by Park Saenal
With the help of the Overgeared Kingdom, Valhalla had prevented an invasion from the empire and had raised its military strength for a year. In spite of this, it was inevitable that they would have to face the empire’s invasion again, making Valhalla greatly poor. It was impossible for the internal economy to maintain at this level.
‘We have to conquer other countries to live.’
The Ultina Kingdom bordering the Valhalla Kingdom was a potential threat. If Ultina joined with the empire for the invasion, Valhalla would have to fight in isolation. The purpose of Valhalla’s conquest war was to absorb Ultina’s economy while eliminating a rear threat.
Still, was it necessary to plunder them in the process? Even a small village like this? Should they incite the hatred of the people when they were planning to devour the whole kingdom? Oasis had doubts but it was answered by the power of Ares’ Plundering skill.
[The Oasis Squad has succeeded in looting the food of Ren Village!]
[The effect of ‘War King’s Generosity has been activated!]
[War King Ares has made a proposal to the inhabitants of the village that has been looted! The residents of the village will be able to find more food than what was stolen! The inhabitants of the looted village had a deep respect for King Ares!]
[The morale of the Oasis Squad has risen sharply! All stats will increase by 5% while the morale is maintained. Stamina consumption will slow by 50%. The ‘Courage’ effect will be obtained. The squad won’t shrink back even when meeting a strong enemy.]
“Uwaaaaahhhhh!” Oasis and the soldiers cheered with excitement. The power of Ares’ growth type hidden class ‘War King’, which was currently at the unique rating, was the most special and unique amongst all the classes. Oasis had a deep faith in Ares. He had seen and learn many things under Ares and believed that Ares would help him become the Undefeated King’s Descendant.
‘I will also be a protagonist like Ares and Grid…’
One year—no, five years… No, it would be good even after ten years. Oasis was confident that his days of glory would come one day. He boasted a perseverance and determination that was beyond the ordinary.
“Who are you?” Oasis was directing the soldiers carrying food when two men suddenly appeared. The two men had their faces and names obscured by military helmets. At first, Oasis thought they were neighborhood youths, but their outfits were unusual. The sets of armor they wore underneath the cloaks were luxurious and excellent.
The mysterious men answered:
“I am a soldier.”
“….? M-Me too.”
“…”
How were they soldiers? One was wearing shabby leather armor while the other was dressed like a mountain hunter.
Oasis frowned and sent a signal to his soldiers, who surrounded the two men. “You are a wandering knight passing by who has paired up with a village youth who burns with a sense of justice. Valhalla’s troops aren’t something that small fries like you can deal with. I will let you keep your swords if you leave right now.”
Currently, Oasis was one of the faces of Valhalla. There was a need for him to act dignified so that the Valhalla army wouldn’t be despised by others.
“Acting strong while robbing a small village? Your Valhalla is a complete group of thugs!” One of the men shouted at Oasis who was warning them. It was the man in leather armor.
“Thugs? Take that back.”
“It seems to be true based on your reaction?”
“You…!”
Then Oasis gave a signal. To think the great Valhalla that Ares founded was being compared to thugs? The furious soldiers simultaneously attacked the two men. After their morale boost, the attacks of the soldiers were threatening. These soldiers who trained under Ares were as firm as rocks, and it was hard to find a gap in their defenses. Moreover, their spears were sharp.
“Hoh.” Asmophel was impressed. He didn’t know that ‘real’ soldiers could be trained to this level. Nevertheless, he didn’t panic. After all, Asmophel nurtured the Overgeared soldiers who were armed with items, so he saw Valhalla’s soldiers as below the Overgeared soldiers.
Asmophel avoided five spears which came at him from different orbits, and he caught one of them by hand. As Asmophel swung the spear he now held, the soldier on the other end flew and broke his allies’ formation. Meanwhile, Haster blocked the attacks with a curtain of ice, firing magic like bullets through the cracking ice curtain. The soldiers had their armor pierced by the ice bullets and collapsed with loud screams, “Kuaaaack!”
