Chapter 789: Act 140 – Can You Just Fight Monsters Properly? (Part Two)
The moral integrity has been delivered and perfectly picked up, moved~~! “Disaster Descends” will be promoted this Wednesday at Sanjiang, everyone please support with your recommendations for Sanjiang tickets.
Sighing, why are you so ?
Alorze sat on the ground with curling smoke around her, and no one dared to approach her. The fiery anger burning in the golden eyes of the young female dragon made people doubt she would transform into a giant dragon at any moment and unleash her wrath upon them. Brendel wisely kept his mouth shut; if he told her this was called the Trap Hall, a famous setting in the game, and that the difficulty of fighting the Duskgazer Twins was only a third of what they’d face here, it would only make Alorze think he was mocking her. Joking aside, the little dragon’s temper had never been great, and if he said that now, she might very well become a giant dragon and eat him. Brendel seriously considered this and raised his eyebrows, deciding to remain silent.
Mel had met an untimely end; such was the consequence of angering a giant dragon. To put it bluntly, compared to Alorze, the individual strength of any one of the Duskgazer Twins was about even, but the problem was that an enraged Alorze was something Mel had never anticipated. When the little dragon suddenly transformed into a golden dragon and swatted the black wolf away with a single swipe, the opponent likely had not reacted before tumbling into the abyss below. The speed was so remarkable that it could be deemed the fastest sacrifice among bosses in “Amber Sword.”
Brendel approached the edge of the cliff and glanced at the place where Mel had fallen. It was a pity that half of the loot was lost just like that. At that moment, he heard a cold voice asking, “What was that beast’s name?” It was Alorze’s voice, and Brendel’s heart sank. He did not intend to provoke the furious young dragon, but she seemed intent on not letting him off the hook.
“Mephistopheles.”
“Mephistopheles, the leader of the Duskgazer Wolves,” Alorze suddenly chuckled, causing Brendel to feel a chill run down his spine. He started to suspect that the little dragon might have been electrocuted by the lightning trap and was now deranged. But she squinted her golden eyes and replied, “Legend says the leader of the Duskgazer Wolves is by no means my match; it seems I can begin my coming-of-age ceremony.”
“d*mn!” Brendel was dumbfounded. He had seen arrogance before, but he had never come across such self-aggrandizement. It was evident to anyone with common sense that Mel was still in a sealed state; the strength she had exhibited was not her true power. After all, this was the Temple of the Hibernators, and if she were to emerge outside, even ten Alorzes might not stand a chance against any one of the Duskgazer Twins. However, he had not heard how dragon coming-of-age ceremonies were conducted; if they required challenging a monster stronger than oneself, he couldn’t help but glance at Alorze and think, surely she wouldn’t use Mel to complete her coming-of-age ceremony, would she? Dragons couldn’t be that reckless.
“What? Do you have an opinion?” Alorze’s tone suddenly shifted, a thread of danger creeping into her voice.
“No, how could that be?” Brendel quickly turned away from the cliff—mostly because he was afraid the young dragon might impulsively slap him off the edge to join Mel. As he distanced himself from the cliff, this action did not escape Charles’s notice. The young wizard attendant immediately sold out his lord, and beside him, the Silver Elf Princess, more familiar with Brendel, couldn’t help but chuckle. Only the solemn priest Himelam had a look of disbelief and innocently asked, “My lord wouldn’t do that, would he?”
A moment later, Shi Do nodded in agreement, believing Brendel to be a paragon of virtue.
For these two girls who had not yet been “polluted” by Brendel, Charles just shrugged. At that moment, Brendel had already moved to the other side of Alorze and changed the subject, saying, “By the way, the dragon coming-of-age ceremony can’t be so frivolous, right?”
“What do you mean by frivolous?” Alorze was not pleased by Brendel’s words, but she saw that the sly human had already stepped away from the cliff and only huffed a couple of times. After all, there had been a moment when she genuinely wanted to slap Brendel down into the abyss too, thinking that he definitely knew about the trap. How dare he not warn her! The little dragon bared her teeth, “Since the age of silver, the number of dragons has continuously declined, and the age of maturity has also been lowered. I am now of an age to initiate my coming-of-age ceremony, but first, I must slay a Duskgazer stronger than myself as a qualification, and then take a test.”
“Ah, so it’s just about obtaining qualification,” Brendel realized, indicating that dragon coming-of-age ceremonies were not taken lightly. However, killing a Duskgazer, rather than a monster, was required. The Duskgazer was once common before the age of chaos; before the fall of the Duskgazer Dragon, these terrifying beasts roamed the continent. Now, one could only see Duskgazers in ancient ruins, and how difficult it was to find a powerful one! After the Knight of Azure shattered the sky, the leaders of the chaotic army either died or were sealed away. After hundreds of years, in Vaunte, one would no longer see their trace.
Alorze noticed Brendel’s expression and knew what he was thinking. She coldly snorted, “Do you think the Duskgazer Dragon is really dead? In the world beyond the borders of civilization, beyond the Black Forest, creatures from chaos are not rare. Those that are powerful, you cannot even imagine.”
