Chapter 72: As a Knight, One Must Solo a Giant Dragon
【Hi, this is the System who is furiously brushing up its presence. There are two daily missions for you. To celebrate the System’s upgrade, you will be provided with a great bargain: both of the missions will be from the Justice Faction. From now on, you must complete at least one daily mission everyday or I will to reduce you to tears by deducting your points. If you complete both of the daily missions, there will be an additional Fate Point for you.】
【Daily Mission: As a Knight, one must solo a giant dragon. Kill an evil, adult dragon by yourself. Normally, there is no reason for me to reward you for a little dragon, but considering that you have only the strength of around 500 Meows, there would be quite a bit of difficulty in challenging an evil dragon with the strength of 30,000 Meows. Therefore, an additional 100 Fate Points will be awarded. However, please clearly look at the word ‘solo’. So, if you were to hide behind your helpers, 1,000 Fate Points will be deducted on the spot.】
Without a second thought, I ignored the ill-intentioned ‘solo an evil dragon’ mission. Even if I am in dire need for Fate Points to strengthen myself, I don’t plan on courting death to do it. However, the other daily mission leaves me feeling even more clueless.
【Daily Mission: Every Epic Hero starts out from helping little girls find their missing cats. Find a girl, no, look for a meow alien and return it back to its owner. 3 Fate Points will be awarded. If neither of the 2 missions is completed, 100 Fate Points will be deducted.】
“Darn it! How do I look for a cat in this barren land? And it even has to be one that’s lost, isn’t this obviously a plot to deduct my points? As expected, I was too naive to think that the darned System would change its nature.”
However, I remembered that even though the System could be quite the bastard at times, the missions it sets are never impossible. Or rather, my line of thought could have been wrong from the very start. These missions might be the type that requires indirect methods in order to successfully complete them.
“Perhaps, I can do this…”
Afterward, Krose picked up a suspicious little cat, one that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Un, it is indeed suspicious. Not mentioning the fact a little cat wouldn’t be able to survive in the cruel wilderness of the Underground World, its attitude of ignoring the Beast Tamer’s summoning ability and racing straight towards the ‘young lady’ is suspicious too, no matter how one looks at it.
Of course, Krose, whose maternal instincts surges from the cute meowing of the little cat, instantly bought a bottle of milk from the Gnomes and happily fed it.
“Those darn Gnome bastards, this milk is too diluted.”
Alright, from the moment she turned into a cat, Harloys’s complaints have never stopped. Words like ‘This is hurtful to the pride of the Queen of Banshees’ and ‘Despite the soul being male, how could he look so much like a female, even using the excess meat on his chest to crush me, your underlings are indeed a bunch of perverts and you are the king of perverts. No, God of Perverts’ popped out from her mouth. Considering that I still need her in order to complete the act, all the complaints about the milk being too diluted and such are dealt with in the same manner, ignored.
Un, since there is a cat as well as a young lady raising the cat now, what needs to happen next is the losing of the cat, as the mission dictates.
However, losing the cat for no reason at all is illogical. Thus, the moment the righteous Holy Knight Rolande arrives on the scene, Beifeng.Herault, titled as the Dragon of Absolute Evil, happens to be intending to do something to the frightened and pitiful cat who is bundled into a ball.
Alright, when I heard that the angry ‘owner who lost her cat’ brought her subordinates to beat up Beifeng frenziedly, I shed a few drops of crocodile tears.
“You might be innocent this time, but who asked you to always…” When I thought about his usual routine, even the little shred of guilt remaining in me turns into anger. “Krose, don’t give me any face, beat him to death!!”
“He… He isn’t innocent. Master, wuuuuu, it’s all thanks to you arriving on time, otherwise, my virgin body would have been ruined.”
Harloys’s frightened shivers weren’t actually faked. She was totally helpless facing the legendary Beast Tamer on her own, and now that she has finally found her pillar of support, she starts whimpering on the spot.
