Draco and Qiong Qi appeared on the edges of the chasm, with a plus one in the form of a cute little girl. Now that she was in the sun, one could properly see her features and find that she looked extremely adorable.
She had sparkling golden hair which was curly and smooth, with creamy skin that was soft and chubby. Her cheeks were round and pinchable, her eyes were watery yet ethereal. Her pupils were split into two, with one half being crimson red an their other pitch black.
She wore a brown robe that covered her from head to toe, which would drag along behind her if she were to walk. Her hands were completely covered by it too, adding to her cuteness factor.
She lay in Draco's arms comfortably, as if she were born to be there.
The Shameless Duo shared a look and shrugged mentally. What would come of this, only the creator himself would know.
Draco and Qiong Qi blinked towards the edges of the Four Point Valley, heading to the estate of the Duke of Farst. After all, he was the quest giver for the Flora and Fauna mission, regardless of how big the quest had blown up from a simple matter of investigation.
Upon reaching the gates of the estate, Draco realized that he would need to think up ways in which he could take Rila out of the quest. He had an idea for how to deal with Qiong Qi, but nothing he knew would work with Rila.
She wasn't even supposed to be awakened or taken by the player who dealt with the quest. The idea was to either assimilate her or report her existence to the Duke of Farst, depending on whether the payer had managed to assimilate King or not.
Yet, the circ.u.mstances surrounding his Divine Eyes, which were the sole reason his quest had been bumped from Epic to Legendary, allowed him to find an alternate resolution to the scenario.
Beat Draco to death with a sausage and he still would never believe that this had not been planned by the AI from the onset.
Draco entered the estate of the Duke of Farst easily, once the guards recognized the mercenary who was sent to the Four Point Valley to handle some monster outbreak or the other.
They were startled by Rila though, wondering where Draco had gotten a kid from. Could it be that he knocked up one of the races there? Well, they were interested in humans, but the Duke forbade the guards and servants from abusing their racial benefit for pleasure, so they could only feel jealous towards Draco.
Qiong Qi they ignored. He showed up as a Rank 1 Savannah Lion to them, and they themselves were Rank 2. They could kill ten Qiong Qi's, much less this one. He was probably a pet that the mercenary had picked up during his quest.
And by the way, what the hell was up with the mercenary himself? Did the fellow get his sensibilities f.u.c.k.i.e.d out of him by those terrifying Dryads? What was with the fancy hairdo? Was that the new fashion?
Draco turned to Qiong Qi and placed Rila on his back. He rubbed the little girl on the head since she looked so distraught, but his words brooked no argument.
"Wait for me here, I have to see someone. I'll be back in a minute."
Draco patted Qiong Qi on the sides lightly.
"Watch her for me, buddy."
Qiong Qi turned to look at Rila on his back and sighed.
"This Lion King has turned into a babysitter… is this truly my fate…?"
Qiong Qi was having a serious existential crisis, but Draco couldn't be bothered to save him from himself and his arrogance.
Draco entered the mansion and headed to the meeting room of Dorian Purple, sitting there languidly as he waited patiently.
This time, Dorian didn't keep Draco waiting. The squinty-eyed fellow entered the meeting room with a smile, clapping his hands slowly as he did. His entrance made Draco frown inwardly, but he remained composed.
"Welcome to my humble abode once more, Lord Drake. What can I do for you?"
Dorian's voice was clear and charismatic, making one feel like they were talking to someone important and should be respectful at all times. His demeanor was noble and cordial too, giving one positive feelings about him.
Draco spoke calmly. "I am here to report my completion of the task you gave me."
"Oh? That's impressive. Do you have any proof of completion?" Dorian asked with a surprised expression.
Draco pulled out one of the bottles of Divine Amniotic Fluid. He waved it before Dorian's eyes slowly, while meeting his eyes directly.
"This fluid is the source of the invasion. Some low level parasitic beings consumed it and developed until they became threats. I rallied the races of the Four Point Valley to battle the sheer mass of parasitic monsters that had grown, while I killed the source and harvested the rest of this material."
