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Chapter 115 – The Final Battle (3)
writer:Fei Yan      update:2022-07-25 14:23
  Medissa was approximately forty meters away, charging straight into a group of Lizardmen wielding crossbows. When she turned around she spotted a disturbance on the ground and realized something was amiss. She immediately warned Brendel and Scarlett, while she urged her unicorn back towards them. The unicorn leapt into the air and she raised her lance and timed it together with the unicorn’s descent—


  “Vortex Strike!”


  When Brendel turned back, he found Medissa making her move on the enemy with a loud yell. The air around her lance immediately manifested into a distortion which condensed the air and released it as a blast of wind, sweeping the Lizardmen off their feet like they were fallen leaves. When she thrust her lance forward, an invisible path immediately emerged in front of her, destroying all the obstacles in front of her. Wood splinters flew everywhere and the enemy that was behind Brendel immediately retreated to the side.

  The shockwave caused a large fissure to appear on the ground.

  Brendel looked at the deep scar and felt a sheen of cold sweat on his body.

  [My lady Medissa, can you be a little more gentle? Even if the enemy was a Gold-ranked fighter trying to backstab me, I can still parry it, but receiving your boss attack means I might die from it……]

  He felt himself trembling a little before he recomposed himself and observed the enemy. He already knew the identity of the monster.

  A gigantic creature with the size of three fully grown adults was writhing in front of him. Despite the quick reactions against Medissa’s attack, it did not escape unscathed. Its long left arm clutched its right shoulder as blood flowed freely from the wound.

  It was a humanoid that looked partially like a wurm, and there were three mismatched sections that seemed like they were sewn together. The head, the chest and the abdomen were sections covered in a grayish-yellow carapace that were inches thick and fortified with the blessings that came from the Blood of Gods.

  [It’s definitely harder than steel. The rating from the system is giving it A+ in defense. The Acolyte of Earth is a level 55 boss, so that’s going to add 15 defense to it. It’s on par with a full tank class.]

  Brendel groaned wistfully.

  The limbs that it had were like an insect’s appendages, although the hands that it had resembled a human. At the area on its abdomen was a pair of eyes and another set of appendages in the form of a scythe. Its long thighs were shaped weirdly and adorned with full of barbs. Any normal human that got swept by it would certainly have gashes big enough to see the bones. Its head was something of a cross of a beetle and ant, with a pair of long antennae and large mandibles, and there was a pair of huge eyes that could see in low light places and capture motion well.

  Brendel was glad to see that it did not have wings as it meant that it did not have flight yet. This was the only good news.

  [This is third boss in this world after Ebdon and the Golden Demonic Tree. Even though it’s not at its final form, it’s already level 55 and has an unsealed Element. Comparing it with the previous bosses I faced earlier won’t be right.]

  Brendel took a deep breath as he realized this was going to be the hardest battle yet. If Scarlett and Medissa were not here to help him, he would have pulled out of this area and left as far as he possibly could.

  He did not have much time to think about it because there was a loud metallic clash somewhat far away. When he turned around, he saw Scarlett’s spear pushing down on a steel gauntlet. When he traced the defending hand back to the owner’s face, he discovered that it was a young man whom he had not seen before. Electricity danced around his hand, but was immediately pushed away from some unseen force and did not hurt him at all.

  “Well, well, isn’t this our lovely Scarlett? Did you seek a new lover and betrayed our organization so quickly? That Blood of Gods from that man can’t be relied on after all. Don’t worry my dear, I killed you once, I can kill you again and send you to meet up with your dead companions—” The unknown young man sneered loudly.

  Scarlett’s teeth were clenched so tightly that they were grating noises coming from her. She glared at him with incredible hatred and desired nothing more than to run her spear through him. That young man brushed off the spear and retreated a few steps, and she immediately chased after him.

  However, it was a rash move and she immediately felt her feet sinking into the ground when she chased after him. Her heart skipped a beat as she lowered her head and saw a layer of black fog surrounding her feet, making it impossible to move.

  “Magic!” Scarlett felt her blood ran cold as she realized he was some form of Magic Swordsman.

  But her reaction was too late. Conrad’s taunt to make her angry was for the sake of making her fall into a trap, and he would not let this opportunity slip by. He opened up his fingers into a claw shape and thrust them towards her heart. The vitality of an Acolyte was exceedingly high, but the Blood of Gods was contained within the heart. Once it was damaged, even if the Acolyte did not die in that instant, their strength would diminish greatly.

