Chapter 374: Unicorn
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After wandering across half the lake, Zhang Yang spotted a white shadow flashing by his eyes. It was a extremely handsome white horse, as pale as lightning, arriving at the side of the lake. The horse lowered it’s head down to the surface of the lake and began to drink the water. The hair all around the body of the horse was so white and glossy that it glimmered in the light, enunciating every muscle, every defined curved of its body, it was an enchanting sight!
Most importantly of all, there was a single horn that was about half a foot long on top of its forehead. The horn was sharp as a spear, giving off gleams of cold light!
[Ai Carlo The Unicorn] (Elite, Beast)
Level: 85
HP: 85,000
Defense: 450
Finally, found it!
Zhang Yang was so delighted after he spotted the unicorn, because other than this quest which required him to search for [Blood of Purity], he still had a quest - ‘Materials for the Instrument’, a Main Story Quest which he accepted when he was Level10. The quest required him to get a [Horn of the Mythical Unicorn], [Heart of the Black Dragon], and the [Book of the Damned] of the undead!
For the [Book of the Damned], he could only get it when he can enter the Chaos Realm, where he can equip the [Friendship Jade] and wade over through the homeland of the undead and summon his fellow party members over to walk in and ‘steal’ it! If he can get his hands on one [Horn of the Mythical Unicorn], then he would only need to worry about finding the final item, the [Heart of the Black Dragon]!
In just an instant, a quest that seemed impossible to complete was just one step from being completed now!
But, Zhang Yang could not understand some part of it. A Mythical Unicorn should be at least a Level 150 super boss! That would mean that this kind of boss would be, at least, an Ethereal grade, how can it just be a Level 85 elite beast! It’s just not right at all!
Well, with that in mind, Zhang Yang still rode on Whitey and charged towards the unicorn.
It only takes around ten to twenty seconds to charge through a distance of a hundred meters atop Whitey. In just a brief moment, Zhang Yang has already arrived the side of the unicorn. Shoof! Whitey began to use {Wild Charge} and slammed solidly onto the body of Ai Carlo!
One second later, Ai Carlo recovered from the stun effect and turned its sharp and pointy horn towards Zhang Yang. It began to defend itself and swung it’s horn at Zhang Yang.
{Block}!
It was just a Level 85 Elite anyway, Zhang Yang can subdue this beast with ease!
"Human, why are you attacking me!" Ai Carlo suddenly opened it’s mouth and began to speak like a human, in human language.
Zhang Yang was shocked, so that’s why they are called Mythical Creatures because they can speak human language! That’s why they were graded higher than Elite! He spun his sharp axe around and said, "I need a drop of your blood to save a man, if you can just stand still and let me get just one drop of your blood, I will spare you!"
Ai Carlo let our a roar of rage as if it was heavenly insulted! The horn right on its fore head began to glow vaguely as Ai Carlo launched its assaults at Zhang Yang.
The battle grew fierce for a moment as they continued to attack each other in a blaze!
80%, 50%, 20%... the health bar of Ai Carlo was reduced steeply under the oppressive assaults from Zhang Yang.
"Human, stop!"
A stream of white light suddenly shot from the forest nearby the lake. As swift as a sudden clap of thunder which leaves no time for covering ears, it landed on Zhang Yang and formed into a large ball of shield that trapped him within! This ball of shield is very strong and infinitely tough! No matter how Zhang Yang tried to break it with his powerful strikes, the shield could not be even scratched!
Well, you can’t expect such a quest to be completed so easily after all! God damn it!
Zhang Yang gave up on struggling and turned his sight towards the direction where the light came from.
Dozens of elven beauties walked right out from the forest. One of them held a staff in her hand, wearing a snowy-white long dress of a priest. The rest of the elves were holding swords in their hands, and they had bows and arrows hanging by their backs. All of them had really short leather skirts around their waists, revealing much of their fair limbs, looking very sexy.
Zhang Yang only focused his eyes upon the spellcaster type NPC that was walking in front of them all, "Priestess Thea - Moon Glory?"