In an instant, my face scrunches together. Virgin body? Let’s not mention how the experienced Harloys didn’t have such a thing in the first place, to actually drive the Queen of Banshees to tears and frighten that vicious mouth of hers to obediently call me Master, Beifeng, what exactly did you do?
“You are really too heartless, laying your hands on something so small!” Considering the large difference in physique, I suddenly became curious about how he was going to lay his hands on her. However, after coming up with some conjectures, I became too disgusted to continue thinking about it.
【”Daily Mission: Every Epic Hero starts from helping little girls find their missing cats.” has been completed. You are awarded with 3 Fate Points. Continue working hard.】
Alright, ignoring the daily brutal beating of Beifeng, I took Harloys with me and silently left the tent full of mysterious lifeforms.
“Looks like I avoided having my Fate Points deducted. Continue working hard? To slay dragons? Isn’t that simply seeking death?”
But suddenly, I recall the System’s recent bizarre change and its attitude all this time. Considering the unusual way this cat mission was completed, some thoughts start to conceptualize in my head.
“Given the darned nature of the System, if a mission is unable to be completed, it would have come up with a sky-high reward to disgust me. Is there really no way to claim these 100 points?”
After hesitating for a moment, I nod my head.
“Since there’s no loss in failure, then it’s worth a try.”
Thus, just outside the temporary campsite’s largest tent, I find old merchant Carter who is very familiar with this road.
“What? There really is the den of an evil dragon nearby?”
“Although it’s just a young Black Dragon, it often assaults people and robs goods, bringing a massive headache to merchant parties. However, our party has a Legend-rank Holy Knight, so we don’t really have to be worried about the crafty Dragon coming to attack us. However, just last week, it wiped out two merchant parties. Right, I heard that because it greatly affects the movement of merchant parties traveling to and fro the city, Liu Huang Mountain City has sent troops to get rid of it several times, but on all occasions, it has managed to escape beforehand.”
Fine, I roughly get it now. Thus, I raise my longsword high in the air and shout a vow.
“Those who commit sins must be punished! Fine, since the evil dragon exists, then allow me, who represents justice and the Holy Light, to destroy that evil Black Dragon. I shall single-handedly remove its head.”
Alright, not just Carter, everyone in the vicinity stares at me with a look of surprise. This isn’t only because of the suicidal vow I made, which fulfills the style of the Holy Knights, but also because of my extremely loud voice. Probably, half of the entire camp have heard my words.
Afterward, as I expected, I feel the Power of Death that was circling around the clouds move once again. Thus, I nod my head, satisfied.
Under everyone’s ‘Ah, yet another chuuni Holy Knight who has been brainwashed by the Holy Light, I won’t walk you out’ gazes sending me off, I left the campsite by myself.
The dragon’s lair isn’t too far away. Following the trails it left behind, I find the way very quickly.
Who left the tracks? Un, there is no need to pursue this question.
“Meow, Roland, did you see that Scorpion-tailed Lion that was all scorched black? It seems to have been electrocuted, are there any powerful Lightning Element Magic Beasts nearby?”
“Oh, there could be one, I guess.”
“Hey hey, do you really intend to look for trouble directly with that adult dragon? Given your trashy battle power now, you’ll be instant killed.”
“Don’t worry, I am confident.”
Afterward, the sight that I see the moment I enter the Dragon’s den, toughens my resolution.
“Wow, these unlucky Ogres were obviously torn apart by brute force. Did they meet the Titans or giant Behemoths?”
“They probably met the Bull Demon King.”
“I think that I roughly understand where that ridiculous confidence of yours comes from.”
“It is sufficient for you to just understand. Don’t say anything unnecessary, we are here to ‘solo’ a dragon.”
Emphasizing on the ‘solo’, there are no mistakes in my words, no matter how many times I say them.
“Puuu! That must be the Bull Demon King you spoke of. That silly cow actually thought he could use that banana leaf to hide. That’s weird, why is he naked?”
“Sigh, I’m getting more and more worried for the Supreme Court now. Cough, Harloys, stop speaking nonsense. What silly, naked cow are you speaking of, it’s probably just some kind pervert walking by.”
