Chapter 847: New title
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Sheyan felt numb all over after he regained consciousness. He tried to sit up, but he couldn't feel his limbs at all. No part of his body responded to him, as if every nerve in his body had been destroyed.
He didn't panic. Instead, he shut his eyes and pulled his senses back within himself. He could feel the roots of the Stairway of the Sun coursing through the major arteries and nerves in his body. Once it realised that Sheyan's consciousness had returned, it retracted back its roots. Sheyan's brain instantly regained control of his body.
Simultaneously, Sheyan received notifications from his nightmare imprint.
[The parasite in your body, Stairway of the Sun absorbed away most of the Black Breath which invaded your body.]
[The parasite in your body, Stairway of the Sun will fall into a sleeping state. The estimated duration of the sleep is 24 hours. During this period, your Pestilence Monarch ability will be locked.]
[There is still a small portion of Black Breath left in your body. All your stats are temporarily decreased by 20% until the Black Breath in your body is dispelled.]
"Damn, so unlucky!" complained Sheyan to himself while he tried to stand up with difficulty. He didn't expect the Black Breath to be so malicious. The duration of its debuffing effect was actually semi-permanent. He might actually have to wait until he returned to the nightmare realm to purify the debuff with utility points. It was terrible news for Sheyan.
The sky was still dark. Seems like it would be awhile before the sun rose. Warmth permeated to Sheyan's skin from a bonfire next to him. The comfortable heat provided some comfort to alleviate the remaining feeling of paralysis.
Melody quietly sat cross-legged under a huge tree about 7 meters away from him. She had her eyes closed. Formless threads connected her body to the forest behind her. Everytime she breathed, the forest gently swayed with her. Bits of lights continuously streamed into her body like fireflies before once again dispersing to the environment.
"Boss, you're awake?" Franklin noticed Sheyan's movement and came over to check on him.
Sheyan made a hushing motion as he pointed towards Melody. He didn't want to disturb her training.
"Where's the Nazgûl?"
Franklin answered in a quiet voice.
"He scattered. Our attacking focus at the beginning was a mistake. The Nazgûls don't care about injuries to their physical bodies. Even the power of nature could only suppress them, but not destroy them. The source of their power lies in the Nine Rings! Their only weaknesses were the rings they wear."
Sheyan abruptly recalled the matter. The current conflict in the Lord of the Rings world began in the Second Age when the talented Noldorin smith, Celebrimbor forged the 3 Elven Rings of Power, the Seven Dwarven Rings, and the Nine Rings for mortal men under the guidance of Sauron.
Unbeknownst to them, Sauron secretly forged the One Ring, a ring that can not only grant the wearer immortality, but also let the wearer rule over all the lesser Rings and enslave the world.
The Nine Rings of the humans were the ones that the One Ring exerted the strongest influence over. Their powerful wearers who pursue strength became the terrifying Ringwraiths after they died. Therefore, the weakness of the Ringwraiths were not their hearts or their brains like other humans, but the Nine Rings on their fingers!
No wonder Melody's last arrow was directed towards the Nazgûl's palm. It was to concentrate the other powers of nature in his body towards that area, in order to destroy him. In fact, even the Dark Lord Sauron was only defeated before this when his finger was chopped off together with the One Ring. Sheyan thus asked Franklin.
"What happened to our friend, Mr. Dwar in the end?"
Franklin shrugged his shoulders and answered.
"Unfortunately, Miss Melody's Ring of Air was not strong enough yet to capture the Ring worn by Dwar. The Ring was recalled back by the One Ring. Dwar's soul imprint on the Ring will allow him to be revived after a certain amount of time. In the meantime, his power will be shared by the remaining Ringwraiths. That means the other Nazgûls will become stronger during this period of time."
"So we didn't get any keys, chests or loot?"
Asked Sheyan regretfully.
Franklin answered.
"Both Mr. Reef and I received 500 Fate points of the Dark Lord faction. Besides that, we also triggered an advanced title - Dark Conqueror. The requirement was to destroy 9 Ringwraiths. We can choose 1 out of 3 options for the title reward. Finally, we received an unknown item - [Armour Fragment of Dwar the Nazgûl]."