Oasis felt astonished as the soldiers’ formation broke in the blink of an eye.
‘Where did these talented people come from?’
Was it because the soldiers were relatively weak, highlighting the skills of the two men? The mysterious men masquerading as soldiers were reminiscent of Grid. Originally, Oasis would’ve run away once he sensed how strong these people were. However, Oasis was now part of Valhalla, so he couldn’t just leave the soldiers and retreat. Additionally, he had lost his fear because of the ‘Courage’ effect.
“You!” Oasis pulled out a sword and rushed toward Haster. Thanks to his ‘Charge’ skill, Oasis’ speed was very fast and his momentum was fierce. Still, it wasn’t enough to threaten Haster. He fired his horn bow and shot the front leg of the approaching horse.
“What?” Oasis’ vision spun. Then Haster’s sword aimed at Oasis as he fell.
The Undefeated King’s sheath scoffed, -You aren’t a threat to anyone now. You aren’t qualified to handle my great power. I think the relationship between you and I will end here today.
“That…” Oasis gritted his teeth and twisted his waist. Did he want to take evasive action while falling in the air? It was a control that the usual Oasis would’ve never been able to achieve with his concentration and physical ability.
“I don’t want to!” Oasis avoided Haster’s attack in a breathtaking manner. He rolled across the ground and jumped back up. “I don’t want to lose anymore!”
Oasis wanted to become the main character. He wanted to let everyone know that ordinary people like him could also come up to the big stage. The expression on Oasis’ face wasn’t ordinary as he raised his sword. Unfortunately, his opponent was too strong. No, his natural talent was bad. The level of skills he built up wasn’t enough. The world wasn’t that easy. Not everyone could become a protagonist.
[You have suffered serious damage!]
“Cough!”
“Oasis!”
A notification window popped up as he heard the screams of the soldiers. The pain came late.
“…?” Oasis’ eyes trembled as he couldn’t understand the present situation. What was this spear through his abdomen? When did this happen and who did it? Oasis slowly turned his head and saw a soldier in a military helmet. It was Haster. Haster had moved behind Oasis and stabbed him. He pulled out a sword and stabbed Oasis again without removing the spear, causing Oasis’ body to slowly turn to gray.
[You have died.]
[This is considered a defeat.]
[You have lost your qualification to become the Undefeated King’s descendant.]
[The voice of the Undefeated King can vaguely be heard.]
-I like your heart.
[The hidden class quest ‘Undefeated King’s Descendant’ has changed to the ‘100,000 Army Swordsmanship’ skill acquisition quest.]
-A loser also has his own oath. Shall we try a bit more?
The conditions for acquiring a legendary class were very tricky. It wasn’t something that could be obtained by deliberately targeting it. Still, the S.A Group wasn’t unreasonable enough to make the opportunity disappear after a single failure. There were new opportunities. No, in fact, Oasis received a more realistic opportunity as he died.
Meanwhile, Haster faced Asmophel. “I am thankful for your help. Aren’t you looking for the old generation of Red Knights? I will help you.”
There were loud roars from the distant capital. Valhalla’s conquest
war was in full swing.
Simultaneously, in the Overgeared Kingdom…
“I want to learn how to make jiangshi.”
“Why do you want to learn?”
“I want to be qualified to be next to the benefactor who gave me a new opportunity. I… I want a friend. I am tired of the relationship where you only use each other.”
“You did well to come,” Grid greeted a welcome guest.
Chapter 849
Chapter 849
Asmophel and Haster didn’t bother following the fleeing soldiers. The inhabitants of the village were safe now, and it was unlikely that the soldiers would return to retaliate.
“You’re going to help me? Can you leave here? Weren’t you protecting the cabin for a reason?” Asmophel asked Haster, who had taken off the military helmet and returned it.
There was obviously a reason. Some of the skills that he learned from Master Winfred involved raising the level through ‘meditation.’ Additionally, Winfred had left a will saying that a person of distinction would visit here. Therefore, Haster had protected the cabin while waiting.
