Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 253

It’s currently 11 PM.

The Snow Mage who showed me the build took off, saying she had things to do.

Chloe, who had helped with my experiments, did the same.

Left alone, I headed back to the Capital City.

That’s when it happened. A familiar nickname popped up in front of me, accompanied by the distinctive notification sound for a 1:1 message.

Jupiter – [Oh Blood Demon King!]

After the maintenance was over, I guess he finally decided to log in, even though it showed he was offline until now.

I recalled Jupiter’s uniform-clad appearance and started to type my reply.

Princess Yeo – [Why?]

Jupiter – [Is there nothing more to share today?]

I smiled faintly at Jupiter’s message. He had been struggling so much back then, but now he was the one initiating the conversation.

Princess Yeo – [Did you say it was hard?]

Jupiter – [To acquire better skills, one must face any trial. That’s me, the Knight of Light, Jupiter.]

I was quite pleased with that answer. Nodding, I sent him my location coordinates.

It seemed like I wouldn’t be getting any sleep today.

How could I be the one to leave first when a kid like him was showing such determination to learn from me?

Sleep could be dealt with at school.

Clop-clop, clop-clop!

Had I really waited about five minutes?

I could hear the sounds of small hooves approaching from afar.

A shiny figure sparkled brilliantly.

The Plate Mail, more focused on mobility than defense, was worn by a small girl, riding her snow-white pony, rushing toward me.

“Oh Blood Demon King!”

As Jupiter got closer, she leaped off her pony and landed gracefully. I admired her light and agile movements, and my eyes caught sight of the pure white Angel Wings spread behind her.

I frowned at the sight.

“Jupiter.”

“Where are we thinking of going today?”

“Wings.”

I didn’t respond to Jupiter’s words but pointed to the wings on her back. As I mentioned before, the more bizarre attachments that cover the tanker’s body, the harder it is for the rest of the party members to navigate.

Jupiter looked taken aback and then dismissed her Angel Wings.

Poof—

“Is that good now?”

“Yeah.”

“Um, sorry about that.”

“You just need to remember. No wearing wings when you’re with me from now on. Got it?”

“I understand…”

“Especially don’t wear them in the Village.”

“… In the Village? But you said it was due to the dangers in the Dungeon…”

“If I say don’t wear them, don’t.”

“Ah, got it…”

I shook my head at Jupiter with a stern expression.

It wasn’t that I was worried she’d get more attention wearing wings than me.

If she wore them often enough, she’d get so accustomed to them that she’d unknowingly wear them into a Dungeon as well.

“So, where are we going today?”

“Today…”

I recalled various dungeons as I thought about Jupiter’s words. Since we’d farmed the special Transcendence Stones on our first day together, I needed to pick a farming location this time to merely earn Gold.

“Um…”

The chosen spot was the [Volcano Cave], a location I had tackled alongside the Snow Mage back in the day.

Due to the scorching and irritating Dungeon environment, the various crafting items found inside always traded at a high price.

“We’re going to the Volcano Cave this time.”

“The Volcano Cave…?”

“Yep, we went there yesterday. That hot, sweaty place.”

“Ah, ahh…!”

Jupiter seemed to shiver at the memory of yesterday, her face twisted in discomfort.

“Can’t we go somewhere else? It’s way too hot… My body is sticky with sweat…”

“But the materials that come out of there are expensive!”

“Expensive materials…? Is your Gold the goal here?”

“No, it’s for your training! Don’t you want to be an awesome Paladin? Don’t you want to be the shield for your teammates that never breaks, no matter the crisis?”

“The shield for my teammates…”

“Yeah, the shield for your teammates.”

Jupiter nodded with an expression of determination.

“I’ll go.”

“Good thinking. You should buy a ton of handkerchief items at the Auction House. We’ll be holed up there for six hours today.”

“Six hours…?”

“What’s the issue?”

“Oh Blood Demon King… I need to sleep before going to school.”

“You can sleep at school, can’t you?”

“Sleep at school…?”

“Yep.”

“Isn’t school a holy place for studying…?”

“A holy place? School?”

I realized from Jupiter’s words that she had no experience attending school.

What kind of life had this little girl lived?

She probably hadn’t even tried the delicious bread sold at the snack bar.

“You do well in your studies.”

“That’s because I have a personal tutor…”

“Then you should be fine. I bet the subjects learned there are dull?”

“Is it really? Can I sleep at school?”

“Of course, when have you ever seen me lie?”

Jupiter stared at me with her mouth agape. I had never lied to her even once.

“I see… There’s something I didn’t know.”

Jupiter nodded as if she had realized something, her eyes sparkling.

Watching the swaying white ponytail before me made me want to reach out and pat her head.

I barely managed to turn my gaze and said, “Let’s move to the Dungeon first.”