  Conrad knew that he would have great difficulty to defend himself against two Gold-ranked fighters, so he did not hold himself back and used his full might from the start. His target was clear. Even though Scarlett had the strength of a Gold-ranked fighter, she did not possess any combat experience. She was not the weakest amongst the three enemies in front of him, but in his eyes she was the easiest to take down.

  His lips twisted into a smile as his fingers inched closer to their target. Success was literally in his hand, but right at that moment, a longsword blocked his fingers’ path with impeccable timing.

  Brendel had thrown out his sword without any hesitation the moment he saw Scarlett trapped.

  [I probably won’t hesitate even if this sword is the former Thorn of Light, right?] Brendel thought to himself as he threw out his common longsword.

  During the battle, he saw much clearer as to what was happening than Scarlett did. Conrad was leading her into a magic trap.

  [To think that the leader of the Paper Cards is a Mage Hunter. How peculiar, I rarely saw any NPCs in the game reaching above the Gold rank level in this profession. Although it is quite true that the profession is quite formidable, the path to leveling it up is really tough. It’s quite the PVP profession and unquestionably good for PK.]

  He took a moment to admire Conrad’s ability to set up the trap. It was rare for anyone to fool his eyes, and he nearly failed to spot Conrad’s trap. Even having high proficiency in the skill alone would not be mislead him, so he thought that Conrad must have some form innate talent within him.

  [This bastard must have combined his talent with some form of chantless ability as well to speed up the process. In addition to that, there’s probably another passive ability attached to that trap…… I’m sure it’s a hypnotizing effect. He must have made Scarlett angry in order to hide it. Handling this bastard is a little tricky.]

  Conrad’s attack from the start was well executed, wasting no time in his attack for Scarlett’s heart the moment she fell into the trap. When the sword blocked his attack, he swiped it away and attempted another thrust, but Brendel had ran up to her and dragged her away by the elbow, as Conrad’s steel claws barely missed the front of her chest and drew a little blood from her.

  “.…… Thank you.” Scarlett said.

  “Cut the crap, you’re lucky that I was fast enough. What were you thinking to lose your head like that!” Brendel yelled at her, but did not lose his eyes on Conrad who was ready to attack again.

  The latter realized Brendel must have somehow seen through his illusion-based magic trap. Scarlett could not move when she stepped into the trap, but it was nothing more than an illusion. The hypnotizing ability from Conrad was the real thing that immobilized her with a suggestion. This was the trick to the Mage Hunters but it was clear that Brendel saw through it with his reply to Scarlett.

  There were very few Mage Hunters in Aouine, and Conrad was recognized by his peers as highly skilled in the profession and even attained the level of a Gold-rank. It was at his level where he realized the advantages of his profession. Not many knew about the Mage Hunters, and even fewer people understood how they fought. He had fought against many of his enemies that were stronger than he was, and emerged victorious with bizarre attack combinations. However, he did not expect—


  To meet his match today.

  [This bastard must die!]

  Conrad’s steel gauntlets swung in front of him, frightening Brendel so much that he immediately activated the Charge skill and retreated even further away.

  Even if he activated Power Break to defend against Conrad’s attack, that would be 50 OZ vs 80 OZ strength, and would certainly meet his maker if he tried to fight him directly.

  Under the Charge ability, he reached over 132 OZ worth of agility and vanished from where he stood. At his speed, he could even outrun a speed based Gold-ranked fighter with the Electric Element.

  Conrad’s claws lashed out into empty air and a loud bang could be heard. The decayed leaves in a circular radius of ten meters in front of his claws were turned into dust, and the ground sank deeply to form a large depression. When Conrad raised his head up, he saw that Brendel was already twenty meters away.

  [What…… is that speed? Who the hell is this guy?!]

  Conrad was so surprised that he forgot to chase after Brendel. Even though the latter had reach the Silver rank at such a young age, Conrad himself was a genius who reached the Gold rank and did not think much of him. His target, Eke, was also rumored to be a genius, but Brendel certainly fell short of the rumors he heard when he fought against the Lizardmen.

  But that short exchange made Conrad realize that the Silver-ranked bastard in front of him had combat prowess that defied common sense. Each attack that he made was only a stalemate against his defensive maneuvers.

  He felt his palms slightly sweaty. He had learned various skills and had a wealthy experience against many enemies, and was even confident he could fight peak Gold-rank fighters. But he did not even gain any advantage over a little Silver-rank fighter.

