《The Miracle Lord, the God Of War》


 Chapter 1：A Broken Dark Knight

    Weathered ruins stood high amidst the chilly wind, blocking out the rotten smell.


    Whoosh!


    A sharp whistle sounded, and a stream of silver light flashed through the air before it disappeared just as quickly.


    Click.


    A very subtle sound could be heard. It was as if some sort of delicately placed mechanism had been triggered. A flash slashed through a stone wall, drawing a diagonal line from the top to the bottom, immediately followed by a rumbling sound. The top half of the stone wall began to slowly slide down along the slash, and scattered bits and pieces of sand and stone fell to the ground.


    In an instant, only half of the seemingly thick stone wall remained. The other half of the wall had collapsed to the ground.


    Smoke and dust filled the air.


    "Damn it. This does not make any sense!" A young man, who had been hiding behind the stone wall, cursed.


    The young man seemed to be only around 22 or 23 years old. He wasn''t particularly eye-catching, but his satin-like black hair was appealing. Although he had cursed and the situation seemed rather dire, his face did not show much panic. His eyes were calm, and a unique charm emitted from his entire body.


    He did not choose to remain hidden behind the stone wall. Instead, he picked up his only weapon and ran away quickly, and not a moment too soon, as half of the stone wall proceeded to rumble and almost collapse. He then hid behind another wall nearby.


    "Sean! You big liar!" The slightly immature voice of a child suddenly rang through the otherwise quiet space. Perhaps it was because the owner of the voice seemed a little anxious and nervous, but the voice sounded a little sharp. "I do not want to trust you anymore!"


    The owner of the voice was hidden not too far away from the young man.


    The voice seemed to belong to a young girl.


    Her skin was fair and delicate. Even though children''s skin often was delicate, hers was particularly so. Her features were as exquisite as the features of models for legendary works of master sculptors, and her long blond hair turned a bright gold under the rays of the sun. All of these traits combined to paint a picture that the girl''s identity was not as simple as a commoner. At least, in the opinion of the young Sean, who looked a little disheveled, the young girl''s bloodline was aristocratic.


    However, right at that moment, the expression on Sean''s face was a little ugly. "You idiot! I thought I told you to hide better than that!"


    Sean lifted his head so he could see over the wall he was hiding behind and saw that the enemy, who had been targeting him the entire time, had turned their head around to face the little girl.


    "Damn it! I still have not established a stable hate, but now you have pulled all the hate towards you!" Sean cursed. When he saw the enemy walking towards the little girl, Sean quickly picked up a stone and threw it at the enemy. "Cecilia, hurry up and run! Find a place to hide!"


    Ding.


    The stone hit the helmet on the enemy''s head. It bounced off and fell to the ground.


    It did not do any damage, but it was a good enough method to attract its attention and keep it away from Cecilia.


    The enemy that stood in front of Sean was a soldier. It was wearing black full-body armor. There were already many signs of damage on the armor, and because of the prolonged lack of maintenance, the armor was dull. It had probably been that dull for a very long time. While it was worn, it could only protect some parts of the body. Interestingly, the places on the body that were protected by the armor had very little protective value, as hitting them would not cause death. The areas with actual protective value, the parts the body that could instantly cause death when harmed, were exposed.


    Just from looking, it seemed that the armored soldier was an Elite Soldier who had been withdrawn from the front line of the battlefield.


    However, in reality, it was a Dark Knight.


    [Name: Broken Dark Knight]


    [Race: Undead Spirit]


    [Class: Dark Knight (Rank Five)]


    [Attributes: Strength: 16; Agility: 8; Endurance: 13; Wisdom: 0; Will: 5]


    That series of data was all of the information Sean could currently find through his eyes about the monster that was standing in front of him.


    Under normal circumstances, a rank-five Dark Knight was not a monster that Sean would have been able to deal with. However, the Dark Knight that stood in front of him had suffered severe and irreparable damages. Therefore, right now, it was only a rank-one Dark Knight. Even though that was the case, for most people, a Dark Knight was by no means an easy monster to deal with because it retained its innate fighting ability of the Undead Spirit even when severely injured.


    But that instinct was everything that it had left.


    Under the influence of that instinct, it would decide who to focus its hate on. That was done according to the specific strength of the enemy within its line of sight. Its hate allowed it to focus on one individual to attack.


    Sean saw that the Dark Knight''s line of sight had finally stopped and rested on him before it began to walk towards him. Sean frowned as he clenched the long sword in his hand and came out from behind the stone wall. The current situation was a little different from what he had originally planned, but at least it would not deviate too far, as the situation was still under his control. If Cecilia had not suddenly come out and ruined his plan earlier, then it would have been a lot easier to deal with the Dark Knight in front of him.


    "Bring it!"


    Sean glanced at the longsword, which was emitting a chilly blue light from the hand of the Dark Knight and took a step forward. A split second later, he rushed towards it.


    Sprint!


    Sean and the Dark Knight were only six meters away from each other. That was the maximum distance the sprint could reach.


    However, although Sean''s sprint was fast, the Dark Knight''s reaction was not slow.


    Almost exactly when Sean started sprinting, the Dark Knight waved the longsword in its hand, working entirely on instinct.


    The same sharp sound that was heard earlier, which had made Sean''s head numb, was heard again. The Dark Knight swung the long sword in its hand in a half-circle. A light blue brilliance as clear as a crescent moon appeared. The sword''s speed was going as fast as it could, just as Sean was. Given the timing of the two movements, if Sean did not adjust something soon, then as soon as he approached the Dark Knight, he would become a headless man. Just from looking at their instincts, it was clear that the Dark Knight''s fighting strength was above Sean''s fighting strength.


    However, something unexpected happened. The exact moment the Dark Knight''s longsword would have hit Sean''s neck, Sean paused. His entire body went from going at extreme speed to complete stillness. The strong reaction force distorted Sean''s face, clearly showing a pained grimace. It was obvious that it was not a pleasant experience for him, but the movement had allowed Sean to completely avoid the danger of being decapitated by the Dark Knight. In the next moment, the ordinary iron sword in Sean''s hand ruthlessly pierced the heart of the Dark Knight. Sean pushed the sword in as far as he could, making sure there was no way the Dark Knight could fight back.


    Roar!


    Suddenly, two red lights were emitted from the Dark Knight''s helmet. Sean had heard a transmission of sounds, but instead, there was the sound of an angry roar. It seemed to have come directly from within the soul of the Dark Knight, penetrating the still air with its gruesome sound.


    Even so, there did not seem even the slightest bit of fear in Sean''s eyes as he clenched the sword and continued to stab it deeper into the Dark Knight. It went so deep that the tip of the sword penetrated the dead and stiff muscles in the Black Knight and stuck out its back. In the next second, Sean released his right hand, which had held the longsword. The moment he let go of the hilt, a pale white glow appeared in his right hand. He put his right hand up against the right hand of the Dark Knight. "Distribution of proficiency points. One towards strength, one towards agility, and one towards endurance," Sean said to himself.


    The light on Sean''s right hand flashed and then disappeared, but the strange thing was that no one could see the light except Sean himself.


    The right hand of the Dark Knight, which was holding the long sword, had swung according to its instincts. However, the scene of fresh blood splattering everywhere that the Dark Knight had expected had not appeared, confusing it slightly. It only felt a slight change and strangeness in its right hand. However, the specific degree of the change was not distinguishable by the completely dead brain of the Dark Knight.


    Sean took a step back, now holding a longsword in his right hand. The longsword was the one that was previously held by the Dark Knight in its right hand.


    [Verification successful. The weapon belonging to the opponent has been successfully seized.]


    The Black Knight glanced at the sword that Sean was holding in his hand. Then it looked down at its right hand. It could not understand why the sword that had originally been in its hand was gone. However, as a severely injured Undead Spirit with zero intelligence, it did not have the brain capacity to think about how or why that had occurred. It only lowered its head and looked down at its chest. It saw the sword sticking out of its chest, so it reached out, grabbed the sword, and pulled it out.


    When the Dark Knight lifted his head once again, it was welcomed with a shower of attacks from Sean.


    The series of continuous attacks from Sean would not have been enough against the Dark Knight if it were in prime condition, as they were normally much stronger. However, right now, it was enough to deal with a damaged Dark Knight that had only one-third of its fighting instinct left. Even though the damage from Sean''s attacks was not particularly serious and most of the damage from the decisive attacks was protected by the armor on the Black Knight, Sean''s attacks were still very smooth. Every set of three consecutive strikes was a method of attack, and the sets of attacks were continuous, like a storm or a well-oiled machine.


    From the very beginning of the attacks, the Dark Knight could only defend itself for a moment before completely falling to a disadvantage. It was completely suppressed by Sean. Although the Dark Knight tried to fight back, the ordinary longsword that was held in its hand was nothing compared to the longsword that Sean had, which had been previously seized from the Dark Knight. After just a few confrontations between them, the long sword that the Dark Knight was holding completely broke apart. That was the main reason why the Dark Knight had been completely suppressed by Sean.


    "Cecilia!" Sean shouted out.


    "I know!" The little girl with blond hair, who had hidden in the distance, answered loudly. Sean hoped that she would do what he needed her to do.


    In the next moment, Sean bent down and dodged a swing from the Dark Knight. Then he pounced fiercely to one side and jumped to the spot two meters behind the Dark Knight. He rolled to his feet. Right at that moment, a loud explosion suddenly sounded. The scorching heatwave and the impact of the current that was set off made Sean stagger a few steps. Cecilia had done what she was supposed to.


    Fortunately, his reaction was fast enough, and he quickly steadied himself once again.


    When he lifted his head and looked up, the Dark Knight in front of him had turned into a human torch, but the tenacious vitality of an Undead Spirit prevented the Dark Knight from being killed. Instead, a roar was emitted from the depth of its soul.


    Sean would never allow the monster in front of him to have any chance to counterattack.


    He quickly rushed up in front of the Dark Knight and waved the longsword in his hand. A blue crescent appeared as it swept across the Dark Knight''s neck. The still-burning head of the Dark Knight flew up into the sky, its black helmet still attached surely to it.

 Chapter 2：Another World

    The Miracle Continent was the continent on which the world rested. It had been divided into dozens of kingdoms and empires. No one could imagine the sizes of the kingdoms and empires, let alone a large number of islands and undiscovered areas on the continent around the kingdoms and empires.


    The weather had a very specific pattern on the Miracle Continent. The farther to the north, the milder the climate was. Overall, the continent''s air was not dry, but it was not humid either. It was probably the most comfortable environment a person could live in. The Serian Kingdom was located in the northern area, and it could be regarded as a rich and powerful kingdom. However, no matter how rich and powerful a kingdom was, there were always a few areas that lagged behind in terms of development. Those areas could potentially hinder the development of the entire kingdom, though that could have been because of local Lords. However, most people did not think like that.


    There was a small village in the Sivir Domain, which was located in the Serian Kingdom.


    The village was not big. There were only around 30 families that lived in the entire village. However, because there were no special products to export from the village, not just businessmen, but even foot dealers did not go there. Therefore, the flow of people was close to zero. Usually, only a very small number of people could be seen passing by the village in a year. Although the village was not that prosperous, it was not barren. The village relied on hunting and the two seasons of farming every year, which allowed the villagers to live a relatively good life.


    However, it had not been that peaceful for a while. Ever since an Undead Dark Knight, who had arrived out of nowhere, had occupied an old ruin that was located outside the village a few months ago, people inside the village had been in a constant state of panic. From that moment onward, people inside the village had begun to disappear. It even developed to the point that as soon as night came, each household would close their doors tight, as they did not dare to go outside for fear of also disappearing. It was exacerbated by the fact that Walking Corpses had also started to appear inside the village.


    Since the village''s economy was not very good, they couldn''t ask a mercenary team to come and help, as they could not afford it. As for the small mercenary teams, they did not dare to take up such a task after they heard buzz words such as "Dark Knight" and "Walking Corpses." The chief of the village had sent people over to tell the Lord of the situation when it had gotten dire. However, after a long time had passed, the Lord''s army had not come to surround the village and suppress the issue. It made the people inside the village feel a sense of despair, as they felt like they had been abandoned.


    The ruins that were located outside the village had once been used as a mansion by an aristocrat. During that time, the environment that surrounded the village was quite good. But due to some man-made developments and destruction, the beauty that had surrounded the village had disappeared. Afterward, the mansion was abandoned as well. Later on, perhaps because of the severe weather, or maybe because of other reasons, the mansion collapsed and turned into ruins.


    At the moment, nearly 50 villagers had gathered at the entrance of the village. They looked expectantly at the ruins in the distance.


    The ruins were not too far away from the village. It was possible to see the outline of the buildings when standing at the entrance of the village.


    "Chief, those two children¡­Are you sure they will be all right?"


    "It should be¡­no problem at all¡­" The old man who was called the chief of the village was bent over, as his face displayed a little uncertainty. "That person warned us before this monster appeared, so¡­so he must have a way to defeat it."


    However, no matter who it was, once a person entered the ruins, which was the same as hell in the eyes of the villagers, and had been there for five to six hours without any updates, it was safe to imagine that something bad had happened. Unfortunately, the two youngsters had been the only people who were willing to help them in recent months. Therefore, even though they had been gone for so long, everyone was still gathered at the entrance of the village with expectations and hopes.


    Right at the moment that looks of disappointment began to appear on the faces of the villagers, two figures finally appeared on the horizon.


    Most of the villagers began to rub their eyes. When they had confirmed that the two people were the same ones who had said they would help them solve their problems before they ran to the ruins, all the villagers let out a burst of cheers. They rushed towards the two figures like a tide.


    The two figures were Sean and Cecilia.


    Cecilia was dressed in a long black and white Gothic dress. She held a golden book in her arms that was around 30 centimeters thick, and 30 centimeters in length and width. Her exquisite facial features were expressionless at the moment, but the expression on her face as she looked at Sean displayed a little bit of resentment. "Liar!" muttered Cecilia from time to time.


    Sean sent her a wry smile, then rubbed Cecilia''s head. "I told you earlier not to run out from your hiding spot. I told you to wait until I tricked it into moving closer to where you were, and then to use your Fireball Technique to deal with it. You did not listen and instead made things difficult to deal with. How can you blame me for that?" Sean questioned.


    "Liar!"


    Sean was helpless.


    The strategy of getting into the ruins to deal with the Dark Knight had gone quite smoothly in the beginning.


    There were only about 10 Walking Corpses inside the ruins. With Sean''s sword skills and magic skills from Cecilia working together, the Walking Corpses were very easy to deal with. Of course, the process wasn''t very pretty, but it was effective. After all, the evil monsters like the Walking Corpses were really ugly and a little frightening to Cecilia. However, even though things had gone well along the way, the situation turned into a complete mess once they met the Dark Knight.


    According to Sean''s original plan, he would have been the one responsible for attracting the hate of the Dark Knight and leading it close to where Cecilia was hiding. After that, Cecilia would have used her Fireball Technique to take care of the Dark Knight. Because of this, Sean had stayed inside the ruins for a couple of hours. However, Sean had never expected that Cecilia would have been startled by a mouse, hence why she was eventually discovered by the Dark Knight. After that incident, a series of unfortunate events occurred, in which they were constantly evading and running away. The Dark Knight had entered into a stage of fury when it saw them running away, which made it significantly more difficult to handle. Even if Sean had the experience dealing with a Dark Knight, he still did not dare to provoke it in that state. He could only endure until the stage of fury from the Dark Knight had ended.


    Of course, if that was all that had happened, then Cecilia would not have been scolding Sean. However, before the task, he had told Cecilia it would be very easy. He had said that all she had to do was throw out a few fireballs to easily take care of the business. But in reality, Cecilia had almost been cut down by a Dark Knight with his sword. Faced with such a direct fight had made her extremely frightened, and she was trying to make Sean suffer for it. Sean really could not say anything after he thought about how Cecilia was only a 12 or 13-year-old girl.


    "It is different from the game." Sean looked at Cecilia, who still had an angry expression on her face. "There are still too many unexpected factors. This is still just a level five dungeon¡­" Sean muttered.


    "What are you muttering about again?!" Cecilia glanced at Sean. Although there was still not much expression on her face, she was not as angry as before. "You are always talking to yourself like this." She looked forward again. "The villagers are coming."


    "It''s nothing." Sean shook his head as he glanced at the villagers, who were cheering and running towards them. A small smile replaced the serious expression that had been displayed on his face. Although he looked a bit disheveled at the moment, the confident and calm aura emanating from his body still made people feel like they had found their backbone. "That''s right. This is no longer a game, but the real world!"


    It was as if he was trying to strengthen some sort of belief. In front of all the villagers, Sean lifted his hand, which was holding the severed head of the Dark Knight.


    All of a sudden, the cheers from the villagers became even louder.


    Like heroes who had returned home triumphantly, Sean and Cecilia were welcomed back to the village with great enthusiasm. It made Cecilia a little bit distressed because she was not very good at socializing with other people. However, whenever he noticed, Sean would take great care of her. After they returned to the village, there was a grand dinner, as if it was a celebration. Fish even appeared during the dinner. The village was nowhere near the seaside, so their main dishes were based on meat and vegetables, and fish was a luxury. Generally, fish-based dishes would only ever appear during major festivals. The most special thing about the dinner was that the fish dishes that had appeared during the dinner were all very fresh. This made Sean believe that the enthusiasm from the villagers was all real, as there were no hints that they were being deceived.


    When the dinner was over, the villagers even sorted out a clean house for Sean and Cecilia to stay in. Such enthusiasm was usually hard to find, so Sean had no choice but to choose to stay inside the village for another day.


    ...


    The northerly wind in the middle of the night was not as cold as expected. Sean stood at the window on the second floor of the house, overlooking the view outside.


    A moment later, Sean finally turned from where he had been standing next to the window. He turned his head and glanced at Cecilia, who was sleeping on the bed. From the look on her face, he could see that the little girl was sleeping very soundly. Looking at the sleeping Cecilia, a small smile stretched across Sean''s face, which was rarely seen. "A month has already passed¡­"


    The words held some very deep emotions.


    In reality, Sean did not belong to that world. He had arrived from a place called Earth.


    He could not explain why he had appeared in this world. In the last memory of the last scene from before he arrived in this world, he could remember he had led an elite team to reclaim a 100-person dungeon that was claimed to be the most difficult in the game at the time. After that, he had mysteriously woken up on the outskirts of the continent. At the time, he was penniless and even had to face being chased by several country dogs. If not for the hunters who happened to be nearby, he may have turned into a meal for those dogs.


    After that event, Sean had sorted out his thoughts and decided to take care of things by placing his survival as his immediate top priority. The reason he could adapt to the pace and habits of life in the world so quickly and understood many things that normal people would have found surprising was entirely due to the virtual online game that Sean had been playing when he was still on Earth. The game was called "Miracle," and the world inside the game was the same as the world that Sean resided in right now.


    As Sean started to learn about that, he had also begun to discover the secrets hidden on his body. The secret was that even though he had come to this world at only level one and his previous luxurious equipment and amazing wealth had not been brought over with him, his skills tab had been transported along with him. It displayed the many powerful skills that Sean had spent a lot of time and effort collecting and practicing.


    Although the skills were impossible to use at first, Sean soon knew what he was supposed to do after he discovered that this world was the same as the world inside the game "Miracle." However, even though he knew what to do, he quickly realized how difficult it was to accomplish his goal after he started to implement his plans. That was because in an online game, where it was a virtual world, a lot of time, he had not needed to care too much about many of the situations that occurred. But it was now the real world, which meant that daily problems had to be taken care of.


    On the Miracle Continent, not only did Sean face all kinds of life-threatening situations, but he also had to work hard to make money to solve his problems of food and clothing. Furthermore, he had to find ways to increase his current level. Apart from those things, there were also different kinds of practical issues that had haunted him, such as injury, sickness, and the distance on the road. An hour-long journey inside the game had increased to more than a few days in the real world. Due to it being the real world, his health bar and mana bar did not appear either. If a foot or hand was broken, it would become a real lifelong disability. Death naturally also became a real death.


    Even so, Sean had not given up because he was well aware of the gap that his advantage put between himself and the others. It was related to the proficiency points. He was just like the player he had been inside the game; he would receive two proficiency points every time he advanced a level.


    That was what Sean valued the most.


    On Sean''s skills tab, only three skills had been activated so far.


    [Sprint: Run six meters forward at a very fast speed. Support/Rank One/Common, level 2/3. Proficiency 1/4.]


    [Slash Combo: Make three consecutive attacks. Sword Skill/Rank One/Common/Sword, level 2/5. Proficiency 2/4.]


    [Steal: If the sum of strength, endurance, and agility are greater than the sum of three goals, then the opponent''s weapon can be successfully seized. Support/Rank One/Special/Empty-handed, level one.]


    It took Sean nearly a month before he finally advanced to level five. As he only had 10 proficiency points, he did not dare to randomly use them.


    In the later stages, there were a lot more skills for the player to acquire and the activation of the skills would consume one proficiency point. There would also be the activation of the special skills that needed to consume more proficiency points, not to mention the fact that proficiency points that could also be used to improve personal attributes or to improve life and professional skills. His proficiency points would all have to be carefully considered before being used.


    Usually, the consumption of one proficiency point was required to activate a skill. Skills such as "Steal" required the consumption of two proficiency points to be activated because it was a rank one special skill. Even skills such as "Slash Combo" and "Sprint" were limited to a certain extent during level one. Only when the level of the skill increased would the power of the skill or other areas of effect be increased as well. For example, "Slash Combo" could only make two consecutive attacks at level one. Once it reached level two, it was able to make three consecutive attacks.


    Even though the increase of proficiency points did not seem to be that much and it only required three proficiency points to raise the Slash Combo to level 3, in reality, the increase of each proficiency point required a long period of persistence. Also, the higher the proficiency, the slower the skill would advance, and therefore it would take longer to consume a proficiency point.


    Right now, both his skills of Slash Combo and Sprint were level two. This was because Sean had been training day and night for the past month. If he did not want to waste his proficiency points, then he could only go through that kind of relentlessly difficult training to bring about improvements. After all, many high-level skills first required a few of the low-level skills to be learned before they could be strengthened and raised.


    Sean had used four proficiency points to activate the three skills. He had also consumed three proficiency points and allocated them to his personal attributes when he had successfully seized the weapon from the Dark Knight. Therefore, Sean only had three proficiency points left that were unassigned.


    However, Sean did not feel any regret from this.


    As he was once the commander of the elite team in the guild, Sean had his thoughts on how to take care of things.


    [Charles'' Sword, slightly magical (bronze). Hardness 12, Sharpness 12, Impaling 10, Strength +3, Endurance +1].


    [Item Description: This was the sword given to General Charles by King Erdos III of the Serian Kingdom on the eve of the Northern Battle. This sword followed General Charles his entire life and was once regarded as a symbol of honor for the family of General Charles. However, later, the sword was lost and its whereabouts unknown because of the internal fights between the family members of General Charles over their rights to inherit it. Although you are lucky to receive this sword, it has lost a lot of the magic in it, and it no longer has the same reputation as it once had.]


    The sword was the main reason Sean wanted to go take care of the Dark Knight. Otherwise, why would Sean have been interested in or even spent a lot of time and energy on a level five dungeon that was originally given to new players to practice coordination due to not being difficult at all?


    As a professional player with a signed contract, Sean had struggled in "Miracle" for seven years. He knew and understood a lot about many of the things inside the game. Although he did not remember many of those things very clearly, if he came across the scene that could stir up his feelings, then he could awaken those sleeping memories. Just like with the sword, Sean had remembered that it had a follow-up mission. However, the sword would only fall when the Dark Knight was killed for the first time. Back then, when he had been playing the game "Miracle," Sean had just missed the sword. At least this time, he did not miss it.


    However, Sean had found a problem. The problem was that in the real world, the dungeons could not be cleared repeatedly like the dungeons in the game. Any dungeon had only one chance of being cleared. Also, in addition to that problem, the dungeon had a specific time when it would appear. For example, that dungeon, originally called "Wandering Darkness" in the game, had appeared only a few days ago. Sean had shown up at the village half a month ago to get the sword, but at that time, the dungeon had not yet appeared. That was why when the villagers later discovered that the Lord had not sent troops to encircle and suppress the dungeon, the village chief had immediately sent someone to contact Sean.


    But after half a month of changes had passed, Sean was no longer by himself when he returned to the village. He had a young girl with him.


    Shaking himself from his thoughts, Sean walked up to Cecilia and covered her again with the quilt that she had kicked off. Although Cecilia always gave off a young yet prudent and capable look and would sometimes speak vicious words, in reality, the little girl was still only 13 years old. Inside, she still longed to be loved by others. From the moment Sean chose to take Cecilia along with him on these adventures to take risks, he had decided that he would take good care of raising the little fellow.


    Sean felt extremely excited every time he thought of the fact that he was likely nurturing a super genius magician.


    No one knew the details about Cecilia''s personal attributes better than Sean, and he could see that she was on track to do great things!

 Chapter 3：Cecilia

    [Name: Cecilia]


    [Race: Human]


    [Combat Profession: Apprentice Magician (rank two)]


    [Personal Attributes¡ª¡ªStrength: 3(13); Endurance: 6(15); Agility: 4(14); Wisdom: 21(30); Will: 20(28)]


    The first time Sean saw Cecelia''s personal attributes, he was completely stunned.


    On the Miracle Continent, the five personal attributes of a normal adult human should have been "5(10)".


    The number five on the left represented the current state of the attribute, and the number 10 represented the current growth limit of the attribute. The growth limit could only be raised after the level of the profession had been increased. Of course, the growth limit could also be increased through various methods, but they were more difficult. As for the current state of the attributes, they would gradually increase according to the different situations that occurred. For example, for the attribute of wisdom, it could be raised by spending a long time reading. The only thing was that that long period had to be calculated in months.


    Therefore, in most cases, players in the game "Miracle" who did not want to work hard but instead wanted to rely on luck or cleverness to achieve their goals would choose to consume all their proficiency points to improve the attributes they had. However, in the current world, Sean was the only person who was able to do that.


    However, that was not the case all the time.


    Sometimes, when a person''s mental state had been fiercely stimulated, it was possible to greatly increase their will power, as long as they had survived a period of mental trauma.


    And all of this showed that the little girl was someone with a story.


    Sean did not care at all about all the things that were hidden behind her.


    What he valued the most was the potential Cecilia had. After all, she was not yet an adult. Once she became an adult, then all her current personal attributes would be raised by two more experience points. As soon as she was an adult, Cecilia''s basic attribute of wisdom would be at 16 points, and the attribute of will would reach 17 points. During the time Sean had been playing the game "Miracle," he had never heard of the existence of a legal professional NPC that had such high-level attributes.


    Although Sean was curious about what Cecilia had experienced in the past that had allowed her to have reached such a high level for her attribute of will at such a young age, Sean had not asked her about it a second time after a fruitless inquiry the first time around. He at least understood that there was nothing he could do to help Cecilia, as his class was currently only at rank one. Although he did not want to admit it, in reality, Cecilia''s strength did indeed seem to be above his in writing. It had made Sean feel a bit helpless.


    A person''s class was the benchmark for judging the strength of a person on the Miracle Continent.


    However, that kind of judgment method was not absolute. At the very least, such a standard could not be applied to Sean.


    The reason was very simple.


    For the people on Miracle Continent, the higher their class rank was, the more powerful their strength would be, which meant that the abilities or skills they had would also be more powerful. Even though that did not mean that the situation where a low-level class rank beat a high-level class rank had not occurred before, it just meant that it was an extremely rare situation. Also, that usually occurred only in contests where the rank of a person''s class was below rank three. On the other hand, Sean could obtain proficiency points by increasing his level. Then, he could assign the proficiency points towards the different skills and personal attributes he had to maximize his ability. He could also see the personal attributes of his opponents, which meant that the judgment criterion of a class rank did not apply to Sean at all.


    If there was anyone in the world who could violate the general rules of Miracle Continent, that person would be Sean.


    But that did not mean that Sean could increase his class rank.


    Miracle Continent was completely the same as the game "Miracle," therefore for Sean, who had managed to reach rank nine inside the game, the way to increase the rank of a class was not a secret. It was very clear to him what he was supposed to do. However, what hindered him from increasing his class rank was his experience. Sean had noticed in the real world, it was not easy to gain experience. When he had been playing the game "Miracle" and was at his current level, he had been able to gain experience from killing creatures such as wild wolves and dogs. However, right now, he had no experience apart from filling his stomach.


    In the past, Sean had gained some experience from doing little things to make money. After that, he had accumulated a lot of experience points from taking up various tasks with Cecilia. Also, after they had passed the ''Wandering Darkness'' dungeon, he was given a lot of experience points. That made Sean start to wonder whether experience points could only be gained through the method of receiving various tasks.


    However, as soon as the idea had appeared, it was extinguished by Sean. That was because, inside the ruins, he had also gained experience points after killing the Walking Corpses and the Dark Knight. That was enough to overturn his previous idea.


    After thinking about it for a little bit, Sean decided to ignore it, as he could not put together the rules. He believed in the rule that "in the end, things will naturally work out."


    ....


    The next day.


    Sean woke Cecilia up before the sun rose, and after packing up their things, they left the village.


    The village inside the game "Miracle" had become a favorite place for low-level players to go, ever since the ''Wandering Darkness'' dungeon was opened. It had slowly developed into a small prosperous town. However, on the Miracle Continent, the ''Wandering Darkness'' dungeon had already been taken care of by Sean and Cecilia. The world was different from the game, where the dungeon could be completed countless times. Therefore, it was no longer possible for the town to become a prosperous one. After all, no special products were being produced there.


    However, that may have been a good thing for a small village.


    Because the Sivir Domain was very remote, the location of the village had never been a fertile place. Also, Viscount Damien, the Lord of the area, had never paid too much attention to the village. Therefore, the villagers could still live a carefree life. They would not be dragged down by the high collections of taxes.


    After passing through the "Wandering Darkness" dungeon and killing the Dark Knight, as well as receiving experience points from the villagers showing gratitude towards him, Sean''s level had risen to level six from level five. He was only a little bit away from reaching level seven. However, because he had used a lot of proficiency points previously, he only had five unused proficiency points left, even though he had already advanced to level six.


    It was common behavior for players in the game "Miracle" to not use all of their proficiency points. On the Miracle Continent, where it was the real world, Sean still retained his original strategies from the time he had been a player of "Miracle." Especially after he had gone through various training exercises within the past month, Sean had become even more aware that the advantage of using proficiency points when it was necessary was much greater than using them all at once in the beginning, just like how he had used the proficiency points on the skill ''Steal'' earlier.


    It just so happened that Sean was able to successfully steal the Charles'' Sword after increasing his attribute points to a little bit higher than the attribute points of the Dark Knight.


    However, if he had used up all his proficiency points earlier on, then it would not have been so easy to steal the Charles'' Sword when he was dealing with the Dark Knight.


    After they left the village, Sean and Cecilia started walking along the path that was headed towards the small Hadas Town, which was the town closest to the village. However, even though it was the closest town from the village, it still required roughly three days to walk there on foot. Cecilia was naturally very dissatisfied. In her opinion, they should have at least one means of transportation. Even if they could not afford to buy a carriage, they could at least afford to buy a horse. However, the reality was always a lot crueler, because right now, Sean could not afford to buy a horse.


    It was said that the Serian Kingdom was rich and powerful. However, not every piece of land inside the Kingdom was rich.


    Like the Sivir Domain, the Serian Kingdom had territories that lagged in development.


    Viscount Damien, who was the Lord of the territory, had no intention of developing it at all. Apart from a great deal spent on plundering the wealth of the leaders, he was not able to do any other practical work. The fortunate thing was that the Lord at least knew the principle of "gaining profits only for the present, not for the long term." Therefore, the leaders were at least able to have enough food to eat and clothes to wear. But it was impossible for the kingdom to prosper. As Sean was living there, it was unlikely for him to have too much money. The reason why he had not left the area up until then was that back when he was playing the game, that territory had been the most suitable area for players below rank two to do activities.


    Therefore, before he had reached rank two in a new profession, he would not consider leaving the region. It was not reasonable or beneficial for him to do so.


    While on their way back to the town, Sean and Cecilia talked and laughed together. It made the journey a bit less boring. The previous village was not considered too rich, so when Sean had left, he did not take too much. Fortunately, he saw some wild animals that he could hunt for food now and then along their journey so that he did not have to eat dry food the entire time. There were at least some improvements concerning food.


    After walking along the path for two days, Sean and Cecilia rested in the woods that were next to the path they were walking on.


    There was only one more day left until they would be back in the small Hadas Town. In that town, Sean had already rented a house. The house was not very big, but it was very clean. During the times that Sean did not have any tasks or missions to complete, Cecilia was the one responsible for cleaning the entire house while Sean was the one responsible for all the other rough work. They were doing things that way due to a lack of money, and it did not match Cecilia''s aristocratic identity at all, but that type of lifestyle was indeed very sweet and warm.


    Sean smiled and spoke to Cecilia while he was roasting a rabbit over the bonfire. "Okay, stop complaining now. After we go back, I will boil a big bucket of water for you, so that you can take a bath and soak in it as much as you want."


    "Humph." Cecilia made a humming sound without commenting on what Sean said. "Can the words of a liar be trusted?" She pouted, crossing her arms in front of her chest.


    Sean laughed out loud. In the end, he decided not to reply to her question. After all, she had the temper of a child, which meant it would come and go very quickly.

 Chapter 4：Unexpected Visitor

    By the time Sean and Cecilia arrived back at the small Hadas Town, it was already noon on the second day.


    To calm Cecilia''s mood down, just like he had promised earlier, Sean heated a large bucket of hot water for Cecilia so that she could take a very comfortable bath. Of course, all the housework today was all completed by Sean alone. In a sense, it was a kind of flattery towards Cecilia.


    In the afternoon, Sean took care of lunch by himself.


    Sean felt how painful it was to choose blacksmith as his profession when he was playing the game "Miracle." He was getting tired of eating food like steak almost every day. He suddenly started to miss all the different types of delicacies he had eaten in the past, including food both inside the game and outside the game.


    Although the food was just ordinary dishes, they were much better than the "poison products" produced by apprentice magicians. That aspect of things was something that he could never expect to rely on the little girl for.


    "Why is it a mixed stew pot again?" Cecilia, who had just come out of the bath, wrinkled her small face when she saw that there was an iron pot on the table.


    "Because it is convenient and cheap." Sean blushed, which was a rare occurrence. The mixed stew pot was simple to make and very cheap, but just because he stuck to a cheap dish did not mean that he could not afford to buy any ingredients. It was just that he had wasted a lot of money on a few attempts at cooking, so Sean had decided to never do something like that again. "Are you done taking your bath? Come over here and eat lunch."


    While Sean was speaking, he put the rest of the bread and vegetables on the table, as well as the other side dishes. Then, he turned back and looked at Cecilia.


    It was only just the one look, but it was enough for Sean to reveal a trace of surprise on his face.


    Due to the scorching hot weather, after Cecilia had finished her bath, she had only put on a thin dress. She tilted her head back while holding a towel to dry her wet hair. She had only made one movement, but it exuded a type of aristocratic aura. It did not seem like she was a 12 or 13-year-old little girl. For someone to display such an aura, it meant that they had received extremely good home education.


    However, it was undeniable that Cecilia was still very young. Just based on her figure and appearance, she looked more like a young girl who was at the start of the stage of development. Also, from all the information that had been revealed to Sean so far, the future achievements of this young girl would be amazing. She had already achieved such high personal attributes at such a young age, so she could only keep improving.


    As if noticing Sean staring at her, Cecilia suddenly straightened herself up, and a smug look appeared on her face. It made Sean break out into laughter. "You should learn that trick again in a few more years. It''ll be really effective."


    Cecilia pouted, but quickly gave up the act and snorted. Then, she ran to the table like a small proud hen, waiting for lunch to start.


    They ate a very simple lunch, but both Sean and Cecilia ate the meal very happily. Even though at the beginning, Cecilia did complain a few times when the food was brought onto the table, she still had a grateful attitude while enjoying it and did not waste any food. That was what Sean valued the most. He knew very well that the experiences Cecilia had had in her life were by no means simple. Not to mention her talent in magic, her demeanor, movements, aura, and the way she spoke all showed that her identity was not that of an ordinary person. However, even though that was the case, she was still able to choose to endure hardships. That was an amazing trait.


    Cecilia was supposed to do the housework after lunch. However, it was a rare day, as Sean did it all himself while Cecilia continued to read her book about magic.


    In the game "Miracle," it was not difficult for an apprentice magician to start a new rank-three profession. All they had to do was to reach the standard for a new profession, then complete the tasks afterward. However, in the real world, not only did they need to have enough comprehension of magic, but they also had to have a talent for magic as well. Furthermore, they had to have a magician to carefully guide them. Only after that would the apprentice magician have a 50 percent chance of becoming an official magician.


    Cecilia was very talented and had a good comprehension of magic, but the problem was that she did not have a magician to help guide her. It made the road to success a little bit more difficult for her. Fortunately, Cecilia had once told Sean that the book of magic she had with her was a notebook about the magic that was written by her teacher. As long as she studied it carefully, it would not be too difficult for her to become a good magician.


    The magician profession was a rank-five profession inside the game "Miracle."


    Of course, Cecilia, who wanted to teach herself to become a magician due to the absence of a mentor, would be forced to put in many times more effort than she would have needed to in order to succeed.


    The day seemed to be very quiet and ordinary. They had had lunch, washed up, and were planning on relaxing for the rest of the day as a hard-earned reward for the last couple of days of fighting and travel.


    That would have remained the case if there hadn''t been a knock on the door.


    Sean looked curiously at the front door. Cecilia obviously had no intention of getting up to go open the door, so Sean had no choice but to go and open the door himself.


    The two people that stood outside the door were a slightly fat man and a well-built middle-aged man.


    "Mr. Sean, you have finally shown up!" The fat man shook Sean''s hand very enthusiastically with excitement on his face. "We have been looking for you for many days now, but you were never at home. It worried us to death."


    "That is very kind of you, Mr. Harvey." Sean was stunned for a moment, as he was unable to respond. He very politely invited the fat man and the middle-aged man inside the house. He did not forget to ask Cecilia to bring tea for them.


    "How is everything, lovely little girl?" Harvey smiled and greeted Cecilia next to them. However, Cecilia looked at him coldly, her face not showing even an ounce of friendliness.


    Halle seemed to have long gotten accustomed to the indifference from Cecilia. Therefore, he did not continue on to say anything else, and the smile remained on his face. On the contrary, there was a look of displeasure on the face of the middle-aged man who was sitting next to Harvey. When he looked at Sean, a bit more disdain and hostility appeared in his eyes.


    Despite the expression displayed on the middle-aged man''s face, Sean was very calm. Sean was used to the treatment already. He had been expecting such a situation to occur for a long time now. Ever since he had started his new profession as a mercenary, he had gotten used to being faced with negative attitudes. It was part of the package of choosing to be a mercenary.


    [Mercenary (rank one profession): This is a profession that covers a range of things. It rarely makes a positive impression on people. Anyone can be called a mercenary, as long as they have a weapon on them. From another point of view, it can be said that a mercenary is an all-powerful existence. However, in many regions, a mercenary is equal to a robber or a bandit. If someone is to be suddenly arrested by guards while walking on the road, they should not be surprised. The area they were in is probably a region that hates mercenaries.]


    [New profession reward¡ª¡ªWeapon experience: Due to wandering for a long time, you are not able to understand the importance of weapons. On many occasions, you may be forced to use an unfamiliar weapon. Over time, it will be possible to gain a unique understanding of how the weapons should be used (the ''master'' effect would come into effect automatically when using any weapon); Wandering career: after going through countless trials that put you on the brink of life and death, people were amazed at the achievement. Therefore, a real expert still has to go through many trials (Strength +2, Strength limit +4, Endurance +2, Endurance limit +5, Agility +1, Agility limit +4, Wisdom limit +3, Will limit +4)]


    [New profession side-effect¡ª¡ªMalice: because of the unique problems of the mercenary profession, a lot of suffering will occur on many occasions due to unexpected malice (all the expenses will increase by 30% in areas where the reputation is below friendly).]


    A profession that covered a range of things was one of the highlights of the game "Miracle." However, those things were only available for high-level professions. According to the original settings in the game, there were three rank-one professions that a new player could take up. The professions were mercenary, apprentice, and cleric. The profession, however, did not limit the growth of the player. Just like choosing the apprentice or cleric profession, after reaching rank two or rank three, it was possible to learn a new profession like the melee. This was because in the game, apart from a few exclusive professions, many of the high-level professions could cover different low-level professions. The only difference was the new profession reward and the new profession side-effect.


    It was clear that those features were still true on the Miracle Continent. In fact, the features had a more profound and lasting impact.


    Therefore, Sean, who took a fancy to the [Weapon experience] of the mercenary profession, had to endure [Malice], the negative effect brought along with the side-effect from the profession. There was no avoiding it.


    "Mr. Harvey, you are usually a very busy man." Sean did not pay attention to the expression on the face of the middle-aged man. Instead, he smiled and said casually, "Could there be a commission that you want to introduce to me?"


    "What you said is correct." Harvey nodded, as he could not deny what Sean said. "This is a commission that can only be entrusted to you."


    "Oh?" Sean found himself a little interested when he heard what Harvey had said.


    Sean knew very well that the fat man in front of him was not a smart or capable person.


    No matter what world it was, a merchant was an essential profession. On the Miracle Continent, the profession of merchant was even more important. Many things could only be circulated by relying on the propaganda and transportation of merchants. The merchant house, under those circumstances, would produce products at the right time and when the correct conditions were met. However, some merchant houses had strong characteristics of their kingdom, while other merchant houses remained neutral and independent.


    The Arctic Silver was a relatively independent large merchant house. Their business activities covered six kingdoms, and the Serian Kingdom was among those six kingdoms. The Arctic Silver was a well-known merchant house located on the northern side of the Miracle Continent. However, as a large merchant house, it was naturally impossible for the president of Arctic Silver to take care of everything alone. Therefore, the merchant house was divided into butlers and merchant leaders according to their ranks.


    Halle was the merchant leader responsible for the trade route between the Sivir District of Suriname Region of the Serian Kingdom and the Sanchi Domain. As the merchant leader responsible for the trade route, Halle not only had a private escort group made up of people with rank three professions, he also had more money at his disposal, more than an ordinary viscount. Even Viscount Damien had a lot of areas that required help from Halle.


    He might not have been universally powerful, but at least in the Sivir Domain, he was qualified to do whatever he wanted.


    How could Sean be blamed for being surprised when such a person came looking for Sean for help with something?

 Chapter 5：The Commission

    "Mr. Halle, are you sure that he will be able to do it?" the middle-aged man said as he frowned. There was great distrust in his eyes.


    Sean was a bit helpless. [Malice] was the side-effect that came with his profession. Back inside the game "Miracle," the side-effect had only impacted the prices of things such as repairing equipment and buying potions. Even though it also affected the attitude of a few NPCs, it was not very serious. However, when the data appeared in the real world of the Miracle Continent, the situation became completely different. Although Sean was not hated by everyone, most of the time, no one dared to go near him at all. This situation had continued until Sean had brought Cecilia back with him. That was when things had started to change slightly.


    Now that a month had passed since then, Sean had finally managed to improve his reputation in the Sivir Region. He had done this by completing several commissioned tasks.


    The attitude of the middle-aged man made it very clear to Sean that the man was not from the Sivir Domain. Otherwise, he would not have treated Sean like that to his face. Since Sean was already used to the cold attitude and the mistrust the world had towards him, he was not very angry about it. However, he decided that if whatever matter they had brought had to be taken care of by him, then it was necessary to severely hurt them at least once. His eyes shifted from the middle-aged man to Halle.


    "He is the only one who is qualified to do this." When Halle saw Sean looking at him, he immediately knew what Sean was thinking at that moment. It was not the first time that he had dealt with Sean. Halle said with a bit of a wry smile on his face, "This is Mr. Drouin. Strictly speaking, he is the real person who wants to hire you for the task."


    "He is too young." Drouin still had a look of distrust on his face. The aristocratic attitude from him could be seen at a glance.


    "He is indeed very young. However, in the entire Suriname Region, he is the only one who can help us." Halle frowned for the first time. It was obvious that he was a little bit angry due to the attitude Drouin had displayed. "Mr. Drouin, please do not forget the purpose of our visit."


    Drouin glanced at Sean once again, but this time, he did not talk. Instead, he permitted Halle to do the negotiations.


    Sean suddenly smiled when he saw that Halle had turned his eyes towards him. However, the smile had made Halle shudder as Sean said, "Something in the entire Suriname Region and I am the only one able to help with it¡­ It''s the Starfall Forest, isn''t it?"


    "Are you going to raise the price?" Drouin immediately reacted.


    Sean squinted at Drouin, then looked back at Halle. "Let us talk about the commission first," he said with a smile.


    "We want to pass straight through the Starfall Forest." After Halle and Drouin looked at each other, Drouin finally said, "I heard that this place is where you came out from¡­"


    "Pass straight through?" Sean was stunned for a moment. "Are you two going to the Minord Region?"


    "Not the Minord Region, but the Portoroa Kingdom."


    Sean''s eyebrows furrowed as he finally frowned when he processed what Drouin had said. "This will be a little bit difficult."


    The Starfall Forest was located in the Serian Kingdom. Legend said that it was a powerful and magical forest formed from the falling stars during the Twilight Era. The trees inside the forest had unexpectedly grown extremely tall. They were so tall that they blocked out the sun and covered the entire sky. No matter what time of day and what weather patterns were occurring outside the forest, after entering the forest, the view above was always a starry night sky. It was as if the stars had all gathered there.


    Logically speaking, such scenery should have turned into a very famous tourist destination. However, the reality was the complete opposite. The forest was filled with disorderly and violent magic. All the wild beasts that lived inside the forest had been enchanted with magic and had turned into extremely terrifying beings. Also, because both the Serian Kingdom and the Portoroa Kingdom had once wanted to claim the forest as their own territory, a prolonged war had broken out. The soldiers who had died there during that war had been affected by the magic inside the forest and had turned into Undead Spirits. Thus, the news regarding the danger of the forest had spread a long time ago.


    Passing northeast through the Sivir Domain, which was located in the Suriname Region, from the Serian Kingdom would allow the traveler to reach the Minord Region from the Serian Kingdom. However, heading southeast on the road would lead to the Portoroa Kingdom.


    If the first option was chosen, then it would not have been a very difficult task for Sean, who knew about all the secrets of the Starfall Forest. After all, the highest level of those Magical Beasts inside the forest was only at level 40. Even if the group of guards that Halle had hired did not go inside with them, Sean and Cecilia alone were enough to send them safely to their destination. However, if they were to head towards the Portoroa Kingdom, then the road would be very difficult. Not to mention that along the way, the creatures they could encounter were basically all at level 50 and above. The most important thing was that to head towards the Portoroa Kingdom, they had to pass through a ''dungeon.'' That was the reason Sean had frowned.


    "Will this be difficult to complete?" Surprise flashed across Drouin''s eyes for the first time.


    Before they had gone to Sean at Halle''s suggestion, Drouin had already asked a few other people to take up the commission. However, no mercenary teams had dared to accept it. Whether it was the Sivir Domain or the Sanchi Domain, as soon as the mercenary teams had heard they would have to pass directly through the Starfall Forest, they had all rejected the commission. The big and famous mercenary teams did not even humor such a commission at all.


    That was why Drouin had been a little surprised when he heard Sean say "a little difficult" instead of "no."


    "Are you sure that you are qualified to take this commission?" He was skeptical that this man was any different from the other teams he had approached.


    "Just now, what did you say your name was?" Sean ignored the words from Drouin and asked him to repeat his name. "Please say it one more time."


    "You!" There was a hint of anger in the expression displayed on Drouin''s face. It was quickly suppressed, but the expression on his face had turned a bit colder. "Listen very carefully. I am Drouin de Royce!"


    No one knew that right at the moment when Drouin said his full name, a touch of gold suddenly flashed across Sean''s eyes.


    [Name: Drouin de Royce]


    [Race: Human]


    [Identity: Viscount of the Portoroa Kingdom].


    [Age: 37].


    [Combat profession: Knight (rank three)].


    [Personal attributes¡ª¡ªStrength: 26(28); Endurance: 40(41); Agility: 20(24); Wisdom: 31(33); Will: 35(36)].


    The moment when Sean looked at Drouin, a tab appeared and floated next to him. The tab was filled with all the information regarding Drouin''s attributes.


    That was another ability that Sean had obtained after he came into this world.


    [Eye of Truth (Bloodline Talent): no history hidden within the passage of time can escape these eyes.]


    Regarding the description of the ability, there were still things that Sean was actually a little unclear about. On his personal tab, the data about his bloodline had always displayed a question mark. That meant that Sean had yet to activate his bloodline. However, even without activating his bloodline, one of his bloodline talents had already been activated. The situation made Sean feel a bit confused. However, because Sean had the mindset of a player, the strange situation was not enough to dissuade Sean from using the skill whenever it benefitted him.


    Finally, after a very long time of experimenting, Sean found out that as long as someone told him their real name, he could check that person''s status. Also, the better his relationship with that person was or the more knowledge they contained, then the more content Sean could see about that person.


    Cecilia had never revealed her last name to Sean. That was why Drouin''s name had shown more information about him than Cecilia''s did.


    However, after Sean looked at Drouin''s data, he had noticed something else. The chance of this middle-aged man in front of him breaking through to rank four was very slim.


    That was something that the real world displayed, which was completely different from the world inside the game.


    No one was able to stay at the top forever.


    Although inside the game, the NPC would die after some time, their personal attributes would never be lowered. But on Miracle Continent, it was completely different. After having observed for about a year, he was pretty much certain that the people in this real world would gradually raise their wisdom attribute the older they became. On the contrary, their other three attributes of strength, endurance, and agility would all be lowered. As for the attribute of will, it would remain the same. Only a few people who were relatively timid or cowardly would cause their attribute of will to decline. On the other hand, people like the aristocrats who were used to scheming against other people would actually raise their will attribute as they grew older.


    The man in front of Sean was one of those aristocrats. At the age of 37, he was in his golden age. Coupled with his aristocratic background, all of his personal attributes had been raised greatly. After all, according to what Sean knew, the growth limits of the five attributes on a normal [Knight] were 22, 30, 20, 24, and 24, respectively. However, Drouin had obviously gone beyond this scope. Even his current attributes showed that they were close to the growth limit.


    However, considering that Drouin was just an "NPC," there were some differences between him and the players. Therefore, that kind of cheating was something that Sean could understand.


    The world where Sean lived in right now was not a game. It was the real world. In this world, rank three professions were only the initial stages to the beginning of a formal profession. Many people had already made such achievements at the age of 20 or even earlier. Therefore, from the perspective of Sean''s eyes, which were nurtured over the past year, if Drouin was unable to take up a rank four new profession before the age of 40, then even if he were lucky enough to advance to the rank-four profession in the future, he would not be able to train his personal attributes to their growth limit.


    "How many of you will be going to the Portoroa Kingdom?" Sean already had a general idea of the real strength of the person in front of him. The next thing they had to do was talk about was the contents of the actual commission. However, there was just one thing that Sean was still a little unsure about.


    "It will be 12 people including you," Halle responded. "You do not have to worry. They are all elites, and I can guarantee that all of them will obey your arrangements and command."


    "Are all of the guards from your merchant group?" After Sean saw Halle nod, he suddenly felt that the future was going to be very difficult.


    The people who were recruited by Halle to be part of the team of guards all had rank three [Guard] profession. They received the profession due to specializing in the rank two [Warrior] profession. The leveling-up occurred when the defensive skills that they specialized in advanced to a certain point. Therefore, the attacking methods of the guards recruited by Halle were completely imaginable.


    "Mr. Halle, you will also be coming along with us, as well, right?" Sean asked. Only after getting an affirmative answer from Halle did he continue on to say, "if you want to travel straight through the Starfall Forest to go to the Portoroa Kingdom, then the number of people in the team cannot be more than ten. However, since I have to bring Cecilia with me, then the number of people you can bring on your side will only be six. However, I must give you two a piece of advice. The trip will be very dangerous. We will likely have to face a large number of the Undead Spirit creatures. Hence it would be best if you two can find a cleric to accompany us on the trip. Also, if it is possible, you should find two more skilled archers. They are not required to be able to shoot with absolute precision, but at the very least, they should not miss any targets that are within 50 meters of them."


    "You sure request a lot of things." Drouin sneered.


    "Wait until you guys are ready to leave, then we will talk about the problem regarding the remuneration." Sean smiled elegantly, hiding his true feelings, and then made a gesture to see off the guests. His movement was so accurate, polite, and elegant that it made him look as if he was a disciple born from a big ancient family. This gave Drouin, who emitted an aristocratic arrogance from his body, no choice but to restrain his imposing manner.

 Chapter 6：Setting Out

    "Mr. Halle, do you believe that he can do it? He is only a mercenary, not even a warrior." They were sitting in the carriage, still outside Sean''s house. Drouin''s expression face turned very serious. It was not as cold as it had been when he was inside Sean''s cabin. The previous change in the expression on his face was just an aristocratic method for ensuring one''s superiority.


    The expression on Halle''s face was not as serious as the expression on Drouin''s face. There was more uncertainty as he said, "According to my investigations, he did indeed emerge from the Starfall Forest. And now that things have reached this point, we do not have a choice. We have to trust him. If we are unable to deliver the goods within the time limit¡­"


    "I understand." Drouin nodded and did not say anything more. "Then let us do things according to what he has planned."


    After Halle gave the signal, the carriage that was sitting outside the door of Sean''s house finally started to move.


    Sean, who was inside the house, watched as the carriage left. The expression on his face was not as relaxed and carefree as it had been earlier when he was talking to Halle and Drouin. He knew very well that in this world, no one else understood the horrors of the Starfall Forest better than he did. If the commission had been to just pass through the Starfall Forest to head towards the Minord Region, then it would not have made Sean as nervous. After all, during the early stages of the game "Miracle," he had traveled through the Starfall Forest many times to sell goods in the Minord Region just so that he could evade taxes.


    Therefore, Sean still remembered exactly how to pass straight through the Starfall Forest to go towards the Minord Region safely and effectively.


    However, if they were to head towards the Portoroa Kingdom, then it would be very difficult to achieve.


    "How about this? Maybe we should refuse this commission?" Cecilia''s eyebrows furrowed as she looked at Sean. "I don''t like that fat guy anyways."


    Seeing the slightly worried expression on Cecilia''s face, Sean finally relaxed. "The commission is indeed a bit difficult to accomplish, but we can take this chance to seriously hurt them back. After all, we need the money right now."


    "But even if we do not have enough money right now, are we not living a pretty good life?" Cecilia seemed to be trying to convince him not to accept the job.


    "We might be able to live a good life now, but are you going to continue to be just an apprentice magician?" Sean rubbed the hair on Cecilia''s head, and then smiled and said, "Your talent is very good, so I will not let you waste your time here. Although following me in completing these commissions can help you increase some of your real combat experience, it will also affect your meditation time and study time. So, to fill this gap, we need to get enough Magic Crystals to help speed up your cultivation.


    Cecilia pursed her lips and did not say anything more. Sean could tell that she was still upset but understood where Sean was coming from.


    She was very young, but that did not mean that she knew nothing at all. At the very least, Cecilia was able to tell who was sincere in terms of taking care of her.


    "Also, the Portoroa Kingdom supports using the power of magic. Over there, we might be able to harvest even more magic materials." Sean blinked and added, "At an even lower price."


    Cecilia finally giggled when she heard what Sean had said. He was relieved to hear it.


    "Go and get ready. With the aristocratic background of that Halle, I believe that he will be able to make a decision within the next few days."


    "I understand!" Cecilia nodded earnestly before she turned around and left.


    Sean watched Cecilia''s back as she walked away, and then he looked back out the window in the direction the carriage had gone earlier.


    In reality, he still had one more thing to say. He needed a lot of experience points to help him advance. That was the only way he could live a better life in this world. After all, it was a world where the strong are respected. On the Miracle Continent, young people around Sean''s age all were at least rank-two professions. There were even some so-called geniuses who had already reached a rank-four profession or even higher.


    However, due to the problem of gaining experience points, Sean had been forever stuck at rank one. It made Sean feel a bit helpless. After he had completed the "Wandering Darkness" dungeon, his level had advanced to level six. However, if he wanted to advance to a rank two profession, then his level as a mercenary had to reach level 10, which was why he needed a lot of experience points. Sean knew very well that what limited his development was not the rank barriers that people feared. Instead, it was the "experience points" that people in this world could not understand.


    Even though Sean did not know exactly how to get the experience points, after one month of training inside the "Wandering Darkness" dungeon, he had at least learned one thing: the more difficult the commission was, the more experience points he would be able to gain. Apart from that, it seemed that the experience points could also be gained from battles inside the dungeons.


    As long as he knew about those two facts, Sean believed that he would soon be able to advance to level 10 and take up a new rank-two career.


    It was also the main reason why he was willing to accept this commission. Another reason was that the Portoroa Kingdom was one of the few kingdoms located on the northern side of the Miracle Continent that relied on the power of magic. Therefore, to help Cecilia grow, he would have eventually needed to head to the kingdom at least once no matter what.


    For the next couple of days, Sean was not busy with anything else. He and Cecilia were still doing what they were supposed to do. Of course, if any commissioners came to find Sean, he did not refuse them. Even if the commissioners requested Sean to find things like small cats and dogs, he was happy to do all of it. After all, as long as it was a commission, there were more than 100 experience points available to gain. The accumulation of small things to form something big was still pretty impressive.


    In reality, there were many mercenary teams within Hadas Town. It was not that Sean did not want to join one, but rather that the mercenary teams looked down on Sean and did not want him to join. After all, the current rank of Sean''s profession was only at rank one [Mercenary]. Therefore, he would not personally go and bring hatred upon himself. However, there were a few mercenary teams that had wanted to invite Cecilia to join them after they had heard about her existence. It was a pity that Cecilia had refused all of them and that they had started to resent both Sean and Cecilia.


    But neither Sean nor Cecilia cared about any of those things.


    The fifth day after Halle and Drouin had visited, Drouin finally knocked on the door of Sean''s house at the crack of dawn.


    "Are you all prepared?" Sean glanced at Drouin, who was already dressed in his military uniform, and asked him with a calm expression.


    "I have already prepared everything. I just want to ask you, are you able to set off right now?" Drouin asked with a solemn and respectful expression. He was not as frivolous and impulsive as he had been when he had visited Sean the last time. He now exuded the air of a warrior and not the aura of an aristocrat. "If it is possible, let us set out right now. The others are already waiting at the edge of the Starfall Forest."


    "Of course, we can set off right now." Sean nodded.


    He and Cecilia had prepared everything a few days ago. When Sean saw the very serious expression in Halle''s and Drouin''s eyes, he had originally thought that it would only take them at most two days to come back and find him. He never expected them to return after six days. They must have believed the trip to be very important and serious.


    There was hardly any time for small talk. Sean and Cecilia each took what they had already prepared with them and got into the carriage that Drouin had arrived in.


    Very soon, the carriage started heading towards the Starfall Forest.


    The Starfall Forest was not very far from the small Hadas Town. However, it was not very close either. Even though they had ridden a carriage there, when the three of them arrived at the edge of the Starfall Forest, it was already nighttime.


    As soon as they got out of the carriage, Sean saw that a temporary camp had been set up at the edge of the Starfall Forest. After they arrived, they saw that many people in the camp were busy. From time to time, Sean could hear cheers ringing through the space. It was as if they were preparing for something. Judging from the situation that Sean saw in front of him, he knew that there were more than 10 people in the temporary camp. Also, there was a large number of goods and supplies stacked within the camp. It appeared like they were a medium-sized merchant group ready to set out.


    The scene made Sean frown.


    "This is just a cover for us." When Drouin saw that Sean had furrowed his eyebrows, he guessed what Sean was thinking. "Only 10 people will be going through the Starfall Forest, including you. However, I was not able to invite a cleric to join us on this trip. Therefore, apart from you, Cecilia, me and Mr. Halle, the other six people are three guards that Mr. Halle invited, two archers, and a warrior who knows emergency aid skills."


    "Emergency aid?" Hearing the words, Sean wanted to know more information. Was the warrior actually qualified to do emergency aid?


    "That is correct." Drouin felt a little bit strange about the response from Sean. However, he was not thrown off by it. "Since we''re talking about it, I also know a bit of emergency aid. However, Old Pete is much better at it. He is a real warrior."


    After hearing what Drouin said, Sean had a bit of an idea on what Drouin was indicating. The person who was known as Old Pete was not someone whose profession was a rank two [Warrior]. He could have been a rank three [Elite Soldier] or [Veteran]. If that were the case, then Sean would be more confident in this trip. He knew very well that being an elite soldier or a veteran were both regarded as tough existences among the same class of profession back then inside the game "Miracle." It was a pity that only NPCs could have a new profession.


    Soon, under the leadership of Drouin, Sean was ready to meet with the six other people in the camp that would be going into the Starfall Forest with them.


    However, the meeting process did not seem to be very friendly.


    "So, you are saying that we have to follow orders from this kid throughout the entire trip?" A middle-aged man with a face covered by a large beard started to frown after he heard the introduction from Halle and Drouin. "He is just a mercenary! How can we trust such a greedy scum?" The man sneered at Sean.


    Sean glanced at the wooden bow that the middle-aged man was carrying. Afterward, he turned around and looked at another middle-aged man who was around the same age. However, the middle-aged man was emitting a murderous aura. "What did you say your name was?" he queried.


    "Pete," the man responded promptly. The middle-aged man looked at Sean with a bit of disdain. However, the habits that had remained with him due to the many years he spent in the army meant that he did not oppose any of Sean''s commands. "They all call me Old Pete."


    A touch of golden light appeared in Sean''s eyes.

 Chapter 7：Starfall Forest

    Very soon, the information about Pete appeared in Sean''s eyes.


    Just as Sean had guessed, Pete''s profession was, indeed, not a rank-two [Warrior]. Instead, he was a rank-three [Veteran]. Even though his personal attributes were not as amazing as Drouin''s, he bested him in the fact that he had no obvious weaknesses. At the moment, his strength, agility, and endurance attributes were all at 30 points. Even though his attribute of wisdom was not at 20 points, which was slightly lower compared to the attributes of others, his attribute of will had already reached 40 points. That meant that Pete had fought in many bloody battles in the past. If he hadn''t encountered those sorts of situations, his will attribute wouldn''t have been so high. In other words, he was extremely firm and steady.


    Sean was quite satisfied, so he asked, "Do you know how to use a bow?"


    Hearing this, a little bit of surprise flashed across Pete''s eyes, but he still nodded, agreeing with Sean''s question. "I do."


    Sean did not ask what Pete''s archery skills were like. In reality, if any soldier who had served in the army before said that they could do something, then it meant that they had experience with it. The skills may not be extremely proficient, but they would be much better than other fools. Either way, for that trip around, Sean didn''t have very high requirements regarding the level of a person''s archery skills. Of course, to say that Sean was not curious about the high personal attributes from Old Pete would be incorrect.


    Although the class [Veteran] was a rank-three profession, in reality, for any classed soldier, their combat classes always all became that after they had retired from the army. In other words, even if a rank-five soldier retired from the army, they would still become a rank-three [Veteran]. However, after that change, there would be no other changes or improvements in the future. At the very least, all the skills and personal attributes that they had previously learned did not disappear because of the change.


    Even if they were rank-three [Veteran], the personal attributes of some of them could be as high as rank-five or higher. Therefore, judging the strength of a veteran could only be done through their personal attributes.


    For example, Peter in front of him. Sean was convinced that he was at least a rank-four soldier before he had retired from the army. He could even have been close to rank-five at one point.


    However, all of that was in the past. Right now, Sean had no intention of learning about Pete''s story.


    He just turned around to look at Halle. "Mr. Halle, please take that man off our list and pick a guard or someone else instead," Sean said. "I only have one request, and that is that everyone has to obey my command." Sean had no time or patience for idiots that could jeopardize his commission due to not being able to listen.


    "What are you talking about, brat?" The middle-aged man, who had not given Sean any reason to like him earlier, became extremely angry when he saw that Sean had pointed towards him to be excluded from the team for the trip. He thought that he deserved much more respect from the young man, who did not seem to be very powerful.


    "You are just a hunter. Do you think that you are the god of archery?" Sean turned his head around and looked coldly at the middle-aged man. "My team does not need anyone who cannot obey commands from others."


    As Sean spoke, an unparalleled ruthless aura was exuded from his body, permeating the space around him and making everyone wary about what he would do.


    He may have only been a rank-one professional at the moment; however, back when he was inside the game "Miracle," he had been an all-powerful commander of a big guild. Once he brought out his full courage and aura, he was not inferior to the other generals in this real world. It was because of the aura that the middle-aged man became extremely stunned. It even made the color on his face change slightly. However, the expression that Pete had on his face was complete admiration. It made him remember the times back in the day when he had been in the army. The blood in his body started to boil.


    "All of you have only five minutes. We will set off in five minutes," Sean said with a serious tone, locking eyes with every single member of the party.


    "Are we not going to wait until dawn to set off?" Halle asked, confused. It seemed like it would be better to leave while it was light out.


    "When we are inside the Starfall Forest, it will make no difference whether it is night or day," Sean explained. Both Halle and Drouin were the commissioners. He needed to be at least a little courteous to the two of them. "If we want to pass through the Starfall Forest to go to the Portoroa Kingdom, it will take at least half a month. However, there are only 16 days left until the full moon. Trust me, you two do not want to see the surge of the Magic Tide in there."


    After they heard what Sean had said, Halle and Drouin seemed to realize something. Very quickly, they began to make all the preparations. As for the middle-aged man with a wooden bow, he was excluded from the trip. That made him extremely dissatisfied, as he had come to earn some extra money. In the end, he could only glare at Luther before leaving the temporary camp. After he left, his vacant position was replaced by another guard from Halle''s team.


    Five minutes later, nine people, including Halle, Cecilia, and Drouin, officially entered the Starfall Forest under the leadership of Sean.


    Looking from the outside, the Starfall Forest was just very dense. However, because there was a thick fog that surrounded the Starfall Forest all year round, it was impossible to see what was really inside the forest by just looking at it.


    The Starfall Forest was a little bit strange. Although there were a large number of ferocious magical beasts inside the Starfall Forest, the magical beasts had never rushed out of the thick fog before to attack the surrounding towns. It was because of that that the regions surrounding the Starfall Forest were able to develop.


    However, after passing through the thick fog, the space inside the Starfall Forest was revealed to be a completely different world!


    When looking up, the sky inside the Starfall Forest was not a canopy that had obscured the sun. Instead, it was a night sky filled with stars. Even the bright moon above the Miracle Continent could be seen. In addition to such beautiful scenery of the night sky, the environment inside the Starfall Forest was not particularly bad. The forest was filled with the fragrance of flowers. Tender grass had also grown on the ground inside the entire Starfall Forest. Stepping on the grass felt like stepping on a fluffy carpet. A light blue fluorescent light that looked like fireflies filled the entire forest and added a type of delicate beauty to it.


    Among the people present, many of them were seeing such beautiful scenery for the first time. For a moment, they were a little stunned.


    Sean could not help but remember the first time he had entered the forest. Just like everyone else, he had been deeply attracted to the beauty of this forest. However, he was very clear on the fact that the forest was not as simple as just beautiful scenery. The killing intent hidden under its beauty was extremely shocking to everyone, even to the magical beasts that were around level 40. If people were not careful, then even rank-three professionals would also fall here.


    "All right, everyone, you need to come back to your senses." After waiting a little more than 10 seconds, Sean had to clap his hands to attract the attention of everyone who had not yet come back to their senses from the shock. "We did not come here for you to have a picnic or to enjoy the scenery. Do not forget that you still have work to do!" he berated, exasperated at the lack of tact from the group.


    After they heard what Sean said, the group immediately came back to their senses. None of them had forgotten what their duty was. It was just the first time they had seen the scenery inside the Starfall Forest, so they were a bit stunned. However, after they remembered what their mission was, the people were no longer in the mood to appreciate the scenery. Instead, they formed a defensive formation that protected Halle, Cecilia, and Sean, who were in the middle.


    Sean had no objection to the arrangement. He could protect himself inside the Starfall Forest, as long as he did not get caught up in a trap. However, in the eyes of the other people, Sean was only at rank-one strength. To them, Sean was no different from Halle, who was a businessman, and Cecilia, who was an apprentice magician. However, since the commander for the trip was Sean, his existence was the most important and crucial on the team. That was why they had to protect him.


    Due to that, the leader of the team became Drouin, while Sean was in charge of pointing the way from inside of the protective circle.


    The heavily armed knights wore light armor, not heavy armor. Wearing heavy armor could have caused many inconveniences while walking inside the Starfall Forest.


    The four guards were scattered on the left and right sides of Sean and the others, making them the core of the circle. This time, instead of bringing heavy shields and long spears, they had followed Sean''s suggestion and replaced them with thickened round shields and curved blades. However, the medium-sized armor on their body had not been replaced. Even though the weight load had not been reduced and it was still inconvenient for them to move around in the Starfall Forest, at least flexibility and defensive ability during combat were both guaranteed.


    The veteran, Old Pete, was in charge of the rear end of the team. He had not worn any metal armor, just simple leather armor. However, the leather armor was extremely worn out. It seemed to be from back when he was in the army. In terms of weapons, Old Pete displayed the same professional characteristics as a mercenary. Apart from the long spear he had on him and the longbow he carried on his back, there was also a long sword attached to his waist and a sheath tied to his calf. Inside the sheath was a dagger.


    The only other archer on the team had plans to develop into a rank-four [Ranger]. He had not followed the movements of the team but instead wandered around on both sides of the team. Now and then, he would run in front of Drouin. Although his movements looked a bit undeveloped, it was obvious that they were basic detection skills. However, the most important thing was the collection of weapons on his body. Apart from the short bow, he also had two swords, one long and one short. It was obvious that he had also prepared to fight under different circumstances.


    After the team had traveled like this for around half a day, a black wolf with green stripes suddenly appeared within everyone''s line of sight.


    When they saw that the magical beast had appeared, everyone in the team was stunned for just a moment. They had the archer on their team who was in charge of detection, so why had this magical beast appeared before the archer had even issued a warning? Drouin and Cecilia, who had reacted a little faster, realized almost immediately that the reason was due to the tender grass that grew on the ground inside this Starfall Forest. The grass was able to block out all the sounds they made from walking!


    The usual detection methods would be completely ineffective inside the Starfall Forest. They needed new strategies, or things could turn out very badly.


    At the moment everyone lost focus, Sean, who was well aware of the dangers of the Starfall Forest, quickly shouted, "Wind Striped Black Wolf! Everyone, get ready to fight!"

 Chapter 8：Wind Striped Black Wolf

    On the Miracle Continent, there was a very clear difference between a wild beast and a magical beast. No matter how ferocious a wild beast was, they could only be a rank-one creature. However, no matter how weak a magical beast was, it would be rank-two. The gap between a wild beast and a magical beast was indescribable. The most basic difference was that any type of magical beast had a stronger body and stronger combat power than a wild beast. Also, a magical beast had the ability to control magic.


    Any magical beast could be seen as a magical warrior. They certainly had the formidable make of one.


    The Wind Striped Black Wolf was a magical beast that could only be found in the Starfall Forest.


    The Wind Striped Black Wolf was different from an ordinary magical beast. The vast majority of magical beasts acted individually. Even other types of magical wolves did the same. After all, magical beasts were better than wild beasts. Since magical beasts had strong bodies and special magical powers, they did not have to rely on hunting as a group. However, the Wind Striped Black Wolf was different. It retained the habit of staying in a group. Their fighting abilities as a group and the unique physical power of the magical beasts allowed them to be the most terrifying enemy in the Starfall Forest.


    Drouin and the other were not very clear on what the Wind Striped Black Wolves were. However, they all understood what Sean meant when he said to prepare for battle.


    As soon as Sean spoke, the four guards faced the Wind Striped Black Wolf, and they formed a formation, their curved blades pulled out of their sheaths. They squatted slightly, lowering their center of gravity. The archer, who was well aware of his lack of melee ability, retreated immediately and stood with Cecilia. Drouin and Old Pete both seemed very calm and did not show any look of amazement or panic. Drouin pulled out his longsword and did not even take off the round shield on his back. Old Pete took out his longbow, quiver, and longsword and stepped out from the crowd with them in his hand.


    The excellent reaction from the rank-three professionals was quite obvious. Cecilia only reacted after everyone had moved into a defensive battle position. Only then did she start to whisper a short magical syllable.


    Although the guards had done well in moving into a defensive position, they lacked experience. Because they had never seen a Winged Stripped Black World before, they had adopted a more conservative strategy, which made them miss the best opportunity to attack.


    Almost at the same time that everyone started to spread into the formation, a wolf howl. By the time the formation had fully opened, the green stripes on the Wind Striped Black Wolf lit up. In the next moment, it pounced forward.


    The Wind Striped Black Wolf did not consider a single one of them important.


    Seeing that the magical beast was so arrogant, Drouin snorted coldly and took a step forward. An awe-inspiring aura was emitted from his body in an instant. The longsword in his hand glowed dully. It was the skill of a knight from Drouin. Sean knew what the skill was at a glance. However, the expression on his face was not very good. He saw Drouin turn his body sideways and raise his wrist. The sword swung towards the waist of the Wind Striped Black Wolf.


    As soon as the longsword hit, a blast of air broke out from the waist of the Wind Striped Black Wolf. Everyone heard the sound of a wolf howl as the Wind Striped Black Wolf was knocked aside by Drouin''s attack. It turned once in the air but landed easily on the ground. Unlike what they had imagined would happen, no blood splattered anywhere. Everyone could not help but be stunned.


    Anyone with even a little bit of experience knew very well that the weakness of the wolf lay in its waist. Even for a magical beast, their faults and weaknesses were the same as a wild beast. However, in this world, nothing was absolute. There was a small group of magical beasts that was different from normal magical beasts. Many people would think that they knew what their weakness was, but in reality, it was not their weakness at all. On top of that, the magical beast could use it as a trap to trick the enemy.