This was the NPC that Zhang Yang met earlier on when he had rescued ‘Merlinda - Song of the Forest’. During that quest, she had become the ancient priest of the elves! So, according to the story of the game after that quest, she should have brought Merlinda and traveled back to the Chaos Realm to let Merlinda to carry on as the new Moon Priestess. So the question is, why is she here?
Could it be that... that the princess had been held captive by someone or some monsters again?
Thea pointed her staff and touched Zhang Yang gently, and the spherical shield disappeared almost in an instant and Zhang Yang regained his freedom. She began to talk, "Warrior, please don’t hurt Ai Carlo!" She waved her staff again and touched Ai Carlo very gently. A stream of white light surged through the unicorn and Ai Carlo’s health points recovered swiftly.
Meanwhile, that unicorn was staring at Zhang Yang with unease, and it pawed it’s hooves against the ground for awhile, while puffing out streams of air from its nose. It was obvious that it was still angry at Zhang Yang! Well, it’s understandable. If someone takes a knife and poke your ass while you’re drinking water by the lake, wouldn’t you feel mad about it? At least, that’s what Zhang Yang thought to himself.
So Zhang Yang ignored that unicorn and turned his attention towards Thea, "Priestess Thea, haven’t you all returned to the Chaos Realm already? Why are you still here?"
Thea let out a soft sigh, "As we were passing by this valley, it was not our intention of stopping by, but as Merlinda noticed that Ai Carlo’s mother was being rounded up and attacked by a horde of demons, she put herself into battle. Although we managed to fend off the demons, she was badly wounded and she’s on the verge of loosing her life!"
Ai Carlo revealed a sense of guilt on its face just like any human can, "If Merlinda did not shield me from a powerful blow, then she would still be alright now. Now, she’s dying because of me! If only I was full-grown, then mother would not have to stay to protect me, and Merlinda would not have been wounded so badly because of me!"
As expected! That woman is nothing but trouble, no matter where she goes! Although she is not being held captive by anyone this time, she is suffering a worse fate than that, she’s about to lose her own pitiful life! However, the doubt that Zhang Yang had in him had been cleared out. No wonder Ai Carlo is just a Level 85 elite beast, because it has still not yet grown to adulthood!
So, that’s why it’s named ‘Ai Carlo The Unicorn’ but not, ‘Ai Carlo The Mythical Unicorn’.
Zhang Yang quickly said, "Priestess Thea, can’t you save Merlinda with your heavenly skills?"
"She’s wounded too badly!" Thea shook her head and revealed a helpless expression on her face, "I have already sent men to search for the [Fountain of Life]. Only a relic item such as that can really heal Merlinda! Zhan Yu, it’s not a coincidence that you appear here today! You’re a great and powerful warrior, a mysterious adventurer! Please aid us in search of the [Fountain of Life]!"
‘Ding! Priestess Thea - Moon Glory has given you a quest: The Search for Fountain of Life, accept or decline?’
Zhang Yang could not help himself but to pause for a moment, this so-called [Fountain of Life], is it the same thing as the hundred over bottles that are now laying quietly in his backpack? Is it the same thing as the thousands of bottles that are stored in his guild warehouse?
So he accepted the quest to check on it, "Priestess Thea, I’m a friend of Merlinda, I will not sit by and do nothing!"
[The Search for Fountain of Life] (Difficulty: A)
Description: The new Moon Priestess, Moon Priestess, Merlinda - Song of the Forest has been badly wounded and in desperate need of [Fountain of Life] to heal her. Brave Warrior, please depart immediately! You can find the [Fountain of Life] by The Valley of the Miracle within the south site of the forest. Please be cautious, powerful creatures are probably guarding this kind of miraculous fountain. It would be wise to bring along some friends. Of course, bring along some empty bottles as containers, or else you will not be able to bring it back, even after you defeated the powerful creatures around! You can acquire the empty bottles from the Alchemy Shop.
Completion: Acquire a bottle of [Fountain of Life] 1/1
Huh? It actually works!
"Warrior, thank you!" Thea thanked Zhang Yang with all her heart.
Zhang Yang took out a bottle of the [Fountain of Life] and passed it over, "Priestess Thea, I have acquired some mysterious items thorough my adventure! Rumor says, that this bottle of [Fountain of Life] has unbelievable ability to heal life. You can try to use it on Merlinda’s wound and see if this works for her!"