It was no surprise to Brendel that the Duskgazer Dragon was not dead; many clues pointed to this evidence after the Stone Tablet War. In fact, throughout ancient history, the Duskgazer Dragon had been defeated more than once; it was entirely possible that it was merely lying in wait for another chance to resurface. Otherwise, if the Duskgazer Dragon were truly dead, those chaotic followers who revered it would not be so fanatical. Moreover, Brendel also knew that the Duskgazer Dragon had no physical form but was an embodiment of rules, much like the world of Vaunte itself—where there is order, there is chaos; the two are opposed yet interdependent.
Upon hearing Alorze say this, he instantly understood; the world beyond the Black Forest had not even been visited by players from the previous world. If there was something there, he could understand.
Alorze gleefully continued, “Once Mr. Mephistopheles kills that one-eyed wolf, I’ll take it as my exam result. The Duskgazer Twins, hehehe, the elders will definitely approve. In that case, my achievement will be the most glorious one for the dragon race in a hundred years!”
Brendel’s jaw dropped. “Wait, wouldn’t that mean you killed it yourself?”
“What of it?” Alorze rolled her eyes. “Do they know? Who’s going to tell them? You? Or those Crusian people?”
The way the little dragon rolled her eyes was surprisingly cute, and at least this was when Brendel saw her display a young girl’s demeanor, but she quickly bared her pearly white teeth to threaten others. Joking aside, Brendel certainly would not spill the beans; there was no benefit in doing so, and he would likely—no, almost certainly—suffer retaliation from Alorze. While he could ignore that, his territory would suffer. Just imagine having a malicious dragon nearby; it wouldn’t even take a dragon—if Alorze just instructed Shi Ta to lurk on a nearby hill, traders would frequently be attacked and lose food supplies. He couldn’t afford that; the current Duke Toniger had barely managed to prosper through commerce, and if trade routes were compromised, it wouldn’t take long to return to a state of dire poverty.
And as for those Crusian people, even if they wanted to send word, could they find the lair of the dragons? It wasn’t like Erluin’s miserable little nation where one could come and go at will.
Regardless, he still felt it was somewhat odd; did dragons not care at all about their coming-of-age ceremonies? He eyed Alorze suspiciously, to which she leisurely replied, “Can I consider it an adventure with you all?”
So this was what they called teamwork…
Brendel was finally certain that the so-called coming-of-age ceremony of dragons appeared to be rather frivolous.
Just as he was feeling slightly speechless at the peculiarities of the dragon race’s coming-of-age ceremony, news finally arrived that Mephistopheles and Veronika had joined forces to hunt down and k*ll that one-eyed dragon, Mein. The unfortunate Duskgazer Wolf could be considered lucky to have been hunted by a sword saint who had entered the extreme domain and a sword saint at the pinnacle of rules, both of whom were also empire legion commanders; Brendel couldn’t count the number of entities with such privileges in the game on his fingers.
The messenger was a young knight, sent at Veronika’s request. Because Mephistopheles currently counted as Brendel’s ally, Mein was viewed as a cooperative k*ll between the Crusian and Erluin people, with the spoils to be divided between both parties. The Crusians hoped to obtain Mein’s magic crystal and bl**d, given that the magic crystal from a creature of Mein’s level was extremely formidable, comparable to that of a dragon. Veronika, too, had a good plan; but unfortunately, Brendel knew better that Mein’s and Mel’s drop lists were also top-tier—specifically, the highest level world boss drops. Although his own level was relatively lower, he wouldn’t be able to make use of it at this level—so he gracefully agreed to take away the equipment drops.
He asked the knight a few simple questions before bringing the Laurena couple to the location where Veronika and the Gray Saint were. Mein hadn’t escaped far and had been impaled by Mephistopheles’s sword just outside the hall’s corridor. This was after the Gray Saint and Veronika had tracked it for a while; otherwise, with Brendel’s nominal strength as a teacher, Mein would have probably just moved its foot and instantly met its demise.
When Brendel arrived at the enormous corpse, he noticed that the creature’s head had already been punctured, indicating that the magic crystal had likely been extracted. He looked up at Veronika, who smiled broadly, indicating substantial rewards. When she noticed Brendel’s gaze, she quickly replied, “Little one, if you want, I’ll gladly share this monster’s bl**d with you as well; you know how important high-level magic crystals are to the empire with the upcoming Holy War.”
Brendel found this amusing; of course, he knew the significance of high-level magic crystals, which were primarily used to power the top-tier magical constructs. In the Holy War, the Temple of Fire would undoubtedly expend all its resources. This was a contest for authority, allowing no leniency. However, Veronika’s display felt somewhat absurd, and he couldn’t help but wonder what level of magic crystal she had obtained.
Yet Brendel also understood that this female commander would absolutely not tell him. He turned back to look at the Gray Saint, who nodded at him and signaled.
