have any special items, and I can''t guarantee that this black angel won''t fight us." "Then what do we do?" All the four of them looked at Roland. Things were the same in the stream channel. Roland chuckled creepily. "Since it''s been confirmed that the target is in the castle, we can just blow up the whole castle to solve the problem!" His teammates and the viewers in the stream channel were all stunned. The Shield Warrior asked in surprise, "I know that you have unparalleled fireballs, Roland, but are you sure you can blow up this enormous castle that''s exclusively made of rock?" The other people looked at Roland with similar confusion in their eyes. Roland considered the size of the castle and said, "I think we can give it a try. Even if I can''t blow up the castle, the target will probably be killed by the explosion. What do you think of the plan?" His teammates thought for a moment, and the Priest said first, "I think that''s a feasible plan. There are no fixed solutions to the quests in this world. As long as your mind is unrestricted, you can try many creative methods. I like the idea of killing the boss with a remote bombardment." The Rogue and the Hunter nodded too. The Shield Warrior thought for a moment and asked, "Then what do we need to do?" "You know that it takes time for me to gather the fireball." Roland looked at the floating black angel far away. "I''ll need at least six seconds. I fear that the black angel will be in my face before I finish casting the spell." "So, our job is to help you block him?" Roland nodded. "That''s right." The four of them looked at each other and said, "We can try it out, but if this angel is as strong as the female angel we met, our resistance will be futile." "He''s wounded," Roland said. "He''s probably hovering in the sky to heal his wounds with dark magic power." The Shield Warrior had the largest say in the team besides Roland. He said, "Okay, let''s do that. It''s up to you whether or not we can accomplish the quest, Boss Roland." "Even if we fail the quest and get killed, nothing will happen except a level drop. What''s there to be scared of?" Roland looked at his EXP bar and smiled. "I don''t believe that this black angel will protect the First Princess''s ex-husband endlessly." The Shield Warrior laughed. "That''s right. Now that we''ve got our eyes on him, he will be killed by us sooner or later, however strong he is. Even if we can''t defeat him now, we can always keep leveling up and then return when we''re stronger." Everybody''s morale was boosted again as they talked. Roland glanced at the black angel. He was sure that the angel must''ve spotted his team. However, the angel didn''t take any action, as if he was waiting for them to come. He probably didn''t think of the intruders as a big deal. After all, Roland was the only one who had just become a Master, and the other four were all level eight or nine. In the eyes of the angel, the intruders were probably a squad of weak-ass human adventurers. The Shield Warrior took on a defensive stance in front of Roland with his shield. The Priest cast all the buffs that he knew on Roland. The Rogue took out the poisons and the quicklime, hoping that they could be useful if the angel did come at them. The Hunter laid his hand on his quiver. Everybody was ready. In the stream channel, even the comments had become scarce, as everybody waited for Roland''s action. Roland put on the Mind-Calming Necklace and the Button of the Goddess of Life. His mana capacity was instantly boosted. Then, he turned himself into fire elements. After Roland turned into a man of flames, the stream channel was overflowing with comments. "Shoot!" There were so many such comments that the image in the stream channel was almost covered. Many viewers had to toggle off the comments to see the picture. After turning into fire elements, Roland raised his right hand. A blue fireball appeared in his hand and quickly expanded. One second passed. Two seconds passed. Three seconds passed. At this moment, the blue fireball had been expanded to five meters in diameter, and Roland lifted the fireball high. On the other side, the black angel finally reacted. Immense mental pressure was imposed on them. All the other members in the team were uncomfortable, as if they were burdened by something. But as a Mage with a high mental power, Roland vaguely sensed that there was both madness and sorrow in the pressure. They were mixed into vehement hatred. Regular Mages probably would''ve been sucked into these feelings and gotten lost in the hatred. They would want to know why the guy was so sad and subconsciously sympathize with him. However, Roland wasn''t affected at all, because he wasn''t interested in a male. The blue fireball in Roland''s hand kept expanding. Very soon, the diameter of the fireball surpassed seven meters. The horrifying heat, mixed with the enormous magic power, quickly melted the sand within a two-meter radius of Roland. The ground became a pool of red fluid. Everybody was too stunned to say anything in the stream channel. After one more second, when the blue fireball was more than eight meters in diameter, Roland would throw it out. It would be the most powerful magic attack Roland had ever launched in this game. But exactly at this moment, the black angel took action. He extended his finger and drew a curve with it in the air before his body. His movement was simple, and not fast at all. Yet, a vertical hole seemed to have been cut out in this world all of a sudden. The black hole was only about the width of three hairs, and it was only 1.5 meters tall. However, this black hole spread forward at an astonishing speed and formed a completely black section in half a second. The section was at least two kilometers long. The man of flames that Roland turned into was cut into halves, and so was the blue fireball in midair that was more than seven meters in diameter. It was an attack with spatial crevices! The attack had another name, which was Dimensional Slash. Half of the flame man was gone, and the big fireball only had half left too. The missing half of the body and blue fireball had both been devoured. The black angel extended his hand again, this time drawing a horizontal line. Another black section appeared and established a cross together with the vertical hole earlier. This time, all of Roland''s teammates were hit and cut apart from their waist without being able to react at all. The four of them fell on the ground in eight pieces total. A tremendous amount of blood gushed out and flowed on the ground. The players weren''t too scared of pain, and being cut in half from the waist wouldn''t immediately cause death. Lying on the ground, they supported their upper bodies with their hands and looked at each other with bitter smiles. They had lost! The enemy was unbelievably strong. At this moment, Roland''s flame man had been hit too. Only one fourth of the flames were still burning on the sand. The big fireball had only one fourth left too. The other parts were all gone. The spatial crevices wouldn''t normally devour lives, but they would definitely eat magic elements. The three fourths of Roland''s flame body and the blue fireball had all been absorbed into the spatial crevices. Even though he only had one fourth of his body left, Roland was still alive. He didn''t have any fatal vulnerabilities in elemental form. The remaining one fourth of his elemental self turned into a round ball and then into a small fiery figure no more than seventy centimeters tall that was holding a blue fiery ball, about two meters in diameter. It almost looked cute. Although the blue fireball was still powerful, it was absolutely impossible to destroy such a gargantuan castle with it. The black angel stopped taking action. In the stream channel, everybody was posting the same comment. They''re sure to lose! All his teammates are lying on the ground waiting for their death! Roland, however, suddenly had an idea. His consciousness went deep into the system Backpack and took out a white brick of magic power. He then inserted it into his small fiery body without hesitation. 556 Even a Demigod Has to Dodge The process had to be guided with one''s mental power, which could take a long time. In order to improve the absorption speed, one had to build a floating city with the bricks to create a large area of Magic Power Affluence. Then, one had to contain and compress the magic power with magic arrays to prevent it from leaking. In such a way, the master of the floating city would have a piece of legendary "equipment" that could quickly replenish his mana, fly in the sky, and serve as a sturdy stronghold. He would be the best in terms of offense, defense, duration, and mobility. Having such a thing in the main plane would almost be like cheating. The bricks of magic power, as the fundamental materials to build a floating city, each contained an enormous amount of magic power and didn''t have any side effects. The case was entirely different when such a brick was inserted into an elemental body. The flame man that Roland turned into instantly grew to 2.5 meters tall. Also, the flames turned from dark red to blue. The sand nearby was scorched by the shocking heat. All the sand within a six-meter radius of Roland had been melted into a boiling pond where bubbles were popping up. Because elements didn''t have any mass, Roland simply stood on the pond of magma as a man of flames without sinking. Also, the blue fireball in his hand was expanding much more quickly than before. An infinite number of comments were posted in the stream channel. "Sweet mother of god. What did he just stuff into his body?" "I took a snapshot. I think it was a white brick." "That must be a special item for this quest." "It might not be a special item but some sort of alchemical product. At this moment, Roland knows the Mage much better than anybody else. The other Mages, including O''Neal, might not know half as much as Roland does." "I don''t care what it is. Don''t you think that Roland looks awesome right now? That''s Elemental Embodiment! Should I consider restarting as a Mage?" "Do you think he can win? The enemy seems very strong, although Roland doesn''t look weak either." Everybody in the stream channel had the same question. They weren''t on the battlefield, and they didn''t know how strong the black angel was exactly. But they could tell that the boss was formidable with the space attack he launched earlier. Naturally, the black angel sensed Roland''s change as clearly as the players did. He moved his fingers again and launched another cross attack with spatial crevices. However, his attack range was significantly reduced this time. The previous attack was two kilometers long, but this one was only about one kilometer. In the next second, Roland took another brick of magic power out of his system Backpack and inserted it into his body. Watching Roland turn into a massive man of flames again, the players in the stream channel were lost for words. The black angel opposite him was just as surprised. This time, he didn''t move his fingers anymore but waited patiently. Three seconds later, the blue fireball that Roland was raising became more than nine meters in diameter. It was so bright that a radius of hundreds of meters was illuminated. The dreadful temperature expanded the lava pond below Roland''s feet to ten meters in diameter. The air nearby was heated and quickly pushed up, and the cold air farther away filled the vacuum, forming intense air currents that eventually escalated into unimaginable gales. In such an atmosphere, Roland raised the horrifying massive fireball in his hands. He looked more like a boss at this moment than the black angel did. Sensing that the magic power in the brick in his body had been completely transferred to the fireball, Roland subconsciously took a deep breath, even though elemental creatures didn''t need to. Then, he exerted his strength and threw out the fireball. The movement of throwing was just a psychological hint. What really launched the fireball was his immense mental power. After the fireball was thrown out, it charged at the black castle ahead unstoppably, covered in the high-temperature air currents that made it look like a comet flying at high speed. The black angel stared at the blue fireball as it got closer and closer. Then, he flapped his wings and soared to the high altitudes quickly. The blue fireball vanished suddenly the moment it hit the castle. Everybody was stunned, including the viewers at the stream channel. But in the next second, a dazzling flash occurred. Half a second later, miserable cries burst out. "Ah, my eyes" "S*it, I can''t see!" Roland''s teammates weren''t dead yet. Normal people could live more than ten minutes after being cut into halves from the waist, not to mention the professionals who were highly sturdy. They had been watching the fireball fly while holding up their body with their hands. However, they didn''t expect the nuclear flash of the explosion to be so astounding. Before they were done crying, rumbling noises carried to them from the distance A ball of light quickly rose and grew larger in size like the sun. The rumbling noises pressed close quickly. The Shield Warrior watched the bright red waves of air flooding to him like a tsunami at an unbelievable speed. When the air waves reached them, all eight pieces of their bodies were carbonized and set ablaze in two seconds. Their ashes then rolled forward along with the airwaves. Wherever the airwaves reached, the sand on the ground was completely melted. Roland was absolutely unaffected. With Elemental Embodiment, he found such an environment rather cozy. There was no longer any video in the stream channel. The streaming had been cut off since the moment the Priest died. When a player died, his streaming would be cut off. That was a rule set up by the authorities. The terrifying red airwaves didn''t stop until they spread more than one kilometer. The castle that was hit vanished in the enormous ball of light. A red mushroom cloud rose from the spot of the explosion. It was almost five kilometers tall. The mushroom cloud was so bright that the whole desert was illuminated. Also, it opened a huge hole in the thick clouds in the sky. The sunlight came in through the hole and formed a slanted enormous pillar of golden light. The system already sent out notifications. "You have killed the target and completed the quest. EXP +11,235." "You have killed the Heavy-Armored Skeleton. After the redistribution of the team system, you''ve received" "You have killed the Banshee. After the redistribution of the team system, you''ve received" "You have killed the Evil Claw" Almost a thousand notifications told Roland how much EXP he received. Those minions didn''t yield much EXP individually, but there were a lot of them. Roland was too lazy to count the EXP he received. He simply glanced at the EXP bar. More than eighty percent of the bar had been filled. "Too bad I can''t loot any equipment." Looking at the enormous round pit from which red lava was still flowing, Roland heaved a helpless sigh. It was impossible for any equipment below the level of Epic to remain intact under such an explosion. The dark clouds gradually dispersed. The other players approached from the resurrection point nearby. In fact, they had already laid down a simple altar for the Life Goddess before the battle. Such portable altars were the inventions of certain deft players. They could be disassembled and assembled easily. Even a five-year-old could assemble it in a minute. The Priest then reopened the streaming system. The viewers in the stream channel, looking at the mushroom cloud that hadn''t completely dispersed and the gigantic pit far away, were too shocked to say anything. Roland resumed his human form. He asked the Shield Warrior, "How much EXP did you receive? Is it enough to make up for your loss?" "It''s more than enough." The Shield Warrior smiled. "Why don''t you check our level?" "You set it to be invisible," said Roland helplessly. That was actually a system function that could be turned on and off. "Oh, I forgot." Immediately, the Shield Warrior showed his level. He was already level ten, and the other three teammates rose from level eight to nine, which meant that the EXP they earned was much more than that they lost upon death. "We''ve completed the quest. Should we get going?" Roland was about to take some magic materials out of his system Backpack and draw a teleportation magic array. But exactly at this moment, the round shield hanging on his left hand moved upward on its own. After a clink, Roland was forced to take a few steps back, and he almost fell on his knees. In midair, a shadow was bounced back, and he regained his balance two seconds later. It was the black angel. Now that the two parties were close, the players were finally able to see his face. He had short black hair and bright brown eyes. He was rather handsome. He looked at Roland and the round shield in his hand with grief. "She gave that to you? Why?" Roland felt excruciating pain all over his body, and he didn''t have any strength left. He quickly opened the system menu, only to discover that a lot of his organs were bleeding. Although the enemy''s attack was blocked by the round shield, the brunt was still too powerful for Roland to take. Fortunately, his HP was very high. Any other players would''ve been killed by internal bleeding even though the round shield helped block the attack. The male angel, whose face was twisted in jealousy, slowly landed with a sword in his hand. "Also, you''re a nonbeliever. I''m going to kill you and hang your soul on the Wall of Nonbelievers, where you will suffer from the blow of the Nether Wind in eternal agony." Roland cast a healing spell on himself. Stunned for a moment, the other four players all stood before Roland. "You dare to stand in my way, ants?" The black angel sneered and raised his longsword that emitted black light. He was about to swing the sword, but then he suddenly retreated. A streak of green light descended from the sky and landed before Roland. White wings were unfolded and protected Roland and the others. "Nia!" The black angel seemed sad and exasperated. 557 Drama Everybody was howling in the stream channel. "Oh! This is the angel girl whose picture Roland posted soon after the game was launched." "Look at her body, her face, her vibe. I''m going to save her image as my wallpaper." "She''s absolutely gorgeous. I think she''s even more beautiful than Roland''s queen." "I''m already done." "I like her cold and condescending attitude. Come step on me! Step on me hard!" In terms of appearance, Andonara and Nia were equally attractive. Both of them were so beautiful that no man could move his eyes away from them. However, the difference was that Nia was an angel. Her identity had brought her huge sensual advantages. On many occasions, one''s identity could significantly increase one''s charm. Suppose a civilian girl and a noble girl were equally beautiful and wore similar clothes; people would inevitably feel that the noble girl was prettier. That was the advantages of identity. By the same logic, even though Queen Andonara was as beautiful as Nia, the queen was a human being. The angel, on the other hand, was the epitome of purity and sacredness. Also, their white wings made them a lot more exotic. Therefore, it was understandable that Nia was more popular than Andonara. Unlike the stream channel which was lively and delightful, the world Roland was in was freezing cold. The black male angel glared at Roland, and Nia immediately stood before him. The Shield Warrior dropped a hint at the other three teammates. Then, all the four of them slowly backed off. After a dozen meters, they turned back and ran off. At the same time, the Shield Warrior made an apologetic gesture and said something soundlessly. Although he didn''t hear anything, Roland understood what he wanted to express, as he could read lips with Language Proficiency. "Boss, sorry, but we don''t want to get involved in your love triangle! Until next time!" Shoot! What love triangle? Watching the four of them disappear as quickly as scared rabbits, Roland was lost for words. You don''t even know where you are. Do you not need me to teleport you back? Roland mumbled to himself. However, he did understand that the professional players, especially those above level eight, had abundant experience in battle and wilderness survival. As long as they escaped from the danger, they could find a way to survive and go back. It was much better than being accidentally killed by the AOE attacks in the conflict between the two angels. After all, they had already accomplished their quest and received their EXP. However, the viewers in the stream channel didn''t want that. All kinds of comments were flying out. "You''re refusing such an excellent drama? Are you even a human being?" "Someone tip him! Nothing in this world can''t be taken care of with money." That comment shed light on many rich viewers. Immediately, a dozen notifications of generous tips appeared on the top of the stream channel with shock fireworks effects. The running Priest was so shocked that he lost balance and accidentally kicked a rock. He immediately fell off and slipped on the ground, performing a standard prostate braking. Three trails, two thick and one thin, were left on the sand. Then, the Priest jumped back to his feet and declared solemnly, "It just occurred to me that we can''t abandon Roland like this. This is not what friends should do, so I''m going back. Who''s with me?" His three teammates looked at him weirdly and raised their middle fingers at him. Having played the game for such a long time, none of them were idiots. Watching his teammates running off, the Priest shook his head helplessly. "What a bunch of disloyal men. Dear viewers, give me more tips. I''m going to be killed soon, and I''ll lose a great amount of EXP." The banners of another few generous tips flew across his stream channel. The Priest was quite satisfied. As if he were ready to sacrifice himself, he said, "Since you''re all eager to see the result, I''ll just go back for all of you. Keep it up!" After that, the Priest roared and ran back. When he returned to somewhere near Roland, he heard the black angel shouting in rage. "Why? We''ve known each other for more than a hundred years, but you never let me touch Mother''s button at all. Why did you give it to him when you''ve known him for no more than two years? Why?" Wow The viewers in the stream channel began to enjoy the drama. The Priest hid somewhere far behind Roland, but he was able to overhear their conversation. Roland looked back at the Priest. He was slightly confused, wondering why the guy had returned from his escape. But Roland''s attention was soon drawn to Nia''s voice. Nia raised her beautiful golden eyebrows and said coldly, "All of our siblings have Mother''s button except you. Do you not know why? You think Mother didn''t see what you were thinking in your dark heart?" "What was I thinking?" The male angel sneered with curled lips. "Why don''t you tell me?" Nia stopped talking and put on an even more awful expression, as if she were too embarrassed to speak. At this moment, the black angel said again with that sarcastic tone, "You dare not say it aloud? Are you afraid that your little man will think badly of the Paradise of Life if he hears it?" If Nia''s attitude was cold just now, she felt like absolute zero at this moment. She stepped back and said softly, "Roland, I''ll hold him back later. You leave with teleportation first, understand?" "I can stay and help you!" "You''ll only be helping him if you stay," said Nia gently. "Although you''ve been growing fast, you''re still too weak to participate in our battle. I''ll be more reassured to fight if you go away." "Then you can keep this." Roland took out a white brick from the system Backpack and said, "I think you should be able to absorb the magic power in it." After a brief shock, Nia smiled and said, "Okay, thanks." Then, she grabbed Roland''s brick with her left hand carefully. A swarm of comments popped up in the stream channel again. "The angel is beautiful when she''s cold, and even more so when she smiles!" "She''s nonchalant to her compatriot but so friendly to Roland. There''s definitely something between those two." "Roland is so awesome. Not only does he have a queen, but he''s also stealing someone else''s love." "How do you know that she''s his love? Can''t they be regular friends?" "According to Roland''s taste, I believe that this angel must be someone''s wife, or he wouldn''t have taken action." "You''re all too filthy. Aren''t those two angels a brother and a sister?" "That''s an even more provocative thought. You''re truly familiar with promiscuities, aren''t you?" Exactly like what the viewers said, Nia''s completely different attitudes toward the two of them pissed off the male angel opposite her. He waved his sword and slashed at Roland. Roland didn''t take any reaction, because the enemy''s attack was too fast. After all, the angel was a Demigod, and he was from a species that was famous for their speed. By the time Roland realized that he was being attacked, Nia had already blocked it with her emerald sword. However, the blast from the collision of the swords knocked Roland several meters away. Although the impact seemed heavy, Roland simply rolled on the ground and got back to his feet unscathed. After blocking the guy''s attack, Nia subconsciously kicked him which, of course, was also too fast for Roland and the other viewers to see. They only saw a black thread being flung backward at a crazy speed, before they heard the sonic explosion and noticed the dust on the way behind the black thread. It was a truly shocking battle. Roland couldn''t even see the attacks clearly. The gap between him and them was still too huge. Roland blinked to the Priest and patted his shoulder. "I''m leaving. I''m the black angel''s target, so you should head opposite of where I go." After that, Roland performed multiple teleportations. But each time he blinked far away, a black storm would be raging around him. Then, the black storm would be stopped by a mass of green light. Those two parties were clashing and fighting ten meters around him, leaving countless deep marks on the ground. Roland was secretly shocked. He naturally knew that the invisible black storm was the black angel and the green light was Nia. He had teleported many times, but he still couldn''t get rid of them. Those two angels were too fast. It seemed that he had to use Long-Distance Teleportation. However, it would take two seconds to prepare for it, and something might go wrong if he was disturbed during the preparation. Earlier, the spatial crevice attacks that the black angel launched indicated that he was better at spatial magic than Roland was. Therefore, it was definitely a stupid thing to use Long-Distance Teleportation at this moment. But Roland had other solutions. He began to flash and teleport consistently in the same direction. It was a silly but practical approach. Roland had as much MP as a Legendary Mage at this moment. Also, with his talents in spatial magic, his mana cost would be reduced when he used spatial magic. Besides, he had Roland''s Zeal, the special mana regeneration skill. Therefore, he could persist for a long time even though he kept flashing from place to place. The black angel might not be able to do the samenot because his mana was less than Roland''s, but because he had to deal with Nia. Logically, Nia should be stronger than the black angel, especially when the latter was still wounded. However, in order to protect Roland, Nia dared not attack with all her strength, in case her enemy circumvented her and attacked Roland directly. She did a great job stopping the black angel from approaching Roland. Therefore, with her protection, Roland believed that he should be safe from the black angel''s attacks as long as he kept running. With that in mind, Roland kept flashing in the same direction. The view before his eyes changed nonstop, and he moved faster and faster. At first, the black angel was able to keep up with Roland, but he couldn''t hit Roland because all his attacks were blocked by Nia. He was soon exhausted. As time went by, and with old wounds and new ones, he couldn''t keep up with Roland anymore. Just like that, half an hour later, Roland found that the black angel was fighting the green light somewhere far away after three consecutive flashes. He immediately used Long-Distance Teleportation and vanished into thin air two seconds later. Chapter 558 - Cats and Cats Everybody in the stream channel was disappointed. There were no more dramas to watch The netizens were always passionate about gossip, or famous stars'' visits to hair salons wouldn''t have been trending topics for days. The Priest thanked those who tipped him again and then ended the stream. The viewers, who hadn''t fully expressed themselves yet, all went to the forum. Then all kinds of posts about Roland, the angel, and love appeared. For example: One nuclear bomb to destroy the nest along with the BOSS and the inferior monsters: do Mages really not need nerfing? I strongly demand that the top Mages be nerfed and the rookie Mages be buffed, so that their gap won''t be so huge! I''m also a Mage, but I''m as different from Roland as a man is from a dog. Such posts were all complaining about the class imbalance. There were certain other posts that were purely gossip. "I came to her first": a lesson on how to pick up angels. Why does Roland keep getting such super beautiful girls who have noble identities? What exactly did Roland do to him to make an innocent angel fall to darkness? Some other threads went like this: A rational analysis on the nature of Roland''s bricks. What kind of revolution will elementization bring to Mages? Loss of fatal weaknesses: Elementization turns the game into one where nothing but stats matter. Whatever the posts were about, Roland became the center of attention on the forum again. Many people even made auto-tune videos for him. It almost became a carnival for the netizens. Roland didn''t know any of that. He had teleported back to the Red Magic Tower. He was complaining to the Great Elder. "I''ve killed the First Princess''s ex-husband, but Great Elder, the black angel was still there treating his wounds. I almost couldn''t make it back." Alfred the Great Elder was dealing with school affairs while he listened to Roland. He was so shocked to hear what Roland said that he accidentally left a scratch on the paper. He frowned and said, "We know very well how strong the black angel is. We only managed to escape when someone sacrificed themselves. How did you get back?" "With the help of another angel!" The Great Elder''s eyes widened. "Was it a he or a she?" "A she!" Huh? Alfred eyed Roland up and down. "This is uncanny. You don''t look very handsome to me, but why are so many women attracted to you? Not just your queen, even Stephanie has let you take charge of her territory. Now you''ve picked up an angel too? Can you teach me how to do that? I''d like to keep a Life Angel by my side." Roland said helplessly, "Great Elder, can we be serious?" Roland couldn''t help but roll his eyes. "Great Elder, there isn''t really much I can do when everybody is behaving that way." Actually, just like Roland said, most Mages were so addicted to magic that they were emotionally and socially impaired. Every day, they were either studying magic or on their way to do so. Their character wouldn''t change until they made great progress in magic and traveled the world for a while. For those who were smart, they wouldn''t be really bad at socialization. It was just that the Mages never bothered chit-chatting with others. Wasn''t it more fun to study magic than to discuss the girl that a certain noble recently scored or the unmarried lady who got pregnant? Also, on many occasions, they might suddenly have an inspiration about magic during their conversation with others, and then they would immediately leave. It was also the reason why the Mages came across to everybody as condescending and temperamental loners. Hearing that, the Great Elder smiled and said, "In that case, I won''t force you to do anything. Although you didn''t bring back the angel''s blood, it''s fine. Our main objective was to kill the First Princess''s ex-husband, which you have accomplished. You''ve also survived the hunt of a Demigod. Your eyes were opened, so we achieved both our purposes." Roland was rather touched as he listened. He found that the Red Magic Tower was very nice to him. Although it was nothing on the surface, many resources had been subtly delivered to him without drawing much attention. Was the Red Magic Tower intentionally grooming him? Though he understood it well, Roland showed no feelings on his face. He said, "Great Elder, I''ll be leaving, if that''s all." "Okay." The Great Elder waved his hand. "I know you''re eager to study magic, so get the hell out of here. Right I''ll have the reward delivered to your manor in a day or two." "Okay. Thank you, Great Elder." Roland then left. After the door was closed, the Great Elder chuckled and slightly shook his head, before he continued his work. About half an hour later, someone knocked at the door. "Come in." A young Mage pushed open the door and walked in. He was smiling and looked very sunny and delighted. He walked straight to the Great Elder and bowed. He then said cheerfully, "Great Elder, I''m here to apply for the spell model of Language Proficiency. I''m told that Roland already submitted it to the Red Magic Tower a while back. I want to learn it." "The modified model of Language Proficiency is indeed much simpler. You can learn it." The Great Elder nodded. "However, you will only be able to hear and speak, not read or write, at your current level." "Okay." The young man smiled and said, "Then I''ll work harder and try to get to the bottom of this spell next year." Hearing that, the Great Elder slightly raised his head and said to the young man, "Jared, I''ve heard a lot about you. You''re good at socialization and leadership You''re quite talented in magic too. It seems that you have balanced your social life and magic studies well." The young man nodded and accepted the Great Elder''s compliment confidently. He believed that he deserved the compliment. "But that''s not very good." The Great Elder slightly shook his head. Jared was briefly stunned. "In the end, strength is what matters to a Mage," said the Great Elder casually. "Any social connections will be brittle in front of absolute strength. Mages have to be steady and mysterious. You don''t have to be loyal to anyone except magic." Jared was stunned. He was the kind of person who was good at socializing and believed that socializing was of great help to his career as a Mage. Also, since he began to study magic, his social connections had helped him a lot in the acquisition of magic resources. Seeing that Jared was stunned, the Great Elder continued, "In that regard, you must learn from Roland. You need to be as steady, self-restrained, smart, and always eager to study as him." Jared''s smiling face became solemner. He nodded, showing that he had accepted the Great Elder''s advice. "Very good. This is the spell model you asked for." The Great Elder gave a parchment to Jared. "Don''t care so much about socializing in the future, and don''t smile every day. A Mage has to be self-contained, got it?" Jared nodded again. Then, the Great Elder waved his hand and dismissed the visitor. After leaving the room, Jared opened the parchment. Looking at the dense and patterned nodes on the parchment, he couldn''t help but feel that those nodes were really beautiful. "Is this the Language Proficiency that Roland has simplified?" Jared''s eyes glowed. "Impressive. The Great Elder was right. I truly have to learn from him to be an orthodox Mage. I''m older than he is, yet I''m far less skilled than him. My social connections have wasted too much of my time. From today on, I''ll reduce my participation in unnecessary social gatherings." Roland had no idea that a decent young man had set him as an example thanks to the persuasion of the Great Elder, who clearly had double standards. He was simply confused at the messy yard before his eyes. "I remember that everything looked well before I left. Why is it such a mess now?" There had been a flat lawn in the manor, which was clean and beautiful. However, some parts of the lawn had been replaced by pits and clods. As a result, the whole manor looked hideous. A few servants were standing nearby. One of them said timidly, "Master, a Mage just came from outside and had a fight with Miss Marilyn. This is the result of their fight." Huh? Roland was rather surprised. Everybody in the Red Magic Tower knew that Marilyn was his "slave." Even the Elders had been showing her some respect. Why would anyone come to fight him? Did the catgirl do anything terrible? "Where are they right now?" All the servants shook their heads. Thinking for a moment, Roland took a stick out of his system Backpack. He was about to locate Marilyn with Lesser Benediction, when Marilyn suddenly jumped over the wall and landed steadily. Upon seeing Roland, she ran to him and shouted, "Master, help! Someone wants to catch me! Meow!" Roland felt a headache coming on. He wasn''t convinced by the catgirl; she didn''t have the fear and desperation of someone being hunted on her face even though she looked anxious. There was more fury than fear on her face. The catgirl ran to Roland and hid behind him. Then, another person jumped over the wall agilely. The stranger was wearing a magic robe with a pair of black cat ears and a long cat tail. She seemed both cute and somewhat domineering. She was another catgirl. After she jumped in, she walked straight to Roland. "Sell your cat to me." Chapter 559 - I Really Can Chapter 559 I Really Can The black-haired catgirl was very beautiful, but she seemed rather cold. She had condescendingly proposed a demand, but for some reason, she almost sounded like she was imploring. She was that kind of person who made the toughest declarations with the most cowardly expressions. Roland disliked her tone, but noticing the slight fear on her cute face, he was more or less amused and asked, Why do you want to buy my cat? Shes my family. Im going to take her home. The black-haired catgirl stepped forward and curtsied. Esteemed Mr. Roland, please sell her to me. Im not going with you! Marilyn jumped out and shouted, This is my home! I dont know you at all. Why should I go with you? But youll only be someones slave in this place. The stranger looked at Roland and Marilyns necklace that signified her identity as a slave. Why are you staying here when you can go? Marilyn became even unhappier. Its none of your business whether I stay or not, is it? Hearing that, the black-haired catgirl frowned. As a compatriot, Im obligated to take you back to our clan. Listen and come with me. Ill pay a decent amount of money to Mr. Roland. Im not going anywhere. Marilyn grimaced. Also, this is my home. You get the hell out of here. Im used to living alone. I dont want to be with anyone except Master. The black-haired catgirl apparently looked miserable at this moment. After a moment of silence, she asked Roland, Sir, can you order her to come back with me as her master? What do you think? Roland asked her back. The black-haired catgirl said with a bitter smile, I know that you certainly wont. The cat-humans were very expensive on the slave market. They were the best goods besides the elven slaves. Also, they werent as risky an investment as elven slaves, who might attract Druids before they were sold. The population of cat-humans was only slightly higher than that of the elves, and they werent very strong. Although cat-humans were great scouts and assassins, too many hybrids had natural-born anti-stealth abilities. Many of them had night vision and keen noses. In the human world, cat-human Rogues and Assassins were rather tricky to deal with. They were quick and smart, but they werent really a powerful species among the hybrids. As it happened, cat-humans were very pretty, like the vulpera. Many human beings and hybrids liked their appearance. Therefore, it was rather dangerous for a cat-human to wander alone outside. Mr. Roland, I know its unlikely to happen, but please consider my suggestion. The black-haired catgirl looked at Roland with supplication in her eyes. She should go back to the clan with me, where she will live a happy life. Marilyn jumped out again. No, I wont! My life is the happiest when Im with Master. Roland patted Marilyns head. Okay, go back and take a rest. Oh, okay. Marilyn grimaced at the black-haired catgirl and then hopped back to her room. The cat-girl became very frustrated. Watching Marilyn walk away, she heaved a sigh and stared Roland in the eyes. Mr. Roland, can we talk for a moment? Roland pointed at the pavilion in the yard and walked there while he said, Of course we can, but I dont know your name yet, milady. Its Maromatha. The black-haired catgirl walked quickly and followed Roland. She was rather short, as all catgirls were. The other hybrids were generally much larger. So, what do you want to talk to me about, Miss Maromatha? Roland sat on a chair and made a have a seat gesture at the visitor. If its about Marilyn, you might as well drop it. I wont force her to go if she doesnt want to. Why not? Maromatha asked anxiously. Im her compatriot. Im taking her away for her own good. This is the first time weve met. I dont know you at all, said Roland in a peaceful tone. I dont know your personality at all. You claim that its for Marilyns sake, but whos to say that you arent a liar? Maromatha instantly became angry. I never lie. You cant insult my And I should take your word for it? Roland looked at Maromatha in the eyes and interrupted her. Although Marilyn is naughty and misbehaves every day, shes a friend in any case. I dont know who you are or where youre from, yet you expect me to hand her over to you because you claim its good for her? Do you take me for a fool? Or is there something wrong with your head? At this moment, Roland spread out his mental power and imposed it on the visitor. Maromatha felt that a mountain was on top of her, both physically and spiritually. She could barely catch her breath under the pressure. Even her body was slightly trembling. Seeing her pale face, Roland knew that he got carried away. He recalled his mental power and said, Even if Marilyn were willing to go with you, and youre sincerely hoping to take her back to your clan, Ill still advise her to think carefully. Maromatha slightly lowered her head and clutched her gray magic robe. I wont do anything that will harm her. I really want to take her back. Even though youre doing this out of good will, Roland continued, can you promise that Marilyns life will be better after she returns to your clan? Will she have a place to live? Can she find a job to provide for herself? Will she be bullied by others? After all, shes an outsider. The black-haired catgirl was stunned by the series of questions. After a long time, she stuttered and said, Ive never thought of those things before But I think we can overcome the problems. Roland slightly shook his head. Dont be blinded by your passion. Your good will may mean trouble for others. While I cant promise much, I can at least guarantee a safe and decent life if Marilyn stays in my place. Maromatha had no doubt about that. Ever since she came to the Red Magic Tower, many people had been eying her in weird ways. Some were lewd, some were greedy, and some were excited to see prey. If she hadnt worn a magic robe that showed her identity, chances were that she wouldve already been harassed. However, she sensed something different when she chased Marilyn. When Marilyn, another catgirl, ran on the street, human beings looked at her with wariness, if not fear. It meant that Marilyn could be quite renowned in this place. How could a catgirl who wasnt a Mage be renowned? The only possibility was that the person behind Marilyn was very influential. As a result, she was protected by the mans influence. After learning that there was a catgirl in this place, Maromatha investigated Roland and learned how strong he was from the intelligence dealers. Not only was the man endorsed by the Great Elder of the Red Magic Tower, he was also a super genius who crushed his fellow classmates on the first day of school. Even the mentors below the level of Legendary stood a slim chance of winning in a battle against him. I Maromatha was unwilling to give up yet, but she couldnt find any arguments for her rebuttal. After a long time, she heaved a long sigh. Lets leave Marilyn aside for now, Mr. Roland. Im here as a representative of the Monochrome Magic Tower. Before I came, my mentor instructed me to ask you a few questions. So, she was from the Monochrome Magic Tower. Roland was slightly surprised. Catgirls were more suitable as Rogues and Assassins. It wasnt easy for them to learn magic, not to mention that spatial magic was the school of magic that was the second hardest to learn. Yet, this catgirl was almost a Master. She mustve been quite gifted. The Monochrome Magic Tower has always been close to the Red Magic Tower. Feel free to ask me anything, said Roland with a smile. Our traitor was capable of teleportation. How did you catch him? Roland was quite proud of that. Did the mentors of the Red Magic Tower not tell you that? No! Maromatha shook her head, and her short hair wiggled and reflected the sunlight like soft silk. We only received a short message: Hes been caught. Come here! That was the Great Elders classic style. Roland didnt think that the arrest was anything extraordinary, or that it had to be kept confidential. So, he simply confessed, I know Dimensional Anchor. But so does the traitor, said Maromatha in confusion. Hes a specialist in spatial magic, whereas you major in evoking magic. Even though you studied spatial magic too, you couldnt have been stronger than the traitor. He shouldve had enough time to escape before your Dimensional Anchor took shape. Oh, my Dimensional Anchor was instantly cast. Even an instant cast will still take some time Maromatha was suddenly stunned. Wait, what? You can instantly cast Dimensional Anchor? Roland nodded. Are you serious? Maromatha pressed her temples hard. Are my ears deceiving me because Im too tired? Youre just a Master Mage. How can you possibly instantly cast Dimensional Anchor? Its something that only the Legendary Mage who specializes in spatial magic can do. But I really can. Thats impossible Roland secretly heaved a sigh. Unwilling to continue the boring argument, he snapped his fingers. The air twisted, and several transparent chains darted out from the void into the mud, fixating the space nearby. Its really an instant cast The cat ears above Maromathas head trembled a couple of times. She gazed at the nearest chain for a long time, before she finally came back to herself and asked, And you dont need any materials for the spell? Magic Material Exemption is my personal talent. The catgirl was again stunned for a long time. Eventually, she finally asked, What my mentor wanted to ask is this. Since you caught the traitor, you must have ways to deal with him. So, can you help escort him to the Spatial Magic Tower? Chapter 560 - The Bet Is On Chapter 560 The Bet Is On To be honest, Roland didnt want to escort the prisoner to the Spatial Magic Tower. The two places were very far away from each other, and magic boats couldnt be used. It was because it would cost a lot of gold coins to use the magic boat on a trip. The magic materials bought with the same amount of gold coins could be enough for all the students in the school to use for a whole week. In such a case, the prisoner could only be relocated on foot or by camel, which would waste a lot of time. For Roland, who had always valued his time, it was almost a waste of his life. So, he didnt want to go. But before Maromatha came to the manor, she had spoken to the Red Magic Tower as a representative from the Monochrome Magic Tower, asking them to send someone to escort the prisoner. The Council of Elders of the Red Magic Tower was informed of the matter a day earlier, but the problem was that the envoy from the Spatial Magic Tower didnt mention any specific name, so the Great Elder didnt know that they wanted Roland to do the job. All in all, Roland declined the request the moment Maromatha proposed it. Sorry, but I dont have the time, Roland waved his hand and said, The Spatial Magic Tower is too far away. The trip will take twenty days if we ride a camel, provided that we dont run into any accidents. If anything happens, it will take at least a month. Maromatha frowned. But our Magic Towers have always been close to each other. Its really too much a waste of time. Roland shook his head and returned to his room. Maromatha waited for a moment and then left for the conference hall of the elders. On her way, she noticed a lot of people watching her with lewd and lustful eyes. But she didnt burst into fury, as she had already gotten used to it. She had seen such eyes a lot even within the territory of the Monochrome Magic Tower, not to mention in the Red Magic Tower. After Maromathas request was put on the Great Elders desk, the Great Elder got upset. Whats the meaning of this? They asked Roland to escort the prisoner? They know that Roland is a genius. Have they never considered how important time is to a genius? Elder Murphy smiled. Theyre too petty to even send a flying boat to pick up the prisoner. I dont think the prisoner is really a big deal to them. However, something seems to be off about their request that Roland must be the one who escorts him. I feel that something is wrong too. The Great Elder considered for a moment and said, Ask the catgirl who demanded that Roland carry out the task. Investigate that person, and well probably find something. Do you mean we have to activate the spy in the Spatial Magic Tower? Murphy shrugged. Its just a suggestion. You are the Great Elder. Its up to you what well do in the end. Well well claim that Roland was wounded by the black angel during the last mission and is still recovering from the dark curse. The Great Elder sneered. After all, many forces know that we fought the black angel and lost a Legend. I dont think they will doubt our excuse. Meantime, well send someone else to escort the vulpera prince, so that they wont really be infuriated. Murphy nodded. Got it. Im on it. Roland didnt know the minor political conflict between the Spatial Magic Tower and the Red Magic Tower. He had already teleported to Bettas city on the wetland. He came to this place again because he received Bettas message that a guild wanted to negotiate a deal with him. This particular guild intended to buy three hundred gold coins from Roland with RMB. Roland had always been into the gold exchange business. After hoarding the taxes from his Magic Tower and the sand sculpture for a year, he had gathered almost eight hundred gold coins. That was not a small number. Roland intended to keep four hundred of the gold coins for the magic materials he needed and exchange the rest for money in reality. After all, he had a real life. He had been selling a couple of gold coins every few days. Now that a major client had reached out to him, he naturally had to teleport back. After teleporting back to the city, Roland couldnt help but blow a whistle at the magnificent wall of the city that had taken shape. It had only been a few days, but a solid wall thirteen meters tall had already been established. It was true that the players were great constructors. Entering the city, he found that the layout of the city was rather clear. The roads in the city had been paved. One could tell whether they were business avenues or roads for commutation from their width. Roland found Betta at the very center of the city. At this moment, Betta was talking to a group of people. Seeing Roland, he waved his hand and shouted, Brother Roland, over here! Theyre with me! Roland walked to him and found four men in strange black armor that had vague stripes of magic light flowing on them. However, when Roland sensed them with his mental power, he found that those stripes werent magic arrays in any sense. The five of them all looked at Roland with glowing eyes, as if they had seen something precious. One of the players stepped out and said with a smile, Thank you for teleporting back from a long distance way. This place is too crowded. Can we talk in private? Sure. Roland nodded. That man must be a big boss. The four hundred gold coins he asked for equaled seven million yuan. It wasnt humiliating to be slightly humbler when talking business with a big boss. They walked to one side of the city wall, which was remote and had few people around. The player who just talked was tall, skinny, and average-looking. Apparently, he didnt add any Charm to his stats, just like Roland. Mr. Roland, the market price of gold coins is 16,000 yuan apiece. Can you give us a discount since were buying four hundred? What do you say 15,000 yuan apiece? Roland clicked his tongue. May I know your name? Youre asking for a 400,000-yuan discount. Dont you think thats too much? Call me Carrot. The boss smiled and said, Thats just our offer, and we can always negotiate. However, were sincerely hoping to buy four hundred gold coins at one time. It will save you a lot of time versus selling them individually. You should let us save some cost too. Thinking for a moment, Roland said, Okay, 15,000 it is. Youre truly frank, so Ill be frank too. Thank you very much. Carrot was stunned, and his eyes became unfocused. It seemed that he was off on the Internet making the transfer. A moment later, he refocused his eyes on Roland. The money has been transferred. Please confirm it, Mr. Roland. Roland confirmed that he had indeed received the transfer. So, he took out four bags from his Backpack and gave them to the buyers. You can make a count. Carrot waved his hand and stored the four bags in his own system Backpack. Then he said, Mr. Roland, we have another little favor to ask of you. Roland was in a great mood after finishing the transaction. He said, What is it? Ill give you a hand as long as I can. Would you please die? While he talked, the five buyers dropped five magic scrolls. Five layers of Dimensional Anchors were instantly unleashed, and almost a hundred transparent spatial chains emerged from the void and locked the space nearby tightly. Whats the meaning of this? Roland subconsciously stepped back and looked at the locked space. If there were only two scrolls of Dimensional Anchors, Roland couldve escaped with a flash by trying his best. However the task was impossible with five scrolls. Exactly what I just said. There wasnt any satisfaction or hate on Carrots face. Instead, he seemed vaguely apologetic. Were hoping that we can kill you. Roland got it. So, this is a trap for me. You eased my wariness with a deal that involved millions of yuan so that I would fall into your trap. Not exactly. We had truly intended to purchase gold coins, and we wanted to kill you too. I just thought that it would be convenient to do both at the same time. Then why do you want to kill me? Roland secretly summoned his mental power, preparing to break free. But he wanted to learn more useful information now that someone had set up such a major trap. For example, he wanted to find out if they were hired by anyone. Were Spell Breakers. Carrot smiled. We need an opportunity to show ourselves to everybody, or it would be pointless for us to continue in this class. The regular Mage players are dumb as hell, and its boring to fight Warlocks and Priests whose spells are always the same. Its not allowed to kill the NPC Mages. So, only you, the most powerful Mage in the whole server, deserve our attention. S*it! Even though Roland had always been calm, he felt greatly shocked after hearing that. Since this was a game, many players behaviors were actually unpredictable. Besides, Roland thought that these people might already have started livestreaming. His guess was correct. A stream channel named Spell Breakers To Kill Roland had been opened five minutes earlier. At this moment, more than a hundred thousand netizens were waiting in the channel. Damn it. Its really a deal worth millions! Theyve really put a lot of money forth just in order to kill Roland! How else could Roland have been drawn here? They needed those gold coins in the first place, so there isnt exactly any cost! Theyre just good at taking advantage of the environment and the incidents around them! Theres no cost? Every Dimensional Anchor scroll costs at least ten gold coins, and five means fifty gold coins. That is to say, theyve already spent a million just to keep Roland earthbound. Whats extravagance if not this? Five Spell Breakers! And the space has been locked by super space anchors! Rolands survival isnt certain now that hes lost his mobility! The bet about whether or not Roland can survive is on! Join this chat, 5XXXXX, if you want to participate! Chapter 561 - GGWP Chapter 561 GGWP It was a complete mess in the channel. Some people began to place bets, and some people analyzed the odds. Others began to take snapshots and record the battle. If Roland really turned things around in such a trap, the video would be of high research value. Of course, even those who were most confident about Roland didnt think that he could escape from five Spell Breakers. The reason was very simple. All the spellcasters, including Mages, Warlocks, and Priests, were to Spell Breakers what frogs were to snakes. They were the natural nemeses of the spellcasters! Otherwise, they wouldnt have been known as Spell Breakers. In addition, it didnt mean that the Spell Breakers would be weak against other classes. Apart from the pure Warriors, all the classes were capable of casting some spells, or related to magic one way or another. Even Shadow Escape, which the Rogues claimed to be a supernatural ability, was essentially associated with magic, and anything that was associated with magic was vulnerable to the Spell Breakers. Even though the Spell Breakers were so powerful, they were still not among the top three classes. It was because the Great Swordsmen, the Summoners, and the Saint Samurai had high winning rates against Spell Breakers. In particular, it was very easy for a Great Swordsman to kill a Spell Breaker. Watching the Spell Breakers surround him, a dozen meters from each other, Roland couldnt help but ask, Do you have to let everybody know about the Spell Breakers by killing me? We dont have a choice. You are the top Mage! Carrot opened his hands and said, Being the top always means facing challenges. Not just us, many other people intend to make a name for themselves on your dead body. Othera would come to you sooner or later even if we didnt. It was very sensible, and Roland totally understood. In fact, Roland had seen a lot of posts on the forum from players who demanded a duel with him, but he never bothered to reply to them. Also, Roland was traveling everywhere all the time, especially after he learned Long-Distance Teleportation. It was barely possible for regular players to track him down. Therefore, Rolands challengers always failed to keep up with him. The case was different this time. These people had invited him to this place with a deal that involved millions of yuan. It was easy and simple. Now that they had revealed their true intention, Roland didnt want to back off. His ability to flash had been blocked by the Dimensional Anchors, and so had his Human Cannonball, which was essentially based on spatial bubbles. It meant that Rolands mobility that he had always been proud of was already restricted by the enemy. Taking a breath, Roland asked, Then do you want to fight me one by one or altogether? Your mobility has already been restricted, and we have natural advantages against you. Carrot smiled. It will be embarrassing if were to fight you altogether under such circumstances. I see! Roland took out the round shield from the system Backpack and put on the ultimate equipment including the Mind-Calming Necklace and the Twilight Bracer. Carrot raised his eyebrow and said, Tsk, thats a lot of epic equipment. Are not not afraid well pick it up after you die? No, because I think Ill win. After a brief shock, Carrot burst into laughter. Friends, do you think Roland is confident, or downright cocky? Everybody was laughing in the stream channel. Few people said that Roland was confident, and most said that he was being cocky. What should one do when faced with five natural enemies? Just lie down and get it over with. That was what most people thought and would do. Everybody only had limited abilities. If you meet an insurmountable obstacle, you should circumvent it instead of just going at it. After putting on all the equipment, Roland looked at his HP of more than three hundred points and MP of more than four hundred. He smiled and said, Judging from what you just said, did you turn on livestreaming? It seems that youre really prepared. Im ready now. Which of you will come first? Carrot nodded. Since you are so frank, Mr. Roland, we wont take advantage of you. We wont loot your epic equipment when its dropped after your death. Well keep it for you, and you can take it from us after your resurrection. Youre frank too! Roland raised his thumb. He didnt think the man would lie, because all the viewers would remember his promise. If the man didnt fulfill his promise, those viewers would mock him so hard that he would have to quit the game. All the viewers praised him in the channel. Comments like What a generous man were flying all across the screen. Mr. Roland, let me fight you first. A player with a shy smile stepped forward from one side. Im the weakest of all the five of us. Roland turned around and looked at him. Okay. Roland subconsciously cast a magic shield on himself. Magic Breaking! The players pointed his finger at Roland, and a circle of strange, bright purple energy hovered around Roland. Cracks immediately appeared on Rolands magic shield. Stunned, the player pointed at it again. This time, Rolands magic shield finally shattered Seeing that, all the viewers in the channel cheered in joy. Oh, Magic Shield, the Mages most powerful spell for defense, isnt working! Roland is sure to lose! Thats right. Things dont look good for Roland. Spell Breakers are truly the Mages bane! Look, Rolands expression didnt change at all, as if it was nothing surprising. Does he have other moves? Of course he cant change his expression. Hes the top Mage anyway. Wouldnt people think less of him if hes shocked so easily? He must be more panicked in his heart than he actually seems. I think so too. But as a matter of fact, Roland wasnt panicked at all. The disappearance of the magic shield was partly directed by himself. Having studied magic for such a long time, he had predicted that other people might come specifically at him. He had considered the Spell Breakers too. So, he had been thinking of how to counterattack Spell Breakers. After reading a lot of books in the Red Magic Tower and asking the mentors, he reached the conclusion that their natural advantages were only relative. It was true that Magic Power Ebb and Magic Power Quake, the Spell Breakers supernatural abilities, could pose a huge impact on the Mages. But it was intensity that mattered. Talking about the natural advantages of the Spell Breakers while ignoring the gap between the two parties strength and mental power was completely unreasonable. Roland was level ten, the highest level in the city. Of course, several other players had reached level ten too, but Roland was almost level eleven. Of the five people before his eyes, Carrot had the highest level. He was level nine. The other four were all level eight. They had a tiny gap in terms of level and stats. Besides, Roland had many pieces of epic equipment and was enhanced by two titles, which further widened the gap. Seeing that his ability didnt work until he used it again, the player said in admiration, You are truly an expert. When I used Magic Power Quake earlier, I could erase all the spells on the target and turn the magic power in them unstable, so that theyd die on their own without me doing anything. But your magic shield wasnt nullified until I used the ability twice, and the magic power in your body wasnt affected at all. Thats impressive. Thats nothing. Its just because my level is higher. While talking, Roland pointed at this player, and colorful light was focused on his fingertips. It was Prismatic Spray. The player pointed his left hand at Roland and shouted, Magic Power Quake! At the same time, he drew his longsword with his right hand and charged at Roland. It was the Warriors skill, Charge. The Spell Breakers were essentially Warriors who had special abilities against the magic classes. His movement was swift, fluent, and awesome. Carrot nodded not far away, satisfied with the performance of the player whom he had trained for a long time. The colorful light on Rolands fingertips was easily extinguished by the bright purple energy. After no more than 0.2 seconds, the man was already halfway between them, and he would be able to attack Roland in another 0.1 seconds. Exactly at this moment, three consecutive flashes burst out from Roland. At the same time, Roland turned around and dodged, and one of the flashes spread out into a beautiful round moon. Watch out! Carrot cried out. But it was already too late. This player quickly brushed past Roland. Then, his body suddenly broke into halves. Because of the inertia of the charge, the two halves of his body were thrown far away like two heavy stones. Eventually, they rolled on the ground, leaving a trail of blood more than ten meters long. This young man was cut into halves the moment he passed Roland. As explained before, being cut into halves from the waist wouldnt cause immediate death. This player held up his upper body and looked at Roland in confusion. What just happened? The viewers in the channel had the same question. Only the players who were strong and had dynamic vision saw everything clearly. Halfway through the Spell Breakers charge, Roland cast three buffs on himself. Based on the colors of the spells, they should be Body Fortification, Agility, and Anticipation. After that, Roland drew a long saber out of his system Backpack and performed a round moon slash. Not only was he able to dodge the charge, he even cut the enemy on the way. All the things seemed to have taken a long time, but they actually only took one moment. After several moments of silence, the channel was overflowing with comments. ca Sweet mother of god, what did I just see? How can a Mage possibility react so fast? What happened? What just happened? I dont understand! Roland is capable of the Japanese Iaijutsu? His long tachi looks so awesome! Thats not Iaijutsu or tachi at all. His weapon is a miaodao, and the move he used wasnt Iaijutsu. S*it. How can a Mage be so fierce in a melee battle? Do the authorities have to oppress the Warriors so hard? Im weeping. Why are the authorities to blame for Rolands awesomeness in melee battles? Leaving the streaming channel aside, Carrot looked at Roland who put the miaodao on his shoulder and remarked in amazement, No wonder you were confident in winning. I didnt know you practiced martial arts in reality. If youre so good at melee battles, why are you playing as a Mage? You couldve chosen to be a Warrior and then become a Great Swordsman. Chapter 562 - One Better Move Chapter 562 One Better Move The stream channel was already a mess. The players werent really surprised that Roland cut the enemy with a miaodao. After all, Magic Swordsmen were more popular among the players as a class than the Spell Breakers were. Therefore, they were no strangers to people who wielded their weapons while casting spells. What shocked them was Rolands crazy melee combat abilities. Most players had played the game for a couple of years. They could tell from other peoples attack movements whether they were slashing randomly or they were real martial artists. From what they had seen, not only was Roland a martial artist, but he was also a fairly skilled one. His turnaround and full-moon slash were performed with perfect timing. It wasnt something that any player of the melee classes couldve done. A Mage who was the strongest remotely, who could beat most players in a melee battle, and who was highly agile and had all kinds of protective spells, was almost invulnerable. Finally, a Spell Breaker was here to deal with Roland, who almost seemed to be cheating. But as it turned out, Roland even had cheating melee ability. How could they fight this battle? The Spell Breakers were essentially Warriors, yet this one had been instantly killed. It meant that normal players couldnt possibly kill him in a one-on-one battle. Not just the viewers, but Carrot who was standing on Rolands opposite thought so too. He instinctively cast buffs right before our man charged. Carrot shook his head helplessly. Well have to pass this time. The stream channel was seething. Really? Are you chickening out so easily? Seriously? Keep fighting! I want to watch the drama! Similar comments were all over the screen. Roland also thought that those people were going to admit defeat. After all, a death would mean a huge loss of EXP at this moment. But outside of his expectation, Carrot continued, None of us can beat you individually, so well fight you together. What do you think? It wont be a fair game, but in any case, were streaming this battle and we have to take you down. Come! Roland drew on the rocky ground with the tip of his miaodao, leaving a streak of sparks. Carrot said to his other three teammates, Go with Plan B. After he said that, one of the Spell Breakers extended both hands and aimed at Roland. A purple ring of energy surrounded Roland, cutting off his connection to magic power and destroying the buffs on Rolands body. The three buffs that Roland cast on himself were instantly broken. During that moment, Roland evaluated the intensity of the enemys magic-breaking and found that it didnt surpass his limits. But it didnt matter. He could just let them break his buffs and mislead them into thinking that he was weak. The moment Rolands buffs were nullified, Carrot and the other two Spell Breakers initiated a charge at the same time from three directions. Carrot was apparently the fastest of the three. Without the buff from Anticipation, Rolands reaction clearly slowed down. However, as a Mage, he had high mental power, and he was good at calculation. The moment they started charging, Roland took out a dagger that he built earlier from his system Backpack and hid it while he pressed down his saber. When they moved at him, he stepped back and suddenly loosened his left hand that was gripping the miaodao, then he flung the hidden dagger at another charging Spell Breaker. That dagger was thrown out too surprisingly. The charging Spell Breaker was greatly shocked and subconsciously blocked it with his sword. After a clink, the dagger was deflected, but his charge was stopped too. It was one of the fatal moves of the miaodao technique. Such cunning tricks were no taboo in the miaodao technique, which revolved around real battle. On a battlefield, survival was what mattered most. While Roland disrupted one of the Warriors Charge, Carrot had run to Rolands face quickly. Roland didnt have any time to make a new move, and he seemed defenseless. Without hesitation, Carrot stabbed his longsword into Rolands body with the momentum of the Charge and pushed Roland back successfully. The third Spell Breaker quickly caught up and stabbed his sword into Rolands right chest, pushing Roland back even faster. Everybody cheered in the stream channel. Seeing Roland impaled by two swords, they were genuinely delighted and felt that they had witnessed the fall of a legend. However, things werent as simple as they thought. While he was being pushed back, Roland suddenly grabbed Carrots sword with his left hand and cut the miaodao at Carrot with a terrifying grin although he was vomiting blood. His terrifying grin was truly mind-blowing. Subconsciously, Carrot abandoned his sword and retreated quickly. Although he retreated very fast, Rolands miaodao was long enough to leave a wound on his left shoulder. It wasnt very deep, but it made him feel slightly uncomfortable. Carrot didnt consider the wound a big deal, because the players werent afraid of pain. He simply took out another longsword from his system Backpack. Roland had been stabbed twice in a row. Although his organs werent wounded, those two stabs shouldve been enough to kill him, considering the HP of a regular Mage. However, the Spell Breaker who was still next to Roland suddenly widened his eyes. Holding a short sword in his left hand, Roland stabbed it right into the mans heart. It was a life-for-life attack. The man wasnt as responsive as Carrot, so he failed to dodge Rolands attack. The Spell Breakers werent pure Warriors. Naturally, their vitality wasnt as high as that of pure Warriors. After being stabbed in the heart, this Spell Breaker vomited a mouthful of blood and slowly fell with a look of utmost confusion on his face. At this moment, Roland had two swords stabbed into his chest, and his robe had been stained with blood. Casually, Roland plucked the two swords and dropped them to the ground. Clang! Clang! More blood flowed out. Roland was pale, but he didnt fall. Comments were flying crazily in the stream channel Many people found it hard to understand why Roland wasnt killed by the stab wounds. In their experience, Roland shouldve died even though his organs werent wounded. That was because a pure Master Mage only had slightly more than 100 points of HP. Considering all the equipment, it couldnt have been more than 150. The two stabs from Carrot and the other Spell Breaker mustve caused damage between 160 and 200. Even a Warrior at full health shouldve been executed. However, Roland was still alive. Actually, in Rolands view, he had more than half of his HP left. He had about 400 HP at the beginning. After being stabbed twice, he only had 170 left. Also, his wounds were gradually healing at this moment. The round shield that he wore on his left hand had the effect of healing its wielder. Looking at his guild member on the ground and then at Roland, Carrot couldnt help but ask, How much HP do you have? Why dont you take a guess?. While talking, Roland glanced at the purple magic-breaking energy that surrounded him. It seemed dimmer than before, but it was still not time yet. Holding one of the wounds on his body, Roland saw that Carrot seemed to be hesitating, so he asked with a smile, Youre not attacking anymore? Do you want me to attack you? His wounds were still bleeding, but Roland wasnt affected at all. The sense of pain had been reduced in the game in the first place. Besides, Roland had a high mental power, which allowed him to endure the pain better than ordinary people could. Roland extended his finger, and blue flames shot from his hand The Spell Breaker who was responsible for suppressing Rolands magic power immediately increased the intensity of the interference. The blue flames on Rolands fingertips were instantly gone. Because of the recoil of mental power, Roland even coughed. His body trembled because of the cough, and still more black blood flowed out of his wounds. Its useless. You cant possibly cast spells under the dual interferences. After mocking Roland, Carrot didnt charge but slowly walked to Roland with a sword in his hand. The other Spell Breaker followed him. Roland retreated slowly. Arent you going to attack us? Seeing that Roland was retreating, Carrot couldnt help but ask. Because Im buying myself more time, said Roland with a smile. I only need to wait until the Spell Breaker whos hindering me is exhausted. Now that Roland confessed his plan openly, Carrot stopped and dropped a hint at his partner to step back, asking him to join the other Spell Breaker in the suppression. This Spell Breaker stepped back, sheathed his sword, and opened his hands at Roland. Another stream of mental power surrounded Roland, and the purple energy around him grew thicker. Taking a deep breath, Carrot took out another sword from his system Backpack. I didnt want to be exposed so fast, said Carrot helplessly. Actually, I can use two weapons at the same time. Hardly had he finished talking when he charged at Roland, hoping to catch the enemy unprepared. Actually, he succeeded in doing that. When he reached Roland, Roland was only able to block the attack from his right hand, but he managed to cut Rolands abdomen with the sword in his left hand even though Roland tried to step back. Through the wound on his abdomen, it was even possible to see Rolands internal organs. A tremendous amount of blood flowed out again. Then, Carrot launched a storm of attacks. Without buffs, Roland wasnt as physically strong as a Spell Breaker. Besides, Roland had been heavily wounded, which made it hard for him to move. With clinking noises, Roland blocked the storm of attacks with his miaodao, but he was bleeding and losing his strength quickly due to the heavy wounds. He was stabbed again half a minute later. At this moment, Roland was already dying, and he had barely any strength left. His face was extremely pale. Die! Seeing that Roland was trembling, Carrot was delighted and cut his longsword at Rolands neck. A human being would die when they lost their head, however sturdy they were. Carrot smiled. He could tell that Roland wasnt capable of deflecting his attacks anymore. But Roland smiled too. He adjusted his posture and cut his miaodao at Carrots neck. Their movement was the same, but anyone could tell that Carrots sword was faster, because he wasnt wounded. Rolands miaodao was much slower by comparison. By logic, Carrot shouldve killed Roland first. However, exactly at this moment, Roland suddenly waved his left hand, and the little round shield blocked Carrots longsword from a weird angle. The movement was so powerful that Carrots longsword was flung away and he was knocked off balance, forced to lean back. What the hell? Dazed, Carrot looked at the right hand and couldnt understand what just happened. In the next second Rolands miaodao cut through Carrots neck. His head soared into the sky, followed by a spring of blood. Chapter 563 - Are You Even a Human Being? Chapter 563 Are You Even a Human Being? Carrot trembled and then fell back. The stream channel was completely silent. Then, a lot of comments were posted. Another two are down. Two more to go. Can Roland win? I dont think so. Rolands HP is running low. More importantly, the resurrection point in Wetland City is near at hand. As long as the remaining two Spell Breakers arent dumb enough to feed themselves but wait for their teammates to come back, Roland will still be dead for sure. I think so too. Actually, the Mages greatest advantage is their mobility, which has been restricted. I dont think Rolands melee combat abilities will help. He cant defeat so many enemies with his bare hands. You dont say. The two surviving Spell Breakers naturally thought of what the viewers in the channel had. Both of them stepped back and extended their hands to continue suppressing Rolands magic power. Roland had been gravely wounded. Leaving aside the two holes on his chest, the enormous wound on his abdomen was already shocking enough. Even if Carrot didnt come back after his resurrection, Roland would soon die from the loss of blood as long as the two Spell Breakers kept suppressing his magic power and stopping Roland from healing himself. It was definitely the right thing to do. Roland looked at the two Warriors and touched the bloody holes on his chest. He then looked at his abdomen where his intestines were almost being squeezed out of his wound. But he wasnt in a hurry to deal with the wounds. Instead, he touched the purple energy around him. It was exactly this energy that disrupted his magic power. Seeing Rolands movement, the viewers in the stream channel began to squabble. Has Roland given up? Why is he touching the enemys magic-breaking ring? Why bother fighting? Hes going to die anyway, so he might as well study the enemys ability while he can. What can he possibly find out? If a Mage can find out the secret of the Spell Breakers special ability, will the Spell Breakers still exist as a class? In any case, its already impressive enough that Roland killed three Spell Breakers who had great advantages against him. It truly is. I still believe that he is the top Mage even if hes killed. It wouldve been miraculous if any other Mages had been able to hurt a Spell Breaker while being suppressed. Does nobody think that Roland can turn it around? For example, what if he really cracks the enemys ability? The comments paused for several seconds. Then, hahaha was all over the channel. After all, the whole thing was absurd. It would make sense if Roland finally cracked the Spell Breakers magic-suppressing ability after a long period of research, but he was in the middle of a battle; it was preposterous that he could crack a classs central ability in only minutes. Actually, this was exactly what Roland was doing In a magic world, every amazing ability was more or less related to magic power. Even the Aura Slash of the Great Swordsmen carried certain elements of spatial magic. But those elements werent too many. It was essentially still a physical attack. Roland didnt believe that the ability through which one could suppress magic power from more than ten meters away by raising ones hands wasnt based on magic. Also, as many magic books mentioned, even though the Spell Breakers suppressed the magic classes, the latter were capable of resistance if they were strong enough. Roland sensed the bright purple energy that hovered his fingers. Then, he frowned. He felt extremely uncomfortable, as his mental power seemed to be flowing into the pit full of the smell of durian. But he held it back and calmly sensed the frequency of the bright purple energy. He also vaguely sensed the odors of the two mens mental power. One of them reeked of sour sweat, and the other had smelly feet. It was rather disgusting. It occurred to him that Nias mental power had the best fragrance more and more often. It was sweet and refreshing. The two parties were still at an impasse. Time went by one minute after another. About seven minutes later, Carrot, along with his two dead companions, quickly ran back after their resurrection. Seeing that Roland was still stuck in the ring of suppression, he was greatly relieved. Roland, you are truly good. Carrot subconsciously touched his neck, as the horrible feeling of being beheaded still lingered. But youre bleeding to death too, arent you? Stop struggling. Just let me cut your neck, and we can all get over with this. At this moment, a huge pool of blood was gathering under Rolands feet. Rolands face was extremely pale. He turned back and smiled. Who told you that Im going to lose? Roland snapped his fingers. His body was enshrouded in ivory light. Spell: Heal moderate wounds. Granulation tissues grew in the bloody holes on his chest, and the wound on his abdomen was healing too. Seeing that, Carrot turned around quickly and looked at his partners who had been suppressing Roland. He roared, What are you doing? Stop him from using magic! Were already doing our best! cried one of the Spell Breakers fearfully. Stunned, Carrot immediately said to the two partners that came with him, Lets join them. The three of them immediately used their magic suppression ability. All five layers of bright purple energy gathered into a violet container that wreathed Roland. The healing effect on Roland was instantly gone. The ivory light broke apart into vague spots of light and disappeared. Seeing that, Carrot was greatly relieved. But exactly at this moment, Roland snapped his fingers. A magic shield appeared on him. Unlike the magic shields that were usually bright blue, this particular magic shield was purple and translucent. Seeing that, Carrot felt that his heart was trembling, because he sensed that the frequency of this magic shield was similar to that of their magic suppression ability. You cant be serious Carrot had a terrible feeling Inside the magic shield, Roland snapped his fingers again, and a bright purple sheen of light appeared and began to heal his wounds. It was the same spell as before, except that it was in a different color. Why can you cast spells when all five of us are suppressing you? Carrot looked at Roland, his voice shaking without him realizing it. Also, your spell is in a different color. Why does it have the same effect? What do you think? Roland smiled. Ive already realized that the so-called Spell Breakers are just traitors among Mages. Your magic power suppression is essentially a spell with a lock. Or to put it in another way, its just magic coded on another base. In fact, this magic-breaking ability was very similar to the creation of the magic power bricks. Roland was quite experienced in that, which was why he could crack it so quickly. Thats impossible. Our ability can completely nullify magic. Roland shook his fingers. Its very easy to nullify magic. The Mages have spells such as Silence and Grand Clearance, which can eliminate all the elements in a range. Its just that your magic effect is less obvious and more sophisticated. Carrot was rather stunned. Dont tell me that youve already gotten to the bottom of our ability in just a few minutes. Ive learned a thing or two. While Roland was talking, the wounds on his body kept healing. His face was no longer pale but healthily red. With fury beaming out of his eyes, Carrot shouted to his companions, You keep suppressing him. Ill go there and cut him apart! Holding his longsword, Carrot charged again. However, this time, he was not embraced by a miaodao but a Prismatic Spray. It was hard for a Warrior to change his direction during Charge. The Prismatic Spray wasnt very fast by itself, but its relative speed could be very high when its target was running at it. So, the two parties hit each other so fast that they could barely be seen, and a mass of colorful light burst out like fireworks. In the explosion, Carrots body fell apart. Even his armor was shattered into pieces. Then, Roland snapped his fingers, and more than twenty enormous Hands of Magic appeared in the air behind Roland with a flower-holding gesture. My friends, shall we discuss Buddhism? The stream channel was utterly silent. Nothing but onomatopoeia appeared in the comments. Hundreds of thousands of viewers watched the twenty Hands of Magic bashing the four Spell Breakers to death. Then, the stream channel went black. The streamers were all dead, so naturally the stream ended. The viewers had a heated discussion about whether or not Roland broke a rule. It was outrageous of him to crack the central ability of a class that was supposed to be his natural enemy. Even more outrageously, before their discussion came to an end, Roland had posted a thread. How should a Mage deal with a Spell Breaker? I believe many people mustve watched the stream just now. Ive figured out the mechanism of the Spell Breakers abilities. Essentially, they envelop magic elements with mental power and suppress them into a special energy form. Its like the difference between coal and diamond. Its very easy for a diamond to break a piece of coal, but the difference between the Spell Breakers and the magic classes isnt so obvious. If I must draw a comparison, they are like iron and steel. In order to cast spells before the Spell Breakers, all you need to do is to compress your magic elements into a similar form. It isnt hard at all. Here are the steps This thread instantly raised a storm on the forum. Many people were excited, and many were just watching the drama. Either way, they all knew that the Spell Breakers would be useless as a class in the future. Carrot too posted a thread half an hour later. Roland, you are a demon! You couldve kept the trick to deal with the Spell Breakers to yourself. Why did you have to post it on the forum and let everybody know? All the efforts and persistence of the thousand Spell Breakers in the past two years are now in vain because of your thread. You destroyed the hope and future of a thousand people just to show off. Are you even a human being? Chapter 564 - Their Reward is Too Generous to Refuse Chapter 564 Their Reward is Too Generous to Refuse His thread was soon upvoted to the top, right under Rolands. The conflicts between the two threads naturally sparked a lot of passionate arguments. Faced with Carrots accusation, Roland opened the thread and was about to yell back at him, when he found that the thread had been occupied by the magic classes. Roland didnt need to say a word; many players of the magic classes had already spoken for him. You claim that Roland ignored your future, but did you consider for Rolands sake at all when you ambushed him and fought him unfairly when you had such advantages? He is LV10, and his half-years work couldve been for nothing if you killed him. Chances are that his ultimate equipment wouldve been looted too. True, you said you wouldnt do that, but could you really refuse a piece of equipment that couldnt be bought with money? Why should he consider you if you didnt care about him? Hey, why are you crying? You think your future is more important than the future of the 200,000 Mages, Priests, and Warlocks? Do you think you have the prerogative to sit on top of our heads? Roland didnt pick the fight; you were the ones who wanted to get famous by attacking him. Yet youre complaining now that your face has been slapped? Is it really fair? Carrot, Im a Warlock. Half a year ago, I dropped to LV4 from LV6 because you needed to run tests after your class just took shape I was killed more than ten times in ten days, and I couldnt get away. In the end, you only let me go because it was not challenging anymore. Did I cry? Yet, youre here crying because you were counterattacked. Is it fun? Thats right. Im a Magic Swordsman and I was killed by them multiple times too. Im having so much fun watching them suffer! Im a Priest. Those Spell Breakers killed me a couple of times too for no good reason at all. Tsk They can clear their bad reputation for killing players by doing good deeds for the NPCs, so they never went easy on the players. Roland, as the top Mage, was the best target for them. According to common sense, Spell Breakers have great advantages against Mages. But his plan has failed. All the other Spell Breakers are probably cursing him, so he simply wants to direct their attention to someone else. Although I dont like Rolands thread that destroys a class, what you did was even more immoral and demeaning to me! Most of the replies to the thread were like that. Roland was greatly reassured after reading them. To be honest, he was truly rather scared of the Spell Breakers. This time, Carrot lured him here claiming that he wanted to buy gold, so other people could do it again in the future. The Spell Breakers were banes to the magic classes, and as the top Mage, he was bound to be their greatest target. If he didnt teach them a lesson this time, similar things might happen again in the future. He had too many things to do and too little time to play games with them. It was also why Roland publicized the trick to deal with Spell Breakers. He could let other players of the magic classes deal with them, so that he would be less troubled. Quitting the forum, Roland went to Betta again. At this moment, Betta was handling a conflict between players in the city with a few knights. Seeing Roland, he asked, Are you leaving, Brother Roland? Why dont you wait for me for a moment? I can offer you a drink. Thats unnecessary. Roland waved his hand. I just had a fight with other players. I cant feel more comfortable, so Im going home for magic experiments! Why didnt you call me? Betta was unhappy to hear that. I like fighting the best, especially when the enemy is outnumbered. The few NPC knights nearby all looked helpless after hearing that from Betta. Everything was good about their master except his tendency of taking advantage of numbers, which made them feel uncomfortable. After all, the NPC knights, as natives of this world, valued honor in duels. Roland estimated that Betta was too busy building the city to check the forum, so the guy had no idea that he had just destroyed a class. He smiled. Dont worry. I wouldve asked for your help if I couldnt beat them. Go build your city and save a place for me. Ill set up a branch of the Association of Mages here for the talented NPC kids. What do you think? Thatd be great. Bettas eyes glowed. Betta knew that his city had to include not just the players but also the natives from this world, or there would be huge problems in human resources and finance. He had no doubt that the players would come, but he knew that the players were all busy exploring the world or accomplishing quests. They would never live a steady life just because they had real estate in this place. Therefore, the players were only supplements to the citizens here; they couldnt be counted as the regular population. In order to attract the natives of this world, good infrastructure and soft power would be very important. What counted as soft power in this world? A safe and prosperous environment, the number and quality of the entertainment workers, and most importantly, anything related to magic. The cities that had Magic Towers were always more attractive to the residents of other places even if they were small, and if this Magic Tower was willing to admit children as students, the city would be even more appealing In such a way, when a bulk of small nobles and merchants relocated here, many more residents would follow them. Then, the poorer folk who were willing to serve the upper classes would come as well. The establishment of a Magic Tower couldnt entirely solve the problem of the population, but it could take care of a large part of it. Brother Roland, dont worry. Ill save the best place in the business district for you. Betta patted his chest hard. Leaving the city, Roland went to Motasos first and put the evolved bricks of magic power into his system Backpack. Then, he made a dozen more solar systems for them to evolve on their own. Roland felt that he was like a farmer who planted a mist of magic power in spring and harvested a few bricks in autumn. It was really great that no fertilization, irrigation, or pest extermination were needed. Then, he spent a couple of days with Andonara. He knew very well that Andonara lacked a sense of safety, and that she would get paranoid and depressed if he didnt visit her for a long time. Stephanie wasnt particularly happy to see Roland. She always found that Roland was a third wheel. Two days later, Roland teleported back to the Red Magic Tower. He was going to take a few more classes and then go to the library. But hardly had he returned to his manor when Maromatha came to him. Mr. Roland, another message was sent from the Spatial Magic Tower. We still hope that you can help escort the traitor, and were willing to pay a decent price for that. We have sent our terms to your Council of Elders. I dont know exactly what they are, but you can ask your Great Elder. The catgirls eyes were glittering. She had lived three days in Rolands manor as a guest. She worked quite hard during the three days and finally won Marilyns trust. At this moment, the two catgirls were already able to chat and go shopping as friends. From Marilyns mouth, Maromatha learned what a great gentleman Roland was. For Marilyn, Roland had only one shortcoming, which was sometimes he could be very mean to her. That wasnt a shortcoming in Maromathas eyes at all. Being a catgirl herself, she knew very well how adept her kin was at naughtiness. If their master didnt have enough gravitas, they could easily turn their house upside down. Therefore, Maromatha had a very good impression of Roland at this moment. Then Ill go ask the Great Elder. Roland nodded at the catgirl and went to the conference hall. He found the Great Elder there. This time, the Great Elder wasnt working but reading with what appeared to be a magnifying lens in his hand. After Roland came in, the Great Elder closed the book and put it aside. Rolands eyes were keen enough for him to spot the title on the cover of the book. It was Woes of the Viscountess. Something about the title suggested that it was a dirty book. However, Roland wondered if he felt that way only because his heart was dirty. After all, the Great Elder was more than a hundred years old; he couldnt be interested in sex anymore. The Great Elder said with a smile from his chair, Youre finally back. Ive waited for you for three days. Roland sat down opposite him and said, The catgirl told me about the Spatial Magic Towers sincere wish that I escort the prisoner. Personally speaking, Im not very interested in the task, but if the Council of Elders needs me to work on it, Ill take it. The Red Magic Tower had given Roland a lot of help. In all fairness, anyone with the slightest conscience would be willing to do something for the Magic Tower. We wont force you to carry out the mission, said the Great Elder with a smile. But the Spatial Magic Tower has offered generous rewards. You can make a decision after you hear it. Since the Great Elder put it that way, Roland could only nod. After you escort the traitor to the Spatial Magic Tower, you will receive three models of special spells from the Spatial Magic Tower. You will also get twenty gold coins, which is better than nothing. Lastly and most importantly, youre free to enter the Spatial Magic Tower anytime with access to all files. Roland took a deep breath. The two rewards, including the three spell models and the privilege to read all the files, were too tempting to Roland. He slapped the desk and declared solemnly, Were allies, friends, and family to the Spatial Magic Tower. What they need is what we should do. Ill accept the mission. Chapter 565 - Jinx Chapter 565 Jinx When someone liked someone else, they would even like their shortcomings. Rolands behavior was exactly a combination of rationality and pragmatism in the Great Elders eyes. Of course, if another student were to behave the same way, they might have been remarked to be wavering, untrustworthy, and undetermined. Returning from the conference hall to the manor, Roland saw that the two catgirls were having afternoon tea in the manor. From far away, he heard one of them talking Marilyn, remember that you shouldnt mix herbal tea in fruit wine. Its fine if you do that between friends, but youll be mocked if its a formal occasion. Thats a tradition of human beings. Why do we have to go by the human beings rules? Maybe because they represent civilization? Maromatha hesitated for a moment before answering It was quite interesting that human beings adored elves while the hybrids admired human beings culturally. As for the elves on the surface, they were seclusive and supercilious. But deep in their hearts, they liked hanging around with human beings. After Roland entered the manor, the two catgirls noticed him. Marilyn ran over and trotted around Roland with her white tail raised high. She asked in excitement, Master, whats going on? Are you going somewhere with the black cat for fun? Can you take me with you? The black cat also came close and looked at Roland hopefully. Yes, Im deeply touched by the Spatial Magic Towers sincerity, so I accepted their mission, said Roland. Miss Maromatha, when do you think we should set off? The sooner, the better! Roland thought for a moment and said, Then lets go tomorrow morning. At this moment, Marilyn jumped to her feet and shouted, Master, Im coming with you! The trip will be dangerous. Im not scared, declared Marilyn with her arms akimbo and her head held high. Im good at running. Not just anybody can catch me. That was indeed true. Even Roland could barely catch this slippery cat unless he was prepared. It was very difficult to track her down without the assistance of true vision. The black cat also nodded nearby. She had personally witnessed Marilyns expertise in running away. A few days earlier, she tried her best and flashed so many times that her mental power almost ran out, but she still failed to catch Marilyn. Additionally, Marilyn didnt seem exhausted at all back then. Roland thought for a moment and agreed that Marilyn was quite good at self-defense. So, it wouldnt be the worst idea to take her on the trip. He said, Then prepare the stuff you will need for the trip. Well set off after breakfast tomorrow. Hooray! Marilyn dashed close and hugged Roland. She then ran to her own chamber. Looking at Marilyn, who was so excited, the black cat turned back and said to Roland, Mr. Roland, if Im just saying if-Marilyn is willing to stay after seeing her compatriots in the Spatial Magic Tower, will you let her go? Ill check her future living environment first before I decide if Ill let her go. Maromatha was quite reluctant. She appreciated how responsible Roland was. But it wouldnt be good if she couldnt get what she wanted because of his sense of responsibility. Roland then talked to her for a while longer, before he returned to the stone building for magic experiments. The next morning, Roland was ready to set off after breakfast. Marilyn put a luggage bag that was even taller than herself before Roland and looked at him earnestly. The black cat was rather puzzled. She thought that it was rather outrageous of Marilyn to ask her master to carry the luggage for her. However, Roland extended his hand, and the huge luggage disappeared into Rolands palm in a streak of light. The black cat was so scared that she jumped to her feet. Do you have such a huge portable space? Generally speaking, everybody who was good at spatial magic could create an alternate dimension for storage purposes. However, the size of the portable space they established depended on their capabilities and ranged from several hundred cubic centimeters to tens of hundreds of cubic centimeters. The smaller spaces could be used to store the items that were little but important or valuable. A portable space of tens of hundreds of cubic centimeters could also keep food and water for emergencies apart from important gadgets. The black cat, for instance, was quite good at spatial magic. She had a portable space of more than twenty thousand cubic centimeters, which kept some of her jewelry, clean water, and some clothes. As for the other items needed for the long trip, she had to carry them on her back in a backpack that was almost as tall as herself. Inside the backpack were the things she would need for the long trip, including a tent, thick clothes, flints, etc. She had always thought that she was one of the best among her peers in terms of spatial magic. However, Roland had made such a huge bag disappear. Also, he wasnt carrying any luggage himself. He mustve stored it in his portable space too. She couldnt help but ask, How big is your portable space? Roland replied casually, Eight cubic meters! The black cat was instantly stunned. One cubic meter equaled a million cubic centimeters. Her portable space was only twenty thousand cubic centimeters, which meant that Rolands was four hundred times as big as hers. How was it possible? Seeing that the catgirl was astounded, Roland asked, Do you want me to carry your backpack for you? The black cat stared at him in confusion for a long time and finally nodded. She watched Roland store her big backpack and followed Roland in a daze to the prison of the Red Magic Tower, where they showed a document to the warden and met the vulpera prince, who seemed rather frustrated. The vulperas hands were restrained by purple magic shackles. He couldnt help but sneer after seeing the black cat. I didnt expect that they would send you here. They must really want you dead. Maromatha, are you confident in taking me back to the Spatial Magic Tower? Hearing the vulpera prince, Maromatha woke up from her confusion and sneered. Dont worry. I wouldnt be confident if I were alone, but Mr. Roland is coming with me. Do you really think you can escape? The vulpera prince turned to Roland and said, Roland, I thought you were immune to the temptation of money. Its the person who pays the money that matters, said Roland with a smile. You are a wanted vulpera prince. I dont have a future no matter how much you offer me. But the Spatial Magic Tower is different. Their rewards are clean, and I can use them any time I want. Humph! The vulpera snorted. Dont make excuses for your greediness. Roland shrugged, implying that he didnt care what the guy said. At this moment, Marilyn, who had been observing them, remarked, Master, this fox is so annoying. Can I scratch his face? Dont. You dont want to get your hands dirty. While talking, Roland curled his finger, and the vulpera began to walk forward beyond his control, as if someone were dragging him. That was exactly the use of the magic shackles. One could link the magic shackles with the mental power of an apprentice and lead the prisoner forward with mental power. It was very effective. Even if the prisoner was a brawny hybrid, he would still uncontrollably act according to what the owner of the magic shackles wanted. Roland bought four camels and a simple map at the market. Then, the four of them left the Red Magic Tower. All of them wore black robes to prevent sunburns and rode the camels forward slowly. Marilyn was the most excited of all. She hooted all the way and ran about crazily now and then before she sat back on her camel. There was nothing but sand in the desert, but she still had a lot of fun. Generally speaking, for travelers in the desert, they had to plan their route with the oases as supply stations, where they could find enough fresh water and food in order to finish the trip. Also, the oases could provide protection and a sense of safety for the travelers at night. But Roland didnt need them. He had chosen a straight line for the trip. After all, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. With his water-making spell, he didnt have to get fresh water from the oases. There was also enough food in his system Backpack for the four of them to survive for half a year. He didnt need to refill it either. When it was night, he could build temporary buildings using his spells with nothing more than a snap of fingers. Even the most terrible sandstorm couldnt bury a rocky building a dozen meters high that had no doors or windows but only several ventilation holes. Besides, this building could be further heightened. It was very safe. Nature is something to fear, but if youre strong enough, you can tame it greatness. The black cat was covered in a blanket. Leaning against the corner of the walls, she looked at the vulpera, who was taking a break with his eyes closed, and Roland, who seemed absentminded. She felt indescribably comfortable and reassured. They had been walking in a straight line for the past dozen days, and they met no creatures in the desert except beasts such as big scorpions and vipers. They were all taunted and tortured by the curious Marilyn until they were killed and made into food. If only the rest of the journey could be as uneventful as this, mumbled Maromatha. At this moment, Marilyn jumped out and said angrily, Thatd be boring. Im so bored now. I wish that something could happen. Perhaps because Marilyn had great instincts, and maybe because she had a jinx mouth, something did happen at noon on the next day. While the four of them rode the camels, a hot wind came from the northwest, which was the left side of their path. Roland didnt feel anything. However, the catgirls and the vulpera all looked northwest. Roland happened to be behind the black cat. Seeing how grave they were, he asked, Is there something wrong? Theres a strong stench of blood, said Maromatha with sympathy on her face. I smell at least 53 different smells. They should be humans. Its 73 different smells. The vulpera prince nodded. The vulpera had better noses than the catgirls did. They could tell the subtle differences between smells more keenly. Roland looked in that direction too. Then, he withdrew his attention and focused it on his system menu. Special quest detected: Purge the Oasis (Legendary) Chapter 566 - Old Acquaintances Chapter 566 Old Acquaintances A quest in the level of Legendary meant a huge amount of EXP. Chances were that there would even be excellent equipment. However, the higher a quests level was, the more dangerous it would be. For the players, the danger was only the potential loss they might suffer, but for the natives of this world, the dangers were real, and they could be killed. All the three of them focused their eyes on Roland. As hybrids, they didnt care much about the lives and deaths of humans. Besides, they were in the middle of a dangerous desert, and they should generally stay out of trouble. However, the problem was that they all knew very well that Roland, a human being, was the leader of the team. Under these circumstances, only he had the power to decide whether they should just leave or check it out. Roland withdrew his attention from the quest menu and snapped his fingers, and the sand before him quickly split up. A rock building took shape. You hide in there. Ill go and take a look. The vulpera prince sneered. He felt that Roland was simply too nosy. If the man hadnt been so nosy in the beginning, he wouldve already returned to his clans territory. Marilyn shouted from not far away, Master! Take me with you! No, I cant. Roland shook his head. Youll stay here with Maromatha and keep an eye on this vulpera prince. Got it? Roland appeared very serious. Marilyn said helplessly, Okay. Ever since she accidentally caused the death of her two friends because of the Benediction last time, Marilyn had changed a lot. In nature, she was still as perky as before, but she became much more obedient. After the black cat took the camels and the vulpera prince into the building, Roland buried it in the sand with his mental power. The building was large enough, and the oxygen inside wouldnt be used up any time soon. Even if Roland was caught up in something and couldnt make it back, it would still be very easy for Maromatha, as a spatial Mage, to escape with the others. After that, he took off with Human Cannonball. Soon after he soared into the sky, he saw the oasis in the distance. There was usually a lake in an oasis, and one could see the reflections of sunlight in the lake from the sky. It was like a brilliant sapphire in the middle of the yellow desert. Roland flew straight at the lake and then cast Slow Landing on himself so that he floated in midair. He looked down and frowned faintly. The lake was surrounded by a huge amount of blood as well as certain tiny black spots. At the center of the circle was a hill that was made of unknown elements. As Roland descended, he soon saw the hill more clearly. It was a hill that was piled up exclusively with bodies. Near the hill of bodies, some thirty men in black robes were bowing and paying their respects to it. On the top of the hill, there was also a weird black statue. Roland was of a mind to throw down a fireball, but he soon dropped the idea. It was because the blue fireball was so powerful that the entire oasis would likely be wiped out if he cast it. He was afraid that innocent people, such as any hostages and survivors in the hill of bodies, were still down below. So, he unleashed his mental power and scanned from the sky. His immense mental power covered up the oasis. Very soon, everything down below was reflected in his head. As he expected there were two points of feeble mental power reactions from the hill of bodies. Besides that, there were another three points from the lake in the oasis. The mental power of human beings was greatly different from that of animals, so Roland could rule out the possibility that they were animals. It meant that there were still five survivors. He felt lucky that he didnt throw the blue fireball just now. Apart from those five points, there were another thirty sources of mental power that were highly unsteady and stinky. They carried an unspeakable smell that was a mixture of rotten meat and cilantro. Such chaotic mental power indicated that they were likely cultists. While a net of mental power could be useful in reconnaissance, it could be easily sensed too. Besides, when the net of mental power touched someone else, they would feel that their body was fondled, which was rather uncomfortable. So, nobody would extend their mental power to someone else easily. But under these circumstances, there was no need to care about that. Those men in black robes, who were likely cultists, soon sensed Rolands mental power and looked up. Exactly at this moment, more than thirty blue enormous Hands of Magic hovering above Rolands head fell from the sky. He floated above the hill of bodies. Before the cultists could react, a ring of magic waves had swept across half of the oasis with him as the center. Within a radius of fifty meters, the sand was covered in frost, and even the lake was half frozen too. All the men in robes were stuck to the iced sand. They were standing on sand, but their feet seemed to have been rooted down, and they couldnt move away. Those men immediately took action. Whoever was capable of remote attacks took out their weapons. But that was it. Before they took out their weapons, the Hands of Magic had started striking them. The battle was over in fifteen seconds. The 33 men in black robes were either twisted or smashed into the sand by the enormous Hands of Magic. Chances were slim that they could survive. In the end, Roland kept two of them alive, intending to interrogate them. Then, Roland dug into the hill of bodies with other Hands of Magic. He pulled the two survivors who still had feeble mental power out of the blood of other bodies and put them down in front of him. After healing them with a spell, Roland sent the Hands of Magic into the lake and picked up the three points of mental power in it. Roland was slightly surprised, as the three people from the lake turned out to be kids. They all had dark skin, and they were each holding a long grass snorkel. They gazed at Roland in fright. Roland glanced at the grass snorkels in their hands and realized why they could hide for so long in the water. The healing spell worked very well. The two dying adults who were drenched in blood were apparently improving, and their breathing became steadier too. Roland focused his eyes on the two men in black robes who had been pressed to the ground by the Hands of Magic and since stopped struggling. Are you cultists? Roland asked. Whats the name of your god? The two cultists chuckled coldly. There was no fear at all in their eyes, only madness and hatred. One of them said, Boy, you will die a miserable and immediate death for minding someone elses business. The other man in black robes laughed aloud. They seemed cocky and unrestrained. The three kids were even more panicked to hear their laughter and slowly retreated. Roland frowned at the situation. He hadnt really met any cultists before. Judging from their demeanors, those people didnt care about lives at all, neither other peoples nor their own. Roland was considering if there was a way to make them confess, when he suddenly had a palpitation. He suddenly turned back, only to see that the strange black statue was glowing on the top of the hill of bodies! To be more precise, the statue was quite abstract, and one could only infer that it was a statue with imagination. Its eyes were radiating redness. Evil black mist emitted from the statue and formed a dark hollow up above. This hollow grew larger and larger and was soon the size of a basketball. Hahaha. The sacrifice succeeded! Our Lord and God is arriving! The main plane will embrace real redemption! Those who do not believe in the Lord will die the most miserable death, along with their family and relatives The other cultist was still laughing hard in a crazier and nastier way. Roland looked at the dark hole up above, which was quickly expanding. It was only the size of a basketball earlier, but it already turned into the size of a basin. Roland secretly scoffed. If he were a native of this world, he probably wouldve been frightened. However, as a player, he wasnt scared at all; he was even slightly excited. More importantly, Roland had been faced with other demons before. When he helped Andonara fetch the Phoenix Blood half a year earlier, he had confronted Diablo. Besides, he even had a head-on clash with the black angel, who was a demigod. A minor evil god was nothing to be scared of. He waved his right hand, and a blue fireball quickly expanded in his hand. The black hollow had expanded to the size of a bathtub, and even more intense black magic power was leaking out. The blue fireball in Rolands hand expanded to the same size. Two seconds later, the dark hollow became two meters in diameter, and Rolands blue fireball kept up with its size. A black human-shaped shadow could be vaguely seen in the hollow and seemed like it could jump out any moment. Rolands palpitations were so strong that he could barely catch his breath. Without a word, he simply threw the blue fireball two meters in diameter into the hollow. Hahaha, how can the spell of an insignificant human being hurt our Lord? Though secretly surprised by the terrifying waves of Rolands blue fireball, the cultist had more faith in the evil god that he worshiped. Humble and unscrupulous boy, just wait for our Lord to Exactly at this moment, a dull explosion came from inside the dark hollow, as if firecrackers were exploding inside a pressure cooker. Then, the hollow trembled nonstop and with increasing speed, even leaving blurry shadows behind. Gaps appeared on the surface of the dark hollow. Furious roars vaguely came from the hollow, but they became oddly shivering voices because of the trembling hollow. Such a blue fireball, and such disgusting magic waves Its you, Roland! That voice was quite familiar. Roland thought for a moment and remembered that it was the black angel Paines. The dark hollow was cracking. A teleportation across dimensions was highly unstable in the first place, and any interference might disrupt it. Just wait for it! The regretful and angry roars completely vanished after the dark hollow fell apart. The two cultists looked at the top of the hill in disbelief. Nothing was left. The black portal was already gone. Roland, on the other hand, received quite a few system notifications. Chapter 567 - I Have a Million Soldiers Chapter 567 I Have a Million Soldiers The first notification was about the completion of the quest. Roland received a great amount of EXP and got to level eleven. Then, a subsequent quest was issued. Eliminate the Shadows: Because of your power and luck, the evils teleportation has been disrupted before they could arrive. However, they only relocated to somewhere else, and the black angel will arrive near Wetland City in Hollevin in five hours. Now, its time for you to chase the darkness back to the Realm of Devils by whatever means possible. Wetland City? Whatever means possible? Seeing the key words, Roland felt like laughing. Wetland City had almost been built, and more and more players were going there. It was the first piece of land that really belonged to the players. Therefore, almost all the players regarded it as their mother city and constructed it diligently. At this moment, about fifty thousand players had been gathered there. The black angel Paine opened the portal near the wetland? How unfortunate. Roland immediately posted the quest on the forum. Epic Quest Giveaway! He took a snapshot of the quest with the camera function of the system and posted it on the forum. Very soon, a lot of players received the quest. However, what they received was not an epic quest but an excellent one. It was probably because too many people had received the same quest. Many players replied to the post in excitement. Hehe. Ive been working construction for a long time, but now I have a quest to kill a boss? Roland, this is really considerate of you. I know that Roland is making use of us to help him accomplish his epic quest, but why am I so happy to receive the quest? Have I been charmed? Youre just too bored. If you were a gladiator and fought monsters to get EXP every day like me, you would be nauseated at the thought of killing another monster. Wait a minute, isnt Paine the black angel who was driven back to the Realm of Devils a while back? Hes coming back to Roland for revenge? Humph. Ive decided to drop this quest. I would rather see the black angel kill Roland a hundred times. I hate him for stealing the beautiful angel. Whats good about the beautiful angel? Has it never occurred to you that the black angel is very handsome too? Lets catch him together and force him to put on female clothes, shall we? I bet hell look pretty. My friend, something is seriously wrong with you. Roland was never disappointed by the hilarious netizens. After reading the replies for a moment, Roland refocused his attention on the game. He sighed at the hill of bodies in front of him. Those people were all traveling merchants and their guards. There were at least a hundred bodies in this place. Roland scanned all the bodies with his mental power again and, confirming that there were no other survivors except the five behind him, snapped his fingers to sink the hill of bodies into the ground and transform the sand into solid rock. He kept the black statue of the evil god. Seeing the magic stripes on it, Roland grabbed it in his hand. With the help of the system, Roland saw the stats of the item. Item: Evil Statue of the Fallen Angel Effect: When you hold this item, your weapon will carry dark energy, the amount of which depends on your constitution. The higher your constitution, the more dark energy your weapon will carry. (Power is never right or wrong; all that matters is who uses it.) Roland felt that it was a shame that the item wasnt very useful to him. If the item depended on vitality, it would be very helpful to him, yet it was dependent on constitution. His constitution growth was only five points, whereas most Warriors had ten. It meant that the item was for Warriors. It should be able to be sold for a lot of money. Roland stored it in his system Backpack. The two dying adults were saved. They were already awake, but they didnt have much strength yet. The three kids took care of them while weeping. Roland walked to them and said, You should take care of each other from here. Your wagons of goods are not far away. I think you still have supplies in them. You should be able to make it to the nearest city as long as you arent greedy. At least a hundred people died here. The goods and money of the two caravans were all that remained. Also, a great number of camels were leashed on the opposite of the lake. In any case, the five of them could definitely survive if they werent greedy. But if they were so greedy that they wanted to take everything, Roland wouldnt know what would happen to them on the way. God only helps those who help themselves. The two adults, lying on the sand, expressed their gratitude with tears of joy. Roland waved his hand and flew away. He was already level eleven! With the improvement of his stats, he was naturally stronger than before, but there werent any qualitative changes. Finding Marilyn and the others, Roland flashed into the rock building below the sand. The spatial waves caused by the teleportation give the two cats quite a surprise, but they both relaxed seeing that it was Roland. Marilyn wandered around Roland and covered her nose. Master, your clothes are stained with blood. It stinks. Just endure it. Roland glared at Marilyn and said, Its almost evening. I intend to spend the night here and set off again tomorrow morning. Is there any objection? Naturally, the two cats had no objections. The vulpera prince did, but he knew that it would be useless even if he complained. They all thought that Roland wanted to take a rest because he had just been through a bloody battle outside and was exhausted. Naturally, they were fine with that. But actually, they were mistaken. Roland didnt take a rest because he was tired, but because he wanted to watch the livestream. According to the system notification, the black angel Paine would soon appear in Wetland City. Then, tens of thousands of players would fight an enfeebled demigod. That would be a very interesting event, and he was the one who facilitated it, so he had to watch it. Roland took out some clean water and food and put them before his eyes. Since he was going to watch a movie, he would rather do that while he had something to eat. Unfortunately, the snacks didnt taste as good as popcorn and soda. After all was set, Roland logged in to the forum. Many people liked streaming. Besides, the battle this time involved a demigod, which was not something one saw every day. So, many people were promoting their stream channels on the forum. Roland found a random streamer whose nickname he liked and opened his stream channel. Thousands of viewers were already in the channel. They were all posting comments. The streamers voice echoed. Homies, Ive found a hill that has an excellent view. Ill certainly be able to broadcast the upcoming battle to you in its full splendor. Then, many viewers began to expose him. Wetland City is on a plain. How can there be a hill? You couldve said that you hired someone to build you a hill with magic. We wont laugh at you. Not too many Mages are capable of using both Mud to Rock and Rock to Mud. How much did you pay them for the job? Thats a great cost Hes definitely going to suffer losses if nobody tips him. Traffic is what matters most for a streamer. He cant make money if nobody watches him. Such a cost is understandable. Im too far away from the wetland to take part in the quest. I can only watch the stream. Tears. me Watching the viewers chat with each other, Roland had a mouthful of water and ate some food. It had been forever since he wasted time in such a way. In the game, he was either carrying out quests or working on magic. Even when he was free, he always spent his happy times with Andonara and Vivian. But that was business too. It had been a very, very long time since he did something purely for fun. It felt great to indulge himself once in a while. Standing on the man-made hill, the streamer slowly panned the camera around. It could be seen that a bunch of fully-armed players were patrolling Wetland City. The notification specified that the black angel would show up near Wetland City, but it didnt mention the location of his landing. Many players and guilds who wanted to initiate the battle were pacing back and forth, hoping to catch the boss the moment it appeared. What about the possibility that they might lose EXP if they died? Whats there to be scared of? There were so many streamers here, and they would surely focus on the first person who charged at the boss. It would be exhilarating to know that more than 100,000 people were watching them. The loss of some EXP was a small price to become famous. In order to prevent the viewers from getting bored and leaving the stream, the streamer kept telling jokes, which caused rounds of laughter in the channel. As time went by, the anchor got apparently nervous. Ive already seen the countdown in the quest menu. The boss is arriving in ten seconds. Do you see anything unusual? Hardly had he finished talking when the system camera automatically caught sight the dark hollow that emerged in the sky in the south of the wetland. Also, this dark hollow was expanding at a crazy speed. I see it! Its right there! The boss is coming! Lets go! All the players who were patrolling outside of the city saw the unusual phenomenon and ran crazily to the south. The scene was magnificent, as if the players were wildebeests that were on migration on the African continent. They left a raging trail of dust as they marched on aggressively. The streamer in Rolands channel captured the view from far away and remarked, Homies, look how many of them there are! Theyre as small as marching ants. From the dimensional teleportation array, the black angel Paine supported the collapsing portal with abundant magic power. Rolands earlier blue fireball didnt cause any damage to him, but it greatly ruined the space portal. So, he had learned a lesson, and he performed the teleportation so fast that nobody had a chance to destroy the portal. In no more than two seconds, the portal connected to the main plane, and he was able to get through. Stepping out of the portal, he waved his arm and roared, Roland, just wait for it. Im coming to you Huh? Paines face instantly twisted. A rain of arrows and an assortment of spells in various colors were thrown at him from various directions. No, it wasnt just a rain of arrows, but a storm, with no gap between them at all. Chapter 568 - I Don’t Need to Do Anything Chapter 568 I Dont Need to Do Anything Paine had lived for more than two hundred years. He had spent most of his time since he was created by the Life Goddess in the Paradise of Life, but occasionally, he was asked to run errands for the Life Goddess in the main plane. So, he had some understanding of the main plane, and he knew that human beings had an ambivalent nature and would be as humble as ants when faced with creatures that were much more powerful than themselves. Only a few of them, such as Roland and the few Legendary Mages who fought him before, had the courage to look at powerful creatures uprightly. However, what was he seeing at this moment? He was welcomed by an ocean of arrows, mixed with a great number of magic bullets and lightning arrows, the moment he teleported back to the main plane. Was he being ambushed? Though deeply surprised, he subconsciously established a black wall of magic power before himself. At least twenty thousand arrows and almost ten thousand magic bullets hit the wall. Then, there were countless dull noises. Supposedly, there shouldve been clinking noises when the arrows hit the magic power wall. However, because too many arrows hit the wall at the same time, the resulting noise was weird and dull, and sounded as if a heavy ram was battering an iron gate. A demigod was still a demigod even though he had been enfeebled. The attacks from tens of thousands of players were blocked by the black wall easily. There were no fixed ways of playing any class in this game. Almost everybody could use a long-range weapon, except that some were better at it than others were. Even the pure Great Swordsmen could shoot a bird with a bow. All players were afraid of being kited, so even the melee classes usually had a short bow or a crossbow for self-defense. This was precisely why the black angel was hit by so many arrows. Besides, since the players knew that the black angel was coming, they had definitely prepared aerial attacks in advance in order to conquer the major boss. The first wave of long-range attacks were all deflected. Such an overwhelming attack was handled so easily. If this was an army of natives, their morale probably wouldve dropped. However, the players thought that it was quite natural. That was a boss. How could a boss be killed so easily? It wasnt like killing the boss was part of a plot. Therefore, the players werent frustrated at all but got even more excited. Dodging the deflected arrows, the players roared and launched a second wave of attacks. This time, not only were a great number of arrows launched, but many nets were also hidden among the arrows at cunning angles. They werent unfolded until they approached the black angel. But still, they were all blocked by the black wall. Seeing the nets, the black angel recovered from his shock and burst into rage. You despicable human beings, youre treating me like a bird? He drew a cross with his finger, and black cross-shaped spatial crevices were instantly formed. They were pushed forward and cut a significant number of players in half. After four Dimensional Slashes in a row, only half of the players remained. It had only been three minutes since the battle began. Looking at the odorous river of blood and the broken limbs on the ground, the black angel put on a cold smile. He thought that these humans must be horrified now that he had killed thirty thousand of them. However the remaining players attacked the black angel crazily without any fear. They seemed even more excited than before. Paine was weakened to begin with. A few hours earlier, although he wasnt greatly damaged by Rolands fireball, he did lose a lot of power while he tried to resist the unbelievable explosion. After that, he wasted a lot of power when he repaired the dimensional portals too. As a matter of fact, he wasnt even one-third as strong as in his prime. Resisting the terrible distance attacks with magic power wall while launching counterattacks with Dimensional Slashes, he was already exhausted. He even had the feeling that he was about to collapse. He didnt understand why these humans werent running away. Then, he suddenly caught sight of the simple ritual tables behind the crazy human beings, where many people were being resurrected. He finally realized what opponents he had been faced with. Golden Sons! Theyre Golden Sons! The black angel clenched his fists and veins bulged on his face. He roared at the sky, Roland, you tricked me! This isnt over! The whole world seemed to be filled with his roar of humiliation and rage. Roland, who had been watching the drama in the channel, felt that the guys furious roar was more like the moan of a dog that had just lost a fight. The streamer of this channel got a close-up shot of the black angels face, which revealed sadness and anger. He also said, Homies, look at our pathetic victim here! Roland is really one heinous bastard. Not only did he steal someone elses love, but he also kicks the guy away and makes his life hard. How I pity him. The viewers in the channel all agreed with the streamer and roasted Roland, but deep in their hearts, they all hoped that they could be Roland. Among those viewers, Roland read their strongly biased comments, lost for words. There was nothing between him and Nia. He never even took her hand once. Why was he rumored to be a girlfriend stealer? After the roar, the black angel turned around and jumped back into the portal. Then, the portal vanished. He looked like a black rooster that had just been defeated. The tens of thousands of players all sighed. They hadnt fully enjoyed the fight yet. However, they werent really surprised that the black angel escaped. After all, the quest said that they were to kick the darkness back to the Realm of Devils, not to kill the boss. Besides, not many players could fly at this moment. It was barely possible for them to kill a demigod angel who could fly very fast. It was very lucky that they could drive the guy back to the Realm of Devils. The players couldnt have caught the black angel at all if he had simply flown away. But of course, considering the players terrifying doggedness in their quests, they would probably follow the black angel like an army of locusts wherever he went under the direction of the quest system. During their march, they would kill all the creatures that the system allowed them to, such as evil bandits and monsters! After Paine left in humiliation, all the players who received the quest completed it and got a reasonable amount of EXP. Many players who were around level five had a level-up because of the reward of EXP. The players who had higher levels didnt feel they lost anything either. Even the streamer, who had been watching the show the whole time and only shot one arrow at the black angel, had a level-up too. He roared in excitement, Homies, do you know that I got more than 7,000 EXP points? Half of my EXP bar was filled instantly! Hahaha! Im level seven right now. Thank Roland for the quest he shared, and thank you all for watching my stream. I love you Roland left the channel. His quest had been completed too. Since he was the initiator of the quest, he had gotten the most EXP of all, which was about thirty thousand points. This was almost a free quest He neednt do anything but watch the show. Also, he realized that he had earned a lot from every incident that was related to the black angel Paine. In the first quest that was related to the black angel, he received the shield from Nia. In the second time, he received the copious rewards from the Red Magic Tower. In the third time, which was the oasis purge from earlier, he received abundant EXP and a special item. Although it wasnt really useful to him, it should be able to be sold for a high price. This time, a lot of EXP had been offered to him without him doing anything again. Roland found that Paine was really a good guy. Such a fortune bringer was hard to come by. Roland decided to interact with him more often in the future. Satisfied, Roland left the channel and drank a mouthful of water in delight. Although the players only fought the black angel for several seconds, they were very satisfied too. Everybody who received the quest got EXP. Also, it was exciting to be part of the fight against a world boss. Not all the players had the opportunity to fight a boss. Some players had never even met elite monsters before. They only killed bandits and lesser monsters on their way to their current level. They were all thrilled to participate in this special boss quest. So much for the demigod who had been kicked away by tens of thousands of players. Unfortunately, most epic quests had a maximum number of participants. Otherwise, the players would probably be able to kill a real god with their joint efforts. That was exactly what everybody was discussing on the forum. Meantime, many people thanked Roland for giving them an opportunity to have an unforgettable interaction with a real boss. After a night of rest, Roland resumed the journey with his companions the next day. Nothing worth mentioning happened during the rest of the journey. They reached one of the Monochrome Magic Towers affiliated cities safe and sound. The name of the city was Tebesia. The black cat, who had been grim all the here worrying that something might happen, was finally relieved. She looked much more high-spirited than before. The vulpera prince, on the other hand, looked even more frustrated than before. He had tried to escape on the way, but the moment he subtly loosened the magic shackles, Roland would sense it and strengthen them again. He didnt have a chance at all. He couldnt persuade them to work for him. The two catgirls simply turned a deaf ear to him. Roland didnt need to listen to him either. The wealth and magic materials he promised werent worth mentioning compared to the rewards of the Spatial Magic Tower. The black cat showed her identity at the city gate and led the three of them into the city. The residents of this city were mostly human beings, like those in the Red Magic Tower. However, the constituents of the hybrid community here were different from those in the Red Magic Tower. The hybrids here were almost exclusively cat-humans. Holding Marilyns hand, Maromatha said excitedly, Look, this is our clans habitat. The leadership of the Spatial Magic Tower is willing to protect us while we live here But before she finished, a scream burst out. Ten meters before them, a male cat-human who was heavily wounded collapsed on the ground with a painful wail. Chapter 569 - A Dragon Chapter 569 A Dragon This male cat-human looked rather miserable. The wounds on his body were bleeding hard. The people who threw him to the street were on top of the building on the right side of the street. They were a few male human beings, who were pointing at the male cat-human and laughing. The male cat-human struggled to raise his head while he vomited blood. Maromatha let out a cry and examined him, only to find that he was dying. She immediately cast Minor Healing on him. However, it didnt really work. After all, this cat-human was too gravely wounded. Besides, not everybody had a full Intelligence growth like Roland did. Also, not everybody had carefully studied every spell that they knew. Therefore, Roland was good at the spells of all schools, whereas Maromatha was not even as good at spatial spells as Roland was, not to mention those in other schools. In addition, her level was far lower than Rolands too. It was only natural that her Minor Healing didnt work. Maromatha tried to save this male cat-human, but his face was gradually turning pale. He would probably bleed to death before his wounds completely closed. Beads of sweat dripped from the black cats forehead. She was somewhat desperate to find that she couldnt save her compatriot. At this moment, Roland stepped up and said, Let me. He snapped his fingers and cast Minor Healing too, but the mass of light that Roland summoned was brighter and purer. The male cat-humans wounds healed at a high speed. His bleeding stopped in three seconds, and he looked a lot better. Maromatha was greatly relieved to see that the male cat-human was no longer in danger. Then, she looked at Roland in surprise and slightly nodded. Thank you for your help. Roland lightly waved his hand. Maromatha helped the male cat-human sit down on one side of the street. She then looked up at the few human beings on the top of the building. Her face was rather cold. This was a populated city, and the street was quite crowded. Seeing that drama was going on, many passersby surrounded the area and whispered to each other. The few men on the building were apparently ordinary people, but they werent frightened at all in the presence of the cat-girl Mage. They even looked at the cat-girl cockily. Maromatha raised her head and asked coldly, Why did you oppress my compatriot? We didnt oppress him! The few men laughed, and one of them said, He owes us a huge debt that he cant repay. We asked him whether he was willing to die or sell his wife to us. He chose to die, so we granted his wish. The cat-girl quickly looked at the male cat-human who was leaning against the wall. He guiltily moved his eyes away. Thats still not a reason to force someone to die. Miss Cat, your compatriot is neither willing to repay his debt nor sell his wife. There isnt a third option here, is there? one of the men said helplessly, shrugging. The other men on the top of the building all laughed hard. The passersby pointed their fingers and whispered too. Roland looked around and saw their expressions and behavior. He was deep in thought. The vulpera prince sneered and looked at the cat-girl with obvious mockery on his face. The way that those men addressed her was quite sarcastic by itself. The black cat was very cold. She was furious, but she couldnt lose her temper because she could tell that her compatriot really owed them money. She thought for a moment and said, If you need the money for a good reason But she was interrupted halfway through her sentence. The men on the building shouted, Miss Cat, you cant talk sense into him. He has a gambling problem. He borrowed high-interest loans from us as well as others. His family wont have a good life even if he lives. If youre really hoping to help him, either pay the debt for him, or just let him die. The black cat was stunned. The male cat-human kept his head lowered, not daring to look the black cat in the eye. In the end, the black cat heaved a long sigh and asked, How much money do you owe? One gold coin, 36 silver coins, and forty bronze coins, the men on the top of the building shouted. The black cat shivered. Too much. The money was too much for her. She was a reasonably strong and registered Mage, but it was universally known that being a Mage was costly. Hearing the number, Marilyn glanced at Roland. Seeing that he had no intent to help, she kept silent. The black cat helplessly closed her eyes. A moment later, she asked Roland, Sir, can I borrow fifty silver coins?. Of course Roland didnt say anything but simply took out a gold coin from the system Backpack and gave it to her. Roland didnt want to help the male cat-human; hes always hated gamblers. However, the black cat was more or less a friend anyway, and he had to help her now that she requested it. The two matters should be considered separately. Looking at Roland gratefully, Maromatha took another fifty silver coins out of her portable space and gave them to the male cat-human. Repay your debt with this. Buy some meat with the rest of the money so that your health will improve. The male cat-human looked at the coins in his hand with glittering eyes. He bowed at the black cat and threw most of the coins to the top of the building. The few men collected the money without counting it, and one of them said to the black cat, The black cat is truly your peoples fortune bringer. Whenever your compatriots who are in trouble meet her, they can always count on her to get them out of it. Cut the crap and get the hell out of here. The few men laughed and left. The male cat-human looked at Maromatha and said, Thank you, my lady. Dont gamble anymore. The male cat-human nodded and left after expressing his gratitude. He even looked back every few steps, as if he were reluctant to leave them. Because the drama was over, the passersby soon dispersed. The black cat looked a lot more relaxed, if not happy. Although she had lost a fortune, she had saved a compatriot and his family, which was a good thing. But at this moment, the vulpera prince laughed aloud. The black cats smile was frozen. She rounded on the vulpera prince and demanded, What are you laughing at? Your stupidity, your self-affection, and your unawareness when you were manipulated. What do you mean? The black cat glared at the vulpera prince, having no idea what he was talking about. Roland heaved a sigh and said, That cat-human and those human beings were accomplices. Huh? How is that possible? Maromatha was stunned at first, and then she sneered. Did you not see how badly he was wounded? He couldve been killed by the fall. Indeed, he couldve. He did owe them money. Roland nodded. But it does not mean he couldnt conspire with his creditors and let you pay off the debt for him. He couldnt afford the debt anyway, and he was almost cornered to his death, so he might as well take a chance. If it worked, he didnt need to pay a debt anymore, and you might save him in the end! Their acting was all too obvious. You were probably the only one who didnt see it. Even Marilyn noticed something. How could that be! The black cat couldnt have been more suspicious. She wouldnt have been convinced if the vulpera was the only one saying that. But since Roland said the same, she thought that it was probably the truth. She bit her lip softly. It had been her lifelong principle to help her compatriots, but if she were manipulated in such a way, even she wouldnt be too happy about it. The lucky black cat. The vulpera chuckled and said, You are a celebrity in this city. Everybody calls you that to your face, but secretly, we call you the idiotic black cat. As far as I know, you did help a lot of cat-humans at first, but the good deeds you did later were mostly the tricks of your compatriots. It was a heavy blow to the black cat. She felt that the world was swirling, and she could barely stand steadily. She had been trying to help her people for years, and this was what she got? Looking at the black cat who seemed entranced, Roland cast Sobering on her. It was a level-two spell that could take care of minor mental problems and might be handy in daily life. Thanks to Sobering, the black cat was in much better spirits. She heaved a sigh. Fine, then. Mr. Roland, Ill take you to put the vulpera in prison first. The vulpera prince chuckled and didnt say anything. In fact, the vulpera princes life was not at risk. He was the prince of his people, after all, and as a noble, he could be exchanged for a decent ransom. People like him wouldnt be killed easily unless they did something too outrageous. The vulpera was a traitor of the Spatial Magic Tower, but he only stole something and didnt kill anyone; the consequences werent too grave. So, he wouldnt be executed, and the vulpera clan could free him as long as they paid enough ransom. Nevertheless, it would be humiliating for the vulpera clan. So, the vulpera prince didnt want to be caught and had been trying to escape. Unlike the Red Magic Tower, the Spatial Magic Towers campus was rather spaced out. The facilities such as the library, the classrooms, and the dormitories were far away from each other. It was the Spatial Magic Towers unique layout that was meant to force the students to use teleportation more often in life as exercises. The Council of Elders of the Spatial Magic Tower was at the center of the city. After the black cat took Roland and the others in, an elder soon greeted them. The elder was very slim and only about 1.6 meters tall, so he appeared very small. He looked at the black cat and said, I thought you wouldnt arrive for another dozen days. You were rather fast. We came in a straight line without any detours. Thats why we were so fast, explained the black cat. It doesnt matter. Everything is fine as long as the prisoner is here. The elder waved his right hand and summoned two guards who dragged the vulpera prince away. Roland from the Red Magic Tower, your remarkable performance in the meeting last time left a deep impression on me. I did not ask you to escort the prisoner back here because nobody else could do the job. You want me to do something for you, right? Roland sighed. Yes. This elder pushed four spell models to Roland. These are the agreed-upon rewards. The Spatial Magic Tower has been caught in some trouble recently, and we need a strong expert whos unafraid of death to take care of it. What kind of trouble? A dragon! said the elder helplessly. Its a white dragon. We need a Mage powerful in evocation to help us! Roland: ? Chapter 570 - Fear of the Kitten A white dragon. Well Roland realized why the Spatial Magic Tower didnt want to deal with that. First of all, dragons were the fastest flying creatures in the main plane. Of course, thats not counting the angels that came from the paradises. Secondly, dragons were very strong. Both the metal dragons and the five-color dragons were as strong as human Legends after they became adults. Nobody was confident of fighting a creature who flew fast, weighed more than a hundred tons, boasted heavy armor and high magic resistance, and could both cast spells and fight melee battles. More importantly, the white dragons were the freaks among the five-color dragons. Such dragons generally lived on the snowfields. Probably because Tiamat, the God of the Dragons, didnt like them, they had a low intelligence among dragons and sometimes even only displayed animalistic behavior. But as the saying went, when one window was closed, another window might be opened. After they sacrificed their intelligence, the white dragons had even hardier bodies. They had super armor, super magic resistance, and super melee combat abilities. The only spell they knew was Ice Breath, but it was very powerful. They would also go crazy when they saw blood. They were the strongest warriors among the dragons. Even the platinum dragons, who were experts in melee battles, would rather not fight them in head-on clashes. It was rather natural that the Spatial Magic Tower found it tricky to deal with an adult white dragon. That was because all the destructive spells in this school had a delay. Spatial magic could destroy anything, but activating it took too long. In battles between same-level individuals, such spells could easily be predicted and counterattacked. Paine, for one, was very good at spatial magic and killed thousands of players with one Dimensional Slash. But it was only because his level was much higher. It was very easy for Nia, an angel on the same level as him, to predict and dodge such attacks. The black angel did not dare to use spatial magic against Nia at all in their battle. Therefore, even though spatial magic was the most destructive of all, it was not as effective as evoking magic. Simplicity meant beauty and power. If your target is a white dragon, you shouldve invited a Legendary Mage. Roland understood their intention, but it only made him more suspicious. Im just a Master Mage. I dont think I can be of any help. We need your self-imploding fireball, said the elder. The white dragon has high magic resistance. Regular evoking spells cannot break through its scales at all. However, we found that your fireball could do that after examining its model. Roland was even more confused. If you already know the model of the fireball, you can totally use it yourself. Is it necessary to ask for my help? Ours isnt powerful enough. The elder from the Spatial Magic Tower smiled bitterly. Were all dedicated to spatial magic. Although we can use Inferior Fireball, we cant create one more than three meters in diameter. It was not unusual for an adult white dragon to grow to thirty or forty meters long, so a fireball three meters in diameter really wasnt powerful enough. After all, the target had super armor and magic resistance. I dont have much confidence either. Roland thought for a moment and said, I can expand a fireball to eight meters in diameter, but it will take several seconds for me to prepare. We know that very well, so we will help you contain the dragon for at least ten seconds. Roland frowned. Wait, spatial magic is even more destructive. Spatial crevices can cut apart any object in the main plane. If you can control the dragon for ten seconds, there will be enough time for you to cut it into pieces with spells like Dimensional Slash, wont there? The elder said with a bitter smile, Actually, another feature of the dragon is that its immune to spatial magic. How is that possible? Roland was stunned. Having read a lot of books on magic, he had picked up most of the common knowledge on magic. He knew that, while the cutting of the spatial crevices was caused by magic, it was essentially a physical attack. How could anything be immune to physical attacks? The elder heaved a sigh and said, It all started more than a hundred years ago. A hundred years earlier, a mentor in the Spatial Magic Tower picked up a white dragon egg and incubated it. This young white dragon was originally an unintelligent beast, but as it lived with human beings, it gradually picked up more wisdom. This white dragon also treated its hatcher as a father and listened to his every command. The mentor loved doing magic experiments, and the young white dragon became his experiment subject. Eventually, he was able to create a void white dragon. Any spatial magic power would be obliterated when it approached the white dragon. The white dragon was supposedly a secret weapon of the Spatial Magic Tower, but one day, the mentor died. Ever since then, the white dragon had been unrestrained and lawless. The Spatial Magic Tower was unable to control it, and it ran off in the end. The white dragon even hated the Spatial Magic Tower and came to sabotage the city every other year. Many people in the city were panicked. Its indeed a problem. Roland thought for a moment. But Im just a Master. Its still very challenging for me to deal with the white dragon. Can I give it some thought? The elder smiled. No problem at all. After leaving the Council of Elders, Roland checked in at a random hotel in the city. The black cat was still with them at this time. Roland asked her, Maromatha, does the white dragon often come to the Spatial Magic Tower for trouble? Yes. Ive seen it many times since my childhood. Its probably coming again soon. But I dont think the residents in your city are very nervous! The black cat gently stroked her jaw. Because it only takes a couple of people every two to three years. By comparison, the nobles in the city execute a hundred times more people over trivial matters every year. It meant this man-eating white dragon was even more merciful than the nobles! How hilarious. Maromatha looked at Marilyn. Why dont we go back to the clan and take a look? It isnt very far away. Marilyn was rather tempted. But at this moment, Roland said casually, Weve traveled for almost two weeks. Lets take a break and go there tomorrow. Sounds good. The black cat was rather tired herself. She smiled and said, Then Ill come to you tomorrow. The black cat turned around and left. Roland picked up a book on the edge of the bed. Marilyn, on the other hand, lay down at the corner of her room and slept for a while on a blanket. As it was getting dark, Marilyn strolled into the bathroom and took a shower. As a catgirl, Marilyn had a strong compulsion for personal hygiene. Every time she took a shower, she would carefully wipe her body with a towel without leaving any spot unclean. Therefore, she usually spent a lot of time in the bathroom. It usually took an hour. If she felt that she was dirty, it might take more than two hours. Roland waited for a moment and then knocked on the bathroom door. He then said in a low voice, Marilyn, come out. I need to talk to you. Marilyn was wiping her body in the room. The hair on her tail bristled as she stuttered, M-Master, d-do you w-want me to warm your bed for you?. Marilyn had always trusted Roland. But Roland had never talked to her while she was in the shower. Besides, what could a master possibly want a showering catgirl to do? It was impossible for a man not to be tempted by a cute, beautiful catgirl; he might even turn into an evil monster. No, what are you thinking? Roland felt that something must be wrong with this catgirls head. She seemed even dumber than when they first met. Was there something wrong with his education? Frightened, Marilyn said from the bathroom, Master, dont take me. My breasts arent as prominent as the queens. You wont have any feelings for me. Put on your clothes and come out! Roland lost his patience, and his tone became serious. Oh. Marilyns timid voice sounded. Very soon, she came out of the bathroom. Her silver hair was still wet, and she looked rather undetermined as if she had given up struggling Roland approached her. Holding her flat chest, Marilyn stepped back quickly until her back hit the wall. She didnt resist. Roland stood right before her. They were very close to each other, and Marilyns heart was pounding. Roland lowered his head. Her body shivered. In a moment, Ill ask you to buy some stuff. Youll pretend to go shopping and then activate stealth in a dark corner. Then, youll get out of the city before the city gate closes. Marilyn looked at Roland in surprise. Arent we here for a mission? It doesnt look right. Roland shook his head helplessly. I had considered this before we came, but I didnt think that the Spatial Magic Tower would do anything because its allied with the Red Magic Tower Well, its also because I was too greedy for their four spell models. I dont know what youre talking about, said Marilyn with a smile. But Ill do anything that you ask me to do. Roland was briefly stunned, as Marilyn seemed gentle and beautiful at this moment. Ten minutes later, Marilyn walked out of the room and turned back, asking naturally, Master, did you ask me to buy some melons and barbecue? Can I buy something for myself? Iw Whatever you want, but dont come back too late. Okay. Marilyn hopped away from the hotel delightedly. Roland threw out a magic spider that was almost completely transparent. It crawled out of the window and followed Marilyn. Very soon, the magic spider caught two plain-looking men tailing Marilyn. They were the kind of people that wouldnt draw any attention when standing in a crowd. As I expected. Roland raised an eyebrow. He had sensed that something wasnt right when the elder of the Spatial Magic Tower talked about what the white dragon did. It might be hard for an individual Legendary Mage to kill a white dragon, but for the Spatial Magic Tower, an organization of Mages, it wasnt difficult to do. Even so, the white dragon had survived for such a long time and would feed on the citizens regularly. It was understandable that professionals werent scared of the white dragon. But even the average citizens didnt seem to fear the white dragon, which was highly abnormal. In any case, Roland intended to leave this place first. Chapter 571 - Reasons Many players liked adventures. The more thrilling, the better. Actually, Roland liked them too. But that was only on the premise that he and other players could be resurrected. He would rather not get Marilyn involved in any danger. So, he asked the catgirl to go first. Marilyn might be bad at many things, but escaping was definitely her strong suit. She wandered on the street for a while and then suddenly vanished from the crowd. Her stalkers were human beings who couldnt track her down by smell. Also, there were intense, assorted smells on this populated street full of restaurants and spice stores. Even a vulpera couldnt have detected her there. After Marilyn disappeared, the two followers both returned to the hotel and met the other three people who were keeping an eye on Roland. They didnt look very anxious, so it was obvious that their main target was Roland, not the catgirl. Through the magic spider, Roland saw their appearances and learned where they were. Next, Roland had to get himself out of here. First, Roland lit up the candles in the room and projected his shadow to the window. A moment later, he squatted, and a magic puppet rose where he stood just now, casting a new shadow to the window. Roland, on the other hand, secretly opened the door and slipped away to the top of the hotel. Those people were only watching over him from outside of the hotel. They wouldnt follow him as long as he didnt leave the hotel. There was nobody on the rooftop. Roland cast Slow Landing on himself to reduce his weight as much as possible. Then, he slightly exerted his strength and jumped across the rooftops as if he were a Rogue. Of course, he wasnt as fast as a real Rogue when he moved on the uneven rooftops, and his footsteps could be quite noisy. Perhaps because his watchers vision was limited and the magic puppets shadow deceived them, Roland didnt run into any of them on his way to the city gate via the rooftops. After he was half a kilometer from the hotel, Roland finally jumped to a dark street from the rooftop. He then changed his clothes and slowly walked to the city gate. The city gate wasnt closed yet. In fact, it wouldve been faster for him if he used flash or teleportation. However, this was the Spatial Magic Tower, which had multiple Legendary Mages who were adept at spatial magic. They might detect the waves if he recklessly used spatial magic, so Roland would rather not use that. After paying one bronze coin as the toll, Roland left the city. Before he left, the guards kindly warned him that he would likely be frozen in the desert in the middle of the night if he wasnt prepared. Roland thanked the guards. He strolled to the north outside of the city for a while, and Marilyn, who had waited for a long time, emerged from behind a hill. She was rather delighted to see Roland. She hopped around him and asked, Master, are we going home with that swoosh spell? She was referring to multiple teleportation. Roland shook his head and looked at the city behind him. He said, Were still in the territory of the Spatial Magic Tower. The magic array for multiple teleportation will be too noisy. The Legendary Mages can reach us in no more than one second after they detect it. So, we have to walk away on foot first. Marilyn felt slightly cold. As the night got deeper, the temperature in the desert would drop. Holding her arms, she asked, How much farther must we walk? By my personal estimation, at least thirty kilometers. Roland heaved a sigh. I really shouldnt have been greedy about the four spell models. Marilyn stared at Roland in silence. Although catgirls all longed for freedom, she had learned that shed better listen to Roland in the case of emergencies. She wasnt very strong or knowledgeable, and if she was too self-willed, she might get herself and other people killed. She felt rather guilty over getting her friends killed last time. Sometimes, she woke up in tears at night. After Roland heaved a sigh, he confirmed the direction and led the catgirl on foot. It was truly cold at night in the desert, but Roland didnt feel much as a professional who had a strong body. The catgirl, on the other hand, wasnt strong because of her low level, and she trembled with cold after walking for a while. Roland took a robe out of the system Backpack and put it on her, and she finally felt much better. A journey in the desert without camels was even harder than they thought. Roland had thought that they could walk thirty kilometers in two to three hours, but they failed to walk that far after five. It was almost dawn. The catgirl kept yawning. She also meowed now and then. Seeing that she was really exhausted, Roland thought for a moment and built a small rock building under the sand. In case anyone noticed something wrong, he covered it with the sand. Hiding deep inside the sand, and with Roland next to her, the catgirl felt a strong sense of safety. She had some food and water and laid a blanket on the floor, falling asleep very soon. Roland, on the other hand, suppressed his magic waves to the minimum and then browsed the forum. In Tebesia twenty kilometers away, Maromatha got up early and came to visit Roland and Marilyn. But nobody answered the door after a long time. At first, she thought that Roland and Marilyn overdid it the previous night and they were still too tired to get up. Then she realized that this wasnt right. After opening the door forcefully, she found neither Roland nor Marilyn in the room but only a weird magic puppet that was sitting on the bed motionlessly. What happened here? Maromatha found it weird. She spoke to the receptionist, only to learn that Marilyn never returned after she left the previous night, and that the male Mage never left the hotel at all. Theyre gone? Maromatha was rather confused. The Spatial Magic Tower was so friendly to him. Why did he leave so secretively? She decided to ask the elder who was responsible for their reception the previous day and see if anything happened. Seeing that Maromatha came out with a weird look on her face, the few human beings who had been monitoring Roland knew that something was wrong. They hurriedly checked the room upstairs, only to see nothing but a magic puppet in the room. So, the shadow that they had been watching for a whole night was actually left by this puppet. They had a feeling that they would be gravely punished for their mistake. On the other hand, Maromatha went to the elder from yesterday and said, Roland has left. Elder, did anything happen between you two? Roland has left? The elders hand that was holding the book trembled. He moved his eyes from the book to Maromatha. Thats not right. We had a nice conversation yesterday. Maromatha, you go back now. I have work to do Right, go look for Roland if you have time. Maybe hes just playing hide and seek with us. Maromatha had the feeling that the elder was hiding something and didnt tell her the whole truth. However, from her perspective, it was beyond unthinkable that the Spatial Magic Tower would plot against Roland. After Maromatha left, this elder convened a meeting of the elders. Hearing that Roland had left, those people instantly burst into fury. That boy is an ungrateful wolf. We gave him so many valuable things, and he simply ran off? What do we do? Should we bring him back? Of course we have to bring him back. How else can we read the coordinates of the alternate dimension hes from? At this moment, an elder who looked slightly younger asked, I have a question. How did Roland know that there was a conspiracy against him? Everybody looked at the elder who was in touch with Roland the previous day. This elder gently tapped the table and said, I was very gentle with him during our conversation. I dont think it was my doing. Then whose doing was it? someone asked. Did he spot the people we sent out to monitor him? Its possible. Now that Roland has been alerted, we no longer need to focus on him. We can totally lure in another Golden Son. But based on my investigation, Roland is the strongest of the Golden Sons at this moment, and he knows our spatial magic. If we want to learn about an alternate world, we have to count on him. I agree that Roland is a necessary tool for us, said an old man with a goatee. Ive investigated it. According to them, the Golden Sons dont have magic in the dimension theyre from, but only something called technology. However, it has many restrictions and is not easy to use. In any case, it will be as easy as pie for us to conquer an alternate world that is a magic desert, wont it? The world of the Golden Sons is wonderful. To figure out its coordinates, Roland will be the key. He understands spatial magic. Even if hes too stubborn to confess the coordinates, we can still infer them by the spatial aura that he carries. Everybody will go out and look for Roland. I dont think he dares to teleport himself away with spatial magic yet. Hes too smart to overlook the possibility that we can detect him, so he cant be far away. Ill ask the white dragon to join the search later, said the Great Elder of the Monochrome Magic Tower who was sitting in the most honorable seat. I had planned to catch Roland with the white dragon as a cover-up. Then, the Monochrome Magic Tower wouldnt be to blame for his disappearance, and there wouldnt be conflicts between us and the Red Magic Tower. I didnt expect that Roland would run off on his own. You have so many people with you, yet you cant even keep track of a single individual. Are you not ashamed? An old man shouted angrily. All the elders put on a bitter smile. Its not time to assign blame yet, said the Great Elder again. Roland must be captured. Whoever catches him will be generously rewarded with a special spell model, if you know what I mean. The Legendary Spatial Mages all stood up. Even Legendary Mages didnt know all the spell models in existence. Many unique spell models, as well as special models of other schools, were kept in the Spatial Magic Tower. They could only be learned with contributions. Even the Great Elder himself hadnt learned all the models yet. Those models had all been specifically modified. They represented the essence of this Magic Tower. Very soon, an enormous white dragon hovered above the city and then flew away. Many people found it odd and wondered why the white dragon had flown off without hunting anyone. Then, several Mages took off and flew to various corners of the city. Besides the Legendary Mages, many mentors and apprentices were mobilized too. Rolands image had even been delivered to all of them. At this moment, Roland and the catgirl were still resting below the sand. Not long before, several Mages had flown overhead. However, none of those flying Mages knew that the targets they sought were right in the sand below them. Seeing so many Mages taking to the sky, Maromatha couldnt help but ask her mentor what happened. But her mentor simply told her, Roland stole a unique spell model of the Spatial Magic Tower and fled. All the Mages are obliged to capture him. Maromatha was frightened to hear that. It was almost as if thunder just rumbled next to her ears. She didnt even think that was possible! She knew a thing or two about Roland, who seemed approachable on the surface but was actually very proud. Could such a person have stolen someone elses spell model? Unlikely. But in any case, it was an undeniable fact that Roland was wanted by the Spatial Magic Tower. What should she do? Should she help Roland, or should she try to catch him along with her teachers and classmates? Thinking for a moment, Maromatha decided that it would be best if she simply stayed out of this. Whoever she sided with, she would feel sorry for the other. She sighed gloomily, closed the door, and took a rest. Roland sensed it when Mages flew high above. The magic waves caused by flying spells were very powerful. But it wasnt really beyond his expectation, or he wouldnt have been hiding in the sand. Very soon, Marilyn woke up. She ate some food and asked, Master, how much longer will we stay here? Until midnight. Mages were generally not nocturnal, so it was less likely for them to discover Roland if he acted at night. Besides, a lot of things could be veiled by darkness. It was already late afternoon, and it wouldnt be hard to wait until night. Roland could browse on the forum. It was very easy to kill time just chatting with the hilarious netizens and watching them bicker. The catgirl was even more skilled at killing time. For catgirls, it was rather enjoyable just to play with their own tails if they really had nothing to do, as long as there was enough food in their stomachs. Just like that, Roland and the catgirl patiently waited for nightfall beneath the sand and simply let the Mages overhead fly back and forth. When night fell, the searching Mages, who were exhausted after a day of flying, mostly chose to take a break. At this moment, Roland and Marilyn got out of the sand and continued their nighttime trek. After walking for another three hours, Roland felt that he was far away enough from the Spatial Magic Tower, so he painted a multiple teleportation array with magic materials. Marilyn, on the other hand, squatted and looked around, on high alert. Although she was too weak to really spot any danger, it at least showed her attitude, which was much more important than ones capabilities. After drawing the teleportation array, Roland gestured for Marilyn to come over. When both of them were standing in the magic array, Roland activated the teleportation without hesitation. Multiple teleportation was much more complicated than single teleportation, so it would take a few seconds to activate it. It was also the reason why Roland didnt start the teleportation until after walking for three hours. Knowing a lot about spatial magic, he was quite aware of what the Spatial Mages were capable of. The one-time magic array on the ground emanated blue light which grew brighter and brighter until the two of them were consumed. Weve successfully escaped. Roland heaved a sigh of relief. However, the moment the array was fully activated, a brownish hand extended out of the void and laid on Rolands shoulder. Also, strange spatial waves spread and collided with Rolands multiple teleportation, resulting in what appeared to be spatial fractures. Such fractures could even be seen by the naked eye. Dense ripples appeared on Roland and Marilyn almost as if they were reflections in a lake distorted by a gentle breeze. Fortunately, it was only a phenomenon caused by the twisting of space, and they werent really greatly hurt. Of course, it was inevitable that they were nauseated. Disrupted by the waves, Rolands multiple teleportation teetered on falling apart. At the same time, another hand extended out of the void toward Marilyns shoulder. Gotcha! A devilish whisper echoed. Marilyns pupils were quickly shrinking in fear. She wanted to run, but she was stuck in the spatial bubble of multiple teleportation and couldnt move at all. Catgirls were a curious yet timid group of creatures. Marilyn almost cried when a hand from the void reached for her shoulder. Her body was even trembling fearfully. Right when the hand was about to touch her, Roland took action. He seized the hand that was reaching for Marilyn with his right hand, and grabbed the hand that was on his own shoulder with his left, before he tried to push them back. Then, he fully spread out his mental power and established a huge energy wall that blocked most of the enemys spatial waves. The multiple teleportation that was soon to be ended was running again. Then, Marilyn disappeared, but Roland stayed where he was. He had already tried his best to teleport Marilyn away safely during the collision of spatial bubbles. Of course, Roland had paid a price for that. Two streams of blood flowed out of his nostrils half a second later. He felt that his head was spinning, but it didnt matter. The worst he could expect was a level drop after death. Anything was fine if Marilyn was teleported back safely. He couldnt help but heave a sigh of relief at the thought of that. At this moment, the person who was holding Rolands shoulder fully teleported here. He was an old man wearing yellow pajamas. Although Roland was clutching both of his hands, he was still smiling creepily. Young man, you should be sleeping instead of messing things up. This is no good! Narrowing his eyes, Roland unleashed his magic power. White frost and snow spread out quickly with him as the center. The sand within a fifty-meter radius was covered by a thin layer of ice. The temperature plummeted, and crystallized water formed two seconds later, floating in the air. The cold, caused entirely by magic power, had changed the environment instantly. If there was a thermometer here, it would show that the air temperature around Roland was about minus eighty degrees. Yet, the old man in the yellow pajama was completely unaffected. He even smiled. Lad, youre not weak, but this cant really pose a problem to me. You should be a good boy and come back with me. Youre more valuable if youre alive than if youre dead. Hearing that, Roland smiled too. Then, his body quickly transformed into one of ice in no more than a second. He had turned into water elements! Water was liquid at regular temperature. Roland had made the environment extremely cold exactly because he wanted to become a man of ice. Before the transformation, the yellow-pajamaed old man wasnt bothered even though Roland was holding his hands. However, now that Roland turned into ice, the skin Roland was touching turned burningly hot. Under normal circumstances, coldness and high temperatures felt different. However, if one touched something that was extremely dry and cold, one might have the same feeling as when they were burned. One would feel as if a boiling object were stuck to them, and the skin which was touched would develop blisters similar to those caused by burns. It was exactly how the yellow-pajamaed old man felt. He was slightly infuriated when his arms burned in Rolands hands. Then, transparent spatial membranes appeared on his arms and minced Rolands hands. The old man took the chance to step back, and Roland was forced to retreat too. After regaining balance, Roland chuckled at the fractures on his arms. Then, two new hands of ice generated in the next second. That was exactly the benefit of elementization. He could infinitely regenerate body parts as long as he had enough magic power. Meantime, as Roland turned into ice, the air got more and more freezing. The coldness further nourished Rolands elementized body and condensed it, forming a cycle. Of course, such a cycle wasnt really unlimited but was capped mostly by the elementized persons mental power. For a Master Mage who had full intelligence growth and high mental strength, the best he could do was transform the area within a five-kilometer radius into an arctic environment. Of course, the transformation couldnt be completed very quickly. It might take months if not a whole year. It was also the reason why the places that high-level Elemental Lords frequented usually had regional environmental anomalies. Looking at Roland, the old man seemed rather cautious. Impressive. As expected of an elite from the Red Magic Tower. You can do elementization, which even Alfred isnt capable of. But dont be thrilled just yet. My partners will be here any moment Roland snapped his fingers, and the area within a hundred-meter radius was covered by Dimensional Anchors. Transparent chains stabbed out of the void. How can an elemental creature use spells from other schools? There was fright in the old mans eyes. Thats impossible! Its true that elemental creatures cannot use spells of other attributes. I cannot use fire, wind, thunder, natural magic, or light and dark theurgy. Rolands icy face could barely show any expression, but his voice was as lighthearted as before. But space has no attributes. Space is everywhere. Were standing in a space right now. As a Mage who specializes in spatial magic, you dont understand that? Chapter 572 - There’s Nothing Romantic About Mages Beating Each Other Up Chapter 572 Theres Nothing Romantic About Mages Beating Each Other Up Elementization was one of Rolands several trump cards. They had seen many elemental creatures and Legendary Mages but the elementization of a human was a first for them. What were the special characteristics of elemental creatures? Complete single-elemental resistance. For example: fire elementals were born immune to fire magic, and if someone used fire magic on them, it would actually strengthen them. Also, elemental creatures gave the impression that they only knew a single type of elemental magic. For example, a fire elemental only knowing fire magic. They had never seen an elemental creature use other types of magic. But this was just a misconception. Because 99.9% of elemental creatures in the main plane were just creatures, not intelligent beings. They werent too different from magical beasts. Magical beasts only knew a limited variety of magic. This was the same for most elemental creatures on the main plane. But in essence, the truly intelligent elemental creatures knew how to use other non-elemental magic. Otherwise, the profession of Warlord or Sword Dancer would not be the strongest combat profession among the elves. And all the human Mages in the main plane were deceived by the common sense of the main plane, thinking that elemental creatures could not use magic outside of their own element. Looking around at the transparent chains of dimensional anchors emerging one after another, and then looking at the ice man in front of him, this Legendary Spatial Mage looked impatient. Youre beyond common sense. The old yellow-robed Mage looked irritated, and he knew things were a little bit troublesome. This would waste some more of his time. What is reasonable is real; that which is real is reasonable[1]. Roland smiled. This Elder of the Spatial Magic Tower, I wonder if you are willing to let me go? Hearing the threat in Rolands words, this yellow-robed old Mage looked at the extremely wide range of Dimensional Anchor around him. He took a deep breath and said with a cold look, Hehe, think a Dimensional Anchor can scare me off? Roland, its true that we asked you to come over to help with something. Theres no need to be so hostile. If you want help, just ask properly. Whats the point of setting me up? Roland said indifferently. And to send people out to chase after us immediately after we left, you guys are quite interesting! The Red Magic Tower is not where you should stay, the yellow-robed Mage said slowly. We can see that your body has the aura of space. If you specialize in spatial magic, your future achievements will be unlimited. We used such means just to keep you around and make you one of us. The yellow-robed Mage spoke with such sincerity that even he himself was almost moved. If it were a young child who was not deeply involved in the world, he would be suspicious, and even think that the other party was a little radical, but understandable. However, Roland was not so easily fooled. He only knew one thing; if they really wanted to rope him in, they should have done it the Red Magic Towers way, rather than sending people to spy on and capture him. I think if I were a fool, theres a chance Id become one of you. Roland gave a middle finger without hesitation. It was an uncivilized and rude act, but what need was there for civility and politeness toward the Spatial Magic Towers actions. Now, please, sir, Im leaving, peacefully and quietly. Good day to you and good day to me. What will happen if I move? Roland said seriously, I will kill you. You wouldnt dare, and you dont have that power. The yellow-robed Mage grunted. Im a Legendary Mage, youre just a Master Mage. Besides, even if I was killed by you, not to mention the Monochrome Magic Tower, the Red Magic Tower would take the initiative to hand you over to us. When Roland heard this, he chuckled. You are a Legend and I am only a Master, but I pose a threat to you now, Roland said rather smugly. If you were the Great Elder of the Red Magic Tower, would you not protect a genius who could threaten a Legend at the Master level? My potential is much higher than yours, got it!? Anyone who was slightly older always had a sense of urgency. It was the fear of being overtaken by the later generations. This was the same for the yellow-robed Mage. When he heard Rolands words, he knew that the young man in front of him was a top choice, both in terms of mentality and intelligence. Roland had a solid world view, which formed a tough spirit, and wouldnt just be encouraged by words from the outside. He also had enough intelligence to know his own strengths and be more aware of the path he wanted to take in the future. Such a young man, if he were to appear in their Monochrome Magic Tower, then naturally, they would also protect him at all costs. All the more reason why this young one should be destroyed if he couldnt become one of them. The yellow-robed Mages face was cold as he reached out and fired a small blue fireball. This would be none other than Rolands self-destructing fireball. The Goddess of Magic had previously released this spell model after it was offered and then withdrew it, but still, many Mages had seen it and learned it as well. Against the ice element, naturally, the fire element was the best, followed by light magic or divine magic. This fireball was as big as a basketball and flew extremely fast, and when it whirled past, the frost on the ground even vaporized. After firing the fireball, the yellow-robed mage also immediately used Spider Web as well as Mind Shock. None of the three spells were simple, especially the last two, which were mainly designed to make Roland lose his evasive ability. The fact that three different kinds of spells were instantly released in about half a second, and none of them were spatially based, all non-specialized magic, was proof enough of the yellow-robed Mages excellence. Even Roland could only instantly cast two different low-level spells. Just by looking at this move, one could tell that the yellow-robed Mages base strength was far stronger than Rolands. However this was still of little use. Mind Shock, mental magic, hit first though it was cast later. It rushed to Roland in an instant and then directly hit Rolands soul. Mind magic was a very practical type of suppression magic. Although its power wasnt great, its advantage was in its extreme speed. The colorless and invisible strike was quite stealthy, and even if it couldnt cause fatal damage to the opponent, if it hit, sending the opponent into a trance shouldnt be a problem. If it was used on an ordinary person, it would truly be a terrifying spell of soul-rending proportions. However, the mind magic that hit Roland didnt even cause a ripple. It was as if nothing had happened. The sight left the yellow-robed Mage a little puzzled. After that came Spider Web. The huge spider web pressed down on his head, and with neither able to use spatial magic or Teleportation, both the yellow-robed Mage and Rolands ability to dodge was quite poor. It looked like the giant net was about to hit Roland, but suddenly a wall of ice stood in front of Roland The giant web of spider silk stuck against the ice wall and frosted over quickly Finally, the blue fireball blasted over and exploded violently when it hit the thick wall of ice. The ice wall was blown to pieces and ice fragments flew everywhere. Because of the heat, a large amount of ice vaporized in a brief moment, forming a thick fog that spread in all directions. However, when this thick fog spread outward of ten meters, it quickly turned into snowflakes, snowing again because of the extremely cold surrounding environment. Both the yellow-robed Mage and Roland, who were in the middle of the thick fog, seemed to have their vision restricted. However, this was only an illusion; in addition to vision, Mages could also use mental threads to determine the situation around them. When the yellow-robed Mage found that the other two types of magic did not have an effect, and only the blue fireball had some success, he immediately changed his strategy and used only fire magic. Two blue fireballs coalesced in his left and right hands at the same time. Naturally, Roland wouldnt just be a sandbag. A dozen rounds of white ice cones emitted a whooshing sound and broke out from the thick fog. They hit the yellow-robed Mages blue Magic Shield and shattered into ice fragments. W Then the yellow-robed Mage fired two blue fireballs. Two violent, fiery explosions shattered the thick ice wall, and Roland was sent flying by the vaporwave. The half of his body made of ice exploded into ice fragments. But after landing, Rolands body of ice immediately recovered, and he instantly sent out three more ice walls to protect his body, while a dozen icy Hands of Magic descended from midair and frantically hammered the yellow-robed Mages Magic Shield. By infusing the elemental power of water into the spell model of Hand of Magic and changing some specific nodes, Roland was able to use the ice version of Hand of Magic. This was due to his thorough understanding of Hand of Magics spell model. Normal Mages didnt have the ability to transform spells so quickly. However, the yellow-robed Mage simply ignored the attack in front of him; the Hand of Magic attack was not enough to break his Magic Shield. He condensed two more blue fireballs and threw them out, and again, there was an explosion. Sensing with his mental power that Rolands body had been shattered in half again, he couldnt help but laugh out loud in delight. Roland, the small blue fireball is your masterpiece, and now youre going to die by it. Does it feel like destiny? Roland didnt answer, because he didnt have time to speak. This couldnt be helped. The power of the small blue fireball was too great. Fire and water countered each other, and the other party was a Legendary Mage who steadily overpowered him in strength, so it created the current, seemingly overwhelming situation. His body was blown to pieces, and then recovered, constantly repeating this process. Of course, he also kept fighting back with Hand of Magic and Ice Cone. He just couldnt break his opponents Magic Shield for the time being. You think I have no way to deal with you because the Dimensional Anchor limits my school of specialization? With a harsh laugh, the yellow-robed Mage threw two more blue fireballs. Dont think that you can cross levels to challenge us Legends just because you know some crooked magic. Once again, Rolands body was sent flying and even shattered into several pieces. But every time he landed, Rolands body of ice always recovered to what it was before in an instant. Elementization, so what! The yellow-robed Mage laughed and threw another blue fireball. So what if there is no fatal weakness? Rolands body was sent flying again, the blockage of the ice wall only minimizing the power of the small blue fireball explosion, but not stopping it all at once. Without your magic power, you are nothing! Dont tell me that you have more total magic power than us Legendary Mages. Roland remained silent, just silent and persistent, continuing to harass his opponent nonstop with the ice version of Hand of Magic. He had to do so. Roland had to interfere with his opponents casting rhythm, forcing his opponent to use only instantaneous magic. Because when the caster continuously chanted a certain powerful spell, it would affect the stability of the Magic Shield, and it would be easy for the spell to attack and break the Magic Shield. Therefore, it was most important to ensure the stability of the Magic Shield when the Mage was fighting. Because of this, the yellow-robed Mage didnt dare to perform an accumulative magic power attack. As a result, there was no way for him to coalesce the fireball to a radius of more than a meter. A blue fireball explosion of that magnitude was so terrifying that it could completely vaporize Rolands body of ice in one go. If that happened, Roland would surely be dead. And the yellow-robed Mage noticed this as well. He was a bit annoyed and felt tied up and rather irritated. After casually throwing a small blue fireball, he taunted, I have you to thank for this. If you hadnt turned in this terrifyingly powerful instant-cast Inferior Fireball, I wouldnt have such a strong and flexible attack. He wanted to use this method to interfere with Rolands willpower to fight Roland still did not answer, but instead returned with a dozen ice cones. The ice cones hit the yellow-robed Mages blue Magic Shield almost simultaneously, and although it shattered into ice fragments just like before from the extreme impact, this time a very faint ripple came from the Magic Shield, while the yellow-robed Mages body moved slightly. The two of them were using low-level spells, which didnt look intense at all, unlike Legendary Mages. The yellow-robed Legendary Mage just kept bombarding while Roland was constantly casting ice walls, using ice cones, and controlling the ice version of Hands of Magic to attack the opponents Magic Shield. Both sides were just blasting at each other non-stop, but the danger involved could only be seen by high-level Mages. In peoples impressions, the Mages battles were magnificent: colorful magical rays filled the entire sky, wide-range magic fell like a rainstorm, and between the swings of the wand, the sky and the earth broke apart and the sun and the moon were outshined. That kind of scenario was possible, but only if everything was prepared. Mages who were truly good at fighting fought closely, just like Roland and the yellow-robed Mage. It was plain and boring. The Mages who felt that they had the advantage would cast Dimensional Anchor first to prevent the enemy from escaping with Teleportation, then activate their Magic Shield, and then bombard the opponent with one or two aptly used low-level instant cast spells. In between this, depending on the situation, some buffs, debuffs, or supporting spells could be used to interfere with the opponent. If there was a more imaginative analogy, it would be two machine gunners hiding behind a thick bunker, holding down the trigger. Two dense streams of bullets constantly bombarding the opposite bunker until a gunner ran out of bullets or a bunker was eventually pierced through by the constant, dense fire. In this way, the victor would be determined. The rumbling explosions went on and on, accompanied by the grim taunts of the yellow-robed Mage. Half an hour. One hour. Rolands body of ice had been broken countless times, but until now, it had been able to recover extremely quickly. The yellow-robed Mages imposing manner turned from arrogance to slight agitation. A fireball was thrown, shattering the ice wall and Roland at the same time. A dozen icy Hand of Magic hammered the surface of his Magic Shield, and after a few densely packed attacks, the dozen icy Hand of Magic shattered because of the reactionary force. But new Hands of Magic formed a short distance away and flew over again, repeating the previous process. The yellow-robed Mage noticed that the ripples created when his Magic Shield was attacked were already noticeable. Roland, admit defeat. How much magic power do you have left to squander? As long as you admit defeat, I can guarantee that you can live. Otherwise, when your magic power runs out, it will be your death! Rolands sneer came from the other side of the thick fog. Elder of the Spatial Magic Tower, havent you noticed that the range of my ice domain is getting bigger and bigger? (1) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, German philosophe Chapter 573 - 1. There’s no title] Chapter 573 (1. Theres no title] The most troubling thing about elemental creatures was that the environment changed almost permanently where they lingered. The desert at night was cold enough, and after Roland turned into his ice-man form, the elemental creatures unique elemental field kept expanding. And Roland had the intention to do this, expanding the field a little faster than normal. A radius of a kilometer or so was now completely covered in frost. The temperature of the desert at night would drop to about minus 10 degrees, and now, the temperature near Roland had gradually reached minus 30 degrees. Such low temperatures were about as cold as room temperature for a Legendary Mage. Even if his physique was worse, he was still a professional. Ordinary people wearing more clothes could still withstand the temperature, so there was no reason why the Legendary Mage couldnt. And the Magic Shield itself could ensure that his body temperature wouldnt change. Whether temperature increased rapidly or dropped sharply. Looking at the frosty world stretching out of sight, the yellow-robed Mage sighed helplessly. He magic power was almost fumes at this point. Although the Self-Destructing Inferior Fireball was amazingly powerful, the magic power it consumed was also quite shocking. Moreover, the yellow-robed Mage was using version 1.0 of the fireball, while Rolands fireball had now evolved to version 2.3. More power, lower magic consumption, and faster magic condensation. It was true that the blue fireball restrained Rolands ice elemental form, but Roland had the field advantage. The desert itself was a low-temperature environment, and now there was a wide field of ice. An Inferior Fireball at best affected the temperature in a radius of more than ten meters, and the temperature would only rise for a short amount of time before the cold air around it pushed through. In such a cold environment, Rolands ice elemental form was getting stronger and stronger. The ice cone was also becoming more and more powerful. The opposite was true of the yellow-robed Mage. The vast majority of the Mages of this world could not regenerate magic power in battle. They needed to meditate to regenerate magic power. Either that or chug alchemy potions, which was what the players called blue potions. At this point, the yellow-robed Mage had felt the amount of magic power in his body dwindling, and the basic magic elements in the air were transforming into ice elements at a rather fast rate. The transformation of ice elements into fire elements required an additional procedure, which would increase his magic power consumption even more. He threw another fireball, resulting in an explosion just like before. Roland, like before, was sent flying by the explosion. But this time, he only broke one leg made of ice, instead of shattering like before. You lose, Legendary Mage. Roland stood up from the ground, and his left leg recovered in a flash. A dozen larger and thicker ice cones appeared in front of Roland. A new round of the iced Hands of Magic also descended from the air. The yellow-robed Mage looked quite bitter; he certainly knew he had lost. Along with the Dimensional Anchor limiting his instantaneous movement ability, the field of ice continued to convert the basic magic elements around him while continuing to lower the temperature of the air. As the temperature lowered further, it meant that to resist the cold, the consumption of Magic Shield would slightly increase. At the same time, the low temperature would replenish Rolands body of ice. One continued to weaken and the other slowly strengthened. The offense and defense had completely shifted at this point. The yellow-robed Mage regretted the moment when Roland used Dimensional Anchor. If he had been more decisive at the moment, he could have used all his strength to forcefully confront the spatial magic with spatial magic, and sparing the injury of his spirit, still managed to forcefully break through Dimensional Anchor. It was just that he had been careless and hadnt expected that after limiting the mobility of a spatial Mage, he, a proper Legendary Mage, actually couldnt defeat a young boy who hadnt long been a Master. It was clear that he had the advantage in terms of magic power, magic control ability, and even magic strength. It was clearly an overwhelming situation, but the tides were turned. This endless, regretful hate left him especially torn and even depressed. I concede. The yellow-robed Mage stood still, his gaze direct as he tried to look as dignified as possible. I can pay a high price to redeem my life. Roland stilled as he too pondered. The other party wanted to make him stay, and even had some killing intent toward him. Logically, Roland should just kill this yellow-robed Mage to tie all loose ends. But a lot of times, people shouldnt be too capricious, even in this game. Because this game was too real, so real that Roland thought it was a real world. Here, in addition to player friends, Roland also had NPC friends. Andonara, Vivian, Stephanie, and so on If the acquaintances he knew in Holleven were counted, there were at least hundreds of people who were connected to Roland. Killing the yellow-robed Mage would certainly be a relief, but the consequences could be very troublesome. A Legendary Mage, for any organization, was a nuclear bomb, a powerful aircraft carrier. For example, the bald eagles[1] nuclear bomb was stolen, their aircraft carrier was blown up, and it was an organization like the Whitewater Mercenary Corps[2] that did it. What would be the reaction of the bald eagle? They would probably send a mechanized army to blow up the mercenary corps till not even ashes could be found. By the same logic, if Roland killed the yellow-robed Mage There was indeed a good chance that the Red Magic Tower would pay a great price to protect Roland. But that would be all. Rolands friends and family would certainly not be within the protection of the Red Magic Tower. At that time, what the furious Spatial Magic Tower would do to the people of Delpon, Roland dared not imagine. So even though the other party harbored ill intentions and had made the first move, Roland really couldnt kill the other party. Then what price are you willing to pay to redeem your life? Since Roland couldnt kill, he could only try to take as much interest as possible to compensate for his gloomy, stifled mood. A ring with a nice amount of space attached, about a cubic meter or so. The yellow-robed age shook his left hand, and there was a ring with a colorless gem on his ring finger, a faint magical glow emitting from the gem. Who needs your portable space ring! We players have a Backpack of eight cubic meters. Roland was about to say that when he suddenly remembered something. Andonara didnt have a portable space yet. The players werent too fond of small spatial equipment because they had their Backpacks. But for the people of this world, portable spatial equipment was a very valuable item, and there was no more than three figures of such equipment in the world. It was probably about 70 pieces. And a cubic meter of spatial equipment was already quite big I should give it to Andonara. Okay. Roland agreed, then held out his right hand. The yellow-robed Mage sighed helplessly and took off the spatial ring on his left hand. The spatial ring also contained a lot of gold coins as well as gems, which was a large sum of money, and if it was given to Roland, his fortune would be sharply reduced by at least half. The yellow-robed Mage took the ring and reluctantly held it out, but when he was about to hand it over to Roland, he suddenly took it back, and at the same time the Magic Shield on his body was abruptly and substantially strengthened. Roland froze for a moment, and then instinctively covered his head. It was also at this time that the Dimensional Anchor Roland had set up earlier was broken. The transparent spatial chains around them broke inch by inch, turning into basic elemental particles and disappearing into the air. Four old Mages in gray robes teleported over and surrounded Roland and the yellow-robed Mage. These four were also Legendary. Oepmop, youre embarrassing, actually being defeated by a Master evoking Mage. You were just about to offer up spoils? You all came too late. Who would have thought that you couldnt even beat a little kid. After waiting for half a day and not seeing you come back, we came over here. The other three Mages laughed happily. Oepmop blushed slightly and said, Dont laugh, this kid is strange as hell. If it is a solo fight, you may not be able to do better than me. At those words, the four Mages who had just arrived immediately became serious. Oepmops ability was clear to them-he was very strong. In fact, he was a little stronger than the four of them, and only slightly inferior to the Great Elder. But such a man was actually defeated by a little guy at the Master level. This was quite interesting. And at this time, Roland recovered from his headache. Having his Dimensional Anchor forcefully dismantled, as the caster, he was naturally subject to the mental power backlash. But it only hurt for a while; the negative effects werent too great. Thankfully, he had a very large amount of mental power. This elementization The Red Magic Tower developed another trump card? How can he maintain Dimensional Anchor while elementized? And his mental power seems to be very high, similar to us Legends. This kid is indeed strange. Its true that hes different from normal Golden Sons. His spatial scent is strong. Capture him and make him spill the coordinates of the other dimension. Like the Great Elder said, just dont kill him. The four of them shouted in surprise, back and forth. Rolands situation was completely beyond their imagination. Mages were a curious profession, no less so than werecats. But the difference was that the werecats were deathly curious, while the Mages were inquisitively curious. Everything different about Roland was, in their eyes, extremely fresh, and even knowledge that could change the landscape of the magical world. Finishing their conversation, the four already started to gather their magic power and prepared to capture him. Roland felt the hairs all over his body stand on end. Although he was now in ice elemental form and had no hair, a similar feeling existed. The eyes of these four new Legendary Mages made him feel a chill on the inside and even a little nauseous. He remembered that in junior high school biology class, the whole class had dissected frogs. The look in his classmates eyes as he picked up the scalpel then, staring at the frog with intense curiosity tinged with cold cruelty, was almost identical to the expressions of these Mages. It was just that his classmates eyes were looking at the frog at the time, so he wasnt too scared, though he felt it deeply. And now, this kind of gaze, which was only encountered when dissecting frogs, fell on his own body. Four pairs no less! Roland instantly had a stress reaction and his hairs stood on end. Without saying a word, he took a magic brick from his Backpack in each of his hands and smashed them directly into the abdomen of his icy body. He didnt really want to use the magic brick if possible. It was effortless to make but time-consuming. Besides, the real use of the item was for a floating city chassis, not as a blue potion; it was too wasteful. By now, hed only saved about twenty blocks, and it pained him greatly to use even one. He had to use them now. What is it? As soon as the two magic bricks came out, they naturally attracted the attention of the five people on the opposite side. After all, the magic power content of the magic brick was so terrifying that they could naturally feel it. Boy, whats that youre holding A Legendary Mage shouted, but then Rolands strange appearance interrupted his words. The two white square bricks melted the moment they were set into Rolands abdomen. The white basic elemental particles that were so thick they were substantial formed something like a living slime, which spread from Rolands abdomen at great speed and wrapped around his entire body in less than two seconds. Roland then dropped to both knees with his head in his hands and let out a roar of pain. Countless ice prisms grew around him, and this growth spread rapidly around him. At the same time, a tornado with countless snowflakes suddenly appeared out of nowhere and enveloped Roland in it. The swirling white snowflakes completely swallowed Rolands figure. It was hard to see what was going on inside. But the air was getting denser and thicker with ice magic elements, making the five Legendary Mages a little anxious. Somethings not right, dont let him continue. Whoever knows Self-Destructing Inferior Fireball, accumulate power and give him two shots. Oepmop felt that something was wrong and immediately shouted instructions. His magic power was almost gone, and this was something he could no longer do, so he had to let someone else do it. A gray-robed old man with a more feminine aura flew into the air and condensed a blue fireball in each of his hands, each rising to about a meter in diameter after about two seconds or so of building power. And the snowy tornado on the ground also grew much larger. The ice elements in the air had started to feel a little sticky. Forcefully, he threw the two medium-sized fireballs of one meter in diameter. Five pairs of eyes watched them crash into the huge snowy tornado, followed by two huge, round, fiery explosions. The explosions sounded like thunder, and the terrifying expansion of the explosion completely shredded the snowy tornado, while the scorching heatwave melted the snow and ice, resulting in huge amounts of water vapor and forming a dense, high, dome-shaped fog cloud that filled an area of more than a hundred meters. Their anxiety was reduced slightly. Flying in the air, the gray-robed old man carefully moved to the top of the fog, using Lesser Whirlwind to try to blow the fog away and see the situation inside. But just then, a huge palm suddenly appeared out of the thick fog and rose high, carrying four wisps of residual fog between its fingers, forming four thin bands of trajectory, and slapped at the gray-robed Mage flying in the air. The gray-robed Mage in the air was startled and immediately teleported away. The giant palm fell short, slapping onto the icy ground with a loud, deep, muffled knocking sound, sending ice flying everywhere. It was clear that the sand was underneath the ice and snow, but this sound indicated that the layer of frost on top of the sand was already thick and hard. The watery fog was then once again crystallized by the cold air around it, turning into a heavy snowfall. In the thick snow, a huge shadow stood up. All five Legendary Mages showed their surprise. For the snow was gradually dispersing, and a terrible white giant stood before their eyes. Standing at least twenty-five meters tall, the ice elemental seemed to connect heaven and earth when viewed close-up, giving a strong sense of oppression. Elemental Lord! A gray-robed Mage muttered. It had been a long time since there had been an Elemental Lord on the main plane. The memories of Elemental Lords in this Mages brain were from his time as a magic apprentice. But that was over a hundred years ago. [1] USA [2] Parody of Blackwate Chapter 574 - Elemental Creatures in Their Domain Have Almost No Weaknesses The gray-robed Mage who had seen an Elemental Lord before looked a little stiff. Looking at this unbelievably large elemental creature, he felt like he had been transported back to his days as a youthful magic apprentice. That was also the year his teacher failed a summoning spell experiment and was killed by a wind Elemental Lord that was accidentally summoned. He was originally a summoning magic apprentice, but because the death of his master caused him to become afraid of summoning creatures, he switched departments to spatial magic. He chose it because he had heard that spatial Mages had the highest survival rate of all Mages. Although it was difficult to get started at first, once one stepped into the ranks of an official Mage and learned Teleportation, almost no one could kill them. Sure enough, after becoming a spatial Mage, his survivability was greatly improved. The students of the summoning department who were his contemporaries back then had all died, mostly at the hands of uncontrolled summoned beasts. The only one who was still alive was him, the one who switched departments. This was not to say that all the people in the summoning department were dead, just that his contemporaries were all dead. Summoning magic was still quite powerful later down the line. Although he had now become a Legendary Mage, the fear that had been hidden within him for nearly a century still bubbled up uncontrollably when he saw the Elemental Lord. Can we leave first? This gray-robed Mage looked at the huge ice and snow body that gradually appeared in the thick fog. I have a bad feeling. Greene, you coward! Oepmop, who had approached from the side, roared. We five Legends are here, so what if he turns into an Elemental Lord? Can we still not defeat a little guy? As Oepmop said, Legendary Mages were the pinnacle of battle power in the main plane, and only Demigods could overpower them. In the entire main plane, apart from a certain two angels running around, there was only one resident Demigod, the World Tree. And because it was a mythical creature, after the angels descended to the main plane, their strength would be suppressed by natural laws and greatly reduced. Their stats on the surface were only about a little better than a Legends. But in essence, the difference in combat power between the two sides was still very obvious. For example, several Legends of the Red Magic Tower suffered a great loss under the dark angel Parn. Angels who were already able to understand the power of natural laws were much better at understanding and using power than Legends, even at equal strength. In addition to these three mythical creatures, theoretically, Legendary Mages were without rival. After being shouted at so furiously, the Legendary Mage named Greene finally reacted. He was already a Legendary Mage, so he shouldnt be afraid of Elemental Lords anymore. As he was thinking that, the ice giant Roland had transformed into suddenly moved. He took two sudden steps forward, then leaned forward and slammed his fist down. The ice elemental that Roland was now transformed into was quite tall, and the distance between two steps was nearly thirty meters. From a distance, it seemed to move slowly, but in reality, it was extremely fast. The huge ice fist with a diameter of more than a meter slammed down, causing a terrifying sonic boom. Oepmops eyes went wide with fear. Many people were under the impression that the more massive the creature, the more sluggish and clumsy its movements. In most cases, this was true. A large body meant an extremely exaggerated weight. Large creatures wanting to have exaggerated speed and agility must be able to perform in bursts of power while bearing their enormous weight, but without causing damage to its body bearing the weight. Most flesh and blood creatures couldnt do this. But dragons could, and elemental creatures could. The ice Elemental Lord that Roland transformed into was very tall and looked very bulky. Its head was a large round ball of ice, its appearance was blurred, and only its eyes, mouth, and nose were slightly distinguishable. Its body was also round like a snowball, with an uneven surface. Its legs and hands were also connected by several snowballs of equal number. It looked round and fat. This Elemental Lord would be somewhat cute and unintimidating if it was about the same size as a human. But the deadly fact was, this thing was nearly thirty meters tall, and its body width reached a frightening eight meters or so. Even the cutest thing at such a size could cause megalophobia. Similarly, a cat is cute, but when enlarged into a tiger Humans would only be worthy to feed it food. So obviously, even if Rolands transformation into an Elemental Lord was quite hilarious, it could still make people feel extremely scared. An attack came crashing down on Oepmop, and he was so scared that he immediately activated Magic Shield while teleporting out of the attack range. The huge, round, icy fist broke the sound barrier as it smashed into the ice. The thick ice layer trembled, and countless fragments of ice splattered everywhere where the ice fist met the iced ground, landing with tinkling sounds. Oepmop looked at the terrifying sight from nearby and subconsciously patted his chest. His magic capacity was now running low, and the Magic Shield probably wouldnt be able to block such a punch. But without waiting for him to truly breathe a sigh of relief, the Elemental Lord that was still in a prone and hammered state suddenly raised its head and opened its mouth to let out a sudden roar. A circle of cold currents, visible to the naked eye as if they were small tornadoes, assaulted Oepmop like the howls of a banshee. It looked like wind, but this whirlwind was made up completely of ice elements. Oepmops Magic Shield was attacked by the extreme cold, emitting a creaking sound, and the outer layer of the shield rapidly frosted over. The Magic Shield would shatter at any moment. If Oepmop was taken aback a moment ago, he was now on the verge of being scared out of his wits. After another teleportation, he moved away from the Elemental Lord and shouted to his companions around him, Are you all just going to watch? Mess him up. The other three laughed, except for a certain gray-robed Legendary Mage who had past trauma. They had been wanting to laugh at Oepmop for a while now. This things magic power fluctuation is messy, the Mage flying in midair said. Obviously that boy cant harness such strong elemental power, hes already out of control. Hes probably already unconscious from the rampant mental power. As he spoke, the Elemental Lord heard the sound and turned back to stretch out his huge palm to grab overhead. However, the Mage only lightly flew upward a dozen meters and dodged it. The Elemental Lord opened its mouth again, and an extremely cold whirlwind spewed into the air at the gray-robed Mage as it roared. The gray-robed Mage did not move a muscle. The frost condensed on the Magic Shield with the same creaking sound. But the Mage was unmoved, not at all anxious. He was not out of mana, and this extreme cold attack alone did not affect him. You guys help out and control it. The Mage in midair condensed two fireballs with both hands once again. Wait for me to blow its shell off and rip that kid out. The three Legendary Mages next to him struck at the same time, and three long spatial rifts instantly cut off the Elemental Lords legs, as well as an arm. The Elemental Lords massive body collapsed, slumping to the ground with a roar of resignation and fury. Then two blue fireballs with a diameter of more than a meter hit at the same time. The violent explosion was mixed with a large amount of vaporized fog. Now that should melt him. The Legendary Mage in the air gently breathed out. He was finishing his sentence when suddenly a long ice blade broke through the fog, cutting a perfect semicircle and chopping at the Mage in the air. The Mage froze for a moment and immediately teleported to the ground more than twenty meters behind him. After the long white ice blade missed, a huge figure rushed out of the thick fog. Unlike the hulking, oval-shaped Elemental Lord from before, the ice figure in front of them was significantly smaller, only about fifteen meters tall. But it had a clear human appearance and a torso identical to that of a human. The five Legendary Mages all froze as the huge ice-man that rushed out was even faster than before. The Mage had just teleported to the ground and the ice-man had already rushed to a position more than twenty meters before him, striking with a forward vertical slash. Translucent, blue, and at least thirteen meters long, the ice blade chopped down from the air. It was fast and furious. The swinging trajectory of the ice blade was barely visible. But this Legendary Mage was not surprised or afraid; for Mages at their level, vision and dynamic visual acuity were no longer too important. They could sense the opponents intention to attack with mental power alone, scattered around them. He teleported back another thirty meters or so when the ice blade was about to hit. Then just a moment after his teleportation, the ice-man seemed to smile slightly It also teleported at the same time. Right as the Mage finished teleporting and alighted on the ground, he saw that the ice-man had also teleported at the same time, and it kept its blade in a downward swinging position. What the hell! With only that thought flashing through his head, the Mage was struck by the massive ice blade. The blade was taller than his entire body and almost as wide. The blade with its arching curve didnt so much as cleave as it did smash directly into his Magic Shield He was slammed into the ice with his shield, the ice blade hitting the ground completely, the massive mass impacting into the ice and then reverberating back. The ice blades nearly two-meter-long blade broke inch by inch, sending large chunks of ice and stone flying in all directions. With one blow, only a small part of the hilt of the ice blade was left. And the shattered ice blade fragments quickly grew where they landed, creaking and cackling to form a solid ice wall that was over ten meters long, over six meters high, and about two meters wide. Barnard! The other four Legendary Mages were shocked. They looked at the iceman, who was still temporarily in a forward step slashing pose, with shocked eyes. With such a large physique, it was surprising that he could also use Teleportation. And the timing of the spell was so well chosen, and the distance of the teleportation was so perfectly grasped. Careful, hes obviously intelligent now; the boys woken up. The old Legendary Mage named Greenes face was filled with shock as he teleported into midair and shouted. At the sound of his voice, Roland stood upright and swung his hands to the right as he gripped the hilt of his sword. During the swing, a large number of ice elements could be seen condensing on the hilt of the blade, and in less than half a second, the shattered blade had materialized again, while the blade slashed into this Mage who was talking in midair. He was sent flying like a baseball being struck. Unfortunately, the Legendary Mages Magic Shield wasnt easy to break, and Greene was only sent flying down to the ground, smashing many icicles before getting back up on his own. He was only a little dizzy, but not at all injured. Then the fifteen-meter tall ice-man seemed to frown. The ice-man at this time was Roland. The ridiculous giant Elemental Lord from before was just a special guard mechanism generated by the ice element itself after Rolands mental power went rampant. If the terrifying magic volume brought by one magic cube brick could be easily controlled by Roland, then the magic volume brought by two magic bricks was already beyond what Roland could control. It was too much. This was the reason why he had now become about fifteen meters tall; his mental power only allowed him to control so much cold magic; any more, and he would lose control. Oepmop was on the sidelines and saw that Greene was also sent flying. He finally became furious. What are you still looking at! Do something to get this kid, dead or alive. If we keep this up, the ice domain will continue to get bigger and it will be even harder for us to fight. Got it! Greene, who was already on his feet, and the other two Legendary Mages immediately began to fly high into the air. And one of them spread apart a Dimensional Anchor. It had a greater range than Rolands Dimensional Anchor and there were more translucent chains. This kid can teleport, so limit his mobility first. Well be on the back foot if hes this big, runs fast, and can teleport. As expected of a Legendary Mage, he had his own profound understanding of how to control a battle. Greene, get the summoned beasts to help. Greene nodded, and with a wave of his hands, three stone golems appeared in front of him. Although he majored in spatial magic, he would occasionally find time to practice summoning magic. After all, he was once a summoning apprentice, and he still had some affection for summoning magic. The three stone golems were quite tall, roughly coming up to the chin of Rolands ice giant form. As soon as these three stone golems appeared, they rushed at Roland. They didnt run as fast as Roland but managed to get in front of Greene and the other Mage. As for the other two Mages-one clapped his hands and a gray barrier directly enveloped Roland. Imprisonment, a level-five abjuration spell. It could protect the caster and also imprison ones enemies. Roland was inside violently slashing at the inner layer of the barrier with his ice blade, and soon the barrier cracked. The power of the ice element was simply too great for a non-specialists barrier to trap him for long. The three stone golems arrived just as the barrier broke, and they swarmed Roland the ice giant, using their advantage in numbers and weight to pounce on Roland, and pinned him to the ground. The four giants kept rolling on the ground. The other Mage kept making magical gestures with both hands, rather quickly, and two seconds later, finally finished casting the spell. A red light appeared in the black night sky above him, which then grew brighter and brighter, and about three seconds later, a burning meteor was seen falling diagonally from the sky, drawing a dark red flame trail. With great difficulty, Roland kicked away the three stone golems that had no intelligence, only instinct, and as soon as he looked up he saw the huge fire meteor smashing down on his head. Rumble! The terrifying impact crashed the ice surface into a large crater with a radius of at least thirty meters, and then the meteor also exploded, spreading flames around it in a radius of at least five hundred meters or so. The ice was scorched and a large amount of water vapor rose. Now he should be dead. The Mage who cast the fire meteor breathed in relief. The rest of the group had serious expressions and didnt look too confident. The flames in the pit quickly disappeared, and a large amount of water flowed to the bottom of the pit, followed by a humanoid water elemental standing upright once again. At the same time the water elementals body was gradually turning into ice. Damn! Elementization is too disgusting. Oepmop bristled in anger. The fear within Greens mind was once again amplified. We have no chance of winning if we fight in the domain of an elemental creature. How about going first, or at least fighting him outside the domain. The other three looked annoyed when they heard this. Chapter 575 - I’ll Die On My Own Chapter 575 Ill Die On My Own Once again, Greene was terrified of Elemental Lords. As long as they remained in their domain, they could resurrect almost infinitely. To kill them, the domain would have to be destroyed. Looking at Roland in the large pit, whose water elemental body had become solid again, all four Legendary Mages had the intention to retreat. Roland drew his ice blade out again and pointed it at the Legendary Mage floating in the air. This arrogant pose made the four Legendary Mages extremely sullen, but they could do nothing. How was this guy going to be killed when he couldnt even die from being hit on the head by a fire meteor? Though they had their eyes on the way he elementized and wanted to force the magical mark of the Golden Sons plane out of him, at worst, they could just capture him and backtrack the approximate location of the Golden Sons plane based on the strong spatial aura he carried. It was supposed to go smoothly After all, the other party was only a Master evoking Mage with a bit of spatial talent. But they didnt expect at all that Roland was strong to this extent. Five Legendary Mages attacked him from all sides, and all were helpless. Of course, this also had something to do with the fact that spatial Mages didnt have much combat power. After all, spatial Mages also had the title of Traveling Mages. Although the four of them had the intention of retreating, they couldnt bear the shame of simply leaving. When they returned and got asked Did the four of you take down Roland yet? How would they answer? Say that they were beaten by a young man at the Master level and ran off like rats? But the problem was that elementization was quite disgusting; it couldnt be beaten or damaged. It was also when they hesitated that a powerful spatial force suddenly and forcefully descended. The Dimensional Anchor that enveloped the place was forcibly ripped through. It was as if the Legendary Mage who had cast Dimensional Anchor earlier had been hit in the head with a heavy hammer, but fortunately, his mental power was strong and he was not injured. ver wa Then a Mage, also wearing gray robes, suddenly appeared in the middle of the four of them. This was also an old Mage, but compared to the other four Legendary Mages, his aura was more subdued, yet with a powerful oppressive force. If a comparison had to be made, it was the difference between a regular lion and a lion king People differed from each other, and Legendary Mages were different from each other too. And when they saw him, the four Legendary Mages who had the intention to retreat just now instantly became determined, as if they had found their backbone. This new Legendary Mage looked around and asked, Wheres Barnard? Timidly, Greene pointed to the spiky ice wall that was more than ten meters long. Great Elder, there. Probably dead. Bulls**t. The Great Elders azure eyes revealed his anger. Barnard minors in abjuration, he wont die that easily. Then his eyes fell on Roland. He looked at the elemental ice-man carrying the ice blade and chortled. I wondered why you all didnt come back after such a long time. I thought you had encountered something big, but such a small thing rendered you four Legends helpless? If this gets out, what will people think of our Spatial Magic Tower? Wont Alfred of the Red Magic Tower die laughing? Being lectured, the four men looked ashamed. Greene muttered, But the opponent can elementize. How do you fight something like that in its domain? Thats because youre not strong enough, the Great Elder of the Spatial Magic Tower sneered. Watch me, and learn. He then turned and pointed at Roland with a condescending and cold look. Mages Disjunction! Roland was on the ground, watching the enemy gain another man, and was thinking about his tactics for later. After all, there were more enemies and the battle plan had to be changed. But suddenly, the other party turned around after chatting with his four companions in the air and just pointed at him. Hmm? No magical fluctuations? As Roland was puzzled, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, which then became a swelling. It was like someone shoved an iron ball in his head. He couldnt feel any fluctuation of magic power. It was unusual. Even if he was controlled by the Spell Breaker with their special abilities, he could still feel the magic elements and fluctuations around him, he just couldnt cast spells for the moment. Now, he could not feel anything of the sort. A sharp pain in his body followed, and he felt something wrong with it. When he looked down, his body of ice had cracked while all the cracked parts were vaporizing into basic elemental particles and disappearing. The process was quite quick, just a couple of blinks and it was completely gone. The giant ice-man was gone, and even the ice domain now had a large circular bald spot. The thick layer of ice disappeared and the sandy ground was once again revealed. In reality, it wasnt just the ice elements; all the magic elemental particles had disappeared in this area-not a single one left. Exiting from Elemental Embodiment, Roland was forced back into his human form while spitting out blood. At this point, he was naked, and all of the magical equipment he had made himself was gone, with no scraps left. Feeling the absence of magic around him, Rolands brain frantically read the knowledge he had memorized in the past. A spell that matched the situation perfectly jumped out at him. Mages Disjunction! It wasnt the strongest spell, but it wouldnt be too much to say that it was the most disgusting spell. It could destroy all magical equipment below the grade of divine artifacts, and even had a very small chance of destroying divine artifacts. It was a nightmare for all Mages. For anyone who wore magic equipment, they would have to flee when they encountered this spell. It even had the special effect of removing all magical elements within a certain range for a short period. It could be said that when one encountered someone who had mastered Mages Disjunction, no one would want to be an enemy of this person if their strength wasnt much more overwhelming than the others. Haha, even his clothes are gone. But his asset is large, it should be worth quite a bit of money to the drows. It would be a loss to sell to the drows. His body contains the spatial scent, and dont forget our original plan. Im just saying. These words were said deliberately to Roland to break his will. But Roland was unmoved as he took his normal robe from his Backpack and draped it over himself. He then looked up at the Legendary Mage above. Since Roland transformed back into his human form, the ice domain around him was gradually shrinking up. At this moment, the long spiky wall of ice suddenly broke, and a person surrounded by a blue Magic Shield jumped out of it. It was Barnard. The men were quite surprised to see Barnard. Great, Barnard, youre actually okay. Of course Im fine. I minor in abjuration after all. Barnard flew up, then looked at Roland with a furious gaze. But this kid is really ruthless. Although that slash didnt hurt me, the quake throbbed in my soul, and I had no way to mobilize my magic power for a short time. Thats why I was trapped inside. Then he looked at Roland and snickered. Kid, youre quite impressive. Come with us obediently. If you are willing to sincerely submit to us and contribute the spatial coordinates of your home world, with your spatial talent and elementization ability, you can definitely become a part of our Magic Tower. Roland, of course, wouldnt believe him. If he dared to reveal the information that the other party wanted to know, he would definitely be trapped in the Spatial Magic Tower. The fact that the Golden Sons could be resurrected mustve been clear to them, so most likely they would imprison him for life in a special way. If it werent for the fact that souls were protected by the natural laws of the game, it would be likely that even his soul would be obliterated. When Roland didnt say anything, Barnard didnt think anything of it; he just snickered, and there was just a little more of a sinister look in his eyes. The Great Elder leaned down, looked at Roland, and said, Roland, come with us obediently. Theres no need to resist. There are many things that the weak have no right to decide. You are excellent and can become strong given time. Even though you Golden Sons have special laws to protect your souls, we have at least ten ways to keep you from being found and isolated from the material world forever. The corners of Rolands mouth pursed up like a sneer when he heard that. Does the Spatial Magic Tower believe in survival of the fittest? asked Roland rhetorically. The Great Elder nodded. Isnt that natural? Isnt that how it is at the Red Magic Tower? Maybe. Roland smiled. Survival of the fittest is the absolute truth in the world, but you have to at least cover it up a little. After all, youre a big organization, widely known, and cant be without some positive superficial image. I do hear that you Golden Sons dont really believe in that, the Great Elder said with a nod. Your immortality is rumored to be due to a gift from the Goddess of Life. But such a gift, I think, has a limit. After all, even a god cannot infinitely revive a large number of creatures. That way, there would be no death in this world. So your immortality is mostly related to something in your plane. Probably thinking that Roland was already like a turtle in a jar, the Great Elder thought Roland couldnt escape from the five Legendary Mages surrounding him, and one of them even knew Mages Disjunction, so how could he escape? So the Great Elder felt he could make his intentions known. So you have captured me to find out how to live forever? Roland understood now but had a new question. But why me? There are plenty of Golden Sons. Because of the Golden Sons, only you know spatial magic, the Great Elder said matter-of-factly, and only you can set up coordinates over there. Roland raised his middle finger, thinking more and more now that this was a real world. It was a universal gesture for all humans across the universe, across all planes, and the Great Elder immediately understood what it meant. It seems that you are stubborn The Great Elder was then about to strike. Then Roland was one step faster as he snapped his fingers and Dimensional Anchor was instantly unleashed. The absence of magic caused by the Mages Disjunction was timed, and now the magic elements in the surrounding were already flowing back. Looking at a translucent chain sticking out of the void, the Great Elder grunted. A deathbed struggle. His mental power erupted, spreading over the sky, and burst the Dimensional Anchor in less than two seconds. I advise you to The Great Elders pupils fiercely shrank, and for the first time, the previously calm and collected man exuded an exasperated emotion. Because at this time, Roland had already teleported to Oepmop and his hands were holding Oepmop in a tight embrace. Although a Magic Shield was separating the two, Roland still hooked onto the man. Rolands move to use Dimensional Anchor just now wasnt meant to limit the spatial mobility of these Legendary Mages. That was just a feint. He guessed that if he wanted to control Oepmop, then he must teleport over to do so, but with the abilities of these spatial Legendary Mages, they would definitely feel it when he wanted to teleport. This Great Elder in particular was clearly a great deal stronger than the other Legends. So he had to cover up his true intentions. And Dimensional Anchor was the best choice. There wasnt a single spatial Mage who didnt hate Dimensional Anchor, including Roland himself. Within the range of Dimensional Anchor, those who wanted to use their mental power to break through this spell would definitely have to concentrate on it, while Roland immediately teleported the moment the opponent broke through Dimensional Anchor and took advantage of the distraction. This way, there was very little chance of being intercepted himself. Sure enough, his plan worked. A brat who only plays careful tricks The Great Elder took a deep breath, not letting his anger control him. You will die a horrible death, I promise. Grasping Oepmop, Roland smiled at the Great Elder. No need to trouble yourself, Ill die on my own. What! The six Legendary Mages froze at the same time. Then they immediately understood. Oepmop, in particular, turned even paler, his existing magic power making it completely impossible for him to support a Magic Shield to block a Mages close-distance magic blast suicide. He tried to teleport, but it was too late. Rolands body shifted into a fire elemental, still a blue flame, and swelled rapidly as he finished his sentence. Mages Disjunction! the Great Elder of the Spatial Magic Tower pointed at Roland with an urgent look. Boom! Roland exploded. The hot blue flames swallowed Oepmop in a flash. This was when the effect of Mages Disjunction arrived. The blue flames that had just enveloped Oepmop suddenly disappeared. Rolands fire elemental form had disappeared without a trace, and only a blackened humanoid shape lay on the ground. Not long after, Rolands soul appeared at Oepmops side. A players soul was not normally visible to normal people, but the five people from the Monochrome Magic Tower, all of whom were Legends, could see Rolands soul. Roland noticed this too, and he raised his hand to wave at them. Exasperated, Barnard used a soul binding spell on Roland, which had absolutely no effect. With a provocative smile, Roland kept waving his hand, then his soul slowly became transparent and disappeared. The Great Elders face was as dark as ink. Greene landed from the air, kicked Oepmop who was on the ground, and after a moment, shook his head and said, Hes become charcoal, its hopeless. Where is Oepmops soul? asked Barnard, also landing Probably got pulled over to the Wall of the Faithless. Greenes tone became increasingly gloomy. They all fell silent at the same time. Most Mages were faithless, and if they didnt transform into a lich and didnt make a phylactery, they could easily be captured by the god of the underworld to hang on the Wall of the Faithless once they died. They would hang there for thousands and thousands of years. The ordinary faithless souls had low soul strength and would only suffer for a few decades before they were freed. The Mages had high soul strength and would keep screaming miserably for thousands of years: quite a sad thing to think about. I wonder if its too late to start believing in the Goddess of Magic! muttered Greene quietly. Chapter 576 - Man-Made Storms Are Coming Chapter 576 Man-Made Storms Are Coming Roland sat up from the altar of the Church of Life, his body naked. There was an old cleric next to him with a dumbfounded expression. It seemed to Roland that he had seen this situation somewhere before. He took out his robe from his Backpack and put it on, casting Language Proficiency on himself and asking, May I ask what this place is? Asala Village! This old cleric looked at Roland curiously. Might you be one of the rumored resurrectable Golden Sons? This was another continent, and while the reputation of the Golden Sons had spread all over, no players had come here. After all, why go that far when there were plenty of things to do, when they hadnt even finished exploring their birth point? The church was simple. It was a simple stone building with a small bust of the Life Goddess in the back, as well as an altar and several stone benches. It was no surprise to Roland to be resurrected in such a place. For he chose the nearest church to resurrect. The Church of Life was the number one faith followed by the Church of Light. Unlike the Church of Light, which liked to pile up in large and medium-sized cities, the Church of Life preferred to be rooted in smaller cities and towns. Of course, the Church of Life was naturally also in large cities, but they just wouldnt put that much effort put into it. A small, average-looking church would be built in the random corner of a larger city. With the rest of the resources left for the townships, a larger number of super small churches would be built. There wasnt a need for lots of clerics, just one or two who knew Healing and Detoxification. With this strategy, the Church of Life blossomed everywhere and became the largest religion in the world. Heres my donation. Roland placed a gold coin in the donation box at the front of the altar, then smiled at the old man. Sorry for scaring you. The old cleric shook his head. Roland walked out of the unadorned Church of Life and found this place was an oasis. There were many tents scattered around the area. Several campfires were surrounded by some camels that were down and resting, and many of the black-turbaned, travel-worn merchants were resting against them. The man in charge of the night watch for each caravan saw Roland coming out of the small church and immediately nudged his companion next to him. A dozen men soon woke up, staring warily at Roland. Roland didnt care about them as he took in the open space. He turned stone into mud and mud into stone. A stone square house was erected amidst the astonished gazes of the surrounding traveling merchants. It looked quite mysterious in the cool moonlight of the desert. Eventually, even the old cleric from the Church of Life came out to see it. Roland ignored their surprised looks as he walked into the house, then breathed a sigh of relief before sitting down and beginning to check his losses. His set of magic equipment was gone. It was a good thing he didnt take out any of the divine artifacts at the time. Mostly because they werent needed. In elementization, magic cap and magic regeneration speed were more important, so his self-made full magic regeneration equipment was more useful. Also, even if he had taken them out, these epic pieces of equipment might not have been destroyed. Against normal magic equipment, Mages Disjunction was insurmountable. But with epic equipment and above, there would be the argument of success rate. And the small round shield Roland valued most, the Button of the Goddess of Life, was almost impossible for a non-Demigod to destroy with Mages Disjunction. As for the loss of his self-made magic equipment, it was estimated to be around ten gold coins. This was over 100,000 RMB. It truly hurt. Then his level dropped by one level, from level 11 back to level 10. But it was a good thing that he had half of the experience at level 11 and didnt drop to level 9; this was most fortunate. Even so, Roland still felt the pain. That was a lot of experience. Without a new epic quest, trying to gain that amount of experience again by studying magic would probably take around a year or two. Monochrome Magic Tower, Im not done with you. Roland muttered glumly and was thinking about how to retaliate against the Monochrome Magic Tower when he suddenly noticed that his quest panel was glowing. A new quest? Roland opened it and then grinned. Special mission detected: The Ambition of the Monochrome Magic Tower Must Be Destroyed As NPCs, they want to come to the real world through magic; its time to teach them to be good people. Share the quest to more players now and mobilize aspiring players to take on this evil Magic Tower. Quest completion reward: a level 10 profession core skill (free choice) The system had given out a quest and even shown the reward. From this, it could be deduced that the person behind this game was most likely monitoring the games progress. As he thought of this, something suddenly occurred to Roland. Could he also be watched when he was getting intimate with Andonara and Vivian? The thought of that made his head spin. As someone who can bridge two worlds, they shouldnt be so uncultured. Probably. After getting goosebumps, Roland decided there wasnt much point in fixating on this any further, so he took a screenshot of the quest and posted it to the forum. Another Group Epic Quest. I wont review the specifics, theyre in the picture. A post that was just a short sentence and a picture, yet it still became the hottest hot topic. Almighty Roland is back to share experience, many thanks. Holy crap, another group epic. How can people differ from each other so much? Its not fair that I can hardly get a blue quest once a month and hes getting a purple quest all the time. You go on mercenary quests every day, either as a nobles bodyguard or escorting a merchant, how could you possibly encounter an epic-level quest. Roland is in contact with either kings or queens, and whats more, he knows angels. It would be strange if he didnt encounter epic quests. Are you saying that networking is important? Looks like youre not stupid, catching on so quickly. Rolands network of connections is probably beyond what we can imagine. Did no one discuss the quest? Screw over everyone with a gray name in the Monochrome Magic Tower, but the question is, where is the Monochrome Magic Tower? Read the quest description carefully, its on the other side of the sea. Theres a bunch of cute Smurfs? Holy sh*t, I almost sang it. The problem is how to get there. I probably know the opposite side of which sea its on. The distance is too great, its impossible to get there. Let Roland help us teleport? With so many people, it would be impossible to teleport all of us even if he spent all his fortune, with magic materials being so expensive; there are roughly one to two thousand people. I graduated with a marine engineering degree, have ten years of work experience and an extensive oceangoing experience, and I know how to build and maintain large wooden sailing ships. I am now enlisting fifty teammates to build a large Ming Dynasty treasure ship that can carry more than one hundred people. The other fifty people will be my corps members, required to be level 8 or above, and who are willing to contribute their strength. Holy sh*t, my respects, a bigshot that can actually build a boat. Ive got an idea. Does anyone know how to build a human-powered plane? The Warriors have a lot of endurance, and with the power provided by pedaling a bicycle, its probably no problem to pedal all day and night. Good advice. But its still too much to fly across the ocean. Then make it a double cabin, take turns pedaling. Bring enough water and food in your Backpack and you should be able to fly across the ocean in five or six days. I am impressed with your vivid imagination. What if we encounter an ocean storm? You can avoid it. You can see a black cloud with lightning drifting over from a distanceits not a ship. Even the old planes arent slow, just avoid it. I think its feasible. I know how to design these old human-powered planes, and I can even help you build the parts. If you have time, come to the wetlands and order from Ji An Studio. Needless to say, the players were surprisingly intelligent. Roland had been a little worried but was relieved to see that the players were building big ships and human-powered planes. In the Spatial Magic Tower, the Great Elders face was grim. Roland ran away and even killed Oepmop. What are your thoughts on this? Denounce the Red Magic Tower and tell them to hand over Roland. Dont be ridiculous. Roland is someone that the Red Magic Tower has focused on cultivating, theres no way they would just hand him over. But with the friendship of two Magic Towers at stake, isnt sacrificing Roland alone worth it to preserve our friendship? A bullsh*t friendship. If there were a friendship, we wouldnt have touched Roland. This man was too truthful. The Great Elder narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment as he asked, Do any of you have the spatial coordinates of Hollevin? They immediately understood what the Great Elder meant. The latter wanted to directly hold the people important to Roland hostage to force him or retaliate against him. Everyone frowned. Teleportation required coordinates to work. But Hollevin itself was a small and remote country, and most of them came from Fareins or from other big countries. They wouldnt even visit a remote place like that, confronted with their status. And then no one said anything. The Great Elder sighed. Now heres a mission: who wants to go to Hollevin and force Roland out? No one said anything. Roland was quite a disgusting Golden Son. Before the Great Elder had arrived, all five Legends were just barely on par with him. Then, when the Great Elder arrived, he even made him go crazy and kill Oepmop by blowing himself up. Roland could still resurrect; they didnt want to die, having become Legends with great difficulty. The only one who could overwhelm Roland now was the Great Elder. Mages Disjunction had an extremely strong counter effect on elementization. Looking at the fact that no one was willing to take up the task, the Great Elder sighed as he slowly said, Given the difficulties we are experiencing right now, I am personally convening an urgent issue. In five days, those who are willing to take up this task can learn Mages Disjunction directly without submitting their contributions. Who is in favor and who is against it? The crowd shook their heads, and they were even slightly delighted. Mages Disjunction was one of the three trump cards in the Spatial Magic Tower. It was also the most important and had always been learned only by the Great Elder of each term. The fact that he was now willing to let go of that skill meant that this time around, things were indeed troublesome. All the elders can learn the Mages Disjunction. I believe that with your wisdom and ability, you should be able to master it within five days, The Great Elder said indifferently. Mages Disjunction is not difficult to learn, and as long as you understand the principles and the philosophy, you can learn it straight away. The hard part is to control the scope and not to involve yourself in it. The crowd listened intently. After you learn Mages Disjunction, immediately activate your flying ships to go to Delpon, Hollevin, and bring back his friends and family. A hint of greed appeared in the eyes of the Great Elder. We want the magical coordinates of the Golden Sons plane, and we want to get our hands on his Elemental Embodiment even more. The same greed showed in the eyes of the elders. They had seen and experienced first-hand the power of Elemental Embodiment. It was nearly impossible to kill an Elemental Lord that was in its elemental domain without the means to ban magic. This was combat power and survival power in one. All right, meeting adjourned! The Great Elder stood up. Learn Mages Disjunction as quickly as possible. Later, Ill go to the Red Magic Tower and talk to Alfred personally to hold them off first and create enough time for you guys to act. At this time, Roland teleported to the capital of Fareins and found the First Princesss estate, and met Andonara. The clingy beauty in her thin nightgown pressed up against Rolands side, still full of joy despite being awakened. Roland told her in general terms what had happened earlier. Then Andonaras expression grew furious. She sneered, Roland, how do you get to the Spatial Magic Tower? You dont need to go to the Spatial Magic Tower, Ill deal with that part, Roland said as he touched Andonaras smooth, pretty face. You go back to Delpon and help me guard our home and estate. Originally, Andonara was quite angry, but the words our home calmed her down immediately. Okay, Andonara said after a moments thought, Ill take Stephanie there, too. No. Roland shook his head. Although she will be in a bit more danger without your protection, the people in the capital who would try to do her harm are far weaker than the Spatial Magic Tower. Andonara thought this made sense, and then she went out and spoke to Stephanie, who had woken up. Stephanie sighed. Roland offended the Spatial Magic Tower? Andonara said proudly, No, it was the Spatial Magic Tower that offended me and Roland. As the most powerful Legendary Great Swordsman in terms of combat power, plus the Heros bloodline, Andonara believed that she would never fear anyone again as long as Roland stood behind her. Stephanie was a little surprised. During Rolands absence, Andonara, beautiful as she was, had never been so confident and dazzling. When Roland came back, Andonara suddenly became more beautiful. Is this the kind of charm that only comes from a woman who has found true love? Stephanie pondered. Teleporting back to Delpon from the capital of Fareins, Andonara borrowed the Heros sword from her uncle Cage and then donned the armor and equipment Roland had made especially for her. Weight reduction, movement speed enhancement, increase in magic resistance, and a whole lot of other enchantments. She was almost armed to the teeth. Andonara, with the Heros sword on her waist and the blue spear in her right hand, smiled at Roland and said, Dont worry, Ill be at home. Roland teleported to the Red Magic Tower, where he was ready to complain. Over in the wetland, a large number of players left at almost the same time. They ran to Bluewater Harbor, where they were going to build a giant ship. A large wooden ship built in haste certainly wouldnt last; after all, unpainted ship materials dont soak in the water for long. But they didnt need to sail for long-as long as they could last more than ten days. So with materials, they could be frugal. This gave them a lot of room for choice of materials. And many more players were staying in the wetland. They were waiting for the human-powered planes to come out. They were going to the Monochrome Magic Tower for sure! Chapter 577 - All in a Rush for Time For players, a lot of things in the game werent so much about profit or loss. As long as it was interesting enough, or made them feel involved and immersed enough, they would be excited, even exhilarated to participate. The Ji An Studio in Wetland City soon published a detailed structural cutaway of the human-powered plane and even described a detailed process for making and polishing the parts. Any player with a few manual skills could put together a wooden human-powered plane with the construction diagram he made. Of course, there had to be some explanations for crafting specific materials, and Ji An Studio also exemplified a variety to show players how to go about choosing them. After becoming professionals, players were more physically and mentally capable than in reality. For example, when it came to the simple, basic manual work of sawing wood, the reality was that anyone with a decent amount of strength could saw, but whether the sawing was good, whether the cut was crooked, whether the speed was fastthat was another matter. And now that anyone who was a professional was considerably more powerful and had great control, many of the finer operations in manual labor had become extremely easy for them. So after Ji An Studios put out the human-powered plane construction plans, in less than a day, some craftmaster had already built the aircraft. As for sanding and staining, both processes were completely abandoned, as it was for one-time use only anyway. That night, some players had purchased a wooden double-cabin human-powered plane made by the crafts experts. These guys were in a hurry and didnt even wait for dawn to come; they set off in the night. As a result, half of the planes crashed while flying at night. Because they had no flying experience. With no light under the dark clouds at night, it was impossible to tell up from down and left from right, and half of the human-powered planes crashed in less than half an hour after takeoff. Their planes crashed and they died! These guys ended up resurrecting and laughing, exclaiming that it was so awesome, and went and bought a new human-powered plane and took to the air again. As for the 100 or so men who built the ship, it took them more than half a day to rush to Bluewater Harbor. They cut timber in the woods outside the city, making handmade carts under the direction of the marine engineer to carry the wood to port. The crafting players made different parts according to the marine engineers plan and then combined them to build a medium-sized wooden ship over 40 meters long and about nine meters wide in less than five days. Although I cant make the great Ming treasure ship, Im content to have built a ship like this. The marine engineer bigshot looked at the fresh wooden boat about to set sail and burst into tears. As a top graduate of marine engineering, his greatest wish was to build a Ming treasure ship himself, which would never be possible in reality, but in the game, it was already half-realized. It wasnt a Ming treasure ship, but it was at least a large wooden ship. Surely, there would be opportunities to build bigger ships in the future. The sailors in Bluewater Harbor, watching the ship come together from nothing in a few days little by little, were amazed. The ship might not sail for long, after all, none of the timbers had been dried and dry-painted, and it would be waterlogged in less than three months, but they saw a novel idea of shipbuilding that could build a medium-sized ship in just a few days; it was bound to be a good one, too, as long as the timbers were replaced with proper ones. Immediately, good sails were gifted, and some questions were asked about boat-building techniques. The bigshot answered them one by one. He wasnt afraid that others would learn his techniques; what he learned was taught in college anyway and was worthless to him. Trading obsolete technology for some good sails seemed like a pretty good deal to him. After all, these sails were also expensive if he had to buy them with gold coins. Roland was currently in the elders council chamber of the Red Magic Tower. Across from him sat the Great Elder. After hearing Rolands accusation, the Great Elder slammed the table and cursed, Those guys from the Spatial Magic Tower never change. It is said that over 300 years ago they once let the devils in to research spatial magic, causing a small country to be destroyed. Now they are actually interested in the plane of the Golden Sons, and they have even set their sights on you. Do they really think theres no one in the Red Magic Tower? Just as the Great Elder was fuming with rage, a guard came in from outside and said, Master, the Great Elder of the Spatial Magic Tower wants to see you. It was too much of a coincidence that just now they were talking about the Spatial Magic Tower and someone from there had come over. Roland and Alfred looked at each other, their expressions different. Roland had that ah, here we go look on his face. Alfred, on the other hand, looked annoyed like how dare he come! Invite him in, said Alfred with a sullen expression. The guard turned to leave, and not long after, the Great Elder of the Spatial Magic Tower walked in. The man smiled widely as he nodded to Alfred in greeting before looking to Roland and saying with a smile, Mr. Roland, thank you for escorting the traitor back to the Spatial Magic tower. He had this friendly and conciliatory attitude as if nothing had happened between him and Roland. This cheeky attitude alone made Roland think he might never be able to achieve this kind of movie-star-like acting in his life. Roland raised his eyebrows and smiled provocatively. He didnt speak. It wasnt his turn to speak with the Great Elder here. Great Elder Alfred stood up as he feigned a smile at the other man and invited him to sit down. Morton, what wind blew you over here. Morton sat down. He crossed his legs, shaking them gently as he said casually, Ive come over this time to talk about a cooperation with the Red Magic Tower. Theres no problem with cooperation, were allies! said Alfred in a kind tone, but then his tone suddenly changed and became somewhat aggressive. But before that, please explain properly why you have been inhumanely suppressing and harming our student, Roland! Morton gave a puzzled look. Suppressing and harming Roland, what? Looking at his puzzled expression that was even a hint aggrieved, Roland was extremely impressed. This persons skill in pretending to be stupid and cute had reached the peak of perfection. Alfred gave Morton a deadly stare. You are, after all, the Great Elder of the Spatial Magic Tower, you should assume responsibility. Is it interesting to act like a punk after doing something and pretend that nothing happened? Mortons expression became even more aggrieved. But we really dont know whats going on. The Great Elder sneered. Roland applauded softly from the sidelines. Even after being treated with such contempt by the two, Mortons expression still didnt change much. The Great Elder sneered for a moment and said, Morton, we straightforward men dont resort to insinuations. How do you want to compensate Roland? As I said, I dont even know what happened, so how do you expect me to pay for it. Morton threw up his hands with an innocent look on his face. Alfred finally ran out of patience with this, and he slammed his hands on the table and scolded, Morton, what exactly do you mean, thinking that all of us at the Red Magic Tower are fools? Im telling you, if you dont give an explanation and compensation, dont blame us at the Red Magic Tower for being unkind to you. Originally, Alfred, seeing as the two Magic Towers used to have a good relationship, would have convinced Roland not to make a big deal out of it as long as Morton gave in, apologized, and provided Roland some compensation. However, what Morton did was simply treat the Red Magic Tower like fools. Even the most sensible person would be infuriated when they encountered such a situation. Hearing Alfreds threat, Morton smiled lightly. I wandered around the Red Magic Tower on my way here, and I thought some of the places looked rather nice, so I sat there for a while, at the library, at the materials store, and such. Alfreds expression immediately became more furious. He vaguely understood the other mans meaning. Because the Spatial Magic Tower had a unique skill: they knew the delay magic array. Make something like a magic bomb and then delay it for a certain amount of time, days, or even months before unleashing it. The power of it was unbelievable and impossible to guard against. This kind of magic bomb was extremely well-concealed. it would be difficult to eliminate it under normal circumstances. Morton, with your actions, you have destroyed all tacit understanding between the Magic Towers. The Great Elder had calmed down completely, but there were times when complete calmness represented extreme anger. From this day forward, the Red Magic Tower will have no further involvement with the Monochrome Magic Tower. Looking into Alfreds slightly red eyes, Morton sighed. The two of them had known each other for sixty to seventy years. Their relationship was usually pretty good, but when it came to this kind of battle of ideas or magic paths, their friendship wasnt worth much. Morton was silent for a moment before he said, Give me ten days. During those ten days, I will stay at the Red Magic Tower, and after ten days I will give you an answer, good or bad. With that said, Morton smiled softly at Roland and turned to leave. When Morton left, the Great Elder flipped the table furiously. Legendary Mages were also quite strong. The thick wooden table crashed into the wall in pieces, shards of wood bouncing around the room. Both of them had Magic Shield activated, and many pieces of wood hit them and bounced away. The room crackled and rattled. Then there was a heavy gasp from Alfred. Roland sat quietly. He saw Alfreds dilemma and anger. After a long moment, Alfred said, Roland, Im sorry that Morton is threatening me with the safety of the entire Red Magic Tower. He would even put his own life on the line rather than let me help you get justice. Alfreds expression was one of shame. It was a dereliction of duty on the part of the entire Magic Tower that the student had been wronged, but there was no way for Alfred or the Magic Tower to help him avenge his grievances. Roland shook his head as he smiled slightly. Great Elder, youve done me a great favor by standing behind me so he cant just come and snatch me away. I know what hes up to, but in ten days, hell be one whos crying! The Great Elders eyes lit up in thought. How much time do you need? Ill get it for you. Chapter 578 - Is This a Monkey Show? Great Elder Alfred understood Rolands meaning He also remembered the power behind Roland. The Golden Sons, a group that couldnt die. Since you need ten days, then I will give you ten days. Alfred gently clapped his hands. But, I need something. If one day soon the Monochrome Magic Tower collapses, I want to get the spell model of Mages Disjunction, okay? The Great Elder of his own Magic Tower wasnt a do-gooder either. Roland took a deep breath. I will try my best. If there is no model of Mages Disjunction, I will give you the Self-Destructing Inferior Fireball that I have improved a lot upon. Alfred burst into laughter. Haha, deal! Although Mages Disjunction was extremely good, in the Great Elders opinion, Rolands Inferior Fireball was more practical. Magic apprentices could learn it, and the power of it could be large or small, freely adjustable. It could be a single target attack or a crowd attack. And it had pretty good magic resistance penetration ability. If improved to the pinnacle, the power of it would be completely comparable to Melfs meteors and god-slaying spell, but perhaps consume much less mental power and magic power. Such a spell was a must for every Mage to learn. Roland saw the Great Elder laughing, and he also became happy. In his opinion, if the Great Elder of the Spatial Magic Tower was delayed here for more than ten days, then things would go completely in his favor. First of all, in Rolands opinion, in the entire Spatial Magic Tower, only Great Elder Morton possessed combat ability. The other Spatial Magic Tower elders were not at all battle conscious. It was not that they were not powerful. Bullying low-level professionals, they could overwhelm most at a lower level than they were by using the mobility of spatial magic, appearing and disappearing like ghosts. But if they met those of similar strength and used this against those who werent any less talented than they were, these people would be quite useless. Even Roland, who had just reached Master not long ago, was able to use elementization to suppress five elders. If it were Andonara, a Legendary Great Swordsman with a Heros bloodline, not to mention five Spatial Magic Tower Great Elders, she would probably be able to kill ten of them easily. This was why as long as Morton was held back here, Andonara guarding Delpon was almost foolproof. The second reason was that a large number of players had already found a way to go to the Monochrome Magic Tower. In just three or four days, Wetland City had formed an industrial chain for manufacturing human-powered double-cabin planes. The players had perfectly inherited the construction and rapid manufacturing ability from the experts. The number of human-powered planes manufactured in Wetland City had reached a terrifying number of 300 planes per day. There were now more than 100,000 players in Wetland City, among which 40,000 non-combat professional players or semi-professional players were devoted to the great business of manufacturing human-powered double-cabin planes. From logging, transportation, parts-making, to final assembly, three assembly line operations were formed spontaneously. One by one, human-powered planes appeared and were bought by combat players waving their gold coins, and soon after, they were taxiing on the temporary paved runway outside the city and finally taking to the sky. Those who bought the planes were usually solo players. The human-powered planes werent that safe and they could easily be destroyed if something unfortunate happened, resulting in the players death and the planes ruin. The guilds that were concerned about this used the drawings posted to the forum by the maritime engineer and ran to Bluewater Harbor, built lots of large wooden ships, and then headed out to sea. It didnt matter if they didnt have seafaring experience. All they had to do was post on the forum and ask, and if that failed, then they could also use the browser function and ask the sailing experts on the internet. Those who played with boats and were oceangoing experts were worried that their sport was too niche, not popular enough, and not well-known. Now that a large number of netizens came to ask about it, they were happy and planned to take advantage of this opportunity to promote their knowledge of small sailboats and oceangoing activities. Several guilds large wooden sailboats set off one after another, each with at least a hundred people on board, and as many as three hundred. And many small guilds medium-sized sailboats were also built and subsequently followed. All of a sudden, a large number of ships appeared off the coast of Bluewater Harbor, sailing in one direction. The biggest problem in ocean-traveling was water and food, followed by the need to identify the direction in the ocean, and the third was the various oceanic disasters. The biggest problem of water and food was not a problem at all for the players. The 8-cubic-meters Backpack solved this. Navigating was also not a problem. After more than two years of game time, many players already knew how to use the sun, moon, and stars to determine direction. As for the ocean storms, these troubles as long as the tonnage of the ship reached a certain level and had good resistance to waves, ordinary ocean storms would hardly topple the players ships. Of course, severe ocean storms would still occasionally occur. For example, the guild Fatter Cat was unlucky enough to run into a severe ocean disaster. Beneath the dark clouds, a dozen black tornadoes swirled near their ship and hailstones almost the size of fists crashed down from the air. Holes were made in the sails, and purple lightning struck the tall masts now and then. The players watching the wind from the watchtower despaired instantly. Waves taller than ten meters with the ghostly sound of the wind threw the ship around, up and down like a rollercoaster. The guild players who hid in the cabin earlier also let out wild shrieks and howls. A large amount of vomit flew with them, and more and more of it. In the end, the ship was broken apart. The whole Fatter Cat guild was killed, but after they resurrected, they only needed two days to rebuild a new, sturdier, medium-sized sailboat, and then set off again. In contrast, the accidents of the human-powered planes were much simpler. One sentence could simply describe it. The plane was destroyed and the players died. At this time, the first departure of the flying players had been in the air for three days and three nights and was about to fly across the ocean. The flying players were much slower but had also traveled a third of the way. Roland returned to the manor to do magic experiments, and he kept an eye on the forum. Most players were very showy and they liked to report their progress on the forum, like where they were now and what they had encountered. Watching them get closer and closer to the Monochrome Magic Tower, Roland was quite happy. Now and then he would leave the estate and take Marilyn for a walk. Marilyn, a feral cat, had gradually made the transition to a house cat. She always used to be running around, running out the door as soon as she had nothing to do and had enough to eat and drink. But now she preferred to spend more time in the manor lying in the sun. Either that or sleeping lazily in her own little home. Originally Roland thought it wasnt good that she was so fond of running around outside and attracting trouble. But now, seeing her stay at home every day, and feeling that it was even worse for her, he would occasionally take her out for a walk. Today, as he was walking down the street with her, he saw Morton coming up to him. Rolands expression immediately became annoyed, and even a little angry. Mortons expression, on the other hand, was quite mild, even with an easygoing smile. jas He stood in front of Roland, seemingly trying to greet him, but forcefully blocking Rolands way. Mr. Roland, its been two or three days since Ive seen you. I didnt expect to meet you here. He swept his eyes over the white cat Marilyn and added, So you like catgirls. There are quite a few beautiful catgirls at the Spatial Magic Tower, like that Maromatha. If youd like, I can have her come to keep you company. I dont want to talk to you. Get the hell out of my way. Roland growled angrily. Morton still smiled. Im your elder regardless of anything, thats not very nice of you. Roland snickered, not saying anything. Morton shrugged. It seems that you still have some misunderstanding about me, so I wont bother you. After speaking, he walked past Roland. The two gradually moved away from each other. Mortons smile eventually disappeared and his expression slowly became grim. Rolands expression, on the other hand, slowly went from angry to calm, and even the corners of his mouth curled up gently. Time moved quickly, and two more days passed in the blink of an eye. In Delpon, Andonara stayed in the manor and didnt go anywhere. She kept the Heros sword on her, and the afternoon tea she used to love so much hadnt been drunk once in the past few days. At the same time, the atmosphere in the Magic Tower of Delpon was not quite right. All the Mages, including magic apprentices and handymen, were given leave but were essentially driven home. Vivian went back to the manor and stayed by Andonaras side. It was on this day that Andonara was in the manors pavilion with her eyes closed, and then black smoke appeared in the woods over to the west. Andonara immediately stood up and said to Vivian, who was next to her, Sound the alarm bell in town, and then hide in the secret passage. I think I can help too. Andonara rolled her eyes at Vivian. The enemy coming has a high chance of being Legendary, what help can you be? Go hide, and dont be a burden. But I want to help Roland Youre not helping. Instead of being stubborn with me here, save some more energy and stamina for when Roland comes back and milk him with me so he doesnt have the strength to think about other women. That was so blunt that, although Vivian and Roland had been in negative contact a dozen times already, she was still embarrassed and covered her face, then ran off to hide. Andonara immediately donned her armor, wearing her longsword and holding her blue spear in her right hand, and went straight to the place where the smoke had risen. As she sprinted, alarm bells were rung throughout the city, and the residents of Delpon froze briefly before screaming and picking up their possessions and wares and running home. Those who had tunnels hid in tunnels or secret rooms And those who didnt, hid under the beds of their homes. Andonara ran to the fire beacon, which was at the eastern wall of the city. A group of soldiers surrounded the beacon, and the man leading the group was Andonaras eldest uncle, Cage. Anna, youre here! Cage nodded to Andonara. Andonaras eyes gazed to the east and noticed a black dot appearing at the edge of the sky. The black dot was growing larger, and at its current speed, it was estimated that it would be over Delpon in less than half an hour. Andonara said to Cage, Uncle, take the soldiers and hide. Ill take care of things from here. Take care of yourself, Cage said, patting his niece on the shoulder. He knew very well that his niece was extremely strong now and no longer needed the assistance of ordinary people or ordinary troops. If she couldnt block the enemy, then all the soldiers in the entire city would be of no help. When Cage informed all the city guards to come down from the city walls, the black spot in the sky had become very large. A flying ship! Andonara recognized this thing in the air at a glance. And on the hull, theres the logo of the Spatial Magic Tower. Hehe, its really as my man predicted. These people dont dare to fight Roland head-on and engage in such boring tricks like capturing peoples relatives. She spoke and smiled coldly. Even so, she still looked charming and alluring. She waited where she was for a while. The flying ship in the sky flew nearer, already very close. She grasped the spear in her hand and made the motion of hurling it. The blue immortal phoenix flames wrapped the whole spear, then she dashed a few steps forward, and with the force of her sprint, she pressed her right hand forward and threw the spear forcefully. One minute ago: Greene and Barnard were standing in the captains cabin of the flying ship. There was a big crystal ball between the two of them. This crystal ball had constant Remote Detection and Mirror Image Manifestation, two kinds of magic arrays, which could manifest the environment and situation around the flying ship in the crystal ball in real-time. Both of them were a little excited when they saw in the crystal ball that Delpon was ahead of them. The Great Elder sent a message over saying that Roland is still at the Red Magic Tower, so we shouldnt encounter any obstacles in our operation. But we dont know exactly who Rolands friends and family are. Theres no need to rush this. First, well bombard them with magic from up here for a while, then well go down and interrogate the scared-ass locals who should know who Rolands relatives and friends are, and just grab anyone with any connections. Greene laughed. Barnard, youre not afraid of a Legendary Great Swordsman? I heard that among Rolands women, theres one named Andonara and shes a very strong Great Swordsman. Barnard sneered, What a joke! Do you believe this information? I dont believe it. Barnard spread open his hands. Then everythings fine. There arent even that many Legendary Great Swordsmen in Fareins, so how can a small, remote country like Hollevin have a Legend, a woman no less, and not even over thirty years old? Now spies have exaggerated the intelligence to catch peoples attention so much that its not in line with common sense. When I get back after this, I have to properly rectify the intelligence system. Greene was deeply convinced. He too scoffed when he saw the information. Barnard spoke up again at this time. Ho, its a beacon! Is this beacon lit for us? The crystal ball revealed the beacon on the city wall, and then Andonara. The two laughed, and Greene said, Theres not even a man on the walls, and there are no soldiers. Only one woman. Have all the men in this city died out? Barnard was speaking when he saw the image of Andonara wrapping a spear in blue fire and then hurling it forcefully. The two men froze for a moment, then laughed out loud at the same time. Tears were coming out of their eyes. Their flying ship was at least two kilometers off the ground, and many peoples magic couldnt reach this distance. A woman throwing a spear? Was she performing a monkey show? Chapter 579 - Too Weak Chapter 579 Too Weak It was no wonder that the two Legendary Mages of the Spatial Magic Tower underestimated their enemy. According to common sense, they were at least two kilometers above the ground; even Legends would find it difficult to throw a spear so high. Moreover, even if they could just barely throw it, what power could it have? The shell of the flying ship was protected by a variety of magic arrays, and it would be quite a feat just to cause a ripple on their surfaces. So in their opinion, this woman was putting on a monkey show, probably thinking of this big ship as some bird. Greene even remembered an incident that was recorded in the manufacturing book of flying ships. When the flying ship was first built over three hundred years ago, it didnt fly high enough, only about a hundred or so meters. The test flight passed over a primeval forest, and a savage race of people who were very good at throwing spear lived in this forest. It turned out that these savages took the small flying ship for some special kind of bird, and a tribe of men chased after it wailing and throwing spears. The flying ship also did not have any defensive magic arrays at that time, and when it flew out from the primeval forest, the bottom of the flying ship was covered with long spears. It was rather hilarious. Now, this womans behavior of throwing a spear at the giant flying ship in the air was no different from the barbarians in the eyes of both Greene and Barnard. The glory of civilization will never fall within these small remote countries. They are so ignorant that they have never even seen a flying ship, let alone understand such a great creation of the ages. Well said. Greene gave Barnard a thumbs up. Then both men laughed aloud at the same time. Then, at this moment, an extremely unpleasant palpitating feeling arose in their hearts at the same time, and without thinking, both of them teleported. After all, being Legendary Mages, they still had a certain instinct for an unknown and deadly attack. The very next second after the two had teleported away, a flaming blue spear burst through the hull from the bottom of the cabin and stabbed right in. And after this flaming spear penetrated the hull, its speed didnt seem to drop any further before piercing through the huge crystal and finally bursting through the top of the hull and disappearing The two teleported out of the hull at the same time. They used a flying spell and then watched in bewilderment as the blue spear diagonally passed from under the flying ship, breaking through the entire ship and vanishing into the sky. They could see the blue trail of fire left by the spear. A fairly straight diagonal line that stretched out from the ground, through the flying ship in the air, and into the sky. The trail was light blue and looked quite beautiful. What is that thing? Barnard felt that his world view had been turned upside down once again. Whose spear throws can be thrown directly into the starry sky? At this time, Greene, who had always known a lot about survival techniques, looked toward the ground. It looks like it should be that womans! How is that possible! Barnard looked toward the ground, too. At this moment, Andonara was frowning slightly. Although the spear had successfully hit the flying ship, the damage caused was not as great as she thought. It went straight through the flying ship, but the flying ship didnt seem to be affected much at all. In reality, this was also where Andonara suffered from not being well-educated. The flight speed of the flying spear was certainly quite fast, but it didnt have much rotational speed, and the tip was too pointed and too streamlined. So it only caused the most basic penetration effect, resulting in a penetration opening of about half a meter in diameter. For the human body, a half-meter penetration was fatal, but for a large flying ship over 40 meters long and about 10 meters wide, it was only minor trauma. It was not much of an impact at all. Andonara tsked, then she turned her eyes to the two black dots that suddenly appeared on the outside of the flying ship. Teleportation! Andonara recognized the spell used by the other party because Roland often used this spell in front of her. Sure enough, these were people from the Spatial Magic Tower. Andonara no longer hesitated at that moment, and blue flames covered her entire body, burning and swelling more and more, finally transforming into a lifelike blue firebird with outspread wings. The two Legendary Mages in the sky also saw this scene, and their expressions became somewhat horrified. Because they felt a terrible threat from this blue firebird, a much stronger sense of threat than when Roland used Elemental Embodiment. The danger was tangible, as if they were bound to die at the mere touch of it. This woman, might she be Queen Andonara, the Legendary Great Swordsman described in the intelligence reports? Barnard said in a horrified voice, like a fat duck being pinched by the neck. What was written in the report is actually true? Greenes hands trembled slightly. Is this the time to talk about such things? Dont you feel as if she is going to fly up? Barnard also felt a little uneasy as he angrily rebuked, Dont jinx it, Legendary Great Swordsmen cant fly. But the average Legendary Great Swordsman cant turn into a firebird. Greene gulped. Brother, I dont think the situation is quite right, why dont we retreat first? We both know Mages Disjunction, what are we afraid of. Barnard cheered himself up. No matter what, lets both give her a shot of Mages Disjunction first. Okay. Greene thought about his newly learned powerful spell and suddenly gained some courage. The two floated side by side in midair, reaching out at the same time and pointing at the firebird on the ground. They were Legendary Mages after all, and after learning the spell, it was natural for them to be able to do it instantly, just not at great range like the Great Elder Morton. The moment their Mages Disjunction took shape, the blue firebird flew up with a flutter of its wings, and in a split second off the ground, its wings fluttered backward, and the entire bird flew sideways for several meters in a bizarre way, narrowly avoiding the effective range of the two Mages Disjunction. What a big nimble firebird, lets continue, Barnard finished his words and turned his head to see the firebird rushing toward them. In a flash, only half the distance remained between the two parties. Whats going on, how can this firebird fly so fast? Greene, lets As soon as he turned his head, he found that Greene had teleported away, and no one was by his side. How can a man do this, at least he shouldnt, and he cant, wailed Barnard. She is only a Legend and the two of us As he spoke, the blue firebird had already flown up to him. Even from dozens of meters away, Barnard could feel the terrifying fire element contained in this firebird. Teleportation. Barnards figure retreated more than forty meters, then he pointed at the distant firebird: Mages Disjunction However, he still underestimated the speed of the Great Swordsman, especially since this Great Swordsman had also awakened the Heros bloodline, which further enhanced her speed and attack power. Barnards hand went up, and just as he shouted Mages Disjunction, the blue firebird had swept over his body. After the firebird flew for dozens of meters, a black skeleton fell from the sky. The firebird then circled and did not find the other spatial Mage, who presumably escaped somewhere with Teleportation and then used Long-Distance Teleportation to send himself far away. After circling a few more times in displeasure, the firebird still found no sign of the other Mage, and finally landed on the flying ship, a little irritated. There was a group of people kneeling on the flying ship. Both magic apprentices and the handymen were kneeling. They saw that of the two supposedly incredibly powerful spatial Mages, one burned to a crisp right after their encounter, and the other fled without a trace. Even Legendary Mages met such an end, and the highest level of official Mages among them was only level 6. How could they fight against an elite who had beaten two Legendary Mages? At this time, Andonara was a little upset. She had expected a great duel, but things turned out to be completely different from what she had imagined Weak, too weak. The will to fight and the awareness of both the Legendary Mages and the people of the Spatial Magic Tower are far too poor, Andonara muttered. She then said, Since you all surrendered, theres no problem following my orders, right? Everyone on the flying ship nodded their heads. Then fly to the ground outside the city and leave this magic ship for now. Andonara smiled quite cheerfully. My man would be very interested in your magic ship. At this time, Roland did not know the situation of the Spatial Magic Tower on Andonaras side. He was now watching the livestream on the forum. The first pair of players who crossed the ocean using a double-cabin human-powered plane had arrived on the east continent. Their plane crashed into a shallow beach on the coast, and the two players soon swam to shore. The two looked around, then at the quest system description, before hugging and laughing together. Oh sh*t, we actually flew over. My legs are almost dead from soreness. Now that Im back on the ground, I still have hallucinations, as if my feet are still pedaling. Stop complaining, Im no better off than you right now. Now do we wait for someone, or do we just go to the Spatial Magic Tower? Wait for someone. With the two of us, theres no way we can beat a Magic Tower. Makes sense, Ill go nearby and build the Goddess of Lifes altar first. In case something does happen, well be prepared and wont have to swim all the way from the other side of the sea again. Ill help. Just as the two men were building the simple Goddess of Life altar, several more wooden planes flew down from the sky. Most of them landed in the shallow water, which they did on purpose; after all, there was no runway to speak of on the beach, and if the plane landed on the beach, the wheels would plunge right into the sand, and then the wooden plane would certainly fall apart under the effect of inertia. Instead of this, it would be better to crash directly into the shallow water. At least falling into the water was much better than crashing directly on the shore, and the chances of survival were much greater. Many players swam from the sea to the shore. In a short time, more than thirty people had gathered. Someone soon said, Since we are the first to arrive, I guess we are all solo players, so why dont we form a temporary guild. Ill start by introducing myself, I am a level-9 fire feces Warlock, pleased to meet you all. Ah After hearing his introduction, the surrounding players were so scared that they immediately retreated several meters away. Every one of them was terrified. Chapter 580 - Who Are You People? Chapter 580 Who Are You People? The fire feces Warlocks were quite intimidating amongst players. It wasnt because they were too strong, but because this group of people had no bottom line. Looking at the other players, who took a step back in unison, the Warlock, who introduced himself, couldnt help but laugh bitterly. Dont worry, my hands are clean and I wash them several times a day. I know your hands are clean, but that doesnt mean Im not scared, a player explained. Brother, when the fight starts later, please make sure your feces are thrown far away and not next to me. The other players nodded their heads, feeling deeply that this player was quite right. Of course I can be more careful, but this time there are a lot of fire feces players coming over, and with so many people, it is impossible for all players to throw accurately. The players began to shiver. The image of the white maggot Warlocks firing feces in unison a year ago was still to this day among the top ten famous scenes of the game World of Falan. It even far surpassed the second-place scene, with twice the number of hits. This scene had even been circulated throughout the online world and anyone who had seen it would express their deep admiration for this scene and then offer their respects. Just as they were chatting, more and more human-powered planes landed from the air. More and more soaking wet players walked to the shore. They grouped freely, gathered in twos and threes, and set off in the same direction. About a day later at the location of the Spatial Magic Tower, the city of Tebesia: The black cat Maromatha came out of her house. She looked at the sun in the sky and covered her head with her hood. The sun in the desert was very hot, and even professional womens skin could suffer greatly if no precautions were taken. Walking down the familiar streets, Maromatha sighed. She was a little worried about Roland and Marilyn the white cat. She had heard that they had some conflict with the elders of the Spatial Magic Tower, and she didnt know how things were going now. Yesterday, she went to ask her mentor, but the mentor would not say anything and just told her not to concern herself so much. It seemed that things werent good. She couldnt help but sigh again at the thought. After a few steps forward, she suddenly saw three professionals with very unique temperaments coming out from the corner of the street. They were human but very different from the human professionals Maromatha had seen. Generally, human professionals, especially mercenaries, had a fierce aura about them, but these three professionals, who were also dressed as mercenaries, gave off a scholarly feeling. And there seemed to be some silliness hidden in this scholarly temperament, giving a rather contradictory impression. Maromatha observed the trio for a brief second before averting her eyes, for it was clear to her that there were good and bad human professionals, but most of them had some rather troubling desires when they saw female werecats. Just after she averted her eyes, the three professionals shifted theirs toward her instead. And they began to whisper. A werecats sense of hearing was quite acute and could detect sounds from far away, so she overheard their conversation. Look, a lone Mage, wearing gray robes. She should be from the Spatial Magic Tower. Should we snatch her or not? Wait, theres no red mark on her head. She probably isnt our enemy, its not good to capture her. Well, theres always some intel to get. Shes a spatial Mage, so enemy or not, we can still get some information. Makes sense, lets go over quietly. Hearing this, Maromatha froze. Where were these three people from? This was the Spatial Magic Tower, and they were actually going to kidnap a spatial Mage in a place like this. And it seemed that they wanted to harm the Spatial Magic Tower! Maromathas expression turned cold. She looked around. There were pedestrians everywhere, and if she acted here, she would hurt the innocent, so she planned to take them to a less crowded place first. Maromatha pretended to be unaware and turned down a small side path. Although she did not turn around, the werecats sensitive hearing still allowed her to detect the three peoples footsteps. They were following about fifteen meters behind her. As expected, they had tailed her. Maromatha picked up her pace slightly. About five minutes later, Maromatha stopped in a barren sandy area, then she turned around and looked at the other three professionals. It seems that she noticed us earlier. The enemy is smart enough to lure us to a place like this. Make the first move, delta formation! I dont think theres any need to rush, lets negotiate first. Communication is the basis of everything. Maromatha snorted. She pulled off the hood on her head, revealing her cat ears and face to the other party, while she said coldly, No need to think so much. Just now, I sent a magical signal to the picket team. Soon they will arrive; all you can do is surrender obediently. As she spoke, she noticed that the other three froze and thought it was normal. She assumed this was a typical reaction of hunters who found themselves turned into prey. However the next moment, the reaction of these three people refreshed her worldview. M-m-my God! The first person to cry out seemed to be a Warrior. A ca-catgirl, a living catgirl. Where is my comb, where is my mirror? I want to pick her up! Ears that move, a real cat lady. The Mage-looking professional did three backflips in place, then became incoherent with excitement. W-w-were going to take down the Spatial Magic Tower and capture the beautiful catgirl alive. And the other rushed up to Maromatha and dropped to one knee. Frightened, Maromatha took a step back, then several more. Then she heard the professional, who was down on one knee, say affectionately, Pretty lady, I fell in love with you at first sight. May we be friends, the kind that presupposes marriage? This statement was so shocking that it even sounded like sexual harassment. Maromatha subconsciously shot out a Spatial Bubble. Spatial Bubble was a low-level spell that could easily be cast instantly even with Maromathas strength. And without dodging, the kneeling man simply allowed the Spatial Bubble to hit him in the face. He flew backward more than two meters and rolled three times on the ground before passing out. Seeing their companion unconscious, the other two professionals rushed up, each grabbing one leg of the unconscious man while fleeing. They shouted, Just you wait, well be back. Then the three disappeared into the distance. What the hell? Feeling baffled, Maromatha froze for a moment, then came to the academy and met one of her mentors. Although the Spatial Magic Tower had a main school of magic, under normal circumstances, learning other schools of magic was also required, so the Spatial Magic Tower also had other schools of specialists here as mentors. The mentor that Maromatha met now was the one that taught her abjuration. When the mentor saw that Maromathas expression didnt look quite right, he asked what was wrong and if she felt any discomfort. Maromatha revealed what just happened, and the mentor laughed. There are so many of us humans, there are bound to be some very odd people. Countless simpletons say they want to blow up Magic Towers in the street. You dont have to worry too much about that, just study hard. Since the mentor had said so, Maromatha naturally didnt take what just happened any more seriously as she finished her days lessons at school, and then walked back home. On her way home, she suddenly found that there were a lot of professionals appearing in the streets, and many of them were pointing at her. Did something happen? Maromatha felt that something was not quite right. Then she found that the group of people was staring at her. Every one of them had strange expressions. Maromatha felt it was all too odd and she was about to leave when she saw someone take out a scroll and then throw it on the ground. A small area of Dimensional Anchor suddenly enveloped Maromatha, and then several female professionals rushed up, their speed quite notable. Because Maromatha was startled by the Dimensional Anchor, and spatial magic couldnt be used, and other magic didnt come to mind because of her nervousness She ended up being grabbed straight away by four female Warriors, and before she could make a sound, she was put in a black sack. Her vision suddenly dark, Maromatha then tried to use her magic, but no magical elements responded to her, making her more and more nervous. She struggled in the sack, but her strength was no match for the four Warriors. Shaking up and down inside the darkness, she didnt know how much time had passed. After all, in a completely dark environment, it was hard to correctly measure time. When the sack was opened, Maromatha, who had been besieged by darkness for nearly an hour, screamed. Her voice was low when she called for help, but it was also very pleasant. She called out several times and didnt hear anyone respond, then a glance around revealed that she was surrounded by at least a hundred professionals. Every one of these professionals looked at her with bright eyes. What a beautiful catgirl. Dont scare her, you guys. Great, this catgirl is not our enemy, so she has the value of being turned against the enemy? We dont care about anything else. She doesnt have a red mark on her, so she should be well protected. This is the first catgirl weve seen. Those short black cat ears, they look so pretty, I love them so much. Brothers, how much money do you think you need to have to marry this catgirl? Dream on, you think shell ever be into you? The lively discussion about a whole lot of things frightened Maromatha. Looking at her pitiful appearance, a female player next to her came up and said, Pretty kitty, dont be afraid, we wont hurt you. We just want to know some information about the Spatial Magic Tower. Maromatha looked at the long whip that the female player held in her hand, which still had a red dark stain on it, like blood. She immediately said from the heart, Ask all you want, and I will answer all I know. The people next to her looked at each other and smiled. The female player from earlier continued to ask, How many Legends are there in the Spatial Magic Tower? Including the Great Elder, there are now six. The female Warrior stroked the black cats head. Good, very well-behaved, then Ill ask another question. How many official Mages are there in your Magic Tower? It is estimated that there are two hundred, the catgirl said in a small voice. Chapter 581 - Don’t You F*king Pretend More than three hundred official Mages The surrounding crowd of players sighed with relief after hearing this. With only this number of official Mages, it was still relatively easy to handle this quest. The trouble should be with the few Legendary Mages. Six Legends would be a bit stressful to fight. But with the other players rushing over, even though the human-powered planes had a crash rate of almost 50%, and the maritime disaster rate on the sailing side was probably about 30%, it wasnt hard to flatten the Monochrome Magic Tower as long as thousands of players or more could reach this continent safely. After hearing a few more irrelevant bits of information from Maromatha, the female player in charge of interrogating her simply loosened the ropes around her. Maromatha looked a little strangely at the people in front of her. Ahem, given that you are a member of the hostile force, you are still under house arrest until we feel that you are free to move around. Then you can leave this place. Maromathas expression became even more confused. Im free to move around? The group of people next to her nodded in unison. At first, Maromatha was not too convinced. What kind of people would allow a hostage to move around? But the next two days of sightings gave her a deeper understanding of this peculiar group of people, as well as deeper doubts. Wherever Maromatha went, she was watched by this group of people. Both men and women. Of course, the male professionals did this more prominently, and their desire also seemed to be stronger, but they just watched and wouldnt do anything, and occasionally they would say some strange things. For example, Cat ears are the best in the world. Or Flat-chested catgirl is the way to go. There were more, like Maro, Ill love you for 10,000 years and other cheap words. This bothered Maromatha. This group of human professionals, both men and women, clearly had a strong desire for her, but each of them acted with restraint. She was just a prisoner, and they obviously could do as they please, but they never touched a hair on her. This was too unreasonable. It wasnt uncommon to see such individuals with both reason and desire, but when so many gathered together, it was something unimaginable. Whats going on! These two eventful days left Maromatha a bit puzzled. She sat on the sand and watched the players frantically constructing some facilities she couldnt comprehend. Why are you building all these things if youre going to fight against the Magic Tower? There will be many of us coming. The female player next to her, who was in charge of guarding her, smiled. Too many and it would be chaos and disorder. Until then, we have to set up a temporary base for us to gather, draw up plans, and rest. Maromathas felt more and more uneasy. Could a thousand professionals really be coming over? The female player nodded seriously. Of course, there is no need for us to lie to you about this. Hearing this, Maromatha was a little distracted. When she was interrogated before, she was so quick to confess and only had the thought of prioritizing her safety. It was because she thought that it was impossible to defeat the Spatial Magic Tower with just a few dozen professionals. After all, there were several Legends in the Spatial Magic Tower and more than 300 official Mages. Elite and Master spatial Mages could be seen everywhere, and there were nearly fifty near Legendary. Also, the Spatial Magic Tower had an elite camel cavalry of ten thousand people. Nearly fifty percent of them were low-level Warriors. How could such power be overthrown by a few dozen professionals? Now, however, she didnt think so anymore. In these two days, a large number of professionals had gathered here, estimated to be more than three thousand people. Every new professional, male or female, would come running over to meet her, then scream, Aw, Im dead, make an exaggerated motion of falling to the ground, get up again a few seconds later and join in on the construction. It had only been two days and Maromatha had little exposure to the group, but there were at least two things she could be sure of. The group was organized and extremely hardworking In two days, they had created the outline of a small city. Square rocky enclosures, staggered roads, and they even came and planted some plants that could survive in the desert as decorations on both sides of the road. Maromatha watched as several players teamed up to build a square rock house from scratch. Although the process was a little slow, it was much faster than brick-by-brick construction. The female player who was guarding her was whispering with another player. After a while, the female player came over, smiled, and asked, Is this the first time youve seen this flexible application of Mud to Stone? Ive seen other people use it. Maromatha shook her head. He is much faster than you guys, and it only takes one person. Roland? Maromatha whipped her head around in surprise. Because as far as we know, it was his idea to use this spell in this way. This female player majored in psychology in reality, otherwise, she wouldnt have been assigned to watch over the catgirl. She knew from the other partys surprised expression that she had guessed correctly. By the way, there is something we would like to discuss with you. Go ahead. Maromatha turned around and replied seriously. For the past two days, Maromatha had been taken care of and fed, and what she used was given by the other side. So instead of hating the girl who watched over her, she was quite grateful. Maro, how many of you werecats are in the Spatial Magic Tower? Maromatha was immediately a little wary. Why are you asking this? As you should know by now, we want to attack the Spatial Magic Tower, the female player said seriously as she stared into the catgirls eyes. But there are many people in Tebesia who are innocent, especially you werecats. I think you can go talk to them and withdraw before we attack. If not, your people better not make a move, or we will hardly hold back once we strike. Maromathas expression froze at first, then became one of helplessness. But where can we go after we leave the Spatial Magic Tower? Its the only place willing to shelter us now. Us. The female player pointed at herself with bright eyes, then pointed at the other players who were working next to her. We are willing to shelter you, if youll come with us. But! Maromatha looked hesitant. The female player laughed. You dont believe in our strength, right? Its okay. Youll know clearly after we bring down the Spatial Magic Tower. But I still suggest you go back to Tebesia and evacuate your people before we attack; otherwise, it wont be good if something really happens. Maromatha bit her plush lips and asked with a confused expression, Why are you being so nice to me, or us werecats? Werecats had sharp instincts, and after two days together, Maromatha had noticed that this group of people had no ill will toward her and were even quite fond of her. Of course, their desire was there, but more than anything, they adored her. Hearing Maromathas question, the female player raised her hands high and said rightfully, Many of us like cats, kittens, and big cats. Gentle cats are cute, proud cats make people crazy, and we have a title: cat slaves! Maromathas mouth dropped open in shock at the statement. At the Red Magic Tower, Roland was still living a regular little life. Classes, magic experiments, and then occasionally taking Marilyn the catgirl for a stroll. It was quite pleasant. Happier by the day. Delpon was safe and he didnt need to worry at all. With Andonara guarding the place, a Legend or two going over there would just be a gift of experience. And Vincent, who recently stayed in the Magic Tower, made a post on the forum. Congratulations to my Magic Tower Boss Roland on his super flying ship. The post started with pictures of a large flying ship from all angles, even aerial shots. A dozen pictures of a huge black flying ship like a proud maiden resting on the green grass. It was thrilling and mind-blowing to look at. The second half of the post said that the flying ship was Queen Andonaras trophy, but wasnt the Queens Rolands woman! The post unsurprisingly became a hot topic, with players replying with envy. Damn, a flying ship. This is the first time Ive seen one. This thing can be used as an air carrier, right? How much money must it be worth. Damn, I dont even have a flying mount, and he already has a flying ship, and it was a woman who gave it to him. The difference between people is despairing. Should I delete my account and start over again? If there is any pretty boy with a charisma growth of 10 or more, go and lure the queen away. Im now annoyed when I see Roland and his woman showing love. Whoever does this, Ill pay a million RMB as a reward. One million is too little, right? This flying ship is probably worth a billion. If this really existed in reality, I guess it would really start at a billion. Yo, talk like this game isnt real enough. So the women in the game are so useful. Is it too late for me to become a Bard and go pick up a noblewoman? Its useless, Im also a bard. Ive picked up a noble widow. But, she will not do anything, that is, she cant defend me from the enemy, and will not give me flying ships. All she does is squeeze out my energy and life essence every day. Every day, she boils tonic soups for me to drink, and said shed help give birth to ten or eight children; I have not left the city for a year. All Ive done is either sleep or chat with you guys online. I had aspired to be the strongest PK player, but now Ive been stuck at level 5 for a year. You guys mustnt learn from me. Wait, is it true what you said, upstairs? Thats so enviable no, disdainful. May I ask, does your widow know other lonely noblewomen? I am not trying to do anything, just want to study and criticize this degenerate behavior, lest other players get trapped. As the saying goes, If I do not go to hell to help the suffering beings there, who else will go[1]? As a femininely dressed player, to this objectification of women, all I have to say is anger, shivering, and cold sweat (doge). Roland naturally also saw this post. He was tempted to teleport back and check out his flying ship, but thinking that Morton was still in the Red Magic Tower, he held back and stayed here, at ease, dangling as bait. This same day, he took the catgirl for a walk again, and shortly after, he saw Morton approaching from the opposite side. Roland immediately changed his expression to one of bitterness and hatred. Morton walked up to Roland and said with a grim look on his face, Dont pretend, I know your woman is powerful. Now, Ill tell you one thing: this ends now, okay!? (1) K?itigarbha Chapter 582 - I’m Not Lying to You Roland wasnt too surprised. Vincents post said that Andonara had only taken out one Legend, and the other Legend had escaped. Several of the Magic Towers had special magical means of communication, which were expensive and not easily activated, but the Legend who had escaped had no problem using magical means of communication to contact Morton when he returned and explain the situation. Roland couldnt fake his expression anymore and he smiled. Mr. Morton, did something happen between us? Youre still pretending? Mortons face grew gloomier and gloomier, and his eyes became murderous as if he wanted to devour him. Marilyn hid behind Roland in fear. She was just a little scouting cat who couldnt stand the aura of a Legend. Roland, on the other hand, looked puzzled. But didnt Mr. Morton say in front of the Great Elder the other day that nothing happened between you and me? Morton was dumbfounded, and his aura deflated considerably. Indeed, just three or four days ago, he had acted the fool in front of Alfred and played dumb, stubbornly refusing to admit that he had done something. And now the tide was turning and it was Rolands turn to play dumb and dumber. He laughed angrily, then looked at Roland and growled in a low voice, Very well, very well, how dare you set me up. It was now clear to Morton that he was completely screwed. He thought he was keeping an eye on Roland by staying here. But in reality, it was Roland who was here watching him. The roles were completely reversed. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. The magic around him was coalescing, and he was about to make a move. Even if he couldnt kill Roland, killing the kitty next to him would be good enough. But at that moment, a spatial fluctuation occurred, and Alfred came directly over with four elders in an instant. Though they didnt have Spatial Specialization, these Legends still knew how to teleport. The five men surrounded Morton at once. Morton looked at the five Legends surrounding him and said coldly, Alfred, what do you mean by this. Are you really going to keep me here for Roland, a Master student? Arent you afraid that the other Magic Towers will have a problem with you? Well now, what are you talking about? Alfred looked quite happy as he said with a smirk, When did I ever say such a thing? Havent we always had a good relationship? Nothing has ever happened between any of us, wasnt that what you said the other day? One of the things that people hated the most was to have their tactics used on them by others. Morton felt sick to his stomach, but he had to endure his nausea and pretend to be calm as he asked, So what do you mean by this? Youre going to put me under house arrest here? No, there are just some things I want to discuss with you. Alfred beckoned boldly with his hand and said, Please come with us. Its something very important. At this moment, Morton did not know that a large number of Golden Sons had already assembled outside of Tebesia. He thought that Barnard was the only one who had died in Rolands schemes. But even so, the loss of a single Legend was enough for the Spatial Magic Tower, enough for Morton to be heartbroken for a long time. Since he didnt know, he chose to go around the Red Magic Tower for a little while longer to see if there was a chance to turn things around. Roland possessed something he wanted. A brand new plane, not a plane of the gods and devils, but a pleasant place full of sunshine, woods, and water, a place suited to living. Although it was a magic-free or low magic plane, it wouldnt be a problem for the Spatial Magic Tower. At worst, they would simply build a spatial channel to take some of the magic power from the main plane and import it to that world. And the Golden Sons secret of immortality was also bound to be in their plane. In any case, as a Legend, as a faithless who may have 30 or 40 years left to live, he was terrified that after death he would be dragged down by the god of the underworld to hang on the Wall of the Faithless. To avoid this, immortality was the best solution. It was only when there was truly no way out that he would transform into a lich, an undead creature. Morton followed Alfred and the other four, and before he left, he stared viciously at Roland for a moment. As if he were a fierce tiger about to devour a man. Roland lifted his head slightly, his eyes half-narrowed, and looked at him with a provocative gaze. It was Morton who finally moved his eyes away first. Roland watched the other men leave, and when they were gone, he took the catgirl back to the manor, instructed her not to go out on her own, and teleported to Delpon. Morton suddenly turned back in the distance and looked in the direction where Rolands manor was located. As the strongest person in spatial magic in the main plane, he could certainly feel the fluctuations when Roland teleported away. Where was Roland going? His eyes appeared shifty. Alfred walked ahead and suddenly turned back and said, Morton, you are so old that youve become stupid, and you dont do anything sensibly anymore. What do you mean? Morton looked at Alfred coldly. He was now annoyed with and even hated Alford. If Alfred wasnt in the way, Roland couldnt stay in the Red Magic Tower at all, and he could easily capture him. In such a situation, he could fabricate whatever excuses he wanted. You think we dont know what Roland, the Golden Son, represents? Alfred looked at Morton with a smile. A new plane, the temptation of immortality, you think we cant see that? Mortons expression changed dramatically. Then why are you still obstructing me? We have investigated the Golden Sons in all aspects, and even invited another Golden Son to study at our Magic Tower in addition to Roland, Alfred said lightly. After our assessment, with some time, we realized the Golden Sons generally possess an arrogance to them. ver Oh, anyone who lives forever will be arrogant. The elves have longer lives and are arrogant as hell. Alfred shook his head. So it is not too much to say that the intelligence department of the Monochrome Magic Tower should all be dragged into a lava pool and soaked into dregs. To act rashly without investigating thoroughly, you are even more like a fool now. I cant pretend that I didnt hear this. Morton looked at Alfred coldly. They were both Great Elders of a Magic Tower and their status was comparable. Now Alfred was condescendingly reprimanding him for being stupid. Like an elder reprimanding a child How could he tolerate this? If Alfred didnt come up with a suitable reason, he would attack right now. A shot of Mages Disjunction wouldnt kill anyone, but it would at least limit the strength of the surrounding Legends. He could leave with ease. We at the Red Magic Tower have comprehensively investigated the Golden Sons, from their group dynamic to their habits, world views, and even general hobbies. Alfred chuckled. And then we concluded that the Golden Sons plane, despite being a magic-free plane, is full of scholars. Mortons eyes widened in surprise. They are a group of people who have each gone through at least twelve years of systematic education. Alford sighed. It is said that the more powerful ones have more than twenty years of systematic education. Morton yelled, Thats impossible. You are also from a noble family, dont you know how many resources it takes to train a scholar? Not much less than us Mages. I know, Alfred said disappointedly. But its true. All of them are literate and understand their written language. And after being in this world for only a year or two, many of them have already mastered Hollevins language and write very fluently, even better than most of the nobles. Morton clenched his hands. Thats impossible. How could a world be full of scholars. I cant say its all scholarsthey learn and come out and divide their work. Some become merchants, some become architects, but everyone has the basis of a scholar. Our intelligence services have poked around hard and gotten word that all their children will be forced to go to school by state agencies when they reach about six years old, and if their parents dont comply, then their parents will be held accountable. Do poor peoples children get forced to study too? And the money? Yes! Alfred nodded. Because most of the resources they spend on reading are paid for by the state for them, and individual families only have to pay a very small portion. Even poor people can afford to take out interest-free loans to go to school. Morton was silent. Alfred continued, You may not believe me, but this is indeed the information the Red Magic Tower discovered. I dont believe it. It doesnt matter if you believe it or not. The Golden Son Mages learn the magic in one day that would take three days for our students, and can even deduce many things. You can recruit a few Golden Sons as students at the Spatial Magic Tower as well, and it will be clear. Alfred thought for a moment and continued, By the way, the Golden Sons have started a city of their own in the wetlands of Hollevin. If you want to get to know them, you can go there and take a look. Ill send you the coordinates with a mental message. Morton received the coordinates and checked them first, finding that the coordinates were indeed on the main planes land, not some other plane, before saying, Ill go over there now and check it out-I hope youre not lying to me. I swear by the truth of magic that there is indeed a city built by the Golden Sons there, said Alfred earnestly. A Mages spiritual oath did not need to go through a divine testimony. All they had to do was manifest their mental power. If it was a false statement, the mental power would change. Ill go over there now and take a look. Completely analyzing these new magic coordinates, Morton teleported away with a swish. Only a few spots of magical light remained in the air. Then Alfred and the other elders smiled smugly. Quickly passing through a dark black tunnel, he suddenly saw light before his eyes. Morton almost vomited because of the effects of Long-Distance Teleportation. He was floating in the air at this time, and there was a huge square-shaped city below him. Although many areas hadnt been fully built, the roads had been done perfectly. Eight horizontal and eight vertical, all sixteen main roads were spacious And off the main road, many smaller streets ran in all directions. Then outside the city, there were many wooden bird-like contraptions taking off. He slowly floated down, and before he landed, he suddenly saw that many Golden Sons below raised their heads. At this point, he was only about ten meters above the ground. He could see that the Golden Sons looked shocked at first and then exhilarated. They drew their weapons from their Backpacks almost simultaneously. Oh sh*t, Wetland City has spawned a boss, a boss with a dark red name. Dont just stand there, whoever has a Dimensional Anchor throw it over first-dont let him teleport away like that dark angel did last time. Find me for reimbursement afterward, Im Moogle, the logistics head of the Fatter Cat Guild. Then, instantly, a dozen Dimensional Anchor scrolls were thrown out, blocking Morton from the front and back. Morton: ??? Chapter 583 - The Golden Sons Never Feel Bad About Fighting For Money Chapter 583 The Golden Sons Never Feel Bad About Fighting For Money At this point, there were over 20,000 players in Wetland City who had already tried to find a way to get to the Spatial Magic Tower, but there were still a large number of players rushing toward Wetland City. After all, this was the first city that players truly owned, and almost all the player guilds chose to set up their headquarters here. A large number of casual players had settled here and formed various industrial chains. For example, weapon manufacturing, defensive gear manufacturing, ore transportation, magic material transportation, and so on. The place where Morton had appeared just happened to be above Fatter Cats headquarters. Fatter Cat was relatively low-key. Although there were a decent number of peoplethree hundred or sotheir guild objective was to play the game happily. Unlike most guilds fighting for the title of the strongest on the entire server, they preferred casual play; the players in the guild either loved scenery or exploring A guild like this naturally couldnt have a high profile. But this didnt mean that this guild had poor combat power. On the contrary, this kind of guild would be much more cohesive than the average combat-oriented guild. So when the logistics head let out a roar, the players of Fatter Cat subconsciously threw out all the inventory they had in their hands. The magical glow was extremely bright as a dozen Dimensional Anchors stacked together in the air. If Morton had only been noticed by Fatter Cat earlier, the entire city now saw this glow. And when Morton was in this glow, the unusually conspicuous dark red health bar above his head was as obvious as the moon in the dark of night. After a brief hesitation, roars of surprise rang out almost at the same time. Then there was the sound of a large number of weapons being unsheathed. More Dimensional Anchor scrolls were then thrown out, and in less than ten seconds, at least forty Dimensional Anchors were stacked around Morton. Because it was the same spell, it could be stacked almost infinitely. It was like throwing dry cement powder into a reservoir over and over again. It would get stickier and stickier, or rather, stronger and stronger. The effects of the Dimensional Anchor scrolls varied in strength, and Morton could still break free with his mental power no matter how strong the previous dozen Dimensional Anchor scrolls were. But now, in a short time, more than forty Dimensional Anchor scrolls were thrown over; even if he was the strongest spatial Mage on the main plane, he would not be able to break the net laid by more than forty Dimensional Anchor scrolls. He looked around, and a large number of Golden Sons shrieked and came charging forward with weapons raised. The whole city was bustling with howls of excitement. Even for an elite like Morton, when he saw that the streets were densely packed with people rushing toward him and many of the lithe Golden Sons were jumping onto the roofs along the streets and then began to draw their bows and mount their arrows In this instant, Morton seemed to see a swarm of insects in the realm of devils. In all directions, oily, black, dense, endless little things were coming at him. He subconsciously shivered and roared, Alfred, how dare you lie to me! As soon as these words sounded, he saw countless arrows shooting at him from the front and back. It was as if heavy rain was pouring down continuously. Activating his Magic Shield, Morton flew upward with all his might, and although he avoided most of the arrows, at least a hundred of them hit his shield. He was a Legend after all; his Magic Shield strength was high, and the hundred or so arrows did not pose any threat to him at all. After rising to a certain level, he pointed downward. Fallen Meteor. A huge flaming meteor fell from the sky, clearly visible even in daylight. Tens of thousands of players below screamed at the sight. Crap, this boss is too ruthless. Hes trying to smash our home. Who can stop this meteor? Damn, let him blow it up. Well build it again at worst. Dont let the boss get away. Idiots at the foot of the boss, run. The fire meteors landing point is where you are. Many players who were already in the fire meteors landing point tried to run out, but there were too many players flooding toward the boss at the same time for them to back up, so they simply cast their most powerful long-range attacks toward Morton before they died. The huge fire meteor left a long flaming trail before it smashed down on the ground. All the buildings in the city shook. A small mushroom cloud rose and an ear-splitting explosion spread, accompanied by a huge gust of air. At the center of the crash, at least three hundred or more players were directly charred in the explosion, and about a hundred more were killed by the explosions flames and gust. A single fire meteor caused a deep crater of about four hundred square meters. The pitch-black crater and the black smoke that rose in curls illustrated the terrifying power of this spell. The buildings around the deep crater collapsed in large numbers. A level-five group attack spell like this could cause a huge panic in any city or country. Morton withdrew his fingers and looked at his masterpiece with great satisfaction. He thought that after seeing such a terrifying sight even the Golden Sons would be afraid. After all, not everyone was as crazy as Roland. Then, the next second, he was locked on by more arrows and spells. Looking at the arrows that rose like a black cloud, Mortons expression froze, and then he urgently rose into the air. Even if his Magic Shield was hard, he didnt want to bear such a large number of arrows head-on. JS we Not to mention that these arrows were shot by professionals; they could be quite powerful. After rising a little higher, only a few arrows could barely reach him. Morton felt a little safer, and then the next second, all sorts of debuff spells were being applied to him. Weakening, strength reduction, energy siphon, and so on. That wasnt all; at some point, a group of girls suddenly appeared outside the city, all of them on white horsestwo were even on unicorns. They waved their hands, and a large number of flying summoned beasts appeared, heading over as densely as a nimbus cloud. Seeing this scene, Morton couldnt help but feel a chill in his heart. These Golden Sons on the ground were so fearless that they gave him a headache. He didnt leave because none of them seemed to be able to fly and couldnt threaten him, and also his Legendary status made him reluctant to run away when there wasnt much danger. But when a large number of flying summoned beasts appeared, that was a different story. Damn it. Morton finally felt that the situation was a bit troublesome. He took a deep breath and began to fly outside the city, intending to leave the range of the Dimensional Anchors and teleport away again. However, seeing him move away, many of the faster players followed suit. They also threw Dimensional Anchor scrolls near Morton from time to time. Watching Dimensional Anchors unfold around him, Morton felt quite annoyed. How were these Golden Sons so rich? They had probably thrown almost a hundred Dimensional Anchor scrolls up till now. Even if this was as cheap as it could be, it would still cost a gold coin. In other words, just by throwing the Dimensional Anchor scrolls, these Golden Sons had thrown away more than a hundred gold coins. How could they be so wasteful? In reality, Morton didnt know that the vast majority of the Dimensional Anchor scrolls in the hands of the players were produced in Wetland City. Betta hadnt learned much magic at the Red Magic Tower, but just a handful of magic scroll making abilities. He could produce scrolls in large quantities at a low cost of only about thirty silver coins per Dimensional Anchor scroll. Also, he was the mayor of Wetland City; it was quite easy to recruit a large number of NPC workers and build a production chain here. From soup to nuts, material acquisition, scroll making, and selling. So all guilds would acquire magic scrolls from Betta, whether it was for Dimensional Anchor or Language Proficiency, and they would always have some stock in their guild warehouse. This was also the main source of income for the government agencies in Wetland City. In short, Wetland City didnt have much of anything except magic scrolls right now. Because of the ability to teleport, the spatial Mages didnt have to research deeply into flight magic. As long as the spell allowed flight and had decent speed, it would do. But no matter how fast, could it be more impressive than Teleportation? So Mortons flight speed was only about 18 meters per second. Not slow, but not fast either. Seeing him flying toward the outer city, the pitch-black sea of players ran after him. While running, some people cast debuffs and threw Dimensional Anchor scrolls. But running was ultimately not as fast as flying, and soon the players on the ground were going to be left behind. Seeing that Morton was about to leave the confines of Dimensional Anchor, the players got a little anxious and shouted. The boss is going to escape. Hell teleport when he is out of the range of Dimensional Anchor. Who has a way to restrain him? Damn, how come every boss is so good at running, the dark angel was like that and this one too. Tie the scrolls to the arrows and shoot them. Good idea. Among the players, there were still some with clever ideas, and as soon as this was shouted, there were immediately players with fast reflexes that did so. Seeing the boundary of the Dimensional Anchor right before him, Morton was delighted. He was about to fly out, but he suddenly saw that several very different big-headed arrows flew past him and then blossomed into a transparent pattern of light. Several more Dimensional Anchors unfolded around Morton. Morton froze at first, then the veins on his head bulged out. What the f*** is wrong with these Golden Sons, spending so many resources to keep me around. Are they crazy or what? Is it necessary to do this? Just when he was annoyed, there was a wave of fluttering sounds from behind him, and he turned around to find a large number of flying summoned beasts. At this moment, with a stifled breath in his chest, he saw the flying summoned beasts diving toward him and said angrily, Get the hell out of here. With his roar, a giant whirlwind took shape, moving toward the beasts at great speed and churning up the airflow over a wide area, sucking a large group of flying beasts directly into it and twisting them into a sky of bloody debris. Several players were also caught up in it, following the tornado as it disappeared into the distance. Seeing that the flying summoned beasts had disappeared, Morton snorted, seemingly a little smug. Then he turned around and continued. He didnt believe that he wouldnt be able to shake off these brutes who were running on the ground while he was flying in the air. Just as he was thinking this, a sudden, strange rumbling came from behind him. He looked back and saw several strange wooden birds following him, and in front of the left and right wings of these strange wooden birds, there was a rotating wind blade, which looked like two transparent discs when they spun. Morton froze. What the hell is this? Not to mention Morton, almost all of the players froze. It wasnt surprising that human-powered planes could keep up with Mortons flight, but the players had a different perspective. These human-powered planes had double-layered left and right wings, which made the wings a bit stronger and ensured that they wouldnt just fall apart even if the materials werent quite up to snuff. However a player was hanging on the lower wing. This player hooked their legs upside down on the lower wing and then drew their bow and shot an arrow upside down. After shooting an arrow, they took out another one from their Backpack. A dozen planes came chasing, each with a bowman hanging upside down on the left and right wings. All kinds of multi-shot arrows and guided arrows flew across the sky. The atmosphere was like the MiG Alley. Is this the legendary human-powered intelligent self-targeting machine gun? The players were shocked. Which guilds players were they, knowing how to play so well? Outside the city, the Phoenix Guilds girls chased after Morton on their horses, and they naturally saw the dozen or so combo planes in the air. These men are such children. Its a wonder they thought of such playful tricks. Men are children until they die, and this game just amplifies their childishness. While these two girls were talking, a dozen planes soon caught up with Morton and tailed him closely. Morton was being shot at non-stop by two dozen archers, and the Magic Shield behind him clanged repeatedly. It didnt break his defenses for now but distracted him to no end. With a roar, he turned around and instantly fired an air cannonball. The planes behind them reacted extremely quickly, scattering at once, and one even performed a roll. Then the two players hanging below the wings were miserable, like two rocks on a sling, pulled straight left and right into a straight line, spinning in a circle as the plane turned. At the same time, a mournful scream was heard even on the ground. So pitiful! Of course, some particular players expressed a different view. Its so cool to watch. Its even better than riding on a rollercoaster. I want to try it so badly. The planes spread out and encircled Morton, while the human machine cannons shot out an occasional Dimensional Anchor that continued to block Mortons ability to teleport. These crooked ways, these damn flies. Morton pointed at one of the nearest flying human-powered planes. Mages Disjunction. In his mind, this kind of thing that could fly into the air must be some kind of very special magic machine. As for why their magic power couldnt be felt, a magic array that masked the magic power should have been used, giving this particular flying magic machine the ability to conduct stealthy reconnaissance. But any object that was made out of magic would lose its ability to fly even if it didnt fall apart under Mages Disjunction. However, to his surprise, not only did the flying magic machine not fall apart after being hit by Mages Disjunction, it was actually able to continue flying. Could it be that Mages Disjunction failed? Just as he was thinking this, he heard a certain Golden Son hanging beneath the magic machine scream, sounding rather alarmed. This persons entire set of magic equipment was dispersed into magical elements. He became nude. A long fleshy maggot fluttered alluringly with the strong wind; it was quite magical. And disgusting! Chapter 584 - The Tragedy of the Great Elder Chapter 584 The Tragedy of the Great Elder Morton had never seen such a fearsome breed. Not afraid of death and unable to die. And they had a strange obsession with killing their enemies. Even till now, he hadnt understood why these people had suddenly attacked him. It was clear that he had just teleported to this city, and then the whole city rioted. It seemed that every one of them thought he was their enemy. Morton kept flying ahead, followed by one of those weird flying magical machines on his left, right, and behind him. He didnt understand why his Mages Disjunction didnt work on the flying machine when it was clear that the fully magically equipped Golden Son had become naked straightaway. It didnt make sense. He became more and more puzzled, and at the same time more and more impatient and restless inside. Dimensional Anchor scrolls kept unfolding to his left and right. Due to the harassment of those flying machines, his flying speed dropped significantly. SY. The flight magic, which wasnt fast to begin with, was slowed to the speed of a turtle, and even the Golden Sons on the ground were tailing closely behind him. A large group of Archers ran swiftly while shooting a volley of arrows at him. At this time, however, there were no more spells attacking him. Because most of the Mages amongst the Golden Sons werent strong enough. They were not as physically durable as the Warriors and Archers, and they didnt know flight magic, so they couldnt keep up with the large group. Morton turned back and fired another air cannonball. Because of Dimensional Anchors restriction, all of his strongest abilities could not be used at all for now. He could only use some simple spells. As a result, this wind-based spell, air cannonball, still didnt hit the enemy. Instead, his speed was temporarily slowed for a few more seconds by the casting of the spell, and a volley of arrows came raining down on his head. He flew forward with all his effort, avoiding most of the arrows, but was still hit by hundreds of them. The Golden Sons were too good at focused fire. The ripples in the Magic Shield were increasing after the hit, a sign that the strength of the Magic Shield was decreasing. He looked back at the ground and found himself followed by a long, black stream of people. This stream of people spread from the far horizon of Wetland City, as if it were a terrifying magical tentacle reaching out from the city. Trying to reel him back in. All of them are crazy, Morton spat in annoyance. He gritted his teeth and planned to unleash another group attack spell. For example, a cold ice tornado or something of the sort. However, he soon gave up on this thought. One group attack spell would at most kill three or four hundred Golden Sons. But the terrifying stream of people below consisted of at least 40,000 people, and how many large-scale spells would he have to cast to kill them all? It wasnt as though large-scale group attack spells didnt require magic power. He flew forward desperately, and at the same time secretly swore in his heart: When I go back, I must find a way to get rid of this Wetland City. These Golden Sons must never gather together. After they swarm, theyre too terrifying. He simply flew forward and didnt intend to counterattack. He had to save enough magic power to support the Magic Shield, as well as to fly. Legendary Mages had a lot of magic power, but it wasnt unlimited. He was under attack from the flying machines behind him, and those running Archers on the ground, who now fired an arrow or two from time to time, were terribly accurate. Out of ten arrows, at least five could hit him. His magic power was decreasing at a fairly rapid rate. He thought to use his endurance to shake off these Golden Sons. Then after half an hour, not to mention the flying magic machines, a large group of people even followed on the ground. He then took a closer look and found that these people all had mounts. Almost every single person had a steed. By now Morton was a little tired. And those Golden Sons were still shrieking spiritedly. After another half-hour, he still didnt lose these Golden Sons, and even the distance between them was closing It was clear that the Golden Sons seemed to have more endurance than Morton. But this was just an illusion, mainly because Morton was under such constant attack. His magic power had to be fully used to maintain his shield and flight. At this point, Morton already felt some fear, and his mind was racing, thinking about how he should escape from the pursuit of these Golden Sons. Many plans formed in his mind and were quickly rejected. Suddenly, he saw a city appear on the horizon ahead. His eyes lit up; if he flew into the city, the Golden Sons who prided themselves on their righteousness and goodness would probably have regard for the lives of the civilians in the city and wouldnt attack indiscriminately. He immediately lowered his flying altitude, intending to escape to the middle of the city with the shortest distance. Then the lowering of his altitude immediately gave certain people the opportunity to take advantage of it. At least fifty nets were cast. All these nets were large and made of iron. They reflected a cold metallic sheen in the sunlight. Many thieves and hunters who could cast nets had been involved in the siege of the vampires over a year ago, when they used straw-rope nets, which were tough and nearly impossible for ordinary people to escape, but not too hard for vampires to tear. At that time, although the net could hit the low-flying vampires, soon the vampires would break free, resulting in poor crowd control. So since that time, many players began to improve the production technology of cast nets. Eventually wire nets were produced, and even some magic materials were added into them, substantially strengthening the toughness of the nets. Of these fifty or so wire nets, thirteen of them actually hit Morton. They Instantly wrapped him into a wire ball. IT 0 Because of the Magic Shield still being in place, these wire nets naturally couldnt be tied to his body, but with a dozen or so nets on top of him at least five kilograms or so per net-and suddenly having about eighty kilograms more weight to carry, his flight speed not only slowed down, but his flight altitude dropped further. Damn! Through the Magic Shield, Morton saw that his vision was blocked by a thick layer of wire nets, and he could no longer distinguish his direction. Flying slower and lower attracted more cast net attacks. In less than ten seconds, he had another twenty or so nets over his body. He was no longer a ball of wire but a cocoon of wire. The kind where you couldnt even see the man inside. Get him, get him! The players running on the ground yelled. At that moment, a plane climbed up above Mortons head and then came crashing down almost vertically with the force of gravity. The plane was obviously an old propeller plane, but with potential energy acceleration, it almost flew at the speed of an old jet. Then the human-powered plane directly hit Morton at a bold angle. The pilot of the plane didnt have a parachute, and the two people who hung on the wings also didnt jump away. The three of them used their own weight to add more potential impact to the plane. The plane whistled down and hit Morton, who was flying slower and slower. The moment it hit, the plane fell apart, splattering wood all over the sky. The momentum transferred, and Morton was sent crashing to the ground like a discharged cannonball. The three players crashed to the ground amidst the wood debris in the sky, immediately becoming three masses of pixels that were hard to look at. Morton was still alive, his Magic Shield softening the vast majority of the impact of the fall for him. He struggled to his feet, which would have been hard for anyone with thirty or forty cast nets over the outside of their Magic Shield and a total weight of at least two hundred kilograms of external weight pressing down on them. Yet, Morton still stood up. It was hard. He couldnt see what was outside the shield, but he could use his mental power to probe the surroundings. A dense sea of people was rapidly approaching, and there were already people surrounding him. The Summoner girls whose mounts ran fast could maneuver much quicker than most of the players. I cant escape? The thought flashed through Mortons mind as he looked at the cast nets outside his Magic Shield. Then a profound fear arose in his heart. Everyone was afraid of death, and so was Morton. He could not see outside but shouted anyway. I am the Great Elder of the Spatial Magic Tower. If you let me go, I will Before he finished bribing, he felt a heavy blow to the head. It was a good thing the Magic Shield was in the way, so he didnt take much damage. However, cracks appeared on the outer layer of the Magic Shield. Now Morton was even more anxious. Listen to me, I can really give you a lot of money, a lot of money! Then what he heard in his ears was the excited, charging roar of the Golden Sons. Cracks in the Magic Shield had grown to the front and back. Morton took a deep breath and said, Ten gold coins per person. Who the hell will believe you! If there was some hesitation a moment ago, the players were all indignant now. There were at least thirty to forty thousand players in Wetland City. Ten gold coins per person was a rich reward of three or four hundred thousand. No one thought Morton could get this amount of money simply because it was just too much. Then came the players frenzied attacks. After a few people had attacked at a close range, the cast net on Morton had been cut away so much that he could already see ahead. A dense sea of people, and all these Golden Sons were looking at him with smiling eyes. It was like some of the nobles who were into men he had seen as a child. A Mage has to die like a gentleman. Morton looked at the players swarming around in despair. But dont you all even think about meeting a good end. Half an hour later, the forum was flooded with posts of gratitude to Roland. The content was much the same. I didnt expect that this boss that spawned was actually the final boss to be defeated in some epic quest. Who got it here? Who else could it be but Roland? Doesnt Roland have a white cat now? Lets drag the black cat away. Now that the big boss has been executed, the next thing to watch is the progress of those players whove crossed the ocean. The boss actually self-destructed, how troublesome. Morton didnt bring much out, so the players didnt find anything of value, but the good thing was that this was related to the epic quest, so even if they wasted most of their Dimensional Anchor scrolls, they felt it was worth it. At this time, outside of Tebesia, a small square-shaped gathering area had been built. More than three hundred fire feces Warlocks were ready to go. Chapter 585 - Fire Chapter 585 Fire Roland was inspecting the magic flying ship at this time. The group of handymen and magic apprentices who were responsible for piloting and maintaining the group of flying ships followed behind Roland in trepidation. Andonara, holding Rolands arm, pointed quite happily at the slanting hole that ran through the entire flying ship. I wanted to shoot this thing down, but after I hurled the spear, only a hole came out I thought I could make it explode. The next time you throw a spear at a large object or building, flatten the tip a bit and make a cross-shaped groove in it to increase the speed of the spears rotation when thrown; it will drastically increase the laceration ability and the damage to large objects will skyrocket. Andonaras eyes lit up. Roland you know so much. Its just common sense. Roland waved his hand. Why dont I help you study the combat system of Great Swordsmen and Heroes later. Andonara nodded her head repeatedly, feeling quite happy. Generally, although Warriors were aware that spellcasters discriminated against them, if it came to combat ability, they would say: Spellcasters know nothing about frontal combat. They only know how to cast spells at a distance. They have no courage and dont know what power is. This was a kind of affirmation and reassurance for their profession. Subconsciously, they assumed that others didnt know what they were good at to ensure their authority in this area. But Andonara was different. She knew Roland was very knowledgeable, though he didnt have much common sense about this world because he wasnt from this plane. But that scholarly temperament, and that scholarly way of thinking only, she could still see. After all, there were many scholars raised in the royal court, and she had come into contact with them enough to know some of the behaviors of such people. Roland, for his part, was more scholarly than all the scholars she had come in contact with. And almost all of his time was spent studying magic and reading books about this world. Now, he was coming to know more and more about this world. Even many of the royal court scholars, in terms of common knowledge, were no match for him anymore. What made Andonara fall head over heels was the speed of Rolands progress in magic. Since she became a Legendary Great Swordsman, she looked at everyone as though they were beneath her. It wasnt that she was conceited, it was just the way it was. Aside from the two divine angels who had descended, or the World Tree, there wasnt anyone in the world who could pose much of a threat to her. If she had to find someone who would scare her, it would be Roland. As a clingy woman, she had already identified with him. Another reason was that she had seen Rolands frightening rate of progress. At the time she became a Legend, she thought he was so weak. But now he was able to give her the impression of a strong man. At this rate, she thought Roland would surely be able to catch up with her in less than five years. And Rolands ability to grow so fast couldnt be separated from his scholarliness. Researching, thinking, researching again, thinking again, doing experiments repeatedly, searching for the truth of magic Many people had a substantial impression that seriousness and hard work were just nouns; they had no actual impression. But as his partner, Andonara was well aware of how hard Roland was working. This wasnt surprising since the Golden Sons didnt need to sleep and rest. But he had almost no interest in parties and socializing. Time was devoted almost entirely to studying magic and learning. Because she was too worried about Rolands physical and mental health, Andonara, who had always been shy, became bold and actively sought out opportunities to get intimate with him from time to time; she had truly worried about this. So in Andonaras eyes, her man was smart and knowledgeable, and he could do things that no one else could imagine if he wanted to. She was the best witness to this. She witnessed a weak Golden Son become strong with shocking speed. She witnessed his rise from obscurity to fame among the noble class of Hollevin. All of this made her think that there was nothing her man could not do. Helping her to improve her combat skills didnt even need to be mentioned. After Roland inspected the whole flying ship, he was somewhat excited It was something he had been on a few times before. It was essentially an airborne luxury yacht. Men all wanted to have some luxury cars and yachts and other things of the sort, and Roland was no exception. Besides, this flying ship contained very advanced magical concepts, and if Roland could absorb them, he was certain that his level of magic knowledge would advance further, and perhaps some of these techniques could even be used in the construction of his floating city. en He then gathered the ships handymen and magic apprentices. You are all captives now, and I have the right to dispose of you, both according to the rules of the Fareins and the rules of Hollevin. Hearing these words, the near-hundred people in front of him all looked confused and scared. They were just ordinary people, and those magic apprentices were also commoners. If they were magic apprentices of noble origin, they wouldnt be put on this flying ship for hard labor. Now you are given two choices. You can remain on duty on this ship and I will send you home on the flying ship once you have worked for a year, or, of course, you can stay and continue working. This group of people spoke in a flurry, like the scenes at a food market. Roland waited for their voices to die down before continuing, The other option is to leave on your own, but of course, I will give you each a silver coin for the journey. Now the chatter got even louder. A bold magic apprentice raised his hand and said, Sir, one silver coin is not enough to get us back to the Spatial Magic Tower from here. Thats your business. Roland waved his hand. I have been merciful by sparing your lives and compensating you for the journey; how you will return after is a matter for you to consider. Having done this, Roland felt he had done his best to be merciful. Amongst the hundred or so people, the vast majority felt that Roland had a point. If they were the victors, it would be strange if they didnt get the most value out of their captives. After some consideration, these people all agreed to the first option. They were willing to continue working on the flying ship. Roland nodded and smiled with satisfaction. You wont regret this decision. I have a Magic Tower under my name, and although it is still far from the major Magic Towers, I believe that in less than ten years, it will grow to that point as well. No one believed Rolands words except for Andonara, who was full of admiration. On the other side, nearly five thousand players had gathered in the newly built encampment. Fewer and fewer players were arriving now. There were at least thirty thousand players who crossed the sea either via human-powered planes or via large wooden ships. But only five thousand or so people arrived safely. Here, the square-shaped, ten-meter-high rock walls hindered most prying eyes. Over the past few days, the players of the Rogue profession entered Tebesia and mapped out the city to the hilt. At the same time, they assisted Maromatha by moving a large number of werecats into this encampment. And at least half of the players here began to indulge in petting cats. Maromatha, as the most beautiful and elegant black cat among the werecats, was surrounded by ten times more people than the other cats. At first, she was uncomfortable, but now she was able to completely ignore the circle of enraptured Golden Sons next to her. She wandered around the quarters every day, and one day she pointed at the 300 or so male players in the corner of the quarters with a rather curious expression. I noticed that you guys seem to be ostracizing them and seem to be afraid of them. Whats going on? There was discrimination among the werecats too. But this group didnt seem to be discriminated against; rather, it was more like they didnt quite fit in and were feared. Seeing the men eating mushy curry, the female player with a psychology major who had been watching over the black cat paled. Theyre our secret weapon, the scary kind. You dont want to get involved with them! Mallomarsas tail swept around. The female player talked so mysteriously that she instead became more curious and her eyes sparkled as she looked at those three hundred people. Right in the big central room of this encampment, six players held a meeting around the stone table. They were all guild leaders. The transfer of the werecats has been completed, and as for the remaining werecats who were unwilling to leave, they are die-hard loyalists of the Spatial Magic Tower. The news that we are going to attack the Spatial Magic Tower was previously spread by these same werecats. Thats normal. Every race has good guys and bad guys. Werecats are cute, but theyre no exception. Half a day ago, we submitted a declaration of war to the Spatial Magic Tower and also shouted to the people of Tebesia, asking the commoners to leave early so that they wouldnt be affected. And the results? Those commoners laughed at our messengers for being idiots and then threw some camel dung at them. One guy got smeared all over. The other five guild leaders showed rather delighted expressions. One of them exclaimed, So this is karma. In that case, in two hours, lets attack as scheduled. Youll be in command of the three hundred maggot Warlocks, Andrew. The player named Andrew stood up and nodded with a rather serious and grave expression. Dont worry; we, the Flying Feces, wont let you down. Then he strode out of the conference room. Coming to a certain corner of the encampment, the three hundred players with distinctive temperaments saw him and all stood up. With flashes of white light, white maggots with a body length of at least two meters appeared by their sides. Then, under their command, these fleshy white maggots split into three rows of one hundred each and tilted up their heads in unison. Crap, its about to start. The players who saw this scene backed up in unison, while almost all of them put masks on themselves or pulled up face scarves. The catgirl Maromatha found this strange as she looked around, not understanding why these people were suddenly wearing masks. Heres one for you. The female player offered a helping hand. Maromatha shook her head. I dont like having my face covered, its uncomfortable. You really dont want one? Youll regret it. Maromatha was stubborn. No! The female player smiled playfully. Fine. Suit yourself! At this time, Andrew took out a white military cap from his Backpack. The caps emblem was a bald eagle. Then he squared his body and stood straight, like a high-ranking military officer. What is he doing? Life requires a sense of ritual, Andrew muttered, and then he adjusted his white military cap. Then, with a fierce look on his face, he roared. 400th Field Artillery Battalion, firing angle 83 degrees, load the yellow ammunition Then, he swung his right hand downward. He yelled at the top of his lungs. Fire! Chapter 586 - Outrageous Chapter 586 Outrageous The first row of maggots compressed their bodies backward, and the round bulges at their tails advanced rapidly toward their mouths. Finally, the maggots straightened with a jerk and the round filling spurted out from the huge mouthparts of their heads. A round yellow mass flew into the sky parabolically and into the distance. Each ball of yellow mass, when spurted out, swirled and flung out quite a bit of sticky yellow liquid. Although these sticky liquids didnt shoot far, soon the entire encampment was flooded with an indescribable smell. Even with a mask on, the smell could penetrate, and it seemed that even the mask had become a source for the stench. Most of the players were already quite far away from the array of maggots, but they still felt like someone was shoving feces up their noses. Smelling the stench, the players looking on retreated again. Some had even gone to the side and crouched in the corner, just waiting to puke. As for the werecats In Maromathas case, her sense of smell was much stronger than a humans, and her fur stood on end immediately when she smelled this stench. It started from her ears, then her tail shot straight up, and the black fur on her tail swelled visibly. The beautiful, shiny black tail turned into a black chicken feather duster all of a sudden. Then her gaze lost its light, and with wide eyes, she fell backward and hit the ground with limbs outstretched, passing out. Smiling, the female player who had been accompanying her grabbed Maromathas waist and dragged her away, all the way to the outside of the encampment against the leeward side of the fence, and only then did she stop. And during this time, players pained screams intermittently came from the encampment. Fire! A row of yellow balls of feces, showering droplets here and there, launched into the air. Placing the black cat gently against the wall, the female player rubbed her hands together excitedly. With a slightly smug expression on her smiling face, she then touched the black cats soft ears with her hands, then cupped her face with both hands, revealing a silly, smitten smile. Hahaha, touched it. After laughing, she reached out to touch the cats ears again, followed by another giggle while cupping her face. After a few repetitions of this, the black cat Maromatha woke up. Her face was ashen and she wobbled farther away, digging a pit in the sand with both her hands and feet and then her mouth puckered as a stream of vomit that looked like rainbow colors landed in the sandpit. After throwing up for several minutes, she finally felt better. Maromasha pushed her hands into the sand to bury the vomit, then crouched defensively with her hands on her head, wincing and muttering, So horrible, those Warlocks are horrible. So much poop, so stinky, hell for kitties. Werecats naturally loved cleanliness and would clean themselves whenever they could. The feces spewed out by these maggots were catalyzed by magic, so the stench was at least ten times worse and was extremely difficult to disperse. Even living beings with a very average sense of smell like humans couldnt stand it, let alone werecats, whose sense of smell was at least ten times stronger than a humans. If it was just dirty, or just smelly Maromatha wouldnt have reacted that badly. But it was dirty and smelly, and it really pushed werecats over the edge. At Tebesia, the Elder Councils chamber at the Spatial Magic Tower: Greene looked at the three elders in front of him as he said slowly, Barnard is dead, I saw it with my own eyes, and Rolands woman, the queen of a small country by the name of Andonara, is truly a Legendary Great Swordsman, just as the intelligence said. How is that possible! Hearing this, the other three elders were shocked. One of them stood up in surprise. How could Barnard have been killed when you and him both went over there, in a flying boat, hanging high in the air without landing, and both know Mages Disjunction? That female Legendary Great Swordsman can fly too. Greenes eyes were filled with fear. The flame on her body is also blue, about the same color as the Inferior Fireball Roland created. It was Greene being freaked out, thinking that Roland and Andonara both had the same flame. But the nature of their flames was different. Rolands was a pure magical flame. And Andonaras was the Heros flame, the flame of the Immortal Phoenix Devil King. Rolands flames only turned blue from the sheer heat. Andonaras flames, on the other hand, while also blue, were nowhere near as hot as Rolands blue flames, but they had a decent scorching ability and, most importantly, could have a great restraining effect on the evil creatures of the realm of devils. The three remaining men looked at each other. They felt like things had been off lately. A Legend was supposed to be the pinnacle of power in the main plane, but Oepmop from their Magic Tower had died a few days ago, and after a few days more, Barnard had died. The words great loss could no longer be used to describe the current misery of the Spatial Magic Tower. If this wasnt settled properly, it could even affect the future of the Spatial Magic Tower. Two Legends had fallen in a matter of days. If the students preparing to learn spatial magic found out, how would they see the Monochrome Magic Tower? They would think that this Magic Tower was rubbish and weak; otherwise, how could even Legends have fallen one after another? And one was killed by a Master, and the other was killed by the queen of a small country. If word got out, it would be quite embarrassing. They sighed heavily, and finally, someone suggested, Lets contact the Great Elder and listen to his opinion. The other three nodded. The Legendary Mage who offered his opinion immediately started the special spatial mental communication method, but then his face, which looked puzzled at first, gradually turned pale. At the same time, he swallowed. I cant contact the Great Elder. The other three thought this was normal. Spatial mental leap fails easily, its not like you dont know that. Try contacting him a few more times. No, I located the Great Elders soul, but its in the wrong place, and he ignored me. Where did he go off to now? This Legends face gradually began to drain of color.The underworld it seems to be the Wall of the Faithless. The other three Legendary Mages first froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. Pylos, dont joke around at times like this. Pyloss expression grew paler. Im not joking; if you dont believe me, contact the Great Elder yourselves. The three people saw the seriousness in his fearful expression and their smiles all stiffened at once. After a while, Greene took the initiative to use a mental leap to look for the mental fluctuations of the Great Elder. The mental powers between these Legends were linked with special spatial magic, and as long as they spared their mental power, they could find their people easily. A dozen seconds later, Greenes expression also became pale. It really seems to be the Wall of the Faithless. The majority of Mages were faithless. Because they wanted to become gods like Mystra, and once they believed in someone else, it would be hard to become a god. Believers who were strong to a certain extent, even if they were normal, would be noticed by the gods. Once the first signs of godhood were detected, the consequences would be hard to predict. And if they had no faith at all, they would be dragged to the Wall of the Faithless and hung there to be blown by the wind. This wind was a soul-chilling wind, and souls that hung on the wall would be pained so much that theyd wish for death. Even if they were a Legendary Mage, even if their mental power was strong, they would only last a few hundred years more than normal people would. The Spatial Magic Tower had researched all the major planes, including where the Wall of the Faithless was. Their ancestors had also teleported there and escaped under the pursuit of the god of the underworld, and wrote about the Wall of the Faithless and its coordinates. However, the man was later captured by the god of the underworld to hang back onto the Wall of the Faithless, nonetheless. But his strange anecdote was still remembered by the people of the Spatial Magic Tower. Everyone scouted out the location of the Great Elder, and then each one of them was terrified. Isnt the Great Elder at the Red Magic Tower? Roland shouldnt be able to kill himcould it be that Alfred from the Red Magic Tower and others who did it?. The second elder roared, A Legend died in another Magic Towerthis is a shame, this is warthe Red Magic Tower must pay for this. But we are no match for them. Make this matter public, unite the Great Elders of other Magic Towers, and put pressure on the Red Magic Tower at the same time. Alfred dared to kill our Great Elder, so in coming days, surely he would dare to kill those of the others. Yes, unite the others Just then, there was a strange splattering sound from outside the council chamber. It seemed as if something soft had fallen from high in the air. Then the sounds of screaming came from outside the street, even accompanied by strange shrieks of It stinks bleh! The pale faces of the four Legends instantly took on some color, caused by anger. Greene walked over to the window and pushed it open, then saw many large yellow balls thrown from high in the air outside the city, in waves and rows. Many of them landed on the far side of the council chamber. It could be seen from high above that these yellow balls were not hard, and when they hit the ground, they splattered into a puddle of yellow muck. A yellow orb then came crashing down from high in the air to the front of the council chamber; it was going to find its way to the window if it wasnt stopped. Greene grunted and reached out his hand. A small tornado came out of his hand and collided with the yellow ball. The yellow ball was cut by the tornado, turning into strips of slime that were sucked into the tornado. After the tornado sucked them in, they were thrown out from the top of the tornado. There was a very spectacular scene; the yellow ball inside was cut into countless slurries and then, with the rotational force of the tornado, it spurted out from above, spilling evenly in all directions. Because Greenes tornado was so well controlled, the rotational force of the wind was quite uniform. The tornado was like a perfect sprinkler, moving forward like a fountain, swishing the slurries from the yellow ball in its path. Where it passed, those citizens who couldnt escape let out a shriek, and many of them simply fainted after running a few steps. Only a small number of people could endure this strange smell. Greene watched in amazement as Tebesia turned into a weeping hell. Just as he was wondering why this was happening, he suddenly caught a whiff of the smell of feces coming through. The moment Greene caught the smell, he nearly fainted. He subconsciously activated his Magic Shield and blocked out the air. Looking back, he found that the other three elders all had their shields on as well. Then Greene looked at the yellow slurry feces all over the street, his anger rising drastically. This is outrageous and excessive. Greene let out a roar of grief and indignation. Chapter 587 - Filthy City Chapter 587 Filthy City Greenes fury was well-grounded; Mages had always despised the unscrupulous method of throwing feces in a battle. After all, Mages always represented elegance, mysteriousness, and nobility. Throwing feces couldnt cause any damage at all. It was more of an insult. Theyre outrageous! With reddened eyes, Greene suddenly turned around and told the other three elders, Activate the magic arrays and our golems. The Great Elder is already dead and so is Oepmop. This is the Golden Sons genocidal war against us. Lets not withhold our fatal methods anymore. The other three elders all nodded in agreement. When they made the decision, clicking noises came from the outside. One did not need to think to know that something mustve been thrown over. Fortunately, all four of them were protected by Magic Shields. Still, the smell in the air got stronger and stronger and vaguely permeated the shields. The clicking noises came from outside every dozen seconds. We cant wait any longer. Activate the magic defense arrays already. The trigger of the magic defense array was right in the conference hall, so the four Mages worked together to overturn the heavy table. On the underside of the table was engraved a magic array that looked complicated. Few people could realize that the core of the magic defense array of the Spatial Magic Tower was actually on the back of the long table. This magic defense array could only be activated by three elders simultaneously. There were four Mages here, which was more than enough. Greene laid his hand on the magic array first. Then, Pylos and another three-eyed Mage did the same. The monochrome stripes of the magic array were quickly illuminated. Three seconds later, a domed, transparent shield suddenly appeared above the city of Tebesia. As the yellow feces were projected from a distance and stuck to the shield, half of the shield was covered by the sticky yellow stuff. At this moment, everybody in Tebesia could see a thick layer of excrement hanging a hundred meters above them whenever they raised their heads. It was rather exciting. However, the nasty appearance of the excrement was the least of their concerns. At least half of Tebesia had already been drowned in the yellow excrement. The excrement, fertilized by magic power, was extremely stimulating. It was very smelly and hard to get used to. Under normal circumstances, one would no longer sense any stink if they were in a smelly environment for too long. However, the excrement fertilized by magic power largely worked on the mind or the soul directly. It meant that however long they had been smelling it, people would still remain nauseated by it. All of Tebesia was a living hell at this moment. All the residents were trying to cover their noses. Masks and handkerchiefs were no longer effective. One could slightly ease the smell by putting a spice bag below ones nose, but it wasnt a permanent solution; the spice bag would soon be contaminated by the smell too. People were vomiting on the street and at home. Those who couldnt tolerate the smell anymore began to flee the city. The magic defense arrays of the city had a special feature: entrance was forbidden, but it was okay to get out. It was meant to make it easier for the defenders of the city to go out and attack, and for the citizens to escape. As it happened, the two city gates were both in the coverage of the flying s*it. Actually, the players had already figured that out thanks to their earlier reconnaissance. The citizens of Tebesia strode out of the city unsteadily on the sticky, slippery feces. They were so overwhelmed that their heads spun and they fell over now and then. When they fell into the wet feces, they rose back to their feet in desperation. Not caring what their clothes were stained with exactly, they kept walking gloomily. This is so vicious! Too vicious! Who has Tebesia pissed off? We dont deserve such treatment! An old man wailed and covered his face while he stepped forward in the overflowing feces. What he said made the citizens burst into rage. They were almost of a mind to kill the feces-throwers immediately. However, in the next second, the pungent smell, mixed with the special hot airwaves of the desert, found its way into their noses again. They were instantly dizzy and almost threw up again. They thought that this manner of attack was vicious, but actually, the players were holding back. The players knew that there were plenty of innocent, ordinary people in the city, so they merely threw the feces balls that carried special smells. What they didnt throw was the green balls that carried infectious diseases. There were also the yellowish, scorching feces balls, which would burn the enemys skin with their high temperature, so that the bacteria and poisons in the feces could break through the bodys defenses more easily. Infection, tetanus, and other fatal infectious diseases could all be triggered by such burning balls. The citizens, who were more or less covered in excrement, tried their best to flee as far away from the city as possible. Some of them were stopped by the players soon after they left the city. It was because the players could see the red HP bars above their heads. Surrender or die, make your choice. A dozen players surrounded them with a smile. The Mages and apprentices of the Spatial Magic Tower, who were pretending to be citizens, smartly raised their hands. Its one of our strategies to force them to get out. Wright, chairman of Fatter Cat, chuckled. Any intelligent creature wouldnt like such a filthy environment. Its too late even if they are to establish the defense arrays. The excrement of the maggots wont lose their smell so easily. The command center was filled with joyful laughter. Exactly like what Wright said, the defense arrays of Tebesia had indeed stopped more feces balls from coming in, but they also kept the smell of the feces within. The stench of the excrement that had already been dropped was trapped inside by the magic barriers. The bell in the Spatial Magic Tower tolled, and an emergency meeting was convened. Only two-thirds of the members arrived; the other one-third were missing. Lets leave the traitors aside and talk about the problem were faced with. Standing on the high platform, Greene shouted at the official Mages and apprentices down below. Our foes are the despicable foreigners. Theyre shameless and have no sense of honor at all. They dont deserve to be called our enemies, but theyre still formidable opponents. Hardly had Greene said that when someone gagged down below. Although most Mages could cast Magic Shield, the problem was that they didnt have the magic power to sustain one for long. The cost of such shields was nothing for the Legends, but for the official Mages and the apprentices, it could be a very exhausting spell. Everybody was holding off the smell with their shields, but they couldnt keep it active for long. When a magic apprentice ran out of magic power, he was instantly enshrouded by the smell and threw up. It was like a starting signal. The apprentices who were trying to contain themselves couldnt endure any longer. Their shields were gone, and undigested food squirted out of their stomachs. The official Mages all stepped aside with gloom and nausea on their faces. They werent amused at all, but felt rather sad and sympathetic, because their own shields couldnt last long either. Greene looked at this unbelievable scene of collective vomiting and didnt say anything. His heart was filled with fury, yet he couldnt let it out. The morale of the Magic Tower was already very low. If he were to burst into fury and punish them again, it would freeze the morale, which was low enough as it was. Next, well activate the most powerful weapon of the Spatial Magic Tower. What youre going to do is very simple. Greene put on a cold smile. Follow our weapons, and tear all our enemies into pieces or bring them back. Let them lick our city clean and eat their own discharges! Greenes speech was provocative and blood-boiling. The low morale was instantly boosted. Kill those feces-throwers! The wicked must die! About five kilometers to the east of Tebesia The cat-humans had already evacuated. Maromatha personally led them north, which was the direction where the wind was from in this season. At this moment, all the cat-humans had been traumatized by the maggot spellcasters. Too many cat-humans had passed out and vomited before. At this moment, only the players were left in the base. Some players were quite angry. They had a great time playing with the cats a moment earlier, but the cats were all scared off the moment the maggot Warlocks got to work. There was even no telling if those cats would come back. Then, they looked at the maggot Warlocks in an angry way. As it turned out, the maggot Warlocks simply glared back at them with provocative smiles. At the same time, they ate certain green matters to replenish themselves with food and energy. The players who were bummed by the fleeing cats trembled and moved their eyes away. In the command center, the chairmen of Fatter Cat and other guilds were discussing their next tactics. If I were the leader of the Spatial Magic Tower, I wouldnt wait and die, said a certain chairman. Its time to show their trump cards. I wonder what theyve got. What good stuff can they possibly have? Some alchemical equipment at best. Its not like they can build a Gundam, can they? The chairman of Fatter Cat laughed. Everybody looked at him with obvious worry in their eyes. The chairman sensed that the atmosphere wasnt right, so he stopped smiling awkwardly. At this moment, someone broke in and said in surprise, The Mages of Tebesia are crazy. Look what they have built! The chairmen quickly ran outside. They jumped to the wall, only to see an enormous shadow rising from the sands near Tebesia. It had a bronze body and was thirteen meters tall even when squatting. It would probably be more than twenty meters tall if it stood up straight. From a distance, it looked like a gigantic robot. The other chairman all stared at the chairman of Fatter Cat as if hed jinxed them. Chapter 588 - A Brave Young Man Chapter 588 A Brave Young Man All the players looked at the rising bronze giant outside of Tebesia with surprise. On the surface of the giant were engraved bright green magic stripes. Immense magic power was gathered in its body, and even the air around it was a mess. Over a distance, the bronze giant appeared slightly twisted by airwaves. Shoot! Theres really a Gundam here! The chairman of the Fatter Cats eyes glittered. The other chairmen, however, had a strong toothache. Not everybody liked giant robots. Besides, this thing didnt look easy to deal with at all. What do we do now? Looking at the enormous giant that was walking over slowly, a certain chairman frowned and remarked, This is really unscientific. Even if this giant has special metal feet that can support its body weight, how can it walk on the soft sand without sinking when its feet and body are proportional to human beings?. Dont ask. The only answer youll get is that its magic, said another chairman with a smile. Science means nothing in this game. Dont bother with that. What do we do next? Send the dare-to-die corps out. The chairman of Fatter Cat waved his hands. Give them good drinks, good cuisines, and gold coins. Very generous. The other chairmen all raised their thumbs. Im not good at fighting. The chairman of Fatter Cat touched his bald head and said solemnly, But youre not good at making money. Its all up to you whether or not we can accomplish this epic quest. Anything would be easy with a copious reward of money. The other chairmen all laughed and then picked suitable players for the mission. Then, a fifty-man team was quickly established and gathered in five minutes. They launched a charge at the bronze metal giant. This team was a typical one for a raid. It was divided into ten squads, each consisting of five soldiers. There were vanguards, DPS, and supports in each team. Besides, all of them were level eight, which was above the average of the players. However, these ten squads were annihilated by the bronze giant in five minutes. The battle was very simple. The bronze giant tore off what appeared to be a sword from its back. Then, it held the sword and spun its upper half body while keeping its lower half body still. It turned into a dreadful tornado so fast that the waves cut the enemy apart. A vanguard was consumed by the tornado and instantly minced. That was not the end of it. This bronze giant turned out to be even capable of short-distance teleportation. It flashed to the dare-to-die team and earned ten kills instantly. Then, another flash, and multiple more kills. The tornado formed by the spinning giant had a massive range and a high attraction force. When it flashed to the players, the players were minced before they could react. After killing the fifty soldiers of the dare-to-die team, the bronze giant slowly returned to somewhere near Tebesia. The magic stripes on the giant brightened and dimmed intermittently, as if it were being charged. In the command center, the few chairmen gathered up again. This thing is truly marvelous, said the chairman of Fatter Cat excitedly. Blade Storm plus Flash, thats truly ingenious. Ive never seen such a smart Gundam before. Brother, are you really supposed to feel happy about it? Its our enemy. One of the chairmen scratched his head. Cut the crap and give us some practical advice on how to deal with it. It seems to be too strong for us. Unfortunately, the dare-to-die team didnt acquire much useful information. We can limit this things teleportation ability with Dimensional Anchors and reduce its mobility. Another guild chairman shrugged. Then, we can fight a war of attrition and kill it. My thoughts exactly, said the chairman of Fatter Cat with a smile. Youve all read the battle report on the forum, right? The Grand Elder of the Spatial Magic Tower was tricked to going to Wetland City by Roland and was then killed by the tens of thousands of players there. Those players are mostly casuals with low levels. We can certainly do what they already did. All the chairmen took a deep breath. Although the chairman of Fatter Cat made a good point, why did something sound off to them? They were kind of scared. Nevertheless, certain things must be done. The bronze giant must be recharging. It was a good chance to attack it. They found the chairman of the maggot Warlocks and proposed, What about a wave of feces at the bronze giant? There must be acids in the waste of your maggots, right? Its possible that they can break a few magic stripes and paralyze the giant. There isnt much stock left in the maggots. The chairman thought for a moment and replied, Maybe they can fight half a wave. Then lets try it. Okay. After the plan was settled, a hundred green feces balls were thrown at the bronze giant. All of a sudden, the giant was smeared with a thick layer of excrement. At this moment, the bronze giant was motionless, as if it were really being charged. But it was also possible that it had been short-circuited by the wet waste. The players moved on boldly with thick grass ropes on their back. It would be too much a shame if such a huge giant was destroyed. It could probably be sold for a lot of money after the feces were cleaned off. Such a mobile robot definitely contained magic technologies that they were unaware of. They could always sell the information to the Mages even if they couldnt understand it. Their potential customers included Roland, ONeal, and other Mages. However, they encountered something even more brutal than they had expected. The moment they were about to approach the bronze giant, the giant moved. The players were prepared. They cast out Dimensional Anchor scrolls in case the bronze giant killed them by flashing. However that was when the tragedy happened. The bronze giant was covered in a thick layer of feces. It was also spinning fast. What would that cause? A storm of solid waste that was spurted out in all directions. Although the bronze giant couldnt flash anymore, it could still move. While spinning its upper body and moving its lower body, it raised a tornado as well as a shower of yellow-and-green sticky mud. Half of the players had already thrown up and lost their combat ability before they approached it. Then, those players were minced. As for the other half of the players They ran off quickly and cowardly. They dared not even pick up their fallen shoes. Wussies! You wussies! The chairman of Fatter Cat shouted with bitter grief, A true warrior should be brave enough to confront flying s*it! Just go yourself if you think youre brave! a player snapped angrily. Tsk The chairman snorted. Players nowadays are too smart to be provoked. Looking at the bronze giant that was recharged near Tebesia, the players were truly worried. This thing was impressive. It only knew one move, Blade Storm, yet the players couldnt defeat it at all. The enemies in the Spatial Magic Tower must be laughing their heads off watching all this. However, the truth was the opposite of what they pictured. The four elders in the Spatial Magic Tower couldnt be more worried. The Golden Sons are stopping our golem from being recharged through self-sacrifices. What do we do? I already said that the golem was poorly designed. It shouldve been charged while it was still dormant instead of when it woke up. However, charging such an enormous golem would cause a great tide of magic power that other people would notice. Besides, a fully-charged golem might go on a rampage. Then set a cap for the charge. Thats impossible. Golems have basic intelligence. Theyre already creatures. Just like its our instinct to eat food, it will consume as much energy as possible when its charged. Then, well have to activate the ultimate plan: soul replacement. Greene seemed to be struggling. Let a Master Mage place their soul in the golem and replace its budding consciousness. That way, the golem will be under our control, and the charge can be performed more judiciously. Thats too inhumane. Better than letting the Magic Tower be conquered. Pylos thought for a moment and said, I know a man whos a Master and willing to control the golem. Who? A man who is willing to sacrifice everything for love. Three hours later, a young couple stood on the city wall of Tebesia. On the other side of the wall was the enormous head of the golem, which looked intimidating just meters away from the wall. The red-haired young girl gently folded the young mans hands in her own. Her eyes were filled with tenderness and benevolence. Go, Barton. This is your future and your freedom. See who our enemies are, and save the future of our Magic Tower if theyre evil, okay? My life is yours! The man fell to his knees and kissed the back of the womans hand. His tears flooded out and he sobbed. Im willing to give up everything for you! He cried aloud and looked at the woman with great affection. The red-haired girl encouraged him with gentle eyes. In the end, he wiped his eyes and stood on top of the golems head with a floating spell. Then, he gazed at the red-haired girl. Elder Pylos, who had waited a long time, pointed at the young man. Strange light emanated from the golems head, and the man quickly disintegrated into ashes. A transparent figure crawled into the golems head. The stripes on the golem quickly turned red, and they flowed in a fixed rhythm, as if they were being pumped by a heart. Staring at the transforming golem, the red-haired girl was filled with excitement Its so gorgeous! Pylos smiled too. Our golem is now finally completed. The players who were keeping an eye on the golem were all greatly surprised. Shoot! The Gundam has an HP bar now! An extremely long HP bar appeared above the bronze giant in the views of all the players. There was also a name behind the bar. Intelligent Golem (Overlord) Behind the name was the icon of a blood-red skeleton. It all looked rather frightening. Chapter 589 - I Have a Trick to Destroy the Enemies Chapter 589 I Have a Trick to Destroy the Enemies After the bronze giants name was revealed, all the players were relieved. Based on their experience in the past, they were scared of anything that didnt have a health bar. Under normal circumstances, a lack of a health bar meant zero vulnerabilities. Now that the monster had a health bar and a name, the case became completely different. The chairman of Fatter Cat waved his hands magnificently. Gentlemen, its time to demonstrate our strength. To conquer the Spatial Magic Tower, we have to take down this intelligent golem. Cant several thousand players do that? I remember hearing that yesterday, and things didnt end very well, said a certain chairwoman. So, sir, you have been ousted from power. From now on, you will only be responsible for the supplies. How can you do that? moaned the chairman of Fatter Cat. Just like that, the chairman of Fatter Cat lost his command power because of his jinx mouth. Then, the four thousand players in the base were mobilized and gathered in four squares, before they marched toward the bronze giant. As they approached Tebesia, they saw that the air around the enormous statue two hundred meters away was even more twisted than earlier. As per our plan, initiate the Ants Versus Elephant Battle! The commander who had been put in charge announced, Surround the golem and attack it however you can! As the commander gave the instruction, the four squares moved quickly and surrounded the intelligent golem in the middle. Infinite rays of light and black spots darted from the squares and hit the intelligent golem. Yet, a field of magic power suddenly appeared on the golem and blocked all the remote attacks. Then, a cross-shaped flash appeared on the golems eyes, which were then replaced by a pair of white glowing eyes. It looked around with its new eyes and grabbed the enormous sword on its back. Its about to use Blade Storm! Disperse! The commander waves his hands and cried out. Exactly at this moment, the golem turned around and looked at the commander, who was at the rear of the battlefield. The golem didnt have any expression. However, whoever saw it would feel that it was grinning hideously. Sweet mother of god, is this thing intelligent now? The temporary commander swallowed. Initiate Plan B! Throw out Dimensional Anchor scrolls. Thirty Dimensional Anchor scrolls locked the golems environment tightly. Although the payers had been crushed by the golem earlier, they had figured out its abilities too. The combination of Flash and Blade Storm was too disgusting. As soon as its teleportation ability was restrained, the golems mobility would be greatly weakened, and it would not be able to attack freely. However, outside of everybodys expectation, the golem didnt flash but jumped high into the sky. Its jump was high and long. All the players subconsciously raised their heads. They watched the golem jump overhead and land behind them with the longsword. The temporary commander opened his mouth first. Then, he was covered by shadows with a grim look on his face, before he let out a classic curse. In the end, he was stomped upon by an enormous metal heel and squished into a pulp of meat instantly. The golem landed on the sand. Under the shock of its enormous momentum, the sand sank half an inch at first, before it bounced back and sprang up into the sky. Destroy the leader, and the gang will collapse! That was a strategy that was hard to carry out on the battlefield but often meant victory if it was. Yet, the golem had made it. Standing on the city wall which was as smelly as before, Greene and the other elders observed the battle not far away. They all put on a smile of satisfaction when they saw that the golem reduced the enemys commander into a pile of meat. A golem that had a soul was truly different. Not only was the golem charged faster with a soul residing in it, but many of the golems special abilities were also activated. Killing the enemys boss first was something only intelligent creatures would do. Weve got it, remarked Greene delightedly. Even undying monsters like the Golden Sons will be disordered for a moment when their leader is killed. Those four squares and thousands of people might kill each other in stampedes. What he said was common sense that applied in most worlds. It was also common sense on Earth too. Yet, this common sense didnt apply to the players. Although their commander died, the players werent panicked. Im the deputy chairman of Thunder Guild. Ill replace him as your commander, shouted a bearded, brawny man. Use Battle Charge and ropes and try to tie the golem up Ah! Because this brawny man shouted too loudly, he attracted the golems attention. Two red rays beamed out of the golems eyes and burned this brawny man into ashes. Im the captain of the seventh squad of Phoenix Guild. Ill be your commander Ah! The beautiful female player hadnt even given an official command yet when the bronze giant hopped up and kicked her as if she were a football. But the captain of Phoenix Guild wasnt kicked off like a football; she simply shattered into a storm of flesh and blood. Not a single body part of hers was intact. She couldnt have looked more pitiful. Im Mr. Nobody from Moon Shadow. Ill be your commander now! A handsome young man shouted, Warriors and hunters, try to tie up the feet of the golem. This player was killed by the intelligent golem in one minute after he gave out the order. Because of its height, the intelligent golem had a wide range of sight, which allowed it to see who was giving out commands. In addition, it was a great jumper and runner, and it had a shocking attack range, so it could always kill the commander. Every time a commander was killed, the elders on the city wall would smile and nod in satisfaction. But as time went by, their expressions were replaced by surprise and vague fear. It was because the battle down below had lasted more than half an hour, and the golem had killed at least 21 commanders, yet the Golden Sons had not collapsed yet and more commanders were still rising. Also, while the intelligent golem eliminated the commanders, it also killed more than five hundred players. Body parts, mixed with abundant black blood, were everywhere in the desert at this moment. Yet, the Golden Sons were not retreating. The ranged classes were dealing as much damage as possible as quickly as possible. The melee classes, in the meantime, ran near the intelligent golem. If they had ropes, they would try to tie up the golems feet, but none succeeded. The golem was too strong. As soon as it moved its legs, even the heavily-armored Warrior players would be kicked away as if they were origami men. Those who didnt have ropes tried their best to attack the back of the golems feet as well as its heels. But it didnt really help, either. Most of the players left nothing but some shallow marks on the surface of the golem before their weapons were broken. At the same time, the golem could easily crush them by casually moving its feet. Then, the players would be physically obliterated. All three elders were infuriated to see how fearless of death the Golden Sons were. Why are there such fearless, undying monsters? There was intense envy and jealousy in his voice. As this elder spoke, the intelligent golem closed its hands before its body. A mass of electric plasma was tossed out to the square a hundred meters ahead. Dozens of ranged players were easily killed. But the other players in the square who were still alive simply dispersed slightly and continued attacking the golem. The arrows and spells hit the surface of the golem like a storm, but they were all blocked by a twisted layer that looked like a magic shield. The players were not frustrated at all but kept attacking On the city wall, Greene saw the intelligent golem take out the one-handed sword and wave it. Sticking to the ground, the longsword swept in the shape of a sector. Beyond the sector was a partially radial belt of flesh and blood in the same shape. Another several dozen players were squashed into pulps of meat. However, the players were rather excited. They saw that the long health bar of the golem had shortened a little bit. According to the system, the HP of the golem went from 100% to 97%. It meant that the DPS of the five thousand people in the past half an hour was no more than a tickle for the intelligent golem. Nevertheless, the players were excited, because it meant that the golem wasnt invulnerable and was prone to damage. Things were quite simple as long as it could lose health. On the city wall, looking at the Golden Sons whose morale suddenly soared, Greene said, We should give him a hand. That moron isnt familiar with the golems abilities or its huge size yet. The other two legends both nodded. Then, all three of them flew to the sky beyond the defensive magic arrays of the city. The players saw that three people flew out of Tebesia. Upon a closer look, they found a skull symbol behind the strangers health bars. Immediately, they were more or less bummed. They hadnt reduced much of the bosss HP yet, yet more elite monsters had come as reinforcements. Besides, the number of the players had been reduced to three thousand. Until they figured out the vulnerabilities of the intelligent golem, the battle here was pointless. Instantly, a new commander stepped up and shouted, Elite monsters are here! Fall back and lets think twice! Fall back! Before the three elders realized what was going on, the players had already retreated They ran as quickly as huskies that had just been unleashed. They quickly disappeared. Floating before the golem, Greene said coldly, Go after them and tear down their base. I dont have enough energy. The intelligent golem struggled to speak. Bummer. Then go recharge yourself. Greene rose to the sky and looked at the square walled city that emerged out of nowhere ten kilometers away. He found it to be such an eyesore that he wanted to erase immediately. However, he knew that he probably wouldnt end well if he dared to go there. Those Golden Sons werent as tough as the female Great Swordsman in Hollevin, but they were too large in number and too fearless of death. In the base, all the guild leaders gathered again. Some of them had dropped levels because of their deaths. But none of them was bothered. Ive observed the whole battle from a distance. Your problem is very obvious: you dont have the power to break the enemys defense, said the leader of Fatter Cat with a smile. So, I have an idea. Lets pool some money and invite the strongest Mage to help us. Ive already come up with a codename for the plan. It will be called Close the Door and Unleash Roland! Chapter 590 - Let Me Try It Alone Chapter 590 Let Me Try It Alone Roland didnt read the battle report on the forum, so he didnt know the latest news on the frontier of the battle against the Spatial Magic Tower. In his opinion, it shouldnt be a problem for several thousand players to conquer the Spatial Magic Tower. After all, he had killed one of their elders when five of them attacked him together, which indicated that the elders of the Spatial Magic Tower werent good at fighting. Also, based on the battle report, the Great Elder who had the highest combat ability was already dead, and Andonara had killed another one. At this moment, the Spatial Magic Tower only had a couple of kittens left. By logic, it was impossible for the players to fail. However, he underestimated his combat ability as well as the Spatial Magic Towers stock. It was an academic sanctuary anyway, and it definitely had powerful research. Besides that, he also overestimated the players combat ability in the current phase. The average level of the 500,000 players was just level six. Those players who had come on boats or human-powered planes were the most zealous fighters. Their level was above average. Even so, the five thousand players were only level eight on average. Only the few guild chairmen and battle maniacs had reached level 10. Their level was too low for them to cause any damage to the intelligent golem, which was the epitome of the technologies of the Spatial Magic Tower. The intelligent golems current level was 15. It also boasted a Fine Gold Body and the ability of Magic Power Absorption. To describe it in the stats in the game, the basic physic defense of the intelligent golem was 25 points. Its resistance to cleavage, penetration, knockdown, and magic were 99, 95, 90, and 80 respectively. It was not something to be damaged by anyone who was not a Legend. Even Legends might not be able to really hurt it unless they had high combat ability. Also, after a human soul entered it, the intelligent golem was able to use tricks that only human beings knew. That was much better than acting purely on natural instincts. The several thousand players levels were too low. They might not be able to crush the enemy even if they had twice as many numbers. However, the case would be different if there were five thousand Masters here. Its safe to conclude that their level wasnt very suitable for this quest yet. Their stats were completely outclassed. The chairman of Fatter Cat had a lot of connections. He managed to reach out to Douglas and ask him to forward a message to Roland. At this moment, Roland was studying the magic power circulation system on the boat. Such boats could float because of the unbelievably large magic array at the bilge, which was unveiled by Roland in only three hours. The ideas and technologies in the floating magic array were truly helpful to Roland, but what really surprised him was the magic power transmission system on the boat. It was very advanced. To wit, there were always losses during the transmission of energy. It might turn into other forms, such as light and heat. Magic power was no exception. However, there was absolutely no loss when the magic stripes on the boat carried magic power. Roland was well aware of the significance behind this. A loss-free transmission of energy would save a tremendous amount of resources. Take the electric system of Rolands motherland for example. The power that was lost during transmission each year was enough to support the neighboring country 24 hours a day for a whole year. That was money, and a lot of it. Even a tiny bit of energy waste might result in a terrible loss if the energy to be transmitted was great. If the magic stripes were regarded as wires, Roland would be able to draw his magic arrays ten times bigger if there were no losses. Roland wasnt able to draw big magic arrays exactly because the loss during the transmission of magic power was too huge in Rolands magic stripes. Bigger magic arrays meant greater power and a wider range of coverage. With enough energy and interrupters, it wouldnt be impossible to pave all of Hollevin with a magic array. For example, a teleportation magic array that covered a whole city could send more than a hundred thousand soldiers to the back of the enemy line That would be exciting. Roland was more or less thrilled. He tried to parse the arrays, only to find that the magic circuits on the boat were made of unique materials. He knew three of those materials, but he had never seen the other six. He tried asking the magic apprentices who were responsible for boat maintenance, but none of them knew how to create the magic stripes on the boat. However, one of the magic apprentices said, I think it was Elder Greene who created those magic circuits on the boat. Oh! It seemed that Roland had to pay a visit to the Spatial Magic Tower in case Greene got killed by the other players. Right before he was going to set off, Douglas had come to him. The rich guy had been living an enjoyable life in the Hollevin Magic Tower. He studied magic, went fishing, chatted with Vincent, and partied with the nobles of Hollevin every day. While living a pleasant life, his magic abilities increased at a high speed too. After only one year, he had already reached level eight from level three, and he only needed the last ten percent of EXP to arrive at level nine. He sat down before Roland and said easily, A friend of mine asked me to tell you this. They want you to go to the Spatial Magic Tower and restrain the intelligent golem. Theyre willing to pay you two hundred gold coins for your work. Douglas was Rolands fanboy. In his opinion, it was rather demeaning and insulting to propose to hire Roland with money, which was too cheesy. However, the friend who asked him to help was an acquaintance in reality that he couldnt turn down. But Roland didnt feel insulted at all. Considering the exchange rate, two hundred gold coins equaled three million yuan. Even the performance of a top pop star wouldnt be so costly. To be honest, if those people had dropped two hundred gold coins to the ground and said, Hey, be my dog and the money will be yours, he wouldve beaten the s*it out of them. However, Douglas was very genuine and friendly at this moment, so he had no reason to refuse him. After all, nobody could ever have enough money as long as they could earn it legally and righteously. Okay, Ill be on my way. Roland put the bag of gold coins into his system Backpack and said with a smile, Thank you, Douglas. Douglas was more or less flattered. He smiled delightedly. Youre too kind. I didnt really do anything. After telling Andonara and Vivian where he was going, Roland teleported to the Spatial Magic Tower. He hadnt read the battle report on the forum. After the teleportation, he immediately saw the intelligent golem that was standing near the city wall of Tebesia. Then, he was shocked. Shoot! A Gundam! Then, he spread out his mental power and carefully analyzed the magic waves of this intelligent golem. Body Fortification, Agility, Weight Reduction, Hawk Eye Magic Damage Alleviation, Initiative Removal Roland had a strong toothache. What the hell? How many buffs have been perpetualized on this thing? 