“Yes, yes, we came alone. But, what about those?”
Not too far away from my line of sight, a group of Hook Horror Zombies is currently fighting with their brethren. The biggest weakness of Zombies is absent in this bunch – slow movement. Not only are they agile and fearless of death, the brainless Zombies even fight by cooperating together through battle formations, completely suppressing the original Hook Horrors.
They are obviously the product of a master of Necromancy. Looking at the excellent positioning of the Zombies in their formation, the person behind the Zombies is most probably a top-tier Death Knight.
“Perhaps they’re just a bunch of kind passersby. Don’t worry, they will leave soon enough.”
“Zzzttttt.” A furious bolt of lightning flashes past me. Regardless of whether it was the Zombie formation or the Hook Horrors that were kept by the evil Dragon, they all disappeared without a trace. The only thing that remains is a plot of scorched land.
“This?” Even Harloys is at a loss for words. This is obviously the God Lightning of the Titans.
“I reckon it’s just a kind-hearted Ultraman shooting an Ultrabeam. There are really a lot of passersby today huh. Un, let’s not bother about these kind-hearted passersby, let’s go slay the Dragon.”
“Fine, I won’t be surprised at all if I see a Black Dragon bound in ropes later on.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t be surprised as well.”
Things were as expected. In the deepest region of the Dragon den, I finally see the evil Dragon. Although it isn’t tied up, its actual fate is much worse.
The entire body of this man-eating evil Dragon is completely scorched black. Its wings were ripped apart and thrown to the corner, while all four of its limbs were completely sealed by Spatial Magic. The Power of Death is currently corroding its entire body. From the looks of it, it was obviously lynched by a group of SemiGods earlier on. Even if we leave it be, it definitely doesn’t have much longer to live.
Silently unsheathing my sword, my blade swings downwards.
“For Holy Light!”
“Clang!”
Alright, the Dragon hide is too tough. This cheap longsword is too useless, not at all able to actually penetrate it, and is instantly deflected.
But it’s not a big deal. Let’s try again a few more times.
“For justice!”
“Clang!”
“For honor!”
“Clang!”
“For…”
The show that is going on in this instant is destined to be a long one. Harloys is already starting to turn around in circles to chase her own tail out of boredom. If it wasn’t taking all of my effort to think of something new to shout out, I sincerely wanted to remind her that cats don’t chase their own tails, only dogs do.
“For Fate Points!”
Alright, after I sending more than thirty slashes at him, I couldn’t think of any new phrases to shout. The evil Dragon also looks at me with resentment, his crying face seems to be saying, ‘Can’t you be any faster, this is really torturing for a Dragon, I still have to collect my bento box, you know.’
“For the second uncle’s father’s neighbor’s daughter’s girlfriend’s teacher’s dog!”
Alright, I don’t know whether it’s due to the godly effect of these words, or that the Black Dragon finally succumbed to its injuries, but after that last phrase, its neck bends and it falls dead to the floor.
“Ha, ha, finally, I finally successfully slew the Dragon!!”
The reason why I’m panting so heavily isn’t because I’m tired from swinging my sword but rather because I’m tired of shouting those war cries…
【Confirming that only the user’s own Magic Pet Harloys was in the vicinity when the user completed his mission, thus fulfilling the ‘solo’ requirement of the mission. Congratulations for completing the Daily Mission ‘As a knight, one must solo a giant dragon’. 100 Fate Points awarded. As all of today’s daily missions are completed, an additional 100 Fate Points is awarded. System Notice: To think that you would actually notice. However, don’t expect tomorrow’s daily mission to be that simple.】
Alright, I already don’t feel like talking about anything else. System, you need to top up on some restraint!
————–
In the temporary campsite, a group of Knights is currently sparring.
As the icy-cold swords clash together and separate, what surprised everyone was that the one being suppressed in the duel isn’t the rookie Knight who inconceivably managed to successfully slay a Dragon, but the Silver-rank Justice Knight.
