In the vast Underground World, due to the presence of dangerous Magic Beasts and thieves, it is inconvenient to travel between cities.
Different from the relatively chaotic Underground World, the somewhat rich merchant on the Surface dares to form a merchant party just by hiring a few mercenaries. In comparison, in the Underground World, Legends don't match up to dogs and Liches are everywhere. During the journey, one can be robbed by a Red Dragon and Legend experts or turned into food by super Magic Beasts.
The smaller merchant parties don't really dare to go outdoors. Due to such a situation, going by the basic rule where returns are proportionate to risk, as long as a merchant party safely arrives at their destination, their profits from selling specialties are bound to be incredibly high.
Listing a simple example, Sulfur Mountain City's specialty is to alloy ingots of adamantine and sulfur. Its sale price for a single unit of goods is 2,000 gold coins. If it's shipped to Chrome City, its price doubles to 4000. If it's shipped to the Vance, which requires 2 months to journey to, the price would inflate by at least 15 times higher. On the other hand, if it's shipped to the Surface, given the limited number of products found in the market there, it becomes a type of goods where the demand far outstrips the supply. You're lucky if you're even able to purchase it with 100,000 gold coins.
Of course, there is a limit to the production of specialties. Given its rarity, the price tends to inflate to a ridiculous point. However, other daily products, due to it being consumed at a rapid rate, their supply in the market is always insufficient, so the profits for these goods are also not to be underestimated.
Due to such circumstances, thanks to Shou and Kakajil's 'selfless contribution', the Spatial Distortion that connects straight to Vance has determined Sulfur Mountain City's prosperity.
A journey that requires two months has been reduced to just a short week. The ones who have benefited from this aren't just the two cities. As the merchants and customers frequent to and fro from these cities, the surrounding underground cities are also prospering from the Spatial Distortion.
The deepening of economic ties brings about the solidifying of political relationships. Those merchants who are sensitive to profits have already started looking upon this as the road of gold, while those politically-sensitive Underground City Lords have started sending their sons and daughters to both lands to pull closer their relationship between the two cities.
In the end, a faraway relative cannot beat a close neighbor. When their profits are locked together and if the leaders of both sides were to inconceivably offer mutual trust to one another, Sulfur Mountain City and the Vance's new owners, the Centaur Tribe, amiable relationship will further deepen. Furthermore, given that Sulfur Mountain City is the home of the Dragon Empress, 3 of the 5 Underground Autarchs have started working together. Thus, in the eyes of the wiser ones, a gigantic monster is currently surfacing slowly from the water.
Economic mergers, political mergers, mergers due to personal ties and mergers of experts started to occur between the two. But more importantly, under the order of the new Laws, the different tribes and races started to try to forge a common understanding with the others. This represents a true merger and not just some alliance contract where both parties simply had their own goals in mind.
There isn't another place better than the cruel Underground World that can make people understand the power of working together. There also isn't another place where, due to the lack of resources and the bloody competitions that result of from it, co-existing harmoniously is so difficult. It is a time that inspires fear, when words like furthering individual goals and betrayal have become another name for temporary alliances, all the more so with the emergence of gigantic beasts beginning to merge together in all aspects.
"Perhaps, the entire structure of the Underground World is going to change. Perhaps, give it a decade or so, a new Underground Emperor or Queen will be enthroned. Perhaps, the current Underground Alliance will be replaced by the giant beasts formed by multiple factions. Perhaps, the chaotic Underground World will find itself in an age of peace."
But these are all just speculations of the future. At this moment, on the road of gold, a normal-seeming merchant team is gradually trudging forward.
The reason why it seems normal is because there are only around twenty carriages, the goods aren't of top quality and the escorts hired for the trip are just normal Dark Elves and Beastmen mercenaries. However, if one has to find something abnormal about it, it is that despite the journey not being that far, we had surprisingly not met any single trouble along the way. The thieves and Magic Beasts that appears frequently had disappeared without a trace, all of the mercenaries were surprised by such a sight.
I am also part of the party.
The three months of filling in the blanks of my knowledge have successfully come to an end. I have sorted out all the entirety of my previously scattered knowledge, and thus, it was time for me to leave the Underground World.
At this moment, with the help of a magic tool, my physique was no longer one of that of a short young kid.
[Time Distortion Ring, Epic-class Unique Treasure.