    The Wind Striped Black Wolf belonged to that small group of magical beasts.


    "The throat!" Sean thought for a moment and then tried to explain in a way that would allow everyone to understand as much as possible. "This is a Wind Striped Black Wolf. The magical lines on this type of wolf will light up when they attack. This will greatly increase their speed. Their entire body will be protected by the airflow. Unless your power is strong enough to break the airflow attached to their body, their weakness will only be at their throat. It is the only place not covered by any magical lines," he explained, losing patience the longer they stood around.


    The Wind Striped Black Wolf was one of the most commonly seen beasts inside the Starfall Forest. It was also one of the most dangerous. Generally speaking, that kind of magical beast would only appear deep within the center of the Starfall Forest. According to Sean''s experiences inside the game "Miracle," the Wind Striped Black Wolf only appeared on the fourth day. However, it had appeared after they had been the Starfall Forest for less than half a day. From Sean''s experience in the game, only a class with the strength attribute of 40 points could directly break the airflow protection around a Wind Striped Black Wolf. Otherwise, apart from the vital attack area at its throat, the Wind Striped Black Wolf was practically physically invincible from attacks by humans. It was invincible against any attacks that landed on its body, which meant that swords and arrows would do no good.


    However, at present, no one in the team had a class with the strength attribute of more than 40 points. Therefore, if they wanted to deal with this Wind Striped Black Wolf, the best way would be to attack its key weakness.


    After listening to the explanation from Sean, Old Pete shook his spear. Then, he rushed up to the Wind Striped Black Wolf by himself. Originally, the Wind Striped Black Wolf was a little afraid of Drouin and the others. However, after the sword attack from Drouin had not caused it any harm, the Wind Striped Black Wolf suddenly looked down on everyone. After it saw that only Old Pete had rushed towards it, the Wind Striped Black Wolf turned fierce as it rushed towards Old Pete, confident in its ability to crush the puny humans.


    Seeing the speed of the Wind Striped Black Wolf, Old Pete''s eyes turned cold. He stopped moving forward, and steadied his body. He knew that it was impossible to kill the animal with one blow, so he clenched the long spear in his hand, pointed the spearhead towards the ground, and waved his hand to get ready to battle. When he saw that the Wind Striped Black Wolf had sped towards him and was only a few meters away, Old Pete changed his gesture. The long spear in his hand suddenly shot out as it fiercely landed against the neck of the Wind Striped Black Wolf.


    A fierce airflow still exploded out from the Wind Striped Black Wolf, pushing Old Pete back half a step.


    The airflow completely removed the impact of the swinging attack from Old Pete. In the end, the long spear swept across the neck of the Wind Striped Black Wolf. Just like trying to drive away a kitten and a puppy, there was no attacking power or any threat from the swing. It was even weaker than the previous attack from Drouin.


    Of course, it did not indicate that Old Pete was not as good as Drouin. After all, the previous attack from Drouin had used a skill, while the attack from Old Pete had not.


    Therefore, the result felt sort of like the Wind Striped Black Wolf had only been slapped. Old Pete had failed to completely stop it from attacking. However, it was fortunate that even though the attack from Old Pete had appeared to be not very threatening, his reaction and movement was not slow at all. When he had realized that his attack had failed, he moved quickly and deftly. He followed the movement of the long spear in his hand and circled to the left side. Old Pete avoided the head-on attack from the Wind Striped Black Wolf.


    From that point alone, it could be seen that Old Pete''s combat experience was extremely rich. Everyone else there all felt the difficulty of dealing with the magical beast.


    It was just a rank-two level 40 magical beast, yet it was able to force Old Pete, who was rank-three, to become helpless. That was the danger of the Starfall Forest. It was also what Sean had worried about before. If they were not careful, there could be heavy casualties.


    Drouin seemed to have realized that it would not be easy for Old Pete to deal with the Wind Stripe Black Wolf by himself and went up with his sword to support Old Pete.


    "Stop!" As soon as Sean saw Drouin move, he began to rebuke him angrily. He could not deal with people who did not listen to him, especially in times as crucial as the moment they were in. Drouin had to listen to him. Their mission depended on it. "Your mission is not to go over there."


    "What do you mean?" Drouin was stunned for a moment. The expression on his face turned a little cold, and an awe-inspiring aura immediately burst out from his body.


    However, even when facing the intimidating aura from Drouin, Sean did not react to it at all. "I am the commander. All you guys need to do is to follow my command. I did not tell you to attack, so stand here and wait for my command," Sean said seriously, locking eyes with Drouin to make sure he understood how important the statement was.


    It seemed that Drouin had not expected Sean to remain so calm even in the face of his aura. Drouin was shocked for a moment and did not know how to proceed. After a moment, he reluctantly pulling his aura back in and considered Sean''s words.


    Sean did not have the time to listen to Drouin''s thoughts. He turned towards Old Pete and said loudly, "Old Pete, can you hold on?"


    "Hold on?" Old Pete did not look back. It was obvious that the stubborn temper of a soldier had been completely brought out. "It is just an animal. I will kill it for you soon!"


    Sean ignored him. "You guys! Make a horizontal defense formation!"


    Watching Sean take the command from Drouin as if it should have been his and even begin to give battle orders, the four guards looked at each other. They did not know whether to follow his orders or not. Halle and the archer were also stupefied. They never expected that Sean would be so fierce to the point that he would directly take the command away from Drouin. Also, the tone he used when he gave the order showed that he did not care what other people thought at all.


    Only Cecilia, who knew Sean''s character very well, was quietly preparing her magic without interrupting.


    "Are you all idiots? Do you not know how to make a horizontal defense formation?" Sean was not paying attention to anything else. When he saw that the people had not responded to him, he immediately began to bark at them, like he had done before when he was the team captain in the game. "Do I need to teach you the horizontal defense formation? All of you move three meters forward and form a row. Stand side by side, and raise your shield. Let your center of gravity sink downward and let the end of the blades touch the ground! Don''t you even know the basics? How did you guys become guards!"


    Seeing that Sean was looking down on him, Drouin was so angry that his face turned red. However, he had to restrain the anger inside. He nodded at Halle. After he saw Drouin nod, Halle finally understood and immediately asked the four guards to follow Sean''s orders. Once the four guards received their confirmation, they showed their extraordinary qualities.


    "Drouin, you do not need to fight at all. The only thing you need to do right now is to stand here and protect Mr. Halle, Cecilia, and our only archer." After Sean saw that the four guards had finally obeyed his order, Sean finally looked at Drouin. "Also, you should take off the shield on your back. It''s not something for you to carry to look good. If you aren''t going to use it, then you didn''t need to bring it in with you."


    Drouin clenched his fists angrily at being spoken to in such a condescending tone. However, he still took off the round shield from his back and got into a defensive pose, raising the shield to protect his body and holding his sword out in front of it.


    Except for Old Pete and the four guards, everyone else could not take their eyes off Sean to see what he was going to do. There was only one Wind Striped Black Wolf, but he had not gathered everyone''s strength to go take care of it. Instead, he had put out a horizontal defense formation. It was difficult for everyone to comprehend. Everyone in the group had fought before, so they knew very well how to fight against a lone wolf. Also, even if they were going to face a pack of wolves, they would never have used the horizontal defense formation. Instead, they would have used a circular defense formation.


    Of course, what had stayed inside everyone''s minds was the most basic concept, which was the fact that a magical beast would never act in a pack.


    But very soon, that basic concept was completely turned on its head.


    A wolf cry sounded in the forest, and soon, right where the lone Wind Striped Black Wolf had appeared, two more Wind Striped Black Wolves sprung out.


    Sean, whose face had been tightening, suddenly smiled when he saw the appearance of the other two Wind Striped Black Wolves.

 Chapter 9：This is the Starfall Forest!

    It was true that the Wind Striped Black Wolf liked to be part of a pack. However, inside the game, the creature couldn''t appear in a pack. After all, they were not in a large dungeon. Sean, on the other hand, knew that the Wind Striped Black Wolf was an exception and waited for a minute. However, when he saw that there were no signs of a wolf pack, he finally remembered some of the small details he had forgotten.


    Inside the Starfall Forest, it was possible to occasionally encounter a pack of three or five Wind Striped Black Wolves. They would not be looking for food or want to fight for the territory. The Wind Striped Black Wolves were only "taking a walk." Back in the game, a lot of players liked that they could encounter the "lone" Wind Striped Black Wolves within the Starfall Forest. That was because apart from the wolf king, which could be encountered in the middle of the forest, there were also ordinary Wind Striped Black Wolves that would not drop anything special. However, the lone Wind Striped Black Wolves that were part of a pack of three or five would likely have a captain level existence.


    According to the original classification in the game "Miracle," creatures from the same group could be divided into the levels of lord, leader, captain, and elite, from the strongest to the weakest respectively. The rankings determined how difficult it would be to beat a creature, as well as how many points the player could gain from defeating it.


    Sean was not very certain if there was a similar classification in the real world. However, it was very clear from the appearance of the Wind Striped Black Wolf in front of them that the distribution of new experiences by fighting creatures in the game was still very desirable.


    The fact that there were three Wind Striped Black Wolves showed that there would not be a violent one among them, commonly known to the players of the game as the "Beast Captain." Due to this, it was a lot easier to take care of these Wind Striped Black Wolves. However, even though it had become easier to deal with them, there would still be a time limit. Creatures who were a part of a pack all had a "call for help" feature. As soon as the wolf howled, if Sean and the others did not finish taking care of the Wind Striped Black Wolves and did not leave the area within 10 minutes, then they would be attacked by an endless group of Wind Striped Black Wolves.


    "Cecilia, force the two Wind Striped Black Wolves away from each other." Sean looked steadily at the two Wind Striped Black Wolves and gave the new order.


    Cecilia and Sean had been working together for a very long time. Therefore, they had some tacit understanding of the other. After she heard what Sean had said, Cecilia immediately knew what to do. At the end of her last chant, Cecilia''s magical power wave immediately became stronger. A fiery force was instantly emitted from the air as a fireball about the size of a fist formed.


    Secondary Level Fireball Technique!


    With the mental pull from Cecilia, the small fireball flew out with a whistling sound and landed in between the two Wind Striped Black Wolves. This caused an explosion right where the two wolves would have been.


    The shock wave caused by the fireball explosion and the heat generated from the spark finally forced the two Wind Striped Black Wolves to temporarily separate from each other with a low roar. However, the effect of this temporary separation had not played an important role. As long as these two Wind Striped Black Wolves avoided this small ball of flame, they could still come together again. This would be no different from before.


    Therefore, when Drouin heard the tactical order from Sean, his eyebrows tightened.


    As someone born with an aristocratic background from the Portoroa Kingdom, even though Drouin did not know what species the Wind Striped Black Wolves were, it was not an excuse for him to limit his field of vision. All citizens of the Portoroa Kingdom were well aware of the theory regarding the world of magic. The theory that fire-based magic from physics magic was able to restrain wind-based magic was the foundation. As the underlying rule of the theory, fire-based magic could be used to deal with creatures of wind-based magic. It would be able to cause a great deal of damage.


    Even if it was only the Secondary Level Fireball Technique from an apprentice magician, it would still cause some damage if it was used on the Wind Striped Black Wolf.


    At the very least, Drouin knew that if he had been the one who was in charge of the battle, then he would have let Cecilia focus her Secondary Level Fireball Technique onto one of the Wind Striped Black Wolves. Then, he would have used the collective strength of the group to deal with one of the Wind Striped Black Wolves first. He would not have done what Sean did and waste a Secondary Level Fireball Technique. After all, Cecilia was only just an apprentice magician. The length of her chants, her spirit, and her magic power were not enough for her to perform the Secondary Level Fireball Technique too many times.


    Drouin shook his head slightly. He was already ready to take over the command and fight to the death. He knew in his heart that one or two people might need to be sacrificed in the battle. He was not happy about the conclusion, but if it were necessary, he would do it.


    The reality was exactly how Drouin had predicted it to be. The two Wind Striped Black Wolf very quickly got back together after they dodged the small flame. This time, they were even faster than before. Obviously, after being disturbed by the Secondary Level Fireball Technique from Cecilia, they had become angry.


    The four guards also evidently became a bit more flustered, shifting nervously and glancing at each other.


    "Keep yourself steady. There is nothing to be afraid of!" Sean shouted coldly, "The big guy in the middle, step back half a meter¡­Cecilia, cast a fireball. Push them away."


    "Are you able to direct!?" Drouin was stunned for a moment. When he collected himself, he immediately scolded, "They are magic beasts of wind-based magic! Do you not know that fire-based magic can restrain wind-based magic? I can''t believe that you are wasting the Secondary Level Fireball Technique in a place like this! An apprentice magician can only perform the Secondary Level Fireball Technique three times at most!"


    Sean did not pay any attention to what Drouin was trying to say. Sean just glanced at the guards and saw that they started to hesitate after they heard what Drouin had said. Therefore, Sean immediately yelled, "The idiot in the middle, if you don''t step back half a meter, then you will be the first to die! The two next to him, do not move. Even if you die, you are not allowed to step back half a step!" As he spoke, it was obvious that Sean had become a bit angry. After he finished speaking to the guards, he took a bit of time to glance at Drouin. "Don''t forget. This is the Starfall Forest!"


    With just these words, Drouin''s aura flared and immediately became suffocating.


    As for Cecilia, because of the magic skills she had just displayed, her spirit and magic power were both in a more active state. Therefore, the second Secondary Level Fireball Technique was much faster than the first one. She followed the instructions from Sean and locked her spirit not far from the four guards. Then, another Secondary Level Fireball Technique whistled out.


    This time, the two Wind Striped Black Wolves saw the landing point of the Secondary Level Fireball Technique. Not only were they not scared, but instead they displayed a bloodthirsty excitement in their eyes. At their feet, a faint whirlwind appeared. With just a slight jump, the two Wind Striped Black Wolves jumped to the left and right, splitting away from each other. Their bodies were as light as a feather, and they skillfully avoided the attack of the Secondary Level Fireball Technique from Cecilia. The moment they landed, they were like lightning as they shot towards the two guards closest to them.


    There was still a distance of nearly four meters between the two Wind Striped Black Wolves. However, the distance seemed to be completely non-existent in the eyes of the two wolves.


    Leaping Combo Kill Attack!


    It was one of the two attacking abilities of the Wind Striped Black Wolf.


    The Wind Striped Black Wolves'' Leaping Combo Kill Attack was so fast that there was almost no time for the two guards to react.


    But right at that moment, Sean''s voice sounded again. "The two on the left and right, take a big step back. The two guards in the middle, walk half a meter forward. Everyone, attack the back of the neck on the Wind Striped Black Wolf at the same time!"


    Sean''s voice had sounded so abruptly that the two guards had no time or emotion to think at all and moved like a conditioned reflex. Originally, they were ready to raise their shields to defend. However, at Sean''s order, the two guards immediately took a big step back. The two guards who had retreated half a meter previously immediately began to run. Half a meter was not very far.


    The Leaping Combo Kill Attack from the two Wind Striped Black Wolves would have landed where the two guards originally were. If they had not retreated, they would have been knocked to the ground and killed by the Wind Striped Black Wolves. However, what stunned everyone was not only the fact that the Leaping Combo Kill Attack from the two Wind Striped Black Wolves had failed but also the fact that the two guards in the middle had returned to their original position after they had rushed forward half a meter. Right now, they were standing next to the two Wind Striped Black Wolves. The two wolves and two humans arrived at the same place at almost the same time.


    Without thinking at all, the two guards swung their curved blades up towards the back of the necks of the Wind Striped Black Wolves, cutting through the fur and flesh they encountered.


    The airflow around the Wind Striped Black Wolves immediately exploded out as it blocked the attacks from the curved blades. It seemed to be no different from Drouin''s attack earlier. It could have been worse. After all, the two were mainly defensive guards and were not very good at attacking related techniques.


    Looking at the scene in front of him, there was a twinkle of surprise in Drouin''s eyes.


    He saw that the two Wind Striped Black Wolves had looked up at the guards and had completely exposed their necks.


    "Shoot the one on the right!" Sean yelled in a deep voice. He instantly activated his sprint skill at the same time and rushed towards the Wind Striped Black Wolf on the left.


    Boom!


    The sound of the arrow being released from the bowstring was only half a second slower than Sean''s sprint. The reaction time proved that the archer was very skilled in combat.


    But what had surprised everyone was Sean.


    Sean had rushed towards the Wind Striped Black Wolf on the left at a speed that was no slower than the Wind Striped Black Wolves themselves. Right before he was about to run into the Wind Striped Black Wolf, Sean forcefully stopped his sprint. Stopping the sprint halfway was a skill that all experienced warriors knew. However, to the others, it was not seen like that.


    The stillness right after the high-speed movement was a shock to all the internal organs of the body. Only an expert with a high class was capable of doing something like that. However, the problem was that Sean''s class was only a rank one [Mercenary]! How could he have used such a high-level skill?


    Sean ignored everyone''s look of amazement and stood in front of the Wind Striped Black Wolf with a cold face. Due to the fluctuation caused by the sudden stop of the sprint, the Wind Striped Black Wolf had become alert, and an obvious hint of panic had appeared in its eyes. Right as it wanted to jump away from Sean, the long sword in Sean''s hand stabbed into the throat of the Wind Striped Black Wolf. It directly smashed the Core Crystal within its neck, putting an end to the magical beast in front of him.


    The arrow shot by the archer was a skill the archer had prepared. Normally, it would be very difficult for an arrow to pierce through the firm fur of a Wind Striped Black Wolf. Originally, Sean had wanted to let the archer attract its hatred. After all, they still had Drouin, who was a knight, whose task was to quickly take care of one of the Wind Striped Black Wolves. They could have concentrated the power from everyone to kill it. Afterward, Drouin would have gone help Old Pete.


    However, with the current situation, Sean could determine that the archer''s strength was pretty good. That saved Sean a lot of work.


    The moment when the two Wind Striped Black Wolves died, a burst of hot heat suddenly poured into Sean''s body. It made his body feel as if it had been burned by fire. In the blink of an eye, Sean''s face turned a little pale. Even the breath from Sean was a bit hot. It frightened the guard who was standing very close to Sean.


    However, Sean just waved his hand and said, "I''m fine."


    In contrast to the sudden sharp burning sensation, Sean was ecstatic. His experience points had increased a lot after the two Wind Striped Black Wolves were killed. He had already guessed that he would be able to gain experience points as long as he was contracted. However, Sean had not expected the real world to retain the same reward system for killing creatures a few levels above him.


    Of course, judging from the current situation, killing beasts a few levels above was not completely a good thing. At the very least, if the burning sensation had been even more intense, it could have killed him.


    Just as the burning feeling inside Sean''s body had died down a little, a third howl could be heard. Sean turned his head and looked towards the other side of the battlefield. He saw that Old Pete had forcefully stabbed through the throat of the third Wind Striped Black Wolf with the strength of a claw.


    The moment the Wind Striped Black Wolf had died, the receding burning sensation inside Sean''s body erupted once again. Sean made a muffled humming sound, suddenly in pain again. It had raised his level to level seven.

 Chapter 10：Be Worthy Of The Reward

    "Are you okay?" Everyone had finally noticed Sean''s abnormal behavior. Cecilia was the first one to rush up to Sean and hold him steady.


    "I''m fine." Sean''s voice sounded a little weak as if he could not fully control his lungs. The breath he had breathed out was very hot and smelled a little bit nasty. Cecilia cringed slightly but did not pull away, continuing to hold him up as he regained his strength.


    "With your current condition, you are lucky that you did not die on the spot after using this kind of sudden stop from a sprinting technique." Drouin glanced at Sean, but there were no changes in the expression on his face. However, his emotions were like a wave, since they seemed to fluctuate up and down. "Although I don''t know much about your current situation, if possible, it is better not to use that kind of high leveled skill so casually."


    Sean nodded but did not say anything, focusing his energy on pretending that he did not hurt as badly. It would not do for the rest of the group to know of the weakness nor what had happened.


    In reality, he was happy to have this kind of misunderstanding. At the very least, there was no need to explain his physical condition. Of course, Sean also knew that Drouin was a little bit jealous. Apart from the fact that Sean''s body was able to withstand the negative effect brought by using the "Abrupt Stop" skill, the sprint skill alone was enough to make many people envious.


    None of the people present knew how to use the technique, even Old Pete and Drouin. Drouin''s situation was slightly better than the others, and he also knew the "mount and charge" skill, which also required mount cooperation. Also, as long as an individual was a knight related class, the "mount and charge" skill could be learned, so it was not considered too rare. On the contrary, the "sprint" skill was rare. Skills like the "charge" from a knight and "ram" from a soldier all required learning the "sprint" skill first. Back when Sean was in the game, Sean had spent a lot of time and money to learn the "sprint" skill.


    After everyone confirmed that Sean was fine, their attention focused on the three Wind Striped Black Wolves in front of them.


    If Old Pete had not been so risky, then it would have been a battle without any damages. Even though part of it was because several people had a rank-three strength, in reality, it was Sean who had played a decisive role. Not to mention that he was familiar with the situation inside the Starfall Forest and the habits of magical beasts, his ability to command was enough to convince Drouin.


    It was at that moment that Drouin had realized if he was the one who had been in command earlier, he would have sacrificed at least one to two people. Also, Drouin realized the point of the two Secondary Level Fireball Techniques, as well as the exquisite timing of the change in position. Among the people present, it was likely that Sean was the only one who had that ability. Everyone else, including Drouin and Old Pete, would not have been able to do something like that.


    However, Sean, who had displayed such skills, had no obvious mood swings. In reality, he had expected such a result a long time ago. Back when he was inside the game, he was very familiar with the defensive counterattack skills for dealing with the Wind Striped Black Wolf. Not to mention that there were seven rank-three people present, even if everyone had the strength of rank-two, Sean was confident that he would have been able to pass without getting hurt. The only thing that Sean felt a little bit sad about was that the Core Crystal inside the three Wind Striped Black Wolves had been destroyed. It made the bodies of the Wind Striped Black Wolves worthless.


    The Core Crystal, which was also known as the Magic Core and the Crystal Core, was the source and lifeline of the power of magical beasts. It not only condensed the life-long elemental power of the magical beasts, but it even replaced the role of their hearts. As long as the Core Crystal was destroyed, then any magical beast would be killed. However, even if the Core Crystal had been obtained, it could not have been used immediately. A Core Crystal had to go through a series of procedures to extract any unstable magical powers before it could be safely used. Also, the higher the rank-of a magical beast, the purer the elemental power that would be condensed by the Core Crystal. Of course, the difficulty of extracting the unstable magic inside would also increase.


    However, no matter if the Core Crystal was high-level or low-level, the demand never changed. Even if they were to enter the era of magic in the future, Core Crystals would still occupy an extremely important market share and demand. After all, things such as the Core Crystal were not only needed by magicians. They were one of the indispensable main materials for making magical devices. Therefore, no matter what era, Core Crystals would always be the mainstream of hard currency.


    Originally, the three Wind Striped Black Wolves would have had at least three level-one wind-based Core Crystals. However, they were destroyed by Sean, therefore it was naturally impossible to retrieve the Core Crystals from the three Wind Striped Black Wolves. To be able to receive Core Crystals from a Wind Striped Black Wolf, it had to be killed by breaking the protective airflow around it. Also, any methods of attack towards the throat of the Wind Striped Black Wolf would make it impossible to retrieve the Core Crystal from its body.


    That was a special setting inside the game "Miracle." Through different killing techniques, the tools received would be completely different.


    However, one thing that was better in the real world than inside the game was that Sean was able to kill a Wind Striped Black Wolf with just one move. That was impossible to achieve inside the game because there was a health point setting.


    At the current moment, only the wolves'' skin was worth some money to Sean. It was a pity that Old Pete''s long spear had directly pieced the Wind Striped Black Wolf. It had caused the price of the wolf skin to be reduced a lot. The value of Black Striped Black Wolf killed by the archer was slightly affected as well. The arrow that the archer shot had damaged the wolf skin around the Back Striped Black Wolf''s neck. The only perfect wolf skin was from the Black Striped Black Wolf that Sean had killed himself.


    In addition to the wolf skin of the Wind Striped Black Wolves, the wolf meat also had a little bit of edible value.


    "Boy, you are pretty amazing." Old Pete picked up the Wind Striped Black Wolf and walked over.


    The Wind Striped Black Wolf was not a very large magical beast. Its entire body was only slightly larger than an average wolf-type creature. As long as one''s strength value was more than 10 points, then the wolf could be lifted. Old Pete''s strength value had far surpassed that and had reached 28 points.


    Sean''s face was still a little pale, but the grin he displayed was very contagious. "I have to make sure I live up to the reward I will be given," he joked.


    Old Pete was stunned at first but then smiled. "It seems that this reward must be very high."


    "10,000 continental gold coins," Sean said out loud. The figure was enough to stun the average person.


    On the Miracle Continent, there were many types of kingdoms and empires. Each of the countries paid close attention to the power of making coins, so naturally there would be many currencies that belonged to the various countries. At the very beginning, countries did not recognize the existence of currencies from other countries. It was not until the 10 most powerful merchant houses joined forces to create the Continental Business Guild that the currencies of each country finally had a clear exchange ratio. It was now possible to circulate the money.


    However, with the development of the historical era, disputes between different countries had gradually escalated. Hostile countries did not recognize the currencies from other countries at all. Also, the gold coins from some countries were only 70% gold or even less. Therefore, to tackle such situations, the United Continental Business Guild had launched continental gold coins that were made from pure gold. This had formulated a more detailed currency exchange ratio and financial system. Over time, the continental gold coins had become the most commonly used currency of the entire Miracle Continent.


    Although the gold coins from the Serian Kingdom were made of 70% gold, due to the thickness of the gold coins being relatively thin, they could only be regarded as 50% gold. Drouin and Halle had offered Sean a reward of 10,000 continental gold coins, which was equivalent to 20,000 Serian gold coins. However, the Serian gold coins could only be used inside the Serian Kingdom. If Sean were to go to the Portoroa Kingdom, then the price would be further reduced because of the exchange rate.


    Sean was not stupid. He wanted continental gold coins instead of Serian gold coins.


    If it had just a commissioned task from Sean, then the price could be regarded sky-high. However, after the battle, everyone had become fully aware of the dangers of the Starfall Forest as well as Sean''s importance. Therefore, although the reward of 10,000 continental gold coins was heartbreaking, it wasn''t unacceptable.


    Of course, Halle knew that it was actually because Drouin''s attitude was so bad that he was badly hurt like that by Sean.


    Sean looked at the stunned expression on Old Pete''s face and felt a sudden moment of physical and mental satisfaction. He did not wait here for his body to completely recover. Instead, as soon as he was able to walk around, he said, "Let us leave as soon as possible. Everyone, remember to take care of the smell of blood on you. The magic fluctuations inside the Starfall Forest are very chaotic. As long as you don''t have the smell of blood around you, magical beasts will not be attracted to you."


    From this process, it could be seen that the team had attached great importance on efficiency and speed. Also, their experience of surviving in the wild was very rich. A few arteries on the three Wind Striped Black Wolves were cut open. That greatly increased the speed of draining the blood. Moreover, the draining of the blood was not done casually. The guards dug a small hole in the ground and drained all the blood inside the hole. The body of the wolf would not be stained with any blood at all. Once they had finished draining the blood, the wound was immediately wrapped in mud and small pieces of cloth to prevent the smell of blood from escaping.


    In less than a minute, everyone had completely organized everything, and they set out on the road once again.


    Sean did not dare to delay at all this time. He immediately arranged for two guards to protect him. Then, he led the way in front of the group. The archer was assigned to the center of the circle. He was not required to be responsible for detection. After all, normal detection methods were not useful inside the Starfall Forest. Therefore, it was better to have Sean arrange everyone into formations that would be useful while traversing through the forest. Old Pete and Drouin were jointly responsible for protection in the back of the group.


    Just a few minutes after they were on the road again, a series of wolf howls sounded from inside the forest. The cries contained obvious anger and sadness. It made a lot of the group scared. However, very quickly, a few more howls sounded.


    Sean paused and tilted his head to listen. Then, he started to walk again. "Let''s go. The smell of blood has attracted a large number of magical beasts. I think the pack of wolves is fighting against other magical beasts, so we are safe for now."

 Chapter 11：Starfall Lake

    The sky, filled with shining stars, brought a sense of unexpected serenity. The bright moon that hung in the night sky became more and more round.


    The Starfall Forest was changing at a speed that was visible to the naked eye.


    The light blue fluorescent light, which was supposed to be like a firefly, gradually became brighter. When the fluorescent lights were joined together, it looked like a band of blue lights. The soft young grass in the Starfall Forest had also grown at an incomprehensible speed. Not only had the grass hardened, but it had also begun to grow taller. As for the trees inside the forest, it was unknown whether they were an illusion or real. The big trees, which required several people to gather around to surround them, had grown taller overnight.


    The impact of the Magic Tide had slowly changed the entire Starfall Forest.


    A shadow of a human figure came out from behind a big tree, limping slightly.


    Under the reflection of the moonlight, it could be seen that the figure had a round shield in their left hand and a curved blade in their right hand. Obvious patches and damages could be seen on the person''s armor. When the figure took a few more steps forward, the moonlight finally shone on his face. His face was revealed to be filled with an expression of exhaustion. Also, the appearance of his disheveled head showed that it had not been taken care of for several days now. The new scars that could be seen on his face, where the blood had already dried, fully demonstrated the hardships he had been through.


    Behind him, another man who was dressed exactly like the man in front of him walked out. The second man''s condition was not any better.


    However, the two men did not stop because of their current conditions. They moved forward mechanically with a numb feeling throughout their body. With the sound of footsteps, more and more figures appeared behind them. The tired look on their faces was exactly the same.


    "Hold on just a little longer. When we arrive at the Starfall Lake that is just up ahead in front of us, we can have a short rest there." A somewhat hoarse voice rang out, which lifted everyone''s spirits by a little bit.


    The person who had spoken was Sean, the mercenary.


    However, unlike the high-spirited look that he had been sporting before, the current expression on Sean''s face was also very tired. There were inevitably a few scars on his body, one of which was deep and more visible. If it had not been for the amazing emergency aid skills from Old Pete, then Sean thought that he may not have been able to survive. But even though the wound had been partially healed, the pain from the wound had consumed a lot of energy from him. The scabbard of that Charles'' Sword had also been lost somewhere earlier.


    It was the sixth day of the trip in which Sean had led the group into the Starfall Forest, trying to cross through it. There were now only nine people left in the group. They had lost one guard.


    When they had first encountered the Wind Striped Black Wolves, it had made Sean''s importance in the group more obvious. Due to the commands from Sean and his deep familiarity with the Starfall Forest, the journey over the next couple of days was a lot smoother. Even though all the different kinds of magical beasts they saw along the way looked terrifying, under Sean''s guidance, whose command was as accurate as a surgical knife, the magical beasts had become less terrifying to everyone. Not only were the magical beasts able to be easily crushed, but everyone had also harvested more than a dozen level one Core Crystals. Altogether, they had an average of one Core Crystal per person, which made everyone very excited.


    Of course, as a group of veterans, nobody dared to take things lightly despite this. They had remained vigilant and had kept the night watch rotations. They still strictly followed their daily received instructions. Also, due to the dangers of the Starfall Forest, their usual night watch rotations had changed from the two-shifts rotation system to three shifts. The number of people in the night watch rotations had also been increased by one.


    But even so, Sean had still underestimated the impact the real world would bring.


    On the fourth night after everyone had set out, the impact of the Magic Tide began. The first person to notice was Cecilia. After all, she had a gift that had shocked Sean. As for Sean, even though he had known that the Magic Tide would create a deeper sense of magic in the Starfall Forest, he had not realized that the real world was completely different from the game. Of course, he had not expected for the hatred of the Wind Striped Black Wolves to be so deep either.


    All of that couldn''t have possibly occurred in the original game.


    The day they had taken care of the three Wind Striped Black Wolves, the pack of wolves that had arrived afterward had indeed fought with other magical beasts. The pack''s casualties had been quite heavy. After all, the wolf king of the Wind Striped Black Wolves had not appeared that day. However, Sean and the others had not taken that matter to heart. Instead, they had continued quickly towards their destination. Along the way, they had met several Wind Striped Black Wolves and fought with them. Sean and the others had used the methods they had utilized earlier. Because of this, they had been targeted by packs of wolves.


    Finally, on the fourth night, the Magic Tide had changed, and the pack of wolves had also suddenly attacked.


    Fortunately, Sean and others had not been asleep. They had woken up the moment the battle broke out. However, looking at the more than 30 Wind Striped Black Wolves, and even the appearance of the violent Wind Striped Black Wolf known as the Beast Captain, Sean could only order everyone to break out of the encirclement.


    It was a fierce battle. Even though everyone had succeeded in breaking through the encirclement, one of the guards had ended up being surrounded by the pack of wolves because he was too slow. In the end, he was buried inside the bellies of the wolves.


    For the next two days, there had been fights between Sean and the pack of wolves.


    On average, Sean and the others would encounter a pack of wolves and fight it every few hours. Also, as time went by, the pack of wolves had increased in number of individuals rather than decreased. During the most recent encounter they had with a pack of wolves, the number had exceeded 50. They had not been able to get sufficient rest, so the team''s combat effectiveness was naturally getting weaker and weaker. The tired expressions on their faces had also become more and more obvious. Coupled with the increase in their injuries, the smell of blood could no longer be concealed. The magical beasts that attacked Sean and the others were no longer just Wind Striped Black Wolves.


    If it had not been for the influence of the Magic Tide, Cecilia would have been able to temporarily exert the strength of a rank three [apprentice magician]. However, she was afraid that everyone would not be able to hold on any longer. However, under such a fierce combat situation, Sean''s experience points had soared like a rocket. In just six days, his experience had risen to level nine. Now, the experience points that could be gained from killing the Wind Striped Black Wolves or other magical beasts no longer made him feel the same burning pain as before.


    Back when Sean was in the game, any players that were rank three and below were considered new. Therefore, the tasks they could complete were basic things like understanding the background of the world and the game system. Anyone who had wanted to integrate themselves into the world had to be above rank three. Only those above rank three could set up their own mercenary team, seek a part-time class in their kingdom, or even become an adventurer and start to take risks around the world, experiencing the completely different world.


    Although he had now made a name for himself by setting up a mercenary team with Cecilia, he knew very well that, in reality, wherever he was, none of the mercenary teams considered Sean and Cecilia a threat at all. This was because in this world, it was impossible to set up a mercenary team just because someone wanted to. It could only be established after getting formal approval from the Mercenary Guild. Also, to become an adventurer, pioneer, or a demon hunter, a person had to pass the entrance tests written by those guilds.


    The tests all required a class above rank three. Of course, if a person wanted to join a group like a mercenary team or a pioneer team, it would not be as strict. All it required for that was the team was willing to accept that person.


    Therefore, Sean had not set increasing his level to level nine as a priority. The only thing that could satisfy him was that he had now saved 11 proficiency points. That was the biggest difference between him and other people. It was also his biggest guarantee that he could gain a foothold in this world. Also, he had a secret that no one else knew about. An average adult in this world had attribute points of 5(10). However, when Sean had arrived in this world, his attribute points were all 10(10), which were full points.


    After taking up the new profession [mercenary], Sean had obtained the Charles'' Sword. After obtaining this, his five attributes had changed to, "Strength: 11+3 (13); Endurance: 11+1 (14); Agility: 10 (13); Wisdom: 10(12); Will: 10 (13)". The figure was stronger than people with a profession at rank two. Only people like Old Pete and Drouin, who had fought and trained for a long time and were able to display the maximum potential they had reached, would be able to become stronger than Sean.


    Sean was thinking about how to effectively use the 11 proficiency points to maximize his combat power when a wolf howled. It interrupted his train of thought.


    Right after the wolf howled, the second and third howls sounded immediately after. The color on the faces of everyone suddenly changed.


    "We don''t need to run anymore." Sean turned his head back and looked at the place where the cry of the wolf came from. The tired expression on his face was no longer hidden but had been completely revealed. His entire body relaxed a lot. "No magical beasts will dare to come here into this area. Let us take a rest. We will be safe as long as we are here"


    Seeing the relaxed look from Sean''s expression, everyone around him also started to relax. Within the last six days, everyone had unknowingly started to treat Sean as the backbone of the entire team. All of their actions were completed per the instructions from Sean. Even Drouin, who had always retained his aristocratic pride, had also lowered his posture and taken the initiative to cooperate with Sean.


    Drouin knew very well that if it had not been for Sean, then they probably would not have been able to stay in the Starfall Forest for so many days.


    The Starfall Forest was much more terrifying than he could have ever imagined in his wildest nightmares.


    Drouin had become more curious about Sean, but he knew that right now was not the time to explore this.


    Just like Sean had said, the pack of Wind Striped Black Wolves very quickly caught up to them. However, they did not rush towards everyone as they had done the past couple of days. Instead, they stayed more than 10 meters away from where everyone was. They pawed at the ground angrily and howled continuously. However, they did not dare to take another step forward.


    The blue fluorescent band seemed to be like a warning line It seemed to have formed two worlds, one inside and one outside.


    The spot was around 30 meters in front of everyone, and there was a huge lake that had a radius of more than 100 meters. At the center of the lake, a huge black boulder that was filled with small pits and hills could be seen. It looked to be at least around 50 meters in diameter. Within the holes on the black boulder, there was an extremely thick dark blue liquid that was constantly surging. The blue liquid would flow into the lake and cover the surface of the entire lake with a dark blue glimmer. A strong thick substance with magical power emanated from the surface of the lake. The magical power was filled with an extremely strong chaotic force.


    It was the star that had fallen at the end of the Twilight Era.


    The entire lake was completely condensed by the Power of Star that had escaped from the star. It could even be said that the entire reason the Starfall Forest had been alienated was completely due to the Starfall Lake that was in front of everyone.

 Chapter 12：No Retreat

    Starfall Lake.


    The lake was formed by the Power of Star. However, due to some unknown reason, the lake was very dangerous. It contained a violent and chaotic magical force. The closer to the middle of the lake, the more terrifying the power was. If anyone touched the sticky liquid that was flowing out from the holes in the star, then they would be instantly torn to pieces by the ferocious magical power.


    Apart from the magical power that it seemed to release, everything else seemed to be no different from an ordinary lake. However, in reality, the bottom of the lake was filled with a chaotic undercurrent. If anyone fell into the water, they would be torn apart by the undercurrent.


    Magical beasts did not dare to approach the lake because they were simply unable to withstand the raging magical power there.


    Even as human beings, Drouin and the others began to feel a bit of physical discomfort.


    Throughout the history of the Starfall Lake and the Starfall Forest, there had been countless textual researchers in the game who tried to do research and make deductions based on the historical background of the game. However, up until Sean had arrived in this world, no one had been able to come up with a clear answer for why the star fell there. Nonetheless, no matter how much people had argued, there was one fact that all the research players agreed on: at the bottom of the Starfall Lake, there was an entrance to a rank five classed dungeon. However, the conditions of entry were relatively difficult.


    In the game ''Miracle,'' dungeons were divided into two categories. There would be ordinary dungeons and classed dungeons. Anyone would be able to enter ordinary dungeons, as there was no obvious restriction on such dungeons. Dungeons such as underground dungeons and regional dungeons, they were both ordinary dungeons. Also, the "Wandering Darkness" dungeon that Sean had completed previously was part of an ordinary dungeon. The dungeons could be seen all around the world.


    As long as people felt that they were strong enough, then it was okay to go challenge the dungeons with very high-level creatures. There were no restrictions on entering or leaving.


    On the other hand, the classed dungeons were not as easy to enter. These types of dungeons were somewhat similar to the ''Prosperous World,'' a relics dungeon in the game. There was nothing specific about the dungeons, but only after having completed the relevant tasks would it then be possible to enter those types of dungeons. For example, if a dungeon only allowed a person at rank five to enter, then anyone who was at rank four or was already at rank six would not be able to enter this dungeon. Someone at rank six could only enter the classed dungeons that had a requirement of rank five or above.


    Therefore, whether a class or the class above was required had to be carefully identified by the players in the game. If they were not careful, it was possible they would miss the dungeons.


    At the moment, noting about the Starfall Lake had anything to do with Sean and the others. Sean had no intention of causing any more trouble there. He just told everyone to not get too close to the Starfall Lake and then let them have a rest however they wanted.


    Sean had realized that if the team did not get enough rest here, then they would not be able to continue the rest of the journey. Also, while he looked at the appearances of the Wind Striped Black Wolves that were still surrounding them, Sean knew very well that there was no way out for the group. If they did not pass through the entire Starfall Forest, then everyone in the group would probably die here.


    Even though everyone felt a bit uncomfortable because of the violent magical power of Starfall Lake, it was indeed a rare chance for them to calm down and rest. A short while later, the most exhausted guards had fallen asleep and started to snore. Immediately after, Halle, Cecilia, and the archer also could not stop their physical and mental fatigue from taking over and also soon fell asleep. However, Sean was not very comfortable when he looked at the color on Cecilia''s face.


    When he thought about it, he realized that the violent magical power being emitted from this Starfall Lake was indeed very terrifying. It was not something good for Cecilia''s amazing talent.


    Sean, Drouin, and Old Pete were the only ones who were still awake, and they watched their surroundings warily.


    One of the professional rewards of Old Pete, who was a veteran, was that his physical and mental strength consumed within a battle was 50% less than normal. In other words, even if everyone had fallen, Old Pete would still have the strength to fight. Also, after reaching above rank three, he was able to activate his professional talent. With the rise of his class, professional talent could be selected again or strengthened. However, Sean was unclear which of the professional talents Old Pete had chosen.


    The military sword Old Pete had was lost earlier, on the night when the Wind Striped Black Wolves had attacked them. But even so, Old Pete''s combat power was extremely strong with just his long spear. That had the additional benefit of the fact that when he was facing the attacks from the pack of wolves, long weapons were much easier to use than short weapons.


    Old Pete sat down on the ground, then tore off a piece of dried meat and began slowly chew on it.


    Seeing the action from Old Pete, one of the Wind Striped Black Wolves let out a low roar. It could not resist its impulse to rush forward any longer as it dashed past the warning line that terrified the wolves. The wolf ran towards Old Pete, wanting to make Old Pete into dried meat to eat. However, before the Wind Striped Black Wolf was able to rush at Old Pete, numerous blue fluorescent lights rushed into its body, as if they had been attracted by something. Then, the body of the Wind Striped Black Wolf swelled up, almost as if it were a balloon.


    Bang!


    At the loud noise, everyone woke up from the surprise. However, before anyone could react, a rain of blood fell from across the sky, splattering them all in the red liquid.


    Along with the countless pieces of flesh, Old Pete was covered in the filthy blood. However, it did not stop him from chewing the dried meat in his mouth. It looked terrifying, but his eyes were looking very serious, "These magical wolves have a high sense of discipline. Even like this, we can only attract one to come over to us."


    The dried meat that Old Pete was chewing on was the flesh of the Wind Striped Black Wolf that they had defeated in the past few days.


    Sean had wanted to say something else, but right at that moment, a high-spirited wolf howl sounded in the distance. All the Wind Striped Black Wolves stopped and raised their ears as if they were listening to something. Immediately after, long and urgent wolf howls could be heard. All the Wind Striped Black Wolves turned around and left.


    In an instant, all the Wind Striped Black Wolves that had surrounded the Starfall Lake had left. If it had not been for the pieces of blood and meat in front of them, no one would believe that they were about to be destroyed just a moment ago. An unnatural silence filed the area.


    "The wolf king." The Sean furrowed his brows. A terrible feeling appeared in his heart.


    If there was anything that was the most troublesome for Sean at this stage, it would be the Wind Striped Black Wolf King and the rank three Blood Flamed Lion King, as the two were both a BOSS at the lord level. The other demonic corpse was a BOSS from a dungeon, something that Sean and the others would have to face against. Therefore, no matter how troublesome it was, there was nothing Sean could do. There were only two BOSS creatures that were magical beasts. If it was possible, Sean did not want to provoke them.


    However, from their current situation, this was impossible.


    When all the Wind Striped Black Wolves had left, a giant wolf that was twice as big as a normal Wind Striped Black Wolf walked out from behind the trees.


    The black fur on this wolf had the texture of meteor lights. On the surface, it did not seem to have the same obvious green stripes as an ordinary Wind Striped Black Wolf. However, in reality, the patterns were underneath the black fur. They were no longer exposed on the fur but instead were imprinted on its flesh. The Wind Striped Black Wolf only stood in front of everyone. It did not growl or show its teeth. However, everyone''s faces changed, including Drouin and Old Pete. They could feel a strong sense of danger and pressure from the Wind Striped Black Wolf.


    The Wind Striped Black Wolf King.


    However, what had made everyone feel a little bit more reassured was that the Wind Striped Black Wolf had not stepped into the area influenced by the Starfall Lake. It stood far away and looked at everyone before it turned around and left. Everyone felt a bit of relief from this. If the Wind Striped Black Wolf King had rushed in towards them, they really would not have known how to deal with it. For Drouin and the others, the magical beasts inside the Starfall Forest that scared them the most were the Wind Striped Black Wolves. Physical attacks were ineffective in combat, which had made it very difficult for everyone to adapt.


    "What is the matter with you?" Everyone was feeling relieved, but Old Pete noticed the abnormality on Sean''s face. He did not like the face that Sean was making.


    "We are being targeted." Sean''s face looked very pale.


    He was very clear that the Wind Striped Black Wolf King could enter the area influenced by the Starfall Lake without being directly exposed to the magical power as other Wind Striped Black Wolves had been. However, it had not chosen to enter. That meant that it was suspicious about something else. However, what was suspicious was not the size of the group. Judging from the results of the last two days, everyone knew that once they were surrounded by the Wind Striped Black Wolves, it would be a dead end.


    Therefore, the Wind Striped Black Wolf King was suspicious of a person.


    That person was Cecilia.


    As a magician, she would also be affected by the Magic Tide. Of course, this effect was not unchangeable. It could be a bad thing or a good thing. Fortunately, the effect it had on Cecilia was good. Inside this Starfall Forest, she was able to display the strength of a real rank three magician. As for the current situation where Cecilia was close to Starfall Lake, her magical powers could become even more powerful. It was because of this that the Wind Striped Black Wolf King had not risked itself to enter the area to fight against Sean and the others. If it was held back, then techniques from Cecilia alone would be enough to kill it.


    "Get up everyone. We don''t have any more time to rest." Looking up at the bright moon in the starry night sky, Sean said gloomily. "We have half of the journey left. Thanks to the wild beasts, we have arrived here nearly three days ahead of schedule. Next, we will pass through the outpost ahead of us. As long as we can pass through there, then we will be able to leave this forest."


    Hearing the words from Sean, a glimmer of unconcealed joy that appeared on everyone''s faces. They had had enough of the encounters that had occurred within the past few days.


    "But!" Sean cut them off before they could get too excited.


    The word "but" had made everyone''s heart jump. They braced themselves for the bad news coming.


    "The rest of our journey will be more difficult than what we have encountered these past few days." The words left everyone in a daze. Of all the things Sean could have said, that was the one they were not prepared for.


    Even more difficult? What kind of concept was that? They shuddered at the thought of more danger and exhaustion.


    "Originally, my plan was to give all of you a good rest before setting off on your journey again. However, it is impossible to do that now." Sean sighed softly. "I will tell you guys this. These Wind Striped Black Wolves have all experienced the war between the Serian Kingdom and the Portoroa Kingdom. Also, their intelligence is pretty high. Without the tight rein of the wolf king, the Wind Striped Black Wolves would not seem to be very smart. However, once the Wolf King arrives, then within half an hour, this area will be surrounded by their eyes. When that time arrives, as soon as we walk out of the area influenced by the Starfall Lake, we will be attacked by countless Wind Striped Black Wolves."


    "Our path to retreat is long gone, so we have only one road left. We need to set out now and step into the Land of Black Earth before the encirclement of the Wind Striped Black Wolves is formed."


    "Black Earth!?" Cecilia exclaimed with shock. Her hands curled into fists at her side.


    "The second half of our trip is in the Black Earth Domain?" Drouin''s expression changed in an instant.

 Chapter 13：Land of Black Earth

    "The Land of Black Earth?"


    Not everyone knew what the meaning of the words "black earth" was.


    Sean was not surprised at all that Cecilia and Drouin knew about the Land of Black Earth. The words "black earth" were spread and passed down by the magicians. The Portoroa Kingdom was a country that was dominated by magic, so it would not be strange for Drouin to know what "black earth" was.


    "If you already knew that there was the Land of Black Earth here, why did you not tell us at the very start?" Suddenly, like a beast that had exploded from anger, the aristocratic elegance and etiquette that Drouin had originally displayed reappeared. "Do you not know the dangers in the Land of Black Earth?" he asked incredulously.


    "I do," Sean said very calmly. "Do you remember what I said to you? This is the Starfall Forest, a place that I know more about than you do."


    "You¡­" Drouin was rendered speechless by Sean''s calm aura. In his opinion, there was no reason to be that calm over something as grave as going through the Land of Black Earth.


    "What on earth is this Land of Black Earth?" Old Pete started to frown. He sensed the panic and fear that was being emitted from Drouin.


    The atmosphere suddenly turned a little cold. Fear started to grow inside of everyone, consuming their thoughts and making it harder to consider the things that they needed to think about in order to stay alive.


    "Let us set out first. We can talk about it while on the road." Instead of answering the question right away, Sean urged everyone to get ready. They set out on the road again.


    Even though the game "Miracle" had been improved to a great extent after the development and revolution of the ''Prosperous World,'' especially in the aspect of AI, which had been almost perfect. However, there were still big differences between the game and the real world. Sean had never heard of anyone who would be treated so generously by the packs of Wind Striped Black Wolves inside the game. Even if there was a "clan hatred" DUBUFF, it was far from being strong enough to require the Wind Striped Black Wolf King to personally come out and make a move.


    As expected, the game was very different from the real world.


    The team soon set off on their journey again. Perhaps the change in the attitudes from Cecilia and Drouin caused the entire team to be in an extremely tense atmosphere. Sean knew that it would speed up everyone''s physical and mental consumption on the team. However, he had no time to think about adjusting their mentality. Sean had to be highly focused to prevent any possible accidents that could occur.


    But just because Sean had not answered, it did not mean that the rest of the team would stay silent. They were still confused as to what the Land of Black Earth was and wanted to know how much they should worry about it.


    Although Halle was a little bit fat, he had lost some weight during the last few days. Right now, even though he would still pant when he ran, he was able to utter at least a few words, "Mr. Drouin, What¡­exactly¡­is the¡­Land of Black Earth?"


    The expression on Drouin''s face struggled a bit before his eyes fell onto Sean''s back. "That crazy guy!" he exclaimed. He could not believe that Sean would leave the explaining to him.


    After a moment, he sighed helplessly. "You should all know that when the Ashes Age descends, there will be no more light in the world. The order of the Old Era will completely collapse as well"


    At the end of the Twilight Era, people''s hostility towards the Gods had reached a degree that it could no longer be repaired, and they no longer believed in the Gods. Due to this, the angry Gods gave out a Divine Punishment and the world became very chaotic. Because people no longer believed in the Gods, the people who had lost their divine power had no choice but to turn towards other aspects of development. They started to come into contact with the field of elements. Since then, they no longer had to borrow the divine power to display their magical techniques. That had made the Gods panic and become afraid. Therefore, to re-establish the majesty of the Gods, they waged a prolonged war with the people.


    It was a war with heavy casualties on both sides and no clear winner at the end. The war was later known as the "Twilight of Gods" by historians.


    After the great war, the Gods no longer existed. However, the people were not welcomed by what they called an ideal world. The strange power left behind by the divine power and the elements had broken the world. As the protection of the Gods was lost, the sky had also lost its color. Desolation and ruins became the most common scene. It was like the ashes that were left behind after a flame burned out.


    It was because of that war that the next era was called the Age of Ashes, the age that rose in the ashes of the war.


    "During the Age of Ashes, there was no light in the world. Even the air was muddy," Drouin said in a low voice. "But those are not the most terrifying things. What was terrifying was the dark energy that existed everywhere in the world. Under continuous attacks from these dark energies, any species would be killed. In the entire world, there were only a few places that still had the power of order, where living things were barely able to survive."


    "These places are called the Arks," Cecilia continued, picking up where Drouin had left off. "In the end, the Gods did not abandon the people. At the very last moment of the war, the God of Order might have realized something. As a result, he decided to sacrifice himself and turn into countless Fires of Revival. The reason why the Ark was able to let the people continue on living was that there was the Fire of Revival in the Ark. Only the Power of Order generated by the Fire of Revival can withstand the attacks of the dark energy."


    "The places that have been attacked by the dark energy are called the Land of Black Earth." Drouin glanced at Cecilia. He became a bit curious about Cecilia''s identity. Of course, he was more amazed by her talent. "It is natural that you guys know nothing about the Land of Black Earth. After all, places that are adjacent to the Serian Kingdom are fertile lands and powerful countries. However, in reality, there are still many places that are the Land of Black Earth in the world. For example, further east of the Portoroa Kingdom is the Land of Black Earth. It is a place without light or heat, not to mention food."


    "Then does it mean that all we have to do is to bury the Fire of Revival?" one of the members of the group asked.


    "It is not as simple as you think." Cecilia shook her head. "It is only possible to bury the Fire of Revival in the dark whirlpool in the Land of Black Earth and let the order at the Land of Black Earth be restored. In this world, there is an organization called the Pioneer Guild. Their job is to find the Fire of Revival so that the order of the Land of Black Earth can be restored. This way, people can reclaim new land and build new homes. However, the Land of Black Earth is a very dangerous place. Also, in accordance with the strength of the dark energy generated by the dark whirlpool, the dark energy at the Land of Black Earth can be strong or weak. In some places where dark energy is relatively weak, we can go there. On the other hand, for some places where the dark energy is relatively strong, even legendary powerful people would not dare to trespass."


    Cecilia paused for a moment. Then, she continued to say, "Since Sean is daring enough to bring us here, then it proves that even with just us alone, it is possible to cross this Land of Black Earth¡­However, even if we can pass through it, the danger of the Land of Black Earth is by no means something we can take lightly."


    Cecilia''s words reminded everyone that the road ahead was not a dead end, but if they were to take it lightly, then they could still die.


    Behind them, the howls from the pack of wolves broke out one after another. They were mingled with several other louder howls.


    When they heard the howls from the wolves, everyone could not help but rejoice that Sean''s judgment had been accurate. Even their fear of the Land of Black Earth was not as strong as earlier. They had escaped from the Starfall Forest alive and mostly okay.


    Of course, the same was true for Drouin.


    After all, as citizens of the Portoroa Kingdom, the vast majority of the people from Portoroa had all seen the Land of Black Earth with their own eyes. Therefore, they had a better understanding of the fears that this Land of Black Earth created. As for Drouin, he knew even more about the Land of Black Earth compared to an average citizen of the Portoroa Kingdom. Drouin was an officially registered pioneer at the Pioneer Guild and had also once fought in the Land of Black Earth.


    This time, because of the all-out journey, coupled with reduced harassment from the magical beasts, the team traveled a little bit faster than before.


    However, people were still able to detect the changes along the way.


    The scenery along their journey became more and more withered. The huge trees that had grown so luxuriantly inside the Starfall Forest had all disappeared and were replaced by dead trees with branches and leaves that had already fallen. Looking ahead of them, the bare, dead trees in their field of vision sent chills down everyone''s body. Coupled with the silent environment surrounding them, it added to the heavy pressure that everyone felt. It was as if there was an invisible mouth within the darkness that was about to swallow them up.


    As the team advanced, the ground became black like scorched soil. It was as if the nutrients in the ground had been extracted completely. The originally silent environment got a lot noisier. The clattering and crackling sounds of the team stepping on the mud was like a reminder bell ringing again and again. It made everyone more nervous. A whistling sound made by the wind blowing through the withered trees could be heard in what was supposed to be a windless environment. It oppressed everyone''s spirits by a little bit.


    However, before everyone was able to fully adapt to the environment, they were faced with a new challenge. The cold air pressure surrounding them made everyone''s hands and feet turn cold. Originally, they had not been able to feel the weight of their armor. Now, it had become extremely heavy. Even the hands that were holding the knives and shields had become a little numb and sore.


    The look in Drouin''s eyes turned sharp.


    He glanced at Sean and wondered why Sean had not reminded everyone that when they started to feel the cold low pressure, it meant that they had entered the Land of Black Earth. Within the space of the Land of Black Earth, everyone''s spirits would deteriorate, as they would be affected by the dark energy all the time. If they were not reminded about it and were not paying attention to it, then they could easily disintegrate.


    Right at the moment that Drouin was thinking, the team just happened to pass by a dead tree. Everyone saw a dark shadow suddenly spring out from behind the tree.


    The moment they saw the dark shadow appear, everyone on the team was suddenly distracted. No matter how fast Drouin''s and Old Pete''s reactions were, being in a daze for nearly a second was a mistake that could not be reversed. By the time the two men reacted, the dark shadow had found their leader Sean. It was less than a centimeter away from Sean, and no matter how fast Drouin and Old Pete was able to react, it was too late to support Sean.


    Right at that second, a light blue brilliance suddenly swept out from Sean''s hand.


    Everyone heard a ''click.'' The dark shadow fell to the ground next to Sean. A moment later, a skull fell from the sky and slowly rolled to a stop next to Drouin''s feet. Only at that moment did everyone see clearly what it was. The dark shadow that had sprung out earlier was a skeleton.


    Sean slowly lowered the long sword he had used to cut the skeleton. With a solemn face, Sean said in a deep voice, "Welcome to the world of darkness and death, the Land of Black Earth¡­I only have one piece of advice for each of you. You must be vigilant. Pay attention to your feet and the shadows of the dead trees. Enemies like to hide in shadows the most. Trust your companions. Someone will be paying attention to the places that you are not able to see out of the corner of your eyes. We are a team."


    Drouin finally knew why Sean had not warned everyone when they entered the Land of Black Earth. In many cases, real actions were far more persuasive than just words.


    Just by glancing at the team, it was possible to see that the original negative impact on their spirits due to entering the Land of Black Earth had now disappeared without a trace. It was replaced by an elite team with members filled with cohesion and vigilance.

 Chapter 14：Future Direction

    The blade drew an arc in the air, and the light blue flash lit up in everyone''s line of sight. The light flashed dramatically against the dark landscape.


    The Charles'' Sword.


    In the old days, the Charles'' Sword had been a gold-level magical weapon with special effects. Now, it had become a bronze-level magical weapon of little effect, due to the loss of magical powers. However, no matter how much it declined in level, it was still a magical weapon.


    It was more than enough to use the Charles'' Sword in the current situation. It could easily take care of the skeletons.


    Drouin was wearing a set of equipment, but it was only top-quality. The equipment everyone else wore was even worse. They were only elite grades.


    Of course, to others, equipment levels were simplified to good or bad. They were not like Sean, who was able to tell the specific levels and related attributes of equipment at a glance. That was thanks to the "Eye of Truth," a special ability that Sean had, coupled with his good understanding of the game "Miracle."


    Sean still remembered that equipment could be roughly divided into four types. The four types were casting, magical, legendary, and divine weapons.


    For example, equipment made by an ordinary blacksmith was just ordinary equipment. That kind of equipment was the standard kind used by the army. Equipment that was made through a complex procedure was elite grade equipment. Countries that were a bit stronger would use equipment of that level for the army, while only the elite forces of weaker countries could use elite grade equipment. The production process for top-quality equipment was more complicated than the process for elite grade equipment. That type of equipment was the standard equipment used by the elite forces in powerful countries.


    Even though there were differences in quality, ordinary, elite, and top-quality equipment all belong to the casting group. Equipment at a higher level than that would be a piece of magical equipment. Those types of equipment were made with special techniques. Only blacksmiths who knew the mysterious skills were able to make such equipment. However, they had to be able to use very special materials to make a piece of magical equipment.


    According to the distinction of quality, magical equipment could be divided into the three levels of bronze, silver, and gold. Those groups could be divided further into five stages depending on the strength of its magical abilities: little effect, weak effect, medium effect, strong effect, and special effect. The stronger the magical powers attached to the magical equipment, the stronger the power the magical equipment could display. That meant that is was good to invest a lot into the magical powers that one wanted to attach to a weapon. Unfortunately, it was impossible to mass-produce that kind of equipment. Even if a country had a lot of money, it was still impossible to create pieces of bronze-grade magical equipment.


    The production of equipment of silver or gold grades could not be completed with money.


    Hence why Sean''s magical weapon, even though it was bronze-level and had little effect, was still enough to make Drouin jealous.


    Here in the Land of Black Earth, the weapon''s effectiveness was comparable to a divine weapon! It was incredibly good for dealing with the Undead Spirits.


    The long sword in Sean''s hand had several trajectories after it was swung. Even though the movement was just an ordinary swing and kill, Sean had displayed a movement that was filled with a sense of beauty that was like an art treasure. All the skeletons that had surrounded Sean and attacked him were not a match at all. They were all smashed into pieces of bones before they could even get close to Sean.


    Creatures like the undead spirits relied on the Fire of Soul to maintain their alternative type of life. Most of the undead spirit creatures had no wisdom to speak of. They were just living in the world by something like instinct. It might have been due to their longing for light and heat, or it could have been for some other reasons. Undead spirit creatures would instinctively attack all living species. Then, it would steal the other''s life energy to increase their own life energy.


    Even if skeletons were only rank one undead spirit creatures, its bones were comparable to blades and swords. From what could be understood of the Miracle Land, undead spirit creatures were born with a strength that surpassed humans. Therefore, it was difficult for someone at rank one to deal with skeletons that were also rank one. Under normal circumstances, they relied on the suppression of class to forcefully defeat the undead spirits. If they did not want to do that, they could rely on a tacit understanding and incredible coordination to take care of them


    As a result, for rank three players like Drouin and Old Pete who were superior in strength, or rank three guards who had good tacit coordination, they would turn a blind eye to the skeletons. Even the Dark Knight had the power to battle. However, Dark Knights also relied on their strength to suppress and smash the skulls of the skeletons. That way, the Fire of Soul inside of the skeletons would be destroyed, so that the undead spirit creatures could be dealt with. It was impossible to kill the skeletons by attacking the joints between the spine and skull, as Sean had done.


    Every living species had weaknesses that could be aimed at to easily kill it. It was the same for undead spirits.


    The weakness of the skeletons lay in the first joint between the spine and the skull. As long as that part was destroyed, the skeleton''s Fire of Soul would be extinguished as well. It was far more efficient than using the technique of breaking open the skeleton''s skull.


    However, the method was not something that anyone could easily complete. Even though the skeletons were a bit slow in their movements, they were not very rigid. They could protect their vital places extremely well. Under the protection of their characteristic and cautious movements, it could have even been impossible for people like Drouin, who had dealt with undead spirits before, to ensure that the attacks would be accurate every single time.


    However¡­


    Drouin could not help but look towards Sean.


    Drouin saw that Sean had waved the longsword in his hand, and then gently removed the Podao that the skeleton was holding in its right hand. Sean had only used the one move to break open the skeleton''s prudent defensive posture, exposing its weak point and open areas. Sean did not miss the opportunity that was right in front of him. His entire body stepped forward without hesitation, and the longsword in his hand fiercely thrust forward. The tip of the sword easily pierced into the skeleton''s joints. With a slight tilt of his wrist, a very subtle "click" could be heard. When Sean withdrew the sword and retreated, the red flame inside the empty eye sockets of the skeleton had been extinguished. No longer held together by magic, the skeleton''s entire skull fell off and rolled a couple of times on the ground.


    Sean had completed all the movements very smoothly. It was as if he had practiced it countless times, and it had now become a part of his instinct.


    The number of bones that were lying on the ground could be pieced together to make around 20 skeletons. Among then, at least 10 skeletons were killed by Sean. That showed that Sean was very good at dealing with the skeletons.


    The battle did not last for too long. The 30 or so skeletons that had surrounded and attacked Sean and the others were not able to withstand their attacks, and the group quickly took care of them. However, Drouin and Sean knew that even though the skeletons were not very strong, they would always appear in a group. There were at least a dozen skeletons in each of the groups. Even though the amount of physical strength consumed was not very obvious, if they were to continue to fight many groups of skeletons for a long time, then the amount of strength involved would accumulate to a terrifying amount.


    Also, the dark energy in the Land of Black Earth that invaded and attacked everyone at all times had accelerated their consumption of mental and physical strength.


    In just half a day, Sean and others had encountered nearly seven waves of attacks from the surrounding skeletons. Halle and Cecilia, who had poor physical strength, had already begun to become a little bit breathless. The number of skeletons that had appeared and the number of times they had appeared was a lot more compared to back when Sean was inside the game. Also, they were only in the outermost area of the Land of Black Earth. Sean knew very well what kind of enemies there were deeper inside. Even though the enemies were also undead spirits, they were not comparable to these skeletons.


    Of course, it was not useless to kill so many skeletons. Sean had already moved closer to the tipping point of level 10. Sean saw that he was about to be raised to level 10. As long as he reached that level, not only would he be able to enter a rank two class, he could also get a long-awaited professional reward. However, there was a prerequisite for getting a rank two new profession. That was, he had to find professional points in advance.


    Sean''s eye paused on several guards and Drouin.


    A rank one [Mercenary] had a lot of rank two new professions they could take up. However, even though there was no such thing as the so-called hidden profession inside the game "Miracle," there was something called a special class. Of course, there were many kinds of requirements for taking up a new profession.


    If it had only been normal profession, then there would have not been such tedious requirements. As long as the player found the correct path and met the relevant requirements, then the player would be able to take up a new profession. Of course, the higher a new profession was ranked, the more difficult those requirements would be. However, players were different from NPCs. The rules that limited the NPCs did not exist for players. The only limit that the players had was how they could find the relevant profession points for entering the ranks.


    However, it was not a problem for Sean. The only thing he had to consider was how he could develop his future professional path.


    Should he choose the path of [Warrior] that he already had and continue forward? That was what he had done when he had been playing the game ''Miracle,'' so he was familiar with the steps to take to succeed.


    Or should he take up a part-time [Knight Apprentice] profession and embark on a new path at the same time as his current profession?


    According to the previous situation inside the game, if a player went down one professional path until the end, then it would take shape very quickly. Also, they would be able to display strong combat power at a low rank. However, this type of development would become mediocre after passing rank five. To cope with more and more powerful creatures and enemies later, the player had to readjust their professional development. Sean had suffered a lot from that when he was a player inside the game.


    On the other hand, if a player started to consider the development of other aspects when they were at a low ranked class, then the new profession they took up would often become a special class. However, the negative tradeoff was that it would be formed at a very slow speed and its full combat power could only be displayed after reaching rank three or even rank four. On the good side, the combat effectiveness of the new profession would be more overbearing compared to ordinary professions. Furthermore, as long as the player had a good plan, the new profession could continue to develop without any hindrance. There was no need to retrace any of their steps.


    Of course, Sean would have such thoughts. It was also because the world he lived in now was not the same world inside the game.


    In the game, Sean was a player, so he was not afraid of any failures, as death was nothing more than a loss of equipment and experience. However, now that he was in the real world, everything was completely different. If he were to fail in the real world, then it was very likely that he had to pay the price of death. Therefore, it had made Sean think carefully about what he was going to do.


    At present, what made Sean unable to make up his mind was the problem related to the [Knight Apprentice] class. He was able to become a knight apprentice as long as he asked Drouin questions regarding his profession. However, by doing this, he would be tied to Drouin. If Drouin did not give his permission, then Sean would be a [Knight Apprentice] for the rest of his life. He would never be able to become a real [Knight]. That was the reason why Sean was hesitating.


    The situation was not a joke. Back in the game, when a player had offended their mentor, that player had remained stuck at the [Apprentice Magician] profession ever since then and was unable to become a real [Magician]. Later, that player had no choice but to delete the account and start again.


    Sean did not want to become like that player because in this world, there was no such thing as "delete and restart." It would just be the end.

 Chapter 15：Narrow Escape

    The night was a little dark. The wind was a little cold.


    There was nothing on the wild plain except for a campsite. There weren''t even any big boulders around, let alone obstacles that could block a person''s line of sight. The horizon could be seen in any direction.


    The campfire inside the camp was still burning, a bright spot of contrast against the dark sky.


    The temperature of the fire should have been able to get rid of a bit of the coldness this night. However, it did not affect how they felt. It felt like the temperature inside the camp was lower than the temperature outside the camp.


    However, if anyone were to approach the camp, they would be able to smell an extremely strong blood-like, coppery odor that was being emitted from within.


    Within the camp, more than a dozen men who were wearing a black heavy armor walked out from different tents. The battle halberds they held in their hands were dripping with fresh blood. However, they did not seem to care about that at all. Their faces, which were no longer covered by helmets, looked very cold. No matter how many people they killed, it would not shake their determination in the slightest. It was obvious that they were a group of true human-killing machines.


    "How did it go?" Seeing the people return to the camp, a man who stood in the middle of the campsite asked them quietly, barely audible over the crackling fire.


    Even though the heavy armor on this man''s body was the same as the others, there was an extra scarlet cloak attached to his armor. It was obvious that the class level was higher than the others.


    If Sean or Drouin had been there, it would have been easy for them to recognize the origin of the man who wore a scarlet cloak outside his armor and devise a strategy to attack, if necessary.


    A Heavily Armed Knight.


    It was a special rank-three advanced profession that was unique to the Portoroa Kingdom. When learning it as a new profession, it had a very tiresome requirement. Regardless of if it was the NPCs or players in the game "Miracle," it was very troublesome to take up the profession. However, once the profession was successfully learned, the person would be on par with an average rank-four profession. In reality, any special classes could overpower the strength of an average class. Even when facing an ordinary profession with a higher rank, it would not fall behind.


    When faced with the inquiry from the Heavily Armed Knight, all the soldiers who wore the black heavy armor shook their heads.


    Although the people all had a class of a rank-three knight, they all had one very obvious feature, which was that they were all much younger than Drouin. That meant that they all had very high potential. However, in front of the heavily armed knight, they did not dare to be even a little bit proud.


    Maybe back in the game "Miracle," a special class was just a class that was considered strong. However, on the Miracle Continent, people who could take up a new profession, such as the special class, were all considered real geniuses. Thus, they were more valued by others than the so-called people with a little bit of potential.


    "It seems that Drouin is more cunning than the Lord Viscount imagined." The Heavily Armed Knight frowned slightly. It seemed that that fact had thrown a bit of a wrench in some plans. His voice was much colder when he started speaking again. "I think Sir Burwell will be interested in these goods. The internal units of the Arctic Silver Business House are not that quiet either. However, you guys have to remember to deal with it cleanly. Do not leave any evidence. I will take people to search along the borders. After you have taken care of this matter, go back and report on the situation to the Lord Viscount."


    "Yes." Several of the young knights that were called out by the Heavily Armed Knight nodded as they answered.


    After a while, raging flames that rose to the sky started burning in the camp. Nearly 10 shadows could be seen galloping towards the border between the Portoroa Kingdom and the Serian Kingdom in the reflection of the light from the fire. The one leading the 10 people was the Heavily Armed Knight who had been continuously giving the group orders.


    ....


    Almost at the same time, within the Starfall Forest and the Land of Black Earth.


    Sean stabbed apart the joints of the last skeleton with his sword. He had killed the skeleton in one second without any suspense. Afterward, he felt the experience points from this skeleton integrate into his own body.


    Almost at the same time as when the experience points of the skeleton were integrated into his body, Sean, who had been staring closely at the experience bar, finally saw that it had reached the very end of the right side. Then, it emitted a golden light. Sean could feel the blood in his body start to boil. It was as if something inside his body was beginning to wake up. Even the skin on his body had started to turn slightly red due to his body heating up.


    The joy and excitement that filled his entire body, which Sean had been suppressing the whole time, finally burst out at that moment.


    If it had not been for the special circumstances he was in, Sean would have even yelled out in excitement to express the joy he was feeling inside.


    He had finally received it!


    After waiting for a long time, he had finally received the long-awaited professional reward that he had wanted!


    [Professional Reward (Mercenary) ¡ª¡ªNarrow Escape: A great deal of field survival experience has enriched your knowledge and common sense. You are not a rigid theorist, but a flexible practitioner. Common knowledge such as finding food, finding directions, avoiding danger, and conserving physical strength will almost be instinctive to you. You have already become a complete grandmaster in this area, and the team members that you work with will all feel at ease in your presence. (This skill is an advanced skill of [Wilderness Survival]. Therefore, your team will still be able to display half of their combat strength even if they are in a state of extreme thirst or hunger in a normal wilderness environment. Your attribute points will not decrease even if you were in a state of extreme thirst or hunger. The speed of your movement will not slow down in any land environments. You would never lose your way in any type of environment. You automatically master [Water Sourcing] and [Food Sourcing]. You can identify all living creatures, magical beasts, materials, and poisonous creatures.)]


    When Sean saw the career reward, it was as expected. It was the same as what he had seen on the forum. Sean felt extremely excited and emotionally moved.


    According to the settings in the game "Miracle," once a level of any class reached a multiple of ten, then it was possible to receive one professional reward. These types of professional rewards were all passive skills. Therefore, as long as the player wanted to, they could even start multiple new professions at the same time so that they could be developed simultaneously. However, because a rank-one profession was only the start of the profession, the highest level of three rank-one professions would only be able to reach level 10.


    As for a mercenary, their final profession reward was the passive skill called [Narrow Escape].


    However, back when Sean was in the game "Miracle," he had not known that his rank-one profession was not only a mercenary but also a part-time [Apprentice]. Even though he had indeed received two professional rewards, the reward of a [Mercenary] was a passive skill called [Wilderness Survival]. The effect of the profession reward was weaker than [Narrow Escape] by more than a half. Later on, because someone had posted something on a forum, everyone finally understood what was going on.