  [That explosive speed…… A Sun Knight?]

  volume 3 - 209 – Half-Dragon Scarle

  tt

  ========== Brendel’s POV ==========

  While the tension of Trentheim rose, Brendel and the others were descending into surprise.

  Andesha was knocked unconscious with considerable ease by Brendel and Scarlett. The Mistress of Withering Decay who was older than them could not get even a little advantage under their combined prowess.

  [But what’s going on?]

  The red-haired girl walked over, her face as red like a cute apple, but she dared not to take in a single breath.

  Brendel stared at the girl who occasionally showed her sharp canines with a little unruliness on the side, and he blurted:

  “Scarlet, are you alright?”


  The girl shook her head quickly to show that she was fine: “I’m not too sure, my lord. I feel that the Fire Seed has suppressed my Element Power, but I don’t think my strength was affected too much.”


  “If going by rank?”


  “Perhaps a little less than a Gold-ranker?”


  “You retained that much!?” Veronica gasped.

  Her abilities had been reduced to an Iron-ranked warrior, and Mephisto was no different. Brendel’s abilities went down as well, though it was mitigated greatly by the Dragon of Darkness’s blood.

  Mana and Element Powers were added passively to a body’s Physique, Strength, Agility, and Perception.

  An Unsealed Element Power was to perceive the Laws in one’s own body and the world’s Laws. By achieving a perfect understanding of the Laws, one would be able to absorb and hold the Laws within them to achieve a Shaped Physique for the body.

  The greatest advantage for a Golden Lineage was their Shaped Physique, and they were typically born with an Unsealed Element Power, and they would automatically move towards perfecting their Element Powers and bodies. Galbu’s wizards and Silver Elves had their own Shaped Physiques and were just a step behind.

  But there were other races that were not blessed. The Wind Elves and humans, even though they were perceived as beings who were blessed by Marsha, had to start with a body that was poorly attuned to their Element Power and had to take one step at a time to reach the top.

  Still, the humans were flexible and had limitless potential.

  The citizens of the Golden Lineage had to undergo a long journey to perfect their usage of Element Power, frequently requiring centuries to do so. The Silver Lineage also required a long time as well.

  The person who gained strength the quickest was the Sword Genius King Gatel. He was only seventy when he reached perfection with his Element Power. The Dwarves’ record was a hundred and sixty years, while the Wind Elves’ record took two hundred and ten years.

  They were much quicker than any of the Golden Lineage or Silver Lineage to master their Element Power.

  “Not a true dragon,” Mephisto remarked.

  Brendel nodded as well. Scarlett probably had a portion of the Dragon’s bloodline, and it was relatively common amongst humans. Dragons loved to change into human forms and leave their descendants behind amongst the humans.

  “Dragons are said to choose their mates every decade on the fifth moon. The Star Seers from the Tower of Ten Borders claims that the first baby birthed on this month would have the blood of the dragon flowing in them.” Mephisto continued his remarks.

  Rumors frequently happened at the southeastern regions of the Dark Forest.

  Brendel suddenly squinted. There was a little girl dragon that he thought of, but he quickly dispelled that image in his mind.

  “Scarlett, your parents are?” Brendel asked.

  Scarlett looked puzzledly at her lord before she understood what he was thinking and hurriedly shook her head:

  “My lord, my parents are normal citizens.”


  “Are you certain?”


  “Yes. I still remember things about my childhood. I’m definitely their child. My father told me that I resembled my mother more, and I have a brother as well.” She seemed like she was afraid of Brendel not believing her, so she added another sentence: “But my village was raided by bandits and I was rescued by my former commander after they……”


  “I’m sorry.” Brendel was feeling a little guilty because he had forced her to think about the sad events of the past and replied softly.

  “No, it’s fine.” Scarlett shook her head and smiled, revealing her canines.

  Brendel was nearly in a daze from looking at her smile. In his mind, he recalled that she rarely smiled, and now she had a huge dazzling smile plastered on her face. He yelled a few times in his mind to recover himself, and at the same time had a stronger doubt about Scarlett’s bloodline.

  [Andesha shouldn’t be wrong about this. She’s one of the Tree Shepherds and sensitive to races with powerful bloodlines.]

  “The Blood of Gods?” Orthlyss spoke in her mind.

