[Congratulations on obtaining your first achievement, achievement template unlocked! System store can be upgraded!]
[You receive a reward: Dragon God Vessel (Sealed State)]
[Dragon God Vessel (Sealed State): A powerful body harboring the strength of a mighty dragon, possessing stamina and endurance far beyond ordinary beings, and capable of incredible abilities. However, it is in a sealed state and needs to be soaked in dragon's blood for three hours to break the seal. Before unsealing, it can only slightly enhance the physical body.]
"Dragon God Vessel!"
Ranch's eyes widened at the sight of the achievement reward.
To have a body as powerful as a dragon's, how formidable that would be!
Just then, the sealed Dragon God Vessel reward was delivered.
It seemed to be a surge of explosively powerful energy, making Ranch feel a burning sensation spreading from his chest to his limbs.
The transformation was painful, but the burgeoning strength was irresistibly enticing.
"Ranch, what's happening to you?"
Sophia noticed something was off with Ranch.
Enduring the pain, Ranch gritted his teeth and said, "Sophia, I'm fine, just help me get back."
Soon after, Sophia helped Ranch back to Colinmanor.
Entering the bedroom, Ranch collapsed on the floor, his body convulsing, his eyes turning fierce as if some terrifying creature was awakening within him.
"Ranch! Ranch!"
Sophia called out in panic.
In haste, she sliced open her palm, letting the rich, life-giving elf blood flow, which normally had a calming effect, but evidently, it had no effect at this moment.
Ranch's sanity was nearly lost.
He grabbed Sophia like a beast, irrationally tearing the clothes off her body, his hands gripping tightly, leaving claw marks on Sophia's fair skin.
He even opened his mouth wide to bite the snow-white peaks that bounced out from the clothes, showing no mercy, leaving bite marks on those tempting mounds.
"Ranch, be gentle," Sophia felt a surge of intense pain.
She wanted to push Ranch away, but noticing that the brutal aura emanating from him seemed to be fading, she ultimately chose not to push him away but to endure the agony of being tormented alone.
The clothes were torn apart, followed by the skirt. As the short skirt on the elf girl's thighs was shredded into pieces, the perfection between Sophia's legs was revealed, irresistibly enticing.
At this moment, Ranch was clearly not in the mood to appreciate; he seemed impatient, tearing off his clothes without any foreplay and directly penetrating between Sophia's legs.
"Ah!"
The agony of being penetrated by the colossal entity made Sophia scream in pain.
She could only spread her legs as wide as possible and bite into the torn fabric of her clothes to prevent herself from succumbing to the pain and biting her tongue off.
"Ranch," Sophia, with tears streaming down her face, spoke indistinctly with the cloth in her mouth, "once you come to your senses, if you don't give me an explanation, I will never speak to you again!"
In repeated collisions, Sophia's consciousness became more and more confused.
It wasn't until two hours later that the brutality in Ranch's eyes dissipated, and his breathing steadied.
Underneath him, the elf Sophia was already drenched in sweat, with her legs wet, and a continuous flow of thick, turbid substance along with a large stain of moisture, leaving her completely exhausted.
"Sophia, I'm sorry."
Ranch was filled with compassion and lifted Sophia into the bathtub, gently washing away the filth.
As a novice knight, and moreover, an elf, Sophia's recovery abilities were quite remarkable.
Half an hour later, Sophia came around.
She didn't reproach Ranch excessively, simply lying in his arms, her eyes filled with concern as she asked, "Ranch, what exactly happened?"
"I received a blessing from the gods," Ranch explained, deeming it the most plausible explanation.
It was impossible to disclose the existence of the Traveling Merchant System to anyone else, but he needed a reasonable source for the anomalies in him, and a divine blessing was perfectly fitting.
Sophia, the astute elf, didn't press any further.
Although it seemed she had endured immense turmoil, she sensed a strange power from Ranch flowing into her, faintly feeling that with some time dedicated to training, she could reach the limit of a novice knight and then advance to become an intermediate knight!
Meanwhile, Ranch reopened his system panel, which now displayed significant changes.
[Current Information]
[Ranch]
[Class: novice knight trainee]
[Bloodline: Dragon God Vessel (Sealed)]
[gold coins: 1283]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 23; Spirit: 10; Stamina: 19]
[Evaluation: A knight trainee with some strength.]
The character information section now included a description of his bloodline.
Besides, the three attributes of strength, spirit, and stamina had nearly doubled, and this was merely the sealed state of the Dragon God Vessel.
Unsealing it would undoubtedly bring even greater transformations!
Ranch couldn't help but fantasize about the possibilities, especially since, according to the clues deduced and hints from the system information, there lay a Dragon Corpse beneath the Rock Manor Ruins.
Unsealing the Dragon God Vessel wasn't a difficult task.
"However, my current strength feels not much different from Sophia's; why am I still considered a novice knight trainee? Could there be an error?" Ranch pondered in confusion.
So, he directly asked Sophia, which only made her burst into laughter.
With one hand, Sophia gently massaged the red marks left by Ranch on her body, and with the other, she raised her palm, from which a pale white aura emerged, turning to Ranch and asking, "Do you know how knights are classified?"
Ranch shook his head.
Living in House Muir, he was forbidden from reading books related to knights and magic, and his only knowledge came from snippets found in various miscellaneous books.
Sophia explained, "This aura is called Knight Aura, a hallmark of knights. Once you sense the Knight Aura, you become a knight trainee. To advance to a novice knight, not only does your own strength need to reach a certain level, but your Knight Aura must also become more refined."
"At least like this—" Sophia's hand, gathering Knight Aura, morphed it into the shape of a small knife, then flicked it toward the ground, instantly carving a deep scratch into the granite floor.
She continued, "When a knight trainee's perceived Knight Aura can condense to this extent, they're nearly at the pinnacle of their trainee phase. Afterward, proceeding to the Knight's Temple to receive the Holy Knight's blessing will enable them to advance and become a novice knight."
"It seems magi have a similar process, but like you, I lack the talent for magic." Her tone dimmed with these words.
She stepped out of bed, rummaged through the wardrobe for clothes, then deliberately turned to ask Ranch, "Which dress do you think looks good on me?"
"Any of them is fine." Ranch replied nonchalantly, inadvertently displeasing Sophia.
She reluctantly chose an outfit for herself, tossed another to Ranch, and after they dressed and tidied up the remnants of their skirmish in the room, a knock suddenly echoed at the door: "Lord Ranch, I am Colin Rein. I have urgent matters to report!"
"Come in," Ranch commanded directly.
Upon entering, Colin Rein spoke anxiously, "Lord Ranch, there's trouble in the City of Crimson. Two powerful magi are clashing, affecting many civilians. One of the magi is a young lady with aqua-blue hair, and the other, quite terrifying, can summon skeletons!"
At Colin's words, Ranch understood immediately.
The aqua-blue-haired young magus could only be Xina Bella.
The other must be the shadowy necromancer, Charles Molin, now apparently found by Xina Bella.
"What's the situation now?" Ranch inquired further.
Colin lowered his voice, seemingly out of fear, and said, "The magus who summons skeletons seems to have been injured before and was no match for the young magus girl. However, he escaped using some sort of powerful magic, and now many in the city are worried, fearing that they might be targeted by that magus. Many are preparing to leave the City of Crimson."
"Lord Ranch, should we also leave?"
Leaving the City of Crimson was out of the question.
Ranch was one step away from obtaining the dragon's treasure and had no intention of leaving, especially now that his strength had significantly increased, giving him a sense of confidence.
Besides, he wouldn't feel at ease until that necromancer was eliminated.
It was time for his revenge!