    If a player wanted to learn [Narrow Escape], then they had to specialize in the profession [Mercenary]. If the player had taken up two to three rank-one part-time professions at the same time, then they definitely would not be able to learn this skill. Similarly, if a player wanted to learn the final profession rewards for [Apprentice] or [Cleric], then they would also have to focus on the development of only one rank-one profession. According to the official statement, ''a person does not have so much energy that they can concentrate on multiple things''.


    Once the player had received the final reward for their profession, they would no longer be able to receive any more professional rewards, even if they started another part-time profession.


    In other words, if Sean wanted to, he could start a new rank-one profession of either an [Apprentice] or [Cleric], but even if both of these professions were raised to level 10, the highest possible level, he would still not be able to receive the professional reward anymore.


    However, Sean did not care about those things at all. The reason why he wanted to focus on the [Mercenary] profession was that it was the best solution he had come up with after having considered all his options.


    Sean wanted the skills related to "all living creatures, magical beasts, materials, and poisonous creatures" in the passive skill to work together with his [Eye of Truth]. That meant that Sean would be able to easily obtain all the relevant data of any wild living creatures and magical beasts. He no longer had to further study the knowledge related to them. After all, the books he would need to learn some of that knowledge were not easily obtainable by ordinary people.


    When Sean opened his eyes again, there had been some subtle changes in the world he saw. For any place that he was able to see with his eyes, the specific cardinal direction he was looking would automatically appear in his mind. He was even able to "capture" the path of the wind easily and with the changes of direction of the wind, the smell in the air also turned into thin lines in his field of vision. Each of the thin lines represented a type of smell. As long as Sean focused his attention on it, then he was even able to tell what things the separate odors were being emitted from and their trajectory.


    It was a special feature of the [Narrow Escape]!


    When Sean''s eyes fell onto the skeletons that had been scattered on the ground, the detailed data about the skeletons immediately appeared in front of his eyes. It was data that he was not able to see earlier when he was facing these skeletons.


    However, those were still not the most important things!


    What mattered was a bone Sean had picked up from the ground.


    [Spine of the skeleton: Magical ingredient (the undead spirit). Alchemy ingredient (bone). Hardness: 7.]


    [Material Description: This is the first joint between the spine and the head of a skeleton. Because it has been affected by the dark magical energy, it is the strongest bone on the skeleton. Even when holding this solid bone of the skeleton in your hand, you will be able to feel the subtle dark energy inside.]


    Appraisal!


    That was also one of the abilities of [Narrow Escape]. However, the so-called ''all materials identification'' of the [Narrow Escape] did not have such an effect. What made it possible to achieve such an accurate result was due to the coordination with the [Eye of Truth] ability. Sean could confirm that his original judgment was correct. Coordinating the passive skill of [Narrow Escape] and the naturally gifted skill of the [Eye of Truth] was absolute perfection!


    After Sean had officially confirmed the effects of the professional reward, his eyes once again turned towards the guards and Drouin.


    The level of his mercenary profession had already reached level 10, which was the highest possible level. This meant that it was now possible for Sean to take up a new rank-two profession.


    As long as he actually took up a new profession, his combat power would be able to increase by a lot. Coupled with the coordination of the [Eye of Truth] and [Narrow Escape], it was possible to see the data and information of all creatures. Sean believed that the rest of this journey would be a lot easier.


    Besides, he was not completely unprepared for the journey.

 Chapter 16：Advancing to Rank Two

    The other members of the team were exhausted, so they had no choice but to rest there for the time being.


    Of course, another key factor in this was that everyone''s attributes had become weaker due to the interference of the dark energy. If the team had had a priest or someone with a similar profession, then that problem could be easily solved. However, it was a pity that when Drouin went to visit some priests, no one was willing to come after they heard that they would be heading to the Starfall Forest. Even when they had offered a higher salary, the priests had still refused.


    However, Sean came prepared. He had expected the situation to occur a long time ago. Therefore, he had prepared something in the bag he had brought along with him in case of an emergency.


    The cup of sweet-smelling water that was being shared among the people right now was exactly what Sean had prepared.


    "Is this the Magic Awakening Spring?" Drouin had been born in a kingdom of magic, so he knew about almost everything related to it. There was just a slight difference in the details. "Where did you get this from?"


    A look of eagerness could be seen flowing out from him.


    The Magic Awakening Spring was a very precious magic potion. It was able to quickly restore the magic of all spellcasters. It could also maintain the stability of their spirit. After all, all spellcasters consumed a lot of magic and energy after casting a spell, and they would inevitably become tired. Their ability to cast spells would decline slightly as well. However, after taking the Magic Awakening Spring, not only could their magical powers be quickly restored, their mental state would be restored as well. A stable state of concentration could also be maintained without having any negative effects.


    Therefore, the Magic Awakening Spring was extremely rare and precious. Even the Portoroa Kingdom, which was famous for its knowledge about magic, could not guarantee that a spellcaster would be able to purchase the Magic Awakening Spring whenever they wanted. Occasionally, a bottle could appear on the market; however, it would be snatched away instantly by someone who would offer a sky-high price in exchange for it.


    Naturally, Sean knew how valuable the Magic Awakening Spring was. It was just a pity that his secondary class was not an alchemist. "One does become a lot more awake after drinking the Magic Awakening Spring; however, it will not be able to restore any magical powers. It will indeed be able to help maintain your mental stability, though. The amount in this small cup is enough to maintain your state for a day. After drinking it, you will be able to sleep with ease, and you won''t need to worry about not being able to wake up after you fall asleep."


    Hearing Sean''s words, everyone started to drink the small cup of clear liquid.


    The effect was almost immediate. In an instant, everyone''s spirits were a lot better. Even their eyes had become a little bit different as they looked at Sean. Among them, Drouin''s and Halle''s eyes were the most eager. In reality, they all wanted to know why after Sean had gone out and circled them once, he was able to come back with that potion on him. After all, the potion was a genuine alchemy product. Even if someone had alchemy skills, it would still be impossible for them to make it if they did not possess the corresponding equipment.


    Halle thought about it on a deeper level. If spellcasters were to take the potion before heading into a battle, then it could be possible to increase their speed at casting spells, as well as their accuracy. Because of that, the value of such a potion would naturally be very high. Also, spellcasters had never been the type of people to be short of money. If Sean was able to continue supplying the potion in stable amounts, then his position in the merchant house was bound to be more secure.


    When Halle told Sean about such thoughts, Sean immediately came to his senses.


    Back when he was inside the game, the potion had instantly become one of the regular potions that almost all players would prepare after a player with alchemy as a secondary profession unintentionally invented the potion. This was because the biggest difference between players and NPCs was their spirit for adventure. However, back in the game, there were many places like the Land of Black Earth, which were able to interfere or even erode the spirit and will of players. Also, not every single place could be purified by the divine skills of a cleric. Therefore, that type of potion was very popular in the market. Almost everyone knew how to make it.


    However, the world he was in now was not inside the game, but rather the real world!


    In this world, other than Sean, there wasn''t another person who knew how to mix the potion. It could be said that Sean had complete control of the right to create the potion! And the most important point was that no alchemy tools were required at all to mix the potion. Any relevant knowledge was not even required. All it required was melting the Dead Black Liquid Flower in a high-purity neutralizing elixir and then shaking it well. That was all. It was really pretty simple.


    Also, the two materials were relatively easy to obtain. The Dead Black Liquid Flower could only be collected in places where a large number of dead forces and black energies congregated, but the high-purity neutralizing elixir could be easily obtained at a normal potion store. It only cost one silver coin per bottle. Therefore, this kind of alchemy potion, which could keep a person awake and focused, and even stop the dark energy from corrupting their spirit, could be prepared in large amounts by Sean as long as he wanted to.


    Sean had a couple of reasons for coming to the Starfall Forest. Apart from looking for a large number of experience points, Sean had also come to collect materials.


    Apart from the few accidents with the Wind Striped Black Wolves before, all the other developments during the journey had been pretty similar to what Sean had expected would happen. Therefore, while he was talking to Halle, he instantly became interested. After all, no one would refuse to gain another method to make money, particularly in the case of a bottle of the alchemy elixir, which could easily be split into five bottles to sell. As a profiteer, Halle naturally would not price things too low. Therefore, Sean and Halle reached an agreement very quickly.


    However, Seam only gave Halle two bottles for the time being, as a large amount of the alchemy potion would still be needed for this trip. If they were separated carefully, those two bottles could be divided and sold as 10 bottles. Since there were very few bottles for the first load, Halle had no intention of directly giving them a marked price and selling them. He was going to go negotiate with the merchant house after the journey first to see if it could be auctioned at the Arctic Silver''s annual auction. The selling price could be even higher there.


    While Halle was settling things with Sean, Drouin had finished arranging the personnel who would stay and guard. Just like before, people would take turns throughout the night to guard. Each shift would have three people. That was the strategy to avoid being attacked by the undead spirits in the Land of Black Earth. The first shift was given to Halle, Sean, and a guard. Drouin, the archer, and another guard would be in charge of the second shift, while Drouin, Cecilia, and the last guard would be responsible for the final shift.


    There was nothing else Sean wanted to talk about with Halle at the moment, so he walked over to the guard.


    Seeing Sean walking over, the guard nodded at him and smiled politely. In the past few days, Sean had proven his strength and value with his actions. He might not have been the strongest of the members of the group, but without his leadership, they may not have been able to survive as long as they did. To people like the guard and Old Pete, who were very dangerous and cruel, Sean was the one who felt deserved respect.


    "I heard that before you became a guard, you were once a very strong warrior," Sean cut straight to the point and asked as soon as he sat down.


    If an individual wanted to become a warrior, the best way to do that was to go to the House of Brothers and start the profession there. That was where all the mercenaries across the Miracle Continent gathered. Pretty much all people who chose the rank-one mercenary as their career would find a sense of identity there. The only exception was the players. But at the moment, they were in the Starfall Forest. There were no branches of the House of Brothers there. If Sean did not start a new profession there, then he would not be able to gain any experience. That was the reason why Sean had walked up to the guard to ask questions.


    He was gaining a new profession through other people who once had [Warrior] as their profession. It was a method of taking up a new profession in the original game "Miracle." However, because of these people''s past experiences, they would usually end up talking about some of the things they had learned, so taking up a new profession would only be a little bit more difficult than doing it through normal methods.


    For example, reaching level 10 for the profession [Mercenary] was enough to start learning [Warrior] as a new profession at the House of Brothers. However, if the conditions for learning a new profession were triggered through the dictation of the guards, then it was very likely that the personal attributes just had to also reach a certain standard.


    Sean''s personal attributes were almost at the limit of his growth right now. Therefore, he did not care about that. The only thing he needed to care about was whether or not the guard had advanced through the [Warrior] class at the beginning.


    "Warrior¡­" Hearing what Sean had said, even though the guard did not know why Sean had said it to him, it made him remember things from the past. "That was a long time ago. I was just as young as you at that time¡­"


    Listening to the guard narrate his past with a nostalgic and emotional expression, Sean raised the corners of his mouth gently. His heart was more excited than the time when he had received [Narrow Escape]. He knew that he had made the correct bet. It would not be long before he became a [Warrior] at rank two. Everything that had developed so far was the same as what he had thought it would be.


    [A check showed that you have triggered learning the new profession ''Warrior''. The requirements for this new profession were met. Would you like to learn this new profession?]


    Almost as soon as the guard had spoken, an emotionless electronic sound suddenly appeared in Sean''s mind. If not for the fact that his existence there had already gone against common sense, then he might have been frightened by the sound. However, when he was in the game "Miracle," he had heard the electronic sound a lot. Suddenly coming to this world and losing all the things that belonged in the original world had made Sean feel a little bit lonely, and he was unaccustomed to the feeling of the world without the gaming aspect. When Sean heard the electronic sound, Sean''s heart fluctuated and became emotional.


    However, there was no need to even think about the question asked by this electronic sound.


    Sean silently said to himself, "Yes."


    [A check showed that ''Warrior'' is an advanced ''Mercenary'' profession. The new profession will overwrite this profession. Afterward, the level of the new profession will be one. Would you like to overwrite ''Mercenary''?]


    Yes.


    As soon as Sean finished speaking, the blood in his body surged as if it was vibrating. It was just like ripples created from a drop of water that had fallen into a lake. It was just that the ripples were Sean''s blood. The surge of a large amount of blood made Sean''s heart beat more violently. It was as if endless power was emerging nonstop from his body. His entire person suddenly became more spirited. This was even better than the results from drinking that special potion!


    However, the feeling came and left very quickly. It took almost just a blink of an eye to be completed. The feeling of the blood and the power surge had completely disappeared. Only his mind, which was still highly spirited, was telling him that what had just happened was not an illusion or hallucination.


    At that moment!


    He had finally become a [Warrior]!

 Chapter 17：Mysterious Sword Skill

    Sean, who had successfully transferred to a new profession, opened his attributes tab straight away. He could not wait any longer to see what had changed. Sure enough, he saw that the profession [Mercenary], originally displayed in the combat profession section on the tab, had been replaced by [Warrior]. The class level had changed back to one. The only thing that had remained the same was the 30 proficiency points, which were still displayed on the tab. The changes were the same as what had changed in the game.


    However, Sean soon noticed something different from the game.


    [Warrior (rank-two profession): This is not an admirable or noble profession. Even though you rush forward faster than anyone in every battle, it is considered stupid in the eyes of many people, not brave. Of course, you have to believe that there are still many people in the world who will appreciate your courage. For example, the big guys who gather at the House of Brothers. Maybe when you decide not to be a warrior anymore, you can still become a bodybuilder with the muscles on your body. Of course, that is if you still have places on your body that are unharmed.]


    [New profession reward¡ª¡ªCombat Endurance: Your bravery makes you rush towards the forefront of every battle. However, that doesn''t mean all enemies can be taken down on the spot. Sometimes, you even have to constantly repeat the process of investigating and pestering. After repeating this process many times, you will know how to retain your strength to cope with more of these battles (the speed of your physical decline during combat is reduced by 30%). Combat experience: Every time after the battle ends, you will reflect on the mistakes of your last battle. Because of this serious attitude, where you constantly study hard and learn, your combat awareness will become sharper and sharper (strength +4, strength limit +5, endurance +3, endurance limit +5, agility +2, agility limit +4, wisdom limit +2, will +1, will limit +4)].


    [New profession side-effect¡ª¡ªMagic Disruption: You only focus on the training and development of your strength. You believe that men should use their fists to speak. However, in reality the damage that can be done from a spellcaster is a lot greater than you had originally thought (magic damage increased)].


    Sean still remembered that in the game "Miracle," the professional side-effect for a warrior was supposed to be a 20 points reduction in defense magic but now, it had become a magic damage increase. However, after thinking about it carefully, Sean understood in the end that he was in the real world after all. In this world, there was no systematic calculation formula. Therefore, the data that required a formula to calculate was gone.


    However, Sean was not interested in testing it out. He did not want to see the extent of damage that this rise in the so-called magic damage could cause.


    Instead, he turned his eyes towards the column with his personal attributes displayed on the panel.


    Strength: 12+3 (14); Endurance: 12+1 (15); Agility: 11 (14); Wisdom: 10 (13); Will: 10 (14)


    Sean gently breathed out. The conditions displayed there were not too different from the statistics that were in the original game.


    Although the ''combat experience'' in the new profession reward had another attribute added onto it, in reality, this attribute value was the total amount of attribute points added on, after the highest possible level of this attribute had been reached. In the game, the highest possible level that a player could reach for each profession was 10. Therefore, the attribute value of ''strength limit +5'' would only be added after the [Warrior] profession had reached level 10. For example, like now, when the profession was only at level one, the attribute would be increased by 0.5 only. However, because the value after the decimal point was never displayed in the game, therefore what was shown on the attributes was "14" instead of "14.5." However, that had not changed the amount of strength that should be added.


    Sean relaxed his hands, which had been clenched very tightly. Sean had now become a little bit more hopeful about this trip. What he needed to do next was to use his skills carefully and wisely. Because of his new skills, passing straight through the Land of Black Earth would no longer be much of a problem for them.


    But when Sean opened the skills tab, so that he could allocate his proficiency points to the new skills to learn them, his entire body suddenly froze.


    Nearly 10 more skills with light gray colored bars had appeared on Sean''s skills panel, which had been close to being empty earlier. That meant that these skills could be activated as soon as proficiency points were assigned to them. But Sean''s gaze didn''t go towards these skills and instead, he was staring intently at the very last skill on the panel. The expression on his face was a mix of disbelief and excitement.


    It was a passive skill.


    [Mysterious sword skill: Strength +2 and agility + 2 when using any sword weapons. Sword skills/special/sword, level 1/10, proficiency 0/3.]


    There were many different passive skills in the game "Miracle." They could be obtained either through professional rewards or through other different methods. The most popular passive skills were undoubtedly the weapon''s passive skills. Like the sword skills, the attributes of those types of passive skills could be raised after any sword type weapons were equipped. Ordinary sword skills would have relatively strict conditions for the type of sword weapons required. They could include needing to have thin swords, heavy swords, and long swords.


    Of course, there were exceptions to everything.


    The Mysterious Sword Skill was a passive skill that was suitable for any type of sword. Back when he was still inside the game, Sean had worked extremely hard to get it. He had even wasted half a year to complete a series of extremely tedious tasks just to obtain the skill. This was not just because that passive skill had a very powerful effect. The most important thing was that the skill was a requirement that Sean needed to reach for him to be able to learn a few very powerful sword skills. It was even related to a special advanced profession.


    The thing that confused Sean was that he had remembered that the skill could only be learned and mastered at rank four. So why was he able to activate it now?


    But the idea only flashed in Sean''s mind for a moment. After a second to think, he completely ignored it and chose to directly activate the skill.


    [Activating this skill requires the consumption of 10 proficiency points. Are you sure you would like to activate it?]


    Sean was stunned for a moment.


    10 proficiency points?


    What was going on here?


    Activating a rank-one special skill only required two proficiency points while activating a rank-four special skill required only five proficiency points. However, this skill needed to consume 10 proficiency points. This amount was equivalent to the amount required to activate a rank-nine special skill!


    However, Sean was only in a daze for a moment. That was what was meant by the saying "to achieve a certain purpose, a certain price must be paid." If he considered things from a player''s point of view, the more proficiency points a skill needed to consume, the stronger the skill would be. Therefore, Sean chose yes without any hesitation or confusion. Afterward, he felt as if some memory of his had just awakened in his mind. A strange energy suddenly flowed to both his arms and legs.


    By just holding the sword, Sean could already feel that there seemed to be a strange connection that had been formed between him and this sword in his hand. The aura around his body had completely changed.


    The guard who was just talking to Sean looked at Sean with his eyes and mouth wide open. The expression on his face suddenly changed from amazement to surprise as he said in a trembling voice, "This aura¡­You¡­You, you actually changed your profession? How is this possible?!"


    Sean smiled shyly. "I am not sure myself. It was just that after hearing the stories about the past from you, I was yearning for it. Then I suddenly noticed that I was a soldier."


    All the class changes in a profession had a standard degree of judgment. Pretty much everyone on the Miracle Continent could only be considered successful in changing their professions after being judged by various guilds and advisors. Only players, not NPCs, were able to receive the relevant requirements for starting a new profession from others. Once a new higher leveled profession has been successfully learned, then the aura emitted from the body would also change as a result. That was why the guard in front of Sean was able to notice that Sean had successfully changed his profession.


    It was just that the guard could not understand at all why Sean was able to change his profession so easily. Was it really because he was a so-called genius?


    Sean naturally would not explain this point to the guard. After all, it would be no use even if he were to explain it. The guard was in shock and awe, so he did not continue to talk to Sean. Sean was happy that there was some quiet. It was hard to find a quiet time when traveling with others and constantly fighting to stay alive. When it came to rotation time, Old Pete and the others were naturally equally surprised at Sean''s change of profession. However, they did not ask too many questions. Sean had now become stronger, which would be very beneficial to the team.


    The night was very quiet.


    When everyone got up the next day, they were stunned by Sean''s transfer in profession. However, they were all very happy. This was because it meant that the team now had an even better chance of successfully crossing through the Land of Black Earth. After eating a simple meal that included meat, everyone in the team set out on their journey once again. It was impossible to tell the time within the Starfall Forest, so no one could tell the difference between day and night. In the beginning, people were still able to calculate the time. However, after getting attacked by the pack of wolves, they were no longer able to do that.


    The only thing that could be used to determine the current situation was the bright moon that hung in the night sky.


    Watching the moon getting rounder and rounder and even redder around its edges, Sean knew that the Magic Tide was about to arrive very soon. He did not dare to delay any longer, so he pushed them to start going all out on their journey. Therefore, before they knew it, the speed the team traveled at had increased again. This time, however, they did not encounter any skeletons along the way. It surprised everyone a bit, but it also made them feel a little more relaxed. After all, it would not be easy to deal with being surrounded by so many skeletons.


    The team did not know that Sean already knew exactly how to avoid the skeletons inside the Land of Black Earth. It was as if the land was the garden in his own backyard. He chose not to avoid them earlier purely because he wanted to gain experience points. However, now that attacking the rank-one skeletons could no longer help him gain many experience points, Sean did not want to waste any more time with them.


    The team took several more breaks along the way. According to their calculations, around two days had passed.


    The team finally arrived at a place that seemed to be a campsite.


    The campsite was magnificent. here were two stone towers around five meters tall standing at the entrance of the camp. Engraved on the stone towers were complicated textures. Judging from the styles of the textures, the team was able to conclude that they were magic towers. The thing that surrounded the two magic towers were not simple facilities like wooden fences. Rather, it was a thick stone wall. From the smoothness that was reflected from the stone wall, it was obvious that it had been built with magical powers.


    Inside the campsite, all the buildings were also made of stone. It was not as simple as just a camp with tents. It also had other very visible traces of mining such as wells and drains. It was more accurate to call the encampment a small town. At the very least, that was what it looked like. Only Sean knew that this place which looked like a small town was the final destination of their journey.


    "The Portoroa outpost!" Drouin looked at the small town in front of him with a look of surprise on his face. "I can''t believe it has been preserved so well!"


    Sean pouted with disdain. The corpses inside the outpost had been kept even more intact.

 Chapter 18：Dark Outpost

    The Portoroa Kingdom was a kingdom towards the north of the Miracle Continent. It was famous for the use of magical powers. The magic that existed in the country was extremely developed. Much of the magic that currently existed in the kingdom was a result of the research done by the magicians.


    Sean still remembered that the science of magical weaponry was created by the Portoroa Kingdom and the Magi Empire. Those two countries had pushed the Miracle Continent into the Era of Magical Weaponry. However, the research and development of the science of magical weaponry was already an event from the third expansion phase. Entering the Era of Magical Weaponry was part of the fifth expansion phase, so it was a still long time away from the era Sean was living in.


    However, when Sean looked at things with the eyes of someone from the future, he could see some shadows of the science of magical weaponry.


    For example, in the Portoroa outpost, there were some shadows of magical weaponry around that hinted towards what the technology would develop into in the future.


    The magic towers in the outpost were slightly different from ordinary magic towers. Usually, controlling the magic towers required a joint operation between a few official magicians. However, the scale of the two magic towers in front of the team meant they were only able to hold two magicians in each tower. There were also no engravings at the top of the towers to strengthen the magic formation. Only a ball made of gold had been set up. Using her observations and judgment, Cecilia could conclude that the magic towers only needed two magicians to display their destructive power, which was equal to 10 magicians of the past.


    That reminded Sean of the Magical Cannon.


    The Magical Cannon was a type of cannon that only needed one ordinary person to operate. Its power was roughly equivalent to the rank-four range of magic damage, despite the fact that only one person needed to man it.


    However, the team did not stay for too long. Drouin was also only a little bit surprised. He and Halle had not forgotten their mission. Therefore, the team very quickly started walking into the outpost. In reality, if it had not been for Sean constantly telling everyone to slow down, coupled with the influence Sean had had on their journey, the team would not have waited and instead would have quickly crossed the outpost. They wanted to leave this terrifying place as soon as possible.


    No one felt any fear towards the outpost now. They checked a few houses along the way, but there was no one inside. Also, judging from the layer of dust inside the houses, it seemed that no one had entered for at least 100 years.


    However, Sean did not think that was the case. He was extremely familiar with the dungeon they were in. He had been there in the game.


    Dark Outpost.


    The campsite, which looked like a small town, was a dungeon that had to be passed to get to the Portoroa Kingdom from the Starfall Forest. Only by completing the dungeon would it be possible to leave the Starfall Forest and head towards the Portoroa Kingdom. It was unknown whether it was due to the original settings of the game or due to some other reasons, but the fog that surrounded the path that led to the Portoroa Kingdom from the Starfall Forest could interfere with people''s direction and perception. Anyone who tried to pass through the thick fog would be completely lost in it and, in the end, would turn into a corpse.


    Likewise, anyone in the Portoroa Kingdom had to successfully go through this dungeon if they wanted to enter the Starfall Forest.


    At the moment, the dungeon monster had not yet come out. It was not that the dungeon had already been completed by someone, but because Sean and the others had not stepped within the range of the monster''s attack.


    No one dared to be careless when they saw Sean looking like he was about to be confronted by a formidable enemy.


    Along their journey, reality had proven that as long as Sean displayed such an expression, then it meant that the rest of the trip would be very troublesome. They knew that they had to trust Sean and his intuition about the situation they were in. They had not seen Sean display such an expression when they entered the Land of Black Earth. However, now, at the outpost, there were no signs of any enemies, so why would Sean''s expression look like that? Could the enemy really be that terrifying?


    The outpost was extremely large. It was bigger than any small town that Sean had seen ever since he had arrived in this world. It made Sean quite emotional. Back when he was inside the game, it only took a few minutes for him to go through the outpost from the beginning to the end. However now, they had walked for more than 10 minutes, and he still had not seen the end. From what he could see with his eyes, it seemed that they had not yet walked even one-third of the distance.


    Naturally, it would make people feel that the Portoroa Kingdom was very rich and powerful since they made an outpost of such a scale. In reality, it was actually treating the Portoroa Kingdom a bit unjustly.


    Back when the Portoroa Kingdom was battling against the Serian Kingdom for the right over the forest, the outpost was the front-line command battalion of the Portoroa Kingdom army. It was very different from the so-called "outposts" of other ordinary countries. Also, magicians had always liked luxuries, so it made sense for a front-line command base to be a lot larger and more luxurious. At the very least, from looking at Drouin''s proud expression of admiration, it was possible to see that he was proud of being a citizen of the Portoroa Kingdom.


    Right at the moment when the team was advancing, everyone heard a "bang," which startled them. When they turned their heads around, they saw a guard suddenly fall to the ground.


    Everyone could not help but smile.


    The guard seemed to have fallen to the ground because he had tripped over something. He started to swear as he got up.


    However, the color on Sean''s face suddenly changed as he shouted as loud as he could, "Be careful!"


    Before anyone was able to react, they saw that Sean wave the longsword in his hand, before taking a step forward and rushing towards that guard. Without the slightest hesitation, the long sword in his hand stabbed fiercely into the ground next to the guard''s right foot. The strange sound of broken bones could be heard from the ground. The sound was so clear that even people in the team who were standing a bit farther away were able to hear it. All of a sudden, the expression on everyone''s faces changed.


    After Sean finished doing that, he quickly ran to the side. He pulled up Cecilia and immediately backed away. At the same time, he reminded the team, "Spread out everyone and run. Don''t just stand there!"


    In reality, except for Halle, who was a fat businessman with no combat experience at all, everyone was already on the move. They did not need Sean to remind them.


    Among the members of the team, the archer who had not made a single shot this journey, was the most sensitive. He took one step and sprinted forward. He ran towards a house, and quickly jumped up and stepped on the wall of the house. He stepped onto the wall just like that, then leaped and grabbed onto the corner of the house. With the help of his strength, he somersaulted and jumped onto the roof.


    There was no doubt that the archer''s movements were a smart thing to do. Since the enemy had come from underneath the ground, it was naturally safe to stand somewhere high up. Especially since he was an archer, it was more beneficial for him to display his strength by looking down from somewhere high. Although he did not know why Sean had not allowed him to waste any arrows on their journey, he was not stupid. He immediately placed himself in a favorable position to attack first as soon as a battle broke out.


    In addition to this archer, who was the most responsive, Drouin and Old Pete had also reacted very quickly. One went left and the other went right as they quickly retreated towards the sides. Old Pete had even opened his eyes angrily and fiercely hurled his long spear while he had retreated at full speed. Even with just the very short distance of one meter, the long spear made a thunderous roar as it fiercely plunged into the ground. At least half of the spear was stabbed into the ground.


    The moment Old Pete made the kill, a clear sound could be heard from under the ground. It was as if something was breaking apart.


    The reaction of the three guards was slower by only a little bit, relative to the others who had reacted. They grabbed Halle, who was still in a daze and quickly pulled him out of the area. Watching the three guards use their hands and feet, it looked a bit like they were catching a live wild boar on the mountains, who was trying to escape.


    Of course, at that moment, no one dared to laugh out loud for fear of what could happen.


    The moment everyone had fully retreated, hundreds of hands suddenly rushed out of the black covered dirt and poked out from the ground, swarming the open area.


    It was possible to see countless arms moving on the black soil while sending out a series of soft clicking sounds. The sound was crisp and clear, and everyone could not help but feel a chill down their spine.


    Hundreds of corpses crawled out of the ground. They had no weapons in their hands, but their sharp, narrow fingernails were already much better than any weapons. The corpses were pretty much all wearing a half-body armor. There were two styles. Everyone present was able to tell the difference. They knew that it was the standard armor that the regular armies of the Serian Kingdom and the Portoroa Kingdom wore, but the armor they saw was already rusty. They probably would not be of much use anymore.


    From what a normal person knew, even though the corpses of undead spirits were stronger than skeletons, they also had their limits. For example, they had already killed a lot of creatures like walking corpses and zombies. After all, the Serian Kingdom was also not a safe place. Occasionally, it was possible to see a few dead spirits stage a rebellion.


    Only Sean''s expression had remained solemn. He felt a little more surprised.


    The number of demonic corpses was more than he had expected. According to the number, he could tell that the difficulty of the dungeon was already at a very high level.


    The discovery confused Sean a little. Why was the "Wandering Darkness" at its normal difficulty, but "Dark Outpost" was a lot more difficult?


    He also knew that now was not the time to pursue the question.


    "Be careful. The corpses are not like the walking corpses or zombies that you take for granted," Sean said quietly. "They are demonic corpses!"


    When they heard that they were demonic corpses, Drouin and Cecilia frowned slightly. It was obvious that they were aware of the difficulty of fighting the undead spirits. As for the other people, they all looked puzzled. They did not know the difference between demonic corpses and walking corpses and zombies. The serious expression on Sean''s face made it clear to them that the demonic corpses were very difficult to deal with.


    "Mr. Halle, you and Old Pete get to the roof as quickly as possible. We will cover you for the time being," Sean soon began to give battle orders. "You also go up to protect Mr. Halle and Old Pete. We need the support from their bow and arrow. Cecilia, get up there quickly."


    Sean casually ordered a guard to go up to the roof and help. As for the archer, after he heard the order from Sean, he immediately had a look of excitement on his face. Along their entire journey, it seemed like he was not needed, which had made him feel a little bit upset. Now, the time had finally arrived for him to display his full strength.


    "What do we need to do?" Compared to the excitement of the archer, Old Pete, who was a veteran, asked calmly.


    "We will be in charge of the demonic corpses. There is only one thing you guys need to do." Sean glanced at the demonic corpses. They had already opened their eyes, showed their wild and barbaric expressions, and displayed their jagged teeth. "Find a demonic corpse that is wearing red clothes and shoot all your arrows at it. No matter what, you must let it come and try to create trouble for you. It would be best if you can let it become furious."


    Almost as soon as Sean had spoken the words, hundreds of demonic corpses roared for an unknown reason. Then, they rushed towards Sean and the others like agile cheetahs.


    A guard raised his shield. He tried to stop one of the fast demonic corpse that was rushing towards them, to give Halle enough time to climb onto the roof. However, in the moment the guard raised the shield in his hand, the demonic corpse appeared right in front of him. A muffled crash sounded, and the guard took a few steps back. The demonic corpse only shook its head. It seemed that it was a little confused. It was obvious that using its head to hit the shield had made it feel uncomfortable.


    Everyone finally understood the difference between demonic corpses and the ordinary walking corpses and zombies. The demonic corpses far exceeded the slow-moving walking corpses and zombies!

 Chapter 19：Epiphany

    The night sky was clear. Normally, it would have been the best time to drink and enjoy the moon. However, not a single bit of excitement could be seen.


    The surge of the lifeless aura was like a dark cloud pressing down on a city. The bright moonlight was shining down, yet there was a dim illusion.


    The camp was filled with a lifeless aura, and instead of the wind blowing away the stench from the demonic corpses, it seemed that the stench was spreading. The smell was disgusting.


    A demonic corpse swooped down from a roof with a hoarse roar. It opened its mouth and revealed its jagged teeth. Then, with fingers like a sword, it stabbed at a guard.


    A trace of fear flashed across the face of the guard who was chosen as the target by the demonic corpse. However, the guard did not retreat. Due to his many years of combat experience, he had learned that if he became timid at a time like that, then he would very soon become a corpse himself and be eaten by the demonic corpses. Therefore, when he saw the demonic corpse swoop down and aim towards him, he fiercely raised the round shield in his hand. He sank his body''s center of gravity downward, as the muscles in his arms tightened. The curved blade in his right hand was also ready in case he needed to swing at a moment''s notice.


    Bang!


    With a muffled sound, the demonic corpse that had jumped down from the roof smashed into the round shield in the guard''s hand. A ripple that was invisible to the naked eye shook the air.


    But this time, the guard had not been knocked back a few steps.


    Sean knew that the guard had already used his "skill."


    The demonic corpse had its sharp fingers stuck into the round shield, so with a slight stroke of the guard''s left hand, the demonic corpse followed the direction that the. The corpse was forced to expose more than half of its body in front of the guard. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, the curved blade in the guard''s hand emitted a silver light. A loud tearing sound could be heard. The demonic corpse let out an even clearer roar. Before it could do anything else, its body was cut in two by the blade.


    As soon as the guard swung his hand, the half of the demonic corpse''s body that was left stuck to the shield was flung away. It smashed into other demonic corpses that were about to kill a few members of the team. It knocked over the demonic corpses like a rolling gourd, taking them down with it. However, there were too many demonic corpses in front of everyone. Even though a few of them were smashed and thus not a problem anymore, there was still a large wave of demonic corpses that were rushing towards them like wolves and tigers. However, everyone seemed to have gotten used to the scene. Even though there was a bit of fear on their faces, their actions were not sluggish in the slightest.


    Sean, Drouin, and two guards formed a small team. They situated themselves with the two guards on both sides, Sean leading in the front, and Drouin two positions away in the back. Sean was in charge of leading the way, while Drouin was responsible for preventing the demonic corpses from sneaking up behind them. The two guards were responsible for guarding the sides, one on the left and one on the right.


    The four of them did not pause at all. Even if they were surrounded by hundreds of the demonic corpses, they did not dare to slow down the slightest bit. They knew very well that once they were surrounded by the demonic corpses, then they might never be able to get out of there.


    It was not that there were no demonic corpses that went to find trouble with the five people on the roof. It was just that there was a guard responsible for intercepting them. Coupled with Old Pete''s long spear, which had returned to his hands, plus Cecilia''s magic and the fact that the space on the roof was not wide enough, the demonic corpses left the five people on the roof alone after more than a dozen of their comrades had fallen. Instead, they gathered their strength and went after Sean and the others.


    The scene had surprised Old Pete.


    When he saw the demonic corpses, they were like an army. Not only did they know how to separate themselves into troops to attack, they even knew how to bypass, penetrate, outflank, and kill. However, when looking into the eyes of the demonic corpses, they seemed to have no flash of wisdom at all. In that case, there was only one possibility for how they could fight so well. The demonic corpses had a commander leading them.


    Old Pete remembered what Sean had said, and he began to look for the demonic corpse that was wearing red clothes.


    Just like Old Pete had guessed, the group of demonic corpses had all come to be like that because of the virus infection of the mutant demonic corpse. Therefore, the group of demonic corpses simply did not have the slightest bit of intelligence to speak of. They were all slaves of that mutant demonic corpse and would only follow the orders and commands of that particular demonic corpse. Even though the group of demonic corpses had rank-three strength, once the mutant demonic corpse stopped giving orders to the group, then they were no threat to the travelers.


    Back inside the game, finding the mutant demonic corps and making it furious so that it could not concentrate on commanding the group of demonic corpses was the key to clearing the dungeon.


    Sean glanced at Old Pete, hoping that his eyes would become a bit sharper and his movements would become a little faster.


    After Sean was slightly distracted, a demonic corpse suddenly jumped out of a corner.


    That demonic corpse had been crouching in the corner for a very long time and had not made any move until then. That was not its original intention. It was the decision of the mutant demonic corpse who was controlling it. Now that Sean, the leader of the team, was distracted, the mutant demonic corpse finally could not hold back any longer as it let the demonic corpse it was controlling make its move.


    The two guards on the sides were not able to react at all to the sudden attack. Even Sean felt a little bit frightened!


    In the environment that already had a rotten smell, the stench that was emitted from the demonic corpse seemed to be a lot clearer. It was as if a chilly wind had suddenly blown from behind Sean. The cold and fearful feeling made Sean''s heart almost stop, and a chill went down his spine. The impact of the strong air from in front of the demonic corpse who had jumped out at the group made Sean feel a pain in his cheeks. It was as if a blade was carving lines on his face.


    It was the first time that Sean had felt what death was like since he had come to that world!


    He wanted to avoid it, but he also knew that his speed was not as fast as the demonic corpse who was rushing towards him. After all, there was a gap between rank three and rank two.


    But all of a sudden, there seemed to be a flash of the spirit within Sean''s mind.


    It was a completely subconscious act. Before Sean was able to consciously react, his body moved. It had responded faster than his thoughts.


    The entire world seemed to be in slow-motion.


    Whether it was the attack from the demonic corpse, or the frightened expression on the people''s faces around Sean, or even the movement of his own hands gradually being raised, everything looked a lot clearer to Sean. He could even clearly feel the power that was currently flowing through him.


    At that moment, Sean seemed to have comprehended something.


    Mysterious Sword Skill!


    At the moment when Sean began to understand, all the slow-motion disappeared.


    The speed of the demonic corpse, the tearing sound of the air, and the breeze of cold aura were all the same as before.


    However!


    In the direction where the demonic corpse was heading towards, there was an extra sword.


    A faint fluorescent light suddenly bloomed out from under the sword with a surge of lifeless aura. Like lightning tearing apart the night sky, the sword stabbed between the eyes of the demonic corpse that was heading towards Sean at unparalleled speed. To everyone else, it looked as though the demonic corpse was looking for death and had crashed into Sean''s sword. No one even had the time to see exactly when Sean had raised his sword.


    The tip of the sword gently tapped between the eyes of the demonic corpse. Then, it immediately withdrew.


    The demon remained in the same posture, hunched over and running at full speed, but brushed right past Sean. Sean and the others kept moving forward without stopping at all. A sense of incomprehensible shock appeared in everyone''s hearts.


    In the next second, the head of the demonic corpse, which was still in the air, exploded. There was no red and white liquid. A sticky black fog erupted out in place of blood.


    Everyone looked at Sean with a little bit more awed and incredulous expressions on their faces.


    Sean only had rank-two strength. But along the entire journey, just how many times had he surprised everyone?


    Even Sean felt a little bit surprised. However, his surprise was different from the other people''s. Wasn''t the Mysterious Sword Skill an added attribute of a passive skill? Why did the sword that had stabbed out like a conditional reflect have a feeling of a Mysterious Sword Skill?


    Sean was a little confused, but for some reason, he suddenly remembered what he had seen and heard along the = journey inside the Starfall Forest. Starting from the very beginning when Drouin had flung a Wind Striped Black Wolf away with his sword, to earlier when the guard had blocked the attack from a demonic corpse with his shield, all of the times people had used their skills flooded his mind. Everything was related to the "skills" people had, and they used them one by one. The memory was as vivid as if it had been projected onto a screen in Sean''s mind.


    Sean was no longer just enlightened, but instead was going through an epiphany.


    The way people of this world displayed their skills was very different from how Sean did. For the guards, Drouin, or Old Pete, their skills were a type of personal ability that had been formed after learning them. That was also the case for the archer. Their skills were a type of "Strength Technique" and "Movement Technique" that belonged to the body. It could even be considered more brilliant, such as a "Condensing Force,""Movement Force," or "Generating Force."


    When Sean used his skills, he did not have the strength technique and movement technique at all. As long as his skills were activated, then Sean was able to use them. He did not have to think about what their principles were. Also, once a skill had been started, apart from skills such as sprint, very few skills could be stopped halfway. That meant that once these skills had been used, then they couldn''t be stopped until the skills had finished.


    Sean suddenly understood something.


    It was the real world. Not everyone had normal data. All of their achievements up to that point had all been borne from their hard training. Even geniuses had to train. Although Sean was a little different, he was still a person, a real person that lived in the real world. Therefore, as long as he wanted to, he could also train like the others. It was just that his starting point was much higher than everyone else.


    Just like the Mysterious Sword Skill, it was no longer a simple passive skill in Sean''s hands. What was imprinted in his mind was the strength and movement of the Mysterious Sword Skill, or perhaps even the skills of the condensing force and moving force.


    After understanding that, Sean once again used the Mysterious Sword Skill. He was like a swordsman who had been immersed in the skill for decades.


    After Sean had killed more than a dozen demonic corpses with the Charles'' Sword, a sharp arrow finally shot out of Old Pete''s hand. The arrow shot into the demon with red clothes. A roar of terror sounded.


    "I found you."


    Old Pete''s lips opened and closed. His eyes became a little bit more arrogant, as he shot out a second arrow.

 Chapter 20：Continuously Killing Monsters

    [Name: Mutant Demonic Corpse].


    [Race: Undead Spirit]


    [Class: Demonic Corpse (rank three)]


    [Attributes: Strength: 40; Agility: 35; Endurance: 8; Wisdom: 15; Will: 20]


    How could Sean not have seen the arrow that Old Pete had shot?


    Following the trajectory of the arrow, the mutant demonic corpse that was hidden in the shadows in the corner of the house had become visible to everyone. Almost right at the moment that Sean saw the mutant demonic corpse, a golden light flashed across his eyes. All the detailed information regarding the mutant demonic corpse instantly appeared clearly in front of Sean''s vision. It was exactly like the data Sean had seen back when he was in the game.


    Demonic corpses were a class of Undead Spirits. They were born of unwillingness, resentment, longing, and many other grievances through the erosion and condensation of the dark energy. That could be seen from their barbaric, frantic, and vicious eyes. They once hated all living creatures in the world. Their hate was deeper than any other Undead Spirits. However, this type of Undead Spirit was completely different from walking corpses, zombies, and the living dead. Not only were demonic corpses not as slow and lifeless as these other Undead Spirits, but they also had a certain degree of wisdom. After they had absorbed enough dead forces or dark forces, the demonic corpses would become mutant demonic corpses. To a certain extent, they could even remember their professions from when they were alive.


    For example, the demonic corpse in front of everyone that was dressed in shabby red clothes had been a commander when it had been still alive. Otherwise, how could it have been so clever in commanding such a large group of demonic corpses to attack other living creatures? Also, just from seeing how many demonic corpses had surrounded the group, it was possible to tell how many people the mutant demonic corpse had mutilated. Among the demonic corpses, other than the soldiers from the Portoroa Kingdom and the Serian Kingdom, there were also many adventurers and pioneers dressed in their clothes.


    Demonic corpses were different from ghouls. Even though they were both undead spirits, they were completely the opposite of each other.


    Anyone who was killed by a demonic corpse would be attacked by its dead force, and then they would turn into the same kind of demonic corpse. However, these similar Undead Spirits had no wisdom to speak of. They would become slaves to the demonic corpse that had killed them, completely obeying its orders. As soon as there were no more commands given to them, then these demonic corpses would just be zombies and living dead who were a bit more powerful and could run a bit faster.


    The most important thing about this Dark Outpost dungeon was that the mutant demonic corpse had to be forced to give up its command.


    The second arrow directly pierced into the right shoulder of the mutant demonic corpse, making it roar out even louder than before. Its frantic eyes glowed a bloodthirsty red light. However, it no longer stared at Sean and the others. Instead, it turned its head and looked towards Old Pete and the group that stood on the roof. Then, it let out a threatening hoarse roar.


    But did Old Pete care about the threat from a mutant demonic corpse?


    He took out a third arrow. However, there was someone next to him who was already one step ahead of him.


    The archer!


    The humming sound of the bowstring vibrating in the air could be heard as an iron-headed white-feathered arrow shot out like a meteor. The arrow pierced the shoulder of the mutant demonic corpse.


    A burning smell spread through the air.


    Immediately after that, a second, third, and fourth arrow were shot out. A series of arrows fired continuously by two good archers rained down and pierced the bodies of the mutant demonic corpses like a heavy downpour of rain. Old Pete and the archer had done exactly what Sean had told them to do.


    In the beginning, the mutant demonic corpse was able to ignore Old Pete and the others. However, after getting pierced by seven or eight arrows one after another, it could no longer ignore the pain. Even its roars had lost its strength. After all, the endurance attribute of the mutant demonic corpse was only eight points. It was only able to hold on a little bit longer than Cecilia, whose endurance attribute was a little lower. The reason was that it was an undead spirit. However, even though that was the case, the battle would have probably come to an end if the mutant demonic corpse had been pierced just a few more times by Old Pete and the others.


    However, reality was very different from the game and came with different problems.


    Therefore, the mutant demonic corpse did not dare to underestimate Old Pete and the others any longer. As soon as it turned, it began to move. With that movement, it made Old Pete and the archer frown, as they could no longer shoot the arrows into the mutant demonic corpse. Even though they were able to identify the route the mutant demonic corpse was taking, the speed of their arrows definitely would not be able to keep up!


    The speed of the mutant demonic corpse was much faster than they had imagined!


    Only Sean knew that the speed of a mutant demonic corpse with an agility attribute of more than 30 points was much faster than anyone present. Coupled with power that was completely above everyone else''s, no one could be its opponent if facing it head-on. Even if the guards used their strongest defensive skills, they still might not be able to block the attack from the mutant demonic corpse.


    Therefore, the only way was to aim at its weak endurance attribute.


    Sean glanced at the mutant demonic corpse, who had been forced out of the army of demonic corpses. Sean immediately gestured with his hand and ran towards the other side. He took several small bottles of red liquid out of the bag on his back at the same time.


    Drouin recognized the liquid inside the bottles at a glance.


    Burning Elixir.


    It was a very low-grade alchemy elixir that could produce different burning effects when combined with different elixirs. However, the most basic effect was that it could make a flame burn longer or spread out. Because the demand for that type of elixir was very high, its price was higher than even a bottle of high-purity neutralizing elixir. The Burning Elixir had reached a price of five silver coins a bottle.


    Watching Sean take out that particular elixir, Drouin immediately knew what Sean was going to do. "Cecilia is too far away from here¡­"


    "I have this." Sean pouted and took out another small bag from his backpack. The bag contained dozens of black stones that were the size of fingernails. They glowed with a faint red color. "Using this with the Burning Elixir is enough for the demonic corpses to drink a whole pot. As long as Old Pete and the others can hold back that mutant demonic corpse."


    Crushed Fire Stone.


    The stone was very commonly used by mercenaries. It was used to make a fire in the wild. As long as the stone was thrown hard, it could ignite a fire. One silver coin could buy a lot of them.


    Drouin was a little bit stunned. Everything Sean had taken out was a very ordinary tool that could be sold in general goods stores and potion stores. However, they could all work wonders in places exactly like where they were now.


    Looking at Drouin''s surprised expression, Sean felt very useful. If he had not prepared the tools, then would he have dared to bring people to such a place?


    In reality, if a clerk had traveled with them, then even if that person only had a rank one strength, Sean would have been able to make this journey a lot easier. But fortunately, he had not had very high hopes for that since the beginning, so he had prepared very well. After all, Sean was once a commander who would never rely on luck. Every time he set out, he always made several sets of preparation plans.


    On this journey t, two people who were good at archery and two guards were Sean''s lowest guarantee. Everyone else was irrelevant.


    The strength and agility of the mutant demonic corpse were extremely high. An ordinary rank-three profession would not have been able to rival it. However, the endurance of the mutant demonic corpse was very low. Even back in the game, it was only a few thousand points higher than a Wind Striped Black Wolf. Considering that it was treated as a BOSS, the health points were an insult to its identity. Therefore, during the early periods of battle with the mutant demonic corpse, only long-range professions were able to take care of it. The mutant demonic corpse did not have to be killed, it just had to be pinned down. That way, it would not have time to command the demonic corpses. That was more than enough.


    The responsibilities of the guards in the game were even easier. One was responsible for protecting the group with long-range skills to prevent them from being killed too quickly. The other guard was responsible for following closely behind the person in charge of pulling the group forward. Therefore, the speed of that guard had to be a little bit faster.


    However, there were a few more guards on the current team. It was obvious that their physical endurance was very good. As long as they did not get surrounded, then they would be fine.


    Very soon, Sean, who was leading the group in the front, saw the destination of the journey.


    It was a huge pond with a hole that was around 10 meters deep.


    "That''s..." a guard exclaimed.


    Sean ignored the guard and immediately ran to the pond. The others had to catch up quickly. when the group of demonic corpses behind them lost the command from the mutant demonic corpse, the undead spirits were only left with their most basic instinct as a living creature, which was chasing after the living creatures in front of them.


    If they had been ordinary people, then they would have been obliged to fight to the death with the Undead Spirits. It seemed that that was the only way for them to prove their fierceness and courage.


    However, Sean would not be that stupid.


    He was a veteran player, and one of the things that a veteran player was good at doing was getting the most benefits while using the simplest method possible.


    For example, continuously killing monsters.


    Since the dungeon had been broken a long time ago, Sean knew there were a variety of different strategic methods to pass it. However, in the end, there was only one way that was the simplest and easiest.


    Above the pond, there was a horizontal panel that only one person could pass through. Without the slightest hesitation, Sean immediately ran up and over it. He completely ignored the obvious rustiness of the panel. Drouin and the two guards only hesitated for a little bit before they followed after Sean. When everyone had crossed, they looked at the board with surprise, as the board seemed like it could have broken at any moment.


    "Don''t just stand there!" When Sean saw that everyone had passed across the panel, he immediately shouted at them. "If the demonic corpses fall into the pond, then they won''t be able to climb back up. You two are responsible for guarding this path and hitting all the demonic corpses down into the dry pond¡­You, come here. You are in charge of provoking the brainless things."


    After hearing what Sean had said, the two guards immediately stood at the end of the panel without the slightest hesitation. One stood on the left and one on the right, and they displayed a defensive posture.


    All the demonic corpses rushed towards them in a line, just like Sean had expected. It seemed as if they could not wait to eat Sean and the others. However, before the demonic corpses were able to swoop at them, the two guards diligently started to block the direction of their attacks. They simply slammed and waved their shields and picked up their blades. They were able to easily slam the demonic corpses into the pond. Just by observing the movements of the two guards, Sean could tell that they were very skilled.


    Sean busied himself. First, he threw a few of the bottles of the Burning Elixir in his hand into the pond that had dried up long ago. There were already a few demonic corpses that were struggling to climb out. Then, Sean began to take out a variety of other alchemy potions and powders from his bag.


    Drouin watched the scene with a dumbfounded expression.


    After Sean had thrown everything into the pond, the last demonic corpse was slammed down into it. The heads of the demonic corpses surged at the bottom of the pond. All of them were struggling, and a mixture of red and white liquids appeared on many of the demonic corpses. They looked extremely disgusting and terrifying. The strange smell from the mix of alchemy potions and various powders, combined with the rotten smell from the demonic corpses, created an extremely revolting odor.


    A smile appeared on Sean''s face. He opened a small bag, then raised his hand, and the Crushed Fire Stones inside the bag were thrown into the pond.


    In the next moment, a roaring flame soared into the sky!

 Chapter 21：Killing the Mutant Demonic Corpse

    A large number of experience points wildly poured into Sean''s body. The increase allowed Sean to see the exact number of demonic corpses that were dead on the ground below them.


    When he had been rank one, he had felt extremely uncomfortable whenever experience points entered his body after killing a rank two Wind Striped Black Wolf. Now, when he killed rank-three demonic corpses as a rank-two person, the influx of a large number of experience points was not as painful anymore. It amazed Sean.


    The others did not understand. They thought that Sean''s surprise was related to the demonic corpses in the pond.


    Drouin glanced down and saw that the demonic corpses that were still alive were still struggling. They even tried to climb out of the water pond but were contaminated by the burning elixirs and explosive powder. How could the flame be extinguished so easily? No matter how much they struggled, it was futile.


    The element Flame was naturally feared by the undead spirits, so it was guaranteed way of dealing with them.


    Watching the demonic corpses struggle within the sea of fire, Drouin and the others did not feel the slightest bit of excitement. The two guards were silent for a moment before they said a few words in a low voice. Sean did not listen to them carefully but picked up on a few words such as "may you guys rest in peace." He saw them in a new light.


    After getting rid of the demonic corpses that had hindered their journey, everyone immediately rushed back, as there was a more difficult mutant demon corpse waiting for them.


    The "Dark Outpost" dungeon was not considered too difficult. However, it could not be considered easy either.


    One of the most important steps was to pull the group forward while pulling all the demonic corpses in the dungeon along. If that step was not handled well, then the entire team would be exterminated. Even back in the game, many teams were not able to complete that step perfectly. In the end, their teams were destroyed. After all, a commander type mutant demonic corpse was not easy to take care of.


    However, Sean had confidence in completing that step since he dared to play like that.


    He remembered that the strategy was developed by the guild that he had signed a contract with inside the game. However, at that time, it was a thief who was responsible for luring the beast. The thief was said to have a murderous aura who had stirred up the entire "Prosperity." His partner was a man who had played as a knight profession for 30 years and was known as the "Wall of Vanity." Those two alone were enough to deal with the demonic corpses. They did not require help from others.


    Later?


    Later, when he started to delve into dungeons with a team he had led himself, those adults had turned into professional players.


    However, that dungeon was only the "Dark Outpost" and was not difficult for Sean to beat.


    After completing the first step, the next battle would be a lot easier.


    It was just a mutant demonic corpse who had become a commander without any followers.


    A mournful scream suddenly sounded in the distance.


    Sean and Drouin''s expressions quickly changed, and they increased their speed. The two guards hastily followed them.


    By the time they arrived at the house, the mutant demonic corpse had already forcefully climbed up onto the roof. It had a lot more arrows on its body, but that had not killed it. On the contrary, it had provoked its murderous intent. Coupled with watching the army of demonic corpses under its command being destroyed, the fury within the mutant demonic corpse became more obvious. Its eyes shone a scarlet light. The mutant demonic corpse was on the brink of fury.


    It was carrying a man wearing leather armor in its hand.


    The man was the archer from Sean''s team. It was unknown where his longbow had gone. Although the quiver was still hanging on his body, the arrows were scattered all around the roof. The mutant demonic corpse''s left hand had pierced the archer''s body, and fresh blood was flowing from the fingernails that had been used to pierce the body. The blood gathered onto the fingertips and continuously dripped, making a ''da-da'' sound.


    It was obvious that the scream earlier had come from the archer. He was now dead.


    "You guys can come down!" Sean shouted. There was no point in letting them stay on the roof now. All the work that had to be done was completed. The only thing left now was a head-to-head fight.


    Without the slightest hesitation, Old Pete turned and picked up Cecilia. He was the first to jump off the roof, and as soon as he was off, he began to run wildly.


    Among the series of arrows shot earlier, he had been the fiercest. Therefore, the mutant demonic corpse hated him the most. When it finally managed to get up onto the roof for a sneak attack, Old Pete had avoided the danger before it happened with the sense of crisis his beast-like awareness had given him. The archer who stood next to Old Pete was not so lucky. He did not have a keen perception like Old Pete, so by the time he had sensed a wind was heading towards him from behind, the fingernails of that mutant demonic corpse had already pierced his body.


    Although Halle was fat, his response was not slow. Under the protection of the guard, the two of them soon descended to the ground. That guard couldn''t carry Halle like Old Pete had carried Cecilia.


    In the blink of an eye, there was no one left on the roof. After looking around, the mutant demonic corpse let out another angry roar. Then, it bit the archer''s neck. A large amount of fresh blood suddenly spurted out and made the body of the mutant demonic corpse a bit more colorful. After fiercely drinking a few sips, the mutant demonic corpse seemed to have had enough to drink. It then shot up towards the sky and threw the body aside.


    "Shoot another arrow at him!" Sean said in a low voice, as he saw Old Pete running towards him with Cecilia in his arms and the guard running towards him while protecting Halle.


    "But..." Everyone was stunned. Even Cecilia had a surprised expression. "It''s already on the brink of fury."


    "Let it become furious," Sean said lightly. "All you guys have to do is survive its killing."


    The words were said to the three guards.


    Everyone looked at each other and immediately understood Sean''s plan. It seemed that they had no other choice.


    Old Pete did not hesitate. He sighed lightly and then drew the bow and an arrow. This time, however, he took out a full moon bowstring.


    There was a slight crackling sound of the bowstring of the full moon. The crack slowly extended up the bow. It was obvious that the previous shots had resulted in some irreparable damage to the bow. Sean glanced at it before he stopped looking in that direction. That result meant that the shots earlier had been urgent and fierce. They would have been impossible to stop.


    Hum!


    Ding!


    Two soft sounds were heard at the same time.


    The arrow had shot off the string!


    The bow had snapped!


    The steel string of the broken bow brushed across Old Pete''s cheek and drew a line of blood. However, it seemed that Old Pete had not heard the sounds. He loosened his left hand and dropped the broken bow, and his right grabbed a long spear. With a little bit of strength, he pulled the long spear out.


    The arrow had pierced the left shoulder of the mutant demonic corpse as a faster, fiercer and stronger shot. This made it howl from pain and anger.


    [Name: Mutant Demonic Corpse (fury)]


    [Face: Undead Spirit]


    [Class: Demonic Corpse (rank three)]


    [Attributes: Strength: 55; Agility: 55; Endurance: 4; Wisdom: 2; Will: 2]


    The data about the mutant demon corpse that Sean saw jumped wildly in front of his eyes. After a while, it finally stopped.


    The corners of Sean''s mouth raised slightly. He was afraid that it wouldn''t become furious.


    Could a BOSS, with only four endurance points left, create a storm? Even though its strength and agility gave it an absolute advantage, such a low agility score meant that its body had become broken and disabled. Any attack would be fatal for it!


    Of course, it was the same for Sean and the others.


    But strength and agility of more than 30 points was already a disastrous number for Sean and the others, so what difference would it make if it was more than 40 points?


    A blurry shadow disappeared from the roof.


    A sharp whistling sound exploded in the outpost camp, and the mutant demonic corpse was moving so quickly that it could not be captured by the eyes of Sean and the others.


    However, did Sean need to capture it?


    "Protect Old Pete!" Sean was still commanding calmly as if they were not on a dangerous battlefield at the moment. "Old Pete, get down!... Shield barrier! Everyone else spread out as far away as possible!"


    Everyone was used to Sean giving orders. Therefore, when they heard Sean''s command, they unconsciously followed it.


    The three guards immediately stood side by side and raised their shields at the same time. To ensure the strength of their defense, the three guards sank their center of gravity lower and displayed a horse stance. Their curved blades were already inserted into the ground as if trying to use the support of the ground. Old Pete also did not hesitate to squat down. For a retired soldier like him, that kind of behavior was not risking his reputation at all. No matter how much he wanted a good reputation, it was not as important as his life.


    "Bang!"


    Sound waves exploded around everyone, and the terrifying tremor made them unsteady and dizzy, to the point of wanting to vomit blood.


    The situation for everyone else was not much better. One of the guards was hit head-on, and his situation was even worse. The round shield in his hand had been blown into pieces from the impact. The curved blade that was inserted on the ground had not been able to withstand such a strong impact either, and it had snapped in half. The guard had been flung out like a broken kite, spurting fresh blood wherever he went. Then, he fell heavily on the ground. They did not know whether he was still alive or dead.


    However, at that moment, no one could distract themselves and go take care of him.


    "Shield attack!" Sean gave a new order.


    The remaining two guards immediately attacked from left and right. The round shield in their hands slammed towards the mutant demonic corpse like a brick. The tremor from the sound wave earlier also had a massive impact on the mutant demonic corpse, so it was caught by the two guards before it had recovered, one from the left and one from the right. The mutant demonic corpse was completely stuck between the two shields.


    As its will and wisdom attributes plunged, the mutant demonic corpse lost its ability to analyze the situation. As the attacks had made it dizzy, it became even more difficult for the mutant demonic corpse to recover. This was because it no longer had a strong will.


    Looking at the unstable mutant demonic corpse, Drouin and Old Pete also did not hesitate as one moved to the front and the other to the right, one holding a sword and the other holding a spear. Both of them stabbed towards the mutant demonic corpse''s head. Cecilia held up her face, which had turned pale from the impact of the tremor, and started to chant a spell. She summoned a real fireball and blasted it onto the body of the mutant demonic corpse.


    The attacks pierced the brain and were coupled with the burning flames. Even if the mutant demonic corpse had been a rank five monster, it would not have been able to survive.


    Looking at the burning flames on the ground, Sean finally spat out the blood that was in his throat. He had stood too close to the tremor that broke out earlier. Because he was not in a rank-three class like Old Pete, the blow had had a huge impact on him.


    Sean was filled with pride.


    So what if its strength and agility were higher? The mutant demonic corpse was just as weak as any other monster when it wasn''t able to display its full strength!

 Chapter 22：Blood Striped Hexagon Ring

    The dark outpost was not supposed to have any light. But now, moonlight shone down from the sky, bringing a trace of warmth to the dark place.


    Two bright yellow lights shone within the huge camp. One was big and the other was small.


    The big light was the fire that was still burning in the pond. The small light was the unextinguished flame that was on the mutant demonic corpse.


    Sean looked at the body of the mutant demonic corpse. His expression was extremely ugly because the body had essentially turned into ashes. That meant that Sean couldn''t get the items dropped from this BOSS.


    To completely harvest everything in this "Dark Outpost" dungeon, they had to push through it by force. Only by using that method could they receive the benefits of the entire dungeon. Sean had used an ingenious method earlier to kill the army of demonic corpses, so it was impossible to receive anything from them, especially since demonic corpses had fallen into the pond. However, he did not care too much about the ordinary items they dropped. His real target was this mutant demonic corpse.


    However, the flames on the mutant demonic corpse would not stop burning. How could he touch the body now?


    Could he ask someone else to help him put out the flames? That seemed like too much.


    But what would he even say? Would he say that he was afraid of a forest fire or that there were items on the mutant demonic corpse? Neither made sense.


    Sean''s head had grown. His ego had doubled in the time he had spent on the Miracle Continent.


    Ever since he experienced the "Wandering Darkness" dungeon, Sean had gained knowledge of all the items that would drop from the creatures in the world. The items were the same as what had dropped in the game "Miracle." Equipped items would only drop from humans and human-shaped monsters. Creatures such as magical beasts and wild beasts would only drop items such as fur, bones, and crystal cores, while other materials could only be obtained through gathering them.


    Even equipment was not dropped at random. Human-shaped monsters with a sword would never drop a longsword, while those that wore leather armor would never drop armor. Also, the items that dropped depended on the attacking method. For example, attacking the neck of a Wind Striped Black Wolf would make it drop its crystal core. As for human-shaped monsters, the items dropped could become useless because the damages to its equipment were too great.


    Among all the items available, jewelry was the rarest thing to drop. It was also the most valuable.


    Sean knew that the mutant demonic corpse happened to be a monster that would drop a jewelry item. Back in the game, killing the mutant demonic corpse was also the only way for players in the early stages to obtain jewelry from a monster.


    But looking at the human-shaped torch in front of him, Sean burst into tears. "How come the fire is still burning after such a long time?"


    "There is a lot of magic here, and it''s close to the Magic Tide. You also threw in Burning Elixirs. I''m afraid that this fire will continue to burn for about two to three more days." Cecilia stood next to Sean and commented, "The flame over there will probably burn even longer. It will last for at least a month."


    Sean looked at the other side of the pond. He seemed to have 10,000 curses running wildly in his heart. He wanted the jewelry from the mutant demonic corpse!


    Seeing that everything was over, it was useless for him to continue to be depressed. Therefore, he had to change his mood as he walked towards Drouin and Halle. Everyone was gathered around the guard on the ground who had just been hit by the mutant demonic corpse. Old Pete was doing his best to save the guard while the others looked on nervously.


    "How is he?" Sean walked over and asked Drouin, who was watching Old Pete anxiously.


    "His life is saved, but¡­" Drouin frowned. "The bone in his left arm is broken, his right arm is fractured, and his internal organs are severely damaged." Drouin sighed. "These injuries cannot be taken care of now. Old Pete can only save his life. Since he cannot be treated now, I am afraid he will become crippled."


    Drouin had said a lot of things, but Sean did not quite understand him. To compensate for the lack of understanding, Sean simply looked at the data on the guard and the other two guards with his Eye of Truth. His face darkened at what he saw, and he now fully understood the cruelty of the world.


    The guard on the ground was not only crippled. His strength and agility attributes had both fallen to one point, which was worse than Cecilia. His endurance value had also dropped from 24 to 10, which was the figure for an average adult. However, his will attribute had slightly improved. But what use was only a high will attribute? The Miracle Continent was a world where only the strong were respected.


    Sean''s face was a little gloomy, and Drouin, Halle, and the others thought he blamed himself for what happened to the guard. Drouin patted Sean on the shoulder and said, "This is inevitable for a mercenary. You do not need to blame yourself. You just need to know that your current achievements are so great that even the famous mercenaries could not have done better than you. The casualties may have even been worse."


    Sean nodded and did not talk any more on this subject. After being in that world for a month, he had seen situations similar to that one many times. However, he still felt a little sad every time he saw it. After all, he had never seen such cruelty before arriving in this world. Even when he was in the game, the NPCs were just pieces of data. They would just be deleted if he did not want to use them.


    Seeing that Old Pete was still providing emergency aid to the guard, Sean retreated and looked around. He did not want to get in the way, and there was no reason for him to keep watching.


    The darkness that hung over the dark outpost had disappeared, but the chaos in this Land of Black Earth would not change. In a few years, a new group of monsters would probably be born here. When that time arrived, it would not be creatures such as demonic corpses. Instead, it would be actual dark creatures created by other magical beasts from the Starfall Forest.


    "Don''t be upset. You didn''t want this either." Cecilia tugged at Sean''s sleeve and sighed. "Let me tell you a piece of good news."


    Sean looked at Cecilia''s smile, then reached out and rubbed Cecilia''s head. He had already made a decision. Maybe the world was cruel, but he had no way out. Even if he did not think about himself, he had to think about Cecilia. He might even need to think about more people in the future.


    "What good news?" With this decision, Sean would not become perplexed anymore. He was a man with a firm mind.


    Hearing Sean''s question, Cecilia took out a ring and swung it in front of Sean.


    It was a ring made from black stone mixed with strange gold. The ring was in the shape of a hexagon. It had a circle of runes drawn on it with an unknown red liquid. The runes were hardly legible, but it was clear that they were connected from the start to the end. They were not just words. There were no other decorations on the ring.


    The moment Sean saw the ring, his eyes straightened. He was surprised. "This ring¡­Where did you get it?"


    "It dropped out of that mutant demonic corpse''s hand when it was assassinated by Drouin and Old Pete." When Cecilia saw Sean''s face, she understood. "You know where this thing came from¡­There seems to be nothing in this world that you don''t know."


    "I don''t know anything about the things that came from ancient times." Sean smiled. "Can I have a look at the ring?"


    "Of course." Cecilia threw the ring to Sean. She did not care about what it was.


    When the ring fell into Sean''s hand, he felt a strange power surge. He could not help but sigh. It was indeed the Blood Striped Hexagon Ring.


    [Blood Striped Hexagon Ring, strong magical effect (bronze): Intelligence +12, will +15, all undead spirit magic level +1, undead spirit control +1. Equipment requirements: Intelligence 20, Will 20. Curse (weak): A test for the will attribute is carried out late every night. If your will is greater than 20, then you pass the test. If you fail the test, then you become a demonic corpse on the spot.]


    [Item description: The mysterious ring is of unknown origin. You can feel the blood and the dead force surrounding it. If you do not have a firm resolution when you wear this, then your body will soon be invaded by its force, and it will turn you into a demonic corpse.]


    Four types of jewelry could drop from a mutant demonic corpse: three rings and a necklace. Among them, the best item was the Blood Striped Hexagon Ring. However, the better an item was, the lower its burst rate would be. Sean had only heard of a total of 11 of the rings during the seven years he played the game. The ring was precious. Even though it was a rank-six class, it could still be regarded as one of the main items.


    But Sean was not able to be happy at all.


    The item he had wanted was not the ring.


    "This is the Blood Striped Hexagon Ring." Sean threw the ring back to Cecilia. "It''s a piece of magical equipment. Although it has lost a lot of its magical powers, it is still a very good item. It would be better to give it to an undead spirit mage. However, you are also a mage, so it is suitable for you to use. At the very least, it can hone your will attribute. Maybe it can make you smarter as well."


    Cecilia giggled. "There is no such thing as a person getting smarter when wearing a piece of jewelry."


    Sean pouted but did not explain himself. How could he explain what personal attributes were to Cecilia? Even if he could explain it, he was afraid that she would not understand him. It was better if she learned and understood it on her own. However, there were some things that he still needed to explain to Cecilia.


    "This ring is not an ordinary item. If you wear it, the dark force around it will continuously erode your will. Therefore, if you feel any sort of discomfort, you have to take the ring off."


    Cecilia had never seen Sean show such a serious side. She could not help but say, "I understand."


    Sean saw that Cecilia had taken his words to heart. He nodded and said with a smile, "There are other things in the camp. Let''s go and look. I have nothing to do now anyway¡­When they have taken care of the matters over there, we can get out of here."


    While he spoke, Sean looked towards the path that led to the exit and muttered to himself, "I wonder if that thing is available right now¡­"

 Chapter 23：The Changed Plot

    The Starfall Forest had always been a nightmare for many of the citizens from the Serian Kingdom and the Portoroa Kingdom.


    Even experts with a high-ranked profession would not risk their lives to go into the Starfall Forest. People with a low-ranked profession would enter the forest in groups. However, very few of the groups had ever come out alive. As a result, the Starfall Forest had become more and more mysterious and dangerous. The world inside the Starfall Forest was completely different from the world outside the forest.


    There were no stars in the clear night sky above the Starfall Forest. The sky seemed to be a little darker tonight, but even so, it was still a lot more beautiful than the night on earth.


    Around the outside of the Starfall Forest was a layer of thick fog.


    People called the thick fog the boundary line of death. Anyone who crossed over the line would die.


    Several figures suddenly emerged from within the thick fog and walked out of the Starfall Forest.


    There were a total of eight people in the group.


    Most of them wore shabby clothes, and some of them were injured. All the weapons they were carrying with them were damaged, but the degree to which they were all damaged was different. The oldest member in the group was nearly 50 years old, while the youngest member was only 13 or 14 years old. Anyone who saw the team would have thought that it looked extremely strange/ However, the murderous aura emitted from them was similar to an elite army.


    The team was, of course, Sean and others who had come to the Portoroa Kingdom by passing through the Starfall Forest.


    The leader of the team was no longer Sean. It had changed to Drouin.


    They had entered the territory that belonged to the aristocratic viscount. Even if he had admired Sean and became friendlier with him during their journey, their statuses were still not equal. Therefore, as soon as they exited the Starfall Forest, the viscount had to display the aura of belonging to the aristocrats. Of course, he did not treat Sean as coldly or disdainfully as he had in the past.


    Sean, however, looked at Drouin and sighed angrily. "It seems like starting a new rank-four profession will not be a problem for this old fellow."


    His eyes turned towards Old Pete. He sighed helplessly. "Even though the personal attributes of this old guy have improved slightly, he will not be able to start a new profession. I''m afraid it''s a hopeless case. If he is willing to give up his current career and change to another one, then it might be possible for him to break through to rank five."


    "This is the Tindus Domain." Drouin took out the map and looked at it, then confirmed, "If it had not been for Sean on this journey, then I''m afraid we might not have been able to make it here alive. Now, Mr. Halle, the others, and I are going back to Tindus Castle. Sean, if you don''t have anywhere to go, you can come with us."


    Tindus Castle?


    Some information about the territory appeared in Sean''s mind. He remembered that the territory was not a safe place. Back when he was in the game, Marquis Perot, the lord of Tindus Domain, was a very cheerful old man. The territory had been very prosperous under his management. However, the territory and the marquis title were later taken over by his younger brother, Count Mario. All the members of Marquis Perot''s family were pretty much dead.


    Of course, the king of Portoroa Kingdom had sent people to investigate the matter, but Count Mario''s methods were so clean that not a single shred of evidence could be found. If it had not been for a large number of players that joined Count Mario''s camp, who later posted about the matter to a forum, no one would have known about it.


    After Sean remembered all of this, he looked at Drouin and Halle with a little sadness. He had realized something important about Drouin''s identity.


    According to the plot in the game, Marquis Perot''s son was killed by a group of mountain bandits on his way home from a business trip with people of Arctic Silver. Because of this, Marquis Perot had suffered a massive blow and later died from the Fire Dragon Poison. As a player, Sean knew very well that it was Count Mario who had deliberately made the effect of Fire Dragon Poison break out inside Marquis Perot''s body. Otherwise, he would have been able to live for at least another four to five years. When Marquis Perot died, the leader of the Tindus Domain changed.


    Currently, Drouin and Halle were living quite well, which was different from the plot development in the game. That meant that something had already changed with his involvement.


    Sean could not help but wonder if he had somehow created a storm there. In the game, he had never heard of anyone who received the task to escort Drouin back to his kingdom.


    Thoughts flashed through Sean''s mind.


    Sean seemed to have decided. "Ice Heart Grass alone cannot cure the Fire Dragon Poison."