Draco gave Dorian this story that was pretty much a lie. It was truthful from a certain point of view, but that was not Draco's concern. His own was to submit the quest and be on his way.
Dorian analyzed the fluid and his usually shut eyes widened sharply, the shock evident on his face. His breathing increased slightly as he beheld a Divine Material in the flesh.
With such a material there, of course such a thing would happen. In fact, he was lucky he was always meticulous with his front as a human noble, otherwise he would have had a tough time trying to regain favor if this matter had blown up.
Dorian calmed down and smiled. "I've acknowledged your completion of the mission. When you leave my estate, the servants would present you with your promised rewards."
Draco took his cue and left the room without a further word. He had much more important things to do than to banter with this traitor. Draco would deal with him before the Great War started.
Dorian watched Draco leave silently. When the fellow was gone, he spoke silently.
"It seems like he is another person of interest who must be watched closely to prevent any difficulties. I should inform the Royal Seneschal soon."
............
Draco picked up Rila from Qiong Qi's back and cradled the little girl, who was simply satisfied to be where she was.
Draco turned to Qiong Qi and looked thoughtful before speaking.
"Brother Qiong, the truth is that I have a plan. I will use my Lion's Medallion to attract lionesses for you to play with. However, in order to work with you, I need you to join my guild, which allows us to collaborate with no problems whatsoever."
Draco smiled as he told Qiong Qi this information.
Qiong Qi looked stunned initially before his tongue flapped out and drool began to fall from his lips. His eyes became red and his breathing became heated.
He remembered the kind of pull Draco's Medallion had on him, and he was a World Boss! To other lionesses, the attraction would be fatal. Qiong Qi felt that if this deal was made, he would probably die from pleasure, which was his dream in life!
How could he doubt anything at this juncture? His trust for his Brother Draco and his own reasoning made him certain that this would work out perfectly.
"What do I need to do to facilitate this deal?"
Draco pulled out a contract sheet and provided a vat of ink for Qiong Qi. "Place your paw inside and use it to sign this recruitment doc.u.ment. After that, we'll head to my guild and begin the plan to capture all the lionesses of the world into your harem."
Draco's words were like the singing of the angels for Qiong Qi. His face was so red and ruddy that he looked comical.
Qiong Qi didn't even bother to read the contract, he just dipped his paw in the ink and placed it where he was supposed to sign. When he was done, he began laughing so heartily that even Rila was infected as she giggled cutely.
Draco took back the contract and put it away. His gaze towards Qiong Qi was a bit smug and filled with sneakiness.
Qiong Qi did not notice this fact as his laughter shook the heavens, until a screen popped up before him.
｢Congratulations to World Boss Qiong Qi for willingly becoming the official mount of Player Draco! Your Rank would be pulled down to match his and you are unable to break the contract unless you can provide ten Divine Items as compensation!｣
"WAHAHAHAHA!!"
"HUHUHUHAHAHA!!"
"YEHAHAHUYAHA!!"
"Heee… haha… haha…!!"
"Ha… ha… haaa…"
"…"
"What the f.u.c.k is this?"
"Brother Draco, my eyes have problems."
"Brother Draco, I think I'm sick."
"Brother Draco, what I am seeing does not make sense."
"Brother Draco, I am lost, please guide me."
Qiong Qi eyes were locked onto the screen before him as he read and re-read the notification that congratulated him for trading freedom to become a mount for someone.
He refused to believe that his Brother Draco would trick him like this. It was impossible for that to happen, it was simply impossible.
As such, Qiong Qi firmly believed that he must have eye problems of some sort. Maybe he had been shocked a lot more than he thought by the little tot, so his sense hadn't restored itself fully.
However, when he turned to Draco, what he saw rendered him speechless.
The fellow was smiling so filthy and smugly that even his own mother would feel like punching him the face.
"Do not worry, Brother Qiong. I will be gentle when I ride you."
F.U.C.K!
F.U.C.K! F.U.C.K!
This… this bastard!
Qiong Qi realized he had been tricked. Instead of anger or hatred, all he felt was indignation and sorrow. The Lion burst into tears as he wailed and rolled on the ground.