“Got it. Come here, Ruphelius!”

Jupiter nodded to my words, calling her pony over.

The white pony, grazing nearby, responded and approached with elegance.

Clop-clop—

It happened at that moment.

A hostile gaze was detected by the senses I kept sharply honed.

Hostility. Hatred, Rage, Disgust, Fear.

A mix of all kinds of negative emotions directed at me.

It was a gaze I had sensed before.

I grasped the Staff I had set aside behind me, conjuring up half-formed, hazy memories.

Where had I felt this gaze before?

It had to be recent. Not long ago.

In that moment.

Bang—!

A thunderous gunshot shook the air.

An Archer. A sharpshooter with a musket tier for sure.

The instant I recognized the attack and sound, my body was already in motion.

However, this body wasn’t familiar to me. The Princess Yeo wasn’t the embodiment I was accustomed to.

During 99% of my time playing Deron, I was limited to my main character, Yeo.

Given this, it was natural I’d be more comfortable maneuvering that body.

Perhaps that’s why I couldn’t completely evade the sharpshooter’s attack aimed at me.

Whoosh-!

“Ugh…”

A significant impact struck my right shoulder.

That shock brought the powerless Mage’s body to the ground.

“Oh Blood Demon King!”

“It’s a sniper’s attack. Protect me.”

“Ah, got it!”

Jupiter seemed flustered by this unfamiliar situation and jumped off her pony to stand in front of me.

As I gulped down a Potion, I told her, “The attack came from the right forest.”

“Right… understood!”

Bang—!

Instantly after Jupiter responded, another gunshot echoed.

But this time, the bullet was blocked by the large Shield that Jupiter had drawn.

Thud—!

“You cowardly bastards! Where are you hiding? Come out, why don’t you?!”

Jupiter roared toward the direction the shot had come from.

Her fierce demeanor resembled that of a puppy desperately defending its home.

I bit my lip.

I recognized both the direction and timing of the attack perfectly.

But my body couldn’t keep up.

If I had been playing my real character, Yeo, I wouldn’t have taken such a shoulder wound at all.

As I slowly checked my rising Health, I summoned a Duck Quacking Doll from the ground.

Quack quack!

“Oh Blood Demon King…?”

“Don’t focus on this.”

“But, there’s a duck sound from behind…!”

“I made it. So just focus on blocking the front.”

“Understood…!”

Quack quack!

Using all my mana, I summoned a total of 30 Ducks.

The Ducks waddling on the ground waited for my command.

But my work was still not done.

I gulped down a Mana Potion and prepared to use my next skill.

[Magical Engineering Mine!]

I had no idea how many enemies I was dealing with.

It could simply be a lone sniper ambush.

There were likely more enemies.

I had to operate under that assumption.

The number of summoned Magical Engineering Mines matched the number of Ducks.

I affixed the mines to the backs of the Ducks.

“Go!”

Quack quack!

I scattered the 30 Ducks in every direction.

The Ducks had a short lifespan. And they were slow.

It wasn’t my intention to locate the enemies with the Ducks.

I just needed hands to plant the Magical Engineering Mines for me from afar.

As expected, the 30 Ducks waddled off in all directions, dispersing the Magical Engineering Mines.

“Oh, Blood Demon King! What was that just now…?”

“There might be Assassins as well. Just in case.”

I couldn’t very well move and plant the mines myself, so I entrusted the task to the Ducks.

It seemed the build the Snow Mage had given me was surprisingly better tailored for PVP than I anticipated.

Bang—!

At that moment, another gunshot rang out.

This time, it came from behind me.

But before I could react, Jupiter turned around and shielded me with her body.

Swoosh!

With a swift swing of her Holy Sword, the radiant light tangled around the blade as she severed the blue flash with ease.

I stared wide-eyed at the spectacle.

Jupiter had managed to react at such speed, which meant she had begun to wield her talents.

“Oh Blood Demon King.”

“You…?”

“Use the Return Stone right now.”

“What about you?”

Jupiter didn’t answer.

She merely raised her sword and shield, eyes shining brightly as if ready to protect me.

The reason Jupiter could react to the sniper was that she possessed a similar talent to mine.

But even that reaction time was barely a minute at best.

If that time elapses, Jupiter would collapse to the ground like melted glutinous rice cakes.

“To protect the team members is the shield. That’s what a Paladin is.”

I bit my lip at Jupiter’s words.

In Deron, death came easily.

A minor penalty occurred, but even that could be shrugged off immediately with Gold.

If I used the Return Stone and waited in the Capital City as Jupiter suggested, she would respawn at the resurrection point.

But…

My pride was wounded.

I couldn’t just bail out on an unknown entity like this.

Quack quack!

I summoned another Duck Quacking Doll once more.