    Drouin had invited Sean to go back to Tindus Castle with him, but Sean had unexpectedly said something else. The others could not quite understand what it meant, but the colors on Halle and Drouin''s faces changed.


    "You..." After they came out of the forest, Drouin''s face had once again shown the arrogance of an aristocrat, but now, it had turned into a panicked expression. He subconsciously pressed his hands against his belly. "How do you know?...No, who are you?!"


    No one knew how to react, as they did not know what was going on. Everyone remembered that while they were in the Starfall Forest, no matter what kind of situation they were in, Drouin had always covered his stomach. During those times, everyone thought that it was because Drouin had never experienced that kind of suffering as he was an aristocrat, so he had felt some physical discomfort. But now, they all realized that it was not the case.


    "Ice Heart Grass can cure the Fire Dragon Poison. However, it only works during the early stages." Sean did not answer Drouin''s question, as he said to himself, "But the Fire Dragon Poison inside Marquis Perot has already gone a lot deeper, so the Ice Heart Grass alone is useless. It can only temporarily contain the Fire Dragon Poison."


    Hearing Sean say the words so calmly, Drouin began to panic inside. The Ice Heart Grass he had spent so many years looking for was no longer useful. It made him feel extremely disappointed. It was as if all these years of hard work had been rejected. However, Drouin was a very determined person. When he heard Sean say the words so lightly, a kind of hope had emerged in his heart.


    In an instant, Drouin''s attitude changed drastically as he said respectfully, "Mr. Sean, please tell me what I should do."


    "If you can collect the Snow Liquid, Condensed Ice Potion, and a rank-five Water-based Core Crystal, then you should go find the great alchemist Froy in the Northern Solitary Tower. Ask him to refine a bottle of Ice Crystal Dragon Breath Potion for you." Sean then casually said, "By the way, these three items are the main ingredients for the Ice Crystal Dragon Breath Potion. It shouldn''t be a problem for you to collect other materials. You can even buy them at the Northern Solitary Tower. Out of the three ingredients, the real problem will be the Snow Liquid. As for the other two ingredients, it is possible to buy them with your financial resources or Mr. Halle''s status as an Arctic Silver merchant."


    The Ice Crystal Dragon Breath Potion was an extremely advanced alchemy potion. Its effect however was not used for healing and protection. Instead, it was used for attacking and destruction. A standard amount of potion could temporarily enchant 100 weapons, and the effect of the enchantment was very powerful. It added 50 points of ice-based damage, which made it the strongest enchantment potion. If it were directly used, then even people with a rank-six class would not be able to resist it. They would instantly freeze into an ice sculpture.


    "But this potion..." Drouin had heard of the potion before, and the expression on his face had become a little strange.


    "If you directly feed your father a bottle, then he will die." Sean shrugged and said bluntly, "One bottle can be divided into 100 drops. Each drop can be further diluted into 100 portions. Just take one portion before each meal every day. It is fine for him to take less, but he definitely can''t drink more. If he takes a lesser amount, then it will only prolong the effectiveness of the treatment. But if he takes more than the required amount, then it will kill him."


    "How do you know all this?" Drouin had a strange look on his face.


    Sean smiled but did not intend to answer the question. How could Sean tell him that it was something a player had invented back in the game and that it was a special method for treating the Fire Dragon Poison that was inside the NPCs? Would Drouin and the others even know what an NPC was?


    Seeing that Sean was not going to answer his question, Drouin could not help but remember the first time he had met Sean. Back then, nature and etiquette displayed by Sean had been above Drouin. Later, the commanding ability and aura displayed by Sean inside the Starfall Forest was something beyond Drouin''s reach. All of it indicated the extraordinary characteristics of the person in front of him.


    Remembering those things, coupled with the fact Cecilia''s aristocratic background had always been very evident, Drouin seemed to guess a bit of Sean''s identity. As expected of a young man, his mind was not calm enough. There were a lot of clues during their journey that Sean probably did not know he had given.


    "Since Mr. Sean doesn''t want to say it, then I won''t ask." Drouin was now more polite towards Sean. "I wonder if Mr. Sean would like to come to Tindus Castle with us?"


    "I won''t be going to Tindus Castle. Cecilia and I still have some things we need to take care of," Sean smiled and refused. "Also, we won''t be staying in the Portoroa Kingdom for too long. I''m afraid we will be leaving soon. Mr. Halle, don''t forget those 10,000 continental gold coins."


    "Of course, I certainly won''t forget." When Halle saw that Drouin had become so polite towards Sean, coupled with Sean''s performance during their entire journey, he naturally had to be a little more polite as well.


    "That''s right." Sean suddenly thought of something and said, "Mr. Drouin, remember to be careful around your uncle. Also, Mr. Halle, don''t expect anything from your merchant group anymore."


    After he spoke, both Halle and Drouin were shocked. Expressions of disbelief were displayed on their faces.


    There was no way Sean would stay and continue to say anything else to them. Since he had done something of his free will once already and changed the course of things a little bit, it was better to change the plot entirely. However, that was all he would do, as he did not want to become deeply involved in those matters. He rarely came to the Portoroa Kingdom, so he still had a lot of things to take care of.


    The first and most important task was to turn Cecilia into an official magician!

 Chapter 24：Stupid Excess Speed

    The Portoroa Kingdom was created because of a bet between two brothers.


    The older brother was supposed to inherit the throne of an empire. However, he was defeated in a magic contest against his younger brother. According to the bet, only the winner could become the king of the empire. Therefore, the person who inherited the throne was the younger brother, while the older brother became a Grand Duke.


    Originally, the story should have developed into an ending like the ones people wanted to hear, where the older brother took revenge and killed his younger brother so he could take over as the king of the empire. However, the story ended up being completely different.


    Through extraordinary methods, the older brother developed the country and made it extremely powerful. Then, he seized several of the neighboring countries and combined them to officially create a kingdom. At that moment, the younger brother finally realized that he was only able to win the magic contest because his older brother had held back his strength. The older brother was worried that his spoiled younger brother would not be able to become accustomed to life outside the palace, and therefore he had given up his throne to the younger brother.


    After finding out the truth, the younger brother wanted to return the throne to his older brother, but the other brother refused. After a dispute, the younger brother continued to be king of the empire, while the older brother became the king of a kingdom. After that, the two brothers signed many development treaties for their descendants together.


    The empire was now one of the most powerful empires on the Miracle Continent and was also known for its magical powers. It was called the Magi Empire.


    "So now you know the origin of the Portoroa Kingdom," Cecilia told Sean the story of this magic kingdom like she was presenting him with a treasure. She had a look of smugness and satisfaction on her face.


    Even if a player, especially an experienced player, did not know much about the background information of various kingdoms, they had to at least know a little bit of the information. There were often many things related to a lot of hidden quests and relics in the information. Therefore, Sean knew the history of the Portoroa Kingdom. He was even more clear on the various territories of the kingdom than the members of the royal family. However, looking at Cecilia''s smile, he pretended to know nothing to make her happy.


    Although the Tindus Domain, which was ruled by Marquis Perot De Royce, could be regarded as a very prosperous domain in the Portoroa Kingdom, the Royce family was not ancient. It was just that after experiencing the development of several generations, they managed to gain the title of Marquis. However, even with the title of Marquis, their domain was still a lot smaller than that of a Count family, who required the family to have experienced the development of more than a dozen generations, not to mention the ancient families that had existed since the founding of the kingdom.


    After all, the royal family of the Portoroa Kingdom was supported by the royal family of the Magi Empire, which was why its regime was extremely firm. All civil battles were forbidden within the kingdom. Therefore, to expand a territory, special management methods were required. Of course, the most important thing was that permission from the royal family had to be received. In the Portoroa Kingdom, imperial power was so supreme that a Duke would not dare to go against the royal family, even if their Duke status were to be revoked and their territory reclaimed. It was very different from the Serian Kingdom.


    In the Serian Kingdom, the rule of the royal family had long existed in name only. At best, they could be regarded as a slightly more powerful aristocracy. The relevant affairs of all parts of the kingdom were entirely decided by the powerful rulers of the regions. Even the royal family could not get involved. If viscounts were crowned with the word "strength" in front of their title, then they would have the same status as the royal family. In the Serian Kingdom, without strength, anything they said would just be empty words.


    Players naturally preferred the Serian Kingdom. As long as they were strong enough, they could even become the rulers of a region.


    However, unlike most players, Sean did not have much interest in the Serian Kingdom. If it was not for the fact that the chaotic place had things he could use, he didn''t want to go back there.


    At the moment, Cecilia and Sean were in a small city in the Tindus Domain.


    The small city was called Arthur. It had a population of around 10,000 people. It was much smaller than Anrola, which was another city in the Tindus Domain, in terms of its development, scale, population, and trade flow.


    The two of them were currently wandering around the city leisurely. Cecilia would say a few words about the history and customs of Portoroa Kingdom from time to time. However, most of the time, she was appraising the magic materials that Sean liked. While they wandered around, several profiteers tried to deceive Sean with poor quality materials. However, they all failed in front of Cecilia''s "Golden Fiery Eyes." At first, the profiteers tried to bully Cecilia for being an apprentice magician, thinking that she didn''t have enough knowledge. However, after Cecilia said just a few simple words about the properties and qualities of the materials, the profiteers were all left disappointed.


    Even though it was true that Cecilia was an apprentice magician, she was not an ordinary apprentice magician. Not even ordinary magicians were able to compete with her in terms of theoretical knowledge or knowledge related to magic. Also, with the Blood Striped Hexagon Ring she now possessed, Cecilia''s wisdom and will attributes had risen to an astonishing 33 and 35 points, respectively. She was not inferior to those official magicians who were at their peak. Even her ability to memorize had increased by a lot as well.


    Sean had read the huge magician''s book that Cecilia cherished. It contained a lot of information regarding magicians, as well as information on a variety of materials. It included medicinal properties, their place of growth and growth cycle, and where they could be used. All of the materials were described in detail. Cecilia used to remember only half of the information. But now, after her wisdom attribute had risen, she was able to memorize another third of the information in only a few days. That had even surprised Cecilia herself.


    The improvement of a person''s personal attributes was more than just attributes when you analyzed their performance in the real world.


    "Why not go to Anrola?" After wandering around for most of the day, they had gained nothing. Cecilia was also a little tired. "The Black Cat Business Guild has opened a branch there. If we are looking for magic materials, then wouldn''t it be more convenient for us to look there instead?"


    Sometimes, mindless words said by a person could be taken seriously by someone else.


    No sooner had Sean spoken those words, a young person around 27 or 28 years old suddenly spoke with a cold and hostile tone, "Oh? I wonder what kind of precious materials you are talking about that even the Black Cat Business Guild might not have."


    "There are many." Sean slightly smiled. It was as if he had not heard the cold and hostile tone from that youngster. "For example, the Flower of Darrow Morgan, the Seven-colored Gem Leaf, Pure White Ice Bone¡­"


    Every time Sean mentioned a name, the youngster''s face became darker. After only mentioning four to five materials, the color on the youngster''s face became like the bottom of a pot. However, the Black Cat Business Guild indeed did not have the materials Sean said. Therefore, the youngster couldn''t rebuke Sean. Instead, the youngster hummed coldly. "Even if the Black Cat Business Guild had these things, you wouldn''t be able to afford them."


    "That is correct." Sean nodded and did not continue to argue. Sean''s attitude had stunned the youngster for a moment. "However, there is one thing that even an apprentice magician can afford, but the Black Cat Business Guild does not have it."


    "Oh? I am curious now." The youngster''s eyebrows were raised.


    Sean grinned, making him look strangely bright. "What does your curiosity have to do with me?"


    "You..." The youngster had not expected that Sean would say something like that, and the expression on the youngster''s face became a little bit angry.


    "Cecilia, let''s go." Sean glanced at the youngster, and the smile remained on his face. He did not look at the youngster again. Instead, he took Cecilia out of the magic materials store and headed for the room he had rented at an inn.


    Arthur City was very small and thus had a relatively small area. Walking around for almost a whole day was enough for Cecilia and Sean to have seen everything. However, it was not exactly true that they had gained nothing on this trip. In reality, like Sean had said, compared to the Serian Kingdom, it was much cheaper to buy materials in the Portoroa Kingdom, especially magic materials. Therefore, Sean had bought a few different types of magic materials when they had been wandering around earlier.


    It was just that the materials were not the commonly used magic materials that Cecilia had imagined. Instead, they were magic materials that only a few people would use. Therefore, their prices were so low that they were at the same price as ordinary herbs. One silver coin could buy a bunch of materials. Cecilia could not figure out what Sean was going to use the materials for. She was especially confused because some of them did not go well together either, but since it was Sean who had bought them, that was enough to arouse Cecilia''s curiosity


    However, there was something else that interested Cecilia even more.


    Sitting on the bed inside a room at the inn, Cecilia took off her boots and asked, "Why did you argue with that youngster today? That wasn''t like you at all."


    Sean was taking out all the materials he had bought, laying them out on the table. He was thinking about how he could strengthen his combat power. If he had not found out about this world''s skill system when he was in the Starfall Forest, then he would have continued down his path as a warrior until the end. But now that he had found out about the system, he could not help but hesitate on whether he should continue down the path of a swordsman or not. After all, the feelings that the Mysterious Sword Skill gave him were too amazing.


    Therefore, when Sean heard Cecilia''s words, he replied a bit absentmindedly, "Because that person is a Moving Trigger Point."


    "Moving Trigger Point?" Cecilia had a confused expression. "What is that?"


    Hearing Cecilia''s confused tone, Sean was startled and immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing.


    A Moving Trigger Point was what the players used to call the ways certain quests were picked up in the game. The triggers of the quests were not obtained in the normal way. Instead, they were gained from a few NPCs. The NPCs would not stay in one place, but they would move around randomly, so they were called Moving Trigger Points. However, it was not difficult to find the NPC quests. What was difficult was figuring out how to receive these quests or how to get the quest rewards.


    There were a total of four Moving Trigger Points in the Tindus Domain. The quests were unique, and once players received them, no other players would be able to receive the same quests from the NPCs until someone had failed them.


    But now, no one would fight over the quests with Sean, so he had plenty of time to slowly select them.


    Arthur City, which was a Moving Trigger Point, had the best quest reward among the four quests. It was also closely related to Cecilia''s new profession as a magician.


    Sean realized that he had said the wrong thing. When he looked at Cecilia, he saw that her eyes were filled with curiosity, so he had no choice but to answer her question. He thought for a moment, and then said three words, "Stupid Excess Speed."


    "Stupid Excess Speed?" When Cecilia spoke these three words, the expression on her face became even more confused.


    "That''s right, he is called a Stupid Excess Speed." Sean thought for a moment. Most of the Moving Trigger Points were all pretty stupid. They would give the quests to anyone who met their conditions, and the quest rewards were usually pretty good. That was why they had attracted many people who desperately looked for them. Thus, the three words suited them well. "It means that the person is stupid and has a lot of money, so quickly go and harass him."


    With a ''pfft'' sound, Cecilia laughed happily. "Then how are you going to harass him?"

 Chapter 25：Strengthening Equipment (1)

    How would Sean go harass him?


    Cecilia had asked a very good question. However, Sean had only casually said it. He was not going to go harass the youngster unless Sean was not planning on obtaining the quest. He knew that the method he was using to receive the quest was strange. He had used those specific words with the youngster to get acquainted with him. What Sean did next would determine whether he would be able to get the quest or not.


    But right now, Sean had something more important that he needed to deal with.


    He opened his personal tab and selected the skills panel. He skipped across the combat skills that were at the top of the list and focused on the life skills bar.


    Sean''s original profession in the game had been a blacksmith. Most of the players who were warrior class chose that profession. The repair costs for their equipment after they were used in a fierce battle were pretty high. If Sean was a blacksmith, he only needed to use a few raw materials to repair the equipment. There were also other benefits of being a blacksmith. As long as his proficiency of life skills was increased, he could even forge legendary equipment.


    However, the legendary equipment would be, at most, low-level equipment.


    Back in the game, equipment that was casting, magical, or legendary levels had a detailed distinction between them. Casting equipment could be divided into common, elite, and top quality. Magical equipment could be divided into bronze, silver, and gold. Legendary equipment could be divided into three levels of legendary, epic, and mythical. However, legendary equipment that was at the epic level or above was not something players could build. Even equipment at the legendary level was not easy to forge.


    Under normal circumstances, equipment at the gold level was the highest level that players were able to reach.


    When Sean was a commander in the game, he had many priority rights. Therefore, he did not leave behind his life profession as a blacksmith. The purpose of opening the skills tab of his life profession right now was to activate the life skills that were on it.


    Although his life profession was not as rich as a combat profession, it had its own set of skills. It was impossible to casually melt the mineral and pour it into the grinding tool, and then casually hammer it. The basic procedure included the five steps of smelting, purifying, hammering, hardening, and cooling. Of course, it was okay to not learn the steps of the basic procedure, but it meant that the players had to use their intuition when they were forging, as they would not be able to receive any hints and assistance from the system. However, if the players learned the five skills, then a spectrum bar would appear when they were forging. The players could refer to the spectrum bar to help them operate so that they could achieve perfect forging.


    They were just basic skills. There were still many other related skills.


    After he thought about it for a moment, Sean decided to consume five experience points to activate all five skills.


    After he had changed his profession to a warrior when he was inside the Starfall Forest, he had raised the level of his profession to rank five by killing the demonic corpses. He also received 10 experience points. Together with the extra three experience points he had not used in the earlier ranks, he had a total of 13 experience points. But now, after consuming five experience points, he was left with eight.


    But the steps were only part of the basic procedure. There was a lot more that he wanted to get done.


    Sean soon assigned his experience points to his life skills again. He activated four necessary skills for forging a piece of magical equipment. The skills were [Magical Knowledge (Bronze)], [Magical Casting (Bronze)], [Equipment''s Magic Infusion (Bronze)], and [Compound Magic Knowledge (Bronze)]. Because of that, all of Sean''s experience points had been consumed.


    [Magical Knowledge (Bronze): The relevant knowledge that must be mastered when casting magical equipment (bronze). Blacksmith/casting, level 3/5, experience level 0%.]


    [Magical Casting (Bronze): It is possible to cast magical equipment (bronze) with a weak effect. Blacksmith/casting, level 2/5, experience level 0%. Limit: To master this skill, level 1 ''magical knowledge (bronze)'' must be learned first. To increase the level of this skill, level 3 ''magical knowledge (bronze)'' is required. At the next level, it is possible to cast magical equipment (bronze) with medium effect.]


    [Equipment''s Magic Infusion (Bronze): It is possible to condense magic into the magical equipment (bronze). At most, the level of the equipment can be increased to magical equipment (bronze) with a weak effect. Blacksmith/casting, level 2/5, experience level 0%. Limit: To master this skill, level 2 ''magical knowledge (bronze)'' must be learned first. To increase the level of this skill, level 3 ''magical casting (bronze)'' must be learned.]


    [Compound Magic Knowledge (Bronze): This allows two elemental powers to be infused into the magical equipment (bronze). Blacksmith/casting, level 1/5, experience level 0%. Limit: To master this skill, level 3 ''magical knowledge (bronze)'' must be learned first. To increase the level of this skill, level 2 ''equipment''s magic infusion (bronze)'' is required.]


    After activating all the relevant skills, Sean packed away the materials on the table that he was going to use. Then, he told Cecilia not to run around before leaving the inn.


    Although the Charles'' Sword was a magical weapon, it only had a little magical effect. Therefore, it did not meet Sean''s requirements. He had collected a lot of materials in the Starfall Forest. Coupled with the materials he had just bought in Arthur City, he wanted to use them to strengthen the Charles'' Sword so that it would have a weak magical effect. If it had not been for the fact that Sean had insufficient experience points, then he would have even increased the points for these life skills even higher so that he could have directly strengthened the weapon to make it have a medium magical effect.


    He had already thought about how to strengthen the weapon.


    Sean carried a backpack full of materials while walking through the streets of Arthur City. He was not aimlessly wandering around. Instead, he was heading towards a blacksmith shop near the southern side of the city.


    The blacksmith shop had a long history and was considered very well-known throughout the Portoroa Kingdom. The main product sold there was elite grade equipment. Occasionally, the shop would also sell top-quality grade equipment. When Sean was in the game, the shop was the most advanced blacksmith shop that players in the Portoroa Kingdom had access to during the early stages of the game.


    The top-quality grade equipment Drouin had on him was from that blacksmith shop.


    However, Sean went to that blacksmith shop because it was the only blacksmith shop that had facilities such as renting furnaces. Also, the old shopkeeper had the habit of taking apprentices and processing craftworks, so he had a more private room behind the blacksmith shop.


    Having been in this world for more than a month, Sean had gradually found out a few things related to the world within the game.


    In the game, players knew that forging magical equipment was not a big deal and the NPCs could not do anything to the players. However now, it was the real world, so the situations were different. Sean only had a piece of bronze-level magical equipment with little effect. No one would suspect anything, as people could buy them at the auction house of business guilds if they had enough money. If anyone knew that Sean was able to forge a piece of magical equipment, even just a piece of bronze-level magical equipment with little effect, he would be "invited'''' away by people very quickly.


    As a result, Sean did not dare to strengthen the equipment so blatantly in front of the public.


    He paid a silver coin to the old shopkeeper, which gave him the right to use the old shopkeeper''s private room for the next 24 hours. Of course, Sean also received a leather scabbard given to him by the old shopkeeper. The bronze-level magical weapon with little effect did not arouse the interest of the old shopkeeper. It was not that expensive to receive the right to use the private room. The old shopkeeper just thought of Sean as an aristocrat who wanted to try and learn the skills of a blacksmith.


    ....


    The room was fully equipped with everything, from furnaces and anvils to grindstones and water troughs. There were even many different types of hammers and grinding tools. It could be seen that this blacksmith shop was indeed an established shop deserving of its reputation.


    Without the slightest delay or hesitation, Sean quickly poured out all the materials in his package. Not even the slightest confusion could be seen in his movements. He carefully sorted all the materials with a serious expression. Then, he took out more than a dozen black stones that were the size of an average adult''s fist. The stones were very round and smooth. If people were not familiar with the blacksmith profession, then they would not be able to tell that the stones were ores.


    Tempered Magic Iron Ore.


    It was a very common and cheap special ore. Its melting point was relatively high, so it usually took more than 10 hours to melt. However, once it was cooled down, it would become extremely firm. Most people would add some Tempered Magic Iron Ore to their equipment to strengthen its defense.


    However, Sean needed a different feature of the ore.


    Magical appropriateness.


    Sean threw all the pieces of ore into an iron bucket, and took out a bottle of Burning Elixir and poured it into the bucket on top of the ore. He tossed a small Crushed Fire Stone in as well. Suddenly, flames erupted from within the bucket. Sean used the machine to move the bucket to the top of the furnace and began the smelting process.


    The biggest feature as a player was that they liked to curry favor with people in positions of authority for their own gain. Under normal circumstances, if Sean wanted to upgrade the Charles'' Sword, it would have taken him at least a few days. However, with his current method, it would only take him one hour to melt the Tempered Magic Iron Ore down.


    Sean did not waste the next hour.


    He picked up the Scented Wind Flowers on the table and ground them into powder. He had collected them within the Starfall Forest. He took out a green fruit and squeezed the juice out of it. He poured the juice into the powder and stirred until the light green liquid thickened. A fresh coolness was emitted from the sticky liquid. There was also a very light sweetness, which seemed to be the scent of the fruit. If Cecilia had been there, she would have felt a rich wind element from the sticky liquid.


    Sean smeared the sticky liquid evenly onto the Charles'' Sword. For a moment, the light blue fluorescent light that was emitted from the sword became stronger. A few small dots shone vaguely from within the light.


    However, that was not the end. Sean soon took out another bottle that held a light yellow liquid. It was an alchemy elixir extracted by a great alchemist.


    Rock Elixir.


    Rock Elixir was a special elixir that could harden the skin and improve its physical resistance. The price of the elixir was very high.


    In the world of elements, the wind element had always restrained the earth element, however, the restraints were not absolute. Many compound types of magic had the elemental power of absolute mutual restraint. Only magicians who had mastered the compound magic knowledge would be able to display that type of compound magic. What Sean had to do now was to pour the elixir onto the Charles'' Sword. That was why Sean had activated the [Compound Magic Knowledge (Bronze)] skill. If the skill had not been activated, then his method would have destroyed the weapon. However, even with the skill activated, it did not mean he would succeed.


    It was part of the procedure. It was also one of the two steps that had the biggest risks. He had to go through the step for him to strengthen the magical equipment. It was unavoidable.

 Chapter 26：Strengthened Equipment (2)

    Inside the grinding tool of the long sword sat a sword''s blade without its handle. The sword''s blade was covered in a very light green colored thin layer of material that looked like a tree resin. It perfectly wrapped around the entire body of the sword, emitting a light blue brilliance. It also had stars that shone vaguely in the glow.


    Sean had removed the hilt and the edge of the Charles'' Sword, leaving only its body.


    Sean carefully cut an opening on the thin layer of material and slowly poured the Rock Elixir into the opening. Suddenly, the light green layer seemed to have been stirred by something, and bumps appeared all over the thin layer that was stuck to the body of the sword. It was as if the layer was about the burst. If ordinary people had seen the scene, they would have stopped pouring. However, Sean did not stop. On the contrary, he began to pour the liquid in a lot faster.


    Sean could see that a spectrum map had appeared on the sword. It was green on the left side and yellow on the right side. There was also a red pointer on the white section in the middle of the spectrum map. If the spectrum map was divided into 10 parts, then the leftmost two parts were green and the rightmost two parts were yellow. The middle 5 parts were white, and the rest of the spectrum map was black. It was symmetrical, other than the fact that the outside stripes were yellow and green.


    If the strengthened magic could keep the pointer on the white area in the middle, then it was possible to successfully maintain the strengthened effect. But if the pointer was moved to the far left or the far right, then it meant that the compound failure could only retain one of the effects. If the pointer moved to the black area, then it meant that the strengthened effect had failed.


    Therefore, even if the thin layer of material on the body of the sword fluctuated weirdly, Sean did not need to pay any attention to it, as long as the pointer did not deviate.


    Sean''s hands were very stable. They did not tremble at all. The yellowish liquid that was poured out of the bottle had reached a surprising degree. The liquid became a long light yellow thread. It looked vaguely like a silk thread, delicate and fine. All the liquid had flowed through that opening on the thin material without any splashes. Interestingly, the thread did not become thicker or thinner because of the gradual decrease of the liquid from the bottle.


    Sean had been keeping an eye on the changes in the spectrum map. Although he had not forged a piece of equipment in a long time, the basic steps had become instinctual for Sean, and he could act without thinking too much about it. All he had to do was to recall a little bit of what to do and then he could clearly remember everything.


    Soon, all the liquid was poured out from the bottle. Not a single drop was left.


    Sean glanced at the spectrum map and saw that the pointer was still in the white section. After rubbing his sore right shoulder, he could not help but laugh. Back then in the game, when he tried the Strengthening of Six Elemental Compounds for the first time, it had been a lot more difficult. Additionally, he had never been as nervous as now either.


    He shook his head to get rid of the tiredness. Sean knew that the color of his face was very pale without having to look in the mirror. There was no difference between using life skills and combat skills. Of course, as a blacksmith, energy and physical strength was consumed. If a person did not have enough energy and physical strength, then it would be impossible to use all the life skills. In other words, it would have been impossible to see the spectrum map, and it would have even had an impact on other aspects to a certain extent.


    Sean glanced at the other side of the furnace. The roaring flame in the iron bucket was not very small. He operated the mechanical arm to move the bucket in front of him. Sean looked and noticed that the ore inside had been melted into liquid iron. However, the effect of the Burning Elixir was still in play. It was not a hindrance to strengthening the weapon, so he took out another bottle of alchemy elixir with a dark blue liquid inside. When he opened the bottle, light fog emerged.


    Fire Extinguishing Elixir.


    It was a very strange alchemy potion. Its only function was to make the effect of the Burning Elixir disappear. It was not able to even put out ordinary flames.


    Originally, after this step, purification could be carried out. The blacksmith shop had the necessary purification tools to carry out that step. However, it was a very physical and time-consuming task. Sean would not do such a thing right now since he was exhausted from before. He took out another elixir that he had already prepared and poured it into a slightly smaller iron bucket. Soon, a layer of clear and transparent liquid formed inside the bucket.


    The purification elixir was one of the most commonly used alchemy potions by blacksmiths. It was a bit expensive, so it was often avoided if it was not needed. Normally, such a luxurious thing would not be used when forging a piece of ordinary equipment. It would only be used to speed up the forging process of magical equipment. If Sean was not in a hurry, then he would not have used a purification potion, as it was an expensive potion that had cost one gold coin!


    When the flame of the Burning Elixir in the iron bucket was completely extinguished, Sean poured all the liquid iron that was inside the bucket into the smaller iron bucket that was filled with a layer of purification elixir. The color of the originally yellow liquid iron turned lighter the moment it entered the bucket. However, it seemed to have become more solid, and the layer of purification elixir, which was originally very thin, became a few centimeters thicker. Also, many tiny black particles formed, and the colors were now even more mixed.


    Sean reached out and took out the layer of spotted liquid. He then threw it into the furnace to burn. He did not want to leave any evidence in the room. Afterward, he reached out once again to smooth the cracks on the body of the sword. Its appearance was no longer visible within the light green thin layer of material, as only something light yellow was visible. Using the mechanical arm, Sean repeated his actions when he poured the Rock Elixir by cautiously and carefully pouring all the purified liquid iron into the grinding tool of the sword''s body so that the liquid iron and the thin layer of material could be completely integrated.


    The spectrum map that appeared in front of Sean was no longer green and yellow. It was still shaped like a ruler but the ends were blue and the middle was red. The originally white area in the middle became green. There was no fourth color. Currently, the pointer on the spectrum map was floating in the red area, and getting closer to the middle. Whenever the pointer was about to reach the middle of the red area, Sean stopped working and waited until the pointer went back down a little bit before continuing to pour the liquid iron into the grinding tool.


    Within the spectrum map, red represented high temperature, blue represented low temperature, and green represented perfection. When the liquid iron was poured out, there would be a countdown. That step could be omitted and ignored when forging casting weapons. However, that was not the case when forging magical equipment. The pointer had to be lowered to the green area before the countdown ended. Otherwise, two possible situations could arise from having the pointer in the wrong area.


    If the pointer stopped in the red area, it would affect the performance of the weapon. In the game, some players had forged strengthened silver weapons with attributes that were worse than a bronze weapon of medium effect. If the cooling period went too far and the pointer ended up in the blue area, then the durability and quality of the weapon would be greatly reduced. That would result in the weapon becoming more fragile. It was even possible for the weapon to break if it encountered weapons of better quality.


    Although those failures were the ones that occurred in the game, Sean did not want to test what the result would be in the real world.


    Sean glanced at the countdown, and then gently took out the Cooling Spray Elixir he had prepared a long time ago and began to spray at the liquid iron inside the grinding tool. Using this spray required a lot of skill. Over time, the pointer on the spectrum map would gradually drop. If the Cooling Spray Elixir was used too early, then once the countdown ended, the pointer would fall near the blue area. It would have an impact on the equipment, though Sean was not sure what it would be specifically.


    That step was the second of the two risks that had to be faced when forging a piece of magical equipment. The more advanced the magical equipment was, the smaller the green area would be. The green area of gold-level magical equipment with a special effect was a small line of less than one millimeter across. That meant that forging fancy equipment required an extremely accurate judgment and mastery before it was possible to achieve a degree of perfection. When Sean was in the game, he had forged a few pieces of gold-level magical equipment with special effects. However, only one of them had reached the standard of perfection.


    Of course, if it had only been that step, then it would not have been difficult for Sean, as he could have easily judged where the pointer would have fallen and used the Cooling Spray Elixir to let it stay within the green area.


    The two most dangerous stages for many people were nothing to Sean. At the very least, nothing would trouble Sean before unless the weapon was at a gold level.


    He turned the grinding tool over, poured out the long sword inside, then clamped it with the pliers. He picked up a medium-sized hammer and brought it down hard against the body of the sword.


    Ding!


    The hammer fell at the top of the sword''s body. A light green halo was emitted from the place the hammer fell. A rich wind-based and earth-based force instantly spread in the air. The place where the hammer fell was a lot flatter, as was expected.


    After that, there was a series of hammering sounds. Sean had used the medium-sized hammer to hit the entire body of the sword. He hammered exactly 18 times, exactly in the 18 green spots marked by the spectrum map. Every hit turned the green spots red. After 18 hits, the spectrum map on the sword had completely turned red. There were no other colors.


    After that step, the strengthening of the Charles'' Sword was pretty much completed. Sean clamped the sword''s body with pliers and placed it in the water trough. A layer of white fog suddenly spewed out. Then, the elemental force that was in the air began to crazily pour into the sword''s body, as if it had been attracted by something. After a few seconds, the elemental force that once remained in the room had disappeared without a trace.


    Because the purification elixir was used, the sword no longer had to be repetitively hammered and hardened to remove the impurities. It could be regarded as having been forged in one session. After that step was completed, Sean reinserted the hilt and the edge back onto the sword. The long sword once again emitted a blue brilliance, but this time, it was more dazzling. It even had a bit of green and yellow within the brilliance.


    [Charles'' Sword (sealed), magical with weak effect (bronze). Hardness? Sharpness? Impale?]


    [Material Description: This is the sword given to General Charles by King Erdos III of the Serian Kingdom on the eve of the Northern Battle. The sword has followed General Charles his entire life and was once regarded as a symbol of honor for General Charles'' family. However, it was later lost because of an internal fight between General Charles'' family members over who had the right to inherit this sword. Now, even if you are lucky to have this sword, it no longer had the same reputation as before, as it had lost a lot of its magical powers.]


    "Now, I just have to sharpen its edges and the data will be displayed." Sean held the sword in his hand. It seemed to have gained a little bit of weight. Sean was suddenly looking forward to seeing the data because it was his first attempt at forging since he had arrived in that world. From the results thus far, it seemed to have worked out well.


    With that in mind, Sean walked to the only sharpening tool in the smelting room. He could not wait to see how the attributes of the weapon would turn out.

 Chapter 27：The Script Is Wrong

    Sharpening was the final step in creating a weapon. The step was somewhat important for a forged weapon, because in the end, whether a weapon was sharp or not often depended on that step. However, for a magical weapon, the step was not very important. The two most critical steps had already been completed during the condensing magic process and the enhancing process. The remaining sharpening of the weapon was just to follow the procedure.


    The step did not waste too much of Sean''s time, however, he was still as careful as ever when completing the step.


    It was unknown how long had passed, as the sounds of sharpening the weapon in the smelting room finally stopped, leaving behind a sudden silence.


    As soon as Sean swung the sword, a layer of dust swept off from the body of the sword, revealing its smoothness and shine. The brilliance originally emitted from the sword was now slightly restrained, as it was not as intimidating as before. There was a vague flicker of a light green brilliance on the body of the sword and a layer of light yellow light on both edges of the sword. However, the change was very difficult to see without closely observing the sword.


    Sean weighed the sword in his hand. He was very satisfied with its weight. It seemed that adding a whole bottle of Rock Elixir to increase the sword''s weight and firmness had not been in vain, and the sword felt pretty good when Sean held it in his hand. Although the previous Charles'' Sword was sharp enough, it had also been much lighter. Originally, the sword did not feel like much when Sean held it in his hand. However, after the Mysterious Sword Skill was activated, the sword started to feel a bit uncomfortable. It was not a convenient hand-held weapon.


    But now, the Charles'' Sword had become an actual hand-held weapon.


    Sean''s eyes could not help but focus on the long sword in his hand.


    [Charles'' Sword, weak magical effect (bronze). Hardness 20, sharpness 15, impale 10, strength +6, agility +6, endurance +3. Equipment requirements: Strength 16, endurance 16, agility 14.]


    [Material Description: This is the sword that was given to General Charles by King Erdos III of the Serian Kingdom on the eve of the Northern Battle. The sword has followed General Charles his entire life and was once regarded as a symbol of honor for General Charles'' family. However, it was later lost because of an internal fight between General Charles'' family members over who had the right to inherit the sword. Now, even if you are lucky to have the sword, it no longer has the same reputation as before, as it has lost too much of its magical powers.]


    The power of damage from the impale attribute had not increased. Sean had expected that a long time ago. After all, the materials he chose before for the strengthening of his equipment did not increase the effect either. The slight improvement in the sword''s sharpness attribute was because he had resharpened the weapon. Essentially, he had only used magic that would be suitable from the Tempered Magic Iron Ore to integrate the effects of the Scented Wind Grass, Rock Elixir, and Green Leaf Fruit. He had used the combined effects of the three materials but the quality of materials originally in the Charles'' Sword had not changed at all.


    Of course, the improvements in the hardness and endurance attributes were naturally due to the effect of the Rock Elixir. The increase in agility was due to the Scented Wind Grass Sean that he had used. Sean had expected the increase of the attributes a long time ago because it was a special skill a player had if they were a blacksmith. Through selecting the right materials, it was possible to forge magical equipment that met the player''s needs.


    What surprised Sean was the improvements in the strength attribute. Among the various materials he had used earlier to condense magic, there was nothing used that was able to improve the strength attribute.


    However, the result was not necessarily a bad thing.


    Sean smiled slightly. Even he could no longer feel discontent or pick out any flaws with the improvements of the attributes displayed in front of him. The attributes had reached their most perfect level. A bronze-level piece of magical equipment with a weak effect could have 15 attribute points at most. Now, the strength, agility, and endurance attributes of the Charles'' Sword added up to exactly 15 points. They were also the attributes that were the most advantageous for Sean, so how could he not be satisfied?


    Sean was completely satisfied! He could not think of anything that he would have preferred to happen.


    He placed the sword back into the leather scabbard given to him by the old shopkeeper. Sean looked around at himself with satisfaction, and then took out some leftover Iron Slag and sprinkled it around the furnace and the grinding tool. He nodded with satisfaction and changed his face so it showed a depressed expression before he pushed open the doors of the room.


    No one knew what Sean had been doing inside the room, but the old shopkeeper was still a little curious. According to the time Sean had spent inside, a few sword models could have been formed. It was impossible to forge an actual weapon within such a short amount of time. Forging a weapon took at least a few days. However, when the old shopkeeper went into the smelting room and saw the residue Sean had left behind, he was no longer interested in Sean''s behavior and concluded that Sean was an ignorant and incompetent aristocratic child.


    Of course, Sean knew exactly what the old shopkeeper was thinking, but he did not care. After all, he wanted to create such a false appearance for others anyways.


    Forging a weapon within a day was impossible. It would be impossible for even an ordinary weapon, and a magical weapon would take much longer. However, no one knew that all Sean had done was to strengthen his weapon.


    When Sean returned to the inn, he was a little surprised.


    The youngster he had met outside the shop that morning had come to find him. The youngster was sitting in the lobby on the first floor of the inn, waiting for Sean. Next to the youngster stood a young man. He stood next to the youngster instead of sitting. It made him look like an escort. After he saw that Sean had returned, he immediately whispered something in the youngster''s ear. Then, the youngster turned towards Sean and smiled kindly.


    "Together?" The youngster asked.


    "Okay." Sean had no objections. Even though he had some doubts in his heart, he did want to receive the quest from the youngster. Therefore, Sean would not refuse the invitation in front of him.


    Sean turned to talk to a servant, who then nodded and left. Sean walked carelessly to the youngster''s table and sat down, then rudely ordered a big meal without the slightest reservation. That surprised the youngster a bit. In the past, when the youngster interacted with other people, no one had ever been as free and easy-going as Sean. They would either be very reserved or polite.


    Not long after Sean sat down, Cecilia came downstairs under the watchful eye of the servant. She glanced curiously at the youngster, but still obediently walked up to Sean and sat down quietly.


    Usually when there were outsiders, Cecilia became very obedient and quiet. Her aristocratic aura also became very apparent. It was partially due to her being shy and thus hiding behind the aristocratic aura. it was also because Sean had stressed in the past that she did not interfere with the things that he wanted to do.


    The way the youngster looked at Cecilia immediately became a little different. The way he looked at her was as if he was looking at someone of equal status. The youngster could not help but think carefully back to the situation earlier in the day. He realized that when he was arguing with Sean in the morning, he had not noticed Cecilia next to Sean. That was not how he usually did things. The way the youngster looked at Sean also changed. He no longer had the arrogance that had been hidden in the depth of his eyes.


    "Have you eaten?" Sean looked at Cecilia and asked with a smile.


    "Not yet." Cecilia shook her head.


    Sean ordered a dinner that suited Cecilia''s tastes, as well as a few side dishes. If it had not been for the fact that the inn was very small and was not good enough, Sean would have listed a menu that only aristocrats would be able to enjoy. Of course, the situation was also restricted only to when other people were treating them to a meal. If Sean were spending his own money, then he and Cecilia''s dinner would have probably simply been a steak and juice.


    However, now that there was the "Stupid Excess Speed," Cecilia definitely would not be polite.


    It seemed that the inn was aware of the different identities of everyone at the table. It seemed that the youngster had already made it clear with the inn. All the food that should have taken more than 10 minutes to be prepared and brought out was delivered only after two or three minutes. It was a habit for aristocrats to talk over a meal, so both Sean and Cecilia knew that the rest of their conversation with the youngster would be about official business.


    "I will introduce myself first." The youngster had instinctively picked up a bottle of wine, but after glancing at Cecilia, he changed it to juice. He poured Sean and Cecilia a glass. "I am Ron, Ron Jerry."


    Once again, there was a golden glow in Sean''s eyes, but Sean did not check the youngster''s data. He knew who the person in front of him was, so it did not matter whether he checked the data or not. Instead, it was the data of the middle-aged man who stood next to the youngster that Sean wanted to see.


    "Cecilia."


    "Sean.


    Both Sean and Cecilia gave their first names only and did not mention their surnames. For Sean, it was because his surname was "Se," while Cecilia had another reason. However, no matter what, Sean and Cecilia''s behavior was worth scorn in Ron''s eyes. If Sean and Cecilia were commoners, then that type of behavior was a sign to the aristocrats that their identity was not worth remembering. However, in Ron''s view, both Sean and Cecilia had an aristocratic status, therefore when Sean and Cecilia only said their first names, Ron felt that they were looking down on him.


    However, Ron was not an ordinary aristocrat. He was young, but that did not represent arrogance. On the contrary, because of his long-term contact with the affairs of his family, Ron appeared to be a bit introverted and shrewd.


    It was as if Ron did not pay attention to Sean and Cecilia''s attitude because he smiled and said, "I am very interested in what Lord Sean said today. What are the materials that can be bought by apprentice magicians, but that the Black Cat Business Guild does not have?"


    Hearing Ron''s words, Sean paused slightly. He was slightly shocked as it was completely different from the direction of the plot that was in the game!


    According to the original plot of the game, Sean had to become familiar with the youngster at least a few more times to gain his trust before getting a chance to mention what they talked about in the morning. Only after that would Sean have a chance to get the quest. But now, the situation was completely the opposite. He had only appeared once in front of Ron, but Ron had come to find him. He had also brought up what happened in the morning. It was different from the way Sean thought things would happen!


    However, Sean quickly suppressed the shock. He intended to get the quest from Ron. It had arrived a lot faster than planned, which was a good thing. "Square Tipped Crystal".


    Ron''s pupils suddenly shrank, and the aura on his entire body changed. His voice became calmer as he said, "Lord, what are your conditions? Please do not hesitate to speak."


    It was Sean''s turn to be stunned. The situation did not seem to be following the right script.

 Chapter 28：Suspicion

    "What do you mean by that Mr. Ron?" Sean stopped eating and looked up at Ron.


    The direction the script was developing towards seemed to be a little different from what Sean had expected.


    "Does Mr. Sean know what the Square Tipped Crystal is?" Ron emitted an aura that was different from an ordinary person. Sean knew that the person in front of him was a normal person with no class and apart from the attributes of wisdom and will, the boy''s other three attributes only had six points. However, he was still shocked by the aura that was being emitted by the young man in front of him.


    The aura came from people who were in a higher position. The aura was sharp but not intimidating, strong but not oppressive.


    "Of course I know what it is," Sean said in a deep voice.


    Not only had he heard about that type of crystal, but he also knew where it was mined, as well as its related data and functions.


    The Square Tipped Crystal was a type of crystal in a square-shaped tower. It was clear and white, about five centimeters tall, and had a very faint silver light.


    The crystal was similar to a Magic Crystal Ore in that they both contained magic. However, the magic contained in the Square Tipped Crystal was so small that it could not be used in magic tools or large magic formations like the magic crystals could. However, the Square Tipped Crystal was much more stable than the magic crystals. It was precisely because of that stability that apprentice magicians could use the Square Tipped Crystal to train their mental strength.


    However, it was only limited to apprentice magicians.


    Once apprentice magicians surpassed the limits of their magic power and mental strength, they would formally become a magician. When that time arrived, the mental stimulation that the Square Tipped Crystal provided would become useless. Also, the Square Tipped Crystal was not as rare or difficult to obtain compared to the Magical Crystal Ore, and it did not need to be processed. Therefore, a Square Tipped Crystal would only cost two Magi Empire silver coins at the Magi Empire''s market.


    According to the Unified Coins Plan launched by the Continental Business Guild in conjunction with other countries, one gold coin could be exchanged for 10 silver coins, while one silver coin could be exchanged for 100 copper coins. Normally, a family of three would spend around five gold coins a month. Of course, the standard would vary according to the environments of each country. However, the difference would not be too big.


    Hence why the burden of two silver coins was not a problem for an apprentice magician.


    That was why Sean had said earlier that even though the Black Cat Business Guild was famous, there were still things they did not sell but an apprentice magician could afford to buy.


    The Black Cat Business Guild was famous for selling magic materials and equipment in the northern part of the Miracle Continent. Not only did they sell a variety of items and goods, the volume and supply of the items and goods were also very stable. However, the Black Cat Business Guild did not sell Square Tipped Crystals. Within the Portoroa Kingdom, there were no Square Tipped Crystal mines. Currently, only the Magi Empire knew about the Square Tipped Crystal mines.


    "Mr. Sean, you are not from the Portoroa Kingdom, are you?" Ron took a sip of the juice, frowned slightly, and then placed it back down.


    When Sean saw Ron''s actions, he also could not help but frown.


    He knew of Ron because when Sean had played the game, he had dealt with Ron many times. Therefore, Sean knew a lot about Ron''s habits. For example, Ron preferred wine over fruit juice. Also, when Ron was extremely confident and felt he had somewhat a good grasp of the situation, he would pick up the glass and take a sip to hide the slight smile that appeared on his face.


    What had made Ron feel so confident?


    Sean found that the plot he was originally very familiar with seemed to be getting more and more out of control. "That is correct."


    "A batch of the Square Tipped Crystals from the Black Cat Business Guild was robbed." Ron put down his glass and said lightly, "It is in the Portoroa Kingdom."


    "You think I did it?" Sean was angry as he had raised his eyebrows.


    "Only a small number of magicians in the Portoroa Kingdom knows about the effects of the Square Tipped Crystal," Ron said in a deep voice. "Also, the batch was not lost at any random place. It just so happens to have been lost near the place where the Tindus Domain and the Zobird Domain intersect. It happened five days ago." Ron deliberately paused for a moment to observe Sean''s reaction. However, he was unfortunately unable to find anything from Sean''s face, so he continued, "Also, it just so happens that on the day the batch was robbed from the Black Cat Business Guild, you showed up at the place closest to where it was robbed. Is it just a coincidence?"


    Sean wanted to curse at Ron. It was just a coincidence! However, Sean noticed that he had no way of explaining it clearly to Ron because it was Sean''s fault for not having a thorough understanding of the information regarding the task. Back in the game, the player who had announced the task on the forum was a resident of the Portoroa Kingdom. Also, the player had received the information about his task from the Black Cat Business Guild. Therefore, Ron was not suspicious of Sean in the game.


    But now, as Sean had not gone through the usual steps that would have triggered the task, it aroused Ron''s suspicion.


    Sean now knew where Ron''s confident aura came from. Ron thought of Sean as the criminal.


    "I had just entered the Portoroa Kingdom five days ago," Sean said faintly. Even though things were a little bit out of his control, Ron did not yet have control of the direction the conversation was progressing towards. "To be more exact, I had only just arrived at Tindus Domain."


    "I have asked the entry division. They did not have any information about you." Ron smiled. His expression showed he had become more confident. "Neither the border or the Tindus Domain have any records of you."


    "I arrived here through the Starfall Forest," Sean shrugged and said with a nonchalant expression on his face.


    When Ron heard Sean''s words, he suddenly looked dazed and seemed unable to react. After a moment, Ron abruptly burst out laughing and said, "Haha! That is the funniest joke I have ever heard."


    "If someone else had told me that, I would have thought it was funny as well." Sean started laughing, too. He was in no hurry to explain everything. He knew the way the aristocrats did things, and Sean knew how to control the different types of situations that occurred under different circumstances. Dealing with aristocrats was the most basic ability that all players in "Miracle" had to have. "But if the words are said by me, then usually most people do not laugh," Sean added.


    Ron looked at Sean with interest, then continued to probe, "Oh?"


    With a slight smile, Sean resumed his dining. His movements were elegant and polite. It was a typical aristocratic style because Sean knew that he now had complete control of the direction their conversation was headed towards. "I came here with Drouin," Sean said.


    Ron suddenly became stiff.


    The smile on Ron''s face was frozen as if he was under a freezing spell. A hint of disbelief appeared in his eyes. Ron and the middle-aged man next to him looked at each other. The middle-aged man also had a look of disbelief on his face. He immediately turned around and walked out of the inn. If Sean were to guess, he would think that the middle-aged man had gone to verify what he just said.


    However, Sean was not worried at all, as he continued to enjoy his dinner in an orderly manner. Cecilia, who had finished her dinner, was sitting obediently at the table, looking at Ron with interest. A few minutes ago, Ron would have politely said something to Cecilia, such as hello. However, he was not in the mood anymore.


    Ron, who had labeled Sean as the criminal, was 90 percent confident that he would be able to solve the issue of the stolen Squared Tipped Crystals. But in the end, he realized that he had made a mistake. His target even had a relationship with the Viscount. Ron had to be very careful now. Even though the Black Cat Business Guild was one of the largest business guilds in the northern side of Miracle Continent that specialized in magic materials and magic goods, the guild''s capabilities were nowhere near a kingdom. The guild would not even have any influence.


    Accuse an aristocrat of robbery?


    Ron was not an idiot; he would never do such a thing, even though he was still a bit suspicious of whether the robbery of the Square Tipped Crystals had anything to do with the aristocrats in the Tindus Domain.


    Sean continuously observed Ron''s expression. Once he had seen that Ron''s expression had changed several times, Sean realized what Ron was suspecting. Therefore, Sean leisurely spoke again, "The House of Dragon Dialect Business Guild has always wanted to open a market for magic materials in the Portoroa Kingdom."


    Ron looked up in surprise. "Who are you?"


    Sean rubbed his nose. That was the second time someone had said that to him during the last few days.


    However¡­


    Sean now had complete control of the pace of their conversation.


    "Not just the House of Dragon Dialect Business Guild. Even though the products from Arctic Silver are different from the products from the Black Cat Business Guild, the scale of their business is the same." Sean poured himself a glass of red wine and slowly swirled it in his hand. Getting himself a glass of red wine at a moment like that matched his aristocratic attitude. It made Sean seem more superior. "All business guilds want to become stronger. Do you think the Arctic Silver will become stronger than you guys if they take your market share?"


    Ron''s face had turned pale. The Black Cat Business Guild had long been on guard against the House of Dragon Dialect Business Guild''s ambition to open up a market for magic materials in the Portoroa Kingdom. However, the Black Cat Business Guild had no guard against Arctic Silver. According to the situations in the past, even though Arctic Silver and Black Cat Business Guild were the number one and number two largest business guilds in the northern part of the Miracle Continent, the Black Cat Business Guild had always steadily suppressed Arctic Silver a bit. After all, the Black Cat Business Guild sold materials to magicians, who were all masters that did not care too much about money. Therefore, Black Cat Business Guild''s speed in accumulating money was not something Arctic Silver could compete against.


    However, the Black Cat Business Guild had always focused on the market operations in a certain field, so they did not have many personal connections compared to Arctic Silver, who operated in many fields. If Arctic Silver opened a market for magic materials with the Square Tipped Crystals as their ticket to success, then other magic materials would continue to enter their market. When that time arrived, the Black Cat Business Guild''s conservative market share would probably be at least halved!


    A bit of sweat had appeared on Ron''s forehead as he said, "For Arctic Silver, they have never been¡­involved in the market for magic materials."


    The corners of Sean''s mouth lifted slightly. Ron''s heart suddenly beat faster, as he realized that he had thought of an answer that he did not want to admit.


    Sean began to say it himself. "What if Arctic Silver cooperates with the House of Dragon Dialect Business Guild? Even if it is not the House of Dragon Dialect Business Guild, what about the Medusa Business Guild?"


    Ron''s face had completely turned pale.

 Chapter 29：The Know-It-All God Wand

    Inside a room at the inn, Sean stood next to the window and watched as Ron and his bodyguard left.


    Of course, Ron had paid for their dinner. Originally, Ron had only been pale, but after the bodyguard returned, Ron seemed to be in a state where he had lost his senses. It was obvious that he received a confirmation from his bodyguard. It did not matter anymore whether what Sean said earlier was the truth or not. Sean just having some sort of relationship with the Viscount of Tindus Domain meant that Ron could not point his fingers at Sean.


    Especially since the Viscount was supposed to be the Lord of the Tindus Domain in the future if nothing unexpected happened to him.


    A Marquis.


    Although Sean did not like that idiot Drouin very much, he indeed had strength. He received his Viscount title through accumulating military merits. Unlike his uncle, Count Mario, who got the title through various cunning methods. An inherited Viscount title was much nobler than Mario''s lifelong Count title.


    Sean finally looked back after he saw that Ron and the bodyguard had disappeared at the end of the street, and his eyes landed on Cecilia, who was watching him with a thoughtful expression on her face.


    "You knew about the situation at the Black Cat Business Guild a long time ago didn''t you?" Just because Cecilia has been silent the entire time did not mean she had not noticed what was going on.


    A wise person might not be able to become a magician, but a person who was able to become a magician was a wise person.


    "Pretty much." Sean shrugged and gave an ambiguous answer. "The Black Cat Business Guild is too hungry. They should not have brought in the Square Tipped Crystals. It has stirred up a lot of interests from other people." Sean was suddenly stunned for a moment. Then, he smiled helplessly. "However, it is easier said than done. The House of Dragon Dialect Business Guild has wanted to open up a market for magic materials in the north for a long time. However, they have always been blocked by the Black Cat Business Guild''s tough stance. If they don''t find the purchase channels soon, then the House of Dragon Dialect Business Guild will open a market using that method sooner or later."


    "The last thing the Black Cat Business Guild should have done was to find people to contact the purchase channels of the Square Tipped Crystals." Cecilia thought for a moment and then said, "They won''t be able to make any money. They should start with the House of Dragon Dialect Business Guild. This way, they will not be getting on too many people''s nerves, and they will be in the same situation as the House of Dragon Dialect Business Guild. Furthermore, it would be impossible for the House of Dragon Dialect Business Guild to sit back and watch the goods disappear from the Black Cat Business Guild."


    "You seem to have completely seen the situation." Sean smiled with a look of approval. "Much better than that Ron."


    "I''m guessing you already know the identity of the criminal who robbed the Square Tipped Crystals." Cecilia looked curiously at Sean. "Sometimes, I am curious about what kind of person you are. The fact that you have so much knowledge is already an incredible thing. Right now, you also know about the matter and all the inside information so clearly. It confuses me."


    Sean smiled and patted Cecilia on the head, then whispered, "It''s because I am a know-it-all God Wand."


    "According to the theory of us magicians, know-it-all means good at everything." Cecilia pouted and slapped Sean''s hand away with an expression that seemed to be telling Sean not to randomly pat her. "Good at everything means a god. So, are you saying that you are a god?"


    "Just because I know everything does not mean that I am good at everything." Sean scoffed. "Even if I know everything and can do everything, I will not be a god¡­Being a god is too tiring. It is better to be a God Wand, as I can take it if I want it. And if I don''t want it, then even if others beg me, I won''t take it."


    Cecilia seemed to be deep in thought.


    Looking at Cecilia''s maturity at such an early age, Sean suddenly reached out and messed up her hair. Then he pinched her cheek, which made Cecilia angry.


    "Don''t make such a face all the time. It doesn''t suit you." Sean smiled. "As a little girl, you have to show the vitality and brightness that a little girl should have. Don''t always pretend to be an adult."


    "Humph!" With a soft hum, Cecilia did not display the appearance of a young adult again. "Now that I think about it, the things you said to him in the morning were obviously to draw his attention to you. The ''Stupid Excess Speed'' you said was something that you made up to fool me. Tell me cunning Mr. Sean, what do you want to get from him?"


    "So, you found out," Sean said as he smiled even wider.


    "Of course!"


    "In that case, Ron must have also realized it as well." Sean looked out of the window again.


    "What on earth is the thing that you care so much about?" It was only now that Cecilia''s curiosity had been aroused.


    "Ron has a ruby on him that contains powerful magic." Sean''s voice was very calm but had become more alluring. "He got everyone from the Black Cat Business Guild to examine the ruby, but no one knew the origin of it. Therefore, Ron regarded the ruby as part of his collections."


    "A ruby with powerful magic?" Cecilia frowned and looked up in surprise. "Could it be¡­"


    "You are really from the Magi Empire."


    Sean turned his head and chuckled, as his eyes seemed to be revealing that he had become a bit clearer about something.


    ¡­..


    The moment that Sean had pretty much guessed Cecilia''s real identity, Ron and his bodyguard were on their way back to their residence.


    Under the enchanting moonlight, Ron''s and the bodyguard''s shadows seemed to be a lot taller. The night wind blew away a little bit of the heat and brought about some coolness.


    Ron shivered as he felt a chill all over his body.


    "Mr. Fox, do you think we can believe what Mr. Sean said?"


    Ron''s face still looked pale. The youthful spirit and his pride and self-confidence seemed to have disappeared. Ron was like a child who could not make up his mind and was trying to find some sort of comfort. He had already told the bodyguard everything Sean had said to him. It was not that he could not come up with corresponding precautions, but that the most important thing for him right now was to find those lost Square Tipped Crystals. However, he did not have any clues.


    On the day the Square Tipped Crystals were stolen, Ron had immediately sent people to search for it. In the end, they found a clue that led Ron to Arthur City. However, the clue led Ron to a dead end. He had stayed in Arthur City for three days but found nothing. It was not until he had met Sean today that he thought things would take a turn for the better. Therefore, in the evening, he had rushed to where Sean was, as he could not wait any longer.


    Sean of course did not know about the details. Reality was not a game. In reality, there was no data that limited a situation. What should have occurred would still happen, even if it were not triggered by somebody making a certain move. As soon as it occurred, it would continue on and not stop. However, it would not be like the game, where if a task was not taken by a player, then it would continue to be in a sealed state and would never change.


    "Young master Ron, I don''t understand any of these things." The middle-aged man, known as Fox, shook his head. "My job is to protect you, but I think we can believe what that man said. Also, I have already asked. Viscount Drouin has indeed returned to Tindus Castle. He used an unknown method to return. No one knows how he arrived back."


    After hearing what Fox said, Ron''s eyebrows furrowed more tightly, and his face did not show any traces of joy. "I would rather that Arctic Silver work with the House of Dragon Dialect Business Guild than the Medusa Business Guild."


    If Arctic Silver made a move because they were only trying to take the market share, then the Black Cat Business Guild would be able to retain at least half of the market share. Even if Arctic Silver worked with the House of Dragon Dialect Business Guild, the Black Cat Business Guild was confident that they could occupy at least 30 percent of the market share. However, once Arctic Silver and the Medusa Business Guild started to work together, then the Black Cat Business Guild might not be able to have even 10 percent of the market share. Medusa Business Guild was a merchant house that mainly dealt with magic materials and magic goods. They were also the second-largest merchant house in the north of Miracle Continent, second to the Black Cat Business Guild.


    "Young master Ron, I don''t understand any of the tactics and circumstances," Fox whispered. "But if that man did tell you this, then he must know a lot of things that you don''t know. Instead of us making wild guesses here and becoming distressed, why don''t we visit him tomorrow? Wouldn''t that be better?"


    "Ah." Ron smiled bitterly. "Of course I know it is better. I even know why he said those words. It is obvious because I possess something that he wants. What is bothering me right now is the fact that I don''t know what that thing is."


    "This¡­" Fox also frowned. "Could it be that weird ruby?"


    Ron''s eyes suddenly lit up. However, it soon dimmed again, "If that is the case, then it proves that the ruby is much more valuable than we think. It''s just a pity that I have no idea where the ruby came from. Even the great deacons of the merchant houses don''t know."


    Ron and Fox stopped talking, as the atmosphere became silent.


    A moment later, when Ron and Fox walked back to their temporary residence in Arthur City, Ron seemed to have suddenly made up his mind. He took a deep breath and said, "You will contact the people in Anrola tomorrow. Get them to send the ruby to me as fast as possible. I hope it isn''t too late."


    ...


    The quarrel between Sean and Cecilia seemed to be over. Currently, they were lying on the bed.


    "Sean, do you know who robbed the Square Tipped Crystals from the Black Cat Business Guild?"


    "Of course." Sean pouted. "I told you, I am a know-it-all God Wand, so how could I not know who stole it?"


    "The Black Cat Business Guild should be pretty powerful, so who on earth would steal from them"


    "The alliance between Arctic Silver and the Medusa Business Guild," Sean said faintly. "Of course, the House of Dragon Dialect Business Guild is also involved because they were the ones who revealed the information about the Square Tipped Crystals to the Medusa Business Guild. However, there is another key figure among all of this. Without his coordination, then the Medusa Business Guild and Arctic Silver would not have been able to reach an agreement to join hands. Also, with Medusa Business Guild''s strength, they definitely won''t be able to defeat the Black Cat Business Guild."

 Chapter 30：Conspiracy vs Conspiracy

    There was a manor in the Tindus Domain.


    It was located on the Barren Stonewall Plain. The wall around the garden was just a very simple clay wall. The wall was only about one meter tall. Anyone could enter as long by jumping over the wall. There was not even a gate. Instead there were four unblocked access points that anyone could enter through.


    Within the clay wall was a magnificent white building. Four entrances faced the clay wall. At each of the entrances was a building that was about five meters tall. The entrances to the buildings were movable windows that reached from the floor to the ceiling. Four sealed corridors connected the four buildings. The corridors were six meters tall and were divided into two floors. The sides of the corridors that faced the clay wall were very simple, with arrow holes and stabilizing planks dotting the exposed surface. The other side of the corridors faced the garden, and there were many different rooms. The rooms were used for numerous things such as storing weapons and food or living in.


    In the center of the diamond-shaped buildings was another set of four buildings that had three floors. The buildings were more than nine meters tall. In the middle of the space on the third floor of the buildings was an open terrace. There was a large round table that had a drawing of rivers and mountains in all of the terraces. Although the drawing was no longer active, it was made by replicating a magic map, so it looked very real. Sean was able to recognize that the landscape was the Gleason Region.


    The four buildings were the main buildings of the manor.


    The manor was known to almost everyone in the Tindus Domain because it was just as famous as the Tindus Castle. The manor was known as the Royce Manor.


    The Royce family was founded after they won their nobility title through winning battles. At first, the land they received was only a small knights'' territory. Due to its remote and desolate location, no one wanted the Knights'' Domain. Even if a manor was built on the land, it would not be very pretty. Anyone could tell that the Royce family had offended someone. However, the ancestor of the Royce family was not discouraged. He built a manor in the style of a fortress and did not need the walls to surround the manor because it would make him forget his anger. The purpose of the manor was to warn his descendants that they should not forget the humiliation and anger of that year.


    Later, after the efforts from several future generations, the Royce family finally managed to expand their land to its present size. Their title also rose from a Knight to a Marquis. Any enemies of the Royce family had long been annihilated in the Portoroa Kingdom''s Long River of History.


    The moonlight poured down on the manor. It seemed to cover the bloodiness that the manor emanated like a pure silver cloth.


    On top of the open terrace of the main building, the eyes of a middle-aged man landed on the Landscape Map on the round table that was in the middle of the terrace.


    His eyes were fixed on a fortress on the Landscape Map. His expression was so gloomy that it seemed as if he could cry at any moment. His hands were clenched tightly into fists, and his breath was a little short. It was not excitement, but a fit of rage. The magnificent clothes on his body slightly trembled from his anger. It was obvious that he could not control his body.


    "You''re telling me!" It was obvious from the middle-aged man''s voice that he was suppressing his anger. "Drouin has already returned to Tindus Castle?"


    The middle-aged man was Count Mario.


    "Yes, Lord Viscount." One of the young knights who stood behind Count Mario nodded. Even the knight was surprised. "According to the informant from Anrola, Drouin just entered the city today in the evening. He went straight to Tindus Castle without stopping along the way."


    "Straight to Tindus Castle?" Count Mario''s face grew uglier as he frowned. He turned his head to look at a man who had stopped beside him who was in a black magician''s robe. "Could he have found the Ice Heart Grass?"


    The man had a head of brown hair. His face was a little thin, and his skinny fingers looked a little dirty. Although the magician''s robe was slightly big, it did not look funny on him; it made him look a little bit grim. He did not have a staff on him. Instead, he tightly held a black-covered magic book in his left hand. The magic book was not as big and thick as the one Cecilia had. However, the force that was emitted from the book was not much weaker than Cecilia''s book. Also, he wore a ring on his right hand''s ring finger, which had a black obsidian stone on it. The ring had a force that made people''s hearts beat faster.


    The man was a magician. He was not an apprentice magician like Cecilia, but a formal magician!


    "It would be useless even if he did find the Ice Heart Grass." The man''s voice was a little hoarse. It sounded just as bad as the scraping of a sharp metal instrument. "A month ago, the Ice Heart Grass might have been able to save the old man''s life. However, it is useless now. The Fire Dragon Poison is not an ordinary poison. In the beginning, it is only blood poisoning. Therefore, using the Ice Heart Grass could cure it. However, now that three months have passed, the poison has entered deep into the internal organs. Therefore, the Ice Heart Grass can only delay the old man''s death for a bit."


    The magician sneered creepily. "After being poisoned by the Fire Dragon Poison for three months, he will die! No one in the world can save him!"


    Hearing what the magician said, Count Mario was finally able to feel relieved. His gaze turned back around to look at the round table in front of him, and his expression relaxed a bit. However, the gloominess in his eyes was still very ugly. Perhaps because Count Mario''s expression was still grim, the knight who stood behind Count Mario did not dare to leave without permission, so he could only stand there and wait in silence.


    "I sent Martin to take people with him to intercept Drouin, but there were no signs of him. They only managed to rob the merchant group of that businessman Halle¡­" Count Mario''s face turned ugly once again. "Go and find out how Drouin was able to return to his territory unnoticed!"


    "Yes!" The knight immediately nodded to accept the command. He could not help but breathe a sigh of relief on the inside.


    After this knight had left, Count Mario finally looked away from the Landscape Map and turned towards the south. He looked towards the end of the horizon where the Anrola City was. The city was the busiest city within the Tindus Domain. About 20 minutes away from the Tindus Domain was the Tindus Castle. The castle was as famous as the manor and was the Royce family''s pride.


    After a moment of silence, Count Mario finally spoke again, but this time, the expression on his face was kind and gentle. "We should go too. My dear nephew has finally found the antidote to the Fire Dragon Poison for my brother. I must quickly go back to celebrate and witness the miraculous moment when he saves my brother."


    "Of course, Lord Viscount." The black-robed magician bowed. "I will send someone to prepare the carriage right away."


    "By the way..." As soon as Mario took a step forward, he seemed to think of something as he suddenly turned to face the black-robed magician. "How is the matter with the Black Cat Business Guild going?"


    "Everything is going well."


    "Very good." Count Mario nodded. "Even though it was unexpected that Drouin would return alive, it is a good thing that everything else is going according to plan. Once I take care of Drouin, the rest won''t be a problem. However, this batch of Square Tipped Crystals must be watched carefully. Many people in the kingdom have their eyes on it and are waiting for it to enter the market."


    "Lord Viscount, you can rest assured that there is absolutely no fourth person in this world who knows where the material is hidden."


    "I''m relieved to hear you say that." Count Mario nodded as he strode towards the door.


    ...


    Inside Arthur City, which was located dozens of kilometers away from the Royce Manor, another secret discussion was taking place.


    However, the secret discussion did not have as good of an atmosphere as expected. It was not as serious and mysterious as people would think.


    The secret discussion was taking place inside a room. The room was the room in the inn that Sean and Cecilia were staying in. The two parties that were having the secret discussion were Sean and Ron.


    Cecilia sat on the edge of the bed, holding a bag of snacks. The snack was very popular in the Portoroa Kingdom. It was pink and about the size of a fingernail. It was made from different fruits and herbs, and thus was sweet, but not overly so. Cecilia''s favorite thing about it was that it was sweet but not oily, so she could enjoy it happily without getting her hands messy.


    Ron''s bodyguard stood outside the door to the room to prevent others from approaching or eavesdropping.


    Four days had passed since Ron and Sean first met.


    The night after they first met, under the protection of more than a dozen rank-three guards, a merchant leader from Arthur City''s Black Cat Business Guild delivered the ruby that Sean valued so much. At the same time, he brought a lot of new information about people inside the business guild. Just like Sean had said to Ron, the massive Black Cat Business Guild had made their move. They found new clues not long after.


    It was indeed a joint operation between Arctic Silver and the Medusa Business Guild.


    If they had suspected it was mountain bandits, then there would have been nothing they could do about it once there was a dead end. However, now that they knew who was behind the robbery, there were a lot of clues and tracks to follow, especially since they were big guilds like Arctic Silver and the Medusa Business Guild. However, no matter how much the Black Cat Business Guild inquired, they still could not find any clues. It made them feel helpless.


    Ron did not want to take out the ruby he had if he could avoid it.


    On the table, a hand that was pressed on top of a beautiful blue embroidered box pushed it forward two inches and then stopped. After a moment of silence, the hand clenched into a fist and retracted like lightning. It was obvious that the owner of the hand was reluctant to give up the embroidered box under his hand.


    "I heard that Mr. Sean seems to be very interested in all kinds of gemstones. This is a ruby I accidentally received." There was a smile on Ron''s face. If it were not for the fact that his extremely subtle movements had revealed his true feelings, anyone would have thought that he had taken the embroidered box out willingly. "This ruby is very beautiful. There are no traces of knife marks on any parts of it, and it is completely natural. I think that only people like Mr. Sean, who likes to collect gemstones, will be able to display its dazzling side."


    Sean raised his eyebrows and replied softly, "Oh?"


    When Sean reached out and opened the embroidered box, he saw a flat ruby lying quietly inside. The ruby was about an inch thick, four centimeters long, and three centimeters wide. It had no sharp corners, but its degree of purity was extremely high. The ruby was almost completely transparent. When Sean held it in his hand, he could feel a bit of warmth. Even people like Sean who had no magic were able to feel the strange fluctuations from the ruby.


    The strong fluctuations were magic waves that were so strong they could even distort the air.


    "It is indeed a very beautiful ruby." Sean smiled as he placed the ruby back inside the embroidered box.


    The ruby''s high purity alone was enough for it to be sold at a sky-high price, and the magic fluctuations only increased that price. However, Ron had not spoken about any of those things. How could Sean not know what Ron was up to? Even though the ruby was indeed a task item back in the game world, it was not necessarily a task item in the real world. Sean had already been prepared to ask Ron for the ruby. However, he had not expected Ron to bring the ruby to him. Of course, Sean was very excited, he just did not want to show it right now, since if he seemed indifferent, he might be able to get a better trade for it.


    "I am glad Mr. Sean likes it." Ron smiled. "The reason I came here this time is that I have something to ask Mr. Sean."


    "What?" Sean glanced at Ron with a bigger smile on his face. "After these last couple of days, you still have not found where the Square Tipped Crystals are hidden? I thought that when you sent your men to do such a large-scale search, you would have found them."


    In reality, Sean already knew about this a few days ago, when the merchant leader of the Black Cat Business Guild had rushed there from Anrola. Sean just did not care about it because he already knew that they would never be able to find where the Square Tipped Crystals were hidden. It was not that the people from the Black Cat Business Guild were incompetent. It was just that it was very difficult to deduce where the Square Tipped Crystals were hidden using normal methods.


    After all, the real boss behind the Medusa Business Guild was a demon. In the game, many players had completed a lot of tasks that were related to the demon. After harassing the demon countless times and studying it in detail, the demon''s identity and everything related to it was finally revealed. In the end, this demon appeared as a BOSS of a high-class 100-person dungeon, and then later contributed a lot of amazing equipment to the majority of the players.


    However, the Black Cat Business Guild was not made up of good people either. The real boss behind the business guild was a demonic witch who was close to becoming a demigod.


    Both the Black Cat Business Guild and the Medusa Business Guild were just facade businesses for a devil and a demonic witch. They did not deliberately create the two business guilds, but rather they grew up around them, and they suited their purposes enough that they did not disband them. Therefore, whether the two guilds continued or were dispersed did not matter to the two bosses. They could make do just fine if they were gone. The people within the two business guilds might never find out what the bosses were.


    No one in this world knew the business guilds better than Sean.


    After Ron heard Sean''s slightly sarcastic remark, he smiled sheepishly. "The people of the Medusa Business Guild are indeed very cunning."


    "Huh." Sean could not laugh any longer when he heard what Ron said. However, even if Sean knew where the Square Tipped Crystals were hidden, he would not tell Ron. It did not matter to Sean that he had told Cecilia he was a God Wand, he would never say the words to Ron. Sean could only guide Ron another way. "You should familiarize yourself with the Medusa Business Guild''s living environment."


    "The Medusa Business Guild''s living environment?" Ron was stunned for a moment, as he had not understood the meaning of Sean''s words.