"NOOOO!! MY FREEDOM!! MY RIGHT TO PLAY OTHERS TO DEATH!! MY QUEST TO BECOME KING OF ALL THE LIONESSES!!"
Draco ignored Qiong Qi and summoned Roma.
A form coalesced from greenish energy that soon revealed itself to be Roma. She was still as beautiful and charming as ever, but there was an air of melancholy that surrounded her.
To expect her to be normal after her brother just died hours ago was impossible. However, she would not show it to her master, as that was not what a servant was supposed to do.
Still, Draco saw this and felt sympathy.
"Did you spend time with your mother?"
Roma nodded lightly and forced a smile. "I did. We helped each other deal with our grief and I feel much better now. Do not worry about me, Draco."
Draco could only sigh in the face of her obvious lie. He could suck out her grief but that would go against his own bottom line, so it wasn't happening. He could only allow time to heal her wounds.
"Let's go then."
Draco held Rila to his chest with his left arm while he grabbed Qiong Qi's tail with his right arm and dragged the crying fellow along. Roma walked along beside him in silence, not even able to muster an interest in what was going on currently.
The moment Draco exited the gates of the mansion, a screen popped up before him.
｢Congratulations on completing: Flora and Fauna Unique Quest
Time elapsed: 170:12:23
Hidden Quests completed: 4
Objectives complete: All
Assessment: A+
Reward:
200 reputation with Sturgehaven Kingdom
2000 reputation with the human race
100,000 platinum
2x Legendary Treasure Chest｣
The world shuddered a bit as he left the Unique Quest's instance.
At this moment, Dorian Purple was about to contact his handler to relay information to the Royal family when the world shuddered. His face went blank for second, and when he regained clarity, he seemed confused.
"What was I doing just now…?"
No matter how much he jogged his memory, nothing came to him. He frowned and walked out of his study, planning to have a cup of tea as he pondered the invasion plans for this decade's Great War.
Since he forgot whatever he was doing before and couldn't remember it no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't waste time on it.
.........…
The moment Draco finished the quest, the Four Point Valley drastically changed.
When the world shuddered, Vadoma, Flora, the Elf King, Lokthar, Roknar, Snorkelia, Omar, the Wood Elf girls, Aisha, the Dryads, The Gypsies and all the Green Orcs suddenly became dazed as their bodies deconstructed themselves into pixels an faded away.
The Four Point Valley was turned to what it once was, a level 30-50 field zone with only monsters, rich resources and no sapient races.
.........…..
Roma and Qiong Qi froze when Draco brought them out. Their eyes became unfocused as they adapted to the real world and certain information was provided them. The same information every NPC of the main world had from birth.
When they came out of it, both had different reactions.
Roma fell to her knees with a look of utter anguish and pain, realizing that her world was simply an illusion and she only survived because she followed the only 'real' person. Everyone she knew and loved was not real and had been extinguished the moment Draco left the Four Point Valley.
Qiong Qi became silent as he stared at Draco with complex emotions. Being turned into a mount was the ultimate betrayal to him, but finding out that it as what saved him from being turned to dust made him extremely conflicted.
Rila still sat in Draco's arms, whatever effect of the Unique Quest's cancellation not seeming to affect her. Though, Draco noticed a change in her status.
｢Name: Rila – Rank 1 Origin God
Level: 1 (Unable to increase)
HP: 1/1 (Unable to decrease)｣
She was still invulnerable, but all her power had been drained away. Naturally, the AI was not going to allow a game-breaking thing like an Origin God into the world without checks and balances.
Rila was now no different from any toddler except she was completely invincible to any harm. Draco sighed, as he had expected something like this.
She looked no different too, like she hadn't noticed anything. Draco was thankful for her nerfing in a way, because if she were left as-is, it was likely the Origin Gods would suss her out and snatch her away.
As it were, she was unable to produce even a wisp of Origin Energy, so she was a mortal in a way.
But that wasn't all the AI did.