27? Rolands mental power was too special. When he sensed the intelligent golem, the latters soul detected Roland too. The recharging golem instantly turned around and looked at Roland. The air seemed to freeze during their eye contact. Roland smiled at the golem and then flashed away. He teleported himself to the base, and he was surrounded by a bunch of people right after he came in. Shoot! A bigshot is finally here to help us! Theres finally a chance for us to conquer this thing! I dont think Roland will be of much help, as the thing seems immune to magic. But hes much stronger than us anyway. He knows magic. He may be able to identify the intelligent golems weaknesses. While everybody talked to Roland around him, a female player squeezed in and said to him, Sir, please come with me. Several guilds have been waiting for you in the command center. Hearing that, the other players quickly dispersed and made way for Roland. Roland followed the female player into the command center. Hardly had he stepped in when a handsome baldy grabbed his hand and shook it. Sir, youre finally here. Wed all have to kneel if you didnt come. You are? Roland looked at him curiously. The handsome baldy kept shaking Rolands hand. Im the chairman of Fatter Cat. You can call me Wright. Well, he was the magnate who personally paid a hundred gold coins to Roland, and all the other chairmen paid the other hundred gold coins together. Thank you for your invitation. Roland smiled warmly. He had to be nice to his patron. Youre most welcome. The baldy dragged Roland into the command center. We should thank you for accepting such a worthless task. Then, Wright introduced everybody at the commander center to him. Roland nodded at everybody and asked, Do you have a plan? How should I work for you? The atmosphere in the command center had been rather awkward so far. as After all, Roland was well-known to be the best of all players. He was also a paid specialist who had been hired to help, not to mention that he was the one who shared the quest in the first place. If he wanted to be the commander, the others would have to step back. However, the chairmen were all more or less obsessed with power and didnt want to let go of it. They had already reached a compromise by sitting down and negotiating with each other. They werent entirely satisfied with the compromise. They were even more or less angry about it. But Roland turned out to be a great talker. As the person that had been hired with a great amount of money, he should take charge of the battle from here. However, Roland asked how he should work for them, which made all them feel delighted. Rolands not half bad! All the guild chairmen were thinking the same thing Were a team. Nobody is working for anyone. Wright felt rather ashamed about his unleash Roland joke earlier. You know magic very well, sir, so we were hoping that you could locate the weaknesses of this golem, and that you could create one if it doesnt have any. I dont know what its weaknesses are either, but I might be able to learn that after a fight with it. Then well organize a dare-to-die team to cooperate with you. That will be unnecessary. I can manage it on my own. On your own? The chairmen were surprised, envious, and even jealous. Chapter 591 - This Isn’t a Special Drama Chapter 591 This Isnt a Special Drama Although the intelligent golem had secured a triumph, it couldnt really continue attacking the enemy. Its biggest limitation was still a lack of energy. Even though its energy regeneration was much faster with the injected human soul, it was not as fast as its consumption. It was rather annoying that the Golden Sons kept attacking every day. We have to end this. Greene clenched his fists and bashed the table. Im serious. If this goes on, our morale will be affected. Besides, the intelligent golems soul and body arent fused yet, and its full strength cant be carried out. But the Golden Sons are undying. It wont be easy to deal with them. Pylos rubbed his eyebrow. To some extent, theyre even trickier than undead creatures. We can use magic and theurgy of the light class to cope with undead creatures, but the Golden Sons have few vulnerabilities. The Golden Sons have weaknesses too, Greene explained. Their capabilities plummet every time they die. Im told that someone killed a Golden Son so many times that he became as weak as an ordinary person. Pylos realized his intention. Are you saying that we should attack promptly, raze their base, and slaughter them so that their capabilities will drop significantly? Thats the only thing we can do. Greene nodded solemnly. Theyll keep harassing you like ants if you dont purge them. What plan do you have? asked Pylos. Greene gently stroked the back of his left hand with his right. Thinking for a moment, he said, Start a total war. Weve wager everything we have on it. But that requires the authorization of the Great Elder, said Pylos gloomily, whos already dead now. Greene stood up. By the principles of inheritance, Im the acting Great Elder right now. I propose the motion of a total war. Please vote. Greene was indeed the Legendary elder who was the fourth in order. Now that the first three elders were all dead, he was truly qualified to be the new Great Elder. The other two legends thought for a moment and both nodded. They agreed to initiate a total war. They had all realized that the Spatial Magic Tower would be doomed if they didnt do anything, so they might as well try their luck. Then, the meeting was adjourned, and everybody prepared for war. Very soon the whole Spatial Magic Tower was moving In the base, Roland watched the footage of the battles so far and studied them carefully for a few hours before he offered his opinion in the command center. At least 27 buffs have been perpetualized on this golem, which can turn it into a highly agile bulldozer. To destroy it, we need a weapon that can destroy its physical defense. Where can we find such a weapon? Wright, leader of Fatter Cat, spoke like a billionaire. Money and materials wont be a problem. As a matter of fact, the Heros Sword should be able to destroy the golems body, but Roland didnt want to reveal all the powers of the Heros Sword to the players. Although Andonara had killed plenty of players with the Heros Sword, the weapon had always been wreathed in blue flames when she did so. Most players were actually burned after they were physically cut apart. Therefore, Andonaras Heros Sword wasnt fully unveiled to the players. Most players impression of the sword was that it was a cool, fiery magic sword. Roland was quite glad to see that. At this moment, the players levels and ambitions were all inflating. They desired more practical skills, perks, and equipment. Should they see all the stats of the Heros Sword, even Andonara would suffer their harassment no matter how strong she was. Even if they couldnt rob her, they could always try to steal it from her! As a player himself, Roland knew very well how crazy his fellows could be when they got attracted to something. On those occasions, morals would be the least of their concerns. Naturally, Andonara was too strong to fear them. But wouldnt it be better if it never happened in the first place? With that in mind, Roland had asked Andonara to unsheathe the Heros Sword less often. The weapon was usually kept at her uncle Cages place. Cage wouldnt use the Heros Sword until it was really necessary. Therefore, when Wright asked about such a weapon, Roland merely opened his hands. Im not sure. I can make magic swords, but they arent hard enough to pierce the golems body. Then what do we do? asked another chairman, frowning. They had hired Roland with a fortune not just for his analysis. I dont know all the details yet, so Ill have to fight it first, said Roland. Ill confront it tomorrow, and youll organize other players to follow me. If they can help me, let them, but if they cant, just run off. After all, each death means a tremendous loss of EXP. That was all they could do for now. The guild chairmen didnt think that Rolands plan was good, but they couldnt come up with a better plan. The next morning, several thousand players, divided into four squares, emerged before Tebesia again. Theyre here again. What a bunch of obnoxious troublemakers, said Greene on the city wall unhappily. Theyre trying to keep the intelligent golem in a powerless state, so that it cant carry out its full strength. In any case, lets stick to the plan, said Pylos. The other two Legend elders nodded too. Outside of the city gate, Roland stared at the enormous intelligent golem ahead. Because it was quickly absorbing the energy in the air, the air within a ten-meter radius had twisted. Seeing all the squares, the intelligent golem stopped charging and waited for them to come closer. Once they were closer, it would be able to perform a Leap Slash. When it fell from the sky, its weight would be transformed into momentum by gravity. Such a pure physical impact could break most magic shields. Even those at the edge of the Leap Slash might be gravely wounded when they were hit by the airwaves. However, the four squares stopped thirty meters away from its leap range Having fought two battles against the intelligent golem, the players had already roughly deduced the range of its Leap Slash. Had they lost their courage? The soul inside the intelligent golem was more or less confused. He was wondering if he should charge forward and attack after the enemy was within the range of his Leap Slash, when a man stood out. Is he a Mage? The intelligent golem was rather confused. The golems body was highly resistant to magic, and the soul in it, as a Mage himself, had a great understanding about magic. Even a Legendary Mage was nothing to him at this moment, not to mention a much lesser one. While he was confused, this Mage turned into a statue with a bright blue brick in his hand. The moment he saw the brick, the intelligent golem felt a strong desire. Although it was jumbled up by various sorts of magic materials, it was already a living creature thanks to the amazing magic. A living creature was not necessarily made of flesh and blood or based on carbon. It could be based on silicon or other substances. For the intelligent golem, magic power was food. This brick, on the other hand, was the most delicious cuisine, containing great energy. It was almost like a starving man noticing a huge candy. It wanted to lunge forward and grab the candy. Fortunately, there was a human soul inside the intelligent golem, which controlled the instincts of the golem. Roland, who had already turned into a stone statue, was going to stuff the brick into his elemental body when he suddenly sensed immense magic waves from the golem on the opposite side. Those waves almost felt like vehement crying. Also, Roland clearly sensed that the enemys intuitive mental waves had locked onto the brick in his hand. So you like this? Not caring if the enemy could hear him, Roland raised the brick and waved it in the most provocative way. Do you want to have a taste of this? As he waved the brick, the magic waves from the enemy became even more obvious. Chuckling, he didnt care about the creatures desires and simply inserted the brick of magic power into his body. Mental waves roared like drums from the enemy faster and faster, as if it were pissed. On Rolands side, the magic power twisted the air within a significant range. His stone statue quickly expanded under the nurture of magic power and grew into a 19-meter-tall giant in no more than five seconds. On the surface of the golden rocks was a Gundam face The energy in the magic power brick was too violent for Roland to control the increasing elements accurately. It was already impressive enough that he shaped a human face. After he turned into a stone statue, the golems mental waves were even more intense, as if it were about to burst into rage. Instead of waiting for the outburst, Roland attacked first. He slightly lowered his back and then charged forth. He was an enormous statue, but he didnt make any sound when he stomped on the sand. When he was running, he only left very shallow marks on the sand. After all, he was in the earth elemental state, and the desert was one of the earth environments, so it was not an inexplicable phenomenon at all. If an explanation was demanded, there would always be magic. Roland was a fast runner. After he was elementalized, many things he did were against the basic laws of physics. For example acceleration of inertia. Its well known that, given the same push, the heavier an object is, the slower it will be accelerated. But this wasnt a problem for elemental creatures. The stone statue moved at its highest speed the moment it started running, and no acceleration was needed at all. He was 19 meters tall, and his legs were more than 10 meters long. Unlike the fake long legs of certain male stars, he had real 10-meter-long legs. Each step he made during his running was at least 10 meters long with his long legs. In the blink of an eye, Roland had already approached 20 meters before the intelligent golem. Then, the statue jumped up and performed a Bruce Lee kick. His attack was elegant and quick. The movement wouldnt have been as impressive if a regular player had done it. After all, the players physical attributes had been greatly improved, and it was simple for them to kick. However, now that the movement was performed by a 19-meter-tall statue, it was truly shocking and mind-blocking when it flew across the sky. Most of the players who observed the battle from the sidelines opened their mouths in shock and amazement. The intelligent golem seemed too stunned to move. Rolands kick hit its head precisely. Dum! Airwaves and a sonic explosion appeared at the point of impact. The players saw that the intelligent golem stepped back and nearly fell. Yet, Rolands right leg which had just kicked the target exploded. Broken pieces flew everywhere. The leg was broken inch by inch until only its hip was left. The basic laws of physics still apply here, said a certain guild chairman in relief. A force always comes with a counterforce. Roland suffered from his own powerful kick. Hardly had he finished talking when Roland landed with one leg. He was able to maintain balance on the sand with one leg. Also, right after he landed, he slightly squatted with one leg and jumped back up. He turned around and swung his leg, whipping the enemys head with his remaining left leg. He was so fast that he left blurry shadows behind him. Dum! Another giant explosion, and another ripple of airwaves caused by the sonic explosion. The players almost felt the pain when they watched it from the rear. Rolands left leg was broken again. This time, the intelligent golem was forced to take several steps to his left under the attack. Nevertheless, it didnt fall. Those two movements sounded rather slow, but they actually happened very fast. The whole process took no more than two seconds. Roland fell straight onto the sand. The players didnt think that Roland could attack again. But to their surprise, the moment the statues remaining half-body hit the sand, it pressed the sand heavily with its hands. Then, its half body flew high and forward. At the same time, it clenched its hands and then smashed them down on the target. Hardly had the golem rebalanced itself when it saw a half-body falling from above. Another dum! Another circle of unsurprising airwaves caused by the sonic explosion. The golem was hit heavily on its head three times in a row. This time, it couldnt maintain its balance anymore and fell to the ground. The statues hands were completely shattered. All of its limbs were gone, and it fell to the sand together with the golem. Wow All the thousands of players who observed the battle exclaimed. Wright was so excited that his body was trembling beyond his control. Shoot! Shoot! This is how a real special drama should go! The collision between an enormous object and another enormous object is so fulfilling! Ha Im coming! Wright wiggled like a woman with his arms on his hip and his cheeks blushing as if he were a pervert. On the city wall, the Legendary Mage who was left behind to monitor the battle also revealed wide eyes. Chapter 592 - Relocate to the Human World Chapter 592 Relocate to the Human World The intelligent golem stood up almost completely unscathed. Roland, or his torso, was lying on the sand. It seemed to be the golems victory. The Legendary Mage who observed the scene on the city wall nodded in satisfaction. He was proud of the strong, hardy, intelligent golem, a masterpiece of the Spatial Magic Tower. Then, he frowned, because he found that the Golden Sons from the four squares were cheering in joy. Whats their problem? The Legendary Mage couldnt be more confused. The golem is clearly safe and sound, yet your Roland has wasted abundant magic power. Unlike him, the players could see the HP bar. In their eyes, the intelligent golem had already lost 4% of its HP even though it looked fine on the surface. Roland had done what four thousand of them had done collectively. It was more proof that the golem wasnt invincible. Was it not something that was worth cheering for? The Legendary Mage, confused, lightly shook his head. Roland should be able to stand up again, but whats the point? Having fought Roland before, he knew that the mans Elemental Embodiment could be infinitely reborn as long as the man still had magic power. As he expected a few seconds later, the stone giant that Roland turned into had regrown his arms and legs at a high speed. Six seconds after the intelligent golem got back to its feet, Roland stood up too. Come again! Roland was very excited. He had great fun with the attacks just now. He charged again, but the intelligent golem was able to react this time. It unsheathed the giant sword on its back and slashed. A wind was raised by the bronze fine-gold longsword. Roland subconsciously leaned back, and the longsword left a long mark on his chest. Stone dust and sand splashed out. Roland didnt sense any pain. One couldnt sense any pain when using Elemental Embodiment. However, the dust that was removed was essentially magic power. He didnt feel very comfortable now that he was losing magic power. Now that the enemy was using a weapon, Roland wasnt going to fight empty-handed anymore. A 14-meter-long rock miaodao grew out of his body. While he stepped back, he lifted the miaodao and attacked from below. At this moment, the intelligent creature had just raised the sword with both hands, and its front was defenseless. The lifted miaodao hit the armpit of the golem precisely. After a crisp noise, the miaodao was broken. Broken pieces of rock crashed down. Roland stepped back quickly while holding the broken saber. During the two seconds he was stepping back, his broken miaodao regrew. The intelligent golem slightly shivered; its body didnt appear to be damaged at all. Humph. Still not giving up? How can the weaknesses of a Fine Gold golem be found so easily? The Legendary Mage on the city wall sneered. But he looked even more confused than before. It was because he found that the Golden Sons far away from the city wall were exclaiming. Whats wrong with them? The golem was still safe and sound, but hearing the players cheers, the Legendary Mage who stayed to watch over the battle had a bad feeling Actually, the players were cheering because they saw that Rolands attack reduced one percent of the intelligent golems total HP. That was tremendous progress. Rolands kick, leg-whipping, and fist-striking only reduced four percent of the targets HP, but this one slash at the armpit reduced one percent of the HP easily. So, that body part was definitely a weakness. Remember, the armpit is likely the weakness of all golems. The guild leaders spoke to those around them. Most players liked to take precautions. They couldnt guarantee that they wouldnt run into enemies similar to golems in the future. Now that they had first-hand battle information, they had to note it down. Getting back to the battle, Roland attacked the golem with a downward slash. He was about to attack further, when the golem narrowed its eyes and darted red rays of light at his chest. After deafening explosions, the statue was flung several meters away. Its chest had already been blown through with a huge hole on it. Hardly had Roland gotten back to his feet when the golem jumped at him and cut Roland right through the middle with its bronze sword. Half a second later, the statue was cut into halves, fell to the ground, and raised a huge storm of dust. The soul inside the intelligent golem had obtained information on Roland earlier. He knew very well that an Elemental Embodiment wouldnt die until it ran out of magic power. Therefore, he stepped forward and stomped on the left side of Rolands body. As earth elements, Roland wasnt very hard at this moment, and half of his body was instantly shattered. Then, the golem intended to stomp on the right half of Rolands body. Exactly at this moment, the sand on the ground sprang and covered the intelligent golems face in a mass of sand. The intelligent golem didnt observe things with eyesight, but with mental power. Regular sand couldnt possibly interfere with its vision. However, the sand was lifted by Roland with magic power that was mixed with abundant mental power. So, in the eyes of the golem, the sand was like cotton, which was not destructive but hindered its eyesight. Now that its vision was blurred, it subconsciously stepped back. At this moment, a shorty no more than 12 meters tall suddenly dashed out of the sand toward the golem. It then clutched the golems legs and kicked its groin. The enormous golem was knocked to the ground by the short statue, raising a huge mass of dust. Then, the short statue turned around and fled. It wasnt as large as before, but it ran just as fast. It quickly came to the squares of the players. Several Dimensional Anchor scrolls were thrown behind to restrain the golems teleportation ability. At the same time, Roland roared, Fall back! Fall back! All fall back! I dont have much magic power left! The players immediately came back to themselves and ran off with Roland. The evacuation of the four thousand players was ordered and organized. Their formations were well maintained. Under such circumstances, another troop wouldnt have dared to chase it easily. They knew how rare such an ordered evacuation was on the battlefield. It could only be achieved if many seasoned soldiers were in the evacuating troop calming down everybody else. Roland canceled the stone embodiment after he reached the base. Hardly had he come in when Wright rushed to him and shook his hands hard with zeal in his eyes. Brother, bro, big man Please work with me. We can shoot an episode of the alternate world version of Automan versus Gullit. Roland: ??? It wasnt until four minutes later that the other chairmen finally calmed Wright down. Wright coughed lightly near the round table. Sorry, I got a bit carried away just now. Lets be honest, I love special dramas. Laugh at me if you will. But nobody laughed. Everybody here was an adult. They knew very well when they should laugh and when they shouldnt. It was not a big thing that someone was crazy about special dramas. Everybody could have hobbies. Seeing that nobody laughed at him, Wright was greatly relieved and then continued, Weve all seen what just happened. The intelligent golem has weaknesses. Then, Mr. Roland, did you see anything during the battle with the golem?. Well, if I have to say something, the feeling of the attack was different. Everybody was stunned. Was there different feelings in hitting someone and getting hit? How should I describe it? Roland thought for a moment and explained, Its like you want to have fried peanuts, but you get sun-dried peanuts in the end. Everybody was lost for words, and Wright asked, What a metaphor Is there any difference between them? The former is dry, hard, and delicious, and the latter is only dry and hard. It is not really as delicious as the former. Everybody realized what he meant after that explanation. Roland was implying that the golem wasnt really as great as it seemed. It meant that this golem might be made of flawed materials. We can kill this golem through a war of attrition. I realized that it didnt have any auto-recovery technologies! Everybodys eyes glittered. Got it. Wright nodded. Well make slings Fatter Cat will take care of that. Well let them know what remote firepower coverage means. Well cover it with bruises and slowly drain its HP. Another chairman asked, Then what can the rest of us do? Organize patrol at night. I suspect that someone will sneak up on us! All the chairmen wore interesting expressions. They were surprised and unconvinced. Some even had vague mockery on their faces. They dare not come at all. The chairman smiled and said, The maggot Warlocks are too threatening. Besides, even if they sneak up on us, we can always change our base. Roland opened his hands. But a lot of players might be killed for nothing. They might lose abundant EXP or even drop their levels. Wouldnt it be better if we get prepared? Mr. Roland, you are a lone wolf. You have no idea what it means to manage a guild of hundreds of members. We cant give random orders. Every decision must be made with a good reason, continued the chairman. Besides, even if they sneak up on us, we can always fight them. Sensing the vague hostility in his words, Roland shrugged and wasnt really bothered. It was impossible to persuade anyone who refused to listen. He had already proposed a suggestion, and it was up to them whether or not to accept it. What are our odds of success? asked the leader of Fatter Cat. Roland thought for a moment. I think its 100%. The quest asked us to destroy the Spatial Magic Tower, but theres no time limit. If ten days arent enough, well fight a year. I dont think the Spatial Magic Tower can win a prolonged battle. All the guild chairmen laughed and thought that Roland had a point. Of course, that being said, none of the players were willing to waste half a year on the operation against the Spatial Magic Tower. The sooner the quest was completed, the better. Roland thought for a moment and asked, Right, the battle report I read mentioned that youd relocated most of the cat-humans. Was Maromatha among them? What do you want? A chairman who was laughing hard a moment earlier suddenly changed his expression. Maro belongs to all of us, not just you. Roland was obviously confused. Someone quickly explained. This man is a crazy fan of cats, particular the black ones. So, you know. Oh, I see. I totally understand. Rolands first girlfriend was also a crazy fan of cats. He knew how devoted those people could be to cats. He finally realized why this player was hostile to him a moment earlier. The man was only jealous of him. Maromatha took her people 30 kilometers to the north and settled down in an oasis, explained a female guild player. If you want to find them, just go north. You should be able to find them soon since you can fly. Roland nodded and left the commander center. After he left, a heated discussion commenced in the command center regarding whether or not patrol and defense should be organized. Flying in the sky, Roland soon found the oasis where Maromatha was. After he landed, he saw that there were cat-humans all over the oasis, who were sunbathing on the sand. When they were too hot, they would roll to the shade and take a break. Leaning against a tree, Maromatha yawned. She combed her face with her hands now and then. When cat-humans were dizzy, they would subconsciously behave in the way that had been deeply etched into the DNA of cats. These cat-humans were living a good life. They had food even if they didnt do anything in the oasis. The Golden Sons had donated a large batch of life necessities to them, enough for all of them to survive a couple of months. Rolands undisguised magic waves during his landing shocked Maromatha to her feet. But she was relieved to see that it was Roland. After Roland landed, she said with a smile, Its been a long time, Mr. Roland. It indeed has, replied Roland with a smile. Are you here for me? Having spent some time with Roland, Maromatha knew that he didnt like subtleties, so she simply asked after his intention without beating around the bush. Yes. Roland nodded. Marilyn missed and worried about you. She wanted to know if youre willing to live with her in the Red Magic Tower. I certainly am. Maromatha helplessly looked at her compatriots around her. But I have responsibilities to them. That was true. Roland looked at the cat-humans who were enjoying the sunlight lazily. The cat-humans looked quiet and peaceful, but they were a curious people. They were probably the only creatures in the world who considered themselves as minorities. At this moment, several cat-humans had already lost their desire to sleep and looked at Roland and Maromatha with great curiosity. What a shame. Roland heaved a sigh and shook his head. If they have a safe place to live Her eyes suddenly glittered. Roland, didnt you mention that a friend of yours was building a city dominated by Golden Sons? Can we move there? Chapter 593 - Night Raid Chapter 593 Night Raid Maromatha now loved the Golden Sons. Each one was a professional and spoke nicely to her. Facing werecats, this powerful group was willing to dispense with posturing and play with them. Maromatha didnt know if it was her imagination, but she felt that some Golden Sons placed themselves in the position of slaves. It was unbelievable. It was almost impossible. She felt that most werecats were weak and lacked common sense. All other hybrids had almost ostracized the werecats because they couldnt stand the werecats habit of meddling with everything when they clearly didnt have much power. It was quite difficult to get the Spatial Magic Tower to take them in. But, the nature of it was more for their exploitation. It had been centuries since the werecats began depending on the Spatial Magic Tower. But their total population had hardly ever changed. It was not that the werecats had a low fertility rate. On the contrary, the werecats fertility rate was quite high. ave e we en one On average, there were three newborns in one litter. Although the newly-born werecats were tiny, much smaller than human infants, they were much easier to raise than human babies. As long as there was a little milk, they could grow like crazy. But even so, the total population of werecats hadnt increased, and this was quite telling. The werecats could survive in the Spatial Magic Tower but couldnt thrive. This was why Maromatha had been seeking change. Her talent as a scout was extremely rare amongst the werecats, but for the sake of change, she took the initiative to become a spatial Mage. As for the Golden Sons, she had a preliminary understanding of them from her contact with Roland. Now, she had spent several days with a large group of them and even lived alongside them. This was quite a strange group, but also a group with a defined bottom line. Although the werecats and the Golden Sons had some conflicting views, it was mostly the Golden Sons who backed down. And they loved to say things like seek common ground and put differences aside, common development,live in harmony, and so on. This left a deep impression on Maromatha. She had the feeling this was the magnanimity that the dominant races should have. She even had the idea of having her entire race follow the Golden Sons; otherwise, she wouldnt have helped convince the werecats to follow them to the encampment. After theyd come over, they would have to find a place to stay. Preferably the kind where they could live permanently. Maromatha was one of the rare kitties among the werecats who had a vision. Of course, because of a lack of knowledge and experience, she didnt have much of a vision. It was just better than most lazy, shortsighted werecats that simply got on day to day. This was all thanks to her becoming a Mage and reading more books. Earlier in the oasis, she had been thinking about how she should organize the werecats after following the Golden Sons and seek to grow her race without harming the interests of the Golden Sons. At first, she had no clue. Upon seeing Roland, though, she suddenly remembered that she had talked to and listened to the Golden Sons earlier. These people rarely avoided having werecats around when they talked about things. So she gathered a lot of information. For example, information about Roland, and also some things about a few of his friends. After seeing him, Maromatha suddenly had an idea. The idea was to bring the werecats to the human world and become a subordinate race of the Golden Sons. Forever leaving the world of hybrids. They might as well leave a world like the hybrids, where it was all about the size of ones fist and there was no kindness or goodness. Roland, can all the werecats move to your friends Wetland City?. Her eyes widened with anticipation as she stated her request and looked at the man in front of her. Roland froze as he turned his head to look at the werecats nearby, thought for a moment, and said, I think thats a good idea, but Ill have to get in touch with my friend; hes the mayor of the city after all. I understand. Maromatha took Rolands hand, her small, smooth palms gently holding his fingers. I hope you can put in a good word for us. Is that okay? Thats what I should do, Roland said with a smile, but I think, even if I dont say anything, you werecats should be able to settle in Wetland City. But with you speaking, I think the chances of success will be much higher. Maromathas tail curled up and the end twirled around. Please, Id appreciate it whether it works out or not. Theres no need. Roland pulled his hand out of Maromathas palm. Just wait, Ill contact him. Mhm. Maromatha nodded repeatedly, then stood off to the side, waiting patiently. Roland pinged Betta in the guild chat. Roland: Betta, there are werecats, about ten thousand of them, who want to join Wetland City, will you take them? Soon, Betta replied: Is that the werecats I know? A humanoid creature with cat ears and a a Ars tail?! Roland: Yes. Betta: Ill take them, of course. Ill take as many as there are. Where are they now? Ill send a small force to pick them up. Roland: Theyre at the Spatial Magic Tower, across the sea. Betta: Thats a bit troublesome. Its too far away, and traveling by boat, with the danger of a shipwreck, every death of a werecat is heartbreaking. Brother Roland, do you have any good ideas? Roland: Good point. Let me think about it. Exiting from the guild chat, Roland had a stern look on his face. Maromathas heart went cold as she saw his serious expression. She couldnt help but ask, Your friend isnt willing? Of course hes willing, and very willing. Roland explained, Its how the werecats will get to Wetlands City thats the problem. After all, Hollevin is on the other side of the sea. Hearing that that was the problem, Maromatha sighed in relief. Thats not a problem-we can build a boat to get there. But the sea is prone to storms and accidents. There are always accidents in life. Maromatha stroked her short hair around her ears, her petite frame exuding a grace unique to exotic creatures. As long as half of us can get there, its a big victory. But we wouldnt think so. Roland thought for a moment and said, Perhaps I have an idea. But it will have to be after the Spatial Magic Tower is defeated. Maromatha looked at her people and smiled happily. We can wait. By the way Roland, you took care of me a lot before, and now youve helped me solve such a big problem, but theres nothing I can do in return. So Ill cook you a barbecue thats unique to werecats. Roland was full of doubts; did the cat-people thank others by giving them food? This was quite peculiar! He was quite curious about what the werecats special barbecue was, so he stayed. As a result, it was not until the evening that Maromatha got the barbecue ready. When the finished barbecue was brought up, Rolands face turned green. Hanging from the barbecue skewers was a skinned mouse that had been grilled to a golden brown. Haha looks pretty tasty Rolands cheeks were twitching, and he somewhat regretted how he was so curious. Werecats had cat habits, after all, and it seemed only natural that they loved to eat mice. Its not a mouse, its a vole. Maromatha laughed heartily, loving to see the suffering on Rolands face when he was clearly afraid to eat it but had to pretend he would. Although Roland was a southerner, his generation was well fed as children and didnt starve, so they didnt eat any voles or anything like that, but most of the southern frontiersmen a few years older had eaten voles. Voles were edible and tasted quite good in soup. Here you go. Maromatha put a vole skewer in Rolands hand. Try it, its delicious. Looking at the vole on the wooden skewer, Roland swallowed. He was hesitant as to whether he should eat this thing when the sound of an explosion suddenly came from the distance. Roland and Maromatha simultaneously looked in the direction where the sound came from. Then they saw a plume of black smoke floating up. Its over at the encampment. Roland put the skewer in Maromathas hands. Looks like somethings wrong, Im going to help. Then he flew away and even looked like he was fleeing. Maromatha giggled. She took small bites of the vole skewer in her hand with a delighted expression. With the rapid flight of Human Cannonball, Roland was soon above the base. Just as he stopped, he saw the huge golem in the night, pushing apart the high walls of the base. There were a lot of battle cries coming from the base. The golem was followed by at least two hundred spatial Mages. No sooner had Roland appeared here than a dozen or so Dimensional Anchors appeared in front of and behind him, directly freezing space around him. The Spatial Bubble was unusable under the influence of the Dimensional Anchor, and he couldnt fly for the time being. Then over a hundred rounds of ballistic spells were shot at him. It looked like over two hundred rounds of fireworks chasing him. As expected, theyve raided the base. Roland muttered to himself and immediately ended Floating His entire body plummeted downward, and when he was still more than ten meters from the ground, he immediately used Floating on himself again. Becoming about as heavy as a feather, Roland landed gently on the sand and was about to launch an attack when suddenly several ice cones were shot at him. It was incredibly fast, hitting him directly on his Magic Shield. Because he was still under the effects of Floating, his weight was extremely light, and when these ice cones hit his Magic Shield, they knocked him nearly thirty meters back before the force of the impact dissipated. Roland steadied himself on the sand again as he looked to the man who had just cast the spell. An old man had disguised his magic fluctuations and turned into a Master to hide among those ordinary Mages. If he hadnt attacked, Roland wouldnt even have noticed this Legend. Roland had seen the old man before, and though he didnt know his name, Roland had fought with him in the previous battle. He knew how strong he was. With one hit, the Legendary old man flew out of the array and landed in front of Roland. Then another old man, too, came out of the array and flew up to Roland. The two men blocked Rolands path. You two losers, how dare you stand in front of me? said Roland with a smile. Without that Great Elder of yours who can use the Mages Disjunction, you two are no match for me. We dont need to kill you, Greene said in his gray robes, his hands folded into his sleeves. We just need to hold you off for half an hour this time. Roland raised an eyebrow. I doubt you guys can hold me off for half an hour. With that said, he was about to take out the magic brick from his Backpack to replenish his mana and prepare for his Elemental Embodiment. Then at this moment, the two Legendary old men took out their scrolls at the same time. Expressionlessly, they tore them up. Roland was enveloped by a circle of translucent circular barriers. Then these two people kept tearing at the scrolls, and barriers came down one after another. The translucent barrier gradually thickened, and the originally translucent barrier also became blurry as its thickness increased. The two Legends each brought at least twenty scrolls, and after they ran out, Roland could barely be seen inside the barrier. The elders of the Spatial Magic Tower werent good at fighting, but they were researchers after all. This kind of defensive barrier was imprisonment magic when used on an enemy. When the scrolls ran out, the two Legends still didnt have enough peace of mind, so they immediately began to cast spells, using their magic to strengthen the defensive barrier again, seemingly trying to lock Roland inside for a long time. Inside the barrier, Roland knocked on the thick layers of the barrier. He was speechless. Is this necessary? Roland sighed. Im just a nobody, is it really necessary to use such exaggerated means against me?. Roland knew clearly that whether it was necessary wasnt a matter of what he said, but a matter of what they thought. The two Legends cast another twenty times each before they stopped. By now the defensive barrier had turned bright yellow, and just by looking at the outer shape, it was clear how strong the defensive barrier was. And in the base, most players were a mess at this moment. The Spatial Magic Towers raid started in the evening, with the intelligent golem leading the charge and drawing most of the attacks from the Golden Sons. Two hundred or so Mages then followed and began attacking with spells, bombarding them furiously, showing no mercy at all. They hated the Golden Sons to their core because they felt that their breath still stank of disgusting poop even now. In the command headquarters, Wright and a group of commanders ran out. They looked at the golem that had already demolished half of the walls and they were all a little dumbfounded. Logically, shouldnt the boss be guarding a place, waiting for us to kill it? Wright was quite confused. Why did the golem come to us on its own, and bring with it cannon fodder? As he spoke, he suddenly saw the golem turn its head. Two huge red beams of light shot out from both its eyes and shone directly upon Wright. In an instant, Wright and the commanding officers around him all became flying ashes. And the two beams continued to shine down back and forth in the base. Within moments, at least three hundred people were cinders. The intelligent golem then headed for the city, trampling and crushing all the buildings it could see wherever it passed. And the two hundred spatial Mages followed closely behind. Their hands glowed in different shades of red and green as small fireballs, curses, magic missiles, and other spells fired at the players around them. Chapter 594 - Opportunity is Reserved for Those Who Are Capable Chapter 594 Opportunity is Reserved for Those Who Are Capable At this stage, the golem was almost invincible. Where it passed, no one could stop it. Without even using magic, it just walked in and flattened hundreds of players along the way who couldnt disengage in time, or who were actively rushing up to attack and therefore couldnt dodge easily. And those two hundred or so spatial Mages who followed behind the golem, responsible for tactical support attacks as well as clean-up, mercilessly reaped the lives around them. With fire in their eyes, they did their best to annihilate the players. They hated them! In the evening, no matter how delicious the food they ate, it still tasted like sh*t in their mouths. As superior humans, when had they ever suffered such humiliation! It was a great humiliation indeed. Therefore, they put all their strength into it; as soon as they saw Golden Sons, they cast an instant spell at them. Being attacked suddenly, the players were temporarily confused, which made the Spatial Magic Towers attacks easier and more severe. It didnt take long for the Spatial Magic Tower to spread through the entire base. The golem punched another big hole in the wall on the other side. Pylos snuck into the group of over two hundred Mages, dressed rather low-key, similar to what the other Mages wore. If the golem was responsible for the main attack, he was the one in charge of controlling the field. Anytime players gathered and tried to regroup, he just bombed them with an area-of-effect spell. This killed a bunch of players. It also directly undermined the players plans to counterattack. In this way, the intelligent golem led the two hundred or so Mages and rampaged through the base, killing them on sight The players simply couldnt form a counterattack with any impact. But none of the players retreated, and after charging up and being killed, they didnt rush to move again after resurrecting at the simplified resurrection point outside the city, but began to gather quietly. The chairmen of the major guilds had already resurrected there. Fatter Cats Wright said glumly, Roland had said that there might be a sneak attack, but we didnt listen. He had exercised restraint with his words. The word we was used rather than a specific guild that was responsible for tonights patrol duties. Its no use caringthe intelligent golem plus the Legendary Mages, we cant stop them. But if only wed gotten on board and expanded our patrols outward, at least it wouldnt have been so bad, Wrights expression was rather depressed. I reckon all the players would have been killed once by now. The guild chairmen were silent. Although they could be resurrected, no one wanted to die, and the experience loss for one death was too much now. Not everyone was like Roland. They couldnt get epic-level quests and earn a lot of character experience from time to time. Talking so much will not help the current situation; what we need to do now is to find a way to kill more spatial Mages, a male chairman said with a smile. The golem is considered a dead creature, after allthe core power of the Spatial Magic Tower is people. Lets assemble first, and later when we charge up, ignore the golem, just kill people. We have more than five thousand people, and as long as twenty people can kill one, its a major win. Hearing that, the players who were assembling laughed mysteriously and grimly. A large amount of experience they had just lost from dying was immediately behind them. No one cared about such trivial things when they were about to kill. On the other side, Roland was trapped in Imprisonmentand rather speechless. The boundary had been thickened more than thirty times, so thick that it was unimaginable, and Roland estimated the light layer on the exterior alone to be more than half a meter thick. It was simply impossible to break with magic, even if Roland used his fireball. He tried to leave by tunneling underground. After digging three feet into the ground, he discovered that the barrier was round, and about half of it was deep in the dirt. No wonder it was called Imprisonment. It was a solid cell. How could he get out? Dying to get out was no problem; he should be able to escape from the barrier. However, Roland had killed himself once only a short while ago and lost a huge amount of experience. It would be a great loss to kill himself again now. His level would be greatly affected, with the possibility of dropping to level 10. As Roland cherished his life dearly now, that wouldnt be a good choice. Spatial magic cant be used either. Roland was trying various ways to escape from here. Having thought of many options, he shook his head helplessly-none of them would work. Imprisonment was a level-five spell, after all, and its flaws werent easy to find. Roland clasped his hands behind his back and circled the barrier. He wasnt in a hurry; it was the players who were under attack, not the werecats. So it didnt matter as much. After all, players could be resurrected, and all they would lose was experience or equipment. This wasnt a big deal or an emergency. As Roland circled, he suddenly noticed that the innermost layer of the barrier seemed to be a bit unstable. His eyes lit up and he immediately got close to it. An unstable spell was usually the doing of a spellcaster who wasnt familiar with the spell and had some minor flaws in the operating nodes at the time of casting. For example, they put too much or too little magic power into some nodes. The spell could still take shape, but the strength of it would fluctuate. This was also a problem that most low-level Mages were guilty of. It was logical that such a situation couldnt possibly occur for a Legendary professional. However, they were using magic scrolls. The level of magic control skills and scroll-making skills needed to seal the level-five spell into the magic paper were not levels that ordinary people could achieve. Even for the most powerful people, it was difficult to guarantee that they would never make mistakes in high-precision operations. Even if there were no major mistakes, there would surely be some minor ones. And this innermost layer was the scroll that had some minor mistakes. The two Legendary Mages were in a hurry to seal Roland and didnt check carefully if the first scroll was perfectly cast. This gave Roland an opportunity. A perfect level-five spell was almost impossible to parse with Rolands current strength. It was also impossible to infiltrate it. But unstable spells were just like a large house with a fist-sized hole in the door or window. Although one still couldnt get in and live inside, looking through this hole, one could see what was in the house. He sank his spirit into this unstable barrier spell. Then the dense magic nodes unfolded in his mental world. It was like a sky full of stars. Rolands spirit swept through these stars, confirming each ones effect, role, and alignment relationship in the spell. Soon, three rather dull stars reflected in his eyes. With a faint smile, he wrapped his mental energy around the three dark stars, invaded them, and used his experience and the large database of spell nodes he had built up to cross-reference the three dark stars against what they did and how they were sorted in the array of the magic barrier. If it was just a single line of experience, Roland might not have discovered the role of these three dark stars as quickly. But after substituting their coordinates, effects, and other data into Rolands big magic database In less than half an hour, Roland had cracked Imprisonment to a tee. The remaining nodes, which seemed to be redundant without much use, belonged to the junk data whose existence didnt really matter. After cracking Imprisonment, Roland could be said to have learned the spell. But he still couldnt use it. Casting a level-five spell required a huge amount of mental power, so it wasnt something he could use at his current level. It was just far easier to destroy than to create. Roland couldnt cast this level-five spell, but destroying it now wouldnt be difficult. His mental energy worked its way through the spell, finding a few of the weaker nodes and cutting off their magic flow directly. Several stars went dark, and the flow of magic in all directions that connected them broke off. Then, like dominoes falling, a large number of stars lost their light. Half a second later, the initial barrier clattered and turned into pieces. The barrier was that much thinner. At this time, the two spatial Legendary Mages who were controlling the barrier outside had startled expressions. They were strong and were well aware of the subtle changes in magic. The first barrier disappeared? The magic scrolls they made could last for three hours at least, and the less stable ones could last for more than an hour. How did it disappear after only ten minutes? Is it because of the poor quality of the scrolls, or is it Rolands doing? As they were thinking this, another barrier shattered. And the barriers continued breaking faster and faster. Both of them were shocked, and after looking at each other, they immediately continued to apply copies of the barrier to Rolands cell with great coordination. Still the same saying Creation could never outpace destruction. The more Roland demolished, the more insightful he became, and the speed at which the barriers disappeared became faster and faster. At first, the two of them applied the barrier significantly faster than Roland could dismantle it; after all, there were two of them. But now, Rolands speed in dismantling the barrier had surpassed theirs by a lot. In a few minutes, the barrier had only five layers left. At this time, the outer layer of the barrier became visible again, and through the hazy barrier, Roland looked at the other two Mages with a slightly mischievous smile. The two Legends felt very humiliated. It was very unpleasant for them to be looked at condescendingly by a Master Mage. But the thought of Rolands near-immortal Elemental Embodiment made both of them quite fearful. The barrier was applied continuously, but unfortunately, Roland was destroying it even faster. After another thirty seconds or so, there were only two layers of the barrier left. Run. Greene stepped forward voluntarily. Ive got your back. Why run? Hes just a Master, were two Legends. We can win. It was in this gap between the Legends words that Roland used his mental power to break through the last of the barriers. There was some tightness in Greenes chest. Even for a Legend, the mental strain of having spells repeatedly and forcibly clawed through was immense. He took a step back, trying to relax his mind before dealing with Roland. However, once Roland came out, he fired two shots of Prismatic Spray, one at each of them. Roland had become quite adept with Dual Casting Although the level of the spell wasnt high, Prismatic Spray was quite powerful, and its only weakness was that it didnt have a fast ballistic speed. But the distance between the two sides was less than twenty meters, and the Prismatic Spray could close this distance in the blink of an eye. As a result, the two Legends didnt react in time and each took a blast of Prismatic Spray directly to their Magic Shields. Roland had recently made some improvements to this spell. He added the ability to explode. He also increased its power. Although the two Legendary Mages werent directly hit, they were sent flying backward from the multicolored magic explosion. Greene looked at Roland, his face dusty. He shouted in a grim tone, Roland, this is not over. I will come for you soon. Chapter 595 - More Terrifying than a Devil Chapter 595 More Terrifying than a Devil Greene then teleported out of the area. The other Legendary Mage also gave Roland vicious glares and immediately teleported away. There wasnt much point in fighting Roland when they couldnt restrain him. The Elemental Embodiment was too disgusting and the exhaustion tactic was invincible. Besides, they knew that Roland had special means of replenishing magic power, and even if Mages Disjunction was used to temporarily remove the magic from his body and the area around him, it would do little. After all, the Great Elder had used Mages Disjunction against Roland as well, but it didnt mean much since the latter was able to resurrect himself and he still killed Oepmop by blowing himself up even though he was surrounded by six people and couldnt retreat. The two Legendary Mages were quite fearful of this mans wild nature. Five people hadnt been able to take him down, and now there were only two people Taking on Roland would be a pipe dream. It was simple logic, so the two left without hesitation. They had a backup plan that they didnt want to use. Watching the two Legendary Mages leave one after another, Roland also sighed in relief. He had broken more than thirty layers of barriers in a row, and his mental power was almost at its limit. Of course, he still had the strength to use Elemental Embodiment, but it was easy to lose control when Elemental Embodiment was used with depleted mental power. Like the first time he used Elemental Embodiment, there was a brief rampage. The spirit and soul couldnt harness a body that powerful. A rampaging Elemental Lord would probably even start killing players if it accidentally entered the base. At worst, his name might become red. It was better not to do it. Roland looked around as he snapped his fingers. A hole cracked open in the ground and he jumped in, sealed the ground, and began to rest. The battle situation over at the players base, for better or worse, was out of his hands for now. The depletion of mental energy wasnt magic power depletion, and there was no way to replenish it for the time being, so he could only rest. Leaning against the wall, Roland opened the forum and quickly found the live battle report from the base. The players inside the base were almost finished being cleared by the Spatial Magic Tower, and only a handful of players were still desperately fleeing, playing hide-and-seek with the enemy and holding on. These were either high-sensitivity Hunters, Thieves, or Assassins who were good with crossbows. They could escape if they wanted to. But they didnt want to run away. They just wanted to shoot arrows now and then from a distance to annoy the other side. In reality, the people of the Spatial Magic Tower were truly annoyed by them. It was now a guerrilla battle, and the intelligent golem had little use in this environment. In an open environment, facing an extremely large number of enemies, it could take away a bunch of lives with a single punch or kick. But in this kind of city setting where there were buildings everywhere, its tall body became a disadvantage instead. It became a little difficult to hit the enemies, who were quite small to him. And the hundred or so remaining players were the superb fighting elites of the four thousand players. They had an amazingly keen sense for skirmishes. Immediately after releasing an arrow, they shifted quickly and wandered off in a rather sneaky way that was impossible to trace. With their hold and harassment, the two hundred or so Spatial Magic Towers Mages were weary, and already more than thirty of them had been hit by arrows. And all of these arrows were coated with poison. Although many of them knew Detoxification and Healing The injured could be quickly treated, but the temporary state of weakness couldnt be avoided. On the battlefield, ones greatest fear was having a wounded comrade who couldnt move. Because an injured person like this required at least two teammates to take care of. So with over thirty injured, along with the need for over sixty Mages to help, the two hundred or so Mages battle power was instantly cut to about half. Damn it! Pylos, the Legendary Mage mixed in with the crowd, was furious. It was clear that they had succeeded in their night raid, and it was clear that they had won a huge victory. But why was it now that they were in a hard battle! And the situation was getting more and more dangerous. He grimly inspected to his left and right, then there was a scream to his left as another Mage took an arrow to the kidney. The injured man covered his wound, black blood flowing out and quickly darkening a large area of his clothing. Immediately someone came up and treated the wounded man, helping him pull out the arrow in the process. A black shaft and a cyan arrowhead! There were also subtle white magic patterns on it. Spell-breaking arrows! I cant believe theyre even using this. What the hell are we fighting against, Pylos muttered as his body went a little cold. Were struggling just fighting five thousand Golden Sons. When we do get to the land absent of magic, can we face hundreds of millions or even billions of Golden Sons? The more he thought about it, the colder the chill he felt. At this time, a companion descended from the air. It was Greene. He walked up to Pylos and said with a twisted face, We failed, lets retreat. Why did you fail? Pylos asked in disbelief. Roland has an amazing ability to learn. Greene looked envious. He was able to parse Imprisonment and find a way to destroy it within a few minutes. Youre kidding? growled Pylos with wide eyes. Thats a level-five spell. Even for us, it would take some time to learn. Roland can actually parse a level-five spell in the middle of a battle. Is he the bast*rd son of the Goddess of Magic? How should I know. Greenes expression was bitter. The fact that they could become Legends meant that they were also very talented people. But now, a much more powerful, truer genius had appeared in front of their eyes, with whom they had a hostile relationship. It was no wonder they were so bitter. Things wont be easy to handle now that youve failed to take care of Roland. Pylos looked around at the demoralized group of Mages. We should pull back. Greene realized at this point that their Mage corps seemed to have taken some heavy losses. Howd the fight end up like this? es. The Golden Sons dont fear death. The distant magical glow, bright and colorful at times, reflected onto Pyloss face. They fear it even less than the madmen of the Realm of Devils. The creatures of the Realm of Devils are nothing compared to them. Greene had a puzzled look. You havent fought them head-on, and youve only watched them fight the golem from the walls before, so you dont have a direct impression. Pylos looked up at the black sky. Only those who have fought them head-on understand how terrifying these people are. We clearly have the advantage, so why do you think that? reprimanded Greene. You are an elder and a mentor, and even you are like this. No wonder their morale is low. Seemingly trying to prove Pyloss words, a Thief player who was walking on the walls didnt step firmly and accidentally fell off the roof. Although he didnt fall to his death, he broke both legs and ended up crawling on the ground. A group of Mages immediately rushed over and surrounded him. Their eyes burned as they looked at him. In the eyes of the Spatial Magic Towers Mages, this Golden Son had no fear even though he was surrounded. He even laughed slightly smugly and said, I wouldnt have fallen so hard if there was a haystack on the ground. Looking at this smile of his, each of the originally aggressive Spatial Magic Towers Mages got goosebumps and even felt a chill. This Golden Son fell hard. How hard was the fall? The bones of both lower legs protruded out from his kneecaps, torn wisps of flesh on the sharp stubble of the bones. The Golden Sons face was white, a ghastly white. But he didnt seem to feel the pain as he used his hands to prop his upper body up and sit on the floor. Im a little scared of the word suicide-folks, can you give me a quick death! With that, he voluntarily handed over his short blade. The short blade had an eerie green glow on it, obviously coated with a strong poison. Then he laughed again. When he opened his mouth, a glob of frothy blood gushed out from his mouth. The fall probably hadnt only broken his legs, but also injured his heart and lungs. However, because of the strong vitality of a professional, he managed not to die. He could survive for at least another 10 minutes to half an hour. The group of spatial Mage surrounding him backed up in unison. A lunatic! Why can he still laugh with such heavy injuries? Even if he could be resurrected, the pain preceding death wasnt something that an average person could endure. You dont dare? This Golden Sons voice began to grow hoarse, a sign that his lungs were beginning to run out of oxygen. Cowards. I really have to do it myself. After speaking, this Golden Son held a short blade upside down pointed at his left eye, and stabbed hard. Gush. The 15-centimeter short blade almost went entirely into the eye. A stream of blood spurted out of his eye. A dozen spatial Mages took another step back in unison. Some of them began to tremble. Even so, this Golden Son still didnt die. He had some strength left, grabbing the short blade and twisting it hard. The blade twisted his eyes and brain to pieces. More blood spurted out, along with a small half of a shattered eyeball and a large amount of white brain matter. At this time, this Golden Son truly died. His body tilted back and fell heavily to the ground. Until now, a peculiar smile remained at the corner of his mouth. One corner of his mouth curled up like a V. His arrogance was tinged with a sickening smugness. See, this is the enemy we are facing, Pylos said dispiritedly. Even if they are weak, we cant really defeat them. Besides, soon, they will be resurrected and will come before us again. You can be unafraid, but what about them? Pylos pointed to the Spatial Magic Towers Mages around him. Greene was also shivering inside; after all, that Golden Sons actions were too horrendous and disgusting Then retreat. Greene gritted his teeth and said, Lets retreat to Tebesia first. With the defensive magic array in place, theres nothing they can do to us for now. At this moment, Pylos suddenly looked around as he laughed bitterly. It seems to be too late. At some point, many figures appeared in the dark sky outside the base, and they surrounded the entire base. Furthermore, they had set up a formation. Our plan was flawed from the beginning. Pylos laughed, seemingly with some desperation. These Golden Sons dont fear pain or death. They will get back on their feet even if we kill them a hundred times, and then theyll find a chance to purge us. Chapter 596 - Who Buys Time for Whom? Chapter 596 Who Buys Time for Whom? Its already too late. Pylos looked at the rows of Golden Sons standing outside the walls of the base. Greene was silent. They were quite surprised-when did these people finish assembling! And it was at such a close distance, yet it didnt catch their attention at all. It was common knowledge that the more people there were, the noisier they were. The assembly of several thousand people was extremely noisy. The Golden Sons, however, proceeded in a surprising state of silence. If before they had caught the Golden Sons off guard, now it was they who had been surprised by the Golden Sons. The situation had completely reversed. Greene, about how much magic power is left in the golem? Two more hours of activity at most, Greene said slowly. The extent of the Golden Sons stubbornness has completely surpassed our expectations. They were done for. Surrounding them were pairs of eyes filled with smugness or derision. Pylos swept his gaze around, feeling rather uncomfortable, as if he were a circus lion being watched. He took a small breath, letting the cold desert air soak his lungs. It helped him feel a little more awake. Greene, I have an idea-lets surrender. Are you kidding me? Greene snapped his head around to stare at Pylos, an incredulous look in his eyes. Pained, Pylos rubbed his forehead. Im serious. Lets surrender. Save more seeds and fertilizers for our Spatial Magic Towerthis way, at least we can keep our knowledge alive. Greene grunted. Pylos, I can pretend I didnt hear that Do you still have the dignity and honor of a Legendary Mage? No. Pylos shook his head, sounding rather despondent. We had no dignity left when we took the golem and ambushed a group of people whose average strength was less than Master level, and pushing a little further back in time, our honor was gone when five of us Legends surrounded Roland and couldnt even take him down. Greene was at a loss for words. Then I order you as Acting Great Elder not to surrender. Greene snorted, his expression rather displeased. With a flash of pain in his eyes, Pylos took two steps back as he stared into Greenes eyes. Then Im a renegade of the Spatial Magic Tower from now on. What did you say! Greene was filled with shock. He couldnt believe what he had heard. Pylos was actually going to abandon the Spatial Magic Tower. It was ridiculous that the man who claimed to be the most loyal to the Magic Tower said that he was leaving Im going to leave some seeds for the Spatial Magic Tower. The magic staff in Pyloss hand was already shimmering. Greene, as a friend, I have to warn you the position of the Great Elder is not a comfortable one. It represents responsibility. You are rather timid, which is fine in times of peace, but in times of war like this, you are not suitable to be a Great Elder. After speaking, Pylos teleported away from the base. Watching a Legendary Mage escape, the players froze for a moment, then many pounded their chests in chagrin. Sh*t, we let a Legend escape. Thats points and EXP. Cowardly Mage, actually running away. Hes clearly so many levels above us. Although the players were furious, they were good at learning their lessons and immediately dumped out a bunch of Dimensional Anchor scrolls. The layers and layers of Dimensional Anchor were much thicker than the thirty or so layers of Imprisonment just now. Even Legendary Mages could barely break free of so many magic scrolls with their mental power. Trapping Greene, the golem, and the other Legendary Mage here made it impossible for them to use spatial magic. How dare you lock us up! Greene was furious. He had indeed been a wimp before, but now that the Spatial Magic Tower was at stake, how could he possibly continue to be a wimp! The Spatial Magic Tower was his home. Even cowards would have endless courage when it came to protecting their homes. He waved his wand forward. Everyone, attack to the east and break the siege. The intelligent golem took the lead, taking large strides. It didnt like to use magic now. It just stomped with its feet or swept away the Golden Sons with large, heavy weapons. As a gargantuan gold golem, every move consumed a huge amount of energy. So now it tried not to use magic and instead used physical attacks to strike the enemy. Kicking away some of the Golden Sons that were in its way, the golem quickly noticed that something was wrong. The tidal wave of Golden Sons bypassed it, ignoring its attacks, and instead lunged directly behind him. Damn, their target isnt me, but the Spatial Magic Towers Mages. Continuous Fireball! Greene, who was hiding in the group of Mages, immediately used an AOE spell. With such a spell, he could probably kill hundreds of enemies if they clustered together. However, Greene and the other Legendary Mage had just sealed Roland with great exertion, and now he only released four fireballs. At his peak, Greene could release more than ten fireballs at a time. Four shots of fire exploded in the tidal wave of Golden Sons. After a moment of confusion, about fifty people were hit. Most of them died and went to respawn, and only a small number of Golden Sons continued to charge, dragging their injured bodies along. Then a seemingly endless number of Golden Sons clashed with the army of Mages. Continuous Fireball. Bone Prison! Group Protection! Greene tried to save as many Mages and as many students as he could. But his power alone was ultimately limited. The Golden Sons pounced on the spatial Mages, and both sides fought at close quarters. The army of Mages soon fell back; someone had already cut off the head of an official Mage. The two sides were in a deadlock, and the Spatial Magic Towers formation was slowly retreating. At this time, Greene didnt dare to use AOE spells for fear of accidentally injuring one of his own. But what was the difference between a Legendary Mage who only used single-target spells and an ordinary Mage! Even if he could take out one Golden Son with a spell, using magic once per second would only kill 60 players a minute, and it would take at least 80 minutes to kill all 5,000 or so Golden Sons. And this was assuming that his mental power was nearly infinite and that he didnt need to regenerate magic power. Right now, he wasnt as effective as three consecutive spells fired from nine official Mages. After the army of spatial Mages took out several hundred close-combat Golden Sons, they were finally forced to engage in close combat. And so the Mages of the Spatial Magic Tower suffered the most dramatic battle of their lives. First, they came with a strong vengeance, vowing to kill the Golden Sons once and for all -until they lost their fighting ability and became ordinary people. And they did succeed Several thousand Golden Sons were nearly exterminated at their hands. Then, in less than two hours, they were surrounded by the resurrected Golden Sons. And now the other side fought back. They were on an emotional rollercoaster for those two hours. Anger, joy, confusion, panic-all the highs and lows, like being in love. The Golden Sons who rushed into the army of Mages all had rather excited expressions. Not eagerness to fight, but a sort of frenzy that seemed to come from accomplishing some kind of goal or mission. They were fanatical to the point of taking a single person down regardless of their own lives. They blew apart the lower body and hands of a Warrior-looking Golden Son. But he still didnt give up, using his bleeding arms to move on the ground with great difficulty, dragging his white-red guts, slowly crawling forward, taking advantage of the chaotic battle between the two sides to creep up to the feet of a Mage before biting viciously into him. The Mage stomped his feet in pain, and after several failed attempts to shake off the Golden Son, he tried to blast the Golden Son with spells. However, just when he had materialized his spell, another Golden Son rushed to his side and stabbed him in the heart with a longsword. After a few tremors, this Mage was silent and fell to the ground. Got one, I took one out, got ten points! This Golden Son raised his sword and shouted wildly. He looked mad. Too damn arrogant. Greene then directly blasted him into pieces with Prismatic Spray. But he still kept that excited smile on his face before he died. Situations like this kept happening. It wasnt long before more than forty Mages had left to see the god of the underworld. Even Greene couldnt save them; after all, the Golden Sons were all over the place, on all sides, and they pounced on them with frantic and strange cries. Greene could indeed use large magic barriers to protect everyone. But what good could it do? In their crazed state, the Golden Sons would just surround the barrier and keep attacking. Theyd attack until the barrier shattered, at which point it was just as likely that the Golden Sons would kill them. Greene sent a lunging Golden Son flying with an ice cone, then twisted around and swung down forcefully with both hands, blowing the head off another Golden Son trying to ambush him. He wiped at the blood on his face, then shouted to the distant intelligent golem, Barton, dont try to preserve your magic power, try to block the Golden Sons. Dont let too many of them over. Ill replenish you with my sacrificial magic. After shouting, Greene pointed at the dead spatial Mage beside him, and the corpse dried up rapidly as a blue energy mass formed in the air, and then under his control, it flew toward the golem not far away and into its huge head. This sacrificial spell was rather evil, and under normal circumstances, Greene wouldnt use it. But the situation was critical now, and he couldnt care so much about purity. After being replenished with energy, the golem immediately became fierce. The air around its entire body distorted once more, and then he pulled out the huge sword of fine gold behind his back and began to spin it. Not long after, the death tornado appeared again. The range was so great that it instantly blocked the players attack from the walls. Players approaching were swept up in the whirlwind and suffocated. To get around the walls would inevitably waste a lot of time. Seeing this, Greene sighed in relief. Greene and the Mages easily purged dozens of Golden Sons, who could not replenish their numbers, around them. Then he said, Lets retreat to the opposite side. Barton will protect our back and stop the Golden Sons. The Mages were relieved and ecstatic. Finally, they could retreat. But just then, Greene suddenly looked up, the darkness of the night covering the distance and making it impossible to see what lay ahead. However, there was an extreme amount of magic power coalescing. Then a huge bright blue light appeared in the darkness, expanding rapidly, and soon, it became a blue sun. The sun in the night. Chapter 597 - Dragon Fist Chapter 597 Dragon Fist Seeing the blue ball of fire, Greene knew whose attack it was. Roland! After Greene roared, he subconsciously used Imprisonment on himself. The translucent magic barrier was frighteningly large, enveloping all of the two hundred or so Mages with him. Then the blue fireball blasted over. Where it passed, the night was as bright as day. The air was rising and distorting. With terrified eyes, all the people in the Spatial Magic Tower looked at this blue fireball flying over. Greene was a Legendary Mage, and he was able to cast Imprisonment three more times in the short three seconds it took for the blue fireball to reach them. The magical light film formed by the four layers of barriers was already almost a centimeter thick. All the people present were knowledgeable, and they naturally knew what four layers of level-five defensive barriers meant. They felt a sense of security and a little peace of mind. But as the fireball flew over, their mouths subconsciously opened wide; they didnt dare to exhale. Because the blue ball of fire was just too big. Its diameter was at least five meters or more. A transparent ring of air flowing around the front of the fireballs flight had even formed! S*it! Greene saw this circle of aerial energy field that looked like a vertical round cover and immediately understood that his own four layers of defensive magic could not block it at all. He searched his coat pocket with his right hand and was about to pull out a true life-saving magic scroll. But just then, the intelligent golem leaped from their rear and landed in front of the defensive magic barrier, opening its hands to meet the giant blue fireball. The blue fireball came into contact with the giant In an instant, there was a loud rumble, and the world was filled with daylight except for a huge black human figure in the center of the explosion. The spatial Mages eyes were tearing up from the glare. But they didnt dare blink for fear that the large black figure in the white light would fall. They knew all too well that once the golem fell, there was no one left to save them. So even though their eyes were red and sore, they didnt dare to close them. Intense white light twisted around the black figure, and although the golem blocked most of the explosions energy, the blast still swept past it before crashing into the magic barrier. The red blast swept by the large barrier. The light film of the magic barrier emitted an irritating creaking sound, and the outermost layer even cracked. Many peoples hearts were in their throats. But the good thing was that after ten seconds, the red blast became milder. And the huge golem in front of them didnt fall. He still had his arms wide open to block it, but his whole body had turned dark red. Even the magical metal Fine Gold, which was said to be extremely hard, would morph under such high temperatures. After the blue fireball exploded, no one else could be detected ahead except for the intelligent golem. It seemed that Roland hit them with a surprise attack, and ran away after seeing that it did not affect them. Greene removed Imprisonment and shouted to the golem, Go find Roland and kill him. Now that he used this spell, he shouldnt have much magic power left. e 1 But I dont have much energy left either. The golem turned back. Elder Greene, if I pursue at will, once I run out of energy, it is highly likely that I will be trapped by Roland. What a pity! This was the time when Roland should be most vulnerable. But it was also true that the intelligent golem was almost out of energy. How about I go? This thought arose and Greene was moved, but then he shook his head and gave up on the idea. Roland certainly might not have much magic power left now, but he was still capable of Elemental Embodiment. More importantly, he had to get these two hundred people back to the Magic Tower right away. These people were the future of the Spatial Magic Tower. Then well go back to Tebesia, and Barton, youll be in charge of protecting us from behind, Greene shouted. The intelligent golem nodded as he went around to the back of the group and immediately saw the Golden Sons who were coming after them. The players werent aware that the golem didnt have much energy left at this point, and they stayed away for fear of another tornado whirlwind slash from the golem. But they saw the golems health bar, which had dropped by another fifteen percent or so. The total health of the intelligent golem was now only a little over seventy percent. Wow, Roland just made that big explosion, didnt he? Its awesome, blowing off such a long section of health immediately. I feel like theres a chance. Want to dash for it? Its better not to rush. Ive already died twice, and if I die again, Ill drop to level six. Experience is hard to earn. Theres no rush. Theres no time limit on the quest, so lets take our time. Just keep exhausting this golem, it will break one day. Then lets retreat for now and go to Tebesia for more trouble tomorrow. The players didnt fear death but were quite wary of it. They were fairly unafraid to die when the inevitable happened in the game, but if there were a glimmer of hope, they would also try to find ways to escape and not let their characters simply die. So instead they stayed at their base and did not pursue. Their eyes fixed on Greene and the Mages as they left. They thought that they had come out on top anyway by taking out quite a few Mages in that previous wave of attacks. They would just continue tomorrow. There was no rush now. Seeing that the Golden Sons had no desire to fight, the golem also slowly left. Within a few moments, the masses from the Spatial Magic Tower disappeared into the curtain of night. Rolands magic spider transferred these images to his mind, and after he finished watching them, he was about to rejoin the players in the base. But it was at this moment that he suddenly felt an awful chill. A vicious chill that struck straight into his soul fell from the sky. He subconsciously dodged to the side, using all his strength, his speed quite fast. Just then, white light fell from the sky and hit directly where Roland had just been. A large crater appeared on the ground. The blast was overwhelming. Roland was jolted backward, countless clods of earth hitting his Magic Shield. In this situation where ones vision was compromised, Roland still caught sight of the enemy. It was a woman in a white robe with dark red eyes and a pair of small horns on her headshe also wore white scaly armor. She half-crouched in the deep pit, then turned quickly and looked at Roland. Her dark red eyes were filled with a horrifying desire to kill. Roland thought the womans outfit looked familiar, as if he had seen it before. As he was thinking about this, the woman suddenly lowered her body and charged at him. Behind her, a wave of displaced air appeared. Damn! Supersonic speed? He was a quick thinker, but even so, Rolands brief thought had just surfaced and the woman had already appeared in front of him. Through the light blue Magic Shield, Roland saw that the woman wore a wild smile. Her eyes were also the type that seemed murderous. Appearing in front of Roland, she then threw a punch. A large number of cracks appeared on the magic barrier. Before Roland had time to think, he, who had been jolted into midair, flew backward like a cannonball and crashed into the wall behind him, leaving a nice human-sized crater. After that, his Magic Shield shattered. The players were stunned to see this. Wheres this woman from? Just as they were wondering, the white-armored woman moved again. She opened her mouth and shouted at the players in front of her. First, a terrifying noise shattered the eardrums of a large number of players. Trails of blood flowed out of the players ears. Especially the players standing at the front of the line. Many people passed out directly because their ears were destroyed. After the woman roared, she looked toward Roland. Only to then find that Roland, who was supposed to be set in the wall, was gone. After a brief daze, she faced upward and let out a roar like a dragons roar. After the roar, she looked at those players with an annoyed sneer. Then came a massacre! The white figure wove back and forth through the thousands of professionalsunstoppable. She killed from night to early morning, her entire body covered in what the players saw as pixels. But to the NPCs eyes, she was covered in blood, much of it already pulpy black. After killing all the players in the base, the woman leisurely left. After confirming that she was gone, the players finally dared to return to their base. Then posts about the identity of this white-armored woman proliferated on the forums. Many players who knew how to make a profit had already turned on the recording functioning long before the battle began. So this time, there were at least two dozen video battle reports posted on the forums. Below these videos, the discussions were pretty much the same. Sh*t, even Roland couldnt block a punch. Shes too powerful. This must be a giant dragon incarnate. Ive closely studied Schucks mount, Margret, and found that both have a unique quality, which is that both wear scaled armor and have small horns on their heads. Its not strange for a giant dragon to turn into a human. But not many dragons are willing to follow people, and according to my intelligence, on average, there may not be a dragon that will form a contract with a human in a hundred years. Schuck is the exception. This woman is also beautiful, though not as good as the little fire dragon princess Margret. But I think I can have a human-animal communication with her, the kind where both spirit and flesh communicate. Why do I feel as if shes weaker? Like I can defeat her in minutes, and in less than five seconds, shell be on her knees begging me not to die. Upstairs, I almost read that backward. At this time, Roland had already teleported back to Delpon. After the white-armored woman had arrived, the Dimensional Anchor scrolls that the players had thrown out had already expired. After all, it was a magic scroll, and its duration and strength were relatively poor. After being punched into the wall by this woman, Roland knew for sure he couldnt beat her. For in this woman, Roland saw a reflection of Andonara. The same force and speed, the same simplicity and amazing reflexes. This woman should be on about the same level as Andonara. And when Roland used to spar with Andonara, the living daylights were beaten out of him. Now Roland was lying in bed, his face a little pale. The expression on Andonaras face, on the other hand, became furious. For she found that the bones in Rolands whole body, almost all of them, were broken. If the players didnt only have ten percent pain perception, Roland would have screamed in agony. But even so, Roland felt rather uncomfortable all over. Id like to kill someone. Andonara slung the Heros sword around her waist. Chapter 598 - Roland Slammed His Pen in a Rage Chapter 598 Roland Slammed His Pen in a Rage Now the forum was filled with wailing. The maggot Warlocks at the start had taken great credit, but they also completely enraged the Spatial Magic Tower. Most of the players who had raided here were killed once, and some up to two or three times. They dropped by one level on average. An intelligent golem was already enough trouble. Now there was a woman who was suspected of being a white dragon. She punched through everything. Until now, no one, be it a Warrior, Mage, or whatever the hell else, could stand up to her punch. There were many videos of her fights on the forums, and the womans speed was frighteningly fast; only a white blur could be seen at the raw speed of the video. One had to slow it down to 0.1x speed to see her movements. Even then, it was with a blurred residue. Players skilled in data flow began analyzing her abilities frame by frame. Not a single scale on her armor was spared. But even then, not much information was derived. Nothing more than the fact that this woman was terrifyingly strong physically. Warriors of full constitution growth were as feeble as children compared to her. And the scene of Roland being punched away was popularized by countless people who kept watching it on repeat. There were many parody videos made from it. For example, subtitles were added. Roland: Woman, kneel and lick me! Then a punch sent him flying and set him into the city wall. Or Roland: I have a bald head built into me, woman, do you want to see? Then a punch sent him flying. Those who had a grudge against Roland and enjoyed watching him make a fool of himself and had a bit of video editing ability were pushing the parodies as hard as they could. For a while, gifs of Roland getting hammered by a woman were circulating on the internet. Many of the older generations of netizens who werent interested in virtual reality games also got to know him in just two or three days. A conservative estimate was that there were already at least a billion and a half or so netizens around the world who had seen similar gifs. It even surpassed Margret and Andonara in one fell swoop, becoming the hidden poster girl of World of Falan. Officials took advantage of this popularity by saying that they were going to make poster girl figurines from the three options. Leaning forward, slightly lifting the hem of her skirt, the little fire dragon princess Margret with a charming smile. Fully clad in blue and white leather light armor, holding a spear, blue flames blazing at the tip to form a pale blue battle flag, the valiant Queen Andonara. And Roland, who was sent flying and stuck in the wall. Roland, with seventy-seven percent of the vote, edged out the two main poster girls, the mature woman and the lolita. The official announcement was made immediately, and in a month, the poster girl figurine with the highest number of votes would go on sale in the official store. When Roland exited the game the next day and saw the result, he slammed the mouse down on the table. Im so mad! Then he went to the cold drink bar and was ridiculed by his friends. In the game, after the Spatial Magic Towers forces retreated to Tebesia, they stopped going outside. Only the white-armored woman would come around the base and pummel the players now and then. No one could take her down. Neither magic nor physical attacks could touch her. After hammering a couple of hundred players to death, shed leave. Then shed come back the next day. In just three days, she had forced back the players by about ten kilometers. What was even more troublesome was that the intelligent golem had also finished recharging. It, too, joined the battle. This time, the players were faced with a fully charged powerful golem. The two red rays of light that shot out from its eyes took away the lives of countless players. Its time to invite Roland over again. Looking at the Fine Gold golem in the distance, Fatter Cats guild chairman Wright and the other guild chairmen in the command post were quite helpless. And at this point, Roland was just able to get out of bed. He had fractures all over his body and his skull was cracked in several places, but this couldnt be seen on the surface. After using Moderate Healing, Roland remained in bed for three days, until all his bones realigned. He put on his magic robe. Andonara stood by, armed to the teeth, waiting quietly. The atmosphere was somewhat serious. Roland dusted off his clothes, turned around, and said, Anna, its dangerous. I dont want to take you there. Andonara pursed her lips, not speaking. She just looked at her man in silence. Her timid look carried an unshakable stubbornness. She knew that if she forced Roland to take her, Roland would be upset and unhappy, so she was a little unsure of herself. But the thought that Roland had been so miserable before, that her man had had to spend three days in bed before he could stand, even with the help of magic, infuriated her. She wanted to kill the woman who had dared to harm Roland to such a degree. She didnt care whether the woman was a dragon or not. So she had a conflicted look on her face now. Scared and tough! Roland saw that she didnt say anything and just looked at him. He yielded and couldnt help but say, That woman may be a dragon. Shes very strong. I worry that you will be hurt Im more worried when youre hurt. Andonara stared at her man. So Im going to help you. But that could be a white dragon, stronger than you, perhaps. Thats fine. I have the Heros blood, and the white dragon is evil; I was born to restrain her. Roland scratched his head. But you have to protect the First Princess Stephanie, right? No more protecting her-Delpon is safe. Andonara stepped forward, wrapped her arms around her man, and laid her head on his shoulder. Ive become so strong to help you, but it breaks my heart when you keep refusing me. Sniffing the nice womanly scent and listening to the womans soft words of love and sorrow, Roland sighed and yielded. Its okay to take you there, but once the situation gets out of hand, you have to retreat immediately, got it? Okay! She immediately lifted her head, her smile like a blossoming flower, and the hidden bitterness earlier was gone. Roland sighed inwardly. As expected even a cute and helpless-looking beauty can lie to people. Wujis mother[1]is a master of human nature. Taking Andonara with him, he teleported directly near the base, only to find the base in a state of disarray. Perhaps, the word ruins wouldnt be too much to describe it. Roland flew into the air and quickly found the players. After all, they hadnt retreated much farther, and with several thousand people gathered together, the commotion was so great that it was still easy to find. With Andonara in tow, Roland made his way to the oasis three kilometers away, which he remembered as a temporary resting spot for the werecats three days ago, but was now occupied by the players. The werecats were nowhere to be found. Roland found the command center in the oasis and walked in. Wright and a few of the chairmen were discussing their next step, and when they realized that Roland had come, many of them stood up excitedly. Wright, in particular, pounced on him and hugged his leg, acting all weird and crying, Almighty, youre finally here. I thought youd given up on us-after all, the psychological damage youve taken in the last three days is too great. Roland was quite speechless, sullen but unable to throw a tantrum. This guy was mocking him with the figurines. Of course, it was harmless. Many of the other guild chairmen immediately smiled when they heard this. Letting go of Roland and turning his eyes to Andonara, he immediately stood up and smiled. Welcome the Queen to our ministry for an inspection! Andonara: ??? At the same time, she looked at Roland with a puzzled gaze. Although she had come into contact with Golden Sons other than Roland, those were more proper, or at least they behaved so in her presence. This man behaved like a clown, but there was an aura about him that wouldnt make people think of him as a clown. Not only did Wrights expression change greatly at the sight of Andonara, but the other guild chairmens eyes glowed with excitement. It wasnt just that they were delighted to see beauty. Though that was a small part of the reason, the real reason was that it was clear to them that Andonara was quite powerful. She was recognized as a Great Swordsman mentor. And there were two amongst the chairmen who were Great Swordsmen taught by Andonara. They could all guess Rolands intention in bringing Andonara here at this time. Since Roland and the Queen are here, we can finally make a reliable battle plan. Wright laughed. Roland suddenly asked, Where are the werecats who stayed here before? Theyre continuing to pull back, Wright said seriously. Dont worry, we have propriety and wont let the werecats on the frontline of battle. Roland sighed in relief. Almighty, come over and have a seat. Lets talk about the current situation. Wright appeared eagerly attentive. But just as Roland was about to take a step, a sharp whistle suddenly sounded from outside the temporary command. It was a signal of an incoming enemy. Damn it, here we go again! Wright cursed hatefully and immediately rushed out with the others. A white shadow with a long afterimage was seen outside the oasis, and it instantly swept to the most crowded area. And again, it halted instantly as if time had stopped, as if it was unaffected by inertia. A swift wave of air then followed, sweeping along a large amount of sand and dust with a terrifying sonic boom, carrying everything around it. A large number of players were swept into the air and knocked down. And as soon as the white figure stopped, it immediately looked in the direction of the command center, revealing a grim smile. Roland locked eyes with her, magic surging around him. The opponent had locked onto this place. A fight was inevitable. Just as Roland was considering what spell to start with, Andonara suddenly moved. She transformed into a blaze of fire, shooting at the white-armored woman like a laser. She was incredibly fast. Her opponent reacted extremely quickly and held out her hands when Andonara rushed to her. Dong! The two collided. The sound of it was like thunder. Space itself seemed to tremble. It was as if time had stopped for half a second. Then the white-armored woman flew backward, out of the oasis, just like she had rushed inside, transforming into a white streak. And where the two sides collided, a circular blast that expanded rapidly outward was created. It rolled up the sand on the ground like a mini-tsunami. Andonara stood in the center of the blast as if she were a Valkyrie. She unsheathed the Heros sword and held it in her hand. Her whole body then burned with blue flames. About half a second later, a giant blue firebird let out a loud, clear cry and flew out of the oasis. All the players saw this. They were speechless with awe. Wright touched his bald head. Damn, its celestials fighting. (1) reference to the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Jin Yong; Wujis mothers dying words: The prettier the lady, the more lies she will tell Chapter 599 - Setting a Trap Chapter 599 Setting a Trap It was no wonder Wright let out such a gasp. The exchange of blows between Andonara and the white-armored woman just now, in terms of power, was as if a tank weighing thirty or forty tons had hit an SUV that weighed only about two or three tons at about 80 kilometers per hour. But the white-armored woman who flew backward wasnt injured at all. Andonara just pulled a fast one and directed all the force of impact to force her opponent away from the oasis. Because Roland was still in the oasis. She didnt want the fallout from her fight to affect Roland. Like a meteor, the blue firebird hit the white-armored woman who had risen from the sand and dust. There was another terrifying crashing sound, and an angry dragons roar came from the blast that spread like a circle. A white dragon that was at least fifteen meters long and stood up to four meters tall appeared in the cold magic. Then its wings shook and it shot up into the sky with a strong wind. The blue firebird spun around and gave chase. The two monsters soon disappeared high in the sky. Roland wanted to use the Human Cannonball combo to chase after them, but then he immediately gave up on that idea. It wasnt that he couldnt catch up, but a huge dark shadow was gradually appearing on the horizon ahead. After ten seconds or so, the intelligent golem was seen walking over step by step. It looked slow, but it traveled quite fast; after all, it was so tall that a casual step spanned over twenty meters. This was Rolands target. Sure enough, its coming over. Ill mess with it later, you guys cooperate with me? Cooperate how? Wright asked urgently. Roland first transformed into Stoneform, then took out the magic brick and stuffed it into his body. wer see The raging magic power seemed to distort the space around it. Ill dig the hole later and you guys help bury it! The eighteen meters tall stone golem rushed off, a huge cloud of sand bouncing off from the bottom of his feet as he ran over quickly. The men who stayed behind him, especially Wright and the other commanders, each swallowed large swathes of sand. Sweeping the sand off his bald head, Wright looked at the stone golem who was running forward furiously and couldnt help but mutter, Another celestial. Digging a hole and helping bury it? Incomprehensible, but whatever. Brothers, go command your teams, split into two groups, big and small, one group to help Roland, the other group to stand by in case something unexpected happens. The players moved quickly and were soon lined up outside the oasis in three large square arrays and two smaller ones. The large square arrays began to move toward Roland. The smaller square arrays stood by in front of the oasis. Roland ran fast, and in no time, he was only about three hundred meters away from the intelligent golem. He waved his hand and used Dimensional Anchor. With the intelligent golem as the center, a transparent spatial chain hooked the nearby space tightly. The intelligent golem looked at this Dimensional Anchor and stopped. Being a body of steel, it couldnt make expressions, but its mental power could. Spellcasters could communicate with mental power, and the intelligent golem allowed its mental power to express disdain and contempt visibly. Roland was unmoved and continued to sprint. At this time, the intelligent golem felt proud. In the past two days, it had finally had enough time to absorb magic power because of the white dragons help. It was now in its best shape. A golem with sufficient magic power was invincible. So what if its spatial movement abilities were restricted by the Dimensional Anchor; it was not afraid of anyone now. Including the three elders in the Magic Tower. Those three goons. This time, the intelligent golem Barton thought he had to win beautifully, and then the glory of this great victory would be given to his love. At the thought of that beautiful silhouette, a passionate flame rose from the cold body of the intelligent golem Barton, a flame that converged on his eyes and then jetted out. Two bright red lights like searchlights shone on the running stoneman. The stone in front of the stoneman scorched and cracked at an extremely fast rate, then detached. It wasnt even fifty meters into the run, and there was already a large layer of stone missing from the stonemans chest. But the stoneman was still running wild, and when he was still a hundred meters away from the intelligent golem, he leaped and reached forward with both hands, trying to rush to hug the latters waist. Seeing this maneuver, the intelligent golem cursed angrily with its mental power. Again with these cheap, nasty tactics. He knew very well that if he was held tightly, he would more than likely be flipped to the ground again by this damned stoneman. So it had to stop its ray irradiation ability, take two steps straight back, pull out the longsword hanging from its back, and deliver an inverted vertical slash. The upper half of the stoneman was sliced off and landed with a thud on the sand. Due to its overly large size, the stoneman landed with a lot of noise, and powerful wind currents jetted around, raising a large amount of sand and dust. Knowing that it couldnt kill the stoneman this way, the intelligent golem took a half step back and raised his sword, slicing the stone golem on the ground from two halves into four equal parts. Even then it still wasnt able to kill an Elemental Lord. So the intelligent golem decided to continue to slice the stoneman into more pieces, and then crush it into powder with his magic; this way, even the Elemental Lord would have a hard time resurrecting. In this way, it frantically swung the long sword in its hand, cutting the stone golem into dozens of pieces of varying sizes, and was about to find a way to turn the stone Elemental Lord into powder when it suddenly found that it was being held from behind by someone. The hold was so firm and so tight that it could barely move. Who is it? The intelligent golem turned around and found that the hands holding his waists were two huge stone hands, which were finely built, and the rocky protrusions on them were clearly visible. When did another stoneman appear? Elemental Lords can move stealthily? The intelligent golem was astonished and was about to struggle, but then noticed that two hands were stretched out on the sand, and fixed its legs as well. Whats going on! There are four Elemental Lords? The intelligent golem was startled and hurriedly used its mental power to check its surroundings. Then, to its surprise, it found that somehow, it was completely in the enemys mental power field. Damn! The intelligent golem knew that it was bad and struggled in a hurry. First, it slashed the two pairs of stone hands pulling its left and right legs with one strike each, then it dropped the longsword in its hand and tore at the stone hands holding its waist with all its might. As an intelligent golem, it was extremely strong and did this easily. Just as it tore off the hands, however, a dozen more pairs of stone hands grew out of the sand and grabbed its legs. Damn, whats going on? The one controlling the intelligent golem was, after all, only a Master Mages soul with limited experience. He simply didnt understand what was happening and what was the cause. He tugged and tugged desperately. He had to try to rip all those stone hands off of himself. Indeed, he could tear off these stone arms yet he could not tear them nearly as fast as the stone hands could grow out of the sand. Within a few minutes, the giant stone hands of varying sizes had already gripped on tightly to the lower half of the intelligent golems body. And more stone hands grew, trying to wrap around the entire golem. Damn it! The intelligent golem struggled desperately, but it couldnt move at this time. Nor could it use spatial magic to teleport away. Barton, who was the soul core of the golem, was anxious and shouted with his mental power, Contemptible. Let go of me and fight me squarely if you can. Roland snorted. I just passed Master, and you are already almost Legendary, arent you ashamed to talk about a proper fight? During the three days he spent in bed, Roland didnt just lie there. Aside from the small benefits that Andonara offered, Roland had spent three days thinking about how to deal with this golem. It was powerful, extremely resistant to magic, and had an extremely high physical defense. It had almost no weaknesses. But after three days of thinking, Roland still came up with a new tactic. He felt that it was quite reliable. It was necessary to use Dimensional Anchor first to prevent the opponent from escaping. Then, fight the opponent in close combat as an Elemental Lord, but this would only be a distraction. His real intention would be to find a way to control the golem. And then bury this golem in the ground. To do so, he used his data on magic nodes to temporarily improve the ability of Elemental Embodiment. Some of the properties of Hand of Magic were incorporated into it. The nature of the stone Elemental Embodiment was subsequently altered a lot as well. The outer layer of the stoneman was now no longer just an Elemental Embodiment, but stone armor. The real Elemental Lord was still the size of a normal human and was hidden within the huge stone shell. It was like piloting a robot. While the intelligent golem was slicing up the stoneman wildly, Rolands real Elemental Embodiment dove deep into the sand layer under the stonemans shell. He then manipulated a large number of earth elements into countless stone elemental hands and grabbed the legs of the golem. Let go of me! The golem grew anxious and fearful as its spirit roared, and it lowered its legs slightly, then propelled with its legs, trying to use its sheer strength to break free of these annoying stone elemental hands. But what it didnt expect was that just as it pushed upward, it seemed to step through something for a moment, and its legs sunk, going deep into the sand and dust. Whats going on! The golem looked down and its soul was almost scared out of its body. Somehow, the sand and dust beneath it had turned into a swampy terrain. Stone to Mud the name flashed through the golems mind. It struggled desperately, its eyes emitting intense rays of red light, trying to roast the swamp dry. Youre not going to get away with this, scumbag. This quick wit of his was more than good, and the water in the swamp quickly dried up under the glare of the light rays, turning it into black, hardened earth. Seeing that it worked, the golem became excited. I told you, you wont get away with it. It increased the power of the rays output, two red pillars of light that were almost three meters wide in diameter. The swamp quickly turned into black land. But Roland, deep in the sand, saw this with his mental power and smiled instead. This idiot. After the golem steamed the swamp all dry, it tried to tear off some stone elemental hands on its body, and then braced its hands on the ground firmly, trying to pluck itself out. But then there was a brief pause in his mental power. Then came ripples, and these ripples grew denser and denser, crashing into each other, and finally became monstrous waves. It couldnt pull itself out. Roland burst into laughter deep in the sand layers. After the mud hardened, they were just chunks of rock. The golem fixed the lower half of its body in the rock. It would be a wonder if it could pull itself out. According to the principles of mechanics, trying to hold its massive body up with both hands was a difficult task in itself. Add to that the fact that the lower half of its body was immobilized and there were plenty of stone elemental hands gripping it. These three factors combined made it so that it would have to use a force that could lift three times its own weight to pull itself out. However, even if it could exert three times as much force, the ground its hands were touching would not be able to support such a large force. In other words, there wasnt a large enough area for the force to be applied. If it used all its strength, its hands would sink right into the ground like piercing tofu. Sure enough realizing that it couldnt pull out after some effort, the golem panicked and immediately used all its strength. With a slush, its hands pressed straight into the earth. What happened! Under the sand and dust, Roland was grinning from ear to ear. He used his magic power to turn the sand layer near the hardened black earth into mud again. This time the golem could no longer struggle, and it could only watch itself sink with a bunch of rocks and dirt. It sank faster this time. But it still put up a lot of resistance before it sank into the mud. It frantically tore up stone elemental hands and shined its two rays of light everywhere. The look of a complete lunatic. The ground was trembling. It wasnt until after it had sunk completely into the mud that Wright finally came over with the men. He saw this scene from afar and exclaimed, As expected of the strongest Mage, such quick thinking. With those words, he waved his hands. Fill the pit. Players now fully understood what filling the pit meant. Players who knew the spell Mud to Stone made a strong effort to turn the mud into rock, and in a short time, a semi-circular lid that was fifty meters high and about a hundred meters in diameter was pressed on top of the swamp. Roland wormed out of the sand layer, changed back to human form from his Elemental Embodiment, and then sighed in relief. Wright came up and asked, How is it, can this hold it down? The ground is over three hundred meters deep, Roland said with a smile. What do you think? Its definitely not going to pop up, Wright said admiringly. Youre still the best. Even if we thought of this method, we wouldnt be able to do it. Roland smiled and felt that this was indeed the case. Humans never lack good ideas, but they lack the capital to turn them into reality. For example, someone knew that an artificial sun was the future of mankind. But they were only the leader of a small African country, overseeing a population of a million or so. The number of undergraduates was less than four thousand, of which two thousand were literature students, one thousand five hundred were finance students, the other four hundred were doctors or something, and only about a hundred were studying physics. The local university lecturers were all hired from abroad. In this case, even if one knew that an artificial sun was the future, they couldnt make the technology for an artificial sun even if they put the whole countrys money on it. There probably wouldnt even be enough to build a few kilometers of major roads. Only when the foundation was laid and when there was enough strength A good idea would be a good idea, and a good plan would become a good plan. Otherwise, it would just be a pipe dream. That was the case now, and some players had thought of burying the golem alive. But Rock to Mud took time to cast, and the larger the range the longer it took. It would take them nearly a minute to make the large swamp that trapped the golem. In that time, the golem wouldve realized and ran away. But Roland only needed a dozen seconds. And Roland had a way to temporarily control the golem. This was the difference between the number one Mage and them. In just a few fights, he could figure out a method and execute it. So its quite prescient of me to be a casual player. Wright sighed deeply, then looked at the other commanders in the back and gloated, At least I wont feel such a terrible blow. Chapter 600 - Covered With Treasures Chapter 600 Covered With Treasures Ill continue to fortify the place later, Roland said faintly as he looked at the high concrete platform, and carve another Dimensional Anchor array underneath while the Dimensional Anchor spell is still in effect so he cant get out. Wright took a step back in shock. So cruel? How many years does it take for a magic array like that to fail? A conservative estimate would be three hundred years, Roland replied after a moments thought. Impressive, Wright tsked. I wonder if the golem will still be moving after that many years. Wright looked at the rocky plateau in the roiling yellow sand. In three hundred years, maybe this place will become a legendary ruin that will attract many people to excavate and explore. As the two men spoke, a birds song suddenly came from far in the sky. Roland looked up and felt at ease immediately when he saw a blue firebird flying in the air. The huge firebird landed, the blue fire dispersed, and Andonara held up a huge charred black dragon head and casually threw it to the ground. Ive killed this little thing, Andonara said with a smirk. It was quite troublesome. The charred dragon head fell on the sand and dust, raising a puff of smoke. The players around them froze for a moment, then cheered in delight almost simultaneously. Your Majesty the Queen is mighty and majestic and will be invincible for as long as the sun rises in the east[1]. Andonara stood proudly with her spear in her hand, feeling no embarrassment. She deserved such admiration. But when Rolands narrowed eyes looked over, she immediately softened and put the spear behind her back. She walked over to Roland, took his hand, and said happily, How are you going to reward me for working so hard? Take you on a trip for a few days? said Roland casually. Andonaras eyes shone brightly. Yes, yes! Then she clung to Roland, and even rested her head on his shoulder, looking quite intimate. Wright felt a sour taste in his mouth as he watched the shameless couple show their love as if no one was watching. There are lemon fruits on the lemon tree, but Im the only one under the lemon tree! Feeling like hed die from sourness if he kept looking, he took the initiative and said, Almighty, since the golem and the white dragon have been dealt with, leave Tebesia to us. It was no wonder Wright said that; this epic quest had taught these thousands of players a lesson. When a person was strong to a certain level that resulted in a significant difference, relying on numbers alone wouldnt kill them. Okay, Ill leave it to you guys. Then Roland turned his head to look at Andonara. Lets go for a walk nearby. The desert scenery is kind of interesting. Andonara nodded adoringly. Watching these two walk away, Wright said, Ah, I really want to find a beautiful NPC for a relationship now. But a woman like this, powerful, in good shape, and with a gentle personality is a bit hard to find. Never mind forget it. Lets raid Tebesia first. After leaving the oasis, Roland took Andonara for a casual walk through the desert, both of them strong enough to ignore the desert heat. After walking for some time, Roland looked at the distorted rising air over the distant dunes and asked, Anna, what is it that you brought me here for? Is there something you are not comfortable talking about? Of course! Andonara walked to the side and stood in front of a dune that was a little higher than the surrounding area and said, Blow off this sand. Although Roland didnt specialize in wind elemental magic, being an Elemental Lord gave him extremely strong magic control. He could use basic wind-based magic just as well, but it wasnt very powerful. He used a small whirlwind to uncover the dune. A dead headless dragon appeared in front of Roland. Well, its worth a fortune, isnt it, said Andonara, angling her pretty chin triumphantly. Roland couldnt resist hugging and kissing her. The dragons whole body was a treasure. The dragon skin could be used as magical leather armor; its physical and magical resistance was surprisingly high. Dragon blood could be used to make alchemical reagentsthe finest kind. Dragon meat could be eaten to strengthen the body and boost libido and trigger the evolution of ones bloodline. So, this dragon corpse, by Rolands conservative estimate, was worth at least 10,000 gold coins, which, when converted into RMB, was probably around 160 million yuan. Hed made a great fortune. Roland used Mud To Stone to sink this dragon head under the sand layer, and then built a rocky square cabin below to hide the dragon corpse. Then he set up a Teleportation magic array in the cabin. He could teleport in at any time. For the next three days, Roland spent his time breaking up this dragon corpse. As the top creature in this world, after a dragon died, its flesh would have to wait at least a decade or so for the energy to dissipate before it would gradually rot due to the energy contained within it being so strong. So Roland wasnt worried about the stuff turning stinky. In these three days, he and Andonara dismembered the dragon corpse together. They separated the dragon skin, dragon bones, dragon meat, and internal organs in their own piles. By Rolands conservative estimate, this dragon weighed at least seventeen tons. He would keep the dragon skin to make Andonara a suit of white dragon armor and the dragon bones to forge weapons. He would keep some dragon meat and sell the rest and the internal organs as well. But the dragon heart was reserved for Andonara. The dragon heart weighed over a hundred pounds, and slicing it down and boiling it for Andonara to eat every day would have a great strengthening effect on her physique. But it would be even harder to break her defense. It seemed like he would also have to eat some. After Roland dismembered the dragon, Tebesia was also breached by the players. Without the Legendary white dragon and the intelligent golem, Tebesia, in the eyes of the players, was a piece of fat meat. Even though there were still two Legends overseeing the place, the Magic Tower was still breached under the onslaught of several thousand professionals. With the influence of dozens of Dimensional Anchor scrolls, it would be quite impressive if the spatial Mages could use a fifth of their strength. Let alone attack, they couldnt even escape. Greene was killed in the Magic Tower by a flurry of arrows and died with an incredulous look on his face as if he had seen an evil spirit. Another Legendary Mage, thrown into a state of loss and grief by the discovery of the death of the contracted white dragon, was directly pierced through the heart by a Warrior who had breached the city. As for Pylos, he had long since disappeared. When Tebesia was destroyed, the players captured two hundred Mages and nearly a thousand magic apprentices. Players who took the quest could automatically see the evil value on these Mages, a benefit that came with the quest. They decided who would live, who would be reformed through labor, and who would die based on the evil value. After the city was breached, the people of the Red Magic Tower appeared, and under Rolands guidance, they were responsible for inventorying the assets of the Spatial Magic Tower. After all, they were professionals and soon cleared out all the remaining assets of the Spatial Magic Tower. Finally, they laid out a chart; the magic materials of the Spatial Magic Tower, magic models, as well as gold and silver and other things, were worth about 20,000 gold coins. Very rich. The Red Magic Tower took out two magic scrolls and left the rest up to the players to deal with. After these things were sold, Wright and the commanders were responsible for counting the number of people and then handing out money. Roland also took thirty gold coins as a token. After all, he shared the epic quest and contributed the most, so he deserved to take the most. Most of the other players, according to their contributions, could also receive two and up to ten gold coins, and even if they didnt contribute much, theyd get a gold coin. After all, it was all about participation and everyone could get a share. The quest ended here, and all the players who had participated in the quest also received a core skill for their profession, improving their overall ability a lot. After the quest was completed, half of the five thousand players intended to continue exploring this continent. The other half said they were going back. They had their organizations and didnt want to be solo players. There were ways for players to go back on their own. However, the werecats couldnt travel long distances, and for this reason, Roland brought out his newly acquired flying ship, specifically to transport the werecats. The werecats were transported to Bettas Wetland City in a few round trips. For the werecats migration, Betta had set aside a nice neighborhood for them in the city, and there were even nice little red-tiled two-story houses already built on it. Maromatha walked through Wetland City, looking around with extreme curiosity. Today marked three days since the werecats had settled here. After getting things settled at home, Maromatha walked down the spacious city street. She had a strong desire to explore the city. Since it was a city, the tall walls were a given, and many, many things truly surprised Maromatha here. For example, the 80-meter-wide, super large main roads-eight across and eight downwere much more exaggerated than those at the capital of Hollevin. As for the medium-sized branching roads, they were even more densely packed to string the whole city together. The city streets had many mesh-like rock openings, and after studying them, Maromatha discovered that those were drainage openings. Then on the side of the road, there were many signs indicating what part of the city one was in. It was quite thoughtful. If the citys infrastructure surprised Maromatha, then what really shocked her made her let out a happy meowing sound was the food street here. Not to mention something as heavy as barbecue, just smelling it from a dozen meters away would make one want to dig into their pockets. This was just for people. Werecats had a stronger sense of smell; Maromatha was captured on the spot by the barbecued foods. The barbecue stall she visited was strange. The humans dressed as a pig, a monkey, and a bald burly man with a fake skull around his neck. The three sang while twisting and turning barbecued meat, grilling something called martial monks meat[2], which tasted excellent. The taste of at least six spices blossomed on her sensitive tongue. She had been in the food street for five hours and had only moved through two stalls. She had planned to go through the food street in one day but ended up not even actually going in the alley after five hours. After she couldnt eat anymore, Maromatha left the food street with regret. She walked around the city, observing the city, observing its citizens. She wanted to determine how to live in the city in the future. The catgirl walked from morning to afternoon and then to evening. She found that the city was quite safe. Very good. Not even one murder or a brawl was seen throughout the day. Of course, there were still arguments. The city was quite lively. The Golden Sons, regardless of their status, actually hawked their goods in the street. They were even quite enthusiastic, always asking her to try free food or asking her to try new products. Even in the middle of the night, the hawking didnt stop. Maromatha climbed to the highest part of the walls and watched the whole city light up She realized that it was a real city that never sleeps. After all, the Golden Sons didnt need to sleep. Continuing to explore, Maromatha wasnt tired at all despite a day of walking around the city. She felt like she could party all night. (1) A famous quote from Dongfang Bubai in Jin Yongs novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer; for as long as the sun rises in the east, I will be undefeated [2] parody of Journey to the West Chapter 601 - I Beg You Chapter 601 I Beg You The Wetland City was still very lively in the early morning. Maromatha had dark circles under her eyes that looked like smokey makeup. She returned to the community of the werecats and found a few elders who were in a meeting. She walked in without any hesitation and sat among them. As the daughter of the last clan chief and as the only Mage in the clan, Maromathas position in the clan was quite high. Otherwise, she couldnt have persuaded almost all the werecats to come with her to this human city. Matha, youre back. Hows the intel gathering? asked a certain tiger-skinned werecat elder. The other werecats looked at Maromatha with expectant eyes. They were also curious to know the situation in Wetlands City now, and how they were treating the werecats. The Golden Sons near Tebesia before had been good to them. So good that they almost suspected they were in a dream. Just like before. Maromatha gave a thumbs up. And the city is full of energy and unknowns, the food here is delicious as hell, the people are all kindtheyll even treat us like were their masters. Oh, this is the kingdom of heaven. The cat god has finally heard our wishes. The Golden Sons have treated us so well, it seems we are indeed their masters. The werecat elders were moved to tears; some of them were even too emotional to cry. At last, the bitterness is over; there was nothing wrong with hundreds or thousands of years of worshipping the cat god. We must continue to worship the cat god in the future. But in reality there was no such thing as a cat god. The most powerful feline creature in all the realms was a Legendary red dragon tigerman. It was the product of the mating of a certain red dragon in rut and the head female cold white tiger magical beast. And this tigerman was over four hundred years oldvery old-and probably wouldnt live much longer. So, how are we going to interact with the Golden Sons from now on? a practical elder asked. The same as before? Maromatha laughed. Just like before. I can announce that this city will be the paradise of us werecats, a paradise where we can live happily forever. Meow! The group of elders jumped up and down in excitement, tumbling over and over. The werecats moving into Wetland City had caused a huge commotion in the player community. A large number of cat lovers made a mad dash for Wetland City. There were also a large number of catgirl lovers who panted and shrieked their way to Wetland City. Roland, on the other hand, continued to deal with the corpse of the white dragon. Dragon skin and dragon bones were two things that Roland could digest on his own. But the dragon meat was too much, really too much. He was almost too busy to do it alone, and besides, it was too wasteful to use ordinary cooking methods for dragon meat. So Roland had no choice but to seek out the Red Magic Tower. The Great Elder was still handling affairs; the demise of the Spatial Magic Tower had brought great benefits to the Red Magic Tower. For example, the few finest spell models of the Spatial Magic Tower. Mages Disjunction, Mystras Mansion, the Sword of Mystra, and so on. As soon as Roland appeared in front of Great Elder Alfred, the latter immediately took out the two spell models from the drawer. Here you go, the promised Mages Disjunction and Sword of Mystra. The Great Elder smiled quite happily. The Red Magic Tower had been eyeing these top-level spells for a long time. Now that they could get their hands on them, they were naturally happy as could be. As for the friendship with the Spatial Magic Tower there were only eternal interests and no such thing as eternal friendship. Besides, the difference between the several major Magic Towers was just a few of the top spell models. Now the Red Magic Tower had, so to speak, obtained the essence of the Spatial Magic Tower. In the future, it would be the strongest Magic Tower with dual schools in evoking and spatial magic Roland didnt check either and stored the two models directly into his Backpack. The Red Magic Tower wouldnt be so bad as to cheat him in such a place. After that, he said, Great Elder, I would like to know what kind of price to pay for the alchemy technique of handling the meat of the top magical beasts. Top-grade magical beast meat? Alfred laughed heartily. What kind of magical beasts meat? Can I know? Roland shrugged. Can I say its a trade secret? Its the white dragon, right? Alfred stopped marking the political affairs. He reclined in his chair and looked at his student with a smirk. The fact that the white dragon that often attacked Tebesia was raised by them, many of us know that actually. Roland was expressionless. Alfred continued. That white dragon is a Legend and flies fast, and you guys actually managed to kill it Queen Andonara? Roland still had no expression. Dragon skin, dragon bones, dragon meat, dragon heart, and so on are all top quality materials. Alfred smiled. Dragon skin and dragon bones you can handle, dragon heart you can let your woman slowly eat, but dragon meat twenty or thirty tons of dragon meat is not good to deal with, right? Roland snickered. As expected of the Great Elder. This was an implicit admission. Alfred laughed. I can give you the recipe of Dragon Meat Reagent, and even send fifty alchemists to specifically help you deal with dragon meat for basic activation and preservation measures, but I also have a request, I want five tons of dragon meat, and a friendly price of one hundred gold coins per ton, okay? Well Roland was deliberating. Five tons was not a small amount, and this amount of gold coins was a bit too little. Dragon Meat Reagent is a top-notch reagent, and the recipe is precious enough that it wouldnt even be passed on if one didnt have an extremely high contribution to the Magic Tower. So, I need three tons of dragon meat to shush the Council of Elders. Another ton of dragon meat to pay for the labor of fifty alchemists. The last ton of dragon meat is the price of five hundred gold coins, Alfred explained. But on the account, I cant write it like that. The Red Magic Tower asks its students for some dragon meat and actually asks for that much; if word gets out, the other Magic Towers will laugh at us, so on the account, it has to be at five tons of one hundred gold coins, got it? Roland understood. It was just false accounting. Roland understood and nodded. Deal. Deal. Alfred was also quite happy. With five tons of dragon meat, he could do a lot of things. It could even be used to expand his influence. The following days were quite busy. Handling the dragon corpse, learning the making of Dragon Meat Reagent, teleporting those fifty alchemists next to the underground dragon corpse, and then learning the unique experiences of creating alchemical potions with them. It took Roland nearly seventeen days to completely deal with one dragon corpse. And that was with the help of fifty alchemists. If he worked alone, he reckoned he wouldnt be able to do it in a year. On the game forums, the fervor around the werecats was just dying down, and then a message set the whole forum off again. Or rather detonated the entire community of players. Top talent potion for sale, Dragon Meat Reagent. This post was made by Roland and it got a lot of attention as soon as it came out, and what was even more intriguing was the title. Talent potions! Players clicked in one after another. There wasnt much in the post, just a few pictures of potions that glittered and glowed green, looking sort of pretty. There wasnt much text content either. The post content: Top Dragon Meat Reagent. According to the individual profession and different attributes, the effect after use is also different, from improving the upper limit of the character to increasing the character talent, all that may be possible. Ten gold coins for this reagent. Interested parties please go to Delpon to discuss with Queen Andonara. Also, there is no guarantee of the effect of the Dragon Meat Reagentthe level of ability obtained after using it, the strength of the talent-everything is random. What came next, naturally, were the players replies. Ten gold coins, 160,000 RMB, Rolands thinking about money like crazy. And to say that this game is not a cash game. This tube of reagent can buy three virtual cabins. Upstairs, what the hell are you thinking. Ill pay 200,000 to buy three virtual cabins. Im a casual and have no money for potions? Any kind-hearted people willing to pay? Youre a casual, what the hell do you need battle power for, dont drink potions. Just go screw your widow. Moneys ready, leaving immediately. Damn, why does Roland always find a way to make big money. It takes me two or three months to go on a long business trip, and its less than five gold coins of net profit. Does anyone want to go robbing with me? Upstairs, I think you have a problem. Roland not only posted an announcement about the dragon meat reagent on the player forum He even had First Princess Stephanie bring ten bottles of Dragon Meat Reagent to the capital of Fareins. After giving a bottle to the king, Stephanie held an auction banquet. After they heard the effects of the Dragon Meat Reagent, the nobles attending the party went crazy. The price of a reagent went straight from the starting price of ten gold coins to twenty-three gold coins. It had more than doubled. This instantly made Stephanie a wealthy woman. These potions were the labor fee that Roland had given to Stephanie to use on his behalf to open up the market in Fareins. As for the dragon armor, dragon bones, and dragon heart, all these things were stored away by Roland Especially the dragon heart-every day for breakfast, Roland would cut a slice, fry it up, and eat it with Andonara. The effect was clear. Andonaras stamina was higher. As for Roland, his max health increased continuously. Every time he ate a piece, it added anywhere from 3 to 5. Roland estimated that after eating this dragon heart, his health cap could stack up to over 500. That was almost the health limit of the teenage dragon. Meanwhile, in the city of Delpon, a group of Golden Sons came in a hurry. One group of them went straight to Douglas. At this moment, Douglas was pouring a bottle of Dragon Meat Reagent into his mouth. Across from him sat the chairman of Cornucopia, eyeing the Dragon Meat Reagent in his hand. Douglas finished drinking and let out a long sigh as he closed his eyes for a moment before saying, Finally some effect. How many bottles have you had? Five bottles. The first bottle added a skill, the second bottle added some agility, the third and fourth bottle had no effect, and this bottle finally added some strength. Douglas sighed. I guess it wont work if I drink it again after that. Help me, said the old acquaintance subserviently, I beg you. Chapter 602 - Trouble Comes Again Now Charles regretted it. Cornucopia had been wanted by the royal family and suffered huge losses, such that they had spit back all the gold they earned in the game, and even had to take money from reality and buy gold from players to fill the hole. But the good thing was, as long as it was an organization, it was always possible to negotiate. After paying a great price, Charles connected with the royal family, and again after paying a significant price, finally made peace with the Hollevin royal family. Now Cornucopia could barely be considered a royal merchant, backed by the royal family to do business. The connections were much better, but there was also less money to be made. After all, if they earned a share, they had to give half the share to the royal family. It wasnt that Charles hadnt tried to fight back, but the royal family had recently recruited several players into the royal bureaucracy. These players literally used this game as a training ground for their becoming an official. They were selfless and dedicated to the welfare of the royal family and the country. They were still in a precarious position and hadnt taken a cut at the noble class. But instead, their hidden hand was extended to the merchant class, treating this as a millstone before doing greater things. The big merchants of Hollevin were targeted by them, and along with them, Cornucopia, a players guild, the royal merchant of Hollevin, was also targeted by them. Cornucopia had been impeded by them at every turn, and many of the businesses that were profitable and could be monopolized were destroyed. For example, grain, salt business, and so on. Then Charles finally understood why Douglas didnt like to cross ordinary people or even made connections despite his status. It was true that it was hard to produce talent from a poor family, but there were so many poor people that one genius out of a hundred was when the numbers were broken down, much more than the various second-generation rich. What was even more outrageous was that it was young people who were playing the game, and most of the young people who could save up 50,000 yuan and buy a virtual cabin were the elite in society. Given a chance, they could prosper. When Cornucopia was targeted by these people, it became increasingly difficult to do things. Previously, Cornucopia could sweep the entire Hollevin business circle, and that was because there was no advanced business operation experience in the feudal era, but now that other players who were also modern people had entered the playing field, the days of easy money for Cornucopia were gone. Since the low-cost, high-profit business that concerned peoples livelihood was no longer good, theyd start a different kind of business. Theyd do high-end things. The magical materials needed for Rolands auto-repair technology, they had hoarded a whole lot of them and later returned them to the royal family. So they planned to stay in the business of magical materials. Only this time there was no more monopoly. Rather, they would engage in differential pricing. Besides, Charles also realized deeply that personal strength and the overall strength of an organization was the capital to stand in this world. Otherwise having any amount of money would be like wool on a sheep, ready to be reaped. So when Rolands Dragon Meat Reagent appeared, he knew very well that he had to get his hands on these things. At least one for each of the guilds core staff. Otherwise, the gap with other combat players would become more and more obvious. With this urgency in mind, Charles once again came to Delpon. He came to this place where he felt some shame and helplessness. He didnt go to Roland right away but found Douglas first. As a Chinese man, he was well aware of the important role that things like favors played in human relations. I want at least a hundred bottles of Dragon Meat Reagent, Charles said seriously, but my relationship with Roland is something you know well, so Im begging you to hook me up with him. Douglas shook his head. Its not worth it. What do you mean? asked Charles, frowning. Is our friendship, on this matter, not worth it? A true friend doesnt threaten people with friendship. Douglas shook his head helplessly. Charles, youre too egotistical in everything you do. You always think youre doing the right thing. If were really friends, can I ask how many times youve come to visit my house since you were young, or how many times have we gone fooling around?. Charles frowned deeper. Dont b*tch about other things, just say yes or no. No, replied Douglis without hesitation, since the other had put it so bluntly. Ive never seen anyone beg like this. Charles gave Douglas a good hard look and then left. Roland didnt know that Charles had made a trip to Delpon. He now spent his days crouched at the top of the Magic Tower, working on a way to split the dragon bones apart. Dragon bones were just too hard. Even with a fierce blue flame of over 2000 degrees, it wouldnt melt. At best, it was just a little darker on the surface from roasting At this time, Roland went to the Red Magic Tower again and asked if there was a way to handle the dragon bones. As a result, the Great Elder shrugged. No. What about the other Magic Towers? Roland asked. Also no. The Great Elder explained, Dragon bones are generally used to forge weapons and armor, and we dont need either of those things at the Magic Tower, so naturally we dont do any research on that. That means the Guild of Warriors might have such skills?. The Great Elder said with certainty, Not perhaps, but certainly. But they claim to the public that they dont. Why? Fear of retaliation from the dragons. Roland was quite surprised. Then why arent we at the Red Magic Tower afraid? Great Elder, you dared to disclose the recipe of Dragon Meat Reagent to me. Since when do we have the recipe for Dragon Meat Reagent? The Great Elder blinked and laughed. How come I didnt know about this. Okay Roland understood. He left the Red Magic Tower and came to the capital of Fareins. He found Stephanie, who was holding the second auction banquet and asked her to help introduce him to the chairman of the Guild of Warriors. He had wanted to ask Schuck-after all, Schucks name of Saint Samurai worked a little better in this city. But it suddenly occurred to him that Schuck had the little fire dragon princess with him and that the two stuck together almost constantly, so if she knew he was trying to figure out how to handle dragon bones, she might feel sympathetic. Maybe it would even affect the relationship between the two of them. So thinking about it, Roland asked Stephanie. For this matter, Stephanie immediately agreed. Roland gave her so much Dragon Meat Reagent that she had made a lot of money and connections, and the results were especially obvious on her fathers side. After all, the Dragon Meat Reagent had the effect of an aphrodisiac and the king of Fareins was a man of music and song every night. It would be strange if he wasnt happy to receive this. Later that evening, the Guild of Warriors chairman was invited to come to Stephanies estate. He had dressed up specially, dressed to the nines. The close-fitting black noblemans suit smelled of mystery and nobility, with dark blond hair worn in a center parting and a very expensive alchemical perfume. When he heard about the private banquet, he thought that First Princess Stephanie had invited only himself. His mind immediately harbored certain unnecessary fantasies and he dressed himself up. Then he entered the manor and was led by the butler to the parlor, where the first thing he saw was Stephanie in her strapless green and blue noblewomans dress. Only afterward did he see Roland, who was sitting not far away. There was actually another man! The Guild of Warriors chairman immediately looked at Roland angrily. He thought that this man was his love rival and opponent tonight. In the circle of noblewomen in Fareins, such fights were very popular. Many times, they relied on the fist-to-fist victory to decide the man they would accompany today. The chairman of the Guild of Warriors thought that Princess Stephanie was the same way. After all, her man had been dead for a long time and it was normal to feel lonely now. Roland didnt quite understand this rule, so he felt puzzled by the Guild of Warriors chairmans hostility towards him. But Stephanie was aware of it, so she laughed heartily and gently covered her mouth with her hand. Roland took the initiative to say to the Guild of Warriors chairman who was staring angrily at him. Honorable Mr. Martin, I have something very important that I would like to talk to you about. Who are you and where does your family come from? Martin sized up Roland. If you dont have the rank of marquis or above it is impossible to get the favor of Princess Stephanie. Roland froze for a moment before he said, I dont mean to compete with you for women. The First Princess doesnt seem to have that in mind either. Martin, the Guild of Warriors chairman, was only 37 years old now and was the younger of all the professional guilds chairmen. His position came improperly, inherited from his father. In reality, within the Guild of Warriors, many people did not obey him. Though he was married, he was willing to toss his current wife aside if it meant getting Princess Stephanies heart. Sons and daughters could also be thrown away. After all, it was now clear to anyone that the First Princess was most likely the future queen. Such a promising ally, if he didnt cling on now, he would certainly regret it in the future for the rest of his life. Hearing Rolands words, Martin looked at the First Princess. Stephanie explained, Roland is my friend, and he has something he wants to talk to you about, so I invited you over. So thats how it is! What a pity! Martin sighed in disappointment, then he looked up and smiled at Roland. I wonder what Mr. Roland wants from me. His expression changed quickly. What was hostile a moment ago was now full of intimacy and enthusiasm. Roland was quite impressed to see him like this. I want to talk business with you, sir. Please go ahead. Ive heard that the Guild of Warriors has a forging method to deal with dragon bones. Martins eyes narrowed. You have dragon bones? Yes. Roland nodded. He had known that the other man would be able to guess something about him if he asked. So I would like to talk business with you, sir. Sell us the dragon bones for five gold coins a kilo. Martins expression became frenzied. Well take as many as you have. Sorry, Im not selling. Roland waved his hand. Then there is no more to talk about. Martins expression was quite cold. We, the Guild of Warriors, dont have any dragon bone forging methods either. You men are so hard-headed when it comes to business, its suffocating to watch. Stephanie sat up straight, and as the host, she began to smooth things over. Roland, just sell them a few, or even Martin, make a copy and give Roland the information, wont that do it? We dont have the dragon bones forging method. Martin shrugged. How can we give what we dont have. Then Ill have to look for Guild of Warriors in other countries, like the one in the Kingdom of Urganda. Martin stood up, looking serious. In that case, you might not get out of Fareins. Chapter 603 - I Have a Solution In that case, you might not get out of Fareins. Martins smile was full of smugness. Just like the Association of Mages was full of nobles in its upper ranks, the Guild of Warriors was the same way The waters ran deep in this part of the capital of Fareins. As the largest human country in the world, and as the most powerful human country in the world, its capital was naturally full of big shots. Martins father was not only the former chairman of the Guild of Warriors but also the countrys marquis. The noble titles of the Fareins Kingdom were very difficult to obtain. Below the royal family, there were two dukes, and further down the line, there were eight marquis. Besides, a lot of the time, the strength of a force was not quite according to noble standards. For example, a certain grand duke was notoriously cowardly, and apart from his title, he had no money and no men. Martins family was considered one of the more powerful in the capital. That was why he had the nerve to talk like that. He looked at Roland rather smugly. Something like dragon bones interested him. Once he got the dragon bones and put them toward the Guild of Warriors, those who disobeyed him because of his lack of ability would change their minds and appreciate him, making it convenient for him to consolidate the resources of the Guild of Warriors. He wasnt afraid that Roland had some kind of power behind him. If so, something as important as dragon bones should not be negotiated by an unknown junior, but by a big shot to negotiate a partnership. Looking at the other mans smug smile, Roland frowned. This situation was already considered a breakdown in negotiations. But it was also times like these that it came down to the middleman. Stephanie sat up straight and said, Martin, Roland is my friend and you can think of it this way; there is no way he could get me to be the middleman if he didnt have enough power and capabilities, so you better reconsider your thoughts and approach. Stephanie was, after all, the First Princess and would almost certainly be ordained the next queen. What she said carried a lot of weight. This guy is really powerful? But why havent I heard of him? Martin was rather puzzled, but the words of the First Princess were unlikely to be lies, sp he took a deep breath. Sir, are you really not willing to sell us the dragon bones? We can give you a generous price. Roland still shook his head. Giant dragons rarely appeared in the human world, and not all of them could be killed at will. Normally, only evil dragons could be slaughtered, otherwise, the punishment of the good dragon god Bahamut would follow. And evil dragons generally wouldnt just dabble in the human world, because many elites in the human world liked to slay dragons. For example, Heroes. Besides, giant dragons werent easy to kill, and if not for Andonaras help, the players wouldnt be able to take down a white dragon at their current strength. It wouldnt be easy to get a high-level dragon corpse again. Low-level dragon bones, used to forge weapons and armor, were also effective, but certainly not as good as high-level dragon bones. So, dragon bones and dragon skin were limited in supply, and high-level white dragons like this one were even rarer. Roland intended to help Andonara build a set of top-quality equipment, and then help his friends the same way. If there was any extra, he still had to sell it to make some of his money back. There werent any extras to sell to the Guild of Warriors. Seeing that Roland was unmoved by force or persuasion, Martin wasnt happy. But for First Princess Stephanies sake, Martin didnt want to come across as too aggressive. Then he said, Consider it, my friend. Only the Guild of Warriors knows how to forge from dragon bones. You wont find anyone else but us to sell it to. Roland was not convinced. The Guild of Warriors forging skills were indeed good, but not the best in the world. At least one power was solidly above them. The Black Iron Dwarves. Unmoved, Roland just laughed lightly. Ill think about it. Although Martin wasnt really smart, he was not stupid either. He looked at Rolands demeanor and tone of voice and knew that the other party did not take his words to heart. He was upset but there was nothing he could do about it. At that moment he stopped chatting with Roland and instead concentrated on chatting with and teasing First Princess Stephanie. However, Stephanie was reluctant to talk to him, and after some casual remarks, she yawned. Im sleepy, so if you guys have anything else to talk about, well talk tomorrow. Roland immediately rose to take his leave. Martin dawdled as he made his exit, still having the extravagant hope that the First Princess might call him back to warm her bed. It was better to walk slowly. However, up until he walked out of the manor, Stephanies eyes did not fall on him. Instead, she kept staring at Roland for quite a long time. When Roland left the manor, he went to Moonlight Stone Tavern. Here, he found the red-bearded dwarf, Wilmot, who was drinking heavily. The two had worked together before. After Roland came to the Moonlight Stone Tavern, he sat down and waited. And Red Beard was so drunk with a group of friends that he didnt even notice Roland. By the time he had drunk all his money away today, slightly tipsy, he was about to leave when he suddenly saw Roland sitting in the corner. Roland smiled and waved at him. After hesitating for a moment, he sat down in front of Roland. Its been a long time, Mr. Roland. Red Beard greeted Roland. It has indeed been a long time, Roland said as he clapped his hands and had the waiter serve two jugs of good wine, pouring one for Red Beard first. Ive come to see you this time. Red Beard took the glass with both hands, his expression somewhat flattered. If theres something you want, go ahead. The previous cooperation was satisfactory for both parties, so he had a good impression of Roland. Red Beard had thought that this time Roland had come over to work with their squad again. However, without expecting it, he heard Roland say I assume youre good at forging. Better at it than most humans, we dwarves do this professionally after all, Red Beard said truthfully, though he was curious as to why Roland asked the question. Its just that my forging skills are nothing compared to my people. Im better at finding quality ores. Roland understood the other mans meaning. It had the same meaning that some farmers were good at growing rice and some were good at growing wheat. I wonder if you dwarves can handle dragon bones. Hearing this, Red Beards eyes opened wide. What, you said dragon bones? With this roar, he startled the entire tavern. But fortunately, Red Beard was already drunk and spoke somewhat indistinctly, and no one but Roland understood what he said. Red Beard was now shocked out of being drunk. He was quite surprised and delighted. The dwarves were extremely fond of forging, so they would go crazy if they saw the finest forging materials. Magic crystal mines and meteorites were rarely seen. Things like dragon bones, Demigod bones, and the like were truly the only fine rare materials in their eyes. The lifelong dream of many dwarves was to have ten-centimeter long dragon finger bones for them to build a piece of equipment they would never regret in their lifetime. And the real divine bones divine blood, they dared not think about it. So it was no wonder that Red Beard was so surprised when he heard that there were dragon bones. Wilmot leaned over the table and stared at Roland tenderly as if a young girl beholding her lover. Just give me ten centimeters of dragon bones, and Ill do whatever you want me to do. Roland felt a terrible chill. But thinking about the strength gap between them, he calmed down knowing that he was not in danger. What if I want a method of how to handle dragon bones? Red Beard nodded vigorously. Ill give it to you too. Roland was a little curious. Not afraid Ill spread the word all over the world about how to handle dragon bones? Not afraid. Red Beard smiled. Only you humans regard the forging method as important, but to us dwarves, it is just a more complicated and high-end method of crafting. It is indeed worth a lot of money, but thats all it is, nothing compared to dragon bones. Even if you learn it, you wont be able to surpass us dwarves. So confident? Of course. The dwarf slapped his rocky chest with a bang. When you humans taught us magic, were you ever afraid that we would surpass you? The racial talent is there; we are born with the ability to forge, and our children can forge iron better than most adult humans. This was indeed the truth. Ten centimeters of dragon finger bone Was quite a low bar to ask. Deal, Roland said, tapping the table. Red Beard was quite excited. So can we go find the dragon finger bone now? I want to see it now. The dragon finger bone is not here, but I can bring it to you. Roland smiled and said, I wonder if you are willing to convince your people to work for me. I have a Magic Tower in Hollevin and have quite a few dragon bones and would like to build some top-notch equipment out of it. Taking a sharp, deep breath, Red Beard nodded. There really is a large number of dragon bones. Cant say a great deal, just quite a lot. Roland smiled a devilish grin. Arent you guys interested? Red Beard looked down and thought for a while before saying with difficulty, I can drag a dozen of my good friends to Hollevin to be your full-time forgers, but you have to guarantee that there will be dragon bones for us to build equipment, and also, food and lodging must be provided, and a barrel of fruit wine every ten days. No money? I dare not ask for it. Pained, Red Beard looked at Roland. I am afraid that if I do, you will not let us use the dragon bones. So thats why. Dwarves are really easy to satisfy. Roland thought about it, handed Red Beard a money bag of twenty gold coins, and said, Take this money with you, go and bring your friends to the city of Hollevin, and if I am not there, find a great beauty named Andonara and tell her that I invited you here. Understood. Red Beard took the money bag, casually weighed it, and said admiringly, You really are a generous employer. Willing to pay so much even for the road, it seems that not only could they use the dragon bones to forge weapons once they were officially working But also there may even be a good amount of money for the work. After settling things with Red Beard, Roland came out of Moonlight Stone Tavern and went to visit Stephanie, asking her if she wanted to go to Delpon for a little while. After all, she wasnt powerful enough in the capital yet, so she might get assassinated. As it turned out, just halfway down the road, Roland noticed that the road was fenced off in front and behind. The people who blocked his way were all Warriors, and there was a Legend among them. Chapter 604 - Is It a Show? Roland had known that he might get surrounded. He didnt know Martin very well, but the guy surely didnt seem like someone who would follow rules. As it happened, the guy was also the incumbent chairman of the Guild of Warriors. So, Roland wasnt surprised at all. He simply looked at the Legendary Warrior, who was an innocent-looking middle-aged man, and wondered if he should attack. Roland had always liked to take the initiative. But considering that he might become a public enemy, he couldnt attack until the guy evinced any hostility. Nevertheless, his eyes were full of aggressiveness. He subconsciously looked at other peoples vitals, including their throat, temples, heart etc. His eyes exuded a strong determination of killing to the people on his opposite. The few Warriors frowned and stepped back. The Legendary Warrior walked forward and said with a bitter smile, My friend, relax. We mean no harm to you. You mean no harm to me? Looking at the dozen Warriors that were in his way and behind him, Roland didnt think that it was a sign of friendliness at all. Were just too used to our habits. The Legendary Warrior smiled bitterly and waved his hand, and those who surrounded Roland stepped aside. All of them seemed rather awkward and embarrassed. The Legendary Warrior said with a smile, Can you trust us now, sir? Roland nodded. Fine. The Warriors did have weird habits. Following the Legendary Warrior, Roland zigzagged through the city and ended up in a remote manor. The gate of the manor was closed the moment he came in. Tables, fruits, and delicious wine had been prepared in the courtyard. Several Master-level Warriors were seated. The Legendary Warrior took the hosts seat and invited Roland to sit down. After Roland sat down, he said, I invited you here because theres something Id like to discuss with you. Im all ears. Roland drank a mouthful of the fruit wine, as he was a little bit thirsty. Before we get to anything, allow me to introduce myself. The Legendary Warrior smiled and said, I am Grantham, deputy chairman of the Guild of Warriors. Roland nodded, showing that he was listening. I know that Chairman Martin met you not a long time ago, the Legendary Warrior said and smiled, and I also know that you two had some conflict. So, you want to settle the score for your chairman? asked Roland curiously. Grantham quickly waved his hand. Of course not. Mr. Roland, unlike Martin, I know you very well. Oh? Roland raised his eyebrows. You are the strongest Mage among the Golden Sons, an immortal being, and the most promising star in the Red Magic Tower. Also, your woman is the queen of Hollevin and a Legendary Swordsman. Grantham smiled. I wonder if my intelligence is correct. Roland put the cup down. Its all true. Your chairman had no idea who I was, yet you know me so well, which means that you didnt report the important intelligence I get it now. The conflict isnt between me and Martin, but between you and him. After a brief daze, Grantham shook his head. As expected of a Mage, you do have a quick wit. Youre right. The Guild of Warriors is now divided into two factions: those who support inheritance and those who support election. Old Martin intends to name his son, Young Martin, as the next chairman. Things would be fine if Young Martin were capable, but he is just a bum and cant even manage his manor well, let alone a guild. So you want to replace him? Roland played with the cup in his hand. He didnt foresee that he would be involved in a coup. But then again, he wasnt really involved, because he could leave anytime with his spatial magic. Yes. The Guild of Warriors should be run by someone more capable, such as Deputy Chairman Beacher. Grantham paused a moment and said, Hes capable and respected. He is the leader that can lead the Guild of Warriors into the future. I thought you would say that you are a better candidate. Roland was more or less surprised. You are a deputy chairman, and theres another deputy chairman. How many deputy chairmen are there in your guild? Four. So your power is rather divided. Roland understood why there were four deputy chairmen. It was meant to split the power, so that the power apart from the leaders wouldnt be concentrated. Every person had selfish desires. They would rather not give up whatever little power they had. Also, where there was power, there were conflicts. If four deputy chairmen were holding each other back, the position of the chairman would be stable. Grantham smiled bitterly. Youre very smart, sir. The four deputy chairmen are now divided evenly, with two on each side. The election faction doesnt really have any advantage. An interesting form of organization. Roland still found it odd. But does it have anything to do with me? I hope that you can help us oust Martin from power. Grantham smiled as if he were just having a casual conversation. Sorry, cant help, goodbye. Quickly refusing the request, Roland rose and was about to leave. Why on earth would he meddle with someone elses family business? Besides, Roland didnt trust Grantham and only believed half of what he said. Wait! Grantham stood up anxiously. Of course, were willing to offer you a lot of valuable magic materials if you help us. Valuable? Roland smiled. How valuable exactly? Can you give me a hundred kilograms of Meteorite Minerals? ns Meteorite Minerals were one of the best magic materials that could replace many important ingredients and even be used as catalysts for certain alchemical potions. For Roland, it was also a necessary material to build the foundational magic array of the floating city. He needed at least sixty kilograms of it. However, there were only fifty kilograms of Meteorite Minerals in Hollevin in total as of this moment. Their price was extremely high. Rolands Magic Tower in Delpon spent a long time trying to purchase it, but it only bought one kilogram. Roland was even of a mind to go mining in the Realm of Devils, because he was told that such minerals were common there. Yes! Grantham stared Roland in the eyes and put on a shrewd smile. Its true that the Meteorite Minerals are expensive, but the Guild of Warriors can afford a hundred kilograms of them. What a rich organization! I didnt know that the Guild of Warriors collected so many Meteorite Minerals. Roland couldnt have felt more jealous. He had thought that he was already rich enough with the Magic Tower in Hollevin, but he was just greatly humiliated. According to the market price, a hundred kilograms of Meteorite Minerals were enough to buy three Delpon Magic Towers. Even if you can, its not like you will just offer a hundred kilograms of Meteorite Minerals to me, will you? Roland shook his head. You will have the hundred kilograms of Meteorite Minerals the moment Beacher becomes the chairman. Roland looked the man in his eyes. Do you know what a hundred kilograms of Meteorite Minerals mean? Are you so generous? I find it hard to believe your sincerity. Is this a trap against me? Roland never believed that anything good would happen for nothing. Even if it did, one would have to pay a price in order to enjoy it. Grantham shook his head. Were not bold enough to trick and harm a Golden Son. Youre undying. As long as you find the truth, I dare say that you will crazily hunt whoever set you up. Hehe. Thats true. Roland looked at the guys eyes. So, how should I work with you? Roland really didnt want to meddle with someone elses family business, but Martin clearly didnt look like a good guy. Also, based on Rolands experience, a petty man like Martin would try to get back at him sooner or later. He might as well take the man down first before the man came to him. Roland would never admit that what really tempted him was the hundred kilograms of Meteorite Minerals. He didnt want to accept the request, but its reward was too great for him to refuse. Grantham was very happy that Roland accepted the request. He believed that no Mages could resist the temptation of abundant Meteorite Minerals. In fact, your job is very simple. Although Grantham was in his own manor, he looked around to ensure that nobody was eavesdropping. It was many peoples habitual movement. They would subconsciously look around when they talked about business and didnt want it to be leaked. Grantham informed Roland of his plan. After ten minutes later, Roland raised his thumb. Thats quite a feasible plan. Grantham shook his head. I wouldnt say that. Its just that weve been waiting for this opportunity for too long. Roland stood up. Ill see you tonight. See you tonight. Grantham rose too and escorted Roland out of the manor. When the night came, Roland and Stephanie took her carriage to a big manor in the north suburb. A line of carriages was parked on one side of the road. All of those carriages were extravagant in a low-key way. In the courtyard behind the gate, many gentlemen and ladies were standing on the lawn in several groups. When Roland and Stephanie stepped out of the carriage, many people were shocked. It was because Stephanie was known as a self-respecting woman. Although her husband had died, she never took part in such messy parties. Martin, on the other hand, was a lustful man, so the parties he threw were always erotic. In particular, there would be a dark period after the party was over, and one could have sex with whoever they laid their hand on. It was quite morally unprincipled. Nobody expected that the First Princess would appear in such a place with a pretty boy. Some of the party folk with keener eyes noticed that Stephanie looked rather happy. Had the princess finally thought it through? Many young, handsome nobles got excited. Actually, Stephanie was indeed quite happy, because Roland had asked her to put on an act by offering her ten bottles of Dragon Meat Reagent. Ten bottles of Dragon Meat Reagent! Thats a huge sum of money! So, she had every reason to feel happy! Chapter 605 - You Didn’t See This Coming, Did You? Stephanie thought highly of Roland. Very highly. She wouldnt have been interested in such a party at all, but when Roland said that he wanted to drop by, she simply took him here without asking why. Even though she knew that the dark session of such a party would affect her reputation, she didnt ask Rolands reason or purpose. At the party, Stephanie was seated in the gallery on the second floor in a low-cut dress. Her body figure wasnt as attractive as Andonaras, but she was a rarely-seen beauty too. More importantly, she had this air of dignity around her that attracted the eyes of countless people even though she was just sitting there doing nothing She had eclipsed all the other females in the party, including both the young girls and the married women. Men stared at her with passion, and women with jealousy. Roland, seated opposite her, withstood the gazes of envy from many men too. Some people who were close to the Association of Mages had heard about Roland before. They knew that he was a good friend to the First Princess, so they realized who he was when he sat opposite Stephanie. Those who didnt know him whispered to each other, wondering who this man was and why he was so close to the First Princess and future queen. Ignoring the stares of curiosity and even lust, Stephanie picked up a cup gracefully and said with a charming smile on her face, Okay, Ive already brought you here. Can you tell me what you want now? I would rather not admit itt. Roland narrowed his eyes and smiled. Stephanie shook the expensive alchemical glass cup unconcernedly while the red wine shivered inside. Then Ill just watch the show. She didnt care who Roland was trying to deal with. In the entire capital of Fareins, there were few people she cared about except herself and her mother. Also, she was quite curious about what Roland wanted to do in such a party. Actually, Roland didnt know what to do, either. All that he knew was that he needed to work with Grantham at the right moment. At this moment, Young Martin, the initiator of the party and the owner of this manor, showed up. Although he was called Young Martin, he was actually a middle-aged man who was almost forty. Many people greeted him, but he ignored all of them and went straight to Stephanie. He smiled and said, Your Highness, its the greatest honor of my life that youve come to my party. He bowed courteously. Although he was not young anymore, he still looked gentle and handsome when he smiled. He was a Warrior who was almost a Legend, but he wasnt unrefined as most Warriors were. He was an out-and-out noble. Stephanie didnt stand up. She didnt need to, with her identity or with the supporters at her back. Putting the cup down lazily, Stephanie said casually, Im here to open my eyes. I was told that the dark session of your party is very interesting. Its a special activity of this manor. Martin quickly glanced at Stephanies important body parts and pretended to speak casually. But Im afraid its not suitable for you, Your Highness. I thought that you would encourage me to participate. Stephanie looked at the man with a vague smile. I dare not. Martin shook his head. I know very well what I can do and what I shouldnt. Stephanie nodded in satisfaction. Very well. Ill leave before the dark session. You go entertain other guests. Dont bother me. As you wish, Your Highness, but before I go Martin looked at Roland and said in a mocking tune, Before I go, theres something Id like to report to you, Your Highness. Is it important? Stephanie asked and looked at Roland too as Martin did. Very important. Martin bowed again. At this moment, many nobles at the party had gathered around. They were all very astute in politics. Maybe they werent knowledgeable or capable in general, but they were all gifted at fanning the flames. Okay then. Tell me. Stephanie wasnt bothered by the guys lack of manners. She could tell that Martin seemed to be hostile to Roland. She wanted to see what he would do. Im told that you have been quite close to this Mage, Your Highness. Martin pointed at Roland. Indeed we are. As I speculated! Stephanie looked at Roland with a vague smile. Roland winked as if he were worried. Looking at Rolands expression, Martin put on a gloating smile. However, this man is a devil, Martin declared confidently and pointed at Roland. Hua! The nobles whispered to each other more loudly that they shouldve. Claiming that someone was a devil was a severe accusation. This place wasnt just the capital of Fareins but also the Holy Realm. Under normal circumstances, whoever was recognized as a devil would be crucified and burnt alive. Roland wasnt a good actor. He couldnt pretend to be scared, so he could only frown as much as possible. But in Martins eyes, Roland was just pretending to be cool, which further convinced him of his conclusion. How can my man be a devil? Stephanie scoffed. Hearing that, Roland smiled at her. It was just Rolands simple, normal, and even more or less insincere response to Stephanies defense. But in such a special situation, certain people might construe the smile as something else. Martin was even more convinced that Roland was scared. He waved his hand back, and his butler walked close with a scroll of paper in his hand. Martin opened the scroll and showed it around to all the participants of the party. It was the painting of a male who was 80% similar to Roland. Considering that there were few portraits in this world that looked identical to real persons, it was safe to conclude that the guy on the painting was Roland, according to common sense. However, Roland and Stephanie knew that the guy in the painting wasnt him. After showing off the painting for about a minute, Martin threw it to Roland. Roland grabbed it and examined it a while longer. Similar! The guy was really similar to himself. Why are you showing me this painting? asked Stephanie. Your Highness, the person in the painting is named Rod Jonnell, a local noble in Coldspring County and a Mage. All the nobles whispered to each other, wondering why this guy named Rod Jonnell looked so similar to Roland, who was with the princess. Stephanie was very surprised. Had she not known that Roland was a Golden Son, she wouldve really thought that Roland was this Rod Jonnell. So what? Stephanie snapped, pretending that she was unhappy. Whether his name is Roland or Jonnell, does it really matter? Does it have anything to do with you? What if this Viscount Jonnell is a nefarious murderer? Everybody became curious, and Stephanie covered her mouth and cried, Is it true? How can Roland be a murderer? Its true. Martin looked at Roland and announced angrily, This man killed his parents, raped a neighbor girl whom he grew up with, and burnt the girls family alive. Then, he disappeared from Coldspring County. We didnt expect him to change his name and come to the capital. Stephanie happened to have just drunk a mouthful of wine from the cup she refilled. She almost spurted the wine out when she heard that, but thanks to the years of noble etiquette training, she managed to swallow the wine back. Are you so brutal? the First Princess asked Roland in surprise. Roland hummed a response. He didnt know what was going on or what to do. He wasnt an actor anyway. However, in many peoples eyes, that was a reaction born of guilt. Martin burst into laughter. Your Highness, he is exactly a brutal devil. He mustve been up to something when he approached you, so He stepped forward and protected Stephanie behind him. Your Highness, please back off and let the Guild of Warriors take care of this devil. Roland didnt even know how to respond. At this moment, he had more or less realized Granthams ruse. It was actually very simple. Its purpose was to publicly humiliate Martin right in front of the future queen, so that people would lose respect for him. However powerful Martin was, the members of the Guild of Warriors would try to kick him out of office for the sake of their guilds image in the queens eyes. But Roland was curious about one thing. While Martin wasnt smart, he shouldnt have bought such intelligence so easily. Was the person who gave him the intelligence someone he trusted? Roland felt that his blood was freezing as he thought about that. Grantham claimed that he didnt have any advantage, but he was apparently on the winning side, considering that Martins trusted subordinate had switched to his side. He was only using this opportunity to further cut Martin down to size. Even without Rolands help and the great opportunity, Grantham would still surpass Martin very soon with his capabilities. It was true that Roland was used as a gun. However, thinking about the Meteorite Minerals that would soon be given to him, Roland was quite happy working as a gun. He heaved a sigh, stood up, and looked at Martin. Youre truly smart. Of course! Taking Rolands word as an admission of guilt, Martin couldnt be happier. The Guild of Warriors has the best intelligence system. Its very easy for us to find out the evils youve done. After that, he turned around and looked at Stephanie, obviously craving her approval. Stephanie smiled like a shining star. Amazed by her smile, Martin failed to move his eyes away until a long time later. He shouted, Guards, catch this man and send him to the Inquisition of the Holy Realm. A devil should be purged by light. Roland sighed. Martin, theres something I want to ask you. Who gave you this intelligence? Grantham, the deputy chairman that I trust most. Hes a Legendary Warrior, declared Martin rather proudly. Shoot! Roland felt that he had really underestimated Grantham. Chapter 606 - What About Another Favor? In fact, most descendants of renowned families were just ordinary people in terms of capabilities. Their strong suits were their resources and connections, which made their starting point much higher than average. If some of them happened to be gifted, they could easily distinguish themselves. Their upper and lower bounds were both very high. The influence of their parents and grandparents gave them a good edge. Of course, there were descendants who squandered all the resources of their family, but not many, because they always had more chances to try out different things than ordinary people did. Until they wasted all their family fortune, they could always find a new path to riches. In this world, the nobles had even more chances to fail. It had been ten years since Martin took over the Guild of Warriors at twenty-five. Nobody thought highly of the Guild of Warriors back then, but at this moment, half of its members were loyal to him. It meant that his supporters were really powerful. Whenever he did something wrong, there were always people who took care of everything for him. There were few things that Martin was scared of in such an environment, except a couple of forces that could crush his family. But his family had sworn loyalty to one of those forces; it was the royal familys hound now. Whoever wanted to hit his family had to consider the royal familys feelings on the matter. Martin, on the other hand, wanted to go a step further. He wanted to join the royal family for real, and Stephanie was a great target. She was the dignified future queen. As long as he could cling to her thigh, he would be a member of the royal family too. His family would make further progress. Even if his title wasnt improved, his influence would still be significantly increased. At this moment, he stood before the First Princess like a hero. Although his face was teeming with fury and he looked at Roland with icy eyes, he was actually grinning happily in his heart. He thanked this devil Mage for giving him such a great opportunity to show himself. He also thanked Grantham, his trusted subordinate, for giving him such a piece of important intelligence. The First Princess must be looking at me in admiration behind me. That was what he thought. But actually Stephanie was laughing delightedly behind him. Her eyes were full of mockery, and she looked at him as if he were a clown. Having spent a lot of time with Andonara and Roland, she knew them quite well. In her eyes, the combination of Andonara and Roland was almost invincible. In particular, after Roland grew up and set up a floating city, they would be fearless of anything in the entire main plane. Roland had great potential. On many occasions, potential didnt mean promise, because there were too many uncertainties in this world, and many geniuses with great potential had died before they grew up. But Roland wouldnt. The Golden Sons were undying. They would never die young Also, Stephanie had witnessed what Roland did recently. He was a man who had boundaries but was also flexible. That was why Andonara was so devoted to him. Could such a man be a devil? Stop playing. There was no telling who tricked Martin into believing in such intelligence. It seemed that someone really wanted him dead. Stephanies eyes evinced even more curiosity and mockery. Martin was still feeling good about himself, but the onlooking nobles noticed that the First Princesss eyes werent right. They realized something, and many people began to grimace. Seeing that the people around him were smiling, Martin got happier too. He wouldve sensed that the atmosphere wasnt right if it were another occasion. But at his moment, his eyes had been blinded by his inflating ego, and he thought that those people were smiling to encourage him. Therefore, he waved his hand magnificently and said, Someone, take this lying devil Mage away and lock him up. Roland raised his eyebrows. A few guards who were responsible for the safety of the party gathered around. Roland looked around but didnt see Grantham. He was wondering how he should proceed, when someone stood forth. Young Martin, I cant pretend that I didnt hear that. A middle-aged noble, who was wearing a magic robe, stepped out and nodded at Roland with a smile. He then looked at Martin with a grave if not criticizing expression. Since when have you had the power to punish someone from the Association of Mages? Martin looked at the noble Mage in surprise. Hogan, whats the meaning of this? Did you not hear my explanation? He is a wicked Mage. Very wicked. Does the Association of Mages intend to cover for him? Do you have any evidence for your claim? Hogan waved his hand and declared angrily, Then Ill accuse you of incest, Young Martin! Thats venomous slander! Young Martin trembled in fury. Why? You think whatever you say is true but my word isnt? Hogan opened his hands and scoffed. Im as renowned as you, arent I? Besides, since when do the Warriors get to deal with the affairs within the Association of Mages? You! Martin was so furious that he intended to bite someone. Hogan had been warm and brotherly to him only a couple of days earlier. Why had he suddenly changed his attitude? Was it because he was involved with this wicked Mage? The more he thought about it, the more he believed that it was true. He was the chairman of the Guild of Warriors anyway, and Hogan was a mere director in the Association of Mages. He saw no reason why he should be scared of this man, especially when he had proof of the culprits evils. So, he declared toughly, Hogan, get out of my way, or Ill capture you too. Very good, very good. Hogan trembled in fury. Im standing right here. Lets see if any of them dares to capture me. Dont underestimate my courage. Martin sensed that Stephanie had been staring at his back, so he felt that he should be more assertive. He believed that the First Princess would love an unyielding man. He would not back off. With a heart full of courage, Martin waved his hand and roared, Then capture Hogan too! Then you should capture me too. And me. Count me in. I dont think Mr. Roland is a bad person either. A dozen nobles who were willing to go to prison with Hogan showed up, and all of them wore Mage attire. The whole party was filled with humming noises. The onlookers who were not involved tried not to blink, fearing that they might miss any spectacular part of the show. At this moment, Martin looked extremely awful. If Hogan were the only opposition, he could keep the man in custody for a few days before setting him free. Then, the whole thing could be forgotten if he offered some monetary compensation. However, a dozen oppositions would mean something entirely different. Those people represented different forces large and small. If they joined their forces, even the Martin family had to give in. After all, enough ants could bite an elephant to death. Besides, one of the oppositions was from the royal family! Wait! Martin finally realized something wrong. How on earth was the royal family involved in this? Shocked, he turned around and looked at Stephanie. Then, a chill shot from his spine straight to the top of his head. He felt that his hair was standing on end with fear. He saw nothing but mockery in the First Princesss eyes, as if she was looking at an idiot. He looked around. At this moment, he finally realized that the nobles were laughing at him, not Roland. Eventually, he fixed his eyes on Roland. He reexamined the painting in his trembling hand and compared it with Roland, who was still calm. Then, he closed his eyes and said, It cant be wrong. This is exactly him. There are a lot of people who look very similar. Roland didnt hesitate to stab him in the heart. Grantham! Martin seemed to have realized something. Im sorry. It appears that I was mistaken. It was the grand nobles motto to stoop when necessary. There was always a chance to get back at people as long as they were still alive. So, Martin apologized promptly. Why should there be law if an apology is enough? Hogan remarked coldly. It was a saying that came from the Golden Sons. For some reason, it sounded quite cool. Therefore, many young nobles had been using it as their catchphrase. Then what do I need to do for you to forgive me, Hogan? Hogan shook his head. Ill report the matter to the Council of Elders. Not only did you threaten and frame Roland, but you also insulted me and many other Mages. So, just wait and talk to our leadership. Martin clenched his fists but didnt say anything Very soon, the party was over. The host was too down to continue the festivities. However, the nobles that came were quite happy. They had enjoyed a rare drama, and if it kept escalating, it would be more or less in their favor too. So, these people were so happy that they were almost excited. Roland escorted the First Princess back to her manor, and then he went to a desolate place in the north of the city. Grantham was already waiting for him with several Warriors. Seeing Roland, he stepped forward and asked the Warriors to carry a heavy chest to him. In front of Roland, Grantham opened the chest with great strength. There was a green light that was flashing slowly from inside the chest as if it were breathing The Meteorite Minerals! Looking at the bright green crystals inside the chest, Roland smiled in satisfaction and absorbed them into the system Backpack. Grantham was quite impressed, as Rolands portable space seemed to be astonishingly huge. To call the man a genius would be an understatement. I didnt know that you were so fully prepared. Roland looked at Grantham in admiration. You even went undercover by yourself. Thats nothing. After this incident, everybody in the Guild of Warriors will think less of Martin. Grantham smiled. However, it takes time to really oust him, so Id like to ask you another favor. Chapter 607 - The Protagonist’s Reputation is Tarnished Again Roland didnt actually want to participate in political struggles and framings, but as a Mage, he was in desperate need of resources, including both materials and connections. He believed that he had been making such fast progress exactly because of his connections. At the birth point, Falken, the old Priest, gave him a lot of help and hints, or he couldnt have picked up spellcasting so quickly. He made acquaintances with Aldo in Delpon and became the deputy chairman of its Magic Tower. The monthly salaries of that job were critical for him as a beginner. Then, he met Ans, Andonara, and other people who had offered him tremendous help. He also had a group of loyal friends who always answered his invitations on important quests. He made use of his resources, joined the Red Magic Tower, and here he was. After everything he had been through, Roland found that resources were as important to a Mage as hard training. The resources included not just magic materials, but also ones social connections. Thinking for a moment, Roland asked, Fine, how should I help you? Speak nicely for us in front of the First Princess, and ill of Young Martin. Simple as that. Roland stared at Grantham peacefully. The man was wearing a gentle smile in the moonlight, yet Roland felt that he was sneering now and then. A few simple words would change the future of a man. This guy was very good with politics and shrewd enough. No wonder he had become a Legend. Although the Warriors had the largest number, they had the smallest proportion of Legends of all classes. It was because the Warriors were generally uneducated. Roland had been collecting books whenever he had time. He had collected a lot of books from the Red Magic Tower, the Spatial Magic Tower, etc. Also, he had focused on books related to magic and classes. When he was too tired, he would read the books that described the culture and history of this world. It was safe to say that as a player who didnt need to sleep, Roland had several more hours to spend on books and experiments each day than the Mages of this world did. Having read a lot of books, Roland learned plenty of fun facts. For example, Roland had learned that Mages were the class with the highest proportion of Legends, followed by Bards. Those two classes all needed a huge amount of learning. Leaving the Mages aside, almost all the high-level Bards were walking dictionaries. Those Bards, who were usually skilled at music, traveled everywhere that had intelligent creatures. They had witnessed all kinds of joys and sorrows. Since they were literate, they could write what they saw and heard into biographies or compile it into songs. They could experience the power of the mind from other peoples feelings. Therefore, all the Legends were worldly and knowledgeable. In comparison, the Warriors, who had a simple lifestyle, were mostly too lazy to learn. If they encountered an enemy, theyd just cut him apart. If they ran into any difficulties, theyd just overcome it. To become a Legend, one had to understand the truth of the mind. That happened to be a specialty of the Mages, and the pursuit of the Bards. It was not hard to conclude that those two classes had the highest chance of turning into Legends. Therefore, a Legendary Warrior was, in a way, even more fearsome than a Legendary Mage. All right, no problem. Roland nodded. Then whats your price, Mr. Grantham? Another thirty kilograms of Meteorite Minerals. Roland frowned. Its the last of the Meteorite Minerals we have. Grantham opened his hands. Maybe its not a decent price, but maybe we can pay you in a different way, say, our friendship. On the surface, thirty kilograms for a few words should be a great bargain for Roland. But truthfully, it wasnt profitable for Roland at all. First of all, favors were something that must be returned. Although Roland and Andonara had been protecting the First Princess, she had also lent her dominion to Roland and gave him all the power to rule it. She only made such an investment because Roland had the potential to build a floating city in the future. However, if the First Princess was to help oust Young Martin, things would become quite complicated. Of course, in terms of the cost, Young Martin was definitely not as important as the power to rule over a city. However Stephanie could deal with her dominion in any way she wanted, and ousting Young Martin would implicate the balance among different forces. Roland had no doubt that the First Princess would agree to help if he asked her, but would it get her more deeply mired in politics and affect her plans, or even worse, affect her ability to inherit the crown? That would be different from taking part in a party where she accidentally got involved in something. In other peoples eyes, she didnt do anything aggressively. However, if she were to help oust Young Martin, it would be an aggressive action. Roland had to consider how other people would view her and if any conflict would be caused. Therefore, all things considered, it was easy for Roland to ask, but there might be dire ramifications. If the First Princess got into trouble, the stability of her dominion might be affected, which could indirectly slow down Rolands production of magic bricks. Seeing that Roland was still considering, Grantham said with a smile, Why are you hesitating, sir? Its just a couple of words. As if woken up by him, Roland shook his head. Sorry, but I cant accept your request. Im not that influential with the First Princess! Is that so? Grantham heaved a sigh and said regretfully, In any case, were still friends. If youre ever in trouble, you can come to the Guild of Warriors. Well definitely give you a hand if we can. Sure. Roland nodded. He didnt take Granthams words seriously. It was just formality. The two parties bid farewell. Roland returned to the First Princesss manor. At this moment, the First Princess was sipping fruit wine on the balcony. Such wine had a low alcohol content and could hardly inebriate anybody, but Stephanies cheeks were still red. She looked particularly pretty in the moonlight. Sitting opposite her, Roland asked with a smile, Drowning your sorrows? No! Stephanie shook her head. Do you want me to oust Young Martin next? She gazed at Roland with hazy eyes as if she were drunk. Roland shook his head. No. Why not? It will be troublesome. Hearing that, Stephanie smiled and voluntarily poured half a cup of fruit wine for Roland. Then, she casually and quickly clicked her own cup again Rolands before he picked it up. Thank you. Stephanie smiled happily and genuinely, as if she had just taken off a mask. For treating me as a friend. Roland was smart, and not at all unperceptive. He knew what Stephanie meant. Stephanie was implying that she would not just regard him as a person she cooperated with but a partner she could trust. They had known each other for half a year. But they had never been really close until this moment. Their hearts were like two hedgehogs whose spines were fully erect. Neither of them dared to let down their guard, fearing that they would get stung. But the spines on certain hearts were softer than they looked, and it was fine to touch them, unless you stung them brutally first. It took Stephanie half a year, and what happened tonight, for her to really see it through. Therefore, she let down all her guard frankly. Roland raised the cup at her and drank the wine down. All right, give me twenty Dragon Meat Reagents and Ill make something good for you, then you can go back to Delpon. Stephanie smiled. If you linger any longer, I think Andonara will kill me. She isnt that mean. While talking, Roland took out the Dragon Meat Reagents and put them on the table. Are you sure? If you dare to stay over, Ill have to run away. Stephanie sneered. I dont want to be cut into pieces by my good friend. Roland thought for a moment and realized that it was truly possible. He teleported back to Delpon. Looking at where Roland disappeared from, Stephanie smiled delightedly and asked her butler to store the Dragon Meat Reagents. Roland took a two-day rest after he returned to Delpon. He was truly exhausted, not physically but mentally. He had been either studying magic or doing quests with few breaks. However, he had spent the two days with Andonara and Vivian. He seemed to be taking a vacation, but he wasnt exactly resting. He felt mentally fulfilled, but physically fatigued. It was quite a subtle feeling. Roland wondered if it counted as a vacation at all. Then, he sent a message to the guild channel. Roland: Are you all Masters now? I need four for an epic dungeon quest. He felt that it was time to process the quest of the vampires True Ancestor. Schuck: Ill ride Margret to you. Coming soon. Li Lin: Me, Brazil, and Raffel are still in the Church of Love in the capital of Urganda. It will take days for us to ride a horse back. Roland, come pick us up. They had been in the Church of Love in Urganda for a long time, and through the power of sex, they had successfully become Masters. That was why Roland summoned them for the quest. Roland: Fine, but wash up first. You must be smelly after your multiplayer sport. Li Lin: Bro, the priestesses all know the cleaning skill. Roland: Then wait for me there. I need to buy a map of Urganda first I should be able to find you in 24 hours. The whole thing was settled quickly. The True Ancestor of the vampires Roland thought for a moment and found Christina, whom he hadnt talked to for a long time. Do you know the truth of the vampires origins? Christina, who was now fair and plump, widened her eyes. Boss, are you finally laying your evil hands on little girls? I thought you only liked married women and widows, so I planned to marry someone first and then kill him. Roland: ??? Chapter 608 - The Netherworld Naturally, Roland denied Christinas accusation. Why do you think Im only into married women and widows? Are you not? Christina crossed her arms before her chest, which made her bosom even more magnificent. What about Andonara and Stephanie? But Vivian isnt, Roland subconsciously replied. At this moment, Christina put on an expression of disdain. Right, you have a lot of women, boss. Then why do you want to join them? Whats your problem? Roland rolled eyes. Christina cackled and said, Lets talk about the origin of vampires. Roland was greatly relieved too. To tell the truth, he found it rather absurd too that he had two women at the same time, although it was a norm for the nobles and big shots in this world. So, were you saying that the True Ancestor of vampires is a girl? asked Roland. Christina nodded. Yes, and a very, very pretty one. Unlike a mature woman like Andonara, she is a charming creature in nature. Both men and women will be drawn to her, unless your mind is powerful enough to resist her. So, boss, have you been charmed, or do you simply want to take another girl? Roland put on an awkward expression. Am I such a lustful man in your eyes? Christina thought for a moment and said alluringly, I hope that you can be such a man. Go away! said Roland angrily. Now that they were already familiar, the tone that wouldve sounded impolite if not insulting to an outsider was only a joke between them. Okay, enough joking. Have you really seen the True Ancestor of vampires? How much do you know about her? Christina put on a grave expression now that they were talking business. She thought for a moment and said, I havent really seen her in the flesh, but when we were transformed into vampires, we would see her in our minds and learn something about her, but not too much. Then tell me everything you know. Christina searched her memories for a moment and said, Shes about 1.4 meters tall. Black hair. Dark gold eyes. Shes very charming and likes to wear a white dress. Although its just a general description, you will know shes the True Ancestor of vampires when you see her. What about her abilities? Shes capable of what we are, such as turning into bats and casting dark spells. I dont know what more shes capable of. Shes probably higher than a Legend, but hasnt reached the level of Demigod yet. Then what are the vampire body parts about? Roland took out the girl skeleton from his system Backpack. Seeing the skeleton, Christina stepped back with her expression changing greatly. She waved his hand. Put it back! Put it back! Roland immediately stored the skeleton back the system Backpack. Then, Christina finally looked better. What happened? asked Roland. Its the True Ancestors bones. Finding it hard to stand steadily, she sat down on a chair. Its fine if you only have one or two parts, but if you combine them, they will strongly suppress the vampires. Roland was slightly surprised. He didnt expect a skeleton as beautiful as jade to be so effective. He asked in confusion, Why arent she fetching her skeleton if its in our place? Anything was possible in the magic world. Roland read in a certain book that certain creatures could regenerate their bodies. Legendary creatures who were reincarnated with their living souls after they lost their bodies werent rare. Phoenix was one of them. But in any case, the remains of their old body must not be abandoned randomly but had to be reabsorbed, or they would be greatly weakened. Even gods couldnt violate that rule. Many evil gods were revived in another place hundreds of years after they were slain by heroes, but they still had to fetch their original bodies in order to regain their full strength. Christina opened her hands. Who knows? Were just her children in name. In all these years, Ive never heard her give orders to any vampire community. She simply let us live and die on our own. Seeing that it was impossible to get more information, Roland stopped asking. Following a map of Urganda, Roland flew to the Church of Love and picked up his friends. It took him one day. Then, Schuck arrived at Delpon on the fiery dragon too. The residents were horrified as they had never seen a dragon before, but fortunately, no greater losses were suffered beyond a few stumbles and falls. In Rolands manor, Margret stood proudly with her arms crossed before her chest, uninterested in talking to anyone. F6, having known her personality, was not surprised at all, and wouldnt give her a hard time for Schucks sake. But Andonara was not so friendly. The red dragons were born evil! Ever since she met Schuck, Margret hadnt done anything evil. However, the vibe of evilness wouldnt disperse so quickly. As it happened, Andonara was a Hero descendant. Therefore, she stared at Margret with obvious hostility. Furthermore there was even a slice of a dragons heart on her plate! The dead white dragon was so huge that its heart weighed more than two hundred kilograms, and couldnt be finished all at once. So, Andonara had been cutting into it piece by piece of it and eating it after steaming, boiling, or roasting it with spices. Margret was pale and uncomfortable when Andonara gazed at her. Seeing the slice of dragon heart on the plate, she frowned and sniffed, only to be shocked. How dare you youre eating a dragons heart! She seemed shocked, scared, and more or less humiliated. Why cant I? said Andonara matter-of-factly. Vicious dragons eat people, so people eat them back. Isnt it only natural? When she spoke, she even looked at Margrets chest, as if she were going to cut out her heart and roast it in the next moment. Margret was so frightened that she hid behind Schuck. She could tell that the woman who had great breasts was her natural enemy. Schuck was actually relieved to see how scared Margret was. It was because Margret would probably be taught a lesson if she kept being so arrogant. If his good friends woman were to do the teaching, it would at least be safe. The case might be different if she was disciplined by someone else. The five friends teamed up and shared the quest. Then, Roland opened the portal to the quest area. Scorching and evil air leaked out of the portal. The other four people slightly changed their expressions. Naturally, they sensed that something was wrong, especially Schuck, who was sensitive to dark forces as a Saint Samurai. Andonara stood aside. She had wanted to go with Roland, but Roland told her to stay back and watch the house for him, so she stayed without arguing. She was also asked to keep an eye on Margret so that she wouldnt cause trouble in Delpon. Margret looked at Schuck pitifully. But this time, Schuck made up his mind and left her behind in Delpon. After that, the five friends all jumped into the portal. Passing through a black channel that felt like Long-Distance Teleportation, they found themselves in a desolate suburb that was full of sand and pebbles. Two streams of energy, one purple and the other green, were flowing helically in the sky There were no sun, moon or stars. The sole source of light was the energy in the sky. So the atmosphere was quite weird. It was green for a moment and purple for another, depending on the proportion of energy above their heads. As the only spellcaster of the team, Roland narrowed his eyes and stared at the energy. He was perceiving and analyzing the energy with his mental power. A moment later, Schuck came close and asked, Do you know what the streams of energy in the sky are? I dont know but its definitely not magic energy. Roland thought for a moment. It feels like mental power. Mental power? Schuck was stunned. Who can possibly have such enormous mental power? Even the Goddess of Light doesnt. When mental power was dense enough, it could cause illusions and even form material objects. I didnt say its from one individual; its from a shocking assortment of people. Some of them are compatible, and some hostile. Roland shook his head. This seems to be an ocean of mental power of billions of creatures. The purple is from males, and the green is from females. Schuck frowned. In what place can the mental power of so many creatures be concentrated without dispersing? Roland had the same question. Then, the two of them thought of a place at the same time. The Netherworld! Both of them spoke at the same time. Of all the planes, the Netherworld was the only one that had so many broken pieces of mental power. After intelligent creatures died, if they were nonbelievers and werent directed to the Realm of Gods by the gods they worshiped, their souls would mostly be sent to the Netherworld. Then, the Nether God would judge them. The faithless would be used to pave the wall, the virtuous and neutral ones would live in the Netherworld, and the evil ones would be grinded into fertilizer for the Netherworld. Even the souls of the virtuous would grow rotten after a couple hundred years and end up in pieces. After tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years of accumulation, it was not surprising that the Netherworld had such an unbelievable ocean of mental power. Weve been teleported to the Netherworld! Roland felt a headache coming on. The Netherworld was a place for the dead. Living creatures would be more or less suppressed in this place. He opened the system and realized that all his stats had temporarily dropped by twenty percent. That explained the discomfort all over his body. His companions opened the system only to find that the same had happened to them. It seems that we have to die a few times in order to pass this quest. Schuck heaved a sigh. Betta looked around. In any case, lets find a place to rest and then see if we can find any leads on our quest. When he talked, he suddenly saw a white cloud drifting over in the sky. A cloud was the last thing that they expected to see in such an environment. Chapter 609 - Bad Start Chapter 609 Bad Start Upon seeing the white cloud, everybodys first reaction was to hide. However, there was nothing around to hide in or behind. Roland reacted fast enough by digging a huge pit with magic before the cloud drifted too close. He then covered the pit after they all jumped in. Thanks to the overwhelming mental power in the sky, Rolands mental waves when he used magic were eclipsed and didnt spread far. Roland didnt forget to leave several peepholes on the lid that covered the pit. The five of them observed the cloud each through one peephole. After the cloud finally flew above their hideout, they found that it wasnt a cloud at all but a mass of feathers. It was a weird amalgamation of white feathers, with a black skull at the center. The skull was smooth and shiny on the surface, and white flames were burning in its hollow eye sockets. Upon seeing that, Roland closed his eyes and said, Lower your heads and dont look at it. The other four people instantly lowered their heads. Roland didnt open his eyes until that thing flew far away. Schuck asked, What was that? It must be a Soul Gatherer of the Netherworld. One could learn a lot of things from reading. One of the books Roland had read introduced the Soul Gatherers of the Netherworld, who were the clones of the Nether Gods godhood. They were intelligent, but essentially tools rather than living creatures. They were generally innocuous, but whatever they saw would be seen by the Nether God. While the Nether God was a righteous god, he was never liked, as all living creatures disliked death. So, nobody wanted to see Soul Gatherers under normal circumstances. The five of them crawled out of the pit. It seems that were indeed in the Netherworld. Lets start a livestream. Schuck thought for a moment and said, We must be the first players to reach this place. We can start a livestream so that other players will know whats out there when they come someday. Roland felt that he had a point. Okay, you can start it. You should do it. Schuck smiled. Its you who took us to this place. Besides, youre the most famous player in this game. Okay. Roland wasnt a pretentious man. He owned a Magic Tower and was the boss behind the scenes in Delpon. He was already used to being the center of attention and didnt have any stage fright. He simply created a stream channel with the name I Think Ive Teleported to the Netherworld. A hundred thousand people surged into this channel in no more than one minute. More players and netizens were on their way. As the player who had the highest level and most controversies in the entire server, whenever Roland posted a thread on the forum, it would be a hit. It was not hard to imagine what would happen after he started a livestream. However, after turning on the stream, Roland simply left it aside and didnt interact with the audience at all. He didnt care about the tips and remarks at all. A lot of comments were popping up in the channel. Damn. Roland is starting a stream. Thats quite rare. Actually, of all the famous players, Roland and Schuck were the only two who werent crazy about streaming. The others, such as the leaders of the Phoenix Guild and Cornucopia, streamed their adventure all the time, partly to be more famous and partly to earn tips. At this moment, World of Falan had already become a symbol that the whole world knew. Not only did the players like watching streams, but even the netizens who didnt have virtual cabins liked watching it too even though it meant that they had to endure the pain of watching the video at three times the normal speed. Of course, sometimes they recorded the brilliant clips and then played them back at normal speed. This is so rare! Ive always wondered how Roland plays this game. My question can be answered now! Wait, are you all watching Roland? How can his friend Schuck be so unbelievably handsome? Is nobody curious? Im already licking the screen. So am I. Hes so handsome that even another man wouldnt be able to refuse him. Something is seriously wrong with what youre interested in. Why is nobody discussing the place theyre in? Is it really the Netherworld? Just look at the barren land and the two streams of energy in different colors. Is any discussion needed? We might as well watch the players. Thats the difference between an expert and a noob. Have the noobs ever done wrong to you? Get lost! Leaving aside the argument in the stream channel, Roland and the others checked around and found that they were on a barren plain without any landmarks. Also, there were no stars in the sky, which made it hard to tell the way. But that was not a problem for Roland. He took out a straight stick, set it up, and then performed Lesser Benediction. The stick then fell toward a certain direction. Schuck shook his head. No matter how many times I watch this, I always find it really unscientific, yet it works every time. Li Lin the Berserker remarked angrily, And I too find it really unscientific that youre so handsome. A lot of people agreed with him in the stream channel. e wa ne There was also crazy talk such as, Handsome guys must die, and, Draw your sword, the dragon princess is mine! Lesser Benediction had no side effects when used to tell the direction. They ran more than two hours, and then a city appeared on the horizon. They approached the city cautiously, only to discover that the city was alive. It was not a typical city in the Netherworld that was filled with the dead or wandering souls. Roland and his friends were ready to deal with a huge number of ghosts. Yet, the city before their eyes was vigorous. Most of the residents in it were living creatures of flesh and blood. Also, the wall of the city was so short that it was more of a pile of soil than a wall. Roland and his friends didnt recklessly barge in. Instead, Roland created a secret camp with his magic and then observed the traffic at the gate through the peepholes. Then, they found that the population of this city consisted of all kinds of races and hybrids. Human beings were the majority, and there were a lot of vulpera, elves, drows, orcs and even dwarves. They also found that while there were guards inspecting those who passed the city gate, they didnt seem rigorous and would allow the travelers to pass as long as they paid something. Lets get into this city, Roland suggested. Its your call. Schuck waved his hand. The five of them left the camp and waited in line before the city gate. They all looked more or less nervous, but they tried to pretend to be cool. When it was their turn, Roland gave five coppers to the guard before him. The guard was a gray-scaled lizard, who looked at the coppers in surprise with wide eyes. Mr. Mage, are you really willing to submit such valuable human currencies? Were they really valuable? Roland said with obvious impatience, Just take whatever I give you and cut the nonsense! He sounded exactly as arrogant as a typical Mage. The lizard instantly became obsequious. He stooped and opened his mouth. You and your assistants may come in, sir. Enjoy your stay in Portree. The five of them entered the city gate. When Schuck passed the lizard, the lizard subconsciously stepped back and covered his nose, as if he had smelled a fart. After they entered the city, they found that the city named Portree was really lively. There were peddlers and shoppers everywhere on the street. Here, human beings and the other races were in such harmony that no racial gaps and prejudices could be sensed at all. Roland and his friends were not peculiar at all after they blended in. They wandered on the street for a while and then checked in at an inn that was owned by a dwarf. After a break, Roland cast Language Proficiency on Li Lin and the other two physical classes. Then, they all dispersed and collected intelligence in the city. At this moment, the spell could last 36 hours after he cast it, which made it much more practical than when it would lose its effect after only a couple of hours. Li Lin and then went to the brothels They were quite familiar with those places and knew how to communicate with the patrons. Roland and Schuck went to different taverns. As a matter of act, Roland wasnt a great intelligence collector, but he was willing to pay silver coins for information he needed. Looking at the silver coins, the alcoholics in the tavern, be they human beings or other races, told him everything they knew. It took Roland only half an hour to collect the information he wanted. The mayor of Portree was a young girl. Nobody knew how old she was, but she had been the mayor for a long time. He also learned that the girl had a pair of dark golden eyes and she was so beautiful that everybody who saw her would fall in love with her regardless of their gender and age. Roland had a feeling that he had found the True Ancestor of vampires. After all, she completely matched Christinas description. Then Roland returned to his inn. His friends all came back one after another. They talked to each other, only to find that something wasnt right. The intelligence that Roland collected suggested that the mayor was a young girl. But Schuck had learned that the mayor was a middle-aged vulpera. The mayors that Li Lin and the others learned of were different too. They were either a dwarf or a human female. How could the descriptions be so different? Roland found it hard to believe. Did those people intentionally give them false intelligence because they were outsiders? Then Roland quickly shook his head. Unlikely! Those alcoholics were all drunk. They might have bragged, but they couldnt have lied. As I expected, this quest isnt simple. Roland nodded. The stream channel, however, was overflowing with comments. Boss, youve been charmed. Wake up! They cant hear the words that you typed. Then Im ready to have a good laugh at Roland. Chapter 610 - Real and Imaginary Chapter 610 Real and Imaginary The players in the livestream and Rolands party saw different pictures. At this moment, before Roland and the others, there was no city, no inn, only a Soul Gatherer floating in front of them. In reality, they had been caught in the illusion, or mental power to be exact, the moment they started seeing the Soul Gatherer from the peepholes. The players in the livestream watched as Roland and the others came out of the pit and formed a line. They watched as the Soul Gatherer landed on the ground and circled them. They also watched as their expressions became dull. Tsk tsk, what is this? It is reasonable to say that we players cant be hit by mental spells, so why did Roland and the others still fall for it? Is it a system bug? Were just immune to mental spells below the level of natural laws, such as the girls bikinis. That is, abilities at the level of natural laws can work on us. This thing has natural-law-level mental abilities? I read a description of this thing in a book. It seems to be a Soul Gatherer, a clone of the Nether God. No wonder, its a divine creature. Not a creature, just a magic prop, similar to a magic puppet. Poor Roland. How long has it been since hes been live and when he does its a flop video. Whats wrong with a flop? Who doesnt fail against something related to gods? You think youre immune to a gods mind control? So what if Im not immune, I just want to see Roland make a fool of himself. Such poor taste. There were now hundreds of thousands of people in the livestream, and the dense stream of pop-ups almost flooded the entire screen, forcing many players to turn on the pop-up filter switch. People had preferences, and even the most handsome and attractive person couldnt be everyones favorite. Roland was certainly the same. A lot of people loved him, and naturally, a lot of people hated him. There were all sorts of reasons as to why. For example, simply not liking him for his unattractive face, or annoyed that he had a queen on his arm, or simply not liking that he was at the highest level in the entire server. A lot of people wanted to see him make a fool of himself. But more than that, more people had good intentions. Just like many others, they loved to see the streamers they supported fail in a game, and the more failures, the more donations theyd give. It was almost like a sick kind of love. Rolands eyes were also dazed at this point, as the Soul Gatherer landed in front of him. The floating and gyrating feathers gradually expanded outward, and the black skull in the middle flew out from the protection of the feathers, the white flames in the pupils of the bones burning more brightly and seemingly erupting. I read in the book that the Soul Gatherer can expel a persons soul with the fire in its pupils, so it looks like Roland is out of luck. GKD, GKD[1], I want to see Roland suffer. Tsk! Some people were excited, and naturally, some people were upset. Those who had a good relationship with Roland, or those who didnt want Roland to flop, were already trying to turn off the livestream. On the screen, the white flames in the pupils of the bony eye sockets were about to spurt out. But at this time, Roland, who still had no focus in his eyes, suddenly extended his right hand. Magic power converged in his palm, and half a second later, a Prismatic Spray struck the floating black skull. The black skull was quite fragile. As if a stone were thrown at an egg, the black skull instantly shattered. The white flames in the pupils spurted in all directions and the expression in Roland and the others eyes went from confused and dazed to immediately awake. Holy sh*t, what happened. Li Lin shook his head and subconsciously took a step back. I was clearly still in the hotel just now and was negotiating a good price with a lamb girl Those words came out as they were in the livestream. After a short silence, the livestream was abuzz. Im so envious no, blegh, thats so disgusting. Roland lowers his status by being in the company of such a person. Brothers and sisters, what is the meaning of lamb girl? Strongly urge officials to ban things like brothels or neuter the physical ability of male players in the game. This game will teach people bad things. No, youre all focusing on the wrong thing. Shouldnt you be wondering why Roland has suddenly woken up. Different people, different genders, with different positions, naturally came to different conclusions. Of course, some were purely rowdy jeering. Roland and the others were unaware of what was going on in the livestream, and they all had their hearts in their mouths at this point. All of them had gone through many battles and guessed that they had been mind-controlled. Schuck covered his head and said gloomily, I didnt think that with such high mental resistance, my consciousness would be infiltrated Roland, how did you find out that something was wrong? As a Saint Samurai, Schucks mental resistance was frighteningly high. The Body of Light could also convert Charisma into various resistances, and his Charisma value was overpowering. Magic resistances, mental resistance, instant death resistance, and what not were all ridiculously high, which meant that the more handsome and beautiful the Saint Samurai, not only would their damage-dealing abilities be more powerful, but theyd also have special bonuses against various mystical abilities. Statistically, he had the best overall resistance of any player. Logically, even if they were to wake up from the illusion, he should be first, but he didnt expect Roland to be first. I threw down three magic spiders earlier. Roland pointed to three small translucent spiders not far away that were hard to see with the naked eye. Its a habit of mine, as you know, so at that time I had two perspectives and knew I was in an illusion. Schuck gave an Oh, and Li Lin and others were also grateful. If it werent for these three spiders, they might have gotten killed once. Their experience would have dropped drastically. Although, through exercising with the female priests of the Church of Love for two or three months, they would probably be able to get back the lost experience. But now they had a bit of an aversion to that matter between men and women. They had spent an average of fourteen hours a day for over a year fooling around with a bunch of priestesses at the Church of Love. As believers in the Love God, the love priestesses had a variety of means to stimulate the potential ability of men to complete the achievement of Master of Time Management[2]. The priestesses were quite beautiful, and also very charming. But even the most delicious dishes, if you eat them a dozen times a day and then for a year or so would eventually become tiresome. And at this moment, the livestream was amazed. Wait, when did Roland throw down the magic spiders? Damn, Im a Mage too, why didnt I know about the magic spider spell? It looks like a moving monitor. It can move? And not be easily detected? I have a bold idea. Dont have that bold idea. Im just curious why I havent heard of this spell. It might be Rolands creation. Amongst spells level three and below, there is no such magic spider that acts as surveillance. Roland doesnt seem to have given this spell to the Goddess of Magic either. Damn, does Roland keep this kind of spell for an ulterior motive? For example, specifically squatting by the lake where there are fairies bathing? Arent you guys curious about what loot Roland will earn from taking out this Nether Gods clone? That one sentence took the netizens eyes and focused them all on the livestream. After the Soul Gatherer was destroyed, the outer layer of white feathers fell to the ground. It was a thick layer as if covered with snowflakes. Roland picked up one of the pieces, and soon the information about this feather appeared before them. Item: Soul Gatherers White Feather Characteristics: Weak divinity shard, use below Master level, adds a large amount of EXP (1200). Lets split these feathers. Although we are all above Master level, the average level of the players is still only about level six, so we should be able to sell them for a good amount of money. Roland said this while showing a delighted smile. The livestream was kind enough to display the feathers information on the screen as well, and Rolands words naturally passed through. The entire livestream then exploded once again. Holy sh*t! What the heck, a feather gives so much EXP. F**k, dont do quests to level up, just eat feathers. Lets go team up to hunt the Nether Gods clones. Hunt the Nether Gods clones? Not to mention whether you can teleport to the Netherworld, are you sure you can resist the mind control? Do you know the magic spider spell? Even if you do, can you break free? Roland is a man, not a god. What he can do, we can do sooner or later. Gee, sooner or later? Thats something youll have to talk to the mathematicians about. See if what they understand, youll understand sooner or later. Mages nowadays, except for Roland who can create magic, are simply learning and imitating. Seeking contact information for Roland and his friend, well take these feathers. Take them you say, dare tell us your guild name? Whats the use of you guys arguing here, why dont you go to Delpon and beg his woman, Queen Andonara. Talk with his lady. That one sentence woke up countless people. So many people started rushing in the direction of Delpon. Naturally, Roland was unaware of the situation. He just put up a livestream and didnt bother to follow what was going on. The five quickly split the feathers. It didnt matter who had more or who had less. Then Roland once again used the stick with Lesser Benediction and headed in the direction it indicated. Then a low wall appeared in front of them. All five had a bit of a hard look on their faces. It was because this city wall was the same as what they had seen in the illusion. It cant be another illusion, right? Without hesitation, Li Lin took out his spare small dagger and stabbed it down into the center of his left hand, the tip of the blade piercing the palm of his hand. Blood flowed, and although it was only a tenth of the pain, it was still quite unpleasant. He plucked out the dagger and said indifferently to Roland, It hurts. It shouldnt be an illusion. Give me a healing spell. Roland rolled his eyes and waved his hand, casting a white glow. The blood on Li Lins hand quickly stopped flowing, and they looked at the city from afar and were hesitant to go in when they heard other sounds from behind them. The five turned around to find what seemed to be a caravan of people emerging on the horizon. Here comes intel. Roland smiled. [1] quick, more literally, do it quickly [2] Meme about Show Lo Chapter 611 - Please Come With Us Chapter 611 Please Come With Us Many people very much believed that the Netherworld was just a place where the dead lived. But this perception was only partially correct. At first, there was no life in the Netherworld, but in the long time that followed, there were eventually creatures that would be accidentally transported here from various realms. While the Netherworld was not very conducive to life, living things were hardy, and most of the time, they would struggle to survive. In this way, over time, the Netherworld gradually came to be populated by more beings, who gathered and struggled to build lives here. After a long time, they took root in this realm and gradually formed cities and countries. Sunred was the owner of the cider caravan, and the leader and protector of the caravan. As a level-11 Warrior, he had an extremely strong combat power, as well as a good IQ and emotional intelligence. This was due to his good home education from a young age, which made him literate. Many people thought that it didnt matter if a Warrior could read or not, but his father didnt feel that way, and while teaching him Warrior skills, he would also be strict about teaching written words and making his son read more books. This kind of education worked, and although his early growth was slower than other Warriors of the same age, his growth accelerated after the Elite level. Sometimes just reading a book and gaining insight could make his Warrior abilities stronger. This was why he could become a Master Warrior in his early thirties. People who read a lot of books and traveled had an abundance of experience. So when he saw five people in the way, and all five of them had a very unique aura, his first reaction was not to resist or run away, but to simply raise his hands. He had a strong feeling that there was no escape. Friends in front, please spare us, said Sunred with a melancholy tone, his hands up. You may have all the merchandise, but please dont hurt any of us. The F6 members looked at each other. They just wanted to ask for information. There was no need to be scared to this extent. In the end, it was Schuck who stepped forward. His outrageously high Charisma always worked in terms of communication. We have no intention of hurting you. Schuck showed a gentle smile. We just want to ask you for some information. Because all five of them had Rolands Unhindered Communication cast on them, the two sides had no problem communicating. Schucks smile, full of sunshine and a sense of justice, was extremely charming and infectious. Looking at the Saint Samurai with such a smile, Sunred sighed with relief as he lowered his hands and said, Your five excellencies, please feel free to ask, and I will tell you whatever I know, even the number of black moles on my wife. We may have a bit to ask. Schuck pointed to the side. So can we take our time and talk in detail on the side. Okay, no problem, Sunred said with a smile. In reality, for the merchants, time was money. And now they were close to the city, and as long as the goods were sent in, they would receive a large amount of money. Staying in the wilderness would be substantially more dangerous; after all, there were many bandits and robbers out in the wilderness. But the situation wasnt in his control, and in talking to these five people, Sunred realized that each of these men was Master-level. And they had a very strange smell on them. Not a body odor, but an aura and a feeling. They didnt look like people from the Netherworld. Could it be that they were powerful people who had just fallen here from another realm? Although this was the first time he had seen such a thing, he hadnt heard much about it since he was a child. After all, all the beings in the entire Netherworld had drifted from other realms, including his ancestors. Sunred told the caravan behind him to stand by and had the escorts stay put, then he stepped aside and was about to wait for the five men to speak when he saw a man dressed like a Mage snap his fingers a few times. A square-shaped rocky structure rose up and soon formed a small shelter. He had a confused look on his face, and after entering the small rock house with Roland and others, he surveyed the interior of the rock house, knocked on the walls, and finally could not help but ask, Mr. Mage, youre not a resident of the Netherworld, right? Have the spells of the main plane evolved to this level? Silent chanting, and there is an extra spell slot for such techniques that have nothing to do with combat. A flame formed in the clearing, radiating warmth. The temperature in the Netherworld was on the low side, seemingly to be only about five or six degrees, and there was a strange chill in the air. Even if Roland and the others were professionals, they felt uncomfortable after staying in this place for a long time. Such a magical flame provided a warmth that could make one feel much more comfortable. Roland sat on the ground. The rocky ground had just formed and was quite clean. He looked up and replied, I do not need a spell slot. Stone to Mud is not much of a profound spell. Does that mean that the level of magic in the Netherworld isnt too high? Without any legacy, I heard there are no pure Mages, only Warlocks and Priests. Sunred also sat down and smiled bitterly. After all, the latter two do not need to learn, depending either on bloodline spells or divine gifts. So thats how it is. Roland was a bit surprised by this, but it made sense. Magic was something that required a group of people to work together to produce results and needed to have a record to be passed on. But this place In the Netherworld, there were only drifters, and if they were powerful Mages, they could return to the main plane by themselves with Teleportation. It would be good enough for the remaining third-rate Mages, who didnt know spatial magic, just to survive in this world, not to mention leaving behind any legacies. These things were what Roland and the others wanted to ask. About the survival skills of the Netherworld, customs, traditions, and so on, all of these things needed to be known. After all, this quest, at first glance, was not going to be completed anytime soon. They asked for some information about the city ahead, and the other man told them everything he knew. After inquiring about some local knowledge, Roland asked, I wonder if Mr. Sunred has ever heard of the figure of the vampires True Ancestor? No. After a moments thought, Sunred said, I dont recall hearing that name. Then sorry for troubling you. Having learned everything he wanted to know, Roland took out a gold coin from his Backpack. This is our apology for delaying you. No, no, no, please dont do that. Sunred waved his hand. He didnt dare take this gold coin-what if the other party suddenly had other intentions after he accepted the coin? Roland shoved the gold coin into the other partys hands without saying anything, beckoned his friends, and the five of them left. Sunred watched Roland and the others disappear behind the city of Portree ahead of them before he sighed in relief. The more he spent time with these five people, the more scared he felt. Then he looked at the gold coin in his hand and cheered up. There was a shortage of gold in the Netherworld, so the price of gold coins was quite high. And the netizens who were watching the livestream were also quite impressed. Its over 10,000 yuan for a few random questions, such a great perk, why cant I encounter this. Brother, didnt you see how scared Sunred was, fearing F6 would rob them and hold them hostage? His life probably shortened by a few years from being scared. I dont want to earn money like that. Im not afraid of a short life, Im afraid of having no money. You cant buy a life even if youre rich. Without money, whats the use of life? Do you just starve every day?. Shush, Roland has entered Portree, can you all watch quietly? The pop-up comments immediately lessened. Roland and the others entered the city before them, Portree. Just as they had seen in the illusion, the city was a mix of various races, and it was quite harmonious. When Schuck entered, he came up next to Roland and said, Feel that, a lot of people are watching us secretly. Its only natural. After all, were outsiders, and with the way we dress and our aura, we dont look like people from here at first glance. Rolands observation was quite subtle and correct. Since the five of them were dressed in the style of Hollevin, the people here, looking at their clothing, found it refreshing. They couldnt help but take a few more glances. Roland and the others found that the layout of the city was the same as what they had seen in the illusion. Eventually, they even found the small inn where they had stayed in the illusion. After paying for the rooms, the five men gathered at Schucks room. Are we still in the illusion or not? Schuck felt a headache coming on. Why is that Soul Gatherers illusion exactly the same as what were seeing now? Li Lin wanted to poke his hand again. But at this moment Roland spoke. It shouldnt be an illusion, because what I see in my primary vision now is the same as the one transmitted by the magic spider. Thats great. Schuck sighed in relief. It seems that the black Soul Gatherer helped a great deal. At least, it helped us to recognize the environment and landmarks here. Lets go gather information again. Roland smiled. I hope we can find something useful this time. The five of them dispersed and left the inn. Roland once again went to the tavern he saw in the illusion and asked for information. The tavern was there, even the owner was the same as the last time he saw him. Roland asked for some rumors about the vampires True Ancestor, or their gathering place, and as long as someone confessed or found it out for him, he would immediately go there to investigate. As a result, he waited until it was near evening without finding any important clues or information from the drinkers. This was rather different from the time that he was under the illusion. Returning from the tavern to the inn, Roland found that his friends had returned before he did. The five men were in Schucks room, laying out the days haul. The floor was full of snacks. Roland felt a bit of a headache. I said that intel is the main thing, why are you guys buying so many miscellaneous things? Anything from the main plane was quite valuable in the Netherworld. And worth a lot of money. Just as Schuck was going to answer, there was a knock on their door. Roland gestured for the four of them to be quiet and opened the door. Outside the door stood two soldier-like men, one a green-skinned orc, the other an elf. They stared at Roland. May I ask if youve drifted over from the outside world? Sort of. Then please come with us. Chapter 612 - A Lead Chapter 612 A Lead Li Lin and the others were about to make their move. After all, anyone who was going to be taken away for no reason would think about resisting, especially if they were extremely powerful themselves. But Roland reached out his hand, stopping them. He calmly asked the two men who appeared to be enforcers, Im a little curious as to why were being taken away. The rules, the elven enforcer said coldly. Any outsider who drifts here has to register at the mayors office. Oh, I see. It was something like a refugee record for ease of management. In that case, it wouldnt hurt to register. They were only here to complete their quest, and there was no need for a deadly argument with the authorities here. It might elicit hostility from them, which would make their chances of completing the quest drop drastically, so it was better to have less trouble. With this in mind, the five followed the two elves to the mayors residence. Along the way, Roland found that the people here were quite emaciated and didnt look very well. For one thing, the Netherworld had a heavy atmosphere of the dead and wasnt very suitable for creatures to survive, and for another, it was too barren and not very good for growing food. But it was good to see that some elves had drifted here as well, and even a few druids. These plant experts had cultivated a crop that could grow in the Netherworld, and not counting the yield per hectare, there were roughly a hundred and fifty kilos of it, which ripened every three months. Besides, there was no spring, summer, fall, or winter in the Netherworld, so the plants could be cultivated constantly, which kept many people alive. But even then, there werent many places where such crops could be sown, and so life in the Netherworld was still plagued by the lack of food. The mayors residence wasnt large. It was just a small stone building that covered over two hundred square feet. All the buildings in this city were short, no more than three stories tall. Upon entering the mayors residence, the orc soldier stopped at the entrance and the elf led the five inside. Since the mayors residence wasnt big, after going straight up to the second floor, Roland saw the mayor. Another elf wearing an old robe. The robe was made of linen thread and was very rough. At this time, Roland also finally knew why others could tell at a glance that they were from the outside world. The clothes they were wearing looked too new and too nice compared to the people here. Please sit down. The male elf in front of him was also blond, and as handsome as the other elves in the forest, except that he did not look as well as the elves on the main plane, and even looked a bit gloomy. Its rare to see five friends come down here at once. The level of the male elf in front of him was level 13, quite high. And as Roland had noticed on the way here, the Netherworld populace was generally of a higher level and had a high percentage of professionals, estimated to be a tenth of the population. But it was normal when he thought about it. The environment here was harsh and to survive, of course, one had to be strong enough to do so. In this small group, it was generally Schuck who was responsible for diplomacy; after all, high charisma was most applicable in such places. Sir, do few people stray to this place? Schuck asked. Quite a few, just at irregular times. Sometimes one in a few years, sometimes one in a few days. Its hard to tell, the male elf glanced at Schuck, then his eyes fell on Roland. You have elven blood in you Everyone is kin -brother, can you tell me if the Mother is well? Schuck shrugged and stood aside. Roland didnt expect that the elven bloodline he had chosen to switch to Elemental Lord had come into play again. He nodded. Very well, all is well with the elves, but I feel more human than anything else. The elf across the table showed a torn look and finally sighed. It seems you grew up in the human world; I dont blame you for thinking that way. Now I would like to ask, do you have any plans next? No plans for now, taking it one step at a time, Roland replied. You dont seem to harbor any surprise or hard feelings about being stranded in the Netherworld? This elf looked odd as he sized up the five of them. Their expressions were too calm. This elf was the local mayor, a native of the Netherworld, but as an elf, even in the Netherworld, he revered the World Tree as his ancestors did. The elven race could not break their legacy even in the Netherworld due to their long lives and powerful abilities. Of course, it had something to do with the fact that the Nether God hardly ever bothered with them. Otherwise, it wouldnt be difficult for a god to convert them into a creature like a drow. The elf had been alive for nearly two hundred years and had registered a lot of realm-breaking wanderers. Anyone who knew that they had come to the Netherworld would look as sorrowful as if their father and mother had died. It was the first time he had seen someone this calm. Should we cry then? Roland shrugged indifferently. Besides, well find a way to get back. Roland didnt want to reveal that he could teleport back to the main plane. He was afraid that something would happen and affect his quest. Besides, these people had lived here for so long and he didnt need to change their way of living. Then just register. The mayor looked at Roland, cast Discern Lies on himself, dipped a quill pen with some black ink, and placed it on top of the parchment. Tell us your identity, profession, and race. Roland, Mage, the race is Golden Son. Hearing this, the mayor visibly froze, Golden Son? What race is this? None of the Bards that came down three years ago said there was such a race. A small race in a remote corner of the world, its normal not to have heard of it. Roland shrugged. At this moment, there was a lively atmosphere in the livestream. Good f**ing small race in the remote corner of the world, Roland loves to humble himself too much. Mages are all liars. Not exactly a lie. Were in Hollevin, which is indeed a remote corner of the world, and half a million people is nothing if not a small race. Cant help it. People with high intelligence always hide a few things in their speech. I think he just simply doesnt want to explain it to people so they dont ask questions about it. Its possible! People with high IQs generally dont want to talk to people with low IQS because they find it troublesome to always have to explain, and then you guys say they dont have emotional intelligence Yes, those nerds you all talk about. In reality, a netizen had gotten it right. Roland was too lazy to explain so much, and if not for Discern Lies, he wouldnt even want to say the words Golden Son, and just be human and be done with it. The elven mayor sighed. A Mage I thought you were a Warlock. In the Netherworld, Mages have a pretty bad time. Theyll be hung on the Wall of the Faithless by the Nether God? The elven mayor laughed. Indeed, so youd better believe in just anyonethe Nether God is a good choice. Not to mention beautiful, she also has a great personality. Hanging a persons soul on the Wall of the Faithless, you call that a good character? Roland froze. Wait, the Nether God is a woman? But when I read the books, didnt they say that its gender was unknown and that it was just a black mist? How is that possible! Even the evil gods have bodies, how can the Nether God be a mass of mist. The elven mayor laughed. Shes just afraid that her divine body will be looked at directly and the gazer will become mentally deranged, so she transformed into mist. Roland asked, So you havent met the Nether God either, mayor? Probably because he identified with the elven bloodline in Roland, the mayor seemed to be particularly patient with Roland. I havent seen her. I am of low strength and dare not look directly at the gods. It seems that the Nether God appears often? Thats for sure. The elven mayor laughed heartily. This is the Netherworld, her home, so how can she not appear often? Its just that she doesnt pay much attention to us. Okay, the others, report your identities and occupations. The other four reported information about themselves. After the registration was done, the mayor looked at Schuck. You are a Saint Samurai. Remember not to cast light divine spells here randomly, many people will be uncomfortable. Why? Many of the inhabitants who arent professionals have more or less mixed their bodies with the dark elements to survive here because of the time and age adaptations, and if you cast a light divine spell, even if they see your divine light from afar, an ordinary person might not be able to stand it, and might even go blind. Schuck nodded. I understand, I will refrain from it. As expected of Saint Samurai who are known for their kindness. The elven Mayor nodded in satisfaction. Also, you guys are new to the city and have no place to stay, so would you like to buy a few houses to stay in this city? Houses are expensive, right? Roland asked. He had noticed on the way to the mayors residence that there werent many houses in this city, but there were quite a lot of people. Expensive for the natives here, but not for those of you who are new to the Netherworld. The elven Mayor gestured to the rather good quality clothes they were wearing. Just these fresh clothes on you are worth a medium-sized house. Roland once again looked at the clothes on the elven mayorlinen robes. It turned out not that the mayor wasnt thrifty, but there really werent any nice clothes to wear. He neatly took out several sets of spare clothes from his Backpack and put them on the table. Then Ill trouble the mayor to help us choose five good houses. Looking at the new clothes on the table, the elven mayor was quite happy. Good, youre all very good. Anlor, come here, take these five friends, go to the northern suburbs, and let them each choose a house. The elven guard who had brought Roland and the others over earlier reappeared. He slightly bent down and made a gesture of invitation. Roland and the others followed him and left the mayors residence. The mayor watched them leave from the window, then he closed the window, picked up the clothes, and went into the bedroom to try them on. Roland and the others followed behind this elf, and after walking for a while, Roland asked, Mr. Anlor, may I ask a question. Go ahead. He also seemed to sense the elven bloodline in Roland. Are there vampires in the Netherworld? Why do you ask this? Anlor looked back at Roland curiously. Because this friend, who is a Saint Samurai, has an extreme hatred for vampires. Schuck helplessly made a furious expression. There is, but youd better not mess with them. Anlor walked on while saying, The vampires are now protected by their True Ancestor, and no one dares to go against them except the Nether God. Chapter 613 - Men from the Nether God Church Chapter 613 Men from the Nether God Church Roland hadnt expected it to be so easy to find out about the True Ancestor. He couldnt help but continue to ask, Where is the vampires True Ancestor? Just south of us in Portree, living in the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss, said the elf Anlor with a shrug. I know youre all probably interested in the number two beauty of the Netherworld, but shes really no woman for the average man to handle. The average man would be lucky to stand in front of her and not turn into a torturay. Torturay was this worlds version of simp. Roland was a little surprised. The number two beauty? Here in the Netherworld, who dares to claim the number one spot except for the Nether God? said Anlor with a matter-of-fact expression as he threw up his hands. Right, this is indeed a matter that needs to be taken seriously. Roland asked again, Is Ten Thousand Stones Abyss a place name, or a city? Its a city. In the residential area, Anlor pointed to the five small houses side by side in front of him. These five stone houses are yours, and after two or three days, your residence permits will be released. Also, please remember one thing Portree is a city that pursues peace. No matter how powerful you are, do not make a move in the city, or we will have to resort to violent means. Understood. Roland nodded. Placing five keys in Rolands hands, Anlor turned to leave. Roland stretched his hand forward. Here, choose your own. His friends each chose a random key from his hand and opened their own small stone houses. The interior was probably only about thirty square feet in size, with only one floor, and held a sheet of stone like a bed stove and a stone shelf put together with strips of stone that seemed to be for holding clothing. It was really barren. There wasnt even wood, and not only were the houses made of stone, but even the furniture was stone. What was even more outrageous was that there wasnt even much stone furniture. They finished looking at their own houses and gathered in Rolands stone house afterward. Li Lin sighed. These small stone houses are not as good as the temporary shelters you made out of magic, Roland. Why do we have to buy a house in a place like this, it doesnt make sense. We have to have identities so we can move around here, Roland explained. Our quest is a long-term type at first glance, and if we have identities, we can avoid a lot of trouble. Li Lin hummed a response and nodded to show that he understood. At this moment, there were lots of pop-up comments in the livestream. This Warrior doesnt look too smart. Berserkers dont have brains. The values in the game do affect some of your actions. I chose to be a Mage in the game and with 9 points of Intelligence growth, its easy to remember things, but when I return to reality, I dont have that good of a memory. Of course, Im overpowered in the game and weak in reality. A Berserkers Intelligence growth is usually only 5, and then if the permanent skill Bloodrush is on, it reduces the current Intelligence by another 2 points, so now a Berserkers current Intelligence cap wont exceed 7 even if hes at Master level. No wonder. Roland had now completely forgotten that he was still on the air, and in fact, so had Schuck. It was normal that they would forget about it since they didnt livestream often. Roland thought for a moment and said, Lets gather information about the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss later, as well as about the vampires. Ill give you guys Unhindered Communication for nearly thirty hours, and contact in the guild system if you have news, got it? The other four expressed they understood. The four then dispersed. Roland wandered around this city blindly, attracting the attention of many people. It was because his clothes were too new and too beautiful. Even the local mayor usually wore linen robes, and Roland even exchanged five sets of ordinary clothes for five houses. They were small houses, but it could be seen that the stone houses in the city were a place for the middle-class to live. Although many people were eyeing him, no one dared to do anything reckless. After all, Roland was a Mage, and the concentration of magic power on his body was quite strong, obviously above the Master level. A Mage of this level was already quite strong and had a Magic Shield, and would be far more troublesome than a Warrior of the same level. No one would want to antagonize such a Mage. Roland was a little helpless after meandering for four hours. The news that could be collected in the tavern had reached its limit. After all, the people of this city hadnt been out much, and the world outside the city was too scary; one might encounter robbers and Soul Gatherers were floating around at every turn. If one was unlucky enough to encounter these things, nine times out of then theyd die in the wilderness. As Roland and the others wandered around the city, the mayor of Portree attended to four special guests. Isabella, what winds blew you here? The mayor looked at the elven woman in front of him with a glowing face. You came just in time. I received a few new sets of clothes. Ill bring them out for you. No need. The elven woman, also dressed in linen but beautiful and bearing a cold temperament, waved her hand. This visit is about something important. The mayor sighed. Okay, go ahead. One of our Nether Gods clones was destroyed outside the city. The mayors eyes widened. Who is it thats so powerful? We are not sure, but we found the location of the incident based on the fluctuations left behind by the clone and found that the person who destroyed the clone had even taken all the light feathers. The elven womans face grew colder. Thats going too far, and no matter who dared to do so, this has been seen as a provocation to the Nether God Church. The mayor was lost in thought. Looks like you know something? We have five from other realms in town, is it possible that they did this? the mayor said after some thought. Take me to them. The elven woman quirked an eyebrow. Can you? Of course, no problem. Anlor, take Isabella to those five new friends. After shouting outside, the mayor looked at the elven woman and said expectantly, Isabella, since youve come here, when this is over, go home and have a meal. Your mother misses you and I havent seen you for a long time. Even the Nether God Church doesnt forbid affection, right? Isabella looked at the mayor for a moment and finally nodded slightly. The mayor smiled. I only tried on two sets of clothes, the fabric is really nice. The remaining two sets are for you, and the last one is for your mother. At this time, Anlor came in, and Isabella said slowly, Is it okay to ask Mother make some dried meat soup? No problem at all. The mayor was about to jump up and down with joy. Anlor then left with Isabella and the three others who had been silent. Leaving the mayor still giggling in the room. After another four hours, Roland hadnt gathered any better information. The rumors about the vampires True Ancestor were all the same. The second most beautiful woman in the Netherworld. Black hair and dark golden eyes. Living in the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss, followed by countless bats. Wait! Looks like well have to find time to take a trip to the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss. Honestly, Roland was trying to gather more information before going to the opponents lair. It was too reckless to rush over without knowing anything. Even if players didnt die, the heartache of losing EXP once would kill them. Since he couldnt gather any better information, he went back to the house to rest and browse the forums only to find that in front of his house, five people were waiting. Anlor, who had brought them here, and four religious people wearing black linen robes. Rolands eyes swept over these people. Apart from Anlor, there was an elven beauty and three humans with worn looks on their faces. The expressions of the elven beauty and the other three humans didnt seem too friendly. Roland was ready to fight. But he still asked, What, Mr. Anlor, you brought people here to see me? They are the ones who want to find you. Anlor stepped to the side while giving a sideways glance, indicating that the elven woman was one who was in charge. Rolands eyes fell on the female elf, Isabella. What is it you want from me, pretty lady? Its you! Isabella slowly drew out the long sword at her waist. The smell of our Gatherer remains on you. Rolands reaction speed was quite fast. The other person was religious, said the word Gatherer, and was hostile. It was reasonable to assume that the other party was a follower of the Nether God Church. He had just killed a Soul Gatherer and he didnt expect the other side to come to his door so quickly. The Soul Gatherer was trying to drag my soul away. Roland stepped back slowly, his robes beginning to bulge slowly, and after five steps back, his robes were fluttering loudly. Does that mean that theres no reasonable self-defense? Listening to Rolands rhetorical question, Isabella felt her body stiffen a little. She was not shocked by Rolands words, but by Rolands terrifying magic power. The Soul Gatherer had a weakness. Even if one wasnt a professional, as long as they closed their eyes and emptied their mind when they encountered the Soul Gatherer, they could easily be immune to the Soul Gatherers mental spells. At the same time, taking a long weapon and swinging it around would easily take out the Soul Gatherer. This weakness was known to many, but not many people in the entire Netherworld would dare to kill the Soul Gatherers; after all, this was the territory of the Nether God. They had to give her some face. However, a Soul Gatherer was indeed killed and its light feathers were taken away. She thought Roland had only taken out the Soul Gatherer through trickery, but when she saw this terrifying magic power, she knew she was out of luck. Youre trying to start a war with the Nether God Church? Isabella roared. Facing us with murderous intent? Roland laughed coldly. Youve drawn your sword, but you wont allow me to make some preparations? He had already decided to just fire an Inferior Fireball and blast the neighborhood away whenever the other side dared to make a move. Anyone religious was more bigoted. Him and the others getting rid of a Soul Gatherer, in the view of outsiders, was just self-defense and shouldnt be a problem. But in the eyes of religious people, this was wrong. God wants to kill you, and you dare to resist? Why dont you just lie down and wait to get stabbed! Looking at Rolands appearance, the three humans behind Isabella immediately scattered and surrounded Roland in a triangle formation. Chapter 614 - Help Me Take Revenge These four people might look quite arrogant, but in reality, the Nether God was a lawful god. Her teachings were mainly about balance in the world and balance in energy. She believed that with light there must be darkness, that with life there must be death, and that even the gods must die at some point. Thanks to her philosophy, the followers of the Nether God Church were capable of wielding decent dark divine spells. The dark divine spells were quite powerful, especially in the area of cursing people. But there were negative effects; the more one used the dark elements, the more likely their personality would become gloomy and cold. It had long been known that magic could affect the users personality. So the more one believed in the Nether God, the more likely they were to fall into a state of apathy. They wouldnt even quite treat life as life. After all, the Nether God specialized in controlling death and the soul. Looking at the four people surrounding him, Roland wasnt anxious at all. It wasnt like the players would die and he didnt think these four could rival him. At this moment, the female elf Isabella said coldly, In the Netherworld, the Soul Gatherer is sacred and untouchable, and if it wants to guide your soul, you cannot resist. The female elfs words sounded very unreasonable. And completely devoid of humanity. But that was actually what the Nether God Church was like. This was the Netherworld, and they believed in the Netherworld and used dark divine spells. Their perception of the two concepts of life and death was now somewhat blurred. There was even some confusion. In their view, life was death and death was life in the Netherworld. There seemed to be no difference. Therefore Isabella believed that Rolands acceptance of the Soul Gatherers guidance was the proper and reasonable attitude. To her, it seemed a bit like disarming for inspection. Sacred? Roland laughed. But what if I dont accept it? The Netherworld was established by the goddess, if you are not willing to accept the rules here, then get out of this realm. She made a good point and with such conviction. But Roland could not help but retort, As far as I know, the Netherworld has existed for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years, and the Nether God has changed countless times, so at the core, this isnt really the place of the current Nether God. Isabellas face puffed up in anger. She didnt even know how to refute that. But it was actually because she was not very good at debating. It would be enough to say: doesnt the property bequeathed to you by your forefathers count as your property? It would have refuted Rolands words. There was a lot of laughter in the livestream. This female elf isnt too bright. I only need ten minutes to trick her into bed. It feels like the Nether Gods priests are a bit naive. Could it be that learning the dark divine spells will damage your brain like in the case of the Berserker? Its extremely likely. But it also shows that Rolands heart is also wicked. How can you be a Mage without a wicked heart! Roland gagged her with one sentence, then just stood there, looking across the distance between them with a smile on his face. Isabella was getting angrier and angrier, but her head was blank and she didnt know how to respond to Rolands words. Who didnt give them some face in the Netherworld? This was the first time she had seen someone like Roland who wasnt afraid of the Nether Gods reputation, and she didnt know how to deal with it. Plus, she wasnt smart, and all her attributes were added to Charisma. Now that she met a rebel, she didnt know how to handle it. Dumbfounded for a long time, Isabella was so angry that her face turned red, and she finally uttered the words, No matter what, give us back the light feathers. Light feathers? Roland thought about it and said, The things that fell off the Soul Gatherer? From the name, he guessed that it was those feathers that added EXP. Yes. Isabella nodded. Seeing that you have just come to the Netherworld, we wont hold you accountable, but you must return the light feathers. Wont hold us accountable? Who are you to not hold us accountable? Can you change the will of the Nether God? Roland found the flaw in her words. Or is it that the Nether God didnt let you recover the light feathers at all, it was your own doing? The Nether God wouldnt even blame anyone for the matter of breaking her divine clone. Isabellas expression stiffened. Seeing this, Roland knew he had guessed correctly. In reality, as a lawful god, the Nether God didnt care whether her clone was destroyed or not. She had never even given an order to recycle the light feathers. These were rules added by the followers of the Nether God Church. The grin on Rolands face grew even wider. Isabella took a deep breath, held back the irritation in her heart, and said to the three humans next to her, Lets go. She turned and took a few steps away, then turned back to look at Roland and snorted. Youre great at sophistry. I cant out-talk you, but in the Netherworld, your mouth alone is useless. Dont let me catch you at anything else. After all, the Nether God was lawful, and they, the believers, would not act recklessly when they didnt have a legitimate justification. She then waved her hand, and a black mass of energy formed a dark cloud in front of her. The four stepped on it, gradually rising into the air before flying away. Rolands eyes lit up! What a peculiar flying technique! The flight wasnt fast, but it could carry people. It would be much faster than riding a horse, and more stable than a carriage. He immediately closed his eyes and recalled the magic fluctuations he had just felt. He tried to restore the nodes of the other partys divine spell in his mind. Once he closed his eyes, he didnt move at all, and soon two hours had passed. There was a lot of confusion in the livestream. What is Roland doing here? It cant be a forced offline state, right? I remember if someone is forced to wake up, that seems to be what it looks like, the person just stands still. Its not an offline state. People who are forced offline dont breathe, time will be in a frozen state, and their chests wont rise and fall. Rolands is obviously rising and falling, still breathing. Then why did he suddenly close his eyes, to recall the girls figure just now? Is it possible he had another epiphany for a spell? Thats impossible. How can something as lofty as creating and comprehending magic just happen casually. I really think its possible. Just as the netizens in the livestream were chatting, Roland suddenly opened his eyes and snapped his fingers. A black cloud of energy appeared in front of him. Everyone in the livestream saw this and all typed a long ellipsis. Damn, he really was comprehending the spell. But Rolands energy cloud didnt look too good. Just now Isabellas energy cloud was flat and soft looking But Rolands black energy cloud was like an irregular sphere, and the surface of the cloud was still rolling, looking somewhat uncomfortable. Roland walked up and tried to put his foot on it, only to find that it wouldnt hold at all. After all, it was something irregular, so it couldnt support him. The nodes could be optimized in terms of shaping, Roland mumbled to himself as he rested his chin in his hand, And the dark elements could be replaced with other elements. Its a complicated job, another magic experiment that has to be added to the daily schedule. He finished muttering, snapped his fingers again, and a black energy cloud appeared in front of him. This time the energy cloud was much flatter, but it still didnt look good. Roland tried to stand on it again, but he didnt stand for two seconds before the black energy cloud dispersed from his feet and he fell from half a meter high. Nodes on the energy clouds strength need to be changed as well. Its a bit of a pain. He then opened the systems notepad and began to analyze the spell. After all, it wasnt a very good restoration after just a glance, and he had to use big data to filter and optimize the nodes. The netizens in the livestream watched as Roland started calculating and analyzing the spell right on the street and all sighed in awe. That action, that focus. Sure enough, theres always a reason why others can succeed. Thats quite impressive to be able to copy the spell the other party used just by looking at it. This is the ability of a top big shot. Ive recorded the screen. Roland seems to be parsing the flight spell. Ill see if I can learn something from it. Although Im also a Mage, Ive completely given up. Its not something I should touch. Ill just wait for the big shots to put out the diagram of the flight nodes. Isabella, who was flying in the air, didnt know that her divine spell had already been copied by Roland. After she flew out of Portree, she kept flying south, and after about half an hour or so, she reached a city built entirely of stone pillars. This city was built entirely in a huge sinkhole. The deep sinkhole was lined with high columnar platforms, some of which even exceeded the ground level by more than ten meters. In the very center of the sinkhole was the tallest and straightest stone column. Isabella flew over and stopped on the platform at the top of the column. The three human men bent slightly toward her, then walked to the edge of the column, applied Feather Landing on themselves, and leaped off, swaying and floating away. Isabella, on the other hand, found a staircase in the middle of the platform and went down. The stairs were very, very high, and the further down they went, the wider the interior of the column became, and she walked for nearly ten minutes or so before finally reaching a platform filled with red flowers and green grass. A maid-like person was watering the flowers and plants. She straightened up when she saw Isabella and smiled. Look at your furious face. Who has offended you? A damn man who just came in from outside, Isabella said rather irritably. How dare he talk back to me and even try to make a move on me the audacity is outrageous. The ignorant are fearless. The maid smiled, setting the sprinkler made of stone aside. She straightened her white maids uniform and said, How could someone who just arrived know about your position in the Nether God Church! Anyway, Im so pissed at him. I was embarrassed in front of my subordinates. Isabellas face bulged with anger. He actually destroyed a Soul Gatherer. In the Netherworld, death doesnt even matter, theyll still live here, and after death, as long as theyre not faithless, they can live for hundreds of years without disease and pain. Isnt that better than having a boring physical body? If it werent for the doctrine that suicide is forbidden, I would have At that, she sighed, dissatisfied, but then she said, Why dont you help me get my revenge? How? Help me suck his bodily fluids dry! The maid gently covered her mouth, Youre so naughty. Chapter 615 - Get Information Little by Little Isabella sat down on the lawn and stretched her slender, trim body. Despite being in the Netherworld, being a believer in the Nether God, and having a blurred view of the line between life and death, her elven instincts remain unchanged and she still preferred to be close to plants and nature. Im naughty? Isabella had calmed down by now, and she said indifferently, I just asked you to suck all his blood. You just said bodily fluids. The maid narrowed her eyes and smiled. Blood is a bodily fluid, but theres something else to bodily fluids. Pee or something? Isabella frowned. Thats disgusting. Youre so innocent. The maid sighed languidly. I cant even bear to bring you down. Isabella showed a puzzled look. The maid was about to speak, but at that moment her body suddenly lurched, then she called out in surprise, Master is awake. I cant chat with you now, well talk about it some other time. With those words, the maid hurried downstairs. Feeling the grass on her body, Isabella walked over to the window and looked off into the distance. An exaggerated rainbow bridge spanned the sky, its colors becoming gradually solid from a pale luster. Below the rainbow bridge, countless energy petals fluttered. A huge floating ship gradually descended from the sky, its white sails emblazoned with a pink flower bud. The hull of the ship was painted silvery white, and the petals fluttered around it, moving along with it. The whole city rang with the tinkling of wind chimes. Countless black bats flew up from beneath the city, densely packed, forming a black sea. And the silver ship sailed slowly on this black sea. Finally, it sailed to the giant stone pillar platform where Isabella was. Isabella quickly walked to the edge of the platform, where the ship was anchored to the side of the stone pillar, a wooden ladder connected to the side of the ship. A young, petite, black-haired girl slowly walked down from above. Just looking at her made Isabella feel her heart was beating faster. She immediately lowered her head, bending slightly. It was only when she couldnt see the young girl that she felt a lot calmer. Though her head was down, Isabella still kept her ears open for any movement ahead. Soft footsteps passed in front of her, which were followed by many more cautious footsteps. It didnt take long for all the footsteps to fade. After a long time, she looked up. At this point, there was no one else on the platform except for the docked giant sailing ship. Isabella felt a little lost. She knew she was in the wrong frame of mind, but she just couldnt help it. All the people who saw the vampires True Ancestor would be attracted to her. There was no way to avoid it. Looking at the sky, Isabella exhaled softly before she summoned the black cloud, stood on it, and left this place. After all, she remembered that she still had to go home to have a meal with her parents. At this time, Roland and others had already gathered to exchange information. Once they compared the intelligence they gathered, they found that the vampires True Ancestor didnt have any intention of hiding. Everyone knew that she lived in the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss. It was said that when she slumbered, she would take a rather precious floating ship and rise to a high altitude to conceal herself and ensure her safety while she slept. When she woke up, a rainbow would appear that could be seen by almost the entire Netherworld. Isnt that the rainbow? asked Raffel, the Shield Warrior who had been lying by the window looking out at the view, pointing to the southern sky. The other four came over to take a look and saw that there really was a rainbow hanging in the sky. As we all know, rainbows are actually a light refraction phenomenon. Schuck smiled. But there is no sun in the Netherworld, and there is no way that the green and purple colors could form a multicolored spectrum, so the fact that there is a rainbow means that it is man-made. Roland looked a little disappointed. In short, it means that we came just in time for the True Ancestor to wake up? Isnt that good? Li Lin was a little confused. It means the quest has begun, right? Not good. Roland shook his head. If she were still asleep, how easy would it be for us to just fly up and find her floating ship and sink it with a big fireball. We wouldnt have to face an awake, near-Demigod boss. This suddenly dawned on Li Lin. Oh right, all dungeons have opportune short cuts. Its a pity indeed! There was also a flurry of pop-ups in the livestream. Ive got the same enlightened face. Damn, watching these big shots live, I just realized that Im not only intellectually different from them, but theres also a gap in the nature of how I see things. Im just like the Berserker, thinking that the quest plot has started and I can start screwing around, but f**king Roland is actually thinking about sinking someones sleeping shelter first. I just realized too. Is this the way successful people think? And to say that Roland doesnt have a black heart! Its as black as coal, isnt it? Diamonds are also coal. I prefer to say that Roland has a heart as bright and clear as a diamond. Upstairs is a sly old one too. Youre trying to say Rolands heart is as hard and ruthless as a diamond. Oh dang, if you didnt explain I couldnt even understand that he was cursing Roland. This world has all kinds of people like Mille Crepe cakes(1), can a husky brain like mine still be good? Not to mention the attitude of the netizens in the livestream at this point, Roland and the others started making preparations after seeing that rainbow. After confirming the supplies in their Backpacks, they began to leave the city and started walking southward. Roland also left a mark outside the city, so that in case something happened, they could still teleport back in an emergency. The Ten Thousand Stones Abyss was not far from Portree. When Roland left the city, he bought a stone cart and then bought a four-legged animal unique to the Netherworld to pull the cart. It looked like an elaphure, with horns, four hooves, a horse face, a dog tail, and a pigs body. Despite its odd appearance, it was very strong and didnt eat much, and it could eat plants, meat, or even carrion. It was excellent for pulling a cart. Some clothes were put in the cart. Roland alone naturally didnt have that many clothes. The other four also contributed quite a few. Some emergency rations were placed on it as well. The food tasted average, but in the Netherworld, it was a delicacy. Well pose as luxury merchants later, Roland explained as he walked ahead. Im the merchant owner, Schuck is the accountant in charge of bargaining and buying, and you three are the escorts. These things can be luxury goods? Li Lin had some doubts. Roland laughed. From the mayors attitude just now, you can tell that such clothes are definitely luxury items. Li Lin threw up his hands. Well, Im just raising some questions, youll be the one executing the details. After we blend in, dont rush to act, continue to poke around for information, Roland said after some thought. Find out the topography of the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss and the layout of the city to facilitate our escape. Then inquire about the True Ancestors personality, preferences, eating habits, and abilities. Its best to even find out the number of the guards around her. The other four nodded. As for emergency food Roland thought about it and said, The vampires only drink blood and dont eat anything else, but the blood slaves they keep are human and need to eat. I think the True Ancestor, as the noblest vampire, should keep blood slaves of good quality that are well-fed If we can sell food to the head steward in charge of these blood slaves and set up a relationship, we might be able to pry out considerably useful information. Its in your hands, Schuck, youre the best negotiator out of all of us. Schuck nodded. Ill do my best. Just then, Roland, who was at the front, suddenly reached out and stopped the cart. The other four immediately drew their weapons and stood guard. In the distance to their right, a group of men dressed in black was silently watching them. There were at least thirty people on the other side, and all of them were professionals, the lowest at level four. Eleven of them were Masters. When did the robbery lineups all get so luxurious? Li Lin was surprised. If this was the main plane, these thirty people would be able to control a large city with a population of a million. Just when they thought there was going to be a confrontation, the other side retreated, leaving quickly, as if they had no interest in them. Shuck thought for a moment and said, Could it be that they saw we only had one cart and couldnt bear to rob us?. The other four shrugged in disappointment. In reality, they all quite wanted to fight. If the other party took the initiative to attack, then killing the enemy in self-defense could earn them a lot of EXP. It was a good way to level up and earn EXP. Pity! The other side ran away. The five continued. The rainbow in the air had disappeared, but according to the intelligence, the vampires True Ancestor would be awake for at least six months before she would sink back into slumber. So the idea of waiting for the True Ancestor to sleep before finishing her off was feasible, but it would just take too long. It wasnt worth it. They arrived outside the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss. There were no walls here because the abyss was the best wall. All five of them were shocked by the huge sinkhole. And the long, tall, stone pillars in the pit were densely connected, giving the illusion of an exotic alien world. At the edge of the pit, there was a large gantry, which was a high square stone frame. There were a dozen soldiers on guard there, and Roland and the others went over with their cart. The captain-like person also came over of his own accord, and he was a little surprised to see Roland and the others. You all just came from the outside world not long ago? The captain was a human. You can tell? Roland asked with a smile. The life energy is still thick in you, and your aura is not quite the same as ours on this side. He looked at the wagon behind Roland and couldnt help but gasp when he saw the twenty or so pieces of clothing piled on it, as well as some emergency rations from the main plane. Oh my Nether God, how did you get these rare goods? Brought them from the main plane. The captain said admiringly, You guys are going to be rich Everyone else in this city except the Her Majesty the True Ancestor will have their souls hooked by your clothes. Why doesnt your Her Majesty the True Ancestor like new clothes? Roland asked, pretending not to care too much. Because she can teleport long distances! The captain didnt have any suspicions and answered Rolands question directly. Every year, she spends a day or two on the main plane, so she doesnt lack new clothes to wear at all. Roland hummed a response. The vampires True Ancestor also knows spatial magic. When fighting with her, he had to be careful not to let her escape with Teleportation, so Dimensional Anchor scrolls had to be prepared. [1] to think ahead by many steps Chapter 616 - That’s Great The city of Ten Thousand Stones Abyss was underground. So there was a downward spiraling staircase at the edge of the precipice. It was at least three hundred meters high. From above, because the midday sun didnt go toward it, it looked dark down there and one could perceive a faint, murmuring wind. People with a fear of heights would probably get weak in the knees when they saw this staircase. And next to it, there was a large spiral slide that was used to transport cargo. The entire cart was loaded in a specially made large runestone crate, almost half as big as a shipping container. While loading, a soldier stole a few pieces of beef jerky, which, in the Netherworld, only true nobles could afford to eat, and if they sold them, they could get a lot of grains. In reality, Roland and Schuck both saw the soldiers petty move, but both ignored it. It was just beef jerky, which wasnt anything expensive to them. The main purpose of this trip was to acquire information about the True Ancestor of the vampires and deal with her; the business was just a cover. The runestone box was put on the slide then the box slid down on its own. The captain smiled and said, Dont worry, it wont break. There is a special magic array on the stone box, it will slow down by itself when it almost reaches the ground. This is your number plate. When the time comes, collect your things with it. The box can be used to carry people, too, right? asked Roland. Yes, it can. The captain nodded. But the human spirit is so chaotic that it occasionally affects the magic arrays on the stone box, making them ineffective so they fall without slowing down, and the person ends up as mush. After a few times, it was forbidden for anything with mental power to enter the box. That explains a lot! Stuffing a silver coin at this captain, instead of taking the spiral staircase directly, Roland cast Feather Landing on everyone and jumped straight down. Mages like Roland, who were already used to flying and floating, were fine, and Schuck had the Wings of Light and often rode around on his little dragoness, so he was used to heights as well. But Li Lin, Raffel, and Brazil were scared out of their wits and broke out in a cold sweat. The feeling of knowing that they were not going to fall to their deaths, but that they were ten thousand feet in the air and that they were slowly falling, was a fear that the average person would have a hard time overcoming when they first experienced it. As they descended, they also saw many people slowly making their way down there on the steps. Some were holding onto the handrails, gasping from exhaustion. It was quite physically demanding to go down from high up. These people looked enviously at Roland and the others. After four minutes of floating, the five finally landed on the ground. Roland and Shuck were both fine and jumped lightly a few times to loosen up after they landed on the ground. Li Lin and the others were sitting paralyzed on the ground. It was a large square. The brown rocky ground was flat and cold as if the unique vicissitudes and indifference of the Netherworld permeated through. Quite a few people were passing through the square, of all races, who simply looked at Roland and the others and walked away again in a hurry. Roland went to the side and fetched his goods, which then immediately attracted the attention of many people by the square. Since this was a path that had to be crossed to enter the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss, many people guarded this place to see if there was any chance of making money. The new clothes on Rolands crate, as well as emergency rations such as jerky, immediately attracted all the interested parties. These things were hard currency in the Netherworld. Immediately, a gnome came over. He was only as tall as Rolands knee, with a big head and a small body, looking rather comical. Foreign merchants, may I ask if your goods are for sale now? The gnomes voice was shrill, a bit like a childs. I have a wide range of contacts here, and with my help, your goods could fetch a rather high price. I want to sell these to the True Ancestor of the vampires, can you do it? Her Majesty? The gnome froze for a moment, then screamed, You fool, the queen can teleport, she doesnt lack new clothes at all. She can go to the main plane whenever she wants and return whenever she wants-as easy as going to the toilet. What does she need that she doesnt have? To sell it to Her Majesty, are you not a fool? Then Her Majestys maids? Roland pretended to look lost. That would work. The gnome nodded. By the way, you can call me Ragnar. Everyone else calls me Remarkable Ragnar. What is your name, my friend?. Roland. Ragnars large eyes turned toward Schuck. What about this one whose whole body is filled with blinding light? You can call me Schuck, the overly handsome Saint Samurai said with a heartwarming smile. A smile like that could make many women fall for him at first sight. However, the gnome suddenly covered his eyes, rolled on the ground, and screamed, Ahhh! Your damned holy light. Dont smile at me, Im not gay. Sh*t, youre going to blind me. The F6 members were dumbfounded. The gnomes scream drew more eyes over. Roland and the others were somewhat baffled as they gave each other looks, and with a decade of friendship, they soon mentally grasped what the others meant. The gnome seemed to be faking an accident, trying to get some money. Hold back for now, then resist if things go too far. But things didnt go as they expected. The gnome rolling on the ground suddenly stopped screaming and got back on his feet as if nothing had happened while patting his old, patched linen clothes. I can tell you have just fallen from the outside world. I dont know what kind of thoughts and plans you will have after selling these things and making big money, but there is one thing you should remember! The gnome held out his finger, then looked steadily at Roland and didnt speak. understood, and with a shake of his hand, he placed a silver coin there. With great speed, the gnome smoothly took the silver coin from Rolands hand and continued, In the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss, things related to the Goddess of Light are allowed, but they cant be arrogant. Especially a smile like that of the Saint Samurai just now cannot appear again. It will be seen as a provocation by many. Roland frowned. Why? Because this is the territory of the vampires. The gnome had a matter-of-fact expression. Back then, the True Ancestor of the vampires, our Queen, Her Majesty, was forced to flee from the main plane to develop here. It was because of the Church of Light and the Church of Life! In particular, the Church of Light was their greatest enemy! Then wouldnt it be dangerous for the followers of the light to be here? Its not that dangerous. The gnome explained, Although this is Her Majestys city, it is ultimately the world of the Nether God. It is said that the Nether God and the Goddess of Light have a good relationship, and shes been kind enough not to drive the vampires away, so the vampires dont quite dare to actively seek trouble with the followers of light here. Oh Roland felt that the Netherworld was quite interesting. The relationship between the various races was complicated. Of course, Saint Samurai can still be targeted if they get too carried away, Ragnar said with a narrow smile and stretched his hand out again. Give me another silver coin and I will tell you more important news. A silver coin wasnt much. Looking at another shiny silver bauble in his hand, the gnome withdrew his hand in satisfaction. Her Majesty is awake. This isnt really important news, is it? The rainbow spanned the sky earlier, Roland couldnt help but retort. The gnome waved his hand. I only said the first half, youre too eager. After Her Majesty wakes up, she is going to need to eat. And then what. Rolands eyes lit up at the news relating to the True Ancestor of the vampires. But every time Her Majesty feeds, someone will come to harass her. For over a hundred years, this hasnt stopped. The gnome sighed. Those words made Roland and the others tense up, and the five of them subconsciously became wary. Could it be that the quest they received was to play the role of harassing her when she was eating? But the five of them had been in major situations, and although they were on guard, the expressions on their faces all looked calm and normal. Roland even asked, Someone actually dared to rebel against the True Ancestor of the vampires? In the past, the vampires werent very good at sucking blood and didnt develop the blood clotting technique, and often sucked the blood slaves dry, the gnome explained. For almost a hundred years, the vampires killed a lot of blood slaves, all beautiful virgins. The resentment of these blood slaves relatives, fiances, admirers, and such added up from generation to generation, and a group called Vampire Extermination Alliance or something was formed. They first killed a lot of vampires, but found that they could not finish killing them, and finally had an epiphany; they thought that the source of the vampires evil lies in the True Ancestor of the vampires, and if they killed her, then the vampires would disappear completely. Roland looked around. It wouldnt be taboo for you to talk to us about this in a city of vampires, would it?. No, its just something everyone knows. The gnome laughed with arms akimbo. And its still daytime, so all but a few of the high-level vampires are still asleep in their coffins. So, what does this have to do with what youre about to tell me? asked Roland, finding that the gnome was good at gossiping before getting to the point. That alliance and the vampire queen. Because from our experience, the Vampire Extermination Alliance will soon appear. The gnome pointed to a massive stone pillar in the distance. When that happens, the city will be in chaos, and you will need a shelter if youre not strong enough. So, where can we find such a shelter, Roland said, courteously placing another silver coin in front of the gnome. Hahahaha, I like a clever merchant like you. You deserve to make a lot of money. The gnome jumped up and slapped Rolands knee rather happily, their way of showing intimacy to the giants. My sister, who is one of the maids in the palace, has a little secret room at the largest stone pillar. Its quite safe, and has the possibility of seeing Her Majestys charming, petite, lovely figure from afar. Oh, thats wonderful, we need such a safe place. Roland took out another silver coin and shoved it into the gnomes hand while smiling sincerely. Chapter 617 - No Need for Light at the End of the Tunnel The closer they got to the True Ancestor of the vampires, the more likely they were to complete their quest. Following the gnomes lead, Roland and the others pushed their cargo carts and walked slowly. There was no way around it. The gnome was short and he bounced and trotted, but it was still slow compared to normal people like Roland. The gnome seemed to be quite famous in this place, and everywhere he passed, some greeted him warmly, while others smiled coldly and sarcastically. Either way, it showed that Ragnar had a wide range of contacts. Roland and the others, who were following behind Ragnar, naturally received attention. Even some residents who were antagonistic to Ragnar would give the five of them unfriendly looks. But Li Lin, Raffel, Brazil all looked back with a fiercer glare. Although the previous half a year or so were spent with women to level up, the three of them had still survived many bloody battles. Their glares were fierce and vicious, scaring most of those who dared to sneer at them. It was very gloomy and cold in the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss, and even though there were many people, this never changed. For one thing, it was a sinkhole, and for another, there was no sun here in the first place, and it was difficult for the light generated by the mental energy in the air to pass into this giant sinkhole. So it was quite chilly here. But the people here were used to it and didnt think anything of it. Staying in a place that upheld order was far, far better than the wilderness outside, even if it was gloomier. On the side of the street, every hundred meters or so was a huge stone pillar. These stone pillars were naturally formed and varied in size, but even the smallest stone pillars were over a hundred meters in diameter. The larger ones were three to four hundred meters in diameter. A stone pillar, as long as it had a weight-bearing wall and was carefully chiseled, would be a huge high-rise building. After passing a dozen pillars, Ragnar brought Roland and the others to the largest stone pillar. Roland had seen the stone pillar from a distance and had known then that it was huge. But seeing it now, it was quite shocking. The black rock pillar blocked all vision, and it stood so tall that when one looked up, one couldnt see the top, as if it were a tower supporting heaven and earth. There were many windows on the surface of the pillar above, faint light shining through. Directly in front of them was a large entrance that was being guarded by a dozen soldiers. Ragnar the gnome skipped over and bowed and scraped to one of them. It was not long before a man with skin as pale as plaster came, who circled the crate, looked at it, took a few pieces of jerky with him and put them in his arms, and then stared at Roland and the others for a while. All of you just came from outside, right? No wonder youre carrying such great goods. This soldier was full of arrogance. Yo, theres actually a follower of light. Its fine for you guys to go in and sell stuff inside, but remember, dont go above the sixth floor; those places are the territory of the vampire lords. If you barge up there and get drained of blood, dont blame me for not warning you. Ragnar bounced at the soldiers feet and shouted, I understand, I understand. The soldier stepped aside and made a waving motion. Ragnar then immediately moved forward as Roland and the others pushed on. As they passed through the gate, a dozen other soldiers came over and each took another slice of jerky along with them, moving skillfully as if they had done it countless times before. The jerky on the cart was almost gone. When they entered the gate, they saw an open square in front of them, and next to the square, up along the walls, there were many densely packed windows and doors like the holes of a beehive. Staircases went up and connected to the doorways of these rooms. Many people were walking in and out of the rooms while shouting. The raucous sounds of people echoed through the place. Ragnar pointed higher up, where the holes were densely packed, and walkways were sloping upward in a circle on the walls. Higher up, a ceiling layer of thick black rock separated the top from the bottom, with only a plank road on the side leading up. There is the sixth leve,. Ragnar said enviously. Only the vampires and the chosen blood slaves can go up there. It is said that there are forests, rivers, and even fruit trees up there. Its a place almost as wonderful as the divine realms. Speaking of this, Ragnar suddenly looked back at Roland and the others. Say, you were just thrown down from the main plane, right? Is the main plane as the legends say, with warm sunshine, never cold, endless food, and never needing to worry about starvation? No. Roland shook his head. Theres cold and hunger all the same, not much different from what you have here. How is that possible! Ragnar didnt believe it. How can one not be warmly clothed and well-fed where there is sunshine and plenty of fruit trees? Roland chuckled and shrugged. But its true. Ragnar still didnt believe it, and the way he looked at Roland gradually became suspicious, almost as if he were looking at a liar. The netizens broke into laughter in the livestream. Summer bugs cant talk about ice. Its not that exaggerated. Just like when we looked at the bald eagle country, there was a natural filter. It felt like they were doing everything right. Thinking about it now Roland, do not destroy the childs dream. Youre being too cruel. Doesnt Roland know Long-Distance Teleportation? After the quest is completed, take this dwarf with you so that he feels the difference between reality and longing and wont think youre lying. It was also at this time that a woman stopped in front of Roland. A very unique woman with a fierce appearance and sturdy body. A powerful female orc. Ragnar saw her and greeted her happily while calling out, Sister, Ive brought you a guest. What kind of guest? Good people who are willing to rent your house as an inn to rest. Ragnar pointed to Roland and the others. The female orc swept past Roland, and her eyes glowed when she saw Schuck. She was about two meters tall, and with a few steps, she stopped in front of Schuck, looking very delighted. Beautiful human, would you like to come with me? I can give you all the money in my family to spend. Her voice was quite beautiful, with a girlish tinge, and there was no hint of squirming in the female orcs expression, only passion and excitement. Schucks face darkened instantly as Roland and the other F6 members laughed heartily. The netizens watching the livestream also had a good laugh. Resisting the urge to use Sun Collapse to turn the female orc into dust, Schuck grinned with difficulty. Sorry, Ive got a wife. What a pity. The female orc shook her head repeatedly and then threw a set of keys to Ragnar. My room is still the same, bring them over yourself. Ragnar waved his hand, then hung the ring of keys on himself, which were just wide enough to fit through his head and hang above his neck. The set of keys was, in the female orcs hands, a mere key ring, but to Ragnar, the thing was a collar. Waving to Roland and the others, Ragnar then led them to the stone room in the three oclock direction and said, You will rest here tonight. This is my sisters secret room and you can only enter with her key. That orc is your sister? Biological or adopted? Roland couldnt help but ask out of curiosity. Biological. Ragnar shrugged and said, My father was very flirtatious when he was young and had me with my gnome mother, and then in three years, he got a few female orcs and ended up making my sister. Roland was flabbergasted. Thats a big difference in size, right? Age and height are not an issue as long as there is love, Ragnar said with a look of someone who has experienced ita head full of green. Well, go inside. Ragnar tossed the keys to Roland and ran off on his own. In the livestream, the players were spouting madly. It can break the deep narrow paths, and it can stir a large vat. Driving upstairs, Im reporting it. Report what. Hes just getting high off a few words. And no one thought that it might be Ragnars father who had met with something heartless! Its possible. Boys have to protect themselves too, after all, times are different now. Amidst the frantic pop-ups from the netizens, Roland and the others entered the room. Since it was where a female orc lived, it was quite large, an estimated 70 or 80 square feet. It was just that there was very little furniture and it was all stone furniture. After entering, Schuck laughed. I didnt expect that things would go so well. We really got in the territory of the True Ancestor of the vampires, and we seem to be quite close to her. Li Lin stretched. What do we do next? Ask for information, of course, but theres no rush. Wait till I scan the sixth floor for vampire distribution. Schuck immediately went to close the door. Roland sat on the ground and began to release his mental power, expanding it in all directions. Roland had used his mental power for the purpose of detection many times, and the more stationary he was, the more effective the mental power detection would be. It wasnt supposed to be an exception this time either. But just as Rolands mental threads touched the rock face of this stone pillar, an abrupt mental force emerged and pulled him into a rather unique place. It was reasonable to say that with the mental power spread out, he could only feel the things around him. It was also just a stream of consciousness, just a vague idea of what it is that he was running into. But Roland encountered something different this time. The mental power he was in actually saw things. In front of him was a white stone pavilion. Under the pavilion, there were two rather beautiful women drinking afternoon tea. The two of them were just as surprised to see the sudden appearance of Roland. Especially the one with long straight black hair, who was only a little over one meter forty and still a young girl, but somehow just gave people a feeling of wanting to penet**** her. K* * * One might even get the feeling that the young girl was lecherous and easy to bait. The other beauty also had long, straight black hair, but her body was luscious, and there was nothing on her that wasnt beautiful, as if there were no flaws to be found. Roland looked around A misty white world. Only the pavilion where these two women were, and the ten meters or so in diameter around them, were free of white misty fog. Who are you? The black-haired girl spoke up, wide-eyed. Seeing Roland, the other great beauty slowly stood up, looking rather unfriendly. She waved her hand and took a long black scythe out of nowhere. The faithless shall be sent to the Wall of the Faithless. Chapter 618 - To Capture or to Kill Hearing these words, Roland immediately felt a cold chill on the back of his neck. For the woman who spoke, the long black giant scythe in her hand and her slender but curvaceous body formed a strange sense of beauty. Her eyes were cold, and she looked at Roland as if she had seen a disgusting bug. With a single stride, she appeared two meters in front of Roland. It was like a flash spell but without any magic fluctuations. She looked utterly disgusted. Roland wasnt the type to wait for death. Magic Shield! Prismatic Spray! These two spells were instantly released. Prismatic Spray was a very strong offensive spell, and smearing it in someones face at close range might be too much for even a Legend to handle. But the large iridescent comet-like mass of colored light vanished like a bubble when it reached the woman. Then the woman swung the scythe and chopped at Rolands body. Because it was a long scythe, depending on the trajectory of the womans swing, the tip of the scythes would instead cut diagonally through Rolands back and skewer him. This was the proper way to use an arc-shaped giant scythe. It was quite a bizarre line of attack and someone without combat experience with it could easily fall for it. The players whod used this weapon had also posted their experience on the forum in a video format, so Roland was well aware of the attack path of this thing. But knowing it didnt mean that he could dodge it! The woman was swinging the giant scythe too fast. Roland didnt even react before the tip of the giant scythes blade had sliced through the Magic Shield on Rolands body diagonally from the back, like slicing tofu, and then hitting Rolands back. Logically, at this point, Rolands soul should have been impaled. But an accident happened. The tip of the giant scythes blade made a sound like gold and stone clashing when it struck Roland. A black and white yin-yang symbol blocked Rolands back. Rolands entire body was carried forward by the tremendous force, slamming into the scythe-wielding woman. The woman was also surprised. She had never seen any souls that were immune to her reaping. Chaos divine power, the woman said, opening her small pink cherry lips slightly. Then Roland hit her Logically, the womans body should be soft; after all, she had the same rippling chest plate as Andonara. But Roland felt like he had hit a block of iron. He just didnt think about it that much and unleashed a Self-Destructing Inferior Fireball instinctively. With a boom, an explosion of flame spread in this white misty space. The fire-colored blast swept over everything in the surroundings. Roland and the woman were enveloped in it at the same time. And the black-haired young girl sitting on the side watched as her afternoon tea was swept away by the blast, the table burning even her clothes were burning up. She was quiet; the flames didnt seem to hurt her, but a few seconds later, her bare body was exposed to the air. Anger, shivering, and cold sweat! The young girl stood up angrily, and with a wave of her hand, a white dress reappeared on her body, and then she stared angrily at the center of the explosion. Both the flames and the blast quickly dissipated. The woman holding the black scythe had her clothes intact, not even a stain on it. On the contrary, Rolands soul became much more transparent. The blast had done quite a bit of damage to himself. Roland looked somewhat helplessly at the woman wielding the giant scythe in front of him. If she was fine after such an attack, he couldnt think of any other way to deal with her. Sophie, why dont you take him to the Wall of the Faithless? the dark-haired girl asked. The woman with the giant scythe shook slightly. Her expression became cold again. I cant. He has divine protection on him and doesnt need to hang on the Wall of the Faithless. Roland sighed in relief. It seemed the game system was still very powerful. It was just that this divine power gave him the feeling that things were deeply connected with the GM. So thats whats going on! The long black-haired girl looked at Roland with interest. So hes of proper divine descent? Then his blood must be good to drink. Hearing that, Roland twisted his head and grinned at the long black-haired girl. You are the True Ancestor of the vampires? Of course! this young girl said proudly. Is there anyone prettier than me in the Netherworld besides Sophie? The young girl was indeed beautiful, with long, silky black hair and an exceptionally delicate face. In terms of looks alone, both women were the same, but the woman with the giant scythe was more slender and had a more majestic figure. As a mature man, Roland simply liked voluptuous women. The young girl was too flat. Roland laughed even more. Now, he even knew what the True Ancestor looked like. Looking at Rolands smile, the black-haired girl frowned and said, I sense a deep malice in your smile. Theres no such thing. Roland smiled even more brightly. I came to the Netherworld to find you, True Ancestor of the vampires. Your smile gives me goosebumps. The black-haired girl turned to look at the scythe-wielding woman. Sophie, he has ill intentions. Can you beat him up for me? The scythe-wielding women gave the black-haired girl a deep look. Cant He has another god standing behind him. If I make a move, the other side will surely do the same, so settle your dispute on your own. I dont want the Netherworld to become a place where both gods fight. The woman put away the giant scythe and then disappeared. Watching the scythe-wielding woman disappear, Roland condensed a blue fireball with both hands; the quest required detaining or killing the True Ancestor of the vampires. Roland preferred the latter to detention. Looking at the fireball in Rolands hand, the black-haired girl grunted and waved her hand, and the whole space started to collapse. In half a second, it was in fragments. Before Roland could even throw the fireball in his hand, he was ejected from this spiritual illusion. Back in reality, Roland was still standing in the room he was in before, surrounded by his friends who were chatting away. Then Roland spurted out a mouthful of blood, and his whole body fell backward onto the ground. His four friends looked at him, froze for a moment, and then immediately reacted. They rushed forward and worked together to lift Roland to the stone bed next to them. Schuck immediately used the Light Healing and even took the time to cast Sunlight in the room as this spell increased the effect of Light Healing It also dispelled the cold air around. Roland didnt pass out and coughed up blood for a while longer. The effect of Light Healing and Sunlight was quite powerful, and Rolands nearly empty health bar was brought back up. After a few minutes, he was able to speak. I saw the True Ancestor of the vampires. She was just in a soul illusion. She injured you? Schuck was quite surprised. He didnt feel anything just now, but Roland had already fought with the boss in the spiritual world. Shes that strong? Will she pull in the rest of us and beat us up too? He was not wrong to have this worry. For pure mental resistances, Schuck had the highest. But when it came to the strength and application of mental attacks, Roland was the strongest among all the players on the server. Even he had been beaten like this by the boss in the spiritual world. How would the others fare? Roland shook his head slightly. No, it was a fight with the Nether God that made me this way Speaking of which, if my speculation is correct, the other woman in the spiritual space is the Nether God. Then, Roland went over what happened in the spiritual space just now in simple words. Schuck fell silent. The system shows that I now have a divine power residue effect on my body. Roland laughed bitterly. According to the systems explanation, this is a body extinguishing divine spell, which has only a ten percent effect on the soul, but ninety percent effect on the physical body. And it will work from the soul to the flesh. Thats why you were seriously injured immediately after exiting the spiritual space? Schuck understood and found this troublesome. Thats a problem. Were not strong enough to slay a god. Roland laughed. Your beloved Goddess of Light is also a god, but as a Saint Samurai, you talk about slaying gods. Wont she dislike you? No way Schuck wasnt too sure. After all, Im handsome. I should be somewhat privileged. All of a sudden Roland felt his whole body hurting, sore and aching. It doesnt make sense, I thought the game was only a tenth as painful! The other three friends also looked dumbfounded. And in the livestream, the pop-up comments were even crazier. Holy sh*t, this man is too narcissistic what, hes a Saint Samurai? Then thats okay. This Goddess of Light is spoiling her Saint Samurai too much. The gods all have appearance complexes, please refer to Greek mythology. F**k, is it too late for me to delete my account now and add everything to Charm. ѧ OW Its no use, Ive tried it. Went to the Temple of Light with everything in Charm, prayed to the Temple of Wind, and so on, and the gods dont give a s*it. Upstairs, Im sorry for your real looks and charm. Im no good all right, you do it if you can. LC You guys are still missing the point. Now the question is, Roland actually fought with the Nether God? According to the information I gathered, the Nether God also seems to be a great beauty with long legs and an extremely thick chest plate. Roland actually fought with her for 300 rounds, how enviable. Wtf, why do people in F6 always meet extremely beautiful women, the dragoness, the queen, goddesses, goddesses, and goddesses. Maybe because they are F(uck)6. Why are you guys chatting about women again, every one of you is an old pervert. Whats happening now is that Roland knows what the True Ancestor of the vampires look like, and I am curious about his quest What, the True Ancestor of the vampires is also a woman, then pretend I didnt say this. Roland still forgot he was on the air, and after continued healing, he was able to stand up. Although I know what the True Ancestor of the vampires looks like now, she also knows what I look like, Roland said breathlessly as he sat on the bed, his back against the wall, so we have to take measures immediately as well. How? Schuck asked. Roland laughed. Its easy. Ill just hide. She hasnt seen you guys, so you can all move normally. Well keep in touch through the guild chat. I can send three magic spiders out to gather intelligence as well. Schuck, do you think its better to capture the True Ancestor or kill her? Is it necessary to ask? If its a beautiful girl, capture her, if its a man, kill him. Chapter 619 - Don’t Do It, It’s One of Your Own Hearing Schucks words, Roland gasped. This is the doctrine of the Church of Light? What do you think? Schuck threw up his hands. Although such words are not quite in line with contemporary values, in this feudal world, in a war under such a system, women are one of the important resources. Beautiful women are an especially scarce resource. From the point of view of war, as long as they are women, they are to be packed up and brought home. You actually acknowledge such a doctrine? said Roland, rather surprised. The Goddess of Light is a woman too, isnt she, and she actually acknowledges such a doctrine? Shuck leaned against the wall. His face, so handsome that women wouldnt be able to close their legs, had a vague hint of derision. Ive been believing in the Goddess of Light for about two years now, and I get to hear her voice from time to time. I know a bit about the gods of this world. Hearing these words, not only his friends, even the netizens in the livestream all subconsciously forgot to send pop-up comments. Seeing Rolands attentive expression, Schuck continued, It could be said that the gods are actually illusory beings born from the ocean of human spirits. She was born out of the mental energy of the human world similar to the aggregate of human subconsciousness, and there are as many as a dozen of them, like water god, fire god, thunder god! Roland nodded. He had that same suspicion about the gods. Because they are beings born from the collective consciousness of mankind, what the believers know, they all know, and relatively, what the believers do not know, they are all unaware of. The so-called omniscience and omnipotence are only based on the believers perspective. Schuck shrugged. So when the believers of our religion all think that women are war spoils, what do you think the goddess will think? Roland shrugged. The implication was clear. He suddenly also remembered something. I remember once when offering a spell to the Goddess of Magic, she also said something similar. When you become a god, you lose your creativity. It seems that being a god isnt too great of a thing. So to me, the Goddess of Light, is just a very powerful, very beautiful woman. Schuck showed a frivolous smile. Women are all hussies. They say that men judge girls on looks, but in fact, they judge based on looks even more. Roland laughed dryly. He was not a handsome man and couldnt understand Schucks woes. Besides, Andonara, his queen, didnt judge him by his looks. There were always exceptions. What the two of them said didnt seem like much to them, but there was a tsunami in the livestream chat. Holy sh*t, what did I hear, the goddess is just a stronger, prettier woman? F**k, just because a handsome ass*ole is qualified to say that doesnt mean that we ugly bast**ds are too. Youre ugly, Im not ugly. If youre not ugly, go become a Saint Samurai. So depressing But the fact that the gods cannot innovate, this is an important piece of information. Information? Its called intelligence only if you can use it. What you cant use is garbage information. Can you guarantee that you will meet a goddess in the future? Ive calculated the amount of EXP required for this game, and it will be a rather frightening number after reaching Legend. Gods are bound to be powerful. That means if any of us players sincerely believe in the gods, these gods will also know the knowledge of that world of ours? I dont think so, system protection or something like that? After all, there are censored words. Its possible! Its terrifying just to think about. If the goddess of wisdom learned how to form a nuke in her hand thatd be quite awesome. Then the question arises, who is the goddess of wisdom? It seems to be a hidden facet of the Water Goddess? Water Goddess? Oh, then theres nothing to worry about. The netizens in the livestream were discussing what they had learned about the gods. Roland and the others then began to poke around for information. Of course, since Roland had fought with the True Ancestor of the vampires in spirit, he stayed in his room and didnt go anywhere. Schuck and Li Lin and the others went outside. Ragnar was quite happy now. The small caravan he had led back was quite generous. He was given three silver coins right up front, and after finding them a room, the other man gave him another five silver coins as an agency fee. Giving two of them to his orc sister, he took the other three. On his way home, he exchanged one of the silver coins for 94 copper coins. Recently, the silver coins could be exchanged for fewer copper coins again. He remembered that some time ago, a silver coin could be exchanged for 105 copper coins, but now there were ten less and the prices didnt seem to be lowered, which made him distressed. Exchanging two copper coins for three pieces of fragrant white bread, he returned home in good spirits. Then two human children taller than him pounced on him and happily picked him up, and the little boy wrapped his arms around him and spun him around. Let go of me, you little one. Thats rude. Im an elder, you cant do that, Ragnar shouted vigorously. The little boy put him down embarrassedly. Heres your bread! Ragnar put three pieces of bread on the table. The two children each took a piece. The youngest girl looked at the last piece of white bread left on the table and she carefully, Have you eaten, Father? Ive eaten, said Ragnar as he pulled off his old linen shoes to see if they were damaged, not looking up at his daughter, Take your time and dont choke. In reality, he didnt eat. He hadnt eaten since morning, and in a little while, he intended to have some coarse grain shells It was hard on the throat and hurt his stomach, but it would still fill him up. Because he was a gnome, he didnt consume much energy in the first place. With a few silver coins in hand now, if he spent frugally, there would be enough to raise the children until they were over ten, when they could go and find work. The thought of that filled Ragnar with anticipation. He probably wouldnt have to be so tired then. Hearing that he had eaten, the little girl continued to ask carefully, Then is it okay if I take this piece to Mommy? No. Ragnar looked up and stared at his little daughter rather unhappily. If you dare to take it to her, you dont get to eat it. The youngest daughter dared not speak anymore and lowered her head to silently nibble on the bread. After a while, both children finished their food. Ragnar said, Go to bed. Come outside with me tomorrow to find some work. The two little ones nodded vigorously, then obediently went to a stone bed and slept with their clothes on. In the Netherworld, there was no difference between day and night. But people could roughly feel what time it was on the main plane based on their fatigue level and the instincts in their ancestral blood. Then theyd sleep at about the same time as the humans on the main plane. While the two children were asleep, Ragnar mended his shoes, then closed the door and went out. He bought a large dark loaf of bread from a roadside stand, crossed several streets, turned down a few alleys, and finally came to a rather shady corner. There were many beggars, spiritless and emaciated. It was mostly old people and a few women. Ragnar walked up to a dark, thin woman and threw the black bread in front of her. The woman, who was almost skeletally thin, saw the black bread and immediately hugged it like a hungry dog, letting out a low growl to the left and right, guarding her food. The surrounding beggars looked at the black bread, eying it, but no one dared to grab it. Take your time, its a mercy from your daughter. Though Ragnar was short, even shorter than the human woman who sat in front of him, the expression in his eyes was arrogant. Im really happy that youve become like this. Hahahahaha! Laughing loudly, Ragnar turned and walked away. He had just stepped out of the alley when he saw a squad of city guards carrying a parchment and asking questions on sight. Soon a large crowd had gathered next to the city guards. He went closer to butt in and found a man drawn on it, very much like the merchant of the small caravan he had done business with not long ago. This man on your painting has committed a crime, Sir? asked Ragnar curiously. Of course. If you see this man, you must come and tell us. Therell be a great reward. The captain held up the parchment and slowly spun around, revealing the mans face for all to see. This is a murderer. He tried to assassinate our Queen. Hes vicious, so do not try to hunt him down alone. Hes extremely dangerous. After the explanation, the captain asked aloud, Has anyone seen him?. Everyone shook their heads. Ragnar quirked his eyebrows and didnt speak or step forward. A little disappointed, the captain left with his squad, going to ask somewhere else. Ragnar pondered as he began to walk back, passing a shadowy, deserted alleyway that was quiet and a path he had traveled often, for over a decade, without encountering any danger. But no sooner had he walked in than he saw a man standing in the middle in front of him, holding a hunting bow and staring at him like a falcon seeing its prey. Cold sweat ran down his face instantly. He knew this man as one of the guards in the caravan. Did this man catch him talking to the guards just now? He turned to escape but saw that at the entrance to the alley, a black panther was somehow there, sitting crouched, like a statue that wouldnt move. It was clear to Ragnar that the black panther was a magical beast, a Master magical beast. A terrifying creature that could bite off his throat with just one lunge. Sir. Ragnar quickly turned around and knelt to the hunter in front of him without hesitation, his head hitting the ground with a thud. He was covered in a cold sweat. Please dont kill me, I really didnt mean to give you up because Im also a member of the Vampire Extermination Alliance. We should be allies. The person who stopped Ragnar was the Hunter Brazil. He sneered, I just inquired about the alliance. Almost everyone said that this anti-vampire alliance is full of heroes who are not afraid of death and have been fighting the vampires for hundreds of years. A spineless person like you doesnt look like one at all. If it were me ten years ago, I would definitely be just like you said, not afraid to die. Ragnar looked up and smiled sarcastically, But now its different. I have two children, and if I die, no one in this city will take care of them and they will die of starvation. It doesnt matter if I die-nothing can happen to my children. Oh? A little surprised, Brazil contacted Roland on the guild chat, and after a moment, he said, All right, follow me. Our boss wants to see you again. Chapter 620 - True Ancestor’s Rage When Ragnar was taken to Roland again, he was rather uncomfortable. To be honest, he didnt expect that he would be exposed as a member of the anti-vampire alliance for nothing more than taking a few people to settle down in the room below the queens pillar. He had no idea that there were other forces and people who were hostile to the True Ancestor of vampires except his alliance. But he really didnt want to get exposed, because his two daughters were still in the city. Roland, on the other hand, looked at the guy with great interest. He didnt expect that the first person he encountered here would be an NPC that was part of the plot. We meet again. I didnt know that you were so good. Roland smiled from the bed. Seeing Rolands weakness, the gnome was rather surprised, and then frightened. You pissed off the Nether God and got attacked by her? How do you know? Roland was very curious, as the gnome didnt belong to any class. Weve been living in the Netherworld for generations. How can we not know the aura of the Nether God? Ragnar was even more horrified. He waved his arms with great excitement, wide-eyed. Whats your problem? I can understand that you want to deal with the True Ancestor of vampires, but how can you piss off the Nether God? Shes a god and the master of this place. Nobody can resist her. Do you understand?. Roland chuckled softly. Dont worry. The Nether God has already forgiven me. Naturally, he wouldnt tell the gnome that he was backed by the game system and even the Nether God dared not to do anything! That wouldve only horrified him. Therefore, he had put it in a subtle way. You have a god behind you too? Ragnar wasnt really convinced,until he saw Schuck, the famous Saint Samurai. All right, lets leave the Nether God aside. Why do you summon me here, sir? You told me that the resistance always asked for the True Ancestor of vampires trouble. Can you introduce us to them? Ragnar became vigilant. What do you want? Cooperation, said Roland slowly. The True Ancestor of vampires is too strong for us or you. So, it will be best if we join forces. Ragnar was deep in thought. A moment later, he nodded and said, I can forward your request to our boss, but I cant promise that it will pan out. Its fine. If it doesnt, I hope you can provide intelligence about the True Ancestor of vampires for us. Roland took a gold coin out of the system Backpack and flipped it to Ragnar. Of course, were not asking for it for free; we can pay for it. This is our advance payment and a gesture of sincerity. Picking up the gold coin with both hands, Ragnar looked at the bright round piece of metal and subconsciously bit it. He then seemed confused. Youre worried that it might be fake? asked Roland with a smile. Ive never touched or seen a gold coin before. Ragnar seemed rather bummed. The most money Ive seen is some fifty silver coins. In the Netherworld, ghosts were the most common thing besides stone. Bronze and silver coins were mostly brought here by the people who were accidentally teleported here. Most of them were ordinary people or mediocre professionals. Naturally, some had brought gold coins to this plane, but not many. In fact, there werent many silver or bronze coins either. As a result, the currencies here were very valuable. One gold coin was enough to buy a super tiny pillar in the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss as a home. The super tiny was only in a relative sense. In general, it would be a stone pillar fifty meters tall and twenty meters in diameter. However, it was already the best real estate that an ordinary person could afford. So, it was only natural that Ragnar was overwhelmed when he was given a gold coin so easily. If you havent seen one, show it to your boss. I think hell recognize it. Roland waved his hand. Were not asking you to cooperate with us immediately, but at least we can share intelligence with each other, right? Ill try to talk to my boss. Ragnar cautiously put the gold coin in his inner pocket. Dont worry. I wont rat you out to the city guard. Theyll only give you one silver coin, and Ive given you a gold one. You know how to choose. Roland wasnt concerned. Even if the gnome ratted them out, so what? The worst outcome was death, but they could always come back in a couple of months. Roland had already memorized the coordinates of this place and could teleport over anytime, and Ragnar would be faced with retaliation. Ragnar was rather impressed by how confident Roland seemed. He wondered whether Roland really knew what he was doing, or he was simply too naive. Then, Ragnar left the room. The first thing he did after he returned home was to take his daughter to a remote neighborhood and entrust her to a friend. He then left the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss and found the squad in black who was lurking in a valley nearby. After he confirmed the password, Ragnar met the captain of this squad. May the blood-sucking fangs be gone from this world. Ragnar slightly bowed at the man in black. Esteemed Mr. Ryan, its been a while. A middle-aged with golden hair chuckled. It indeed has. Ragnar, you still havent thought it through? You should rejoin us. Our boss should be able to recover your strength. Ragnar shook his head. But I cant let go of my two children. Theyre not your children. Wouldnt it be better if theyre given to their real families? Ragnar said solemnly, They are my children. Fine. Ryan, the middle-aged man with golden hair, shook his head helplessly. Lets talk about that another time. There must be something important that you want to talk to me about, right? Yes, this is what happened. Ragnar described what happened and took out the gold coin. This is his advance payment. Check if its real. Ryan played with the gold coin for a while and nodded. Its indeed a gold coin. That man was rather generous to give such a large sum of advance payment! Then whats your thought? Lets accept it. Why shouldnt we? Ryan nodded and said, All of the vampires enemies are our friends. Ill tell you the intelligence and you can relay it to them. Ragnar nodded, not surprised at Ryans decision. Even he found that cooperating with those people was not a bad idea. About half a day later, Ragnar returned to the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss and met Roland again. He then informed Roland of all the intelligence about the True Ancestor of vampires he was aware of. After that, Ragnar left. Roland and the others also left soon after Ragnar did. Roland stuck a beard on himself and put on a wig. He then followed Schuck out through the main door openly. Half an hour later, an elite squad of the city guards launched an assault on the bottom of the True Ancestors Pillar and searched the place thoroughly. The middle part of the True Ancestors Pillar was an extremely vast and empty space. A great number of beautiful magic crystals were hanging on the ceiling, all brought by the True Ancestor from the main plane. She brought over some magic crystals every time, and gradually, the enormous ceiling had been decorated as if it were a flashing starry sky. On the ground was a beautiful lawn. It was hard for plants to grow in the Netherworld. However, there were plenty of Druids among the vampires. In the middle of the spacious lawn lay a yellow-and-white table that had fruit wine and cakes placed on it. A beautiful black-haired girl was sitting on a chair and enjoying fruit wine in a white dress. We have a starry sky and a lawn, said the girl, not without regret, but were still short of a natural breeze. Master, do you want me to cast Breeze on you? asked the maid who was serving her. The black-haired girl shook her head. Thats unnecessary. The wind created by magic always smells funny. With this, the maid stepped back. The black-haired girl was the True Ancestor of vampires. She drank the fruit wine and recalled the man she saw in the soul world before long. The man was able to resist a strike from the Nether Gods clone! That was quite a remarkable thing. Normal creatures couldnt look the Nether God in the eyes, not even the True Ancestor of vampires. So, the Nether God always sent a clone to her when she wanted to talk to her. Even though the Nether Gods clone was only one percent as strong as her, the attack the clone performed was still based on godhood. It was not hard to imagine how strong the man was to have resisted such an attack. Things are getting tricky. The True Ancestor of vampires was very powerful, but she never underestimated anyone. It was all because of her experience in fighting the Church of Light. Those people were ordinary human beings, yet they were fearless of death and didnt hesitate to sacrifice themselves until they collapsed the magnificent vampire kingdom. She was forced to hide here and there, and had to migrate to the Netherworld to stop the war. The vampires never had the courage to set up a regime again, and the vampires who stayed in the main plane spent their time fleeing and trying to survive. There was already an anti-vampire alliance that opposed her, and now she had another enemy whom even the Nether God would rather not deal with. How troublesome. The girl felt a headache coming on. At this moment, a maid came from downstairs and walked to the True Ancestor. My queen, according to Mr. Rexxar, someone on the street told him where the assassin lived, but by the time he went there, the assassin was already gone. Anything else? Hearing that Roland had fled, the True Ancestor of vampires felt even worse. Mr. Rexxar asked a lot of people and found that the assassin had companions, and one of them was likely a Saint Samurai! Bastard. The cup in the True Ancestors hand began to squeak and crack. Ive already fled so far away to this place, yet the Church of Light is still coming after me like hungry dogs. Do they take my tolerance for weakness? She slowly stood up, and her eyes became bloodshot. She had burst into a rage. Chapter 621 - I Found You The True Ancestor of vampires loathed the Church of Light. The kingdom she founded in the main plane earlier almost destroyed Fareins. The whole world teemed with vampires back then. Human beings prostrated themselves before the vampires, worshiping them as masters and overlords. Some human beings tried to resist them, and there were Heroes who almost made it to her throne. However Even though the Heroes had great natural advantages against vampires, they were too few in number. There were only one or two Heroes in one generation. At that time, the vampires could overshadow the sky if they all turned into bats. It was true that the Heroes could easily kill any vampire, but the problem was that there were too many vampires and it was easy for them to transform more. The Heroes couldnt annihilate them at all. Just like that, twenty years after the kingdom of vampires was founded, and when Fareins was on the brink of destruction, the missionaries of a small church from the edge of the world suddenly came to Fareins, which was only one third its original size. Those Priests who were familiar with light spells were natural enemies to the vampires who used dark magic. One cast of Sunlight could wipe out countless low-level vampires. Just like that, many human beings began to worship the Church of Light. The small church quickly expanded, and a dreadful class even emerged from it. even The Saint Samurai. Those monsters who could charge on horses, cast spells on foot, and even fly when wearing heavy armor could crush ten thousand vampires leading only a hundred Battle Priests. Eventually, the Saint Samurai, leading a great number of believers of light, marched to her royal palace. Hundreds of years had passed, but she still remembered how the leading Saint Samurai looked at her in disdain and said, I thought that the True Ancestor of vampires was a magnificent man, but youve turned out to be just a spoiled child who abuses your ability! The Saint Samurai who said that was tall, sexy and beautiful. The wings of light that unfolded behind her made her look even more holy and sacred. The True Ancestor was easily eclipsed and enraged. After the fall of her kingdom, she was chased by several Saint Samurai all over the world. Having no other choice, she had to break into the Spatial Magic Tower, steal some books, and learn Long Distance Teleportation. She intended to teleport to another country, but due to the error in coordinates, she ended up in the Netherworld. But that wasnt too bad. Although this place was quite desolate, it still had plenty of lives. Then, she reestablished her kingdom in this place. Although it was nothing more than a city-state, she had a safe place to live and didnt have to spend every day in fear any longer. Having learned a lesson in the main plane, she didnt unlimitedly expand the population of vampires, and she made humane laws to protect the basic rights of their slaves. She also made acquaintance with the Nether God, who became a friend that she could talk to. Occasionally, she would travel in the main plane and sunbathe there. Unlike other vampires, it was fine for her to do some sunbathing even though she was vulnerable to light magic too. She found her life comfortable and enjoyable. The environment of the Netherworld was horrible, but it was not a big deal for a person in power like herself. When there were no lawns, she could set up one in her home; when there was no delicious food, she could fetch it from the main plane. She knew Long-Distance Teleportation anyway. Having lived in peace for three hundred years, she thought that she had forgotten her hatred for the Saint Samurai. But when she heard that a Saint Samurai had come to her territory, fury got the better of her again. Bloody Saint Samurai, youre not letting go of me when Ive already fled so far? Her dark golden eyes brightened until they seemed to be glowing. Its been three hundred years, and youre still not letting go? Then lets see which of us is stronger! Invisible mental power spread out from the True Ancestor of vampires and soon enshrouded the whole city. Ordinary people had no sense of the mental pressure, only noticing that the air seemed to be getting dull, but all the vampires could sense it. The girls intimidating voice echoed in all the vampires heads. Everybody, listen to my order. Find the Saint Samurai that has snuck into our city and drain him without leaving a drop of blood. Whoever brings his head to me will be rewarded with one drop of my blood. Several seconds later, countless bats flew out of the windows on the stone pillars. They rose to the sky in a dense cloud and covered the whole city. Then, more of them landed, turning into human beings with pale skin. When the ordinary people saw the vampires, they quickly lowered their heads and nervously ran home before they closed the door. Those were all vampires. They wandered on the street and coldly examined everybody who passed by. They even stopped some of the passersby and asked them if they had seen the Saint Samurai. Rolands team, on the other hand, had dispersed to different parts of the city. Under normal circumstances, it wasnt a good thing for a team to split up. But the case was different for Rolands team. With the guild channel, they could communicate and exchange intelligence anytime. Roland was hiding in an inn when some vampires approached him. The owner of the inn opened Rolands room with two male vampires at his side. They eyed Roland as if he were food. Then, they shook their heads and left. All living creatures were usually sensitive about their natural enemies. In the case of vampires, they were quite sensitive to light. So, all they needed to do was stand close to someone in order to find out if he was a Light Priest or a Saint Samurai. Watching the two vampires go without hesitation, Roland was deep in thought. He asked the owner of the inn, Who are those two? Vampires! The innkeeper shrugged. Im told theyre looking for a Saint Samurai. How can there be a Saint Samurai in the Netherworld? Exactly, how can there be? Roland shrugged exactly like the innkeeper did. Its said that the Goddess of Light cherishes her Saint Samurai. If a Saint Samurai really wound up here, the Goddess of Light must be on her way. The innkeeper subconsciously swallowed. I dont think its possible! A goddess cant possibly care about the life and death of a human being! Its hard to say. Roland yawned, pretending that he was sleepy. I need to take a break. See you, boss. Hearing that the guest wanted a rest, the innkeeper immediately left. Roland closed the door and pinged Schuck in the guild channel. Roland: The vampires are looking for you. The situation has changed. Schuck: Ive realized it too. I just burned up two vampires. I remember that a book in the Grand Library of Light states that the Church of Light and the vampires had a conflict three hundred years ago. We won and the queen of vampires has been gone ever since. Roland: It seems that youve been exposed. Schuck: I guess Im a burden now. Ill make a scene in the city later to distract them for you. Youll have to take it from there. Roland: Youre going to lure the monsters and kill yourself? Is there no other way? Schuck: I am going to lure the monsters, but not kill myself. As a Master Saint Samurai, I have a special skill named Light Resurrection. After I die, the holy light will project my soul back to the Holy Realm where I will be reborn, and it wont count as a death. Roland: Its a desirable skill even for the players. For the regular NPCs, it must be what they all dream of. Schuck: Its indeed a desirable skill, but you cant learn it without the Goddess of Lights favor. Also, it takes three months for the skill to cool down. Roland: The Goddess of Lights favor? You might as well say that youre the only one who can use this skill! Schuck: That seems to be true! Tsk. Roland smacked his lips, feeling rather bummed. He also had some goddess favor, yet it merely added some stats for him, like HP and mana capacity. Schuck, in comparison, received a lifesaving skill. His ability couldnt compare to Schucks even though he had the favor of two goddesses. Wait The favor of two goddesses? For some reason, Roland felt more comfortable than before. Ten minutes later, Roland suddenly saw that Schuck left a message in the guild system. Schuck: Im going to cause trouble. You do whatever suits you. Roland rose from the bed and asked the innkeeper the way. The innkeeper warmly answered his questions, but before he finished, the street was already in a riot with people shouting and exclaiming. Schuck mustve already taken action. Roland left the inn and saw that the street was ablaze with golden light. He walked out and saw that a golden ball of light was emitting brilliance in the high altitudes of the sky. It was Sunlight, one of the most common skills of the Church of Light. The skill had a great effective range and could destroy darkness and fog. It could also slowly heal neutral and friend units. It was a skill that could be used in almost every situation. For ordinary people, it was just a dazzling skill of the light class. But for the vampires, it was a fatal nuclear explosive. The bats that were flying and almost covered the sky all screamed in fear and tried to flee from the light. But the light was too fast. Many little bats fell from the sky trailing black smoke. They sizzled when they crashed, and then they were all set on fire. Underneath the sphere of light was a man who was emanating golden light with a pair of shiny wings on his back. In the name of the Goddess of Light, all evils shall be exterminated. Holding the giant sword, Schuck pointed at where there were most bats. Sun Collapse. The golden ball of light fell from the sky and hit the swarm of bats. Then it exploded into dazzling rays. Countless bats turned into ashes in the light and slowly dispersed, covering the city in a gray snow. Many bats were trying to flee as far away from the golden man as possible. Exactly at this moment, a black-haired girl was standing on top of the queens tower. She gazed at the floating golden man coldly, hatred flashing in her eyes. Triggered by her thoughts, a lot of dark magic power left her body and formed enormous cubes of fog before her. Then, the fog cubes expanded and consumed everything nearby. Very soon, they had approached the edge of Sunlight. While the humans and vampires held their breath waiting to find out who had more power, the True Ancestor of vampires suddenly turned around and looked at Roland. Then, she put on a gloating smile and leaped from an altitude of three hundred meters. In midair, she grew out a pair of black bat wings. She then flapped her wings and glided toward the street where Roland was on. Chapter 622 - Is It Too Late? Roland was enjoying the show! He wanted to see the news abilities of the Saint Samurai, known as the most OP class, after they leveled up to Master. He hadnt noticed much yet, but they were truly natural enemies to dark creatures. But before he had enough fun, he saw a white shadow lunging at him as fast as light. There was even a cloud behind it caused by the sonic explosion. Such a speed was beyond the ability of ordinary people to react to. But the case for the professionals was different. Roland, as a player with abundant battle experience, managed to react in time. He cast Magic Shield and Ice Explosion at the same time. The True Ancestor of vampires hit Roland instantly. At first, there was a terrible knocking noise, followed by the swooshing sonic explosions caused by the True Ancestors ultrasonic flight. The intense airwaves flung all the passersby away. Time seemed to be frozen for half a second at this moment. Roland was entirely flung back. His shield was filled with cracks and looked like broken glass, and he hit an enormous pillar. After a thump, he was almost entirely embedded into the pillar. The True Ancestor of vampires didnt feel too well either, as she had been entirely frozen by Rolands Ice Explosion. She kept her original posture as she landed on one foot with her whole body covered in ice. Roland canceled the Magic Shield so that he could get out of the pillar. After he landed, he quickly opened the shield again and disappeared from the street with a snap of his fingers. On the system menu, the level of the True Ancestor of vampires was shown as a skull. The strength gap between them was too big to be made up by skills. Roland wouldnt have run if he were with his teammates, but right now Forget it. He would rather not have a head-on clash with her. One second after Roland disappeared, the True Ancestor of vampires broke out of the ice encasing her. Looking at the place where Roland disappeared, the True Ancestor had the coldest expression on her tiny face. She cast her eyes over the floating Saint Samurai not far away, and her cute little teeth extended out of her pink lips. But her expression was far less cute. Damn you, pretty boy Saint Samurai, go to hell! She raised her right hand and turned it upside down. Black energy quickly concentrated on her palm into a long dark javelin with a helical tip! It took only half a second for the dark javelin to take shape. After she roared and sprinted forward, she threw the javelin out. The moment she threw it out, a spider web of cracks with a five-meter radius appeared on the stone street under her feet. A visible mass of air was even spreading away from her. Then, the javelin turned into dark lightning and collided with the golden Sunlight. Instantly, a black channel of dust was created, like the long tail of a comet. The only difference was that the tail of a comet was usually white and blue, while this one was black. It was also extremely fast, so fast that Schucks heart had been impaled before he could react. Schucks expression was frozen. He then turned into golden light and disappeared into the sky. After he was gone, the Sunlight which illuminated the environment vanished too. The Ten Thousand Stones Abyss, which had been as bright as day, fell into darkness again. A tremendous number of bats flew back to their True Ancestor, resumed human shape, and adulated her. Although she had possibly killed a Saint Samurai and knocked away his accomplice, the True Ancestor seemed quite unhappy. She looked at the opened windows. With her keen sight, she could see the confusion and eagerness in the eyes of the residents behind the windows. The people who had lived here for generations had long forgotten the warmth of the sunlight and what it felt like. However, Schucks spell reminded those people of what light was. Most intelligent creatures had a liking for light. The True Ancestor was clearly worried. She returned to her old spot in her palace. Her favorite wine had been placed on the table, but she was not in the mood to enjoy it. Her maid asked carefully, Master, why are you not happy about the triumph? Has your time of the month come early? No. Holding her tiny cheeks, the True Ancestor heaved a long sigh. That bloody Saint Samurai used Sunlight. Now, many of our residents have sensed its warmth. Theres no telling if theyll do anything. Are you worried that they might start to worship the Goddess of Light? The girl nodded. But this is the territory of the Nether God. Wouldnt the worshipers of the Goddess of Light be considered rebels? The black-haired girl cried, Sophie doesnt care! Shes a goddess of order and wont stop anything thats legitimate and complies with the rules. She wont bother even if the Netherworld is filled with sunlight. She might even be glad to see that. Is it really possible? The maid found it hard to believe. Ms. Sophie is an expert of dark magic. Wouldnt her spells be affected if this place was lit up? As a matter of fact, shes quite good at light spells. The maid covered her mouth in shock and almost couldnt believe the news. Is Ms. Sophie a believer of the Goddess of Light too?. How is it possible? The black-haired girl rolled her eyes at the maid and said, She told me that the extremity of darkness is light, and vice versa. So, shes quite good at light spells. Coincidentally, the Goddess of Light must be very good at dark spells too. I really dont understand! The maid found it hard to believe. Of course you dont. The girl measured her long hair, which reached her hip. Should I cut it short? This is inconvenient for me to fight with. Roland didnt flee with the flash; he merely moved to the periphery of the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss, or the edge of the great pit. It was approximately the same altitude as where Schuck was floating, so he saw how Schuck was impaled in the heart vividly. He then left the place, hid among the rocks in the wild, and then left a message in the guild chat. Roland: How are you doing? Still alive? Schuck: Im fine. Ive been teleported back to the Cathedral of Light. My body is rather weak and it will take six hours for me to recover. Roland: Then take a break. Ill bring you back here from Fareins when I have time. Schuck: Okay. Li Lin: What about us? Roland: Keep lurking if youre not exposed. Li Lin: Copy that. Turning off the guild chat, Roland built a tiny stone house and rested in it. It was partly meant to recover his magic power. The vampire girls terrifying attack almost shattered his Magic Shield. Fortunately, he had modified his shield earlier, and it wouldnt really be broken until he ran out of mana, although it would consume more mana to resist damage when it was in the status of ruined. On the other hand, Roland was considering how he should deal with the True Ancestor. She was truly strong, unlike the losers from the Spatial Magic Tower who had great stats but didnt know the first thing about fighting. Judging from her quick movements and her decisiveness, it was quite obvious that the girl had been through a lot of battles. Also, the girl was very fast. It would be useless to simply lock the space with Dimensional Anchor, as she was extremely fast when she flew even when she didnt flash. She was probably as agile as Andonara. How could Roland deal with such a boss? He barely stood any chance of winning even if he were to use Elemental Embodiment. He recalled the intelligence he learned from Ragnar and considered if there was a feasible solution. Then, he subconsciously said, How can I kill her? The enemy was so strong that Roland didnt consider catching her alive anymore. That would be too difficult. All kinds of comments were popping up in the stream channel. Wow, what a beautiful vampire girl! I love her! Screenshots taken! Licking! @Roland, please tell me a way to go to the Netherworld. I need to pick up my wife from there. Upstairs, for your information, there is a comprehensive criminal law in our country for people like you. FBI, open the door! This is allowed by the law. The vampire girl is even older than your grandmother. Yes, its legitimate! Shes old but shes still a girl! Ill lick her too. Wait, didnt you hear that Roland wanted to kill her? It would be such a shame if a beautiful girl like her got killed. Thats so brutal. How can you possibly do such an insane thing to such a lovely girl? No, you cant. Can you tell Roland not to kill her? Just catch her. I can pay a ransom of several hundred billion for her in reality. Human trafficking is also against the law. Slavery doesnt work anymore nowadays. Its just the trade of game data. This is just a game. Why are you taking it seriously? Really. I also dont want such a beautiful girl to be killed. Beautiful girls are rare resources in the first place, not to mention one who is special and will always remain beautiful. Too befuddled to think straight when you see a pretty face, right? Humiliating! Yes Im talking about myself. Lets vote in the forum and ask Roland not to kill this girl, okay?. Wow, what a bunch of disgusting men. You dont want to kill her just because shes pretty? Do you even know how many people the True Ancestor has sucked dry? But Roland didnt say that the True Ancestor killed a lot of men, right? Its said that blood-drinking just means some loss of nutrition for humans if the vampires are cautious. Lets just be straight. Youre just into her because shes pretty. So what? You women love watching the pretty male stars too, dont you? Oh I dont know how to respond to that. Lets vote in the forum and ask Roland not to kill her. Thats unnecessary. Hes working an epic quest, you think hell spare her when you ask him to? But Schuck was right. You should pack up a girl and take her home if shes beautiful. Time always flew fast when one was thinking carefully. Roland had no idea that people were arguing about whether or not the vampire girl should be killed in the stream channel. Three hours had passed, but he hadnt come up with anything At this moment, someone shouted from the outside, Sir, are you in there?. The voice sounded familiar. Roland walked out of the shelter only to find that it was Ragnar the Gnome. You tracked me down? Roland was slightly surprised. Is there anything I can help you with? I think its time that I lead you to my friends. You didnt trust us before, but youre willing to lead us to them now? Ive seen the previous battle, said Ragnar in admiration. It was truly awesome of you to escape from the enraged True Ancestor. Also, your friend, he was really Im sorry. I feel very regretful for your friend. A sacred man like him shouldnt have perished in such a place. Ragnar had grown up in the Netherworld. He had never seen real sunlight until this day. It was so warm and bright. Although it lasted for only ten minutes, he felt that he was all heated up and filled with strength. Roland waved his hand. Hes not dead; hes just back in the Church of Light. He was speaking the truth, but in Ragnars ears, it sounded like a subtle eulogy. Generally speaking, when a believer died, people would say that he went to paradise and was embraced by his god. He felt that Roland was expressing the same thing Seeing that Roland would rather not talk about the Saint Samurai, Ragnar simply continued, I think we can unite against the True Ancestor of vampires. Roland smiled. I think so too. About three hours later, Roland met Ryan and his crew in another area of rocks. He discovered, to his surprise, that all those people were Masters and above. Their leader was even a Legend. It was truly possible to kill the True Ancestor with a team led by a Legend. Was this the designed plot of the epic quest? Would the NPCs help him? While Roland thought about that, Ryan stepped forward and shook his hand. My friend, Im glad to meet you. Well be allies and trustworthy partners as long as youre willing to overthrow the True Ancestor and kill the vampires. Thank you. Roland shook his hand too. But is this your whole crew? I dont think its enough. It was possible for such a team to assassinate the True Ancestor in peacetime. However, after the previous fuss, the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss would definitely be under martial law; even if it wasnt, the city guards would be much more vigilant than before. Therefore, while the team was strong, their odds of success were slim. Were just one of the teams. Ryan smiled. Sir, you are an esteemed Mage, so well try to protect your safety in battle. But we have a question. Can any of your other partners perform light spells? Its such a shame that the Saint Samurai passed away. Roland really wanted to laugh. So, everybody thought that Schuck had died. He couldnt help but explain, Dont worry, hes still alive. The Church of Light has a special lifesaving skill now. Ryan was greatly shocked. For real? You can escape from death? Bro, is it too late to worship the Goddess of Light from now on? Chapter 623 - Don’t Make Such a Scene Death was a concern in all planes and all worlds. Where there was life, there was death. Death was inevitable, even for the gods. But nobody wanted to die abruptly; they wanted to die of old age on a bed surrounded by their children and grandchildren. So They would not hesitate to worship a god that could save them from deadly accidents. Not just Ryan, even his teammates in black were also looking at Roland, eager for an explanation. Roland shrugged. As far as I know, hes the only person in the entire Church of Light who has this special ability! The Favored! Ryan couldnt help but curse, Shoot! People like Roland and Schuck didnt think that the Favored were a big deal. In fact, it was just a cognitive bias. It was just like some of those billionaires who claimed that they didnt care about money. They might really not be interested in money, but they certainly loved the leverage and influence that their money could bring. At this moment, both Roland and Schuck were like those billionaires. They didnt feel that being the Favored made their lives any different. However, other believers who craved their gods favor but never got it would think that Roland and Schuck didnt understand appreciation at all. Ryan and his team lost hope upon hearing that it was the Favoreds ability. Sitting on the ground, Ryan held his rough and weatherbeaten face and asked, I wonder if you can answer a question before we begin cooperating. Be my guest. Roland nodded. Ill answer anything as long as it doesnt involve my privacy. You actually have ways to return to the main plane, right? Everybody was greatly shocked to hear that. Ragnar even raised his head in surprise. Roland was slightly surprised at the guys intelligence. How can you tell? Your vibe is completely different from ours, which means that it hasnt been long since you arrived. Ryan clapped his hands and explained, Most people who just came from the main plane are depressed and miserable. Not seeing their family or any sunlight, and living in such a land of desolation, even the most resolute men need a couple of months to accustom themselves. Yet, you seem to be at great ease, which means that youre very confident. Roland smiled. Its true that we can go back. Ryan heaved a deep sigh. So you can really go back! Can you take anyone with you? Roland didnt say anything but simply stood in silence. I understand. Its understandable. Taking people back isnt so easy. Ryan sighed. Youre not a Legendary Spatial Mage. Also, even a Legendary Mage can hardly teleport himself back to the main plane, much less taking someone else with him. All the other people heaved a sigh too. They wanted to return to the main plane badly. Even though they had all grown up in this place, they longed for the warm and beautiful land of the legends. The stories of their hometowns on the main plane had been passed down for generations and influenced everybody who grew up here. To return to the main plane was everybodys greatest dream. In fact, Roland could take someone back But why would he? Where should those people settle down after he took them back? This place had a rather mixed population. Dwarves, gnomes, elves, human beings, and hybrids could all be found! Also, many residents here had parents from different races. If they were taken to the main plane, the situation on the main plane would be affected. Also, they might not be able to survive on the main plane. More importantly, there were so many people here that Roland couldnt possibly take all of them back to the main plane. Ten Thousand Stones Abyss City alone had more than two hundred thousand residents. Considering other cities, the vast Netherworld had a population of several million. If all of them asked him to take them to the main plane and his teleportation magic array could only carry a dozen people at one time How much time would it take? The magic arrays required materials too. How many materials would he have to use for the task? Roland would be a fool if he were to do that. Seeing that Roland was still silent, Ryan continued, So, you specifically came from the main plane to deal with the True Ancestor of vampires? Roland nodded. Why? Ryan was rather curious. Roland said, The vampires of the main plane never go extinct. The Church of Light launched multiple purges, so the vampires in the main plane should all be gone, but after a while, new vampires will show up. So, we suspect that the True Ancestor returns to the main plane every once in a while and transforms several vampires every time she does. To solve the problem once and for all, we need to kill the True Ancestor. What he said was mostly a lie. But some of the facts were true. For example, the Church of Light had indeed launched several purges. But not all the vampires were purged. They were all great hiders and good at survival. As long as one of their bats survived, they could recover very soon. So a Saint Samurai was sent here? Ryan felt that it was great news. Its true that the Saint Samurai can suppress vampires, but hes not strong enough. We know, but the stronger people cant come This is the Netherworld. Roland found a random excuse. We dont want to piss off the Nether God. ome. Thats true. Ryan nodded. My random excuse turns out to be effective? Roland was more or less surprised. It was true that Sophie the Nether God didnt want to see people who were too strong in the Netherworld. It made her nervous. Also, the Wall of the Faithless in the Netherworld was quite famous. Earlier, many Mages and other professionals had come hoping to rescue certain souls from the Wall of the Faithless. Those people were all Demigods. Although none of them succeeded, the Nether God was quite bothered by them. Ever since then, the Nether God had set up a barrier that anyone stronger than a Legend would trigger. Then, she would come and see what it was about. If they were slightly weaker than Legends, she would only send the Soul Gatherers, clones of her godhood, to check it out. Then lets talk about cooperation. Ryan stood up and made a please gesture. If you can create a barrier, please establish one for us! A bright blue soundproof barrier unfolded around Roland, a trick he had learned from the drows. Lets talk. In fact, the intelligence we gave you wasnt complete, said Ryan with a smile. We also know the True Ancestor of vampires real name. Her real name? Roland was briefly stunned. Yes, calling her by her real name in a battle will slightly weaken her! Why? Its because she has some godhood, Ryan explained. Shes as strong as a Legend. Also, as the creator of a species, she was worshiped by all her people, which gives her some godhood that makes her seem like a demigod and enhances her in battle. However, after you know her real name, her godhood will temporarily diminish. No wonder the True Ancestor was so strong. She cracked his Magic Shield with one strike and killed Schuck with one throw of a javelin. Roland had thought that the True Ancestor had high stats. However, it seemed that she merely had a special