    "These people are a type of underground creature. They are very dangerous and cunning and are very good at deceiving others." Looking at Ron''s appearance, Sean knew that he could not expect Ron to go try and understand the Medusa Business Guild''s living environment. Ron might even look in the wrong direction, which would be bad for Sean''s next plan. "Motivation is also one of their instinctive habits. The Medusa Business Guild has inherited the characteristics of Medusa, so if you use your normal way of finding clues and making deductions to find the next clue or trail, then you will never be able to find them. Therefore, the best method is to do the opposite of what you have been doing."


    After hearing Sean''s words, Ron became silent and started to frown. It was obvious that Ron was thinking about the clues he had gotten previously. Sean did not disturb him, instead, he was minding his own business and eating the food that was in front of him. Of course, the food was being paid by a certain "Stupid Excess Speed." Sean would never purchase so much exuberant food if he was the one paying. He prioritized food that could fill his stomach.


    A moment later, Ron''s eyes finally lit up as he raised his head and thanked Sean. "Thank you very much for your reminder. If it were not for your words, I would have neglected these details."


    With that, Ron got up and left, while Sean casually waved his hand. He did not care what Ron was going to do next. Cecilia did not utter a single word. If Ron had not brought Cecilia the little gift, she would not have even sat there and listened to them this entire time.


    When the rapid footsteps in the corridor had faded away, Cecilia jumped off the edge of the bed. She ran to pick up the embroidered box and then opened it. A look of excitement could be seen on her little face, which had been tense the entire time. "It is indeed the Flame of Crimson!"


    Looking at Cecilia''s excited appearance, Sean also smiled. "You already experienced the power of an actual magician when we were inside the Starfall Forest. Even though the power was only temporary, you have at least some experience as a formal magician. This proves that you have reached the level of an actual magician in terms of knowledge and your spirit. The only thing you lack is magic power. But now that you have the Flame of Crimson, your meditation speed will be much faster. Now, it will no longer be a problem for you to break through the limit and become an official magician."


    Stroking the Flame of Crimson ruby in her hand, Cecilia nodded gently and replied, "Yes. It will probably happen within the next few days."


    When Cecilia spoke, there was a sense of pride contained in her words.


    "However, it''s a pity that this Flame of Crimson can only strengthen your fire-based reaction force. It would be nice if it was a Four Colored Holy Flame.


    "A person cannot be too greedy." Cecilia giggled when she heard Sean''s words. "I am satisfied with the Flame of Crimson."


    Sean pouted with disdain as he said to himself, "You are satisfied, but I am not. I will train you to become an elemental magician. It is just a Four Colored Holy Flame. It''s not that I don''t know how to do it. It''s just a bit more troublesome."


    Cecilia had not noticed the change in the expression on Sean''s face. Her mind was completely immersed in the joy of gaining the Flame of Crimson. "What are we going to do next? Are we going back to the Serian Kingdom?"


    "What would we go back there for?" Sean made an exaggerated gesture. "We are going to stay in Arthur City for a few more days."


    "Why?" Cecilia looked puzzled. She was used to Sean''s nomadic lifestyle and was confused by the fact that they were staying in the same place for longer than she expected.


    "I will bet you five copper coins that those idiots at the Black Cat Business Guild won''t be able to handle the dog-headed men. Which is why Ron will come back to find me in two days." Sean pouted. "If we leave now, where will he go to find us? How can we make money? Those two jerks, Halle and Drouin, haven''t paid me yet. Right now, we have only three gold coins, 13 silver coins, and 75 copper coins. If we don''t make some more money, we will soon be sleeping on the streets."


    "It''s because you spent so much money buying so many materials," Cecilia suddenly shouted like a housekeeper. "That amount of money could have made us rich for a long time! By the way, speaking of which, where are the materials?"


    "There. It''s all there." Sean nudged his mouth towards the Charles'' Sword.


    Cecilia froze on the spot. "You¡­You are a blacksmith alchemist?"

 Chapter 31：Definite Future

    Blacksmith alchemist was a respectful term for blacksmiths who were able to forge magical equipment.


    Magical equipment could only be forged by blacksmiths with some type of mysterious craftsmanship. The special craftsmanship had to be paired with potions made by alchemists or special abilities from magicians for a piece of magical equipment to be forged. That was why those blacksmiths were called blacksmith alchemists. However, a blacksmith alchemist could only forge magical equipment such as armor or weapons. Things like jewelry, staves, clothes, leather shoes, and leather armor were not part of a blacksmith''s job.


    In the past, when Cecilia heard Sean say he was able to forge a piece of magical equipment, she thought it was just a joke. In the month she had been with Sean, Cecilia had never seen him touch a hammer, let alone forge a piece of ordinary equipment. But now, she was able to feel that the Charles'' Sword had been strengthened. Cecilia had to believe that Sean was able to forge a piece of magical equipment.


    Cecilia inserted the sword back into the scabbard and then whispered, "Sean, it''s best if others don''t find out about your identity. A blacksmith alchemist will never have any freedom."


    Although during the last couple of days, Cecilia had revealed some hints about her identity, she still would not speak about it, and Sean did not ask. He only knew that her identity was not simple. Therefore, Sean was not surprised that Cecilia said those words to him. On the contrary, he was touched. He knew very well that a blacksmith alchemist would be controlled by the aristocrats once they found out, regardless of how skilled the blacksmith alchemist was. It might not have been a big deal for others but, to Sean, losing his freedom would be very unpleasant.


    Since Cecilia had reminded Sean like that, it meant she was treating Sean as her relative.


    After Sean rubbed her head, he smiled and said, "I will be careful. But you, on the other hand, need to look after this Flame of Crimson. If others find out about this, then it will be very troublesome."


    "I understand." Cecilia clasped the embroidered box in her hand, and her face glowed with excitement at the mention of the Flame of Crimson.


    It was hard to blame Cecilia for being so excited.


    The Flame of Crimson was a rare top-quality gem. The ruby had gone through the process of special refinement before it was injected with the fire element from the Fire Demonic Crystal Core and the magic from the Demonic Crystal. Producing the ruby required alchemists with special skills. The higher the quality of the Demonic Core Crystal, the better the blend of elemental power and magic power. That meant the gem would also be of higher quality.


    Gems that could be called the Flame of Crimson had to be created using a Crystal Core that was at least at rank five. Anything below rank five could only be called the Heart of Scarlet.


    The Flame of Crimson in Cecilia''s hand only emitted magic power. No fire-based fluctuations could be felt from it. That was enough to prove that the fire element in this gem had been perfectly condensed, which was a sign that the Flame of Crimson was a high-quality gem.


    However, using such a special magic gem required some special methods. Because Ron did not know what the special methods were, he did not know the origin of the gem. Ron had never suspected the gem might be a Flame of Crimson or a Heart of Scarlet. He had never seen one before, and there were no references to compare the gem to, so naturally he did not have an opportunity to study it.


    As for going to the Portoroa Kingdom to ask the archmages about this gem, as long as Ron was not stupid, he would never do such a thing.


    Therefore, it was not without reason that this gem had fallen into Sean''s hands. He was just lucky that it had happened so easily without any further intervention from him.


    After chatting with Cecilia for a little while longer and seeing the eagerness on her face to try the ruby, Sean smiled and let her go test the effects of the Flame of Crimson. Cecilia, whose mind had already drifted elsewhere, ran away with joy when she heard Sean''s words. Sean tidied up the place and left the inn to walk to a temple located further inside the city.


    The temple was not magnificent, but there was a solemn and respectful force that was emitted from it, which made it feel a lot grander than its appearance suggested.


    There was a stone statue around three meters tall inside the temple. On the statue was a carving created with an exquisite technique. The carving was of an old man opening a book. The carving technique paid special attention to the fine details. Each carving position was completed very carefully. However, once the sculpture was completed, it would create an illusion of reality.


    The statue was said to be the embodiment of the God of Wisdom who once walked on earth. The temple was the Wisdom Divine Temple. However, on the Miracle Continent, the temple had become a teaching place, as people would learn to read there. Knowledge was no longer dominated by the aristocrats. However, for players in the game, the greatest role of this Wisdom Divine Temple was that it allowed the players to start a new profession as a rank one [Scholar].


    Sean had arrived at the temple to start the new rank one profession as a [Scholar].


    One of the most attractive aspects of the game "Miracle" was the diversity of professions it contained. Especially the various special and hidden classes that required players to have many professions. However, developing just one profession would take shape relatively early, but in the later stages, it would become a bottleneck that limited the player''s development. In the end, the player would have to take into account the development of other professions.


    But within all this, special and hidden classes were two completely different concepts.


    Rank-three classes and above were divided into three professional development stages. The three stages were the normal development stage, the special development stage, and the hidden development stage.


    For example, as long as the [Knight Apprentice] and the [Apprentice Magician] professions reached level 10, the player could become a [Knight] and a [Magician] with the approval from their mentors. That belonged to the normal development stage. The advantage of the stage was that the professions took form very quickly. In the early stages, the professions could form combat power relatively quickly and lay the foundations to a certain extent. However, the disadvantage of the normal development stage was that the abilities of the professions were average. In the later stages, the professions had to be transformed to be developed.


    On the other hand, the special development stage indicated superior professions of similar types, which had special development requirements. For example, to be a [Heavily Armed Knight] the players in the development stages were required to be citizens of Portoroa Kingdom. [Physics] types of professions such as a [Warrior] and a [Knight Apprentice] had to reach level five. Of course, some high leveled professions did not require citizenship. For example, the rank four [Elemental Mage] required the players to be a level three [Magician] and a level seven [Elementalist], both of which belonged to the [Spellcasting] profession.


    The advantage of the professions in the development stages was that once they were formed, their combat strength would be extremely powerful. Normally, one player was able to hold their ground against two ordinary players with the same level and class. Even if the player met an opponent with a higher level or class, they would be able to battle it out, as long as the opponent did not have a profession in the special development stage or the hidden development stage. However, the disadvantage was that the speed of the professions in the development stages was very slow. Also, during the early phases, players couldn''t display the full combat power of their profession in the special development stages.


    As for the hidden development stage, only a few lucky players were able to even find the professions in this stage. The advantage of that type of profession was very obvious. It had unparalleled combat power or supportability. However, the disadvantage was also very obvious. The growth rate was a lot slower than the professions in the special development stage because professions in the hidden development stage required different types of professions to be developed.


    Like right now, Sean was ready to start a rank-three profession.


    A Cursed Seal Swordsman.


    It was a rank three profession that required a level seven [Warrior] profession and level three [Scholar] profession. A trial task also had to be completed before starting this new profession. The most unique feature of the profession was that it could use the power of a cursed seal to strengthen the combat power. Once the power of the cursed seal broke out, the combat power would be on par with opponents who had rank-four professions at the special development stage.


    Sean had not wanted to learn the profession in the beginning. However, when he was inside the Starfall Forest, he had accidentally activated the Mysterious Sword Skill, which was a passive skill. Then, he found out that the "sword skill" was not only the same as what it had been in the game, but Sean could also master it. Due to this, Sean started to have thoughts on learning a new profession as a swordsman.


    However, the [Swordsman] class was part of the normal development stage among the rank three classes. Even though it took shape very early, it was not very powerful. It was completely different from the profession that Sean had originally planned to learn. Therefore, after a few days of careful consideration, which he spent trying to recall the swordsman professions that were considered powerful in the game, Sean finally thought of one. After he confirmed that the ruby Ron had was indeed the Flame of Crimson, Sean remembered there was a powerful swordsman profession of the hidden development stage in the Tindus Domain that he could learn as a new profession.


    Therefore, while Cecilia was meditating in their room inside the inn, Sean had arrived at the Wisdom Divine Temple.


    The divine temple had never denied entry to people. It had never even required anyone to become a believer or to believe in the God of Wisdom. Of course, if it was required, Sean would not have minded. After all, he only had to make a simple conversation to successfully start a new profession. [Scholar] was a new profession that one could take up only at the Wisdom Divine Temple, and not in the wild or anywhere else. Therefore, no personal attributes or strange requirements were required.


    Of course, starting a new profession was different from a part-time profession.


    Part-time was a second similar type of profession. For example, Sean was currently a [Warrior]. If he wanted to start the part-time [Knight Apprentice] profession, then his [Warrior] profession had to reach level five. Then, Sean could learn from a knight and become his apprentice. During the process, he had to consume proficiency points before he could successfully start a second similar part-time profession.


    Also, part-time professions were not allowed to exceed the main profession. Of course, the profession that was the main profession could be set by the players themselves. It reflected the high degree of freedom for players in the game "Miracle."


    Taking on a new profession meant starting on the path towards a second profession.


    The [Physics] of mercenaries, [Spellcasting] of scholars, and [Divinity] of clerics were the three professions that the players could start on the path towards. They also required the main profession of the player to be at level five. Also, because a second profession path was opened, the profession side-effect would be more severe than a part-time profession. That was why the growth rate of hidden classes was a lot slower than the special classes.


    Also, because there were two different types of professions, the skills bar would be divided into professional skills and non-professional skills. That area created a headache for Sean. However, to maximize his strength, he had to do this.


    Sean had realized that he might never be able to fully replicate what he had achieved in the game on his future profession path.

 Chapter 32：The Scholar Examination

    Stepping through the gates of the temple, the original noises on the streets disappeared in an instant. All that was left was the solemn and stillness particular to the temple.


    No matter how indifferent and accepting the Wisdom Divine Temple was, it was still a temple. Therefore, it still had to be given respect. Nobody who went to the Wisdom Divine Temple would make an uproar. They would either read a book quietly or look for priests inside the temple to ask some questions. Occasionally, a few young people were wearing plain white robes that would walk by while holding a thick book.


    The young people were clerics who voluntarily believed in the God of Wisdom.


    The clerics in the game "Miracle" were different from the clerics in the other games. They did not just have skills in casting heals. Due to the concept of the Divine Skills System that was introduced, the clerics had many different divisions of faith. That meant that the skills that people could master were more bizarre. However, perhaps due to the consideration for the game, all players could only go to the God of Order''s temple to start the new [Cleric] profession during the early stages of the game. Only when the profession had reached level 10 could the players go to different temples to start a new profession and become a cleric of different factions.


    The clerics, who could wear the plain white robes unique to the Wisdom Divine Temple, were all rank two [Wisdom Cleric].


    In reality, the God of Wisdom did not need clerics at all. That was why his temple was a Divine Temple and not a God Temple. However, any god would need servants; therefore, the cleric professions had inevitably appeared. However, inside the Wisdom Divine Temple, scholars were more honorable than clerics. That was the opposite of the God of Light''s temple, where the cleric profession was more honorable than a warrior profession.


    "Their buttocks determine their brain." Sean suddenly felt appalled when he thought of the crazy followers of the God of Light. He could not relate to any of them. He could not even consider signing his life away like the followers of the God of Light.


    A young woman wearing a plain white robe suddenly appeared in front of Sean. She looked angry. Even though she did not say anything, she placed her index finger in front of her mouth. That meant he was not allowed to speak. It was only at that moment that Sean remembered the front hall of the Wisdom Divine Temple was called the Hall of Meditation. Anyone who entered had to be silent. Even if they were opening a page of a book, they had to do it as carefully as possible not to disturb other people.


    Sean smiled apologetically, but his movements were so gentle that he did not make any more sounds.


    The woman made a gesture, and Sean followed after her, glad to leave the Hall of Meditation.


    Behind the God of Wisdom statue in the Hall of Meditation, there was an entrance to a corridor. This corridor led to the center courtyard of the Wisdom Divine Temple. Unlike the center courtyard at the God Temples, there were no flowers and plants in the central yard. Apart from a few stone tables and chairs for people to rest, everything looked clean and straightforward. However, there were four rooms on the left and right side of the center courtyard. The Scholar Hall that Sean had his eyes on was inside this central courtyard.


    The young people in plain white robes who were holding books did not stop in the central courtyard. They had walked towards the back area of the temple to the back hall of the Wisdom Divine Temple. That area was also significant, as only scholars and clerics approved by the Wisdom Divine Temple were able to enter. Also, people who came to this temple to study were not allowed to go beyond the center courtyard. Back when Sean was in the game, he had been inside the back hall of the temple. There were only precious books and nothing else. Therefore, he was not interested in the back hall.


    "Did you not know that the place you were in was the Hall of Meditation?" As soon as they entered the central courtyard, the woman let her anger burst forth.


    However, due to the Wisdom Divine Temple, no matter how angry she was, her voice had to be suppressed as she did not dare to make a loud noise. Sean found the strange scene a bit funny, so he ended up laughing.


    "What are you laughing at?!" The woman became even angrier, and the tone in her voice rose a little higher.


    "Nothing." Sean shook his head with a smile on his face.


    Back when Sean was in the game, the rules were dead. Even though the intelligence of the NPCs was relatively high, a lot of the time, they still followed some kind of rules. Now that Sean had arrived in this world, he was able to experience the joys and sorrows that he had not felt inside the game. Sean''s heart was a little touched. He realized that he had started to gradually like the world.


    "I was just thinking of something funny." Sean smiled. "It was my fault. I accidentally forgot to pay attention to it."


    There was still a bit of dissatisfaction on the woman''s face, but Sean did not look like he was faking it, so she let it go. "Tell me, what are you doing here at the Wisdom Divine Temple?"


    "I have heard that there have been examinations for scholars here recently," Sean said according to the hints from the game. "So, I''m here to take the examination."


    To adapt to the situation in the game, the Wisdom Divine Temple had indeed organized examinations for scholars with academic qualifications. It was a straightforward examination paper with only a few questions on it. The questions were all related to living demonic beasts or other things such as minerals and plants. As long as the players were careful, they could find the answers on the game''s official website. Therefore, passing the examination was easy. The problem was how to achieve a high score!


    Only those who took the examination and answered all the questions correctly the first time could receive a prize.


    Sean came to the Wisdom Divine Temple, not just because he wanted to obtain the status of a scholar. His goal was to pass the examination with a high score.


    "You?" Perhaps because of what happened earlier when Sean was in the Hall of Meditation, the woman was looking down on him. "For people like you, who have no respect for knowledge, wanting to get a scholar''s qualification certificate is just wishful thinking! If you want to win the favor of the magicians so that you can become their apprentice, it is better if you leave now. The God of Wisdom will not accept people who have no respect for knowledge."


    The smile on Sean''s face disappeared, and a slight frow appeared instead. He was slightly displeased with the words from the woman in front of him.


    He had the freedom to do what he wanted. It was not up to outsiders to tell him what to do. Also, the most important thing was that he was not worried about not being able to acquire scholar qualifications. Plus, he now had the [Eye of Truth] and [Narrow Escape], two special abilities he could use together. Even if he had not had them, he still knew most of the answers to the questions on the scholar examination. However, he would not have been able to get as high of a score.


    "I don''t think it''s any of your business whether I can get the scholar qualification or not." Since the woman spoke so impolitely, Sean would not be polite with her either.


    With that, Sean ignored the woman and turned around and walked towards the left of the center courtyard, which was separated into two areas. The larger space was the Scholar''s Hall, which was specially prepared for those who came to take part in the Scholar Qualification Examination.


    The examination was not new to a modern person. There were many tables inside the hall, and each had something on it. They could be a mineral, a plant, or a picture of something like a demonic beast or a wild beast. The examinees were then required to say the origin, history, habits, and other things related to the minerals, plants, and creatures. As long as the examinees were able to answer more than 70 percent of the questions correctly, then they could obtain the qualification certificate of a scholar and formally become a scholar. If the examinees were able to say everything related to all the items, then they could receive a reward from the pedants of the temple.


    Sean remembered that back in the game, the reward was completely random. However, most of the rewards were useful for a scholar.


    "Hey, you can''t go in now!" Seeing that Sean was completely ignoring her, the woman suddenly became anxious.


    She wanted to reach out and grab Sean to stop him. However, when she reached out, Sean was already more than ten steps away from her. When she ran to catch up with Sean, he was already about to step into the Scholar''s Hall. The woman rubbed her eyes in disbelief. She was close to Sean at one point, so why was he so far away from her after only walking a few steps?


    However, before she could figure out the reason, the woman started to run, as she saw that Sean was about to open the door of the Scholar''s Hall.


    But since she was not able to stop Sean earlier, and Sean had already arrived at the door of the Scholar''s Hall, how could she make it in time?


    Rumble!


    The closed door was pushed open by Sean, and in the next second, Sean froze on the spot.


    There was someone in the hall who was taking part in the examination!


    "I''m sorry." Sean soon came to his senses and immediately apologized.


    Back in the game, the door of the Scholar''s Hall was never shut, even if someone was taking the examination inside. However, under normal circumstances, there was always a guard outside the door who was responsible for informing other people preparing for the scholar examination. When Sean had arrived at the hall, he did not see any guards. Therefore, out of habit, he pushed open the door to go in. But he did not expect that the real world was a bit different from the game.


    The three pedants, who were tasked with monitoring the examination, along with the examinee, all turned their heads and looked at Sean.


    Even though they were slightly dissatisfied with Sean''s actions of pushing open the door, one of the oldest looking pedants waved his hand, indicating that he would let the matter go. Sean slightly nodded and was about to leave when the woman finally ran over. The expression she looked at Sean with was no longer just anger. It was a type of resentment as if she wanted to skin Sean alive.


    From this, Sean knew that the woman was the guard of this hall.


    But just when Sean was about to leave, the examinee inside the hall suddenly shouted, "Stop where you are!"


    Sean was slightly stunned, but he still stopped walking and said, "What''s the matter?"


    "What''s the matter? That''s easy for you to say!" The examinee rolled his eyes and then walked towards Sean angrily. "Do you know that I had almost figured out the origin and characteristics of that ore? But now I forgot again because you startled me! This is my Scholar Qualification Examination. Tell me, how are you going to compensate me?!" With that, the examinee turned towards the woman and continued to shout, "What''s the matter with you? Aren''t you a guard? How can there be such an irresponsible guard who allows others to come in? Do you know that you have made the intellectual world lose another talented person?!"


    Looking at the examinee''s unreasonable manner, Sean was a little dumbfounded. Did this guy think that the pedants were stupid?


    Pedants were experts who focused on intellectual knowledge. Even though they did not have any combat ability and the skills they had were not for the development of their combat skills, they were no doubt a rank-five class. Yet the examinee wanted to fool the pedants with flashy behavior. Sean could only lament that the number of stupid people in this world was not less than in modern society.


    "Tell me, how are you going to compensate me?!" After scolding the female guard, the examinee turned to make a scene with Sean.


    Hearing the examinee''s words, which were intended to blackmail Sean, he sneered. "If you know what that ore is, then you wouldn''t forget after being startled. Or could it be that your head is made of fart and because you couldn''t let it out, it blocked your brain from working after you were startled?"

 Chapter 33：Guess who I am

    The young man''s face flushed, and his hands clenched into fists at his side.


    The other four people around them were looking at Sean in disbelief.


    It was not because Sean''s words were too shocking or that the pedants had agreed to what Sean said. It was because Sean''s words were too vulgar. The pedants found the vulgar words unelegant, even if they thought that the comparison had provided them with a bit of an image.


    "You¡­Do you know who I am?!" The young man became angry. Sean did not know whether the anger was due to shame or not.


    Sean was a little distracted when he heard the young man''s words. He had not heard anyone say those words in a long time. In the game, there had been many people who had said those words to him in the early stages. Those people included enemies, members of his clan, and experts who had been famous for a long time in the world of professions. However, after he became famous and was even the commander of a team from his clan, no one ever said those words to him again.


    When Sean''s popularity had reached a certain extent, such regulations where players relied on their identity and background to speak was no longer useful.


    For example, if the young man, the examinee in front of Sean, had asked that question to the three pedants in charge of monitoring the examination, they would have scoffed at the young man. Even the Royce family had to be polite when they faced the pedants. Therefore, the pedants did not give ordinary people any more time in their day than they had to. Only people with the same extensive knowledge as they had were worthy of being acknowledged.


    However, everyone thought that Sean had become scared when they saw his absent-minded state.


    "You are afraid, aren''t you? Let me tell you¡­" The young man started to speak nonsense again.


    The young man liked seeing others display their fear, as it allowed him to feel extremely satisfied with his cockiness. Even though his father was not an aristocrat, his family was wealthy. Even if many people looked down on his family for flaunting their newly acquired wealth, it could not hide the fact that he was indeed rich. His father had allowed him to participate in the scholar''s examination because he wanted to make their family''s reputation a bit better.


    As long as he successfully passed the examination, no one would dare to say that his family was just flaunting their newly acquired wealth.


    When the young man saw that he was about to answer the last question, even if he had to write one forcefully, he knew that he would be able to receive the scholar''s certificate if he could answer it correctly. However, all of this had been destroyed by Sean''s sudden actions a few minutes ago, so how could the young man not be angry? Sean had ridiculed him, and it had reminded him of the people in the business circle who had laughed at his father.


    He was young, so he was ignorant.


    He was ignorant, so he was fearless.


    He was foolish.


    Sean did not know what the young man was thinking. But even if Sean had known, he would not have cared, because they were destined to be two people from different worlds.


    Listening to the young man who was still bragging about something, Sean shook his head and laughed. "I was a little absent-minded just now, not because I am afraid, but because I had remembered the people who once said those same words to me." After a pause, the corners of Sean''s mouth raised gently. "Do you want to know what happened to them in the end?"


    The young man suddenly shuddered, but he could not understand why. Sean''s smile had made him feel a little frightened. He might not have been wise, but that did not mean he was not smart. A person''s origin often determined their identity and background. People were often gradually influenced by what they saw and heard in the business circle. They would even gain a bit of insight into some of the things that were happening around them.


    The young man wanted to say something else, but he did not know what to say.


    Sean, who was too lazy to pay attention to the young man, turned and faced the three pedants. "I''m here to take the Scholar''s Examination. Can I start?" Sean asked.


    The three pedants looked at each other. The young man and the cleric woman might not have noticed anything, but the three pedants felt the blood force that was emitted from Sean''s body.


    It was impossible to have such a robust murderous aura without having experienced real bloody massacres.


    Would a group of muscular guys know what knowledge was, or were they all brawn and no brain? The pedants did not expect Sean to know anything, as he seemed to be someone who had experienced a lot of battle.


    Even though they were pedants of the Wisdom Divine Temple, they were human. Therefore, a lot of their views were no different from ordinary people. Also, the older they got, the more stubborn they became. Fundamentally speaking, they were already prejudiced against Sean. However, the Scholar''s Hall at the Wisdom Divine Temple had clear rules that prohibited any favoritism. Since Sean already said he wanted to take the examination, the pedants could only allow him to take it.


    However, there were still a few methods that they could use.


    "You can." The oldest pedant among them nodded. "Lena, take him out."


    The young female cleric nodded and then immediately took the young examinee out. After they left, the stone door was closed again.


    The oldest pedant nodded at Sean and said, "Let''s get started."


    With that, he took Sean to the leftmost table in the hall. Sean followed leisurely, giving off an air of being confident. He looked down at the table that he was brought to.


    On the table was a sun-dried flower. On the surface, it looked like the flower had been processed because its root was light yellow. It was noticeably different from the black that was on ordinary flowers after being sun-dried. The part above the flower''s root was dark yellow with a bit of black. The water inside had evaporated entirely. It had even created a scorching effect on the inside of the flower.


    However, even though it was a flower, its bud had been removed. It made it difficult for participants to distinguish the sun-dried plants.


    "Judging from the depth of the color and the place where the bud was removed, it is probably a Fiery Flower." Sean glanced at it and then said softly, "This is a widespread plant that tastes sweet and slightly spicy. It has a wide range of uses. The most common usage is for seasonings. Even though it is an ordinary plant, the section between the sun-dried root and the stem of the Fiery Flowers is one of the raw materials that alchemists need to make neutralizing elixirs. Therefore, they are commonly grown."


    From the analysis of the appearance to the taste, medicine, and use, Sean''s words were rational and reasonable. It was apparent that he was clear-headed. Also, the most impressive thing was that Sean was able to say the correct answer by only glancing at the flower. He did not even need to touch it or carefully examine it. It surprised the three old pedants. If it were not for the fact that Sean had never appeared at the temple before, and that the layout of the Scholar''s Hall was changed every day, the old pedants would have thought that Sean was the one who had arranged the flower.


    Seeing the state that the old pedants were in, Sean naturally knew what they were thinking.


    The Scholar''s Examination was the most simple examination trial back in the game for [Spellcasting]. The pain-in-the-neck research players had listed thousands of detailed facts about the contents of the examination in the Scholar''s Hall. Sean, who was one of the enthusiastic pain-in-the-neck players in the game, had also read the material. Although he was not able to remember everything, he had a deep memory of the things he came into contact with during the later stages of the game.


    Also, he now had [Narrow Escape] and [Eye of Truth], two special abilities.


    However, Sean did not need to use his Eye of Truth to find out the details of this Fiery Flower. Back when he was part of a team in the game, there was a cleric who liked to grow flowers and plants.


    Of course, Sean did not perform overly amazingly well. He made sure to leave out an important fact.


    There are still some defects in the sun-dried Fiery Flower. The stem of that kind of Fiery Flower could only be used in normal neutralizing elixirs. The stem of the Fiery Flower could not be damaged if the goal was to refine the elixir. In other words, at least a little bit of water had to be retained, and the sun was not allowed to produce a scorching effect on the stem of the Fiery Flower.


    There was no need for Sean to say those words out loud. He did not want to appear too talented, or it would seem like he had found a way to cheat.


    The three old pedants looked at each other. They were shocked and did not want to admit it, so they brought Sean to the second table silently.


    "This is just some iron slag." Sean glanced at the small black stones on the table. They had apparent signs of refinement. "Of course, if I have to say what my observations are, then I can only say that they are just condensed stone fragments leftover from refining ordinary iron ore. The function of the iron slag was to fool or deceive other examinees," Sean said faintly.


    The colors on the three old pedant''s faces had turned slightly red. Their expressions were visibly ugly¡ªespecially the one in the middle, who had come up with this idea.


    "This is a Black Three-leaved Clover. Although it is very similar to the Three-leaved Clover, the center of the Black Three-leaved Clover has a few black spots. It is challenging to notice without looking at it carefully."


    "This is a Colorful Poison Lizard. It is a rank-four demonic beast and usually lives in a toxic jungle."


    "This is the Red Copper Iron Stone. It is the ore of the Red Copper Vein."


    "These are Ice Crystal Teardrop Flowers..."


    "This is¡­"


    There were hundreds of tables in the Scholar''s Hall that had items on them, none of which were difficult for Sean to distinguish. Of course, there were some things that Sean had to use his [Eye of Truth] to determine. Whenever he was about to use the [Eye of Truth], he would lean over and pretend to be observing the item. Sometimes, Sean would even pick up the item and smell it. But even so, that still surprised the three old pedants. The three old pedants gained a new understanding of the warriors, who they had seen as simple-minded with well-developed arms and legs.


    "Ahem. We are surprised by your performance." The one who spoke was the oldest pedant of the three. "You are the best examinee we have seen in the last few years, so we have prepared another question for you. You can choose whether you want to accept it or not. Of course, it doesn''t matter if you don''t accept it, but if you do accept it and answer it correctly, we will give you a small gift. It is a gift from the God of Wisdom to the extraordinary people."


    It was the critical part!


    Sean''s dull mood had finally become excited. That was his real goal! He naturally agreed to answer the new question.


    The oldest pedant nodded and triggered a mechanism inside the hall. The ground suddenly opened towards the two sides. An iron cage around two meters tall and eight meters in diameter rose from the ground, the black cloth that was covering it fluttering a bit in the slight wind. It seemed that due to the earthquake brought by the mechanism, a low roaring sound was heard from the iron cage. The sound emitted from the imprisoned creature inside the iron cage was a little weak, but it still had a powerful aura.


    Even though the iron cage had been specially strengthened with an added special magic formation, Sean guessed that the creature imprisoned inside the cage was at least a rank-seven demonic beast. A demonic beast at that level was powerful enough to destroy an entire territory. Even though the weaker and smaller kingdoms would not be killed by one demonic beast, they would still lose a lot of lives and the place''s vitality.


    Unexpectedly, the Wisdom Divine Temple was so bold that they dared to capture a demonic beast to study.


    However, Sean''s mind had still not yet recovered from the shock, and what the three old pedants did next had made Sean want to spit out blood. He was glad that he was not drinking any water.


    Sean saw an old pedant reach out and pull a bit of the black cloth upwards. It revealed a four-legged demonic beast imprisoned inside.


    Judging from what was revealed of the demonic beast, it was probably a mammal. It also had beautiful black fur. Sean could tell that the fur would have been smooth and bright if it had been raised well. But it was evident that its living standard was abysmal because the fur had utterly lost its shine. It had even looked a bit messy.


    However, Sean had the Eye of Truth, which he could use alongside the [Narrow Escape] special ability. After observing the demonic beast, Sean knew what kind of creature it was.


    Like he had guessed, the creature was indeed a rank seven demonic beast called the Dark Shadow Demon-eyed Leopard. It was a very rare demonic beast. Even though its speed was a rank-seven demonic beast, its power was only as strong as an ordinary rank-five demonic beast. As a rank-seven demonic beast, apart from its natural powerful and superior aura, it also had a powerful spirit. The Crystal Core in the demonic beasts were mostly used by magicians who specialized in learning and training their spiritual energy.


    Sean already knew the answer to the question, but he couldn''t say it. Right when Sean was waiting for the old pedant to continue to pull the black cloth back and reveal what was inside, he heard the old pedant suddenly say, "Okay. Guess what the name of this beast is."


    The words were the reason why Sean wanted to spit out blood. He remembered a joke that was very popular on the internet back when he was playing the game.


    Therefore, Sean turned towards the old pedant in the middle of the three pedants and asked, "If I don''t pass the exam, I can still get the scholar''s status, right?"


    The three old pedants were stunned. All three of them believed that Sean had found the question too complicated and was ready to give up. They would not have treated Sean like that if it had not been for his abnormal performance earlier. After all, even though the old pedants were a little dissatisfied with Sean''s performance, in the beginning, reality proved that Sean was educated. If these old pedants were to compete against such a young Sean in knowledge, then they would not be able to win. Therefore, these old pedants were a little dissatisfied.


    As long as Sean held back his strong attitude a little bit, they definitely would not be too harsh towards Sean.


    Therefore, the old pedant who stood in the middle of the three pedants nodded and said, "Yes, you are already a scholar."


    Sean nodded and continued to ask, "Do you have to register my identity, and then issue a magic certificate to the Wisdom Divine Temple as backup?"


    "Of course."


    Sean nodded. He then turned to face the old pedant who had pulled the cloth on the cage. Sean rolled up his pants to his thigh and said, "Okay. Guess what my name is."

 Chapter 34：Helson’s Letter

    Sean played with a ring on his finger, and a slight smile appeared on his face.


    The ring was the reward he had won at the Scholar''s Hall.


    Although Sean had indeed been a little bit arrogant, he had still been logical. Therefore, the three old pedants could not say anything about him. In the end, they could only feel an indescribable disgust. However, to protect the face of the Wisdom Divine Temple, the three pedants could only change the process of the examination a little bit within a reasonable boundary. That was why the old pedant proposed that they could give Sean a ring that was given to him by his mentor during his early years, as long as Sean was able to say the name of the creature imprisoned inside the cage.


    The other two pedants were surprised when they heard the proposal, which made Sean laugh internally.


    Sean had guessed from the facial expressions of the two pedants that the ring had to be a useful item. Therefore, he had no problems agreeing with the proposal.


    In the end, the reality was that Sean, the cheater, won.


    He only said four words.


    Dark Shadow Demon-eyed Leopard.


    ...


    Outsiders were forbidden to enter the back hall of the Wisdom Divine Temple.


    There were many places like the God Temples and Divine Temples, where outsiders were not allowed to enter. Many people believed that it was because there were valuable treasures hidden inside. The rule applied to the Wisdom Divine Temple as well, except that the back hall was just a library. The books inside this library could not be read by outsiders or be used to teach outsiders. That was why there was a rule that forbade outsiders and unlicensed scholars and clerics from entering.


    Sean already knew that there was an underground research institute below each Wisdom Divine Temple.


    The research institute studied all kinds of things that were on the Miracle Continent. The things they studied ranged from plants to creatures, from demonic beasts to immortal beasts, and even people. The outside world believed that undead spirits were products of undead spirit mages. The belief was wrong. The first undead creature that existed on Miracle Continent was born from the research institute of the Wisdom Divine Temple. Later, it was only because of various "coincidences" that the undead spirit mage profession started to exist in this world.


    Of course, no magicians had been born in the Wisdom Divine Temple since then. Even the position of the cleric sector was one level lower than a scholar. All kinds of magic also disappeared from the Wisdom Divine Temple. As a result, Magic Associations were created on the Miracle Continent. Later, through the gradual developments of the continent''s history, the Magi Empire finally appeared. After that, the first magic revolution emerged.


    During that revolution, mysterious magic was finally divided into different sectors. It was divided into the spiritual energy sector, the life sector, the elements sector, and the mysterious skills sector. Similarly, the accurate settings of a magician''s strength and the various professions also emerged one after the other. At the same time, the status of undead spirit mages was recognized.


    If one took the time to trace them back to all their roots and map out their family trees, it was clear that they all had connections to the underground research institute of the Wisdom Divine Temple.


    Everyone from all the kingdoms recognized the Wisdom Divine Temple. A large part of that was because this Divine Temple did not need to compete for the power of faith. In other words, anyone who had knowledge was the source of faith for the God of Wisdom.


    At the moment, inside the underground research institute of the Wisdom Divine Temple, a white-robed old man finally closed a book in his hand.


    There were more than 30 books of varying sizes and ages on the tables around the room. Some of them had pages that had turned yellow, and some smelled like ink. However, whether the books were big or small, new or old, they all had one thing in common. They were all opened to a specific page and were fixed in place on the tables.


    It was evident that some kind of experiment was currently underway.


    "Have you found out the identity of that young man?" The old man in the white robe was one of the three pedants. He currently looked like he was in very high spirits, and there were no traces of old age on him at all. "Such an outstanding young man could not have been unknown before. Although the Dark Shadow Demon-eyed Leopard is a rank seven demonic beast, its four legs are no different from many of the other leopard demonic beasts. However, that young man was able to recognize it at a glance. It proved that there had been a big mistake in our research direction on the Dark Shadow Demon-eyed Leopard.


    "Professor, you are saying that¡­"


    The person standing next to the white-robed old man was the female cleric who had made a terrible impression on Sean earlier. An expression of surprise was displayed on her face.


    "Yes, send him a letter of invitation," The old man wearing the white robe said excitedly. "The person who can take away the philosopher from me is not simple."


    The professor was so happy that he seemed very child-like. He even began to stare in high spirits at the very weak Dark Shadow Demon-eyed Leopard in front of him. It seemed as if he was trying to find something he had not noticed before.


    In contrast to the professor''s excitement, Lena, the female cleric, was at a loss. The young man she had looked down on was so powerful that he was able to take away the philosopher, which the professor had regarded as a treasure. She remembered that the professor attached great importance to the simple ring. The ring was a gift from his mentor when he was a scholar.


    Lena realized that she was a little bit jealous of the young man named Sean. Who was he, anyway, and why had he shown up out of nowhere?


    But even if she was jealous, she still had to prepare the invitation letter from the Wisdom Divine Temple.


    ...


    The rate that the Wisdom Divine Temple completed their tasks was swift.


    They only took one afternoon to find out where Sean was staying. Even though they were still very curious about Sean''s origins, the Wisdom Divine Temple had never cared about a person''s background. Therefore, that night, Sean received an invitation letter from the Wisdom Divine Temple.


    Helson''s Letter.


    "Sometimes, I wonder whether you are human or not." Cecilia looked at Sean with a face full of astonishment. She looked back at the invitation letter in Sean''s hand. "I can''t believe you received Helson''s Letter."


    "It''s just a research invitation from the underground research institute of the Wisdom Divine Temple, isn''t it?" Sean glanced at the letter, then threw it to the side indifferently.


    In reality, Sean was by no means calm inside, he had just learned to master his expressions.


    The importance of the Helson Research Institute under the Wisdom Divine Temple to the scholars was the same as how important the God of Light''s Heresy Trial Institute was to its fanatic followers. It was just that the Helson Research Institute was low-key and secretive, unlike the Heresy Trial Institute, which was high-profile and well-known across the continent. Apart from a tiny number of aristocrats, no one even knew about the existence of the Helson Research Institute. Even the scholars and clerics at the Wisdom Divine Temple did not know.


    The legend of the Helson Research Institute was also an inspiration for many people, especially scholars. As long as they could participate in any of the research projects at the Helson Research Institute that were successful in the end, they would not need to worry about food and clothes in the future. It was easy for scholars to have both fame and wealth. Therefore, many people on the continent were eager to receive the "Helson''s Letter," which represented the highest praise from the Knowledge Hall.


    However, Sean knew more about the letter.


    The Helson Research Institute was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. Back in the game, when the players came into contact with the institute, the game had reached the rank-four era. Also, the confidentiality of the Helson Research Institute was beyond all the players'' expectations. A player had once participated in a project with the Helson Research Institute. They had announced it on the forum, which was where Sean saw it. He was expelled from the Helson Research Institute on the same day. The God of Wisdom had sent an oracle to express that the player had not kept his promise.


    Of course, all the players knew that it was the GM who was behind it. It did not make them any happier that someone was tracking what they said outside of the game.


    But no matter what, that was very far into the future for Sean.


    Sean was only in a rank-two class. He was nowhere near the rank-four class that other people had been when they had been approached to join the research institute. He still had many things he wanted to accomplish before he even thought about joining them.


    After thinking about it, Sean realized that his performance earlier at the Scholar Hall''s examination must have been too abnormal. He had been able to reveal what the Dark Shadow Demon-eyed Leopard was by just looking at its legs, so the three pedants must have been impressed and seen Sean in a new light.


    Sean looked at the ring in his hand and was no longer as excited as before.


    [Philosopher, legendary, wisdom +5, will +5, permanent effect ''concentration'': It is difficult for anything to distract you (difficult to interrupt when casting). Permanent effect ''intelligence'': Your rich personal and life experiences made you an extremely wise person (gain a bonus when solving problems). Special: You have received Boni White''s approval.]


    [Material description: It looks like a plain ring. However, it is a gift from Professor White''s mentor, and has an extraordinary significance.]


    The ring was legendary level. Even though its attributes were not comparable to the Blood Striped Hexagon Ring Cecilia wore, Sean was much more excited about getting the legendary ring than Cecilia''s magical ring. He knew that not any piece of equipment above the legendary level had a massive attribute bonus. Back in the game "Miracle," the most apparent difference between legendary equipment and the magical equipment was that all equipment above the legendary level had special effects.


    Just like the concentration and intelligence attached to this ''philosopher'' ring, it had an ability that ordinary magical equipment did not have.


    Sean did not know whether the "intelligence" effect had worked or not, but he could easily see what this "special" on the ring meant. He now finally understood the meaning of the sentence, "you have received Boni White''s approval." When he thought about it more deeply, Sean also realized why the professor had found him. It had to be related to the Dark Shadow Demon-eyed Leopard.


    If ordinary people received the invitation letter, they would be very excited to participate. In an abstract way, Sean understood that. It was an incredible opportunity, and if he had been anyone else, it would have been foolish for him to turn them down.


    However, Sean was different. He knew more about the world than anyone else, especially with what had happened on the game forum regarding the Helson Research Institute. It provided Sean with an understanding that others did not have about the underground research institute at the Wisdom Divine Temple. Not only did it represent the highest praise and reputation of the Knowledge Hall, but it also represented the shackles and surveillance of a person''s freedom.


    The latter two limitations were the reasons why Sean wanted to reject the invitation.


    Sean''s index finger gently tapped the table. Before he knew it, he was lost deep in thought. His brain had already started to work extremely quickly. The two permanent effects from the legendary philosopher''s ring had begun to produce an unexpected result. Without the ring, Sean would never have thought of such grave problems.


    A moment later, Sean''s eyes started to glow with a new brilliance.


    With his current ability, he was not yet strong enough to completely ignore the Helson Research Institute. However, he knew why Professor Boni White wanted to find him, which meant he could take advantage of it.


    After Sean had thought about it thoroughly, he picked up his pen and wrote a reply letter with all of his knowledge about the Dark Shadow Demon-eyed Leopard, as well as its special features and habits on it. Sean also expressed in the letter that he was entangled in some mundane affairs, and therefore he could not personally participate in the research at the Helson Research Institute. He felt very helpless and disappointed and hoped that his knowledge could help Professor Boni''s investigation in some way. At the end of the letter, Sean asked Professor Boni to forgive him.


    When he finished the reply, Sean sighed softly and put down his pen. "Ron, oh, Ron. You absolutely must not let me down."

 Chapter 35：Ron’s Visit

    Sean wrote a reply to Professor Boni White''s invitation letter. After he had finished writing, Sean let the matter go. He stopped thinking about what consequences it might bring him.


    Those kinds of thoughts were another way to express "intelligence." Once a decision was made, no more thoughts would go into the gains and losses.


    Cecilia witnessed the entire process. She did not know what to think about it, but she could tell that Sean was worked up about it.


    Although she had heard about the Helson Research Institute, she did not know much about the special organization from the Wisdom Divine Temple. She had only heard about it from her family. However, Cecilia was sure that she had never seen Sean deal with anything so seriously and cautiously. Even when they were asked to cross through the Starfall Forest, something that everyone thought was ridiculous, Sean had casually agreed to it.


    "Is the matter very troublesome?" It was the first thing Cecilia said to Sean after he finished writing a reply letter. She had a worried look in her eyes.


    "It''s not that troublesome. It''s just a little bit tricky." Sean smiled. He completely relaxed after he finished writing. "I have gotten rid of the problem, but how things will turn out next is out of my control."


    It was not something that Sean could control right now. He did not say it out loud and instead thought it in his head.


    The unexpected invitation from the Helson Research Institute had deviated entirely from what Sean was expecting. When Sean had been on his way to the Scholar''s Hall to take part in the Scholar''s Examination, he had thought he had already considered all types of situations that could occur. The only thing he had not thought of was the invitation letter. Sean had not expected the special organization to emerge. After all, Sean couldn''t come into contact with them in his current stage. Things like the Helson Research Institute should not have existed in a small territory like the Tindus Domain, according to Sean''s memory of the game.


    Those were the main reasons why Sean had ignored the existence of the Helson Research Institute.


    However, after Sean analyzed the matter, he immediately figured it out. Although the Tindus Domain was a small territory, and the old Marquis Perot did not have any power, the land still had a unique geographical factor. The Starfall Forest was next to Tindus Domain. Even if the Wisdom Divine Temple did not have a robust martial power, their knowledge sometimes was much more terrifying than ordinary martial power. That was why the Wisdom Divine Temple had dared to capture a rank seven demonic beast to study it.


    It also became a wake-up call for Sean. A lot of the development and changes in the world had started to deviate from what he knew. He had to be more cautious in the future. Fortunately, the Helson Research Institute was a scholar''s organization. If the Heresy Trial Institute paid a visit to Sean, then he could only use his fists to speak.


    As Sean''s current strength was only rank two, everyone would look down on him.


    From the results of his analysis, he concluded that it was best if he increased his strength as soon as possible.


    Fortunately, Sean had already received his profession as a [Scholar]. His experience had not increased by a lot due to the profession side-effect, but it was not a problem for Sean. He was convinced the idiots from the Black Cat Business Guild would find him soon. However, even if the Dog-headed People''s Camp dungeon could not allow Sean to meet the conditions of the development stage, he knew where the other dungeon was inside the Tindus Domain. The dungeon was one of the main reasons why Sean had come to the Tindus Domain.


    After reassuring Cecilia so that she would not be distracted by the matter, Sean began to mind his own business.


    First of all, he had to take care of the Dog-headed People''s Camp dungeon that was coming up next.


    The dog-headed people were humanoid creatures around one meter tall. Although they had the words "dog-headed" in their name, they were not dogs. Dog-headed people looked like lizards that stood on two legs. They looked like a miniature version of human-shaped raptors. Even though they were a type of humanoid creature, they were not accepted by humans. The dog-headed people had their own culture and heritage.


    Due to their size, the dog-headed people were a lot weaker and had less endurance than humans. Their wisdom and will were also a lot worse than humans because of the relatively short history of their race. However, as there are intelligent people, there would also be ignorant people. The statement applied to the dog-headed people as well. They also had the existence of magicians.


    Humanoids were intelligent groups and had a relatively perfect professional system and its related divisions.


    As a result, within the Dog-headed People''s Camp located on the outer edges of the Starfall Forest, there were two dog-headed magicians. They had real rank-three professions. Regardless of whether they were human or not, the lineage of a magician had a set regulation limit. For all official magicians, their profession was at rank three. There was also a large number of other professions, such as dog-headed spearman, dog-headed outpost surveyor, and dog-headed guard. Even though the professions were all rank-two professions, once a sufficient amount of them were formed, it would produce a qualitative change.


    According to Sean''s knowledge regarding the history of the dog-headed people, those inside the Dog-headed People''s Camp were ready to form a new dog-headed people''s tribe.


    However, the group of dog-headed people had not done such a thing. Instead, they continued to live on by strictly following the model of a camp.


    Humans did not want to recognize the ethnic history of the dog-headed people. However, if they encountered a dog-headed people''s tribe, then the right actions to take was to create a scene through a "conflict." However, if the humans only encountered a dog-headed people''s camp, then a team of adventurers with a lot of experience would be enough to face them and deal with them. Of course, the condition was that it had to be a real camp.


    Sean only hoped that the Black Cat Business Guild would not go and attack the camp.


    Reality was often quite cruel.


    However, hidden behind the cruel reality was Sean''s mysterious smile.


    Ron sat in the lobby on the first floor of the inn. He found himself very reluctant to enter. After all, his previous two experiences were by no means pleasant. When he left after seeing Sean the second time, Ron''s thoughts were that it would be best if he stayed as far away from Sean as possible. He even vowed that he never wanted to see Sean again.


    But unexpectedly, only five days had passed since he last saw Sean, and he had come to the inn again. Before he arrived, he had prayed that Sean was still in Arthur City.


    Of course, in contrast to Ron''s inner struggles and predicament, Sean had looked at Ron in a different view.


    According to his original estimation, it would have taken Ron two days at the most to look for Sean again. However, he did not expect Ron to find him five days after they last met. Looking at Ron''s haggard appearance, Sean knew that the Black Cat Business Guild had already launched an attack on the Dog-headed People''s Camp. Also, the result of that attack had not gone the way that Ron had planned. The attack had resulted in heavy losses for them.


    Otherwise, there would have been no need for Ron to find Sean. As long as the Black Cat Business Guild continued their attacks, they would be able to take control of the Dog-headed People''s Camp sooner or later.


    Judging from the current results, the Dog-headed People''s Camp was probably not in a much better state either.


    "I did a bit of research based on your reminder from the last time we met. In the end, I found the place where the Medusa Business Guild had hidden the Square Tipped Crystals." Ron glanced at Sean. He could not help but wonder if Sean had known about the Dog-headed People''s Camp but had not given any hints. However, since Ron was here to ask Sean something, it was naturally not a good thing for him to continue guessing with the evil thoughts. "That place is a dog-headed people''s tribe."


    Ron purposely emphasized the word "tribe" when he spoke. "However, it looks more like a camp. I suspect that the dog-headed people were raised and trained by the Medusa Business Guild." Ron said.


    Sean nodded, and then he motioned for Ron to continue. In his head, however, he secretly praised Ron. He was indeed the future heir of the Black Cat Business Guild. His observation skills were different from other people. In the game, even if the official introductions and information on the background and habits of the dog-headed people were released, players would still wait until they had entered the camp and faced the final BOSS before they realized what Ron had noticed. It was impossible that Ron had met the final BOSS, because if he had, then he would not have come to look for Sean. Therefore, Ron had deduced all the guesses himself.


    "You guys have launched an aggressive attack on the tribe of the dog-headed people?" Sean asked with a look of surprise. He was not actually surprised, but he was impressed with Sean.


    "Yes." Ron could not find any clues on Sean''s face, so he could only smile bitterly. "The Black Cat Business Guild has suffered a huge loss. Also, because we launched a direct attack, it has made a lot of people nervous. Both the Medusa Business Guild and Arctic Silver have branches in the Tindus Domain. The branches suddenly started to suppress and harass us. Now, to control the situation, our attacking troops have retreated."


    A hint of anger appeared on Ron''s face. "Damn it! We were so close. If we just had three more days¡­No, two more days, then we would have been able to take over the tribe completely!"


    "I can understand." Sean comforted Ron, but in his heart, he was a little scared. It was lucky that they had not succeeded; otherwise, the work Sean had put in during the last couple of days would have been in vain.


    "Please lend me your help again." Ron was silent for a long time, but in the end, he still asked, "The dog-headed people have set up camp within the fog around the Starfall Forest. The fog is filled with traps and mechanisms. During the battles in the last few days, we have suffered massive losses due to the interference of the fog. I know you have crossed through the Starfall Forest, so I think you must have a solution in solving the issue of the fog!"


    "So, you are saying that you want me to help you get the Square Tipped Crystals back?" Sean raised his eyebrow. The central part of the show was coming.


    "Yes." Ron nodded. "I think you are the only one who can solve the problem because I don''t have many people left who I can mobilize¡­Of course, as long as you are willing to help me, we can discuss the reward."


    Ron clenched his teeth before he decided to throw out a large number of his profits. Since the Black Cat Business Guild had already suffered a massive loss from the attack, he did not care about money anymore. As long as he was able to get all the Square Tipped Crystals back, the massive losses could be regained quickly. Arctic Silver and the Medusa Business Guild had paid an enormous price as well, but they would not be able to recover in a short period. The Black Cat Business Guild would have a bit of an advantage over them.


    Ron had already worked out all the details of profits for the business.


    "If you want me to help, I can." Sean pretended to be silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "However, I want to be in command of the battle troops. The people must obey my orders. If not, then I will not help you.


    "This¡­"


    Before Ron could respond to Sean, another middle-aged man who had come with Ron and Fox on the visit, suddenly jumped in and said, ''You want the command of the troops? With just your ability? You should know your strength! You are only a rank two [Warrior]. What qualifications do you have to command a team? Just continue to be a good guide. Who knows, maybe your journey through the Starfall Forest was just a scam! Young Master, you must be careful with that kind of person. He might be here just to scam others out of their money! How can a rank two warrior pass through the Starfall Forest? Haha."

 Chapter 36：Mixed Breed, Do You Dare To Fight Me?

    When the unexpected voice of disagreement sounded, Ron did not open his mouth to stop the man. He only frowned.


    Sean shook his head. The behavior of an overly suspicious and profit-seeking businessman. Ron had inherited both of the traits. Of course, it was not his fault. The environment in which he lived was like that. There was nothing he could do about it.


    However¡­


    Sean finally glanced up at the burly man who was standing behind Fox.


    The man looked tall and muscular. Sean suspected that he had the bloodline of the Bear Clan. That clan had existed hundreds of years ago. The inherited bloodline was probably very thin now. The only apparent characteristics left was the tall and strong physique. The profession they chose was usually defense-based. After all, there would be an effect bonus on the attributes.


    But the man in front of Sean was not like that.


    The man was wearing armor on his chest, which was filled with nails. It was a type of armor where two armor pieces were fixed in place with the nails. The two pieces were then attached to the front and the back of the person with a shoulder strap. It was a simple armor that focused on protecting the heart. Due to the simplicity of the armor, other aspects were improved. The most obvious point was that the coordination and the movement range of the hands were enhanced. The behavior and characteristics of the people who used that type of armor could be seen at a glance.


    In the Nordic Empire, there was a profession at the development stage called the Berserker. The standard armor they used was the type of armor with nails.


    However, the tall and muscular man in front of Sean was not a berserker. A berserker was a standard rank-five special profession. If Ron had someone like that, then he would have been able to sweep the dog-headed people''s tribe with a dozen or so others that had rank three professions.


    Therefore, Sean''s eyes only paused on the burly man''s body for a moment before it moved towards the man''s hands. The man''s hands were slightly opened. They had protruding bones and joints. Calluses were prominent on both palms, which were the result of using long weapons for an extended period. Coupled with his burly physique and attire, Sean had determined his profession.


    The man was a Hercules.


    After Sean finished looking at the man, he turned his gaze back at Ron. "It seems that Mr. Ron doesn''t trust me very much."


    "That''s not what I meant." Ron did not expect that Sean would ignore the burly man. However, Ron was equally worried about handing the command over to Sean. Ron did not have evidence to prove that Sean was an excellent commander. Not to mention the fact that he was only rank two.


    The rank represented an "apprentice" on the Miracle Continent.


    Bang!


    The burly man walked past Fox and slammed his hands on the table. He made a loud noise, which attracted the attention of other people in the lobby inside the inn.


    "Rascal, let me tell you, the real commander of the army is me!" The burly man said in a deep voice. When he spoke, he sounded like a roaring bear. "Humph! You are only a rank-two warrior, yet you dare to be a commander. It is better if you command a team made of rank-three strength. How could there be such an absurd thing in the world?"


    "When we crossed through the Starfall Forest, all the other members of the team had rank-three strength." Cecilia glanced sideways at the burly man and said plainly, "By the way, at that time, Sean was only a rank one mercenary."


    Cecilia''s voice was very soft, unlike the burly man who spoke in a booming voice. However, the three men opposite Sean heard it.


    "That is the funniest joke I have heard this year." The burly man''s furious expression disappeared. It was replaced with a sneer. "Rank one mercenary?"


    The ridicule was very obvious. His tone of voice blatantly implied that he did not believe that someone as lowly as Sean could have ever accomplished such a difficult task.


    Cecilia did not get annoyed. She only glanced at the burly man and scanned him from head to toe. The way she was looking at him was similar to a chef trying to find the best place to cut a piece of meat. As Cecilia scanned with her eyes, the burly man felt a faint tingling sensation. He realized that the little girl in front of him had experienced massacres before. Also, her current strength was able to threaten his safety. If that were not the case, then he would not have gotten such a feeling.


    But she was just a little girl. How was that possible?


    "You are afraid." Cecilia and the burly man looked at each other. A small smile appeared on Cecilia''s face. It was supposed to be a bright and friendly smile, but it had emitted a certain chill, "But you should be. How is it possible for a muscular man like you to understand the profundity of the word ''wisdom?'' I really should not be too demanding of a mere pig."


    The burly man hummed angrily, then reached out, wanting to grab Cecilia. "Little girl, do you want to die?"


    Slap.


    Sean''s hand had suddenly grabbed the burly man''s wrist. He stopped the burly man from doing anything else. "That''s enough."


    Ron and Fox, who stood behind the burly man, had frowned slightly. They did not want the situation to get out of control, and it seemed to be on its way there.


    Both of them could see that the burly man had not exerted all of his strength. However, they also knew that the burly man''s ancestors had the bloodline of the Bear Clan, which made him stronger than the average person. Even if he did not exert all of his strength, ordinary people could not easily stop him at will. Sean had only reached out his hand to stop the burly man''s actions. Even if Sean had exerted all his power right now, it was enough to prove that Sean''s strength could by no means be measured as someone at rank two.


    The burly man was a little surprised that Sean was able to reach out and stop his movements. However, he soon got carried away by his anger and shame, as he subconsciously increased the movement in his hand. He no longer just wanted to grab Cecilia. If he were not able to take care of a rank-two rascal, then how could he continue to be a guard in the Black Cat Business Guild?


    Feeling the increase in strength from the burly man''s hands, Sean immediately realized that even if he were to exert all his force, he would not be able to stop the burly man. The burly man was a lot stronger than Sean, but Sean would not want to see the burly man hurt Cecilia in front of his eyes, because Cecilia was the only relative Sean had in that world.


    If a person''s loved one got hurt and that person could not stop it from happening, then it would be a tragedy.


    In an instant, Sean''s eyes changed. He emitted a murderous intent and aura. "Do not force me to cut off your hand," he said in a cold voice.


    When Sean spoke those words, he grasped the scabbard of Charles'' Sword with his left hand.


    "Why don''t you try?!" The burly man raised his eyebrow as he increased his strength again.


    Cecilia''s lips moved slightly. A magical force was emitted from the inn as the elements in the air became active. The surrounding temperature also significantly increased. They were the typical fluctuations of the fire element. Initially, the element fluctuation could not have been detected so quickly. However, they were in an inn after all. The surrounding air circulation was not particularly clear. Also, the room was relatively small, hence why it had produced such apparent features.


    When Fox felt the fluctuation of the elemental force and the murderous aura emanating from Sean, his face was no longer as calm as before.


    The burly man realized that he, Ron, and even the Black Cat Business Guild had all underestimated the man named Sean. Even the apprentice magician next to him had not been given the attention she deserved.


    "Stop!" Fox shouted in a deep voice. It was as strong as raging waves. However, it was only sent to Sean and the burly man, which shocked them so much that they could not control their power. They had no choice but to stop their actions.


    Fox did not dare to frighten Cecilia using that method because everyone knew that a magician''s magic fluctuation had something to do with their mentality. If he made a move against Cecilia, then the little girl would be injured. He was very clear on the fact that Young Master Ron had come to find the warrior for help. If it had only been a quarrel, then it did not matter too much. However, if they offended Sean and Cecilia, then it would not be the purpose of the trip.


    Sean glanced at Fox. He did not know the person''s name, but he could tell how powerful the person was. Sean noticed that the person was an expert at the silver level. According to the stages divided into the game, the person belonged to the rank-five or rank-six level. However, Sean was a little surprised inside. Since Ron had a bodyguard next to him, even if the Black Cat Business Guild did not send people to support him, with just a dozen or so rank three experts alongside his bodyguard, it was enough to take care of those dog-headed people''s tribe. After all, even though there were a lot of people in that tribe, they were only a group of undisciplined creatures at rank three and rank four.


    Sean did not want to think about why the expert had not made a move. He turned his eyes back to the burly man and said in a cold tone, "What''s your name?"


    "Humph." The burly man snorted proudly.


    "Since you don''t have a name, it doesn''t matter." Sean stood up slowly, reached out and stroked Cecilia''s head, signaling that she did not have to be nervous. Sean turned to look at the burly man. "Since you think I am too weak to be a commander, let us fight, mixed breed."


    "What did you say?" The burly man burst into anger.


    "The Bear Clan are orcs no matter what era they live in. They are a humanoid race." The corners of Sean''s mouth raised slightly. It was also an overt expression of mockery. "During the early days of the Recovery Era, a war broke out between humans and orcs. There were countless prisoners on both sides, and then a new species of orcs was born. The new species is a hybrid product. You have the bloodline of the orcs and the bears in your body, which proves that your ancestors are orcs. As the offspring of a hybrid breed, you are a mixed breed."


    "I''m going to kill you!" The burly man''s eyes turned red as the veins popped out.


    "Hank!" Ron suddenly yelled out in anger. It made the burly man return to his senses.


    "Even if you do have a name, the product of a hybrid breed is still a hybrid product," Cecilia said coldly. "I have a hybrid dog. Even if I give it a name, it won''t change the fact that it''s a hybrid dog."


    "Huh!" The burly man named Hank suddenly clenched his fist. His aura burst out from his body. He swung a punch towards Cecilia''s face.


    The wind from the punch was like a blade. It made people feel a burst of pain.


    In a flash, a dense wash of cold air exploded out.


    The burly man suddenly stopped. He turned his head and looked at Sean with his red eyes.


    Between the two of them, the wooden table was split into two.


    Sean had unsheathed his sword.


    "Mixed breed, your opponent is me." Sean''s eyes were cold and murderous. "Do you dare to fight me?"

 Chapter 37：The Duel

    Hank''s pupils shrank, and his angry expression slowly disappeared. His eyes went from Sean to the sword in his hand.


    The sword shone brilliantly, emitting green, blue, and yellow lights from time to time. Although the light was feeble, it was still dazzling enough for everyone at the scene.


    A Magical Weapon!


    Hank''s right fist slowly withdrew before he lowered it. He then looked at Sean again.


    A few drops of blood trickled down from the back of Hank''s fingers. Blood was dripping from the first joints of his four fingers on his right hand.


    It was a very thin wound, only visible because of the blood that was oozing out of it.


    The wound was so small that if he ignored it, the layer of skin on the fingers would heal after a few seconds. That was how Hank''s physique worked.


    However, the significance of the wound appearing was not ordinary.


    The wound was real.


    "So, it turns out that you have a magical weapon on you. No wonder you dared to be so arrogant." Hank snorted coldly, but he was not so stupid that he would continue his reckless attack.


    He was well aware of his advantages. Even though he had his size and strength, which were significant advantages, he did not have a single weapon on him. As a bodyguard of the Black Cat Business Guild, the reason he had been able to stay alive until now was that his skills were strong enough, and he was a little bit smart. He would never attack a person with a magical weapon.


    He would never do it, even if the weapon were only at a bronze level with little effect.


    "Luck is also a part of strength."


    Cecilia, who had stood up earlier, was now standing next to Sean. She raised her head slightly so that she could look at Hank face to face. It was evident that Cecilia was just a child. However, the feeling she was giving everyone was that she was not looking up at Hank, but instead, she was looking down at him with a sense of superior aura. It was a proud aura of someone from an ancient aristocrat clan. The aura was deeply embedded in Cecilia''s bones, and right now, she was displaying it.


    "Of course, a humanoid creature like you would not be able to understand the meaning of the words. Anyway, since the beginning, we have never tried to make you understand the broad and profound language and literature of humankind." Cecilia heavily emphasized the words "humanoid creature." The crisp voice of the child had an unspeakable mockery contained within it. It had once again brought Hank to the tipping point of becoming furious. "If you want Sean to lower the weapon in his hand and have a duel with you, then I advise you to get rid of the stupid idea as soon as possible."


    With that, Cecilia reached out and patted her clothes. "Seriously, I wonder if idiocy is contagious."


    The spirit of an aristocrat''s nobility and mockery was performed exceptionally well by Cecilia.


    Hank, who had already calmed down, clenched his fists again. He wanted to punch the little girl to death, but he knew doing so would lead to severe consequences.


    He looked away angrily, then sneered at Sean. "So? When you said you wanted to have a battle with me, did you mean that you can have a weapon, but I can''t? Huh, as expected of a mercenary who crossed through the Starfall Forest."


    Compared to Cecilia, Hank''s mockery was on the same level as someone in kindergarten.


    Sean looked at Hank, a burly man, and wondered if his brain was not working. Hank was a muscular man who was not good with words. Still, he just had to compete against Cecilia, who was an aristocrat and gifted magician, in the logic of language and the ability to mock others. It was no different from suicide.


    "I can''t believe that someone as stupid as you exists in this world." Cecilia opened her eyes wide and made an exaggerated facial expression. "Oh, I''m sorry. I forgot that you are not human. I really shouldn''t ask too much of a humanoid creature like you with such a low intelligence." With that, Cecilia turned towards Ron and said with a pitiful expression, "Doesn''t the Black Cat Business Guild sell Intelligence Elixirs? Why did you only give him a name but not give him a bottle of the elixir? Could it be that there is no cure for him?"


    Suddenly, the sound of someone gnashing their teeth could be heard.


    "Cecilia, if you don''t stop now, you will ruin him." Sean chuckled as he looked at Cecilia with a fond expression. However, when his eyes turned to Hank, there was only endless killing intent. "Let''s go. I know you guys made a camp on the outskirts of the city. Get your weapon. After I take care of you, mixed breed, I will discuss the reward with the Black Cat Business Guild."


    Ron suddenly felt a chill go down his body. He was dumbfounded, and he turned his head to look at Fox, who shook his head with a bitter smile.


    The way things developed had utterly deviated from their expectations, as the duel was now inevitable.


    "Good!" Hank''s eyes fixed on Sean with the same murderous intent. "I will let you know that the weak should stay in their place!"


    Both sides of the fight turned around and left. None of them paid any attention to Ron, who was the actual leader.


    The temporary camp that was rebuilt by the Black Cat Business Guild was located on the outskirts of Arthur City. The makeshift camp had less than 30 people, nearly half of whom were injured in some way.


    When the people saw Hank and others return, they all came out to greet them instinctively. However, when they felt the murderous aura that was being emitted from Hank''s body, hardly anyone dared to approach him. It was clear that Hank had a certain degree of authority, whether Sean thought he deserved it or not. It might have been the reason why he had held onto his position as a commander.


    Sean was not in the mood to think about Hank.


    In the beginning, he was just waiting for Ron and others to come back and find him after they had suffered. Therefore, even if people were suspicious of him, Sean still stayed at the inn. After that, things turned out a little unexpected. However, it had developed in the direction Sean had thought it would in the end. He wanted to be the commander of the troop to make it easier to strategize for the dungeon. However, things had now turned into a duel. It made Sean angry.


    The last thing Hank should have done was to try and hit Cecilia. Sean had long considered Cecilia as his relative.


    Relatives were the limit to Sean''s tolerance.


    Hank walked into a tent that was big enough for four people. A moment later, he came out with a long-handled heavy hammer. Just as Sean had expected, Hank was indeed a Hercules who used a long weapon.


    When Ron had called out Hank''s name at the inn earlier, Sean gained a thorough understanding of the details regarding the enemy in front of him.


    [Name: Hank].


    [Race: Orcs (Bear Clan)]


    [Combat Profession: Hercules (Rank Three)]


    [Personal Attributes: Strength 33 (35); Endurance 25 (28); Agility 16 (22); Wisdom 15 (18); Will 20 (23)]


    Hercules was a level 10 [Warrior] profession in the normal development stage. It was famous for its powerful strength.


    Sean was familiar with almost every profession in the different development stages of the game "Miracle." Therefore, he was able to determine how thin Hank''s bloodline was by only glancing at his personal attributes. The strength limit of an average adult human being was 10, while the strength growth limit of an average orc from the bear clan was 30. As a half-orc belonging to the bear clan, it was possible to have a fluctuating limit between 18 to 25. However, according to the strength growth limit of a level 10 Hercules, which was at 12 points, and deducting the strength growth limit of a rank one mercenary and a rank two warrior, the limit of Hank''s strength growth of his race was only 4 points.


    The strength of the bloodline was so weak that it had pretty much disappeared.


    Although Sean had started a new profession as a [Scholar], it was still at level zero, because he did not have any experience points to assign. However, after taking into account the increase in various attributes of his equipment, Sean had 22 strength points, 16 endurance points, 20 agility points, 15 wisdom points, and 15 will points. The attributes obviously could not be compared with Hank''s attributes, but they were formidable in their own right. However, the problem was that Sean''s warrior profession was only at level five, and it was also a rank-two profession. Sean''s agility, on the other hand, had already surpassed Hank.


    It was good enough for a person who used swords skills.


    The Charles'' Sword was slowly unsheathed from its scabbard.


    The [Philosopher] ring on Sean''s finger emitted a glimmer that could not be seen by outsiders. Sean had completely calmed down, and all the voices from around him had disappeared. Hank was the only one left in the world.


    Concentration!


    [It is challenging to find anything that can distract a person. It will not be easy to interrupt when casting.]


    Having the ability that made it easier to avoid being interrupted when casting was a skill that was not only useful to mages. There was a more accurate description in the game, but now it was the real world. In the real world in battle, it could be regarded as "spellcasting time." Therefore, the effect was also convenient for Sean.


    As long as Sean was not disturbed by the outside world, he would not be distracted, which meant he would not be easily interrupted.


    "If you beg for forgiveness now, you will have a chance to live." Sean''s calmness, which was as still a stagnant pond, made Hank feel a little strange. He opened his mouth subconsciously but did not realize that it was an aggressive action of a coward. "If we do fight, I will not show any mercy!"


    "Don''t worry." Sean waved the Charles'' Sword a few times to get a feel for it. Then, he casually responded, "I will show you mercy."


    "Since you want to die so much, I will fulfill your wish!"


    As soon as Hank clasped his right hand, he dashed towards Sean. His stride was like a wild bear.


    The aura was shocking!


    But Sean''s expression did not change at all. To him, the astonishing aura was like a clown trying to entertain somebody. It did not stir Sean''s heart at all. He only stared at Hank, silently counting the distance that was closing between them.


    Ten meters!


    Eight meters!


    Six meters!


    Four meters!


    When the distance between them was only four meters, Sean finally moved.


    His movement was like the wind and thunder!


    Sean rushed towards Hank like a bolt of lightning. The distance of four meters seemed to be only one step forward for Sean.


    Sprint!


    Sean was able to control the power of his movements at will. He was also able to use the aura and speed bonus of the sprint. On the contrary, because Hank wanted to maintain his running posture and accumulate his momentum, a weakness had suddenly appeared. It should never have happened!


    Stop! Horse stance! Low posture! Straighten sword!


    The target was the throat!

 Chapter 38：You Lost

    The middle of the camp was an empty field. It was a small area that was usually used by the guards of the Black Cat Business Guild to complete their tasks, like packing boxes and separating goods.


    Currently, a burly man holding a long-handled heavy hammer was standing in the middle of the field. In front of him was a black-haired young man holding a sword in his right hand. Behind the young man was a long mark on the ground. The line had been left by the dragging tip of the young man''s sword when the he had charged forward.


    The two men were Hank and Sean, who were intent on dueling.


    A gust of wind suddenly whipped around them, catching Hank''s attention.


    Hank could feel a strong wind suddenly rise, but there were no traces of airflow around him. The next moment, he noticed that it was not wind, but Sean''s action of raising his sword and stabbing. Because the movement was so fast and fierce, it felt as if the motion could pierce the air. The airflow turned as it wrapped around the sword.


    Hank''s first reaction was that it was impossible!


    His second reaction was to block Sean''s attack.


    The scene that he saw in his consciousness was dragged out. Whether it was traces left behind by the airflow spinning around the sword, or the action of stabbing the sword, they all appeared one at a time in front of Hank''s eyes. The only thing he could do was to raise the heavy hammer in his hand and block the fierce attack that was headed towards him.


    Clang!


    The tip of the sword hit the surface of the heavy hammer.


    Bang!


    The airflow exploded against the surface of the heavy hammer.


    Hong!


    A vibration was emitted from the surface of the heavy hammer.