Initially, Sheyan was baffled as to why they would receive Fate points of the Dark Lord faction when they kill the underlings of the Dark Lord. From what he could see now, he could make a guess. Everyone on the Dark Lord's side were eccentric and had strange personalities. If they were the ones who initiated attack, then self defense by the contestants was fair play. Otherwise, it would be too unfair for people who chose to side with the Dark Lord's faction.
He looked at his notifications to check the detailed explanations for the triggered milestone of Dark Conqueror.
[Dark Conqueror (1/9)]
[Once you have defeated all the Nazgûls, you shall receive this formidable title. You can choose one reward for the title from the following 3 options.]
A. You will receive the mount of the Nazgûl - a Nightmare. This is an extremely fast mount which has a level 3 Aura of Terror. It would exhibit its usefulness regardless of whether you are in a battlefield, making a tactical retreat, or in pursuit of your enemies. When the Nightmare dies, it will self-revive after a certain amount of time.
B. Your reputation is quite notorious within the Dark side. By paying a certain fee, you can randomly summon either a vampire, a dark knight, or a lich. The rank of the summoned creature of darkness will be 3rd rank + the difficulty level of your current world.
C. All your attacks will contain the darkness element. You will inflict an additional 10% of dark damage.
Sheyan noted the explanation stated that as long as one participated in the battle against a Nazgûl, it would count towards the completion of the milestone. It means that he can complete the milestone with the power of storyline characters. The difficulty may not be as high as he initially imagined.
Next, he examined the [Armour Fragment of Dwar the Nazgûl]. The description given by realm was:
[This is the proof of your participation in the destruction of a Nazgûl.]
It should have the same use as the [Elven Illusion Bone Crystal] that they got after killing Elrond.
Melody had finished her training by then. She walked over and gently inquired.
"How are you feeling?"
Sheyan forced out a smile and answered.
"I'm alright. The Black Breath won't kill me, but my power is inevitably weakened."
Melody then brought over a kettle that was put to boil on the fire. She poured the boiling content into a bowl and offered it to Sheyan. It appeared to be some sort of strange looking medicine that was blackish-green in colour and was very viscous. It kept bubbling even after it left the kettle. Every time a bubble burst, a weird noise which sounded like clapping could be heard.
"Drink this."
Sheyan was dumbstruck. To be honest, he did not want to drink that stuff at all. However, facing Melody's clear, round eyes, he didn't have the heart to refuse. He could only brace himself and gulped down the whole bowl in one go. The medicine actually didn't taste as bad as he thought it would. A warmth spread from his throat all the way to his stomach, then permeated into his limbs, comforting his pain.
Sheyan's reduction in stats dropped to only 10% after consuming the medicine. Melody sighed regretfully.
"Looks like need the Athelas herb to completely remove the negative effects of the Black Breath. Fortunately, the Shire isn't far from here. Hopefully we can procure some Athelas there."
"To get to the Shire, we will need the help of Goots," said Sheyan with a cough.
Melody nodded.
"Goots has lost everything in this trip. We must find a way to compensate him. We can ask the Gimli tribe to provide him with a several loads of goods at base cost."
She turned her gaze towards the kettle used to brew the medicine. It was something that was exchanged from the realm, so the handicraft was more advanced compared to this world. Melody asked.
"I've never seen such an exquisite kettle before. Is this a product from your world?"
Sheyan hugged her with a smile and told her.
"That's right. From where I come from, anyone has the luxury to use a kettle like this."
Melody's clear eyes glimmered with anticipation.
"Such mysterious craftsmanship. I'm really looking forward to seeing your world."
Sheyan kept smiling and said.
"Don't worry, that day will come soon. However, I must warn you that we have a very different way of life compared to the Elves. When you get there things might be fresh and exciting at first, but after a while you may find the leisurely lifestyle of the Elves much more preferable."
At that moment, Goots woke up with a groan. After gulping down some water, he asked.
"Am I still alive? Where's the Nazgûl?"
"We chased him away," explained Sheyan simply. "Mr. Goots, I must apologise for the death of your people..."
Goots closed his eyes and sighed regretfully.
"I can understand the predicament you were in. In fact, I must thank you for saving my life. It was the evil Nazgûl who caused their death, god bless their souls. This is still a dangerous place so I suggest we depart at once. Before the sun sets this afternoon, we should be able to taste the Hobbits' famous smoked intestines with garlic."