buff. So, was the BOSS supposed to be weakened according to the plot? How interesting. Whats the True Ancestors real name? asked Roland. Lilith Havoca. Roland blinked his eyes. It sounds like a girls name. Yes, she was a human being. Ryan smiled. She was even a princess of Fareins! I dont know if it still exists in the main plane. Well Roland found that the world was full of coincidences. It does exist, and its the most powerful country in the human world. Roland opened his hands, showing his surprise. But I didnt know that she was a human being Speaking of which, how did she turn into the True Ancestor of vampires? Ryan shook her head. We dont know. After all, she mustve lived for five hundred years. So, her real name is her weakness, said Roland in admiration. It couldnt have been easy for you to uncover that secret. Normally speaking, one would keep their weakness as their greatest secret. How did the resistance find it? Weve fought her for three hundred years. Grief appeared on Ryans face. Our predecessors paid a great price to learn that secret. Even our organization was almost destroyed. But we made it through. Youre truly determined, he remarked with great admiration. An organization had fought its enemy for hundreds of years with no hope of victory, and it even found more and more of the enemys weaknesses. Those people probably really hated the vampires guts. However, the most regretful thing is that we failed to find the bones of Liliths human form, or we would be able to suppress her with those bones. Huh? The bones of her human form? Roland was quite shocked. Seeing Rolands surprise, Ryan smiled and said, Thats right. The True Ancestor of vampires abandoned her human identity when she became a vampire, but for some reason, her bones were contaminated by her vampire aura and couldnt be destroyed. Theyre the proof that shes essentially a human being, so the victory will be almost 100% ours if we get them. Have you looked for the bones? asked Roland curiously. We have. Its said that her bones are separated into four parts and hidden in desolate places, said Ryan rather unhappily. Weve been searching every place in the Netherworld since two hundred years ago, but we didnt find anything. We also issued bounties, but many people came with counterfeits. We havent even seen her finger bone yet. Roland was immediately lost for words. Of course they didnt find anything. It was because Lilith had hidden her human bones in the main plane. This girl seemed rather smart. Few people in the main plane knew her. Even if her bones were found, there would be vampires fighting over them. Then, she released the news in the Netherworld, so that her enemies would be searching futilely. She had played a trick on people from both worlds. She was truly impressive. However, it was unlucky for her to meet players who carried a quest trigger system. If no players had entered this world, nobody in the main plane wouldve wanted to collect her bones. It meant that her great weakness wouldnt have existed. But unfortunately, her bones had been gathered by Roland. At this moment, Roland realized why the recommended level for this quest was Master and above even though Lilith was as strong as a Demigod. So, she was supposed to be killed by the plot. Things are easy now! Roland took a deep breath. Then how should we cooperate? Can your Saint Samurai come again? asked Ryan. Of course. Then we can do this. Youll deal with the minions and experts under her command and distract their attention while we focus on dealing with the True Ancestor. Ryan put the most dangerous and difficult task on his teams shoulder. Lets do that if youre okay with it. Should we discuss the details and steps of the plan now? Roland shook his head. No, let us deal with Lilith. This is not a joke. People will die, Mr. Roland, said Ryan carefully. The resistance has fought her for hundreds of years. We know her very well. We dont know her very well, but we have ways to significantly weaken her. Ryan was stunned. Removing the soundproof barrier, Roland left the area of rocks. Then, he found an empty place and teleported himself away. But after hed just left, a gray fog that was carrying a black scythe appeared where hed just been.. It waited a dozen seconds and then slowly vanished. Roland teleported to Fareins. He met with Stephanie first and had a cup of fruit wine with her. He then went to the Cathedral of Light for Schuck. He had left a message in the guild chat earlier, so after he reported his name to the silver-armored guards of the cathedral, they simply led him in. The Cathedral of Light was clean, beautiful, and magnificent. The roads were all paved with bright golden stone, and all the buildings were piled up on enormous white rocks. The perfect combination of white and gold added to the sacredness of this place. Schuck had a three-storey house. The soldiers had just led Roland to its door, when Roland heard people fighting inside. I told you that no crusades are needed. This is my own private matter, and I dont need the church to help me. It was Schucks voice. But the goddess said that nobody could bully our Saint Samurai! You wouldve been killed without her favor. This was a rather pleasant female voice. So, Mr. Schuck, this does not just concern you but also the reputation of the church. This is my private business, and as a Golden Son, I wouldnt have died even without the goddesss favor. Schuck sounded rather helpless. A lot of people will die in a crusade! A lot! Why do you have to make it so big when I can take care of it on my own? The lives of the low-level clerics and soldiers matter too. Then, it was an old but intimidating voice. But its also the goddesss intent. Then Ill speak with the goddess and ask her to revoke her order! Schuck sounded very displeased. Your Holiness, please wait a moment. I need to pray. Then, Schuck walked out of the garden and saw Roland who was standing outside the gate. He seemed rather embarrassed. Chapter 624 - Your Position Decides Your Attitude Schuck leaned against the wall rather helplessly. He didnt want his friend to see what just happened to him; it was too embarrassing. He was not that kind of good-for-nothing gigolo in reality. Although his wife owned the cold drink store and was in charge of most things, he was responsible for purchases and marketing. So, while the outsiders viewed him as a gigolo, his friends knew that he did a lot of work. However he did become a gigolo in the game. Youve finally become the person you hate most, remarked Roland with a smile. Schuck had always said that he despised gigolos the most. As it turned out, he had become one in the game. Schuck heaved a long sigh. I didnt want to be a gigolo, but this class is unbelievably powerful and comes with crazy benefits. My boss is beautiful and friendly. What can I do? He sounded rather displeased yet gloating. Roland was of a mind to beat him up. Even his friend felt that way. It was unnecessary to say how agitated the audience was in the stream channel. I want to cut him down. What should I do? Just do it! What are you thinking? Did you not see that the Church of Light is organizing a crusade just because he was beaten back by the cute vampire girl from the Netherworld? If you attack him in the game, all the clerics of the Church of Light will come after you. F*ck! I want a majestic and beautiful boss at my back too! You can find such bosses, but theyre mostly obese and have faces as big as pies. Stop speaking. Im seeing them in my head. As long as they give me money, Im willing to take them even if their faces are as big as plates. Dont you see that Schuck is living on a woman too? But his boss is beautiful. So beautiful. I feel hurt, I want to curse. Not just Schuck, even Roland seems to be protected by a goddess too. Doesnt he have the Life Goddesss Button? Tsk, tsk tsk. Those two are like goddess heartthrobs. They lingered for a while, and then Schuck said, Lets go. I already told the goddess not to launch a crusade. I think the goddess mustve given you something awesome for self-defense since she likes you so much. Rolands eyebrows shivered. Show it to me. Why are you so smart? I was thinking to take it out at the critical moment and surprise you. Slightly bummed, Schuck took a longsword out of the system Backpack. It was a regular sword with a regular white grip and a bright golden body. It didnt have any decorations or carvings and looked quite plain. However, on the system menu, the stats of this item went like this: Item: Holy Sword of Light (Divine Artifact) Attributes: Penetration 28, Cleavage 33. Abilities: Sharp Edge (law-level), Light Strengthening (law-level), Morale Boost Aura (law-level), Indestructible (law-level). Description: The Goddess of Lights sword can only be wielded by those she approves. Roland had a strong toothache reading the stats. as so The weapon he had seen with the highest status was Andonaras Heros Sword. It was so powerful that he didnt think he could show it to anyone else, or they would try to rob her of it. Yet, this Holy Sword of Light had even better stats than the Heros Sword. Even more unbelievably, the weapon had multiple law-level special abilities. Awesome! Roland raised his thumb. With this weapon, it would be easier to deal with the True Ancestor of vampires. The players in the stream channel saw the stats of the weapon too. They were both jealous and regretful. The rich players, in particular, couldve tried to purchase the weapon with a fortune if it were regular. However, this weapon was clearly bound to Schuck. Only those approved by the Goddess of Light could use it. At this moment, Schuck was probably the only person in the whole server that the Goddess of Light appreciated. After examining the weapon, Roland took Schuck to the Netherworld. Because the Netherworld belonged to another plane, the teleportation was much more difficult. Roland didnt come over after a failed attempt. But fortunately, no greater losses were caused than a damaged teleportation magic array, which he had to repair with some magic materials. It was just the loss of several gold coins. After the teleportation, Roland reached out to Li Lin and the others in the guild chat. He then contacted the squad in black from the resistance and met with them. They made a thorough plan of attack against the True Ancestor of vampires. In the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss, Lilith was still angry. According to her subordinates investigation, everybody in the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss was rather ill at ease. The sunlight had made a huge impact on the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss. Undercurrents were surging below the surface too. Many people were even hoping to learn teleportation. Few people in the Netherworld knew teleportation. Even if they did, they were just Mr. Nobodies who didnt have much expertise. It was already impressive enough if they could flash. In the Netherworld, Sophie was best at cross-plane teleportation, followed by Lilith. She certainly wouldnt teach spatial magic to anyone else. If she taught them, a lot of them might leave, and being a queen would be boring if she had few subjects. Also, a smaller population meant less food for the vampires. That was the last thing she wanted to see. Watching her puffed cheeks, her maid poked it and smiled. Stop doing that, master. You look like a frog. Its not pretty. You have never seen a frog before. But you told me what it looks like. The maid smiled. You told me stories and even painted a frog for me when I was little. You dont remember now? It was more than a hundred years ago. How can I possibly remember? The maid smiled and smoothly poured red wine for Lilith. Then, she shook the wine pot in her hand and said, Master, were out of wine. Ill get you some fresh virgin blood. Okay, be quick. The master nodded and backed off. After leaving the central palace, the maid walked straight downstairs. After four flights of stairs, she came to a floor which had many rooms. There was a balcony here where she could see the rooms down below, as well as the girls in white who were laughing and running on the street outside. She observed them for a while and then walked down. The girls here were having a great time. They were chatting or chasing each other in the open. As the vampires most important source of food, they enjoyed privileges that the ordinary people of the Netherworld couldnt imagine. They had the best food and the cleanest water. They could also bathe every day. The only thing they needed to do was to stay and live here. But they didnt have to stay for a lifetime. They would be set free after 25. Then, they could proudly return home with the money theyd saved for more than ten years. The only thing they needed to give away was their blood. It wasnt much. Only a tiny vial of blood was fetched every three days. Occasionally, it was fetched more frequently, but they always had great food as compensation. The maid walked down. Many girls stopped and curtsied after seeing her. Chief Nicole, youve been troubled. So have you. Nicole nodded at the girls. She then walked to a girl not far away and said, Ive checked up above. Your blood is the cleanest and freshest today. The girl she chose was rather delighted. Im to offer blood to Her Majesty? Great! Chief, please take as much as you want. Not much is needed. Master has a small stomach. After saying that, she laid her hand on the girls neck, and a red stream of blood flowed out of her skin and then rolled like a thread. After it rolled a while into a ball the size of a fist, Nicole stopped taking blood. Holding the blood ball, she said, Have some good food later. Yes, madam. Holding the blood ball, Nicole left. She had to keep walking down. As the True Ancestor of vampires, Lilith was actually not in desperate need of blood. She didnt even need blood as long as she could hold back her urges and desires. Blood was like alcohol to her, and she enjoyed it once in a while just for the fun of it. The wine, on the other hand, was merely a beverage, like cola, to Lilith. Also, as the True Ancestor, she had a strong demand on the quality and taste of the blood. The blood would taste differently when different spices were added to it. At this moment, Nicole was taking the blood ball downstairs to ask a cook to polish its flavor. Passing through another long flight of stairs, she hopped into a rather greasy place. This place was the kitchen. Apart from providing food for Lilith, it was also responsible for the food of the hundreds of girls. So, there were a lot of oil and smoke residues here. The stone floor was so greasy that one would feel that they were walking on moss. It was quite slippery. One would always feel unsteady. Nichole became quite indifferent after reaching this floor. Many people were working here, some chopping meat and some washing vegetables. It wasnt a small project to provide food for hundreds of people. The cooks and assistants all stopped their work upon seeing her and voluntarily lowered their heads and made way for her. This happened as she made her way here. However, a young man nearby was trying to cut the bones of an unknown beast. He was so focused that he didnt realize that Nicole was approaching Right when Nicole passed him, the young man happened to cut the bone rather heavily with his long, thick cleaver. Part of the bone was chopped off, and it swirled and flew at Nicole. Nicole reacted fast enough and slapped away the bone. Yet, some broken pieces of bone fell into the blood ball. She was so infuriated that her face was blue and her body was trembling. Damn it! She walked over. The young man, having no idea what just happened, was still busy chopping the meat and bones. Everybody around him was so scared that they hid away. Reaching the back of the young man, Nicole kicked him in his waist heavily. Crack! Under the sudden and violent kick, the man completely bent backward. His face was filled with confusion as he didnt know what was going on. He was then flung more than ten meters forward, leaving a trail of blood on the floor. He was already dead, but his eyes were still wide open. At this moment, five people came from the staircase and saw the scene. One of them raised his hand but then put it down. Nicole looked at the blood ball in her hand and shouted hysterically. Her earsplitting voice spread throughout the vast and empty floor. Almost all the men covered their ears, pain on their faces. It was natural that Nicole was nice to the girls, because they provided blood for her master in turns. If the girls were unhappy, the quality of their blood would drop, and the taste of the blood would be affected. Nicole, who considered her master the center of her world and even secretly regarded her as a mother, wouldnt allow that. In order for her master to have the best blood, she didnt mind sparing her kindness to the virgins. But as for the cooks especially the male ones, it would be unnecessary. If one of them was killed, someone else would fill in. They were like weeds. More would grow after some were cut down. Nicole couldve tolerated these filthy men for the sake that they were working for her master too. Yet, one of them stained the best blood intended for her master. He must die for that! After an angry roar, she suddenly found that five men were walking toward her. You look strange. What do you want Nicole habitually asked, thinking that they were servants. But her face changed suddenly. Damn it, stop! It was because she found that all the five of them were professionals, and two were releasing magic waves. The most handsome of them was even demonstrating great power of light. Bat She realized that those people must be assassins. Every time her master woke up, there would be stupid assassins that tried to kill her. This time was not an exception. Too many of them had been killed over these years, but they never stopped. The best solution against these assassins was bat transformation. That was exactly what she did. However, before she transformed, a bright pillar of light shined at her. Judgment of Light! The pillar came so fast that it looked like a laser. Only one bat flew out of Nicoles body when she was hit by the pillar of light. Then, her expression froze. Like a burning piece of paper, half of her body brightened and half vanished. Then, she was completely gone, leaving nothing but a handful of ashes on the ground. Watching Nicoles death, the people here immediately shouted in fear and ran off in a flurry. More of them knelt on the ground, not daring to move at all. They thought that the intruders would kill them now that they had killed the ferocious Nicole. Roland walked to the young man who died with his eyes open and shook his head. He cant be saved anymore. Even his souls been expelled. It was because Roland saw a confused and transparent soul next to the body. In the Netherworld, it was possible to directly see the souls of the dead. Then, a Soul Gatherer appeared out of nowhere, and two black chains stretched out of its hollow eye sockets and tied up the soul, before they both left. Schuck walked close and heaved a long sigh at the bent body on the ground. Roland looked above. The one you just killed must be Liliths personal maid, the villain known as the Blood Hound. She was very close to Lilith by blood. Lilith mustve felt something when she died. What does she feel? Roland said casually, Rage. Chapter 625 - Advantages of Deft Hands Lilith was truly enraged at this moment. Unlike the vampires who were multiple generations separated from her, Nicole was personally transformed by her. The closer two vampires were connected by blood, the better they could sense each other. The relationship between Lilith and Nicole was similar to that between mother and daughter. They could even roughly tell where the other was at. How could a mother not be furious when her daughter died? Besides, the two of them were truly intimate with each other. Magic power surged out of her body beyond her control and crushed everything around into powder. Nicole! Tears dropped from Liliths cold yet beautiful face. She had always thought that Nicole could accompany her for hundreds of years. Yet, Nicole had died when she was only a hundred and fifty years of age. It was too abrupt. Her brief shock was then replaced by overwhelming fury and determination to kill. Slightly sensing where Nicoles life disappeared, she turned into a cloud of black smoke and flew downward through the floor. The black smoke that the vampires turned into was corrosive. As the True Ancestor of vampires, the black smoke she turned into was even more powerful. Also, she was extremely fast. She passed through multiple floors in a row, including the one where the virgins were kept. Also, the black smoke she turned into was a large cloud, and she was flying quite fast. She simply passed right through the girls who were still having fun without knowing what was going on. Seven of them were enshrouded by the smoke. After the smoke passed, the seven girls stood still. The other girls watched the smoke descending from the ceiling and disappearing into the floor in surprise. Then they looked at their seven companions who were immobile. But very soon, the flesh on the seven girls cracked and dropped to the ground like jelly. They quickly turned into seven bloody skeletons where they stood. Eventually, the skeletons fell to the ground too. After a brief silence, everybody screamed in fright. Then the girls all fled in panic. The scene was too terrible for them. When Lilith landed on the kitchen floor, she found that the place was already empty. The cooks that should be working here were already gone. Instead, she only saw five professionals with unique vibes. Liliths senses were keen enough for her to tell that they were different from regular people. Also, they carried a different essence. Those who were born in the Netherworld or had spent a long time here all carried the stink of dark magic power. It was known as the aura of the dead. Yet, the five strangers had bright life energy with few elements of death. They were clearly not locals. Besides, one of them carried a powerful energy of light. A Saint Samurai! Lilith immediately found Nicoles murderer. Only a Saint Samurai, who was a natural enemy to vampires, couldve killed Nicole, who was already a Master and close to Legendary. Lilith lunged forward even though she was in the form of black smoke. Professionals were all vigorous. They wouldnt die quickly even if they were enshrouded in her black smoke. Their flesh wouldnt peel off like what happened to the civilian girls. If hit by the smoke, their skin would slowly dissolve, followed by their muscles. The whole process might take two to three hours. That might be slow, but it was exactly what Lilith wanted. She wanted the intruders who killed Nicole to die a slow death in continual pain. Roland and the others saw a black cloud surging from above with a long trail of blood behind it. Shes here! Roland curled his finger and picked up the Dimensional Anchor Scroll. He then shouted, Stick to the plan! As he talked, Roland threw out the Dimensional Anchor Scroll that he had already prepared! The whole space was tied up by the countless invisible chains. Yet, the black smoke wasnt affected at all but continued lunging forward. Schuck, who had stepped aside, raised his plain-looking longsword which was actually a divine artifact and shouted, Lilith Havoca, face the judgment of light! The black smoke felt quite heavy and chilly when it appeared. It was like a huge mountain in everybodys heart. However, after Schuck recited her name, the heavy feeling immediately diminished a little bit. Then, the black smoke quickly condensed into a girl wearing a white dress. She was flapping a pair of bat wings. But unlike the black wings of other bats, hers were white. With black hair, white dress, and white wings, she somehow gave away a sacred feeling. Also, since she was floating, when Roland and the others looked up, they could see her pretty crystal legs even though her dress was rather long. Roland and the others, faced with a great foe, had no time to peep at her. However, the players in the stream channel had a good time. They tried their best to look through the bottom of her dress from Rolands perspective. Fortunately, the angle wasnt too great, and they were looking at a place that had been absolutely protected. They seemed to be seeing something, but they werent. It was quite subtle. Many lustful players even leaned down on their desks before the monitor out of natural instincts, hoping to get a better view in this way. Lilith looked down at the five ants that were dispersing and eventually locked onto Schuck. After a moment of hesitation, she extended her fingers. The Saint Samurai were favored by the Goddess of Light. Generally speaking, the Church of Light would counterattack when any of them was targeted. The Church of Light was no longer a small church like three hundred years earlier, but the second biggest church of the present day. Any forces that intended to challenge a Saint Samurai had to consider if they could deal with the churchs revenge. However Lilith hated the Church of Light in the first place, and she was too furious about Nicoles death to care about anything else. As Lilith pointed her fingers softly, the air before her body condensed as if it were a transparent capsule. Then, the highly-compressed air was instantly unleashed over a period of 0.2 seconds. The strong gale covered about a hundred square meters in a sector before Lilith. However, Roland and the others reacted quite fast. They had dispersed before the attack. Seeing that Lilith was about to attack, they ran off even faster. It was already the players instinct to hide from the bosses AOE skills. So, Liliths wind spell actually hit nobody but Roland although it had quite a large coverage. As it happened, Roland was protected by a Magic Shield. He was knocked away and even rolled several meters on the floor, but he was absolutely fine except for the loss of some mana. Lilith frowned even more angrily after seeing that. If she hadnt been weakened by the Saint Samurai who called out her real name, her compressed air bubble wouldve killed the Mage. So, she hated the Saint Samurai even more. Flapping her white wings, she charged at Schuck at an ultrasonic speed with an explosive noise. Schuck subconsciously raised his longsword to block her. With the sound of metal hitting against metal, Schuck was flung back. Lilith retracted back her fist and landed. She looked at the blackened and burned skin on her right finger and then at Schucks longsword, before she remarked, The Holy Sword of Light? Schuck stood up and waved the longsword with a smile. The Holy Sword of Light, which had a law-level Light Empowerment feature, could suppress the vampires quite extraordinarily. Seems that this sword will be mine. Raffel, Brazil, and the others, who had been moving all this time, already spread out to her sides and her back. She had been surrounded by the five intruders. Yet she was not bothered, for her life wouldnt be in danger even if another five of them were here. The strength gap between her and them was too big. Even though she lost a bit of her godhood after her real name was called out, the gap was still great. You didnt flee but had the courage to surround me! Who gave you the courage? The God of War? Lilith sneered. But this is great. I wont have to waste my time chasing and killing each of you. Seeing how condescending the enemy was, Roland smiled too. He waved his hand, and a cute petite skeleton appeared in front of him. Liliths face twisted the moment the skeleton appeared. Her eyes were even widening very fast. Did you Before she finished her sentence, a noise came from behind her. It was a Warrior who was charging fast. He seemed to have been fortified. While Raffel, the Warrior, was charging, weird waves of power spread out from the skeleton. Liliths face became pale. Her dignified aura and her bloodthirst seemed to vanish. She seemed to be greatly weakened. Then, the Warrior slammed into her with his shield. A thump burst out. A gray Magic Shield appeared on Liliths body and blocked the charging Warrior. The airwaves raised by the collision spread out. Then, Brazil the Hunter shot his arrows at the Magic Shield like a machine gun. All the arrows were deflected. Li Lin the Barbarian performed a Leap Slash. Before he landed, however, Lilith had slightly stepped back, jumped, and kicked as if her leg were a whip. Like a baseball, Li Lin was slapped away before he reached the target. Lilith agilely landed on the floor and turned back. She held Raffels longsword with her bare hands to stop him from attacking. Then she kicked him hard. A dent was left on Raffels armor, and he was quickly flung back too. All of a sudden, Roland and Schuck were the only two in the team who could still fight. Schuck held the Holy Sword of Light without any hint of fear on his face. The True Ancestor of vampires found it difficult to kill him, so she might as well kill the others first. Thinking that, Lilith quickly cast her eyes to Roland. That man was in possession of her human bones, which greatly weakened her. He was an evil and unscrupulous man too. But she was rather stunned when she looked at Roland, because Roland was not using any offensive spells but a supporting one. It was Glitter! Chapter 626 - Scheme It was Glitter! Many people mightve thought that it was a low-level spell when they heard that name. But they were wrong. The real low-level spell was Illumination, a level-zero trick. The light summoned by Glitter was powerful enough to blind someone. So, it was actually a level-three spell. Also, in order to deal with vampires, Roland even specifically modified it. After he cast Glitter, Lilith covered her eyes and face with both hands and retreated while screaming crazily. At this moment, black smoke was rising from her face like steam. While Glitter could only summon such powerful light for a brief moment, it was essentially based on the holy light skills. Roland opened his eyes and chuckled. So did all his companions. In the battle meeting earlier, Roland had already told them that if Lilith was to attack him, his first counterattack would most likely be Glitter, and everybody should close their eyes. That was exactly what they did. They closed their eyes and opened them again after sensing a flash. They were all delighted to see that the True Ancestor of vampires were stepping back in panic. Raffel couldnt perform the Charge skill anymore, but he was still a good runner as a Warrior. He simply rushed forward behind his shield and slashed his longsword at Liliths head. Lilith was still holding her head and screaming. As a pretty girl, she sounded rather pleasant even though she was screaming. In such a situation, Lilith shouldve been beheaded. However, the gray Magic Shield appeared again, and Raffels longsword hit the Magic Shield heavily and broke into two pieces. He was too strong, and Liliths Magic Shield was too hard. Raffel narrowed his eyes, which werent big in the first place. He looked like a vicious villain. He pushed his shield forward with his right hand into Liliths Magic Shield, forcing her to lean back and retreat. Then he took out a one-handed sword from his system Backpack and slashed at the enemy again. However, after the slash, Lilith suddenly turned into a bunch of little white bats that flew upward quickly. The sharp longsword only killed two little bats. The swarm of bats congregated in midair and seemed to be regathering. Exactly at this moment, a golden ball of light rose to the sky and emitted warm radiance. A lot of black smoke rose from the white bats. At least one third of them turned into ashes and fell to the ground. Then, from a further distance, multiple arrows flew over, each penetrating at least three bats. However, the surviving white bats still regathered into human form. Lilith looked even younger at this moment. She seemed to be around fourteen earlier. However, she couldnt have looked older than twelve now. Roland had hidden a vampire at home. He knew that the age of a vampire would drop if they were gravely hurt and turned back into human form. The little girl that the bat colony turned into immediately created a new shield with dark magic power to block the Sunlight. Roland began to condense the blue fireball in his right hand behind his back. Resuming the human form, Lilith roared at Roland, You despicable Mage, Im going to tear you apart, make you into meatloaf, and then eat you! Liliths wrath was fully understandable. The vampires were scared of light in the first place, and Roland had essentially cast Glitter right in her face. She covered her face just now not because she was in pain but because she was ugly! The strengthened Glitter was so powerful that Roland felt his face was burning as if he had been scorched by the summer sun at noon for hours, even though his Magic Shield was on. One could only imagine what a vampire, who was susceptible to light, had felt. Back then, Liliths skin was already carbonized. She intuitively knew that her face was no different from a monsters. As a woman who loved being beautiful, she would rather not show her ugly face to anyone, not even to her enemies. That was why she turned into the bats and then resumed human form. In such a case, all the damages she took would disappear. The vampires greatest ability was to distribute damage evenly to their whole body, so that their safety and health could be ensured at the cost of temporary weakness. Depending on the amount of damage, their strength would decline and their age would drop. Lilith might have hated Schuck the Saint Samurai earlier, but Roland had become her sworn enemy. Looking at the tiny skeleton that was supported by four Hands of Magic, she laughed miserably. Good for you. In order to kill me, you collected my bones and then teleported to this place. Church of Light, you are truly persistent. Schuck chuckled and said, Theres nothing Id like to talk about with such an evil creature. Lets keep attacking. Hardly had he finished when Lilith glanced at him with a daunting vibe bursting out of her. Then, her body grew at an extremely high speed. Powerful turbulences of magic power surged out of her body and enveloped her like a tornado. The arrows that Brazil shot out were easily deflected by the tornado. Li Lin had finally plucked himself out of the stone wall and returned to the battlefield. Seeing Liliths new look, he shouted, Its the bosss second phase! Interrupt her, Roland! Roland shook his head. We dont need to do anything. What do you mean? While Li Lin was confused, a team of people in black suddenly appeared on the stairs behind Roland. They were Ryans team who had long been prepared. Ryan came close and, staring at the slowly expanding vampire, smiled. Mr. Roland, youve done a great job forcing her to reveal her true self. What about the soldiers outside? asked Roland. All taken care of. Those who surrendered were knocked out, and those who didnt were beheaded. Ryan could hardly withdraw his gaze from the vampire who had turned into a little tornado. He said with utmost ecstasy, Weve been waiting for this day for too long. Roland and the others stepped back. Lilith had fully transformed at this moment, from a twelve-year-old girl into a sexy beauty about twenty years old. The resistance? Lilith gnashed her teeth in fury after seeing their clothes. You teamed up with outsiders? Isnt that normal? We have a common enemy. Why cant we be friends? While talking, Ryan shook his finger at his subordinate nearby. Several men in black walked forward and poured out what they had been carrying. It turned out to be white skulls. Roland was slightly surprised. Lilith had fully transformed. Although she was still weakened, she was much stronger than before as her true self. It was like the difference between 50% of a hundred and 50% of ten thousand. The gap was quite huge. But Ryan was not anxious. He simply bit his finger and sprayed several drops of blood randomly. Many of the white skulls on the ground were contaminated by his blood. Soul summoning magic! Youve lost your mind! Lilith had intended to attack, but upon seeing that, she lost her courage and tried to flash away. But it didnt work. She then realized that it was impossible to use spatial magic in this place, which had been locked down by Roland with Dimensional Anchor Scrolls. She glanced at Roland coldly and flapped her wings, trying to fly. But at this moment, a golden pillar of light appeared before her and almost brushed past her nose. The overwhelming power of light made her feel that her mouth was dry. Damn it, I miscalculated her speed, said Schuck rather angrily. Lilith immediately turned back, hoping to flee in another direction. However, Brazils arrows fell like a storm and blocked her way out. She was about to cast a spell at Brazil. As a Hunter, Brazil had great dynamic vision. The moment he saw that Lilith stopped, he rolled aside on the ground. After a hum, a streak of black light hit where Brazil was standing a moment later, leaving a half-meter-deep pit. Brazil rolled back to his feet and sweated as he looked at the deep pit. He wouldve been killed on the spot if he were hit by such a thing. He only bought about one second for his teammates, but it was enough. Rolands hand that had been kept behind his back made a full-strength throw. Then, a blue fireball about fifty centimeters in diameter was launched at Lilith like a cannonball. After a huge explosion, Lilith was entirely enshrouded by the flowing flames. Everybody had to step back under the strong hot wind. They sensed that their hair or eyebrows were burning and sending out weird smells. The flames were soon gone, and Lilith, protected by her Magic Shield, didnt seem hurt at all. Yet she had been delayed for another three seconds. The bones on the ground emanated beautiful red halos. Then, transparent figures appeared next to Ryan. Ryan fell on one of his knees, lowered his head, and said piously, All the chairmen before me, its time to realize our lifelong dream. Well done. There were a dozen figures here, but there was only one voice. But if one were to listen carefully, they could recognize a dozen different voices from the syllables. Not only did you summon the souls, but youre even concentrating them! Looking at the transparent figures, Lilith said, Youre crazy! This is the Netherworld! All sacrifices will be worth it as long as we can kill you. Ryan laughed. Besides, the Nether God doesnt care about anything as long as the faithless arent involved. You Lilith was about to talk again. But the dozen transparent figures took action at the same time. She was instantly tied up by a dozen black tentacles of soul. Also, those soul tentacles penetrated right through the Magic Shield and tied up Lilith like a cocoon, before they dragged her down from midair. There was no telling if it was a coincidence or on purpose, but she was simply dragged to the white skeleton. Lilith struggled to raise her head. She laughed hard at the skeleton back when she was still a human being Chapter 627 - Nothing But F*ck” Looking at the weeping vampire girl, Ryan stepped on her back, grabbed her long hair, and pulled her up. As a result, Lilith had to lean her head back. Pain was clear on her face. Weve finally got you. Ryan seemed ecstatic. It took the resistance two hundred years, but we can finally kill you now. While Ryan said that, countless black bats were flying in through the windows from outside of the stone pillars. However, there were only some windows here, and only a limited number of bats could fly in at one time even though plenty of them were outside. The dozen red souls sealed the few windows with magic at the same time. All the bats that flew inside were killed. Yet, more bats were breaking in without any fear of death. Very soon, a hill of bodies was piled under the windows. Also, the hill was rising and almost blocking the windows. Kill me. Pulling her hair, Ryan said, Dont worry, I wont kill you. Your subordinates will attack crazily as long as youre here. Weve been prepared to kill as many vampires as possible. You cant kill all of them. There were no more tears in Liliths eyes. She looked at the little bats, who tried to break in but were all killed, and smiled coldly. There are at least a hundred thousand vampires in the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss. You cant kill all of them even after youre exhausted. Thats fine. Well kill as many as we can, replied Ryan casually. We never consider our own lives a big deal. The vampires will be gone sooner or later after their True Ancestor dies. Lilith was briefly stunned. Then she put on a pitiful expression. Why do you have to kill the vampires? asked Lilith hatefully. We dont suck humans dry anymore. All the blood slaves came in voluntarily. Weve never forced them to be blood slaves. Although she was asking Ryan, she was staring at Roland. Hearing that, Roland shook his head helplessly. How was it possible? If there were only a few vampires, it was possible that they didnt kill any humans during the blood-sucking, but since there were more than a hundred thousand of them, it was probably impossible that they never accidentally killed anyone. Besides, when Roland came here with his team, he saw a female vampire kick someone to death. Maybe Lilith had never truly hurt human beings in the past two hundred years. But the case wouldnt be the same for her subordinates. Seeing that Roland shook his head, Lilith smiled miserably with her eyes filled with mockery and helplessness. Ryan, enraged by her smile, stepped on Liliths leg heavily. Blood splashed! Because of the suppression of her human skeleton, she was only as strong as a Master at this moment. After Ryan stepped on her, her calf was instantly broken. Liliths body suddenly tightened. She then breathed heavily and sweated hard. It was very painful. But she didnt cry out, even when her lips were bleeding because of her biting. Some of her hair was wet by her sweat and stuck to her cheeks and her fair neck. Even so, and even though she looked only twelve years old, she still seemed highly charming and alluring. Seeing how stubborn she was, Ryan sneered and stepped down again. This time, Liliths other leg was broken too. Her body straightened again, and she let out a stifled miserable cry. The bats outside seemed to have sensed her agony and were breaking in even more crazily. But there were few entrances, and the openings were too small. They were all killed. None of the F6 looked very well at this moment. Eventually, Roland stepped forward and said, You can either kill her or imprison her. You dont have to torture her if you dont need to interrogate her! Mr. Roland, are you into this True Ancestor? Roland was slightly surprised. He thought for a moment and said, We cant give her to you. We must kill her. But if you want to, you can have a good time with her first Please be fast. We can only persist for about another half an hour. After that, he released Liliths hair, stepped back, and then made a please gesture. Lilith breathed hard and couldnt move. She simply looked at Roland with mockery in her eyes. She knew her charm very well. It was not just her beautiful face but also a result of her magic glamor: a special effect of the True Ancestor of vampires that she couldnt turn off even if she wanted to. Such magic glamor was very appealing to those who met her for the first time. It could even trigger the evil desires in their heart. Roland seemed rather angry. Of course, he didnt do anything. The stream channel was seething. Wow, this man is so disgusting. Not only is he torturing her, but he even made such a proposal. Everybody is evil in an evil mans eyes, and everybody is lustful in a lustful mans eyes. This Ryan is not a decent man. Dont say that. What if Roland really wants her? Upstairs, your upstairs has neatly described people like you. Roland wouldnt do that. He has a queen and an angel that are awaiting him. Hes probably not interested in such an evil creature So, give her to me. Rolands suggestion is right. She shouldnt be tortured. She deserves a quick death even if she must be killed. Wait, didnt Schuck say that she would be captured alive? I dont think he meant it. Also, those men in black wont agree even if he wants to take this girl away. In fact, I dont think its necessary to kill her. The vampires spend all their time in the Netherworld. Why must they be killed? If shes not killed, human beings will always be threatened by predators. Vampires are greater dangers than the dragons are. This is just a conflict between natural enemies that doesnt allow any compromises. You kill me, or Ill kill you. Simple as that. Whoever compromises will be doing a crime to their people. That was exactly the mistake the True Ancestor made. She shouldnt have compromised, but should have turned all the intelligent creatures in the Netherworld into her peoples blood slaves. I believe that it wasnt hard for them to take out the resistance, but they never really did it and gave the resistance a chance to counterattack. There were many capable people among the netizens who had unique perspectives on matters. However, their arguments, reasonable or not, could not influence Roland at all. At this moment, seeing that Roland didnt do anything and looked rather unhappy, Ryan knew that he misunderstood him. He shrugged. Sorry, I thought you were interested in her. Roland was still silent. At this moment, the dozen red souls suddenly turned around. Ryan, we dont have much magic power left. We cant stop the bats outside if we linger. Kill the True Ancestor right now. Okay. Ryan nodded. He drew out a longsword. Unlike regular swords, this longsword was purely made of silver. SV as Upon seeing the silver sword, Lilith closed her eyes in desperation. Ryan raised the longsword with a joyful smile. True Ancestor of vampires, please die. From today on, the Netherworld will belong to human beings, and as the man who slays the True Ancestor, I will be a hero that will be remembered by this world forever. The longsword was about to fall. However, at this moment, Roland and his team were slightly astonished and quickly retreated. A woman wearing a long black dress suddenly appeared above Ryan. She was holding a black scythe. Her weapon was black, her clothes were black, and so were her hair and eyes. They were so dark that no rays of light were reflected at all, as if they were bottomless abysses. Watch! While retreating, Roland shouted aloud. But it was too late. The woman waved her scythe. Black light swept out. The dozen red souls instantly vanished. The black light spread out like dark blades of air as fast as before, cutting everything to pieces. A slanted fracture appeared on the Pillar of the Queen. Creaking noises were echoing nonstop. They were caused by the friction of the smooth rocks. The floors in the stone pillar above Rolands head began to slip off, until they were completely separated from the stone pillar and fell to the ground. The whole process took about twenty seconds. Meantime, many virgin blood slaves were dropped out of the falling section of the pillar. They were all panicked, but they were falling so slowly that they couldnt possibly be killed. The woman in the black dress slowly landed. The half section of the stone pillar fell to the ground too, and intense quakes came from below. At the same time, a lot of dust clouded the air. It was just one strike! Yet, the gigantic stone pillar had been cut. Everybody in the stream channel exclaimed. They were all amazed by the power of this cluster of pixels. Thats right All the players saw nothing but indescribable pixels when they looked at the black-dressed woman, except Roland and Schuck. Even Li Lin, Brazil, and Raffel were seeing nothing but pixels too. As for Ryan and his team They were much more miserable. With blood flowing out of his eyes, Ryan fell on one of his knees uncontrollably. His teammates who were relatively weak had already passed out. As for the dozen souls, they had all been vanquished by the black blade of energy. Not a single piece of them was left behind. Ryan, on his knee, shed blood from his eyes. He wept and asked in a low voice, Why, Lady Sophie? Why are you helping an evil vampire? Dont you always ignore the conflicts among the lives in the Netherworld? Why? His voice was low, but his every word was of accusation and complaint. I didnt help the vampires or her. Sophies lips didnt move, but her pleasant voice echoed in the air. I merely executed a dozen souls who violated my rules. After a brief shock, Ryan raised his head and glared at the Nether God. Mortals could not look a god in the eyes. Ryans eyes were full of bloody lines at first. Then, the capillary vessels were broken, and his eyes were quickly filled with red. His body was trembling hard because of the pain. Yet, he didnt step back but simply stared at the goddess before his eyes. In the end, his eyes exploded. Two arrows of blood squirted at least five meters forward, even mixed with some of his brains. This is unfair! After spitting that out, Ryan fell on the ground and couldnt say anything else. At this moment, the soul tentacles that restrained Lilith were completely gone. She quickly turned into a white bat and flew away. Roland and the others intended to chase her, but the Nether God moved horizontally and blocked their way. Li Lin and the others tried to circumvent her, but Roland stopped them. A swarm of black bats flew closer to pick up their queen. Some of them quickly drew near to Roland and the others, as if they wanted to kill them. But those bats all fell like rain when they were about ten meters away from the Nether God. The other bats were horrified. They quickly dispersed and flew away, following the white bat. Roland asked slowly, Ms. Sophie, may I ask how many more times youll rescue her? I didnt rescue her; I was only recollecting the bad souls. Roland put on a sarcastic smile. Will you find another excuse next time? Sophie didnt reply. She extended her hand, and the skeleton that had suppressed Lilith took off. Roland wanted to stop her, but Sophie was a goddess and this was her territory. Probably nobody could stop her from taking something. The tiny skeleton was floating next to Sophie in the next second. Im quite fond of this thing. Im going to take it away. She then tossed her scythe to Rolands feet. But I wont take it away for nothing. This is yours. Then, without asking Roland if he agreed to the deal, she vanished with the skeleton. F*ck! Seeing that not even many ghosts were around here, even someone as good-tempered as Roland cursed aloud. The quest was about to be completed, yet a Nether God popped out of nowhere and disrupted it. Even more awfully, she took the skeleton away. Without the skeleton, it would be barely possible to deal with Lilith until they all became Legends. But how long would that take? At this moment, Schuck came close and patted Rolands shoulder. I support you! Roland didnt realize what he was talking about. You support me to do what? F*ck her! Schuck nodded. Shes even prettier and more elegant than your queen. It wont be your loss. Get lost! Roland laughed too after the curse. He knew that Schuck was trying to calm him down in such a way. Come to think of it, he realized that he was too agitated. It was normal that a quest might fail. He shouldnt let it get to him. Also, the trip here wasnt entirely futile. After all, Sophie had given them a weapon. Roland picked up the gigantic scythe, only to discover that it was lighter than he thought. Also, it was quite soft. It couldnt have been made of wood or iron. It felt as if it were a sponge. It was extremely light. It was quite big, but it wouldnt be a burden when it was held. He then read the stats of the scythe, only to exclaim aloud. All the audience in the stream channel were crying out in disbelief too. Chapter 628 - Calm It was no wonder that the players in the livestream were crying out repeatedly. The scythes properties were so good that Schuck, who was next to him, was also amazed. Item: Nether Gods War Scythe (Divine Artifact) Attributes: Cleave 40, Slash 33. Special Abilities: Light as nothing (Law), self-repair (Law), soul harvesting, darkness attribute enhancement, summoning magic enhancement, advanced soul magic resistance, Magic Shield enhancement (Law), magic cap boost (Legendary). Description: A war scythe that the Nether God has held in her hand since its creation, and normally, only the Nether God Sophie can use it. It was a notch stronger in attributes and abilities than Schucks Holy Sword of Light. But this seemed reasonable. In the legends, the current Nether God was indeed born earlier than the Goddess of Light. So it wasnt surprising that her personal weapon was a tier stronger. Many players jumped up and down in the livestream. Holy sh*t, the Nether God is really loyal. To save her bestie, she actually threw away the weapon that she kept for hundreds of years. This is not called loyalty, this is called girls love. This weapon didnt say that only people who Sophie acknowledged can use it, right, so apart from Roland, we are also allowed to use it? War Scythe? Does anyone know how to use such an unpopular weapon? If you dont know, just learn. We players are never short on time. I reckon 10 million can buy Rolands weapon. Tsk, I reckon its hard. Its obvious that Roland is not short of money right now. Just because hes rich in the game doesnt mean hes rich in reality. But he has already exchanged a lot of gold coins for money. And he has a Magic Tower, tax revenue from a city, and spin-off industries. Hes not short of money. Damn, a poor kid who actually got rich by gaming. There will always be opportunities, its up to you to catch them. I envy him more for his encounters with women than for his weapons. The queen is in my strike zone in all respects, but unfortunately, her man is not me. This weapon is actually a bit more suitable for magic Warriors to use. I dont think so. Just the Magic Shield reinforcement, summoning magic reinforcement, and so on would be great for Mages. Even if they dont slash people, its worth it. This thing can be used by both physical and magical professions, so anyone can take it, just depends on whether Roland sells it or not. If I were Roland, I definitely wouldnt sell it. How nice itd be to use it myself. With a higher level and better equipment, you can climb to a higher level. Roland fought his way up through strength. He understands this very well and will definitely not sell. A group of tycoons lamented and sighed. They couldnt buy Schucks Holy Sword of Light, and Rolands Nether God War Scythe most likely wouldnt be for sale. They had a lot of money in hand, but playing the game to the point where the money couldnt be used was a first for them. They were quite irritated. Roland slid the war scythe into his Backpack, then pulled out four more money bags. Each bag has fifty gold coins. We are brothers, so dont mind the small amount. The other four laughed and casually accepted it. Two hundred gold coins, of course, couldnt match the value of the Nether God War Scythe, but this quest was triggered by Roland and they just came over to help. There was also the fact that Roland contributed a lot to this quest, with Shuck coming in a close second and the other three more or less messed around. After taking care of business, Roland looked around and sighed. Ryan was dead, and a dozen members of the black squad were unconscious. Most importantly, the True Ancestor of the vampires ran away and the quest wasnt completed, but it wasnt failed either. There was an additional message. Bypass the Nether God and capture and seal or kill the True Ancestor of the vampires. Thats a pretty user-friendly system Itd be a surprise if there werent any backend intervention. With a grunt, Roland shook his head and was about to teleport back to the main plane. That was when Ragnar came running up. He looked at the gruesome situation in front of him and asked in surprise, Whats going on, how did Ryan become like this? The Nether God stepped in to save the True Ancestor. How is that possible! The gnome jumped up, but then he calmed down again, for beings in the netherworld were all too familiar with the scent of the Nether God. What can we do when even the Nether God protects her. In the future, we will all be her food. Well get a chance to come back. Roland wrinkled his brow. Wait till he reached Legend, till when other top-tier players reached Legendthen he would find a way to organize a twenty-man trip to the Netherworld. At that time, hed like to see how the Nether God would save the True Ancestor of the vampires. Ragnar sighed. Ill have to get Ryans body out of here. What are your plans? Going back to the main plane first. Ragnars eyes twitched, then dimmed. Ill see you later, sometime. Roland nodded. Then the five of them left the queens pillar. At this point, all the vampires had run How could they not? Their queen had been beaten into such a state and had to be helped by the Nether God to survive. They wondered who their queen offended that was so fierce. But it was just a matter of them having too little access to information. In essence, it was just five Master Golden Sons who had used some plot items to decrease the True Ancestors strength from near-Demigod to Master. It was just a cheap trick. The Nether God, however, was concerned about the chaos divine power in Roland. And Roland had the providence of two of her familiar friends on him, plus a Saint Samurai. It was out of deference to them otherwise, the Nether God wouldnt have been so polite, much less thrown down the scythe as compensation. Because of the departure of the vampires, the Ten Thousand Stones Abyss was now in chaos. But soon the original city guards took over the policing and defense of the entire city, and in a little over two hours, the chaos was quelled. This also had to with the people of this place, who had enough self-control. The Netherworld was barren and dangerous, and if they couldnt band together, it wouldnt be good for anyone. Doing things each in ones own way and taking advantage of turmoil was just asking to get killed. The five of them went outside the city, activated the Long Distance Teleportation magic array, and returned to Delpon in the main plane. It was late at night, and when Roland returned to his estate, Andonara dove into his arms and offered a fragrant kiss. Then she prepared a whole bunch of delicious food. He ate and chatted with his friends until dawn, when the server was routinely down. Climbing out of the virtual cabin, Roland went to the forum to look up information. It turned out that he had been live for several days. He was so shocked that he was sweating. He was busier in the real world these days. During the day he had to go to the Yu family ancestral shrine to meditate and absorb special energy, and in the evening, he had to go see how the new house was being renovated. His parents bought another large flat in his name! It was nearly three hundred square feet. In a small city, even a large flat didnt cost much-just over a million and a half. This was why he hadnt had the time to browse the forums in the past few days. It wasnt until now that he realized that he hadnt turned off the livestream. It was a good thing that when he returned to the main plane, he didnt get intimate with Andonara, or Vivian, otherwise it would be engaging in pornographic content and maybe his account would have been blocked. As for Schuck and others, they probably knew, but they didnt say anything, probably because they thought Roland had his plans, so they didnt mention it. After all, Roland had always been the central figure among them. Wiping off cold sweat, Roland began to read the posts. But then he realized that there wasnt much worth reading. This was because the most discussed thing lately was the five of them livestreaming in the Netherworld. He cleaned himself up and rode a public bike to the Yu family ancestral shrine and continued to meditate and absorb the free energy in the air. By evening, he was home and went online. Then he directly cut off the livestream. The netizens who routinely waited in front of the livestream wailed. A lot of people thought that Roland didnt need to cut off the livestream! Millions of people were watching online. This was all trafficall money. Roland double-checked that he was off the air before he sighed in relief. Full of food and drink, Schuck rode off on Margret. After being stared at by Andonara with a beaming smile for a few days, Margret was now particularly well-behaved. Being stared at every day by a woman with the mark of dragonslayer who was also a Hero even ancient dragons would panic. So Margret was especially happy to get out of here. Li Lin and the others also left together. They decided to walk around, take on mercenary quests, and gain some experience in combat! Now they had the level but felt like they couldnt keep up in combat experience. After sending off his four friends, Roland spent two days at home being lovey-dovey with the two women. Then he went to Fareins and collected a few magic bricks while planting a new galaxy to wait for it to evolve on its own. After doing these things, Roland finally had time to look at his newly acquired equipment. The Nether God War Scythe was something that he felt a little uncomfortable holding in his hand. But then he gave it to Andonara, who ended up brandishing it extremely well. Roland saw a black circle of light dancing around, and finally, Andonara slashed forward forcefully and unleashed a pitch-black air blade spanning a hundred meters. All the things it touched were broken in two. It already smelled vaguely like the Nether Gods air blades. Good stuff. Andonara looked at the scythe in her hand, liking it quite a lot. Its yours, Roland said without hesitation. Andonara shook her head. I like it, but this thing is still not quite suitable for me. I cant use its full power. But, Roland, you can. I can use the abilities that enhance magic but cant use the weapons powerful attributes effectively. Roland shrugged. I cant brandish a scythe. Ill teach you. Andonara laughed happily. If Roland stayed to learn something, then that would be a perfect reason for him to spend far less time running around. Roland was quite moved. The Nether God War Scythe was just a staff in his hands, but if he learned the skills from Andonara, then in the future, even if someone fought him in close-combat, he would have the power to fight back. Okay. Roland took Andonaras hand. Ill learn. The next days were rather ordinary. Roland took time to learn scythe combat techniques during the day and experimented with magic at night. Now he started to improve barriers. He had an idea to use cheap Teleportation magic arrays to connect the majority of the major cities in this world. Now, although he had developed a multiple teleportation array, the consumption was too great, not to mention that the general public couldnt afford it. Not even the players couldonly those who were good at making money could often afford teleportation. Because teleporting one person would cost at least 40 silver coins of magic materials. If it could be compressed to the margin of a single silver coin, then the teleportation magic array could become the most mainstream mode of transportation. Just when he was living a fulfilling life, someone came to his door. Charles from Cornucopia. Roland entertained him in the living room. After the maidservants served the fruit wine, Roland took a sip and said, We are all busy, and time is money, so if theres something you want, Chairman Charles, please speak. I need Dragon Meat Reagents, the more the better. There are Dragon Meat Reagents, but I cant sell you too many. Ten at most. In reality, Roland didnt even want to sell him one. But this time, it was Douglas who interceded and let him in. For Douglas sake, it wouldnt hurt for Roland to give him ten of them. I know, I was wrong last time, Charles said rather sincerely. So, this time we can buy your Dragon Meat Reagents at a twenty percent premium. Please give us a chance. A twenty percent premium was indeed a lot. Roland looked at the merchant who had a rather sincere expression, thought for a moment, and said, Fifty bottles at most. Thank you very much, Charles nodded slightly, If youre still selling reagents, please do consider Cornucopia. When he had finished speaking, Charles took the money he had prepared and put it on the table. Roland also took out the reagents. A minute later, Charles left rather happily. And Roland had an additional amount of money in the bank. Then Roland went back to studying magic and learning the scythe combat techniques, before finding time to bully Vivian and get lovey-dovey with Andonara. The days went by free and unfettered. However, ten days later, Charles came again. He was even more sincere this time, almost submissive. Almighty Roland, we stumbled upon a wounded black dragon. You want to slay the dragon? Yes, Charles said. I want to ask you and Her Highness the queen to join our team. After its done, well split the dragon corpse sixty-forty. You get sixty! You guys want to make Dragon Meat Reagents too? asked Roland curiously. Yes! Charles nodded. So we are willing to buy your reagent formula at a high price. Roland rubbed his chin. But I feel like Im losing out a bit. When you all know the recipe for making Dragon Meat Reagent, then wont I be out of a job? Seventy-thirty, you get seventy. As for the price of the reagent recipe, we are willing to pay five hundred gold coins. Thats very generous of you, Roland said after a moments thought. I have another condition. I hope you can help me collect the Meteorite Mineral and Ill buy it for ten percent above the market price. Meteorite Mineral was an extremely important kind of magic material, and the more advanced the magic experiment, the more Meteorite Mineral was required. It was too slow for Roland to collect it by himself, and there was surely no problem in leaving this kind of thing to a chamber of commerce that specialized in stockpiling. Charles smiled and said, No problem. This stuff is used to make floating cities, I hear? Thats what I heard, Roland said calmly without any change in his expression. Its said to take several dozen tons to do it. Its a shame no one knows that technique anymore. Chapter 629 - It Can Also Be Used Like This? Chapter 629 It Can Also Be Used Like This? The spacious living room was filled with the fragrance of cakes. Queen Andonara served up the delicacies she had baked herself. Charles nodded slightly in gratitude, then asked with a smile, Almighty, you know so well how much Meteorite Mineral is needed to build a floating city, do you already know how to build it? Be sure to count me in. Roland waved to the side where there was a decorative bookshelf with several books on it, one of which flew into Rolands hand. Then he spread it out, turned to one of the pages, and pointed it out to Charles. The approximate materials needed for a floating city are recorded here, but the most important floating chassis construction method is lost. I tried to reverse-engineer the process with a large database, but unfortunately failed. Roland shook his head helplessly, then added with a longing expression, If only I could build a floating city, I could go wherever I want! And it would be safe. In reality, what was written in this book were not these contents at all, but this book was written in Hollevin language, which Charles couldnt read. Also, Roland could sense that Charles didnt have the spell Language Proficiency on him. So Roland wasnt even worried about him seeing through this. Charles chuckled. I personally dont think that big data is as useful as the rumors say. I hear, Charles, that you graduated from Columbia Commonwealth College? Roland smiled stiffly. Sure enough, people who come from famous schools think differently. Charles looked embarrassed. Everyone who was in the loop knew what kind of school Columbia Commonwealth College was. So as soon as Rolands words came out, Charles immediately dared not speak, and at the same time secretly hated Douglas, knowing that it must be the latter who had spilled some information about himself. Well, I am indeed inferior to you in terms of ability. After being embarrassed, Charles became more straightforward. Lets continue the topic just now. Two days later, well gather in Sisilia, then well set off together. If theres anything you need our help with in preparing please feel free to say. Theres no need for that. Ill be prepared myself. Ill go and get ready then, Charles said as he stood up. Take care, I wont be sending you off, Roland said, standing up as well. Charles nodded and left. When he was gone, Andonara sat down next to Roland. Youre really going to help him? We can search for that dragon ourselves, then kill it. Im pretty good at searching now. If I know the general location, I can find it after a stroll. Theres no need for that. Roland shook his head and said, Their goal isnt that black dragon, but the formula of Dragon Meat Reagent. They want to make their own Dragon Meat Reagent in the future and dont want to be subjected to others. They can slay dragons? Andonara was a little surprised. Just because they dont have it now, doesnt mean they wont have it later. Andonara thought about it and agreed. The growth rate of the Golden Sons was so exaggerated that regardless of a freak like Roland, just the Golden Sons she taught and was responsible for turning into Great Swordsmen were already intimidating enough. They almost progressed half as fast as she did. It wasnt that Andonara was self-absorbed and arrogant, but her growth rate was quite amazing after awakening the Heros blood, and although it had slowed down a lot now, it could still be described as completely godlike. At this rate, reaching Demigod would be a matter of five to ten years at most. And at that time, Andonara would probably just be in her early thirties. Also the higher the level of the professional, the longer their lifespans and the less likely they were to age. By the time she reached Demigod, Andonara would still have the appearance of a young woman and that vitality would remain until she was dead. Then after they have the Dragon Meat Reagent, will they turn around and suppress our business? Andonara was a little worried. Dont worry. Roland shook his head. There is a limit to the number of creatures like dragons. And as that number decreases, theyll be harder to kill. There is even the possibility of offending the two gods, the Dragon God and the Mother of Dragons. Thats why the Dragon Meat Reagent business wont last long. I have other more permanent businesses in the pipeline. What are those? Andonara leaned into Rolands arms, her eyes shining brightly at her man like a young girl who was in love for the first time, pure and delighted. She loved seeing Rolands swaggering look, which was full of scholarly temperament. The teleportation magic array business. Roland laughed. When I lower the construction material fee of the teleportation magic array, as well as the individual teleportation fee to a level that is acceptable to the public, Ill be able to receive handfuls of money till my hands go limp. Andonara had no perception of just how lucrative it was to collect traffic fees. This couldnt be helped. After all, she hadnt seen anything like it or had any concept of it, but that didnt stop her from trusting Roland. How much more money can that be? A conservative estimate is that once the teleportation magic array is spread around the world, the fee collected from each person in a single day alone can exceed the tax revenue of the Hollevin royal family for more than five years. This was still the lower end of the spectrum. Andonaras eyes widened. Thats impressive. She didnt think she could be surprised by anything anymore after becoming a Legend, but she was now still taken aback by the prospects of Rolands businesses. Her man was so powerful! Whether it was knowledge, combat power, or even the ability to make money and being so handsome, he was just beyond perfect. In Andonaras eyes, Rolands plain looks were actually well worth a second look-a typical case of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. Such a perfect male was her man, and she smiled as she wrapped her arms around Rolands waist and clung to it, her sweet breath coming through in a way that could be cloying. Two days later, Roland brought Andonara to the city of Sisilia. The city had gone through certain things before, and while it was now restoring its former prosperity, it was still far from its heyday. The population was already less than half of what it was. But this was, after all, a major trade traffic route, and with a few dozen or tens of dozens of years, it would surely be able to return to its previous prosperous state. Roland found the members of Cornucopia in the appointed tavern. Eighteen players above level five, none of whom were Master. The highest was only level eight. Looking at this group of men and women, Roland sighed. He understood that he was still tricked in a small way. The group of players all stood up when they saw Roland and Andonara, and the captain or team commander took the initiative to come forward, saying, Thank you, Almighty Roland and Lady Andonara, for coming to guide us. Im the deputy commander, Bacon. The man smiled cordially and even vaguely humbled himself. Deputy commander? Roland froze for a moment. The real commander hasnt arrived yet? Bacon pointed at Roland with a smile on his face. Oh! Roland understood as he sat down on the table and asked, In reality, you guys didnt find an injured black dragon, but took an epic quest to eliminate a black dragon, right? Then you guys couldnt beat it, so you found a way to ask me to come and take you guys, right? Bacon gave a thumbs up. As expected of the strongest Master Mage. Impressive. Indeed This was Charles idea. Someone from their Cornucopia had received the epic quest to eliminate the black dragon, with a recommended level of level ten, and a recommended number of twenty people. Logically, this was a situation that would require at least a team of level tens. However, the highest in Cornucopia was now level eight, and since they had been exterminated the last time, Charles had learned from his mistakes and started to think of ways to raise the average strength of all the guild members. However, It took time to catch up with the levels of the first-rate combat players, and even with a large number of resources put toward their advancement, it would be hard for them to keep up with the first-rate players. They could only slowly progress. Recently a member of the guild received this epic quest, and normally, they would need to get a lot of outside help. However, epic quests were known for giving large amounts of EXP, and if they let a lot of outside help in, while the quest could be completed, their guild could at best let two or three newbies take advantage of the EXP. Was there a coattail that they could ride on which allowed large numbers of guild members to participate and could take out the black dragon? With this thought in mind, the shameless couple Roland and Andonara came into Charles line of sight. At the same time, he had a set of words ready to say; it would hide the fact that they had received an epic quest as they didnt want Roland to share in a large amount of EXP, and ask Roland to take out the black dragon while still buying the recipe for the Dragon Meat Reagent. Three birds with one stone! This deliberate plan almost succeeded. Pity! Once Roland took a look at the level of the people sent by Cornucopia, he guessed that these people must have received an epic quest. Can you share the epic quest with me? Bacon smiled and nodded. Of course! Dont you have to ask your chairman? No, I can make the decision. Bacon shrugged. Charles had instructed him a day before, saying that if Roland guessed that they had an epic quest on their hands, he should pull him in straight away, lest he upset Roland whod just give up helping them. He already made a back-up plan for that. Half a minute later, Roland received the quest shared by Bacon. Crusade Against the Black Dragon: an evil black dragon is hiding in the northern mountains of Sisilia, and it seems to be guarding something. Drive it away or kill it, and find out why it is hiding there. This seemed to be a quest series-no wonder Cornucopia wanted to hide it. If done in one go, it was estimated that more than half a dozen people could reach level ten, and then they would be able to catch up to the majority of players and some could even surpass them and become quasi-first tier combat players. With a large number of high-level combatants, Cornucopia would have much more confidence. Roland looked at the quest and smiled. He didnt expect that he would be able to dabble in an epic quest series. He could take a large share of the rewards of slaying the dragon and the purchase fee for the recipe of the Dragon Meat Reagent. Although Charles was not very likable, he was a Child of Wealth. Quest received. Roland looked at Bacon happily. When do we leave? Dont we need to work out a strategy? Do we need to? Roland was a little surprised. Wouldnt Andonara charge ahead, and then you guys hide behind and wait for the quest to be completed? Although Rolands words were quite correct, the players of Cornucopia still took a ton of psychological blows. A day later, several illumination orbs lit up the dragon cave as brightly as daylight. The huge black dragon slumped to the ground, its head torn off, landing more than twenty meters in front of its body. A large amount of dragon blood gurgled out of its neck. A dozen players stood by the severed neck, desperately trying to fill their Backpacks with dragon blood. Everyones Backpacks were almost full, and the dragon blood was just about drained, turning from a fountain to a dripping faucet. The reality was just as Roland had said! The people of Cornucopia just hid in the back and watched. Even Roland was watching from the sidelines. Although this black dragon was huge, it was nowhere near as strong as the white dragon of the Spatial Magic Tower. Andonara hadnt even used a third of her strength to decapitate it. Now she was standing gallantly on the dragons back. A bunch of players from Cornucopia were looking at her with adoring gazes from time to time. In particular, a few female players had enthusiasm and fervor almost bursting out of their eyes, making one even wonder if they had a preference for girls. And all the while Roland was strolling around in the dragon cave. He had no interest in the dragons corpse. Cornucopia would send his share to Delpon afterward. He was looking to see if there was something special here. Because according to the description of the quest, this black dragon was guarding something After strolling around, he found nothing unusual. Not even a pile of the dragons favorite, shiny little gold coins was found. This wasnt right. If it couldnt be found, then it was probably hidden. Roland closed his eyes and opened his mental field. Invisible mental threads squeezed inside the rocky walls of the cave. They even penetrated deep into the soil, about ten meters or so. Then, he found something odd, as expected. There was a large space in the innermost soil of the cave that appeared to be empty. There was no magic reaction, and the mental threads couldnt get in either. There had to be something odd about this. Roland walked over and began using Rock to Mud to strip the rocky walls of the cave. Andonara immediately leaped off the back of the dragon corpse and stood behind Roland, protecting him. Rolands spellcasting speed was fast. It didnt take long to peel away the abnormal rock wall. Then a hollow appeared in front of them. The players of Cornucopia also gathered. Bacon couldnt help but whistle. Whats this? In front of them was a huge, pure stone circle. It was about five meters high, with the lower part of the circle buried in the earth. And on this stone circle, there were some peculiar scripts. Unhindered Communication! Roland cast this spell on himself, and after a moment, he could read what the scripts on it meant. Interspatial fixed-point teleportation magic gate! The crowd was a little surprised. Roland frowned. This is the script from the Realm of Devils. Then at the bottom of the circle, he also found a sentence in a very small print and read it softly This magic array was made by the Ninth Demon God Paimon. If anyone reads this text, this magic array will activate immediately. Huh? Roland froze for a moment, and then cried out in surprise, Wait, divination spells can also work like this? The magic gate started to glow! Chapter 630 - A Famous Scene Recreated Chapter 630 A Famous Scene Recreated The magic gate began to glow. It became brighter and brighter, and everyone present felt a pressure descending from the void as if there was a pair of huge eyes staring at them from above. Above their heads, however, was just the soil of the cave layer. But it wasnt an illusion, and even Andonara was staring a little nervously above herself, glancing at the increasingly bright magic gate now and then. Unlike them, the pressure Roland felt was a different matter. A mental power that made him very uncomfortable came from the spatial magic gate. It split into countless mental threads that seemed to be scouting. Everyones mental power flavor was different. Andonaras mental power, for example, was sweet, like honey. Vivians was apple-flavored. First Princess Stephanies felt roughly like a snow pear. Of course, this was also a personal feeling. There was a high degree of subjectivity. And the mental threads reaching from across the other side smelled of sulfur and even of niter in a manure pit. It was quite disgusting. Roland was also the strongest in mental power here, and he was the only one who could see these thin, whisker-like webs of mental power. No one else felt it. Everyone stand back, Roland called out in a small voice. Seeing the phenomenon of the magic gate lighting up and the odd power in the air, as if it was some kind of demonic god staring at them, the players of Cornucopia, who were already extremely wary, immediately backed up upon hearing the words. Andonara didnt go. She stood behind Roland, her hand on the hilt of her sword, to protect him immediately in case something happened. Although she understood that Golden Sons couldnt die, she just didnt want Roland to get hurt. It was like knowing that a minor injury wouldnt kill someone, but it was just as heartbreaking for someone close to see it. Roland was in a difficult position at this point. Normally, the only way to cut through mental power was for anothers mental power to go over and twist and break the other partys mental threads. But the problem was that Roland didnt want to touch the other party with his mental power. It was like how you wouldnt want to touch a pile of feces when you saw it. It was just that these mental threads were becoming more and more numerous, and they were beginning to gradually coalesce as if to make some sort of maneuver. Roland was tempted to stop it, and in this case, it was obvious that stopping the other side would be the right thing to do. But he didnt want to use his mental power to touch the other partys feces-like mental threads and was in a difficult situation when he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have a weapon that could deal with mental power. Reaching into his Backpack, Roland brought out the giant black scythe. After brandishing it a few times to show off, he sliced at the densely packed mental threads. The giant black scythe was light, almost weightless, and even Roland could brandish it impressively. It hadnt been a waste of time for him to learn how to use a war scythe from Andonara. He was already fast, fierce, and accurate. As the scythe sliced down, the mental threads in its path broke. It was as simple as using a razor to help a believers tonsure. With a swish, all the threads broke and fell to the ground, twisting a few times before they turned into nothing but mental energy and finally disappeared into the air. The cutting of these mental threads was accompanied by a roar of pain and anger from the other side of the magic gate. Judging by the loudness of the voice, it was probably a creature of considerable size. The other side was cautious coming over and scouting with their mental power first. But unfortunately, the Nether Gods War Scythe in Rolands hand could even cut through souls, not to mention mere mental power. Severing them and being unable to take them back was quite damaging. What is that thing on the other side? asked Andonara, a little nervous. She felt uncomfortable. The instincts of her Hero bloodline told her that the monster on the other side seemed to have some affinity with her. This made her remember what Diablo had said more than a year ago. The so-called Heroes were nothing more than traitors of the Realm of Devils. And just now Roland said that this magic gate was from the Realm of Devils, so for some reason, Andonara felt a little distracted. Roland threw down three magic spiders, watched them burrow into the magic array, and said, Not sure, but I can go check it out. Soon, images came from the magic spiders. The spiders that had passed through the magic gate appeared in a red land. It was either a desert or simply red soil, and there were no plants to be seen. It was covered in rolling hills with no visible end. The sky was black, and it was densely populated with stars, large and small, of varying brightness, like fireflies packed together, near and far. The whole world looked desolate and seemed devoid of life. But not far away, Roland saw a huge figure that was walking slowly. It had a somewhat humanoid upper body and a pair of huge, vaguely bat-like wings on its back. The lower half of its body was similar to a dragons, very bloated, yet it walked on four legs, and it had a long, fat, fleshy tail trailing on the ground. It swayed its body slightly from side to side as it walked. Roland had the three spiders follow quietly behind it, and then he noticed that the strange giant creature seemed to be injured and that the swaying of its body was the result of unsteadiness. This is the devilish creature whose mental threads I severed? Roland became curious and kept the three spiders on its heels. The strange giant creature kept going, and after a while, a woman with devilish wings on her back, goat horns on her head, a pair of goats hooves, and in rather revealing clothing suddenly flew down from the air! Succubus! This figure was so classic. Almost any book about summoned creatures, or mens dreams, mentioned this creature from the Realm of Devils. The dream lover of all Warlocks. The flower of the Realm of Devilsthat had the two labels of loyal and capable and no betrayal during the time of contract. Up until now, there had been some Warlocks among players who summoned Succubi. But it took more than luck to summon such a devilish creature. It took strength and special offerings. It wasnt that simple. Otherwise, feces Warlocks wouldnt contract those maggots. It was because they couldnt summon a Succubus that they were forced to do so. This Succubus was quite strong. In the images transferred from the spiders, the level of the NPC couldnt be seen, just her visage. But judging from the aura, Roland reckoned she was probably close to being a Legend. She landed in front of the strange, giant creature and said a few words, and then suddenly looked over and then pointed. Roland then lost the mental imprints of the three spiders. Busted! Roland clicked his tongue as he looked at the portal. He thought for a moment about exiting the cave and then using a large fireball to blow the place down. But it was also at this time that a system message suddenly appeared in the sight of all the players. Player Roland unsealed the Realm of Devils portal and successfully triggered the servers established event. The expansion Realm of Devils Expedition is officially online, and the reputation store is officially open. After half an hour, players can see the goods in the reputation store. For the content related to Realm of Fiends Expedition, no official information will be revealed. Players are invited to explore the detailed contents by themselves. Roland has obtained the title of Advanced Falan Pathfinder, health cap increased by 10 points and magic cap by 25 points. This system message was seen by all the players, including the Cornucopia members in the party. Roland was speechless. The players of Cornucopia were even more speechless. Especially Charles who was still in Delpon. He had only meant for Roland to do the heavy lifting and boost his guild members. As a result, the little scheme was discovered, not to mention that now the follow-up of this quest was so important. This kind of quest was also known as the unlocking quest. If it was completed by someone from their guild, then it was bound to give them a lot of face, and it would be easier to recruit powerful players in the future. Now all of it was credited to Roland. It was a typical example of suffering a double loss after trying to trick the enemy. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He couldnt help but fiercely slam the glass of wine he was holding onto the table. Damn it. I never win when I go against Roland. The wine glass shattered into several pieces. Douglas, long accustomed to Charles angry nature and style, took a sip of fruit wine and said, It is our fortune to come from a good background. The appearance of virtual games is Rolands fortune. Its not something we should envy. Im just not convinced. Charles covered his face in dismay. I have used all my efforts, even endured humiliation, but still this is the result. The heavens are too unfair. It is indeed very unfair. You are born to the second-generation rich, while many people are born into poor families, not to mention that they might have a congenital disability. Who do they look to for a reason! Charles stood up. Im not talking to you about it. I feel like youve been poisoned by Roland. Is it interesting to suck up to an employee when youre a superior person? Its interesting! Douglas was completely unmoved. Charles shook his head and walked away. At the same time, after Roland read the system message, he temporarily gave up the intention of collapsing the dragons lair. After all, judging by the name of the expansion, it seemed that this magic gate was going to be used. Best to leave it for now. He took Andonaras hand, and after leaving the cave, he left the people of Cornucopia behind and teleported back to Delpon. Once he returned to the city, he saw Charles waiting in front of his manor. When Charles saw Roland, he welcomed him and said, Almighty, I have some things I want to talk to you about. Then lets talk. Roland was also fine with it. The two sat down, and Andonara personally went to the kitchen and made a blend of fruit wine and set it in front of the two. Charles took a sip of fruit wine and said, Mr. Roland, in a moment I will have the payment for the Dragon Meat Reagent sent over. Now, lets talk about other things. For example, what do you know about this Realm of Devils Expedition? Not much. Roland shook his head. But from the name, it should be the game content of us players expedition to the Realm of Devils. But it could also be the Realm of Devils campaign on us! Doing business was to know how to smile, but at this time Charles wasnt in the mood to do so. No matter what it is, we need a lot of resources and battle power. Battle power, you have it, Almighty, but Im sure you dont have that many resources. This is my guilds area of expertise, so I think we should cooperate and complement each others strengths and make up for each others weaknesses. Indeed. Roland was powerful in his own right, and roping in Roland was the equivalent of having Queen Andonara, a superb fighter. Also, he might be able to rope in the other F6 members to help out. Especially Schuck; one person and one dragon could go against a whole guild. Which guild with a little ambition wouldnt want to recruit Roland and Schuck! Sorry, F6 doesnt align itself with anyone. Then its always okay to help each other out. Charles offered a smile with difficulty. I think this expansion, for sure, is focused on group activities. But we F6 are also a group. Charles felt annoyed at how unmoved this man was by force and persuasion. Well, what kind of conditions do you need before you will help us? Please feel free to say. As long as its not too exaggerated, I can promise you anything. None, thanks. Still, in a flat tone of voice, he declined. Charles stood up in exasperation, and without any words of social etiquette, stormed off. In reality, not only Charles but almost all the guilds were trying to find a way to contact Roland and Schuck. There werent many fools among the players. The term Realm of Devils Expedition was a big event at first glance and dealing with a big event naturally required the strength of a team. In any team, a leader was required. And there was a lot of discussion about Roland in the forums at this time. Damn, its Roland again, annoying as hell. Theres nothing you can do about it. Hes just that skilled. Skilled my a**, its just dumb luck. I heard that the credit should have gone to Cornucopia. Tsk, Cornucopia can break the seal? They dont have a single high-level Mage, do they? Dont expose them. Youll lose Cornucopia as a friend if you cut them to the quick so much. The reputation stores loaded. Theres so much equipment. I also saw that there are many recipes, all of them top-notch, but they require so much reputation, and its unclear how reputation can be acquired effectively right now. Just wait until Roland figures it out, right? Always relying on others, you dont have hands of your own! I just like to be a freeloader, you got a problem with that? Roland exited the game after the routine server downtime, browsed the forums for a while, and was about to go over to the Yu family ancestral shrine to meditate and absorb energy when Schuck called him and asked him to meet at the cold drink bar for an urgent matter. He immediately pedaled a public bike and rushed to the cold drink bar. He had thought Schuck called him over to discuss the Realm of Devils Expedition. It turned out that Schuck mysteriously grinned and pulled out a package, which he then unwrapped in front of their friends. Seeing how smug he was, Roland thought it was some kind of electronic accessory or something, like a graphics card ending in 90 or whatever. It turned out to be a figurine. And it was a figurine of the scene when Roland was beaten into the walls. The famous scene was recreated. It was the last official poll where players were allowed to decide which figurine they wanted to be made. As soon as the figurine was brought out, Rolands face turned green. Then his friends laughed so hard that they couldnt keep their backs straight. It didnt help that this thing was quite well made. Rolands expressions and movements were recreated with great realism. After a moment of gloom, Roland could only accept that the figurines had been madewhat else could he do? After laughing for so long that his abs hurt, Schuck wiped his tears and stammered, Do you know how many copies of this thing sold? How many? When I bought it, the official website marked that over four million copies had been sold, and that was three days ago. Now its estimated to have broken six million. Schuck wanted to laugh again. Its estimated that eventually, it will break ten million. He didnt think that a figurine of his friend would be so popular. There were only five hundred thousand players in the entire game, so what was with these extra millions of buyers? Did they have a problem? Roland, who had managed to calm down, became gloomy again, so he had to change the subject. Lets talk about the Realm of Devils Expedition. Chapter 631 - Don’t Lie to Me Chapter 631 Dont Lie to Me As the latest expansion, the Realm of Devils Expedition was now the hottest thing among players. All the players were preparing for this event. Many guilds had already started to mobilize their manpower and resources and set out for Sisilia. The players who had already arrived there had taken it upon themselves to level the dragons lair and make a huge platform, making the portal open air. Some eager guilds even sent scouts into the Realm of Devils. But none of these scouts had much strength, and they were taken out before they could get very far. They hadnt even seen a glimpse of the enemy. The scouts who were stronger didnt go in. At higher levels, they began to fear death. After all, they would lose too much EXP if they died and couldnt make it up in a month or two. So, not too many people were entering the portal for now. Instead, one or two fiery imps would occasionally jump out over there. The kind with a dogs head, about half a meter tall, walking upright and with flames on its tail. This thing was seen from time to time in the human world, as Warlocks could often summon it. Unlike summoning a succubus, the fiery imp was so weak that it didnt take much magic power to summon it across the realms, and this thing also made for excellent cannon fodder. Another one could be recruited when the previous died. It wouldnt be as heartbreaking as a succubuss death. These fiery imps were captured and tortured as soon as they appeared. This thing was somewhat intelligent, roughly equivalent to a six- or seven-year-old human child. They also had their own language. Only to find out, upon interrogation, that these fiery imps, all wandering aimlessly or in search of food, had come over when they saw this strange, glowing door. As for other information, like the number of cities in the Realm of Devils, the layout, the system, and things like that, they were completely ignorant of. So now the situation was delicate. While more and more players were gathering near the portal, none of the guilds were actively entering the portal. They were all waiting for the real hero to show up. And due to this situation, the members of F6 werent in a hurry. There were just seven of them in the guild, and Betta was still sitting in Wetlands City; after all, he was the mayor and couldnt run around, so there were only six of them who could go to the Realm of Devils right now. Although Roland and Shuck were both quite strong, a small guild of six people, taking the vanguard to scout Should this be taken as overt self-consciousness or an overestimation of their abilities and an attempt to seek fame? Tell us about the Realm of Devils Expedition. Schuck looked at Roland. The others looked at Roland as well. Were in no hurry, so well wait, Roland said, after some thought. Wait until when? Wait until I improve the magic spider again. Roland smiled. It will take about four days. The F6 members nodded and agreed to Rolands suggestion. They were extremely confident and trusting of Roland. When he got home, Roland went on the forums to look up some information about the game and found that he had received a system message. When he opened it, he found that it was an explanation of the royalties for the figurines portrait. Officially, for every figurine sold, Roland could get five yuan. The payment would be settled every month until the sales of the figurines were taken off the shelves. How many copies did Schuck just say had sold? The corners of Rolands mouth curved up unconsciously. Awesome, really awesome! Keep buying the figurines! This kind of thing where he could whip up a ton of money without having to work hard and put in any effort was just too awesome. Keep it coming Roland happily showered and then entered the game. He then went to the Red Magic Tower. Improving the magic spiders required new thinking and techniques, but there were some key areas that Roland still didnt understand. So he intended to ask the Great Elder Alfred. Alfred had been quite happy these days. On the surface, they only got resources worth about ten thousand gold coins from the Spatial Magic Tower. But there were far, far too many hidden resources. Receiving the new area for growing magical materials, the Mages of the Spatial Magic Tower were pulled over. It also established a higher prestige and status for the Red Magic Tower. And all of this was indirectly made possible by Roland. So he was delighted and pleased whenever he saw Roland. It felt like his investment in him had paid off in a big way. That was all the more reason to want to facilitate the relationship between Roland and the First Princess Stephanie. He planned to set him up with the extremely beautiful, young, married noblewomen in the capitalthis was what Roland was into. Looking at the smiling Great Elder, Roland knew that he had a good opinion of him and the Great Elders smile was genuine, but for some reason, Roland always felt that the Great Elders smile seemed to carry something that annoyed him considerably. But when he looked more closely, the Great Elders smile was quite sincere. Was he hallucinating? Great Elder, Ive come to ask for guidance this time. Roland actively explained his question. Have a seat. After listening to Rolands question, the Great Elder thought for a while and asked rhetorically, Why dont you try Lesser Benediction and the magic spider spell in conjunction? Hmm? Roland was a bit puzzled. Alfred explained, Ive noticed that you have a good habit of trying to enhance certain spells to achieve a multi-functional effect. But, this actually has the downside of being a bit of a waste of time, and since you know Lesser Benediction, you can simply use it and wish for the next spell to have certain effects. But the problem is that Lesser Benediction has negative effects. Alford nodded. Thats a real problem, but Ive personally tested it, and Lesser Benediction doesnt have a significant negative effect when used for spellcasting effects. Its quite negligible. Really? Roland was a little surprised. The book describing Lesser Benediction doesnt say anything about it. Of course not. This is a small discovery of mine that I didnt make public. The implication was that Roland was so highly regarded by him that he put that little trick out there. This kind of tip was, oftentimes, the key that determined how strong and powerful a Mage was. Roland had never thought that Lesser Benediction could also be used for spell effects. After all, he was not a saint of all things even Zhuge Kongming made mistakes, let alone him, an ordinary person. It was normal not to consider everything or to miss certain things. Roland thought for a moment, and from his Backpack, he took out the spell model of the magic spider and put it on the table. Thank you, Great Elder. This is a spell I created myself some time ago, I hope it will be useful to you. This was Rolands self-effacement. In reality, a positional eye that was mobile, with great concealment capabilities at that, was what everyone wanted. The Great Elder took the drawing and only looked at it for a moment before his eyes brightened. Good stuff. Alfred slapped the table heavily with his right hand. With this, itll be harder for those damn Assassins and killers to get near us, and its extremely useful for exploring new areas. Roland, you dont mind if I make this spell one of the core spells of the Red Magic Tower, do you? Mages hated Assassins the most. There were only a thousand days to be a thief, not a thousand days to prevent a thief. And even if you had trigger-based counter defense spells from head to toe, a single gold-coated spellbreaking sword could disable most trigger-based spells. But with this spell, the chances of a Mage being assassinated would drop by at least ten percent. Since it was given to the Great Elder, you can do whatever you want with it. Hearing this, the Great Elder then felt that Roland was more pleasing to the eye-what a good student, what an understanding child. If the students of this Magic Tower were of such character, there was no need for other Magic Towers! Unfortunately, a student like that might not come along in a hundred years. Dont worry, I wont ask for your spell models for nothing. The Great Elder smiled and said, I now announce that you have graduated. Also, you now have the qualification as the Red Magic Towers mentor in training. After you stay here for five years, you can be promoted to a full mentor. In the meantime, the resources of the Magic Tower will be even more accessible to you. I graduated? Roland froze, but then he was also quite happy; after all, with more magic resources at hand, his magic experiments would be better able to get underway. He didnt expect to get such a great deal by giving away a spell model. Leaving the council chamber, Roland returned to the estate. Marilyn, who had been sleeping on the grass, immediately pricked her ears. The cute little white cat rushed out of the estate and ran over to Roland, circling him excitedly while rubbing her head against his robe. Well shes becoming more and more like a cat. Roland crouched down and gently massaged Marilyns cat ears with his right hand. She was immobilized by his touch and fell straight to the ground, a purr coming from her chest. Her eyes were half-open. After petting for a short while, Roland asked, Marilyn, would you like to live in another city? Hearing this, Marilyn opened her eyes in shock and even jumped back a distance as she panicked a little. Roland, I dont want to go, I dont want to leave. Dont drive me away. I am not driving you away. Roland explained, I have a home elsewhere and will be living here very little from now on, and you have not seen me for some time. Oh Marilyns ears drooped. Your good friend, Maromatha, also lives in that city. I have a property there as well, which is unoccupied for the time being. Will you look after it for me? Roland enticed her. Besides, there are many of your people and friends there. It should be a pleasure to live there. Really? asked Marilyn, a heartfelt look in her eyes. Really. Roland took Marilyns tiny, soft, fleshy palm. Ill take you to stay over for a few days first, and if youre not happy with it and cant get used to it, Ill send you back, okay? Cats werent fond of changing their living environment. Especially a semi-wild werecat like Marilyn who had been insecure before and now had a good home. But she was more willing to believe in Rolands words. After a moment of thought, she nodded. Master, dont lie to me Ill be very mad. She had a timid look on her face, like a little girl about to be abandoned. Chapter 632 - Scouting Still Requires Mages Chapter 632 Scouting Still Requires Mages Using the multiple teleportation magic array, he brought Marilyn to Wetland City and then placed her in the manor given to him by Betta. Compared to the Red Magic Tower, Wetland City had a better environment and a warmer and more pleasant climate. Although werecats have lived in, or near, the desert since ancient times This didnt stop them from seeking a better living environment. What race of creatures would want to live in a harsh place if they had a choice. So as soon as they arrived in Wetland City, Marilyn felt comfortable, and the manor did, indeed, carry the lingering smell of Roland. Roland would occasionally visit Wetland City and help Betta build some of the larger structures. After all, of all the players now, he was the one who was the most adept at the spells Mud to Rock and Rock to Mud. He stayed on the property while helping out here. He introduced Marilyn to the servants, then took her hand and went to the werecats gathering place. It was in a neighborhood about 500 meters to the right of Rolands manor. When Marilyn came to this place, which was full of werecats, she looked delighted. Then a black line lunged from a distance and swirled around Marilyn. It was Maromatha the black cat. Two cats, one white and one black, cuddled together, crying and laughing. Roland watched delightedly. It couldnt be helped. These two cats were beautiful and cute Although Roland didnt pet cats much, this kind of affection of a different race was still quite appealing. Ten minutes later, Maromatha the black cat entertained Roland in her home. Honey dried mice, stone-baked fish, and raw catnip were served up. The white cat Marilyn ate with relish, though she had no shortage of food in the Red Magic Towers estate. Still, the food that humans made was not really to her taste. It was just that she wasnt a picky eater. These things here were the special delicacies of the werecats. The black cat didnt eat, and after she nodded slightly to Roland, she said, Thank you, Mr. Roland, for sending Marilyn here as well. Marilyn was so beautiful that no young man would want to let her go. Rolands willingness to set Marilyn free had been quite unexpected to Maromatha. Its fine, its as it should be. I dont think its good for her to be alone in the Red Magic Tower. Roland waved his hand. How have you werecats been living here lately? Any inconveniences, or has anyone discriminated against you and harassed you? No. Maromatha smiled happily. Not to mention discrimination and harassment The Golden Sons practically spoiled them rotten. Good food was served, great toys were gifted The werecats could do whatever they wanted in Wetland City as long as they didnt do anything bad. Such a life was like being in the divine realm. Thats good. Roland nodded. He was the one who had offered to put the werecats here in the first place, and if the werecats were having a bad time, he was a little responsible for it. Now he was completely relieved. Mr. Roland, I heard that you are going to invade the Realm of Devils? said Maromatha with a curious look, emanating a strong admiration. The Realm of Devils was full of fierce and evil devils. On the main plane, except for the dragons, anyone would tremble in fear when they heard about it. It had always been the case that the Realm of Devils invaded the main realm, forcing people to rely on the human alliances and the Heroes power to make the devils retreat. On average, such a cycle played out every one or two hundred years. But now the Golden Sons were going to strike the Realm of Devils. This was quite bold. It was something that had never been done in the main plane. So it wasnt surprising that Maromatha had this attitude. Not to mention the fact that where they lived now was the land of the Golden Sons. Quiet, peaceful, and prosperous and even an extremely fair city. Civilized and powerful. Such a race was so endearing to the werecats. Felines, after all, sought the perfect combination of grace and force. Roland nodded. You guys also know about it? The matter of preparing for the expedition to the Realm of Devils The werecats were the first to know, apart from the Golden Sons. After all, the werecats lived in Wetland City, and the players never had any qualms about talking about these more public matters and spoke of it whenever they wanted to. The werecats were also a natural scout race and they habitually began to gather information. After that, it became clear to them what the players were going to do next, and what they found troublesome. Maromatha took a bite of the grilled fish and said slowly, I heard that your scouts, who went over to the Realm of Devils, didnt gather much information. Roland continued to nod. There was nothing to hide about this. Why dont we, the werecats, come and help. Maromatha looked steadily at Roland, her eyes full of gratitude. We can live here thanks to your protection; now you are in trouble, and it just so happens that we can help You cant help! Roland waved his hand. While the top group of scouts among the players didnt cross the portal, a large portion of the scout professionals who went over there and were the first to be killed without even seeing a shadow of the enemy were mid-level forces. Their average strength was stronger than the werecat scouts. If it was something none of them could do, even if the werecats sent a dozen powerful scouts, it would be lucky if half of them returned. The players could be resurrected; the werecats couldnt. Hearing Roland refuse her categorically, Maromatha was a little demoralized, and the cat ears on her head hung down slightly. The werecats were a more appreciative race. Having received such a great favor from the Golden Sons and having no chance to repay it made her quite depressed. You will be doing us the best favor by living in this city and by abiding by the rules here, Roland said with a smile, seeing through what was on Maromathas mind. How can that be! Maromatha naturally didnt believe it and felt that Roland was consoling her. Wetland City needs more races besides us to play for Golden Sons to create a good cycle of productivity, Roland explained. We can indeed hold up a city, but we are all professionals with a lot to do and travel quite a bit. There may be a time where a lot of people stay here, and in the next month, there may be no one left guarding this place. Just like the expedition to the Realm of Devils, our people will move to Sisilia in ten or so days, and in half a month, there will be few Golden Sons left here. And there are still too few humansso werecats can stay here as guardians and also as popularity providers, to keep the city less lifeless. Its something any other race can do, right? But werecats are prettier and cuter, right? Yes! said Maromatha, her tail high in the air, the end of it twisting and turning. It seems to make sense when you put it that way. After appeasing the black cat and dropping the white cat off with her, Roland headed out of the city and then teleported to Sisilia. Arriving at the site of the former dragon cave, Roland saw the small hill that had been completely bulldozed and at least five to six thousand tents surrounding the glowing green portal. And further away were the guards of Sisilia, about a thousand of them, watching the group of players in front of them with fear and trepidation. Under normal circumstances, a thousand armored soldiers was quite a force Sisilia was a transportation and trade hub and taxes were very high, making it possible to afford to support a thousand armored Elites. But now, the one thousand armored Elites, seeing the group of professionals who were at least Elites in front of them knowing that at least one-tenth of the group classified as Masterswere weak in the hands and feet. They couldnt win no matter what. Strength aside, they were overwhelmed in numbers. They couldnt possibly fight that! Besides, there was now an endless stream of Golden Sons coming from other places. Its not going to be another god-defying campaign, is it? The commander was increasingly anxious. He was a survivor of a certain battle to annihilate the Golden Sons over two years ago. He had then been promoted to command an entire citys soldiers. Two years ago, the Golden Sons, whose average level was not even Elite, had shown tenacity. And now, most of them had passed Elite, and there were even many Masters. Such strength easily overpowered what they were back then. If there was another movement against the gods, could the allied forces of the gods still overwhelm them? The commander felt a bit anxious. He already had the intention of resigning from his post. The players that gathered here at this time were all from small guilds. They were waiting for the arrival of the big guilds. For example, Phoenix Guild, Fatter Cat, Moon Shadow, and so on. Big guilds were different from small guilds, having large numbers that made it hard to mobilize. And it took time for large guilds to secure a logistical line. So they were waiting. ere V The players gathered together, vaguely divided into several alignments, from mahjong players, to Fight the Landlord, to simple bowling, to those who engaged in a murder mystery, or small groups who simply told stories. There was also a group of rather bored Bards who started playing the familiar Fight the Landlords background music. The players also said: Seventeen cards, can you second me? Big brother, hurry up, or Ill pour you a cappuccino if you dont. Such arrogant sounding lines. And Rolands arrival caught the attention of almost all the players. It couldnt be helped; his face was too recognizable. Especially once the figurines were out, even more people recognized him. Roland walked up to the portal. The players around started wagging their tongues. Oh sh*t, finally a person of importance has come. Only Roland came from F6? Wheres Schuck? The Saint Samurai should also have restraining abilities against devilish creatures, right? If he comes, and with these two experts taking the lead, well follow. Only one man came, probably to spy on the enemy. The scouts went in and were killed. I reckon Roland has a way. I remember that he has a spider that can be thrown to the ground and is hard to spot. Yes, yes. In the Netherworld, he relied on that thing to break free from the illusion. The players instincts were spot-on. Roland had indeed come here to use the magic spider to scout out the enemy. He snapped his fingers and used Lesser Benediction. I wish for my next spell to have no magic fluctuations. Then Roland summoned three magic spiders. The magic spiders were already very small and the magic fluctuations were close to nothing. But there were still some, and Roland reckoned that the succubus had sensed the faint magic fluctuations, which had led to the discovery of the magic spiders and their subsequent destruction. He didnt believe that in the dimly-lit Realm of Devils, the succubus could spot the magic spiders a dozen meters away when they hid in a small rock crevice and were almost completely transparent. So Roland surmised that it must be this residual magic fluctuation that had been discovered by the succubus. Now, with the enhancement of Lesser Benediction, the three magic spiders didnt have any magic fluctuations. Roland then used Mud to Stone to create a rock dummy that was over two meters tall. It wasnt a summoned creature, it was just a humanoid stone that Roland had simply manipulated with magic threads. Then three magic spiders crawled onto the stonemans body and hid in dips and bumps. Finally, the stoneman walked swaggeringly towards the portal. At this time, many players who were watching from the sidelines started their livestreams. The names were varied and dominated by words synonymous with shocking. Shocking, this man actually let a stoneman do this kind of thing. Unbelievable, the spider actually has such a relationship with the stoneman. The stoneman entered the portal, and Roland immediately switched to the perspective of the magic spiders. After passing through a green spatial tunnel, the stoneman had just stepped out of the magic array. One of its feet hadnt even stepped on the ground of the Realm of Devils when a dozen air slashes suddenly appeared in the air. These slashes appeared at the same time. The sharpness was extraordinary. The stoneman instantly turned into dozens of pieces and fell to the ground. One of the magic spiders was also cut down. But the two other magic spiders fell to the ground along with the fragments of the stoneman, then were hidden underneath the small stone fragments. From Rolands point of view, the surroundings were dark; after all, the magic spiders had no vision now. Yet, he could hear the sounds around them. The vibrations of someone walking from a distance. Then there was the sound of fluttering wings in the air. This time they were smart enough to send a summoned creature over to see whats going on, but my spatial slashes were still faster. The male voice was low, and though it was in the language of the Realm of Devils, Roland had Language Proficiency on him and could understand it. What is the situation over there? Its obvious the magic array has been activated, but Lord Paimon wont let us go over. This was a female voice, very sultry and charming. Just listening to it would make one hard. It felt like such a voice needed to be censored. None of the imps that were led there have returned either, the male voice continued. But Im curious, how long will the army continue to assemble? There are already thirty thousand now. Thats enough for us to conduct the main plane expedition. Why is Lord Paimon still not satisfied and still looking for reinforcements?. Lord Paimons divination is quite powerful; he must have a reason for doing so. The sultry female voice made a strange sound as if she were licking her lips. I would love to get intimate with the young men of the main plane. Its been over two hundred years since Ive tasted them. Chapter 633 - A Small Competition Chapter 633 A Small Competition Roland kept the two spiders lurking under the rock. Because they were made of magic, they were very elastic and would not disappear as long as their main components were not destroyed. Once all the sounds around them had faded, Roland directed the two remaining magic spiders to carefully crawl out of the stone fragments before darting inside the shadows of a nearby mound. Something that was almost transparent in itself, covered by shadows and hiding in a pit, would be impossible for anyone but the gods to find. Shortly after, three dark-skinned orcs appeared and cleared the rocks near the magic gate. After waiting a little longer for the three orcs to leave, the two spiders crawled out and began to head north. As they crawled, they sent images of the nearby environment to Roland. The portal in the Realm of Devils looked the same as the one in the main plane, and it was under a large ring-shaped depression. The elevation the magic spiders were at was too low to see beyond the depression. So, Roland made them crawl outward. They were pretty fast, and within two minutes, they had climbed to the top of the left and right sides of the depression, respectively. Then, a circle of densely-packed stone tents in the distance was transmitted to Rolands mind. So the teleportation magic array is surrounded. Roland muttered in his mind. The two magic spiders then looked for gaps between the stones to hide in this area. The magic spiders were effective for over twenty hours, and Roland continued to receive the images they sent back while sitting near the portal After a day and a night of surveillance, when the two magic spiders disappeared naturally, Roland got up and teleported back to Delpon under everyones gazes. Then after about half an hour, a new post by Roland appeared on the forums. Because the image transmitted back by the magic spider appeared directly in Rolands mind and couldnt be captured by the video recording system, Roland could only express it in words. Outside the magic portal to the Realm of Devils, there are about thirty thousand soldiers on standby, all above Elite plus a large number of Masters, as well as a small number of Legends. There are some strange, gray, translucent soul-like devils wandering above the magic portal that are hard to notice, and the magic spiders only discovered their presence in the last hour. They may be the reason for the scouts inexplicable deaths. There are many races in the Realm of Devils army. There are legendary succubi, fear demons, fiery imps, and even dark-skinned orcs, as well as dark-skinned multi-armed Naga. Also, among the Legendary demons, most of them are monsters with a human upper body, a dragons lower body, and wings on their backs. I didnt find any descriptions of them in the books related to the devils, so I personally gave them a name, walking winged devils. Also, the demon army is gathering over the twenty-four hours of surveillance, their numbers have risen by another three or four thousand or so. The Realm of Devils is very desolate and dry, the ground is cracked. If we are to make a campaign against the Realm of Devils then logistics must certainly keep up, and the assurance of water resources is a top priority. Its recommended that all Mages learn the endless water-making spell that I invented. There werent many words in Rolands post, but it was quite insightful. All the players now knew that the fiend army was lying in ambush near the portal, so they were in even less of a hurry to get in. Since the Realm of Devils was desolate, they would have a lot of logistical problems, so itd be a competition of who had more food. While the fiend army was assembling, the players were also assembling. In just twenty-four hours, two thousand more people had arrived in Sisilia. The city guards were under even more pressure. Many players had left comments under Rolands post. Many thanks for the information, Almighty, I hope you continue to update. Its better to rely on yourself. You guys should also learn from Roland and create some magic spiders to go in and scout for information. Yeah, yeah, dont keep relying on others. Hundreds of thousands of people relying on a single Mage to grant vision, isnt that embarrassing. Its not that I dont want to learn it, its that Roland didnt publish the spell model of the magic spider. Its all excuses. He could create it, but none of you can create a magic spider-like spell? People and their abilities are different, and all of us spellcasters acknowledge that there are three types of Mages: Roland, talented Mages, and sh*tty ordinary Mages. The number of sh*tty ordinary Mages makes up 95% of the number of all Mages. According to the livestream, Roland has slipped away and doesnt seem to want to poke around for information anymore Begging for Almighty Roland to continue to help us scout the situation over there, preferably in the real-time subbed feed. So many demands, does he owe you? Its an official event quest, contribute what you can, pay what you can. Were not kidnapping Roland, but right now, hes the only one with a way to see whats going on over there, and if he doesnt help, who can do the same as he does? To put it bluntly, you guys are still noobs, thats why you pin your hopes on one person. As usual, the idiotic netizens discussed to a certain point and then quarreled. Once Roland returned to the city of Delpon, he went to the forging room to start a fire. To fight against the devils, he had to have specific equipment. According to the knight and hero novels, as well as some experiences recorded by former Mages, all devils were extremely afraid of the light. The next best things were lightning and fire. Roland didnt know light attribute enchantments, but fire attribute enchantment recipes, he still knew two or three of them. In addition to the attack-type enchantment recipes, there were also some defensive enchantments. For example, armor could have resist evil attacks for X points of damage attached to it, or darkness resistance and other enchantments that could be useful. If it was possible, Roland wanted all of his equipment to be enchanted with fire elemental attacks. But it wasnt practical; for one thing, the Magic Tower didnt have so much of the magic material needed for the fire elemental attack enchantment. Even if he bought in large quantities now, he wouldnt be able to get much, and the profiteers would take advantage of this to raise the price. So a balance of offense and defense was the way to save money. Saving is earning! It just so happened that Cornucopia had sent over the black dragons dragon skin and dragon bones, so Roland took the opportunity to start forging a lot of magical equipment. All of this dragon-type equipment had the extremely rare enchantment Auto-Repair added to it. After all, it was dragon-type equipment, a rarely seen top-tier equipment, worthy of Auto-Repair, an extremely magic material consuming enchantment. It took him seven days to build the magic equipment. Upon completion, he sent Douglas a magic cloak. Then with this newly built equipment, he teleported to Sisilia. In the center of the city, he found a small inn that was in a small alley, less frequented and rather secluded, based on the information left by his friends in the guild chat room. This was F6s secret gathering place, sought out and set up by the Rogue Husseret. Distributing all the dragon-type equipment, Roland said, Although I said on the forum that we dont want to fight at the vanguard, thats just a trick to deceive them, because I suspect that there may be someone who has actually secretly joined the side of the devils. How is that possible! Li Lin found Rolands suspicion unbelievable. Thats normal, Schuck said as he leaned against the wall with his arms across his chest. Ive checked the records in the Temple of Light, and every time those fiends invade, there are always traitors among the humans. And you know the character of us players; some of them just like to take a different route, not bound by concepts like good and evil. Li Lin still didnt feel it was right. But until now, no one has entered the magic gate. Roland shook his head and said, I can teleport long distances and can do so across realms, other Mages might be able to as well. You are the strongest Mage, no Mage in the whole server is more powerful than you. Husseret laughed. Roland waved his hand. The character of our countrymen is clear to you. Many people like to amass wealth while keeping a low profile. There may be other people who also know Long-Distance Teleportation, but they just dont talk about it, covering it up. Can you guarantee that no one does this? I dont think I can, by myself, outperform more than fifty thousand Mages in the entire server or be smarter than all of them. They heard Roland say this and felt that it seemed quite reasonable. Roland continued, So to ensure that we are going to be the first to go in and that the information about when to go in will not be revealed, concealing information is a must. And I suspect that the first guild to reach the other side and get a firm footing may be rewarded. The other F6 members continued to nod, speculating that this was highly likely based on the number and type of rewards the system had issued over the past two years or so. If the rewards can add attributes, our guild definitely has to get them. Roland took out the magic materials. So, I have an idea! Roland then began to explain the plan. Ever since Roland appeared at the magic portal and posted the information in the forum, the large guilds started rushing to Sisilia. The fastest of these was the Summoner girls of the Phoenix Guild. When they moved, it was extremely loud, with the overwhelming number of summoned beasts moving in tandem. Although they lost to Roland in the battle royale competition Anyone with a discerning eye could see that it wasnt because the Phoenix Guilds girls werent strong, it was because Roland was too freakishly strong. They were, in essence, the number two guild. In the last first three months, they had passed the test of Earl Torry of the Holy Realm and managed to establish a real, recognized guild by the game. It was not as impressive as F6 for now, but it had a lot of promise. At least 90% of the girls had joined the Phoenix guild and become Summoners. Only a few of the female players who were faithful to a certain profession chose something else to play. They didnt care if their profession was strong or not, they just liked it. It wasnt something that could be bought with gold. In addition to the Phoenix Guild, Moon Shadow, Cornucopia, the Church of Garland, and Silver Wings, which had rebuilt its guild, and other guilds with some ability had all gathered in Sisilia. Around the teleportation magic gate, there were already nearly twenty thousand players waiting at this time. The people from Cornucopia were also mixed among them. Charles sat on a mound of dirt, surrounded by people from his guild, but even so, he kept his voice low. I believe that as long as a guild is the first to get a firm foothold in the Realm of Devils and establish a bridgehead, then the entire guild is bound to receive a great system reward. Charles looked around at the guild members with resignation on his face that was impossible to ignore. This is not only my reasoning but that of all the guild chairmen. We are all clear about one thing> no matter which guild it is, the first one to enter the teleportation magic gate will definitely be attacked the hardest. The guild members nodded. This was something they could guess and understand. The Realm of Devils had assembled thousands of soldiers near the portal and not for nothing. It turns out that we werent qualified to participate in such a competition. Charles revealed a smile. But with Rolands help, we immediately gained thirteen Elites who are close to Master and four Master combat professionals. I have to say, Roland is quite the mascot for the surrounding people. The members of the Cornucopia all laughed aloud. Charles continued, Right now, our guild, although not at tier zero, is at least tier one. If we can take the reward, we might be able to jump to tier zero. At that time, our strength will rise again. We might be able to reach tier zero, and although it definitely wont be as good as those girls of the Phoenix Guild, it will ensure that we will not be bullied by random people anymore when we do business. So, for the sake of wealth, we have to participate in this competition. What should I do then? a member asked. Stay close to F6, theyll more than likely be the first to enter the portal. Charles pointed to the magic portal in the distance. Then crowd out the others that come. First, have our combatants follow F6 into the magic portal, then the rest of us block the front of the portal and try to stop them from entering it for a short time. F6 will definitely be heavily targeted by the devils, then our combatants will break through quickly. If two or three of us escape and survive for a while, I think we should be able to get the reward. Can the chairman guarantee that if we survive for a while, well get the reward? No, but we can try, and it wont be considered too much of a loss anyway. Businessmen have always been adventurous, and Charles inherited this trait perfectly. Just as Charles finished speaking, two flashes of light suddenly appeared in front of the magic gate, followed by Roland and Schuck appearing at the same time. As soon as Charles saw them, he immediately jumped up. Quick, theyre here, act according to the plan How come there are only two of them? No matter, charge over. As a result, they had just stood up, only to find that there were more people around them standing up almost at the same time. Then they looked at each other and found that these people who stood up were the main force of the major guilds, who had previously hidden in the crowd They immediately understood it all. Sh*t! So you guys also had this idea. At that moment, they charged forward frantically. Some used the Charge, others used the Leap Slash. Those who were slower to follow immediately went to pull the lapels of those who rushed past them from other guilds. Then a chorus of curses rang out from the crowd. It was chaos. As soon as Roland and Schuck appeared, they immediately headed for the teleportation magic array without any hesitation or lingering Chapter 634 - We’ll Sign Up Chapter 634 Well Sign Up Roland and Schuck entered the magic array, and after a period of weightlessness like they were on a roller coaster and a green tunnel, the two appeared in front of the portal to the Realm of Devils. With their feet on the barren red land, the two did not hesitate. Magic instantly exploded and Rolands body disappeared as soon as he appeared, appearing at the highest point of the ring-shaped depression, and at least twenty gazes locked onto him the moment he manifested. In front of him was a thick, solid circle of tents, with a large number of devils walking around them or at work. Those twenty gazes staring at Roland became more intense. But in the next instant, Rolands figure disappeared again, reappearing in front of the tents. Without waiting for those devils to react, he suddenly disappeared again and appeared at the back of the tents, then kept teleporting and had run far away in less than three seconds. Many devils showed peculiar smiles. These were the ones who were good at spatial magic. Devils, by nature, were also creatures that relied on their own bloodline enhancements. Many of them knew how to teleport, but they didnt know more advanced teleportation spells and cross-dimensional teleportation. These devils had the combat power to pummel the vast majority of spatial Mages. But they just didnt know how to teleport long distances. This was a classic example of having talent without learning new knowledge. Starting high and regressing. When they saw Roland about to teleport away, they were about to teleport to go after him. At that moment, however, a rather brilliant golden glow descended from the sky. They looked back to find a human with golden wings of light floating in the air. On top of this humans head was a golden orb that glowed as if it were the sun. The Razor Specters that were guarding the magic gate had long since turned into green smoke under the golden light. Holy light! Seeing this light, all the devils rioted. Including the twenty devils who could teleport. Their eyes were all drawn to the Saint Samurai in the air. wer Almost all devils had an instinctive aversion to holy light. They gave up chasing Roland, pounded their chests with both hands, and let out earth-shattering roars as they rushed toward the golden figure. Schuck floated in the air, his Heart of Light necklace around his neck and his Holy Sword of Light in his hand. He raised the holy sword high. All the power of the holy light concentrated on the tip of the sword. A cross-shaped, blinding light appeared on the tip and grew brighter. Those powerful devils reacted extremely quickly as they immediately stopped their forward charge and shouted, Scatter! Light eternal, holy light supreme! Shucks hands were shaking, but he shouted out the prayer of the divine spell excitedly. The cross-shaped light expanded endlessly after this, and finally formed a huge cross of light before stopping. It illuminated a ten-kilometer diameter centered on the portal. In the eyes of most of the devils who were facing the cross-shaped light, the world was golden in color. Then they felt a stinging pain in their eyes, followed by a stinging pain all over their bodies. A large number of miserable screams rang out at the same time. The light cross only lasted four seconds. When the golden light that penetrated the sky disappeared, so did Schuck. A large number of low-level devils were burned and blackened all over, groaning and rolling around on the ground in pain. The higher level devils protected their eyes by simply covering them with their hands. When the golden light shone on their bodies, only some black smoke appeared, hurting only the surface of their skin. A succubus landed from the air and looked at her wings in distress. Just now she was using her wings to block most of the holy light shining on her, protecting her delicate skin. But as a result, the back of her wings bore many charred, blackened cracks that would hardly heal completely without three or four days. Many charred low-level devils were groaning, but not too many of them were fatally wounded. Light divine spells had this drawback of being wide-ranged but not truly lethal. It could have a good suppression effect. But it wasnt quite able to kill the enemy. She looked around and laughed. It looks powerful, but in reality, it doesnt do much damage. This Saint Samurai is still not quite strong enough. Unlike the succubuss relaxed state, the walking winged devil next to her snarled, Provocation, this is a provocation to us. Come when he wants, leave when he wants. What does he take this place for, a hunting ground?. Just as the walking winged devil spoke, the portal began to glow green again, followed by a dozen humans being transported over. Then a dozen more were teleported over. Several seconds later, over a hundred humans were in front of the portal. These humans, for the most part, were Elite, and a few were Master. So bold, to come with only a hundred men? The succubus covered her small mouth in surprise, her lofty chest plate wobbling around. The walking winged devil gave a sardonic laugh. Play with them, finish them off, eat them, and leave their skulls for our urinals. The succubus gave a disgusted look. But the countless charred little devils around them jumped up and charged toward these hundred players. These hundred or so players all revealed a look of despair when they saw the densely packed monsters rushing at them. They wanted to run back, but the portal was restricted by strange energy at this time. They took a closer look and found a thin, dry devil above the depression that looked like it had been pulled into a noodle, interfering with the teleportation magic array with green energy. There were no powerful Mages among them to crack the other sides interference. There was no way to return for the time being. They looked around at the densely packed devils rushing over and instead calmed down. One of them slowly drew his scimitar and shouted, Killing one will break even, killing two will profit. Show them what weve got, were all combat players from top guilds. We cant lose face. Well said! Cant agree more. More weapons were drawn. Then the group of players charged towards the dense mass of devils around them. Demacia[1]! For the preservation of our blue and pure world[2]! Ura, long live the giant red bear[3]! Lolis in stockings are awesome! The vast majority of those who rushed into the magic gate were Warriors, and no matter what, they were always fighting on the front line. Warriors had an innate skill Warcry, where they received a certain bonus to their combat power when they roared out their ideals before a battle. This ideal could be set in the system function interface. The effect of such a skill could be obtained by simply shouting out a pre-set statement. So Warrior players Warcry phrases are also varied. The devils, looking at the humans who were aggressively counter-charging over, all revealed a confused look. Even their charge forward was a little slower as a result. On the other side, Roland repeatedly teleported at a high frequency to confirm that he wasnt being pursued, immediately used Secondary Stealth, and then teleported a few more times before stopping at a mountain. Then the red mud under his feet became like a body of water, and Rolands body slowly submerged into it. Once his whole body was underground, the red mud on the surface changed back to its original shape. Roland kept sinking into the ground. He took the time to improve Stone to Mud, speeding up the spellcasting and the transformation. Once he had landed at least twenty meters below ground, Roland stopped and used his mental power to push the dirt around him away, creating a great hole. Then he cast Illumination and used magic to pull out the excess dirt and form it into several load-bearing pillars. Finally, using the magic materials he had prepared, he drew a multiple teleportation magic array on the ground. Then he opened the guild chat interface and entered a message. Roland: All set? Schuck: No problem, Im back in the inn. The others are also ready to go. Seeing this, Roland immediately activated the teleportation magic array. The magic array on the ground emitted a blue light and spun counter-clockwise, and not much time later, five figures appeared in the magic array. When these five came out, they all laughed as they looked around. Roland wiped the sweat from his forehead. It worked. The next step was to wait and see if the system would reward them. They sat down. Because they were twenty meters deep underground, it was difficult to reach the surface even with the use of magic, so they were quite relieved to sit and chitchat. Half an hour later, all the players received a message sent by the system. According to the system detection, the F6 guild has already established a temporary stronghold in the Realm of Devils and a new teleportation magic array, ruling that they are the first guild stationed in the Realm of Devils. Therefore, all members of this guild receive the title of Realm of Devils Pathfinder, health cap +10, magic cap +10. After reading it, Roland couldnt help but whistle. The quest did give everyone attributes, and it wasnt in vain that they specifically thought of this diversion. Just as Roland and the others were rejoicing, over at the magic portal, the gruesome battle had come to an end. Gale, the third-best Warrior in the entire server, laughed aloud. Most of his body was gone and he now only had his head and a small section of his body. But there were at least twenty devil corpses lying next to him. Large mouthfuls of blood gushed out with his laughter. His blood-red eyes stared at the devils around him. His eyes were red, not from anger, but internal bleeding. The contemptuous look made the devils that were still standing around him quite uncomfortable. He laughed and laughed, and couldnt catch a breath as the blood in his mouth got stuck in his throat After a few desperate gasps, he finally died with a distressed Oh. Five meters away from him, there was one last Warrior. His hands were broken, but with his legs clamped around the waist of a bone devil, using it as leverage, he bit into the bone devils throat, gurgling and drinking its blood. The bone devil shrieked in terror and shoved at the crazy human with both hands. But the human wouldnt budge. Bone devils were known for their agility and had average strength. The devils next to him looked on with a shudder in their hearts. But finally, a daring devil ran up and stabbed the Warrior in the back several times. The Warrior, feeling the pain, turned back with a wild bite. But nothing was bitten. The devil took the opportunity to insert his dagger into the human Warriors brow. The Warriors eyes quickly dimmed. But before he truly died, his mouth was still opening and closing, as if trying to bite someone. After moving four or five times, he ran out of strength, and the legs clamping the bone devil loosened. The man slid to the ground. It was quiet all around. The Realm of Devils had always been very safe, but it would be rare for a place where so many devils gathered to be so quiet. The walking winged devil slowly walked over, an inexplicable cringe in his eyes as he looked ahead at the bleak battlefield. One hundred and thirty-five humans took out four hundred devils. The succubus walked over, her eyes full of pity as she looked at the human corpses on the ground. And fighting to the death, what the hell is going on here, fat dragon! If you call me that again, Ill stew you up and eat you. The walking winged devil grunted before he looked at the human corpses on the ground again. But I agree with you, something is not right with these humans. Something is very wrong. Their life energy is pure. The succubus licked her luscious red lips a few times. Its too wasteful. If we could capture them alive, a hundred of them would satisfy at least a thousand or so of my sisters. And theyre the kind that tastes excellent. Humans arent supposed to be this strong. This isnt right. The walking winged devil shook his head. Most demons didnt have brains; they only knew how to kill and f**k! But at his strength, his mind was no worse than a humans. Perhaps, this is why Lord Paimon wants us to gather, the succubus said thoughtfully. The walking winged devil turned to leave. Ill go ask Lord Paimon about the situation. These corpses, dispose of them yourselvesthe meat can be eaten raw or grilled. The succubus shook her head and looked at the corpses with regret, then with a flourish of her wings, she flew away. The devils were still scared long after these two were gone. It was a while before they dared to go up and eat the human corpses. In the past, they would have pounced on them and even fought over the food. After the game system announced that F6 was the first guild to be stationed in the Realm of Devils The players sighed. It was something that was expected. They had known that this honor would most likely be F6s. But they still wanted to fight for it; after all, a person without ideals was no different from a fish. This was why the system announcement didnt cause much of a commotion. But then they got excited when Roland appeared in front of the magic gate in the main plane. Roland, what brings you back? Arent you supposed to be over there maintaining the temporary stronghold? Can Schuck, a god, carry the weight of four losers? Go back quickly. Well get the teleportation magic array ready and break through the encirclement immediately as well, and cooperate with you guys. Listening to the jumble of chatter and suggestions, Roland pressed his hands forward. The players who saw his actions all shut up and quieted down. Right now the portal behind me is temporarily locked on the side of the Realm of Devils, so I guess they are also shocked, Roland said with a smile. But it doesnt matter. I have set up a teleportation magic array in another safe place and can teleport a group of people there, but the number of people is limited, so we must have players who are good at fighting and form a spearheading squad with us to cut through the other sides rear defense line and attract their attention. Then make them relax the lock on this large portal Master-level or above, and friends who are good at fighting and are willing to follow our commands, please come sign up. When these words fell, the male players were a little hesitant. But in the very next second, the unicorn-riding Phoenix Guilds chairman appeared with a group of pretty girls. Our entire guild will sign up. [1] League of Legends [2] Mobile Suit Gundam SEED [3] Russia Chapter 635 - Bombing Chapter 635 Bombing Aside from the two cheaters in F6, the strongest guild right now was naturally the Phoenix Guild. One of these Summoners alone could almost act as a standard combat squad. They could accomplish many of the quests that a standard casual squad could do on their own. Of course, this was a standard squad of players of the mid to upper levels. If a squad of top players was formed, it still wouldnt be hard to exterminate an Elven Summoner. But such an evaluation would have been unfair -what if it was a squad of five Elven Summoners? That would be a small army. And it would be the kind on sea, land, and air, with no gaps in protection. And only someone like Roland or Schuck, who had super wide-ranged attacks, could suppress it. Many people had wanted to sign up, but when they saw Solisa, the Phoenix Guilds chairman, come out, they all pulled back. It wasnt so much fear of Solisa, but simply that the Summoner was better able to form a competent force with limited numbers. Im very glad youre here to help. Roland looked at her with a smile. I can personally teleport about a hundred people. The relationship between the Phoenix Guild and F6 had almost fallen to a freezing point because of the battle royale where Roland tricked them. It took more than six months for the girls anger to subside. After all, it was normal for a girl to hold a little bit of a grudge. There are three hundred people in our guild, and the strongest hundred will come over immediately. Solisa smiled. When will you teleport us over? Solisa had stopped being angry with Roland a long time ago. She was an ungrudging girl, and besides, it was normal to use the rules wisely. But all the girls in the guild fumed with anger at the mention of F6. Especially the girl who was killed by Rolands backstabbing when she was relieving herself; shed mutter about it whenever she had time. After all, from a womans point of view, Rolands approach was a bit so the girls saw him as a common enemy. They all said he would never get a girlfriend with such filthy tactics. It turned out that Roland had a queen, an angel, and seemed to have an unclear relationship with the Life Goddess, leaving these girls discouraged. Roland made a gesture of invitation to Solisa and the two left the crowd and walked to a nearby clearing Then Roland drew a multiple teleportation magic array out on the spot. The kind with the shell added. In reality, many people around were videotaping it, hoping to copy this teleportation array and reverse engineer it. However drawing a magic array wasnt simply drawing a pattern. The blend ratio of magic materials ground into powder, and how much mental energy needed to be injected into each of the nodes in the magic array And then what the different lines did, and how to deal with the lines of mental threads! These were all skills and knowledge. It was useless to just look at the picture, and besides, Roland encrypted the patterns. After drawing the magic array, Roland said, This magic array can teleport about one hundred and twenty people, and it will disappear when there are enough people. Why dont you make more? Solisa asked curiously. The more people that teleport over the easier it will be for us to get a firm foothold. The creation of the magic array is too expensive. Roland threw up his hands helplessly. For this inter-realm teleportation array, the cost of the magic materials alone costs 150 gold coins. If you include my labor costs, you cant get it without 170 gold coins. Solisa was speechless at that. There was an uproar from the players around them. Roland continued, Besides, there is no need for so many people. More than a hundred Summoner girls going over and summoning at full strength can generate thousands or even tens of thousands of troops, enough to attract the enemys main force. Then they will definitely give up defending that large teleportation magic array, and our main force can pass through there. Solisa nodded. You have a point. Roland then handed her a black gem. This is the core of the magic arrays activation, just put it in that black square grid. Roland pointed to the left of the magic array. Ill go over there first. You can teleport over anytime. Solisa nodded as she held the lack gem, then she suddenly said, By the way, the divine power crystals you collected in the Netherworld, those white feathers, havent been sold, have they? Not yet. They gave quite a bit of EXP but were no longer suitable for Rolands use. The EXP required to level up again at level twelve was too much, and even if he used up all those divine power crystals, he wouldnt be able to increase it by twenty percent. Now he had to complete a lot of epic-level quests to level up, as well as the usual learning and exercising of magic to slowly increase his EXP. It would take a long time. So instead, it would be better to sell it to tycoons with a desire for leveling up quickly and make some extra money. Ill take them all, Solisa said generously. You give a price. Three hundred gold coins. No problem. A few bags of gold coins were taken out and quickly put back into Rolands Backpack. And those feathers went to Solisa. After that, Roland activated Teleportation and went to the Realm of Devils first. Passing through a long spatial tunnel, Roland appeared in the hollow he had made earlier. As soon as he appeared, Schuck came up to him and asked, Did you recruit anyone? The Phoenix Guilds girls are coming over. Schuck hummed a response, then he was ecstatic. Theyre willing to come overawesome, awesome. He also knew that the Phoenix Guild, which grew stronger the more they stuck together, would be quite effective on such a battlefield. So, Im going to have to expand the space here a bit, otherwise it wont fit that many people. Schuck and the others immediately stepped aside after hearing this. The space continued to grow larger under the effect of Rolands magic. Shortly after, the magic array in the middle started spinning and emitting blue light. Lithe figures came out of the magic array one after another. The Elven Summoners main attribute was Charm, so all of these girls were good-looking and had differential auras. For Li Lin and the others, they were a sight for sore eyes. The sage state that had been caused by too much negative distance contact with the Church of Loves priestesses was also showing signs of slacking. Within a few moments, the magic array disappeared, and the last person to teleport over was Solisa. When the girls came out, they stepped to one side, opposite the F6 members, forming two small groups. But over half the girls were glancing at Shuck now and then. Their faces blushed. It couldnt be helped; Shuck was just too handsome! Born handsome, and handsome beyond the barriers of race. Roland was also being watched. A girl stared at Roland with a fuming look, almost like a hamster. It was the girl who was stabbed to death by Roland when she went to relieve herself during the battle royale. Roland shrugged at her apologetically. Solisas eyes flicked around Schucks face. Then she shook her head, walked over to Roland, and said, What do we do next? Later I will open a passage to the surface for you. When you get out, stay together and start summoning creatures immediately. After that, you can fight however you want; we wont command. Just draw the attention of the devil army. Solisa smiled at that. Free to do as we please? Thats a good thing. I cant wait, lets get started. Roland snapped his fingers and the long-prepared spiral stone staircase appeared on the wall behind him. Solisa winked at him before turning to her guild members and shouting, All right, get ready, camera crew start livestreaming. Now its time for us women to shine. Ooh! It was a simultaneous shout, but because it was a group of cute girls, the passion was so-so, although it was cuter and naive. But Roland and Shuck didnt underestimate them because of their overly cute shouts. This group of women had shown them their combat power in the competitions, and they were even stronger now. Solisa climbed the stone stairs with over a hundred girls and emerged on the surface. A dense green light surged out of the barren and desolate lands of the Realm of Devils. A large number of summoned creatures were projected from the astral plane at the same time. These magic fluctuations converged together, forming a small mix of spreading magic power. It didnt take long for the army of devils surrounding the portal to feel it too. Whats going on? The succubus frowned as she flapped her wings and flew toward the source of the magic. As a result, just halfway through her flight, she saw a nimbus cloud in the air. And from this nimbus cloud came a large number of messy magic fluctuations. Beneath the nimbus cloud, there was a dark shadow. The succubi had Darkvision, but in reality, they couldnt see very far, so she flew a little closer. Then she couldnt help but spit devilish curses. She quickly turned around and flew back the way she came with full force. irses. She flew quickly and was much relieved to see the circle of tents. Then she saw the walking winged devil who had returned, and immediately landed in front of him and said urgently, Fat Dragon, things arent good. A large number of summoned creatures have appeared behind us. The walking winged devil was about to get angry, but when he heard the words that followed, he immediately frowned and asked, Whats going on? Explain. So the succubus immediately explained what she had just seen. Although the walking winged devil was a Warrior, the devils were more or less capable of spells, and he now felt a large and disorganized group of magic powers coming in his direction. It was also quite fast. Summoned creatures? The walking winged devil froze. That cant be right, where did they find so many Summoners, and right under our noses? Just as the walking winged devil wondered, a dark cloud appeared in the skyline ahead. The stones on the ground started to bounce faintly. They moved only slightly at first, but the more time passed, the more intense the vibrations became, and soon the stones kept bouncing up and down. A black line appeared in front of them and came rushing forward at great speed. Whats going on! shouted the walking winged devil. Those who can fly, go up and see whats going on. Not long after, many of the winged devils took to the sky and drifted toward the black clouds and black line. But soon, they all flew back at a faster speed. One of them landed in front of the walking winged devil and said, Its all summoned creatures, at least ten thousand of them. The walking winged devil felt it for a moment and snorted. Its all rubbish All troops, on my command, charge. A group of strange four-handed devils with large drums on their backs stood up. The drums resounded through the heavens and the earth. All the devils moved, carrying their own weapons and letting out wild cries as they charged toward the dark clouds and black line in the sky. They had more numbers and were physically stronger, and except for the fiery imps, none of the main battle races were under 175 centimeters tall, with the majority being around two meters. Their charging together created an even greater impetus. It was like an earthquake, like the sound of a tsunami. The two sides were getting closer and closer, and they could already see each others faces. Many of the Summoner girls were pale mainly because the devils were so ugly and there were so many of them. But none of the girls backed down. They controlled their summons and continued their charge. Roland mixed in with the summoned creatures, desperately trying to keep his magic power down. Schuck was also next to him. The earth trembled, and the two black clouds in the air collided first. A large number of summoned creatures fell In equal numbers, summoned creatures were inferior to other professionals of the same level. They were only a projection, after all. Besides, there were more devils. The two black oceans on the ground were about to crash. The walking winged devil charged ahead, making more noise and vibrations than anyone else as he ran. And he held a sledgehammer in each of his hands. At a conservative estimate, each hammer was at least two hundred pounds. He looked at the summoned creatures that were already close at hand, such as the jungle fawn and the celestial wolf, showing contempt. These things werent stronger than devils to begin with, not to mention that these were still just projections. But just then, he suddenly sensed something was wrong. There was a sudden high-energy reaction from the front. A large number of fire elements were gathering And they were gathering very fast The amount of energy gathered was also very high. Then he saw a human in the sea of summoned beasts, standing in a strange position on two celestial warhorses, one below each of his feet. And he was holding a huge, blue ball of fire in his hand. Get out of the way! A fearful shout came from the succubus in the air. Shocked, the walking winged devil immediately stopped, and suddenly curled his entire body inward into a ball, his long fat tail wrapping around his upper body, and then rolled to the side. His huge body rolled like a wheel, crushing many devils. Then he felt his heart beat faster. A terrible instinct made his head spin. He heard a strange booming sound, followed by a tremendous jolt, and finally, he was sent flying He had a thick layer of scales on his tail, so even if he was attacked by powerful fire spells, he wouldnt be harmed much. But at this moment, he felt an unbearable stinging pain coming from his tail. There was also the feeling of weightlessness for a long time. Then he felt a full-body shock and he knew he had landed. But the shock pained him a little, and a clattering sound came from the bones inside his body. At least four or five of them were broken! Whats going on? He uncurled and stood up, and then saw, to his right, a huge red mushroom cloud rising. The scales on his tail had fallen off completely, revealing the muscles underneath and emitting the smell of grilled meat. What happened? Chapter 636 - Reputation Store is Stocked Chapter 636 Reputation Store is Stocked Looking at the red mushroom cloud rising in the distance, feeling the fire elemental magic raging in the air The walking winged devil was stunned. His true name was Maurice Ryan. He was one of the fear battle devils, the supreme race in the Realm of Devils. Only the demon gods could be ranked above this race. Even three of the thirteen demon gods were fear battle devils. They were a purely fighting race and rarely felt fear. But looking at the mushroom cloud in front of him, which he had never seen before, he felt a rare hint of fear. At this time, he suddenly remembered what the demon god Paimon had said to him. Half an hour ago All those players who rushed in in the first wave died. Ryan looked at the corpses of more than a hundred humans spread on the ground, but there were more corpses of devils strewn about nearby. To kill these hundred or so humans, they lost over two hundred devils. This was even with thirty thousand of them in the encirclement, and even with plenty of long-range arrows and magic support. It was enough to prove the strength and bravery of this group of humans. But what made Ryan feel more uneasy was the madness these humans showed. Devils were also crazy. But in most cases, it was the crazy of losing ones mind. Such a state of madness was strong in combat, but the disadvantage was also very obviousthey were very stupid, single-minded, and easily lured into traps. But these humans, their madness was the rational type. Even if they fought to the death, they dealt a higher amount of damage to the enemy for an extremely small price. This was unreasonable. Madness and sanity shouldnt go hand in hand. Because fear of death was an instinct of all creatures, even the devils had to rely on Berserking and losing their sanity before they could overcome their fear of death. But these hundred or so humans didnt need to. They were very crazy and very sane. This was impossible. Ryan thought it incomprehensible, and even harbored an uneasy agitation over it. Although the race of fear battle devils were mainly Warriors, that was because they were so talented as Warriors. In reality, they were quite brainy as a race, and even if they mainly became Warriors and lived for decades, they could still use some low-level spells. So he decided to go to the demon god Paimon to ask for information. It was clear that over thirty thousand troops had been assembled, and if it were in the past, Lord Paimon would have ordered an attack on the main plane. But this time gathering troops was more like trying to defend than attack. All he could do was seek Lord Paimons advice. He returned to his tent and activated the magical communication stone. After waiting for a sign from the communication stone, he said respectfully, Lord Paimon, sorry to bother you in the middle of a busy day. I have something I dont understand, could you please dispel my doubts? Speak quickly, I am very busy. Why arent we attacking actively this time? Is there something wrong on the side of the human world? Why would you think that? Ryan continued, A little while ago, over a hundred human Warriors appeared at the portal. They were fierce, they werent afraid to die, but though they were crazy, they somehow preserved their sanity. We had them surrounded and over two hundred of us died before we took them out. There was a moment of silence in the communication stone, and then what sounded like a young, human, gentle voice emerged. Hold down the area for now. If any humans teleport over from there, continue to kill them. Dont worry, Ive gone to find Phoenix, he knows the most about human affairs. Ill ask him and maybe it will be clear. Lord Paimon, you still havent answered my question as to why you didnt want us to attack the main plane in the first place. There was another long period of silence, and after a while, Paimon said, Its not that I dont want to, but I dont dare You know Im the best at divination, and I have a feeling that if we dont get enough people together and just rush in, youll all end up dead. And then Ill end up dead too! Thats impossible! Ryan was surprised. Youre a demon god! Even a proper god could die, let alone us, Paimon said faintly. So Ryan, please, we wont actively attack them for now, but if humans come through, you must finish them off and not let too many of them gather. Paimon was considered to be more popular among the demon gods, because he abided by the rules he set. The Realm of Devils seemed chaotic and disorderly, but it also followed certain rules. There were no completely chaotic intelligent creatures in this world. Any completely chaotic species would surely destroy itself. As you wish, Lord Paimon. Then Ryan watched the swarm of human Summoners that had somehow appeared behind him. He thought to himself that with 30,000 troops, he should be able to take out the summoned creatures and then the Summoners. Then before the ground troops could even really make contact, he had been sent flying by an AOE spell from an unknown source. He looked at the red mushroom cloud in the distance, then at the huge crater. Lava was flowing at the bottom of the crater. At least a thousand or more devils died in the explosion, leaving only hardened bones still tumbling in the lava. And more devil soldiers were sent flying and scalded by the intense blast. Not all the devils were like him with an extremely high fire resistance. Blackened or half-scorched, half-yellow bodies groaned and squirmed around the huge pit. Whats going on here! Ryan licked his lips. What kind of spell is this? The succubus landed from the air and said, A human Mage used a giant blue fireball. Its the first time Ive seen it as well. Both of them were silent for a few seconds. They had seen a lot of fireball spells Many races in the Realm of Devils were good at playing with fire. But it was the second time hed seen a blue fireball. The first time he saw it, it was used by Phoenix. And hed never seen the magic power converge so fast, so powerfully. Logically, this kind of powerful spell usually gave a fairly obvious warning. Even Fallen Meteor had a casting and guidance process before it fell. It lasted at least fifteen seconds or more. But a spell of this power, from the time it was discovered, to the time it took shape, to the time it exploded, was estimated to be about five seconds. This was too unreasonable. Where is that human Mage? Gone. You didnt keep an eye on him? He used Secondary Stealth and hid inside the group of Summoners. Ryan immediately stopped talking. Both of them were in a somewhat apprehensive mood. When the portal opened again this time, everything seemed wrong. The extremely bellicose Lord Paimon actually defended instead of actively attacking the human world. Humans really started to take the initiative to attack the Realm of Devils. And their attacks were extremely bizzare. They were silent. There were only 28,000 or 29,000 left of the 30,000 or so devil soldiers, and they all stopped and looked at the huge crater in front of them, with a radius of at least 50 meters or more, and dared not move. In addition to this crater, there was an effective death zone of close to two hundred meters where the land turned from red to black. A large number of the wounded lay sprawled on this scorched earth, struggling and uttering miserable cries for help. That was not all A blazing sun suddenly appeared out of the dark clouds in the sky. These flying summoned creatures quickly scattered, and then the remaining 20,000 or so devils saw a man fluttering golden wings of light and floating in midair. And above his head, there was a golden ball of light. There was a daily limit for divine spells. The cooldown time for Judgement of Light was 24 hours, so what Schuck was using now was just the ordinary Sunlight. But even this kind of spell had an adverse effect on the devils. Many of the devils felt sick and feverish and wanted to vomit. Although they could endure it, it would definitely affect their fighting ability. And in addition to Sunlight, Schuck also unleashed one of the Saint Samurais signature talents. Aura of Courage and Aura of Victory. Saint Samurai, as the strongest combat units of the Church of the Light, often led troops into battle. This was why the auras were also a necessary talent for them to learn. The strength of the summoned creatures would seem inferior when the numbers were equal, but with the Aura of Courage and Aura of Victory, their strength rose by at least thirty percent. And the devils were slightly suppressed by the Sunlight-hesitantwhich in game terms meant a small decrease in attributes. This offset the gap between the summoned creatures and the devils. The Summoner girls, too, sensed the summoned creatures had become much stronger, so they urged the summoned creatures to attack even more. They were all projections anyway, and it didnt hurt if they disappeared; it wasnt really animal cruelty. If they still had magic power, they could summon them again. Soon, the swarm of summoned creatures on the ground bypassed the lava pit in the middle and attacked the devils from the left and right. The battle in the air continued. Before, it took five summoned creatures to barely kill a flying devil, but now, it became three for one devil. It still looked like the devils had an advantage, but the summoned creatures could be replenished. When the girls felt that they were running low on summoned creatures, they immediately summoned new ones. Although the speed of replenishment wasnt fast, and also subject to the limits of magic consumption Doubling the summoned creatures again wouldnt be a problem. Besides, they didnt need to win; they just needed to draw the devils attention and get them to focus their eyes here. Watching the ground troops close at hand, the succubus shook her head, her round white chest plate shaking dizzily. I feel something is wrong. Fat Dragon, Im leaving now. Take care of yourself. After saying this, the succubuss body turned pitch black and swept away from the ground as a black shadow. Ryan was at the edge of the battlefield and watched the battlefield for a while. Although the devils were still able to come out on top, the other side kept replenishing their summoned creatures, so the battlefield was still in a stalemate. The devils could win! This was what a lot of people would think if they saw this. After all, there were only a hundred Summoners, and the summoned creatures could be replenished but in limited numbers. The Saint Samurais aura was indeed powerful, but that had to be used in a situation where the difference in strength between the two sides wasnt extremely great for it to have a significant effect. These summoned creatures, even with the support of the aura, couldnt possibly compare to devils, not by a long shot. However, Ryan just felt that something was wrong. He touched his right hand to his head, seized one of his horns and broke it with a hard twist. Then he bit the tip of the horn, put it in the mouth, and blew hard on it. The bleak sound of the horn resounded throughout the battlefield. One long sound and two short sounds. It was the signal to retreat. Although the devils were brave and fierce, when they heard this sound, they immediately gave up fighting and turned around to run. In reality, their morale was not high anymore. The massive rock crater in the center of the battlefield was stating that there was still an extremely scary Mage in an unknown state who could soon attack or was temporarily lacking in magic power. Retreat As soon as they heard the horn, over 20,000 devils immediately turned around and ran without any hesitation at all. In the Realm of Devils, all the devils moved quickly and the summoned creatures couldnt catch up at all. The celestial hawks flying in the air were able to catch up, but a burst of spells or a volley of arrows was directed at them and the hawks fell to the ground like rain. They were simply useless. So Solisha immediately told the guild members to stop their pursuit and instead regroup and secure this piece of land. In reality, Ryans decision was quite correct, and just under three minutes after they started retreating, the majority of the players came through the portal. A number of the Phoenix Guild girls had turned on their livestreams, so the players knew how the battle was going. Seeing that the devil soldiers were held back, they immediately had the Mages unite and use their magic to shake the portal and break through the blockade. A large number of players then poured out of the magic gate and charged at the rear flank of the demon army. But unfortunately, Ryan retreated, and only a small number of players who acted quickly bit the tail of the devil army. After killing a hundred or so devils, they could only watch the devil army run farther and farther away. In the distance, standing somewhere on high ground, Ryan watched the portal where a steady stream of humans were appearing, and his heart recoiled in fear. Then he activated the communication stone in his hand, Lord Paimon, we failed. The humans charged in. At this time, many players who were not involved in the battle, as well as the netizens who were watching the show, were wagging their tongues about it. As expected, in the battlefield, you still have to depend on Mages. This shot of Rolands spells took out an estimate of at least four figures of devils. Schuck is also powerful, suppressing the enemys attributes and increasing his own, a true king of the battlefield. The Phoenix girls are also very impressive, a hundred or so people maneuvering such a large team. Its scary just looking at it. To put it bluntly, its just a great profession. You say that Saint Samurai and Summoners are strong in professional traits, I admit! But Roland isnt. Hes the only one in the entire server who can do things at that level. What about Warlocks, the feces kind. I remember Warlocks also have large-scale offensive spells, right. No, its not even close to Rolands blue fireball. Stop chatting and go to the reputation store, a ranking has appeared there. A ranking of devil slaying reputation points is out, a hundred-place system. I just came back from the reputation store. Roland is in first place with over five thousand reputation points, followed by Schuck with over three thousand, next is Solisa of the Phoenix Guild with over nine hundred, then those further down have a few hundred, and finally the hundredth place has only 99 reputation points. vay, why is the gap so big? Its normal, isnt it. After all, its a turret Mage, as well as the most bugged and cheating professions. Rolands rich. The best epic equipment in the reputation store starts at only a thousand points, and he can now exchange for five pieces. However Roland didnt want to exchange for the equipment. Chapter 637 - The First Tribulation Chapter 637 The First Tribulation The reputation store was full of equipment. Everything that one could think of was there. Epic-level necklaces, weapons, and armors of all professions and all attributes. And the attributes were also very good. A few of them could even compete with Andonaras Heros Sword, but they certainly couldnt compare to Rolands Nether Gods War Scythe or Shucks Holy Sword of Light. These two pieces of equipment were divine artifacts. The equipment in the reputation store also cost a lot of reputation, starting from a low of three thousand and going up to about eight thousand. Even Roland could only afford to buy medium-grade weapons right now. While Roland didnt need the equipment, that didnt stop him from browsing the reputation store. Men often say that women dilly-dally when shopping for clothes, but in reality, men were similar when shopping for PC accessories in computer centers. Besides, when one came across these reputation shops with tons of top-notch gear they didnt have, theyd look around and compare and contrast to see which one was right for them. Even Roland was constantly checking out the items in the reputation shop right now. Finally, he gave up looking at the equipment and started looking at the items like skills and attributes. Since equipment could be bought, skills and attributes could also be bought. Of course it was more expensive and seemed to have less value for the cost. For example, an epic longsword with over 20 points in Cleave and Impale that came with Blind-Fight and First Initiative only cost 4000 reputation points. But to learn a First Initiative specialty would cost 4500 points, which seemed like a huge loss. However, it was clear to everyone Equipment, while important, was not a part of them; it could be damaged or lost. But skills and attributes, once learned, were forever their own. Under normal circumstances, no one could take it away. Roland looked around and found the page about magic power, and after looking at it for a while, he spent 2000 reputation to add 10 points to his magic cap, and another 2000 reputation to add 2 to his magic power regeneration speed. Now that the Magic Shield was improved, his shield wouldnt break as long as he still had blue himself, and no one would be able to kill him. This meant that the magic cap and magic regeneration speed were equally important. Moreover, the more magic power he had, the more magic power he could output in the same amount of time by relying on the talent Magic Power Control, indirectly increasing the power of his spells. As for Schuck, he redeemed his reputation for the constitution attribute. It was an undisputed fact that Saint Samurai had high resistance to everything, but low health. So by strengthening his health points, he was making up for his shortcomings. Although the reputation store was appealing, not many people could afford to buy anything in it right now. The players soon focused on the main event. They began to build defenses near the Realm of Devils portal. As the only transportation hub, it naturally had to be well-protected. The players were building fairly quickly, and a large number of Mages were coming in through the portal. All the player Mages in the entire server inherited Rolands magic concepts. N Although they couldnt use exaggerated destruction spells like Roland, they knew Language Proficiency, Rock to Mud, the water-making spell, and the food-making spell, and used them quite well. Almost as well as Roland did. So players had no logistical troubles at all. A temporary city was soon built in the Realm of Devils. Thick, high walls encased the devils portal, a large number of low-level and casual players protecting it. The other players split up into groups and began to scout and sweep deeper into the Realm of Devils. When they encountered a devil, they simply attacked it regardless of what it was. But there were accidents Some players occasionally came across a succubus on her own and talked business with her. The succubus, a rare neutral creature of the Realm of Devils, also took a great interest in the players. After several days of sweeping, they had killed quite a lot of devils, and the male players had brought back dozens of succubi. sev None of these succubi had signed a contract, and in theory, they could be trusted. But also, as a result, there were some dissenting voices in the vanguard of the expeditionary army. I dont agree with letting the succubi in. They cant be trusted and are most likely spies, let alone letting them fight with us. Solisa of the Phoenix Guild slapped the table hard. You men, can you stop being so horny? Those are devils, they are demons, they have horns on their heads and goat hooves on their feeteven so, you guys can still get down with it? Youre humiliating yourselves. The vanguard was commanded by a dozen of the more famous guild chairmen jointly. Why not? Moogle, the logistics head of Fatter Cat, who was also the interim logistics head of the expeditionary army, looked at Solisa with a very strange expression. They are female, intelligent creatures, and humanoid, but there are just some parts that slightly differ from us humans. You cant discriminate against racial minorities, thats not good. When Solisha heard this, she was so angry that her chest ached. So you men only speak up for men. Regardless, I strongly disagree with the succubi entering our army. This is indeed a problem. Roland nodded and said, We are at war. In a war, if there is something like a branch of military prostitutes or those that bring a woman along, it is easy to cause envy when someone has it and others dont, which isnt good for unity and also affects morale. Rolands words still carried considerable weight. After all, he was now the highest level in the whole server. He was also the most powerful person in the whole server; even Betta, with his Wetland City, still couldnt match Roland in terms of organizational strength. Then what do you think should be done? Moogle threw up his hands. You cant split them up. You know well how hard it is for many male players to find a suitable NPC who can accompany them. Not everyone can pick up the queen like you. W Whys the fire burning on me? Roland was a bit helpless. Its not really that hard. For those friends who find a succubus companion, they can just transfer to work in the logistics team, right? The crowd thought that was a good suggestion. Logistics was important but it wasnt too important for the players. Because of the water- and food-making spells, logistics was more of a token security measure. There was no problem throwing the succubi over there. Solisa thought for a moment and said, Thats fine, as long as those succubi dont appear in front of our main force. The crowd smiled faintly and stopped talking all at once. Although Solisas reservations against the succubi were quite legitimate and sound, all the male players present were quite quick-witted. They could all see that the female players were jealous. After all, there were plenty of options for female players before. They could have a relationship with the noble NPCs in the game, but also with other players. There was a wide range of options. But it was different for the male players; although they could also find female NPCs to play with, it was difficult for ordinary women to withstand the physicality of male players. There werent many female professional NPCs, and those that were were dominated by the nobility. Just like Rolands inability to break the queens defenses now, male players were murderous weapons to the average female, and it could result in death if they werent careful. So the male players would go after female players most of the time. After all, the vast majority of the girls added Charm and were decently strong. However, there were signs of succubi appearing in large numbers now and compared to those female players with princess or lady complexes The succubi were great. Even if they werent very beautiful, even if some parts couldnt be described with words They were gentle, and they would woo and flatter you. And they hardly ever betrayed you as long as a contract was formed. Whats more they would fall in love with the men who treated them well. The contract had the potential to become permanent. Any man with a bit of romantic ambition would feel good about the succubi. Hearing the men concede, Solisa went away satisfied. She came this time to back up the female players. A few commanders then left the tent as well, but they walked around outside the tent and turned back. Then one man was left outside on sentry duty, while the others gathered together in a mysterious and wicked manner. Roland quirked his eyebrows. Before he came, Moogle had spoken to him privately, saying that there were more important things to talk about after the meeting A dozen guild chairmen were gathered, and they looked steadily at Roland, none of them speaking Roland also looked back at them in a somewhat bewildered manner. Then these people looked a little awkward and seemed embarrassed. After a while, it was Moogle of Fatter Cat who gritted his teeth and said, Roland, lets talk about the succubus issue. Didnt we talk about it just now? Roland was a little confused as to what these people were thinking. Putting them on the logistics team, dont you guys want to do that? Are there other arrangements? Its not that. Moogle waved his hand. We need to talk about more important things. Say it, it feels like you guys are being sneaky. We want to commission you to create a contract spell! Roland still didnt understand what the other party wanted to do and stayed quiet. The other party seemed to have a favor to ask, so sooner or later they would all talk. There was no need to rush. A dozen players looked at each other for a moment, then proceeded to say, You should know about the succubus contract. Roland vaguely understood. You guys want to make the authority of the succubus contract greater? The so-called succubus contract was essentially a master-servant contract. The man was the master, the succubus the servant. Normally, men had more rights and fewer obligations. If a succubus was summoned with a Warlocks summoning contract, the Warlock would have a little more authority. Either way, the succubus was at a disadvantage. This helped to keep the succubi from betraying them. After all, they were devils, and if one didnt use such powerful means to bind them, there was no guarantee that the succubi wouldnt have other thoughts. None of the men were Warlocks, so Roland assumed they just wanted powers similar to those of Warlocks, to be above the succubus. But to Rolands surprise, Moogle waved his hands vigorously. No, no. We want you to change the contract to be more equal! Roland: ????? You guys arent right in the head. Looking at Roland, whose expression seemed as though he were looking at idiots, Moogle took a deep breath and said, Actually, half a dozen of us have a master-servant contract with the succubi, but we dont want that. We want to get along and communicate with the succubi as equals. All we need is a contract to make sure they dont rebel. Roland was shocked. Generally speaking, when a man looked out for a woman, he was most likely in love. Its only been how many days and these guys have already been charmed by the succubi? No wonder Solisa reacted so intensely. Something suddenly occurred to Roland. Wait, you guys agreed together earlier to attack the west, could it be These men suddenly laughed in a very embarrassed manner. In that direction, theres a gathering spot of succubi? Although it was embarrassing and humiliating, they all nodded. Since someone had already contracted a succubus, wouldnt it be normal to know in which direction there were more succubi? You guys get courage from lust. Roland held his head helplessly between his hands. I dont know whether I should feel ashamed or proud of your simplicity and persistence when I think of you as my companions and friends! Loyalty to s*x and acting for it. They took action damn fast. It was just that their intentions were a little off. Brother, you have a queen, so leave a broken flower like the succubus that doesnt catch your eye to us good-for-nothings. Moogle slapped his chest hard. Besides us, there are still nearly three hundred thousand fellow soldiers with physical needs to be solved. I feel like this Realm of Devils Expedition has turned into something else. Roland smiled bitterly at first, then his smile gradually became twisted. But it seems to be quite interesting. Men would be children until they died. Honestly, a mainstream plot like attacking the Realm of Devils was something that Roland had played a lot in other single-player games. But taking down a world just to go and steal girls, or rather to liberate a female race, sounded like fun, too. And it seemed possible to bring the race around to the humans alignment, which would be even more exciting. Let me see the contract, Roland said. Several men rolled up their sleeves and put them in front of Roland at the same time. On their large arms, a small, pink, circular magic array was engraved. Roland took a picture of it with the systems camera. Then a dozen bags of gold coins were placed in front of Roland. Moogle said, I know that this is probably making things difficult for you, so we have prepared a great compensation This is just the deposit, we will pay you double the price of the deposit when you are done. There were at least 500 gold coins on the table. Doubling it Outrageous. Roland shook his head. Is it worth it for you all to pay such a big price for the succubi? Why is it not worth it? Moogle laughed. Put it another way, if someone wanted you to sell your queen to him for a thousand gold coins, would you be willing? I would blow his damn head off. Moogle shrugged. By the same token, although the succubi are physically different from us, their faces are a bit long, like donkey faces, not very pretty. Not even one of them is a virgin anymore, and each succubus has had at least a dozen, if not hundreds of men. Thats not how they want it to be. They were forced to live that way. Only those of us who have contracted a succubus and have interacted with them understand that they really are the kind of race that is so gentle that you would hold up the skies for them. Heh! Roland sneered, All that pretty talk, but really youre just lusting after the succubis big round white chest plate? Moogle laughed awkwardly. Were all men, dont expose us. Chapter 638 - A Woman’s Tears Chapter 638 A Womans Tears Exiting the vanguard meeting room, Roland looked at the desolate red earth in the distance, and then at the rather excited players walking around. He smiled at this. The Realm of Devils was so desolate that even the air smelled of mud and dust, which was rather uncomfortable after a while. Still, the players were working feverishly here, creating a flourishing feeling. Players who were good at field warfare were outside wiping out the lone devils. These demons were strong, certainly much stronger than the professionals in the main plane, and much tougher to fight at the same level But the players were stronger They had Elite base character templates and combat instincts and experience tempered by countless life and death battles. Especially the tier zero combat maniacs, if purely comparing combat instincts, even Roland wasnt their rival, and only by relying on improved spells could he crush them. A five-man squad of players with a normal configuration could fight twenty or more devils of the same level head-on. Soon, there were no more devils roaming around the portal. Then some players began to grow drought-tolerant, less sun-demanding plants near the temporary capital city. This was just an attempt and wouldnt necessarily be successful. But it was always good to try; it was a farming instinct ingrained within the blood of many players. When they saw a wasteland, they always wanted to plant something when they had a spare moment. Also, they started trying to build roads outward. This was the uniform decision of the vanguard command group. After all, it was much easier to provide support if the roads were easy to traverse. Roland returned to Delpon after that and focused on improving the contract spell. At first, Roland didnt pay much attention to this contract spell. He thought that it was essentially a karmic spell. To bind both sides with cause and effect. But after studying it carefully, he found that it wasnt. It was an abjuration spell. It was incredible how a defensive spell managed to bind the actions of both parties. Rolands interest was piqued at once. After analyzing and deciphering it, Roland found that there were many things in this contract spell that didnt make sense, or rather, were contrary to human magic. According to the ideas of human magic, these nodes connected wouldnt unleash a spell. But this spell just so happened to work. It was quite interesting. And vaguely, he felt the node arrangement of this spell was somewhat familiar, and after some contemplation, he compared it to the Nimbus Cloud Flight that he picked up in the Netherworld and was surprised to find that many of the nodes were the same. Is this bloodline magic? Wait Nimbus Cloud Flight was learned from some elf in the Netherworld, and this is the succubuss contract spell, so how can an unrelated race have almost the same node alignment! Is there such a thing as convergent evolution for magic? In a way, the harsh living environment of the Netherworld was indeed similar to that of the devils. It seemed plausible that two races would become similar at the core of their magic to adapt to more or less the same living environment. But Roland suddenly remembered something. He opened his browser, went to the forums, and then searched for a post that was quite interesting and also seen by many players as an eye-catcher. A Lorewalker of some repute, after digging up a lot of monuments, said this which made many people laugh their heads off. The elves and the trolls were both children of the World Tree. The author also put up a lot of ancient murals that he photographed on the forum. But the evidence for this wasnt obvious. At best, it was some elves and maybe some troll-looking things working together to offer sacrifices to the World Tree. But the thing was, there were plenty of humans who worshipped the World Tree apart from the elves. After all, the World Tree was too sacred, too ancient, and even had a special kind of beauty. This wasnt enough to prove that the trolls were a child race of the World Tree. Then this Lorewalker also found many murals of trolls and elves living together. However, these murals were so old that some of them were very blurry and there were no scripts, so they looked ambiguous. It could be interpreted as living together or as conflicting In short, decisive evidence was lacking. However, after a year or so, this Lorewalker added that the succubus seemed to have ties to the trolls as well. Then the players didnt believe him at all. They thought he was just creating publicity. Roland was only reminded of this matter when he saw that the elves who went to the Netherworld had a rather similar magic core to the succubus. Then he tried to channel the cores of Blossom Acceleration and Summon Treant and other elven spells and tried to transfer them into human spell nodes. In the end, he was surprised to find that. they had pretty much the same style of node arrangements. There were even some nodes that were identical. Interesting! Roland compared several kinds of spells and analyzed them with big data, obtaining new data to substitute back into the big data. After spending six days like this, he finally unraveled the succubuss contract spell completely. I cant believe that the elves, the trolls, and the succubi are actually related by blood! Roland exclaimed. The elves were pure and loyal, the trolls were foolish and rude, and the succubi were sexy and wanton (uncontracted)three completely different impressions. Who would have thought that they could be traced back to the same origin. Now that the spell was unraveled, he started trying to improve it, and for this Roland specifically went over to the Realm of Devils and took a succubus captive back to Delpon for testing Although she would be a lab rat, she wouldnt be hurt. After all, Rolands database already had a huge amount of magic data, and improving spells was a fast process. After two days, he worked out the most basic equality contract. Roland then had the succubus learn it and had her use it on Douglas. The spell was supposed to be used on Roland, but Andonara stood by with a sweet smile. Even Roland felt a little chill run down his back. This succubus was even shaking all over. She didnt dare to move. In the end, he had to let Douglas do it. As Rolands admirer, Douglas accepted the offer rather happily. One reason was that he was quite happy to be able to help his idol, and the other was that if he succeeded, he would have managed to get a succubus for free. What a wonderful thing. Although he was a second-generation rich kid, it wasnt his time to go fight in the Realm of Devils. In reality, most Mages were unqualified to go to the battlefield in the Realm of Devils because they hadnt developed competent combat abilities. The Mage was a profession that required a long time to learn, practice, and progress. The average magic apprentice could only learn one or two attack spells after five years of study or more. They didnt have much power. It took about ten years to develop a fundamental fighting ability of, for example, three to five long-range attack spells, two or three support spells, and one or two defensive spells. This was what qualified them to travel alone. They would probably be Elites by then. But even so, Mages at this stage were still glass cannons, having decent attack power but remaining quite vulnerable. Sometimes enemies didnt even need to make a move, theyd just blow themselves up. From the opening of the server till now, it had barely been three years. Player Mages were qualified to be glass cannons. Using their immortality to casually travel around the main plane, they could also solve a lot of NPCs problems. But now it was the Realm of Devils Expedition expansion, and the enemies were all devils, who were much stronger than the human professionals on the main plane. Mages who were still glass cannon Mages werent qualified to be on the battlefield. So even when a Mage went to the Realm of Devils to help, they went there as construction workers. Except for Roland! As he didnt want to do hard labor, Douglas stayed in the Magic Tower in Delpon and continued to learn magic. Then Roland roped him in as a guinea pig. The experiment was successful. It took the succubus two days to learn the new contract spell and then bind it with Douglas. Looking at the addition of a pink magic array on his arm, Douglas was quite pleased. Then he noticed that something was wrong with the succubuss expression. Not only him, but even Roland, and Andonara felt that something was wrong. This succubus kept stroking the pink magic array on her belly very gently as if she was caressing something extremely precious. At the same time, her expression contained joy and shyness, and she hung her head, but now and then she looked up at Douglas with affection, then hung her head down again with a happy smile. Roland thought it was a little strange. Douglas also thought so, and he couldnt help but ask, Lois, why are you smiling a little oddly? Im very happy. The succubus looked even happier. Why? Douglas felt a little touched by her expression, which carried the feeling of a young married womans affection. Because this is a marriage contract. Roland, Andonara, and Douglas were filled with question marks! The succubus named Lois slowly walked over, put her arms around Douglas, and said in a clingy manner, There is a legend among the succubi that occasionally our contracts mutate and then the contract we make with a man is a full equality contract. We dont have to be servants. That is when its a marriage contract Its a blessing from the whole world. So now Im your wife. Roland was stunned. Douglas twisted his head to look at the succubus beside him. He was going to laugh at her. A succubus, talking about being a wife and marriage, do you want people to laugh their heads off? Then he looked at the woman whose face was full of bliss and who had the aura of a virtuous wife. His mouth opened slightly, but he was speechless. It was the first time he had seen such a woman, both in reality and in this world. The women he used to meet, no matter how beautiful, felt like they were drawn to his status and position He had lots of women, played with many, and could tell the difference. But this was truly different. Even though she had a pair of tiny curved horns on her head, even though her tiny feet were goat hooves, even though she also had a long, thin, arrow-shaped black tail None of that stopped the virtuous aura coming from this succubus. He took a deep breath. Come home with me. Okay. The succubus smiled gently. Roland clicked his tongue. This is a succubus? Id believe it if someone said she was an elf. At this moment, Andonara suddenly grabbed Rolands hand and led him back to the house, then wrapped her arms around his waist and said with shining eyes, Use the contract on me, you definitely know how to. A marriage contract any woman with love in her heart couldnt possibly reject it. Not to mention Andonaras deep affection for Roland. Roland thought for a moment and said, Ill use it for sure, but Ill have to make the contract better before I use it on you. Okay. Andonara snuggled contentedly against Roland. The man she acknowledged wouldnt lie to her, and if he said it was going to be better, then it would be. It took another three days for Roland to change the equality contract. Then he bought a lot of beautiful flowers and spread them all over the room solemnly and romantically. He also bought a ring and put it on Andonara before he used the improved equality contract. A white heart-shaped magic array appeared on the hearts of both sides. The shape of the magic array could look like anything; making it heart-shaped was deliberate on Rolands part. This improved magic array was inspired by the dragon knight contract of the dragons. Both sides shared each others life force, as well as some special abilities. This was randomized because the two sides were of different professions, so it wasnt always guaranteed that the abilities would be useful. As a result, Andonara got both Rolands Body of Magic and Fire Element Enhancement. Although Andonara was a more physical profession, the use of the Heros flame required the consumption of magic power and was also a type of fire. It could be said that it was a perfect match to take her strength one step further. And Roland randomized to Tough Body. Andonara sat on the bed, side by side with Roland, her head resting on the mans shoulder, happiness spilling out of her smile. Women, especially those in love, were defenseless against such formal rituals. Even a unique woman like Andonara was no exception. She said slowly, A contract similar to that of a dragon knight that works on a human, and its a marriage contract-sure enough, my man is the most powerful Mage in the world. Even Andonara, who didnt have high intelligence, was aware of what a terrifying spell this contract that shared the abilities of both parties was. It could change the relationship between Mages and other professions in a fundamental way. It could even change the relationship between the various races of the world. Rolands mind, however, was drawn to his new specialty. Tough Body: Your physique becomes stronger and is less prone to injury (Legendary). Then Roland laughed on the spot. He laughed happily and wickedly. This bit of wickedness between a man and a woman was just boudoir fun. Andonaras expression was one of considerable surprise as she was pushed back onto the bed by Roland. A few minutes later, she was crying tears of joy and hugging Roland tightly. Roland could break her defenses now. The two were lovey-dovey for three days and barely got out of bed. It wasnt until three days later that Roland was urged to go to the Realm of Devils by a message in the guild chat room. Schuck: Weve found a devil city. Come quickly. Roland immediately teleported to the Realm of Devils and rushed to the front line. A huge black city loomed in front of him. Chapter 639 - Population Is Also a Resource Chapter 639 Population Is Also a Resource It was not surprising that there were cities in the Realm of Devils. After all, there were numerous intelligent races here anyhow, even if the environment was quite harsh. But what made players like Roland wonder was what the city did. They had the city gates wide open and had raised a white flag. On the hard rock walls made of black material, a large white flag fluttered in the wind. At first, the players thought this was a ploy; after all, the devils were so famed for their fighting prowess that everyone on the main plane feared them. Almost all devils were warrior races, and even the service industry ones like the succubi were quite strong in battle. So when the human soldiers were under the city, the battle hadnt even been fought yet and the other side was flying a white flagwho would believe it. The people of several guilds were placed about 500 meters away from the city walls. Because of the relatively flat terrain, those on the walls could see these regiments stationed a short distance away. Its most likely a trap. In the conference room of the vanguard army meeting room, Solisa of the Phoenix Guild shrugged. Most of the devils weve come into contact with recently have fought to their deaths, except for the succubi. Speaking of the succubi, Solisas expression soured a little. She had noticed that there seemed to be more succubi in the human world now. Although it was true that there were no succubi on the front line, the male players were clearly in an exuberant mood. What they were looking forward to, one could guess without thinking. How about we send someone to scout? Moogle of Fatter Cat looked at Roland. After all, we also have professional scouts. Indeed, Rolands three little spiders were now well known to everyone. Many Mage players were on their knees in the forums begging Roland to post the spell model, but Roland wasnt willing to do so anymore. This kind of improved spell with special functions was better kept for himself. There is no problem with reconnaissance Roland was talking, when a player in charge of passing along orders came in from outside and said urgently, The enemy has sent a messenger, a human. Hmm? The crowd was a little surprised, then nodded and agreed to let this messenger in. After all, only one person from the other side had come, and it was indeed bad form not to greet them. Slightly tidying up the council chamber, a dozen players sat in the rocky stone chairs they had just made. Then someone guided the messenger in. This messenger was a male with a long black beard. His face was barely visible, his figure was lanky, and he looked deeply fatigued. But when he saw the crowd of players, his eyes instantly became joyful. Even his expression was ecstatic. You are the messenger sent out from that city ahead? Moogle asked. What is your reason for coming? The man didnt speak but simply dropped to one knee. His expression was reverent and there were tears in his eyes. Is it true that humans have attacked the Realm of Devils? It is. Moogle pointed to the dozen players around him. You should have seen the army outside. You still dont believe it? It wasnt a surprise that there were humans in the Realm of Devils; after all, there had always been plenty of humans taken captive by devils in previous invasions. Especially women. The man tried to speak, but when he did, it turned into a cry of pain. The players looked at each other. After waiting for a while, the man held back his emotions, he wiped his tears with his patched-up sleeve, and then said, Sorry for making your excellencies laugh. Since you are here, would you take us back to the main plane? Wed even be willing to be your servants. The players were astonished They werent stupid, and they were keen enough to notice a word in this mans words. We! Are most of the people in that city ahead of us human? The man nodded vigorously. Yes, a total of eighty-three thousand people, all of them are humans. You guys are impressive, to be able to build a city in the Realm of Devils. The crowd was quite impressed. It was a very impressive thing. Unexpectedly, the players praise instead made the mans mood sink even lower. He said despondently, Were not impressive, and we didnt build that city. Its just a cage. What do you mean? The messengers eyes were red and he almost cried again. But soon he suppressed his sorrow and spoke of the city. It turned out that every time the devils invaded, a large number of people would be taken captive to the Realm of Devils. These humans would then be concentrated in captivity. If the vampires kept humans just for blood, then the devils kept humans purely for meat. There wasnt much atmosphere of the dead in the Realm of Devils, and there was a small rainy season every year, after which a black moss was born that could be eaten raw or dried in the sun, but only humans could eat it. For the devils, that thing was a nasty-smelling poison. It was just like how people could eat chocolate but dogs couldnt. The annual production of this moss was so much that the devils came up with an idea To raise humans as pigs, and when there was no food, they would take them and slaughter them for food. The city had an almost constant population of over 80,000 people, and not a single human could live past the age of twenty. And sometimes the devils would eat children and babies in pursuit of fresher and tastier food. It was quite cruel. F*ck! Hearing this, a dozen commanders were seething with rage. Each one of them was in a murderous mood. At this time, a question suddenly occurred to Moogle. Will the succubi also eat you guys? No. This messenger shook his head. Succubi are the only devils that dont eat us. They are only interested in our essence. Before, the happiest thing for us was to be bought by the succubi. Even if they fed on our essence every day, we could at least live until we were thirty or forty years old. Many men sighed in relief. Solisa grunted in displeasure. So, are there any devils in the city now? Roland asked. This messenger shook his head. There were originally some bone devils and mind flayers, but they all ran away a few days ago, and then we learned that some of our kin from the main plane had invaded. Are there many human cities like this? Many! The messenger nodded vigorously. There is a human breeding city about three hundred kilometers away. Solisa stood up. There is no time to lose. Organize a rescue escort team immediately and transfer all the humans in the cities ahead back to the human world. People should be saved, but there is a problem. Roland gently tapped the table and said, More than eighty thousand people Wetland City can take them, but how many breeding cities are there in the Realm of Devils? With so many people Wetland City cant fit all of them, and other cities may not be willing to take them. The crowd was a little dismayed. Needless to say, this was a very real problem. It was Solisa who finally asked, So were just going to stand by and let the other breeding cities go? Roland thought for a moment and said, No matter how many people there are, lets save as many as we can. First, we will escort all the people in this city in front of us to the teleportation array, then pull them back to the main plane and put them in Wetland City. As for the rest I will go to Fareins and contact the royal family there to see if they have any need for people. Fareins, as the worlds largest human country, had a lot of lands, so there probably wouldnt be a problem putting in an extra 100 or 200 million people. Besides, in the whole Realm of Devils, there probably werent that many humans. All of them nodded. Then lets do that first. Roland stood up. You guys decide the rescue plan. Im going to go to Fareins now to talk to someone about this. All of them agreed. Solisa even stood up. Her pretty face was filled with anticipation. Roland, its up to you. Ill try my best. Roland felt a great burden. When Roland left, the people in the meeting asked the messenger some more questions, and finally, they immediately started moving, with several groups of guild members heading over to the city. The messenger was in the forefront, and he waved his hand toward the walls, making a strange gesture, and the gates opened. A strange, foul odor rushed out with the opening of the city gates. It was obvious that the air inside was murky; it even bore a slight yellow tinge. This stench was intense. Mages who knew Detoxification started to cast it or Magic Shield to isolate the smell. Players loved cleanliness. But when they got into the city, they suddenly felt so f**king pretentious for what they had just done. There was not a single building in the city that was intact. They were all little cages built of rubble. WIth no sewers and few streets, people urinated and defecated in the open road, which was dry and thick with excrement, turning all the red land black. The vast majority of humans slept on the dry excrement. They had no clothes, let alone furniture. They were covered with black stains, hair bonded into slabs, and oily slick. Skinny little girls who were probably less than fifteen years old held and fed even skinnier babies. These babies were also quite emaciated. In the city, every ten or so meters, there was a wooden pile about two meters high with a stone trough hanging from it. When Solisa saw someone who was hungry, theyd go to the top and pat the stone trough, and a black powder would float down. Those waiting below opened their mouths to catch it, and after swallowing a few times, they went back to sleep. Most of them seemed muddled and displayed no intelligence to speak of, acting only on instinct. It almost felt like they had degenerated into wild beasts. Seeing this, the players from several guilds were too shocked to speak. My lords, my lords, please save them. The messenger knelt in front of them again. They might look like this but as long as they lead a normal life, they will become human again. Please take them away, will you, please. Looking at the messenger who knocked his head heavily on the ground, Solisas lips trembled and stammered, This is a disgrace to humanity. She wasnt fearful but angry, so angry that it caused a temporary loss of verbal ability. Were not pigs, so please let us go back to the human world. The messenger wept bitterly. A guild chairman pulled the messenger up as he said lightly, Dont worry, they will be saved immediately, and as for the other humans, we will also save them. After the shock, several guild groups set about preparations First, they fished people out of this filthy environment. Over 80,000 people seemed like a lot, but it wasnt that much. All but a few humans, who still possessed intelligence, had become animals who only instinctively followed orders. And the more this was the case, the more smoothly the rescue plan went. The Priests formed a barrier at the gate for Detoxification and Cleansing while the Warriors and other professions commanded and controlled the actions of the less intelligent humans in the city. Telling them to walk outside and telling them to line up. Summoner girls patrolled the area to prevent any devils from coming over to kill and cause trouble. And more players rushed over from the portal. Because of livestreams, the entire player base was now aware of this. A discussion on this was held in the forum. It was not a discussion of whether people should be saved or not, but a discussion of how, after saving the people, they also had to be responsible for teaching them to survive. Epidemic prevention is important. The environment of the breeding city is too dirty. Everyone must enjoy Detoxification and Cleansing at once. Now that all the Priests in the guilds are heading to Sisilia, there should be no problem in terms of numbers. The most important thing is the recovery of intelligence. You cant save tens of thousands of fools and then have to feed them for the rest of their lives. Its not too hard. Wolf children can communicate normally after two or three years back in the human world. Ive heard that Mages have Awaken, a level-6 spell! In that case, its time to find a master Mage, @Roland. Hes busy now. He has to find a place for those people to live. Lets leave him alone for now. No matter what, daring to raise humans like pigs and eat them like pigs, none of the devils will live Ill make a promise now to kill all the devils in the world. By the way, the succubi are the exception. Ditto, Im also switching from a casual profession to a combat profession. So thats whats going on with the Realm of Devils Expedition, I see. At this time, Roland was already in Fareins and had found the First Princess Stephanie. She was having afternoon tea with some noblewomen. Roland was brought directly to her by the butler. Please sit down. Stephanie smiled brightly. What could have brought you, such a busy man, to my place? A couple of noblewomen nearby looked at Roland with extreme interest. After all, according to the rumors, it seemed that it was this man who had a rather ambiguous relationship with the First Princess. Roland shrugged: We see each other often, okay I would like to ask, if I had hundreds of thousands or even millions of people that I wanted to put in Fareins, would you take them? The noblewomen froze. Stephanie even looked like she had seen a ghost. You are planning to be a slave trader? No! Even if you are a slave trader, you cant have such a large population, so where are you starting a war of annihilation? In Stephanies mind, the only way to get a large population in the millions in a short time was through war. We, the Golden Sons, are fighting back against the Realm of Devils. Pu! Stephanie spewed out a mouthful of fruit tea, but it hit Rolands Magic Shield and bounced back. It got a lot of drops of water on Stephanie and the noblewomen sitting across. What did you say? A counterattack on the Realm of Devils? Because Hollevin was a bit far away from Fareins, the news spread a bit slowly. Besides, even the mayor of Sisilia was not sure what the Golden Sons were up to when they gathered together. He was having a headache and was shaking with fear. Yes! Just like you heard. Stephanie immediately understood where this large population was coming from. Theres no problem with that! But youll have to come into the palace with me and talk to Father. Chapter 640 - Contracting System Chapter 640 Contracting System The King of Fareins was named Edward, but people generally called him His Majesty King Fareins, or His Majesty the King. Edward, a fairly popular, common name for eighty thousand if not a hundred thousand people in the entire world, was not called that to his face anymore after he ascended the throne. So when Roland called him His Majesty King Edward, he froze for quite a while, and only then did he remember that this was his name. Its been twenty years, hasnt it? Edward clicked his tongue in irritation. Id almost forgotten I was called that. Roland shrugged; after all, it was Stephanie who said that the kings name was Edward. Although under normal circumstances, he should be referred to as His Majesty King Fareins, Stephanie was also a Fareins, so it was easier to distinguish by simply calling him by his first name. It was a family feast, and in a side room of the palace, His Majesty the King sat at the main table, and to his left sat Her Majesty the Queen, newly promoted for less than three years. Opposite the Queen sat Stephanie, and as for Roland, he sat opposite the King. The king took a sip of fruit wine from a golden cup encrusted with fancy green gems and said, Roland, I hear you want to talk about some business with me? What kind of business? People. Since when did you turn into a slave trader? The king scratched his head, feeling somewhat awkward. We forbid slave trade in Fareins, though this law is almost nonexistent for the great nobles, who still deal in slaves secretly. But you, a Mage dont have much influence here, only backed by the Association of Mages, as well as Stephanie. And talking about strength, you have a little but not enough to let you openly deal in slavery on my land. This king seemed to be a bit of a bigmouth. Was it appropriate to speak of the dark side of his own country to an outsider like him? Its not slave-trading, were saving some humans from the Realm of Devils, Roland said. Now Edward was interested. He put down his knife and fork and asked curiously, Are you trying to say that you Golden Sons are ready to take on the Realm of Devils? Indeed. The king pondered for a moment and laughed. I know that you Golden Sons generally have a stronger sense of justice, so I can understand that you intend to save the humans who were taken captive by the devils in the past, but the question is what benefits do we, Fareins, get from it! Roland said, A large number of people. Thats not enough. Not enough? In this world, population was very important. Because of the high premature death rate, even the population density of Fareins wasnt high. Another reason was that their country was super large. If a comparison had to be made, it was roughly America plus Australia. It was easy to accommodate a hundred or two hundred million people in such a country with a low population density. And the people of this world were quite easy to support; just give them a piece of land and a house, and they would be able to feed themselves. Of course, this was in the absence of natural or man-made disasters. And a country that suddenly had an extra hundred or two hundred million people was bound to have access to an extremely high resource for as long as it could support them. The population could also be converted into combat power. The nobles everywhere were happy to recruit an extra group of tenant farmers to their empty territories. And the king who had the substantial power to distribute the population could surely receive greater benefits with a little work. These are real benefits Even so, hes still not satisfied? Roland frowned. Looking at Rolands puzzled expression, Edward clapped his hands and said, Indeed, what you offer is very interesting and of great importance, worth many gold coins. But I am the king, I have enough gold coins; I do not need so many of these useless things, you understand? I need something more interesting, more pleasurable. Putting it that way, Roland understood immediately. Please, Your Majesty, build an expeditionary force to participate with us. Normally, they wont need to fight, but we, the Golden Sons, will announce to the public that this expeditionary plan was made possible by His Majesty King Edward, and that it was you who provided the funds and intelligence so that we could enter the Realm of Devils and bring those miserable fellow humans back. Hahahahahaha! Edward laughed heartily as he poured himself a glass of wine and downed it before continuing with a wide grin. Smart, its a pleasure talking to someone like you. You flatter me. Its all because of your great foresight, Your Majesty King Edward. Roland had never been fond of bootlicking, but when he thought about the humans who were raised as pigs by the devils and were so miserable, Roland felt that it was not a bad idea to bootlick for the sake of justice. Edward laughed again at this, looking quite happy. Stephanie looked at Roland, rather surprised. In her mind, Roland was an extremely arrogant person arrogant to no end. She even had a feeling that Roland might think nothing of the gods. But now he was bootlicking not for money, not for power, but simply to resettle some rescued humans, and he was sucking up to her arrogant, conceited, and extremely clueless father! It mustve been hard for him. And the queen, who was sitting on the side, was also a little surprised. It was the first time she had seen the king so happy. Indeed the more Edward looked at Roland now, the more pleasing he seemed. He wasnt very tolerant of alcohol and was already a little drunk after a few cups, and his mouth was even less controlled. He spoke about everything. For example, what kind of relationship he had with some noble familys lady, and what kind of affair he had some time ago. The military minister was actually impotent, and then the youngest son of General Biden and his sister-in-law had unspeakable secrets. Roland crinkled his eyes at this and gave Stephanie a series of looks, telling her to mind her old man. But the expression on Stephanies face was flat, as if she was not surprised. It was the queen who fidgeted a bit. Although a bit tipsy, Edward wasnt truly drunk, and as he watched Roland give Stephanie the occasional wink, he laughed and said, By the way, I heard that you and my eldest daughter have quite an ambiguous relationship! No, Roland denied flatly. Stephanie also shook her head. Roland keeps his hands clean; he only has two women! Heh, who are you fooling. Edward naturally didnt believe it. There is no such thing as pure friendship between a man and a woman. Besides, my daughter is so beautiful. Roland was slightly bummed out. He suddenly felt that this king was not at all kingly. Instead, he kind of seemed like a street punk. So Roland, do you think my daughter tastes good? continued Edward. Roland sighed. I really dont have that kind of relationship with Her Highness, the First Princess. Heh! Edward had a just keep pretending look. My daughter is beautiful and has a great body, as beautiful as a goddess. How sexy and seductive! If she wasnt my daughter, Id A glass of red fruit wine drizzled over Edwards head. The king was instantly almost fully sobered up from his tipsiness. Stephanie said glumly, Father, I hope your mouth would say less misleading things. Its because you keep saying things like that that I have an extremely bad reputation in the capital. Edward wiped his face. Its just that those people have dirty minds. The queen covered her face with her hands, no longer having the face to watch. Stephanie sat back in her chair and stopped talking All right. Lets talk about some business, King Edward said while wiping his hair and face with a white towel. I will send an expeditionary force, but this expeditionary force is full of noble sons and daughters, so dont expect them to go into battle. But if anyone dares to disobey you and mess around you can teach them a lesson on my behalf, got it? Roland nodded. When it came to business, the king was still quite reliable. So Roland, I have a question Ive been holding back for a long time that I want to ask you. Your Majesty, please go ahead! I heard that you stole the heart of the Queen of Hollevin, how did you do it? Then he pointed to the queen beside him. Try it on her. I want to see what you are capable of that makes a queen willing to go with a poor Mage like you. The queens face went ashen! Roland felt that this king was f**king sick and almost flipped the table. Then before Roland was about to lash out, Stephanie pulled Roland away. The two of them left the palace and took a carriage to Stephanies estate. In the carriage, Stephanie said embarrassedly, Im sorry to have put you through that. Its fine. Although I do feel a bit like getting angry, it doesnt seem to be a big deal to put up with it. Roland waved his hand. My father, hes a big kid. Stephanies also had a rather helpless expression. According to my grandfather, hes been like that since he was a little boy. He likes to push peoples boundaries and also cant keep his mouth shut and talks recklessly all the time. Your father may be a bas*ard and act like a jerk, but he can be counted among the most powerful people in the world anyway. Roland closed his eyes, feeling a bit of a headache. This is a disaster. Stephanie rolled her eyes helplessly at Roland. Although her father was indeed a bas*ard, it certainly sounded a little awkward to her when said by an outsider. After all, it was her father! When they reached the entrance to the manor, before getting out of the carriage, Stephanie asked, Your floating city, how is it coming along? The degree of completion is probably just one percent. Thats a little slow. Stephanie frowned. She wanted to have a shelter in the floating city, so that in case something really happened, she would have a place and a chance to make a comeback. This was important to her, and the sooner the floating city was built, the more peace of mind she would have. Everything is difficult at the beginning. Roland thought about it and said, I will slowly increase my strength soon, and the construction of the floating city will speed up drastically. Stephanie nodded. I believe in what you say. Ill just wait for your good news. By the way Ill keep an eye on that expeditionary force for you, and Ill help you temper the people in that team beforehand to keep them from being so unruly. Sorry to trouble you. No problem. Come and take the expeditionary force in half a month. The two soon ended their conversation. Roland teleported back to the Realm of Devils, found the vanguard meeting room, and found Solisa and the others. How did the talk go on your side? When they saw Roland, they immediately gathered around. The rescue was now proceeding in an orderly fashion. One-third of the people in the breeding city had been transferred to the main plane and then escorted to Wetland City by other players from Sisilia. After being blessed by Detoxification and Healing, most of the bred humans were able to live in good health. But there were still a small number of people that died. Their bodies were dry and thin, and there were even writhing white maggots on the surface of their bodies. There couldnt possibly be a good environment and conditions in a breeding city. Those bone devils and mind flayers only had to make sure that most of the humans didnt die and didnt develop diseases. If a hundred or so frail humans died theyd simply be thrown outside the city. Regardless, people would be born, and soon there would be new human babies again. The more rescues were made, and the more they cleared the central areas of the city, the more alarming the devastation. Many white bones were piled up in the center of the city. Based on the teeth marks on them, a picture of a raw human eater came to their minds. And now they had the intention of asking the succubi about the breeding cities. It had been determined that there were three breeding cities within three to four hundred kilometers of this city. After saving this one, there would be more saving to do. That meant here would be at least three hundred thousand or four hundred thousand people to save down the road. However, Wetland City would hold at most two hundred thousand more people; the city couldnt handle any more than that. Therefore, the cities or countries that could admit large populations had to be arranged as soon as possible. This was also the reason why Solisa was anxious. Its been negotiated, Roland said with a nod, but we now have a rather important problem. Even if Fareins were willing to take these people, its not very realistic to have them trek nearly two thousand kilometers to Fareins. A small number of people would be fine-just rent some carriagesbut millions, tens of millions of people, how many carriages would that take, and how many people would die on the journey if they just walked? The group froze. This question had not occurred to them before. At this moment, someone was livestreaming, and the pop-ups that were roaming in the livestream died down because of these words. Are we just going to have to move them from one pit of fire to another? asked Solisa, in a somewhat distressed mood. I have an idea that I need your cooperation with. Solisas eyes lit up. Go ahead. As you all know, I know the multiple teleportation magic array. The crowd nodded. Roland continued, But that teleportation cost is too expensive, so Ill find a way to bring it down to a point where its affordable. How long will it take? At least a month. Roland continued, That is, if you rescue more people, then you will need to take care of their food for at least a month, and food for hundreds of thousands of people is not a good solution. The crowd was silent. With two or three hundred people in one guild, they were under a lot of logistical pressure. The difficulty of managing the necessities of hundreds of thousands of people was too much for them. They dont eat much, two meals a day will do. Solisa gritted her teeth. Fifty thousand people, Phoenix Guild will take care of that many people. At this time, the chairmen of other guilds also stepped forward. Ill cover thirty thousand. Ill cover forty-five thousand. Forty-five thousand. Within a few moments, a dozen guilds had covered the population of half a million. And in the livestream, more people were shouting Were a small guild, but we can also cover three thousand. Well cover five thousand. Six thousand. I will definitely work out the cheap version of the magic array in a month. With a swish of his cloak, Roland immediately disappeared in front of the crowd. Chapter 641 - I’ve Got My Own Ideas Chapter 641 Ive Got My Own Ideas At this time in the Temple of Light, Schuck said to the pope, Those rescued from the Realm of Devils Our church can claim some of them, and they will be excellent followers and sheep for us. The Pope, dressed in pale gold robes, sat atop his throne as he leaned down to look at the most improved Saint Samurai. Why cant we have all of them? Its impossible, Your Holiness. The royal family and the other great nobles will not allow our church to claim everyone. The Pope nodded. You have a point, so do as you wish. Okay. Schuck nodded and backed away. When Schuck was gone, a woman with a faint shimmering light emanating from her body came in from the side door. When the Pope saw her, he smiled. It seems that Holy Son Schuck is indeed insightful. He has a sense of propriety and understands compromise. No wonder the Goddess favors him so much. The Goddess has given me another order, the Holy Lady said helplessly. Its also about Schuck. What does the Goddess want? The Holy Lady shook her head. No other woman is allowed near him except Margret. All right! The Pope rubbed his forehead helplessly. How can this be done? You know how charismatic Schuck is. Not to mention other women, even you, the Holy Lady, are flustered when you see him. The Holy Lady blushed slightly. I dont, no way. Pope, dont talk nonsense. Schuck used the guild chat system to send a message to Roland after he exited the Popes hall. Schuck: The Church of Light will also be taking in a large group of people, so dont worry about saving and settling people, just focus on the teleportation magic array. It took a while before Roland responded with the word Okay. At this time, Roland was already inside the Magic Tower in Delpon, concentrating on the study of magic. Under his orders, a large number of magic materials were procured into the Magic Tower for Roland to experiment with. At first, Roland resorted to a brute force method. It was simply replacing the magic materials to see what changed in the stability and durability of the teleportation magic array. Then he recorded it with numbers and saved it into his mathematical magic model. Progress was very, very slow at first. But as more data was recorded, the pace of research began to accelerate. He could import the data into a mathematical model and then use the inverse method to figure out the effect of several materials after they were mixed. He also accounted for mental power and variations in the magic runes. Finally forming a new recipe. Then he tested if this recipe worked exactly as he had deduced it would. If it was right, he would continue to optimize this recipe. If it was wrong, then he figured out where the data was wrong, and deduced again, possibly coming up with more data. This data was then put back into the data model for new extrapolation. Under this efficient cycle, within half a month, he had compressed the cost of the multiple teleportation magic array to a single gold coin. It was then possible to teleport about a hundred people. This was taking into account individual weight differences. Weight also affected the teleportation effectnot much, but with a large number of people, there would be a large consumption cost. A single gold coin of material that could create a hundred-person teleportation array was already impressive. It was the equivalent of one hundred and sixty RMB per person to teleport once. But this price was still a bit high. After all, they werent teleporting hundreds of thousands of people, but millions, most likely tens of millions. A rough calculation said it would take at least hundreds of thousands of gold coins to teleport all of them. If the numbers were in the hundreds of millions, the cost would be even more frightening It was about thirteen days before the deadline he had promised. Roland continued to improve the teleportation magic array and improved the magic materials in the recipe. But after a certain level of cost reduction, it was hard to decrease it further. After another ten days, he compressed the cost of the multiple teleportation magic array to around eighty silver coins and raised the number of people that could be teleported to one hundred and fifty. It was a huge improvement, but he still wasnt satisfied. It was just that time no longer allowed more improvements. He had to load a large number of magic materials in his Backpack and teleport to Sisilia. At this time, a huge flat land had been added to the outskirts of Sisilia. There were many small rocky houses, and a large number of poorly clothed, skinny humans moved around the densely packed houses that looked like a rice lattice. These were the people who were rescued from the Realm of Devils. By now the players had swept away three breeding cities, saving nearly 400,000 people. These people returned to the main plane through the portal and were placed nearby. Perhaps it was due to returning to their homeland, or perhaps it was due to feeling the sunlight, but many of the muddled walking meat gradually began to regain their intelligence. They still couldnt talk, but they already knew how to follow the players instructions and go to a fixed place to eat, drink, and defecate, which was what kept the players from having to work so hard. Otherwise, just helping them flush the feces off of their bodies was a hassle and an uncomfortable thing to do. As soon as Roland appeared, he was surrounded by many people. Solisa, a poised woman, was now noticeably thinner. Players didnt need to sleep, but if they were too busy and couldnt even eat well. Even if they were professionals, they would lose weight in a short time. Hows the situation? Its barely at my ideal cost. Roland took out some magic materials from his Backpack and scattered them on the ground. Under the influence of his mental power, the materials mixed and formed a flowery pattern with great speed and the final magic pattern switch was connected under Rolands control. The large teleportation magic array, with a radius of about four meters or so, was immediately activated. A lavender glow flowed above the magic pattern, looking extremely beautiful. How much does it cost? asked Solisa. It costs 80 silver coins, and can teleport one hundred and fifty people, Roland said after a pause. After teleporting one hundred and fifty people, the magic array will be in a deactivated state, at which point magic materials will have to be added in, and then it will activate itself again. Just add the magic materials. No other steps are needed, like infusing magic power or something. As miraculous as the magic world was, one still had to think about the law of conservation of energy. Just set the materials. Roland further explained, Ive added a simple magical element gathering array to this magic array, a sort of array within an array, so as long as there are enough materials, it can theoretically keep running. Kick-ass! Even as a lady, Solisa blurted out a rude word. She was a Summoner, a class that was also related to spellcasters. While the Summoners spells didnt require effort to learn they would know how to do it once they reached a certain levelthat didnt stop her from learning about spells. After all, the more magic you knew, the more you would know about the upper limits of your opponents abilities and how to circumvent or counteract them. Ill build three magic arrays here first, and then three linking magic arrays on Fareins side. Roland paused. Of course, this will have to be prepared by talking to the royal family of Fareins, and it might take a day or two. Solisa waved her hand. Its fine, go ahead and get busy. We can still endure for a few days. Roland nodded and teleported away. Its so nice to be able to come and go when you want. Spatial magic is so convenient. She coveted it, but it was a shame that Elven Summoners could never learn Teleportation. Solisa froze in place for a moment, then walked back into the refugee camp to help care for the pitiful people. At the same time, through her, the successful improvement of Rolands teleportation magic array spread throughout the camp. There were a lot of sighs of relief. It had been quite a difficult month for them. In reality, about eighty percent of the players who bought the virtual cabin were eighteen to twenty-five years old. They were either in college or had just entered the workforce. And most of them were only sons and daughters. They were still children themselves by nature, and now they had to take care of so many people at once, not only wiping their feces and pouring out their urine but also taking care of their food and disease prevention. These small matters, when piled up, were quite tortuous. They gave thanks to the fact that the in-game body was quite strong, both in terms of endurance and willpower, far stronger than in reality. But just because they could hold on didnt mean that they wouldnt be mentally exhausted. Theyd rather hack the devils brains out and were less inclined to do this difficult job of taking care of people. It was because of a simple sense of justice, an instinctive sense of duty, that they persisted. Now that they heard about the improvements to the multiple teleportation magic array that Roland had already completed, they were relieved and felt more relaxed. It was sure to be a pain in the ass to wrap things up after that, but at least there was hope that things would be over. Roland teleported to the capital of Fareins and went straight to Stephanies estate. Stephanie was still sipping her afternoon tea, and now she was waiting for her father to abdicate and then take the throne herself. It was tacitly approved by the major powers in the capital, especially by the Association of Mages, whose support was strong, and there was no one expressing their opinions or questions about this. So she was very idle, and naturally, her idle time was spent drinking afternoon tea and throwing parties every day. But her parties were quite formal and official, and usually, only noblewomen were invited; there were hardly any male guests. After Roland entered the manor, Stephanie immediately smiled and rose. Several noblewomen next to her also followed suit. Two of them were familiar faces but Roland didnt know their names. The first four hundred thousand people are ready, Roland said, so what about your side? Of the forty thousand people, we want a hundred thousand for the royal family, Stephanie said as she headed out of the manor. A hundred fifty thousand for the Temple of Light and a hundred fifty thousand for the other nobles, well arrange it all. But the question is, how do you get the people here? Roland followed her. Multiple teleportation magic array! Arent you afraid that revealing this ability will give other people ideas? said Stephanie, stopping and twisting her head to look at him. If my father or the Temple of Light were to strike, even I would not be able to help you. Dont worry about that, Ive got my own ideas. Roland waved his hand. Now just designate a wide area. Ill set up the magic array, and then have them ready to receive the people. Sure. Carve the magic array right in front of the palace. Stephanie gave him a deep look. As for the manpower, give me half a day to deal with this. Okay. After speaking, Stephanie led Roland to the square in front of the palace, where he left three paired magic arrays. Then he teleported back to Delpon, first leaving a pile of magic materials for replenishing the magic array by the magic array, and after handing over the approximate blend ratios to Solisa and the others, he said, To improve this spell, Ive almost hit the bottom of my gold supply, and the rest of the money has to be saved for maintaining the Magic Tower and the academy, so Im relying on you guys to replenish the magic materials. Solisa and the others were well aware of how much money was burned on something like research. Especially to make achievements in a short time, the speed of burning money was even more exaggerated. Several guild chairmen patted their chests to show that they understood and said that the material costs were covered jointly by various guilds. And the matter of guiding the walking meat refugees to teleport to Fareins was also taken care of by them. Just rest easy for a while, big brother. Then they went off happily to deal with the refugee camp. Roland went to a less crowded place nearby and sat there for quite a while. Always improving spells and always researching materials, hardly stopping for a moment, was a great burden on his mind and body. But now he could rest for a while. After resting for an hour, he teleported back to Delpon and stayed with Queen Andonara, enjoying the latters gentle ministrations. His physical and mental fatigue faded away. But the feeling of emptiness in his body grew stronger and stronger. It wasnt until he felt his body protesting that he left the manor. Then he found a nondescript Church of Magic and walked in. A drawing about a multiple teleportation magic array was placed on the offerings altar and it didnt take long for the Church of Magic to be covered by a gentle and divine mental power. Roland felt the landscape around him disintegrate into pieces, into flecks of light, and then reconstitute itself into another world. Under the blue sky, he stood on top of a huge platform. And around this platform, there were countless tall towers. The towers were connected by a long sky bridge. In front of Roland stood a woman. She had waist-length purple and pink hair, a gorgeous face, and wore a long white sleeveless dress. Her front chest plate was large, with the northern hemisphere showing slightly. It was white and smooth! Lady Mystra, the Goddess of Magic? asked Roland aloud. Is that you? Why is this magic array only half complete! Staring at Roland, her purple eyes were filled with a strong desire for knowledge. As expected of a goddess, you can tell right away! Roland smiled and said, I want to make a deal with you. Making deals with gods-you really dont have much reverence for us. Roland shook his head and said, No, Ive always respected you, Ms. Mystra. Hell if I believe you. Mystra slowly approached. How do you want to trade? Chapter 642 - Deceiving a Goddess Before the Goddess of Magic Mystra became a goddess, she was also a person of great talent. Otherwise, she wouldnt have invented numerous powerful spells and become a goddess. It was an unprecedented accomplishment; she was the first mortal to ascend to godhood. It was also because it was unprecedented that there was nothing to learn from. Before truly becoming a goddess, Mystra also did a lot of probing into security and freedom restrictions. She found that becoming a goddess wouldnt have any security dangers and gladly became a goddess. However, she never expected that becoming a goddess would completely erase the innovative ability that she was so proud of, though it indeed wasnt life-threatening in any way. The power of the natural laws sealed off the insights and creativity that she had accumulated from her mortal days. IN It was fairly easy for her to create a new spell, but her ideas were just separated by a fog, unseeable and untouchable. But that was not the end of it. If she couldnt create new spells, then she would just have the believers offer them up. Everything that a righteous believer knew, the gods they believed in also knew all of it. In the end, most Mages were influenced by her deeds and were all arrogant enough to believe that their fates were not up to the gods and hoped that they would be the next Mystra. And those who would believe in her offered new spells that were simply not worth looking at. For example, offering a supposedly new Inferior Fireball spell, which was just a tiny improvement in power just a teeny tiny bit. But the magic consumption increased exponentially It was an utterly negative transformation. There were a lot of improved spells like this. As a Goddess of Magic, how could she possibly appreciate this kind of stuff? So the Mages who believed in the Goddess of Magic gleefully improved spells and offered them only to hear nothing back from her, and over time, even fewer people were willing to believe in her. In the end, only a bunch of so-called clerics still kept a handful of churches operating, making it known that there was a Goddess of Magic in this world. In reality, the Goddess of Magic, despite her extreme combat prowess, had a reputation that was completely unmatched by the Life Goddess and Goddess of Light. Even the Water Goddess had a much better presence than her. And so, the Goddess of Magic existed in this world for centuries like an invisible person. Then suddenly one day, a Mage from another plane offered a very interesting spell. Blue Fireball! She liked it as soon as she saw it. It wouldnt have been hard to create a spell like this before she became a goddess, as many of the ideas in it had similarities to her thoughts from before. She gave this child from another plane a bit of providence. But after a while, new spells were offeredthe water-making spell and oil-making spell-and it was quite interesting. And both spells were quite similar in concept to the blue fireball, and then it dawned on her that the one who made the second offering was the real inventor of these spells. The first one was just a thief. So she took back the providence on the first person and gave it to this other child from another plane. She also hoped that he would believe in her. Unfortunately, he wasnt willing to. But even then, Mystra wasnt angry. All competent Mages had pride, and she too was like that back then! And now, Roland had offered up a new model of a magic array, which she knew at first glance was only half of the model. As the Goddess of Magic, she had the strongest thirst for new magic, for new knowledge, of all the gods. At that moment, she couldnt help but pull Roland to her divine realm with her spiritual power. Then she saw Rolands soul, a peculiar one, completely unaffected by the rules of the gods. Only at the Master level, he had been able to look at her without being hurt. This man wanted to trade with her. The more the Goddess of Magic felt this man was interesting, the more she wanted to make him her believer. Roland wasnt sure what the Goddess of Magic across from him was thinking, he just wanted to negotiate a deal. Whats the deal? The Goddess of Magic had a beautiful voicebeautiful women didnt usually sound bad. Even if her voice was average, you would find her voice touching with the enhancement of her beauty. Ill offer the full version of the multiple teleportation magic array to you, Roland said slowly, but I dont want your reward directly. Then what do you want? Although Mystra was eager to know about the other half of the magic array, she held back her anticipation and asked calmly instead, Do you think my rewards are bad? Why dont you first listen to what Im giving as a reward? Roland made a gesture of invitation. He wasnt in a hurry, and in case the goddess did give something better than what he had in mind, he wouldnt turn down a different reward. I can give you a divine clone. Hmm? Roland thought of the Nether Gods Soul Gatherer and was instantly disinterested. What did he need that tool-like thing for himself? Besides, according to some of the miscellaneous books hed read, it said that the divine clone of a god was able to transmit the nearby environment and images back to the gods mind. In other words, having a divine clone was like having an extra surveillance monitor next to you. Looking at Rolands slight frown, the Goddess of Magic waved her hand gently. The blue glow of magic converged around her. Roland was immediately interested when he saw the glow. Because it wasnt just any magical elements, but purer and higher energy. Divine power? Roland suddenly realized what it was, and he was secretly thinking that it would be nice if he could steal some of the divine power and go back to study it. Unfortunately, he couldnt steal it. His current self couldnt harness that kind of power yet. As he was regretting, this blue divine power gathered into a humanoid form, then the head, face, arms, and legs all materialized. Long, light purple hair, a petite body, and a similar white dress. It was a young lady version of the Goddess of Magic. This young ladys eyes were closed, and although she looked lifelike, there wasnt any sign of life present. And it had no soul. It was just a model. While it did look a lot better than the Nether Gods Soul Gatherer, or at least much more aesthetically pleasing, the question was what did Roland need an inflatable doll for. While the inflatable doll was indeed beautiful and realistic and seemed to have body heat, Roland really didnt need it. He had a queen and Vivian, and he couldnt physically stand anymore. He was about to refuse, when Mystra continued, This is only half-finished. If you agree, I will put a fragment of my soul into her body and she will have life. Oh? Rolands eyes widened slightly. Interesting! This sort of counts as creating life. She will have much of the knowledge I give her and have great intelligence as soon as she opens her eyes, without the need for you to teach or nurture her, Mystra said with a smile. She will be your most loyal assistant and friend, and will do everything you tell her to-everything! Speaking of this, Mystra gave a darting look, revealing a smile that said as much of an unspoken mutual understanding. As expected of a goddess, even with a perverted smile, her smile was beautiful and even felt a bit divine. Seeing such a smile, Roland was even clearer on one thing. As expected.the so-called gods were still essentially human. They were just exceptionally strong. Roland looked at the girly Mystra doll again and was a bit distracted. It was quite pretty after all. And that body contained divine power, and when he had it, he could study it thoroughly Not for anything elsehe was sure he just wanted to study the nature of divine power. Just thinking about what he had come for, he resisted this throbbing temptation. Sorry, Ill go with the deal I want. All right. Mystra wagged her finger as the lifeless figure transformed back into blue divine energy and returned to her body. So, tell me about the details of your deal. Ill offer this magic array in its entirety to you, and then in your name, with your divine power, place such a teleportation magic array in front of every large- and medium-sized citys church, and make it available to everyone. Mystra was a little puzzled. But I cant see that youll get anything out of this condition. Each person has to spend ten copper coins for teleportation, which will be collected by the Church of Magic. Roland looked at the beautiful pink pupils of the goddesss eyes and said, And five of those coins are mine, which will be settled once a month, how about that? Half and half? sighed Mystra. Its still just money you want. I thought you had more to offer in the deal. This is obviously less valuable than my clone. Besides, it doesnt seem to be of much benefit to me. What do I want money for? Roland froze for a moment, then he said carefully, There must be no one among your believers who knows how to think of the long run. He also knew now that the intelligence, knowledge, experience, and vision of the gods depended on the quality of the believers. Mystra was a little embarrassed. She had less than ten thousand believers! And most of them were Mages with poor prospects and little talent. Anyone with a bit of promise had joined the Association of Mages of various places; no proper Mage would believe in the Goddess of Magic. Sit down, Mystra said, quickly calming down as she waved her hand and got out two chairs. Then the two sat facing each other. She sat in a dignified manner, then she nodded at Roland. Tell me more in detail. Im short of talent in that area right now. In the past, Mystra was just a magical research freak and didnt dabble in knowledge concerning economic rules or the long-term layout of power. And now, her believers were all nothing more than look-alikes and much less likely to know about the theory of how forces and organizations operated. First of all, money is an important thing. Maybe you dont need it, Goddess, but your churches, your devotees do. But teleporting costs only ten coins a time, that doesnt seem to make much money, Mystra said without thinking much about it. Goddess, do you know how many large and small cities there are in total? If you count just the human world, its about one hundred ten thousand or so. Roland smiled. So, how much would it be per city even if only a hundred people teleported per day? Mystra froze for a moment, then her expression immediately turned serious. Over a hundred million copper coins! And thats the minimum amount. With such a low teleportation fee, anyone who isnt too poor can afford it, and the average number of people teleporting in each city cant possibly be less than a thousand per day! Sheesh! Since she was a goddess who had lived for centuries, she was also shocked by the numbers. She couldnt help gasp in astonishment. Youre so ambitious! You flatter me. Roland smiled. At this time, Mystra was a little upset. She was a goddess, and now she was emotionally moved in front of a mortal, so she wanted to take back control. But no matter the amount of money, this will not do anything for me. I still cannot see what benefit I can get. On the contrary, you Will most likely become the richest person in the world. In a decade or so, the Dragon King Bahamut will not be as rich as you. Roland shook his head. So, Goddess, you still lack people who can help you in the long term. As far as I know, right now, there are only a few hundred of your churches. So like I just said, the matter of spreading teleportation arrays all over the world is simply impossible. Mystra blushed a little, but she wasnt angry, just embarrassed. But with money, cant you build more churches more easily? And with money, you can also give your orthodox devotees higher monthly payments to give them more incentive to preach, cant you? Mystra nodded. Thats true. Are there any other benefits? The other one is faith! Roland spread his hand as if he was embracing the whole world and said, When the magic teleportation array spreads all over the world in all the big and small cities, when all the humans or intelligent beings are used to using the teleportation array to travel, visit their relatives, and do business Every time they teleport, they will think that this magic array is a gift from the goddess Mystra, and they will remember your goodness from their childhood, their offspring, and their ancestors. So how good do you think it will be for the spreading of your faith? Mystras eyes lit up brightly. She had no knowledge in this area, nor did she have a believer who knew about it, so she couldnt think of it at the moment. But that didnt mean she was stupid. After all, being the Goddess of Magic, her intelligence was extremely high, and if someone put relevant knowledge in front of her, she would quickly understand it. Her hands shook slightly, but she still resisted the urge to bounce around girlishly and instead said seriously, I understand what youre saying about the benefits, but youre asking for too much. A fifty-fifty split isnt good. Im giving too much and youre giving too little. But I paid for the spell model and I told you about the plans for the Church of Magic as well, Roland said. Still too much. The Goddess of Magic shook her head. Youre too greedy. If thats the number, Id rather not know about this magic array. The Goddess of Magics expression was serious and certain. Roland sighed. So how much do you want then? Nine to one! Roland revealed an exaggerated, if not somewhat angry, expression. Goddess, thats very disingenuous of you. In that case, Im leaving. With that said, Roland was about to stand up. Eight to two! The goddess stared at Roland. No higher. Young man, dont be too greedy. Roland thought long and hard and nodded. Okay, lets make it eight to two. Then lets make a contract. The goddess used her divine power to create a divine document between the two. Press your palm on it. Roland casually looked at it, saw no problem with it, and put his hand on it. The cyan divine contract disappeared, and both sides felt a strange force binding them. Then Roland laughed and laughed quite happily. Mystra stared at Roland for a moment and suddenly said somewhat angrily, Little one, you actually tricked me. Thats not your bottom line. What exactly is your bottom line? Chapter 643 - Charge Rolands bottom line? A monthly payment of one or two hundred gold coins, for a period of thirty to forty years. It was already incredible enough to earn two hundred gold coins per month for patent licenses. After all, it was a very delightful thing to just sit around and earn patent fees while doing nothing. But it didnt occur to Roland that the Goddess of Magic didnt seem to know the first thing about money. He even got twenty percent of the shares by offering his technology. They even signed a divine contract. He was truly in for a great treat. But it was quite understandable. None of the Mages who worshiped Mystra were great talents. They werent even good at magic, not to mention things about business. She didnt have any knowledge in that aspect. Naturally, Roland wouldnt admit it. It was one thing if other people guessed his thoughts, but if he admitted it, he would be too cocky. Holding back his laughter, he said solemnly, My boundaries were exactly 80/20. Is that so? Mystra wasnt bothered but said with a smile, Whatever your boundaries were, consider this a gesture of friendliness. Offer me the good spells you find in the future, and you will be rewarded. Okay. Roland handed over the complete graph of the magic array. Were friends now. Okay. Mystra accepted the graph and waved her hand, sending Roland away from her paradise. She seemed slightly impatient. After Roland was gone, the impatience on Mystras face was replaced by delight. It was true that Mystra wasnt a winner from a business point of view. No sane leader of a corporation wouldve given twenty percent shares to Roland for nothing. But the problem was the gods were insane. Or rather, they shouldnt be viewed as ordinary people. Mystra was speaking the truth. Money was useless to her. What she really pursued was interesting magic knowledge and novel magic theories. Even if she made a fortune, she would still devote her money to those. Essentially, she wasnt a manager. She only needed to construct new teleportation arrays with divine power before the temples, which was easy for her. Operations and preaching were her believers responsibilities. was She didnt have to do much at all. So, her boundaries were actually 50/50. Bargaining was merely a chance for Roland to demonstrate himself and feel that he was victorious. If he felt happy, it would be easier for them to get closer to each other. She had been wondering how she could establish a closer relationship with Roland, and this would be a great start. She had a feeling that Roland would give her even more surprises in the future. She sat down again and read the magic array with such a happy smile that her eyebrows curved. Rolands consciousness returned from the paradise to the little church. He then clenched his fists in delight. He had offered the teleportation magic array to the Goddess of Magic. If anyone ever asked, he could claim that it was the goddesss gift, and nobody would dare to interrogate him. After all Interrogating a Favored for the goddesss gift and robbing him of it would be absolutely disrespectful and might trigger a war among the deities! Although Mystra wasnt very famous among the civilians, the major forces all over the world had written records stating that this goddess was as good at fighting as the Life Goddess and the Goddess of Light. The major forces dared not touch Roland, and the minor forces couldnt touch Roland. So, he could build the teleportation magic arrays confidently, knowing that he would be safe under the Goddess of Magics protection. Besides, he would be earning money every month in the future! He didnt think he would ever be short of money. He felt so good that the pores all over his body were singing. Roland returned to his manor ecstatically and had a great time with Andonara. He didnt teleport to the Realm of Devils until two days later. The fourth breeding city had been conquered, and more meat men were saved. This breeding city was quite large and had a population of more than three hundred thousand. Also, most of the population were children and teenagers. This breeding city was famous for its fresh meat. After seeing the miseries in the city, the players beheaded all the devils they found, including two succubi. Not all the succubi were neutral, just like not all human beings were good people. The two succubi participated in the child abuse too. They manipulated the teenagers to mate with their mental power and then forced the girls to give birth nonstop with the species feature of the succubi. They also shortened the period of pregnancy from ten to six months. It was even safe to say that they were the worst breeders in the city. When Roland came here, he found that many girls looked like middle-aged women or even old ladies because they had been too worn out by continual childbirth. Those things were livestreamed too. Many pictures had been clipped and spread on the Internet. In the eyes of many ordinary people, they were just regular movie scenes, although they were quite pitiful. But in the eyes of many sociologists and psychologists, the pictures were all inferred by AI and were great research materials. Then, they imposed pressure on the game company, hoping that it would release more virtual cabins so that they could conduct systematic research in the game. They found that it was too wasteful to use such a strong AI to play games. The best stuff should be used for the greatest purposes. It was right to let the scientists take over. The news immediately hit the headlines in all countries. Many other forces began to instigate trouble, hoping to force the game developers to submit the source code of the AI and simulation technology. But very soon, the game company made an announcement. It contained only a short sentence: Youre not qualified to demand source code from us until you can understand this snippet. The snippet consisted of Yin and Yang exclusively. Many programmers replaced Yin and Yang with o and 1, but they couldnt understand it. Roland found it incomprehensible too at first, but after he stared at the code for a while, those Yins and Yangs began to blur and ended up as a painting where a handsome green-haired young man raised his middle finger at him. Hmm? An illusion? He was stunned! He shook his head, and the picture before his eyes turned back to Yin and Yang. Whats going on? Roland was greatly confused. He was more and more convinced that something was seriously wrong with the game devs. Although those incidents were quite huge on the Internet, the players in the game wasnt affected. The meat men in the fourth breeding city were almost all rescued. But at this moment, the Realm of Devils counterattack finally arrived. After the last batch of meat men was rescued, a black line appeared on the red horizon. Then, the black line was pressing close at a high speed. The girls from the Phoenix Guild immediately summoned flying beasts to investigate. Then they received intelligence. An army of the Realm of Devils was marching on quickly and would probably engage them in two hours. An emergency meeting was convened in the vanguard conference room. A hundred thousand devils are coming. How many people do we have? asked Moogle from Fatter Cat anxiously. Counting the logistics people, about forty thousand. Solisa, who was responsible for statistics, frowned. After all, not all the players are interested in the Realm of Devils Expedition. Also, many players levels are too low for them to participate in the game content thats beyond them. Then how many of us will make it to this place in the end? asked Roland. No more than 150,000, by conservative estimation. Solisa covered her forehead and said, After all, the main plane is too large and consists of all kinds of elements. Its much more fun than the Realm of Devils. Solisa was speaking the truth. The human world was so fun that they could play in any way they wanted. They could go on adventures, fight, farm, or fall in love with someone. In comparison, nothing but fighting and rescuing could be done in the Realm of Devils. The game content was too limited. 150,000. Roland was rather helpless. Im told that the Realm of Devils is fairly large and there are thirteen Demon Gods, whom we have seen none of yet. Also, what weve run into so far is just the unorganized soldiers. Now, an army is finally coming at us. It was probably sent by a Demon God to test us. Everybody was rather helpless. The players were merely level eight on average, not even Masters. They were fighting the devils with their super high stats as players and their abundant experience in battles. Their advantages allowed them to win when they were outnumbered. However, when the number of enemies became astonishingly high, the advantages in stats wouldnt be so obvious. Should we return to the main plane through the portal and establish a stronghold there? someone suggested. Solisa slapped the table heavily. No. There are more than twenty thousand children we havent rescued yet. We must not fall back. Then should we fight a battle that well surely lose? A guild chairman was rather angry. Our level is very high now, and well lose a lot of EXP with each death, which is fine to me, but I have to be responsible for the members of my guild. In fact, everybody knew that he didnt really want to die. After all, some people were just tired of the rescue operations. It was just an excuse when he said that he would be responsible for his guild. After he said that, the previously high morale in the meeting room immediately dropped. Many people realized that it wasnt easy to deal with a hundred thousand devils. If things went on like this, they would soon lose unity. Roland immediately patted the table and said, Ill stop them and try to buy more time for you. You rescue those kids faster. After that, Roland left the meeting room. Then, Schuck, who had been watching the drama, followed him away. After they left the meeting room, Schuck caught up to Roland and said, Brother, try to buy more time. Ill go back to the Holy Realm. Its time to launch a crusade. After saying that, Schuck unfolded his wings and flew back, ready to return to the main plane. Roland, on the other hand, took a deep breath and activated Human Cannonball. The deafening sonic explosions didnt spread out until he took off to the sky. The players who were rescuing the meat men in the city realized something when they saw that a dark spot was charging at the army of devils. They quickly sped up their rescue. In the meeting room, Solisa smiled when she heard the raging sonic explosions. Look at that. Charging forward alone to combat a crisis. Thats what a man should do! She glanced at the chairman who proposed to retreat with derision, making the man blush. The Phoenix Guild will take the responsibility to buy more time too. You can make your own plans. After saying that, she turned around and left the meeting room. After leaving the door, Solisa shouted, Sisters, gather up! Right now, a hundred thousand devils are coming at us, but the rescue isnt finished yet. So, its time to sacrifice. Lets show those wusses that women can be strong too! Ohhhhhhh! The beautiful Summoners that were gathered up all shouted and raised their fists high. At this moment, a deafening explosion came from far away. An enormous mushroom cloud arose. The earth here was shaking even though it was far away. Then, a hot wind came from the distance. Everybody looked over and saw that a black spot was quickly rising near the mushroom cloud and closely followed by a dark plume of smoke. It could easily be told that the dark plume of smoke was the devils flying troops. Go up and take some pressure off Roland! In the bright green magic circle, a white unicorn was summoned. Solisa jumped on it and charged forward. At the same time, more beasts were being summoned too. All the girls of the Phoenix Guild summoned their own mounts and followed their chairwoman. They were summoning more beasts too. Very soon, an army of Summoners was already lunging at the devils in the distance. Seeing that the girls had charged forward, the players who stayed and prepared to retreat were all stunned. Then, they looked at each other and almost roared at the same time, before they ran toward the army of devils crazily. When the ten thousand people ran at the same time, they let out the sound of a deafening tsunami. The one who was leading the charge was a half-naked brawny man. Wula! He was like a Berserker. He was actually a Lorewalker, but it didnt stop him from being a Berserker too. Among the demons, Ryan looked at the rising mushroom cloud, and his tail which hadnt fully recovered yet was vaguely aching. Then, he looked at the man who was controlling a whole flying troop with a sordid expression. He took out an octagram artifact that was completely made of black gems. He then threw it at the sky. The black octagram span and caused a strong wind. An enormous white hand that was no different from a human hand simply extended out of the black octagram. The hand snatched Rolands right leg while he was still flying against the restrictions of time and space! Chapter 644 - Dimensional Slash Rolands hand was seized. It wasnt a simple magic effect, but the power of law. The octagram was actually a quasi-divine artifact. It was better than epic equipment, but not as powerful as a real divine artifact. But even so, it was still very powerful. The name of the item was Paimons Pacification and it contained some of Paimons power. When it attacked the enemy, the non-law defense spells on the enemy would be nullified. It would grab the target after it was launched. It was also why Rolands Magic Shield didnt work. A regular level-12 Mage wouldve been easily squished by the giant hand. However, Roland was favored by two goddesses. Although it provided nothing but some stats for him, the two goddesses were lawful deities. Paimon, as a Demon God, used chaotic power. So, while this hand wouldve squished a regular professional, its size was greatly diminished when it hit Roland and collided with the aura of the Favored. It became the size of a regular hand. Even so, it wouldve still broken most peoples feet. Unfortunately, Roland was still very lucky. Not long ago, he just acquired Tough Body, a Legendary perk, through the equality contract with Andonara. So, his physical defense was very high at this moment. It was with this perk that he was able to break Andonaras defense and resist the clinching of a Legendary Hero. So the invincible pseudo-artifact failed this time and couldnt cause greater damage to Roland after catching him. With this ominous hand holding him back, Rolands flying speed clearly lowered. The thing clung on to him even when he entered the spatial bubble. The devils flying troops were catching up. It was impossible to kite them anymore. Roland turned back and cut the white hand with Wind Blade, using some mental power. However, the Wind Blade was deflected with a metallic noise when it hit the ominous hand. It looked like a human hand, but it was essentially energy? Did he have anything sharper? Roland thought for a moment and took a black scythe from his Backpack. The enormous scythe darkened the environment when it appeared. Then, Roland cut horizontally. The hand that was as tough as iron a moment ago was easily chopped off and reduced to dust. The octagram fell off, some flaws on it. Ryan instantly ran over and picked up the black octagonal hand. He wiped it with obvious regret. Its truly sharp Roland continued flying up with the black scythe in his hand. Without the white hand holding him back, he quickly moved further away from the devils air support. At this moment, he was too focused on the enemy to notice that his scythe seemed darker when it cut apart the white hand. Now that he had enough distance, Roland looked back and extended his left hand. Infinite Arcane Bullets flew out like dense blue bubbles. They were crammed into a cluster and then dispersed. It was a spell that he modified in his spare time. It focused on number and damage instead of precision. It was purely for battlefield usage. Because there were so many enemies on the battlefield, one only needed to unleash their firepower without aiming. Based on such an ideology, the spell of Infinite Arcane Bullets was developed. Essentially, it was still Arcane Bullet, yet it had an astonishing number. The number of bullets one could launch depended on ones magic power. The blue fireball that Roland launched earlier consumed half of his mana. Then, Human Cannonball consumed a lot of magic power too. At this moment, countless Arcane Bullets were flying. Over the distance, it could be seen that a blue water ball spread out at the high altitude and hit the black plume of smoke. Explosions like the noises of firecrackers burst out, and a lot of black smoke dropped from the top of the pillar. The members of the Phoenix Guild who were charging, and the other players who were charging like bulls behind them, were all excited to see that. The scene naturally appeared in many stream channels too. The players in the rear or the main plane who werent involved in the battle and the audience were all amazed. Leaving apart the nuclear explosion earlier, this move is already powerful enough. If several more Mages like Roland were here, no other classes would need to fight this battle. Roland is an exception. Hes the best in magic control and magic power capacity. Regular Mages wouldve been worn out before they launched half of this number of bullets. Besides, Roland wasnt in his best state and probably only used one-third of his magic power. Dont go that far. Its barely possible for a regular Mage to learn this spell. The talent gap is too huge. But in any case, many people are persisting as Mages because of Roland. Without him, the number of Mages will probably drop to one-hundredth or even one-thousandth. They might all choose to be Warlocks or Priests. Leaving aside the status proposed in the stream channel, Rolands own status wasnt too good. He was already out of mana. Also, because his attention had been concentrated on his enemies, it never occurred to him that his scythe was getting darker and darker and shivering. Roland felt dizzy after he used up the last bit of his magic power. The major explosion earlier and the mass of Arcane Bullets couldnt have killed more than five hundred devils together. Five hundred sounded like a lot, but there were still another 99,500 of them on the battlefield. Nevertheless, it was already a remarkable number. A Mage who killed five hundred soldiers in five minutes after the battle started would be an honorable guest among any force, and the forces that couldnt have him would try to kill him. Under normal circumstances, a death of more than five hundred people would be a blow on morale, even for the fearless devils. Roland looked at his empty mana bar, and then at the flying troops that were coming at him, including gargoyles and wyverns. He could see their hideous faces clearly even though he was a long distance away. He heaved a soft sigh and then took out a brick of magic power from the system Backpack. Although it seemed precious, it was the only way for him to quickly refill magic power now. He was going to elementize himself and stuff it into his body. It was impossible to use the brick of magic power in the human form; he would blow up. However, the moment he took the brick out, and before he performed elementization, the scythe in his hand suddenly emitted a black mist. The mist was so dense that Roland could be enshrouded. It looked like a black cloud over a distance. Also, it was still dilating. Roland couldnt see anything, and the black scythe started burning. Also, he could sense that the magic power brick in his hand was quickly disappearing as if it was corroded by the black mist. This scythe is a trap! Rolands first reaction was that the Nether God had set him up. He wanted to throw the scythe away, yet it was stuck to his left hand as if it were covered in glue. ere COV Should I blow myself up? But then he discovered, helplessly, that he couldnt even blow himself up because he had run out of mana and the magic power brick was absorbed by the black mist. He was worried and thought that he would be disconnected, when a female voice came from the thick mist. Relax. Give your body to me. Huh??? Roland was absolutely baffled. Then, he suddenly discovered that his perspective changed and he could see out of the black mist. Also He raised his head and realized the dense mist was quickly reshaping into a human form. From the perspective of the girls from the Phoenix Guild, they saw a panorama that was more comprehensive. Roland squirted out black mist all over his body. Then, the black mist turned into dark clouds and quickly expanded. Also, the black mist quickly twisted and reshaped. Eventually, it turned into a voluptuous woman who was holding a black scythe. It was very massive and looked like a pure obsidian statue standing in midair. Enormous mental pressure emerged from nowhere. Everybody within a fifty-kilometer radius sensed the overwhelming pressure. The flying troops of devils who chased Roland all stopped. They looked at the gigantic black woman in panic. The cowards who realized that it wasnt good even wanted to flee. Exactly at this moment, the black woman slightly turned aside. Her upper body moved, and a black scythe of mist at least a hundred meters long drew a black, curved line of light in the sky. The light broke the boundary of time and space. Everybody saw that she killed a whole air troop of devils with a swing of the scythe. But as a matter of fact, those devils had already been shattered the moment she waved the scythe. The following black light simply consumed their broken bodies. The black light, mixed with the lightning, tore apart a long spatial crevice at least three hundred meters long. Black lightning glittered around the crevice. Through the crevice, a green-and-purple sky could be seen. The players who had watched Rolands stream shouted after a shock, Thats the Netherworld! Hardly had they said that when a lot of transparent souls appeared on the battlefield and flew into the crevice beyond their control, as if an invisible power were pulling them. The souls of those demons were weeping and struggling soundlessly. Nobody could hear their cries. They were gradually swallowed, and then the crevice slowly healed. It disappeared about twenty seconds later. The enormous black woman in the sky slowly vanished too. All the black mist was gone. Wreathed by a black barrier, Roland fell from the sky and hit the ground heavily. Solisa of the Phoenix Guild finally came back to herself from her shock. She shouted, Roland has crushed the enemys air forces and given us a chance. Lets charge! Then, thousands of summoned creatures, along with ten thousand players, lunged at the devils not far away. Ryan noticed a black sphere that was half-buried in the red soil. Since he was not far away, he could sense the enormous power of order inside the black sphere. For someone who was chaotic evil like him, it was highly uncomfortable just to look at the black ball, let alone take it away. He then waved his hand and sprayed red magic power on the bone devil in the front row. The two thousand bone devils, with red light glowing in their eyes, charged at the players too. Ryan, on the other hand, took out his broken horn and sounded the signal of retreat. The ninety thousand devils retreated in an orderly fashion. By the time the Phoenix Guild and the other players killed the two thousand rampant bone devils, the army of devils had already retreated far away. They then looked at the other side of the battlefield and found the black sphere. Unlike the devils, the players didnt feel any pressure or discomfort from the black sphere. Many people talked and pointed at the black sphere. The bolder ones even poked their fingers at it. Is there a black Nezha inside this? All the audience in the stream channel laughed. Seriously? Black Nezha? Im more inclined to believe that its black Li Jing. Speaking of which, what happened to Roland just now? How did he summon a black female giant and wipe out all the devil air forces with one slash? That was unbelievable. Its a crowd attack skill thats even more powerful than the blue fireball. I think its related to the Nether God. Was she the Nether God? Nobody except Roland and Schuck had seen the Nether Gods real face. What they saw from the stream in the Netherworld was just a bunch of pixels. Forget the Nether God. Roland must be inside this black sphere. Is it possible to rescue him? I dont think its necessary. I think hes evolving? You mean like pokemon? Anyone got a master ball? Im going to drop it when he appears. Then Ill have a Mage Pokemon. LOL. Are you not envious? Maybe Roland will get stronger. Will envy help? He deserves it for being the first to charge out without fearing that he might lose EXP after he dies. Most players agreed with that. Roland was indeed inside the black sphere at this moment. He was lying and holding back excruciating pain. A player couldnt sense much physical pain. But what if the pain was directly imposed on the soul? There was a progress bar in his eyes that said Supreme Dark Dimensional Slash is being recorded. Progress: 50%. 60%. In fact, the speed of recording wasnt low. However, everything would be slow if you were in excruciating pain. Rolands face was twisted, and his eyes were bloodshot. Veins were bulging on his forehead and neck as he held back the agony. 90%. Rolands nose was bleeding. 100%. Rolands body collapsed. He finally realized that it was so rare and comfortable to have a body that didnt have to endure any pain. He then focused his eyes on the newly acquired perk. Chapter 645 - Modify the New Spell It was a perk, not a skill or a special move. So, Roland was quite shocked when he realized that it was a perk. It was well-known that perks couldnt be silenced. Spells, as skills, could be silenced or restrained. However, when a perk was activated, it could hardly be restrained as long as its requirements were met. So, it was not something that everybody could do, to transform an ability that was clearly a skill into a perk. However, considering that this might be the Nether Gods ability, transforming a skill into a perk probably agreed with the rules of the magic world. What ordinary people couldnt do might be possible for the gods. Roland was even more delighted by the description of the perk. Supreme Dark Dimensional Slash: Special active perk. When you hold the Nether Gods Scythe, you can perform an attack of divine rules at a cost of at least 3,600 points of magic power, dealing a dark elemental damage of (10 * enemy level + consumed mana / 10) to all targets in the area. Additionally, it will cause spatial rapture damage depending on the size of the spatial crevice opened. The crevice will be connected to the Netherworld and absorb the souls within a certain range into the Netherworld. It was the most powerful skill that Roland had seen. But of course, its consumption was unbelievably high too. Roland had a total MP of no more than 1,100 even if he put on the best MP equipment with the most powerful magic power runes. Yet, this ability consumed at least 3,600 points. For ordinary people, this was a fancy yet useless skill that they wouldnt have a chance to use. But Roland was different. He could receive enough magic power from the magic power bricks to activate the ability. However, the magic power bricks were very precious, and Roland could only get an uncertain number of them every one or two months. So, Roland would never use this ability unless it was absolutely necessary. Besides, the stats that the Nether Gods Scythe provided were enough for him to deal with most battles. After the ability was recorded, the black sphere that protected Roland dwindled and completely disappeared into his body. He rose from the pit, and the players gathered around him. Most of them were girls. Earlier, the girls of the Phoenix Guild were always angry when they saw him. However most of them looked at him with admiration if not adoration at this moment. What happened just now? Solisa looked at Roland curiously. Was the super massive attack your new invention? Im not sure. It seems that my scythe still carries the Nether Gods will, and she doesnt like the devils. Roland didnt want to reveal his secret, so he didnt confess the whole truth. That explains a lot! Many people were convinced. Roland was still a Master. Even though he could invent powerful spells, the attack just now reeked of the power of gods. They had played the game for more than three years and read about other peoples experiences on the forum every day. Also, the players were good at summarizing. So, most of them had much more battle experience and common sense than the natives of this world. Many of them could tell that the enormous woman formed by the dark cloud earlier had a higher energy level. It was believable that she was the Nether God. Then did you reap anything from the black ball? I felt that you were evolving. What evolving? Im still level twelve, said Roland calmly. It was just a protective barrier. Roland knew magic better than anybody else. Who could argue with him if he claimed that it was a magic barrier? The person who asked the question wasnt malicious but simply curious. However, Roland wasnt sure that the audience of the stream were all kindhearted. Some people simply didnt want good things to happen to others. So, it was necessary to hide ones wealth and secrets just to be safe. It wasnt because they were cowards, but because they would rather not invite unnecessary trouble. Roland looked around and found that the army of devils had already retreated, so he asked, How is it going in the breeding city? The rescue is ongoing, said Solisa. But a lot of people are feeling tired. Roland heaved a sigh; it couldnt be helped. It was easy to do good things once in a while, but it was not easy to persist in doing that. It was not because those people werent kindhearted, but because the natural instincts for survival they inherited from their ancestors would warn them. Such a warning manifested as their tiredness in their kindness. One could endure selflessness for a while, even with their instinct for survival, but one couldnt do that forever. That had been engraved into their DNA. To cope with such instincts, one had to be resolved and dignified. So, Roland didnt feel that those players were wrong. Should we establish an incentive mechanism? Moogle squeezed out of the crowd. Thats not good. Roland shook his head. Why dont we take turns? Since many more players are coming to this place, they can take over the rescue work for now. Moogle heaved a sigh. I guess thats all we can do for now. Roland teleported back to Delpon. He had received more than seven thousand Reputation points for killing the devils. He exchanged for twenty points of MP and 0.4 Magic Power Regeneration in the Reputation Store. For someone at his level, it was impossible to quickly increase his stats. He could only build them up bit by bit through equipment, perks, enchantments, titles etc. At this moment, he could also obtain stats from the Reputation Store. Also, Roland discovered that the exchange of stats didnt have any limitation in the Reputation Store. It meant that, as long as Roland killed enough devils, he could easily increase his stats to a crazy level He would be able to accumulate a large sum of Reputation by performing a few more Dark Dimensional Slashes at the cost of magic power bricks. But there was only a finite number of magic power bricks, and it would be a shame to use them so casually and affect the development of the floating city. Therefore, it was necessary to improve crowd attack spells. After he returned to Delpon, he instantly devoted himself to the modification of crowd attack spells. It was impossible to strengthen the blue fireball anymore, not because the blue fireball had reached its peak, but because Roland wasnt strong or knowledgeable enough to continue the research. Or to put it more frankly, he didnt know how he could further improve the spell yet. Now that the blue fireball was at its limit, it was possible to try other spells. For example he could try to improve Whirlwind. To be honest, if he could unleash a tornado, it would be quite destructive. It wouldnt be as powerful as a nuclear explosion with the blue fireball, but it could last much longer If it swirled in the enemy troops for half an hour, it could cause much more damage than the blue fireball would. He might as well improve this one! After he got a target, Roland began to parse the patterns of Whirlwind and infer the possible effects. He also posted a thread in the Suggestion & Feedback section of the forum. About the unreasonableness of Reputation Acquirement. Rolands thread basically went like this: Its not good that the Reputation Store only acknowledges the number and quality of devils one kills. Many people in the logistics division worked very hard too and the vanguard couldnt have fought as well without them, yet they werent getting any Reputation. Same goes for the rescue party, who did the most arduous and caring job for nothing in return. Thats unfair. I hope that the devs can change the data and formulas in the game so that those people can get Reputation too. A GM soon replied to the thread. Its a fair piece of advice. We havent done our job well. Well publish a new formula to acquire Reputation. Thank you for playing this game. The players were naturally delighted to see the GMs reply. Almost everybody left the same message: Good deeds always pay off. Roland was quite relieved too. If the rescue party and the logistics division could get Reputation, they would be more motivated and less tired. It was impossible to do good things all the time just with kindness and hot blood. Positive feedback would be more helpful. Then, Roland fully devoted himself to the improvement of Whirlwind. He spent about five days improving Whirlwind into Small Tornado. Yet it was not powerful enough. The result soon came out after he ran experiments with dummies. The Small Tornado could throw ordinary people around, but not very high up. It could heavily wound them, but not necessarily kill them. Considering that devils were taller and heavier than human beings on average, the Small Tornado might not be able to lift them. In particular, the battle demons of fear were too tall for the tornado, which was only slightly more than twenty meter tall, to imbalance them. However That seemed to be the end of the improvement of Whirlwind. Unlike the blue fireball, this level-two spell had plenty of nodes but not many empty ones in its model. It was rather challenging even if he wanted to modify it. Roland performed Tornado in the wilderness and watched it move and absorb leaves under his control. love CS Then, a pebble was thrown off into a rock near Roland. The pebble shattered, but it left a huge dent on the rock too. Well The wind speed was quite high. The problem was that it couldnt output much power. Wait Wind speed? Roland suddenly had an idea. If the pebble was already so powerful when it was thrown, what about sharp weapons? His eyes glittered, and he began to consider Ice Cone. He changed Ice Cone into Ice Slice at first. He then sharpened its edge. After that, he implemented the model of Infinite Arcane Bullets and created the Infinite Ice Blades! In the end, he tried to combine the Tornado with the Infinite Ice Blades. Then, he created a tornado of ice blades that could continuously cut the enemy like a washing machine after absorbing them. Even more funnily, the ice blades, spun and accelerated by the tornado, would have an effective damage radius of more than a hundred meters when they were thrown out like a hailstorm in the end. Roland did an experiment. After a dummy was absorbed into the tornado, it was quickly shredded by thousands of ice blades. Then, a tremendous number of ice blades were thrown at his Magic Shield. Intense waves appeared on the surface of the shield, and his MP plummeted at an unbelievable speed. The tornados surroundings were even more heartbreaking. All the trees had been cut apart. There were no grasses that could be taller than ten centimeters. Many rocks had been shattered too. The fractures of the rocks were as smooth as a mirror. Some of the huge and hard rocks had such deep holes on them that they looked like beehives. The combination of the two spells of different classes succeeded. However, Roland realized a fatal shortcoming of the spell. Its control range was fifty meters, and its destructive radius was a hundred meters! It meant that Roland himself would be attacked after the spell was activated. Considering the intensity of the spell, Roland had to spend MP both on controlling the spell and on sustaining a Magic Shield to prevent himself from being killed. By conservation estimation, it was impossible for him to use this spell for longer than three minutes. That was against the purpose of this spell. He had intended to create a spell that could last longer and deal greater damage than the blue fireball could. For example, he wanted it to last at least twenty minutes. Yet, it had lasted only three minutes, not even one-sixth of his expectation. That didnt feel very good. Should he lower the power of the spell? Unlikely. The efficiency, damage, and penetration of this spell was based on the high speed of the tornado that propelled the ice blades. If he were to lower the power of the spell, the wind speed of the tornado would surely drop. In such a case, the tornado couldnt draw in the enemy anymore, and the power of the ice blades would drop. The range of destruction would be lowered to a radius of a dozen meters. What should he do? Roland felt that he was caught in a dilemma. His mental power was very high, but it was already his best to control such a powerful spell from fifty meters away. He couldnt increase the control distance to a hundred meters just by modifying the spell model. He wouldnt be scared of being hurt in his elemental state, but he could only use one kind of elemental spell in that state. Wind and ice were two different elements. He couldnt control them both after he used Elemental Embodiment. Was there another way? Douglas visited Roland when he was in a dilemma. Seeing how bummed Roland appeared, he asked if Roland had run into any problems. Roland told him everything, just to get a second opinion. In the end, Douglas simply said strangely, Cant you just build a shelter for yourself? One where you can see the outside and stay safe. Stunned, Roland seized Douglass hand and said in delight, Thank you, I know what to do now. The spell was perfect and didnt need any changing Three days after he completed the spell, a new army of devils appeared on the horizon. This time, some twenty people seemed to have arrived, and a lot of devils that were holding wands were among them. Then, Roland teleported back to the Realm of Devils. Chapter 646 - The Enemy Doesn’t Seem Strong As the players pressed on their conquest in the Realm of Devils, the devils naturally reacted. The devils had always been invaders to the main plane, yet this time, the professionals from the main plane had invaded their realm and even conquered several breeding cities. The news had spread in the Realm of Devils. Paimon, as one of the leaders of the Realm of Devils, was under a lot of pressure, mostly from other Demon Gods, who all mocked and laughed at him. There was a mental communication network among the Demon Gods that allowed them to talk in real time, although the consumption of the network was quite high as they were far away from each other. Paimon, its your turn to send subordinates to the main plane for fun. You activated the magic array, but why didnt your troops break in? Instead, they let human beings in. What are you up to? That was an old and majestic voice. Something is seriously wrong about our enemy. I have a bad feeling. Paimons voice echoed in the special space in the Realm of Devils. Judas, do you want to come over and help? Haha. Forget it, I dont want to get involved in your business. Should I participate? A crisp and pleasant female voice cut in. Im very interested in the human beings who dare to break into the Realm of Devils. Phoenix, why have you turned into a woman again? Paimon found it amusing. You won the Power of Gender Transformation from me just to be a woman? Unlike Gender Shift, which could only change ones sex physically but not their soul, the Power of Gender Transformation could change someones body and heart into a females. Phoenix was an out-and-out woman at this moment. Its fun to be a woman. Phoenix giggled as perkily as a young girl. I intend to roam the human world in my new identity and check on my descendants. Since the portal is on and I have to cross your territory, I can help if you need me. Paimon sounded suspicious. Havent you always been a protector of human beings? Why are you willing to help me deal with them? I am a woman right now, and women are capricious. Paimon thought it through after a moment. His Power of Gender Transformation had negative effects. It was essentially chaotic divine power and could affect ones mind, not to mention that it was hard to figure out what was on a womans mind in the first place. Now that Phoenix had completely become a woman, these changes were only natural. Okay, said Paimon. The human beings on my territory are Golden Sons. They seem to be from an alien world. According to what Ive learned, they can be resurrected after death! Is the Life Goddess on their side? Not just her, but the Nether God too. Earlier, signs of the Nether God appeared on my territory. She claimed a thousand of my subjects souls and made it impossible for them to be reborn in the Realm of Gods. Its such a huge loss. Under normal circumstances, devils wouldnt reach the Netherworld after death. They would be deprived of their memories and reborn in the Realm of Devils. The Realm of Devils had its own reincarnation system. However, it was a different matter if their souls were collected by the Nether God. The Nether God was very interested in the souls of the devils, but nobody knew why she collected them. In any case, the souls of those devils never appeared again. On the other hand, it was very hard for a new soul to be generated in the Realm of Devils. Im even more interested, said Phoenix with a smile. As it happens, I need someone to give me a ride to the main plane. Fine, you can come here, said Paimon. You can also test how strong those human beings are for me. Heh. Im on my way. The mental conversation ended. Although only three Demon Gods spoke, the others were aware of their talk. Paimon, after thinking for a moment, sent an army of about a hundred thousand devils to the human beings occupation to work with Phoenix. That was exactly the scene that Roland and the others were seeing. A long black line stretched out on the red land at a distance from left to right, occupying the center of their vision. There was also a dark cloud in the sky. That was the devils air forces, made of gargoyles, succubi, and other winged devils. There were about twenty thousand of them. Looking at the army of devils that was pressing close, Roland turned around and asked Solisa, How many men do we have right now? About thirty thousand. Solisa heaved a sigh. The players are distributed in different parts of the main plane. It takes time for them to arrive. Also, many of them are more inclined to reach above level sight before they come here, or they would be dwarfed by the devils in stats. Thirty thousand. Considering a head-on clash, it would be possible to win the battle with the previous casualty rate. UTV But the problem was that nobody knew the overall strength of this troop of devils. It was like how wolves and huskies looked similar and strong, but their intelligence and combat ability werent on the same level at all. Nobody could tell if the hundred thousand devils would be wolves from the north. Therefore, it wouldnt be a rational choice to fight them head-on. Lets fight a guerrilla war and make use of the classical guerrilla war theories. Everybody nodded. That was the right thing to do. Only idiots would charge at the enemy when they were terribly outnumbered. Then well harass their left flank. Solisa spoke out first. I think well be able to hold back five thousand devils. Everybody looked at her with admiration after she said that. It was truly unusual for a soft and cute girl to shoulder responsibility first. Besides, holding back five thousand enemies with only a hundred companions was itself a crazy task. Then well distract them in the middle lane. Moogle shouldered the responsibility of a major guild. Well take the right flank. Well assist Fatter Cat in the middle lane. Well help the Phoenix Guild on the left flank. Very soon, all the guilds confirmed their mission. Then, the leaders of all the thirty guilds looked at Roland. Because Schuck had returned to the Temple of Light to prepare for the crusade, Roland was responsible for F6 at this moment. Under everybodys watch, Roland said casually, You fend them off first. Ill perform my ult when the moment comes. Those game veterans immediately realized what Roland meant. That was the end of the battle meeting. The enemy would be at their door if they continued talking Then, all the guilds set off from their temporary camps in three lines. Thirty thousand people were a lot. They seemed rather overwhelming too. Nevertheless, they couldnt compare to the devils, which were more than a hundred thousand strong. The players had gone straight to battle without any tricks now that they had decided on their strategy. The devils shouldve been confident with their large numbers, but Ryan was quite ill at ease. From far away, he already saw that the enemies were coming at him in three lines. He frowned all the time, because he didnt find the Mage who gave him quite a headache. The Mage that opened a spatial crevice with one slash of his blade. According to logic, he should stay and postpone the battle until he located the threat. But unfortunately, he wasnt the commander this time. The commander was Lawrence, a fire devil who was almost a Legend. The prospects of fire devils were generally not as good as those of a battle devil of fear, but Lawrence was an exception. He was so talented that he had killed Legendary experts even though he wasnt a Legend yet. These weak human beings are attacking us? Lawrence was quite surprised. He participated in the last invasion to the main plane too, and he strongly despised human beings. Except a tiny minority, most people didnt even dare to raise their swords at the devils but could only flee. But this time, thirty thousand human beings had broken into the Realm of Devils. The whole thing seemed uncanny. Something isnt right. The fire devil exhaled. Flames gushed out of his mouth and quickly disappeared. Ryan, what do you think we should do? We should fall back and establish defenses. Seeing that the humans vanguard had covered half of the distance between them, Ryan became even more uneasy. Those human beings are very strong. Are you saying that thirty thousand of them can beat a hundred thousand of us? The fire devils eyes were hidden behind the thick rock helmet. Im told that you retreated after only losing three thousand soldiers last time. The enemy is very strong and unusual. The fire devil chuckled. I think so too, but we dont have a choice. Lord Paimon has asked me to lead the attack and cooperate with another big shot. Ryan said with a bitter smile, Is that so? Got it. Ill lead the charge immediately. Youll lead the charge? Then what will I do? The fire devil snorted and raised the gigantic battle axe in his right hand before he roared, The Black Bone Mages will create battlefield fog. The rest of you, charge after me! The Black Bone devils who were hiding in the rear all began to wave their wands. Nasty and ear-splitting chants resounded. Very soon, a thick red fog arose before them. The fog reeked of blood and waste. The fog was spreading and quickly enshrouded a large area and all the players. All the players vision was restrained. Also, the fog smelled very disgusting. This stuff is poisonous. Priests, disperse it. Very soon, white, blue, and green light, representing the Priests of light, ocean, and life respectively, flashed among the players. It was the girls of the Phoenix Guild who cleared the fog first. All the Elven Summoners were capable of dispersing, and so were the creatures they summoned. So, they took care of the visibility problem in only ten seconds. They even sent a team of flying goblins to help Fatter Cat to eliminate the fog. Very soon, the players in the other lanes cleared the fog around them too. Then, they felt that the earth was shaking violently and realized that the devils were only a hundred meters away from them. How despicable! The fog can absorb noise and make us deaf! Under normal circumstances, the charge of a hundred thousand devils would be as loud as a tsunami, but they didnt hear the charge until just now. It couldve only been because of the fog. The devils, however, were even more surprised than the players were. The red fog strategy had always been the most practical strategy when they invaded the main plane. It had never failed before. The army of human beings in the main plane, no matter how many, couldnt resist the red fog. It was partly because few Priests were in the army, and partly because those Priests werent strong enough. Even if they could disperse the fog, they wouldnt have the mental power to cast other spells if they were busy dealing with the fog. They would still be at the devils mercy. This time, not only were the enemies all professionals, but the number of Priests even took up one-sixth of the total. There seemed to be a Priest among every six human beings. Also, they seemed to all be Battle Priests. The players were surprised to see the enemies so close, but they werent anxious. The Shield Warriors moved forward behind enormous tower shields. When the enemies were thirty meters away, they all smashed their shields into the ground and established a straight perimeter of shields. Almost all the shields were shivering slightly. It was a special skill of the Shield Warriors, as well as a must-learn for all Shield Warriors. A coalition line of defense? The fire devil who was running ahead was greatly surprised. This ability was quite tricky. If one or two Shield Warriors were to use it, it wouldnt be too effective. However, if dozens of people were to use it at the same time, they could establish an iron wall of defense. At this moment, the fire devil saw at least three hundred people behind the line of defense. Theyre truly unusual! The coalition line of defense was a great ability, but it required a constitution growth of at least eight points. Under normal circumstances, only ten in ten thousand soldiers could use it. Yet, he saw that three hundred people could use it at the same time? Was it real? The fire devil didnt really believe it. He was quite big and a distance of thirty meters meant only several steps. With his body that was five meters tall and an axe that was three meters long and weighed five hundred kilograms, he cut it down with the momentum of charge. The giant roaring axe even twisted the air. However, the giant axe didnt cut both the enemy and his shield apart as expected. Instead, after a thump, his gigantic axe bounced back. It was real! The fire devil was quite surprised. Then, more devils roared and crashed into the wall of shields like waves. They were like black tides hitting a levee. The waves were splashing and rising, yet the levee was absolutely still. Then, a storm of arrows and spells was launched from behind the levee. Screams were bursting out intensely as a lot of devils were killed. The fire devil covered his face and slowly retreated. None of the arrows or spells that hit his rock helmet really hurt him. The enemy didnt seem very strong. After the first round of battle, many players keenly realized that. At this moment, Roland, who was hiding in the crowd, looked at the Mages in the rear of the enemy line. Those Black Bone Mages seemed to be performing their spells again. At this moment, Roland snapped his fingers and suddenly disappeared. Chapter 647 - I’m Not Afraid of a Melee Battle The devils barely had any battle formations. Their only tactic was that the Warriors led the charge, the Archers stayed in the center, and the Mages covered the rear. Based on their experience in invading the main plane, all they needed to do was charge and the humans would collapse after a moment of resistance. Their Mages and Archers didnt need any protection at all. It was exactly because of this stereotype that Roland got an opportunity. The Black Bone Mages were of similar size to human beings, but they were small for devils. But that was the reason why they developed the unique Black Bone Sorcery and claimed their spot in the middle of the hierarchy in the Realm of Devils. The leader of the Black Bone Mages was called Hulu Heizo. He looked no different from other Black Bone Mages, his face covered by a wooden mask. The other Black Bone Mages masks were gray, but his was black and much bigger. Hulu Heizo was so surprised that his eyes were popping out when his allies in the front line were blocked by the human Shield Warriors. When did human beings become so strong? Should we help? Hulu Heizo shouted over his shoulder, asking his compatriots to perform their spells freely. Exhaustion, Stun, or other offensive spells would all help. But after he finished shouting, he sensed that something wasnt right. A rather immense mass of mental power suddenly burst out from the enemy. Then, the central point of the mental power quickly moved to his compatriots. Was it a flash? When Hulu Heizo thought this, a human being emerged among them. As he appeared, the air was twisting quickly. Hulu Heizo felt that something was seriously wrong. It was normal that air twisting came along with a flash, but the air shouldnt have been twisted so intensely on such a large scale. It was an attack! Hulu Heizo reacted promptly and was about to yell for his compatriots to be careful, but it was too late. After Roland reappeared, the air twisted first and then pressed away. All the Black Bone Mages within a twenty-meter radius were knocked away and vomited blood. The enemies that were closest to him were reduced to smithereens in midair. Attack Hulu Heizo roared and pointed at Roland. He was quite perplexed, and found it unbelievable that a human Mage, famous for their vulnerability, was bold enough to flash to the enemy side. Was the man going to detonate and kill himself? Right at this moment, Roland snapped his fingers. The air instantly began flowing, and a visible tornado took shape around the man. The tornado appeared very fast with a high attraction force. The Black Bone Mages that were close to Roland were all sucked in. There was nothing but glittering pieces of ice in the tornado. Run! n Hulu Heizo roared an order, but it was too late. The tornado expanded at a high speed. Soon enough, more than half of his people were absorbed. Continuous screams came from the tornado while it raged. The previously gray and black tornado turned red at a high speed, partly because the soil was red and partly due to the blood of his compatriots. Whats going on? Hulu Heizo trembled, his heart full of anger and fear at once. The Black Bone Clan wasnt a populous clan. The thousand people here were already one-tenth of the adults in the clan. This tornado had easily killed half of them. But it wasnt over yet. After the tornado turned red, ice blades that had been dyed red were thrown out of the tornado. They were fast and lethal. Every dart of the ice blades could pierce through the Black Bone Clans relatively fragile bodies. At the same time, a lot of Black Bone Clan people were lifted and thrown away with twisted and skinned bodies. Those compatriots who were thrown out had lost their breath. Hulu Heizo was stunned. He gazed at the bloody tornado in grief. At this moment, one of the overwhelming ice blades hit him. It penetrated the surface of his dark element shield and was stuck in the middle of it. He even sensed that his mental power had significantly dropped. He was the strongest Mage in his clan. If he couldnt defend against the ice blades, the others certainly couldnt. Run! Run for your lives! Hulu Heizo raised his wand and waved it crazily. His voice couldnt reach far in the strong wind. However, the other Black Bone Mages werent stupid. They all activated their defense spells and tried to escape. Nevertheless, the effective attack range of the ice blades was too great, and the tornado was attractive and slowed them down. Some of the Black Bone Mages even found that they grew closer and closer to the tornado while they were running. They cried in fright. The smarter ones lay down on the ground to reduce the wind resistance and then crawled away. That didnt really help. The tornado was moving very fast, even faster than their running Also, it was sweeping toward where they were mostly gathered. Soon enough, another two hundred Black Bone people were swallowed by the tornado. At this moment, the tornado stopped for a few seconds. Roland was inside the eye of the tornado, where there was no wind. However, he couldnt see the outside due to the red soil and blood in the tornado; he could only sense the environment with mental power. Ten seconds later, he found the enemies that were closest to him and largest in number. They were a troop of maddened bone devils that were directly under Ryans command. The tornado moved on to that troop which had at least ten thousand soldiers. Hulu Heizo and the other few Black Bone Mages who survived were greatly delighted to see that the tornado was moving away. But then they saw their compatriots twisted bodies that were thrown out of the tornado now and then. They fell silent. Hulu Heizo took off his mask, showing a face that was very similar to that of a human being. The only difference was that his eyes were much bigger, at least twice as big as those of a human. His face was twisted because of pain and regret. Dropping the mask heavily to the ground, Hulu Heizo roared furiously, I curse you! I curse you to live forever in pain and plague. I curse your family and descendants to never live in peace and to always be haunted by misfortune without ever being able to get what they want! The mask on the ground turned into a black skull. A lot of black and green energy surged out of his body and mixed with the black skull, turning it into a pile of mud that was disgustingly greasy and barely recognizable. Then, the pile of mud charged at the tornado. It wasnt affected by the tornado at all but hit Roland precisely like a missile. It was fast and soundless when it passed the tornado, and Roland happened to be looking in the opposite direction. So, Roland had no idea that he was ambushed. When it hit Roland, it turned into a gigantic green web and was about to bind him. At this moment, three masses of energy in the appearance of three women appeared behind him. One of them was green, one purple, and the last gray. The web of energy vanished like dust before it even reached the three women. The three small masses of energy disappeared too. Roland sensed something wrong and looked back. He didnt find anything and thought that it was just an illusion, so he focused on controlling the tornado to blow at the bone devils. Hundreds of meters behind Roland, Hulu Heizo suddenly vomited green blood that was mixed with chunks of lung and collapsed. He didnt know what happened up until the moment he died. At this moment, Ryan was walking unhurriedly in the middle army. Lawrence had given the command to help with the attack. That was why he asked his subordinates to march on slowly. He had already seen the tornado behind him. But he didnt want to do anything about it. It was the tradition of devils to accomplish their mission and take care of their problems on their own. Nobody would come to their rescue if they were caught in danger in a war without the order of a superior commander. While walking backward, he watched the tornado almost annihilate the Mage troops with little sympathy on his face. But he was quite wary of the mental energy in the tornado, because he had sensed that the energy came from the human Mage who launched two special fireballs as well as the spatial crevice at his troops earlier. So, he didnt want to rescue his allies, and he didnt dare to, either. He even felt that the death of the Mage troop was worth it, because they consumed the enemys mental power. He had already sensed the magic power capacity of that Mage from the previous two battles. At this moment, he estimated that the Mage had already used half of it. Using half and saving the other half was a habit of human Mages in war. Youre probably going, Ryan muttered to himself. But outside of his expectation, the tornado moved toward his army of bone devils. Wait! What are you trying to do? Ryans eyes glittered. Military credit was important to the devils. He would be appreciated by his boss Paimon if he could eliminate a powerful target. As for the casualties in his troop That was his own concern. A feudal system had been implemented here. One would raise and keep ones own troops, which would be their sole responsibility. Are you being arrogant? Ryan took out the broken horn on his waist and sounded it. A dull sound echoed throughout the battlefield. All the ten thousand bone devils tried to flee when they saw the red tornado, but the horn asked them to charge. They had to charge. The bone devils instantly went berserk and ran toward the tornado. Many bone devils were struck down by the dense ice blades as they approached the tornado. However, still more bone devils, stepping on their comrades bodies and raising their weapons, ran toward the tornado. They were like a swarm of ants that was moving to an enormous swirl. A tremendous number of bone devils were crushed, and still more were lifted by the tornado. Screams and roars were echoing at the same time. There were so many bone devils that even the tornado seemed to have been slowed down. At this moment, Ryan moved. He flapped his wings and moved faster and faster, until he knocked aside all the bone devils on his way and crashed into the tornado like the locomotive of a high-speed train. Dense ice blades stabbed into him for only three meters. They barely pierced through his scales. An infinite number of ice blades were hanging from his body as if they were his organs. But there was no fear on his face at all, and he broke into the tornado right away. His body was enormous; he weighed at least four tons. It was impossible for the tornado to pull him into its spiral. Eventually, he passed through the thick curtain of wind and reached the eye. He saw a human being who seemed to be looking at him in surprise. Then he smiled. Gotcha, sleazy human boy. He raised his right hand and tossed a human magic scroll to the ground. It was a Dimensional Anchor Scroll. Although human beings had a bad relationship with the Realm of Devils, it didnt mean that there were no deals between them! Ryan had long wanted to take down this Mage. He knew that the Mage was capable of spatial magic, so he asked for a Dimensional Anchor Scroll from Paimon. He didnt expect that he would have a chance to use it so quickly. You will die today He pretentiously raised the axe in his right hand and pointed at the enemy. But he was dazed very soon, because he found that the human being didnt seem scared at all. Not only was the Mage unafraid, but he did not even cringe! Instead, the Mages eyes were glittering. Dozens of blue hands descended from the sky and clenched into fists, moving to Ryan. Hands of Magic? He was rather confused. But shouldnt they be smaller? While he was thinking, the fists had already started punching him in rapid succession. Each punch of those fists would result in a sonic explosion. Dozens of fists punched out quickly and then moved back, creating a dense barrage of fists! What the hell? Ryan was rather surprised. He tried to block the fists with two axes, but there were too many fists for him to block all of them. Many of the fists punched the left side of his body or his forearms. Thumps sounded nonstop. He couldnt create a Magic Shield. His greatest defense was his scales, which were harder than the Magic Shield of Mages of his level. However the previously indestructible scales didnt work. He felt that every punch of the fists was hitting his flesh. In no more than ten seconds, he realized that his scales were dropping, and his pink flesh was being exposed. Excruciating pain then came along. He was truly scared. He roared with all his strength. The intense soundwaves tore apart the air and briefly paused the gigantic hands in midair. He seized the opportunity to fly out of the tornado as fast as possible. He flapped his wings even faster than when he came, and only his blurred afterimages could be seen. Roland didnt expect him to escape so quickly. Also, he was too busy controlling the tornado and the Hands of Magic to stop him. So, he could only watch the guy flee. Ryan, breaking out of the tornado in panic, was fully covered by ice blades. He was gravely wounded this time. The front part of his body where scales had dropped was covered in ice blades and blood. Chapter 648 - Fiery Bird Ryan fled very quickly. The wings on his back werent for him to fly but to accelerate. They had a special feature that could let him move faster when they were flapped. He had always charged with the acceleration of his wings to approach the enemy. It was the first time he used them for fleeing. His body that weighed several tons destroyed everything in his way like a tank. He was frightened. He had never felt the fear of death so vividly in his life. Having no time to bother with the dense ice blades on his body or his bleeding wounds, he simply ran to the rear after he escaped from the tornado. As a result, the ten thousand bone devils under his command fled too. In the eye of the tornado, Roland saw that he had half of his mana left and then localized the nearest enemies, before he walked to them. At this moment, things werent looking very good for the army of devils. They had gotten a tough nut to crack. The players, on the other hand, also realized that the devil troops werent as strong as expected. They were strong individually, but their battle formations were a mess! They were simply divided into three layers: the front line, the middle army, and the ranged troops in the rear. Their only tactic was to charge forward brainlessly. The fire devil swung his giant axe heavily again. An ordinary human Shield Warrior wouldve been pushed into the soil by his force. However, the iron wall made of the connected shields absorbed some of the attack and bounced the rest back. Even he couldnt break such a linked defense, not to mention the other devils. That was exactly the power of teamwork. It was also the technique that the players were most familiar with. On the left flank, the devil troops were stalled by a storm of summoned creatures, who distracted the attention of more than ten thousand soldiers. It was impossible for them not to be distracted. Those girls were really strong. A hundred of them summoned more than ten thousand beasts, including the flying ones and those on the ground. The summoned beasts were divided into three waves and attacked the enemy in different groups. A thousand summoned beasts were killed in each attack, but they could kill two to three hundred devils. The lost summoned beasts would be re-summoned very quickly. Also, while the summoned beasts seemed closely connected, they had been divided into squares of three hundred members. They would disperse if they were under the attack of a large AOE spell. After all, the Summoners had always considered Roland their potential enemy, and what was best about Roland? His unbelievable AOE damage and mobility. As for his Elemental Embodiment, which terrified the other classes, it was not a big deal to them. The Elven Summoners were never scared of anyone in terms of duration. Therefore, they secretly practiced and created a formation that would alleviate AOE damages. It turned out to be useful in this war before they could use it against Roland. It was quite effective Only a tiny number of the summoned beasts were hit by the devils magic dust attacks. But Solisa was still not satisfied. It was effective, but not as effective as expected. Rolands blue fireball had an effective radius of destruction of more than a hundred meters, not counting the damage of the resulting heat waves. Those devils, in comparison, only had an effective range of no more than twenty meters. They were far too weak. Solisa commanded her guild members to distract and lure the devils on the left flank, slowly reducing the number of enemy soldiers. It wasnt exactly slow About a hundred devils were killed by them every two minutes. However, compared to Rolands efficiency, it was truly a little bit slow. Fatter Cat on the right flank also engaged the devils with members of other guilds. They also put the Shield Warriors in the front to block the enemies while the archers and spellcasters behind them attacked. Just like that, the hundred thousand devils were unable to press on. Lawrence chopped his axe heavily into the shields again, but he still failed to break the defense of the human Warriors. Enraged, he stepped back and took a deep breath. He then blew at the shields. Black and red flames squirted out of his mouth and enshrouded the three Shield Warriors before him. The devils nearby were so scared that they quickly moved away from the flames. After spewing out the fire, Lawrence smiled. The flames from the fire devil were hot and sticky. If a human being was set ablaze, they would be writhing on the ground and screaming miserably until they were burnt to death two minutes later. However, the three human Shield Warriors didnt move at all even though furious flames were burning all over their bodies. They didnt retreat or cry out in fear. They were as quiet as if the flames didnt exist! Lawrence felt that something was wrong. Seriously wrong. Demons could ignore their pain too, as long as they went berserk. But what was wrong with those human beings? If they had gone berserk, why were they still where they were without losing their rationality? At this moment, support spells, including Dispersion, Minor Healing, Middle Healing, Enlivening, etc., were cast on them from behind. Very soon, the flames were put out. Their heavy armor and their faces were blackened. Their eyebrows and hair had burned away It was not until this moment that Lawrence realized that their eyes were closed just now. Now that the flames were extinguished, they suddenly opened their eyes. After the simple movement, the burned skin at the corner of their eyes revealed a few cracks. New flesh was growing under their pink skin. Their eyes were extremely bright. They looked at Lawrence, anger and disdain in their eyes as if they were saying, Is this your best? jere Because of the healing spells from behind, the three of them seemed blackened but were actually fine. New skin was already growing quickly under the damaged areas. The excruciating pain had been reduced to one-tenth and was no different from mosquito bites to the Warriors who had been slashed at all the time. It was uncomfortable, but bearable. Such an attitude really got to Lawrence. He finally realized why Ryan kept saying that something was wrong with these people before the battle. Something was indeed wrong. He stepped back and looked around. He realized that, not only was he incapable of breaking in, but his soldiers were being killed by remote attacks, including those on the left and right flanks. The tornado back there was drawing close too. Suddenly, he realized he had been surrounded by the humans. He was surrounded by twenty thousand people? The moment that idea popped up, he realized that he had to run. Having no time to give out commands, he turned around and fled like Ryan had. The devils were truly brave, but only when they were winning. Actually, the devils had never fought a losing battle in the human world. For them, war only had two results: great victory and great failure. There was nothing in the middle. Indeed, the devils had long realized that something wasnt right. The fall of the Mage legion and Ryans escape had disturbed them. However, the devils adored and followed those who were strong. They would persist as long as their boss was still here. Now that their boss was fleeing, they immediately fled too. The devils ran off as fast as they came. The news about devils in the main plane always stated how powerful, wild, and relentless they were So, the players always thought of the army of devils as one of iron and blood. Yet, the army of iron and blood was running. The players didnt even realize what was going on until a moment later. After several seconds, the guild chairmen suddenly shouted, Cancel the defense line! Attack! Attack! The Shield Warriors pulled their shields back and began to charge quickly. The slow runners among the devils were soon caught by the players, who beheaded them one after another. The players killed them crazily! They chased the devils and slashed at them. The Archers shot arrows while they ran, getting as much Reputation as possible. Slaying one devil would give them at least one point of Reputation. The spellcasters were rather pitiful. Most of them had to stay where they were to cast a spell. Now that the enemy was far away, they had to chase them. However, the spellcasters didnt really have much stamina. They couldnt run fast. Very soon, they were left behind and didnt have a chance to kill enemies at all. They all shouted anxiously. Only the few of them who were capable of flash were able to keep up with the main troop. The audience in all the stream channels laughed happily seeing how awkward the Mages were. At this moment, Roland had blocked the enemys rear. If he were Legendary, the tornado could have a radius of hundreds of meters, instead of only a hundred. All the fleeing devils had to do was to circumvent the tornado. Even so, the tornado still sucked in many devils who werent large in size and minced them inside. The players had a great time. They had crushed enemies three times their number. Of course they had great fun. The audience in the stream channels had a question. Why did the devils look so weird? The players on the battlefield didnt think that. Why would they waste the chance to win more Reputation? All the devils but the succubi deserved to be killed. Wouldnt it be best if their lives were transformed into points, equipment, and stats? The players on the battlefield were even more excited, as if the epic equipment and skills in the Reputation Store were already waving at them. The spellcasters got even more anxious. Then, things took a turn for the worse. At this moment, a blue fiery bird flew over from the distance. It was just a blue spot at first, but it was very fast. It drew close very quickly. A blue bird wasnt rare, but a blue bird on fire certainly was. It would be even rarer if this fiery blue bird was also enormous. All the players stopped. Even Roland had stopped killing enemies with the tornado. The fiery bird was hovering above their heads. Including Roland, all the players were swallowing It was because the bird was really too big. When it hovered in the sky, its wingspan was at least two hundred meters, and it was at least three hundred meters long. It was flying at a low altitude, only fifty meters from the ground. It was even larger than an adult dragon. The players only needed to raise their heads to see the furious blue flames that seethed and flowed like lava. Sweet mother of god. What is this? Many players were asking themselves the same question. They sensed the invisible pressure from a creature that was beyond them. They even had a feeling that they should never challenge the creature. The devils stopped too. They looked at the fiery bird and roared crazily with a high morale, as if they werent fleeing in panic a moment earlier. The same comment was repeated in the stream channels. I dont think it looks good. Run for your lives, brothers. Roland wanted to run, but he realized that even though Ryans Dimensional Anchor was gone, the space was still too chaotic for him to use spatial magic. The enemy didnt forbid any spatial magic, but it caused turbulent spatial waves just by hovering there. After hovering for two circles, the fiery bird shrank and landed between the devils and humans as a heap of flames. In the end, it turned into a tall, sexy, blond, and beautiful woman wearing a blue dress. All the players were briefly stunned and then looked at Roland, because the woman was very similar to Queen Andonara. It was almost like they were made from the same mold. Even more surprisingly, this woman also had a long golden braid that almost dangled to the ground. She could take the shape of a fiery blue bird, and she was a lot like Andonara. Roland immediately thought of something. When he fetched the Heros Sword with Andonara previously, Diablo said that the Hero was a traitor of the Realm of Devils. Then, this woman must be the mythical Phoenix, Andonaras ancestor. However, Phoenix was supposed to be a good person. Why did she stop them? While Roland was thinking, the woman opened her mouth. Im told that the Golden Sons can be resurrected. Is that true? All the players were silent. At this moment, they all saw that a very long health bar appeared above the womans head the moment she spoke. There were also five skulls behind the health bar. After she said that, she had become hostile. If you dare to show the health bar, Ill just kill you! That was when their equipment and level were good enough. No players would think that when their level and stats were dwarfed. She had one more skull than the Legends did. Was she a Demigod? Run! The players were smart and had keen instincts. Sometimes, they would fight with their life if they couldnt escape, but only when they could cause damage to the target. But this woman was a Demigod. It was impossible for them to defeat her, or even harm one hair on her head. Lets run. It would be lucky if any of the thirty thousand players could escape. Right when they were about to turn around, the woman pointed her finger at them. Overwhelming flames spurted out of her finger. The blue flames were so intense that they simply enshrouded all the players without leaving any wiggle room. Chapter 649 - Bold Andonara The audience in the stream channel merely saw a storm of blue flames. Then, all the stream channels became dark. The players all over the battlefield turned into ashes when the blue flames passed them all except Roland. He had already turned into elemental flames at this moment. So, the highly destructive blue flames didnt cause any damage to him but were actually refilling his magic power. At this moment, everybody in the stream channel was exclaiming. Some were gloating, and some were purely enjoying the show. All of them wanted to know what was going on. Very soon, the players who were responsible for the stream were resurrected, and the stream was resumed. However, they were all resurrected in the simple life altars near the portal and didnt know the situation on the front line. The players waited in line to be resurrected in the altars. There were almost thirty thousand of them; it could take a long while even if one was resurrected each second. Very soon, they calculated their losses. All of them had been killed without a single survivor. They had died so fast that they had been forcefully teleported back to the life altars before they sensed the pain. The temperature was at least two thousand degrees. They were instantly incinerated. Crap. Thirty thousand people died at the same time. The players who didnt have enough EXP would lose a level. Thats a huge loss. Is it? Do any of them look regretful to you? That seems true! Most of the resurrected players were smiling, except those who didnt really contribute. They had earned a lot of Reputation, which was more valuable than the EXP they lost. Theyll be resurrected soon. Wait, wheres Roland? Is he still alive? I didnt see him in the crowd waiting for resurrection? Seriously? He dodged that attack? The audience in the stream channel got excited and urged the streamers to go to the front line and find out what was going on with Roland. Roland, at this moment, was looking at a face that he was rather familiar with. But her face was the only part that was familiar to him. The womans body didnt seem as alluring as Andonaras. Of course, she was still very attractive. Sensing that Roland was examining her, Phoenix looked him up and down and sized up the embodiment of fire elements. She asked curiously, Do you know me? Im quite familiar with your face! While considering how he could break free, Roland continued, Blue flames. If my guess is correct, you must be Phoenix, the mythical Demon God. The woman nodded and said with a smile, You can say that, but Phoenix is the name for my male self. Im the female self. You can call me Morris. Is a Demon God already out to deal with us? Roland was more or less surprised. In his experience, the ultimate boss of a DLC should only appear at the end of the battle! Yet, this Demon God had emerged and killed thirty thousand people in one attack. How could she be defeated? Im not here specifically to kill you. Morris slowly circled around Roland and remarked curiously, Im told that the Golden Sons from the alternate dimension are undying, so I had a try. How do you feel? Theres no grief or fear on your face, which means that its true. She shook her head with a sigh. Thats so unfair. Youre undying, but the devils only have a limited life. You have obvious advantages in battle. Theres no absolute fairness in this world. When the devils invaded the main plane in the past, you did anything you wanted because you were strong. Was it fair? It was. Morris shook her beautiful finger in front of Roland. The devils are truly stronger on average, but the humans have a larger population. Also, since ancient times, the devils invasion has never succeeded. This is the fairness arranged by fate. Roland frowned. Humans lived a peaceful life in the main plane, yet you invaded and killed whenever you wanted to. You think thats fair? Now that were fighting back, you claim its unfair? Such double standards makes it hard for me to believe that you are the famous kindhearted Phoenix. Hearing what Roland said, the devils couldnt help but step back. Covering her mouth, Morris chuckled, and her breasts shook along with her blue dress in an obvious way. Hehehe. Im Morris. What Phoenix thinks is none of my business. Roland was briefly stunned, as he understood something different from her words. Did the male and female selves have different personalities as well as looks? Seeing that Roland was contemplating, Morris said in boredom, Okay, enough chit-chat. I need to go to the main plane. See you later. You wont kill me? I dont want to anymore. Morris waved her hand. I have no reason to kill you now that youve dodged the flames of the Immortal Phoenix. Also, youre an undying Golden Son. Its pointless to kill you. Im leaving! She laid her finger on her lips and threw Roland an affectionate kiss. She then took off and flew away again as a firebird. Watching the source of enormous mental pressure go away, Roland looked at the devils in front of him. The devils also looked back at him. Both parties grinned hideously. That guy is all by himself. Kill him. Without Phoenix in the way or the experts like Ryan and the fire devil, I can go on a killing spree now. Roland resumed human form. He had full mana because the flames of the Immortal Phoenix had refilled his embodiment of fire elements with magic power. The devils roared and started to charge. Roland snapped his fingers and dashed into the enemy formation. After knocking away the devils, the storm of ice blades was raging again. Many players who were checking the Reputation Store suddenly found that Rolands Reputation was rising crazily again. Rolands name had fallen straight down on the rank because he purchased a lot of stats earlier. In the battle earlier, he earned more than seven thousand points of Reputation. At this moment, Rolands Reputation soared quickly to more than ten thousand and left the second place far behind. Roland is still killing the enemies. F*ck, how did he handle the blue firebird. What firebird? Thats the beautiful Phoenix. Xu Xian and Ning Caichen have taught us how to tame women stronger than yourself. Now, Im willing to be the hero that shoots that bird down. Can I count on your support? Hehe your thing is too small No, I was just thinking that if I could have her, Roland would feel cuckolded, wouldnt he? Shoot, thats an interesting thought. Interesting! Right when the audience in the stream channel were engaged in dirty talk, the streamers in multiple channels exclaimed at the same time. Shoot! The Immortal Phoenix is here! At this point, at the resurrection point near the portal, the thirty thousand players watched the enormous fiery bird fly close and hover overhead. All of them felt their hearts bleeding. They would be making a profit, considering the Reputation they earned and the EXP they lost, if they died once. But if they were to die another time, they would suffer a huge loss. Almost all the players became desperate and gave up resistance. Some arrows and spells were cast on the fiery bird, but they vanished before they hit the target. The fiery bird hovered for a few circles and glanced at the simple altars as well as the Golden Sons on the ground. She did see a lot of faces she had seen earlier. Those people had indeed been resurrected, although slightly weaker than before. She resumed human form and raised her hand high. Another ocean of blue flames surged from the sky. Most players closed their eyes. They had to die again. They didnt expect the boss to chase after them to the resurrection point. It felt very bad. However, when the ocean of flames had almost landed, Morris clapped her hands, and the flames disappeared. She giggled as she watched the confusion, delight, and even the anger of being teased on the faces of the players who narrowly escaped death. She then winked at everybody and walked into the portal. A lot of people felt that they had been hit by lightning, especially the male players who never had much interaction with women. Their cheeks were red, and their eyes were hazy. They felt that they had been shot by Cupid. The girls from the Phoenix Guild, on the other hand, all muttered that she was a shameless slut and should just go away. Many audience members in the stream channels had the same doubt. That cant be right. Isnt the mythical Phoenix a man? But she was a beautiful woman. Is the myth wrong? History records arent accurate in this world. Its natural that they got it wrong. The Demon God is a god too. Its normal that he can change his sex. Yes, just like bodhisattva. Is nobody curious about whats going on with Roland? His Reputation is still rising. Someone is already there to check it out. Indeed. A streamer who was very keen about the latest news had returned to the battlefield as fast as he could. However, he was still late. Roland was left alone on the battlefield. His magic cape was fluttering in the wind. The devils had retreated so far away that they could barely be seen. Around Roland were at least a thousand devil bodies. Half of them were twisted, and the other half had unmelted ice blades on their bodies. Damn it, he has killed another thousand devils on his own. No wonder his Reputation rose so fast. Is this the show-off scene of the strongest Mage? How I love it. I really want to be a Master Mage too, but Im incapable of doing that. Tears. Roland glanced at the streamer who was breathing heavily and ignored him. He simply activated teleportation. Without Phoenixs distraction, he could use spatial magic easily. He teleported back to Delpon and found Andonara. Andonara leaned against his chest with a smile on her reddened face. She even reached her hands into his clothes, as if she wanted to do some interesting stuff. But Roland stopped her. Then he said, I ran into your ancestor Phoenix in the Realm of Devils. Hmm? Andonara was stunned at first. Then she asked in surprise, What does he look like? Very similar to you? Huh??? More question marks were popping up from Andonaras head. Hes a man. How can he be like me? But shes a woman right now! Andonara was stunned for a long time. Then she said with a smile, Is it true? A Demon God is venerated. Why would he change his gender? Do you know Demon Gods very well? A brisk voice came from their back. Both of them were quite shocked. Andonara pulled Roland behind her and assumed a defensive posture. Then she was stunned. A rather beautiful woman was sitting on the window and looking at them with a smile. Also, this woman was really, really similar to Andonara. It almost looked as if they were made from the same mold. Andonara looked at her up and down and paid special attention to the strangers breasts and waist. Then she smiled. She won! The strangers breasts were smaller than hers and her waist was thicker. Morris sensed the mockery in her smile, and for some reason, she wanted to punch this woman who was a lot like her. However, her rationality and intelligence stopped her from doing that. Roland, who had been pulled back by Andonara just now, stood before her and looked at the visitor. I didnt expect you to come so quickly. I am a Demon God. Isnt it natural that I have some special methods? What do you want here? Roland was rather anxious. Unlike the players, Andonara and the citizens here only had one life. If the woman used the blue flames again, nobody in the city could possibly survive except him and Andonara. No need to be nervous. Morris waved her hand and chuckled. I only attacked you because the Golden Sons could be resurrected. I wont touch the ordinary people here. Hearing that, Roland was slightly relieved. He then asked, Then, Ms. Phoenix, what do you want to do in the main plane? To check up on my descendants, and to take a walk around here. Roland was even more reassured. According to the rumors, Phoenix was quite close to mankind. Although she had just killed a bunch of players, it seemed to be really because she wanted to test how players were resurrected. Andonara somewhat became unhappy to see Roland talking to Morris. Staring at Morriss face that was almost identical to hers, she turned around and said to her man, Roland, shes a lot like me, but her figure isnt as good as mine. Make sure you dont hug the wrong person at night. I certainly wont! Roland quickly gave a reply. He had goosebumps all over his body. It was because Phoenix was still a man to him, even though he had taken on a female appearance. After a brief shock, Morris burst into laughter. As expected of my descendant. You do have unusual thoughts. Andonara stood before Roland and looked at Morris nervously. Also, do you mind changing your face? I dont think Roland will be happy if you go to another man wearing such a face. Chapter 650 - Problem About Childbirth Hearing what Andonara said, Morris smiled rather delightedly. My offspring is truly interesting. She was quite satisfied with Andonara, not only because Andonara was a lot like herself, but also because she could tell that Andonara was very strong and on her way to becoming a Demigod. She came to the main plane once every hundred years, and Andonara was the most competent descendant she had seen so far. Then she continued, I cant change my face. Also, its you who resemble me, not me who resembles you. Andonara hesitated for a moment and looked at Roland timidly. Dont take her for me. Whatever she does has nothing to do with me. Roland put on a bitter smile and touched Andonaras face. Its fine. Im not an idiot. Andonara let out a sigh of relief. Roland, however, felt that Andonara was still not confident. At this moment, Morris finally jumped off from the window and said, Prepare some food for me. Is this the way you should entertain your ancestor? Andonara said warily, You wouldnt do anything to Roland, would you? If I really want to do something, even another three of you couldnt stop me. Morris snorted in derision. Andonara stuck her tongue out cutely and then went to the kitchen. Watching his woman disappear at the door, Roland turned around and asked, That was obviously an excuse to drive Andonara away. What do you want to say to me in private? I can tell that shes the only one in the entire main plane who has my bloodline. The other bloodlines are extremely thin. Morris sat down on a chair and crossed her beautiful legs. So, I want to ask you if you want to make a few babies with Andonara. Can I? Roland was quite surprised. It had been three years since the players joined the game. Many experts of dating had intimate negative-distance relationships with the female NPCs soon after they entered the game. A lot of love had been made, but no players had claimed that they impregnated any of the female NPCs. At the same time, some female players, who didnt like fighting and considered this place their second life, were married to the male NPCs who were great bed partners. But none of them conceived either. The players had already taken notice of the phenomenon. There had been a discussion on the forum. They asked the moderators on the forum, but the moderators said that they werent clear and it might just be a setting. Roland and a lot of other players believed that it was reproductive isolation. Of course, it was possible that the GMs were behind this, and that the bodies of the players in the game were incapable of conception or impregnation. Because they knew that nobody would get pregnant, the players all had thriving love lives, as evidenced by the succubi they laid their hands on. Morris nodded. Of course you can I can tell that your bodies are locked. You look no different from ordinary people, and youre even stronger than ordinary people, but youre in lack of life essence. Roland was briefly stunned and found it rather impossible. Every time after a session with Andonara, he always had at least half a bowl of discharge. His body was truly strong as a professional. Seeing that Roland wasnt convinced, Morris shook her head and said, By life essence, Im not talking about the thing that you ejaculate, but the catalyst to generate a new soul. Roland raised his eyebrows after hearing that. This was a magic world, so it was normal that the lives here were produced in a different way. The life essence in his body was locked? That was really interesting. You can unlock my life essence? asked Roland. Morris nodded. Sure. Although my strength is suppressed in the main plane, Im a Demon God and I can do that. However, Roland hesitated. It was fine to have a baby, but the problem was that Roland could enter this world, while Andonara couldnt leave it. If they really had a baby, what if the game company stopped him from logging in someday? Would he just abandon Andonara and his child? Seeing that Roland was thinking, Morris asked with a smile, Are you hesitating? Yes. Roland nodded. You know that Im not from this world, and its possible that I can never come back to this place someday. All the more reason why you should give Andonara a baby. Morris tried to persuade him. Its obvious that shes a committed woman. If you abandon her, shell probably be so devastated as to kill herself, but things will be different if she has your baby. That was indeed a possibility. But Roland smiled and said, You underestimate Andonara. If I disappear without saying anything to her, Andonara will turn the world upside down to look for me. Morris raised her eyebrows. Tsk, are you so confident? I know her. Andonara was indeed a vine-like woman, but she was also a Legendary vine! Morris heaved a sigh. Okay, it seems hopeless for me to hope my descendants have more children. Roland vaguely realized what Morris was up to. Cant you have babies of your own? Forget it. Morris quickly waved her hand. If I really do that, my male part will kill himself after I become a man again. But it wouldnt matter even if he killed himself. Phoenix was immortal and could be resurrected. In order to kill him, one had to modify the rules of this world and erase the concept of resurrection. Even Phoenix himself couldnt possibly do that. Therefore, suicide would be pointless for him. Very soon, Andonara came back with a plate that had three cups of fruit wine on it. Andonara gave a cup to Roland and Morris. Morris had a mouthful of the wine and narrowed her eyes in satisfaction. This fruit wine is not bad. It has the flavor of mental power. You mustve made it on your own. The Mages all had massive mental power, which radiated like sunlight. Rolands manor was covered in his warm mental power. The plants within the area absorbed the additional, beneficial energy and grew extra exuberantly. Therefore, it might not just be an illusion that the Mages manors had the best wine. After drinking the wine, Morris took out four bottles of blood and gave them to Andonara. These are my blood. Now, you are the only expert in the Reed family. Life must be hard for you. Take the blood and give it to whoever you find agreeable in your family. Then youll have a real family member. Andonara didnt become a real Hero until she drank the blood. Naturally, she knew what it was. She looked at her ancestor and asked, Can Roland drink it? Yes, but not so effectively. Morris paused and put on a joking expression. Also, hell carry half of my bloodline if he uses my blood. Then the two of you will be brother and sister. Are you sure you want that? Andonara quickly shook her head in fright. Morris laughed rather delightedly and waved her hand. Okay, Im just here to check on my descendants. I can only stay for about a month in the main plane. I have to seize the day. Right, Roland, if you change your mind, ask your woman to look for me as a firebird. It should be easy for her to find me in the fiery bird state. Okay, goodbye. She waved her hand and gradually disappeared into spots of light. Looking at the spots of light, Andonara asked Roland, What did she say to you? You seem to be in a dilemma. Roland repeated what Morris just said. Andonara quickly shook her head. No! I dont want to have a baby yet. Dont you love children? Roland was rather curious. I love them, and Id especially love our child. Then why dont you want to have a baby? Roland found it rather odd. Andonara said rather awkwardly, Because I want to get more love and affection from you. So, she was afraid that a baby would compete with her over her husbands attention. Roland understood. That being the case, they might as well not have a baby yet. He didnt want one anyway. This was just a minor incident, as long as Phoenix didnt stir trouble in the main plane. Roland rested for two days in his manor in Delpon and then came to Sisilia. He found a powerful army before the portal. It was made of more than fifty thousand guards of the Church of Light. They were all wearing white armor and riding white horses, and they stood in the square before the portal in a neat formation. They were like silent and magnificent mountains next to each other. There was another troop on their opposite side. However, this troop was much less impressive. It was exclusively made of youngsters with greasy and powdered faces. All of them seemed frightened to see the powerful army of the Church of Light before them. Even though they knew the army wouldnt do anything to them, they were still too scared to utter a complete sentence. Is this the Church of Lights army for war? Roland looked around at the soldiers and soon found Schuck. The Saint Samurai had the power to command troops. So, Schuck was the general who led this elite troop. He saw Roland too, and he immediately got off from his horse and walked over. Im going to lead these men to conquer the devils, so I have to trouble you with something. What is it? Very soon, the church will send another hundred thousand soldiers here. Conflicts tend to happen when there are too many people. After I come in, if the players have conflicts with the new soldiers, I hope that you can cover for those teenagers as long as it isnt a moral issue. Roland nodded. Okay, but is it really necessary to launch a crusade?. Yes. Schuck nodded. According to the records of my church, the devils have been invading regularly, and their next invasion should be in a year or two. Instead of letting them sabotage the main plane, I might as well lead men into their world and attack them. At least like this, the main plane wont suffer any damage. Chapter 651 - Talk More On That Roland looked around and asked, Wheres your Margret? Logically, as Schucks mount, Margret should never be away from him. Schuck shrugged helplessly. This is a crusade, a matter of critical importance for the Church of Light. Margret is a red dragon and naturally inclined to evil, although she hasnt done anything horrible. But even so, its inappropriate for a red dragon to join a crusade. It wouldve been fine if she were a silver dragon or a golden one. The metal dragons had the alignment of law, and they were said to be rather close to the Church of Light. Roland smiled and said, Then you can set out first. Ill stay here for a while. If what you described really happens, Ill deal with it. Thank you. Leading the Guardians of Light, Schuck went to the teleportation array, followed by the logistical division of the Church of Light. A lot of weapons and food were delivered into the portal too. Many players observed the march and pointed fingers at them. They didnt have a problem with the Guardians of Light; they were only learning from the configuration and formation of the troops. Further ahead was a troop that was exclusively made of young nobles. There were only about two thousand of them. Counting the logistics personnel, there were about five thousand people. All of them were quite good-looking. Their fair skin and the arrogance on their faces both revealed that they were born nobility. Those people had looked humble until this moment. It couldnt be helped. The troops that just passed them were the famous Guardians of Light, led by a Saint Samurai. A Saint Samurai could call whoever he executed evil, and other people had to acknowledge his declaration. They would be idiots to incite conflict with such people. After the troops walked away, they were left alone with thousands of Golden Sons. Before they came to Hollevin from Fareins, Stephanie had repeatedly warned them not to piss off the Golden Sons or do anything bad in front of them, or even the royal family wouldnt be able to save them. They all remembered her warning very well. Also, their families had sources of intelligence too, and they were quite familiar with the power of the Golden Sons. However, the Golden Sons were still not as intimidating as the Guardians of Light. After all, they hadnt personally witnessed what the Golden Sons could do yet. After all the Guardians of Lights went in, a lot of players followed them. Very soon, the place became much emptier. Then, a young noble walked to Roland and asked, May I ask if you are Mr. Roland? Roland nodded. The First Princess asked me to report to you. She said that you would make arrangements for us. After saying that, the young noble delivered a letter. She asked me to give this to you. Roland opened the letter, which was hand-written by a female and carried the seal of the royal family of Fareins. The letter asked Roland to take care of those young nobles, who were the descendants of the major families in Fareins Kingdom and the future of their country. Not all the young nobles were useless. Of the two thousand nobles, ninety percent really considered the expedition an opportunity to improve themselves. About a hundred of them were only here to claim credit. They were all descendants of grand nobles and required additional attention. Of course, Roland was free to punch them if they caused trouble, as long as they werent killed. It was fine even if their limbs were severed. After all, they could regrow those organs with healing magic. After reading the letter, Roland asked, Whats your name? Hunter Biden! Roland was briefly stunned. Youre General Bidens youngest son? No, Im the second oldest among my siblings, Hunter continued anxiously. I have a little brother named Richard. Good thing that he wasnt the youngest son Roland vaguely remembered the king of Fareins talking about the special relationship between Bidens youngest son and his sister-in-law. This Biden guy seemed rather capable. He was level seven, the highest of all the nobles from Fareins in the troop. It seemed that Stephanie didnt pick random people. The commander she appointed knew what he was doing. Then whats your plan? asked Roland. Hunter stood straight. The First Princess asked us to listen to your command on all matters. Roland thought for a moment and said, You stay here for now and go to the Realm of Devils later. Okay, no problem. Hunter nodded and returned to his unit, relaying Rolands words. Then, many people started complaining and making a fuss. About thirty people cursed at Hunter, and Roland simply watched them silently. He saw Hunter trying to explain himself, and how those people got more and more disobedient. In the end, about twenty of them walked toward Roland. Hunter anxiously tried to talk sense into them, but they disregarded him and made a beeline for Roland In fact, not just Roland, a lot of players nearby were drawn in by the fuss. The twenty people stopped in front of Roland and observed him. Roland looked at them quietly without saying anything After a moment of silence, a sunny-looking young man who was obviously good at socializing stepped out. He stared at Roland and said, Youre Archmage Roland that the First Princess mentioned? Roland raised his eyebrows and nodded. Sorry, but I need a minute with you. The young man seemed rather polite and smiled in a friendly manner. Although the First Princess has said that we all must listen to you, I have to ask you one thing. Have you ever commanded a troop? No, Im better at solo battles. Roland paused for a moment and continued, On the other hand, Im good at commanding squads. In such a case, youre incapable of commanding us. The young man went on with a smile. Commanding a troop is different from commanding a squad. It involves a lot more things. Those who dont have military knowledge cant do it well. Roland gave an oh. So youre suggesting? You must be very capable to have been nominated by the First Princess. The young man pointed at the nobles behind him. But were far too honorable to be sacrificed in this battle, if you know what I mean. You want to stay behind and not participate in the battle? Thats fine. Thats our plan anyway. The young man waved his hand. Not exactly. Were going to fight too, but well only kill the devils that we can kill, without the risk of being wounded. Sir, Im sure you know what I mean. Surely I do! He wanted Roland to tie up the devil captives and deliver them over so that they could be killed. Of course its possible, but what price will you pay? Roland didnt feel insulted, as he was already fully aware of the moral decadence of the nobles in this world. Their opinions and outlooks were very different from those of players. Things that the players found unbelievable or unacceptable were just common sense to them. For example, even though the First Princess repeatedly asked them not to meddle with the Golden Sons, they still did. It was only because they felt that they were nobles, and that if they were subtle instead of straightforward, it wouldnt be a conflict. Didnt you make a deal so that we could come here and claim credit? We indeed agreed that you could come to claim credit, but we didnt promise to protect you or satisfy your every wish. Roland smiled. The young man seemed at a loss. He looked around, only to find that his companions were equally confused, so he asked again, Youre unwilling to obey us when so many noble heirs are here? Didnt the king ask us to hire our own subordinates and troops here? Huh? Roland was shocked. Then he realized that it was the king of Fareins trap. He probably wanted the nobles to recruit more Golden Sons for the kingdom of Fareins to use. After all, undying Warriors and Mages could be deadly weapons for any family. The number of Golden Sons that a noble family could attract would also indicate how influential the family was. Of course the royal family didnt have to do that. Stephanie had already caught Roland, the Golden Son with the greatest potential! So that was what the king was up to. However, Stephanie knew the Golden Sons better, which was why she said in her letter to Roland that the nobles could be taught a lesson as long as they werent killed. Some people might be willing to follow you. Roland looked around at the players. They will follow you if your payment is tempting enough. Its all up to you whether or not you can draw anyone in. The young man looked at the Golden Sons in confusion and said, Why dont you choose some candidates for me, Mr. Roland? Ill give you one gold coin for every Golden Son thats willing to join my family. One gold coin? Thats a lot of money! Roland probably wouldve accepted the mission if it were two years earlier. However after submitting the multiple teleportation magic array to the Goddess of Magic, he would never be short of money, and his dignity and pride mattered more at this moment. He shook his head and said, Im not interested. Its your own business. However, I need to say something to you. While you stay here, you must abide by the rules of this place. Dont do certain things that can be insulting; otherwise, dont blame me if you get beaten to death. The young noble looked around at the players and asked in a low voice, Mr. Roland, just tell us the truth. Do we need to go to the front line or not? No, replied Roland with a smile. Youre free to hire anyone here, but dont do anything against other peoples wishes, or I wont be able to ensure your safety. Got it! The young noble looked at the players hanging around eagerly, especially the female players who had added stats points on Charm. He then looked back at Roland. I was told that Mr. Roland seduced the queen of this country two years ago. Im quite impressed. I always find other peoples wives intriguing too. Perhaps we can talk more on that later. Rolands face became as dark as the bottom of a pot. Chapter 652 - Out of Money Again Roland didnt consider himself another Prime Minister Cao[1], nor was he interested in other peoples wives. It just so happened that Andonara, the woman he loved, had been married to someone. Seeing the obvious anger on Rolands face, the young noble was briefly stunned and then said prudently, Sorry, I really shouldnt have spoken this way in public. Where do you live, sir? Ill pay you a visit at night. He wanted to make friends with Roland. The intelligence of his family suggested that Stephanie was quite close to this man, and that there might even be a relationship between them. He had already read the report. The First Princesss dead husband came back to life and sought revenge against the First Princess, but he was killed by Roland. The First Princess was a widow, and the queen was a married woman. So, the young noble had no doubt that Roland was interested in other peoples wives. He thought that Roland was upset because he talked about it in public. Loving married women was not a despicable matter in Fareins, but maybe the Golden Sons had their own customs. But Rolands face got darker after the young noble said that. If Roland werent so good at self-control, he wouldve slapped the young noble so hard that his teeth would be flying out. Roland snorted and walked away. The young noble was quite bummed, knowing that he had probably misspoken. A lot of the players nearby overheard their conversation. They all laughed delightedly conve Watching a big shot get humiliated and gloating over that was really enjoyable. The environment near the portal was filled with a joyful air. Roland spent the next couple of days around the portal, partly to discipline the Fareins nobles who werent very obedient, partly to wait for the troops of the Church of Light to come over and mediate for Schucks sake if any conflicts were to happen. Nobody wanted anything to happen, but most matters would always take a turn for the worse. That was a theory that someone had worked out, although its validity was questionable. Roland wanted this period to pass peacefully, but one thing happened after another. First, it was the friction between the Fareins nobles and the local troops of Sisilia. Those nobles dared not piss off the Golden Sons, who seemed formidable, but as young people, they undoubtedly had to seek fun. At first, they dutifully looked for prostitutes in town, but those prostitutes were too unattractive to them, so they laid their hands on the decent women of Sisilia. They didnt cross any lines when they seduced women with money or fancy words. However, some of them gradually began to use violence. It stirred quite some indignity in Sisilia. Roland simply broke the legs of the culprits and threw them to the victims, asking them to apologize and compensate. As a result, the relation between Roland and the Fareins nobles fell to the freezing point. But Roland didnt care. Whenever anybody did something like that, he would break their legs and make them apologize. At first, when Roland was alone, the young nobles of Fareins still had the courage to fight back and yell at Roland, but as the other members of F6 joined and helped him, those people began to lay low. Then, more players reinforced Roland. They established a patrol team of a hundred people. Under this high pressure, the young nobles finally went on rampage and gathered to attack the patrol team. SO Naturally, the players didnt chicken out at all. They beat the two thousand young nobles so hard that the nobles dared not complain anymore. They were truly beaten into submission, as the players didnt use any real weapons but merely the unsharpened sticks or swords that were for exercise purposes when they put the young nobles to the ground. The battlefield was awash with blood, with a lot of people gravely wounded. But nobody was killed. Then, Roland didnt have to do anything. In the patrol team, there were about twenty people who were different from the others. They walked and sat very straightly. When they stood, they would be as straight as pineapple trees, and their hands would be subconsciously stuck to the sides of their pants. Their leader had quite a unique way of speaking too. He liked to say everybody, listen up at first and dismissed in the end, with many interesting jargons such as be simple and hardworking. Every time the other players saw them, they would put on subtle expressions. Then, those people took over the administration of the two thousand young nobles. Each of them led about a hundred people and set up camps near Sisilia. They asked the Mage players to build some simple barricades and led the young nobles through exercises every day, including weight training in the morning and parading in the afternoon. There were even moral lectures at night. Whenever a young noble was sick of the training, they would speak to him nicely at first. If he still refused to listen, they would throw gloves at him and beat him until he succumbed. All the players knew exactly what was going on, but nobody said anything. After all whoever had been to the college had been trained by such people, even though there was no corporal punishment. Things were a lot easier for Roland now that someone was willing to manage the young nobles. Soon enough, more Guardians of Light were dispatched, and three other Saint Samurai came over too. Dinah, whom Roland knew, was among them. After meeting Roland, she found a chance to ask him in private, Well How is Betta doing? The young Saint Samurai seemed rather shy. Very good. Roland smiled and said, Do you want me to create a teleportation array and send you there? She shook her head. Im only asking. Good to know that hes fine. She then waved a goodbye at Roland and followed the troops into the portal to the Realm of Devils. It seemed that he wasnt needed here anymore. Roland wavered between going to the front line to get more Reputation and studying magic. If he could modify the black cloud and make it larger, so that it could carry dozens of people at one time, wouldnt it be a simple aircraft? In that case, it would be useful in the decapitation plan. Also, it would be highly mobile. If it carried the teams who were very good at fighting, such as the girls of the Phoenix Guild, to fly around and kill the demons, he would get Reputation very quickly. The thought of that was quite thrilling. So he decided to hone his magic first. After all, one couldnt cut the wood very fast without sharpening the chopper. When Roland was about to teleport back to Delpon, the leader of the patrol team came to him. Greetings, Comrade Roland. The man had a square face and looked rather reliable. I am Pavel, chairman of the Red Sun Guild. Pavel Korchagin? asked Roland subconsciously. Just Pavel. He smiled delightedly and innocently. Im wondering if you could help us with something that troubles us. Roland made a gesture. Im all ears. There are more than seven hundred people in my guild Upon hearing that, Roland almost blew a whistle. The Phoenix Guild was the guild with the greatest number of members on the surface. Apart from the hundred core Elven Summoners who were Masters or very close to it, they had three hundred peripheral members who were Summoners too. But not many girls loved fighting and leveling up. Those peripheral members preferred traveling. Some were even casual Summoner players. Everybody had different purposes when playing the game. Roland didnt expect a guild that had seven hundred members to have been hiding so well. Few people wouldve known about them if they hadnt revealed themselves. However, it was quite understandable considering their military background. Pavel continued, As of now, we only have Warriors and Archers. We have some logistical classes too, but were still seriously unbalanced. We can only launch physical attacks, and we dont have a variety of offense and defense methods. You dont have spellcasters? Pavel shook his head. Roland was briefly stunned. No Warlocks? Pavel shook his head again. What about Priests? Were atheists, and we have our own belief. Pavel put on a helpless smile. One had to worship a certain god in order to become a Priest. Roland realized his intention. So you want me to help you raise Mages? Yes. Pavel nodded. In fact, we can transform into Warlocks, but we arent used to the magic they use. Neither the Devil Contract nor the special chaotic spells are useful to us. That was quite natural. The Warlocks class features made them Chaotic Neutral at best in terms of alignment. However, the players before him were probably all Lawful Good. It was possible for them to become Warlocks, but the power of their spells would be discounted. Also, they wouldnt be able to contract devils, which would mean they would only be half as strong as a normal Warlock. As for the Priest class, it was impossible for them to become one. Therefore, the Mages, who werent bound by alignment, were their only choice as spellcasters. Okay, I can do that. Roland nodded. My Magic Tower can take another hundred apprentices. Thank you very much. Pavel didnt expect Roland to be so nice to talk to. We dont need a hundred. Twenty will be enough. Right, whats your tuition fee? For you, free! said Roland casually. He would be making a fortune soon; it wasnt a problem to feed some twenty apprentices. Pavel shook his head. That wont work. We cant let the people suffer losses. Its against our discipline. Roland thought for a moment and said, Okay then, just give me however much you want to. Pavel smiled and said, Three days from now, our men will report to you in Delpon. Then Id better go back and prepare myself. Okay, thank you. Pavel thought of something and said, Right, feel free to ask for our help if you ever need us in the future. Well give you a hand as long as it isnt anything evil. Youre too kind. Roland waved at him and then teleported back to Delpon. He began his magic experiments the moment he returned to Delpon. He parsed the magic nodes of Nimbus Cloud Flight layer by layer and modified them significantly. On the third day, twenty apprentices came to Delpon as promised. They caused a minor fuss when they entered the city. mo ѧ! It was because they marched in two rows and moved in the same rhythm. They were quite intimidating too, and could easily strike anyone as elite soldiers. Cage, Andonaras uncle, happened to be patrolling on the city wall with a team. He was quite shocked to see the 24 newcomers. He ordered to shut the city gate immediately and then nervously asked them where they were from and why they came to Delpon. The newcomers replied truthfully. Cage was relieved to learn that they were here for Roland. He asked someone to confirm it with Roland, while he kept an eye on them from the city wall. A patrolman asked in surprise, Boss, is it necessary to be so nervous? There are only 24 of them, but more than two hundred of us. We can easily defeat them with the advantage in numbers. Keep dreaming. Cage slapped the head of the patrolman heavily. You probably cant take them down even if you have another hundred men. Seriously? All the other patrolmen were greatly astonished too. First of all, theyre all professionals. Although their level is low and they look like Mages, they carry the intimidating aura of soldiers, Cage continued. Also, theyre highly obedient. They have been standing in two rows at the rim of the road without moving at all. Theyre not just elites; theyre soldiers ready to sacrifice themselves. So theyre standing very steadily. Whats the big deal? Cage looked disdainfully at the patrolman who just spoke. What do you know? Obedience is what matters most in an army. They may be outnumbered, but if we fight them, well definitely collapse first. Morale is too important on the battlefield. Theyre so good? Cage nodded. If theyre hostile and theyre let into the city, they can probably crush our line of defense and then escape with half of them still alive. All the patrolmen were quite shocked. Cage then said, But dont be too worried. Theyre only strong to the likes of us, and theyre barely useful against a genius Mage like Roland. Youre right. Thats why theyve come to learn magic from us. Roland landed from the sky. Roland, theyre indeed here for you, right? Roland nodded. Let them in. Watching them enter the city, Roland landed too and led them to register at the magic school. He also told Vincent who they were. Vincent was astounded. Sweet mother of god. Even the authorities are studying magic from you? Roland opened his hands. He then returned to his manor and continued his magic studies. Five days later, Andonara came to him. Roland, sorry to interrupt your studies, but I have to inform you that were running out of money. How is it possible? Roland was quite surprised. Dont we have a lot of gold coins? The spell youve been studying requires the best magic resources and materials, so She made a helpless gesture. If you pause your study for a while, well be able to make the money back based on our income. Magic studies were always costly. A city would be considered wealthy enough if it could support two top Mages. How long will it take? About three months. It was too long. Chances were that the expedition to the Realm of Devils would already be over by then. Roland thought for a moment. Since he probably couldnt get any money from the Goddess of Magic, who couldnt establish her enterprise until half a year later, he would have to make money on his own. So, he posted a thread on the forum. Im out of money, so Im auctioning the Dragon Meat Reagent. A moment later, his thread was abound with replies. [1] Cao Cao, a character from the Three Kingdoms who took many married women. Chapter 653 - Embezzlement