Thea revealed a sense of disbelief on her face and took the bottles into her hands, as she popped the cap opened and took a sniff, she was so delighted with shock and joy at the same time, "Warrior, you are really an amazing person! This is the [Fountain of Life]! This is indeed the [Fountain of Life]!"
‘Ding! You have completed a quest: The Search for Fountain of Life, acquired 3,000,000 experience points!’
... this is the easiest quest that Zhang Yang had come across in his entire time in the game, and the fastest one to complete as well!
"Come, let us go to Merlinda at once! I wonder if one bottle is enough to cure her!" Thea quickly rushed into the forest. Wait a minute, her words shook Zhang Yang for awhile. If he was to go through all the trouble, come back and had to go back to the fountain to get more, that would just be annoying! But now that he still had hundreds of bottles in his backpack, there was no need to worry at all!
Ai Carlo stared at Zhang Yang without even blinking, "Human, although you hurt me before, but you have cured Merlinda, and you’re a friend of hers, I will not hate you any longer. Besides, if that bottle of [Fountain of Life] can really cure her, I will give a bottle of my blood to you as a token of gratitude!"
After finished talking, it turned around and followed Thea and the others and went into the forest as well.
Zhang Yang began to have thoughts, should he torture and slay this tiny young beast before it hits adulthood? If he waits for this little beast to grow into an Ethereal-grade boss, then he shall have lots of trouble fighting it in the future if their paths cross!
Zhang Yang was conflicted with his own good and evil thoughts in his mind, while riding on Whitey, following those NPCs from behind. After passing through a few layers of trees and bushes, they arrived at the temporary camp site. There were hundreds of tents set up within the premises.
Thea went into one of the tents with the [Fountain of Life], but the tent she went into was a little smaller than the others. The tent could only fit a few people inside, plus there were a bunch of guards staring at Zhang Yang with those vigilant eyes of theirs. So he knew it would be impossible for him to enter the tent.
Shoof! Shoof! Shoof!
After awhile, white lights were flashing out from the tent and in another brief moment, Thea walked out from the tent, followed by a female elf with pointy ears, with round and a prominent pair of boobs, a curvy waist wrapped in tight clothes. That’s Merlinda!
"Merlinda, you’re well again!" Ai Carlo cheered in joy and went up to the side of Merlinda. And what happened next was Ai Carlo burying its head in between Melinda's two round and prideful pair of boobs!
Legends say, unicorns are the symbol of purity, and they will only get near to kind souls of virgins! But what Zhang Yang just witnessed was that this unicorn with that horn on the fore head, was definitely a horny creature! And just by looking at where the head was shoved into, it’s indeed the symbol of the ‘purest’ that picks only virgins, as virgins are clean and untouched!
Merlinda filled her face with a smile and hugged the neck of Ai Carlo gently, "Thank goodness you’re safe, Ai Carlo!"
After the girl and the unicorn had a warm reunion, Merlinda turned her attention towards Zhang Yang with her pair of shy eyes, "Zhan Yu, you have once again saved me!"
‘Ding! Your relationship with Merlinda has increased!’
Increased further? Is the system going to put him into an actual relationship with an NPC?
Zhang Yang shook his head and laughed, it’s just a coincidence! For so many times when Merlinda’s in trouble, he was the one who helped her. The number of times of him helping her has qualified him to be her personal knight!
He simply said, "It’s my greatest honor to be able to serve the great Moon Priest!"
Just by Merlinda’s side, there are Thea and the Elvish warriors lining up to become her personal knight! Zhang Yang would not want to get ganged up and beaten up by them for trying to take up that place! However, does this mission only increase the relationship with Merlinda? Although Zhang Yang did not have to put much effort into it, but this is an A-rank quest after all, so there must be some reward that would make things worthwhile, right?
Merlinda gave Zhang Yang a pleasant smile and said, "I have never imagined that I would see you here! Zhan Yu, you improve in god speed, I believe I will see you play an outstanding role in the literary world of Chaos Realm and become a legend. Everyone will sing your names in songs and poems!"