｢System to Player Announcement
Certain items and skills in your repertoire have been changed to balance the game's mechanics as well as general utility. Here is the list of changed skills;
- Black Dragon's Roar
- Heart of the Woods
- Dragon Soul｣
｢Black Dragon's Roar – Active skill
Effect: Send out a soundwave containing elements of destruction that boosts damage dealt by the user by a factor of 30 over a distance of 1 mile.
Note: Due to inherent destruction elements, this attack has a 10% chance to disintegrate targets and negate drops. Cannot be used on players.
Cooldown: 30 minutes｣
｢Dragon Soul – Fusion item
Rank: Legendary
Passive 1 – Bloodline Resonance: Draconic skills and techniques are magnified by a factor of 5.
Passive 2 – Dragon Legacy: Possessing a small part of the soul of a Divine Dragon, the user's combat stats are magnified permanently by a factor of 10.
Active 1 – Dragon's Force: Activating this skill gives the user a boost of power by a factor of 700% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 12 hours.
Further abilities can only be unlocked by attaining a higher class tier.｣
｢Heart of the Woods – Fusion item
Rank: Epic
Effects:
Passive 1 – Nature's Resonance: All attributes are boosted by 30% when in a forested area. Health regeneration is allowed during combat, and is boosted by 100%.
Active 1 – Nature's Call: Activating this skill allows the user to summon an army of Wood-type monsters that are of the same Rank as the user for 3 hours. Cooldown: 21 days.
Further abilities can only be unlocked by attaining a higher class tier.｣
Draco passed his eyes over the changes and nodded. Black Dragon's Roar hadn't been nerfed in the truest sense. The skill had just become a lot more specific to prevent loopholes, which was what the Eyes of Caelo caused. What made Draco pleased was that the AI had lowered the chances of disintegration from 60% to 10%.
Its cooldown had also been lowered from an hour to thirty minutes, which was even better.
The Dragon Soul hadn't been nerfed in anyway. In fact, one could say it was buffed.
This was because the former passive 'Sacred Force' conflicted with 'Subservience' from the Divine Eyes of Caelo. As such, it was replaced with an a skill of equal value, but was much more useful to Draco in particular.
The Heart of the Woods… had been nerfed and buffed at the same time. The monsters that would be summoned were no longer limited to the three races of Ents, Shamblers and Dryads, but every type of Wood Monster. The duration had been increased to three hours from one hour but the cooldown was increased to 21 days from 7 days.
All in all, fairness was the theme of these changes.
Draco walked over to Roma and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I can't offer you words that can solve or alleviate your grief, but I can offer you a hand that will bring you back on your feet. Follow on my path, and I shall give you a reason to live, if you have none."
Draco stretched out his free hand towards Roma, his words entering her ears like the whispers of the devil.
Draco did not do it intentionally, but the devilish nature of his bloodline erupted fully. Devils existed to tempt and corrupt, they would pull down righteous people to the abyss when they were at their lowest point.
Roma had just found out that everything she knew as false and her family was gone. Her friends were gone. Her birth home, the pool she bathed in all her life, the very same place she lost her v.i.r.g.i.nity to her destined man, was gone.
She had lost everything.
Except two things.
She had her life and she had the hand that was outstretched towards her, from her destined man and soul bonded partner. Her life had no meaning to her on its own, but when that hand was added to the equation…
Roma saw a pathway forward. It was a road that formed before her, in her mindscape. She could see her future with Draco, as they had children and she allowed her race to continue through her bloodline.
She saw how powerful she would become if she continued down this path.
But she could also see the evil. She would lose all that made her 'good' and become an evil entity with morals that suited her when she pleased and a nature that was callous to all those who meant nothing to her.
Roma hesitated, because she didn't want to become such a person. She had her own beliefs and values, which were ingrained into her from birth.
But the allure of Draco's voice, the allure of his outstretched hand… it was the same as when she had deliberated whether to give her v.i.r.g.i.nity to Draco in the lake.
It was too potent.
It could be resisted, but the timing in which it came was too perfect.
The stories always told of noble heroes who resisted temptation in order to vanquish evil, but those were stories. Some people didn't even need to be in a rough spot to fall into darkness, they would enter it willingly.
As such…
Roma took Draco's hand.