There were still almost ten thousand Dragon Meat Reagents in Rolands system Backpack. Although the Cornucopia had slain a black dragon with Rolands help and acquired the recipe of the Dragon Meat Reagent from him, it hadnt produced a single dosage of Dragon Meat Reagent yet. The reason was very simple: the production wasnt an easy job. Alchemy demanded great control over magic power. In that aspect, Roland was undoubtedly the best of the players. Another reason was that Roland was quite close to the Red Magic Tower. Alfred had pulled some strings and asked many Alchemists from the capital of Fareins to help. Naturally, the production was quite fast. The Cornucopia, in comparison, didnt have such connections. They hadnt even made friends with the Hollevin Association of Mages yet, not to mention the groups in Fareins. Also, the Mage players of the Cornucopia were mostly rookies who had leveled up by accomplishing high-level quests. They didnt know many spells. Not just magic or drug studies, they werent even good at the basic usage of mental power yet. Therefore, while the Cornucopia had materials and the recipe, they couldnt really manufacture anything. Charles, chairman of the Cornucopia, was also reading the thread on the forum. He closed his eyes helplessly and typed his message. Roland, lets talk in private. The Cornucopia will take however many you can offer. Not just Charles, but Solisa of the Phoenix Guild also expressed the same sentiment. Roland saw that his thread got a thousand replies in only ten minutes and nodded in satisfaction. He wasnt greedy, but magic studies were truly costly. The low-level spells didnt require many materials, but the spells such as Nimbus Cloud Flight had the core of an elven spell, and the experiments for such a spell required resources that not every Mage could afford. Just like that, a batch of guests came to the Magic Tower in Delpon two days later. After they left, Roland purchased a huge batch of materials and continued his experiments. He changed the nimbus cloud into a white cloud, increased the cross sectional area of the cloud, and reduced its mana cost. After more than ten days of improvement, the effect of Nimbus Cloud Flight was greatly changed, and Roland renamed it Cloud Carrier. According to his test, the cloud could carry 150 people of average weight. There was still more space on the cloud, but he couldnt support any more people. At this moment, the crusade of the Church of Light was on fire in the Realm of Devils. The battle was pretty much one-sided. The light spells could suppress devils in the first place. Even more crazily, the players were helping with the attack. There were only about forty thousand players, and they were outnumbered by the Church of Lights more than a hundred thousand Guardians of Light. They werent natural enemies to devils, either. Won To make things worse, they fought in an unorganized manner, and even their largest team only had about three hundred members. However, as it turned out, they had killed many more devils than the Church of Light had. The players fought skirmishes and guerrilla battles at the edge of the Guardians of Lights main battlefield. Their command and action might have been immature at first, but a few days later, they already became familiar with the procedure. They would retreat immediately after their raid succeeded. If the devils sent a small troop to chase after them, the other players around would gather like sharks scenting blood and annihilate the troop with the advantage in numbers. If a massive troop came out, the Guardians of Light would be deployed and eliminate the devils with the help of the players. After all, it was Schuck who commanded the Guardians of Light. As a player, he was familiar with the players style and could easily work with them. Just like that, the Guardians of Light fought in the main battlefield, and the players wandered nearby and took down more than fifty thousand devils without suffering many losses. They were caught up in some trouble while they marched on. Ahead of them, an endless red wall that occupied everybodys eyes blocked the way of the Guardians of Light. Above the wall, a lot of devils and magic catapults had been deployed. Some scouts were sent to launch a tentative attack, and they were forced to retreat because of the stones and arrows. Then, the Church of Light conducted a strategy meeting Looking at the simple map on the table, Schuck pointed at the stripes and said, According to the intelligence from our spies, this wall was created by Paimon three hundred years ago to prevent the attack of Judas. Although they made peace later, the wall has lingered on until this moment. Dinah added, I tried getting close to the wall. I found that its more than thirty meters high, and nobody except the Saint Samurai can go there. William, another male Saint Samurai, said, Schuck, can you ask your fellow Golden Sons to launch an assault? They cant really be killed anyway. Its a little bit challenging. Schuck shook his head. I understand my peoples personality. They arent going to sacrifice themselves for no good reason. Are the light and the goddess not good reasons to sacrifice for? William was unhappy. Schuck opened his hands and said, They dont believe in our goddess. We cant force them. William was upset to hear that. Schuck, its the Saint Samurais responsibility and belief to devote everything to the goddess. We should do our best to disseminate the goddesss glory, and this is a good opportunity. Convince them to lead the attack, so that the real light can stay. Isnt that what we should do? The Golden Sons are a capable people. It will be a great thing if they can become the goddesss lambs. We should try our best Stop. Schuck waved his hand and interrupted William. Like I said, we can disseminate light, but we cant force them to worship alongside us. This is misconduct, Schuck. William became unhappier. I dont understand why the honorable goddess favors such an undevoted believer like you. Schuck chuckled. Because I read and understand the doctrines and the goddesss thoughts. The goddess and I are both believers of light and partners on the journey forward. Im not her believer, and shes not my superior. Thats why I grow faster than you do. William, as a competitive man, was frustrated and even infuriated by those words. Schuck, thats blasphemy and disloyalty. Who do you think you are to walk alongside the goddess? He was about to continue accusing Schuck, but Schuck suddenly emitted vague golden light, and a halo appeared behind him and illuminated the place like the sun. A saint! William paled and subconsciously stepped back. The other Saint Samurai in the conference room subconsciously bowed and paid their sincere respects to Schuck. The saints were the real spokespersons of the gods on Earth. They understood everything the gods thought and did, and they could communicate with gods all the time. Their word carried more weight than the popes. Since the foundation of the Church of Light, only two saints had appeared, and Schuck was the third. He was also the only saint who was also a Saint Samurai. After a brief shock, William willingly lowered his head. The Saint Samurai could sometimes be jealous or angry, but they would remain Saint Samurai as long as they didnt make major mistakes and rectified their wrongdoing in time. After all, human beings tended to err. Recalling the golden sheen all over his body, Schuck heaved a sigh and said, Although what William said was unrealistic, it did shed some light on me. Its impossible to ask a lot of Golden Sons to attack, but we can hire some particularly capable Golden Sons to help us. Dinah asked curiously, Who will we hire? Mages! Schuck thought for a moment and said, However, their payment may be expensive, so I apply to make use of three hundred backup gold coins. Show of hands, all Saint Samurai. After that, Schuck raised his hand first. Very soon, the others raised theirs too. There was no need to disagree with a new saint. Also, they found that Schuck was quite capable and good at commanding. Half an hour later, Roland received a message on the guild channel. Schuck: Weve encountered a very long wall. Its probably more than a thousand meters long, and cant be circumvented. Do you have any solution? Roland: A demonic version of the Great Wall? Schuck: More or less? Roland: How about I sneak in and open the gate for you? Schuck: You can do whatever you want. As long as it works, the Church of Light will offer your three hundred gold coins. Roland: Youre just giving me money with an excuse, arent you? Schuck: Not at all. Youre the only person that can take care of this problem right now. Its definitely not embezzlement. Im a decent and honest man. Roland: Okay, Ive just invented a spell and its a good opportunity to try it. Then, Roland teleported to the Realm of Devils and found Schuck on the battlefield with Human Cannonball. This is the down payment. Schuck gave the bag of gold coins to Roland while everybody looked at them. You can do whatever you want to create an opening on the wall. Roland put the gold coins in his system Backpack and flew off with magic. He found the temporary camp of the Phoenix Guild. The camp was quite easy to find. Those girls were all Elven Summoners, and many of them who were still virgins had summoned unicorns. The unicorns were holy beasts, and flowers and grasses would grow wherever they stayed, even in deserts. The multiple unicorns somehow generated a tiny oasis in the red Realm of Devils. Of course, those flowers and grasses were all created by magic power, and they would wither away after the unicorns left. Roland found Solisa and said, The Church of Light asked me to create an opening on the gap ahead, and I need your help. However, I wont let you work for nothing. You will be given 150 gold coins whether it succeeds or not. Roland found it reasonable to share half of the payment with the Summoners. Solisas eyes lightly glittered. Thats fine with us, but can we livestream it? Chapter 654 - It’s Been Taken Down Of course you can livestream it. Roland shrugged. I have no right to forbid you from doing that. Solisa laughed. Then theres no problem. Well accept the mission. Just tell us what to do! A hundred and fifty gold coins were a lot. Her guild had only about 130 members in the front line at this moment, which meant one gold coin for everybody on average, not to mention the possible tips from streaming. It was definitely profitable. Although the members of the guild still didnt like Roland, they didnt hate him as much as they did earlier. More importantly, Roland was the center of attention in the game. They could take advantage of him by involving him in their stream. Since they accepted the mission, Roland took the simple map out of his Backpack and put it on the ground. He pointed at a certain illustration and said, There are a lot of enemies, but those three places are relatively less defended. My plan is to launch a raid from the sky and create an opening here. Then, other enemies will be bound to reinforce that location, so well go to another target and attack them. If we can create two openings in three hours, Schuck can definitely occupy one of them with his commanding abilities, the power of the Guardians of Light, and the help of other players. After a brief shock, Solisa raised her head and looked at Roland. That all sounds very good. Well be sure to win if we create two openings. But the problem is how were going to raid them, when they have a better view from the heights and move quicker than us. Roland pointed at the sky, and a cloud with a radius of about twenty meters descended and floated half a meter from the ground. The cloud was about thirty centimeters thick. Misty and mysterious, it wouldve looked like a paradise if some simple stone rails were added to it. Wow, its so beautiful! Its like the cloud under the deities feet. Can we stand on it? Most girls liked beautiful things. It would be strange if they didnt like the unworldly cloud. Immediately, the girls surrounded the cloud and touched it with glowing eyes. They found that while the cloud was soft, it would bounce back if they pressed on it hard. It seemed that the cloud wouldnt collapse. Besides, they werent too high above the ground, and they wouldnt be hurt even if they fell. So, before Roland said anything, a few bolder girls had already crawled to the cloud and hopped on it. Then, more girls followed them and crawled above it. Very soon, all the girls were standing on it except Solisa. Then, all the girls exclaimed, hopped, and rolled on the cloud excitedly. Holding back her urge to jump on it too, Solisa turned back and asked Roland, Whats this spell? It was the question of the players and netizens in the stream channel too. The stream had already begun at this moment. The Phoenix Guilds stream channel was quite popular and constantly had more than three hundred thousand viewers. This is a spell that Ive modified recently. I call it Cloud Carrier, Roland explained. Can the Summoners learn it? Solisa asked again. Not likely. Roland opened his hands. Although the Summoners will be given a free spell slot after every two level-ups after you become Masters, and you can learn any spell you want, the spells cant be of a high level. Even if you become Legends. you cant self-learn spells above level three. This is a level-four spell. Solisa seemed rather disappointed. What a shame. While the unicorn was awesome and beautiful as a mount, it could only run on the ground. Every player wanted to fly. However, it wasnt easy to find a flying mount, and the wind-class flying spells felt insubstantial and unreliable, not to mention that they had a high demand in terms of level. The spells that Roland modified always featured low-level accessibility. The Cloud Carrier was as difficult as a wind-class flying spell, but it was apparently more practical. Unfortunately the requirements for the Summoners to learn magic on their own were very high. They could only learn level-four spells, even if they became Legends. It meant that Solisa couldnt try to learn the spell until she became a Legend, and it remained unknown if she could pick it up. Since youre on the cloud already, lets just set off. Roland looked around and said, Now is as good a time as any. The Guardians of Light are all waiting for us eagerly. Solisa jumped onto the cloud as promised. She felt soft and comfortable the moment her legs reached the cloud. She immediately felt the urge to lie down and fall asleep. However, since she was streaming the journey, she had to preserve her dignity as the chairwoman of her guild. It became increasingly questionable to her whether or not she shouldve chosen another class. Roland jumped to the cloud too and then boosted the cloud up with his mental power. At the same time, a transparent shield covered the entire cloud and protected everybody. The girls, leaning toward the transparent protective barrier, all exclaimed as the things on the ground became smaller and smaller. Although many of them had been on a plane before, the view from the tiny windows on planes was incomparable to the panorama from the cloud. Roland had specifically increased the capacity and height of the spell. It wasnt very fast and could only move at about eight kilometers per hour. It was much slower than the obsolete planes, not to mention jet planes. However, there were awesome parts about the spell. First of all, it emanated few magic waves. Those on the ground would only see it as a regular white cloud, or just a tiny spot if it flew higher. It would hardly attract any attention. However, the case would be different from the perspective of the sky. In the stream channel, the players and netizens all discussed as they watched the crazily exclaiming girls. What a waste. Roland is truly a great pick-up artist. I wouldve exclaimed too if I were a woman. Wait, are you saying that Roland is picking up a hundred girls at the same time? Believe it or not, more than twenty of the hundred girls will fall in love with Roland after this experience. Roland didnt hit on them at all. Why would so many girls fall in love with him? This is why youre still a virgin. On many occasions, a girl likes a man because the man does something other people cant and hes unique. Speaking of hitting on girls, look at this super-large round bed. I cant help but wonder if an air-quake will take place if Roland takes the queen. Youre truly a genius. Air-quake? Such lewd words are against the law. Shivering marshmallow in the sky. Im totally seeing it. You people are truly dirty. This spell can change the paradigm of war, yet all you can think of is sex? Do you have any vision at all? Air-quake will also change the paradigm of sex. Isnt that also vision? This was always the case for places with many players, especially stream channels that had many male players. They would always end up talking about dirty stuff. After Roland raised the cloud to an altitude of eight hundred meters, it became a tiny white spot from the perspective of the ground. If no one purposely searched for it, it would only be mistaken for a tiny gray spot on the setting of the sky. Very soon, Roland took the hundred girls to the first target point. While the girls were rather noisy, they knew when they should stop. At this moment, they all stood in silence while they looked down and glanced at Roland now and then. Their impression of Roland became much better. Even if a capable man had left a bad first expression on a girl, the impression would soon be changed as long as they got along for a while. Although the girls were still grumbling, they barely held a grudge against Roland anymore. Halting the cloud, Roland coughed to draw everybodys attention and said, Now, Im going to blow them up with area attack spells first The nuclear explosion? the round-faced girl, whom Roland had dealt with earlier, asked excitedly. Roland shook his head. I have to maintain the cloud so I cant use that skill, which will cost too much magic power. Its just one wave of Arcane Bullets. Then, Ill descend the cloud to ten meters above the wall and stay for one minute. During the one minute, you will throw out your summoned creatures and attack them as vehemently as possible. I dont think anybody can take your attack in a raid. Of course. Not a problem. Were on it. The girls all yelled and shouted. After their exclamations were over, Roland said, Then lets begin. All the girls suddenly became solemn. Several seconds later, Roland quickly descended the cloud, removed the protective shield, and raised his right hand. A storm of blue bullets appeared above his head. They flew up and drifted out of the cloud first, then they fell at a higher speed. The devils were patrolling on the broad wall and mocking the human troops who dared not march closer. They were quite relaxed. There were only six hundred archers and two hundred warriors on this 500-meter-long section of the wall. However, it was impossible to take it down without ten thousand soldiers who were fearless of death. They had expected air force attacks, so they had deployed a lot of archers here. However, under normal circumstances, most flying creatures in the Realm of Devils wouldnt fly above two hundred meters. An altitude of eight hundred meters was something that only the Demon Gods could achieve. It wasnt because eight hundred meters was too hard, but because most creatures didnt have to fly that high. So, they didnt notice anything wrong when a cloud floated above their heads. They finally realized that it was an attack when a tremendous number of Arcane Bullets fell from the sky. The Arcane Bullets seemed small, but they would cause explosions when they hit the ground or the devils. They were very powerful and had an effective damage range of two meters. The three hundred Arcane Bullets set off continuous explosions. Instantly, more than a hundred demons were killed, and almost two hundred lost their combat ability. The players in the stream channel commented quickly, You call that a tiny bit of Arcane Bullets? The devils were bombarded to the point of dizziness. Some tried their best to flee, and some intended to fight back, only to be stunned by the descending cloud. They had never seen such a thing before. While they were stunned, a great number of flying summoned creatures swooped at them. Most of the creatures were large eagles who could use Wind Blades or had very sharp claws. The Arcane Bullets were followed by the Wind Blades that were a lot less powerful. They couldnt cut the devils into halves, but they could leave a wound one to two centimeters deep. The Wind Blades that felt like rainwater greatly reduced the devils combat ability. Then they had to deal with the eagles sharp claws. When the cloud descended to ten meters above the city wall, a horde of ground summoned creatures, including wolves, gorillas, and deer, appeared out of nowhere and crashed into them. Those summoned creatures were mere projections and werent half as strong as their originals, but their number was truly impressive. When they landed, they almost covered this part of the sky. After they landed, they attacked the devils nearby crazily. The devils were very strong, but they couldnt defeat an ocean of beasts. The four hundred devils left had to resist at least ten thousand summoned creatures. Instantly, all the enemies were drowned. At the same time, Schuck had commanded a team of Guardians of Light to the city wall. They set up a magic ladder and crawled up while the enemy was in disarray. Very soon, the summoned creatures cleared all the enemies from this section. They began to charge at the two sides of the wall for the Guardians of Light that were soon to arrive. In the rear of the battlefield, Schuck couldnt help but smile when he saw the Guardians of Light on the wall. The other Saint Samurai were all delighted too. At this moment, Roland was controlling the cloud to move upward. Solisa summoned a unicorn and activated a special talent named Green Dreamland. It could create a halo that appeared as a magic grassland around the unicorn. All allies on the grassland would have much faster magic power regeneration. It could only be used once a day. The girls mana bars that were almost running dry were quickly refilled. Roland felt that his magic power was replenished too. Were going to the next obstacle. When Roland rose to the sky, the devils on the two sides of the wall, seeing the incoming enemies, gathered at the breach to reinforce them. Seizing the opportunity, Roland flew to a vulnerable spot in their rear and landed again. He performed the same trick and created another opening in three minutes. This time, it wasnt the Guardians of Light but the players who crawled up! The roaring Warriors, through the stone ladders that the Mages temporarily made, crawled to the wall and attacked the devils nearby. This time, Roland and the girls didnt leave. They jumped off from the cloud and joined the assault. In no more than ten minutes, the devils within one kilometer on the wall were eliminated. Chapter 655 - Petty Tricks May Be Pretty Useful There were at least a hundred thousand devils on the wall that was ten meters wide However, when almost three hundred thousand people were fighting in the battle, the wall wasnt broad enough at all. Things were quite easy for the Guardians of Light, whose light skills were natural banes to the devils. On the players side, the coalition defense line of the Shield Warriors couldnt be breached even by the devils who were almost legends. They could even press on slowly against the attacks to get closer to the enemys front line. Just like that, the wall was conquered bit by bit, and the number of devils was declining. The battle went on for almost ten hours. When more and more Guardians of Light and players climbed onto the wall, the devils could only retreat. The remaining sixty thousand devils fled very fast from the wall. They even lost thousands of more soldiers because of the stampedes during their escape. The devils seem to be much weaker than we expected. William watched the devils flee and took off his helmet, wiping the blood off it. Why was the war between humans and devils so brutal? Most generals and soldiers of the Guardians of Light shared the same question. Schuck smiled and said, Its mostly because of my compatriots. Are they really so influential? William wasnt really convinced. You can run some statistics. Its been about twenty days since the war began, and my compatriots have killed about four-fifths of all the devils, said Schuck with a smile. William found this even more unbelievable. Dinah, the female Saint Samurai, nodded and said, Schuck is probably right. Ive been observing the Golden Sons recently. Although they dont show up often on the main battlefield, their efficiency in killing is really high. William looked at them and still found it hard to believe. If you dont believe it, ask the soldiers on the front line. They must know better than anyone else. Schuck opened his hands. William wouldve done the same without Schucks hint. After the Guardians of Light occupied the city wall, they set up a temporary camp on one side of the city wall. While patrolling the army, William quietly listened to the soldiers communication. Those Golden Sons are really awesome. Theyre brutal killers and they are absolutely fearless of death. Why would they be scared of death if they cant die? They arent scared of pain either. Theyll bite the enemy if their limbs are severed. Theyre even crazier than devils. I saw a Golden Son who lost his weapon and his belly was cut open. He simply pulled out his intestine and strangled the enemy with it. However, his intestine snapped because he used too much strength. Still, he was saved by a Priest from the Water God Church. That was terrifying. The soldier spoke with a trembling voice. He wasnt really a coward. Even William felt a little dizzy when he pictured the scene. It was too brutal. Those Golden Sons were even more terrifying than the devils. Then, William looked at the Golden Sons who had gathered up and didnt seem to be in order at all. Heaving a long sigh, he went to Schuck. Is there any way to convince more Golden Sons to worship our goddess like you do? One step at a time, said Schuck casually. First of all, we need to improve the doctrines. They dont like some of the obsolete ideas in the current doctrines. William became unhappy again after hearing that. Why do you think youre qualified to change the doctrines? They were written by the third pope over the course of fifty years. They are the foundation of the Church of Light. Because I am a saint, replied Schuck casually. William was instantly lost for words. It was true that a saint had the right to change the unreasonable doctrines. After a long daze, he finally said slowly, Do whatever you want as long as your doctrines can make our church develop better. Then he left. As a matter of fact, William never liked Schuck. Before Schuck came to the church, he was the most gifted of all the Saint Samurai. But Schuck stole his thunder the moment he arrived. On the other side, Roland handed over the gold coins he promised to Solisa and was about to leave. But the chairwoman stopped him. Wait a moment, were going to have a barbecue party. Youve been invited. A barbecue party? Roland was rather tempted. You gave us a lot of money. Solisa weighed the bag of money. We should offer you a treat. Roland thought for a moment and accepted it. He couldnt have regretted his decision more. Because as it turned out, he was the only man at the barbecue party that was exclusively attended by the girls of the Phoenix Guild. He had thought that Solisa would invite other male players to the party. Before the barbecue party even started, the girls were already asking him questions. He even felt that someone touched his butt, but he didnt see who she was after he turned around. It was well known that a girls nature would be liberated when the number of girls in a certain area surpassed a certain threshold and far exceeded that of males. Roland couldnt take it anymore and left with a flash, giving up on eating barbecue. Solisa laughed after seeing that. She thought that it was a good way to ease the tension between her guild and Roland. She had done it on purpose. As a woman herself, she understood the nature of women too well. After Roland flashed away, he didnt leave the Realm of Devils. Instead, he drifted forward on a tiny cloud. A tiny cloud, with its lower magic waves, was even less likely be noticed from the ground. With red and uneven hills replacing one another under his feet, Roland finally caught up to the fleeing devils after an hour of flight. A swarm of devils were fleeing into the wilderness. Down below, he even saw some devils that were flying at a low altitude. Roland followed them and finally saw a black spot on the horizon about three hours later. After he flew closer, he discovered, to his surprise, that the black spot was a city, and quite an enormous one at that. Red bricks of mud were piled up into buildings of different heights and shapes. Roland had drifted to the very center of the city. He looked around and took a deep breath. The city was so large, almost the same size of a city in reality. The buildings spanned all the way to the end of the horizon. It was just an illusion, but it indicated how huge the city was. A lot of black spots, large and small, were moving on the roads around the buildings. The streets were almost as crowded as the business centers in the metropolises in reality. Even more surprisingly, a great number of demons were flying at an altitude of about a hundred meters. They didnt notice Roland, who was eight hundred meters high. After all, the tiny white point was hidden in the gray sky. Roland turned on the system camera and captured the view down below. Then, he saw a white building right under the cloud that was about five floors high. It occupied a large area. The pure white wall and the red buildings around it made for a vivid contrast. That place must be the house of a big shot among the devils. I wonder whose house it is, Roland mumbled to himself. Oh, youre referring to the white one? Its mine. A rather gender-neutral voice echoed behind Roland, who was so frightened he got goosebumps. He suddenly turned his head back, only to see a man floating at the same altitude he was. The man had an androganyous face. His features were smooth and fair. He looked quite handsome, but he had curved eyebrows, tiny red lips, and freckled skin. He wore a white cloak and white pants, but no shoes. His feet were reflecting glimmers of sunlight. Roland subconsciously flew back on the cloud, but the man followed him just as quickly. No matter how Roland flew and halted, he remained five meters in front of the cloud. Even more unbelievably, Roland couldnt detect any magic waves from the man. Also, Roland found that the space around him was disrupted. The man nullified the spatial magic within a certain range just by standing there. Roland had seen a similar situation from Morris earlier. A Demon God! Even if he werent, he must be an expert on the same level as Morris. Roland wanted to run, but he couldnt use spatial magic, and he couldnt fly as fast. How could he flee? Who are you? Roland wasnt in a hurry to run anymore and stopped. Are you a Demon God? The man had gray hair and looked at the cloud under Rolands feet with great interest. This spell that you modified is quite interesting. Can you tell me the mechanism behind it? Roland chuckled. Do you think Ill just share my knowledge with a random stranger? My name is Paimon. We arent strangers anymore. The man smiled. Paimon! Thats a familiar name Roland was stunned for a moment. He then realized that it was the name of the guy who made a portal and set up a trap for him with causal magic W Cd I know who you are. You are the maker of the portal. Paimon nodded and smiled. I can tell that you triggered my teleportation array. The guys eyes were filled with mockery. Roland was rather angry. Is it fun to set up other people? It indeed is, Paimon admitted openly. You are a fun man too. Do you want to be my subject? I 1 V Heh! Roland scoffed again and considered how he could leave the place. If youre unwilling to, Ill have to extract your soul. Paimon raised his hand and snatched at Roland. However, I prefer to get a complete life, so let me ask again. Do you surrender? Roland sensed a claw-shaped mental cage forming around himself. Almost all the magical elements were blocked by the cage. A Demon God! He had to try his best without keeping any secrets anymore. Roland was never one to waver. He always set his decisions in motion immediately. He quickly transformed into a fiery Elemental Lord and then took out the magic power brick from his system Backpack. He was about to put it in his stomach, when unexpected changes happened. Paimons eyes glittered, and his grimacing expression became solemn. He saw the magic power brick in Rolands hand and quickly snatched with his right hand. Roland was restrained by five streams of mental power and couldnt move anymore. He couldnt move even though he was in the form of fire elements, and his movement of stuffing the blue magic power brick into his belly was frozen. Paimon floated close and extended his finger about one meter away from Roland, and the magic power brick fell out of Rolands hand and into his. He observed it carefully for a moment and asked Roland, Where did you get this cornerstone of a floating city? Although Roland was restrained, it was still possible to communicate with mental power. I picked it up by chance. Paimon, however, was unconvinced. He extended his left hand and scratched the magic power brick with his pretty fingernail. The unbelievably hard magic power brick dropped a layer of blue powder under his scratching He then tasted the powder and said, Its a state-of-the-art cube of magic power thats filled with your aura, yet you claim that you picked it up. Do you think Im an idiot? Roland chuckled. Who knows? Although he couldnt move, and he was sure that he couldnt defeat the guy, Roland didnt think that he had to beg for mercy. The guy might be a Demon God, but so what? Even though he might lose a lot of EXP after dying, his level wouldnt drop. He could always accomplish more quests and try to make up for the EXP he lost. He could be resurrected. Surrender the method with which you made this, and Ill set you free. Paimon tossed the magic power brick in his hand. Roland was still chuckling. Paimon drifted close and extended his left hand. Then, he raised Roland, who was still in the form of fire elements, as if he were grabbing something solid. Young human, dont test my boundaries. I know that the Golden Sons are fearless of pain, but I can torture your soul. Rolands fire element body flinched. Then he said, You must let me go first and give the magic power brick back to me. I got that thing with tremendous effort. You cant steal it from me, or I wont tell you how to build a floating city. Okay. Paimon loosened his hand and threw Roland back to the cloud. He then tossed the magic power brick back to him. Paimon didnt think that Roland couldnt flee from him, not even with a body of fire. After all, the strength gap between them was too huge. After reclaiming the magic power brick, Roland turned back into human form. His human form was far less powerful than the fire element form. Paimon was even more relaxed to see that. He didnt believe that the guy couldnt escape from a Demon God. After turning back into a human being, Roland took a deep breath. Then, the black scythe appeared in his hands and was stuck to the magic power brick. Huh? Paimon was briefly stunned to see the black scythe. Then, his face greatly changed, and he reached for Rolands neck. His move was as quickly as lightning. But it was too late. The magic power brick underwent a transformation the moment it touched the black scythe. A great amount of black fog emanated from the scythe. Paimons hand touched the black fog as he reached out. Yet, it was blocked by the seemingly unsubstantial fog. His right hand was merely thirty centimeters away from Rolands neck but couldnt press on anymore. Nether God! Paimon roared at the sky. Chapter 656 - Sex Trap is Never Outdated Chapter 656 Sex Trap is Never Outdated The black fog rapidly expanded and turned into a gigantic black woman. Paimon extended his hand and grabbed the woman, who was much bigger. A gigantic white hand appeared and snatched the black fog woman. However, the Nether God moved even faster. The black scythe came late but hit its target early, tearing apart space. The furious air currents and the dark magic power flung Paimon hundreds of meters away. A dark wound was left on his chest. The wound was so massive that his beating heart and wriggling lungs could be seen. The wound was very big, yet no blood flowed out. Dark energy was attached to the wound, making it more difficult for Paimon to recover. The black spatial gap quickly unfolded in the sky. Through the gap, Roland could see the view of the Netherworld. Then, the black woman glimpsed Paimon and slowly drifted into the gap with the black scythe. After she entered the gap, the gap quickly shrank and disappeared. Paimon touched his chest and erased the black energy. His wound soon began to heal. At this moment, a slim old man suddenly appeared next to him. He looked around and asked Paimon, I sensed the Nether Gods energy just now. Was it my imagination? No. Hiss! The old man let out the noise of a rattlesnake. How could the Nether God have come here? This place wont be safe anymore. Paimon shook his head. She played a trick; she didnt arrive in person. The old man was relieved. Thats good. Judas, I want to ask you something. Struggle appeared on Paimons face. If you agree, Im willing to share some of my sovereignty over space with you. The Demon God named Judas revealed widened pupils. Then, they became normal. Youre rarely so generous. Your request must be very challenging, yes? Of course! Paimon looked into the distance and said slowly, I want you to help me drive the expedition army of the Church of Light as well as the Golden Sons out of the Realm of Devils. How soon do you want it to be done? asked Judas. Within seven days. Its impossible! Judas waved his hand. Because of the contractual rules, we cannot participate in the war of mortals in person, or the Goddess of Light and the Life Goddess will arrive. Speaking of which the Nether Gods clone appeared here because you violated the rules, right? Paimon chuckled coldly. Dont presume that I dont know that you prepared a lot of flesh puppets. They should be able to deal with the enemies. Youre truly well-informed. Judas laughed aloud but soon became cold. Theyre the foundation of my power, and theyre formidable. However, they will suffer heavy losses if they fight the Church of Lights expedition army and the Golden Sons. Without those flesh puppets, my power of faith will decline, and there wont be a place for me in the Realm of Devils. Paimon sniffed. I can protect you for a hundred years. We can sign a contract. Contracts are made to be torn apart. Isnt that your favorite saying, Paimon? Judas let out a mocking laugh. Thats all right. Im sure someone will be willing to help. Paimon put on a smile of satisfaction. I can always go to Barr. As the oldest of us, he should be willing to help me, especially when Im willing to share some of my sovereignty over space. Judas became angry the moment he heard that. Have you lost your mind? Dont you know what will happen if Barr gets sovereignty over space? Then help me kick away the expedition army and the Golden Sons. Judas gazed at Paimon angrily, but Paimon was absolutely calm and inscrutable. As his best friend for hundreds of years, Judas knew Paimons personality too well. The calmer he looked, the more furious and extreme he felt in his heart. Fine. Judas heaved a helpless sigh. But Ill need some help. Sidi probably has time to help me. But I wont pay her. Judas waved unconcernedly. Its fine. Ill pay Sidi myself. When will it start? Judas thought for a moment and said, Maybe right now. After that, he connected to the mental network and said a moment later, Its done. Sidi said that shes willing to help. Hardly had he finished when a streak of darkness came from the distance. It was so fast that it looked like real light. It then quickly stopped before the two Demon Gods, as if it didnt have any inertia. Intense sonic explosions didnt catch up until four seconds after the shadow stopped. The deafening noises were mixed with strong gales. They formed a terrifying blast on the ground but disappeared outside of the city. Paimon put down his right hand, which he had just lifted to block the tsunami of airwaves. The shadow that stopped between them was a woman who had bat wings and tiny demonic horns on her forehead. She wore a lot of clothes, and only her fair feet were partly revealed beneath her long dress. The woman had a great figure and looked like a succubus. But unlike the succubi, she didnt have an arrow-shaped tail, and she had the regular feet of humans instead of succubus hooves. She was very beautiful and could almost compare to Morris. She looked at the two Demon Gods and focused her eyes on Paimon. Youre wounded. How rare. The Nether Gods clone just showed up. No wonder. The woman gracefully pursed her lips into a smile. Judas, let me ask you. I can help you, but what are you willing to pay? Souls of men. The kind of men that you love most. How many? More than 130. Deal. Sidi gently clapped her hands. Ill deploy all the succubi under my command. I was told that the Golden Sons liked the succubi very much. I think we can stir a conflict among them with that. What do you think? Do whatever you deem fit. Paimon scoffed. I only want it to be done, no matter how. You will see that, I promise. Sidi smiled as gently as a real goddess. On the other hand, the black gigantic woman flew into the gap with the scythe and appeared in the sky in the Netherworld. Very soon, her black shell vanished, leaving Roland in the center of the white cloud with the Nether Gods Scythe. He stood in silence and reflected on the performance with the Supreme Dark Dimensional Slash. Although the attack was based on his own energy, it was truly as powerful as the attack of a god. The circulation and sublimation of energy was a rare experience for Roland at this moment. Although he couldnt step into the door just yet, he was still able to see what was inside the temple of rules through the door. It was greatly helpful for his mind even though he could only see the surface. He spent half an hour in contemplation. He smacked his lips and was about to leave, but then he found that his spatial magic malfunctioned again. A woman wearing a long black dress suddenly appeared before him. Her appearance was absolutely soundless. Roland dared say that she wasnt there until a second earlier. Roland was slightly surprised. Then he stepped back on the cloud and said prudently, Ms. Sophie, its been a while. The womans long black hair fluttered in the wind. She stared at Roland without moving at all. The atmosphere became even more rigid. Roland sensed that the air was suffocating. When he speculated over the Nether God wanted, she extended her right hand, her palm facing the sky. Her hand was beautiful, fair, and bright. The look of the hand alone suggested that it was the purest and most sacred hand in the world, one that hadnt touched anything filthy. Roland glanced at her hand and wondered if she wanted anything from him. Did she want some reward for rescuing him? Roland thought for a moment and put a handful of beautiful gems in her hand. Then, the gems fell right through the Nether Gods hand down to the ground as if she were just an illusion. Roland was rather regretful, as he was at a very high altitude. There were rocks on the floor, and the gems would probably crack into pieces or fall into the crevices after they crashed. Roland found it regretful as the handful of gems were worth tens of thousands of yuan. The Nether God kept staring at him with her hand raised, as if she were demanding something. However, she seemed to be leaning closer to Roland. Roland thought for a moment and found some meatloaves, which fell through the palm too. She didnt like that either. It was within Rolands expectation. He was just doing an experiment. He then thought for a moment and attempted to give the scythe back to her. But hardly had he made the movement when she shook her head. She finally showed a reaction. She indeed wanted something. Roland thought for a moment and then clapped his hands. He took a blue magic power brick from his system Backpack and put it in her hand. This time, the magic power lay on her hand steadily. So, she wanted the magic power bricks. The Nether Gods right hand lightly shivered, like a half-second blur on a monitor. Then, the magic power brick on her hand was gone. The Nether God was still looking at Roland with a demanding gesture. Roland put another brick on it. It was gone again. She did the same movement. Roland took out a third brick. This time, the Nether God finally retracted her hand and nodded at Roland. She took out a black gem out of nowhere and dropped it softly. The black gem fell onto Rolands hand, melted like ink, and permeated into Rolands body. Then, the Nether God disappeared. Same as when she came, there were no magic waves or spatial waves. Thats good. If only I could learn it. Roland mumbled to himself and checked his own system. He knew that the black gem from the Nether God that merged into his body would be useful. Its description was definitely listed in the system. Very soon, Roland found his anomaly. He had one more perk. Dark Element Affinity: The cost of any spells, skills, talents, or supernatural abilities that are related to dark magic is lowered, and their power is moderately increased. Huh, thats interesting. Roland quickly checked his other perk, the Supreme Dark Dimensional Slash. As expected, the perk had been greatly improved. The mana cost changed from 3,600 to 2,500, and its power was increased too. Considering the reduction of cost, the efficiency of this perk was greatly improved. Three magic power bricks for one perk was definitely a fair deal. Roland delightedly teleported back to his manor in Delpon. He spent half a day with Andonara and then calculated his recent harvest. He had earned 150 gold coins, a tremendous amount of Reputation, a new perk, and a deeper understanding of the Dark Dimensional Slash. He had truly earned a lot. He exchanged his Reputation for 80 points of maximum magic power and 1.2 times magic power regeneration. The capacity of magic power was as important as the speed of regeneration. If a lake was large but the pump didnt work well, it might take a long time to fill the lake with water. The speed might even be lower than that of evaporation due to sunlight. In that case, the size of the lake was pointless, because no water could be stored. If the lake was too small, the high speed of the pump would be pointless too, because only one or two buckets of water could be stored, and the additional water would overflow. After exchanging the Reputation, Roland took a two-day rest in the manor and noted his findings. He had to write down his feelings when he used the Dimensional Slash and reflect on them all the time in case he forgot. Then, on the third day, Roland received an emergency message from Schuck in the guild channel. Schuck: Roland, something is off. Roland: Whats wrong? Schuck: Were having an internal conflict. Roland: ???! Schuck: Just go to the forum, or any stream channel. He opened the forum and found that the forum was already seething. As it turned out, the day before yesterday, a large batch of succubi appeared when the players and the Guardians of Light were resting. There were about sixty thousand of them. Those succubi sincerely expressed their wish to surrender and join the human world. Naturally, the players, especially the male ones, were happy to see that. The female players, as a minority, couldnt overrule the result through their votes even though they had objections. Most of the Guardians of Light, however, objected to accepting them. They claimed that the succubi should be killed in case they hurt other people. Some Guardians of Light didnt agree, but their opinions were stifled by William. In general, the Guardians of Light intended to purge the succubi, and the players wanted to protect them, so a conflict happened. They even already had quite a few fights. Although no weapons were used and nobody was killed, the relationship and atmosphere between the two parties had already become awkward and rigid. Chapter 657 - Easy Problem Chapter 657 Easy Problem When Roland teleported back to the Realm of Devils, he found that the atmosphere was indeed stiff. There were clearly two factions on the two sides of the wall. From Rolands perspective, the players, who were on the left side, seemed to be in a mess, but their camps were arranged in a certain pattern. Many succubi were flying in the sky. Even more were chatting with the players all ladylike. On the right side was the camp of the Guardians of Light, which was purely white. Their tents were white, and so was their armor. Only the armor of the Saint Samurai was bright gold, but it wasnt discernible in the ocean of white. After Roland arrived, he landed in the players camp. Although he was closer to Schuck, Schuck, as a Saint Samurai of the Church of Light and the commander of the expedition army, had a very sensitive identity at a moment like this. If he were to meet Schuck recklessly, the players might change their opinion on F6. Roland had been the center of F6 most of the time, so he entered the battle meeting center as the chairman of F6. After seeing Roland, the people in the meeting room instantly stopped arguing. Some chairmen of small guilds were even blowing whistles. Finally, a man whose word carries weight is here. However, its true that big shots tend to arrive late. The man sounded rather cynical and sarcastic. Roland looked at him and found that he didnt know him at all. The man was displayed as LV9 on the system and he wasnt a Master. As the strongest Mage in the whole server, Roland had always been modest. He wouldnt admit it when other people complimented him saying how strong he was. However, the case was different now that someone was mocking him to his face. Roland simply stared at him in silence. A moment later, the other people in the conference room stared at him with Roland. Everybody who had been to elementary school could see what was going on, including both the onlookers and those involved. Sorry, I spoke too much. Please continue, sir. The man immediately chickened out. He was only testing Roland and seeing if he could provoke him. He did it out of jealousy, but he wasnt an idiot. It wouldnt be a good thing if the F6 targeted him later. There were three influential men among F6, namely Roland, Schuck, and Betta. Roland was a Master Mage that was close to the Hollevin Association of Mages and somewhat related to the royal family. Schuck was quite unbelievable, too, as the commander of more than a hundred thousand soldiers. As for Betta, who was the legit lord of Wetland City, he had the power to exile anyone on his territory. The three of them all had unbelievable power and influence. If they were infuriated, a small guild of only dozens of members couldnt possibly withstand their wrath. Seeing that the man chickened out, Roland ignored him and sat down on a chair around the table in the middle. Seeing that Roland sat down, Solisa slapped the table and said, Roland, youre finally here. This is a serious problem. How is F6 going to handle this? Everybody looked at Roland. Because Schuck was the commander of the Guardians of Light, there was still room of negotiation between the Guardians of Light and the players. Is this being streamed? Roland looked around and saw a lot of acquaintances, so he asked. Solisa nodded. Of course, this thing is deeply related to all players, as well as our diplomacy with a major force. All the players have the right to be informed. All right. Roland considered for a moment. He wouldve put it in a different way if the meeting wasnt streamed, but since it was, he had to change the way he talked although he was expressing the same thing. Then let me tell you the truth. Schuck is trying to keep the expedition army from attacking. He also hopes to find a solution that both parties can accept. Wa Hes a Saint Samurai, yet he doesnt even have full control over an expedition army. Hes probably new to the Church of Light and hasnt established his own connections and forces. One of the chairmen sighed. He still needs more time. It seemed to be a fair statement, but it actually erased all of Schucks hard work. Also, since the meeting was being streamed, many people would have a bad impression of Schuck. Although the players were generally decent, there was still intense competition among them. Many people would subconsciously criticize others after they graduated from school, whether they were ambitious politicians or corporate employees. Were talking about the Guardians of Light in a crusade. Theyve been instructed to kill all the devils they see, Roland said casually. Schuck is already respected enough to stop those zealots from killing. He has done what wouldve taken other people one or two decades. We cant be too demanding on him. All the guild chairmen were smart. After Roland said that, they realized that the two of them had a secret confrontation just now. Many people in the stream channel exclaimed, Is this the art of communication between the big shots? Theyre both so shrewd. Many netizens and players who didnt understand what happened quickly asked them. Solisa heaved a sigh. Enough, you should stop such drama. Even the women dont do this anymore! Roland shrugged. The chairman who just spoke chuckled helplessly. In fact, he only said that instinctively. It couldnt be helped. It was already in his DNA after staying for a long time in an international corporation. Moogle picked it up and asked, Roland, what are Schucks requirements? He can temporarily suppress the expedition armys desire to eliminate the succubi, but not for long. So, he wants us to propose a reasonable plan. Roland paused and said, We can either kick the succubi away or move them to the main plane. Its rather tricky, Moogle said rather helplessly. The players from many guilds will riot if the succubi are kicked away. Now, almost every player has one succubus. Some even have more. Solisa put on an awful expression. She looked around at the males disdainfully as if they were all maggots. Roland sniffed too. He wasnt judging those people; he simply felt that they were too fast. Then we can move them to the main plane. Charles from the Cornucopia was also here. He looked at Roland and continued, Its just several dozen thousand succubi anyway. Theyre nothing compared to the five billion human beings in the main plane. Its not that simple. The chairman of Moon Shadow waved and said, I study sociology in reality. The succubi will be a major shock to the institution of marriage and ethics if they appear in the main plane. More importantly, unlike the Warlocks, we have no way to restrain them. Theyre truly friendly to players right now, but in the main plane, they can invoke competition between dozens if not hundreds of people with their charm. They might even trigger a massive fight. Well Everybody felt that it did make sense. Also, more importantly, nobody can guarantee that those succubi wont betray us after they come to the main plane, Solisa said. Neither can you guarantee that the people of the Church of Life and the Church of Life wont kill the uncontracted succubi in the main plane. Everybody felt a strong headache. So, neither choice works. What do we do? Moogle heaved a sigh and said, The devils are truly cunning. Theyve alienated and divided us with only one move. Everybody was slightly depressed. Roland coughed and said, Ive heard your ideas and suggestions. Youre saying that if the succubi are contracted, it will solve the problem, right? Everybody nodded. Solisa quickly asked, Do you have any way to restrain them? Its indeed possible, Roland said straightforwardly. I happened to have improved a contract spell recently. It can let people sign contracts with each other and receive a random skill from each other. My first experiment subject was a succubus. She called the contract a marriage contract, but its an equal one in my eyes. Solisa thought of many more things. Does it work on the succubi only? Ill make it so, replied Roland unhurriedly. The bystanders immediately noticed Rolands hint. Did he mean that the spell worked on most creatures at this moment? That was really interesting. It meant that the players could sign contracts with each other and receive an ability from each other. That was truly powerful! The players had a lot more abilities and potential than the succubi did. Charles immediately stood up and said to Roland, We dont have to contract the succubi. If youre willing to give the design of the contract to us right now, were willing to offer you a lot of money. Nobody is richer than the Cornucopia. Youre indeed the richest right now, but probably not in the future. Roland glanced at him and said, Ill only offer the version thats effective on the succubi. You cant keep such a useful ability to yourself. It will be of great significance to the entire community of players. Roland shook his head. Contracting the succubi is a great improvement itself. Charles frowned. But Moogle smiled and said, Were talking about the problem of succubi, chairman of Cornucopia. Please dont go off-topic. Charles glanced at Moogle angrily and sat down in discontent. All the players in the stream channel who saw that seethed. Indeed, your ability will surely increase if you can contract a succubus. Its even possible that you can get their charming skill. Thatd be great. Wait, there are only sixty thousand succubi right now. It isnt enough. Draw your swords, my friends. Is it still possible to join the expedition army now? Probably not. In the meeting room, Roland looked around and said, If youre all fine with my proposal, well let the people of the Church of Light come negotiate with us. How does it sound? Solisa heaved a sigh. Fine. I have a feeling that the female players have suffered a brutal defeat. Her thought was totally understandable. The uncontracted succubi were all slutty and flirted among the males. But after they were contracted, they were all loyal and chaste. According to the Warlocks, the succubi were very good at cooking too. Their only shortcoming was that they might be exhausting Mens favorite thing was usually to sleep with decent women and talk prostitutes out of business. asus So, the succubi perfectly met the desires of the male players. As for their hooves That wasnt a shortcoming at all but what made them attractive. After a lot of succubi were contracted, they would be the standard that the male players compared the female players to, and the female players independence wouldnt be as popular. The other guild chairmen looked at Solisa with smiles. Many players had pursued the charming girls of the Phoenix Guild. However, those girls had high standards, and few were accepted by them. They were not nobles and had no territory. They didnt have vast backgrounds like Roland or Schuck. They werent appealing to the girls at all. They might be professionals, but so were the girls. The Elven Summoners were better at fighting and making money through quests than most male players were. The more financially independent a woman was, the less likely she would want a boyfriend or to get married. So, nine out of ten men who pursued the female players had failed. Therefore, the male players had been feeling despised, more or less. Now that the succubi were here, they were secretly happy, as if they had avenged themselves. Although there were only sixty thousand succubi, their intelligence suggested that there should be more than two million of them across the Realm of Devils, which was a large place. There was one for everybody. Solisa could see the gloating smiles on the faces of the male players. She was extremely unhappy. She had little interest in the male players, with a few exceptions, such as Roland. Now that she was provoked by them, she got even angrier. She already had the idea of relocating the Phoenix Guild and staying away from the male players. She decided to recruit more female NPCs in the future and set up a Magic Tower of exclusively female players. Moogle and the others looked at each other and said, In that case, lets invite Schuck and the Church of Lights representatives over. Roland sent a message to Schuck in the guild channel. Very soon, Schuck came with William and Dinah. All three Saint Samurai looked extremely gorgeous. Schuck, in particular, was almost a god on earth. Schuck came here with the attitude of working out the whole thing in peace. However, William was also a Saint Samurai who was on the same standing as him. He had his own idea. The moment he entered the conference room, William unleashed his vibe and used Aura of Intimidation. As a result, all the players in the meeting room jumped to their feet and glared at him. Are you trying to intimidate us, pretty boy? Chapter 658 - Exchange of Blood Chapter 658 Exchange of Blood Perhaps because of the game system, the players were highly resistant to spiritual and soul-related skills and spells. So, Williams intimidation ability didnt work; it only enraged the players. Schuck heaved a helpless sigh when he saw the players jump to their feet. William was a traditional Saint Samurai, who were famous for their condescension. They were only second to the pope, and even on a line with him sometimes. Also, they were highly popular and revered by the believers thanks to their capabilities and charm. The Church of Light, as a major church, had believers dutifully serving the Saint Samurai everywhere they went. Some beautiful girls even wanted to be their bed warmers. They were spoiled by the entire Church of Light. They were always the center of attention in the church as long as they didnt make mistakes. Under such circumstances, it was inevitable that the Saint Samurai became proud. Therefore, William subconsciously used his usual method to intimidate the players. The Aura of Intimidation was very powerful. Even Warriors of his level might be prone to it. They would be a lot more restrained under the Aura of Intimidation if they were short-tempered. If they were self-restrained to begin with, they might temporarily become cowards. It was a very useful skill in negotiations. Such a trick wasnt exactly honest However, the Church of Light, as believers of light, was frank and forthright. This was just a strategy, not a scheme. After all, the Saint Samurais schemes were not schemes at all. William had influenced negotiations with other forces in the same way several times, and they all turned out well. However, it didnt work this time. The players werent affected at all. Instead, they all looked his vitals up and down angrily. The players wouldve attacked him already, if he had actually launched an attack instead of invoking the halo. After all, nobody wanted their username to turn red. William looked at the Golden Sons who were all glaring at him, shocked. Why had the Aura of Intimidation become the Aura of Taunting? He was stunned, and the atmosphere was frozen. Fortunately, Schuck voluntarily said, My friends, lets talk about the succubi. Schuck was one of the players. Also, everybody knew that, exactly like Roland said, they wouldve been fighting the expedition army if Schuck hadnt been holding them back. The succubi probably wouldve suffered heavy losses. The two parties were seated, and William dared not speak anymore. He found that the Golden Sons were all rather strong and threatening to him. Roland just sent me a message and said that you had a plan. Can we hear it? Everybody looked at Roland. Roland introduced his plan. Schuck was obviously relieved after hearing that. Okay, its fine with me. Everything is fine as long as the succubi are restrained. Dinah, William, what about you? Naturally, Dinah nodded. She liked Betta, who was Schucks cousin and Rolands good friend. Besides, she didnt think they had to be so harsh on the poor succubi who had surrendered. She had no reason to object to the proposal. However, William asked suspiciously, You can improve the magic contract? Thats unbelievable. All the players looked at him as if he were a clown. Sensing the mockery in the players eyes, William frowned and continued, Im a Saint Samurai, but Im a spellcaster too. I know a thing or two about magic. Its extremely difficult even for the Legends in the Fareins Association of Mages to improve a contract. Also, Ive never heard a contract that can bind two parties equally and let them share abilities. Are you serious? Schuck said casually, I trust Roland. William looked at Schuck. I want to trust him too, but I prefer to see evidence first. So, would you like to contract a succubus? asked Roland. Of course. Im willing to contract an evil succubus to confirm that youre not lying. William scoffed and stood up. This time, the players in the meeting room all whispered to each other. You couldve been more straightforward if you wanted a succubus for yourself. A Saint Samurai and a succubus. Interesting. Even a Saint Samurai and an evil red dragon can be a couple. Why cant he be with a succubus? Speaking of which, the succubi arent even as evil as the red dragons. William looked rather awful when he heard all the whispers. Dinah was secretly giggling. As for Schuck, he was very calm. As a player himself, he knew the personality of players too well. They were all great at sarcasm. William became so upset hearing all the whispers that he slapped the table heavily and said, Seriously? I just want to confirm if what he said is true. I dont want to get a succubus for anything. All the players put on a smile seeing how enraged William was. They enjoyed their revenge. You used the Aura of Intimidation to us just now, and yet youre pissed off. Thats just karma. Schuck extended his hand and pulled William down to his seat. Dont get excited. My people like to provoke others. The angrier you are, the happier they will be. After a brief daze, William sat down. Schuck asked Roland, How much does an equality contract cost? Ten gold coins. Thats so expensive. Schuck took a deep breath. Roland shrugged and said, It cant be helped. The magic materials are expensive in the first place, and the price of my work is high too. Okay, make one for William. Schuck pushed ten gold coins to the table. Okay. William looked rather awkward. Being a Saint Samurai, he didnt want to contract a succubus, but he couldnt go back on his word. Very soon, an average-looking succubus walked in. All the succubi had great figures, but they had different looks. Nevertheless, no succubi were ugly. Some of them were only average-looking. This was already the succubus with the most unattractive face that the players could find. William looked awful when he looked at this female demon who wore slutty clothes. Roland took out magic materials from his Backpack and quickly set up a magic array. His hands moved so fast when he combined the materials that they left blurry shadows. Several seconds later, a magic array appeared and enshrouded William and the succubus at the center of the field. The bright purple magic array glowed for about ten seconds. Then, William sensed that the back of his hand was hot, and saw a round, green magic symbol on it. Also, he suddenly felt that he seemed to have learned a new trick. He had a strange feeling in his head. With his natural instincts, he activated his light magic power and shook his hand. A long golden whip took shape in his hand. He waved it casually, and it let out a noise. The golden whip waved quite fast. Even the air seemed to twist when the whip passed. This William took a deep breath. Whip of the succubus! It was a special method of attack that the succubi had. They could form black whips with their mental power, and whoever was whipped would be plagued by negative effects such as lassitude and physical discomfort. The succubis whips were black because they were good at dark elements. The Saint Samurais whip was created by the light magic power, so it was naturally golden. Also, it seemed to have a very different effect. The Whip of the succubus was usually used to deal damage and cast negative buffs, but his whip seemed to have positive effects when it hit anyone. It was a very useful ability. William stared at his whip in silence for a moment and then dispersed it. Roland asked, Do you want me to cancel the equity contract for you?. William was rather unwilling when he heard that. The whip of holy light seemed very useful, and he didnt want to lose it. At this moment, hearing that her contract would be revoked, the succubus was greatly shocked and looked at William pitifully. She looked sad and miserable. Forget it. William gnashed his teeth and said to Schuck, You can deal with the succubi alongside the Golden Sons. I wont intervene anymore. Im sure that you can get everything done. After that, he turned around and walked out of the meeting room. The succubus, having received an equity contract, followed him away happily. After everybody left, Schuck smiled and said, Then lets do what we agreed upon. The Guardians of Light will stay here for about ten days. That should be enough for you to contract all the succubi. Everybody looked at Roland. Roland nodded and said, Ill post the spell model to contract the succubi on the forum and simplify it into a level-two spell. A lot of people should be able to pick it up. There were quite a few Mages in the meeting room. They all cheered after hearing that. It was because the task could only be accomplished by Mages, who could charge for materials and service when they offered help. There were tens of thousands of succubi here and millions more to come. After they helped the players set up contracts, they could help the nobles in the main plane do the same. It would mean huge revenues. All the Mages were delighted. Roland continued, Allow me to advertise for myself. I can help the players contract one another. Ten gold coins for one couple, including the material cost and my service. Whoever is interested can find me in Delpon. Then he stood up and left via teleportation. Schuck, too, stood up and left with Dinah. The players who watched the drama in the stream channel kept posting comments. LMAO. That stupid Saint Samurai just slapped his own face. Nobody can refuse their temptation! Nobody! Do you think its better to contract a succubus, or a player? Whichever is good. You can get a contracted wife. Alternatively, you can increase your strength. You can get a player as your wife too. There are few girls in this game The equity contract sounded like a marriage contract to the succubus. You want to sign it with another man? Hehe! In fact, there are other targets that you can bind. For example, you can contract the local girls in the game. If they receive some sort of skill from you, wont they be able to take your love? Youre right. Thats definitely one way to use it. Actually the elves are an option too. The elven girls are all beautiful and have great talents. Actually, the dwarven girls are the best. They can remain young and little for three hundred years. From that point of view, Rolands equity contract is very useful. Ive decided to lure an intelligent three-headed dog and then ask Roland to contract it. Upstairs, thats a weird thought. Who are you? Why are you so special? Thats nothing. I am Griefwind, a son-in-law in the Aristotle family. I love dogs the best. Other dog people are welcome to contact me. I think theres something more to that hobby. Tsk, tsk. I think Roland will make a fortune again. Isnt it a famous saying that you can only make as much money as your knowledge of this world? Why cant he make a fortune when hes capable and knowledgeable? After the advertisement, Roland teleported back to Delpon. He went to the Magic Tower first and let Vivian sit on his legs, inspecting her body as well as the issues in the Magic Tower recently. Because he did two things at the same time, it took him a while. The plump bats flew in at one point during the process and immediately left. Roland returned to his manor and cuddled with Andonara. He was about to post the succubus contract to the forum when Morris visited him again. She had changed her clothes and put on beautiful jewelry, which made her look young and attractive. Her face didnt change at all. What changed was her vibe. She looked like a mature woman earlier, but she could impress anyone as a young girl at this moment. Roland was quite surprised at her transformation. He could tell that she wasnt pretending to be a girl, and that her transformation was real. Roland, I want your woman to give me some blood. Roland frowned the moment he heard that. Andonara, on the other hand, didnt show any emotion. As if she sensed Rolands hostility, Morris said helplessly, Dont worry, I wont do anything to her. Shes my descendant, after all. Why do you want her blood? re Ive been badly suppressed by the main plane recently, Morris explained. Because of my features as the Immortal Phoenix, my body is quickly rejuvenating. I cannot control my divine abilities anymore. If this goes on, Ill become an Immortal Phoenix soon and lose my intelligence for a long time, until I turn into a phoenix egg and get reborn. Roland asked, Cant you return to the Realm of Devils? I can, said Morris with a smile. But I dont want to go back yet. I havent had enough fun. I dont want to waste this opportunity that comes once in a hundred years. Does it have anything to do with Andonaras blood? Morris explained, Andonara was born in the main plane and is a native of this place. She also has the Immortal Phoenixs blood. I can stay here for a long time as long as I replace my blood with hers. After a pause, she said, Besides, I wont be taking advantage of her. I can offer her a drop of the essence of the Immortal Phoenix. Chapter 659 - Awesome The Immortal Phoenixs blood essence was not just blood. Last time, Andonara was able to evolve from a normal person to a Hero of the Phoenix bloodline just by using a vial of Immortal Phoenixs blood essence. The so-called Immortal Phoenixs blood essence was special blood with the divine resurrection powers of the Immortal Phoenix. Both of them were quite surprised when Morris spoke of the properties of this essence. Roland couldnt help but ask, That means that Andonara can also resurrect after receiving your essence? Its not that powerful. Morris shook her head. After all, I only gave her a little bit of the essence. Then how much of your power can she have? Roland thought for a moment and then asked, What side effects will there be? Not even close to me, of courseI am capable of infinite resurrection. She can more than likely wake up as long as her head is not smashed, even if her heart is crushed, so as long as shes buried in the ground for a while. Morris sat down and continued, As for the side effects theres none. She is my descendant, so she can perfectly absorb my bloods divine power. Of course, if you use it, then I cant guarantee it. Thats already impressive! Roland nodded to Andonara. Although magic could regenerate broken limbs, the heart, and even resurrect people Magic was an active skill, and oftentimes, there was no possibility of recovering with magic when encountering a powerful enemy. Perhaps, one might not be in danger for a short time, but it would still be an awkward situation if they couldnt find a Mage or Priest to help regenerate their severed limbs. As for resurrection, the Life Pope and the Light Pope supposedly knew how to do it, but what about the cost? However, self-regeneration was a passive skill that could be activated even if one lost consciousness. The most important thing was that it wasnt dependent on someone else, and that was what made it powerful. Andonara naturally listened to Roland. She nodded to Morris and said, Then lets exchange. Hows it done? Wait first. Morris walked over to the window and looked out through the grass. Then she stretched out her right hand and held it level with her shoulder. Only a puff was heard as blood sprayed out from her palm. In a matter of moments, the entire lawn, which covered an area of nearly nine hundred square feet, was all dyed with a carmine blood mist. Thats a huge amount of blood! Roland frowned slightly. Thats a bit troublesome to clean. At this moment, Morris turned around. Her lips, which had been bright red, turned white, and she was thinner all over, her skin wrinkled like the elderly because of the instantaneous, massive loss of blood. It was extremely frightening to look at. Then she outstretched her right hand to Andonara. A strange blood-sucking effect was on Andonaras body. It wasnt long before a thread of blood was pulled from Andonaras forehead, only to quickly disappear into Morriss brow. Roland stood aside, watching quietly. If there was anything wrong with Andonara, he would immediately take action. As time gradually passed, Andonaras luscious red lips faded in color. They went from bright red to pink. Morriss lips, too, turned pink from the ghastly white they had been a moment ago. It seemed that the two colors were mixed and neutralized. And Morriss skin had become much more elastic again, no longer wrinkled like an old womans as it had been a moment ago. Then, Morris stopped sucking Andonaras blood. She took a deep breath and a blue fire emerged from her body, and after a short while, the flames faded. She looked refreshed and her skin became smooth and elastic. She even touched her chest and said to Andonara, You are so gifted, even my body has become more feminine after using your blood. Andonara smiled weakly, then turned her head to look at Roland. Seeing that Andonara was not in good spirits, Roland said to Morris, Where is your divine essence? Im about to give it to her. Morris pointed her finger, and a little bit of fiery red blood turned into a tiny ball and floated toward Andonara. There were faint sparks of light blue fire coming out of this small ball of blood. And in Rolands line of sight, he could see the properties of this blood ball. Item: Fire Phoenixs Divine Blood. Effect: When used by one with the Phoenix bloodline, one will receive some divine resurrection powers. The more there is, the more complete the power will be. Non-Phoenix bloodline users will experience no effect and will even be burned by undying flames. This item can also be used as a core material for resurrection magic. Previously, Roland was a bit worried that Morris blood might harm Andonara, but seeing this attribute description, he was completely relieved. The small ball of blood sank into Andonaras brow. Not much later, Andonara subconsciously touched her forehead, then suddenly her eyes closed and her body fell backward. It was a good thing Roland reacted quickly enough and immediately caught her. He looked at Morris with a puzzled gaze. Dont worry. Morris, who looked extremely well at this moment, waved her hand. This is a process thats bound to happen when fusing my divine blood power. Shell be fine after sleeping for a few days. With those words, Morris turned and disappeared out the window. Roland carried Andonara to the bedroom upstairs, laid her on the bed, and covered her with the blanket. Then he went over to the window and looked down Because Morris had just bled profusely, the whole lawn was sprayed with blood in a tremendous quantity. If it were not removed in time, the whole estate would become extremely unpleasant when the blood rotted after a while. It had to be cleaned with water magic. As Roland intended to do so, he looked down and froze. Because the red blood on the lawn had completely disappeared, and instead the grass on the lawn had grown nearly thirty centimeters. The grass that was low and short was now above a persons knees. And this grass looked quite different. He jumped down from the window, walked out onto the lawn, crouched down to take a closer look, and immediately laughed softly. This is a great gift. Now he had an item description in his eyes. Item: Inferno Grass (growth period) Effect: A grass tainted with the blood of the demon god Phoenix. A valuable magical material that can be used as a spellcasting material for high-level fire magic, as a high-level alchemical material, and as a catalyst for tempering weapons and armor. Roland had read about this grass in some book. It was rarely seen in the past hundred years, and extremely rare even around Phoenix. After all, as a demon god, Phoenix was quite strong and was rarely injured. This Inferno Grass had a price but no market. It wasnt a matter of money; it wasnt something you could find. And now, he had a lawn full of it. Roland immediately went to the Magic Tower and called a large number of private guards to protect his estate. And he put Christina, the vampire who often had nothing to do, in charge of guarding this lawn. Roland also set up an alerting barrier around the lawn. Another precious resource. Roland was now quite grateful to Morris. As a demon god, she was indeed quite generous. All of Andonaras blood couldnt be exchanged for a single drop of Immortal Phoenixs essence. Not to mention this lawn. There was no way Phoenix didnt know what kind of effect her blood would have, so she must have done it on purpose by spilling all of it on the lawn. Ill help her out if theres anything she needs in the future. Roland thought to himself. If it were the natives of this world, they would not dare to have such thoughts. After all, Phoenix was a demon god, so how could there possibly be anything she couldnt do? Even if there was something that she couldnt do, then it would also be impossible for mortals. But Roland didnt think so; in the eyes of the vast majority of players, the so-called gods were just creatures of extreme strength. There was nothing remarkable about them. Just like Mr. Ma, the richest man, had a lot of money, and most people couldnt make as much as he did in ten lifetimes. But no matter the amount of money, he was still just a man. It was the same reasoning to replace Mr. Ma with the gods and the money with strength. Because Andonara was slumbering, Roland was a little worried about her, so he kept to his bedroom for the next few days and didnt go do magic experiments. But he didnt just sit idly. Browsing the forum was also a way to obtain information and knowledge. He had already uploaded the succubus contract to the forum. sud In eight days, because of the simplicity of the succubus contract, about a hundred or so Mages had learned this contract spell. A large number of succubi became the players companions and were coming to the main plane. And many players had posted various photos of themselves and their succubus together. All showing off in a way to incite envy. They showed off their affection in a variety of ways, and this angered a lot of men without a succubus. Then more players started heading to the Realm of Devils, and players who hadnt intended to fight rushed to these slim, extremely thickly chest-plated succubi and abandoned their original gaming ideology. Not wanting to fight and kill, just wanting to enjoy the scenery; not wanting to see bloody battles, just wanting to do some casual occupation to experience another life these were all just f**king fake. Finding a considerate succubus that was graceful in the drawing room and skillful in the kitchen was the most important thing right now. With the influx of players to the Realm of Devils, the Mages just werent enough. Even if the players waved the gold coins in their hands like crazy and the Mages performed magic contracts like slaves, there was still a lack of capacity. The percentage of Mages was still too small. With few people, there were even fewer qualified Mages. There were only about a hundred Mages who could skillfully perform a magic contract. In reality, the speed of the succubus contract was very fast. With a snap, up went the left hand and right hand in one slow motion, and the contract between the two parties would be done. Contracting three pairs in a minute was no problem. But the biggest problem was that the succubus contract not only required magic materials but also magic power. Magic materials were easy to get. Roland had optimized them for the convenience of other Mages. Only two of them were needed, in small amounts, and they were also common and cheap. jer But the problem was that not all Mages had a ridiculous magic cap like Roland, with an exaggerated magic power regeneration, a full set of magic power regeneration equipment, and Rolands Zeal, the impressive magic regeneration skill. With the title and the full set of equipment, Rolands current MP cap was ten times that of a Mage of the same level, and his magic regeneration speed was thirteen times that of a professional of the same level. This didnt even take into account the specialty of Rolands Zeal. Roland could contract thirty pairs with a single bar of magic power. Ordinary players could only contract three pairs. Roland could regenerate a full bar of magic power in about half an hour. Other players needed nearly two hours. This difference was much bigger. So now there were a lot of succubi staying in the expeditionary army, but for a short time, there was no impression that there were fewer succubi. And in the tent of the Guardians of Light, William sat across from Schuck and said with some embarrassment, Um, Schuck I think, I think He said I think half the time and ended up not even finishing his words. Seeing him squirm so much, Schuck said lightly, There seem to be some problems with the logistic troops. Take a small team to protect and patrol along the road, look over the entire logistic line, and bring another five thousand troops when you return to the Holy Realm, got it? William was overjoyed and at the same time relieved. I understand, and thank you. Williams complexion looked a little pale. William hadnt been out of his tent for the past few days, so how could Shuck not know what he had been doing. This was too absurd. Even if the Saint Samurai had the protection of divine light, it was outrageous enough to battle with the succubus for seven days and seven nights. The good thing was that William didnt lose his head over lust and knew to set a soundproof barrier on his tent. Otherwise if the groans and whispers of the succubus were to reach outside, the morale of the entire light expeditionary force might collapse. But even so, there were many generals among the Guardians of Light whose expressions werent quite right. At this rate, William would not only bring down his reputation but the morale of the entire army. This was why Shuck threw William toward the back of the battlefield. Besides, William had realized this. And he was very happy to follow Rolands transfer orders. Then William left with great enthusiasm. Before leaving, he also took the succubus that had contracted with him. Half an hour later, Dinah also came to Schucks tent. Schuck, something is not right, Dana said seriously. For some reason, word of the Golden Sons being able to form a marriage contract with a succubus has reached our side. Now many officers and soldiers are throwing tantrums. Schuck had a bit of a headache. And they want to kill the succubi? No, they want a succubus too. Dinah looked quite disgusted. They wanted to kill all the succubi before, and now Schuck froze for a moment, then got a bigger headache. After thinking for a while, he said, Help me inform all the generals above light rank to come to my tent. About half an hour later, Schucks not-so-large tent was crowded with burly men in white armor. They eyed Schuck like puppies waiting for their master to throw them a bone. Schuck said, rubbing his forehead, I can talk to my clan and help you all get some spots as well, but my clan is full of people who dont act until something is guaranteed, and they wont give up their spots without you guys taking out some interest. A bunch of generals laughed at these words. One man stepped forward, Schuck, your holiness, we are willing to pay big money! Chapter 660 - Twists and Turns Looking at the group of generals in front of him, Schuck rubbed his forehead helplessly. Its not a matter of moneythe problem is that you dont have any. At those words, all the generals felt extremely insulted. In this world, ninety-nine percent of those who could become generals were of noble origin, and as for the one percent, they were not too short of money after becoming generals of the Guardians of Light. Your Holiness, you may underestimate our fighting prowess, but you must never underestimate our financial prowess, a very naive-looking general shouted, especially in such matters that concern mens happiness. It was indeed a matter of mens happiness. Schuck looked at this simple-looking general and smiled. This naive-looking man, whom he also knew, was the one who liked to use surprise tactics the most among all the generals and had a black heart. Normally, this person would always wait for an opportunity to move, but now he took the initiative to step forward; he either had an ulterior motive, or he was truly charmed by the succubi. But then on second thought, Schuck thought it would be the latter. Being a Saint Samurai himself, he had no stake in it. And most importantly, he heard that this man was quite lecherous. Perhaps it was the two reasons combined and the man was simply desperate to get a taste of a succubus. Schuck said, How much do you think it would cost to transfer a spot for a succubus to you from my people? It shouldnt be more than ten gold coins, someone replied. Heh. Schuck laughed. The cost of the contract alone is already that much, and the line of people waiting for the contract is now over twenty to thirty thousand. My people have offered a price of twenty gold coins for a spot. Hearing this figure, these generals looked at each other. Dinah, on the side, pursed her lips and laughed lightly for a moment. This figure was already quite ridiculous. Honestly, even Schuck was shocked by this figure. Then the players realized that there were really a lot of tycoons amongst them. Some people even asked rhetorically: Not to mention the quota fee, plus the contract fee, it has to be thirty gold coins. A succubus converted into RMB, is about 450,000 Is it really worth it? Whats not worth it? In reality, it was impossible to get a girl like that for 450,000 RMB. And not only did the succubi make for great companions, they were also excellent assistants. They could do a lot of things, such as scouting, fighting, and supporting. Buy early and enjoy early! This was the slogan of those who used the money to buy spots. Hearing that it would cost around 30 gold coins in total, even these generals hesitated. As good as the succubi were, gold coins posed a problem. No wonder the great Saint Samurai said we had no money. They really didnt have money. The generals were not willing to disperse, and after they conferred with each other for a while, the naive general asked, Your Holiness, so, do your people accept physical collateral? That should be fine. Schuck thought about it and said, They prefer hard currency, such as magic materials, properties, and certain industries. Thats easy to handle. The generals sighed in relief in unison. They might not have much money, but each of them had a territory, large or small. It was no problem to divide some out and exchange it for a succubus. Looks like you guys want to sell the land, Schuck said with a smile. Ill go talk to them, then, and see if theyre willing. Then sorry to trouble Your Holiness. Schuck smiled and said, Youre welcome. Were all colleagues, we should help each other. Then, Schuck smoothly formed a good relationship with these generals. After all, Schuck was considered a Saint Samurai who appeared out of nowhere and had entered the Church of the Light just a little over three years ago. A lot of connections needed to be established. This was his first step to successfully enlist the mid-level forces of the church. UICII. Those Mages who were responsible for helping players contract succubi were delighted to hear about this. Land and property were a great thing. Love for land was rooted in the blood of the vast majority of the people of China. Wherever they went, if they were to live there permanently, theyd want to have their own land and home. So the contract Mages, directly putting the player spots aside, for now, helped all of the hundred or so generals contract a succubus. Almost every Mage was given a small estate. They were also located near the capital of Fareins. The locations were amazing. The player Mages were happy, and the generals of the Guardians of Light were also happy. The smiling generals returned with their succubi, and before they could enter their tents, they were brought by the guards into Schucks tent. 10 Now you all have your own succubus. Schuck looked around the group. I know what youre thinking, but women cant stay in the army for long, except for Saint Samurai. Even William was transferred back by me, so what are your thoughts. The group of generals wore embarrassed expressions, and no one spoke. Schuck continued, So take the succubi back two kilometers, set up camp by yourselves, and teach them the common sense of the main plane. Also, Dinah and I will take over your management for the time being. In two days, you will have the succubi wait at the portal by themselves, and then you will return to the army and take charge of your troops again, is that clear? The generals froze and then rejoiced. Understood. Schuck nodded, while a notification appeared in the system that his reputation in the army had, again, increased considerably. It had been quite busy on Rolands side too. Andonara woke up. Whether it was an illusion or not, she seemed to be more beautiful. Her physical qualities greatly improved again and her combat power was much stronger. Roland had barely been able to see her combat moves after reaching level twelve, and now he couldnt see them again. The good thing, though, was that he could still break her defense. It was just that the bite of the vise was a little stronger and Roland was just more prone to back pain. After Andonara recovered, she took over Christinas job and began guarding the patch of Inferno Grass. Roland, on the other hand, began to greet the players coming from all over the place. They had all come to ask Roland for help with the equality contract. Not everyone liked succubi. Roland had said on the forum that the rules of the contract were to bring their own materials and each person had to pay three gold coins for the contract fee. If he didnt sleep, Roland could perform hundreds of contracts a day. But instead of doing that, he set a quota of one hundred per day. Then his free time was spent studying magic. The thing about money, of course, was that the more the better. But relatively speaking, Roland was not short of money for the time being, and hed get more and more money if he endured for a while longer. So, he only had to earn a decent amount of money right now. In this way, the Realm of Devils Expedition came to a temporary halt. The players were busy making good relations with the succubi. On the side of Guardians of Light, although Schuck only gave the generals two days, the soldiers minds were not quite right now. After all, the players camp was not far away, and they would be drawn to the sound of the succubi wooing that came from over there. So the morale of the Guardians of Light was a bit poor right now. As each day passed, the number of players who mastered the succubus contract grew. The number of succubi depleted faster and faster. After ten days, there were only 20,000 succubi left. The number of people seeking Roland for equality contracts was starting to get smaller, and most of the players had already rushed to the front lines in the Realm of Devils. The number of players, which had reached a terrifying ninety thousand, was already approaching the number of the Guardians of Light. There arent many succubi left, lets move on to save the succubi. Such a call began to be communicated by guilds to the expeditionary command. Soon, Roland also teleported over from Delpon. The guild chairmen in the battle conference room all looked at him. Finally, it was Moogle of Fatter Cat who asked, Roland, can you inform the Guardians of Light that we are going to move on? Lets start on our own, theres no need to inform them, Roland said without hesitation. We are already going to outnumber the Guardians of Light, the main battle power is now on our side. The crowd immediately understood, and then the players packed up their tents and continued on their way. Pompei, the city in the Realm of Devils that Paimon was guarding. As the twelfth-ranked megacity in the Realm of Devils, Pompei had a rather large number of demons. Paimon lived in the palace in the very center of the city. He wasnt in such a good mood right now. Across from him was a Demon God, Sidi, and another Demon God, Judas. Judas looked at Sidi, who wore a foul expression, and said helplessly, Paimon, dont worry so much. Those Golden Sons may not be able to fight their way here. This place was still at least three hundred miles from the front line where the players were. Im worried? What am I worried about? Paimon grunted, then looked to Sidi. Your ploy doesnt seem to be of much use. Sidi looked bitter. It doesnt make sense. By now the Guardians of Light should have already fought with the Golden Sons. Why is it like this? They used their special long-range peeping spell to look at the current situation of the succubi. Although they had been captured by the Golden Sons, they werent at all depressed. It didnt even manage to stir up conflict between the Golden Sons and the Guardians of Light. Moreover, the amount of information passed back by the succubi was decreasing. Though there were a few succubi that mentioned the marriage contract, this was inexplicable and couldnt be understood. Why dont I go check it out, said Sidi, feeling a little humiliated. She thought shed go see what was going on. As a result, the other two Demon Gods both stopped her. No, youre rather cranky. If you go and the Golden Sons find out, those guys might taunt you. Sidi shouted irritably, So what? Am I afraid of those little guys?. Paimon took a deep breath. Indeed, you are not afraid of the Golden Sons, but if you dare to make a move, the three goddesses may descend. I just trapped a Mage of the Golden Sons, and the Nether God descended with a clone and slashed me. The other two looked at the scar on Paimons chest, their expressions slightly tense. Demon Gods were Demigod-level and above, and with the help of divine power, their recovery ability was extremely strong. Even if their heads were cut off, theyd be fine; as long as the soul was there, the physical body could be reborn. Not to mention small wounds, even deep wounds a few centimeters deep would heal in just a few minutes and wouldnt leave a single scar. But there on Paimons chest was a long gash that hadnt gone away even till now. Looking at Paimons wounds, neither Sidi nor Judas had any thoughts of taking on the Golden Sons themselves. They werent a match for the lawful gods yet, so it was reasonable to try to keep a low profile. But there were many things that you couldnt afford to keep a low profile about. The Golden Sons were now coming this way, and with great haste. If they were not stopped and allowed to kill their way through the city, Paimons strength would be greatly reduced once he lost a large number of believers. What now? said Paimon, feeling a headache. My people, surely, are no match for those Golden Sons. Although the city had a population of a million, it was nothing against outrageously strong professionals like the Golden Sons. And they, as the strongest combatants, could not go down and fight in person. They felt suffocated. In the army of players, Roland teleported to Fareins while they were stationed at rest and then teleported to the place where the floating city was being made. After first collecting some magic bricks while planting a new magic solar systems and enlarging the cavity some more, Roland was just out of the entrance when he saw the butler standing in front of him and delivering Stephanies orders. She wanted to invite Roland to meet her at the manor in the capital. Stephanie looked rather unsightly when she saw Roland. Not the kind of unsightly look when one saw someone they hated, but simply an unsightly look, the most superficial kind. Her hair had lost its luster, and her skin was beginning to look rough and dry. This made her attractiveness decrease greatly. But she was still pretty, just not as pretty as before. Whats happened to you? Roland asked in surprise. Sitting next to Stephanie was another noblewoman. This noblewoman was plump and very white. Stephanie did not introduce her but directly said, In the past few days, when I slept, I felt that someone was at the head of my bed, talking to me all the time. At first, I thought it was an illusion and called Lady Bluebird to accompany me, but it still didnt work. That disgusting voice was still at the head of my bed. Roland looked to the noblewoman next to him. Did Lady Bluebird not hear anything? The noblewoman who had been curiously surveying Roland shook her head. I didnt hear anything, but rather, the quality of my sleep seems to be better. Roland paused, said Sorry, walked directly to Stephanie, and pressed the palm of his right hand on her forehead. Then Rolands spirit rushed into Stephanies spiritual consciousness. The noblewoman next to her was somewhat surprised and covered her mouth with a white feather fan. She had seen enough to know that Roland had entered Stephanies spiritual world. But this was very dangerous and such an action was quite private. Under normal circumstances, even between husband and wife, something like this wouldnt happen. Are these two really having an adulterous affair? A few moments later, Roland retreated from Stephanies spiritual world. His expression was serious. Your soul has been infested. Where have you been recently? Stephanie sighed helplessly. So its true. Chapter 661 - First Come, First Serve Chapter 661 First Come, First Serve Spiritual consciousness was the most important part of a person. It could be said that when the physical body died, the soul would remain, and under normal circumstances, it could go to the Netherworld and live for hundreds of years. If one worked hard in the Netherworld and enhanced their souls power, they might be rewarded by the Nether God with a chance to reincarnate. But if the soul was gone, it would truly be the end. Another reason was that the human soul was very fragile, and if one didnt specialize in spiritual abilities and casually allowed outsiders to enter their soul, it would be easy for outsiders to damage the soul. It was like a small child breaking into a glass room. A casual move could damage the soul. Besides, there would be a lot of private things in the spiritual consciousness, good and bad, and many secrets. Under normal circumstances, one would not let an outsider into ones spiritual consciousness if one didnt have extreme trust in the other person. Stephanie, as a princess and future queen, could be considered to be in a high position of power, and generally, such people were very extreme in their considerations and would be extremely distrustful of others. So for Roland to be able to access Stephanies spiritual consciousness It didnt look right in Lady Bluebirds eyes in any way. But she wasnt one to talk too much, and since she was thinking of cozying up to the future queen, there were some things she couldnt say, some thoughts she couldnt speak aloud. She stood up after hearing Stephanie say, So its true. Stephanie looked at her with some surprise. Bluebird, whats wrong with you? Lady Bluebird smiled faintly. I suddenly remembered that there are some important matters that need to be taken care of, so I will take my leave, dear friend. Stephanie thought for a moment and said, Okay, I wont see you off then. I understand. Lady Bluebird bent slightly and nodded to Roland as well, then left the room swiftly. After she left, Roland sat down opposite Stephanie and asked, You seem to know something? Well! Stephanie nodded. Some time ago, I went to the kings tomb to pay respects to my ancestors, entered the inner tomb, and then saw a glowing woman walking toward me. A glowing woman? A spirit? Roland thought for a moment and said, What happened next? Stephanie covered her head and continued. She looked a little like me and eventually burrowed into my body. Afterward, I questioned the people next to me, but it turned out that none of them saw that woman or noticed anything unusual. Cognitive interference? Or was Stephanie really the only one who could see that woman? Roland thought for a moment and said, A small area of your spiritual consciousness was infested. But strangely enough the infestation didnt continue, and when I went in to see it, I found that the infestation had temporarily stopped. Is this good or bad? Not sure. Roland said after a moments thought, Why dont you go into your spiritual consciousness to see it too? Stephanie shrugged helplessly. I cant see my spiritual consciousness as you can. I can take you in. Roland looked into her eyes and said sincerely, As long as you are willing to trust me. Of course I can trust you. Stephanie leaned forward slightly and put her hands on the table. What should I do? Just give me your hand. Stephanie put her right hand in front of Roland as she was told. Roland reached out and squeezed her wrist, and then his spiritual consciousness followed their hands and burrowed into Stephanies spiritual consciousness. In passing, he used his mental power to wrap around Stephanies spiritual consciousness and immersed it into her spiritual world. At the top of a huge pyramid, Roland suddenly appeared, holding Stephanies hand. He then let go of Stephanies hand and said, Okay, you can open your eyes now. In the spiritual consciousness, there was no material existence. In reality, such an act as opening the eyes shouldnt have existed, but the human consciousness was peculiar in that even though the spirit was shapeless, it still transformed them into a physical body. This was an instinctive habit, a concrete manifestation of self-knowledge. Similarly, the soul could actually view its surroundings in 360 degrees, but out of instinct as a person, most peoples souls were more accustomed to seeing only what was in front of them, and the untrained spiritual consciousness could only see what was in front of it. Likewise, the soul opening its eyes was just an action that was more symbolic than substantive. Hearing Rolands words, Stephanies spiritual consciousness opened her eyes. She first saw herself standing on a raised platform, surrounded by Roland and just about nothing else. And further out, there were just empty skies and white clouds. However, in the western sky, a large area was colored red, and a large amount of lightning flashed and swam in this area. Stephanie looked around and couldnt help but sigh. Is this my spiritual world? She walked to the side of the high platform, looked at the bottomless abyss below, then looked into the distance and asked, This is a pyramid. What does it mean? I guess its power and insecurity. Roland thought about it and said, But I dont know much about psychology either, so I can only take a wild guess. Power? Stephanie nodded. There was indeed nothing wrong with that. The future throne had to be hers, and if anyone dared to take it, she dared to killit was as simple as that. She then turned her eyes to the red area in the distance. Thats what you call the infested area, right? Roland nodded. Thats the place. Oh, it doesnt seem like much of a big deal. That red area is so small and tiny compared to my spiritual world. Stephanie chuckled. Roland shook his head. Thats not the way to put it. Its small now, but what if it grows in the future? When the red area is more than half the extent of your soul, it will no longer be you who dominates your own body. At one hundred percent, even your consciousness will disappear and you will become a different person entirely. There was no nervousness in Stephanies expression even after hearing this. Instead, she looked around and asked, I thought that in the spiritual consciousness, you could see a lot of private things about a person. How come I cant see anything? Roland squatted down and thrust his right hand hard, gouging a stone brick directly from the high platform. Then he crushed this stone tile, and at the same time, Stephanie saw a lot of fragmented images. They were the images of her and her husband during intercourse when she was first married. Two people twisting around naked. Her face went red on the spot and she glared at Roland and said, What do you mean by that? Trying to get a laugh out of me? Roland shrugged helplessly. I just pulled it out randomly. Who knew that you and your ex-husband were stacked so far up in the spiritual memory! I think you did that on purpose. Stephanie grunted in displeasure, then asked, About that red area, do you have any ideas on how to get rid of it? Hardly. Im not a Mage specializing in the soul department, Roland explained. Besides, there are no enemies in that area, you were just corrupted by its spiritual power. The culprit is somewhere else. In the royal tomb? asked Stephanie, her right hand pressing gently against her face in thought. Roland, on the other hand, took the opportunity to survey the surrounding landscape. Everyones spiritual consciousness was different. For example, Andonaras spiritual consciousness, no matter when or where, was full of sunlight. In a small house on a beach, there were portraits of Roland hanging on the walls. There were at least three thousand of them. It was clear from this who was most important in Andonaras mind. But nothing related to others could be found in Stephanies spiritual consciousness. It stood to reason that anyone with a normal personality would have someone that was fairly important to them. Could they be hidden in the pyramid at the bottom Roland thought about it, not bothering to delve into it; it was someone elses privacy after all, and it was best not to look. Soon, Stephanie snapped out of her thoughts and asked, Roland, if I take you to the royal tombs, how sure are you that you can find the culprit? No promises. Roland shrugged. That doesnt matter, its better than doing nothing. Stephanie took a deep breath. I suddenly realized that if we chat in this way, we almost dont have to worry about the content of the conversation being known by a third party. Roland, in the future, if you have anything to talk about, you can just talk to me in the spiritual world. Roland shook his head. Interesting proposal, but its not a good one. Why? Because your spiritual power is too weak. Im trying to suppress my spiritual fluctuations now, which is why I havent made you feel uncomfortable. Then well continue like this from now on, said Stephanie matter-of-factly. Roland shook his head. Once or twice is no problem, but if done frequently, the fragments of my spiritual fluctuations will scatter more and more throughout your spiritual world, and eventually you will be influenced by my spiritual fragments. Your personality will gradually become similar to mine, and eventually even the same. This is also a kind of infestation, got it?. Too bad. Stephanie shook her head rather regretfully. So Roland, do you have time to help me go over to the royal tomb and see whats going on? No problem, of course. Roland nodded. Stephanie laughed lightly. Thank you so much. I wont let you do it for nothing, money No need. Roland interrupted her with a wave of his hand. Were friends, and Id help in these kinds of matters if I can. Theres no need to pay. Thats too alienating. Stephanie looked at him for a moment and smiled lightly. Yes, we are friends. The two of them exited Stephanies spiritual world, and when Stephanie tried to stand up, she realized that she was a little dizzy and slumped back down onto her chair. Roland used Sobering on her and said, Rest, your soul is too weak. It must be a bit uncomfortable after being in there for so long. Stephanie pressed her hands to her temples and slowly said, It seems that I have to find time to exercise my magic in the future. Why dont you teach me? Stephanie was also a Mage, but no match for Roland. The majority of Mages overemphasized a certain subject. Out of the eight types of magic, she could only get sixty points in evocation and all other seven types would be zero. In contrast, Roland could manage eighty points in evocation and spatial magic, and exceed the passing mark in all six other subjects. After she rubbed her head for a while and felt more comfortable, she asked, By the way, how are the young masters I sent out? Quite obedient, Roland said with a smile. Theyre being instructed by the professionals of my clan, and Im sure youll see them in six months with a greatly changed mentality. It was no joke. In that big furnace, even scrap metal can be refined into steel, so getting a bunch of noble young soldiers to change their mentalities could still be done. I also heard that you guys got a lot of succubi and some kind of succubus contract? Roland was a bit bored, and when he heard Stephanie taking the initiative to talk about this, he said excitedly, What, the Fareins royal family is willing to receive succubi? Of course not! We dont have any positive feelings toward the demons. Stephanie immediately refused. Im just curious about why you dont contract one. Ive heard succubi are very attractive. Arent you going to have a taste? Roland looked at her as if she were an idiot. This made Stephanie deeply uncomfortable, and after a while she said helplessly, I see, it must be because Andonara is too good, too beautiful, and you are now too high-minded to see a succubus. Roland was still silent. In reality, that wasnt the reason at all. Roland was also a man, and he had the same little thoughts that normal men had. He also found the succubi attractive. But the problem was that he had two women, and if he had any more, his kidneys really couldnt take it. When Roland didnt say anything, Stephanie stood up. I feel much more comfortable now. Lets take a trip to the royal tomb. Okay. The Fareins royal tomb was on the western outskirts of the kingdom, nestled in a U-shaped valley. The entrance was heavily guarded, and two troops were stationed year-round on the valleys crest. One was normal infantry but fairly elite, and the other was made up of elite bowmen. Once inside the entrance, the carriage went down the cyan stone path, which was straight and surrounded by many beautiful trees and grasses. After about ten minutes, the carriage stopped. Roland jumped down and saw the huge mountain towering in front of the wagon. The mountain was very straight, the peak to the foot of the mountain was almost vertical, and in the center of the mountain, there was a huge, yellow, copper gate. Many people would assume it was a gate made of gold when they first saw it. The gate was massive, about a hundred meters wide and about two hundred meters high. This thing was a behemoth, and there was no way a normal person could push it. Roland examined the golden door for a while and then noticed that it was bronze. When pure bronze wasnt rusted, it was golden. And near the gate, there were two small garrison posts. At the sight of Stephanie and Roland, someone immediately trotted down, walked up to Stephanie, and bent down to shout, First Princess, what brings you here again? Can I not come? Stephanie looked at the other party, her tone rather unkind. I wouldnt dare stand in your way. This soldier bent down on one knee and said nervously, First Princess, someone has already gone in the royal tomb, and according to the rules we received, only one person can go in at a time during non-sacrificial times. Stephanie glared at the soldier. Who is it? The soldier was too frightened to move. The Third Prince. After a long moment of silence, Stephanie grunted and said, Ill see what hes up to. Chapter 662 - I Don’t Like to Enter the Spiritual Worlds of Men Chapter 662 I Dont Like to Enter the Spiritual Worlds of Men The royal tomb, a place where all the royals were buried, was quite important to the royal family. Generally, people werent allowed to enter casually. Ordinary royals were not allowed in either. For example, the princes and princesses. But Stephanie was an exception; she was almost guaranteed to be the future queen, which was something that almost everyone in the kingdom knew. So she could freely enter the royal tomb. The golden, heavy bronze gate slowly opened with a muffled rumble, and seconds later, the same echo faintly came back from the back of the massive passage. The two of them walked through the gate, and looking at the dark passage in front of them, Stephanie did not go further but said, Its too big in there, and I dont know what my brother is doing running around. If he wanders off, itll be hard to find him. Well wait for him here. Roland hummed a response. Noticing that he was not very attentive to answering, Stephanie turned her head to see that Roland was observing the two huge bronze doors. Its not gold, its bronze. Stephanie thought that Roland hadnt distinguished between the two. Roland looked at the huge bronze gate that was at least a meter thick, and clicked his tongue. Melting down these two big bronze doors would probably be able to pay for the royal familys military expenses for a year. Such rich people. Stephanie chuckled. I didnt think that you could guess what our old ancestors did. Hm? Our ancestors were once rich, but one ancestor, who didnt know how to make money and even spent it lavishly, turned the latter generations into poor people. Stephanie shrugged. Then he took all the money the royal family had saved in ten years and replaced it with copper coins before forging these two gates. He said never to touch them until it was absolutely necessary. It was for the descendants to use in an urgent situation. Quite a visionary, Roland said with some admiration. Thats not all. Stephanie said proudly, This ancestor was very frugal, and in his later years, he saved a lot of money, so he bought a lot of iron and sank it into the moat of the palace, so that if it was necessary, he could fish it out and build equipment. Rolands eyes narrowed slightly. First of all, whether the operation of throwing iron in the water would have any effect on the iron or not-it wasnt stainless steel after all He seemed to have read a lot about this operation as a child. Looking at Rolands frown, Stephanie was a little upset. You dont believe me? If you dont believe me, go fish in the moat of the palace. I give you my permission and no one will kick you out. Roland laughed bitterly. Its not that, I just thought that there was a sense of deja vu. Hmm? It was Stephanies turn to wonder. Is there any other nation besides Fareins that has such foresight? No way! There seems to be quite a lot of them, but all countries with the surname of capital seem to have such a vision! Roland laughed dryly and then changed the subject. You just said that the royal tomb is huge? Well, its very big! Stephanie nodded and replied, The whole mountain was almost hollowed out by us, and it took over three hundred years. The roads inside are intricate and layered, with high bridges and steps everywhere, like a spiders web. Without a map, its impossible to know how to get around. Is it necessary to build such a large royal tomb? asked Roland. The Fareins royal family doesnt have that many ancestors, even with a thousand years of history. Its always good to occupy a nest first. Theres no fear of having a lot of space, but theres a fear of not having a place to sleep after death. Stephanie shrugged. These are also the words left behind by that ancestor. All right Roland was certain that the Fareins king who left contingencies everywhere and who has been dead for two or three hundred years must have grown up reading the Bosom Friend magazine. The two chatted casually and time passed unnoticed Stephanie told interesting stories about the royal family, while Roland asked questions now and then. One was actually having a good conversation out of bragging rights and the other had the idea of poking around and gaining insight. The two didnt even notice the passing of time, and then it was almost noon when footsteps finally came from the passage. A young man in a red, princely suit stepped out of the passage. Blond hair and blue eyes, very civilized and elegant-looking, with some similarities to Stephanies appearance, it was immediately apparent that these two were siblings. The young man who came out had a smile on his face and was startled to see two people standing in the doorway, and then his face went white with fear when he saw Stephanie. He stopped and stood still, staring at his big sister, not daring to move any further. Roland raised an eyebrow at the sight and thought to himself that Stephanie seemed to have a sense of authority in front of this third brother. Without speaking, Stephanie just leaned against the bronze door and looked straight at the other man with her arms over her chest. After a while, this young man couldnt help but ask stiffly, Big sister, why are you here? I have no problem being here, but theres a problem with you showing up here, Eihausen, Stephanie said coldly. Perhaps, theres something special you want to tell me? Like bringing down the royal tomb or something. Eihausen shook his head vigorously. How could I possibly do that! Tell me about it then, Stephanie grunted, moving over to Eihausen, speaking as she did so. This is not a day of worship. Eihausen looked at Stephanie, who was walking toward him, and subconsciously backed away, and after a few steps, he stopped again, hanging his head without speaking. Do you see the man behind me? Stephanie pointed to Roland. Eihausen subconsciously looked at Roland. Do you know him? Eihausen shook his head. Right now, hes the most favored genius Mage in the Association of Mages and is extremely good at mental magic. Stephanie reached out her left hand and put it on her third brothers shoulder as she continued coldly, You can keep quiet, but I can have him force his way into your spiritual world. That way, you wont have any secrets to keep from me! Filled with fear, the Third Prince looked at Roland as if he had seen a ghost. His body was visibly trembling. Roland even wondered if the man would piss himself if he was scared any worse. Luckily, such a thing didnt happen, and after this Third Princes body trembled for half a minute, he actually wasnt that nervous anymore. He licked his lips and said, Big sister, Ill tell you. Tell him not to enter my soul. Spill it. The corners of Stephanies mouth pursed up in a nice luscious curve. With broken words, the Third Prince gave the reason for his visit to the royal tomb. It turned out that on the night of the last worship day, while he was sleeping, he kept hearing a voice telling him to make another trip to the royal tomb. At first he thought he was being influenced by someone using mental magic, but after having a trusted Mage from the Association of Mages look at it, he found out there was no such thing. Eventually this got worse and worse. At first, he only heard voices in his dreams but couldnt see anything, and everything in the dreams was black. But recently, it was possible to see the surroundings, and finally the appearance of the person speaking. A glowing woman? asked Stephanie in surprise. No. The Third Prince shook his head vigorously. It was a man with a crown on his head, much like one of our ancestors, who told me I had to come to the royal tomb at a certain time or he would make me die in my dreams. So here you are, Stephanie grunted, and you didnt consult with us. The Third Prince averted his eyes in embarrassment. Stephanie said to Roland, Sorry to trouble you, but look into his spiritual world. Actually, I dont really want to enter a mans spiritual world. Roland sighed. Why? Women are more emotional than rational, and men are more lustful than emotional, Roland explained helplessly. Thats why most mens spiritual worlds have images of breasts and thighs flying as soon as one enters. The memories of this aspect fills the whole space without any concealment. Stephanie had been a little angry; after all, her own third brother had somehow appeared in this place. But when she heard Rolands words, she couldnt tense up and found it so funny that she almost laughed aloud. The Third Prince looked at his elder sister with some surprise. As far as he could remember, his eldest sister hadnt smiled much since she married his ex-brother-in-law. Now At this moment, Stephanie rolled her eyes at Roland and continued, Then still please look at it. Its a friends request. Okay. Roland walked up to the Third Prince. The Third Prince subconsciously started backing up again. This was normal; no one wanted a stranger to barge into their spiritual world. But Roland snapped his fingers and a huge Hand of Magic appeared, grabbing the Third Prince in a vicious grip. Finally, Roland pressed his finger against the Third Princes head. After about six minutes, Roland retracted his finger. Stephanie immediately walked over and asked, How is it, does he have any problems? Yes, a big problem. Roland explained, In his spiritual world, there is also a huge infested area, much larger than yours. By the same person? Roland shook his head. Not the same person. Although the area is larger than yours, the quality of infestation is obviously not as powerful as the one in your spiritual world. Or rather, not even close. The Third Prince argued forcefully at this point: But Ive seen someone from your association, and he can be trusted. He said there is nothing wrong with my spiritual world, and the voice I heard could be a call from my ancestors. The infested area in your big sisters spiritual consciousness where its an ancestral call or not, Im not sure. Roland turned around and looked in the direction of the capital. But based on the information Ive scouted from the infested area, and reading a little bit of your recent memories, if I combine the two, one thing is certain the person who caused this infested area for you is your most trusted Peter. The Third Prince froze for a moment, and then screamed, as if he had been insulted in a great way. His face flushed; Thats impossible, youre lying to me. Peter is a friend I grew up playing with, were best friends. Roland shrugged. Its up to you to believe it or not. Also, do you have a problem with Peter? Youre both people from the Association of Mages, and I heard Peter say that the Association of Mages has a lot of people against him. Theyre not on good terms with him. Actually, Im a part of the Association of Mages in name, I dont even know Peter at all. Then how do you know his name? the Third Prince shouted angrily. Roland threw up his hands. As I said, I looked in your spiritual memory. I even saw that you embraced a woman in red clothes the day before Stop it, stop it. The Third Princes face went white, then turned red again. I believe you. Its good that you believe it. Roland chuckled, his tone a little mocking. The woman in red clothes, yesterday Stephanie looked at her third brother with an odd expression. You can even lay your hands on that kind of person. The Third Prince was so ashamed that he squatted on the ground, his head buried between his knees. Looking at the Third Prince who didnt dare to speak, Stephanie glanced at Roland again, Tsk, its too underhanded of you to go through such memories. Roland sighed. Ive said it all before, its almost always the same image in a mans spiritual world. Once you get in there, you get it in your face. You cant even try not to look at it. So your spiritual world is the same? asked Stephanie curiously. One cannot see the appearance of ones own spiritual world, but Im guessing its about the same. Roland thought for a while and replied with poise. I guess half of it is magic models floating around, and the other half is Andonara and Vivian. There was a saying that as long as you didnt feel embarrassed yourself, then its others who would be embarrassed. Stephanie originally wanted to use this method to embarrass Roland, but as a result, this man completely didnt care about these things, being open and candid. As a woman, she was embarrassed having said those things instead. She then turned and looked at her brother. That means that Mage named Peter deliberately guided my brother into the royal tomb? What is his intention? I dont know. There is no way to deduce that without enough information, Roland replied. Stephanie stared at her brother. So, what did the man named Peter tell you? Or, did he ask you to bring something out of the royal tomb? None of that. The Third Prince was not as bashful as he had been a moment ago. He stood up, felt in the pocket of his clothes for a while and took out a small wooden maiden doll that was crafted quite realistically and beautifully, with exquisite knife work. He said I might be haunted by some undead spirit in the royal tomb, and asked me to take this and walk inside. If it was an evil spirit, it would be sucked into this doll. Oh, let me see. Stephanie held out her hand. The Third Prince handed the wooden doll over, and when it was about to be put into Stephanies hand, Roland suddenly struck and slapped the doll away. The tiny wooden sculpture spun and hit the wall next to it, bounced back, landed on the ground, and bounced a few more times, stopping at the Third Princes feet. Whats wrong? asked Stephanie, looking at him without anger, her expression rather calm. Theres something wrong with that wooden sculpture? Something is very wrong. Roland nodded. There is a great reaction of mental energy inside, and it seems to store a soul! Stephanie immediately took several steps back. The Third Princes face, once again, turned deathly pale. Chapter 663 - Somebody Help Chapter 663 Somebody Help Sealing a soul in an object wasnt something Roland could do. After all, he hadnt studied much magic related to the soul. But that didnt stop him from sensing the soul hidden in this wooden sculpture of a young girl. The Third Prince looked pale. He was already scared of his big sister, and he was even more scared when he heard that there was a soul in the wooden sculpture. Stephanie looked at the wooden sculpture, then asked Roland, The soul in the wooden sculpture shouldnt be dangerous, right? That I cant quite Stephanie immediately interrupted Roland. There is no danger, right! Roland understood and he shrugged. No harm indeed. Stephanie turned her head to the Third Prince and said, Brother, since the wooden sculpture is not dangerous, you can get lost. In the future, dont trust these random people Also, when you go back, you will ground yourself. For five days, you cant take a step out of your manor and you cant talk to outsiders, especially about the wooden sculpture, got it? The Third Prince nodded vigorously. Stephanie waved her hand. Then get lost. The Third Prince immediately turned and ran, not even daring to turn his head back. After the Third Princes figure disappeared in the distance, Stephanie said rather embarrassingly, Sorry, I had a bad attitude just now. I understand. Roland shook his head. Then he looked at the wooden sculpture on the ground, picked it up, and held it in his hand. Stephanie asked concernedly, Arent you afraid that the spirit inside it will have some nasty effects on you? Roland shook his head. The spirit inside feels a bit evil, but the soul strength is not high enough to break my spiritual barrier. Stephanie raised her eyebrows slightly. She felt that Roland seemed rather confident now. But Im still quite interested in the spirit thats in here, Roland said as he tossed the wooden sculpture in his hand. First Princess, why dont you guard me while I try to communicate with the spirit in the wooden sculpture? In reality, this part of the royal tomb was considered a fairly safe place. After all, the entrance was heavily guarded. And even if an enemy attacked Roland now had a passive Magic Shield covering him, and even a Legend might not be able to deplete his magic power in a short time. Even so, it was more reassuring to have someone help watch over him. Stephanie nodded. Dont worry, Ill stay by your side. Roland smiled faintly and sank his spirit into the wooden sculpture. A few seconds later, he entered a blue world. Everything here was almost all blue, varying only by shade. The area in the Third Princes soul that had been infested was also blue, and the aura was the same as the one here. Surely it was infested by the soul in the wooden sculpture? Roland looked around and there was no other sight or thing worth mentioning here other than the empty plain world. But that was what could give someone a sense of terror. You were the only one in the world and the world was in such a strange color. After looking around, Roland suddenly said, Is the host not even willing to come out when a guest has come? as soon The sound spread around and was soon echoed. But this voice was harsh and hard to hear, and it was a young girls voice but there was a distorted scraping sound mixed in with it. Is the host not even willing to come out when a guest has come? The same statement Roland had just made came in waves that grew louder and louder. It eventually became a mix of hundreds of thousands of simultaneous noises. The entire spiritual world seemed to be shaking. Rolands figure kept trembling in it, distorting and losing fidelity, as if it was going to disappear the next moment. With a cold grunt, he quickly coalesced a large blue fireball with a radius of at least a meter in his right hand before throwing it into the distance. There was a flash of light in the sky and earth, and then it seemed to darken in an instant. Finally, a bright red mushroom cloud rose and became the second color in this world. The explosion caused a severe earthquake, and the gray-red blast spread like a tsunami, sweeping dust and stones from the ground. At the same time, an unpleasant scream suddenly sounded, as if it was in too much pain being blasted by the fireball. The scream lasted for nearly a dozen seconds and ended with a few groans before disappearing. Roland smiled wickedly and coalesced another large blue fireball, making a move to throw it at the ground. If you dont come out, Ill take another shot. As soon as he finished speaking, a young girl with long red hair rose from the ground in front of Roland. The girl was wearing sackcloth clothes, and there were even patches on these clothes, so she looked like she came from a poor family. She floated forward and stared viciously at Roland, anger in her eyes but also fear. Finally willing to come out. Roland didnt disperse the large fireball in his hand, but instead threatened, Well, now you have to answer whatever I ask, how about that? Why should I listen to you! The young girl looked quite unruly. Roland made a gesture to throw the large fireball. Helplessness appeared in the young girls gaze, and finally, she closed her brown eyes, took a few deep breaths, and said, Well, tell me, what do you want to ask? The blue area in the spiritual consciousness of the Third Prince Eihausen, it should be your doing, right? Roland asked curiously. You want to replace him? Theres no such thing. Im just trying to control him, not replace him. Thats about the same. Roland continued. Then what did you have him come to the royal tombs for? The young girl looked at Roland resentfully, not speaking With a flick of his wrist, Roland made a move to throw another large fireball. The young girl was outraged but had the good sense to answer Rolands question. I didnt tell him to come, Peter did. So what does Peter have to do with you? He thinks hes my master. Roland hummed a response. Youre the evil spirit he reared? It was normal to assume that no one but an evil spirit would have such a great grievance and do such a thing. Im not an evil spirit, I was just forced to do that! the young girl shouted. If I dont listen to him, he will torture and possibly even kill me. There was no expression on Rolands face. He knew very well that the eviler the enemy, the more they liked to deceive and trick people. It was unclear to him whether the young girl was telling the truth or not, and he listened to it as if it were true for the time being, but that did not mean he was unguarded against her. On the contrary, he was quite wary of this young girl. So, whats your name? The young girl snorted. Lina Fareins. Wait, youre from the royal family? Roland was a little bit surprised. Heh! The young girl didnt say anything, just sneering sarcastically. Roland didnt care at all about her attitude, but continued to ask, What exactly did Peter ask you to trick Eihausen into coming to the royal tomb for? Theres something in the royal tomb that you have to be of royal blood to hold. Roland chuckled. Although the Third Prince looks quite foolish and easily deceived, he probably wouldnt casually touch the things in here, and besides, even if he takes something out, he will be discovered by the imperial guards stationed here and be forbidden from leaving. Wouldnt this be a waste of effort Wait, the Third Prince is not the only one with royal blood, you seem to have it too! It dawned on him, and things connected. Peter told the Third Prince to go into the royal tomb and look around without needing him to do anything, but he had to take a wooden sculpture of a maiden. It turned out that the one who was to take something wasnt the Third Prince at all, but this Lina, who was already on the verge of becoming an evil spirit. So, what do you guys want to take? A magical necklace. Lina looked at Roland and snickered. But beyond my expectations, its a magical necklace that even I, a member of the royal family, cant pick up. Thats why the Third Prince returned empty-handed? A necklace was a very small thing and could be carried close to the body. Besides, the imperial elite forces wouldnt dare to search a princes body. So what does the magic necklace do? Who knows. Only Peter knows. Roland considered for a moment whether he should go and help Stephanie see what it was. It was probably something good, to make an outsider covet it so much. But at this moment, Lina looked at Roland and asked, Are you on good terms with the royal family? Not good. Linas expression was a little disappointed. Roland continued, But Im good with Stephanie. Shes a princess? The future queen. Lina was suddenly delighted. So you are a royal Mage? A friend! Thats fine. Lina floated to Roland and said, Help me get rid of Peters control and send me to the Netherworld. Im tired of being trapped in a small wooden sculpture. I didnt believe you. Roland smirked. I have to believe you when you say youre a royal? Lina was suddenly anxious. Youre overly cautious. Roland laughed. Ill go out and ask for confirmation from Stephanie. After saying that, he disappeared from this spiritual world. Lina was left alone by herself, stomping her feet. Opening his eyes, Roland saw that Stephanie was standing not far from him, looking at her fingernails boredly. Then he stood up. There was an immediate response from Stephanie as she said in mild surprise, Youre awake. Hows it going in there? Got some information. Roland gave a brief account of the conversation he had just had. Stephanie snorted. Its really Peters doing. When I go back, I have to uproot the Peter familys power! No need to be so hasty. We have to carefully seek evidence, Roland advised. The woman in there may not be telling the truth. Stephanie rubbed her brow. Theres been quite a lot of trouble lately, its making me want to kill someone. By the way, that woman just now said that she is a member of the Fareins royal family, and shes just trapped by Peter. Roland thought for a moment and continued, She said her name was Lina Fareins. Do you know her? Stephanies eyes widened. Auntie! What kind of person is she? Grandfathers illegitimate daughter, Stephanie explained, although unlike us all being blond and blue-eyed and not really inheriting royal blood, Grandfather doted on her and still found a way to ennoble her with the title of princess. She suddenly disappeared after three or four years of being a princess. And because of that, it shocked Grandfather and left him distraught, and three years after Aunt Linas disappearance, Grandfather also passed. Did you ever meet her? I met her as a child, Stephanie said with a nod. I had quite a deep impression. She was quite assertive and didnt like to admit defeat C it was a case of her having grown up with too much inferiority and covering up her timidity with arrogance and strength. It was almost a match. The soul in the wooden sculpture did give him that feeling. What do you want to do next? Roland asked. Trouble Peter first and rescue your auntie in passing, or do you want to go deeper into the royal tomb first and take a look? Didnt you say that the area in my soul would not expand for the time being? Stephanie laughed lightly. Then lets go back to trouble Peter first. After having the soldiers on guard close the giant bronze gate, the two returned to the capital in the carriage. Then Stephanie ordered an elite royal force of a thousand men to bring Roland and surround an estate directly north of the city. Soldiers in gray plate armor broke fiercely into the manor, then stormed into the courtyard. The private soldiers from the manor rushed over, but when they saw that it was the imperial guards, they immediately wimped out, not even daring to fight, and retreated directly to a small building in front of the manor, waiting for their masters orders. Terrified, nearly three hundred people circled the small building, looking around in fear at the heavily armored soldiers surrounding them. Stephanie found a round table on the lawn, a place for afternoon tea in the hosts house, and naturally, there were chairs. She then sat down and waited quietly. Not long after, a Mage wearing a red cloak came from upstairs. He had a rather unpleasant expression on his face. He was forced to hold back his anger. No soldier stopped him, and the leading general instead gave him directions and told him that the First Princess was waiting for him. The young man followed the soldiers directions and saw Stephanie. He walked straight over, stopped in front of Stephanie, took a deep breath, and asked, Your Highness, the First Princess, what do you mean by this? I havent offended you, have I? Stephanie sat with her legs crossed, looking rather queenly. Roland was behind her, standing as an ally. What is this? asked Stephanie, throwing the wooden sculpture on the table. Explain it to 11 Its a prop I used to use to practice spiritual magic, Peter said calmly. Then I didnt need it anymore, so I gave it to the Third Prince to carry on him. It has the effect of protecting him. Harming him, you mean. I never had such thoughts. Peter immediately shook his head. I grew up together with the Third Prince and were good friends. I couldnt possibly betray him, much less harm him. You are not going to hurt his body, but you will replace his soul! After Peter heard this, a sudden threatening glare burst from his eyes. He reached out to Stephanie, and suddenly there was a wand in his hand, and the gray spiritual spell was about to take shape. But also at that moment, a Prismatic Spray suddenly came toward him. Alarmed, Peter immediately interrupted his spell and opened his Magic Shield. The rainbow mass hit the Magic Shield and didnt explode, sending the man flying back ten meters before neutralizing the Magic Shield. Then a huge Hand of Magic smacked Peter in the face. Chapter 664 - The Most Terrifying Huddle Ever Chapter 664 The Most Terrifying Huddle Ever The huge blue fist hit Peters handsome face, and even though Roland had held back, Peter was sent flying back several meters. Mixed with blood, nearly half of his teeth on the left were knocked out. He landed on the ground and was struggling to get up when he was held down by four blue Hands of Magic, pinning his arms and legs. He tried to break free but was unable to move, like a helpless little girl. After struggling for a while, he gave up. Looking at the man who had done this to him, he asked in a tone that was half puzzled, half helpless, Roland? You know me? Roland asked as he walked over. No. Peters cheeks puffed up with great speed, and he spat out a mouthful of blood as he said, But youre the only one among the slickly. Roland grunted a response. The new improved spell model of Hand of Magic, which he had also found the opportunity to offer to the Goddess of Magic, was now known to many Mages. But for the time being, no one used it better than Roland, the creator. This was also one of Rolands signature spells. It had spread throughout the world of magic. After all, it had been a long, long time since anyone would offer spells so often and receive the approval of the Goddess of Magic. At this moment, Stephanie also came over. She looked at Peter and said slowly, My brother is close to you, so why did you harm him. I wasnt trying to hurt him. Peter chuckled. I just asked him to bring something out for me. The magic necklace you want, what use does it have? Peter shook his head. This is a matter of our family secrets. I hope the royal family will not ask too much. I dont want to care about your familys secrets. Stephanie looked down at him. But what you are doing now involves the royal family. A place as important as the royal tomb, even ordinary members of the royal family cant just go in, so who are you, an outsider, to go in. Peter did not speak again. He closed his eyes and had an expression like he was facing death with equanimity. You have a tough mouth, dont you? Stephanie snorted, then turned to Roland and said, Please, help me check his memories. Honestly, its a pretty wicked thing to play with memories. Roland threw up his hands. Its fine on your own people. Using it on outsiders, if word gets out Well, itll be problematic. In terms of the game system expression, it meant that his reputation in many forces would drop. You mean, read his memories and kill him immediately? asked Stephanie, winking at Roland. Roland showed a bewildered smile. At this, Peter, who had kept his eyes closed, was so frightened that he was on the verge of jumping up, and he hastily opened them and said, Wait, dont, dont. Ill talk, Ill talk, all right. As a Mage, as a spellcaster, one was more than aware of the consequences of having ones soul invaded. It would be strange not to be turned into a fool if one encountered those who smashed and dug violently through memories in the spiritual world. In this world, reading souls was a very dangerous act, and there were very, very few people like Roland, who could safely enter other peoples spiritual worlds. This was a talent that the average person couldnt learn. But Peter didnt know this. In his perception, the spiritual world could only be read through violent means. Death wasnt terrifying It was terrifying to become a fool and eat, drink, piss, and shit like a two- or three-year-old child. Stephanie smiled at Roland and then looked at Peter. Go ahead. Of course, if you say something that doesnt make sense to us, well check your memory just the same. Dont even think about messing around. I will not deceive you, youve got me anyway. Peter looked at Roland. Can you release me first and let me stand and talk? Im a nobleman, please leave me some dignity. The noblemans dignity Roland shrugged and dispersed the four Hand of Magic. Peter stood up and he started by giving himself Minor Healing The effect wasnt very good. It worked but it was no match for the Minor Healing cast by Roland. But even so, it was slightly analgesic. Then he patted his magic robe, trying to look as clean as possible, before saying, I didnt want to make a move on Eihausen. Stephanie snorted. He had already made a move and still said that he didnt want to Besides, the two of them grew up as friends and it was Peter who did things without a bottom line-ungrateful. I know you may despise me, First Princess, but Ive truly been threatened. Peter sighed. Now, after I say these words, my family will probably be dead by the time Im done talking about this. What do you mean, youre threatening me? Naturally, Stephanie didnt believe it. And with your familys lives, is there such a thing? Im just being honest. Peter looked at Roland. Please testify for me. Its not that I want to get my family killed, but theres really no other way. Roland raised his eyebrows. Stephanie was a little impatient. Im being targeted by the devil, Peter said after taking several deep consecutive breaths. Im being targeted by the devil. At those words, Roland jerked backward, pulling Stephanies hand abruptly. A sudden puff of black smoke rose from Peters body and then dissipated into the air. The black smoke was filled with an evil aura that felt extremely uncomfortable. Stephanie froze as she looked at Peter. Are you really being targeted by devils? However, Peter ignored her. Instead, he looked left of him, where his home was. Roland also looked over almost simultaneously. In the very next second, a black gas shot up into the sky where the two were watching. It was of the same origin as the black gas from earlier, but eviler, more voluminous. Peter gave a small smile at first, but then his expression turned sad and pained. I told you, the devil will take revenge on me. He knelt on both knees and let out a painful howl, Father, Mother, and my brothers and sisters, Ill avenge you. The cry was so realistic that it was tear-jerking But Roland and Stephanie looked at Peter with strange expressions. They were even full of contempt. Stephanie knew that she was being framed. She was quite annoyed but she had nothing to say. It was true that she forced Peter to tell the truth, and Peter also warned her that once he told the truth, the entire Peter family would suffer. She had been played. Whats the use of you crying here, maybe through gritted teeth. Oh, right. Peter stood up, looking panicked. I have to go check on them. It was also at this time that a powerful wave of light power suddenly rose in the Holy Realm. A ball of light that seemed like a small sun flew up and above the Peter familys manor at a great speed, followed by a huge golden glow that enveloped the entire manor. The black gas quickly disappeared under this golden light. The small sun then descended into the manor, and not much later flew up again and came swooping straight at the three. It soon stopped over their heads. At this point, the three also saw the true nature of the small sun. The Holy Lady, whose entire body radiated light, and a pair of wings of light spread out behind her. She saw the First Princess and immediately descended. Although she was similar to the First Princess in terms of status, the respect due to the future Queen had to be given. The successive Holy Ladies always had high emotional intelligence. This one was no exception. After she landed on the ground, she retracted her wings and nodded slightly to Stephanie. Its been a long time, Your Highness the First Princess. It has indeed been a long time, Your Holiness, the Holy Lady. Stephanie smiled. The Holy Ladys eyes swept over Roland at the same time and finally landed on Peter, whose face was stained with tears. Mr. Peter, I have a very serious matter to inform you about. Your family members were all killed by an evil power just now. The Holy Ladys beautiful face held some pity. And you are also haunted by an evil power. Do you need me to purify you? Peter covered his face with his hands, sobbing sorrowfully. The Holy Lady frowned slightly, then she looked at Stephanie but found that the latters expression was quite disdainful. The Church of Light had a great deal of information on Stephanie. The Holy Lady had been in contact with Stephanie quite a bit and knew her to be a royal with considerable emotional intelligence and a bottom line for her actions. Otherwise, the Church of Light wouldnt have just allowed Stephanie to succeed the throne and wouldve meddled in this matter. But now, Stephanie had this disdainful look, which meant that there was some ulterior motive in this. When the Holy Lady looked at Peter again, she realized that the mans cries seemed a bit fake. At this time, Stephanie spoke, Mr. Peter, restrain your grief. From now on, you are the patriarch of your family, and the whole familys affairs, they need you to deal with it. The words seemed normal on the surface, but the Holy Lady heard them with a hint of sarcasm. She took a slight half-step back and turned on her spectator mode. Peter removed his hands from his face, revealing a tear-stained, grief-stricken expression. You are right, Your Highness, I will now go back and bury my loved ones before I figure out how to take revenge. Before that, are you able to tell me what the devil asked you to take out of the royal tomb? Paynes legendary necklace, Peter said, wiping his eyes. Got it. Stephanie stepped out of the way to let Peter go. At this moment, the Holy Lady suddenly said, Mr. Peter, just now I heard you mention the devil, and you do still have the aura of the devil in you. Is it possible to tell me something that only you know? The Holy Lady was slightly annoyed right now. A year ago, there were fallen angels hiding in the Holy Realm and no one knew about it, which had already disgraced the Church of Light once. Now there was another evil force in the capital that killed all the people in a manor. This was the capital of Fareins and the place where the Light shined the brightest. It was surprising that such things happened continuously, and the entire top echelon of the Church of Light was enraged. Otherwise, this was just a matter of sending an archbishop, and there was no need for the Holy Lady to do anything at all. Now hearing that Peter seemed to have some connection to the devil, it was natural for the Holy Lady to ask about it. Peters body stiffened slightly, then he nodded thoughtfully and said, I will tell you all about it, Your Holiness, the Holy Lady, but would you please give me half a day to bury my family? No problem. The Holy Lady nodded solemnly. Watching the Holy Lady escort Peter away, Stephanie showed a slight smile after successful revenge. Then she looked at Roland and said, Ill have to trouble you again to accompany me to the royal tomb to see that magic necklace as well as to solve the problem within my soul. Of course. Roland waved his hand. We are friends, so the word trouble need not be said often. Friends also have to settle accounts. Dont worry, I wont let you work for nothing. Stephanie said after a moments thought, Andonara had said that you are not very interested in money and power, so I will let Lady Bluebird accompany you for a few nights. Roland was shocked that he almost lost his breath. No, Id rather you pay me. Lady Bluebird is beautiful, its not like you havent seen her before. Roland had to admit that the Lady Bluebird he had seen before was indeed a beautiful woman, not much inferior to Andonara. But the thing was she had a husband. Youre afraid shes dirty? Stephanie waved her hand. Dont worry, shes under my wing. She doesnt need to go catering to random men, and her husband doesnt seem to have touched her for over half a year. Shes very clean. If you truly want to thank me, just pay me. Stephanie smiled. Not bad, so loyal to Andonara. No more jokes. What was that necklace that Peter was talking about earlier? Roland spoke while following Stephanie out of the manor. Even the devils want it. Im not sure. Stephanie climbed into her carriage. But I know it is hanging above some magic array in the royal tomb. The eye of an array? Stephanie shook her head apologetically. I dont know enough about magic to know the role it plays in this. Then lets go and see for ourselves. The carriage once more proceeded to the royal tomb and reached its destination in about forty minutes. Once again, the guards pushed open the giant bronze gate, and the two of them walked forward down the passage. The passage was long and dark, and Roland instantly cast Illumination to light the way. After walking for about two minutes, he saw a black curtain-like barrier in front of the passage, wavering slightly like the surface of a lake. Roland was about to analyze it with his mental power, but Stephanie had already walked in. He could only follow. Passing through the outer layer of the barrier, Roland then saw the interior of the royal tomb. The ends of the huge hollow in the mountain could barely be seen, and countless giant load-bearing pillars supported the high dome. And between the accompanying load-bearing pillars, there were countless connecting bridges high and low, forming an awe-inspiring stretch of spider-web bridges. Shocking, right? Stephanie asked somewhat proudly. When I saw it back then, it shook me for a whole month. Impressive indeed! said Roland as he took in the sight, then subconsciously applied a protective spell against evil on himself and Stephanie. Its filled with ghosts. Ghosts? Hearing that, goosebumps rose all over Stephanies body. Where, where? With a snap of his fingers, Roland cast Dust of Appearance, and a ball of light shot up into the air and exploded. Countless crystalline magic dustmotes spread around the space. A large number of translucent figures appeared one after another. These figures stood in front of them, standing on countless high bridges, floating in midair, and eyed them expressionlessly. Stephanies face went deathly white, and she immediately clung tightly to Rolands arm. Chapter 665 - I’m a Demigod Chapter 665 Im a Demigod Densely packed translucent ghosts surrounded them. Not to mention Stephanie, even Roland felt a little uneasy. Because only a small number of these ghosts were fully in human form, while the rest were in the state when they had died. Some had loose tongues, broken arms and legs, wobbling intestines, and so on. All sorts of grotesque shapes and forms. Roland took a glance and twisted his head to say, Stephanie, Id want to ask a question. Didnt any of you use Dust of Appearance to check it out during your previous worships? She shook her head repeatedly, clutching Rolands arm even harder. Roland carefully examined for a while longer and said, These ghosts, it seems, are all members of the royal family. Hmm? Although Stephanie was afraid, she had not been the First Princess for so many years for nothing, presiding over many great events and having a large number of imperial guards under her command. Shed experienced great events and seen storms and blood If tens of thousands of living people stood in front of her, her face wouldnt even twitch. But these were a bunch of terrifying ghosts. She was scared, but not so scared that she didnt dare to speak or move. Hearing Rolands words, she swept her eyes over and then found that the ghosts were all wearing royal clothing. There were even elderly ghosts wearing crowns. Something suddenly occurred to Stephanie as her eyes began to search through these ghosts, and soon, her eyes were fixed on a middle-aged woman. Gradually, the fear faded from her face, and there were even traces of tears in her eyes. Mother! Stephanies eyes were on a certain middle-aged woman among the ghosts. She let go of Rolands hand and subconsciously took a few steps forward. But the middle-aged female ghost smiled and shook her head. Stephanie stopped in her tracks. She just stared at the middle-aged woman for some time. The ghosts just watched and they didnt take another step forward. Stephanie also just watched and didnt want to go forward. Soon, the ghosts all disappeared. The time limit for the Dust of Appearance had passed. Stephanie wiped her eyes and returned to Rolands side. There was much less fear on her face now. Roland quirked his head and asked, Do you need me to use the Dust of Appearance again? No. Stephanie shook her head. Im content to know that my mother is here. Shall we continue? Stephanie walked ahead of her own accord and said lightly, Ill lead the way. Compared to before she entered the royal tomb, the current Stephanie gave off a more steady feeling. It seemed to be as if she had a sense of security. But this seemed normal. These so-called ghosts were almost all members of the royal family, probably royals from hundreds, even thousands of years ago. However, Roland thought it strange that the Nether God didnt collect these souls with so many of them crammed into one place. Stephanies footsteps grew faster and faster. After crossing several high bridges and climbing several stone steps, Roland felt like he was going to get lost when the two finally climbed up to a platform. The platform was large, and only by standing here did Roland realize that it seemed to be the center of the entire royal tomb. The densely packed stone bridges around it, forming a network, had just covered it up. From the direction they came, this place couldnt be seen at all. In the center of the platform, there was a functioning magic array. Although the magic glow was there, it was a cold light and didnt travel far. More importantly, the center where this magic array was located was a bit lower and more concave than the surrounding area. Paynes legendary necklace, its right in the center of the magic array. Stephanie stood between the magic array and said, Its where we usually worship, but the vast majority of us are not sure what this magic array does. I guess Father knows, but he hasnt told me about it. Roland walked over to the magic array and examined it carefully. The magic array was a very common circular shape, and the magic pattern would slowly brighten and lighten again as if it were breathing And in the center of the magic array, there was indeed a necklace made purely of white crystal. There were clouds of magic power faintly surging in each crystal fragment as big as a thumb. He looked at it for a while and finally found the entry point of the magic array. At this point, Stephanie came over and stood next to him. She asked, Can you tell anything? A rough idea, but it will take time to confirm. Roland looked around. Do you still see the glowing female spirit now?. Stephanie shook her head repeatedly. I guess shes probably also part of the royal family. Thats hard to say. Stephanie became vigilant and looked at Roland questioningly. Roland crouched down and gently touched the magic array with the tip of his finger. A tiny bolt of lightning wrapped around Rolands finger before quickly disappearing again. He stood up again and said, There is a vague unholy aura here, exactly like the infested area in your soul, and also very similar to the one in Peter, yet not the same individual. What does that mean? Stephanie didnt know much about magic, so she always followed the rule of asking questions if she didnt understand. I dont know exactly what the woman you saw looked like, but I do know that she more than likely came from the same place as the devil Peter provoked. Stephanie looked annoyed. In other words, these devils are coming for the capital? Most likely! Roland walked around the magic array and then said, Now I know, in general, what this magic array is for. Oh? Its used to protect the soul while isolating it from outside detection. Roland clicked his tongue. So thats why this royal tomb is filled with ghosts. Stephanie thought about it and said, But what is the purpose of this, another kind of immortality? I guess so. Roland thought for a short while and asked, What was the name of the king who cast the bronze gate and threw iron blocks into the water? Payne? Hmph, as expected. Roland laughed. Actually, the royal familys trump card is not that exaggerated bronze door, nor those massive iron blocks that were thrown into the water, but the ghosts of the royal family members in this royal tomb. Ghosts? Roland nodded. I just looked at them, and each of these ghosts has decent strength, which means that this is a terrifying army of ghost professionals, and once the royal family is in danger, I guess thats the time to release them. Stephanie froze for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands lightly. Not bad for an ancestor, thinking about the long term. But this still doesnt solve the problem of the infested area in your spiritual world. Roland looked at the necklace placed in the magic array. This thing is the eye of the array, and for a long time, it has been providing the magic array energy. Also, ordinary people cant take it out-the magic array comes with a protection function-I guess the Third Prince just couldnt enter the magic array, which is why he returned empty-handed. But Im curious, if this magic necklace is not a thousand years old, its at least a hundred years old, right? Even the energy of the magic brick would be used up by supplying such a large magic array. How is it still supplying energy now? Stephanie showed an apologetic expression. The magic theories that even Roland didnt know about, she couldnt possibly recognize. Ill check it out. Rolands curiosity as a Mage was piqued. He spread out his mental threads and reached out toward the eye of the magic array. Soon, a dozen mental threads were tied to the magic necklace in the middle. Upon contact, one could feel a constant flow of magic from the magic necklacenot a large outflow, not much at all, but something was wrong for it to have been flowing like that for hundreds, even thousands of years. Rolands mental strands reached into the magic necklace and soon found something peculiar. This magic necklace came with a small spiritual world. And the magic flowed from this small spiritual world. Rolands mental threads didnt hesitate to drill a hole in the exterior of the small world and poke inside. Then the image in his mind flashed, and he found himself standing on a desolate red land. In front of Roland, an old man was sitting, wearing a crown. And farther away, there was a huge, walking, winged devil. He was two times larger than all the walking winged devils Roland had seen in the Realm of Devils. Even on all fours, the upper half of its human body was at least six meters tall. The walking winged devil had a rather painful expression, and it kept bleeding green blood, which was still gurgling and bubbling onto the ground before it gushed into the strata and disappeared. Is the magic outflow because of this? Roland set his sights on the old man. The old man wearing the crown was lost in thought, looking into the distance. Then he seemed to feel Rolands gaze but didnt turn his head and simply spoke, Lur na you still want to fight me? He spoke in a hesitant voice as if he hadnt spoken in so long that he didnt even know how to say the words anymore. Roland answered, I am not Lurna. Old man, who are you? When the old man heard Rolands words, his entire body shook, and then he slowly twisted his head. His eyes, which had almost been completely deadened and lost, came back to life. Oh my goddess, its actually a young outsider. He looked at Roland with fervent eyes and gradually stood up. I cant believe it. Roland noticed that this old man seemed to be on the verge of tears. Whys he so excited? He subconsciously took a few steps back. Watching Roland back away, the old man became anxious. Dont go, dont go. I dont mean to hurt you, come and talk to me. I havent talked to a normal person in over seven hundred years. Roland turned his head to look nearby at the bound and sleeping walking winged devil on the ground! Old man, who are you? I am the seventh king of Fareins. The old man squared his golden crown. King Payne the Lionheart. Paynes legendary necklace I made it. He waved his hand and a round table and chairs appeared between the two, followed by some fruit wine, and pastries. Young man, tell me, how are things outside now? The country of Fareins is still the most powerful. Roland sat down on the chair and said, The country is very peaceful now. Has the country expanded yet? Not sure. How can you not know that? asked King Payne, clearly anxious. Its not like Im from Fareins. Roland smiled. Besides, theres no continuous historical record of the royal family. I have no idea how big the country of Fareins was a few hundred years ago. North to Froststar Kingdom, west to the Elven Forest, and south to the Red Sea of Orcs. old Payne smiled smugly. Most of it I conquered. Thats not even close. Roland thought about it and said, I guess its only a third of what it was in your day. Rubbish, unfilial, useless things. Old Payne was so angry that his beard curled up as he heard this. Was it easy for me to conquer so much land? I would have been called emperor soon if the Church of Light hadnt screwed things up By the way, how is the Church of Light doing now? Same as the Fareins Kingdom, relatively balanced. Old Payne breathed in relief. Thats good, thats good. Old king, you actually conquered such a large territory, so I guess you must be good at governing the country and fighting wars, said Roland. All average. Old Payne smiled smugly. Im best at magic. Back then the second strongest Mage was me, the Demigod Payne, King Payne the Lionheart. Every time I fought, I hurled fifty fire meteors at the same time. Not many people could stand up to it, ha ha hahaha! Demigod! Roland was surprised. Looking at Rolands expression, old Payne felt even vainer, and his laughter became even more arrogant. Roland couldnt help but ask, So, who was number one? Mystra! Paynes smile instantly lost half its brightness. That twat, who is younger than me, only took thirty years to surpass me. This world is so unfair. Roland felt that he was being overshadowed. Payne had reached Demigod and still said that the world was unfair. How many people in the Red Tower of Magic had a lifetime goal of becoming a Legend? Demigod was too much for them to even think about. Legends like Alfred, who thought that they would definitely have no chance of reaching Demigod in the remaining tens or hundreds of years of their lives, although they were smiling on the surface, they felt despair on the inside. Thats too modest of you, old king, its too much. Roland felt like he was being overpowered in magic talent for the first time. It felt odd. Old Payne laughed. Its fine. Ill teach you a few tricks to quickly build up your magic cap, and even if you cant be as amazing as me, you definitely wont be worse than other geniuses. Rolands eyes suddenly lit up. Oh? Old man, please do tell. The first method is Old Payne was about to recount his experience when he suddenly remembered something. Wait, I almost forgot, who are you? Roland. A member of the Red Magic Tower. The Red Magic Tower? Old Payne shook his head. Never heard of it. How did you get into the Fareins royal tomb? You are an outsider; are you a tomb raider? Im a Mage, not a tomb raider. Heh, you think Im not a Mage? Old Payne looked contemptuous. The more powerful a Mage is, the more he likes to raid tombs. There is a lot of knowledge of the past in these places, and if you can find books or records on magic, youll be rich. And most of the ancient books are only readable by powerful Mages who know Language Proficiency, so generally speaking, Mages are the ones who like to raid tombs the most. Roland felt he had a good point and couldnt argue with it. Forget it. Do me a small favor, and Ill teach you the skill of building up your magic cap. Please go ahead. Roland stood up. Just dont ask me to kill and slay gods. Chapter 666 - Things Are Not That Complicated Chapter 666 Things Are Not That Complicated Payne shook his head. Of course its not such a thing; all my enemies are dead. I dont need you to help me kill for revenge. So youre trying to resurrect? asked Roland. I can transfer my soul too. Payne waved his hand indifferently. If I wanted to, I could attach myself to a random member of the royal family, and in less than five days, I could extinguish their soul and replace it. But then, the barrier in the royal tomb would be gone, and then all of the nearly ten thousand souls of the royal family would be slowly taken away by the Nether God. Then what are you thinking? Roland was a little puzzled. Payne pointed to the huge walking winged devil over there. Help me decompose this thing. Decompose? Roland looked over; the huge body of the winged devil looked terrifying. Roland then looked back again. This thing, it should be a soul too. Of course! Payne smiled smugly. Because before making this barrier, I had calculated that the magic power generated by my spiritual power would only supply the barrier for about a thousand years, but if I dragged in one more soul of similar strength, wouldnt that be double the pleasure? Indeed. Payne continued, So I took advantage of the time when the demons invaded to capture their commander, then stripped its soul and sealed it into this barrier. I was planning to chat with him and live together for two thousand years as souls, but it turned out that this fellow couldnt hold out a few years ago. His spiritual consciousness got worse and worse, and now he cant talk anymore. Its so disappointing. Roland, however, thought that it was impressive to last a few hundred years being locked up, facing a landscape that was the same every day, as well as an enemy. He said, If you can seal it, you should also be able to dismember its soul. I can, but Id have to waste a lot of my spiritual power. Payne smiled and said, I dont have a body, and the more spiritual power I use the less I have, so its better if you do it. Indeed. When a creature had a body, its soul would be able to recover in its body, and it could even slowly get stronger if it exercised methodically. But pure, unattached souls without a body to attach to were not likely to get stronger in the main plane. Unless they went to the Netherworld. And absorbed the atmosphere of the Netherworldthat stuff was food for the soul. But the quality and taste were still inferior compared to the energy provided by the body. It was essentially the difference between boiled meat slices and dog food. Roland understood what Payne meant. A demon soul like this, placed here, would also be absorbed, but very slowly. The barrier was now absorbing the spiritual magic power of these two people at the same time. But if the soul of the walking winged devil was cut up, its spiritual magic power would become extremely easy to absorb. The barrier would then prioritize absorbing the spiritual magic power of the walking winged devil first. But in this case this barrier might not last two or three hundred years. As Payne said before, he used to be a Demigod. But now Roland sensed that Payne was just a Master. Although his spiritual power was still massive, he had become empty on the inside. Actually, why dont you resurrect, old man? Roland was somewhat curious. Find a random condemned criminal, devour their soul, and then be reborn in a shell. Isnt that much better than you just sheltering the soul? I dont suppose youve been through many life and death separations, son, Payne said with a smile. Roland nodded. Indeed, both of his parents and his grandparents were alive and well, and the relatives he was familiar with were alive and well. Among those souls are my most beloved kin. My parents, my wife, my sons and daughters, and even grandchildren. Payne smiled tenderly. If I were to resurrect, they would have to go to the Netherworld. It would be almost impossible for me to see them again. Roland was a little curious. You can see them even in the spiritual world? Of course I can. Ill take my spirit out from time to time and watch them living leisurely in this small world of the royal tomb. This is a kind of happiness for me. Roland roughly understood the others mind and thoughts. Okay, if its decomposing souls, youll have to teach me. Payne said with a smile, First, you have to learn to apply mental power and turn it into a sharp blade. Three hours passed and Payne explained a lot of techniques on mental power application. This benefited Roland greatly. The application of mental power had always been one of Rolands shortcomings. And Paynes talk was all substantive, with very basic, yet quite useful and solid content. When Payne finished his explanation, Roland didnt hesitate to coalesce a sharp mental scalpel in his hand. Impressive, boy. Payne looked at Roland with considerable surprise. With that talent, you could probably be compared to Mystra. Okay, now go help me split the soul of that thing, Payne pointed behind him. Roland walked over with his mental scalpel. Within a few moments, the soul of the walking winged devil was dismembered into dozens of pieces. Payne looked a little sad. Old friend who I used to quarrel with and curse at every day, goodbye forever. With a soul shattered like this, it would be hard to put it back together, even for the Nether God. Mental power attack is a powerful tool against souls. I hope you can use it carefully when you go out. Dont needlessly use this method to destroy souls. It earns the disgust of the Nether God, Payne reminded Roland, then he laughed. The next thing is to teach you how to form a magic body. Not that Im braggingif I wasnt worse at spatial magic, with this technique alone, I could surpass Mystra by a notch, but unfortunately my talent in spatial magic is just awful. Its that powerful? Roland became more and more interested. Someone who could become a Demigod from the same era as Mystra, the Goddess of Magic, probably had techniques and theories that were quite practical if not extremely effective. That said, this method is a bit troublesome, Payne said. It requires a lot of magic materials, even using herbs from the Elf Forest, and then making it into pills, taking them one by one to gradually expand ones bodys magical capacity and increase the speed of magic power regeneration. Well, please go ahead, old man, Ill write it down, Roland said as he opened his system notepad. Payne sighed wistfully. If I hadnt been the only one who could be king back then, I really would have been a pure Mage. After lamenting, Payne explained the method. Roland jotted down three full pages in the system notepad. When Roland finished writing it down, Payne said, You are very talented. With this method of increasing the upper limit of magic power, and if you have some special luck and get some useful magic guides and other things, given a hundred years to progress, you could probably pull down the Goddess of Magic. Theres no need for that. Roland shrugged. Pulling down the Goddess of Magic wasnt something he wanted. He had a good relationship with Mystra, and Mystra would help Roland make money-big money, so there was no reason to pull her down as a god. Do whatever you want, just remember to look out for the Fareins royal family when you can. Okay, no problem, Roland nodded in agreement, and then he suddenly remembered something very important. By the way, this time, me and Stephanie came over mainly to check out a soul that glowed all over. Roland relayed Stephanies description. After hearing that, Payne laughed lightly. Dont worry about Stephanie, Eichensva is protecting her. You know Stephanie, too? She has been following her father to pay respects to me since she was five years old, how could I not know. Payne laughed rather cheerfully. Although Eichensva is a member of the royal family, she also has some devil blood in her. You know how promiscuous we male nobles are. A child born from a devil? Roland didnt find the interracial union that strange. In the real world, there were many people who played with dogs and cats. What did she know? Because of the devil bloodline, she senses that there seems to be a hidden evil bloodline in the kingdom, said Payne, and Stephanie is the future queen, so of course she cant be harmed by the devils. So, Eichensva left a land in her soul, and if Stephanie is in danger, she can directly replace Stephanie in the battle. If necessary, she can give up her own soul and feed Stephanie, allowing her to improve her strength tremendously in a very short period of time, and her future growth ceiling will become higher. So the enemy is still in the kingdom? Indeed they should be. Payne said helplessly, Now my strength has dropped so much that I can no longer see whats going on outside the barrier, so Im not sure. I see. The clues in Rolands mind connected. So the Third Prince was compelled to come in and steal the necklace just so that all the souls in the royal tomb would go to the Netherworld? No, I reckon they intended to use them as an army of undead, Payne said after a moments thought. There are quite a few races of devils who know how to control undead creatures. The souls in the royal tomb, if they get them, with a little magical control and transformation, are a terrifying force that can sweep across the entire main plane. Its not that much of a stretch. Roland laughed. Youre not taking the Church of Light seriously, and theres a Church of Life, both of which counter the undead creatures. Dont undercut me. Payne smirked. After chatting with Payne for a while, Roland came out of the spiritual world. As soon as he woke up, he saw Stephanie by his side, even leaning gently against him. This seemed quite natural; the two of them were the only ones alive in the entire royal tomb. Then on the side, there were a bunch of ghosts milling around, invisible, but it was uncomfortable just knowing that. Roland woke up with a slight movement of his body, allowing Stephanie to notice. She looked at Roland in surprise. Youre finally awake. How long have I been in there? Roland asked. Its been at least three hours. Roland, however, felt that something was wrong; he had been talking to Payne for absolutely no more than an hour and a half. In other words, the passage of time in Paynes spiritual world was much slower than that of the outside world. He stood up and said to Stephanie, Surely you cant guess who I met inside the spiritual world? Who? Payne? Stephanie asked. How clever you are! said Roland admiringly. Its just a coincidence, because that necklace is called Paynes Legendary Necklace. If there is really a soul inside, it should also be related to him. Stephanie asked somewhat anxiously, So did you find out anything from him? The infested area in your soul is actually for your protection, Roland said. If you experience any kind of hallucination while youre sleeping, dont be afraid. Its just the unconscious whispers of the other soul. Its not harmful. UNCO Why protect me in this way? asked Stephanie, keenly aware of the peculiarity of this. Does it mean that someone will turn against me? Not just you, but the royal tomb. Roland began to walk back and forth. And Payne suspects that the devil, presumably, is still hiding inside the capital. The other man is a devil who specializes in playing with souls. I see, Stephanie muttered. Looks like well have to get help from the Association of Mages. The two exited the royal tomb, got into a carriage, and headed toward the capital. As a result, just as they reached the city gate, an archbishop wearing a red cloak took the initiative to go to the carriage, bowed his head slightly, and said, May I ask if Mr. Roland is in the carriage? The carriage had Stephanies personal coat of arms on it, so it was extremely easy to recognize. And Roland and Stephanie going out together hadnt been hidden. Roland lifted the curtain of the carriage, looked at the other man, and said, I am, may I ask what you want? The Holy Lady has something important to ask. The archbishop spoke softly and gently. The Holy Virgin invited him, and even had the archbishop come to relay this, which was giving him considerable respect. This was the treatment Stephanie received. Roland spoke up. As soon as I escort the First Princess back to her estate, I will go find the Holy Lady. By the way, you havent said where to meet. The commoner street on the west side of the Holy Realm, where there is a small three-story building made of green bricks. The Holy Lady will wait for you there. Understood. Roland then sent the First Princess back to her manor and had her mobilize a large number of soldiers and a small number of royal Mages for her protection before leaving. It took ten minutes to find the green brick building on the commoner street to the west. Roland found the archbishop who had delivered the message waiting at the door. He led Roland up to the second floor. When he pushed open the door of a large public room, he saw the blonde, blue-eyed, shimmering Holy Lady sitting inside. The creak of the door closing sounded. The only two people in the large parlor were Roland and the Holy Lady. The Holy Lady was dressed in a plain white dress and had no valuable accessories on her; her hair was simply tied up with a hairband and styled into a side ponytail. Normally, the Holy Lady didnt tie her hair, and in the Holy Realm, her hair was usually left down. When walking around, her long hair drifted in the air and also emitted sparkles of light, looking rather beautiful. Now she had her hair tied up instead, indicating that she was more respectful of this meeting. Roland, hello. When the Holy Lady saw Roland approaching, she stood up. Schuck has often mentioned you. Im sorry I didnt recognize you at the First Princess manor earlier. Its fine, Im ordinary-looking and not outrageously handsome like Schuck, Roland beamed. Schuck often told me about Your Holiness too. Is that so? The Holy Ladys cheeks were slightly red, then she immediately realized that this was not right, so she looked serious again and said, Weve interrogated Peter, and then felt that there was something else hidden in the matter, so wanted to ask you to help. Chapter 667 - Things Are Starting to Look a Little Bad Chapter 667 Things Are Starting to Look a Little Bad Did you get anything out of Peter? Roland asked. The Holy Lady placed a piece of white paper filled with writing in front of Roland. Although Roland still didnt know the language of Fareins, it wasnt much of a hassle at all with Language Proficiency. The Holy Lady watched Roland use Language Proficiency and was slightly surprised, and then felt that it was normal. Roland wasnt from Fareins, that was clear to her. But generally, anyone who was a Mage would learn the language of Fareins. Because in terms of studying magic, Fareins was the strongest. Like a few decades ago, when you wanted to do scientific research in China, you could never get access to the latest cutting-edge scientific theories without learning English. But with Language Proficiency, it didnt matter even if he didnt know the language of Fareins. Roland read what was on it, then looked the Holy Lady in the eyes and asked, Half of Peters soul has been tainted and he doesnt even know it himself yet? Indeed. The Holy Lady sighed. This is a very troublesome matter. Peters family is also a large family with tens of thousands of soldiers. Although the others died, Peter is still alive, so the family at least still has centripetal force. If Peter dies, once those distant relatives start to fight for power, and other nobles follow, the capital may become quite tumultuous. Peters family alone can mess up the kingdom? Roland found this a bit unbelievable. In terms of individual strength alone, of course, they cant, but they cant stop a group of demons from wreaking havoc. The Holy Lady knew that Roland was not very clear about the division of power in the capital, so she continued, Comparing the interests of Fareins to a cake, the whole cake has been divided, everyone is hogging their slice, and there is no change in power for a century or two. Now, if Peters familys cake is suddenly empty, can you imagine what those wolves who have been hungry for over a hundred years will become? Put that way, Roland understood. So, what do you want me to do? Roland asked. Protect Peter. As long as hes far enough away, the devil has no way to perform soul modification on him, the Holy Lady said, and Ive heard that the Golden Sons have a city of their own that external forces cant penetrate. Just take him there and keep him out of trouble for three or four years. Theres no problem with taking him to Wetland City, but I cant guarantee his safety in Wetland City. The Holy Lady was a little puzzled. But Schuck told me that you guys are good friends, and the mayor of Wetland City is also his cousin. True, but Im not good at protecting people as a Mage. The other thing is that protecting people wouldnt leave me much time to study magic. On that matter, we of the Church of Light will compensate you. There are many spell models in our great library. Roland still waved his hand. Sorry, Im not short of spell models right now. The Holy Lady frowned. She even felt slightly discouraged. That was why she didnt really like interacting with Mages; these people were sensible and it was almost impossible to impress them with rewards if they werent particularly short of money. Looking at the Holy Lady biting her lower lip slightly and zoning out, Roland then suggested, Actually, as opposed to sending Peter away, I think, wouldnt it be better to just find that devil? Thats a good idea indeed, but the problem lies in the fact that we cant find the devil. Roland was a little surprised. Is the devil hiding in the shadows that powerful? The Holy Lady was quite embarrassed. This was a dereliction of duty on the part of the Church of Light. Why dont you give Peter to the royal family! said Roland after a moments thought. The royal family also has strong combat power, and besides, Peter is a noble, and it makes sense for him to be sheltered by the royal family. We are now afraid that the royal family will take over. The Holy Lady sighed. It is indeed a possibility. Roland agreed with the Holy Lady. If youre not willing, Sir, then forget it. The Holy Lady stood up. We are going to find a good demon next. We will protect Peter for the time being. Also, please, Mr. Roland, tell the First Princess that Peter is here in the Holy Realm, and if she wants to take him, please feel free to come to us. Roland nodded. He left the Holy Ladys secret little building and returned to the First Princesss estate. The place was already heavily guarded, with elite imperial guards and even more protection from the imperial Mages. Normally, to breach such an estate, at least a Legend of decent strength would have to come. Roland entered the manor and asked the butler to take him to see Stephanie. Stephanie had just finished bathing and was in her bedroom in her nightgown as two maids helped her with her long hair. Meanwhile, she clutched a bowl to herself and ate the fruits inside. Ooh, a rendezvous with the Holy Lady, Stephanie teased. This is something that many noble males would beg for, and if they knew, they may envy you to the extent of killing you. Roland sat down across from Stephanie and said, Jokes aside, after talking to the Holy Lady for a while, I dont think things are quite right. What do you mean? Do you remember what happened with your ex-husband and that fallen angel?. Stephanie nodded-how could she not remember? She almost died. And it just so happened that she ran into her fathers test, with little strength and resources at her disposal. If it wasnt for Roland and Andonaras help, she probably wouldnt have gotten the right of inheritance even if she survived the test. That fallen angel is a Demigod, a real Demigod, not the watered-down kind. Roland chuckled. One descended from the divine realm, and even if he was corrupted into a dark angel, it doesnt mean that his powers also became evil. Stephanie listened quietly to Roland, quite attentive. She forgot to eat the fruits, keeping up the motion of holding the little fruit, ready to shove it into the corner of her mouth. Roland continued, It is reasonable to say that the Demigod angels ability to hide is better than the devils anyhow, but the Demigod angel was quickly found out, and theres no news of this devil. Do you think this is possible? Stephanies eyes were dazed. She looked like this when she was thinking. After a while, she said, Indeed, when you put it like that, I dont think its quite right either. The Temple of Light has its system of exclusion that works very well, but even so, the devil has not been detected, which is more than a little strange. Roland tapped his fingers on the table. And most importantly, the Holy Lady actually wants me to take Peter away from the center of the vortex. It seems like its for Peters own good, for the good of the capital, not wanting the city to be in turmoil. Its just that this reasoning, somehow, doesnt give me a good feeling. Stephanie looked up. The Temple of Light is definitely hiding something very important. What do they have to hide! The devil is too powerful for them and they dont dare to inadvertently alert it? Rolands expression became puzzled. Or is there an internal scandal that they are embarrassed to announce? I think its an internal scandal, said Stephanie, immediately perking up. Women were just so into gossip. First Princess, what kind of internal scandal do you think it could be? Roland smiled. Stephanie thought for a moment and said with a subtly delighted expression, A priest or a bishop has fallen? Highly likely. Roland laughed. And most likely not well handled, even tied to Peters survival. I see, Im going to mobilize the royal family and the Association of Mages for a joint investigation. Stephanie jumped up and was in no hurry to eat. Its been the Church of Light thats been holding us down these past few decades, now its our turn to fight back a bit. Im not talking to you about this to get you into this mess, Roland said helplessly, but I want you to protect yourself. Bring Andonara here and protect me, will you? pleaded Stephanie. Please, this time its a matter of whether or not the royal family can stand up high, and I dont want to miss it. All right. Roland agreed after some thought. Andonaras strength had improved greatly again. After getting his Fire Element Enhancement specialty, she was quite a bit stronger. Now that she had received the Phoenixs essence, her strength had increased even more. In the entire main plane, of all the mortals, probably no one could defeat her. It was not a problem for her to protect Stephanie. Besides, the two of them were friends, and it was good to get together occasionally. Roland immediately teleported back to Delpon, and after giving some instructions to Vivian and the vampire Christina, he took Andonara and teleported back to the First Princesss manor. The two friends hadnt seen each other in a long time, and when they did, they were both bouncing around, happy as could be. On the other hand, Roland went to the basement below the manor to experiment with magic using the facilities left behind by the First Princesss ex-husband. At the same time, he took the time to look at the news on the forum. On the Realm of Devils side, Roland didnt want to care about it much for now. The players joined forces with the Guardians of Light and instead of going straight to attack Paimons main city, they began to divide their forces and sweep around. Any demon that was not a succubus was killed when encountered. When they encountered breeding cities, they directly broke through to save the humans. And when they encountered succubi, they captured them and took them away regardless of whether they were willing to follow the players or not. If any resisted quite hard, they were beaten to tears until they submitted and then taken away. Now, this whole expedition to the Realm of Devils had changed in nature a bit. Previously, it was a battle for humanity to fight back, a battle of faith for Guardians of Light. Now it had turned into a battle of interests. As the players caught more and more succubi and as more Mages learned the magic contract, two-thirds of the players had gotten their beloved partners. Then many succubi were also sent over to the Guardians of Light. These succubi would be brought back to the Holy Realm by the Guardians of Light and then sold to the nobles of the capital at a high price. This way, instead of losing money, the expeditionary force would make a ton of money. The dead and wounded soldiers would also get more compensation. This was Schucks strategic decision. Although there was a slight conflict with the Light doctrine, Roland believed that there was no conflict with the goddesss philosophy. The so-called doctrine was just human speculation about the gods, and not all of them were completely correct. This decision was well received by the Guardians of Light. At this moment, Paimon, sitting in his palace, listening to the information gathered by the devils, was also speechless. He had thought that he would soon have to watch the Golden Sons and the Guardians of Light join forces to attack his city. But he waited and waited, and he received information that the Golden Sons and the Guardians of Light were running around catching succubi. Then his three views were shattered. Succubi were a lower-middle-class race in the Realm of Devils. They had average strength. There were quite a number of them. They were the third most populous race. The first was the fiery imp, and the second was the bone devil. The demons in the Realm of Devils had always treated the succubi as a tool for venting, and no one from the higher races had ever wanted to marry a succubus. Never! Even the philandering male version of Phoenix had never laid a hand on a succubus. He would rather have a quickie with a multi-armed Naga than a succubus. And then such succubi became a treasure for humans who were desperately trying to capture them and convince them to submit. Didnt the humans know that the succubi had an inferior bloodline? Didnt they know that succubi only gave birth to succubi, and it was almost impossible to have a mixed child? They still wanted them? Even as a Demon God, having lived for hundreds, almost thousands of years, Paimon was a bit confused. As he wondered, the voice of Sidi came from the mental channel. Damn, more and more succubi are outside of my mental perception. Paimon, give an order to stop the succubi from going out, from contacting the humans. They have to stay in the city or Ill lose a lot of strength. Paimon was not in a good mood and finally got a little upset when he heard the semi-commanding tone. Sidi, are you telling me what to do? Youre dead heartless. Who do you think Ive suffered so much for? All right, Paimon said, taking a deep breath. Ill give the order in case you start bickering. You Sidi got rather upset and decided to withdraw all the succubi under her command immediately. At this time, another voice appeared in the mental channel. Paimon, Sidi, is your plan not going too well? Is there any good news on your end? Paimon frowned. Its good indeed. Judas smiled happily. I took advantage of the fact that the human army was attacking the city here. I secretly sent a few Heartless Demons who are good at hiding through the portal, and they made a trip to the capital of Fareins. Whats the situation on the human side? Paimon asked. Judas laughed. The Golden Sons troops are almost all in the Realm of Devils, then the Church of Light is rather lax right now. These heartless demons have done something big, guess what? Assassinated the Pope of Light or the Holy Lady? They corrupted a Saint Samurai. Can you believe it? Hows that possible! Paimon and Sidi exclaimed at the same time, with a look of disbelief. And at the same time, Stephanie got the information that the king had sent over, and after a glance at it, she also exclaimed in this manner. Hows that possible! Andonara, who was sipping her afternoon tea, looked up at Stephanie with a slightly puzzled expression. And Lady Bluebird, who was sitting next to her, jumped up in shock at Stephanies reaction. A pair of chest plates bounced up and wobbled slightly. Quite bouncy and elastic! Chapter 668 - The Fanatics Go Against the World Chapter 668 The Fanatics Go Against the World Stephanie took a deep breath and handed the information to Roland. After reading it, Rolands first reaction was: Things are serious. In reality, Roland and Stephanie both guessed that there had to be an internal scandal in the Church of Light. But at best, according to their speculation, there was an archbishop or a high priest that had a problem. But now it was a Saint Samurai that was corrupted? This meant that something was terribly wrong with this class of Saint Samurai when it came to their faith and education. Saint Samurai were the pride and face of the Church of Light. The Pope and the Holy Lady were the heart of a church, but as long as it was a church, there were almost always these two positions. On the other hand, Saint Samurai were unique to the Church of Light. Powerful and amazingly charismatic, they represented not only combat power-with beautiful looks, they could convince more people to become followers of the Church of Light in an imperceptible way. It could be said that the Church of Light could get to its current size-almost tying with the Church of Life in terms of the number of believersbecause at least a third of the believers worshiped the Saint Samurai and went on to learn about the Light doctrine before becoming believers. Now, however, the Saint Samurai, who represented true goodness and beauty, had actually been corrupted. No wonder the Holy Lady asked me to help; there was something off in her words. Roland sat down and returned the information to Stephanie. Things are going to get messy now. What are you going to do? What can I do? Lets see what happens. No matter what, the fall of the Saint Samurai will definitely cause the whole capital to be in turmoil. Stephanie rubbed her forehead. As a kings daughter, she had a pretty good sense for politics, and although she was not as good as those wily foxes, amongst the younger generations, she was a leading figure. Or Ill just stay here for now, Roland said. Thats great. Stephanie smiled. With Andonara around, her safety wouldnt be a problem. But Andonara was far less politically savvy, and with Roland, she would have a partner to ask and confer with. She wouldnt end up struggling alone. Lady Bluebird looked on quietly, not speaking. She occasionally poured drinks for the three. These three were big shots, and it was only right to stay out of the way when they were talking about important matters. Roland looked at the distressed Stephanie, thought for a moment, and suggested, How about you go talk to His Majesty about this? Is that all right? Stephanie was a bit distressed. Father doesnt like incapable people very much, and as the heir, the future queen, if I approach him whenever I encounter something Will it give him a bad impression and will he eventually take away my right to succession? Definitely not. Roland laughed. You are too nervous. What is happening now is a big deal. Youre meeting him as part of the royal family, not as the future queen. Thats naturally a different situation. It dawned on Stephanie. Thats right, not only am I the future queen, but Im also his daughter. As someone involved, Stephanie cared too much about the title of the future queen. So she inevitably lost focus in certain situations. But she was still smart enough to see through things when reminded. After taking a sip of fruit wine, Stephanie took Andonara to the royal palace. Although Andonara didnt have her weapons with her, with her current strength, she could still grab Stephanie and fight her way out of the palace. Not to mention the fact that weapons could be stolen. With a large number of soldiers in the royal palace, it couldnt be easier to grab a weapon. Meanwhile, Roland remained in the manor. Lady Bluebird also stayed. To accompany him. Lady Bluebird was just a title; the womans real name was Sally Betty. She was only called Lady Bluebird because she sang beautifully, as crisp and elegant as a bluebird. At this time, Roland was browsing the forum to see how the war in the Realm of Devils was going At the same time, he had just used the guild chat to tell Schuck about the Saint Samurai being corrupted. Schuck only returned a series of ellipses. He was probably stunned. A Saint Samurai was quite a venerable figure. And there were now thirteen Saint Samurai, which would have corresponded exactly to the thirteen Demon Gods. As a result, the crusade on the Realm of Devils had barely begun when a Saint Samurai was corrupted No matter how many devils were killed, if a Demon God wasnt taken out, this crusade would feel like a lost cause. He was browsing the forum, so he was frozen in place and his eyes didnt move. And the direction he stared in just happened to be the chest of Lady Bluebird, which made it easy for misunderstandings to arise. Feeling that Rolands sight had been resting on her vital parts, Lady Bluebird didnt find it rude. Because she had long been used to such gazes. All good-looking women who were strong or influential would have this problem. Besides, she had already guessed the First Princesss intentions. e She seemed to want her to be in contact with Roland more. For the nobles, they all knew what it meant to be in more contact. Since it was a matter of time, what did it matter if he looked at it a little longer. So even though Roland was staring hard, she took it in stride. But in her heart, she still looked down on Rolands behavior. At this time, she saw that the cup in front of Roland was empty, so she got up and poured Roland a cup of fruit wine and said, Mr. Roland, please drink. Roland subconsciously took the cup and poured it into his mouth. Many people had the habit of subconsciously doing what others said when they were lost in reading or thinking. Roland did the same. He poured the glass of fruit wine into his mouth and resumed browsing the forums. At this point, Lady Bluebird noticed that Rolands sight didnt seem to be intentionally directed at her mountain range, and when she got up to pour the wine just now, Rolands line of sight didnt move with it at all. Then she winked and sat a little to the side. She found that Rolands line of sight still did not move as expected. Is he meditating or thinking? It seems I misunderstood him before. Lady Bluebird laughed at herself. While she was indeed beautiful, she was slightly inferior to Stephanie the First Princess and far more so compared to Andonara. In reality, in terms of face and body shape, the three were not much different. At a certain extent of beauty, bodily proportions close to perfection were the pinnacle. It was more about temperament and aura. This required ones knowledge, power, and strength to stand out. With First Princess Stephanie and Andonara around, Mr. Roland probably doesnt see much in me. This was what Lady Bluebird was thinking now. With that thought, Rolands place in her heart rose again and even went up a bit more. Roland continued to browse the forum. From time to time, he drank the fruit wine poured by Lady Bluebird. He was quite used to such care, for that was how Andonara had often looked after him at his own manor. It was his instinctive reaction now. Apart from pouring Roland a glass of fruit wine now and then, Lady Bluebird rested her chin in her hand and looked around the estate, or looked at Rolands face. Looking at that dumbfounded expression in his eyes. No one talked to her, but unexpectedly, such a boring time was quite interesting to her. Because there was no need to think about how to please and cater to others. Three hours quickly passed and Andonara and Stephanie returned in a carriage. The two had just arrived at the manor and had just sat down in front of Roland without even speaking when some loud noises suddenly came from outside the manor. Roland also happened to break away from browsing the web at that moment and saw Stephanie and Andonara. He was about to say hello before his attention was also drawn to the loud noises outside the manor. Stephanie revealed a displeased look. Whats the matter? The fact that she was the future queen should have been known to anyone in the kingdom who had ears, but now someone dared to cause trouble outside the manor. This was making light of her and the royal family at the same time. Just as she was growing less than pleased, a soldier in charge of the gate trotted in and said after bending down, Your Highness, theres trouble. The Church of Light is blocking the outside of the manor with an Inquisition squad, asking us to hand over someone. What do you mean? Stephanie snapped angrily. The inquisitors actually bullied their way to my door. Ill go see. Andonara, who was in charge of protecting Stephanie, naturally followed. Roland followed as well. When the three arrived at the entrance of the manor, they saw an army of people dressed in white, their faces completely obscured by the shadows of their hoods and standing in front of them. The imperial guards stood in a row, blocking them. Although it was impossible to see the faces of these people, a hostile aura emanated from each of them. If not for the fact that the royal family still had some authority, they would probably have stormed in. Whats going on? Stephanie walked over, speaking coldly. The white-robed man standing at the front turned to Stephanie and said, Your Highness the First Princess, Im quite sorry. We are tracking down the heretic who has offended the Church of Light. I dont talk to nobodies who hide their faces, Stephanie sneered. Sorry, Your Highness, this is our Shut up. Either show your face before you talk to me, or get out, Stephanie bellowed. Roland was in the back, and he almost started whistling. All along, Stephanie had given him the impression that she was rather soft, and it was quite interesting to see her high and mighty noble style now. After a moments hesitation, the white-robed man pulled his hood down. Revealing a fairly handsome face and short brown hair, his brown eyes stared at Stephanie. First Princess, Im showing the royal family respect by revealing my face. Now then, it is also time for the royal family to give us, the Inquisition, some respect. Well, what do you want to do? I hear you have two outsiders in your estate. The mans gaze fell first on Andonara, his eyes narrowing slightly, then on Roland. Could we have both of them for questioning for a while, please? Stephanie was furious at this. By what right do you dare to interrogate guests of the royal family? By the unspoken rules. The young man faced Stephanie and said indifferently, By virtue of us being the Inquisition, by virtue of us being the Church of Light. What if I dont hand them over? Stephanies eyes gradually became cold. Are you going to attack and invade the manor of the First Princess of Fareins, the home of the future queen? The young man took a deep breath and said slowly, I imagine youd not do that, Your Highness. This was already a blatant threat. Well, well, how dare a mere captain of the Inquisition talk to me like that. Stephanie was utterly furious. I dont know where you got the nerve, but to offend the royal family in such a way is a capital offense-all of you listen to my command! Seize them, and if they resist, kill them all. Upon hearing this, all the royal guards near the manor drew their swords almost simultaneously. The Mages nearby also prepared to cast spells. And at this time, the leading young mans entire body emitted white light. Light magic was a very gentle power, but the light magic of the youth in front of them was filled with rage and savagery. Stephanie grimaced as she took a few steps back and shouted angrily, A fanatic; no wonder youre so bold. Fanatics were special believers who dedicated their body and mind completely to their god. They were the angry servants of the gods, the minions of the gods, and the lackeys of the gods. They didnt try to understand the teachings of the gods; they gave up thinking just to embrace the grace of the gods. Such fanatics saw the gods they believed in as omnipotent, as the one and only, as the truth of the world that could never be wrong. No one could say anything negative about their gods, and anyone who had the slightest doubt would be a rebel, a wicked person. For these fanatics, apart from the gods, no other living being was superior or inferior, whether one was a commoner or royalty. No wonder they dared to approach the First Princess and run wild. The royal guards moved. More than forty of them lunged at the dozen or so men of the Inquisition. However, the man who was glowing reached out and a white barrier appeared in front of him, stopping the forty or so royal guards at the same time. He then turned his eyes to Andonara. Pointing at her, he shouted, Woman, I can feel that you have the smell of a Demon God on you. You must be a spy sent by the devils. Stephanie chuckled. She did have the scent of a Demon God on her; after all, Phoenix was one of the thirteen Demon Gods. As a descendant of the Immortal Phoenix, it was only normal to carry the smell of devils. No matter who you are sheltered by, I will strip you of your disguise and let the whole city see your filthy devil body. I will cut open your skin and let your evil green-blooded heart and lungs be reviled by the world. I will make you reveal yourself and let your ugly true body Hearing this, Rolands face darkened a little. Andonara, on the other hand, was even more furious. Her willowy eyebrows rose and her hand clenched the hilt of her sword. Then the young fanatic who spoke was cut in two. No one saw how Andonara struck, including Roland! They just saw Andonara put her hand on the hilt of her sword and then release it, and the mans body suddenly split in two. The upper half of the body flew to the ground. The youth looked stupidly at the lower half of his body standing in front of him. After a while, the lower half of his body fell to the ground as well. Two parts, blood flowing, and a lot of guts coming out. Captain! A dozen inquisitors tried to rush up. But the fanatic, who was lying on the ground, bellowed, Retreat, this woman is strongLegendary-run away, go tell the Pope to send Saint Samurai. After this fanatic shouted, he passed out. A dozen inquisitors looked at Andonara furiously, then they held the two broken parts of the captains body and quickly withdrew. Stephanie bit her lip hard. Damn, the Church of Light seems to have been more irritated than I thought. Chapter 669 - Let’s All Keep A Low Profile Chapter 669 Lets All Keep A Low Profile Stephanies guess was right. Not only the First Princesss manor but even many other nobles who had received outsiders were also harassed by the Inquisition. Weaker nobles, whose guests were taken straight away, were furious, and if they dared to stop them, a fight would even break out between the two sides. There had been a lot of incidents of bloodshed now. Stephanie once again took Andonara into the palace, and having the same thoughts as her, a large group of noble officials who were eligible to enter the palace also came. In their opinion, the Temple of Light was going crazy. Roland, on the other hand, went to the Association of Mages. He was a member of the Red Magic Tower and had a spot in the Fareins Association of Mages, so now that such a big incident had happened, the top management of the Association of Mages would naturally summon him. The spacious conference room was filled with at least three hundred Mages. The vast majority of them were elderly, and there were very few young Mages, only seventeen in total including Roland. As such, they received a great deal of attention especially Roland, who was fresh-faced, was frequently glanced at from time to time. They whispered to each other asking who this young man, who they had never seen before, was. Roland sat at the very back and acted quite naturally under the gazes of the many old Mages. This attitude made everyone regard him highly. It was not uncommon for young people to be capable, but it was quite rare for them to be capable and steady. Roland sat and waited for a while, and Alfred came in. O He saw Roland sitting at the back, smiled slightly, then looked around the conference room and said, It seems that everyones here. The situation is urgent now, Ill cut straight to the chase. In the Holy Realm, there is a fallen Saint Samurai; I think everyone is already clear on that. I can be sure that its the demons work. The Church of Light is going crazy now, and even the leash on the crazy Inquisition has been slackened. The situation seems to be somewhat out of control, and our biggest problem is to keep ourselves in the middle with a more detached attitude. But thats hard to do. He looked at the people below him, and seeing that everyones attention was drawn to him, he continued, So we, the Association of Mages, are now going to make a strategic contraction; try to stay at home, or in the Association, and if anyone from the Inquisition comes to your door, try to reason with them first. If you cant reason, then take action. Its okay to injure them, just try not to kill them. Does the chairman mean that we should be afraid of the Church of Light? Yes, you should be afraid. Alfred pointed to himself. I cant beat the Pope, you cant beat the Holy Lady and the Saint Samurai, so why not be afraid? But we have plenty of Mages. Alfred slapped the table and scolded angrily, Are you stupid? We have plenty of Mages? More than their combat priests, more than a billion followers of Light around the world? Its good to work hard on magic, but dont clog up your brain with research. The old Mage who spoke just now blushed. The number of Light believers was only a little less than Life believers. If it came to an all-out war, no one could stop the Church of Light and the Church of Life. The worst part was that these two churches had a pretty good relationship. After all, the goddesses of the religions were good friends. If it were a normal situation, the Association of Mages wouldnt be afraid. Alford sighed. But this corrupt Saint Samurai involves too many things. An archbishop I know has said that the fluctuations in the divine power of light have been quite noticeable these past two days, and it seems that the Goddess of Light is aware of this in the divine realm. Shes furious, and may even have cast her eyes down to see how the Church of the Light handles this. That bad? Some old Mage clicked his tongue. If its not handled well, both the Pope and the Holy Lady may be replaced. Alfred snorted. So its not good to be a dog for the gods; you cant even decide your own fate. We Mages are freer-Mystra is a clay sculpture as far as were concerned. Hahahahaha! All the Mages in the conference room let out a hearty laugh. Except for Roland. When these people finished laughing, Alfred continued, Im saying this again, the current scene is very complicated, so you guys better not engage in any risky actions. Dont think youre smart and make a big show of political tactics, and if something does happen because you didnt listen to my advice, the Association of Mages will not step in to save you. Hearing this, everyone looked serious. Well, Ive said what needs to be said, so decide for yourselves whether youll listen or not. Alfred cast his eyes to the back of the room. Roland, come with me. Roland got up and followed Alfred out. The people in the conference room watched them disappear and then clamored. Most people were asking who the young man was, to be in the chairmans good graces! Roland followed Alfred to the chairmans study. Alfred sat down first, then he waited for Roland to sit down as well before asking, I heard that someone from the Inquisition went to the First Princesss manor to look for you not too long ago. Roland nodded. Yes. And then your little queen attacked and cut a fanatic right in two? Yes. Thats a bit troubling. Alfred crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the back of his chair. Fanatics even the higher-ups in their church dont dare mess with them, so why dont you take your woman and hide for a while? Andonara still has to protect Stephanie, Roland explained, so we wont be leaving the capital of Fareins for a while. How can you help the First Princess when you cant protect yourselves. Roland smiled. Now Andonara is even stronger. Alfreds expression froze. Stronger? I heard that she was able to kill a Legendary Mage by herself before, and that was one against two, but now shes even stronger, able to fight one against three? I think she can fight five! Roland said indifferently. If it was a Legendary Mage like the ones from the Spatial Magic Tower, the current Andonara probably wouldnt have much of a problem fighting ten of them. But he had to be humble. And speaking only half the truth was beneficial for hiding ones trump card. Hiss! Wouldnt that be enough to beat at least six of me? Alfred rubbed his head. Thats a bit outrageous. How did you hook up with such a powerful wife? Is the king of Hollevin an idiot? To push such a powerful woman away? Is this his fetish? Rolands face darkened a little. Chairman, why is the focus of your concern on the word wife? Thats the truth. Alfred chuckled. I cant resist teasing you when I see your serious face. Roland was speechless. And gloomy. 61 Well, no more jokes. Alfred was, after all, an old man, experienced and with high intelligence; he knew what level of joke was appropriate. Since youre staying here to help Stephanie, and I have no problem with that, take care of yourself. I know. Actually, Im not worried about you; after all, you are a Golden Son and immortal. Alfred was a little envious. And you have a friend who is also a Saint Samuraiits just a pity he went to crusade in the Realm of Devils. You are not in danger, so please take care of Stephanie. Now the situation is chaotic, and as the future queen, there is no guarantee that she wont be targeted during the chaos. Roland nodded. Its only right. She is also my friend after all. Then Alfred waved his hand, and Roland bid farewell and left the Association of Mages. When he returned to the First Princesss Manor, he found that both the First Princess and Andonara had returned. The two of them were drinking fruit wine with Lady Bluebird. Roland sat down in front of them and asked, What did the king say? He told all the nobles to keep a low profile and try not to get into conflict with the Church of Light. Stephanie smiled bitterly. He also made a point of criticizing me a few times, saying that it wasnt wise for me to get into a fight with a fanatic. Does he mean that you should hand over Andonara? Rolands expression turned a little cold. He didnt mean it that way, said Stephanie helplessly. Roland, have a little faith in the royal family. Theres no reason for us to be afraid of a fanatic anyway. Then what does the king mean? What he means is that Andonara had better hide. At that moment, Andonara interjected, But I have to protect you, and you are actually in more danger than I am. This was certainly the case. Andonara was so strong that although she was targeted by the fanatics, she would hardly be in danger. Even if the Pope were to strike, it was hard to say if he could stand in front of her for a minute. Stephanie said happily, Thank you, Anna. Lady Bluebird looked at Andonara with some envy. The more powerless a woman was and the longer she lived in the noble class, the more she would learn that the so-called noblewoman is essentially no different from a prostitute. It just had the extra words high class. And women like Andonara, who was very good-looking and yet in control of their own destiny, were way too rare. She was the kind of woman that all women would admire. The pride of women. After thanking Andonara, Stephanie looked at Lady Bluebird. Betty, dont go home for a while and stay with me. Your man is too weak to protect you. You are too beautiful, and if the people in the Church of Light take advantage of the chaotic situation and carry out some ill intentions, it might be too late for us to rescue you when we receive any news. Lady Bluebird nodded repeatedly. Although Stephanie was exaggerating a bit, there was some truth to it. Human nature was something that couldnt stand to be tested, and in chaotic circumstances, peoples evil desires were magnified. Then Stephanie stared at Roland. I heard that you went to the Association of Mages just now. What are their thoughts over there? The same as the royal family. They all intend on keeping a low profile. Stephanie chortled. As Father expected, even the great Mages wouldnt dare to provoke the Church of Light right now. So, the Association of Mages, the royal family, and the Church of Light dont form an equilateral triangle. Roland clicked his tongue. Rather, it is a right-angle triangle. The Church of Light at the top. Although she did not understand what was meant by equilateral triangle, right-angle triangle, and other confusing terms, Stephanie still understood the general meaning. She shook her head. When the Church of Light isnt going crazy, the strength of the three forces is indeed about the same. Well, thats without going crazy. Roland took a sip of fruit wine. But now theyre going crazy. Just like Roland said, everyone felt an oppressive aura throughout the Holy Realm. The Pope, with three Saint Samurai in tow, strode to the conference building of the Inquisition. Unlike the white and gold buildings that littered the Temple of Light, the building that was the Inquisition was gray. The furniture was also mostly black, and just looking at it from the outside, it already had a depressing and rather uncomfortable aura. And outside the building on the rocky square, there were many stretchers. Some of those on the stretchers had been covered with a white cloth. This was a sign of death. But more people were being treated. The condition of one of them caught the attention of the pope and the three Saint Samurai. It was an inquisitor who had been cut in two, but this man was not dead. People were casting Enlivening and Light Healing on both his upper and lower body. There were a lot of internal organs spilling out and it looked terrible, but the medics around him, nevertheless, tried everything they could to resuscitate him. They stuffed the mans insides back in first, then carefully put the two severed body parts together, while the Light Healing carried on. After the two body parts were joined together, flesh sprouted quickly from the contact surface under the effect of the Light Healing, and the body parts spliced themselves together. On the inside of the body, the severed internal organs rejoined and were spliced, regenerated, and fused with great speed. Soon, the man woke up from his coma. Although his face was frighteningly pale, he was still alive. As soon as this inquisitor opened his eyes, he said to the people around him, Hurry up, carry me to the director. I found a demon spy, a Legend. The corruption and fall of the Saint Samurai is most likely related to the other party. Hearing these words, the people around him acted quickly, and at once two people lifted the speakers stretcher and trotted into the building. The Popes face twitched and he followed close behind. The Inquisitions directors office was on the fourth floor, and when the Pope went up here, he saw the inquisitor lying on the bed in the large conference room across from him, talking to his director. She smells like a demon, quite strongly in fact. Director, I can guarantee that is definitely one of our enemies. The woman who smells like a demon from the First Princesss manor, and shes also a Legend? The director looked up from his desk. His forehead was marked by five or six deep horizontal lines, and below his sharp eyebrows were a pair of cold and merciless eyes. Youre not lying? The other party is really a Legend? Yes! Thomas, take five hundred men with you, go to the First Princesss manor, and help me take the woman. At that moment, the Pope stepped through the door. You cant do that, Macaron. That is the home of the First Princess, the future queen, and we must still give the necessary respect to the royal family. Chapter 670 - How Dare You Chapter 670 How Dare You Fanatics were useless believers to the lawful gods. They could provide a great deal of faith power, a dozen, if not hundreds of times more than the average believer. But the problem was that this group of people were too extreme in their actions. They didnt care at all about the status of others, nor did they care about the context in which others spoke. Whenever someone dared to say half a bad word about their god, they would break loose. There was absolutely no room for maneuvering. They pushed things to the point of no return. So most of the time, the fanatics were given a place to settle. They were put in some special organization, bound by doctrine. But this wasnt very safe either. Once they found an opportunity to break out of their cage, they would cause great trouble. The Church of Light then threw all the fanatics into the Inquisition, so at least a third of the people in the Inquisition were fanatics. Including the director Macaron. He looked at the Pope. His eyes then swept slightly over the three Saint Samurai with a flat expression. I didnt expect such a great man as you to come to our dull place. Macaron, tell your men to stop. The Pope sighed. Things cant go on like this. We can investigate internally, but we cant arrest those outsiders. We need evidence. Evidence? Macaron snorted. Is that important? Is it as important as the reputation of our religion? Will it diminish the wrath of the Goddess? You should feel it too: the Goddess has cast her eyes down. She will be disappointed if we dont do something about it. The Pope held back his anger and advised, That is no reason for you to arrest people indiscriminately, and I now hear that you have sent someone arrest those at the First Princesss manor! Cant I? Macaron snorted. A woman with the scent of a Demon God is wandering in the territory of the Holy Realm. The Holy Lady sees it and ignores it, you hear about it and dont care, and since you are ignoring this obvious oddity at such an important time, we, the Inquisition, will take responsibility for bringing her back for questioning?. Thats the royal familys territory, not ours. The Pope finally couldnt hold back and slammed the table, shouting, Dont throw a tantrum, think of the big picture. In this case, just uncover the people who corrupted Tula. If we really strike at the royal family, well have to face the joint counterattack of the royal family and the Association of Mages. The two forces are inextricably linked. Wouldnt sending people to the First Princesss manor now be a declaration of war on the royal family? A declaration of war on the Association of Mages? So what? Macaron snorted. Stephanie is the future queen-do you understand what to do if something happens to her? With the princess gone, there are still princes C plenty of princes to inherit the throne. Macaron stood up straight and proud. All theyve lost is a princess, and what weve lost is a Saint Samurai. The Pope took a deep breath. He almost couldnt suppress his anger anymore. Regardless, I forbid you to send men to deal with Stephanie. You have no authority to order me around, Pope. Macaron snorted. The Inquisition has been out of the hands of the papal chambers since its inception, and you have no control over what we do. The Pope was so angry that the veins on his head were popping out. The Church of Light had a system of separation of powers. The Pope oversaw all the archbishops and combat priests, the Holy Lady managed the clerical, denominational propaganda, and logistical side of things, while the Inquisition cleaned up apostates internally and did some of the more shady work of tying up loose ends externally. Normally, the Church of Light had the pope as its head. But when it came to critical times, each faction of power had the freedom to act alone. Normally, the Inquisition would give face to the Pope, but now the other side did not accept the Popes command and management. The Pope couldnt deal with them in the name of apostasy. Macaron said to his trusted aide next to him, Thomas, take five hundred men and set out. If anyone dares to stand in your way, deal with them by the ordinance of apostasy, and if theres someone you cant handle, come back and tell me. Thomas smiled and glanced at the Pope, then turned and left. The Pope clenched his teeth in anger, then he immediately said to a Saint Samurai behind him, Orlanto, your wings of light are better and fly faster, now go immediately to inform Her Highness the First Princess and tell her to be careful. Tell her the Church of Light is caught up in internal strife. The Saint Samurai turned around and left. Most of the Saint Samurai were originally combat Priests, so they had more respect for the Pope, their old boss. Macaron looked at the Pope coldly. Telling the outside world that were in internal strife, Pope, where does this put the reputation of our church? Does the Goddesss reputation still matter-do you, the Pope, still have some heart to defend the Goddess? The Pope said slowly, Everything I do is for the development of the church, to spread the glory of the Goddess to more lands. You have been compromising with worldly forces, and I see no move on your part to spread glory. Macaron extended his finger and pointed it at the Popes heart. Ask your conscience, has the total number of followers of our church grown in the decades of your reign? The Pope snorted. A reckless man is worthy enough to talk to me about how to govern a church? You dont even know what it means to protect the foundation, do you? I only know that once the secular forces are subdued, there will naturally be more believers. Maccarone sneered. What your papal office dares not do, I will do for you. Thats all, Pope. Please leave, youre too honorable to stay in such a gloomy place. The Popes old face grew darker and darker as he snorted, flung his cuffs, and turned to leave. Once outside the confines of the Inquisition, the Pope said to the two Saint Samurai behind him, Go to the First Princesss manor as well, and if a fight breaks out, try to stop them. Try to lessen the deaths and injuries on the Princesss side, and try not to let our people get hurt. The two Saint Samurai spread their wings and left. The Pope had a forlorn look on his face. As angry as he was at Macarons recklessness, the Inquisition was part of the Church of Light after all, and he had to help them tie up loose ends when they screwed things up; he couldnt push them out and see them as outsiders. It was a relationship between the palm and the back of the hand. At this time, in front of the First Princess stood Orlanto. After listening to the other party, Stephanie showed a hint of sarcasm. Honorable Saint Samurai, your people are coming, and now youre letting us go I appreciate you informing us beforehand, but I have a question for you. Can you answer it? Please go ahead. Orlanto saluted slightly in a gentlemanly manner. If we go, then were showing fear for the Temple of Light. What will others think of the royal family? Wouldnt they think we are cowards? Stephanie spoke gently, but the words that slipped out from between her pink lips were sharp. Glory is hard to establish, but it can be destroyed with one or two small things. In the future, the royal family will have a reputation for being cowards. Can you compensate for this? Or is this your scheme? You are the ones who sent people out to deal with me, and you are the ones who persuaded me to leave. Interestingly, you are the bad guys and the good guysthat is, you can tarnish the reputation of the royal family without making us hate you. Orlantos face became rather stiff. When he came, he did have the idea of saving and protecting the First Princess. As long as there was no corruption, there was a bottom line and a code of conduct for Saint Samurai. But they couldnt help what others may think. I Orlanto ran out of words. He was a Saint Samurai, not a politician or an orator, and didnt know how to handle such a situation. The First Princess looked at him and snorted. So, Mr. Orlanto, please leave. I, Stephanie Fareins, will stand here today and never back down, whether it is the Inquisition or His Holiness the Popes squad of combat Priests that come. No one will make me so much as step half a foot out of this manor. An icy fury came over him. Orlanto closed his eyes helplessly, knowing full well that things were going the way the Pope had feared. The Inquisition had gone haywire and set its sights on the First Princess. Once something happened to the First Princess, the Association of Mages would lean toward the royal family. When the two sides joined, a series of chain reactions would be produced, and the whole capital would descend into chaos. And the demons who were hidden among them would even take this opportunity to cause trouble. Even if they couldnt corrupt the Saint Samurai, as long as they corrupted one or two archbishops or high-ranking priests, it was just as big a loss for the church. He rubbed his brow, now at a loss for words of persuasion. He had already found that the more he tried to persuade the First Princess Stephanie, the more she would firm up her position. This was no longer a mere dispute of interests, but a matter of reputation. But could he leave? He didnt dare to leave. At this time, Stephanie looked at him and continued, Mr. Orlanto, please leave my manor. When the people from the Inquisition come over later, there will be a conflict, and we will only see you as an enemy and attack. I understand. mas Orlanto turned and left the manor. He was just out the door when he saw Thomas approaching with over five hundred gray-robed inquisitors. He immediately blocked the way, and when the men came over, he said, Thomas, take my advice and stop. Director Macaron is wrong. We shouldnt have come to the First Princesss estate. And the First Princess has no reason to breed demons to trap us. Whether there is a reason or not, we will know when we ask. Thomas looked at Orlanto. Lord Saint Samurai, you do have the power to order all believers, but we, the Inquisition, also have the power to not take orders. Please move out of the way and dont make things difficult for us. And what if I dont get out of the way? Orlanto snorted. Are you going to kill me as well, or subdue me and throw me into your great jail? How could I? Thomas smiled. The Saint Samurai are the Goddesss favorite children, of course, we wouldnt dare, nor could we harm you, but we could harm ourselves. Orlanto frozewhat did this mean? Seven-eight, eight-two, six-nine, and four-zero-four step forward. Four people in gray robes stepped forward. Thomas smiled and said, Cut your own throat. As soon as those words were said, the four in gray robes didnt hesitate to take out their daggers and swipe at their own throats. There was no hesitation, no confusion. Four lines of blood spurted out, and the four in gray robes fell at the same time. The professionals were so resilient that they didnt die immediately, even from fatal injuries. They lay on the ground, gurgling in their throats, their breath mixing with arterial blood spurting out, sucking it back in, and spitting it out again. It was like the sound of a fountain about to run dry. The lack of oxygen was quite painful, but there was no pain on the faces of these four men, and no sadness in their eyes, only relief at the completion of their orders-and frenzy! Youre all crazy! Orlanto turned pale with shock. He hurriedly cast Sunlight to suppress the injuries of these four people and strengthen their vitality. Then he rushed over and immediately administered divine healing to the four dying men. With this, there was no way for him to block the middle of the road. Thomas waved his hand, and the squad bypassed Orlanto and continued. Orlanto turned back and roared as he treated the men: Thomas, you bas*ard, you bas*ard who ordered the mutilation of his own people. When my hands are free, I will punish you with the laws of the church. Thomas turned back. His eyes were similar to those of the four dying men just now. Its okay, Your Holiness. Id give anything to have the glory of the Goddess shed one more bit of light on this earth, whether it be my money, freedom, life, or soul. After speaking, Thomas threw a wink at Orlanto and turned to continue on his way. Orlanto was shaking with anger. Another crazy fanatic. He didnt dare to stop these inquisitors, for as soon as the treatment was interrupted, the four men would immediately die. The Saint Samurais healing was indeed powerful, but healing four people at the same time was still a bit of a struggle. If only one person needed to be treated, they would have been saved by now. With four seriously injured people, he could only keep them alive. Macaron led his five hundred men to the front of Stephanies manor. The place was heavily guarded, and when the royal guards saw such a large number of gray-robed people approaching, they immediately bellowed, Who is it? This is the residence of Her Highness the First Princess Stephanie. All unrelated persons are to stop immediately and are not allowed to come any closer without the princesss permission. Macaron gestured to make an attack and said, Kill everyone except First Princess Stephanie. At that, the bodies of the five hundred gray-robed people simultaneously emitted a light golden glow. Light divine spells came crashing down. Stephanie was sitting in the study at this moment, trying to discuss with Roland how to deal with the attack of the church, but not even a few words of this were said before she saw Rolands face change drastically. With a wave, Roland enveloped both him and the First Princess completely in a small, light blue barrier. Stephanie froze for a moment, then saw through the translucent blue barrier layer to the window beyond where the light shone brightly. A large number of spells were then thrown in. A complete carpet bombing. Lots of balls of light, light spears, and light arrows were thrown into the manor. There was a rumbling explosion that shattered and splattered everything in its path. There was a simultaneous burst of intense flashes of light, and in just under three seconds of looking at it, Stephanies eyes were dazed. At the same time, she became furious. Temple of Light, how dare you do this! Chapter 671 - Andonara Makes History Chapter 671 Andonara Makes History Light divine spells were quite ordinary. Ordinary in a neutral way, not a negative way. Unlike the Mages eight schools of magic, light magic was, in essence, somewhat similar to elven magic. One type included all the functions of magic. Healing, defense, summoning, single target, control, area of effect, and so on. What normal magic could accomplish, light magic could also, and there didnt seem to be any difference. But the substantive difference was still there; if light magic had enough breadth, then normal magic had both breadth and depth. The eight schools of magic, no matter which one, an ordinary Mage could never finish studying it in a lifetime. Genius Mages could be proficient in two or three schools at the same time. But there was a great advantage to light divine spells earlier on; it was easy to get started. As long as you were willing to believe in the Goddess of Light and pay a certain amount of faith to become a believer and a Priest of light, you would automatically learn light divine spells. The more devout you were in your faith, the more light divine spells you could learn. And the faith of most of these people in the Inquisition had even reached an abnormal point. Their average level of divine spells was a great deal above that of other orthodox Priests. So these five hundred or so people, firing off offensive light divine spells in unison, made it sound like ten thousand cannons firing in unison. The barrage of attacks nearly demolished Stephanies entire manor in just a minute. The beautiful gardens, exquisite little buildings all in ruins. The Warriors and Priests protecting Stephanie had suffered heavy losses. Over half of them had died and a large number of serious injuries left the morale of the entire group at a low point. The remaining soldiers who were still alive had no desire to fight, and while they did not flee, they no longer dared to rush forward. Orlanto, who was helping to heal four seriously wounded fanatics, saw that the entire manor had been pockmarked and draped in smoke and dust, and had no idea whether the First Princess Stephanie was dead or alive. He almost felt like interrupting the treatment and rushing over to beat Thomas up. But compassion for life prevented him from doing that. He could only crouch where he was, gritting his teeth. Refreshing! Thomas chuckled. Thats how it should be. Kings, princesses, and whatnot, none of them are as honorable as us believers of light. Director Macaron is still the greatest. The Pope and the Holy Lady are cowardly; we will force them to move on. Next to him, an orthodox believer inhaled and asked, What if something happens to the First Princess? It doesnt matter if shes dead or alive. Thomas used his right hand to brush his hair back in a swept-back style. We just need an excuse, and it just so happens that the excuse came. This orthodox believer was still a little worried. Then what if the royal family and the Association of Mages join forces at the same time? What if they join forces? Thomas snorted. Boss Macaron wants to be the Pope-we have more than a billion believers, a universal army; even the Fareins Kingdom is no match for us. Its time to establish an earthly divine realm and spread the glory of the Goddess instead of relying on the charity of others as we do now. This orthodox believer imagined the birth of the divine realm, and then his expression became frenzied. Indeed, we need a divine realm of light. He laughed aloud and turned from an orthodox believer to a fanatic in the blink of an eye. His whole body emitted heated golden light. Thomas didnt speak in a low voice, or rather he didnt deliberately lower it at all. So Orlanto also heard it. He was filled with horror. So thats what youre planning, to establish an earthly divine realm to overthrow the Fareins royal family? He now finally understood why the Inquisition had acted so impulsive and aggressive these past few days. It turned out that they already had a plan and were just waiting for an opportunity. An island cant have two dragons unless one is male and one is female. Thomas looked back at Orlanto. Its bad that the capital has three major powers in the city. Those secular people, who are they to bask in the light of the sun with us? Theyre not light believers. Orlanto murmured, But this is the mercy of the Goddess, mercy for the world, regardless of status or race. So theyre ingrates. Thomas snorted as he looked ahead at the dissipating smoke. Its troublesome that they are ungrateful, unwilling to convert, much less die, having been given the gift of our Goddess, the warmth of the sun. Orlanto felt that now, for the first time, he recognized what kind of people these so-called fanatics were. Do you really want to start a war? You wont move until we push you a littleyoure too weak, you need us to infuse you with courage and boldness. Thomas added in a murmur, Even if you hate us, it doesnt matter. You have succeeded. By now the four fanatics that Orlanto was treating had gotten better, their injuries had been suppressed and they didnt need his utmost protection anymore, so he stood up and slowly walked toward Thomas. Now that we have attacked the First Princesss manor, with her survival being uncertain, the royal family is bound to become hostile. Thomas smiled smugly. Orlanto took a deep breath. So what do you plan to do next? Any immediate plans? Youre willing to join us? Thomas asked, somewhat surprised. Orlanto stood next to Thomas. I do not approve of your actions, not at all. But its done, and the war with the royal family is a sure bet. Instead of holding you accountable, its better to take your job and do it properly. Thomas froze for a moment, then laughed aloud. He grabbed his head with his right hand and laughed so hard that his whole body trembled. After ten seconds or so, he turned around, knelt on one knee facing Orlanto, and said with a frenzied expression, As expected of the children favored by the Goddess, Sir Orlanto, please command us. Alas, the divine realm on earth. Orlanto said after a moments thought as he looked at the manor ahead, Send a team to go into the manor to clear the remnants of the enemy; dont kill those who surrender, kill those who resist, and see if we can find the First Princess. Sir, you think she is still alive? Thomas frowned as he looked at the manor. After such an attack? Its unlikely. The First Princess is not known for her strength. But she has two very powerful people with her. Orlanto froze, then he closed his eyes. As expected. By now the smoke had faded, and deep in the manor, there was a blue magic barrier with four figures faintly inside. Roland was standing in the barrier, surrounded by Andonara, Stephanie, and Lady Bluebird. As the enemy began to attack, he held up a barrier to protect Stephanie. Then Andonara carried Lady Bluebird, who she protected with her own body, and ran to the barrier amidst the frenzy of light divine spells. In reality, Andonara was not afraid of these light divine spells. She was already strong and now she had Phoenixs essence to boost her strength further. The Great Swordsmans magic resistance was extremely strong to begin with, and so was the Heros, and with the addition of the essence With all three stacked together, normal magic did not affect her at all. She wasnt afraid of low-level divine spells, but it didnt mean that Lady Bluebird wasnt. Nor did it mean that Roland wasnt afraid. So she was going to stay by these three, and in case the barrier didnt hold, she would use her body to block the spells for Roland first. Fortunately, Roland had studied magic for so long and was dedicated to strengthening his magic cap to hold up the magic barrier, or a Magic Shield, as a means of protection. Even a god wouldnt be able to break his defenses until his magic power was used up. Looking at his magic bar, which was already more than half consumed, Roland took a deep breath. Anna, later Ill open the barrier, you rush up and interfere with their actions. Dont let them cast divine spells that can interfere with spatial jumps, Roland said lightly. Also, dont fight head-on with that Saint Samurai. You can indeed beat him, but Im afraid that after you cut him down, the Goddess of Light will descend, and that would be a problem. That means that the other Priests of light are at my mercy? Yes, except for the Saint Samurai, you can kill them all. Roland continued, When we leave, you head outside the city and Ill come back for you after Ive teleported them both to safety. No problem. Andonara subconsciously licked her lips. She didnt like fighting, nor did she like killing. But whoever dared to touch her man and her friends, she would cut down. And at that moment, Stephanie was on the side, her hands clenched into fists. Her otherwise big, beautiful eyes were bloodshot. Im not leaving; this is my home, how can I leave! Where theres life theres hope. Roland rested his hands on Lady Bluebird and Stephanies bodies. Anna, Im going to open the barrier. Andonara put her right hand on the hilt of her sword. No problem, open it. At Rolands thought, the barrier instantly disappeared. At the same time, a huge, golden ball of light with a long flaming tail suddenly came from the opposite side. Sun Collapse! Roland lightly snorted. The Saint Samurai has really taken the side of the attackers. Roland didnt find it strange, because no matter what, these people were part of the Temple of Light, and there were hundreds of them. They had even attacked the First Princesss manor. By the looks of this, they were coming to kill the First Princess. If he were Saint Samurai Orlanto in this situation, he would have had to help the attackers as well. After all, it had gotten to the point where it was almost irreversible. It would be better to just follow through. This was no longer a matter of good or evil, but a matter of position. The huge golden ball of light was flying in midair. Andonara transformed into a white shadow and rushed forward. Then the longsword was unsheathed and the blue sword aura sliced the entire ball of light in half, and then the ball of light disappeared. The Saint Samurai saw this and immediately froze. Sun Collapse was a fairly powerful area-of-effect spell among the light divine spells, and it was explosive. But this woman cut it in half with a single slash and dispelled Sun Collapse. This wasnt something that ordinary people could do. Just when Orlanto froze, Andonaras gaze shifted to him. A morose coldness shone in her pretty, peachy eyes. This is bad! Just by looking at the other partys aura, Orlanto already knew that this woman was definitely at the Legendary level. When did Stephanie get a Legendary-level bodyguard on her side? The thoughts in his head were lightning-fast and his instinctive reactions didnt fall behind either as he roared, Open the United Light Barrier, this woman is not No sooner had he said that than the woman swished over. The Warriors skill, Charge! Almost all Warriors knew this skill, but there was a difference between fast and extremely fast in their Charge. Andonaras was the extremely fast kind. As soon as he heard the swish, Andonara had rushed before Orlanto and then raised her leg and kicked hard. The movement was so fast that no one could see it. Orlanto had just noticed that there was someone in front of him, then his entire body flew back. He knocked into a dozen of the inquisitors behind him before he stopped. He felt a loss of air in his chest, and then he saw that more than four hundred people had united to form a light barrier, enveloping him in it. Enveloping them all in it. Its safe now A barrier formed by over four hundred people couldnt be broken by the average person. Only then did he dare to look toward his body, and he was shocked. On the light golden iron armor that had been enhanced by the Body of Light was a footprint that was a centimeter deep. She damaged the Body of Light? Orlanto jerked his head up and looked at Andonara in disbelief. This woman, a peak Legend, is already close to a Demigod? How can that be! He felt a sudden uneasiness, a profound anxiety. About then, Andonara looked at the barrier in front of her and kicked it hard. There was a loud bang, and the ground around the barrier formed spidery web-like cracks, but nothing happened to the barrier at all. There was even a recoil, causing Andonara to take a half-step back. Andonara narrowed her eyes slightly as a large number of blue flames began to appear on her body. The flames grew stronger and stronger, turning into huge clusters of fire and finally forming a giant blue firebird nearly three meters tall. Andonara was right in the center of this firebird. Phoenix? Orlanto froze, and then a look of horror came into his eyes. Andonara drew her sword and struck with a horizontal slash. There was no earth-shattering sound, no exaggerated special effects. As a Saint Samurai, Orlanto felt an overwhelming fear arise in his heart. He dropped to the ground. Then he saw the blue firebird spread its left wing and sweep forward. The blue sword aura cut open the powerful United Light Barrier and flew forward ten meters like a piercing wind. The barrier was no more. It shattered like pieces of glass. At least hundreds of bodies were cut in two by this blue sword aura. More than a hundred bodies flew up and a sky full of blood rained down. Orlantos whole body was drenched with blood, and he stood up, at a loss, looking at the blue firebird in front of him. First, he was confused, then he was furious. How dare you! Andonara smiled coldly, and even though her expression couldnt be seen through the flames, her emotions had been conveyed. Take a look at these dead and wounded soldiers in the manor. I would like to ask you, how dare you! Orlanto was at a loss for words. His rage turned into dismay. He was a Saint Samurai he understood good and evil. At this moment, Thomas, whod also risen from the ground, looked at the corpses of his fellow believers. His eyes turned to Andonara and he charged forward frantically while roaring, You damned infidel, die! A light spear coalesced in his hand. Andonara waved her right hand twice and Thomas instantly turned into four lumps of flesh. Chapter 672 - Different Interests Between Brothers Chapter 672 Different Interests Between Brothers Thomas! Orlanto cried out. Although Thomas was a fanatic and an inquisitor, not quite on the same page as Saint Samurai, that was only a difference in philosophy; they were still essentially on the same side. Otherwise, Orlanto wouldnt have taken Thomass side in this situation. The stance was always greater than good or evil. Watching Thomas turn into chunks of flesh, Orlanto roared, Woman, I dont care who you are, youll have to face the entire Church of Light now! The Saint Samurai isnt reasonable. Andonara chuckled. Her smile was beautiful and charming. Although a Hero, Andonara, who was a devils descendent, had a mixture of both innocent and bewitching qualities. Orlanto drew out his longsword, a golden stream of light spilling from it as he pointed it at Andonara and bellowed, Decree: Grounded. Since his opponent was fast, ballistic attack spells didnt work, so he tried a crowd control divine spell. However, Orlanto had just pointed his longsword at Andonara when the latter suddenly disappeared. It couldnt be said to be a complete disappearance, just a blurred streak could be seen moving sideways like a ghost before crossing over Orlantos body and slaughtering the Inquisitors in its wake. This was true carnage. Orlantos divine spell failed again. Even when it came to crowd-control divine spells, one had to have a target that they could see for it to work. Otherwise, one could only cast it at the air. Orlanto heard screams behind him, and he turned around, his eyes glowed red and almost popped out of their sockets. In just a second or two, the Inquisition had lost another hundred or so people. They frantically bombarded Andonara with their offensive divine spells, but it was of no use at all. Whether it was light blasts, light spears, or control skills, they all fell short. No sooner had they lifted their fingers than Andonara had either hit them with a sword sweep or moved behind them. Screams sounded one after another and Andonaras slaughter continued. Damn! Orlantos mentality was no longer stable. Even for a Saint Samurai, there was a limit to how strong the mind could be; otherwise, there wouldnt have been a Saint Samurai corrupted by devils. Now Orlantos mind began to stir; after all, no matter who it was, watching so many of their companions die before their eyes and being helpless to do anything about it was a painful feeling that no one could easily suppress. Unless that person didnt care about the lives of their companions. Another hundred or so inquisitors were beheaded, but Andonara suddenly sprinted backward. In the next second, a long light spear plunged into the spot where she had been standing before. This golden spear of light was even longer, darker, and more solid-looking than the other light spears used by the other Priests of light, as if it was a real golden spear. Andonara looked up and there was a woman with golden wings floating in the air. This woman shed seen before. The Holy Lady! That wasnt all; four more men with wings and golden armor flew over at great speed in the distance. Including Orlanto, who was already present, Andonara would now be facing a combination of a Holy Lady and five Saint Samurai. Time to go. Andonara smiled at the Holy Lady in the air, turned, and leaped up. The firebird that encircled her body spread its wings and flew off, carrying Andonara toward the outskirts of the city. The Holy Lady watched her in silence. Behind her, four Saint Samurai rushed over. Three of them looked at the three hundred or so bodies on the ground and immediately flew down to join Orlanto to find those companions who were not yet dead to heal. The other one stayed by the Holy Ladys side and asked in a whisper, Do we need to chase her? The Holy Lady shook her head. No, shes too powerful. She cant be held back without more than three Saint Samurai. The people in the Holy Realm are on edge, we need you to stay and help steady the population. But she does smell like a devil, maybe she was really the one who corrupted Rolben. Rolben is a bit lecherous. The Holy Lady shook her head. It cant be her but no matter what, it is a fact that more than three hundred of our companions were killed by her. Lets settle the score with her later. This Saint Samurai nodded and went down to join the other four companions in saving people. Meanwhile, Roland teleported Stephanie and Lady Bluebird to Delpon and put them up in his manor. This was his territory, and besides, even if the Church of Light had the intention of arresting them, it was unlikely that they would come to his door so quickly. Even though there was a small Church of Light in Delpon, there were only three or four mediocre Priests who could only do Healing and Detoxification. They were speakers of their faith, not combatants. There was almost no threat. Looking at the familiar scenery, Stephanie sighed in relief as she found herself a place to sit down. She directed the maidservant next to her. Make some wine for us, and oh, make some dessert too. The maid recognized Stephanie and immediately turned and went to prepare things. Lady Bluebird was rather nervous. After all, she had come to a new environment. And now she was pale and very nauseous! People who experienced Long-Distance Teleportation for the first time felt this way with varying intensity. She desperately tried to hold back the discomfort of her stomach turning over and was on the verge of losing control. Seeing this, Stephanie immediately stepped to the side. It didnt take long for the sound of vomiting to come from the other side of the lawn. While helping Lady Bluebird, Stephanie asked, Betty, can you stay here with me for a while? Of course. Betty smiled with difficulty. It wasnt that she was reluctant, but her stomach was still upset right now. What about your husband? Hell have a problem with you being away from home for too long, wont he?. Its okay! Lady Bluebird said indifferently. I guess hes still on that womans belly right now. I dont mind him getting a lover-all noblemen have a few loversbut not coming home every day for a lover, Ive long been disappointed. Stephanie sighed in relief. Now that Andonara wasnt around, she couldnt help but feel a bit alone in this place. When Lady Bluebird was almost done throwing up, Stephanie helped her back into the courtyard. At the same time, she looked at Roland and said, We should be safe here, so why dont you go and get Anna back now. I will, but before that, I have to do something. After saying that, Roland then pinged Schuck in the guild chat. Roland: Something big is going on in the Holy Realm. Schuck: Whats the big deal? Roland told the story of what had happened. Schuck: Holy sh*t! Quickly teleport over here to pick me up and send me back to Holy Realm. After Roland gave some instructions to Stephanie, he immediately teleported to the Realm of Devils. Because the Church of Lights expeditionary force had been capturing the succubi and had left its previous location, it took Roland half an hour to find the vanguard of the Church of Lights expeditionary force. He landed just in time to see Schuck handing things over to Dinah. I will return to the Holy Realm first, and you will immediately return with the army as well. March with haste, got it? Dinah nodded repeatedly. After Roland landed, Schuck immediately approached him. Without saying anything, the two stood together and teleported back to the suburbs of the capital of Fareins. Both of them looked at the capital, their expressions somewhat stern. Because at this time, there were three semi-circular barriers huddled together in the sky above the capital. Gold, mauve, and blue. Looking at the location and color of the three barriers, it was clear that they were the protective barriers of the Church of Light, the royal family, and the Association of Mages respectively. Roland, Im going to go back to Holy Realm first and Ill see if I can stop this farce. Schuck clenched his fists tightly. So what about you? Im going to find Andonara. Because of the equality contract, within a certain distance, Roland was able to sense Andonaras approximate location. I will try my best to make things right. The capital cant be in chaos. Schuck stared into Rolands eyes and said seriously, The Church of Light is my base, and the royal family of Fareins and the Association of Mages are very close to you, so if we fight, both of our interests will be greatly affected. When the time comes, I will also trouble you to put in some good words between these two forces. Roland nodded. No problem. Thanks. Schuck spread his wings and flew off toward the city. Meanwhile, Roland flew toward the forest on the outskirts, and soon, he found Andonara. She was sitting by a tree near a creek, skewering a roasted wild boar with a long wooden stick. She could sense Roland, too, and smiled and waved skyward as he appeared. When Roland landed, she immediately chopped off a piece of the boars leg meat and handed it to Roland, smiling coquettishly. This boar meat is very tender. Its delicious, try it. So laid back and high-profile? asked Roland, taking the roast and biting into it. It did taste good. Not afraid of people coming after you? The roasting was bound to cause smoke and it would be easy to spot from afar. Andonara smiled. Not afraid. They are no match for me. If you hadnt stopped me from killing them, I could have taken my time and killed them slowly. Thats impressive. The pretty young woman was content to hear her mans compliment and leaned close to him while looking at him coquettishly. Why dont we try it in the woods, I hear it feels good too. Roland felt a soreness in his back at once. Schuck flew into the Holy Realm. The light barrier wouldnt block people who had the power of light. After he landed, he immediately rushed to the Holy Ladys chamber. The Holy Lady was surprised and happy to see him back. Schuck, werent you in the Realm of Devils? I had a friend send me back with Teleportation. Roland? The Holy Lady immediately thought of who it was. Schuck nodded, then asked, Holy Lady, would you be so kind as to go over the details of what happened with me?. I dont know too much, so what I say may not be the whole story. The Holy Lady sat down very ladylike across from Schuck and told him exactly what she knew. Where is Rolben locked up now? The basement of the Cathedral of Light, just under house arrest. Schuck nodded. I want to go see him. Do I need permission? No, you are a Saint Samurai, you dont need any permission. The Holy Lady also stood up. Ill go with you. I also have some questions to ask him as well. The two of them went down to the basement of the Cathedral of Light and met Rolben. The glow was completely gone from the man, and there was even some evil magic power leaking from him. When he saw Schuck and the Holy Lady coming down at the same time, he revealed a wicked smile. Yo, its actually our most beloved Thirteen and the most beautiful Holy Lady appearing at the same timewho would believe that you two didnt have an affair. The Holy Lady blushed slightly. Rolben, what are you still blabbering about now? Im telling the truth. Rolben gripped the bars with both hands. I just dont understand why no one says Schuck is lecherous when he rides a dragon and messes around with so many women. Even if someone brings a succubus back to Holy Realm, no one says theyre lecherous. All I did was roll around on a bed with a female believer, and you guys criticize me every day. On what grounds! Schuck shook his head. You still havent figured out what youve done wrong? No wonder you were corrupted by the devils. What did I do wrong? I just did the same thing as you guys, why should I have to Schuck turned and walked away. The Holy Lady glanced at Rolben as she too sighed and left. Now Schuck didnt want to care about Rolben. He hurried to the papal hall and met the Pope. At this moment, the Pope was sitting on the throne with a troubled and helpless expression. When Schuck saw him, he immediately said, Pope, I dont understand why you didnt stop the Inquisition. I didnt know they would make such a big deal out of it, the Pope said helplessly. Schuck shook his head, No, you knew. Youre questioning me? The Pope sat up straight. Schuck said slowly, I felt that something was wrong before. Why were Dinah and I the commanders of the crusade against the Realm of Devils, when neither of us was qualified to command such a big operation, no matter our seniority or strength? Now I understand; you all deliberately sent the two of us away. The Holy Lady looked at Schuck in surprise. Her political know-how wasnt bad, and hearing this, she already understood the meaning in Schucks words. Why do you say that? Because you and I are the only two people capable of stopping the Inquisition from messing things up. Schuck looked disappointedly at the Pope on his throne. But you wouldnt stop them, youd just let it happen on purpose. The Pope gripped the handles of the throne with both hands. Schuck, even if you are a Saint Samurai, you cant insult a Pope like that. I am still the ostensible symbol of the Church of the Light. Pope, I respect you, but this is something that you did wrong, Schuck said lightly. Even if your intentions were for the good of the Temple of Light, this isnt a good time for our church to expand. You really saw through things? The Pope smiled gratefully and said, Not bad, worthy of being the most favored child of the Goddess. Dont you do anything. After Schuck said this, he turned around and left. Where are you going? the Pope asked, looking at his back. To find the Inquisition. These idiots need a beating, Schuck said regretfully. And then go and make peace with the royal family. The Holy Lady shook her head. Thats impossible, they wont agree. Things have already come this far. Well apologize, Schuck continued. Still impossible. The Holy Lady walked over to stand next to Schuck, Even if the Pope and I apologize to the royal family, this matter wont be settled so easily. What if the Goddess apologizes? The Holy Ladys eyes went wide. She stopped in her tracks She was stunned by Schucks words. Chapter 673 - I Can Descend Too Chapter 673 I Can Descend Too Not to mention the Holy Lady being stunned, even the Pope sitting on the throne at the back was stunned. Let the Goddess apologize? What the hell is this? That was the Goddess he spoke of, holy and incomparable, one who warmed the world, the exalted Goddess of Light. Mortals would be moved to tears when they heard her voice, let alone looked at her. Having a goddess apologize to a mortal? How was that possible? The Pope first felt absurdity, then anger. He saw that Schuck was about to walk out of the papal hall and reached out to cast a barrier of light to block the entrance. Then he stumbled down from the throne and ran quickly up to Schuck, asking with a frightened expression, Is it true what you say? He didnt think Schuck was lying-Saint Samurai couldnt lie casuallyand it was well known that Schuck was favored by the goddess. The other thing was that the Goddess of Light was quite easy to talk to, and they, the higher-ups, knew about this. This was why he thought Schuck really might be able to talk the goddess into coming down to apologize! But in that case the machinations of the Inquisition would be a joke, as would his disguise and acquiescence in the formers actions, which would make him feel like a clown. A goddess apologizing to humans? It would cost the goddess her dignity, and wouldnt the Inquisition that secretly started this thing and the Pope himself be blamed for disgracing the entire religion? You cant go and do that! The Pope had a tight grip on Schucks cloak; his expression had even gotten a little twisted. You cant humiliate the Goddess like that! Im not humiliating her, Schuck said calmly. I respect her, I am close to her, I understand her philosophy, and I also tell her my thoughts. We communicate with each other enough that she wont take that as an insult. The Pope roared, But the whole church and everyone in it would be insulted. You dont care about that? You are no longer fit to be a Pope. Schuck shook his head helplessly. You care more about your face than the face of the Goddess. Youre full of bull**it! The Pope couldnt help but curse. But at that moment, his head lolled and he fell asleep. It turned out that it was the Holy Lady who walked behind the Pope and used Hypnosis on him. The Holy Lady was also very strong, not much worse than the Pope. Besides, the Pope was focused on Schuck and unguarded against the Holy Lady, which was why he was hit. Schuck looked at the Pope who had fallen to the floor, and then looked at the Holy Lady and said, Thank you for being on my side. I think you have a point, said the Holy Lady, blushing slightly. Schuck then continued, Holy Lady, Im going to make a trip to the Inquisition and beat them till they cry. Would you like to help me? Of course. The Holy Ladys eyes were smiling like a June sunset. Include us. Three Saint Samurai descended from the air. A moment ago they had been over the papal hall, listening to the conversation below with their spells. Schuck had been receiving attention from the others since his return. After all, he was the Holy Son, and he had the most conversations with the goddess and was the one who understood her the best. Thank you, Schuck said gratefully. Youre welcome. Were just practicing the Goddess philosophy. One of the handsome blond Saint Samurai stuck out his thumb, revealing his white teeth, a seemingly non-existent smile at the corner of his mouth. A mistake must be admitted, no matter what ones status is. This is the teaching of the Goddess, and now you are willing to persuade the Goddess to descend to demonstrate this teaching. Were touched, really touched. Schuck sighed with relief. It seemed that their goddess hadnt spoiled these Saint Samurai for no reason. Although there was one who had grown crooked, on the whole, they were good children. And at that moment, Roland was in the woods with Andonara, studying the ways of human reproduction. The two were entwined, the smell of excitement in the air. He turned Andovara over so that her back was to him, and the two continued their display of affection. At that moment, Roland saw a rapid flash of light within the golden barrier, and after about two minutes, it stopped. It should be Schuck purging the internal opposition. Roland nodded. Then Andonara posed four positions, which took nearly half an hour. Roland was already feeling quite sore in the back. However, Andonara didnt seem to have had enough fun and was still clinging to him. Having no choice, he took out the bottle of Dragon Meat Reagent from his Backpack and just poured it down. The Dragon Meat Reagent now had no attribute-increasing effect on him. But there were other uses for it, such as instant stamina replenishment, which was a must for long battles. Just as he drank the Dragon Meat Reagent, he saw a sudden golden light descend from the air. A massive pillar of light, at least over ten meters thick. It came down from high in the sky and straight into the Holy Ladys hall. This pillar of light contained a powerful mental presence. It was a mental power fluctuation that was beyond that of a normal creature. It was vast, deep, and calm, yet holy and incomparable. Such a mental power seemed to be able to wash away all evil thoughts. Roland even felt, at this moment, that Andonaras body didnt seem to be interesting and fun anymore. This nasty business between men and women was horrible and not interesting at all. Such thoughts stirred his mind and almost sent him into wise mans time. But then, the spiritual consciousness inside his soul immediately fought back. It crowded out that mental power that was affecting his mind. If he couldnt break free immediately, Roland probably wouldnt be interested in women for a long time. Then he took a deep breath and said unhappily, This goddess seems to be lacking in love. At this point, Andonara looked back, her eyes even more charming than they had been a moment ago, and even looked touched, what appeared to be tears in them? Roland was a little surprised-what was wrong with Andonara? Andonara said tenderly, So your love for me has managed to transcend the control of the gods? She was a Legend, close to becoming a Demigod, and the divine mental power of the Goddess of Light had very little effect on her. But she could feel just now that Roland had gone under the effects of the divine power for a moment and almost entered the realm of physical transcendence but came back on his own. Roland clicked his tongue rather helplessly before he saw a vague, holy female figure descending into the Holy Realm in a pillar of light. Then the Association of Mages and the royal familys magic barriers all disappeared. The goddess has descended, so it seems that Schuck has set things right. Roland sighed in relief In this way, the three forcesthe Association of Mages, the royal family, and the Church of Light-would not fight again, and his hidden interests in these two forces could be preserved. Then his mood relaxed and he began to concentrate on putting Andonara in different positions. It was late in the evening when Roland led Andonara toward the Holy Realm. Andonaras cheeks were bright red and she looked bewitchingly beautiful. After entering the capital, Roland went straight to visit the Association of Mages and found the chairman, Alfred. He sat across from Alfred, who had his hands on the table and a slightly frazzled look on his face. The goddess descended earlier? Roland asked. Chairman, did you see the Goddess of Lights descended form? I saw it. Alfred nodded. How did it feel? Roland continued to ask. Is it beautiful? Andonara interjected. Alfred glanced at Andonara, then said helplessly, It feels rather bad. So shes not very pretty? Andonara was a bit in disbelief. Didnt they say that the Goddess of Lights looks was on the same level as the Goddess of Lifes?. Well the Goddess of Life is the most beautiful god. The goddess stands before you. Alfred looked at his hands, his withered old fingers shaking. Her mental power is as wide as the ocean, and you are just a grasshopper on the seashore. The waves that are casually raised are tsunamis to you at this moment, do you still care about her beauty? I was almost exhausted just resisting her spiritual assimilation. Now a third of the Mages in the Association have vague thoughts of becoming believers of Light. But fortunately, the Goddess of Light didnt deliberately brainwash us. This was just her involuntary influence. In two or three days, they will be able to come to their senses on their own. Roland tsked. Then Alfred laughed dryly again. But my situation was still one of the better ones. When the Goddess apologized to us, I was able to stay reserved and bend over to say that I couldnt bear to receive her apology. King Edward knelt on the spot, weeping He confessed all his sins and even revealed the time when he did it with a maid of honor when he was nine years old. Tsk When hes had three or four days to come to his senses, he will probably be so ashamed that he will find a rat hole to burrow into and hide. Speaking of this, Alfred looked much better. That was how humans were; as long as someone was having a worse time than they were, no matter how difficult something was, it would feel a lot easier. Roland thought for a moment and said, Ive met King Edward two or three times, and from what I know of him, the man has a thick skin and probably wont take that small matter as anything scandalous, but will instead say to the public that he confessed his sins before the Goddess of Light and that he is now a pure, good man-a great man. Alfred pondered carefully and then revealed a disgusted expression. When you say it like that, it is certainly what that guy would do. Forget it, leave him aside You didnt suffer any influence. When the Goddess of Light descended, but you were also in the vicinity of the Holy Realm, right? What did you do, to have been immune to the Goddess of Lights spiritual erosion? Roland and Andonara both revealed embarrassed expressions at the same time. Alfred was so old and acute that he immediately understood what was going on when he looked at the subtle little expressions of these two, and his eyes, which looked immodest, almost bulged out of their sockets. You actually That said, Roland was worried about how to escape this awkward conversation when the entire space and everything around him suddenly went still. The environment distorted in bursts, faster and faster, and after about ten seconds or so, all the images broke into pieces, then reorganized at a great speed, piecing together into a new space and landscape. Roland landed on a high, pale blue platform, which, at its center, had a white circular pattern that spread out at the same distance. Around the platform were countless, staggering striped towers of blue and white. This somewhat familiar environment Roland froze for a moment and it dawned on him. The Divine Realm of Magic. Sure enough in the very next second, the pink-haired Goddess of Magic in a light blue translucent dress appeared in front of Roland, and a faint fragrance began to fill the air. She pointed to the ground, and a translucent wooden table with a blue background and white grain appeared between the two, followed by two chairs. Delicious fruit wine also appeared on the table. Roland walked over and sat down, picked up the flask, and poured a glass for the Goddess of Magic and then for himself. Goddess Mystra, have you dragged me here to the divine realm for something else? Which means I cant pull you up for a chat if I dont have any business? Roland shook his head. Of course you can. Im always happy to chat with a beauty. Beauty? The Goddess of Magic chuckled-no mockery, no elation, just a tone of voice to ease the atmosphere. There are no ugly goddesses. Its no use at all for you to compliment us on our beauty. But youre quite bold; even when the Demon Gods see us, even in a hostile state, they still say honorable so-and-so to us. They wouldnt dare to compliment us on our looks; theyd think its blasphemy. Roland was curious as soon as he heard this. So do you get mad when youre complimented? That would not be the case. The Goddess of Magic took a sip from her glass. But neither would we be pleased; after all, you are merely stating a fact, which to us is neither flattering nor insulting, so why should we be pleased, or angry? Interesting, the thoughts of the gods are indeed subtly different from those of ordinary people. Roland thought about many things for a moment, and then he asked, So does the goddess just want to chat with me? Thats part of it, but I wanted to ask, do you know what the purpose of the Goddess of Lights descent in the mortal world was? Mystra continued all on her own, Im on average terms with her, so I didnt bother to ask. When she descended, I cast my eyes over and accidentally saw that you were also present. Roland froze for a moment and then felt a little embarrassed. He was having a quickie with Andonara when the Goddess of Light descended, which meant that he was being watched by the Goddess of Magic. Seemingly seeing Rolands bashful expression, the Goddess of Magic laughed. We gods scout the worldwhat have we not seen? That little bit of nonsense between men and women, weve seen plenty of it, so what is there to be ashamed of. Roland took a deep breath to calm himself down and asked, Ms. Mystra, can I answer your question now? Mystra frowned slightly. She had a vague feeling that Roland had suddenly become a little distant from her. But this frown was so faint and light that no one could notice it. Go ahead. Roland then revealed what he knew. Is it highly likely that she listened to the advice of the believers and descended to apologize to the mortals? The Goddess of Magic froze. The Goddess of Light is notorious for not liking to leave her divine realm. She hasnt even bothered to move for centuries. To descend into the world because of that? How is that possible? But its somewhat understandable. If you were to advise me hmm. She said the latter statement very, very softly. Roland didnt hear it. Chapter 674 - The Druids Chapter 674 The Druids Mystra was greatly relieved to learn why the Goddess of Light had landed on Earth. Everything was fine as long as it was about religious war, suppressing other sects, and increasing the number of her believers. Then, Mystra thought for a moment and asked, Have you modified any new spells recently? Sacrifice them to me. Im so bored. I have a couple of them. Ill sacrifice them to you when I have time. Roland nodded. Right, Goddess. I have a question. How long do the gods and goddesses live? Theoretically, they live infinitely. Mystra looked at Roland weirdly and continued, However, according to my investigation in the past hundreds of years, none of them have ever lived more than five thousand years. Why is that? Roland was rather curious. Mystra heaved a sigh. Because their lives are boring. Boring? Mystra nodded. The paradises are very boring. As the territories of the gods and goddesses, there are no secrets or surprises in those places. They know everything that happens there. But arent there a lot of souls of believers in the paradises? Roland thought for a moment and asked, Isnt it great to chat and spend time with them? Mystras expression became even weirder. Do you think the believers dare to speak freely in front of a goddess? In particular, because the divine power is too strong in the paradises, the believers cannot even look a goddess in her eyes. What do you think they can talk about under such circumstances? That was indeed a problem. But you can still watch all the joy and sorrow in the human world from high above like watching a drama. That shouldnt be boring. Mystra shook her head again. As the Goddess of Light said, there is nothing new under the sun! It will be enough if you watch the human world for several dozen years, because all the plots are the same except the different places, times, and names. The most outstanding reason is that we dont have real friends, and we never have feelings for anything. So, all the lawful gods find our lives boring. Roland understood what she meant. So, even though the gods and goddesses have infinite longevity, life is so boring that you all abandon it after five thousand years? We only abandon our thinking, Mystra explained. Godhood never dies. Its our physical form. We abandon our mind and leave godhood behind. After a while, a new mind and soul will be reborn inside our godhood. Roland was slightly surprised. Shouldnt that be a secret about godhood? Is it fine to tell it to a mortal like myself?. You consider yourself a mortal? Mystra put on a beautiful smile. Can a mortal look a goddess in the eyes and resist her possession as a Master? You need more confidence in yourself. Am I so good? Roland was slightly surprised. As far as I know, nobody among the Golden Sons is capable of doing that except you and the Goddess of Lights Saint Samurai. Mystra supported her chin with her right hand and looked at Roland with great interest. Why else do you think the Life Goddess wouldve done you a favor, invited you to her paradise, and chatted with you? It wasnt like she could talk a believer of light into shifting to her side. So that was the case! Roland stared at Mystra in the eyes. Have you been doing that too? Of course, admitted Mystra frankly. You have never declared your faith, so we all want to win you over. Faced with Mystras candidness, Roland fell into a brief silence. He had always thought that he had certain specialties that the goddesses could make use of, and that was why they appreciated him so much. Even the Nether God seemed to be interested in him. Little did he know that they were only interested in him because he could look them in the eyes. They didnt mean any harm to him! His vigilance against them so far was totally uncalled for. He had always feared that they would entangle him at some point. Finally, he could be more reassured now. However, he wasnt fully convinced by Mystra. He only believed ninety percent of what she said. Seeing that Roland was silent, Mystra looked at him and asked enthusiastically, So, do you want to really be my believer? I can give you what the Goddess of Light gives her Saint Samurai. Roland slightly shook his head. I appreciate your kindness very much, goddess, but can I consider it for a while? Be my guest. Mystra smiled and then said, Right, youd better build a temple for me in Delpon and then deploy a couple of Mages there as clerics. Why? Im already working on the teleportation magic arrays. Mystra combed her pink hair with her smooth right hand and played with it, which made her look rather cute. Youll probably be making money in a couple of months. If you dont have my temple as a transfer station, youll have to claim your money from other cities. Wouldnt that be a waste of time? Also, as the teleportation magic array is set up in more and more cities, youll get more money every month, so itll be safer if its delivered directly to your home. Okay, I understand. Roland knew very well that if there was a magic temple in Delpon, the whole city would probably be under Mystras watch. However, considering the glittering gold coins that he was going to receive, it would be a small price to pay. Seeing that Roland was on board, Mystra smiled and waved her hand. The space twisted and broke into pieces. Very soon, Roland returned to Alfreds study in the Association of Mages. Andonara was standing next to him. She was greatly relieved to see him back to himself. Curiosity beamed from Alfreds eyes. It was a goddess who pulled your soul away Based on the waves, was it Mystra? Roland nodded. Seeing that Roland admitted it, Alfred frowned. Roland, you must not become Mystras believer, or shell possess all the knowledge in your head. I understand. Roland understood Alfreds concerns. All the Legendary Mages in the main plane considered it their goal to catch up with Mystra and become new gods and goddesses. ome ne S . Mystra had been their motivation. They believed that if Mystra, a woman, could achieve that, so could they. Even if they couldnt, some other Mages and human beings could do the same. Roland was a promising future god in Alfreds eyes. He had vaguely realized that it was impossible for him to become a god, but it would still be great if he could raise a disciple who became a god! However, Roland had already been discovered by Mystra, which made him worry. Had Mystra, a thousand-year-old spinster, developed an interest in his student? That was a pretty pickle. He had to figure out a way to make Roland hate Mystra. Alfred was anxious in his heart, but he showed no emotion on his face. He simply said to Roland, The whole thing is almost over. Im told that you rescued Princess Stephanie and hid her. Now, take her to the capital, or the royal family wont be reassured. All right. After bidding farewell to Alfred, Roland teleported back to Delpon with Andonara. He was going back to his manor, only to find that his manor had been surrounded by a large wood that was strewn with thorny bushes. While he was confused, the thorny bushes and vines in the wood split apart, and two men wearing green robes and cloaks walked out. Druids! Roland remarked casually. They lifted their cloaks, and Roland found one of them rather familiar. He was exactly the Druid who showed up when trees were being chopped to make room for Delpons satellite city. Roland was not strong enough back then, so he wasnt confident of dealing with those Druids. However, Roland was already level 12 at this moment, and those druids were still what they used to be. Not to mention that he had an unbelievably strong female Hero by his side. As if she sensed the strangers hostility, Andonara grabbed her sword and stood aside slightly in front of Roland. That way, she wouldnt block Rolands vision, and she could stop the strangers if they wanted to attack. Roland? The familiar Druid stepped forward and said, The real controller of Delpon, the Usurper of the City, the Shameless Schemer, the Queens Kidnapper Roland raised his eyebrows. Your descriptions are very interesting. Theyre not my descriptions, but the impressions of everybody in Hollevin of you, said the middle-aged Druid coldly. Im Aslan, leader of human Druids. I remember you. We met a year ago. Roland looked around at the trees and vines near the manor and asked, So you caused all these things. Whats that supposed to mean? The other Druid also stepped up and stopped behind Aslan. Aslan took out a red grass and showed it to Roland. Then he said, Youve planted a lot of Phoenixs Blood Grasses, also known as the Inferno Grass. Roland knew that the precious Blood Grasses in his manor couldnt be kept a secret for long. After all, they took up a large area, and they could be detected even though they were protected by magic barriers, unless they were planted in inconspicuous places. Also, the real way to protect ones wealth was with ones power and influence, not hiding it here and there. At the same time, Roland was more or less amused. He had been asking the Guild of Bards to speak ill of the Druids in secret. He thought that the Druids came here for that, but they turned out to be here for a whole different matter. Things were getting interesting. Roland chuckled. And? Those evil Blood Grasses will be major problems to you. We can help you purge them, said Aslan casually. Besides, you shouldnt have planted such evil grasses in the first place. As time goes by, the aura of the Demon God will corrupt you and turn you evil. Roland laughed aloud after he heard that. Aslan narrowed his eyes and asked, Mr. Roland, what was that supposed to mean? Nothing. I just find you adorable. Roland pointed at the trees and vines. You cant break into my manor, so youve surrounded it, attempting to force the people inside to come out because of hunger, right? Aslan hid his hands in the spacious sleeves of his magic robe. Its only our last resort. Your subordinates were bold enough to resist us and not surrender the evil plants. They even wanted the grasses to spread, which was bad. So, weve built this wood to stop the Blood Grasses from proliferating. Its all for your own good. Even Andonara laughed when she heard that. Although the Druids spoke righteously, they couldnt even fool Andonara, not to mention Roland. Roland gently waved his fingers. To be honest, you Druids are really shameless. What do you mean by that? Aslan stared at Roland coldly. The Druids share wealth and woe with nature. By insulting us, youre insulting nature. What a terrible accusation. Roland snorted and then cast Alignment Detection on them. As stated earlier, Alignment Detection was a humiliating spell. Using it on someone was an open declaration of suspicion. Besides, it was not just a declaration, but also an action to prove it. The two Druids expression greatly changed. They pointed their fingers at Roland and were about to curse him. But Andonara moved the moment they pointed their fingers. She appeared in front of them in the blink of an eye and tapped them with the sheath of her sword. The two Druids were instantly bent like shrimps. They blushed and fell on their knees holding their bellies. At first, they vomited up their food. Then they vomited some blood. Andonara had used the precise amount of strength to hurt them and cause excruciating pain without really wounding them. Aslan wasnt too weak. He soon overcame the pain and raised his head, glaring at Roland brutally. You dared to attack us. Youll die a miserable death. Nature will punish you. Me? Roland looked at them with a smile. Youd better look at yourselves in a mirror, especially the red above your heads. Both of them were greatly shocked. They looked at each other. Then they found that, as Roland said, there were red glimmers above their heads because of the Alignment Detection spell. Hows that possible?! Both of them were horrified and found it hard to believe. The Druids were an absolutely neutral sect, and the two of them had never deviated from the teaching of this sect. Why was there red above their heads? It was quite a serious matter. The two of them were apparently appalled. Roland walked to them and said mockingly, Youre still not leaving? You claim to be absolutely neutral, but youre just a sect who places nature above mankind, and who are kinder to beasts than to human beings. This is the inevitable result when other people see through your beliefs. You The other Druid pointed at Roland, too furious to think clearly. After they walked away, Roland dropped three magic spiders that were almost completely transparent and had them follow the Druids. After the two Druids left, the forest and thorny vines that surrounded the manor turned into spots of green light and disappeared. Roland opened the gate of the manor and saw the barriers had already been activated, as well as Christina and Stephanie, who were relaxed behind the barriers. Chapter 675 - Burn the Druids Chapter 675 Burn the Druids Apart from the strangers, there were also a few magic apprentices in the manor. They were chargers that Christina had asked to charge the magic barriers. After all, it was too hard for her to maintain such huge magic barriers on her own. Now that Roland had returned, they all relaxed. After Christina canceled the barriers, Roland led Anna into the manor. The magic apprentices came over, greeted Roland, and then said goodbye to him. They could tell that Stephanie, who was obviously an honorable person, wanted to talk to Roland in private. After the magic apprentices all left, Stephanie approached and said, Your magic apprentices have been taught well. Roland smiled, because it was only natural. Those kids had all been educated according to modern standards. Apart from magic, they had to learn reading, comprehension, mathematics, astrology, and geology. They had also been taught moral lessons, the volume of which was only second to that of magic theories and practice. Of course they werent taught with terribly advanced theories. After all, they lived in a world that had gods. If the advanced theories were taught to the kids, they would find it hard to live comfortably in this world. So, Roland simply asked Vincent and Douglas to devote a lot of time and energy to teaching the kids the expected behaviors in society and what was right and what was wrong! It was safe to say that someone with a healthy outlook really seemed more positive than others. That was why Stephanie felt that the magic apprentices had such unique vibes. They havent finished their apprenticeship yet, said Roland with a smile. Its up to them who they can become. He was quite eager to see the chemical reaction when the local residents in this world received the teachings of the Golden Sons. Stephanie pointed to the side and walked to the lawn nearby. Roland followed her. How is it going in the capital? asked Stephanie worriedly. With her political experience, she knew that the assault against her would cause havoc in the capital, if not the entire Fareins Kingdom. The assault was a clear sign that the church wanted to meddle with the crown. Whatever roles the Pope and the Holy Lady had played in that, it was impossible for the church, which was a war and propaganda machine, to stop once it was activated. Roland nodded and said, Everything has been settled! I knew it! Stephanie subconsciously blurted. Then she raised her head in surprise. What did you say? Its been settled? How is it possible? Who was so powerful and influential as to stop the war among the three greatest forces in this world? Those who initiated the trouble. Roland intended to tease the widowed princess, so he spoke ambiguously. Roland, stop playing around, Stephanie said, frowning. The war couldnt have stopped even if the Pope and the Holy Lady both apologized to the royal family. You should know that the construction of your floating city will be affected if the royal family is in chaos. Looking at the anxious First Princess, Roland said solemnly, Its truly been settled, because the Goddess of Light arrived on Earth and apologized to the royal family and the Association of Mages. Do you think that could work? Stephanies mouth gradually gaped open. The goddess came? Roland nodded. The Goddess of Light? Roland nodded again. Good heavens! Stephanie covered her forehead and sat on the chair that was for afternoon tea. Are my ears deceiving me? The arrival of a god or goddess was a serious matter in this world. It was a miracle. It was usually used to increase the number of believers, launch a crusade, or pronounce an oracle. Yet, the Goddess of Light had landed on Earth to apologize. She was a goddess that was not to be described with words like sacred or esteemed. Or rather, no mortal words could describe her magnificence. Yet, such a being had arrived on Earth to apologize for the first time in history. Who dared to disrespect her and continue the war? I seem to have missed a good show. Stephanie was relieved. In any case, its a good thing that no war was fought. We must thank the Goddess of Light for demeaning herself. Roland smiled and sat down on her opposite side. Then he said, A lot of people think just like you. Thats why her apology can settle the conflict. Stephanie keenly noticed Rolands implied meaning. Do you think differently from us? You dont find the gods and goddesses lofty and great? Of course I do. The players and the local residents in this world had different views on deities. Roland would rather not talk about that anymore, so he said, Ill take you back to the royal family. Although the conflict has been settled, youll probably have to be there for the subsequent negotiations and compensations. Yes. Stephanie nodded. Ill let Andonara protect you for a while longer, Roland added after a moments thought. Okay. Stephanie was rather delighted. Roland was quite the doer. After they made a deal, he instantly teleported Stephanie and Andonara to the capital. He then returned to Delpon and found the chairman of the local Guild of Bards. The Bards were a class that was focused on Charm too. The chairman had golden hair and blue eyes. He was not young anymore, but he was still handsome in a mature way, which was quite attractive to young girls and married women. Such attractive men were usually quite casual and lighthearted when they spoke to others. However, this man was extremely solemn and serious in front of Roland. He was even sitting straight. Ive seen your hard work in the past year. Roland put two bags of gold coins on the table. Its quite productive too. Im very delighted, so this is the bonus for your work. Youll continue the plan. To reveal the Druids evilness? Were good at that. The chairman of the Guild of Bards went on, But boss, whats the point? The human Druids arent very strong, and the elven Druids barely show up in the human world. Do we need to pay so much attention to them? I, for one, think that the Hollevin Association of Mages is our primary enemy. At this moment, the Hollevin Guild of Bards had already become affiliated to the Delpon Magic Tower, so they had moved their guild to Delpon City. As part of the Magic Tower, it was natural that the Guild of Bards tried to solve problems for Roland. But in fact, the Guild of Druids is trickier right now. Roland stood up. Just stick to the plan. Also, the financial situation in the Magic Tower looks good right now. You can try to apply for more funding. According to what I read, youre the department with the least funding and fewest activities. Looking at the two bags of gold coins on the table, and hearing what Roland said, the chairman of the Guild of Bards swallowed and asked, Can we really? We cant fight or do business; were just Bards who sing and play music for a living. Do we really deserve so much money? It was understandable why the chairman of the Guild of Bards was so humble. The Guild of Bards had never been appreciated ever since its establishment. Few nobles or big bosses were willing to sponsor the Guild of Bards or hire them. Most of the time, the Bards could only sing in taverns and make money for food. They would be excited if they met a patron who tipped them a couple of silver coins. Since the Bards were not good at making money, it was natural that their guild was poor. They had been poor for hundreds of years, and they could barely afford meat for food. At this moment, a force that was willing to help them had finally appeared. It treated them as an affiliated organization and offered them quite a lot of money. Their job wasnt too much trouble either. Gossiping about certain people and forces had always been their specialty. Their job was easy, and their pay was good. The Bards life was much better than before. Even many poor families were now willing to send the kids that they couldnt afford to keep to the Guild of Bards as apprentices, after seeing that they were thriving. In any case, population was always the greatest factor that would decide if a class and guild could flourish. At this moment, Roland even offered two bags of gold coins personally, because he thought that the funding of the Guild of Bards was too little. They were truly lucky to have met such a boss. Therefore, the chairman of the Guild of Bards almost found it surreal. Now that he had given his instructions, Roland stood up and said unhurriedly, Dont bother fighting. Youre just responsible for unveiling the hypocrisy of the Druids, and collecting any intelligence that you find interesting. Intelligence about any force? Roland nodded. Yes, anything that you find interesting. Roland left the Guild of Bards with satisfaction. It seemed that whether an organization was kind or evil depended largely on the stance of the organization. Otherwise, it would be inexplicable why the Druids had red above their heads. It meant that the rules of good and evil in this world could be manipulated in a way. That was really interesting! Roland narrowed his eyes and smiled, delighted Then, Roland received a message from the magic spiders, which had been following the Druids and finally tracked them down to their camp. It was in a wood to the east of the city. Because of the long distance, the image and sound that the magic spiders sent back were quite fuzzy, so Roland moved closer to that location. About twenty minutes later, Roland was only about one kilometer away from the camp of the Druids. Over such a distance, the image and sound that the magic spiders sent back were quite clear. In Rolands head, he could see Aslan seated in a simple treehouse made of branches. There were a dozen more male Druids crammed into the tiny house. Roland is already back. He has refused to surrender the Immortal Phoenixs Blood Grass, said Aslan coldly. He has refused our friendship and natures love. So, what do you think we should do to this corrupted man? To judge him with nature, of course. Lets talk to him first. Hes a Mage anyway, we can all go and present our demands. If hes still unwilling to surrender the grass, well kill him. If he has a wife or children, wed better kill them too in case they seek revenge against us that could be tricky. In any case, the Immortal Phoenixs Blood Grass is something we cant pass up. Looking at his partners who were discussing vehemently, Aslan nodded in satisfaction. All your suggestions are very good, but Roland is supported by a strong female Warrior. Based on our intelligence, she seems to be Queen Andonara, a Legendary Great Swordsman. So, in order to deal with Roland and get the Blood Grasses, we have to circumvent or subdue her. A Legendary Great Swordsman? One Druid seemed intimidated. What if she hunts us relentlessly afterward?. What are you scared of? We can always hide in the Elf Forest. Not just a Legendary Great Swordsman, even a Demigod Great Swordsman wouldnt dare to confront the World Tree. That makes sense. Lets call for more reinforcements. We failed to conquer that manor before. I dont believe well fail again if we have a hundred more partners. Ive already sent a signal. Theyre already coming. After we get the Blood Grasses, well refine them, and then well all develop a flying form. We can also choose the form of the Immortal Phoenix. Who in the world could possibly defeat us then? Aslan snorted. If we cant beat the Legendary Great Swordsman as individuals, cant we do it together? All of them laughed aloud. One of them even smiled creepily. Do it? You mean do her, right? Everybody laughed even more happily with the dirty joke. Hearing that, Roland walked into the woods. He didnt approach the Druids camp immediately. Instead, he hid with Secondary Stealth and the complicated environment when he was still five hundred meters away. At the same time, he threw magic materials down around the camp and reshaped them into circles. Because it was simple painting with magic materials, there were no magic waves at all. Outsiders couldnt sense it. It took Roland half an hour to encircle the Druids camp. The Druids were still having a heated discussion as to what they should do after picking up the Immortal Phoenixs flying form, and how they should brag about it in front of their elven masters. They were very excited. Standing in front of the magic array, Roland sneered. He could destroy them with a big fireball, which would get rid of all of them if they didnt escape. But the problem was that it took time to condense the blue fireball, and its magic waves were so obvious that anyone who wasnt stupid could detect it from one kilometer away. It would be weird if the Druids didnt escape. However, the magic array was different. One wouldnt know its existence at all unless one really saw it. It was completely soundless and released no magic waves, until Roland took a ruby gem out of the system Backpack, dropped it on the pivot of the array, and snapped his fingers. The magic array glowed, and an enormous pillar of flames rose from below the camp like a volcanic eruption. Chapter 676 - It’s Coming Again Chapter 676 Its Coming Again It was a strengthened version of the earth fire eruption spell! The spell wasnt the best choice to deal area damage, mainly because it required too much time to cast. At first, one had to condense magic power beneath the ground and heat it, until the flames and magma erupted from the soil. It was extremely powerful, but during the long period of magic power concentration, anyone who wasnt an idiot would sense the magic power below as well as the rising temperature of the ground. Then they would flee. This spell could be used to deal with immobile targets, such as buildings. But that was only if the enemy had no Mages, because the concentration of flames required delicate magic control that could easily falter if someone disrupted it. Therefore The spell was mainly used to deal with military garrisons that had no Mages, or huge buildings in the enemys possession. However, under normal circumstances, every place that could afford a troop was usually protected by a Mage. For that reason, the eruption of flames could only be used against weaker enemies, such as bandits who had set up a nest on a mountain. Most Mages only learned this spell to expand their collection of spells and practice their control of magic power. However, Roland found that this spell had an excellent advantage: it was powerful, very powerful! Also, it didnt cost too much mana. If the long-time preparation for the spell could be skipped, it would be a very powerful AOE spell. So, Roland had spent a lot of time optimizing the model of this spell. However, he failed to find any way to optimize it after working on it for a month. The creator of the spell had already optimized the model. Even though Roland could further improve it with the database he established with math models, he couldnt cause any qualitative changes. Then, Roland changed his mindset. Since the spell model had been internally optimized, he could strengthen it with external methods. What if it was embedded into a magic array? Later, Roland combined them and created a Volcanic Eruption Magic Array. It was more powerful and had a higher eruption speed and a greater coverage. But it had shortcomings too. He had to set up the magic array beforehand, and a ruby gem was needed as a catalyst to boost the reaction of the fire elements. It was much more costly than before. But it was all worth it. The pillar of flames with a thirty-meter radius rose to the sky and shivered like a fountain. The eruption didnt stop until twenty seconds later. Red masses of lava were everywhere on the hill. Fire was spreading. Roland put on a smile. From the picture that the magic spiders sent back, he saw that a dozen Druids were drowned by the flames and vaporized without even letting out a scream. Aslan was the only exception. Because he was the strongest, and thanks to the shocking intuitions as a wild Druid, he jumped aside and narrowly dodged the eruption. But because he was too close to the source, the unbelievably high temperature of the flames ignited his magic robe. He was so scared that he rolled on the ground to extinguish the flames. Then, he turned into a purple leopard and rushed to the top of the hill frantically. The leopard that a Druid turned into was stealthy, but it would still be revealed when running at a high speed. Roland floated in midair and looked at the hill that had been set ablaze. When the purple leopard rushed amidst the flames that were as bright as day, it was as obvious as a flea on the head of a baldy. Because he was too afraid, Aslan didnt notice at all that someone had locked onto him from the dark sky. He was scared, very scared. As a spellcaster, he had recognized that the spell that killed his partners was earth fire eruption. He wasnt capable of casting the spell, but he knew its mechanism, features, and effects. Everybody who was associated with spells had a Magic Common Sense rating. It wasnt a perk or ability, but simply ones knowledge and understanding of the magic world and spells. It revealed how many spells one could recognize so that one could avoid them. If you know yourself and your enemy well, you cant lose a single battle. If you know a lot of spells, even if you dont know how to use them, you can still infer what spell an enemy is going to cast based on his gestures or magic power flow; then you will be able to react in advance to counter it, which will give you an edge. Aslan knew magic quite well. If the full mark of Magic Common Sense was a hundred points, he could get at least 75 points. The moment the flames erupted, he had already determined the name and effects of the spell. But he didnt understand why this spell released no magic waves whatsoever when it was prepared, or why it was so powerful and had such a huge coverage. That was uncanny! Who was trying to kill him? A near-Legendary evoking Mage? That was possible! Only such a big shot couldve possibly cast the spell in such a weird way. But he didnt remember ever pissing off such a person! The only person that he had pissed off recently was Roland. Was Roland backed by such a strong supporter? Could it be his teacher? The more he thought about it, the more surprised Aslan became. He ran at full speed in the leopards body. In any case, he had to escape the flames and then hide with the stealth talent. He could then slip back to the Elf Forest and ask for his elven teachers help. If that guy called for reinforcements, so could he. Besides, he had already sent a message earlier. A hundred Druids were already coming to Hollevin at this moment. If he joined them, not only would his life be secured, but he could also launch a counterattack on Delpon. He would not believe that a hundred Druids could not conquer a small city of human beings! However, exactly at this moment, he sensed a concentration of abundant magic power in the high altitudes behind him. He turned back his leopard head, only to be too frightened to move. An overwhelming number of Arcane Bullets were descending on him like rain. Each of the Arcane Bullets was as huge as a fist. Who is it! Who is it exactly? The black leopard desperately shouted in human language. Even though the leopard was fast, it could not run away from the dreadful ocean of Arcane Bullets. It could only watch the Arcane Bullets falling toward him in despair and consternation. The only thing it could do was to try to widen its panicked and desperate eyes. The storm of Arcane Bullets hit the ground and caused consecutive explosions. Countless pieces of broken stone flew in the airt. At the very center of the explosion, the stones were stained with red blood and purple furs. Se The explosions lasted almost ten seconds. Looking at the dust and smoke on the hill, Roland waved his hand and extinguished the fire in the woods. He then stepped on a white cloud and floated away. Roland returned to the Magic Tower and spent some time with Vivian. Andonara had gone to the capital of Fareins to protect Stephanie, so Roland could only come to Vivian to relax. me After studying low-level spells for two days in the Magic Tower, Roland returned to his manor to check the growth of the Immortal Phoenixs Blood Grasses. But he discovered, to his surprise, that Lady Bluebird was in his manor. Roland was stunned to see her. Then he remembered that he had indeed teleported Stephanie, Andonara, and Lady Bluebird from the capital of Fareins to this place. But a few days earlier, he only sent Stephanie and Andonara back to the capital and completely forgot Lady Bluebird. Roland covered his head and apologized. Im sorry, Lady Bluebird. I almost forgot that you were still in my manor. Because Lady Bluebird was incapable of fighting, she volunteered to hide in the basement in order not to burden Stephanie and Christina when the manor was surrounded by the Druids. That was safer for all of them. But because she stayed in the basement, both Andonara and Stephanie temporarily forgot her. Andonara only saw Roland in her eyes. She didnt really care about other women. Stephanie, on the other hand, was shocked by the Light Goddesss actions and too busy considering how to deal with the mess in the capital of Fareins. She forgot Lady Bluebird too. Lady Bluebird stayed in the basement alone and lived on food and fruit wine for two days. She slept and ate, ate and slept, until she couldnt hold back anymore and ran out of the basement. Then, the maid told her that Andonara and Stephanie had left for the capital, and she had been left behind. She was so depressed that she almost burst into tears. At this moment, she was staring at Roland with self-pity. Its fine, Mr. Roland. Im an ugly woman anyway, and Im not as charming and easy to notice as the First Princess or Ms. Andonara. Roland said with a bitter smile, Ill send you to the capital immediately. That will be unnecessary. Lady Bluebird waved her hand. Ive been away for days. If I go back now, my husband will probably beat me to death after he finds me. I might as well stay here until the First Princess finishes handling the affairs of the royal family. Shell probably have everything planned out for me. Youre really not going back? asked Roland. Lady Bluebird shook her head. No. I hope I wont outstay my welcome here. Sure. Roland knew the marriage of nobles very well. Under most circumstances, they didnt care where their spouse had been, and they only cared whether or not their spouse would bring benefits to their family. There were couples in love among the nobles, but their number was too small. It would be great if one in ten couples was actually in love. Since Lady Bluebird was going to stay longer, Roland would have to entertain her, but Roland didnt want to waste time on her. Werent Anna and Vivian good enough for him? Wasnt magic study satisfying? He didnt have much research time in the first place. If he had to entertain a noble lady, he would have even less time. He thought for a moment and invited the old mayors wife and daughter, asking them to help entertain Lady Bluebird. The two of them loved afternoon tea and chit-chatting. They were suited for the task. As expected Lady Bluebird soon made friends with them. They stayed together every day and went shopping once in a while. Their lives were quite happy. Then, Roland was fully devoted to magic studies. Days went by quickly when he was fully concentrated on research. He made fast progress in his studies without being disturbed by women and trivia. On the fourteenth day, a clerk from the Guild of Mercenaries came to update Roland. Mr. Roland, weve found some leads on the matter you asked us to investigate. Oh? Roland gave half a bag of gold coins to him. This is your payment. Tell me about it. A hundred spellcasters have left Palvasi for Delpon. Theyll probably reach the suburb by tomorrow morning. After killing Aslan, Roland went to the Guild of Mercenaries in his spare time and released multiple missions. One of the missions was to look for spellcasters who were likely Druids and moving toward Delpon. He offered copious rewards for the missions. The Guild of Mercenaries accepted those missions and had been paying attention to the Druids. This world was dominated by human beings. While the Druids could live easily in the wilderness, they had to purchase a lot of resources they needed from the human world, such as salt and some magic materials. Not everybody had a talent that allowed them to cast spells without materials. So, if they dared to enter the human world from the woods, they might be discovered. When the Guild of Mercenaries in Palvasi noticed the Druids, they informed the Association of Mages in Delpon with magic immediately. Then, a clerk was instantly sent to inform Roland. Thank you for your intelligence. Roland pushed a bag of gold coins at him. The clerk of the Guild of Mercenaries picked up the bag elegantly. Feel free to come to the Guild of Mercenaries if you ever need us. We can do anything you want! Then, the clerk left with the bag of gold coins in delight. Roland was a super generous guy in his eyes. He didnt think that this piece of intelligence was worth so much money. Roland was never a passive man who waited for the enemy to come to him. He would rather take the initiative. After inferring the Druids possible location with the intelligence he acquired, Roland simply flew out. He planned to keep the danger out of the city. Using the magic cloud, Roland had been flying for only an hour when he noticed a mixed stream of magic power moving in the woods below. Gotcha. Roland threw three magic spiders from the sky. Those spiders were too small and light to be hurt by the fall. Besides, there was plenty of foliage on the ground as buffers Very soon, Roland saw the Druids clearly in his mind. There are a hundred of them. Theyre not concentrated. Also, there are thirty more over there. Chapter 677 - Crazy Battle Chapter 677 Crazy Battle Roland had never liked this organization of Druids. Human beings were part of nature. They gained their status through evolution and competition with other creatures. The doctrines of the Druids cult separated human beings from nature and put them on natures opposite. That was a disguised replacement of concepts. Perhaps, the environment needed to be protected on certain occasions, but the survival of human beings was more important. Besides, in the main plane of this world, particularly in the human world, trees took up more than 80% of the area, not to mention the extremely vast Elf Forest. Considering mankinds productivity and development rate, they might not be able to reduce the forest area to 70% in another thousand years. So, nature didnt need to be protected at all; it was human beings who had to struggle to survive in nature. Removing thousands of acres of trees would barely affect the forest as a whole, but it could give thousands of human beings a piece of fertile land to farm, so that the poor things could live. But even so, the Druids still considered the humans in Delpon to be murderers who destroyed nature. In their eyes, the trees mattered more than the life and death of thousands of people. So, Roland didnt feel guilty at all when he organized the Bards to badmouth the Druids in secret. He had realized that, as long as he directed public opinion on the correct path, the Druids, who considered themselves absolutely neutral, would become slightly Lawful Evil. What really made Roland make up his mind to kill them was that the Druids, for the so-called Immortal Phoenixs Blood Grasses and to make Immortal Phoenix an option of their flying forms, intended to loot them and even attack Rolands family and friends. In that case, Roland would rather not talk to them anymore. If you start it, Ill be the one to end it. The War Scythe appeared in his right hand and a magic power brick appeared in his left. They were instantly stuck together. Energy spread out from the brick, but it was then attracted to the War Scythe and melted into it like a mist. Intense black fog expanded and enshrouded Roland. Three seconds later, it turned into an enormous woman. When the woman made of fog who was at least thirty meters tall appeared in the sky, the Druids moving in the woods all sensed something wrong. They raised their heads at the same time, and they saw the black light of a scythe in the sky. Then they felt nothing. The enormous spatial crevice left a huge rhombus-shaped wound in the middle of the forest. All the trees and grasses within the wound were gone. Even four meters of soil had been removed from the ground. There were no screams, explosions, or other noises, only sizzles when the spatial crevice absorbed substances. It sounded like overcharged electricity. Roland even saw a lot of special souls that looked like human beings but emitted unique waves. They struggled soundlessly and crazily, only to be absorbed into the Netherworld in the end. The battle was over quickly. The black fog that was attached to him gradually disappeared, and so did the enormous woman. The spatial crevice on the ground slowly shrank too. But it stopped closing when it was about to vanish. A cold woman with a black robe and black hair drifted out of the crevice. The space around her stagnated the moment she showed up. Not just the chirps of birds and bugs, but even the air stopped flowing. Everybody was frozen. Even the space seemed to be solidifying. The Nether God! Standing on the cloud, Roland looked at her in confusion. After the Nether God emerged from the crevice, she looked around as if she were observing the scenery of the main plane. She then slowly drifted to Roland and stared at him with her dark eyes in silence. She had long hair and red lips, which were small but succulent. In particular, her bottom lip slightly protruded in a natural way, which made her look sexy and cute. Roland felt uncomfortable under her gaze, so he asked, Ms. Sophie, is there anything I can help you with? I love Druids. Send more of them to me. The Nether God spoke. Her voice was low but pleasant. Roland was relieved. It was fine as long as she wasnt here for trouble. But he was still curious. Have the Druids done anything to you? Im in charge of the deaths of humans. Her face, which was cold enough as it was, became even colder. They encouraged the souls of the dead to stay in the main plane and become spirits. Roland realized the reason as he listened on. The original doctrine of the Druids stated that every creature was spiritual, including human beings. However, they didnt think that the spirits of humans were superior to other animals and plants. Rather, they believed that they were inferior because humans destroyed nature. Spirits were everywhere in nature, but they were invisible to those who didnt have special abilities. It meant that human beings who believed in the doctrine of Druids wouldnt turn into ghosts after they died but would become special spirits that would linger in the main plane and meld with the spirits of other animals and plants. For example, the Trolls Bear Spirit and Eagle Spirit, which had a tiny bit of godhood, were special energy creatures that were a combination of the unconscious spirits of many animals and plants and the spirits of many humans. Such creatures had the features of ghosts, but they could be regarded as living creatures too. They were stuck in the special transition phase between the living and the dead, just like fungi occupied the space between animals and plants. The Druids might be seclusive and difficult to catch, but their doctrines were well spread. The humans who lived in the forests and the barbarians who lived on high mountains, because of their living environments, believed in such doctrines. Their population was not small at all. The souls of those who believed in the doctrines of the Druids would gradually become spirits while they were alive, and when they died, they would break away from the administration of the Nether God. No wonder the Nether God didnt like the Druids. As the Goddess of Death, it was her responsibility to administrate all human souls. Roland was even happier after he figured that out. He even asked with a smile, Will there be rewards if I give you more Druids? The Nether God turned her pretty face, as if she were surprised that Roland dared to bargain with her. But she was a Lawful Good goddess anyway. After a brief stun, she said, I can give you my favor. I already have the favor of two goddesses. Mine is better. Sophie was absentminded for a while again. Then she said, Come with me. She waved her hand and invoked an enormous force that dragged Roland down. After both of them entered the spatial crevice, it finally disappeared due to the loss of divine power support. Once again, Roland came to the Netherworld. The sky was still a convergence of green and purple energy. The ground was still full of gray and dark rocks. The Nether God dragged Roland along as she flew, until they reached a high cliff and entered a cave. The whole time, Roland had been silent. He knew that he couldnt put up any resistance. Besides, the Nether God didnt seem malicious. The cave was dark. It didnt carry any smell except that of rocks. It was very long and dark too. However, the Nether Gods glimmering body illuminated the environment within ten meters. After flying for about three minutes, they dashed into a dazzling circle of light, and the environment brightened. Roland found an enormous hollow before him. Vines that were emitting cold light grew all over the cave walls, making it as bright as day. On the ground, there were green grasses, and at the very center of the place was a wooden cabin. In front of the cabin, there was a round table. Someone was seated next to the table. Roland looked at her, only to find that she had beautiful long hair and crimson eyes. She was none other than the True Ancestor of vampires. He instantly turned cold. The True Ancestor had just put on a smile when she saw the Nether God, then she caught sight of Roland behind her. Her face instantly iced over. She stood up quickly and glared at the man who had broken into her shelter. After the Nether God forced Roland to land before the cabin, the True Ancestor walked to them and asked the Nether God, Sister Sophie, did you catch him so that I can vent my fury on him? Roland became vigilant the moment he heard that. He immediately focused his attention on the system Backpack. If the Nether God said anything wrong, he would immediately take out a magic power brick and blow himself up. He might not be able to kill them, but they surely wouldnt feel great after the explosion. Sophie shook her head and said casually, You two should make peace. Both Roland and the True Ancestor were stunned. Roland reacted faster. Heh. I dont think its likely. Me neither. The True Ancestor glared at Roland with glowing red eyes. You killed my best friend. Dont think you can walk away alive. At this moment, the True Ancestor was still heavily wounded, but without the suppression of her human bones, her combat ability was far better than Rolands. She was a Demigod anyway. But Roland wasnt scared at all. It was true that he couldnt defeat the two women, but he could always seek revenge after he leveled up later. After all, he had remembered the coordinates of this place. Revenge was a dish best served cold. Besides, as a player, he didnt need so much time to grow at all. Chances were that he could explore the Netherworld in a couple of years. So, Roland simply stared at the True Ancestor in silence, but his eyes were full of mockery. The True Ancestor was even more enraged. Remembering everything that Roland had done to her, she was about to attack, when the Nether God suddenly said, Forbid magic, boost recovery. Many gods and goddesses had special powers based on rules. What they said would always be true. These were called holy words in many churches. Then, Roland sensed that the magic power in his body was all frozen, but his body was even more active than before. No It wasnt just active, but was seething like a volcano that was about to erupt. He looked at the True Ancestor, only to discover that her face was red. Her feelings were probably the same. Fight, and then make peace. After that, the Nether God flew away and unshackled the two of them. Roland warmed up his body. He felt that he was fine although he couldnt make use of his magic power. While he was thinking that, the True Ancestor jumped at him and extended her pretty little hands toward Rolands face. As always, most women had long fingernails. If her hands scratched his face, Roland had no doubt that his face would be ruined. So he subconsciously stepped back and kicked out. The True Ancestor, who was still in midair, suddenly spread her legs. As a result, Rolands kick missed the target. Then the True Ancestor immediately closed her legs and clutched Rolands calf. Then, she rolled in midair again and again, completely ignoring physics. That was a brutal move. Like a piece of cloth, Roland was spun more than ten times, and his face hit the ground so many times that it was deformed. But he wasnt killed. Instead, he became even angrier. He jerked forth and embraced the True Ancestor brutally, pressing her down from midair. He then stuck one leg to her abdomen and pummeled her face with both hands. He pummeled another few times, and the True Ancestors pretty face became a pie that was full of dents and bumps. Blue and black fluids were flowing out of her nose and eyes. Then, she screamed and bit Rolands right hand, before she scratched Rolands face with both hands. Her sharp fingernails pierced the skin on his face, so she tried to pull it down. Roland cried out; half of his face had been torn off. His blood was gushing out crazily. Roland was even more infuriated due to the agony. He smashed the True Ancestors face and chest. Bone after bone cracked. But the woman was even more brutal. She dug into one of Rolands eyes with her other hand and blinded him. She then plucked the eyeball out. She then exerted strength on her waist and slightly raised Rolands body, giving her leg enough space to kick him away. After that, she put Rolands eyeball in her mouth and chewed it. She slowly got back to her feet. All the body parts that were wounded by Roland healed at an astonishing speed. Her broken bones fused. Roland stood up in the distance. His wounds were also healing at an unbelievable speed. His eyeball was regrown too. But neither of them cared about that. They glared at each other ferociously and charged at each other again after they caught their breath. The battle soon became even more brutal. They completely abandoned rational thought. They merely wanted to kill each other. When Roland tore off her hand, she would open Rolands belly with her other hand and pull his guts out. When Roland broke her neck, she would kick and break Rolands balls. The scenes were extremely terrifying and violent. The two of them fought on for four days and four nights. The traces of their battle, namely human body parts, were everywhere in the space. They were scattered among the grasses. Dried blood was everywhere. Hearts and kidneys could easily be found too. Roland breathed heavily on the grass. There was no telling what the Nether God did, but his soul couldnt recover although his body could. He was already extremely mentally exhausted at this moment. The True Ancestor was the same. She was panting on the ground too. They had fought for four days and four nights. Their clothes had been torn off the first day. The two of them had been fighting nakedly ever since. During the battles, they had tackled, kicked, pushed, and punched each other. They used all kinds of fighting moves. It was safe to say that both of them knew each others bodies very well, including the strong suits and the shortcomings. For example, Roland had learned that there was a tiny red mole on the inner side of the True Ancestors leg near its end. Roland found that when he blew up the True Ancestors head with a Russian technique. Slowly getting back to his feet, Roland, who had fully recovered, walked to the True Ancestor again. At this moment, the True Ancestor stared at Roland with her pretty red eyes and also stood up. But after only five seconds, her legs gave out, and she sat back down on the grass. Chapter 678 - Everybody Has Different Thoughts Chapter 678 Everybody Has Different Thoughts The True Ancestor sat on the ground naked, unable to move. Although she wasnt tall, she had a fascinating body figure. Her posture was extremely sexy. Coupled with her special Enchant talent, most men wouldve jumped at her after seeing her. Yet, Roland didnt feel anything at all. He even wanted to laugh. He had seen plenty of beautiful women. Not just the Life Goddess and the Goddess of Magic, even his Andonara was more charming than her. Besides, both Andonara and Vivian had a luscious body figure and magnificent breasts. He could never be attracted to a woman whose front was utterly flat. As for the vampires Enchant ability, it was even less effective on him. Most of the Lawful goddesses were more charming than the True Ancestor. Roland had remained poised even in front of them, not to mention an old woman with the appearance of a little girl. But Roland stopped halfway and watched the True Ancestor keep breathing heavily. He didnt feel too good either. It wasnt because he was physically exhausted, but because his mental power had been seriously worn out. If he kept on fighting, his mental foundation would probably be affected. Mental foundation was very important to a Mage, just like the quality of bones mattered to a Warrior who trained their muscles. Those Warriors would rather their flesh be cut ten times than let their bones be hurt once. Roland was in a similar situation. Mental foundation was very important to a Mage. There was no need to ruin it here. Even more importantly, he couldnt kill her even if it were ruined. That was the problem. Then he sat down too and took a spare magic robe out of his system Backpack. The True Ancestor was quite furious to see that. Her enemy had put on new clothes, yet she had to remain naked? At this moment, whoever felt embarrassed would be losing At least the True Ancestor thought so. She struggled back to her feet and returned to her cabin, as if she wanted to search for clothes. Roland, on the other hand, lay on the ground and intended to take a break. The players didnt need any sleep. Their stamina and mental power could be recovered when they took a break. It was one of their special abilities. He seized the opportunity to search the environment for anything that could possibly be used as a weapon. What if the Nether God suddenly canceled the magic power shackles? While he thought about that, he found that the Nether God had appeared next to him at some point. Roland rose and looked at her with an awful expression. Can you cancel my magic power shackles now? No. The Nether God shook her head and pointed at the table before her. Sit down and lets talk. Roland stared at her and expressed his objection with silence. At this moment, all he wanted was to return to Delpon and take a good rest. Having fought for four days and nights, he was truly fatigued. Lets sit down and have a chat. The Nether God looked as cold as before, but she asked in an imploring tone, Okay? Looking at the Nether God who appeared rather pitiful, Roland heaved a sigh and sat down at the table. The Nether God sat down too. The two of them simply sat without saying a word. Very soon, the True Ancestor walked out of the cabin in a beautiful dress. It seemed rather plain, but the dress was made from the silk of the elves, which was quite expensive. One might say that the dress was a low-profile luxury. She glared at Roland the moment she came out. After several minutes of rest, she was a lot more energetic than before. Roland also looked back at her coldly. At this moment, Roland had recovered some of his energy. He might not surely lose in a battle. Sit. The Nether God patted the chair next to her. The True Ancestor snorted and sat down next to her. Then she kept glaring at Roland. Before this day, she had hated Roland only because her friend perished at his hands, but at this moment, she hated him for personal reasons as well. When they battled earlier, the attacks she suffered could only be described as devastating. There was no telling where this man was from, but he had only aimed at her face and chest. A dent was caused after every punch. Her breasts, which werent high in the first place, were razed countless times. She had no doubt that she was as hideous as a demon when her face hadnt recovered. The True Ancestor was so angry that she squeezed his balls. But after the guy recovered, he simply hit her crotch with his knee. That was an extremely sensitive region for women too. When she was hit for the first time, it was so painful that she instantly lost the ability to fight. Then, Roland grabbed her legs while she was upside down and nearly ripped her apart from the middle. Such attacks happened dozens of times during the four-day-and-four-night fight. It was for that reason that they had been fighting more and more cruelly. The True Ancestor could barely look back at the battle at this moment. She couldnt believe that there could be such vicious men in this world who can attack a beautiful girl like her so ferociously. The man must be gay. You two make peace. The Nether God looked around at them. Roland sneered. The True Ancestor snorted too. Make peace. Seeing that they didnt look right, the Nether God grabbed the True Ancestor with her left hand and Roland with her right one, trying to make them shake hands. Both Roland and the True Ancestor struggled. But the Nether God was a god, and her power was irresistible to mortals. So, Roland could only watch his left hand touch the True Ancestors right hand. Both the Nether Gods hand and the True Ancestors were warm and soft. But Roland didnt feel anything. He simply stared at the Nether God coldly and said, Ms. Sophie, you can guide a horse to water but you cannot make him it drink. Its impossible for the grudge between me and the True Ancestor of vampires to be resolved. Roland had no personal grudge against the True Ancestor. He simply loathed the True Ancestor as a human being In Rolands eyes, vampires breeding humans was the same as humans breeding pigs. So, Roland regarded the True Ancestor of vampires as a natural nemesis. Of course he wanted his natural nemesis dead. After hearing what Roland said, the True Ancestor looked at Roland with even more killing intent. They hadnt bonded at all, even after four days and four nights of fighting. The Nether God turned back and looked at Roland. Were friends, so you need to listen to me. Roland took a deep breath. Were not friends, Ms. Sophie. A mortal isnt qualified to be a gods friend. We are. The Nether God gazed at Roland. We gave each other presents. We gave each other presents? Oh, the Nether Gods War Scythe. In return, he offered her Druid souls. So that was it! Roland snorted. If she really considered herself his friend, would she have let him fight a lunatic for such a long time? Although he didnt die, he had suffered quite a lot. His testicles were still aching to this moment. He wondered if it would affect his sex life after he returned. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He took the Nether Gods War Scythe out of the system Backpack and dropped it on the table, before he said coldly, Ill give it back to you. I dare not be a gods friend. Ms. Sophie, this isnt how friends treat each other. Sophie stared at him with slightly wide eyes. She appeared rather helpless. The True Ancestor, on the other hand, burst out in a rage. She jumped at Roland and tried to twist his neck, but halfway through the motion, she was gently pressed back to her chair by an invisible power. Naturally, it was the Nether Gods doing. Still, the True Ancestor was so angry that her face was fully red. She felt not just hatred but also fury and disgust toward Roland. How could you have hurt the heart of such an innocent girl? The True Ancestors voice was shivering with fury. Do you know how hard it is for Sophie to acknowledge a friend? Roland snorted and completely ignored the True Ancestor. Then he looked at the Nether God. Ms. Sophie, can I leave now? Sophie was still staring at Roland with eyes as clear as water. The flowing ripples in her eyes seemed to suggest that there were a lot of things that she wanted to say, but on second look, they also didnt seem to mean anything. She was silent for a long time. The True Ancestor roared from nearby, Just get the hell out of here and stop breaking Sophies heart. Roland glanced at the True Ancestor and didnt say anything. After a long time, Sophie gently waved her hand, and an invisible power spread forth. The power was gentle and warm. Rolands and the True Ancestors body parts on the grass slowly turned into gray spots of light and disappeared. The blood disappeared too, and the grass became green again. At the same time, Roland sensed that magic power was flowing in his body again. He looked at the Nether God and the True Ancestor and left the Netherworld via teleportation. It was impossible for him to kill the True Ancestor with the Nether God there. He might as well leave first. After the blue light of teleportation flashed, the Nether God stared at the scythe that had been left on the table. A long time later, she wiped her eyes and lowered her head. The True Ancestor stroked the Nether Gods back sympathetically and said in a low voice, Dont be sad. Men are just like that. They dont understand women. Lets just ignore him, okay? The Nether God shook her head. It was my mistake. He can treat the gods equally. I shouldnt have forced him like that. He already pissed you off like that, yet youre still defending him? The True Ancestor was so angry that she felt a toothache. The Nether God shook her head and looked at the War Scythe on the table . The scythe floated and disappeared into a spatial crevice. Roland teleported back to Delpon and felt much more comfortable breathing the fresh air of the main plane. He walked a few steps, only to find that his body was full of strength and vigor. After a brief daze, he remembered that the Nether God had indeed cast a special buff on him. Did she forget to retract it? He checked the system menu and found that it was true. The Nether Gods Protection: Youve been enhanced with a subtle hint of godhood by the Nether God and will share some of her vitality. Your limbs can be infinitely regrown, and you will never die of old age, unless the Nether God cuts off her connection with you, or a stronger enemy does the same. With such an ability, Roland would have boundless vitality even in human form. He would hardly be killed by burst damage. But Roland felt rather complicated and wasnt really excited to acquire this marvelous technique. I was so harsh to her just now. She will probably retract the ability very soon. Roland kept walking to his manor. Exactly at that moment, the space around him shivered, and an item flew out of the spatial crevice and fell to the ground in front of Roland. He thought it was an attack and was quite shocked. Then, he discovered that it was the Nether Gods War Scythe. It had followed him to this place. Roland glanced at the artifact coldly and walked by. But after he walked forward a few steps, the scythe suddenly flew toward Roland on its own. Roland had been prepared for that. He instantly opened his Magic Shield. Yet, the War Scythe easily cut apart Rolands Magic Shield and hit his body. He thought that he had to die this time, because of the Nether Gods fury and embarrassment. However, the War Scythe disappeared the moment it touched him. He touched his body and didnt feel any wounds, but the scythe was already gone. Where was it? Roland suddenly had an epiphany. He opened the system Backpack and did find the Nether Gods War Scythe in there. Humph. Are you forcing me to take it? Roland took out the Nether Gods War Scythe and dropped it to the ground. But the moment it landed, it automatically flew toward Roland again and appeared in the system Backpack. Roland took it out and dropped it again, and it instantly returned to the system Backpack. After a few more attempts, Roland gave up. The Nether God is quite persistent. Roland heaved a long sign and stopped trying to drop it. In fact, Roland didnt dislike the Nether God. She was a beautiful girl and not a bad goddess. He had no reason to hate her. But Roland had his own pride as a player and a man. He didnt feel comfortable being bossed around by a girl. Its not like were that close to each other. That was roughly how he felt. Roland took multiple days of rest after he returned to the manor. He had fun with Vivian several times and then resumed his magic studies. What happened in the past days revealed a cruel truth to him: He was far from being a top fighter yet. Someone like the Nether God didnt even need to try too hard if they wanted him to do things against his will. I need to build the floating city as soon as possible. In the main plane, the floating city, as a source of magic power, can allow me to fight the gods and goddesses on their level. Roland scribbled on paper and considered what he should work on. I need to increase the capacity of magic power, but should I change the aspect of the spells that Im going to modify? Roland was deep in thought. He wasnt capable of studying higher levels of divination spells yet. He had almost reached the limits of evocation magic. Next, he had to improve the damage and attack range of his evocation spells by improving his level and magic power capacity. Should he focus his attention on transmutation magic? There were a lot of interesting spells of transmutation magic, which might be very helpful to the construction of the floating city. He soon decided to go to the Transmutation Magic Tower and learn their skills. Chapter 679 - The Unconventional Transmutation Magic Tower Chapter 679 The Unconventional Transmutation Magic Tower The Transmutation Magic Tower was hidden to the south of the Elf Forest in the unpopulated area beyond the border of Fareins. Roland had learned that piece of intelligence from Alfred. This Magic Tower wasnt good at fighting, but they knew a lot of weird spells. Those spells were quite unpredictable, but not very powerful in head-on clashes. So, this Magic Tower preferred to hide and conceal its presence from outsiders. However, there were communications among the eight Magic Towers, or the seven Magic Towers left, anyway. It took Roland three days to find it. Then, he successfully got admitted by the special Magic Tower with a recommendation letter from the Red Magic Tower. Unlike the Red Magic Tower where students were divided into classes, the Transmutation Magic Tower featured a communication system. It had a super big open-air classroom, where a dozen teachers sat in different places. The students could just sit down next to whichever teacher they wanted to listen to during the class. They were allowed to move freely as long as they didnt make noise. Such a communication system had an advantage. Many teachers and students often gave impromptu speeches on the knowledge and theories they recently developed, and the listeners who disagreed with them would debate with them. These debates could have hundreds of participants. One couldnt acquire truth without communication The Transmutation Magic Towers pedagogical methods might not be very scientific, but the collisions of different thoughts often raised sparks of inspiration. So, the spells of this Magic Tower were all rather untraditional. However, Roland liked its taste very much. He fell in love with this place after merely three classes. He completely forgot about the expedition in the Realm of Devils and making money. He listened to the teachers and students heuristic speeches every day and crazily took notes with the system. The speeches of many students didnt make sense from either a scientific or magic point of view, but they were still very interesting. Roland noted them down and hoped to see if he could make use of their insights in the future by inferring with big data. On one particular day, he was seated next to a mentor named Kujira, who expounded on the theory of the Rope Trick spell. The Rope Trick spell creates an alternate dimension for us to hide in. Many of you may wonder why its a transmutation spell instead of a spatial one. Kujira stroked his long beard and explained nicely, The spatial magic allows you to move in a space thats known and exists in reality, or to kill your enemy with the features of space, whereas the Rope Trick essentially creates a fake space. Remember, this space is fake. But thanks to the wonder of magic, it temporarily exists in a real space, like a small country within a bigger one. Some students were greatly enlightened, and some were still confused. Their expressions indicated the gap of the ability of comprehension among them. Naturally, Roland was one of the people who were greatly enlightened. Fake spaces can exist briefly. Kujira was always delighted to talk about magic theories. So, compared to Mystras Mansion, this spell has a time limit and cannot create a permanent space where you can keep your personal items. However, the Rope Trick has its own advantages. First of all, it doesnt require a high level. You can learn to cast it when youre almost a Master. Secondly, its very fast. You only need no more than two seconds to create a rope. Of course, its shortcomings are quite obvious too. You cannot enter the illusionary space until you climb to the end of the rope. If your arms arent strong enough to pull you up, you might not be able to enter that space. Also, the rope will still exist after you enter the space, and may expose your location to a canny enemy. Roland listened to the lecture with great interest. Transmutation magic was essentially different from evocation magic. Evoking was just a random bombardment of energy. Transmutation magic, on the other, enabled people to do incomprehensible and interesting things. After seven days, he had learned some transmutation spells, including Essence to Magic Power, Short-Time Shapeshift, Substance Transformation, and the Rope Trick he just heard about. None of the spells were good for fighting, but they were very intriguing. They gave Roland the feeling that they should be what magic was like. For example, at first, Roland thought that Essence to Magic Power was a spell to transform redundant energy in ones body into magic power. As it turned out, it was a spell to turn semen into magic power. The male Mages could use it on themselves, and the female Mages could use it on men. It was a highly-rated spell in the Transmutation Magic Tower. Almost all the capable male Mages loved the spell because it could keep them focused on magic studies without thinking about random stuff and increase their magic power. It was truly a great aid to Mages. The female Mages, on the other hand, loved the spell because it gave them an absolute edge in competition against mistresses. They would never worry that their husbands might cheat on them. With this powerful spell, they could easily have their men return to them in peace without making a scene. It was the guardian of their marriages. Transmutation magic was based on different principles from evocation magic. So, Roland had met many perplexing points during his study, but they didnt prevent him from absorbing the nutrition of transmutation magic like a dry sponge. Kujira continued, Magic is a culture and a symbol of civilization. Whoever masters magic will be extremely civilized. Magic is meant to serve the world and the people. Those who only learn offensive spells are essentially barbarians who can read. Speaking of serving the people, one fellow Mage created the water-making and oil-making spells a year ago. You all know that, right? Yes! Many people nodded. The two spells had already spread out in the magic world. The water-making spell stopped the Mages from worrying about water sources, or that someone might poison the water they drank. The oil-making spell, on the other hand, gave the Mages who were relatively poor a source of income and made it possible for them to continue their studies. The Mage who created such spells really understands the purpose of magic. Kujira looked at Roland and asked with a smile, Mr. Roland, can you tell us why and how you created the two spells? A lot of people looked at Roland, and the whole classroom seethed. Sir, are you Roland? Mr. Roland, thank you so much. The water-making spell is very convenient. I couldnt have found a treasure in the desert without it. Thank you for your oil-making spell, Mr. Roland. Ive saved enough money for my tuition fees for the next ten years. Other students surrounded Roland and expressed their gratitude at the same time. Unlike the other Magic Towers which merely regarded the two spells as tools, the Transmutation Magic Tower really appreciated Rolands creations. After all, the doctrine of the Transmutation Magic Tower was to make everybodys life easier. Roland stood up and coughed. All the people around him fell silent. Roland wasnt afraid of giving speeches. Besides, he always liked discussing magic with others. But he hadnt been here long, and he didnt make any friends yet, so he had only been listening Besides, he wasnt really good at the transmutation theories yet, and he didnt know what he could discuss with the others. Now that the teacher had called his name, he could only stand up and tell everybody his thoughts when he created the two spells. While the students of the Transmutation Magic Tower were very inspirational, their curriculum was unsystematic, and their knowledge foundation wasnt as solid as that of the students from the Red Magic Tower. They could cast spells according to models, but they might not understand the function of every node in the models. So, after Roland interpreted the functions of the nodes in his spells, many students were deeply impressed and suppressed, wondering why they never came up with such a simple solution. Roland continued, I planned to create a food-making spell too, but there was a major problem. Water can be fetched from the Infinite Spring, and oil can be fetched from the insect tomb in the Astral Plane. What about food? I couldnt find a place with inexhaustible food. However, Mr. Kujiras Substance Transformation spell gave me inspiration. If it can transform minerals, can it turn minerals or other things into food? Hearing that, the students all whispered to each other. Even the students and mentors in other areas were attracted too. Stroking his beard, Kujira thought for a moment and said, Theoretically speaking, its possible to transform minerals or other stuff into food with that spell, but the problem is that we dont understand the functions of the nodes in that spell. Why not? Roland asked. You mustve gotten to the bottom of the spell. Kujira explained, Not exactly. That spell is said to have been created by Mordenkainen, who lived in the age of magic desolation. So, his spell models were expressed in a completely different way from ours. We can copy him, but we dont know the functions of the nodes in those models. In other words, they could cause a chemical reaction by copying the instructions, but they didnt know the mechanism behind the chemical reaction. Therefore, it was impossible to modify it. Can I take a look at the model of Substance Transformation? asked Roland. Of course, said Kujira with a smile. Ill inform the library to give you a level-three permission. I hope you can create a food-making spell too. Roland nodded and sat down. The students nearby were all excited. They all wanted Roland to create the spell. If he could, they could save a lot of time in making food. Kujira clapped his hands and drew everybodys attention to him. Then he continued, Although Mr. Rolands inventions are special applications of spatial magic, we should all learn from his creativity and adaptiveness. Our Magic Tower focuses on transmutation spells. We want you to observe and think more and associate them with other spells that you know. After that, Kujira began to introduce the mechanism of another spell. The students were hooked by the lecture again. That was how a teaching session was conducted in the Transmutation Magic Tower. The teacher would only elaborate on principles and concepts without showing spell models. If a student developed interest in a certain spell, they could find its model in the library and learn it by themselves. Time always went by fast when one studied carefully. After the morning lecture was over, Roland stood up. A lot of people gathered around him this time. Those who appreciated Roland, and those who wanted to make friends with him because they thought that Roland was a big shot, all wanted to introduce themselves. They accompanied him to the cafeteria, but before they reached it, a young man stepped in their way. The young man was quite handsome. More importantly, the magic waves coming from his body were quite active. He was a Master! He couldnt have been older than 25. He was definitely a genius considering how strong he had become. Theres something that Id like to speak to Mr. Roland in private. Guys, would you mind? He smiled warmly. The magic apprentices around Roland all dispersed. Many of them even bowed at the young man respectfully before they left. Roland saw their attitude and realized that the young man must be a celebrity. After they were mostly gone, the young man walked closer and said with a smile, Allow me to introduce myself. I am Field Julian. Call me Field, Mr. Roland. Nice to meet you. Roland nodded at him and asked, Is there anything I can help you with? This is not the place to talk about it. Would you mind coming to a quieter location with me? Roland replied, Not at all. Thank you. Field led the way, and they came to a relatively quiet corner. There was a mottled wall at the corner that was covered in tiny green vines. Field said with a smile, Thank you for coming with me, Mr. Roland. You said you wanted to create a food-making spell, right?. Roland nodded. That was indeed his intention. He already had a water-making spell, and he felt uncomfortable for not having a food-making one. He felt that something was missing, which was terrible for him who was somewhat of a perfectionist. I know what Im about to say will probably make you very unhappy, but I still have to say it. Field dropped his smile and said solemnly, If you do create the food-making spell, can you give the honorable identity as its creator to me? Ill pay you a satisfactory price. Roland slightly raised his eyebrow without being too surprised. He wasnt infuriated either, mainly because Field spoke gently and wasnt one of those aggressive types. You should know that the identity as the creator of a spell is a great honor, Roland said casually. Besides, a satisfactory price? Im not short of money. Field smiled bitterly. I know you arent. Ive already investigated you. You are an undying Golden Son. The most priceless thing in this world is life, and as a Golden Son, youre not short of that, so I have no doubt that youre very rich. It seems that its the honor that you seek, but you dont impress me as someone who would claim other peoples work. Roland was rather curious. Why are you doing this? Field said with a bitter smile, Its a qualification for me to go somewhere. Ive tried, but Im not talented in that aspect and I never succeeded. I cant tell you anything else. Family secret. All right! Roland thought for a moment and was about to turn him down, when Field suddenly opened his mouth. Dont decline my request just yet. You can hear my offer first. Field took a deep breath and said, A thousand gold coins, and real estate on a rather prosperous commercial street in the capital of Fareins! Chapter 680 - There Are Competitions Everywhere Chapter 680 There Are Competitions Everywhere That was truly a generous offer. In a world where someone with a hundred gold coins could already be called a magnate, the man offered a thousand gold coins just for the title of the creator of a new spell. It was truly impressive. Moreover, he was willing to offer real estate on a commercial street in the capital of Fareins. The street couldnt have been the most popular one in downtown, but it mustve been on the second tier, or he wouldnt have listed it alongside a thousand gold coins. The annual revenues from this real estate could probably be about a hundred gold coins too. That was already an unbelievably high price that indicated his sincerity. However, Roland wasnt interested at all. About money The teleportation arrays of the Temple of Magic were already under construction. In half a year, Roland would receive a fairly large amount of dividends each month. He probably could get a dozen gold coins at the beginning, and as more magic arrays were built, the number might grow to hundreds or even thousands a month. The Temple of Magic would make an even bigger fortune out of that. Would he be short of money in the future? No He wasnt short of money even at this moment. He had sold quite a lot of Dragon Meat Reagents two months prior, and his treasury had become full again. As for real estate Betta had given him a large piece of land for him to develop magic schools and other associated businesses. Although Wetland City wasnt as prosperous as the capital yet, it had already shown the potential of a metropolis. After all, when Betta constructed the city, several friends who worked in the City Planning Bureau proposed a lot of suggestions. It was much better than the capital in terms of infrastructure. Besides, a lot of players were gathered there, which ensured fairness and justice in the city. Such a city was perfect for living and doing business. Very soon, Wetland City could become one of the top cities in the world, if not the most prosperous city. Rolands property in Wetland City was not small. So, Roland didnt care about the guys offer at all, although it did sound very wonderful. Besides, his goal was to establish a floating city. He didnt really need a large chunk of land. After all, no matter how valuable a piece of land was, it couldnt compare to his floating city. So he shook his head and said to Field, Sorry, but Im not tempted by your offer. After that, he turned around and was about to leave. At this moment, Field continued, Mr. Roland, bargaining is necessary in negotiations. I dont know you well, but you can tell me what you want. Everybody has certain things that they need but cant have in their life. Whatever you need, I can try to get it for you. Roland turned around and looked at Field. The mans eyes were sincere, and his attitude was genuine. Whether or not he was acting, he left a rather good impression on Roland. After a brief silence, Roland said, As a matter of fact, there are few things in this world that Im lacking. If I must name one thing, it would be unique magic knowledge, but I dont think you can find it for me, because youre asking for the authorship of a spell from me. Field instantly put on a bitter smile after hearing that. Thats true A genius as strong as yourself cant be needing anything. He was quite disappointed, but he quickly lifted his spirits and said, But in any case, my offer stands. Feel free to come to me if youre willing to accept it, or if you need anything. He briefly nodded at Roland and was about to leave. But exactly at this moment, Roland suddenly said, In fact, theres indeed something I need You sound like a big shot in Fareins. Does your family have any influence in the magic material market? Hearing that, Field smiled. Sir, you might not know my family very well. Allow me to introduce it to you. I came from the Julian family. My father is a duke in Fareins. Our familys territory is Sand Wood County. We have two thousand heavily-armored cavalrymen and thirty thousand infantrymen to protect our family. Thats only mediocre in Fareins. But our familys strong suit is business. My uncles and aunts have monopolized many unimportant businesses in Fareins, such as furs, construction materials, lamp oil, and paper. We sell most kinds of magic materials too. We havent monopolized them yet, but our market share is fairly large. Hearing that, Roland couldnt help but whistle. That was a business family that kept soldiers. No wonder they couldve afforded two thousand heavily-armored cavalrymen. Calvary was very costly. The money to support one heavily-armored cavalryman was enough to support twenty infantrymen. The man was from a real rich family. No wonder he had offered a thousand gold coins and excellent real estate. Field said hopefully, So, what magic materials do you need, sir, and how many? Ill give you a list tomorrow. Roland thought for a moment and continued, Theyll be a lot of materials from a variety of categories, but they wont be as expensive as what you offered, although it might take you more time to gather them. Can you accept that? Yes, of course I can. Field seemed rather happy. Its a deal then. ma Roland nodded. Then he thought for a moment and asked, But do you really want the food-making spell? Many people heard my declaration of making the food-making spell. Wouldnt they be suspicious if you turn out to be its creator? I know. Field shrugged helplessly. It would be even better if you have other spells that you created and havent sacrificed yet, but I know how difficult it is to create a new spell I do. Its not so easy to get inspiration for new spells. Ive considered it. Ill try to lower the As he went on talking, Field finally realized what he just heard and looked at Roland in shock. What did you say? You have new spells that havent been sacrificed to the Goddess of Magic yet? Roland nodded. Field took a deep breath. You are truly awesome, sir. Youre too kind. I only created them because of occasional inspirations. Field put on a bitter smile. Occasional inspirations? Youve already sacrificed the water-making and oil-making spells, and youre working on the food-making spell, which is already crazy enough. Yet, you have more new spells that youve been keeping a secret, when every other Mage, except the stealthy, wicked necromancers, wouldve announced it to the whole world after they created them. Though slightly jealous, Field knew that talent was an unreasonable thing. He, for one, had been born to a rich family that was better than most peoples. That was his talent too. Besides, as the spoiled son of a rich family, he shouldnt really compare himself to a genius. Very soon, Field readjusted his attitude and asked, May I ask what spell it is? Its a flying spell, said Roland with a smile. A flying spell? Field hesitated, because Wind Soaring was a popular flying spell that all Mages had been using for hundreds of years. Old didnt necessarily mean obsolete; it could also represent stability and safety. Could a new flying spell be better than the old Wind Soaring? Seeing the suspicion in the guys eyes, Roland said with a smile, Well meet in the woods on the east side tomorrow. That place is empty. Ill show you the spell and give you an inventory of the magic materials I need. All right. Field was greatly reassured. It would be fine if he could check the spell first. As long as it wasnt too inferior to the food-making spell, he would be happy to buy it. Then, the two of them separated. Roland went to the cafeteria and had lunch. He had to admit that the Transmutation Magic Tower had great cooks. The cakes and dishes were all delicious. After Roland was full and was about to take the tableware away, a young Mage suddenly came to him. He stood in front of Roland proudly, but he still slightly bowed when he said, Hello, Mr. Roland. Im Joby Robert. Hello. Holding the tableware, Roland asked, Is there anything I can help you with? Im told that Field Julian met you in private. The young Mage stared Roland in the eyes aggressively. May I ask what you talked about? Roland was briefly stunned. Thats very rude of you. I know, said Robert with a smile. But my father is the Great Elder of the Transmutation Magic Tower. I can help you if you want to learn a spell or find a model. I only want to know what Julian wants. Thats none of your business. Roland shook his head and walked away, unwilling to talk to him anymore. But Robert caught up with him and walked next to Roland. He said in a low voice, Mr. Roland, Im not your enemy. I just want to know more about Julian. Is he your enemy? Roland chuckled. Then go pester him. Why are you after me? He found the young man quite interesting. You dont want to be my enemy? Theres an obvious hint of hostility. If I dont listen to you, a threat will probably come next. Robert heaved a sigh. Mr. Roland, Im very serious and sincere. So can you tell me about it? All the files in the Transmutation Magic Tower will be accessible to you. However, if youre unwilling to No, I cant. Roland interrupted him and stopped. He stared at the man and said, So, whether you want to threaten me or frame me, hurry it up. Robert seemed rather angry, but he didnt offer any threat. He simply held back his fury and tried to say peacefully, Mr. Roland, you dont have to meddle in our conflict, which is meaningless to you and wont bring you any benefit. Roland smiled the moment he heard that. I dont want to meddle in your conflict, but he and I have a private deal. After its done, well be total strangers, and I dont care whatever happens between the two of you. But the private deal between you and him might get you involved in our conflict. Roland shrugged. Thats not my concern. Im here to study magic, not to deal with the likes of you, do you understand? Dont piss me off. If you find me too cocky, you can ask other people how the Spatial Magic Tower disappeared. Robert instantly felt silent. He did find Roland cocky, even cockier than himself, who was the Great Elders son. But he was aware of the disappearance of the Spatial Magic Tower. By the sound of that, did Roland play a big part in it? The students of the Transmutation Magic Tower werent interested in world news. They were more devoted to magic studies. However, the leadership should be well aware of the matter. He didnt know Rolands background yet, so he decided to ask his father first. It seems that youre really good. Robert heaved a sigh. However, I sincerely advise you to keep a distance from Field, unless youre stronger than a Legendary Mage or more powerful than the Robert family. After that, Robert walked away. Roland shook his head. A lot of people nearby overheard their conversation. Many of them had intended to talk to Roland after he finished lunch, but after seeing this scene and hearing the conversation, they temporarily dropped the thought. After all, Robert was the Great Elders son, and Roland appeared to be nothing more than a talented genius so far. Until the situation became clear, they might as well wait and keep their distance. Roland wasnt bothered by that. Quite the contrary, he was very happy. As a Mage, he was never fond of frequent social activities, which were a huge waste of time. Afterward, he went to the library and borrowed a few books on substance transformation to read. They were all written by the big shots of the transmutation school who had already died. A lot of the knowledge was very useful. The correct name of Substance Transformation was Mineral Transformation, because it could only transform minerals. Roland studied the transformable minerals and found that they were all metals. Bronze, iron, silver, and gold were the mostly common metals among them. However, nobody attempted to make money with this spell. Although gold was very valuable, transforming bronze and iron into gold wouldnt be profitable, because for some reason, transforming other metals into gold required a huge amount of magic power and was very inefficient. It was often the case that tens of thousands of pieces of bronze or iron could only be turned into one piece of gold. The loss was quite heavy. The ability seemed useless at first glance, but at critical moments when one needed to make weapons with bronze and iron but couldnt find any materials, transforming one piece of gold into thousands of pieces of bronze and iron would solve the urgent problem. But it would still be a huge loss, and could only be used as expedience. So, it was better to transform bronze and iron into each other, and gold and silver into each other. One of the books mentioned that its author once transformed bronze into mercury one-third its weight as well as some other weird minerals, whose elements and usages he didnt know. However, such transformations were highly random and could hardly be replicated. The book speculated that it might be because the author always changed the input of magic power randomly, and he had terrible control over magic power. So, the resulting minerals were different every time. Also, the efficiency of transformation was very low. It was often the case that ten pieces of materials could only result in one piece of another material. Roland was quite astounded when he read these books. Substance Transformation essentially dismembered substances into elementary particles and then reassembled them into new substances! Although it could only be used to transform metals at this moment, Roland had no doubt that he could transform other substances too as soon as he found the structural mechanism of the spell. If he could find the patterns in the spell Roland smiled. It would be a practical spell even if he couldnt make food with it. After all, many special metals were very useful, especially in making weapons and armor. Chapter 681 - Forever Mordenkainen Chapter 681 Forever Mordenkainen Roland studied magic in his own chamber. Substance Transformation wasnt hard to learn. At least, the spell model that the Magic Tower provided wasnt. But the problem was that it could only transform the four basic metals. To transform other substances, he had to figure out the different ratio of magic power. Then there was a huge problem. Roland didnt really know the molecular formulas of other substances. For example, Roland knew that water was dihydrogen monoxide. But then, what did the oxygen atom look like? How should elementary particles be combined into that? How should they be rearranged into hydrogen atoms? After thinking about that, Roland found it rather tricky to reassemble new substances with the spell. Having no other choice, he could only ask the netizens on the Internet in a thread. I have a question for the experts in physics. What should I do if I want to create new substances with the elementary particles? He described the problem he encountered when he studied the new spell in detail in the thread, and asked what books he should buy if he wanted to learn the basic structures in matter. All the replies were very interesting. I have no idea what Roland described. What are elementary particles? Is that a physics concept? It used to be, but they dont talk about it anymore, because the so-called elementary particles have complicated structures too. I dont think anybody can answer Rolands question. Me neither. Its possible to combine different molecules with chemistry, but atoms are minimal and indivisible particles in chemical experiments. It seems pretty easy to turn a hydrogen atom into a carbon atom by adding a few electrons to its surface, but its chemically impossible. Even I, a doctor in chemistry, cant do that. Building a new substance or atom with neutrons, protons, and electrons? I think its an academic question in the micro world, which Im told is a place predominated by idealism. But Im not sure about that. Im 27 and Im already bald. You must know what I do for a living. Hehe. Are you a coder? Idealism? Shouldnt it be magic? Mr. Roland, I dont think you should worry too much about science. If the transformation of substances involves elemental particles, how was the Substance Transformation spell created? I dont think the Mages in the game world understand molecules or atoms. They mustve invented the spell with a magical principle or method. Roland was greatly enlightened when he read that. Exactly like what the last netizen said, the magic world had its own rules, and science wasnt the only way to comprehend the world. Therefore, there must be secrets that he hadnt unearthed from Substance Transformation. It was because when Roland parsed the spell, he only discovered the energy flow but didnt find any energy nodes concerning the transformation between different substances. What had he missed? He tried the spell again and again and explored the nodes repeatedly, but he always had the feeling that he was taking a part for the whole. The spell wasnt really hard, but it contained a lot of nodes that were expressed in the jargons of Mordenkainens age. It was slightly difficult to construct it due to the time gap. Fortunately, Roland had a database to help him with confirmation and extrapolation. After he examined all the nodes, he found that they were all about input and output of magic energy, and the core energy transfer nodes were nowhere to be seen. That didnt seem right. Roland examined the nodes again, and the result was the same. Then, the research on the spell came to a halt. On the second day, Roland went to the place they agreed upon and waited for Field. After Field arrived, he showed him the Cloud Flight spell. This spell which looked splendid and could carry multiple people won Field over instantly. Ill take it! Ill take it! Field rubbed his hands excitedly with glowing eyes. Mr. Roland, would you mind noting the design principle of the spell and the functions of every node? Of course not. Roland gave him a dozen pieces of paper that contained detailed designs and explanations of the spell. He then handed another piece of paper that was full of words over to him. Those are all the magic materials I want. They arent easy to gather, but I think theyll be worth it. Field carefully read through Rolands list and was greatly relieved, There are truly a lot of them, and some are quite rare, but its not really a problem for the Julian family. Your new spell is much more valuable. Ive taken advantage of you. Roland nodded and felt that Field was keen enough to see the potential of the spell. Not at all. Weve done each other a favor. In any case, thank you very much, sir. Field was extremely grateful and left with the spell model first. Then, Roland left the woods and returned to the city where the Transmutation Magic Tower was located He wasnt in a hurry to resume his magic studies. He would rather take a walk first. This city had been constructed because of the Transmutation Magic Tower. There was a similar city where every Magic Tower was located. Everybody in those cities was in the service of Mages. The people here lived a better life than those near the Red Magic Tower. After all, there were many more resources in this subtropical forest than there were in the desert where the Red Magic Tower was located. However, the Red Magic Tower, established in a desolate and destitute place, was apparently better at combat. While Roland was taking a walk on the street, he couldnt prevent himself from thinking about magic. After a while, he found that Kujira, the mentor he chose, was sitting on the lawn, or what appeared to be a small part of a lawn, on one side of the street. The mentor was surrounded by kids. He was playing a lot of level-zero tricks, such as Hands of Magic, Magic Servant, and Illumination, while he said, Mental power is very important to a Mage. If your mental power is high enough, you can beat an enemy even with such level-zero tricks. All the kids looked at him with admiration in their glowing eyes. Those kids were all locals. They were even mostly the offspring of Mages or apprentices who longed for magic adventures. Kujira continued, Also, spells can be changed, as soon as we use different variables. After he said that, he cast a dozen light balls, and they gathered together and fell on the lawn. Very soon, the grass around the light ball withered and blackened at a high speed. Do you see that? With enough mental power, you can hurt the enemy with tiny light balls, said Kujira with a smile. So, dont rush to study any spells yet. Meditate and improve your mental power. If you lay a solid foundation, your future studies will be very easy and efficient. All the kids agreed with him in excitement. Roland, on the other hand, was stunned to see the light ball. He vaguely sensed something. The main purpose of the light ball was no longer illumination, although it could still illuminate the surroundings. Wait All the nodes in Substance Transformation were energy streams! Roland clapped his hands. He suddenly had an inspiration and vaguely realized the mysteries behind the spell. He was about to leave, when Kujira rose and called out to him. Mr. Roland, please wait a moment. Roland stopped and looked back with a smile. You knew that I was behind you, Mentor Kujira? Theres no need to call me mentor when were out. Kujira walked to Roland and pointed at the street ahead. What about a walk? Although Roland was eager to go back and confirm his speculation with experiments, he had to nod his head after his mentor said that. Of course, mentor. Kujira shook his head and stepped forward first. Roland instantly caught up with him and walked next to him. As an old man, Kujira was no longer as high-spirited as in his prime years. He even looked rather exhausted. With his hands at his back, he walked slowly. Mr. Roland, did you have an argument with Young Robert in the cafeteria yesterday? Yes. Roland nodded. Young Robert is reckless and seems arrogant, but hes essentially a good kid. While observing the passersby on the street, Kujira said with a smile, Julian is a good kid too. Things are rather difficult now that youve been caught between them. Its not difficult at all. Roland shook his head. I wont meddle in the trivial matters between them at all. The trivial matters? asked Kujira with a smile. Its no trivial matter at all. The title of Great Elder is open for competition every ten years in our Magic Tower. Old Roberts term is about to be over, and Old Julian is his strongest competitor. To secure a second term, Old Robert has to overshadow Old Julian. So it was a conflict about power. Even so, Roland still felt that it was trivial. However awesome the Transmutation Magic Tower was, and no matter how good the learning environment was, it was just a tiny force in a tiny city. Roland had seen great scenes. Not just the battles of players and the war in the Realm of Devils, it was also a great matter when the Goddess of Light arrived and apologized to two major forces. In comparison, the two groups of peoples competition for the leadership of the Magic Tower looked like childs play. Seeing how unconcerned Roland was, Kujira stopped and said solemnly, Roland, you are still new here and have no supporters. Dont get involved in their competition. You cant possibly hold back their attacks if nobody backs you up. Roland knew that Kujira said that for his sake. He nodded and thanked him for his kindness. Ill go back to my dormitory right now. I wont go out except to go to class or eat food. Thatll be great. Kujira nodded in satisfaction. Roland slightly bowed at Kujira and quickly returned to his dormitory. Roland was rich enough to rent a whole dormitory for himself. It was quiet and more convenient for his experiments. Roland analyzed the Substance Transformation spell again, but instead of examining one node at a time, he observed dozens of them in groups all at once. Just in time, Kujiras light ball gave him inspiration. Was it possible that some of the nodes were for different purposes than what they appeared to be? When he carefully calculated and reviewed the groups of nodes, Roland finally found something interesting: a large amount of magic power disappeared during the application of the magic. Conservation of energy worked in most spells in this world. Where was the magic power lost to after the Substance Transformation was initiated? C. Roland examined the nodes where the energy disappeared. His attempts all failed until the eighth try, when he finally noticed a part that seemed to be wrong. That part contained a lot of barriers and was slightly brighter than the other nodes. It was only slightly different, not obvious at all. However, after he drew the nodes and connected them, he found that those nodes constituted a five-star magic array. A magic array had been embedded into the spell model! That was an extremely advanced trick. Not just Roland, even the Goddess of Magic might not have been able to do that when she was young After identifying the nodes of the hidden magic array and inferring them with big data, Roland discovered, to his surprise, that it was actually a causal spell. He finally had an answer to why Substance Transformation could change matter. It was a causal spell that could invoke changes when it was activated. As for the unbelievable number of nodes, they were simply meant to transmit energy to power the causal magic array, which had a huge energy cost. Even more unbelievably, to simplify the spell model, the nodes were carefully arranged, and many of them were for multiple purposes. They were also arranged in a very delicate way and revealed no anomaly during the energy transmission. Probably nobody couldve thought that a magic array that was purely made of nodes could be hidden among other nodes except the creator. That was the core of the spell. As expected of Mordenkainen, the strongest Mage of the past age. After his initial admiration, Roland began to study the causal spell. Then, he ran into problems again. The magic array was very sophisticated. Roland didnt understand the functions of some of the nodes at all. They were like an encrypted language to him. After all, he had recorded too little data on causal magic. Things were rather tricky. But it was fine. He could try to infer it backward, or just crack the encryption with brute force. When Roland was about to devote himself to magic studies, someone knocked at his door. He was rather angry Those who were concentrated on their work hated being disturbed more than anything else. He opened the door, only to see Young Robert leaning against the wall. Roland couldnt help but ask, What can I do for you? Young Robert took out a piece of paper and waved it in front of Roland. These are the requirements you submitted to Julian. May I ask what you offered him in return? The style of the words on the paper had changed. It wasnt Rolands own handwriting. Someone mustve copied it. Was there a traitor on Julians side? Chapter 682 - Roland’s Simple Sugar Creation Chapter 682 Rolands Simple Sugar Creation Blocking the door, Roland asked, Anything else? He clearly didnt want to let the visitor in. Young Robert shook the piece of paper and smiled warmly. I think we should chat, and I should be qualified to visit your room. Not interested. Roland didnt make way for him. He had no time to talk to him. He was quite angry when someone disturbed him while he was having great fun studying magic. Theres something I need to take care of. Lets talk later. His cold tone made Young Robert frown. He had been meaning to talk to Roland in a friendly way, but he was unhappy with Rolands attitude, so he said in a harsher tone, Mr. Roland, Im speaking to you on behalf of the Robert family. I hope you can show some respect to our family and the current Great Elder. Or what? Are you going to kick me away? asked Roland with a smile. Will you expel me from the Transmutation Magic Tower? Of course not. Young Robert shrugged. But it wont be easy if you want to read more spell models. Roland smiled and shut the door. Young Robert took a deep breath. He felt like cursing and beating the man, but remembering what Robert said the previous day, he dropped the thought. He had already asked his father, but his father didnt know much about Roland either except that Roland was related to the disappearance of the Spatial Magic Tower. As to Rolands exact role in that incident, it was still being investigated. Communication in this world wasnt as fast and convenient as that on Earth in the information age. Even special tricks such as Magic Messenger had distance and user restrictions. Not every Mage could use them. Therefore, it would take a lot of time for a message to be delivered from far away, if it could be delivered at all. But in any case, the fact that Roland played a part in the disappearance of the Spatial Magic Tower indicated that he wasnt as simple as he seemed. Was he a mere creator of some petty spells? Neither Young Robert nor Old Robert dared to take the risk. After waiting for a while at the door, Young Robert had no choice except to leave. He was proud and condescending, but he wasnt stupid. Even Field, his archenemy, seemed to respect Roland very much, so the man definitely had his specialties. He must not completely push the man to Fields side because of rashness. After shutting the door, Roland continued his magic studies. He used Substance Transformation again and again and slowly analyzed every node in the causal magic array. However, the causal magic array was completely unreasonable and unpredictable. The functions of the node seemed to be changing all the time. Four days passed, and Roland made absolutely no progress in his research. He was even more upset than before. He asked Mentor Kujira if the man knew causal magic well. But the old man simply opened his hands and said, No, we only make use of the causal spell by following tradition. Its barely possible to figure out the effects of the nodes. Its barely possible? Kujira nodded and said, Mordenkainen stated in some of his books that the causal spells are actually pieces of rules and each piece leads to a result. If you want to change it, you have to gather more pieces and copy the models of other pieces. Pieces of rules? Roland suddenly remembered that the causal magic array was divided into different sections. He thought everything through. The whole time, he had been on the wrong path. The nodes in the causal magic array were just its basic elements. It was just like how every iron molecule in an iron sphere was the foundation of the sphere, but nothing more than the foundation. Each iron molecule was the same as any other iron molecule. They were of the same size and weight and played the same role. No matter which part of the sphere was connected to electricity, the whole sphere would be electric. If that were so, the round magic array wasnt as important as he had thought in the Substance Transformation spell. Roland instantly bid farewell to his mentor and returned to his dormitory, then he started new magic experiments. He reversed the causal magic array, embedded it back into the original spell model, and used the spell again. As expected the Substance Transformation spell was activated again, and it looked the same as before. It further proved what Roland thought Earlier, Roland was impressed by the nodes that had multiple usages, but they turned out to be for nothing more than ensuring the connection of the causal magic array. The other results of the nodes were only the side effects caused by the instability of the causal magic array. Wasnt his admiration for Mordenkainen earlier ungrounded? He had thought that Mordenkainen specifically rearranged the nodes of the spell to simplify its model. As it turned out It was true that the less knowledgeable a person was, the more likely they would admire a big shot with their bias. Roland separated the causal magic array again and wondered if it could lead to other results after he added some random nodes to its center or periphery, since it was just a broken piece. He immediately tried it. Roland was very careful. He added one node at a time. Those nodes were connected to the causal magic array, but there were no additional effects. Roland thought that one additional node might be too ineffective to be noticed. So he added more nodes and connected them. He started with five, then ten, twenty, and thirty. The number slowly increased. The causal magic array was no different from earlier, and it could only transform metals. However, after he added a hundred nodes in random places, the causal magic array went on a strike when he tried it again. It trembled and knocked the hundred nodes away. It also resulted in a minor explosion that blew up Rolands face. Fortunately, it wasnt very powerful, and it didnt kill him. It seemed that adding nodes wasnt an option. What about separating them? Roland started to copy the node distribution of the causal magic array one part after another, starting from one side. Then, he put the copied parts into the spell model of Substance Transformation and activated the spell. The result became quite obvious. The effect was different every time he copied a different part. Some could activate the spell, but couldnt transform the matter. Some had a very low efficiency of transformation, and some did weird things, like turn metals into carbon. There were all sorts of variations. Roland had great fun. He further subdivided the causal magic array into smaller pieces and ran experiments. He was addicted to the different effects and combinations. He even skipped classes and simply did experiments in his dormitory. When the game time was over every day, instead of meeting with his friends, he simply recorded the experiment data on his computer and planned for future experiments. All that he could think of was experiments. Roland had found thirteen special and useful effects from the tiny pieces of the causal magic array. As for the other effects, they might be useful too, but their side effects were more obvious. Nevertheless, Roland wrote them down. He knew that he was like an ant crawling on an elephant. He had only felt a few hairs of the elephant, and he couldnt think that they were the entirety of the elephant. Those bad side effects might be indispensable from a bigger and more comprehensive point of view. They were just side effects under certain special circumstances in the eyes of insignificant human beings. Just like that, he spent more than ten days working on magic experiments. Then, he found ideas for the food-making spell. He didnt have to create food products, like magic bread, with the spell. Glucose was also an option, as suggested by a netizen on the forum. Glucose was mainly made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Its chemical formula was C6H1206, and all those elements could be easily found in the air. Also, glucose could provide a lot of energy. A person wouldnt die even if they had glucose every day with nothing else, although they might lack other nutrients. Roland could find enough raw materials by extracting carbon dioxide and water from the air. The real problem was to combine the two things into glucose in a chemical reaction. Under normal circumstances, a catalyst was needed for the reaction, but Roland took advantage of one of the pieces of the causal magic array and used magic power as a catalyst. Now that he had an idea, all he needed to do was embed it in a spell model. He spent another half a day working out a sugar-making spell. In the end, he checked it for possible mistakes for half a day. He then ran dozens of test experiments, so a hill of glucose powder piled up on his desk. He tasted some of the powder. It was rather delicious. Its done! Roland held a handful of glucose in each other and smiled delightedly. If I cant make bread, I can always make some sugar to fill my stomach. He transcribed the spell model and put it in the system Backpack. Then, he left the dorm, planning to sacrifice it to the Goddess of Magic. He had created the oil-making spell, the water-making spell, and now the sugar-making spell. His name would definitely be on the players chronicle of this game as well as the history books in this world. When one became wealthy and powerful enough, one tended to want to be remembered by future generals. He left the dorm ecstatically and was about to teleport to the capital of Fareins with Long-Distance Teleportation, when he noticed that the atmosphere wasnt right. The students who passed the hallway all looked at Roland with admiration. Roland was quite confused. He had been in seclusion in his dorm for a dozen days. Of course he didnt know what happened. He stopped a random passerby and asked, Did anything happen recently? The student recognized Roland. He immediately replied with a smile, Mr. Roland, youve been studying magic in your dorm for a dozen days, so you might not know this. Old Julian has become the new Great Elder. Many people knew that Roland and Julian had a private deal and they were rather close. As such, they envied Roland for his luck. So that was the case! Roland vaguely realized how the Julian family defeated the Robert family. It was because of the Cloud Flight spell. Roland smiled and thanked the student who answered his question. He walked away and teleported to the capital of Fareins. He visited Stephanie and Andonara first. Absence made the heart grow fonder. Anna dragged him to Stephanies bed and spent three days and three nights there with him. Stephanie was quite bummed. As the master of this manor, she couldnt sleep in her own bed, but had to sleep in a guest room. After that, Roland went to the suburb of the city and found a church for the Goddess of Magic. It couldnt be helped The Holy Realm of the Church of Light was in the city. Naturally, no temples of other gods or goddesses were allowed there. Not just the Goddess of Magic, even the Life Goddess had to build her churches in the suburbs. Inside the church, Roland sacrificed Rolands Simple Sugar Creation. Ten seconds after the spell disappeared, an enormous stream of divine power was projected, and Roland was pulled into the Paradise of Magic. On the big floating platform covered in green and white circular patterns, Mystra read the paper so excitedly that her cheeks were red What an interesting thought, to extract materials from the air and make this special sugar. I just tasted it. Its rather delicious. While speaking, Mystra walked to Roland. This sugar is so pure. What do you call it? Glucose? Sugar that comes from grapes? It doesnt taste like grapes. Mystra was slightly confused. Besides, you clearly extracted materials from the air. Oh, its rather hard to explain. In fact, it wasnt hard to explain. Roland simply didnt bother to do that, because it contained knowledge from reality. Hey, Roland! Mystra looked at him with glittering eyes. I know theres a lot of special knowledge in your head. So, can you worship me? A god or goddess could indirectly acquire all the knowledge of their believers. Of course, just the knowledge, not the thoughts in their mind. At this moment, Mystra was further convinced that Roland was a treasure. It would be such a shame if she didnt seize such a good boy and let someone else take him away. Roland smiled and didnt say anything. Mystra continued, You wont regret it. I can give you favor, wealth and power. You can be the pope of the Church of Magic. Furthermore, youll be my best friend, my saint, and my companion. Mystra was very close to him. There was no telling if it was his imagination, or maybe Mystra had just eaten so much of the glucose when she tested the new experiment, but Roland smelled something sweet and fragrant. It was creamy and fascinating. Roland took a deep breath. Sorry, I can be your friend, but not your believer. Chapter 683 - Mystra’s Sword Chapter 683 Mystras Sword Mystra was rather frustrated to be declined by Roland. She heaved a sigh. Other goddesses seem much luckier than me. The man that theyre interested in is their believer, friend, and companion. Ive finally met someone who is rather capable, yet he wants nothing to do with me except earning money and reputation with me. She spoke in a slow and gloomy tone as if Roland were really a terrible man. Roland secretly chuckled. Born in an information world, he had seen countless girls manipulating the guys who were in love with them. He didnt think he could see through all of them, but he certainly wouldnt fall for this one, whose expression was obviously insincere. We are merely cooperating with each other. Roland had truly intended to earn more reputation and money through Mystra, but it was a win-win. It wasnt like he didnt pay anything. Sacrificing spells could benefit the development of the Church of Magic. Mystra had received a lot more power of faith lately, mostly because of the oil-making and water-making spells that Roland sacrificed. After the Temples of Magic shared them, they got quite a lot more long-term believers. Few Mages could avoid learning those two spells in the future. The sugar-making spell was undoubtedly another must-learn. Seeing that Roland wasnt tricked, Mystra helplessly rolled her eyes. Beauty was truly a great advantage. Rolling your eyes could easily ruin other peoples impression of you, but when she did that, she almost looked cute. Certain people with special interests would probably find her attractive. However, Roland was still not intrigued. Having been enjoying himself regularly, he was already strongly resistant to beautiful women. Storing the paper on which the spell model was written, Mystra said in disappointment, Okay, lets be friends for now, but I still want you to become my believer someday. Maybe later. Roland subtly declined her. This is your reward. Mystra waved her hand. A light ball submerged into Rolands body. A few seconds later, a sophisticated spell model appeared in Rolands mind. Mystra looked at him with a smile. I know that old woman Sophie gave you a scythe. But the scythe is just a dead object. What I gave you is real good stuff. Sensing the nodes in his mind, Roland asked in surprise, Mystras Sword?. Yes. Mystra opened her right hand, and a long and narrow sword suddenly appeared in her hand. This is my alchemical creature, known as Mystras Sword. The sword had no sheathe and was completely black. However, there was a white eye at the grip of the sword, which was staring at Roland with great interest. Sister, this is the first time youve seen a human being since you became a goddess, right? Hes also a man. The voice of the sword was gender-neutral. Mystra said with a smile, Hes very talented. He can look a god in the eyes. Hell be our good friend. The sword hummed a response and then disappeared. Seizing the chance, Roland asked, The spell to summon Mystras Sword already exists in the main plane. Is there anything special about the spell you gave me? This is the spell model that I optimized after I became a goddess. It requires a lower level to learn, and the sword illusion that it summons is more powerful and intelligent, said Mystra with a smile. Even the illusion summoned by a Legendary Mage with Mystras Sword can only inherit thirty percent of the original swords power. But if you do that with the spell Ive optimized, it can be seventy percent as powerful, and more intelligent. Awesome! According to the books that Roland had read, Mystras Sword was a powerful, continuous support spell. After Mystras Sword was summoned, it would automatically float near its summoner and enhance them with a lot of support spells. It would also voluntarily attack the enemy, or help take damage. It could also be a partner to speak with. However, it wasnt easy to summon Mystras Sword. Even if ones level met the requirement, one still might not succeed in summoning it. It depended on if ones soul matched the sword. So, it was a matter of luck whether or not Mystras Sword could be summoned. Few Mages in the entire world could summon it. At this moment, Mystra had offered an optimized version and even asked the sword to meet Roland. The hint was almost obvious. Mystras Sword would surely show up when Roland summoned it. Mystras Sword was well-acknowledged as a powerful spell. If possible, every Mage wanted an illusion of Mystras Sword. Are you satisfied with such a reward? asked Mystra with a smile. I am. After a pause, Roland said, Goddess, Im curious about something. What do the odds of success in summoning Mystras Sword under normal circumstances depend on? Apart from personality and the matching rate of soul waves, my baby loves those who are charming. You mean those who have a high Charm? Yes. Roland heaved a sigh. No wonder the odds of successfully summoning Mystras Sword are so low. Under normal circumstances, the Mages focused most of their stats points on Intelligence. The Mages who had a high Charm, such as Vivian, often had limited achievements. If she had devoted some points to Intelligence, she wouldve probably become a Master. Yet, she had barely made any progress after she became an Elite. Mystras Sword, on the other hand, was a high-level summoning spell that only the Legends could learn. Generally speaking, few Legendary Mages had a high Charm. Like really few! Since the Goddess of Magic was capable of letting her intelligent alchemical sword respond to summoning of certain people, Roland had an idea. Goddess, arent you frustrated by the lack of believers? Yes. Thats why I want you to create more interesting spells that low-level Mages can use. Mystra nodded with a smile. Its very important to me. Mystra could transform other peoples divine power into her own. It was inappropriate for her to rob the other Lawful gods, so she could only look for evil gods in the Astral Plane. She robbed them of their evil power of faith, refined it with magic, and then used it as her own power of faith. However, the additional two steps resulted in the low efficiency. Over the years, Mystra had lived on the tiny bit of power of faith from her believers and her loot. She had to budget carefully, and her life wasnt easy. Who would work hard if they could get what they wanted without doing anything? Her life didnt improve until Roland sacrificed a few spells recently. Still, the improvement wasnt significant enough. Roland nodded and realized that all gods and goddesses loved the power of faith. Otherwise, the Church of Light and the Church of Life wouldnt have been expanding so hard. All the Lawful deities were the same. The Goddess of Magic couldnt be an exception. Mystras Sword is a spell that all Mages yearn to learn, and few have succeeded. Roland pointed at his head. In fact, you can promise that when the faith of the believers and clerics of the Church of Magic reaches a certain level, they will automatically pick up Mystras Sword and can summon it with a 100% success rate. I believe that a lot more high-level Mages will be willing to worship you. Mystra hit her right hand with her left fist and said with great enlightenment. Right, I didnt know that method before. Thank you very much. Then she waved her hand excitedly and released Roland back to the main plane from the Realm of Gods. Roland saw the tiny church again. Roland took a deep breath and left. He went to the First Princesss manor and found Stephanie and Andonara. Andonara looked as happy as before. She was only responsible for protecting Stephanie and eating nice food every day. Her life was quite comfortable. Stephanie, on the other hand, had dark shadows under her eyes. What happened? Have you been busy? Roland sat down opposite her. Father has given some of his power to me. I have to deal with those old foxes every day, and reason with the glowing zealous believers. Life is so hard. Stephanie laid her upper body on the table, not caring that her breasts were being squeezed and even partly exposed. You and Anna look so happy. You only need to do magic experiments every day, and shes satisfied just by watching you. Why is your life so easy and simple?. Because were strong. Roland smiled. Leaving Anna aside, Im a powerful and promising Mage who knows how to build a floating city. So, I can ignore many of the unspoken rules and shackles, but you cant. Do you know that truth can be hurtful sometimes? Stephanie sat straight, depressed. I have no strength, and I can only count on someone elses power. How embarrassing Okay, you should go. Anna would want to have fun with you if you stay, which will make it even harder for me to rest. You really messed up my room. I opened the window for half a day, but the smell still lingered. Hearing that, Roland quickly flashed away. He had to, as he felt rather guilty. Roland returned to the Transmutation Magic Tower and rested in the dormitory for half a day. Then he went to class. In the class, everybody who knew him looked at him in a weird way. At first, Roland thought that it was still the consequence of his successful investment on the Julian family. But then he realized that those people looked at him with gratitude and admiration. Huh? That didnt feel right. Normally, they should be jealous of a man who had won a political gamble. Why the gratitude and admiration? Then Kujira came. The moment he saw Roland, he said with a smile, Mr. Roland, its truly remarkable for you to create a food-making spell so quickly. Although it does not provide staple food, the sugar that I tried can indeed keep me full without requiring additional magic materials. Incredible! He raised his thumb at Roland with obvious appreciation on his face. Chapter 684 - You Probably Don’t Understand Chapter 684 You Probably Dont Understand Kujiras admiration was genuine and not in any way fake. Just half a day ago, the Goddess of Magic informed all her churches that those who believed in her would be more likely to learn the Sword of Mystra, and this impacted the magic community to a certain degree. But what truly set the entire magic community abuzz was Rolands Simple Sugar Creation that came along with the goddesss message. All the magic organizations were concerned about the news of the Church of Magic, not to mention that this time, the Goddess of Magic Mystra had sent a divine message. As the idlest lawful goddess, the Goddess of Magic had issued even fewer divine messages than the Water Goddess. So when a divine message appeared, it had to be something big This made all the magic organizations around the world pay considerable attention. Then they discovered that there was a reason for the divine message. The Sword of Mystra was indirectly gathering faith for the goddess, and this was something that they could see and had to admit was a good move, and an obvious one. The Mages in the world were somewhat unconvinced by Mystra, and so were less inclined to believe in her. But with this treatment, there were probably a few powerful Mages that would like to rely on Mystra. After all, the previous Church of Magic didnt store spell models as comprehensive as those in the Association of Mages in various countries, and there was little to gain from the church internally-it was quite austere. But now, even if it was just for the success rate of Sword of Mystra, it was worth giving her their faith. After all who didnt want to have power? Besides, Mystra was also a beauty, and for the sake of power, believing in a beautiful woman wasnt shameful. Then what truly surprised them was Rolands Simple Sugar Creation that came with the divine message. Although sugar wasnt a staple food, it could provide energy, and eating more of it could keep one from starving. This was quite significant as it made Mages a special life form that would never starve in the suburbs and would remain self-sufficient as long as they had magic power. If the oil-making and water-making spells were both just for the magic community to admire Roland, then the appearance of the sugar-making spell made the entire magic community brighten up and feel extremely amazed. For both the water-making and oil-making spells were essentially just a cheap trick of carrying matter from another place by magical means. These techniques could actually be done and created by Mages of Elite level and above, but they just didnt think of it. I could do it too, but he just got ahead of mesuch thoughts had always persisted in the minds of the vast majority of Mages. This was why their evaluation of these two spells was not too high. Along with that, the evaluation of Roland was only on the level of a very thoughtful young man. But Rolands Simple Sugar Creation was completely different from the two aforementioned trick spells. This was a new spell in the truest sense. It involved new ideas. In the Goddess of Magics message, the spell model of the sugar-making spell was annotated like this. Rolands Simple Sugar Creation (Level-One Spell) Effect: After use, depending on the amount of magic power and the strength of the spirit, you will receive one or more portions of glucose. It can be eaten, has better flavor when mixed with water, and has the effect of allaying hunger. Please note that in desert or arid areas, the amount of glucose received will be reduced. Requirement: Normal air. The material was air. This alone was a shock to people. Could air be considered a magic material? Wasnt it available everywhere? And to make sugar from the air, what kind of operation was this? Substance transformation was only capable of transforming metal ores. This changed the views of all Mages. They couldnt wait to transcribe the spell model and use it. After all, it was a level-one spell, and as long as they were official Mages, there was no hindrance to using it. as no It was an immediate success. Then it generated a lot of sweet powdered sugar. After mixing it with water, it tasted all right. Then they began to study this spell model. At first, they also thought that Roland had used cheap tricks similar to the oil-making and water-making spell, but all of them were baffled when the nodes of the spell model were taken apart. Completely baffled! Couldnt understand. All of them were energy input nodes, with no output nodes in sight at all. Only a few Legendary Mages had identified the small divination magic array hidden in the nodes, but the problem was that they had never seen this divination magic array. It seemed to be new. It was all but impossible to see which nodes were extracting air, which were responsible for converting matter, and which were responsible for stabilizing the magic input channels. What was even more outrageous was that this spell only had twenty-six nodes. Damn it even the nodes of level-one spell Hypnosis are more plentiful than that. The sugar-making spell involved the transformation of matter, how could there be so few nodes? When you looked at the real matter transformation spell, it was concise, but the number of nodes was still mind-numbingly high. What the hell is with this sugar-making spell? Any Mage with a bit of strength couldnt help but doubt their eyes when they saw the pitifully small number of nodes in that spell model. Am I mistaken in my delusion of trying to find more nodes in a level-one spell? They couldnt parse it or understand it, and finally, they could only admire and worship Roland. Such regard soon spread, even affecting most of the magic apprentices. This spell could also be learned by magic apprentices who knew how to operate magic power a little. For many magic apprentices, even if they didnt become official Mages, as long as they learned Rolands oil-making and sugar-making spells, they wouldnt starve to death. In the future, if they sold oil and sugar, they might not be able to become rich, but they would be able to live at a modest level. Kujira was one of the people who tried to analyze the sugar-making spell and couldnt understand it. He sat down in his dedicated seat, looked at Roland, and asked with a smile, Mr. Roland, is it convenient for you to explain the concept of this sugar-making spell? Of course, its not mandatory, its just my suggestion. You can ignore me, after all; there is the right to exchange magic skills but also the right to privacy. Although the Transmutation Magic Tower was about communication, they didnt force people to reveal their trump cards. It was all up to individual will. Roland stood up, thought about it, and said, Mentor, where would you like to start? Because it involves a lot of knowledge that kind of doesnt quite fit with magic. Kujira was a little baffled when he heard this. This is clearly magic, but you say it doesnt quite match with magic? So the sugar-making spell I just used is witchcraft? He said with a straight face, Lets start with the basics; why air is used as a material. Because the air contains carbon dioxide and water vapor, and after these two substances are subjected to the effects of a catalyst, they produce a new chemical compound, the monosaccharides, the so-called glucose. Roland paused as he glanced around and said helplessly, I guess none of you got that. Everyone was confused. Because of the Language Proficiency translation, they understood the words, but when connected, they couldnt understand anything. What the hell are the number of oxygens and the number of carbons and the monosaccharides and the disaccharides? Roland made an apologetic gesture. It took a while before Kujira snapped out of his daze. He was keenly aware that there was probably a new body of knowledge in what Roland was saying. But this was an open class, not the time to ask for the root of the matter. Mr. Roland, please sit down. Sorry for my abruptness. Kujira nodded and continued to talk about the basic techniques and theories of other transmutation spells. Roland continued to listen to the lesson. When the lesson was over, Roland returned to his quarters and continued to parse spells. Now he was interested in the spell Rope Trick. It created a false space to use as a brief hiding place. Space within space, which should be a paradox, because if such a small space truly existed then it should be visible. But the false space created by Rope Trick was not visible. Otherwise, there was no way to use it for hiding. For example, the space within space was like a small bubble hiding another bubble, and anyone in this space should be able to observe the small bubble. But the space produced by Rope Trick was truly invisible. Roland tried it himself, following the magic-generated rope and climbing up into the false space above him before seeing a square-shaped space. It wasnt a big place. It was only about a meter and a half in length, width, height, and he had to sit. Then he came out of the Rope Trick space and pointed to that location, using his mental power to detect it. There was nothing but air. That meant that the space for this Rope Trick was not within the space of the main plane. The magic rope acted as a spatial leap. But why did Kujira say that it was a space within a space? He couldnt figure it out, so he went out and tried to communicate with Kujira. However, he hadnt gone far when he ran into Robert Jr. At this time, Robert Jr. was looking a little less than stellar, a little disheveled, and even a little downbeat. When he saw Roland, he came up to him, and with a faint resentment in his eyes, he said, The Great Elder is not in our family now. Are you satisfied, great genius? I said Id stay out of the rivalry between your families. Roland frowned. Robert Jr. sneered. Then why are you helping Fields? I didnt help him. You say you didnt help him? growled Robert Jr. And where did old Robert get that new spell, that White Cloud Flight or whatever, that he turned in to the Council of Elders? I think old Robert invented it himself. How is that possible! sneered Robert Jr. If he had that ability, the position of Great Elder would have been his long ago. Why wait until now? You are the only one in the entire Magic Tower who can invent new spells. If its not from you, then who? That list with a variety of magic materials should be the thank-you gift from the Julien family. Thats what they gifted me. Why did they give it to you? Because I have a future in inventing spells. Like making sugar and water and such. Roland smiled mischievously. I have important matters that need to be dealt with, so if there is nothing else, please make way, thanks. Good dogs dont get in the way, Rolands words meant something similar when placed in this world. Robert Jr. subconsciously stepped aside. Roland continued on his way. Humph! Good for you! Robert Jr. muttered indignantly. You people are such snobs; once my father is not the Great Elder, your attitudes change immediately. Excuse me, I seem to have spoken to you like this before. Is it any of my business if your father is a Great Elder? Roland turned back. Robert Jr. was dumbfounded. He had tasted the coldness of the world these past days. So many people had changed their attitudes that he subconsciously attributed the same cause to Rolands behavior. But reminded of this, he realized that Roland did seem to be consistent. Then he was even more depressed. F**k! Chapter 685 - Relying on Yourself is Better Than Relying on Others Chapter 685 Relying on Yourself is Better Than Relying on Others Kujira was quite well-regarded lately. Roland was a student he taught, and many saw and heard him inspire and teach Roland in the area of material transformation. It could be said that Kujira received a lot of credit for Rolands ability to create the sugar-making spell so quickly. As a mentor, Kujira was naturally happy to teach and nurture his students, because he wanted to see them become successful. But when faced with praise from his peers, he was still very calm and brushed off the matter by saying that it was all Rolands skill and that he had nothing to do with it. After all, a man of several dozen years had to have this kind of sophistication. When people were happy, they tended to eat more. Eating some salted beans and sipping on some high-quality fruit wine could get the taste of yogurt. He was happily drinking wine at home when he suddenly heard the maidservant say that a Mage calling himself Roland was visiting. He immediately asked the maidservant to bring the man in, while he slightly straightened his clothes and then went to the study. Kujira still had a slight tipsy look when Roland saw him. Generally, Mages didnt drink, but for someone like Kujira, whose path in magic had almost come to an end and who put his focus on teaching his students, it was normal to drink from time to time. Have a seat. Kujira gestured to the chair opposite his own and smiled gently. Mr. Roland, what is it that you have come to see me about? Ive encountered something I dont understand and would like to ask you for advice. As long as I understand it, Ill answer you. Kujira was satisfied. He liked students who worked hard and had self-control. If it was any other student who was not so steady and had no self-control, after making such an impressive spell that it was known all over the world, they would probably be too proud and end up happily attending one social dinner after another, wasting their time and talent. You said before, mentor, that Rope Trick is a false space, a space within a space, but after I tested it, I found that the space is not in the main plane. Roland stated his doubts and finally asked, Why would you think it is a false space? Because it will disappear. Kujira explained, Space should have stability and should be permanent, not increasing or decreasing. This is what the spatial master, Jecalot, has said. As for what you said, it is not in the space of the main plane; that is because it is a magic effect in itself! A magic effect that makes it untouchable. Space must have stability? Who says that space must have stability? If we go by this theory, the universe should not be expanding, nor would it be formed by some singularity explosion. Or does the space of this world just have to have stability? No at least the space produced by the Rope Trick is unstable. If this thing is real space. He had a vague feeling that that spatial master Jecalot was not correct. But he wasnt some hotheaded young man, and even if he had doubts in his mind, he wouldnt share them now. After all, he was just a rather talented young Mage with a slight weight in his words. To openly question a recognized spatial master? He didnt have that qualification and reputation yet. Putting this doubt aside first, Roland continued, Mentor, so how do I discover, or go about colliding with the space of Rope Trick? There is no other way to enter or touch the space it creates, except to climb up from the rope. Kujira spread his hands helplessly. Thats what makes the Rope Trick so powerful, and thats why its a pretty powerful way to save your life. Before Mystras Mansion, it was the best space to escape to. After all, the space produced by Mystras Mansion is real space. It doesnt disappear, it exists permanently, and you can store things, isnt that nice! So thats how it is. Because of the permanent space from Mystras Mansion, the Rope Tricks space that would disappear was judged as a false space? Roland then asked some other questions about magic, and they were answered one by one. Some of it was similar to Rolands ideas, but more of it was the opposite. An hour or so later, Roland solemnly thanked Kugira before leaving. Exiting the mentors area, Roland walked slowly down the street while thinking about the problem. He was a bit disappointed now. He felt that Kujira had quite a few insights of his own on magic, though it was more like reading from a book. So over the next few days, he went to listen to other mentors as well and eventually realized that they all explained pretty much the same things. Many magic phenomena that were not characterized, they actively discussed, but those that were characterized by predecessors werent given much thought. So Roland was a little disappointed. The atmosphere of communication in the Magic Tower, while strong, was still bound by the unspoken rules of the world. There were a lot of things they didnt dare think much about. But Roland also understood that this was normal. Out of respect for the predecessors, many of the so-called truths couldnt be altered, not even by a single word. Such a phenomenon was also common in the ancient times of the Celestial Empire. This was understandable. But for open academic communication, one must dare to question the predecessors, to think openly. Roland stopped going to class again and started to study Rope Trick in his dormitory. If his idea was correct, Rope Trick should be a powerful spell. He used the spell again and again, recorded the node fluctuations of this spell, and analyzed its data. He even checked if this spell had a nodal magic array as matter transformation did. Sure enough, on the seven hundred and thirty-second test, he found an area of special nodes. After a closer look, he found that it was a spatial magic array. As expected of Mordenkainens work, it had something hidden inside. He tried to parse this magic array, and as a result, he found that it wasnt as difficult to understand as the divination magic array in matter transformation. It simply created a rope out of some relative coordinate! Huh? What about space? Didnt find the node array that created the space. Could there be other magic arrays hidden in these nodes? Roland found it unbelievable that he had split the spell model into ten or so structural diagrams and also conducted a lot of experiments, and still hadnt found the spatial node array. Thats weird! Roland found it inconceivable and took his decomposed node model to Kujira. After listening to Rolands doubts and looking at the dozen or so drawings with detailed node formations on his desk, Kujira finally said, Sorry, Mr. Roland, I cant help you in that regard. In reality, your questions were asked by someone before, but in the end, he gave up. Why? Because magic itself is a miracle, Kugira said with some fervor in his eyes. The more advanced the spell, the more inexplicable it is, and you cant possibly be able to solve all the puzzles because you cant understand the miracle. Isnt that due to the lack of knowledge? What have miracles got to do with it! Roland frowned. Then what is the point of our Magic Tower exchange? Isnt it to figure out these mysteries? Communicating knowledge that allows us to understand and use magic. Kujira gently patted Rolands shoulder. Child, as an old man, I advise you that there is no need to pursue things like magic mysteries too much. What you can know, you will naturally know, and what you cannot understand, you cannot force. Roland looked into Kujiras eyes. The old mans demeanor was normal, but there was some helplessness in his eyes. After ten seconds or so, Roland smiled. Okay, mentor, I understand. Roland returned to his dormitory and began to pack his things. He didnt need to stay in the Transmutation Magic Tower any longer. Although they had a strong communicative atmosphere, their academic ability was not that high due to their scope and certain special rules. But still, it was better than other Magic Towers. It just wasnt enough anymore to satisfy Rolands increasingly refined magical theories and his magic path. Putting away the odds and ends of living supplies into his Backpack, Roland checked out of his dorm room and teleported to the capital of Fareins. After he took care of some things with Andonara, he then teleported back to Delpon and found Vivian. At this time, Vivian already had quite the temperament of a leader. Originally a small beauty, and a Mage herself, though not as good-looking as Andonara, she now had a sort of dignified and impressive air about her. She looked quite intellectual and had the sultry maturity and tenderness of a half-ripe apple. It was very charming. After half a day of cuddling with her, Roland said as he wrapped his arms around her under the covers, Next, my focus will shift to Wetlands City, where, as you know, I have a large plot of land Ive adapted to establish a magic academic organization. Can our students and apprentices go there in the future? Vivians eyes lit up. Of course. Roland smiled and said, So in the next few years, I may trouble you to keep watching the Magic Tower here for me. Thats okay. Vivian nodded, then she leaned against Rolands chest and said quietly, But you have to come back a few more times; a woman also needs a man to comfort her from time to time. No problem. Roland rolled over and pressed into her again. About two hours later, Vivian left the manor satisfied, while Roland made a post on the forum. I intend to establish a magic academic exchange association in Wetlands City. We have land, money, and technology, we just need friends who can communicate and are willing to share their unique skills. As long as they are Mages, they can register in the association, whether they are players or Mages in the game world. Right now, building the association is just an idea. How the association should operate, how to maintain it, and so on, I need more friends to think about it with me. Besides, we also need friends who are good at staff management and good at logistic management to help out. Of course, it is not unpaid work; I will pay a salary, the exact salary is negotiable. The moment he left the Transmutation Magic Tower, Roland had this thought. For open-mindedness and imagination, the players would be the best option. Except for the Transmutation Magic Tower, the other Magic Towers focused more on the accumulation of magic power, and when it came to learning spell models, they emphasized strength but lacked the study of the essence of magic. They didnt even put much emphasis on the optimization and self-adaptation of spells. Instead of dealing with them, it would be better to unite the players. Those player Mages were quite imaginative could probably bring him a lot of inspiration in magic. After this post appeared, it instantly became a hot topic. And the first person who replied added some heat and legitimacy to this post. ONeal: Roland, save me a spot as deputy chairman. Chapter 686 - Welcome the Goddess of Magic Chapter 686 Welcome the Goddess of Magic Roland was the number one Mage among players, and ONeal was number two. This was recognized by all Mage players. And most importantly, ONeal was strong with calculations. He could optimize the spells Roland posted on the forum one more time. Lower magic power consumption, a little more power, and lower learning requirements. It sounded impressive, and it was impressive. But neither other players nor ONeal himself thought he was stronger than Roland. Because Roland was the pioneer, while what ONeal did could only be considered an improvement. Creation was always much harder and more important than improvement, no matter what C it was, after all, forging a new path. But unlike Rolands habit of running about and fooling around with the game world NPCs every day, ONeal had gathered a large group of Mages and used communication software to communicate and progress together offline. So in terms of rallying supporters, ONeal was a bit better than Roland. The players Association of Mages chairman, if it were to be established at all, would probably be Roland or ONeal. If they campaigned for votes, ONeal might even be elected. But now he had taken the initiative to be the deputy chairman, which meant that the players magic association was going to be built if there werent any unexpected twists and turns. It was also time to build it. The Warriors associations, merchant associations, and Archer associations already existed. Only the Mages association was missing. The post was followed by a massive frenzy from the Mage players. Hooray, finally there is an organization in the game. Damn, kept asking ONeal to build it but he wouldnt do it. ONeill doesnt have the money, and if Roland isnt chairman, who will dare to be. ONeal isnt bad either, but its okay; whether its Roland or ONeal, Im willing to acknowledge them as chairman. Will Roland reveal all his magic insights? Absolutely, and he has a lot of spell models that havent been uploaded to the forums yet, so I guess theyll be put into the association. He created the sugar-making spell recently I joined an adventuring party some time ago and ended up being trapped in the dungeon for almost ten whole days, and because of the fierce battle, the rations ran out on the fourth day, so we relied on Rolands water-making spell and sugar-making spell to persevere, but the five of us ate sugar so much that we felt nauseous and wanted to vomit. We felt like we were going to get diabetes. Roland is indeed impressive. Just the new spells he created are already enough for me to prostrate in admiration. More importantly, ONeal also knows the big picture and takes it into consideration. Anyway, we Mages finally have a home in the game. Thanks to this post, a large number of Mage players began to gather in Wetland City. Although the Realm of Devils expedition was still ongoing, most of the players were a part of the logistical forces rather than the main combat force. It couldnt be helped that the overall strength of the Mages was still inadequate. But the flavor of the Realm of Devils expedition had now changed. It had turned into a succubus capture battle. It even turned into the players party. There were more and more players who had a succubus, and many more succubi were traded to the nobles of Hollevin. It sounded like slave trade. But it wasnt in reality; it was more like a matchmaking market. Thanks to the equality contract, if the succubus was mistreated, or treated extremely unfairly, she could escape. She could unilaterally break the contract. Because of this, the players dared to do this business. Otherwise, it wouldve been too much on their conscience. A conservative estimate of at least fifteen thousand or more succubi had entered the main plane by now. Roland had already teleported to Wetland City, and he saw a large number of male players with succubi parading ostentatiously through the market. These succubi were all glowing and full of smiles, and all of them were cute and helpless-looking. The female players in Wetland City had almost faded into obscurity. They didnt like those flirtatious succubi. Roland stood on the side of the street and sighed helplessly. This was all his fault. At this moment, a player passing by with a succubus, who knew Roland, waved at him as he walked, while shouting: Thank you, Almighty Roland, for giving me my wife. Rolands face instantly darkened. This persons words almost made it sound like he was handing out wives. The shout was a little loud, and then a group of people on the street, whether they knew him or not, all stared at him. Thank you, Almighty Roland, for giving me a wife, hahahahaha! The whole street laughed. Roland had no choice but to flee. Next, Roland recruited a construction team on the forum. Although Roland was the most skilled with Mud to Rock, when it came to the construction of large buildings, Roland was just a nobody. He was completely ignorant of the structural system, in other words, how to build the foundation and the skeleton of a large building There was also the problem of interior design. There was no choice but to hire someone. The good thing was that it wasnt expensive. A team of a hundred construction workers took the deal and promised to have the complex, which covered hundreds of acres, built within three months. Roland was even a little worried and asked, Is it too much of a rush? Actually, its still quite generous. The construction foreman laughed. We dont need to sleep, so three months is equivalent to six months. The other thing is that our bodies are very strong; in reality, moving thirty bricks in one breath is already impressive, but here a random level-three or above Warrior can move a hundred bricks in one breath without a problem, and even faster. As it turned out, this construction team was mostly Warriors. Roland also saw several Mages in the construction team, presumably the construction workers who carried out Mud to Rock and Rock to Mud. Try to make it as sturdy as possible, and if the quality passes, Ill give you a hundred gold coins afterward as a gift. This foreman happily shouted, Thats generous of you, boss. A few days later, in a makeshift square stone house next to the site, about thirty Mages gathered to hold the first staff meeting of the association. These thirty Mages were the highest-ranking thirty in the Mage profession. Roland stood on the presiding platform and said to these thirty people, I will temporarily put the system of Delpons Magic Tower here and implement a point system to exchange for spell models and personal magic insights, what do you all think? No objections. Fine. As you wish. Everyone agreed. After all, they also understood that if the associations spells were to be made available to people for nothing, it would inevitably make people not cherish them. And if this persisted, in the future, if the association had any good things and wanted to limit its circulation, they would be wildly flamed by those who were used to getting things for free. Roland continued, Of course, the system will not be set in stone. The rules that can fit Delpon may not exactly fit our players ideas and philosophy. So the system can change, but change according to circumstances. When the time comes, we will discuss it together. Now, I want to get to the second point; the Association of Mages initial operating expenses may be a large number, an extremely large one. In the initial period, I will act as the main investor, but I cant keep investing alone, so when the association can be profitable, I will slowly reduce the inflow of funds until it stops completely, and eventually, I will even draw back some of the profits to make up for my losses. No one has any objections, right? ONeal was the first to shake his head. No. No. As it should be. But some didnt quite understand, and they asked, Roland, its your association, so shouldnt you keep investing? This is everyones association, not mine alone, Roland said seriously. I dont mean to treat it as my private property. Im just contributing some money upfront and bringing people together to make things happen. With this explanation, it was clear to anyone who didnt understand what Roland meant. ONeal looked at Roland with some admiration. If it were him, he might not be able to get out of the way so easily. After all, if he took the lead in building the association, thered be some selfishness. Seeing that this issue was also waved along, Roland looked around him with a more serious expression. When the crowd saw his appearance, they knew that the most important topic of todays meeting was coming, so they all subconsciously sat up straight. What do you all think about the Goddess of Magic? Roland asked. All of them froze at this moment. They had guessed a lot of what Roland was going to say, like how the association should make money once it was formed, the diplomatic side of things, or the personnel appointments. How come all of a sudden it was about the Goddess of Magic? Seeing that the crowd was dumbfounded, Roland explained, I have met the Goddess of Magic several times, and I feel that she is a god thats easier to talk to. Easier to talk to for you, right? someone retorted on the spot. Then the meeting erupted in a peal of happy laughter. And of course, the laughter was not with a bit of envy. Ahem! Roland coughed twice. We are talking about a very serious topic. The laughter of the crowd stopped. Roland continued, The rewards of the Goddess of Magic are good, and everyone should have heard the message she sent down some time ago. Those who believe in her have a high chance of summoning the Sword of Mystra. The players expressions were somewhat excited, but no one said anything, knowing that Roland still had something to say. So I was wondering, if a new spell was created collectively by the association, like out of collaborative research, should it be offered to the Goddess of Magic? The crowd froze for a moment, and then they discussed all at once. ONeal pondered for a while and asked, Roland, youve offered a lot of spells, so what kind of rewards did you get? Divine blessing that increased attributes, considerably precious magic materials, and so on. Roland smiled and said, You could say that its worth every penny. I guess the Goddess of Magic is indeed quite generous. Then lets offer it. Many people shouted. Roland breathed out. But this raises another problem; once the new spell is offered to the Goddess of Magic, then other magic organizations will surely get the spell model of this new spell. Is this acceptable to you guys? At this, everyone fell silent, and many even frowned. This was a very real problem indeed. It wasnt a problem for their people to use spells created through joint research by the members of the association. It was a little off-putting when used by others. Besides, no one could guarantee that other forces wouldnt become enemies of the players Association of Mages in the future. The thought of enemies beating them with the spells they invented couldnt possibly make them happy. Roland looked at the silent crowd and continued, How about inviting the Goddess of Magic down to talk to us? Chapter 687 - It’s Not Hard to Negotiate with the Goddess Chapter 687 Its Not Hard to Negotiate with the Goddess The whole room was silent. Everyone had played the game for nearly four years now. The vast majority of them never missed out on any hours of gameplay each night, and Mages who had been able to keep playing until now were all well-informed players with a deep understanding of the game, or enough knowledge of the world. What was the concept of gods in this world? Not to mention the coalition of gods during the exploration stages of the game, the descent of the archangel later on, and the Goddess of Lights descent some time ago, these were enough to prove that the gods in this world not only existed but were also very active. They influenced the world with their power at every turn. Although players clamored every day that they decided their fates and that gods were just a more powerful creature and so on, they still revered the gods to a degree. It was like the reverence for the supreme leader of a nation. Of course, there was a fundamental difference between this idea and the veneration of the gods. They were silent, and Roland was silent, waiting for their response. After a while, it was ONeal who spoke up. That Goddess of Magic, Mystra? There seems to be only one Goddess of Magic, right? No, I mean, can the goddess of magic be invited whenever we want? ONeal looked at Roland with a puzzled expression. Roland froze for a moment and waved his hand. Didnt mean that. I was just saying that we could try asking the Goddess of Magic to come down and talk to usjust to try. In reality, Roland felt that the Goddess of Magic would gladly come down. As she was interested in knowledge herself, and Roland was someone she wanted to rope in, it didnt seem difficult to ask her to take time to come down. When the crowd heard Rolands explanation, they all had sneers on their faces. They didnt believe in Rolands words. ONeal sighed. Is it strange that you can invite the Goddess of Magic down when you are carrying the button of the Life Goddess and talking and laughing with the Nether God? Oh is that how you guys actually see me? Roland was quite surprised. He had a pure relationship with these goddesses-no ambiguity at all. He was just friends with them. However, he understood that the more he explained these things, the more guilty he would be in the eyes of others, so he said, So would you guys like to invite her down to talk? Of course. ONeal shrugged and said, I heard that the lawful goddesses are all quite beautiful, so how could we not get a look at them. Besides, this is also related to our future interests, so of course, we have to talk about it. Then Roland took out the Goddess of Magics statue from his Backpack. He prepared this a few days ago. Because he had already thought of tying the association to the Goddess of Magic, this way, it could pave the way for the development of the players Association of Mages. Placing the statue of the Goddess of Magic on the table, he then communicated with his consciousness. All the statues of gods in this world possessed a weak divine power. To ensure that the statues were not desecrated, defiled and that the orthodox believers could quickly communicate with their gods when something happened. Although Roland wasnt a believer, his mental power was already registered by Mystras divine power. It was only then that his spiritual consciousness could be connected, and with a swish, he was pulled into the divine realm of magic. It was still the same blue spiral-patterned platform, still a divine realm filled with magic. You actually reached out to me? Mystra was somewhat surprised and seemed delighted. Is something wrong? Well, I plan to call on the Golden Sons to establish an Association of Mages and exchange knowledge on magic together. Roland didnt notice the faint elation in Mystras eyes and continued, So I want to invite you to go down and talk to them. I think it will be of great benefit to your faith and preaching in the future. Mystras expression remained elated. Youre helping me? Roland froze. That sounded quite strange. But there seemed to be nothing wrong with it. Its not really helping you, its just a win-win. In Rolands opinion, it was indeed a win-win situation. After the establishment of the Association of Mages, it was impossible to open it only to the players. It also had to be open to the NPCs; then it would inevitably produce exchanges and even conflicts with other organizations. If the Goddess of Magic stood behind them, then many small troubles might disappear, and big troubles would become small ones. With less trouble, Mages could devote more energy to magic research. Producing more interesting spells and advancing magic theory would be a good thing for the Goddess of Magic. It would increase the amount of her faith and solidify her Divine Spark. If this wasnt a win-win, what was? If you say win-win, then its a win-win, the Goddess of Magic said with a smile. Ill be right down. She waved her hand, and Rolands consciousness returned to the ground, back in the conference room. ONeal and the others were a bit puzzled. For just now they saw that Roland was suddenly dazed for about three minutes. Meeting their strange gazes, Roland settled himself and said, Get ready, the Goddess of Magic is coming down immediately He hadnt even finished the last word when a powerful mental power was cast down from the air. A blue pillar of light enveloped the entire makeshift conference room, and after a few seconds, the pillar of light diminished and disappeared, and there was a blue pixelated mass floating faintly above the small statue of the table. This was the view of the crowd in the conference room; they could only see pixels. But in Rolands eyes, it was a scaled-down, cute version of the Goddess of Magic floating in midair with her arms crossed. She was cute and beautiful. Well, Ive come down at Rolands invitation, the Goddess of Magic said lightly as she looked around the room. What would you like to talk to me about? The group sighed in disappointment. They wanted to see how beautiful the Goddess of Magic really was, but all they could see was a mosaic. After all, this might be the only chance they had to get up close and personal with the gods. Then everyones eyes turned to Roland. As the nominal chairman now, Roland naturally had the right to negotiate. Besides, he was familiar with the Goddess of Magic, so it was indeed more appropriate and easier to negotiate for him. Roland understood what the other players meant and slowly said, Honorable Goddess of Magic, we, the Golden Sons, intend to establish an Association of Mages to exchange magic and spell models. Well, thats a good thing. Mystra nodded. Im sort of aware of where you Golden Sons come from, and Im even more aware of your strong academic atmosphere. So, Im very positive about you guys huddling together for research. Although her words were more grounded, Mystras statement was more formal at the core-a polite response, no judgment, and no feedback. There was an immediate change in the eyes of the player Mages. The Goddess of Magic was so prudent that it truly seemed like she wanted to negotiate. Roland continued, I believe in the abilities of us Golden Sons, although right now, overall, were not as good as other magic organizations, such as the major Magic Towers and so on. I believe that when we unite, we will soon be able to make gains. At that time, if a new spell is created-do you have any ideas, Goddess? Then naturally, offering it to me is the most worthwhile. Mystra looked at Rolands serious expression. Somehow, the corners of her mouth pursed up slightly as if she wanted to laugh. The rewards I give are very good. You should know best after offering so many spells. The players all looked at Roland; they had a feeling that Mystra seemed to have a soft touch when she spoke to Roland. They couldnt help but feel like there was an adulterous relationship here. But Roland didnt feel this, because that was how Msystra had spoken when he first met her. So he took it for granted that Mystra spoke with that tone of voice and expression. For individuals, it is indeed high. Roland nodded in agreement. But we are a group now. If we work together and invent new spells, then after we offer it, you will inevitably spread it to all the churches, so that all magic organizations know about it. But this way, other organizations also know about our spell, which will seriously damage our interestsespecially if we are still a newly formed magic organization. You have a point, the power struggle in the main plane is indeed brutal. Mystra wrapped one arm around her chest, propped her chin with the other, looked down, and pondered for a while. She then said, Then, how about I increase the rewards? Roland looked at ONeal and the other Mages in the room. Then they discussed for a while, and after about six or seven minutes, ONeal spoke up. Sorry, this increase in reward, how much can be added? Can it offset the loss in our interests? That depends on how you will measure the losses you suffer in the future, Mystra said, spreading her hands. Thats hard to measure. ONeal shook his head. After all, no one can guarantee what hasnt happened. So goddess, do you plan to compensate us after it happens? Roland shook his head. Thats not a good idea. Losses have a chain reaction, and its best to give compensation before they happen, so that compensation might stop the damage from happening. Then wouldnt it be better for the goddess to give us a reward and then delay the introduction of the new spell, say by more than five years or something like that, someone shouted. This was a good idea. Roland and the crowd looked at Mystra. Mystra pondered for a moment before she shook her head and said, I need new spells to attract believers. You are Mages and you yourselves should be clear on this: a new spell published a year earlier or a year later generates a completely different amount of faith, because faith spreads. Not to mention the five years Understand? The crowd obviously understood incremental growth. It was the so-called word of mouth. Roland thought for a while and said, What about shortening the time? Lets say three years before revealing it to the world? This could work, but the players smiled; Roland was a veteran at bargaining, directly cutting the time in half. It was obvious that he often went to the street stalls to buy clothes. Wait Rolands on our side, he cut it in half but it feels weird. No, its still too long. How about a year, Mystra said with a smile. A year, and were not even ready to work on the next spell yet, Roland said helplessly. Mystra looked at Roland and smiled. Okay, for your sake, three years it is. The players were relieved. Three years was a long time for the players, enough for them to maintain their lead in skills. As expected, when it came to business negotiations, it was better to have acquaintances. Done negotiating? the tiny mirage of the Goddess of Magic floated up to sit on Rolands shoulder. I hear the city is quite interesting. Take me around for a stroll, will you? Chapter 688 - It’s All Roland’s Fault Chapter 688 Its All Rolands Fault Hearing the words of the Goddess of Magic, all the players looked at Roland with enmity. Green with envy. You already have a beautiful queen for ***ks sake, your secretary works for you during the day, you work with your secretary at night, and then you have an ambiguous relationship with the Life Goddess, and now the Goddess of Magic is actually publicly offering to invite you to go shopping. This is a real goddess. Not the kind of goddess in the eyes of a simp. Cant bear to watch anymore. Im going to drink some soda and flush the citric acid out of my stomach. I feel a dimensional reduction attack. Im fine. I still have a succubus at home. Ill go back to her for comfort. Dont go down the nice boat. ONeal smiled grimly, giving Roland a look. Then the men cursed and walked away. The apparition of the Goddess of Magic sat on Rolands shoulder and smiled. These people of yours are really interesting. They really dont have much fear of me, even though they cant see me. Well in our world, there are no gods. Mystra looked sideways at Roland and whispered, Do you think there really arent any? If there were, we would have found them by now. Then how did you guys get here? Mystra laughed softly. Did you really come here under your own power? Roland jerked his head to look at Mystra. This way, his mouth was very close to Mystras small apparition, a centimeter or two short of a kiss. But instead of pulling away, Mystra said softly, Dont be surprised, dont be anxious. If you continue to grow, one day, you will discover the truth of your world. What truth? Not sure. Mystra stretched out a little finger and pressed it against Rolands lower lip. Im not from your world, so how would I know. But with enough strength, the truth of everything in the world will naturally appear in front of you. Just as all of us gods vaguely know where you Golden Sons come from. Roland was silent. The Goddess of Magics words had convinced him more and more that this world was not a game. Although he was already extremely suspicious, it was a different feeling to have his suspicions confirmed by someone else. After a moment, Roland let out a long breath. There was a god in his world? This was something that refreshed his three views. Well, enough of this talk, sooner or later you will know. The Goddess of Magic pressed on Rolands face. Quickly show me around the city. After all, I dont carry much divine power in this clone; it wont last much longer. Okay. Roland walked out of the makeshift meeting house and walked down the streets of Wetland City. This city, built entirely by players, was nothing like any other city. Whether it was in terms of the layout, the infrastructure, or institutional core. Not to mention the nearly forty-meter-wide main road, just the drainage system that accompanied the main road alone outshone all human cities, including the capital of Fareins. There was also the fact that the city was quite clean. There were many vendors along the streets, but it was still clean with little to no trash. The Goddess of Magic sat on Rolands shoulder and took it all in, then she pointed to the street vendors and asked Roland to take her over out of curiosity. At this point, they had walked down an artistic street. Honestly, the aesthetic eye for art in the information age was far superior to this world. There were people selling wood sculptures, clay sculptures, and sand sculptures. Some did portraits, some did interior design, and there was everything that one could think of. There were also many different kinds of artwork, such as Pokemon, anthropomorphic animals, and even armed mechanical robot models. They were all stalls set up by players. The NPC tourists or merchants who passed through the area would walk around this street, which had become one of the most famous places of Wetland City. The exotic artwork of the Golden Sons had gradually spread around the world. The other most prestigious and famous attraction was the neighboring food street. If the crafts market made for an artful experience, then the food street was an addictive one. This street had all kinds of food. From snacks to feasts, and there were delicacies made with local ingredients, with gastronomical concepts from Earth. For example, the Soaring Dragon was made from sub-dragon thigh bones, simmered in broth for a day and night, served with meatballs made from chopped tender sub-dragon thigh meat, casseroled for three hours, sprinkled with something like shallots for dressing, and then this amazingly tasty meatball soup would be ready. Similarly, there was Night Mooring by Maple Bridge, where the main ingredient was the black devil viper. In Planetary Devastation, the main ingredient was single-horned rabbit meat. In The Wrath of the Undead, the main ingredient was a rabbit head but only players loved to eat this; the NPCs would be shocked by it. There were many new dishes like this, and after all, there were many players who could cook. Once a merchant from a distant desert kingdom made a fortune shipping desert specialties here, then said he would eat all the citys delicacies in a month. As a result a year had passed and he hadnt even finished a third of the food and ended up with almost no money left on him. He was desperately dragged away by his companions. He cried miserably as he left Wetland City. He also shouted: I should have brought more money, I should have Roland took the Goddess of Magic through the crafts street and the food street and finally came to the front of the city hall. This place was also very busy. After all, the first floor of the place was the Guild of Mercenaries, where a large number of players picked up quests, and many NPCs came here specifically from out of town to post quests here, specifying that they wanted the Golden Sons to complete them. The players were now the most credible group amongst the mercenaries. Many NPC mercenaries took on quests, and from time to time, they disguised themselves as bandits, killed their employers, and then fled to another city or country to start over. But when the Golden Sons took on quests, things like that never happened for the time being If the quest failed, they would even offer to compensate the employers family and help them with the aftermath; they were so kind that one wouldnt believe they were human. Who wouldnt love such a thoughtful and perfect sense of service? So when they encountered a lot of troublesome quests that didnt involve evil, they tried to assign the Golden Sons to complete them. Two hours passed like this. The clone of the Goddess of Magic was getting fainter and fainter, already half translucent. What a vibrant city. Mystra sighed. If only my divine realm was like this. There was faint loneliness in her tone. At this time, a woman came from a short distance away. Roland knew her. It was Solisa of the Phoenix Guild. She walked up to Roland and said, rather surprised, How rare it is to see you on the street, a research freak not in the research lab Then again, what is this lump of mosaic on your shoulder? Mystra created a clone with a small amount of divine power, and if it wasnt known beforehand, the average person wouldnt be able to sense her form or see what she looked like. This lump this girl really doesnt know how to talk. Mystra curled her lips, then said to Roland, Well, Im leaving now. Chat with me when you have time. Then her clone turned into a wisp of light, floating upward and disappearing. Solisa froze for a moment. I seem to feel a very vast divine mental power Roland asked, You seem to have business with me? Yes. Solisa nodded and said, Dont you want to build an Association of Mages? Its already under construction. I had a similar thought about building a Magic Tower, one specializing in summoning spells, and only taking women. Both Roland and Solisha were celebrities among the players, and the fact that the two of them were standing on the street talking without moving drew a lot of attention. Lets talk as we go. Roland started walking and said, So have you picked out a plot of land in town? There arent many plots of sufficient size now. Its been chosen, not in Wetland City. Solisa smiled. Why? Roland found it strange. This is the players home base, with our people who share the same views. When theres trouble, wouldnt it be better for everyone to huddle together and grow? Solisa had an odd expression as she looked at Roland, somewhat complaining, but seemingly helpless, and finally she pointed to the succubi that were already everywhere in the streets and said, Do you think theres any room for us women to talk in this city when its full of such creatures? Oh Roland was speechless at once. This was indeed his fault. Originally, female players were very competitive. Their numbers were already small, less than 50,000 about nine point four percent of the entire player base, and in general, the smaller the number of anything, the more valuable it was. Not to mention the girls who played the game. Well, originally, the girls were very popular and of high status among the male player base. There were even countless simps who were willing to do anything to please them. But once the succubi appeared their status plummeted. After all, male players had self-respect, and with the previous imbalance in supply and demand, they had to be simps to compete. But between simping and being simped on. the vast majority of males wanted to be simped on. And the succubi loved humans, especially male players who had good physiques, good temperament, and were gentle and considerate compared to other races. They simped hard. As a result, there werent any male players who wanted a relationship with a female player. They were desperately saving up to contract a succubus. The status of female players dropped drastically. Looking at Rolands guilty expression, Solisa sighed. I dont really blame you. Its just the free market. We dont want to spend much time in this city right now, but we also know that we cant be completely cut off from the male player base, so we had to choose a means of getting away from Wetland City while being able to come here immediately when we need to. Roland understood the purpose of her coming to him. You want the teleportation magic array? Chapter 689 - He’s the Good Man Chapter 689 Hes the Good Man Solisa nodded gently. It wasnt a secret among the player community that Roland knew the teleportation magic array, and he had performed this mass teleportation. Based on this skill alone, no one would dare to object that Roland was the number one player Mage. Building a teleportation magic array isnt that hard, but its a pain to maintain. Very costly? No, it requires professionals to maintain it. Roland explained, You Elven Summoners are Warlocks and have elven blood, and take the way of the elven side, so it is impossible to get the help of the Goddess of Magic. Solisa felt a little confused. What does this have to do with the Goddess of Magic? Roland then explained his deal with Mystra and concluded, If you can set up a Church of Magic and let a few sisters in as priestesses, after a short time, a teleportation array will naturally appear, and it wont be necessary to use professionals to maintain it. Put the key to the home in someone elses hands? Solisa shook her head. Its fine, we have female Mages. You dont mind if she studies with you for a while until she learns teleportation? Roland looked a little hesitant. Solisa saw the look on his face and asked, Whats the difficulty? No, I run around a lot, and dont have that much time to teach people. Solisa laughed lightly and ended up shaking her head helplessly. The history of Rolands rise to power had been studied by various player organizations but was thought impossible to replicate. That so-called Magic Power Control was probably the reason why Roland could stay ahead of the other Mage players by a lot. But no one seemed to have rolled out this ability other than Roland, even after constantly deleting their accounts and building new characters. Among the players guilds, and particularly those specializing in bugs or inside knowledge, the number of new characters they deleted trying to get this ability could probably go around the earth two or three times when connected in a line. And after Roland got power, other than the time spent studying magic, he ran around the entire world non-stop, messing things up. The more he messed things up, the stronger he became. He was so busy that he couldnt even teach the magic apprentices in Delpon, dumping the task of teaching on Vincent and Douglas. Besides, both Vincent and Douglas were self-taught, and throwing a female Mage over for them to teach would be a difficult task for them. What, then? said Solisa glumly. We dont believe in gods. In reality, since the alliance of the gods, most players didnt trust the gods; the cooperation between the Association of Mages and the Goddess of Magic was more like a deal. It was normal for Solisa to have that thought. Then I will build the magic array for you first, and the tips on how to maintain it will be written in a small booklet. Whether your friend understands it depends on her talent, Roland said after some thought. Thank you, and please write the maintenance tips in an easy-to-understand way. Solisa slapped her head. Its so irritating that our people, who all go for the easy game path, end up needing to ask outsiders to do things. Elven Summoners automatically learned spells as long as they leveled up and specialization options automatically appeared. They had comprehensive combat and support abilities and were the rulers of the battlefield in a group However the power was not theirs; it was temporarily loaned to them by the system. Roland, even without the system, could cast spells just as well back in the real world. He was just limited by the fact that there were few magical elements in reality and he wasnt as powerful. The system couldnt take away these abilities and this knowledge. Roland chuckled. Honestly, Warlock was the easiest of all professions, but it also had the least that could be learned. After the Warrior profession came out to the real world, even though the physical quality wasnt good and far from the game, with the combat experience from the game, it wasnt a problem to take down a dozen adults at the same time with a random weapon. Archers and Thieves had good combat abilities and even better long-range abilities, and now they even dared to challenge Olympic shooters. Thieves in particular were more than enough to be the king of thieves in reality. Even Priests, who learned spells automatically as Warlocks did, were extremely focused because they often had to sense the power of the gods in a meditative state and solidify their faith. Normal people would get tired of reading after an hour, while Priests could read for fifteen hours without taking a sip of water until their bodies were about to collapse. Of course, very few Priests would do this in reality. As for the Mages, no one but Roland could cast spells in reality, but the way of thinking they learned in-game developed a habit of self-learning and self-study, which was something that benefited them for life. Seeing Roland smile and not say anything, Solisa sighed and asked, How much does it cost to help us build a magic array? No money, and it wont cost you much. Roland waved his hand. You guys wanting to stay deep in the woods more or less has to do with me. Solisa froze for a moment, then smiled gently and said, Thank you. In reality, building a magic array would start at least at twenty gold coins, and that was just the money for the magic materials, not counting Rolands crafting fees. But Roland wasnt short of this money now. Our summoning Magic Tower will be built in this location. Solisa handed a map to Roland. Whenever youre free, go over there yourself. I have a piece of land specifically reserved for placing the magic array, so when you arrive, just confirm with the construction crew. Okay. Roland put the map away. Ill be at your place in three days to get this done. Thanks. Solisa waved her hand at Roland and walked away. Sighing slightly, Roland knew that if the Phoenix Guilds policy remained unchanged, they would slowly fade out of the games mainstream circle in the future. But it could also be seen that the girls didnt have any intention to compete. Then, Roland went back to Delpon and picked up the materials to make the magic array. At the manor, he saw Lady Bluebird and the mayors wife and daughter having afternoon tea. When they saw Roland, all three rose and nodded in greeting. Roland walked over and asked, Mrs. Betty, do you have plans to go home yet? Not yet. Lady Bluebird shook her head, smiling with a light affection. Life here is good, and there are compatible friends. Does it bother you that Im here? Thats not it. Roland shook his head. You can stay here as long as you want. Just let me know when you get tired of it; Teleportation is quick. Lady Bluebird slightly pulled her skirt to curtsy in gratitude, and the two white, large northern hemispheres were imprinted into Rolands eyes. At this time, the mayors wife next to her wanted to say something but stopped. Seeing this, Roland asked, Mayoress, may I ask what is troubling you? I heard a rumor. I dont know if its true, and it has something to do with us all. The mayoress spoke with a hesitant expression. Roland didnt care too much, but out of politeness, he still said, Please speak. Its about my husband. The mayoress looked at Rolands expression with some concern. Roland was slightly surprised. John Senior, the original mayor of Delpon, had been cut in two, and his body had been sewn together and buried on a hill outside the city. Its been almost four years since he died. Did something happen again? Did he have a lover or a posthumous child or something? Someone said to me yesterday that they saw my husbands figure outside the outskirts of the city. It wasnt very clear. The mayoresss body trembled slightly. Then I got someone to look, and my husbands grave had been dug up. His body was nowhere to be found. Oh? Roland was a little surprised. Someone used necromancy and stole John Seniors body? Was it John Junior who did it? Looking at Roland in thought, the mayoress waited a moment before she whispered, I heard that after the dead are resurrected, they seek out their kin and kill them, making them new undead to stay with them forever. This rumor wasnt misinformation; there was a magical basis for it. After the dead were magically resurrected, even without a soul, the instincts of the body still allowed them to remember many things; they just werent able to think. They would remember where their home was and how to get there. It was even possible to recognize their loved ones. But the undead, as creatures of darkness, had the instinct to attack living things, and one of the highest priorities. So if the dead did become undead, it was indeed possible that they would go after their loved ones and kill them. But if all their flesh and blood were gone and only the bones remained, there wouldnt be so much trouble. Skeleton soldiers were the lowest class of undead soldiers and didnt have any living memory to speak of. You can live here for as long as you want, as Mrs. Betty does. Listening to the mayoress, Roland understood what she was having trouble saying. She was afraid that her husband would return to take her and her daughters lives and wanted to live in the safest place in the city. However, Roland was her husbands killer and had taken the city away from them, leaving them, the John family, with only a noble status and a decent life to get by. But she really didnt hate Roland, neither her nor her daughter. At least Roland secured their lives. They could live their lives decently and in peace. As the widow of a loser in a political struggle, it was extremely merciful to receive such treatment. Thank you, Mr. Roland. The mayoress bowed her head slightly and smiled softly. Her daughter, too, happily curtsied. Roland then left the manor. The three women watched Rolands back disappear before they sat back down at the table and leisurely drank afternoon tea. The expressions of the mayoress and her daughter clearly relaxed. Thats a real man, a real gentleman, said Lady Bluebird, blushing slightly. The mayoress looked at her face. Mrs. Betty, do you have such thoughts about him? So what if I do? Lady Bluebird sighed. He only has Lady Anna and Lady Vivian in his eyes, even the First Princess hasnt made it into his eyes Her expression was quite sultry. The mayoress laughed lightly. Thats true. We come here often as mother and daughter and often spend the night here, and he hasnt even touched us a bit. If it were any other noble, he would have been bragging about having a mother and a daughter at the banquet. There really are good men like in the knight novels. Unbelievable. Roland didnt know that the three women were talking about him. He had now arrived at the mayors mansion in Delpon. Chapter 690 - Trap Chapter 690 Trap Delpon, mayors residence. Roland met the future mayor, John Junior. Until now, there was no real mayor on the surface in Delpon, and John Junior had never gotten to occupy the position of mayor. The two hadnt seen each other in over two years. Roland himself was the unsociable type. When he was back in Delpon, he either stayed in the research lab of the Magic Tower or got intimate with his two women at the manor. He hardly participated in any social events. John Junior also rarely appeared in the banquets of other nobles, and both were shut-ins, so naturally, they hadnt seen each other. At this time, John Juniors expression was calm as he poured Roland a glass of fruit wine. He then raised his glass and said, To an acquaintance I havent seen in a while, cheers. He finished the entire glass of fruit wine first. Roland also finished the cup of fruit wine in one gulp, then looked at the other man. Your temperament has changed. It had to, John Junior said faintly. I dont want to die. Before, I could still see your back, but now youve become ridiculously strong. Not to mention your strength: Master-level and above, heading for Legend. Youve even connected with the First Princess of Fareins, who I heard is the future queen but lived in your manor for a long time. John Junior grunted lightly and continued, Knowing this, I have no more hatred for you; instead I find myself laughable. Roland didnt say anything and just looked at the other man in silence. John Junior leaned back and said with a bitter smile, When my mind was still on one city and land when my strength was stagnant, you had already become a Master Mage and had established a huge force. Compared with the country of Fareins, Hollevin is as small as a fly. Between you and me, there is already a chasm. I cant catch up to you in a lifetime, so what do I use to fight with you? My skull? Listening to John Juniors self-analysis, Roland smiled. He knew that John Junior was telling the truth. Currently, John Junior was only level five, while Roland was already level twelve. With a seven-level gap, plus the players Overlord growth template, the difference in strength between the two was almost like that between a mouse and a mammoth. If Roland opened his Magic Shield and let John Junior attack for ten days and ten nights, he wouldnt be able to break Rolands shield. Most importantly, Roland could now fully sense John Juniors mental power fluctuations. He could tell if a statement was a lie or not. It was typical level suppression. Its good that you understand, itll do us a lot of good to ease our relationship. Roland picked up the flask and poured a glass for the other man before pouring one for himself. The action surprised John Junior a little. The victor poured wine for the loser voluntarily and without sarcasm-how should he feel about this? Roland finished his fruit wine in one gulp and said, Now that you understand, I can return the two businesses of furs and building materials in the city back to the mayor and have you handle them. John Junior froze, and after a moment, he laughed dryly and said, Is this what my mother and sister are worth? He had an odd expression on his face at this moment. It was painful, yet he was caught between laughter and tears. Believe it or not, Im still going to say this-I didnt touch them. Roland felt helpless after saying he didnt like wives so many times. It just happened that the queen was already married. Besides, Vivian had been a virgin before and hadnt married anyone. John Junior couldnt understand. His mother and sister were beautiful, and although not as good as Queen Andonara was, they were slightly better than Vivian. Besides, there was a special bonus for mothers and daughters together. This person was too much of a gentleman. Unbelievable. Looking at John Juniors startled expression, Roland said, I was going to talk to you about your father coming back from the dead, but now it seems that you probably werent the one who did it. John Junior said squarely, Ive heard about this, and Im scared too. Then you should close the castle first, and then take over the properties when Ive settled the matter. Roland stood up. John Junior followed suit. Those two propertiesare you testing me, or are you using me as a handyman?. Both. Leaving this word behind, Roland left the mayors residence. Although Roland was the boss behind Delpon, he didnt transfer all the properties to the hands of the Magic Tower. Instead, he divided out many of them and used them as a hidden power to hold back John Junior. But now that two years had passed, those forces had turned their backs on John Junior when they saw that he had no hope of turning the tide, and even had some sneaky little thoughts about the Magic Tower. They constantly made cheap moves in the dark. They thought Vivian and Roland wouldnt notice. Such was the greed of man-once on shore, one prays no more. Roland was too lazy to deal with these small fries and unleashed John Junior, who had been suffocated for nearly four years and mustve hated these traitors. When the time came, he would naturally take the initiative to deal with these people. Besides, the business of building materials and furs didnt earn much, and now the Magic Tower didnt need the profits from these two businesses. It was a waste of manpower and troublesome. Most importantly, Roland believed that a triangle relationship was the most stable. At that time, the Magic Tower, the mayors residence, and the minor nobles united would form a peaceful relationship. This way, he, and the Tower of Magic could focus entirely on magic research and teaching apprentices. Leaving Delpon, Roland came to the hill where John Senior was buried, and soon found John Seniors tomb. The tomb was damaged, and the headstone was overturned and thrown to the side. The decaying coffin had also been pulled out, the lid fallen not far from the yellow earth of the tomb. Roland covered himself with a Magic Shield to completely isolate the smell around him before walking over to it. There was nothing left of the coffin except some blackened pieces. John Senior was a professional, a Warrior, and his body didnt decay that easily. It might have even become a mummy. Roland looked around and didnt see any footprints. He then spread his mental threads, and soon a faint dark magic power manifested under the mental threads. on a Roland followed this magic power and walked slowly forward through the mountains. He soon came to a cave covered in weeds. When he got there, the smell of dark magic was stronger, and even without the use of mental power, he could feel it. It seemed to be trying to lure him in. Roland summoned three almost completely transparent magic spiders, then stepped back and used Stone to Mud to sink into the ground before sealing the hole above. Once that was done, two magic spiders headed for the cave entrance. The third climbed a nearby tree and scoped out the surroundings. Roland felt that something was wrong, so he burrowed into the ground, intending to scout the cave and see if he could counter-ambush. The cavern was dark, but the magic spiders had Night Vision at their cores, and although the magic array of Night Vision was small and not very effective due to their size and magic power, they could see things at a distance of about five meters around them. The magic spiders crawled on the walls of the cave, moving forward slowly After crawling for about ten minutes, they saw something special and transmitted the image back to Roland. In Rolands mind, he could see the walls of the cave, lined with skeletons. And in the innermost part, a pair of blue eyes -but too far away to see clearly. One of the spiders moved over slowly, and it didnt take long to see that the pair of eyes belonged to a man with a dark greenish face, who sat wide open at the end of the cave, blue flames glowing in his eyes. Roland recognized this man. John Senior. He resurrected as expected Just as Roland thought so, the sitting John Senior suddenly stood up, and swung heavily with his left hand against the wall, slapping the magic spider into the magic residue. Undead creatures were very sensitive to magic power. The moment the magic spider dissipated, Roland could see that the other partys blue eyes were burning with a strong hatred. He recognizes my magic power? Roland froze for a moment, and it dawned on him: This is a trap. Without saying a word, he sunk himself deeper into the ground using Stone to Mud. He stopped only when he sank roughly below a hundred meters. Just as he finished doing this, John Senior moved, charging forward two more steps and slapping the other magic spider to pieces. Now, Roland was left with only the magic spider above his head. But that was enough. Soon, this magic spider sent over pictures. Six people cloaked in gray robes and wearing white wolf masks surrounded the vicinity of the cave. They seemed to be looking around for Roland. Not long after, John Senior rushed out of the cave, clad in armor and running like a light tank. After rushing out of the cave, he crashed through a small tree, then looked around, only to let out an angry growl. As he growled, yellow fluids dripped from his mouth, and a tooth fell out with them. Roland got away, one of the gray-robed men said. Where did we give ourselves away? The other said, I dont know. It was so hard to set up a trap. At this point, John Senior let out another angry, piercing growl. Mind your corpse and pacify him. A gray-robed man made a few hand gestures, and John Senior immediately quieted down. Roland hadnt seen this magic gesture before This was normal, as he had little knowledge of the dark spells. Wait, dont talk! A gray-robed man suddenly reached out, his eyes looking around for a moment before finally landing on the magic spider. Then he raised his hand and a throwing knife hit the magic spider squarely. All of Rolands eyes had disappeared. Hes still around watching us, search and find him! They immediately scattered. Roland cast Secondary Stealth on himself, his form fading. Then he smiled and snapped his fingers, his entire body disappearing into this underground cave. Chapter 691 - 1 Here Comes Trouble Chapter 691 Here Comes Trouble Teleportation, the most widely known signature spell of spatial Mages. It was also Rolands favorite move. Attacking and defending, it could do everything. Although it inhibited vision, there was no problem blind-jumping directly about a hundred meters, a skill only a high-level spatial Mage would dare to do. If it failed, one would get stuck in an object, like a tree or the ground. The consequences would be very tragic. But Roland dared to do so For one, he was confident enough in himself. Secondly, even if he failed, he would only die once and just come back to life. It was well known that the better the mindset when doing dangerous moves, or complex tricks, the more likely one was to succeed. Roland teleported and stood directly on the ground, followed by a violent ring of Ice Blade spurting out. The sound of ice forming rang out continuously. In less than a second, the ground in a radius of sixty meters was frozen. This was followed by two screams of agony. When did he appear? Teleportation, we fell for it; he already had a plan to finish us off. As the two screams rang out, Roland immediately saw the two people who were frozen. Then with a finger from each hand, two shots of Prismatic Spray shot out from his fingertips at the same time, hitting the two gray-robed men. Prismatic Spray was only a level-three spell, but it did a lot of damage, especially after Rolands minor optimization. The magic penetration power was tremendously high, making it a single-target damage-dealing method for Roland in regular situations. Being struck lightly, the two gray-robed men didnt even scream and were immediately turned into a cloud of dust, falling to the ground. By now John Senior had also spotted Roland, but he and the skeleton soldiers behind him were frozen in place and could only growl and bare their teeth; they couldnt move forward. Roland glanced at him and waved his right hand lightly, and as he did so, a cloud of holy light flew out, illuminating the surrounding objects. John Senior and a dozen skeleton soldiers, being approached by this light mass, were like flying snow meeting a blazing sun, instantly turning into flying ashes. They were then blown away by the surrounding forest wind. At that moment, two gray-robed men rushed back, one of them leaping through the canopy of trees and throwing down a handful of throwing knives. The throwing knives were fast and furious, flying toward Rolands vitals, and the trajectory of their flight could barely be seen before they hit Rolands Magic Shield and bounced off with a dinging sound. The other gray-robed man roared, God of War give me strength, and a peculiar mental power spewed out in a fan shape, sweeping over Rolands body. This mental power was blocked by the Magic Shield and had no effect. Then, with a swish, this gray-robed man charged over, thrusting his two-handed broadsword with the speed of the Charge. It was fast and furious. But the two-handed sword stabbed the Magic Shield with a ding, and the Warrior, who was wearing a wolf mask, was stopped in his tracks. The corners of Rolands mouth were slightly pursed This was the benefit of modifying the Magic Shield to tie it to the amount of magic power. was As long as he had enough magic power, no one would be able to break the shield before he was out of magic power unless the attack was spatial in nature. Even with the mask on, the Warriors eyes could be seen widening, revealing his shock. Under normal circumstances, the Warriors Charge could knock a Mage away even if it did not break their shield. But what he had hit was like a city wall. Roland snapped his fingers, and four Hands of Magic descended from the air, grabbed the Warriors limbs, and pinned him to the ground. The Warrior struggled desperately. His strength might be able to break free from one Hand of Magic, but bound by four at the same time, there was nothing he could do. He had one captive. Roland then looked at the gray-robed man who was still jumping through the canopy. The man was quite lithe as he moved from side to side above Rolands head, relying on the canopy to move and keep Roland from locking on to him, all the while tossing out knives. Finally, he pulled out a crossbow and fired at Rolands head repeatedly. He was very accurate. Without a Magic Shield, it would be a headshot every time. But Roland only watched for a moment before his mental power erupted into a huge shockwave that sent the entire canopy of trees directly above his head flying Since single-target damage was inaccurate, Roland resorted to area-of-effect damage. A terrifying tsunami of mental power broke through the canopy overhead, creating a massive hole. This Hunter-looking gray-robed man spurted out a stream of black blood that sprinkled down like a light rain as the mass of broken branches and leaves were knocked away. Two more left! Roland then looked around and was startled slightly, noticing that two figures were fleeing in the distance. Should I go after them? If he used Teleportation, he could catch up with one, but he already had a captive Roland looked at the gray-robed man on the ground who was roaring and struggling and smiled faintly. Well, your companions escaped and gave up on you, so why are you still struggling? Hearing this, the gray-robed man quieted down, and he looked at Roland with a strange expression. He seemed to be somewhat smug. Roland half-crouched down and asked, Can you tell me who you guys are? Maybe I can let you go. Idiot! This gray-robed man snickered, then his head tilted and his eyes lost their light. Huh? In Rolands perception, this mans spiritual consciousness instantly disappeared. This wasnt right. When normal humans died, the spirit would undergo a process, going from strong to weak before finally disappearing completely. Perhaps people had different life forces, and this process varied in duration, but it had to happen. It was never like a bubble-pop, and then no more. Roland cast a small Hand of Magic and removed the white wolf mask. He was greeted with a miserable, pale, gray face. A dead man? Roland immediately stripped the man of his clothes and found that his body, though well-preserved, was already covered with livor mortis. Long dead? A lichs substitute? No, no Roland felt incredulous. Normally, the lichs substitute could only use spells, and they couldnt use Warrior skills. Rolands eyes narrowed for a moment before he walked over to the other corpse, the one hed shot high into the air with his mental powers. It fell to the far side of the grass, all but flesh and mush. Walking over to the side of this corpse, Roland noticed that there was a black bloody sludge flowing around the area. A person who had just died couldnt be in this state. Another corpse that had been dead for a long time. A corpse that could use Hunters skills? This was not a normal resurrection. Because a corpse that was resurrected from the dead couldnt talk even if it retained the skills it had in life. Just like John Seniors corpse, it would only growl and scream. But in any case, it had to be directly related to the gang of dark Mages, or lich, who played with the corpses. However, he never seemed to have provoked them. Roland was puzzled, and then he snapped his fingers and teleported back to Delpon. After finding Vivian and Christina and telling them what had just happened and warning the two to be careful on their own, he went to the Guild of Mercenaries and issued a quest for them to find the group wearing the wolf masks. After that, he teleported to the Red Magic Tower and found Alfred. He also told Alfred about this, and then asked him about the liches. After listening to Roland, Alfred sighed helplessly. I dont have much of a clue about this either, because the dark Mages and liches are very secretive and its hard to find them. By definition, dark magic is also spellcasting, right, but its not under the jurisdiction of certain Magic Towers? asked Roland. Alfred revealed a helpless smile. It is said that two or three hundred years ago, dark magic was also divided into two factions, one governed by the school of transmutation and the other by the school of conjuration. Then differences arose? Yes, because curses in dark magic are extremely powerful and vicious, despite being transmutations, and are avoided as taboos. Alfred opened the drawer, took out a somewhat old book from it, and continued, Then the summoning apprentices also felt that the necromantic spells were too evil, so they wanted to ban Mages from learning them. But spells are spells, and some people are just good at them, so how could you not let them learn them? So they ended up running away and then huddled and merged into the school of dark magic? Pretty much like what you said. Alfred pushed the book in front of Roland. I wrote this book when I was young. It contains a lot of trivia about the world of magic and some secrets that very few people know. You can read it, but dont share it with others. Roland picked up the book and said, I understand. Alfred smiled and said, Recently youve invented the sugar-making spell. Very good, keep up the good work. Thanks. Roland smiled and said, Its all because the chairman has taught me well. Dont flatter me. Alfred waved his hand. You should have a son with Stephanie sooner rather than later and leave a proper heir for the Fareins royal family, thats proper business. Roland rolled his eyes, ignoring the old unsophisticated man, and simply turned to leave. He then made a trip to Stephanies territory, and after putting away a few magic bricks in the large underground cavern and making several more solar systems, he teleported back to Delpon. His body, which was already running out of magic power, was really dragging It didnt take that long to build up magic power in half a day, but due to Vivians disturbance, the speed of magic power regeneration was greatly affected. After accumulating magic power, he went deep into the mountains somewhere, found the Summoners Association that was under construction, and built them a Long Distance Teleportationon array. It only teleported to Wetland City. When it was done, Roland took a break just as the game server went down. The world turned black and white as usual. Roland climbed out of the virtual cabin and freshened up His body was getting stronger and he felt more energetic. Even a little too energetic, as he always wanted to find a girl to vent with. It seemed that the body in the game and the body in reality were not connected. This wasnt a good thing. If he was too energetic, his efficiency would be reduced when he absorbed energy during meditation Wait! While thinking so, Roland suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He suddenly remembered a spell he had learned in the Transmutation Magic Tower. Semen to Mana! If this skill could be used in reality, he wouldnt need to specifically go looking for energy to absorb. This seemed worthwhile. Rolands eyes sparkled. It was as if he had titanium in his eyes. Chapter 692 - Mages Will Never Be Stumped by MP Chapter 692 Mages Will Never Be Stumped by MP Currently, Rolands physical state was a little different from normal peoples. He was in exceedingly good spirits. When a normal person saw him, theyd think that he was spirited and quite fit. But in the eyes of experts, his qi and blood energy were too strong for words. For example, the Yu familys tomb keeper, the old man who liked to smash his bald head with a slab and practice Iron Head Arts. Hed been looking at Roland oddly lately as if he wanted to inquire about something. Roland knew that if he wanted to keep his secret and not let others suspect anything, he could no longer go to the ancestral shrine of the Yu family to practice anymore. Before, that had been the only place he could draw in magical energy. But now, with Semen to Mana, the situation might be different. However, the Semen to Mana was a level-three spell, which Roland couldnt use in reality. No matter, it could be optimized. Roland wolfed down the rice porridge then casually brushed the bowl a few times before tossing it in the sterilizer and reentering his bedroom. Using the powerful data software on the computer, combined with his own experience, he began to optimize the nodes of Semen to Mana. He spent the next few days doing this. He had been optimizing and testing in reality and in-game. Especially in-game, his frequent use of Semen to Mana for node application tests made his body a bit weak. He held himself together with Dragon Meat Reagents. Then Vivian looked at him strangely, because no matter how she teased him, he wasnt aroused. She even wondered if her man had been cheating with Lady Bluebird, or the mayors wife and daughter, and that was why his kidneys were weak. But the good thing was that Roland specifically explained this matter. As a result, Vivian was quite upset when she heard it. She pouted and said, Those idiots at the Transmutation Magic Tower, how can they invent such a boring and disgusting spell. Isnt that harmful? Oh its actually not harmful. For many men with aspirations, women will only affect the speed at which their sword is drawn no, its motivation. If they knew Semen to Mana, they would act as if they gained the most precious treasure. Hearing that Roland was studying this spell, Vivian was a little worried. Are you suddenly interested in this spell because youve become bored of us women? Her expression was sultry and thirsty at the same time. How can that be! To show that this wasnt true, Roland instantly downed three bottles of Dragon Meat Reagent and then carried Vivian into the room. After he excreted the energy from two bottles, Vivian was finally satisfied and left with a glowing face. Roland transformed the energy in the last bottle into magic power, experiencing the effect of the nodes in the spell, and was delighted when he suddenly covered his waist, his body unsteady on his feet, and almost fell to his knees. There hadnt been any energy stored in his body all this time, but when there had been a bit, most of it had been used for magic experimentation and a little for Vivian. His back pain didnt flare up until now because his body was quite strong and healthy. Then he rested for a day and drank another bottle of Dragon Meat Reagent before he recovered. After he started the experiments again, he was much more laid back. He didnt dare to go as crazy as before. Testing slowly in this way, Roland took fourteen days to make two optimized versions of Semen to Mana. One was for self-use in reality. The abbreviation was Self-Use Transform to Mana. The effect of this spell was weak and small, with pitifully few nodes, but the effect was there, highlighting its stability. The second spell model, on the other hand, focused on efficiency, reducing the difficulty of learning, and to put it simply, with enough power, even a brick could fly. The full name of this spell was Self Spiritual Enhancement and Mana Gathering. This spell would never work in reality, but in the game, even a magic apprentice could use it and it would be quite effective. Then Roland offered the latter spell to the Goddess of Magic and said there was no need for the three-year limit. as no After the Goddess of Magic got this spell, her chime-like laughter kept ringing in the chapel for nearly two minutes. Roland could even imagine the way she looked as she laughed and how her chest plate kept shaking. After laughing, the Goddess of Magic immediately sent the spell to the Church of Magic all over the world. About two hours later, there was a hot post in the forum. Roland, WDNMD. The title alone was so full of civilization that it attracted a large number of players to click on it and find out what it was all about. After reading it, they all laughed. Slamming their tables. There was a video in the post, a record of a pretty powerful Mage players magic experiment. The video began with him excitedly saying that his idol, Roland, had invented a new spell. SO Self Spiritual Enhancement and Mana Gathering. As soon as you hear the name, it sounds like a powerful supporting spell. Almighty Roland is just like that-hes high-level, but still creating new low-level spells to help us rookies out. This was how he touted Roland at first. Because it was a new spell, he tested it twice before he succeeded. The moment he succeeded, he looked as if he had ascended to heaven, with sagely holy light. After about ten seconds or so, he sat down slowly and began to pant, and it even felt like an alluring soft feminine moan. At this time, all the physical professions watching the video, as well as a few Mages who didnt have time to get their hands on this new spell model, were in a state of shock. This was not all. With bright eyes, this player held his face, and said in a weak and delicate voice, What a truly powerful spell. My magic power is all full. It was empty just now, but now its full, almost overflowing-Roland is so naughty. At this point, the players watching the video all had their mouths wide open. Then the real climax came. The player managed to hold onto the chair next to him and stand up, then happened to see a beautiful flower inside the lab Many flowers were magic materials. So Mages owned a lot of flowers; this wasnt a surprise. He held the pretty pink flower up, stars in his eyes, and finally stuck it in his hair, turned his head to the camera, and asked in a very shy tone, Friends in the audience, do you think I look pretty? The mouths of the players watching the video opened even wider. Then this player began to do other experiments, commenting while doing so. At this point, his tone and gestures were rather girlish. Until about an hour later, his movements became more and more normal and masculine. Finally, he grabbed the pink flower off his head, crushed it in his hand, and then roared, Roland, f**k you big time. This was the end of the video. The players were laughing all over the place at this point and replies were being made at an extremely fast pace. Its f**king hilarious. I used to hate Roland, but now I kind of like him. This spell is so f**king interesting. Has Roland suffered some kind of psychological trauma? Isnt there a sex change spell, I think this spell is more promising. Self Spiritual Enhancement and Mana Gathering, haha, not wrong at all. It does enhance spirituality and also regenerates magic power. Roland didnt lie. Anyway, Rolands mind is too dark. How can he give out this spell? It should be quietly used for those of us who desire love. Somethings wrong with you, upstairs. Roland didnt read the forums; he knew how those people would react when the spell was sent out. He had originally made this spell with a sense of mischief in mind. This magic was a classic example of great power. It not only extracted all the sperm as material to transform into magic power but also extracted all the free testosterone from the man. The price was that men would unconsciously be sissified for a while. But these things were produced constantly, so a man would return to normal in no time. By the time todays game time was over and he climbed out of the virtual cabin, he didnt even wash up and couldnt wait to use Transform to Mana on himselfthe simplest, most secure kind. Feeling as if something was missing from his body, a slight wave of magic power began to flow through his limbs. Unlike the energy absorbed at the Yu familys ancestral shrine, this magic power was quite pure, and although it was less, didnt need to be converted. So, just such a surge of magic power topped the usual amount of absorbing half a month at the Yu Familys ancestral shrine. He activated his mental power, and this time, the fire on his fingers was no longer the size of a lighters flame, but a real magical flame, the blue kind. Roland shook his hand and extinguished the magical flame. Then he found something random to eat and began to use mana transformation over and over again. Feeling the thing in his body reduce a little, and feeling the magic in his body increase a little. He didnt stop until late in the evening. Because at this point he was already feeling a little sore in the back, and if he continued, he would probably have to rest in bed. After resting for a while, Roland went to find his mother and said, Mom, tomorrow buy more things to strengthen the back, such as oysters, beef, leeks, and so on. Hmm? His mother looked at him with an odd expression. Where have you been fooling around, you look awful. Roland laughed dryly, I probably didnt sleep well! If youre seeing a girl, bring her home for me to see. Youre not that young anymore. If its not, my colleague knows a good-looking girl Hearing his mother say something about a blind date again, Roland immediately fled. He rested in his room for a while, and after eating dinner, he grabbed his mountain bike, which he hadnt used in a long time, and pedaled to the outskirts before turning down a few isolated mountain paths and pedaling into the mountains. There was nothing else in the small southern town, but there were many mountains and forests. His body was now full of magic power, roughly equivalent to his magic power cap at level three. With this amount of magic power, it was already possible to use the blue fireball. But he didnt dare that thing exploded with such a frightening range that it would attract the attention of the police, even if it didnt cause a forest fire. If someone saw the imprint of the explosion, it would definitely be reported. The aftermath of the explosion of the spell was similar to that of a weapon of mass destruction, and it would be a wonder if government agents didnt go crazy. Theyd be searching all over the place if that happened. Chapter 693 - Construction of the Secret Base Chapter 693 Construction of the Secret Base There were many mountains and forests in the south, and mosquitoes were especially abundant. The mountain flies, in particular, were so black and large that many people from the north used to tease that five of them in this part of the world would make a meat dish. Of course, this was an exaggeration These things were also particularly aggressive and would pounce on any animal that they could draw blood from, stinging it and sucking on it. One big red lump in one bite. And the Huixian River Park was a recently developed park with a landscape theme. Mountains by the rivers and mosquitoes everywhere. But none of the mosquitoes could get close to Rolands body; they flew over but were kept away by an invisible force. Leaving the mountain bike outside the park, Roland followed the newly paved concrete ring-shaped trail, less than a month old, all the way up the hill. Because it was an unfinished project, the configuration facilities here were not yet built, and there was no electricity, so naturally, not many people took walks here in the evening. It was the quietness of the place that Roland was looking for. In the future, there would probably be a lot of people coming here, but Roland wouldnt be afraid; he could use Teleportation. There was no entrance to the underground base, so if he teleported directly from home, who could find him? After walking for about ten minutes, Roland arrived at a place where the trees were particularly abundant and the branches were particularly thick. The people at the bottom of the mountain couldnt see this place, and the view was obscured by the numerous branches and leaves; the sky was likewise obscured. And there was no one around. It was reasonable to say that this place was very suitable for digging a hole to establish a secret base. Yet, Roland continued heading deeper into the mountain. This time he specifically picked the highest place in the mountain to burrow into. After all, being a child raised in the city, he had no idea of the horrors of the wild mountains and forests, and even though most places were now free of ferocious predatory wild animals, places like the mountains and forests were still not very suitable for humans if they didnt have good open roads. Squeezing into the underbrush, he didnt get far before he cut his hand and face on the jagged grass. Tiny red marks appeared on the back of his hand, and his face was also itchy and painful. After walking about a hundred meters into the thick grass, he stopped. A tall mountain wall was in front of him. Subconsciously, he wiped his face and looked around again. It was safe enough that even if someone occasionally passed by, they would never see anything or anyone here; after all, the weeds grew extremely tall here. Roland took a deep breath and began to use Mud to Stone. A skill he had used hundreds of times in the game seemed quite a bit difficult here. The brain told itself I have long since perfected this magic, but the speed of mobilization of magic power within the body, as well as the frequency of circulation, was completely unable to keep up with the command of the brain. He made mistakes several times in a row. The mud was dry at times and wet at times. One minute it was rock solid, the next it was muddy! In this situation, Roland exhausted quite a lot of magic power. Fortunately, after failing a dozen times, Rolands mind and magic power finally got used to this low-level configuration body and began to be able to successfully cast Mud to Stone. The mountain in front of him turned into a swamp and tumbled outward, as a cavern that sloped downward gradually took shape. Roland turned the mud into a horizontal flight of stone steps. He walked down the stone steps while exercising his magic power and continuing to make the steps downward. Then he looked back as the dirt that had turned over on the ground covered the hole he made and turned into rock. The passage was darkened at once, and Roland snapped his fingers, summoning an Illumination sphere, and with the bright light, he continued diagonally downward, opening the passage as he went. The mud ahead melted away like water, turning into stone steps as the passage expanded. Rolands expression was excited. Such a situation was not even worth mentioning in the game, but in reality, it fascinated him. This wasnt the game, it wasnt another world, he didnt have a game system, and he didnt have Magic Power Control, let alone an extremely high level or high character growth template. But he still managed to do it. Using his power, he summoned magic and changed the terrain. After walking down for about ten minutes or so, he felt tired and worn out. Closing his eyes, he estimated that he had about half of his magic power left Its not right, I shouldnt be so tired. Nor should I be so dizzy and sleepy. Sleepy? Roland jolted awake. It was air and lack of oxygen. How careless, not taking this into account. Roland immediately turned around and backtracked, using his magic to demolish the sealed hole and rushing out immediately. Taking a big breath of air and feeling his mind gradually sharpen, Roland instinctively tapped his heart. S*it, a few more minutes and Id probably pass out in there. So, oxygen has to be taken into account? Roland sealed the hole up and waited until he was ready to come back. enco He went farther down the same path, encountering a long snake with green and black segmented patterns on the way, slowly creeping past him and scaring him a little. I wonder if this thing is poisonous. Personal safety has to be considered as well. After a while, Roland quickly walked out of the grass, getting a few more cuts on the back of his hands and face from the miscanthus. Then he descended the mountain and pedaled home. It was only about 20:45 when he returned home. He bathed, and in the process, the warm water touched his wounds. It was itchy and painful, making him very uncomfortable. He eventually rubbed in some anti-itch drops and that made it better. Then he went shopping online and ordered five small oxygen bottles, about a liter or so in volume, which the seller said was enough for a normal adult male to breathe for about three hours. It was enough. Oxygen bottles alone were just for emergencies. He had to get an air circulation system in the underground base. This would have been a very difficult thing to do. But with magic power, things became easy. After Roland entered the game, he found the light spell Sunlight and optimized its nodes to reduce the range of the light and the magic power consumed, and increase the duration. This spell took him three days. Modifying Hand of Magic took him another day. Then, in reality, the oxygen bottles were delivered to his house. That day he climbed out of the virtual cabin, washed up, and set about making preparations. First, he bought two large bottles of mineral water and some saltine crackers from the communitys mini-department store and packed these into his duffel bag. He also packed in the five small oxygen bottles. He then asked his father for the keys to the SUV, saying that he was going to be out of town all day and would probably be back in the evening His parents didnt say anything. It was normal for their son to go out of town as an adult. Throwing the duffel bag into the trunk of the car, Roland didnt rush over to the secret base, but instead took a detour to the flower market and bought two pots of greenery and threw them in the trunk. Only then did he drive to the Huixian River Park. It was normal working hours now, and there was still no one in the Huixian River Park. Even if there were workers engaged in the project, they were far away, and they would not come to this kind of place where the road had been paved. Roland grabbed his duffel bag, hefted the two plants, and followed the cement path, heading for the top of the mountain. When he came near the secret base, Roland deliberately stopped and checked his surroundings to make sure no one was nearby before heading over to the secret base. This time four tiny Hands of Magic opened the way, two helping to pluck away the dense mountain grass and the other two in front beating at the ground ahead. This was to beat the grass and scare the snake, lest Roland step on it and get bitten. Having been prepared, Roland made it to the mountain wall this time with barely a cut from the miscanthus. Rock to Mud! The mountain walls parted and the dark passage appeared. Roland stepped into it, the rock wall behind him closing up automatically under his control. The illumination ball lit the way. Roland put his duffel bag down, found an oxygen bottle, opened the cap, and waited for the oxygen to puff out, then Rolands two Hands of Magic held his duffel bag while the other two carried the pots and followed him. With everything ready, Roland rolled up his sleeves, excitement bursting from his eyes. The digging process continued. The pit continued downward, Roland keeping an eye on his mana levels while balancing his use of Rock to Mud. By the time about an hour had passed, he estimated that he had dug to the bottom of the center of the mountain and stopped. This spot was about right. It was probably about a hundred meters from the ground. He began to expand the width of the hollow. Of course, he was not stupid, and to keep the mountain from collapsing, he would erect a load-bearing pillar after expanding the width a certain amount. Then he felt a little tired. He pulled out his phone to check the time. It was around one in the afternoon. With his magic power almost depleted, he sat on the smooth rock floor and looked at the 20 by 30 by 4 square space with a satisfied look. This is Rolands secret base, and no one else knows about it except me, and no one else can get in. Roland opened and held his hands high in the air and laughed. Men were teenagers until they died, and teenagers all longed for their own secret base. Then he opened his duffel bag, took out the mineral water and crackers, and ate them up. It was quiet, very quiet, and there was a special sense of peace in Rolands mind when he was inside. Because he knew that it was safe, that it was private, and no matter what he did here, no one would know. The vast majority of people would never have a space completely to themselves in their lifetime. After eating and drinking, he used Transform to Mana on himself twice to replenish about a third of his magic power. Then he used Sunlight. A golden ball of light replaced Illumination and appeared in this space, illuminating every inch of it. Then he placed the two pots of greenery in the corner and drenched them with mineral water. Sunlight, water, plants! This completed the three elements of air circulation. Roland knew that two plants were not enough to produce the air a normal man needed. It didnt matter; every time he came, he could bring two pots of hardy plants, and it wouldnt take long for the number of plants to be enough. Then, this wall can be cut out and made into a four-tiered potting shelf. Roland smiled, a gleam in his eyes. Chapter 694 - Small World Chapter 694 Small World Although he didnt have much magic power left, Roland stayed in the secret base until almost six in the afternoon. He was getting more and more fond of this place. He felt relaxed and comfortable here. However, considering that there was nothing in this place yet, he had to leave. After all, he had a game to play at night. After he left, the Sunlight spell was still working It could last about fifteen hours, which could provide enough sunlight for the survival of the plants. He took an SUV home, and his parents caught him the moment he returned. His father said to him, I have a colleague whom youve met before. You called him Uncle Zhang. Hes set you up with a girl. He said that shes beautiful and has her own career. He wanted you to meet her. Roland shook his head. Not interested. Hes been my boss for years. I can hardly refuse him, His father smiled and said. Im begging you, can you at least meet her? Its fine if it doesnt work out, but at least go meet her. I have to show my boss some respect. Can you show me some respect too, son? Roland quickly raised his hands and surrendered. Okay, okay, Dad. You dont have to beg me. How can I not meet her when youre talking like that? His father smiled. Put on nice clothes. Having no choice, Roland washed up upstairs and put on new casual clothes. He then shaved his face and drove the SUV to the address that his father gave him. The date was eight in the evening. Roland waited for a moment, and his phone rang when it was about the time. Hello, are you the person that Uncle Zhang told me about? The voice sounded rather familiar. After a brief shock, Roland replied, Yes, Im at Table 7. Then, a girl wearing a bright blue dress walked over. Roland was slightly surprised to see her. She was even more surprised to see Roland. How can it be you? The girl sat down across from Roland quickly. What a small world. Indeed. Roland smiled bitterly. Im even starting to suspect that youve acquired my personal information and prepared a trap for me. The girl who sat in front of him was exactly Jin Wenwen, whom he disliked very much in the past. Dont overestimate your importance, Mr. Huang Wenwei! Jin Wenwen chuckled. Ive lost interest in your virtual cabin, because I already have one. Roland was slightly surprised. How much did it cost? A store in a first-tier city, and the building where my boxing club was located, said Jin Wenwen helplessly. I wasnt interested earlier and didnt get one in the initial release. Im really regretful that I had to pay so much more money. Naturally, Roland was aware of the price of the virtual cabins these days. Seeing how regretful Jin Wenwen was, he knew that those real estates were probably worth more than seven million. Roland asked with even more curiosity, How did you get it? With luck, replied Jin Wenwen with a smile. One of the players committed a crime in reality and couldnt pay enough compensation, so the court auctioned his virtual cabin. You know that few people participate in the court auctions of small cities. The competition wasnt too fierce, but I managed to get it with the highest bid. She was truly very lucky. Roland observed the woman carefully for a while longer, only to discover that she was more feminine than before. She still favored a gender-neutral style, but in general, she looked much more attractive than earlier. Why are you on a blind date? Roland was rather curious. I thought you and Master Qi had made peace. We have, but certain things can hardly be fixed after theyre broken. I dont know when we can talk to each other peacefully again. Jin Wenwen smiled bitterly and looked at Roland. Why are you on a blind date? Arent you very close to his sister? Huh? Roland was slightly surprised. Who told you that? Night Tide Sands is my friend, but were not in a relationship. Jin Wenwen shook her head helplessly and mumbled, Poor sister. The coffeehouse was noisy in the first place. When she lowered her voice, Roland couldnt hear him at all. The waitress served the beverage she ordered. While stirring the blue fluid in the cup with her spoon, she said, Lets not talk about that. Im now a member of the World of Falan too. Since you started playing the game three years earlier than I did, you must be very strong in it. Can you give me any help in the game? I cant, replied Roland calmly. My class is very costly. Huh? Youre a Mage? asked Jin Wenwen in surprise. She had been paying attention to the game even before she had a virtual cabin, and she collected news about it. Naturally, she knew what the most costly class was. Roland nodded. But youll be very strong, like Roland, after you grow up, said Jin Wenwen in admiration. He blew up an entire troop with one Blue Fireball. When you can do the same, youll be able to dominate entire lands. Its very hard. Holding her chin with her left hand, Jin Wenwen spoke with alluring eyes. Thats true. Do you want me to sponsor you in the game? I make money quite fast. After you level up as a Mage, you can help me back. Please dont. Im afraid that Master Qi will come to me in reality and beat me to death. Roland waved his hand. Jin Wenwen giggled so hard that she shook. Unfortunately, with her flat breasts, she wasnt as attractive as Andonara or Lady Bluebird. After she was done giggling, Roland asked, You make money fast? Are you an Elven Summoner? How could I have chosen that weak-ass class? Jin Wenwen smiled. Im a Great Swordsman. I turned into one through Queen Andonara not long ago. It cost me two gold coins. So expensive. Roland was immediately lost for words. Seeing that Roland seemed stunned, Jin Wenwen raised her eyebrows and said, It isnt easy to become a Great Swordsman. The queen has harsh requirements. Do you admire me? Roland nodded again. The game is vivid and interesting. Youre essentially living another life in it. I can understand why you were so angry when I proposed to buy your virtual cabin. Jin Wenwen stood up and bowed at Roland solemnly. It was wrong of me to do that. You mustve hated me. Im sorry. Roland shrugged and said unconcernedly, Thats all right. Just let bygones be bygones. Thank you. Jin Wenwen took a breath of relief and sat down again. Right, youve played the game for a long time. You must know a lot of secrets, and many capable people. I dare not say many, but I do know a few capable men. Roland thought for a moment and asked, Are you in trouble? I received a mercenary quest in the game recently. I thought it was just a lesser quest, but as I worked on it, I found an organization that sold human organs. Jin Wenwen covered her head helplessly. I went through a lot of trouble and finally destroyed the organization, but it turned out to be supported by the Association of Dark Mages, which is hunting me. I asked for help on the forum, but they couldnt even find me. Some of them who did find me were killed by the Dark Mages too. Huh? Roland grew interested, as it seemed to be related to what happened to him earlier. Can you tell me the details? As long as youre willing to listen. Im truly worried right now. Jin Wenwen heaved a sigh and told him everything. As it turned out, the quest she accepted asked her to rescue a certain boy who had been kidnapped. She tracked the boy down to a group who sold human organs. She killed most of the enemies, only to find that the boy was already dead with his heart, liver, and lung removed. She interrogated the survivors of the group and continued her pursuit, only to find that there was a society of Dark Mages behind the group. She wouldve been killed by their curses, the Great Swordsman lacking magic resistance. Even so, she was still being hunted by the Dark Mages, and she had to flee with the high agility and magic resistance of a Great Swordsman. As she talked about that, she said prudently, Those people seem to be after Roland. If you spread the word, can you find anyone to help me? Yes! Roland nodded. Tell me the details. Ah! Were running out of time. Jin Wenwen pointed at her watch. Its already half past nine. The game will start soon. Im already behind by so much. I cannot miss any minute in the game. Why dont we talk in the game? My UID is 77654. Im now hiding in the woods in the eastern suburb of Aiello City. You should be able to find me as a Mage, right? Be fast, or the Dark Mages may beat you to it. Okay, not a problem. Roland stood up too. He had been wondering where he could find those dark wizards, but Jin Wenwen had solved his problem. Also, the blind date didnt work out. Jin Wenwen waved her hand at Roland and said, Ill tell Uncle Zhang that I dont like your looks and youre too young. Then Jin Wenwen left the coffeehouse. Roland returned home too and washed up. He then lay down in the virtual cabin at the last minute. After he entered the game, he went straight for Aiello. The city was a medium-sized one in Hollevin and quite famous. Roland knew where it was although he didnt have its coordinates. Flying with Human Cannonball, Roland arrived at the woods in the eastern suburb of Aiello in twenty minutes. He unleashed his mental power from above. The woods was covered by his immense mental power. Soon, he found that someone was lurking within. The person seemed to have sensed that Roland was searching for her too. She jumped to her feet and ran crazily. But Roland was even faster. He opened his Magic Shield and threw himself at her from the sky. After a huge thump, he crashed right in front of the person. The person was indeed a Great Swordsman. Hardly had he landed when the person jumped and slashed at him. Go to hell, you scumbag. You dare to stand in my way? Chapter 695 - Pearl of the Plain Chapter 695 Pearl of the Plain The Great Swordsman landed in front of Roland after the leap. Her sharp broadsword paused four centimeters before Rolands face and trembled. The attack was blocked by the Magic Shield, and she couldnt cut in. Roland was LV12 anyway, and the person was only LV5. Besides, his Magic Shield had been optimized by him. If the Great Swordsman had cut the Magic Shield, the Mages shouldnt have existed at all as a class. After blocking her attack, Roland said casually, Im not your enemy. The Great Swordsman subconsciously jumped back to keep a distance from him. It seemed to be a foolish decision, considering that Mages were best at remote attacks. However, having been through many battles recently, the Great Swordsman knew that the Mages had a lot of burst melee skills, such as Ice Ring, Lighting Flash, Thunder Palm, etc. A distance of about two meters was the real vacuum distance for a Mage. Most of the Mage melee spells could be avoided over such a distance. If they were to use remote skills, the melee classes could counterattack faster as long as they reacted quickly enough. As a high-agility class, the Great Swordsman had advantages in taking the initiative of the battle. The Great Swordsman looked at Roland warily at first. Then, she gradually became delighted. Youre Roland? Rolands videos had always been popular on the forum, so his face in the game was easy to recognize. Roland nodded. One of my friends sent me a message, saying that a player here knows something. Thats me, thats me. The Great Swordsman quickly nodded. My name in the game is Watson. It seemed that she was indeed Jin Wenwen. Watson, as in Emma Watson? asked Roland curiously . Watson nodded slightly in embarrassment. Roland became even more curious. If you are a girl who likes magic, why did you choose to be a Great Swordsman instead of a Mage? I like wizardry, not magic, said Watson both angrily and awkwardly. Roland smiled and asked solemnly, Regarding the force thats trying to deal with me Can you tell me more about it? Yes. Then lets talk in a quieter place. Roland voluntarily led her forward. Walking behind him, Watson stared at his back, deep in thought. Huang Wenwei! Watson suddenly called out. Roland continued walking unhurriedly. A few seconds later, he slowly turned around and asked, Did you call someones name just now? No, I just remembered a friend in reality. Okay. Roland responded unconcernedly and kept walking. Watson asked, Mr. Roland, how did you know about me? Like I just friend, a Mage friend told me. Im not very close to him, but hes from ONeals group, said Roland casually. Oh! Watson heaved a sigh. She too found that Roland was unlikely to be Huang Wenwei. After all, Roland was the strongest Mage in the game who had mastered countless resources. He mustve invested millions on the game in the early phase. Principal Huang, for example, had bought almost four thousand gold coins for his equipment and his group, but he was merely listed as the tenth strongest Warrior. Huang Wenwei, in comparison, was just an ordinary young man in a small city who had an unremarkable appearance and familial background. He couldnt have had so many resources. Pressing on in the forest, Roland dropped three magic spiders to give him better vision. He then activated a magic barrier and said, Can you tell me what you found out? Actually, I didnt find very much. Narrowing her eyes, Watson thought for a moment and said, They have a body collection organization in Aiello that pays for the bodies of the professionals, including the players. Some of the new players even voluntarily die a few times and sell bodies to them. One body can be sold for a gold coin. The higher level you are, the more valuable your body will be. The elites are worth two gold coins. This would be a great business for us if we dont lose so much EXP in high levels. Aiello City? Roland noted it. Anything else? When I snuck in, their leader, who was a Warrior named Dwayne Johnson, said, The bosses all want the body of Roland from Delpon. Ask around and see if you can find an Assassin whos good with poisons. Although Roland wasnt fully convinced by Jin Wenwen, he didnt think that she had any reason to lie to him. He considered for a moment and said, Thank you for your intelligence. I have to express my gratitude. Do you want money, or anything else? Can I stay with the queen and learn from her for ten days? Watson asked with glittering eyes. Im her admirer. Shes not in Delpon. Shes gone to Fareins. After a moment of hesitation, Roland said, But Ill tell her about that. Shell probably return to Delpon in two to three months. You can come again by then. Thank you very much, Mr. Roland! Youre welcome! Roland summoned a cloud and asked, Im going to Aiello. Whats your plan? If youre going somewhere else, I can give you a ride. No, thanks. Watson looked at the cloud with fear on her face. Roland found her reaction rather strange, but he realized that she was probably afraid of heights. No wonder she would rather not be a Mage. After all, most Mages traveled with flying spells. Few of them could teleport here and there like Roland. Roland stepped on the cloud and quickly rose to the sky. At this moment, Watson shouted from down below, Huang Wenwei! Roland was absolutely untouched. Even his eyes were the same. He flew straight away. Watson heaved a helpless sigh. Hes really not Huang Wenwei. What a shame. I couldve asked for resources from him if he were. She shook her head and left unhurriedly. Now that Roland went to Aiello to search for the evil organization, Watson believed that her troubles would be gone soon. But until then, she had to hide herself well. Aiello was a very interesting city. It had a special nickname in Hollevin: the Pearl on the East Plain. There were three cities on the East Plain of Hollevin, and it was one of them. The other two cities were both bigger, but only Aiello got this name, for a special reason. It was a city where nightingales gathered. Or to put more frankly, it was the Capital of Sex in Hollevin. Every country had such a city, including Fareins. Because he had never left space coordinates in this place, Roland could only fly here on a cloud. He landed in a wood outside the city and cast Body Fortification and Agility Increase on himself. He then put on a linen cloak from his system Backpack as well as a black mask. He had dressed up like a Rogue. Thanks to Body Fortification and Agility Increase, it was fine for him to pretend to be a low-level Rogue. In order to be more convincing, he even took out two daggers and attached them to his belt. He appeared to be a rookie Rogue who was trying to keep a low profile but was actually quite obvious in other peoples eyes. He didnt even have to act He simply copied the experience of Rogues that he read on the forum, and he could already impress anyone as a lame Rogue. Many people were waiting in line to enter the city at the gate. When it was Rolands turn, four guards stood in his way. The oldest soldier looked at Roland in an unfriendly way and said, Where are you from, thief? Garna Village. A Rogue? asked the soldier with a creepy smile. Seeing how dumb you are, you mustve become a professional only recently. Remember that all the money and items dropped on the ground in Aiello have owners. Whether or not you find anything, you have to pay three silver coins to us every month. Got it? Got it. Roland lowered his head, pretending to feel humiliated yet unable to fight back. Get inside. The soldier looked at Rolands back and said, The city guards are aware of every Rogue in town. Dont try your luck. If Roland were really a Rogue, he wouldve probably felt frustrated. But he was merely a fake one, so naturally he didnt feel anything. He quickly entered Aiello City. Since the enemy was already looking for him, he wouldve alarmed them if he had entered the city in his original appearance as a Mage. It would be fine if he acted like a Rogue. After all, that was a stealthy class in the first place. The atmosphere in the Capital of Sex was different from that in other cities. It was full of lust, and devoid of violence. It was just like the porn websites, where all the netizens blessed each other, particularly those who offered them resources. The people here, especially the men, were generally gentle. The whole city felt warm. Every male passerby on the street was either happy and satisfied or moving quickly with hope and eagerness, if their faces could be seen. Such a city was truly enjoyable! Roland even saw male players here and there in the city. The players were very easy to recognize if they didnt cover their face. They were both proud and somewhat awkward in this city. When they ran into others who were likely players, they would turn around guiltily, pretending that they didnt see them. Ha! The city was really interesting. That was Rolands first impression of Aiello. He felt that the city was great, but when he thought of the reason for such an atmosphere, he had mixed feelings. He checked in at a hotel which seemed clean and tidy. When the boss of the hotel gave him the key, he asked frankly, Sir, this must be the first time youve visited this place. Roland nodded. You can tell that? Sure. The boss smiled. You dont have the smell of the regular visitors. Do you want me to introduce the most beautiful pearls of the city to you? Thank you, but no. Roland waved his hand. Wont it be more fun if I explore the city on my own? Hey, I misjudged you. Youre actually an insider of the trade. Hahahahaha! Roland laughed aloud. The boss also laughed with him. The atmosphere was joyful and friendly. Chapter 696 - Wards Set Up Chapter 696 Wards Set Up As the Capital of Sex, Aiello had many beautiful women. But the city wasnt exclusively centered around prostitution. Food, clothes, accommodation, and transportation were necessary in everyday life. A city without enough infrastructure couldnt have supported a population of hundreds of thousands of people. Aiello was called the Capital of Sex because of the huge ratio of prostitutes in town. The tax they paid took up about forty percent of the total revenues of the city. Dark sides were inevitable in such a service industry. However, in order to attract more customers, the gangs in this place were all very careful and tried to cover up what they did, so that it wouldnt be brought to light. It was both a choice based on their intrinsic nature and the demand of the lord of the city. So while there were a lot of gangs here, they were all well-hidden, and it was even more difficult to look for the critical personnel than it was in other cities. Roland didnt know much about intelligence gathering, but he had an ability that was very useful: money. Two silver coins were gently laid on the table. The bartender looked around and, seeing that nobody paid attention to him, quickly took the coins away. Youre truly generous, my friend. Ask whatever you want to know. The bartender didnt look at Roland but simply prepared the wine while speaking in a low voice. The bar was quite noisy. His voice couldnt be heard by anyone else. Im looking for Dwayne Johnson. The bartenders hands trembled, and he almost spilled the wine. Please wait for me at the back door. Roland rose and went to the back door. There was a rather huge tree behind the bar. Roland leaned against the tree and waited for a while. Then the bartender finally came. Sir, you cant ask about Dwayne Johnson for no good reason. Roland snapped another silver coin at him. The bartender subconsciously accepted it. He seemed to be hesitating in the darkness. Youve taken three silver coins from me. Its unreasonable if you dont tell me anything. Roland pointed at the daggers on his belt. Regular professionals wouldnt be scared of a lame Rogue like Roland, but in the eyes of an ordinary person, he was no different from a villain. The bartender hesitated for a moment and said, I dont know where Dwayne Johnson is. He has a lot of enemies and always lives in different places. Roland listened in silence, knowing that the bartender hadnt finished yet. But I know something that few people are aware of. The bartender stepped close and said in an even lower voice, Theres a popular prostitute named Dorothy in Forest Fawns. Shes beautiful and alluring. Dwayne Johnson is her regular guest and visits her every couple of days. You can wait for him there. Thanks. Roland patted his shoulder. Forest Fawns was a very fancy nightclub. Roland had noticed it when he looked for a hotel. It had the greatest advertisement board of the city and the greatest traffic. Stepping on a red carpet, Roland entered the building that appeared to be a small palace. It was safe to say that even the decorations and furniture in the royal palace of Hollevin werent as beautiful and expensive as those here. The glistening wooden floor, the large candles that were burning on the wall, and the crystals that dangled from the ceiling and reflected colorful light. The stairs at the center directed the guests to the two sides of the building. Many girls and women were smiling and waiting for their guests on the second floor, before they led them to certain rooms The smell of perfumes permeated the air. It was quite strong, but not disgusting at all. The perfumes must be great products too, or their smell wouldnt have been so comfortable. The decorations were enough to indicate the luxuriousness of the nightclub. The guests spent a fortune here at night and left in the next morning in delight and satisfaction. Hardly had Roland stepped into the place when someone greeted him. She was a woman with an excellent figure, but unfortunately, her face was mediocre. Of course, if she were both beautiful and luscious, she wouldve been waiting for a guest in the room instead of working as a receptionist. Dear guest, masks arent allowed here. The woman leaned toward Roland and spoke with a smile. Roland put a gold coin in her hand. Look carefully. Im not wearing any mask. Looking at the gold coin in her hand, the woman giggled, Indeed you are not. I wonder, which friend do you want to talk to? I can only talk to them? What do you think? Her voice was in an obviously teasing tone. Im told that theres a lady named Dorothy here whos good at helping men solve their problem. Hahaha, you have great taste. The woman grabbed Rolands arm and led him upstairs. Shes the best woman in Forest Fawns, and in this city. Is she available? Of course she is. As they talked, they had already reached the second floor, and they were moving to the third floor. Shouldnt the most popular girl be the one thats hardest to meet? Dont I need to make an appointment? Sir, you havent really seen any popular girls, have you? The girl explained with a smile, The more popular they are, the idler they will be, because only the big shots like you are qualified to chat with her. Normal men cant even afford to see her. Seriously? Roland was rather surprised. But it did make sense on second thought. The rarer and more expensive a product was, the fewer people would be able to pay for it. It fit the basic law of economics. Roland followed the woman to the fourth floor. Few people were on this floor, and it was soundproof. The vague noises from the floors below sounded as if they were from another world. Dorothy is in the room at the end of the hallway. The woman didnt let Roland go. But before you meet her, please show your sincerity first. Two strong men were in the hallway. They seemed to be Warriors. How many gold coins do I have to pay? Ten! That was so expensive! No wonder there were few guests on the fourth floor. Under normal circumstances, it wouldnt be bad if a small noble family had ten gold coins in savings. When a medium-sized caravan of twenty people transported ten wagons of goods to another country, which could possibly take two months, they could only make a profit of ten gold coins too. So, Dorothys night of business could drain a small noble familys treasury as well as the profit of a caravans hard work for two months. The price was really high. Roland shook his hand, and ten gold coins appeared in it. With a smile, the woman took the gold coins from Roland and waved at the two Warriors, before she said, Have a good evening, sir. The two Warriors made way, and Roland walked to the end of the hallway and opened the wooden door. He saw a rather dim room. It was poorly lit, as only one candle was burning, which must be on purpose. At the far end of the room was a huge bed that had a pink blanket on it. Pink was not an easy color for dyes in this world. Human beings werent capable of making that. Only the master craftsmen who lived hundreds of years in the Elf Forest could. There was also a rug made of bear furs on the ground. It felt quite soft when stepped on and mustve been prepared for certain wild men. At the center of the room was a round table. A blonde girl was seated next to the table. She had fair skin and was focused on a book. After Roland just observed her for five seconds, she said, Would you mind closing the door? Im feeling cold. It was not until then that Roland realized that she was wearing delicate silk clothes. It was well known that the more advanced the silk of the elves was, the more transparent it would be. It was said that the best silk was made with silkworms that lived on the leaves of the World Tree! Such silk was completely transparent and resistant to fire and water. Of course, that kind of silk had never appeared in the human world. At this moment, the girl was wearing nothing but a layer of silk, so her body was partly visible. Also, since the silk was reflecting the light of the candle, she seemed to be covered in a bright yellow sheen. As her body moved with her breath, the sheen also shivered, as if she were a fish. Roland closed the door as instructed and sat down across from the girl. He carefully observed her clothes. The girl must be Dorothy. She was unbothered while Roland observed her. About half a minute later, Roland nodded and asked, Where did you buy your clothes? He felt that it would be great if Andonara or Vivian wore the same clothes. There were a lot of silk clothes in Fareins. Roland could easily buy them with money. However, the clothes that Dorothy was wearing were specially made to captivate mens hearts. Dorothy raised her head in surprise and looked at Roland. You came here to ask me about my clothes? Theres nothing else you want to do? She did seem rather inviting when she raised her head. She was indeed beautiful, but no more so than Vivian. She only looked attractive because of the insufficient light and the atmosphere in the room. The book in her hand also added to her attractiveness in a knowledgeable way. But she revealed her true self under Rolands question. She lost at least ten percent of her charm. What can I do here? asked Roland. Heh. Another wealthy dumbass is here? Dorothy stood up and said, Wait a moment. Im going to change. After that, she flicked a switch by her bed and opened the wall. She then walked in. While she was away, Roland dropped three magic spiders and hid them in the corners of the room. After it was done, Roland rose to his feet. At this moment, Dorothy had returned in new clothes. She wore tight clothes and a blue butterfly mask, and she was holding a long whip in her hand! Youre leaving? Dorothy was quite surprised. Roland nodded and looked at her breasts, then smiled. I like big boobs. Yours are too small. Then he turned around and left. Dorothys hand that was holding the whip shook so hard that she almost slapped it out to kill this mean man. Chapter 697 - Wait for the Prey Chapter 697 Wait for the Prey Dorothy didnt realize what had just happened until after Roland was away for a long time. How can there be such filthy men in this world? He likes big boobs? Thats so dirty! Dorothy was so infuriated that she whipped the rug hard. A long time later, the woman who led Roland up came in and asked in surprise, What happened, Dorothy? Why did that man run off? Who knows? Dorothy dropped the whip on the table, unwilling to confess what he said. Her breasts were small? They were indeed not big, which was her major flaw. But they were definitely not invisible either. Damn it! Seeing how angry Dorothy was, the receptionist would rather not further piss her off and was about to leave. Dorothy sat back on the chair and asked, Did he ask for his money back? No. Oh! Dorothy calmed down. He has abandoned ten gold coins so easily. This guy isnt simple. The woman next to her nodded. Youre right. He also has his face covered. Hes definitely a stealthy scoundrel. Dorothy shook her head. He isnt exactly stealthy I dont think the Rogues will ever be generous enough to pay ten gold coins for fun. Besides, he didnt even have any fun after he paid the money. Ive seen a lot of spendthrifts, but none of them ever let go of what they already bought. This man wore a mask. He mustve been here for something. Then, Dorothy looked around and searched her beddings, while she said, See if he left anything underneath the bed and the table! They searched for a while but didnt find anything. Roland had already left the hotel at this moment. He was relieved to see the pictures sent back by the three spiders. Fortunately, he had optimized the magic spiders again three months earlier to make them even more transparent and smaller. They became only the size of childrens fingernails and emitted little magic power. Also, they specifically hid themselves in the dark corners, so they werent found. Then Roland found it rather weird Did a popular prostitute have to be so vigilant and prudent? Dorothy and the receptionist failed to find anything abnormal, so they sat down again. Dorothy said, This place still feels weird. Ask the people down below to pay more attention. It will be best if they can find out the address and identity of that stealthy guy. The receptionist nodded and left the room. Youre looking for me? Roland went to the hotel and paid ten days worth of room fees. He told the boss not to let anyone enter his room until he returned. The boss nodded and accepted his request. Then, Roland found a remote wood outside the city at night and built an underground cave. He then hid himself inside and sealed the exit. Youre looking for me? Just keep looking! While hiding in the cave, Roland could study the data of his spells and browse the forum. He had a lot of food and water in the system Backpack. He didnt need to worry about survival at all. Two days went by just like that. There was nothing wrong on Dorothys side. She didnt receive any guests. Roland didnt find it strange, as few people in Aiello could afford the cost of ten gold coins for one night. But on the third night, Dorothy finally received a guest. The guest was a fatty. From their conversation, Roland learned that the fatty was a merchant and had finally saved ten gold coins after half a year of business, so he came to her. After finding out that the fatty wasnt Dwayne Johnson, he lost interest in peeping. But what Dorothy did next almost made his jaw drop. When the fatty took off his clothes with a lustful smile, Dorothys blue eyes suddenly turned red! Then, in a trance, the fatty started talking to the air. Little beauty, your mouth is really sweet. Hahaha. How am I bad? Dont hide. I like your feet the most. Let me lick them Haha. Im going to give you joy! In the vision of the magic spiders, the fatty spoke to himself and hugged air, until he knelt on the rug and penetrated it like a poodle. Dorothy, on the other hand, sat on the bed with her legs crossed, while she looked at the fatty in disdain. A hallucination spell? Roland then discarded this thought, because the magic spiders didnt detect any magic waves. At this moment, not only did the magic spiders boast vision in the darkness, but they could also detect magic waves. Then what is that? The Enchantment talent of vampires? But he shook his head again. Having been keeping a group of fruit bats at home, he knew vampires quite well. Dorothy didnt have long canine teeth or obvious dark magic waves. Did she have a succubus bloodline? Even less likely. Even the succubis bones reeked of demon, but Dorothy didnt. After Roland considered for several minutes, the fatty who was on his knees jerked and stood up in satisfaction. He put on his clothes and raised his thumb at nothing. As expected of Dorothy. Ill come again. He then turned around and left. Then, the receptionist came in and cleaned the mess on the floor. At this moment, Dorothys eyes turned from red to blue. Then, she lay down on her bed as if she were exhausted. This is rather interesting. Roland smiled and continued his magic studies. Although Dorothy had special abilities, Roland wasnt afraid that he would be tricked. It was the amount of power that mattered. If it was so hard for her to control an ordinary person, it was absolutely impossible for her to control a level-12 Mage who had high Intelligence and mental power. She probably couldnt even conquer his mental protection. However, after witnessing that scene, Roland knew that Dorothy was indeed special. It wouldnt be strange if she could attract Dwayne Johnson, or was related to him directly or indirectly. The bartender didnt deceive him. During the next five days, Dorothy received another guest, a young noble. Just like before, she sat aside with red eyes while the guest entertained himself. It seemed that she received one guest every couple of days. Nobody forced her to receive guests. But that was understandable. Her income from one guest was probably that of all her colleagues for a whole week. On the fifth day, a brawny bald man came. The moment he saw the man via the magic spiders, Roland had the feeling that the man was his target. Then, he was proven right. The man closed the room the moment he came in. He sat down at the table and poured himself a glass of wine. He appeared so easy and natural that he didnt look like a guest but more like the host of this place. Finishing up the fruit wine in the glass, he asked, Have there been excellent goods recently? No, just a fatty and a nobles son. Dorothy sat down on his opposite side and smiled. The masters cant be interested in a fatty. The nobles son is capable, but we cant get anything from him. So, pass. Johnson, you should get more advanced goods for me. No Golden Sons? None! Dorothy gently tapped the table. Not all the Golden Sons are rich. Besides, I have a feeling that theyre growing suspicious of this place. Of course! They should be! said Dwayne Johnson mockingly. Its fine if one or two Golden Sons died during their climax here, but now that a dozen have been killed, they would feel something wrong after they were resurrected even though you controlled their minds. But none of them came to me for trouble. Its because of their weird sense of shame, said Dwayne Johnson with a smile. Im told that its a very humiliating manner of death for the Golden Sons. Dorothy heaved a sigh. What a shame. I would love to marry a Golden Son if it werent for my identity. Keep dreaming. Dwayne Johnson mocked her. The Golden Sons are all having fun with the succubi. They like it big. Damn it, why are you talking like that too? Do you want to die? Dorothys eyes became red. Johnson instantly covered his eyes. Dont do anything. The masters wont let you go if you maim me. Dorothy snorted and frowned. Wait, did you say that the Golden Sons like it big? Probably. Dwayne Johnson searched his memories and said, Im told that there are a lot of succubi in Wetland City three hundred kilometers away. Theyve all been relocated here by the Golden Sons. At this moment, Dorothy bashed the table heavily. Damn it, that man was probably a Golden Son. That explains why he was so extravagant! What happened? Didnt I ask your subordinates to look for someone? Dorothy told him what happened earlier and said, But youve searched for seven days without finding him. We found the hotel that he stayed in, but he never returned At this moment, Dwayne Johnson changed his expression. Crap! Lets run! He jumped to his feet and rushed out. Dorothy was at a loss, but she followed him and ran out too. But the moment they opened the door, Dwayne Johnson saw a man wearing a black robe and a black mask in his way, who stared at him with a pair of smiling eyes. Dwayne Johnson came to a halt with an awful expression. The moment she saw Roland, Dorothy pointed at him and shouted, He was the man who was mean to me! Dwayne Johnson stepped back and said to Dorothy, Stop talking. Were in trouble. Then he looked at the man in the black robe and said bitterly, May I surrender, Mr. Roland? Roland took off his mask and asked in surprise, Seeing how brawny you are and how magnificent your bald head is, I thought you were a Barbarian. I didnt know you were so smart. Dwayne Johnson managed a smile. Then, Roland snapped his fingers, and Dorothy, who was behind him, covered her eyes and writhed on the ground, while she shouted in fright, Ah! My eyes! I cant see anything! It hurts! Johnson, help me! Help me! Johnson dared not move. A soundproof barrier had been established. Chapter 698 - Unexpected Green Light Chapter 698 Unexpected Green Light Now that the soundproof barrier was established, Johnson knew that nobody would come no matter how loudly he were to shout. Johnson slowly retreated and, looking at Dorothy who writhed and screamed on the floor, said, Mr. Roland, can you spare her? Were just nobodies. We didnt do everything out of our own will. Roland sat down and said, Shes fine. She was only counterattacked when she tried to control me with her talent. Shes not blinded and will recover soon. Johnson was relieved. You seem concerned about her? Roland looked at Dorothy who was still rolling on the floor. Johnson waved her hand. Not exactly. I simply sympathize with her for her harrowing past. She had finally settled down, until she pissed you off again. Roland didnt consider it a big deal. He couldnt believe everything that his enemy said. Everybody could pretend to be miserable. If you know that Im Roland, and that I was coming, you should know what whoever behind you wants to do to me. Johnson raised his hands and said with a bitter smile, Of course. If you want to know, I can tell you everything. Youre giving up already? Are you going to give me false intelligence?. Absolutely not. Our masters have said that if you find us, wed better speak the truth if we dont want to die. Roland looked even weirder. Your masters encouraged you to sell them out? Our masters said that you could search the soul and the memory, so lying to you would be pointless. Thats true. Then you can talk. Roland made a gesture and let him talk. Why do you want to kill me? I dont want to kill you; its my masters who want to do that, said Johnson in frustration. They said that youre the most talented Mage among the Golden Sons, and that if they kill you and get your body, they might be able to find out how you grew so fast and why youre so strong. Heh! They wanted his body, not to capture him alive. Was it truly related to the doings of the liches? How do you usually contact your masters? asked Roland. Its a one-way communication. They always come to me. Johnson shook his head and said, Also, I dont know what they look like, because they wear white wolf masks every time they come. Well, they were exactly the people who assailed him earlier. I was told that you were looking for great poisoners. Was that their order too? The masters have ordered me to kill you, but it was my own decision to look for poisoners! said Johnson. The masters are very powerful. I was told that they had a lot of subordinates just like me in many cities. Im just one of their pawns. They were so good? Roland stood up and gently kicked Dorothy who was still rolling and screaming. Stop acting. I know youre not in pain anymore. He could sense her mental waves clearly. Although he couldnt read her mind, it was very easy for him to determine her emotional and physical status. Dorothy stood up awkwardly. Her eyes were red and swollen as if she had pinkeye. Roland stared at Johnson. Do you have a human organ store? You cut the organs of human beings, and even kids? Human organs could be transplanted. In particular, thanks to the magic power in this world, even ordinary people had much healthier bodies than earthlings. So, if their organs were cut out and iced, the organs could be preserved for a long time. If a Priest or a Mage healed the organs every ten hours, they could even be kept alive in the ice for months. Looking at Rolands expressionless face, Johnson suddenly remembered something. His face became frightened and twisted. Cold sweat quickly popped up on his body. He quickly fell to his knees, his facial muscles twisted by fear. Mr. Roland, please spare me. I will never do that business again. Dorothy looked at Johnson in surprise. She didnt understand why Johnson suddenly became so scared. But Johnson knew it very well. When Roland asked him about the human organs, he suddenly remembered that most Golden Sons were upholders of justice. They usually dealt with villains in one way: death! Johnsons teeth were chattering. I really want to start anew. It seems that there are really kids in your store. Roland sighed and performed the alignment test on them. That was truly a humiliating spell, but humiliation was their last concern at this moment. Roland simply wanted to make sure that he didnt kill the wrong person. As he expected A red glow appeared above Johnsons head, so red that it was almost purple. Goodbye. Roland laid his right hand on Johnsons head. A Thunder Palm burst out. He wasnt really adept at the spell, but it was still enough for him to deal with an ordinary person. Johnsons body trembled and fell to the floor several seconds later. Although his limbs twitched now and then, his brains had been boiled. Such a death wasnt painful, because the brain couldnt sense pain. Besides, Rolands spell was very powerful and Johnson had lost consciousness a moment earlier. Looking at the lifeless Johnson on the ground, Dorothy covered her mouth and tried to retreat. She thought that she would be dead for sure too. But she dared not scream, fearing that she might infuriate this devil, which would deprive her of her slim chance of survival. Roland, however, exclaimed in surprise, because he found a green circle of light above Dorothys head. It was quite vague, but still green nonetheless. You didnt participate in Johnsons human organ business? Dorothy quickly shook her head. Whats your relationship with Johnson? Forest Fawns is covered by his gang. I receive guests in this place. If anyone particularly strong comes, Ill deliver a message to him. Dorothy sounded like she was almost crying. Ive never hurt anyone. I heard that they sold human organs, but Ive never been involved. Youve done some good things? I give some coppers to the beggars in the city now and then. That explained a lot No wonder her halo was bright green. Roland heaved a sign. Then I wont kill you. Do you know where Johnsons human organ store is? No, I dont. Roland frowned. Seeing that, Dorothy quickly shouted, But I know someone who does. Tell me. Theres a man named Jakang on the first floor. Hes responsible for collecting the protection fees as Johnsons trusted subordinate. He must know where the human organ store is. Roland nodded and then gently touched Dorothys forehead. She immediately passed out. It was a simple hypnosis spell. Even an official Mage couldnt have resisted it, not to mention Dorothy. Roland went downstairs. The people here had no idea what happened up above and were still busy having fun. Roland saw three men who had obviously different vibes. They seemed more brutal and eyed other people in a weirdly condescending way. Walking to them, Roland asked, Which of you is Jakang? Roland had taken off his mask, but he was still wearing a Rogues robe. Such dress was actually quite common in the underworld. The man in the middle, who was the slimmest and cockiest, stood out and said, I am. Who are you? Roland performed an alignment test. All of them were red. But the other two were only brightly red, while Jakang was deeply so. He wasnt as evil as Johnson, but still much more so than his companions. Roland coldly snapped his fingers, and two Hands of Magic appeared and dragged the man out. His two partners were too horrified to move. They dared not piss off the honorable Mages. Who are you? Jakangs face turned blue because of fear. Ive never wronged you, sir. Ordinary people dared not challenge the Mages, who were even more terrifying than the nobles. Nobody said anything when they watched Jakang to be taken away. The guests were only here for fun. There was no need to fight with a Mage. Besides, was a gangster really worth defending? Dropping the man next to the road, Roland said casually, Tell me, where is Johnsons human organ store? Sir, I really cant say, or Boss Johnson will kill me. Johnson stood up and trembled like a rabbit. Roland yawned and said, It doesnt matter. Johnson wont do anything to you, because hes already dead. Jakang was stunned for a moment, but he quickly fell on his knees and kowtowed. Mr. Mage, I know where it is! Ill take you there immediately! Wait! Roland suddenly thought of something. You wait here. Theres something I need to do. Ill be back soon. Roland tossed a magic spider down. He had expanded the size of the magic spider. It was green and transparent, like a piece of glass. The spider climbed to Jakangs shoulder along his pants. Jakang was even more frightened. He stared at the spider as if it were the most dreadful pest, but he dared not move at all. Roland snapped his fingers and left with Teleportation. Jakang stood next to the road, shivering in the cold wind like a poor bird. Many people passed by, including some of his acquaintances, but they all walked away upon seeing the fist-sized green spider on his shoulder without even daring to greet him. Twenty minutes later, Roland returned. At this moment, a pool of liquid could be found under Jakangs body. It wasnt just his urine, but also his cold sweat. Okay, we can go now, Roland said to Jakang with a smile. Be quick about it. Im not a patient man. Yes, Mr. Mage. They zigzagged in the city and Roland almost lost his way, when they finally reached a highly remote place. Inside the small forest here was a large, rickety house. Chapter 699 - 9 A Trap Chapter 699 A Trap Every city had remote and unpopulated places. Generally speaking, such places were all dangerous, because they were unusually where jobless people wandered and where gangsters made deals. Even though Roland hadnt approached the big house in the wood yet, he already smelled a vague stench of blood. It was mixed with the odor of decaying bodies too. Looking at Jakang, Roland asked casually, How many brothers do you have in this place? Seventeen. Jakang was still terrified. Mr. Mage, what do you want us to do? Roland said casually, Johnson is already dead. Im taking over this place. Will they be willing to meet their new boss? Of course, of course. Jakang was greatly relieved. He led Roland forward. By the time they reached the door of the house, the stink of blood and cadavers was already suffocating. But Roland showed no unusual expression. He had fought many great battles and seen many dead men. Such a smell was nothing to him. When they reached the door, it was finally opened, and two men dragged out a woman who was absolutely still. The woman had a gray face and was quite slim. She was naked, and her abdomen had been opened with nothing left inside. All her internal organs were gone. Both of the strangers were surprised to see Jakang and Roland. The creepy man who held the womans arm on the left side asked, Jakang, why are you here instead of watching over Forest Fawns? Then he looked at Roland and said, as if he realized what was going on, Oh, this Mage must be a customer. Not exactly. Jakang put on a bitter smile. Hes our new boss. What about Johnson? asked the man in confusion. He doesnt look like a man who will give away his power easily. Can Johnson even compare to a Mage? Jakang glanced at Roland and, finding that he wasnt angry, continued criticizing them. Stop worrying about him and drop the body. Gather everybody and let them meet our new boss. The two strangers looked at each other and put the body on the ground. They were not happy to have a new boss, but they did not dare to disobey a Mage, especially one who looked quite strong. They had guessed that Johnson had probably been killed by this Mage, as indicated by the fright on Jakangs face. Besides, a green spider was standing on his shoulder. It was so large and transparent that it was undoubtedly lethal. Chances were that it could kill anyone that it bit. Every Mage had a lot of bizarre items. The two of them quickly went into the house and shouted, asking the people in the rooms to come out. Roland walked in and found that most of the furniture in the house had been dismantled into long planks. Those planks were all black, greasy and gross. Some even had human bodies on top of them. Two of the bodies belonged to kids who couldnt have been older than eight. At a corner, there were several buckets of ice in which the fresh organs were contained. Several people were cutting into the guts of a man who looked like a beggar. Holding back his disgust, Roland walked to them expressionlessly and watched them take organs out of the male beggars chest skillfully. Excellent craftsmanship. Roland praised them casually. He found that the beggar was already dead, but probably for no more than ten minutes. He could tell that because the blood was still hot. The few people around the beggar, seeing Rolands clothes, all smiled and didnt say anything. They didnt stop working either. They all had deeply-hollowed eye sockets, which indicated that they were all sophisticated. On the buckets side, there was someone who appeared to be a magic apprentice. He was checking if the colors of the organs in the buckets changed. Once in a while, he would cast a lousy Minor Healing on them. Such healing could hardly treat wounds, but it was quite effective to lengthen the activity of internal organs. Very soon, the two people who just dropped the body gathered their accomplices who were resting in other places in the house. Jakang, on the other hand, clapped his hands and said, Everybody, pause whatever youre doing and meet our new master! Hed like to speak to us! Then, he kicked and drove those people to Roland, forcing them to stand in a line. After it was done, he smiled obsequiously with his back half bent. Roland counted seventeen of them, so he asked, Are they all here? Yes, boss. Theyre all here. Seventeen people supporting such a big business. Not bad. Roland nodded and asked in satisfaction, Wheres your ledger? Its here. The magic apprentice stepped forward and gave a book to Roland from his pocket. Esteemed Mr. Mage, this is a list of what we have earned and spent on. Roland didnt accept it with his hands. Instead, he snapped his fingers and opened the ledger with two small Hands of Magic. The ledger was too dirty, with red and black stains of blood everywhere. Roland read the ledger carefully and closed it, then remarked with a smile, Most of the goods come from beggars, but not much information about the buyers is recorded. Why is that? Because most of the buyers come with their faces covered. Okay Roland got it. Well done. It seems that I have to reward you. Roland waved his hand. It was the alignment test! Everybodys head was crimson. The magic apprentices head was actually black, even darker than Johnsons. The other members of the gang didnt know what was going on yet, but the magic apprentices already started shivering. Run He turned around while he shouted, Run for your lives! He wasnt good at magic, but he had quite a lot of common sense and knew the alignment test. Under normal circumstances, only the people who served justice would use this spell when they wanted to kill someone but were afraid that they might kill the wrong people. He realized that Roland was here to kill them. But it was too late. The erupting ice froze everything nearby at a high speed. In the blink of an eye, they became ice sculptures with surprised, widened eyes frozen on their faces. The magic apprentice, on the other hand, was frozen in the act of sprinting. Roland walked to him and gently kicked the ice sculpture, which fell on the ground into a dozen pieces. His head, which had been fully covered in ice, rolled in another direction. Roland looked around and heaved a sigh. He then turned around and walked away. After he left the house, he turned around with a big blue fireball condensed in his hand. He was going to burn this place to the ground. However, when he was about to launch the magic fireball, a storm of arrows suddenly shot at him. His whole body was covered. Following the storm of arrows, four different kinds of spells were cast on him, including a blue Inferior Fireball. The arrows were all deflected by the Magic Shield. Then, all the magic attacks, including an ice ball and a lightning spear, disappeared when they hit the Magic Shield except the blue fireball, which caused an intense explosion after hitting the Magic Shield. After an ear-splitting explosion, the area within a five-meter radius of Roland was swallowed by flames. It was not until several seconds later, when the flames died away, that he was finally revealed again. I didnt expect to be hit by the very fireball spell I invented someday. Standing behind the Magic Shield, Roland looked around. His spell had been disrupted. At some point, a dozen men in gray robes had appeared in the wood with wolf masks. So, this was a trap to lure me in. Roland looked at them. You were truly generous to abandon a base just for an opportunity to surround me. Those people didnt talk. Some of them threw out multiple scrolls. The scrolls turned into transparent iron ropes and stabbed into the ground while they were still flying. The space was instantly solidified. Dimensional Anchors. Roland appeared rather solemn. Many people in this world knew how to make Dimensional Anchor scrolls, but Roland recognized the special characteristics of these few scrolls, which were Bettas work. Because Wetland City was suffering from austerities, Betta had been making money by making some magic scrolls every day. Roland was very close to him and could recognize his magic waves. They had already dropped almost ten spatial scrolls. Even a genius at spatial magic such as Roland could not teleport away. He couldnt even use Human Cannonball, because spatial bubbles were an application of spatial magic too. After dropping the spatial anchors, those people simply charged at Roland without saying anything The Warriors charged, the Rogues went stealth, and the Archers and Mages attacked remotely. Their teamwork was very neat. Roland stepped on the ground and cast Ice Ring, freezing the ground around him into ice. When the charging Warriors set foot on the slippery ice, they instantly fell and slid on the ice like pucks. Roland pointed his finger at a Warrior who was about to stand up, colorful light concentrated on his fingertip. But then he suddenly looked at his right side, as two arrows penetrated his Magic Shield. Although they were stuck in the middle of the shield, they had indeed broken into the shield. Roland observed the two arrows, only to find glittering gold on the tips of the arrows. Anti-Magic Arrows? Because of golds anti-magic feature, some Archers would make special arrows which had about one gram of gold on their tips to specifically deal with Magic Shields or Mages who had powerful barriers. Such arrows could nullify a lot of spells. However, they were extremely tricky to make, and very expensive. One Anti-Magic Arrow was worth thirty of the finest regular arrows. You are truly extravagant. After Roland said that, the spells that the Mages cast out had come to him again. It was another barrage of ice, lightning, dark, and fire spells. After an intense explosion, Roland was revealed among the flames again. However his Magic Shield cracked this time. The cracks spread out from where the two arrows were stuck. At this moment, all the Archers drew their bows. Two of them had arrows that reflected feeble golden light under the moon. Rolands Magic Shield would probably be broken if they shot again. Thank you for letting me know how I should strengthen my Magic Shield in the future. The leader of the men in gray robes was confused. He didnt understand why Roland was still so casual. Exactly at this moment, three arrows were shot from the woods far away. Then, someone started charging, not toward Roland but towards the men in gray robes. Chapter 700 - We’ll Do It Chapter 700 Well Do It The attack was so unexpected that the arrows, which could take turns, hit two targets. The third arrow was knocked away. The charging Warrior, on the other hand, simply slapped his shield into the face of an inert Mage. The Mage was flung back with white and red substances splashing out of his head. Then, someone let out a barbaric roar and jumped out of the dark, and a Rogue suddenly emerged behind a Mage and stabbed him in the back. The four of them killed four men in gray robes the moment they appeared. The enemys formation was instantly disrupted. Roland extended his finger, and several Arcane Bullets spurted out and killed five enemies in three seconds. Weve been ambushed! Fall back! The leader roared and wanted to go. However, they couldnt leave as easily as they came. They had brought the Anti-Magic Arrows and the Dimensional Scrolls here specifically to deal with Roland. In fact, they were not really strong. They only caused minor trouble for Roland because of their numbers and their equipment. Now that their formation had been disrupted, and Roland was reinforced, the situation was completely reversed. Roland snapped his fingers, and a dozen Hands of Magic flew out and helped his friends catch the strangers. Very soon, they all returned. The Hands of Magic dragged over two people, and his friends were all empty-handed. They shook their heads at Roland helplessly. Li Lin explained, Theyre all bodies. They all fell when we caught up to them. The blue stains on them suggest that theyve been dead for a long time. Roland looked at the two captives of his Hands of Magic. One of them was also motionless, whereas the other one was still struggling. He tore the guys wolf-shaped mask off without hesitation, only to find that the man had golden hair, blue eyes, and a unique vibe. After a brief daze, he narrowed his eyes and said, Youre a player. The man stopped struggling and chuckled. You see me through. I dont think theres any grudge between us. Roland asked in confusion, Why did you attack me? Who knows? I simply received a mission to deal with you and I was quite interested in it. The player smiled unconcernedly. Think about it. Isnt it fun and thrilling to hunt the strongest Mage player server-wide? Fun? Roland stomped on the mans stomach, making him scream in pain, but nothing more. After all, the players could only feel one-tenth of the pain in reality. Is it fun to sell human organs and kill ordinary people? The man lay on the ground and snorted. Dont blame everything on me. Im not exactly a good person, but I wont do that kind of thing. Is PVP something nefarious? Roland was stunned. He performed an alignment test, only to discover, to his surprise, that the person had green light above his head. It meant that he had really done nothing evil. Hahahaha! The player laughed cockily. Roland, you were smart enough to predict that we were going to ambush you and set up a trap against us, but you will never know whos your enemy. Never. Roland sneered. Its just the liches, isnt it? If you think so, thats fine. The player laughed, stood up, and jumped at Roland, but his head flew before he got halfway. Li Lin took his longsword back and seemed rather agitated. Looking at the body on the ground, Roland heaved a helpless sigh. It seems that weve lost our leads again. This was a trap that was specifically meant to deal with Roland. Roland even suspected that his meeting with Watson was within expectation too. However, he didnt think they had manipulated Watson to do that. They had probably influenced a lot of people, and one of them was definitely going to report the matter to Roland. He speculated that many players received the quest to investigate the human organ business. One of the variables would deliver the intelligence to Roland, so that Roland would voluntarily fall for the trap. However, Roland wasnt an idiot. After he killed Johnson and seized Jakang, he already realized that things had been going too smoothly. Also, his instinct as a Mage told him that there would be danger. So, he reached out to his friends and brought them to Aiello with Long Distance Teleportation. He asked them to follow him and help him if he was caught. Rolands foresight turned out to be well-grounded. The enemy had truly set a trap for him. They had set up such an enormous trap just in order to catch him It seemed that they couldnt be simple. Were they players? That couldnt be right. A group of only players couldnt have been so powerful. After all, the Phoenix Guild was the greatest guild at this moment, and the main forces of all the major guilds were catching succubi in the Realm of Devils. Those who stayed in the main plane were only the idlers such as Roland, the low-level battle players, and the casual players. Roland thought for a moment and asked Li Lin. Do you want me to take you back? Li Lin waved his hands. Thats unnecessary. Were traveling anyway. This is a nice place to visit. Im told that the girls here are quite skilled. Roland covered his head. Youre doing this again. Didnt you say that you would be sick of women for a long time? Its been four months since we talked to girls, said Li Lin rather pitifully. His other friends put on weird smiles too. Okay then. Have fun. Im leaving. Dont be so hasty. Lets hang out together. Li Lin reached his hand for Roland. We wont tell the queen. Roland ran even faster. He returned to Delpon with Long-Distance Teleportation and went to the Guild of Mercenaries, the Guild of Assassins, and the Guild of Bards. He gave them a huge number of gold coins and asked them to investigate the wolf-masked men and the undead for him. He wanted them to tell him everything they found. You want to see whos more influential? I have as many connections and friends as you do. Then, Roland went to the capital of Delpon. He found Antis at the city gate. This dude was even more attractive, or rather, feminine, than before. Wearing an advanced white leather armor, he crossed his arms before his chest and looked at Roland. How rare. I didnt expect to see a man as busy as you. Its been a long time. Yes, we havent met since a year ago. Antis heaved a sigh. Roland asked rather curiously. Why are you still watching the city gate? Has the king not promoted you? Our family already has the highest rank of nobility. Its not like I can be promoted to a king, can I? Antis clicked his tongue. Besides, it isnt bad to watch the gate. I get to see a lot of interesting stuff. Im here because I have a favor to ask, said Roland. I knew that you wouldnt visit me for no reason. Antis seemed rather frustrated. Together with his slightly pouting pink lips and his slim body, he would impress anyone as a woman who had been wronged by her lover. Roland felt rather creeped out, but he kept smiling. Just give me a hand. You wont be working for me for nothing. What do you want me to do? Help me investigate some people. While Antis looked at him in surprise, Roland told him what happened. In the end, he added, In any case, the royal family wouldnt want to see an organization that sells human organs to grow big, would it? After a brief silence, Antis said, In fact, weve received reports on the matter too. Many lords claimed that a lot of bodies whose chests were emptied were found on their territory. But then, they sent letters saying that they were mistaken and that those whose internal organs disappeared were all beggars who were killed by beasts in the wilderness, so nobody looked into the matter again. Why didnt you investigate it? They didnt want us to do that. Antis shrugged helplessly. They can administer their territory as they see fit as long as they dont betray the crown. Roland clicked his tongue. So many lords chickened out. This must be a very powerful group. We werent too worried before. Antis thought for a moment and said, But if what you said is true, well have to pay more attention. Dont worry, well investigate it. You can look into the matter too. We can exchange information later. No problem. The two of them chatted with each other for a while longer and then parted. Antis, however, looked at Rolands back and seemed rather lonely. After he returned to Delpon, Roland kept wondering if there were any other people who could help. In fact, it would be best to leave a bounty on the forum. However, considering that there seemed to be players in that group, he might alarm the enemy if he were to post it on the forum. As he thought on and on, he did come up with an organization that might help. The Phoenix Guild. He flew to Wetland City and found the Phoenix Guilds base in the woods. He visited Solisa. It was possible that the male players hung around with the dead, but chances were slim that the beautiful girls who focused on Charm would love the company of bodies. The famous Master Mage is asking for our help. After hearing what Roland came for, Solisa widened her eyes and burst into delighted laughter. How rare. Wait, I have to make a video recording of this. This is a secret mission that must not be disseminated, said Roland casually. Fine. Solisa helplessly turned off the camera system. Why did you come to us? You should know that the girls arent good at PVP. I dont need you to fight. You only need to help me find them from the forests of Hollevin. Roland explained, Most of them fight by controlling the bodies of the dead with their foul abilities. You have unicorns that naturally loathe the undead and evil creatures. They can smell them from kilometers away. So, I think youre very suitable for the search mission. Solisa was quite satisfied with Rolands theory. Exactly. The Elven Summoners are a righteous and gorgeous class Then, how much are you willing to pay? Her eyes were filled with golden light. Three hundred gold coins for your activities. Roland paused for a moment and continued, If you find their nest, Ill pay you five hundred more gold coins in a year. That was so much money! Solisa quickly stood up and patted her chest hard. Well do it! Chapter 701 - Everything Has Its Ups and Downs Chapter 701 Everything Has Its Ups and Downs While the other organizations were poking around, Roland wasnt idle, trying to find out his enemy in the way of a Mage. Tell me where the enemys organization is. Roland used Lesser Benediction. The small stick that was erected didnt fall. Instead, the magic power in the air vibrated, and Roland couldnt help but cough a few times as Lesser Benediction failed and he suffered a slight magic recoil. Is it because the organization has no name? Roland considered the semantics of what he had just wished for and said instead, I wish to be pointed in the direction of my enemy. The stick fell over and then rolled in a circle. Rolands expression was suddenly dumbstruck. Of course, my enemies are in all directions, all over the world. But that was normal when he thought about it. The enemy contained the meaning of being harmful to oneself. Wild beasts, magical beasts, and so on might also be included. Not to mention, even among the players, some people were quite annoyed with Roland and took an interest in hunting the experts of the server. There would always be quite a few players who were into PVP. For example, Principal Huang, a Warrior, was protected by many guild members and was still attacked three times, his attackers succeeding twice. The hunt for Roland was delayed until now because of his spatial magic and his high level and great power, unlike Principal Huang, who only had a guild. As for the Saint Samurai Schuck, they had even less desire to kill him. For one thing, Schuck had a dragon and flew around all day. The second was that he stayed in the Holy Realm all the time and rarely appeared outside. It was impossible for any other player but Schuck to blend in with the higher echelons of the Church of Light. Roland thought for a moment and then continued, I wish for Johnsons masters location! This time the stick came down again and then rolled in a circle again. Oh so Johnson has many masters? Looks like its troublesome not knowing the enemys true identity, even Lesser Benediction cant help. Roland gave up. Lesser Benediction had significant limitations. Commands that were too complicated to understand and those that were too costly could not be realized. What if it was Grand Benediction? The problem was that Roland didnt know Grand Benediction. It seemed this was all that he could do now. Besides, Roland didnt think much of the Grand Benediction either. It was said to be able to achieve any wish, even the resurrection. But what if you used Grand Benediction to become a god! It definitely wouldnt work. It was still a matter of energy strength. And he might not be able to bear the subsequent side effects. So, in the case of being able to bear its cost, both Grand and Lesser Benediction worked well, but there were limits to both. It seemed like there was no opportune shortcut. Roland gave up the idea of using benediction to find it and instead concentrated on studying magic. He wanted to optimize Teleportation and Magic Shield and reduce their casting requirement. Another day of game time was over, and Roland climbed out of the virtual cabin. After washing up, his mother already had breakfast ready. Fish fillets and lean meat porridge with ginseng slices. There were also steamed buns with goji berries. Roland ate happily. His mother sat across the table and said, Ah Wei, you look a little pale and frail, you need to take care of your body When will you bring the girl back for us to see? Rolands face went green all of a sudden. Now that he used Transform to Mana every day, how could he not be weak? If his mother hadnt made him dishes to nourish and strengthen his back every day, he would probably be even weaker. No Looks like I cant stop exercising, and I also have to take time to practice the Nourishment of Life. Anyway, the framework of the secret base had been set up, so he didnt have to go there every day all day. He only needed to go there for half a day. He could strengthen his body and practice the Nourishment of Life instead. In this way, the days went by, and about a month later, he finally finished optimizing the simple version of the Magic Shield. The simple version of the Magic Shield had been made completely transparent to fit reality. True and complete transparency. The other thing was that the protection had dropped dramatically. In the game, assuming enough magic power was used, the spell was estimated to be able to withstand four 410mm cannon blasts, but in reality, it would only be able to stop a Desert Eagle caliber bullet at best. And it could at most block about twenty rounds; the difference was quite obvious. But there was no way around it. His body in reality didnt have a high growth template. If it was calculated by the games values, it was estimated to be only 8 for Intelligence growth and about 6 for Spirit growth. The other stats were even worse, such as Constitution, which was estimated to be only about 4 points. And his level was also low. It didnt matter, though, being able to cast spells now was an evolution in itself. So Roland was content. With the Magic Shield, Roland was much safer going into the underbrush. He wouldnt be afraid of miscanthus cutting him or vermin or anything like that. And over time, the amenities of this suburban park were gradually being built. After all, the rabbit country prided itself on the speed of building infrastructure. Roland walked through the mountain trail, and even in the daytime, he could see an occasional passerby or two who were loitering on the trail. In particular, there was an elderly man who looked spry and could be seen every other day or two. Over time, the two even got to know each other and greeted each other with a nod. There were starting to be more people, so it seemed like he would have to pay more attention in the future. It was better to come to the secret base late at night. But the problem was that he had to go into the game world at night. The timing would conflict. Looks like Ill have to get Teleportation out of the way. Roland was sitting on a stone chair at this time Using Mud to Rock, he could accomplish a lot of things, and making stone furniture could be done in passing. A golden ball emanating a warm light hung above the secret base at the moment, while behind him a whole wall was lined with an assortment of potted plants. There were already over a hundred pots. Scindapsus, cactus, green pine, Chinese swamp cypress, and other such bonsai plants were there. There were even blueberries and baby tomatoes. Thanks to thirteen hours of Sunlight, this place had been able to fully realize the oxygen cycle. In the evening, Roland came out of the secret base and then squeezed through the underbrush only to see an old man standing in the middle of the trail, looking at him curiously, as soon as he got out onto the trail. Hello there, young man. Roland calmly patted his body, pretending to pat away the grass wadding, then smiled and said, Hello, Uncle. The old man stood with his hands behind his back and his body straight. Based on this look, Roland guessed that he was probably a retired official. When I saw you go up the mountain earlier, you clearly had two potted plants in your hands, why did you throw them away? Roland pretended to be confused. Potted plants? I didnt bring any potted plants. Roland didnt bring any potted plants over today, as he felt there were enough for oxygen circulation. Is that so? The old man smiled indifferently. I find that you like to go into the mountains and forests. Well, I certainly do. Roland laughed. Just like you like to take a walk in the middle of the day, Uncle. There arent many young people like you who like to go into the mountains. There arent many old people like you, Uncle, who take a walk at noon. They usually do so in the evening. It was tit for tat. He almost came close to saying, Its none of your business what I like to do. Haha. The old man laughed softly. The mountains and forests are full of snakes and insects, so bring something to rub on your body to avoid them in the future. Thank you for reminding me, Uncle. Roland shrugged. Ill be going home then; its late. He turned around and left. At this time in the evening, the sunset was beautiful. Then the old man caught up with him in two or three steps and walked side by side with Roland. Whats your name, young man? Roland didnt want to talk and didnt want to answer him. Seeing that Roland didnt respond, the old man laughed helplessly, Youre quite vigilant at such a young age. So whats your name, Uncle? Where do you live, and how many people are in your family?. Oh When the old man didnt say anything, Roland smiled. The old man sighed as he slowed his pace and waited for Roland to walk ahead before he slowly followed down the mountain with his hands behind his back. After descending the mountain, Roland got on his mountain bike and left. The old man stepped aside and got into a small black car. He then took out his phone, dialed some number, and said, Tai, the monitors you have there, do you have any miniature ones that can automatically record for a month or two and are well hidden? Yes. A young mans voice came over the phone. What do you need all this for, Uncle? Saw something quite curious, and you know I wont feel comfortable until I get to the bottom of things. Oh. Uncle, what happened? Its like this, Ive been going for a walk in the Huixian River Park for a while. Well, yeah, yeah. Every now and then I saw a young man come for a walk too, and at first I thought he was strolling, but later I noticed that he would always disappear halfway up the mountain, so I kept an eye out, and finally noticed that he kept going into the bushes. Uncle, its not a big deal, right? The thing is, he had two potted plants in his hand every time, just not today. And they disappeared after he reappeared. Dont you think thats strange? Taking potted plants up the mountain often? What kind of obsession is that. Yeah, I got curious, then went to ask him about it, and he turned out to be wary, very wary. I developed an eye for people back in the day when I was diverting goods into Russia, and that kid is definitely not simple. Whats even stranger is that the potted plants disappeared when he appeared. The young mans curiosity was also piqued. Interesting indeed. Right? Why dont you get some monitors over here and well install a few up in that place to see what the secret is? The voice in the mic said, Thats fine, but I dont have that kind of equipment in the store right now. Im out stocking now and wont be back until the day after tomorrow, so maybe Ill come find you the day after that. Sure. At this time, Roland returned home and was eating dinner when he received a call from Night Tide Sands. the day? Of course I do, Roland said as he ate his tonic soup. What can I do for you? Im going to a classmates wedding in the neighboring city tomorrow, but my big brother isnt available tomorrow, so can you come with me? Im a little worried to be alone. It wasnt good for a girl to go out of town alone. Roland instantly agreed. Okay, no problem. What time do you want to go in the morning? Night Tide Sands made him a delicious breakfast every day some time ago, and he was only at home recently because he wanted to replenish his body. Night Tide Sands was so loyal, so if she needed help, Roland certainly wouldnt refuse. Ill drive up and pick you up around eight-thirty. Night Tide Sands voice sounded quite happy. Chapter 702 - Jane Falls in Love With John Chapter 702 Jane Falls in Love With John After dinner, Roland took an early shower, set his alarm clock, and then began to practice the Nourishment of Life. Although the energy absorbed here was very, very little, but there was still some. Most importantly, this thing could nurture qi and seemed to strengthen the kidneys. Roland certainly wanted to practice it. When the alarm clock went off at nine-fifty, Roland wiped his face and hands, then wormed into the virtual cabin. Once again, he appeared in the game world. Roland still appeared in the research lab of the Magic Tower in Delpon. For other professions, the higher their level, the greater their range of activity. But the vast majority of Mages spent their time in three locations or just two. Occasionally, theyd go out for a walk, and it didnt take long before they came back and continued their life as before. Tedious and boring. But Roland had a good time. Now his main task was to simplify and lighten the spells he had already learned. So that he could use them in reality too. He could even sacrifice power and special effects for this. He was mainly researching Teleportation now. There was already an old man staring at him today, and there would be more people later when the park was built. That was why Teleportation was the safest way to go; the distance of the teleportation did not need to be much farther, around three hundred meters would suffice. This way, it was possible to directly enter the secret base from a safer place. Although a month had passed, neither the Guild of Mercenaries nor the Phoenix Guild had found any organization related to the lich. They had even gone through many of the relics that possessed negative energy and still hadnt found any clues. But Roland didnt get discouraged, and he continued to give all the forces an additional amount of funds for the campaign to continue. Because he had money now. The Association of Mages sent in his first share of profits; it was over seventy gold coins. It didnt sound like much, but having that number to begin with was proof enough that And a lot of the Dragon Meat Reagents had been sold. There were quite a lot of gold coins in his Backpack It was probably almost a thousand. Then, while he was researching, Lady Bluebird came to his door. Mr. Roland, its time for me to go back. She was still wearing the dress that revealed her northern hemisphere, which was dazzlingly white. Thank you for taking me in during this time. Youre welcome. Roland happened to want to meet Andonara too, and he reached out and pressed Lady Bluebirds shoulder. Then lets go now. Lady Bluebird nodded, indicating that she was ready. A few seconds later, Roland appeared with Lady Bluebird on the outskirts of the capital of Fareins. Coming out from the aura of Long-Distance Teleportation, Lady Bluebird immediately paled and squatted off to the side to retch. Roland crouched down next to her and gently smoothed her back with his hand, trying to make her comfortable. After about five or six minutes, Lady Bluebird finally felt better. She stood up, covering her abdomen, a strand of hair sticking to the corner of her mouth there, which, along with her wet, smooth lips, gave her a rather salacious look. Roland averted his eyes and applied Body Fortification, Cure Disease, and a Lesser Healing This made Lady Bluebirds condition improve rapidly. Thank you. The two then entered the capital, and instead of going home, Lady Bluebird went to the First Princesss manor first, and the two happened to go the same way. The soldiers guarding the manor, who had all known Roland and Lady Bluebird for a long time, let the two in straight away when they saw them. Andonara was having afternoon tea in the garden. When she saw Roland, she dove into his arms, overjoyed. The two of them were hugging and adoring each other with words of love as Lady Bluebird looked on with extreme envy. It didnt take long for Stephanie to rush out of the room as well. She instantly showed her joy at the sight of Roland and then clapped her hands and said, Anna, show your love for this boy later. At worst, Ill lend you my bed again. Now separate. I have something I want to talk to your man about. Anna clicked her tongue and stepped aside. As a young woman, she had long been immune to such teasing Besides, she did want to borrow Stephanies big bed for a while. After all, there was only one soft and large but also very fragrant bed in the estate. After sitting down, Stephanie said to Roland, I was trying to get someone to think of a way to get a message to you in Hollevin. To my surprise, you came over yourself. An urgent matter? Roland sat across from her. Stephanie nodded. Yes a major event. Father said that in a month, he will abdicate the throne and leave it to me. Roland froze for a moment, then could not help but whistle. Your father is in his prime right now. Not to mention sitting on the throne for another thirty years, he has no problem having seven or eight princes and princesses, so whats making him think of abdicating? Whats making him? Stephanie looked rather helpless. What do you think of my father? Roland smiled. A loudmouth, non-political, middle-aged man who likes to mess around. This was indeed the feeling King Edward gave Roland. In reality, it was also true, but King Edwards greatest strength was that he did not care about things. If the king of Fareins had any ambition, the entire balance of the powers in the capital would instantly be shattered. The current situation was a good one. If you werent my friend, I wouldve cut your neck. Stephanie rolled her eyes at Roland with a slight hint of flirtatiousness, then she said, According to our rules here, the new kings reign requires the Holy Realm and the Association of Mages to each send a representative to witness and agree to the new kings reign in front of all the domestic nobles and foreign envoys attending the ceremony. The same goes for the new successors of the other two powers. Oh, but what does this have to do with me? Of course it has something to do with you. The chairman of the Association of Mages, Alfred, said that you are the representative of the Association of Mages, and he asked me to inform you myself. Roland was immediately at a loss for words. Stephanie smiled and said, By the way, the representative sent by the Holy Realm is the newly promoted Dragon Rider Schuck, also a Golden Son, and I heard that he is also your friend. Okay. Roland scratched his head. When exactly is it? Ill be sure to come. You still want to leave? Stephanie stood up in a hurry. Stay at the manor for the time being. Ill ask the court etiquette master to train you specifically so that you wont be flustered at my coronation. Roland was a bit gloomy. Okay, Ill try. Stephanie sat down again as she said seriously, I know you Golden Sons dont like these tedious rituals much, especially you. But the coronation is really, really important to me, so can you bear with me, for the sake of your friend? Since she had put it this way, Roland would be rude if he refused again. He nodded and said, Okay, then Ill stay at your place for the rest of the month. Thank you, Stephanie said gratefully. Well, now he belongs to me. Andonara dragged Roland straight into the mansion. Lady Bluebirds expression became even more envious. Stephanie glanced at Lady Bluebirds face from the side and smiled slightly. Then Roland and Andonara brawled until dawn. It was also dawn in reality, and Roland crawled out of the virtual cabin with his hands on his back. Although what happened in the game didnt affect the body in reality Roland couldnt help but feel that his back was a little sore; he didnt know if it was his imagination. He took a shower and had just eaten two goji buns when he heard the phone ring. When he picked up, Night Tide Sands voice came out. Wheres your house, Ill pick you up. His parents sitting across from him subconsciously pricked up their ears. Roland said an address and hung up the phone. His parents had different expressions, but neither of them said anything. Roland continued to eat his breakfast, and after a while, the sound of a horn came from outside the house. Roland, who was already prepared, put his fully charged phone and rechargeable battery in his pocket and then headed out the door. Outside the door, Night Tide Sands stood in front of a small black car, wearing a slim short liner and a pair of jeans, her hair in a high ponytail. She seemed to wear no makeup. But she looked youthful and beautiful with an excellent temperament, and with the small car, she was like a car model. She saw Roland and was about to speak, but she suddenly looked upward, and then waved a little sheepishly, as if to greet someone. Roland turned around, looked up, and found that it was his parents, both huddled at the window, looking down. Their eyes were full of curiosity and judgment. Glaring at his parents, Roland looked at Night Tide Sands and asked, By the way, do you need me to help you drive? No, I invited you to accompany me, it would be rude to make you drive. Night Tide Sands opened the door and sat inside. And Roland went around and took the passenger seat. As the car drove on, Night Tide Sands casually chatted with Roland, sharing embarrassing stories of her big brother and discussing the future changes in the weather. When the car got on the highway, she suddenly said, When the time comes, there will be a few of my college friends at the wedding venue. Theyre kind of blabbermouths and might talk nonsense. Just ignore them. Okay, Roland answered quickly. Night Tide Sands quietly glanced at Roland and saw that he didnt seem to care and didnt ask what her friends would ramble on about, which prevented her from starting any subsequent topics that she truly wanted to talk about, so she was a bit disappointed. Two hours later, Night Tide Sands and Roland arrived in a neighboring city and followed the navigation to the hotel where the wedding reception was held. A man and woman in wedding clothes were standing at the entrance of the hotel, and many people were gathered around them, congratulating them. After handing over their red envelopes, the guests entered the hotel. Thats them. Night Tide Sands, who had gotten out of the car, led Roland right up to the bride and smiled. Its been a long time, Jane. The bride squealed when she saw Night Tide Sands. She grabbed Night Tide Sands hands and bounced for a while. Youre really here, Sasha. Youre getting married, of course I have to come. Great. The bride pointed to the groom beside her. This is my man, John. Rolands expression turned odd at hearing this name. He couldnt help but feel as if he was about to remember something. After the bride introduced her man, she looked at Roland for a moment, then her eyes fell back on Night Tide Sands. Huh, it looks like Ill soon be able to drink wine at your wedding. Night Tide Sands blushed. No way, hes not my boyfriend yet. Oh, not yet! Jane showed a teasing look. [0] A song by Wu Tiao Ren played in the Chinese animated web series Scissor Seven Chapter 703 - The Wedding Accident Chapter 703 The Wedding Accident Night Tide Sands saw her teasing look, immediately calmed down, and said lightly, Well, no more jokes. What floor is your banquet on, Ill go find Garfield and Ran. Sixth floor, hall seven, youll see them when you get in, Jane said with a big smile. The brides makeup was a little thick, but she still looked pretty. She was an upper-middle-class beauty. Ill go up to play with Garfield and the girls then. Night Tide Sands handed over two red envelopes. I wish you two a long and happy life together and an early baby. Thank you. The relative next to the groom took the red envelope. Night Tide Sands then led Roland to the elevator. But because there were too many people, they took the stairs instead. At the stairway, Roland looked back at the couple from time to time. Night Tide Sands had been paying close attention to Roland, and when she saw his actions, she asked while walking, Youre looking at the bride? Jane is indeed quite pretty, and of course, in school, she was the campus belle. No, I just thought the groom looked a little familiar. Since he wasnt looking at the bride, Night Tide Sands didnt think anything of it. You most likely saw him somewhere before. Roland nodded and stopped looking at the couple. In reality, Roland had lied just now. He had not seen the groom and had no sense of familiarity; he had turned back frequently because he felt that the mans spirit was off. His mood swings were huge. Rolands current strength was far worse than in the game, and under normal circumstances, he couldnt sense the emotions of the person next to him, such as Night Tide Sands, nor could he feel the latters mood swings. But the grooms mental fluctuations were so obvious that even after walking away a dozen meters, he could still vaguely detect it. And his spirit was extremely unstable, suddenly high and suddenly low, and seemed agitated. But the grooms expression was calm and collected. This was a bit strange. The two went up to the sixth floor and found room seven. Night Tide Sands quickly found her friends, and then they got together and discussed Night Tide Sands relationship with Roland. But because the place was so crowded and noisy, their voices were muffled and Roland didnt hear them. Besides, he was browsing the forums on his phone. All his attention was on the phone. In this day and age, it was a fairly normal habit to play with ones phone at a wedding reception. About an hour later, the wedding finally began. The master of ceremonies guided the wedding festivities, whether it was the couple interacting to eating cake or biting apples and other programs, it was well done, and their live hosting skills were very strong. A few girls next to Roland, including Nightmare, looked on with fluttering eyes tinged with envy. And Roland kept looking at his phone. He couldnt help it. Hed participated in several wedding receptions, especially Schucks wedding, where hed been the best man. Hed seen these shows so much that hed long since lost interest. He had thought that this wedding, too, would end without a hitch, and then hed bolt home. But right at the end of the ceremony, something unexpected happened. Roland looked up suspiciously at the groom on the main stage. Because at this point, he felt the grooms emotions fluctuate to the extreme. It was like a leather rope that went up and down. So excited? A little confused, Roland looked at the groom who was smiling on the stage. Even if he were married to a goddess, he didnt have to be so dramatic. After all, the bride also looked happy but didnt seem to have such a big mood swing. se At this point, the male masters of ceremonies on the stage said excitedly, Groom, isnt it time to tell everyone how the two of you met and how your lovely relationship went? The groom smiled and took the other microphone, and almost all those with a discerning eye saw that his hand was trembling as he held it. And he spoke with a trembling voice, Elders, uncles, colleagues, and friends, I am so happy to be standing here now. At this point, the host smiled next to him and took over. It seems the groom official is very excited, which represents a deep love for the bride, so much so that he cant even speak properly. The guests let out good-natured laughter. Roland, however, felt that something was not quite right. Because he felt that the grooms mood swings were getting stronger. He could feel the pressure from the stage, like a tsunami of mental pressure coming over him. But this kind of mental pressure had no target, so there was no negative effect. Then he frowned. The grooms mental fluctuations were exaggerated; they were even stronger than his own, a person who could cast spells. Thats a bit outrageous. Maybe this guy can cast spells in reality, too, if he learns magic skills. Just when Roland was wondering, the groom spoke again. Yes, my love for her is carved in my bones. As he spoke, the groom spoke more and more steadily and calmly, but his spiritual radiation was still slowly climbing. Roland subconsciously activated the completely transparent Magic Shield. This thing was practically snug, and as long as no one touched him, they wouldnt see that he had a layer of an invisible and shapeless shield on him. Night Tide Sands watched the stage with great interest. She also hoped that one day she could wear a wedding dress and that it would be Roland standing next to her. What I remember most dearly is a day six months ago. The groom pointed to the large white screen behind him, which by now had a projector displaying images. I remember it was Valentines Day and we had a candlelit dinner date in the evening, but then she surprised me at noon. The brides expression froze. The expressions of all the guests froze as well. There was an eerie silence all of a sudden in the banquet hall, which had been very noisy. On the screen, the bride, dressed in sexy clothes, her arms around a middle-aged man, entered a hotel. Then the screen was cut to an image of the bride coming out of the hotel with a middle-aged man holding her. This photo was very clear and it could be seen that the phone had a good camera. They were up there for three hours Li Qiang, you son of a bitch The bride rushed over to grab the mans microphone. You actually followed me! With the brides roar, the guests finally came to their senses and realized what had happened. Then the scene exploded with a cacophony of noise. There were sounds of surprise, incredulity, and gloating, all at once. The bride and grooms families all rushed to the stage and tore at each other. The master of ceremonies was shoved aside with wide eyes, bewildered. This was the first time this had happened in the ten years he had officiated weddings. The majority of the guests were watching the drama. Night Tide Sands and her friends had exaggerated expressions as if they couldnt believe this was true. But one girls surprised expression was particularly flamboyant, and if one looked closely, they would see that she was smiling. Meanwhile, Roland was watching the groom the whole time. The intensity of his emotions seemed to reach a peak after he exposed the affair. If his emotions were like a normal heartbeat with highs and lows, then now it was a flat line that had risen to the highest point and went across in a straight line. Roland could even feel a faint distortion in the air around the groom. The vortex phenomenon caused by a magic drain. This could happen if the magic power in one place was being drawn heavily and the flow of magic power coming from other places couldnt catch up. It happened often in places where magic power was scarce. In reality, there was almost no magic power in the air. So in this situation, anyone who could extract magic power could cause a magic drain. Roland looked at the groom and tried to take note of the intensity of his emotions. He felt that this might be the key to casting spells in reality and increasing the strength of spells. The fight on the stage was reaching a climax. The groom just smiled, his eyes fixed on the bride. The people on the brides side shouted: Even if there is a mistake, you cant say it on this occasion. Youre too vindictive. The grooms relatives naturally sarcastically remarked on the brides unethical behavior. Hardly anyone but Roland noticed that there was something wrong with the grooms expression. The groom had worn this somewhat uncanny smile for nearly a minute. Roland felt that the grooms mood swings had remained at their highest point for quite some time, and seemed to become sharper and thinner. De Just like a rope, when it became thin and long, it was naturally prone to break. Nothings going to happen, right? As Roland was thinking this, the grooms mental energy suddenly disappeared with a bang. It wasnt like an electrocardiogram line diving off a cliff. It was completely gone. Snapped. And at this moment, the groom still stood there with the same smile, with his family clustered around him, none of whom noticed this peculiarity. The situation wasnt right. Roland jerked to his feet and shouted to the stage, Somethings wrong with the groom, look at whats happening to him. He roared with the mental intimidation that was unique to Mages. It wasnt too loud, but it had a captivating quality to it, and to other peoples ears, he was so loud that they couldnt help but pay attention. Everyone looked at Roland and then finally at the groom. The groom maintained a smiling expression as his body suddenly fell backward. He fell heavily onto the stage, the back of his head hitting the floor directly. Ah! There was a scream from one of the guests. Because someone had already seen that a bit of blood was oozing out onto the stage from the back of the grooms head. Get help! There was a doctor among the guests, jumping onto the stage as the group pivoted to the side, yelling, Get out of the way, all of you. He crouched down and ran his hand over the grooms chest first and was startled. Then, looking at the grooms still open eyes, he immediately called down to the floor, Is there a nurse present? Come up and help with CPR! Three girls trotted to the stage at once. The four immediately started emergency treatment on the groom. The doctor even performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The grooms family hovered, anxious, but too afraid to disturb the doctor and nurses. The guests watching the drama were all dumbfounded. Most of them understood that the celebration might end as a funeral. And Roland also stared at the front of the stage, but his perspective was a little different than the average persons. In his eyes, the grooms soul broke out of his body and walked toward the bride, who was not far away, and slapped the latter. But to no avail his palm went through the bride. The groom froze for a moment, and then his body began to shatter, turning into irregular pieces of soul fragments. It was like pale green glass. These fragments came together like a cloud of icy mist. Then, as if by some kind of suction, the mass of icy mist drew close to Roland. Chapter 704 - Finding the Hidden Door Chapter 704 Finding the Hidden Door In this crowded environment, many people should have seen this icy mist-like energy. But in reality, no one but Roland could see it. And as it drew closer, Roland could even feel a coldness to the thing. Honestly, Roland was not too keen on absorbing this unknown substance. But instinctively, his soul had a desire for it. Instinct was telling him that this was something good. So he didnt move and stayed seated at the table, waiting for the icy mist to come over. Waiting for this icy mist to enter his body. At first, he didnt feel anything, and then he noticed that he had a lot more things in his mind. A lot of memories. It was all snippets, but Roland could see that it was the memories of John from the time he was a child to the time he was married today. W nen It didnt matter if it was just memories, Roland could feel that a large amount of MP was replenished within his body. Even his MP cap had become higher. In other words, his mental power expanded. There was a term for this phenomenon. Soul-devouring! In the magic world, it was a method to increase the MP cap. But there were gods there, and all souls belonged to the Nether God. If one devoured souls rashly, they would not only change into the evil alignment but also be targeted by the Nether God. So except for a few liches, the average spellcaster wouldnt have any thoughts about peoples souls. Another reason was that the souls in the game world could exist for a long time, and by devouring several souls, they were prone to assimilate the memories of other souls and even to develop split personalities. But the icy energy mass that Roland had just devoured was no longer a soul. It had been reduced to energy, so Roland could only read memory fragments, not the complete memory. For in this world, there was no ground for the soul to exist for a long time. Here he was savoring the feeling that he was suddenly quite a bit stronger, while on the stage, the doctor and nurses still worked to keep the man alive. The middle-aged doctor even started artificial respiration. But it was clear to Roland that the groom was a goner. The soul had left, and even if he could be saved, he would be in a vegetative state. He would never wake up. At this time the entire room fell silent. Most people were watching the doctor on stage as he struggled, and a few, squeamish about such matters, got up and left quietly. Night Tide Sands and her friends were still seated. They werent calm, but it had happened so suddenly that they were momentarily stunned. After about ten minutes or so, the ambulance arrived in front of the hotel, and soon the stretcher was brought up. The grooms relatives hurriedly lifted the groom and sent him onto the ambulance. After that, the rest of the guests slowly left. Night Tide Sands said goodbye to a few friends with a helpless look on her face and didnt go back to look for Jane. Because Jane had long since disappeared. The two returned to the car. Night Tide Sands slumped, depressed, on the steering wheel, and after a while, she said to Roland, Im sorry, for bringing you to see such an embarrassing thing. Embarrassing? Whats there to be ashamed of, its not like its your business. Roland smiled. But rather, this has been a real eye-opener for me today. A wedding where the victim uses a video to rebuke their significant other for cheatingthis was something Roland thought he would only see on the news, and to see it once, in reality, was quite amusing. And more importantly, Roland also found out something important related to magic. It could be called a bumper harvest. He was naturally delighted. Night Tide Sands turned her head to see Rolands smiling face, and then she got a little more depressed. Girls just thought too much. She felt that if she had known this would happen, she wouldnt have brought Roland. She was now worried that Roland would have a worse impression of her. Because there was an old saying that birds of a feather flock together. Having a good friend who cheated, she thought that he might also think she was this kind of person. By extension, even if Roland didnt think she was one of those people, then would he have a fear of marriage after seeing something like this? The groom passed out from anger and possibly died from it. Would he think that women were all as blackhearted as Jane? mo The more Night Tide Sands thought about it, the more worried she felt. nore W But looking at Rolands smile, she wanted to argue but didnt know how to speak for Jane. In the end, she just started the car in a sullen mood and headed home. It was around three in the afternoon when Night Tide Sands dropped Roland off at his house. Watching Roland get out of the car, she wanted to say something, but finally, let out a long sigh and drove off. Then she complained about Jane in her heart. She had meant for Roland to see a wedding, to suggest a relationship and encourage thoughts of marriage. Yet the result had the opposite effect. When he got home, Roland sat down, grabbed a notebook at hand, and wrote three lines on it. In the real world, he had three ways to absorb energy. One was to go over to the Yu familys ancestral shrine to absorb energy, but the effect was not strong and it had to be converted and was a bit inefficient. Most importantly, the Yu familys tomb keeper was getting a bit suspicious of him. The second was Transform to Mana, but it was also quite exhausting. Roland already felt his body weakening The third was what he found today, absorbing the energy from a broken soul. This was the most efficient, and shockingly so. Absorbing a cloud of it was equivalent to nearly a month of Transform to Mana. The efficiency was great. But this thing was also the most difficult to find. Roland had discovered that not everyone could have their soul brought out after death; it took a special talent, one like Johns that could make emotional fluctuations felt a dozen meters away. He had been looking for energy for a long time, and he had been to many places, even hospitals, and had not found that icy mist-like energy. If he dedicated his time to finding the icy mist-like energy mass, it would be fine if he found it, but not finding it would be a waste of time. Rather, it would be better to practice the Nourishment of Life, strengthen his waist muscles, and then just use Transform to Mana. This would achieve a stable output. After thinking through these pros and cons, Roland gave up the intention of finding the icy mist-like energy masses. Hed be lucky to find it, and if he didnt, then it wasnt meant to be. Then, Roland went downstairs excitedly and pedaled the mountain bike to the park. From a distance, he saw the old man walking on the mountain trail. He ignored the trail and didnt even head up the hill, but wandered casually through the park. Then he found an unoccupied corner and activated Teleportation in a corner where nothing could be seen from all around. Because Teleportation had been modified once before, slightly reducing the consumption, as well as shortening the teleportation distance This time the teleportation was successful, and he teleported right into the secret base. It worked! Roland looked over his head at the ball of light from Sunlight still taking effect and clenched his fist forcefully. Although he only had a little bit of MP left, it was indeed a success. Next, he used Transform to Mana to restore his magic power to more than half. Then he began to seal the entrance. He resealed over a hundred meters of stone stairs using Rock to Mud. After doing all this, he used Transform to Mana several times on himself again to replenish the magic power in his body to almost full capacity, and then covered his waist and teleported out to the corner where he had teleported from earlier. After resting in place for a while, he then went to a realtor near the park and asked if there were any vacant rooms. The salesman approached him and told him that there were only a few houses left on the top floor. Roland chose one at random at that moment and said, I dont have my ID with me, but Ill book this one now. How much of a deposit do I need? Just after he said this, the sales girls eyes lit up. Small cities were different from big cities; houses were harder to sell, especially penthouses. Now that there was someone to take over the property, she was eager to have it done. At the same time, she also winked at Roland. The house was not expensive, but it was also more than six thousand per square meter. This young man asked to buy a house over a hundred square meters, and whether it was in a big or small city, a young man who had such purchasing power was an excellent catch. Roland ignored the girls winks, and once he turned around, he saw the old man staring at him with a smile. He frowned, ignoring him, and turned to leave. When he returned home, it was already late afternoon. Roland hadnt told his family about the house hed bought spontaneously. After all, it was meant to be a point of teleportation, so it was better not to talk about it. Then, Roland went into the game to receive the deconstruction of the ceremonial room. The next day, after getting out of the game, he went to the sales office with his ID card and signed the purchase contract. Meanwhile, the old man, with an obese middle-aged man in tow, went halfway up the mountain, found the spot where Roland had gone before, and entered the underbrush. Look, Uncle, this place is almost a walkway. The somewhat obese middle-aged man pointed to the front and said, It means that man walked here often. There must be something going on. The two men followed the trail Roland left behind and kept walking until they reached the mountain. He stopped right here, said the middle-aged man, pointing nearby. Theres no path farther on, so he couldnt have climbed up the mountain from here. The old man was gasping for breath; it was a bit difficult for him to walk such a rugged mountain path. He looked around and said, That means he did something here. I guess so, the middle-aged man said. Ill install a hidden camera here. This thing is used to film wildlife, has infrared capabilities, and a maximum standby time of more than seventeen days. Its darn expensive. The older man nodded as he walked around, finally coming to a rocky outcrop and calling out, Come here and see if something is wrong with this place. The fat man came over, looked at it for a moment, and said, Something is really wrong. The form of the mountain here was all mud, but what they had before them was a circle of rocks. And the radius of this stone circle was at least two meters tall, and the rock was new like it had been transported from the outside and then set in. This cant be a hidden door or something, right? It looks like it, and it doesnt look like it. The old man nodded. Because it looks too abrupt, too obvious. The fat man pressed his hand against the stone circle and said, The texture is strange and hard. See if there is a mechanism nearby. The two searched for a while, plucking at a lot of grass and picking at a lot of small holes, and found no mechanisms. Then Ill chisel out some stones and have them analyzed. Chapter 705 - A Scientific Look at Magical Creations Chapter 705 A Scientific Look at Magical Creations The old man nodded, agreeing with his nephews judgment. The circle of rocks didnt look quite right at first glance, and it was strange that the young mans tracks disappeared here. It cant be a special secret base, can it. The old mans curiosity was increasing. Some idlers were like this. When they saw something strange, something they didnt quite understand, they would try to figure out what was going on. Otherwise, it would feel uncomfortable like an itch they couldnt scratch. The middle-aged man first installed the hidden camera, and then picked up a stone on the ground, hitting the rock wall hard. After hitting it for a while, many fragments broke off of the stone in his hands, and there wasnt even a scratch on the rock mass. Its so hard. Finally, the middle-aged man pulled out his phone and took a picture of the rock mass. I know a friend who studies geology, Ill have him see what it is. The old man agreed and said, Its getting interesting. That kid must be keeping a secret. I think so too. The middle-aged man scratched his head. And the potted plants Uncle, you said he brought a lot of potted plants over, but I didnt see any of them. Could it be behind this stone door? The old man pointed to the front of himself. The middle-aged mans eyes glowed. That kid dug a cave out here, and then brought a lot of potted plants in-is it used to convert oxygen? Then where would the light come from? Converted from electricity? And where does electricity come from? Some people had a wild imagination and it just happened to be quite reasonable. The old man shook his head. Not sure, maybe theres another use for it. Now that the cameras are installed, lets go. Okay. The middle-aged man held out his phone. Ill send the picture to a friend and let you know when I hear something, Uncle. Sorry to trouble you. Thats fine, I was rather curious anyway. The two left the area. For the next few days, Roland was either getting intimate with Andonara or learning etiquette in the game. And in reality, after buying the flat, he hired someone to decorate it and purchase furniture. Since the place was intended to be used as a teleportation point, the decoration and furniture were only used to spruce up the place. It was as simple as possible and only cost him about ten thousand yuan. The simple renovation didnt take much time, but even so, it took Roland nearly twenty days. At this point, the older man and his nephew, once again, came to the rock formation. There was an additional fellow with them. He was a svelte, thin, middle-aged man wearing glasses. This man was a friend of the fat middle-aged man, a geology expert. Geology isnt for studying rocks. Studying rocks is just a skill we have. The pictures you showed me dont look like anything valuable, the middle-aged man with glasses explained seriously. Like the mountains here in our little town, theres nothing left to study. Old Tai, let me tell you, its not for you ordinary people to say whether a stone circle is weird or not because you havent seen many weird rocks in geology, most of them are What the hell is this. At this time, the middle-aged man with glasses also finally noticed that something was wrong. The stone circle in front of him was too strange. He went up and touched it: Well its smooth, not like its been weathered, but like a synthetic rock slab. The old man asked next to him, What is a synthetic rock slab, and what is it for? A building material, for the most part, brought to the local brick pavers. The man in glasses kept touching the rock mass in front of him. I just havent seen such a strange synthetic slab of stone. The middle-aged man had retrieved his camera, and he asked, It looks synthetic to me too. Whats the difference between a normal synthetic rock slab and this? The materials are relatively fixed. Synthetic rock slabs are made with only a few varieties of materials; I can tell just by touching them. The man with glasses said with an odd expression, But this is completely different. I need to take some back and study it. Cant chisel it, its hard. The fat middle-aged man put his camera away and said, Why dont you bring a perforating machine next time. That works! The man with glasses touched the rock circle, and some light rose in his eyes. The old man laughed. If you figure something out in your research, tell us, okay? Little Tao. Continuing to touch the rock body, the man with glasses gasped. He was curious but didnt care too much about it. He just wanted to know what material it was made of to synthesize it. The three men left the mountain. By the next day, the man with glasses took two students with a perforating machine, dug out a piece of rock as big as a fingernail, and then drove for three hours to the geological institute in the provincial capital. He went to an acquaintance and had the slab that was as big as a fingernail sent directly to the examination room. Then he sat and chatted with his old friend. Haitao, I heard that youre doing geological research on ancient tombs of the Ming Dynasty in a small town in the south. Did you get this stuff from an ancient tomb? the old friend, who was already bald, asked with a smile. No, its a very strange rock mass found on the mountain, said the svelte man with glasses. His real name was Zhao Haitao. We took two portable perforators up there at the time, the kind made in Germany, and it was only logical that the needles should be hard enough, but the needles of both perforators were brokenone snapped and one went crooked-before they dug out this bit of rock fragment. Those who could work in the geological institute had a level of achievement, and the bald middle-aged froze when he heard this. That hard? Its not a special synthetic rock slab, right? Zhao Haitao shrugged. Who knows! Lets see the test results. The two then chatted for quite a while, and about two hours later, the results came in. A certain researcher, with an odd look on his face, handed the two men data sheets, one for each of them. After reading it, the two men were stunned. Touching the top of his smooth head, the middle-aged man of the institute was completely baffled. Could it be a mistake! This is all a very common clay composition. How can it be compressed into a stone slab? And whats more outrageous is that this hardness is almost on the level of diamond; impact strength and fracture toughness are also high, and all together, this is close to the special tungsten-chromium alloy, right. The two German-made perforating machine needles are made of tungsten-chromium steel. If the data is combined, it is even harder than tungsten-chromium steel. Zhao Haitao took a deep breath. No, Old Huang, immediately dispatch a few people to go with me and get that rock back. This thing may change our understanding of materials. I understand. Ill go with you. Two small cars, a bus, and a truck then headed directly for the small city where Roland lived. It was supposed to be a three-hour drive, but they managed to rush there in two hours. Then a bunch of people jumped off the bus and truck with tools and went up the mountain in great numbers. Under the leadership of Zhao Haitao, they found the rock body and dug out the two-meter-diameter, two-meter-long cylindrical rock. It was only two meters long because Roland used this to seal the door, and the long passage at the back was all turned back into normal mud. Several researchers with detectors also probed the mountain for a while and found nothing special. There were no metals detected, just what seemed to be a small hollow. On the southern border, there were many underground caverns, and they were a hundred meters deep underground and had no impact on the environment, so no one paid attention to them. Nearly thirty people surrounded this cylindrical rock body dug out from the mountain and struck it, every one of them amazed. These geologists had seen many things. But it was the first time they saw such a strange rock mass that was harder than special steels. This stuff is definitely synthetic. Zhao Haitao circled this stone pillar a few times and concluded, It is difficult to form something so perfectly shaped and so strange. I just dont know if it was made by the ancients or by modern people. Test it. The bald Old Huang patted the stone pillar. Such a big piece, its at least eight tons. Fortunately, we got a truck. Otherwise, it really couldnt be transported back. Now Im wondering how we can get it down the mountain without tools. This thing is round-push it down the mountain? someone joked. Do you want to get people killed? Zhao Haitao said angrily. This thing weighs nearly eight tons, and rolling it down, the potential energy converted to kinetic energy, with the ruggedness of the mountain, the speed can definitely break more than more than twenty meters per second. Not to mention touching people, theyll shatter on the spot-even a building would be penetrated. The person who spoke smiled embarrassedly and said, I was just kidding. You cant just joke around when youre doing research, Zhao Haitao grumbled. The other party wasnt his student or his subordinate, so he couldnt say much. Go ask the professional excavator to come over, get the stuff down the mountain, and then transport it back to the geology bureau and test it slowly. At nearly nine oclock in the evening, the cylindrical stone was finally brought back into the geology bureau. Then a large group of researchers carried out various tests on it. More astonishing data was laid out in front of them. This thing is simply a miracle. Zhao Haitao covered his head. Its composition is the soil and minerals that are very common in our area. The composition is so varied that no matter how you look at it, it should just be a clump of dirt, but it is bonded into a rock. There seems to be a force that made it look like this. Bald Old Huang brought two cups of coffee and placed one in front of Zhao Haitao. Drink first, I guess well be up all night today. Has it been reported? Its been reported Our boss (meaning the leader) called the higher-ups and explained the data. The people above were baffled and questioned whether we took the data of special steel by mistake. Speaking of this, Old Huang laughed. After the boss repeatedly assured that this is true, they said theyd immediately fly here overnight. I reckon theyll arrive in the hours of the early morning. Anyone who looks at this data will be baffled. Zhao Haitao took off his glasses and took a sip of coffee. I was originally just curious, but I didnt think that I would actually catch a big fish. How did you find this thing? Old Huang was a little envious, regardless of whether the research afterward would have anything to do with Zhao Haitao or not. An acquaintance said there was strange stuff for me to look at Zhao Haitao suddenly remembered something and took this opportunity to call his friend. Old Tai, are you asleep? Didnt you tell me before that there was a young man who acted oddly, do you remember what that young man looked like? I havent seen him, just my Uncle, and he was just curious, afraid that young man was doing something bad over there. Zhao Haitao continued, I remember that you set up a hidden camera. Didnt you get a picture? No, it seems he hasnt been to the mountains since I talked to Uncle that day. Really, so you cant find him? I remember Uncle saying that the young man seems to have bought a penthouse in one of the neighborhoods near the park. When the time comes, you can ask Uncle to take you to look for him and maybe youll run into him. Okay, thanks. After hanging up the phone, Zhao Haitao was a bit puzzled. I wonder if that young man has anything to do with this rock. But he soon put it behind him and continued to study the rock. Researchers had an inexplicable mania for such discoveries. It always felt uncomfortable when they couldnt figure out what was going on. For that reason they were willing to eat less and sleep less, just making sure that they had enough calories for thinking and that they wouldnt die. But Zhao Haitao didnt study the rock for long before it was secretly sent to the general bureau of geology in the capital. Without something to study, Zhao Haitao felt lost, and then he found his friend Tai Moumou who connected him to the nosy, curious old man. The two then spent three days staking out the neighborhood and finally saw Roland. At this time, Roland was carrying some food towards his new house, and then in front of the entrance to the building, he was blocked by the two men. As soon as Roland saw the old man, he started frowning, thinking how annoying it was that this man was chasing after him when he wasnt even going to the mountains anymore. Looking at Rolands annoyed look, the old man smiled and said, Young man, its not me who is looking for you. Its this professor who is looking for you. Zhao Haitao did have the title of professor. As the old man spoke, Zhao Haitao was a little surprised as he surveyed Roland. He had taught several classes of graduate students and knew a thing or two about young people. He had a feeling that this young man in front of him seemed to have a very unique aura that fascinated him, yet he didnt dare to get too close. Roland turned his eyes to Zhao Haitao, his face full of suspicion. Sorry, let me introduce myself. I am Zhao Haitao from the geology bureau of this city, and I heard from old Mr. Tai earlier that you seem to have something to do with a strange rock? What rocks? asked Roland, full of confusion. His mental power was now so strong that it was easy to control his emotions. This. Zhao Haitao took out his phone, opened the picture, and handed it over. Oh, this thing. Roland nodded. Ive seen it several times when I was playing in the mountains. Isnt it the decorations made by those workers who were contracted for the construction of the park? Zhao Haitao kept his eyes on Rolands, and when he saw that the latter spoke with an even tone and a solid and direct gaze, he felt that Roland was probably telling the truth. Sorry to bother you. Zhao Haitao put away his phone. He then turned to leave. The old man felt a little unconvinced but followed. Roland turned around and went into the building On the way back, Zhao Haitao received a call from Old Huang: Haitao, something big has happened. The testing from above has come up with the result that the strength of that rock mass can replace deck plating! What! Zhao Haitao, who was driving, hit the brakes abruptly, then immediately pulled over to the side of the road and shouted into the phone, There is no mistake, right. No mistake. Orders have been given from above to search that mountain with all our efforts to see if we can find a second rock mass like that. Chapter 706 - Your Country Will Cover Up For You Chapter 706 Your Country Will Cover Up For You This place was the suburbs. There were hills and trees next to the road, with a gentle breeze and chirping birds. Such a place was supposed to be comfortable and relaxing. However, Zhao Haitao felt quite nervous after the phone call. As someone from the bureaucratic system, Zhao Haitao knew very well what kind of intensity he could expect after his superiors gave such instructions. He put his phone back and said casually, It seems that I wont have a vacation anytime soon. That said, he was actually smiling. As a researcher, he had every reason to feel happy that he had a goal and something to work on. At this moment, Roland was sitting in the newly-decorated house. The house had two bedrooms and a coverage of 120 square meters. It was fairly large for one person. He opened the windows without closing the curtains, to give the rooms better ventilation. After all, it was said that many chemicals often lingered in recently-renovated rooms. Far away on the opposite side of one of the windows was the hill where Rolands secret base was hidden. Even a small hill could be marvelous if a deity lived in it With his ability to cast spells, Roland could be considered a man with superpowers. He wouldve been considered a demigod if he had lived in ancient times. Unfortunately Roland, as a demigod, didnt even dare to show his face and had to keep his secret base well hidden. He lay on the creaking rocking chair and fell asleep very soon. Gentle breezes came in through the window. It was quite comfortable. He woke up from the nap after a short time and habitually looked at the hill, only to find that many cars and people were gathered at its feet. They were climbing the hill with shovels and scythes. They cut the weeds in their way, as if they were looking for something. Roland was briefly stunned. Then he wondered what they could possibly be looking for. The stone pillars he made with Mud To Rock? Those were nothing more than rocks that were slightly harder than normal. Did they deserve so much attention? Was there anything special about them? Roland had never measured how hard the rocks he created with magic were. He only knew that they were very hard. After all, he had optimized the spell many times. In the game, a thirty-centimeter-thick wall could block three consecutive strikes of a Master Warrior, namely Charge, Slash, and Whirlwind. It could only hold them off for about three seconds, but that was enough because the Warriors had no other useful combos. They could only perform basic attacks. To launch such a combo again, they had to wait for a couple of seconds even if they had great talent. Did the Warriors sound useless? But such Warriors were almost synonyms to Death on the battlefield. They could kill dozens of soldiers in a couple of seconds with the combo. Only a genius like Roland could suppress most Warriors at his level. But there was nothing he could do about Andonara. He couldnt beat her even if Andonaras level were lowered. After all, the stats of a Great Swordsman plus a Hero were too high. Because Roland had never tested how hard the stones he made were, he had quite a misunderstanding. What he thought to be useless stone pillars turned out to be priceless treasures in the eyes of the specialists. Roland observed it for a moment and wasnt bothered. After all, his secret base was hidden a hundred meters underground. He didnt think that those people would dig so deeply just for the pillars. However, he underestimated the power of orders. On the first day, they were only cutting grasses. On the second day, they chopped down trees and soon made the whole hill bare. There were trees on every hill here except for that one, making it quite an eyesore. Roland frowned hard as he observed it. On the third day, excavators were deployed. Roland took a deep breath. He closed the curtains, locked the house from inside, and teleported underground. When he arrived at the secret base via teleportation, the researchers who were holding detectors all found that the readings fluctuated for half a second.. After reaching the secret base, Roland cast an illumination spell and heaved a sigh at the not-so-large space. The secret base that hed gone to so much trouble to establish was about to be ruined. Not only was it problematic, but it had also wasted his energy. His body had been exhausted by the spell, which meant that his endeavors over the past month were for nothing. He couldnt be more regretful. After sighing for half a second, Roland waved his hand. The walls and pillars around him melted at a high speed into mud. Very soon, the whole space collapsed and drowned all the plants. Before the space completely collapsed, Roland had teleported back to his room. Then, he reopened the window and the curtains and stretched on the chair quietly. He couldnt stop sighing; his heart really hurt. He waited until evening to go home. He took a shower, spent some time in meditation, and entered the game. He continued learning etiquette in Stephanies manor in the game world while he spent time with Andonara and on magic in his spare time. At the same time, the countrys diggers had soon razed the hill to the ground. They even dug further down and didnt stop until they reached underground rivers. At night, when most people were sleeping, a hundred experts and special security guards were having a meeting in the conference room of the Provincial Department of Geology. The person who was seated at the center was a middle-aged director wearing glasses. Based on our testing and analysis on the existing materials, its been confirmed that those rocks are twenty percent better than the best steel made in this country. Also, they dont have any shortcomings. Theyre twenty percent better in every aspect. All the participants whispered to each other. The leader continued, Also, its very light and has a density of slightly over 1.4, whereas the steel has a density of about 5. You can see how huge the gap is. In addition, its melting point is four hundred degrees higher than that of our best steel. Everybody was even more surprised. Also, based on the analysis of the material experts, those rocks contain a variety of elements, including the bodies of fungi and germs. Complete bodies. In fact, it was inaccurate to use the word bodies. But everybody knew what their boss was trying to express, so they didnt correct him. The rocks werent tempered with high temperature or forged and stamped. They had the density of regular rocks, so statistically speaking, they were very likely to be natural. But that was exactly why they were abnormal. The rocks that naturally formed in the soil couldnt have been so hard and compact. The participants all discussed and whispered to each other. They had already read the data many times, but they still found it unbelievable every time they read it again. Silence, please. Theres something more important that Id like to share with you. After the leader said that, a picture was displayed on the big screen behind him. Our search party didnt find a second cylindrical rock on the hill, but they unexpectedly found these things a hundred meters underground. The pictures were flowers in pots. The pots were all broken, and the flowers had all withered and were starting to rot. However, they could still be recognized as potted plants. By the estimation of our botanists, those plants couldnt have been dead for more than four days. Inside a hill that has absolutely no tunnels, there are a hundred flowers for decorative purposes. Ha! The leader smiled. Do you find it interesting? It is! So, your mission is to However, exactly at this moment, some people broke into the conference room. A dozen men and women, who looked grim, came in. One of them showed their certificate to the leader. After a brief shock, the leader nodded. The man put the certificate back and spoke to the microphone, Okay, this is over. All the information youve heard is confidential. Now, youre dismissed, but you have to sign a non-disclosure agreement before you go. Got it? The leader who just spoke voluntarily stood up and left. The other people followed him, although they were rather regretful that they lost the research opportunity. Later, the strangers conducted secret and detailed investigations. They examined the footage from the cameras on streets and questioned persons of interest. They even pestered Zhao Haitao and the Tai family for more than three days. Finally, they locked on a target. About six days later, Roland came to his new house again. Hardly had he closed the door when someone knocked on it. Roland opened the door, only to see three young men. All of them wore warm smiles. One of them said, You must be Comrade Huang Wenwei. Theres something wed like to talk about with you. Roland frowned. Normally speaking, those who called others comrade were from the government. He was slightly confused. I dont know you. Its very important. Seeing that they were smiling and didnt seem malicious, Roland let them in and closed the door. He offered them a seat and poured water for them. They all thanked him. It was obvious that they had manners. Were all young people, so lets just cut to the chase, comrade, said Roland casually. Its actually nothing big. We just want to invite you to talk more about the Mud to Rock spell, said the young man with glasses carefully. Roland instantly became vigilant. Even his eyes had changed. Relax, relax. Im a player of the game too. Im Douglas, Roland. Douglas? Roland was stunned. His friend in the Delpon Magic Tower? Youre really Douglas? Roland was quite shocked. Ive finally met you. Yes, Im working for the state now. Douglas was excited to see that Roland admitted it. He grabbed Rolands hand and shook it hard. Ive been your admirer! Who are you exactly? Roland knew that the game mustve been backed by the state government, but he didnt expect them to find and identify him so quickly. But on second thought, he remembered that he had left an address when he bought the virtual cabin, or it couldnt have been delivered to him. Why have you come to me? The State Department of Geology reported that they found a weird rock. We were too concentrated on the game and didnt realize it until the whole thing got big, said Douglas rather awkwardly. Were terribly sorry that your daily life was almost affected. Are you also responsible for protecting the players? Of course, especially the talented ones like you. Roland was stunned. Then can you tell me how involved the state government is with the game? It was launched by the state government in the first place, said Douglas. I dont know about the details, but I do know the big picture. Roland opened his hands. Please tell me about 1 Douglas cleared his throat and told him everything he knew. As it turned out, a genius developed this advanced technology five years earlier, and the government took it over for the purpose of grooming a batch of talents. So, every person who joined the game had been screened by the state government. A lot of factors were taken into consideration. Not everybody who was smart got the qualification. Certain below-average candidates were also chosen as specimens. Some others were also chosen because of luck. So, the half-million virtual cabins were given to people of various social classes. But most of their owners were elites. After all, a price of fifty thousand yuan wasnt trivial. The state government had deployed this project to develop supermen. The effect was quite obvious. The players in the game, after years of practicing, at least had their eyes opened, even if they didnt get the supernatural abilities from the game. In particular, all of them had seen bloodshed, which made them different. Roland was surprised to hear that. So the project is preparation for a war? Sort of. Douglas nodded and admitted it. But its mainly meant to develop the people who are capable of special abilities. There must be a lot of them already. Roland thought that, since he could use magic, the players of other classes might be able to use their special skills too, like Sword Aura Slash. After all, there were half a million players. He couldnt be the only one who had special abilities. Not exactly. Douglas sat straight. Youre the only unique one so far. Douglas looked at him with passion and admiration, like a little fangirl who was sitting right next to her idol. He was very close to screaming and fainting. His companions, one male and the other female, also looked at Roland with respect. After all, Roland was really good in the game. Wait He was just as good in reality, as the first person to bring his abilities out of the game. Roland heaved a sigh. He already had a feeling that he couldnt keep his abilities a secret for long. After all, the virtual cabin launchers were created by the state government in the first place. How could he fool them? So, am I going to be contained and studied? How is it possible? said Douglas with a smile. My superiors asked me to tell you that you neednt worry about anything, just keep playing the game. If you need a place for experiments, just tell us. Well prepare one for you. Chapter 707 - Anxiety Must Be Eased Chapter 707 Anxiety Must Be Eased Roland considered for a long time after hearing what Douglas said. It was certainly great that he had the state government at his back, but A long time later, he asked, If the state government is so willing to help me, what price do I need to pay? Mr. Roland, this is nothing personal, but we hope that you can write down your experiences in spellcasting, said Douglas with a helpless smile. Youre essentially a state-of-the-art product that the state government has created. Were naturally curious as to why you can cast spells in reality. Roland nodded. Thats easy. Its actually similar to the spell models that I have in the game. But those models have all been weakened and simplified to be used in reality Anything else? In addition, while the state wouldnt restrict you, we would like you to let researchers accompany you and run tests on you with equipment that wont cause you harm during your spell experiments. That was also very reasonable. Roland nodded and accepted the request. He was also curious to know how magic could be observed and interpreted with science. Now that Roland was on board, Douglas seemed even more relaxed and happy. Also, my superiors promised that you will be employed by the government as a Section Chief, with a salary of about ten thousand yuan per month and full benefits. That will give you a reason to go out during the day. Fine They had even found an excuse for him. Thanks. What could Roland possibly do? He couldnt refuse them. The virtual cabins belonged to the state government in the first place. He estimated that the fifty thousand yuan was just the rent. Millions mustve been invested to create each of the virtual cabins. Also, certain special materials might have been involved, or it would be unreasonable that only half a million virtual cabins were released. In any case, he had truly taken advantage of the state government to become a man with superpowers. It was fine for him to cooperate with them if they wanted to conduct follow-up research. Besides, the benefits and resources that the state government offered werent bad at all. Tomorrow, report to the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and register there. Although well take care of everything for you, we still have to follow the standard procedure. Now is a great time for that. Douglas smiled. We cant let others notice anything wrong. Roland smiled. Thank you. Right, Mr. Roland. Between you and me, Im very curious about one thing. Douglas asked enthusiastically, What other spells can you cast besides Mud To Rock? Illumination, Teleportation, and Magic Shield. Hiss! All the three of them gasped. Illumination was all right, but Teleportation, which involved space, was truly a marvelous skill. As for Magic Shield, it prevented Roland from ever being ambushed. It meant that if Roland were a criminal, the country would have to deploy countless forces in order to catch him. Looking at their expressions, Roland knew what they were thinking, so he said, As I said, all the spells are weakened versions. I can only teleport six hundred meters, and my shield can only block pistol bullets. Thats already good enough. The girl looked at Roland passionately. Besides, youre still getting stronger. You may be able to weather through a nuclear bomb someday. Roland looked at the girl in surprise. He even caught a glimpse of lust in her eyes. At first, he found it odd. Then he realized what was going on. It was decided by DNA that women worshiped strong males, for a better future for their offspring. In the information age, money meant power, so women loved those who were rich. It was their natural instinct and sense of responsibility for their children, which had nothing to do with morals or dignity. Roland, with his powers, was a real strong man at this moment. Therefore, even though it was the first time she had seen Roland, and even though she didnt really have any feelings for him, she subconsciously wanted to give birth to a stronger child because of her DNA. It was beyond her control. Roland looked at her and asked, Are you a player of this game too? No. The girl shook her head. But Im responsible for gathering information from the game and predicting which player is most likely to awaken superpowers. Weve been paying attention to you, so it was quite easy for us to identify you after we came here. So that was the case! Roland had been curious as to how they couldve reacted so fast. Douglas asked, Mr. Roland, what spell are you going to test next? Tell us the truth, so that we can build a laboratory for you. The blue fireball spell. Roland looked at him and spoke rather solemnly. All three of them looked at each other in silence. A long time later, Douglas said in frustration, Wouldnt that be crazy? Even one of your blue fireballs will be quite influential. Chances are that the media will say that theres a weapon test site in this city. Thats why I wanted to build it underground, said Roland. But someone just razed it. All three of them laughed when they heard that, almost in a gloating way. Douglas asked, How long did it take you to build your secret base? About a month. All right. Douglas stood up. Give us one month, and well give you a better underground base for experiments. Roland also stood up. Youre leaving? Why dont I buy you lunch before you go? Running your errand is more important. After the base is built, well have a lot of time to have food together. Douglas rose and left. His companions followed him. The girl glanced at Roland, as if she were unwilling to go. After seeing them off, Roland returned home. Then, he asked for the Residence Booklet from his parents. He needed the information on it for his application. Under normal circumstances, the Residence Booklet was kept by the house owner, namely his parents. His mother curiously asked him why he wanted the Residence Booklet. So, Roland told her, I took part in the Civil Service Exam earlier and passed it. Now, I have to submit my personal information and wait for vetting. The government staff may ask our relatives about me. The Civil Service Exam was held not long earlier. It was why Douglas said now was a good time. His mother jumped to her feet the moment she heard that. Well done, son! She went to her husband with a smile and told him the great news. Roland returned to his room and meditated again after a shower. When it was time, he entered the game. A month had already passed in the game. Roland had already finished his etiquette training. He was merely staying in Stephanies manor. Tomorrow was the day of the kings abdication. The atmosphere in the capital was rather nervous. Even a curfew had been implemented. It was already midnight. The night breeze was rather cold. Seated on the spacious balcony, Roland raised his head and looked at the bright stars. There were more stars here than on Earth, and they were brighter. He enjoyed fruit wine while he waited for Andonara. This big room was Stephanies, but Roland and Andonara had been using it. The poor owner of the room had been driven to the guest room upstairs. He was waiting for Andonara. His back had been aching a lot both in the game and in reality. It couldnt be helped. He had been really exhausted. Andonara was better at bed fights than he had anticipated. Roland was even of a mind to reverse the Essence To Magic Power spell into Magic Power To Essence, so he wouldnt be exhausted. That was rather intriguing. The more he thought about it, the more useful Roland found the spell. But it was already very late. He might as well wait until the next day. The sound of the door being opened came, followed by gentle footsteps. Roland, however, didnt think that it was right. He was quite familiar with Andonaras footsteps. As a Great Swordsman, Andonara walked with longer strides than regular females did and her gait was steadier. However, the footsteps of the visitor were gentle and hasty. She mustve been walking fast. Roland turned his head in confusion, only to be so shocked that he nearly spouted the fruit wine in his mouth back to the cup. The visitor was Stephanie. She was slightly blushing and wearing a half-transparent silk pajama. Although it was night, Roland could see her clearly with his eyesight. First Princess, youre Roland subconsciously stood up and intended to leave. Andonara was about to finish her shower. If she saw him and Stephanie, who wore such alluring clothes, in the room, she might cut Stephanie into pieces. She wouldnt do anything to Roland. But the First Princess was also a Warrior. Even though she was only level two, she was not slow at all. She quickly walked to Roland and pressed on his shoulder, preventing him from rising. Dont go just yet. They were so close that Roland could tell that Stephanie mustve just showered, as was evident by the moisture on her body and the fragrance of flowers. That was a specialty of the elves too. It came from a cosmetic product that was made of petals and special minerals and looked like soap. Only the grandest nobles could afford it. Stephanie stepped forward and simply sat on Rolands thigh. Andonara has agreed to it. Shell join us later. Shes taking a shower. Roland took a deep breath. Everything was all too exciting. Because of the transparency of the silk, and the short distance between then, he could see Stephanies everything. Why? Roland asked a rather ambiguous question. But Stephanie knew what he was asking. She said with a reddened face, Ill be enthroned tomorrow. Im so nervous that my heart is almost beating out of my chest. Feel it if you dont believe me. As she talked, she placed Rolands right hand on her heart. The most effective way to ease anxiety is sex. There was intention lust in Stephanies eyes. However, you are the only man in the capital that Im interested in. I would rather give myself to you than a random man. Roland felt that his mouth was dry as he listened. In fact, Stephanie left something unsaid It had been a month since Roland came to the manor. When he slept with Andonara every day, did he think that the person who slept upstairs could not hear anything? Even if she couldnt hear it, she could still imagine it. She was a young widow anyway, and she had been holding back for a long time. Roland laid his hand on Stephanies waist. You wont regret it? Why would I? Its a one-night thing anyway. My husband is long dead. Stephanie, on the other hand, rubbed Rolands chin gently with her finger. But are you interested in me? Roland instantly answered the question with action. He took Stephanie to the bed and threw himself to it. Soon, noises of flesh against flesh echoed in the room. Very soon, about fourteen minutes later, Andonara returned from her shower and joined the fight. On the second day, Stephanie got up before the dawn and went to the royal palace. Although she had only slept for two hours the previous night, she wasnt sleepy at all but quite energetic, her flushed cheeks like those of a young girl. She looked rather beautiful. Roland, on the other hand, held his back when he woke up. He only needed to say one sentence on behalf of the Association of Mages at the right time and place. It wasnt a difficult task. However, he had to stand through the whole ceremony, which would waste a lot of time. Andonara woke up too soon. She helped him put on the magic robe that the Association of Mages delivered for the ceremony. The magic robe was expensive and looked quite awesome. It was almost a source of light pollution. Magic arrays and circuits in various colors had been imprinted on them. Some of them could increase magic power regeneration, some could provide defense, and some could launch counterattacks when triggered. It was safe to say that they were the collective wisdom of the Fareins Association of Mages. They had put all the most practical and effective magic arrays on the robe like someone who had just become rich. In Rolands eyes with the system, the stats of the item were as follows: Item: Fareins Ceremonial Ritual Robe (Epic) Effect: The seventeen magic arrays on it endow the wearer with very practical abilities. Abilities: Click here to open (a link with a green underline) The item might be really useful, but it still couldnt compare to the Life Goddesss Button, mainly because the skills were too unorganized. Also, some of the skills might be accidentally triggered, as those magic arrays werent very stable. Roland felt that he was almost blinded after he put on the robe. Andonara, however, appeared fascinated. My man is really handsome and charismatic. Roland didnt know what to say. He was simply a mobile source of colorful light. If he had been dressed like this on Earth, people wouldve laughed at him. But in this world, magic represented strength. The source of colorful light represented a terrifying power that could easily take lives. More importantly, it stood for an influential organization. Although Roland found himself hilarious, nobody who saw him dared to laugh. They didnt even find him amusing; they simply sensed the daunting pressure from him, which came from a significant amount of money that meant absolute power in every world. After, Roland had some random food and then arrived at the royal palace with Andonara in the carriage that the Association of Mages sent to him. The ceremony would be held in the royal palace very soon. Chapter 708 - Reality and Game Chapter 708 Reality and Game The royal palace was quite well-guarded. Elite, heavily-armored soldiers and the Mages hired by the royal family were on patrol. Most nobles and diplomats who attended the ceremony were thoroughly examined. Only a few of them, including Roland and Schuck, managed to go through without being stopped. When Roland got off the carriage in the courtyard of the royal palace, he saw that a lot of people had already gathered. Those people were all dressed in glamorous clothes. Then they all looked at him. They had to, because Roland was too eye-catching at this moment. Roland himself was almost blinded by his magic robe that was flashing in different colors, not to mention others. However, nobody found his clothes amusing. They all looked at him enviously. The more light pollution an item caused in this world, the fancier it would be. The light pollution of magic was the greatest fanciness. Roland sighed. But very soon, he found a bro who was as wretched as himself. It was Schuck who stood not far away in a cool long robe that was emitting golden light. There was also a pair of vague wings of light on his back. He was also causing light pollution that couldve blinded others. The two of them looked at each other and both smiled helplessly. Neither Roland nor Schuck was fond of such pompous attire. But there was nothing they could do except follow the etiquette of their respective organizations. Also, they had to wear as much eye-catching clothes as possible on such occasions to demonstrate their abilities. A lot of heavily-armored soldiers surrounded the court, which had a lot of guests that were divided into two areas. Those on the east side were nobles, big shots in the capital, members of the royal family, and the local lords and generals. Those on the west side were from other forces, such as Roland who represented the Association of Mages and Schuck who represented the Church of Light. Of course the Church of Life and the Temple of the Water Goddess had sent representatives too. But they werent very influential in Fareins, so they each sent one envoy to attend the ceremony. Apart from the religious forces, the other countries ambassadors in Fareins, as well as the ambassadors of the elves and dwarves, were also on the west side. The most unexpected participant of all that Roland saw was a dragon. Although he had turned into an elf, the dragon horns on his head and the dragon tail that wasnt fully disguised betrayed him. In comparison, when Margret, the dragon that Schuck rode, turned into a girl, she carried few characteristics of a dragon. The gap between them was quite huge. Roland walked to him, and Andonara followed him. She was his guard at this moment. Although she wasnt armed, as a Great Swordsman and a grandmaster at arms, she could launch a Sword Aura Slash with her bare hands. But of course, it would cause some damage to her hands. However Roland had a lot of longswords in his system Backpack. If they were truly engaged in a fight, Roland could give the weapons to Andonara anytime. Behind Schuck was another Saint Samurai, who was also unarmed but evidently another guard just like Andonara. When they stood together, they attracted most peoples attention. They had learned a lot about Roland and Schuck and knew that they were quite close. What they saw confirmed their intelligence. Although the abdication and enthronement ceremony was important, not many people really attended it. It would be enough as long as the witnesses and the influential men were here. Therefore, there were only about a hundred people in the courtyard. They waited for about ten minutes, until the court officials unrolled a red carpet that divided the courtyard. Then, a bunch of maids showed up and stood on the two sides of the red carpet with flowers. After that, many musicians and singers stood next to the maids. Soon, the court official who raised the flag of Fareins arrived, followed by the royal guards and two people in glamorous clothes. Roland turned around and saw King Edward who did not seem to care about anything in the world. Behind him was Stephanie who was wearing a scarlet dress and had her long hair braided. She looked even more gorgeous than usual on this day. The two of them walked to the end of the red carpet. The king looked back at his daughter, who went on one knee. Then, the court official introduced the honor and glory of the royal family of Fareins, the magnificent achievements of King Edward during his eighteen-year reign, and outlined how capable Stephanie was to govern a country, in a lilting tone. To sum it up, it was just bragging. Many people felt like laughing, but nobody did. The court official went on for about half an hour, before he finally said, The great King Edward finds First Princess Stephanie exceptionally competent and is willing to hand over his crown to her. Is there any objection? No one said anything. Although many members of the royal family, particularly the princes, seemed discontented, nobody dared to utter an objection. Edward looked around with great satisfaction. No matter how they felt, they did not dare to say anything at a moment like this. Edward took off his crown that had a large ruby embedded on it. He then stood solemnly before his daughter and asked loudly, Im about to hand over the crown to Stephanie, my most beloved daughter. Is there anyone whos willing to witness that? According to the protocol that had been shared earlier, Schuck stood out and smiled at Stephanie. I am Schuck. As a representative of the Church of Light, Im willing to witness First Princess Stephanies coronation and acknowledge her as the rightful queen. After that, Roland stood out too. Im Roland. On behalf of all the Mages in the Association of Mages, Ill witness Lady Stephanie become the queen. The Association of Mages is willing to ensure and protect all her rightful interests. Stephanie didnt raise her head, but she put on a smile. I acknowledge Stephanies claim to the crown on behalf of all the members of the royal family. I witness. I witness. The bit shots and nobles made similar declarations one after another. Their opinions actually didnt matter. Schuck and Roland were most important of all. As soon as their organizations acknowledged Stephanie, it wouldnt matter even if all the others didnt. But since they were willing to acknowledge her, it was quite a great thing. After all, nobody liked needless trouble. After hearing I witness more than thirty times, Edward put the crown on Stephanies head. He said with a smile, Congratulations, my good daughter. Youll be the new queen from today on, and I can take a good rest. Thank you, Father. Stephanie held back her excitement and hugged her father with a smile. Although Edward was rather unreliable and had a lot of women, he was one of the few kings who treated his children quite nicely. He was a good father for a king. Joyous music was played, and applause went on for a long time. Most nobles were happy to see a peaceful transfer of power. The abdication and enthronement ceremony came to an end. Then it was a celebration. The people joined the celebration too. While the nobles and diplomats stayed in the royal palace and partied, Stephanie circled the capital on a flowered carriage and accepted the cheers and admiration of the people beside the road. Roland and Andonara sat on her sides to protect her. Of course, apart from them, there was also a team of elite heavily-armored cavalrymen next to the carriage who offered protection. Most people were happy to see the new queen. After the parade, the party in the royal palace was already over. The nobles and diplomats had already left, but Roland and Andonara were asked to stay by Stephanie. In her bedroom, she took off her shoes, lifted her dress, and rubbed her knee hard. She had been on that knee for half an hour during the ceremony. Although she was a Warrior, she was still a tender, beautiful woman. The scathed skin on her knee made her rather uncomfortable. Seeing that, Roland cast a Minor Healing spell on her. Sensing that her pain faded away, she winked and laid her hand on Rolands neck, before she smiled alluringly. Would Master Mage Roland like to accompany the queen tonight? Rolands eyebrows rose. Wasnt it a one-time thing?. It was the last night for me as a princess. Now, its the queens time. Stephanie spoke rather domineeringly and seductively. This is your queens first order. Are you doing to defy it? Roland had to admit that Stephanie did have a special vibe with her crown and her queens dress. However He looked at Andonara who was by her side, only to discover, to his surprise, that Andonara was already taking off her clothes. Lets teach her a good lesson together. Andonara smiled even more charmingly and leered at Stephanie. Roland put on a smile. Time went by quickly. By the time Roland put on his clothes, it was already dawn, and the game time was over for the day. Roland crawled out of the virtual cabin. After breakfast, he went to the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau with his ID card and the Residence Booklet for registration. Because the clerks had been informed of his visit, the registration went particularly well. Then, it was a three-month publicity period, and a one-year internship. Most of the civil servants would work as clerks in the municipal government during internship, so Rolands life routine became fixed again, going to work at eight and getting off from work at six. Naturally, his parents were quite happy. Although Roland made a lot of money in the game and already bought a few houses, they wanted their son to have a steadier job. It was barely possible for a civil servant to be fired unless they made a horrible mistake. So his parents were quite relaxed. Next, they had to get Roland married. Could he be lacking a good wife now that he had a great job? Besides, he already made a lot of money. So, his parents asked their friends and relatives to introduce possible girlfriends to Roland. The following days became surprisingly dull. After Stephanie became the queen, she was fully occupied. It was inappropriate for Roland to stay in the royal palace for long, so he returned to Delpon with Andonara and continued his magic studies while he waited for the few organizations to search for his enemies. In reality, he lived a normal life and hung out with Schuck and other friends now and then. Time went on quickly just like that. Thirty-seven days later, Douglas came to the municipal government and found Roland. Come with me. What you want has been constructed. Although Roland had work to do, Douglas seemed to be in a high position and he easily took Roland from the municipal government. On a racing car, Roland looked at the pass that was hanging on his neck. The pass said Level 1 Special Material Researcher: Huang Wenwei. Underneath his title was his photo. The car left the city and rode into a mountain, until it arrived at a cavern that appeared to be an air-raid shelter. Some soldiers were defending the cavern. The two of them got off from the car and swiped their passes at the entrance of the elevator. Then they took the elevator down. Because the elevator was sealed, Roland couldnt see the surroundings. About two minutes later, the elevator stopped. Roland walked out of the elevator, only to find himself in a huge observatory. In front of him was an enormous space that was hundreds of times bigger than Rolands own secret base. Inside the space, quite a few large areas had been separated with walls. Do you see? All the space here is at your disposal, said Douglas with a smile. You can run experiments however you want to. Thats for dangerous experiments, right? Roland pointed at the largest area. It was the only area that was shielded by steel planks, when other areas were all surrounded by glass. Yes! Douglas said, Lets go and meet the researchers. Roland followed Douglas to go down the observatory. They were soon surrounded by a bunch of people in white coats. They had different faces and personalities, but they had one thing in common, which was their lack of hair. One-third of them were completely bald. They were all experts. Douglas introduced the researchers to Roland and asked, Roland, do you want to run an experiment? I can try one. Roland nodded. The researchers around him all cheered. Then they quickly returned to their offices and fetched portal equipment. Roland, on the other hand, followed Douglas to the largest experiment area, which Roland estimated was more than three hundred meters long and wide. After he entered the area, he saw a few dummies at the center. Douglas rubbed his hands excitedly. Why dont you try it right now? He really wanted to see magic in reality. At this moment, the researchers all gathered around. But they didnt approach Roland; they simply turned on their equipment from twenty meters away. Roland searched his memories. He had devoted himself to minimizing and weakening the blue fireball in the past month, so that he could cast it in reality. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and turned his hands upside down. Blue flames rose from his palms. Chapter 709 - Do Anything To Cooperate With Him Chapter 709 Do Anything To Cooperate With Him All the researchers had been spoken to before they were transferred to this underground laboratory. They were asked to keep their work confidential, and informed of what they would be working on. They were to study a supernatural human being who had special abilities. When they heard that, all the researchers wore a youve got to be kidding me expression. Those researchers had all learned from the most renowned professors and teachers in the 90s. The Qigong craze in the 90s seriously traumatized them, to the point that they would slap the desk and yell at the mention of Qigong Naturally, their thoughts had been passed on to their students. So, most of the researchers didnt like special abilities. They didnt even want to work on it. They had only gathered here because they were required to, and because their superiors assured them that it was real and no folly. Then, the researchers came with slim hopes. They hoped to see real superpowers, but they were prepared to be tricked. So, they all got excited when Roland said that he would run an experiment right away. All they needed to do was to stay and observe, in order to decide if they should quit the project. They held all the equipment that was assigned to them, then looked at Roland earnestly. In their imagination, if Roland were a fraud, he would definitely play a lot of tricks, like letting a snake fly out of an empty pot, or taking some gadgets out of nowhere. Yet Roland had concentrated blue fire in his hand with nothing at all. It must be more than two thousand degrees. Shoot. Its truly a heat reaction, or so my detector reads. Back off, back off right now. The temperature is so high that the air is twisted. Damn it. Is the experimenter roasted already? He looks absolutely fine. The surface temperature has risen to three thousand degrees, and the center is four thousand. You sure you didnt read the numbers wrong? I dont know. Thats what the equipment displays. What kind of trick is this? It looks quite familiar. I think Ive seen it from somewhere. Wait Is he Roland? Which Roland? The most popular male host among women in Japan? No, the Roland from the immersive MMORPG. The game with a lot of advanced technology? Yes. He was a young researcher who loved watching livestreams. When he was not working, he could only kill time by watching livestreams, as he was bald and wifeless. He had naturally watched the livestreams of World of Falan, which was the most popular MMORPG these days. Although Roland had only streamed a few times, as the strongest Mage player in the game, he was mentioned by every anchor when they talked about magic, freedom, or the marriage system in the game. All in all, Roland was an unavoidable character in the game. He would be mentioned even during the interpretation of Warrior abilities. It was because the Warriors would inevitably run into spellcasters in PVP, and as the strongest Mage, he was naturally discussed. Almost all the anchors stated that the Warrior players who met Roland should just surrender because their resistance would be futile. It was well-acknowledged that nobody could defeat Roland in a solo battle, not even the Spell Breakers. So, it was not a surprise that this young research knew of Rolands famous blue fireball. Isnt it just a game? I knew that game wasnt so simple. I shouldve applied for a virtual cabin. Those researchers discussed with each other and looked at their equipment, only to grow more and more shocked. The readings of the equipment had already reshaped their outlook. After condensing magic power for more than ten seconds, Roland had expanded his blue fireball to twenty centimeters in diameter. It was not nearly as good as the one in the game, but all the researchers were astounded as they read their equipment output. Take covers! Hide behind the shelters! Hurry! Hurry! Douglas ran off too. As a Mage in the game, he knew that even a blue fireball twenty centimeters in diameter could be astonishingly powerful. After they hid behind some iron shelters, Roland threw the blue fireball. The fireball didnt fly very fast, but it was so bright and dazzling in everybodys eyes that everything around it was dimmed. The fireball hit the dummies two seconds later. After a brief flash, there was a deafening explosion. As if thunder had just rambled in the underground space, everybodys ears were humming Then enormous airwaves, raised by the explosion, gushed out along with red flames. Even though they were hiding behind shelters, they could see flames coming in from the gaps, as if they were being attacked by flamethrowers. It didnt last long, but it was truly scary. About five seconds later, all the researchers stood up again. Someone seemed to have fallen because of the shock, but the first thing they did after they got back to their feet was not to see if they were wounded, but to check the readings of their equipment. A director shouted, Call the medics! The experimenter mightve been heavily wounded by the explosion! Hurry! When he rushed back to the experiment area, he found that Roland was still there. The whole experiment ground was darkened except for Roland as well as a tiny trail behind him, which was as clean as before. The director subconsciously swallowed. Are you serious? He has an energy shield? At this moment, a lot more researchers came forward too and were all excited to see the scene. It was a major discovery to them. A person had launched an attack and a shield with pure energy without using any modern tools and equipment. It was definitely a skill and ability that could change the world. The director trembled and held back the thrilled and wonderful feelings in his heart, exactly like what he felt when he first fell in love. He shouted, Squad One, put on radiation protection uniforms and check for possible lingering hazardous radiations on the explosion site. Measure their amount if you find any. Squad Four, examine the dummies at the center of the explosion and write a report on the energy type. Squad Three, sort out the data from all the equipment and save it to the database. Squad Five, test the experimenter immediately and ask him to give us some of his hair and blood. We need his DNA and cell samples. Now, chop chop! Very soon, all the researchers got to work busily. Roland stood where he was, and a few people wearing protection uniforms helped him move away. Roland appeared exhausted at this moment. Everybody could tell that he was very weak. Douglas came over too and helped the other researchers move Roland to the infirmary. After Roland lay down on the white sickbed, he closed his eyes and fell asleep immediately. Several doctors ran over. Some examined his eyes and some plugged him to electrocardiogram equipment. An old doctor was also taking his pulse. After checking the pulse for a while, the old doctor said, Give him saline water on his left hand and glucose on his right hand. Hes just exhausted. Nothing serious. Everybody was relieved to hear that, especially the person responsible for the research. Several beautiful nurses cut Rolands clothes and put a comfortable and loose patients uniform on him. The director asked, Dr. Huang, can I take some of his blood? Youd better not. Hes very weak. Dr. Huang looked at the crowd in the room and asked, I heard an explosion. What happened? The medical team in the experiment base was there to protect Roland. Their order was that if any serious accidents happened in the experiment, they had to use all resources available on Roland and confirm that he was safe before they rescued any others. The director took a deep breath and asked, Dr. Huang, you lived through that age too. Do you believe in Qigong? Ive seen a lot of Qigong masters, but theyre all about meditation. None have special abilities. Dr. Huang shook his head. The director chuckled and smiled even more. Youve seen one. Dr. Huang looked at Roland on the sickbed. Him? What did he do? Just go to the experiment ground and take a look for yourself. Because Roland was simply tired and it was pointless for him to stay, Dr. Huang went to the experiment ground. He fell silent when he saw the blackened floor and the shattered dummies. Then he burst into laughter in delight. Roland was still asleep. About an hour later, the researchers summarized the data. They gathered around and reported one by one. Theres a dent, which is 142 centimeters in diameter and 35 centimeters deep, at the center of the explosion. Based on how damaged the dummies are, the energy at the center of the explosion mustve been more than 16 million KJ, which roughly equals the damage of a 100-millimeter cannonball. The victims within a fifteen-meter radius of the explosion wouldve been killed, and those within a fifty-meter radius wouldve been heavily wounded by the blast and the heat. But he was only thirteen meters away from the explosion, and hes still alive! Hes inhuman. Does that mean that he is a walking cannon? If he can fully carry out his strength in the game, hell be a walking nuclear bomb. The director waved his hand. Lets leave out the game and the virtual cabins. All the data must be real and not imagined. Other squads, report your data. Another researcher stood up with a tablet. We confirmed that the center of the explosion had a temperature of about six thousand degrees. The temperature dropped as the waves pushed out, but even the space 25 meters away from the explosion still had a temperature of more than a thousand degrees. Then it significantly dropped. The blast of the explosion was very powerful too, as powerful as a five-ton car running at eighty kilometers per second even at a distance of 35 meters. We tested the radiation The heat came purely from combustion reactions, and its mostly infrared! The director nodded, showing that he got it. Someone else stood up. Weve extracted some of the experimenters hair, skin, and blood. Quick tests showed that hes an ordinary person just like the rest of us. His DNA and the performance of his cells are both within the normal range. Then how was he capable of doing that? asked the director in surprise. At this moment, another person wearing a doctors coat stood up. Weve examined the brain of the experimenter and found something highly unusual. He projected the picture on the tablet to the screen. His brain waves are very active. Theyre three times more active than average even when hes sleeping. Their frequency is about 180 Hz at this moment. Everybodys eyes bulged with disbelief. With enough knowledge in science, they knew what such a frequency of brain waves wouldve caused to an ordinary person. His director couldnt help but ask, How can his neurons have withstood such a huge current of bio-electricity? Im not sure. The reporter opened his hands. Hes the only individual like this. We dare not dissect him or open his brain. Everybody laughed. Before they came, they had been repeatedly instructed that no dangerous tests that might hurt the experimenter should be carried out. Also, more importantly, he was one of a kind so far. What if he lost his ability after his brain was picked at? The scientists were smart enough not to kill the goose that laid golden eggs. It seems his mutations are mostly within the brain. Everybody nodded. His body was normal, but his head wasnt, so it was obvious that his brain had mutations. That was quite reasonable. Human beings distinguished themselves as homo sapiens because of the DNA mutations in their brains in primeval times, which gave them better intelligence and communication abilities and made them the dominator of other creatures. The more they studied the brain, the more complicated they found it to be. We have so little data right now to work on. We have to wait for the experimenter to wake up and see if he can run another experiment, so that we can gather more information. After a brief silence, the director said, However, let me make it clear first. The experimenter is free to do whatever experiments he wants. We cant intervene, or even suggest anything to him! Do you understand? The director looked around at all the researchers solemnly. Its more like weve hired a master instead of an experimenter! cried someone in confusion. This is a rare opportunity. Why cant he work with us? Didnt you forget what the superiors told us when you came? The director said, one word after another, We have to do anything to cooperate with him. Anything! Got it? If you dont, Ill write an application for you immediately. Youll return to your old post in three days, and someone more obedient will replace you! Chapter 710 - Sharper Mind Chapter 710 Sharper Mind Four hours had passed by the time Roland woke up. It was 13:21 at this moment. Looking at the injectors on both of his hands, Roland was quite speechless. A nurse had been seated next to the bed. Seeing that he woke up, she pressed a yellow button on the wall without hesitation. By the way, there was also a red button and a white one on the wall. Roland was briefly stunned by the nurses move. Some ten seconds later, an old doctor with white hair came in with two assistants. The old doctor took Rolands pulse. One of his assistants listened to his heart with a stethoscope, while the other looked into Rolands eyes with a flashlight and asked him to stick his tongue out. Very soon, all three of them finished The old doctor said, Remove the injectors. Your health may be affected if you have the intravenous drip for too long. Well, youre mostly fine now, except for your kidney deficiency. Almost everybody on the spot looked at Roland with a subtle expression. The old doctor continued, Young man, go easy on yourself. As the saying on the Internet goes, if you dont contain yourself when youre young, youll only shed tears even if you have beautiful girls in your arms when youre old. Everybody tried to hold back their laughter. The latter half of the saying shouldnt be so elegant, should it? Roland heaved a sigh and sat up after the nurse took off the injectors on his hands. Doctor, theres a reason for my kidney deficiency. Ill explain it soon. After all, the state government must be interested in finding out why I can use magic, right? You have a sense of devotion as a young man. Not bad. The old doctor finally smiled, as if he was thinking more highly of Roland. Roland looked at the nurse and asked, IS there any food in this base? Yes, there are several chefs on duty 24 hours a day. You can have anything you want. The nurse looked at Roland with her beautiful eyes that seemed to be talking. What food do you want? Roland thought for a moment and said, Give me some meat, like beef and pork. No problem. The nurse turned around and left the ward. Roland turned around and looked at the old doctor. Sir, you must be a traditional Chinese doctor, right. Can you write me a dietary prescription that can strengthen the kidney and build up the essence, preferably one that doesnt hurt the body? Is your ability related to your kidney? asked the doctor curiously. It is, in an indirect way, replied Roland. He had transformed his semen into magic power, but the magic power alone couldnt have allowed him to cast spells. The key was his exceptionally high mental power and the modified spell models. If it were anyone else, they couldnt have cast spells even though they were surrounded by abundant magic power due to the lack of mental power, like the ordinary people in the game world. The old doctor didnt ask further. All he needed to know was that Roland was doing things for a reason. He thought for a moment and said, Its pointless if I just give the prescription to you. Ill give it to the supply department. The chefs there all know a thing or two about dietary therapy. Itll be much better than you making the food on your own. More importantly, while you can get some of the herbs from outside, they might not be as effective. You can take the herbs from us and make food with them later. The old doctor did have a point. Roland thought for a moment and said, Okay, thank you for your trouble. Im just doing my job. Its nothing. The old doctor waved his hand and left the ward with his assistants. Roland connected to the safe network in the secret base with his phone and browsed through the game forum. Very soon, the nurse came back with two dishes and a bowl of soup. Roland was hungry in the first place. He had a huge appetite when he smelled the food and quickly finished it. After eating the food, he was considering what to do next, when the director came in with his hands at his back. He had carefully calculated the time, so that his visit wouldnt interrupt Rolands meal. Comrade Huang Wenwei, I just asked the doctor. He said that youre not well yet. So I came here to ask if and when you will have other experiments in the next couple of days. Well do anything to work with you. We can start right now. Roland felt that there was still magic power in his body although he was still weak. He only passed out because his mind was greatly shocked when he suffered the AOE attack from his blue fireball even though the magic shield blocked all the damage. Also, theres something Id like to tell the researchers. Can you summon them for a short meeting? Okay, no problem at all. The director was rather happy. He thought that Roland was a responsible man and not that kind of person who was cocky because of their special abilities. You take another rest while I inform others, said the director with a smile. Ill let the nurse inform you when theyre all gathered. The director left after saying that. Roland lay on the bed for about another fifteen minutes. Then the nurse came and said, Comrade, the boss asked me to take you to the meeting room. Following the nurse, Roland took multiple turns in the base and entered a meeting room about seven minutes later. Everybody was already seated, including the director just now. They were all at the auditorium. The older ones were all holding pens and notebooks. The younger researchers were either using voice recorders or had turned on the transcription function of their phones. They had been talking in low voices. When Roland showed up at the door, everybody turned their heads and looked at him. Roland was briefly stunned. The director who was at the auditorium waved his hand at Roland and pointed at the only seat on the podium. Fine It seemed that he was the absolute star of the show today. Roland had no stage fright at all. He quickly sat down at the podium and readjusted the microphone. The researchers were actually slightly surprised. Generally speaking, the young people who behaved so calmly in such a serious meeting were either born bold or frequent speakers at meetings. They didnt know which category this young man belonged to. Actually, Roland had seen a lot of scenes with more grandeur. Stephanies enthronement ceremony, for example, was much more magnificent than this one. While the thirty participants all looked at him, Roland said, Hello, everyone. You must already know who I am and how I got my abilities, so I wont waste your time. Ive boldly convened this meeting because Id like to tell you my problem and seek your help. After all, you are all top elites in this country, and much better researchers than myself, who only has a bachelors degree. Many of the researchers smiled and thought that Roland was a nice person. Roland continued, The spellcasting ability that Ive taken out of the game is, by my estimation, based on my high mental power. But thats just a game term. It may be brainwaves or something else in reality. Im not very sure. All the participants recorded what Roland said. The explosion in the test just now was an accident. I failed to control the output of energy, said Roland in embarrassment. Because Im much weaker in reality than I am in the game, my control over magic power isnt very stable, so Id like to test some other spells that are safer and more convenient. The eyes of all the researchers were glowing. One of them is Magic Power Transformation, and the other is Language Proficiency. After a pause, Roland continued, Let me explain. Magic Power Transformation turns semen into magic power, and Language Proficiency, as the name suggests, allows you to understand most languages. All the participants whispered to each other after hearing that. The old doctor was among them too. At this moment, he finally realized why Roland looked so feeble. Transform essence into Qi? Dr. Huang wrote the phrase in his notebook and underlined it. Daoists and doctors were the same in ancient times. The Daoist Schools transform essence into Qi could be found in traditional Chinese medicine too. But it was more of a concept than a real method. At this moment, someone finally raised his hand. So in other words, Comrade Huang Wenwei, you can turn your semen into energy and unleash it? Roland nodded. May I ask how much semen you transformed to launch the blue fireball just now? About five days worth. Everybody looked at each other in shock. They felt that their worldview was shaken. In the end, the doctor stood up and said, But thats unreasonable. Semen is essentially carbohydrate. Even five days worth of it cant be more than two hundred grams. Even if theres no loss in the transformation, by the conservation of energy, it couldnt have caused such a huge explosion, could it? Roland shrugged. Thats a research project that you should work on. Okay. The old doctor sat down. Because I have to transform semen to recover my energy, so in principle, I only have limited energy. Everybody got it. Then, a slightly fat doctor stood up and asked, I have two questions. Firstly, can you transform other peoples semen for your own use? Secondly, if semen works, why doesnt blood work? Dont they say that one drop of semen equals ten drops of blood? Theoretically speaking, its possible to transform other peoples semen, but I dare not do that yet, because Im not sure what my mental power will do to others. It might accidentally kill them. Roland heaved a sigh. More importantly, the other reason is that Im naturally and instinctively repulsed by other mens semen. I hope you can understand and not bring up the matter again. I dont know why blood cant be transformed. Hahaha! Everybody in the meeting room laughed. They completely sympathized with Roland. They wouldve done the same if they were in his shoes. Then, a lot of them asked questions, like what the spell models looked like exactly, and what characteristics the mental power had. Roland replied to the questions, sometimes even with demonstrations. For example, he grabbed the small microphone in front of him with mental power. Naturally, it raised exclamations and excitement among the researchers. Half an hour quickly passed during the Q&A. As for Language Proficiency, I hope we can start the test right after the meeting. Roland looked around. I think its time to conclude the meeting. Any objections?. No! Those researchers were more eager to run experiments than Roland was. Then, the meeting was concluded, and Roland went to a laboratory in A2. It was a small laboratory. Laboratories of different sizes had been built in the underground base to meet Rolands requirements. Language Proficiency was tested in a multimedia laboratory. After casting the spell, Roland comprehended the words that the researchers pointed at or spoke out and offered their meanings without any mistake. The thirty researchers were all fluent in English and Chinese, and each of them knew a couple of different other languages. They wouldnt call themselves fluent in those languages, but they could still read the professional books in those languages. They tested all the languages they were capable of on Roland, but none of them puzzled Roland. The researchers couldnt have been more ecstatic. During the experiment, at least seventeen different kinds of detectors were aimed at Roland, scanning and recording his heartbeat and brainwaves and the radiation and magnetic field changes caused by his body. Even the air flow around him was tested. After the experiment, all the researchers looked at him with awe. It was because Roland really became an expert of every language with the spell. He even comprehended a certain language from Africa that few people spoke. This is completely uncanny. The director looked at the recorded data. How did he manage it? Whats the mechanism? His brainwave frequency is 60 Hz higher than that when hes sleeping. His brain mustve really mutated. What about other data? The radiation is the same. There are fluctuations, but all within the normal range. Everything had radiations. The only difference was that some were huge and some werent. The magnetic field had obvious changes. A researcher gave his tablet over. After he used the spell, the magnetic field in his body expanded by thirty percent, and the epicenter moved up by about thirty centimeters. The director frowned. What about his blood flow and body temperature? No abnormalities. Both fluctuated within the normal range. I dont understand. The director looked at his data. Weve gathered a lot of data, but its utterly disorganized. Its hard for us to press the study without seizing the sky. Indeed, said a specialist who was dedicated to the study of brain activities. His brain shouldve short-circuited when such abundant bio-electricity ran through his neurons, yet hes still as alive as can be. Without figuring out that mystery, it will be barely possible for us to make progress in our research. Should we apply for state-of-the-art equipment? asked the director. Whos willing to sign a petition with me? Me. Me. Many people raised his hands. Roland, on the other hand, sensed whatever was left of the magic power in his body with a weird feeling. He felt as if his mind were sharper than before! Was it his imagination? Chapter 711 - The Best Hiders Cannot Escape From Patient Searchers Chapter 711 The Best Hiders Cannot Escape From Patient Searchers The researchers in the secret base were all very happy at this moment. What was happiness? It was when birds had worms to eat, Ultraman had monsters to beat, and scientists who had a research project to work on as well as all the funding, equipment, and personnel they needed. Besides, they were exploring a whole new area. The quantum wave reading, quantum entanglement, micro physics, string theory, space jump, and particle collisions were all so lame. Human bodies, especially those who wielded super abilities, were the most important field of study. The environment in the universe was too unfriendly to human bodies. The heat, the coldness, the radiation, and meteorites could all kill human beings! It wasnt really safe to count on the projection of equipment, particularly when technology wasnt mature yet. During the exploration of the universe, one tiny mistake could render a teams years of hard work useless. A lot of wealth and lives might be wasted. Their confidence in research might be struck too. Nobody dared to guarantee that there wouldnt be any mistakes in their experiments and exploration projects. Robots were an option, but they were not technologically mature yet, and their observation wasnt as accurate and convenient as human eyes. Besides, to set foot out of Earth, human beings had to do it themselves, instead of launching robots into space. If human bodies were sturdier and more resistant to high and low temperatures, there would be a lot more ways to march to space. Many things would be easier and simpler. Rolands appearance had accelerated the progress in the research in that aspect. Although they had only measured Rolands explosion experiment and his physical reactions during the test of Language Proficiency, the researchers were all greatly encouraged to see that Roland was unscathed even though he was within the effective damage radius of the explosive. The explosion site alone proved how resistance Roland was to blasts. Also, it seemed that he was still improving. That was truly incredible. In the following days, Roland spent all his time in the underground laboratory except for the nights when he played the game in the virtual cabin. Not just the delicious food, the tonics that could strengthen his kidney were very tasteful and enjoyable too. Those chefs were truly good. The efficiency of his Magic Power Transformation was a lot higher. More importantly, Roland was greatly inspired when he discussed the application of magic with the researchers. For example, after the test to block bullets with the Magic Shield, a bald middle-aged researcher remarked, I think its slightly wasteful that you just weather through the bullets. Oh, then what should I do? You must know that a force can be conducted and transformed, said the bald middle-aged researcher. Ive checked the absorption rate of your Magic Shield, which is almost 100%. But cant you try to transfer the brunt? For example, you can conduct the force to your feet and turn the part of the shield underneath you into a shivering membrane that can easily unleash most of the force. Roland was greatly enlightened. If youre not standing on the ground, you can set your shield into the vibration mode entirely. It may seem silly, but the shield can spread some of the energy into the air during the vibrations. The researcher thought for a moment and said, But of course, if its impossible to modify the Magic Shield and make it vibrate, forget what I said. No, I think its possible. Roland quite admired the creativity of the researchers. To be honest, he had been merely devoted to increasing his magic power capacity and the hardness of his Magic Shield. He simply blocked all the attacks the hard way. To put it nicely, he was able to resist the attacks because he was stronger. That was not a bad approach. However, tricks and foundation could coexist. They were not incompatible. The foundation determined ones lower and upper limits, and tricks could significantly improve the upper limit. Next, Roland focused on modifying the Magic Shield. After all, his safety was very important, especially in reality. Roland did a lot of experiments, both in reality and in the game, to modify the Magic Shield. About fourteen days later, he finally created two new versions of Magic Shield, one for reality and the other for the game. Their functions were similar, but their efficiencies were different. It was like a double-cylinder combustion engine was essentially the same as a twelve-cylinder one, but their layouts and materials couldnt be the same. After the job was done, Roland went to Andonara and asked her to slash him in order to test the new shield. Andonara quickly shook her head. She didnt want to attack her man. Eventually, it was her uncle Cage, who was visiting them, that accepted the task. He shot an arrow at Roland from fifty meters away. Cage was a Warrior, but he had great archery skill too. Rolands blue Magic Shield was triggered and blocked the arrow. At the same time, a circle of dust spread out on the ground from his feet. Andonaras eyes glittered. Naturally, she could tell that Rolands Magic Shield had directed the attack to the ground. Cage put the bow down, unsheathed his longsword, and asked with purpose, You wouldnt mind if I slash you? Thats exactly what I hope. Roland shrugged. Andonara stood aside and smiled. She didnt want to attack her man, not even in an experiment. But she knew that Roland was far stronger than her uncle, who couldnt break Rolands Magic Shield even if he slashed him for ten minutes. So, she was quite relaxed. Cage took a deep breath after receiving Rolands permission. Then, the sword glittered, and Rolands Magic Shield slightly shivered as Cage cut it randomly. The stone floor underneath his feet partly cracked. Most of the brunt was directed to his feet. It worked! Roland looked at his magic power in the system No more than 2% had been consumed. Under normal circumstances, he wouldve lost at least 15% after being cut by Cage for three minutes. The comparison showed the obvious improvement of the new Magic Shield. While Roland was still delighted, a Summoner girl on a white horse suddenly came to his manor. She was a rather beautiful player, and she carried Solisas message. Weve found a nest of liches. Theyre hiding themselves rather well. Youd better come with me. Finally, a lead on the enemy. Roland had been waiting for that for more than two months. His enemy was truly good at hiding. He snapped his fingers, invoked a cloud, and asked, Do you want to ride your hose and get on the cloud to direct the way for me? I would love to get on it, but look behind you, said the girl teasingly. Roland looked back, only to see that Andonara was staring at the girl rather angrily. If I get on your cloud, you woman will probably slash me. At this moment, every player knew that Rolands woman was a queen and a Great Swordsman. Her strength was almost unparalleled, and she could be quite jealous. Then Ill just follow you. Roland hopped on the cloud. At this moment, Andonara ran to him and said, Roland, Im coming with you. Defend the home for me, said Roland solemnly, in case this is a ruse or distraction. If both of us are gone, the defenses of Delpon will be weakened by at least two thirds. Okay, got it. Andonara was reluctant to let him go. She was getting more and more attached to Roland, Especially after they slept together. When nobody was around, she even wanted to stick herself to him like a dodder. Roland flew all the way to the west with the Summoner girl. He had to admit that the Summoners really had a lot of advantages. The white horse galloped at full speed. When it tired, the girl would summon a new one. Just like that, it took them only half a day to travel more than seven hundred kilometers. The Summoner girl was quite at ease, since she didnt have to walk. She could also regenerate her magic power on horseback. Roland, on the other hand, had spent almost one third of his magic power on the Cloud Flight spell. After they reached a desolate place, the Summoner girl waved at Roland. Roland descended from the sky and asked, Whats wrong? This place is about fifty kilometers from the enemys nest. The girl sat on the horse and stared at Roland in the eyes. Youre too obvious a target in the sky and may alarm the enemy. That was indeed true. Roland looked at the lush woods up ahead and felt a headache. The trees here are too dense. Im not good at moving in the woods. It may take me a whole day to cover the fifty kilometers on foot. That couldnt be helped. As a Mage, Roland always traveled by flying or teleporting. He had never walked through a forest before. He could pass through the woods that werent too dense on foot. However, this wild forest had a lot of vines and weeds growing indiscriminately on the ground. Roland would rather give up, knowing that he couldnt make it through. He couldnt create a trail with magic, which might alarm the enemy. Why dont you take my horse? The Summoner girl patted her horse. We can ride it together. Roland was slightly surprised. You dont mind? Why would I? said the Summoner girl with a smile. Its just like carrying someone on a motorbike. Fair enough. Roland got on the horse. The Summoner girls of the Phoenix Guild had all chosen the elven bloodline. They were all half-elves. One of the features of the elven bloodline was their high mobility in the woods. When they walked in forests, all plants would miraculously make way for them. Roland had the elven bloodline too, but it was in a different branch. When the Elven Summoners leveled up, they would become more and more intimate with plants. Roland, as a Sword Dancer, which was a sub branch of Mages, would be more intimate with elements after he leveled up. The two routes were different. A pure-blooded elf would be strengthened in both ways no matter which route they took, except that they would be better at one aspect than the other. The white horse moved through the woods, and the Summoner girl summoned a lot of creatures to protect them. The vines and weeds ahead of them were separated, creating a path that was wide enough for a medium-sized creature to pass. The white horse trotted on it gracefully. Roland sat behind the girl and smelled a vague fragrance from her. The fragrance was very enjoyable. However, his heart was absolutely tranquil. That couldnt be helped. Andonara had already drained him the previous night. Vivian had joined them too. He couldnt have weathered through it without taking a Dragon Meat Reagent. The two of them were silent all the way. Roland didnt want to speak, because he didnt want anyone to think that he flirted with her. The fifty kilometers took about two hours. After they reached the dark back of a hill, Roland vaguely saw fluorescence up ahead. When he got closer, he found that it was a unicorn that was glistening in the dark. Roland jumped off the horse and walked over. Four girls were chatting there. They all exclaimed to see that Roland was riding the same horse as their partner. The girl who rode the horse was rather shy. Stop making a fuss or Ill bite you. The other three girls instantly laughed. Solisa, on the other hand, approached Roland and said, We searched for more than two months and finally found them. Where are the liches? Right behind this hill, theres a flat ground and a lot of altars, said Solisa. Based on the investigation of the animals under our control, at least ten liches are there. There are also a lot of Warriors and at least thirty thousand bodies, which seem to be all from players. Its enough for them to fight a war. Roland thought for a moment and said, I was told that many players sold their bodies for money. This is probably where their bodies ended up. Solisa said in disdain, Arent they afraid that their bodies will be used for evil? Generally speaking, few of the players who sold their bodies were girls. It was because when they thought that their bodies would be at the mercy of the liches, who might do disgusting things such as cutting their guts out, they all dropped the top. But of course, there were also unconcerned female players who would sell their bodies multiple times to raise initial capital. Why would you stand if you can make money by lying down? Roland didnt consider it morally unacceptable that the players sold their bodies for money. Have you seen those liches? I havent. They all wear wolf masks. Solisa leaned against the tree and crossed her arms before her unremarkable breasts. Also, weve noticed many professionals who had unique vibes. Although they wear wolf masks too, I think theyre players. Then this is definitely our destination. Roland took five bags of gold coins from his system Backpack, because it would be easier for them to take and count this way. This is your reward that we agreed upon. Solisa squatted and opened a random bag. Her eyes were almost blinded by the glittering gold. Didnt you say that the five hundred gold coins would be paid over a year? Ive changed my mind. Roland was very rich at this moment. The Church of Light had delivered two large sums of gold coins to him in the past two months. Plus the incomes from the previous months, he had a thousand gold coins in his treasury even though he had spent a lot. It wasnt a big deal for him to make a full payment. Putting the five bags of gold coins in her system Backpack, Solisa asked with an adulating smile, Boss, do you need muscles or fighters in the battle later? Chapter 712 - Attacked First Chapter 712 Attacked First It was understandable why Solisa would wear such an expression when she had always been careless. One would never worry about daily expenses until one took charge. In reality, as the only daughter of a boss, she had enough money for her own use. It didnt require much money to establish a loosely-organized guild of players. However, after she established the Summoning Magic Tower, she found that her money was really not enough. After they got a stable base, house maintenance and furniture were both costly. She also had to prepare food and the necessary clothing. For example, the school uniform of the Summoning Magic Tower had to be designed with good materials. The materials and the designers had to be paid for too. Although the summoning spell of the elves would automatically be learned after they reached the level, they would have additional slots after they became Masters and they could learn new spells. So, she had to prepare spell models too, including everything from the beginner ones to the advanced ones. er ones It was okay not to learn the new spells, but as a magic-related society, its future depended on the number and coverage of the spell models it had. The female Elven Summoners were very strong. Each of them was a soldier, and they could make money on their own. However, the female NPCs in the game werent so capable, and they needed money to take care of their life problems. That was very costly too. So, Solisa had been quite short of money. She felt that the Magic Tower she built was a bottomless hole, swallowing all her savings from accomplishing quests in the past four years. Fortunately, Roland had offered a lot of funding He even made the full payment of five hundred gold coins in advance. Solisa was greatly relieved. She didnt feel the urge to sell herself for money anymore. After all, she was already getting anxious when she realized that she couldnt make ends meet again after she used up Rolands payment. Therefore, she decided to let go of her pride and clung to the thigh of the magnate Roland. Why didnt she seek the sponsorship of the famous anchors or other rich guys in reality? As a matter of fact, it had been calculated on the forum that the money Roland had spent on the Delpon Magic Tower, his equipment, the magic school, and all other aspects had definitely amounted to more than a hundred million. In comparison, Principal Huang and the other magnates hadnt really invested much in the game. Admittedly, Solisa was truly visionary to have expanded the Phoenix Guild into the largest guild in the game. She had made another good move with the instincts of a woman. Roland was slightly surprised to see Solisas adulating smile. Not just him, the other four girls were astonished too. Solisa had always impressed them as a strong and independent person. So far, the Phoenix Guild had never counted on mens help. But seeing the helplessness underneath Solisas smile, Roland instantly got it. As a leader of an organization himself, he knew that it required devotion as well as wealth to support. Okay, you can protect me if were involved in a fight later. Roland thought for a moment. Is five gold coins per person enough? All the girls were excited except Solisa. They were not exactly poor, but they had rarely met quests that paid one gold coin, much less one that paid five gold coins. Solisa smiled. Five gold coins were a lot for an individual, but not nearly enough for an organization. Still, it was better than nothing. Great! The girl who carried Roland here on her horse waved her right hand energetically. Well definitely do our job well now that youve paid us well, boss. Dont worry, the enemy has to conquer an army of summoned beasts if they want to hurt you! As she spoke, the other four Summoner girls all summoned their beasts. All of a sudden, they were surrounded by weird creatures, such as half-naked fawns and four-legged beasts with mushroom heads. Thanks to the Elven Summoners racial talent, the waves of their summoning spells were perfectly hidden in the woods, so the liches didnt sense anything wrong even though their camp was right behind the hill. Solisa sat on her unicorn and summoned a white horse. She pointed at it and said, Get on and well take you to the hilltop. Roland got on the horse, which was awfully docile under the control of the Summoners despite its bad temper. Then, the unicorn led the way, and all the trees and grasses split, like the sea divided by Moses. On a straight path to the hilltop, the unicorn carried Solisa in the lead, followed by Roland and the other girls who also rode white horses. Further behind was a dense troop of summoned creatures. Although Roland couldve evaporated all the summoned beasts with a blue fireball from the sky, it did feel great when the five of them created an army. Very soon, all six of them reached the hilltop. The summoned beasts hid in the lower corners behind them. Standing amidst the tall grasses, Roland and the others looked ahead through the gaps. Before them was a valley surrounded by hills. It wasnt very large, but it could contain a town. A lot of altars and weird buildings made of bones were neatly established in the valley. Many moving white objects were vaguely moving on the road too. Theres a barrier here that can prevent the dispersion of dark magic power. Solisa appeased the slightly anxious unicorn. So we didnt find them until we were really close. Its a delicate and interesting magic array. As the strongest Mage player, Roland had detected the magic barrier the moment he came. He dropped three magic spiders. The little creatures quickly crawled past the barrier and entered the camp of the liches. The girls watched the spiders disappear with wariness on their faces. In the end, Solisa said, Roland, can you keep the spell model of those spiders to yourself? Why? Theyre really great scouts, said Solisa in disdain. You are an honorable man and wont use it to do anything bad, but if its disseminated and every Mage picks it up, Im afraid that no women will dare to shower with ease. Oh Roland realized that she did have a point. Indeed, after a dozen optimizations, the spell model of the magic spiders was so concise and efficient that even a magic apprentice could learn it easily. It was true that some malicious people might use it to do evil things. Okay, I can promise you that. Roland thought for a moment and said, But I dare not guarantee that the other Mage players wont be inspired by my magic spiders and create a similar spell. Just dont blame it on me if they do anything. Roland never considered himself the only smart person in the world. After the other players found ways to make use of magic power, they would definitely walk a path of their own. Roland could only keep pressing forward, so that he wouldnt be left behind. Im relieved to hear that. Solisa seemed relaxed. At this moment, Roland suddenly turned around and looked at the liches camp, as the magic spiders were sending back pictures and sounds. The liches camp was abound with dark magic power, which was blocked by the barrier and didnt disperse to the outside world. Even the ground had been corrupted by the magic power and looked ominously gray. The walkers on the road were all skeletons, who were carrying a lot of items like machines. Roland even saw some of them carrying human bodies to altars in different positions. The three magic spiders split up in the camp and crawled in the hidden corners and inconspicuous places. More and more pictures were sent back to Rolands mind. All the altars were made of gray-and-yellow bones They were founded on a lot of leg bones and ribs, and at their top were human skulls that were placed next to each other. Bodies could be found on many of the altars. Some of the bodies were highly rotted. Some looked perfect and seemed to have just died. Even their faces were still red. The magic spiders snuck on in the camp, and about an hour later, one of the spiders finally found an unusual place. It was a cave. Also, there were clearly footprints in the mud near the cave. Footprints! They were not what the skeletons feet should be like. Roland had the magic spiders crawl in. The floor and wall of the cave were both made of weird bricks with magic stripes. The range of vision of the magic spiders wasnt enough for them to see the whole picture of the stripes, but judging from their details, they must be part of a barrier. But it was not the barrier that blocked the dark magic power. The magic spiders crawled on the wall for a while. Then, Roland found that the pictures they sent back became darker and darker. At first, Roland thought that it was because the cave was dim, but after a while, the pictures that the magic spiders sent back blurred. Wait, is my magic power being absorbed? Roland was briefly stunned. Then, one last picture was transmitted to Rolands mind. In the highly blurred and twisted picture, it could be vaguely seen that a man wearing a wolf mask and a robe pointed his finger at Roland. He was actually pointing at the magic spiders, but from the first perspective, he seemed to be pointing straight at Roland. That was the last picture that the magic spiders sent back. At the same time, Roland suddenly covered his head and stepped back. Two streams of black smoke gushed out of his eyes and spread. It was rather scary. The girls around him were all shocked and quickly stepped back. Weve been found! Roland pressed on his head and shouted, Please let your summoned beasts surround the valley. Dont let anyone escape! The girls were all very obedient. They took action the moment Roland gave an order. The tremendous number of beasts were divided into two rows and ran along the two sides of the valley, occupying every hill they passed. More and more black smoke popped up from Rolands head and soon enshrouded him. Whats going on with you? asked Solisa. Then she said regretfully, I dont know much about magic, but can I use Dispersion on this? No. Rolands voice came out of the black fog. This thing swallows the flesh. Its a powerful curse. Now, half my body has been corrupted. If you use Dispersion, youll be essentially dispersing me. Then what do we do? asked Solisa anxiously. Wait. Ill take care of it. Rolands voice became lower and lower, and his body bent in the black fog as if he were going to fall. However, exactly at this moment, a ray of light beamed from the fog, and it became brighter and brighter, until Roland stood up again as a man of blue flames. I was almost killed. Rolands voice was dull after he became the Elemental Lord. Solisa was relieved. Roland had suffered from a Flesh Curse. He had read about the spell from books earlier but never encountered it in reality. It was one of the liches typical spells, and a combination of curses and divination spells. It could locate the target with their information. The information could be the targets magic power, hair, flesh, or even name! Of course, the more specific the information was, the easier it would be to locate the target. It was already powerful enough to locate with magic power. Only the Demigod liches could locate targets with names. So, the lich had cast a Flesh Curse on Roland through the mental control link between the magic spiders and him. If the curse wasnt lifted quickly, it would devour the targets flesh, and an undead skeleton that was under the lichs control would arise from the targets body. That lich was definitely very strong. Rolands magic resistance and Magic Shield didnt work at all when he was hit. Fortunately, Roland instantly initiated elementization and turned into fire. Although Flesh Curse was a powerful spell, it could only be cast upon a living, flesh-and-blood creature. It was absolutely useless to curse elemental creatures. The blue flames, whose temperature was almost three thousand degrees, ignited the grass and quickly exhausted the dark magic power that attacked Roland. The wolf masks, and such a vicious spell. They must be my targets. Roland knew that he couldnt hold back in front of enemies who had such creepy skills. He turned his fiery hands upside down, and a blue fireball quickly expanded. Seeing that, Solisa quickly directed the summoned beasts to move away from Roland. The guy was about to launch a nuclear bomb. She certainly didnt want to be killed. Abundant fire elements were absorbed into the blue ball by Roland, and it got bigger and bigger. It was already brighter than the sun when it grew to three meters in diameter. Rolands body of fire elements was a lifeless object, and there was no expression on his face, but Solisa could tell that Roland was grinning hideously even though she was far away. as What a vengeful man! As Solisa exclaimed to herself, the enormous fireball was launched. As it quickly flew away, it looked smaller and smaller because of the longer distance. Whether it was big or small, distant or close, it was the brightest in the eyes of the girls. The environment, on the other hand, was dimming, as if it was eclipsed by the fireball. In the end, it turned into a tiny spot of light and hit the very center of the valley. Boom! Solisa added a sound effect for the landing fireball. She also closed her hands and opened them, making a blossoming movement. In that instant, the whole world seemed to be swallowed by the dazzling light. Chapter 713 - You Thought You Didn’t Confess? Chapter 713 You Thought You Didnt Confess? The light was so dazzling that it almost blinded the observers. But it disappeared as fast as it appeared. Due to the lagging of the optical nerves, the whole world was dark in the eyes of the Summoner girls for quite a few seconds. Then, a mass of white flames rose, slowly dimmed, and rose higher, until they became a red mushroom cloud. Observing from the hilltop, they could see that a circle of red airwaves was spreading out at a high speed and consuming everything. It soon reached the foot of the hill. The leaves on the trees had already been set ablaze before the airwaves came. The noises of the pressing airwaves, as well as the shrieking wind, could be distinctly heard even though they were far away. The airwaves stopped after they climbed to the middle of the hill. The bottom half of the hill became an ocean of flames where everything burned. This was a sunny and windless day, but the intensely hot air currents had pushed up the mushroom cloud, and the cooler air around it dropped. Due to the accelerated air flow, a strong wind blasted the hill. All the trees on the hilltop were rustling. The creatures that the Elven Summoners summoned were intelligent. The unicorn, in particular, was as smart as an ordinary human being. Also, they all loved nature, so they all looked uneasy and angry when they saw the hill on fire. The unicorn even stared at Rolands fiery form as if it were going to extinguish that thing. Fortunately, it could tell a friend from a foe and didnt do it. Roland didnt turn back into a human being until the fire burned for a while in the valley. At this moment, he only had one third of his mana left, but in terms of quantity, his remaining mana was actually a lot more than what a Mage player of his level had in their best state. At this moment, the army of Summoners had already surrounded the valley. Then even voluntarily created a firebreak to stop the fire from burning up the hills. The altars and bones in the valley had been burned to ashes. The whole area was blackened. Naturally, the walking skeletons didnt survive either. About half an hour later, thanks to the joint effort of all the summoned beasts, the fire was extinguished. With the perk Rolands Zeal and the magic power regeneration equipment he was wearing, Roland had almost recovered all his magic power. Solisa led the unicorn close and asked, Do you want me to search the area? Roland looked at the unicorn, which was glancing at him with a pair of beautiful golden eyes. It looked rather angry. Is it possible? Roland looked at Solisa. I dont think the summoned creatures like ruined woods or places with excessive dark magic power. Solisa said with a smile, Thats all right. They know what to do. Besides the will of the Summoners matters too. That was the benefit of a high Charm. A high-Charm Summoner could ask the summoned creatures to do things they didnt like. If an average-Charm Summoner did the same, they might consider. If the Summoner was hideous, they would probably betray and kill their master. Screw you! How can you make me do such a disgusting thing? That was exactly why girls loved being Summoners. By adding Charm, not only would they look beautiful, but their summoned creatures would also be loyal to them. Then please do search the area. Roland made a suggestion. However, the enemy may be hiding in the cave. If the cave is more than ten meters deep, itll be untouched by the explosion. Watch out in case they suddenly ambush you in there. Got it. Well hide behind the summoned beasts. Solisa and the others went on mercenary missions all the time and knew how to protect themselves. But the reminder just showed how considerate Roland was. Offering a warm suggestion tended to leave a better impression on other people. After nodding at Roland, Solisa mounted her unicorn and led her ocean of summoned creatures downhill. The other four Summoner girls were far away, but when they saw that Solisas troop took action, as her good friends and teammates, they realized Solisas intention without having to receive her order. They urged their summon creatures to press on to the valley too. Very soon, the whole valley was surrounded. Abundant summoned beasts were even flying in the sky. Nobody could possibly escape from so many searchers. However, after the ground was fully scoured, nothing was found except for a thick layer of ashes and soil. Eventually, everybody gathered before the cave with the summoned beasts. This place was rather cold compared to the ground where wispy steam was still rising. A cool breeze was spreading out of the cave. Solisa and the other girls all looked at the cave unhappily. Solisa turned around and said to Roland, Sorry, but we dont want to go into the cave. Even if we do, well still be greatly weakened. Roland nodded to indicate his understanding. The Summoners were only strong when they surrounded the enemy with their advantage in numbers. Caves and other narrow spaces were easier to defend than to attack. All the Summoners advantages would be wiped out by the terrain. However, we can help you guard the entrance of the cave. Not another enemy will be let in. Thanks. Roland smiled and dropped three magic spiders. He then turned into fire elements and walked into the dark cave. With the three magic spiders leading the way, Roland didnt purposefully slow down. The liches, or the Dark Mages, were best at curses, but those curses usually worked on living creatures only. The few curses that did work on the mind were restricted by the Soul Protection rule of the system. It was safe to say that the Dark Mages had no advantages at all against Roland. The three magic spiders moved very fast and went deep down the cave quickly. Roland, on the other hand, paused near the entrance of the cave. The magic stripes on the wall became red, getting brighter and brighter. At this moment, Roland finally realized the function of the barrier inside the cave. It was meant to absorb the non-dark magic power elements. The absorption was quite subtle; Roland didnt even sense it. But fortunately, Roland had a system. At this moment, system notifications of Magic Power -1, -1, -1 kept popping up. No wonder the previous magic spiders disappeared. Also, the magic spiders that had deeply entered the cave lost touch with him again. Roland laid his hand on the stripes and skillfully injected magic power into the barrier. He mixed his mental power in the magic power and soon found the core barrier through the circuits. Then, his mental power burst out and destroyed the whole barrier. It wasnt an easy task. Normally speaking, every barrier had a defense mechanism that would be triggered when it was attacked. When triggered, it would temporarily close the barrier to protect its core. However, Roland was an expert of magic barriers himself, and his control over magic power was one of his talents, verified by the system. His talent, Magic Power Control, gave him inhuman control over magic power. He was probably only second to the Goddess of Magic. Therefore, he could easily transmit a tiny amount of magic power that wouldnt trigger the defense mechanism of the magic barrier and even track the circuits down to the core. That was definitely an unbelievable matter for an ordinary Mage. Looking at the dimming red stripes on the wall, Roland put on a gloating smile and dropped three magic spiders again. Lets see how you can destroy these three eyes that can hardly be noticed. After the magic spiders stepped into the darkness, Roland strode on. Because his fiery form was luminous by itself, he didnt need extra spells such as Illumination. After walking for about five minutes, he suddenly stopped, because the magic spiders had sent pictures back. At the end of the dark cave was a round space that looked like a burial pit. An infinite number of undead creatures had crammed into the pit, with a lich at their center. It was a stereotype that liches were smelly creatures with ulcers on the top of their head and oozing puses at the bottom of their feet. But this lich was different. He was quite handsome with his golden hair and blue eyes, and he was very strong. He couldve easily impressed others as a descendant of a noble family had it not been for all the undead creatures around him. He seemed to have noticed the magic spiders. He smiled in disdain and curled his finger at the magic spiders. It was almost as if he were shouting, Just come here! Roland sped up and soon came to the end of the cave. Seeing a fiery man walking over, the lich snapped his fingers, and the undead creatures that surrounded him slowly split up, making a straight pathway between them. Fiery man. Its really you, Roland. Intense hatred burst out of his eyes. The magic attack on the ground just now that was almost a forbidden spell must be the fireball spell that youre famous for. Its indeed my work. Rolands voice sounded dull in the fire element form. You cant get away. My companions have surrounded this area. Speak. How many accomplices do you have? Why did you come after me? The lich laughed so crazily and madly that his body was shaking nonstop. Youre threatening a lich? Do you not know that you cant kill me until you find my phylactery? Roland nodded. Of course I do, but Ive remembered your mental power waves. Its all right. Ive tried to create a spell that can search for mental power and distribute quests for you everywhere. Im weak as an individual, but money can be very powerful as long as you have enough of it. He wasnt lying. The Church of Magic was giving him more money every month. Also, magic teleportation arrays had been set up in one third of the major cities in Fareins. Many smaller countries were starting to construct magic arrays too, which made transportation and administration easier. As the magic teleportation arrays were established throughout the world, Roland would make an unbelievable amount of money every month. But of course, the Church of Magic would make even more money. They had more shares. Money could get things done on most occasions. Hearing what Roland said, the lich couldnt have looked more awful. He had imagined a lot of scenarios. For example, Roland was furious to see that he was a lich, but knowing that it was impossible to deal with him, Roland would give in and negotiate with him. He didnt expect Roland to threaten him in such a way. If people everywhere started searching for him as Roland threatened, there would be few places he could go to. It was probably impossible for him to come to Hollevin again. When he thought of that, he said gloomily, Roland, thats truly brutal of you. Not as brutal as you. Theres no grudge between us. Why did you come to me for trouble? Roland raised his eyebrows. Why do you and your wolf-masked fellows want me dead? Did I ruin your business? After a chuckle, the lich put on his wolf mask. Theres no hate. We simply want to hunt you down. They were really trying to take him down? Roland, well go after you alone in the future and spare your friends and lovers, suggested the lich. In return, you cant hunt us with helpers. Do you take me for a fool?. Without further ado, Roland threw a small fireball at him. That was exactly the basic attack of the fire element form. The lich reacted fast too and threw out a black spear, which hit the fireball. Both of them were neutralized. Why didnt you accept my offer? asked the lich grimly. Thats a fair deal! Fair? Roland burst into laughter and crazily threw out fireballs, while he said, You really think Im stupid. Is there anything worth negotiating between us? The lichs offer seemed fair at first. If Roland didnt hunt them with other forces, they wouldnt go after Rolands family and friends. One condition for another. But the problem was that they came to Roland for trouble first. How could they get away easily? One wouldve ignored that if one were beguiled by them and focused on so-called fairness. Then, one would be taken advantage of. The innate fireballs of the fire element form could explode too and were reasonably powerful, but naturally, they couldnt compare to Rolands own fireballs. That being said, when the fireballs exploded consecutively in the cave, it was like a whole team of soldiers were throwing grenades nonstop. The noises of the explosions were echoing nonstop. The undead creatures all fell like wheat that had been cut down. The lich could only create a dark magic power shield and look at Rolands attack coldly. He couldnt attack. The lich was best at curses and summoning undead creatures. But those advantages were useless against Roland. Very soon, the undead creatures in the cave were cleared. The lich was left alone, with a feeble magic power shield. Your friends and lovers will die miserably, I swear on my blood. Humph! Having no time for his nonsense, Roland simply condensed a small blue fireball and tossed it out after it grew to twenty centimeters in diameter. After an intense explosion, the lich was gone. Even the cave had half collapsed. In reality, the blue fireball of such a size wouldve been as powerful as the explosion of a 100-millimeter cannonball. In the game, boosted by the high stats and talents of the characters, the explosion was at least as powerful as that of a 250-millimeter cannonball. Roland resumed his human form and put on a mysterious smile. It seemed that the lich didnt confess anything, but Roland had still gathered a lot of intelligence from the conversation and his own observations. It was well-established that Mages were smart and keen observers. Chapter 714 - Collapse of Faith Chapter 714 Collapse of Faith After flashing out of the cave, Roland found that the five girls were all outside. They gathered around Roland upon seeing him. How did it go? asked Solisa voluntarily. Roland nodded and took out 25 gold coins, giving them to Solisa. Thank you for having my back. Youre too kind. Solisa smiled. We didnt do anything, yet weve made so much money. Solisa was only being courteous. There was no way that she and her partners would give the money back. Naturally, Roland didnt care about the money at all. He said, Thats your reward we agreed upon. I have to fulfill my promise. To be honest, its not easy to establish a Summoning Magic Tower. Hearing that, Solisa heaved a sigh and said in frustration, I didnt know how hard it was to establish my own organization until I really tried it. As a matter of fact, my Association of Mages has almost been established, said Roland in a sincere tone. Should we forge an alliance? We can help each other if either of us is in trouble. Solisa shook her head. The main reason I established the Summoning Magic Tower was that I didnt want to rely on men. But theres bound to be things that are inconvenient for you to do as girls, said Roland slowly. Its just an alliance. We dont have to meet too often. Whats in it for you? asked Solisa curiously. A lot, explained Roland. There are too many conflicts of interests among men. Its inconvenient to ask male friends to help with certain matters. It will be easier to trust you. To do what? Roland looked at the distance and said, For example, the lich definitely has more secret camps than this one in Hollevin. So, you want to ask us to keep searching for the lich? Yes. Roland nodded and said, Youll get five hundred gold coins for every secret camp you find. You dont need to do anything except inform me. Deal! Solisa accepted the request the moment she heard the monetary reward. Boss, youre truly generous. The Summoning Magic Tower will be your ally for as long as you are its sponsor. Favors should always be exchanged. Although Solisa couldnt return the favor yet, she still wanted to make friends with Roland. She had also realized that it was impossible for the girls of the Summoning Magic Tower to be completely independent from the outside world. The mark of players had been imprinted on them. Besides, any organization needed communication with the outside world in order to develop. It was better to interact with other player groups, such as Wetland City and the Association of Mages that Roland had recently recreated, than with the chauvinistic forces who were biased against women and thought that women were just objects. Both of them were satisfied as they got what they wanted. After reminding them to be careful when they searched for the lichs camps, Roland teleported himself away. He returned to Delpon and gathered the important personnel under his command for a short meeting Another force is onto us. Their target is me, but I believe theyre more likely to start with you. So, from now on, the guards of Delpon should be on full alert. The Black Sand Gang should also search for suspicious people. Roland looked around the meeting room and continued, Also, try not to leave Delpon. Dont go out even if business partners invite you. Everybody nodded. Were very strong. Both Cage and Andonara are great experts. All the dark forces will have a headache after seeing them. I dont think they can get into Delpon. Roland looked at the plump, cute fruit bats that were hanging over his head and continued, Im only afraid that theyll lure you out. It was impossible for the dark forces to approach somewhere a family of Heroes lived. Everyone nodded their heads to show that they understood. Then, Roland introduced other things that they should pay attention to, and the meeting was over. After the meeting, Andonara went to Roland and asked, Do we need to inform Stephanie, or ask her to live with us for a while? We certainly have to inform her, said Roland with a smile. But it will be unnecessary to let her live with us. Shes the queen of Fareins and well-protected. Besides, its also the Holy Realm. The dark forces would be idiots to go there. But havent dark forces already lurked there twice? Roland smiled even more happily and said, Wouldnt it be even better? The Holy Realm really loathes the dark creatures after being humiliated by them twice. If they ever sneak into the capital of Fareins again, a lot of people in the church will lose their jobs! That did make sense! Andonara was greatly relieved. Stephanie was her good friend and her partner. She was naturally concerned about her. Then, Roland teleported to the capital of Fareins. Because he represented the Association of Mages during the coronation, he was already a celebrity. After seeing him, the guards soon informed Stephanie, and he was taken to her personal chambers. Roland intended to leave after telling her about the lich, but Stephanie asked him to stay for the night. On the second morning, he finally left in high spirits. This time, Roland went straight to the Frostwolf Clan in the Froststar Kingdom. He visited the Holy Lady of Winterwolf. There was no telling whether he was lucky or unlucky, but he attended another of her ritual dances, where she danced like a slut wearing nothing but red ropes. After the ritual dance, all the believers left with their heads lowered. Roland was the only person who appreciated the dance the whole time. He had to admit that the Winterwolf Holy Ladys dance was truly exciting. The Winterwolf Holy Lady put on a white leather cloak that covered her body. She then stepped on the ice and slowly walked to Roland. In the end, she sat down and crossed her legs, not worrying at all that she might get exposed when she did that. Youre truly not shy at all, are you? You know that I wont kill you, so you simply take advantage of me, said the Winterwolf Holy Lady gloomily. Do you think its easy to take advantage of me? This is my offering. Roland took out ten gold coins and placed them before her. Your dance was art. I appreciated it as an artist with a pure heart. The Winterwolf Holy Lady glanced at Rolands groin and sneered. Nevertheless, she accepted the ten gold coins. The only specialty of the Froststar Kingdom was dried fish, which wasnt very profitable, so the people in the Froststar Kingdom were generally short of money, although they never worried about food. The purchasing power of gold coins was astonishing here. You dont seem to be in a good mood. After she accepted the coins, Roland asked, Did anything happen? The Winterwolf Holy Ladys long silver eyelashes shivered. Then she asked, How did you know? Your dance was filled with hesitation and confusion. It wasnt as energetic and enlivening as before. After a brief shock, the Winterwolf Holy Lady smiled. It seems that you didnt lie and you do know dancing, but you wouldve been more convincing if you didnt show such strong physical reactions. Thats the normal reaction of a man who has seen the most beautiful woman with the most beautiful art. You cant ask me to suppress my nature, declared Roland solemnly. Tell me what your trouble is. Maybe I can help you! The Winterwolf Holy Lady looked at Roland weirdly. You want to pursue me? Not exactly. Its just a chat between friends. Roland thought for a moment and said, Although it does look like Im courting you, I dont have feelings for you. The Winterwolf Holy Lady was an interesting woman. As a Holy Lady, she was more humane and arousing, and less sacred and pure, than the Holy Lady of Light. This woman knew human nature very well, so Roland believed that it was better to speak to her frankly than to tell lies. The Winterwolf Holy Lady smiled, bringing a warm breeze to the cold world. But then, she pulled a long face again. She straightened a leg, lowered her upper body, pressed her face against her knee, and said in frustration, Our Winterwolf Goddess has run away! Roland subconsciously peeped at the end of her thigh. Then, he found it inappropriate and moved his eyes away. That couldnt be helped. It was the natural reaction of a man. He didnt want to peep. He had already shown enough self-control by moving his eyes away immediately. The Winterwolf Holy Lady had only a long rope that weaved around her in circles and covered some critical parts. When she straightened her leg, she revealed parts that shouldnt be After all, how much skin could a red rope cover? Then, Roland asked in confusion, The Winterwolf Goddess is gone? Not gone; she ran away, said the Winterwolf Holy Lady, almost crying. She was lured by a human from outside. She simply said that we should live on our own now, that she had to pursue love. Then she ran away. Roland was quite impressed. Which man couldn be so good? I remember that the Winterwolf Goddess is more than a hundred meters tall, isnt she? She can take on the appearance of a regular girl. The Winterwolf Holy Lady thought for a moment and said, The witnesses said that it was a human who wore golden armor. He seemed to be from the Temple of Light and rode a red dragon here. Oh Roland knew who it was. Then, he had a thats only natural feeling. So, this is the last time I dance for the ritual. The Winterwolf Holy Lady almost cried out. I wont be the Holy Lady in the future. The Frostwolf Clan wont use the Winterwolf as our totem anymore. Her faith had collapsed! No wonder she seemed lethargic and unconcerned when a man peeped at her. Whats the plan for the Frostwolf Clan? asked Roland. Well just stay here for as long as we can, said the Winterwolf Holy Lady unhappily. We dont need to save the world anyway. The old men said that human beings needed us to beat a great devil every couple hundred of years, until Heroes emerged among them. They dont need us anymore. Now, even the Winterwolf has abandoned us. Why are we so unlucky? We havent done anything wrong. Why did the Winterwolf Goddess abandon us? This time, the Winterwolf Holy Lady truly burst into tears, and the white dog ears above her head dangled down. Oh Roland truly did not know what to do. He was not a believer, and he did not know how to comfort the crying woman. It was also worth noting that Roland didnt even know whether or not he should touch her considering how she was dressed. He could only remain silent. Fortunately, the Winterwolf Holy Lady wiped her own eyes a moment later, and her ears rose again. Right, you must be here for something. Is there anything I can help you with? Relieved, Roland nodded and said, I would like to ask the Frostwolf Clan to look for someone for me. Who is it? The camp of a northern lich. Roland smiled. A couple of days earlier, when Roland fought the lich, he found some leads even though the lich didnt confess anything. He noticed the hint of northern frost in the lichs dark magic power. That was a very remarkable skill. It was like how a wine taster, after sipping the wine, could tell where the wine was produced, how the grapes were fertilized, how long they were exposed to sunlight, how much rainwater they received, how many leaves of the grape vines were cut every day, and how the wine was fermented in the bucket, to produce such an outstanding taste. Thanks to Rolands high mental power, he was able to sense the intricacies of magic power as he leveled up, provided that he had been familiarized with it before. Roland had run into liches on the way to the Froststar Kingdom last time. He had remembered the smell of the frosty northern magic power since then. So, while the lich thought that he didnt say anything or betray himself, Roland had already figured out where he was from. You must be referring to the liches near the border of the Froststar Kingdom. The Winterwolf Holy Lady frowned. They are quite troublesome. They dig every day, and the places they live in are filthy and disgusting. Im willing to pay a high price. The Winterwolf Holy Lady was uninterested. She wasnt attracted to money, but for her people, she was willing to listen to Rolands offer. Five hundred gold coins for one lich camp. Roland gave her the same offer as he did to the Phoenix Guild. I can pay you a hundred coins up front as your founding. How many? The Winterwolf Holy Ladys beautiful eyes were widened. Five hundred gold coins. I can pay Hum! The Winterwolf Holy Lady had been seated at least one meter away from him, but she suddenly emerged before Rolands eyes. Her posture was the same, but there was no distance between them anymore. They were so close that her breasts nearly touched Rolands chest. She was almost as fast as Andonara. Fantastic. Well take the mission. Bright light burst out of the Winterwolf Holy Ladys eyes. The northern liches, right? Theyre now the Frostwolf Clans targets. Nobody can beat us to them. Chapter 715 - Another Person is Tricked Chapter 715 Another Person is Tricked For ten gold coins, the Winterwolf Holy Lady could hold herself back when Roland watched her dance. The combined money of everybody in the Frostwolf Clan might be no more than two hundred gold coins. Five hundred gold coins would be enough military budget for the clan for five years. Most of the Frostwolf Clans equipment was heavy weapons such as iron hammers and rods. There were of course sharp weapons too, but due to the cold weather in the Froststar Kingdom, weapons such as sabers and spears were often easily broken. In comparison, blunt weapons such as clubs and hammers, which were mostly used for smashing, were more practical and enduring. Besides, even if they were broken, they would still be made into other fine weapons after they were melted and added to something else. The Winterwolf Holy Lady was so close to Roland that he could smell the sweet fragrance on her. He had to lean back. Then he said, Im a man of my word. Do you want to sign a contract with me? Why dont you give us a hundred gold coins first as funding? Then Ill believe you. She looked Roland in the eyes, unwilling to withdraw her gaze, fearing that Roland was only kidding. A heavy bag was placed between them. These are a hundred gold coins, for your search activities. The Winterwolf Holy Lady opened the bag and took a deep breath to calm herself down after seeing the gold coins inside. It seems that youre serious. I dont have to lie to you about such a matter. After the initial surprise, the Winterwolf Holy Lady was confused. You couldve asked for any forces help with so much money. Why did you choose the Frostwolf Tribe? Because youre very strong. As Roland stayed longer in this world and gathered more books, he became familiar with certain secrets of this world. For example, the Frostwolf Clan had always been saviors of the world. Until Heroes emerged among human beings, it had always been the Frostwolf Clan who beat the intruding fiends. During the intrusions, all the adults in the Frostwolf Clan would become uncannily stronger. If it must be described with a number, they would all be improved by about five levels in those times. Even in peacetime, the Frostwolf Clan was still better at fighting than most other races. Besides, the Frostwolf Clan had keen noses. Although they werent really wolves, they were really close. Therefore, they were quite good at tracking and scouting After hearing Rolands reply, the Winterwolf Holy Lady put on a you know what youre doing expression. Ive got your gold coins. The Winterwolf Holy Lady stood up and tightened her leather cloak, which further revealed her long, sexy legs. Also, since they were very close, and Roland was still sitting, her legs were even longer and more enticing when seen from below. She stepped back and continued, Well help you find the northern liches as fast as possible. Liches were everybodys enemy. None of them were innocent. Before, the Frostwolf Clan had never bothered to deal with the stealthy liches along their border. But at this moment, they had motivation to eliminate those evil beings. Thank you. Roland stood up too. Before he teleported away, Roland thought of something and asked, Are you interested in setting up a teleportation array here to the Golden Sons city? Huh? The Golden Sons? The Winterwolf Holy Lady blinked her eyes in confusion. Your city? Are werewolves like us welcome there? She gently readjusted her ears, and her cloak opened again without the restriction of her hands. Almost everything underneath could be seen. Plus her beautiful face, she seemed both innocent and arousing. She couldnt have seemed sexier. Under normal circumstances, hybrids werent welcome in the human world. The Frostwolf Clan was a branch of the canine family. Although they were quite close to mankind, most human beings were still wary of them. So, members of the Frostwolf Clan didnt like leaving their home under most circumstances. You are. You will be very welcome, said Roland solemnly. Other hybrids and succubi are already living in our city. If you can come, my brothers and sisters will be very happy. Oh? The Winterwolf Holy Lady wasnt really convinced. She had never seen a Mage who talked to her like an equal. If a human noble had watched her body so blatantly, she wouldve gouged their eyes out. However, she would rather not turn a Mage into her enemy. Besides, although Roland did love watching her dance, her instincts as a werewolf told her that there wasnt much lust in this mans eyes. I can vouch for them on this matter. Roland had never considered that before, but at this moment, he really wanted to relocate the Frostwolf Clan to Wetland City. If even one percent of my people are biased against you, Ill give you a hundred gold coins as compensation. The cats already lived in Wetland City. The dogs, as the other most popular pets in the human world, should be there too. More importantly, the cats were so popular that another race as popular as them had to be introduced, or the cats would really consider themselves the players masters in the future. The Winterwolf Holy Ladys eyes glittered. Really? I never lie. Roland patted his chest. Okay. The Winterwolf Holy Lady smiled. Ill go change. Are you going to make teleportation magic arrays right now? Do you need me to provide materials for you? Ive brought the materials with me. It seems that youre prepared for this. The Winterwolf Holy Lady glanced at him. Youre not planning anything evil, are you? Roland waved his hand. I only came up with the idea just now, and I mean you no harm at all. After a chuckle, the Winterwolf Holy Lady left. Roland, on the other hand, drew a magic array. About half an hour later, he finished drawing the magic array, and someone suddenly said from his side, Youre really good at magic arrays. He was so startled that he turned back, only to see that the Winterwolf Holy Lady, who had put on a white leather armor, was squatting next to him. She had combed her long hair and tied it into a braid. When did you come? Roland couldnt help but ask. About ten minutes ago. Awesome! As a top Mage, Roland had been surrounded by tentacles of mental power. Normally speaking, he wouldve sensed something even if a Rogue came within five meters under stealth. Yet, he didnt sense anything at all while the Winterwolf Holy Lady stayed by his side for ten minutes. Remembering the unbelievable speed that the Winterwolf Holy Lady had shown earlier, Roland had no doubt that she was a very good fighter. So, he couldnt help but check the womans level on the system menu. But he didnt see anything. There were no levels, health bars, or skull symbols. At this moment, the Winterwolf Holy Lady slightly frowned. Dont look at me with detection skills. I dont like that. Okay sorry. Roland shrugged. I just got interested in your capabilities. The Holy Lady is the strongest in the whole Frostwolf Clan. The Winterwolf Holy Lady shook her head helplessly. I think Im very strong, but Ive never fought anyone before, so I dont know the details. That was quite impressive. Roland increasingly realized that it was a smart decision to get the Frostwolf Clan on his boat with just five hundred gold coins. Delighted, he said with a smile, Lets go to Wetland City and take a look, shall we? All right. The Winterwolf Holy Lady nodded and entered the magic array. Then, Roland walked in too. Several seconds later, the two of them dispersed into spots of light in the magic array. At the magic array in the central square of Wetland City, many people were appearing after being teleported. Now that the teleportation magic arrays had been popularized, the players loved traveling to other cities and countries for quests through teleportation. Although the teleportation was slightly expensive, the time it saved was enough for them to make much more money. After Roland and the Winterwolf Holy Lady emerged after the teleportation, nobody paid attention to them first. But several seconds later, those who moved their eyes away from the Winterwolf Holy Lady gazed back at her with surprise. The Winterwolf Holy Lady was slightly angry when so many people looked at her weirdly, but she managed a smile. Look, theyre all staring at me in surprise. Youre going to lose a hundred gold coins As she talked, the Winterwolf Holy Lady realized that something was different. Underneath the surprise of the passersby was not disgust or discrimination, but excitement. So, they were all thrilled to see her. It wouldnt be a big deal if only several of them were thrilled. Slave owners would be thrilled too when they saw beautiful slaves. However, the Winterwolf Holy Lady managed to tell that those people meant no harm. Also, not one or two of them were thrilled, but they were all so. Someone even asked, Roland, shes a werewolf? Yes, replied Roland with a smile. If you want to see werewolves in this city, dont all stand there. Go back to where you should be. All the players wore a got it expression and walked away in tacit agreement. The Winterwolf Holy Lady found the scene rather unbelievable. But Roland didnt give her more time to think. He simply gave her a tour of the city. It was the same old route. They went to the crafts street, the food street, and lastly, where the cats lived. A minor riot took place. The cats werent fond of werewolves It was in their nature. Although there were different types of werewolves, and the Frostwolf Clan looked more like human beings than wolves, they didnt like canines. Therefore, the Winterwolf Holy Lady was almost scratched by the cats. The Winterwolf Holy Lady had been silent all the way. When she returned to the magic array, she suddenly said, Well help you kill all the northern liches as soon as possible for a hundred gold coins. We wont ask for anything else. Why? Roland was slightly confused. Why would someone ask for less pay? I want permission for the Frostwolf Clan to freely enter this city, said the Winterwolf Holy Lady hopefully. I want to buy some land in this city too and build a few houses, so that my clan will have a place to live in after they come. Thats easy. The mayor of this city is my friend. Hearing that, Roland knew that his plan had already half succeeded. You can come whenever you want, but let me remind you of something first. If you want to live here, you have to abide by the laws in this city. I understand. The Winterwolf Holy Lady looked at Roland thoughtfully and then teleported back to the Froststar Kingdom with Rolands help. Roland, on the other hand, returned to Delpon. He continued his magic experiments while waiting for the Phoenix Guilds updates. He intended to visit the Froststar Kingdom a while later and ask the Winterwolf Holy Lady about their progress. Time often flew very fast when one lived a routine life. Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. At the border of the Froststar Kingdom, underneath the frozen ice, there was a massive network of underground tombs. It was more of an enormous city than an amalgam of tombs. This place, buried deep underground, was quite warm without the scourge of snow and wind. A lot of undead creatures wandered here too. Two liches met each other. Neither of them looked good. Although the liches faces, being pale all the time, never looked good, their vibe and their eyes still showed that they felt awful. Karna, how is it going on your side? asked a male lich. S*it. Two of my camps have been destroyed. Three containers were ruined too. Karna, who was wearing a drow skin, roared angrily, The Frostwolf Clan is crazy! Theyve been attacking us vehemently. Im told that the phylacteries of two of our partners have been found by them. The liches liked calling the bodies that they possessed skins. I heard that its three. Wallis, the other lich, punched the wall and shouted angrily, I lost four camps and a Golden Sons skin, which was my favorite. What do we do? Karna asked. Should we summon other partners and launch a war with the undead? We can kill those human-headed dogs. Werewolves who looked more like human beings would be derided as human-headed dogs, whereas those who looked more like wolves would be cursed to be dog-headed humans. Wallis shook his head. A war with the undead creatures works on every race except the Frostwolf Clan. You should know that every member of that clan is a capable soldier. Even an ocean of undead creatures wont be enough to deal with them. I suggest we ask the Golden Sons to deal with the Frostwolf Clan. It will be enjoyable to see the real undying people fight a clan thats born for battle. A messenger happens to be in a tomb not far away. Ill ask a banshee to take him here. Very soon, a player was directed to them by a banshee. Looking at the smiling player, Wallis said, My friend, were sort of in trouble right now, and we need your help. Oh, what do you need us to do? Many of our camps have been destroyed. Theyre hunting the liches. I hope that you can help us drive them away. We already made an agreement, didnt we? asked the player casually. Well only help you deal with Roland by sharing intelligence with you and fighting by your side, so we wont attack anyone else. Chapter 716 - New Discovery Chapter 716 New Discovery The Golden Sons were kindheartedly and friendly. That was the ordinary peoples impression of the players. The Golden Sons were proud and had no respect for the privileged. That was the ordinary nobles impression of the players. The Golden Sons were arrogant and heartless. That was most of the professionals impression of the players. Different people had different opinions on the players because of their different interests. The players were just players. No matter how they conflicted with each other, they always left similar impressions on outsiders. It was exactly such a case at this moment. The two liches felt that the messenger of the Golden Sons was completely unreasonable. Wallis couldnt help but ask, If were allies, why cant you help us deal with enemies that have advantages against us? We can help you get rid of enemies that you find tricky. Wont that be a win-win? No, its not. Once we attack the Frostwolf Clan, well be those who suffer, said the male player unhurriedly. You mustve investigated us, so you should know the black leaf incident. The two liches looked at each other. They had indeed heard about that before. Back then, they found it exhilarating that the Golden Sons, who were undying monsters, turned out to have restrictions too. However, exactly because of the restrictions, the liches couldnt ask for their help at this moment, which was rather upsetting. But if this goes on, the Frostwolf Clan will destroy our camps, which will indirectly lead to your loss. The player laughed aloud. What loss can there be? If we cant cooperate with you, well look for someone else to work with. Isnt it only natural? Are you going to go back on your word? We havent signed any agreements yet. Weve never taken one gold coin from you. Why is it betrayal? The player yawned after he laughed. Were just temporary allies because we have a common enemy. The faces of dead bodies were rigid, but Wallis was so infuriated that his face twisted. Karna sneered nonstop too. A long time later, Wallis said, Are you not afraid that well tell other people you want to deal with Roland? Be my guest. The player smiled unconcernedly. Then we really wont be partners anymore. Youre not scared? You dont know the Golden Sons. The player narrowed his eyes and smiled. We often fight because of different interests, but were not real enemies. We dont hold any grudge against Roland; we simply dont want him to be on the top. The players would lose 10% of their total EXP after each death, so Roland would drop from LV12 to LV11 if he died. Then, he probably wouldnt have the highest level in the server. Besides, if they could kill him once, they would be able to do it again. Wallis snorted. I dont want to meddle, but if Roland learns what youre doing, your life wont be great, will it? It doesnt matter. The players eyes turned cold. Well just surround and attack you with the Frostwolf Clan. All liches deserve death anyway, dont you agree? He couldnt have sounded more arrogant. Wallis had never been insulted as such during his hundred years of life as a lich. He turned grave and was about to attack. Exactly at this moment, Karna, who had been silent the whole time, stopped him and asked, Wallis isnt interested in the things between you, but Im different. Im a woman who loves gossip. My friend, you just mentioned that a lot of people like you want Roland to die. Why? Hes the strongest Golden Son, and from what weve gathered, hes not a conceited person and has no conflicts of interests with most of the other Golden Sons. Why are you asking about that? asked the player while staring at Karna. Dont the Golden Sons always say that you should find as many friends and make as few enemies as possible? Karna asked in confusion. Isnt that what you do? Why have you chosen a different approach to deal with Roland? If so many people want him to die, ask more of your compatriots to help you. If we have too many partners, some of them may betray us. It seems that your endeavor to kill Roland is not widely supported even among your own people. The player wasnt bothered by Karnas sarcasm. He stepped back and said, In any case, youll deal with the Frostwolf Clan on your own. Well only share intelligence on Roland with you and help you deal with him. We wont care about anything else. After saying that, the players left. But his face didnt look very good after he turned around. It wasnt one or two forces that were dealing with Roland; it was quite a conspiracy that a lot of people were involved in. On many occasions, fame was itself something that could invoke envy and jealousy. Roland stood in the way of too many people, including but not limited to magnates and well-known livestreamers. In other games, except the pure PVP ones, the rich players always got stronger as they invested more. In PVP games, the famous livestreamers would all show their capabilities. Some of them had special tricks, some had quick reactions, some were very visionary, and some were funny. They could always amaze the audience. However, neither of the two approaches worked in this game. However much money the rich players invested, other people wouldnt admire them but would only mock them. This guy has thrown tens of millions into the game, yet cant even make it to the top five. Roland has started from scratch and made a hundred million. He makes the best equipment and potions, and hes strongest server-wide. Other players are just embarrassments compared to him. Just like that, Roland was like a mountain in front of them, and their investments were like jokes. The rich players had no fun at all. Life for streamers was even harder. Their familiarity with mouse and keyboard and their battle awareness meant nothing in the game. They might have some advantages based on their gaming experiences at the beginning of the game. But it was still useless. What mattered more in this world was to explore and get to know the world, and to reflect on oneself. Even the Warriors had to learn a lot of things apart from how to fight. They had to learn new languages in the new world and the ways of society. They must see through the malicious NPCs without being tricked. They had to negotiate before a quest, and make full preparations if the environment would be harsh. This was a real world that simply had additional elements such as swords and magic. Few of the streamers who played games at home every day were worldly experts of communication. Many of them had accidents every day in the game. They had accidents when they were on quests, ran their organization, and even sought survival in the wildness. If they couldnt accomplish it, they could at least talk about it. So, they intended to interpret the advantages and disadvantages of all classes. However, the players in the audience simply said, Stop talking and get on the top 100 ranks first. They were also often compared with the experts. The most frequent name that they were compared to was Roland. For example, it often went like this. The streamers: The Warriors odds of winning against any other classes are above 50%. After all, the Warriors can use bows. A 1.5-meter long bow has an effective range of 400 meters and can kill vulnerable enemies remotely. Netizens: Roland doesnt know what to say. Youre talking about range with me? The streamers: The Rogues are the Mages banes. A Rogue of a high level who has strengthened the stealth ability can easily kill a Mage. After all, nobody can be prepared for attacks forever. Netizens: Roland will just let you attack him for half an hour, and you still wont break my shield. The streamers: You should make friends with the NPCs glibly and sophisticatedly like me. Netizens: Roland became the chairman of a Magic Tower a year after he entered the game. You havent even become a minor manager in your organization yet. Similar comments appeared in every stream channel at least five times. As time went by, even the most tolerant streamers were disgusted. Then, some of the rich players and streamers who couldnt hold back anymore secretly united, attempting to bring down Roland. They didnt want to kill Rolands family or friends in the game; they simply wanted to lower Rolands level. What they said and did wouldnt be convincing until Roland was no longer the top player of the server. As for their cooperation with the liches, it was just a coincidence. When the liches bought bodies from the players, they talked about Roland by chance. The liches craved Rolands body. The Golden Sons bodies were really vigorous. They could be made into the finest Death Knights and skins. Roland, as the strongest Mage in the server, was exceptionally gifted. Magic Power Control and Magic Material Exemption were both great talents. If they could occupy the body and maintain it well, they would be able to become a Legendary lich several dozen years later. After the player returned to his tomb, he opened a browser, typed in an address, logged into his account, and posted the video of his conversation with the liches. About ten minutes later, some anonymous guy replied to his post: Retreat. We cant turn our names red just to kill Roland. The virtual cabins are unbelievably expensive nowadays. If the liches cannot resist the Frostwolf Clan, so be it. Well just work with someone else. There are bound to be other people who want Roland dead. On Rolands side, after entrusting the search mission to the Phoenix Guild and the Frostwolf Clan, he resumed his magic studies and simplified many interesting spells, such as the oil-making and sugar-making spells. When Roland synthesized glucose with nothing in front of the scientists, they all got excited. Good heavens. Magic can replace photosynthesis. How incredible. If he digs deeper, its possible that hell be able to synthesize amylose and even fat. Roland, you should learn chemistry. Wait a moment, if he can extract the carbon dioxide and water in the air, can he extract deuterium from seawater too? After a brief silence, the scientists all seethed with thrill. The director, in particular, looked at Roland earnestly, but didnt say anything. It was because he had been instructed that Roland could do whatever he wanted to. They could only work with him, and they couldnt command or suggest things to him. Seeing how excited they were, and looking at the directors face, Roland asked, Can you show me the molecules or atom model of deuterium? Also, give me several tons of water. Id like to give it a shot. Roland didnt know much about chemistry or physics, no more than what a high school student did. After all, he spent most of his time on coding and algorithms. However, it didnt mean that he didnt know common sense. There were a lot of isotopes of deuterium in the seawater, but it was rather tricky to separate them. Thank you. The director held Rolands hand and said excitedly, Well report the matter to the superiors. Whether or not the experiment works, you will be rewarded. e was Roland shrugged, showing that he didnt care. Then, several days later, the seawater was shipped to them. During these days, Roland had skimmed through information on deuterium A lot of researchers even personally interpreted the data of the element for him. While listening to them, Roland tried to tweak the spell model. The day the seawater was delivered, Roland tested the tweaked spell and extracted a tremendous amount of hydrogen, but there wasnt any deuterium. He wasnt frustrated, but kept optimizing the spell models. The researchers were all very nervous, but there was little they could do to help. It was because they hadnt figured out just yet what mechanism was behind Rolands spells. Several days later, Roland fully optimized the spell, but it failed again. After a long time of consideration, he realized that it might be due to the lack of consequence. There was no description of deuterium in the original spell model. In the end, he added Lesser Benediction to the spell. This time, after a dazzling flash of colorful magic light, he succeeded. A tiny bit of deuterium was stored in a special sealed container. Then, Roland shivered and fell on the ground with blood gushing out of his nose, ears, and eyes. All the researchers were quite frightened. The medical staff carried him to the infirmary as quickly as possible. Then, a lot of doctors and nurses were summoned from the best nearest hospital. While they were all uneasy, one of the researchers gave them several scans. Everybody was horrified by the scans. The scans all showed the vague shape of a human being at Rolands back. Chapter 717 - Magic Nuclear Explosion Chapter 717 Magic Nuclear Explosion The vague shape of a human being looked a lot like Roland. The researchers looked at one another and didnt say anything. After a moment, the old doctor walked out and said solemnly, Its not a big problem. Hell be fine after a rest. But his eyes and nose ejaculated blood. Not entirely reassured, the director asked, Is he really fine? Its just a simple nosebleed. Some blood seeped out of his eyes too, said the old doctor helplessly. He vomited blood because he bit his own tongue. It was quite a large wound, which was why he passed out. It was too painful. Everybody looked at each other in bewilderment. The director asked hesitatingly, So, youre saying that its just some external wounds? Yes. The old doctor nodded. His pulse, his body exam, and the brainwave test all showed that hes not gravely hurt. Everybody was greatly relieved. If a serious accident happened to the only man with superpowers so far, their superiors would probably rip them apart. But even though Roland was fine, they would probably have to write reflections on their mistakes. The director said, You continue your work and Ill report it to the superiors. Hopefully, I wont be transferred. Everybody put on a smile, because the director implied that he would take the responsibility. It was a good thing for those subordinates. After all, nobody was willing to walk away from a rarely-seen research project. If anything came from the research, they would be the first people to enjoy them. They would definitely be very happy if they could cast spells too. However, they could tell that the director didnt look grim, which meant that the matter wasnt serious. He might be criticized, but he probably wouldnt be transferred. The director quickly left. The others continued studying the data. They had recorded the whole process when Roland cast the spell. About an hour later, the director finished the call and returned. He was all sweaty, but he didnt seem anxious. Seeing his expression, the researchers knew that the matter had been settled. Okay, lets have a short meeting. No need to go to the conference room. Well just do it here. The director waved his hand and gathered everyones attention. Then he said, A serious accident happened to our experiment subject. How much information did you get? If you didnt make any progress, I wouldve been verbally abused by my leader for an hour for nothing, and Ill verbally abuse you for an hour in return. ans Looking at the teasing smile on the directors face, they all smiled awkwardly. In the end, it was the researcher with scans who stood up and said, According to my speculation, the extraction spell was beyond Rolands capabilities, which was why he fainted and shed blood. Was that a price? That sounds rather unbelievable, bordering on nonsense. Yes, we need more reasonable data to support our claim. But in science, you can make hypotheses first and then prove them. Rolands abilities are not fully explained by science. They may have a lot to do with the idealist philosophy. Nothing thats purely ideal is trustworthy. Do you dare say that the micro world completely abides by the known laws of physics? Like the conservation of energy? Oh The researchers started arguing. The director felt a headache as he listened. He turned around and asked, Right, how much deuterium did Roland extract just now? About three grams. Hiss! Because Rolands collapse was too frightening, everybody had been waiting at the infirmary and didnt ask how much material Roland extracted. Now that they heard the number, they couldnt have looked greedier. Under normal circumstances, how much would it cost for us to extract one gram of deuterium? Its hard to calculate, but its true that the energy cost will be more than what the extracted deuterium can generate. Distillation and electrolysis cost not only energy but also time. There was a reason why the deuterium nuclear power plants were eliminated. So, Roland spewed out some blood, and he extracted three grams already, remarked the director in surprise. Besides that, he still has a lot of room for growth. If he becomes as strong as he is in the game, he can easily extract a hundred grams if given enough seawater. If he helps us make two to three kilograms every day, our country will never need to worry about energy. Now, calculate all the data about the transparent figure that appeared behind Roland, to four digits after the decimal place. Got it? Gather as much data as possible. Most scientific studies had no shortcuts. It was just a simple collection of data, inference, and more collections, until a formula could be established. That was when a breakthrough was made. It could take a couple of months, or maybe more than ten years. Three hours had passed by the time Roland woke up. When he sat up, he found that his mouth was very painful. Seeing that he moved, the nurse nearby instantly asked, Comrade Huang, youre awake? Do you feel anything?. Roland was about to talk, but he felt such excruciating pain when he moved his tongue that his face became twisted. He pointed at his mouth and made a gesture to ask for pen and paper. The nurse was quite smart, or she wouldnt have been summoned here. She realized Rolands intention left. Soon, she returned and gave Roland a pen and a piece of paper. Then, a few doctors, led by the old doctor, followed the nurse into the ward. The last person to enter was the director. Roland wrote on the paper, My tongue is too painful for me to talk, but did the experiment succeed? The old doctor sat down and took Rolands pulse. The director nodded and said, It worked. You extracted three grams of deuterium. Roland wrote, Thats great, boss, Id like to ask for a three-day leave; my mind was greatly disturbed by the spell just now, and I have to postpone the experiments. Okay, you have my permission. Take a good rest at home. The director accepted his request without hesitation. Roland had been working in the underground laboratory for more than a month. Everybody could tell that he was a good, dutiful lad who never slacked. If he said that his mind was disturbed, it was definitely true. After receiving permission, Roland lay on the sickbed for another two hours and then drove home after he felt more comfortable. His parents were quite shocked when they found him mute. Then, Roland wrote on a piece of paper, I accidentally fell during work and bit my tongue, its nothing. They were finally relieved. After several hours of rest, Roland entered the game again after it was reopened. His body in the game was much stronger than that in reality. A Lesser Benediction that was embedded in the spell in reality had greatly afflicted him, but that burden didnt exist in the game. Roland teleported himself to the sea and extracted deuterium from seawater. The same spell achieved different results. He extracted ten grams in the game and nothing happened to him. The side effects of Lesser Benediction couldnt work on Roland at all anymore. Deuterium was a gas. Roland didnt store it in a container but merely sealed it in his hands with his mental power. It was colorless, odorless, and flammable. Roland then dispersed it in the air. After that, he teleported back to Delpon and conducted new studies. He spent all his vacation on those studies. About four days later, his research results came out. They were containers made of small magic power bricks, which was only one tenth the size of the regular magic power bricks. They were hollow and each contained about one gram of deuterium. Then, he engraved super tiny magic arrays on the surface of the magic bricks. The purpose of the magic arrays was to transform the magic power in the small magic power bricks into blue fireballs with a radius of about forty centimeters, which would then explode in two seconds. They were more like expendable magic items than simple magic power bricks. He built three of those magic items and reshaped them into bullets. Also, the three magic items were small, medium, and large respectively. But even the large one was merely the size of a babys fist. After everything was done, he took a break, teleported to the sea, and started a stream on the forum. Ive made three huge bombs. Their power is being tested. Rolands account on the forum had millions of followers, and none of those followers were bots. So, ten seconds after he started streaming, the number of viewers in the channel soared at a crazy speed. Shoot! Roland has made some bombs? Is it what I think? Are they going to be super large blue fireballs? I think its more likely to be a meteor shower. In any case, its definitely going to be a new spell. Is this place an isolated area by the sea? Roland must be serious about this big experiment. Lets see how evolved the Mages have become. No, you should ask how evolved THE Mage has become. The regular Mages are still trying to expand their range of damage to thirty meters! A lot of comments were flying in the stream channel. Roland waited for a moment, and seeing that there were more than three hundred thousand audience members, he said, I got inspired, so I designed an experiment. I dont know if it will work. Lets all find out. It would be very uncomfortable if he didnt show off his major discovery or new ability to the public! Of course, that was just a joke. Rolands real purpose was to intimidate his enemies. Whether or not the experiment worked, he could intimidate certain players and forces with his ideas. Besides, even if it didnt work at this moment, it might work some day. While the netizens in the stream channel were all curious, confused, and excited, Roland took the three bullets out of his system Backpack and held them in his palm. Those are my new inventions, said Roland rather proudly. Arent they beautiful? Three bullets? Are they ammunition for pistols, sniper rifles, or cannons? What are they made of? Theyre blue and look like glass, but they seem to contain abundant magic power too. Has Roland invented bullets? Thats absolutely useless. Indeed, its rather pointless. Magic can do everything that guns and cannons can. After the comments flew for a while, Roland said, The three bullets are products based on the essence of my knowledge. There were a lot fewer comments in the stream channel, as everybody was too distracted by his interpretation to type. These bullets are made of special energy crystals that only I can make in this world. Roland smiled and went on, On their surface is a complex magic array thats made of four sub arrays, one of which involves divination. Its rather technologically advanced for the current age. Nobody could argue with Roland when it came to magic. If Roland said that it was advanced technology, it definitely was. If anybody had a problem with that, they could always refute his claim with a more advanced magic array. Also, Ive sealed some deuterium inside the bullets. Two seconds after he said that, a lot of comments appeared on the picture. Those who didnt understand typed in question marks. Those who did understand what he said also typed in question marks. They thought that something was seriously wrong with Roland. Yes, its exactly the deuterium that you know. Roland summoned a cloud and drifted to the sky on it. So, my experiment is exactly what youre thinking. Not just the netizens, but the researchers in the underground base were also watching Rolands stream. After all, Roland was their research subject, and his performance and behavior in the game had been gathered to generate a profile for him. When Roland said that deuterium was sealed in the bullets, the director, who was drinking goji water, spat it out. All the researchers gaped. They knew that Roland was rather wild in the game, but they didnt expect him to be so wild. The cloud rose to the sky about one kilometer from the ground. Roland put two bullets back and only left the smallest one. Then, he turned around and said to the reefs not far away from the seaside, Lets test the power of the small bullet in that area. He snapped his fingers, and a transparent spatial bullet emerged behind him. Its time to witness a miracle. With a smile, he put the blue pistol bullet into the spatial bubble. Everybody who watched the livestream subconsciously swallowed. The spatial bubble swallowed the bullet and spurted it out two seconds later. A streak of vague blue light darted out at such a high speed that a sonic explosion was caused. Rolands Magic Shield shivered. Several seconds later, dazzling light arose from the reefs in the distance. Then, a blue fireball expanded at an unbelievable speed. The image of Rolands stream was exclusively blue and red, and nothing but deafening explosions could be heard. Chapter 718 - Disagreement of Goddesses Chapter 718 Disagreement of Goddesses As the audience watched the crazy red currents of fire and heard the dreadful booms, they didnt have the time to post many comments. It was because they all knew that it was a rarely-seen livestream of a nuclear explosion that they couldnt miss. The rumbling went on for about a minute, before the picture finally became clear. Everything was still burning. Bubbly red fluids were running to the lowlands on the ground. Those fluids all used to be sand, which had been burnt into magma by the high temperature. After they cooled down, they would turn into variegated glass. It was almost impossible to see the boundary of the red fluid. The reefs, which were hit as a target, had turned into an enormous pit, and a lot of red magma was filling back in. The air was being twisted intensely. Due to the air flow boosted by the high temperature, a strong, soaring current was caused. An enormous mushroom cloud rose not far away before Rolands eyes. Roland looked at his system menu. At this moment, he only had about 5% of his mana left. It meant that Roland could weather through a minimal nuclear explosion about two kilometers from the center of the explosion. He floated for about a minute and then flew up. His mana returned to about 10%. The flight cost little magic power, because the hot air currents kept pushing up the cloud underneath Rolands feet. After flying up for another five hundred meters, the real range of the nuclear explosion finally became obvious. On the ground, a large pool of magma, with a radius of two kilometers by conservative estimation, was boiling. Further beyond that area, the soil within three kilometers had been blackened. Shoot! What a massive explosion! Its as powerful as a real nuclear bomb, isnt it? Rolands blue fireballs earlier could only be compared to the 300mm, 500mm, or 800mm cannons on warships. Their power has limits. However, he has built a real nuke this time, whose power is almost unlimited as long as he adds more deuterium to it. There has to be an upper limit. Its not like he can blow up the whole world, can he? You think he cant? Please refer to the largest nuclear bomb that the Russians made. It affected the whole world. Why should we bother playing? Roland could annihilate all the other players on his own. Let me ask again. Is there still time to transform into a Mage? Unlike the other players, the researchers in the underground laboratory who were watching the stream estimated the power of the nuclear bomb with the naked eye. The red magma area and the blackened area are both the effective range of destruction, which is about five kilometers. In other words, its a nuclear explosion equal to 600,000 tons of TNT. And thats just his smallest bullet. F*ck Excuse me, but if he were to use the ability in reality S*it, I cant even imagine it. Should we apply to put him in custody? The superiors must know too. The director shook his head. We dont need to do anything. Just let the bosses decide. All the researchers had glowing eyes. The stronger Roland turned out to be, the happier they would be. After all, they were studying Roland at this moment. Floating in midair, Roland looked at the rising mushroom cloud in the distance as well as the dead fish on the surface of the sea in relief. There was proclivity for violence in every mans DNA. It was their natural instinct. All that mattered was whether or not they could control themselves. That was the difference between civilization and barbarism. Roland estimated that he could probably destroy the capital of Fareins, which was the largest city in this world, with the two remaining bullets in his system Backpack, but it would be absolutely pointless. Thats enough testing, said Roland casually. Its too powerful. Ill just keep the other two bullets to myself. In the stream channel, everybody shook their heads helplessly. To be honest, it was almost impossible to become such an invincible player. However, right before Roland flashed away, the space around him completely froze. Then, many pairs of enormous eyes appeared in the sky. Some were beautiful, some were gentle, but most were malicious. All those eyes stared at him the moment they showed up. The air seemed to have been solidified. Roland found it barely possible to breathe. But it was actually just his impression, mostly because the pressure from those eyes was too enormous. Everybody exclaimed in the stream channel. Whats going on? Why are mosaics appearing in the sky? I have a bad feeling. Thats exactly what appeared in the stream channel when Roland met the Nether God, right? I counted more than twenty pairs of eyes. Are twenty gods and goddesses looking at him? Thats not surprising. Were I a god, Id take a look at the ground too after a nuclear explosion happened. Hiss. The strongest Mage has manually made a nuclear bomb, and the gods are here to fix the bug. Roland was quite angry to see all those eyes, because they were mostly staring at him in a greedy or malicious way. Roland slowly drifted away. It was impossible for him to land on the magma below. When he started drifting, all the eyes moved along with him. Also, those eyes were quite wary of each other too. After he floated away from the range of the nuclear explosion, the air became less hot. Roland landed and held his chest, catching his breath. The masters of those eyes had been silent, but soon, one of them ran out of patience. Human Mage, Im the God of Hunger. Worship me and give your spell to me, and Ill let you live forever in my paradise. ability is very suitable for the battlefield. Worship me. There are 72 virgins waiting for you in my paradise. Im the God of Love. Speaking of women, none are more attractive than my believers. LIO Everybody wanted Rolands belief. Very soon, all the deities started fighting. Nothing but arguments could be heard. Roland found it quite noisy, and the players in the stream channel were even more uncomfortable. Their ears were humming with the electric currents. Many of them were even nauseated and felt like vomiting. But few wanted to close the stream channel. The scientists in the underground lab, in particular, even took out the best sound collecting devices. But in the end, the stream channel closed itself. A system notification popped up in everybodys window. An uncontrollable error occurred during streaming. For the sake of your well-being, this streaming session has been automatically shut down without Rolands permission. The netizens cursed aloud when they saw the notification. They all made complaint calls to Penguins customer service center. Tens of hundreds of calls flooded in and jammed all the lines. As a result, none of the calls made it through. In the game, Roland looked at those eyes as he waited for them to argue with one another. He even sat down and watched the show. About ten minutes later, the gods and goddesses seemed to feel embarrassment at their behavior in front of a human being, so they stopped fighting at the same time. Eventually, it was the God of Hunger who said, Roland, you have to pick one of us and dedicate your faith, or you cannot get away alive. Im a Golden Son. Can you keep me here? asked Roland in disdain while looking at the triangular eyes. The gods were nothing more than powerful creatures. After he became a Legend, or a Demigod, he could create bigger nuclear bombs and kill the gods easily. If Melf had slain gods with his spell before, there was no reason why he couldnt with his nuclear bombs. Its true that the god behind you is stronger than any of us. The pair of triangular eyes were filled with anger. But hes no match for us now that all of us are united. If we cage your soul, he wont be able to take it away. Roland was slightly intrigued. A lot of information was revealed from what the guy said. However, it was nothing new, but only confirmation of Rolands long-time speculations. In the real world where he lived, there was a god too. Why did the god on Earth project half a million Golden Sons to this world? He was even more confused than before. Was it really meant to raise supermen for Earth, like Douglas said? But that was another paradox. If there was already a god on Earth, there were bound to be supermen. Why did they have to be raised in this world? Or maybe, the players were just vanguards to conquer the alien world? Or was it a test? More and more questions popped up in Rolands head. Roland was silent for a long time. The guy with triangular eyes said cockily, So, worship a god. Any god. Listening to the guys cocky tone, Roland said angrily, Sorry, I dont know why I should dedicate my faith. Come and take it if you think youre capable! While he was talking, he was already planning to take out the other two nuclear bullets. He was also preparing for magic power bricks. The gods power was greatly suppressed in the main plane, and Roland was not entirely vulnerable to them. The triangular eyes glared at him. An enormous mental pressure fell on top of him like a mountain. Although only one tenth of the pressure was left when it hit Roland, he still felt that he was suffocating, as if he were carrying a fatty weighing a hundred kilograms on his shoulders. However, Roland didnt say anything but stared at the triangular eyes with mockery on his face. The triangular eyes were even more infuriated. Another god with a pair of red eyes said coldly, What a stubborn boy. All Mages are annoying. Count me in. I dont believe that a minor human being dares to oppose the gods. As he talked, he was about to add to the pressure on Roland. The other gods didnt say anything. They were all proud of their identity and didnt want to attack Roland with someone else. At least, they had that dignity. Roland was able to resist the triangular eyes, but not the red eyes on top of that. Rolands left leg bent, and he almost fell to one knee. But he was still standing. His face was red and his back wasnt straight anymore, but his strength and tenacity had been demonstrated from the fact that he weathered through the pressure of two gods. Seeing how stubborn Roland was, someone who had thin eyebrows asked in a pleasant voice, Do you want to count me in? Exactly at this moment, two voices echoed at the same time. Enough! Stop now. That was a pair of gentle eyes. When you said that all Mages are annoying, did you think of me at all? That was a pair of eyes filled with wisdom. After they spoke, all the pressure on Roland vanished. Then he stood up. At this moment, Roland realized that the gentle eyes belonged to the Life Goddess whereas the wise eyes belonged to the Goddess of Magic. Why, you want to protect him? Have you learned nothing from the disasters Mordenkainen and Melf caused? Exactly. Even if you are Lawful Goddesses, we have twenty people on our side. Are you really going to challenge the entire Realm of Gods? Life and Magic, if youre going to support the defiant, dont blame us for dealing with you first. The Goddesses of Life and Magic didnt talk, but their eyes became firmer and firmer. Then, a cold voice suddenly appeared. Mystra, count me in. Those eyes had deep black irises and evinced no feelings. They only showed some emotion when they looked at Roland. Ha. We have three now, said the Goddess of Magic proudly. I dont think we cant protect one human being as three main goddesses. You may have three, but so what? There are twenty gods on our side. Thats right. You really think you can oppose the entire Realm of Gods with just the three of you? Then what if Im in? At this moment, another pair of eyes emerged in the sky. Feeble yet warm golden light beamed from these eyes. Chapter 719 - The Goddess of Magic is Also a Great Woman of Letters Chapter 719 The Goddess of Magic is Also a Great Woman of Letters A beautiful woman wearing a long, light green dress was in front of him. She seemed as mature and charming as Andonara, but with a little more holiness and gentleness than Andonara. Lady Elyse, the Life Goddess? Roland asked with a somewhat puzzled tone, but on the inside, he already knew that this was the womans name. It seems that you can already see my appearance. The Life Goddess smiled faintly. Next to her, two angels descended, both of whom Roland knew. Nia was wearing a loose one-piece robe, with a pair of beautiful feathered wings behind her, as white as snow. After she landed, she winked at Roland. It was only logical that angels should be pure creatures. But her wink seemed somewhat coquettish. Roland wondered if he had spent too much time tossing around women recently, making them all look like Andonara. I can indeed see it. Roland had closed the livestream at this time, and he asked, Your face looked blurry to me before. The Life Goddess was the strongest and had the most stable Divine Spark among all the gods. So Roland hadnt been able to look at her directly in the truest sense until now. That situation just now scared you, didnt it. A little. Roland nodded. Why were your reactions so great? I should say, its not normal not to react so greatly. The Life Goddess smiled. In fact, in the past, the gods in the Realm of Gods did not care much about the affairs of Mages, not until the appearance of the Mages Mordenkainen and Melf. Did they do anything? Roland asked. Roland knew that Mordenkainen and Melf were enemies of the gods. But he didnt know how it got to that point. Actually, things are not that hard to understand. The Life Goddess said helplessly, Whether it was Mordenkainen or Melf, after they invented powerful spells, the first thing they did was throw these spells at the gods they could find to prove if they could slay them. There was no hesitation at all. Roland was speechless. He had felt puzzled for a long time. Legendary Mage Mordenkainen and Demigod Mage Melf although these two people were from different eras, they had one thing in commonthey both had no more enemies in the main plane. Even if the gods descended, under the suppression of the main planes laws, the gods couldnt rival them. Mordenkainens floating city and Melfs fearsome strength were how they could stand on top of the world. It was only the Water Goddesss true form that could make these two feel somewhat fearful. Sadly, though, the Water Goddess was, by nature, a bit of a fool. Only stupid gods would go to the main plane to quarrel with these two people. Tales and legends were unreliable most of the time. From Rolands point of view, the Life Goddess didnt need to bother with lying about these things, so that meant whether it was Mordenkainen or Melf, they were hunted by the gods because they brought it on themselves. Figuring this out, Roland felt a little discouraged. The books he had read before recorded that Mordenkainen and Melf fought desperately against the gods, not wanting to be the slaves of the gods. Now that he thought about it, it was the two of them who forced a war with the gods and left the gods with some post-traumatic stress disorder. At this point Roland was a little torn inside. He didnt know if he should laugh at these two for their recklessness or admire them for daring to go to war against the most powerful force in the world! After a moments gloominess, Roland asked, So that spell I released before can also slay gods? If you double it, yes. The Life Goddess nodded. And youre only a Master now, not even a Legend, and no one dares to doubt your future, so its normal for them to overreact a little, isnt it? The two angels on the side looked at Roland with admiration. I was watching the whole time you were experimenting before. Angel Nia patted her two large round balloons, causing them to ripple. Although I could fly out of the explosion range the moment it exploded, if I took a hit head-on, I would be a burnt chicken on the spot. The archangel next to her, Claudia, smacked Nias head. How can you compare yourself to a chicken. But its all pretty much the same if we get roasted. Nia waved her hand indifferently. Rolands one of us anyway, he wont think we dont have the dignity of celestials. But Claudia looked at Roland with a forced smile. I have never seen reverence in his eyes, he even looked at the goddess evenly. What is our dignity? Not throwing a god-slaying spell at us on the spot is already showing quite some respect. Roland craned his head to look at the archangel. Why did he feel that there was something sinister about what she said! as SC Seeing Roland looking at her, Claudia snorted, closing her eyes and turning her head to the side. This angel truly had a problem with him. Looking at Rolands puzzled expression, the Life Goddess said, Dont blame her, shes just a little upset. Why? The Life Goddess said, Although the four of us bailed you out, the mood of the other gods must also be considered, so I promised them that I would place someone by your side to watch over you and keep you from acting recklessly. If you have any disrespectful thoughts about the gods, she has the duty to tell me. Nia waved happily at Roland. Ill be following you from now on. She smiled very brightly. Roland, however, was a little upset. Personally, he had no ill feelings toward Nia and welcomed her as a guest in his home, but if she was there on a mission to spy on him, then of course it would be a turn-off. As if she could understand what was going through Rolands mind right now, the Life Goddess stood up and stood in front of Roland. The two of them were only about a meter apart, which was as close as a god and a man could get. And the Life Goddess didnt pose as a towering figure, but stood naturally, with no difference in height between the two. More specifically, Life Goddess seemed to be a centimeter or two taller than Rolands character in the game. Dont worry, its just for show to gag the other gods, the Life Goddess said with a smile. Im sure you wont be throwing god-slaying spells around. Roland shook his head. I cant even guarantee that myself. If you really cant resist throwing them, its fine. The Life Goddess said with a smile, There are some points in the Astral Plane where many evil gods are gathered. I will give you the spatial coordinates later. You can cause as much destruction as you want at those places. I know with your growth rate, you should be able to release spells on fixed coordinates. Hiss! Roland looked at the Life Goddess in surprise. As expected of a woman who had lived for hundreds of yearseven if she was gentle, she still knew how to mess with people But this was also quite reasonable. He could now see that the open quarrels and hidden maneuvers in the Astral Plane were not much better than those in the main realm. But this was also quite normal, as the vast majority of gods were just characteristic embodiments of aggregated human consciousness. The strengths and weaknesses of humans were also the strengths and weaknesses of gods. Okay. Roland shrugged helplessly. He knew very well that if he didnt agree, the Life Goddess would have more words of wisdom to say. Besides, he could also see that the Life Goddess was indeed trying to find a way to help him. Then go ahead and head down, I look forward to the day you become a Demigod. After the Life Goddess finished speaking, she waved her hand at Roland in farewell. The scenery around him then changed rapidly as his soul returned to his body. He didnt know how much time had passed. It was because the time in the Realm of Gods and the main realm was not quite synchronized. He was about to open the system interface to check the game time when a green light in the air smashed down and made a large crater a dozen meters away from him. The strong wind carried a lot of dust and formed a small sonic boom. When the dust and smoke had almost disappeared, Roland looked over and found Nia at the bottom of the pit, posing in a Terminator crouch. He laughed. How long are you going to pose there? My feet are so numb, I cant move, Nia, dressed in a long white cloth, said helplessly with a scrunched-up look. Come and help me. Roland snapped his fingers, and two Hands of Magic floated over, each grabbing one of Nias arms and hoisting her up and onto the ground. He looked at Nias back curiously. Where are your wings? To keep the rules of the main plane from affecting me, the goddess sealed them up temporarily, Nia said glumly. I cant use half my strength, so when I fell from the divine realm, the slowing effect wasnt done too well. Even so, there arent many people on the main plane who can beat you. In Rolands system interface, after the long health bar on Nias head, there were still two skulls representing the danger level. If her wings were not sealed, he reckoned that there could be four or five. But Andonara could probably defeat Nia in her current state. While Roland was thinking this, the air twisted. Again? Roland muttered, thinking that the Life Goddess had forgotten to mention something, but after the space finished warping two seconds later, Roland found himself standing on a blue and white spiral-patterned floating platform. It was surrounded by countless white towers. It was the Divine Realm of Magic. As Roland was thinking this, a person suddenly rushed in front of him, pulling at Rolands lapel directly. Her whole body came up against Rolands. Give me the model, give me the model. It was the Goddess of Magic. Her face was less than ten centimeters away from Rolands. A warm, soft, sweet scent drifted over him as she spoke. Roland could see her face, smooth as could be, with no pores and no blemishes. It was elastic like the whites of a boiled egg. It was also anti-slip as the finest, polished jade, and gave off a faint shimmer. Roland gently patted the goddesss hand, signaling for her to let go of him. Only then did the Goddess of Magic come to her senses, and she reluctantly took two steps back and said, Can you give me the spell you just cast? Roland shook his head. I can give you anything you want, said Mystra, the Goddess of Magic, as long as it doesnt cross my bottom line. It seemed that the Goddess of Magic wasnt really crazy. She still knew to set a bottom line. Roland shook his head and said, Sorry, all other spells are fine, but not this spell. Why? Mystra took two steps back, her hand over her heart as if she were hurt. Arent we allies, arent we friends? Roland laughed: Did Melf make his god-slaying spell, Minute Meteors, public? Oh, no. Roland asked again, Mordenkainens floating city, do you guys understand it? The goddess of magic shrugged helplessly, the frenzied expression fading from her face. I knew you would conceal it because I would have done the same in your place, Mystra, the Goddess of Magic, said with resignation. But cant you make an exception? Roland waved his hands. Ill trade you the Sword of Wisdom, how about it? The Goddess of Magic pointed to the longsword floating by her side. The Sword of Mystra was intelligent, and as soon as it heard this, it flew away with a whoosh and disappeared in a flash. Roland almost laughed aloud. Mystra felt quite gloomy as she waved her hand and a round table appeared between the two of them. Seething, she sat down and poured herself a glass of pale white fruit wine from the jug and cup created by magic. Downing it in one gulp, she then looked at Roland and said, Well, forget it if you dont want to make a deal with me. But there is one thing you have to help me out with. Roland nodded. Please speak. Ill do it as long as I can help. Since you can use this kind of spell now, Im sure there arent many people in the main plane who can rival you, Mystra said. Before I became a god, I had a very troublesome enemy. We were both Demigods at the time, but I beat him into slumber when he fought over the Divine Spark with me, and now hes probably about to wake. If I let him recover from his injuries, hell specifically strike at my churches, eliminating them one by one, and without clerics, it would definitely put a big dent in my small amount of power of faith, and it would even affect my position as one of the main gods in the Realm of Gods. A Demigod Im no match for him. His injury is very seriousits in the soul. For Mages, the soul is directly linked to the spirit, so a weak soul is a weak spirit. His strength will be at best a Masters after a year or two awake, the Goddess of Magic explained. Even if his mastery of the soul is high, within only five or six years, it will be difficult to make up for the missing part of himself. After all, the soul is different from the physical body, which can be cured instantly with Healing. At this moment, an epic quest prompt appeared in Rolands system interface. Roland looked at it and found that it did say that it was to help the Goddess of Magic destroy past enemies. How about it? Are you willing to do it? Roland nodded gently. Im suddenly reminded of a certain great literary scholar back home who spoke of a sort of bargaining theory. What is it? That great man of letters said that people love to play the devils advocate, but paradoxically have a compromising spirit. If you want to open a window in the house, but many people disagree and the plan will most likely fail, if you tell them directly that youre going to break the roof to ventilate the house, theyll back off to the second-best option and let you open a window. The Goddess of Magics expression was sheepish for a moment. Because Roland had nailed it on the head. Chapter 720 - Angels Are Better Than Fairies Chapter 720 Angels Are Better Than Fairies Honestly, the Goddess of Magic was quite charming when she was bashful. It was just that his body had been hollowed out by Andonara lately, and seeing a bashful beauty didnt cause many ripples in his heart. There was no way around it. Even if people had desires, they still had to have assets to harbor desires. Andonara was truly quite shrewd. She never restricted Roland when it came to other women; it was normal in this world for strong men, nobles, and such to have multiple lovers. She also wouldnt mention these things in front of Roland. But she knew how to fight in a roundabout way. She took his body in her hands and squeezed him dry whenever he had extra energy. Plus, Roland was a Mage who liked to study magic at home This way, Roland could study magic while maintaining a sagely state. If Roland had a little of that in mind, Andonara would set him straight. Looking at the Goddess of Magic who seemed rather embarrassed, Roland said, Dont worry. That enemy of yours, I will find a way to kill him, but you still have to give me a bit of information. For example, his abilities, the school of magic he is good at, and such. His original name was Jabezo, no surname, a commoner by birth, surprisingly handsome and very good at coaxing women. He was once known as the most handsome man of our time. Roland hummed a response. In his mind, that man probably couldnt compare to Schuck. As for his schools of magic, like you, he is very good at evocation spells, and he can also use Mages Disjunction. Mystra thought for a while and continued, Also, he has the advantage of being very straightforward and speaking straightforwardly. In reality, he and I originally had no animosity between us, and although that guy has a strong talent for magic, hes rather poor at human relations and was always being used as a tool to get to me. Roland chortled. We have a saying that when a guy likes a girl, sometimes the clumsy way to show it is to bully her. The Goddess of Magic froze for a moment, then laughed aloud, convulsing with laughter. Impossible. Theres no telling how many women that guy had. In reality, I wasnt that pretty back then. Mystra was indeed mediocre-looking before she became a god. She was quite beautiful, but she lacked a unique charm and aura. The kind of beauty that had no uniqueness. She was so beautiful now mainly because she had become a goddess, which came with a Charm bonus, and she intentionally added more Charm to herself. But even so, she was still a bit short in the looks and aura departments compared to the Life Goddess and the Light Goddess. There was no way around it. After all, a mortal becoming a god was such a poor starting point compared to those two. But she still became one of the four lawful main gods, so one could imagine how nature-defying she was. Looking at Mystra, who could hardly stop laughing, Roland shrugged. So whered you seal him? I didnt seal him. Mystra elaborated. He appeared out of nowhere while I was consolidating the Divine Spark and fought to steal it from me. In the end, I countered him with a sealing spell when I was fully integrating the Divine Spark and was about to be rejected by the main plane to the Astral Plane. I remember it was in the plains of Tobrota in Fareins, which are now called the plains of Croatia. Mages Disjunction Roland thought about it and said, Its a bit troublesome. Half of my attributes are raised by my equipment, so with one cast of Mages Disjunction, my combat power would be reduced by about half. Goddess Mystra, do you have any methods to restrain the Mages Disjunction?. Mystra walked up to Roland and said, Ill give you a blessing, and the Mages Disjunction will fight my blessing before it works on you. Right now, he should be very weak and probably incapable of breaking through my blessing. With those words, she reached out her finger and tapped Rolands heart. A lavender magic energy entered Rolands heart. Then the Goddess of Magic waved her hand and said, Although you are not willing to say how you created the new spell, I still want to say that I hope someday youll teach me that spell. After she finished speaking, Roland was sent away from the Divine Realm of Magic. With his soul back in his body, Roland opened his eyes to find Nia waving her white, slender hands in front of him over and over again. How long have I been away again? asked Roland, shaking his head. Just about five minutes or so. Nia stood up straight and said with a smile, Did the Goddess of Magic pull you to her divine realm? Roland nodded. Tsk, that woman is so shameless. Roland looked at Nia with some surprise; she seemed to dislike the Goddess of Magic a lot. Dont look at me like that. Nia puffed up her cheeks and said, When she became a god back then, I went to her divine realm to wish her well on the goddesss orders, but she ended up being suspicious and thought that I was going to do her harm, and almost beat me up. When Roland heard this, he almost laughed aloud. WO Just now in the Divine Realm of Magic, Mystra said that when she was coalescing the Divine Spark, someone attacked her. Although she won the fight, she was probably still hurt enough that she assumed anyone who approached was an enemy. Enough about that woman. Nia waved her hand. Take me to the Wetlands, I hear thats the most vibrant place in the world right now. Of course its vibrant players use it as a home base. These creatures who didnt need to rest had turned Wetland City into a city that never sleeps. Go right now? Nia nodded repeatedly in excitement. Roland walked over and put his right hand on her shoulder, then the two of them instantly disappeared. After a few seconds, the two appeared in the outskirts of Wetland City. Taking someone on a stroll in Wetland City was something Roland was all too experienced with. The black cat, the white cat, the Holy Lady of Winterwolf, and now a wingless angel. The same old routine. Starting with the art and food streets, it would then be time to walk around the city to show outsiders the extremely convenient urban infrastructure of Wetland City. This city is so clean, Nia said quite happily. I didnt like going into human cities before, just because they were so dirty. There were feces and the smell of it was everywhere. Angels were divine beings who were clean from head to toe. It was normal for them to have an obsession with cleanliness. It cant be helped. Theres no way to avoid the human metabolic cycle. Roland laughed. We have a saying amongst the Golden Sons that even the most beautiful fairies have to fart and poop. So, the conscience of a city is the sewer system. Because Roland now had Language Proficiency cast on himself, the meaning was automatically translated. So to Nias ears, Rolands sentence meant something like this: even the holiest angels have to fart and poop. She stopped and looked at Roland seriously. Youre being slanderous. Roland: ??? We angels dont need to defecate. Rolands eyes went even wider: ????? Nia crossed her arms and said unhappily, I told you, we angels dont fart and poop. A group of pedestrians looked over. Most of them were players. Some players saw Nia and wondered: I seem to have seen this beauty before! After all, Nia had shown her face in Rolands livestream before. But now a long time had passed, plus she was without her angel wings, so those players who had seen her did not equate her with an angel for a while. Oh Roland looked around, took Nias hand, and walked away quickly. Being pulled by Roland, Nia didnt squirm at all, except that her face puffed up even more in anger. After walking a short distance and with not so many people paying attention to them, Roland said, Okay, you angels dont have to defecate. Really, Im not lying. Nia thought Roland still didnt believe it. You guys dont have an excretory system? Roland was somewhat curious. He was now considered half a researcher and had developed some researchers habits. Everything we eat is completely broken down into energy because we are energy beings ourselves. Nia held out her hand and waved it in front of Rolands face as her hand changed and began to become transparent. Curious, Roland reached over and tried to squeeze it. As a result, just as he reached over, Nia snapped her right hand off with her left hand, and then happily placed it in Rolands hand. Roland took her hand and was quite speechless. It still had a temperature, quite warm. Can it still be put back? Roland asked. Sure. Nia smiled as her severed hand moved in Rolands palm, then she brought it over and reattached it to the stub of her right hand. After a faint blue glow, the palm reverted to its original form. She shook her hand and was quite proud. Its impressive, isnt it? Roland nodded his head vigorously. He couldnt help but think that angels were quite interesting beings. They were obviously creatures of energy, but they had almost the same tactile sensations as humans. I really want to study her internal structure, as well as the energy sequencing. Of course, he merely thought about it. After showing Nia around Wetland City, Roland took her back to Delpon. When Andonara saw Nia, her expression soured immediately. She found it somewhat unbelievable that he had managed to woo a new woman after she had milked Roland so cleanly and thoroughly had Roland been hiding? Then after listening to Roland finish speaking about Nias identity and where she came from, Andonara finally sighed with relief. She also remembered that she had seen this angel once before. Only then the angel had wings Then again, an angel with wings and an angel without wings felt like two different people. After placing Nia in Delpon, Roland gave Andonara some more things to handle and then teleported to Fareins. Now, he had to go on a quest from the Goddess of Magic. The Croatian Plain was in the northeast area of Fareins. It was also inland and rich in cows and sheep, making it an important source of dairy and meat products in Fareins. The Croatian Plain was quite large, and after so many years, the grassland changed along with the climate and temperatures. The Goddess of Magic wasnt even sure where the prepared sealing point was. Roland could only find it himself. The Croatian Plain was quite beautiful. The grass in a typical grassland would be dark green. But the grass of the Croatian Plain was light green, a rather bright shade. Then once in the period between summer and autumn, the grassland would be covered with pale pink flowers. This flower had a light fragrance, but when many bloomed, it was just right. It was fragrant but not overpowering, sweet but not overwhelming. Roland came just in time to see the whole grassland covered with flowers, and a large number of digger wasps and butterflies were flying around the meadow gathering nectar. Then more insect-eating creatures were drawn in. For example, small lizards and various birds. This formed a unique Croatian Plain ecosystem. Roland hired a guide to bring him over. If there was an exact target, Roland could find it directly. But the information and clues given by the Goddess of Magic were so scattered that he had to take time to find it himself. This was when a local guide could make a big difference. This guide was a middle-aged man, dark-skinned, with a large, sun-burned, reddish-black, rough, and thick-looking face from years of farming outside. I tell you, Master Mage, theres nothing like coming to our Croatian Plain at this time of year. Roland nodded. Indeed, the sea of flowers is beautiful. At this time Roland opened the systems recording function, intending to take pictures of the surrounding sea of flowers and then save them to his network cloud as a souvenir. After all, this place was truly beautiful. More than that, Master Mage. The guide turned back around and said with a smile, There are girls from the town looking for a man at this time. Hmm? Its not surprising that young women of marriageable age are looking for husbands. Roland quirked his head to look at the guide. Is there something special about them? Of course there is. The guide revealed a smile that any man would understand. This event is a local custom. The girls will wear beautiful clothes to participate in the bonfire and drag men who they see eye to eye with to a dark place. You wont have to be responsible afterward. If they have children, theyll raise them themselves. Thats not a very reasonable custom, Roland said, a little puzzled. Wouldnt their lives, without men, be affected?. Its because they believe in the Goddess of Love. The guide laughed mischievously. Roland was speechless. It all made sense. The Goddess of Love not only advocated liberating desire but also defended that women didnt have to rely on men. Men simply had the role of providing seeds for the followers of the Goddess of Love. In reality, the Goddess of Love was generous to her followers. Even for partial believers, she was willing to lend her power to women. So the women who believed in the Goddess of Love, more or less, knew a few spells. And most of them were strength enhancement, stamina enhancement, light healing spells, and so on. Roland smiled. I guess you attend the festival of these villages every year. This guide lost his smile at once, and said, with a repentant air, I used to go there a lot when I wasnt married. But now my wife will break my legs if I dare go. Is your wife a believer in the Goddess of Love? No. He shook his head. Shes a believer of the Goddess of Storms. Roland couldnt help but laugh. The Church of Storms had a unique tradition; their priestly robes were the shortest of all. It was short to the point of being flush with the private parts. Moving around casually, they would reveal their bottoms. More importantly, the Goddess of Stormss followers and clerics all valued chastity. They would only give away their virginity after marriage. Because of this attitude and faith in chastity, they had a lot of confidence after marriage. Unlike the majority of women in this world, they dared to shout at their husbands. Because in their eyes, respect went both ways. Giving them the best of themselves was to live as equals seriously. And the men who married the believers of the Goddess of Storms were also quite into this. For example, the guide in front of him. Seems like hes also a victim. Chapter 721 - The Clues Come At Once Chapter 721 The Clues Come At Once There werent many lawful gods. They added up to only about one-third of the total number of evil gods and demon gods. However, the lawful gods combat power was higher on average. Even a somewhat out-of-whack lawful god like the Water Goddess was quite strong in battle. Especially in the main plane, she was so strong that only Winterwolf could rival her. The Goddess of Storms wasnt too strong in combat either, but she was a very gentle and independent goddess, and her teachings were similar to the Church of Loves in that they both promoted female autonomy and independence. But the approach was different. One taught to let go of their minds and bodies, that they could do what men could do. The Church of Storms, on the other hand, preached self-discipline and chastity. The two schools of thought were opposite of each other on the surface but were essentially following the same path. The guide married a believer in the Goddess of Storms, so he was destined to be afraid of his wife. Roland, now somewhat aware of all the core doctrines of the church, asked with a smile, How many years have you been married to your wife? Over thirty years, said the guide, with a smile on his aged face, as he whipped the yellow dwarf horse carrying the crate in front of him. Back then she was as beautiful as a flower, pretty and tender, and now, like me, she has old chicken skin and has lost almost all her teeth, and her back is bent. Roland lay back on the crate and laughed. Its a rare and fortunate thing in this world that people can grow old together without pain or worry. It had been hard to live till sixty since ancient times! For the average person in this world, this statement applied as well. Natural disasters and diseases were already bad enough. And then there were a whole bunch of superhumans in this world with pretty exaggerated fighting abilities. Countless ordinary people died like dogs just by being passively involved in the open battles of the professionals. It was because he had seen such a situation that Roland had this exclamation. Yes. The old guide said rather smugly, My wife and I are the oldest couple in town. Im the oldest elderly man. How old are you? Roland looked at him with some surprise. You dont look too old. Seventy. Impressive, Roland said, rather admiringly. Its really rare to find one with such an agile body at your age. The old guide laughed and said, Its normal. We work in the field every day; we peasants are physically strong. Oh, thats not necessarily true. Its mostly because you have a good physique. Hahaha. The old guide laughed very loudly. The carriage went slowly along the prairie road. Roland would certainly have been much faster if he had flown himself. But it was not like he came here to fight for progress. He came to find someone and kill them. So while lying on his board, looking at the blue sky and clouds, with his hands behind his head, Roland slowly asked, By the way, old Beckrum, the fact that you can be a guide means that you know this meadow well, doesnt it? Of course. There is nothing in this meadow that has happened that I dont know about. So have you heard of any big names coming out of here? asked Roland lightly. Like, powerful Mages or something. Beckrum shook his head. None of that. This place of ours, its a magical wasteland. Its possible to say that it produces Warriorsforget about the noble profession of Mages. Oh, thats a shame. Roland sighed. My teacher told me to travel around, and I heard that the scenery here is beautiful, so I came over to see it and find out if there are any fellow Mages. This way I can enjoy the scenery of the journey and communicate with fellow Mages at the same time. If there was a wizard, he would surely be a celebrity in our Croatian Plain, said Beckrum helplessly. That sounds like something I would have heard of, but alas, there are none. Yeah, quite a shame. Beckrum swung his whip again and said, But our grassland girls, Master Mage, you must try. Roland laughed and said, There will be a chance. Then neither of them spoke again. The carriage wobbled and carried Roland to a town in the grassland. Just as they reached the entrance of the town, someone shouted to Beckrum, Old drunkard, youve brought guests here again. It seems that you can drink again. Be careful not to get killed by Mama Sophie. Oh, she cant catch up to me. The old man laughed aloud and hurried the wagon toward the town. Some particularly curious people ran over to see what the cart was carrying, only to find a Mage in a robe and recoil in horror. No matter what the place, the status of Mages was very high. The carriage went through the town for a while, then came to a small mud-brick building. The building was small but had a yard enclosed by an earthen wall about 1.2 meters high. Several trees over three meters tall were planted in the small yard for shade. In the shade was a round stone table and a few small stone stools. It carried a strong aura of life. There was an old woman inside, squeezing a kind of nut to get the pulp out of it. And next to the old woman there was a small child who could not yet walk, wearing no clothes, covered in dirt, crawling about on the ground, drooling and yapping, and now and then uttering the characteristic, shrill laughter of a baby. Master Mage, this is my home now. You can settle in your room on the third floor, its guaranteed clean. The rooms payment is included in the hiring fee. The old guide then yelled out into the yard, Old Sophie, go get some clean water for the guest. The old woman stood up, and though her back was indeed bent, she walked looking in good spirits. After smiling politely at Roland, the old woman entered the room. Rolands attention was drawn towards the small boy crawling around on the floor who now was at Beckrums feet and opened his arms for a hug. In his perception, the little boys whole body emitted a faint wave of magic power. The elements in the air were channeled naturally into the little boys body, and finally, because they were not stored and used, they were then naturally discharged again. Roland was slightly surprised. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for ordinary people to channel magic elements, otherwise, the number of Mages wouldnt be so low. The little boy in front of him, however, possessed the gift of passively attracting magic power. What a promising future. Master Mage, is there something wrong with this grandson of mine? The old guide held his grandson, and he felt a little worried when he noticed that Rolands eyes were always glancing at his grandson. There is indeed something quite wrong. The old guides face paled. Roland continued, This grandson of yours has a very strong magical talent. It would be a waste to not let him become a Mage. Ah the old guide was a little confused. He had previously wondered if his grandson had some disease that ordinary people couldnt see, only to have a Master Mage say that his grandson was very talented as a Mage? He still couldnt believe it until now. He was confused for a moment before asking again, Master Mage, youre not messing with me, right? How could we poor commoners, whose ancestors were all commoners, give birth to children with magical talents? Forget it if you dont believe me. Roland shook his head. Just pretend I didnt say it. This The old guide was torn. He wanted Roland to help him confirm his grandsons talent again, but Roland was no longer willing to say more. At this moment, the old woman who had just gone in to get water came out with a glass of water. A porcelain bowl was used. Roland didnt care at first, but after a couple of sips of water, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. It wasnt so much the water that was wrong, but the fact that he found himself holding a porcelain bowl. There were also beautiful patterns on it. In this world, porcelain was a very expensive commodity. Like the well-made porcelain bowl he was holdingthe pattern on it even carried a bit of elven flair. Roland carefully examined it for a while, and then asked in surprise, This bowl of yours, where did you get it? The old woman laughed. Picked it up. Its been over ten years. I have to say, the things picked up on the ground around here are practicalso many years and its still broken. And It still looks new. Where did you pick it up? In that black field just outside of town on the east side, the old woman said slowly, her back hunched. A lot of people have been picking out pots and pans and stuff there. Ill go over and see, then. After examining his bowl a moment longer, Roland finally said, Ill come back to bed myself in a little while, just lay out the sheets on the third floor. Then Roland left. The old guide called after him, Master Mage, shall I take you there? But Roland didnt seem to hear, as he left quickly. In a short time, he disappeared into the flow of people in the street. Beckrum said helplessly, What an impatient guest. By the way, Sophie, that Master Mage just now said that our grandson might have a great talent for being a Mage. The old woman glared at him. Stop dreaming. When you were young you always wanted to be a Mage, but you ended up going to the big city a few times and running back on your own. Everyone in the village felt ashamed of you, and now you still have the face to mention this?. I am trying to give my grandson a better education in the future. Dont you think about how much our son has suffered because he cant read and write? The old woman froze for a moment, then said, Why dont we wait for our son and daughter-in-law to come back and talk about this? Okay. No matter what, we have to be ready to send our grandson to magic school first; money is the most important thing. Over a decade, at least ten gold coins would have to be saved to barely get him enrolled in the magical academy established in Fareins. The old woman listened, then stroked her grandsons head and smiled quite happily. Roland went out of the city, then kept going east as the old woman had said, and soon he found the yellow area. After all, it was too easy to find a patch of yellow mud in a world full of blooming pink flowers. It was as obvious as the bald spot on a programmers head, and it was extremely easy to attract the attention of others. Roland walked over to the yellow mud, felt it for a moment, nodded, and said to himself, There is indeed a faint residue of magic power. I just dont know if its a sealing point for Jabezo. He spread out his mental power and used his mental threads to go deeper into the ground. Although he found quite a few trinkets, such as pottery jars that contained a lot of copper coins These werent the things Roland was looking for. After a dozen seconds of searching with his mental threads, he was disappointed. Although there is magic power residue, its not necessarily his doing. Roland didnt think that he would be able to find the enemy as soon as he arrived. Wouldnt the first thing someone who had been sealed for hundreds of years did when they came out be to quietly slip away? But the magic residue is still there, and Im guessing its not more than a few years old! As Roland was thinking this, one of his mental threads suddenly made a discovery. Using Mud to Stone and Stone to Mud, he quickly turned this yellow land over while finding and taking out that particular object. Roland smashed the pottery jar which contained a lot of money, but then he poured out something even more interesting. Well over a dozen gems. Red, blue, green, and many other colors. If the average person had seen these gems, they would have taken them and sold them for money. Roland, however, knew that the gems, all of them, were spellcasting mediums. In other words, there was probably a powerful Mages corpse buried under this yellow mud. Roland was quite careful as he erected his Magic Shield and then started furiously using Stone to Mud. The ground was gradually parted, and soon, he dug a large hole twenty meters deep. Then, in the cave, new evidence was found. A simply structured but spacious grave. There were many more magic items in this grave. The old guide had said earlier that here in the plains, there were no Mages, at least none that he had seen. So the grave in front of him, or the sealed space was it the place where Jabezo operated? Roland stood up and jumped into the grave. It was filled with a faint magic aura. Not naturally wandering elements, but those being unintentionally emitted. For example, when casting a spell, it was easy to let the magic power dissipate. For a Mage, such magic elements were almost indistinguishable from something like body odor. Judging by the freshness of the magic residue, this man should have left less than ten days ago. Roland turned around in this underground space and found nothing, so he jumped back up. Then he searched downtown for a while, but found no other magic residue. That meant the Mage probably left town. This would make him difficult to find. Croatia Plain was so vast. No one would know where he was hiding, and besides, the man might have left this small town quite some time ago. Roland walked around the town, and finally went to the tavern to try and get some information. It turned out that the taverns here, which were closed during the day, were only open for a few hours at night. Roland could only go straight back to Beckrums house. At this moment, Beckrum was holding his grandson and arguing with a middle-aged man across the room about something. Roland walked over to them. As he got closer he heard old Beckrum shout, Money, money, money, thats all you know. Of course I know its expensive to send a child to learn magic. But we have at least ten years left now, and with the whole family working hard, cant we even earn the tuition? Of course we can earn it, but why should we have to save all our money and then suffer from hunger for ten years for the sake of a child? Weve done him a great favor by raising him. Old man, do you understand? Beckrum was so angry that his head was spinning He rubbed his forehead and gasped. And how could a Mage come over to this small place of ours. The middle-aged man scoffed, Old man, youre too old and lost your wit; youd better not believe a word of this fake Mages nonsense. Chapter 722 - We Lack Real Professionals Roland watched from the sidelines rather than barge in. He watched the father and son quarrel and part on bad terms. Before the middle-aged man rushed out of the courtyard, the conversation went something like this: Wouldnt it be good to have that money and put it on Sopma? The middle-aged man rebuked angrily. Nana is just a girl, she will have to marry someone laterwhat can she do if she studies and becomes a Mage? Sopma has no talent, Old Beckrum scolded angrily. Granddaughter has magic talent; isnt it better for our family to have a genius Mage than a mediocre Warrior? I told you, sooner or later she will marry someone else-sooner or later she will take the last name of some outsider, the middle-aged man roared. Well just give away these ten years of hard work as a dowry? You might want to do it, but I dont! With that money, wouldnt it be fine for me to eat and drink every day? But The middle-aged man reached out and interrupted him. Stop it, old man, if you really want to do this, do it yourself. I will take Sopma out of this house and raise her myself. You! Old Beckrum was so angry that his head was spinning, and he sidled up and smacked his hand on the stone table next to him. The middle-aged man grunted and left. He opened the wooden door of the courtyard, only to see Roland standing outside. He was about to get angry, but then he saw Roland in magic robes and lost his anger. He dared to be mean to his own family, but he didnt dare to show any disrespect to Roland, a Mage. He even smiled, nodded fawningly at Roland, and sidled past the latter, a little timid and nervous. Roland ignored him and went into the yard to see old Beckrum sitting on a stone bench while the old woman was smoothing her hand down his back. Roland stared at the child crawling around next to him. He had always thought this one was a boy, but it was a girl. Well-built and naive-looking, she certainly looked more like a boy. What an embarrassment for you to see this, sir, said Beckrum, ashamed. My son doesnt know much about the world. He is a typical Fareinian, who prefers boys over girls, alas! Roland couldnt comment on other peoples family affairs. He said, Im going up to the third floor to rest for a while, so I wont bother you. The quilt and sheets have already been changed. Beckrum smiled. The old woman next to him also smiled, and Roland nodded. He went up to the third floor and found that there was only one room and a large open balcony. The bedding in the room was quite clean and still smelled of sunlight mixed with the scent of soap. Roland sat down and stretched. Players didnt need to sleep, but they still needed to rest. When in a resting state, the system would automatically help the player regulate the bodys fatigue value. This place was not suitable for doing magic experiments. There was no boundary protection, and if the spell failed, the whole small building would be blown to pieces by magic power. So he went online. With half a million players and millions of netizens active on the forums, all sorts of content was generated. Roland was having a comfortable time in the game, while in reality, over at the underground lab, there was an emergency meeting going on. The person in charge sat on the podium and said solemnly, The notice has been sent from above. The matter of comrade Huang Wenwei is henceforth classified as a first-class secret. No one is allowed to leak it, is that understood? Everyone nodded. If the ability to extract deuterium and tritium made Roland have a strong functional role, then the matter of forming nuclear bombs in the hand was completely a strategic human weapon. Such a man, of course, must not be known to the outside world, or the whole world would be in an uproar. Its also for his protection, the person in charge continued, and theres word from above that we should find a way to move him over to the northwest without earning Rolands resentment. If that doesnt work, drop it; Rolands will is the most important. There were many uninhabited regions in the northwest, which was ideal for building large-scale underground laboratories. In reality, much lesser-known scientific research had been done in such places. Everyone present understood that this decision from above was well-justified. A nuclear-level explosion, no matter how hardened the underground facilities, no matter how well-guarded, would cause great tremors. This place wasnt far from the small cities, and a nuclear blast would be enough to send a strong tremor through all the cities within two or three hundred kilometers of it. They could still use the excuse of a small earthquake once or twice. If the frequency increased? It would be a wonder if it didnt cause a panic. So it made the most sense to have Roland go over to an uninhabited region in the northwest. Wouldnt it be better to have pretty female comrades adept in psychology on the field if we want to persuade him? The person in charge nodded. We did consider this. The comrades from the intelligence department above have investigated the traces of Rolands life from his childhood to adulthood, as well as his online statements, the content of his downloads, and so on, and have formed a profile of his character. This is confidential, but we all have the right and obligation to listen to it, to facilitate better cooperation with him in the future. The person in charge picked up a white, somewhat thick printed book in his hand, which read Analysis of Huang Wenweis (Roland) Character and Abilities. Theres a lot of content in this book. The person in charge patted the surface of the book and laughed. But theres a summary at the back that everyone can listen to. Everyone subconsciously began to record what came next in their way. Comrade Huang is, first of all, a Han Chinese with a few ethnic tendencies, but of course it is not serious and doesnt make him hostile to other ethnicities, or other races of color. His character is more rational and modest, and he acts like a normal person. As we all know, there is no completely normal person in this world, only those relatively normal. Because no one would dare to define what kind of character and data a completely normal person should have. The crowd laughed. What was a normal person? One in line with societys current standards, who held the general values of the entire countrys population, was considered a normal person. However, society changed constantly. The common views of the population would have changed in society ten years ago and ten years from now. So there was only relatively normal, a general range, no completely normal person. In terms of hobbies, he likes to play games and read novels, in line with the interests of most teenagers, said the person in charge, his expression looking a bit amused. The comrades of the intelligence department also tracked the number of Japanese romance motion pictures he browsed online and downloaded in these recent years. There was a boisterous burst of laughter below. The person in charge also flattened his mouth to stifle a laugh and continued after a while, His top three most downloaded action stars are as follows; XZMLY, WTL, and LZLL. They have one common trait, a particularly majestic secondary sexual characteristic. There was another burst of laughter below. One researcher, who often watched the livestreams, shouted, We knew this already, its no secret that Roland likes married women with large bosoms. The researchers laughed even more. This is only partially right; Roland only likes majestic secondary sexual characteristics, human wives just happen to hit the spot. The queen that you game geeks always mention, she just happens to be someone elses wife. Some of the people in the conference room were laughing so hard that they couldnt stand up, and some of their eyes were even bulging out. The person in charge stopped for a long time as he was also holding his laughter. It couldnt be helped. As a leader, if he laughed aloud on the podium, it would be bad for his image! After waiting for a while, he said seriously. And therein lies the problem. Everyone also immediately stopped laughing and became serious. The people from above originally wanted to send down a few female comrades with good figures that fit comrade Huangs aesthetic and who were good at psychology to help, as well as observe and assist comrade Huangs mental state so that he could experiment and grow more relaxed. The leader sighed. But after choosing repeatedly, we ended up finding the sad fact that none of our candidates fit the bill. All of them were too slim and lacked large bosoms. The person in charge stopped talking and the corners of his mouth were twitching, in a state where he wanted to laugh but couldnt. The others were not so concerned. The conference room erupted in another fit of laughter. After laughing, one of the nerdier researchers called out, Leader, thats not quite right. At least, Ive met several psychologists who are exceptionally fit and quite pretty. There are some, but they are either not high enough in rank or their political composition is not up to scratch. Comrade Huangs secrecy level has been raised and the previous selection conditions no longer apply, the person in charge explained helplessly, so the higher-ups are in quite a difficult position right now. They told us to find our own way to cooperate with comrade Huangs job first, and they will send a suitable psychologist over as soon as possible. The people in the meeting room understood what the person in charge meant. It was to find a way to get along with Roland. To have him feel the warmth of a family and make communicating easier in the future. This wasnt difficult. Although the researchers werent good at picking up girls, they were good at building good relationships with men. It was quite simple; as long as they talked about games, porn, and politics, theyd become good friends. This was quite straightforward. Roland was unaware that he was being studied from head to toe. In the game, it was already the early morning of the next day. This town was too small to have an organization like the Guild of Mercenaries or Guild of Rogues that could be responsible for intelligence. That didnt mean, however, that there werent intelligence dealers here. As usual, Roland found the largest tavern in town, found the bartender, put a silver coin in front of him, and said, I want to know who has the most intelligence in this small town. The bartender took in the silver coin and said rather cheerfully, Old Beckrum, of course. Hes the oldest fellow in our town and hes quite strong. He knows almost everything that goes on in the town. Are there others? asked Roland. Beckrum wasnt in town these days; as a guide, he had to go outside and pick up work. Roland found him in another big city. That was three days ago. Out of town, Beckrum surely wouldnt be aware of the magic aura lingering in the loess for only about three or four days. Then Polisila of the magic potion shop. The bartender thought about it and said, She likes to gather information about other peoples homes, and would probably know a lot of things that ordinary people dont know. How do I find her? West of town, the tallest little whitewashed building. Its currently the time she sells medicine; she should be home. So have there been any other strange people in town lately? The bartender looked at Roland steadily. All right Am I the only stranger thats come? Roland left the tavern and found the white building on the west side of town. There was indeed a woman inside who was working with her back to the door. There was a wooden sign on the door that looked new, so it was probably replaced not long ago. The sign read: Town West Magic Potions. Magic potions? Alchemical potions? When Roland walked in, he caught the strong scent of herbs. May I ask what you need The woman inside, who was busy with her back to Roland, turned around at the sound of the voice and immediately stammered when she saw Rolands attire. This Mage, sir, may I ask what you need? There were no magic potions in this world. They were all properly known as alchemical potions. The people who generally called alchemical potions magic potions were a reverent, ill-informed, and less cultured group of people who didnt know much about magic. Polisila was aware of alchemical potions, but she was in the business of farmers and peasants in this remote little town, so of course, she had to cater to the market and call alchemical potions magic potions. Roland walked up to the counter and looked at the several potions that were on display with some surprise. Agility potion, strength potion, dispel disease potion, and so on. Though they were all lower-level potions and were presumably not very effective, as they contained little magic power They were indeed complete potions, not fakes, and the formulas were correct. The reason for the low quality was because the woman had so little magic power in her Less than one percent of Rolands. It was already impressive to be able to weave the disordered magic power into the potions. It would be too much to ask for a refined amount and an abundance of magic power. Nice job on the potions! You used to be a magic apprentice? asked Roland, looking at the woman. Yes, sir. The woman composed herself as she bent down and dared not look at Roland. I became a magic apprentice at the age of fifteen, but because of my lack of talent, I never became an official Mage. I was thrown out of the Magic Tower at twenty-seven, and now I can only make potions for a living I came to ask you about something. Please go ahead, sir. If its something I know, I wont hide it. Most magic apprentices, even if they couldnt become an official Mage, would still be fanatical about the profession of Mages. Even more fanatical than the average person. Because they were in the state of thinking they could touch it, but not quite yet. It was this state that made them quite fanatical about their goals, always thinking that if they tried one more time, they would be able to succeed. ie INO With this fanaticism, they had a kind of inferiority complex and reverential admiration for the true Mages. Just like a conniving b*tch who kept the simps hanging, the latter would always think that they were on the verge of success and just needed to work a little harder. Then they would be nicer and nicer to the b**ch. Do you know what unusual things have been happening in town lately, especially in connection with that particular yellow mud patch on the east side of town? Polisila immediately looked excited. I knew something was wrong with that place! Sir, three days ago, I was at home and felt an extra strange magic power in the town, and I gathered the courage to go over and take a look, and guess what I found? Go ahead. Roland placed a silver coin on the table. Polisila didnt take it as she said excitedly, I saw an elf! A naked elf. Roland: Huh? Chapter 723 - The Sad Elf I saw a naked elf! Roland: Huh? Im not sleepy when you say this No, why is there a naked elf in this little town? Also, is this elf a male or a female? Roland looked a little confused. He was here to find the enemy of the Goddess of Magic, and the place looked like it had once been sealed. But the question was how did an elf jump out of there? He was supposed to be dealing with a human Mage from over a hundred years ago. The kind that could almost kill Mystra. Was he mistakenwas this place not where the seal was? Was the Mage sealed elsewhere? Looking at Rolands slightly perplexed expression, Polisila said, That male elf has such a great body, especially that whip, which is significantly larger than my husbands. Unfortunately, it was so dark last night that I couldnt get a good look at his face. Roland was speechless. Elves were known for being slim, including the men. This only meant that her husbands was really small. Not wanting to hear any of this stuff, Roland asked, What happened to the elf? Gone. Polisila sighed sadly. I am only a magic apprentice, and even till now I havent been able to use magic beyond Hand of Magic, so how could I possibly dare to stop an elf in his tracks. This was a good point. Elves had spellcasting abilities even as commoners because of their long lifespan. The best time for humans to learn was the period between the ages of six and thirty. But Elves were at their best learning age for life. So an adult elf, even a commoner, was way stronger than a normal human. Not to mention the elven professionals. About which way did he go? asked Roland again. Polisila shook her head. He disappeared with a whoosh. I didnt see. It seemed that such a question would indeed be difficult for a magic apprentice to answer. Roland left this magic potion shop and once again went to the area near the sealed yellow mud field. He spread his mental power for a detailed, careful exploration. He finally found something else that was off. He saw several pots sitting in a secret compartment somewhere underground. Using Stone to Mud, he parted the ground and then summoned Hands of Magic to bring out the pots and opened the lids one by one. Roland then saw that it was filled with fresh blood. This led to the following display in Rolands system interface. Item: Magically Modified Elven Blood (Epic) Effect: When consumed by ordinary people, it increases the upper limit of their lifespan by a certain amount. The exact value of the increase is determined by the users physique and whether or not they have a hidden bloodline. Roland froze. This thing was no ordinary item at first glance, so why didnt he notice it before? He examined the exterior of the pot and found the subtle marks of magic arrays, then examined and studied it a little more and found it to be a hidden array. A divination one that could make people subtly ignore it and pretend they didnt see it. Roland fell for it at first. But his high mental strength and the seriousness of his probing this time had led him to find these things. Good stuff. Roland stored the pot in his Backpack. In the game, anything that added lifespan was good, mainly because it could be sold for money. This kind of stuff didnt mean much to the players. This was because as a professional increased in strength, their lifespan would also increase continuously. For example, Roland, who was now a Master Mage, had a life expectancy limit in the game of two hundred and seventy-three years. This item could be sold to game NPCs for lots of money. And it could also be used by Vivian, as well as Stephanie. Probably neither of them had a high life expectancy. Andonara didnt need it; her lifespan was even a good deal higher than Rolands. He then circled around the sealed place a few times before finally taking out a straight stick from his Backpack and sticking it in the dirt. Benediction: point out the direction of the elf that left from this sealed place. The stick fell backward to the west with a thud. Rolands body swayed slightly, and the negative effects of Lesser Benediction came as expected, but they were blocked by Rolands mental and magic power, and had no effect. It was a completely different experience than in reality. Proving, once again, how poorly Rolands physical strength was in reality. Cloud Flight carried his body into the air and then flew westward. He had spread out his mental power high up in the air, floating about thirty meters or so in the sky, searching every inch of grass and forest below with his mental power. He had a feeling that the elf that had disappeared could surprise him greatly. In this way, he kept flying west, and after about two hours, he landed on the ground and used Lesser Benediction again to find the direction where the elf was, then adjusted his course slightly and continued on. Rolands magic power limit seemed too exaggerated in the eyes of someone of the same level; it had been several hours since he had been flying and searching with his mental power all the way, and his magic power had not dropped below fifty percent. Then, in the late afternoon, he finally caught up with his target. A topless elf with a simple wooden bow, a ring of leaves around his waist, was running furiously. At that time, Rolands mental threads had wound their way into the vicinity. This elf was clearly a professional, and one with a dual profession. He noticed Rolands mental threads the moment they approached, then turned and ran backward. He quickly saw the white cloud chasing him through the air based on where the mental threads were coming from. Mage! The male elfs face twisted as he backed up, shouting into the air as he did so, before drawing that simple wooden bow of his. There was no arrow, but the moment he pulled the string, a green arrow was fired, whooshing into the air and making a turn. The arrow pierced the white clouds without a sound. It was as if it was swallowed by something. The elfs face paled, then he turned and ran forward desperately. He was so fast that even the leaves around his waist came off, the thing flinging out and about, casting afterimages. But it still didnt work. Several huge Hands of Magic floated down through the air, easily catching up with him and pinning him to the ground. Let go of me, you vile Mage. The male elf struggled hard. My people will come for me, youre deadthe druids would never abandon a clan member who is lost in the wild. He struggled desperately. It seemed that he wouldnt give in. Roland slowly descended from the air and looked down at him. I just have a few questions to ask you, dont be afraid. Hmm? The elf also stopped struggling. He saw Rolands appearance and froze. Youre not that demon? Of course not, I dont know who the demon youre talking about is. Roland cast Healing, Calm, and a few other supporting spells on the elf to show his position. So you dont have to be so scared. The elf stopped struggling, and Roland snapped his fingers, making the Hands of Magic disappear. The elf stood up, patted his bare body, and finally looked at Roland and said, I sense that you smell like one of us. I can barely count as a half-elf. Roland grinned. He did have elven blood in him. After all, that was a requirement for the Sword Dancers profession change. The elf sighed in relief, slumped down on the ground, and then hugged his legs and cried. Great, great, one of my ownI dont have to be abused anymore. He cried sorrowfully. Roland took out spare clothes from his Backpack and tossed them in front of the elf, then took out some dry food as well as clean water. The male elf put on the clothes and said, My name is Saimos. Then he clutched his dry food and water and gulped it down, his eyes teary. Roland waited quietly. After about five or six minutes, the male elf finished what he was holding, then looked at Roland with an expectant expression, as if wanting more. Roland said, Saimos, its not that I dont want to give you something to eat, but you seem to have been hungry for a long time. If you eat too much, youll easily burst your stomach. Well, that might be true, said Saimos, rubbing his stomach. Then he stood up, put his left hand on the right side of his chest, and bent down toward Roland and continued, Thank you, wandering clansman, for giving me so much help. Just now you said that there was something you wanted to ask me, so please feel free to ask, and I will answer you as best I can. The elves were more trusting of their own people, or hybrids with their own clans bloodline. Roland smiled and asked, Im curious as to why youre in this area naked and looking so ragged. I was caught-he was a human Mage. Saimos recalled his experiences with a clear timidity in his eyes. He was no ordinary Mage, very strong and powerful. I had no strength against him, just as I was against you. What does he look like? Blond. Saimos looked at Roland. Just like you. What was his purpose in capturing you? An alchemical potion made from my elven blood. Saimos clasped his hands together. He used evil magic to draw a certain amount of blood from my body each day to make me weak without killing me. He also gave me something to eat each day, just enough to keep me alive. Roland frowned. Saimos continued, He kept me underground, so I didnt even know how much time had passed because there was no light. There, every second that passed felt like a long day for me. And he just drew your blood asked Roland, and didnt do anything else? Is that not enough? asked Saimos rhetorically. It is terrible torture to imprison a Hunter who yearns for wind and freedom in the darkness of the underground. Roland waved his hand. Thats not what I meant. I was asking, didnt he abuse you? Physical abuse, there wasnt any of that. When were you captured? asked Roland. I know you had no sense of time when you were locked up, but its July in Fareinss Starfire Year. Saimos froze for a moment. I came here in May of Starfire Year. It had only been two months! So its only been two months, I thought twenty years had passed, said Saimos, wanting to cry again. Go back to the Elf Forest first. Roland took out some more dry food and water and handed it to Saimos, along with a longsword. Its not that far to the Elf Forest. Hunters were also decent melee fighters. Saimos took the longsword. Thank you, clansman. What is your name? Roland. Saimos committed the name to memory, then turned to leave quickly. He was really afraid of getting caught again. If he made it back to the Elf Forest safely, he probably wouldnt want to come out to adventure in the human world again for decades. Roland, on the other hand, returned to the town and once again came to the sealing ground. By now it was night, and he thought about putting the pot back. Then he hid himself and waited quietly. There were no signs on the first and second day. Occasionally, some townspeople came over with shovels and tried to dig something out, but they looked like ordinary people, and after digging for half a day, they couldnt even make a ten-meter-deep hole. It wasnt until the third night, when the moon was high and the winds were chilly, that Roland finally encountered the man he was waiting for. A young Mage, blond and blue-eyed, came before the sealing ground. But as he got close, he stopped in his tracks, looked at where Roland was hiding and shouted, Who are you? Roland stepped out of the darkness, looked at the other man, and asked, Jabezo? The man gave Roland a deep look, then immediately turned around and left. Roland was about to go after him, but he saw that the other mans body suddenly became transparent and that there were strange images around him. Like the silhouette of trees and a trail of black stone that didnt exist in the town. It was like this man was already in another world. In reality, this was quite normal. This was a hybrid spell where spatial spells and illusions worked together. Plane Shift. It was a very powerful skill but with a big luck component. One could vanish into the other plane anytime, anywhere, but it wasnt guaranteed that one would appear in a safe place. One could also appear in the ocean or in a swamp. Everything was random. And there was no guarantee where one would end up when coming back. There was too much randomness for the average Mage to use. This also applied to Roland. Roland didnt expect the man to be so decisive. After walking into the other plane, the mans figure would soon disappear from the main plane, and in order to find him, he would have to enter the same plane as the man. Roland didnt chase him as he couldnt find the man, and only the first few seconds after entering the other plane would the person be revealed. Then the man disappeared in the space of the other plane. Even Roland had no way of pulling this man out of his state of Plane Shift. The other party was too vigilant. He took the little stick out of his Backpack again and used Lesser Benediction. He had a nosebleed this time, and the stick was still vertical; there was no change at all. Roland sighed as he went back to old Beckrums house and rested for the night. As a result, Roland came down from the third floor the next day when playtime resumed. Then he saw the old woman with silvery hair, who was acting like a spoiled child. I want a glass of wine, you havent given me one in six months. The old woman gave off an odd vibe when she spoke, probably because she sounded so young. Ill go buy it now. Old Beckrum stood up. Roland also followed old Beckrum out of the house, and on the way out, he asked, Did you know that an elf came here two months ago? There was one, but he inexplicably disappeared, and no one could find him. Chapter 724 - Got You At first, Roland felt the simplicity in this town. But now, he felt that something was wrong. People often came to dig things up from that sealed land, and now and then they found something. For example, pottery. For example, copper coins and other valuable things. This wasnt normal. According to Rolands mental probing, the sealed land did indeed have these things. However, the sealed land seemed to have been excavated starting decades ago, and it was reasonable to say that the contents within had been fully uncovered. Even the biggest tomb, if it had been excavated for over thirty years, would be empty. But this place still had things left. Moreover, some of the pits in the sealed land appeared to be relatively new! It seemed that someone had been maintaining this place, throwing something down now and then. Roland felt that this conjecture was unreasonable. Besides, an elf ran out of here, so it seemed even more unusual. Had the elf been locked up for so long without anyone noticing? It was over two months. But come to think of it, there are ways for a Mage to lock someone up and make it impossible for normal people to find them. Roland just couldnt figure out that if this place was where Jabezo was sealedshouldnt the first thing Jabezo did after he got out be to run away? What the hell is he trying to do here by throwing things in and capturing elves for longevity medicine? Is he not afraid that Mystra will come after him? Or is it that he has no fear? The more Roland thought about it, the more he felt that something was amiss. He took out the small stick in his Backpack and stuck it into the ground again. When in trouble, use Lesser Benediction! This was an old Mage routine. Now he finally understood why many books said that high-level, high mental resistance divination Mages didnt bother to play any mind games. They simply used Greater and Lesser Benediction. If you werent as strong as them, then youd never be able to beat them. It was a good thing that there were very few divination Mages, and up till now, the Divination Magic Tower only existed in name. There werent many people who practiced it, only a dozen or so pre-Master level divination Mages. It was quite pathetic. But still, few Mages wanted to mess with them and look for trouble. Once the small stick was inserted into the muddy ground, Roland mobilized his mental power. I wish to point out the direction where Mystras nemesis Jabezo is. Half a second later, the stick suddenly snapped into several parts. Roland groaned, then spat bloodied spittle very uncivilly to the side. He bit his tongue. The backfire from the negative effect of Lesser Benediction. But it was evident that indeed, as Mystra had said, Jabezos strength had been greatly reduced. Otherwise, the negative effect of Lesser Benediction would not be as simple as biting his tongue. He was presumably slightly stronger than Roland in mental power. After all, this was someone who could compete with Mystra for the Divine Spark back then. Even after being sealed for centuries, it was normal to still have that strength. Just how do I find this guy? Was he sealed in this place or not? If not, then who was it that was using Plane Shift before? That particular spatial spell, even Roland didnt know how to use it. The more Roland thought about it, the more his headache grew. He watched over the sealed land for another night, with no luck. The next day, he spoke to his guide, Beckrum, about visiting the big towns around the area. As a guide, Beckrum naturally had to follow Roland and set off. Before leaving the courtyard, Roland saw the old woman holding a cup of red fruit wine and drinking it joyfully. What a way to spoil your woman. Roland was somewhat impressed. The wine was quite expensive for the average person. Beckrum didnt drink it himself but gave it to his old wife. The two set off again in a carriage. After nearly seven hours of traveling along the road in a sea of pink flowers, they finally reached a nearby town. A much larger town than the previous, one that could almost count as a city. Roland arrived in the middle of town and found an inn to stay in, then he asked old Beckrum to help inquire who had the best information in the city. He went to the Guild of Mercenaries in this town. After all, it was a large town with a population of over 100,000 people, and while there was no Guild of Rogues, no branch of the Association of Mages, and no Magic Tower, there was the Guild of Mercenaries, which was the most popular and commonplace among these organizations. Roland went to the chairman of the guild and was able to read the quest records in the city after paying several gold coins. Then he asked the clerk to pick out all the quests relating to the nearby towns. This was a big job, impossible to do within a few days. For this, Roland paid an additional ten gold coins. When he returned to the tavern, he found two men with oily-looking faces inside. Old Beckrum said, Master Mage, can I go home first? It looks like youre going to be here for a while, but Im worried about the old lady at home. All right. Roland nodded. When Beckrum left, Roland gave each of them a silver coin and asked them about the neighboring town. These two men were not young, both over forty, and they answered every question. Of course they wouldnt dare lie to Roland. Ordinary people wouldnt dare lie in front of a Mage. For in the folklore of all nations, Mages were able to screen lies. Both of these men had information that was mostly gossip. For example, the towns so-and-so and the neighboring towns woman had some kind of adulterous affair or something like that. Or some unusual ghost stories. But what one of the men said caught Rolands attention. I used to hear when I was a kid that every year there were always a few outsiders who disappeared in the neighboring towns, and the legend was that there were vampires there. But, there hasnt been any sign of that in the last few years. After listening to this, Roland looked pensive. Oh, how many years ago exactly? Seems like theres been a similar rumor since I lost my wisdom teeth. After that, the two people talked about some nonsensical rumors, and although he didnt get any more important clues, Roland still gave the two people another silver coin as a reward. After that, Roland stayed here for two days. On the third day, the Guild of Mercenaries sent someone to invite him over. It turned out that the quest records about the neighboring towns had been picked out. Roland thanked the hardworking staff, then turned page after page of these newly copied records. He found that the quests related to the neighboring town, who were looking for people. There were three or four orders every year. The number didnt match with the one provided by the intelligence peddler from before. The intelligence peddler said that there were at least ten people every year. Perhaps there were many relatives of the missing that didnt have enough money to hire the Guild of Mercenaries. None of these search missions were ever completed. Roland read each one, carefully comparing the times. Finally, he found a request from ten years ago that said a male elf had disappeared around here and wanted the Guild of Mercenaries to help find him. And of course this quest wasnt completed. Roland looked at the time June of Fareinss Starfire Year. Starfire year? Rolands eyes snapped open. The calendar in Fareins was a ten-year cycle, and the male elf he had met had been captured in the year of Starfire. He wasnt trapped for two months, but a whole decade? Roland contemplated again; the intelligence peddler said that the number of missing people in neighboring towns had become fewer in recent years. He read the records one by one. This guild made a very detailed record. There were probably about seventy years of records. Roland found that the records that started to appear more frequently about quests searching for people in neighboring towns were from fifty years ago. Then it tapered off by the end of the decade. This matched up with the intelligence from the peddler. Rolands mind raced. If these figures were correct, Jabezo was freed from the sealed land fifty years ago. Why was it earlier than expected? Because a town appeared near the sealed land It was supposed to be a village at first and slowly developed into a town later. Roland had inadvertently discovered this while looking for clues in a neighboring town earlier; that town was just under seventy years old. Rural farming activities, or other things, caused the seal to unravel, and then Jabezo escaped from it. As for why people were disappearing one after another at that point? Roland took out the Magically Modified Elven Blood from his Backpack. The effect of this thing was to increase the lifespan of people. Since elven blood could, then human blood could probably do so as well but it probably didnt work very well and needed to be collected and refined in large quantities. This was why a lot of outsiders went missing every year. The killer didnt go after the town. Then in the last Fareinss Starfire Year, Jabezo inadvertently caught an elf, so there was no need to use human blood. The male elf was in a semi-sealed state and was rather insensitive to time perception, which was why he thought only two or three months had passed. He even misled Roland. But now that the intelligence was in front of him, a lot of things could be deduced. Roland closed his eyes for a few moments in thought and finally opened them; he had settled on a potential suspect. Teleporting back to the previous town, Roland once again came to the front of old Beckrums yard. This old guide was pouring red fruit wine for his old lady. Roland pushed the door open. Old Beckrum turned his head to see Roland and laughed cheerfully. Master Mage, what brings you back so quickly-didnt you say you were going to stay a few more days? Its almost done; its about time to go back. Roland laughed as he looked at the wine jar in old Beckrums hand. Theres wine-I just happen to be thirsty, can you give me a glass? Of course, theres no problem. Its my own home-made wine. I wouldnt say its particularly good, but its not much worse than whats out there. As he spoke, he poured a glass and placed it in front of Roland. Lifting the glass, he looked at the clear red wine inside, so brilliant it seemed like blood. Roland opened the system view, and then saw the description of this glass of wine. Item: Potion heavily diluted with wine (Excellent) Description: A magically improved elven blood potion, diluted with wine to mitigate the potency and effects as to be suitable for the average persons consumption. Tastes no different from normal wine. Effect: Slightly increase the lifespan of the drinker. After reading this, Roland smiled faintly, then pointed his finger at old Beckrum. Prismatic Spray! A ball of rainbow light instantly took shape in front of his fingertips. Old Beckrum stood frozen, as if stunned. But Roland was completely unfazed and unconcerned that he would kill the wrong person. A jet of rainbow light fired out and was blocked by a blue film of light the moment it was about to hit old Beckrum. old Beckrum then disappeared in a halo of light. Teleportation! Roland immediately turned around and teleported after him. Then all that could be seen were two halos of light flashing about, and in the blink of an eye, they had disappeared into the horizons of the grassland sky. Both men flashed a long distance, and the jug, which old Beckrum had been holding before, finally fell to the ground. The wine inside spilled out and splashed everywhere. The old woman walked over and picked the jug up, stroking it gently with a gentle smile on her face. On Rolands side, the two of them flashed at great speeds, and not much later, they were more than fifty kilometers away. Seeing that he couldnt shake Roland off, old Beckrum stopped where he was and his body began to fade. It was the spatial spell Plane Shift again. But Roland was prepared this timethe same trick wouldnt work twice against a Golden Son! In reality, Roland was tempted to shout that but held back. He quietly threw out the Dimensional Anchor scroll. Several transparent spatial chains appeared from the void, rooted in the earth, and locked the space around them. old Beckrum was forcibly suspended from his Plane Shift, his body going from translucent to solid. He even suffered a certain amount of magic recoil. Covering his chest and looking at Roland, his face turned a little white. If you keep using Teleportation, I may not be able to catch up with you. Roland looked at the old man indifferently. Jabezo, I didnt expect you to take the form of an old man and give yourself a powerful illusionary appearance. Not to mention ordinary Mages, even I cant see through it. Old Beckrum looked at Roland, then the space around his body distorted slightly, and the entire man changed. The aged appearance vanished and turned into a handsome blond. Looks like youre the hound Mystra sent. Jabezo chuckled. I thought she had forgotten me as an enemy. Roland quirked his eyebrows, not retorting. Instead, he asked curiously, You should have woken up fifty years ago, so why didnt you escape from this place? If you escaped, with your illusion skills and hiding ability, I predict no one could find you again. The most dangerous place is the safest place, said Jabezo, looking at Roland. I was tempted to say that, and thought so before, but now it seems to be a mere pestilent joke. Indeed! A truly smart prey never returned to a dangerous place; the best thing to do was to stay as far away from the predators range as possible. So what Jabezo did was stupid and completely unbecoming of what a powerful and wise Mage wouldve done. A lot of people have disappeared in this town before. You did it didnt you? Jabezo froze, and then finally realized something. I wondered how youd find out about meso it was by this clue. I have assimilated into this town. Its reasonable to say that I wouldnt be discovered, but one mistake was all it took. Inwardly, Roland admitted that without those missing person figures, he wouldnt have suspected old Beckrum at all. So you admit it? Rolands clothes began to sway in the wind. Lets make a deal, Jabezo said with a smile. Let me go, and I will give you all my spell models, as well as magic insights from the past few decades. I will get the hell out of here and never appear in front of you again. No less than a hundred and fifty people have been eaten by you over the decades, most of them teenage girls, Roland said coldly. Go make a deal with them in the Netherworld, you scum. Countless Hands of Magic descended from the air. The ice domain spread out extremely fast. The surroundings soon turned silvery-white and blank. Chapter 725 - Love and Hate Have No Boundaries Roland was the kind of player who desperately tried to raise his magic power cap. In his opinion, the amount of MP could decide the outcome of a battle. Of course level, equipment, and other factors were all important. But both magic penetration and magic defensive abilities could be achieved with more magic power. In other words, with enough magic power, he would be invincible. That was the main idea. This was also the simplest and most practical school of thought. Strong fundamentals, high attributes, and specially optimized attack and defense spells Spells that could accommodate more magic power were his idea of future growth. It was easier said than done. Magic power was an attribute that wasnt easily stacked. But once it was pushed up, the results were obvious. So when a dozen huge Hands of Magic floated down and the ice domain formed at an extremely fast pace, a subtle resonance of magic power had formed around Roland. This allowed him to use spells more efficiently. A lightning bolt struck at him. Jabezo wasnt a fool, and his attack was sent out when Roland spread his domain. The greenish-purple lightning bolt was like a long and deadly flinging whip, licking at Rolands Magic Shield but unable to enter. The sound of electricity echoed, and the air was filled with a scorching smell. Roland didnt care as he controlled the Hands of Magic, forming a circle around Jabezo before countless fists hammered into Jabezo like a terrifying rainstorm. The pounding sounds, being so dense, even turned into one loud sound similar to surging waves. At the same time, the ice domain formed a layer of frost on the ground and froze Jabezo along with his shield. The dozen or so Hands of Magic came too fast and were striking from above in a circle, making it impossible for Jabezo to fly upward. Feeling his Magic Shield vibrate slightly, Jabezo looked at the dozen or so huge Hands of Magic with some confusion. He had never seen such a spell beforewasnt Hand of Magic used for holding keys, opening doors, and lifting light objects? The fierce attacks of these dozen Hands of Magic struck with more force than his Chain Lightning. F**king hell. What has happened to the magic world in the last few hundred years? Had the magic world, which he hadnt come in contact with in the past fifty years, changed so much? He immediately cast another kind of spell, and a dozen Arcane Bullets with a long, blue tail flame hit Rolands Magic Shield, and only caused some subtle ripples. What a hard shield. Jabezo was a bit puzzled. Is this guy really a Master Mage? Although he now had only Master-level strength, he was after all a former Demigod, a strong man who dared to contend for the Divine Spark with Mystra. And now he couldnt deal with a young Master Mage? It was almost inconceivable. Even if his strength had declined, he was still a former Demigod and had controlled half of the natural law Although it was still eventually taken away by Mystra in the form of coalescing the Divine Spark, he still managed to benefit greatly from it. All of his attack spells had decent penetration. However, now they couldnt penetrate the shield of a Master Mage? This was outrageous. He frowned slightly. At the same time, he increased the power output. The Chain Lightning was thicker, longer, and brighter. And Roland did the same thing. Prismatic Spray, Arcane Bullets, and Teleportation were all used. His biggest advantage was that he had extremely high magic power and a super-fast regeneration rate. Dragging Jabezo into a protracted war was the tactic Roland had developed. Now it succeeded. Both sides blasted magic at each other from a distance of thirty meters. In reality, Mages fighting each other was not quite appealing. Especially Mages like Roland and Jabezo. They almost had no weaknesses and just dealt damage without moving. Both sides had extremely high magic power control, high magic power capacity, and the ability to cast spells quickly. They werent one of those academic Mages raised in a hothouse at the Spatial Magic Tower. It wasnt that academic Mages were bad. When these people progressed, their research capabilities would be superb and they could probably make a virtual Divine Spark. But the precondition was that they progressed. The two were in a heated exchange of blows. Magic of all colors flew around, accompanied by the rumbling of explosions. In this head-to-head combat situation, even Roland didnt have enough time to muster up the extra magic power to use his ultimate spell, the Blue Inferior Fireball. And it was the same with Jabezo, who could barely find the time to use more powerful spells. The two sides had been fighting for more than half an hour, and the place where the two were standing had been blasted flat in a radius of at least five meters. It was chaos around them, two incongruous states of frost and scorched earth mixed. Rolands ice domain was still gradually expanding At this time, Jabezo was already a little out of breath. Unlike Roland though he was a Demigod, after his strength dropped to the Master level, his magic power also followed. And his body hadnt fully recovered. Mystra was the Goddess of Magic after all. Although Jabezo had been awake for nearly fifty years, he still hadnt fully dispelled the seal on himself. Besides, he didnt have the heart to remove it. Most of his time was spent enjoying life. He thought Mystra probably wouldnt find him. However, he made a mistake. More than half an hour had passed now and he was already feeling tired, but across from him, Roland was still relaxed and at ease. And this was certainly the reality; Roland had at least sixty percent of his magic power left, while Jabezo was already at about thirty percent. Even the latters Magic Shield was already failing. It was about to break. If this continued, he would definitely lose. Jabezo even felt incredulous. How much magic power does this kid have left? At this moment, he let out a deep breath and changed the form of his Magic Shield to block the front as a giant shield pushed it out with his mental power. Countless Arcane Bullets, as well as small normal fireballs, blasted at this giant Magic Shield. A large number of white cracks began to appear on the giant shield from the explosions. Originally, he didnt want to use this move. After all, with the body of a Demigod, being forced to this point by a Master, it was truly humiliating. But he couldnt care so much now. Jabezo pointed at Roland before his Magic Shield shattered. There was a creepy sneer on his face. Mages Disjunction! With Roland at the center, all magic instantly disappeared. Whether it was the Arcane Bullets in flight or the huge shield that was about to shatter The Magic Shield on Rolands body turned into pieces of crumbs and fell to the ground like an eggshell that had touched a stone. Then a pink shimmer suddenly appeared on his body, canceling out part of the effect of the Mages Disjunction. Thanks to Mystras blessing, there was no damage to the magic equipment on his body. But his expression was somewhat grave now. Because he still had no way to use magic. All the magic elements around him were emptied by Mages Disjunction. A magic vacuum was formed. It felt like living on Earth. Roland subconsciously shook his hand, then looked up at the opposite side. Isnt Mages Disjunction a single-target spell? Doesnt it have a very small range of effect? Yours has a super-large range of effect. I was once a Demigod, isnt it reasonable to have a unique skill? Slowing his ragged breath, Jabezo laughed rather smugly. Without magic power, how will you fight me? Arent you the same? Roland asked rhetorically. Dont treat me like those losers who never train their bodies. Jabezo jumped from side to side, clenched his hands into fists, and took a stance similar to a boxer. As a noble, I have practiced both swordplay and boxing, which was a mandatory course for nobles in our time. I see. Roland quietly watched him shift from side to side. Let me tell you one thing, this wide-ranged Mages Disjunction only lasts five minutes. Jabezo smiled smugly. This is a special spell optimized by me, with its own Imprisonment effect. You cant escape within these five minutes. So, either you kill me, or I get killed by you. Looking at the arrogant Jabezo, Roland laughed lightly. Then it will be as you wish. With a slight lowering of his body, Roland launched himself with both feet and rushed in front of Jabezo at an extremely fast and exaggerated speed. This was followed by a side leg whip with a sonic boom. As expected of someone who had trained before, Jabezo instinctively reacted by shielding his head with his hands. But after being whipped by this kick, his hands were like rubber, bent and deformed, and then his whole body was swept several meters to the left, rolling several times. At this moment, he was lying on the ground with a miserable expression, looking at the sky. He froze at first and then felt the intense pain flooding his entire body. He didnt even have time to feel the pain before he hacked out a mouthful of blood. With this leg whip from Roland, half of the bones in the left side of Jabezos body, along with the bones in his hands, were broken. Several broken ribs plunged into his lungs, as well as his heart. If he had the magic power, he could instantly cast healing to save his own life. But sadly, he dispelled the magic himself with the Mages Disjunction. Youre a Magic Swordsman? With a large amount of blood froth in his mouth, Jabezo speech had become quite incoherent. Roland walked over and shook his head. No. A pure Mage. Thats impossible! Because I have a Legendary partner. Roland snickered. The Tough Body obtained from Andonara because of the equality contract played a great role at this time. Relying on this special Legendary specialty, Roland was able to survive under the industrial vise of Andonara. One could imagine how powerful this specialty was. All-around fortification of the flesh. Besides, Andonara practiced and sparred with Roland in sword arts. So Roland had quite a bit of experience in melee combat. Of course, Roland lost badly, both in bed and out of bed, and never won. Well, its time for you to die. Roland walked up to Jabezo and said, Any last words? You are willing to be Mystras lapdog Why? Where is your dignity as a Mage? Jabezo was still trying to talk his way out. Roland said indifferently, Putting Mystras matter aside, you deserve to die for killing over a hundred people. I see! A red hue appeared on Jabezos face, which was a sign of the setting sun, and his voice became strong and normal. Seeing that were both Mages, I beg you for one thing. Speak. I will listen to the request before deciding whether to promise you anything or not. Spare my family. Jabezo moved his head to indicate that he had something inside his magic robe. I carry with me my magic insights, a manual written for over thirty years, which should be of great value to you. Roland sneered, I can take it from your body just as well if youre dead. There is a magic lock. Jabezo smiled with difficulty. I dont have much timeswear. Okay. Roland used his mental power to communicate and pray to the God of Contracts. I swear that I will spare Jabezos family after I get his magic insights. A blue transparent balance scale appeared between the two, and then slowly disappeared again. Its done. Jabezo laughed lightly. The magic lock is simple. Use the pink flowers of the meadow as ink, then mix it with lightning magic, and finally dip the book into the ink By the way, can you bury my corpse in this place, I dont want the old woman to see Jabezos eyes gradually closed. In less than ten seconds, there was no more sound. Roland waited in place for a moment, and when the Mages Disjunction had worn off, he searched the dead mans body with a small Hand of Magic and took out the magic manual. The manual was not soaked with blood because Jabezo had made it waterproof. Roland then used Stone to Mud and was about to sink Jabezo into the ground for burial, but he suddenly turned around and looked back. Not much later, an old woman slowly walked over. Jabezos wife. The old woman with gray hair. She walked over calmly, clutching the black jug that Jabezo had thrown away earlier. Roland frowned. This old woman saw the body of Jabezo, and she slowly walked over to him and touched his smooth and lifeless face, tears in her eyes. Roland looked at her quietly. Will you let me take his body home? The old woman turned her head and looked at Roland. Her expression was calm, without a hint of hatred. Roland was silent for a moment before he asked, The other day when you said to Jabezo that you wanted red wine, you were actually saying it to me on purpose, werent you? Without that statement, Roland would never have suspected Beckrum. So it was fair to say that it was this old woman who betrayed Jabezo. So his real name was Jabezo? said the old woman slowly, as she arranged her husbands remains and wiped the beads of blood from his face. Fifty-one years of marriage before I knew his real name. But I think Beckrum is a much better name. Why did you reveal that to me? Isnt he your husband? Werent you two in love? The old woman didnt say anything, but a faint magic reaction began to appear in her body. Soon, a whirlwind wrapped around the two of them. A woman and a corpse, slowly floating up. Although this old woman could use divine magic, she wasnt really strong. Because Im a storm priestess. With a pained expression, this old woman muttered, It is our duty to eradicate evil. In my opinion, Beckrum was really nice, but for some reason, I felt the aura of evil in him getting heavier and heavier. I have never been able to figure it out. Until six months ago, on a whim, I took the wine I had been drinking and offered it to the Goddess of Stormsthen a divine message came down saying that he was a devil. So you killed him for justice? I didnt want to kill him, he was the man I loved most, my husband. But the Goddess told me to kill him; she said he had to die! For all the wrong he had done. Roland asked curiously, So, Im a little bit curious. Did you give your husband away to me for the sake of justice, or did you just obey the goddesss holy will? Both. He only killed to help extend your life. So I love him and hate him. Why did he secretly give me those drinks? Two streaks of tears flowed down the old womans face. I followed the goddesss teachings all my life, staying chaste, doing good, and not fighting with people. Originally, I was able to enter the divine realm, but now, my soul has become unclean and the gates of the divine realm have been closed to me. I hope that his death will make the goddess forgive the stain on me. Cora Tonasi! Carried by the whirlwind, the grieving old woman held back her sobs and disappeared into the distance with her husbands body. Leaving behind the pain of love and hate. Roland sighed and teleported back to Delpon with a flip of his cloak. Chapter 726 - The Contents of the Manual Teleporting back to Delpon, Roland was a bit gloomy. Although Jabezo was indeed a terrible person, the conflicting emotions shown by that old woman made him feel a little pity for her. Seeing how upset he was, Andonara inquired what had happened. Roland told her the story. After listening to it, Andonara also sighed and said, That woman is quite pitiful. On one side is her beloved husband, on the other side are the philosophy and beliefs that she has practiced all her life. She could neither hate nor love. Enough about these irksome things, that Demigod Mage gave me a manual of magical insights before he died. Roland took the manual out of his Backpack, then frowned. Teleporting back in a rush, I forgot to go collect some pink flowers from the meadow. Wait. Roland then teleported again to the Croatian Plains and gathered many flowers. He divided them into three portions, one for Andonara and one for Vivian. The other portion was reserved for himself to make potions for unlocking the manual. Suddenly, a dozen round fruit bats flew in and transformed into a woman. Christina looked at him with a bitter gaze. Having no choice, Roland took three flowers and gave them to her. Then the vampire girl left happily. Things like magic locks were typically hard to handle for those who didnt know about them. First, boil the pink flowers to make a juice, then infuse thunder magic into it, and finally soak the manual. After about half a minute, a strange magic power dissipated, and the book, which was originally covered with blue patterns, turned into an ordinary manual. Roland went back to his lab and opened it slowly. After he read a dozen pages, he closed the manual. Awesome. In this manual, what was written was not any magic insights, but the study of the Divine Spark. This was what Jabezo spent fifty years writing down after he broke free from the sealed land. The ancient script used was over three hundred years old and was probably lost by now; fortunately, Roland knew Character Proficiency. The first few pages were exposition and conjecture on the nature of the Divine Spark. This was followed by the study of creating a virtual Divine Spark. In Jabezos train of thought, to create a virtual Divine Spark, a great amount of magic power was required. But after being knocked down from the Demigod state by Mystra, his magic power capacity dropped quite alarmingly, and with the seals power remaining, this experiment progressed slowly. The only way to do this was to break it down into steps and experiment slowly. The first step was to use a large amount of magic power to build a shell of the Divine Spark. Because it would be a virtual Divine Spark, such a shell was not hard to make. With magic power as the base, supplemented by ones own will as the substrate, imagine an emotion, a characteristic as a primer for the virtual Divine Spark. The manual said that it was best to choose a non-main gods Divine Spark, meaning that it was best not to have any ideas of life, light, death, and other main gods Divine Spark. Even if it was a virtual Divine Sparka fake -once it was made, it would attract the attention of the gods. Because they were so powerful, it was easy for them to feel the fluctuations of a Divine Spark similar to their own. Jabezo also said in the manual that it was best to virtualize those evil gods in the Astral Plane. For example, hunger, tyranny, greed, and such negative Divine Sparks. Although this might shift ones alignment, at least one wouldnt be targeted. The evil gods in the Astral Plane were now at an extreme disadvantage, with the lawful gods overwhelming them. Moreover, the environment of the main plane was relatively peaceful now, with very little warfare, and the place in the Astral Plane they were in was too far away from the main plane, so it was quite difficult to get negative power. However, if it was a virtual Divine Spark, it could directly attract the negative energy of the main plane. On this plane, it was still very easy to find misery. Even if it couldnt be found, for the time being, one could still create it. Roland was itching to try it. Jabezo tried to create a virtual Divine Spark step by step at the Master level, but he probably didnt succeed, or else he wouldnt have been taken out so easily by Roland. If Jabezo could do it, Roland reckoned that he could too. Besides, extremely high magic capacity was a requirement that Roland could easily meet. So he teleported to the desert where no one lived and spent a day building a pretty huge underground lab. Then he took out a few blue magic bricks. According to the book, he first turned the square bricks into a large amount of pure magic, then absorbed them and built a blue energy ball with a radius of about three meters, then closed his eyes and channeled his spirit into it. He imported the feeling of food. Kung pao chicken, boiled cabbage, pork meatballs, sauted vermicelli with minced pork, dry-fried bean curd, soup dumplings, and all kinds of noodles and meats. Roland had always been an ordinary person and ate ordinary, home-cooked food. But even that level of culinary quantity was enough to keep him thinking back for two or three hours. The thing to end it all was naturally soft drinks. Once he had fully channeled his spirit into it, he felt a bit dazed. He sat down, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then looked at the ball of energy that had turned from blue to a rainbow-colored halo in front of him, and smiled quite happily. After all, up to this step, it was already considered half-successful. He wouldnt have imported some evil gods Divine Spark. There was a ton of fun, positive things to do in this world, so there was no reason to be a bad guy. Only if he were sick in the head. In this world, there was no god of food anyway. It was probably because the vast majority of people had little concept of gourmet food. After nearly half an hour of rest, feeling that his magic power had almost regenerated, Roland stood up again and began to use his mental energy, compressing the ball of energy in front of him. At first, the speed of compression was fast. In less than half an hour, it went from a three-meter radius to a three-meter diameter. But as this ball of energy got smaller and smaller, the compression became more and more difficult, and it took ten hours after that to compress it to a meter in diameter. But this wasnt enough. It had to be compressed further. All that was left was simmering it on low fire. Because it had to be compressed to at least about five centimeters in diameter to be considered successful. The subsequent compression was all measured in days. For the first ten days, it was compressed to thirty centimeters in diameter. Ten days in between, it was compressed to ten centimeters in diameter. In the end, it took another twenty days to compress it to five centimeters in diameter. In reality, in terms of a virtual Divine Spark, the smaller the better. Preferably, it would be compressed to under a centimeter in diameter, but that was unlikely. At least not with Rolands current capabilities. It was completely impossible to do; compressing it to five centimeters in diameter would be the limit of a Master. Legends could probably compress it to three centimeters, and two centimeters for Demigods. Roland looked at the energy bead that had turned into a multicolored ball of light in his hand, and after examining it quietly for a moment, he then tapped it onto his forehead. As soon as the bead touched his skin, it sunk eerily into Rolands brain. It was something made of his mental power and wasnt going to do him any harm. The moment the ball went into his head, Roland subconsciously trembled. It was just as satisfying when he trembled on Andonara. After his body shivered for nearly half a minute, Roland then suppressed his physical instincts and began to experience the effects of this bead. First of all, all his attributes went up by about five to ten percent. The second was that he started to feel very hungry. He kept looking for something to eat. Taking some random rations out of the Backpack, he ended up getting nauseous and wanting to vomit just after taking one bite. He spat the jerky in his mouth onto the groundwhat was once palatable was now unpalatable. After thinking about it, Roland opened the system interface and found that there was indeed an additional message in his character panel. Food Law (Virtual Divine Spark): Your insane obsession with food gives you the wherewithal to touch the power of the laws. Although not a true Divine Spark, it can still be truly beneficial to you. Gluttony: It is more pleasurable for you to ingest gourmet food than to mate with a woman. Picky: Food with a gourmet degree lower than five cannot enter your stomach and you will vomit it out. This is true in cases of extreme hunger as well. So, even if there is food in front of you, you are in danger of starving to death. Ubiquitous Gourmet Food: Food made by you, and by those who believe in you, increases in deliciousness. Also, your followers can borrow the magic power in your body to unleash some of the divine spells you have developed. Number of believers: 0 Set divine spells: None (4) After reading these lines, Roland fell into deep contemplation. The first phrases were all well understood, but what did this set divine spells mean? And what did the number at the end mean? Could he set four divine spells? Roland thought for a moment as he tapped on the option to set up divine spells, and then a large list of spells unfolded before him, all of which he had learned and could use. After watching the dazzling names of spells floating in front of his eyes, Roland thought for a moment before dragging in the spell Unhindered Communication. As a result, a pop-up prompt came from the system. Insufficient points. Oh it considers magic strength, got it. Roland then put up the Language Proficiency in the divine spells. This time it succeeded. But there were only two points left. After thinking about it, Roland put in a level-one Healing, which also passed. There was still one point left. After a moments consideration, Roland put in the level-one Detoxification as well. It also passed. The next step was to get someone to use those spells. Since it was a Divine Spark, he should find someone to believe in him. Roland teleported back to Delpon. He pulled Andonara quietly into the bedroom, closed the door and windows, and then made a soundproof barrier. Andonara blushed slightly as she took her clothes off. Roland made sure the door and curtains were closed before he looked backand was speechless. No, I have real business. Andonara walked up to Roland and wrapped her smooth arms around his neck, saying in a flirtatious manner, Damned man, every time you say youre going to do the business-can you say it differently and be a little more romantic! Its really business. Roland subconsciously wrapped his arms around Andonaras waist, then slid his hands down and pressed them against her hips. I know its business. Andonaras eyes were full of mischief, sweet and alluring like honey. Are you on top or am I on top this time? Roland kissed her forehead. I said its business. I want you to try to become my believer! Now question marks were written all over Andonaras face. Chapter 727 - The Taste Has Changed for the Better Love is a faith that brings you to my side Roland almost sang it. Faith was a special feeling of unconditional devotion of body and mind to a person, wishing what they wished and loving what they loved. It was hardly different from love in the traditional sense. Then conversely, love could be considered a faith, provided it was true love. Andonara froze, somewhat confused. Roland then told her about his possession of the virtual Divine Spark. This excited Andonara greatly. Just by believing in you, I can sense you no matter how far away you are? Probably, Im not sure. Its being tested. Then Ill try. Andonara sat on the bed, closed her eyes, folded her hands, and prayed inwardly. At this moment, although she was not wearing any clothes, she seemed incredibly holy. After about ten minutes, Andonara opened her eyes and looked at Roland expectantly. Anything? Roland shook his head. He didnt feel any conscious connection, or mental touch, or anything like that. Could it be that Im not pious enough? she asked, showing a puzzled look. Roland never doubted how deep Andonaras feelings for him were, and since there was no problem on her side, then the problem was bound to be with him. After carefully reexamining the virtual Divine Spark and some key information of the Divine Spark, Roland suddenly thought of a very important thing. A gods name. Gods had names and the majority of them were inherited. For example, the Life Goddess was now called Elise, and the previous Life Goddess and the one before that were all called Elise. This meant that a gods name was quite important Roland rubbed his chin subconsciously. Is it the name? Andonara only knows my online name. The more he thought about it, the more he thought this was the case. So Roland pressed himself to Andonaras ear and whispered, Roland is just my name in this world, my real name is Huang Wenwei! Andonara froze for a moment, then her eyes lit up. Closing her eyes again, she prayed. This time it was quick less than ten seconds before Roland felt a faint mental touch in his mind. A very familiar feeling, or flavor. And opposite of him, Andonaras eyes snapped open at that moment, her eyes filled with delight. Then she dove over She was naked now, and Roland couldnt hold back, and the two rolled around in bed for nearly three hours. Three hours later, Roland put his clothes back on, rubbed his increasingly hollow back, and said, Try to see if you can use the spells. Andonara nodded. She jumped off the bed and whispered, My most beloved, grant me the use of your power, Language Proficiency! A faint white light flashed over Andonaras body. As expected, it was Language Proficiency. Roland confirmed that the spell had indeed been successfully used by Andonara. He lost a bit of magic power, too. It was roughly the amount consumed by the level-two Language Proficiency. So theres still consumption. Is my virtual Divine Spark inferior to the real one, or is it that the consumption is inherent? Roland continued to flip through the manual, looking for the answers. But unfortunately even Jabezo himself didnt create a virtual Divine Spark, so the manual didnt even mention this aspect at all. The rest of the contents were just his conjectures on how the virtual Divine Spark should be fortified and grow after it took shape. Just conjectures. After all, he hadnt condensed a virtual Divine Spark. But even if it was just speculation and theory, it still helped Roland a lot. Seeing that Roland was lost in thought, Andonara got dressed, went to the kitchen to make some small dishes, and returned shortly. It smelled great! It smelled even better than before. Roland suddenly remembered the passive ability of this food Divine Spark. The food made by him and his believers would become even more delicious. Roland tried it. Andonaras decent cooking skills had turned the food she made into a truly delicious meal under the augmentation of the ability. At the same time, Roland also found that his magic power cap had increased by three points. He hadnt leveled up recently, and his equipment hadnt been changed, so it was logical that his magic power cap wouldnt change. The only change was the addition of Andonara as a believer. He opened the system interface again and found that under the virtual Divine Spark option, there was indeed a change. Number of believers: 1 Number of fanatic believers: 1 Orthodox believers: 0 Partial believers: 0 In other words, believers can increase their magic power limit? No wonder the gods can easily rule over the heavens and the earth. They not only grasped law-level abilities, they even had an exaggerated amount of magic power limit. Its no wonder they are desperately trying to grab more believers. So thats what its all about. Roland gasped and ate some of Andonaras delicious little dishes before planning to head over to the lab to do some magic testing. But as he passed through the courtyard, he bumped into Nia coming from across the street. She was holding two yellow wildflowers that looked like chrysanthemums and was walking while sniffing them with a rather enchanted expression. Roland greeted her and she replied with a smile. The two of them passed each other and were about to move apart when Nia suddenly turned around and grabbed Rolands arm. Her beautiful clear eyes looked at Roland. Why do you have a nice fragrance on you? Fragrance? Rolands first thought was that the fight he had just engaged in with Andonara, so he couldve been tainted with her scent. Andonara didnt like to use perfume; the Hero bloodline came with a faint fragrance. It was better than any perfume. But Nia was a pure angel, so naturally, Roland couldnt talk to her about this and said, Just now I did magic experiments and used several different flowers as materials, so I might have picked up their smell. No. Nia shook her head. Its not that kind of smell. She took Rolands hand and walked quickly to a remote place. Although Roland had a Legendary bonus to his constitution, his base constitution was so low that it was really strong for an average Warrior, but for Nia, an angel, it was nothing. He was probably just a more powerful rabbit. She tugged Roland to the corner of the courtyard. That wasnt all. She pushed Roland against the wall. Then Nia propped her hands to the right and left of Rolands head and said rather seriously, Hold still and let me smell it. Roland felt rather embarrassed. This kind of feeling of being reverse kabedond was rather uncomfortable. It wasnt uncomfortable, it was just awkward for someone like him who was rather macho. He was about to say no, but Nia was already sniffing. To smell someones body odor, one naturally had to get up close. Nias small, glossy nose kept sniffing lightly at the sides of Rolands face. The two were extremely close to each other. The sweet, fresh scent, no less exotic than Andonaras, reached Rolands nose. It was extremely pleasant. And because the two were so close together, Rolands chest was even smushed against two soft clumps of chest plate. Slippery, warm, with strong elasticity. The kind that could gather men together. If Roland hadnt just been drained by Andonara, he would have reacted in some way consistent with manly instincts otherwise. Nia sniffed Roland for a while and finally sniffed the latters neck, her face filled with suspicion. Why do I smell something similar to Mothers scent of the Divine Spark on you? Oh, are you mistaken? I think Im mistaken. Nia smiled widely. Youre only a Master, how could you possibly know how to coalesce Divine Sparks its not even possible for Legends. After speaking, she bounced off again like a cute little white rabbit. She ran under Andonaras window and called out, Anna, I smell something delicious in your room, can I go up there? Andonaras head appeared at the window and she smiled. No problem, come on up. In reality, she was very fond of Nia right now. Because Nia was beautiful and clean, both in body and soul. Her mind was also very pure. Such a person would be liked by most people. Both men and women, young and old. Roland did some tests on the virtual Divine Spark in the lab, and then the time soon came to the next morning, when the game time ended. Climbing out of the virtual cabin, Roland washed up and drove his SUV to the underground lab in the suburbs. After three hurdles, he took the elevator to the bottom floor. He had just arrived at the cafeteria and was about to eat something delicious when he was called into the office by the person in charge. Comrade Huang, we have an idea. The person in charge said rather seriously, We would like you to transfer and relocate with us to the northwest district. Why? Youve made the nuke in the game. The person in charge smirked. Dont you want to try it in reality? However, this is a populated area, so theres no way wed allow it, and no reason youd be allowed to test it here. Roland nodded. It was a real dilemma. He could understand the concern of the person in charge. Weve gotten along quite well over this time, and weve all built up enough of an understanding that Ill be blunt about some things. The person in charge continued, Youve been registered with the higher-ups, and from an objective standpoint, youre already a dangerous figure and an important one that we must protect. Its no longer appropriate for you to continue here in the southern border. You should join us in a broader, better-equipped lab to continue your development, research, and growth. Roland was silent for a moment. But Im an only son, and my parents Its okay, we can arrange a leisurely job and career for them. The person in charge smiled and said, And now that the high-speed rail is developed, the whole journey from here to where we are going will take no more than seven hours with one special bus transfer. You dont have to worry about meeting them. Roland rubbed his forehead, thought for a while, and said, Okay, no problem, but please give me a few days. I have to handle things with my parents so that theyre mentally prepared. As you know, people dont want to leave their hometown when they get older. I understand. The person in charge stood up and said quite happily, We have plenty of time. There is no problem with leaving after six months. Chapter 728 - The Lich Have All Sorts of Skins Chapter 728 The Lich Have All Sorts of Skins Days spent studying magic were happy, and in the blink of an eye, another three months passed. On this day, Roland had just escaped from Andonaras gentle assault in the game, and his mind was blank as he lay back against his reclining chair to regain his strength. By now Andonara knew how to drain Roland faster and more efficiently. After all, she was fully aware of Rolands fetishes and sensitive spots. Now, Roland simply didnt have the heart to think about other women. Of course, Vivian would join the two in battle from time to time. It put Rolands mind in a state of stillness most of the time. Even at the sight of an angel with such a perfect body and beautiful face as Nia, he didnt have any thoughts of that. Because most of the time, Roland was in a sage state. Just as it was now. With a good deal of time to recover from his ethereal sage state, Roland began to continue his study of magic. He wanted to study the virtual Divine Spark, but the manual was something he had already read and even practiced, and now, his progress was at a dead end. Roland didnt have much direction on what to do next. He could only make the most basic of estimates. For example, to increase the number of believers. This test, however, Roland would not do for the time being Because of Nias reaction earlier, he was a little worried. This was only a virtual Divine Spark, and he only had one believer. Would she have noticed if the number of believers had been higher? What would happen when she found out? Would she be a threat to him? These were things that had to be taken into account. That was why Roland was in no hurry to push the virtual Divine Sparks ability higher, at least not until he reached Legend and obtained his first law-level specialty. He experimented until noon and was about to take a break when he saw someone ping him in the guild chat. Now everyone in the F6 guild had their own things to do and gathered less and less, and if there was nothing important, they usually wouldnt contact each other. So he immediately opened the guild chat room. Betta: Brother Roland, there is a very beautiful girl who claims to be a member of the Winterwolf clan asking around in Wetland City for news about you, is she your close friend? Shes not your mistress, is she? Want me to shoo her off? Roland: Get lost, shes not. I will immediately go over to her. Betta: So urgent, and you say shes not? Roland: Think what you will. Betta: If shes not, introduce me to her. Shes my type. Roland: Get lost! Betta: Heh, exposed yourself. Roland grunted, closed the guild chat room, and went to find Andonara, saying he had to make a trip to Wetland City. At this moment, Andonara was having afternoon tea, and next to her were the mayors wife and daughter, and Nia. Hearing Rolands words, Andonara laughed and said, Come back quickly. Nia suddenly jumped up and took Rolands hand. Wait, I want to go too! She had been craving the food of Wetland City for a long time and wanted to go and eat it again. Although Andonaras cooking skills had suddenly improved for some reason recently, Andonara knew too few dishes, and after eating her cooking for several months, Nia was a little tired of it. Roland looked at her and was considering. Winterwolfs Holy Lady was looking for him most likely for the matter of the liches, and in case there was a need to fight, Nia could be counted as a formidable combatant. Angels were most uncomfortable with things like liches. However, without waiting for Roland to say yes, Andonara slowly stood up, smiled, and pressed on Nias shoulder, narrowing her eyes. Nia, Im lonely at home, can you stay with me? Nia looked at Andonaras smiling expression and for some reason, she felt a little chill run down her back. But, Mother told me to follow him said Nia timidly. Its okay, Roland will be back soon. Andonaras narrowed eyes opened slightly, and the slightly exposed pupils of her eyes held an icy resentment. Ill be really lonely if youre gone. The mayors wife and daughter both looked outside in unison, their eyes crossing the walls of the estate as if beautiful flowers were growing there. But Nia tried to struggle a little more. But Andonaras hand, as if a giant vise, held Nias shoulder tightly. As an angel, Nia was strong in battle, but she couldnt do anything right now. Honestly, Andonaras battle power was now at the pinnacle of what could be achieved in a human body in the main plane. Except for the trio of Winterwolf, the Water Goddess, and the World Tree, she had no rivals. Even the Winterwolf Holy Lady was, at best, on par with her. Even if Roland threw out a large nuclear bomb, he couldnt kill Andonara. After all, she was too fast. She could turn into a phoenix and flee the moment the explosion happened. If she flew fast enough, the explosion wouldnt catch up to her. Besides, she had a strong defense and was more resistant to heat. Of course, if confined in place and unable to move, that would be a different story. With a level of strength like hers, not to mention Nia with her wings in a sealed state, even if her wings were still there, Andonara could probably break her wings for Rolands sake. Nia looked into Andonaras smiling eyes and swallowed subconsciously. Okay, fine. Andonaras shocking oppressive power was gone at once. She took Nias hand and sat down, smiling gently and kindly. Thats my good friend. By the way, I just recently learned a noodle technique unique to the Golden Sons from Roland, called knife-shaved noodles Ill make it for you to eat, okay? Nia subconsciously swallowed and nodded repeatedly, Okay, okay. Then Andonara smiled at Roland and said, Go and get back quickly, dear. How could Roland not understand what had just happened? He shook his head helplessly and laughed before teleporting away. After the light of the magic disappeared, the mayors wife looked at Andonara in admiration. Anna, you are quite a master of the art of controlling your husband. Andonara smiled and didnt make a sound. Nia, too simple-minded to know what was going on, looked around and asked in confusion, Whats the art of controlling her husband? Its a cooking technique. Oh! Roland teleported to Wetland City, and with a little inquiry, he found where the Winterwolf Holy Lady had settled. A fairly cheap inn in Wetland City. The players opened inns with all sorts of decorations and styles. Light luxury, rustic, Scandinavian, South American, Eastern, West African, and so on! In addition to the great style and beautiful furniture, they were incredibly clean and the service was surprisingly good. The inn prices were surprisingly high relative to local game NPCs. This was the kind of place that ordinary people couldnt afford to live in and players wouldnt go to. They specialized in tricking the wealthy merchants, nobles, and the like. The Frostwolf Clan had always been poor, so naturally, they didnt dare waste money on staying in such player-run inns. So they looked for a cheap NPC-run inn. Not to mention being small, it wasnt clean either. But to the people of the Frostwolf Clan, it was nothing When Roland found the Winterwolf Holy Lady, she was sitting in the courtyard of the inn with four men in white animal skin coats, each holding a few skewers of roast meat and chewing slowly. They were chewing and weeping at the same time. Roland thought they were doing that because they werent quite used to spicy flavors. The culinary level in this world was relatively lagging, and the two main flavors were salty and sweet. There were very few spicy and sour foods. There were almost no spicy foods. Mainly because they hadnt discovered any suitable spicy seasoning. But the foodies, or casual players, did hard work to find spicy plants in the forest that tasted similar to chili peppers. It was a large trees leaves that possessed a good amount of spiciness. This tree grew in the old forests and no one gave it a name. After all, there were no specialized biologists in this world to categorize plants and animals. This was why players conveniently called this tree the spice tree. It was also cultivated in the vicinity of Wetland City. Normally, the vast majority of people in this world were not used to eating spicy food. The first time they were introduced to spicy barbecue, they would all cry while eating. As a result, Roland went in, only to hear the Winterwolf Holy Lady muttering, So delicious, so expensive so delicious, so expensive, ooh! It turned out that she was crying about the money. It couldnt be helped that when she had come to Wetland City before; it was Roland, the big boss, who was treating her. It certainly felt different now that she had bought it herself. Hearing the door open, the Winterwolf Holy Lady finished the skewer she was holding and reluctantly set down the three skewers in her left hand. She knew very well that the three skewers of roast meat would be eaten by her three clansmen while she and Roland talked about things. Then she also sucked the fingers of her right hand. It was stained with a bit of barbecue sauce. If a normal person licked their fingers like that, it would look unhygienic. But the Winterwolf Holy Lady was pale, her lips a luscious red, and when she licked them like that, it looked seductive instead. Finally, she stood up to Roland and said, Been looking for you for days. I thought you were planning on breaking our promise. Roland waved his hand. I wouldnt! How could you not! The Winterwolf Holy Lady wrinkled her nose and said, Its five hundred gold coins. Thats a lot. Uh Roland suddenly realized that his current mentality was different from before. He hardly thought of money as money anymore. Over the past three months, every time the Church of Magic had sent gold coins, it would be more than the previous time, and now Roland was too lazy to count how much money he had left in his vault. Anyway, it was piled up into a small mountain. And this would continue in the future as well, with money coming in every month. The Goddess of Magic was quite generous. Doing magic experiments now, he no longer needed to be concerned about money. Instead, he had to consider whether that thing could be bought with money. Its not very convenient to talk here, lets talk in the room. The Winterwolf Holy Lady pointed to the inn. Roland shook his head. No, lets go to my manor. In Wetland City, Roland had a large piece of land which Betta had given to him. Most of it was assigned to the Association of Mages he had built. The remaining third was left for his manor. Then some help was hired to take care of it, while Beatrice was put up here to stay. After all, Andonara didnt seem to like her very much. Back at the manor, Beatrice was quite happy to hear that Roland had come. She ignored the Winterwolf Holy Lady and busied herself like a servant to serve Roland. Then she showed off the cooking skills she had learned from the Golden Sons in Wetland City and made three home-cooked dishes. After doing these things, she left and didnt bother Roland anymore. Is this the lover you keep outside? the Winterwolf Holy Lady asked. Roland shook his head. She was the wife of a friend of mine, who died, and I took pity on her so Im temporarily taking care of her. The Winterwolf Holy Lady had a look of I know it well and nodded repeatedly. I know. Ive been inquiring about you for the past few days and have gotten to know you a bit. Youre the kind of person who only likes wives, and wouldnt make a move if the woman isnt married. Originally I was a bit worried that I would be targeted by you, but now Im not worried at all. Roland sighed helplessly. Since when did I become that kind of person? Believe it or not, I didnt touch her Wait, why am I explaining these things to you lets get down to business. The Winterwolf Holy Lady teased, Hehe, dont make the atmosphere so serious. We are friends anyhow. They were indeed friends ones that trusted each other fully. Roland recalled the appearance of the Winterwolf Holy Lady in her rope outfitthat was a rare work of art indeed. Only now he was still in a sage state and had no physical reaction. So, good friend, since youre in a hurry to see me, do you have some good news?. Roland ate some of the small dishes on the table and nodded in satisfaction. The Winterwolf Holy Lady also skewered a strip of greens with her fork and put it in her mouth to chew on. The further north people were from, the more they liked greens. As she chewed, she said, Sort of good news. We bulldozed at least twenty lich camps and broke at least thirty lich vessels, the things they call skins. Then we discovered a very bad situation. The lich vessels are getting stronger now. Oh, how so? Liches arent supposed to be able to do anything beyond spells, and even if they have some melee abilities, its nothing ridiculous. Roland nodded. But have you ever seen a lich who sat on a horse and cast blizzard spells, summoned a mass of undead warriors, then rode into a charge with a lance without magic and nearly skewered two of our Frostwolf Warriors to death? Roland shook his head. Lancers were a special advanced profession of Cavalry. Its core skill was a derivative of Ride, which was named Deja Vu. It was about a year or so ago that a player finally inadvertently became a Lancer. Then they displayed the effect of the core skill Deja Vu. Drifting on a horse in the woods. It was awesome. One could also see the bad taste of the game designers. The Winterwolf Holy Lady said, Thats not all either. We also saw swordsman liches with no magic power who unleash sword auras, liches who could use curving arrows, and liches who could sprint and use stealth. Roland was speechless upon hearing this. These liches must have developed all of the player corpses abilities. No wonder they wanted to kill him. He had two main specialties of Magic Power Control and Magic Material Exemption. If the liches got hold of his corpse, the consequences would be unimaginable. So whats next? Chapter 729 - You Can’t Study It Chapter 729 You Cant Study It Locating a lichs phylactery? That was a little bit hard. Roland heaved a sigh and said, Not that I dont want to help you, but Ive not even gotten in touch with the phylacteries mechanisms yet. I dont understand them at all. Weve taken that into consideration. The Winterwolf Holy Lady picked three pieces of vegetables with a fork and chewed them, before she said with a smile, Our clan has kept a phylactery for years. One that does not have a lichs soul anymore? Rolands eyes glittered. The liches soul maintenance technology was very interesting, but none of the major Magic Towers had it. It was not because they couldnt study it, but because they despised it and dared not study it. They were afraid that they would become addicted to its power and try to seek eternal life with evil means. But that was not a problem for the players, who were already immortal in the game. The Winterwolf Holy Lady picked up a piece of fresh and succulent meat. No, theres still a soul in it. Why didnt you kill it? asked Roland curiously. He knew that the Frostwolf Clan used to be the worlds saviors and instinctively loathed evil things. Although they were usually peaceful, they would attack and kill anyone who had foul power or mind. It was hard to imagine that they would keep a phylactery in their clan without destroying it. He killed several of our clan members, said the Winterwolf Holy Lady. Then we figured out a way to find the phylactery. It wasnt easy at all. We even asked for the Winterwolfs help. The Holy Lady was bummed again when she mentioned the Holy Lady. Even the food no longer tasted delicious. Hearing that, Roland smiled. So, youve been keeping his phylactery in your clan and imprisoned him inside the tiny, dark phylactery forever as a punishment? The Winterwolf Holy Lady nodded quickly. Im told that he often roared or begged for mercy with his mental power. Hes been quiet for a while, but I assure you that his soul is still in there. You were told that? How long has the lich been sealed? Probably more than five hundred years. He was caught a dozen generations ago. Tsk The Frostwolf Clan was truly brutal. It was certainly not the best idea to piss them off. Youre scared? The Winterwolf Holy Lady glanced at Roland with a faint smile and continued, We can give you the phylactery. We dont care if you can develop a technology to locate any phylactery. You trust me so much? Youre already the liches sworn enemy. The Winterwolf Holy Lady grimaced. Every time before we attack a camp, well shout by the order of Roland the Great Mage, we ask you to die! Roland was drinking the fruit wine when he heard that. He almost spat it out. Fortunately, he managed to hold back. But as a result, his throat was quite comfortable, and he coughed nonstop. Seeing Rolands awkwardness, the Winterwolf Holy Lady smiled. Since weve been hired by you, we have to spread your name for you, dont we? Roland actually didnt care. After all, it was already impossible for him to make peace with the liches. However, what the Frostwolf Clan did was truly like a practical joke. Roland couldnt help but ask, How many lich camps have you cleared so far?. 4, At least a hundred. The Winterwolf Holy Lady thought for a moment and said, Anyway, weve cleared all the lich camps in the northern border. Were chasing them down to the south. Hearing that, Roland took out five bags of coins from the system Backpack and put them on the table without hesitation. This is your payment that we agreed upon. So much money Delight appeared on the Winterwolf Holy Ladys pretty face, which bordered between adulthood and immaturity. But she was a Holy Lady; she couldnt demean herself by appearing too greedy. So, she said to Roland with a fake smile, But we havent caught a real lich yet. What youve done is already impressive enough, said Roland sincerely. Same as the Mages, the liches had to do research. It meant that a lichs growth could be costly. Unlike the Mages who could buy anything they wanted, the liches could only make those things, as they were public enemies. They had to seek materials and make magic potions on their own. They even had to create the daily necessities for themselves too. Fortunately, they had a lot of undead creatures in their service, so their life wasnt too hard. When the liches camps were razed, their logistics would be severely disrupted, and they might even completely lose their sources of income. Every lich camp had been founded with great effort and cost. Losing one of them wouldve been painful enough; losing a whole lot of them was almost critical. Roland could totally imagine how the liches hated his guts at this moment. Then should I take it? asked the Winterwolf Holy Lady prudently. Please. Roland made a gesture. Boss, you are truly generous. The Winterwolf Holy Lady took a weird red rope out of her clothes and tied it around the money bags. The bags then vanished. Roland was stunned. What kind of magic device is this? The Winterwolf Holy Rope. It looks very similar to the rope that you wear. Its exactly the one on me. The Winterwolf Holy Lady laid her hand on the first button on her clothes and said with a charming smile, Do you want to examine or study it? Well Roland was actually quite intrigued, purely in an academic way. But in the end, he waved his hand. It was just a special spatial method that was probably related to divine skill. He might as well pass. If he had time to study that, he could totally spend it on studying Mystras Mansion. Wouldnt that be even better? Of course the more important reason was that he was in the middle of a refractory period. He might have been tempted if he were in his normal state. After all, the Winterwolf Holy Lady had big boobs and fairly long legs. The Winterwolf Holy Lady wasnt bothered by Rolands refusal. She said with a smile, You abandoned the opportunity. Dont blame me for that. Okay, just wait here. Ill fetch the phylactery for you. After that, the Winterwolf Holy Lady ran off with a piece of meat in her mouth. She truly looked like a wolf. Come to think of it, she and her people were wolves in the first place. Roland continued eating. About ten minutes later, Beatrice walked out of the kitchen, sat down next to Roland, and asked shyly, Roland, how many days will you stay here? I dont think Ill stay. It wont be good for your reputation, will it? Thats all right. I dont have any men anyway. Beatrice twisted her fingers nervously. Roland was no longer an innocent boy. He completely understood Beatrices implication. However He couldnt help but ask curiously, Youve been in Wetland City for a long time. Have you never found any man interesting? I I belong to you as long as I live here. Beatrices face completely turned red after she said that. Then, she covered her face and ran upstairs before Roland replied. Roland shrugged. Then, he continued enjoying the food. A moment later, the Winterwolf Holy Lady returned, breathing heavily. There was a cold wooden box in her hands. The box was made of Green Tender Wood. The Green Tender Wood was common in forests and not anything special. However, it had a special feature. The longer it lived, the harder it would be and the less likely it would be to rot. Furniture made of Green Tender Wood that had existed for more than a hundred years was said to be incorruptible, though it didnt smell very good. But the liches couldnt smell anything, so it was perfect for them to make phylacteries with the wood. The Winterwolf Holy Lady put the box on the table and said, The teleportation magic arrays are really useful. It only costs several silver coins and half a minute to travel between the south and the north. The Goddess of Magics wisdom is unparalleled. Roland smiled and echoed her. Few people knew that he was the inventor of the teleportation magic arrays. In fact, Roland had guessed that the Winterwolf Holy Lady didnt really leave to fetch the phylactery. Her real purpose was to hide the five bags of gold coins. After all, shes never had so much money before. Of course, Roland would not speak it aloud. He wasnt that inconsiderate. Half a second later, he fixed his eyes upon the wooden box on the table. The moment he saw the box, he sensed a chaotic mental power wandering inside it and slowly spreading The vintage magic stripes on the wooden box looked like flowers but carried the features of words. They were clearly interesting magic arrays. Its yours. The Winterwolf Holy Lady smiled in relief. Well continue hunting the liches. Roland, I have a question. Please go ahead. How much money will you give me if we can kill a lich? Two hundred gold coins for one lich, replied Roland without hesitation. You can come to me and ask for twenty gold coins every time you destroy one of their camps. Hearing that, the Winterwolf Holy Lady quickly stuffed food in her mouth and stood up. Youd better honor your promise. Ill lead some men and personally get the job done for you. After saying that, she left in a rush. Roland was stunned at first, but then he vaguely realized why the Winterwolf Holy Lady was so hasty. After walking out of the manor, the Winterwolf Holy Lady felt that a fire was burning in her heart. She knew the problem of the Frostwolf Clan too well. They had lost their direction and didnt know where they should go. In particular, after the Winterwolf ran away, everybody in the Frostwolf Clan was panicked and lethargic. Since they didnt have to save the world anymore, the Frostwolf Clan had been living with the Winterwolf as their center. Now that they had lost their totem, they were naturally devastated. In fact, the Winterwolf Holy Lady was the most devastated of all. However, as the leader of her clan, she could not reveal her emotions. Roland was the only one who would see the confusion on her face. She had to admit that she was actually quite fond of Roland, a man who could see her body. Roland had always thought that anyone would see the Winterwolf Holy Ladys naked body during the ritual dance as long as they raised their head. However, that was a misunderstanding. The people of the Frostwolf Clan adored the Holy Lady and would not look at her. The males, in particular, would never raise their heads. As for the outsiders, they couldnt see anything at all. The red rope was a piece of divine equipment made of the Winterwolfs fur. It could block the senses. The outsiders could see nothing but mist when they looked at the Winterwolf Holy Lady during the ritual dance. Only Roland, who could look a goddess in the eyes, could see her clearly. Therefore, it was understandable that the Winterwolf Holy Lady had different feelings for Roland. All Holy Ladies were proud, no matter which church they were from. Roland could speak to the Winterwolf Holy Lady as an equal precisely because he could see her real appearance. They didnt become friends until they talked and got to know each other. The Winterwolf Holy Lady had been trying to make the Frostwolf Clan grow strong and even walk out. However, human beings didnt seem to accept them because of their special physical features. The hybrids didnt like them either and considered them to be half-humans. The Winterwolf Holy Lady thought that the Frostwolf Clan would live in the freezing north forever in isolation. However, after Roland took her to Wetland City, she finally realized that they could be accepted and welcomed in some places. The cat-humans and the succubi were everywhere in the city Also, she took a few of her clan members to Wetland City to find out how they would be treated without Roland. They were all excited. Although everybody in their way looked at them, their eyes were all sincere and friendly! However, some of the locals did have subtle maliciousness in their eyes. They didnt want to hurt anyone; it was more like they wanted to claim the visitors. She stayed for a few days in the city. Many people hit on her. Nobody attacked them or even cursed them. Then, after Roland came, he simply offered her five hundred gold coins as payment. She didnt think it was a problem to buy a piece of land and migrate her people here. The Frostwolf Clan was a people that could easily be satisfied. They would feel very happy as long as they had a place to live, some food to eat, and neighbors who werent malicious. Five hundred gold coins are enough to buy a large piece of land, but not large enough for all my people to live in, the Winterwolf Holy Lady mumbled to herself in delight. We can reclaim the land outside of the city. Im told that the mayor here is very close to Roland. I can ask Roland to talk to him. After I kill several more liches and gather a thousand gold coins, Ill be able to buy a piece of land large enough for all my people to live next to this beautiful city. As she thought about this wonderful life, the Winterwolf Holy Ladys canine ears swiveled back and forth. Roland, on the other hand, picked up the wooden box and teleported back to Delpon. Hardly had he returned home when Andonara and Nia rushed to him almost at the same time. They were so fast that they almost left blurry shadows behind. Andonara was relieved to see Roland. I thought that something unholy dared to break into our place. Then, she fixed her eyes on the box that Roland was carrying. So did Nia. Roland raised the box, waved it and said, Its a phylactery. Nia was briefly stunned. Then she walked to Roland and said solemnly, Youre not allowed to study things like this, or Mother and I will feel sad. Andonara: Huh? Chapter 730 - Finally, Another Quest Andonara was quite angry. How can you and your mother tell my man what he can and cant do? But then, she too realized Nias implication. What? Roland wants to become a lich? She was terrified. She didnt care whether or not Roland was handsome, rich, or strong. However, her man should at least be a warm-blooded creature. Her heart would be broken if she had to hug a lich who felt like ice and didnt have any human emotions. She quickly walked to Roland, grabbed his hands, and said, Honey, dont rush into anything. I wont be as bossy anymore, okay? She even wondered if Roland wanted to eradicate his feelings because she had been going too hard on him in bed. Obviously, when youre too attached to someone, you tend to have random thoughts whenever they do anything unusual. Roland looked at the two women in surprise. He then realized why they were so anxious. He said with a smile, Dont worry, I dont want to become a lich. I simply want to figure out the phylacteries mechanism so that I can locate them. Hearing that, both of the women were reassured. Andonara was still slightly worried. She stared at the phylactery in Rolands hand aggressively, as if she were going to destroy it at any moment. Nia was wearing a similar expression, although the two of them wanted to destroy it for different purposes. In fact, their excitement was understandable, as the liches knowledge was unbelievably alluring in this world. Too many great heroes fell victim to the liches knowledge after only a quick glance at it. Few people could resist such a temptation. It was also the reason why the major Magic Towers and churches dared not keep the liches knowledge in their libraries. Seeing their reaction, Roland thought for a moment and said, Im really just trying to study them. If you dont believe me, you can watch over me in my lab. How does that sound? Nia instantly nodded. All right, that sounds good. After a moment of hesitation, Andonara nodded too. She shouldve trusted Roland more, but she was afraid of losing him because she cared about him too much. Then, Roland went to the lab. To be honest, he didnt know the first thing about phylacteries, and he feared that he might accidentally break the phylactery during his research and set the lich free, which would be terrible. As a Life Angel, Nia could suppress evil powers. He had nothing to worry about in his research as long as she was watching out for him. After he started the research, both of the two women slept in the lab too. Roland concentrated his attention on the phylactery and ignored the two beautiful women who wandered around in pajamas. In moments like this, women werent nearly as attractive as new knowledge. The greatest essence of the liches knowledge was the phylactery. Their dark spells and blood curses were all that the Mages had tried and abandoned. The phylactery was the only thing that was designed without following the current spell system. Roland didnt hastily dismantle it. He studied the magic stripes on the surface of the box first. Unlike the current magic arrays, the magic array on the lichs phylactery was quite strange. They were in very different systems, but they had similarities too. If a comparison must be drawn, one of them could be compared to physical chemistry, and the other, biochemistry. Although their cores were the same, the abilities and knowledge derived from them were vastly different. The magic array on the box was already fascinating enough for Roland. It took him a month to parse the magic array on the box, which greatly broadened his view on magic arrays. At this moment, he could try achieving things that he hadnt been able to with magic arrays. For example, he could try transforming energy into matter with a magic array. But that had to wait. At this moment, the most important thing was to crack the phylactery. Roland would rather not have a bunch of enemies lurking in the dark waiting to attack him forever. Research was a process that consumed time, money, and materials. Roland used a lot of magic materials even though he was merely cracking the phylactery. He created simple magic arrays to perform all kinds of attribute tests. Magic arrays could be used for a lot of purposes, such as offense, defense, and support. They had even more usages in Rolands hands. For example, he created a small see-through magic array. It was Rolands latest masterpiece, one that could see the inside of a small object. There was also the material recognition magic array. He had perpetuated a recognition spell in a magic array and added a weighing effect, so that it could measure the weight of an item and detect the elements within. There were other similar small magic arrays. Roland created them with inspiration from modern labs. At this moment, Roland was using tools to help with his research without doing all the calculations separately. Time flew very fast when Roland was completely dedicated to magic. At first, Nia and Andonara were worried that Roland would be corrupted into a lich, but seeing that Roland was merely pursuing knowledge, they were greatly reassured. But they didnt leave the lab. They decided to wait until Roland stopped studying the lich stuff. About eight hundred kilometers to the west of Delpon, four young men wearing black robes were riding camels from a desert village in Urganda to the city. Although black materials absorbed more heat, black robes were still more comfortable than white ones in a desert. They had been traveling for days, and their destination was Delpon. Something happened in their hometown. They asked for the help of a lot of mercenaries and even Mages, but none could resolve the trouble. They begged everywhere, to no avail. By accident, a Golden Son passed the place. He scratched his head after seeing the scene and said to the village leader, Just give up. This task is too troublesome for anyone to pick up. You should offer more money. This is clearly related to magic. He was the only person who was willing to tell them about what might have happened. Other people simply left after they took a look at the scene. They were unwilling to speak to the villagers at all. Some even spat at them. So, the village leader fell on his knees before the Golden Son. The Golden Son was a kindhearted man. He waited for a moment and said, You can go to Delpon for a Mage named Roland. Hes one of my people and has a good heart. Hes also good at magic. He might accept your request and take care of your trouble. Then how much money will he charge? asked the village leader pitifully. The Golden Son smiled. Money? Few people in this world are richer than Roland, even the dragons. You can take some of your local specialties to him. The key is sincerity and earnestness. You must not trick him. Maybe you can get him here after saying everything you need to say. Then can you help us invite him? asked the village leader hopefully. I can see that you are a good person too. The Golden Son instantly smiled. Of course I am a good person. You can see green above my head if you perform an alignment test Damn, that sounds like Ive been cuckolded. However, Im not a fool. Why do you think I should owe someone else a favor? This is your own issue. Since you cant save yourselves, Ive pointed out a solution for you, yet you want me to take care of your problem for you? Thats not how you should do things. The Golden Son laughed mockingly and left. Naturally, the villagers dared not chase him. A few days later, the village leader chose four of the strongest villagers and had them come to Delpon, carrying local specialties on their camels. They asked merchants and travelers on the way and traveled slowly on the roads. It took him more than ten days to walk out of Urganda, the desert country. However, the ten days werent a waste of time. On their way, they asked everybodys opinion on the Golden Sons, and everybody raised their thumb and said that the Golden Sons were the only people with a conscience on this continent. They were really good people. Hearing that, the four villages were even more excited and continued riding forth on their camels. They traveled for another dozen days and finally arrived in Delpon. They didnt run into any bandits, but when they passed cities, the guards had all demanded bribes, and they only had one-tenth of the local specialties left. Although they came to Delpon, they couldnt have looked more devastated. They felt like crying as they looked at the empty sacks on the camels. Eventually, the middle-aged in the lead said slowly, Weve already tried. Theres nothing we can do. Since weve made it here, we might as well pay a visit to the Master Mage. They were still outside of the city. When they went through the city gate, they were blocked again. They thought that they had to bribe again. Their leader searched the sacks and gave the guards a few dry fruits. However, the guards waved at their hands, and a friendly-looking middle-aged man observed them for a while and said, Youre from the Red Desert? The four of them quickly nodded. Why are you here? Carrying the Heros Sword, Cage looked at them. For business? But you dont have enough goods. Were you robbed on the way? If you were, where did it happen? Do tell me if it happened within the jurisdiction of Delpon City. Well help you get your goods back. The villagers quickly nodded. No, were here to meet a Mage named Roland. Roland? Cage was slightly surprised. You came all the way here from Urganda on camels just to meet Roland? You dont seem to be potential magic apprentices. No. Something dreadful happened to our village. A Golden Son mentioned that Roland might be able to take care of it for us. Cage slightly nodded. He too had discovered that the four villagers looked miserable. They were dry, skinny, and suntanned. They mustve suffered a lot on the way. They probably didnt even have enough to eat. Even the camels had become slim due to hunger. Just like farmers who often considered cows as their family members, the Red Desert Dwellers regarded camels as the most important property of their family or village. They would feed camels first even if they were starving. Roland has been busy studying magic said Cage. Then, he looked at the four desperate ordinary people and said, Forget it, Ill take you to him. The villagers were excited to learn that this man had direct access to Roland. Their leader reached his hand for the sacks and fetched a handful of dry fruits for Cage. Cage waved his hand. The man got anxious and insisted on giving the dry fruits to Cage. He was about to kneel when Cage refused him again. Cage was a professional, and he grabbed the man before he fell on his knees. Fine, Ill accept them. He accepted the dry fruits, put them in his pocket, and led them to the center of the city. Outside of Rolands manor, Cage asked them to leash their camels and then took them into the manor. There were guards in the manor, but as Rolands friend and Andonaras family, Cage wasnt stopped by any of them. In the courtyard, Cage and the visitors saw Andonara and Nia enjoying afternoon tea. It was their rare leisure period. In about half an hour, they would return to the lab and keep Roland company. Seeing her uncle and four suntanned men behind him, Andonara asked in surprise, Uncle, who are they?. They want to meet Roland and ask for his help. Do they need money? Andonara stood up and was about to return to her room to fetch money. Andonara wouldnt have cared if a random person came to ask for help, but the case was different now that her uncle brought them here. Andonara had always been grateful to her uncle for taking care of her. Its not about money, Cage explained. They claim that their village ran into a weird magic problem and nobody would help them. A Golden Son told them that Roland might help them, so they came here from Urganda on camels. Urganda? Thats a thousand kilometers away. Andonara was shocked. Is there nobody in Urganda that can take care of the problem? Cage opened his hands. The people of the Red Desert prefer sword arts and battle techniques. Everybody knows of their ineptitude in magic. Thats true. Andonara didnt want anyone to disrupt Roland, especially when he was doing magic experiments. However, she saw that the villagers were nearly defeated by the one-month journey and the heavy pressure. Their eyes were even unfocused. Had it not been for the hint of hope in their gazes, they wouldve been no better than zombies. Andonara knew that they would pass out in desperation if she turned them down. They were really pitiful! She thought of herself in the past. Although she was strong, she almost drowned in desperation because of the intentional and unintentional psychological abuse of the royal family. If it werent for Roland Thinking about that, Andonara said to her uncle, Let them wait here and ask the maids to prepare some food and water for them. I think theyre dying. Cage put on a smile. The Heros descendents should truly be as caring as her. Andonara went into the lab and patted Rolands shoulder. After Roland turned around, she told him what happened. Roland found it rather unbelievable. A magic problem that nobody in Urganda can take care of? He was quite interested. But he was even more interested in the phylactery. On the other hand, peoples lives were at risk. He had to pay a visit to Urganda anyway. While he was in a dilemma, a system notification popped up. Epic quest detected: Magic Essence. Would you like to pick it? Hmm? Of course he would! It had been forever since he had picked an epic quest. It wasnt easy for him to get one at all! Chapter 731 - Another Cave Since it was an epic quest, the research could wait. He could do research whenever he wanted, but most quests had time limits and he might miss them. Roland packed up for the journey. Because Urganda had no teleportation magic arrays and the Goddess of Magic had only paved them in Fareins and near Hollevin, and Roland didnt have Urgandas coordinates, he could only fly there. Roland could carry a lot of people with Cloud Flight. It wasnt a problem at all for him to bring four camels and four men. However, there was still one other problem. Nia wanted to go with him. Mother asked me to come with you. Nia laid her hands on her hip and said angrily, If I dont stay with you, my mother will scold me after I return to paradise. You cant, said Andonara creepily. Even I cant go with him. How can you? But Nia looked at Andonara and somehow felt scared. She was an angel and much older than Anna, but she didnt have the courage to confront her. Roland smiled and said, The Life Goddess asked you to come here just to show her attitude. You dont need to take it so seriously. Why dont you and Anna go shopping in Wetland City? Youre not afraid that the liches will come to you for trouble? asked Anna. Theyre in a lot of trouble right now. Roland smiled happily. At this moment, the greatness of money became increasingly clear to him. If it were before, it wouldve been very difficult for him to save Delpon as well as the manor and Magic Tower from the liches. But the case was different at this moment. In Hollevin, the Phoenix Guild was searching for the enemies. In the north, the Frostwolf Clan was crazily clearing the liches camps. With troubles in and out of their territory, if the liches could launch an attack on Delpon, they probably wouldve already taken Hollevin down. Then why dont we take a walk? Andonaras eyes glittered. She hadnt been to Wetland City a lot, but the prosperity of the city left a deep impression on her. More importantly, the female players over there had a profound understanding of clothes and makeup. Even the elves couldnt compare to them. Nia, on the other hand, was drooling again. She remembered the delicious food in Wetland City. Lets go together. Nia struggled to nod. Her intuition as a gourmet overshadowed her persistence in her responsibilities. Now that they had a common purpose, Andonara stopped being hostile to Nia. They went inside to change their clothes. Girls had one set of clothes for daily life, one set for sleeping, and hundreds of sets for going out. It could take them a long time to dress up and change. Roland, on the other hand, walked to the manor and said to the Red Desert Dwellers, Im going to Urganda with you to check your village. The problem is that I dont like wasting too much time on the way. So, well fly there. The four villagers from the Red Desert looked at each other in disbelief. Bring your camels here. They didnt know what was going on, but they followed the instruction. Then, Roland snapped his fingers, and a large white cloud ten meters long and wide appeared on the ground. Roland stepped on it first and said, Come on up with your camels. None of the villagers dared to move. They looked at each other, asking one another to go up first. That was normal. Mages were always mysteries to ordinary people. They were temperamental and could turn human beings into frogs, apples, or mirrors when they were angry. That was rather terrifying. Who knew whether or not the cloud could turn someone into a cactus? Please hurry up. My time is precious. Roland urged them. When someone was powerful, their words would carry a lot of weight. Those inferior to them would even imagine things that they didnt really mean. Roland wasnt angry at all, but to the four of them, Roland was about to burst into rage. It was the calm before a storm or a sandstorm, for the villagers. The villagers, trembling in fear, directed the camels onto the cloud. | After they stood steadily in the center, Roland snapped his fingers, and the cloud floated toward Urganda. Thanks to the protection of the barriers, they didnt feel the intense air currents even though they were in high altitudes. However, for most creatures that lived on the ground, having their feet off the ground wasnt the best experience. The four humans and the four camels all collapsed and dared not move anymore. However, human beings were intelligent creatures and much better at accepting new things. About half an hour later, they finally calmed down and dared to appreciate the sceneries far beyond the cloud. Another half an hour later, they gained the courage to look at the land, rivers, and forests below their feet at the edge of the cloud. They didnt know that flying was so comfortable. They even saw their camp from two days earlier, and the black traces that their bonfire left behind at the turn of the river. It took them more than two days to travel from here to Delpon, yet it only took this Mage slightly more than an hour. That was the power of a Mage! It was mysterious and marvelous. They looked at Roland with awe and admiration. The cloud continued flying. About three hours later, they arrived at the border of the country. Then, flying across the high mountain, they saw the boundless Red Desert of Urganda. If they were on the ground, the sand in the desert was yellow. However, there was red dust in the middle of the sand. It wasnt obvious when mixed in the sand, but it could be picked up easily by the wind and make the sky of the desert red. Therefore, Urganda was also known as the Red Desert. The residents of this place were called the Red Desert Dwellers. Roland stopped the cloud and asked them, In which direction does your village lie? The four villagers all pointed northeast. Telling the way in the desert was a necessary skill for all the locals here. They counted on it to survive. It was just like how the fishermen who lived near the sea were better at holding their breath than the inlanders. About another four hours of flight later, they saw a black spot on the horizon at four in the afternoon, when it was getting dark. The villagers got excited and shouted, Were almost there! Were almost there! Roland sped up and soon hovered above the black spot, which turned out to be a fairly large village. It had more than three hundred sand cottages and an oasis nearby. Not far away to the left of the oasis, there were a bunch of colorful flashes that looked like the rays reflected by countless pieces of glass. The area was fairly large, at least larger than the village. Roland spurred the cloud to land outside of the village. In fact, the villagers had already noticed the gigantic cloud. It even caused minor panic. However, after the cloud descended, they found their fellows on it and were reassured. They all ran out of the village. Roland dismissed the cloud and set foot on the land with the rest of them. The four Red Desert Dwellers were quite happy. They wanted to direct the camels back to their village, but the camels were too scared after hours of flying to get back on their feet. They pulled the camels and failed to move them, so they gave up. After the villagers ran out, they surrounded Roland in silence. They dared not utter a word. The glowing magic stripes on Rolands robe was the best proof of his identity. Nobody wanted to piss off the Mages. Ordinary people, in particular, almost dared not speak to the Mages. Eventually, an old man squeezed through the crowd, walked to Roland, humbly bowed, and asked slowly, Mr. Mage, may I know if youre here to help us? Yes, are you the leader of this village? Yes. Esteemed Mage, what would you like us to pay? What can you offer?. Roland didnt think that he should help them for free. He didnt care how much they would pay, but they should at least pay something. Giving help selflessly wasnt the best choice. The villagers would be prompted to ask for other peoples help for free when they were in trouble again. It was just like giving money to the poor couldnt free them from poverty. Instead, they would only be accustomed to living a poor life. When the same trouble happened again, the villagers would likely ask for help again without paying anything. If the person they asked was nice, he might curse them and go away. If the person was bad-tempered, he might kill his potential employers on the spot. We dont have much money. The only valuable things we have are the young girls in the village. If you like them, you can take a couple of them away with you. In Urganda, women were possessions, and beautiful women were important and valuable possessions. In countries such as Hollevin and Fareins, the bias that women were possessions was more or less covered up, but it was blatantly propagated in Urganda. Roland waved his hand. I have a lot of women in my house. Maybe something else. But The village leader hesitated. We really cant offer you anything else. Then give me your specialties, said Roland with a smile. The more, the better. The village leader thought for a moment and bowed. As you wish. Now, can you tell me what the glittering glass ocean behind the village is about? At the mention of the glass ocean, every villager revealed an awful expression. The village leader heaved a sign and told the story. Supposedly, they had been living a prosperous and peaceful life with the small oasis next to the village. They had been living here for about three hundred years. However, an accident happened two months earlier. A woman who went out to pick worm food discovered the accident. The so-called picking worm food meant capturing small creatures such as scorpions, centipedes, and beetles for their protein. The woman discovered a lot of beautiful and colorful gems in the sand behind the village. They were large and numerous. Although all women liked glittering things, she was a Red Desert Dweller, so she observed the tradition of not touching anything weird in the desert that nobody had ever seen, as nobody knew whether or not it was a trap of the devils. The woman came back and informed the other villagers of the matter. They all went to check it out. It was indeed a land of gems, with a coverage of about a hundred square meters at that time. Someone intended to pick the gems, but the village leader stopped them. To test if the gems were dangerous, they threw some small animals at them. As it turned out, the animals were crystallized into glass-like items the moment they reached the area. At this moment, even the dumbest person knew that something was wrong with the gems. Ever since, the gems had been spreading. Their scale had increased by hundreds of times in two months, and they were approaching the village. If the villagers were in another country, they wouldve already fled. But in Urganda, the villagers knew that in order to survive in the harsh desert, a steady source of water was required. Without the oasis and the not-so-large lake near the village, they would die of thirst in the desert within three days. They wanted to run, but where could they run to? The other oases wouldnt accept outsiders easily, and nor would the big cities. It was because every water source and oasis had a limited capacity. It only provided enough water for a limited number of people. If they moved in, they would occupy the locals living space. Most locals wouldnt be happy about that. So, the villagers could only wish that the sea of gems wouldnt expand so fast. If the lake on the oasis was invaded by the sea of gems, the village would be doomed. Roland nodded to show that he got it. You can start preparing local specialties. Ill go there and take a look. After saying that, he summoned a tiny cloud that carried him to the back of the village. In front of his eyes was a dazzling mine of gems Under the sunlight, countless colorful spots of light were glittering. They looked like flowing water in the twisted air. Roland opened the system vision and looked at the pillar-like gems. Item: Magic Power Crystal Effect: Its the amalgamation of magic power under the influence of natural-law-level magic power. It can be used for magic experiments, but its highly unstable and wont be effective. Roland had read descriptions of such magic power crystals in books. They all said that the crystals had special energy, but because they contained assorted elemental powers, no Mages were ever willing to purify them. It was not worth their time and magic power. Roland stood at the edge of the sea of gems and sensed the chaotic magic, frowning. It was hard for him to control this magic power even with his special talent. Also, the gems were still spreading, which meant that they must be powered by something. Roland tossed three magic spiders down. Because the magic spiders were created by magic power just as the sea of gems was, they werent affected at all. If anything, they were even faster than normal. The spiders performed a blanket search and found a dark cave at the center of the sea of gems. The cave looked very, very deep. Why do you all like digging? Roland remarked. Chapter 732 - Tricks Are Not Necessarily Hostile The cave looked dark and deep. Roland had the three magic spiders crawl in. Thanks to the dark vision of the magic spiders, Roland could see that the walls of the cave were also made of crystal. However, due to the lack of light in the cave, the crystals werent as splendid as those on the surface. The spiders soon crawled to the depths of the cave, and Roland was rather surprised to see what was inside. Having played the game for years, he had seen most things in this world, including the gods. There were few things that could surprise him. However, what he saw now was still beyond his expectation. This place was a spacious underground house, in which there was an assortment of experimental equipment. There was also some wooden furniture at the end of the simple room. That wasnt really surprising. What really surprised Roland was the person who lay on a simple bed at the end of the cave. The person was none other than Jabezo. Or rather, he was a man who almost looked identical to Jabezo. As if he sensed Roland watching, the man sat up and glanced at the three spiders. He then stared at the middle one and smiled. Youre finally here. Ive been waiting. The sound and picture were transmitted back to Rolands head almost at the same time. He looked even colder. The guy knew him. Was he really Jabezo? Also, the guy knew that he was coming? At this moment, Roland felt that he had been bound by the intangible thing that was fate. Last time he had such a feeling, it was when he met Mordenkainen in the branch of time. After a while, as if he knew that Roland hadnt moved, the man on the bed said, Come on in. You are a Golden Son. I cant kill you. Theres something I want to talk to you about. The man sounded quite sincere. Roland was still considering. It was true that he wasnt scared of death as a Golden Son, but he was already level 13 and each death would mean a drop of one level. It would take him six months to one year to get back to this level. That was a serious problem. After a while, the man who was likely Jabezo coughed and said, Come in. I really dont want to hurt you. Im losing control over the magic power crystals. Fine Roland decided to take the risk. That being said, Roland made the necessary preparations such as casting Magic Shield and other buffs on himself before he came in. But he knew that it was barely meaningful, as even the most awesome buffs and magic equipment wouldnt be useful against a guy who knew Grand Disjunction. Unless the equipment was divine, such as the Life Goddesss Button or the Nether Gods War Scythe. Such equipment could only be destroyed by a Grand Disjunction that was boosted by divine power. After all the preparations, Roland flew above the cave on a cloud and then crawled in. The sea of magic power crystals disrupted the magic power in the area and made the flowing magic power invasive. It was why the animals that stepped in the area were crystallized. However, Mages were highly resistant to the invasion. However, controlling magic power was their strong suit. In the cave, Roland set up a luminous ball and slowly moved forward with his hands on the smooth crystal wall. About ten minutes later, he reached the very end of the cave, and saw Jabezo pale and exhausted on the bed. In the spiders night vision mode, the picture was green, so it was hard for him to see other peoples color. Thank you for trusting me and coming in. Jabezo smiled and tried to stand up, but then he fell back to his bed. He breathed heavily for a while and said weakly, Sorry, but I dont think I can properly greet you. Roland frowned. Youre still alive? I clearly sensed that your soul was gone. Yes, the other half of me was indeed gone, so Im about to vanish too. Jabezos smile seemed rather helpless. After a brief shock, Roland asked in surprise, You cut your soul into two pieces? Yes. Jabezo nodded. Roland felt a strong headache coming on. While souls could be regenerated and strengthened, they were all unique. It meant that there couldnt be two identical souls in this world. Even if one cut ones soul into two halves, and the two halves grew back to the original size and strength, they wouldnt really count as two souls, they would just be powerful half-souls. If one of the souls died, the other wouldnt be able to survive for long. It was similar to quantum entanglement. The only exception was that they could repair and regenerate the half-soul like liches who knew soul spells well. Roland clicked his tongue. You can regenerate your soul. You used to be a Demigod. Dont tell me you cant do that. I really cant, said Jabezo helplessly. Because Im only the soul of my secondary personality. Roland was truly shocked. Up until just now, he had always thought that the Jabezo he killed was the secondary soul. After all, it didnt make sense at all that a Demigod would fall in love with an ordinary storm worshipper. Even if he did, the best he wouldve done was to send a secondary soul to repay the favor. However, if what Roland killed was the primary soul, it would explain why this soul was dying I dont understand. Rolands eyebrows were furrowed. Why is your main soul out in the world while your secondary soul practices magic here? Because I did fall in love with that woman. I certainly had to let my main soul live with her. Roland shrugged. He didnt say anything, but he wasnt really convinced. I can tell that you dont buy that. Jabezo smiled miserably. Youve never seen the old lady when she was young, right? Ill show it to you. After that, he raised both hands and waved them. Roland subconsciously stepped back and waited warily. But Jabezo didnt cast any offensive spells. A mist appeared between them, and magic light beamed out. Very soon, a beautiful girl with pink hair appeared in the mist. Projecting images with mental power That was an advanced application of mental power. Roland wasnt capable of doing that yet, mainly because his level wasnt high enough. It probably wouldnt be a problem after he became a Legend. Roland was still admiring the guy for his skills with mental power. But then he put on a weird expression. It was because the girl who emerged in the mist was very familiar to Roland. She looked like the younger version of Mystra. But she wasnt. They were simply very similar. The only difference was probably the size of their breasts. The breasts of the girl in the mist were clearly not spectacular enough. Roland was even more confused. You loved Mystra? Roland couldnt help but ask curiously, Then why did you stop her when she became a goddess? I wouldnt deserve her any longer after she became a goddess. Jabezo chuckled. I was too young and cocky back then. I loved her, but I was unwilling to confess my feelings to her. Roland knew that it was like when a little boy liked a little girl; he often pulled her ponytail instead of treating her nicely. So love education was very important. I was woken up by her in the sealed land fifty years ago. At first, I thought Mystra understood my feelings and came back for me, Jabezo spoke gently, happiness all over his face. Although I found that she wasnt Mystra later on, I felt that she was even more likable than Mystra and my life with her was very happy. For her, I was willing to turn into an ordinary man, disguise my face, and grow old with her. Roland knew that because of the uniqueness of souls, the two parts of Jabezo could share memories and feelings even though they were far away from each other. Youre dying. Why do you want me here? Dont you hate me? asked Roland in confusion. He had no interest in Jabezos love life. I didnt ask you to come, said Jabezo with a smile. I didnt even know you two months ago. It was the remaining power in your body that prompted you here. Roland was briefly stunned. A lot of information flashed in his head, and he asked slowly, Grand Benediction? Jabezo put on a strange smile. Seeing his reaction, Roland calmed down and examined his body and mind. He detected a subtle magic power that covered his body. It could even partly block his senses. He wouldnt even have noticed it if Jabezo hadnt pointed it out. At this moment, only three people would have planted the power on Roland, namely the Life Goddess, Nia, and Mystra. The Life Goddess and Nia wouldnt do that, because they didnt know Jabezo well and had no motive to kill him. So, only Mystra had a reason to do that. Back in the Realm of Gods, Mystra cast an obscure blessing on Roland. The Grand Benediction mustve been mixed in with it. However, Roland wasnt infuriated. Even if Mystra cast Grand Benediction on him, so what? She might not mean any harm. Besides only an idiot would trust what an enemy said and think that something was wrong with his friend. Seeing that Roland behaved normally, Jabezo heaved a sigh. Fine, it seems that you trust Mystra more, and you should. All right, since youre dying, tell me why you asked me to come here, said Roland. Did you see the chaotic magic power crystals outside? Roland nodded. Thats a result of me losing control over the natural laws in my possession. Jabezo vomited blood as he talked, but he wiped it away unconcernedly and continued, Do you want that ability? After a moment of silence, Roland said casually, I am interested. Then do me a favor, Jabezo struggled to say. Take my granddaughter away. You can adopt her or ask someone you trust to raise her. I want her to grow into a powerful Mage. Take her away from her parents? Roland quickly shook his head. Thats too brutal. I know my son very well. Truth be told, he is not my son at all. Roland looked at him in a weird way. You are a Demigod Mage, yet you dont feel humiliated at all after being cuckolded? That was too much for any man to do. If hes not your son, then she isnt your blood granddaughter. Why do you care about her? What if shes actually my daughter? Jabezo smiled miserably. Roland understood everything and was quite frightened. Your family is too wild. My wife cheated on me once when she was young, but she still loved me; it was an accident. She didnt want that. I held back after realizing that. But the longer I contained myself, the angrier I became. Jabezo chuckled. Although I forgave her, I was still angry, so I cheated on her two years ago as a rationalization, so that we would be even, right? I still think that your relationship is too complicated. Roland shook his head. You dont understand. If you want to live a good life, you have to keep an open mind. Jabezo covered his chest. Just tell me, will you help me or not? Roland shook his head again. Her nominal father is your son, and her blood mother is your daughter-in-law. Taking a child from their parents is too brutal. I know the personality of the son I raised very well. He was born to be mean and selfish. He barely cares about his son, much less his daughter. Jabezo sounded weaker and weaker. My wifes heart is probably half dead after I passed; she wont care too much about family. My nominal granddaughter and actual daughter will live a miserable life. Roland was still reluctant. Then how about this. Jabezo concentrated a glittering ball with the last bit of his mental and magic power and pushed it to Roland. The ball seemed warm and not damaging at all. When it floated to him, Roland touched it with his finger, and the system instantly reacted. Unowned special perk detected. Do you want to absorb it? Absorb! Roland instinctively clicked Yes. He felt warmth all over his body. Then he found that he got a new perk. Magic Power Crystallization: Your magic power will flow as liquid crystals in your body. Your magic power capacity and efficiency are significantly expanded. Magic Power Regeneration Speed +40%, Magic Power Upper Limit + Your current level*50. Roland was level 13, so his magic power capacity was increased by 650 points. Thank you for absorbing it. You can observe my family for a while. If theyre not nice to her Jabezo gradually closed his eyes. You can always take her away. After breathing his last breath, Jabezo slowly collapsed on his bed. He was dying to begin with, and he just gave up his Demigod perk. It was already impressive enough how long he had persisted. At this moment, his soul was dispersing. Most Mages would rather not be hung on the Wall of the Faithless, so they would destroy their souls when they died. Roland was silent for a while. He helped clean the mans clothes and cover the body with his quilt. When he was about to leave the cave, he was taken to the Paradise of Magic by a familiar force. Mystra, with her long pink hair, was looking at him happily. Great! Youve finally killed that deceiving jerk Jabezo. Roland looked at her and asked with a smile, What was the nature of the Grand Benediction you cast on me? Chapter 733 - Not Coincidental, But Inevitable What was the nature of the Grand Benediction you cast on me? Roland asked casually. He didnt sound suspicious or aggressive; he was simply curious. The Goddess of Magic coldly asked, Do you really want to know? I am quite curious. Roland smiled. After a long silence, Mystra said, My wish was that Roland would kill Jabezo smoothly without being hurt. Roland subconsciously raised his eyebrows. Mystra still looked very cold. However, Roland could tell that she was just pretending. Then send me down. Roland turned around. Mystra waved her hand, and Roland disappeared from the paradise. Then, she covered her face with both hands. Fortunately, there was nothing in the Paradise of Magic, not even the souls of her believers. It didnt even have angels like the Paradise of Life did. Nobody saw how awkward she was. Rolands soul returned to his body. Then he smiled. It was true that Mystra didnt want to hurt him at all. However, Jabezo tried to sow discord between them before he died. The man was so stubborn Was it because of jealousy? Roland looked at Jabezo on the bed and shook his head. Then, he found that the magic crystals in the cave seemed to be collapsing. He left the cave in a hurry, only to find that the sea of magic crystals outside the village was melting too. The villagers started cheering. Roland, however, knew that it wasnt a good thing The magic power crystals were a high-intensity concentration of magic power. When they collapsed, they would fill a large area with magic power for a long time. Everything would become harmful when there was too much of it. Roland blinked to the villagers and shouted, All of you, get out of here and return in one day. Those who stay will be invaded by magic power and bedridden for more than ten days, if not killed. Hurry and go! The villagers all hesitated after hearing what Roland said. They were afraid that Roland was tricking them. Roland took off with Cloud Flight and roared, Retreat! Dont blame me for treating you roughly if you dont go! At this moment, the sea of magic crystals was glistening. Even a Mage as powerful as Roland could sense the heavy pressure behind him. He couldnt wait anymore. After saying that, Roland threw three regular Inferior Fireballs to the ground. They exploded and caused a few tiny pits. The villagers, shocked by the explosions, remembered the horror Mages were capable Many of them instantly left with their families. However, some stayed and gazed at Roland with their eyes full of hatred. In their opinion, this Mage had just lied to them in order to occupy their land and houses. Roland shook his head helplessly at those people. He then blew up the cave with Prismatic Spray and returned to Delpon with Long-Distance Teleportation. Those people insisted on staying in the village without listening to his warning. Their fate was none of his business anymore. He had fulfilled his responsibilities anyway. The system also showed that he had completed the quest and received abundant EXP. The reward was so abundant that he went from level 13 straight to level 14. Even half of the current EXP bar had been filled. After returning to Delpon, Roland didnt find Andonara or Nia in the manor. The mayors wife and daughter were nowhere to be seen either. They mustve all gone to Wetland City for shopping. Thanks to the efforts of the Church of Magic, teleportation arrays were built in many cities and made transportation a lot easier. At this moment, one could travel from the capital of Hollevin to the capital of Fareins with three teleportation jumps as long as one was wealthy enough. It would only take no more than ten minutes. Before, it wouldve taken an ordinary person more than two months to complete the journey. Therefore, the Church of Magic was getting a lot of reputation points. Whether or not a church could be accepted by the people largely depended on how convenient or beneficial it was. It was also the reason why many churches did charities and helped their communities. The Church of Life and the Church of Light both did a good job in that regard. Therefore, those two churches had the most believers. At this moment, the Church of Magic seemed to be rising too. Roland returned to his lab and continued his magic studies. He had a lot of projects at hand, including the studies on the floating city, the magic power bricks, and the magic power crystals. The magic power bricks and the magic power crystals were both solid forms of magic power, but the former were diamond and the latter were coal. The former were more advanced, but harder to make. The latter were easier to make, but had a smaller range of applications. Roland thought that if he got to the bottom of these things, he could probably create a supplier to provide energy for his virtual Divine Spark. However, he looked at his half-filled EXP bar at level 14, and his eyes glittered. He was only one small step away from Legendary, so he might as well become a Legend first. Roland looked at his quest menu. It was empty! He couldnt help but heave a sigh. He had gotten most of his experience from magic studies. He wasnt interested in regular quests, and it was hard to trigger epic quests. Speaking of quest maniacs Roland thought for a moment and pinged Betta in the system. Roland: Do you have any epic quests that I can help with? Im almost level 15. I need 50% more EXP. Betta: Shoot. Im only 13. Schuck: Im also 13. Li Lin: Same here. Brazil: Same here. Husseret: Roland, why dont you come to the Goddess of Loves Temple in Urganda? Youll have a lot of opportunities. Considering your strength, the Goddess of Loves Holy Lady is probably willing to dual cultivate with you. Youre guaranteed to reach level 15 in half a year. Roland: Ha. If I do that, my woman will tear down their Holy Temple within three days. Do you believe me? Husseret: Haha. Youre stuck with her, arent you? Why would you be committed to anyone in the game? Just see how carefree our lives are. Schuck: Hehe. The queen is as charming as the ten top girls in the Temple of Love. Also, I heard that he stayed in the royal palace of Fareins for several days. You know how pretty the queen of Fareins is. Shes also a widow. Li Lin: He seems to be in a subtle relationship with the Life Goddess and her angel too. I really dont understand why you think Roland is stuck, Husseret. I for one feel that were so lonely! Brazil: So lonely! Husseret: Stop provoking me! Do you think I dont want to date a beautiful and caring girl? Damn it. All girls lose interest in me upon learning that Im a Rogue. Roland: Why are we talking about this? Im here looking for a quest, not women. Schuck: I have a quest to conquer the pagans with armies. Its not epic but legendary. Are you up for it? Roland: Never mind. The believers of the Church of Light are too solemn and unfriendly. Betta: Ive been too busy administering Wetland City to work on any quests. Li Lin: We rarely work on quests. You know why! Roland: Forget it then. Ill just post it on the forum. Roland opened the in-game browser, entered the forum, found the section of Quests and Deals, and clicked it. When the players needed extra hands for tricky quests, they would post their requirements here. There were indeed a lot of epic quests, but they were all for low levels, mainly between level five and level eight. Roland wasnt interested in them. His level was too high. He wouldnt get much EXP even if he completed those quests. After reading another two pages, Roland was finally drawn to one quest. Seasoned Mages wanted for a Master-level epic quest. He opened the thread and carefully read the requirements. There were only three. Firstly, the Mage had to be at least a Master; secondly, the Mage had to be capable of protecting himself, because the dungeon was so dangerous that everybody else could barely keep themselves safe; thirdly, the Mage had to know enough about magic to crack the traps in the dungeon and counter the enemys weird spells. Many people posted replies. You couldve said that you wanted Roland or ONeal. Theyre not to be hired. One of them is the richest guy in the game, and the other has a lot of money in reality. Also, Mages can get EXP from academic research. Its slow but very cost-efficient. They can increase their knowledge in magic while they level up. The Mages who grow up by fighting and completing quests know few spells. Theyre bloated, fake Mages that can be broken easily like balloons. Thats very true. Ive played this game for five years, but I almost never teamed up with Mages. Those nerds are all fooled by Roland. They spend all their time in their lab and dont even want to hit on girls. I dont think you can complete this epic quest. The quests related magic can hardly be completed without the help of the big shot Mages. Roland read some of the replies and then sent a private message to the poster of the thread, asking the guy when he would be available for a chat and expressing his interest in the quest. A Master-level epic quest would probably provide a lot of EXP. This was still game time, and most people wouldnt pay much attention to the forum. However, to Rolands surprise, the guy replied back only twenty seconds after he sent the message. Barbion: Master Roland? Roland: Im not exactly a master. Are you still hiring Mages for your quest? Barbion: Yes, of course we are! Roland: Where are you? Ill come to you. Barbion: Were in Wetland City. Just come to the Wind Hermit Guild for us. Roland: Okay, Ill meet you in half an hour. Barbion: Fantastic. Master, Ill wait for you outside. Roland closed the forum and was about to activate the teleportation array, when a dozen fruit bats flew in. They crashed into the windows and closed all of them. Then, the bats turned into a mature and charming woman. She landed before Roland and said, Master, I heard the calling of the True Ancestor. Shes come to the main plane and is asking all the vampires to go to her. Roland frowned. Personally speaking, he didnt like the True Ancestor of vampires at all. However, there was nothing he could do about her when she was supported by the Nether God. He was too weak to beat the Nether God yet. So, he was more and more eager to become a Legend Are you going to leave with her? No. Christina shook her head. I just want to meet the True Ancestor. Ill come back after meeting her. After all, my best friend is here. Roland pondered for a moment. Well, both Anna and Nia went to Wetland City. If you leave too, the manor will be undefended. A lot of Scorching Sun Grasses were growing in the manor, which were important magic materials that couldnt be bought with gold coins. The Druids were very interested in them. He had promised to meet someone in half an hour. If Christina left too, who was going to protect the materials? Vivian? She was better at administration than fighting Im not in a hurry to meet the True Ancestor. I can go to her in a day or two. After all, it takes time to gather all the surviving vampires across the world. Also, Anna will be back by tonight. Roland thought for a moment and proposed, Do you want some of my blood? Vampires could strengthen themselves by sucking the blood of strong experts, but normally speaking, it was the strong experts who hunted vampires. Can I? Christina subconsciously licked her lips. She had been eating fruit for three years Although she was able to subsist on them, her growth had been slow. Besides, the women in Rolands house were all unbelievably strong. Both Andonara and Nia could crush Christina with one hand. Well so could Roland. Thinking that Christina had worked dutifully in Delpon for three years, Roland decided that she deserved a reward. Immediately, Roland took a sharp dagger from the system Backpack and slit his wrist. Red blood gushed out, and Christina clinged to Rolands left hand and drank it. In fact, the blood from the carotid artery was the vampires favorite. However, she dared not do that. If she did, Anna would probably lay a sword on her neck. Christina drank for two minutes before she finally let go of Rolands wrist. Her previously pale face became redder than ever. Even her lips were glowing greasily. Are you full? asked Roland. Yes! Christina smiled gratefully and then flew away from the house as a bunch of bats. In fact, Christina contained herself well during the drinking Roland didnt lose much blood, no more than what a regular blood donation wouldve claimed. But that was enough. The magic power in Rolands body flowed in the middle of the blood as liquid crystals at this moment. For vampires, Rolands blood was of the highest quality. Roland cast Lesser Healing on his left wrist to stop the bleeding. Then he teleported to Wetland City. He found that the atmosphere wasnt right the moment he arrived. A huge crowd, almost exclusively players, had been gathered around the teleportation array. Their circle was almost as large as the square itself. They were obviously waiting excitedly for some drama. Chapter 734 - Negotiations with a God All intelligent creatures loved watching drama. Drama could broaden their eyes and allow them to show off in front of their friends, which was great! The players, with their exuberant curiosity, were listed as the greatest drama lovers in the game five years in a row. That couldnt be helped. According to sociologists research, the smarter a creature was, the more curious they tended to be and the more likely they would gather for drama. The rule applied to other animals too. The intelligent creatures, such as dolphins, orcas, and almost all the primates, were generally curious. Wetland City was a base and almost a main city to the players, who took up half of the population in the city. So, whenever anything interesting happened in the city, a lot of players would be there to watch it. Roland was a curious man too, or he couldnt have qualified as a Mage. He wasnt interested in regular citizen conflicts, but since so many players had gathered, it was bound to be something that rarely happened. So, he tossed a magic spider, which crawled on other players clothes and moved to the inner circle. He was stunned when the magic spider sent him an image. As it turned out, the players were watching the queen and Nia, who were confronting the True Ancestor of vampires. As a Hero, Andonara was quite sensitive to evil auras. The True Ancestors aura was very similar to Christinas, so when she saw the True Ancestor, she guessed who the True Ancestor was. Roland had told her about the True Ancestor, especially how he fought the True Ancestor for days under the Nether Gods watch. She was quite angry to learn of that. As for Nia, she was almost manifesting her weapon with magic power. They hadnt started fighting yet simply because this was the territory of the Golden Sons and the lord of this place was Rolands good friend. Why are they still not fighting? Isnt she the queen? The other girl seems to be an angel, but why does she not have wings? Start fighting already. I love watching women fight the most, especially gorgeous women. The players whispered to each other. Roland squeezed through the crowd with Hand of Magic and walked in. The players got even more excited when they saw Roland. Oh, Roland is here. Theyre indeed the queen and the angel. Whos that pretty little girl? Did anything happen between her and Roland? I think I have to report Roland for laying his hands on immature girls. I think you can. Youre just being jealous. If I remember correctly, she must be the True Ancestor of vampires. I remember her from Rolands livestream. I didnt watch that stream. Shes indeed the True Ancestor. Petite and flat-shes my favorite type. Also, shes probably more than a thousand years old. Its useless even if you report him. Were just talking about appearance. Isnt Roland molesting a little girl? While the players jokingly discussed, Roland walked to Andonara and Nia. The moment Andonara saw Roland, she ignored the True Ancestor of vampires and ran to Roland, before she said in delight, Sweetheart, why are you here? For business, Roland replied. Then, he stared at the True Ancestor and said coldly, How bold of you to come to the Golden Sons territory. The True Ancestor had fully recovered her strength, so she was fearless at this moment. Whats wrong? Didnt you say that you wouldnt be attacked in the Golden Sons city as long as you dont cause trouble? Thats a rule that the lord of this city set up. I dont think youll go back on your word. Roland frowned. The True Ancestor raised her head and continued proudly, Besides, Ms. Nether God has already washed away my sins for me. Perform an alignment test on me if you dont believe it. Hardly had she said that when a glimmering golden circle covered the True Ancestor. There was indeed nothing but green over her head. Roland was quite frustrated by that. To be a good buy meant to be bound by rules. For example, he couldnt attack righteous men randomly; he had to take many things in consideration. If he started a fight here, the Wetland City that Betta had built with so much effort would be greatly affected. More importantly, killing someone Lawful would likely change his own alignment. Seeing that Roland was silent, the True Ancestor walked away with her head held high. Andonara and Nia were of a mind to chase her, but seeing that Roland didnt move, they lost their desire to fight too. After the True Ancestor left the scene, Roland took Andonara and Nia to a corner and whispered something to them. Then, they both walked away with a smile. Roland, on the other hand, seized the opportunity to go to the Wind Hermit Guild. That guild was fairly easy to find. After all, it was quite famous. Hardly had Roland arrived when a player rushed to Roland and said in delight, Youre finally here, Master Roland. Lets talk inside. Were all waiting for you. Talk about what? Roland followed the man. Also, whats your name, bro? As the best Mage in the game, Roland uploaded few videos, but every time he streamed, someone would record it and spread it. So, few people in the game didnt recognize Roland. It was not strange that this guy knew his name. The player who led the way turned his head and said, You may call me Arman. Then Arman, whats the deadline for your quest? Ten days from today. Arman said with a smile, Our boss Barbion is waiting for you inside. Walking through a long corridor behind the guy, Roland reached a hall built in the classic style of Hangzhou architecture. He could see through the opened door that many people were discussing around a table. Those who didnt have a seat stood back and listened attentively, while proposing their opinions now and then. The man who sat in the hosts seat was an average-looking man. Most players preferred capabilities to Charm. The players of the physical classes focused on Strength and Agility, and those who played with spells focused on Intelligence and Resolve. It went without saying that Warlocks mainly added points to Charm. Seeing Roland, the player who sat in the hosts seat jumped to his feet and rushed over, before he grabbed Rolands hands and shook them quickly. Youre finally here, Master Roland. None of them believed that you would come. Theyre forcing me to calculate the strength of every Mage in the dungeon and the spells theyre good at. Roland was rather surprised. Is it even calculable? Of course not. Thats why we need a powerful Mage. The man dropped Rolands hands and shouted at the players proudly, Do you see this? Ive invited Roland here! I didnt trick you, did I? Then, someone in the crowd shouted, Chairman, youre awesome! You really got him here! Many people smiled upon seeing Roland. They finally had a chance to accomplish the quest that had bothered them for a month. Barbion, chairman of the Wind Hermit Guild, shouted, Everybody, get prepared. Well set off in one day. How do we split the spoils? asked Roland. Theyre all yours. Well be satisfied as long as we can accomplish the quest and get the EXP. Thats unnecessary. Roland shook his head and said, If any good equipment is dropped, Ill just pick up something that I can use. That works. Thank you for your generosity. Barbions gratitude was solemn and sincere. He knew very well that they couldnt possibly accomplish the epic quest without Roland. Roland thought for a moment and said, Then well gather here again tomorrow? No problem. Roland nodded to the others in greeting. He then teleported to the suburbs. He entered the woods and hid there. About half a day later, the sunset reddened everything in the world. The True Ancestor of vampires flew out of the city; the number of bats had clearly dwindled. Roland set up an ambush here mainly because the road led to Delpon, where Christina was. At this moment, there were few vampires left in Hollevin as most had been hunted down. When the True Ancestor of vampires flew above the woods, a Chain Lightning suddenly struck. The bats that were the True Ancestor were hit precisely. A lot of the bats fell to the ground, and the rest of the bats gathered and turned into a beautiful little girl. She seemed only around ten years old. The fewer bats a vampire had, the younger they would appear. She rose from the pit and was about to speak, when she saw magic power being concentrated in the air. The terrifying feeling in the air made her so scared that the soft white hair next to her ears straightened. She released multiple clones and ran to Wetland City as quickly as possible. She had realized that the guy was performing an ultimate skill. She would be safe as long as she reached the city wall. Roland had probably seen it coming too. Ensconced in the woods, he smiled. Then, exactly at that moment, the enormous power was gone, and Roland suddenly appeared in front of her after a blink. Then, he launched a right hook at her. The little girl instantly retreated and dodged Rolands fist. However, exactly at this moment, two people emerged behind the True Ancestor. They had silently approached her from her back. Surrounded by three experts, the True Ancestor wasnt scared at all but simply said casually, You dare not kill me. Im favored by the Nether God. Roland chuckled. Thats all right. I dont care if Im Lawful. Youre not afraid of being blamed by Ms. Nether God? Does it make any difference? Roland chuckled. You killed so many human beings. Im not exactly a good guy, but I know that you cannot undo the crimes you committed. You think you can let bygones be bygones by turning your halo green? Its not so easy. The True Ancestor stared at Roland. Youre desecrating Ms. Nether God. You have no respect for her? Roland chuckled and raised his hand, before he said, Do you not know that the Golden Sons never respected gods or devils? The concentration of magic power in his hand was threatening. The True Ancestor instinctively felt that it was no good. She quickly glanced at the three of them. They had surrounded her in a triangle formation. It was impossible for her to escape. The True Ancestor asked again, Are you not afraid of turning evil after killing me? Im a good guy right now. As I said, I dont care. Roland chuckled. You know the Nether God, who can wash away your sins. As it happens, I also know a Lawful goddess, and were quite close. I think shes capable of doing what the Nether God can. I can always ask for her help. Dont presume that youre the only person who has supporters! That was what was really on Rolands mind. Without any hesitation, the True Ancestor suddenly took out a weird black object from underneath her clothes and crumbled it in front of them. In no more than three seconds, a black mist appeared in front of them. The black mist was vaguely shaped like a woman. Most gods couldnt enter the main plane in person. They could only count on projections or other intermediaries. At this moment, the Nether God was projecting herself with divine power. Someone looked at Roland and the others from the black mist and then said in a cold yet pleasant voice, Roland, please make peace with Lilith. Its been hundreds of years since she killed anyone. Yes, its been hundreds of years since I killed anyone. Hiding behind the black mist, the True Ancestor spoke up and grimaced at Roland childishly. The Nether God continued, For what she did, I even hung her soul on the Wall of Sighs. Those who were hung on the Wall of Sighs were all faithless. It was true that having no faith was itself the greatest crime in this world. The real purpose of the Wall of Sighs was to eliminate the sins of the soul. It was simply inevitable that the faithless occupied the wall. So, Roland, can you let go of her? I assure you that she will never kill anyone or drink human blood. Shell only drink the blood of animals. Nia was quite shocked. As an angel, she naturally knew the Nether God. In the past, the Nether God occasionally visited the Paradise of Life, and the two goddesses were quite close. So, Nia knew very well that the Nether God was actually not very emotional. Also, she was very stubborn and would never compromise. Even the Life Goddess could never correct her mistakes. If someone pointed out her mistakes, she would be upset but wouldnt change at all. However, Nia felt that the Nether God now spoke with a completely different tone compared to back then. There was no telling if it was her imagination, but she felt that the Nether God sounded as if she were compromising. Roland thought for a moment and shook his head. Nether God, even if I dont kill her right now, Ill find a chance to kill her later, unless you hide her in the Netherworld forever. He sounded calm and casual. However, such a tone only made his words even more powerful. The Nether God blinked. Chapter 735 - The God’s Concession If any outsiders were here, they would only see a black mist. However, the four people here could all see the Nether Gods face clearly. The Nether God looked quite cute when she blinked her eyes, although her face was cold. Roland wasnt touched. Is it really non-negotiable? The Nether God stared at Roland and spoke casually. Roland shook his head. The Nether God gazed at Roland expressionlessly. The atmosphere got heavier and heavier. Andonara had already laid her hand on Rolands back and started writing with her finger. Give me the sword. There were always several weapons in Rolands system Backpack, which wasnt a secret to her. Right when Roland was about to draw the sword from the system Backpack, the Nether God suddenly spoke. So I wont let her come to the main plane again. After that, a black pillar of smoke that was almost concrete grew out of her body and tied the True Ancestor to her. As you demanded, shell never leave the Netherworld, said Ms. Sophie casually. So, you can stop trying to kill her. After she said that, all three women were shocked. A goddess had conceded in front of a human? The True Ancestor of vampires, in particular, was so shocked that her face paled. Sister Sophie, you cant do this to me. You cant put guys over friends Wu Another pillar of black smoke quickly covered her mouth and stopped her from talking. Are you satisfied now? Sophie looked at Roland. I will be, if she stays in the Netherworld forever. The Netherworld was a place where the deceased belonged. If the True Ancestor was confined to the Netherworld forever, she would be no different from a dead person. Truth be told, Roland could live with that. Remember your promise. Shell stay in the Netherworld. When you come to the Netherworld, you must not attack her again. The True Ancestor struggled hard but couldnt break free. She could only utter meaningless syllables. Roland nodded and didnt say anything. In fact, he was of a mind to say that he didnt want to go to the Netherworld at all because it was a sh*thole to him. But on second thought, he would rather not sound aggressive and petty now that the Nether God had already conceded. So, he didnt say that Then, a black portal opened, and the Nether God dragged the True Ancestor away. After they returned to the Netherworld, Ms. Sophie removed the black smoke that covered the True Ancestors mouth and waist. The True Ancestor finally could talk again. She touched her swollen lips and asked pitifully, Sister Sophie, why did you give in to the wretched human? You are a goddess. Are you scared of him? Im too greatly suppressed in the main plane. I might not be able to beat the three of them. The True Ancestor was quite shocked. How is that possible? Nia is an angel and quite good at fighting. The woman with big boobs is named Andonara. Shes a descendant of Phoenix the Devil King and can suppress dark power. Although I belong to the Lawful alignment, the magic power I use is dark. As for Roland His spells can already slaughter gods. Also, as a Golden Son, he cannot be killed. He knows how to enter the Netherworld too. Youre scared of him because he knows god-slaughtering spells? shouted the True Ancestor in confusion. Many evil gods know god-slaughtering spells too, but youre not scared of them, are you? The Nether God shook her head. His god-slaughtering spells have a huge destructive radius. How huge can it be? The most powerful one has a destructive radius of fifty kilometers. Its just fifty meters The True Ancestors head trembled. What did you say the radius is? Fifty kilometers? Yes, thats our speculation. Thats impossible. The True Ancestor found it unbelievable. So does that mean that he can easily destroy a city right now? Yes. Even paradise cannot resist that kind of attack many times. The True Ancestor was truly shocked. After a long silence, she said, Fine, Ill just stay in the Netherworld and wait until he dies of old age. He might never die of old age. Why? Hes almost a Legend. He may become one at any moment. The True Ancestor was instantly lost for words. A Master-level Mage could already live almost two hundred years. The Legendary Mages could live more than three hundred years, because their souls went through qualitative changes and their vitality faded much more slowly. Of course, their longevity depended on how much vitality they had when they became Legendary, or to put it more frankly, how old they were. For someone who became Legendary as young as Roland, it wouldnt be a problem for him to live several hundred years. It wasnt surprising for an old man in his seventies to live another hundred years when he became Legendary. Does it mean that I may have to spend the rest of my life in the Netherworld? The True Ancestor couldnt have looked more upset. I dont want that. This place is boring. Then play more card games with me. No, I wont! The True Ancestor covered her head with both hands, squatted, and complained, Its boring to play card games with you. You always cheat. I dont cheat. You always draw the best cards. Isnt that cheating? I have fourteen points of Luck. Most people only had five points of Luck. Ten points was the upper limit for humankind. What could fourteen points bring? Only those who had it knew. Also, Luck was a predestined and unchangeable stats. Hearing that, the True Ancestor who still held her head became even more bummed. No wonder she never won a single card game against the Nether God. On the other hand, Roland bid farewell to Nia and Andonara and then came to the Wind Hermit Guilds base. Very soon, someone let him in. In the meeting room, Barbion was still studying the map. Roland walked to him and asked, Are you studying how to beat the boss?. No, Im studying business routes, replied Barbion with a smile. More and more cities have magic arrays now. Some of the old business routes are no longer cost-effective. Im planning to replace or optimize them. Awesome. I dont know how to do business at all. The richest player claims that he doesnt know how to make money. Dont you think thats too hypocritical? Barbion said jokingly. Have you finished your thing? Yes, I have. Then why dont you stay in our base for the night? We have spare rooms. Roland shook his head with a smile. Thank you for your kindness. I have a house in this place too. Right, I forgot that the lord of Wetland City belongs to F6, said Barbion. How can you possibly be landless here? Ill just take a rest in my house and meet you tomorrow morning. Barbion nodded. Okay Wait a moment. Roland was about to leave. Hearing that, he turned around and looked at the guy in confusion. Have you ever heard about the Anti-F6 Alliance? Well, I dont know about that. Roland was interested. But Ive indeed been harassed by some players in secret. I dont know who they are or work for. I dont know many of the details, Barbion thought for a moment and said. But I was told that theyre led by a very rich guy. Theyre very mysterious and highly secretive. I only learned the news by accident. Roland slightly heaved a sigh. Thank you very much, Barbion. Although it wasnt much, he was still given some useful information. One could never learn enough information. This piece of information might come in handy someday. Roland returned to his manor and took a rest for the night. It was supposed to be peaceful, but Beatrice came to him in the middle of the night, weeping and complaining of how lonely she was. Few men could hold themselves back when a warm body was in their arms. It took Roland quite a while to soothe Beatrice. On many occasions, women slept with men not because they enjoyed it but because they were happy to be with men and feel that they were needed. That was the case for Beatrice. She wasnt really interested in sex. She simply missed Roland after not seeing him for a long time. Sending herself to Rolands bed was just a method to approach him. Besides, as a woman, she didnt have any other methods. Beatrice rose from the bed. Although nothing happened that night, she looked a lot healthier and happier than before. She truly wanted nothing but Rolands company. After breakfast, Roland came to the Wind Hermit Guild. Barbion and three other people were already waiting at the door. This time, it was a five-men squad, a classic configuration. Although Roland was here to help, the rest of the team didnt slack off but carried weapons that could damage giant creatures. Epic quests were quite random. Different conditions might mean completing different processes. Take a rescue the princess quest, for example. When different people picked up the quest in the same place, they would be given different rewards and reactions depending on their goodness, capability, and the number of passersby around them. They might be asked to take the villain down with wisdom, or to kill him with strength. They might even be asked to cut the princess down. TO Of course, the last scenario was highly unlikely, but not impossible. So, no quests had fixed solutions. This was especially true for epic quests. The rest of the team came to Roland and greeted him upon seeing him. Then, the team jumped five times with magic teleportation arrays and came to a small city near the border of Fareins. Roland thought that the quest was inside the city. But then, Barbion took them out. They walked in the forest for a long time and defeated a lot of hungry wolves, before they finally reached a hilltop. On the hilltop was a mottled gray altar covered in moss. Standing in front of the altar, Barbion shared the epic quest with Roland. Roland soon received a message. Player UID 445812 has shared an epic quest with you. Kill Scorching Locke. Scorching Locke, one of the commanders in the Realm of Devils, will soon arrive in this world through a certain secret technique. Its time to reveal your strength and stop him. Roland picked the quest. Barbion said in embarrassment, Sorry that I didnt share the quest with you sooner. Please understand the sadness of the small guilds like ours. Roland, of course, understood why he did that. In the early phase of the game, many players found rewarding quests that they couldnt complete on their own, so they asked other players help. Some of them werent sophisticated and shared the quest with anyone who promised to kill the monsters with them. But then, some of the new recruits quit the team and accomplished the quests with people from their guild. The quest releaser could only watch other people intercept their quest. It felt as awful as having their girlfriend stolen by someone. Thats all right, I totally understand. Roland waved his hands. Barbion was relieved too. It was great that Roland didnt hate him. Then, he took out a piece of black wood from the system Backpack and laid it on the altar. The black wood disappeared like thawing snow. Then, the whole altar glowed dazzlingly. Barbion tried to appease Roland. Its all right, this is just a quest teleportation. Youll soon be accustomed to it. Roland had teleported himself countless times; he was certainly accustomed to it. However, the guy only said that out of good will, so Roland didnt say anything. After the light faded, Roland found himself in the Realm of Devils. It was quite easy for him to discern the unique terrains of the Realm of Devils. The sky was always purple, and the earth was always red. The moment they showed up, someone roared at a distance. You human maggots are here again! Dont run if youve got balls! The voice rumbled from afar. Hundreds of meters ahead, a big fat devil that was at least five meters tall was running to them with a huge wooden stick in his hand. The earth trembled faintly as he rushed over. Roland looked at Barbion curiously. Again? How many times have you fought him? Seven! Barbion seemed rather embarrassed. Then he shouted, Disperse! The guys magma balls are coming! Hardly had he said that when three gigantic magma balls were thrown to him in parabolas. Each of the balls was at least five meters in diameter. Roland had seen that spell in books on magic common sense. It was called Penta Fireball Tactic and it was quite powerful. But in fact, it could only launch three fireballs. There was no telling why it was called Penta Fireball. After Barbion cried out, the four of them all dispersed. They also charged forward. Barbion even shouted, Lets buy some time for the Mage to cast spells. Itll be great if we can get Roland five seconds for him to launch a nuclear explosion. However, everybody knew that it was impossible. In other games, the classes like Warriors could taunt the enemy. It was almost impossible for a boss to attack a Mage behind a Shield Warrior. However, there were no convenient skills to do that in this game. Also, the AI was as smart as real human beings. The moment Roland began to concentrate his magic power and prepare for a grand fireball, the boss would discover it and smash him with the gigantic wooden stick to disrupt him. But in any case, it was the top priority of the team to create an environment where the Mage could deal damage. The four of them ran toward the fat giant and tried to avoid the three red magma balls that were descending from the sky. However, before the three balls crashed, Roland had stepped forward. A field of ice quickly unfolded. The ice on the ground spread out even faster than his running teammates and reached the feet of the fat giant devil. Then, Roland pointed his finger forward. A freezing wind hit the three magma balls, cooled them down into back rocks, and even blew them back. They sank half a meter into the ground right next to the giant devil. The devil stopped charging and looked at Roland hesitantly. Chapter 736 - Immoral Couple Apart from the Demon Gods, there were also a lot of legendary creatures in the Realm of Devils to help the Demon Gods with daily affairs. Thanks to the jungle rules in the Realm of Devils, those Legendary creatures could keep a place under control even though they werent good at administration. But of course, it was impossible for them to do a great job in developing the economy and infrastructure. All the Demon Gods asked was that their subjects didnt rebel every other day. Therefore, the lords in the Realm of Devils were literal experts who were very good at fighting Scorching Locke worked for Sidi, who mastered the desire of mating. Pure lust was corruptive and irrational. Those who were enchanted by Sidi would mate until they died. The lovemaking that the Goddess of Love was in charge of was regular and acceptable. The difference was whether or not there was enough self-control. In fact, neither the Goddess of Love nor Sidi had complete godhood. It was because there was a third god who had the power of love. Rose, the Spider Queen, was a neutral goddess who also had some power over lovers. When their godhoods were combined, it would be the entirety of the power on reproduction. It was just that the power had somehow been divided into three pieces. Locke, as Sidis best fighter, always had special feelings for his boss. In the Realm of Devils, the boundary between Demon Gods and Legends or Demigods wasnt too huge. After all, almost all the Demon Gods used to be Legendary Commanders or Demigod Commanders. Locke wanted to be appreciated by his boss. After all, Sidi was a real beauty in the eyes of all the species in the Realm of Devils. Her powerful Demon God bloodline and her flexible body meant that she could carry the child of any species in the Realm of Devils. So, after learning that his boss was bullied by a certain group of human beings, Locke had planned to march to the human world with troops to avenge her and see if he could win her favor. He had even gathered enough materials to activate a portal. Although Sidi was Lockes master, she wasnt as good at fighting as Locke was. She was better at entrapment and escape. So, even though Sidi was far weaker than other Demon Gods as an individual, she would soon return with a bunch of followers as long as she successfully fled disaster. Also, most of her followers used to work for her enemy. That was an awesome application of her abilities, which could be powerful even if they werent designed for battles. Locke was very brave, but it didnt mean that he was stupid. No ordinary Mage couldve frozen his magma with pure magic power and blown it back with a wind. This human being was very strong and unlike those things he couldnt kill earlier. However, the magic power that the guy released was indeed on the Master level. A Master-level human Mage could blow his magma ball back? Was he hallucinating, or did the guy use a special trick to conceal his strength? Scorching Locke was full of questions. He instinctively felt that it was no good. After a moment of hesitation, he turned around and ran off. Everybody was shocked by that, including Roland. He had never seen such a cowardly devil expert before. The guys scent suggested that he was a Legend. Yet, the Legend ran off after seeing five Masters. He ran off! Are you even a devil? Barbion and his teammates wanted to ask him. Have you forgotten how you brutalized us before? Come on, keep on brutalizing us. Dont run! After a while, Barbion finally came back to himself and shouted, Run! Dont let him get away! Scorching Locke might look heavy and clumsy, but he turned out to be a fast runner. He was even faster than Barbion and his team. When the devil ran, the earth near him trembled noisily. Barbion and the others were left behind. At this moment, Roland took action. Because he had enough time to concentrate magic power, it took him only three seconds to develop a blue fireball two meters in diameter. However, the enemy had already run far during the three seconds. If he did not take action, the enemy would be beyond the reach of the fireball. Without hesitation, Roland threw the fireball and controlled its trajectory with his mental power. Barbion and the others saw an enormous blue fireball fly above their heads while they were running. They were all frightened. Shoot! They stopped chasing the enemy and started running back. Their turn-around was so sudden that two of them almost fell because of inertia. Nevertheless, they ran back as quickly as possible. While running, Barbion even shouted, Shoot, give us a warning before you launch an AOE attack! His shrill voice was almost devastating. Scorching Locke heard that too. He ran even faster. At this moment, a patrol team appeared in front of him. They happened to be his men. He shouted, Come here and protect me! They were a team of devils too, but they were much smaller than Scorching Locke. Hearing their bosss order, the patrol team instantly trotted to him. Then, they saw a gigantic blue fireball flying at them. Because they approached Scorching Locke, he was very close to them. Then, Scorching Locke grabbed one of them in each hand and raised them high as shields. The blue fireball crashed down. It was the same dazzling flash, followed by a violent explosion and surging flames. Scorching Locke and the patrol team were completely engulfed. That was not the end of it. The terrifying shockwaves swept across a radius of three hundred meters. Although Barbion and the others managed to run away from the destructive range, their hair was still flying crazily because of the blast. Watching the rising mushroom cloud and feeling the burning air, all four of them fell silent. Barbion couldnt help but remark, Although Ive seen it many times, it was just a video on the screen. I didnt know how dreadful it was until Im faced with the explosion for real. His teammates nodded with unease on their faces. A few seconds later, after the hot air dispersed, Barbion said, Lets go in together and capture the enemy if hes still alive. The three of them nodded and simultaneously took bright iron chains from their system Backpacks. The chains were thick and long, and attached to heavy hammers. Roland watched them curiously from behind. 11 But Roland wasnt curious for long. Very soon, the dust at the center of the explosion dispersed, and everybody saw the miseries there. Scorching Locke was still standing, with two blackened bars of coal in his hands. Beside Locke were twenty crispy corpses, some of which were still burning. Scorching Locke had been completely blackened, too, nothing left intact. But even so, he was still alive. He breathed heavily and dropped the bars of coal in his hands. Although he was at the center of the explosion, Scorching Locke was a Legend with remarkable vitality. Besides, as a fiery devil, he was strongly resistant to flames. That was why he could weather through the fire. But even so, he was greatly damaged. He looked at Roland with fear and then turned around to flee. However, he ran much more slowly than before. After only several steps, two round hammers caught his legs with long chains behind them and pulled him to the ground. He fell and raised quite a cloud of dust. He was so enormous that he couldnt rise quickly after a fall. He was so anxious that he turned around and tried to see what was going on, only to find that the Golden Sons had stabbed a few long iron spears into the ground. Even more unbelievably, they tied the back ends of the chains to the spears and soon created a solid stake. Scorching Locke struggled to move his legs. The chains were straightened and even creaking, but they werent torn apart or off from the stake. He struggled and tried to get back to his feet. However, another two chains that were attached to hammers flew over and bound his hands. Two pairs of humans dragged one chain and ran opposite each other. Those people werent as strong as Scorching Locke, but he was so heavily wounded that he only had fifty percent of his strength left. Besides, he was sitting on the ground, which wasnt the best position to exert strength in. The result was that he was pulled to the ground and his hands were spread away from his body. All of the devils limbs were stretched to the limits. Then, Barbion and the others took out more spears and stabbed them to the ground, creating solid chain stakes. This time, it was impossible for Scorching Locke to struggle at all. Roland was quite dazzled. He really wanted to compliment them for their creativity. However, for Scorching Locke, it was the greatest humiliation. He roared, struggled, and cursed the Golden Sons from the ground, but everybody simply ignored him. Barbion and the others came to Locke and poked different parts of Lockes blackened body, before they said with a smile, I didnt expect that we could take down the boss so easily. Its because Roland was so good, another player remarked. He reduced a Legendary devil to such a state with one blue fireball. Barbion examined Scorching Locke and found a black stick on the guys neck. He moved forward and plucked the stick out. Scorching Locke was even angrier, but he had been tied up and couldnt unleash his strength, so he could only glare at Roland. Oh, a piece of epic equipment. Barbion clicked his tongue and tossed it to Roland. As we agreed upon, this is yours. The moment he grabbed the black staff, Roland found it quite heavy. It was merely a small pendant for Scorching Locke, but for Roland, it was a long staff. Their body sizes were too different. Then, Roland opened the system vision. Item: Scorching Lockes Fiery Staff When its user performs melee attacks, it will automatically launch small fiery spells at the enemy. There were also two special features. Cost of all spells -10%. Intensity of fiery spells +1. The enhancements were quite good. Roland looked at the staff and wondered if he could reshape it into a sword, when he saw that Barbion and the others had cut Scorching Lockes body and let him bleed. Scorching Locke crazily struggled and roared. But it didnt help. Although the chains were clanging, the four stakes to which his hands and legs were stuck remained still. Youre Were dissecting him into materials, said Barbion casually. A devils flesh, heart, brain, and other organs are all rare and valuable magic materials. Roland was naturally well aware of that. But this devil was still alive. Wasnt it slightly immortal and brutal to dissect him just like that? As if he saw the confusion on Rolands face, Barbion put a cup of blood in the system Backpack and said, Weve already investigated this guy. Locke took part in at least two human-devil wars. You wouldnt want to hear the atrocities he committed. Then do whatever you want. Roland shrugged. If dragons could be dissected for materials, there was no reason why devils couldnt. This was an equal world. Thank you for your understanding, haha. Barbion laid his longsword on Scorching Lockes body and was going to cut downward, when all of them stopped moving. At the same time, Roland felt like his head had just been smashed by a hammer, and the whole world was ringing. It wasnt even three seconds later that the noise in Rolands ears and brain were finally gone. Then, he saw a woman slowly descending from the sky. She looked quite beautiful and holy. The woman slowly landed on Scorching Lockes abdomen and stood proudly. She looked around, then stared at Roland. Youre not bad. You resisted my mind control. Roland was briefly dazed. He then looked ahead, only to see that Barbion and the others were not moving. He couldnt help but ask, Whats wrong with you? Get out of here. We cant move. Do you know why? Barbion sounded rather panicked. Roland frowned. Although I havent completely overtaken their minds, their bodies have already surrendered to me. Sidi looked at Roland. You look very familiar Let me see. Right, youre Roland. She snapped her fingers, and Barbion and the others all turned around and gazed at Roland. Their faces were all twisted, as if they were trying to resist something. Roland couldnt help but gasp. Brothers, the system shows that your names are red. Red names were given to players in PK mode, or the enemies in a match. To attack someone with a red name wouldnt be punishable by the system. Something is wrong with this woman, shouted Barbion. Roland, you should run first, or kill us if you cant. How can he possibly run? The woman narrowed her eyes and smiled. Others will laugh at me if he does. Transparent chains darted out of the void into the ground, locking this space. Then, the woman looked at the giant devil below her feet. How embarrassing, Locke. Ill give you another opportunity. If you fail again, you dont need to be the Great Commander anymore. The woman cut her finger, and a drop of red blood dripped onto Lockes body. Fight for me again, lowly dog. The woman slowly drifted back. The drop of blood seemed to contain marvelous power. The blackened skin on Lockes body fell away, replaced by fresh skin and flesh. His muscles were also bulging like sponges. This time, he easily broke free from the chains and slowly stood up. As you wish, Bitch Sidi. Chapter 737 - You Made Me Do It Unbearable, it was truly unbearable to watch. Because he had been blown up by the blue fireball earlier, Scorching Lockes clothes had been burned away long ago and he was naked. Before, his body was scorched and black and nothing could be seen, but now that he was under the effects of Sidis hyperactive spell, his body had regenerated, his skin had grown back and was quite white, and he was physically hyperactive, with a large, disgusting gun nearly a meter long on his lower body. Any male creature would feel sick seeing it. Not at all lethal, but extremely humiliating. Sidi was about the size of a normal female, and she was showing disgust at the sight of it. She even clicked her tongue, wondering if she had done something wrong by using the hyperactive spell on this lowly jackal. However, Scorching Locke, who had been completely resurrected with full health, thought otherwise. He laughed out loud and roared, Human Mage, die. He then spread his legs and came running wildly toward Roland. The most conspicuous thing was the lance that swayed from side to side as he ran. For the first time, Roland wimped outno man could hold his own against such a thing. Looking at the running Scorching Locke, Roland didnt hesitate to snap his fingers repeatedly, as ten huge Hands of Magic came from high in the air, clenched into fists, and beat at Scorch Locke nonstop. Every punch that hit him made the fat on his body tremble nonstop. It was reasonable to say that each punch like this had the power of two or three tons, and at least fifty or more punches a second hit Scorching Lockes body. If it were an ordinary human Warrior, even if his body didnt break even Andonara, who had both Legendary Toughness and Constitution, wouldnt dare to resist such an attack from Roland head-on. She would use a super fast speed to dodge the Hands of Magic, or just use her sword to slice the Hands of Magic. Instead, Scorching Locke took it all and was even running fast as if nothing happened at all. Then at least a dozen rounds of Prismatic Spray appeared in front of Roland. This kind of attack spell had a super high penetrative power. Seeing these colorful things, Scorching Lockes expression changed a little. He roared and made a continuous throwing motion as he ran. A ball of green fire lava plasma generated in the air and came smashing down in a parabolic curve. Each one of these molten balls was huge, with a radius of about a meter and a half. They landed on the ground and began to roll, colliding with the dozen or so Prismatic Spray. Although the Prismatic Spray was more powerful, it was only a one-time spell. The two collided, and although the Prismatic Spray annihilated all the molten balls, it disappeared at the same time. And Scorching Locke rushed closer; In his hand, a huge war hammer made of entirely molten red stone even appeared. The ground shook louder and louder. Roland backed up while snapping his fingers. An extremely thick stone wall appeared in front of him. Scorching Locke crashed into it without hesitation. Earth and rocks scattered everywhere. He shattered the first earthen wall easily, as if he had hit tofu. Then the second, the third, and the fourth also came down. After smashing ten tall, thick earthen walls, Scorching Locke slowed down. Then after crashing through three more earthen walls, his terrifying body finally came to a halt. He held onto the wall and snarled, Human Mage, you coward, come out from behind the wall if you dare. For he could still see that the earthen walls were still rising rapidly one behind the other. Roland snorted as he heard Scorching Lockes roar. Mage combat was supposed to be about intelligence and the wise usage of spells. After he raised another earthen wall, he laughed and said, Im just a Master human Mage, Im no match for a Legendary elite like you. Come over here if you can break through all the earthen walls. This was just a joke. Whenever Roland was bored, he would find Andonara to spar with. Also a Legendary elite, Andonara could probably beat more than three Scorching Lockes. Though Roland had never won against Andonara, he had a good idea of how to effectively limit powerful Warriors and not lose so fast. Then he put up at least seven thick circular walls around him, wrapping himself in them, and began to accumulate a large blue fireball. At the moment Scorching Locke was outside hammering away at the earthen wall, having managed to take down three more, when he felt a massive, rapid gathering of magic, and was immediately startled. He turned around and ran. He was truly scared. At the same time, he didnt understand just how much this human Mages magic power limit was. Didnt that dreadful wide-range fireball spell from earlier drain him of magic power? He ran while covering his face with his hands. He was quite exuberant just now, the frenzy of revenge making him ignore his pain. But now, the pain came as soon as his courage faltered. At this time, his body already had many bruise marks, and even that lance between his crotch, which had shrunk back into a mass of fleshy worms, swayed from side to side as he ran. It was disgusting to watch. Sidis smug grin froze. She thought she could see what it would look like for Locke to beat up the human Mage furiously, and humiliate the four main lawful gods of Light, Life, Magic, and Death in the process. After all, they were protecting Roland. But now, it was the commander under her, a Legendary high-ranking devil, being pressured and beaten by a Master human Mage. This was no longer a difference in strength, but a difference in intelligence. Her face began to show anger. Then she pointed and shouted, You guys, go help Locke. The four players whose bodies she had taken control of moved in a swaggering manner, as if they were in an alien species-like position, either crawling or running forward while wiggling their butts. And they still ran quite fast. At the same time, Sidi shouted, Locke, go back, shame on you. Scorching Locke stopped as he looked helplessly at Sidi and pleaded, I cant resist that fireball. Ill handle it. At those words, Scorching Lockes eyes lit up and he immediately turned around, slamming into those earthen walls once more. It was at this moment that a huge blue fireball was thrown out from the center of the layers of circular earth walls. Even from a great distance, one could feel the terrifying magic power within this fireball. The explosion would be terrifyingly powerful. Sidi smiled. It was true that she wasnt strong in direct combat, but that didnt mean that she didnt have any advantages as a Demon God. Roland controlled the fireball telekinetically, slamming it diagonally in front of him. His gaze was set on where Scorching Locke was. Even through the heavy earthen wall, Roland could use his mental power to sense the approximate location of the nearby enemies. But right at that moment, Roland suddenly felt a terrifying mental power pushing in and snatching his control of the giant blue fireball. This mental power was strong, slippery, and pervasive. In less than half a second, it stole the better part of his control. Then the fireball flew diagonally away, landing at least a few hundred meters away from the battlefield and exploding. Although the shaking of the earth and the violent winds could still be felt, there wasnt much lethality anymore. Rolands face darkened. This Demon God had no sense of poise and status. As a top-tier elite, she resurrected her men and enhanced them drastically, not to mention that she was now taking the field too. Does she have no shame? Just as Roland was upset over this, Sidis mental power became even stronger. It caused an overwhelming non-stop vibrational disturbance, and soon all the magic power in the surrounding was disturbed. This was a special attack against Mages. In his spiritual world, Roland felt nothing but noise all around him. It was like having a dozen chainsaws turned on near his ears and then being swung up and down. The noise was giving him a headache, the veins in his temples pulsing, and he simply couldnt control his magic power properly. So soon, the wall of earth around him gradually dissolved. Seeing this, Sidi smiled smugly once again. No one could use magic in a situation like this, including Scorching Locke. But it didnt matter; as a devil, he was a dual practitioner of magic and physical combat. He let out a battle cry once again and charged toward Roland with excitement. He was full of energy. That disgusting thing once again flared up. S*it Roland watched a huge repulsive thing and four oddly walking aliens charge over and felt disgusted. And being suppressed by Sidis god-level mental power, he couldnt use magic at all. In about another ten seconds or so, the enemies would be in front of him. He also saw Sidis arrogant and greatly malicious smile in the distance. You made me do it. Roland took a deep breath, and without hesitation, he took out the largest bullet from his Backpack. The blue-white, streamlined cylinder that seemed to be about the size of a mortar shell lay in his hand. The enemy was even closer to him now. Although Barbion and the others couldnt control their bodies, they were conscious. At this moment, they also saw the thing in Rolands hand. All four had seen the livestream of Roland doing the test and knew what it was. At once, the expression in their eyes became helpless. They couldnt control their bodies. They were as good as dead. The moment this thing appeared, Sidi subconsciously felt that something was wrong. Her subconscious told her that Roland had something that could threaten her. But, Roland was only a Master, and as long as she used her mental power to disrupt the magic around him and suppress his spells, even if he had a god-slaying spell, he wouldnt be able to use it. So she decided to take another look-after all, sometimes things like intuition werent particularly reliable. Roland grabbed this blue bullet with force. Since he couldnt use spatial magic, Roland naturally couldnt use the spell Spatial Bubble for throwing an object over a long-range. But it didnt matter. Roland had taken this into account when making this thing. So, these bullets could be triggered by an impact. Roland was level 13, and even with only normal constitution growth, his base constitution had reached 11.5. It was roughly equivalent to the base strength of a level-two Warrior level with full constitution growth. It was strong. The power and force of a thrown object had the most direct relationship to strength. Roland waited patiently for a few seconds, waiting for his opponent to run a little closer. He was waiting idly for an opportunity, but in Scorch Lockes eyes, it was a sign of being stunned and giving up resistance. This was normal. Being suppressed by a Demon God with mental power, what power did a mere Master Mage have to resist? He was now less than fifty meters from the human Mage, a matter of seven or eight steps. Scorching Locke opened his mouth wide in excitement. He was going to crush this human to a pulp, shove it in his mouth, and eat it in one bite. Scorching Locke covered another ten meters or so Behind Scorching Locke, Barbion and the other players followed. Roland even saw the helpless expression in their eyes. Then he used all his strength to throw the bullet in his hands. The projectile was quite fast. Scorching Locke saw a rock-like thing thrown at him, then subconsciously protected himself with the molten giant hammer in his hand. It was a completely instinctive move. All Warriors, who have been in combat, had the instinct to knock away or deflect things with their weapons. Just a moment before the projectile was about to make contact with the giant hammer, something suddenly occurred to Sidi and her face twisted sharply. No! A mournful shout rang out. It was at this time that Roland desperately mobilized and squeezed his mental power to elementize himself. Fire Elementization! The flash of the nuclear blast blinded Scorching Locke and the four players in an instant. Then came the violent explosion, a mass of white flames forming a mass of light that expanded extremely quickly for about ten kilometers before it turned into a red wave of flames that overwhelmed the surroundings. The earth shook with the strength of a magnitude seven earthquake for nearly two minutes before it gradually stilled. The red blast that was hundreds of meters high destroyed everything as if it could swallow up heaven and earth. It was only an illusion, but it could already make all who saw it feel the fragility of life. Rolands fire elemental, originally at the center of the blast, was thrown around by the violent blast, and by the time he was able to stabilize himself ten minutes had passed and he was a hundred kilometers away from the blast site. Because he absorbed too much heat, his fire elemental form had grown more than ten meters tall, and even its color had turned blazing white. He didnt dare change back to his human form, as grayish-white radioactive dust was already starting to fall in the air. And the radioactive dust was getting a little denser. The fire elemental form was capable of low-level flight, though nothing too fast. Because the fire elementals temperature was now so high, even flying more than ten meters off the ground, it left a scorched black path on the earth. It took him nearly another half hour to slowly fly back to the center of the explosion. At this point, a large amount of radioactive dust drifted down. The temperature here was frighteningly high, and the ground sank into a huge, crater-like depression. A large amount of magma poured back in, forming a lava lake with a scarily large area. Gurgling and bubbling. Roland didnt even have to think much about the fact that if he was wearing the Pip-Boy on his left hand, then it would be buzzing constantly, reminding him of the terrible amount of radiation that filled the place. The fire elemental walked on the lava lake, and now and then dove into it. Roland didnt find anything, but soon he could see something that seemed to be giving off a reflection beyond the lava lake. He drifted over and saw a skull a huge skull on the scorched land by the lava lake, and looking at the appearance, it should be that of some devil. And this skull was transparent as if made with the purest and cleanest glaze. Is this a sarira? Roland thought about it and decided it might be useful, so he put it away in his Backpack. Then he felt another intermittent jolt of mental energy ahead of him and flew over. He saw something that looked like a writhing humanoid. Roland drifted over, took one look, and couldnt help but shake his head. How tragic! A black broth was churning and bubbling, but barely managing to maintain its human form. It was impossible to see the face, or the skin or texture. It was as if invisible forces were interfering with its restructuring and healing. It couldnt even scream because there was no mouth at all. Chapter 738 - You Better Have It Chapter 738 You Better Have It Even with a hydrogen bomb, there were traces of radiation after the explosion. However, compared to the decades or even centuries of residual radiation left by conventional nuclear explosions, this residual radiation was nearly non-existent. Roland reckoned that was the main reason that Sidi hadnt been able to recover was the radiation that was still left in the air. But the radiation was also fading at a very quick rate. In just under two minutes, a humanoid black-soup version of Sidi took shape, with a nose and the appearance of a mouth. Roland hesitated for a moment and gathered a blue fireball in his hand. He was hostile toward her anyway, so he might as well take her out. She was only a Demon God. There was nothing to be afraid of. Seemingly sensing danger, the black humanoid mass wailed in terror and crawled desperately forward. But it simply crawled too slow. Roland was about to slam down the blue fireball. The black humanoid monster let out an ear-piercing scream as it shivered all over. But also at that moment, a figure suddenly swept down in the air, as fast as lightning. A huge black machete chopped at Roland. The fire elemental turned into two halves, drifted back half a meter, and then re-condensed. The machete had turned into a dark red. Burned red by the extreme heat of the fire elemental. The one who came was bare on his upper body, with only a piece of animal skin around his waist. Although it was a man, he looked feminine and had an evil look on his face. What was even more outrageous was that the other party possessed extremely powerful mental strength, on the same level as Sidi. Another Demon God? Roland subconsciously put the remaining bullet in the Backpack where it was easiest to grab. There was no way to hold it in his hand now that he was in fire elemental form, and if he did so, it would surely explode. The man kicked up with his right leg and lifted the black-soup humanoid, and then carried it on his shoulder with his left hand. Trying to escape? Roland recast the small fireball, trying to hold his opponent back. But the man, carrying a cloud of dark meat soup, was extremely fast and turned into a black dot in the sky with a whoosh. Roland exhaled. Watching his opponent flee, he couldnt chase after him; the fire elemental didnt fly very fast. Did he scare away a Demon God? There was some satisfaction in Rolands heart. He looked at his level which was now level 15 and smiled. The battle had been too intense just now; he hadnt been reading the system messages carefully. Now that he had time, he flew out of the nuclear blast area while checking his system status. Team: You have killed Scorched Locke, exceeding the quest requirements, and increasing the experience reward by 50%, gaining a total of 55,234 EXP. Personal: You seriously wounded the Demon God Sidi, gaining the title: Demon God Hunter. Effect: Has an aura of suppression on all creatures in the Realm of Devils and a damage bonus on the Demon Gods, with a minimum value of 10% and a maximum value of 60% depending on the level difference between the two sides. Oh, I got another title. Rolands eyes lit up. He reckoned that the male Demon God was scared away just now mostly because of this effect. And it was in the radiation zone just now. But the radiation in the nuclear blast zone was probably almost gone at this time After flying away from the nuclear blast zone, Roland turned back into his human form and finally used Teleportation to return to Wetland City. When he arrived at the entrance of the Wind Hermit Guild, Barbion and the others were already waiting. The resurrection point they had chosen was Wetland City. When he saw Roland, Barbion came over, held Roland with both hands, shook him vigorously, and said excitedly, Almighty, thanks a lot, the quest is completed. Theres so much EXP. All four went up two levels. The quest was originally to get Locke to stop his plan to invade the main plane, but Roland killed Locke directly and got fifty percent more experience. Some special quests had a degree of completion. Roland sighed in relief. I thought you guys didnt receive the quest EXP. After all, you guys were possessed and in a hostile state before. Hahahaha. Barbion laughed in embarrassment. They were truly a hindrance when they were controlled. They felt ashamed of themselves. After the two of them chatted a bit more, Roland teleported back to Delpon. Andonara was exercising in the courtyard Although she was already a Legend and approaching Demigod, she never laxed on her training. Of course, it was a combination of work and rest. When she saw Roland return, she was happy at first, then froze and became even happier. She circled Roland. Youve become a Legend? She looked even happier than Roland did. It was from the bottom of her heart. Then she dragged Roland back into the house and had a good look around for a while. She had never resented the fact that Roland was not as strong as her because few men in the world were stronger than her. Even if Roland wasnt a Mage, even if he was a normal person, she would like him just as much. But women always wanted their men to be powerful. Especially a woman like Andonara who didnt have much sense of security. Vivian and Christina returned later after being informed by the maidservant of the manor who Andonara had sent. It was a big deal that her man had become a Legend. Angel Nia was also taken aback by Roland. She remembered the first time she had met Roland when he was just a small Mage who hadnt even reached Master. It had only been a short while, and he was already a Legend. Then Andonara decided to throw a large banquet, inviting the well-known figures of Delpon to attend and announce the news. Although the banquet was planned in a bit of a hurry, all those who received the invitation came. Even if they didnt have time, they still had to make time. It was already outrageous enough that Delpon had Andonara who was a Legend; now there was Roland too. Throughout the banquet, besides the congratulations, there were whispers like this: No wonder Andonara gave up the title of queen just to follow Roland. Turns out hes so promising. Sharp eyes. Who says shes not the queen anymore? Havent you realized that the royal family hasnt removed her status as queen at all? Wow, why doesnt the royal family get rid of her status? Would they dare? Legends now Roland is also a Legend, they wouldnt dare to even more. I heard that Roland even has an ambiguous relationship with the new queen of Fareins. Hiss! Roland is interested in other peoples pretty wives, so keep an eye on your own wife. Hmm! Oh? Some were worried, while others heard this and instead pondered. The party didnt break up until around midnight. Roland went back to his room and played around with Andonara and Vivian for more than three hours, and only after they had both gone to sleep did he open his system interface and start choosing a new specialty. At the Legendary level, he could choose a quasi-law specialty, as well as a normal specialty. If he had followed his previous intentions, he would have chosen a quasi-law skill that increased magic power cap, but now he had Magic Power Crystallization gifted by Jabezo, which not only accelerated his speed of magic regeneration but could also raise his magic power cap as he leveled up. Now at the Legendary level, it could provide 750 points of magic power. Combined with Rolands body of magic, various titles, talents, and equipment, his MP cap had surpassed 2300 points. The number two Mage in the whole server, ONeal, only had roughly 450 points with his magic power equipment on. With such a high MP value, it would be even higher later on as he leveled up. If he reached Demigod, along with his equipment and talent, he could exceed 3000 MP points. Most gods didnt have an MP cap of more than 2000 points, it was just that the power of faith gave them extremely fast magic power regeneration. In other words, it wasnt effective to keep piling on MP. There was a clear marginal effect. It was time for a new attribute enhancement. But what was a good attribute to enhance? High physical strength? High agility? Or high resistance? All three of these attributes were quite useful to Roland High physical strength meant high vitality. Survival was always important-especially when one reached Legend, dying once and losing EXP could devastate someone to the point of pulling their hair out. So vitality had to be considered. Besides high physical strength and constitution could make Rolands melee combat abilities even more powerful. Even if a melee professional got in close quarters with him, he wouldnt die so easily. In passing, when fighting Anna in the flesh, he wouldnt be so easily defeated. High agility, which is also known as high coordination, could lead to faster reaction times. In combat, high reaction speed brought obvious advantages. And then high resistance, which was what brought higher magic and mental resistance. In the face of curses, magic, and harsh conditions, one could have a more resilient mind. It also added a slight bonus to magic power regeneration speed. It was an attribute that leaned towards fighting against Mages. However, he would encounter even more powerful enemies later, be it the devils of the Realm of Devils or the evil gods in the Astral Plane, all of whom knew a spell or two. Even Warriors, when they became Legendary, could select a few spells. This was also useful. It was difficult to choose. Roland opens up the Legendary specialty selection interface. Based on four characteristicshis Mage profession, the special profession of Sword Dancer, elven bloodline, and human bloodline -over a dozen unique Legendary quasi-law specialties were derived. Four of them were of considerable interest to him. They were Plant Ruler, Human Son, Elemental Resonance, and Astral Mage. The Plant Ruler was the most interesting specialty of them all: you could communicate with the world tree and learn all plant-based spells, and when in the woods, you gained elven senses. Needless to say, this was an ability brought by the elven bloodline. Human Son: When you act in a predominantly human land, all basic attributes increase by two, and your health increases by an additional 200 points. Elemental Resonance: +20% power and 15% lower consumption for all elemental-based magic. The numbers werent anything exaggerated, but they fit perfectly with the professional nature of his special profession, Sword Dancer. Astral Mage: You have +2 to your base growth in Intelligence, and you can live in the Astral Plane and ignore its harsh conditions. From Rolands point of view, the ability of Elemental Resonance was the most cost-effective. Human Son was the strongest in terms of survivability, with the highest total combined attributes, almost like using Imprisonment on himself. The meaning of a Mages life was to explore, and sooner or later he would leave the human world for a long time to study in another races land or to level in the Astral Plane. That way, the specialty Human Son would be meaningless. As for the Astral Mage specialty, the plus-2 base attribute growth for Intelligence was a highlight. It was just a shame that in the Astral Realm the second effect was of no use to Roland at all. Sooner or later, Roland would build the floating city, and with it, where could he not go besides the divine realms? So he could only choose between Elemental Resonance and Plant Ruler. He thought about it for a long time and went through the list of Legendary specialties several times before finally choosing Elemental Resonance, a well-rounded Legendary specialty. Paired with the Sword Dancers professional talent of increasing elemental power and reducing magic power consumption, the two stacked up could increase spell power substantially, and consumption would also be reduced substantially. He chose Constitution Enhancement for the normal specialty, which was just an effect that increased the base physical attributes by one. Because he didnt roll out any better specialties, he picked one that would work best for him. After confirming both specialties, Roland felt quite a bit stronger. In addition to specialties, Rolands attributes certainly improved upon rising to Legend. He had just finished choosing his specialties when he suddenly felt his body lighten and found himself in the Paradise of Life. The six-winged angel Claudia led a dozen two-winged angels and stood in two columns. Elise, the Life Goddess, was seated in the emerald green divine chair in front of Roland. She smiled when she saw Roland. At this moment, a large number of huge eyes suddenly appeared in the sky of the Paradise of Life. Roland naturally knew what these eyes represented. Almost all of the gods had come. As soon as these eyes came out, several of them lashed out at the Life Goddess. Elise, you said you would keep an eye on him, and now hes almost killed Sidi. If you cant restrain him, hand him over. Thats right, Elise, youre a lawful god but your words dont count for anything. Arent you ashamed? Did they come here to trouble him? Roland looked at those eyes in the air and grunted. The Life Goddess looked at Roland and asked amicably, Why did you fight Sidi? She made the first move and tried to get me killed. Elises eyes shifted upward as she said with a smile, Did you hear that? It was Sidi who made the first move. I dont care who made the first move, its just not right for him to use a god-slaying spell. The eyes that spoke now were filled with evil. Roland suddenly remembered that most of the evil gods were somewhere in the Astral Plane, and the Life Goddess had even given their coordinates to him. He thought back for a moment, and then he took the last bullet out of his Backpack. This was why the Backpack was known as a divine item; it could be used even in a soul state. Then he opened the spatial coordinate wormhole in front of everyone and sent the medium-sized bullet, which already had the impact explosion function on, to some point in the Astral Plane. Seeing this, the Life Goddess smiled playfully and smugly. Two pairs of eyes in the air suddenly let out a miserable scream, and not much later these two pairs of eyes blurred and disappeared. Almost all the gods froze. Roland looked provocatively at those eyes in the air. Only two or three goddesses eyes appeared to be smiling Chapter 739 - You’re a Legend? All the gods were well aware Those two vanished evil gods were not dead yet. After all, it was only a medium-sized bullet. The large one didnt even completely annihilate Sidi, and the medium ones certainly couldnt kill a powerful evil god. But at the least, it would injure them seriously, make them shut up, and keep them from talking nonsense. Like this, Roland also revealed his stance. Whoever tried to screw with him, hed fight them head-on. Fight them head-on openly. After a long silence, an evil god spoke up. Light, Life, is this how you restrain your men? This evil god was very underhanded. Roland was the type of person who was extremely self-directed and didnt just follow the orders of others, much like Melf and Mordenkainen back in the day. So when he spoke, he stirred up their relationship, saying Roland was their man. Hoping it would create a rift between Roland and the lawful gods. And he only said that Light and Life had relationships with Roland. This way the two lawful gods of Magic and Death, who had a good relationship with Roland, were excluded. It might even provoke conflict between the lawful gods. It was just perfect. The evil god who spoke was smug on the inside. Feeling too smart for the Goddess of Wisdom to match, that one sentence had the three effects. Feeling that he should take the place of the god of wisdom and conspiracy. His smugness only lasted a few seconds before he noticed five pairs of eyes looking coldly at him. Light, Life, Magic, Death, and Roland. This evil god was trepid from the glares, and then his eyes disappeared into the air. They once again descended into silence. Apart from the lawful gods and a large number of evil gods, there were also quite a few neutral gods. For example, the five elemental gods. For example, shadow, forests, mountains, and other secondary gods. The world was now largely dominated by the lawful gods. So when the four main lawful gods were not speaking and about to get angry, the others didnt dare to talk. After a while, the Life Goddess slowly said, Sidi sought trouble from an ordinary person and deserved to be beaten up like that. There is no point talking about it. And at that time, Roland was still Master, yet she couldnt even beat him. Now that Roland is a Legend, which one of you wants to look for trouble from him on the main plane?. In the main plane, except for the Water Goddess, the power of all the gods would be suppressed. At most, they could exert the strength of a Demigod. It still sounded very strong. Demigods but at that time, Melf and Mordenkainen both dared to chase after the evil gods as Legends, and now Roland and the main lawful gods seemed to have a good relationship. He would certainly dare to chase after them even more. The move just now was a sign. No one wanted to go to the main plane to trouble Roland now. Mordenkainen only lost to the Goddess of Light. Back then, though Mordenkainen had a dirty mouth, the Goddesses of Light and Destiny wouldnt have fought against him if he had only targeted the evil gods. Sidi indeed has little strength, weak as can be, but she is one of our fourteen gods in the Realm of Devils. To the four main lawful gods, I, Barr, will say this now: Roland is our enemy. He is not welcome into the Realm of Devils, and from now on, if he dares to enter the Realm of Devils, the fourteen Demon Gods will strike at the same time. After speaking, the huge eyes, which appeared more ruthless and cold than that of most evil gods, disappeared. When he disappeared, there were about ten pairs of eyes that disappeared at the same time. Then, more eyes disappeared. They had mustered a large force to pressure the Life Goddess to hand over Roland. But the Life, Magic, and Nether goddesses showed great opposition to this. The Light Goddess was originally neutral, but seeing how determined her friend was, she naturally supported her. The four lawful gods were strong enough to pin down and pummel the evil gods of the Astral Plane, and when they stepped in to protect Roland, the evil gods had no other recourse. Besides, many neutral gods leaned toward the lawful alignment, so the evil gods wouldnt come out on top if things got out of hand. Seeing that there was no way to get at Roland, they all left. At least on the surface, they werent going to touch Roland for the time being, but what ideas they had in secret were a different matter. After all the other gods projections had disappeared, the Life Goddess said to Roland, Evil gods, these things, need to be knocked around a bit from time to time. Ill give you a few more coordinates, and you can cast a god-slaying spell whenever you want. I dont think theres a problem with that. No problem. Looking at the Life Goddess who had a righteous look but whose true character was quite dark, Roland found her quite interesting. After sharing a few coordinates, the Life Goddess said, The head of the Demon Gods, Barr, is very strong, and most importantly, the Demon Gods arent affected much in the main plane. Although you have reached Legend, in case Barr himself, or a few Demon Gods such as Vashak and Paimon come looking for trouble, I suspect you will struggle in a fight, so I suggest that you dont stray too far from Nia. If something happens, she can help you. But Nias wings are also sealed, right? If necessary, she can burn her life force to break free. Oh no wonder Nia usually behaved with a lot of courage. After returning from the Paradise of Life, Roland began learning Legendary level spells. The first and foremost of these was naturally what was regarded as the strongest spatial spell, the strongest survival spell, and the strongest food preservation spell Mystras Mansion. This thing was an enhanced version of Rope Trick. The interdimensional space created by Rope Trick was less stable and had a time limit, and there would be a rope hanging there at the point of entry into the interdimensional space that would reveal the location of its entrance. Also, Rope Trick had a small space of two cubic meters. However, Mystras Mansion had none of these disadvantages and created an entire dimension that not only existed permanently but also had no obvious entrance and was very inconspicuous. This was due to the nature of Mystras Mansion, which created a three-by-three-by-three cubic space somewhere in the Astral Plane, with its constant temperature of about 25 degrees, and fresh air generated constantly. The Astral Plane was so vast and huge that a small three-by-three-by-three space was as ordinary and mundane as a grain of sand floating in the wind in the Sahara Desert. Even if a god wanted to find a certain grain of sand in the desert, it was almost impossible to do so. Not even with Greater Benediction. Greater Benediction was theoretically all-powerful, provided you could afford to pay the price. So Mystras Mansion was, in theory, impossible to find even in the face of a gods pursuit. More importantly, Mystras Mansion allowed outsiders to enter. This meant a lot of things could be done. For the next two months or so, Roland studied Mystras Mansion. Even though Roland already knew enough about spatial magic, it still took him this long to master it. It was enough to show how difficult this spell was to master. In reality, although the spell model of Mystras Mansion was in all the major Magic Towers and even the Grand Library of Light, it was extremely rare for anyone to learn it. Even at the Spatial Magic Tower, only two Mages had learned it. And because the time it took to enter Mystras Mansion was so long-about four seconds to cast-it didnt have tactical safety value, being used more just as a safe house for outings or a food storage point. But this wasnt the case after Roland learned it. Silent and instant cast. He just had to snap his fingers. The first time he cast Mystras Mansion, he also randomly found a spot in the Astral Plane before he teleported in. In Rolands imagination, Mystras Mansion would be a white square container of a magic barrier. He was half right. It did look a lot like a container, but instead of being white, it was transparent. It was transparent like glass. Through the crystal-clear walls, one could see the Astral Plane beyond. There were strange bubbles everywhere in the distance. Bright and multicolored. It looked quite magical. According to the magic books, each bubble represented a world. These bubbles didnt look large, but it was because of distance. These bubbles were far, far away from you, all fixed at the ends of the Astral Plane, and even the gods couldnt cross such distances to get to the vicinity of the bubbles. Apart from these bubbles in the Astral Plane, a mass of void bugs flew around. The bugs were big and small and so strange that Roland couldnt quite describe what they looked like. The big bugs looked like mountains. The small ones were similar to mosquitoes. Void insects could only survive in the Astral Plane and hated any space outside of it. A Mystras Mansion like the one Roland created was highly toxic to them. Small to medium-sized bugs that encountered this kind of space would avoid it on their own instinctively, and wouldnt even try to touch it. Super large bugs came with their spatial repulsion force field. Miles away from them, spaces like Rolands Mystras Mansion automatically bounced aside. It was like a human walking around and the wind pressure generated automatically pushed some dust aside. Roland sat on the floor and smiled as he watched a small centipede-like bug in the distance being eaten by a winged bug that looked like a longhorn beetle. He felt a sense of security here. After staying for a while, he used the spatial coordinates he had saved long ago to teleport back to Delpon. After returning to the manor, he began to think about the shortcomings of Mystras Mansion. The space was still too small. 27 cubic meters of space was not enough for an adult. And later on, he would have to put some furniture and beds in there, which would make it seem even smaller. The system Backpack had 8 cubic meters of space. If he could merge these two spaces together, he would have 35 cubic meters of space, and it would be much easier to store things. Try to merge them? Rolands eyes lit up, and he immediately began this rather interesting plan. By leveling up to Legend, one was essentially breaking through the limits of humanity and entering the inhuman stage. One would have a foot in the door of godhood On the other hand, at the Demigod level was where both feet stepped in, truly qualifying for godhood. As a reward transcending an ordinary human and attaining higher biological status, apart from those numerical changes and new specialties, one acquired the ability to vaguely feel the truth of this world. In simpler terms, it was the ability to vaguely sense the nature of how the world worked. Just vaguely. Adding to the fact that Rolands mental power wasnt weak in the first place, he was now able to see many things that he couldnt understand before. For example, now he knew what the Backpack was. It was a special space that the system provided, similar to Mystras Mansion. It also existed in the Astral Plane. It took Roland a lot of time, about seven days using data calculations, to finally find the approximate location of his Backpack in the Astral Plane. It was hard to find a space in the Astral Plane. But if this space was ones own, then it would be a lot easier. It wasnt difficult to follow the trail. It was just time-consuming. After finding the coordinates of his Backpack, Roland tried to move his mansion space over. The spatial coordinates of the Backpack couldnt be moved, and according to his calculations, the thing was bound to his soul, and the authentication key was its coordinate value. So he could only move Mystras Mansion over. Once the two were put together, Roland snapped his fingers happily and the two spaces came together. What was next was a matter of punching through the wall between them. Entering Mystras Mansion again, Roland looked around for a moment, then revealed a confused expression. Whys the space so big? Through the crystal wall, he could see astral bugs of all shapes and sizes swimming nearby. This was indeed the Astral Plane. And in this large space, there were many of his items, such as gold coins, magical materials, weapons, Andonaras clothes, and so on! It was indeed the space he had put together. Roland perceived this square-shaped space with his mental power and his expression became even more baffled. Five-by-five-by-five, a total of 125 cubic meters. Strange. According to my theory, shouldnt the two spaces put together be 3X3X3 + 2X2X2 for a total of 35 cubic meters? How did it become (3+2)X(3+2)X(3X2), a total of 125 cubic meters of space? What exactly did I do wrong No, I shouldnt say it like that. Its what I did right in the process that actually made such a big difference. Roland left Mystras Mansion and recalculated the data he had used earlier, still not understanding it. His numbers were correct; at least he couldnt see any errors himself. After thinking about it, he posted the data to the forum and also took a video of Mystras Mansion becoming bigger. Then he typed the posts title: Can any math gurus look at what I got wrong with my data that caused Mystras Mansions space to get a lot bigger? A player soon replied. I can see the video, but what are these numbers and symbols, a new magic array? Wrong, its a Dao symbol. Runes. Why are you all focusing on the numbers? As far as Im concerned, looking at the Astral Plane from that square space, doesnt it feel like youre suspended in the universe? There cant be so many nasty bugs in the universe. Roland, youre a Legend? ??? What, Rolands a Legend? Chapter 740 - Divine Intercourse Until Rolands post, no player knew that he was already level 15 or Legendary. Because there was no system announcement. Previously, there was a server-wide announcement when Roland was the first to reach Master. This then led to a heated discussion. Strange, why is Roland Legend and theres no system announcement? Could he be a fake Legend? Could it be that the game devs dont see eye to eye with Roland and are preparing to hide his accomplishments? No way, the devs arent that stupid. Whats in it for them? There are powerful rich dudes who are not happy to see him in the limelight, so theyre affecting the developers of the game or something? Impossible! A national-level strategy like this, those rich dudes couldnt possibly dream of influencing. With that, the replies to the thread were completely skewed, with not many people discussing the official content of the thread and instead speculating about why Roland didnt get the Legendary title and the system announcement. Of course, some interested people still copied this data. For example, ONeal, but also some special forces and organizations. Exiting from the forum, Roland began trying to bring people into the space of Mystras Mansion. 125 cubic meters of space was quite small in the real world. It wasnt even comparable to a sizable shipping container. But thinking of it as a secret safe house that had almost no cost and was secure and undisturbed, it was quite significant. Think about it: when you go out, no matter where you go, whether its the desert, the wetlands, the tropics, or the frosty northeven being chased, as long as you can hide in there, all of the above will have nothing to do with you; you can take your time and rest until youre in perfect condition to deal with all the previous circumstances and enemies. Wouldnt that be a pleasure and joy? This was the reason that the nine cubic meters of space, which was so small, was called a mansion. Not to mention, Rolands mansion was now 125 cubic meters. It could even be made into a duplex. It was a significant expansion of the effective use of space. Normally, a Mystras Mansion could only be occupied by the caster. To send other people in, one would have to make some preparations. For example, good access rights, or protective measures for Teleportation. In the magic teleportation array, similar protective measures had been made, otherwise, ordinary people wouldnt be able to use the teleportation array at all; they would be torn to pieces by the spatial turbulence and spatial magic. Roland was in the room, carving colorless, transparent magic arrays onto Andonaras body. He had set her up with master permissions. The advantage of this access was that she could enter the mansion of her own accord without Rolands consent. Others, on the other hand, would have to have Roland perform a spell to transport them to enter such a space. Andonara, who now had an equality contract with Roland and a relationship of faith, could borrow Rolands magic power and easily activate this already imprinted spell as long as she had a magic array. Roland drew this magic array seriously and carefully stroke by stroke. Andonara was naked and smiling as she allowed Roland to do his work. Roland had said that access to the mansion would only be given to her alone right now. Although Vivian was also Rolands woman, she didnt have an equality contract with Roland, nor did she have a relationship of faith to borrow Rolands power. So in Andonaras eyes, this mansion spell was a cottage of love for both her and Roland. In reality, it was indeed a small house. It took half a day for the magic array to be carved, and Andonara used her voice control ability to teleport into the mansion. Roland then teleported in as well. Andonara looked through the transparent crystal wall and at the Astral Plane. It was a view she had never seen before. When Roland came in, she pushed Roland down and the two of them spent nearly six hours of passion in the mansion. Afterward, she looked contentedly at the small house and said with happiness all over her face, There is no furniture here, so let me choose the dcor. Okay. Andonara happily rubbed her head against Rolands chest. Mystras Mansion had been officially completed with surprising results. Then Roland began to learn the spell Mystras Sword of Wisdom, intending to summon the projection of the Sword of Wisdom. Summoning magic was considered to be one of the easier kinds of magic. So this time he only spent three days learning to summon the Sword of Mystra. When the spell succeeded, the blue longsword floated in front of Roland. There was a black eye in the middle of its hilt and guard. Blinking a few times, the Sword of Wisdom looked at Roland in horror. Wait, how did you summon my real body? Roland: ? Then in this very instant, heaven and earth distorted and the whole world went white. About ten seconds or so later, Roland was summoned to the Divine Realm of Magic. On the same high blue and white spiral patterned platform, Mystra sat in front of a white chair. When she saw Roland, she pointed to the table and said, Come and sit down. The blue Sword of Wisdom that had been following Mystra was nowhere to be seen. Just as Roland sat down, a glowing circle of blue teleportation magic appeared to Rolands left, followed by the sudden appearance of the Sword of Wisdom. It quickly flew to Mystras side and said in an aggrieved voice, Master, I was summoned to the main plane by Roland-it was a true form summon! Isnt that terrifying. Terrifying? Roland was rather confused. Mystra looked at Roland for a moment and explained, After the Sword of Wisdom ascended to the divine realm with me, it became an intelligent creature, with life and divinity. If it appears in the main plane, its strength will be suppressed and then its body will become very brittle. Very brittle? Mystra nodded. Its a bit tougher than a normal weapon, but itll break when it encounters epic-level equipment. But if its true body is in the divine realm and its just projected over, it wont have that problem. I see! I do wonder how you managed to summon the Sword of Wisdoms true form there. You changed the logic and nodes of the Sword of Wisdom summoning spell? asked Mystra curiously. Didnt change it, just used it as is. Then its your souls problem. Mystra looked at Roland with a rather interested gaze. Can you let me examine your soul, just a little? It wont be harmful. Roland hesitated. Mystra waited quietly for Rolands reply. Roland could see that she was a little nervous. Roland thought for a moment and said, Fine, you can pull my soul to the divine realm at will anyway. If you really want to turn against me, I cant resist now. Hehe. Mystra snickered in triumph. Hold out your hand. Roland put his hand across the table. Mystra reached out her hand as well and placed her palm over Rolands. Mystras hands were slender, smooth, warm, and soft. It felt special, knowing that it was a womans hand, but the touch was very different from that of an ordinary woman. After all, Roland had held the hands of many girls. Like Andonara, Vivian, Stephanie, and so on. But the texture of Mystras hand was completely different from theirs. It was an indescribable feeling, hard to describe in words. If he had to describe it with a phrase, it would be the ultimate in comfort. After the two of them pressed their palms together, Mystras spirit wandered into Rolands soul. It felt rather strange, like an extra consciousness inside of him. Roland even heard an additional voice in his head, too. It was Mystras voice, occasionally exclaiming softly in surprise. After a while, Mystra withdrew from Rolands soul. Her eyes were glowing, literally glowing, like two small pink light bulbs, which startled Roland. After a while, the light in Mystras eyes gradually disappeared, and she looked at Roland and said, I have to say, your soul is quite special. There is actually a strange divine power protecting you. It is the most primitive, and also the highest level of Chaos divine power. Such power, in this world, is nonexistent. You have a very powerful god in your Golden Sons world. Roland pondered this. After a moment, Mystra said, What summoned the Sword of Wisdoms body over there would be the Chaos divine power inside you, so dont summon the Sword of Wisdom until you understand how to use it, okay? No problem. Roland nodded. The Sword of Wisdom was a living thing, so if it really broke on the main plane, he really couldnt face Mystra. Mystra was a little happy to see that Roland was willing to listen to her. The Sword of Wisdom was also relieved. It didnt want to appear in the main plane again. Roland withdrew his hand and suddenly asked, By the way, who was the evil god that tried to ruin our relationship before? Do you know its coordinates in the Astral Plane? Hes dead. Roland froze. The Goddess of Magic said with a smile, Light, Life, the Netherworld, and I struck together; even if he hid in the Astral Plane, he wouldnt be able to escape. If Mystras Mansion were a small grain of sand in the desert in the Astral Plane, then the evil gods were like mammoths walking in the desert; it was too easy to find their location compared to the mansions. The four main lawful gods seemed to be quite vengeful. With a little provocation, all four of them struck at the same time to destroy the evil god. Of course, this could also be a show of force by the lawful gods. After all, the neutral gods, evil gods, and Demon Gods had united to pressure the Life Goddess. Life was the number one god of the lawful gods. This move was quite arrogant. If they didnt take action, who knew what kind of commotion those evil gods and Demon Gods would make the next time they joined forces. This was to serve as a warning to the other gods. Returning to his in-game body from the divine realm, Roland was about to conduct a magic experiment when he suddenly felt something was wrong. He suddenly found himself in high spirits, his mind active. It was not an illusion. Even in the sage state, there was a limit to the speed of ones mind. But now, he could feel that the speed of his thoughts was significantly faster than before. He subconsciously opened the system interface, and immediately found the reason. Bonus Talent: Fused With Divinity (Divine Intercourse) Divine Intercourse: you performed Divine Intercourse with the Goddess of Magic with regards to your soul. Some fragments of her divinity remained in your soul, and you gained some additional traits and abilities. Thought Acceleration: The intelligence attribute of the Goddess of Magic is much higher than yours, and because of the attribute siphoning principle, your soul strength is slightly increased, and along with it, the souls core can perform a greater intensity of thought operation. Soul Strength Enhancement: Increased resistance to spirit, curse, and bad luck abilities, with specific effects related to the characters level and resistance. Magic Flood: You cast all spells with 5% more power and strength and 5% less consumption. Damn I profited greatly? Roland couldnt help scratching his head. He was somewhat happy, but the name was off. What the hell is Divine Intercourse? It would be better to call it spirit merging. Well, that aside, since the Sword of Wisdom wont work for now, lets learn another Legendary spell instead. For example Mages Disjunction! Also called the Great Stripping. Roland was ready to go into the magic lab. However, todays game time was quickly coming to an end. All players received a system message just before the game server was suspended. Due to Rolands speed of exploring the world and leveling up too fast, our development progress hasnt kept up. Therefore the bug that caused a lack of system prompt and title acquisition after he reached the Legendary level will be fixed tonight at 22:00 when the server officially opens, and a small part of the game content that has been developed and is available will be opened. Please explore the specific information by yourself in the game. Roland took a deep breath. Then he exited the game. Habitually, he climbed out of the virtual cabin, went to the bathroom, showered, and brushed his teeth. His head was still a little fuzzy at first. But as time went on, he gradually woke up, and after he spat out a mouthful of toothpaste foam, his expression slowly changed. First, a puzzled look, then some surprise, then ecstasy. Because somehow he sensed the location of his mansion. It was faint and intermittent, but it was indeed the spatial coordinates of his mansion. That thing had been built by his own hands, so its spatial coordinate fluctuations couldnt be clearer to him. Is this real? A strange smile appeared on Rolands face. If he could sense the mansion in reality, then would it be possible to teleport directly to the Astral Plane if he had enough magic and mental power. Or even transmigrate into the game world with his real physical body. Roland felt that the hidden door of truth to the world was slowly opening before him and making a dull creaking sound. Why can I suddenly feel the coordinates of the mansion? Its been days since I completed the spell and I left the game world every day. What happened in the game yesterday? Roland suddenly thought of a possibility. Divine Intercourse with the Goddess of Magic Blegh, Fused With Divinity. And the strength of my soul increased. Its highly likely that this is it. Should I reach out to the Goddess of Magic for Divine Intercourse a few more times when I get back in the game? Chapter 741 - Clean and Crisp The matter of Divine Intercourse was put aside for the time being. Roland was staying at the base at the moment, discussing with some researchers the data he posted on the forum earlier concerning Mystras Mansion. I think this data is very wrong. A certain strong, middle-aged bald man tapped on a certain data point on the tablet. Why do three units of magic power become four units here? I applied mental power into it. Roland explained, The energy increased, and it became four units of magic power. The middle-aged man gasped in embarrassment. Energy formed by mental power again. This is a bit counterintuitive. It is reasonable to say that one unit of magic power, forming a basic small fireball, can blow up a concrete wall ten centimeters thick in its normal standard state, and will also form a broken crater with a radius of about thirty centimeters. This is a lot of energy, and it feels a bit unbelievable to create it from mental power. The catalyst effect, right. Dont those players have a magic cap setting? The energy itself is present in their bodies. That is, Roland now exists with energy inside him that is comparable to a small nuclear bomb. It does seem a little scary when you think about it that way. It seems a little unbelievable that we humans can really do such a thing. That is to say, the kind of immortal celestials in the legends thousands of years ago actually existed, but somehow are no longer present. Because the magic power or some similar energy on Earth disappeared? Now they could be sure of one thing; there was no magic on Earth that Roland needed. Roland could only create it with a special spell called Magic Power Transformation. The raw material for it was sperm. Roland, I think you should be more open and get some other peoples sperm to strengthen yourself. Scientific research does not need to be too concerned about things like dirtiness. You have to overcome your mental cleanliness. A young researcher was looking at Roland with a fervent gaze. I can personally offer quite a lot. Roland looked at him and took a step back, shaking his head vigorously. Forget it, I really cant. Id rather be slow than use someone elses stuff. There was a sigh from the researchers in the surrounding Roland was still weak, nowhere near as strong as he was in the game. The Roland in the game was already Legendary, while the Roland in reality was probably not even an Elite. And what was even more outrageous was that he had a much higher attribute growth in the game than he did in reality. This led to a lot of special abilities that Roland couldnt use in reality. For example, the ability to take on an elemental form. These researchers felt quite interested in it because it was another form of life. If Roland could take on that form and be studied, it was bound to have a groundbreaking impact on biology. Of course, it was a pity, but all the researchers understood that Roland achieving what he had was already one in a million. Anyone could see that with half a million gamers, Roland was the only one who had brought his in-game abilities to reality. After discussing the data with the researchers for a while, Roland sighed. There was still nothing to be gained. Although the researchers were impressive, they didnt know magic, and there were many things that couldnt be visualized through words. And there was no way to show them the phenomenon in question. Without the phenomena, there were no observations to be made, so some studies were simply baseless, or pavilions built in the air, and to them, it was all fake. Although they could watch livestreams, it was a world away, and across the monitor, it was no different than watching a movie. After all, it was a different system. Roland rested for a while. He didnt say anything about his ability to feel Mystras Mansion. He wanted to keep some secrets, some means of self-protection that others didnt know of. After a break, the person in charge came over and said, Roland, the experimental site over in the northwest is ready now, just waiting for your approval, and then well move there. Okay, when do we leave? The day after tomorrow. The person in charge smiled. Well send a special car to your door then, and there will be a couple of fairly reliable guards who will help carry the virtual cabin to the car and take care of your safety along the way. Roland nodded. Okay, sorry to trouble you. Its nothing. Its all work. The person in charge smiled and then walked away. Roland then prepared to move to the secret base over in the uninhabited region in the northwest. He told his parents about it, but of course, he kept secret the things that should be kept secret and just said that there was a good chance he could move up by going there. If he wanted to develop his career, of course his parents supported him. They immediately agreed to Roland going to the northwest, but they didnt intend to follow him. After all, they were old and liked to stay at home. They didnt like to move around. If they wanted to see Roland, they could take the high-speed train and go there themselves. Roland then left the house and called a Schuck and the others. They gathered once again in the cold drink bar. Roland told them that he was going to grow outside and they were a bit surprised. Schuck, in particular, was unable to understand. Why would you want to go stay in the system and be regulated when youre making so much money in the game now? You cant even stay in a company, let alone a state unit with stricter rules and regulations. Ive got a sudden ambition to move up the ladder. Roland smiled as he lied. Schuck wanted to say something. He and Roland were best friends, had grown up in the same neighborhood, attended the same elementary school, middle school, high school, and college, and they were quite familiar with each other. He could immediately tell that Roland was lying. But he didnt say anything more. There wasnt anything wrong with his friend lying, and it wasnt harmful, so there was no need to expose him. But after thinking about it, he said, Youre leaving tomorrow, so well hold a going-away dinner in the evening. And the Qi siblings, youll have to inform them too, especially Night Tide Sands. Roland nodded. He felt that he and the Qi siblings were such good friends that he certainly had to notify them. After a chat with his brothers, he pedaled his bike to the saber arts club. Night Tide Sands wasnt there at the time, only Qi Shaoqiu was, and once Roland told him about it, Qi Shaoqiu froze. The unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth fell to the ground. Youre that shocked? Roland looked quite surprised. Youre so reluctant for me to go? Qi Shaoqiu looked at him gloomily for a long time before he spat the words, You fool. Roland thought he was joking; it was normal for friends to swear at each other for no reason. He smiled and said, It starts around eight oclock in the evening, at Schucks cold drink bar. Notify Night Tide Sands for me. Got it, got it, Ill be there. Get lost. Im sick of seeing you now. Thinking that Qi Shaoqiu might be upset about something, Roland stopped messing with him. By eight oclock in the evening, his friends arrived as promised, and the Qi siblings also came. Both of them had normal expressions, but Schuck and others glanced at Night Tide Sands from time to time. Tonight, Night Tide Sands was dressed up quite nicely, wearing a white one-piece dress and black leggings, with light makeup and a bit of lipstick. As soon as Qi Shaoqiu arrived, he competed with Roland in drinks. When one drank too much beer, it wasnt easy to hold ones pee; Roland was a bit tipsy and went to use the bathroom. When Roland temporarily left the table, Night Tide Sands suddenly raised her cup and said to Schuck, Li Lin, and the others, You are all Rolands best friends. I hope you can help me get him drunk. When she spoke, there was a faint determination in her pretty peachy eyes. Schuck and the others froze, and the slower Husseret even spat out the beer he had just taken into his mouth. After a while, Schuck raised his cup and said admiringly, Sister, youre one of the people I admire the most. Ill toast you by drinking one first to show my respect. Dont worry, leave this to us. If Roland doesnt get drunk tonight, well kneel in front of the Qi family saber arts club tomorrow. Yeah! The four friends next to him shouted at the same time. Qi Shaoqiu muttered, Actually, I dont quite agree with this. Sis, you should reconsider Big bro, shut up. Night Tide Sands looked at him coldly. Qi Shaoqiu subconsciously put a cigarette in his mouth. His expression grew more and more gloomy. Two minutes later, Roland returned. As soon as Roland came in, Schuck sat him down with his arms around Rolands neck. He had just sat down on the couch when Husseret, next to him, handed him a full glass of beer. Bro, youre going to be out of town and we dont know when youll be back. So tonight, we gotta go crazy, you know? said Schuck, gulping down the beer he was holding. First to our twenty years of friendship. Yes, more than twenty years of friendship. Li Lin and the others took turns to come up and toast him. And then to the care youve given me over the years. Another glass of beer went down. Roland could only continue to drink. Heres to high school, you and me fighting. Roland had five more drinks, and he just couldnt tolerate any more and was now visibly drunk. Wait, Im going to throw up. Just throw up, what are you afraid of, lets go crazy tonight. Li Lin raised his glass. To junior high school-you getting bitten by a dog for me. To elementary school To kindergarten Watching Rolands face grow red, watching his eyes grow misty Night Tide Sands expression was indifferent. After four more drinks, and a few more beers with some baijiu mixed in, Roland finally couldnt take it anymore; he wasnt much of a drinker in the first place, and before nine oclock, he collapsed on the couch and was huffing and puffing in his sleep. As for his friends, although covered by the scent of alcohol, they were still sober. Night Tide Sands stood up and helped Roland up. Drunk people were generally quite heavy, and it took two large men to pick them up. But Night Tide Sands had trained before, and she picked Roland up by herself. Theyre on the third floor, there is clean bedding. Unused. Schuck stood up. Thanks. At this time, Qi Shaoqiu stepped in front of Night Tide Sands and asked seriously, Sis, you have to think clearly. Dont worry, Ive thought it through. At this rate, he still wont understand me. Its been five long years of a crush. if I dont make it clear, Im going to get old. Night Tide Sands acted rather calmly. Qi Shaoqiu sighed and stepped aside. Then Night Tide Sands carried and supported Roland up the stairs. His friends, on the other hand, sat down quite happily and continued to drink. Only this time, they drank slowly and happily. When Schuck saw that Qi Shaoqiu was upset, he walked over to pat the other mans shoulder, comforting him by saying, Dont worry, Roland is the kind of person who is quite responsible. As long as that happens, the two of them will have a high chance of getting together. I understand, Qi Shaoqiu said bitterly, it just feels weird. The group was down there drinking until about one in the morning and then they all left. Qi Shaoqiu hesitated for a while and also left. When it was early morning, Roland woke up. The shock was written all over his face. Because Night Tide Sands was sleeping beside him, and to his greater surprise, he also saw red marks on the bed. At this time, Roland thought he had gotten Night Tide Sands up here from his drunkenness, because last night, he had a dream about being in a spectacular mess with Vivian. Why didnt Qi Shaoqiu stop us? Roland wonderedthough he had been drunk, Qi Shaoqiu hadnt. At this time, Night Tide Sands also woke up, and she sat up gently with a frown on her face. Her body was bathed in the morning light and looked quite smooth and clear. Roland had a reaction again right then and there. It was just that Roland was in a bad mood, and he didnt know how to face Night Tide Sands. To ruin her chastity although it wasnt the feudal times anymore, it mustve been precious to a girl who had preserved her virginity for so long. How did it feel? When Roland didnt say anything, she spoke first. Oh what did what feel like? Roland was relieved to see that Night Tide Sands didnt look like she was angry. The feeling of having sex with me. Night Tide Sands asked calmly. Oh was too dizzy yesterday that nothing was quite clear. It was all instinct. Then lets try it again. Night Tide Sands took it upon herself to sit on Rolands lap with a rather sultry smile. Once women let go, they can be quite bold. Roland was milked four times before he got dressed and returned home. While he was getting dressed, Night Tide Sands was also getting dressed, and as she did, she said, If I get pregnant later, Ill call you. No Roland froze. If theres a baby, do you really want to give birth?. Of course! Night Tide Sands finished dressing and smiled back at him. I love kids the most. Then she simply left without a moments hesitation or reluctance. Roland, however, froze for a while before leaving the cold drink bar. His friends were long gone. He biked back home and not long after he arrived, a big green military truck drove up. With the help of several soldiers, the virtual cabin was carefully moved onto the truck, and then Roland sat in the back and drove over to the base. At the edge of the pond behind the Qi house, Night Tide Sands looked at her reflection in the water. Tears were falling like rain. Why bother. Qi Shaoqiu sighed. As long as you say you like him and want to be with him, even if he doesnt want to stay, he will find a way to take you with him. Night Tide Sands shook her head as a little bead of water fell to the ground. I dont want to force him to make a choice; I want him to make it himself. Qi Shaoqiu patted the top of his sisters head heartily. Alas, both of us, brother and sister, have a hard life. Chapter 742 - Solisa’s Intelligence Chapter 742 Solisas Intelligence He went to the current base and joined the personnel there first. Then, he left the city with a team of green trucks. It took him two days to reach the new base. This base was larger and had more staff than the previous one did. More importantly, Roland saw a lot of special equipment that he had only heard about from the news, such as small particle colliders and sun furnaces. It seems that Ive become a piece of national-level confidential equipment. Roland heaved a sigh. Hearing Rolands joke, the director smiled. Of course. Youre the only one of your kind in the world. No such thing as hiding you too well. At this moment, the director was giving him a tour in the huge base that felt like an underground metropolis. A lot of our secrets are kept here. The whole underground space equals a small city with a three-million population, said the director softly. Ill help you get used to this place. In a few days, youll have to report to the real director here. Is he easy to talk to? Everybody here is easy to talk to as long as you dont make great mistakes. What counts as great mistakes? Destroying important facilities on purpose, or defection. The director smiled. So, its actually very easy to talk to them, right? So thats how it is. While the director showed Roland around in the enormous facility, many people observed Roland with the monitoring equipment on the way. The researchers, especially the biologists and cytologists in the front rows, watched him so carefully that their eyes were glowing. Is he Huang Wenwei, the experiment subject codenamed Deity?. He looks so ordinary. I thought that he would be drifting here instead of walking. Based on the magnetic field observation function on the hidden cameras, his biological magnetic field is much more powerful and larger than normal. Its at least fifty percent greater. Anything else? Thats our only discovery so far. We cant study his DNA until we get his cells. Then should he stay in the neuro department for a few months first? Of course not. The DNA department will study him first. I think the micro energy department can study him in terms of energy transformation first. Its clearly about biology. Does it have anything to do with micro energy? Dont talk like that. I think that the uniqueness of such people is essentially based on new energy that weve never observed before While those researchers were all trying to drag Roland to their own department, the director of this base said, Okay, enough fighting. Comrade Huang can go wherever he wants. You cannot stop him or even make suggestions to him. Do you understand? Wait, isnt he here to be studied? No, replied the director with a smile. Were to work with him for his research. That doesnt sound right. Weve hired a boss, not an experiment subject? Everybody laughed. The director also smiled. You can totally ignore him. He probably doesnt want to be studied by you either. He wouldve been hiding all this time if he werent spotted by our staff. All right! All the researchers understood what the director meant. Taking an internal commute vehicle that was similar to a sightseeing bus, Roland spent several hours going through the facilities and structures of this place. On the way, the old director pointed out areas that he wasnt supposed to enter without permission. Eventually, Roland was brought to a dormitory for unmarried people on the third level. All the dormitories for unmarried people were the same. Even those where the leaders lived had the same decor. It wasnt very large. Plus the small bathroom, it only had a coverage of about 35 square meters. However, it was spacious enough for one individual. Roland also saw his virtual cabin in a corner. Noticing that it was already evening, he went to the cafeteria on this level for dinner. The director had given him a white IC card with his photo on it before leaving, saying that it was his pass in this place. He could unlock doors and buy food with the card. Roland went out with the IC card for the cafeteria. He didnt remember other locations well, but he memorized where the cafeteria was. It was because the director mentioned that several real top chefs ran the cafeteria, and he could have as many fruits and beverages as he wanted. The cafeteria was quite lively. Nothing happened when he just came in. But as he waited in line, he found that the environment gradually fell quiet. Soon, he realized that almost everybody was staring at him. He bought some food and added a few free appetizers to his tray. He then sat down at an empty table and started eating. He had to admit that the food was quite delicious. Even more delicious than what he had in the previous base. He was still eating when a young man wearing a military uniform sat down across the table with a tray. The guy was quite handsome, but he was only mediocre compared to Schuck. After he sat down, he said with a smile, Hello, I am Lu Yong, deputy captain of the Security Division. May I ask if youre Comrade Huang Wenwei? Yes. Roland nodded. Deputy Captain Lu, is there anything I can do for you? Can we spar with each other after dinner? Roland was briefly stunned. Spar? Yes. Your reputation has been spreading in the base for days, said Lu Yong with a smile. Im very curious about how strong a man whose superpowers are acknowledged by the authorities can be. You dont believe in my superpowers? Roland asked while chewing the tasteful meat. I do. I have no doubt about your abilities since the authorities have acknowledged them. Lu Yong waved his hand. Its just that Im sort of a martial artist, and I want to practice with different opponents. Okay. We can do that half an hour after dinner. Roland nodded and accepted the request. He wanted to try his abilities too Besides, there were usually only two options for a newcomer to distinguish himself in a new environment. He should either demonstrate his strength or highlight someone elses as a green leaf. Thank you. Lu Yong was slightly surprised at Rolands quick decision and delighted to hear an acceptance. You know where the training room is, right? I do. I can always ask around if I cant find it. Ill go prepare there while I wait for you. After saying that, Lu Yong finished all his food quickly in no more than two minutes. He then left with his tray. Roland, on the other hand, enjoyed his food unhurriedly. He found that a lot of other people ate faster after Lu Yong left, cleaned their tableware, and left the cafeteria in a hurry. When Roland left, there were few people remaining in the cafeteria. Roland was quite full. He didnt wander to the training room until after a twenty-minute rest. The state government was always generous to researchers. The training room, including a space for rest, was quite large. The best training tools were hung on the wall. Then, at the center of the room were four rings for boxing. Three of them were already occupied, and Lu Yong was standing in the rightmost one and warming himself up. He had put on boxers and a pair of gloves. There were at least three hundred people in the rest place too. Fortunately, the training room was quite large. Even three hundred people didnt fill the place. Hardly had Roland arrived at the door when someone noticed him. They shouted, Hes here! The challenger is here! Then, everybody looked at Roland. After Roland came in, he found unknown equipment lying next to a lot of people. He even saw a dozen high-speed cameras. Roland looked around and found Lu Yong. He then hopped to the edge of the ring and jumped in. Put them on. Lu Yong threw a pair of gloves to Roland. Do you want a helmet? Roland shook his head. You cant hit me. After he said that, all the audience blew whistles. Lu Yong had been practicing martial arts since childhood and joined the army at 18. He was trained for the special forces and assigned to many dangerous tasks. After gaining enough honor, he was sent to this place for security work. He was a real capable fighter and could easily beat five other security guards on his own. All those security guards were former special force soldiers. Yet, Roland declared that Lu Yong couldnt touch him. How confident was he? However, the audience didnt dislike him because of his cockiness. After all, confidence was a well-appreciated attribute in the army. Then please go easy on me. Lu Yong smiled. At this moment, another young man in military uniform jumped into the ring and said, Ill be your referee. Are you ready to start? Roland waved his hand. Wait, I need to make preparations. Everybody was slightly confused. Roland snapped his fingers, and his body glowed twice, which shocked everybody for quite a while. Is it a magic trick? I cant tell, but I dont think it is. Hes glowing? Do we have any tools that can monitor energy changes? Check the data. He had cast two buffs on himself, namely Body Fortification and Agility Augmentation. Then, Roland put on his gloves and said, Im ready. Lu Yong finally came back to himself. He immediately assumed a defensive pose warily. Whether or not Rolands previous glow was real, he had to take it seriously now. The referee raised his right hand high and motioned quickly. Let the match begin! After a collision, Lu Yong took three steps back, his gloves protecting his face. He seemed rather shocked. Lu Yongs abdomen was hit heavily. His body was bent, and his eyes were full of disbelief. Then, he fell with his mouth wide open. At this moment, the referee was still in the same position with his hand down. Then, Roland looked at him. Can you announce that I won? O-oh, right! The referee finally realized what happened and shouted, The winner is Comrade Huang. It was not until this moment that the audience all went crazy. All the researchers madly ran to the dozen high-speed cameras to see what just happened, because they didnt see Rolands movement at all. By the time they saw anything, Roland had already hit his opponents abdomen. Roland jumped out of the ring, and many young men in military uniforms looked at him with admiration. Roland returned to his room, took a shower, set the alarm clock to ring at ten, and then lay on the bed. There were still two hours to go before the start of the game tonight. He might as well get some sleep. He was rather tired from the journey over the past two days. At this moment, the footage where Roland put Lu Yong down was played and replayed. When the frames were slowed down, it could be seen how Roland lowered his back, lunged forward, and punched Lu Yong right in his abdomen. According to our calculations, Rolands speed was 40 meters per second. Because they were too close to each other, he had taken Lu Yong down before we realized what happened. That was an inhuman speed. Even a tiger couldnt have been as fast. As was known, felids were among the fastest predators. Even a kitten could swat an ambushing snake. The adult cats were even faster. But he wasnt strong enough. He punched Lu Yongs abdomen but didnt cause much damage. He mustve held back. A man who can move 100 meters per second cant be harmless. By my estimation, he couldve put a hole in Lu Yongs abdomen with his punch. Have you figured out the nature of the glows before the match? Everyone shook their heads. It wasnt their fault. They had too little data. At this moment, the director took out a flash disk and smiled. All his files from the previous base are in this. Each department will get a copy of them and study their content well. Whether or not when we can make any achievements depends on your hard work. All the researchers had glowing eyes. But like I said, were going to work with him, not command him. Got it? At about twenty to ten, the alarm clock rang. Roland rose and checked the virtual cabin. There wasnt anything redundant inside, such as pebbles or garbage. Then he lay down. Hardly had he entered the game when Andonara hugged him. He had logged offline in his bedroom. Andonara hugged him and seemed to be crying. Youve been gone for two days. I was so scared. Roland said helplessly, Im sorry, but something happened to me in my world. Is it anything serious? Roland shook his head. Its trivial. Ill let you know if Ill ever be gone for days again. Okay. Andonara was relaxed. Then she said, Right, a beautiful half-elf from your people came for you. A half-elf? Was it Solisa? She came yesterday and left because you werent here. She wanted you to find her in the cat community in Wetland City. Roland nodded and cuddled with Andonara for a while. Then he teleported to Wetland City. He came to the cat-human community and saw that Solisa was teasing a few kittens with dried fish. Roland walked to her and asked, You were looking for me? Yes. Solisa gave all the dried fish to the cute kittens and said in a low voice, I know whos been conspiring with the liches against you. Chapter 743 - Test of Magic Power Transformation I know whos been conspiring with the liches against you. They were in a noisy place that was full of people, but Roland heard that loud and clear. It had been half a year since Roland started investigating the cooperation between liches and players. Finally, he got something. He said, Lets go to my manor and talk about it. After returning to his manor, Roland asked Beatrice to entertain the guest with cakes. Then he asked, Youve figured out who they are? By accident, Solisa said, enjoying the cakes. Its rather dramatic with a lot of twists and turns. To protect myself in reality, I cannot tell you how I found them out. Roland nodded. I understand. Heres a list of their names. Solisa pushed a piece of paper to Roland. A lot of people are involved. Do what you must, but I wont be a part of it. Rolands eyebrows shivered. Is it tricky? A little bit, said Solisa helplessly. It wont be appropriate for me and my guild to be involved. Roland put five bags of gold coins on the table. Thanks. Then, Solisa left. Opening the piece of paper, Roland heaved a sigh. Some of them are famous streamers, some are famous rich players, and some are just total strangers. Am I really so annoying? In fact, Roland wasnt annoying because he was Roland, but because he was the best in the entire server. The highest ranked in any game would always be plotted against. It had nothing to do with morals but was pure jealousy and instinctive competitiveness. Then, Roland put on a smile. At least, none of them is a friend. Thats good news. After that, he put away the piece of paper. He believed seventy percent of the message that Solisa delivered. Of the thirty percent of distrust, ten percent was because of his usual cautiousness, and twenty percent was because he wanted to find out if any of the people on the list were actually innocent. He went to the Guild of Assassins and hired them to investigate the strong ones on the list. He asked them to investigate the targets without trying to kill them. As long as they didnt try to kill the targets, their names wouldnt turn red, and the players wouldnt overreact. Although many awesome Rogues had emerged among the players too, they had only been at that for five years; they couldnt compare to the real elites in the Guild of Assassins. Then, Roland pretended that nothing happened and returned to his manor in Delpon to study Mages Disjunction The spell was so challenging that even Roland felt a strong headache, because the causal magic that he was least good at was involved. He spent a week on Mages Disjunction but made little progress. On the other hand, he was very popular in the new base. The people of all departments were very friendly to him and invited him to visit their department. So, Roland visited different departments as they wished. He knew his way in the base much better. What he did most was cast Language Proficiency on the researchers. As his abilities were gradually increased in reality, he was able to cast Language Proficiency and make it last five hours in reality. Therefore, he became the most valuable asset in all departments. All the researchers loved reading the latest papers. Also, they had access to certain special documents that the state government got for them. Some of the documents were in French, some in German, and some in English. Although most researchers knew at least one second language, there was nothing they could do when they met a language they didnt know. They were often too eager to wait for someone else to translate. Roland accidentally found that the researchers who worked on energy transfer were stuck on an English document. Many of the words in the document were new and incomprehensible without notes. It wasnt anything new that a researcher in a specific field couldnt understand a paper in another field. Some of the latest files contained a lot of new words that even the professional translators couldnt understand. Roland was having tea and chatting with a few young men, who promised to design an Iron Mans suit for him as long as he could power it. He saw that a few middle-aged researchers were stuck on the paper and subconsciously cast Language Proficiency. Those people were all shocked. They immediately translated all the files into Chinese and printed them out on A4 paper while the spell was still effective. The 37 pages of English files were translated into 13 pages in Chinese, whose information and data turned out to be 100% accurate. After that, Roland became a treasure in the base. The researchers didnt want to study him anymore. They simply asked him to cast Language Proficiency in their lab and then kicked him away. They seemed rather ruthless. But in fact, every department in the base seized the opportunity to retranslate important files in other languages. They found many errors and corrected a lot of things that didnt make much sense due to poor translations. After all, a technological blockade had been imposed for a long time. Some of the key parts in a lot of files were confusing due to the new words and bad translations. Now that Language Proficiency was massively available, things were much easier. Then, a movement to improve the accuracy of foreign files was initiated in the base. A lot of projects that hit a dead end met new progress. Then, a meeting of the leadership was held. Roland is much more useful than we imagined. Hes not just a strategic weapon and an experiment subject. We can give him an appropriate job so that he can be one of the researchers too. I agree. Ive got a better idea. We can establish a Special Energy Research Lab and let him head it. Well then give him some young men to work for him. Wouldnt that be even better? Oh, thats an interesting idea. When Roland received the order two days later, he was quite stunned. Wait, boss, youre forcing me to do something that Im incapable of. What do you mean by something youre incapable of? Who else in this world can cast spells like you do? Oh But Im inexperienced and I dont know how I should do the job. Then think and experiment. The director of the base gave the paper of appointment to him with a smile. Whatever tools you need, just apply for them. Well give you the highest clearance. Youll have the maximum budge too. You can ask for more if its used up. Then, the director left. Three hours later, Roland would be the head of the new project, Discovery and Application of Special Energy. Whoever was willing to work in his team could apply to join the project and be transferred as long as Roland was willing to take them. Then, half an hour later, an ocean of applications flooded in and almost filled up Rolands internal mailbox in the base. He received almost ten thousand applications. Roland helplessly accepted the order and began screening He wanted the candidates to be young and game fans. In the end, he got thirty researchers. He asked for a couple of people from every department, including those who studied genes and those who studied physics. Then, his team was founded. The best laboratory was allotted to them. The morning that the new team was established, Roland sat in the front and looked at the thirty young men down below, before he said, The boss asked me to head a new research project, so I did. However, I dont have any experience in research, so Ill need your help. Seeing that Roland was friendly and modest, the thirty young men were all greatly relieved Okay, lets introduce ourselves. Roland pointed at the young man on his left. You can start. Hello, everyone. I am Chen Rui and I study mental behavior. Ive been working on placebo effects. He blinked. According to my research, some people arent sensitive to placebos at all, while others are highly so. Placebos can even cause physical reactions on the surface of their bodies. I believe that Director Huang is one of these super sensitive people. Then, the young man sat down. However, it does not explain why Director Huang can cast Language Proficiency on others. The second researcher who stood up was an average-looking man with sharp eyes. I am Su Minluo. I ran statistics in the energy transformation project earlier. I am Fu Tiancong. I was in a quantum physics project. I am Zhang Yilin After all 37 people introduced their fields of expertise, Roland said, Personally speaking, I want magic to flourish on Earth, so Ive set up the first project Its about how semen can be converted into magic power. Roland looked at all of them. None of them were excited or displeased at the word semen. There was nothing but eagerness and curiosity in their eyes. Ill write down the spell model and cast it in front of you several times, Roland continued. If our female colleagues find it disgusting, you can wait until the next project. At this moment, Su Minluo said disdainfully, Director Huang, were all professionals. Did you know that I once put thirty male genitals in formaldehyde wearing gloves? The other girls grimaced too. All the males felt that the part between their legs was cold. Roland was surprised. Arent you focused on energy transformation? What you just described sounds like a job in a medical school. I studied medicine at first, but then I changed my major. Okay, Roland got it. Then, lets take a half-hour break and begin. All of them instantly stood up and prepared their equipment. Because they were from a dozen different departments, they had brought a myriad of tools. Half an hour passed quickly. Standing in the middle of the lab, Roland said, The spell Im about to use is called Magic Power Transformation I invented it in the game to bring magic power to reality. Wait, Director, can you take off your clothes? No, I dont want to look ugly. Roland shrugged. But we can observe the phenomena you cause more easily if you take off your clothes, said Su Minluo outside the transparent glass. Thats what a real researcher should do. Please work with us Roland suddenly interrupted her. Sorry, I still dont want to take off my clothes. On the other hand, although I agreed that you could help with the projects, and I am indeed an experiment, I am still a human being with human dignity. I am, first and foremost, a person, and then an experiment subject. Su Minluo was briefly stunned. But No buts. Roland shook his head. In medical experiments, it is advocated that the lab rats are given a dignified death. I am a human being. Dont I deserve some dignity? Comrade Su, please dont be too obsessed with experiments and data and overlook the nature of human beings. Su Minluo took a deep breath. Im sorry, Director Huang. I understand what youre saying. Then, Roland used Magic Power Transformation multiple times until he felt that his kidneys were cold. After that, he wobbled out of the lab. Everybody collected and calculated the data. About two hours later, everybody gathered for a meeting Roland said slowly, Now, we can talk about what you just detected. Is there any special discovery? Director, your bodys magnetic field expanded by yet another twenty percent. Director, your body temperature, especially that around your waist, dropped about one degree, but its rising back right now. Director, according to our radiation test, your heat radiation slightly dwindled, but you got a weird energy layer. Take a look at this The man projected a picture on the screen in the meeting room. It was an X-ray image of Rolands body, but the picture was rather twisted. Some unknown energy surrounded your body. Oh, that was just my magic power working, Roland explained. When theres enough magic power in my body, itll be automatically activated. Everybody was slightly surprised. At this moment, Su Minluo said, Director, we found something odd. You lost 34 grams earlier but now have 1.3 more kilograms of body weight. You never took in any food or water just now. You didnt even change your clothes. So, we wonder if your body weight will increase as your magic power increases. That doesnt sound right. How can he gain more than one kilogram of weight after losing thirty grams of semen. That violates the conservation of energy. Magic Power Transformation Is it possible that the semen is just a catalyst, and that it reacted with something unknown in the air and generated something new that contains energy? Roland thought for a moment and said, Now, can you help me test if magic power carries weight? In fact, Roland already knew that magic power had weight, because every magic power brick weighed about one kilogram. However, the case might be slightly different in reality, right? Chapter 744 - You’re Here In the next couple of days, Roland accumulated magic power. He used Magic Power Transformation every other day and tried not to consume his magic power. Then, a dozen days later, he gained almost ten kilograms of weight. However, he looked the same as before. He didnt turn fat at all. After that, someone drew Rolands blood and gave it to the researchers to study. New discoveries were made the next day. Su Minluo uploaded the PPT to the internal network and sent it to everybodys private tablet. We find that Director Huangs blood is about 6% heavier than other peoples blood of the same volume. So, it means that the magic power is partly dissolved in the blood. Roland nodded. Thats not surprising, but Im glad that we confirmed it. Also, Director Huangs semen is slightly different from regular mens. Its not smelly but carries a sweet smell. However, Ive only tasted two mens so far, so Im not sure if the case is the same with other men. Everybody subconsciously leaned back and was surprised to see how calm Su Minluo was. Su Minluo, however, looked at them in disdain. Ive tasted my husbands. Is it weird? Also, Director Huang is a special experiment subject, and Im a professional researcher. Isnt it only reasonable that I have a taste of it? It mostly did not seem very reasonable. However, nobody argued with her. It was acceptable to abandon unnecessary sentimentality for science. Nevertheless, everybody found it slightly weird. Roland, on the other hand, was deep in thought. So, it was sweet rather than smelly. No wonder Andonara and Vivian loved eating it so much! Director Huang, have you thought of anything? Su Minluo roused Roland up from his memories. Roland considered for a moment and said, Nothing important. Did you feel uncomfortable after eating that? No, it tastes very good, said Su Minluo solemnly. Had it not been for ethics and my marital bond, I might have asked for more dosages as food for experiments. Everybody leaned back again. Another female researcher couldnt help but ask, Is it really so delicious? Ive had the truffle before; this tastes even better than that. The female researcher looked at Roland eagerly too. The male researchers gasped again. At this moment, Chen Rui, who already came back to himself, remarked, You know that I study placebo effects and Ive done some research in that field. Based on Comrade Su Minluos description, from a scientific point of view, it means that Director Huangs semen contains a lot of beneficial elements. Its well-known that if something tastes delicious, it usually contains a lot of calories and nutrition. Thats because of our instincts as animals. For example, we find sugar delicious because it provides a tremendous amount of energy. Our brain has developed these predilections during millions of years of evolution. Everybody realized what he meant. He was suggesting that Rolands semen was highly nutritional. Everybody was deep in thought. Roland coughed and said, Lets put it aside for now If we have an idea, why should we put it aside? Su Minluo stared at Roland. I think we can carry on the experiment. Director Huang, please give us another sample. We only analyzed its weight and density. Now, we have to examine its specific constituents with the latest atomic devices. Seeing how solemn they were, Roland felt his kidneys go cold. I think Comrade Su is right. Another female researcher echoed. The other female researchers nodded quickly too. Roland was a new boss anyway, and he hadnt established his reputation yet. In the following days, he didnt perform any Magic Power Transformation experiments but tried to provide material for the researchers. A dozen days later, he discovered a weird reality. Because of the long-time research and calculations, all the male researchers had dark eye patches and were quickly losing their hair. However, the female researchers in the project got more and more attractive. Also, they looked at Roland in a weirder and weirder way. Roland was pretty sure that their gazes werent affectionate at all but quite aggressive, like female leopards that had spotted a rabbit. Roland had thought that the experiment that Su Minluo proposed was only tentative. After all, nobody knew how magic power could be generated. However, those researchers proved their professionalism. A dozen days later, Su Minluo and a few other female researchers presented a 33-page research report. The report was full of data and useful information without any redundancies. On the cover of the report was the black and bold title, Records and Research on the Intake of Comrade Huang Wenweis Semen. The title was very long. The researchers all had the habit of typing the title on the cover. They were no artists and wouldnt consider if the words were beautiful. They only confirmed that the words and data were correct and accurate. Naturally, the team kept a copy of the report. The original report was submitted to the leadership of the base. Half a day later, all the scientists got a copy of it. As a result, many female researchers looked at Roland in a weird way when he went to the cafeteria. The male researchers looked at him in an even subtler way that was a mix of envy and admiration. Then, Lu Yong sat down in front of Roland. After Roland took him down with a single punch, Roland completely conquered him. His expression was weird. Look, were good friends, arent we? Well Can you give me a sample for an experiment? Roland shouted gloomily, Get lost! Lu Yong instantly ran off with his tray as if he were frightened. Lu Yongs attempt was understandable. Su Minluo had listed a lot of data in her report. There was a lot of content, but it could be concluded in several points. Therefore, Roland had raised another round of exclamations. He was a man who could resist aging. It meant that a drug for immortality might be underway. Then, several departments related to the human body sent applications to the leadership. They all hoped that Roland could offer some experiment materials to them, such as his blood, tears, and body fluid. However, all the applications were disapproved. There was only one reason for the disapproval: We shouldnt ask for those things; we should wait for Huang Wenwei to voluntarily offer them. It was obvious that nobody was to disturb Roland. Undercurrents had been flowing in the base as everybody competed over Roland. However, after the disapproval came out, all the competition was gone. On this day, Roland extracted two tubes of blood and offered one tube of semen while reading one issue of Playboy. He then returned to his dormitory to take a rest. He had been too exhausted, both mentally and physically. He didnt even have dinner, and he fell asleep the moment he reached the bed. He was woken up by the alarm clock at half past nine. Then, he took a shower and entered the game. His body in the game was much stronger than the one he had in reality. He was as vigorous as before even though he had been drained by Andonara. He still had energy to do other things. After all, he was already a Legend. Then, he reached Mystras Mansion with teleportation. Mystras Mansion had the atmosphere of a small room right now. Andonara was quite good at decoration. She had turned the space into a half-open complex structure with a medium-sized bed and a beautiful carpet. The whole space was warm and comfortable. Andonara wasnt here at the moment. She went to Wetland City to shop for things to decorate the room. Roland had come here mainly to test an idea that recently occurred to him. If his body in reality could sense the space created by Mystras Mansion, could he sense the coordinates on Earth inside the mansion? To test his hypothesis, he left a pair of obvious space coordinates in his dormitory. However he couldnt sense it. It didnt make any sense. Roland found it hard to believe. He was stronger and more capable in the game. That being the case, why could he sense the Mystras Mansion space as a weak earthling, while his body here couldnt sense the space coordinates he left in the base? That didnt make sense. Roland considered it for a long time. He had many thoughts, none of them convincing. After a long time, he left Mystras Mansion. After a half-day magic experiment, someone from the Guild of Assassins delivered intelligence to him. After reading the report, Roland confirmed that Solisa didnt trick him. He shredded the report and then reached the capital of Hollevin with teleportation. He saw Antis, who was getting more and more unapproachable. Wait, why are you Roland looked Antis up and down. You seem like a different person. In fact, Roland was only being subtle. Antis was as long and slim as he used to be, but his body had an elegant curve now. His Adams apple was small in the first place and nowhere to be seen at this moment. Even more unbelievably, Roland seemed to spot two rising mounds on his chest. Also, he had long hair that reached his waist. Although he was still wearing pants, he already looked completely gender-neutral, if not slightly feminine. Am I prettier than before? Antis smiled. His voice had become high-pitched and mixed. Roland remembered that Antis was one of the Quarks. Well Was he going to change his gender? Tell me what you want, said Antis casually. I know that you wont come to me unless its for business. I want you to deal with several people for me. Wait, youre the best Mage among the Golden Sons. You can kill anyone you want. Why do you need my help? Its inconvenient for me to take action, said Roland with a smile. Fine. Who should I deal with? Roland gave him a piece of paper. Their names are all on there. I want you to annoy them as much as possible without breaking the law, but dont attack them. You should know that once you attack a Golden Son, theyll be justified in killing you. I understand. Antis nodded and stared at Roland for a long time, before he asked, Are you already a Legend? Yes. Rolands reply was so casual as if it were nothing to be surprised at. Antis clicked his tongue. Such a young Legend is hard to come by. Andonara became a Legend faster than me, didnt she? Her case is different, said Antis with a smile. Are you interested in working for the royal family for a couple of