Now, it was time to leave. Haster’s skill level was high enough, and his teacher’s will seemed to be referring to Asmophel.
“I will leave now.” Haster would say goodbye to the place that contained memories of his teacher. Then a notification window appeared before Haster, causing him to smile.
[Affinity with Asmophel has increased by 10.]
Asmophel gladly welcomed Haster. “It is reassuring to be with Winfred’s disciple. I believe that we will help each other on the journey.”
“Me too.” As he replied, a transparent orange shield was formed around Haster.
[All resources have been restored by the effect of the passive skill ‘Heroic Story.’ For one minute, your defense will increase in proportion to the amount of resources used within the past two minutes. In addition, a shield that negates all types of skills and magic damage will be maintained for 10 seconds.]
***
[Jiangshi Recipe]
[Category: Skill Book (Unique)
-An old booklet containing the recipe for a steel jiangshi.
Conditions of Use: Daoist, Necromancer.]
Skills were mostly divided into two categories. They could be learned either through class-specific skills when their level went up or through acquiring them from hidden quests or skill books.
Of course, the value of the latter was higher. Unlike a class skill that could be acquired by raising the level, the skills acquired from quests and skill books were scarce. In particular, the higher the rating of the skill, the greater the versatility and power, as well as their astronomical value.
What about a unique-rated skill book? If it were placed on the auction site right now, the auction price would likely reach billions of won. The more assets the rankers accumulated, the greater the demand for items would be. Meanwhile, the supply remained unchanged. This meant the value of a Satisfy item was now several times higher than it was a few years ago.
“Are you giving this to me?” The 2nd ranked necromancer, Bullet, had been ignored by Agnus and then left the decaying Immortal after being used by Veradin. Now he was stunned. He hadn’t known that the jangshi making method Grid talked about was a skill. Of course, he assumed it would be an item. He’d thought that a jiangshi-type monster would be summoned when certain items were used.
In fact, he hadn’t thought about it too deeply. Bullet had come to find Grid because of the expectations Grid had held in his gaze when he looked at Bullet, not because of his incomprehensible words about jiangshi production.
“Why me?” Bullet asked again while staring blankly. He was wary that this skill book would be poison. “It is pointless if you want me to tell you information about Agnus in exchange for this. I don’t know anything about him. Even if I did, I wouldn’t say it. I don’t want to mess with him. I’m sorry,” Bullet bowed deeply and apologized.
It was an apology for disappointing Grid, who had expectations toward Bullet despite them being enemies.
‘I am once again missing out on a bond.’ Bullet’s expression was bitter as he looked down at the ground. He believed that Grid would be angry. After all, from Grid’s point of view, Bullet was protecting Agnus, who was an enemy.
However, Grid’s response was unexpected. “Why are you making a fuss on your own? Who wants something like that?”
“…?”
“I want you to be my colleague. This skill book is simply a bribe.”
Grid definitely knew that he was strong. He also trusted the Overgeared members, who were prominent in all areas. Still, this didn’t mean that he felt no anxiety. His obsession with Kir wasn’t due to being fearful of a future enemy. Rather, it was because Grid predicted that the Overgeared Kingdom, which was developing uniquely, would soon be isolated, so he wanted more strength. Since there was a limit of the strength of an individual, his desire to recruit talented people naturally increased, and Bullet was a good candidate to fulfill Grid’s wishes.
Moreover, how long would Grid leave the unique-rated skill book that he’d received in the East Continent to rot away? He needed a good necromancer in the Overgeared Kingdom. However, most necromancer rankers belonged to Immortal, so he hadn’t been able to find any talent. The 2nd ranked Bullet was a treasure that Grid had fortunately stumbled across.
“I already heard the story of Immortal and Veradin. Agnus never showed up while Immortal was being smashed.”
“…”
Grid had accidentally seen Bullet screaming at Veradin and knew the ideal that Bullet pursued was a fit for the Overgeared Kingdom. It was why he was certain about this.
“Join the Overgeared Guild. We need you. I need you.”