The user's physical body will be affixed at his 20-year-old state, allowing him to maximize combat potential. However, it is unable to change the attributes of the physical body.
Creator: Margaret
Material: The shattered fragments of the Saint Stones and Mithril
System Notice: This means that your little fellow is still in a state where it can be seen but can't be used. This time, I am not the one scamming you. Margaret definitely did it on purpose. Are you sure that she is unable to create a ring that can change your physical body perfectly?]
Ignoring the System Notice that is obviously trying to incite something, looking at the changes my physical body underwent, I am still just satisfied with this ring.
In order to avoid stress created on my body by the ring, I have to remove the ring for a few hours every day. I could do this just fine by removing it before going to sleep. At this moment, I am greatly different from the previous me.
The dull golden plate armor I am wearing might be a little old and without any high-tier enchantments, and overall couldn't be considered a top-tier piece of goods, but the Roland Sacred Sword on my waist had silver light shimmering around it. Without any ornaments on it, the sword itself looked like an artifact of history and practically screams that it's not an ordinary sword. However, when the people beside me look at the other sword behind my back, their eyes seem to be mocking me.
I am no Sword Saint or Adventurer, neither am I able to wield two swords simultaneously. There is totally no meaning to me carrying two swords at once. The sword on my waist and the sword I am carrying on my back is just another piece of solid evidence that I had, once again, been scammed by the System.
TL: Sword Saint -> Does not mean the person is of Saint rank, it just refers to people who have broken through a certain realm in their mastery of Swordsmanship.
[Roland Sacred Sword, SemiGod Equipment (Evolved from Orange Legend Equipment to Silver SemiGod Equipment)]
[Attack Power: 22-44+11]（+11 additional damage due to it being a +11 SemiGod Equipment. Even if the Sword deals damage of the lower limit, it will deal additional 11 unavoidable Silver Inferno Magic damage）
[Indestructible: Even against God Equipment, this Sacred Sword will not break.](Out of the two times it has broken, one of it is because of Ayer, while the other time is because it's already in an incomplete, weak state, which allowed the Dragon Saber to destroy it through its Unique Ability)
[The Royal Seal of the Mist: Roland Sacred Sword is a symbol of the power of the Mist Royalty, only with the acknowledgement of the King can one use this Sacred Sword. Along with the rise of the Mist Kingdom once again, it is trying its best to evolve to become even stronger. At the same time, this proud Sacred Sword can only be used by the king of the Mist Kingdom and his trusted knights.]
[The Prestige of the King: Strength+2, Dexterity+2, Stamina+2, Charisma+2. In the country built by the Mist bloodline, the reputation would be equal to the respect the user earns.]
[There are yellow words carved on the body of the Sword: The Roland Sacred Sword is the sword used by the Holy Knight Prince Roland in the legends. Only his descendants and inheritors of his will can be acknowledged by this Sacred Sword. (Prerequisite to equip: Mist Bloodline)]
In order to fix this sword, I threw my remaining 20,000 Fate Points into, instead of exchanging it to level up. I walked carefully to Sulfur Mountain City with a throbbing heart, but in the end...
"Oi, System, are you sure it can be repaired? It won't end up with you saying that my points are insufficient halfway through, will it?"
"Definitely not. Through my calculations, you have sufficient Points. In fact, there will still be a few thousand points left for you to power up."
"The repaired Sacred Sword won't end up as trash, will it?"
"I promise you that it will be powerful. It will evolve from Orange Legend (In order to prevent people from getting confused from the Legend-rank of people, the weapon a tier above that of Purple Myth will be called Orange Legend) to a SemiGod Equipment, there will definitely be a change in quality itself."
"You can't be that kind, though? Will there be level restrictions, like I have to be LV120 to use it for something? If so, let's just forget it."
"The only restriction is one's bloodline. If you don't believe in the omnipotent System that much, you can take a look at it for yourself."
Alright, it threw the blueprints at me and I studied it twice. Staring at the silver words that is representative for SemiGod Equipment and its fearsome attack power, as well as unique abilities, I started laughing maniacally.
This time before confirming my decision to fix it, to make certain that I won't be scammed once again, I studied the prerequisites for usage multiple times. I wanted to ensure that the only requirement for usage is to be the King of Mist Kingdom.
I was scammed.