  “No, that’s not it. Humans carry the bloodline of the Iron Lineage, and they wouldn’t magically turn into someone possessing the Dragon’s blood or even the Golden Lineage after drinking the Blood of Gods……” Brendel continued with some uncertainty after considering a while: “I’m probably an exception because I received the Dragon of Darkness’s blood and it had somehow awakened a certain bloodline.”


  “My lord, look at this.” Scarlett raised both her arms.

  Dark golden runes were flowing across her arms. It was a familiar sight, as it had happened before when the Mana Wave came. He did not think much about it back then and merely thought it was the Golden Apple that caused the tremendous flow of Mana to move in her veins, and it had resonated with the Mana Wave.

  But it seemed like that was not the case.

  The Mana and Elements around this area were severed, so there should not be any resonations. These magic Runes were definitely the power of a Bloodline. Brendel frowned. He did not study much about Bloodlines and did not recognize the Runes, but Orthlyss shouted in a startled voice:

  “The Blood of a Dragon?!”


  “What?” Brendel asked in confusion.

  “This girl had drunk the blood of a Dragon in the past, and it’s a living Dragon at that. A half-dragon’s blood…… It’s not a Lineage, but it’s still something that’s good for her. She’s definitely stronger than you if she leaves the influence of the Fire Seed. It’s a great advantage for her, typically half-dragon humans learn things faster by twenty or thirty percent.”


  Brendel nearly choked on his saliva.

  [Dragon Bloodline…… That’s a quest in the game that offers that Talent and it’s an “XP gain +20-30%”, but that’s so rare that I have never seen a player with it. And drinking a Dragon’s blood? I drank plenty of that stuff costing from several hundred to millions of coins. It adds stats, and I have never seen someone drinking it and gaining a Talent. Do things work differently in this world?!]

  Brendel wanted to smash his head against a wall when he heard the given advantage, but he quickly recovered and asked carefully: “Is there any harm to drink the Dragon’s blood?”


  “There’s no real harm, but the drinker will have form a unique kinship to the owner of the blood,” she replied.

  The youth could sense Orthlyss’s smirk.

  “You have quite the number of enemies, and this little girl will be of great help to you, but you need to be careful. If that dragon who gave its blood to her happens to be a male dragon who’s full of charisma, your loyal girl would be seduced away by him.”


  Brendel’s lips jerked a few times at the teasing words, though he was not really worried about it. He was basically certain that the little dragon girl did something to the Golden Apple.

  [Hmm. Wait. Did Rauze intend me to have this Golden Apple? Shit, I knew it, that loli dragon is up to no good!]

  Brendel was hugely relieved that Scarlett ate the apple. It was not a good thing to be fancied by a dragon— He had seen enough unlucky fellows in the game because of the text ‘A Dragon fancies you.’.

  The Dragons in the game solved things simply and directly.

  They threw a Charmed magic spell on the players or NPCs and directly dragged them into their caves. Players would not actually get affected by the magic and instead see this on their quest windows.

  “A Dragon has expressed interest in you. It is casting a magic spell on you in order to take you away. You can choose to accept or refuse, but it will still drag you away— Alive or Dead.”


  “Please choose to accept or refuse.”


  The majority of the gamers who had a normal IQ would choose the former. Technically, a dragon who dragged such a person into their lair was not really going to do that particular pleasurable and entertaining thing that the masses enjoyed during their teenage and later years. It was actually a matter of making the dragons delighted.

  The most common method of making them happy was telling a story to them or coming up with a riddle for them to solve. Most of the time it would take three full days and night.

  Logging out was possible for the gamers, but it was necessary for them to work at least seventy-two hours and perhaps longer to make these Dragons satisfied.

  The rewards were satisfactory, but the majority of the gamers were unwilling to do such quests because of the hassles involved. The Dragons’ memories were good enough to catch any stories that were repeated. It was all too easy to make the gamers know how good the dragons’ intelligence was when they solve the riddles quickly.

  Brendel shivered when he thought of these things. Rauze gave away the Golden Apple instead of charming him with a spell. This meant that her interest had surpassed the norm. She did not leave him because of the lack of interest, but because there was something really important that she had to handle.

  But despite the strong interest in him, a dragon’s thinking was completely different from a human.

  She was most likely saying this: “Human, I want you to act as a toy until I’m greatly satisfied……”


  volume 2 - 114

  TL: Next regular update will be on Saturday.

  I’m also requesting for a little more donation money this month if possible, because Nier:Automata and ME:Andromeda, Torment: Tides of Numenera are games that I want to pick up.