Ai Carlo then took a few steps forward to Zhang Yang and said, "Human, I promised that I would give you a bottle of my blood if you can save Merlinda’s life."
Merlinda heard about what had happened previously and she was shocked, "Zhan Yu, why did you hurt poor Ai Carlo?"
Zhang Yang explained himself, "I have a friend who is inflicted with the demon’s poison, and only the purest blood of a unicorn can cure him of it. So, I can only apologize to Air Carlo for what I did earlier on."
"Come on!" Ai Carlo closed its eyes and raised it’s rump at Zhang Yang, ready to be poked! For the blood of course.
What the hell! Of all parts, why must it be the butt? It did not matter much, as long as Zhang Yang could get the bottle of [Blood of Purity] back to cure Winchester.
Zhang Yang took out his [Dark Enigma Sword], because it will be more convenient to use a sword when it comes to pricking for blood. He emptied out a bottle of potion and served the bottle as the container for the unicorn blood. After getting enough fresh blood of the unicorn, ZHang Yang looked at Ai Carlo for a moment and saw the unicorn’s miserable face as if it was suffering excruciating pain. He thought to himself, that he was really lucky that the unicorn did not kick him with its back legs!
Suddenly, a thought passed by Zhang Yang’s mind. As Ai Carlo is still a youngling of a unicorn, so it is basically still not yet ‘Mythical’. Even if he kills it and cuts the horn off, it would not mean a thing! But the mother of this beast was a real Mythical Unicorn, and since she is dead, the horn would serve no purpose by just being left there. It would only be a god damn waste!
Zhang Yang walked up to Merlinda and asked, "Do you know where did they bury Ai Carlo’s mother?"
Merlinda was shocked, "Zhan Yu, you are not trying to take advantage of the body of Ai Carlo’s mother, are you?"
Bingo! Clever! But, if she’s really so clever in guessing things, why is she still getting caught by bad people for so many times?
Zhang Yang told her with just, "How could that be possible, I just want to pay my respects to the mother!"
Merlinda bought his words and told him where the body was buried.
Ai Carlo’s mother was buried within a forest in the valley, not far from the forest. After everyone had paid their respects, Thea gave the order to depart from the valley. Most probably, she could smell the electrical current between Zhang Yang and Merlinda. On the other hand, Ai Carlo hated Zhang Yang very much and couldn’t wait to leave that man behind so that Merlinda would only focus her love on itself. Pretty obvious, by just looking at how the young unicorn stared at Zhang Yang every single time.
After bidding farewell to the elves and waiting for them to remove themselves from his view, Zhang Yang quickly took out his [Goblin's Head Lobber] and used it as a tool to dig, then he began to dig the ground.
In just awhile, he finally dug out the deadly wounded body of the Mythical unicorn. The body was pure white even though it’s already dead, and the horn on its forehead reaches up to 2 feet long. There was some blood stain on it, black blood, should those be from the demons themselves!
"I’m really sorry, please rest in peace. Please forgive me, please forgive me..." He repeatedly apologized for what he was doing to a dead body.
Zhang Yang then cut off the horn of the Mythical Unicorn and shoved it into his backpack. As he did that, the quest assistance taskbar showed that under the ‘Materials for Making the Instrument’, the [Horn of the Mythical Unicorn] has been obtained, leaving the mission to be completed by 1/3!
He then quickly buried back the body of the dead mythical unicorn and destroyed any evidence of him digging up the grave. Or else, it would certainly be a ‘great’ news that will definitely reduce the relationship between him and Merlinda, if she ever finds out about this! Ai Carlo will definitely challenge him to a death battle! That’s its mother, no matter what!
Riding on Whitey, Zhang Yang left the ‘crime’ scene and went back straight to Winchester. After curing Winchester, he should be able to bring the NPC back to Killua Castle and rescue Honduras, to get the [Millennial Heroic Soul]. By then, he should be able to unseal the first magic circle seal of the sword hilt!
So, after having him go around in a big circle, this mysterious sword hilt better be some kind of a heavenly weapon or equipment, if not, it would have made Zhang Yang look like a fool, going through all sorts of annoying troubles!