    Sean and Hank were both shocked, but the only difference was that Sean was a little numb because he tried too hard, whereas Hank, who was defending, wholly felt the impact and explosive force of the power.


    He unconsciously took a step back.


    A second step naturally followed.


    Hank, who had taken two steps back, turned pale. The expression in his eyes was no longer shock but fear. How could someone at a rank-two strength have such a strong explosive power!


    Hank raised his massive hammer and swung it forward. However, the emptiness he felt made him realize that his attack had not hit Sean at all. The heavy hammer moved away from his face, and he noticed that the distance between himself and Sean was 10 meters again.


    The situation seemed to be the same as when they first started the duel, but the others present knew that in the first round of the confrontation, the proud hero Hank had lost to the frail young man with black hair in front of him.


    Hank''s face turned pale. He did not dare to underestimate Sean anymore. He finally realized that Sean was a tough opponent.


    One contact! Immediate retreat!


    Sean did not have any thoughts on taking advantage of his success to continue attacking Hank. If he had been an ordinary person, he would have felt very excited and launched another attack immediately. However, not only had Sean not done what he expected, but he also quickly retreated to the distance. He had made up his mind not to attack impulsively. It made Hank uneasy because he was well aware of his weakness. If Sean had continued to rush towards him, he would have suffered.


    Hank would only allow himself to suffer losses once.


    "Are you not going to attack anymore?" Sean stared at Hank, as there was only one thought in his head. Right now, Hank was full of various weaknesses in front of Sean''s eyes. "Since you are not going to attack anymore, it''s my turn."


    As soon as Sean raised his long sword, he immediately launched an attack. However, he did not use sprint. Instead, he rushed forward as Hank had earlier.


    Sean''s running did not have the same astounding aura as Hank''s earth-shattering movements. On the contrary, it created enormous pressure that made people like they were unable to breathe.


    Hank could not help but change from holding the heavy hammer with one hand to holding it with two hands. The expression on his face was no longer as relaxed as before. Instead, it was replaced by severe concentration.


    If someone had told him a couple of years ago that a person at the rank-two strength would be challenging to deal with, he would have laughed at that person for daydreaming. But now, he felt that Sean was not just troublesome. Hank did not have the confidence that he was going to win.


    Impossible!


    As if he had suddenly sensed something, Hank was shocked. He had unexpectedly become timid!


    He had rank-three strength, but he had unexpectedly become timid while facing against a man with rank-two strength!


    It was impossible!


    As if he was trying to deny something, Hank suddenly let out a cry of anger. He was like a ferocious beast trying to break free from the chains that bound his body.


    He suddenly raised the long-handled hammer. With a ferocious expression, he fiercely swung it down towards the ground!


    Boom!


    A loud explosion sounded. The moment the heavy hammer touched the ground, an invisible ripple was emitted and spread. Everyone inside the camp felt the ground shake. It was as if there had been an earthquake. The ones who had not fully recovered from injuries were unable to stay standing when the impact hit them. They fell to the ground one after another.


    The ground within 30 centimeters of the impact was full of cracks that formed a cobweb-like pattern.


    Hammer Shockwave!


    It was not a damaging skill. However, it could destabilize the enemy''s center of gravity. It was especially effective when facing an enemy who was currently charging. However, the only drawback of the skill was that it did not differentiate between foe and enemy. That was the case for all skills that had a range limit.


    After the heavy hammer landed, Hank raised his head slightly. Then, his hands began to lift the heavy hammer. He was convinced that Sean had lost his center of gravity, which meant that his drive had also been destroyed. The battle would return to both of them being on even footing. However, now that they were extremely close to each other, and Sean had used a long weapon, Hank was confident enough that he could quickly get rid of Sean. He did not want to delay the battle any longer. Making a quick decision was the real path for a strategist.


    No matter what, Sean only had a rank-two strength!


    The wind was back.


    A gust of wind suddenly blew across Hank''s left side. The steady airflow cut across Hank''s cheek like a blade.


    Why was there wind?


    Hank was at a loss for a moment.


    Why was there the smell of blood?


    Why did it feel like something was flowing down the left side of his face?


    Hank reached out to touch it. He felt something warm and sticky. When he opened his left hand, he saw that his palm was red. Hank quickly looked up in horror. Not even a shadow of Sean could be seen in front of him!


    Impossible! How could Sean have not been affected by the Hammer Shockwave?!


    Hank felt the wind again.


    Hank reacted quickly. Due to his frightened mind, he had lost the ability to think properly. His physical reflexes were faster than his thoughts. Without looking back, he gripped the long-handled heavy hammer with one hand and swung it behind him.


    Clang!


    Another ear-piercing crash sounded, making everyone in the vicinity flinch.


    Hank returned to his senses. He felt the force that was heading towards him on the other side of the heavy hammer. He knew that right now was not the time to think about why the heavy hammer did not affect Sean. Hank instantly increased his strength and quickly turned to face Sean at the same time. In terms of strength, he had confidence that he had the advantage. As long as Sean dared to attack him head-on, he had total confidence that he could crush Sean.


    He could gain ten times the power from increasing his strength once!


    However, when Hank began to increase his strength and was ready to pressure Sean with both of his hands on the handle, he suddenly noticed that at some point, Sean''s long sword had been split apart.


    The blade of the sword pulled off as a spark emitted from the grip.


    Sean had skilfully gotten rid of the current created from their confrontation. He gently took a step back and turned his body and swerved around Hank''s left side. Sean wielded his sword once again.


    Because Sean had retreated and split his sword, Hank lacked a confrontational target. The sudden increase of his strength had instantly made him lose his center of gravity. His entire body moved forward a few steps, dragged by the heavy hammer in his hand.


    Could he gain ten times the power from increasing his strength once?


    It was just a joke!


    When Hank faced Sean''s attack again from his right side, the long sword in Sean''s hand had reached the artery on Hank''s neck. Hank could not care about anything else, as he heavily stomped his left foot, holding in the pain that had rushed up to him. His right hand clenched the long-handled heavy hammer, as he moved a step back. Using the end of the long handle, he blocked it in front of the artery in his neck. The handle got stuck within the trajectory of the attack from the position of Sean''s sword.


    However, Sean did not stop attacking. He moved his wrist slightly to the side, and the trajectory of the sword followed. The blade went right past the end of the handle, and a plume of sparks flew in all directions. The sword in front of Sean had gone past the handle of the hammer and successfully injured the left side of Hank''s face.


    Hank ignored the pain he felt in his cheek and let out a beast-like roar. He gripped the handle with one hand and lifted the heavy hammer a few inches off the ground.


    Sean''s eyes finally changed when he saw Hank''s movements.


    "Die!" Hank displayed a hideous smile, his lips curling back to display his bared teeth. His teeth were yellow and crooked, which added to the foulness of the expression.


    The heavy hammer slammed into the ground, and his left hand grabbed towards Sean''s head.


    It was another Hammer Shockwave!


    The skill came with a dizziness DUBUFF. Hank was able to wait until now to display the Hammer Shockwave deliberately, which was not easy, given his intelligence. Also, at such a close range, if the enemy became dizzy, it was easy to imagine what their fate would be.


    Everyone who was able to fight for such a long time and remain alive had to be somewhat smart. Survival of the fittest had filtered out the ones who were too brave or foolish a long time ago.


    The Hammer Shockwave was the only exciting feature Hank had, which made it a lot easier to predict what his plan was.


    When Hank''s heavy hammer was about to land on the ground, his left hand approached Sean. His fingers spread wide in preparation to grab Sean''s hair.


    Sean slightly adjusted his body and withdrew the long sword that was in his hand, pulling it back to him.


    Boom!


    Hank''s heavy hammer landed on the ground, and plumes of dust rose into the air. The dirt and small sandstones on the ground jumped. An invisible ripple spread as smoke started to surge into the air.


    Sean moved slightly as the strong wind swept through the air. His shadow and the long sword in his hand brushed through the air. The residue disappeared, and the light of the sword started to shine.


    Hank''s left hand finally reached out, but he grabbed nothing. His left hand passed through Sean''s shadow.


    Sean''s sword was on Hank''s throat. The cold blade made Hank feel the horror of death.


    Crack.


    A small sound was heard. The handle of the heavy hammer in Hank''s hand broke off from the hammer''s body, precisely where Sean''s sword had cut. Hank stared at the broken hammer in terrified horror. His only hope at perhaps winning was gone.


    "You lost."

 Chapter 39

    "I¡­ Lost." Hank seemed to find it difficult to accept the reality that appeared in front of him. However, when he felt the emptiness in his right hand, he finally realized that his weapon had been cut in half.


    But what had destroyed Hank''s will was not the fact that his weapon broke. It was just an elite grade weapon. Even though the weapon was pure iron, it was still inferior to a magical weapon. Therefore, when it broke, it meant that there was a gap between the two weapons. It had nothing to do with their strength. However, Hank had completely suppressed the entire time they had been dueling. No matter how strong he was, he had not been able to produce any results if his opponent was not attacking him head-on. The materials of the weapons could no longer determine the gap between them.


    What had destroyed Hank''s will was the fact that his skill, the Hammer Shockwave, which he was so proud of, did not affect Sean!


    When it failed the first time, Hank could think of it as an accident. However, he was at a complete loss when he witnessed the failure for the second time.


    He could not figure out why the skill had failed.


    Also, what was the residual shadow earlier?


    Sean slowly placed his long sword back into its sheath. He turned around and walked towards Cecilia. Sean knew that Hank was now completely useless. The moment he threw in the towel, his will attribute fell to "10(13)''''. He had rejected all the effort he had put in over the past years. He would never be able to rise again from the ultimate self-negation.


    There were two ways that the attributes could weaken. One way was the weakening of personal attributes. That situation was probably only temporary. When a person encountered a significant setback or other problems, it would weaken their attributes. However, as long as they survived, the attribute would be able to increase again. The second scenario was more serious: the growth limit was weakened. That was Hank''s present state. The negation of his character made it impossible for his attribute to improve again.


    Of course, there were exceptions to everything.


    Sean looked at Cecilia. The surge in her wisdom and will attributes was still a mystery. However, Sean did not think that maggots like Hank could be compared with Cecilia.


    "How did you do it?" Cecilia looked up at Sean, her eyes filled with curiosity.


    "It''s a small secret." Sean smiled and patted Cecilia on the head. He only showed his gentle side to her.


    During the early days of the game ''''Miracle,'''' Hammer Shockwave was considered an invincible skill. Because of the skill, more than half of the warriors in the game had chosen to change their profession to [Hercules] when they reached rank three.


    However, was the skill that invincible?


    In reality, it was not. The skill was described as destabilizing the center of gravity. In other words, as long as the person was not moving, their center of gravity could not be destabilized. The only method left was the dizziness effect that worked within 30 centimeters of the attack. Later, some players found out that when the heavy hammer hit the ground, they could become immune to its effect by using any skills that allowed them to move at a fast speed. Similarly, it was also effective during the casting phase. It allowed the players who were not [Hercules] to avoid the most devastating attack they had.


    The sprint that Sean displayed happened to be a skill that allowed him to move quickly.


    That was how Sean had avoided Hank''s two attacks. It was a straightforward solution to an otherwise tricky problem.


    During the decade Sean was playing the game, PVP was a battle of wills unless the gap in strength of skills, equipment, and level between the two sides were too big. Due to the special features of all the classes, the necessary combat skills and even equipment attributes reached a level that could be seen by the naked eye. Therefore, whoever revealed their weaknesses first would die first.


    That was why, even though Sean''s current strength was relatively low, his field of vision was extensive, and his knowledge was broad. Even someone with a class above rank eight might not have been able to compete with Sean. Sean would just be able to find their weakness and exploit them.


    "Humph! If you don''t want to tell me, then forget it." Cecilia hit Sean''s hand away angrily. "Here I was all worried about you."


    "I know." Sean smiled. Sean had felt the magic fluctuations floating through the air earlier. It was nice to know that Cecilia cared about his safety even if he could hold his own.


    Apart from deciphering the knowledge of the skills, Sean had also gained the "Mysterious Sword Skill," which was a passive skill.


    However, Sean was able to confirm that the ''''Mysterious Sword Skill'''' was not just a passive skill. Although the skill was introduced like that, in reality, as long as he had control of the sword, he would get a mysterious feeling. He felt like the sword skill had been engraved into his bones and soul. The first time his and Hank''s weapons collided, Sean had used the ''''memory'''' of the sword skill that was left in his soul to concentrate the strength of his entire body onto the tip of the sword. Through that, he was able to create a powerful impact.


    It was also because of the memory from the sword skill in his soul that Sean was able to draw the sword so decisively during the second blow. He had not given Hank a chance to hit him or reveal his weaknesses. Even if Hank had not used the Hammer Shockwave a second time, Sean would have still had the confidence to destroy Hank''s weapon in one minute. The result would not have given Hank such a heavy blow, even if he had lost.


    Fox glanced at Hank, then sighed lightly. Fox waved his hand, signally for someone to take Hank away.


    It was not difficult to see that Hank had been destroyed, but what could he say about such a thing? He did not know anything that was business-related. He was not even very good at negotiations. All he knew was combat. However, his job was to take care of Ron''s safety.


    He nudged Ron, whose mind had been wandering after the conclusion of the duel. The push brought Ron back to his senses.


    Compared to Fox''s field of vision and insight, Ron knew nothing about combat. Although he was talented in business, he was still young and lacked negotiation skills. However, at the very least, he was not as terrifying to look at as Fox.


    As soon as Ron came back to his senses, he immediately went up to greet Sean. He did not forget to say to the other guards around him, "This is Mr. Sean, your new commander. Mr. Sean is now in charge of the next battle against the dog-headed people''s tribe."


    The remaining dozen or so people looked at each other, but no one said anything. They had seen the battle with their own eyes. Even though Sean was only a rank-two warrior and was not in the official class, Hank had lost. He was considered the strongest among everyone there. Therefore, was there even hope of a victory for any of them?


    "Young master Ron, even if you say so¡­" A brief silence and eye contact did not mean that everyone had accepted the result. A young man said, "But does Mr. Sean know how to fight a war? We are not going to round up a group of dog-headed people. We are going to attack a tribe of dog-headed people. There are crucial differences between the two."


    "Trust me. I know the dog-headed people better than they know themselves." Sean turned to look at the young man. The young man seemed to be in his twenties, probably a few years older than Sean himself. However, judging from his strength, he was a rank three [Shieldguard]. "I know you guys have just suffered a terrible loss, which has left a shadow on your body and mind to a certain extent¡­ Don''t be surprised about why I know. I can see the unnatural expressions on your faces."


    "But what I can tell you guys is that all your humiliation can be washed away, as long as you are willing to take up your weapons again and advance with me."


    "Of course, there are some things that I must say first. Anyone who does not want to follow my orders does not need to participate. I don''t need anyone who is pretending to be interested. I don''t want to put the other members of the team in danger because of just a few people." Sean''s eyes swept across the ones who were not injured or the ones who had injuries that would not affect their performance in the battle. However, most of them did not dare to look back at Sean.


    Back when Sean had been playing the game "Miracle," his teams had been wiped out through various methods because of a few members on the team who had other motives. However, reality was different from the game. In the real world, if a team was wiped out by accident, then their fate was easy to imagine. Therefore, Sean would rather have fewer members on the team than bring some who were forcing themselves to participate.


    To Sean''s slight disappointment, there were only a few people who dared to look back at him directly. They were all middle-aged men. The younger men who would take over as elite guards of the Black Cat Business Guild in the future had all flinched.


    Sean did not need a lot of people, but the more people there were, the more security they provided. After all, they were in the real world, so it was impossible for a dungeon that limited five or ten people to appear. When they went through the Starfall Forest, he had insisted on ten people due to safety reasons. If the team had too many people, they would have become a meal for the demonic beasts before even getting to the Land of Black Earth, which would have caused plenty of problems for a big group alone.


    However, the ''''Gathering Place of the Dog-headed People'''' was a bit different. Although it was located within the fog that formed the Starfall Forest, the dungeon was not part of Starfall Forest. At best, it had occupied a bit of the gray zone. That was the strangest thing about the dungeon. The dungeon was very different from the Starfall Forest. Even though there were many small monsters, they were not very threatening. Also, because the living creatures were humanoids and not demonic beasts, the dog-headed people were more like human beings. Therefore, it was not very confusing to plan how to battle against them. Hitting any of their vital areas would be fatal.


    Also, the most important thing was that the dog-headed people and the pioneering force of the Black Cat Business Guild had already fought against each other. Both sides had suffered losses. Therefore, there would not be many dog-headed people left inside the camp. Looking at it from another perspective, it reduced the amount of energy consumption and the danger for Sean. However, if there were a few rank three [Thieves] in the team, then it would make it much easier for them to pass the dungeon.


    However, before all of that occurred, there was something else that Sean had to do.


    Sean turned towards Ron and grinned. "It is now time for us to talk."


    "Talk¡­Talk about what?" Ron suddenly felt a shudder go down his body from Sean''s smile.


    "It is about the payment, of course."


    There was a smile on Sean''s face. He thought that it was his most elegant smile. However, from everyone else''s point of view, it was an evil smile.

 Chapter 40 - Regional Dungeon

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    ¡°Are there only seven people willing to come?¡± Sean glanced at everyone present and sighed helplessly.


    He knew that he was not a very outstanding commander or general. He did not know how to do the things that a commander would have done, like encouraging warriors to maintain high morale. When he had led a team in the game, all the group members had been elites chosen by their families or guilds. As it was a game, there was not too much of a loss if they died. They would only lose the loot that they had put in their inventory. Therefore, no one cared about the team getting wiped out in a dungeon. On the contrary, it stimulated the player¡¯s competitive mentality.


    But right now, it was the real world, so everything was different.


    Out of the seven people in front of Sean, five of them were middle-aged men, and only two were young men. One of the two young men was the person who dared to step out and voice his doubt about Sean¡¯s ability to command the day before.


    Sean was able to guess what they were all thinking by the look in their eyes. The five middle-aged men were participating in the battle to wash away their humiliation. Sean did not care why they thought such things. Apart from the young man who had voiced his doubts about Sean the day before, the other young man was participating to become famous. There was an evident desire for fame and wealth and an intention to take risks. Only the young man who had doubted Sean yesterday had an intense hatred in his eyes. His expression looked like he was ready to face death.


    Sean liked people who had such desires.


    Once that desire was there, there would be motivation. In the end, it all depended on what kind of price they were willing to pay.


    ¡°I won¡¯t say any more nonsense. You guys know how many of the dog-headed people there are,¡± Sean said in a deep voice. When it came to being a commander, Sean would become very serious. ¡°What I wanted to tell you guys is that the fog around the Starfall Forest has a strong interference ability. The closer the fog is to the Starfall Forest, the stronger the interference will be. It is almost impossible to come out of it alive.¡±


    Sean¡¯s words immediately made them feel a bit of fear because they remembered that when the Black Cat Business Guild had launched an attack previously, they had dispersed the team and surrounded the camp to attack. Later, when the fight had broken out, the number of attackers was a quarter less than they expected. The longer the battle took, the more people stopped attacking the places they were supposed to. At the time, the people did not realize the seriousness of the problem, and later they were killed by the dog-headed people.


    ¡°Then¡­ Then how do we get in?¡± The young man in the team, who had the desire to become famous, now felt a little scared.


    ¡°Just follow my lead.¡± Sean glanced at him and saw that he was a rank three [Thief]. The profession was relatively crucial for their attack. Therefore, Sean would not let him run away, ¡°Inside the fog, our field of vision will be limited to a range of five meters. However, it is the same for the dog-headed people. Therefore, unless they have no other choice, they will not leave their camp to fight us.¡±


    ¡°Is our battle to draw them out of the camp?¡± One of the middle-aged man¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°That is a good idea. In our previous confrontations, we all stormed straight in to attack head-on. This¡­¡±


    ¡°Tell me first, what is our mission?¡± Sean cast a sideways glance at the middle-aged man in an indifferent tone.


    The middle-aged man was slightly stunned. Then, he blurted out, ¡°Isn¡¯t our mission to kill the dog-headed people?¡±


    ¡°Will we get money if we kill them?¡± Sean asked.


    According to the principle of how items dropped in the game ¡°Miracle,¡± dog-headed people were humanoid creatures. Therefore, they would not drop any materials. They dropped complete equipment. However, the dog-headed people were only relatively low levels so that they couldn¡¯t drop anything good. The only impressive things they dropped were top-quality equipment. However, the equipment was not useful for Sean at all.


    As for coins¡­


    Did the dog-headed people know how to use them?


    The thing that had a kill value was the magician of the Medusa Business Guild, who had enslaved the dog-headed people.


    ¡°Our task is not to kill every single one of the dog-headed people.¡± Sean saw that the middle-aged man was a little dumbfounded. ¡°Our task is to find the Square Tipped Crystals,¡± Sean said. ¡°That is our main goal. The dog-headed people are just obstacles that are preventing us from finding the Square Tipped Crystals. So if there is an easier way for us to find the Square Tipped Crystals, why not use it?¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± The young man, who had suspected Sean yesterday, suddenly became anxious when he heard Sean say that they were not going to destroy the entire dog-headed people¡¯s tribe.


    ¡°Your name.¡±


    The young man was stunned. Then he said, ¡°Anyers.¡±


    ¡°Well, Anyers, I don¡¯t know what kind of hatred you have towards the dog-headed people, and I don¡¯t want to know if they killed your family or friends.¡± Sean¡¯s words made Anyers turn pale. ¡°What I can tell you is that our operation is to kill two dog-headed magicians. It is not a real dog-headed tribe. It is a group of enslaved dog-headed people. That is why there is no unity among them. If we wanted to take back the Square Tipped Crystals with just our strength, it would be impossible unless we had the Son of God with us.¡±


    Sean changed the direction of their conversation as he looked at Anyers. ¡°However, I will give you a chance to take revenge. There is a magician in the dog-headed people¡¯s camp. He is the real culprit who is ordering the dog-headed people around.¡±


    The words immediately rekindled the spirited look in the eyes of the young [Shieldguard].


    There was no need for Sean to talk anymore after that. The team sorted itself into subgroups very quickly. Then a group of nine people headed towards the fog surrounding the Starfall Forest.


    Of the nine people, apart from Sean and Cecilia, who had rank-two professions, the others all had rank-three professions. There was someone who specialized in the defensive [Shieldguard] and [Guard] professions. There was a [Thief], two [Swordsmen], who used all kinds of sword weapons, and two [Spearmen], who used long spears as their primary weapon. That was the arrangement of the team.


    The arrangement would have been considered extremely weird in the game. No matter what dungeon it was, no groups would have been arranged like that. However, on the Miracle Continent, which lacked talents, no matter how strange the arrangement was, Sean had to accept it calmly. Of course, everyone in the team was needed, as they had the core professions to complete the dungeon, just like the Starfall Forest had required two people who specialized in bow and arrow. For the ¡°dog-headed gathering place¡± they were heading towards, the team needed at least one thief.


    Without the core professions, Sean would have never made a move.


    The dungeon, the Gathering Place of the Dog-headed People, was very different from a normal dungeon. It was the first dungeon that players in the Portoroa Kingdom had access to.


    The term ¡°regional dungeon¡± referred to the dungeons in a specific region. The size of the land that the regional dungeon was linked to could vary, but each dungeon had the same function.


    For example, the Tinders Domain, where Sean was now, belonged to the Gleason Region of the Portoroa Kingdom. If they launched an attack on other areas, then the banner that the troops of the Tindus Domain held would say ¡°Gleason, Tindus.¡±


    That was the exact opposite of how things were in the Serian Kingdom.


    The lords who ruled a region in the Serian Kingdom added the word ¡°strength¡± in front of their title. When Sean was in the Sivir Domain, it belonged to the Suriname Region of the Serian Kingdom. Marquis Nordes ruled the Suriname Region. Even Viscount Damien, the lord of Sivir Region, was, to a certain extent, under the control of Nordes. If a war broke out, then the soldiers would not hold a banner that said, ¡°Suriname, Sivir.¡± Instead, the banner would say ¡°Suriname,¡± as Marquis Nordes commanded the soldiers.


    However, not all regions had a regional dungeon.


    The regional dungeons only appeared in certain areas. Usually, the rate that the regional dungeons appeared was relatively high. The items dropped were relatively rare. However, the dungeons took a long time to refresh. Back in the game, all regional dungeons used a shared CD time. Once the dungeons were cleared, the refresh time ranged from one week to several months according to the size and historical background of the regional dungeon. There were even a few regional dungeons that never reset after they were cleared.


    The shared refresh CD meant that many people might enter the dungeon, but after one team had killed the BOSS, the other teams would not be able to see the BOSS inside the dungeon anymore. Once one of the teams had cleared the dungeon, all other groups in the dungeon would be sent out.


    Sean remembered that one time, the elite team that he had led and another guild¡¯s elite team had entered the same regional dungeon at the same time. In the end, the first BOSS disappeared with two percent health left, because another elite team had killed the BOSS. However, since the team needed to rest, they let Sean take the lead and kill the next couple of BOSSES, allowing him to clear the dungeon. Afterward, the other elite team was kicked out of the dungeon map.


    The competition for regional dungeons was very fierce in the game.


    But now that Sean was on the Miracle Continent, no one would compete with him for the dungeon. However, all the dungeons had turned into one-time-only expendable dungeons.


    The challenge of the dungeon in front of Sean, the Gathering Place of the Dog-headed People, was a lot more difficult because it was a regional dungeon. There were a lot of dog-headed people inside. If they were even a little bit careless, they would have to face the attacks of all the dog-headed people inside the camp. The dog-headed people had a shared hatred. If the fight against one of the dog-headed people was not resolved within the 30 seconds, then every dog-headed person inside the camp would start attacking.


    Therefore, that was where thieves were needed because thieves had a lot of lure and dizziness type skills. If they could properly use the skills, then they would be able to use the slashing and killing method. However, reality was different from the game. The creatures in the game had health points, whereas the real world did not. A hit to a vital area was fatal. That was why Sean had not created the team according to the dungeon he remembered, where three thieves were required.


    What he needed now was for the people to move around as quietly as possible.


    Judging from the current results, they were indeed a well-trained satisfactory team.

 Chapter 41 - Gathering Place of the Dog-headed People

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    The fog was everywhere. Although it did not interfere to the point that they could not see anything, the limit of their field of vision was only four to five meters. Any further than that and it would be impossible to even see people¡¯s shadows, let alone anything else.


    Sean was leading the team inside the fog, and they had been walking for more than an hour already. However, no one in the team had complained even once. They all moved forward quietly and calmly, and everyone maintained a state of absolute concentration. Inside the fog, anything could happen. Therefore, they could not afford to relax and had to stay vigilant. Of course, this would, in turn, drain their mental energy. Fortunately, they were all veterans, so they would not waste too much of their energy.


    In this fog that surrounded the Starfall Forest, it was very difficult for people to have a sense of direction. Even though there was no space distortion, if people were even a little bit uncareful, they could get lost. The usual methods for knowing which direction to head toward or how to create some sort of mark were all useless inside the fog. Instead, a special magic item called the Earth Lure had to be used. However, this kind of magic item also had its limits, becoming useless once taken too deep within the fog.


    The dog-headed people¡¯s camp was built in a very clever location. It was not very deep but could still be regarded as well hidden.


    Suddenly, the thief who was exploring the way at the front of the group raised his hand. The team immediately stopped moving.


    ¡°Did you find it?¡± Sean asked softly.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The thief nodded.


    Sean quickly walked to the front. As he walked closer and closer to the thief, a few black shadows started to faintly appear from within the fog in front of him. There was more than one shadow, and they were lined up in rows. Sean knew at a glance that it was the wooden wall around the dog-headed people¡¯s camp. However, the way this wall was built had been based on the normal defense strongholds of humans. Therefore, it was at least four meters high.


    Sean nodded, then motioned to everyone in the team behind him to follow. They all formed a line and moved forward together by following the wooden wall.


    Not long later, everyone saw a person¡¯s shadow that was around one meter tall within the fog in front of them. The person seemed to be holding a long spear in their hand. It was obvious that this person was a dog-headed guard. However, Sean had not ordered the team to attack, so naturally no one rushed forwards recklessly. They all looked at Sean, waiting for his next order.


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush.¡± Sean did not dare to speak, so instead he just made a gesture.


    This fog around the Starfall Forest could only block sight, but sounds were not blocked at all. Also, these dog-headed people had a very keen sense of hearing. At a distance where the shadow of a person could be seen, any sound would cause a reaction from this dog-headed person. This gathering location had only just been hit by the people from the Black Cat Business Guild. This meant that the camp was on high alert right now. Sean did not want to fight every single dog-headed person inside the camp.


    Sean waved his hand to convey his message. The thief immediately nodded in understanding as the entire team began to retreat, leaving only the thief.


    Not long after, the thief also started to slowly retreat backward. Then, he set up a trap for catching beasts when he was at an appropriate distance. The thief squatted down and began to gently tap on the iron weapon he was always carrying with him. The taps had a consistent pattern and were very soft, to ensure that the sounds would only be transmitted at a small range. Then, after waiting for a few seconds, the thief began to retreat while tapping on the iron weapon.


    At this moment, Sean and others had already started to spread out into the surroundings.


    They were not too far away from each other, just about six meters from the place where the thief had just set up the trap. This distance was the limit of what they could observe with their eyes within the fog. For those with a rank three strength, it would only take them around a second to cross this distance. The moment Sean started to attack would be the signal for the others to attack as well.


    The sound from tapping the iron instrument had a bit of strangeness to it and this made it very easy to annoy others. This sound was effective against any humanoid creature.


    This was the lure skill unique to thieves.


    As Sean had guessed would happen, a few shadows appeared not too far ahead.


    These shadows were no more than one meter tall. They were all armed with long weapons such as long spears and pikes. This was easy to tell from the shadows. Also, judging from the speed that the shadows were moving, they were still maintaining a very high degree of vigilance. Sean guessed that this was because they had just walked through the area, so a bit of their smell still lingered. After all, apart from having a good sense of hearing, the dog-headed people also had a very good sense of smell.


    Suppressing his desire to kill by force, Sean waited quietly like a hunter for his prey to take the bait. He glanced back at the other members of the team. From where he was, he could only see the shadow of a spearman. Cecilia was still next to him, but she was not part of the group that would go and attack. After all, an apprentice magician had little value in a place where quick combat was needed.


    Sean¡¯s eyes were fixed on the place where the thief had just laid the trap. He had already created a simple concealment. This type of concealment would not trick anyone if it were outside of the fog or inside a normal forest. But within this fog, such a simple concealment was enough. In addition to the luring and interference that was being created by the thief, it was enough to attract the attention of the dog-headed people.


    Bang!


    A dog-headed person had finally stepped on the trap. The sound of the clamp closing had even created an ear-deafening noise within the entire area.


    This was a special trap. Its corners were extremely sharp, and the force of the clamp was equivalent to a standard rank three wolf-shaped demonic beast. Even someone at rank four known for their physical strength would be seriously injured if they accidentally stepped on this kind of trap. As for dog-headed people, they had never been known for their physical strength. After stepping on the trap, the dog-headed person¡¯s right leg was pulled off on the spot.


    The sudden pain made it open its mouth, wanting to let out a scream. However, even though its mouth was open, only a hoarse babbling sound could be heard. There were no screams at all. Immediately after, it realized that its throat was also hurt. However, because the pain from the trap was so strong, its awareness of other injuries infinitely slower. It was no longer able to make any accurate judgments.


    Within the next second, the dog-headed person felt a strong wind heading towards it. However, by then, its head was already spinning in the air.


    Sprint.


    This skill was now becoming a fixed method of attack for Sean. However, this time, his sprint did not stop midway. Instead, he had calculated the distance for a precise attack. The long sword in his hand pierced the dog-headed person¡¯s throat with the acceleration of the sprint. Then, with one swing, Sean decapitated its head.


    The attack had arrived too suddenly.


    Any creature would have a slow reaction when facing a sudden situation. This was the same for all demonic beasts, wild beasts, humans, and humanoids. The only difference was that trained humans and humanoids had very short reaction times, perhaps less than a second. As for those more timid wild beasts, they would not react at all. Instead, they would flee at the first sign of a disturbance or trouble.


    It was obvious that none of these dog-headed people had been specially trained.


    Also, Sean did not give them any time to react. After his thunderous attack, Sean immediately swung the sword again, aiming for the head of the other dog-headed person closest to him.


    As soon as the sword had flashed by, the second dog-headed person was killed just like the first. However, the second dog-headed person was a lot luckier, as it had not stepped on the trap like the first dog-headed person.


    At this moment, the dog-headed people finally reacted.


    However, it was already too late.


    Anyers and the others had already rushed forward. The spearman who had been closest to Sean stabbed the body of a dog-headed person, nailing it to the wooden wall. Immediately after, Anyers followed with a swing of his sword and cut across the dog-headed person¡¯s throat. The remaining two dog-headed people were also killed by two swordsmen and a spearman. All of their throats were slit so that they would not be able to make a sound.


    This was something that Sean had specifically instructed the team members to do before the battle.


    After a short and fierce confrontation, Sean and the others had won a perfect victory with their attacks.


    When everyone else had gathered together again, Sean stopped examining the bodies of the dog-headed people.


    A dog-headed guard was a rank two profession. It was considered a more common profession in the dog-headed people¡¯s race. Generally speaking, the normal defense tasks at camps and tribes were all carried out by these dog-headed people. They did not have a particularly good combat power, but those who gathered in groups were still fairly threatening. Under normal circumstances, there would be three to five of them in a team, however, this number would double in special circumstances or more important locations.


    Currently, there were only five dog-headed guards in front of Sean.


    Logically speaking, the camp had only just been attacked by the Black Cat Business Guild, so they should have increased the number of guards. However, the current number of guards was only the standard amount. In an instant, Sean realized that there were probably not many dog-headed people left in the camp. If this was true, then it would be a good idea for them to completely destroy the camp, instead of forcing the dog-headed people to flee by killing their leader!


    After all, Sean had never wanted to massacre everyone in the entire Gathering Place of the Dog-headed People. One reason was that he was afraid to waste time. The second reason was that the dog-headed people in this dungeon provided two-thirds fewer experience points than a normal rank two beast. But if he could slaughter the dog-headed people, then accumulating many small rewards to get a big reward would also be a good choice.


    In an instant, Sean made a new decision, ¡°Let¡¯s take care of the three main targets first. Then, we will come back and deal with the remaining dog-headed people.¡±

 Chapter 42 - Sneaking In

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    ¡°Ooh-woo! Ow! ¡±


    Similar to the sound of a dog howling, the noise echoed through the camp. This sound was especially obvious to the several dog-headed men who stood near the entrance of the camp.


    The dog-headed people were cunning and timid humanoid creatures who were only around one meter tall. Their heads were not dog heads but were similar to those of raptors. They had a long jaw, bright jewel-like eyes, and horns. The characteristics of their bodies were also similar to the raptors recorded on earth. They had scaly skin, which was generally dark brown and occasionally black. They had mouse-like straight tails, and legs with joints that made a Z shape. Their movements were also very fast, and they only had four flat, long, and sharp toes.


    Dog-headed people were not very good with their words. However, the interesting thing was that they could speak dragon language. The sound was very similar to a dog howling. Perhaps this was the reason why they were called dog-headed people.


    All of this was the result of Sean¡¯s previous observations. They were exactly the same as the dog-headed people he remembered.


    At this moment, Sean and eight others were standing in a line at the entrance of the camp. Not far from them were a few dog-headed people who were having a discussion. Due to the fog, Sean was not able to see the situation inside the camp clearly. He could only hear the sounds of dogs barking, which was particular to the dog-headed people. As for the dog-headed people inside the camp, they were not able to see what happened inside the fog. It seemed that they were having a fierce argument.


    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Anyers asked in a low voice.


    Sean thought for a moment, then picked up a spear, lowered his body, and walked out.


    Sean was around 180 centimeters tall, but here on Miracle Continent, he was considered short. After he lowered his body, he was around the same height as those dog-headed people. Of course, the visible shadow in the fog was a lot fatter.


    Sean did not enter the camp, because that would definitely give himself away. He could only rely on the effect of the fog on both sides to create an illusion.


    As soon as the others saw what Sean was doing, they immediately reacted. Anyers, two spearmen, and Cecilia also picked up long spears and long pikes, then walked forward following after Sean. The number was exactly five, no more and no less. As for the two swordsmen, they took this opportunity to go around, one left and one right, lurking on both sides of the camp entrance. This type of coordination was not difficult for them. The team did not need Sean to say anything, as they were able to help cover each other with seamless coordination.


    Sure enough, when Sean and the others appeared at the entrance of the camp, the sound of quarreling between the dog-headed people stopped. A little while later, one of them howled. However, this kind of question and answer was a difficult conversation for Sean. He had brought the skill tab and attributes tab to this world with him, however, he had not brought the language ability tab. Of course, even if Sean was inside the game, he would still not be able to understand what the dog-headed people were saying.


    This was obviously not the first time that Sean had used this confrontation method. He pretended to not have heard and took a few more steps forwards. His shadow gradually disappeared into the fog, as the other members behind him followed. Only Cecilia had paused for a moment as if she were hesitating. However, very quickly she decided to move forward as well.


    This move had made the dog-headed people inside the camp a little bit irritated.


    There seemed to be the sound of swearing, as they started to move. These dog-headed people soon rushed out of the camp, while continuing to make shouting noises that were difficult to comprehend.


    But all this, of course, would naturally not affect the decisions of Sean and the other team members. When Sean had arrived at a distance far enough from the camp, he and then others threw away their long spears and pikes. Then, they stood up again with their own familiar weapons in hand. They turned around and waited to attack the dog-headed people.


    Quick running sounds could be heard.


    There was a slight ¡®poof¡¯. It was the sound of a body rushing into the thick fog.


    As soon as the five dog-headed people plunged into the fog, they froze. They looked at the humans standing not far ahead of them with confusion, as the number of people was exactly the same as them. In the next moment, these dog-headed people became alarmed. Timid and cunning by nature, they would never attack their enemy without having more than twice the number of people their enemy had. Since they noticed that there were five people in front of them, they had no desire to attack.


    But when they turned to escape, they found that their escape route had been blocked, as there were four humans waiting for them.


    The sword like electricity!


    The spear like a dragon!


    Sean and the others did not hesitate to make a move the moment they saw the dog-headed people become flustered.


    Their simple yet cruel killing method easily got rid of the five dog-headed people who had been lured out of the camp.


    The clean and crisp killing technique showed that Sean¡¯s team was not made of novices. Everyone was a truly experienced veteran. Because of two consecutive successes, coupled with Sean¡¯s explanation and arrangement, the rest of the team started to genuinely believe in Sean.


    There was no need to take care of all the dog-headed people. Although the equipment they had on them was not too damaged, it was only ordinary weaponry and leather armor. Some of them were even worse than ordinary. As for the guards from the Black Cat Business Guild, the equipment they used had been of elite grade, so the team was not interested in the equipment from the dog-headed people. As for Sean and Cecilia, one having a high standard and one being a magician, naturally neither would be interested either.


    Therefore, all nine people in the team quickly entered the dog-headed people¡¯s camp.


    The camp was extremely big and was entirely built in accordance with the standard military camp. There was a four-meter-tall fence, perfect drainage channels, well set-out camping tents, and thick sand on the ground. These features all indicated how extraordinary the dog-headed people¡¯s camp was. Moreover, there was also a magical formation set in the camp. The fog that surrounded the Starfall Forest could not invade the camp at all. This was the reason why the layout of the entire camp was very obvious to the naked eye.


    After observing for a little bit, Sean was able to tell that this camp had at least 600 dog-headed people when it was first built.


    Normally, the standard size of a dog-headed camp was around 200 members, while the standard size of a dog-headed tribe was more than 400 members. Usually, the number of people inside the dog-headed tribe determined whether this tribe was strong or not. This was very different from Gnolls, who looked more at the strength of the members. Therefore, a dog-headed tribe with more than 600 members could be regarded as medium-level or even close to a standard tribe.


    However, what was strange was that this dog-headed tribe did not have a dog-headed chief, a dog-headed commander, or dog-headed magicians with a rank four or even rank five profession that a normal tribe would have. The great leaders of this tribe were only rank three magicians. As for the one who actually controlled tribe, it was a magician from the Medusa Business Guild who specialized in physic power.


    The so-called spiritual energy sector referred to a magic sector based around the soul, spirit, illusion, and other magics.


    If this was a real dog-headed people¡¯s tribe, it could be taken down by using an army to attack. Any crisis occurring on a territory was naturally the responsibility of the territory¡¯s lord. It was not that the Black Cat Business Guild had not thought about seeking help from the lord of the Tindus Domain. It was just that right now, the old Marquis Perot was in an unconscious state, and Viscount Damien had not yet inherited the Marquis title. Also, nearly half of the military power in their territory now belonged to Count Mario.


    Complex and chaotic relationships and circumstances eventually left the Black Cat Business Guild to deal with the current matter on their own.


    Fortunately, it was not a real dog-headed people¡¯s tribe. There were no dog-headed newborns inside this camp, therefore there were no fresh blood supplements. This meant that every time a dog-headed soldier was used, there would be one less of them in the group. In addition, this dog-headed tribe did not have any clerics or cures, so if any of the members suffered an incurable wound, they would not be able to receive any help.


    Looking at the situation inside the camp right now, Sean knew that there were probably not many dog-headed people left. Sean could not help but think back to Ron¡¯s remark earlier.


    If Ron was given another day or two, he might have actually been able to successfully attack and take over this dog-headed camp.


    In a way, Sean had to thank the joint pressure that the Medusa Business Guild and the Arctic Silver Business guild had put on Ron.


    Sean held out his right fist, then raised his index finger and waved it towards the right. Then, he raised his middle finger, so that both fingers were held up. Afterward, he waved his index finger to the left, then turned his right hand back into a fist before opening up all five fingers at the same time.


    Everyone looked at Sean blankly, all at a loss.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± After a long while, Anyers took the risk and asked.


    ¡°You guys didn¡¯t understand me?¡± Sean looked surprised. Then, he remembered that this T.M.D was not a game. When Sean was in the game, he would go into this kind of command operations mode. As he was used to that, he subconsciously started to do the same in this real world, forgetting to take into account that these people did not actually understand the code words simplified from the military gestures on earth.


    However, Sean was also very thick-skinned. He used a superior voice without blushing or his heartbeat quickening and said, ¡°This is a special code gesture, how come you guys don¡¯t know it? When going into stealth operations, it is necessary to rely on these types of gestures to communicate. The hand gestures I made earlier mean that the first group will sneak in from the right, the second group will sneak in from the left, while the rest of the members will follow me.¡±


    All of a sudden, everyone displayed an understanding expression, as if they had learned something just now. This made Sean automatically feel more superior.


    Afterward, a swordsman raised his hand and said awkwardly with a nervous expression on his face, ¡°But commander, you¡­haven¡¯t divided us into groups yet.¡±


    Sean scorned as he took a sideways glance. He still did not blush or have an increased heartbeat. At a time like this, he definitely would not say that when he was in the game, the team would have been divided into groups ages ago. Earlier, he had subconsciously given the command. ¡°Do you guys need me to teach you these things?¡± Sean said. ¡°Divide according to the usual preparation standards, do you guys understand?¡­ Still don¡¯t understand? What a useless bunch! One spearman, one swordsman, and a defender. This is the standard allocation. Isn¡¯t our number right now perfect?¡±


    Therefore, everyone once again looked at Sean with expressions of respect.


    ¡°What are you guys still looking at me for?! You three go left, you three go right.¡± Sean randomly ordered a spearman, a swordsman and a defender to go left, then ordered the other three to go right. The rest of the members, who were the thief and Cecilia, naturally followed Sean, ¡°Cecilia and you will move together with me.¡±

 Chapter 43 - The Promise

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    There were not many patrols left in the dog-headed people¡¯s camp.


    Sean still remembered the time when he had led a team and crossed the Starfall Forest for the first time. When they had arrived at this regional dungeon, the scene was spectacular. It was completely modeled according to the palaces of emperors during ancient times. People were stationed five steps apart, while the outposts were stationed 10 steps apart. There was also a large number of patrols walking around the camp. Sean¡¯s team had been wiped out more than 30 times before they finally saw the leader of the camp. At that time, there had been only four people left on the team.


    But now.


    In one of the corners of the camp, there was a large number of dead dog-headed people stacked up. Next to them were more than a dozen other dog-headed people who were constantly throwing the corpses into a fire. It was obvious that these people were responsible for cleaning up the dead bodies. The Gnolls were worse than these dog-headed people. Even though they would sometimes eat their prisoners, at the very least, the dog-headed people would not eat the corpses of their companions, as the Gnolls would. Of course, in terms of reputation, the dog-headed people and the Gnolls were about the same.


    They were both known for their immoral behaviors.


    Sean did not disturb this group of dog-headed people. He took Cecilia and the young thief into a tent closest to them.


    Inside the tent, there were seven to eight dog-headed people. They had obvious signs of injuries. Although they were given preliminary emergency aid, it was impossible for them to regain their combat power without a cleric present. If they were inside a dog-headed people¡¯s tribe, then they would normally have been disposed of, and not be left here to waste the food. However, they were still alive, which meant only one thing.


    The magician of the Medusa Business Guild who controlled the dog-headed people¡¯s camp still needed them to be sacrificed for the team.


    The young thief looked at Sean with confusion. However, he saw Sean pull out a knife that he had gotten from one of the dog-headed men¡¯s bodies earlier. Then, Sean walked up and cut the throat of each of the dog-headed man inside the tent without hesitation. Blood spurted everywhere. This was a very clean and clear method of execution. Back in the game, this technique existed, and Sean had used it many times. Therefore, in the eyes of Cecilia and the young thief, Sean appeared to be very skilled.


    However, while Cecilia was already used to Sean¡¯s strange and abnormal behavior, the young thief felt a chill through down his body at the sight of it. This was because even though he had joined the Thieves Guild, he had only ever done things like petty theft. Even when he was in a battle, he had been a guard for the Black Cat Business Guild because he had stolen things from them in the past. If he had a choice, he would never have participated in such fierce battles.


    This time, apart from the aim of becoming famous, he had come with the team because he planned to run away if the opportunity were to arise.


    But at the sight of Sean¡¯s clean and clear methods, the young thief gave up on the idea of running away. He also pulled out his dagger, then bit the bullet and went up to end the life of the other dog-headed people in the tent. When he slit the throat of the first dog-headed man, the young thief glanced at Cecilia. She looked remarkably calm when facing such a situation. The young thief could not help but sigh, thinking that birds of a feather flock together.


    Sean was not aware of these psychological changes within the thief. He glanced at the body of the first dog-headed man the thief had dealt with and was slightly surprised: ¡°Huh? Your technique is very professional. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Jim,¡± the young thief answered carefully.


    ¡°Jim.¡± Sean glanced at the thief and was surprised to find that the limits of his endurance, agility, and will attributes were all fairly high. However, even though the numbers were good, they were still not enough to impress Sean. ¡°You should have become an assassin,¡± Sean said. ¡°Being a thief has buried too much of your potential.¡±


    ¡°Assassin?¡± Jim¡¯s heart trembled.


    However, after Sean said that, he did not say anything further. Jim¡¯s growth potential was slightly higher than that of Anyers, but he was not valuable enough to be personally trained by Sean. However, at this moment, Sean suddenly thought of a person from the Tindus Domain. If there was anyone in the Portoroa Kingdom who was worthy to be discovered and trained by Sean, it would be that man.


    Alfred was a person with a lot of character.


    It was just that Sean had to take care of the matter at hand first before going to find him.


    Without thinking too much of anything else, Sean soon left the tent. He had only made a move here because he had wanted to test out some of his ideas.


    Reality proved that Sean¡¯s previous guesses and thoughts were all correct. The only way for Sean to obtain experience points was through commissions. If he did not reach a commission agreement, then he would not be able to receive any experience points. Also, if he had already formed a team, then he would be able to gain experience points regardless of whether the team members were next to him or not. This aspect was a little different from the game. In the game, there was a restriction for team mode. If players wanted to gain experience points through team mode, then the other members had to be in their line of sight.


    However, in this world, Sean was not sure about the range of experience points. But at the very least, if he was in the same dungeon map as the one in the game, then there should be no problems.


    With a casual wave of his hand, Sean assigned all the experience points he gained to the [Scholar] profession. Originally, these experience points would have been enough to level up a rank one profession to level three. However, because of the high degree of the profession side-effect, in the end, Sean was only able to increase the experience bar of his [Scholar] profession to the critical point. He was not able to officially start his profession yet.


    Therefore, Sean thought for a moment and then got into another tent. This time, however, several dog-headed people were still walking around the tent to take care of the injured. They were startled by the unexpected appearance of Sean and Cecilia. But they immediately realized that they were under attack by the enemy.


    Before these dog-headed people could sound out an alarm or fight back, Sean launched his own violent attack.


    The Charles¡¯ Sword turned into a sword shadow. With the alternating assistance of the skills combo sprint and slash, the Mysterious Sword Skill burst out the most powerful attacks it had ever made in Sean¡¯s hand. Because everyone in front of Sean was an enemy and not his own men, Sean¡¯s slash combo attack was straightforward and without any hesitation. At this moment, Sean felt a completely different experience from this Mysterious Sword Skill.


    If the previous confrontation with Hank was the result of continuous accurate calculations, then this time, Sean¡¯s actions were due to the intensity of his rage. It seemed that at this moment, what was in Sean¡¯s hand was not a sword but a ferocious demonic beast that had been let loose and was trying to devour all the enemies in front of it.


    When Cecilia had only just started to chant her magic spell, the battle on Sean¡¯s side was over.


    The three dog-headed men who had been walking around earlier inside the tent were now all beheaded. Even those injured dog-headed people, who were lying down inside the tent, had also been killed. However, unlike the calm inside the previous tent, this tent could be regarded as bloody. A lot of fresh blood and amputated limbs were splattered everywhere. It was enough to make anyone experiencing a battlefield for the first time feel fear or even create a traumatic memory for them.


    Sean was slightly stunned. Then, he thought of Cecilia, so he turned around with a worried face. However, he saw that Cecilia had only let out a little bit of her magic and had turned a blind eye to the scene in front of her.


    For some reason, Sean suddenly felt a bit sorry for her at this moment.


    What kind of misfortune had she encountered that made her, a 13 or 14-year-old girl, be so calm when looking at such a bloody scene? Sean could feel that Cecilia was not faking her calmness. Also, her calmness felt like her normal calm state. If she had not experienced a scene bloodier than this one in the past, she would not be able to be so calm now.


    This was why Sean felt sorry for her.


    As a result, the joy of raising the proficiency level of the Mysterious Sword Skill, slash combo, and sprint was completely gone.


    Afterward, Sean directly assigned the experience points to the [Scholar] profession, officially activating it. Sean walked up next to Cecilia and patted her on the head, ¡°I don¡¯t care what it was that you experienced, I will definitely help you take revenge¡­ This is my promise to you.¡±


    Cecilia was stunned for a moment. Then, she smiled and nodded, ¡°En.¡±


    However, Cecilia knew that it would not be easy for her to get revenge. Her issue could not be easily solved by just relying on her own strength. As for this truth, Cecilia naturally would not tell Sean. It was not that she did not trust him, she just did not want to see any more tragedies occur.


    She liked it when she and Sean would get a headache about money, and then take risks together to make money. They had been living a simple life together. She enjoyed those days. It was not that she had never thought about taking revenge, she just did not to drag others into it. At least, before she became an adult, she did not want to lose everything because of her hatred, especially since she had met Sean.


    After pushing open the tent, Jim seemed to have noticed the invisible murderous aura emitting from Sean, so he hesitated and did not dare to get too close. He did not know what had happened in the tent, but judging from the smell of blood, the scene inside the tent was not a pleasant sight. He had heard what Sean said to Cecilia, which was a conversation he did not want to interrupt.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and create some trouble with those dog-headed people,¡± Sean said lightly. ¡°There are many tents here. It is too troublesome to go through them one by one. There are probably no more than 50 dog-headed people left who can still fight. After we have taken care of the two dog-headed magicians, we will set fire to the entire camp. Then, we will come back to the entrance and take care of the rest of the dog-headed people that have escaped.¡±


    Jim nodded, as he did not dare to contradict Sean.


    Maybe it was Sean¡¯s victory over Hank that had frightened Jim, or maybe it was Sean¡¯s clean and crisp technique in the tent that had shocked him. Sean only had a rank two profession, yet Jim, who had a rank three profession, did not dare to say anything.


    On the other hand, Sean took one more look at Jim and then sighed, ¡°You are not fit to be an assassin with your current state of mind. If you want to stand out or become famous, you have to overcome your fear. Otherwise, you will soon be forgotten by history, even if you are lucky enough to be an assassin.¡±

 Chapter 44 - The Method of Attack

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    The Gathering Place of the Dog-Headed People was a dungeon that had three BOSSES. They were all magicians.


    BOSS number 1 and number 2 were both dog-headed magicians that specialized in elemental magic. The difference between them was that one was good at fire-based magic while the other was good at wind-based magic. In terms of the difficulty in challenging them, there were not many differences between these two BOSSES. They only had to pay attention to the use of the terrain.


    But the real problem was the third BOSS.


    At this moment, Sean and Cecilia arrived outside a tent. Jim had been sent away by Sean to go look for Anyers and the others so that they could then go to the northeast corner of the camp to take care of BOSS number 2. Of course, before that, they would try to get rid of all the active dog-headed people they met on the way there.


    This strategy of dealing with them was the simplest in the game.


    After taking care of all the dog-headed people in the camp, the team would then be divided into two groups, and each group would launch an attack on BOSS number 1 and BOSS number 2 at the same time. Although the game did not require the two dog-headed magicians to die at the same time, the sound that would break out after the battle started would be loud enough to attract all the other living creatures inside the gathering place of the dog-headed people.


    If the attacks were to be focused on one of the dog-headed magicians, then the result would be having to face the attacks of all three BOSSES at once. As a dungeon that had a limit of 10 people, it was easy to imagine the result of facing the attacks from all three magician BOSSES.


    When using the method of splitting up the team and attacking the number 1 and number 2 BOSS at the same time, even though one team would have to face the attack of the third BOSS, it would still be much better than having to face simultaneous attacks from all three BOSSES.


    Originally, Jim had suggested that Sean should have two more people on his side to support him. However, this proposal was immediately rejected by Sean.


    After all, while Sean was extremely familiar with the three BOSSES of this dungeon and all of their attacks, Jim, Anyers, and the others were not familiar with them at all. Even if Sean had told them the strategies they could use last minute, he did not expect Jim to remember all the details. If the magician were to come find Sean for trouble, Sean was confident that he could stall the opponent. At the very least, Cecilia¡¯s will, which had more than 35 points, was enough to be completely immune to the magician¡¯s mind control.


    As for Sean, he had gotten a high-level Metal Strengthening Scroll from the Black Cat Business Guild that he could use.


    Inside the tent, there were weak sounds of dogs howling. It seemed like those inside were engaged in a low-voiced argument.


    Sean knew that there would still be two bodyguards next to the dog-headed magicians. Although they were at rank three, apart from a slightly higher endurance, they still maintained the standard of the dog-headed people in all other aspects. However, in the real world, the only things the attribute of endurance could help with were things like a strong ability to resist attacks, having a relatively firm body, being not easily poisoned, and having high perseverance. This was unlike in the game, where it would also affect the health value.


    Therefore, when at the crucial part of the strategy, the dog-headed people all had to die.


    Sean looked at Cecilia, who nodded slightly and chanted the last magic syllable as the magic fluctuations instantly became stronger.


    Inside the tent, the sound of dogs howling suddenly stopped. Immediately after, a very shrill sound could be heard.


    It was obvious that this dog-headed magician was in a state of panic.


    In the next second, Sean pulled out his long sword and instantly cut off the tent flaps. Cecilia hummed softly as the condensed Secondary Level Fireball Technique suddenly burst into the tent.


    The sound of explosions, scorching flames, and firelight suddenly rose into the sky.


    The Secondary Level Fireball Technique was a simplified version of the Fireball Technique. It was also the first magic attack that an apprentice magician could learn. Generally speaking, the Secondary Level Fireball Technique was only about the size of two fists combined. The impact range after the explosion was around a one-meter radius. This was about as powerful as some of the high explosives on earth, such as grenades. However, here on Miracle Continent, it was impossible for the Secondary Level Fireball Technique to kill the enemy in one go.


    Unless the enemy was a civilian with no class.


    On the other hand, Cecilia¡¯s Fireball Technique was equivalent to the size of one and a half basketballs. This was a size bigger than the standard Fireball Technique, thus its power was naturally even more terrifying.


    Of course, this was not because Cecilia was already an official magician. Even though she was only half a step away from the brink of becoming an official magician, what really made her Secondary Level Fireball Technique have such a strange power was the Flame of Crimson she always carried around with her.


    After going through Cecilia¡¯s mental stimulation and resonance, the Flame of Crimson not only carried Cecilia¡¯s mental imprint, it had also unlocked the seal on the gem. Therefore, any fire-based magic Cecilia did would have increased power and effect. Also, with the increase of Cecilia¡¯s magic power and mental strength, or in other words, the level of her profession, the Flame of Crimson could provide more support. At most, it could provide an increase of five times more than normal.


    This was the real reason why the Flame of Crimson was so terrifying!


    Cecilia had only sent one Fireball Technique into the tent, yet the entire tent had been engulfed by the scorching flames almost instantly. As for Sean and Cecilia, who had created this fire, they were well aware of what the power of this magic was like. Therefore, they were not stupid enough to stay where they were after casting the Fireball Technique. They had already run to a safe area to hide.


    However, after running back out, Cecilia did not stop using her magic. Like what Sean had planned, she condensed two more fireballs and sent them to a tent that was as far as she could cast.


    All of a sudden, two more tents started to burn. From inside these tents, frightened cries of the dog-headed people sounded.


    With the sounds of explosions and the blazing flames, any of the dog-headed people who were still alive would now know that something had happened.


    But at this moment, not many dog-headed people appeared. As soon as the three to four dog-headed people who were there ran out, they were easily taken care of by Sean¡¯s sword. The situation before Sean was exactly what he had expected. Even though there were more than 50 dog-headed people in this camp, the number was not over 50 by much. Otherwise, they would have seen the dog-headed people patrolling the camp.


    For the 50 to 60 dog-headed people who were scattered across a camp that could hold thousands of people, it would take a long time for them to gather together. By the time they arrived at the scene of the incident, the battle there would probably be almost over. This was the disadvantage of the dog-headed people having no commander inside the camp.


    However, Sean was delighted about this.


    Inside the tent where the dog-headed magician was, the burning flames suddenly shrank. Immediately after, there was an explosion. The flames scattered everywhere like broken glass. However, when the flames fell onto the ground, they did not extinguish. Instead, the flames continued to burn.


    But for now, Sean and Cecilia were not paying any attention to these flames.


    A dog-headed man wearing a robe made of ragged orange cloth suddenly stood up. Its body was bent, which meant it was a little old. Its eyes were not as clear as a normal dog-headed man. Instead, they were a bit bleary. It held onto a strangely shaped thick wooden stick with its left hand. This stick was the dog-headed magician¡¯s magic wand, made from a simple technique of mixing wood and gems with magic fluctuations together. The quality of this wand was not even ordinary. It could only be considered poor quality.


    This was the magician unique to the dog-headed clan, a rank three [Dog-headed Magician] profession.


    Next to this dog-headed magician stood two younger-looking dog-headed men. They were wearing light leather armor and holding a battle halberd in their hands. Their eyes were filled with anger and hatred. Even though they were [Dog-headed Guards] at rank three, just like the dog-headed magician, the aura emitted from their bodies was much more inferior compared to the dog-headed magician, who seemed to be only half a step away from his death.


    Currently, the three dog-headed men looked tattered. There were traces of large black patches on their bodies, and even a strange burning smell was being emitted. One of the dog-headed guards had lost half of its tail. There was even a flame still burning. Although it slapped as hard as it could, for some reason, the flame wouldn¡¯t extinguish. However, it did not set its entire body on fire either.


    This strange appearance reminded Sean of a pet in an animated movie that had been very popular on Earth many years ago.


    But that pet was a lot prettier than the dog-headed people.


    That dog-headed magician made a series of barking sounds. The frequency, speed, and fluctuation of the sound were completely different from the sounds made by humans. The only thing that could be heard from this sound was the flustered and exasperated state of the dog-headed magician.


    After the barking from this dog-headed magician, the two dog-headed guards rushed towards Sean and Cecilia.


    The dog-headed people were not as skilled in fighting as humans, but their race had an advantage in speed and magic. Therefore, all of their professions were developed from these two aspects. Even the two dog-headed guards in front of Sean and Cecilia, although they were responsible for protecting the dog-headed magician, carried out attacks that were not based on defense skills, such as endurance, but more on enhancing their speed. They would pin down and attack the enemy, providing a safe casting distance for the dog-headed magician.


    This was a tactical change brought about by the issues of their race.


    For now, the two dog-headed guards were planning to take advantage of their speed¨Cone would pin down Sean and the other would attack Cecilia. That way, the dog-headed magician could successfully cast spells to get rid of Sean and Cecilia.


    There was nothing wrong with the tactic itself, but it was a pity that they had chosen the wrong opponents from the start.


    Sean rushed forwards with his sprint and arrived in between the two dog-headed guards. The long sword in his hand went into massive assault mode. This was different from the careful calculations he had made when he fought with Hank. It was also different from the violent methods he had used earlier in the tent. This technique was the third offensive sword skill embodied by the Mysterious Sword Skill. Even though a lot of flaws were revealed, once it was fully wielded, it would completely engulf the two dog-headed guards. This would force them to act at the same time, regardless of whether they were retreating or advancing. It would be impossible for them to be separated.


    As soon as the distance between them was too far apart, Sean¡¯s sword skill suddenly changed, as it became more violent. How could the dog-headed bodyguards, who were famous for their speed advantage, fight Sean, who had this kind of technique? All the action was now controlled by Sean. Whether they advanced or retreated depended on what Sean wanted. Therefore, even if one of the dog-headed guards was able to break away from Sean¡¯s sword skills, it would not be able to harass Cecilia.


    While the two dog-headed guards were attacking Sean and Cecilia in vain, a strong explosion sounded. It was coming from the northeast corner of the camp.


    Sean knew that Anyers and Jim had succeeded in their attack!


    What happened next would depend on what kind of choice the magician from the Medusa Business Guild was going to make.

 Chapter 45 - Coordination

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    ¡°Condense! Scorching flame!¡±


    Cecilia¡¯s crisp voice emitted a strange magic power inside the camp. Her voice was not loud, but it still managed to completely overshadow the sounds of metal clashing coming from the battle between the two dog-headed guards and Sean. It was as if the entire world had turned completely silent at this moment, leaving only Cecilia¡¯s voice.


    Sean did not know much about magic, but he did know the last string of syllables that Cecilia had just chanted. He knew very well that they meant ¡®condense¡¯ and ¡®burning flames¡¯. When he connected these two words with Cecilia¡¯s usual gestures, Sean immediately knew what kind of magic spell this was.


    Flame Arrow!


    Out of the few magic spells that Cecilia had mastered, this one could be regarded as one of the rather high-level magic spells.


    It was very different from magic like the Secondary Level Fireball Technique, which had an obvious range of damage. The Flame Arrow was a type of magic that required a magician to mentally lock onto their target and then incorporate control. Although this magic was slightly complicated, it had a destructive power that couldn¡¯t be matched by the Secondary Level Fireball Technique.


    The shape of the Flame Arrow looked just like an arrow that had been condensed by flames. Only, this arrow had no tail feathers, and its head was also a pointed cone.


    As soon as the Flame Arrow was released, Cecilia did not hesitate to control the magic and shoot it towards a dog-headed guard.


    Seeing Cecilia¡¯s choice, Sean could not help but secretly nod to himself. It was extremely obvious that after experiencing so many cruel battles in real life, Cecilia¡¯s fighting consciousness and combat experience had improved a lot.


    The dog-headed magician had a formal rank three profession, and it was also a fire-based magician like Cecilia. However, no matter whether it was magic accumulation, mind control, or magic skills, there was still an obvious gap between Cecilia and the dog-headed magician. This did not indicate that Cecilia was not as good at the dog-headed magician. It was simply a difference that had been created due to the gap in their class. The number of magic spells Cecilia had mastered and could use was much too little.


    If Cecilia were to focus her attacks on the dog-headed magician, then she might have been able to make it look more haggard or like it had been in a rush. However, she would not be able to do any real harm to it.


    Such a result would only lead to an extension of the battle time.


    Sean certainly would not say anything to Cecilia, but he would be a little disappointed.


    A genius without fighting awareness was not even as good as an ordinary person with fighting awareness.


    But now, Cecilia¡¯s performance did not only display combat experience and fighting awareness. It was a complete surprise!


    The timing of the Flame Arrow attack coincided exactly with the moment the dog-headed guard on the left dodged Sean¡¯s attack and took a step back.


    It had turned its back to Cecilia, so naturally it could not see her magic attack. Although it had felt the magic fluctuations coming from Cecilia, the dog-headed guard simply thought that Cecilia¡¯s target would be the dog-headed magician and not itself.


    This was simple logic.


    It reflected the sayings ¡®destroy the leader and the gang will collapse¡¯ and ¡®the outstanding usually bear the brunt of attack¡¯. Under the strict orders of the dog-headed people, the position of a dog-headed magician was comparable to that of a dog-headed commander, which meant that they were much more highly regarded than the dog-headed guards. Of course, this also meant that they were more troublesome to take care of. When they attacked, they would choose to attack the one with the highest position or the one who was trickiest and the most troublesome to take care of among the enemy. Therefore, it was natural for the dog-headed guard to think that Cecilia would attack the dog-headed magician.


    However!


    The other dog-headed guard, who happened to be facing Cecilia, suddenly let out a series of loud howls.


    It was ear-piercing and terrifying.


    But at this moment, it was much too late for the dog-headed guard to make any more evasive movements, no matter how much it might have wanted to. Cecilia¡¯s Flame Arrow pierced through the chest of this dog-headed guard. It was impossible for ordinary leather armor and fragile flesh to resist the powerful penetration of the Flame Arrow. However, at the same time, it was because this dog-headed guard had born the brunt force of this attack that the magic power of the Flame Arrow was significantly weakened. There was not enough magic power to penetrate the second dog-headed guard.


    Taking advantage of this opportunity, Sean naturally did not stop his attack at all either.


    However, he did not use his sword to put an end to the dog-headed guard, whose chest had been pierced by the Flame Arrow. Instead, Sean used his sword to send the halberd in the dog-headed guard¡¯s hand flying. Then, Sean reached out and grabbed the right shoulder of the dog-headed guard. He swung his hand hard and pushed it to the left.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    The sound of three explosions could be heard, one after another. Each explosion was louder than the previous one, and the impact of each explosion was stronger than the previous one as well.


    This was the Fireball Combo cast by the dog-headed magician.


    The Fireball Combo was an improved version of the Fireball. The criteria for it to be successful was that three fireballs had to be cast in succession. Even though it was marked as a level two magic on the magic list, its power was comparable to that of a level three magic spell. Furthermore, under normal circumstances, a level three magic spell could only be mastered by someone with a level four or above spellcaster profession. Therefore, any official magicians who specialized in fire-based magic would never let go of the chance to learn this powerful magic spell.


    However, this magic spell also had many flaws, which included a long casting time and a high amount of mental control and magic power. Most of the official magicians who cast this spell would be completely drained of the magic power inside their bodies. Therefore, most of the time, this magic spell would be used to save lives or under special circumstances.


    Cecilia had guessed from the beginning that the dog-headed magician was preparing to use this magic spell, therefore she had chosen the relatively lethal Flame Arrow, which had a powerful penetration, as her first magic attack. However, she had not expected the speed at which the dog-headed magician had cast the spell to be so much faster than she had originally thought. Because of this, she was almost unable to escape. Luckily, Sean had swung a dog-headed guard in front of Cecilia to block the magic attack.


    Sean knew something that Cecilia did not know.


    The dog-headed people had an innate advantage in magic skills. Perhaps due to the blood in their body, the magic power and mentality of dog-headed magicians had a certain degree of advantage over normal human magicians of the same class. Although this advantage was not obvious, it would be easy to get caught if not enough attention was paid toward this advantage. Of course, this advantage was only relative to ordinary people. For those who were talented or full of wit, it was an entirely different matter.


    No matter how talented Cecilia was, the gap in class between them could not be shortened here.


    Therefore, instead of continuing to attack, Sean had pushed a substitute victim over to block the Fireball Combo from the dog-headed magician.


    In the eyes of outsiders, this moment would be considered a display of the tactical coordination between Cecilia and Sean. However, Cecilia knew what had really happened. At this moment, because of the shock waves from the explosions caused by the Fireball Combo, Sean was unable to remain at such a close range. He had staggered back more than 10 steps so that he could soften the impact of the shock waves.


    But the battle was not over yet!


    Cecilia glanced at Sean, then immediately began to prepare for a second magic spell.


    The Flame Arrow did not consume a large amount of magic. With Cecilia¡¯s identity as an apprentice magician, she would be able to cast it a few times. However, this time, she did not want to cast the Flame Arrow. Instead, she began to prepare for the Secondary Level Fireball Technique.


    As one of the magic spells that Cecilia was most familiar with, the Secondary Level Fireball Technique could be cast much faster than the Flame Arrow. Coupled with the support from the Flame of Crimson, she was able to shorten the casting time of the Secondary Level Fireball Technique to only 10 magic syllables. If the casting time of any magic spell could be reduced to less than 10 magic syllables, then it would be no different from a silent casting. Of course, what this reflected was completely different from the situation in the game. After all, in the game, players had help from the system, an extremely powerful cheating machine.


    Cecilia did not randomly choose to use the Secondary Level Fireball Technique this time around. She had chosen it after considering the battle situation in front of her.


    For Sean and Cecilia, the dog-headed magician had made a bad move by choosing to cast this spell, as it now had less than half of its magic left. At most, it could only cast a few more spells. On the contrary, if the dog-headed guard, who did not rely on magic to fight and had a certain advantage in speed, kept defending, then when coordinating with the harassment from the dog-headed magician, they would be able to drag the battle out a lot longer. This would be different from the tactical strategy that Sean had decided on.


    This was why Cecilia had chosen to use the Secondary Level Fireball Technique.


    At present, the dog-headed guard had no choice but to also stop attacking due to the impact of the Fireball Combo. Physically speaking, the dog-headed guard was not as good as a human. However, because of the gap in the class, it was able to stabilize its body at about the same time as Sean.


    But right at that moment, Cecilia¡¯s Secondary Level Fireball Technique was also cast, and it flew towards the dog-headed guard. The fireball did not directly hit the dog-headed guard¡¯s body but instead landed somewhere on the floor close to it. Because of the effects of the special bonus from the Flame of Crimson, the power of Cecilia¡¯s Secondary Level Fireball Technique was not small. The explosion was like a grenade, and within its flare, the sensitive hearing of the dog-headed guard was destroyed in an instant. The shock waves caused by the explosion had also made it unable to stand properly, and it had no choice but to fall back a few steps.


    On the other hand, after casting the Secondary Level Fireball Technique, Cecilia did not remain in place. Instead, she started running quickly in Sean¡¯s direction.


    This was also something that Sean had told Cecilia to improve on when casting spells. He had always stressed that he would never allow Cecilia to stay in one spot and perform her magic like an idiot. Instead, she had to become more active and run around to avoid the possibility of her becoming a target.


    Of course, Cecilia was not able to understand a lot of Sean¡¯s new terms. However, that did not stop her from understanding what Sean was trying to express. For Cecilia, Sean had always had the ability to complicate problems. All Cecilia had to do was simplify these already complicated problems.


    Sean had also started running forward with his sword raised while Cecilia had started running.


    The same way that Cecilia had previously considered her target enemy to be the dog-headed guard, Sean¡¯s goal was also the slightly troublesome enemy. However, it was only troublesome, nothing more.

 Chapter 46 - Mental Strengthening Scroll

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    The swordlight shone.


    The smoke, fire, and colors that were scattered all across the sky were like shredded curtains in the presence of Sean¡¯s swordlight.


    The dog-headed bodyguard dodged this swordlight again and again. Although in terms of class, the dog-headed bodyguard was one level higher than Sean, it had still been completely overwhelmed by Sean¡¯s extremely powerful attacks. In an instant, the dog-headed guard had been forced to retreat more than a dozen steps back by Sean. The dog-headed guard had been at a disadvantage from the beginning of the fight. As for a counterattack, it had even lost its ability to fight back. The battle halberd in its hand was a long weapon. If the person wielding the battle halberd was not able to maintain a good distance from their opponent and instead were pulled closer, then this type of weapon would not be effective at all.


    Sean, on the other hand, was familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the dog-headed guard. This was why Sean had been attacking it at such close range.


    Once Sean had complete control of the dynamics and advantage in the battle, it would not be easy for the dog-headed guard to take back the advantage.


    Sean¡¯s sword was like the wind, as the continuous slash combo Sean made from time to time forced the dog-headed guard to put in a huge amount of effort to barely block the attacks. When the dog-headed guard wanted to use its speed to get away, it just happened to be the perfect time for Sean to use his sprint.


    The dog-headed magician next to them had raised the wand in its hand several times, but it had no idea how to intervene in such a situation. The dog-headed magician had never faced such a tricky and cunning enemy before. If it had other dog-headed people next to it, then it would not have hesitated to use magic to take care of Sean and that dog-headed guard together. But now, the dog-headed magician could not do such a thing because there were no more dog-headed people it could use. Also, the dog-headed magician¡¯s opponent had an apprentice magician that continuously kept an eye on it.


    An apprentice magician was usually someone whom the dog-headed magician would look down on. Yet now, this profession had become the main factor in holding the dog-headed magician back.


    Escape?