"The only restriction is indeed bloodline. Only Roland's descendants can use it? Doesn't that mean Roland himself is unable to use it!"
"Of course not. Although you won't admit it to yourself, the Mist Country has been destroyed. There is a shift in the power of royalty at the moment of your first death. Now, it is named the East Mist Communal Country, a new country created by the descendants of the legendary Roland. Its size and population isn't even a quarter of what it used to be, but it is indeed the successor of the Mist Country. It doesn't matter whether you look at it from their identity or bloodline, they are the true royalty of the Mist."
Alright, although the System scammed me once again, it revealed a lot of important information.
"The East Mist Communal Country is really built by the Mist bloodline? Then, are they my descendants or Karwenz's?"
Alright, as expected of that darn System. At an important time like this, it refuses to answer at all.
However, the use of this sword is very obvious to me now. If only the Kings and the Knights of the Mist Country are able to use it, then I have to either just throw it to one of the supposed Roland descendants or have him knight me.
"Sigh, but it's still quite troublesome to deal with. If so, I'll have to come into contact with the new royals earlier than planned. What kind of persona should I use? Their great grandfather? I am the lost son that your great grandfather left behind? Or perhaps, I could just try to hide my identity while trying to get myself a position among the knights. With the identity of a human noble, it will be much more convenient for me to move around on the Surface as well."
But, just as I was considering my options, someone cut off my train of thought.
"Holy Knight Rolande, come down to help."
TL: His full name is Roland Mist (Xiluo Lan.Lan), the name he usually uses is Rolo (Xiluo Xiluo) and the name he is using now is the first character of his name and his surname, which sounds exactly the same as his original name Roland (RoMist) but it sounds awful. :X
Yes, I'm still playing the role of a Holy Knight and still using the same name. The reason why I'm using the name Rolande, and not the fake name Rolo that I'm used to, is because of the person in front of me.
The Sacred Sword Silver Avenger shines with a blinding golden Holy Light. The owner of the sword is equipped with a full body plate mail made of some alloy that is so thick that it could probably crush an elephant to death, but somehow, the person still manages to move around freely as though equipped with light leather armor. After resigning as the Captain of the Town Security, the Moon Knight still looks as valiant as ever, but there is a certain part of her that has changed. Her skin has turned significantly whiter.
Of course, this isn't because of some plastic surgery of this foreign world, but due to the path of the Moon Savior that Diana chose.
The Moon Goddess Patricia is the Guardian of the Moon and the Lost. Under her protection, if Dark Elves choose to abandon the evil faith of Lorci, they can change their faith through the Moonlight Ritual.
The crux of the Moonlight Ritual is equal to using the Moon Needle to restitch one's skin; it is both painful and time-wasting. However, within half a year's time after the ritual is conducted, the black skin tone of the Dark Elves will gradually grow lighter, and they gain the right to bathe in the sunlight and moonlight.
After the ritual, although their skin wouldn't be white as jade-like those of the Surface Elves, but it would still be significantly whiter than those of the Dark Elves. Their own brownish-black skin still remains extremely striking.
The Gray Elves under the Moonlight, this is the name given to previous Dark Elves who decided to walk on the path of justice. The Sacred Moon Insignia on their arms is the mark of their identity.
However, Diana slightly differs on that account. There is indeed the Sacred Moon Insignia of Patricia carved on her left arm, but at the same time, etched on her right arm is the Insignia of Scale that represents Wumianzhe.
That is the golden scale. The left side of the scale represents judgement and the gavel that punishes sinners, while the right side of the scale represents reward and the gold coins that protect the kindhearted. At the back of the scale, a vague figure of a blindfolded man could be seen, that is the incarnation of justice of Wumianzhe himself.
Under the tide where Holy Knights rush to convert into Justice Knights, only Diana retains her identity as a Holy Knight. This isn't because she has other ideas planned but rather, it is because she has forged her Soul Imprint as a Legend-class Holy Knight. Even if our advertisement slogan states that the Holy Light could be converted into the Power of Law without any loss in power, in the end, it's just an advertisement slogan, so there is a certain level of exaggeration in it.
If she converts into a Justice Knight from a Holy Knight, when all of her power is converted, she would be unable to use her original Soul Imprint, causing her to fall from the Realm of Legends. If she were to try to break through once again, it would require a certain amount of luck. It is unknown how long the process would actually take.