“…”
Grid’s eyes didn’t shake as he stared at Bullet. It was different from those who tried to rely on Bullet’s strength and also from those who tried to exploit it. Grid was confident enough to make Bullet feel he was trustworthy. To think that there was such a firm belief despite them once being enemies… Bullet’s heart thumped. He felt a type of respect for Grid that was different from what he felt for Agnus. “Thank you. In the future, the Overgeared Guild… No, Grid, I will repay your faith.”
Nevertheless, there was something Bullet had to make clear before that. “I will purchase the skill book at a reasonable price. It is too big a burden if I just receive this from you.”
He had seen more than one or two relationships destroyed because of money and didn’t want to leave room for this at the very beginning. This decision was made based on Bullet’s previous experience. However, Grid refused to accept it. “What if I don’t want to? This is a skill book that I obtained from the East Continent.”
It was an item he had obtained after defeating the chief of the Lava Prison, the largest prison of the Cho Kingdom. The skill book was a rare item which couldn’t be obtained twice.
“Do you think you can put a value on this skill book?”
“…”
Then what was Bullet supposed to do? Confused, he just stayed silent. Meanwhile, Grid showed a wicked smile. “I’ll mortgage your life with this. You can never leave my side in the future.”
“What if I eat the skill book and run away?”
“Haven’t you already seen the result of the kill order? I will follow you to the ends of hell.”
“Haha…”
Should he pull out now? Bullet thought about it seriously, but he couldn’t overcome the temptation. His wish of a ‘precious bond’ caused him to feel a deep attraction to Grid’s offer.
[Necromancer ‘Bullet’ has joined Overgeared Guild One!]
***
[The ’Jiangshi Recipe’ has been acquired.]
[The skill Jiangshi Production has been opened.]
[The skill Coffin Production has been opened.
[The skill Jiangshi Control has been opened.]
[Jiangshi Production Lv. 1]
[You can turn a human body into
a jiangshi. It can’t be produced from the body of another species, monster or animal.
If the level of the body is higher than the creator’s level, the jiangshi can’t be made.
The starting level of the steel jiangshi is 100 and the maximum level is 100 levels lower than the creator.
* The higher the skill level, the higher the variety of the jiangshi that can be created.
Skill Mana Consumption: 100% maximum mana.
Skill Cooldown Time: None.]
[Coffin Production]
[It is possible to produce coffins for the purpose of storing the jiangshi.
A coffin is required to control the jiangshi.
One coffin is consumed per jiangshi.
Resources Consumed: 1,000 mana.
Skill Ingredients Consumption: 12 spikes, 3 birch trees.
Coffin Production Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes.]
[Jiangshi Control Lv. 1]
[Passive.
You can have a maximum of two jiangshis.
Once taken out of the coffin, the jiangshi can be active for up to three hours. After three hours, it should rest for three hours in the coffin. After death, the jiangshi needs to rest for 12 hours in the coffin.]
‘Isn’t this unbelievable?’ Once Bullet saw the information of the newly learned skills and understood the concept of a jiangshi, he couldn’t help feeling surprised. ‘Won’t it grow to be recognized as a unique presence like the death knights?’
There was a disadvantage in the fact that the level of the jiangshi was limited, but this was likely to be overcome once the level of Jiangshi Production increased. In other words, the jiangshi was classified as a top-grade undead.
“This is a great undead…”
“I told you. It was obtained from the East Continent.”
Grid remembered the strength of the black horse jiangshi that had been the head of the Lava Prison. It was a monster that ordinary players couldn’t afford to go against. If Bullet had several black horse jiangshis…
“Bullet, please work hard in the future. I will give as much support as you need.”
“I will surely live up to your expectations…!” Bullet was overwhelmed by Grid’s cheers. He was convinced that if he summoned the regular undead, which consumed the dominance stat, and the jiangshi which didn’t consume the dominance stat, he would have an undead army that wasn’t lacking compared to Agnus’. Bullet felt a sensation that went beyond his limits.