“As expected, if I only take into account Strength, despite the massive gap in level, I definitely have the strength of at least a Gold-rank Warrior.”
Although the main stat of Dark Elf Knights is Strength, I don’t think that the Dark Elves, who are naturally lacking in Strength compared to other races, are able to compete with my 20 point Strength, which transcends the limits of Mortals.
“Hah, seems like you’re not all looks. The strength of your charge isn’t bad, it’s just that I have no idea how good your techniques are. It better not be just for show, with you crumbling in just a few moments.”
Despite being completely suppressed while crossing blows, despite her hands being completely numb, the ‘Mad Dog’ Momo didn’t forget to taunt me. Her words earn her cheers from the onlookers.
However, how could I fall for such an obvious taunt? There is no reason for me to give up this opportunity when a Dark Elf, who is naturally lacking in strength, is foolish enough to pit her Strength against me while crossing blows.
“Hah, the barking of the losing dog?” I roar, as I grip my sword with both hands, sweeping downwards violently. Our swords clash together and under my powerful sweep, due to the difference in our brute strength, Momo is forced into a one-leg kneeling position.
However, after undergoing countless spars in Liu Huang Mountain City, my opponent isn’t just any ordinary Knight. She has already started mumbling the incantations long before this. I must say, compared to the Priestess and Holy Knight, whose main stat is Will, the Law jobs which depend mainly on Intelligence, are much more suited to the Dark Elves who have superior Intelligence.
“Aha! Incantation of Law: Equality of Lifeforms!”
“Darn! It is this shameless skill again.”
The Light of Order shines and the situation reverses instantly. Momo, who was forced into a kneeling position, bounces up in an instant. On the other hand, I end up being suppressed.
【One of the abilities of the God Equipment Origin of Codex; All is Equal in the Face of Law: Demarcate a zone and lower the rank and stats of people within the zone to be of equal level as the user. For every 10 seconds this effect is sustained, 1 Faith will be consumed.】
This【Incantation of Law: Equality of Lifeforms!】is the simplified version of the God Equipment Origin of Codex’s【All is Equal in the Face of Law】and it’s well-known as a shameless skill.
Being a simplified Law Incantation, its effects are far from that of the God Equipment, so it is only able to lower a single stat of the opponent. Also, the shortest time taken to complete the Incantation is 6 seconds whereas the duration of the effects is only 10 seconds. However, if the spell is successfully released, its effects would definitely disgust any opponent.
The Strength on my window immediately falls to 16. Although our basic stats are the same, Momo has nearly 40 levels of advantage, which allows her to suppress me easily while crossing blows.
“Should I say that I brought this upon myself?”
At this moment, Momo strikes heavy blows, one after another. ‘Clang clang clang’. In the midst of the repeated sounds of longswords striking against each other, the situation has been reversed. I am forced to continuously retreat.
“Damn it, 6, 5, 4, I still have 3 seconds more. Un?”
I bite my teeth together, trying my best to survive these 10 seconds. However, on the 7th second, the heavy blows suddenly feel lighter. I have returned to my normal condition. In that instant, I remember the Race Talent I had recently obtained.
“The Titan Body actually works on conditions inflicted by the Power of Law! As expected of the Diamond-class Race Talent.”
【Titan Body (Diamond-class Race Talent): Your physical body contains the primal strength of the Titans. Your skin will gradually turn into that of the Titans. Reduce any damage and debuffs by 30% and reduce all damage incurred by 5 points.】
This is the Race Talent I awakened when my Stamina reached 20, transcending the limits of mortals. Its explanation may be simple, but its effects are incredibly useful.
【Exquisite Two-handed Sword (Iron)】
【Attack Power: 0-8】
【System Notice: 2 broken swords that cost 10 gold coins and you still expect there to be a System Notice? I have nothing else to say, you are actually thick-skinned enough to use such a broken sword, even I feel embarrassed for you. Actually, I still have a couple of good swords here and they are quite cheap. Of course, I doubt that a small troublesome curse could beat you down. To tell the truth, I still feel a bit resentful that I didn’t manage to turn you into a girl, why don’t you try the Gachapon again? I have a large quantity of Spring of Drowned Girl, it would be a waste to just leave it there.】
Alright, the fact that I’ve been scammed multiple times has made me realize the importance of cherishing one’s life and the importance of staying away from the System. Let us ignore this bizarre resentment of the darned System.