A Legend with limitless potential isn't easy to come by, so a loss like that is really a great pity. Back then, when I was still assuming the identity of Wumianzhe, I tried to convince her to retain her identity as a Holy Knight. Considering the need for top-tier experts in the Town Security, she heeded my advice.
When she decided to leave Sulfur Mountain City for some reason and search for her own route on the Surface, I, who had intended to use her as a bodyguard and meat shield on the way, naturally leaped out with the identity of the Holy Knight Rolande. I brought along the recommendation letter from the City Lord, requesting for companionship as a rookie Holy Knight.
Yes, I am still assuming the identity of a Holy Knight this time. After all, the Order Knight is able to use a large portion of the powers of the Holy Knight. Summoning the Holy Light is one of my forte and to add on, Holy Knights have quite a good reputation in many countries and are quite popular. This allows me to traverse around more conveniently on the Surface, so there is no one better to disguise as than Holy Knights.
"Nice to meet you, respected Gray Elf Madam. May Patricia's radiance light your path. I am Holy Knight Rolande from the Surface Human Kingdom Kalin. Due to certain circumstances, I was separated from my other companions and I happened to overhear that you are heading to the Surface, so I would like to accompany you on the journey. You see, my individual strength still doesn't permit me to move around freely in this dangerous Underground World. Aye, if only I am able to use my family heirloom, this Sacred Sword."
Humble, polite, self-aware, unconfident of his own strength and ashamed of the fact that he is unable to use the Sacred Sword passed down in his family, this is the perfect image of a rookie Holy Knight.
[Roland Mist
Strength: 20
Dexterity: 19
Stamina: 20
Intelligence: 29
Will: 19
Charisma: 19
Race Talent: War Angel Form, Sinful Devil God Form, Sword of Order, Titan Body
LV21 Order Knight/LV21 Chaos Witch King]
Even after I dumped the 3,000 points I had remaining from repairing the Sacred Sword into my growth, the 3 times experience point penalty only allowed me to raise my strength into a LV21, barely reaching Bronze-rank. However, this still allowed me to understand how scary this Diamond physical body is.
Just by growing to LV21, my physical body's Strength and Stamina increased by 1. This may seem quite insignificant since a normal Beastman Berserker is also able to do the same. However, stat growth doesn't work in a straight line. When the numbers hit 19, the limit of mortals, this tiny increase is already very scary. Initially, I thought that my basic stats were too high, such that it would be impossible for it to increase before I reach Gold-rank.
The main stats of mortals are often jammed at 19. This is the boundary to enter the realm of Legends, requiring one to train themselves to the brink of life and death in order to break through. But, my body managed to break through this boundary so easily, which could only mean that the Legend-rank doesn't count as anything for this body. It's just like the Great Angels and the Ancient Dragon Tribe, who are able to break into the Legend-rank easily, as long as their age reaches a certain mark.
Due to my Strength reaching 20, I awakened my Race Talent, Sword of Order. At the same time, my Stamina reaching 20 awakened another Race Talent, Titan Body.
These 4 powerful Race Talents, coupled with my overpowered basic stats, gave me the confidence to solo any Silver-rank existence despite barely reaching Bronze-rank.
The awakening of these kinds of Race Talents depends solely on luck. It is incomprehensible how it could be awakened so easily. However, very quickly, the moment I saw that my stats are all stuck at X9, I came to a realization.
"After all, 20 is the upper limit of mortals. They would become significantly stronger the moment they break through the bottleneck of their physical body, it is natural for their dormant Race Talents to awaken at this point. However, for all my stats to be at X9, could the System be helping me?"
"Yes, you dumb fool. Even that Red Dragon is much smarter than you. Each age group has a specific role assigned to it, only youths have the potential to grow. If I were to give you a matured physical body that is above 20 years old, it would be impossible for you to awaken any Race Talents."
Immediately, I fell into confusion. Did the System who had been scamming me for so long change its nature? To think it would actually help me?
"This is the final chance. If you fail again, there won't be a next time. Besides, you are so pathetic that I couldn't stand looking at you anymore, so I decided to help you this once. Try harder, the enemies this time aren't that easy to deal with."
"Then what about that Roland Sacred Sword?"