    The dog-headed magician had thought about it, but right at the moment it wanted to escape, the apprentice magician that the dog-headed magician detested had immediately interfered and stopped it from escaping. She did not need to cast complicated magic. All she had to do was to throw the Secondary Level Fireball Technique around. The shock wave from the impact had made the dog-headed magician unable to stand still. Although there were no fatal damages, this kind of technique had made the dog-headed magician helpless, as it was not known for its physical strength. On the other hand, Cecilia¡¯s Secondary Level Fireball Technique was surprisingly powerful. Like a lonely boat within a storm, the dog-headed magician could only do its best to maintain its ground.


    If this were to continue, the result would be that both sides would not be able to continue. In the end, the battle was a little bit different from Sean¡¯s tactical approach.


    However, since Sean dared to use this approach, didn¡¯t this indicate that he had not considered the battle situation?


    Clank.


    The ear-piercing sound of metal grinding made Sean feel a bit of numbness in his scalp.


    He had thought that the battle halberd the dog-headed guard had used was just an ordinary weapon. However, he did not expect that the Medusa Business Guild was willing to spend so much money and directly give the dog-headed guard a top-quality weapon. If it were not for the fact that this confrontation had lasted for so long, Sean would not have noticed. In terms of just materials, top-quality weapons were not comparable to magical weapons. However, they would not be as easily broken as the other weapons.


    Sean had spent a lot of effort to focus his attacks on the dog-headed guard¡¯s battle halberd before he was finally able to destroy the weapon.


    What could an unarmed dog-headed guard do?


    Suddenly, there was a flash of cold light.


    The long sword cut from the top downwards, killing the dog-headed guard.


    When the dog-headed magician saw this, it realized that it would be next. Although the dog-headed magician had made many attempts to intervene with Sean¡¯s attacks and had cast reinforcing magic on its guard at the same time, the situation had not changed at all. According to dog-headed magician¡¯s understanding, it was impossible for a mere apprentice magician to be able to pin it down and interfere with its actions.


    However, what the dog-headed magician did not know was that if Cecilia was just an ordinary apprentice magician, Sean would not have taken her with him everywhere, no matter what he was going to do.


    The battle ended without any suspense.


    It had lasted only one minute and 23 seconds, breaking the record that Sean had set when he was in the game.


    However, he knew that they were only able to achieve such a result because the Black Cat Business Guild had dealt a lot of damage to the camp beforehand. Otherwise, even if Sean were to be given another elite team with a reasonable arrangement and tactical coordination, he would not have been able to deal with the dog-headed magician so easily. This was because, under normal circumstances, there would be eight dog-headed guards next to the dog-headed magician.


    ¡°It is that simple?¡± The battle was going so smoothly that Cecilia had a hard time believing it.


    Apart from the slightly fierce resistance they had encountered at the beginning of the battle, the rest had not been difficult at all. From the start to the end, Cecilia had completely followed Sean¡¯s instructions. Except for when she had used the Flame Arrow at the beginning and the Secondary Level Fireball Technique in the middle after thinking about it carefully. The rest of the battle, where she had suppressed the dog-headed magician the entire time, was a tactic that Sean had told Cecilia about from the very start.


    Such a simple and smooth battle was something Cecilia had never experienced before.


    No, she might have experienced it once.


    Cecilia could not help but think back to about a month ago when they had dealt with the Dark Knight. She had followed Sean¡¯s instructions, and it would have all gone smoothly if it weren¡¯t for the appearance of that mouse.


    ¡°It went so well that even I am a little surprised.¡± Sean also felt that it was unreal. He was used to using his experiences in the game to solve some problems here. However, the current battle was surprisingly smooth, which had made him a bit confused, even a bit lost. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Sean said. ¡°Let¡¯s go and meet up with the others.¡±


    Cecilia nodded.


    ¡°Since you are here, why are you running away?¡± a slightly shrill sounding voice suddenly said.


    The expression on Sean¡¯s face instantly changed. He suddenly shouted, ¡°The scroll!¡±


    Cecilia immediately came back to her senses, quickly taking out the Mental Strengthening Scroll she had obtained from the Black Cat Business Guild. Then, she entered her spirit into the scroll, activating the mark on it. The scroll immediately emitted a soft white light. This light gave people a feeling of warmth. However, it was more of a spiritual comfort and satisfaction.


    After the light was emitted, Cecilia unrolled the scroll, then threw it towards Sean. The white light inside the scroll instantly burst out, and like an arrow, it shot towards Sean.


    Sean bathed in the white light, as there was an indescribable diving force around him. After the light slowly faded and turned into a white mark, it appeared in between Sean¡¯s eyebrows. Sean¡¯s energy, on the other hand, seemed like it had its own personality, as he had suddenly become more spirited.


    The entire process was completed almost instantly. By the time the speaker had returned to their senses, Cecilia¡¯s scroll had already been placed onto Sean. Afterward, the two of them turned around in a calm and composed manner to look at the enemy who had spoken.


    ¡°Mental Strengthening Scroll!¡±


    The person was a middle-aged man wearing a black robe. He had a thin, pale face. If he had not worn a robe that symbolized his status as a magician, not many people would have known his identity.


    But at the current moment, his expression was extremely ugly. This made his originally pale face look even whiter.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s the Mental Strengthening Scroll,¡± Sean said with a smile. It was only with the added Mental Strengthening Scroll that Sean dared to face this enemy.


    The reason was not because of the enemy.


    This spiritual magician, who specialized in mind magic, was the best at casting magic called ¡®Mind Invasion¡¯. This was a type of magic that allowed the caster to control others. Any target whose will attribute was less than 30 points would be turned into his ¡®ally unit¡¯. As long as his target was attacked by his magic, they would become his loyal comrade or his slave before the spell expired.


    As for ¡®Mental Strengthening,¡¯ it was a magic that could temporarily raise the will attribute by 20 points.


    Originally, Sean¡¯s will attribute was only 15 points, but after the Mental Strengthening Scroll was added to his body, his will attribute had exceeded 30 points. Therefore, the enemy would not be able to control Sean. As for Cecilia, with the influence of the Blood Striped Hexagon Ring, her will attribute was also more than 30 points. Naturally, she would not be afraid of her opponent¡¯s magic.


    The middle-aged man was a bit surprised. Only the Medusa Business Guild knew that he specialized in mind magic. However, if his enemy was not someone from the Medusa Business Guild, then how could they have known to use a magic scroll the moment they heard his voice? Also, looking at the light that was emitted from the scroll, it looked to be a high-level magic scroll. Even the most useless high-level magic scroll cost at least 300 continental gold coins.


    ¡°Who are you guys?!¡± When the middle-aged man saw that the enemy seemed to be very familiar with his magic, he did not dare to act rashly. The main reason was that he did not know where his enemy came from.


    ¡°The enemy.¡± Sean smiled. He had a relaxed expression on his face.


    ¡°The enemy? Ha.¡± The middle-aged man¡¯s expression slightly changed, as he became calm again. He even showed a trace of sarcasm. ¡°The two of you are just a small warrior and an apprentice magician, yet you think you are worthy to be my opponents? You don¡¯t think that you will win just because you have a Mental Strengthening Scroll, do you?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the case?¡± Sean looked confused.


    The middle-aged man did not speak. When he waved his hand, more than a dozen surrounding dog-headed guards immediately ran up to protect him. Then, he began to chant a magic spell in a low voice. Fluctuations of magic power were suddenly emitted from his body. However, unlike Cecilia¡¯s effect where the elements in the air created resonance and surge, when the middle-aged man chanted the spell, there were no fluctuations of elements. There was just an illusion that the air had solidified.


    This was a typical fluctuation particular to spiritual magic.


    ¡°Mind Invasion!¡± With a low yell, the middle-aged man opened his eyes angrily. With the surge of the magic, his spiritual energy shot towards Sean like a sharp needle.


    The most troublesome thing about spiritual magic was that it was invisible and untouchable. There were almost no signs that it would be cast before it was cast. Once the magic had started, usually the opponent would only become aware of its existence after it had entered their mind. However, spiritual magic was also the most dangerous type of magic. This was the case for both the enemies and the spellcasters because once the spiritual magic was cast, the result would either be a success or a failure.


    If it succeeded, then it would be a happy ending for the caster.


    However, if it failed¡­


    As soon as the middle-aged man¡¯s Mind Invasion was cast, the sharp needle pierced in between Sean¡¯s eyebrows. However, the result was not what the middle-aged man had expected. He had wanted to influence Sean¡¯s consciousness to make him turn around and kill the apprentice magician. However, the moment the magic was cast, the middle-aged man felt like he had been hit hard on the back of his head by a heavy hammer. He suddenly felt dizzy, his face flushed, and he felt a sweet taste in his throat.


    ¡°How is this possible?!¡± The middle-aged man looked surprised.


    ¡°I told you.¡± Sean still had a smile on his face. ¡°I am confident that I will win.¡±


    With that, he no longer paid any attention to the middle-aged man¡¯s reaction. Sean lifted his sword and rushed towards the group of dog-headed guards.

 Chapter 47 - Disastrous Result

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    Dog-headed guards had rank two professions among the dog-headed group. It was a profession that paid more attention to strength and endurance.


    Unfortunately, these two attributes were not the direction that the dog-headed people wanted to develop their talent towards. According to the information of Sean¡¯s system, the dog-headed guards belonged to the category of ¡®complete creatures¡¯. Therefore, Sean was able to gain all the information on the attributes of these 20 or so dog-headed guards in front of him without even knowing their names.


    Their strength and endurance attributes hovered between 10 and 12 points, while their agility attribute was normally around 15 points.


    On the other hand, regarding Sean, with the BUFF and equipment, his strength, endurance, and agility attributes were 14, 13, and 12 respectively. However, if the Charles¡¯ Sword and the Mysterious Sword Skill were included, then his strength, endurance, and agility attributes were as high as 22, 16, and 20 points respectively. These numbers were not inferior to a new rank three profession.


    Therefore, Sean looked down on these dog-headed guards.


    To him, he was just like a tiger going into a flock of sheep.


    Without a commander and a leader, the low class of the dog-headed people would not be able to pose much of a threat if they could not reach a sufficient level. However, people from the Medusa Business Guild were worried that once the dog-headed people¡¯s tribe had a commander, they would evolve and not listen to the guild anymore. When that time arrived, the Medusa Business Guild would not be able to control them. Therefore, there was never a commander among the dog-headed people. As soon as a dog-headed person was found to have the intention of becoming a commander, that dog-headed person would be immediately killed.


    It was this reason that made the attacks from these 20 or so dog-headed people in front of Sean so disorderly. They all attacked however they wanted.


    However, a commander would only appear in a Gathering Place of the Dog-headed People in a rank three or rank four dungeon.


    Sean waved, swept, and lifted the long sword in his hand. These were just a few simple sword movements, yet it had forced four dog-headed guards to take a few steps back. The weapons in their hands, such as the long spears and long pikes, were all split in two. Sean had deliberately let them live. But as soon as he had wanted to kill them, another dog-headed guard rushed up, forcing Sean to stop rushing forward.


    After all, there was Cecilia behind him. Since there were so many dog-headed guards, even if they were only at rank two, they were enough for Sean to have to deal with them carefully.


    Sean did not have a real rank three or higher profession. To deal with so many dog-headed guards by himself would be quite difficult. Therefore, even though the directions that his sword went seemed simple, it was all carefully calculated by Sean. It seemed a bit like the time when he had fought Hank.


    This naturally surprised the middle-aged man from the Medusa Business Guild.


    Sean only had a rank two profession, yet he had such tenacious willpower. Sean had even displayed extraordinary swordsmanship. It was impossible for someone like him to be unheard of. In reality, even if Sean did not say that he was the enemy, the middle-aged man would have regarded Sean as his enemy. After all, the middle-aged man had been attacked by the Black Cat Business Guild during the past few days. Once the attacks stopped, another incident had occurred after getting only a day¡¯s rest. Anyone would realize what was going on if they were to connect the incident to everything that had happened.


    ¡°What on earth did the Black Cat Business Guild offer you?¡± When the middle-aged man saw that nearly half of the weapons from the dog-headed guards who protected him had been slashed in half, he was shocked. If all the weapons from these dog-headed guards were cut in half, then who would protect him?


    At this time, the middle-aged man could not help but regret that he had not equipped all the dog-headed people in the camp with weapons of at least elite grade so that they could last a little bit longer. Since he had been in control of these dog-headed people for so long, he was well aware of their habits. Without the mandatory orders from their leader, these dog-headed people would disperse like sand in the wind as soon as they encountered something they were unable to face.


    In the end, the middle-aged man was a human and not a dog-headed person.


    ¡°We can give you three times as much as what you were offered!¡± Seeing that Sean had paid no attention to his words and instead had continued to swing his sword, slashing a dog-headed person, the middle-aged man started to panic.


    ¡°Triple the amount?¡±


    The sword in Sean¡¯s hand paused briefly as he said with a smile, ¡°Hehe, can you afford it?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± The middle-aged man wanted to say that he could, but then he thought about it. He did not know what kind of price that Black Cat Business Guild had offered Sean. For people with amazing talents like Sean, the business guild must have offered a high price. Therefore, the middle-aged man changed his words and said, ¡°I can¡¯t afford it, but the people I work for can!¡±


    This time, instead of smiling Sean directly sneered, ¡°The Medusa Business Guild won¡¯t be able to afford it.¡±


    If the middle-aged man had belonged to any other business guild, Sean might have negotiated with him. After all, he was trying to save his own life. However, Sean would never make any deals or negotiate with people from the Medusa Business Guild. This was because the Medusa Business Guild was completely influenced by the character of their supreme leader. Creatures like demons were known to have bad reputations.


    Therefore, even if Sean were to make a deal with the devil, he would never make a deal with the demon of the Medusa Business Guild.


    As for the middle-aged man, when he heard Sean utter the words ¡®Medusa Business Guild¡¯ without any hesitation, the expression on his face changed drastically.


    Taking advantage of this sudden pause, Sean¡¯s expression became serious as he immediately launched his sprint skill. It was impossible for Sean to arrive instantly in front of the middle-aged man when they were seven meters apart. However, the length of the Charles¡¯ Sword, which Sean was holding in his hand, could turn the impossible into something possible. The moment Sean had started his sprint, it felt as if he had calculated everything beforehand and was just waiting for this chance to appear.


    A strong murderous intent was gathered, as the movements Sean made with his sword showed his desire to attack.


    When the middle-aged man came back to his senses and felt the murderous aura, Sean was already less than three and a half meters from him. However, at this moment, there was no fear in the middle-aged man¡¯s face. Instead, he wore a solemn expression. As a magician who specialized in spiritual magic, his will attribute had to be extremely high. This was because a lot of mind-related magic required the will attribute to be higher than the required limit for spellcasting.


    Although the middle-aged man¡¯s current class was only a rank three magician, and he had not shown much difference in his will, this would completely change as a rank four.


    However, as the real BOSS of the Gathering Place of the Dog-headed People dungeon, Sean remembered that the middle-aged man had a will attribute of more than 32 points. A high will attribute indicated his stability when he had to display his skills on the spot, and his calmness when facing danger.


    ¡°Barrier!¡± The middle-aged man suddenly spoke this word softly.


    Immediately after, the air in front of him shook as a strange vibration swept out around him in the form of radiation, with him as the center. However, it did not fluctuate.


    Sean¡¯s sword stopped an inch in front of the middle-aged man.


    With the tip of the sword at the center, the air rippled in circles like the surface of the water. However, Sean¡¯s sword could not get any closer.


    Sean raised the corners of his mouth slightly, but he did not make any more attempts to push forward. As soon as his body moved, he retreated backward, then turned around and headed towards another dog-headed guard. This time Sean did not hold anything back. Even though it was the same sword skill as before, the aura had completely changed. It was a lot more ferocious than before.


    The Air Barrier was a high-level mysterious protective magic. It could withstand almost all physical and magical attacks.


    The important term being ¡®almost¡¯, because this protective magic had a limit. If this limit was surpassed, then the magic effect would disappear. Therefore, back in the game, it was called ¡®almost invincible¡¯. However, no one was able to break this limit during the early stages of the game. Only once most people had a rank five class could the protective effect of this magic became defensive magic that could resist an attack.


    The middle-aged man himself did not know this magic. He was only able to cast the Air Barrier because of the magic ring that he wore on his right hand.


    As for this ring, it was the best piece of equipment that this dungeon dropped. Back in the game, players had wanted to complete this dungeon because of the ring. However, it was a pity that the chances of this piece of equipment dropping were very low. At least in the game, before Sean had started a rank five new profession, his team had not been able to get the ring to drop. This was something that Sean had regretted.


    However, it was because of this regret that Sean knew about the effect of this magic. Back in the game, when Sean and his team had surrounded and attacked the BOSS, it would cast this skill every time it had close to no health left. The effect lasted for one minute. In other words, Sean had to wait one minute before he could get rid of the BOSS. Of course, in the game, it was said that there was a way to 100 percent guarantee that the ring would drop. It was to not allow the BOSS to use this skill. However, it was a pity that this method was only a theory.


    But now¡­


    This pesky magician had used the skill in the magic ring, so Sean was not going to continue to mess around with him any longer. There was only one minute of ¡®invincible¡¯ time, so he had no time to pay attention to this guy. With this one minute, it would be best if Sean could kill more dog-headed guards. This way, he could reduce the pressure that he might need to face later.


    When the middle-aged man saw Sean retreat so smoothly, it made him grit his teeth. If Sean had continued to attack, the middle-aged man would have given him a mental shock. As long as the middle-aged man was able to leave Sean in a trance for a moment, he could command the dog-headed guards to cut Sean into pieces. However, the vigilance displayed by Sean made it impossible for the middle-aged man to make his move. While facing Sean, he felt as if he had been completely seen through by his opponent.


    However, if he was not able to do anything to Sean, at least the apprentice magician who had come with him would not be able to get away, right?


    The middle-aged man, who used to be an apprentice magician, knew the will attribute of an apprentice magician very well. It could not be compared to him, an official magician. The middle-aged man made up his mind that he would control the cute female apprentice magician, then use her to torture Sean.


    He began to chant a magic spell in a low voice. With the protection form the Air Barrier, the middle-aged man¡¯s confidence increased a lot. He was not afraid that Sean would continue to attack him or that Sean would continue to trouble him.


    Sean, on the other hand, began to feel sorry for the middle-aged man when he saw that he had started to chant the ¡®Mind Invasion¡¯ spell again, and this time, the target was Cecilia.


    ¡°Hey, you picked the wrong opponent.¡± Sean could not help but mock him.


    The middle-aged man completely ignored Sean. When he had finished his chanting, he fixed his eyes onto Cecilia. Then, he opened his eyes angrily. ¡°Mind Invasion!¡±


    In the next moment¡­


    It was the middle-aged man who let out a mournful scream!

 Chapter 48 - Manipulator

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    The mournful scream had pretty much resounded throughout the entire camp.


    As soon as the middle-aged man felt the sweetness in his throat, he spurted out a mouthful of fresh blood. Then, fresh blood started to also flow out from his eyes, nose, and ears. Blood was coming out from the seven orifices of his body.


    ¡°How come¡­ This is impossible!¡± The middle-aged man¡¯s voice had become extremely hoarse. It was as if at this moment, his entire person, and even his soul, had been dug out. His confused eyes turned dull and bleary, ¡°She is just an apprentice¡­ an apprentice¡­¡±


    Sean had a bit of sympathy at this moment for the magician.


    Mind Invasion was a type of magic that was easy to learn but difficult to master. However, this magic could not control the thoughts of the target. It could only pour a trace of the caster¡¯s thoughts into the thoughts of the target. Affected by the caster¡¯s thoughts, the target would regard the caster as their comrade. The same as the standard for all mind-related magic, this mind control magic could be learned at an early stage and could only be cast to a target whose will and wisdom attributes were lower than the caster¡¯s.


    This was exactly how the middle-aged man had cast the spell ¡®Mind Invasion¡¯ onto Sean earlier.


    But what would happen if the wisdom and will attributes of the target were higher than the caster? If the target was like Sean, who had no magical powers, then the worst-case scenario that could occur would be that the target would be stunned on the spot. This way, they could dodge a bullet because they were feeling pain.


    But if the target was also a magician, then to be living was no better than dying.


    This was because both the caster and the target had a spellcaster profession. Therefore, the target could use the mental stimulation passed to them to deal damage back to the caster. The damage caused to the caster would not be as simple as having a splitting headache or spurting out blood. Their will attribute would be reduced.


    Therefore, even if the middle-aged man did not die right now, he would become useless.


    ¡°I told you earlier that you have picked the wrong target.¡± Sean grimaced as he killed another dog-headed guard.


    At this time, there were only five to six dog-headed guards left who were still able to protect the middle-aged man. The rest of the dog-headed guards no longer had weapons they could use, therefore they could only cheer on the side.


    Sean was a little surprised that these dog-headed guards had not yet dispersed. Under normal circumstances, when the dog-headed people realized that their opponents were far stronger than themselves, the group would scatter. Only when there was a commander or a chief present would the dog-headed people be able to gather together again. However, right now, there was neither a commander nor a chief present, so why had these dog-headed people not scattered yet?


    However, Sean did not want to think about these things. His goal was to kill the middle-aged man and seize the magic ring from his hand. This time, Sean believed that he could get the ring because this was the real world. There was no such thing as an item drop rate like in the game.


    Therefore, Sean continued to wait patiently. He was waiting for the Air Barrier on the middle-aged man to expire.


    As for the rest of the dog-headed guards, they were not worth mentioning at all.


    The middle-aged man knew that if he continued on this way, he would eventually die. But right now, he was suffering from the strong magic backlash, therefore he was not able to use any magic. He was not even able to cast the simplest magic shock. He wanted to escape, but he did not think that a weak body like his was stronger than a warrior who had obviously been exercising regularly.


    ¡°Go up and attack!¡± With the last of his mental strength, the middle-aged man forcefully endured the severe pain he was feeling and turned it into a simple conscious command, giving the order to the dog-headed people.


    Sean was also able to feel this command from the middle-aged man¡¯s consciousness. Sean would find it very difficult to deal with these dog-headed people if they were to all attack at the same time. Although Cecilia might not be killed here, getting injured would be inevitable. Therefore, Sean immediately moved so that he could put a little bit of distance between them while keeping his guard up. He could no longer count on Cecilia. She had been a little bit affected by the mental confrontation just now. Sean was afraid that she might be dizzy.


    However, it seemed as if all the dog-headed guards had not received the order from the middle-aged man, as they remained grouped together and were not attacking.


    The middle-aged man and Sean were both stunned. Then, they realized at the same time that the reason why these dog-headed guards had not fled was that the middle-aged man was still able to give them a small sense of security. Therefore, they had gathered around the middle-aged man. But at the same time, they were very scared of Sean. Even if they had weapons, they would not dare to provoke Sean, not to mention that there were only a few armed dog-headed guards left. The other dozen or so dog-headed guards no longer had any weapons they could use.


    At that moment, the sound of quick footsteps could be heard.


    Sean and Cecilia breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the steady and powerful footsteps, while the middle-aged man¡¯s face became even uglier. This was because the footsteps clearly belonged to humans and not to the dog-headed people. It was easy to tell whose reinforcements these other humans belonged to without even thinking about it much.


    It was Anyers, Jim, and the others who rushed to where Sean and Cecilia were currently located.


    Except, what was supposed to be a group of seven people had now turned into only four people. Apart from Anyers and Jim, there was also a swordsman and a spearman.


    Everyone looked at each other, as Sean saw hatred, anger, and sadness in their eyes. He immediately knew what had happened to the other three members. Sean had never expected three people to die, especially when Anyers, Jim, and the others had fought following the strategy Sean had given to them. Just how useless were these guys?


    ¡°We encountered eight dog-headed bodyguards,¡± Anyers whispered. ¡°Sisborne could have lived, but he was sneak attacked by a dog-headed scout¡­¡±


    Sean knew that Sisborne was another swordsman. However, these people were very unlucky. They had encountered the standard group of nine members, which included a dog-headed magician and dog-headed guards. Sean did not know what to say.


    ¡°As I have promised, your chance for revenge has come.¡± Sean pointed to the middle-aged man with his sword. ¡°He is the mastermind behind all of this. If it was not for him, there would be no such thing as a dog-headed people¡¯s camp.¡±


    Hearing what Sean said, everyone¡¯s expressions suddenly became ferocious, and their aura increased rather than decreased. Such a strong burst of murderous intent finally caused the psychological line of defense of the dog-headed guards to collapse completely. They let out the ear-piercing howling sound of frightened dogs. Then, these dog-headed guards scattered like a flock of headless chickens. They did not dare to stay here any longer.


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Seeing that everyone was about to make a move towards the middle-aged man, Sean opened his mouth to stop them. ¡°He still has an Air Barrier on his body. This magic can make him invincible. Wait another 20 seconds. The magic effect will disappear soon.¡±


    The middle-aged man¡¯s heart suddenly began to beat faster. He finally realized that his life was about to end. However, what had puzzled him was why Sean knew everything about him like the back of his hand. He was not even a magician, yet he was so knowledgeable about the duration of the effect this Air Barrier magic had.


    Everyone surrounded the middle-aged man, waiting for the effect to disappear so that they could put an end to his life. Originally, everyone was worried that the middle-aged man would make a final counterattack before his death. However, Sean had guaranteed that he was no longer able to fight back. Due to the image and reputation that Sean had built previously, no one doubted him.


    As soon as the last twenty seconds were up, a burst of airflow was suddenly emitted. It was as if a breeze was blowing.


    Without Sean¡¯s reminder, everyone understood what was going on. In an instant, all kinds of weapons were pierced into the middle-aged man¡¯s body.


    As soon as the middle-aged man had died, there were no longer any enemies left in the dog-headed people¡¯s camp. All that was left for them to do was to clean and sweep the battlefield. Sean knew where the Square Tipped Crystals were stored. Earlier, he had deliberately set a fire so that everyone would avoid that area. Therefore, he was in no hurry to get those right now.


    What happened next was, of course, the moment for people to rejoice and cry.


    However, whether it was rejoicing or crying, they were always expressing their inner joy. For these people, this was probably what so-called ¡°real revenge¡± looked like.


    Except for Sean and Cecilia, whose delight and joy were a little bit different from the other members. The reason why Cecilia was delighted was that she could finally go back and have a good rest. She wanted to get some sleep now, as she was extremely tired. But on the other hand, she had indeed received a lot of benefits from this battle, which had allowed her to get a better understanding of what being an official magician was all about. She was confident that she would be able to reach this point in a few days.


    As for Sean, he felt happy because he was able to get another piece of good equipment.


    Back in the game, magic items were more precious than magic equipment.


    ¡°Huh? What is this?¡± However, among this group of people, there was one person who was not happy or sad. Instead, that person seemed to be at a loss. This person was Jim. Right at this moment, with his sharp eyes, he had noticed at a glance that the ring on the middle-aged man¡¯s finger was not an ordinary ring. After all, as a thief, he had very keen intuition about some treasures.


    ¡°Oh, this¡­¡± Sean saw the curiosity in Jim¡¯s eyes, and he was in a good mood, so he was going to explain what the ring was to Jim. However, before he could, Jim had unexpectedly reached for the ring without waiting for Sean¡¯s explanation. ¡°No! Don¡¯t touch it!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Jim took off the ring with his fingers.


    In an instant, a magic wave poured out of the ring in Jim¡¯s hand. Then, it released a force that was similar to a magic explosion. However, it had not injured anyone.


    ¡°Magic drain!¡± Cecilia uttered a low cry with surprise on her face, ¡°This is a magic ring!¡±


    Sean quickly snatched the ring from Jim¡¯s hand and immediately activated his [Eye of Truth]. In the next second, his expression turned extremely dark, ¡°Shit! It¡¯s useless!¡­ Damn it, as a manipulator, can¡¯t you have a bit of awareness to stay away from corpses?¡±


    Jim¡¯s expression became a bit embarrassed. As for the others, when they heard the words ¡®magic ring¡¯, they knew that it was worth a lot of money. At first, they wanted to say something. However, they were all wise to stay silent when they saw Sean¡¯s ugly expression. After all, neither Jim nor Sean were members of the Black Cat Business Guild.


    At this moment, Sean finally realized something. It would be more difficult to get the best equipment in this world than in the game.


    This was because, in this world, there was a phenomenon called ¡®magic drain¡¯.


    In addition, there was also a particular type of person who existed in this world.


    A manipulator.

 Chapter 49 - Heading Towards Anrola City

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    The sunset in the distance reflected a touch of strange redness.


    A brown carriage was moving under the setting sun. The coachman was an old man. Although he looked old, his eyes were not bleary. The carriage was pulled by two old horses. The saying ¡®an old hand is a good guide¡¯ was no joke. The old man hardly needed to control the horses throughout the entire journey. He had only pulled the reins once in a while to make the two horses move in a different direction, trying to avoid the uneven grounds as much as possible.


    For a professional coachman like him, the only thing he had to do was to make his customers feel comfortable. In particular, the two people who were currently sitting inside the carriage. They were obviously not ordinary people. This was why the old man could not help but be more careful on this journey.


    The two people sitting inside the carriage were none other than Sean and Cecilia.


    It had been two days since the battle in the Gathering Place of the Dog-headed People dungeon.


    Sean was wearing a clean, black western-style clothes. These neatly designed clothes made Sean¡¯s figure a bit more obvious. This in turn made Sean seem a bit more energetic. His hair was not trimmed but had simply been combed back and tied together, as it hung behind his head. This made his face look softer. The Charles¡¯ Sword that was originally tied around his waist had now been replaced by a scabbard. The black magic shark skin on this scabbard had been polished, and a formation that had sealed the force of this scabbard was engraved on it. This seal was able to hide the force being emitted by this magical weapon a little better.


    From his head to his feet, Sean¡¯s clothes were worth at least 100 Portoroa gold coins. This was what clothes worn by aristocrats looked like.


    Cecilia, of course, was the same.


    She wore a long silver dress with black ironed-on patterns. There were no lace edges or many other decorations. However, this long dress looked like expensive clothing in the eyes of other people. Especially since it was worn by Cecilia. The aura of her aristocratic identity appeared more perfect. With just one look and one movement, it gave a taste of her family heritage.


    The saying ¡®clothes make a man just as a saddle makes a horse¡¯ were words of wisdom for everyone, no matter where they went.


    Therefore, when Sean said that he wanted to ride in a carriage to Anrola City, the shopkeeper of the carriage store immediately sent out their best coachmen to operate the carriage. On one hand, this had made a lot of money for the shopkeeper. On the other hand, it was mainly due to the aristocratic character displayed by Sean and Cecilia. Arthur City and Anrola City had temporary transport services. Usually, with a daily round trip the maximum number of people would be eight for each carriage, and it cost only 20 copper coins per person.


    As for Sean, in order to save some trouble and time, he threw out a Portoroa gold coin. This price was not small, but it was also not considered high. It was equivalent to the money earned in three days with loaded carriages.


    ¡°What else are you unhappy about?¡± Cecilia looked at Sean, who was still unhappy, and said with confusion, ¡°Hasn¡¯t the Black Cat Business Guild already compensated you?¡±


    Sean took out five pieces of hard paper that were around five centimeters long.


    The entire paper was milky white and both sides were marked with the United Continental Business Guild Alliance sign. The paper was surrounded by long lines of gold marks on the edges, which appeared to be scattered, but were actually made from of one brushstroke. There was the number 1,000 written in Arabic in the middle of the paper. No matter how this paper was folded and rubbed, once it was unfolded again, it would return to its original neat appearance without the slightest wrinkle after just three seconds.


    This was the cash coupon of the United Continental Business Guild Alliance. Its lowest value was 1,000 gold coins. The cash coupons could be exchanged for gold coins at any of the banks belonging to the United Continental Business Guild League.


    Originally, Sean and the Black Cat Business Guild had agreed that Sean¡¯s reward would be 3,000 continental gold coins, which was a very high reward. This was mainly because Ron had silently allowed Hank¡¯s provocation towards Sean, and Ron knew he was in the wrong. Therefore, he had no intentions to bargain with this offer. After the time when Jim had destroyed the magic ring that Sean wanted, he had been extremely annoyed. After considering it from different angles, Ron gave Sean another 2,000 United Continental Cash Coupons.


    This was why Sean had five coupons that were worth at least 1,000 gold coins.


    In terms of market price alone, the lowest price for a magic ring was indeed 2,000 continental gold coins. Later, when the magic ring was appraised, the price would be different according to the magic it contained. Ron had offered 2,000 continental gold coins to make up for Sean¡¯s loss, which was a very generous act. Of course, for Sean, he did not see it that way. A magic ring with the magic ¡®Air Barrier¡¯ inside could be sold for tens of thousands of gold coins, or even more.


    However, the ring had lost its magic, therefore no one would be able to tell whether the ring had the magic Air Barrier or not. Also, something like the loss of magic was a very common phenomenon on Miracle Continent. Therefore, even if the Black Cat Business Guild had not compensated for Sean¡¯s loss, they would not be at fault.


    But from Sean¡¯s perspective, who had the mind of a player, he was still unhappy. Was he born unlucky? Or was this a passive effect? Was Sean destined to have nothing to do with this ring?


    Eight years!


    It was fine if he could not get the ring inside the game, but now he could not even get it in the real world. Sean¡¯s depression could only be compensated for by the 5,000 continental gold coins!


    ¡°No.¡± Sean put away the three cash coupons, ¡°Can my loss and depression be compensated with just 2,000 cash coupons?¡±


    Cecilia glanced at Sean and said lazily, ¡°Even if they didn¡¯t give you compensation, it is still reasonable. The fact that they were willing to give it to you means that they have good character.¡±


    In the end, Sean could only sigh helplessly, ¡°These cash coupons were a little difficult to accept. That little guy has learned the cunningness of his father at such a young age. He thinks that cash coupons for 2,000 gold coins are enough to buy me off. Humph!¡±


    ¡°Why did you still take it if it was a bit difficult to accept?¡± Cecilia really did not like the triumphant look displayed by Sean. ¡°Also, you talk like you know his father.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not taking it for nothing,¡± Sean pouted. ¡°However, I don¡¯t really know his father. But I do know the Black Cat Business Guild better than his father does.¡±


    Cecilia decided not to continue the discussion with Sean on this topic. Ever since he had said that he was a God Wand, Cecilia felt that he was becoming crazier and crazier. Although many of his statements and judgments were frighteningly accurate, and others might have thought Sean was amazing, Cecilia saw it differently. After having spent so much time with him, Cecilia knew very well that it was actually a language trap Sean had set.


    However, it was precisely because they had been together for so long that even Cecilia had ignored a fact. Where did Sean get so much information from?


    ¡°Speaking of which, what are we going to do in Anrola City?¡± Cecilia cleverly changed the topic of their conversation.


    ¡°Oh, there are some things that can be done there,¡± Sean said faintly, while he absent-mindedly assigned experience points to his scholar profession.


    [Scholar (Rank one profession): Strictly speaking, a scholar is not an actual profession, but an identity. There are many people in the world who want to receive this identity, but very few can achieve it. In this respect, you are undoubtedly a successful person. However, you have also noticed that the identity of a scholar is just the beginning, as you still have a long road ahead of you.]


    [New profession reward ¨C Identity: Scholar is a respected identity, and there are scholar inspectors in many places. You realized that this would be a good excuse (allowing you to access any unguarded areas); Knowledge: You are hungry to acquire all kinds of knowledge, which has allowed you to enrich your experiences. Your motto is to actively use your wisdom (strength limit +2, endurance +1, endurance limit +3, agility limit +2, wisdom +2, wisdom limit +7, will +2, will limit +6)].


    [New profession side-effect ¨C Lack of exercise: Long-term mental activity made you ignore exercising physically. This, in turn, makes your fitness worse than an average person (the rate of decline in physical points is one and half times faster than the usual rate). Second new profession side-effect: Your education is not bad, but you obviously don¡¯t have the spirit to do well (it takes three and half times the experience to upgrade your scholar profession)].


    For this profession, the ¡®identity¡¯ of the new profession reward was a very useful passive skill. Sean was able to use this identity to enter places that were forbidden to ordinary people, such as a couple of the large libraries. If the profession was focused on [Spellcaster], then the ¡®lack of exercise¡¯ side-effect of a new profession would not be that scary. However, it was a pity that Sean had a [Physical] combat profession, therefore the decline in physical strength was troublesome. This meant that for battles in the future, Sean had to try and end them as soon as possible.


    As for the ¡®second new profession side-effect¡¯, it was something that every player with a part-time and new profession would have. Sean just needed to become a level three scholar, which was not an issue for him.


    Sean had gained a lot of experience points in the Gathering Place for the Dog-headed People dungeon. Later, he also received a lot of experience rewards when he had ¡®submitted the task¡¯ to Ron. Now that all the experience points were assigned to the scholar profession, it had already increased more than halfway towards level three. Only a few more experience points were required to upgrade the [Scholar] profession to level 3. After that, Sean would be able to reassign the experience points to his [Warrior] profession.


    ¡°We are going to transfer to another carriage at Anrola City, and then go to a small village close to the city.¡± After Sean had assigned the experience points, two more experience points had appeared in his personal bar. Including the two experience points he gained when the [Scholar] profession was upgraded to the next level, Sean now had a total of four experience points.


    ¡°We are going to a small village nearby?¡± Cecilia looked a little dazed. ¡°What are we going there for? Is there something good at that place?¡±


    ¡°There are benefits.¡± A rarely seen serious expression appeared on Sean¡¯s face. ¡°That magic ring with the Air Barrier is gone. At most, I am a little depressed. However, the next item I want is something that I have to get no matter what.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Cecilia became curious after seeing how serious Sean was.


    ¡°Bavarian Armguard.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Cecilia uttered a cry of surprise.


    ¡°Keep your voice down.¡± Sean made a gesture with his hand, indicating to Cecilia to keep her voice down. ¡°It¡¯s just a failed defective product, not even an imitation. But this is not the most important thing. The important thing is that there is a drawing of the real Bavarian Arm Guard in that village.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ How do you know about this?¡±


    ¡°I told you, I am a God Wand.¡± Sean¡¯s proud look made Cecilia really want to rebut. ¡°But before that, the reason we are going to the village is to find a new companion.¡±


    ¡°Companion?¡± Cecilia blinked.


    ¡°Mm. I hope he can join us.¡± Sean¡¯s eyes suddenly became a little bit deeper.


    Alfred, the future battle god.

 Chapter 50 - Why Another Invitation?

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    The night was not very clear, and the stars were like shy children. They were so shy that all of them were hiding. Even the full moon was half-covered as if it was teasing everyone.


    But even with such a night, it could not stop the noise, the excitement, and the hustle and bustle that the was destined to occur in Anrola City.


    Before entering the city, the joyous sounds from inside Anrola City had spread far and wide. The colorful lights that hung high in the city shone down on the people who were cheering with joy. They looked a little like the precious seven-colored birds from the kingdom¡¯s eastern area. People were walking and running around the streets of Anrola City. Whether it was the poor slums of the city or the noble and rich areas, the joy that everyone was expressing was from the bottom of their hearts.


    What kind of feast was successful?


    A feast that made everyone happy.


    People in the poor areas were able to get free food and drink for three days, while people in wealthy areas were able to get access to the Tindus Castle. Businessmen and crop growers were also able to get their taxes cut by half this month¡­ This was not just the happiness of people in this city, it was the happiness of everyone in the entire domain.


    The old coachman operated the brown carriage as they entered the city smoothly and stopped at Old Henry¡¯s Carriage Shop.


    Sean and Cecilia got down from the carriage with surprise and curiosity in their eyes.


    ¡°Sir, are you satisfied with your trip?¡± A middle-aged man ordered his subordinates to take the old coachman away for a rest, while the middle-aged man himself went up to greet Sean in person. Someone at the coach shop in Arthur City must have informed this middle-aged man about Sean¡¯s arrival in advance.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t bad.¡± Sean nodded with a warm smile on his face. The arrogance in his bones stayed hidden. The demeanor and aura of a child from an ancient aristocratic family, which contained one-tenths warmth, two-tenths calmness, and seven-tenths indifference, was performed quite well by Sean.


    Cecilia gently grasped the corner of Sean¡¯s clothes and suppressed a snicker. Her pride and coldness, like that of a little princess, were even more obvious than Sean. There was a bit of curiosity in her eyes, but instead of looking around, she stood next to Sean with restraint and caution. She looked around with only the corner of her eyes. Her delicate and timid appearance made her even more adorable.


    Using the most popular phrase used on earth, it was like¡­


    The old Oscar leading the young Oscar farther and farther away on the Oscar road.


    The shopkeeper of the carriage store became more respectful when he saw what Sean and Cecilia looked like.


    ¡°Why is it so lively here?¡± Sean looked around. He could see that everyone¡¯s celebrations were not fake and that they were genuinely happy. However, in his memory, this was not the case in the game.


    ¡°Sir, you have come at the right time.¡± The shopkeeper smiled and explained, ¡°There is a three-day celebration happening right now.¡±


    ¡°What is going on?¡± Sean¡¯s eyebrows furrowed slightly. This movement was so subtle that even the shopkeeper who stood in front of Sean had not noticed it.


    ¡°More than half a month ago, Viscount Drouin, who had been away for a long time, finally returned. It is said that he has brought back an elixir that can cure the old Marquis.¡± The shopkeeper smiled and said, ¡°When the aristocrats of different domains heard this news, they all came to Tindus Castle. Even Count Mario came the moment he heard the news.¡±


    ¡°Originally, we didn¡¯t know about any of this. After all, civilians like us¡­¡± The shopkeeper smiled with embarrassment. He had not finished his sentence, but the meaning implied was obvious. However, there was no reason to let ordinary citizens know about matters related to aristocrats. ¡°But later, Count Mario issued an announcement, saying that Viscount Drouin has brought back an elixir that can cure the old Marquis, and that all the taxes in the domain will be halved for three days. All the expenses within these three days will be taken care of by the aristocrats¡­ For this, we have been preparing the celebrations for a long time. In the afternoon today, the official documents should have been distributed to all parts of the domain.¡±


    Sean and Cecilia looked at each other when they heard the shopkeeper¡¯s explanation. They both saw a trace of surprise in each other¡¯s eyes.


    There was no doubt that this was a plot.


    Count Mario had planned this out beautifully. Drouin had no choice but to follow what Count Mario planned.


    After all, the news regarding the serious illness that the old Marquis Perot had was true. It was also true that Drouin had found the Ice Heart Grass. The old Marquis Perot was deeply loved by the citizens of the domain, so it was natural to hold a full celebration at this moment. However, whether it was Sean, Drouin, or Mario, they all knew the truth. It was impossible to cure Marquis Perot with Ice Heart Grass alone. But now, everyone was already celebrating the news on such a large scale. If Marquis Perot¡¯s illness showed no signs of improvement, then the citizens of the domain would naturally start to have some twisted thoughts.


    To think of it a little more viciously, if Count Mario was to let the old Marquis Perot die at a time like this, then all the unfavorable clues would point towards Drouin. When that time arrived, Mario could even justifiably use killing relatives as an excuse and have his private army march to Tindus Castle. With the lost time and support of his people, Drouin could only try to survive. But in the end, he would not be able to escape the defeat.


    ¡°That is a good move.¡± Sean sighed slightly.


    Cecilia shook her head helplessly and whispered, ¡°This is no longer something we can take part in.¡±


    Sean was not interested in taking part in the battle between two aristocrats for the right to inherit the position as the lord of the domain. Although Count Mario was ambitious and vicious, he had managed the Tindus Domain quite well in the game. During the later stages of the game, another war broke had out between the Portoroa Kingdom and the Serian Kingdom. The army from Gleason-Tindus had shone brilliantly in that war.


    It could be said that under the ruling of Count Mario, Tindus Domain had become stronger than when old Marquis Perot had ruled.


    ¡°Huh?¡­ Isn¡¯t this Mr. Sean and Miss Cecilia?¡±


    While Sean and Cecilia were having a conversation with each other, a cry of joy suddenly sounded from not far behind them.


    Sean turned his head and saw that fat Halle was running towards them, followed by the veteran Old Pete, and three other people.


    The one in the middle was a middle-aged man dressed as a magician. He had short brown hair. Instead of holding something like a magic wand in his hand, he was holding a magic book with a black cover. His face was thin and pale, and his fingers were a little messy. At first glance, some of the fingers looked like they had gray fingernails. His magic robe was not a tight fit but rather a bit big. However, Sean did not find it funny at all when the magician was wearing it. Instead, Sean felt a cold chill down his body.


    For some reason, when Sean looked at the magician, he felt that the person looked familiar to him. It seemed as if Sean had seen the magician from somewhere before. But no matter how hard Sean tried to recall, he could not remember at all. This made Sean feel a little confused, because according to his principle, as long as it was someone that he had a bit of an impression of, he would be able to remember the identity of that person. Something like the current situation, where he could not remember who the magician was, would normally never happen.


    But at this moment, Sean did not have time to think about it because Halle and the others had already walked up to Sean.


    The young man on the left of the magician, who was dressed in heavy black armor with a scarlet cloak on his back, was unarmed. However, his murderous aura was strangely strong. Unless he went to war, weapons did not matter to him, because wherever he went, his ruthlessness was enough to frighten even his comrades.


    He was an armed knight, which was an advanced profession in the Portoroa Kingdom.


    A strange light flashed across Sean¡¯s eyes. He remembered that this heavily armed knight was the right-hand man of Count Mario, who was later said to have upgraded to a rank five [Battle Knight]. Sean did not expect to see this heavily armed knight here. This meant that the magician next to him had a special status. Sean could not help but wonder if the magician was Count Mario¡¯s assistant.


    If this was the case, it would also explain why Sean had felt a sense of familiarity towards the magician but had not recalled who he was.


    After all, an assistant was not as easy to remember as a leading character.


    With the remarkable status of these two people, the third person who was with them seemed to be average.


    Burwell.


    He was the trade leader of Polar Silver Business Guild, responsible for the trade route between Tindus Domain and Zobird Domain. He had a close relationship with Count Mario. If Sean were to guess, Burwell was probably the biggest financial backer of Count Mario.


    At the current moment, the three men were welcoming Sean and Cecilia. Halle was greeting Sean warmly, while Old Pete smiled and spoke a few words. Although Sean was communicating with the two men, the corner of his eyes did not miss the other three men. Sean and the three of them seemed to be examining and looking at each other knowingly. Afterward, their eyes no longer made contact.


    At the magician¡¯s suggestion, Burwell smiled and said, ¡°Mr. Halle, aren¡¯t you going to introduce us?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, this is Mr. Burwell, Mr. Martin, and Mr. Muders.¡± Halle smiled and introduced the three people to Sean. From the order that these three people were introduced in, it was not difficult to figure out the positions these three men had in Halle¡¯s mind. ¡°This is Mr. Sean and his sister Cecilia.¡±


    It was a brief introduction. There were no mentions of how they knew each other or each person¡¯s profession.


    It was obvious that Halle could operate an entire business route, as he had certain skills. Also, he must have felt the pressure from Count Mario, so he did not mention that Sean was the key figure who had led them through the Starfall Forest. However, Cecilia still made an unnoticeable sigh. This kind of introduction had a sense of ¡®a clumsy denial resulting in self-exposure¡¯.


    After all, Halle was just a business leader who did not appear in the spotlight. Cecilia was not even in the mood to roll her eyes at Halle.


    For the conversations after the introduction, they all simply chatted politely with each other about uninteresting things.


    ¡°By the way, Mr. Sean, Tindus Castle is having a celebration right now. We are on our way there. Why don¡¯t you come with us?¡± Halle suddenly cut in and said while they were chatting.


    All of a sudden, everyone¡¯s eyes were focused on Sean. When they had been chatting just now, Halle¡¯s enthusiasm and Old Pete¡¯s politeness towards Sean had already made the other three sensitive people feel a bit strange. Even though Halle had been restraining himself, the obvious signs of him trying to pull Sean to his side were very easy to see.


    Sean was a little depressed because he had only just gotten the invitation from the Helson Research Institute off his hands, yet now he had already encountered such a problem as soon as he arrived!


    If this had occurred during another ordinary day, or if Count Mario had not made such an announcement, Sean would have agreed to go. After all, Halle and Drouin still owed him the agreed reward of 10,000 coins.


    But now, the situation inside this domain had become somewhat complicated. Count Mario had begun his oppression already. To be invited to the Tindus Castle by Halle at a time like this, the nature and meaning of it were completely different. Sean had told Cecilia just now that he would not interfere with Tindus Domain¡¯s issue regarding who had the right to claim the inheritance. Therefore, he naturally would not agree to Halle¡¯s invitation.


    ¡°I am very sorry, but I have some personal business that I still need to take care of.¡± Sean smiled apologetically and declined Halle¡¯s invitation politely.


    ¡°Is it urgent?¡± Halle did not seem like he wanted to give up.


    ¡°Yes, it is urgent.¡± Sean sighed in his heart. Judging from Halle¡¯s actions, it seemed like Drouin¡¯s situation was not very good right now. However, at a time like this, Sean could only decline.

 Chapter 51 - A Change

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    The Tindus Castle was another special building that belonged to the Royce family.


    The castle was built on a hill hundreds of meters away from Anrola City. The overall architectural style had showcased its calmness. However, the way the Royce family did business could be seen in the construction style of the Royce Manor. Therefore, it would not be too much to say that Tindus Castle was a miniature fortress. There were three gates alone that could weaken the aura from any attackers.


    However, as a castle that belonged to the aristocrats, the width of the walls around it could not be compared with that of a fortress. This was an adjustment made after taking into account the daily troops that were stationed at the castle. But the architect who had designed this castle was undoubtedly a very clever person. Nearly two-thirds of the entire Tindus Castle was made up of various defense structures. None of the open spaces inside this castle were wasted. Compared to the Royce Manor, the Tindus Castle was more developed and flawless.


    Both of these places had been designed by the same architect.


    While it would be difficult to attack from the castle, it was easy to defend from there.


    It was just a pity that, originally, there were nearly 1,000 regular troops stationed in the castle, but ever since the old Marquis Perot had become seriously ill and unconscious, the strength in the castle had been continuously reduced. Right now, the number of troops stationed in the Tindus Domain was less than 200. It was difficult to maintain daily maintenance on the defense structures. All of this was due to the actions of Count Mario. Many of the knights who had once belonged to Marquis Perot now belonged to Count Mario. Only a few loyal ones were left.


    The stationed troops inside Anrola City would never take part in the struggle for inheritance between these two aristocrats. This was because the troops did not need to show their loyalty to anyone. No matter who had inherited the title, they would still work for the lord. This was something that even the stationed troops at Arthur City would do as well.


    This was the reason why Count Mario had deliberately tried to achieve a sense of righteousness before killing Marquis Perot. Only in this way would his army contain tens of thousands of people.


    On the other hand, Drouin was a bit different.


    There was no doubt that he was the best son. However, he was not qualified to be the lord of the domain.


    It was for this reason that Sean did not want to get involved in this struggle for inheritance between the two men. It was too difficult to support Drouin unless it was possible to directly cut off Count Mario¡¯s left and right arms or even force him into a dead end. Drouin was already greatly defeated by Count Mario. Even though Drouin had high-level strength, it did not give him any advantages.


    Sean didn¡¯t care about who would win or who would lose in their battle for the inheritance. Either way, he was bound to receive his reward of 10,000 continental gold coins. Even without Drouin, there was still Halle. Therefore, after Sean had declined Halle¡¯s invitation, he did not stop at Anrola City for too long. Instead, Sean and Cecilia got into another carriage and left for a nearby village during the night.


    ¡°So that means the young man named Sean has left?¡±


    At this moment, in a side hall inside Tindus Castle, Count Mario was asking in a serious tone. He had to raise his voice a little because there was a joyous celebration being held in the main hall next to him. Although the noise from the celebration had obscured his secret talk quite well, their conversation had also become a little more difficult.


    After all, Tindus Castle was designed for defending against the enemy in a battle. Therefore, there were not many places for secret conversations.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The magician named Muders nodded. ¡°If it is exactly like the information we have collected in the past, then it is definitely to the credit of this man that Drouin and the others were able to pass through the Starfall Forest¡­ However, we can¡¯t rule out the possibility that they may have used some kind of trick that we don¡¯t know about.¡±


    ¡°Martin, what do you think about this?¡± Count Mario nodded, then turned to look at the third man who was with them.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they used any tricks.¡± Martin, the heavily armed knight, thought for a moment, and then said, ¡°The way Old Pete was looking at him was filled with admiration. It is impossible that a veteran like him would randomly display such an expression. Moreover, when I covered them with my murderous aura, that young man and the apprentice magician were not afraid at all. This can at least prove that these two people have experienced a fierce battle of some degree.¡±


    ¡°Since they had the courage to travel through the Starfall Forest, it is impossible for them to be afraid.¡± Muders whispered, ¡°Also, you didn¡¯t display all of your strength.¡±


    ¡°In such an environment, it was impossible for me to use all my strength.¡± If Martin had not known Muders¡¯ character, then he would have thought that Muders was trying to frame him.


    However, Muders opened his mouth to explain, ¡°Otherwise, I would have created an enemy for Lord Viscount.¡±


    Compared with most magicians who would not take the occasion and atmosphere into consideration at all, knights like Martin and aristocrats like Count Mario had to consider many things. If Martin had used his full strength during that moment, it would have created a real problem. At the very least, just like what Martin had said, Count Mario would have started to wonder if Muders was trying to frame him.


    ¡°Martin has a point.¡± Count Mario nodded and then spoke again, ¡°In that case, it seems like we don¡¯t need to worry about that Sean anymore, right?¡±


    ¡°Judging from everything so far, I don¡¯t think this man named Sean has anything to do with Drouin and the others.¡± Muders nodded, ¡°Also, from all the information gathered from different places, it seems he is only a mercenary.¡±


    Mercenaries and hired mercenaries were two different concepts.


    ¡®Mercenaries¡¯ referred to an organization that specialized in using money to take care of business. It was one of the largest guild organizations on the entire Miracle Continent and was on a par with the adventurer and pioneer guilds. ¡®Hired mercenaries¡¯, on the other hand, referred to a rank one profession.


    ¡°In that case, maybe we might be able to hire him as well?¡± Martin asked.


    ¡°A warrior and an apprentice magician. I don¡¯t think their strength can be used.¡± Muders rejected the proposal. ¡°They may have great potential, but the role they can play in the future during a war is too small. If you were to train them¡­ I think only that apprentice magician would have some value. Her potential isn¡¯t bad.¡±


    ¡°Well, in that case, Muders, find a way to test them out.¡± Count Mario was silent for a moment before he finally said, ¡°Although Halle is a businessman, he is not a fool. At the very least, he is a lot smarter than Burwell. Even Halle likes this man named Sean. This means that Sean must have some real potential.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± Muders nodded respectfully.


    Right at that moment, there was a knock at the door.


    Count Mario nodded. Then, Martin went over to open the door. Standing outside was a knight, who was Martin¡¯s second in command. Currently, he was standing outside the door with a person dressed in servant clothes. Under Martin¡¯s questioning eyes, the servant took out a letter and gave it to Martin.


    ¡°This is a letter from the Medusa Business Guild.¡± The servant¡¯s expression was calm and collected. It was obvious that the servant identity was only a disguise. ¡°Please pass it on to Lord Muders.¡±


    Martin nodded. The servant then quickly left, led by the second-in-command knight. As for Martin, he walked back to Muders and gave him the letter. Such an action had not made Count Mario unhappy. This was because both Martin and Count Mario understood that even though Muders was said to be Count Mario¡¯s assistant, he was, in fact, a person of interest for both Count Mario and Martin. He had come here to help Count Mario inherit the right to be the lord of this domain.


    In reality, Muders was a member of the Medusa Business Guild.


    After opening the letter and reading it, the gloomy expression that Muders had on his face seemed to grow even darker. This had made the surrounding atmosphere turn a little cold.


    After a short moment, Muders finally whispered, ¡°Lord Viscount, it seems that there are going to be some changes in our plans.¡±


    ¡°What is going on?¡± Count Mario frowned. He was finally able to set up a perfect chess game after a lot of effort was put into. He was just waiting for the final kill after the perfect end. Yet at this moment, his plans were going to change. This naturally made him feel a little depressed.


    ¡°The Black Cat Business Guild has taken the Square Tipped Crystals back.¡± Muders handed the letter to Count Mario. ¡°The dog-headed camp that was quietly set up by our Medusa Business Guild has been destroyed. The Black Cat Business Guild has redeployed its people to retaliate. I¡¯m afraid the Medusa Business Guild will no longer be able to provide you with any external help anymore.¡±


    ¡°Did the Black Cat Business Guild break the rules?¡± This was the first reaction from Count Mario. ¡°Did they send people with strength at rank four or above?¡±


    ¡°No, they didn¡¯t.¡± Muders shook his head.


    People with high-level class could be found in any of the large-scale business guilds that existed in various kingdoms. The problem was the amount of people they had. However, it was precisely because of the scale and the scope of the business of these guilds that extended across different kingdoms that they would naturally be subject to the treaty balance from the United Continental Business Guild Alliance. People with high-level strength were not allowed to act at will. Very often, they only existed as a strategic deterrent force. They were only allowed to make a move when there was a high-level competition for business.


    Just like the Tindus Domain. According to the decision of the United Continental Business Guild League, Tindus Domain was only a rank one area. At most, they could only allow those with a rank three strength to battle. Of course, if the Tindus Domain were to develop and become stronger, then there would be more people with high-level strength. This naturally meant that the level of the Tindus Domain would increase as well. This, in turn, meant that the scale and level of the competition among the business guilds would also be raised accordingly.


    This was why the high classed man next to Ron had not made a move.


    The balance was a set unchangeable rule.


    ¡°What on earth happened?¡± Count Mario was a little confused.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know the specific details either.¡± Muders shook his head. ¡°But it has now turned into a battle between two business guilds. Burwell is only a business leader here after all. He is not able to get involved in a battle like this. However, I think that for the matter regarding Marquis Perot, we should probably put the plan of killing him on hold. At the very least, we should wait until the battle between the Black Cat Business Guild and my guild is over before making a move.¡±


    Count Mario¡¯s expression was no longer just gloomy.


    He had placed a final killer move after a lot of effort. However, due to outside reasons, it now had to be temporarily put on hold. How could he accept this?! But since things had turned out this way, there was nothing else he could do.

 Chapter 52 - Cyroda Village

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    The Cyroda Village was a small village that was closest to Anrola City of the Tindus Domain.


    Because this village was in a fairly good location and was a transit point that connected Anrola City and the border of Tindus Domain, it was very prosperous despite having no special local products. In fact, it was so big that it could be expanded and turned into a small town. However, it would also be easy for problems to occur in such a place. Also, because it was just a village, the defense forces were unable to keep up with its development. It was impossible to avoid having a mix of good and evil people.


    When Sean and Cecilia got down from the carriage, Sean felt at least a dozen eyes with malicious intent in their gazes.


    Sean did not care too much about it. From the clothes these people wore, Sean was able to easily guess their professions. Although there were some differences in strength between Sean and these people, with the Charles¡¯ Sword in his hand, Sean would not take these ordinary people seriously. So far, the only person that threatened Sean was Martin, the heavily armed knight he had met last night.


    His profession in the special development stage was far from what Sean could compare with now. This was because the bonus proportion of attribute points for the both of them did not begin from the same starting point.


    ¡°What are we doing here?¡± Cecilia asked curiously, ¡°Is the person you are looking for here?¡±


    ¡°If I remember correctly.¡± Sean nodded.


    Regarding Alfred¡¯s achievements, Sean had only heard about some of the events after Alfred had become famous. During that time, Alfred had already obtained a rank five class. Even though he had a relatively ordinary development profession, the combat power he displayed was a lot more powerful than players with a rank five profession in the special development stage. In this era, there were only a few players who had professions in the hidden development class. It was because of this that Sean knew a little more about this NPC and learned that Alfred was originally from the Portoroa Kingdom. He had lived in the Cyroda Village since the beginning of the game.


    He had left his hometown in May of 1833 and had become a registered member of the adventurer guild. Concerning the task he had, it was a big task that involved the battle between the Portoroa Kingdom and the Serian Kingdom. Back in the game, this task had to be completed first before Alfred would show interest in the players. Afterward, the players had to go through a serious of very complex and intimate training before Alfred would follow them.


    There was only one of his NPC. Since there were a lot of players, this had inevitably led to all kinds of bloody PKs.


    Sean had only dared to come find this future battle god now after some careful consideration, not on a whim.


    In this real world, although the dungeons from the game back then had been kept the same, these dungeons did not exist from the start. These dungeons would only ¡®appear¡¯ after ¡®a result¡¯ of something. Just like the previous ¡®Wandering Darkness¡¯, this dungeon would only appear after the Dark Knight had arrived at that small village. Before that occurred, Sean had tried to dig for a treasure that he remembered from the game. However, he had found nothing. It was only later, that Sean learned through other ways, that the family was still in a desperate stage and had not yet managed to develop. How could there have been any treasure yet?


    After that, Halle and Drouin had come to find him to be a guide. Sean was 100 percent sure that there was no such task back when he was in the game. It might also have been that no players were able to complete the task at that time, so it had never appeared. In other words, in the history of the game, Drouin was a character destined to die. This was something that could be seen even from the current struggle for the heir to Tindus Domain in the real world.


    Drouin was at a complete disadvantage.


    The next thing that happened was Sean helping the Black Cat Business Guild with getting their Square Tipped Crystals back. This had also happened in the game, but it was not Sean who had cleared this dungeon first. It had been another player from the Portoroa Kingdom. However, in the real world, there had been no other player except Sean. If he had not taken Drouin across the Starfall Forest, then he would not have been able to help the Black Cat Business Guild get their Square Tipped Crystals back.


    These series of changes stemmed from Sean¡¯s desire to obtain the two treasures in the Tindus Domain.


    The Flame of Scarlet and the Bavarian Armguards Schematic Drawings.


    What Sean did not know was that it was because he had helped the Black Cat Business Guild that Drouin was safe for the time being.


    But through the series of progressions and changes in the tasks, Sean was able to conclude that he could win Alfred over now. Sean did not need to wait for the war between the Portoroa Kingdom and the Serian Kingdom to break out.


    Of course, regarding how Sean could win Alfred over, he would rely on technique.


    Sean and Cecilia had just stepped into an inn located towards the southern side of the village when five people started to follow them.


    This inn occupied a large area. It was built from connecting six houses. This entire building was arranged like a tavern and there were more than a dozen female servants who were busy working. When most of them saw Sean, their eyes lit up. However, when they saw Cecilia who was walking next to Sean, the eyes of these servants darkened.


    The inn had three floors. Except for the tavern and the restaurant on the first floor, there were rooms on the second and third floors. However, the rooms here were not as spacious as the rooms in Arthur City. Each room only had a single bed that was placed against the wall and a small nightstand. Apart from these, there was no wardrobe, let alone a shower room.


    This was something that Sean was very unaccustomed to.


    Sean knew that the inns in many villages and towns on Miracle Continent were all like this, where he had to go to the bathhouse if he wanted to take a bath. This was also something he had seen a lot of in the game. However, at that time, he had only borrowed this place as a safe place to go offline. It was impossible for him to live in such a place. Later, when he arrived in this world, Sean had relied on his own efforts to get enough money within three days to rent a house. Therefore, this was the first time that Sean was experiencing living in such a shabby place.


    However, even if the room was shabby, it had its advantages. The accommodation fee was very cheap.


    A small room like this cost only five Portoroa copper coins a night. If the rent was to include breakfast, then it would only cost 10 Portoroa copper coins. However, there was, of course, no meat, just three pieces of croissants and a large glass of hot milk.


    Sean was a little bit tired because they had been riding in the carriage the entire night. Therefore, he asked for two rooms and some meat. Everything had cost no more than 20 copper coins. Instead of taking out gold and silver coins to pay the fee, Sean had taken out a handful of copper coins. He counted 20 of them and gave the sum to the owner, putting the rest back in his pocket. These had been exchanged by the coachman during their journey.


    Although he was not afraid of people with bad intentions, he did not have a lot of time to have a confrontation with them. Whether he had money or not, that was something only he needed to know for himself. He did not have to show off like an idiot.


    Reality was exactly like what Sean had expected. After seeing him take out these copper coins, three of the five people who followed Sean and Cecilia chose to leave after walking around the tavern once. Only two of them had not given up. Judging from the clothes these two people wore, Sean knew that their professions were thief related. They did not have the guts to fight head-on, so they could only do petty theft.


    At the thought of this, Sean sighed helplessly. Dealing with these thieves was one of the most troublesome things.


    However, since they did not want to leave, Sean wouldn¡¯t mind giving them an unforgettable lesson.


    After eating a simple breakfast, Cecilia began to rub her eyes sleepily. Sean told her to go back to her room to sleep while he remained sitting at the counter.


    ¡°Is there something else I can do for you, guest?¡± The innkeeper asked, after seeing that Sean was still sitting there. The innkeeper was currently busy wiping cups to prepare for business in the evening.


    ¡°I want to ask whether you have heard of a man named Alfred?¡± Sean asked with a smile, while the corners of his eyes started to scan and judge the situation around him.


    He noticed that a thief had gotten up and walked towards the stairs that led to the second floor.


    The innkeeper did not answer when Sean asked the question. Instead, the innkeeper only displayed a friendly smile, still wiping the cups without a change in his movements.


    Sean took out another handful of Portoroa copper coins from his pocket. There were around 70 to 80 in total. Then, he placed one on the table.


    The innkeeper was still smiling, but a bit of disdain had appeared in the innkeeper¡¯s eyes.


    Sean did not care, as he placed a few more copper coins on top of the first one. There was now a pile of five copper coins.


    The innkeeper glanced lightly at Sean. A bit of anger had appeared on the innkeeper¡¯s face, as Sean¡¯s movements were insulting.


    At this moment, the thief had gone up the stairs to the second floor. The other thief seemed to be struggling internally. It seemed like he had also wanted to go up to the second floor. But for some reason, instead of acting rashly, he remained seated in his original position, keeping an eye on Sean.


    ¡°I will go take care of something first,¡± Sean whispered and added five more Portoroa copper coins on the counter. ¡°Innkeeper, keep an eye on the money for me.¡±


    Ignoring the reaction of the innkeeper and the other thief, Sean got up and went to the second floor. All the copper coins in his hand were scattered across the counter, except for the ten copper coins that Sean had taken out. These copper coins were piled up one above the other. The two piles of coins seemed to have formed a strange and sharp contrast. Currently, besides the thief, there were four or five other people on the first floor of the tavern. When they saw the copper coins on the counter, their eyes had lit up. Even though there were not many, it was enough for them to get drunk for a few nights.


    However, at that moment the innkeeper raised his eyebrows slightly and glanced at everyone in the inn. All of them were suddenly surprised, as they stopped looking at the money on the counter. However, the innkeeper¡¯s eyebrows were still furrowed. He looked at the second floor with a bit of confusion and worry. From where he stood, he could only see the short moment when Sean¡¯s figure had stepped onto the second floor.


    After a little while, there was still no sound coming from the second floor. There was no battle or arguing sounds. Everything seemed to be strangely silent.


    Right when the innkeeper was a little bit restless and wanted to go up and take a look, Sean finally came down from the second floor. At this moment, everyone had a look of surprise on their faces. This was because Sean was carrying a person in his hand. That person was the thief who had gone up to the second floor earlier. Whether the thief was alive or not was unclear, as he was being carried by Sean like a dead person. Then, everyone saw Sean walk to the entrance of the inn and throw the thief outside.


    When Sean was walking back, he glanced at the other thief. At that moment, the other thief had the thought that he was being targeted by a beast. He did not dare to stay there any longer, as he drank the glass of juice in front of him in a hurry, then placed two copper coins down, and immediately left the inn.


    By the time Sean had returned to the counter again, the stack of 10 copper coins had disappeared.


    ¡°In regard to Alfred, I¡¯m afraid there aren¡¯t many people in this village who wouldn¡¯t know about him.¡± The innkeeper finally finished wiping a cup, then put it away gently. ¡°He may not be a good husband, but he is definitely a good father.¡±


    ¡°Where can I find him?¡± Sean asked again.


    ¡°This information is a little expensive.¡± The innkeeper could also tell that Sean was not simple. After a little bit of silence, the innkeeper realized that the question Sean had asked just now was very clever. It was indeed only worth 10 copper coins.


    This was because what Sean asked was ¡°have you heard¡± and not ¡°do you know¡±. There was an essential difference in meaning between them.


    ¡°How much does it cost?¡±


    ¡°One Portoroa silver coin.¡±


    Sean chuckled. The copper coins that were scattered on the counter were all placed back into his pocket. Replacing them was a silver coin with the kingdom emblem of the Portoroa Kingdom.

 Chapter 53 - Alfred

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    Cyroda Village seemed to come alive at night, as the people who had been busy working the entire day finally got a chance to rest. In this era, when sources of entertainment were very rare, the three most common methods people had to entertain themselves were: drinking, gambling, and whoring.


    Other leisure activities like the autumn hunt, horse racing, and more were not accessible to the common folk.


    Hence, when the people who had labored hard for a day could finally rest, the taverns in the village of Cyroda were already filling up to the brim. As a trading hub that was frequented by merchants, Cyroda Village had already undergone four expansions, and most of the businesses here were related to the service industry, such as inns and taverns. These businesses consisted of almost two-thirds of the entire village¡¯s industries.


    Fine Wine & Sharp Blades.


    It was a name that had a powerful ring to it, but at the same time, the name also clearly communicated to customers what the store offered.


    This was the most prestigious tavern in Cyroda Village, but it only had a total floor area of about 330 square meters, and could only fit around thirty tables, seating a hundred customers at most. It was not that the tavern¡¯s owner had no money to expand, but rather that he was lazy. Even though he had received requests from many different people to expand his tavern¡¯s size, after so many years, the shop had not grown from its original size.


    To secure a seat inside this tavern, many people would come the moment the tavern opened its doors early in the evening.


    In order to consistently attract so many customers to this tavern to spend their money, the tavern offered food and drink of a quality that was evidently much higher than the offerings of the other taverns. Other than that, however, there was one more important thing unique to this tavern: Fine Wine and Sharp Blades.


    The Thorny Crusted Boar was one of the most common herbivores in this world. In fact, this type of boar was something between a living creature and a demonic beast, and it was only classified as a living creature because it did not have the ferocity of a demonic beast. In the world of ¡®Miracle¡¯, this kind of boar was used in the same way bulls were used on Earth in ancient times to plow the fields. They needed very little food for sustenance, but they had great strength and a mild temperament. They also had a high fertility rate, so aside from using them for farm work, they were also slaughtered for food.


    Even then, the Fine Wine & Sharp Blades tavern chose to only use the four legs of a Thorny Crusted Boar that was one year old for their cooking. Combined with their unique sauce and special cooking method, they created a smoked boar leg that was not only tender and juicy but also carried the aroma of wine. However, this only brought out the taste of wine, and it would not intoxicate anyone.


    The name of this dish was ¡®Fine Wine¡¯.


    ¡®Sharp Blade¡¯ referred to an alcoholic beverage that was the tavern¡¯s specialty, and nobody knew how the tavern¡¯s boss had formulated it. The drink came in two cups. The first cup had a light, sweet, and dry flavor as it entered the mouth, and it was gentle on the taste buds. As one swallowed it, there was a cool, refreshing feeling, unlike the heat and burning sensation from normal spirits, and it almost felt like one was drinking a kind of fruit juice.


    However!


    On drinking the second cup, the sweet and dry taste in the mouth transformed into a unique spiciness, which intensely tingled the taste buds, but not so much that one would spit it out. As it went down the throat, it burned like lava, and this was when people started to regret not spitting out this strange liquid. Though, the most obvious sensation was when the drink reached one¡¯s stomach, and at that moment it felt like one was being stabbed through the chest cavity with tens of thousands of sharp blades.


    This was the source of the name ¡®Sharp Blades¡¯.


    These two signature dishes cost 7 silver coins each. It was an expensive price to pay and not something that everybody could enjoy, so even though they declared a limit of only selling twenty portions a day, the reality was that it had never been sold out before. On average they would only sell two or three portions of Fine Wine a day. Sharp Blades sold better, and they could sell around five to six portions a day.


    On the uncommon occasion when large groups of merchants were passing through, they might sell more than ten portions.


    Just then, Sean entered through the door with Cecilia in tow.


    The tavern had just started for the day, but there were only three empty tables left in the store.


    People were already starting to enjoy their nightlife and were not concerned with who was coming into the shop, but every time the tavern doors were pushed open, people would still subconsciously take a look. Most people would just give a cursory glance, and only people harboring a guilty conscience would try to study the new arrivals or try to find out their background.


    Cecilia and Sean¡¯s entrance was like throwing a pebble into the surface of a calm lake.


    ¡°It seems like we¡¯re not welcome here.¡± Cecilia was an apprentice magician who could break through her limits at any time and become a full-fledged magician, and she naturally had sharp senses, able to instantly feel a lot of hostile intent directed at them.


    ¡°It¡¯s because we¡¯re dressed too much like aristocrats,¡± Sean laughed, not taking it too seriously. ¡°In this world, many people feel that there is a difference between aristocrats and commoners. Just like how commoners are not allowed to freely enter aristocrats¡¯ areas, aristocrats are not allowed in commoners¡¯ areas¡­ Unbeknownst to them, these people have already started to regard themselves as inferior livestock, and even think that being a vicious mutt is an improvement.¡±


    Sean was not speaking in a loud voice, but it was loud enough for the patrons close to the door to hear. At that moment, they all looked at him in anger.


    ¡°And there are others,¡± Sean ignored them and continued his explanation, bringing Cecilia forward without a worry, ¡°who are curious about our identities. They think that maybe they can squeeze something out from us, to fulfill their desire of reaping without sowing¡­ These kinds of people are even sadder than those who willingly become vicious dogs and livestock.¡±


    At first, hearing Sean¡¯s criticism, the people with dishonest intentions hung their heads in guilt. Then, as Sean¡¯s tone changed, they also stared at him in anger.


    ¡°As usual, you¡¯re causing trouble everywhere.¡± Cecilia furrowed her brow slightly. ¡°You¡¯ve almost ingrained the aristocrats¡¯ harsh way of speaking into yourself.¡±


    ¡°If I wasn¡¯t good at getting into trouble, I wouldn¡¯t have a little follower like you now,¡± Sean replied jokingly.