“d*mn!” Brendel couldn’t help but curse under his breath upon seeing it; it was indeed at the same level as dragon crystals. This meant that the top-tier war machines of the Temple of Fire had a source of power. However, he genuinely did not feel jealous; high-level magic crystals held little significance for him. Though they could provide energy for Valhalla’s growth, medium to low-level magic crystals could do the same; he saw no need to extravagantly use something so scarce.
“No need for the bl**d; I just hope the empire remembers my contributions and those of the princess, and I would be deeply grateful if they don’t give us trouble at critical times.” Brendel replied casually; to be honest, he was not interested in Mein’s bl**d. Although the bl**d of the Duskgazer was also considered high-level monster bl**d and a material for crafting many high-grade equipment, unlike magic crystals, no matter how high the level of chaotic creatures’ bl**d or how strong the energy contained within it, it never counted as the highest quality material. The reason was simple: it was too mottled; the true highest-tier bl**d would always be golden bl**d. If possible, Brendel would have already been planning how to extract a little bl**d from Alorze.
Of course, this plan was somewhat unrealistic; the little dragon had a terrible temper. It seemed now that perhaps Shi Ta was the more reliable option. Since there was a top-notch mobile bl**d bank in the form of the little fat dragon, why would he still be interested in other mottled bl**d?
Upon hearing Brendel’s response, Veronika couldn’t help but chuckle and shake her head. She understood what Brendel was implying, but the empire’s decisions were not something she could change. Grifian wanted to revive this kingdom, which was contrary to the empire’s interests; the empire would never shift its stance for just a magic crystal of high value—of course, regardless, she had no intention of returning the benefits in hand. Thus, she decided to keep silent and act shamelessly—this could be considered one of the privileges of being a lady.
Brendel walked directly to Mein’s corpse and raised one of its massive claws. He turned and called out to Laurena not far away, “Lady Laurena, may I borrow your fiancé for a bit?”
The female knight’s face turned red. “What nonsense are you talking about?” she replied angrily, smacking Phillas, who had already cheerfully joined Brendel’s side.
In “Amber Sword,” low-level beasts had no equipment drop lists, and their drops typically consisted of materials like bones, fur, and bl**d. If it were a monster, additional drops such as magic crystals would apply. However, high-level beasts were different; monsters that mastered dark magic would typically collect various magical items, and some—including dragons—would carry them. The Duskgazer Wolves were no exception; Brendel knew that they generally hid loot within the magical space created in their claws.
Phillas pointed at the tip of Mein’s claw, and with a crack, something seemed to drop from thin air onto the ground.
All present looked down and quickly noticed it was a rather peculiar golden pocket watch.
Why did he say it was peculiar? Because the watch had no cover, and the dial was only half; it had only a minute hand and an hour hand with no second hand. Yet, despite this, it continued to tick away, seemingly undamaged—or perhaps just that the gears remaining in the dial were functioning as usual. From Brendel’s side, one could vividly see the intricate internal components exposed on the side of the pocket watch. The broken gear edges were partially intact, but that did not seem to affect its operation.
Upon seeing this object, Brendel’s vision blurred.
“d*mn!”
He couldn’t help but cry out internally.
The Time Slip Pointer, a demi-artifact, was the most top-tier drop in Mein’s drop list. Phillas, worthy of the title of face fighter, casually touched it and managed to pull out what had a one in ten thousand chance of appearing. Yet the crucial issue wasn’t that; it was something that almost made him spit out bl**d. That was, this pocket watch itself did not constitute a singular demi-artifact.
To be precise, it should be a set of demi-artifacts.
The Time Slip Pointer and the Rewind Dial, when combined, could be considered a complete demi-artifact. However, the problem now was that, theoretically, these two items should always appear together, but Mel, who was supposed to drop the Rewind Dial, had already been slapped into the abyss by Alorze; how on earth was he supposed to retrieve that corpse? It had likely long become a meal for demons.
Brendel felt like crying without tears. Since coming to this world, he had already defeated a double-digit number of bosses, and now that a demi-artifact had finally emerged, he hadn’t expected it to be only half.
Only half.
And the most tragic half—the Time Slip Pointer.
‘Time Slip Pointer—When you activate the Time Slip Pointer, time relative to you accelerates. You can gain an equivalent effect of time acceleration, with the multiplier determined by yourself, but not exceeding ten times. During the acceleration of time, any effects based on time (such as cooldowns, charging, recovering) will also accelerate. Time acceleration will double your lifespan loss; when you activate the Time Slip Pointer, you lose one-thousandth of your total experience every second. With each doubling of the acceleration multiplier, the experience loss speed doubles as well.’
‘Rewind Dial—When you activate the Rewind Dial, time will flow back to a state from ten minutes ago. All your states (life states, experience, and any other states based on time) will reset to what they were at the recorded time. After using the Rewind Dial, it requires seventy-two hours to recharge.’
Without the Rewind Dial, the Time Slip Pointer was merely a deletion artifact, claimed to send you back to square one after just two minutes of use. At that moment, Brendel’s heart brimming with countless words was overshadowed by an intense wish to leap back and bite that little dragon to d*ath. Can’t we just fight monsters properly?