years? Well excuse you for everything concerning Andonara. We can even provide a few more princesses for you. How about Veronica? Veronica was Andonaras student and good friend. Antiss suggestion was clearly malicious. Based on the gloating smile on his face, that was exactly the case. Roland shook his head. Forget it. If I work in the royal palace, the king will realize that hes cuckolded every day. He might die before 65 when he could live 80 years old. Antis sighed in disappointment. They chatted for a while and then parted ways. Roland returned to Delpon for his magic experiments. On the other hand, Dont Tie the Knot, the most popular streamer, was telling stories in a village at the border of Hollevin. Many villagers and children surrounded him. His story was so intriguing that everybody soon laughed. After telling stories for more than an hour, he said to the villagers and kids, Okay, everybody, Im thirsty. Let me take a break. Ill tell you more stories tomorrow. How does that sound? The villagers all thanked him and slowly dispersed. Dont Tie the Knot said excitedly in his stream channel, Now, the villagers friendliness level is reaching Admiration. As soon as it becomes Admiration, Ill be able to campaign to be the leader of the villager. After I become the leader of the village, I can farm and develop this place and rise to the peak of my life! Everybody in the channel cheered delightedly. Exactly at this moment, a team of light cavalrymen appeared up ahead and approached him. Their leader took out a portrait and compared it to the player, before he roared, Your name is Galen, right? Someone reported you for disseminating pornography. Please come with us. Dont Tie the Knot:? The audience in the stream channel: ? Chapter 745 - My Ult Is Waiting Brothers, Im just telling stories here. Why are you accusing me of spreading pornography? Surrounded by the cavalrymen, the streamer Dont Tie the Knot, whose nickname in the game was Galen, wasnt nervous at all. Also, how can I possibly be related to the evil gods? The leading cavalryman smiled wickedly. Someone has reported that you spread pornography and youre related to evil gods, so come with us. Seeing the weird smile on the leading cavalrymans face, how could Galen not know what happened? He narrowed his eyes and looked around at the cavalrymen, before he said coldly, I dont know whos trying to set me up, but dont forget that Im a Golden Son. I know that you are a Golden Son. The leading cavalryman took out a piece of paper and waved it cockily, before he remarked, Its mentioned here. Were just following the rules. You must come with us and make a statement. Of course, you can resist or kill us. I know how strong the Golden Sons are. Were not scared of death. Do you dare to kill us? He couldnt have sounded more arrogant. Galens face was as dark as the bottom of a pit. The audience in his stream channel all commented after seeing that. He mustve pissed off someone. Theres no telling who it was. He has pissed off too many NPCs. Didnt he beat up a small nobles son earlier? A small noble cant possibly mobilize such a team of elite riders. There must be a big shot behind this. The audience was quite astute and quickly spoke out the truth. Galen thought the same. He looked around and suddenly shouted, Get out! I know youre here. Very soon, a Lancer came out. Unlike the other riders, he had a unique vibe that was proud and somewhat hilarious. He was clearly a player. He spurred his horse forward and slowly reached Galen, before he shook his head helplessly. I didnt want to show up. You couldve saved some dignity for both of us, couldnt you? Its you? The guy was a celebrity among the players. He was the first player to become a Lancer, a special class. The guide on the transformation of Lancers, entitled Lancers Deja Vu with a video, was posted by him. The awesome drifting of the horse opened everybodys eyes. Its me. He smiled in quite a complicated way. He seemed to be laughing at him, but in a very gentle manner. Many people knew the players name. It was Pullman. He was better known as the rider on the horse. Galen looked at him and asked in confusion, Have I ever wronged you? No, you havent, but Ive been ordered to arrest you. Galen snorted. You were hiding because you knew that the order was unreasonable, right? You are a player too. Why would you stand behind evil? Pullman trotted around him on the horse. Why? Because Im the sheriff of this territory and Im responsible for the safety and conflicts in the entire area. But no conflicts happened here. I didnt attack anyone, said Galen, one word after another. Thats your opinion, said Pullman unconcernedly. My order is to take you back and ask you questions. What if I dont go with you? Galen snorted. Pullman shrugged. Thats your choice. But well be forced to use violence. The previous leading cavalryman interjected: Boss, you dont need to do anything. Let us handle it. He can kill us if he thinks hes capable. Galen took a deep breath. I can leave with you, as soon as you answer one question for me. What is it? Pullman asked. If possible, he didnt want to attack a player either. Who ordered you to come here? Pullman replied with a smile, Earl Govas, the local lord. Galen frowned. Ive never done anything to him. Why does he want to arrest me? Who knows? Pullman shrugged and said, Im just carrying out orders. Okay, lets go. Galen decided to give in for now. But Im rather curious. Isnt it embarrassing for you to take orders from a feudal lord? Pullman burst into laughter. That question is moot. Have you ever worked in a private company in reality? Sure. Why do you work for the capitalists? Is it any more dignifying than working for a feudal lord? Pullman let out mocking laughter. Galen instantly fell silent. He too knew that it was just the pot calling the kettle black. Their conversation was streamed too. The audience all commented. Wow, Pullman is quite witty! A capitalists lackey versus a feudal lords minion. Whos messing with our streamer? If I learn his name, Im going to pray for him every day. Has Galens farming dream in the alternative world been shattered already? In fact, after Galen was taken to the lords residence, nobody asked him any questions. He was directly thrown in jail. He was given three meals every day, but the guards didnt talk to him at all. Also, a lot of other prisoners were kept in the jail. Most of them were bandits and thieves. Two of them were even players. Galen wouldve been bored to death if he didnt chat with them across the bars. He asked curiously, Why are you not running? Run? said one of the Rogue players helplessly. Right now, the local lords of Hollevin have all hired a lot of players as their advisors and fighters. They know us too well and are waiting for us to run, which will trigger hunting quests and give them a lot of EXP after they kill us! Theyre treating us as EXP gifts. Galen took a deep breath. Theyre waiting precisely for us to escape. Dont fall for their trap, remarked the other Rogue player. So, well wait until they set us free. But theyre not asking me any questions, said Galen helplessly. Am I going to be locked in here forever? One of the Rogues said with a smile, That wont happen. Youll probably be set free after a dozen days. Do you think your food here is free? Usually, when they find that youre very patient and wont escape, theyll just release you. Oh! Galen understood. However, things turned out unlike what he anticipated. The two Rogues were set free a dozen days later, but he was jailed for an entire month. In the meantime, Pullman came to instigate him now and then. Why are you still not running? Wow, I didnt know that you were so obedient. How can you possibly stay in such a dull place? Galen was infuriated. He knew that the guy was waiting for him to escape, but he couldnt hold himself back anymore. He took out a weapon from his system Backpack, broke the door, and fled from the jail. However, Pullman, who had been waiting for a long time, chased him with a team of riders. Outside of the city, Pullman caught up to Galen. Pullman charged, stabbed through him, and heaved him high on his spear, before he finally dropped Galens body to the ground a dozen meters away. Galens horse didnt stop but quickly ran off. The bleeding body was left on the ground, a silent reminder of how brutal the world was. After resurrection, Galen dropped by one level. He was so angry that he went to Pullman with a few friends, only to find that Pullman had leveled up. His level had dropped, and his friends were even weaker than him. Then, the five-man squad was destroyed by the Lancer with three charges. Eventually, Pullmans horse galloped on the road with two bleeding bodies on his spear. It was both awesome and ruthless. Pullman was streaming at this moment. Many netizens recorded the fight and posted it on the forum. Ever since that day, the Lancer had turned into a popular class. After the fire feces Warlocks, another sect that was known as seasoned riders emerged. Everybody in that sect pursued nothing but speed. They used nothing but a horse and a spear For higher speed, they could even give up their armor. They were boosted by all kinds of skills and accessories. Some studied acceleration spells or used similar scrolls. They claimed on the forum that the Lancers could stab through any enemy after they sped up to more than a hundred miles per hour! Any enemy! Highlights of Lancers were posted more and more on the forum. They were indeed awesome. As they rushed forward, the scenery around them flashed back. They didnt even have to raise or pierce their spear but only had to lay it next to their horse. It would kill anyone that touched it. Roland saw that a Lancer stabbed four men in a battle during a high-speed charge, only to crash into a tree because he lost control over his speed and direction, which killed both him and his horse. He chuckled. The Lancers were all riding special magic horses that could be summoned again after they died. Although the video recorder died, the video was indeed stirring. After watching videos for half an hour, Roland felt that his mana was full, so he planned to continue his magic experiments. A month of research and experiments had gone by and he had finally opened the door of Mages Disjunction and partially grasped it. At this moment, Andonara came in and said, Roland, one of your compatriots came and wants to talk to you. Roland nodded and met the visitor in the living room. It was Galen! Roland smiled and asked him to sit down, and Andonara came with a tray that had two cups of fruit wine on it. The wine was made with the grapes that were grown in the manor. It tasted rather good. Roland drank a mouthful of the wine and said, My friend, what can I help you with? Roland, stop pretending. You know who I am. Roland pretended to be surprised. I really dont. I dont think weve met before. After a moment of silence, Galen said, Dont worry, I came here alone. Im not streaming or recording anything. Roland remained silent and simply enjoyed the wine. Streaming and recording arent in my best interest, said Galen, depressed. I admit that it was wrong of me to join the organization against you. Roland finally smiled and put the cup down. In fact, youre not the only person that I found. More people will probably apologize to me in the next couple of days. Life had been hard for Galen. Not only were the nobles of Hollevin harassing him, but the Association of Mages were also going against him. His picture and name were on the blacklists of all the branches of the Association of Mages. They would not sell magic items or materials to him, or buy the magic items he got from dungeons. Even more unbelievably, some Bards in small taverns were singing about a horrible man named Galen who cheated on his wife and abandoned his family. They didnt say that this Galen was a Golden Son, but the guys descriptions fitted him perfectly. Galen couldnt stand it anymore. He realized who was behind all that. It couldnt have been anyone except Roland. You think you can get this over with by saying youre sorry? asked Roland casually. You have to pay a price. I can give you money. Im not short of gold coins. Galen knew that it wasnt so simple. He asked, Then what do you need? You can work as a sheriff for a certain lord and help me deal with someone else. Roland put twenty gold coins on the table. If you agree, youll get a rewarding job, a team of soldiers under your command, and a sum of money. Galens eyes widened. Then he exclaimed, Wait, did you talk Pullman into taking your side in the same way? In their anti-Roland gatherings, they had mostly worn masks, so they didnt know who their partners were. At this moment, he did. So, it was Pullman who recognized me? asked Galen. Roland smiled, as if he were silently acknowledging it. He was protecting Solisa in such a way. After all, it wasnt easy for her to get the list. He had to make sure that she wouldnt get into trouble. Youll go after this guy. Roland put a note on the table. Galen looked at it and nodded. Okay, Im on board. Lets hope that we cooperate well. Roland stood up and extended his hands. Galen also stood up and stored the twenty gold coins in his system Backpack. Twenty gold coins equaled about three hundred thousand yuan. It wasnt easy for the players to make money Roland and Betta being the exceptions. A sheriff could earn a gold coin every month and command soldiers. It was a good and rare job for most male players. We were truly unlucky to decide to challenge you, said Galen with a self-mocking smile and left the room. Roland also smiled, but with satisfaction. Galen was the seventh one. He intended to convert all the peripheral members of the organization and see what the rich players and streamers at the core could do. The thought of that was quite delightful. Roland felt that he was turning into a supervillain. Then, he resumed the research on Mages Disjunction. He estimated that it would be time to deal with the rich players after he was done with Mages Disjunction. Chapter 746 - The Holy Realm is a Place That Anyone Can Go Mages Disjunction involved causality, which made it very hard for Roland. Causality, as a subject, fell in the category of philosophy on Earth. Roland wasnt very good at that. Someone said that the only two things that could change the way people thought were math and philosophy. Roland knew the basics of philosophy, but not really very much. He had tried reading books on philosophy, but he couldnt persist and would feel dizzy when he read on. He had also tried reading philosophical content in reality, but he never learned much. Some people werent cut out for philosophical studies, which was normal. Therefore, it took him a long time to study Mages Disjunction. After more than a month, he finally got the hang of it. However, it was still unstable. He couldnt carry out the effect of destroying magic equipment every time. His success rate was only about 60% when he tried to destroy mid-level and low-level magic equipment. The rate wouldve been much lower if he had tried epic magic equipment. But Roland didnt want to run tests with epic equipment. He might as well wait until such equipment was all over the street. But that was highly unlikely. Roland felt uncomfortable when the odds of destroying mid- and low-level magic equipment werent 100%. Should he go to the Goddess of Magic? He would rather pass. He had just declined her request for the nuclear explosion spell not long ago. He was too proud to ask for her teachings right after that. Therefore, Roland went to the Red Magic Tower to meet Elder Alfred. It had been a year since they last met, and Alfred looked even older. He had been stuck as a Legend for a long time, and his two hundred years of life were coming to an end. It was also the reason why he wanted to raise an heir for his Magic Tower and Fareins. Roland, its been a long time. Alfred looked at his student in comfort. I didnt expect you to become a Legend so quickly. It seems that you will surely turn into a Demigod if everything goes well. I couldnt have done that without the teaching of you and other mentors in the tower. Hahahaha! Hearing Rolands reply, Alfred laughed even more happily. He had given Roland all those privileges and resources exactly because he hoped that Roland would feel like he belonged to the Magic Tower and Fareins. Also, he had learned that Roland stayed in the royal palace of Fareins for the night at least twice. When there was a sexual relationship between a man and a woman, he tended to care for her. So, the Fareins Kingdom would be protected by a strong expert who was likely a Demigod. It could develop in peace for another five hundred years, which was about as long as most Demigods could live. If they had the bloodline of long-life species, they could easily live one to two thousand years. Recently, Roland had sent in a lot of tricks on small spells, such as Multiple Hands of Magic, Field of Ice, and other spells he improved. The collection of the Red Magic Tower was significantly expanded. His efforts had been repaid far beyond his expectations. Tell me why youre here, said Alfred. According to your habit, you should be studying magic in your manor right now. Roland nodded. Im here to ask for your help. When I practiced Mages Disjunction, something was always confusing to me. I want to ask if the professors in the Magic Tower have any experience with Mages Disjunction, or if you can introduce me to anyone who knows it. Have you grasped Mystras Mansion? Yes. Roland nodded. Thats good. Its the best spell of escape and the first spell that any Legend should learn. Alfred looked at his student in satisfaction. Where are you stuck in the practice of Mages Disjunction? Although I cant grasp it due to my lack of talent in space and causality, and I can only light some fireballs, I still know the basic theories. It was like how a gourmet could taste and enjoy food without having to know how to cook it. Roland said, Im already capable of casting Mages Disjunction, but the odds of success arent very high. Youre already capable of casting Mages Disjunction? After a brief shock, Alfred asked, Are the odds of success very low? How many times can you succeed when you cast it on low-level magic equipment a hundred times? This is very natural for a new Legend. Your success rate will get higher as you grow stronger as a Legend. Its about sixty percent, said Roland casually. After a brief silence, Alfred said, I beg your pardon? Its sixty percent, repeated Roland. Taking a deep breath, Alfred smacked the table three times and roared, Brat, are you here to piss me off, or just to show off in front of me? Huh? Roland was slightly surprised. Alfred said helplessly, Do you know the success rate of Mages Disjunction when the Great Elder of the Spatial Magic Tower, whom you already killed, just learned it? More than eighty percent? Only twenty percent! Roland was stunned. So low? What do you think? Alfred chuckled. He had always found Roland agreeable, but at this moment, he was of a mind to yell at him as a senior. However, he gave up the idea after second thought. Mages Disjunction is a top spell in the first place. Its already impressive enough that a new Legend can learn it. Most people only have a success rate of about twenty percent, and yours is sixty percent. What more do you want? If you want to improve the success rate, you have to improve your strength. Okay Roland got it. The success rate of Mages Disjunction destroying magic equipment depended on not just his magic power capacity but also his level. Looking at Roland who was greatly enlightened, Alfred continued, Although I cant be of any help, something can. When we looted the Spatial Magic Towers library, we found several journals on magic that its Great Elder left. One of the journals recorded his understanding of Mages Disjunction. Its kept in the top level of our library. Now that you are a Legend, youre free to borrow or even copy it. Got it. Thank you, Great Elder. Alfred said with a smile, Come here more often when you have time. This place is always at your back as your second home. Roland was slightly moved. He had to admit that Alfred had been really nice to him since he came to the Red Magic Tower. I will. Can I work as a teacher here in a couple of years? No problem at all. Alfred smiled. Youre more than welcome. We can even name you an honorary elder. After leaving the Great Elders chamber, Roland went to the library. He met a lot of acquaintances as well as mentors who taught him before on the way. All the mentors were shocked to see Roland as a Legend. They all congratulated him. After chatting with them for a while, Roland went to the library and got the journal on Mages Disjunction using his identity as a Legend. After he took photos of the journal with the system camera and was about to leave, Alfred suddenly arrived. He looked slightly weird. Roland, the royal family of Fareins just sent a signal asking for help. Something huge mustve happened. I would rather not be a part of that. Youll go there as a representative of our Magic Tower and the Association of Mages. After all, everybody knows you from the queens coronation ceremony. Roland nodded and teleported to the capital of Fareins. He went straight into the royal palace and found Queen Stephanie. Stephanie had lost her left hand and was receiving a healing spell. She couldnt have looked more infuriated. After a brief shock, Roland walked forward and asked, Are you all right? Huh? The Red Magic Tower sent you here? Stephanie was briefly stunned to see Roland at first. Then, she put on a smile that drove the anger on her face away. Great. A man that I fully trust is finally here. Looking at her empty sleeve, Roland asked, Is it a big problem? Although limbs could be regenerated with magic, certain curses could prevent the limbs from growing until they were out of effect. Most curses could last for a long time. They could be effective for five years or even longer. Thats all right. My hand will grow back in a couple of days. Stephanie looked awful again at the mention of her wound. How were you wounded? One of my maids was corrupted by a mind flayer from the Realm of Devils, yet nobody noticed anything wrong. Stephanie chuckled coldly. Fortunately, Im a Warrior. Although Im not very strong, I was able to dodge the attack. The Realm of Devils attacked you? Roland found it hard to believe. How is it possible? This is the Holy Realm, yet nobody spotted the intruders who came again and again? What happened? Stephanie snorted. Its possible that the intruders were sent by them. She sounded very suspicious of the Church of Light. Roland found it quite understandable. It was already the third time in the last several years that evil lurked right under the nose of the light. Even those who trusted the Church of Light the most would think that it had internal problems, not to mention the other organizations that were in competition with or hostile against it. Since the Red Magic Tower sent you here, why dont you keep me company in the coming days? Stephanie waved her hand and dismissed the court Mage. She then showed her severed arm to Roland. I want you to treat me. Then, Roland and Stephanie were left alone at the throne. Roland loosened Stephanies clothes and examined her wound. He then took out the Dragon Meat Reagent from the system Backpack and fed a bottle of it to her. After Stephanie drank it, he began his treatment. Every healing spell would consume the vitality of those being treated, so it was best to treat them while they drank things that could increase vitality. With her beautiful shoulder exposed to the air, Stephanie looked at Roland in surprise. You feel different. Are you already a Legend? Roland nodded. As expected of my and Annas man, said Stephanie rather proudly. Im always good at seeing peoples potential. Roland smiled. Okay, lets not rush into any treatment yet. Come to my bedroom with me. Why not? If I treat you right now, your hand will grow back in a few hours. Stephanie smiled. Dont you want to try the taste of a one-armed beauty? Well He did. In fact, Stephanie had been holding back for a long time too. Then, the two of them went to the bedroom. At the same time, a high-level meeting was being held in the Holy Realm. The new pope and the Holy Lady sat at the highest place equally. Thirteen Saint Samurai were right below them. Further down were more than thirty cardinals. The new pope had been promoted from a cardinal too. He was always well-respected. At this moment, he looked quite angry. Everybody, the Holy Realm is turning into a joke. The pope frowned. This is the third time in three years. We may call it an accident after the first or second time, but the third time it happens, it really means that something is seriously wrong. Everybody listened quietly. Although the mind flayer has been located, its presence suggests that there must be an undercover agent from the Realm of Devils among us. Also, he is of a high rank and may be here right now. The pope looked at all the cardinals down below. The Saint Samurai and the Holy Lady cant possibly work with evil creatures, said the pope casually. So, the cardinals and I are the only suspects. Nobody said anything. They had all been thinking the same. So, I have a suggestion. Ill receive an alignment test first, said the pope slowly. Then, all the cardinals will take it too. Everybody whispered to each other. The pope clapped his hands to silence them, before he continued, I know its quite insulting, but desperate times call for desperate measures. If we dont find the enemy among us, the invasion of darkness will happen again, and well be humiliated. Everybody expressed their understanding. The pope said, In such a case, Ill just Let me do it first. The pretty Holy Lady stood up. Im the Holy Lady. I should set an example for everyone at a moment like this. After a brief shock, the pope nodded. The requirements for a Holy Lady were very high. They had to be beautiful, determined, devoted to the goddess, and acknowledged by the goddess. It was only slightly less difficult to become a Holy Lady than to become a Saint Samurai. The Holy Lady glanced at everybody with her beautiful eyes and then gazed at Schuck. Schuck has the best expertise in light of everybody. I suggest that he run a test on everybody. Any objection? Everyone shook their heads. Schuck was the most favored Saint Samurai at this moment. He had been growing fast and was almost a Legend after only five years. Also, he was very talented. The divine skills he cast were much more effective than what the normal cardinals cast. Schuck stood and said with a smile, Since the pope and the Holy Lady are voluntarily taking the test, I dont think the Saint Samurai should be exempted. We should take the test too even if the odds are quite slim. However, right after Schuck said that, the Holy Lady interjected, I disagree. The Saint Samurai dont need to take the test. Everybody fixed their eyes upon her. Chapter 747 - You Don’t Understand the Severity of the Matter Everybody fixed their eyes upon her. The Holy Lady explained casually and matter-of-factly, All the Saint Samurai are directly watched by the goddess. If we test the Saint Samurai, wont it be a sign that we doubt the goddess? She made a good point. Doubting the Goddess of Light was essentially challenging the foundation of the church. Everybody agreed with what she said, except Schuck. But, there has been more than one Saint Samurai who was corrupted, hasnt there? He brought up something that everybody in the church wanted to forget. Every corrupted Saint Samurai had wreaked havoc on the human world. The Saint Samurai were always known as the Goddess of Lights move beloved children, epitomes of integrity and bravery, and professionals who were as famous as the Heroes. The corruption of a Saint Samurai felt no different from a Hero siding with a Devil King. It happened several times in the history of the Church of Light. Normally speaking, even a pope wouldve been criticized by others if he had brought up the subject in public. However, there was nothing that they could do at this moment even though they didnt want to hear it. It was because Schuck, the most favored of the Saint Samurai, was the one who made the statement. During the last descent of the Goddess of Light, she had kissed Schucks forehead and blessed him in front of everyone. He was the first in the history of the Church of Light to receive such an honor. His words represented the will of the Goddess of Light more than the Holy Ladys and the popes did. However, if the Saint Samurai were to take the test, it would contradict their faith. While everybody was silent, the pope suggested, In any case, lets test me and the cardinals first. Then, the atmosphere of the meeting was greatly eased. They knew that the pope tested those people first because the traitor was likely among the cardinals. The pope instantly cast a large-scale alignment test, covering himself as well as all the cardinals. His control was perfect, and the Holy Lady and the thirteen Saint Samurai werent affected at all. Everybody was impressed by the popes skillfulness. They also looked at each other warily, trying to figure out who the traitor was. However, under the alignment test, the pope and the cardinals had nothing but green over their heads. Nobody had a different color. The atmosphere got even more intense. Anxiety and uneasiness roiled in everybodys hearts. The pope dared not look at the Saint Samurai. He could only focus his gaze on the Holy Lady. He didnt know how he should describe his feelings. He was quite ambivalent about whether or not he wished the Holy Lady to be the corrupted one. Under everybodys eyes, the Holy Lady uneasily raised her right hand and cast an individual alignment test on herself. There was nothing but green over her head. The Holy Lady looked desperate. I do hope that its me. She mumbled to herself with a pale face. If there was a traitor, it had to be one of the thirteen Saint Samurai. That was a dreaded scenario for the entire Church of Light. Three evil invasions had already happened. If a Saint Samurai turned out to be corrupt, it would be a fatal blow on the faith of the church. Everybody was seething anxiously, including the Saint Samurai who had been poised. At this moment, Schuck said, Perform an alignment test on us too. The pope didnt say anything but simply stared at Schuck earnestly. Who dared to cast an alignment test on the Saint Samurai as a whistle-blower in such a situation? Normally speaking, a whistle-blower would only end up killed by heavy chariots on the street, or shot by seven arrows in the back. Although it never happened in the Church of Light, similar things had happened in a lot of kingdoms. As a result, nobody wanted to be the whistle-blower. After a moment of silence, Schuck said, Let me do it. Everybody was greatly relieved. As the most favored Saint Samurai, he was protected by the Goddess of Light even if he became the whistle-blower. Also, as a Golden Son, Schuck wouldnt really die either. At this moment, everybody looked at Schuck with approval in their eyes. Decree: Alignment Test! Schuck waved his hand, and everybody was enshrouded by an enormous alignme including the pope, the cardinals and the Holy Lady who had already been tested. Of course, the Saint Samurai were no exceptions. However green glowed right above everybodys head. Everybody was greatly relieved to see that. The enemy was not in the leadership at all. Thank god. Even the pope wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead. Now that none of us is a suspect, we should start investigating the middle-level clerics. The pope squeezed the sweat in his palm and continued, Schuck, I hope that you can talk to the royal family. We have to apologize and compensate for the queens severed hand. We can pay a price as long as the queen isnt too outrageous. Why do you ask Schuck to go? asked the Holy Lady in confusion. You should know how influential Schuck is to the women out there. Everybody chuckled in comprehension. Looking at the Holy Ladys demanding eyes, the pope explained with a bitter smile, Dont worry. Queen Stephanie isnt interested in Schuck. I want him to go there only because the queens man is a Golden Son and seems to be Schucks good friend. For the sake of their friendship, Stephanie might not be too hard on us. That was a good reason. The Holy Lady had no objection to that Then, Schuck led about twenty diplomats of the church to the royal palace. After they introduced themselves, the guards reported the situation, and a maid came out. Her eyes glittered when she saw Schuck. Then, she took them to the right wing of the royal palace where the queen often received foreign diplomats. In the eyes of the royal family, the Holy Realm was a foreign organization even though it was based right in the capital. Schuck had expected to meet the queen who had lost one arm. However, he met his old friend. Roland was eating fruit and reading books in the living room. After a shock, Schuck rushed to him in delight and punched Rolands shoulder, before he shouted in delight, When did you come here? Why didnt you tell me?. Easy, easy. Roland rubbed his shoulder. If he hadnt acquired Legendary Physique from Andonara, he probably wouldve been bordering on death, as a normal Mage was very fragile. I came yesterday and spent the night in the royal palace. Oh. Schuck put on a sincere smile. How is your job in reality? Earlier, they had always hung out with their friends during weekends, but now that Roland was missing, they felt that something was off, and the atmosphere wasnt as great as before. Not bad. The job is easy. The salary and benefits are good. Theres also a fancy cafeteria where you can have as many in-season fruits as possible. Theres even a state-of-the-art gym. Knowing that Roland would never tell lies if his life were in trouble, Schuck was quite reassured. Thats not bad. Are you here to apologize to Stephanie on behalf of the Church of Light? asked Roland. Schuck nodded. Yes, but since youre here, its probably easier for us. Just leave the things that you promised here, said Roland with a smile. Stephanie has given me the authority to deal with this matter. As your friend, I wont ask for more compensation. Okay, sounds good. Schuck gave a piece of paper to Roland. It was certainly better to use a piece of paper than to use a parchment on such a stately occasion. Roland skimmed through the paper and put it down. He had to admit that the Church of Lights compensations were quite suitable. They had offered both money and land. They had even given away some of the local parishes. Schuck was relieved to see that Roland was satisfied. Then, Schuck said, Roland, I have a question. What is it? You know magic quite well. Do you think the alignment test can 100% tell someones goodness or stance? Its not absolutely effective at all. Roland thought for a moment and continued, Consider it like this. Your test is an attack, so its only natural that theres a defense. I can even resist buffs with my willpower if I dont want them, not to mention the alignment test. Are you looking for the traitor in such a way? How do you know? Schuck was rather surprised. Roland chuckled. I can easily figure it out even if Im thinking with my knees. Youre good. It never occurred to me. After that, Schuck was deep in thought and mumbled to himself, So, the enemy has methods to fool the alignment test? Got it. Schuck stood up and said to Roland, Sorry, bro. I have to go back to the Holy Realm. I need to handle this immediately. I have a bad feeling. Roland stood up too. Then forgive me for not escorting you out. Tsk. Youre talking as if youre the master of this place, Schuck teased. Roland chuckled, unwilling to argue with him. After Schuck left, Roland returned to the bedroom with the paper, only to find that Stephanie was still sleeping in bed. There was no audience today In fact, audiences were unnecessary as the lords of every dominion could take care of their own matters. It made little difference whether the queen was diligent or lazy. Youre back already? Hearing the door open, Stephanie opened her eyes on the bed. You didnt catch up with your friend? He left because of something urgent. Roland laid the paper on the pillow. This is their compensation for you. Stephanie sat up lazily, her body vaguely revealed underneath her silk pajamas. She glanced at the paper and smiled. Theyre quite fair, but Im rather surprised that youre not biased towards your friend. Youre both dear to me. Why would I do that? Which of us is dearer to you? Do you even need to ask? Roland squeezed her breasts with a smile. Roland stayed in the bedroom for the next two days. Stephanie went to the palace for audiences during the two days, but she returned to the bedroom and never came out again when they were over. She had maids deliver food and drink to her bedroom. After two days, her hand had regenerated fully. Then, Roland went to the basement where the magic power bricks were manufactured. After collecting three magic power bricks, he created more simulated stellar systems. Thanks to Magic Power Crystallization, the great talent he got from a Demigod, Roland had an unbelievably high mana capacity. It wasnt a problem at all for him to establish a few assembly lines for the magic power bricks. If it goes on like this, it will only take one year before I can create the core foundation of my floating city. Roland laughed in delight and then returned to Delpon. After reading the journal on Mages Disjunction he got from the Red Magic Tower, he spent half a month perfecting the spell. His odds of destroying mid- and low-level magic equipment rose to 70%. Also, the range of coverage had been significantly expanded. In the meantime, he manipulated another three peripheral members of the anti-Roland organization to take his side exactly as he dealt with Galen. Seeing the icon of Mages Disjunction that he had grasped lying on the system, he put on a mystifying smile. Andonara approached him and touched Rolands face with glowing eyes. I love your creepy and domineering side. Its so manly and gives me a sense of security. Well Then they rolled on the bed for a long time. At the same time, there was a mid-sized city named Tarze three hundred kilometers away. The city was most famous for its black ale. The black wheat in this place had a high yield and a great quality. The ale made with such wheat was much more delicious than that from other places. Also, it had been a tradition of the city to select the ten most beautiful fourteen-year-old girls of the city and then ask them to chew black wheat and spout it to twenty kegs that had been prepared in advance. Then, the twenty kegs of ale would be the most expensive products that only nobles could afford. At this moment, the most beautiful girls were being selected. It was a show that people of different genders, ages, and social ranks could all participate in. On this day, all the fourteen-year-old girls in the city would be dressed up and sent to the gala for the celebrities to review. At this moment, Gardner, as a rich player and a streamer, was on the judge panel. He had been living a thriving life in this place. He was quite famous as a Golden Son, a professional, and a baron, a title that he bought with money. His life was easy and comfortable. Brothers, do you see the girl in the red skirt on the left side? Shes my type. Im going to vote for her. While observing the girls in the arena, he interacted with the audience watching his stream. Naturally, all the viewers were cheering to see so many beautiful girls at the same time. Above his head, a huge cloud was drifting toward him slowly. At this moment, Gardner didnt realize the severity of the matter yet. Chapter 748 - Two Pleasant Surprises in a Row The central square of the city was quite lively. As more and more beautiful girls entered the square, Gardner grew more and more excited. That girl in the white dress looks tiny and cute. Shes my type too. Im going to vote for her too. The girl wearing a short skirt in the corner has long, tight legs. They must feel good. Shes my type too. That girl who has a white flower on her head Gardner was quite loud. The other judges next to him werent very happy, but they dared not complain. This Golden Son was strong, rich, and would not hesitate to show off. He had glittering magic equipment all over his body. Although he was a Warrior, wasnt it perfectly reasonable that he had top equipment armed to his underpants as a rich player? Therefore, although Gardners voice was loud, nobody dared to say anything to him. Gardner loved the feeling too. He was like the moon, and the others were like stars. As time went by, the competition became more and more heated, and Gardner cast a lot of votes. At this moment, twenty girls had been screened out. Only half of them would be chosen in the end. After the mayor cast his vote, it was Gardners turn. He had to choose his four favorite girls and declare the reason for his choices. Gardner stood up, and everybody looked at him, including the twenty girls. Cough, cough! I pick Contestants No.4, No. 13, No.16 and No.19! Allow me to tell you my reasons. When Gardner was about to continue proudly and confidently, the air around him suddenly twisted. Everybody was stunned, and so was Gardner. Then, he subconsciously rolled and dashed forward to get out of range. However, the weirdly twisted air followed him. He rolled to the center of the square and was only three meters away from the girls. Then All his clothes, including his underpants, were shattered into pieces. The tens of thousands of audience members in the square and in the stream channel saw how Gardners clothes exploded into dust. Then, Gardner stood in front of the fourteen-year-old girls nakedly, with his male organ erect. After a brief silence, all the twenty girls screamed and fled. The mayor gloomily waved his hand, and a team of guards squeezed in and surrounded Gardner. Gardner looked even gloomier. He could hear nothing but the screams of the girls and the laughter from the audience. The audience in the stream channel were commenting excitedly too. However, the channel was closed only one minute later. The game authorities had advanced technologies to determine whether or not someone was streaming inappropriate content in two to three minutes. There was nothing that the netizens could do. However, a netizen who had been recording the stream posted his snapshots to the forum. As a result, Gardner became even more famous. He grimly took out other clothes from his system Backpack and put them on. Then, the mayor walked to him and asked unhappily, Baron Gardner, please explain what just happened. Gardner took a deep breath. He was very angry, but he dared not to be too arrogant in front of the mayor. Sorry, my lord. I was attacked by an enemy. They eliminated your magic equipment? The lord snorted. Whether or not its an attack, the pageant was disrupted by you. Please go away now. Youll no longer be a judge. Gardner nodded. I understand. Then, he walked out of the square and punched a tree so hard that he left a three-centimeter-deep mark on it. Whos messing with me? The system would notify the type of person that attacked him, but not their names. For example, he saw You were attacked by a player. But Rolands name was not shown. It was a setting in the game too. After all, if a Rogue successfully stole someones belongings, and then the system showed that Rogue JOJO stole three gold coins from you Then would the Rogues even survive as a class at all? Based on the same logic, names of remote attackers wouldnt be shown whether or not they revealed their faces. Although Gardner didnt see the attacker or know how he was attacked, he vaguely guessed who did it. Roland! Gardner gnashed his teeth. His equipment was worth at least a hundred and fifty gold coins, but it was vaporized instantly. Anyone wouldve been infuriated if the same thing happened to them. At this moment, Roland moved on to the next target on the cloud. His next target was a streamer too. He knew that those people probably guessed it was him, but they didnt have any evidence. More important, his name wouldnt turn red. The PK system in the game was no different from the old MMORPGs. Those who attacked others voluntarily would have red names But as soon as he hit and ran, his name would still be white after the PK status was gone, because he didnt kill anyone. As for equipment That was not within the consideration of the system at all. After flying for twenty minutes, Roland saw the system notification that he was no longer in the players fight status. He smiled delightedly and flew faster on the cloud. Rolands next target was streaming how to deal with monsters in the wilderness. It was also why Roland set him as a target. It was easy to track down those who were streaming Twain was excitedly dissecting a gigantic spider. Bros, look at the transparent eggs inside this spider! They can be boiled or roasted, but theyre also very delicious if you taste them raw. Bros, Im going to eat them. Keep it up! Twain shouted and put the dense, sticky, transparent eggs from the chest of the giant into his mouth. When he chewed them, the eggs cracked noisily. Half of the viewers in the channel were disgusted, and the other half quite enjoyed it. One of the netizens asked, Twain, Im LV11 too. Why cant I hunt the large monstrous spiders as easily as you can? Because your equipment isnt good enough. Twain patted his gray leather armor. My magic equipment either adds to my defense or increases my penetration and speed. A lot of people are stronger than me at my level, but few have better equipment Let me tell you, this set of equipment is worth at least two million While he cockily showed off, his equipment suddenly fell apart into powder. After a brief silence, Twain shrieked in fear, Why is my equipment gone? What happened? Whos behind this? His voice was high-pitched and desperate. The netizens in the stream channel also shrieked in fright. How terrible! What a small worm! It was well-known that a mans genitals might turn small when he was scared. Then, the picture of Twain holding his head and screaming nakedly was also posted on the forum. It even went viral. The news that Twains equipment became powder hit the headlines together with what happened to Gardner. Almost all the netizens on the forum guessed that someone was going after them. It must be Mages Disjunction. Only Mages Disjunction can shatter magic equipment so quickly. Have they pissed off powerful NPCs? No, according to Gardner, the system showed that he was attacked by a player. Heh, a player that knows Mages Disjunction? Stop kidding. Thats a Legendary spell Oh, I know who he is. So do I. Whats Roland doing? Why is he dealing with Gardner and Twain? I dont think theres anything in common between them. Maybe Roland is just being a bully? Thats possible, but as a traditional Mage, Roland would rather spend more time in his lab than deal with those people unless they really infuriated him. I still think that Roland is just cocky. Hes now the best player and he can attack whoever he wants. But wouldnt it have been better if he just killed them? Why did he blow up their equipment? Their equipment wouldve lingered on their bodies after they died anyway. But your name will turn red if you kill anyone, what if you just destroy their equipment! While the netizens threw out random guesses on the forum, the third victim showed up. He was a Bard player named Paine, who streamed about how to hit on girls in taverns. Paines equipment was even more unbelievable. Not only was it magic equipment, but he had also spent a fortune on it to make it look fancy and gorgeous, so that it would be helpful both in battle and scoring girls. It was all from the elves. It was also very expensive. The whole set was worth three hundred gold coins. As a result, the players fell silent. Four hours later, the fourth victim showed up. She was a female streamer who taught how to match magic jewelries. It happened when she was streaming with a bunch of magic gems on the table. Then, they were all gone in a twisted force field. This time, all the netizens were seething on the forum. A lot of people were yelling at Roland. There were even trolls among them. As a result, Roland became a despicable man in everybodys eyes. Someone even reported him to the authorities and asked them to ban Rolands account. Then, Roland posted a thread. About why I blew up other peoples equipment. The content of the thread went as followed: Ive never been hostile to anyone, but I wont flinch when anyone is taking advantage of me. You think your equipment is valuable but my EXP isnt? If you want to kill me, you have to bear the consequences after I find out. Dont presume that I cant identify you because you wear wolf masks and ask the liches to be your champions. There are five more of you. I wont say their names. Lets have more fun in the future. Its true that I dare not kill you. I dont want my name to turn red. However, dont wear any magic equipment from now on, or Ill blow up every piece. I have Magic Material Exemption anyway, and I dont need materials to cast Mages Disjunction. The day is still long. The post shocked everybody on the forum. A lot of discussions showed up. I knew that there mustve been a reason why Roland attacked them. I think I heard about the conspiracy before, but I thought it was just a rumor. That being said, Roland shouldnt have blown up their equipment. Thats a huge loss. Oh, as Roland said, your equipment is valuable, but his EXP isnt? Hes already a Legend. If he dies, how much time will it take for him to regain the lost EXP? But they didnt do anything to him anyway. He shouldnt have counterattacked until he was attacked, or it wouldnt be justifiable self-defense. Tsk. Youre talking about justifiable self-defense in the game? All in all, everybody knew why Roland blew up other peoples equipment. There were as many people who cursed him as there were who supported him. In short, the public opinion was no longer as one-sided as before. Then, another day passed. Roland rose from the virtual cabin and jogged for half an hour on the treadmill. He freshened himself up and went to the cafeteria for breakfast. The girls and guys in the cafeteria all looked attractive and energetic. Make no mistake. They didnt take any of Rolands semen. There were hundreds of thousands of researchers in the base. Roland couldnt possibly provide for all of them. It was mostly because of the progress in the research. Su Minluos early years in medical school turned out to be rewarding. She managed to purify the central substance in Rolands semen and delivered it to the lab for analysis. It was a substance that had never appeared before But the old researchers managed to figure out its constituents. Then, it was copied and manufactured. To declare that it was manufactured was a little bit outrageous, as only ten kilograms of the substance could be produced in the base every day. Fortunately, only several grams of the substance could be effective. Also, the effect could last for a long time. Even more unbelievably, it was much more effective to take the substance intravenously than orally. Because of the contribution, Su Minluo was given a First-Degree Reward. Although her title didnt change, her military rank was higher than before. Also, the ten kilogram of the substance was given to the priority researchers. Then, it was the security guards. The leaders came last. Of course the constituents, the materials, and the way to make it were all submitted as a classified file. It was believable that the medical agencies of the state would soon manufacture the substance and sell it to the whole country or even the whole world, making a huge amount of money from it. Of course Roland had gained something too. He went to the directors office after breakfast. Upon seeing him, the director asked him to sit down and then said in a friendly manner, Comrade Huang, you really made great contributions! I cant take the credit. Comrade Su Minluo did all the hard work. Youre both contributors. If you hadnt taken the ability out of the game, we wouldnt have gotten such important stuff, said the director with a smile. Living a longer life is every animals instinct. Also, if we make careful arrangements, this thing will bring great benefits to our country. Chapter 749 - Playboy’s Tip: Cast a Wide Net Every creature sought a long life as long as they werent those which died right after mating After all, survival was an instinct that was imprinted in DNA. To be honest, we didnt expect to make any awesome new discoveries, said the director of the base. We know that a lot of things cannot be replicated. Rolands eyebrows furrowed. Boss, do you mean that youve seen people like me before? Yes. The director searched his memories. You must know of the Qigong craze thirty years ago. Back then, a couple of them were real. Hearing that, Roland couldnt help but blow a whistle, and the director continued, Why else do you think that a great scientist would say that Qigong was the future of humankind? It even became a stain on his reputation. In fact, we confirmed that there were special human beings, but they couldnt be replicated. No countries have made any progress in that regard. Roland was stunned. According to the books he read, a lot of countries had initiated operations to develop superpowers, and those operations were quite influential back then. So, your previous research suggested that superpowers depended on personal talent and werent applicable to everyone? Yes, said the director casually. We have a lot of classified files, but theyve all been sealed. Back then, I was still new to the research institute and I helped organize many of the files. We figured out the basic mechanism, but we couldnt replicate it. There might have been individuals who could, but they were unique and rare. Roland subconsciously nodded. Our current technologies dont meet the requirements even if we figure out the mechanism, said the director with a smile. Let me give you a simple example. We developed feasible theories on the solar furnace forty years ago, but well probably have to wait for another twenty years before we can finally create a prototype. Roland listened quietly. The director continued, Superpowers are even more unbelievable than the solar furnace. They require that someones brainwaves be at least fifty percent higher than an ordinary persons all the time. Its impossible for an ordinary person to increase their brainwaves to that level without blowing up their head. Its like Bolt. You know which muscles are responsible for running, but you cant outrun him by exercising those muscles. Do you get it? Roland was greatly enlightened. No wonder I feel that Im a peripheral person in every sense. Youre not exactly a peripheral person. The director chuckled. Youre even more powerful than the two guys from more than thirty years ago. Youre yourself a strategic weapon. Now that we know about you, we cannot let you drift away from our system. Roland wasnt surprised. He didnt feel embarrassed or uncomfortable either. It was because the guy was speaking the truth, and he had been prepared for that. It never occurred to us that you had such a derivative ability. The director smiled in satisfaction. Everybody is glad to live a longer life. Im no exception, so thanks. My superior said that youll have greater permissions and access to the confidential departments after a report. I look forward to the interesting discoveries that youll bring us. Rolands head was slightly dizzy after he came out of the directors office. The director didnt talk much, but he mentioned a lot of exciting stuff. Roland returned to his office and rested for a while. He then opened the LAN messenger and said, Attention, everybody. Come here for a brief meeting. Everybody arrived in no more than five minutes. Roland looked at everybody and said, An idea just hit me. I want to conduct a human experiment. Su Minluos eyes glittered. Director, are you going to contribute your body?. To Su Minluo, Rolands body was full of treasures. She loved Rolands body the most besides her husbands for purely academic reasons. Roland coughed and said, You know that I brought my ability out of the game, and in the game, I groomed a lot of magic apprentices and helped them grasp magic. Im planning to apply my experience to reality. However, theres no telling if its going to be effective or dangerous. Unknown and risky human experiments are forbidden in this country, so well have to conduct it on our own. Everyones eyes lit up. Im planning to select two experiment subjects. If youre okay with it, raise your hands. Shua Everybody raised their hands. Roland glanced at them and said, Sorry, I forgot to mention it. Im only looking for males for now. Hearing that, all the female researchers eyes dimmed. Su Minluo smacked the table and roared, Director, thats sexist. Women can hold up half the sky. Why are you keeping us away? Were not scared of danger. Her female colleagues nodded quickly. Roland said with a bitter smile, Its because my Magic Power Transformation can only transform semen. Su Minluo instantly pulled a long face. Why? Thatsthats unfair. Roland opened his hands, showing that there was nothing he could do. Su Minluo heaved a long sigh and said, Fine, well just help you as assistants. After appeasing the recalcitrant Su Minluo, Roland looked at all the male researchers who raised their hands. Seeing that Roland was looking at them, all the male researchers raised their hands even higher earnestly. Roland looked around and said, Im going to choose Chen Rui and Ye Feng for now. The two men whose names were called cried, Yeah! Their male colleagues all laid on the table in disappointment. Now, Im going to tell you the procedure that Ive outlined. Take a note of it and see if theres anything wrong or inappropriate with it, or if any more materials and tools are needed. Make a list of those things. Roland looked at Su Minluo. Comrade Su, youre always careful. Youll finalize the list and apply for the materials on my behalf. If you need me to sign my name, just bring the application to me. Got it? Su Minluo nodded quickly. There were no big secrets in this base. Other people wouldnt pry into what someone did or what data he had acquired, but they could and would ask them their research plan. So, everybody in the base learned that Roland was going to conduct human experiments on magic in two days. Many people applied to be transferred to Rolands team, but they were all declined with the excuses such as no extra hands are needed and new team members may disrupt teamwork. The researchers had every reason to be excited. First of all, everybody looked forward to superpowers and wanted to have them! Secondly, Rolands department had made great achievements very fast. Most people knew that every new discipline was a blue ocean where they could get a lot of new discoveries and patents easily. They could become famous and wealthy. Some of the old disciplines had been pressed so far that only the most arcane knowledge was left to study. It required money and effort. However, since their researchers declined them, they had to postpone the matter. Three days later, after all the materials were in position, all the thirty researchers of Rolands team were gathered around a white experiment table. Chen Rui was lying on the table with a pair of boxers. A lot of electrodes were attached to him. He was also wearing a rather fancy helmet. A glowing shadowless lamp illuminated him. He was quite excited, and also a little bit scared by the zealous eyes surrounding him. He swallowed now and then to soothe himself. Later, youll back off and record everything that happens here with the facilities, including Comrade Chens brainwaves, body temperature, magnetic field changes, blood pressure changes, etc. Everybody nodded. Roland continued, Comrade Su Minluo, youll stay and record Comrade Chens facial expressions with a camera, including the dilation and contraction of his pupils. Well hand over the information to the psychology department and ask them to help review the process. Su Minluo nodded quickly. Very soon, all the other researchers left the lab and looked at them from behind the glass. A sterilizing mist was sprayed down, and the three people who were left in the lab all shivered. Im going to transform Comrade Chens semen into magic power and then store it in his body. Staring at Chen Ruis excited eyes, Roland said slowly, Considering that Comrade Chen is just an ordinary person, Ill only generate one-hundredth of the magic power that I usually have. It will ensure that Comrade Chen wont be hurt. The crowd nodded. Gazing at Chen Rui, Roland asked, Are you ready? Dont worry, Ive been ready for a long time. Chen Rui nodded. Roland extended his finger and gently pointed above Chen Ruis bellybutton. A circle of light spread out from where he pointed like waves, until it faded away and disappeared. Everybody quietly watched the readings on the monitors. After a while, Chen Rui asked, Director, did you use your magic?. Do you feel anything? asked Roland. Chen Rui shook his head. Okay Roland thought for a moment and said, Everybody, record Chen Ruis readings and create a new document. It will be Ye Fengs turn in half an hour. Chen Rui was briefly stunned. Then, he rose from the table in frustration. Hearing what Roland said, Ye Feng ran in excitedly, took off his clothes, lay on the table, and stuck all the electrodes to himself. He then lay back down quietly. He couldnt have looked more obedient. Because there was still half an hour to go, Roland walked out of the lab and asked, What are Chen Ruis statistics? There were reactions, but only trivial ones. One of the researchers sorted out the files and said, After you cast your spell, Chen Ruis blood pressure and brainwaves increased, but within the normal range. His magnetic field and heat radiations had no obvious changes. We have reason to believe that his reactions were due to his excitement. Chen Rui, who was putting on his clothes, was even more frustrated. Roland nodded. From his perspective, the magic power that was transformed from Chen Ruis semen didnt melt into his body at all but vanished in the air. It meant that Chen Ruis body didnt attract magic power elements at all. Not everybody was gifted at magic. It was a talent that only a minority of people had even in the game. And that was a high-magic world, whereas this was a zero-magic one. Roland returned to the lab and saw Ye Feng who was waiting patiently. He then said, Since Ye Feng is ready, well have the second experiment in advance. The researchers who were communicating and discussing the data instantly returned to their posts. Soon, the second experiment began. Ye Fengs experiment results were clearly better than Chen Ruis. The researchers who got the data were all excited. Director, Ye Fengs brainwaves were ten percent more active than the upper limit of normal peoples for about thirty seconds. His magnetic field had feeble deviations for a while and its radius even expanded five centimeters. Hearing the report, Ye Feng jumped to his feet in his underpants in excitement. Roland nodded. From his perspective, Ye Feng did absorb some of the magic power, but he discharged it after only one minute. That was quite normal. After all, Ye Feng wasnt even a magic apprentice. He didnt know how to perceive or restrain magic power at all. In comparison, Ye Feng seemed more talented than Chen Rui. However from Rolands point of view, Ye Feng was not even as gifted as a rookie magic apprentice in Delpon. Seeing how excited Ye Feng was, Roland didnt want to tell him the truth, which wouldve frustrated him. Judging from the two experiments, theyre not dangerous at all. Roland thought for a moment and said, Well continue the tests on all the male researchers tomorrow. Then, well run experiments on the two people who have the most obvious statistical changes. The other male researchers all cheered in excitement. Su Minluo walked to Roland and asked in a low voice, Director, can you get a spell that can test females too? Ill try. Roland nodded. In fact, blood could be transformed into magic power too, but it was more damaging than transforming semen into magic power, because much more blood was required than semen was. After Roland accepted her request, Su Minluo put on a smile and continued, Should we make an announcement to assure other people of the safety of the experiment and hire more experiment subjects in the base? We can also tell them that the five people with the best data could likely get in touch with the magic world. Well be able to get more experiment subjects for free in such a way. Also, nobody will blame us for keeping all our secrets to ourselves. Chapter 750 - The Temple of Light Is Ruined Su Minluos proposal was a good one Roland had just sent out this recruitment message, and then immediately received countless application forms. Almost everyone who had expectations for themselves, or who had some expectations for magic and supernormal capabilities, signed up. This even included several department heads. Su Minluo filtered according to age and physique, and then there was the question of hobbies. For example, those who loved to drink and those who loved to smoke were given less weight. In this way, thirty young lads were selected. Most of them were security personnel C military personnel. Only one-fifth were scientific researchers. Thanks to previous experience, the experiments were conducted fairly quickly this time. Four subjects were soon selected based on reactions that were much more pronounced than the average persons. Among them, Vice-Captain Lu Yong, who fought with Roland, performed the best. He could barely reach the level of the worst magic apprentice in Delpon. The next one was Ye Feng, and then the other two were also security personnel. Of the four selected experimental subjects, Ye Feng was the only one who was a researcher. So from this ratio, it was clear that intelligence made little difference, and a stronger and healthier body was a better fit. It wasnt a higher level of literacy. Of course, Roland believed that when there was little difference in talent, it was the more educated who had more advantages later on. Also, this data was not particularly well developed. After all, the number of people in the experiment was still too small. But in the game, the physical qualities of a Mage were indeed far stronger than that of ordinary people. There was probably some validity to it. Roland did Magic Power Transformation tests twice a day on these four people. There was no way for more; they couldnt physically tolerate it. In reality, as Rolands strength had increased, his physique had been strengthened a lot, otherwise, he wouldnt have been able to conduct five or six Magic Power Transformations. But they couldnt do the same. Over a month or so, each of these four men had gone through at least fifty experiments. A lot of data was obtained. And among them, Lu Yong was particularly gifted, relatively speaking. Only relatively. He could vaguely sense the flow of magic now. Then this man revered Roland like a god. The others could not perceive magic, so Roland appeared to them as an ordinary person on the surface, and even though they knew that Roland possessed strong abilities, they did not intuitively feel them. Lu Yong, on the other hand, could feel the amazing energy contained in Rolands body every moment as long as he stayed in the laboratory It was like a mountain towering in front of him. The kind that could have a landslide at any moment. Although Lu Yongs progress wasnt great, and he was still extremely far from casting spells, being able to sense magic was a great breakthrough The experiment was extremely encouraging and the whole department was almost burning with enthusiasm for research. If Roland hadnt stopped them, these people would have stayed in the lab twenty-four hours a day. Anyway, there were washrooms here and food could be sent over. And in the game, Rolands actions didnt fall behind. He sniped three more core personnel. He destroyed their magic equipment worth a total of twenty to thirty gold coins. It wasnt as much this time now that these people was too guarded to go out in their best equipment. But this also resulted in three core personnel dying once. It was not Roland who did it. Rather, it was their opponents. All celebrities would have some enemies. Even a geeky Mage like Roland, who didnt like to feud with people, was envied and some people wanted to take him out. Those famous uploaders and tycoons were usually more ostentatious and offended a lot of people. Due to their power, people didnt dare to act recklessly. But when they swapped out their good equipment for an average set, their strength was greatly reduced. So three of them were assassinated by their haters. The three people who were assassinated wanted to throw shade on Roland, only to have someone take the blame upon themselves right after they released the framing post on the forum. And this person even volunteered to explain why he wanted to kill the three. Although the three immediately deleted the post, several people had already seen it, and it dealt another blow to their reputation. Originally, many netizens were quite vocal about Roland destroying peoples equipment, but now the vast majority of them thought what he did was good. He was a man who was quick to take revenge when he had an axe to grind. Then, after a few more days, Douglas reached out in-game and said, Galen and the others want to talk to you. Talk about what? They said they want to apologize. Douglas threw up his hands and said, Im only responsible for delivering the message. Whether you see them and reconcile, I dont care. Tell them to meet me in Delpon. Roland laughed and said, We can take the time to talk. Three days later, seven players arrived at Rolands estate. Including Roland, eight people sat in the courtyard around a large table in silence. Roland didnt want to talk. The others were unsure how to speak. In the end, it was a female streamer who spoke up. Roland, lets just let this go. It was our fault for trying to screw you, and now that youve gotten your revenge and vented, its time to let us off the hook. This female streamer had added quite a lot of Charm and looked quite pretty. Generally speaking, the guilty party always has to bleed a little to show that they mean it. Roland looked at this female streamer and smiled. You guys come running over here and say youre going to reconcile? If I simply listened, wouldnt I have no respect for myself? Looking at Roland who appeared aggressive, Galen slapped the table heavily and angrily said, How much equipment have you destroyed? Its good enough that we didnt ask you to pay for it. So its still my fault. Roland laughed. Why dont we continue? The girl reached out to stop Galen, then she said in a serious tone, Youre alone after all. There is no way you can beat us. Roland subconsciously leaned back. You guys are mistaken. Im dealing with you guys alone because Im the only one needed. Do you really think we dont have anyone in F6? Schuck and Betta, did you forget them? Their expressions changed drastically They had really forgotten. Since F6 had rarely acted as a group recently, except for Li Lin and the others who liked to team up together to level up at the Urganda Church of Love, Roland, Schuck, and Betta each had their own territory. But when it came to a real fight, it wouldnt be hard to gather all seven of them to act together. They may not The female streamer still tried to argue. But Roland waved his hand. I believe that we are far closer than this impromptu rabble of yours. At this moment, Gardner, who had been listening for a long time, said, What kind of compensation do you want? Its not what I want, its what you guys want to give. Roland smiled slightly. Also, I want you guys to post a group apology video on the forums, stating that you will never secretly screw with me again. When they heard this, their faces looked as unsightly as if they had eaten feces. These few people were considered well-known figures among the players, and having them post an apology video would be a great humiliation for them. You think you can just bully us A Warrior player slapped the table and rose. Then lets fight and see whos afraid? Roland nodded, spread his hands, and said smugly, Go on then! The seven people looked at Roland and three stood up and tried to leave, but were dragged back to their chairs by a few of their friends. They wore annoyed expressions and didnt want to look at Roland anymore. Gardner said, Roland, dont take things too far. Everything is negotiable, isnt it? When you united with the lichs to kill me, why didnt you think that things shouldnt be taken too far? Why didnt you think that everything is negotiable then? Roland humiliated them with their own words. Thats a bad double standard to have. Gardners head also hurt when he heard this. So lets put it another way, Gardner said, scratching his head in pain. What exactly would it take for you to let us off the hook and not force us to send a video apology? Roland shook his head and stood up. That meant the negotiations had failed. The others looked annoyed as they watched Roland leave and had no choice but to leave the manor themselves. Roland came back into the room and Andonara, who had been watching from the side, laughed. Ive rarely seen you so aggressive. I know these people of my own too well. Roland sighed. Sometimes your humility, your keeping the peace, is just a sign of your weakness and gullibility to them. You cant talk things over with people who have always enjoyed having the world revolve around them-you just cant back down at all. Andonara smiled and said, By the way, how is it going with Stephanie? Im planning to head over there. Roland took Andonaras soft and warm right hand. Ill trouble you to keep an eye on the house. Okay. Andonara smiled lightly. Then Roland found time to teleport to the capital of Fareins and met Queen Stephanie without any problems. I was just about to send for you. Stephanie grinned. Because of the teleportation arrays that had been built everywhere, it wasnt difficult to travel from Fareins to Hollevin now. Moreover, the teleportation array was set for a maximum of ten people. This also cut off the idea of any country raiding another. I reckon the Temple of Light has got the mole by now. Sitting on Rolands lap, Stephanie laughed. They did find out, and youll never guess who the mole is! Its either the Holy Lady or the Pope! Roland smiled. You actually guessed right! Stephanie then smiled slyly. But only half right. There are not one, but two molesthe Holy Lady and the Pope! Roland couldnt help but whistle. This was some powerful news. This was much more shocking than a fallen Saint Samurai. Stephanie laughed and gloated, Both of them were found out by Schuck. After he returned last month, he held a high-level meeting as both a Saint Samurai and a Golden Son, saying that the Alignment Detection could fail and that you told him about this. Roland nodded. Indeed thats what I said. Ive done similar tests and the Alignment Detection isnt really reliable. It can be misleading. And then? Then he requested the Goddess of Light to descend as a clone. Impressive! Roland clicked his tongue. And he stressed that the goddess had to use her divine eyes to check the top brass one by one. Stephanie put her arm around Roland and smiled quite happily. The first one was the Pope, and then the Holy Lady! Double bingo! Hahahaha. Stephanie laughed so hard that she could barely stand. She hung on Rolands body like a pile of rotten meat. It was no wonder she was so excited. It was the tradition for the royal family to see the Temple of Light in trouble and expect them to make a fool of themselves. And then what? asked Roland curiously. The Goddess of Light interrogated them as to why they were apostates. Stephanie laughed. I heard that the Goddess of Light was sad and annoyed at that time. Did they say anything? Roland was also quite curious. This kind of gossip could hardly be seen in centuries. The Pope grew up as a pawn planted in the Temple of Light by the Realm of Devils and was a henchman of the Demon Goddess Sidi, who isnt strong in combat, but is quite good at supporting magic and knew how to subvert Alignment Detection. Stephanie laughed. Then the Pope went undercover in the Temple of Light and rose moved up all the way to where he is now. He must have died a terrible death, said Roland after some thought. Yes, the Goddess of Light burned him directly on the spot; even his soul was burned into light crystals. What about the Holy Lady? Roland asked. Youll never think of the reason for her betrayal. Stephanies expression looked rather comical at this point, trying desperately to stifle a laugh but unable to do so. Then she laughed her head off in Rolands lap and couldnt stop for a while. Say it. Roland slapped her buttocks. They felt extremely good in his hand. Then Ill mimic the cries of the Holy Lady at that time! Stephanie cleared her throat. Why, Goddess, why did you steal my man! Rolands mouth stayed open. Stephanies expression instantly became resentful. I was the one who met Schuck first, brought him into the church, had our first meal together, and went on our first date together, but why are you, as a goddess, stealing men from mortals like us? Arent any of the male gods in the Realm of Gods to your liking? Or can they not satisfy you! Rolands mouth stayed open. According to my informants report. Stephanie laughed again, and after a while, she wiped her eyes and said, The atmosphere of the high council meeting was quite odd. All the cardinals, and all the Saint Samurai, their mouths were so wide open that it wasnt a problem to stick a fist in them. And then what of the Lady? Roland laughed too, unable to hold it in. The Goddess of Lights clone was first stunned, then covered her face and flew back to the divine realm. She didnt even give an order about what to do with the Holy Lady, who ended up in jail for now. Stephanies voice was hoarse with laughter. Then Schuck also ran away on the red dragon Its said that there is no news of him even till now. The entire Church of the Light is now leaderless, but the good thing is that the cardinals still have some power. They are desperately trying to suppress the flow of news, but I predict it wont be suppressed for long. Of course, it couldnt be suppressed for long. The Pope was dead and the Holy Lady had been seized. The entire Temple of Light was almost paralyzed. What else could be done? Roland laughed and pinged Schuck in the system chat. How does it feel to be caught between two feuding women? Chapter 751 - Building the Core of the Floating City Rolands gloating quickly drew the ire of Shuck. He sent one word in reply. Scram! Roland couldnt help but laugh aloud. He was overjoyed to see Schuck sufferthe handsome bastard had finally been condemned by the gods. Then, taking advantage of the excitement, he posed the queen on his lap into a belly-flopping frog position. Three hours later, he held his back and left refreshed, and then went to the large underground cavern to collect a dozen magic bricks. It felt like harvesting vegetables in Happy Farm, full of joy from the harvesting. He smiled as he looked at the extremely high barricade of magic bricks in the small warehouse that was his Backpack, which should now be called a large Mystras Mansion. The magic bricks were now being harvested significantly more efficiently, and at this rate, he estimated that in another six months, it would be possible to start making the base layer of the floating city. He thought back to Mordenkainens floating city and almost drooled. He then subconsciously wiped the corner of his mouth and teleported to the Frostwolf Clan. Again, he saw the Winterwolf Holy Lady in worship. She was still in that red rope getup. All the others still had their heads down, and only Roland was watching with rapt attention. After about ten minutes or so, the Winterwolf Holy Lady finished her ritual dance and the other tribesmen bowed their heads and left while the Holy Lady came and sat down in front of Roland. Looking at the beautiful flesh marks left by the red rope on snow-white skin, Roland exhaled softly. Not feeling shy or embarrassed, the Winterwolf Holy Lady smiled confidently and asked, Has something changed since my employer came to see me personally? Roland nodded. Indeed. The real culprits behind the liches, as I have learned, are my clansmen. So the lich quest can now be aborted. That cant be aborted. The Winterwolf Holy Lady was a little lost, but soon she smiled. Liches are very vindictive, so now either we destroy them all or they eliminate usthe conflict is already irreconcilable. Against the liches, the Winterwolf Holy Lady and the Frostwolf Clan were not afraid; it was merely a matter of chasing them to the ends of the earth. But the problem was that their employer discontinued the quest, which meant there would be no follow-up source of funds. Although Roland had given the clan a large sum of money earlier, it was still not enough to buy a piece of land for the entire clan to live in and inhabit outside of Wetland City. If Roland could give the five hundred gold coins he had promised before, that would be enough. Looking at Rolands face that wasnt that handsome but well worth a second look, the Winterwolf Holy Ladys imagination began to run wild. This guy seems to love watching me dance, should I charge him for watching? Charging five gold coins for one viewing, I think if I dance for three or four months, Ill be able to gather five or six hundred gold coins. But thats too lowly, its not Winterwolfs teaching to exploit sex appeal. But the Winterwolf has run off to chase men, whats the point of keeping this rule myself Then again, Im no longer considered a Holy Lady, so its nothing to sacrifice a little for the sake of the tribe. Alas Winterwolf, your Holy Lady, your believers, are now at a loss. Cant you show us where to go in the future? Because of her inner conflict, the Winterwolf Holy Ladys expression changed unpredictably, happy one moment and sad the next. Roland looked a little torn, then he took out five cloth bags from his Backpack. Heres the commission that was agreed upon before. The Winterwolf Holy Ladys eyes lit up, but she quickly pulled her gaze back from the bag of gold coins. But we didnt quite take out the liches. I cant just renege on a deal, and besides, you guys are going to keep fighting the liches, right? Roland said with a smile. Either way, this started because of me, and I cant help but feel bad if I dont tie up loose ends. The Winterwolf Holy Ladys bright beautiful eyes scanned Rolands face for a moment before she said, Then I thank you in advance. At the same time, I promise you that you will forever be a friend of the Frostwolf Clan. And, you dont have to worry about the liches. Even if they run to the ends of the earth, we will find a way to kill them all. The Winterwolf Holy Lady was indeed a very responsible person. Roland looked at her and smiled. You guys previously entrusted me to figure out the principle of the phylactery and I havent made much progress until now, sorry. No matter. The Winterwolf Holy Lady waved her hand. If they were that easy to crack, these liches wouldnt be recognized as one of the most troublesome opponents in the world. The Frostwolf Clan wasnt raised on vegetables. We have all kinds of tracking and pursuit techniques, and although we dont know what the principle is, as long as we head to a place, we can always come across the enemy we want to kill! It just takes a little longer sometimes, and the detours can be lengthy. The Frostwolf Clan was indeed capable of such things. One of the books Roland read recounted the many special abilities of the Frostwolf clan. This kind of unreasonable and inexplicable tracking ability was one of their talents. Not many people could escape the pursuit of the Frostwolf Clan. And of course, the time taken varied. Scurrying throughout the world, sometimes they could find their enemies in a month. Sometimes they took more than a decade, even transitioning into old age, to find their target. It seemed to have something to do with the strength of the enemy. The more powerful they were, the harder it was to encounter them without any intelligence. By the way, can you introduce me to the mayor of Wetland City? I heard that you have quite a good relationship with him. The Winterwolf Holy Lady smiled and said, We want to buy a piece of land outside of Wetland City. Of course, no problem. Roland sized her up. Youre just going to go over there like this? The Winterwolf Holy Lady looked about as good as unclothed in this look. Of course not. Winterwolf Holy Lady smiled. Wait for me to go change and get some money on the way. About ten minutes or so later, the Winterwolf Holy Lady came out dressed in a long white dress. She walked over to Roland and whispered, Lets go. The two then teleported to Wetland City before Roland used the guild system to contact Betta, and then went straight into the mayors mansion. Wetland Citys mayors residence covered a large area, and the outside looked quite luxurious. But on the inside, it looked shabby. There wasnt much furniture and it was all of the kind that was made from random wood. Not to mention painted, it wasnt even scraped clean of stubble, and looked extremely coarse and possessed a primitive air. Betta himself came out to greet him, and when he saw Roland, he trotted over and smiled. Brother Roland, its been a long time. Then he saw the Winterwolf Holy Lady next to Roland and brightened up, asking excitedly, Brother Roland, are you really going to introduce the dog-eared girl to me? No! Roland said, annoyed, This is my friend, and she wants to do business with you. Oh, your friend. Betta hung his head despondently. He understood all too well what a beautiful woman who was a friend meant. But at this moment, Betta suddenly clasped his head in his hands and looked pained. He said urgently to Roland and the Winterwolf Holy Lady, Wait, I have some personal business. Betta then trotted behind a huge load-bearing column. Roland was a Legend now, with sharp eyes and ears The Winterwolf Holy Lady had the snow wolf bloodline, with two canine ears on her head and two human ears by the temples, amounting to four audio receptors, so her hearing was much stronger than a normal canines. So both of them could hear the sound coming from behind the load-bearing pillar. I know Im wrong. Little White, dont hit me. Persian Cat, talk her down. I have a headache. His voice sounded a little pained and seemed humble. Roland narrowed his eyes slightly. After a while, Betta walked back with an embarrassed look on his face. Sorry, where were we? I would like to purchase a piece of land from you, Mr. Mayor. Oh, buy land. How large? Betta asked. There wasnt much land left in Wetland City now, and it was more expensive, but for the sake of Brother Roland, Betta thought it wouldnt be a problem to sell her a few hundred square feet. I want ten thousand acres of land! I cant grant you that much land, theres not even such a large Betta realized something. What do you want to buy such a large piece of land outside the city for? The Winterwolf Holy Lady said with some unease, I would like to house some of my clan members here. She was uneasy for a reason. The Frostwolf clan was strong, and even the Froststar Kingdom didnt trust them much, sending them to live in the bitter cold. This was the land of warmth and spring, a paradise of fertile land. Would the mayor here be willing to accept thousands of Frostwolf Clan members? Your clan members? Bettas eyes that looked disappointed just now became crystal bright again. Are they lycans, like you? Yes. The Winterwolf Holy Lady nodded. Thats fine! Betta jogged back and flipped a map out of some improvised desk, then he pointed to a certain spot on it outside the city. This land is quite fertile. A little tilling would make thousands of acres of good land, and its pretty close to a water source, so I dont see any problem with you guys living here. In reality, the Winterwolf Holy Lady had inspected this place before, and she was very fond of it. How much does it cost? The land outside the city isnt worth much. It originally cost eight hundred gold coins for ten thousand acres, but for the sake of Brother Roland, Ill give you a discount. Betta stuck out two fingers. Itll only be two hundred gold coins. The Winterwolf Holy Ladys eyes widened. Roland rebuked, Actually, you just want the territory under your rule to have lycans, right? This way, you can have both dogs and cats. Your own fetish cant be made public, but dont use me as a shield. How is that possible! Betta said with a straight face. There is absolutely no way that someone as honest and serious as me would yearn for the ears of lycans. Roland snorted. It had been over five years Betta had also graduated from the university more than a year ago. Five years older and influenced by society, the innocent little guy from back then was now a certified veteran. Before, when the guild gathered, the lewdness of this kids dirty jokes was much fiercer than the others. Boys changed completely at eighteen. After the Winterwolf Holy Lady paid two hundred gold coins, she got the deed to the land. She was a bit incredulous until she got out of the mayors residence. Two hundred gold coins only two hundred gold coins, such a large piece of land, such a good piece of land. The Winterwolf Holy Lady walked while holding her deed. Is this the power of connections? Roland shrugged. Although connections indeed played a part, Betta also really wants the Frostwolf Clan to migrate over. Because we Golden Sons are generally very fond of cats and dogs. Were not dogs. The Winterwolf Holy Lady responded without a smile, before shoving the deed into her cleavage. I have you to thank for making this work. Youre welcome, were friends Roland hadnt finished his sentence when he felt his face being gently touched by something warm and soft. Turning his head, he saw the Winterwolf Holy Lady smiling graciously, with her hands behind her back. Her eyes were glowing: Roland hesitated for a moment and asked, Dont you feel like youre getting the worst of it? What is there to lose? The Winterwolf Holy Lady laughed and held Rolands hand. What part of my entire body have you not seen? There are still some special places that are unseen. Do you want to go to your manor, so I can show you till youve had enough? Well Roland was torn. The following days were boring. The fact that the Frostwolf Clan almost relocated their clan outside of Wetland City caused a commotion among the players. A lot of dog lovers were crying to help the Frostwolf Clan build wooden houses and reclaim the wilderness. They all said that finally, they didnt have to be despised by the cat slaves, now that they had their dog masters. Roland didnt bother to get involved in any of this because he had a cute white-haired dog of his own to pet. Most of his time was spent on two things: magic experiments and the production of magic bricks on multiple production lines. He optimized a lot of low-level spells and sent a part of them to the Red Magic Tower. This was to thank the Red Magic Tower for investing in him. Part of it was sent to the players Association of Mages. After all, he was now the nominal chairman. The last small portion was offered to the Goddess of Magic. He didnt care much for these small optimized spells. What excited him was the floating city. He finally smiled as he watched the magic bricks in his Backpack build up piece by piece to the point of becoming a small mountain. Then, he started to plate the floating citys core in the big cavern under Fareins. Magic bricks were indeed the most basic, core material for a floating city, but it didnt mean that by putting together magic bricks one could build a floating chassis. One also had to engrave each magic brick with a small magic array. Among the small magic arrays were pathways to conduct magic energy, to act as bonds, and to promote energy circulation, absorption, and regeneration. One also had to set the magic energy conduction to control the floating citys ascent and descent functions. There was also the steering function and so on. The knowledge involved in this, as well as the theory, was not something that the average Mage could digest. Most importantly, each magic brick had a magic array on it that was not quite the same as the others and had to be matched to other bricks. This would be very difficult. Roland spent half a year carving magic arrays on these magic bricks. In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed. Chapter 752 - I Am Roland Chapter 752 I Am Roland Something big is about to happen? Roland looked at the forum and sure enough, he found a trending post. The title was so red that it was almost purple. Roland clicked on it and read the content, and then he clicked his tongue, rather impressed. In the past six months or so, most of Rolands energy was spent on doing proper things. He was constantly inscribing magic arrays to the magic bricks, and occasionally seeking Andonara and other people to unwind a little. After all, engaging in progression every day, no matter how good ones physique was, there would be psychological stress. Then, in reality, Roland had to run experiments every day and was now on his third wave of subject screening. Apart from Lu Yong, two newcomers could also sense magic power after several human experiments. Not surprisingly, these two were also security personnel. The more experimental subjects, the more data they could receive right now. But the first experiment subject, Lu Yong, had stalled in his growth. He was also stuck at the level of sensing magic power, and no matter what, there was no way to keep the magic power in his body for long; it would evaporate and disappear after half an hour at most. The other two, for the time being, hadnt reached a bottleneck, but their growth was also a bit slow and was not expected to go far. So in reality, Roland was constantly doing experiments and then listening to data reports from people like Su Minluo. So both in the game and in reality, Roland had a pretty fulfilling time. Also, Galens group still apologized to Roland by posting a video on the forums. After all, now and then someone came and destroyed their equipment, and although they had money, it didnt come for free. They backed down. After this was resolved, Roland never visited the forum again. So he was completely ignorant of what was going on in the last six months. After seeing this post, he knew that he was somewhat out of touch with current events. He then temporarily stopped inscribing magic arrays in the game and spent two days reading posts on the forum, as well as questioning his friends, to get a general idea of what had happened in the game over the last half a year. First of all, the Church of Light chose a new pope because the previous pope was assassinated and killed violently by demons. The new pope was quite young, only thirty-four years old, which was too young by the previous rule of fifty to be crowned pope. Then the Holy Lady stepped down. Roland thought the Holy Lady had been executed, but many people had seen the last Holy Lady around the Holy Realm. The new Holy Lady was a rather proud and aloof young girl, no match for the previous Holy Lady who had a high emotional quotient, and no match for her abilities. The only thing that could be tied was her appearance. Seeing this, Roland clicked his tongue in admiration. The Church of the Light actually suppressed the death and fall of the Pope, and the betrayal of the Holy Lady who held a grudge against her own goddess for stealing a man! Impressive! It must have had cost quite a bit. After all, if the royal family of Fareins knew, then surely the Association of Mages would know as well. These two forces had a lot of ambition. Then there were the players who were working hard to level up. The players were smart, after all, and they came up with a set of methods on how to trigger epic quests with high chances of success. At the same time, several large guilds figured out the techniques of raiding epic dungeons in small teams of five, how professions were matched, and how skills and expertise could be matched to deal with more unexpected situations. So the players leveling speed was at least twice as fast In half a year, more than a hundred people had already rushed from the high level of Master to the level of Legend. Of course, Roland was still at the highest level on the server. He could get a lot of experience just by optimizing spells and inscribing magic arrays. For more than half a year, he buried his head in this hard work He was still one step short of completing the floating citys core. One could only imagine how hard he had been working The effort paid off. Hed gotten up to level sixteen and then picked up a magic regeneration specialty. It was a normal specialty that saved six percent magic power when casting spells. No big deal. Among the players, more than a hundred new Legends were being roped in by major powers. They hadnt all been distributed yet. Then on the forum, a player claiming to have been a member of the top echelon of the Coalition of Progress called on the players to launch an attack on the gods. To avenge their annihilation over five years ago. At this time, the players had fully gotten stronger. With over a hundred Legends and a large number of Masters, they were outrageously strong. And these five years or so-nearly six years of combat career, countless battles, and a lot of deaths had made the players combat power far superior to that of NPC professionals of the same level. Besides, the players attributes overwhelmed the natives at the same level. This created a situation where a players combat power couldnt be viewed simply by their current level. If the players united, they could destroy any power, any nation, or even gods. After stating the reason why players had strong combat power, this player started a god-slaying campaign. They had gotten hold of the news that a certain god was going to descend to the main plane. In order not to spook the god, he would not release the information now, and those who wanted to join would have to get to him, sign a paper contract, and videotape it before they could get the information such as the time and place of the operation. A lot of people posted below. If its an evil god, count me in, just became a Legendary Barbarian Warrior. Bard here, also just became a Legend. A Thief whos almost Legend must be exciting if hes going to slay a god, right, count me in. What god are you going to kill? If its a lawful god, Im not doing it. Where is your location? Ill go over there now. Many people signed up. It was instinctive for players to fight bosses, and it was also instinctive to stir up trouble. Honestly, most of the players hadnt seen eye to eye with the gods for a while now. The lawful ones were a bit better. They did do some proper work after all. But the neutral or evil gods, they simply didnt see eye to eye with. The content of the doctrines of the various churches alone was unbearable to look at. The post had been out for two days, and probably many people had already reported to the entrance of a certain guild in Wetland City. Roland reclined in his chair, rocking it back and forth slightly It was quite interesting, and he was actually kind of tempted to participate, but he was afraid that hed run into a god he knew well. For example, Life, Magic, or even the Nether God. After thinking about it, it was better to forget it. If he went ahead and signed a contract, it wouldnt be easy to back out in case it was the Goddess of Magic or Life that he was dealing with. That being said, should I go inform the Life and Magic Goddesses? After a dozen seconds of consideration, he went to Nia and asked her to inform the Life Goddess to cancel her descent if she had planned one recently. Then he went to the Church of Magic, offered some new and improved spells, and after connecting to Mystra, he told her not to descend to the main plane these days. Mystra asked him why. He smiled and didnt answer. The Goddess of Magic pondered. Then, a group of players suddenly disappeared from Wetland City: at least hundreds of Legends and a large number of Masters. It was clear to the players what was going on, but the NPCs didnt know about it. This frightened all the countries, and they unanimously shut down their local teleportation magic arrays. As if a great enemy was approaching. Fearing that an army of Legends might just come and kill them at their doorstep. Roland, on the other hand, continued to inscribe magic arrays in the large underground cavern. He spent another seventeen days connecting all these magic bricks in series and parallel. Finally, he activated the magic array. Countless green threads appeared, and the magic bricks emitted blue and green words, floating in mid-air and dispersing in order. Connected by magic threads, they formed a huge networked square array. Each magic brick was a magic node. When this dazzling, huge magic square array, Roland felt a huge increase in his mental power. The kind of boost that went from 1 to 100. He knew very well that this was not his imagination. From now on, the floating core was his external energy device. And it was the kind that wouldnt harm his body. After connecting his spirit to the magic bricks, Rolands whole body was bubbling with green light. The pupils of his eyes turned green and then there was a circle of bright blue light between the pupil and the eye, and sparks of starlight surged within. A great power filled his body and will. At this moment, he felt like he was omnipotent. He reached out and pointed to his right, and a green slurry of light suddenly appeared from his fingertips, instantly striking the earthen wall over there. After a strange buzzing sound, a thin hole at least three meters deep appeared where it was hit. And the tiny hole was still gurgling red lava. No wonder Mordenkainen dared to pummel the Goddess of Fortune as a Legend. Roland exclaimed as he opened his system interface and looked at his current stats. External magic source: Floating city grid core Life: 512 Magic power: 2451 (33254) External source characteristics: Demigod (pseudo), Constant Magic Flow Since above the hollow was a city, Roland didnt intend to raise the floating city here. Because of the external magic power source, his magic power was now almost unlimited. After all, the floating city itself had the effect of drawing magic power. Using the two magic spells of Mud to Rock and Rock to Mud, and then relying on the terrifying magic power at his disposal, he dragged the core of the floating city along the underground. Everywhere he passed, he left a huge, straight line of space. After about two hours or so of walking, and after making sure that the city was no longer overhead, but only wilderness, Roland flicked his hands skyward. The earth overhead parted like water, and soon a dazzling ray of light shone down. Then the ray of light grew larger and larger, and a large number of trees on the ground crumbled down with the mud and sand, rumbling into the cave. Soon after, the entire azure sky appeared over Rolands head. He looked out at the vast sky and smiled, leaping above the core. The core then emitted a green glow and carried him slowly up into the sky. Paris of huge eyes appeared in the sky. Almost every pair of eyes was in shock. Only three pairs of eyes were surprised, and one pair was in disbelief. Roland looked at these eyes and smiled. The core of the floating city Stop him. Someone, descend to the main plane and take him out, itll be too late if we dont hurry. Where is the Water Goddess, she should be in the main plane. The eyes in the sky roared and snarled. They even exuded extreme malice. But after shouting for a long time, not a single pair of eyes dared to come down. They were afraid of death. In front of them, Roland waved his hands and a large amount of dirt flew up from the ground, including the core of the floating city. To stone! An irregular layer of stone wrapped around the core. Again. To stone! Again! In full view of many eyes, Roland wrapped the core with a large amount of mud, then turned the mud and sand into stone. A huge island in the air was thus formed. Finally, using his mental power, he forcibly pried a piece of green land and laid it on top of this huge island in the air. Then Roland landed on the island and set his feet on the ground. He looked up at a pair of huge eyes in the sky and smiled. The connection with the core of the floating city made his entire body emit a mist-like gaseous green light. His eyes were clear and bright, almost brighter than even the sun. With a confident and cheerful smile, Roland looked up at the eyes in the sky. He opened his hands, as if to embrace all the gods, but also as if embracing the entire sky. The turbulence blew at his hair, blowing his red magic cloak around like a blazing flame. Then he spoke. Gentle and placid, but with an inner arrogance and swagger. Greetings, gods! I am Roland the Mage! Inside the capital of Fareins, Stephanie was approving some political affairs. She had been a little irritable lately, mostly because Roland hadnt come to her in over a month. As a woman not yet in her thirties, she had needs too! When he comes over next time, Ill have to make him stay with me for seven days! Thinking about Roland, she subconsciously licked her lips, then finally pursed her lips and tried to focus on the political affairs at hand. Just as she had managed to gather her thoughts, the door was thrown open with a thud, and a female palace servant stumbled in. She was about to get angry, but then she saw this reliable female palace servant full of panic. My queen, something terrible has happened! What, whats got you so shocked At this time, Stephanie suddenly noticed that the sky outside had darkened. Whats going on? She pushed aside the female palace servant in front of her and hurriedly went out. She saw darkness, just like the darkness when a storm was coming and the clouds were looming. In the distance, a group of imperial guards came running desperately. Then she subconsciously looked up at the sky. The entire sky above the palace was blotted out by a huge, irregular mass of rock. What is this thing. Stephanie opened her pretty little mouth and looked up at the sky with a face full of disbelief. This must be a Mages doing. The imperial commander rushed over and very loyally guarded the Queen while shouting, Summon all the imperial Mages of the palace over and have them open the barriers to protect the Queen. A wind Mage floated crookedly from the distance, his legs weak when he landed. Looking at his magnificent attire, he was probably the head of the imperial Mages. Your Highness, please run away, go to the Holy Realm to take shelter. It should be safer there. Stephanie turned her head to look at the imperial Mage leader and calmly asked, What is this thing. There are huge, terrifying sources of magic energy up there, interfering with all the magical elements nearby. If my knowledge is correct The head Mage looked up at the huge, rocky island in the air, only the bottom of which could be seen. His eyes filled with yearning, adoration, and fear: conflicting emotions that twisted his expression greatly. This is the ultimate dream for all of us Mages The floating city. The floating city? Stephanie subconsciously repeated, then jerked her head up, her eyes bright as a young girl in love. Chapter 753 - We’d Like You to Stay Out of It. Chapter 753 Wed Like You to Stay Out of It. The royal palace was in the shadow of the floating city. Everyone looked overhead at the huge island in the sky, like a helpless little sparrow in the cold wind-except Queen Stephanie, who had a smile on her lips. There was a man emitting a warm green glow slowly descending. The immense mental pressure he exuded made everyone afraid to look directly at him. Except for Stephanie, who tilted her head, her eyes unblinking as she watched the figure descend. Several Mages who had rushed over to protect the queen and stayed aside and even lowered their heads. Not just the palace, but the floating city obscured about three-quarters of the entire area above the capital Fareins, leaving about a quarter that belonged to the Holy Realm. Both the Pope and the new Holy Lady floated up, and they looked up at the behemoth in the sky from afar, their faces both quite irritated. The new Holy Lady clenched her fist tightly for a while before she said fiercely, What kind of person dares to drive this thing over our Holy Realm. Hes insulting our Holy Realm. He didnt drive it right above us. Although the young new pope was also extremely angry in his heart, men were generally a little more rational than women. He said with a composed look, Thats already showing us respect. The new Holy Lady turned her head to look at the Pope. Cant we do anything about him? Cant we bring down this thing with twelve Saint Samurai, along with over a hundred cardinals? Be careful what you say! The Pope sighed inwardly as he turned his head to look at the new Holy Lady. The new Holy Ladys expression was a little dark and even a little twisted at this time. Compared with the previous Holy Lady, she was much less cultured. It was a pity that the previous Holy Lady fought over a man with the goddess. The new Holy Lady frowned and said, Pope, we should not appear so weak. Anyone who dares to offend us and insult us should be brought down and made to repent before the statue of the Goddess. The Pope shook his head. Here I will quote what the Saint Samurai and Holy Son Schuck used to say often: extreme rigidity breaks easily, but softness can last a long time. Hearing that it was Schucks words, the new Holy Ladys expression eased. Oh, that seems to make a lot of sense. Seeing the new Holy Ladys expression suddenly change to a gentle one, the Pope suddenly had a bad feeling, and his cheeks twitched subconsciously. No way. No way! Again? The Pope forced himself to quiet his mind as he looked at the massive body of rock. No matter if Schuck has a point or not, this floating city in front of us is not something that the Holy Realm can deal with right now. Why? Is the floating city so strong? Its just a boulder floating in the sky, right? Just knock it down. The new Pope chuckled softly. The ultimate dream and expectation of the Mages, also known as the Mages earthly divine realm As long as someone can build the floating city, he is the master of all Mages in the world. He only needs to give a command, and all Mages are willing to stay in the floating city and become his supporters. Which means that by going up against this thing, were actually going up against the entire Mage community? Yes. The pope smiled bitterly, helplessly. Besides, any Mage who builds the floating city has the strength to slay the gods. Its good enough that he hasnt messed with us now, so lets just keep a low profile and not draw his attention. Besides, let me reiterate hes already given us quite a bit of respect by not parking the floating city above the Holy Realm. The new Holy Lady was silent. Although she didnt have much common sense, she understood what slaying gods meant. Compared to the Holy Realms calm and silence, the Association of Mages was acting quite wild. A large number of Mages flew up, wanting to go up to the floating city to see what was going on and who had built this thing. However, before they could fly close to the floating city, the tidal wave of magic caused by the huge amount of magic elements made it impossible for them to control the magic elements very well. The closer they got, the more they were affected. In the end, they were forced to land as they couldnt control their flight. This was the reason why the floating city wouldnt be affected or attacked randomly; it was a huge source of magic in itself. They couldnt go up there. Their ultimate ideal was right in front of them and they couldnt touch it. Many of the Mages fell to their knees, teary-eyed. Crying miserably. Compared to all the citizens in the capital of Fareins who were trembling and worried about boulders coming down from the air, but still somewhat calm, the players were the ones who blew up. All of them now had three messages marked in red in their system interface. Player Roland created law-level magic device: Magic Grid Core. Player Roland, created a special giant epic-level building: Floating City. Player Roland temporarily entered the Demigod state. Received the special title Ascent To God as Mortal. Unlike the poor attributes attached to Legendary titles, the title Ascent to God as Mortal was much more thrilling. Ascent To God as Mortal: All basic attributes are increased by an additional 2 points, two slots of available specialty are added, and the user also exudes special mental intimidation on all creatures below Demigod (players are less affected). Because players were born with the systems mental resistance, they were immune to most mental-type effects. However, this world didnt only have players. Besides, other than the mental intimidation, both the two-point increase in base attributes and the two slots of specialty were extremely useful traits. For Roland, this was a huge gain. The players werent sure what attributes the title brought. They were just stunned. Please, what does a law-level magic device look like and what is the name labeled with? Epic-level is gold and law-level is dark gold?. Dark red. Has the one upstairs ever seen a law-level item? No, I guessed. The name floating city implies it all. Isnt it a floating thing in the sky, probably just a floating ship, similar to a luxury cruise ship? But what use is this Magic Grid Core? Dont guess, in the spam section of the forum, someone is live. You guys go check it out and youll know what the floating city is. With this reply, the comments were immediately suspended. Everyone was flocking to that livestream like crazy. Then they saw a huge island floating in the air. Every player and netizen who came in and saw this scene would first drop open their mouths and frantically hold their breath for a long time until their lungs felt insanely oxygen-deprived. Then came the desperate gasping for air. The players had kind of seen it all. The steel beast sailing on the sea was just a giant cruise ship that could load thousands of people with no problem. The giant falcon flying in the air was just a giant transport plane. And then? Theyd seen a lot of tall buildings. In the information age, there was nothing that they could marvel at anymore. However, the floating city reflected in their eyes still shocked them. From a distance, the black, aerial body of rock looked so huge, even from miles away, that the entire screen couldnt fit it completely. The lower part of the rock was visible, but the upper part was hidden by clouds, indistinctly visible. Holy sh*t, what the hell is this? A new continent? Its an illusion, right? Its an illusion. How can something this big defy the laws of physics and fly into the air! Based on this distance, and based on its comparison with the size of the distant palace, this airborne island is about the size of one-fifth of downtown Shanghai. Impossible, Shanghai is very large, even one-fifth is ridiculous enough. I reckon its a bit bigger. This thing is the floating city that Roland created? I got into a Lamborghini yesterday and now it instantly lost its charm. The luxury yacht that I parked at the outfall of Shanghais beach doesnt look so cool anymore, either. My familys Air Force One also doesnt look so cool anymore. Is that Trump upstairs? Wake up, its Bidens age now. This is a super strategic-level aircraft carrier. Bullsh*t aircraft carrier. This is a floating city that can be built into a city in the future. With a large number of raw materials and arsenal arranged on it, its ready to transform into a massive interstellar ship with theoretically unlimited ammunition. I am a member of the magic world. I heard that floating cities can fly into the Astral Plane; comparing an aircraft carrier to it is an insult. People in the world knew little about the floating city, just that there had been such a thing in the legends of the magic world. It was said to be the work of Mordenkainen. So more often than not, they treated it as a legend. After all, how much of a stretch was it to float a mega-city into the air? Mages had enough trouble even flying on their own. Creating a floating city that could fly around didnt sound possible. It was possible! The image in front of them was the answer and said it all. I guess no one can rival Roland now. This thing is probably a special group-type equipment, the kind that requires many people to create? If its a group collaboration, we can only say that Rolands forces are strong, not so much that he himself is strong although he is indeed strong. Didnt you guys read the system message? Demigod state! This thing can enhance the masters strength. F**k, so it seems to be true. This is considered external equipment? A Legend with this externalized thing is a Demigod. When Roland is Demigod and equips this thing again, wont he become a true god? I dont think its fair. How come Roland can do something like this and the other Mages cant even master flying spells properly. This game is so unfair. Whats all this talk about fairness in a realistic world. Well, at least leave some gaming experience. With your identity switched with the natives, no infinite respawn, no high attribute growth panel, and no system boost, I think you must have a great game experience. There was a lot of chatter in the livestream and a lot of hot posts on the forum. All of them were discussing what kind of impact Rolands floating city would have on the entire game, the entire game world, and what kind of layouts it would change. The person in question, however, was not thinking much at this point. He floated down from the air and flew up again, holding Stephanie in his arms. Standing on the soft grass, looking out over the vast expanse of greenery and trees, and then at the sea of floating clouds farther away, Stephanie opened her arms and spun her body in a circle, smiling happily. Youre that happy? A familiar voice sounded as Andonara came out of a small grove off to the side, a few blue flowers in her hands. Its been a long time, Anna. Stephanie wasnt at all surprised by Andonaras presence. She was well aware that she was, at best, third in Rolands mind. There was nothing but grass and trees on the floating city now, which meant the thing was newly built, and the fact that Roland was willing to bring her up meant there was enough of her in his mind. Besides Roland, the first guest of the floating city was definitely Andonara; there was no possibility that it was someone else. It has indeed been a long time. Andona walked over and hugged Stephanie. I think well be seeing a lot of each other in the future. Then Stephanie looked at Roland. So, there is a house for me here, right? We will live together in the future, Roland said lightly. Stephanie smiled even more happily. Also, I need your help. Roland gestured around. As you can see, theres nothing here and its too empty, so I need a lot of help building the houses, doing the planning, and handling the basic daily maintenance. How many men are needed? Not quite sure, Im just telling you now. Wait for me to get an expert to plan a layout. No problem Stephanie looked at Roland and said, Can you set up a direct teleportation magic array between the floating city and my chambers? I want to be able to come and go in the floating city whenever I want. Sure. Roland agreed with a nod. Ill have it ready in no time. Wont you and Anna both stay as guests for a few days? Stephanie said with a yearning smile. Stay for one day only. Roland held out a finger. A day later, the floating city moved, first flying into the clouds and disappearing from the view of the masses of Fareins, and then spending most of the day flying from Fareins directly over to the skies of the Wetland City of Hollevin. It wasnt directly overhead but parked in midair outside the city on the north side. There was a brief commotion in Wetland City city as the huge irregular body of rock of the floating city tore through the clouds and appeared to everyone in Wetland City. The first to react was the players. After all, many of them had already seen what the floating city looked like in the videos on the forums and in the livestreams. Then their calmness infected the natives as well. Wearing a beautiful dress, the Winterwolf Holy Lady sat on the city wall, her feet hanging high in the air, gently alternating kicks while humming a nice little tune under her breath. Roland teleported down from the floating city and went straight to the players Association of Mages, then found ONeal who was staring enviously at the floating city from the balcony. Getting further and further away from you, ONeal said so directly without turning around when he heard the footsteps. You should be able to build a floating city of your own later, too. How can I build a floating city if I dont even know what the core materials are? said ONeill, looking at Roland. Would you like to tell us? Roland didnt continue the topic, but asked, You contacted me about an urgent meeting, what is it? ONeal sighed slightly, then he said, Its about god-slaying. Wed like you to stay out of it. Chapter 754 - Unlucky Descent Chapter 754 Unlucky Descent The open-air balcony on which ONeal stood was large and built high. Standing here, one could see almost the entire Wetland City. Roland stood next to him and asked, Are you guys afraid that Ill get in the way, or are you afraid that Ill steal your heads? ONeal smiled as he handed Roland a glass of wine from the nearby tabletop and said, Try it. Hmm? Though somewhat puzzled, Roland took a sip. It tasted good, better than any of the wines he had ever had before, and the faint flavor of grapes still lingered in his mouth after the drink went down. This was made by us players. ONeal continued, This wine has been sold out of Wetland City. Even Urganda has merchants rushing over just to ship the wine. Roland was still a little confused. Why are you telling me this? Do you know how many specialties there are in Wetland City that are well-known outside? ONeal asked. Roland frowned, still shaking his head. It shows youre not grounded so thats why we dont want you to step in, ONeal said. Youre already sitting high above the clouds, distancing us to a point where we cant even see your tail lights. Although were all Legends, were not in the same realm. If you and I were commodities, then I am a manufactured mass-produced assembly line cheap good, and youre a special product with all sorts of lofty features attached. The difference between a Chevrolet Enjoy and a handmade Lamborghini, for example. Roland couldnt help but say, What does this have to do with your desire to slay the gods? We dont want someone outside the specs to interfere, ONeal said indifferently. We want to test our strength, test our ideas, to see whether we can achieve the purpose of slaying the gods. But if you come, you can kill the divine clone yourself, so why do you need us. Roland understood completely now. He was too strong for their opponent to want to take him along. What is this Generally, arent rookies the ones not taken? Is it wrong to be too strong? In reality, Roland didnt want to participate, but ONeals attitude of not wanting him to come along was really a bit depressing. He thought for a moment and asked, Is the god you are dealing with Life, Magic, or Death? I cant tell you that. Then I have to watch from the sidelines. Roland smiled. You should understand why. After a moment of silence, ONeal said, You dont trust us! Its you who dont trust me, Roland said indifferently. I just said, Life, Magic, and Death. As long as its not the three of them. Ill ignore the rest. I promise its not the three of them, ONeal said seriously, so you dont need to get involved. Also, there is the Light. Roland thought for a moment and said, Although I dont know the Goddess of Light, she is my brother Schucks boss, and the two of them are extremely close. If she is involved, my brother will definitely fight with you guys, and at that time, I will definitely help him. ONeal sighed in relief. Dont worry, its not Light either. So thats it, then? asked Roland, raising an eyebrow. ONeal poured another glass of fruit wine for Roland and then filled up a glass for himself. He then downed his cup in one gulp and said, Thank you for being willing to give me face. Youre welcome, youve helped me a lot before. This was true. In these five years, ONeal helped Roland perfect a lot of magic node data. Heres to a friendship that lasts! Cheers! Both men smiled, but it was clear to both Roland and ONeal that their friendship and relationship were starting to wane. From the time Roland built the floating city from the time ONeal and others were reluctant to let Roland slay the gods, or rather, from the time Roland was reluctant to spill the secret of the floating city All of it promised that the two would be estranged. Or rather, the two were originally not too familiar with each other. Leaving the players Association of Mages, Roland went to have a chat with Betta. Then he teleported to the floating city. At this time, on the surface of the floating city, there only a lone square-shaped rocky square room, which Roland temporarily made with Mud to Stone. Then he took to the forums, and posted a thread, hoping that a team that works on infrastructure, as well as real estate, would help him design the plan and layout of the floating city, face to face. Within three minutes, a dozen messages were sent to him along with their qualifications. Roland used the internet to research the groups, but none of them seemed very reliable. It wasnt that they were incompetent. They were competent enough, but they all tended to think in terms of business rules. They were the kind that was better at knowing how to make buildings look good and layouts look beautiful and aesthetically pleasing What Roland required was something more. Practicality, seismic resistance, community convenience, and sturdinessall had to be considered. This was a floating city, and it would surely be a combat weapon in the future, so the buildings had to be sturdy. Going through the teams and finding none that he liked, he then studied magic and went offline. As a result, as soon as he went offline and climbed out of the virtual cabin, and before even washing his face, there was a knock on his door. Roland opened it and found that it was the head of the base. With dark circles under his eyes, he said helplessly, If you want to do the planning of the floating city, why are you looking for outsiders? Cant we do it ourselves? Roland froze. Do you think our base was built by someone from outside? the person in charge said in irritation. We have our own construction team too, and its absolutely professional. Right Theyve done a good job with this underground base that seems like a medium-sized city, so how could they not build the layout of the district on the floating city. Then the two didnt even eat breakfast and immediately went over to the logistics room. Although Roland was already a celebrity throughout the base, getting in and out of the security room still required the head of the base to grant permission and he had to speak to the department head of the logistics and security room about it. After learning Rolands intention, the head of the security room nodded and said, Its okay, were all colleagues. Theres no problem helping you with this, but can I make a small request? Go ahead, Roland agreed immediately. Can you send me some of your departments purified stock solution privately? It doesnt need to be much-just thirty grams. The department head looked embarrassed as he pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Roland sized up the other man and noticed that his skin was dry and even a little tanned. Whats more, the other man had heavy dark circles under his eyes. You havent used the stock solution? After being parsed by the bigwigs in the materials department, the base was now able to produce this life-extending solution in small quantities. Almost everyone in the base could receive about a hundred grams every month. After they drank it, their life expectancy wouldnt skyrocket by decades, but at least their body will be much healthier. And the logistics department head obviously looked like he hadnt used the stock solution. No, it was all used on my father-in-law. The department head smiled, and the look of helplessness of a middle-aged man wanting to strive harder but his body wouldnt allow it seeped into the faint smile. Hes not well. He has liver problems. He can last a few more years with the stock solution, so I gave it all to him. If there was more of the stock solution, he would probably make a full recovery, so Ive applied to my superiors. But with you, Director Huang, here, that would make things a lot better. One hundred grams of the stock solution wasnt much. Their department was wasting kilogram by kilogram every day. There was no way around it. If they wanted research to be fruitful, materials couldnt be spared. They used it desperately. Besides, Roland had a special consumption privilege, so as long as the consumption wasnt a ridiculous amount, no one would care. After all, this thing was closely related to him. Okay. Roland nodded, then gave him the approximate volume of the floating city now, and a two-dimensional profile of it. These figures were all measured by his mental power, and any error would not exceed ten centimeters. Having gotten what he wanted, the department head said gratefully, Dont worry, well have the drawings to you soon. Sure enough, they soon delivered the drawings in the evening. It was a very thick stack! There was also a super large flat top picture. A flash drive with the same information was also delivered. Roland was relieved to see the flash drive. As someone who commonly used computers, he was no longer quite used to looking at drawings, preferring to read documents on his computer. By the end of the night, he copied the information from the flash drive into the virtual cabin and entered the game. Then he opened the information on the flash drive and spread out the white paper and pen and ink he had purchased in front of his desk. A small Hand of Magic, holding a quill, drew lines on the paper. Using mental power to control Hand of Magic to trace the drawings were much better than using his own hands. In reality, this is the proper use of the Hand of Magic. Creating giant Hands of Magic to beat the crap out of people like Roland did before was unorthodox. The Hand of Magic drew lines and drafts steadily and quickly. After only one day, Rolan copied down the content of the drawings, and the numbers and fonts on them were replaced with the writing of Fareins. After that, he drove the floating city to the capital of Fareins and went to see Stephanie, asking her to help him find a reliable and impressive construction team. Naturally, Stephanie happily agreed; in her eyes, the floating city was a place for her to stay, and she had to build it to the utmost perfection. For this reason, she put forward the group of people who had been building the royal tomb for the royal family for generations. These were true masters of architecture and carving. Then Roland went to the Association of Mages in Fareins and bought building materials from them. The buildings above the floating city were built with the best materials. These materials, of course, were the most abundant in the Association of Mages. Looking at Roland, whose whole body was bubbling with foggy green light, the Association of Mages showed a surprising amount of compliance. Even the price of magical materials was discounted by fifty percent. And it was guaranteed to be the top quality batch of materials. They were smiling obsequiously while discussing matters, and they were just short of asking, Almighty, would you feel comfortable if I bootlicked like this? It was no wonder they were so. The Mages knew the Mage best The terrifying source of magic power in the air made them trepid every moment. With the manpower sorted out and the materials sorted out, it was a natural step to start work. Roland built some simple magic arrays to transport staff and materials, as well as logistical resources. For example, meals and other things. Being able to build a house in a floating city was a rare experience, as well as an honor, for these top architects and sculptors. So they took their work quite seriously. Time passed quickly, and shortly after many foundations were laid on the uppermost level of the floating city, Roland was thinking of ways to make the built-in Magic Grid Core of the floating city a little bigger. However, he suddenly felt a powerful divine force coming down from the sky over in the far east. A divine descent. Roland stood up and looked in the direction where the divine power appeared. Is that the Elf Forest there? The Elf Goddess? Roland froze, then understood who ONeal and the others were targeting. Neutral gods. Neither good nor evil. In reality, this was only relative; for the elves, the Elf Goddess was certainly a good god. But for humans, it didnt mean anything. She wouldnt come to invade the human world, but she wouldnt hold any goodwill toward it either. That was what neutrality looked like to humans. A good target indeed. Roland nodded. The players were overwhelmingly from the human alignment, and they wouldnt have much of a problem if they killed the Elf Goddesss clone. At most, they would be red-named for ten or so days or a month, not reaching the level of black leaf. Besides, the Elf Goddesss combat power was ranked at the middle level among the gods, not too strong and not too weak. It was a good benchmark to test the strength of the players. Shortly after waiting for the Elf Goddesss clone to land on the main planeabout half an hour laterthere were suddenly a lot more fluctuations of individuals with special powers. If the Elf Goddesss clone was as obvious as a bright moon in the night sky. Then these special-power individuals were the stars next to the bright moon. Densely packed around the moon. They must be fighting! After Roland thought about it and put all the construction workers on the floating city on the ground, he flew the huge floating city high into the sky, and then flew all the way east, spending more than three hours flying from the capital of Fareins to the edge of the Elf Forest. Since the person being attacked wasnt the Life, Magic, or Death Goddess, Roland had no desire to join the battle. But he couldnt miss out on the drama. At a height of nearly eight thousand meters, Roland stood at the edge of the floating city, looking down at the very center of the Elf Forest. There were already high railings built here, so the average person wouldnt fall off as long as they didnt do anything reckless. Besides, Roland could fly, so it was okay to fall. Because of the distance and the huge purple World Tree in the center of the Elf Forest, which blocked the view, it was impossible to see the situation inside the Elf Forest at all. Occasional flashes of magic could be seen, though, indicating that there had been a lot of fighting going on inside. This couldnt pose as trouble to Roland He casually threw down dozens of small magic spiders. A magic spider was extremely light, and when it fell from the air, it was about the same as a piece of paper, so it wouldnt die. Once most of the spiders had landed in the forest, they sent valuable images of their vicinity back to Roland. There was a limit to how far the magic spiders could transmit, but with the support of the huge magic core energy of the floating city, their transmission distance reached a staggering fifteen kilometers or so. Roland then mobilized his mental power to gather the surrounding white clouds over. The floating city was wrapped up tightly. Roland had just gathered all the white clouds when he saw the huge purple World Tree, emitting an amazing purple, magical glow. A powerful mental power was expanding, surging, and gradually becoming active. Demigod Roland froze. Is this the World Tree waking up? Chapter 755 - Get the Hell Back To Your Paradise Chapter 755 Get the Hell Back To Your Paradise The World Tree was an intelligent lifeform that had lived the longest in the main plane. She was the creator of the elves and a natural-born Demigod. According to what the players found from the ancient tombs of elves, the World Tree was also the creator of trolls. In a way, the trolls were the first intelligent creatures in this world, but the World Tree was bad at shaping her children back then and gave them the hideous looks of After she got more experience, she created the elves who were all gorgeous regardless of their gender. At first, the elves lived together with the trolls, until the trolls moved away from the Elf Forest for some reason and considered themselves hybrids instead of descendants of the World Tree. Human beings didnt know much about the World Tree, but they all agreed that the World Tree was undoubtedly the most powerful creature in the main plane until a floating city appeared. The World Tree woke up. Even though he was at an altitude of thousands of meters, Roland could sense her mental network blossoming like a bud. The enormous purple tree glowed so intensely that even the sun was eclipsed. Roland continued dropping scouts. One magic spider after another fell from the sky. Some landed on crowns of trees, some in the grass. Then, countless pictures were transmitted into Rolands mind. The whole Elf Forest had turned into a sea of blood, and the players were on a killing spree. There were more than a hundred Legendary and almost a thousand Master-level players that were raging in the Elf Forest. Ordinary elves were no match for them at all. The players seemed to be bloodthirsty, but they didnt completely abandon their boundaries. They didnt kill the civilians or children who dared not resist Even if the children resisted, they would just knock them out. The elves tried to organize a defense and counterattack too. However, the players were too strong. Such a great number of Legends were too overwhelming for a race that only had a population of three thousand to resist. Just like that, the Court of World Tree, the elves capital that had stood for more than twenty thousand years, where nature and civilization coexisted harmoniously among the green and golden trees, witnessed smoke rising everywhere. Rolands spiders soon came to the capital right underneath the World Tree. Underneath the trunk of the World Tree that seemed to be a pillar that held up the sky, two females and a team of frustrated guards were standing. They were protected by a green barrier. At least twenty Legendary players were attacking the green barrier. A beautiful slim girl was maintaining the barrier, but she looked rather tired. Even though he was only observing through the spiders, Roland still detected divinity from the girl. The Elf Goddess? Next to her, there was another woman whose hair was long and had the color of nascent grasses. She was holding her chest and staring at the players with hatred. Why are you attacking us? ONeal was among them. He replied with a smile, Were not attacking elves on purpose; we simply want to defeat the elven goddesss clone. After he said that, the two women within the circle got even angrier. The court guards even wanted to charge out. However, the woman who held her chest and wore a simple crystal crown roared, Dont fall for their tricks! Stay here and protect the goddess. The court guards instantly stopped. The players continued attacking the circle. The eleven goddesss eyes were filled with humiliation. She maintained the circle, but the range of the circle got smaller and smaller. Nevertheless, she didnt seem anxious at all, because the World Tree behind her and its crown in the sky were getting brighter and brighter. The World Tree was quickly waking up. The players became more and more grave. They attacked the circle more fiercely too. On the two sides, the Warriors were smashing the circle with all their strength. In the front, all kinds of elemental spells were rumbling Second after second ticked by. The green circle was shrinking and seemed to be collapsing Standing in the sky, Roland said casually, The World Tree is awakened. The trees in the entire world were shivering, even in places where there was no wind, as if they were welcoming their creator. The purple light of the World Tree was gone, and a bright ball of light below the crown of the tree turned into a tender girl with purple hair. Her eyes were purple too, and she stared at the players below with coldness and fury. Then, she glared at them. Infinite transparent mental tentacles surged out of the enormous crown. They were both like infinitely-long snakes, enormous aerial roots that dangled from the crown. The World Tree was so big that it covered the entire capital, and naturally, those aerial roots were all over the capital too. Every mental tentacle was a long spear that could infinitely extend and automatically search for enemies. After one attack, the dense mental tentacles attacked every non-elf like the pointy tips in a trap. Even many large animals failed to survive. After this one attack, all the Master-level players were killed. Of the hundred Legends, only ninety were left. All of a sudden, 90% of the enemies that sabotaged the elven court were gone. The elves who were fighting back or hiding at home were reassured to feel the familiar, motherly spirit that covered and protected them. Then, they all cried. A lot of their compatriots and family members had died. Although more than 90% of enemies were killed by one attack, the elven goddess, the elven queen, and the World Tree didnt seem relaxed at all. They were all experts, and they detected that at least ninety enemies were still alive. As it happened, the ninety enemies were the strongest. Since when are there so many Legendary experts among the humans? The World Tree looked at the royal court that was brimming with fire and smoke in pain and confusion. What happened while I was asleep? Through the magic spiders, Roland stared at the World Tree who was almost as beautiful as Elyse, the most attractive goddess. He was deep in thought. The dense mental attacks that the World Tree performed were rather interesting. He recalled the magic waves and the way to make use of mental power. Then, he waved his right hand. Dense blue thorns that were slim and long suddenly grew on the floating city, making it look like an enormous blue sea urchin that was flying in the sky. Anyone who suffered from trypophobia wouldve passed out after seeing it. Interesting. His test cost about ten percent of the magic power that was stored in the floating city. However, the floating city was regenerating magic power at a high speed. He estimated that the cost would be nullified in about ten seconds. Exactly at this moment, the World Tree suddenly looked at the sky, only to be shocked. A floating city? How is it possible? Exactly at that moment, ONeal roared, Now is the time! Divide the battlefield! Hardly had he said that when countless magic threads were thrown from far away to wrap around the World Tree. The World Tree innately carried a magic shield, so the threads couldnt really reach her. Still, they formed a gigantic cocoon and dragged her out of the capital. Also, more remote attacks were projected from far away toward the thick trunk of the World Tree. Some of them were gigantic arrows that were as thick as battering rams. Some were dense magic bullets. The trunk of the World Tree had a protective shield too, but such a saturated barrage still had terrible consequences. Because of the hit on her original body, the World Trees consciousness crashed for a moment, and she was dragged away by the magic threads. ONeal put on a smile of satisfaction. He said slowly, My friends in the stream channel, were close to victory now. The World Tree, our greatest problem, has been temporarily removed from the battlefield. The elven goddess is alone now. This victory belongs to us and all the Mages. Yes, this battle was fully livestreamed too. Im feeling sorry for the elves. Why? The elves were jerks when they enslaved human beings. That was tens of thousands of years ago. Besides, its just the speculation of the Lorewalkers. It might not be true at all. In fact, I think theyre just bullying the weak. They couldve challenged the Demon Gods in the Realm of Devils. Nobody would mock them for that. There are thirteen Demon Gods. Besides, they are not weakened at all in the Realm of Devils. Thats right. Why shouldnt we fight in the world we live in and have more advantages? ONeals mood wasnt affected by the audiences discussion. He said with a smile, Although the academy-trained Mages arent as good as Roland, our strength can be copied, learned, and analyzed. The World Tree is very powerful, isnt it? But as long as the academy-trained Mages join hands, we can still beat it after calculations and training. So, youre just advertising for yourselves. But its true that the academy-trained Mages should be credited. It wouldve been impossible to ignore the World Tree without them. Okay, were entering the last phase. ONeal raised his right hand high. Carry out the Spear of Longinus plan! The last dozen Legendary Warriors jumped out of their hideouts. They each carried an enormous spear and then charged at the green circle at the same time. The noises of their moving spears coalesced into a deafening sound. The tips of the dozen enormous spears hit the green barrier of the circle almost at the same time. The barrier instantly broke. Even a green energy explosion was caused. The dozen Legendary Warriors were knocked away at the same time. The elven goddess screamed and fell on her knees, vomiting blood nonstop. The elven queen was also flung aside. Her crystal crown fell off and rolled on the ground for a long time. The court guards that stood in front of them were almost entirely annihilated by the green energy explosion. Only two of them were still breathing and cramping now and then. Weve won. Looking at the blood that the elven goddess vomited, ONeal took a deep breath. Were capable of slaying gods now. With vague tears in his eyes, ONeal said casually, From now on, nobody can stop us from disseminating our thoughts. There will be no more oppression or persecution. The players will take charge of reforms. Whoever stands in our way will be killed. Through the magic spiders, Roland heard ONeals words. He finally understood why ONeal and others wanted to slay a goddess, and why he wasnt included. As it turned out, they all belonged to the Coalition of Progress, and after five years of preparations, they finally sought revenge. The elves took part in the joint army of the churches too. When they persecuted and slaughtered ordinary people, they were much more brutal than their fellows. They only took up one-twentieth of the joint army, but one third of the persecuted human beings were killed by them. The elven goddess struggled to raise her head and looked at ONeal and the other players in fright. The dozen Legendary Warriors who were flung away rose slowly. Some were vomiting blood, and some had broken and weirdly-hanging arms, but they all smiled delightedly, satisfied that they finally got their revenge. The elven queen tried to turn her body around. On her face that was covered in blood stains was a pair of lifeless eyes. She began to mumble, but her voice was so low that nobody could hear her. Even if someone did, they didnt care about it at all but took it for her dying words. Everybodys attention was focused on the elven goddess who was on her knees. This body was merely a clone and suppressed in the main plane. She couldnt display one-tenth of her strength. Humble human beings The elven goddess smiled miserably. Ill come back! ill attack the human world with my children and destroy all of you. Thats impossible. ONeal walked five meters in front of the elven goddess and smiled. Although this is just your clone, destroying it will still hurt your original body. It takes at least five years for you to recover. In five years, there wont be just a hundred Legends, but a thousand or even ten thousand! It remains unknown whether or not the elves can survive them. The elven goddess seemed frightened. The saturated barrages were still hitting the trunk of the World Tree. In the middle of the rumbling noises was the elven goddesss beautiful yet twisted face. She couldnt imagine what would happen when the humans boasted a thousand Legendary experts. While the two of them talked, the elven queen suddenly radiated greenness on the ground. ONeal subconsciously stepped back and cast a fireball at the elven queen, before he shouted, Whatever shes trying to do, stop her! But it was too late. The intense greenness lasted only one moment, but it was even brighter than the sunlight during that moment. Everybody was blinded for about two seconds. Afterward, they could finally see things again. The elven queen had turned into a skeleton without any flesh on her bones. It looked like the skeleton had been dried for a hundred years. The elven goddess, on the other hand, was fully recovered. She even looked somewhat like the elven queen. Enormous mental and natural magic power surged out of her body. You all deserve to die. Im going to However, a roar came from far away. Fran didnt give you her flesh to let you hold me back here! Get the hell back to the paradise, you moron! The World Trees voice came from the trunk of the tree and echoed throughout the city. The elven goddesss roar was abruptly cut off. Chapter 756 - Scared Off The elven goddesss expression was frozen. She even seemed rather embarrassed. By logic, the elven goddess should be the highest symbol of the elves. But in fact, the relationship between the elven goddess and the World Tree was rather weird and complicated. By the rules of the birth of gods, they were all collections of consciousness in a community. It meant that the elves appeared before the elven goddess did. The elves, on the other, were created by the World Tree. Therefore, the elven goddess was supposed to be the World Trees daughter. However, in terms of rank, a goddess should definitely be nobler than a Demigod. On the other hand, the elven goddesss divinity was largely based on the World Trees will, because the elven goddess was the deified World Tree in the eyes of the elves, whereas the World Tree was the elven goddesss body in this world. The elves had existed for more than a hundred thousand years. In this world where mind could in a way influence matter, the collective will of the elves had been imposing influence on the World Tree and the elven goddess, making their relationship intimate and complicated. They were like a mother and daughter as well as two sisters. But in any case, in the eyes on the World Tree, the elven goddess was inferior to her. Usually, she would show the elven goddess some respect and wouldnt scold her right in front of her children, but this was a critical moment and she had no time to care about that. The elven goddess was dazed by the World Trees scolding. Then, she had no choice except to gnash her teeth and quickly rose to the sky. All remote attackers, change your target and lock onto the elven goddess. Dont let her escape! shouted ONeal quickly. Exactly at that moment, the whole city radiated purple light. Dazzling purple light was on every inch of land in the capital of the elves. ONeal subconsciously covered his eyes with his hands. Then, he felt such heavy pressure from the sky that he almost fell to his knees. If he hadnt used Rolands balanced way of adding points, which gave him enough Constitution and Resistance to pass the exemption test, he wouldve really knelt. At the same time, those who failed to pass the test fell on their knees and were minced into multiple pieces by the huge purple roots that rose from the soil. All of a sudden, another forty players had been killed, and only about forty more were left. Also, most of them were Mages. After all, Mages were more resistant to mental attacks. Because of the accident, the remote barrages were disrupted, and the elven goddess successfully returned to her paradise in the pillar of light. Watching the pillar of light disperse, ONeal also saw Rolands floating city through the gaps of the branches on the World Trees crown. Although it was very far away, the floating city was too large and obvious a target. Weve failed to slay a goddess, said ONeal with a bitter smile. The netizens in the stream channel all expressed their disappointment too. Most of them wanted to see the players bring down the boss. The World Tree is getting stronger. We have to run. ONeal said to himself. It was also an explanation for the audience in the stream channel. But very soon, he raised his head in shock and smiled bitterly. But maybe it wont be easy for us to escape. At this moment, he was floating in the sky, and the enormous bright purple roots that slithered on the ground couldnt hit him yet. In fact, most Mages survived for the same reason. Most of the Legendary Mages were capable of flying. Their fellows on the ground were almost completely wiped out, except those who were very agile, such as Rogues or Archers who ran extremely fast. However, it wasnt easy even for the Mages to flee at this moment. The World Trees mental manifestation flew back. She looked a lot different from how she used to be. Earlier, she was just a teenage girl around fifteen, but at this moment, she became a mature woman above 25. She was slim but boasted an excellent figure. However, nobody paid attention to her figure or looks anymore. Even the netizens in the stream channel could tell that the World Tree must be in her complete form at this moment. Why didnt she achieve such a state sooner? Probably because she was weak after just being woken up. After all It would take time for anyone to readjust themselves to their best status after a long period of sleep. In many knight novels, the dragon slayers had attacked the dragons while they were asleep. The dragon slayers took advantage of their preys poor status. A Demigod was indeed strong. After she revealed her full strength, the regular Legends were no match for her at all. Looking at the World Trees manifestation in midair, ONeal shouted as loudly as possible, Run for your lives! Shes unfolding a circle! ONeal had discovered that his basic stats would be lowered to 90% of their original values after he was illuminated by the purple light. 10% of stats wasnt much for a Legend, but for a battle between top experts, it might be critical to the outcome of the battle. They had disadvantages in the first place and then their stats were lowered Why would they bother to fight? It was time to run. All the purple light was from the leaves of the World Tree. They should still be able to defeat the enemy as long as they escaped from the World Tree. However Before ONeal activated the teleportation spell, the dense, extensible mental tentacles had emerged above his head again. Shoot Before ONeal could finish, he had been penetrated by a hundred long, narrow mental tendrils and riddled with holes. After taking down the Legendary human being who was likely to be the leader, the World Tree looked elsewhere. She put on a cold smile. They wanted to use a teleportation spell within her domain? Did they think that they were Mystra? The players began to run. None of the Legends were idiots. They also flew in four groups and four different directions. Each group had about ten people. The World Tree snorted. Nothing could escape her senses under the coverage of her crown. She stayed where she was, and her mental tentacles impaled all the Legendary players in three directions in one minute. The Mages who ran east were able to escape from the crown of the World Tree. It was because one of the Mages knew a spell named Breath of the Wind, which could increase allies speed within a certain range. With that ability, they were able to flee from the mental tentacles. However, the World Trees manifestation flew out as quickly as the speed of sound. Although the Mages werent slow at all, the distance between them and her grew shorter and shorter. Very soon, they were locked onto by the World Tree. Intense magic waves trembled violently behind them. They all looked back, only to see a great mass of green energy gathering and expanding behind them. They had no doubt that the green energy could consume them once and for all. There was no time for them to disperse and escape anymore, because every Mage sensed that they had been completely locked onto. Such locking was usually implemented with magic. It was impossible for them to escape. So, they might as well fight. Dying while fighting sounded better than dying while fleeing The ten Mages turned around and were about to attack the World Trees manifestation with magic. But exactly at this moment, they found that they couldnt use their magic power anymore. At some point, they were surrounded by a thin insulation level of natural elements. Damn it! She had used the elves special ability of magic disruption already? The elves, thanks to their high mental power, were very good at disrupting magic. While they could prevent the enemy from casting any spells, they could still do that. The World Tree was a mother to all elves and a Demigod. She was undoubtedly very strong in that regard. Lets wait to die! The ten Mages heaved a sigh and gave up resistance. One of the Mages were streaming. He said with a bitter smile, The World Tree is really a Demigod beyond our expectation. Our attempt has failed. The netizens all posted comments one after another. Its not a failure. The World Trees consciousness cannot get too far away from her original body. She cant protect the entire Elf Forest. Youre already impressive enough. If the elven queen hadnt sacrificed herself, you wouldve won. After all, your goal was the elven goddess. Its all right. Death is nothing. Youll be a new Legend in half a year. The World Tree is really pretty. Is anyone interested in conquering her? Men these days are no longer satisfied with animals but even want to play with trees? Embarrassing! Dont tell me you wouldnt do her if you had a chance. Of course I would! The netizens who watched the stream didnt care about the outcome of the battle. In their eyes, the raid was already won, although the price was rather high. If the ten Mages died again, all the Legendary players that took part in the god-slaying operation would be gone. Then, there would be few Legendary players left in the world: those who didnt participate in the operation. The World Trees charming face was full of ice. She was about to turn the green energy ball into countless spears and pierce them into the ten Legendary human beings, when she suddenly raised her head in surprise and wariness, the green energy ball held still in her hand. Clouds were surging in the sky. The enormous floating city descended in the middle of a heavy fog and landed between them. In the stream channel, the netizens exclaimed again. It was the first time that they had witnessed the floating city over a short distance. The descent of the floating city was only slow when it was observed from far away. At this moment, the ten Mages were only fifty meters away from the edge of the floating city. The wind and attraction caused by the floating city disrupted all the magic elements into turbulence. The ten Mages could only land in a hurry. After they landed, they found that the World Tree wasnt chasing them. They immediately understood that the floating city was blocked by the World Tree. All of them seized the opportunity to run. The netizens all cried out in the stream channel. Go back! I want to see the battle between the lonely man and woman! Its a huge battle between a floating city and a Demigod, yet youre only running? Why cant you go back and take a look? The Legendary player who streamed the battle wasnt concerned about the criticisms at all. Of course he wouldnt go back They hadnt been Legends for long, and if they died, they would fall back to level 14 and become Masters again. They would need half a year to make up for the EXP loss, if they were lucky enough to trigger epic quests frequently. How many half-years did a man have in his entire life? So, no matter how the netizens urged him to go back, he remained unconvinced. From the floating city, Roland stared at the World Tree in the distance. Holding the giant green energy ball, the World Tree gloomily ascended until she was on the same level as Roland. Gazing at Roland for a while, she asked, Human, are you determined to protect those murderers? Theyre not murderers. After all, they didnt kill civilians or children, said Roland casually. In comparison, the elves, who are famous for their gentleness, werent merciful at all toward human civilians. Three thousand elves managed to kill 250,000 human civilians. Im quite impressed by that. Roland was indeed protecting the ten Mages, because nine of them were members of the Association of Mages that Roland founded. Although they werent very close, they were still friends who knew each others names and could make fun of each other. The World Tree snorted. I didnt know that. I only know that they killed my children and I must seek revenge. So, if you dont get out of the way The green energy ball in her hand got even bigger. The World Tree was a Demigod and had lived countless years in the main plane. She had eaten more salt than any sand that Roland had seen. She could tell that even though Roland was as strong as a Demigod with the floating city, he was essentially still a Legend. She was 60% to 70% confident of beating or even lightly wounding the guy even though he had a floating city. However, she wasnt confident of killing this human being If he hid himself in the floating city and fled, it would be impossible for her to stop him. The floating city was almost impenetrable if all its magic power was used for defense. I can get out of the way, said Roland with a smile. However, while you chase those people, can I visit your vast and beautiful forest? Im told that the elves are very hospitable. It was a blatant threat, imbued with sarcasm. The World Tree knew that Roland was implying that he would kill her compatriots if she chased his friends. Are all human beings who use floating cities equally disgusting? The World Trees heart was filled with rage, but she said in the same cold tone, Mordenkainen was exactly like this. Roland smiled casually and didnt say anything Seeing that Roland wasnt provoked, the World Tree knew that she didnt have a chance. She dismissed the giant energy ball in her hand and flew away. The ten Mages who tried to flee on land all stopped. Because they couldnt fly, they hadnt escaped very far. They were all relieved to detect that the pressure from the World Tree was moving away. The Mage who was responsible for streaming looked at the gigantic floating city in the sky with admiration in his eyes. Hes only a Legend, yet he has scared off the most powerful Demigod in the main plane on a floating city. Thats so awesome. The netizens in the stream channel almost posted the same comment at the same time. I want to drive a floating city too! Chapter 757 - You’re Lucky Chapter 757 Youre Lucky Rolands floating city stayed where it was for about half an hour, before it gradually rose back into the clouds. Feelings were always subjective. For example, the World Tree thought that she had a 60% chance to beat Roland even though he had a floating city. Roland, on the other hand, thought that he could 100% kill the World Tree with one tritium bomb. Andonara, evil gods, the Demon Gods, and other experts could quickly escape from the dreadful heat and radiations from the center of the explosion by moving fast. When in a perfect environment, a nuclear explosion couldnt kill them. However, it wasnt the case for the World Tree. The World Tree was too big! She was essentially an inferior version of a floating city. She was also a source of enormous magic power. She was even alive. However, her greatest shortcoming was her immobility. The floating city was much more awesome in comparison. Although it was very large, its speed wasnt low at all. A high mobility meant a wider range of tactics. Both fight and flight were options. It didnt have to stay in one place and endure attacks. More importantly 99.9% of the mass of the floating city could be abandoned, as long as the Magic Grid Core was retained. Even if the floating city was hit by a forbidden spell and all its rocks shattered, it would be fine. More mud and stone could always be added to the city. It was simple and straightforward like that. Returning to the clouds, Roland was about to fly the floating city to the capital of Fareins to fetch the craftsmen for the projects in the floating city. However, in the middle of the flight, an attraction force that was aimed at him came from on high. It carried the divinity that he was quite familiar with. Earlier, he wouldve been dragged to the paradise by the force easily, but his mental power and resistance were significantly improved by the floating city. Therefore, he sensed the pull and nothing happened. You Drop your protection and come up here. The familiar, cute voice echoed in Rolands head. Roland heaved a sigh and temporarily unlinked himself from the floating city. Several seconds later, his soul appeared in the paradise of magic. Mystra, the Goddess of Magic, sat not far away in front of the floating city, a round table before her. There were two cups of pink wine on the table. The Goddess of Magic smiled at Roland and pointed at a chair near the table. Their meetings had already become routine. Roland sat down on the chair and asked, Goddess of Magic, is there anything I can help you with? I prefer that you call me Mystra. The Goddess of Magic chuckled and then asked, How does it feel to provoke the gods? Her tone was casual, but the sincere smile on her face suggested that she was quite happy to see that. Roland replied with a smile, Exhilarating! Will Elyse and I be provoked by you someday? Roland shook his head. Of course not. Were friends. After hearing Rolands answer, Mystras smile became brighter. She was clearly satisfied. She gently waved her hand, and the environment changed. It became the Astral Plane, where bizarre bugs slithered everywhere. However, Roland knew that it was just an illusion or a projection, because he didnt feel the mental or magic power of those bugs. The larger a bug was in the Astral Plane, the more magic power it would carry. Roland looked at the Goddess of Magic curiously, wondering why she showed him an image of the Astral Plane. If he wanted to see that, he could totally enter Mystras Mansion or fly the floating city into the Astral Plane, which was pretty easy. Noticing Rolands confusion, Mystra laid her finger on her bright, glowing lips and said, Just wait and watch. After a moment, something finally shifted in the Astral Plane apart from the flying bugs. A dark spot appeared at a distance in the Astral Plane at first. Then, countless streams of light, mixed with bright explosions, were striking around the black spot. Who was fighting there? Roland watched attentively. A moment later, the dark spot was closer and became clearer. It was an enormous floating city. Also, Roland was quite familiar with the floating city. It belonged to Mordenkainen. Roland subconsciously looked at Mystra, who was sipping her cup of wine gracefully. Roland turned his head and continued watching the battle. As the floating city grew bigger and bigger, Roland vividly saw that it was a group of gods and goddesses who were attacking the floating city. In particular, he saw Mystra, the Life Goddess, and the Nether God among them. He also saw a goddess whose body emanated golden light. He guessed that she was the Goddess of Light. Apart from the Four Lawful Goddesses, he saw the blue-haired goddess who wore a short skirt, the elven goddess who had long hair, the Storm Goddess who also wore a short skirt, and many others. Surrounded by all the gods and goddesses, the floating city was already collapsing. Is this the footage from when you attacked Mordenkainen? Roland asked Mystra. Yes. Why did you attack him? asked Roland. Because of the inappropriate things he said. Hmm? Roland was rather confused. Mordenkainen was smart and talented. He might have even been able to compete with me for the divinity as the God of Magic. Roland raised his eyebrows. But that wasnt why we dealt with him, said Mystra helplessly. He was just too cocky. Roland was rather curious. What do you mean by cocky? We didnt care when he attacked the evil gods and annoyed the Demon Gods. We were even happy to see that, said Mystra. But he kept saying that he wanted to have intercourse with goddesses. Roland: Huh!!!!! Only that number of exclamation marks could express Rolands surprise. He had met Mordenkainen in the branch of time and spent a few days with him. Although Mordenkainen was already pretty old, he didnt look like such a nasty person at all. He used to be a decent man in the main plane. Mystra heaved a sigh. But for some reason, the Goddess of Fortune went to him for trouble, only to be beaten up by him. After that, he said that he wanted to have the goddess carry his child. Roland slightly opened his mouth. Mystra covered her head and said with a helpless expression, Although Fortune was indeed a bitch and even more unrestrained than the Goddess of Love was, she had her dignity. She managed to escape from Mordenkainen, but she was certainly not happy about the experience. The two of them had been fighting since then. Roland extended his hand to stop her from continuing. Wait, Ive met Mordenkainen a few times. He doesnt look like such a shameless man. Youve met? The Goddess of Magic considered for a moment and asked uncertainly, The branch of time? Roland nodded. Mystra appeared to be greatly enlightened. No wonder you know how to build a floating city. It was because his only family, a girl whose name Ive forgotten, was killed by the Goddess of Fortune in her first attack. She was his daughter, or maybe granddaughter. Roland snorted. Then Fortune deserves to be killed. Mystra looked at Roland, deep in thought, and then nodded with a smile. She continued, Mordenkainen might have thought the same. Since Fortune killed his only family member, she had to give him a new one. He kept causing trouble for Fortune. Although Fortune was no match for him, she was still a goddess and managed to escape every time. Then what? Roland asked again, If Fortune was a bitch, why did you all work with her to deal with Mordenkainen? We would rather stay away from them, but a human could only live a limited amount of time. After chasing Fortune for twenty years in the Astral Plane, Mordenkainen grew old and weary, and something went wrong with his mind. Roland sighed. For human beings, their bodies were the bays of their souls. A weakness of the body was endurable for a short amount of time, but if it lingered, the soul and the mind would be affected. The Netherworld was the best place for the survival of souls, but it was still not as good as the souls original body. The liches modified their phylacteries as their bodies, which was a good solution, but problems would also occur as time went by. For example, they might become hysterical, brutal, and short-tempered. Mordenkainen was old in the first place, and he persisted for another several decades. It was only natural that something went wrong with his mind. Before Mordenkainen died, he was already getting somewhat insane, said Mystra helplessly. He often delivered magic messages in the Astral Plane with the enormous magic power from the floating city, claiming that the Life Goddess would be his bedwarmer and the Storm Goddess should carry his third son. He also said that I Mystra paused. Roland had a rough idea about what Mordenkainen probably had said. Mystra smiled in embarrassment and then continued, We didnt want to bother him, but we were slightly agitated when he kept clamoring. The evil gods and Demon Gods in the Astral Plane laughed at us too. Eventually, we couldnt hold back anymore. As it happened, the new Goddess of Light was only deified fifty years previous. She was young and proud, and Mordenkainen carelessly threw profanities at her. Roland fully realized what happened. The young and proud Goddess of Light couldnt withstand the insults and proposed to deal with Mordenkainen. Using herself as bait, the new Goddess of Light set up a trap and lured Mordenkainen to this place. Mystra pointed at the floating city in the footage. Then, we killed Mordenkainen in an ambush. After Mystra finished her sentence, the floating city fell apart in the footage. Even the Magic Grid Core was disintegrated by the goddesses too. Watching the floating city turn into rubble in the Astral Plane, and the goddesses leave, he sipped the wine in silence. The atmosphere was quiet. After a long time, Mystra asked, Mordenkainen is sort of your teacher. Will you avenge him? No. Roland shook his head. Why not? Mystras eyes glittered. As far as I know, friends are very important to you. First of all, I trust you and the Life Goddess, so I believe at least 80% of what you say even if Im not fully convinced. According to what you said, Mordenkainen was to blame for his doom. Roland put his cup down and looked at Mystras beautiful pink eyes. Secondly, youre friends to me too. Mystra smiled even more brightly. Thank you for your trust. Of course, it would be even better if you were willing to teach me the spell on the floating city or the one that can kill gods. Roland coughed. Those two spells are too important. We arent that close yet. Nice try. Mystra glanced at him angrily. It shouldve been the Life Goddess who told you this, but shes shyer than me so Ill talk on her behalf. Hmm? Roland found it hard to believe. According to his observations, Elyse, the Life Goddess, was graceful and solemn. Although her tone was gentle and warm, she looked like a serious and self-contained goddess. She was born for the job. In comparison, Roland had seen Mystra rolling her eyes or feeling shy a lot. Shouldnt Mystra be the shyer one? It didnt make sense. You may find it hard to believe, but Elyse is more open than she seems, Mystra swore. Roland wasnt convinced. Its fine even if you dont believe me. Mystra snorted. Has her button been very handy to you? Huh Huh? It didnt mean anything, did it? Okay, enough of that. Mystra clicked her tongue. Elyse does know how to disguise herself in front of you. Ive pulled you here mainly to explain to you about Mordenkainen in case you hate us. Another reason is that we found Mordenkainens journal after he died. It didnt mention how to build a floating city, but it described how the city could be upgraded. Elyse and I both thought that you should take a look at it. She waved her hand, and a journal appeared on the table. Roland picked up the journal and put it in his system Backpack. Then, he said, Right, Mystra, I wonder if you can help me with something else. What is it? Ill help you as long as you dont cross the line. Last time, when your soul entered mine and left something, my soul significantly grew. Roland looked at her earnestly. Can we do it again? If they did it again, Roland estimated that it would be easier for him to cast spells in reality. After all, his soul would be more powerful. You Thats too outrageous a request. Mystras face was slightly red. Probably because she drank too much wine. Roland subconsciously leaned back. But didnt you voluntarily enter my soul last time? Thats Mystra stuttered. She wanted to say something, but she didnt know what to say. If its too hard for you, Ill go ask the Life Goddess. Roland nodded. No! Mystra glared at him with wide eyes. Roland was quite shocked. Then dont move. Mystra extended her hands and touched Rolands head. Youre lucky this time, little guy. Then, she leaned her head toward him. Roland felt that he was surrounded by a warm ocean. The air was filled with a sweet fragrance. Chapter 758 - Encounter With a Dragon Chapter 758 Encounter With a Dragon When Roland returned to the floating city, he was quite dizzy. It was not exactly discomfort, but more of the lightness in the head after too much ecstasy. His body was fine, but something was seriously wrong with his soul. He sat on the temporary bench on a construction site and breathed heavily. The consequences of the Divine Intercourse were still lingering. After resting for another half hour, he finally managed to stabilize his soul with his Legendary mental power. He shouldnt have been so confident! During the first Divine Intercourse, Mystra had clearly been easy on him. She was serious this time. The soul of a true goddess wandered in his soul and filled it. Nobody really entered anyone. It was a simple fusion where the two of them were combined. Because the two souls separated after the fusion, the sense of shock was inevitable. It wasnt uncomfortable, but tireless in an enjoyable way. During the Divine Intercourse, Roland saw a lot of flashbacks of the Goddess of Magic before she became a goddess, including those where she changed her clothes and showered! Thinking of that, Roland quickly smacked his forehead to drive away the beautiful images for now. Then, he found an additional talent on the system menu. The talent, Divine Intercourse, had changed into Divine Fusion. Divine Fusion: A goddess trusts you unconditionally without any reserve. She also makes up her mind to never give you any problems or betray you. She opens a channel for you in her soul. You receive unimaginable power by getting in and out of it. Your soul is harder and has inestimable internal changes. She trusted him unconditionally without any reserve? Roland was stunned. Why did Mystra trust him so much? Roland found it hard to believe. He trusted the systems judgment. Mystra trusted him so much and was even willing to share her soul with him, yet he refused to tell her the formula of the nuclear bomb and the way to build the floating city Wasnt it rather immoral? Roland thought for a moment and found it hard to sort it through. He might as well put it off for now. After that, he took out Mordenkainens journal from the system and read it carefully. He set the floating city in the autopilot mode. He had already set spatial coordinates in the capital of Fareins. He only needed to let the floating city fly that way. Besides, the floating city was at such a high altitude that only special monsters and dragons could reach it. It wouldnt hit anyone on the way. Roland read the journal. Roland had considered how to upgrade the floating city too. After all, he couldnt count entirely on Mordenkainen who had been dead for hundreds of years. His understanding was that to upgrade the floating city, he would make a few more Magic Grid Cores and connect them, so that the magic power capacity of the floating city could be improved. It was a simple yet effective approach. After all, the city could conquer everything with enough power. All he needed to take care of was the problem that multiple Magic Grid Cores couldnt work collaboratively. However, Mordenkainens upgrade principle was different. He planned to enliven, if not deify, the floating city. It was mentioned in the journal that he intended to use the cores of the gods laws, or divinities, as energy, and then fuse it into the foundation of the floating city, so that the floating city would be given different features and upgraded. At the end of the journal, he even proposed the idea to create a divine consciousness for the floating city. In such a way, the floating city would be smart enough to deal with any accident even if he wasnt on it. Also, in a fierce battle, he and the city could fight independently, which would be quite awesome. Roland had to admit that Mordenkainen was truly a genius Mage, and that his design was much better. He could only pile up stats, yet that man was trying to build a smart floating city The gap between them was too huge. Roland was rather frustrated. In fact, he was just being too hard on himself. How long had it been since he started studying magic? Mordenkainen studied magic for almost two hundred years and finally realized that he should deify the floating city before he died. Roland, as a rookie whose foundation wasnt solid enough yet, had become a Legend after only five years and even built a floating city. If young Mordenkainen had seen Roland, he probably wouldve smashed his head into the Wall of the Faithless and killed himself out of embarrassment. In his twenties, Mordenkainen was just a playboy who loved hanging around with different women despite his reputation as a genius. Closing the journal, Roland heaved a sigh. Both upgrade options had their merits. Connecting multiple cores could provide more energy. Although it was simple, there probably would be qualitative changes when there was enough energy. Turning the floating city into a divine creature was the more advanced way, but it was also more dangerous. After all, it required hunting gods. There were a lot of evil gods in the Astral Plane, and thirteen no, fourteen Demon Gods in the Realm of Devils. He could kill a couple of gods in the Astral Plane and melt their Divine Sparks into the floating city. Then, the floating city would probably evolve into a divine creature. Beyond that, other methods might be required to awaken and intellectualize it. After all, Mordenkainen had merely proposed the idea and never really implemented it before the Goddess of Light killed him. When he was considering and the floating city was about to fly back to the capital of Fareins, Roland suddenly heard weird roars coming from outside. He raised his head, only to see a gigantic silver dragon hovering around the floating city and roaring at him. Was it trying to communicate with him? Roland subconsciously cast Language Proficiency on himself. Then, the dragon roars changed. Esteemed Mr. Mage, can you let me land on your floating city? Please! The silver dragons smooth, beautiful scales glittered like stars under the sunlight. It was a very powerful dragon. The silver dragon was a metal dragon, which meant that it was lawful and against the five-colored evil dragons. A feature of the metal dragons was that the stronger they were, the more beautiful their scales would be. A lawful dragon Also, Roland was connected to the Magic Grid Core on his floating city. He might not be invincible, but anyone had to be capable of launching an attack that could destroy a mid-sized city in order to hurt him at this moment. Roland waved his hand, and the floating city gradually paused and unfolded a transparent circle. The giant and beautiful silver dragon flapped its wings and landed twenty meters in front of Roland. The wind raised by the flapping wings was neutralized by the magic power five meters in front of him. Then, the silver dragon emanated silver light and turned into a handsome male elf. He walked to Roland and looked at him in awe. After a long time, the dragon spoke in elvish, Esteemed Mr. Mage, Ive finally met you. It never occurred to me that you would be driving a mythic floating city after only a few years. He sounded rather surprised and impressed. Did we meet before? asked Roland. It was a few years ago. When I first saw you, you were flying with a weird spatial spell, said the silver dragon with a smile. I saw you again at the shoreline. Ive been looking for you since then. Its great that Ive finally meet you. A silver dragon had been pursuing him? Roland wasnt very happy, as the guy was a male dragon. He wouldve felt greater if he had a beautiful female dragon to ride on like Schuck did. A male dragon felt slightly weird. What can I do for you? asked Roland. I was hoping to ask you the mechanism of the spell which boosted you to an unimaginably high speed. The silver dragon put on a bitter smile. I even prepared a lot of rewards, but I dont think you would be interested in them now. While talking, the dragon looked around and was deep in thought as he looked at the buildings whose foundations were just laid in the city. Its not very difficult, as long as youre gifted enough at spatial magic, said Roland with a smile. I have sacrificed the spell to the Goddess of Magic. If you try to worship her, you will probably get the spell. Roland was trying to get more believers for the Goddess of Magic. The stronger a believer was, the more power of faith they could provide. Normally speaking, the metal dragons worshiped Bahamut whereas the five-colored dragons only worshiped Tirayat. However, the two gods didnt forbid their descendants from worshiping others. The dragons rarely worshiped other gods mainly because they were too powerful. The endowment of regular gods wasnt even as powerful as their own strength. Goddess of Magic? ill remember that. The dragon thought for a moment and said, Mr. Mage, Im Silver Dragon Futi. May I know your name? Roland. Then, Mr. Roland, are you willing to visit Rhodes Island? said Futi with a friendly smile. As the owner of a floating city, youre qualified to enter the Island of Dragons. Looking at how young Roland was and the enormous floating city they were standing on, Futi smiled even more warmly. Rhodes Island, or the Island of Dragons, was located somewhere in the Eastern Sea. It was said to be quite large. It was supposed to be a mid-sized continent, but the dragons were so large and fast that the continent was merely a fairly large island to them. If they flew out in the morning and circled the island, they could reach home for lunch at noon. So, when they talked to other people, they usually referred to the land as the Island of Dragons. As time went by, everybody called the continent the Dragon Island. Roland was quite tempted. Dragon Island was very mysterious. There were different tales about it in every place of this world. In every tale, one thing was always mentioned. There were bound to be a lot of dragon bodies on the island or in the sea nearby. It was well-known that the dragons were full of treasures. Their scales, their bones, and their flesh were all valuable. Some dragons even had crystal cores in their brains. These items, known as Dragon Crystals in the human world, contained powerful elemental energy. The Dragon Crystals from the old, powerful dragons might even result in weak law pieces. Roland estimated that if he could get some of those, his studies on law could be greatly improved. Also, if he had enough dragon bones and scales, they would be perfect materials to build the floating city with. The dragon bones were so hard that they were only second to the mythic Ohari Steel. They were great magic materials too. If he could find a tomb of dragons and steal a batch of bones, his floating city would be at least 50% harder. Of course, stealing other peoples bones wasnt something a decent man should do. But was it really stealing if a Mage was doing it for research? Was it really? If he was really too self-conscious to steal anything, he might as well search for the five-colored dragons. He could freely kill those evil dragons. The metal dragons must know where the five-colored dragons were gathered! Should he go to Rhodes Island to open his eyes? Roland increasingly realized that it wasnt a bad idea to go to Dragon Island. Of course, he had to be careful in case the dragons did anything to the floating city. But what could they possibly do? He had left self-exploding traps in the Magic Grid Core of the floating city. If anything happened and the floating city exploded, half of Dragon Island would be razed to the ground. Also, he had enough magic power, so it wouldnt be hard for him to build a new floating city. If the dragons had any malicious plans, he could just fight them. He wasnt scared of them at all. All right, its an honor to be invited to Dragon Island, said Roland with a smile. Can you point out the way for me, Mr. Futi? I dont know where Dragon Island is. Fly east for now. Futi was quite happy that Roland accepted his invitation. Most of the time, people wouldnt accept a total strangers invitation to visit his home. However, Roland was hoping to get the materials, and he was strong and confident, which stopped him from worrying about possible schemes. So, his curiosity was aroused by Futis invitation. The floating city wasnt slow, but of course, it couldnt be as fast as a dragon. In the evening, the floating city reached the sea and then stopped amidst the clouds. At night, the sea was so vast that the surroundings were completely dark despite the moonlight. It was hard to tell the way. Dragons normally wouldnt fly at night either, so Futi lost the way and couldnt direct the floating city anymore. It came to a stop. The round moon was particularly beautiful from the floating city in the clouds. At a stone table that was created with magic, the two of them sat face to face and enjoyed fruit wine. Roland asked curiously, I hear that there are a lot of metal dragons, but why do they rarely appear in the human world? Because most of them are fighting the five-colored dragons, said Futi sadly. Both sides have lost a lot of members in the brutal battles. Then why do you have time to wander in the human world? Futi said helplessly, Because Ive been searching for an enemy, the little princess of the red dragons. Its said that she came to the human world, but no human countries seem to have been raided by a red dragon. Its so weird. Wait the red dragon princess? Wasnt it Margret, the dragon that Schuck rode all the time? Chapter 759 - The Silver Dragon’s Stories Chapter 759 The Silver Dragons Stories Your target is Margret, one of the red dragons? asked Roland while staring at him. Futi nodded. Yes. Were told that shes a hybrid of a dragon and a human. Shes very talented and can assume the shape of a human before a hundred years old, which usually takes a dragon three hundred years to do. You think that shell grow into a great enemy in the future, so you want to assassinate her while shes out? asked Roland. Assassinate is a strong word for a just cause, said Futi jokingly. You sound as if you heard about Margret before, right? Not only have I heard about her, but Ive seen her too. Roland thought for a moment and said, I dont think you need to kill her. Why not? Because she has changed. How is it possible? Why did she change? Roland opened his hands. Because of love. She fell in love with a man. Thats very unlikely. Futi found it hard to believe. The red dragons are usually strongly biased against mankind. But it isnt a problem at all if you have enough Charm, said Roland with a smile. She fell in love with one of my friends. Hmm? Futi seemed confused. Then, he said with a mocking smile on his elven face that was almost androgonyous, Mr. Roland, when you said your friend, did you mean yourself? A man who had a floating city and earned the respect of dragons was definitely charming. At least, he was very charming to Futi. Roland coughed quickly after hearing that and said helplessly, Its really not me. Hes one of my friends. Got it, your friend, Futi replied with a mysterious smile, obviously unconvinced. Then, Futi voluntarily changed the subject and talked about the interesting tales among the silver dragons. After that, he returned to his original form and fell asleep in an open space. To be honest, Roland found the silver dragon quite bold. It wasnt hard for someone who had a floating city to slay a dragon. Also, in Rolands system vision, Futi was shown to be level 15, which meant that he was a new Legend. A Legendary dragon was equal to a Demigod human, because dragons had higher comprehensive stats. However, the problem was that Roland had a floating city. Even the World Tree didnt dare do anything to Roland. What about a Legendary silver dragon? Did the silver dragon have anything to protect himself? But of course, Roland didnt intend to murder the dragon at all. He sat on the ground and surfed on the forum for the night until the sunrise. Futi woke up. He turned back into an elf and pointed the way for Roland. After another half day of flight, they finally reached the west side of Dragon Island. Observed from high above, the island had magnificent mountains that were capped by snow. Plenty of silver spots were hovering among the mountains. They were obviously silver dragons. The silver dragons seemed to have noticed the floating city. Very soon, they gathered into a crew of about fifty dragons and flew at the floating city. Im going to talk to them lest they offend you. Futi turned into a dragon, whose scales glittered in the sunlight. He looked even more elegant and beautiful than regular dragons. Then, he swooped down. The silver dragons who had been flying upward all paused when they saw their fellow in the sky. Futi talked with the silver dragons for a while, and they all left. After that, he returned to the floating city and resumed the shape of a human, before he said, Mr. Roland, Ive asked them to inform the elders in our clan and prepare a welcome party for you. I dont think thats necessary. It is. Futi waved his hands. Youre the only person who has a floating city right now. Its the tradition of silver dragons to respect the experts in the Lawful alignment. Roland was slightly surprised. Then, he remembered something. A book whose name he had forgotten mentioned that the metal dragons were Lawful and generally friendly with mankind and elves. As the judges among the metal dragons, the silver dragons innately carried the ability of seeing through someones alignment. It was a passive talent that they were born with. They didnt need to cast a spell, and those they scanned wouldnt feel anything. Was it why Futi dared to bring an expert who had a floating city back to his clan after they just met? Seeing that Roland was deep in thought, Futi said, Mr. Roland, please wait here for a while. I need to go back and make preparations too. After that, he resumed the shape of a dragon and flew back to the mountains. Roland ascended the floating city, but he failed to catch a full view of Dragon Island. He estimated that he had to raise the floating city about another five kilometers to see the contours of Dragon Island. At this moment, the mountains were as small as pointy bamboos. He had to say that the Dragon Island was indeed a continent, although it was just an island for the dragons. Those creatures were too big. The adult dragons were generally more than ten meters long. The elder dragons could even reach a hundred meters long! They could weigh more than a thousand tons. Yet, they could still fly! It was not scientific at all. In fact, it was just Rolands double standard His floating city weighed much more, yet it was still flying Seeing that it was impossible to get a full view of the Dragon Island, Roland descended to the original altitude. Very soon, Futi flew back. Roland was briefly stunned. Earlier, Futi was beautiful in his dragon form, which was agile and strong. However, he displayed a feminine beauty at this moment. His body was more curved, and the horns on his head tilted back and lost their edge. His scales, or her scales, were just like before, except that they were brighter and smoother. What? To Rolands surprise, Futi turned into a beautiful female elf in the long dress of the elves. She was quite pretty. Her face was just like before, but it was full of femininity. What happened to you? Sorry, but this is my real look, said Futi in a pleasant voice. Mr. Roland, please listen to my explanation. Roland nodded. Then, Futi began her explanation. As it turned out, Futi was one of the chief candidates of her clan, just like Margret was. For the five-colored dragons, they had to kill all the other chief candidates in order to assume power, but for the metal dragons, it was a lot simpler. Their candidates had to do something that would benefit their clan. Futi wasnt the most promising candidate, but she wanted to take her chances. After all, a dragon that didnt want to be the clan chief was no different from a salty fish. After hearing that the red dragons princess ran to the human world and might go on a killing spree, she came after her. However, she couldnt find the princess at all. She never heard anything about the red dragons carnage in the human either. She did hear that a red dragon offered to be ridden by a human being, but she never thought that it was the red dragon princess. evo Margrets strength and giftedness were well known among the dragons. She hadnt reached adulthood yet, but she could beat most adult dragons. Only the ancient elder dragons could take her down. Why would the princess, who would almost surely become the chief of red dragons, work as a mount for a human being? So, Futi had been investigating in the human world for years and traveling from prairies to deserts, from deserts to snowfields, and from snowfields to seas, but she didnt find anything about Margret. Sometimes, she really wondered if the red dragon that a human being rode was Margret. But she disapproved of the idea after a second thought. Does it have anything to do with you pretending to be a male elf? As a silver dragon, I can naturally sense other peoples hostility, said Futi helplessly. When I walk as a female elf, mens lust for me is almost unbearable. If I pretend to be a male elf, some of them still have lust, but its bearable. So, Ive been active in the human world as a male elf over the years. Fine, that was indeed a good reason. Futi continued, Now that weve invited you to our clan as a guest, I certainly cannot meet you in disguise. So thats the reason. Roland nodded. Then lets go down. Roland cast Feather Landing on himself. He then jumped off from the edge of the floating city. Futi cast a special anti-gravity skill of the silver dragons on herself and landed slowly too. Halfway through their descent, a lot of silver dragons emerged from the mountains and hovered around them as guardians. At this moment, Futi extended her hand and threw out a silver ray of light that connected to Rolands wrist. She then directed him to the highest mountain. They landed at the top of the mountain. The hovering dragons in the sky had all left. The top of the mountain was an open ground made of silver hard stones. They were quite smooth and reflected the light from the snow. In front of Roland were four old men with white beards, which were so long that they almost dangled to the ground. In Rolands system vision, the four of them were all dragons in the shape of humans. Their levels were 16, 15, 15 and 17 respectively. The four of them all had abundant magic power. By Rolands estimation, their MP upper limit probably ranged between 1,300 to 1,500. That was so impressive! However, the four old men were even more surprised. Roland wasnt linked to the floating city at this moment and was just a regular level-16 Mage. His MP of 2,400 was an eye-opener to the four elder dragons. Naturally, they wouldnt know the specific number of Rolands MP, but they could tell that this human being had more magic power than they did. It was almost unbelievable for a human being to achieve that. The four of them slightly bowed at Roland, and the old man who had the highest level approached Roland and said with a smile, Weve finally seen a floating city again. Mr. Roland, your presence honors the silver dragons. Im Minko, chief of the silver dragons! The silver dragons names all had two syllables. They usually wouldnt offer their last name. Glad to meet you, Leader Minko. Roland nodded with a smile. After that, Minko introduced the three elders behind him to Roland. After they greeted each other, they took Roland to a cave not far away. The entrance of the cave was quite large. After all, it wouldve been impossible for the dragons to enter the cave in their original form if the entrance were small. In the cave, Roland found that a lot of beautiful silver-haired girls in revealing clothes were waiting for him. Hmm? Roland looked at Minko and Futi. I was told that human experts love the company of beautiful females in conversations, said Minko with a smile. So, Ive summoned the most beautiful unmarried females in my clan. I dont think thats a real thing. Roland observed the dragon girls. They were indeed gorgeous. Those beautiful girls who had tiny horns on their forehead looked back at Roland without shyness. Some of them even made alluring gestures. Really? Minkos eyes widened. Mordenkainen said that when we entertained him before. Roland was speechless. Promiscuity wasnt a big deal to the dragons. As long as they werent married, they wouldnt mind sleeping with experts that they were interested in. That was why the dragons were known to be lustful. However, the metal dragons appreciated commitment. Once they were married, they would never cheat on their spouse. The silver dragons were no exception. As a matter of fact, the metal dragons were similar to the succubi. However, the dragons were very strong so nobody dared to speak ill of them. Do you want me to dismiss them? Futi asked Roland. Roland thought for a moment and shook his head. No, let them stay. I appreciate your kindness. The four elders were greatly relieved. Then, they directed Roland to a gigantic golden table at the center of the cave. The surface of the table that probably weighed ten tons was embedded with gems in all colors, which glowed in different hues when illuminated by the magic crystals up above. They were rather dazzling. The decoration was luxurious in a tacky way. One had to praise that the place was awesome despite the poor taste. Immediately, beautiful silver dragon girls carried golden chairs and put them down next to Roland and the elders. After they all sat down, Minko waved his hand, and the girls served the food. The food was just monster meat, and it tasted as awful as it looked. But that was understandable. Those dragons were already considerate enough to cook food in a way that a human could eat. Please enjoy. Minko extended his hand. Roland thanked him and had some of the food. He then wiped his lips with the tissues from his system Backpack, before he said, Now, esteemed silver dragons, can you explain why youve brought me here? Futi lowered her head in a rather obedient way. The four elder dragons all smiled with weird expressions. Eventually, Minko said, Mr. Roland, can you allow all the silver dragons to move to your floating city? Roland was stunned. What, all the silver dragons? Why? Besides, there isnt enough room in my floating city for so many dragons. Mr. Roland, Futi is the youngest child in my clan. Roland looked at Futi and slightly frowned. Then he hesitated for a moment and asked, How old is Ms. Futi? In the words of mankind, shes 233 years old. Roland realized that no more babies had been born among the silver dragons for 233 years. But does it have anything to do with my floating city? Chapter 760 - Ritual of the White Dragons Does your low fertility have anything to do with my floating city? Roland looked at them in confusion. Realizing his confusion, Minko stroked his beard and explained, Every dragon species needs something special to reproduce. For example, the golden dragons need to absorb a certain amount of Ebony Stone, and the bronze dragons have to eat mud regularly. For the silver dragons to procreate, our females must have a special element that can only be found in the shells of the worms in the Astral Plane. Special element? Roland realized something. But he still had questions. Then why dont you hunt the worms in the Astral Plane? The elder dragons smiled bitterly, and Minko continued. The Astral Plane is too high for us to fly to, even though we have anti-gravity spells. Then how did you procreate in the past? asked Roland curiously. Minko replied, We didnt have to fly up in the past. The worms in the Astral Plane flew down now and then, and we captured them. No worms are coming down these days. Roland nodded. He had collected and read a lot of books in the game world. A lot of the books mentioned weird bugs that descended from the sky hundred of years earlier and brought disaster to mankind. Back then, the silver dragons were very active. Its been more than two hundred years since any worms descended from the sky, said Minko helplessly. Its because the Lawful gods and goddesses of mankind surrounded the main plane with divine power. Not just the worms, but even the Evil Gods can hardly pass through the barrier. The current Lawful gods and goddesses are the strongest in history. Okay Roland got it. In the eyes of the Lawful gods and goddesses, the dragons were probably nothing but intelligent, extra-large reptiles. They couldnt break through the border of the main plane and reach the Astral Plane. Besides There were racial distinctions between the gods and goddesses. Most of the gods and goddesses in this world were born from the collective subconsciousness of mankind. The Lawful ones were from mankinds good side, and the Chaotic ones were from negative emotions. The Neutral ones were the elemental gods or those of the neutral races. For example, the Water Goddess was an elemental goddess, and the God of Dwarves and the Elven Goddess of the Forest were deities of neutral races. Of course, Bahamut, the god of metal dragons, was also among them. It was true that the metal dragons were a Lawful race, but the problem was that the Lawful gods and goddesses of mankind were wary of them. After all, the dragons were foreign creatures, and they were too strong as individuals. As they got to this part, Roland already realized why the silver dragons wanted to move to the floating city. It was because the floating city could fly to the Astral Plane. Even though there might be a barrier, the floating city could easily break through it with its stored magic power. Thinking for a moment, Roland finished the wine in his cup and waved his hand. Then, the cup was filled with golden fluid. It was the insect oil from the Astral Plane. Do you think this can make up for your malnutrition? In fact, the four human-shaped dragons were already hungry when they saw the fluid. But they all held themselves back. Eventually, Minko said, Futi, have a taste of it. Futi raised her head and gracefully grabbed the cup. She drank the fluid. A moment later, her eyes glimmered as she said, Grandpa, it works! Its indeed insect oil. Excitement flashed in Minkos eyes. But its too little. Were very big and we need a lot more. Sir, this is one of the summoning spells, right? Can you sell the spell model to us? Roland shook his head. The dragons all seemed rather anxious. Minko was about to talk. However, Roland waved his hand and stopped him. Then, he said, It seems that you havent visited the human world for a long time. Not that Im unwilling to tell it to you, but Ive sacrificed the spell to Mystra, the Goddess of Magic. If you want to learn it, you can exchange your faith for it. Faith! The old silver dragons hesitated. Bahamut was a kind god and didnt mind his followers worshiping other gods as long as they were not evil or demons. However, the metal dragons were all devout believers of the dragon god. If they were to worship a human goddess, their reputation among the dragons might be affected. They had to take that into consideration. Seeing how hesitant they were, Roland didnt urge them to make a decision. It would be great if the whole thing worked out, but it wouldnt matter even if it didnt. Mystra was no longer in dire need of believers. As more and more teleportation arrays were built, more and more people were willing to worship her. At this moment, she could already vaguely see the soul shadows of other believers on the pillars in her paradise. For her, everything was going in the right direction. Well consider that, but what matters most right now is that Mr. Roland is entertained. Here, bottoms up. Minko seemed to be quite familiar with the human beings drinking games and appeared quite friendly. After drinking for three hours with those elder dragons, Roland asked when the party was coming to an end. Chief Minko, I have a rather offensive question. I hope you wont be infuriated by it. Please feel free to ask. Pausing for a moment, Roland asked, Im told that the dragons have a public tomb where a lot of dragon bones are kept. Can an outsider take some of the bones away? Sorry, no! Minko shook his head. All right then. The answer was not surprising to Roland. Usually, nobody would want the bones of their ancestors to be desecrated by an outsider. Then, Chief Minko, can you tell me where the bones of the five-colored dragons are kept? You want to strengthen the floating city with dragon bones? asked Minko. Roland admitted it without looking for an excuse. Minko considered for a moment and said, The five-colored evil dragons arent as united as us. They wont tell their fellows where their families are buried, but there are ways to find them. Can you tell me more? asked Roland. Minko thought for a moment and said, If you want to construct and strength your floating city with dragon bones, your best choice is the black dragons, whose bones are the hardest. Usually, they prefer to stay in swamps or near lakes like the green dragons. Those are the places where they often die. Its hard to tell from the ground, but you can find those places easily from the sky. Trees and animals tend to be more exuberant where dragons are buried. Oh, it was just like a whale fall. Roland understood. It seems that youve got it. Minko thought for a moment and said, Then enough of chit-chat, lets focus on drinking. If youre willing, you can bring any of those girls back with you. Just dont hurt them. The silver-haired dragon girls all winked at Roland. Roland wasnt touched. After his stomach was filled with alcohol, Roland left the cave and returned to his floating city with teleportation. As a Legendary expert, Roland wouldnt get drunk so easily. Standing in the floating city, he considered for a moment and decided to search for the tombs of five-colored evil dragons He couldnt talk himself into digging up the tombs of the metal dragons who were Lawful. The five-colored evil dragons were different. All means should be adopted to strike down evil. Taking the dragon bones and building a better floating city was exactly a way to strike down evil. In the same cave, Minko said, Although we can get the way to summon insect oil from the Goddess of Magic, its just a backup plan for us. In any case, we have to figure out a way to acquire Astral Worms stably on our own. We cannot let go of Roland. We need to send someone to make friends with him, so that we can ask for his help if anything happens in the future. Everybody nodded. At this moment, Minko looked at Futi. Since you already made friends with Roland and you two seem close, you can go with him. To be his mount? Futis face turned red. What are we going to tell the other four clans? It wont do good to the reputation of the silver dragons. After all, were not as shameless as the five-colored dragons. Minko snorted. Were already jokes. We havent seen a baby dragon in two hundred years. Also, they all said that they would help us with our procreation problem in the past hundred years, but they never did anything. If we keep procrastinating, the silver dragons will go extinct after your generation grows old. I wont allow that to happen. So, they can laugh at us if they want to, but they cannot declare that were no dragons. Im afraid that Roland doesnt like me. Futi was slightly worried. He didnt look at me at all just now. Then its time to show your feminine charm. Minko encouraged her. Besides, even if you dont have enough feminine charm, you can always sway him with your strength. Normally speaking, no man can refuse to be a dragonrider. No man! Futi thought for a moment and nodded. At this moment, Minkos expression changed. Huh? The floating city is activated. You should go. Oh! Futi quickly rushed out and turned into a glittering ball of light while running. Then, a gigantic silver dragon flew out of the light and took off, chasing after the floating city. Then, Minko became extremely serious. Knock the Stellar Crystal Bell on the peak and summon everybody. We need to decide if we should worship another goddess. Roland was flying the floating city to the Fareins Kingdom. He intended to pick up the architects and sculptors to continue the construction of the floating city. However, after he just flew for a while, he saw a familiar silver dragon hovering outside the floating city. He temporarily turned off the barrier, and the silver dragon landed and turned into a beautiful female elf. Wearing tight white clothes that were transformed from dragon scales, Futi walked to Roland gracefully and said with a smile, Why didnt you wait for me? I thought you were going to stay here Do you know where the territory of the five-colored dragons is without me leading the way? That did make sense! Then, she stood next to Roland and asked in a low voice, Do you mind having a dragon mount? One that you can also ride at night. Roland coughed loudly. He had to admit that it was very easy for a man to get a spouse when he was capable. When a man was poor and incapable, it was very hard for them to win over the girls they liked. However, most of the men who were rich and powerful would rather not waste too much time on women, who were only obstacles in their way to greater achievements, because they were already sick of women. Roland was strong and had a big floating city. He was very charming even though he wasnt very handsome. No wonder Futi was willing to contract herself to be his mount. After Roland was done with coughing, Futi said with a smile, I was just kidding. If your answer is no, I wont leave. We can still hang out as friends. Of course Roland wouldnt believe that. He had said exactly the same thing to his first girlfriend in college: I just want to hang out with you and I dont want anything else. But three months later, he took his girlfriend to a hotel. Heh Im very familiar with this method. Roland mumbled to himself. Under Futis directions, the floating city crossed the sea and came to the south of the western continent. Compared to the northern deserts, the south of the western continent was comfortingly green. Above the boundless trees, Roland soon locked onto a dark forest. The trees in the forest were in a deeper color and taller than other trees nearby. Standing right next to Roland, Futi pointed at the area. If my guess is correct, a five-colored dragon that just reached adulthood died there. Her body was fragrant and soft. It had been days since Roland made out with Andonara. He felt rather uncomfortable when Futi was so close to him. Then, he slightly moved away from her. Why do you know that its a dragon that just reached adulthood? Because the abnormal trees had the coverage of a dragon that just became an adult. So thats how it is. Roland flew the floating city to the area and stayed above the forest. Then, Roland looked down and snorted. He didnt realize that there were two masses of powerful magic reactions in the forest below until he got closer. Then, Futi detected them too. But she was still slower than him. The magic waves They belong to the white dragons of the five-colored dragons! Futi were briefly stunned. What are two white dragons doing here? Roland was not in a hurry to go down. He dropped a lot of transparent tiny magic spiders first. Watching those spiders disappear below, Futi felt that her head was dizzy. She vaguely realized what those spiders were for. What surprised her even more was that those spiders could barely be detected after they were released. That was an awesome reconnaissance technique. Was that the expertise of a man who had built a floating city? A tremendous number of magic spiders soon fell in the woods. Then, a lot of images were transmitted into Rolands head. After that, Roland saw that two brawny males who had horns on their forehead were mumbling something on their knees in front of a black altar. On the altar was a piece of shapeless, bizarre-looking meat. They seemed to be performing a ritual. Chapter 761 - Who Says That It Can’t Kill the Enemy Because It’s Fake? Chapter 761 Who Says That It Cant Kill the Enemy Because Its Fake? It wasnt surprising for a dragon to assume the shape of a human. Almost every adult dragon was capable of doing that. Some dragons with extraordinary talent, such as Schucks mount Margret, could do that when they were still little. Therefore, it wasnt too shocking that two white dragons assumed the shape of human beings. However, what was weird was the piece of meat that they were paying tribute to. Also, the meat was shivering and faintly pulsing like a heart. The two white dragons were still praying on their knees. Thanks to Language Proficiency, Roland was able to understand their prayer. Great and ancient Almighty Abak, weve found what you asked for and were about to sacrifice it to you. Please arrive in this world and grant us unparalleled power. They kept reciting the prayer. Roland turned around and asked Futi who was still standing, Have you ever heard of a god named Abak? There were a lot of Evil Gods in this world, but most were blocked from the main plane. After all, the Lawful gods and goddesses were very strong After a brief shock, Futi said, Abak is an Evil God from the Astral Plane responsible for jealousy and brutalization. Of course, many other Evil Gods are his competitors and hold different proportions of the Divine Spark. Why is the Divine Spark separated into so many pieces? Its said that it was torn apart by the Life Goddess and the Nether God. Futi was more than two hundred years old. Although she wasnt a book collector like Roland was, she was aware of some knowledge that few people possessed. A Divine Spark cannot be destroyed, therefore the Lawful gods and goddesses cut the Divine Sparks of the Evil Gods they killed into several pieces, so that several more Evil Gods of different levels are created. In order to combine the Destruction, those Evil Gods are bound to fight one another, and theyll all be weakened. That did make sense! Roland didnt know that the Life Goddess was much more sophisticated than she appeared. It was her who gave the spatial coordinates of the Evil God to him too! Why did he not think that it was the Nether Gods idea? Roland had always thought that the Nether God was just a silly woman who pretended to be cold. Roland pondered for a moment and then paid attention to the two dragons who were having a ritual. Under normal circumstances, Roland wouldve stopped the white dragons ritual. After all, an Evil God would cause great damage after arriving at the main plane. However, after reading the journal that Mordenkainen left, Roland wouldnt do that again. At this moment, the floating city had to be upgraded, and according to Mordenkainen, it required the Divine Spark energy. However, the floating city hadnt been fully constructed yet. Many functional buildings hadnt been added. The defensive barriers hadnt been set up yet either. If he recklessly flew the floating city to the Astral Plane, it would be destroyed by the worms or the Evil Gods. However, the case would be different if an Evil God came to the main plane. There were rules of suppression in the main plane. Any god or goddess would be weakened after they arrived here. The fact that the elven goddess was almost killed was a perfect example. So, Roland waited for the two white dragons to summon the Evil God. He even flew the floating city higher so that the two white dragons wouldnt spot it. The ritual continued. Roland had the magic spiders construct a magic array that didnt have magic power reactions. Seeing that Roland was absolutely still, Futi couldnt help but ask, Do you want me to go down and beat up the white dragons?. Roland said with a smile, Are you confident in defeating them? Judging from magic power capacity, the white dragons were only slightly weaker than Futi. She could beat either of them, but not both of them at the same time. Futi said with a smile, Youre here for me, arent you? Roland waved his hand. Dont be hasty. Time went by one second after another. As the ritual went on, the meat on the altar turned into a red energy ball and gradually shrank. Then, a black spatial crevice appeared above the altar, growing wider and wider. Soon, a pair of fair, beautiful hands further opened the gap, allowing a body to crawl through. The owner of the hands turned out to be a handsome young human, but the evilness on his face ruined his charisma. Upon seeing him, the two white dragons shivered in excitement. Then, they ducked their heads even lower. At this moment, Futi felt chilled all over. Unlike Roland, she didnt have magic spiders for reconnaissance over a long distance. However, she could also sense the foul power that emerged out of nowhere. An Evil God has jumped into the main plane? She seemed quite shocked. It was the first time in two hundred years that an Evil God teleported to the main plane from the Astral Plane. Whats he doing here? Futi gnashed her teeth. Mr. Roland, we should retreat first and ask for the help of my chief and the chiefs of other dragon clans. Thats unnecessary. Roland continued controlling the magic spiders to draw circuits for the magic array. Fortunately, he had dropped enough magic spiders earlier. Wait for a moment. Youll fly down and attack them when I tell you to. But Futi was slightly worried. Was Roland trying to get her killed? Her doubt was understandable. After all, even a primordial dragon wouldve wavered before fighting an Evil God. She was a silver dragon who just reached adulthood. How could she possibly fight an Evil God and two white dragons? However, Roland didnt seem to be kidding at all. She hesitated for a moment and gritted her teeth, deciding to take her chances. After all, all the silver dragons believed that Roland was a good guy with their talent. A good guy shouldnt be sending her to her death. Down below, the young man sat down on the altar and crossed his legs, before he said with a smile, If you can find more similar meat, Ill give you greater rewards. Now As he talked, he waved his hands. Two streaks of light darted into the bodies of the brawny men. I bestow the power of jealousy upon you. The more jealous of someone you are, the stronger youll become. The two brawny men stood up in delight. Then, find better items for me, said the young man with a smile. Right, collect intelligence on a Golden Son named Roland in the human world, and bring his family or friends to me if possible to introduce them to me. The two men bowed excitedly. For them, it wasnt hard to capture a human being at all. The young man stood up from the altar and was about to leave, when he remarked in surprise, Weird. Why are the magic power currents so noisy? The Evil God was much stronger than the white dragon anyway. Roland had optimized his magic spiders to the extent that they barely released any magic waves, but the Evil God still detected them. Fortunately, the circuits for the magic array had already been completed. Roland, who had been observing them via the magic spiders, simply activated the magic array. It was Imprisonment. It could be used to confine an enemy or for self-defense, depending on the circumstances. A blue magic barrier rose to the sky and soon expanded into a gigantic round dome that enshrouded the place like an upside-down pot lid. The two white dragons were both greatly shocked. The Evil God stared at the two white dragons and roared, You dare to betray me? No, no, absolutely not. Esteemed Abak, we arent the cause of this. We never betrayed you. One of the men shouted in a hurry, and the other man nodded quickly. If its not you whos scheming against me? Abak suddenly raised his head and looked at the sky. Then, his pupils contracted as he saw the enormous floating city descending from the blue sky. Good. Very good. Its you, Roland. The young Evil God snorted. He extended his right hand, and a thick pillar of black light, mixed with some lightning, struck the blue barrier in front of his eyes. The two different kinds of magic power collided, and the black light blew back the trees. However, the barriers only shivered for a moment and didnt seem to be affected at all. The young Evil Gods facial expression changed. Youre so strong? When he spoke, he sensed the enormous concentration of energy in the sky. He raised his head, only to see a great blue ball of light next to the floating city. Damn it! The young Evil God raised both of his hands and established a black magic shield. Then, the enormous blue magic ball smashed down. The ball was so fast that it quickly penetrated the blue barrier and collided with the black shield. After throwing the blue ball down, Roland shouted, Now is the time! Futi, go down and beat up anyone that dares to resist. Futi instantly swooped down as a gigantic silver dragon. At this moment, the collision of the blue fireball and the black magic shield had caused a huge explosion. However, the energy and light unleashed by the explosion shrank quickly, as if time had been reversed. Futi knew that it wasnt a reverse of time, but that the magic energy was being swallowed by something. Unfortunately for them, the explosion expanded again in the middle of shrinking. However, the power of the explosion had dwindled. A strong wind swept out with explosive energy, causing a tsunami of flames that looked like red donuts to spread quickly. The flames stopped after moving for several dozen meters. At this moment, Futi had already covered half of the distance and was about to land. Then, she saw two blackened dragons fleeing from the center of the explosion. White dragons, die! Although they had been singed, Futi still detected that they were the same white dragons based on their magic power. She lunged at them without hesitation and bit the neck of one of the white dragons. The silver dragons were the fastest dragons. Also, the two white dragons had been wounded, so she easily caught one of the m after accelerating. Then, she extended her claws to the dragons neck and twisted his head. After a crack, the dragons head was turned 180 degrees. At the same time, the white dragons eyes turned gray. The other blackened dragon bellowed, Big brother How dare you, bitch! Futi dropped the white dragon that was almost fully dead and dashed to the other white dragon. In the meantime, the young Evil God coughed on the blackened altar and slowly stood up. How did this happen! He was baffled. Why was he caught by Roland, the enemy that he wanted to deal with, the moment he showed up? Had the guy predicted the danger with powers of prophecy? That was impossible. Considering the negative side effect of prophecy, if Roland had predicted his arrival, something very unlucky wouldve happened to him due to the counterforce. He was a god anyway. He was truly confused. He was about to leave, when a human being suddenly appeared in front of him. On a closer look, he was none other than Roland. Then, Roland snapped his fingers, and countless transparent chains darted out of the void into the soil. They were Dimensional Anchors. The young Evil God snorted and waved his right hand, cutting all the transparent chains. You really think youre Mystra, and the Dimensional Anchors you make can lock down a god? said the young Evil God mockingly. How arrogant are you? Ignoring his sarcasm, Roland said, Ive seen your eyes. When I built the floating city, it was you who said that you would ask the other gods to come down and deal with me. You have an excellent memory. The Evil God smiled. At this moment, a shadow suddenly emerged behind Roland and pierced Roland through. The shadow gradually became real, and it was exactly the Evil God Abak. The Abak on the altar gradually turned transparent. It was a classic Evil God behavior to ambush in the middle of a conversation. I didnt expect that it would be so easy to kill you Abak, who retained the stabbing gesture, smiled gloatingly. Then, his smile froze as Roland was turned transparent. Its just a mirror spell. I know that too. Roland appeared on Abaks right side. Then, more Rolands appeared and soon surrounded the guy. Which of us do you think is real? When dozens of Rolands spoke at the same time, their voices echoed and sounded rather intimidating. None. Abak looked around and smiled. Theyre all illusions. Where are you hiding, coward? Really? All the Rolands raised their finger at him. Then, Prismatic Spray appeared on the fingertip of every Roland. Theyre just illusions Abaks face changed greatly. Wait, theyre all real Roland was fake, but the Prismatic Spray was real. It was the dual generation of magic Those shadows could cast spells too. After all, they were made with magic in the first place. All Roland had to do was to set a timer in advance. Of course, it was easier said than done. At least thirty gigantic Prismatic Sprays were launched at Abak with long tails of flames behind them like comets. It was too fast and too sudden. He wanted to dodge, but there was no time. Then, it was as if countless fireworks were blossoming where Abak was standing. The explosion caused by every Prismatic Spray was a storm of fire. Along with the deafening explosions, it felt like a festival. However, the Prismatic Spray was much more powerful than fireworks. The blast caused by the explosion trembled the land, making the two fighting dragons feel that their ears were ringing. However, Futi was in a better condition and recovered faster. She bit the enemy while he was still dizzy and broke his neck as she did to the first white dragon. Then, she turned into a human and landed, breathing hard. She saw Roland on the altar with a bright yellow ball in his hand. She felt enormous energy, and something that could shock everybodys soul. She craved the tiny ball of light from the bottom of her heart. Her instincts as a living creature told her that she could evolve into a higher being after she received the light ball, because it was a Divine Spark piece. Chapter 762 - Vicissitudes The Divine Spark piece was extremely attractive to most creatures. They would even compete over it irrationally. That was the instinct that had been etched into their blood. To evolve into a higher being, they could only condense their Divine Spark or steal someone elses. Looking at the Divine Spark piece in Rolands hands, Futi was eager to take it away. But eventually, she managed to hold herself back. She was an adult silver dragon anyway, and her clan was best known for their resolve and determination. Roland looked at the Divine Spark piece and was quite surprised too. Item: Piece of the Brutalization Divine Spark (Mythic) Effect: You receive incomplete divinity of brutalization and can build a paradise with the power of faith. Requirement: Become a Demigod. He then put the Divine Spark piece in his system Backpack and walked to the two dead white dragons. Both of them were adult dragons about thirty meters long. Seeing how big they were, Roland connected to the floating city and lowered it first. He then lifted the bodies of the dragons with a hundred giant Hands of Magic and placed them in an open area in the floating city. The scales of the white dragon had mostly cracked due to the heat, but it was fine. They could be ground into powder and mixed into molten iron to increase the irons flexibility and magic resistance. Besides, the dragons still had a lot of flesh and bone that could be used. Roland was here to pick dragon bones. Little did he expect to reap two dragon bodies and a Divine Spark piece. The trip was definitely rewarding. Futi had led him to this place. Was she a fortune bringer? Roland couldnt help but look at the beautiful elf next to him. Noticing Rolands strange gaze, Futi touched her face and asked, Whats wrong? Roland shook her head and said, Too bad that I only got one Divine Spark piece. If I had got two, I could give one of them to you. The Evil God Abak ran off after leaving a Divine Spark piece. He didnt leave it voluntarily. Under normal circumstances, the Divine Spark would fall apart after a god died. If a god was killed again when they didnt have any pieces of Divine Spark, the god would die. Since this Divine Spark was a broken piece in the first place, it had been dropped, and Abak returned to the Astral Plane with the Divine Spark of jealousy. If Roland had killed Abak twice, naturally two pieces wouldve dropped. That was why Roland said that it was too bad. Futi shook her head and said with a smile. Without you, I wouldve been killed by the Evil God and the white dragons. I barely made any contribution. In her opinion, she didnt contribute at all. The two white dragons were almost killed by the explosion spell, and she finished them off as easily as eating a piece of cake. She didnt help fight the Evil God either. She knew very well that she wasnt of much help in the battle just now. It wouldve ended the same without her. Acquiring the bodies of the two dragons, Roland wasnt satisfied. He dug down in the forest and found the deeply-buried dragon bones. He then transferred them to the floating city again. Roland had a strong sense of achievement when he looked at the blackened dragon bodies and a dragon skeleton. They all meant money. Then, he flew back to the Fareins Kingdom on the floating city and asked the architects and sculptors to continue their work on the floating city. Stephanie went up to the city too. She wanted to check how the palace that belonged to her and Roland was being built. Then, she saw two dragon bodies and a skeleton. She was so excited that she shook Rolands arm quickly. I want a dragon body! I want one! All right! Roland accepted her request without hesitation. For Roland, he could get as many dragon bodies as needed by hunting the five-colored dragons. However, they were rare goods for Stephanie. The dragon scales could be made into armor, the dragon meat could be made into reagents, the bones could be crafted into weapons. They could all increase the royal familys strength and indirectly strengthen Fareins. She didnt know much before she became the queen, but after running the country for a year, she realized how many problems Fareins were faced with both at home and abroad. No wonder her father gave away the crown so promptly. Stephanie was secretly quite angry, as her father had put her in trouble. Good thing that her man was very tough. Earlier, he had flown the floating city to the capital and intimidated whoever clandestinely opposed her. At this moment, he got three dragon bodies. Instead of asking for all of them, she only needed one. The dragon body could be used in negotiations, compromises, threats, or other things. It could help her stabilize the situation and take care of the problems that the kingdom was faced with. Soon, night came. Roland spent the night in the palace, and the queen catered to his needs gently. He would stay in the capital of Fareins for the time being. After all, it wasnt convenient for the architects to do their job when the floating city was flying. In reality, Roland led his team to work on experiments on magic power attraction again. He made a lot of progress. Of the three experiment subjects, two could already cast Hands of Magic. Or rather, it would be more suitable to call them Hands of Babies. They were very small and weak and could barely hold a bottle steadily. However, everybody in the base was excited to hear the news. Someone else apart from Roland could cast a spell, which meant that the special ability could be copied and learned. Therefore, more resources were invested in his team. When Roland was going to recruit and test more subjects for the experiment, he received a call. It was from the outside world. This was a secret base and any calls would be vetted again and again. The fact that he received the call meant that it was truly important. Roland picked up his phone and found that it was from Schuck. He put it through and said with a smile, Its been a while. Why are you in the mood for calling me today? Have you solved your problem in the game? After a brief silence, Schuck said, Betta is dead. Who killed him? Someone dared to kill one of F6? asked Roland with a smile. Lets all gather together and beat them up tonight. Ill fly the floating city to support him. A soft sigh came from the other side of the phone. Let me make myself clearer. Not the game character Betta, but Liang Lidong is dead. My cousin is dead. Roland was stunned. After a moment of silence, he asked in a low voice, Youre not joking, are you?. Schucks hoarse and crying voice came from the phone. Im not. Hes in the morgue now and will be cremated the day after tomorrow. Do you have time for his wake? Sure, Ill ask for leave. Okay, be back soon. Roland hung up the phone and went to the director to ask for leave. The director gave him permission without asking why and then said, Dont use teleportation. If you trigger special energy, you may be detected by special equipment in some countries. Also, ask two bodyguards to come with you when you go back. Thats unnecessary. Nobody can hurt me under normal circumstances. I know, but thats the rule, explained the director. All important personnel must be protected by two bodyguards when theyre out. Its a matter of attitude. Got it? Roland nodded. Then, he packed up at his dormitory. The moment he came out, he saw two expressionless, plain-looking young men outside of the door. Sir, well be responsible for your safety during your trip. Roland nodded and said, Thank you, lets go. It took him half an hour to pass all the checkpoints in the base before he finally came out of a certain cave on a green Jeep. Then, he reached an airport after a three-hour drive on the highway. He flew to the capital of the province and then took a bus to his hometown. After that, he called Schuck and they met at the cold drink shop. The bodyguards stood outside of the shop. Schuck had dark eye bags and looked grieved. Roland sat down across the table and cut to the chase. What happened to Betta? Take a look for yourself. Schuck played a video. In the video, Betta was waiting at a bus stop with a lot of bags. He seemed to have just finished his shopping in a supermarket. Next to him was a mother and a daughter who was probably only five years old. After a while, Betta suddenly threw away all his bags and dashed forward. Then, he ran back quickly, seized the little girl, and pushed her away. After that, a truck appeared in the video and knocked Betta and the young mother away at the same time. The truck then disappeared. The image shook at this moment, indicating that the camera was influenced by the hit. It was not hard to imagine how fast the truck was and how powerful the impact was. Roland turned off the video and massaged his temples. He had a strong headache. Betta didnt grow up with F6 like Schuck did, but they had played the game together for more than seven years and often met in this place. They were already the best of friends. F6 was even considering changing their name into F7. However, the man was gone all of a sudden. The girl was saved. She only had some bruises, said Schuck, sobbing. After Betta and the mother were hit, they were stuck to the front of the truck and then hit the thick cement wall of a mall nearby at more than 80 kph. Both of them were squished and couldnt even be separated anymore. Hearing such miserable news, Roland subconsciously clenched and loosened his hands again and again. How are Uncle and Aunt Liang? Schuck shook his head. Betta was their only son. My uncle and aunt passed out the moment they heard the news. My uncle is awake now, but nobody dares to let him see my cousin, fearing that he will be devastated again. My aunt is still unconscious in the hospital with signs of cerebral hemorrhage. You mentioned that your cousin is in the morgue? Schuck nodded. Can I see him? Lets go there together. As it happens, I have to sign a lot of paperwork for my uncle. Both of them and the bodyguards got in a car behind the shop. They were silent on the way. Schuck didnt ask who the bodyguards were. He didnt ask anything. After reaching the hospital, he showed his token and went to the morgue. Two workers in the morgue, wearing gloves and masks, were trying to separate Betta from the young mother. Roland watched them for a while and closed his eyes painfully. How could they be separated when they were squeezed as thin as paper? There were also several other family members who were weeping at the bodies. Almost all the females had turned their heads and didnt bear watching them. Two old men and a young man were wailing at the broken pieces of meat on the stretchers. The more Roland looked, the sadder he became. He was about to turn around to calm down, when he saw some feeble spatial magic waves on whatever was left of Betta in surprise. The tiny traces of magic waves were fading away. Who else in this world could use spatial magic except himself? At this moment, Schuck came close with red eyes. You can go now. Only the families should stay here for what will happen. Roland looked at him. Can you handle this on your own? Let me stay and help. Dont underestimate me. Im a cleric anyway. Schuck put on a miserable smile. Thinking for a moment, Roland left the morgue. After leaving the hospital, he rode a bike to where Betta had the accident. His bodyguards followed him on bikes too. He knew the city where he grew up so well that he recognized the place of the accident the moment he saw the video. At the location, Roland observed the bus stop for a while but didnt see anything. He then walked to the cement wall nearby. There was half a broken cordon here, and the truck was gone. The traffic police mustve taken care of everything. There was a huge dent on the front of the wall. At the center of the dent were large, dark red blood stains. A lot of water and foam could be found on the ground. The blood wasnt completely cleaned despite all efforts. Some blood had seeped into the wall. The passersby seemed to know of the accident and all subconsciously kept a distance from the wall. Roland was the only one who approached it voluntarily, because he saw something incredible. It was a magic portal that was about to close. The portal emitted a magnificent air of divinity. He was the only person who could see it. The ordinary people who passed by the portal showed no reaction. The portal was only the size of a fist. He couldnt possibly squeeze in. Also, it seemed to be closing. He hurriedly condensed a pair of magic coordinates with mental power and threw them into the portal. The portal was soon closed after that. At the same time, he lost touch with the magic coordinates. Who created the magic portal? Where did it lead to? There seemed to be a lot of secrets on Earth. Many thoughts rolled in Rolands head. Then, he discovered a tiny ball of light at the edge of the wall. It was only the size of a thumb and quite inconspicuous, so Roland neglected it earlier. Was it a soul? It even seemed to belong to a woman? It was vanishing? Roland leaned close and thought for a moment. He then grabbed the tiny ball of light and put it in his head. Chapter 763 - Is That So? Chapter 763 Is That So? This little ball of light was the fragile soul of the young mother. No consciousness, no intelligence, just a mass of energy with a fear for her daughters safety. Even if Roland didnt touch her, she would be completely gone in an hour or two. After all, there was no paradise for souls to exist in this world, and no soul would be destined to last. Perhaps there was, but Roland didnt find it. So Roland didnt have any psychological burden in sucking her into his soul. This young mothers soul was too tiny compared to Rolands, and as soon as it entered Rolands head, it was dissolved into countless pieces by his huge soul. Many thought fragments unfolded in Rolands consciousness. Most of the memories he saw were recent. After all, memories were all the more clear the more recent they were. Searching through all the memories, Roland soon found images of the young mother after her accident. In her souls vision, a ball of light similar in appearance to her own existed right next to her. But this ball of light was much larger and brighter than she was. She had an instinct to get closer. But then two figures suddenly appeared, one white and one gold, both emitting an intense light, and it was impossible to see what they looked like. One of them, the white one, even reached out and smacked the little ball of light to the side. Then they took the large ball of light with them and disappeared after flying into a strange light gate. After reading this memory, Roland opened his eyes. His body shook slightly. A bodyguard next to him came up and asked in a whisper, Boss, is everything all right? It was a custom within the system to address leaders as boss when they were outside, and when they were conducting some confidential missions or when they were out and about and needed to keep their identities secret, they would go along with the general trend of addressing leaders as boss to distinguish between subordinates and superiors. It was more confidential this way, after all, the whole world used the word. It was more confidential than something like Director Huang or Chief Huang. Roland waved his hand and said thank you before pedaling home with his bike, while the two bodyguards followed him. His parents were naturally happy to see him back. But they had also heard about Betta; after all, Betta had visited with the other friends over the years, and the old couple knew him. The old couple was also saddened to know that Betta had died so tragically. Roland helped arrange the two bodyguards to sleep in the guest room. He then went back to his room. As he lay in bed, he kept thinking about where that spatial door led, and whether Bettas soul had been sent away. Is Betta alive somewhere else? Such a jumble of things went round and round in his mind that after two hours he drifted off to sleep. After a nights sleep, Roland followed the car to the crematorium according to the phone number given by Schuck. Although burial was no longer allowed in the south of the country, a temporary funeral hall was set up and a funeral master was invited to recite the sutra. Many people came to the funeral hall. The dead young mothers side also sent a few representatives over; after all, Betta had died to save the little girl. Otherwise, he would have escaped. Those oddly dressed, neither Taoist nor monk, funeral masters began to jump and dance while blowing suona and knocking wooden fish. Also, they sang the traditional rituals of the parting of the dead and the living. After nearly three hours or so of the ceremony, Bettas fathers hair had gone almost all white overnight and his mother was still unconscious in the hospital. All their friends and relatives knew that the family was lost. The old couple would be as good as dead. The tragedy of a family bereaved of its only child wasnt something that outsiders could even imagine. The F6 friends were all here, and looking at the funeral photo of Betta in the funeral hall, Husseret and Raffel who were more emotional cried out on the spot. Roland also felt a lump in his throat and a tight feeling in his chest. After staying at home for two more days, Roland then returned to the base. Now that Andonara felt secure enough, Rolands disappearance for a short time was no longer a problem for her. Roland had thought that this was the end of the matter with Betta, but he hadnt expected that things would be so troublesome. He hid in the floating city to experiment with magic. The master builders gave priority to building his lab. After not even half a month of quiet, Schuck pinged him in the guild chat. Schuck: Roland, theres trouble in Wetland City, go over and help stabilize the situation. Ill be right behind you. Li Lin and the others have already rushed over. Once Roland saw this, he knew that something was probably wrong. He immediately fired up the floating city and spent a little more than half a day flying to the wetlands. At this time, the mayors residence was a mess. Most of the staff were hiding away while two groups were facing off in the city hall. Roland soon found that on one side was Li Lin and the others, while on the other side was a small group formed by several famous livestreamers, led by Charles, the chairman of Cornucopia. Li Lin pointed at Charless nose and shouted, This is Bettas territory, what is Cornucopia doing running in here? I repeat, get out. With Betta dead, then naturally Wetland City is ownerless. Whats wrong with those who are capable of taking over? Charles smiled, then looked at the livestreamers and said, Those of you who are watching the livestream, isnt that right? This Wetland City, its true that Betta built it first, but its the result of all of us players working together to make it as prosperous as it is now. Thats no reason why Cornucopia can become the ruler. When did it become an unscrupulous organization like Cornucopias turn? There is no such thing as unscrupulous business, there are only rules, Charles said indifferently. Whether or not we Cornucopia are qualified aside, are you qualified? Where were you all when we were building Wetland City, on the belly of a woman or fooling around in some brothel? Li Lin and the others faces turned ashen. It was no secret now that the priestesses of the Church of Love could help players level up. Being the first to discover this secret, they naturally took advantage of it. Now there werent enough priestesses in the Church of Love to go around There were too many male players. The livestream was full of snickering. Although many netizens yearned for nude parties, in most cases, especially in public situations, this was still scorned. Looking at Li Lin and the others who could not say anything, Charles, who had already taken the moral high ground, said with a smile, So, Wetland City is everyones city, and it is right that everyone should decide who the next mayor is. I dont think so. Roland walked up. Seeing Roland, Charles didnt show any special expression, but rather, Rolands appearance was completely expected. The fact that F6 was very united was well known to all guild chairmen. Oh, the number one elite in the entire server is here. Do you think that you should be the mayor of this Wetland City? Charles was taunting and provoking. Several livestreamers even made sarcastic remarks. As the number one elite in the entire server, its normal to be a little greedy. Nothing wrong with taking your brothers heritage. I heard that there are two beautiful maids hidden in Bettas room. I guess Roland will also put them all together too. Doesnt he like married women the most, haha. There was also a frenzy among the pop-ups, having an opinion against Roland, and things seemed to be going badly. But it was a silent majority; the people who supported Roland werent speaking, waiting for Roland to retort. Now those who were spamming comments were just paid commenters. The mayor of Wetland City is certainly not me, because according to the law of inheritance, Bettas legal wife and parents are eligible to inherit his legacy and position. And it certainly cant be you, Charles. Once this was said, the comments subsided for a while, and then it was comments like it makes sense and it should indeed be so that covered the screen of several livestream rooms. Charless cheeks twitched as he said coldly, A games a game, what business is it of reality. Ive never heard that family members can inherit from a game account. Thats your ignorance; inheritance of virtual information property, such as online games, has long been written into the law. Charles frowned. Roland was strong, Schuck was strong, and F6, in general, was ridiculously strong. But why would he want to get some say in Wetland City even at the risk of offending the strongest guild? The reason was simple: money incited people. Wetland City was now a gathering place for players, and the output and circulation of assets here were growing at an extremely fast rate. Before, when Beta was still around, there didnt seem to be much tax revenue, and that was because Betta had been putting it back into the construction of Wetland City. Infrastructure, roads, army expenses, and so on were all the main expenses. But now, the foundation had been laid, and it was ready to be taken over. All that was left was to fix some of the places that could be improved and then one could lie down and collect money. Charles had calculated that with the taxes in Wetland City, three or four thousand gold coins a year wouldnt be a problem, and that was after accounting for necessary expenses. In other words, it was equivalent to sixty or seventy million RMB. Of course, someone couldnt exchange that much money year after year in the game, but this didnt mean that the game wouldnt be publicly available in the future. In the future, the number of people in the game might be five million, or even fifty million then there would be more tycoons and it would be easier to exchange for money. And at that time, Wetland City would have grown even more. The economic system of this game was very realistic. The amount of gold was limited. This was a real world. There was paper money, no coins, and almost no inflation. This was the reason Charles wanted to fight for control and would risk offending F6 after he knew that Betta had died. He planned to mobilize public opinion and work with the netizens to make Wetland City public property, then occupy a small piece of the pie first before slowly eroding it and secretly mobilizing public opinion to make what was public his own. This was something that the people around him were quite good at. Except he hadnt expected that Roland would just throw out the phrase: inheritance. This was like a lethal weapon. In one fell swoop, the moral high ground he had just taken was destroyed. Charles pursed his lips and looked at Roland with considerable irritation. It was a while before he said, Bettas parents, do they know how to play this game? Whether they know how to play or not, that is also their business, and not something you, Charles, should consider. Roland slowly walked into the city hall. Here, he also saw an acquaintance. Gerton Zell. A half-elf, the chief of Bettas Knights of the Round Table. Roland ignored Charles, walked over, and asked, Gerton, what are your plans? Is it true that Master died? Died in your world of the Golden Sons? Gerton asked. Roland nodded in silence. Gerton looked at the back of his hand, where there had been a silver sword-shaped crest, and now it was gone as if it had never been there. Then I must leave. Gerton looked around at the crowd with a miserable smile. A Wetland City without Master is not worth my stay. Roland sighed and asked, Where are the other members of the Knights of the Round Table? One by one, they have already finished leaving. Gerton sighed and said, In fact, we have already understood that something happened to Master. I just wanted to be here, waiting for you guys to give a real and definite answer. Alas, why are all good people so short-lived? Roland didnt know how to respond. At that moment, a maid rushed down from the upstairs, and as she ran, she screamed, No, somethings wrong! Lisa, she Lisa, she Whats the matter? asked Roland, walking up to her urgently. She is sleeping in her bed, so much blood So much The maidservant was pale and incoherent. What floor is she on? Roland asked in a hurry. The third floor. Roland immediately rushed up, and Gerton ran after him. Charles and several livestreamers looked at each other and also chased after them. When he reached the third floor, Roland immediately caught a strong smell of rust and ran to a room following the scent, opening it to find a woman lying on her back with a dagger in her chest. The blood had flowed almost all over the bed. It was all sticky and black, so it had been some time since the accident. Roland sensed the womans mental power for a moment, then shook his head. She was dead! There were no more mental fluctuations; it was more accurate than an electroencephalogram. Charles and the others rushed in then livestreamers gathered around the bed for a shoot. Gerton said, feeling a sense of loss, I guess she would be the one who was the most upset when Master died. After all, she followed the Master for almost eight years, served him closely, and admired him with her heart and soul. Its not surprising she committed suicide. Roland looked at the womans face again and found that she was about in her early twenties, not very good-looking, but the more he looked at her, the more familiar she seemed, and then the memories of her surfaced. This maidservant was the dying girl he saved in the cave when he and Betta went to Delpon. After that, she became Bettas maidservant, and unexpectedly, she followed him all the way here, without leaving him, and even followed him when he died. Could it be a murder? Charles whispered. The woman seems to be close to Betta and may have an inheritance, so maybe some people saw her as an eyesore and killed her, faking the scene. At that moment, Gerton suddenly said, If theres a killer, its you. Just half an hour ago, you were down there talking to the others about the Master being dead and reestablishing a new administrative system, and Ms. Lisa didnt believe you and argued with you. You kept yelling at her that the Master was deaddead for surebefore she left dejectedly. Charless body stiffened. A few livestreamers were also full of embarrassment. At this time, the comments in the livestream were dense and crazy. Roland reached out, gripped Charless shoulder, and calmly asked, Is that so? Chapter 764 - The Greatest Advantage of Canines Chapter 764 The Greatest Advantage of Canines Held down by Roland with one hand, Charles couldnt break free at all. First of all, Roland was at the Legendary level, and already level sixteen, even if the Mages physical growth was relatively lower, the Constitution wasnt bad as long as the level was high enough. For example, Roland could now simply use brute force alone to pummel a level three high constitution growth Warrior without using magic. Charless occupation was merchant, a casual occupation. This professions main attribute was Charm, and with his level only being eleven, he naturally couldnt break free from Rolands grip. He struggled hard a few times, his face turning red without being able to break himself from Rolands clutches. And it was in plain sight. He immediately felt a bit embarrassed! Let go! He looked extremely irritated. Im asking you, is what Gerton said true? Roland asked again. I told you to let go, Charles roared. You are so uncultured. At this moment, he could already imagine the sarcastic comments about him in the livestream room. Something about being weak and not even being able to counter a Mages grip. Wrong answer. Roland smiled as light blue lightning instantly enveloped Charles! Instant cast Thunder Palm! First Charles had a shock in his eyes, then his whole body trembled as if all his cells had been fitted with a small motor running at full power. His hands were shaking so fast that there were afterimages. Then after two seconds, his body rapidly dehydrated and soon fell to the ground as a charred, dried corpse. Straight-up murder! PK between players was not surprising, and it wasnt like they couldnt be revived. However, Charles was the chairman of Cornucopia, and now Cornucopia, with the cooperation of the Hollevin royal family, had expanded its power quite a bit. It was one of the top five guilds in the entire server, holding a large number of resources, and could be said to be quite influential. However, Roland electrified him straight away. In the presence of countless internet users. Then a huge wave of people in the pop-ups started spamming that Roland was bullying people with his power, but seconds later, a flood of Nice kill or If Roland killing people is bullying people with his power, then is it justice when Charles yells at a maidservant? and such counter comments were made. Among the few livestreamers, two were from Cornucopia. One of them jumped straight up and shouted, You actually killed someone at the drop of a hat, arent you afraid of the red name? So uncultured, shame on you! Oftentimes, being cultured was a cure-all for accusing others, and once it was out, it was as if one could take the moral high ground. Whats there to be afraid of, Roland said indifferently. Killing a player and becoming red-named, at worst its just dying once from being besieged. Someone like Charles, who bullies orphans and widows and drives people to their death, is indeed very cultured. If this is the culture of Cornucopia, then Id rather not be associated with such culture. He said this to the bashful man who had jumped up and shouted. Roland looked at those livestreamers and added, Wetland City is Bettas heart and soul. Whether its his relatives inheritance or otherwise, its not something that a trash guild like Cornucopia can get its hands on. I will say this now: if Charles brings people to rob the rights to Wetland City, Ill kill them once I see them. After speaking, Roland sat down directly in the city hall and asked Gerton, With the Knights of the Round Table gone, how many vacancies need to be filled before the city hall is up and running again? It must be around two hundred at least, Gerton said helplessly. Many of the key positions Master has placed are for the Knights of the Round Table. Who else in the city hall now knows more about the functional operation process? I, Mr. Roland. Hello, I am a commoner, Dacnus. A young man who was a native stepped forward. I have previously been serving as the clerk of Mayor Betta, helping him with the delivery of almost all orders and messages, so I have a better understanding of the plans and patterns of the entire Wetland City. Then a temporary position of deputy mayor will be created and you will be assigned its place. Now start recruiting people immediately. It doesnt matter if they arent capable enough, the institutional functions of the Wetland City must be made to work again first. The youth responded excitedly, Yes, Mr. Roland. What a lofty mouth. He gave a direct order, treating himself as the mayor. Another livestreamer of Cornucopia snorted and started to lead the narrative. On what basis, just because youre high-level? Just with the floating city in the sky. Roland sat down casually before turning to them. For now, Wetland City is under the temporary management of F6. How it is handled after that will depend on whether Bettas parents want the place or not. If they dont want it or dont want to dispose of it, things will be discussed separately. Tsk, to put it bluntly, its still overwhelming people with power. Will that convince anyone? Not many players will agree with you on that, the livestreamer continued to shout. Whats wrong with me oppressing people with my power now? Why do I need other peoples consent? Roland looked at him and calmly said, If you talk any more, I will go and turn Cornucopia into a crater right now. It was never Cornucopias right to interfere in the affairs of Wetland City. That livestreamer was so agitated by Roland that his brain filled with blood and he was about to retort but was pulled away by another livestreamer. They didnt dare to gamble. It was already humiliating enough that their chairman was directly killed. If their base was blown up, they would become the laughing stock of others for a long time. After the livestreamers left, Li Lin and the others came over and asked, What now? Stay, wait for Schuck to come; he is Bettas cousin and has some say and authority. Roland stood up and said to the maidservants next to him, Also, bury Lisa, right in the backyard of the mayors residenceIm sure shell be happy. The maidservants left, and two of them who were close to Lisa even wiped tears from their eyes. After that, Roland sat in the city hall the whole time. Roland was the strongest in the entire server, and there was a terrifying floating city hanging in the air to deter the rascals. None of the residents of the game world, even the ambitious ones, dared to act rashly, and the several lords of the surrounding territories, who had some friction with Betta before, didnt dare to act rashly either. And while the players were staying put, for now, there was a lot of discussion about it in the forums. There were three factions: the anti-Roland faction, the neutral faction, and the pro-Roland faction. All of them were flaming each other. The anti-Roland faction was saying that Roland was not a successor and wasnt qualified to oversee Wetland City. Besides, Roland already had the floating city and Delpon, and now if he took Wetland City, he alone would possess the vast majority of player interests. It was simply that less than one in ten thousand people accounted for more than eighty percent of the overall wealth of players. This was a classic distribution injustice and should be overthrown. The game couldnt be played like this. It was too cruel and too realistic. These paid commenters who were leading the narrative even pinged the administrator of the official forum to come out and do justice. But the game producers simply ignored the matter and just released an announcement to get over it. The development team is not in favor of exchanging virtual currency with real currency, and all transactions between players are the results of their own choices. The development team has no right to interfere or manage this. The statement that one player accounts for 80% of the total wealth of the players does not hold. In the opinion of the development team, all data in the game is just node signals and have no real value, and we kindly ask all players to refrain from trading virtual currency. The development team is not responsible for disputes and consequences of offline transactions. To put it bluntly, the game producers couldnt care about their strife. At this point, the morale of the anti-Roland faction was greatly damaged. The pro-Roland faction, needless to say, believed that Roland did a good job of guarding Bettas estate and waiting for Bettas parents to take it over, which was a good end in itself. As for the neutral faction, they thought it didnt matter who was the mayor, as long as Wetland City would be safe from chaos. That being said, they thought Roland was doing a good job, at least for now, of stabilizing the security and business environment in Wetland City. So in reality, they were also slightly biased toward Roland. In the following ten days, Roland stayed in the city hall and did not leave. The former clerk, now the deputy mayor Dacnus, did a really good job. He quickly recruited enough people to run the entire citys functional organizations, and although the efficiency was much worse than before, the governmental functions were at least running. Besides, the newly recruited staff were all new to the job and it was normal for them to be rusty in business, so given a little time to train, they would probably be able to adapt. On the other side, Charles invited many large and medium-sized guilds, as well as famous livestreamers, to a meeting in their base. Seventeen people gathered around a large table, either sitting or standing. With a gloomy face, Charles said, Wetland City, we have to gnaw down a piece of it. I received inside information that open beta will soon start, and the first batch of virtual cabins then will be two million units. With so many people coming in, Wetland City, as the main city for us players, will have to expand. You should be able to clearly understand how big the interests are. Its big for sure, but you have to be able to get it. The former chairman of the Church of Garland sighed and said, Roland is now boldly sitting in the city hall, and with the floating city right overhead, who dares to fight against him? We cant do anything about Roland in the game, but cant we do something in reality? Youre all well-connected, just find Roland in reality, a guild chairman suggested. Charles said in exasperation, Heres the trouble; the games official information is pretty well kept secret and we cant even get our hands on it. Then how do you know that Betta died in reality? Guessed. Charles explained, Betta is a Divine Nobe, able to contract a large number of Knights of the Round Table for his use. All the Knights of the Round Table will have a crest on the back of their hands, representing their identity. Some time ago, I was talking about weapons business with a dwarf Knight of the Round table when I saw the crest on the back of his hand disappear, while the dwarf showed a rather horrified expression. Later, I looked up the information on Divine Nobles and combined with the fact that Betta had not been online for ten days, I ventured to guess that he had died in reality. I didnt expect that I hit the nail on the head. A certain Warrior guild chairman sitting to the right laughed. Unfortunately, you only guessed the beginning, not the end, and were trying to seize power when Roland came. Charless expression was sour. He had now dropped to level ten, almost level nine. It was not easy for merchants to level up, and Roland had gotten him killed once, directly scrapping nearly half a year of his efforts. Since we cant set our hands on the city hall, why not try to hold the military power of Wetland City in our hands first? someone suggested. The Knights of the Round Table are gone, and now the army of Wetland City should be leaderless. As long as we hold the army, we have the right to speak. Roland dares to kill players because killing players will only make him red-named, which can be rid of online, but killing NPCs is different; turning into a black leaf, even Roland cant bear that. He wouldnt dare act recklessly. Charles didnt want to talk at this point. The man who made the suggestion looked at Charles in confusion. At this moment, someone explained, Although the Knights of the Round Table did disband, the Frostwolf Clan now holds the military power in Wetland City. Whats going on? Didnt the Frostwolf Clan just move into Wetland City less than a year ago? How did they earn such influence in the army so quickly? We players arent even that good! Charles couldnt help but explain, Betta hired the Frostwolf Clans elites to be stationed in the army as instructors more than half a year ago. One Frostwolf Clan instructor for every hundred soldiers. With that said, most people got the point. The strong were extremely admired in the military. The Frostwolf Clan were all Master elites, and most of them were straightforward and dignified, very much in line with the militarys style, and the young soldiers considerably admired these Frostwolf Clan instructors. For the low-rank soldiers, the instructors word was sometimes worth more than their superiors. Someone who didnt quite understand the cause and effect continued to ask, Then cant we buy off the Frostwolf Clan? I heard that they are relatively poor. It is difficult. The Frostwolf Clan is quite united within. They usually listen to the clan leader, but more often than not, only listen to the Winterwolf Holy Lady The Winterwolf Holy Lady goes in and out of the manor Roland has set up here every day, it is obvious that they have an affair. How do you bribe them? said the Church of Garlands chairman admiringly. So that is why people like Roland deserve to be the strongest Mage. Look at this advanced planning, blocking almost all the paths that we can think of. The title of the strongest in the whole server is well deserved. Theres only ever a mistaken name but never a mistaken title. The person who spoke just now was still undeterred. We can find a way to bribe the Winterwolf Holy Lady. Find a handsome Bard to seduce her, or promise her lots of money. Shes bound to have a weakness, right? Charles chortled rather dismissively, but he wasnt aiming it at anyone; the sneer was aimed at himself. I tried to bribe her and find someone to seduce the Winterwolf Holy lady over half a year ago, but none of it workednot even the slightest hope. That cant be right. All humans have desires and weaknesses. But the Winterwolf Holy Lady is not a human being, she is a snow wolf, Charles said with slight envy. What is the biggest advantage of canines? A good sense of smell? Its loyalty. Loyalty to the clan and their mates. A continuous exclamation of admiration and envy resounded through the attendees. The Winterwolf Holy Lady often walked around the city, so many of her photos were put on the forum. The beautiful girl with snowy hair, canine ears, big breasts, and long legs, so pure and alluring, jabbed at many peoples fetishes. Especially those who loved races other than humans. In ten men, there were at least eight who were such, and the other two were in the process of awakening So theres nothing we can do at all? someone finally asked this question. The meeting room fell silent all of a sudden. Charles thought about it and said, Were not completely out of solutions. We can lobby the Hollevin royal family to re-confer the ownership of Wetland City, and also, try to drive a wedge between Roland and Schuck, or even the members of F6. Chapter 765 - Does It Need Your Recognition? If Rolands floating city overseeing Wetland City could make peoples hearts fearful, but not yet make them lose their ability to resist Then Schucks appearance was the last straw that broke the camels back. The huge red dragon flew outside the city. Compared to before, Margret was more than a size larger and looked more intimidating. It wasnt much that there was a red dragon, but after this red dragon appeared, a silver dragon suddenly flew down from above the floating city. It was much larger than the red dragon, and the two dragons hovered in the air and roared at each other for a long time, then separated again. The red dragon landed in the wild, while the silver dragon returned to the floating city above. Almost everyone in the city saw the two dragons hovering. The NPCs of the game world were naturally terrified. Since ancient times, both lawful metal dragons and five-colored dragons represented natural disasters for them. Two dragons fighting each other and spitting random meteors down would be no different from world-ending fire for ordinary people. They were dead if they touched it anyway. So the NPCs looked at the two dragons roaring around in the air, afraid that they would fight. The reaction of the players, on the other hand, was much more interesting. Many restless people stopped certain thoughts, and in the forums, the discussion about the dragons had grown more and more. Begging for Rolands contact information, I want a dragon to ride too. There were a lot of replies to the post. Actually, Id like to as well, but how do you know Rolands silver dragon is also a female? Look at the exterior form, that slim streamlined shape. At a glance, its a female. The male dragons are much bulkier. Damn, why are all F6s members becoming dragon riders? Do they have some kind of trick? Schuck is simply handsome. He probably doesnt have any tricks. I reckon Roland does. Roland has, my a**. Hes just strong and has a floating city, and when converted into land, how much money do you think he has? Not to mention the dragons, even goddesses would be moved by Roland. Oh sh**, I think you make a good point. But we could try asking Roland and Schuck where else there are female dragons that can take human form, no matter how few there are. You perverts, you cant get enough of cat people, dog people, and succubi just around the corner, and now youre hitting on dragons? Then again, whether its the cat people, dog people, or a succubus, they all seem to be a perk that Roland brought us. Well indeed. When I think of it that way, Roland is really a great guy. Ive decided that as long as Roland doesnt take things too far in the future, Ill always support him. Thats true the equality contract was made by him. I love the succubus at home so much. It was Roland who gave me love. Ive also decided to support him in the future. To hell with Cornucopia. Ditto. Ditto. The original post was to ask how to get Roland to teach people how to contact the dragon girls, but it turned out to be a big supporter party in the end. Some people tried to change the narrative but couldnt do so at all. Seeing one floating city and two dragons, the vast majority of the players had given up the idea of toppling F6. But in the end, some were still undeterred, and hired paid commenters to spam posts; however, ONeal, the deputy chairman of the players Association of Mages then made a post. Between Roland and Cornucopia, Im on Rolands side. The post read something like this: Wetlands City was Bettas, he was an F6 member himself, and his growth must have had a lot to do with everyone in F6 helping each other out. Maybe F6 had a lot to do with him getting Wetland City. That aside, Id still prefer Roland, or someone from F6, to be the mayor of the city if we really want someone else to take over Wetland City. The reason is simple. From the start of the game until now, we Mages have been helped greatly by Roland, and Roland has also provided a lot of convenience and benefits to everyone, even the extremely convenient teleportation array right now, as far as I know, is actually Rolands work, not to mention everyones nonhuman wife. And what did Cornucopia do? Push up prices? Hoard materials? I still especially remember the ugly face Cornucopia showed when they monopolized a large number of magic materials in Hollevin a few years ago. At that time, how much did a basic Healing scroll cost? How many times did it go up? They also later tried to monopolize the equipment industry. All the same, Roland beat them down. Who can guarantee that these back-buying capitalists wont take things too far when they become the rulers of Wetland City? Weve all studied ideology and politics and know exactly what the capitalists will look like once they gain power! Thats why I support Roland. This post got a lot of peoples approval. After all, Cornucopia did do some pretty disgraceful things in previous years. The Internet has a memory, not to mention that at that time, Cornucopia did slightly touch the wallets of most players. Although it wasnt much pain, it would still leave a shallow scar on those ordinary players. Normally it would fade away, but when they unconsciously saw the scar, it would still bring things back to mind. ONeal had a pretty good reputation among players and his posts resonated with many. Indeed, Roland at least knew how to help and give back to ordinary players, but what did Cornucopia do? It turned out that on the forum, public opinion leaned toward Roland, and ONeals heartfelt message pushed the players toward Rolands side even more. Charles was in his quarters and saw this post on the forum. He got so angry that he slapped the table so hard and furiously that the whole house snapped. F**k, whats this son of a b**** ONeal doing, getting involved? Have I ever offended him before? You sold him magic materials he needed urgently at two or three times the market price a few times. A man next to him recalled the matter for Charles. Holy sh**! Charles couldnt help but curse. Thats a legitimate business practice, a free-market choice. A strange smile crossed the lips of almost everyone next to him. Although the people in this room were all in cahoots, all of them understood the nature of things. They were targeting Roland because they were on the same page, not because they were stupidwho didnt know what Cornucopia truly looked like? Looking around at the odd smiles of those around him, Charles knew he had just lost his temper. He quickly calmed down and said, ONeals post did create some problems for us, but now Ive got people spreading rumors about F6, so lets hope it works. I dont think itll do much. Someone shook his head and said, F6 is a super small guild, and such a guild has an advantage that a large guild does not have, and that is theyre super cohesive. Its hard and difficult to drive a wedge between the members. Its better than doing nothing, isnt it? said Charles, hatefully. It is a matter of ones effort, and as long as theres a glimmer of hope, we should always put up a fight. Or are we just going to watch Roland take all the goodies? There was some silence from the crowd. Wetland City was already a hen that could produce gold eggs. When the game was in open beta, and hundreds of thousands or even millions of players flooded in, everyone could imagine how huge the interest would be. So, as long as there was a glimmer of hope, theyd want to pry a piece of meat out to eat. By the way, didnt you say that you were going to contact the royal family of Hollevin and ask them to re-confer the ownership of Wetland City? someone suddenly asked. According to the close relationship between Cornucopia and the royal family, it should be possible, right? Charless face darkened at once. It didnt work out. That Antis of the royal family actually said to have me get a floating city too, otherwise, they wouldnt dare Those cowards. No wonder they didnt even dare to let out a fart when Roland snatched the queen. If I had known they were so wimpy, I would have gone to snatch the queen back then. There were lamentations in the room. They knew she was priceless. Besides, just because Roland could pull it off didnt mean Charles would be able to. There was a big difference between people. No one spoke again, but the group in the room was diverging in their thoughts. In the meanwhile, Roland saw Schuck and sighed in relief. Youre finally here. Any ideas yet? Schuck pulled over a player who looked to be in a trance next to him, a newcomer to the game at a glance, and said, Roland, this is my uncles account. Hmm? Schuck came over and explained, A while ago, I took some time to unbind my cousins virtual cabin and to carry out the inheritance of his belongings. Now Bettas virtual cabin is used by my uncle. Roland understood and went over and politely called out, Uncle Liang. Uncle Liang nodded to Roland as he looked slowly from side to side for a moment before asking, This place, is it what that child Lidong spent a few years building? Not only here, said Schuck slowly, the whole city is Uncle, come with me. He led Uncle Liang toward the mayors mansion, and Roland followed behind. The three arrived at the top observation deck of the mayors mansion where the entire Wetland City could be seen. The huge Wetland City, with its staggered streets, thickly packed crowds, and the indistinctly visible city walls in the distance. The whole city was full of energy. This city was built slowly by Betta, who spent almost five years, little by little, starting from nothing, toiling and begging for help everywhere. Schuck had some tears in his eyes. He put almost all his heart into this city. To Betta, this city is his child. Uncle Liang looked at the huge city, its style so different from the real world that it was full of absurdity and unreality. But the thought that the city was the brainchild that his only son had spent several years building, vaguely, a feeling of familiarity and closeness was born in his heart. It was as if by looking at the city, he could reconnect in blood with his deceased son. Uncle Liang looked dazedly at the city for a while, then asked, Where does Lidong usually rest? Can you show me? Schuck nodded. Then Uncle Liang wandered around the backyard of this mayors residence, and he spent the longest time in Bettas bedroom. There were a lot of notes and warnings written down by Betta there, as well as some command letters. They were all written in Chinese characters, and looking at the familiar handwriting, Uncle Liang burst into tears. Reading through the notebooks one by one, it was as if he could see every trace of his sons life here. Finally, he wandered into the back garden and saw a new grave. The headstone above read Lisas Tomb. It was written in Hollevins language, and Uncle Liang couldnt read it. He couldnt help but ask with curiosity, Whose grave is this and why is it buried in the backyard of Bettas house? And its a new grave at that. She was a young girl who Betta saved not long after he first entered the game, and she has been following him and serving him since then, for seven or eight years, Schuck said despondently. He also found out what happened in the city hall a few days ago through the livestream. After learned that Betta passed away in reality, she was so sad that she killed herself. Uncle Liang froze for a while, then he walked over, gently stroked the tombstone, and sobbed, Good child, youve worked hard. Im sorry its my son who is not blessed and worthy of you. He was really relieved and sad that there was so much he didnt know about his son in this game world. There were people he loved, and people who loved him. Thank you, Little Peng. Uncle Liang turned back around and looked at Schuck gratefully. Id like to come to this place more often in the future, is that okay?. Theoretically yes, but now theres a problem; someone wants to take the city, Schuck said, scratching his head. They know Betta is gone and they have thoughts of taking over. How can this be! What kind of person does such a terrible thing. Uncle Liang clenched his hands into fists. This is my sons heart and soul, can we not give it to them? Yes. As long as you, Uncle, can take over Bettas city and become the new mayor, Schuck said slowly. I believe that Bettas spirit in heaven would approve of this. Uncle Liang froze. But Im just an ordinary person who doesnt know how to run a city. You can learn, Uncle. Youve been to college anyhow, you can learn anything. Besides, college students of your time are the true geniuses. Schuck persuaded him patiently. What Betta can do, I think you can do too. Besides, can you bear to watch Bettas heart and soul fall into someone elses hands and then be ruined? Uncle Liang was silent for a while, and his face, which was originally filled with sorrow, gradually became resolute. But, will the administrators of this city and my sons former men acknowledge me? Who dares to not acknowledge you? Schuck put his arm around Rolands shoulder and together they laughed at Uncle Liang. Well get him killed. Wenwei is the strongest Mage in the whole server. That floating city above is his external equipment, able to throw nuclear bombs. Whoever dares to disagree, well nuke their whole family. With that said, Schuck pointed to himself. One of the Saint Samurai of the Church of Light, and also the Holy Son, who can launch a holy war expedition at any timea hundred thousand cloaked holy knights sweeping ten small countries isnt a problem. With the two of us together, who dares to not give you respect. Uncle Liang sighed in relief. Thank you. An hour or so later, Roland started a new forum thread with a video. The new Wetland City mayor has taken office. The video introduced Uncle Liangs identity while promising that there would be no change in the business taxes, household registration moving in and out, security measures, city construction, and other formulated guidelines of Wetland City. In the post, the vast majority of people were sending their blessings or giving their condolences to the old man. Almost everyone acknowledged Uncle Liang as the new mayor. After all, it was perfectly normal for the father to take what belonged to the son. Charles and others, however, were reluctant, even bursting into a rage. This incident completely disrupted his plan. He then made a post questioning whether Roland had found a random person who claimed to be Bettas father, trying to get all of Wetland City for free. At the end of the post, he also strongly requested Roland and others to show proof that Uncle Liang was Bettas father, or they wouldnt acknowledge his leadership. Roland noticed Charless post and took to the skies to find the Cornucopia base. A direct shot of a small blue fireball crashed down. Warned you long ago, shame on you! Does this matter need Cornucopias recognition? Chapter 766 - Physical Destruction Cornucopia was quite wealthy. Charles acquired several adjacent lands and merged them into one large base. It was a little bigger than the Association of Mages Roland established. It was arguably the largest private property other than the mayors residence. And there was a treasury of Cornucopia here. This small fireball came down and the violent explosion seemed like a thunderbolt from the clear sky that could be heard through Wetland City. One could even feel the faint vibration of the ground. Then black smoke rose from Cornucopias base. When the people nearby rushed over, they saw that the originally rather imposing Cornucopia base had become a ruin, clear smoke billowing skyward. Then Rolands figure turned bright red in the players field of vision, a sign of a player who had killed many others. At the time of the explosion, Charles was holding a temporary guild meeting. The blast took out almost all of the guilds top brass in one fell swoop. Except for a certain logistics head who was out shopping for merchandise with a few players. Roland flew back to the mayors residence, and Schuck looked at his red figure and laughed. Awesome. Imposing. Its just PK. Anyway, the red name will be washed away with time. Roland smiled unconcernedly. Whats there to be afraid of? Not afraid of being mobbed? At worst, Ill hide in the floating city and then ascend to the Astral Plane. Who can kill me then? Roland put on an arrogant look! Using the toughest tone, he said the most cowardly words. Schuck shook his head, rather amused. I dont know whats wrong with that man Charles. Is he really thinking that influence in reality can completely penetrate into this game? Theres no one on the Internet who wants to side with him. To be able to grow Cornucopia to its current size, hes actually quite capable, Roland commented fairly. Schuck shook his head helplessly. Ill be staying here for a while, spending time with my uncle and teaching him some general knowledge about the game, so if you have anything to do, you can go ahead and do it. Ill watch over Wetland City. Dont worry. If theres anything, just contact me. Roland did want to get back to the capital of Fareins and get the master builders back to work. Without the infrastructure on the floating island in place, it wouldnt be very convenient for him to construct magic arrays on it, and he wouldnt be able to find a chance to put in the newly acquired fragment of Divine Spark. Something as powerful as the Divine Spark fragment could easily react negatively with the Magic Grid Core if it wasnt protected and suppressed by an adequate magic array. Dont worry, there are a lot of light believers and light priests in Wetland City. If something really happens, Ill command these forces, and Cornucopia will be directly crushed. Roland smiled. Indeed, in terms of ability to gather forces, Schuck was probably the strongest of all the players. The two chatted for a while longer. Roland was about to leave when Charles came over with a group of people. Most of them were from Cornucopia, and a small number were the more famous content creators who specialized in earning a living by livestreaming a wide variety of gameplay. Seeing the clattering crowd blocking the door, Rolands and Schucks expressions turned odd, smiling with some contempt. Charles saw Roland and came over with his legs stomping heavily on the ground. His face was tinged with anger as he bellowed, Roland, what do you mean by this! How dare you destroy our entire base. You compensate Roland reached out and snapped his fingers, and a bolt of lightning turned Charles directly into charcoal, not giving him any time to react. At this time, Charles had already dropped from level ten to level nine, while Roland was level 16, and with the various titles and the attribute bonuses from the top-notch equipment, he had truly formed a suppression in terms of level. A normal lightning bolt would have been overkill for Charles. Looking at Charless charred corpse with bulging eyes on the ground, the imposing group of people all froze. Of course, several content creators who were in charge of the livestream recorded what had just happened, and then relayed it to the livestream. There was an uproar in several livestreams. Lots of shouts of approval. Many people just shouted Awesome! and What a decisive kill. Of course, there were a very small number of comments saying that Roland was too murderous, arrogant, and unreasonable. And then these people were rebutted. The senior members of Cornucopia were silent for a while. In a desperate attempt to maintain morale, a deputy chairman stepped forward and shouted, Roland, if you have the guts, kill us all. Roland twitched his eyebrows and raised his right hand at that moment, blue lightning clusters coalescing in his hand. Most players were both unafraid and afraid of death. After all, the higher the level, the more experience was lost upon death. The group was then instantly frightened and backed up or quickly dodged. Looking at their panicked looks, Roland laughed disdainfully. Most of the players in Cornucopia were casual professions, and their current levels were all brought up by paying other elites. So they didnt have a strong will to fight. And the panicked looks of these people were relayed to the livestream. It made a lot of netizens snicker You cant beat him. When he just raises his hand, youre scared and act wimpy like this. Roland dropped his hand, shrugged, and then spread his hands in a rather mocking way. The group, who had been scared and dodged, was also flushed with embarrassment. They were so embarrassed and didnt dare to rush up, so when Roland looked at them, he lost interest. In contrast, although Silver Wings had done things unethically before, they had the courage to fight against him. They died whilst charging. He then shot a look at Schuck, meaning he was leaving the place to the other him. Just as he was about to leave, Roland saw Charles approaching angrily from across the street. Now Charles was so angry that his mentality had gone haywire. As a victim, he went to Roland to ask for compensation and an explanation, but Roland didnt say a word and killed him silently yet again! You can do whatever you want because you have power? Is there any justice in this? Are there still laws? At this point, he had completely put himself in the position of the victim, the underdog. As he walked over, he pointed at Roland and shouted, You son of a b***h, just because you think youre impressive because youre high-level-kill me back to level zero if you can! The roar paired with the way he pointed at Roland while walking angrily over to him was quite imposing Roland then blinked and teleported to him, grabbing him directly by the face with his right hand. Thunder Palm was released Charles instantly became toast again. Then Roland walked toward the Church of Life not far away. When the city was built, Betta had purposely built the Church of Life next to the mayors residence in order to make it easier for the players to surround and protect the mayors residence as well as the Wetland City. So the citys resurrection point was only about fifty meters from the mayors residence. A group of content creators in charge of the livestreaming immediately followed, their keen reporters intuition telling that what was to come was definitely eye-catching and traffic-producing Although they were hired by Charles, what happened to the employer didnt matter if there was traffic. No one could stop them from making money. That was probably their mindset. Watching Rolands back as he walked toward the Church of Life, Schuck smiled in relief. He and Roland grew up together and he knew well Rolands nature, which consisted of a strong desire for vengeance. Since childhood, F6 had been in several group fights that were actually encouraged by Roland. It was only later, after reading more books, that Roland gradually came to understand a lot about ethics, which suppressed his nature. He became less argumentative. But just because his nature was suppressed didnt mean it went away. Schuck inwardly wished Charles good luck before going into the mayors residence and continuing to talk to this uncle about the things he should be aware of in the game. Roland arrived at the entrance to the Church of Life just in time to bump into Charles, who was rushing out in his simple rebirth clothes. Charles also saw him. Roland! Charles rushed up, yelling with red eyes. He was so full of humiliation that he was almost about to explode on the spot. Teleportation, head grabbing, and Thunder Palm. The movement was extremely fluid, and in less than a second, there was another charred corpse on the ground. Roland stepped over the charred corpse and continued inside the Church of Life. The content creators who were in charge of the livestreaming in the back were shaking all over with excitement, and each of them shouted Holy sh*t! as they continued to catch up. Roland arrived at the altar of the Church of Life just in time to see Charles climbing up from it. Another flurry of blows pinned Charles directly to the altar, electrocuting him into a charred corpse. Then Roland grabbed Charless head and flung his corpse to the side. He continued to wait at the altar. Resurrection took time, and there was usually a thirty-second confirmation period. Thirty seconds later, a sleeping figure appeared on the altar. Roland didnt hesitate to press his hand on it, electrocuting the man to charcoal and tossing him aside. Thirty seconds later, a familiar figure appeared on the altar again. Roland, you motherf**ker! Half a second later, he turned into toast and was flung aside. I **** your mother. A scorched corpse and thrown aside. Roland, you Roland continued to toss the charred corpse aside expressionlessly. Ah, If youve got it in you, really The corpse was thrown to the side again. The content creators next to him, each with their mouths wide open, didnt know how to interpret the situation in front of them. Many NPC priests in the Church of Life hurried over, and they all gulped in fear as they watched Roland throwing corpses aside one by one, as someone kept being resurrected on the altar. Kill me back to level zero if you can! He continued to turn into toast. Keep going, come on. The corpse was thrown aside. Dont stop if you dare. Roland didnt speak, still throwing corpses. Seconds passed, and the entire sacred altar hall was filled with the smell of roasted meat and burned flesh. In the corner next to it, there were black corpses piled as high as a small mountain. The altar hall was usually relatively wide, but now these corpses stacked more than three meters high, and even took up most of the space. How many charred corpses were there-seven hundred, or a thousand? The content creators had already backed away uncontrollably. And the priests of life had even retreated completely outside, not daring to watch any further. They didnt want to get involved in the disputes of these undying monsters. Tossing another charred corpse to the side, Roland took out a white hand towel from his Backpack and wiped his right hand. At this time, Charles revived again and sat up. His eyes were red and he was laughing madly while shouting, Why dont you kill me anymore, come on, go on, you dont even dare to kill me when Im just sitting here? Pui, you coward. If you are afraid, kneel down and call me father, do you hear me? Already killed you back to level zero. Roland grinned. Charles froze. Roland raised his left hand, and the white handkerchief just now covered Charless head, covering his entire face like a corpse-covering cloth. Then he slowly walked out of the altar hall Behind him, the crazy howls of Charles could be heard! Like the twisted, unexplained roars of a psychopath before they had a fit. And in the livestream, the comments became very odd. There was little talk about the matter of Roland killing Charles back to level zero, only that some people were asking questions. Roland now looks dark red, but does anyone really dare to go and kill him and steal his equipment? According to the principle that the chances of drops become higher with a red name, if Roland dies once, I reckon that the divine artifacts placed in his Backpack will fall out. A wild boss is indeed a big temptation, but I dont dare. I dont want to be killed back to level zero. I roughly calculated that if Roland were part of a dungeon, itd probably be a nightmare level. Whats more, he has a floating city and can fly everywhere. The dungeon range would be the entire world, and once he uses guerrilla warfare, no one can kill him. You guys are awesome, you actually want to kill Roland like I wouldnt do that, at most I would want to join the ranks of the Mages. Oh, if you cant beat them, join them. You, sir, are the finest fence-sitter. Im flattered. In any case, a video was made of Roland blocking the resurrection point to kill Charles back to level zero, and some people were even already planning to include it in the chronicles of the game. After all, it was a landmark event now. It was a big deal, both for the game World of Falan itself and for the domestic gaming scene as a whole. In games, killing someone back to level zero was all banter or bravado. But Roland really killed someone back to level zero and was cold-faced, cool, and arrogant the whole time. After exiting the Church of Life, Roland returned to the floating city and then flew over to the capital of Hollevin. He found Antis. What are you planning to do by flying the floating city over the capital? said Antis with a look of difficulty and helplessness. It is true that the king has now found a new lover, beautiful and capable of fighting. But please, will you leave him alone and stop stealing his women? Roland curled his lips. I need you to cut off your cooperation with Cornucopia, all of it, okay? Okay, no problem. Antis agreed without hesitation. No conditions? Roland asked curiously. You dont let that thing up there come down on us, thats the best deal for all. Antis pointed to the roof. I owe you one, then. Roland smiled. Great deal. Antis winked, raising the glass of fruit wine with excitement and taking a large sip. After leaving Antiss place, Roland went to the Association of Mages to get them involved in commercial competition against Cornucopia. He went to the Guild of Bards and asked them to launch a campaign against Cornucopia. Then he went to the Assassins Guild and offered 500 gold coins to assassinate all the senior members of Cornucopia. At a price of one gold coin per head. The task was over when they got the heads of 500 people from the top brass of Cornucopia. The Assassins Guild excitedly took this big order on, while promising to give Roland, a great quality customer, a discount. They decided to cut off a hundred more heads. Roland smiled. He didnt believe that Cornucopia would be able to go on with this many deaths. Chapter 767 - I Look Down On You Roland was truly annoyed this time. Three or four years ago, he had let go of Cornucopia once, thinking at the time that everyone could make mistakes and forgive them, and most importantly, he wasnt as strong and was in a period of the rapid rise in ability and level. It wasnt worth delaying his learning of magic for Cornucopia. But now it was different. After becoming a Legend, his growth rate slowed down. This stage was more about accumulation-the accumulation of knowledge, the accumulation of spells and skillsand even the exercise of mindfulness and the perseverance of ones views. Magic was, by nature, more mindful, so the will of the individual was quite important in the growth of a Mage. Compared to the people of this world, the players were, on average, purer and tougher than the natives in terms of their views and willpower because of their long, systematic education, as well as their ideological and political classes and so on. Of course, just on average, there was still a small percentage of people with less than stellar minds and trivial views. For example, Charles. Speaking of Charles, Roland had no good feelings for the man now and had even grown quite disgusted with him. That was why he used his power and connections to suppress Cornucopia. After coming out of the Assassins Guild, Roland felt refreshed physically and mentally. He parked the floating city in the sky above the capital of Fareins. The vast majority of the residents of the capital of Fareins were now very accustomed to this giant flying object floating in the air. They had even heard that this thing was the Queens wild mans creation, that the royal architects worked on it day and night, and that the Queen would occasionally spend the night on it. On top of that, almost the entire world now had heard the legend of Roland. He was, in the Bards mouth, a Legendary Great Sage, and his strength was approaching that of a Demigod. Probably the youngest and most promising Mage of all of time. The title of Great Sage referred to the kind of spellcaster who had excessive knowledge and could guide Heroes and Legends to save the world in times of danger. They might be high-level Priests, Mages, or even Druids or Shamans. Under normal circumstances, there was no way Roland would have gotten the title of Great Sage. But someone revealed the story of the succubus equality pact, and then revealed the story of Roland taking out several legions of demons in the Realm of Devils with a blue flame of destruction. Legend had it that the demons were already about to attack the main plane this timeanother cataclysm-and the entire world was about to be wiped out, but it turned out that the Great Sage Roland had foreseen the demon invasion and took the lead with the Golden Sons. They attacked the Realm of Devils, killing the devil army in return, and then the Saint Samurai of the Church of Light, Schuck, also brought in the Guardians of Light and fought his way into the Realm of Devils, thwarting this demons plot of invasion. And to damage the devils heavily, Roland even created the equality contract to free the succubi from the evil demons. There were already several nobles in the capital of Fareins who possessed a succubus now. Now the succubus was no longer exclusive to Warlocks. These words had falsehoods in truths and even sounded too real to be true. The Great Sage Roland will most likely become the same as the Goddess of Magic in the future, a mortal who achieves godhood. He is a Fareins man, and he will protect the nation of Fareins until he dies, or becomes a god and leaves this world. Roland finished reading the words on the paper as he said awkwardly, Was it necessary? The royal family and the Association of Mages teamed up behind the scenes to promote me, but did you ever ask for my opinion? The Queen lay on her side, laughing and trembling in a rhythmic way. It took a while before she could stop laughing and said, We look strong on the surface in Fareins, but we are riddled with holes on the inside. The disputes between the nobles of the royal city and the lords are close to exploding. I do have a way to prevent this from happening, but it will take time, and by promoting you, their conflict can be squashed for now, leaving enough time for me to make changes. Is there a reward? Roland asked. Isnt having me enough? Stephanie patted her plump buttocks. Or is it better to have a few of my sisters come along to keep you company? Hmm? Roland pretended to ponder for a while. Stephanie immediately climbed up and hugged Rolands neck from behind, pressing her whole body up against him and feigning anger coquettishly. Youre so greedy-watch out, Anna might castrate you. No way. Roland snorted. If I had my eye on some woman, shed help me hold the other womans hands down if that woman didnt want to. Yes. Anna is such a good woman. Stephanie tsked. I dont know whats wrong with the old king of Hollevin-whats wrong with his head! He actually drove such a good woman away, and then gave you such a good bargain. Enough of all this talk. You had me called here, I suppose there is some business, Roland prompted. Yes, said Stephanie with a nod. We gathered intelligence. Some of the succubi who just escaped from the Realm of Devils say that the atmosphere in the Realm of Devils has become strange. And the newly promoted fallen angel has mentioned you several times in front of the other Demon Gods, so you must be careful. Demon Gods are hard to deal with. Roland nodded to show that he understood He didnt want to mess with Demon Gods for the time being. Unlike the evil gods in the Astral Plane, Demon Gods were strong, and the Demon Gods had home turf advantage in the Realm of Devils. Even if Roland operated the floating city, it was still dangerous if he was surrounded by more than five Demon Gods. But if the floating city evolved, then it would be a different story. So Roland planned to make a trip to the Astral Plane first. To try to hunt as many evil gods as possible, so that the floating city could be upgraded. After staying in the palace for two days, Roland felt someone enter his mansion space, so he also teleported over. Then, as expected, he saw Andonara sitting inside. She was also the only one who could teleport in whenever and wherever she wanted. Roland, my ancestor wants to see you. When Andonara saw Roland enter, she stood up and said, Youd better be prepared. She doesnt seem to be in a good mood. Roland frowned. If I get into a conflict with her, stay away. Why? Anna looked puzzled. Its not like shes my uncle If you had a conflict with my uncle, I wouldnt know what to do. But shes just an ancestor, just a distant provider of my bloodline, and between you and her, do I still need to choose? Roland smiled and embraced this woman who was so lovable. Just as he was about to teleport out of the mansion space, he suddenly froze. Because he vaguely sensed a spatial coordinate. It was the coordinates of the spatial wormhole that was in the real world, at the location of Bettas accident. After it disappeared, he hadnt been able to sense it. But now, he could vaguely feel it. The location was far, far away, yet very close. There was an odd sense of dislocation. It didnt seem like it was in this world. If he had to describe it, it was like seeing the moon from the surface of the water, being able to know what it is, but having a sense of something that cant be grasped, touched, or was even false. It was a feeling like this. No way! Planar teleportation? Thats not right Teleportation can take people to other realms, like from the main plane to the Realm of Devils. In reality, the main plane and the Realm of Devils were not in the same plane. The Realm of Devils was an alien regional space that somehow managed to stick to the main plane. It was like a big bubble with a little vapor bubble stuck to the outside. If its a place that could be teleported to, where would it be? Not the Astral Plane, not the Realm of Devils, and not some divine realm. An idea flashed through Rolands mind. If he could teleport to this coordinate, would he be able to find Bettas soul and bring him back to life? Once such a thought arose, it couldnt be suppressed. Then he used his tough willpower to settle his mind, and teleported out of the mansion with Andonara, to Delpon. There was a mature woman who bore a slight resemblance to Andonara and was quite beautiful sitting in the pavilion of the manor garden. When she saw Roland, she smiled and shook her arm. Roland walked over, sat across from her, and said, Ms. Phoenix, its been a long time. Phoenix waved her hand and smiled. No need to be so polite, we are all acquaintances now. Lets get right to the point. I heard that you have a floating city! Roland nodded. Impressive. Phoenix didnt hold back her compliments. Youre stronger than the Goddess of Magic back in the day, but I wanted to ask, what do you think of the Realm of Devils? Roland thought for a moment and said, The enemies of mankind, thats how I see it. Phoenix sighed. Theres no need to be so hostile to the demons, I think humans and demons can coexist peacefully. I think its hard. Roland shook his head. Why? Phoenix was quite puzzled. You have already helped the succubi get a firm foothold in human society, why cant you help the other demon races? Do they need my help? Roland asked. Yes. Phoenix explained, We demons are also living beings, and should have the right to live. Roland frowned as he looked at Phoenix, who had a saintly expression on her face, and asked in confusion, So Ms. Phoenix, you mean for me to convince the human world to accept the demon race? I do have that in mind. Phoenix nodded. Now that you have a floating city and the title of Great Sage, your words already carry a lot of weight. Roland took a deep breath. But what good would that do to humans? The succubi can solve the human worlds fertility problem, and their main food is the essence of men; essentially, they are harmless parasites in the human world, and can even help and defend humans as a group against their enemies. But what could the other demons do to humans? Burn and kill and crowd out their existence? Phoenix waved her hand. We dont need to crowd your living space, we just need a piece of land an uninhabited land to live on. The main plane was huge, and there were deep mountains and forests everywhere. It wasnt hard to fit in the entire Realm of Devils creatures and feed them. It could even be said that there was more than enough. But things werent just about the immediate future. Roland was well aware that the demons possessed a strong ability to survive! To what extent? Even in a place as barren as the Realm of Devils, an exaggerated number of demons could be born. If they came to the human world, even in the deep forests, it would be a piece of fertile land for them. Then these demons would reproduce quickly! In less than a hundred years, their population would be estimated to have doubled a dozen times. At that point, their living space would expand dramatically and then crowd into the human territories. Then, to survive, both sides would have to fight over limited resources, and conflicts would arise. And with the demons terrifying fertility rate, and their great vitality and fighting power, it was impossible for humans to beat the demons in the same numbers. There was no chance of winning. Every time the demons invaded, humans relied on numerical superiority to barely hold the battlefield front line, then made a tactical retreat, lengthened the battle line, and finally relied on the Heroes and saviors to defeat the Devil Kings and achieve victory through great difficulty. Something like this happened every two or three hundred years. Was it because the devils had nothing better to do than to come and invade the human world every so often? In reality, it was to reduce their population, so that the Realm of Devils wasnt overpopulated. At the same time, if they won, they would be able to expand to new territories. It was like killing two birds with one stone. Roland was quite well-read, and he was well aware of the significance and horror of population wars. So he felt rather uncomfortable at Phoenixs suggestion. Looking at Rolands impatient, even slightly disdainful look, Phoenix wasnt too happy either, but she said slowly, I can guarantee that we demons will never enter the humans territories. Roland still shook his head. There were no real promises to be made between nations and between races. Right now the devils were relatively weak, so they could feel pretty confident that they would keep their word. But once the demons had enough time and enough resources to recuperate on the main plane, and when they were much stronger than humans who could be sure of what they would do! In the same race, beings fought to the death for room to live, let alone two completely different races. Phoenix sighed and stood up. Too bad, I thought you were different from the average human, with a more enlightened view and understanding of the hardships of us, the children of the Realm of Devils. Roland cracked a smile. Hardships? Arent there hardships? Phoenix sighed languidly. A world that barely produces food, that relies on sand maggots eating dirt and then other demons eating sand maggots, that is filled with lava and poisonous gas, and where the vast majority of devil descendants dont live to adulthood. Is that not hardship? Roland laughed with more than a little sarcasm. He had now come to despise the devils. The reason was that a month or so ago, several players who had been working on the logistics for the expeditionary army in the Realm of Devils got so sick of going back to the main plane every day to harvest vegetables, wasting a lot of teleportation-specific magic materials and wasting a lot of money, that they started growing vegetables themselves in the Realm of Devils. As a result, the Realm of Devils, which claimed that no greens could grow, was made fertile. The green vegetables were so fat and beautiful that they were a joy to look at. And the devils, living in that land for thousands and thousands of years, hadnt even tried to grow something there. Who was to blame? As for the lack of seeds They had invaded the human world one or two hundred times. There was absolutely no thought of bringing back the seeds of the human world. There was no thought of growing vegetables in the Realm of Devils. There was absolutely no thought of production. Just living from day to day, robbing and killing when there was no food to eat! Devils? More like savages. Chapter 768 - There Are a Lot of Secrets on Earth No matter how Phoenix tried to convince him, Roland was reluctant to facilitate the assimilation of devils and humans. Eventually, Phoenix could only leave in frustration. She thought that she had misjudged Roland, who was strong and talented yet did not want to shoulder responsibilities for other people. She was quite disappointed. However, Roland didnt think very highly of Phoenix either. It was true that she was an eccentric among the Demon Gods. She was even a good person. But she was too naive. The Realm of Devils was a small world, and same as mankinds Lawful gods and those in the Astral Plane, the Demon Gods were results of collective subconsciousness. They were just the gods of the devils. Normally speaking, as a goddess of the devils, Phoenix was supposed to be Chaotic Evil, but she had traveled in the human world in disguise for a long time and understood what law and order meant. Unfortunately, she was too idealistic in light of the competition between civilizations due to her limited knowledge in this game world. Roland knew very well that two civilizations were bound to fight fiercely unless one of them could crush and assimilate the other. The more they fought, the more they would hate each other, and the fiercer they would fight, until they became sworn enemies. Devils and humans were already sworn enemies at this moment. Of course, human beings loathed devils, and devils simply despised humans and regarded them as food. The atmosphere in the room was quite heavy even though Phoenix had left. After all Phoenix wasnt a terrible person. She had helped Andonara and was the ancestor of the Hero family. Now that she had stormed off furiously, Andonara didnt feel very good even though she firmly took Rolands side. But Andonara wouldnt blame Roland. She knew very well which of them was closer to her. In fact, I think she had a point. Why didnt you want to cooperate with her? Andonara put a cup of homemade wine in front of her man. Im not speaking for her; Im just curious. Roland certainly knew that Andonara wasnt taking Phoenixs side but only seeking an answer. For different races to assimilate, the most important thing is that they have similar, common values, Race explained. Human beings are an agricultural civilization, whereas the devils are a nomadic one, or rather, pure barbarians. Human beings can produce things and sell them to each other to accumulate wealth, but for devils, looting is the best way to guarantee survival. They dont produce. They use up all the resources near them and give birth to a large population, and a famine will soon take place. At this moment, they will try to solve their problem through war. Whether they win or lose, they will get rid of their superfluous population. Andonaras head was dizzy as she listened. She was very strong, but she couldnt compare to Roland in terms of knowledge. She didnt know what agricultural or nomadic civilization meant at all. The ordinary people in the information age could get a rough idea of what they meant after a quick glance, because the people of this time had subconsciously received plenty of information throughout their life. They were far more knowledgeable than people in this world. So, whenever a new concept was mentioned, ordinary people in the information age could comprehend it with their knowledge base. However, Andonara couldnt do that! She had never heard about such concepts before, and she didnt have a similar ability of comprehension. Roland said with a smile, To put it more simply and bluntly, its the difference between dutiful men and bandits. Andonara immediately understood. Youre worried that even if the devils pretend to be nice for hundreds of years in the human world, they will reveal their bandits nature when there are enough of them, right? Roland nodded. Phoenix didnt propose to suppress the devils instinct of killing and looting, yet she asked us to cooperate with them. Thats arrogance. If I do what she said, Ill be irresponsible for the human world, and Id be cursed to death. Its true that we cannot cooperate with them. Andonara nodded. Then, she didnt mention it again. Roland continued waiting for the infrastructural construction on the floating city to conclude while he developed new spells. In reality, his research came to a halt. Even though he had sought more experimental subjects, the most talented of them could only manage to cast Hand of Magic or Illumination with a tiny bit of magic power. It was impossible for any lab equipment to detect magic elements so far, but human beings could sense it with their minds. It was another proof of the unorthodox theory that the human mind was the most advanced equipment. Director, do we need to hire more experiment subjects? Su Minluo put a proposal on Rolands table. We can hire experiment subjects from the army. According to our hypothesis, the stronger a person is, the more talented in magic they may be. Su Minluos suggestion was quite reasonable. Rolands body was very healthy at this moment. After being strengthened by magic power, his cells and bones were only 17 years old. That was the result of a dozen measurements. So, it was well-believed in the team that the stronger a person was, the more talented at magic they would be. The brain was the greatest energy consumer in the body. It could consume more than 20% of ones total energy in a normal state. More energy would be required to cast spells, so it would be impossible without a strong body providing the necessary energy. Roland thought for a moment and said, Your proposal is theoretically feasible, but I dont know if the boss will approve it. After all, our experiment is a top secret. I dont know if theyll let us hire anyone from outside. Thats for the superiors to consider, said Su Minluo casually. We only have to state the problem and a possible solution. The bosses will decide whether or not to do it. Su Minluo had been working here for years and knew the common practice much better than Roland, who was still new. After thinking for a moment, Roland handed the proposal to the director of the base. The director read the proposal carefully and said, Ill give you a reply in one month. Then, Roland went to the invention test field at the bottom of the base. The place was quite spacious and surrounded by at least fifteen meters of cement walls that were mixed with a lot of lead powder. Nobody was running any tests here. After registering at the entrance with his card, Roland came in. He rarely cast any spells recently and had been accumulating his magic power. He used the magic power to gradually strengthen his body. In the game, magic power was pure energy, and the improvement of his physical build depended on level-ups. However, in reality, Roland found that magic power could change the body build. At this moment, he could easily take down Lu Yong, the deputy captain of the security team, without any strengthening spells. He was here to release some of the magic power. After all, he didnt want to keep too much magic power in himself. He launched a tiny blue fireball to the cement ground. After a thunderous explosion, a round pit one meter deep and two meters wide was left on the floor. Damn it, it was as powerful as a cannon. In the surveillance room, someone yelled. Rolands magic experiments werent secrets here. Every time he used magic, many people watched him in the surveillance room. Most of them were security guards who had used a lot of weapons and knew which of them could cause a similar explosion. The director of the base was among them. On the surface, he barely talked to Roland and didnt even seem to care about Rolands progress in his experiments, but in reality, he was the one who cared about Rolands achievements the most in the base. It was because he had been informed that Roland, as well as the project that he headed, had the highest priority in the entire base. No other projects could compare to it. If Roland acquired so much as a scratch in the base, he would be lambasted by his boss. However, he couldnt control Roland to protect him, so he was quite anxious. He could only try to ensure the security of the work. He had weekly meetings and stressed the rules for experiment safety again and again. Then, all those people watched Roland snap his fingers and release several more blue fireballs, leaving dents and pits on the floor. Wow, the repair team has a lot of work to do. It isnt a lot at all, said a guy from the repair team as he watched. Wed be very happy if we saw a few more men as marvelous as him. Everybody laughed in the surveillance room. At this moment, the directors headphones buzzed. He stopped laughing and walked out, before he said, Is there anything wrong? Some comrades with a high level of confidentiality delivered something to Comrade Huang Wenwei. Does their information match up with what we have? asked the director. Weve looked into them. Their names are in the system. Then scan and examine the delivery with equipment and deliver it to him. The problem is that we cannot figure out whats in the package. Huh? What do you mean by you cant figure it out? The scanner doesnt show whats inside the package. Its just a bunch of pixels. The director was stunned. Wait, I dont think our scanner can pixelate the image, can it? No, it cant. Thats why we doubt that whatever is inside the package is actually pixels. After a moment of silence, the director cried in disbelief, Are you sure youre not mistaken? No, its indeed shown as pixels. The director rubbed his head. Confirm the deliverers identity again. If its fine, let them in. Ill bring Comrade Huang to fetch the goods now. Its probably related to his ability. After that, the director went to Roland. Very soon, they came to the entrance on the top level of the base. At the entrance were four young men in plain clothes. After seeing Roland, one of them took out his phone and found Rolands profile. He compared Roland to his photo and then walked to him. They shook hands and introduced each other. Then, the stranger said, Comrade Huang, the package has been delivered. Weve fulfilled our mission. See you. Thank you. Roland didnt invite them to stay, as this was a highly-classified base for special research and wouldnt take strangers in, even though the strangers had a high clearance too. What the four of them gave Roland was a very long bag. Looking at the green bag that was about one meter long and looked like a traveling suitcase, Roland lowered his head and was about to open it. But at this moment, the director stopped him and said, Dont be hasty. Lets examine it first. Even though the strangers had a high security clearance, the director of the base wanted to be safe. Two security guards wearing thick anti-explosion clothes and holding transparent shields walked over. They prudently hid their bodies behind the shields and opened the bag with only one arm. They scanned the bag with two different kinds of equipment and even opened the bag to check for bugs. The examination was over five minutes later, and one of the guards approached Roland with a long green stick. Comrade Huang, this is the only thing in the package. The director asked, Has it been examined? It has no radiations or electricity, and its not explosive. That will do. In fact, they knew that the item was probably safe, but they would rather be more cautious. Roland accepted the green stick. In fact, ever since he saw it, he had sensed that the stick wasnt ordinary. The moment he touched it, he felt that magic power was surging in his body. Also, there was a stream of pure energy that slowly flowed into his body from the green stick. This is a magic power crystal? It was Rolands first reaction, but he soon dismissed the idea. The energy was very pure and didnt have any attribute. He could absorb it and transform it into magic power. Seeing Rolands change of expressions, the director of the base was shocked and asked quickly, Comrade Huang, whats wrong? I want to know if Im qualified to investigate where this green crystal-like staff came from. The director of the base said solemnly, Their clearance level is very high. We dont have the permission to investigate them. The system only shows that theyre with us, but their job and workplace are hidden. Why? Is there something wrong with this crystal stick? Yes, it is greatly wrong, said Roland while looking at the director. This is an energy stick that contains that special energy in nature, which we have been searching for but never found. The base directors expression changed. Having been keeping track of the progress of Rolands team, he knew that Roland couldnt find magic power in the air, so he had been transforming his vitality into magic power the whole time. However, someone had delivered an energy stick to him? Did it mean that another base was doing similar experiments and was making faster progress? They knew that Rolands research hit a bottleneck, and they even delivered the critical key to him? Looking at the base directors face, Roland had a lot of complicated feelings. In fact, he left something unsaid. The energy stick contained a terrifying amount of energy. Roland felt that it wouldnt be a problem for him to build a small floating city in reality after he fully absorbed it. Chapter 769 - 9 Brainstorm Returning to his lab, Roland put the crystal item on the table and said, Pause all the other studies. Lets focus on this thing for now. Looking at the green crystal stick, Su Minluo picked it up and said, Wheres there to investigate? Isnt it made of green agate or emeralds? Its purity seems very high Huh? After she touched it with her hands, she found that this wasnt right. Is it jade? she asked in confusion. Her feeling was different from Rolands. When Roland grabbed it, he sensed nothing but energy; the feeling was so strong that he couldnt sense anything else. However, Su Minluo couldnt sense the energy in it. She simply felt that the item was warm and smooth, like a piece of warm jade from legend. Also, it was quite heavy, and it was also translucent and looked quite refreshing. Its not jade, but an energy stick, replied Roland. Huh??? All the researchers in the lab were greatly shocked. Its indeed an energy stick, explained Roland. I can absorb it. If I fully absorb it, my strength will reach a very high level! How high exactly? Su Minluos eyes were glowing again. I may be able to blow up this entire base if I attack with my full strength. Roland smiled. This little thing contains so much energy? All the researchers were shocked. They knew how big and well-defended the base was more than anybody else did. That was an underground base that could resist a nuclear explosion equivalent to 100,000 tons of TNT right on the surface. Director Huang could blow this place up after absorbing the stick? It sounds rather unbelievable! Su Minluo crossed her arms and leaned on the back of her chain, thinking. Then she said, I find it hard to believe, but if your feeling is right, its indeed worth studying. The other researchers agreed with her. Although it looked like a simple crystal stick, Director Huang wasnt an ordinary person and if he said that it was an energy stick, it had to be one. It remained unknown what kind of energy was contained within. The researchers were quite excited to have a new project to work on. After trying some simple impact experiments in safe places, they confirmed that the stick was hard and the energy in it was inert and wouldnt explode. Therefore, they applied for the best cutter in the base, hoping to cut off some powder or a tiny piece from the stick for research. As it turned out, neither laser cutters nor physical ones could extract the tiniest bit of powder from the crystal stick. This is unbelievable. Everybody was shocked. What is this exactly? Then, they made use of large scanners. However all of the scanners showed nothing but pixels. Then, observing with the naked eye, they found that it was still a green crystal stick. The weird phenomenon raised discussions all over the base. After that, the crystal stick was passed to a dozen labs in the next month, but no progress was made. Eventually, it was returned to Roland. It was jokingly called a black-box energy stick that violated all common sense. Nobody had seen such a thing before. A lot of the research teams applied to keep it for their own studies. Even if they couldnt find out anything yet, they might make discoveries after the technologies advanced. However, their bosses replied that it was Comrade Huang Wenweis personal item that he could keep to himself. One day after work, Roland gazed at the energy stick on the table in his dormitory and extended his hand, communicating with the energy with his mental power. Unlike magic power, the energy in it was very pure and seemingly could be transformed into any energy that Roland knew, such as magic power, light, or electricity-whatever he wanted. The energy was of a very high level. Logically, it would be great to absorb such high-level energy, but the problem was that Roland couldnt directly absorb it. He had to transform it first. Closing his eyes and observing with his mind, Roland saw that the energy stick was no longer a green stick but a tiny green globe with detailed terrains on it! Well Roland tried to absorb some of the energy. He sensed that he had gotten ten times more magic power than he could from one Magic Power Transformation session. It was truly pure. After absorbing it for a while, Roland sensed that his energy was full. He estimated that something terrible would happen if he continued. His body might even explode and hed die. It was mainly because his body in reality was too pathetic compared to that in the game. Then, he opened his eyes, only to find that the energy stick was absolutely the same. He picked up the energy stick and found that it weighed as much as before. He frowned and weighed it in the lab, only to find that its weight really was absolutely the same. Su Minluo and the other researchers were in the lab. Because the study on the energy stick had been put on hold, they resumed their old projects. Seeing Roland in front of the weighing machine, Su Minluo walked over and asked, Did you find anything, Director Huang? I just absorbed a lot of energy. Roland pointed at the crystal stick. But it weighs the same as before. Is it possible that you didnt really absorb much? Roland nodded. Its possible that the loss of weight is too insignificant for the machine to detect. However, there may be another reason for that. Could it be refilling its energy on its own? Su Minluo was stunned. How is that possible? Wouldnt it have perpetual motion? You cant say that a black hole has perpetual motion, right? Roland opened his hands. Are you saying that its similar to a black hole in that it has a greater mass and can absorb objects with smaller masses? Su Minluo thought for a moment and asked a new question. But were it true, it should be gaining weight all the time, shouldnt it? Maybe it has a limited capacity? Roland stroked the surface of the crystal stick and found it surprisingly smooth. Su Minluo thought for a moment and said, Should I ask some people to assist you with your research? You can absorb it for a while longer and see if its weight and appearance change at all. Lets do that. From then on, Roland absorbed some energy from the crystal stick and transformed it into magic power every day. His strength continued expanding at a crazy speed. Even more unbelievably, he found that his weight was soaring but his body figure barely changed. He looked quite slim without many muscles, yet he weighed 97 kilograms. He had put on fifteen kilograms in only one month. He had been eating regularly and healthily during this time and didnt overeat at all. This is completely unbelievable. After extracting Rolands blood sample and checking his bone density, Su Minluo clicked her tongue, a report in her hand. Your body is far stronger than that of the best African athletes when youre not using buff spells. However, there are also side effects. Youll probably sink when you dive into water, so dont go swimming anymore. Roland chuckled. I know Levitation spells that can reduce my weight. I can breathe underwater too. You can do anything with magic, cant you? Su Minluo measured Rolands height. Its still 179cm, just like before. Do you feel any changes apart from the physical ones? Like those in your mind. Right, I havent seen you test spells at the bottom of the base for a while. I dont dare to do that anymore. Roland shook his head. My strength has grown too much for my body to control. I need to rest for a while and get used to it. That explains a lot. Su Minluo looked at Roland enviously. You are a literal Superman now, and youll probably live a very, very long life. Roland was already 30, but his blood and bone tests showed that his actual age was only about 17. Everybody wanted a young, healthy body, especially Su Minluo, who was almost 33. As a woman who preferred to stay beautiful, and as a researcher who had a career, she was no longer what she used to be when she just graduated in her twenties. The substance that was extracted from Rolands essence, internally codenamed Huang Nutrient, had been manufactured and well sold. However, it could only slow down aging, not rejuvenate those who were already old. There must be other substances or energy at work. All the researchers believed that the special magic power must be behind it. Life went on peacefully in the base for a few days, until some guests from another institute came. They were led by a white-haired old man, who said in a friendly manner, Comrade Huang, I already heard your name in the place where I worked. Thank you very much. For what? Roland found it odd. I dont think weve met before, have we? The old man chuckled. How old do you think I am?! Probably around sixty. Roland observed him carefully and made a speculation based on his complexion. You look very well, sir. Im already 87. The old man smiled. After a shock, Roland guessed what happened. I had been lying in bed for two years and was ready to retire. The old man looked at Roland gratefully. But after I was injected with the Huang Nutrient, I could get up and work for a few more years. I would die with regrets if I dont finish one certain task well. Roland realized that the man was here to ask for something from him. He said with a smile, Sir, how can I help you? Ill be sure to lend a hand if I can. You mustve heard of the moon development program, havent you? asked the old man. Roland nodded. Ive seen it on the news. Were about to establish a small research base on the moon. The landing on the back of the moon, and the manned mission to the moon thats about to be carried out, are all preparations for the moon base. The old man had a mouthful of water and said, Weve prepared for most of the steps, and we only need to carry them out one after the other. However, theres one step that we were never fully confident about. Roland listened quietly. You know that materials is one of the fields that our country is the worst at. The old man heaved a sigh. To establish a base on the moon, we have to deliver the materials in different batches at first and reassemble them up there. Considering the harsh vacuum on the moon and the loading capacity of rockets, our materials have to be light and resistant to cold, heat, and radiation. They also have to be hard and flexible. There are barely any materials that can meet all the requirements. What we do have all present shortcomings in certain aspects. Theyre either not resistant to radiation or too heavy. I hear that other countries have similar programs. Their solution is to mix the materials into glue first and then move a small 3D printer up there. Then, they can print the buildings out. Of course, thats just rumor on the Internet. I dont know if its true, said Roland. Whether or not its true, its a good solution, but we dont have that kind of material technology. The old man opened his hands and said helplessly, Also, according to our calculations, a moon base built in such a way will expire in five to six years. After all, a 3D printer only has limited compression abilities, and the buildings cant be too solid. Were different from them. We aim to try our best and make our base stand on the moon for more than ten years. How can I help with that? Roland asked. We had been upset about the lack of perfect materials, and we intended to use whatever we had and set the expiration date of the moon base to be ten years later, until a special stone slab was delivered to our lab. The old man smiled happily at Roland. Its as light as mud, and its much harder, more flexible, and more resistant to cold, heat, and radiation than metals of the same size. Its the perfect building material that we know. Roland knew what happened. How many of those slabs do you need? asked Roland with a smile. I think I can make several dozen tons. Hahaha, youre a good kid. The old man stood up and said excitedly, Come back to my base and help us make the mortise and tenon joints. The more, the better. Weve prepared the molds for you. A moon base with mortise and tenon structures? Roland was shocked. Its simpler this way. It doesnt even need nails. Its also very stable. However, how do you ensure the airtightness? If other countries can deliver tiny 3D printers up above, why cant we? The old man laughed. Our 3D printer will specifically be devoted to the production of airtight materials and structures. Problem solved, right? Roland raised his thumb in admiration. With the 3D printers dealing with the airtightness problem, the base would be a lot more reliable. Okay, if youre on board, just come with us. A transfer order has already been sent here. If you agree, it will be approved immediately. The old man waved his hand excitedly; he couldnt wait to drag Roland back to his team. Chapter 770 - Evolution Although he could leave immediately after the transfer order was passed, he had to give instructions to his team. After all, a lot of experiments had to be put on hold while he was away. It took him a day to deal with these trivial matters and he didnt set off until the second day. His virtual cabin was also moved with him. The airliner didnt want to transport the big bunk, but the base talked to the airliner and convinced them to help with the relocation. Then, only half a day later, Roland arrived at a certain space base at the center of the country. He was warmly welcomed. Then, a party was prepared for him. Someone also helped Roland set up the virtual cabin and connect it to the Internet. After a night of rest, Roland was taken to a large warehouse in the early morning. A lot of custom building materials were in the warehouse. Many unused molds were put aside too. Greetings, Comrade Huang. A middle-aged man with a tablet walked toward Roland and shook hands with him. Then he said, Our superior has told us about you. Now, would you please run a raw material transformation test for us? Roland was here exactly for that purpose. He nodded and said, Not a problem. Weve prepared more than ten kinds of mud with different density, quality, and stickiness. He raised his hand and waved, and a worker soon pushed a trolley of molds toward Roland. Weve prepared three molds for each kind of mud. There are 48 molds in total. We need enough samples for our tests. Sorry for the trouble. Three men approached and soon set up high-speed cameras. Roland raised his eyebrows. It was obvious that those eyes didnt trust him. Were they scared that he was a fraud? But that was understandable. What happened to Roland was so uncanny that nobody would believe it until they saw it with their own eyes. After all, there was no record of anything similar. Also, Roland didnt think that they were all the people who were watching him. There were several security cameras in the warehouse that mustve been set up to prevent anyone from stealing the goods, but Roland had no doubt that many bosses were observing him through the cameras at this moment. Of course, Roland wasnt bothered by that. He looked at the mud that was in different hues of yellowness and contained in piles of molds in the trolley and asked, Can I begin? Yes. Do you need us to unload the molds for you first? asked the middle-aged man. Roland shook his head. He snapped his finger and surrounded the molds with bright yellow magic power. Many peoples eyes almost popped out after seeing the magic energy that appeared out of nowhere. Someone even wanted to touch it to confirm that he wasnt hallucinating. Then, one of his colleagues instantly grabbed his hand and shook head. After that, the man backed off. After a dozen seconds, the yellow light was gone. Roland said, Done. The middle-aged director instantly grabbed a random mold and smashed it to the ground. The mold, made of fragile materials, was easily broken, revealing the inside that had been solidified into a tiny stone. It was bright yellow, extremely smooth, and even reflected the light. He tried knocking it on the floor, and the stone let out noises of collision. It was very hard. The middle-aged director hit it even harder. Even the cement floor was cracking, yet the stone pillar was absolutely fine. He wiped off the dust at the point of impact, and the stone didnt have a single scratch. It was obviously very sturdy. Some other people also came close and tried the parts after breaking their molds, only to find that they were surprisingly hard. The middle-aged man said in delight, Comrade Huang, were going to measure those samples. Thank you for your trouble. Youre welcome. The middle-aged man escorted Roland back to his temporary dormitory and then left quickly after saying goodbye. They were not snubbing Roland because he was no longer needed, but because they were really interested in the stone parts. The comprehensive and authoritative test took several days. Roland spent almost all this time in his dormitory. After all, this was also a classified base where he couldnt wander about freely. A few days later, the test result was out. An emergency meeting was convened. Almost all the bigshots and important researchers in the base were summoned. The old man who transferred Roland here said from the podium, The data of most tests are very satisfying. All the indicators of the building materials made of the mud with additional materials are better than what we had before. Sample No.9 and Sample No.18, in particular, have extraordinarily high comprehensive statistics. Their only shortcoming is heat conductivity. Theyre 5% higher than the slab of the lowest heat conductivity. Hearing that, all the meeting participants smiled. The stone slabs had low heat conductivity in the first place. A 5% increase from the lowest heat conductivity was insignificant. Therefore, the stone slabs and strips can completely replace the materials we had, said the old man. Now, if you agree that such materials should be used to make the external walls of the moon base, raise your hand. Everybody raised their hands. Then its settled. The old man made the decision. Well start building the molds tomorrow. Comrade Huang can only stay for a limited amount of time with us. Mr. Xu, can you keep him with us? shouted a researcher. Eggs can only keep us full for now. Wouldnt it be greater if we stole the hen that lays them? The old man smiled from the podium. He has his own research project thats as important as ours. Who do you think invented the Huang Nutrient that you eat now and then? All the researchers were smart enough to realize his implication. That was very impressive They didnt know that it was this young mans work. The next day, Roland became a material-making tool to those people. Because he didnt carry the crystal stick, he couldnt get magic elements from it and could only use Magic Power Transformation. Basically, the magic elements that he created every day would be drained on the same day. In no more than ten days, Roland was already getting slimmer Just kidding. He simply had dark eye bags. In reality, he became a building material producer, and in the game, the infrastructure on the floating city was completed as time went by. Based on the blueprints that Roland retrieved from the base, the architects and sculptors of Fareins did their work creatively. The military-styled buildings on the blueprints were reshaped into city gardens, or air gardens. Also, the convenience of the other buildings wasnt affected at all. Roland was quite happy to see that. Everybody wanted their home to look beautiful without losing its functions and convenience. Roland was quite satisfied with the infrastructure of the floating city. He voluntarily offered a lot of bonuses to the architects and sculptors. Some of them accepted the bonus, but most didnt. Eventually, it was a fat, bearded architect who had dwarf bloodlines who said, Mr. Roland, can you let us live here permanently? They had all realized how convenient the floating city was. It had three teleportation arrays, one to Wetland City in Hollevin, one to the Capital Square of Fareins, and the last one to the royal palace of Fareins. Of course, the last one was reserved for Roland and Stephanie. However, the workers were free to use the first two. They had used the two teleportation arrays a lot during the construction in the previous half year. It was needless to mention the capital of Fareins, which was their home. Wetland City, a city that they heard a lot about, gave them a lot of surprises too. In fact, as more and more teleportation arrays were established in the world, transportation would be easier and easier. The flying mounts were faced with great competitive pressure. However, the floating city was still very important. It was safe! In the main plane, the floating city was one of the greatest weapons. Also, if they lived in the city, they could proudly call themselves Citizens of the Sky. With that in mind, they asked Roland to give them a place to stay in. After all, the city was built by them and their disciples. The living areas in it could accommodate more than a hundred thousand people. Roland thought for a moment and said, Personally, Im happy to let you stay, but it remains unknown if youll be allowed to leave Fareins. Besides, Ill spend a lot of time in the Astral Plane later, which wont be safe. So, why dont you tell your opinion to Stephanie first, so that she and I can make a decision after I return from the Astral Plane? This was a good point. Those people were willing to wait, but the royal family of Fareins might not want to let them go. All these masters were talents that had been kept for generations. Even their disciples were top experts in architecture and carpentry. Under normal circumstances, no country would let such a batch of talents go abroad. Those masters all sighed and left one after another. After confirming that the floating city was empty, Roland flew it to the heights. He flew higher above the clouds and reached the border between the Astral Plane and the main plane. Above his head was a dark sky, and below him was a stretch of clouds that looked like white fungi. Roland teleported himself to the Magic Grid Core and looked at the connected magic power bricks. After examining them and confirming their functionality, he took the Brutalization Divine Spark out of the system Backpack. To be honest, Roland didnt like the Divine Spark. He knew what brutalization meant very well. The Divine Spark appeared and glowed in Rolands hand. Then, the Magic Grid Core began to shiver, as if it was trying to vibrate at the same frequency as the Brutalization Divine Spark did in order to absorb it. Without any hesitation, Roland connected himself to the Magic Grid Core. When he was emitting greenness all over, he threw the fragment of the Brutalization Divine Spark into the core without hesitation. The white ball of energy instantly melted like snow in boiling oil. Roland sensed something additional in his mental world. Because he was connected to the Magic Grid Core, throwing something to the Magic Grid Core was no different from throwing it into his brain. The Divine Spark fragment melted into streams of energy, and a lot of intermittent memory pieces were separated. Some of them belonged to Abak, and some belonged to others. They were probably the collective memories of the former Gods of Brutalization. The memories overlapped each other. They were quite nauseating. Looking at those images, one would subconsciously think that they were part of their memories, but then their intellect would tell them that they werent. The conflict could easily result in sickness and disorientation. So, Roland tried to stop himself from peeking at those memories, yet they voluntarily came to him. On the other hand, the Divine Spark was essentially a collection of human subconsciousness and emotions. Therefore, the Brutalization Divine Spark was basically full of blood and gore. Also, those memories had a clear purpose, which was to reside inside the soul of an intelligent creature, probably because only intelligent creatures had complex emotions. Although it was only one-third of the original Divine Spark, the memories in it were still overwhelming. Roland was very strong at this moment. Also, his willpower was surprisingly high after he was connected to the Magic Grid Core. However, the problem was that he had never really practiced any soul magic. So, he was caught with a serious problem He could not block or assimilate the memories or broken souls in the Divine Spark piece. A myriad of souls appeared in Rolands mental world. There were souls in the sky and on the ground. The broken memories and souls almost crammed the entire world. Roland, on the other hand, was like a poor guy on a crowded metro and couldnt move at all. What should he do? Rolands soul let out a weak and helpless cry. If it went on like this, he would be squished by the unowned memories sooner or later. While he was at a loss about what to do, the land of his mind fell apart and a huge chasm appeared. A bright ball of light surfaced from the depths of his soul. The ball emitted a warm brilliance and generated a weird attraction force. It first absorbed the souls in the sky. It then absorbed the souls on the ground. Roland watched the ball of light in shock and finally remembered what it was. It was his virtual Divine Spark. He had mostly used it as a soul connector between him and Anna. He never used it on other occasions, so he almost forgot that he had such a fancy weapon. Looking at the souls that had been compressed into black pearls inside the light ball, Roland instantly felt uncomfortable. After all, everybody was more or less a victim to trypophobia. Then, his consciousness was ejected from the soul world. The Magic Grid Core in front of his eyes glowed and dimmed like a beating heart. Then, Roland received two system notifications. The Magic Grid Core is swallowing divine energy. The result is unknown. Countdown: 23:58:11. Your virtual Divine Spark is converting to the Brutalization Divine Spark. 71:58:11 to go until the fully successful conversion. He was turning into a God of Brutalization? Wait, he wasnt even a Demigod yet! Chapter 771 - I’m Going to Discipline You Chapter 771 Im Going to Discipline You It wasnt a problem that the Magic Grid Core was swallowing the divine energythat was Rolands goal. However, it wasnt good that his virtual Divine Spark was converting to the Brutalization Divine Spark. The Brutalization Divine Spark was evil. If he absorbed that, he would probably become an Evil God. Of course, some might argue that power was neither good nor evil and what mattered was the person who used it. That argument was correct in a way. However, it did not apply to every situation. For example, poppy, as a medicine, could cure a lot of diseases. But everybody knew the consequence of absorbing it on a large scale. The Brutalization Divine Spark, on the other hand, was like methamphetamine, which was much more tempting than poppy. It was almost impossible to quit smoking it after a few attempts. Almost no human being was ever strong enough to quit smoking methamphetamine on their own, because the methamphetamine could permanently change the reward and punishment system in their brain. They were no longer normal human beings. Therefore, the best solution was to always keep a distance from the drug. Always. The evil Divine Sparks were the same. It was best to leave them alone and not convert them. Once they melted in the soul, the nature of the soul would change. There were 71 hours to go until the virtual Divine Spark turned into the Brutalization Divine Spark, enough for him to separate the virtual divine spark from his soul. He paused the floating city and set up a bunch of defensive barriers powered by the Magic Grid Core at the foundation of the floating city. He was still in the main plane at this moment. Any god would be suppressed here. Even if a dozen Evil Gods had arrived, it wouldnt be easy for them to break into the floating city. Right when Roland was about to abandon the virtual Divine Spark, he raised his eyebrows and flashed into the space created by Mystras Mansion. The light of the Astral Plane fell on the floor through the transparent wall and flowed like a river. Andonara, who looked anxious, was greatly relieved to see Roland flashing in. She came to him and asked, What happened? I had a bad feeling about you just now. You carried an evil and murderous vibe. As the only Hero at this moment, she was quite sensitive about unholy auras. She had always adored Roland and connected to his virtual Divine Spark, offering a lot of power of faith. She was even sort of a zealous worshiper, so she could sense Roland quite clearly. This is what happened. Roland told her the whole story. He also told her that he was about to abandon the virtual Divine Spark. Andonara was quite relieved after hearing that. If Roland turned the virtual Divine Spark into a Brutalization Divine Spark and became an Evil Gdo, she would naturally be corrupted into an Evil God believer too. So, she didnt want Roland to become an Evil God. You came at the perfect time, said Roland with a smile. I will probably be unconscious when I take out the virtual Divine Spark. Although Ill be protected by the floating city, Ill be reassured if someone I trust watches over me. Dont worry, I wont let anyone approach you. Andonara walked to a corner and grabbed the Heros Sword from where she had been keeping it. Then, they left the space, hand in hand, and came to the square of the floating city. The place was quite spacious. Even if anything happened, it wouldnt cause much damage. Both of them were very quick. Andonara unsheathed her sword the moment she came to the square. She stood five meters away from Roland and completely released her senses. Nothing nearby could escape from her attention. She could even detect the flow of the air. Roland, on the other hand, sat down and entered his mental world. He hadnt felt any discomfort so far, but after entering the soul world, he found that the situation was more serious than he thought. After the brief delay, the virtual Divine Spark in his soul turned red, and the air it released even dyed a corner of his soul world red. One-third of the blue soul sky had turned crimson too and looked very strange. Although it would take seventy hours for the virtual Divine Spark to turn into the Brutalization Divine Spark, its corruption would begin before it finally kicked in. He couldnt wait anymore. Roland only waited a few seconds before he tried to remove the virtual Divine Spark from his soul. He imagined countless giant blue Hands of Magic that grabbed the converting virtual Divine Spark and pulled it to the sky. An enormous opening appeared in the sky, and intense brilliance was beaming from the opening. During the pulling, many Hands of Magic turned red and broke into halves fragilely. Roland kept creating new Hands of Magic and didnt stop until the thing was completely ejected from the soul world. Then, he began to purge the areas that had been reddened with his mental power. In reality, Andonara saw a red ball emerging from Rolands hand and hovering there slowly. Her instinct as a Hero told her that it was foul and filthy. She wanted to cut the thing into pieces, but Roland hadnt woken up yet. What if Roland had other plans for the thing? Therefore, she simply waited patiently. However, things didnt go as planned. Ten seconds after the converting virtual Divine Spark left Rolands soul, a lot of eyes appeared above the floating city. All of those eyes stared at the floating city. Gods. Andonara mumbled to herself. She wouldnt consider it a big deal if there were one or two gods, but so many gods at the same time was very pressuring. Unlike the players who werent afraid of anything except their parents, Andonara was born and raised in this world. She was taught that the gods were almighty and inviolable. Even though she was stronger than most gods at this moment, the education that she had grown up with still influenced the way she thought and acted. Therefore, her back was damp with sweat and she was somewhat frightened. However, after seeing Roland not far away and thinking that he might be hurt by an Evil God, Andonara shucked her fear to the bottom of her heart. She braved all those eyes and distinguished the malicious ones from the friendly ones. Woman, if you kill Roland and offer the converting Divine Spark to me, I will make an exception for you and name you my servant. Youll live an eternal life in the Realm of Gods. How does it sound? Okay, she remembered those eyes. Andonara coldly stared at the eyes. As if sensing Andonaras hate, the owner of the eyes snorted. You dont know whats good for you. Then, an enormous pressure came down from far away. Andonara foresaw the mental attack and was braced for it. However, the mental power was blocked by a transparent shield when it reached the top of the floating city. A giant, round barrier protected the floating city. Although the shield at the edge trembled and even broke twice, there were a dozen more shields behind it. Also, the broken shield was automatically repaired after only two seconds. The mental attack lasted one minute and caused nothing except the manifestation of the magic shields. Andonara was greatly relieved. Very soon, the mental attack faded. Another snort came from the direction of the eyes, and they were gone. Then, all the gods let out mocking laughter. Only the God of Recklessness wouldve attacked a target that was under the protection of a floating city in a different realm. That Evil God was a typical example of those who leap before they think. At this moment, the voice of a goddess echoed down. Woman Warrior, youre stronger than any human Ive seen. I even see the Blood of Heroes in you. Andonara looked at her beautiful eyes. Im Mepala, the Goddess of Love, continued the pleasant and alluring voice. I will not make you betray your man, and Im not interested in the thing thats about to turn into an evil Divine Spark. However, Im very interested in both of you. If youre willing to join the Church of Love, Ill bless you so that youll always be together and never be separated. The Goddess of Love was a Neutral goddess. Her words were more or less trustworthy. Andonara was more or less tempted. She was really interested in being with Roland forever. All women tended to be sentimental. She thought that the Goddess of Love was rather friendly, so she said in a friendly way, Ms. Mepala, Im very interested in your suggestion, but can I consider it for a moment longer? Sure. No A casual female voice interrupted their conversation. A pair of beautiful pink eyes stared at Andonara. Im Mystra, the Goddess of Magic. Ms. Andonara, I dont care who you worship, but if you ever want to manipulate Roland with pillow talk, Ill spank you. Hmm? All the gods and goddesses looked at Mystra as she was talking in a weird way. Shouldnt the usual way to punish a mortal be to obliterate her or to dry her on the Wall of the Faithless? Why would she spank Andonara? It was more like domestic violence than a punishment. Andonara blinked in confusion too. The Goddess of Love became angry. Whats the meaning of this? I talked first and came here first, all right? Bitch, you want to intercept my m-believer, and you expect me to be nice to you? Mystra snorted. That man has no power of faith at all. Only an idiot would believe that hes your believer. Mystra said casually, If I say he is, he is. You got a problem with that? Youre being a bully just because youre one of the main Lawful Goddesses. Life, Light, and Death, arent you going to show up and serve justice? Nobody spoke up. Three pairs of beautiful eyes even vanished. If you continue making a fuss, Im going to flash to your face and blow up half of your paradise. Do you believe me? Mystras eyes turned cold. Humph! The Goddess of Love realized something, and the eyes that represented her vanished. However, more eyes stayed behind. They wanted to see Rolands choice after he woke up. Would he abandon the evil Divine Spark, or would he absorb it? In fact, most people already had an answer. They only stayed to see if there was any surprise. Andonara waited patiently. She was feeling rather stressed. It wasnt because she was awed by the gods and goddesses, but because of something else. Several goddesses seemed to have developed an interest in her man. What should she do? Could anybody teach her how to compete with a goddess for a man? She was thinking about such questions all this time. She didnt have many advantages in front of the goddesses at all. None of the goddesses were ugly. Even the Spider Queen was very charming. At this moment, Roland woke up. When he opened his eyes, Andonara ran to him and said delightedly, Great! Are you all right, Roland? Roland had been still after he extracted the evil Divine Spark, which made her wonder if something went wrong with Rolands soul. Roland shook his head with a smile. It took him a lot of time to purge his soul world. After all, the corruption came from the rules of divinity. It was hard to clean even though it wasnt serious. He stood up and looked at the eyes packed in the sky. He easily spotted Mystras pink eyes that were smiling cutely. He waved at her and smiled at all the gods and goddesses. It seems that Im quite popular. So many bigshots are visiting me at the same time. Many gods and goddesses frowned. They sensed Rolands disrespect again, because Roland described them as bigshots. It was a term usually used to describe human beings. It meant that in Rolands eyes, all the gods and goddesses were equal to him. Few of the gods and goddesses didnt care about Rolands attitude. Very soon, anger and discontentment surrounded the floating city. Roland ignored them and simply grabbed the red virtual Divine Spark near him. I imagine that a lot of you want this. The eyes in the sky were all seething. The Lawful Gods didnt want it, the Evil Gods loved it, and the Neutral Gods were indifferent. The Divine Spark was the foundation of their power. The more complete their Divine Spark was, the more power they would have and the stronger they would be. Of course, the number of believers was very important. The Four Lawful Goddesses were only powerful because they had complete Divine Sparks. For example, the Goddess of Light had the complete Light Divine Spark that nobody could take away, and part of the Fire Divine Spark. The God of Fire was much poorer. Not only was his Fire Divine Spark partly owned by the Goddess of Light, but the concept that fire could generate light didnt apply to him either. So he was only a neutral, inferior god that was suppressed by the Goddess of Light. If the two of them were to fight, the Goddess of Light could kill him in less than a minute. There were a lot of poor gods such as the God of Fire whose Divine Spark was split up. For example, the Goddess of Loves claim on lust was partly owned by the Spider Queen. The Spider Queens power of shadow and darkness didnt fully belong to her either. Roland looked at the evil eyes who earnestly stared at the Divine Spark like hungry dogs that had seen s*it. He smiled and grabbed the Divine Spark with an enormous Hand of Magic, before he threw it into the Astral Plane. The Divine Spark disappeared into the Astral Plane, leaving a red trail behind. Immediately, a lot of the eyes vanished. Only some of the eyes remained. A few seconds later, those eyes were gone too. Only a pair of pink eyes stayed and looked at him. Roland, fly your floating city here.I can protect you while its evolving. Theres also something I want to say to you. A familiar voice echoed inside Rolands soul. Chapter 772 - I Need to Use Your Body Chapter 772 I Need to Use Your Body At the end of their conversation, the Goddess of Magic even sent a pair of coordinates telepathically to him. After reading the coordinates, Roland realized where the Paradise of Magic was in the Astral Plane. He could even sense it. However, the journey to the Astral Plane was quite long The Astral Plane was unbelievably huge, and the distance between paradises was massive too. Roland didnt know how big they were exactly, but based on the coordinates he was given, it was difficult for the floating city to get there. He could only use teleportation. In the main plane, Roland never teleported the floating city because it was too large and heavy. The larger an object to be teleported was, the bigger waves it would cause in space. Also, if the distance was too long, the teleportation would have a huge impact. For example, if the floating city was teleported from the capital of Fareins to ten kilometers above Delpon, the aftershock of the space quakes would raze the small city to the ground. Also, because the floating city was too large, it was hard to control its destination during the teleportation. If it was accidentally teleported five kilometers above Delpon, probably no living thing would survive. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the floating city could only fly in the main plane. However, teleportation wasnt a problem in the Astral Plane, which was as spacious as a universe. An error of ten kilometers was tolerable here. Also, the resistance of the paradises was much higher than that of the cities in the main plane. It took Roland half an hour to compile a massive teleportation array with the magic power crystal. He then teleported near the space coordinates that the Goddess of Magic gave him. It was a gigantic purple crystal of energy, so large that it was almost the size of three Earths. Its surface was smooth and contained no impurities. Void worms were everywhere in the Astral Plane. Void worms of different sizes and colors surrounded the purple and red spheres as colorful rings around them, like the rings of certain planets. The floating city emerged in the middle of a ring after the teleportation. The violent yet invisible space quakes squished and knocked away everything nearby. The worms large and small were thrown away as pieces of flesh and shells. The floating city caused a tiny hole on the ring where it appeared. But very soon, the assortment of worms nearby swallowed their dead compatriots and swam to the floating city. They dared not get any closer when they were fifty meters away from the floating city, and they spontaneously surrounded it in a belt. In the floating city, Andonara looked at the densely-packed worms outside with the most shocked expression on her face. After a long time, she finally turned around and looked at Roland. Is the Astral Plane so terrible? She could tell that those worms were almost all as strong as human Masters. Some of the larger worms had even become Legendary. Without the protection of the floating city, even she couldnt stay for long in this place, not to mention the lack of air, the cold, and other negative factors in the Astral Plane. However, while the worms were very strong, they were unintelligent and acted purely based on natural instincts, so they were much easier to deal with than the devils were. The devils were reckless, but they were smart and could use weapons and make the most of their advantages. They even felt fear and knew when to retreat. The Astral Plane isnt really terrible. Those worms are only interested in magic power, but magic power thats too intense is poison to them. Roland pointed at the circle of worms around the floating city. Look, theyre not getting closer, are they? Andonara nodded and was greatly relaxed. Every woman tended to be scared of insects. Andonara wouldnt have cared if there were two hundred worms, but she felt quite uncomfortable when worms were all she could see. While they talked, the gigantic purple sphere up ahead suddenly emitted two streaks of light on the both sides of Rolands floating city. Then, Roland sensed an attraction force on the floating city. Was it being pulled? re. Roland gave up controlling the floating city and simply let the streaks of light drag the floating city to the purple sphere All the worms in the way of the floating city subconsciously avoided it and wandered around it, absorbing the loose magic elements at the edge of the city. About half an hour later, the floating city approached the surface of the purple sphere, where there were no worms at all. As the floating city approached, the purple energy square that emitted the streaks of light disappeared, revealing a huge channel. The floating city moved into the channel. The entrance of the channel was blocked again. The floating city seemed to have entered a different world after entering the interior of the sphere. The channel was already gone. Around the floating city was a blue sky. Down below were green fields, rivers, hills, and all kinds of animals. Andonara looked at the spacious world and scratched her head. Didnt we enter a gigantic sphere? Why are we in another world? Its space folding. Roland sensed the magic power as well as the spatial structures nearby. The gigantic purple sphere we saw outside was just the physical appearance of this paradise. After entering it, weve reached a complete world where mind determines matter. Very smart. A voice suddenly came from behind them. Andonara was so shocked that she jumped back, unsheathed her sword, and got into a battle pose. Roland, on the other hand, turned around unhurriedly and said with a smile, Goddess, please dont be so surprising. This is my paradise. I can appear anywhere I want, she replied with a smile and observed Roland with great interest. At this moment, Andonara moved between them with her sword and gazed at the Goddess of Magic coldly. Youre too close. Exactly. Roland and I are very close. Mystra looked at Andonara and smiled. I know youre Rolands woman. I dont mind. Seeing how confident Mystra was, Andonara was more or less frustrated. They were even with each other in terms of looks and figure. However, the divinity on Mystra and the resulting charm were things that Andonara didnt have. Okay, goddess, dont make fun of Andonara. Roland laid his right hand on his womans hip and dragged her back to him. Did you summon me here for anything other than providing protection for me? Seeing Rolands hand on Andonaras hip, Mystra seemed rather angry. Andonaras uneasiness was quickly driven away. She put away her longsword and even raised her chin provocatively. Mystra simply ignored her and stared at Roland. I summoned you partly to protect you while your floating city evolves, and partly to inform you of where some special neutral Divine Spark fragments are! Roland was surprised. There are unclaimed pieces of Divine Sparks? Is it possible? Why is it impossible? replied Mystra casually. Theyre all hidden in the Astral Plane. Why did nobody claim them? Roland was quite confused. Its not easy to claim them. Mystra smiled. Theyre in the hands of the Evil Gods, who can easily absorb the Divine Sparks of other Evil Gods but not those of Neutral ones. All of them are claimed but not entirely activated. Roland got it. If I kill them, Ill be able to rob them of the neutral Divine Sparks or their pieces? As long as you kill them once, they will almost certainly drop the Divine Sparks. Mystra shrugged. The only problem is that the Evil Gods are all quite strong. As she talked, Mystra walked closer and pointed her finger at Rolands forehead, sending a piece of information into his brain. Ive included their range of activity, specialties, and weaknesses in my message. Her finger, which was laid between Rolands eyebrows at first, moved down slowly to the tip of Rolands nose as she talked. Im supposed to go with you, but Ill be a lot weaker outside my paradise. Also, accidents will likely occur. Roland nodded. He had heard that there were gods who had never left their paradise from when they were born to when they died. It will take some time for the floating city to evolve. Why dont we chat over a cup of tea? Mystra waved her hands, and both of them were raised from the ground. Lets go to my place. They flew after Mystra. In the Paradise of Magic, there was a high tower after every fixed distance, and on the top of the tower was a huge platform. In the magic world, towers represented knowledge and wisdom, because a long time ago, only the sages were qualified to live in tall towers. Very soon, the four of them flew to the highest golden platform. After dropping Roland and Andonara, Mystra slowly landed too. Right, someone wants to meet you. Me? Roland was slightly confused. Mystra waved her hand, and a transparent shadow appeared in front of Roland. He was quite familiar with this guy. After a brief shock, Roland cried, Mr. Chairman, why did you The person standing in front of him was exactly Aldo, the chairman of the Delpon Magic Tower who had looked after him a lot seven years earlier. Aldo offered the chairmans position and even his manor to Roland. Then, he left Hollevin and went missing. Roland didnt expect to see him in the Paradise of Magic. Why dont you catch up? Mystra smiled at Roland and Aldo. Then, she looked at Andonara. Lets give them some privacy. Shall we have a talk too? Andonara looked at Roland and nodded. Then, the two women walked away. Roland and Aldo, on the other hand, sat down at the table that Mystra had prepared. Roland wasnt in his best mood, as Aldos appearance as a soul suggested that he was already dead. He had been to the paradise a lot in his soul state, but the difference between the souls of the living and those of the dead was very obvious. Aldo was a resident in the Paradise of Magic at this moment. How did you die? Roland couldnt help but ask. Aldo said with a smile, At the hands of my enemies. After I left Hollevin, I went to Urganda. Its a desert of magic knowledge and a place where Mages have privileges. You were tricked? Not exactly. Aldo shook his head. I was well-appreciated at first and built a Magic Tower for myself. Over the years, I heard a lot about you. Youve even flown a floating city to this place. You are an even greater genius than I expected. After a smile, Roland asked solemnly, If you had such privileges, how did you end up in the Paradise of Magic? Urganda is perhaps a more fertile place. I could barely impregnate women before I came there, but in Urganda, my wives gave birth to a lot of children. Aldo smiled rather proudly. When you have a lot of children, you tend to plan for them and want to give them the best resources. My ambitions grew. You know that if I had more resources, other people would have less. So, conflicts were brewing and gradually escalated into familial competitions. Roland realized what happened. Aldo was probably involved in a political event and got killed. Fortunately, Ive been the goddesss loyal believer since three years ago. Thats why I continued to exist in her paradise after I died. He paused for a moment and then said rather awkwardly, After I heard that you were coming to the paradise, I begged the goddess to meet you because I have a favor to ask of you. What is it? Roland estimated that it was probably about Aldos family. He would surely help the man if he could. After all, Aldo did treat him well years back. After I died, my wives and children were probably doomed, said Aldo rather in frustration. But I have a bastard son that nobody knows about except the gods. I hope that you can help him. If hes gifted, lead him on the path of magic; if he isnt, just make sure he has enough money. Can you do that?. Roland smiled. Thats very easy. No problem at all. He was born in a village called Tasha to the northeast of the capital of Urganda. Aldo searched his memories and said, I remember naming him Bigby, but I dont know if his mother changed his name. Right, his mother is named Kardashian and his father in name is Svition. Both of them are peasants. Roland nodded. Got it. Thank you. After Roland accepted the request, Aldo smiled delightedly and gradually faded away until he completely vanished. Heaving a long sigh, Roland was rather bummed. Normally speaking, most residents in the paradise werent conscious, except the souls whose minds were exceptionally tenacious. Aldo was certainly not one of them. However, he was wide awake just now, which suggested that he had burned out the power of his soul to talk to Roland. After he expressed his wish, he was gone and his soul turned into the fundamental power of faith. On the other hand, Andonara looked quite frightened. Mystra said to her in a low voice, You need to worship me and let me take control of your body for a moment. Got it? Chapter 773 - The Carefree Days Before Hunting Gods The two women had vastly different expressions when they talked. Mystra looked happy and hopeful, and Andonara seemed as shocked as when she first saw the ocean of worms. Or rather, she looked even more astounded than when she saw the worms. Roland didnt care what the two women were whispering to each other about as long as they werent fighting. He waited for a while. Very soon, the two women finished their conversation. Then, Andonara walked back, seemingly very disoriented. Whats wrong? Seeing how distracted she was, Roland was slightly worried. Did Mystra say something that she found unacceptable? Andonara shook her head and said with a bitter smile, No, Mystra simply said something very strange to me. You mean the girly stuff? asked Roland. Andonara nodded and thought for a moment. Then she said, Yes, its rather tricky and I cant think it through for now. Is it very troublesome? Do you need me to help with your analysis? asked Roland. Andonara shook her head again. No, its unnecessary. Its just something trivial between two women. Fine. Roland didnt think about it anymore. Andonara was very strong and not someone that anybody could take advantage of. Mystra wasnt an Evil God either. Even if they had a conflict, it shouldnt be too serious. Mystra walked to them and said, It will take some more time for your floating city to complete its evolution. Why dont we chat over a cup of wine? Sure. Then, all the three of them sat at the golden table and chatted while drinking the pink fruit wine. However, Roland and Mystra did most of the talking. They were communicating their different understandings of magic. Andonara listened. She didnt understand magic. Although she smiled and replied to them now and then, she was absentminded most of the time. In the paradise, thanks to Mystras enhancement, none of them felt tired. After chatting and drinking for over ten days, even Roland felt that he had enough, but Mystra seemed to still be enjoying herself. Your floating city has finished swallowing the divine energy. Mystra stood up and waved her hand, and the three of them appeared in the floating city. She looked at Andonara and said, Consider it well. It will be a win-win. Andonara pursed her lips and didnt say anything After boarding the floating city, Roland instantly connected to it, only to find that the Magic Grid Core at the foundation of the floating city changed color from bright blue to white. Its capacity of magic power was improved to 42,176, 30% higher than before. That was a rather unbelievable improvement. The compression rate of the magic power bricks had hit a bottleneck before, but after the divine energy in the Divine Spark was absorbed, the bottleneck was overcome. A greater magic power capacity meant a better performance and a higher ability to attract magic power. Earlier, the floating city could attract the magic power within a hundred meters, but at this moment, the range was expanded to 110 meters. Also, the magic power in the floating city would be purer than before. Swallowing the divine energy one time had resulted in a 30% increase. What if he did it a few more times? Roland got excited. But very soon, he held back his excitement and said, Then well go back first. Visit me again if you have time. Mystra smiled happily. You know where my paradise is now. Roland nodded. Although Mystra lost the ability of creation after becoming a goddess, a lot of knowledge had been transmitted into her soul along with the power of faith as more and more Mages worshiped her. She had much more knowledge than she did two years earlier. After all, Mages were known to be erudite. Mystra was very happy that Roland accepted her invitation. She waved her hand, and a hole appeared behind the floating city. After that, she smiled at Roland like a blossoming flower and then gradually vanished. The floating city left the paradise, and the purple sphere could be seen again. The rings made up of countless void insects were back. Roland waited for a moment and reestablished a connection to the spatial coordinates that he remembered. Then, he activated the massive arrays on the floating city and teleported the gargantuan object to the border between the Astral Plane and the main plane. Then, he slowly landed on the main plane. Roland wasnt in a hurry to hunt the Evil Gods who had the pieces of neutral Divine Sparks. Instead, he returned to Delpon and quickly gathered a new virtual Divine Spark. Without that, it wouldve been impossible for Andonara to enter the space created by Mystras Mansion. However, it took time to create a new virtual Divine Spark, so Roland went to the capital of Urganda when he was free. The locals of the desert kingdom were well known to be a people who often fought amongst themselves. Roland witnessed a dozen fights only half an hour after reaching the capital in the desert. They were either internal conflicts between locals, or locals fighting travelers. Severed arms and legs could be seen everywhere. Yet, nobody cared about that. A lot of people were watching the dramas, which seemed to be conducted according to certain rules. Maybe due to the Mage robe that Roland was wearing, nobody dared to come to him for trouble, until Roland asked about Aldos family at the Association of Mages in the capital. What people showed off was mostly what they were most short of. The Association of Mages in the capital of the desert had the cheesiest and largest headquarters Roland had ever seen. Even the Association of Mages of Fareins, which was the most powerful country in the world, didnt have such large headquarters. But of course If any Mage was asked which Association of Mages had the largest headquarters, they would say that it was Fareins Kingdoms instead of Urgandas. That was the importance of knowledge and talent. The entrance of the Association of Mages had a floor that was made of the powder of void meteors and special building materials. It looked like a black mirror. There were also four overlapping circles at the center which were made of four magic gems that were of a similar size but different in color. Even more surprisingly, those gems were luminous. They were the source of light on the first floor. Even though Roland was already very rich, his lips cramped and he secretly cursed the extravagance of these people after he saw this. Then, he walked to the counter. A female receptionist looked at Roland nervously. As someone in the circle of magic, the receptionist knew that the less suntanned someone was, the stronger he tended to be. Besides, the magic robe that Roland wore didnt look simple at all. Dear Mage, is there anything I can help you with? Roland asked with a smile, There used to be a foreign Mage in this place named Aldo A bell rang abruptly. Roland looked at the receptionist in surprise as she rang the bell on the counter in panic and anxiety Before Roland figured out what was going on, a bunch of people had rushed down from upstairs. They all wore magic robes. Most were locals whose skin were dark, along with two female Mages who had relatively fair skins. They quickly surrounded Roland. The receptionist was so frightened that she hid below the counter. Roland looked around and asked, What are you trying to do? Are you Aldos conspirator? a middle-aged Mage stood up and asked. Forgive our rudeness, but you must stay out of this. Roland was already a Legend at this moment, and it was already his instinct to conceal his magic waves, or the ordinary people around him wouldnt be able to stand the magic power that he leaked. They wouldve been intoxicated by the magic power or even killed. Therefore, Roland was not keeping a low profile on purpose. To paraphrase what a certain rich guy said, keeping a low profile was the greatest friendliness that a Legendary Mage could exhibit in this world. He impressed everybody as an Elite Mage. However, in the desert kingdom, even an Elite Mage was still strong enough. So, these people didnt dare to attack Roland, fearing that he might hurt them. I dont care about Aldo, and I dont mean to avenge him, said Roland casually. However, if anyone from his family is still alive, Id like to take them away and care for them. Now that youve heard my message, stop trying to eliminate them. From now on, if Aldos family is hurt, I have a hundred ways to raze the Association of Mages to the ground. Who do you think you are? An Elite Master is bold enough to make such a declaration. You may be from Fareins, so what Roland interrupted him. Im Roland. If youre Mages, you mustve heard my name. Not that Roland was bragging about himself, but his reputation in the circle of Mages was beyond the imagination of outsiders. Apart from the new spells he invented, the modified spells that he dedicated to the Goddess of Magic could already make him the most well-known Mage in the world. Besides, he even had a floating city, which was every Mages dream. Hearing what Roland said, they all stepped back in fear and panic. The middle-aged Mage said hoarsely, Why would a bigshot such as Roland come to this place or defend Aldo Roland didnt want to waste time on him, so he simply released half of his mental pressure. Those people were so scared that they could barely stand steadily. At this moment, Roland looked like a Master But in this moment, a Master-level Mage was already invincible. After all, this place was a desert of magic. Those people instantly lost their courage. The middle-aged Mage changed his attitude and invited Roland upstairs. Someone also ran out to send messages. Roland knew their plan, but he didnt stop them. It was great that someone was sending messages. In such a way, whoever was behind the curtain would show up, and he didnt have to waste his time on investigation. Great wine was served and beautiful girls danced for him. The belly dance of the desert girls was really interesting. Roland had a great time. About half an hour later, the door opened, and an old Mage came in with a panicked mother and daughter. Both of them had fair skin, which indicated that they werent locals. The moment Roland saw them, he stood up. The woman was indeed one of Aldos many wives. She was the maid who carried his child first. Back when Aldo was still in Delpon, Roland often visited him in his manor and saw this woman a lot. She was dressed quite prettily. The girl, who was about five years old, stuck to her mother like a frightened kitten. The woman was very scared at first, but the moment she saw Roland, there was surprise on her face, which was then replaced by hope and expectation. Her body was trembling, but she was smart enough not to shout. Instead, she bit her lips hard so that she wouldnt make any noise due to her excitement. Rolands integrity was well known in Delpon. She believed that if Roland was here, she and her daughter would be saved. The old Mage who took them in looked desperate after seeing their expressions. He voluntarily walked forward and lowered his head in front of Roland, before he said in a low voice, Esteemed Mr. Roland, its an honor to meet you. Are you the chairman of this place? Roland stood up and said slowly, Im glad to meet you too. You must be here to avenge Aldo, said the old Mage with a helpless, bitter smile. You can kill me and my sons and daughters-in-law, but please spare my first grandson, considering that I spared Aldos wife and oldest daughter. Is that the tradition among nobles? To preserve their bloodline? asked Roland curiously. You seem to know me, so why did you dare to kill Aldos other wives and children? The old Mage shook his head. No, we didnt know you were backing Aldo. He begged us to spare a daughter or son for your sake before he died. We didnt believe him back then, but in the spirit of the nobles grace, we let his wife and firstborn daughter live. We even gave them a house. However, as time went by, I felt that it wasnt right. A dying man shouldnt tell lies. So, I asked someone to investigate Aldos past and discovered you. To be honest, Im not interested in what happened between you. Im only here to take Aldos family away at his request. In the paradise, Aldo had already forgiven him. He was only worried about his descendants. Hearing that, the old Mage was ecstatic. Mr. Roland, what do you mean? Compensate them properly, and I can pretend that nothing happened. Roland sat back in his chair. What do you think of my proposal? Thank you for your mercy! The old Mage almost fell to his knees in excitement. Would you please wait a moment? No problem. The old Mage departed the room and left the mother and daughter behind. After the door closed, the woman began to weep with her daughter in her arms in a pitiful yet relaxed way. Its been a while, Casulefin, said Roland slowly. I had no idea what happened to Aldo and you. Sorry that it took me so long to come. You mustve suffered. Casulefin shook her head hard and said while sobbing, Its not your fault. I told him not to be so competitive, but he never listened. Roland heaved a long sigh. Everybody had different views on competition. If you dont compete, people may find you weak; but if you do compete, they may find you too ambitious. Roland picked up Aldos daughter and was about to fetch his bastard son in the village. On Andonaras side, she made special progress too. At this moment, she was looking at herself in a mirror. She moved her body and smiled. Not bad, I feel very good. Our soul waves match perfectly. Oh, your eyes turned pink. We have to change that, or Roland will easily notice what happened. Right Why dont you share the bedroom memories of you and Roland with me? I want to do a better job in pretending. Chapter 774 - You’re a Little Weird Today A small spatial ring was placed in front of Casulefin. Then the old Mage turned to Roland and said respectfully, Three hundred top-quality magic gems, each of which will cost no less than one gold coin, some about three gold coins. The total price is about 700 gold coins. Roland nodded. That was a high value indeed. Seven hundred gold coins were enough to reestablish a mid-level noble family. But whether the victims were satisfied or not was another matter. He looked at Casulefin and asked with his expression what she thought. Casulefin nodded. She was a maidservant and had never seen such a large sum of money, so naturally, she wouldnt have any second thoughts about it. Thats it, then. Roland didnt want any more trouble. After all, Aldo would be satisfied with just saving his illegitimate son. Roland saving a mother and daughter could be counted as a bonus. Hearing Rolands words, the old Mage sighed in relief, his expression looking as if hed been granted a new lease of life. A Mage like Roland with a floating city could destroy a country by himself, not to mention a small family of Mages. a Roland took Casulefin out of the Association of Mages, then summoned a soft white cloud for the two of them to stand on, and slowly flew up into the sky. Casulefin was a little scared and stood next to Roland, not daring to move. The little girl was so excited at this point that she even ran to the edge of the white cloud and looked down, then ran to the other side and looked down, and finally ran around the whole white cloud. This terrified Casulefin as she screamed for the little girl to keep still in case she fell. Dont worry, there are barriers at the clouds edges. Even if a dragon swoops in, it may not be able to break through. Surprised, Roland looked at the little girl running around in front of him, then asked, Whats her name? Yadseer. Casulefin looked at her daughter and smiled very gently. Aldo said she has the talent to be a Mage. I wanted to set her on this path when she was six, but Roland nodded. The girl was indeed gifted, as expected of a Mages offspring. As she walked, she was already absorbing magic on her own. It was weak, but the absorption would slowly increase her bodys affinity for magic, and later on, when she started learning magic, she would have a better starting point than the average magic apprentice. Let me be her teacher. Roland smiled. Aldo sort of helped him get into magic, and his daughter had a talent for magic, so he naturally had to support her. Thank you, Mr. Roland. Casulefin let out a long sigh of relief, as she was thinking about how to make Roland her daughters teacher. She could even commit herself to him. But Roland had volunteered, so there was no need to bother. With her mind eased, she asked, Mr. Roland, where are we going now? Aldo said he has an illegitimate child. Roland looked into the distance. He said to take care of him as well. Ive been meaning to ask Casulefin looked at Roland expectantly. You keep saying Aldo asked you to come, is he not dead?. Hes dead! I met him in the Divine Realm of Magic. Casulefin quickly became despondent, and after a while, she wiped her eyes and said, Its good that at least hes still living in the divine realm. For most commoners, it was an absolute blessing to enter the divine realm after death. So Casulefin was in a slightly better mood, just a little more lost at the thought of a seemingly dark future without her man. Soon flying above the village of Tasha, Roland landed about five hundred meters away from the village so as not to scare the villagers, then walked in with Casulefin and her daughter. After questioning a lazy villager sunbathing at the entrance of the village, he found Kardashians home. Outside the simple small thatched house, a family of three was doing farm work. The only thing that grew in the desert was the prickly pear, the thing called red fruit in the exterior. They were picking red fruits. The little boy reached for the red fruit surrounded by spikes and was accidentally pricked, his hand retracting. The man saw it and cursed. If you cant even pick the fruit well, what good are you? Just eating and sleeping all day?. Not feeling relieved after saying that, the man walked over and kicked the boy to the ground. The woman with the white scarf wrapped around her head was concerned, but she didnt dare to speak. Bigby, dont think I dont know youre a damn bast*rd. When you grow up two more years, Im definitely going to sell you for some money. Peh. The man and the woman were dark-skinned, as typical of the sand people. But the boys skin was a light wheat color, even leaning more toward white, and at first glance, he was not an authentic native but a mixed race. Two authentic sand folk producing a half-breed-anyone who wasnt a fool would know there was something wrong with that. The mans irritability and anger were also understandable. Roland watched from behind them, intrigued. This woman was not pretty, one might even say a bit ugly, and her only virtue was presumably that she was hard-working and good for bearing children. What exactly happened for Aldo to have a child with such a woman? He was a Mage; it was easy to get beautiful women to fall for him. The little boy stood up with a confused look on his face, then was kicked down again. The man didnt feel relieved and was about to stomp more when Roland spoke up. Since you dont like the boy, how about selling him to me? The sudden voice startled the two peasants, who turned around and saw the pale green glow of Rolands magic robes and his light complexion, and knew that a big shot had come. The two subconsciously knelt. In Urganda, the prestige and dignity of a Mage were much higher than that of a noble. For sale? asked Roland, smiling as he walked up to them. For sale! Not for sale. This was the womans voice, and she raised her head with a pained expression. Roland looked at the man. How much? Just give whatever you want, my lord. Roland laughed. The purest little mind of a peasant. Not bad. For five silver coins? Good, good! The man looked up, rubbing his hands together in excitement. In reality, not to mention five silver coins, Roland was willing to pay five or even fifty gold coins. But Roland believed that if the couple had a gold coin in their hands, they probably wouldnt survive long. So Roland offered five silver coins, which was the right amount for their current status, not an amount that might result in their deaths. My lord, I dont want to sell him. Its not your turn to talk. The man turned sideways and slapped the woman across the face. You had a child with an outsider dog. I helped you raise him until he was five years old, what more do you want? If you dont want to sell him, you can get out of here too. The woman dared not speak again and bowed her head deeply. Roland was slightly surprised when he turned his gaze to the child who was slowly rising from the ground. He then held out five silver coins, placed them in front of the man, and said, With this, Ill be taking him now. Then he saw the woman with her head hanging, tears falling on the sand in front of her. Roland sighed in his heart and said, Dont worry, Ill have Bigby come back to see you from time to time. The woman looked up sharply, her face full of surprise. Roland paid no more attention to her as he had said what needed to be said. He looked to the young boy standing in the back behind the two and smiled. Bigby, come here. Bigby looked at Roland in confusion, and then at his parents in confusion. His feet were as if they were rooted. Roland summoned a white cloud and stepped on it himself first, followed by Casulefin and her daughter. Standing tall, Roland looked at Bigby and did not move, did not speak. With each passing second, the atmosphere grew more awkward. Farmer Svetian wanted to tell Bigby to go over and follow the Master Mage, but for some reason, he opened his mouth, but couldnt say anything. He even had a feeling that he was an unimportant passerby. And Kardashian, the peasant woman, looked anxious. She kept signaling for Bigby to quickly go to the Master Mage but didnt dare to speak Women in the Desert Kingdom had a very low status and were hardly qualified to speak in formal situations. So she grew more and more nervous, fearing that the Master Mage might get angry if he waited too long, to the point that he might even beat her son to death. In the legends, Mages were mysterious and temperamental. Bigby glanced at his mother, and finally, he curled his lips, came over, and climbed on. Roland smiled and piloted the white cloud into the sky, flying in the direction of Delpon. The reason why he didnt use Teleportation was that the two childrens bodies were still too fragile, and because he was too strong now and his magic power was too immense. If he didnt control it properly, he could easily hurt them. In the air, the little girl, Yardseer, hid behind her mother and watched Bigby curiously. And Bigby stood opposite Roland, his head down, his face expressionless, not wanting to speak nor appearing too smart. Roland looked at the young boy for a moment and laughed. Just now you felt a strong killing intent toward me and seemed to want to kill me, why? It was too easy for a Legendary Mage to sense the mental fluctuations of a small child. Casulefin wore a look of shock. She couldnt imagine that a child less than six years old would harbor killing intent toward a powerful Mage. Shouldnt he be trembling? Like her daughter did. Bigby slowly lifted his head as he looked at Roland, his confused expression growing brash. You took me away from my mother; you made me leave her. There was hatred and anger in his voice. Its not like youre not allowed to go back and see her. What Mages say are false, its all a lie to children. Roland laughed again. Is there anything that I need to lie to you about? Or is your meat especially valuable and by selling you, I can buy a dragon to buy soup? Bigby froze. He also understood that he was a lowly farmers son, or the son of a peasant woman After all, he was a half-breed, and his real father was unknown. If you learned this flying spell from me, wouldnt it be a simple matter for you to go back and see her? asked Roland, stamping his right leg on the white cloud beneath him. Bigby froze for a moment as he looked at Roland with a glow in his eyes. Youre going to teach me magic Why are you being so nice to me? Could it be that youre my real father? Poor kids were precocious and would learn better if they were raised by daily beatings. He had known that he was not Svetians son, so sometimes he wondered who his father really was and why he had abandoned him and his mother. Casulefin froze for a moment, then burst out laughing Roland shook his head in return. Im not your father, but Im good friends with your father. Where is he? Bigby asked expectantly. Dead. The childs eyes dimmed. I knew it, or he would have come to get me and my mother. But you still have another family. Roland gestured to Casulefin and her daughter. This is your stepmother and stepsister. Although the two young children looked about the same age, Yadseer was the eldest daughter chronologically speaking, and that was something Roland could tell. Bigbys eyes swept over Casulefin without any expression, but when his eyes fell on the little girl, his expression was much softer, and he even pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile. So, Uncle, where are you taking me? My Magic Tower. From now on, you will be my student until you can come out on your own. Youre going to teach me magic? Bigby was finally much more enthusiastic about Roland. But I dont have any money, and Ive heard that learning magic costs a lot of money. Dont worry, you dont have to pay for it; your only task is to learn magic well, and nothing else. Thank you. Bigby believed Roland, for it was clear to him that there was nothing to lie about to a poor boy like him, and that there was no way a Mage could be so patient with a small child like him if he did not mean well. But he was a little puzzled. But why did you not bring my mother along, when it was clear that she could follow you? Is it because shes pretty? Bigby pointed to Casulefin. Casulefin blushed at once, not daring to look at Roland. First, I know Casulefin, were acquaintances, but I dont know your mother, Roland explained patiently. Second, the last words your father left me only told me to teach you magic and didnt say anything about your mother. Besides your mother has a husband now, understand? Later when you are out of school and have your means, you can naturally take her and bring her around to repay her and do your filial duty. Thats your duty, not mine. Bigby nodded, indicating that he understood. So from now on, should I call you my teacher? Of course. Casulefin was a little anxious on the sidelines and immediately pulled her daughter behind her and pushed her in front of Roland. And also your sister. Roland smiled. Casulefin sighed with relief. After flying for most of the day, Roland finally returned to Delpon with the three passengers. When he landed at the manor, Andonara immediately greeted him with a smile. Roland, however, felt a little strange as he scanned Andonara up and down and asked, Youre a little weird today? Andonara tilted her head sideways, revealing a puzzled look. Chapter 775 - You Seem Off Whats so weird? Andonara asked rhetorically, her eyes blinking and looking quite cute. Roland hummed briefly and said, You seem a bit more sophisticated and gentle. Is that so? Andonaras eyebrows arched into a smile. Do you like it? Roland nodded. He would be a fool not to nod. It seemed that his woman wanted to change her temperament and image, so of course, he had to support her. It didnt bother him too much. He then went to deal with Casulefin, her daughter, and Bigby. First, he took out the magic materials from the spatial ring and exchanged them for gold coins at the market price, and then bought a small manor in the city for Casulefin, less than five hundred meters away from Rolands manor. The rest of the gold coins were then placed in the cellar of the new manor. In the cellar that smelled of musty earth, small treasure chests were placed side by side, each holding about fifty gold coins. The rest of the money, I have put here; 609 gold coins remain. Roland looked at Casulefin next to him and said, This money, as long as you dont spend it lavishly, is enough for you and your daughter to live wealthily for a lifetime. Also, I have temporarily transferred over the guards of the Magic Tower to protect the manor. After you have settled down and become familiar with the place, you can hire people you trust to guard the manor, and then I will withdraw my guards. The matter of money had to be made clear, and then the matter of guards had to be made even clearer. Otherwise, she might mistakenly think that he wanted to use the guards to control her, and that would be a problem. Maybe the kindness would turn into resentment. Looking at Rolands face which was well worth a second look, Casulefin was filled with gratitude. A few days ago, she was living in fear in a tiny house with her daughter. Now, however, she had her own manor again, and she was even the owner of it. Even when Aldo was alive, she was only a lover promoted from a dancer and the first to conceive a child, which gave her some preferential treatment, but later, with the birth of more children, her position became less important. Some time ago, Aldo died, and she even fell to despair for a while. She had believed that she had a good chance to get out of civilian life and never expected that she would have to fall into the abyss again with her daughter. Fortunately, Roland came and saved her from the fire. The great ups and downs of life were too much for her, and Roland, who had provided her help in her hour of need, naturally won her good regard. Especially Rolands straightforward and noble attitude He returned several hundred gold coins without flinching, something that not many nobles could do. And now he also showed that he had no thoughts of controlling her. Such a good man She looked at Roland with watery eyes. Mr. Roland, I believe in you. Also, what are your plans regarding Bigby? Like a bucket of water, these words splashed away the little ripples of intimacy in Casulefins heart, and she became silent all of a sudden. I know hes not your son, and hes illegitimate and you may not like him, but I suggest that you treat him as you would your own son. Why? said Casulevin, her face full of incomprehension. Or is this your suggestion, sir? The word suggestion was emphasized but not in an angry or resentful way. On the contrary, it was full of ingratiation; if it was Rolands suggestion, she would carry it out. The lower the rung someone climbed up from, the more they could see the situation in most cases and the more likely they were to succumb to the temptation of power. Roland shook his head. Im just suggesting, because if you truly treat him like your own son, then youll have a pretty strong backer in the future. He is very talented in magic? Casulefin asked in surprise. Hes just the son of a peasant woman. Roland was tempted to say she had been just a dancer but thought better of it. The obsession with bloodline and lineage was rooted in the hearts of most people in this world. If the father was a hero, then the son would also be a hero. If the father was a noble, then the son would always be noble. Of course, it was normal to think this way. For example, the Reid familys Hero blood was quite unreasonable, and after so many generations, once activated, was as strong as could be, and even grew due to it being crossed with humans. As a Legend, Andonara dared to fight a Demigod, and as a Demigod, she could slice up most gods. His talent in magic might be a little bit worse than your daughter Yadseer, Roland explained, but he has a good heart, very tough, and even dared to want to kill me when he thought I was going to steal him. This is a good trait, and at the same time he also has very high regard for his relatives-daring to kill for his mother, he cherishes family. Im not saying that you are going to replace his real mother, but if you are kind to him, he will definitely repay you in the future and for the rest of his life. Casulefin nodded repeatedly, indicating that she understood. In her opinion, Mages were smart people, and what a smart person said probably wasnt wrong. After speaking, the pair emerged from the cellar and saw two small children playing on the lawn of the estate. Bigby grabbed a green bug and clumsily tried to please his half-sister but instead scared her into tears, and was panicking as he comforted her. Roland walked over, and Yadseer, who was wiping her tears, immediately stopped crying and hid behind Bigby. She was the older sister, but she was like a younger sister who wanted her brothers protection. Bigby looked at Roland and smiled. He knew that the man before him was indeed good and treated him well. Starting tomorrow, both of you will go to my Magic Tower and receive basic magic training, and you will get up early, understood? The two children nodded vigorously. Then Roland turned to leave. Bigby hesitated for a moment, trying to follow Roland. But he had just taken two steps when he heard someone behind him shout, Bigby, where are you going? Bigby turned around and looked at Casulefin with some confusion. The young woman came over and took his hand and then her own daughters hand, leading the two of them together toward the house while saying, From now on, this will be your home too. I am your stepmother and must take care of you. Of course, you, as a boy, also must take care of Yadseer in the future. Even though she is your older sister, she is a girl after all. Yadseer puffed up her face. Im the older sister, I dont want my younger brother to protect me. Bigby froze slightly, then nodded forcefully, and a faint smile appeared on his face. His stepmothers hand was warm, only a little worse than his mothers, and he liked it. After Roland returned to his manor, he sat in the garden, watching Andonara busily making cakes, and couldnt help but feel that something was wrong. Recently, Andonara had given him the impression that she was a different person. Overall, she had the same personality as before, but some small actions had changed. He couldnt pinpoint what exactly, just the kind of small habits that only a very loving elderly couple could feel. Or rather, it was her aura. Andonara soon had the cake baked and served. Roland took a bite. It was sweet but not greasy and tasted as good as ever. Then he sized up Andonara and frowned slightly. Whats wrong? asked Andonara, tilting her head sideways and questioning him with a rather cute smiling expression. Hmm It was cute but so strange. Normally, Andonara had always been the sexy type, so why was she acting cute now? While eating the cake, Roland asked, By the way, did you get that Goddess of Magic statue in the backyard? Yeah, Im starting to believe in the Goddess of Magic now, and I plan to be her Priest. Roland blinked in surprise. For a purely physical profession that couldnt cast spells, believing in a god and gaining access to divine spells was a good way to increase strength. While the power of their divine spells would certainly be slightly inferior to a Priest with a truly high Perception attribute, it was better than not being able to cast spells. It would be awesome if you could get access to Teleportation after becoming a Goddess of Magic believer. Andonara was already at the pinnacle of melee combat. If she learned Teleportation, shed truly be unstoppable. Maybe its the result of believing in a god? I heard that once a Priest believes in a god, there is a slight change in personality because they identify with the gods philosophy and can even perceive the spirit of the god. That would make sense. Roland nodded and didnt think any more about it. He never feared Andonaras soul changing. Because quite simply, he was a Mage and was exceptionally sensitive to mental fluctuations. Peoples mental fluctuations werent quite the same and changed from day to day. This was caused by emotions. But the inner mental core wouldnt change. The core of Andonaras soul was, as always, completely intact. After eating the cake, Roland went to take a shower, and then went back to his room and saw Andonara, who was wearing a translucent nightgown, lying in bed, her face flushed. Well Roland didnt hesitate to take out a vile of Dragon Meat Reagent from his Backpack and downed it in one gulp. Then with a wave of his right hand, he threw the bottle aside boldly, and like a Warrior who generously went to his death, he said righteously, Come and fight. Both had rested for a few days; it was time for a battle. It was just clear to Roland that he couldnt beat Andonara. At first, he might have a fighting chance, but during the middle and end, he was just meat on a chopping block, at her mercy. Looking at Rolands sultry expression, Andonara blushed even more. Then Roland walked to the edge of the bed robotically. Roland had expected this to be a long battle, but he was wrong. It was a devastating battle. He was the winner. It was unbelievable. He froze and watched as Andonara kept averting her eyes and shaking all over, then her eyes turned eerily pink. What? Roland was quite shocked. He even felt a familiar divinity leaving Andonaras body at a very fast speed. Then it disappeared in the blink of an eye. Then Andonaras eyes turned back to pale gold. What, what, what! What is going on? Rolands mouth dropped open in surprise as he got an odd, unpleasant feeling. At this time, Andonara, who had been averting her eyes, suddenly came back to her senses. She stared at Roland for a moment, then with a swish, she rolled over and flung Roland onto the bed. Looking at the unfulfilled Andonara, Roland understood that this was the woman he was familiar with Was that a god or a ghost just now? In reality, he had the answer. It was early the next morning when the two finally finished sparring. Roland put his arm around Andonara and couldnt help but ask, How could you agree to something so outrageous? You knew? asked Andonara, embarrassed. Im a Mage. I could feel it when her divine consciousness detached. Andonara traced circles on Rolands chest with her fingers and asked enviously, How does she feel, huh? Isnt it still you? asked Roland, with a strange look in return. Its your body; its just you that I feel. Is that so? Andonara smiled wryly. But she didnt press the issue any further. In reality, although it was the same body, it gave a completely different feeling. Andonara was a ripe, sweet but not overwhelmingly so, top-quality mango that one would want to eat all the time. That pink-eyed version of Andonara gave the impression of a freshly ripened strawberry, which was tart and quite delicious. Roland thought the strawberry flavor could be developed a bit, like with some seasoning. Looking at Andonaras smirking expression, Roland felt he had to take the initiative and said, You havent explained why you agreed to something so outrageous. Its not outrageous, just letting her borrow my body for a while. Andonara snickered. Your souls melded and almost touched. Thats different! Roland explained, Thats just letting her help me improve my soul quality. Its proper business. Andonara touched Rolands face and whispered, I know you are a Golden Son, so you have many ideas that are different from ours. In our case, the most sincere, the most profound love for each other is the mingling of souls. Roland froze. Wait, is this an accepted thing? Of course. Andonara laughed. Havent you read many books? When the Legends in the books fall in love, dont they all say I would like to merge my soul with yours, so theres no distinction between you and me. Isnt that a way of showing love? said Roland, startled. Earthlings also often said so; my heart and yours will never be separated or something like that. Isnt it just a rhetorical technique? The soul mingling in this world is a phenomenon of love? Roland felt that things were far from good. He was once again deceived by subconscious notions. In other words, he was wooing the Goddess of Magic? So why would she agree to such an outrageous request? Does she really love me so much? Roland felt like his whole being was about to drown in confusion. Looking at Rolands dumbfounded expression, Andonara said lightly, Dont worry. Soon, I will also find a way to mingle my soul with yours. Thats the condition she promised me. Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm of Magic, Mystra moaned softly and sat on her throne. Her waist kept twisting around for a while. Thats too stimulating. Her face was red like a transparent carnelian. Chapter 776 - Look What You’ve Done Chapter 776 Look What Youve Done It was another beautiful day. Roland rubbed his waist and got up from the bed. Andonara was still sleeping. Women always slept better at times like this. He was wondering whether he should have a chat with Vivian or go study magic when a figure teleported into the middle of the garden. It was the wingless angel Nia. When she saw Roland, her eyes lit up and she ran over to him, saying, By the way, the goddess sent word to me yesterday that she wanted you to go and meet her. With that said, Nia twitched her nose and circled Roland a few times, her small, smooth, pretty nose twitching slightly as she said, You smell very strongly of divinity, Mystras divinity. Roland froze, thinking to himself that Nia had a dogs nose to be able to smell this. Seeing Rolands look, Nia pouted. You actually completely defected to the Goddess of Magic. Our goddess treated you so well in vain, traitor. Oh treated me so well? Roland didnt feel that. It was the kind of atmosphere between ordinary acquaintances. On the other hand, the Goddess of Magic, a rich woman, now paid him royalties every month. It was a lot of gold coins every month, and now he didnt have to worry about money at all. In reality, Roland still fell into the trap of his experiences. The Life Goddess was exalted and holy since her birth. She was a goddess, and he was her acquaintance, and in her opinion, this was already lowering her statusanyone with higher emotional intelligence would probably be able to understand her thoughts. However, Roland was an anomaly. Rolands emotional intelligence wasnt really low, but too much of the time his mind was focused on studying magic. He was used to getting along with people on an equal footing. The way the Life Goddess acted seemed to him to be how a normal person got along with others. Looking at Rolands puzzled face, Nia was so angry that she stomped her feet and finally ran off angrily. Roland thought for a moment about what Nia had just said, then came up with a conclusion that horrified him. Elise, the Life Goddess, likes me too? Impossible. Roland recalled for a moment how he had been meeting and talking with the Life Goddess and didnt get the feeling that she showed signs of liking him. Surely she likes me is one of the top three illusions in life. The Life Goddess wants to see me? Lets go see her then. Roland thought about it and suddenly realized again that the Life Goddess probably couldnt pull him up now, so he had to leap over in his floating city. However, Nia didnt give him the spatial coordinates. Roland turned and went to Nia. She was hiding in her room on the second floor, sulking. Seeing Roland, she grunted and turned her head away from him. Roland walked over and laughed. Dont be madIll give you more gold coins so you can shop for more new clothes. Because of the establishment of the teleportation array, Nia now particularly enjoyed teleporting to Wetland City to go shopping In particular, she loved the clothes the players designed. Shed worn everything from office lady attire to nurses outfits but had only shown Roland and Andonara how she looked in those particular clothes. More gold coins Nia thought about it and said, Well, then, I wont be so angry. Regardless, our goddess is really good to youyou cant break her heart. Of course not, shes one of my good friends. You Nia grimaced in exasperation, then she sighed helplessly. Forget it, the goddess probably has her own ideas. She stood up, grabbed Roland by the lapels of his coat, pulled him to her, and then pressed her forehead toward him. Roland froze for a moment, then Nias voice came from his soul. Dont resist, these are the spatial coordinates. Soon, a ball of energy information was transmitted to his spiritual consciousness. The spatial coordinates were immediately parsed. Upset, Nia let go of Roland and slapped his chest with her hand. Well, get lost! The sight of you makes me angry. Women always had a bad temperament for a few days For example, someone as gentle as Andonara had a bit of womanly angst every two or three months. But angels are supposed to be energy beings, yet they have this affliction? Roland exited the room and was just walking to the courtyard when he noticed an acquaintance coming through the doorway. White hair and a pair of cute, perky canine ears! It was the Winterwolf Holy Lady. When she saw Roland, she smiled sweetly. Roland walked over to the table in the courtyard and sat down, then waved at her. The Winterwolf Holy Lady trotted over and sat on the stone bench with her tail wagging behind her, appearing quite happy. Im surprised you reached out to me. Im sure its something very troubling, Roland looked at the Winterwolf Holy Ladys pretty face and moved his eyes further up to look at her ears, and had another urge to rub them. Its not too troublesome, but I still want to seek some help from you. Go ahead, no need to be so polite. The Winterwolf Holy Ladys tail wagged even faster. We found one of the liches. Oh! Then Ill go with you guys. Roland chuckled. These people can really hide. Youve only found one of them. No need for you to fight, said the Winterwolf Holy Lady, waving her hand. Youre so strong that, if you fight, how will we ask you for equipment and monetary rewards? Speaking of this, the Winterwolf Holy Ladys face reddened slightly. When Roland thought about it more carefully, he understood. The Frost Wolf Clan had been quite poor, but when they came to the prosperous world of Wetland City how could they not be tempted to spend money. They were probably running out of money. Roland nodded. Dont worry, Ill provide the equipment and the money. Thank you. The Winterwolf Holy Lady said, Can you help us think of an industry that can be developed? We cant just come to you for money when we dont have any. I can do that, but the other clansmen probably wont be too comfortable in their hearts. The Winterwolf Holy Lady didnt mind asking Roland for money. Such was the notion of the Frostwolf that it was only natural for a woman to ask her man for money. But also, the women of the Frostwolf clan had many obligations to bear at home. For example, almost all of the household chores, and giving birth to three or more children! The rights and obligations of men and women were almost equal. A side hustle! Roland was deep in thought. Although a number of the Frostwolf clan now served as instructors in the army of Wetland City and even joined the army The numbers only accounted for a small portion of the entire Frostwolf clan. Most of the Frostwolf clan were unemployed farmers. In the past, when they were still in the old kingdom, they would have been happy to live like this. But after seeing Wetland City built by the players and the prosperity and foods and drinks it offered, they felt as though they had found the meaning of happiness. And money played a pretty important part in these pleasures. Roland thought for a moment and said, How about forming a professional mercenary army. Besides, everyone in the Frostwolf clan is a soldier. Will it work? said the Winterwolf Holy Lady with some concern. We dont know much about contractual matters, and my people are rather honest, so they can easily be cheated when they go out and deal with people. Indeed People of the Frostwolf clan who went out were almost always lone wolves or traveling with their clansmen to look out for each other. Rarely did they interact with humans Besides, their appearance was not too appreciated in the human world, and only the players of Wetland City treated them as treasures. Ill think about the side business. Roland took out a large number of enchanted weapons from his Backpack. These are the pieces Ive used to practice during this time. All of them are decent quality, so Ill give them to you. And then this is the payment for you. Three bags were placed on the table. Without hesitation, the Winterwolf Holy Lady stowed them in her spatial equipment, the red rope that was hidden under her dress and tied to her ample body Then she shook the white canine ears on her head, sidled forward, put them in front of Rolands face, and smiled. Want a rub? No. Roland gulped. As Im rubbing, Im afraid Ill eventually end up in bed. After fighting a physical battle all of last night, it hadnt been long since hed gotten up, and he was still empty. Deadbeat. The Winterwolf Holy Lady blushed and rolled her eyes at Roland before standing up and twirling her waist prettily as she walked away. Relieved, Roland teleported to the floating city, then piloted it to the border between the main plane and the Astral Plane before activating a large teleportation spell. The violent light scattered, and the spatial tremors scrambled a large area of void bugs into minced meat. In front of the floating city was a huge, green, light, crystalline planet. It was even bigger than the purple planet of the Goddess of Magic. The floating city was a tiny black dot in front of it. As he drove the floating city toward the Paradise of Life, when he got close, he was wrapped in green energy, and then he directly entered the Paradise of Life. Unlike the Divine Realm of Magic, which was filled with towers, the Paradise of Life was filled with rivers and large green trees. A large number of residents lived on the land, appearing like black ants. A group of angels flew over with their white feathered wings and surrounded Rolands floating city. The pretty female angel at the front said, Please remove the barrier, Mr. Roland, and we will guide you to meet the goddess. Roland did as he was told, and after the barrier disappeared, a soft force lifted him and floated him into the air, following the group of angels who flew on wings. Soon, he arrived at the top of the clouds high above the Paradise of Life. Roland was sent to the Life Goddess. Its not easy to see you now. Elise stood up from her seat made of white clouds. There used to be a layer of mosaics surrounding her body, preventing Roland from seeing her true form, but after he became a Legend, that layer disappeared. The Life Goddess was known as the most beautiful goddess, as expected. Not to mention her looks or physique, just her eyes would make you feel weak and a little dry in the mouth. Even the Goddess of Love didnt have that kind of power. Roland looked at Elise in front of him, inwardly marveling at her beauty, but without any expression of awe on his face. A man could be a pervert but he couldnt show it, as it was a matter of dignity. Its been a long time, Goddess Elise. At this time, satisfaction seemed to flash across Goddess Elises face, and then she said faintly, I heard that you are going to hunt the Evil Gods and evolve your floating city? Roland nodded. This wasnt a secret anymore. The Evil Gods probably also knew about this. After all, the Brutalization Divine Sparks energy was swallowed by his floating city, and anyone who had some sense of divine energy would probably be able to detect it. There are many Evil Gods with many abilities. Its quite dangerous. Elises beautiful eyes that couldnt be described with words, that one could hardly glance away from, were fixed on Rolands forehead. You are the first human friend Ive ever known and the first human who can talk to me as an equal, so I am a little worried about your safety. Thanks. Roland smiled. I will be more careful. Of course you need to be careful. Also, I have a piece of equipment that has been sitting idly here that you can take. She opened her right hand and a green energy bead appeared in her palm. Open your mouth. Roland opened it as instructed. Elise sent her hand forward, pushing the bead into Rolands mouth. At the same time, her palm also gently touched Rolands lips. With a slight twitch of her brow, she withdrew her hand and said, Dont say anything, just be still and wait for it to take effect. Roland swallowed the bead and stayed still as he was told. The bead tasted oddly good, melted in his mouth, and carried the same ethereal fragrance as Elise. In less than five seconds, gentle energy rose from his stomach. Roland didnt even have time to appreciate the nature of this power, and then he was in a daze. Then his expression became blank his soul drowsy as if he were floating in a warm sea. Yet, it didnt feel suffocating, and it was as if he was back in the cradle of life. The feeling was so addictive and overwhelming that Roland couldnt even think to resist. After a long time spent in trance, Roland woke up with a jolt, looked around, and was surprised to find that no longer was Elise, the Life Goddess, in front of him, nor was there a cloud divine platform. He didnt know when he had returned to the floating city. Even the floating city had appeared outside the green Paradise of Life. What happened? Roland was very puzzled. He subconsciously opened the system interface, took a look at the time, and couldnt help but exclaim, What, five hours have passed? Then he took another look and found two system messages in his system. Elise, the Life Goddess, has initiated a request for divine soul fusing with you, and you have agreed. After a period of cleansing and fusion, your soul strength and base strength have increased substantially, but the exact values cannot be resolved, so please explore them yourself. Di-di-divine soul fusing? Wait the Life Goddess initiated a divine soul fusing with me? Didnt Andonara say thats a manifestation of the deepest kind of love? Even if a man from another world like me didnt know better, didnt the Goddess of Life, a local god, know better? What was she thinking? Does she really like me? Is this really not one of the three major illusions in life[1]? With this matter aside for now, Roland looked at the second system message. Elise, the Life Goddess, has initiated an equality contract with you, to which you have agreed. The contract is successful, and you have randomly acquired one of Elises specialties: Life Essence. Life Essence: You will never age, remaining forever 17 years old. If youre not this age, you will automatically grow to this age or will regress to this age. And, all life divine spells you use will have a fifty percent increase in effectiveness and some special life magic will have special effects. Rolands jaw dropped in shock. He was not shocked by the specialty Life Essence, but by the notification of an equality contract. This was the spell contract he created to allow succubi and humans to bond. This contract was also called the marriage contract. Life Goddess What did you do while I was unconscious? [1] Three major illusions: thinking that your phone is vibrating, thinking that you can outplay the opponent (most often in a MOBA), and thinking that a girl likes you Chapter 777 - Ultimatum Is this a gain or a loss? Roland couldnt answer that either. Logically, it was probably a gain; after all, he had another woman goddess. But emotionally speaking, he lost. He had been whored out for free. With a feeling of depression and helplessness, Roland piloted the floating city back to the main plane, then hovered it over the city of Delpon. Fewer and fewer players came to Delpon lately. For one thing, the players who wanted to switch to Great Swordsman had all pretty much done so, and for another, Rolands presence made a lot of people feel a little depressed. Now that Roland was getting stronger and wilder in his ways, he was somewhat out of touch with the player base. Not to mention that the average player level was now only level thirteen, even the two hundred or so Legends had no confidence in front of Roland. A single floating city could suppress almost all the players. The saying that fifty henchmen could take down anything didnt apply. This game was not designed to favor balance. Rather, it was completely skewed toward reality. In reality, one percent of the population held ninety percent of the worlds wealth. So in this game, it was not surprising that one person could suppress hundreds of powerful elites. The players now treated Roland as a marginal man, and although they understood that he was a player just like them, they saw him as a world-class boss. This resulted in a sense of detachment. Especially the floating city that appeared over Delpon from time to timemost players felt that it was an eyesore. A few of these people were jealous, and others simply didnt want to move with or get along with people who were too much above them. Because it was uncomfortable. Ones comfort was hard to buy. So now Roland was in a state of being almost cut off from the player community. Only a few people would occasionally seek him out. For example, a few of his friends, or Douglas, a person he knew in reality as well. Parking the floating city high in the sky, he then spent several days in Delpon creating the new virtual Divine Spark. He would then have Andonara reconnect to him, giving her the ability to use his magic power, and the freedom to enter and exit the mansion space. After all, when he went hunting the Evil Gods in the future, Andonara would be a powerful combatant, and making her stronger would make it safer for the two of them to move around. Then he exited the game. In the real world, Roland was still in the underground base of a space center. He got up, brushed his teeth, went to the cafeteria for dinner, chatted with some of his more enthusiastic colleagues, and was invited to the warehouse by a specialist. Comrade Huang, this is the evaluation report we came up with after spending nearly half a month doing repeated tests in a simulated lunar environment. The person in charge placed a tablet in Rolands hand. Roland pressed the screen, lighting it up, and quietly looked at the data on it, toggling it with his finger now and then. He read the whole report and summed it up with the word perfect. There were at least four different densities of mud bricks that were fully capable of being used as lunar building materials. As you know well, the capacity of our rocket is not very high, especially compared to the two countries, the bald eagle and the hairy bear, the person in charge said helplessly. The higher the density of this brick, and the heavier it is, the better it will perform. It is reasonable to say that we have to use the heaviest material to make the best base, but limited by the capacity, we have to use the lightest kind of material to save money. Although its data shows that it is also enough to build a small base that will stand on the moon for a long time, we researchers are particularly greedy; we hope that this material can last longersay, thirty or fifty years. Roland understood. You guys want me to take this less dense material and make it tougher, right? Yes. The person in charge smiled and said, Of course, this is not mandatory, its just a request. We also know very well that a breakthrough in material science like this cant be done casually. But Comrade Huang, you are someone who cannot be measured by common sense, so were asking for you to try. It doesnt matter if you dont succeed. Roland thought for a moment and said, Ill try itIll just have to trouble you guys to cooperate more with me and mix more of that muddy slurry of that density. Thats as it should be. The man in charge beamed. Roland was indeed easy to talk to, as his personality profile indicated. In the following days, besides going into the game at night to build a virtual Divine Spark, Roland continued, in reality, to improve his Mud to Rock spell. And with the requirements of the researchers, supplemented by data, gradually, the overall performance of the mud bricks improved considerably. The researchers in the entire base were pleasantly surprised. If there were a thousand people like Roland, or if we cracked such an ability, we wouldnt be subjected to others in the area of material science in the future. The person in charge stroked the newly-researched round earthen plate. This time the surface of the clay block was smooth and round, like a DVD. Light and thin. But it was clear to all researchers that this thing was ridiculously hard while still being extremely resilient. Its performance didnt suffer that much even after being bent by heavy forces and re-flattened with a heavy press. Its done. Production of the building material parts can officially start. The person in charge looked at the little things data and smiled quite happily. All the components can have no mistakes at all, and the slurry blending will be handled by the third production line. But the third production line is now being used by unit zero-two-one. The secretary immediately transferred the data to his small tablet and displayed it for the person in charge to see. Inform them to give up the production and assembly line first, the person in charge said faintly. Weve cut off Comrade Huang for so long that the western base is already starting to have a problem with it. The secretary smiled. Actually, many of us would like to keep Comrade Huang, but unfortunately, the higher-ups wont allow it. I owe a big favor to an old friend up there after relocating him. The old man shook his head helplessly. One has to be content-dont think too much. For the next half-month, Roland used a modified Mud to Rock to make accessories for them. He made nearly three hundred tons of the standardized building materials. Of course, a large portion of it was extra, as well as for future use in material analysis. Looking at the warehouse piled with more than three hundred tons of material parts, the space base was finally willing to let him go. The night before Roland was set to return to his western base, before it was game time, he took a walk through the inner green park of the base. By now it was dark and there was hardly anyone around. The small park was brightly lit by the road, attracting a large number of flying insects. Most of the researchers continued to work, and the security personnel would not come to this place to hang out. Roland looked at the sky. He could sense the spatial coordinates of the mansion, especially after being fused with the Life Goddess Elises divinity. His spiritual perception had become stronger thanks to that. At the same time, he knew that with his current strength, he was unable to jump into the mansion space. He had a vague feeling that if he could jump to the mansion space, he would be able to use it as a springboard to teleport to the game world. Entering the game with his body in reality. Not the body provided by the virtual cabin. He breathed out, thinking that it seemed a bit hard to reach this goal with the rate his strength was growing in reality. Could it be done at fifty? How about absorbing that green stick and driving the floating city to the mansion space? That was one way to go, but he still had no confidence. Even if he could build a small floating city by absorbing that green crystal rod, there was still no way to produce the energy black hole effect. In other words, even if he could build a floating city, it wouldnt be as useful as in the game because there was no magic in this world. What if he had a lot of green crystal rods? Roland couldnt help but think this way. At this time, his expression changed drastically. He took a few steps back, and in a flash, he simultaneously gave himself a series of supporting spells such as Magic Shield, Body Fortification, Agility, Preemptive Attack, and so on. Then he looked attentively to his right. A powerful mental power suddenly appeared there, and even an unknown, and rather peculiar, energy. He was familiar with this energy; it was the energy contained in the crystal rod. Roland had Teleportation ready and would teleport away if something went wrong. But the reason he didnt teleport away was curiosity. He was quite curious that there was someone stronger than him on Earth. The owner of the crystal rod? While his thoughts raced, a man slowly burrowed out from under the ground. It was like the legendary Tu Xing Sun[1], and where the man was now, the ground wasnt the least bit damaged. The man was young, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and denim shorts, and a pair of large blue flip-flops on his feet. He appeared quite down-to-earth. He looked at Roland with a smile. Roland couldnt feel the other partys malice, but he was still cautious and slowly took two steps back as he asked, Who are you? It would be strange if Roland wasnt wary at all of a man who suddenly appeared from the ground and didnt use Teleportation, without raising any magic fluctuations at all. I have many identities. You can call me Planet Guardian, Planet Consciousness, Human Mind Aggregate, or Heavenly Dao-all of it is fine. The mans voice was quite alluring. Roland found the voice rather familiar, and he froze for a moment, responding, Director Ma? The young man clapped his hands and laughed. Guessed right. I am this terms Planet Guardian, commonly known as Ma Huajun, a native of Guilin. I am Huang I know your profile well, better than you know it yourself. After all, you and Yu Kunpeng were both personally selected by me as test subjects. Ma Huajun shrugged and interrupted him. Before we get to business, I have to apologize to you. What do you mean? When Roland heard this, he felt something apprehensive, thinking that it might be some kind of melodramatic plot unfolding Dont be nervous. Its not that big of a deal, but for the sake of our future cooperation and getting along, we still have to talk about it. Ma Huajun walked forward two steps, his slippers slapping on the concrete floor twice. The man looked like an ordinary youth seen everywhere on the street, one of those out-of-touch types who was ready to take a walk after dinner. It was not at all obvious that this person not only had the power to burrow into the earth but was also some kind of planet guardian This title sounded high and mighty. Okay, go ahead. Not only did Roland not disperse his spells, but he also secretly added two more. Do you still remember when you graduated from college, you were going to start a small company with Yu Kunpeng, doing public embeddable intelligence modules? Ma Huajun asked. Roland nodded. He and Yu Kunpeng were both game lovers, but the NPCs in large AAA games were too stupid, like they were the backdrop of the world. They were able to interact only with a fixed line or two, and sometimes not even that, seeming more like stickers pasted onto the game. The intelligence module they had been working on for almost three years at school was something that could be embedded into AAA games and could be treated as a special mod that used special algorithms to improve the intelligence of these NPCs. This allowed them to diversify their behavior. It could be said that this AI module was a little bit useful, but it was still a hundred thousand miles away from completion. Then they started a small company, and Schuck wanted to use his face to pull investment for further research. They even adapted a couple of big AAA games themselves to improve the intelligence of the NPCs and increase playability. It was safe to say that with money to get the ads out there or generate buzz in the mod community, this company could be successful. As a result Schuck actually couldnt acquire a single sum of investment. The server they used to store the original code was even hacked afterward and all their information and code was deleted. Someone was targeting them. But they checked and asked continuously and didnt figure out who it was. After that, the two were so disheartened that they ran back home to be idlers. Roland stared at Ma Huajun. You know? You said you wanted to apologize to me, so it was you? Yes. Ma Huajun shrugged. Roland subconsciously threw a small fireball over. But this small fireball quickly became smaller in the air and disappeared when it was still half a meter away from Ma Huajun. You could probably kill me with a Legendary level body in the game and a floating city and a desperate trade for each others lives, but in reality, you cant. Roland withdrew his hand and asked in confusion, Why did you target us at that time? Theres no grudge between us. Because you shouldnt go and become businessmen, or become capitalists, Ma Huajun explained with a smile. You should join us and become supers like us. You guys have the talent. This game, World of Falan, is your training ground. Youre casually making decisions for others Just say whether you want to become a superpowered person or not. Ma Huajun sneered, Arent you enjoying it? Oh Roland had nothing to say. I destroyed your dreams and then gave you this chance, so its settled, okay? Ma Huajun showed his goodwill. Roland dropped his guard as he took the initiative to say, Okay, this matter is in the past, put it aside. Is World of Falan real or not Wait, you said you guys? Schuck also has such abilities? Yes, but its not time for his awakening. Roland pondered for a moment, and then asked, Did you create the World of Falan, or does it exist? What is your purpose in sending so many people into the game world? Im just saying hello this time, not answering your questions. The answers, you can find yourself in the game. Or, when youre strong enough, Ill tell you. Ma Huajun smiled, then his expression turned serious. Also a word of caution: never, ever try to fuse the Divine Spark of an Evil God; this is not advice, this is an ultimatum. No Evil Gods can appear on Earth. As a planet guardian, if such a thing dares to appear, Ill kill them on sight! [1] A character that could burrow through the earth from Investiture of the Gods Chapter 778 - Forcing the Door Open After he finished speaking, the atmosphere was a bit stiff. After all, his murderous aura was too heavy just now. Then, Ma Huajun took the initiative to ease the atmosphere. But based on your performance in the game, I guess youre also someone who will not be interested in the evil Divine Sparks. Roland smiled impassively. No one would feel comfortable after being threatened out of the blue. This was still the case even if hed been allowed to become super-powered. Seeing this, Ma Huajun continued, Now that you want to go further, the floating city is one factor, and purifying your soul is another factor. The other man was clearly showing goodwill, and Roland wasnt all that angry, so he backed down and asked, So, whats your reason for going out of your way to destroy me and Schucks dreams and make us superhumans, and why did you throw people into that world? Drill troops. Drill troops? Roland looked stunned, then his expression became serious. Who is our enemy? Roland couldnt imagine what kind of enemy required the mass production of superhumans to be able to fight them. With your current growth rate, you will soon find out. After Ma Huajun said this, he sank into the ground and disappeared. The cement ground still showed no signs of disturbance, and this burrowing was honestly not much worse than Teleportation when used to escape. Roland froze in place, contemplating. Although the two talked for a short time, Ma Huajun still revealed a lot of information. Trying to extrapolate could yield uncertain, frustrating information. Just as Roland was lost in thought, a few security personnel suddenly came running up behind him. They were all relieved to see Roland. Whats wrong? Roland turned around and couldnt help but speak up when he saw them looking tense. The cameras here were all blurred, the leading security officer said, somewhat alarmed. And as you were walking here at that time, we were really afraid that something had happened to you. Roland smiled. I tested a spell just now, and it might have been affected by this. Since Ma Huajun blurred the cameras when he came out, it was clear that he did not want other people to know that he had been here, so Roland naturally helped cover it up. The security personnel finally put their minds completely at ease. Roland then returned to his quarters and entered the virtual cabin to play. On the next day, he returned to the western base in a special car. When they saw him return, the researchers, led by Su Minluo, all sighed in relief. Su Minluo even smiled, which she rarely did. Director, youre finally back. I thought you were over there having too much fun and forgot about us. Its not like theyre going to arrange for pretty girls and singing and dancing for me over there, so how can I possibly be having too much fun. The crowd all burst out laughing in unison. With Roland back, the researchers were very content as their previous research could resume. Oftentimes, whether the research was productive or not didnt mean much, but it was important to have research projects to do so one wouldnt be so bored. The researchers who made it to this base were the elite, all with a curious heart for all things in the world. Roland continued on with a balanced and disciplined life of research. Meanwhile, in the game, he rebuilt the food virtual Divine Spark. He had to build it. Not to mention whether Andonara could access the mansion space, this affected her safety when fighting the Evil Gods. More importantly, Andonaras cooking wasnt as delicious without a connection to the food Divine Spark. Roland was spoiled and no longer really wanted to eat food that tasted average if not for a specific reason. After the virtual Divine Spark was created, Andonara could borrow Rolands magic power. Now that she also believed in the Goddess of Magic, many spells were available to her. It was just that she suffered from her own low reserves of magic power. After all, she was a Warrior. But after linking to Rolands virtual Divine Spark, she could mobilize Rolands magic power. It was equivalent to an external magic power pack. Theoretically, Rolands magic power was infinite. So her magic power was also infinite. The next step was to build equipment. The Evil Gods were unholy, so the magic attributes of light and life attached to equipment would surely be a bonus in lethality against them. The armor was imbued with a Magic Shield, a passive type. Then a large number of scrolls were stored in the mansion space, so that the two could easily access them for emergencies. The two armed themselves to the teeth. They couldnt fight an Evil God without this kind of seriousness. Nia saw how the two of them looked and knew what they were planning to do. She wanted to follow them. But Roland shook his head. I want you to protect Delpon. Its hard to say how long Ill be gone, and in case an enemy comes Ill have a hard time getting back quickly to save the day. So, someone I can trust has to stay here. Okay. Nia patted her chest, two fat globes bouncing and bumping around like tethered balloons. Since you believe in me so much, Ill listen to you and stay here. She was an angel that was easy to coax. But only those she trusted were good at coaxing her; she rarely spoke to strangers and appeared icy and condescending in front of them. Preparing everything he could think of, Roland took Andonara aboard the floating city and then flew to the border between the main plane and the Astral Plane. The two stood in the square, looking at the dark Astral Plane overhead and the stars that filled the sky, both slightly excited. Andonara asked, Who is the first target? What are their weaknesses? The Evil God of Suffering, Roland said after a moments thought. According to the information given to me by the Goddess of Magic, this Evil God should be the easiest for the two of us to deal with when we join forces. Hes weak? Strong, actually. One that ranks at the top amongst the Evil Gods. Roland smiled. But hes less resistant to fire magic. Keep in mind that both of us are good at playing with fire. I think there is something in your words. Andonara walked over, held Rolands hand, and smiled charmingly. Want to play with fire before the big battle? Yes, its fine. Roland thought about it and said, But dont let the Goddess of Magic possess you again, itll scare the hell out of me. Why do I feel like you are deliberately reminding me to let her possess me, Andonara said jealously. No such thing, Roland replied instantly. In the Divine Realm of Suffering, the Evil God Nedsworth was refining the neutral Divine Spark fragment he had snatched: Whirlwind. It was supposed to be the Goddess of Storms Divine Spark, but for some reason, a fragment had been left in the Astral Plane and was found and picked up by him. Also because of this, the Goddess of Storms Divine Spark wasnt complete, and her strength was middling among the Neutral Gods. In contrast, the Water Goddesss Divine Spark was not only complete, but also included four parts: ocean, river, rain, and ice. However, the four Divine Sparks were incompatible with each other, resulting in a bit of a problem with her intelligence So she was obviously very strong, but she couldnt completely unleash her strength. She was sort of a disgrace and oddity amongst the Neutral Gods. It was difficult for an Evil God to condense a Neutral Divine Spark. But Nedsworth was not without a clue; in reality, in the hundred years or so since he got the Whirlwind Divine Spark, he had refined a third of the fragment. This made his strength grow tremendously. Even his own small divine realm had become much more solid. Playing with the fragment of the Whirlwind Divine Spark in his hand, he was in a somewhat sour mood. The Brutalization Divine Spark fragment that Roland had thrown out earlier had passed by and flew not far from him, and he had failed to grab it. A dozen Evil Gods chased and fought after it, and the fragment went missing somehow. But all the Evil Gods knew that someone must have hidden that thing, because the Divine Spark fragment was not so easy to refine into their own Divine Sparks. This was true even for powers of the Evil Gods. Thinking about the fragment of the Divine Spark that had passed him by, he became more and more frustrated. Then he reached out and grabbed as a young girls figure appeared in front of him. This young girl looked beautiful, but her eyes were listless and she had obviously lost consciousness. Nedsworth didnt care. He reached out and closed his hands in the air, and the young girls right hand suddenly snapped off, then flew into his palm and was lifted by him. Then he chewed up this beautiful white arm. The sounds of sharp teeth tearing flesh and skin rang out. The young girl with the severed arm had no expression on her face. She had been bleeding profusely from the stump of her arm, and in less than ten seconds, the blood had soaked through half her bodys clothing, and even the ground was covered with a small pool of black and red blood. The young girls eyes were still listless but her face was getting whiter and whiter and even her lips had lost their color. Her body swayed more and more, as if she would collapse in the next second. At this time, Nedsworth finally finished the whole arm, and then he pointed at the young girl. An evil power sealed the stump of the young girls arm and even began to help her heal and regenerate the severed limb. With one more casual wave of his hand, the young girl disappeared, and the puddle of blood on the ground did as well. After eating some human flesh, the Evil God Nedsworth finally felt a little happier. He continued to refine the Whirlwind Divine Spark in his hands. And the young girl was transported back to the ground of the divine realm. The Divine Realm of Suffering was a desolate and extremely badly lit, cold world, without a single water source. The young girl walked numbly on this earth. She was surrounded by cracked lumps of dry ground. It wasnt until she walked to a large, black, dead tree that her eyes regained some life. With one hand, she pushed aside a rock with difficulty, revealing a hole. She wormed in. Soon, under the eerie white light in a large cellar, a group of people came into view From old to young, people of all ages. But all were women. These women were the tributes that the followers of the Evil God on the main plane sacrificed to Nedsworth. Hundreds of years of continuous accumulation, the number was at least in the ten thousands. But most of them died of old age or committed suicide. Only a few tough-minded or newly-sacrificed young girls continued to survive. As soon as the young girl returned, many people immediately greeted her. One of them was an old woman who looked at her hand heartily and said sadly, That Evil God has eaten your flesh again. Does it hurt? The girl nodded. Thank you for taking on so much pain for us, Miranda. Teary-eyed, the old woman stroked the stump of the young girls arm. The others also sighed. The Evil God was using these young girls as snacks. But lately, Nedsworth was prone to eating the arm of this young girl after noticing that her meat was getting tastier. He ate her slowly and didnt kill her. In the past, he would have allowed the offering to bleed to death. No treatment would have been given at all. Send over the bucket and the ingredients, I still have to bathe myself and soak up some moss essence. Miranda smiled weakly and said, Im weak now and need nourishment. Its more efficient to soak it up this way and better for taste. How about someone else? the old woman said tearfully. If you continue to be eaten like this, Im afraid your mind wont be able to bear it. Its okay. Coming to this place, Ill die sooner or later anyway. Ill use my body to give everyone more time; its worth it. This time it was only the arm that was eaten, but Nedsworth eventually switched to other parts. Sometimes it was the leg, sometimes it was the belly, and sometimes it was the liver. Sometimes it was even the heart. The offering only had to be saved on the verge of death, and then regenerate their severed limbs or internal organs. While not specializing in medical abilities, that was something that the Evil Gods could do. It had been two years since Miranda was sacrificed to this world. Before, she was just an ordinary lowly noblemans daughter, and because of her beauty, she was quietly taken away by the Evil Gods believers and sacrificed to the Divine Realm of Suffering. Then she was put into this cellar. This place was slowly chiseled out by the first few dozen sacrifices. There was no water on the surface, but there was a little underground. Besides, in the underground, they didnt need to experience the biting cold winds that eroded the Divine Realm of Suffering. And there was a moss that grew underground and glowed, which they used as a light source. There were also several mosses that could be eaten. Though they didnt taste good, they filled the stomach. This was why they could survive here. Then she accidentally discovered that Nedsworth particularly favored eating women who ate a certain kind of moss. So she ate this moss specifically, and surely now the Evil God was only interested in her flesh alone. The crowd escorted Miranda back into the depths of the cellar and gave her the largest and most comfortable bed covered with dried moss to sleep on. When is this going to end. The old woman sitting on the edge of the bed sighed. I want to die so badly, but Im afraid of death. Hang in there. As long as you live, there is always hope. Miranda, who was sleeping on the bed, took the old womans hand and said, There is nothing wrong with this place except that it is cramped and we cant eat well. We can still survive, and one day, the Heroes and the knights will charge to this evil place and finish off the Evil God, just like the legends in the books. Thats all a lie, the old woman said confusedly. Heroes and knights will only save people in the main plane, and we are in a divine realm. Just then, the entire earth shook violently. They thought at first that the Evil God was angry again. Every time the Evil God became angry, the world would shake chaotically for a while. But then they realized that this time the shaking was different The source of the tremor was outside, and more importantly, the shaking was so great that they couldnt even stand up and all fell to the ground. Whats going on? All the offerings looked at each other in confusion. Chapter 779 - Killed The surfaces of both Mystras and Elyses divine realms were smooth and beautiful energy crystals, though different in color. But this divine realm in front of him, not to mention smaller in size than those of the two Lawful goddesses, was made of an uneven gray oily substance on the outside. It was faintly bubbling and disgusting to look at. Outside the divine realm of the two goddesses, massive void insects were surrounding them, absorbing the free divine energy. But there were far fewer void insects here. Only a handful of insects that looked like flat-headed earthworms drifted slowly around the vicinity of the gray divine realm. How do we get in? asked Andonara with a disgusted expression when she saw the surface of this divine realm. Regardless of the appearance of a divine realm, it was composed of the power of faith. This energy was powerful, incomparable with normal magical elements. After some thought, Roland floated five meters off the ground, quickly coalesced a large blue fireball with a three-meter radius, and threw it. The fireball caused an optical illusion due to its speed of flight, smashing into the surface of the divine realm like a blinding oval ball. The explosion was accompanied by a slight flash and a semi-circular blast that just opened up to a radius of less than a hundred meters but inexplicably shrank abruptly and finally disappeared. It was like turning back time, or like some force had swallowed it. Andonara looked up at Roland with a slightly puzzled gaze. It should be a special protection mechanism that attracts foreign attacking forces for its own use. Roland could tell at a glance why the large fireball had just exploded and inexplicably disappeared. Wouldnt that be problematic? For the average person, its indeed troublesome. The divine realm is actually another version of a floating city, a home and shelter for the gods. Roland smiled, and from his Backpack, he took out a small blue bullet. But I also have props that are more powerful. A spatial bubble appeared next to him, and then the blue bullet was placed into the spatial bubble. As the spatial bubble disappeared and immediately reappeared, the bullet jetted out at such a fast speed that even a powerful professional like Andonara, with her extremely high-frame dynamic vision, only caught a glimpse of a long blue shadow. Half a second later, a bright flashing explosion appeared on the surface of the gray divine realm, followed by a blue fire-colored mass taking shape with great speed. Because there was no air in the Astral Plane, the air in the floating city was absorbed next to it using magic, so the explosion of the nuclear blast on the surface of the gray divine realm didnt form a mushroom cloud, just a violently expanding flame. This was accompanied by a large amount of blackened matter splashing around the Astral Plane, which was the gray surface layer of the divine realm. The nuclear explosion only lasted about five seconds, but it also tore a circular gap in the surface of the gray divine realm, with a radius of at least two kilometers or so. A large amount of air ejected from within the gray divine realms interior while the hole was slowly closing Roland flew in on his floating city. The passageway wasnt very long, and the walls were still glowing red and hot, with lots of red, lava-like things dripping down from above. But protected by the barrier, these were bounced off to the other side. Once the floating city flew into this small divine kingdom, Andonara looked around and shook her head slightly. It really is the world of an Evil God. There are few signs of life, its dim everywhere, and it seems that even the air is filled with a foul smell. After seeing the Paradise of Life and how alive it was, Andonara couldnt stand to look at such a place. Even if this was a small world that could be completely under her control, she would have no interest in it. Roland looked around and said, No one has come out to greet us, the Evil God seems to be hiding. Hes probably afraid. Can you find him? Already found it, Andonara said, finding her target after only a casual glance around. Licking her luscious red lips, her eyes were fixed somewhere in the air with the excitement of a hunter. Heroes were born with the ability to see through evil, and the stronger they were, the stronger this ability became. With her right hand, she drew out the Heros sword, and with her left hand, she carried the special enchanted spear she had just taken out of the mansions space, and at her whim, a blue Immortal Phoenix flame burned on the spear. Then proceed as planned. Roland snapped his fingers repeatedly, casting all enhancement spells he knew on Andonara. Understood. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, and rushed off into the distance. Roland, on the other hand, was glowing with a green mist all over, hanging far back. In combat, it never made sense for Mages to rush ahead. The blue firebird flew incredibly fast, flying over a distance of a hundred and fourteen meters with each flap of its wings. And that wasnt even Andonaras speed at full flight; if she flew at full speed, she could go about another twenty percent faster. With its long, lingering phoenix cry, the blue firebird burst through some transparent, invisible barrier in less than thirty seconds. As the pale gray shards of the barrier broke apart in layers, a huge black shadow let out a furious, pained scream. The firebird rushed through his body and left a huge, burning wound on his abdomen. And this blue flame that was on the wound showed no signs of going out. The dark figure quickly split his body into three, the burning part of his abdomen falling through the air. It didnt take long for it to smash to the ground and be burned to ashes by the blue flames. The remaining two parts, however, rejoined and, in a very short time, turned into a black ball and rapidly shrank, ending up as a young man who was all gray and about the size of a normal human. Bare, he looked angrily at the blue firebird that was ascending in circles in preparation for a dive. This man was the true form of the Evil God of Suffering. Deceleration He looked grim and held out his hand at the flames. If he could slow her down, it would be an easier fight. Unfortunately, just then, a strange force suddenly came from behind him, and in less than a second, the magical elements around the Evil God of Suffering drained away. He turned back to see that it was a Mage with a misty red glow all over his body, pointing a finger at him. Mages Disjunction? Nedsworth, the Evil God of Suffering, twisted his head to look at Roland. Shit! Got to run. This was the reason why the Evil God of Suffering tried to hide before. A Mage with a floating city was already powerful enough, and he was bound to know very powerful spells as well. Although Mages Disjunction didnt work on him this time, the Mage would surely cast it a second time and a third time. Mage had almost unlimited magic power and he could cast Mages Disjunction countless times. Although the success rate was low, if it worked once, then he would disintegrate. He was, after all, essentially a higher being formed from energy. If he were affected by Mages Disjunction, he might even be killed outright in seconds. He couldnt stay any longer, so he gritted his teeth and prepared to teleport away, and for that reason, he had even decided to give up on this divine realm. A Legendary Hero and a Mage who operated a floating city were attacking his home, and a low- to medium-level Evil God like him had no business fighting. Although his strength would drop drastically after losing the divine realm, it was better than dying. But just as he tried to use Teleportation, he realized that the spell had failed. Then from Rolands side, great spatial oppression came. Whats going on? The Evil God Nedsworth looked past Roland and saw a large number of transparent chains appearing around the floating city in the distance, reaching up to the sky and the ground, like veins connecting heaven and earth. And the floating city was like a heart. In reality, when Roland came in, he had secretly used the floating city as the axis to fix the entire space of the divine realm. What god didnt know spells to leap through space? It was just the difference between specialization and non-specialization. He had to guard against this. Damn! Nedsworth felt as if he had fallen into a trap. Damn, are all Mages this sinister? The fear grew in Nedsworths mind. In reality, Evil Gods were indeed unholy, but unholy didnt mean bold and unafraid of death. The current Evil Gods were of a new generation and hadnt been in many hard fights. Those who had fought hard fights and dared to cause trouble on the main plane had been taken out by the four main Lawful Goddesses. The new generation of Evil Gods then hid in the Astral Plane and took advantage of the Lawful Gods inability to leave their divine realms to languish in their own divine realms while finding ways to influence the humans of the main plane, harvesting more believers and strengthening themselves. But now, someone was beating down the door and forcibly invading the divine realm. This was the first time in the history of the gods. Previously, Mordenkainen and Melf also chased after the Evil Gods to kill them, but that was because the Evil Gods were outside of their divine realms and dared to appear on the main plane. They didnt have a record of fighting in the divine realms. In other words, Roland was much more powerful than Mordenkainen and Melf. He had to find a way to escape. He had to give up the divine realm. Nedsworth wasnt a very strong fighter, but he was quick-witted. He tried to turn and run, then he caught something from the corner of his eye. With great fear and alarm, he pressed forward with his hands, and a gray barrier was produced about ten centimeters in front of his palms. The blue firebird turned into a streak of light and fell from the sky, as fast as lightning. Ding! A soft, crisp sound rang out. The blue flaming birds front beak pecked at the gray barrier. Time seemed to stop for at this instant, and then a violent storm arose between the two. The storm, which came out of the collision from the terrifying impact, traveled from the air to the ground, and then became a circular blast that swept away all the junk on the ground like a tsunami. By this time, the blue flames on Andonaras body had subsided considerably. Her form could now be seen in the flames, and the beak was the spear in her left hand. Because the collision with the barrier was too intense, the spear had broken completely. After an illusory brief pause in time, Andonara dropped the spear in her left hand, raised the Heros sword in her right hand, turned her body, and slashed down heavily at the gray barrier. It could no longer be described as a slash and was more of a knocking blow. The tremendous power attached to the longsword caused the barrier to dissolve into pieces in an instant. The Evil God Nedsworth was hammered down as if he were a cannonball, hitting the ground. There was a loud bang. The impact formed a huge crater, while the ground around it rapidly collapsed, forming a dense spider web of about three kilometers or So. Roland was amazed to see this. Currently, Andonara was much stronger than she was last year. Andonara then took out another enchanted spear from the mansions space and her entire body once again transformed into a firebird. The Evil God Nedsworth stood up from the bottom of the tens of meters deep, meteorite-like crater and was about to escape when he saw a beautiful, divine firebird descend from the air once again. Once again, he hurriedly faced the attack. From his spatial storage, he pulled out a black iron shield and put it above himself. However, the firebird rushed down from the air with great speed, and the tip of the spear all but nudged his shield, but it landed softly and without any force. The Evil God Nedsworth froze for a moment and then saw the firebird fly away at great speed after contact. Whats going on? Whats she doing? Just as he was puzzled, he suddenly saw a blinding blue light in the air. As soon as he looked up, he saw a huge fireball with a radius of at least a hundred meters or so pressing down from the sky. It was very, very close to him at this point. The terrible heat and magic vortex made it impossible for him to use his magic well at all, and while he could fly, he couldnt get out of the range of this super-sized fireball. Roland, you scumbag! Nedsworth let out a sorrowful roar of anger. The huge fireball came down on his head. It was as if the mini-nuke scene had played out again. When the glow of the explosion and the smoke cleared, there was a ring of red lava on the ground. And right in the center, there was a dark shadow that was constantly reorganizing and disintegrating All the while letting out a miserable wail. Taking a shot head-on from the most powerful Self-Destructing Fireball Roland could cast right now was not good, even for a god. Not to mention that Nedsworths fire magic resistance wasnt quite good. He was in a state where he couldnt fight right now. Flying backward, dodging the explosion, the blue firebird did a cobra maneuver, soaring high into the air before swooping down fiercely once more. This time she used the Heros sword. With blue flames, the tip of the sword nailed through the Evil Gods head, which was so charred and black as to be unrecognizable, and pushed the entire man down heavily into the lava, into the bottom of the pit. The violent impact sent all the molten hot liquid in the lava pool outward, scattering everywhere like countless fireworks blooming in the air. It was dense like the stars in the sky, flying throughout the world and splashing in all directions. And at the very bottom of the large pit, there was no longer any trace of lava. Nedsworth moved, blue flames searing his entire body, burning so brightly and vigorously that in a few moments he became a raging torch. A lot of black air drifted out of the flames and finally turned into a ribbon of black mist that floated toward Andonara and entered her body. She felt no discomfort but rather a feeling of comfort. Heroes were all about slaying the forces of evil to grow effectively. It didnt take long for the black ribbons of mist to disappear. Andonara took the opportunity to take a dozen steps back, watching the human-shaped torch in silence. Finally, the blue flames followed suit and disappeared, and the Evil God turned into a handful of black ash that fell to the ground. She walked over and raked her longsword through the ashes a few times to find two small, smooth, transparent beads. One was light gray and one was light cyan. It was like seeing two worlds. They also had an alluring power. Roland descended from the air. The light cyan one is a fragment of the Whirlwind Divine Spark, lets just take that one. Andonara turned back with a slight smile and said, Roland, the Evil God is easier to kill than I thought. Because this Evil God is not strong in his own right, and his weakness is too obvious. Roland leaned down and picked up the light cyan bead. Lets go. What about this Suffering Divine Spark? Youre not destroying it? asked Andonara, looking at the ground. Its useless. All Divine Sparks are a collection of the emotions of intelligent beings. They can disintegrate or be torn into several pieces, but they just cant be destroyed. Leave it here. It will take a long time to rebirth a new Evil God of Suffering after this one, an estimated one or two hundred years. Andonara sighed. Its a shame it cant be dealt with once and for all. Then the two left. Roland piloted the floating city and left while the large hole in the divine realm hadnt recovered much. And about half an hour after they left the divine realm, a group of women appeared at the spot where the Evil God had died. The environment was altered and a large amount of charred black land reeked of smoke and fire. It all made them panic and walk coweringly. The leader, Miranda, took a few steps and looked around. She soon saw the small, shiny gray bead on the ground. Lips red as blood, she licked her lips, subconsciously walked over, and picked the thing up. She could feel it; it was full of evil. But it was also full of fatal temptation. The women around her, all their eyes were on the small gray bead in her hand. Some old woman among them kept her eyes on the bead and said with difficulty, Miranda, something is wrong with this thing. We need to throw it away and get out of here. I know what it is, Miranda said, holding it, looking confused. Its the Divine Spark of the Evil God. Someone killed it, but for some reason, they didnt take this. Something from the Evil God! Why dont you throw it away? Do it, Miranda. The old woman shifted her eyes away from the small bead with difficulty as she walked over and hugged Miranda, whispering, Good girl, throw this away or youll be doomed. I have that feeling. Miranda shook her head. With this, Ill be able to send you all back to the main plane. Everyone had been looking at the little bead, but at those words, everyones attention was taken away and they looked at Miranda. The old womans lips trembled in shock. Wait, Miranda, are you trying to become a god? But this is an Evil God! As long as I can send everyone back to the main plane, so what if I become an Evil God! Miranda revealed a sweet smile at everyone before tossing the Suffering Divine Spark into her mouth. Chapter 780 - New Gods Are Simple With a gurgle, the Divine Spark was swallowed into her stomach. Under the surprise and timid stares of the crowd, Miranda suddenly screamed in agony and rolled on the floor, clutching her stomach. Her face turned extremely pale as a mouthful of blood gushed out of her mouth, spilling everywhere as she rolled around. The sacrificial women around her panicked and tried to rush over to help. Before they could even get close, a strange force repelled them all, making them unable to advance even an inch. And Mirandas screams became even louder. At the same time, her body changed. A lump of flesh grew like a soup vapor bubble on her body and then exploded, thick black blood spraying into the air like arrows and falling like rain. Within a short while, a thick layer of black flesh and blood had piled up on the ground near her body. Miranda was still alive at this point, and even her physical form hadnt changed much apart from the bloody tumors that kept popping up and exploding on her body. Her screams hadnt even stopped until now and her voice had become hoarse and weak. As she kept rolling on the ground, she had long since deviated from her original position, a thick layer of blood staining wherever she passed. If a normal person had bled that much and lost that much flesh, they would have died at least a dozen times already, but Miranda was still alive. However, she was becoming less and less human, tattered and bulging everywhere except for her face, which was still relatively intact. And off to the side, the dozens of sacrificial women, each one in tears, tried desperately to get closer to Miranda, but they were blocked by an inexplicable force that prevented them from approaching They fell to their knees in the bloodstains, crying bitterly and berating themselves for their cowardice and powerlessness. Several hours had passed at this point, and the tragedy that took hold of Miranda was still escalating On her back, there was a blood tumor that hadnt exploded since it had appeared, and it had even gradually turned into a human face. From the beginning, there was a vague shape of a face, with the outline of eyes, nose, and mouth. Now, the face was so clear that even the eyes were already moving around. Miranda knelt on the ground. Her consciousness had begun to drift since the blood tumor had turned into a real human face, and even the pain in her body seemed to have lessened a lot. But at this point, Mirandas eyes had very little color left in them. The human face behind her grew more and more alive, coming to life, and began to open its mouth to speak. Hey, host, eat a few people. Just eat a few, taste their pain, and you wont have to suffer so much. The voice was sharp and grim, with a strong incendiary edge. Miranda shook her head. I have to protect them. But youre in pain now. Why should you be in so much pain? I will protect them. I can lend you my power, just take a bite and you wont have to suffer-really, just eat. Miranda still shook her head. Seeing that it couldnt talk Miranda into it, the human faces eyes looked over to the group of sacrifices kneeling and crying nearby. Hey, your little princess is suffering greatly right now-her soul is dissipating. Dont you want to save her? Hahaha. A grim, shrill laugh in Mirandas voice, but with an extra chilling evil. Hearing the sound made by the human face, all the sacrificial women looked at it. The oldest woman stood up and asked, What do we have to do to bear Mirandas pain? Sacrifice, sacrifice. Offer your bodies, and Ill transfer the pain shes suffering to you. This way, shell suffer a little less, hahaha. Will you do it or not? Of course I will. The old woman wiped away her tears. It has always been Miranda who has protected us. Now it is our turn to protect her. What should I do? You need only say: I am willing to be a believer of the Maiden of Pain and to bear for her all the pains and sufferings of the world, and for this purpose, I am willing to give my body and soul. The human face attached to Mirandas back spoke in a demonic and seductive voice. Mirandas eyes were already dull to the point of near-death, but she shook her head slightly anyway. No dont. The old woman knelt with joy and made the gesture of prayer. I am willing to become a believer of the Maiden of Pain and to bear for her all the pains and sufferings of the world, and to offer my body and soul for this purpose. As soon as these words were said, the old womans entire body swelled up rapidly and exploded into a shower of blood without even a scream. After a few seconds, the kneeling, bloody skeleton then slowly fell to the ground. Hahahahaha sure is interesting, sure is interesting. The human face behind her kept rolling her eyes around and around, giving a rather chaotic and frightening feeling. Her voice was full of crazy neuroticism. Die in pain, scream in agony, twist your souls, share the pain of your little princess, and then become my sustenance, hahahahaha. Hardly had she said that when a translucent spirit of a young girl appeared above the skeleton, who looked very, very much like the old woman, only she was a little younger. Seeing this soul, the twisted human face froze, then she screamed, How is it possible, how is it possible! Why is your soul not twisted? With all the terrible pain inflicted on your body and soul, why is your soul not twisted, not filled with hate? Why?! The scream was full of disbelief and twisted malice. The soul of the young girl revealed a smile and walked toward Miranda. That special power that kept outsiders away didnt stop the soul. Stay back, you damn thing, Im telling you, stay back or Ill kill this Maiden of Pain who you believe in now. The soul of the young girl smiled and continued, moving closer and holding Miranda warmly from the back before slowly surging into her body. Ahhhhh The human face on the back let out a miserable scream, and her voice echoed throughout the divine realm. It hurts so much, it hurts so much, why does it hurt so much! In the corner of each of her eyes, a bloody tear ran down. And Mirandas eyes, regaining a bit of color, and her body, which had been about to stop moving, trembled slightly once more. The offerings saw this and then recited the prayer in unison. I am willing to be a believer in the Maiden of Pain I am willing I am willing The same prayer was recited and explosions sounded one after another. Countless bodies of flesh and blood flew apart like beautiful red flowers scattering. A transparent and exalted soul appeared in their places, then slowly walked toward Miranda. Watching these souls approaching with a smile, the human face panicked and screamed in terror, Dont come over here, dont come over here! Yet these souls turned a deaf ear, and one by one, they looked tenderly at Miranda and merged into her. With each soul that entered, the human face took on a smaller appearance, and by the time the last soul merged, the human face behind her had disappeared completely. Mirandas body became intact again, even healthy. Her skin glowed a faint red, but it was warm and divine and didnt carry any hint of evil. The dimly-lit divine realm was also gradually becoming brighter. There were even green sprouts, slowly burrowing out of the gray and black earth. Miranda opened her eyes and looked around at the bloody bones that had fallen to the ground, teardrops falling one by one. Tears filled with divine luster fell, turning into the rapid growth of green thorns. The thorns wrapped around her smooth body and transformed into a long, pale green dress of lime thorns. From this day forward, I am Miranda, the Maiden of Pain, willing to bear all the spiritual pain for all the women in the world who grieve because of love, affection, and who are maliciously hurt by others. Those who believe in me, their physical pain will never touch their souls, and kind and gentle women will always have my protection. After death, their souls will come to live in my divine realm. She looked at the dozen or so bloody bones, and in a soft, gentle voice, spoke her conviction. In an instant, the entire divine realm became completely bright. Countless green grasses and fruit trees grew on the earth, and a river appeared out of nowhere and took shape. The dozen or so skeletons turned into the most beautiful red maple trees, swaying slightly in the wind. Mirandas voice echoed not only in the divine realm but also throughout the world. The gods listened attentively, some rejoicing, some surprised, and some with wicked smiles. And all the intelligent beings of the world heard the gentle maiden voice, and many women who were suffering for various reasons found their harbor and knelt in ecstasy to offer devotional prayers. Naturally, Roland heard the nice girlish voice. He was a little surprised. The Suffering Divine Spark was forcibly turned into a Lawful Divine Spark? As a Mage, he was all too aware of just how terrible the malice attached to the Evil Divine Spark was. Even as a Legendary Mage, he didnt dare touch that thing even if he still had a floating city outside. But now someone bent this thing straight? Was it a god, or some other unknown powerhouse who had secretly stayed in the Divine Realm of Suffering and picked up the Divine Spark that he had thrown away? Just as he was speculating wildly, the voice of Elyse, the Life Goddess, suddenly rang out in his head. Roland, go quickly near the Divine Realm of Suffering and protect the newborn Lawful Goddess. I reckon there will be Evil Gods who have thoughts about her. She shouldnt have declared her existence in such a hurry. The equality contract on Rolands chest was glowing faintly. This thing was made by Roland and conferred telepathy to the users, as long as both souls were on the same height. Roland and Andonara also had an equality contract but they couldnt do that yet either, as the two of them hadnt had divine intercourse. In this respect, the gods were more advantageous. For they were a type of soul themselves and even counted as energy beings. Roland didnt hesitate to return to the main plane and then teleported near the Divine Realm of Suffering. Then Roland was surprised to find that the appearance of the Divine Realm of Suffering had changed. The surface of the planet, which had originally been a greasy gray mass, had turned a rather festive red, and the surface structure was the same smooth and beautiful crystalline as the Paradise of Life and the Divine Realm of Magic. Many astral insects had gathered around it They were most sensitive to energy, and they could feel what kind of divine power was beneficial to them from a distance. Roland looked at the red planet that was the divine realm and was a little troubled. How was he going to get in? Teleportion? Impossible! The barrier of the divine realm itself possessed the effect of blocking teleportation spells. Make a hole with a nuclear bomb? Even less possible. He was here to protect the new goddess, not to make enemies. Just as he was thinking about how to contact the new god, a young girl suddenly appeared in the sky above the floating city. She had long dark red hair and wore a long green thorn dress, and also carried a long green thorn whip in her hand. The young girl was in a vacuum, pointing a long whip that had been coiled several times at Roland. Her mouth did not move, but her cold voice carried, I am Miranda, the Maiden of Pain. Who are you and what are you doing here? Andonara stood at Rolands side to protect him. I am Roland, and the Life Goddess has sent me to protect you, said Roland with a smile. The young girl didnt seem too convinced, but her expression eased a lot when she saw Andonara who was beside Roland. She looked at Rolands floating city and said, Can you remove this outside layer? Id like to go down and talk to you guys face to face. Did she not know about magic barriers? Roland was a little surprised, but removed the barrier, waited for the red-haired girl to enter, and put it up again. The young woman landed in front of both Roland and Andonara and smiled. Thank you for being willing to come and protect me. Her smile was full of tenderness and tolerance. You trust us so quickly? asked Andonara, a little surprised. You smell of happiness, not a hint of pain or suffering. The young girl pointed to Andonaras heart. I am the protector of women, and a man who can make a woman happy is definitely not a bad person in my opinion. Andonara smiled, as she was indeed happy now. Roland scratched his head. This new god seemed a bit innocent? Miranda turned to look around the floating city and said, Thats an interesting thing you have, connecting with your soul and making you extremely strong. Could I learn it? You dont know about floating cities? asked Roland, somewhat surprised. I used to be just the daughter of a small countrys noble, I havent seen much of the world. Miranda looked embarrassed. And I have very few followers now. The knowledge and power of the gods were directly related to the number of believers. Just how did such a simple new god turn the Suffering Divine Spark into a lawful one? Shouldnt it be easy to fall prey to malicious temptations without a solid outlook? Cant figure it out! This psychology stuff is so complicated. Roland muttered inwardly and said, Ms. Miranda, well talk about the matter of the floating city later. In reality, you shouldnt leave the divine realm on your own accord. Why? The divine realm is the barrier that protects the gods, and only in the divine realm can your strength be complete, Roland explained. But the divine realm is to be inhabited later, and wont a battle in it kill or injure my divine citizens? Roland was speechless. Oh right, my divine realm has no divine citizens right now. Miranda once again showed an embarrassed expression. Ill open an entrance for you to drive this in. It just so happens that I have a lot of things that I want to ask you. Since youre a friend of the Life Goddess, Im sure you know how to be a good god. Chapter 781 - Retaliations Never End You must know how to be a good god. Can you teach me? Miranda looked at Roland hopefully. Im not a god. How can I know how to be a good god? Roland smiled helplessly. When you have time, why dont you talk to Elyse, the Life Goddess? Wont she look down on me? Miranda didnt seem confident. After all, she used to be a girl from the countryside. Although she knew neither Roland nor the floating city, she could identify the main gods and goddesses such as Life and Light. She had been an undevoted believer of the Life Goddess, and she had a natural awe for gods and goddesses. Although she had become a goddess, she couldnt change her opinion just yet, and she still respected the Life Goddess more than she shouldve. It was her who asked me to protect you. I dont think shell decline your request. Roland smiled. Oh, right. Miranda heaved a sigh of relief and became more hopeful. Then how should we meet? I dont know. Roland shook his head. Ive never seen the Goddess of Light or the Goddess of Magic leave their paradises. The Goddess of Light only showed up once in her territory on the main plane as a clone. The Nether God actually came in person once. Maybe you should ask her. But you dont allow me to leave my paradise. How can I ask her?. That was indeed a dilemma. Roland heaved a sigh. Ill ask for you if I have a chance. Great! Youre really a great guy. Miranda looked at Roland gratefully. Right, can you teach me some things? Mages are the wisest people on the main plane. Sir, can you tell me your opinion on pain? My opinion on pain? Roland looked at Miranda. The girl hadnt been a goddess for long and looked simple. Roland didnt know how she turned the Divine Spark of Suffering into a Lawful Divine Spark, but he knew better than to ask. It was probably some sort of secret. Sizing up the Maiden of Pain, he thought for a moment and said, In fact, I dont know much about pain, but Ive read a thing or two in that aspect. Please do tell me about it. Mirandas eyes shined. The sages among my people divide pain into two types: physical and mental. At first, we thought that mental pain was greater than physical pain, but then we realized that was wrong. Mirandas eyes bulged when she heard that. However, the books I read said that heroes and knights could suppress pain and even completely control their bodies with their minds. That is, in fact, incorrect, said Roland casually. Certain people with a strong mind can ignore physical pain for a short amount of time, but not forever. If your body is always in pain, your mind is inevitably affected and you may suffer from mental illnesses. The liches are typical examples. Their lack of a physical body is essentially the greatest agony. What do you think of the liches behavior? By the same logic, enduring pain of the mind will affect the body too, causing weakness, insomnia, lethargy, etc. If it lasts longer, it will cause more serious diseases, such as chronic colitis. Miranda nodded. So, physical pain and mental pain are equal? Yes, or at least the sages among the Golden Sons think so, Roland explained. True health is that of both your mind and your body. Oh Miranda didnt really get it. Then, Roland told her a lot of ambiguous moral lessons regarding the derivative meanings of pain. For example, he said that negative emotions would cause mental pain and disappointment, and that people who were satisfied with their lives were less likely to feel pain but might also be less hardworking and competitive, so expectation management was very important. To be honest, those moral lessons were all adaptations of the Chicken Soup for the Soul from reality. However, Miranda listened attentively. It was mainly because she was too unknowledgeable, and her believers In this feudal world, females were far less educated than males on average. The knowledge of a goddess, on the other hand, came from her believers. The Maiden of Pains vow was to protect women. As a result, her rightful believers werent too many, because her target believers overlapped with those who believed in Light, Life, or Death. This world had a limited population, most of which had been claimed by the Four Lawful Goddesses. The Maiden of Pain could only draw the females who lived in misery to worship her. But the number of those women wasnt great. Miranda was aware of her restrictions too. That was why she threw so many questions at Roland. Knowledge was a luxury in this world that even a goddess had to acquire one step at a time. After the conversation on pain was over, Miranda wasnt entirely satisfied, so she asked other bizarre questions. Roland answered all of them except those he wasnt sure about. For example, could the Divine Spark of a goddess be given to someone else? Naturally, Roland didnt know the answer to that question. While Roland answered questions for Miranda, all the players were seething. Because Roland has been making fast progress, our title system cant keep up with his pace anymore. So, were making a belated announcement: Roland has received the title of Godslayer for killing the Evil God of Suffering in the Astral Plane with Andonara (NPC). The stats of the title are kept confidential for now. Almost all the players were lost for words when they read the message. They knew that it was coming, but they still found it unacceptable. Actually, ever since Roland started flying the floating city, he had already been inhuman to most people. It wasnt a surprise that he slew a god. What was surprising was that he accomplished the task with only two people. Last time, ONeal organized hundreds of people, including more than a hundred Legends, to kill a goddess, but failed. Additionally, they were only trying to kill a clone of the elven goddess. That was far less remarkable than killing an Evil God in the Astral Plane. The clone of a goddess was only one-tenth as strong as herself in reality, whereas the Evil God was in his prime in the Astral Plane. Also, hundreds of people had tried to kill the clone, whereas only two people slew the Evil God. The difference was greater than that between a human and a dog. It was more like the difference between a human and a bug. At least, that was the opinion of many players. Ive lost interest in this game. A man should always fight to be the best. But how can you play the game when youre so far away from the top? Im a casual player. I dont care. I even admire him. He doesnt spend any money on the game, yet he crushes all those rich players. This feels so great. To be honest, its not strange that Roland can kill an Evil God, but its unbelievable that hes faster than the official plan of conquest. Is he a bastard son of one of the game producers? Im quite curious about Cornucopia who swore to get back at Roland. Are they still confident of challenging Roland? I havent heard about them recently. The guild is already gone. What happened? Then, the informed players told them what happened in another thread. Three months prior, Charles, the chairman of Cornucopia, declared that they would fight Roland relentlessly, and they did. However, Rolands counterattack was imposed only two days later. Firstly, the royal family of Hollevin dropped their cooperation with Cornucopia and shared detailed evidence of Cornucopias tax evasion. They also announced that Charles would be wanted if he didnt pay the taxes. Having no choice, Charles could only pay up. He had truly committed tax evasion, and he thought nobody knew. He didnt think that the underdeveloped tax system in this world could trouble him. However, the royal family had hired a lot of players as advisors, and many of them were familiar with tax investigations. After that, the people of Cornucopia were hunted by the Guild of Assassins. Not only was the leadership assassinated, but their heads were also chopped off and delivered to unknown places. The leaderships levels dropped by almost five levels. Then, negative rumors about Cornucopia were sung over in all the taverns in Hollevin. The rumors included their tax evasion, forced transactions, selling unqualified goods, framing their business competitors, etc. Under the successive strikes, Cornucopia lost their cohesion. A lot of people left even though Charles promised them huge salaries. The guild didnt even survive for three months after the strikes began. Charles, for one, had deleted his account. It was already level zero anyway. He might as well create a new account instead of being killed all the time. No wonder the market price is stabilizing. Thats what I said. None of those monopolizing capitalists are good. The market is normal the moment they fall. In fact, not just the players, the other merchants in Hollevin felt like a mountain was removed from over their heads too. The NPC merchants had always hated Cornucopia, but nobody dared to piss them off as the guild was the Golden Sons chamber of commerce. They had learned the lesson that nobody who pissed off the Golden Sons ended up well. The vampires were gone. The bandits in Hollevin had been mostly killed too. As for the gangsters in the cities, they were like grasses that were cut again and again. Anyways, no matter where the Golden Sons went, the safety level had significantly increased. More importantly, the Golden Sons were particularly nice to the untouchables and asked them all the time if anyone was mean to them, promising to serve justice if the answer was yes. Having been lashed for eight years, the rich merchants and nobles already knew how to keep a low profile. Even the slaves were treated much better than before. They had to keep a low profile. There were a hundred Legends, and countless Masters, among the Golden Sons. When Hollevin had almost become a garden to the players, a strange team traveled across mountains and forests to the edge of Wetland City. After a brief rest, they took off their disguise and came to the gate of Wetland City openly. Wetland City was already the most important business center of Hollevin. A tremendous number of wagons passed through the city every day. Businessmen and travelers were entering the city 24 hours a day. When those people appeared at the city gate, the merchants in line whispered to each other for a moment. Then, they moved aside and gave way. The city guards, on the other hand, nervously gathered into two lines and blocked the gate. Outside of the gate was a group of fully-armed elves. The captain of the guards, wearing standard armor, spoke in a casual and graceful tone. Elves? You dont seem very friendly. Is there anything I can help you with? I am Ans. The young elf in the lead slightly bowed. Im one of the members of the Elven Council of Elders. Im here to negotiate with the master of Wetland City on behalf of the Mother Tree. The Mother Tree? The captain was a player. Many players had lost interest in adventures and simply worked in the army for a reasonably good salary. You mean the World Tree? Yes, said Ans coldly. Several months ago, some of the Golden Sons invaded my peoples lands and slaughtered a lot of civilians. They even assassinated our queen. Its a disgrace to the elves. We demand compensation. Your queen died because she sacrificed herself, right? The player chuckled. You were one of the invaders? Ans turned extremely cold. He clutched his vine staff so hard that his fingers became pale. Not exactly. I was too weak to participate. The player smiled and said, However, Ive seen the video or as you elves put it, the magic footage of the past. I know what happened in the battle. Ans looked better. He said, If so, ask the master of this city to welcome us immediately! To welcome you? The player shook his head with a smile. Ill report this matter to the city master. Please wait a moment. Then, the player rode a horse away very quickly He was a Lancer. Ans waited patiently with a thousand elves at the city gate. More and more wagons and travelers were jammed on the road. At this moment, another player who wore standard armor stood up and said, Im the deputy captain of the city guards. My elven friends, can you step off the road? We need to keep the lines moving. Ans narrowed his eyes and stared at the guy for a while, before he demanded unhappily, You think those civilians and merchants are more important than a thousand elves who have returned with wrath to seek revenge? Yes, they are. The deputy captain smiled delightedly. Not just Ans, all the elves who heard their conversation seemed outraged. Many of the elves took out their bows and waited for Anss command. Exactly at this moment, a transparent shadow appeared next to Ans. The purple-haired woman, who carried a sacred vibe, looked at the deputy commander and said coldly, The Golden Sons are just as condescending as theyre rumored to be. Tell your master Im here, and that if I dont see him in ten minutes, the elves will wage total war against Hollevin and the Golden Sons. Chapter 782 - Do You Want to See My Performance? About twenty minutes later, Bettas father, the new master of the city, met the transparent purple-haired woman and Ans in a conference room. Although he wasnt exactly worldly, Uncle Liang remained calm and poised in the presence of Ans and the World Trees clone. After the tea was served, he said slowly, My lady, is there anything important that makes you want to talk to me? Some friends told me that youre unfriendly. Ans slightly frowned. The World Tree was the oldest life in the main plane. Shouldnt the guy stand up first if he wanted to talk to her? The man was so weak and had only just turned into a professional. He dared to sit in front of the Mother Tree just because of his title as city master? Why was he so bold? However, the World Tree hadnt spoken yet, so Ans couldnt express his opinion. The World Tree sized up Uncle Liang curiously and said, Your soul is old, yet your body is young. Very interesting. I wouldve thought you were a lich if your soul and your body werent 100% matched. What kind of technology are you using? I dont know much about technology. Uncle Liang smiled. Whats your purpose here, lady? Please cut to the chase! The World Tree frowned, and her pretty face turned cold. You must hand over the culprits who attacked my people. Youll also have to make appropriate compensation. Sorry, Ive no idea what youre talking about, said Uncle Liang with a smile. Its only been several months since I came to this g this world. Also, Im pretty sure that the authorities of Wetland City werent involved in the massacres you described. The World Tree chuckled. I dont care about your excuses. A war will begin if you dont answer for what you did properly. A war? Schuck walked down from upstairs and said with a smile, Ive looked into the matter. There are only 200,000 elves, and there are half a million Golden Sons. How are you going to fight the war?. The World Tree smiled. You do have a half-million population, but are there really half a million Golden Sons? What she said was rather perplexing and confused Schuck. The World Tree said with a smile, Like I said, answer for you did properly, otherwise Then, the World Tree stood up and left without having the tea. After she left, Uncle Liang rubbed his eyebrows and asked, Schuck what do you think of the matter? She seems to be the leader of her people, doesnt she?. The situation is unclear. Schuck scratched his head. The World Tree mustve found a way to restrict us, or she wouldnt have waited a couple of months before she came to us for revenge. Uncle Liang heaved a sigh. This is all so troublesome. I thought that my son was wasting his time when he played games. I didnt know that this game was so complicated. No wonder he distinguished himself in reality after only a couple of years. It wasnt until Uncle Liang became the master of the city that he found out what his son did and learned in the game. If anyone was able to administer a city with a million residents, he would definitely be qualified as a mayor in reality. As the father, he was actually not doing a good job. He couldnt make quick decisions, and he had to count on Schucks suggestions. Yes, this game really helps you grow. Schuck sighed. Even though he couldnt use the power of light in reality, he had been in the leadership of the Church of Light for eight years, and he had traveled a lot in this world and reflected on what he learned. So, quick growth was inevitable. He felt sorry for his cousin Betta, who was very capable and wouldve surely distinguished himself in reality with the abilities he acquired from running a city in the game. Yet, his cousin was already gone, and he didnt even have a chance to say goodbye. Thinking of Betta, both of them fell into a short silence. A moment later, Schuck said, Ill search the forum. We might find something. Then, Schuck opened the browser. His expression became more and more awful as time went by, until he held his head speechlessly. No wonder she was so confident. Uncle Liang asked, Did you find anything? Yes, I think I know what happened, said Schuck in admiration. Shes truly flexible She has bought over a bunch of players who didnt attack the elves and who sympathize with them. Uncle Liang was quite shocked. Are the other players so shameless? For many people, this is just a game they can play however they want to as long as they dont cross the line, said Schuck helplessly. And for more players, its not strange at all that their opinion depends on their targets looks. Most elves are gorgeous. The reward that the World Tree promised is that the Golden Sons can live in the Elf Forest and marry elves as long as they fight for the elves. Uncle Liang subconsciously leaned back. This World Tree is quite remarkable and decisive However, dont the players already have the succubi? Why are they still greedy about the elven girls? Even someone as old as Uncle Liang felt tempted by the succubi, not to mention the young and vigorous men. Besides, many female players were fond of the male elves too. The succubi are just as good as the elves, said Schuck in amusement. Those players idea is why not both? Wouldnt it feel great if they held a luscious succubus with their left arm and a weak yet beautiful elf with their right? Besides, many male players had even joined the elves because they were confident of their understanding of women and planned to conquer the World Tree. After all, if Roland could flirt with a goddess, it shouldnt be strange if they tried the World Tree, right? Uncle Liang scratched his head and said bitterly, You young people are truly wild. How many players have taken the elves side? According to the news on the Internet, it began about four months ago. Schuck poured a cup of tea for himself and continued, The elves reached out to some players first and signed non-disclosure agreements with them. Then, the players were asked to recruit more players Their number grew exponentially. Eventually, there were too many of them to keep the whole thing a secret. According to the news, at least 100,000 players have joined the elves. Uncle Liang felt a headache too. This is quite tricky. Do we have any trump cards? The best I can do is join Wetland City as an individual. I cant represent the Church of Light. So, the force behind me wont be of much help. Schuck shrugged. However, Ive informed Roland in the guild chat system. I dont know what hes doing, but he hasnt replied yet. Of course, Roland couldnt reply to him, because an enemy had come to the Paradise of Pain. The enemys enormous evil divine power was leaking into the paradise. Miranda seemed rather anxious. Roland and Andonara, on the other hand, seemed quite calm. What do we do next? Although Miranda wasnt very strong, she had the natural instincts of a goddess. For example, she could detect the approach of another god and gauge their strength. The god who was approaching her made her feel sick and overwhelmed. She knew very well that she was just a tiny rabbit to this god. Andonara came to her and patted her shoulder, before she said, Dont worry, well protect you. The guy outside isnt strong. Miranda took a breath in relief. Then what should I do? You lure him as bait, replied Roland. Im going to fly the floating city away and hide its magic waves for now. Then, Andonara and I will pretend to be your subjects. All you need to do is lure the enemy to us. Miranda nodded quickly. It became increasingly clear to her that Roland and Andonara were good people, and so was the Life Goddess who sent them here. It really felt great to be protected and cared about when she was in danger. She needed to protect her believers too. Her Divine Spark gave her the ability to absorb other peoples pain. If she absorbed more pain, the world would be a more beautiful place. While she was feeling touched, the floating city had already flown away. Roland and Andonara instantly changed and looked a lot more mundane than before. Youre so good! Miranda had almost become Roland and Andonaras fan, cheering for everything they did. That couldnt be helped. She was, after all, a newborn goddess who didnt know anything. She was awed by everything that she didnt understand. So, Miranda waited patiently. She was slightly nervous, but not scared at all. Beyond the paradise, Oswald, the Evil God of Greed, was flying around the red paradise, examining its hardness and abilities. Shes really turned into a righteous goddess. This new goddess is quite interesting. The Evil God of Greed mumbled to himself. That was the problem of most Evil Gods that they couldnt change. Most of them were lonely and the epitomes of negative emotions. They didnt trust each other and had no friends. Their only hobby was to peep at their believers. Being silent for a long time could be quite uncomfortable, so they developed the hobby of talking to themselves. The Astral Plane was quite huge, and it was actually not easy to find a paradise. The Life Goddess was very strong and could sense the rough locations of other paradises. The Goddess of Magic was good at spatial magic and had a special understanding of distance, which allowed her to detect the positions of many paradises too. Apart from them, it was hardly possible for other gods and goddesses to locate other paradises. The Evil God of Greed had made it here mainly because his paradise was quite close, and because the waves and radiations when the Maiden of Pain made the vow were too powerful. He caught her right on the spot. However, even though he knew her rough location, it took the Evil God of Greed quite some time to track her down. Her power of faith is so weak? Also, her paradise is not strongly defended either. The Evil God of Greed smiled in satisfaction. Im quite lucky to meet a newborn righteous goddess. While mumbling to himself, he pointed a finger and created a hole about five meters in diameter on the red energy crystals on the surface of the paradise. Then, the Evil God of Greed flew into it without hesitation. The environment quickly changed, and a beautiful world emerged in front of his eyes. Same scenery as the main plane. How annoying. The Evil God of Greed smacked his lips angrily and looked around. He soon spotted Miranda in the distance. Gotcha, little girl. The gods and goddesses could sense each other, especially the evil ones and the righteous ones. He flashed to Miranda, only to be slightly surprised. Then, his eyes glittered. The Maiden of Pain is so beautiful? Hahaha The Evil God of Greed had a feeble piece of the Libido Divine Spark. Unlike Lust which was controllable, the Libido was uncontrollable, and so was the god or goddess who possessed it. Miranda was picking flowers and humming a tune when she was shocked by the voice behind her. She turned around and was frightened to see the Evil God of Greed. W-Who are you? She looked so panicked and weak that the Evil God was even more urged to ravage her. Not far away, Roland observed the scene and whispered to Andonara, Miranda is such a natural actress! All women are great actresses. Andonara flashed her enticing eyes. When we have time, how about I play an alluring elven girl? No! Roland shook his head. I prefer it when youre wilder in bed. Can your back really take it? Andonara covered her mouth and chuckled. I can always have a few more bottles of Dragon Meat Reagents. While they talked, Miranda backed off among the flowers and exclaimed, Who are you? How did you come to my home? A new goddess without any inherited knowledge? Then, the Evil God of Greed got it. It does make sense. She probably lost all the knowledge in her Divine Spark when she turned from evil to righteousness. Holding blue flowers in her hands, Miranda trembled and stepped back, gradually approaching Andonara. At this moment, the Evil God of Greed noticed them too. He slightly frowned at the man and woman who were cuddling each other as if nobody were around. Most of the time, the souls in the paradises didnt have many memories left, and they acted on natural instincts. Only souls with powerful minds could keep their consciousness and rationality. Therefore, it was not surprising that two souls were behaving as if they were morons. However, the Evil God of Greed felt that something was off. He stared at the two souls in the Paradise of Pain suspiciously. Theres fifteen seconds to go. Hugging Andonara, Roland whispered in her ear, Is there anything you can do? In order to kill the Evil God, Roland had to block the space with a massive dimensional anchor. The Evil Gods were all powerful and couldnt be trapped by small dimensional anchors. He had to use a big one. However, big dimensional anchors released immense waves, so he had to do it slowly if he didnt want to cause alarm. Hearing that, Andonara smiled and pushed away her man. She spun amidst the flowers with her dress flying. Her calves couldnt have looked sexier with all the flowers. When she spun, the Evil God of Greed saw Andonaras pretty face and curves, which were even more enjoyable than those of a succubus. Then, with her back against the Evil God and her face in front of Roland, she slowly moved her left finger from her cheek to her nape and then placed it on the first button on her dress, before she said erotically, Do you want me to take off my clothes? Even though the Evil God of Greed couldnt see Andonaras front, he was subconsciously swallowing At this moment, there were still ten seconds to go. Chapter 783 - Feces-Flavored Chocolate Do you want me to take off my clothes? Not just the Evil God who carried the feature of Libido, even Roland, who saw her all the time, felt hungry when he heard the alluring voice. That couldnt be helped. Andonara was simply too charming. He could never have enough of her. Miranda stared at Andonara, stunned. Then, looking at her own body that was almost entirely flat, she somehow felt humble. The Evil God of Greed vaguely sensed that something wasnt right, but his desire suppressed his alarm. He turned his head to Miranda and asked, Is that woman your subject? Stumped for a moment, Miranda moved to Andonara as if she had been woken up. She opened her hands and shouted in a shivering voice, I wont allow you to hurt them! Theyre my most important fri-subjects. Youre trying to protect them when you can barely protect yourself? As expected of a righteous goddess. The Evil God of Greed chuckled. But its fine. Ill take you as an appetizer before I enjoy her for dinner. Roland shook his head as he listened. There was a reason why the Evil Gods never won! At this moment, there were five seconds left. Andonara took action again. She moved her fingers and seemed to have loosened her first button. Do you think my breasts are beautiful? Yes! Roland nodded. Having observed them countless times, he could guarantee the answer. However, because her back was to the Evil God, he couldnt see her front. Hearing that, the Evil God of Greed felt his heart itch and simply ignored Miranda. He jumped to Andonaras opposite side almost right next to Roland. Then, he saw that the womans finger was still on the first button and it wasnt unclasped at all. Also, the woman was wearing a cold smile. Ive been deceived! The Evil God was greatly alarmed and was about to teleport himself away, when he found that the space was frozen and he couldnt escape. Whats going on? Still stunned, his eyes flared with bluethe woman turned into a big blue firebird and swooped at him. She was so fast that he could just barely see her shadow even with a gods dynamic vision. However, if he could see a blur of movement, it meant that he could react. Besides, most of the Evil Gods carried passives such as Initiative or Attack Blockage. Those passives were not equally powerful, but they were more or less effective. The moment the Evil God of Greeds passive magic shield was destroyed, his hands turned into gigantic white crystals and protected him. The blue flames collided with the crystals and dispersed. Then, the tip of a sword was revealed among the flames. Clink The pleasant sound raised a powerful sonic blast. Then, the grasses and flowers, under the powerful blast, flattened outward in a beautiful circle. The Evil God of Greed was flung away. The crystals that were attached to his hands fell apart into countless pieces. Andonara withdrew her sword and looked at its tip regretfully, as the Heros Sword was cracked. After the Evil God of Greed was knocked away, he subconsciously took out a mace that emitted a dark, evil vibe, before he finally had the time to check the environment. Why couldnt he use spatial magic anymore? When he looked around, he saw an enormous island floating in the distance. Countless transparent chains from the island connected the sky to the earth of the paradise, completely fixating space. The floating city! Roland! The Evil God of Greed finally realized that hed been tricked. At this moment, Rolands second spell was prepared. Mages Disjunction! Low-level spells wouldnt work on a god. In order to heavily wound or even kill the Evil God with a blue fireball, he had to gather magic power for twenty seconds to increase its radius to more than ten meters. If he waited too long, his enemy would definitely be prepared. Also, he might not be able to hit the target. That was the biggest disadvantage of a spell that couldnt lock onto the target. It would be easier to throw out a tritium bullet, but Miranda was a new goddess and her paradise wasnt very steady. The tritium bullet might collapse it. Therefore, Mages Disjunction was the best choice. Even if it didnt succeed, it could at least eliminate the magic elements around the enemy so that he couldnt cast any spells. An invisible force field rose near the Evil God of Greed. Subconsciously, he intended to fly away, but then all his clothes vanished. The mace in his hand was reduced to powder. Even his body seemed to have shrunk. The spell actually worked. Roland found it rather hard to believe. Roland, you son of a bi*ch who grows up on dog s*it! The Evil God of Greed roared. His gray clothing seemed unremarkable, but it was actually life-saving armor that he had gathered with divine energy after a hundred years. The mace was also a product of divine energy that took him two hundred years to make. At this moment, they were both gone. Looking at the naked Evil God, Miranda exclaimed and covered her face with her hands shyly. Andonara seemed disgusted as if she were looking at an annoying bug. Roland snapped his fingers and summoned a black longsword. The moment the longsword appeared, it shouted, Roland, didnt you say you wont summon me Wait, this is a paradise. Oh, were cool. The Sword of Wisdom was scared of being summoned to the main plane, where it would be suppressed and fragilized. However, the case was different in the Astral Plane. Roland gave the Sword of Wisdom to Andonara and said, You can use this sword for now. Ill repair the Heros Sword for you later. It couldnt be helped The Heros Sword was an epic weapon that could deal with Evil Gods in the main plane where they were suppressed. However, in the Astral Plane and the paradise, the sword couldnt hurt the enemies who carried the power of law. Andonara had an innate Sword Familiarity ability that could harden the sword. If anybody else had wielded the sword, it wouldve already been broken. The Sword of Wisdom fell into Andonaras hands. Her eyes glittered the moment she laid her hands on the grip. Its indeed a great sword. An expert knew a weapons quality better than other people. Im glad to be used by you. I hope Ahhhhhh! While exclaiming in panic, the Sword of Wisdom was covered in blue flames, and Andonara dashed at the Evil God of Greed as a firebird again. Shes so good! Miranda stared at Andonaras blue bird form, full of admiration. She was truly amazed when the first Evil God was killed. She could only flinch and step back in front of the Evil God who attacked her home. Yet, Andonara could strike the enemy. At a distance, Andonaras firebird caught up to the Evil God of Greed in two seconds. Then, they had a fierce battle. Their blurry forms, a blue line and a white one, moved back and forth in the sky. The consecutive sonic explosions never stopped. Roland, on the other hand, had been observing the battle with his hands behind his back. Miranda walked to Roland and asked, Are you not going to help Sister Andonara? No, she can do this on her own. Hearing that, Miranda seemed to admire her even more. When can I become as strong as Sister Anna? You will. Your upper limit is higher than hers. Hearing that, Miranda smiled delightedly. But Roland left something unsaid The gods and goddesses did have high upper limits, but it remained to be seen whether or not they could reach them. Besides, they were restricted in the main plane and couldnt go anywhere as Andonara could. In the sky far away, the Evil God of Greed was both frustrated and frightened. He was completely crushed by Andonara without any chance to fight back. Not only did the blue flames on Andonara have the weird ability to suppress his divine energy, she was also holding the Sword of Wisdom. That was the Goddess of Magics Sword of Wisdom, in its original form. That weapon was quite famous in the Astral Plane. A Mage could become a qualified Warrior by summoning its reflection and gaining the abilities. What did it mean to hold its original form? Besides, as its name suggested, the sword only acknowledged those who were wise. Wasnt it only usable to Mages? Why could a Great Swordsman use it so smoothly? Wait Why did this woman carry the air of the Goddess of Magic? Was she a divine clone of the Goddess of Magic? A series of speculations popped up in the Evil God of Greeds head and connected! He mustve been tricked by the Goddess of Magic! Known as the smartest goddess, she had been trying to kill him since a long time ago! The Divine Spark of Suffering turning Lawful was exactly her trap to lure him here! That woman was too shrewd! No, he had to run! The more he thought, the more scared he became. He could hardly beat Andonara in the first place, and he was only struggling. His fear mounting, he was less and less determined to fight. Condensing white crystals to block Andonaras quick slash, he gathered his strength and unleashed a violent energy outburst. The tremendous amount of energy forced Andonara to fly back to dodge the attack. Seizing the opportunity, the Evil God of Greed turned around and fled. While he was running, he looked back and saw that Andonara didnt move but only raised the longsword in her hand. She wasnt chasing him? He could escape! Looking at the wall of the paradise, he put on a smile. Then, his expression froze in the next second. A blue ray of light penetrated his body and illuminated the world. It even knocked the Divine Spark out of him. The Evil God of Greed vomited blood, which turned into pure energy of faith and was drawn to the paradise. He turned around and looked at Andonara who was still in a stabbing stance, confused. What kind of ability is this?. Then, he fell from the sky to the grass, and gradually dispersed as gray spots of light. It was Andonaras most powerful skill as a Hero: Evil Ender! Evil Ender: Evil beings must confront the Hero who challenges them. They win or die. When an evil enemys Resolve is too low and runs with their back to the Hero, the Hero may lock onto the enemy and launch an energy blast whose damage equals Level * 1000 + (Resolve gap) * 3000. It was safe to say that if Roland were an Evil God, Andonara couldve shot him down even if he were fleeing guiltily away from Andonara on the floating city. If the floating city was small, it wouldve been blown up directly. Andonara picked up the Divine Spark with the Sword of Wisdom and returned to Roland. The Sword of Wisdom, on the other hand, kept complaining. Ms. Anna, would you please not use me against anything so disgusting? Im sick. Ignoring it, Andonara placed the Divine Spark in front of Roland and asked, What are we going to do about this?. Roland, however, asked curiously, What was that skill? Ive never seen you use it before. It didnt appear said Andonara rather awkwardly, until I became the Goddess of Magics believer. That was actually a lie. She didnt acquire the ability until Mystra arrived in her body and made out with Roland. But how could she say that? An ability that was a combination of faith and bloodline? Roland pondered over that. Then, he looked at the Divine Spark of Greed as well the piece of Libido mixed in it, frowning. The Maiden of Pain stepped back miserably as if she had seen s*it. Roland turned back and looked at her, before he said, Absorb the divine energy and then drop the Divine Spark. Huh? Miranda quickly shook her head. I-I cant! For the Lawful Goddesses, the Divine Sparks of Evil Gods equaled to feces. The divine energy, on the other hand, was chocolate with feces inside. Roland was essentially suggesting that she should eat the crush of the feces-flavored chocolates. Wasnt it inhumane? Youll grow more if you swallow the energy. Roland looked at her and said solemnly, We cant protect you forever, Miranda. Youll have to learn to be strong and independent. Miranda looked at the Divine Spark with even more disgust. But I simply cant! Roland slightly stared at her with even more solemnity on his face. Miranda turned to Andonara for help. Andonara, on the other hand, smiled and didnt say anything. Her childhood had been difficult, and she knew how helpless a person, especially a female, could be when they were weak. Roland was doing it for Mirandas sake. Seeing that neither of them would help her, Miranda could only scratch off the energy on the Divine Spark with her tongue while shedding tears. She scratched for a day and a night, until finally, she collected all the divine energy. When she finally spat out the Divine Spark of Greed, her face was blue. She looked at Roland with watery eyes. That was so brutal of you. Why didnt you help me? I dont know how to control the power of faith. How can I help you? Roland opened his hands. Miranda stood up and wiped her tears, before she asked, Are you going to leave? Yes. Roland grabbed the Divine Spark of Greed with a Hand of Magic and said, After all, youre strong enough to protect yourself now. Then, he habitually opened the system menu, only to be stunned for a moment. He saw the message that Schuck sent him in the guild channel. Schuck: The World Tree is about to attack Wetland City. Come back and meet us. Chapter 784 - The Backbone Roland couldnt have been more confused to see Schucks crazy message. He wondered if the World Tree was insane or something. Why did she dare to declare war on the players? 1 But he knew that the World Tree was neither reckless or brainless, and that there was definitely a good reason why she did that after four months of lurking. Then, just like Schuck, he checked the forum and gathered similar intelligence. He was instantly lost for words. Those players were getting more and more lustful. However, he found it quite understandable. For most players, that was just a regular choice of sides. Besides, it was the instinct of many players to side with beautiful races. It was just like in a certain game called WoW: the Alliance had a bigger population than the Horde did on almost every server, because the races of the Horde were all too ugly. Then, after a certain update, a beautiful race was added to the Horde, and its population increased. After that, the Horde suppressed the Alliance in almost every server. Roland had been through that too, so he completely understood and sympathized with the players who sided with the elves. That being said, he would still chide them for their betrayal. Of course, he was more amused than he was angry. Seizing the Divine Spark of Greed with the Hand of Magic, Roland brought Andonara to the floating city with teleportation. Miranda came along too. She asked, Are you leaving already? Yes. Roland nodded and said, Theres something urgent that we must deal with. I see! Miranda was quite disappointed. She wanted to say something, but she kept quiet. A moment later, she left the floating city with teleportation. Standing amidst the flowers, she watched the floating city fly away with regret and sorrow. After they left, she would be all alone in the paradise and had to suffer loneliness for a long time until any souls appeared. She lowered her head and looked at the grasses, as lost as a baby bird that had been abandoned. At this moment, a black light darted from the floating city and fell in front of her. It was the Sword of Wisdom. Mr. Roland asked me to stay and chat with you until you no longer feel lonely, or Im summoned by the Goddess of Magic. Okay. Miranda hugged the Sword of Wisdom and rubbed her face against it. Roland and Sister Andonara are really nice to me. After Roland left the Paradise of Pain, he teleported himself to the heights of the main plane and reached the sky of Wetland City. The players in Wetland City werent too surprised to see the floating city because they had just seen the system notification that Roland killed another Evil God with Andonara. They were no longer shocked. They also knew that the floating city was probably here for the elves. Schuck was greatly relieved when Wetland City was shadowed. Uncle Liang was relieved too. Roland entered the city masters residence with teleportation and met Schuck and Uncle Liang. After hearing Schucks report, Roland couldnt help but ask, Have you asked for ONeals opinion? They started this, and they should have a say in this matter. Schuck shook his head. I havent. Besides, theyre surprisingly low-key recently. Its hard to find them. Theyve probably dispersed and run to other places to cause trouble. Roland thought for a moment and said, Nevermind. Ill just contact ONeal and figure out his plan. The other two quickly nodded. Wetland City did need a tough guy at this moment, and Roland was exactly that guy. Even Schuck wasnt qualified. With his account on the forum, Roland soon reached out to ONeal. Roland: You mustve heard about the World Tree. ONeal: We have. Roland: As the initiator of the whole matter, is there anything you want to say? ONeal: We will shoulder the responsibility, but if Wetland City is willing to step up, well be at your command. Roland: Youre so cunning. ONeal: But were sincere. Roland: Fine. Come to the city masters residence and lets talk. He closed the forum. Sitting down opposite him, Schuck asked, How did it go? Theyre willing to contribute and negotiate. Roland heaved a sigh. But I think they have their own plans. Uncle Liang said, Thats normal. Where there are people, there are conflicts. I didnt know the value of the city that my son established until just recently. Schuck smiled. In any case, lets talk to them first. After all, the players arent united. We should seek as many allies as possible. Roland sighed. It was ONeal and his people who started the trouble, yet the World Tree came to Wetland City for revenge. Theres definitely a good reason. Schuck said, Yes, I think so too. After a moment of hesitation, Uncle Liang said, In fact, theres indeed a secret in Wetland City. Its in my sons notebook. Hmm? The two of them looked at Uncle Liang. After a moment of silence, Uncle Liang said, A lot of Meteorite Minerals are buried underneath Wetland City. The Meteorite Minerals were important and rare magic materials. They were alternative materials to cast spells, advanced materials in alchemy, and necessary components in magic arrays. They could be replaced by lesser materials, but in the circle of magic where everybody pursued perfection, nobody used less materials if they could use the Meteorite Mineral. It was like salt in cooking: you can live without it for a few days, but not forever. Neither Roland nor Schuck were too surprised to hear that. Both of them were in high positions and had seen countless fancy materials. Roland simply asked out of habit, About how many Meteorite Minerals? Uncle Liang replied slowly, According to my sons notebook, its enough for all the Mages in the world to use freely for three hundred years. Well Both Roland and Schuck were lost for words. No wonder the elves were interested in this place. The Meteorite Minerals were important to the elves too. Many types of special elven equipment required them. Also, it was said that a lot of Meteorite Minerals were buried underneath the World Tree, and that they were critical to the World Trees growth. If that rumor was true, it made sense that the World Tree came to Wetland City for trouble. Then, there was another problem Who exposed the secret that there were Meteorite Minerals in Wetland City? Even Bettas closest friends didnt know that. As if he knew what they were thinking, Uncle Liang said bitterly, Betta wouldve told you the matter very soon. He wrote in his notebook that he couldnt protect the Meteorite Minerals, and it was better to give them away to his brothers than to the outsiders. Roland and Schuck heaved a sigh again. Seeing that their expressions were the same, Uncle Liang was greatly relieved. He didnt want them to feel angry at his deceased son. At this moment, a guard came to inform them. City Master, a few Golden Sons want to meet you. They say that Mr. Roland must be here too. Its ONeal and his team, said Roland. Uncle Liang instantly said, Invite them in. Very soon, ONeal and the others walked in. Seeing Roland, ONeal shook his hand and smiled. Chairman, its been a long time. Roland was still the nominal chairman of the Association of Mages among players. So, his address was absolutely appropriate. Then, ONeal greeted Uncle Liang and Schuck and then introduced his partners to them. Uncle Liang asked them to take a seat and said, Thank you for coming. The pressure of the World Tree is too great. I dont think there can be any pressure now that Rolands here. ONeal smiled. Whoever disobeys him will die before long, when he throws a nuclear bomb at them. Haha, thats a good one. Roland waved his hand. Lets get down to business. If Wetland City is willing to step up, are you willing to accept our command? Of course. After all, this whole thing was started by us. Roland asked again, Do you really not have any terms and conditions? As expected of our chairman. Youre truly insightful, said ONeal in admiration. Weve only a little request. ONeals emotional intelligence couldnt have been better revealed. It was his requirement, yet he worded it like a request to show respect. Uncle Liang couldnt help but ask, What is your requirement? ONeal said, If the elves fail, I hope that we can take control of the elves. Therefore, you cannot interfere with their faith, Roland. Roland was rather puzzled. Im not a god. Do I need their faith at all? ONeal, however, said, Roland, youre very close to at least two goddesses. If the elves are defeated, theyll try to extend their hands to the elves with your influence. Roland was still confused. Isnt that a good thing? If the elves worship human goddesses, theyll be part of mankind. Sort of like an ethic minority. ONeal shook his head. The elves have a more important mission. Hearing that, Roland suddenly realized what was going on, and he gently patted his palm. Oh, you want to completely assimilate them into the human world, and let them inherit your philosophies. ONeal couldnt help but clap his hands. I have to say that youre truly brilliant, Chairman Roland. Exactly as Roland thought, ONeal and his team had other plans for the elves. If Roland won, the World Tree as well as the elven goddess would probably die. Then, the elves would lose their leaders, as well as their hope and future. When they all grieved and felt lost, what would happen if more advanced thoughts and ideologies were spread to them? Wouldnt the new ideas prevail? Besides, the elves lived longer lives. When they picked up new things, they could encourage more people to work and fight longer. It would be more likely to succeed this way. He had to admit that ONeal and his team had an interesting point. Thinking for a moment, Roland said, Okay, if what you describe does happen, youll be in charge of the reform of the elves. Thank you, Chairman. ONeal was enthused. Dont worry. All of us will lead the charge for you when you fight the elves. Then, ONeal left with his partners. After that, the three guys chatted for a while longer. When Roland was about to leave for business, the guard came to report again. City Master, the elves envoy is here and wants to meet you! They looked at each other in bewilderment. Hardly had they seen off ONeal when the elves came. Had the elves been keeping an eye on this place? Invite them in, said Uncle Liang. A moment later, the transparent purple-haired woman and Ans walked in. Both of them frowned when they saw Roland. Although the floating city had indicated Rolands presence, they still felt uncomfortable when they saw him in person. The reason was very simple: Roland was too strong. Asking them to take a seat, Uncle Liang said, Im glad that youre willing to talk to us again. Uncle Liang was inwardly quite happy, because the World Tree was far less aggressive than she appeared last time. It was not hard to imagine the pressure that Roland imposed on them. Were indeed willing to talk. The transparent woman glanced at Uncle Liang and instantly focused her eyes on Roland. Mr. Roland, Ive heard a lot about you. The more I hear, the more frightening you sound to me. Thank you for your compliment. Roland smiled. Ans interjected, Mother Tree didnt praise you. You dont seem good at understanding other people, do you? Roland waved his hands unconcernedly. Theres a saying in my hometown: the curses of your enemy are the best compliments you can receive. Dont you agree? There was nothing Ans could say. He instantly looked up at the ceiling, not daring to make eye contact with anyone. It was because what Roland said was true and irrefutable. At this moment, the World Tree said with a smile, Is it the right attitude to regard us as enemies at the beginning of a negotiation? Roland smiled. But as far as I know, the elves threatened to declare war on mankind a couple of days ago the moment you came. Did we? The World Tree looked innocent. It was true that a woman would have a lot of advantages if she looked beautiful. Even though Roland and Schuck knew that she was being unreasonable, they didnt really hate her for that. But of course, they didnt lose their good judgment either. Roland said with a smile, Lets let bygones be bygones. Madam, what do you want to talk to us about? We demand reparations. Roland chuckled. We havent even fought yet. Theres no telling whos stronger. How can we give you any reparations?. The World Tree looked at Roland and sneered. No matter what the result is, youll still side with humanity, so were only here to ask for some compensation. Chapter 785 - The World Needs Balance We simply need to mind our interests, said the World Tree. Hearing that, both Roland and Schuck put on a smile. They were too familiar with the trick. Everything could be negotiated if they wanted to fulfill interests. Besides, they had already speculated that the elves were here for certain interests, probably the Meteorite Minerals. Roland drank a mouthful of tea and said casually, I wonder what you want us to pay, World Tree. We can talk about it as long as its not too outrageous. The World Trees mood wasnt as great as the humans. She thought that her opponents might have learned her requirement. She glanced at them and eventually fixed her eyes on Roland. You dont seem very interested in negotiating with us. Isnt it normal? Roland opened his hands and said, Nobody likes to talk gently to an invader. The World Tree burst into fury and smashed the table, before she stood up quickly. Who between us is the invader and the murderer? The heavy pressure of an expert spread out from her. It was a little overwhelming to Uncle Liang, who clutched at his chest in discomfort. Wetland City certainly isnt. Roland churned the tea with the lid. Yet you blame it on us. Do you think thats fair? Everybody is part of their race. Theyre never independent, said the World Tree coldly. I know why you attacked the Elf Forest. It was the elven goddesss forest, but you blamed it on all the elves, didnt you? She made a good point. Roland nodded. Then, Ms. World Tree, what interests do you want to seek? The elves citizenship and right to purchase minerals in Wetland City. Roland heaved a sigh. Youre indeed here for the Meteorite Minerals. The World Tree smiled and didnt say another word. I disagree! Uncle Liang shouted. His son had built Wetland City through hard work. How could he let an outsider take advantage of him? Roland put the lid back to the teacup and closed his hands under his nose, before he said casually, Thats a harsh requirement. Theres no way that well accept it! We wont give in either. The World Tree put on a fascinating smile. Then is the negotiation over? Roland stood up and stared at the World Tree. Ill give you another three days. The World Tree pointed at the sky. Dont count on the Lawful Goddesses. I wont care even if they come. Drop your delusions! Uncle Liang shouted. You wont get a single brick from Wetland City! The World Tree smiled in disdain and left. After the World Tree disappeared from the door, Schuck, who had listened for a long time, couldnt help but remark, She seemed very confident. The alliance with the players couldnt have assured her so much. She definitely has other trump cards. Roland thought that Schuck had a point. He considered for a moment and said, Ill circle above the Elf Forest on the floating city. Maybe I can force her to reveal her trump cards. Schuck nodded and said, Thats indeed a great solution, but you must pay attention to your own safety. Uncle Liang also asked Roland to be careful and not fall for any traps. Roland listened to their suggestions. Then, he teleported himself to the floating city and flew it toward the Elf Forest. About five hours later, he reached the sky above the Elf Forest. He saw the highly-rising purple World Tree from quite a distance. In terms of size, the World Tree was actually even bigger than the floating city. Also, the quality of the World Trees energy was slightly higher than that of the floating citys. After all, the World Tree was a real demigod, whereas Roland was merely a fake one. Roland was very confident. He didnt consider an immobile cannon a big deal at all. Soon after Rolands floating city appeared above the Elf Forest, he felt that he was locked onto by a strong mental power. He didnt need to think to know that it was the World Trees. A moment later, the World Trees consciousness flew in the floating citys way. Under the gentle breeze in the sky, the World Trees purple hair fluttered and made her seem even more beautiful. Besides, her face was very cold, which added to her attractiveness. Roland, whats the meaning of this? Devastating brutality burst out of the World Trees eyes. You fly the floating city to my territory in the middle of our negotiation. Do you have any sense of shame?. Shame doesnt matter. Im only learning from you. Roland couldnt help but mock her. You set up a great example for me by surrounding Wetland City with a thousand powerful elves for the negotiation. Roland was actually quite straightforward. Im just copying what you did. If you think your behavior was justified, then so is mine. If it isnt, youre as shameless as me. Hearing that, the World Tree almost burst into fury. In fact, everybody tended to have double standards. If they did it themselves, they could call themselves smart. But if someone else played the same trick, they would think that he was cunning or immoral. Good! Very good! Outraged, the World Tree suddenly sneered. In fact, I was afraid that you might not come. Then, she waved her hand, and countless transparent dimensional anchors locked down the Elf Forest. Many people thought that the World Tree referred to the trunk of the enormous tree. But in fact, the entire Elf Forest was the World Tree. Looking at all the transparent chains, Roland thought that what goes around does indeed come aground. Not long ago, he had killed two Evil Gods with the same trick that he was going to fall for. However, he wasnt too anxious. The barrier made of the floating citys enormous magic power couldnt be broken through so quickly. If they were really to fight, Roland wouldnt be scared of the World Tree at all. It wouldnt matter even if Roland died, or if the floating city was blown up. He could be resurrected. If he could establish the first floating city, he could build a second one. However, the elves might not be able to take the strikes of two floating cities. Is this a declaration of war? Roland looked around with a smile on his face, but his eyes were already filled with coldness. What do you think? Hardly had the World Tree finished her sentence when she launched an attack. After only an instant, countless green energy balls appeared around Rolands floating city. They crashed into the floating city one after another. Every one of them caused dazzling green light when it hit the magic barrier. In no more than two seconds, Roland heard drumming around him. The drumming echoed nonstop. The dazzling rays even hindered Rolands eyesight and made it impossible for him to see the surroundings clearly. Moreover, Roland couldnt lock onto the World Tree with mental power either, mainly because the World Tree was too big and her mental power pervaded the entire Elf Forest. The attacks lasted for a whole minute without stopping. Are you trying to blind me so that I wont see whats around me? Roland mumbled, This is just a petty trick! Then, the floating citys magic barrier quickly expanded without caring about the cost. Very soon, the magic barrier was so large that it almost filled the sky above the Elf Forest. Then, the green balls of energy vanished. Even the World Tree had been forced to lower altitudes by the magic barrier. As a result, Rolands vision was significantly improved. Then, he saw dozens of green dragons around his floating city. All of the dragons were adults and quite enormous. At first, Roland thought that the World Tree had cooperated with the emerald dragons, one of the five-color dragons. Under normal circumstances, most people would think that a green dragon was an emerald dragon. However, those green dragons werent emerald dragons, because they didnt feel evil. Then, there was only one possibility: they were the primordial dragons among the bronze dragons. The bronze dragons were golden when they were young and just matured, but after they lived more than six hundred years, their scales would turn from golden to green. Also, those bronze dragons were hovering in a fixed pattern. They were emitting vague and subtle magic waves too. Roland could easily tell that they were connecting a magic array. This is indeed a trick. Without hesitation, Roland extracted the tritium bullet from his system Backpack and threw it out in the middle of a magic power tornado. In fact, it wouldve been faster and more accurate if it were launched by a spatial bubble. However, spatial magic had been forbidden by the World Tree. So, he could only adopt the backup plan. The magic power tornado, covering the blue bullet, fell on the top of the trees crown. After a short yet dazzling radiation of light, a gigantic explosion burst out. Then, someone unusual appeared above the World Tree at the moment of the explosion. A huge mountain appeared out of nowhere in the air. It spanned a dozen kilometers and gradually turned from transparent into substantial. At the same time, the huge mountain had a huge opening The brilliant explosion suddenly turned a long silver streak of light that disappeared into the gap of the mountain. The terrifying explosion was gone. The real appearance of the mountain was revealed. It was a dragon more than ten kilometers long, with scales glittering under the sunlight. When his wings were unfolded, they were even bigger than the Elf Forest. He didnt even need to flap his wings to float in the sky with his enormous body. He stared at Roland. He was exactly a mythical creature and the legendary Dragon God, Bahamut. So, this was the World Trees ultimate trump card? The recruitment of players to start an internal conflict among the players was just a smoke grenade. The green dragons were hovering simply to create a magic barrier that could conceal Bahamuts body. Its indeed a special power. Bahamut didnt open his mouth, but his voice echoed throughout the area. One of his strikes could destroy a kingdom. He has truly affected the balance of the main plane. I didnt expect that such a genius would emerge among human beings while I slept. The World Tree flew to Bahamuts head. She looked at Roland with a happy smile on her lips. At the same time, outside the Elf Forest, a lot of space portals appeared where the dimensional anchors didnt exist. A tremendous number of golden and black dragons flew out of the portals. The world needs balance. Although this human destroyed the balance of the main plane, hes not a villain. Bahamut slightly turned his head and looked at the World Trees consciousness. Ill drag him and his floating city to my plane and keep an eye on him. Sorry, but I cant kill him. The World Tree slightly frowned. But he just launched such a terrifying attack. Countless elves wouldve died if you werent here. Does that not make him a villain? He was only defending himself. Then, the dragon god focused his eyes on Roland. Young human, dont resist. Come with me. The main plane is no longer suitable for you. Youll be a disaster here. Roland had no time to bother with him. He simply grabbed a handful of bullets from the system Backpack. Then, he threw them at the enormous dragon. How can you Bahamut was going to accuse Roland of ungratefulness, but when the bullets exploded, he had to stop talking and keep his mouthful open to absorb the explosions into his throat. However, two of the bullets escaped his attention. One of them exploded at his neck, and the other burst out at the center of his right wing. Immediately, the brilliant explosions caused huge wounds on Bahamuts neck. Countless pieces of flesh were torn off. His right wing suffered even more. It was simply broken into halves. Bahamut moaned in pain. He tumbled to the left and fell. He was about to fall to the Elf Forest. His body was so huge that it would be a catastrophe if he crashed. The Elf Forest would be gone. After Bahamut fell for a hundred meters, he was caught by a green magic power net. The World Tree seemed rather helpless. You dont seem as powerful as I thought. The golden dragons and the black dragons, seeing that the dragon god was hurt, were silent with disbelief on their faces. Then, their temporary shock was replaced by fury. All the dragons were roaring, causing visible soundwaves around the Elf Forest. A lot of small animals died. Then, the dragons crashed at the floating city like rabid dogs. Roland could heavily wound Bahamut, but faced with such a huge number of strong enemies who were launching suicide attacks, the floating city couldnt last long. But at this moment, a wall of light appeared in front of the floating city and blocked many golden dragons. Behind the floating city, a lot of portals appeared out of nowhere. The black dragons that were flying toward the floating city, caught unprepared, dashed into the portals and disappeared. There was no telling where they were thrown to. The wall of light in front of the floating city was gone, but the whole thing wasnt over yet. In the middle of heavenly music, countless angels in white descended from the sky and surrounded the floating city. A pair of beautiful eyes appeared in the sky. They were usually very gentle, but they were filled with coldness at this moment. She looked at Bahamut. Dragon god, since when are you qualified to manage things in the main plane? Chapter 786 - Large and Wild Bahamut, since when are you qualified to meddle in the affairs of the main plane? Faced with the question of the Life Goddess, the wounded Bahamut turned his body upright. The huge gaping hole in his neck was slowly healing, and his right wing was slowly regenerating To a god, a normal superficial wound wouldnt be a fatal blow, no matter how bad it was. This was a god being badly injured by a mortal, and whether he could recover or not, that was a humiliation in itself. Bahamut gave Roland an irritated glance before looking at the eyes in the sky as he said matter-of-factly, We, the Metal Dragons, have been the reconcilers of the world since our birth, a mission given to us by the entire world, whether this is the dragons plane or the main plane, or any other plane. Then you should have balanced the Realm of Devils first, instead of messing with the main plane, the Life Goddess said mockingly. Bahamut shook his head. His huge head seemed like a mountain peak as it created a huge gust of wind with every shake. Life Goddess, you dont need to provoke me. I wont fall for it. Seeing Bahamut evade her question, the Life Goddess grunted mockingly. At that moment another pair of eyes appeared in the sky, and as soon as she appeared she shouted at the Goddess of Life, Elyse, youd better stay out of this one. Its between us elves and the Golden Sons. If you dont want your Divine Sparks traits to change Elyses pretty eyes narrowed slightly. A large number of angels coming down to support Roland was a desperate move on her part. if she could, she would have thrown a spell down and settled the matter. She wouldnt have to risk her angelic daughters at all. The helpless reality was that the Golden Sons were not creatures of the main plane. Not recognized by the main plane, they were as much an invader from the outside world as the dragons. And the elves werent exactly human, but they were still intelligent beings of the main plane in general. A war between the elves and the Golden Sons was normal and reasonable under the fundamental laws of the main plane. It was like immune cells eating a foreign virus or bacteria. It didnt matter if the bacteria was beneficial or harmful to the body. And for the Life Goddess to help Roland, she would be a bit of an enabler. At that moment, the Life Goddess did feel the faint opposing force of the worlds will and laws placed upon her. Roland, I may only be able to help you this far. The voice of the Life Goddess sounded in Rolands mind. There was an equality contract on both of them, and it was easy and convenient to communicate in this way. But dont worry, Ill find a way to help you get back after this one. There wasnt much more the Life Goddess could do to help Roland this time. But as the strongest of the gods, she had hundreds of ways to mess with the elves in the days to come. Roland smiled indifferently and said, Im already thankful to you for helping me fight off these dragon attacks. Dont mention it, our relationship sigh! Seeming to sense that she and Roland were still a little unfamiliar with each other, the Life Goddess let out a long sigh. Then her beautiful eyes in the sky vanished. The densely packed white angels also flew back into the divine realm. As the angels left, the protection outside the floating city became weak once more. The World Tree looked at the floating city in the distance, narrowed her eyes, and smiled. The elven goddesss eyes disappeared with it. She had to go back and keep an eye on the other Lawful Goddesses. Because according to her intelligence, the Goddess of Magic and the Nether God, too, had an unspoken and ambiguous relationship with Roland. After the two gods gazes disappeared, the situation once again turned against Roland. Looking at the floating city without the protection of the angels, the countless dragons, once again, charged at the floating city. Without obstruction now, they could probably bring down the massive floating city. Accomplishing a sacred epic. However, just as they tried to approach the floating city once more, the sky full of angels appeared around the floating city again. However, this time the angels were translucent and light blue all over. And they had dull expressions; they were puppets. Everyone was stunned. After a while, the World Tree gritted her teeth and shouted angrily, Good on you, Life Goddess, to use this method to avoid the regulation of the worlds laws. It was well known that the Lawful Gods all had their distinguishing features. For example, the Saint Samurai of the Light Goddess. The spatial abilities of the Goddess of Magic. The angel corps of the Life Goddess. And the angel corps was recognized as the strongest battle system, although it was also affected by the main planes suppression. Many gods would like to have angel-like soldiers, but it wasnt clear to anyone how the angels were made. However, now Rolands floating city produced a large number of angels. Even if it was just puppet mode, it was enough to show that the Life Goddess had given Roland the angels data. Compared to the originals, the puppet-mode angels would be much weaker. But there were a large number of them. Densely packed angels poured out from inside the floating city. They engaged the dragons all around. Although the puppet angels were no match for the dragons, it would be a different story when a dozen angels tangled with a single dragon. The dragons began to get hurt and were unable to break through the protective net formed by the angels. This Roland must be Lifes lover. The World Tree looked at this situation with a pained expression, as if she had eaten feces. Why else would she have given something so important to a mortal. Ill join the attack. Now, Bahamuts wounds were fully healed and his right wing was fully grown. World Tree, please cover me. Of course, no problem. The World Tree smiled reservedly. Bahamut roared, and the dragons directly in front of him made way. Then he opened his huge mouth, and streams of light coalesced into a ball of light in his mouth. It was about to be fired. But at this moment, a dozen blue dots flew out of the floating city. Because of their previous experience, they already knew what these blue dots were. The World Tree flew straight away. Bahamut was not good at turning and flying because his body was too big, so he could only take it head-on. So he had to stop his dragon breath and inhale instead. A large number of nuclear blasts were sucked into his mouth, but still three of them, once again, hit him. The nuclear blast ripped through a large number of platinum scales as well as blood and flesh. Huge bloody holes appeared on Bahamuts back, the left side of his waist, and abdomen. The internal organs in his abdomen could already be faintly seen. Bahamut howled in pain and fell through the air. This time the World Tree, instead of helping to steady his body, let him fall. Bahamut who was like a mountain range crashed to the western edge of the Elf Forest. The entire earth trembled and the ground ripped apart as if it had produced an earthquake of at least magnitude 7. Even the capital of Fareins far away on the horizon experienced a slight tremor. All the dragons saw this and attacked as if they had been provoked. Yet the gap in strength didnt come down to emotion. The floating city continued to mass-produce angels like crazy. The dragons were not only unable to break through these angels protective net, but their array was also retreating further and further backward. There were so many blue angels before them that they barely had any room to move. How troublesome the floating city is. The World Tree shook her head helplessly as she watched the scene. From the information she had inquired, Rolands floating city hadnt been around for a year yet and couldnt be considered fully formed. There was neither a magical arsenal nor a magical golem-processing plant. But now, these dense blue angels proved one thing. Roland had made up for one of the shortcomings of the floating city. While the dragons tangled with the angels, the World Tree flew down and landed on Bahamuts massive head. She stood barefoot, her graceful, smooth lower legs peeking out of her skirt. Youre so useless, Bahamut III, youre not even close to your grandfather. Hearing that, Bahamut had an incredulous expression in his eyes. You knew my grandfather? Of course I knew him, he wooed me just like you did. The World Tree smiled playfully. Hes a gentleman and quite kind. Why so gentle when youre obviously a dragon? Bahamut was a little puzzled, as he heard a hint of sarcasm in the World Trees words. Isnt it good to be gentlemanly and tender? To me, it is called waste. The World Tree shook her head helplessly. In my opinion, intelligent beings should not turn away from their true nature. What do you mean? Meaning, you dragons have been so useless and so disappointing to me. The World Tree revealed a sly look. Im laying my cards on the table; Im not pretending. I had thought that the dragons would have given birth to a mate that I would approve of. With those words, the World Tree flew away. Bahamut was left behind, stunned. The World Tree flew high into the sky as she watched the dragons retreat in defeat and waved her right hand. Countless teleportation gates appeared on the outskirts of the Elf Forest. They cleverly appeared at the edge of the Dimensional Anchors range. One by one, the players stepped out of the spatial portals, and they let out battle cries as they looked at the huge floating city in the air and the mass of blue angels and dragons. They then also received an epic quest from the system. Help the World Tree defend itself against Rolands attack. This quest is an alignment quest, and once accepted you will join the Elf Forests alignment and your relationship with the human world will become neutral. Almost everyone chose to accept it. They had guessed this when they were recruited by the World Tree. Its finally time to go to war with Roland fair and square. That floating city has been an eyesore for a long time. Its not fun to have a game system where humans are the majority. Multiple alignment chaos is what the game is really about. Take out Roland and win the heart of the World Tree. Players joined the elves for different reasons, but it didnt matter what they were. The World Tree wanted their powerful fighting abilities and unlimited resurrection. The population of the elves had now hit rock bottom. They could no longer afford even one more war. This was why bringing in foreign aid was imperative. The players then immediately launched an attack on the floating city. The World Tree teleported three times. At least 80,000 players joined the fray. As they joined the battle, the situation immediately stabilized. The dragons were finally able to stand their ground. And in the floating city, Roland held two large bullets in his right hand. He had pretty much used up his tritium stockpile to deal with Bahamut. Now there were only two of the strongest ones left. He was waiting for the right moment to strike, to deal a greater blow. The players joining didnt surprise Roland. The World Tree would undoubtedly use this brilliant move. Up until now, nothing that happened was outside of Rolands predictions. But what happened next was shocking for Roland. The World Tree looked at the floating city in the air with some admiration. Shed heard that Roland had built the floating city after less than 10 years of learning magic. And she had heard a little about Roland. He was a genius, a very wild genius. Too bad hes not physically wild enough to qualify as my man. She sighed with slight regret. Then she flew back into the middle of the Elf Forest and merged into the canopy of her tree form. Roland had been following the range and actions of the World Tree. Seeing that she was one with her body, he was tempted to throw the two bullets in his hand. But also at that moment, a sudden change occurred. The huge World Tree glowed with a dazzling purple light, and the entire tree slowly rose. Its huge tree roots pulled out of the dirt. Every root of the tree was a huge vine. As the World Tree rose, more and more vines were pulled out of the land, and the entire elven capital was instantly in shambles. Luckily, the elves had evacuated the elven capital before the battle. The World Tree flew higher and higher, and the light emanating from it grew brighter and brighter. When Roland saw this, he subconsciously threw a bullet. The enemy was going to transform, and there was no such rule as waiting for the transformation and not attacking in the players eyes. A violent nuclear explosion unfolded in front of the World Tree. A large number of players and trees were blown away. The fallout alone blasted a lot of players to death. But after the explosion, nothing happened to the World Tree at all. The purple barrier protected it completely. By the time the World Tree was at the same height as the floating city, a drastic change occurred again. The branches on the World Tree began to come together to fuse and morph. The same thing happened with the tree trunks. Under watchful eyes, a huge tree transformed into a curvaceous wooden carving of a girl in less than three minutes. There were strands of woodgrain all over her body. And this wooden girl had a pair of huge butterfly wings on her back. Everyone on the battlefield was dumbfounded. When Bahamut, who was recovering his body and getting ready to fight again, saw this, he wore a fanatic and adoring look. Like a simp who had been tricked into a relationship. Thats the true form of the World Tree, Bahamut muttered. No wonder Grandpa fell in love with her. Roland was also a bit in a daze at this point. So the World Tree can move? This isnt going to be a good fight. After some thought, Roland finally pulled the Nether Gods scythe out of his Backpack. I didnt want to use it, but now I owe the Nether God another favor. Chapter 787 - This Can’t Be When he took out a pitch-black scythe and held it in his hand, he immediately felt like he had control over the destiny and death of all life. But Roland knew clearly that it was just an illusion, a hint of the power of the Nether Gods Divine Spark left on this scythe. He couldnt feel it before because he wasnt strong enough. Now that he was linked to the floating city and in a pseudo-Demigod state, he had a vague sense of the Divine Sparks power on the Nether Gods scythe. Oftentimes, you saw something as mediocre because you didnt reach a certain level. In the distance, the World Tree, which had turned into a huge wooden colossus, flapped its butterfly wings and flew toward the floating city. Bahamut struggled to raise his head. His soul was unaffected but the damage to his body was too severe. All dragons, follow the World Tree and attack the enemy. The dragons roar resounded throughout the battlefield. Though right now Bahamut still didnt understand what the World Tree had just said and why she was suddenly disgusted with him, they were still allies so he still had to help. So the huge purple woman was followed by a flight of golden and black dragons that crashed into the huge floating city. The players who could fly followed in the mix, wailing and excitedly rushing toward the floating city. For these players, killing Roland was just alignment player killing, and besides, Roland would come back to life, so there was no guilt to speak of. Or rather, they acted more fanatical than the dragons. As the World Tree led the charge, the dragons and players that converged behind her looked like a black swarm of locusts. The angels in the blue sky, on the other hand, formed a solid blue wall in front of them in a square array. Then the World Tree crashed in, and without using any magic at all, she smashed a big hole in the huge blue wall of people and then continued to lunge forward. However, she flew so fast that she soon became disconnected from the supporters in the rear. The blue angels quickly filled in, forming a new human wall to keep the dragons and players out. Roland stood in the very middle of the floating city with his Nether Gods scythe, looking up at the huge female wooden sculpture that could almost fill his entire field of vision as it rushed out over. Then he saw her throw a roundhouse kick that struck the magical barrier of the floating city. Although the magic barrier withstood the attack, the huge impact appeared on the other side of the point of impact. A powerful blast came from that side of the barrier and spread with a huge ring-shaped dust cloud. And directly below the floating city, a terrifying pressure was created by that sound. All the plants, for a moment, suddenly shortened considerably and then were pushed upward by the invisible blast that made the canopy and branches straighten frantically. It was like being pulled up by a hurricane from the bottom to the top. Being attacked, Roland frowned at that moment. The floating citys 40,000 plus magic power cap was directly reduced to a little over 30,000 from this whipping kick, meaning that this purely physical attack from the World Tree would require at least 10,000 magic power to form a barrier that could resist it. In terms of combat power, few people could resist her whipping kick except for a few main gods. After taking a hit, the magic power of the floating city began to regenerate quickly. It only took about two seconds to regenerate about a thousand magic power. That was what made the floating city so powerful. A unique ability that made all enemies feel it unreasonable. The World Tree then laughed madly. Hahahahahahahahaha! How interesting, to be able to take one full force attack from me. The dragon god of over 10,000 years ago was no better than that. All of heaven and earth echoed with the mad laughter of the World Tree. Bahamut, who was still lying on the ground frantically healing himself and regenerating his flesh, froze once more. He suddenly remembered something; a long time ago, the dragons used to see the elves as their enemy. Why? He was a bit confused, but the words of the World Tree just now seemed to reveal some crucial information. After laughing madly, the World Tree turned her right hand into a blade and slashed down heavily. The massive blade created a band of airflow visible to the naked eye as it swung down. The loud thud of it was like the sound of a drum sounding throughout the world. The vibrations transmitted to the eardrums of every intelligent creature. Once again, the magical barrier blocked the World Trees attack, and once again, that weird band of conductive blast appeared below the floating city. The impact hit the ground as if a huge meteorite had crashed down. But by now, a crack had begun to appear in the magical barrier of the floating city. Rolands system interface showed the magic power reserve of the floating city had fallen to a little over twenty thousand. Although the magic power regeneration of the floating was indeed fast, the floating city would blow up after three more attacks. Roland looked up at the huge face of the World Tree two hundred meters away. The woman revealed an ecstatic smile, one that was even a little twisted. The other party seemed to be enjoying the fight. Roland thought it was outrageous. Didnt they say that the main plane would suppress god-level strength? Just by looking at these two attacks, the World Tree could casually kill the majority of gods. This was the height that Demigods could reach? Roland took a deep breath as he saw the World Tree raise her hand again, brandishing her arm-blade. He couldnt wait any longer. Roland took a deep breath and poured almost all of the magic power left in the floating city into the Nether Gods scythe. It could be due to a large amount of magic infusion, or it could be that Roland was now in a pseudo-Demigod state that the Nether Gods scythe unlocked super fast. In less than half a second, the huge black female humanoid stood above the floating city. Then she reached out and kicked the World Tree in the face. The blow was a complete surprise, and the World Tree was kicked backward and almost fell through the air, but she was able to stabilize her body with her butterfly wings. A pitch-black female humanoid, the size of the World Trees current body, joined the battle. The black scythe she carried was a daunting sight to behold. First Life, now Death. The World Tree scoffed with arms akimbo. Will Light and Magic jump out later, too?. At this point, Roland could no longer control his body and could not see outside, but he was not afraid as he was surrounded by warm currents shielding him, faintly hearing the sound of heartbeats coming from around him. The black female humanoid didnt speak and slashed horizontally with the black scythe. The pitch-black spatial rift was in a half-arc shape and stretched several kilometers long. The World Tree strangely shifted downward by half a bodys distance while she bent backward. With such a huge body, it was surprising that she dodged the Nether Gods slash. But those dragons behind her, as well as the players, werent so lucky, and nearly half of them were engulfed by the black rift. A lot of the blue golem angels were lost too. However, the floating city could create as many magic-formed props as he wanted. Dodging a powerful spatial slash, the World Tree laughed aloud as both her hands simultaneously transformed into long blades while a large amount of natural energy transformed into long light swords over the blades, then simultaneously attacked the black female humanoid from the left and right. The two light swords passed through the black female humanoid with barely any force, cutting it in half, but half a second later, the woman formed from black gas immediately returned to her original form. The black scythe in her hand slashed down at the World Tree. Spreading her butterfly wings, the World Tree shifted sideways to dodge it, and then laughed. Putting power on another person so that its not considered your problem? To use this method to circumvent the punishment from the main plane, how does it feel for you to merge with this man? Its public intercourse, isnt it-dont you feel shame? At those words, many players who were dodging the black rift attack couldnt help but gasp in astonishment. This news was so overwhelming. So this was what it meant for the black humanoid to envelop a man? Players directly in front of the livestream also typed a screen full of question marks. The black humanoid didnt speak and only attacked with more ferocity. And inside the black humanoid, Roland was speechless. How come him using the black scythes abilities had something to do with that kind of thing again? It was rumored that in the old feudal days of China, womens feet were considered sex organs. The goddesses of this world were just as strange as the ancient feudal periodthey had weird fetishes. But in this worldnow that it was indeed the feudal era-it seemed somewhat reasonable. Seemingly having been exposed, the irritated black humanoid slashed at the World Tree with deadly force. Completely disregarding defense, every time the scythe was swung, a black spatial rift appeared, and the previous spatial rift didnt disappear immediately. It wasnt much longer before the battlefield was densely covered with giant giant lines. There was less and less room for the World Tree to dodge. However, she didnt feel any anxiety, still easily dodging the attacks of the Nether God. Now and then, she launched a counterattack or two. She even had the time to taunt. I cant believe it, someone as reserved as you is actually passionate on the inside, liking to flirt in front of strangers. Whats so great about this man? Life played him and you came back to play, did Magic also dabble too? I can still smell Magic on him. Its a shame your mans body isnt too great, or Id have snatched him up and taken him home. Angry? You do something like that in public and no one else is allowed to say anything? Roland clicked his tongue. He was a little upset now. not being able to fight in person was one thing, the other was that the heartbeat he heard was becoming quite rapid, not the kind of rapidity that came from prolonged exercise, but simply a rapid heartbeat. Speaking of which, does this black mist body have a heart? Roland felt like he was about to give up thinking He wanted to curse now, first for inexplicably having divine intercourse with the Goddess of Magic and then for being duped by Life and branded with an equality contract. And now publicly merging with the Nether God? He felt like a little white rabbit who had been taken advantage of. His macho mentality took a serious hit. Because he liked to take initiative, like the kind of athletic relationship that would be normal with Andonara. It felt like he was taking advantage of her, rather than being taken advantage of by others. The battle between the two giant females in the air continued. But by now, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the black humanoid was going to lose, as her movements had become much slower and the spatial rift unleashed with each scythe slash was much smaller in range. With another horizontal slash, the World Tree took half a step back before attacking with both her left and right hands, slicing the black humanoid directly into three pieces. This time, the black humanoid did not recover again but simply dissipated. Rolands body was exposed to the air. The World Tree looked at Roland and laughed aloud. And at that moment, the dragon king Bahamut also stood up, then unfolded his wings and floated back into the air. His huge body, following behind the World Tree, was like a dog on a leash. By now the Elf Forest was pretty much destroyed, and there were dragon carcasses everywhere. The incredible weight of such creatures would cause a disaster after falling from high in the air. They could easily create a huge crater with a radius of three to four hundred meters. Bahamut saw that there were only one-third of the dragons left in the air with a pained look on his face. I shouldnt have brought them here. The World Tree, who was sizing up Roland, heard this and twisted her head to look at Bahamut. There was vague contempt in her wooden pupils. Then she turned back and looked at Roland. You lost, Roland the Golden Son, and although you are immortal, you will be greatly reduced in strength after you die once, and I If I can kill you once, I can kill you forever. Now, do you still have the confidence to protect the humans of Wetland City and Hollevin? What makes you think Im going to lose? laughed Roland. The Nether God is greatly reduced in strength on the main plane. It is already remarkable that you can fight me like this, what other maneuvers do you have? The World Tree looked at Roland. Admit defeat, hand over everything we want, and then make a contract to become a tool and weapon of the elves forever. Roland smiled and spread his hand open, a bullet appearing in his right hand. Powerful alchemical props, but useless to me, the World Tree grunted. You still havent given up? Why should I give up? The bullet in Rolands hand suddenly disappeared! Spatial magic. How can you still use spatial magic? The World Tree was startled, and then she looked in disbelief at the Dimensional Anchor trapping Rolands floating city, breaking into pieces. Goddess of Magic, you played me? In this world, no one had more mastery in spatial magic than the Goddess of Magic. She quietly broke the spatial spell the World Tree had set up while the Nether God and the World Tree were fighting. She also parsed the World Trees coordinates and told them to Roland. All these little actions took time to process; the Nether God was here to buy that time. Looking at the World Tree with indignation, Roland snapped his fingers. The World Tree covered the right side of her chest all of a sudden. A look of pain appeared on her face Then the left side of her body swelled violently, and a huge bubble appeared, followed by endless white flames spewing out from these bubbles. Instantly, the left half of her body was set on fire. She didnt even have time to scream before she fell through the air. With her massive body taking up almost the length of one side of the Elf Forest, even as half of her body caught fire, she stood up before reverting to tree form and rooting herself in the silence of the earth. Is this giving up on running away and waiting to die? Roland cocked the other bullet into his hand and was about to teleport. But suddenly, his expression paled, because the earth nearby was cracking, and a large amount of molten lava was roiling out of the ground. The range of it included the entire Elf Forest and a large area of uninhabited land. Smoke and fire were spreading everywhere. Whats going on? Roland was a little surprised. So the World Tree is actually part of the underlying rules of the main plane, the Life Goddesss voice said in Rolands ears. Well hidden. Were finding out for the first time too. Roland frowned as he thought for a moment. That means that by wounding the World Tree, Ive wounded the world? Yes, it seems we cant kill her, we can only seal What! The Life Goddess suddenly let out a painful grunt, and then said in an incredulous voice, Wait, how is this possible! Are you all right? Roland asked concernedly. Im fine This cant be The mumbles of the voice of the Life Goddess faded, and then she disconnected from Roland. Chapter 788 - Transparent World The World Tree had re-rooted herself in the earth and changed back to her tree state. But half of the tree was charred, while the other half, though still vibrant, was presumably the result of a delay in the plant nerve, and the branches and leaves should slowly wither before long. In Rolands mental perception, the spirit of the World Tree still existed, though it wasnt very active. At the same time, a faint purple film sealed off the entire Elf Forest. It was a very strong boundary. Protecting your sons and daughters even in slumber? Roland stood at the edge of the floating city and glanced at the World Tree below, before he looked up again, leveling his eyes at the Dragon God Bahamut in front of him. Esteemed Dragon God, do you wish to continue the fight? The dragon gods gaze was cold. He had brought thousands of gigantic dragons this time, all adults. But now with over half of them ending up casualties, there was no point in fighting any longer. There was no telling what kind of freak this Mage in front of him was, to be able to throw so many terrifyingly disposable alchemical weapons at once that could seriously injure his massive body. It just wasnt that easy for him to leave now. What do you want before you let my people go? A large number of struggling and screaming dragons lay on the ground, and a large number of blue angels were blocking the entire sky. From time to time, the dragons were knocked to the ground. Without the help of the World Tree and with the heavy death toll of his people, the floating city had returned to full strength. Thats fucking outrageous The floating city is outrageous, it regenerates faster than the power of faith-how in the world can something be so non-magical? Although the Dragon God was sullen on the inside, he had to hold back. He said, Roland, what kind of conditions do you need before you will let my people go? Whatever you think is reasonable. Roland grinned. What kind of victor asked for the spoils of war? Didnt the losers offer them up themselves? After a long moment of hesitation, Bahamut opened his mouth slightly and spat out a ball of light, causing it to float in front of Rolands floating city. This is my secondary Divine SparkEvolution, Bahamut said lightly. And, my clan will leave the main plane and never set foot in this place as long as you are alive. The Divine Spark of Evolution? Roland reached out and this ball of light floated up to and on top of Rolands head. To the Dragon God, it was a small ball of light, but to someone of Rolands size, it looked so big it was like a hot air balloon. The pose of him holding up the ball with one hand was the classic famous pose of the statue Its useless[1] that one would find in every college! Information about the light sphere was identified by the system. Dragonborn Evolution Divine Spark: You can evolve any creature with a dragons bloodline, no matter how diluted, and collect its power of faith for your use. It didnt look very useful, but a closer analysis would reveal that it was outrageously strong. The dragons were so lustful that there were dragon sons and daughters everywhere in the main plane. Not to mention that almost all kobolds had dragon blood. If I were to take them under my forces hehe! Roland reached out and the ball of light landed in the center of the floating city. He left it there for now. No one but Andonara could casually go up to his floating city now, so it was safe to put it there. The main thing was that it was too big to put in the mansions space. With the spoils in hand, Roland piloted the floating city away. Bahamut sighed in relief and used the dragon races unique healing spell. The wounded dragons returned to health at a remarkable rate, and within half an hour, all the dragons had healed and they sadly took the carcasses of their people with them. Bahamut sighed and glanced at the sleeping World Tree, looking a bit reluctant, but in the end, he opened a spatial portal and took the metallic dragons away. The silver dragons were supposed to leave as well, but after asking Bahamuts permission, they stayed. Because their relationship with Roland was quite good. After all, there was Futi as a middleman. Roland then teleported the floating city away to the border between the main plane and the Astral Plane. It was so high that players couldnt get up here, and the average Evil God wouldnt dare to just come down: after all, they would be suppressed by the main plane. Roland intended to upgrade the floating city here while fusing the Dragonborn Evolutionary Divine Spark with himself. It was a neutral Divine Spark, so there was no problem with fusing it. It was only the fusion of the Divine Spark that required a period of slumber, and he had brought Andonara with him for safety and security. There are also a large number of blue angels on standby, hidden in the complex of the floating city. Afterward, he first stuffed the Whirlwind Divine Spark he had gotten earlier into the core of the floating city. Then he began to absorb the huge ball of light in the square. This thing contained a lot of energy, and it took Roland half a day to absorb it. Then with his eyes closed, he slumped backward and fell into Andonaras soft embrace. Placing Roland on her lap, Andonara gently stroked Rolands eyebrow with tender affection in her eyes. Roland was in a coma. On the other hand, at this moment, Roland climbed up from the virtual cabin with a bewildered look on his face. Just now, the system suddenly prompted: You are evolving into a Demigod, you need five days to transform your body! Then it kicked him offline. That was a bit baffling. He tried to get back online, but the system prompted: Unable to connect to ID, please wait a while. Then for the next five days, Roland had an uncomfortable time, and although it wasnt boring-after all, on the base, a great deal of work was required of himthe problem was that he could not get used to sleeping in his bed. He had slept in a virtual cabin every night and his body didnt recognize the bed. It had caused him to have insomnia for the past five days in a row. Fortunately, his body wasnt quite the same as an ordinary persons, so he wasnt mentally weary. After five days of suffering, he was finally able to lie down in the virtual cabin again That feeling of a vampire sleeping in a coffin was great. This time the virtual cabin didnt stop him from logging in, and soon he was once again in the game world. Unlike the colored passages that had appeared when he had logged in before, this time Roland closed and opened them, and he was in the game world himself. It seemed to omit that feeling of traveling through the passage. Reopening his eyes, Roland looked around him and found himself sleeping in the middle of the floating city with a soft pillow and a thin clean blanket covering him. When he stood up, he saw Andonara tending to the plants in the flower belt with scissors, and when she heard a sound behind her, she turned back and smiled in surprise. Roland, youre awake? Roland was going to smile and say hello too, but he suddenly froze. In front of him, Andonaras entire being was translucent. And behind Andonaras head, there was a vaguely transparent thread that fluttered gently. On this thread, a faint glow kept flowing, then disappeared from its end, as if passing some message into the void. Whats wrong with you? Startled, Roland immediately used Sobering and Focus on himself. He also cast Dispel Illusion, Dispel Unholy, and other spells on Andonara. And yet, still, nothing changed. Andonara was still translucent. Whats wrong? The translucent Andonara walked up to Roland and shook her hand. Im fine. Ive been in the floating city for the past few days. Did you have a problem with the fusion? Something wrong with the fusion? Roland hurriedly opened his system interface, and his expression became even stranger. Because the data in the system interface had disappeared, and the character status bar was gone, with only the words, Congratulations, you can understand the world. Whats going on here? With a slight headache, Roland rubbed his forehead. Seeing his distress, Andonara came over and gently grabbed his hand, and asked, Whats wrong with you? In my senses, youre already a Demigod. Theres no problem. Is there some conflict between the dragons Divine Spark and that of humans? Andonaras hand felt warm and tangible before. But now it felt like touching air aerogel. It was completely distorted. This was very wrong. No, you look translucent to me. Roland opened up about his doubts. But other things look normal. The two were so close that there was no need to cover up anything. Translucent? Andonara froze slightly, then pulled her bodice up in style. Damn it, just say it if you want that. Dont use some translucent excuse. No, Anna, Im serious, Roland said seriously. Oh. Andonaras expression tensed up a little. Did the fusion go wrong? Do you want to ask the Goddess of Magic whats going on? Roland nodded. He agreed that he might have had some problems with fusing the Divine Spark. The floating city teleported to the Divine Realm of Magic, and upon entering, Roland met the Goddess of Magic. She was also translucent, much like Andonara. And there was also that one transparent thread behind her head, with a sheen surging through it that was considerably stronger than Andonaras. The Goddess of Magic was full of doubts when Roland told her. No, in my perception, you are quite normal. How about I probe your soul? After a moment of hesitation, Roland nodded. It was that rapturous feeling that made him lose consciousness and awareness again, and it was about half an hour before Roland took his head off the forehead of the Goddess of Magic. Mystra, the Goddess of Magic, licked her lips and said with a blush, Nothings wrong. Maybe its because youre not quite used to a Demigods power? Maybe itll be normal after a while. Is that so? Roland left the Divine Realm of Magic with some doubts. Upon returning to the main plane, Roland went to meet many people, both natives of the game world and players They were all translucent. Roland also accepted the fact that he saw people as translucent, but then, gradually, he realized that something was a little bit off. Both players and NPCs had that one transparent thread at the back of their heads, but he didnt. And it was not quite clear how strong he was now that he was a Demigod since there were no more stats to measure in the status bar, but his dynamic vision and reaction speed were indeed drastically enhanced. He found that the players were moving in a natural, fluid manner. But there was a slight sense of oddity in the NPCs movements, a slight stiffness between one move and the next. There was also a bit of audio-visual desynchronization, where the mouth moved but the voice came a little late, roughly a millisecond or so of delay. He couldnt feel it before, but he could feel it now. However, strong NPCs, like Andonara and the Goddess of Magic, had little sense of delay. Apart from that, it was a sense of emptiness that kept surrounding Roland. Whoever he touched, the touch didnt feel right. Especially when getting intimate with Andonara, it felt like he was screwing air. There was no tangibility but when he watched Andonara, she looked to be feeling quite normal. What had gone wrong with him? How would he fix it? Roland felt distressed. Without touch, the immersion of playing this game would be greatly reduced. As he agonized, he returned to his manor in Delpon. He was going to get a few barrels of his homemade wine to drink, but as soon as he got the wine barrels out of the cellar, he saw Nia carrying all sorts of bags as she giddily returned from somewhere. Roland winced at the sight of her, and his Hand of Magic fell apart. The barrel fell out of the air and smashed to the ground, shattering. Red wine spilled all over the floor. Nia also saw Roland. She saw Roland staring blankly at her and that there was wine spilled on the ground. She came over, put down the things in her hands first, then waved her right hand in front of Rolands face. What, havent seen me for a while, so you dont recognize me anymore? Whats this look of having seen a ghost? Roland took a deep breath. How are you not transparent? Whats this about being transparent? asked Nia, her expression more puzzled. Roland reached out and touched Nias hair on the front of her forehead. Nia subconsciously leaned back while asking, What are you doing? A girl cant casually let a man touch her hair. Dont move, Roland barked softly. Nia stood still, but she still looked at Roland in confusion, not understanding what he was trying to do! Roland touched her hair gently with his hands. At this time, she didnt feel anything wrong. She reacted subconsciously earlier In reality, they were so familiar that it didnt mean much for him to touch her hair. But after a moment, Rolands hands began to caress her face. She immediately blushed. Roland was also thrilled It was a real sensation; Nias face was smooth, warm, and supple. Why are you touching me randomly? Nias eyes darted around. Theres a lot of people watching here. There were indeed several guards on duty near the courtyard, but they all had the discretion to avert their eyes when they saw Roland and Nia almost pressed together. How could they dare look around at this point? Did they not want their jobs anymore? Despite Nias words of discontent, in reality, she didnt put up any resistance at all. Rolands hand was still caressing her face, and eventually, it was going down, seemingly about to touch her neck. A womans neck was quite a sensitive area. Nias face reddened even more as her eyes darted from side to side, feeling even shyer when she saw the guards standing nearby before she grabbed Rolands hand and dragged the latter toward the back of the house. Coming to the unlit part of the backyard, it was dimly lit, and there were quite a few trees and grasses around for cover, making it a rather private place. Well, whats wrong with you today! if youre going to touch me, you cant do it in a place with so many people, she said sheepishly as she gently shook Rolands hand away and then closed her eyes. If youre going to touch me, do it quickly. Only touching, nothing else, got it? Her head was tilted up slightly at this point, her tiny lips becoming even more glossy and flushed from blushing. With her long, slightly trembling eyelashes, she gave the impression that she was playing hard to get. [1] a common statue in colleges in China of a person holding up a ball, which has now been popularized by students to mean that education is useless Chapter 789 - Falsehood and Reality Roland laid his hand on Nias face again. She was not an illusion. Her skin was warm and elastic, and had a tiny dent where his finger pressed into it. Nias face got even redder, and she breathed more heavily. Rolands hands fell to her neck again. With her eyes closed, she subconsciously flinched and crossed her arms nervously, but she didnt open her eyes either. The atmosphere became more and more intimate. Roland realized that too. He stopped and asked again, Why are you not transparent? What are you talking about? Nia opened her eyes and puffed out her cheeks angrily. Why did this guy have to ruin the atmosphere by saying that? Transparent? My clothes will never be transparent. Sigh! Roland heaved a long sigh. Nia was just like Andonara. Why were women always thinking so strangely? He wasnt thinking about sex at all. Exactly at this moment, Nia shivered and slightly narrowed her eyes. Several seconds later, she said, The goddess informed me to take you to the Paradise of Life. Roland suddenly thought of something when he heard that Nia was an angel, and a substantial being. Then, were the other angels in the paradise substantial too? What about the Life Goddess? Roland was about to teleport himself away, when Nia grabbed his hand and said, Im coming with you. Okay. They reached the floating city and then teleported to the Paradise of Life with the floating city as a platform. On the clouds in the Paradise of Life, Roland looked at the angels around him, including Claudia the Archangel, and found that they were all transparent. But he wasnt disappointed, because the Life Goddess who stood before him was substantial. Nia, stay here. The rest of you will leave. Claudia nodded and flew away with the other angels. Then, the Life Goddess unfolded a soundproof barrier. The barrier was made of divine power and guaranteed that nobody in this world could eavesdrop on them. Roland looked at the Life Goddess passionately. At this moment, the Life Goddess, however, sat down on a chair and looked at Roland wearily. It seems that youve discovered the anomalies of this world. Seeing how fatigued the Life Goddess was, Nia was quite shocked. She quickly walked to her and asked, Goddess, whats wrong? Did something happen in the Paradise of Life? As far as Nia remembered, the Life Goddess was always calm and graceful. She had never seen her so helpless. Im fine. The Life Goddess waved her hands and looked at Roland. You must have a lot of questions. Roland nodded. Nia looked at them suspiciously. The Life Goddess pointed her finger at Nia, who instantly sat down on the soft clouds and fell asleep. What are you doing?. Nia is actually my clone, said the Life Goddess rather awkwardly. One that has consciousness. So, was Nia sent to monitor him? Noticing the suspicion in Rolands eyes, the Life Goddess shook her head and said, Shes not there to monitor you, but to take a closer look at you. She seemed rather shy, and less helpless, when she said that. Roland thought for a moment and realized that it was truly unnecessary for her to monitor him. Nia was a girl who loved traveling and shopping and who was rarely around. She had done a terrible job if she was sent to monitor him. Lets talk about the things you want to know. The Life Goddess seemed disappointed again. As you can see, this world is false, and so am I. It was indeed the case! Roland sighed. He already guessed it when he saw the transparent angels. He agreed with the former half of the Life Goddesss statement, but disagreed with the latter half. Why do you say youre fake? Youre not transparent. But in another world, theres another Life Goddess named Elyse. Im just one of her mental fragments. The Life Goddess seemed bitter. Right now, I can feel the orders and emotions from Elyse in another dimension. Shes angrily trying to take me back and make me part of her again. After a moment of silence, Roland asked, Do you want to fuse with her again? Of course not. The Life Goddess shook her head. I have my own thoughts, experiences, and love. She gazed at Roland. I dont want to become part of her, because I can tell that she doesnt know you and I cant meet you again if Im fused with her. Hearing that, Roland put on a helplessly smile. It was rather unreasonable of you to put an equality contract on me. You must know what that means, right? She nodded and explained in a low voice, I knew you before Mystra did. Why did she get to do that? In fact, you dont have to be jealous of her at all. Shes fake! Rolands heart was rather painful when he said that. Andonara was fake, Mystra was fake, and so were all the other NPCs. Their emotions must be the simulations of this game world too. Did his feelings for them actually mean nothing? Shes not entirely fake. After a moment of hesitation, the Life Goddess decided to tell him what she knew. Theres a connection between their illusions and themselves. In fact, they all know you, but I dont know about the details. Roland suddenly remembered the thin line that was almost entirely transparent behind Andonaras head. Was that a networking cable? So, all the NPCs had logged into this game just like the players did. However, they had only one life, and the game was a complete simulation of the real world they were in? They werent entirely fake? If that were true, then everything would make sense. Why are you not connected to the other Elyse? asked Roland. At this moment, Roland had discovered that there were no cables behind Elyses head. Right Nia, who was sleeping on the ground, didnt have one either. I dont know. Elyse stroked her forehead sadly. My old memories belong to the other Elyse. The world Im in is false. I can tell that its vanishing. Even though the vanishing isnt too fast, the world will disappear sooner or later, and so will I. Roland stepped up and gently hugged Elyse. Thats all right. Ill figure out a solution. Although she was a little bit shy, Elyse didnt resist. Instead, she intimately laid her head on Rolands shoulder and pressed herself into his arms. Okay, I trust you. They cuddled warmly. However, Elyses face became redder and redder, because Roland was having an erection. Roland hadnt enjoyed himself when he slept with Andonara in the past few days. After all, he felt like he was doing it with the air. So, he was feeling quite horny. Without much hesitation, Roland laid his hands on Elyses breasts. He didnt have to undo the first button, which was already in his inventory. He undid the second button. Elyse turned her head aside and didnt dare to look at him. Her face was entirely red. Roland took a deep breath, impressed by the big and elastic bosom that the goddess who was responsible for life had made for herself. Then, he buried his head in them without hesitation. However, Roland was frustrated only half an hour later, as he hadnt enjoyed himself yet. None of the goddesses, including both Mystra and Elyse, were physically satisfactory. Holding the limp Life Goddess in his arms, Roland was about to put on his clothes, when he noticed that Nia was looking at him from the ground. Then, making eye contact with Roland, she was quite scared and quickly closed her eyes again, pretending that she was still unconscious, except that her face was still very red. Roland hummed and did it with her too. He had to say that Nia was much more physically competent than the two goddesses. She was just a divinity clone, yet she was almost as good as Andonara. After they were done, Nia was reinvigorated again after catching her breath. She put on her clothes and stuck out her tongue at Roland cutely, before she flapped her fingers and flew away. She knew that the goddess wanted to talk to Roland. Although Im probably just a fake character, its really nice to know you. Lying in Rolands arms, the Life Goddess touched his face and said affectionately, If you can spend more time with me, it wont matter even if I have to disappear. At least Im real for now. How much time do you estimate you have until your disappearance? Maybe two hundred years? Roland chuckled after a moment of shock. Two hundred years was quite a long time to him. But then, he thought that he shouldnt think that way. The species that lived a long life and those that didnt had different opinions on time. In any case, he wasnt too anxious about Elyses disappearance anymore. After cuddling with Elyse for a while, Roland left the Paradise of Life and teleported himself near the Mystras Mansion on the floating city. Naturally, Nia followed him. Seeing the worms that were everywhere in the Astral Plane, Nia didnt look very happy. Are they the coordinates of your Mystras Mansion? Nia soon saw the transparent squares not far away. Its the last shelter of a Mage. Do you completely trust me and the goddess now? Of course, said Roland with a smile. Thats the right answer! Heres your reward. Nia kissed Rolands face delightedly. Roland, on the other hand, perceived the coordinates that he had left in reality. He was already a real Demigod, and he could do things that he couldnt imagine in the past. For example, he could teleport his game character to reality. Very soon, he clearly detected the coordinates near the base. At first, he had planned to transfer the entire floating city to the location, but then he realized that the distance was too long and he didnt have enough energy. However, by consuming half of the magic power the floating city had saved, it was possible to teleport himself out. Roland extracted thirty thousand points of magic power and built a space portal more than ten meters tall at the center of the square in the floating city. Then, he turned his head and said to Nia, Defend the floating city for me. Ive authorized you to control all the puppet soldiers. Nia was of a mind to propose to go with Roland, but she dropped the thought after a moment of consideration. There must be a good reason why Roland didnt ask her to come along. Okay, Ill wait for you to come back. Nia smiled. Teleporting to reality was a bold decision. Roland took a deep breath and then walked into the portal. Roland zigzagged in the enormous black channel. The first half of the channel was smooth, but the second half was narrow and twisted. Of course, it was not narrow and twisted in the physical sense, but just gave that feeling. There was no matter in teleportation, just an energy channel. After bumping around for twenty minutes in the channel, Roland finally saw a blue exit in front of him. Normally speaking, one could reach ones destination in a few seconds with teleportation. The twenty-minute journey in a space channel was a terrible suffering. There were no other noises in the channel. He could only hear his own heartbeat and the flow of his blood. The dreadful quietness couldve easily driven someone into madness. Only the people with a strong mind could weather through it. Roland jumped out of the exit. In reality, a blue plate of light appeared above the desert ten kilometers to the east of the base. After a short moment of brilliance, the light plate turned into invisible gravity waves and formed a shivering sphere with a radius of about five kilometers. The sphere left a huge dent in the desert that was as deep as three hundred meters. Roland had tried to teleport himself to the sky. If he had teleported himself to the ground A five-kilometer pit wouldve been terrifying. Roland took a deep breath in reality. He sensed that he lost a lot of his magic power, but he was still stronger than his body in reality. He looked around and confirmed that it was reality. So, he clenched his fists excitedly, It worked! Then, he found that his arm was transparent. So were his feet, his abdomen He didnt have to check himself any further to know that he was transparent. So, his body in the game was fake in reality? It was quite interesting. Roland cast Stealth on himself and then flew to the base. At the entrance, he happened upon Lu Yong and the other security guards, who were fully armed and were about to investigate the spot where an energy outburst was detected a moment earlier. Roland revealed himself. Whos there? What the hell? A dozen guns were aimed at Roland. Then, Lu Yong recognized him and exclaimed, Roland? Wait, Director Huang Wenwei? Nobody in the entire base didnt know Rolands appearance in the game. Roland nodded. Sweet mother of god This is getting huge! Lu Yong and the other security guards all swallowed. After Roland entered, he caused a sensation throughout the base. Everybody who hadnt slept yet came to see him. Those who were already sleeping were woken up too. Even the people who had morning temperament, after learning what happened, rushed to him without changing out of their pajamas. Su Minluo, for one, had run out with nothing but her underwear and didnt care about her image at all. However, nobody laughed at her! Nobody was even interested in peeping at her. Everybodys eyes were fixed on Rolands transparent body. An energy creature! A gray-haired researcher took off his glasses, shivering, and threw his pencil to the desk heavily. Im not retiring! I can work for another thirty years! Chapter 790 - Truth of the Game Roland was examined by all kinds of equipment for three hours in the lab. Then, a basic report came out in half an hour. He can be seen by the naked eye, but cant be captured by any of the equipment. By estimation, we can see him only because he wants to be seen. Ive checked the camera. Hes not in the pupils of any observers. So, his image is more like a piece of information thats directly projected into our minds. Theres no dispersion of electromagnetic power or radiation. He doesnt cause any object interaction when he moves. The air is not taking any pressure. He doesnt have any weight. To be more exact, hes not influenced by gravity. Hes almost identical to what a soul is rumored to be! All the researchers were excited when they read the report. So, the soul was always real, except that we have never been able to observe it? Su Minluo, in her underwear, had glowing eyes. Its completely beyond our imagination. No, it is not. The gray-haired old scientist said with a smile, Our equipment is still too bad at observation and can only see about 5% of the matter and energy in the universe. We couldnt have achieved this without the major breakthrough that Comrade Huang Wenwei made in the studies of mysterious matter and energy. Su Minluo nodded. She was happy that the old scientist said that. Talking about the soul sounded superstitious and would shake their confidence in science. However, the old scientist had managed to include the soul in the category of science. Roland saw the report of his current form too. A moment later, he asked the director, Can I go back to my real body?. Of course. The director nodded. We wont force you to do anything, but are you in a hurry? If not, can we study you for a couple of more hours? I feel that Im weakening, said Roland casually. The moment he said that, the director said, Then youd better go back to your body immediately. Whether or not it was the truth, many people had heard the theory that the soul couldnt be separated from the body for too long. Roland returned to his dormitory, followed by a lot of people. When the virtual cabin was opened, Rolands transparent soul, which had golden hair and blue eyes, dispersed into countless spots of light and merged into his body. Very soon, Roland opened his eyes as everybody expected. He sat up in the virtual cabin. A lot of researchers looked at him. Su Minluo was the first to ask, How do you feel? Very good. Roland slowly floated in the air, with a gentle breeze around him. I feel that Im similar to myself in the game. Hiss! Everybody was shocked. Everybody in the base was aware of Rolands performance in the game. That was a guy who could easily throw out nuclear bombs. His battle against the World Tree and the dragon god had been recorded and replayed in the base again and again. It was said that the national army was even considering doing drills with Roland as the opposing force, so that it would be prepared when it was faced with an enemy who had superpowers just like him. Roland had already been unbelievable enough, yet he had got even stronger? At this moment, the director suddenly squeezed through the crowd and came in. He gave Roland a piece of paper and said, I just received a phone call from my boss. Roland, you must go to this place immediately. There were three numbers on the paper that he gave Roland. Were they longitudes and latitudes? The coordinates suggested that it was a location in the central-northern part of the country. Stunned for a moment, Roland asked, Should I go right now? Yes, replied the director quickly. The call was from the top of the chain of command. Ive confirmed their identity. It cant be fake. Roland nodded. Although there were no spatial coordinates, he had the longitudes and latitudes to help with localization. Besides, Roland was already a Demigod, and his understanding of space was beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. That was why he knew where he was going to after a quick glance at the longitudes and latitudes. Then Im leaving. Roland waved at his colleagues. Half a second later, his body emitted blue light and vanished into thin air. Everybody was dazed for a moment. Su Minluo asked in disappointment, Will Director Huang come back? The director heaved a long sigh. Probably not. At this moment, Roland had just jumped out of the spatial channel and was floating in the air. It was the middle of the night. Nobody was present in the wilderness. He looked around and caught sight of a dent in the woods down below. A platform appeared, and someone was waving at him from there. It was Ma Huajun. Roland landed. After he came down, Ma Huajun snapped his fingers, and the platform began to descend. Its surface entrance was then sealed by the mud. Rolands first reaction was that it was a spell. But then he found that it wasnt. He didnt detect any magic waves. Also, the mud felt alive to him. The platform kept descending, and Ma Huajun said with a smile, Youve been growing much faster than I expected. When I made the game, I thought it would take at least twenty years for you to reach your current level. However, youve exceeded our goal, by a lot, in only ten years. Our? Roland asked in confusion. I couldnt have made such an awesome game by myself. Ma Huajun opened his hands. A friend helped. But hes no longer in this world. No longer in his world? asked Roland with a smile. Physically, or mentally? Physically. Ma Huajun laughed too. Nobody dares to mess with him Not even the God of Death, you know. Roland clicked his tongue. The platform stopped, and they reached an enormous space that was filled with green crystals. Roland swallowed, as those crystals were the very same material that the green rod he got earlier was made of. The rod alone had made him feel like he could build a small floating city, yet there was a whole mine of the minerals here That was crazy. You mustve summoned me here because you want to tell some secrets to me, right? Roland struggled to withdraw his gaze from the green crystals. Please do. I cant wait. Ma Huajun waved his hand, and a green crystal table and two chairs emerged from the ground. Have a seat. Roland raised his eyebrows, as that was the trick of the goddesses in the game However, as the Planet Guardian, Ma Huajun was probably just as good as a god. Roland sat down as instructed. Have some tea. A cup made of green crystals appeared in front of each of them, and Ma Huajun poured tea for Roland first and then for himself. He raised his own cup and said, Let me finish this cup as an apology to you. The dream you and Schuck shared was destroyed by me. Although I gave you great opportunities, I have indeed manipulated your life for ten years. Im sorry. Then, he finished the cup of tea. Roland drank a mouthful of the tea and smiled. Just let bygones be bygones. For what its worth, Im very grateful to you. Im glad that you dont blame me. Ma Huajun scratched his head and said, Theres too much to tell. You mustve guessed a lot of things too. Why dont you ask me the things you dont know? Ill tell you everything. Roland took a deep breath. What is the game? The projection of another world, explained Ma Huajun. It maps the environment and all the living creatures of that world. All the NPCs have the same personality and living styles as their originals. So, even though theyre fake, you can consider them real. Whats that world? Another planet, or another dimension? asked Roland. Bigger than that. Its not an alternate dimension in the definition of the game, like the Realm of Devils, said Ma Huajun with a smile. The alternate dimensions in the game are actually just other planets. The world that I talked about is a parallel universe, which is much bigger. Wow! Roland remarked in admiration, Youve been exploring a parallel universe? But the technologies of Earth can hardly send anyone to the moon yet. Ma Huajun shook his head. I wouldnt go that far. We simply picked a certain piece of that world and made the game with the remaining information on the piece. My friend played a critical role. I was only his assistant. Roland didnt believe it. Under these circumstances, those who called themselves assistants were generally bosses behind the curtain. The drill you mentioned earlier Roland asked, Can you tell me what its about? Ma Huajun instantly grew solemn. As the Planet Guardian, I have an accurate instinct. Something like Grand Benediction? Even more advanced than that, said Ma Huajun solemnly. Im usually a modest man, but I dont want to be modest anymore. I have the best sense of danger, and Ive foreseen a crisis that will endanger humankind. What is the crisis exactly? An invasion of alien creatures. Theyre very powerful energy beings. Ma Huajun heaved a sigh. Thats the most critical information in my prophecy. With Earths current technologies, its impossible to defeat them. So, I could only start a drill to familiarize everybody with superpowers and prepare them for a new manner of fighting. Roland furrowed his brows. When will they arrive? In probably another hundred years. Roland was quite relieved. Thats not bad. We still have enough time. Ma Huajun, however, didnt look too good. My friend left three power seeds before he went away for the best three guys to form a team. Those three seeds had no targets before you entered the game. We simply chose half a million candidates who were most likely to inherit their power and put them in the game. As long as three people inherit the power in the seeds, we will be able to beat the invaders with the help of another hundreds of thousands of people who are familiar with superpowers. I got one of the seeds, and so did Schuck? asked Roland curiously. Ma Huajun nodded. Who got the last one? Betta. Roland was stumped. It was not until a long time later that he said in disappointment, Betta is dead. Even his soul is gone. Also, something seemed off with the disappearance of his soul. I dont know who will inherit the power that belonged to him! That is exactly the problem. His power and his soul were intercepted, said Ma Huajun grimly. Some outsiders were lurking on Earth. When Betta died, they stole his soul as well as the power that my friend left. Damn it! They were definitely the scouts of the invaders. I detected it the moment the accident happened to Betta, but by the time I arrived, it was already too late. I saw that two women left this world with his power seed. Without the power seed, the iron triangle will be incomplete, and its power will be greatly compromised. Our odds of winning will be lowered from 100% to about 30%. Roland subconsciously clenched his fists. He remembered the residue of the portal he saw after Bettas accident. I investigated the scene too and found a remaining space portal, so I threw a pair of space coordinates into it, said Roland slowly. Unfortunately, Im too weak to jump over even though I can vaguely detect the coordinates. Ma Huajuns eyes glittered. You did? Thats great! Im the Planet Guardian, and all my power is based on the rules of this world. Ill be a weakling in any other world! But youre different! Your power system means that youre strong in any world as long as you have enough energy. Can you help me get back the power seed as well as Bettas soul? I have ways to resurrect him. Really? But I cant jump over. Pa! Ma Huajun threw a huge piece of green crystal onto the table. If you build a floating city and connect yourself to it, can you jump over? Yes! Roland gritted his teeth. But the floating city has to be very big. Its very easy to conceal it in the magic world. All you have to do is to keep it above the clouds. But there are satellites and airplanes everywhere in our world Are you not afraid of causing a panic? A little bit of panic is nothing compared to the existential crisis that humanity is faced with! Ma Huajun laid an even bigger green crystal on the table. These crystals were prepared for the future invaders. I can give two of them to you at most. This one will be your energy storage for your activities in the other world. Roland heaved a sigh of relief. I cannot guarantee that Ill bring Betta back, but Ill try. Right Do you know about Elyse the Life Goddess, in the game? She seems to have developed a real self and is no longer a projection. Ma Huajun looked happier and nodded with a smile. Of course. She used to be fake too, until the real Life Goddess came to this world and tried to claim the piece of her world, only to be beaten up by my friend. She was heavily wounded and fled after dropping a fragment of her Divine Spark. I put the fragment in the game world to increase its authenticity. However, it was attracted to the Life Goddesss projection and gradually developed an independent personality. Shes even been conquered by you, which indirectly increases our combat ability. Thats a nice surprise. Roland was slightly embarrassed. If the guy knew that, did it mean that he knew when he and Elyse did it too? Dont worry. Were too decent to watch live porn, said Ma Huajun teasingly. Stop thinking about random stuff and start preparing the floating city. Your task in the other world is very tricky. Youd better hurry up. Besides, I have to apply for a no-fly zone for you, which is quite tricky too. The application has to be approved by many departments. Chapter 791 - Emergence of the Floating City Roland left Ma Huajuns world and returned to the base. Although he was the Planet Guardian, Ma Huajun couldnt be too self-willed in everything Even though he could make decisions, he had to talk to and inform the relevant departments, or everybody in the bureaucratic system would be scared witless by the enormous floating city. After returning to the base, Roland tried to enter the game, but the virtual cabin kept telling him that his connection failed. He knew that his energy image in the game had been completely swallowed by him. Should he create another one? Roland made an attempt. However, his new character exploded the moment he entered the game. Then, System Error, Enormous Energy Detected, and other warnings popped up. Having no choice, Roland had to quit the game. At noon the next day, Ma Huajun called him and told him that a no-fly zone a hundred kilometers to the northwest of his base had been approved. That place was a desert. Roland wasted no time devoting himself to the construction of the floating city. In the enormous underground hollow, Roland put the two giant green energy crystals next to each other. He chose to absorb the smaller one first. When he filled himself with magic power, the energy crystal only lost one-thirtieth of its total mass. The efficiency of transformation was astoundingly high. He estimated that the special energy all over Earth was stored in Ma Huajuns special mine of crystals. Because he had enough energy and momentum, Roland simply started making his systems. One magic power brick was crafted and put away after another. It took Roland about a month to finally create the Magic Grid Core. It was even more powerful than his first core in the game. However, the floating city in the game was reinforced with divine energy later and had significantly more magic power, which was much more awesome. There was no way that Roland could find divine energy in reality. He estimated that he could probably jump to the other world after using half of the energy crystal. But for safety reasons, he used the entire energy crystal. The Magic Grid Core was so huge that it could hardly bear its own eight. Then, Roland finally stopped. After that, he opened the stone layer above the gigantic hollow. The Magic Grid Core soared to the sky first. Then, the mud was attracted to it by one magic piece after another. The Magic Grid Core didnt seem very big, but considering the theory that energy equals matter, the core itself contained a shocking amount of energy even without the stone shell on the surface. The thick shell was mainly meant to protect the fragile core. The magic barrier wasnt invulnerable. If one was determined to look for a loophole, there was always energy that could penetrate it. It was safe to say that the Magic Grid Core was the heart of the floating city, and that one combustion-powered bullet could destroy it with a precise hit. So, the thick layer of rocks was the second safety measure. This dumb safety measure was unsophisticated but surprisingly useful. When the magic barrier malfunctioned or was destroyed, it could provide thorough protection for the Magic Grid Core. The floating city was getting bigger and bigger. The mud was attached gradually and then turned into hard rock. The comrades in the aerial base had already measured that the rocks Roland made with his spell were harder than the finest steel. Therefore, the core of the floating city was actually protected by a ten-kilometer-thick super steel plate. What worried Roland earlier happened in the end. The expansion of the floating city required at least half a day. During the process, the enormous floating city could be seen clearly even from dozens of kilometers away. As it gradually rose to the sky, more and more people saw the horrifying scene. There was a city several hundred kilometers away from the floating city. Almost a million locals witnessed the dreadful monster rise. They all took pictures and shot videos and posted them on social media. A lot of videos and pictures about the floating city appeared on the Internet. The authorities didnt intend to keep it a secret either and simply let the netizens post. As a result, everybody on the Internet was excited in half an hour. At this moment, World of Falan was still quite a hot topic. It was safe to say that the celebrities in the game, such as Roland, Schuck, and ONeal, were even more famous than big stars. Therefore, people were well aware of Rolands abilities. The very first thing that most netizens thought of when they saw the behemoth in the sky was the same all around. The floating city! Then, the second word they all wanted to say was Shoot! That was the reaction of even the most courteous man. The forum of the game exploded too. The thread about the floating city in reality gained more than twenty million replies in an hour. Is it fake? It is well known that photos can be PS-ed, so it must be fake. Fake? The latest news is that some people have flown drones there and saw the floating city, but when they tried to swoop down at the city, the drones hit something transparent and crashed. A magic barrier? Damn Who activated a floating city in reality? Who else could it be but Roland? I can testify that Roland has been offline for a month. His friends and his woman are all searching for him, so its probably Roland. Does it mean that magic can be brought to reality? But how? Then can the Warriors abilities be brought to reality too? Of course. Im a Warrior, and I can already beat ten people at the same time in reality. But the problem is that Im still an ordinary person whos quite experienced in fighting. I dont have any special abilities at all. Why can the Mages take their powers to reality, whereas the Warriors cannot bring their bodies here? Theyre carrying knowledge about how to use magic. Are you planning to carry the game data of the strength of your character in the game? F*ck, no wonder the Warriors are so disrespected in the game world. As it turns out, were really clowns. This world is going to change. All Mages will be cherished in reality. Is there still time if I delete my level-15 Warrior character and restart as a Mage? Damn it, if Roland can cast spells in reality, ONeal probably can too. Sorry, I cant! Im ONeal. I dont know how to cast spells in reality at all, yet Roland has built a floating city. Im as different from him as a monad is from a human being. Im just curious. Is the state government not doing anything? Wont it be shot down? I think its rather precarious too now that you pointed it out. Our state government will probably welcome it, but I dont think other countries will be as friendly. Indeed, the new president of another country had summoned the ambassador of Rolands country to the Black House. He threw a pile of high-resolution photos to the table and roared, Tell me what the hell they are! The ambassador examined the photos calmly and replied peacefully, Its just a mirage. Mr. President, you must believe in science. The president was so infuriated that he almost had a stroke. He was already in his nineties and this was too much for him. The floating city flew higher and higher and soon surpassed the stratosphere. Night had fallen too. The magic barrier on the surface of the floating city began to glimmer, which made it look like a moon in the night sky, except that it was ten times larger. At this moment, eight hours had passed since the floating city was exposed. A tremendous number of reporters and curious netizens were rushing to the area. The base had blocked the entrances and channels and pretended to be part of the desert. A lot of cars and travelers passed above it, but nobody realized that there was an enormous base underneath the desert. After stabilizing the floating city in the stratosphere, Roland flashed back home and had dinner with his parents. He spent the night at home too. The next morning, he pretended to go to work by bus, while he actually got off at the suburb and flashed to the floating city. Few people slept in the night. They were all discussing the enormous object that floated in the sky. As the discussions grew more and more heated, more and more people learned about World of Falan, Roland, and the floating city. After he reached the floating city, Roland flew it away. The floating city already had a radius of more than ten kilometers. If he were to activate a cross-universe teleportation within the atmosphere, the energy he released would probably be as destructive as a level-ten tornado. If he was closer to the surface of the Earth, the consequences would be even more terrifying. Therefore, the further away from Earth when he activated the teleportation, the better. The floating city continued rising. When it flew out of the atmosphere, only a tiny spot could be seen. But that didnt pose a problem to the netizens, who deployed all kinds of astronomical telescopes and kept observing. International politics had changed a lot in the past day. Rolands country suffered a lot of criticism. But of course, a lot of countries expressed friendliness too. After all, even if the rock that had a radius of more than ten kilometers was not equipped with any weapons, it could easily destroy everything down below if it floated above someplace and smashed down. There was no stopping it. One crash could destroy a country no matter how big its territory was. After flying out of the atmosphere, Roland controlled the floating city to fly another fifty kilometers. Then, he waved at the ground and activated the teleportation spell. The blue light of magic formed a gigantic ionization layer Countless lightning bolts were bursting out around the floating city. Even though it was daytime, the floating city was still brighter than the sun. Some people even saw two suns for almost ten seconds. When the floating city was at its brightest, it was so dazzling that everybody closed their eyes. Then, all the light vanished. The invisible quake of space touched the atmosphere and created a glowing circle, which quickly expanded and pushed away the clouds. Then, it expanded to the entire sky and vanished underneath the horizon. After that, the air rumbled for quite a long time like a minor earthquake. People across the globe saw or sensed it. Those on the back of Earth only saw a white belt of air passing through the sky, as if something had pushed all the clouds to the tops of their heads. But then, what appeared to be a gigantic hand moved the clouds back to their positions. In a basement, Ma Huajun wiped off the sweat on his forehead and said angrily, Why didnt you fly further before you jumped? You almost disrupted the water recycling system of Earth. In real Hollevin, Andonara, who had long braided hair and held the Heros Sword, looked quite worried. It had been a month She hadnt seen Roland in her dreams in a month. What happened to him? The day before, she even ran to Wetland City and asked Schuck, Rolands best friend. However, Schuck also said that he didnt know what happened to Roland. Did anything happen? Andonara grew more and more agitated. No, she had to start planning to kill an Evil God immediately. As long as she got a Divine Spark, she should be able to jump to Roland with the bloodline power of the Immortal Phoenix and the divine energy. However, she needed information and allies. This world was different from her dreams. There were no Golden Sons or Roland. It was very boring All the knowledge was in the possession of Mages and nobles. She had to pay for it if she wanted to know the locations of the Evil Gods in the main plane. She had already decided to ask for First Princess Stephanies help in Fareins, but before that, she had to meet someone first. Very soon, a young woman, who wasnt very pretty but looked innocent and amiable, came out of the little manor. After she came out, she asked timidly, Sister Anna? Youre not inviting me to your house, Vivian? After a moment of hesitation, the young woman said, Okay. Several minutes later, they sat face to face in the courtyard. Its been a long time since we had an afternoon like this. Vivian was silent for a while, before she said, Andonara, it was just a dream. It doesnt count. Looking at Vivians clothes as a married woman, Andonara heaved a sigh. Thats true. For you, it was just a dream, but dont you feel sorry for Roland? It was just a ridiculous dream. Not daring to look at Andonara, Vivian said in a low voice, I cannot devote my life to someone in my dreams. Besides, I have my own baby now. Andonara said casually, I had guessed your answer before I came, but I have to confirm it for Roland. Are you really unwilling to find Roland with me? Vivian hesitated. If I succeed, well never come back after we leave. I wont return to take you away either. Andonara stared at her and continued, So, this is your only opportunity to choose. Vivian was silent for a long time. Her eyes seemed to suggest that she was tempted. But at this moment, a little girl about five years old hopped out of the room. She ran to Vivian with a grimace and said cutely, Mom, Im hungry. Can you make cake for me? Vivians eyes suddenly became gentle. Andonara realized her decision and left the manor. Chapter 792 - Does Any Decent Person Write Journals? Teleportation arrays were appearing in this world too, but not quite as fast as in the dreams. Andonara wasnt sure of the reason. There was only one teleportation array in Hollevin to the other countries, and it was in the capital, so Andonara traveled to the capital. It took her three days to finally reach the gate of the capital. It was still Antis who guarded the city gate. He was watching over the other guards at the gate. However, Andonaras astonishing appearance and her Legendary vibe were enough to distinguish herself from the long queues. After Andonara entered the city, Antis stopped. Anna, are you back in the capital because you want to return to the royal palace? Andonara smiled mockingly. Do you think its possible? No need to regard me as an enemy, said Antis helplessly. Were friends who grew up together. Andonara said, Well still be friends as long as you dont persuade me to return to the royal palace. I wont do that again. Antis smiled. Shall we have a drink? Andonara nodded. At the Silver Moon Lake Tavern On the independent terrace on the third floor, Antis poured a glass of wine for Andonara and smiled. You had brown hair and brown eyes before, and you have blond hair and blue eyes right now I dont remember much from the dreams, so I dont know what you went through. However, you look more like a noble and a queen in your current appearance. In this world, blond hair and blue eyes were expected of a noble. Although many nobles had other hair or eye colors, everybody regarded those with blond hair and blue eyes as the nobles with the purest bloodlines. Andonara stroked her hair and smiled. You thought I turned into this in order to show off my identity? Its only because Roland liked it. Hearing Rolands name, Antis seemed disappointed for a moment, before he said sadly, The memories of the Golden Sons and the dreams are disappearing. Its not happening to some individuals, but to everybody. The weaker you are, the faster you forget. Most folks barely remember anything about the Golden Sons now. Andonara sipped the wine. I dont care. Its fine as long as I remember Roland. But dont you think that this whole thing may be some Evil Gods joke? Antis scratched the wine cup with his thin fingers. The Golden Sons are immortal, kind-hearted, and possess boundaries Do you think such a group of people can really exist? Thats not my business. I simply want my man back, said Andonara unconcernedly. Whether or not other people remember the Golden Sons, and whether theyre as kind-hearted as they were in the dreams, those are just secondary things. Like I said, it may be a plot of an Evil God. They might all be fake. Andonara shook her head. No. To this day, I can feel the vague mental reaction from Roland. Its very feeble, but I can feel it. Thats just your imagination. Antis gently tapped the table with his finger. You want a man that really loves you too badly. Andonara frowned. You said you wouldnt persuade me to go back to the royal palace. If you do, we wont be friends. Im not asking you to go back to the royal palace. Antis heaved a sigh. I simply dont want you to waste your life on an ungrounded goal. You are a Legend. You have plenty of time to be admired and worshiped by the world. Dont waste your time on an illusion, or even walk on the wrong path. You are just a Master, and a fairly new one, said Andonara solemnly. So, you have no idea how sharp the senses of a Legend, especially one with double abilities such as myself, can be. Roland is real. Hes out there somewhere. If he cant come here, Ill go to him. Antis frowned and said, Fine, lets assume that Roland is real. Can you come back if you go to his world? Have you considered your family and friends? Uncle will understand me. What about people besides your uncle? Like your students, the two princesses who regard you as a mother, and your former mercenary friends? said Antis, expecting better from her. Is it worth it to abandon your family and friends for someone who might not be real? Andonara smiled. Im a weak woman. I can live without family and friends, but Ill die without the pillar in my heart. She spoke in a soft yet serious tone. Antis realized that Andonara would certainly kill herself if Roland wasnt real. She wouldnt make another choice. Is it really necessary? Antis covered his face in pain. Youre so strong. Why cant you make yourself a pillar to you and others? Thats too hard, said Andonara. It requires a strong mind, and Im just a small woman. Antis understood what Andonara meant. He heaved a long sigh and didnt know what to say. When both of them fell silent, noises came from the street. They looked at the source of the noises, only to discover that a young noble was making fun of a beggar with a few lackeys and kicking him now and then. The beggar dared not run. He kowtowed and begged for mercy. The young noble laughed hard and kicked the beggar again, before he swaggered off. Andonara had already laid her hand on the Heros Sword. However, she didnt take any action, as the young man didnt really attack him. After the young noble left, the beggar rose to his feet and left fearfully. The beggar wasnt hurt, albeit quite scared. What a boring world, said Andonara casually. If the Golden Sons were here, would he have dared to do that? After a moment of silence, Antis said, Like I said, theyre fake. It was just a dream. Three months ago, when everybody remembered their dreams, the nobles contained themselves much better, said Andonara with a smile. In particular, the evil nobles who were killed by the Golden Sons were quite frightened in reality, fearing that a Golden Son would jump out of nowhere and cut their throat. Now, when they start to forget their dreams, the evilness in their bones surfaces again. Thats true. Antis didnt open his mouth until a long time later. The nobles were truly obedient three months ago. They didnt even dare to evade taxes. They certainly didnt dare to feign their tax reports either. In their dreams, the Golden Sons wouldve served justice if they discovered the matter. Andonara withdrew her gaze from the street and said, The wine is almost finished. Its time for me to go. If theres anything else you want to say, say it. No, I dont. I simply wanted to talk to you about the dreams, said Antis sincerely. Were friends. Whenever you feel tired, remember that theres always a room in my place where you can take a good rest. Andonara stood up. Thank you, but it wont happen. There will only be two endings for me: either Ill find Roland and live happily ever after, or Ill be gone from this world. She then smiled and jumped from the terrace to the street, moving to the teleportation array at the center of the capital. About half an hour later, after a blue flash, Andonara disappeared with the other travelers. Antis, on the other hand, returned to the royal palace. The king, who seemed even older, asked, She still refuses to come back? I cant persuade her. Shes too stubborn. The old king heaved a long sigh. What a shame. How could I have made such a stupid decision about such a great woman? Antis didnt say anything, because he too found the old king stupid. On the other hand, Andonara was stopped when she passed the checkpoint after reaching the capital of Fareins. In front of her were two Mages and the elite guards of the royal palace wearing heavy armor. You are a powerful lady May I know your purpose in Fareins? Normally speaking, the guards of the Fareins capital would register foreign travelers who arrived via teleportation in case they were malicious. The professionals, in particular, would be vetted more thoroughly. However, Andonara was both gorgeous and had the Legendary vibe. Nobody dared to be rude to her. I am Andonara. I want to meet your queen. Report the matter to her. Im sure shell accept my request. Then, Andonara was invited to a VIP room, and someone reported the matter in a hurry. In no more than an hour, an order was relayed. Bring Ms. Andonara to Stephanie immediately. About half an hour later, Andonara met Stephanie in her bed palace. Stephanie, wearing her daily clothes, hugged Andonara warmly and said with a smile, Its been a long time, my bed partner. Andonara hugged Andonara too with a smile. In the dreams, they were good friends who had endured a lot of things together. After embracing each other for a while, they let go of each other happily. Andonara sat down casually and said, Im glad you still remember Roland. No, I dont, said Stephanie with a smile. Andonaras smile was frozen. All human beings are forgetting their dreams. The weaker they are, the faster they forget. Stephanie sat down and smiled. How much do you think I, whos barely an Elite, can remember? I thought I could take you to meet Roland, said Andonara regretfully. Vivian is married. You dont remember him. Wouldnt he be devastated if he sees me alone? Wait If your memories are weakened, how can you remember our activities with Roland? I love writing journals, said Stephanie with a smile. Ive been writing journals about my dreams for ten years. Writing journals sounded easy, but it was actually a difficult task in this world. In this world, paper was very expensive. Even the parchments were quite costly. Most people could afford writing journals for a couple of days, or maybe half a year. However, writing journals for ten years was really a lot. Even if the events of every day were kept on one piece of parchment, that would be 3,650 pieces in total after ten years. One piece of parchment was worth about four silver coins, so writing journals for ten years cost almost 150 gold coins. Therefore, not everybody could afford writing journals. Thats really awesome of you. Andonara sounded quite weak. Although I dont remember Roland anymore, said Stephanie with a smile, I can feel my appreciation and love for him, as well as my friendship with you, when I read my journals. So, neither he nor you is a stranger to me. Andonara felt a lot better after hearing that. Do you want to meet Roland? You want me to choose between the throne and a man? Stephanie asked back with a smile. Andonara smiled bitterly. She thought she already knew Stephanies choice. How many people in this world could refuse the temptation of power? Stephanie stood up and hugged Andonara again. Your expression is really heartbreaking. Do you not trust me at all? Andonara was dazed. Stephanie smiled. If there were only Roland, I would definitely choose the throne; but if there were both Roland and you, Id naturally choose you two. Andonaras eyes were filled with delight. Ill have both my man and my friend. Stephanie chuckled. Tempting as the throne may be, I think its better to stay with you. Andonara grew delighted. Then, she became slightly worried. But your memories Wouldnt you feel that Roland is a stranger? Of course not. Stephanie grabbed Andonaras hand. Follow me. Stephanie pressed a switch on her nightstand and led Andonara into a secret chamber. Inside the chamber were several huge bookshelves that were laden with books with beautiful, thick covers. Theyre all my journals. Youll understand after you read them. Andonara picked up a random journal. On its cover, the detailed date of the journal was written with tiny calligraphic words. Opening the journal, Andonara blushed in no more than ten seconds. Year XX, Month XX, Day XX: Rolands 000XXX, Anna was on top of me OOOXXX, oh my god, 000XXX, I was going to 000XXX, I cant 000XXX believe he can OOOXXX both Year XX, Month XX, Day XX: Roland didnt come. Disappointing. Same as above. Same as above. Same as above. Year XX, Month XX, Day XX: I was OOXX from the back, and OOXX I shivered for almost three hours. He was no different from a dragon. OOXX! Pa! Andonara closed the journal with a reddened face. Why didnt you write anything else? The entire journal was just pornography. Chapter 793 - The Real Life Goddess Andonaras face was still red after she left the secret chamber. All the journals on the shelf were about sex. Although Andonara was quite open-minded in bed, she could be quite shy outside of it. In particular, she hadnt been through the same things in reality as in her dreams, which always felt like illusions. They sat back at the table, and Andonara said helplessly, Why did you keep a record of those things instead of what really mattered? Those things are what I use to take care of my needs, said Stephanie matter-of-factly. Im a normal woman. How could I have endured five years without mental food? Andonara shrugged, not entirely convinced. Different professionals had different resolutions, but they were generally more determined than ordinary people. Stephanie was an Elite; it shouldnt be a problem for her to hold back her urges. Seeing that she wasnt convinced, Stephanie said, Im different from you. You had sex for love. It was just a trick to please Roland and tie him to you. But I love having sex. For me, its one of the greatest pleasures of life. Andonara was instantly lost for words. Indeed. Different people tended to have different opinions and definitions on happiness. Fine, you are the knowledgeable queen. I cant defeat you in a debate. Andonara heaved a sigh and said, Im here mainly for your intelligence, including the locations of the Evil Gods who are most likely to be on the main plane. Youre going to slay a god? Stephanie clicked her tongue. That shouldnt be a problem. The colors of your eyes and hair have changed. You mustve received your heritage as you did in your dreams. But how does killing a god help you find Roland? I can sacrifice his Divine Spark and establish a space channel, said Andonara with a smile. Then, I can locate him and track him down. As a Warrior, youre planning a cross-dimension teleportation? Stephanie was astounded. Youre truly confident. Not me; Im just responsible for the materials. Mystra will take care of the rest, said Andonara with a smile. Her divine power isnt very high even though shes good at spatial magic. It will take a long time for her to regather her divine power to establish the channel if shes to use it against the Evil God. So, Ill finish off the god instead of her. Wait! Stephanie seemed shocked. The Goddess of Magic is related to Roland too? Shes also quite manipulative. Andonara snorted. But thanks to her, Ill have a chance to meet the real Roland. Well be competing with a goddess. Can we really win? Stephanie was slightly worried. Andonara said with a smile, Although Roland has many lovers, hes not one to abandon us. Thats true. Stephanie nodded. You can stay here for a day or two. Ill sort out the latest information and give it to you. As far as I know, theres a strange altar in Urganda. You can take a look there. Thank you. Youre too kind. Were too close to each other for such formalities. Stephanie seemed quite happy. By helping you, Im helping myself too. Two days later, after Andonara picked up the files, she left the capital of Fareins for Urganda. On the other hand, Rolands floating city traveled in the dark channel of space and time. Around the channel were indescribable shadows that were spinning and swirling. One would feel that their sanity was dropping just by looking at them. Even if one were to close ones eyes, those things would still appear in ones mind. Roland didnt understand what they were. He could only unfold a soul defense layer with his mental power to protect himself. There was no telling how much time passed. Maybe it was one second, or maybe a dozen years. He simply locked his soul inside the defensive layer in case he was infiltrated by the weird stuff. So, he didnt realize the passage of time at all. Finally, the floating city shivered, and there was light at the end of the tunnel. The weird images around the channel were gone, and Rolands soul woke up in the defensive layer. Seeing that the floating city was approaching the light, Roland was relieved. Somewhere inside the Astral Plane, a terrifying space quake knocked away the worms nearby and cleared an area that was as big as a small paradise. Looking at the Astral Plane that was both strange and familiar, Roland took a deep breath. While he was feeling happy, a stream of green energy hit the barrier of the floating city when he was least prepared. The stream of energy was so enormous that the entire floating city was almost enshrouded. The tremendous divine power of life was wearing out the magic power of the floating city. With a thought, Roland quickly mobilized the magic power of the floating city and built three umbrella-shaped layers that blocked the invasion. Even so, the floating city was still quickly pushed back. Such divine power Doesnt it belong to the Life Goddess? Roland identified the nature of the power. After all, he had been intimate with Elyse and was quite familiar with her sacred body. The green pillar of light shined for almost one minute, and then vanished. At this moment, an enormous space portal opened, and Elyse the Life Goddess, who was at least twenty meters tall, walked out. She had the familiar face and body, except that she was much bigger. Elyse, how did you Then, Roland realized that she was not the Elyse he knew, but the Elyse from this world who had no feelings for him. You are a thief and a bandit. How dare you come to us? Do you really think I cant detect the disgusting energy of chaos in you? The real Elyse held a shield in her left hand and a green sword in her right hand. The sword was at least eight meters long and stretched out to several kilometers when she waved it. The sword was attached to the enormous power of law that the floating city failed to stop. The holy sword cut the floating city precisely. However, the floating city was too big. Its stone layer alone was more than ten kilometers thick. The holy sword that was several kilometers long was stuck in the shell of the floating city. Roland breathed a sigh of relief. If he hadnt flashed away, he wouldve been cut into pieces. As expected of the strongest Lawful Goddess The Elyse in the game world was truly not as strong as she was in reality. Was it the difference between a counterfeit and the original? However, Roland had purposefully thickened the floating city. The stone layer that was more than ten kilometers thick was meant to protect the Magic Grid Core. As long as the core of the floating city remained safe, it wouldnt matter how damaged the floating city was. We dont have to fight, Elyse. Roland extended his hand and made a stopping gesture. Im just here to pick up several people. However, the Life Goddess turned a deaf ear to him and looked at him angrily. Thief and bandit Youre not qualified to talk. Along with her declaration that was full of her hate, a lot of divine power of light transferred into the gigantic holy sword. The holy sword got greener and brighter. The divine power of life was separated from the holy sword and quickly corroded the floating city. Green cracks spread on the floating city. Their number and length grew quickly. They were also leaking to the depths of the floating city. Seeing that, Roland tried to summon the floating citys magic power to resist. However, the divine power was of a higher level than the magic power. It was impossible for the magic power to resist the divine power unless it was much bigger in amount. His resistance was only meant to slow down the corrosion of the green divine power. Very soon, green cracks were all over the floating city. Roland could tell that he was losing control of the floating city. Was her original self so strong in reality? Ever since he built a floating city, Roland had never felt overwhelmed until now. Thief, give up and surrender your soul. The Life Goddess stared at Roland. Then tell me the coordinates of your world. Ill fetch my stuff, and the clone who dared to break free from me. Roland took a deep breath and simply put a green crystal in front of himself. Then, he gazed at the Life Goddess. Dont touch my Elyse, or neither of us will end well. Your Elyse? The Life Goddesss beautiful face seemed twisted after she heard that. Ive decided that you must die. Ill confine you to my paradise. Then, Ill capture the counterfeit too and execute her right in front of you. You are a filthy couple. Roland looked at her familiar face, which had expressed both pain and happiness right underneath his body not long earlier. Yet, the same face was full of hate toward him at this moment. It was rather strange how things turned out. While the Life Goddess talked, she increased the output of her energy. At this moment, a green circle enshrouded the entire floating city. Roland could tell that the green circle could forbid spatial magic. If he didnt run immediately, there wouldnt be time. Roland didnt want to use the energy crystal just yet. He laid his right hand on the green energy crystal, which quickly shrank. Rolands body began to glow more and more brilliantly. Both of them were releasing green energy, but the Life Goddesss greenness was that of fresh grasses, whereas Rolands was more transparent and looked like the color of ores. Chaos divine power! the Elyse roared and increased the energy output on her sword, and her giant body quickly reduced in size. It was a man who had such power who stole my Divine Spark and world piece. Give us back the things that belong to our world! The Life Goddess didnt seem quite rational. Roland stopped talking and focusing on resisting the Life Goddesss energy corruption with his new magic power. She seemed to be trying to take away his floating city for herself. There was no way that he would give away the floating city, which was the very foundation of his survival. He couldnt survive in the Astral Plane without the floating city. However, the power of the Life Goddess was so enormous that he could only struggle to resist the corruption even with the energy from the crystal. It was hard for him to squeeze out the energy. As more and more energy was discharged, the Life Goddesss body shrank to regular size. She sneered at Roland, and her eyes were suddenly filled with green light. Roland had been staring at her. After all, observing the enemy was a critical part in every battle. However, Roland didnt see it coming that the enemy would use a mental spell. After a green flash, Rolands consciousness sank to the soul world. Then, the sky of his soul world was pierced by a gigantic green sword, and the Life Goddess dived down. Shameless! Roland really didnt know that the Life Goddess was capable of such powerful soul attacks. At least, the Life Goddess in the game didnt know much about soul attacks. Or rather, she was definitely not capable of pulling Roland, who was connected to the floating city, into the soul world. Looking at the Life Goddess who was jumping at him indifferently, Roland was quite helpless. The gap between the purities of their souls was too huge. Roland was only thirty years old, whereas the Life Goddess was almost seven hundred years old. Even if she hadnt learned much about soul magic, her soul had become terrifyingly pure and hardy after hundreds of years. Besides, the real Life Goddess was even capable of soul attacks. In the real world, Roland was able to resist the real Life Goddess with the floating city head-on, but in the soul world, Roland couldnt even resist one of her fingers. So, he could not let her touch his soul core, or everything would be over. The situation was already extremely dangerous, but his calmness as a Mage helped a lot. Without hesitation, Roland blew up his soul world into countless pieces, which were then thrown at the enemy as sharp blades. He launched a dying strike with his world as blades. Youre crazy! Watching Rolands soul disappear from the pieces that were cutting at her, even the Life Goddess had to step back. She instantly retreated from Rolands soul world. Then, she saw that Rolands body collapsed softly. As Roland lost consciousness, the entire floating city began to collapse. The magic elements that had been fighting the divine power of life went on a rampage and consumed a lot of divine power, before they were all redirected to the Magic Grid Core. The Magic Grid Core, which had been reaching its upper limit, finally approached destruction. It began to collapse inward and absorbed everything nearby crazily, including magic elements, divine power, and substances. Its force of attraction was so unbelievable that even space was twisted. A lot of worms were drawn over even though they were struggling. The Life Goddess couldnt jump away with spatial magic. She could only unfold a protective barrier while she stepped back to resist the powerful attraction force. In no more than three seconds, the Magic Grid Core which was at least thirteen meters in diameter was compressed to the size of a millet. The floating city was already gone, and a lot of worms were pressed into dust. The millet wasnt releasing any light, but the Life Goddess somehow felt that it was brighter than anything. Also, it was highly unstable and extremely dangerous. The Life Goddess retreated even faster. However, she didnt manage to run too far when the millet exploded. A flash shone throughout the Astral Plane and illuminated the main plane where it was already night. A dazzling ball of light appeared and expanded to the size of a massive paradise. The whole world saw the ball of light that looked like a sun. Several seconds later, the ball of light collapsed into countless spots and spread out infinitely as a round glittering cloud. The cloud was made of countless bright spots of light. Those spots of light carried no damage. They were pure energy. You dont know what youre doing. The Life Goddess escaped from the destruction range of the explosion. This is just a petty trick. Her magnificent senses scanned the area. She had the feeling that Roland was still alive. However, exactly at this moment, a blue portal showed up. A goddess with long pink hair jumped out and charged at the Life Goddess crazily with the Sword of Wisdom in her hand and tears in her eyes. Elyse, you bi* ch! Im going to kill you! Chapter 794 - Are You Awake? The Sword of Wisdom was blocked by the green holy sword of life. The collision of divine power caused such terrifying turbulence that countless worms were hacked into pieces. The Life Goddess stared at the Goddess of Magic coldly. Mystra, wake up. Your shadow fell in love with that man. It wasnt you. It was me. Mystra kicked the Life Goddess in her abdomen. The Life Goddess retreated quickly and roared, Dont be too outrageous. Youre no match for me. I wont show you any mercy if you dont stop. When the Life Goddess said that, she looked shocked and quickly moved hundreds of meters back. A black spatial gap several kilometers long appeared where she had been standing. If she had been hit, she wouldve been heavily wounded even with the protection of divine power. Sophie, why have you lost your mind too? The Life Goddess looked extremely awful. She was a sure winner in a duel with the Goddess of Magic, but if the Nether God joined the battle, she would certainly lose. If her Divine Spark hadnt been broken and she were in her prime state, the Life Goddess wouldve been confident in fighting Mystra and the Nether God at the same time. However, at this moment, she looked at the two friends who were glaring at her side by side and said angrily, Youre main goddesses anyway. Do you really think its appropriate to fight your fellows for a man? Do you think its appropriate to be mean to your friends man? Mystras beautiful eyes shed tears. So you can go to hell. Dont worry, Ill teach the new Life Goddess well. The Life Goddess looked at the Nether God. Sophie, is that what you think too? The Nether God didnt cry, but the indifference in her eyes was obvious too. Crazy. Youre all crazy. The Life Goddess couldnt be madder. All the Neutral and Evil Gods will laugh at us for what you did. Its none of my business. The tears in Mystras eyes were gone, and the hate in them was replaced by the determination to kill. Roland came a long way for us, but hes already gone. How can we not do something for him in return? The rules of Death were attached to Sophies black scythe. That kind of divine power could significantly offset the power of Life. Life and death were the two sides of the same coin anyway. Never mind. Theres nothing to talk about with two lunatics who are stupid enough to fight for a man. The Life Goddess assumed a battle posture too. As a senior, I have the responsibility of teaching you. If youre ignorant, Ill simply beat sense into your heads. Both parties seemed more and more aggressive. When the battle was about to begin, a portal appeared, and the Goddess of Light who glimmered with golden light appeared between them. Stop! Dont stand in our way, or well beat you too, said Mystra coldly. Roland is Schucks best friend. He died here, yet you turned a blind eye to it. What will Schuck think if he learns this? Roland isnt dead, replied the Goddess of Light coldly. Instead of fighting the Goddess of Life here, you might as well search for him first. What? exclaimed both Mystra and the Nether God. I sensed him too when he first arrived. I observed remotely with my divine senses, explained the Goddess of Light. I intended to help them, but you know that its night in the main plane and it took a long time for me to activate my power. He made a mirror before he blew himself up and then escaped with Dimensional Walking after the explosion, which was so powerful that all his traces were wiped out Hey, where are you going? Before she could finish, both Mystra and Sophie had disappeared. Staring at the blue light that resulted from their teleportation, the Life Goddess said regretfully, Whats good about men? Are they really worth being so crazy about?. The Goddess of Light turned around and said to her, Elyse, youre mistaken. Men are good, and the man you love is the best. Youve been poisoned by men too? It was your clone who was in a relationship with men, not you. We shared all our thoughts and senses. We shared all our feelings. Our clones were us, and we were our clones. Theres no difference, said the Goddess of Light casually. So, I feel sorry for you. The piece of your Divine Spark developed an independent personality and cut off her connection to you, so you have no idea what were feeling right now. Hmph, boring, snorted the Life Goddess. I stand by what I said. I have to take back the world piece and the piece of my Divine Spark. Thats nonnegotiable. The Goddess of Light stared at her for a while and said, You seem to be corrupted, Elyse. Youd better examine your soul world. How is that possible? Who do you think I am? The Goddess of Life snorted and teleported away. The Goddess of Light heaved a sigh and teleported away too. It was late at night in the main plane. There was a small manor in the remote forest to the north of the royal palace. Lady Bluebird heaved a soft sigh at the moon in the sky. Widely acknowledged as the most beautiful woman of the capital, she was feeling down. In fact, she didnt think she was the most beautiful woman. At least, the Holy Lady of Light seemed prettier than her. But nobody dared to say that the Holy Lady was the most beautiful woman The Church of Light wouldnt allow them to comment on one of its symbols. The same applied to Queen Stephanie. Queen Stephanie was also slightly prettier than her, but nobody dared to comment on her either. Remarking on the looks of someone in power signified contempt. So, Lady Bluebird, who came from a powerful family and had a special vibe, became the most beautiful woman of Fareins. That was quite hilarious, and unfortunate. She became a luxury good that men competed over to prove their abilities and power. However, there was a silver lining to the misfortunes. Queen Stephanie offered her protection. That was quite weird The queen never looked for another man after her husband died, so many people were suspicious that the queen had developed an interest in women. They thought that Lady Bluebird was her mistress that she kept outside of the royal palace. Of course, that was just a misunderstanding of the outsiders. The queen protected her because they were friends in their dreams. In those dreams, she seemed to have fallen in love with a man too. However, she couldnt quite remember who the man was anymore. It was just a vague feeling. She became even more frustrated when she thought of that. Her frustration had haunted her for almost four years. Time didnt heal her. Instead, she felt sadder and sadder. She had completely forgotten who the man she loved in her dreams was, and what he looked like. Lady Bluebird heaved another sigh. At this moment, Dorothy, her maid, walked in and said slowly, My lady, your husband is waiting for you outside and wants you to go home. Lady Bluebird sneered. What else did he say? He said that he was wrong and he shouldnt have abused you or forced you to serve another man. Lady Bluebird shook her head again. He wants me to come back, yet hes here in the middle of the night? Is he too proud to be seen apologizing to a woman? Hes just the same as he was five years ago. Drive him away. The maid hesitated for a moment. My lady, why dont you talk to him? I think my lord knows that he was wrong. Lady Bluebird stared at the maid for a while and said, Leave. Claim two months salaries from the butler tomorrow and then go. Shocked, the maid fell to her knees. My lady, I was wrong. Dont kick me away. Please dont kick me away. Lady Bluebird frowned and said, If you linger, youll lose those two months salaries. Seeing the determination in Lady Bluebirds eyes, the maid wiped her tears and walked away. Looking at the back of the soft and pitiful maid, Lady Bluebird felt rather sorry, but then she hardened herself when she remembered the disgusting things her husband did. There was no way that she was going to let her husband spread influence in this manor, or there wouldnt be a single place where she could live. The night was very beautiful. After feeling sorry for herself for a while, Lady Bluebird was going to bed, when she saw a green ball of light coming from the sky. It crashed into the courtyard of her manor, causing such a huge blast that all the guards were drawn to it. Lady Bluebird was quite shocked and subconsciously took shelter in the room. A moment later, the old butler came. He knocked at the door and said, My lady, its a man and Mage who just fell to the courtyard. We dont know what to do. Please make a decision. Mages were as powerful as nobles. The Association of Mages in the capital of Fareins was very influential. Send him to the Association of Mages Wait, as a Mage, hes under your control? asked Lady Bluebird curiously. No, he passed out, and he seems rather miserable. Okay Lady Bluebird thought for a moment and said, Im going to check the situation with you and see if I know him. If I do, well ask Degar to treat him. Maybe well be able to win the gratitude and friendship of a Mage. Then, Lady Bluebird put on a thicker pajama to cover her tempting body. After that, she came to the courtyard with the butler. A dozen guards formed a circle and looked at the Mage at the bottom of the pit nervously. It was because the Mage was still emitting faint green light, and he was clearly protected by magic power that didnt disappear even though he had passed out. The pit was big and deep, indicating the power of the impact. Yet, the Mage wasnt killed in the crash, which indicated his strength. Lady Bluebird came to the courtyard in the company of the butler, who carried a lantern. The guards made way for them. It seems that the courtyard requires a major renovation. Lady Bluebird walked to the edge of the pit and looked at the male Mage at the bottom with the illumination of the lantern. Black hair and black eyes? He looks quite exotic. I dont think hes a local Wait, his face is familiar. A palpitation at the deepest part of her soul burst out in Lady Bluebirds head. The things that she thought she had forgotten, everything that happened in the dreams, flashed before her eyes like a kaleidoscope. Her heart pounded faster and faster. Scorching blood surged in her body. Her face became red. The ecstasy from the depths of her soul made her cry. Roland Lady Bluebird covered her mouth and squatted in disbelief, gazing at the man at the bottom of the pit. I remember everything. Youre Roland. Although Roland looked different than in the dreams, Lady Bluebird knew that the man was the person that she dreamed about day and night. Roland. The guards and the butler all looked at the Lady Bluebird who lost control of herself. My lady, whats wrong? asked the butler concernedly. That woke Lady Bluebird up from her ecstatic dizziness. She wiped her tears and said quickly, Carry him to my bed. Everybody was shocked again. They couldnt believe that Lady Bluebird had given them such an order. For years, Lady Bluebird had been abstinent and was never involved with any men. Yet, she was so excited to see this young Mage that she shed tears, and she even offered her own bed to him. Something wasnt quite right. Hurry up! shouted Lady Bluebird. A few guards quickly jumped to attention and carried the Mage upstairs to the big bed in Lady Bluebirds bedroom. Then, all the guards vacated the room. The butler guarded the room personally. During the process, Lady Bluebird kept saying Easy, easy. Dont hurt him. Be careful. He seems rather miserable. She also said other things to express her concern. After everybody left the room, Lady Bluebird looked at Roland on the bed both happily and regretfully. It was because Rolands face was twisted and he seemed to be in great pain. She held Rolands right hand tightly, hoping that it could make him feel better. Very soon, someone knocked at the door, and the butlers voice came from the outside. My lady, Degar is here. Come in. An old female Priest of the Church of Light walked in, apparently sleepy. Degar, take a look at him and see whats going on. He seems rather uncomfortable. The female Priest nodded and examined him. After casting a healing spell, she said, My lady, this Mage is very strong. He isnt physically injured, but something might have happened to his soul, which is the reason for his unconsciousness. Can you treat him? asked Lady Bluebird. Degar shook her head. Im not familiar with souls, but I was told that the soul is capable of healing itself as long as the body isnt damaged. The Mages, in particular, have high mental power and their self-healing is much faster. I estimate that hell wake up tomorrow. Okay. Lady Bluebird was greatly relieved. Thank you for your trouble. Youre welcome. Im just doing my job. The female Priest left. Lady Bluebird shouted, Jeff, go to the royal palace and inform Never mind, go take a rest. The old butler outside of the room said, Okay, my lady. Just ring the bell if you need anything. The butler then left too. Lady Bluebird looked at Roland and stuck her ear to his chest, listening to his powerful heartbeat with a blushing face. You are real. You are warm. I remember everything. As she mumbled gently, the night gradually passed. When it was dawn, Roland woke up in pain. The excruciating pain of his soul almost drove him crazy. He opened his eyes and intended to examine his environment, only to find that his chest was quite heavy. He was quite surprised at the person he saw. Lady Bluebird? Hearing the mans voice, Lady Bluebird instantly woke up. She opened her beautiful eyes and looked at Roland delightedly. Youve woken up? Roland raised his head and massaged his temples hard, trying to make himself feel better. His head was in agony In fact, the brain had no nerves and couldnt sense any pain. The pain was just a reflection of the suffering of his soul. Seeing Rolands twisted face, Lady Bluebird asked anxiously, Do you feel uncomfortable? What can I do to help you? Holding her right wrist, Roland gritted his teeth to hold back the pain and said, Can I hide in your soul world for a while? I cant take it anymore! Lady Bluebird nodded quickly. I will do anything to make you comfortable. Hardly had she nodded when her eyes lost focus and she slowly fell asleep on Rolands body. Roland fell asleep too. In Lady Bluebirds soul world, Roland caught his breath. This is much more comfortable. Roland covered his face, feeling lucky. He had almost reached his limit just now. Next to him, Lady Bluebird was gazing at him affectionately. Chapter 795 - 5 Special Methods To Repair the Soul In Rolands soul world, the soul space that protected his core had been crushed into pieces to force back the Life Goddess. There was only a core in his soul, and he suffered from the corrosion of external energy all the time. It was quite painful. It felt just like skinning someone, throwing away all his fat, and leaving just the veins, muscles, and bones behind. The pain of a person without skin was very hard to describe. Most people who lost their skin wanted to kill themselves even if they were rescued in the end. Rolands situation was similar. He sacrificed all his soul space in exchange for a chance of escape. That seemed to be a reckless decision, but it was the best solution at the time. It wouldve been impossible to survive after the strongest goddess invaded his soul world if he didnt have the courage to die with the enemy. Everything was easier after he escaped. Even if he hadnt met Lady Bluebird, he wouldve found someone else and hid in their soul for a while. If he didnt have a choice, it was always possible to take shelter in the souls of some large animals. At this moment, Rolands soul core entered Lady Bluebirds soul. Around him was the soul space that equaled fat and skin and prevented the core from being corrupted by the energy of the outside world. Roland was greatly relieved when he was no longer corrupted by the magic power that was everywhere. Lady Bluebird, who looked warm and gentle, asked happily, Roland, have you come from the dreams for us? Lady Bluebird knew that she wasnt very important to Roland, which was why she said us. She probably wouldnt have a chance if Roland were here for only one or two lovers, but if he was here for a bunch of women, she would have a chance to be counted among them. Yes. Roland nodded. There were a lot of people that he wanted to pick up, including Andonara, the Holy Lady of Winterwolf, Stephanie, etc. If possible, he would take Mystra away too, as long as she was willing to abandon her identity as a goddess. Thats great. Lady Bluebird grabbed Rolands arm with both hands happily. Lady Bluebird was not on Rolands list at the beginning After all, Lady Bluebird was just an acquaintance to him in the game, even though he could tell that she was quite interested in him back then. He had enough women at that time, so he didnt make a move on her. However, he had already escaped into her soul world, so he probably had to be responsible for her. Holding Rolands hand, Lady Bluebird simply smiled at him affectionately without a word. Anyway, she felt that she had to hold on to him tightly. Roland intended to struggle, but gave up after seeing her expression. He said, Ill stay for three hours in your soul world, okay? Lady Bluebird nodded with a smile. It was the first time she had entered her soul world. The direct connection between hearts and souls made her very satisfied. Nothing could be more delightful than regaining her lost memories and seeing Roland from the dreams. Roland found Lady Bluebird surprisingly easy to talk to. He had to stay in Lady Bluebirds soul partly to protect himself and partly to rebuild his own soul space. ell After becoming a Demigod, Roland had already touched the essence of souls. In particular, after absorbing the Dragonborn Divine Spark, he was capable of observing the nature of the world too. That was also the reason why he could shatter his own soul and force back the Life Goddess. If the soul could be destroyed, it could certainly be rebuilt. Roland spent the following days in Lady Bluebirds bedroom. Lady Bluebird brought him food and water and offered him a soul to stay in. After he gathered enough spiritual power, his soul returned to his own body and he constructed magic arrays to repair his soul. One could do a lot of things with magic. It could heal the body as quickly as it could heal the soul, as long as the soul core wasnt damaged. Lady Bluebird stayed in her room and stared at Roland every day. She felt that she could never be tired of him. She shouldve informed the queen of Rolands arrival. However, for her own selfish thoughts as a woman, she didnt. She wanted to spend more time with Roland. After all, the queen and Roland were already in a real relationship in the dreams, whereas she only had a crush on him. If she didnt seize the opportunity to get closer to him, she might never have a chance to. Most of the time, something would happen when a man and a woman were alone in a room. These two were no exception. Lady Bluebird was beautiful, gentle, and had a great body. More importantly, she seemed submissive and ready to be taken. Roland tried to be courteous at first, but half a month later, they ended up in bed in each others arms. He had to admit that names could be wrongly given but nicknames never were. Lady Bluebird got her nickname because she was a great singer. Her voice was as delightful and alluring as a bluebirds. Roland found that it was definitely true. Lady Bluebirds other voice was even more delightful. When it was high, she sounded like a waterfall from the sky; when it was low, she sounded like a spring rain, or the stirring murmur of a kitten. Although she wasnt as pretty and her body wasnt as great as Andonaras, her special voice made up for her shortcomings. From a comprehensive point of view, she was equal to Andonara in bed and better than Stephanie. Roland had a great time constructing magic arrays while entering Lady Bluebirds soul and flesh. The supposedly painful reconstruction of his soul space got a lot easier. In the blink of an eye, Roland had spent 23 days in Lady Bluebirds bedroom. The reconstruction of his soul space had come to an end. Also, Roland specifically made gadgets that could increase his mental resistance with alchemy. He had learned a lesson from his failure. There were two reasons why Mordenkainen could fight the gods in his floating city. One reason was that the strongest Life Goddess didnt take action, and the other reason was that he was invulnerable. Roland had been growing too fast. There might be shortcuts in other aspects, but not in the soul. That was his weakness. The purity of the soul had to do with ones own resolve. That took time and couldnt be faked. By the time Mordenkainen flew to the Astral Plane on the floating city, he was already in his seventies, even though he looked no different from a man in his thirties. Roland, on the other hand, had just turned thirty. More importantly, he had only learned magic for ten years. However talented he was, he still had shortcomings in terms of his soul. However, human beings were intellectual creatures that could use tools. If his own capabilities werent good enough, he should make use of tools to make up for it. These gadgets were all carefully crafted. They were tiny and could be hidden in the clothes without being discovered. In such a way, when he was mentally attacked, the enemy wouldnt realize the existence of the equipment and would believe that Roland had a tough soul, so they wouldnt launch more soul attacks on him. Ending the magic array construction for the day, Roland looked at Lady Bluebird who was wearing sexy pajamas and got aroused again. Carrying the beautiful woman to the bed and letting her sing a song to him happily was an enjoyable entertainment. At the same time, Jeff, the old butler, was talking to a middle-aged man courteously. Lord Wayne, her ladyship wont meet you. Please go. Also, her ladyship said that in case of any rumors, you should come in the daytime if you must. She doesnt want anyone to misunderstand you and affect her reputation again. Wayne subconsciously clenched his right fist and said angrily, Im her husband! Her reputation wont be affected even if I come to her at night! The old butler said softly, Yes, and you must know the reason, Lord Wayne. Of course he did. Lady Bluebird simply had no respect for him anymore. Wayne was of a mind to storm off. However, his family had been cornered. He asked his enemy to spare him, and the high and mighty lord simply said, I heard that Lady Bluebird has the most wonderful voice. I hope that I can listen to a few of her songs. If Im happy, then everything is easy. It was the reason why he had been frequently asking to meet Lady Bluebird. He wanted her to help his family survive the disaster. However, it had been more than a month, and he still hadnt seen her yet. If it were before, Wayne wouldve broken in and dragged her away. But he didnt dare anymore, as Lady Bluebird was backed by the queen. The grand noble didnt dare to force her either. He could only adopt an indirect approach. The place was quiet. The sound of the night animals and their chirps were clearly audible. Standing outside of the manor, Wayne heard faint, pleasant songs from the manor, but when he tried to listen, it seemed to be just his imagination. He looked even more awful and couldnt help but ask, Im told that a man from outside entered the manor. Old Jeff, youre the butler, you must know if its true. Tell me. Old Jeff replied unhurriedly, Theres nothing of the sort. This is Her Majestys territory. Who dares to trespass? For the sake that you served the Wayne family for more than thirty years, give me an answer. Wayne began to appeal to feelings. The old butler remained as tranquil as before. Theres nothing of the sort. Wayne gritted his teeth and left. He always felt irritated in the past month, probably because the grand noble was pushing him harder and harder. He left the manor, having no idea that he was followed by at least three Rogues in disguise. After Wayne returned to his manor, a Rogue left and came all the way to the royal palace through a tunnel that few people knew, reporting the intelligence. Soon, the parchment where the latest intelligence was written came to Stephanies hands. Because there was too much work to do, she didnt go to bed even though it was very late. Wayne is not a man at all. Stephanie shook her head. He tries to make his wife sell herself out for the temporary safety of his family. If RoWhats his name? I just read the diary this morning, yet Im already forgetting his name. She heaved a helpless sigh and continued reading the report. Very soon, she frowned. Lady Bluebirds manor recently bulk purchased magic materials? A strange man is believed to be in her chamber? Holding the piece of parchment, Stephanie had mixed feelings. In the end, she sighed. Thats not her fault. She waited five years for Rowhats-his-name with nothing but her memories from the dreams. Her feelings mustve faded away. Its perfectly reasonable that she found another man. Stephanie put the parchment on the table and mumbled to herself, Ill just help her a while longer. I hope her new man has the power to protect her. After another seven days, which made his stay here one month in total, Roland finally finished repairing his soul. It was quite lucky that Lady Bluebird had a large room. If she rearranged the furniture, it wouldnt be a problem to draw a mid-sized magic array. Although the soul space had been reconstructed, it wasnt stable enough, and it would take a much longer time for it to fit around the soul core. All the gadgets to increase his mental resistance were collected too. Thanks to the enhancement of the gadgets, his shortcoming of low soul resistance had been fixed. Then, it was the reconstruction of the floating city. This was a real world. Roland had realized that the density of magic power here was thirty percent higher than that in the game. After all, the game world was illusional and transformed from a tiny piece of this world. It couldnt completely simulate reality. A density thirty percent higher allowed Roland to achieve something even more unbelievable than he could in the game world. For example, he could build a floating city in ten days. But Roland didnt start doing it immediately. Instead, he considered how the new floating city could be perfected. Theoretically speaking, the elements and qualities of the mud decided the hardness and flexibility of the stone plates that it was transformed into. His old floating city was cut by the Life Goddess mainly because its shell was made of regular mud. What if he were to cast the spell with more advanced materials? The shell of the floating city would definitely be a lot harder. If the new shell was still ten kilometers thick but much harder, it wouldnt be as easy for the Life Goddess to cut it apart in another battle. Thinking about that, he asked Lady Bluebird, Can you help me reach out to the queen? Sure. Lady Bluebird knew that the day would come, and that Roland wouldnt stay in her bedroom for the rest of his life. When he was healed, he would come out sooner or later. So she didnt feel too bad. Over the past month, she had slept with Roland so many times that she was already satisfied. Even if Roland abandoned her, she wouldnt regret having a relationship with him. But of course If Roland was really leaving, she probably would still feel sad. Still, she could live with it. That was her feeling in general. Lady Bluebird was quite a doer. After she accepted Rolands request, she instantly took a carriage to meet Stephanie. Stephanie received her in the living room and even voluntarily hugged her, because she said with a smile, Why have you come to my place instead of spending time with your new man in your manor? Huh As expected of a woman whos nurtured by love. Your skin looks much better. Indeed, Lady Bluebirds skin was smooth and healthily red and could be the envy of any woman. Lady Bluebird looked around and whispered in Stephanies ear, Hes Roland. What? Stephanie was stumped. Chapter 796 - 6 The Anxious Goddesses Ro-Whats his name? Roland? Hearing the name, Stephanie remembered the content of her journals again. At this moment, she didnt quite remember Roland. There was still a special power that prevented her from recalling her dreams. However, with the help of the journals, she knew what the name represented. Has he come from the dreams? Stephanie seemed rather delighted. Then, she bit her lip worriedly. Who is he here for? Anna, or all of us? Even though she was a queen, Stephanie was just the same as any woman. Most women tended to be sensitive. The more they cared about something, the more sensitive they could be. It was their nature that couldnt be denied. Even Andonara, who was as powerful as a Demigod, couldnt get rid of her nature. Hes indeed here for us, replied Lady Bluebird casually. Then, he stayed for a month in your manor? Stephanie looked Lady Bluebird up and down and said jealously, No wonder your skin got so much better. Lady Bluebird was quite considerate. She voluntarily came close and grabbed Stephanies hand, before she said, Your Majesty, he was wounded. It took him a month to treat himself. He asked me to inform you the moment he recovered. Stephanie finally felt better after hearing that. According to her journals, Roland was already a Demigod in her dreams. If such a strong man was wounded in the main plane, whoever hurt him must be related to the gods and goddesses. It wouldve been irresponsible if Lady Bluebird had informed other people of his arrival before he recovered. After all, he could hardly take care of himself back then. If the news was revealed, the enemy might come to him. Just like that, Stephanie convinced herself. She nodded and said, Okay, Im going to your manor to talk with you. Its been a long time since we had afternoon tea. Lady Bluebird smiled delightedly. Indeed Youre more than welcome. Then, Stephanie dressed up. She even put on the lingerie that Roland particularly liked in her dreams. It always took time for women to change. By the time Stephanie met Roland, four hours had already passed. Before they met each other, Stephanie was rather worried. Because of the memory blockage, she only knew Roland from the words she wrote; she didnt have any real feelings. She had been worried that she might be disappointed to meet Roland, or that Roland might despise her after seeing her. However, after she met Roland, all her worries were gone. A lot of memories from the dreams flashed back. After being stunned for two minutes, she walked to Roland with a charming smile and scratched Rolands chin majestically. You left me alone in this world for almost seven years. Do you plead guilty for disrespecting the crown? For Roland, he had only been away from Stephanie for a month. Hearing that, he laid his hand on her hip and asked, Yes, I do! How are you going to punish me? Do what you must. Stephanie raised her chin rather proudly. Then, he did what he must. The queen didnt have a morning audience the next day. At noon, Roland, Stephanie, and Lady Bluebird had lunch at the dinner table. It was actually brunch, as they had gotten up too late. Roland, are you here to take us away? asked Stephanie. Roland nodded. Can you stay? asked Stephanie hopefully. Youre probably used to our life here, but we might not be used to your life on the other side. After all, the dreams seemed to be based on our world. I want to stay too, but my world needs me. Roland then briefed them on what Ma Huajun had told him earlier. Even the gods on our side arent confident of winning the war. As a soldier that has been specifically trained, we wouldnt stand any chance of winning if I dont go back. Stephanie sighed. Okay. She knew what a responsible man Roland was. Besides, it was a matter that concerned her people. Badgering him with love would be pointless. Even if he stayed, he probably would be pained by the choice for the rest of his life. I dont plan to force you to come with us. The war is dangerous, after all. Rolands eyes wandered between the two women. But I do hope that you can come with me. I understand. So, the final decision is ours. Yes. Thinking for a moment, Stephanie said, Then, when are you going to leave? I dont know yet, but it will take a while, because I have to rebuild the floating city. Roland looked at Stephanie and said, I hope that you can give me the mines of hard rocks in Aipinte. Thats the Northern Lion Marquiss territory. Stephanie thought for a moment and smiled. I can introduce you to each other, but youll have to convince him yourself. Staring at Stephanies beautiful eyes, Roland said, Thank you. I cant help Anna for now. If I dare to show up, the Life Goddess will be after me. I have to lay low for a while, so youll have to take care of many things for me. No problem. Stephanie licked her lips. All you have to do is to work harder. Having refrained for years, Stephanie was finally able to relax. Lady Bluebird blushed as she listened to their conversation. Northern Lion was a title suggesting that the family lived in the north and was as ferocious as lions. Aipinte wasnt too close to the royal family. They usually kept a friendly distance from each other. So, when a low-key Mage approached the Northern Lion Lord with a secret order from the royal family, the lord was quite confused. Sorry, Mr. Mage, but Ive never heard of you. The Northern Lion Lord was handsome and had the vibe of a gentleman, but his eye bags were saggy, indicating that he mustve had as much fun as Roland did although his body wasnt as strong. But the secret order is real. So, Im quite curious; has the royal family sent you to talk us into joining their side? The queen was qualified as a ruler. Still, she wasnt politically mature, so the royal familys influence wasnt too high. Roland shook his head. The royal family simply offered a chance for us to meet. Im here to negotiate a deal with you, sir. What kind of deal?. I want the hard rock mines on your territory. How many mines are we talking about? All of them! The Northern Lion Lord was stupefied for a moment, then he burst into laughter. My friend, thats the funniest joke Ive ever heard. One-fourth of my dominion is a plain, one-fourth is a forest, and the rest are hard rock mines. You want all of them? Do you want me to cede half of my territory to you? Are you here to rob me of my power on behalf of the royal family? The Northern Lion Lord already became quite cold, if not aggressive, as he talked. My lord, dont get angry. Roland waved his hands. I only want the hard rock mines, not your territory. I will only be mining. Just mining? The Northern Lion Lord finally looked better. Yes, just mining, replied Roland casually. Even though the hard rocks arent very valuable, do you know how big half of my territory is? Roland replied with a smile, I think I do. It was almost as big as a province in reality. No matter how cheap something is, it may be extremely costly if the stock is huge enough. The Northern Lion Lord snorted. What does the royal family intend to pay for the mining rights? Not the royal family; Im making the deal with you as an individual. Roland thought for a moment and said, Im told that the Northern Lion family is valiant yet short of excellent equipment. You have the money, but you cant find a seller. The Northern Lion Lord nodded. Thats true. But even if the fine equipment of the royal guards is to be given to my soldiers, that wont be enough to buy out one-third of the mines. But what if Im selling magic equipment? The Northern Lion Lord was dazed for a moment. Then his eyes glittered. What did you say? Magic equipment? If a merchant had said the same, the Northern Lion Lord wouldnt have been convinced. He would even have the merchant driven away from his castle. However, when a Mage offered that, it sounded much more believable. Roland waved his right hand, and a set of armor and an iron spear appeared on the ground. Both pieces of equipment emitted the vague brilliance of magic. Roland had reconstructed a Mystras Mansion in this world recently. The spell could help him evade the detection of most enemies. However, Roland estimated that the Life Goddess could probably find him if she noticed traces. After all, this Life Goddess was much stronger than Roland had anticipated. She was at least two ranks higher than Elyse in the game. What are these? The Northern Lion Lord stepped up and skillfully swung the spear. Then, he easily stabbed the spear into the stone wall. He plucked the spear out without resistance. Very sharp, remarked the Northern Lion Lord casually. He was a professional Warrior too. Although he was just level four, he was much stronger than ordinary people, and his eyes were very keen. Roland explained, Sharpness and Firmness are cast upon the spear. Even if the spear is hit by a regular weapon, nothing but a dent will be left on it. The Northern Lion Lord tried twisting the spear and found that it was indeed hard. Then, he looked at the set of black armor worn by a wooden dummy. He waved at a solder nearby. The soldier smartly gave him a long sword. After that, the Northern Lion Lord held the sword with both hands and performed the Northern Lion Sword Technique which was no different from random slashing. After the crazy slashing, the wooden dummy inside the armor was almost shattered, but the armor itself only had a dozen sword marks and wasnt really ruined. A level-four Warrior was actually quite strong. If he couldnt really destroy the armor after slashing at it for a minute, the common soldiers on the battlefield certainly couldnt. This set of equipment could definitely be sold for three gold coins. A lot of people would be fighting for it. Can you provide such equipment on a large scale? The Northern Lion Lord gazed at Roland. Roland replied with a smile, Its my standard equipment. Ive manufactured some of it. If youre willing to negotiate, you can get the goods very soon. What was most important to a lord? Four elements. Tax, soldiers, weaponry, and peasants. They were the foundation of a family. Thinking for a moment, the Northern Lion Lord said, I have too many hard rock mines on my territory. Youre going to have to give me an appropriate price for them. How many do you think will be appropriate? The Northern Lion Lord thought for a long time and struggled to say, A thousand sets. He struggled because he too thought that his demand was too high. Indeed, his territory had the most hard rock mines, but it didnt mean that other lords didnt have any. If this Mage was willing to talk to them, some lords would be willing to make a reasonable offer. However, everybody was greedy, and it was natural that the Northern Lion Lord wanted more. His minimum requirement was actually just five hundred sets. Roland thought for a moment and said, My lord, you are a great businessman but Im fine with it. I can even offer you another hundred sets, as long as you promise me something else. What is it? Can you purchase magic materials? Youll pay for them, and the additional hundred sets of equipment are for your hard work and to reimburse you for the materials. Dont worry, the materials wont cost you much. Hearing that, the Northern Lion Lord instantly smiled. Yes, of course. Hed be stupid if he were to refuse such easy money. In the Paradise of Magic, however, Mystra was completely dumbfounded. She had been searching for Roland through all means possible recently. She used divination and benedictions. She knew a thing or two about fate too, and she used the anchoring spells relating to fate. However, she didnt find any trace of Roland. Not at all. It almost felt like the man had never existed. She estimated that it was probably because Roland wasnt from this world. At this moment, a plume of smoke rose next to her and turned into a beautiful black-haired woman. Have you found Roland? asked Mystra earnestly. Any leads? Sophie shook her head. His soul isnt in the Netherworld. I used the Soul Attraction Technique but there was no reaction. Mystra frowned. I used it too. In the dreams, I could lock onto his soul, but his soul doesnt exist right now. Sophies face was still cold, but she talked much faster. Did the Goddess of Light lie to US? Thats impossible. The Goddess of Light couldnt have lied. Shes on our side. Then did something happen to Roland? Sophie bit her lip. Mystras face became pale. If thats so, Im going to kill the Goddess of Life. Chapter 797 - Another Fight While Mystra and Sophie were both trying their best to find Roland, Roland had dug a pit in a forest in Aipinte and begun to manufacture standard equipment. Roland had chosen the two kinds of equipment after much deliberation. Long spears and leather armor were common military equipment. They could be mass-purchased on the market. Transportation was a major problem to ordinary people, but for a Mage on Rolands level, it couldnt be simpler. He kept the equipment in Mystras Mansion and shipped it with space jumps. Although it could be costly, speed was what really mattered at this moment. Although teleportation arrays between big cities had been established, they could only teleport humans and light luggage, not massive objects. Also, the teleportation arrays could only be used once every two hours. There were a lot of restrictions. For that reason, merchants and caravans hadnt been out of work. Roland acquired a thousand and a hundred sets of equipment and placed them in the underground cave. He then established four production lines and created multiple puppet angels with magic power. Some of the puppets would put the equipment on a magic array that had been deployed in advance. Then, another puppet would put magic materials on it. The magic array combined the materials with the equipment. Then, the first piece of equipment would be enchanted. After that, the puppets would move the equipment to the second magic array, where the puppets that waited there would put the materials needed for the second enchantment on it. After a crack, the job was done again. When the effects were printed on the equipment, the equipment would be stacked in a specific area. After that, one piece of enchanted equipment was completed. It would only take about ten minutes to finish. If Roland were to do the job by himself, it wouldve taken him a lot of time to run the magic materials back and forth. Also, he might get tired if he did the same thing again and again, so he would need a rest. By conservation estimate, it wouldve taken Roland at least fifteen days to make a thousand and a hundred sets of magic equipment. However, he had finished the work in three days with the production lines. It was much more efficient. On the fourth day, the Northern Lion Lord took a deep breath when he looked at the freshly-made magic equipment. A general touched the magic equipment as if it were a pretty lady and counted the number. A moment later, he said to the Northern Lion Lord, My lord, the number matches up. There are a thousand and a hundred sets. Hearing that, the Northern Lion Lord gave a qualification certificate to Roland without hesitation. We have a deal All the hard rock mines in my dominion will be yours. Roland accepted the certificate and thanked him with a smile. Then he left. What a terrifying Mage! Where is he from? A young man said, Father, this Mage seemed to be good at making magic equipment. If he makes equipment for others, wouldnt we lose our edge? Should we restrain him? Have you lost your mind? The Northern Lion Lord burst into rage. He is one of the Mages, who are best known for their wisdom. Do you think he doesnt know we might be malicious? He certainly does, but hes not scared. What does that mean? The young man got embarrassed and fell silent. After acquiring the certificate, Roland returned to the cave and began to make magic power bricks. The real World of Falan had a much higher magic power density that the one in the game did. When a dozen production lines were put to use at the same time, Roland rebuilt the Magic Grid Core of the floating city in half a month. He also increased its magic power capacity to the limit. Then, instead of raising the Magic Grid Core in a hurry, he secretly melted the hard rocks, mixed them with the mud, and turned them back into rocks. The pure hard rocks were hard but not flexible enough. But if they were broken, mixed with mud, and then remade into bricks, they would make Green Bricks, the finest construction materials. They would be both hard and flexible, and more or less resistant to magic. A twenty-centimeter-thick wall of Green Bricks could withstand the full-strength strike of an Elite Mage. But it wasnt too useful against high-level Mages, who were mostly capable of Stone to Mud. The low magic resistance of the Green Bricks meant nothing to the high-level Mages. However, quantitative changes would lead to qualitative changes. A twenty-meter-thick wall of Green Bricks could make high-level Mages feel it was too much. If the wall was ten meters thick, most Mages would simply retreat. A Green Brick wall a hundred meters thick would make Legendary Mages shed tears. What could a fifteen-kilometer-thick wall of Green Bricks do? Roland didnt know But he felt that he was confident enough to confront the Life Goddess. Then, Roland fused the Green Bricks in the pit. He used the production lines again. A lot of hard rocks were delivered to him and then carried to the lines by the puppets. The hard rocks were mixed with the mud and then directed to the molds that had been prepared in advance. After that, they were transformed into Green Bricks that were absolutely identical. After that, the other puppets took the bricks out and stacked them on the other side. Because a lot of soil was used for the combination, the cave got more and more spacious. The hard rock mines around the cave vanished one after another. About twenty days later, Roland finally prepared a one-kilometer-thick rock shell. He then placed it on the Magic Grid Core. Roland smashed a blue fireball three meters in diameter on the shell. Then, Green Bricks about thirty meters thick fell down. Its indeed hard. After repairing the damaged parts, Roland ran to the top of the floating city and connected it to the core. The great magic power was imposed on Rolands body again. The rocks above his head dispersed, and the floating city gradually floated higher. The moment the floating city emerged, a pair of eyes that were full of hate were fixed on it. Then, the other gods and goddesses focused their eyes on it too. Back in the Astral Plane, most gods and goddesses couldnt detect the floating city even if it had shown up because the place was too spacious. However, the main plane was different. Almost all the gods and goddesses kept an eye on it, so they all noticed the appearance of Rolands floating city. Roland had faced this situation before, so he wasnt anxious at all. He controlled the magic power of the floating city to mix the hard rocks and soil and attract it to the floating city. However, before the first waved of mud was stuck to the floating city, countless green spears of light had fallen. Each of those spears was almost four meters in diameter and more than ten meters long. A dense array of light spears fell like a green storm. All the gods and goddesses were shocked. At the same time, two roars came from the sky. Bi* ch, how are you Stop! Roland could tell from the voices that they were Mystra and Sophie. Roland flashed below the floating city, using the floating city as a shield. Countless light spears descended. Each of them pierced a hundred meters into the Green Bricks. But that was it. Because the deities were weakened in the main plane, even the light spears of the Life Goddess couldnt penetrate the one-kilometer-thick Green Bricks. That was also the reason why Roland created a layer of Green Bricks first. He knew that the Life Goddess would attack him the moment he flew the floating city into the sky. Without the protection of the Green Bricks, he couldnt have resisted the Life Goddesss attack by holding the Magic Grid Core with his bare hands. So, making plans was a good habit. Roland flashed back to the top of the floating city. He looked around and smiled. Although the surface seemed ragged, Roland knew very clearly that damaging the Green Bricks didnt hurt the internal parts at all. Also the first wave of Green Brick mud was finally attached to the floating city as a new layer of defense. Then, swamps of greenish mud surged at the floating city like moths surrounding a flame. The mines on the ground vanished one after another, and so did the soil. The floating city in the sky got bigger and bigger. Very soon, the floating citys radius reached five kilometers, and it could already be seen from Aipinte City not far away. Looking at the floating city and the disappearing mines, the Northern Lion Lords mouth gaped bigger than that of a dog. If he could see it, the people in the city could naturally see it too. It even raised a minor panic in the city. The floating city, on the other hand, was still expanding It began to move and absorb the mines and mud down below. It looked like a gigantic dust collector that was swallowing the mountains and the soil. IS By evening, the floating city had flown to the edge of Aipinte City. A straight, enormous ravine was left on the ground in the path of the floating city, which was several kilometers wide and almost thirty kilometers long in the end. It was as awe-inspiring as a miracle. The gods and goddesses all looked at the floating city in silence. Most of the gods, including the Evil Gods, had memories from the dreams. They knew who the man was. The God of Pain and the God of Brutalization remembered him particularly well, as they were killed by Roland in the dreams. Staring at the floating city that had completely taken shape, they moved their paradises and fled in the Astral Plane. They were really afraid that Roland would suddenly show up before them. Sensing that the floating city had a radius of seventeen kilometers, Roland finally felt safe enough. Seventeen-kilometer-thick special building materials! A whole set of gadgets to increase his soul resistance! Life Goddess, lets have another battle. Roland provocatively looked at the beautiful eyes that were full of hate. The eyes got angrier and angrier, and then disappeared. The eyes of other gods and goddesses disappeared too, until only three pairs of eyes were left. After that, a green pillar of light descended from the Astral Plane on the top of the floating city. But it was blocked by a barrier. Then, Mystra, in a girls appearance, knocked at the barrier from the top. Roland, let me in! Roland let Mystra in, as she demanded. A moment earlier, Mystra and Sophie spoke to him and cursed the Life Goddess. Judging from her expression, she seemed to share the same memories and feelings as the Mystra in the game. As expected, Mystra jumped into Rolands arms the moment she came down. She hugged Roland excitedly and kissed his face nonstop. Roland simply let her kiss him. After a long time, Mystra finally held back her excitement and stopped. She said with a reddened face, Its great to see you again. I was really horrified when you were wounded earlier. So was I. Roland smiled. I cant stay in this world for too long, so Ill have to cut to the chase. Mystra, I want to ask you something. Would you like to come to my world with me? You have never really proposed. How can I go with you? said Mystra cutely. Then would you marry me? replied Roland with a smile. Thats not romantic at all. Mystra patted Rolands chest, pretending to be angry. But then she smiled. But yes, I would. Roland sighed in relief. Then he asked, Do you know where Andonara is? I do. Shes hunting Evil Gods in Urganda. Mystra pressed her magnificent breasts against Roland. Its been a long time since we met. Lets not talk about other stuff. Are you not going to please me? How should I please you? asked Roland. You are a goddess. You dont need anything. What do you think? Mystra gently drew circles on Rolands chest with her finger. Fine. Roland got it. He was going to establish a chamber in the floating city for them, when Mystra suddenly turned around and said angrily, If you want to watch, just watch openly. Do you have to peep? Outside of the floating city, a beautiful woman with black hair was gazing at them silently. She was Sophie the Nether God. Roland was briefly stunned In the game, he had been combined with Sophie for a time. It was said that such a joining was no different from sex. However, he never really knew what was on the Nether Gods mind. After all, she was a cold and condescending girl who barely wore any expression. Naturally, it was hard to predict what she was thinking But Roland was certain that she was not malicious. So, he let her in too. After Sophie came in, she stood in front of Roland and stared at him for a long time without saying anything. Roland was quite puzzled. Then, the black clothes Sophie was wearing were suddenly gone, and the most alluring naked body was revealed in front of Roland. Roland was dazed. LetsLets do it together! Sophie seemed rather nervous. She lowered her head and crossed her fingers. She was blushing and didnt dare to look at them. Mystra was stunned silent for a long time too, then she burst into laughter. Chapter 798 - It’s Because I’m Too Strong When Roland created another floating city, it meant that he was almost invincible in the main plane. The gods and goddesses were suppressed in the main plane. Even the Life Goddess didnt dare to fight Roland here. The only thing that he should pay attention to was the World Tree. Since most experts of this world still remembered their dreams very well, the World Tree couldnt be an exception. So, Roland flew the enormous floating city to the Elf Forest. He intended to meet the World Tree and suss out her opinion of him. After all, he was surely going to fight the Life Goddess later. It might be quite tricky if the World Tree jumped out and took the Life Goddesss side. The World Tree was very strong. Even more surprisingly, she was a tree, yet she could also turn into an enormous mobile action figure. That was quite interesting. The floating city looked like a vast island that flew in the sky. A diameter of thirty kilometers made it a terrifying monster that nobody dared to look at. Wherever it went, the animals on the ground saw that a shadow which completely blocked the sky was on the move. Roland couldnt have felt better. Although Mystra and Sophie had only arrived as clones of their divinity, they were full of divine power too. The three of them were fused for a long time, and the hardness of Rolands soul was further increased. More importantly, both of them had helped Roland solidify his soul world. They were truly worried that someone would go against Rolands soul again. Also, they cursed the Life Goddess again during the fusing, because they felt sorry for him. They knew too well how painful it could be when the shell of the soul world was broken. They also knew that blowing up the souls shell could be very dangerous and might have detonated the soul core, which wouldve killed Roland! Roland was still recalling the beauty of the two goddesses when the floating city reached the sky over the capital of the elves. The entire capital was shrouded in the shadow. The elves were quite panicked. There were many experts among the elves who remembered the dreams, including the floating city incident. This floating city seemed even bigger than the one they recalled. Roland stood at the edge of the floating city and looked down in surprise. He saw that a large part of the World Tree had withered. It happened to be the half of the World Tree that was burned in the game. When Roland was feeling curious, the World Trees consciousness rose to the same height as Rolands eyes. Observing Roland for a while, the World Tree asked, Are you Roland? Because Rolands face had changed, the World Tree only managed to recognize him by his soul waves. Yes. Have you come from the dreams to seek revenge against me? asked the World Tree. No, I just came to check. Roland smiled. In the game In the dreams, I didnt kill you, and I certainly wont now. Im just here to confirm that youre not malicious. The World Tree heaved a soft sigh. I was defeated by you in my dreams, which affected the status of my real self. Im no match for you at all You can kill me, but I hope you can spare the elves, my children. Roland had already been tricky enough to deal with as a Legend, and now he was a Demigod. Besides, this floating city was clearly a battle fortress that had been carefully designed. It was even more powerful than the one in the dreams. It would be a miracle if the World Tree won against him. Instead of struggling futilely, she might as well admit defeat and appeal to the guys sympathy. After all, Roland should be a Lawful guy. Seeing that the World Tree had admitted defeat, Roland smiled. I simply came here to check. I didnt want to do anything to the elves. Then, the floating city slowly withdrew from the capital. Roland was not scared that the World Tree would go back on her word, because he could tell that the World Tree was very weak. Even if she were to help the Life Goddess, there wouldnt be much she could do. Seeing the floating city fly away, the World Tree was greatly relieved. She shook her head. I was wrong about him. What a shame Hes a rarely-seen wild man. Its a pity that were not meant for each other. Then, her subconsciousness submerged into the World Tree itself and she became dormant. In the main plane, nobody except Roland could break a barrier that she set up. If Roland were to deal with the elves, there wouldnt be any use no matter how she struggled. She couldnt make the final decision, and she couldnt resist, so she might as well go to sleep. She might get nervous if she worried too much. Roland, on the other hand, flew the floating city south. He had already sensed the spatial coordinates that he dropped at the location of Bettas car accident. Now that the important things had been taken care of, he certainly had to go there and have a look. He hoped that he could find Bettas soul He had already asked Sophie the previous night. Bettas soul wasnt in the Netherworld. It took Roland a day to reach the spatial coordinates, which turned out to be a wild forest. However, nothing that carried enormous energy waves was in the forest except his mental coordinates. He unleashed his mental network and searched the area. Then, he found something quite weird. That thing had a feeble energy reaction, which wasnt strange. A lot of little animals had similar reactions. Yet, this object was a mixture of three different kinds of energy that were incompatible. Roland was quite curious about the combination of energy. So, he flashed to the destination, only to be astounded. He saw a woman who had a huge butt and who was pouring water into a hole that was about half a meter in diameter. She had to be a woman, as she had blue hair and a blue dress. Judging from the details, she didnt seem to be wearing any underwear. An enormous stream of water flowed out of the womans finger while she whispered a tune happily. From the hole, many red ants that were half a meter tall crawled out in panic, yet they dared not bite the woman and could only flee. Roland had seen the back of the woman in the game before. Roland coughed and asked, Are you the Water Goddess? What are you doing here? Pouring water into an ant nest, replied the woman matter-of-factly. About three seconds later, she exclaimed and jumped to her feet. She turned around and stepped back quickly, as if she were frightened. Wait, who are you? How did you sneak up behind me? Im so scared. Roland didnt know what he should say. Was she really a goddess? She was more like a naughty kid. No adults should be pouring water into an ant nest. Roland was pretty sure that the woman should be the Water Goddess. She had blue hair and looked quite beautiful, but she didnt seem very smart, which significantly lowered her charm. Hello. Roland greeted her voluntarily. Sorry if I caught you unprepared. Im looking for a soul. It mustve fallen somewhere around here; I wonder if youve run into it. A soul? The Water Goddess quickly shook her head. No, I just saw a strange ant egg. It was golden and quite beautiful. I was afraid that the ants couldnt find the special kid, so I put the egg back into the hole, but the egg was too big and got stuck. So, I tried to flush it into the nest with water. Huh It became increasingly clear to Roland that something was wrong with the Water Goddesss head. Although he didnt think that the egg was Bettas soul, he scoured the enormous ant nest with his mental power just to be safe. Indeed, he found an egg that was different from all the other ant eggs. This egg was bigger and rounder, emitting no mental power waves. It couldnt have been Bettas soul. Roland heaved a sigh. I wont stand between you and your ants anymore. Goodbye. He teleported back to the floating city and flew it away. It was not until this moment that the Water Goddess noticed the enormous floating city above her head. That explained the sudden darkness. The gods and goddesses could see things in the dark, so she wasnt affected at all and hadnt realized it until this moment. She was slightly surprised for a moment to see the floating city. Then, she suddenly squatted with her hands behind her head, not daring to look at the sky again. Her body was shaking too. Sitting down in a chair in the floating city, Roland thought for a moment and took out a wooden spear from Mystras Mansion, which was one of the hundred pieces of enchanted magic equipment he was going to give away. Roland cast Grand Benediction on himself. Please point out the direction of Bettas soul for me. The spear remained absolutely still. The spell had been cast. It meant that the cause had already taken effect, but the consequence didnt appear. Was Bettas soul gone? Or maybe Did the Grand Benediction not work at all? Either way, it was quite disappointing. The floating city flew toward Urganda. That was where Andonara was. In Marcus, a border city in the desert It was still daytime, yet the city was so dark that barely anything could be seen. One couldnt see anything two meters away even with candles on. The oil lamps could only illuminate a three-meter radius. There seemed to be some sort of power that was sucking out the light. Yet, in the darkness, a blue firebird was flying and chasing after a thick fog. Woman, Im going to give you one last chance. Get away from this place, or I wont show you any mercy. Andonara was absolutely unfazed. It wasnt easy for her to catch an Evil God, who was an important medium for her to see Roland. How could she let him go? The blue firebird soon caught up to the black fog and penetrated through it. The black fog screamed. The whole city seemed to be shivering. The people who were on their knees became even more scared and didnt dare to move at all. The blue firebird turned around and swooped at the black fog again. At this moment, the black fog had reached an altar. Andonara instantly slowed down and flew around the enormous altar. She was determining if there was any trap in this place that her enemy had been desperately running to. After landing on the altar, the black fog turned into a grim-looking man in a black robe who had black hair, black eyes, and a hawk nose. He looked up at the hovering firebird with embarrassment. He then stepped on the altar heavily and roared, Are you still not coming out? Im dying! Hardly had he said that when a woman wearing a gray robe appeared on the altar. When the woman came out, she looked at Andonara and said softly, What a vigorous body! I want it! Lets work together to catch her. Her soul will be mine, and her body will be yours, said the man in the black robe hatefully. Im going to torture her soul and make her regret ever living. Deal. The woman blew at the mans hand and said, Your hand will catch her. The man in black put on a wicked smile and snatched at the sky. At this moment, Andonara, who had been observing them, felt that a strange power was affecting her flight. The power was strange. It was not magic power or gravity, but something more advanced. Then, Andonaras firebird fell. The blue firebird was only two meters away from the mans hand when it finally resumed Andonaras human form. The Heros Sword swung brutally. The man cried out and quickly stepped back. His right arm had been nearly chopped off, but because it was still connected to his elbow, it didnt fall to the ground. He looked quite miserable. Two pieces of flesh were shivering back and forth with blood gushing out. It was quite disgusting. The woman in gray clothes quickly stepped back in fright too. The man in black turned around and roared, What happened? Why didnt it work? It worked! said the woman palely. But shes very strange. She somehow dodged the influence of my divine power. Staring at the woman in the gray dress, Andonara asked, Are you the Goddess of Fortune? You recognize me? The Goddess of Fortune found it hard to believe. The Goddess of Fortune is the only goddess who can make use of the causal power. The Goddess of Fortune couldnt help but ask, Why are you immune to my divine power? Youre just a Legend. My man said that quantity means everything. Andonara smiled while hefting the sword. Even if you have the greatest power, youll just be a squib if you cant unleash it. Although I dont know what squib means, Im sure you can understand it with your wisdom. The man in black chuckled and looked at the Goddess of Fortune mockingly. The Goddess of Fortune became angry. Are you implying that Im weak? No, Im just too strong. Andonara pointed her longsword at the Goddess of Fortune. For the sake that you are a Neutral Goddess and do not reek of evil, Ill let you go. Dont blame me for not showing you any mercy if you stay. You are truly bold for a mere human Legend. The Goddess of Fortune looked at the man in black again. Ill give you another blessing. You can defeat her. This is the ruling of fate. However, the moment she said that, a sword cut her in two. The two halves of her body were flung away. Her blood flowed everywhere on the ground and turned into countless spots of light. The Goddess of Fortune didnt die, but the blue flames burned her wounds. The agony made her upper half writhe and scream miserably. Naturally, it was impossible for her to move her lower half. After cutting the Goddess of Fortune into halves, Andonara looked at the man in black, only to discover that he had escaped while she attacked the Goddess of Fortune. Also, he had run far away and hidden himself in the darkness. The dark lid above the city was fading away. What a shame. The God of Darkness has escaped. I can only establish a space channel with your divine power now. Andonara walked to the Goddess of Fortune and said, Any last words? Youre not a goddess. Why are you immune to the power of fate? The Goddess of Fortune stared at Andonara, confused. Logically, only the four Main Lawful Goddesses are insusceptible to the ruling of fate. Andonara pressed the Heros Sword into the Goddess of Fortunes forehead. As I said, Im simply too strong. Chapter 799 - The Oriole Is Behind Even with a sword in her head, the Goddess of Fortune never understood how she had died at the hands of a mortal. She hadnt been such a wreck even when she and Mordenkainen had fought back and forth. Was it because of the main planes suppression? Her consciousness faded. Her entire body then transformed into an energy field, and a cloud of light orange energy flew out of this energy field, but it darted less than three meters before Andonara grabbed it in her hands. The mass of energy struggled frantically, but could only shake her hands slightly at best. So this is the Fortune Divine Spark? said Andonara, scrutinizing it for a moment, and then smiled. It does have a strong energy, but thats about it! She then grabbed the Fortune Divine Spark, turned into a firebird once again, and was about to fly to the man in black. He was the God of Darkness. Andonara was a little worried that the energy of one Divine Spark might not be quite enough; after all, the Goddess of Fortune was so weak in battle, surviving on perception and control of fortune. But she couldnt control the fortune of the strong This was why Mordenkainen pummeled her and Andonara even destroyed her. Let me see where you are. The blue firebird cruised through the darkness, searching for the God of Darkness. Honestly, Andonara now looked at the Evil Gods as plates of food. Almost all of the Evil Gods couldnt last ten minutes in front of her. Only the four Main Lawful Goddesses could beat her. The God of Darkness was hiding in a building at the moment. Once the Dome of Darkness was activated, even a Hero like Andonara would be affected and it would be hard to find out where he was. But the god was now very gloomy In any case, he was a god was being chased by a human to the point where he could only hide to live. This feeling was very stifling. You cant always be this strong. As a human, you will eventually grow old and die, and youll have descendants. If I cant deal with you, I can deal with your descendants, and cant I wait for you to grow old? He smiled grimly in the darkness as if he were a viper patiently waiting for his prey to reveal its fatal weakness. Andonara couldnt find the God of Darkness after flying around in the Dome of Darkness. But also at this time, the Dome of Darkness was suddenly pulled by a magical force, and a large amount of dark energy flew in a spiral toward the sky. Soon the entire Dome of Darkness was pulled to the sky, turning into a compressed black body of energy. And on top of the black body of energy was a huge, rocky island that covered the entire sky. The God of Darkness looked in horror at the contraption in the sky, knowing full well what it was. Andonara stopped. As she looked at the huge floating object in the sky, she froze for a moment. Then tears began to fill her eyes and she revealed a look of ecstasy. The Dome of Darkness had just obscured her perception of the outside world, or else she would have been able to sense the floating citys exit and arrival sooner. This floating city and this massive and familiar magic fluctuation It could be no one other than Roland. She gently covered her mouth and then immediately put her hand down again. Her entire being once again transformed into a firebird, then into a swift blue lightning bolt, instantly hitting the dazed God of Darkness and pushing him straight up into the sky. This blue firebird was flying too fast. The God of Darkness screamed in agony before his body disintegrated in the air, turning into energy. Andonara ripped the Darkness Divine Spark from him and flew into the air with great speed before swooping down on the floating city. There was no barrier to stop her. The blue light then transformed into an overjoyed woman who flung herself into Rolands arms. The two Divine Sparks fell and rolled on the darted less than three meters before Andonara grabbed it in her hands. The mass of energy struggled frantically, but could only shake her hands slightly at best. So this is the Fortune Divine Spark? said Andonara, scrutinizing it for a moment, and then smiled. It does have a strong energy, but thats about it! She then grabbed the Fortune Divine Spark, turned into a firebird once again, and was about to fly to the man in black. He was the God of Darkness. Andonara was a little worried that the energy of one Divine Spark might not be quite enough; after all, the Goddess of Fortune was so weak in battle, surviving on perception and control of fortune. But she couldnt control the fortune of the strong This was why Mordenkainen pummeled her and Andonara even destroyed her. Let me see where you are. The blue firebird cruised through the darkness, searching for the God of Darkness. Honestly, Andonara now looked at the Evil Gods as plates of food. Almost all of the Evil Gods couldnt last ten minutes in front of her. Only the four Main Lawful Goddesses could beat her. The God of Darkness was hiding in a building at the moment. Once the Dome of Darkness was activated, even a Hero like Andonara would be affected and it would be hard to find out where he was. But the god was now very gloomy In any case, he was a god was being chased by a human to the point where he could only hide to live. This feeling was very stifling. You cant always be this strong. As a human, you will eventually grow old and die, and youll have descendants. If I cant deal with you, I can deal with your descendants, and cant I wait for you to grow old? He smiled grimly in the darkness as if he were a viper patiently waiting for his prey to reveal its fatal weakness. Andonara couldnt find the God of Darkness after flying around in the Dome of Darkness. But also at this time, the Dome of Darkness was suddenly pulled by a magical force, and a large amount of dark energy flew in a spiral toward the sky. Soon the entire Dome of Darkness was pulled to the sky, turning into a compressed black body of energy. And on top of the black body of energy was a huge, rocky island that covered the entire sky. The God of Darkness looked in horror at the contraption in the sky, knowing full well what it was. Andonara stopped. As she looked at the huge floating object in the sky, she froze for a moment. Then tears began to fill her eyes and she revealed a look of ecstasy. The Dome of Darkness had just obscured her perception of the outside world, or else she would have been able to sense the floating citys exit and arrival sooner. This floating city and this massive and familiar magic fluctuation It could be no one other than Roland. She gently covered her mouth and then immediately put her hand down again. Her entire being once again transformed into a firebird, then into a swift blue lightning bolt, instantly hitting the dazed God of Darkness and pushing him straight up into the sky. This blue firebird was flying too fast. The God of Darkness screamed in agony before his body disintegrated in the air, turning into energy. Andonara ripped the Darkness Divine Spark from him and flew into the air with great speed before swooping down on the floating city. There was no barrier to stop her. The blue light then transformed into an overjoyed woman who flung herself into Rolands arms. The two Divine Sparks fell and rolled on the ground. Andonara hugged Roland and buried her head in his chest, letting out a loud cry. It was a cry of delight with a bit of grievance in the mix. Roland gently stroked Andonaras back, comforting her. After about half an hour, Andonara finally stopped crying and sat in Rolands arms, giggling nonstop. Will you come with me? asked Roland. Do you even need to ask? Andonara kissed Rolands face. Ill follow you wherever you go from now on. Roland then went to the capital of Fareins and stayed over for half a month. Once Stephanie was done with abdicating the throne, he took both her and Lady Bluebird onto the floating city. He then went back to Delpon. Half a day later, Vivian stood on the balcony with her daughter in her arms, watching the floating city leave. Her face was full of tears. After that, Roland went back to the Froststar Kingdom and picked up the Winterwolf Holy Lady. Finally, the floating city teleported to the interior of the Divine Realm of Magic. There, Roland met both Mystra and Sophie. At this point, Sophie had less of an inhuman aura on her and more human energy. Looking at Rolands slightly puzzled gaze, Sophie said, I have taken out the Divine Spark and placed it in the Netherworld. In a few decades, a new Nether God will be reborn from within the Divine Spark. Sorry to have you give up being a god, Roland said, touching Sophies face. Sophie shook her head as she said with a smile, I wasnt happy as a god. Roland handed the two clusters of Divine Spark to Mystra and said, It should be enough to use them as the key to open the dimensional passage. More than enough, Mystra said as she began to open the spatial portal. Ill leave the Divine Spark behind later as well. Ill be a lot weaker then. Im sure Life, that b*tch, will come, so youll have to act carefully. Roland nodded. He was guarded against the Life Goddess; otherwise, the floating city wouldnt have been made so hard. Mystra took the floating city out beyond the Divine Realm of Magic, destroying the energy in the two Divine Sparks and opening the dimensional passageway. It was also at this moment that a green energy pillar of light at least twenty kilometers in diameter struck. The barriers of the floating city were quickly broken, and only the last layer of the barrier was struggling to hold on, looking as if it was about to shatter, yet barely withstanding. Because Mystra and Sophie both had been charging up the magic barrier. Still, the floating city was pushed back quickly by the pillar of light, smashing a large number of void insects along the way. Are you worthy of being Lawful Gods when you give up your duties for men? The furious questioning rang out throughout the world. A green door opened. The Life Goddess teleported over and slashed her sword directly at the floating citys barrier. The giant green energy sword, tens of kilometers long, easily broke through the magic barrier and sliced down with the terrifying power of natural law, seemingly trying to cut the huge floating city in half. But this time the Holy Sword of Life cut less than a kilometer deep into the shell of the floating city before it got stuck. The floating city that Roland had specially fortified was prepared for this. Answer me, Mystra, Sophie. The Life Goddess retrieved her holy sword and flew straight over. Anti-Energy Force Field! Mages Disjunction. Roland cast the first spell, while the Goddess of Magic cast the second spell. The Life Goddesss rapid sprinting form came to a sharp halt, followed by a large portion of her green clothing being eliminated from her body, revealing her pure white skin. But then her clothes grew back again. Her charge was stopped and the Life Goddess waved her hand suddenly as several huge pillars of life energy continued to blast the floating city. Where the floating city was struck, several large holes appeared at once, so black that they seemed to be endlessly deep. But Roland didnt even care. It was just a hole less than two kilometers deep. The floating city was a little over thirty kilometers in diameter, and an attack from either side would have to break through a fifteen-kilometer-thick layer of rigid rock. If it were to hit a normal rock formation, a saturated energy attack like that of Life Goddess would go down to a depth of at least ten kilometers in one shot. But it could only penetrate about two kilometers of a rock formation with such proportional components. Roland took control of the floating city and began to rotate it slowly, not allowing too many attacks to the same location. Seeing that the energy pillar of light didnt work either, she waved her right hand, and countless small spatial portals came out, from which a large number of angels flew out. Spatial Confinement! The Goddess of Magic pressed her hands together. In front of her, the silhouette of two huge palms appeared, sweeping over all the angels, squeezing them into a pile and containing them, not allowing them to move. Such a large-scale spell might not be able to deal with the Life Goddess, but it could deal with the angels. The Life Goddess didnt care either. She had summoned the angels intending to draw the attention of the Goddess of Magic. After all, it didnt feel good to keep getting sneak-attacked by someone who was only a little less powerful than oneself. Although most of the angels were contained, a few escaped from the Spatial Confinement. Archangel Claudia, for example, and the male angel Paine, for example. In the real world, he didnt become a fallen angel. The reason was unknown. After holding Mystra at bay, the Life Goddess began slashing hard at the floating city. Although the floating city was much harder now, every time she slashed, she would leave a deep crack in the rocky body of the floating city. If this continued, even if the floating city was hard, it wouldnt be able to withstand for too long. Roland dodged another attack with his Teleportation and said to Sophie, Help me and merge. Two seconds later, Roland and Sophie transformed into a black female figure about three meters tall and rushed toward the Life Goddess. Because Sophie had renounced the Nether Gods Divine Spark, the death scythe, which represented the power of death, was also left in the Netherworld. At this moment, Roland held a several-meters-long black mist miaodao and chopped at the waist of the Life Goddess. The Holy Sword of Life returned to its original length and blocked Rolands attack. The Life Goddess then said sarcastically as she sent Roland flying with a slight push of her right hand, Have you lost your wits? A Mage, fighting in close combat with me? Roland didnt answer as he kept applying Extreme Body Fortification, Agility, Mega Power, Preemptive Attack, and other spells on himself. I told you, youre no good in melee combat. The Life Goddess parried Rolands attack while directing his weapon to the side, leaving his chest wide open. Die What! Just as the Holy Sword of Life was about to stab Roland in the chest, a blue light suddenly appeared from nearby and swept past the Life Goddess. Ding It was a very crisp sound. But when the Life Goddess blocked, she flew back nearly a hundred meters or so. No sooner had she adjusted her body that Rolands chase followed to her rear. The miaodao swept across, fast and powerful, a narrow crack in space sweeping against the abdomen of the Life Goddess. She grunted slightly and stepped back repeatedly. She had a wound on her abdomen. Red blood flowed out and turned back into a patchy cloud of green energy mist in the Astral Plane. At that moment, the blue light turned back around. By now the Life Goddess had seen clearly what this blue light was. A blue firebird with a beautiful woman in the center of the flames. Andonara! The Life Goddess turned and was about to knock Andonara back, but then felt violent energy coming from behind her. She looked back to find a blue fireball with a long tail coming at her. At this moment, Andonara came up to her. The powerful life shield spread open, but Andonaras figure jerked to a halt, and then immediately flew backward at an even faster speed. The blue fireball with a radius of at least fifteen meters exploded when it hit the life shield, creating a circular ball of white light in the Astral Plane before the energy dissipated and then slowly dimmed. Such an explosion was nothing to the Life Goddess, but as the light of the explosion was fading, she suddenly felt another heavy blow to her life shield. Glancing behind her, she saw that Andonaras longsword had hit the outside of her energy shield. The powerful impact didnt break through the life energy shield, but it sent her flying forcefully. She was sent flying so fast that she couldnt readjust herself in a hurry. At the same time, she saw what Roland seemed to have spewed out with a spatial bubble! Wait! She knew what it was. About 0.2 seconds later, the blue bullet hit the Life Goddess. The terrifying energy explosions spread through the Astral Plane. Roland teleported to Andonaras side and took her away. And this explosion kept expanding in space, forming a ring of energy that kept spreading. This phenomenon lasted for nearly six minutes. Roland teleported back onto the floating city and laughed as he looked at the ruined surface of the floating city. Sophie disengaged from their merged state. Andonara leaned over to Roland and asked, Is she dead? Probably not dead, but she cant come back to trouble us either. Mystra came over at this point and said, Lets go. If we wait any longer, the fallout from the explosion over there is going to reach this side. Indeed, the energy aura was about to expand to the floating city. Roland snapped his fingers and the floating city teleported to the spatial portal, then quickly wormed in without hesitation. The huge spatial portal slowly closed. The Life Goddess jumped back to her divine realm. By now, her clothes had become torn and tattered. At the same time, her body was covered in scars. There was a large number of tiny scars that were constantly emitting green energy. She coughed and was about to teleport back to the interior of her divine realm. But just then, a slender hand suddenly penetrated her heart and came through the front of her body. This bloodied hand also held a green mass of energy. The Life Goddess screamed miserably and struggled violently, using the last of her powers to leap hundreds of meters ahead of her, turning back to find a human-faced spider looking at her with a grin. Chapter 800 - The Grand Finale Chapter 800 The Grand Finale Elyse looked angrily at the sardonic Lolth, but only hesitated for a second before she teleported and disappeared. Without her Divine Spark, she was a Demigod at best, and couldnt possibly fight a Lawful God. Thats right. Lolth, the Queen of Spiders, considered by many to be an Evil God, was a Lawful God. She possessed a complete Divine Spark of Authority, which accompanied fragments of the Divine Sparks of Intrigue and Lust. Law and order were most important to Authority. However, most of what people thought of Lolth was based on the two Divine Sparks of Intrigue and Lust. Because when it came to Authority, it was almost always tied to these two qualities. And the drows under her command were of the most thoroughly monarchical society. In this feudal world, Authority was a kind of order, and no one would question that. Watching Elyse disappear, Lolth first pulled out the Authority Divine Spark in her heart and tossed it deep into the stars in disgust, then shoved the green Life Divine Spark inside. In a flash, she changed from her gray-haired, silver-shelled appearance to young, grass-like lime green. Ah, those annoying, irritating, obscene voices in my head are finally gone. So this is how nice it is when the world is clear and quiet! Lolth laughed out loud, full of pleasure. At this moment, the defeated angel corps flew back. Mystra hadnt killed them before, just contained them, and the spell was lifted as soon as the floating city teleported away. They were stunned to see Lolth. Elyse has escaped and now I am the Life Goddess. Do you want to follow me? The angels looked at her coldly, then flew away and didnt return to the Paradise of Life. Lolth didnt get angry, didnt feel offended, and just shrugged. Its a shame you wont accept my good will. The floating city flew through the huge teleportation tunnel. Stephanie, Lady Bluebird, and the Winterwolf Holy Lady had previously stayed in the deepest part of the floating city, where it was the safest. Now Roland took them to the square. At this time, Roland had temporarily repaired the floating city, and those ravines that had been cut out by the Holy Sword of Life had all been filled in. They stayed in the square in the middle of the floating city, chatting with each other. But the atmosphere was a bit awkward. Sophie was not talkative, and Mystra was quite condescending in front of mortals. Andonara, on the other hand, played the role of a mediator, acting as a bridge in the middle and barely livening the atmosphere between the two gods and three mortals. Just as the atmosphere was getting more lively, Mystra suddenly turned her head and shouted, Who is it? Come out! On the edge of the square, after the air distorted, a shimmering woman stepped out of her invisible state. The Goddess of Light? Sophie was a little surprised. Lakana? said Mystra with a confused look. Why are you here too? Did you and She looked to Roland. Lakana shook her head and said somewhat apologetically, I just came over to hitch a ride, and by the way, if you guys were no match for Elyse I would have secretly stepped in to help. I didnt expect you guys to beat her so easily. Youre going to find Schuck? asked Roland, with some surprise. Lakana nodded somewhat sheepishly. Ive also put the Divine Spark in storage in the divine realm, and in a century or two, I reckon a new Goddess of Light will be born. No! Mystra was feeling a bit of a headache. With three of the four Main Lawful Goddesses running away, and Elyses spirit apparently having some problems, what if the Evil Gods band together and attack the main plane? It shouldnt be a problem. Lakana laughed. Elyse is the strongest goddess, she can beat all the Evil Gods by herself; besides, she has a huge legion of angels. That was a good point, and the other two former goddesses sighed in relief. The floating city traveled through the passageway, and the unseen, twisted, strange shadows around it reappeared. However, there were three goddesses on the floating city this time, and although they no longer had their Divine Sparks, all three were much stronger than Roland in terms of mental power usage. The three of them joined forces to open a mental protection barrier so that the strange, distorted shadows wouldnt affect the people in the floating city. There were no words along the way The atmosphere amongst the women wasnt too good, and with an additional outsider, the atmosphere was even more awkward. Time was quite mysterious during the long teleportation passage. A second could feel as long as a hundred years. A hundred years that passed in the outside world could feel like just a second in the time passage. So when the floating city jumped out of the passage and returned to Earths near-moon orbit, and eventually became a circumlunar orbit, Roland was a little worried that decades, or centuries, had passed on Earth. Then he teleported back to the outskirts of his hometown, found a small shop on the side of the road, and was relieved to see that only two months had passed. He walked into the gloom of the road and was about to teleport home when he suddenly jerked back, magic filling his body. But after seeing who had come, he sighed in relief. Youre too good at appearing out of nowhere. Ive just returned and youre already at my door. Anything that happens on Earth, Ill know about it if I pay attention. Ma Huajun shrugged. Besides, the energy inside you is so strong, like an oversized spotlight, how could I not see it? By the way, how did it go? Roland was silent for a while and said, I couldnt find Bettas soul. I found the Nether God, Sophie, and then also used Greater Benediction for orientation anchoring, but there were no results either, so I guess hes really gone or not in that world at all. Ma Huajun sighed and said glumly, Then tell me the good news. I brought back some women. Ma Huajuns eyes lit up. Good. Among the women you know, a few are particularly strong, and indeed, they can supplement our battle force. And Schucks Goddess of Light also hitchhiked back. Ma Huajun clapped his hands heavily. Wonderful The Goddess of Light, I can allow her to spread her faith in reality so that more people can be exposed to special abilities in reality. Well Roland scratched his face in embarrassment. Not only the Goddess of Light, but I also brought back Sophie, the Nether God, and Mystra, the Goddess of Magic. Dont they have the qualifications to spread their faith? Ma Huajun gaped for a while before he said, Im not cultured, I can only say damn. Youre impressive, kid, abducting two goddesses No, if you count Elyse who is still staying in the game space, youve abducted three. Perhaps, my friend and I got the plans wrong. We shouldnt have given you power and should have given you full Charm, then let you go and lure all the goddesses of the other world back here, such as Lolth, the Goddess of Storms, and the Water Goddess. Roland only said, Four goddesses should offset the loss of Betta. If they grow, indeed, said Ma Huajun after thinking about it. There are still nearly a hundred years left, enough time for missionary work. After losing Betta, our predicted chance of winning is less than ten percent, but with the four goddesses, our chance of winning will barely be increased to fifty-fifty. Roland sighed in relief. So whats next, what are your plans? You just came back, go rest for a few days first. When youre well-rested, well talk again. Ma Huajun waved his hand. By the way, that floating city of yours flying around the moon, this matter is probably already known all over the world. Roland froze. Not that fast, right? Ive only been back for less than an hour. Ma Huajun pointed to the sky. Roland looked up for a few seconds, then tapped his forehead helplessly. There was a bright, full moon hanging in the sky, and then next to the moon, there was a rather large patch of light. It was like a super large star. It was also moving slowly. Reflecting the sunlight, it was bright as could be and even had a hint of green in it. It was clear to anyone with a little astronomical knowledge that this thing was not an artificial satellite. Presumably, all the astronomy enthusiasts, or official astronomy agencies, located in areas where it was night, had their telescopes pointed at it. Roland dwelled on it for a short while, and then also thought it over and said indifferently, Forget it. Anyway, when the floating city ascended, it was already a sensational event, and now that it has appeared again, if it makes a big fuss, it wont be greater than what it was before. Ma Huajun said irritatedly, Nothing for you to do-you are unaware of how much effort and hard work we put in to tamp down that incident. I came back with at least four strong reinforcements. Well, you go ahead and get some rest. Come find me in a few days, you should know where my little base is. Then Ma Huajun sank into the ground and disappeared without a trace. Instead, Roland teleported over to the base first and met with the head of the base, saying he would resume work in a few days. After all, the study of magic had to continue or he would have nothing to do. Then he grabbed his phone, teleported back to the floating city, and told all the women up there a little bit about this world. When dawn came, Roland took Lakana, the Goddess of Light, and teleported to Schucks doorstep. It was just dawn and the morning sun was just right. Schuck took his wifes dainty hand and was about to go out to start business over at the cold drink bar. Then he saw the blonde Goddess of Light standing in front of him. He froze and blurted out, Lakana, why are you here? Am I dreaming? Honey, who is she? asked Schucks wife, staring at Lakana, wariness all over her face. Her womanly instincts told her that the woman in front of her was a formidable enemy she couldnt defeat. She was too beautiful. She was in the same league as Schucks mother. Lakanas gentle eyes moved away from Schucks face and fell on the face of Schucks wife. Oh, this is your wife? As expected, a virtuous type. Generally speaking, the word virtuous had another meaning if there was no elaborationnot beautiful, inelegant, unappealing figure, and unattractive. After all, it was said that a man should choose a virtuous woman to marry. Schucks wife caught the subtext and immediately glared at the Goddess of Light. Lakana smiled as she locked eyes with her. The air was scorched with anxiety. Roland stood at a distance and snapped his fingers happily at the sight. Nice, finally got revenge for you guys ganging up with those b**tards earlier and getting me drunk for Night Tide Sands. Having taken his great revenge, Roland teleported back to the floating city. He continued to explain to his women about living in this world and what to look out for. And on Earth, the internet community exploded. After so many days, more and more people had seen the floating city flying around the moon with their telescopes. Plenty of long-range images of the floating city were circulating online. Under the high magnification lens, they could faintly see people moving around up there. The Bald Eagle nation with its multi-national alliance pressured the rabbits to hand over the technology for the floating city, saying that it was the key technology for human travel into outer space all over the world, that it belonged to all mankind and should be shared. Rabbit nation didnt give a s**t about them. Roland teleported to Ma Huajuns small base. The women came along. After all, what was to be talked about next had some relevance to them as well. Although you brought back a very strong battle force, its still fifty-fifty, and were still at a substantial disadvantage, defending passively, Ma Hua Jun explained, so we need another plan. Whats the plan? We need more mass-produced warriors, Ma Huajun said helplessly. After these ten years of game testing, we figured out one thing; even if I perform aura recovery as a Planet Guardian, its still too difficult to cultivate a qualified super-warrior. So, we have to resort to the power of technology. Produce more powerful weapons? asked Roland. Ma Huajun shook his head. A weapon, in the broad sense, has limits. But, there is a weapon that can grow on its own: people. A large population? Roland shook his head. Quantity alone, without quality, will not do. I want both. Ma Hua Jun snorted. DNA modification technology is mature now, but due to ethical relations, countries are afraid to use it. Next, I will be secretly promoting the New Human Project, using stronger and smarter new humans, wearing personal assistance mini mechs and other high-tech equipment to assist humans with special abilities. I hope the combination of technology and magic will improve our chances of winning. That is indeed a good idea. Roland nodded. Take advantage of everything that they could before they knew all the details of their enemy. Leave the technology aspect to us. Ma Huajun stood up, bowed slightly to Roland, and said sincerely, The cultivation aspect of magic talent is left to you all. Although the Goddess of Light is not here, it is the same for you to deliver the message on my behalf. Whether Earth has a future or not, whether humanity can continue to exist or not, depends on you all. Roland stood up. Thank you for all you do in secret for the world, Captain Earth. All the women of Roland stood up as well, nodding slightly to Ma Huajun in respect. Ma Huajun froze, then nearly burst out laughing when he heard the words Captain Earth[1]. Then, Ma Huajun took out Mystra and the others ID cards and residence certificates and handed them to Roland. Although you are all very strong, it is still easier to live in this world with a legal identity. Ive put the specifics inside the bag, just take a look when you get back. Roland expressed his gratitude and teleported back to the floating city. The files were then handed to the six women for them to familiarize themselves with. After two days of indulgence, he took them around the world to familiarize them with it a little before letting them each move on their own as they pleased. But none of them had any intention of enjoying themselves, and Lakana, Mystra, and Sophie registered their churches on the internet and started preaching again. Stephanie, on the other hand, after reading a lot about sociology, advanced philosophy, and such, developed an inferiority complex about who she was for a while. So the royal family should be swept into the dustbin of history. Within a few days, though, she cheered up and used her new and squeaky-clean identity to take the states functionary exam. And she got in with one attempt. The Winterwolf Holy Lady, on the other hand, had become a nerd Originally, in her original world, she was a nerd, the kind who rarely came out of the church once a year. This world had a rich spiritual (online) life, and she was having a great time. She was the only woman who wasnt motivated, but Roland didnt care. As for Lady Bluebird, she started learning baking and later opened a shop, even ending up as a top pastry chef, often going on shows to teach people how to make pastries. Six months later, Roland took Andonara back to his hometown to meet his parents. His parents, whose hair had begun to gray, were very excited to see Roland bring home a girl. His mother took Andonaras hand, smiling and talking quite enthusiastically. His father immediately went out to buy groceries, all the while yelling that Roland was immature to bring someone back without saying so earlier. At the dinner table, his mother asked, How long have you been friends? Several years. Roland laughed and said, Mom, I know what you really want to askAndonara and I, were getting married in three months, so help us pick a good date. The elderly couple froze for a moment, then were ecstatic. Although it was the first time they had met Andonara, they were quite pleased with her. She was so good-looking that no actress on television could compare to her. Big breasts and big buttocks, the kind that was suited for giving birth. More importantly, they could tell that she loved their son deeply. They were all people who had been there, and they could see that. That look in Andonaras eyes, her movements, all of which gave the impression that she wished to be by Rolands side every day. She was like a creeping, flowering vine that died without a big tree to cling to. Three months later, Roland got married in front of a lot of guests. Roland sent the invitations to friends and family. When he gave the invitation to Qi Shaoqiu, the latters face was stinky, and he didnt even say anything, as if he had the intention of throwing the invitation away. Roland had guessed why. He slept with Night Tide Sands, after all. However physically speaking, it was Night Tide Sands who slept with him, and he was the victim. A little over three months later, Roland and Andonaras wedding took place at the largest hotel in the city, packing three floors. The wedding was quite a grand occasion and it gave his family and friends a very strange sensation. The best man group was pretty normal, except for one handsome guy who was a little too handsome. But the bridesmaids group was quite off. All of them were super pretty, and there was even a girl with canine ears on her head and a white tail. Was this a cosplay? Even more outrageous was the fact that the five bridesmaids wore wedding dresses that were also identical to the bride. This made it impossible for friends and family to even tell which one was the bride. So when the five bridesmaids showed up and surrounded Andonara, the guests were first awestruck, then they started whispering. The appearance of one great beauty was surprising, but the appearance of six such brides at the same time was extremely ridiculous. And they didnt understand why all six were wearing wedding dresses. The weddings master of ceremonies took the small card handed up from the backstage and read, Mr. Huang Wenwei, do you take as your wedded wife the Ms. Stephanie Morissa Bluebird Andonara Mystra Sophie of the Land of the Hairy Bear, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part. Roland smiled and said, I do. There was a lot of chatter among the guests below. Thats a long name for a bride. An ethnic minority, its normal. The girls brought over from the brides side are super pretty. Lets go up together later and ask for their contact info? The master of ceremonies continued, Ms. Stephanie Morissa Bluebird Andonara Mystra Sophie, do you take Huang Wenwei to be your husband and promise to take care of him, for richer, for poorer, and to be with him forever? I do. I do. I do. I do. I do. I do. The six women spoke in chorus, each with a happy smile on their faces. After a short silence, the guests below were blown away. Whats going on here? Six brides? That super long name is six peoples names combined? Wait, is this a joke, or is it real? Its probably a joke. Someone took short videos and tried to upload them online, but they found that no matter how many times they uploaded, the main characters faces within the video would be censored. It was impossible to see their faces clearly. Regardless, the wedding eventually ended, and most of the guests thought that it was a wedding prank After all, no one would marry six women at the same time at a wedding. After the wedding, Roland left the hotel with Andonara and the other women. But as he passed the entrance to the hotel, Roland saw a familiar figure. Night Tide Sands. She seemed to be waiting for him. She smiled as she looked at Roland, and she was holding a tiny baby, about six months old, in her arms that was sucking on his own fingers. Roland was about to speak but froze. There was something about that baby that gave him a rather intimate feeling. It was the feeling of being connected by blood. The end. [1] Qiu Zhang used short for United Nations Secretary-General; homonym of a tribal chief, especially in Africa, an Internet slang for someone who is extremely unfortunate or unlucky