Back to the main topic at hand, if I use this lousy sword to cut myself, without any additional increments from my Strength, the highest damage I can deal to myself is 2 points. Furthermore, there is an above 80% possibility that the damage would be ignored altogether. Even taking into account the additional damage increments from the opponent’s Strength, I am wearing a Knight’s plate mail, which provides me with excellent protection. Thus, I have nothing to fear.
At this moment, under the effects of the Titan Body, the 10 second Law Incantation was forcefully reduced to 7 seconds. Furthermore, this reduction was unexpected. In an actual battle, every split second counts, needless to say, a miscalculation of a full 3 seconds.
Thus, making full use of this slip, my longsword crashes furiously into hers, and with a twist, I send Momo’s two-handed mithril sword into the air. Making use of the temporary gap in the opponent’s attention, which was captured by the flying sword, I pick up speed and knock violently into her.
A full-power crash by a Holy Knight with 20 Strength, dressed fully in armor? That’s comparable to a small railway train! In an instant, Momo is sent flying straight out. Even though she manages to stab her sword into the ground in time to adjust her balance and stabilize her footing, her head is already spinning from the impact.
A Silver-rank Knight who lost her sense of balance? That’s just a large, metal-skinned, fixed punching bag.
Thus, I made use of this opportunity to use the other Diamond-class Race Talent. Since it is awakened from my Strength breaking into 20, then it’s probably a powerful offensive skill.
“The Light of Order descends upon my sword, prepare for my own strike, Sword of Order…”
But before I can finish my sentence, I am pulled backward by a humongous force, and my iron longsword is deflected.
“That’s enough, Momo. Stop looking down on others. From the moment you were forced to use the Incantation of Law, Rolande had already won. Alright, going by the pact made, apologize to him.”
In the face of the Legend Knight Diana, as a Bronze Holy Knight, I am far from being able to match her. I was easily stopped in an instant.
At this moment, I suddenly recall Momo’s proud words, saying that she can easily take care of me using only her swordsmanship. In the end, not only did she use the Incantation of Law, but she was even suppressed and defeated. Going by the conditions we had promised earlier, I had long won the match.
But even though I won this time, many of my shortcomings were exposed.
Just looking at swordsmanship and battle experience, it was obvious that I should have a complete advantage over her, but there were many times where, despite my eyes and thoughts having already reacted, my physical body was unable to keep up. This wasn’t a problem due to the composition of my physical body but rather, the lack of training of a newborn physical body. Yet to undergo training, the sword techniques haven’t been carved onto this body on an instinctual level, resulting in an experienced mind being unable to cope physically.
I smile and shake my head towards Momo, who reluctantly came over to apologize, indicating that I’m not bothered about it. However, my mind is somewhere else.
“Looks like I have been slackening recently to the point I have forgotten my basics. Let me start from 10,000 swings every day to restore them slowly.”
However, what surprised me most was when an unfamiliar visitor interrupted my training plans, while I was swinging my blade in my tent alone at midnight.
Moon Knight Diana quietly sneaks into my tent with an embarrassed blush on her face.
“Is… Is this the legendary night attack? My king father in heaven, to think that reviving would allow me, Roland, to have such a day dawn upon me. Ah, as expected of the legendary Dark Elves, for them to be so direct, I am so lucky!”
However, when I recall my little partner who is still undergoing puberty, I almost cried tears of blood on the spot.
“Misfortune!! Is there anything more unfortunate than this?”
However, the moment Diana opens her mouth, I know that I have jinxed myself. The God of Misfortune is still looming over me.
“Rolande, no, Lich Roland, Lord Wumianzhe, it has been long since we last met.”