    At the same time, the two of them recalled the day they first met.


    A rainy night, rogues, and fresh blood.


    Then almost in the same instant, they regained their senses, neither of them noticing anything strange about the other.


    Sean and Cecilia walked together to a table, and under the shocked stares of the patrons around them, they took their seats at the same time.


    On the other side of this table, which was directly facing Sean and Cecilia, sat a man. He had a very tired, haggard face, covered in stubble, and his two eyes seemed to be wordlessly recounting the painful experiences of his life. His humble appearance indicated that he was not doing well for himself before coming to the tavern, and even his dinner was the simplest and cheapest dish of minced meat stew.


    ¡®Abject poverty¡¯ was the best way to describe him.


    ¡°You came looking for me?¡± the man asked in a hoarse voice, frowning slightly.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Sean answered, nodding.


    ¡°Do we know each other?¡± A look of suspicion surfaced on the man¡¯s face.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know each other yet,¡± Sean chuckled in a friendly way, ¡°but we will get to know each other very soon.¡±


    As though he had suddenly understood something, the man immediately said with a soft sigh, ¡°Sir Fregan, what more do you want? If you want me to stay away from my own daughter, you can go back and tell him that it¡¯s not happening!¡±


    During the last part of what he said, the man¡¯s voice grew slightly emotional.


    ¡°I think you might be mistaken.¡± Sean was slightly taken aback, but he quickly understood what was happening, and felt more sympathy for the man. ¡°Perhaps we can talk more over dinner.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already had my dinner.¡±


    ¡°Just having these leftovers for dinner is not appropriate for someone of your status.¡± Sean raised his hand and snapped his fingers, and a waitress came over to their table immediately. ¡°Fine Wine and Sharp Blades, we¡¯ll start with three portions. Then, bring us a little bit of everything good at your tavern. You can keep the change as your tip.¡±


    As he said this, Sean took out 5 Portoroa gold coins and handed them to the waitress. Promptly, the waitress became bright-eyed, and her attitude towards them became much more respectful. The food and drinks that Sean ordered would only cost a total of slightly more than 45 silver coins. In other words, this waitress could earn close to 5 silver coins for her tip.


    All the other customers in the tavern were stunned.


    For hard-working ordinary people like themselves, Sean¡¯s expenditure on this night was equivalent to the amount they would spend in a month,


    ¡°You all¡­ are you sure I¡¯m the one you¡¯re looking for?¡± The man with the sorrowful eyes was shocked, visibly in disbelief.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Sean looked him in the eye.


    ¡°Alfred.¡± The man hesitated for a short while before answering, as though his name was something he was incredibly ashamed of,


    Sean nodded his head matter-of-factly as he replied, ¡°Then there¡¯s no mistake. The person I¡¯m looking for is Alfred.¡±


    Alfred¡¯s face was full of astonishment as he stared towards Sean. In this village, his reputation was not good, and for certain reasons, aside from this tavern, Fine Wine & Sharp Blades, none of the other taverns or inns of the village would dare to serve him. As for treating him to a meal? That was something absolutely nobody would do.


    At that moment, Cecilia suddenly opened her mouth to speak. ¡°As a magician, I can¡¯t consume alcohol.¡±


    ¡°As a girl, you need to learn how to drink,¡± Sean retorted straightforwardly. ¡°A girl who does not know how to drink is a very troublesome matter.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡± Cecilia tried to argue back with logic.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough nonsense out of you. If I ask you to drink something, you drink it. This stuff I¡¯m giving you is good for you.¡±


    Cecilia¡¯s face was filled with an expression of wavering doubt.


    If it was not something good, Sean would not allow Cecilia to try it. Even though he always maintained his theory that girls had to learn to hold their liquor so others could not get them drunk, in this world it was unlikely that anyone would dare to get Cecilia drunk in front of him. It was indeed because ¡®Sharp Blades¡¯ was a rare and precious drink. The first time one drank it, one would receive a special effect, which provided one with a permanent bonus of one point in both Will and Endurance, but this effect was only given to players with a profession below rank two.


    Back then, this was the first instance of a special tool to increase attributes that players would encounter in the northern region of ¡®Miracle¡¯. When Sean found out about this last time, he was already preparing to rank up to a rank four profession, so he had let his chance slip away. Now that he had the choice to do it over again, Sean would not miss this opportunity again. Thus, even if he had to force it down her throat, Sean would make Cecilia drink a portion of it.


    On the other hand, Alfred had unfortunately missed his chance, and he knew this because when Alfred had spoken his name, Sean had already seen his class.

 Chapter 54 - The Aura Was Still There

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    A short while later, the dinner that Sean had ordered was served to the table. They even brought over a separate trolley to hold the dishes because Sean had ordered way too much food. Even so, from a value perspective, the food seemed to be worth the price, as all the dishes looked and smelled delicious.


    The fragrant aromas wafted throughout the room, followed by people cursing. Most of the complaints came from people who were enticed by the aroma but unable to afford the food, and only a small portion was from people who were still unhappy about Sean and Cecilia¡¯s appearance. Alfred looked like he was embarrassed, but Sean and Cecilia paid no heed, just saying ¡®Let¡¯s eat¡¯, and starting to happily gorge themselves.


    Inside the game, there were many kinds of food just like this, but one could only taste the difference in the food¡¯s flavor. For things like the texture of the food, the virtual reality online gaming technology was not developed enough to perfectly convey these details to the player. However, he had heard that the individual known as the ¡®father of the virtual world¡¯ had already found a solution, and would implement it into the system in the next expansion of ¡®Miracle¡¯.


    It was a pity that Sean did not get to see it.


    The leg bone in Fine Wine had already been removed, and the meat of the leg had been flawlessly cut into even strips, each the same size. Sean tried a bite of one of the strips, and the delicate, smooth texture seemed to create the illusion that it was melting in his mouth. Even biting down lightly caused its juices to flow out, and the slightly viscous meat juices had a peculiar fragrance of wine. The meat had a consistency that was fat yet not greasy, and he wanted to continue savoring the flavor on his tongue even after he swallowed it.


    After doing a careful tasting, Sean was filled with a wholesome pleasure. He did not even want to speak at that point, quickly sweeping up the delicacies placed in front of him.


    The same scenario was also happening with Cecilia, but compared to Sean¡¯s wolfish behavior, she was a proper aristocratic young lady, and she was much more elegant and reserved.


    When he saw that his two hosts had no interest in continuing their conversation, Alfred had no choice but to keep his mouth shut. He continued to eat his minced meat stew, not touching a single one of the delicacies.


    ¡°This food doesn¡¯t suit your tastes?¡± Sean saw what Alfred was doing and finally raised his head to look him in the eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s not it,¡± Alfred replied, shaking his head.


    ¡°If that¡¯s not it, then eat it,¡± Sean told him impassively. ¡°I ordered this portion for you. If you¡¯re not going to eat it, wouldn¡¯t it be such a waste?¡±


    He hesitated for a short while, but Alfred still refused to touch any of the food on the table. In response to this, Sean also decided against making any further remarks. After all, each person had their own set of principles to follow.


    As Sean¡¯s table fell silent, the other customers in the vicinity also stopped taking notice of them or targeting them, allowing them to enjoy their dinner in a rare amount of quiet.


    Not too long after that, Sean and Cecilia had finally finished their dinner. Alfred also chose this moment to sit up straight, as he knew they were finally going to address the main topic.


    Sean put down his dining cutlery, then turned to look at Cecilia and laughed, ¡°Isn¡¯t there something you haven¡¯t taken care of?¡±


    ¡°I am an exceptional magician, and I will not imbibe alcohol,¡± Cecilia declared resolutely.


    ¡°If you aren¡¯t going to drink it, I will force it down your throat.¡± Sean had said this in a casual tone, but it made the color of Cecilia¡¯s face change because she knew that Sean always did what he said he would. However, despite racking her brain, Cecilia could not think of a logical reason for this. Why was Sean so adamant that she drink this alcoholic beverage? What kind of benefits could it possibly provide?


    ¡°Treating a child like this, it¡¯s a little¡­¡± Alfred was finding the whole affair quite disagreeable.


    ¡°This stuff is actually really good for you,¡± Sean chuckled lightly.


    Cecilia also stopped hesitating, and following Sean¡¯s instructions, she picked up the first small cup. It was filled with a green-colored liquid that did not have the smell of alcohol, but rather a kind of sweet fragrance. Cecilia downed the drink in a single mouthful, and the sweet, dry flavor made her eyes light up. It was the kind of flavor that would be popular with many people, and she even savored the taste in her mouth for a while before swallowing it.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t lie to you, did I?¡± Sean continued with a laugh, ¡°Now you try the second cup.¡±


    Alfred¡¯s gaze was beginning to look quite upset.


    Cecilia did not take a moment to think about it, downing the second cup in a single gulp much like before. However, the moment she did so, her whole face instantly flushed a bright red. She was obviously feeling very uncomfortable, and her only recourse was to hastily swallow the beverage, then drink some more juice to relieve her mouth of the spicy burning sensation. But the moment the alcohol went down her throat, the hot burning feeling immediately made Cecilia have a violent coughing fit. The very next instant, the pain coming from the inside of her chest cavity made Cecilia let out a shriek of pain.


    ¡°Bang.¡±


    Cecilia¡¯s head dropped, and she fell into a deep sleep straight away.


    ¡°Making this girl drink alcohol at such a young age isn¡¯t good for her.¡± Seeing how quickly Cecilia had gone unconscious, Alfred could not help but let out a sigh. ¡°Especially so when it¡¯s such a strong drink. Even some fully grown adults can¡¯t handle this, and she¡¯s still just a small child.¡±


    ¡°Yes, the drink is strong, but it¡¯s still good stuff. You wouldn¡¯t understand.¡± Sean shook his head, then he changed the topic, not wanting to dwell on it any further. ¡°The real reason I came to look for you is that I wanted to invite you to join us.¡±


    ¡°Join you?¡± Alfred blinked his eyes in uncertainty.


    ¡°I want to start up a mercenary team. You¡¯ve already seen the current candidates, it¡¯s just me and this child.¡± Sean shrugged his shoulders without a single shred of self-consciousness, continuing, ¡°So, I¡¯m here to invite you to join our team.¡±


    ¡°What could I possibly offer to this team,¡± Alfred sneered in a self-deprecating way, but the despondence in his tone of voice was impossible to conceal.


    ¡°There are countless ways you can make yourself useful to us.¡± Sean knew exactly why Alfred was acting out in this way. Back then, people had already sorted this out in the forums. ¡°You are much more important than you believe yourself to be, or at least that¡¯s how I see it¡­ At the moment I still have not registered this mercenary team of mine, but you need to trust me when I say the team won¡¯t just comprise of the three of us here. If you would allow me to be blunt, from the very beginning, this mercenary team was destined to be famous throughout the world.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an ambitious goal.¡± Alfred only laughed, as he was not convinced by the blueprint that Sean had drawn out for him.


    The truth was, at his age, he would never be so easily moved by these kinds of statements. However, he had tried to join a mercenary team in the past, but it was a shame that, for certain reasons, none of the mercenary teams staying in Cyroda Village would take him in. He could have left Cyroda Village to look for work somewhere else, but he was reluctant to do so. Thus, he ended up at the Fine Wine & Sharp Blades tavern, making a living doing menial tasks.


    ¡°Are you telling me that you¡¯re willing to continue living here like this for the rest of your life?¡± Sean pouted his lips, showing a look of disdain. ¡°Here, all you get is malicious slander and scorn from other people. You need to think clearly about this. Only by leaving this village will you get the chance to start a new life, isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    Alfred¡¯s eyes flashed with a hint of sadness, but he did not say anything to refute Sean¡¯s arguments.


    ¡°Do you think that staying here is for the good of your daughter?¡± Seeing that Alfred had no intention of reacting, Sean finally could not help raising his voice.


    As expected, the question drew the attention of Alfred. He raised his head and fixed his stare on Sean, his eyes filled with a ferocity that had not been there before. At this moment, Alfred was no longer a man with a tired and sorrowful demeanor, but more like a wild beast who had chosen to devour a man. The sense of awe coming from his body was so intense that many of the patrons drinking near him were taken aback. Everyone watching discovered at this moment that Alfred¡¯s blood had not yet run cold.


    Yet, Sean did not seem to care at all about the change in Alfred¡¯s aura.


    Conversely, it would be strange if Alfred did not have this kind of change in aura, as Sean would begin to doubt if the person in front of him was the man who would become the God of War in the future.


    In fact, as the story goes, Alfred was also quite a tragic character.


    He had been the head of a small mercenary team, leading around a dozen subordinates who were all rank three fighters. He was not particularly strong, but he was principled and knew where to draw the line, so he was fairly well-known among the mercenary circles in the Tindus Domain. Thanks to these qualities, many people were happy to cooperate with his mercenary team, as they would not have to worry about getting stabbed in the back¨C many other mercenaries were conducting business dishonestly like horse thieves and bandits.


    However, during one of their escort missions, Alfred¡¯s team was completely wiped out, along with a few other mercenary teams who were on the same mission as them. After that, the Tindus Domain Mercenary Guild also put together a rescue squad at once to search for them, but they could not find anything at the scene. In accordance with the customary practices of mercenary teams, the families of mercenaries who were killed in action during a mission would naturally have to be compensated by the mercenary team. However, because the mercenary teams involved in the incident were all small mercenary teams, and they met the tragic end of having all members perish, needless to say, the families of the mercenaries involved all led miserable lives.


    Among them, Alfred¡¯s wife was unable to bear living a life of poverty any longer and remarried, taking their daughter with her.


    She was married to Sir Fregan, though only as a concubine. Even so, because she was still considerably young, attractive, and had an amazing figure, she was frequently doted on by Sir Fregan, and her lifestyle also became more luxurious than before. Even the daughter she had with Alfred was very much loved by Sir Fregan, and with the way that aristocrats tended to do things, Sean was sure that he did not love her just because he loved her mother.


    At first, everybody thought the story would end there, but nobody expected that after going missing for three years, Alfred would suddenly return. He came back with a bundle of money, and went door to door, visiting the families of the other mercenaries who died and giving them their share. It was only then that the villagers learned that towards the end of the fateful escort mission, they had encountered a notorious wolf bandit. Alfred had narrowly escaped the jaws of death and spent three years to finally avenge his comrades.


    Then, the story began to get slightly complicated.


    Alfred¡¯s wife had grown accustomed to her life of luxury and was naturally unwilling to return to Alfred¡¯s side, but even if she had wanted to, Sir Fregan would not allow it. Faced with this outcome, Alfred only sighed and kept his peace. What he did not expect, however, was that his request to take his daughter with him would also be unanimously rejected by both Sir Fregan and his ex-wife.


    As an even more serious consequence, Sir Fregan used his authority as the governor of the village of Cyroda to pass down an order forbidding the people of the village to have any interactions with Alfred and even went so far as to spread rumors that maliciously slandered him. In the past year, Alfred could have been considered the most unwelcome and pitiable person in Cyroda Village. Even the villagers had come to believe that Alfred¡¯s blood had already run cold and that his edge had been blunted.


    Until this day!


    Until this moment!


    The aura that Alfred had had in years past was still there!

 Chapter 55 - Because I Need You

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    If Alfred¡¯s aura could be compared to the ocean, then Sean was like a coral at this point. No matter how strong or intense the aura was that Alfred was emitting, even with a trace of killing intent mixed in, Sean showed no sign of fear, but just sat quietly and locked eyes with him.


    There was no flash of clashing blades or intense argument going on. It was just the two men, their aura spreading outwards in intense waves, resulting in many of the patrons around them feeling like their heart skipped a beat. There was no shortage of people with a rank three profession in the tavern, although many of them were at a lower bronze level in terms of ability. Still, who among them had not seen bloody combat or fought for their lives? Though they had such experiences under their belt, their minds were emptied of everything but fear under Alfred¡¯s oppressive aura.


    In this aspect, their performance was lacking compared to Sean, an apprentice who was not even at a lower bronze level.


    ¡°Ahem.¡± Someone coughed softly, breaking the silence in the tavern in an unexpected way.


    Nobody knew who had made the noise, but in that instant, as though he had suddenly come to realize something, Alfred withdrew the aura that was bursting out from his entire body. The tavern had begun to fill with a chilly atmosphere, but at that moment it felt as though the heat had returned, and the air warmed.


    Sean looked thoughtfully towards the boss of the tavern: this guy was no ordinary person either, but why was there no record of him in the forums back then?


    Noticing that Sean was looking at him, the owner of the tavern smiled and nodded while raising a gold coin in his hand; it was a gesture of appreciation for Sean¡¯s generosity. Faced with a character like him, Sean naturally returned the smile. In truth, 5 gold coins was not a sum of money he was concerned about, as he was still carrying 5 cash coupons from the United Continental Business Guild. If he were to exchange them for Portoroa gold coins, he would get approximately 7,150 gold coins.


    The exchange rate of continental gold coins and Portoroa gold coins was 0.7 to 1.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the main topic.¡± Sean turned his head back to face Alfred. ¡°Do you really believe that this is the best you can do for your daughter?¡±


    Alfred remained completely silent.


    ¡°First things first, aside from being a mercenary, how else are you going to earn money?¡± Sean cut right to the chase, as he bluntly called out Alfred¡¯s current weak points. ¡°Are you just going to depend on the chump change you make from these menial jobs? How much are you earning in a day? Look at your dinner, it¡¯s a minced meat stew worth 5 copper coins. Your daughter has been living in Sir Fregan¡¯s mansion for so many years now, and what has she been eating?¡±


    Alfred clenched his fists tightly. ¡°She¡¯s not particular about what she eats!¡±


    ¡°Okay fine, let¡¯s not talk about food. What about the clothes she wears, or the house she lives in?¡± Sean snorted lightly, ¡°Let¡¯s assume your daughter doesn¡¯t care about what she eats or wears, then are you telling me you¡¯re going to let your daughter sleep on the streets like you? Even if she could take it, what would happen if she fell sick from a cold or some other illness?¡±


    Although Alfred would become the God of War in the future, now he was an extremely doting father. At that time, he did indeed end up leaving Cyroda Village afterward for unknown reasons, but by the time he had returned to the village, war had broken out between the Portoroa Kingdom and the Serian Kingdom. For a while, the Tindus Domain was occupied by the enemy because of Count Mario¡¯s ambitions, and during this time the fires of war had taken his daughter¡¯s life.


    During that military campaign, the Starfall Forest had become a key strategic zone for both kingdoms, though most of the events related to it were player quests. Afterward, the Portoroa Kingdom even reconstructed a forward outpost inside the forest. It was also because of the war that players discovered the rank five dungeon inside Starfall Lake, though Sean only found out about this from the forums. At that time, he had already signed on with the company¡¯s strategic battle plan and been transferred to the east side of the continent.


    Alfred¡¯s wife had run away with another man, and his daughter later perished in the war. He was most definitely, one hundred percent, a tragic character. Though, perhaps it was precisely because of these tragic events that Alfred was pushed forward, inspiring him to unlock his full potential and later become what would be one of the strongest NPC characters in the game.


    ¡°If you want to give your daughter a better life, your only option is to return to your old job.¡± Sean saw that Alfred was not speaking to him again. Of course, he could not continue to sit here with Alfred forever, so he pushed on with his line of questioning, ¡°But if your daughter came to live with you, and you were constantly away for work, what would happen to her? Or maybe, in the worst-case scenario, if something ever happened to you, what would she do? Could she go back and continue living with Sir Fregan? Would that even be possible?¡±


    Alfred had fallen into a deep silence.


    ¡°If you really want the best for your daughter, you should come with me.¡±


    ¡°Go with you?¡± Alfred did a double-take, then laughed coldly. ¡°If I become a mercenary with you, what¡¯s the difference between that and returning to my old job? I might as well go become an adventurer. I would get more time to myself, more freedom, and the job is also much less dangerous.¡±


    Adventurers, mercenaries, and pioneers formed the three largest guilds in the Miracle Continent. These three guilds were unlike other organizations like the Warrior Association or the Magician Association, which had strict profession requirements for entry, because any profession was welcome to join. Even so, not just anybody could join the guilds. First, one needed to pass a test to prove their ability before they could enter any of the three guilds, as the benefits the guilds provided were pretty good, after all.


    Among them, the Adventurer Guild offered quests that were the least dangerous, mainly focusing on tasks such as exploring a region or gathering intelligence. Though combat was still inevitable, few quests were targeted at fighting enemies. Even if there was the occasional quest to fight a demonic beast, it would be undertaken with members from the Demon Hunter Guild. Also, it offered a degree of freedom that the other two guilds couldn¡¯t compare with, as it was fine if one did not accept any guild quests for over a year and a half.


    The only downsides were that the quest rewards were the lowest out of the three guilds, and the average quest could take a long time to complete, sometimes spanning several months, or even a year or two.


    As for the Mercenary Guild, compared to the Pioneer Guild, it was not very dangerous. Generally speaking, only very strong guilds would be handing out quests with a high danger level. In the Mercenary Guild, the quest difficulty, level of danger, and the quest reward were directly proportional. The degree of freedom one enjoyed varied for each member. For example, the commander of a mercenary team was free to choose whether or not to take up a quest, but the members in the mercenary team had no choice but to follow the commander¡¯s orders.


    The Pioneer Guild offered the most dangerous quests, and there was even a principle of absolute command in place. This meant that if one did not have a valid reason, once a letter from the Pioneer Guild came, one had to report straight to the Pioneer Guild to jointly discuss matters relating to purification of the Land of Black Earth, gathering Fire of Revival, and so on. Refusal to do so was not an option. However, because of the high risk involved, the guild offered the best welfare benefits of the three guilds, and they would also take care of the families of members killed in action.


    Alfred was once a commander of a mercenary team, and was well aware of the ins and outs of the business. He had previously considered returning to his old work, but the difficulty for him was trying to rebuild a new mercenary team. This was why he said he wanted to be an adventurer. It was not said out of spite or any kind of senseless rambling, but it showed that he had indeed put serious thought into the matter. It was because adventurers could work solo or in a group, but ultimately the level of freedom was still much higher than being on a mercenary team.


    It did not work like a mercenary team, where once you were in, you needed the commander¡¯s approval to leave the team, or else it would be akin to destroying your future career as a mercenary.


    In light of Alfred¡¯s aversion towards Sir Fregan, some of his distaste carried over to the rest of the aristocracy, which included Sean, who was presently dressed like one of them. However, this was something he would never admit and would never say to anyone.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have more to hope for if you follow me.¡± Sean laughed, saying with a confident expression, ¡°It¡¯s just as I told you before, my mercenary team is destined to be world-famous, so if you follow me you won¡¯t be disadvantaged¡­ Furthermore, I can give you my word that if you want to leave the team one day, I will not get in your way. You can leave the team whenever you please.¡±


    When he heard this, Alfred was visibly moved, but his many long years of experience helped him to quickly regain his composure. ¡°How can you guarantee that?¡±


    ¡°By my character and my credibility,¡± Sean replied matter-of-factly.


    Alfred was stunned speechless.


    ¡°Trust me, nobody would willingly damage their own reputation.¡± Seeing the look on Alfred¡¯s face, Sean could guess what he was thinking, so he said the catchphrase that Alfred himself was known for saying back then.


    As expected, hearing the words used on him gave Alfred a shock, and he took a moment before he looked up towards Sean, asking with a solemn tone, ¡°Why do you want to recruit me?¡±


    ¡°Because I need you,¡± Sean answered plainly. He was to be the future God of War, no one would not want him on their team. ¡°From my point of view, you¡¯re much more important than you think you are. And I can promise you now that I just need three years at most. After three years, you will definitely be reunited with your daughter, and when that time comes, whether you decide to leave or to stay, I will respect your decision.¡±


    Hearing Sean¡¯s sincere words, Alfred was silent for several seconds, before he finally nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°I understand, commander.¡±


    Alfred was a very down to earth person, so once he had made the decision to join Sean¡¯s mercenary team, he called him ¡®commander¡¯ very naturally, without any other hidden meaning.


    At the same time, when Alfred uttered the word ¡®commander¡¯, Sean knew that his gamble had paid off. Now that he was in the real world, he did not have to follow any more strategy guides or quest lines. Aside from some critical events that needed time to set up, there were a lot of things he could try experimenting with now.


    However, the most important thing to him right now was to build the framework for his mercenary team. This was the only way he could retrieve Alfred¡¯s daughter and reunite them as a family, which would lead to Alfred feeling a sense of belonging on his mercenary team. At this point, while Alfred had agreed to join, the reality was that he did not share in the mercenary team¡¯s identity, nor did he feel like he belonged, and his loyalty was still not even worth mentioning.


    ¡°Since you have agreed to join us, I need to get an understanding of your abilities,¡± Sean suddenly said. ¡°After all, you haven¡¯t held a weapon in more than a year, and I don¡¯t know if your skills have gotten rusty. So come look for me tomorrow before noon at the Warm Breeze House south of the village, and I¡¯ll have you take a test. Any problems?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Alfred answered crisply, shaking his head.

 Chapter 56 - Im the Commander, Listen To Me

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    On the morning of the following day, Cecilia kicked open the door to Sean¡¯s room, her small face bearing a ferocious look of rage.


    ¡°Hey there, little missy, what¡¯s wrong with you this time?¡± Sean asked, feigning innocence.


    ¡°You liar!¡± Little Cecilia was looking at Sean with a face full of hatred. If looks could kill, Sean would probably be stabbed dead a dozen times over from the daggers Cecilia was shooting at him. ¡°I knew I couldn¡¯t trust the words coming out of the mouth of a liar like you!¡±


    As she said this, Cecilia¡¯s nose started to twitch, and she looked like she was about to cry. The sight made Sean¡¯s heart hurt so much he felt like it was breaking.


    ¡°Okay fine, I admit that I was in the wrong.¡± Sean could not bear it anymore, so he walked over and hugged little Cecilia. ¡°But I did it for your own good. Even though drinking alcohol feels uncomfortable and painful at first, you don¡¯t suffer from a hangover afterward. Also, didn¡¯t you notice that after you drank the alcohol your Endurance and Will have both increased?¡±


    ¡°No it didn¡¯t! You liar!¡± Cecilia had started to cry. ¡°The only thing I feel other than pain is just more pain!¡±


    Sean did not comment on this. It was only one additional point in Endurance and one point in Will, so it was a small bonus, and it was a change that nobody would be able to feel. After all, not everyone was like Sean, who could see a person¡¯s inherent character attributes.


    However, at this point, Sean could see that Cecilia¡¯s stats had indeed changed.


    [Name: Cecilia]


    [Race: Human]


    [Combat Profession: Apprentice Magician (rank two)]


    [Personal Attributes¡ª¡ªStrength: 4(13); Endurance: 7(16); Agility: 4(14); Wisdom: 21+12(30); Will: 22+15(29)]


    Strength and Endurance had both increased by one point, Will had increased by two points, and the growth limit of Endurance and Will had also increased by one point each. Sean was slightly surprised as he studied the numbers. He had known about the increase in Strength since the time they left the Starfall Forest, and based on his knowledge, ¡®Sharp Blades¡¯ was supposed to increase the current attribute and growth limit of Endurance and Will by one point each. What he did not expect was that Cecilia¡¯s Will attribute would increase by two points.


    It was something that puzzled him, but Sean reverted to his old habits and decided to ignore the things he did not understand.


    As such, he was currently placing all his attention on trying to console little Cecilia. After all, the stabbing pain in the chest one got from drinking Sharp Blades was difficult to bear, especially for one as young as Cecilia. Even Sean himself could feel a lingering pain in his chest. It was not like the muscle aches one felt after exercising, but pain as though one had been pierced through, so it was no wonder that Cecilia was crying about it.


    He gently touched Cecilia¡¯s hair as he took the time to do some self-reflection. He did feel that he had gone a little too far this time, but what was done was done, and there was nothing more he could say about it. He could only continue consoling Cecilia, and after making a lot more promises to her, she finally started to cheer up.


    In truth, Cecilia did not hold a grudge against Sean. She was just very annoyed because she felt like Sean was messing with her. Since Sean had already apologized to her, Cecilia certainly would not continue harping on about it, as she did not have that kind of personality. When she said those things about Sean being a liar, it was just her childish temper and habits speaking.


    After that, Sean brought Cecilia downstairs to eat breakfast. Sean and Cecilia both had materialistic needs, but they did not ask for a lot. Sean had only been in this world for around two months, and before that he was an orphan on Earth, so the scope of things he could desire was also limited. As for Cecilia, because she had experienced a difficult time, the temperament and luxurious lifestyle of someone born into aristocracy had already been long forgotten.


    They enjoyed a simple breakfast, but after neither Cecilia nor Sean had any interest in exploring Cyroda Village. They had already seen the flourishing Arthur City, so it was difficult to get excited about a small village like this. More importantly, it did not seem like this kind of village had anything good to see, so the two returned to their rooms. Now, Cecilia took her magic tome and started reading through it while lazing on Sean¡¯s bed without any intention of leaving, so Sean could only accompany her with a wry smile.


    This kind of time spent doing nothing but waiting was quite boring. Thankfully, Sean did have something to do during this time, as he repeatedly ran through the details of his next operation in his mind, not daring to leave any stone unturned. Based on his attitude, he was much more serious than he had been with the Starfall Forest and the Gathering Place of the Dog-headed People incidents. Even so, Cecilia did not feel curious about it this time because she knew that the target of their upcoming operation was the Bavarian Armguards, and no amount of caution would be too much.


    They waited around until noon before Sean brought Cecilia downstairs again. At this time, they saw that Alfred was standing at the entrance to the inn, but he had not come inside.


    Today, Alfred had cleanly shaved his beard, and he had obviously gone to the bathhouse to scrub himself clean, so he looked much fresher. Even though he was close to thirty years of age, he did not look old at all. Though, perhaps because he had gone through more difficult times than most, he had a stern air of maturity about him, the kind of quality one would find belonging to successful young entrepreneurs on Earth.


    He was not wearing a studded leather chest plate, nor was his physique as well-built as Hank, but standing at the door, he gave one an impression of being steady and immovable as a mountain. That being said, while the [Hercules] profession did not require one to have a burly figure, Alfred still looked exceptionally plain. He wore a coarse cotton shirt that had been washed so many times it was turning white and a similarly aged but clean set of linen pants. He seemed more particular about his footwear, as he had on a pair of deerskin boots, instead of straw shoes.


    The only thought that came to mind when looking at him was ¡®clean¡¯.


    If it was not for the battle halberd he wielded in his hand, at first glance one might think Alfred was an ordinary person.


    A battle halberd, also known as a spear-ax, was a weapon suited for striking, stabbing, slashing, sweeping, and so on, and could be used in many different ways in combat. The shaft of the battle halberd was 1.6 meters long and was a dark black color. It was topped with a threaded clamp joined to a single-bladed ax, which had a silvery sheen, and the ax was topped with an equally shiny, sharp spear tip, bringing the full length of the battle halberd to 1.8 meters. Sean scanned the weapon with the eye of a professional blacksmith, knowing that the materials used in its construction were not run-of-the-mill and that it was at least a top-quality grade weapon with the ability to do decent damage.


    Also, he had already seen Alfred¡¯s personal attributes last night.


    [Name: Alfred]


    [Race: Human]


    [Combat Profession: Hercules (rank three)]


    [Personal Attributes¡ª¡ªStrength: 27(34); Endurance: 30(32); Agility: 17(22); Wisdom: 22(24); Will: 32(35)]


    Perhaps it was because Alfred had not been in a fight for a year, but his current Strength stats were lower than those of a normal Hercules. However, his growth limit was very high, only slightly below that of Hank¡¯s, who was like a cross between a man and a bear. There was not much difference in his Agility limit, though his current attributes were one point higher. Then again if it was just one point it would not make a big difference. On the other hand, it was his Endurance, Wisdom and Will attributes that had undergone an abnormal increase, possibly because of what he had suffered over the past few years.


    Just from looking at these attributes, Alfred could already match up in strength to any normal upper bronze (rank four) combatant. Furthermore, because his Wisdom and Will attributes had increased, Sean began to wonder if Alfred could use magic or manipulate the elements. If he could, there was the possibility of him taking up a new profession as a magic warrior or a construct warrior, which were extraordinarily overpowered professions.


    Thus, Sean had no reason to be dissatisfied with Alfred. If there was anything to criticize, it would be his choice of weaponry, as it was not very suitable for the upcoming battle.


    As for Cecilia, she was quite fond of this middle-aged man with a sorrowful past, even feeling compassion for his plight. Earlier in the morning when they had had their free time, Sean had roughly explained what kind of person Alfred was to Cecilia, and naturally, he also included details about his background story. In this era, while cases of wives remarrying were not commonplace, there were still several such incidents, and especially to the aristocracy, it was seen as a very normal affair.


    What Cecilia felt sympathy for was the fact that Alfred could not be together with his daughter. While she did not think well about his wife¡¯s remarriage, she would not look down on them for it.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you come inside?¡± Cecilia quickly ran over to him, warmly greeting Alfred.


    Alfred was quite fond of Cecilia as well, mainly because she was a small girl that was roughly the same age as his own daughter. With regard to this, Sean had some deep-seated suspicions that maybe Alfred did not just have a daughter complex, but a full-blown Lolita complex. The thread about Alfred from the forums back in the day must have been wrong somehow.


    Faced with Cecilia¡¯s question, Alfred only offered a smile and did not open his mouth to reply. However, with their sharp intellect, Sean and Cecilia quickly deduced in a few moments that the owner of the inn must have been afraid of disobeying Sir Fregan, which is why he did not allow Alfred to enter the premises. Still, the afternoon sun was blazing hot, and Alfred must have been feeling quite uncomfortable standing outside the inn in the heat for so long.


    Thus, Sean got Cecilia to ask the inn¡¯s owner for a few glasses of water, and if the owner refused them this request, he would allow Cecilia to perform some of her ¡®magic tricks¡¯.


    ¡°Commander, actually¡­ it¡¯s not necessary.¡± Alfred looked on as Cecilia ran back into the inn, and he could not help saying quietly, ¡°They don¡¯t have a choice. After all, Sir Fregan is in control of this village.¡±


    ¡°Since you¡¯ve already become one of my men, if they dare to refuse you, it¡¯s the same as them looking down on me,¡± Sean snorted coldly, raising his voice a few decibels.


    When he heard this, in truth Alfred was quite moved, but his outward expression did not change in the slightest. ¡°Commander, how do you intend to test me to see if I pass?¡±


    Pass?


    How ridiculous. Once Sean had seen Alfred¡¯s personal attributes, he had not only passed, but he had aced the test.


    However, just as Alfred had kept his poker face on, Sean used his acting skills and furrowed his brow. ¡°The test is very simple, but first you should go change your weapon. With this battle halberd you can¡¯t use your full potential, change it to something like a push dagger.¡±


    Unable to use his full potential?


    Alfred blinked in surprise. Although the [Hercules] had no restrictions on the types of weapons they could use and were also able to use their skills with weapons like push daggers, the [Hercules] had a passive skill that increased their combat ability with polearms ¨C [Polearm Mastery]. Yet now, Sean was telling him that he could not unleash his full fighting strength with a polearm. He could not help but get a little suspicious. Did this rascal Sean know what profession he was?


    ¡°I¡¯m a Hercules,¡± Alfred tried to stress.


    ¡°Yes, I know you¡¯re a Hercules,¡± Sean acknowledged, nodding his head with conviction. ¡°But with this battle halberd you won¡¯t even be able to use 10% of your full power. I¡¯m the commander, so listen to me and you won¡¯t go wrong.¡±


    Alfred held his peace.

 Chapter 57 - The Carefree, the Stern and the Unrestrained

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    Inside the dark crypt, the air was surprisingly not stale, but instead had a refreshing smell of grass and moisture.


    This was a crypt situated several kilometers away from Cyroda Village, and its entrance was hidden beneath a pile of loose rubble. Simply clearing the mound of rocks away to locate the crypt entrance took Sean and the others a fair bit of time. Judging by the scale of how the crypt was formed, it was not a naturally occurring feature but probably made by external artificial means. These crypts could be more than two meters high and around one meter wide, enough for an average adult to move through them without any difficulty.


    At this point, Alfred finally understood why Sean said he would not be able to use his full power with a battle halberd.


    The battle halberd in his hand was too big for an environment like the crypt. Swinging it around would be out of the question, and even using it as a stabbing weapon might pose some problems.


    However, this also sparked Alfred¡¯s curiosity about Sean¡¯s true motives for coming here. Even if Alfred was slow mentally, he knew that the point of this trip was not just a simple test of his abilities as Sean had claimed. Moreover, Alfred was not stupid, so he was well aware of this.


    Still, since Sean did not want to disclose his reasons, Alfred would not venture to ask about it. He understood his current position as just a member of the mercenary team.


    Inside the tunnel, Alfred took the position at the front, Cecilia was in the middle of the formation with an illumination spell over her head, and Sean was bringing up the rear. In truth, to Sean and Alfred, it did not make a difference who was taking the front or back position, because the tunnel was only wide enough to move in two directions, so either side could become the front or back.


    This arrangement did help to simplify things, however, regarding Cecilia, as her safety was undoubtedly maximized in this formation.


    Unless they reached a possible fork in the road.


    ¡°Which way should we go now?¡± Alfred looked toward the four paths spread out in front of him, asking without turning to look back.


    He was on extremely high alert.


    ¡°Which way is the wind coming from?¡± Sean responded with a question.


    ¡°From the left and this tunnel in the middle.¡± Alfred took a moment to silently feel the air before he answered.


    ¡°Then just pick one of the paths no wind is coming from and head down that way,¡± Sean replied very casually.


    ¡°What?¡± Alfred¡¯s expression was one of incredulity. They were obviously in a maze-like formation of underground tunnels. How could anyone be so blas¨¦ about navigating the area?


    Sean thought that Alfred was asking for confirmation because he had not heard him clearly, so he continued by repeating himself, ¡°You can just pick one of the paths no wind is coming from and head down that way. We¡¯re aiming to head somewhere deeper underground, so going towards the source of the wind is only going to bring us back to the surface.¡±


    ¡°Wait a moment, commander¡­¡± Alfred had a solemn and serious expression as he asked, ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing, sir?¡±


    ¡°Of course I know,¡± Sean said in reply, ¡°my goal is to head into the deepest part of this crypt.¡±


    Alfred was already feeling the urge to facepalm. ¡°No, what I mean to say is¡­ Do you mean to say you have no idea how to get there, sir?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely! No,¡± Sean replied matter-of-factly. ¡°If I knew the way, I¡¯d be walking up in front, and I wouldn¡¯t let you take the lead.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to say. Why did you put me up in front?!¡± Alfred realized at that point that not only had his blood not yet run cold, but he was still very youthful, feeling like he would go mad from anger.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s so I can measure your abilities,¡± Sean¡¯s presumptuous expression did not change as he continued to explain. ¡°If we meet any sudden unforeseen circumstances, you¡¯ll be able to deal with it better than I can with your rich experience, am I right? It¡¯s obvious if you think about it.¡±


    ¡°Pft,¡± Cecilia let out a very unkind laugh out of the blue.


    Alfred was dumbfounded as he began to fill with doubts. What on earth could have bewitched him last night to make him agree to Sean¡¯s dubious offer to join his team? As a commander of the team, was it not vital to thoughtfully plan out every operation? Why did Sean seem to do things so carelessly as a commander, without setting out any kind of logical and serious plans?


    However, on this point, one could not blame Sean.


    Sean was certainly aware that the ¡°Bavarian Armguards schematic drawings¡± were in the deepest recesses of this crypt and that one could enter at rank three to get their hands on the first set of schematic drawings for a legendary artifact. However, on the forums back then, the naughty brat who was happily flaunting this news did not share the full records of his progress. He only wanted to show off his trophy, and even the directions he gave for the entrance to the crypt were impossible to follow.


    Sean had only gotten this far because some other players in the game who had way too much time on their hands had followed this lead and come to explore the crypt. These players then started a new thread with proper details of the entrance coordinates and some other information about the underground tunnels. When Sean was browsing through the forum, he had cursorily skimmed through these posts, and he barely remembered some of the contents. That was the limit of his knowledge, so he couldn¡¯t have committed the entire map of the crypt to memory.


    He only remembered one key tip: head towards the direction no wind is coming from.


    ¡°This is an absolute farce!¡± Alfred was a very principled man who knew when to draw the line, and it was because of these qualities that he always had a very rigorous style of doing things. ¡°This is an underground maze! Without conducting a careful investigation and understanding the full context of the site, it is not sensible to just rashly head deeper, because nobody knows what kinds of situations we will encounter down there. You must be aware that any of these underground passages could very possibly be connected to the underground dungeon!¡±


    ¡°I know all this,¡± Sean responded in an equally serious manner, nodding solemnly. ¡°Regarding these underground passages, I¡¯ve done my due diligence. They do not link up to the underground dungeon, so you don¡¯t need to worry about bumping into Mitauros and his Tauren lackeys. Of course, you also won¡¯t encounter any of the higher rank existences in the underground dungeon.¡±


    ¡°What, then, can we expect to encounter.¡± Alfred¡¯s facial muscles began to twitch as he asked, ¡°my dear commander?¡±


    ¡°Demonic Ground Spiders, Man-faced Spiders, or some other strange creatures, I suppose,¡± Sean replied nonchalantly. ¡°These enemies can all be easily dealt with, but the only difficulty is that they come in large numbers.¡±


    ¡°Commander, I must insist. Until we can get a clear picture of what we are heading into, the best course of action is to leave this place.¡± Alfred took in a deep breath, quelling the growing agitation inside of him. ¡°It¡¯s not too late to come back and explore this place again after we have gathered enough information about these underground tunnels.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I know how we should proceed.¡± Sean waved away his concerns.


    ¡°In that case, commander, you can point me in the direction we should go.¡±


    ¡°Head towards where there is no wind.¡±


    Alfred stared hard at Sean, his veins bulging in anger.


    If he could, Alfred wanted to send a punch flying into Sean¡¯s face.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Cecilia noticed that Alfred was infuriated, and laughed lightly, ¡°Sean won¡¯t do something if it¡¯s meaningless or he¡¯s not confident about it. Although it may seem like he can be very unreliable, the truth is that before starting every operation, he makes sure his preparations are perfect.¡±


    ¡°That would be great if it were true.¡± Alfred looked at Cecilia with a mellowed gaze. ¡°It must have been really hard for you to follow a commander like him.¡±


    Cecilia only smiled and shook her head, not providing any other response to this remark. Her situation was different from Alfred¡¯s. After all, the serious Alfred had been persuaded to join their team only after meeting with Sean for the first time. In contrast, Sean had saved Cecilia¡¯s life, and their shared experiences over the past two months had allowed her to develop a very strong bond of dependence and trust with Sean. Of course, this was impossible for Alfred to comprehend.


    ¡°I knew he had a Lolita complex.¡± As he observed Alfred, Sean muttered softly to himself, ¡°The guy who thought he was just a doting father is a real idiot.¡±


    ¡°Sean does not pick fights unless he knows he can win.¡± Unaware of what Sean was whispering to himself, Cecilia only gave Alfred a long, hard stare, firmly repeating herself.


    ¡°I do hope so.¡± Alfred looked towards Sean, but his expression was still one of distaste.


    A commander who was too reckless and carefree was not a good thing for members of a mercenary team. Alfred felt like he could already foresee the various kinds of problems this team would face in the coming days.


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Sean completely ignored the look on Alfred¡¯s face as he nodded to himself. ¡°Earlier, when you went to buy a push dagger, Cecilia and I also went to stock up on some food supplies, enough to last us ten days¡­ However, quite unfortunately, we only could get some simple dry field rations. After all, the Demonic Ground Spiders are very sensitive to the smell of meat products.¡±


    Alfred studied Sean earnestly and understood from the look in his eyes that Sean was not saying this as a joke. In other words, what Sean was trying to say was that unless they could find what he was looking for in this place in the next ten days, they would need to spend the whole time in these underground tunnels. Alfred sighed deeply, as though he had resigned himself to this fate, as he started to accept deep down Cecilia¡¯s encouraging statement that ¡°Sean was always prepared.¡±


    It was at that moment, however, that there were slight tremors running through the ground. A frantic rustling noise could be heard coming one after the other, and the chilling noise would make anyone¡¯s blood freeze.


    Almost at the same time, Alfred, Cecilia, and Sean entered a combat-ready state. Their three pairs of eyes looked towards the left tunnel at once, which was where the wind was coming from. Soon after their gaze was fixed on the tunnel, they saw countless red specks of light lighting up in the darkness of the crypt. Each red light was coming from the six o¡¯clock position on the ground, and the field of countless red dots was a horrific sight to the onlookers.


    It was obvious without even thinking that these red lights were coming from the spider-like creatures in the crypt. However, they didn¡¯t know if they were about to face Demonic Ground Spiders or Man-faced Spiders.


    It was also at this time that Alfred would discover that neither Sean nor Cecilia were as weak as he imagined.

 Chapter 58 - Demonic Ground Spider

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    ¡°They¡¯re Demonic Ground Spiders!¡± The very moment the first spider entered the effective range of the illumination spell, Alfred recognized the type of spider they were facing.


    Demonic Ground Spiders were an uncommon type of demonic beast.


    This species of spider was only about as large as an adult¡¯s palm, so its overall size was larger than a regular spider¡¯s body, but not by an outrageous amount. Generally speaking, they were built in a way that was not that much different from a regular spider. Their anatomy was also similarly comprised of a cephalothorax and an abdomen; they had eight legs and chelicerae and pedipalps at the front of the head. Their main method of attack was to leap onto the target¡¯s body with their incredible jumping ability and pierce the target¡¯s body with the fangs on their chelicerae.


    Demonic Ground Spiders did not have venom glands, so they were unable to inject targets with any kind of lethal venom. However, their chelicerae were able to secrete a kind of paralyzing fluid, which stripped the target creature of its ability to move. Then, while the target creature still retained all of their senses, the Demonic Ground Spider would proceed to feed on them with their sharp fangs. This method of feeding was a far cry from traditional spiders, which would inject their target with digestive fluids before sucking up the nutrients in liquid form.


    Aside from these differences, the Demonic Ground Spider was also unable to produce spider silk, which meant that they were unable to use spider silk to entangle or bind their targets. However, on the exoskeleton of the Demonic Ground Spider, there was a layer of hard stone armor. It was difficult for ordinary attacks to break through this layer of stone armor, and in addition to this, the Demonic Ground Spider was considered ¡®minute¡¯ compared to other demonic beasts, had an incredible jumping ability, and frequently attacked in large packs. Thus, even if the Demonic Ground Spider was the lowest level, a level one demonic beast, if anyone was given a choice, they would be unwilling to provoke these beasts.


    If he was given a choice, Alfred would much rather fight Man-faced Spiders.


    Even though the anatomy of Man-faced Spiders was not in the same category as normal spiders, and they were equipped with a rudimentary intelligence, they were not classified as ¡®demonic beasts¡¯ but were still in the category of living creatures. To the inhabitants of this world, demonic beasts and living creatures were conceptually different. Even the most intelligent living creature could be easily dealt with, but the dumbest and weakest demonic creature could still be a tough opponent.


    ¡°There¡¯s way too many of them!¡± Alfred said in a solemn voice. ¡°We should retreat from here immediately!¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± Sean replied, shaking his head.


    To the inhabitants of this world, common sense dictated that between facing a smart living creature or a slow-witted demonic beast, the logical choice was to fight the living creature. However, this was only limited to people ¡®of this world¡¯. For people like Sean, who was a player not born of this world, he was more willing to face demonic beasts because back when he played the game every type of known demonic beast had been thoroughly researched by players. Whether it was their unique traits, strengths, or weaknesses, nothing was a secret to the players.


    After all, in the world of players, fighting with demonic beasts and other players was the mainstream activity. The things that protected ruins, or the guardians of places where treasure was stashed, were mostly comprised of demonic beasts or traps and puppets. It was only in extremely rare cases that players would have to fight NPC creatures.


    The Demonic Ground Spider was a demonic beast, but it was still small and weak, with only the power level of a rank two.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by their feints.¡± Sean pulled Cecilia over, putting her behind him. At the same time, he shifted his body slightly, swapping positions with Alfred before he could figure out what was happening. ¡°It¡¯s true that the Demonic Ground Spider¡¯s stone armor is very hard, but they are ultimately just spiders, so they are limited to using the same couple of moves to attack.¡±


    The first Demonic Ground Spider that was closest to Sean and the others finally came close enough to leap towards them in a single bound.


    It was exactly as Sean remembered it. The Demonic Ground Spider¡¯s jumping ability was just as fearsome as he recalled, and it was as though a distance of over eight meters was practically non-existent to them.


    Then, after the first Demonic Ground Spider had jumped into the air, it was quickly followed by a second one, then a third, a fourth¡­


    The field of Demonic Ground Spiders leaped up into the air, coming at them in a huge wave, akin to a huge dark cloud in the air that threatened to block out the sky. The visual impact created by the explosive acceleration the Demonic Ground Spiders could achieve with these leaping attacks, coinciding with the narrow spaces of these underground tunnels, induced an especially strong feeling of shock, enough to make one¡¯s heart skip a beat. The densely packed dark shadow was to Alfred, who was used to witnessing dangerous life-and-death encounters first-hand, a hair-raising scene, and it was an even more terrifying sight for Cecilia.


    Although she had already experienced many thrilling battles thus far with Sean, this kind of oppressive horror was a first for her.


    The only one among them who was unaffected was Sean.


    ¡°Activate skill,¡± Sean muttered silently to himself, ¡°Adrenal Stimulation.¡±


    [Activating this skill requires spending 2 experience points. Do you wish to confirm activation?]


    ¡°I do.¡±


    Without a shred of hesitation.


    [Adrenal Stimulation: Through forcibly stimulating the adrenal glands to enter an excited state, all reaction speed is increased by 50%. The effect will last for 3 minutes, and after the effect is lost the user will enter into a fatigued state, reducing all abilities by 70%. Support / Rank Two / Common, Level 1/3. Experience level 1/4.]


    This was a support skill that all [Physical Type] professions at rank two and above could learn. It had a very simple use, only raising the user¡¯s reaction speed. In this context, reaction speed included nerve reflexes, dynamic vision, movement speed, strength control, and so on.


    In the game, it was not hard to obtain this skill. Any players with a [Physical Type] profession at rank two would pick it up because it was a very important skill to have.


    After he had activated this skill, things he had been unable to follow with his eyes at first, such as the movement patterns of the Demonic Ground Spiders, suddenly seemed to be moving in slow motion in Sean¡¯s vision. He was now able to clearly see their movement trajectory in mid-air.


    Sean did not pause for a moment as he raised his arms slightly, and the Charles¡¯ Sword waved through the air, following Sean¡¯s movements.


    The edge of the sword swept upwards from below, slicing through the air barrier, and there was a sudden roar of wind despite the still air of their present environment.


    Faced with the leaping Demonic Ground Spiders, Alfred and Cecilia could feel an oppressive fear, but the feeling they got from the awe-inspiring aura emanating from Sean¡¯s sword was even stronger!


    The blade did not cleave through the Demonic Ground Spider as one might expect.


    In the instant the blade edge swept to the end of its arc, as though someone had pressed the pause button, Sean¡¯s sword abruptly froze in mid-air. This sword had attracted the watchful eyes of Alfred and Cecilia, and when it made such a sudden stop, the two of them felt horribly nauseous.


    Then, the very next second, there was a cold flash of steel.


    The sword in Sean¡¯s hand stabbed out ferociously, the tip of the sword ¡®pointing¡¯ to the spot between the Demonic Ground Spider¡¯s cephalothorax and abdomen.


    It looked like the sword had only lightly touched the spider, but the blade had already sunk in an inch deep.


    The Demonic Ground Spider let out a hoarse shrill scream, and its body began to twitch violently even while it was still suspended in mid-air. The spider¡¯s body had now completely lost its balance and came crashing to the ground in an instant. However, it did not stop there, and following the continued twitching of its body, tiny cracks began to emerge in the layer of stone covering the Demonic Ground Spider. Then, small pieces of stone fell off its body, revealing the light grey flesh under the brown, earthy stone.


    This was the plight of this Demonic Ground Spider. It would not be the only one to experience this and was definitely not the first.


    In the instant that the first Demonic Ground Spider dropped out of the air, the sword¡¯s silver brilliance burst out in full force like a fierce storm under the enveloping light from the illumination spell.


    The sword¡¯s shadow was a match to that of the flying Demonic Ground Spiders.


    It was a flower of death that had bloomed inside this narrow underground tunnel.


    At that moment, Alfred was in a daze and seemed to see a repeat of what happened with him in the Fine Wine & Sharp Blades tavern the night before.


    Sean was yet again like an immovable coral, but this time the ocean waves were not caused by his aura, but by the dark cloud of Demonic Ground Spiders in front of him. This time, however, the beating of the ocean waves did not accomplish anything. Every time there was a silvery-white flash of a sword¡¯s silhouette, a Demonic Ground Spider would be felled from the air. They would then start to twitch and convulse, but the more vigorously they twitched, the faster the layer of rock around their bodies fell off.


    It was even more incredible because the chaotic demonic force unique to demonic beasts was constantly dissipating from the light grey bodies of the Demonic Ground Spiders on the ground.


    Alfred was someone with a [Physical Type] profession, so it was possible that he did not understand the implications of this phenomenon. However, for an apprentice magician like Cecilia, the signs were clear. It meant that with every strike of Sean¡¯s sword, he was precisely destroying the Crystal Core within the body of each Demonic Ground Spider. This was the real cause of death for these Demonic Ground Spiders, and their twitching was just their death throes from having their Crystal Core shattered.


    Ten seconds passed, or maybe a couple of minutes.


    The silver storm that had been unleashed in the narrow tunnel finally disappeared.


    Around a dozen Demonic Ground Spiders had fallen to Sean¡¯s blade, stopped dead in their tracks, unable to do any tangible damage to the three of them.


    Sean hurried to cancel the effect of the Adrenal Stimulation skill. A wave of weakness and fatigue swept over him at once, and he found himself having to rest on his sword to stay on his feet. In the instant right after that, the soreness from his right hand made him feel intense pain. During the Adrenal Stimulation, his movement speed had greatly increased, but as a trade-off, when the effect ended the damage from the muscle strain caused by intense activity would come back to bite him.


    ¡°Commander!¡± Alfred recovered from his shock, quickly discovered that Sean was acting strangely, and reached out to support him straight away.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright, I just overworked myself a little,¡± Sean said, shaking his head. ¡°Did you manage to see how I attacked them?¡­ The Crystal Core of the Demonic Ground Spider is located between their cephalothorax and abdomen. If you attack that exact location, it doesn¡¯t matter how strong or tough their stone armor is. In other words, that is their greatest weak point. Take this sword¡­ If you don¡¯t know how to stab them, then just grab hold of them and snap them in two!¡±


    If one had a Strength attribute of over 30 points, one could snap a Demonic Ground Spider in two with brute force, which was a discovery made by a player who was extremely bored in the game back then. Through this method of killing the Demonic Ground Spider, the Crystal Core inside its body could also be preserved. Even though the Crystal Core was only the size of a grain of rice, if one collected a thousand pieces of it, it was equivalent to having a real level one Demonic Crystal Core.


    Alfred¡¯s Strength attribute was only at 27 points, but if he equipped the Charles¡¯ Sword, his Strength would definitely exceed 30 points!


    The only thing he needed to be worried about was Alfred¡¯s speed, as, after all, the Demonic Ground Spiders were coming at them in waves.

 Chapter 59 - A Different Side Effect Than the Game

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    Alfred had hoped he could convince Sean to turn back. Yet, now he saw that Sean was determined to continue pushing forward, and Cecilia agreed to carry on as well, so he knew there was nothing he could say.


    In the deepest levels of this crypt, there had to be some kind of treasure precious enough to attract these two people, or they would not be so visibly moved by it.


    It was impossible for Alfred to not be curious about their motivations, but no matter how much he wanted to know, he would not take the initiative to ask¨Cthis was just his personality. Therefore, since Sean and Cecilia were so set on going deeper, Alfred did not say anything else, turning to enter the second tunnel from the left, which wind was not coming from.


    He tightly gripped the long sword in his hand, and Alfred could feel a strange strength welling up in the sword and being transferred to his own body. This peculiar feeling made him feel like his strength was increasing; his reactions and physical abilities also seemed to have been improved, and overall he felt like he had become much tougher. At this moment, Alfred knew that this long sword he held must be a magical weapon.


    Only a magical weapon could strengthen a person¡¯s combat ability.


    Alfred strapped the long sword to his back. He was not very proficient at using this type of weapon, and if he was given the choice he would prefer to use his fists to settle things. Fortunately, even after he put the sword on his back, Alfred did not feel like the power flowing into him from the sword had gone away, and this made him feel much more at ease. After all, using an unfamiliar weapon in a real fight was something every combat profession tried to avoid.


    So, with a slightly awkward atmosphere, Sean¡¯s small team continued onward.


    As the team continued to move forward, Sean needed to make more and more stops to rest. At this point, Alfred and Cecilia could both tell that, in the earlier fight with the Demonic Ground Spiders, Sean had used some kind of powerful secret skill that they did not know about. This must have been how he gained such a fierce and terrifying combat ability. However, the kind of secret skill he had used must have also had an equally significant side effect, and now the time had come for this side effect to come into play.


    Adrenal Stimulation. It was not a difficult skill to attain, but this fact only applied to players. For the people of the Miracle Continent, any type of technique that could boost the user¡¯s combat ability over a short period was classified as a clandestine special secret skill. Normally, only rich and powerful families with an ancient tradition would know of these skills. Hence, it made sense that Alfred and Cecilia would think that Sean had used a secret skill.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a break here,¡± Alfred finally spoke up when the team reached a small karst cave. ¡°Let¡¯s wait for your condition to improve before we continue moving forward. As you are now, your condition is simply unsuitable for further exploration. Moreover, in these narrow tunnels, once we encounter any danger, we won¡¯t be able to offer you any protection.¡±


    Faced with Alfred¡¯s reasoning, Sean could only nod his head in agreement. His current condition was indeed becoming a burden.


    The way this situation had developed was completely outside of Sean¡¯s expectations.


    From what he knew, when the skill Adrenal Stimulation was used before level three, it would apply a ¡®fatigued¡¯ debuff, and the debuff would continue to last for an hour. However, from the time when the debuff had been applied to the present time, more than an hour had already passed, but the effect had not yet ended. This was certainly something that Sean had not foreseen.


    When he checked his personal tab, this debuff was listed in his abnormal status bar, but it did not come with the timer that most debuffs in the game would display. At this moment, Sean realized that now that he was in a real world, he could not rely on his in-game experiences anymore when it came to abnormal status effects. For a debuff like ¡®fatigued¡¯, he feared he might have to take a good rest before he could recover from it.


    This was also why Sean had agreed to Alfred¡¯s suggestion to take a break here in the small karst cave.


    He did not want to become a burden to the team.


    The effect of the ¡®fatigued¡¯ debuff reduced all abilities by 70%, which was a very serious consequence. Furthermore, after he had lent Charles¡¯ Sword to Alfred, his overall abilities had decreased by an even greater magnitude. At this point, Sean only had 4 points left in his Strength and Endurance, and his Agility was at 3 points. Under these circumstances, facing a Demonic Ground Spider was out of the question. Even Cecilia, without using magic and just using her bare fists, could theoretically beat Sean to death.


    Sean set down the backpack he was carrying, taking out some food.


    The meal was basic, consisting only of a pack of condensed instant dry rations, a bottle of plain water, and a few sugar pills.


    The condensed instant dry rations were a product of alchemy and were similar to the condensed nutrient solutions found on Earth. These rations looked like meat strips, only as thick as two fingers and around two centimeters long, and the energy content of one pack was almost enough to meet an adult¡¯s recommended daily intake level. However, eating one of these things felt like chewing wax. Not only was it dull and tasteless, but it made one very thirsty, which was why it came in a set with sugar pills for taste and a bottle of plain water to wash it down.


    This arrangement was a fairly common type of instant food product on the Miracle Continent. Compared to regular dry rations, this kind of food was more compact and took up less space, and they were very filling, so they were usually part of the standard equipment of the militaries of various countries. However, some wealthy adventurers or medium to large-sized mercenary teams would opt to purchase these products for themselves in case of emergencies. Naturally, the price of each standard set was not cheap.


    Alfred took a glance into the backpack and saw that it was stuffed full of up to thirty portions of the rations. It seemed like Sean was not kidding when he said he prepared ten day¡¯s worth of food. Even so, to buy thirty portions of these rations, one would need at least 4 Portoroa gold coins. From Alfred¡¯s point of view, Sean was richer than the average person, which further confirmed his belief that the treasure at the deepest levels of the crypt had to be something extremely valuable.


    At least for Alfred, he had never heard of anyone daring to bring a three-man team to explore underground tunnels, especially with such a large amount of condensed instant dry rations prepared. Normally, to explore an underground passage, regardless of what kind of situations one was expecting, it was necessary to bring a standard ten-man team. The most important thing was to ensure a good team composition of two defenders, at least one thief, one Demon Hunter from the Demon Hunter Guild, and one magician who was experienced in combat in the wilderness. On top of this, it was crucial to have a specialized cartographer, and the rest of the slots could then be filled by other Combat Professions.


    In Sean¡¯s case, needless to say he had no defenders or thieves, but he did not even have someone who could draw them a map. If and when they found the treasure, how would they find their way back out of the underground tunnels?


    Along the way, as they made progress forward, Alfred inspected the tunnels carefully. These underground passages were definitely the work of clans from the underground dungeon, and it was very likely that it was the combined effort of several different clans.


    The excavation marks looked to be very similar to the workmanship of the dog-headed people, and the smooth stone walls on both sides of the tunnel could probably be attributed to the secretions of demonic cave monsters. The structural blueprints of these cave tunnels probably came from the dark elves or the crypt fiends, as only members from these two clans would excavate two-meter high underground tunnels to befit their stature. Based on the clues he had discovered so far, Alfred was leaning towards the blueprint-makers being the latter because the demonic cave monsters were domesticated by the crypt fiends.


    If Sean could have known what Alfred¡¯s hypothesis was at this very moment, he would have offered him some heartfelt praise because the truth was not too far off from his assumptions. This was proof enough that the time Alfred spent as a mercenary team commander was not just for show, and he did have the skills to back it up. At least when it came to understanding the handiwork of the underground dungeon inhabitants, Alfred was much more knowledgeable than the average person. Moreover, this wealth of knowledge could only be accrued through many long years of experience fighting with the inhabitants of the underground dungeon.


    However, Alfred kept his peace, so Sean naturally had no idea about all of this. He persevered through eating the pack of condensed instant dry rations, then fell into a deep sleep. The effect that the ¡®fatigued¡¯ status had on him now was truly too much for him to bear.


    After he saw that Sean had fallen asleep, Alfred grudgingly said, ¡°These underground passages are more than they seem. It¡¯s still not too late for us to turn back now.¡±


    ¡°Sean would never agree to that,¡± Cecilia replied, shaking her head as she quietly munched on a pack of rations. ¡°There is something that we must get our hands on in the deepest depths of this place, and now that we¡¯re already here, we¡¯ve exposed our whereabouts. If we try to leave now, it¡¯s quite possible that the people following us would be able to make an easy profit at our expense.¡±


    ¡°You were already aware of them?¡± Alfred raised his eyebrows in surprise.


    ¡°Sean found out long ago,¡± Cecilia answered in a soft voice. ¡°His original plan was to use these underground tunnels to completely bury those people here.¡±


    Alfred was in awe at this plan. Sean was making a big move, and it was a ruthless ploy. He could not help but start to sympathize with the people tracking Sean. At the end of the day, however, this was a product of those people¡¯s greed. If they did not covet Sean¡¯s great wealth, those mercenaries from Cyroda Village would not have acted like this.


    At the same time, this had long been an unspoken rule of the industry, and many mercenaries were not averse to acting like robbers and bandits. The looting of traveling merchants was commonplace, and they would sometimes even make a move on other mercenary teams. As long as they did a clean job, leaving no traces or survivors to report the crime, the Mercenary Guild would not investigate their illegal activities. This was not a problem unique to the Mercenary Guild, as the Adventurer Guild and Demon Hunter Guild faced the same issues.


    The only guild that could be said to be absolutely righteous and disciplined was the Pioneer Guild because this guild¡¯s sole purpose was to strive hard to save the world.


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Alfred let out a sigh, ¡°my eyelid was twitching non-stop that night. I should have known from the start that joining your team was going to be a whole load of trouble, but I didn¡¯t think trouble would come knocking at our door so soon¡­ In these underground passages, there are crypt fiends, aren¡¯t there?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± Cecilia did not deny it, explaining, ¡°Sean said that a group of crypt fiends resided in the deepest levels, but they were banished and are considered traitors. There¡¯s not a lot of them, probably only ten or twenty. The real problem is the three demonic cave monsters they are keeping. Sean¡¯s idea was to let our ¡®tail¡¯ be the bait, and once the two sides have taken heavy casualties, we¡¯ll clean them up.¡±


    Alfred¡¯s eyelid twitched several times. He had said ten to twenty of them was not a lot?

 Chapter 60 - Getting Closer

    Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio


    Crypt fiends could not be compared with other demonic beasts like the Demonic Ground Spider.


    At the heart of the matter, this clan was made up of humanoids who lived in the underground dungeon. This implied that, similar to humans, they were a clan with a fully functioning society. Their society had the most basic embodiment of an intelligent clan in this world, which was the establishment of professions and various development stages for these professions. This also meant that within this clan, there existed individuals with high-ranking professions.


    According to what Alfred understood about the crypt fiends, only those belonging to Combat Professions would be banished from the clan and labeled as traitors. This was because the societal order of the underground world was very different from that of the surface world. Their society was structured like a pyramid, with the people at the top having absolute authority and demanding complete obedience. Anyone who did not obey the commands of the ones at the highest levels would face one of two consequences: banishment or death.


    All the traitorous crypt fiends who were banished were only allowed to bring their own weapons with them, and their families or other assets would become the possessions of the ruling class. In other words, crypt fiends who were banished were lonesome exiles without a family, and they would be shunned by other societal groups of crypt fiends. The only options they had were to regroup and establish a new force or to kill the leaders who had banished them and take over their role.


    However, based on what Cecilia told him about the current situation, Alfred knew that these crypt fiends were preparing to establish a new powerful group.


    Faced with a pack of crypt fiends who were regrouping their forces, Alfred felt like even if he had his trusty battle halberd with him, he could only defeat three or four crypt fiends of similar strength to him. However, now that he was armed with a push dagger, even defeating two would be pushing his limits. As for Cecilia and Sean, he felt like even if he was being extremely optimistic, the two of them could probably beat three lower bronze enemies. What would they do about the rest of the enemies then?


    Or if they encountered an upper bronze or even silver ranked crypt fiend, how would they go about winning that battle?


    ¡°Relax, there won¡¯t be any upper bronze or silver ranked crypt fiends.¡± As though she could see what Alfred was thinking, Cecilia reassured him in a gentle voice. ¡°Sean told me that these were all just insignificant small fries and that he could take on five of them by himself.¡±


    Five¡­ Five of them¡­?


    Alfred raised his eyebrows again, obviously not convinced by this kind of nonsense.


    ¡°Sean also said that, with my help, we should be able to beat seven or eight of them.¡± Cecilia did not see Alfred¡¯s expression, and continued very earnestly, ¡°That is, as long as you¡¯re in front to draw enough of their fire.¡±


    When he heard this, Alfred did not raise his eyebrows anymore, as his face instantly darkened. They were clearly setting him up to be cannon fodder!


    ¡°Having said that,¡± Cecilia continued with a grin. Her smile shone brightly like the sun, and especially under the glare of the illumination spell, her smile became even more dazzling. ¡°The happiest thing that could happen for Sean would be if there was a group of idiots charging ahead to die. It would be perfect if both sides had already taken heavy losses when we arrive on the scene.¡±


    Alfred let out a sigh. He realized that the number of times he had sighed today was more than the total sum of the past few years.


    In truth, he understood that he had a way out of this. If he wanted to leave now, it was still possible for him to do so. Whether it was Sean, or the ¡®bandits¡¯ tailing them, none of them were strong enough to get in his way, and most of them would be unwilling to try.


    But could he decide to leave them so easily?


    Alfred looked at Cecilia.


    At the moment, Cecilia was reading the unusually large magic tome she carried. Her head was lowered and her long golden locks draped down from both sides, and as her head moved to read, the tips of her hair brushed across the pages of the book. Her pale fingers traced the words written in the tome, and as her fingers glided across the page, Cecilia¡¯s dark brows would sometimes knit together or relax. Occasionally, she would mutter phrases from some kind of spell that Alfred could not understand, and whenever this happened the elements in the air would grow active. Cecilia¡¯s long hair would start to flutter as a light breeze would begin to circle her body, driving away the heat in the small karst cave.


    Alfred knew that Cecilia was outstanding. Whether it was in terms of her appearance, her status, or her gifts, he knew that this young lass had incomparable talent. However, the thing he admired the most about her was not her beauty, nobility, or genius, but the way she seemed to shine in her diligence.


    He did not know what kind of bond this young girl had with Sean, but even if he did not know the details, he understood the quality of their relationship.


    Alfred¡¯s gaze fell upon Sean once again.


    His most obvious traits were his black hair and black eyes, which were typical of citizens from the ancient empire to the east of the continent.


    As one of the seven great empires of the continent, this eastern empire rarely birthed people with talents that could shake up the entire continent. In the eyes of many, the people of this empire were mediocre with no real outstanding strengths. Still, even if this was true, no other country would dare to underestimate this empire, because the strength they brought to bear was not that of an individual but a collective. They had never won in a one-on-one fight, but they would rarely lose if it was a thousand versus a thousand. Once the scale of the battle reached tens or hundreds of thousands, this empire was invincible.


    Alfred felt like he still could not determine if Sean had this hidden potential within him. However, he understood one thing clearly. If he clashed with Sean in a one-on-one fight now, he was not entirely confident that he would win.


    Still, all this was not important.


    The main point was that the future Sean had outlined for him made him reluctant to give up. Even though he was well aware that they were heading for a dead-end, for just that tiny glimmer of hope, he could not easily abandon them. As Alfred came to terms with this conclusion, he was no longer burdened by worry, and he decided to sit down and start eating the portion of condensed instant dry rations reserved for him.


    Seeing that Alfred had decided to sit down with her, she immediately raised her head and flashed him a brilliant smile. ¡°Welcome to the team.¡±


    Alfred was stunned for a moment.


    ¡°Sean told me before this that if you sat down and started to eat something within a minute, it meant you were willing to join us.¡± Seeing the expression of confusion on Alfred¡¯s face, Cecilia continued her explanation, ¡°He said that you had strong principles and knew where to draw the line. Since you had committed to join us on this journey, you would not abandon us and leave by yourself in the middle of the mission regardless of how dangerous it got, but you would only choose to say your goodbyes after everything was finished.¡±


    Alfred came to his senses, and he stared at Sean with a strange and complicated expression.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°But Sean also said, that if you sat down within a minute to eat something and recover your strength, that would mean that you were truly willing to cooperate with us.¡± Cecilia grinned, as though she was not very surprised by all this. ¡°The moment you sat down to eat was exactly a minute after Sean had fallen asleep¡­ You know, magicians are very sensitive when it comes to observing the passage of time.¡±


    Saying this, Cecilia wrinkled her nose proudly, revealing a mischievous look.


    ¡°He made a good prediction,¡± Alfred chuckled. ¡°Should I be praising him for being an impressive commander?¡±


    However, Cecilia shook her head at this. ¡°To be honest, Sean knew from the beginning that you would stay. He said you would take three minutes at first, but after some thought, he happily changed his prediction, reducing the time to one minute.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Alfred raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°You¡¯ll do it for your daughter,¡± Cecilia recited in a soft voice.


    Alfred was shocked at first, but then he turned to look at Sean, a trace of respect showing in his eyes for the first time. ¡°I guess the saying is true. The people of the Chenas Empire are good with their schemes.¡±


    Hearing Alfred¡¯s appraisal of Sean, Cecilia looked very glad, and the smile on her face grew even brighter. ¡°However, Sean is always saying that he¡¯s a salesman who is omniscient but not omnipotent.¡±


    ¡°Only a god is omniscient and omnipotent.¡± Alfred seemed to have a deep understanding of the meaning behind these words. He nodded and said quite sympathetically, ¡°If he was a god, then he would be an existence this world would not allow.¡±


    With this topic, their conversation drew to a close.


    Cecilia had no interest in discussing whether Sean was a god or a man, and so she resumed her reading. She lowered her head and started to delve into her magic tome, working hard so she could have a breakthrough and become a fully-fledged magician. She knew that she was already halfway across the threshold and only had to take one more final step, but this step was not easy for her to take because her situation was the exact opposite of other apprentice magicians.


    Most of the time, the factor that held apprentice magicians back from becoming a full-fledged magician was a bottleneck in their spirit, or in some rare cases, a lack of theoretical knowledge. However, whatever the case might be, these apprentice magicians would be overflowing with magical power. On the other hand, Cecilia was facing the opposite problem, as the bottleneck she was facing now was her limited magical power. Even after getting the Flame of Crimson, which allowed her to increase her magical power at a much faster speed than using her meditation, it was still far from enough.


    Still, even though she was well aware that magical power took a long time to build up, she did not want to resign herself to such a slow process that easily. She remembered that there was a method for quickly gaining magic power written inside this magic tome left to her by her advisor. What she needed to do now was to study this tome to the point where she could familiarize herself with this method and remember it even with her eyes closed.


    As for Alfred, noticing that Cecilia was working hard at her studies, he naturally did not want to disturb her. He simply finished eating the rest of his condensed instant dry rations, then lay down on the ground to take a nap. He wanted to start recovering and storing up energy to prepare himself for any situations they might encounter in the near future.


    This went on for some time until a wretched scream suddenly woke both Cecilia and Alfred from their stupor.