"If I didn't do this to link it with the fate of the country, then do you think that that sword of royalty could possibly have evolved to a SemiGod Equipment or even to the level of God Equipment? If the whole world gets destroyed, even you can't escape the fate of death. You might have lived long enough, but don't pull me down the mud along with you."
Fine, to think the darned System would help me for once. If I fail this time as well, then I can only be damned.
Even if I have the strength to solo Silver-ranks, the Underground World is a place where Legends are everywhere, so it is still quite dangerous for me. Hence, the need to look for a bodyguard to escort me to the Surface.
Listening to the suggestions of the System, I chose Diana as my companion. At that moment, I deeply understood that the System was still the same as always. Perhaps, it could be trustworthy at crucial periods, but it wouldn't pass by an opportunity to scam.
After I suggested the idea to travel as companions, Diana, who is also a Holy Knight and is curious about me as a Surface dweller, immediately accepted me into her group.
However, the moment I see my traveling mates, I immediately regretted it...
'Mad Dog', un, that is the nickname I came up for her. She, who has also completed the Moonlight Ritual, looks at me with suspicious eyes and keeps questioning whether I have a younger brother named Rolo... Seeing how a mysterious liquid keeps flowing from her mouth the moment she mentioned Rolo, I wouldn't tell her that I have a brother even if I really had one. Even more so, I made up my mind to never take my ring off in front of her.
Alright, of them all, this is still the one that is the easiest to deal with.
Gold-rank Judgementor Krose, or rather Krose now, after converting into a true female, successfully evolved from the Number One Beautiful Person of the Judicial System into the Number One Beauty of Sulfur Mountain City. Her current goal is the Elf's Sacred Spring on the Surface that is said to be able to dispel any curse.
TL: 科罗斯(male) VS 科洛丝(female), homophone but one had slightly more masculine words while the other one is more feminine.
After I realized that the Aura of Plague is still working, personally, I do welcome the presence of this lightning rod. At least, there is someone en route that could bring jokes constantly to relieve boredom. However, from the murderous look that the other two 'Flower Guardians' keeps shooting me with, I don't seem to be very welcome.
As my strength is lacking at this moment, if I were to get closer to her without any consideration, it could probably turn from watching a joke into becoming a joke. That would be bad. Thus, I consciously bent my body and smiled, shaking my head at the same time to indicate that I don't feel anything towards beauties. But somehow, after realizing that I am not as annoying as the other flies, Krose came on her own accord to talk to me, filling the two 'Flower Guardians' with resentment against me.
Alright, these are still quite easy to deal with. The ones who are hard to deal with are the other few.
The Armor Expert Master Blacksmith Hoyle, Gray Dwarf, nicknamed Big Orange Head Shortie, has quite the temper. If I were to use the shortest sentence to describe how unique he is, un, he is one of the core members of the Gentlemen Alliance and one of the targets on the top of the Town Security's blacklist. Okay, I don't think I have to elaborate any further, everyone should get it.
Yingou Beyar, another core member of the Gentlemen Alliance. He is also the organizer for this merchant party. If I knew from the start that this merchant party is the 'Safe Brand', then I wouldn't have joined in, even if I were to be beaten to death. Even now, I am shivering as I sit in the carriage provided by the goblin.
Both of them are the organizers of this merchant party, providing the goods and carriages. It seems that they are heading to the Surface to attend some Council of Great Masters but from the look of how the few carriages are jointly dragging a heavy load of goods behind them, there is an 80% chance that it is a Roland... That name is still very awkward. They are actually using it now as an official name.
Beifeng Herault, this fellow... Alright, we don't have to introduce more about him. The moment I think about that inconceivable 10,000 points and how this fellow's noble title is 'The Man Who Singlehandedly Created Multiple Races', I have an insuppressible urge to draw my sword.
"That day, a true God sent me a revelation. I, Beifeng, a lost Dracon, decided to step on a journey to find myself."
"Who @#@@ sent you a revelation! Stop talking nonsense! You're %￥% just a pervert, stop associating yourself with Wumianzhe!" When I heard what he said, even I couldn't suppress the urge to scold with vulgarities.
Alright, Krose, who is a Judgementor, still fulfills her role responsibly. At the very least, she knows that she has to protect the honor of her own true God. After her comrades held Beifeng in place, those small fists struck viciously onto his flesh. Even so, it didn't stop Beifeng from confessing his deep feelings to the passing giant Kodomo Lizards.
"Nice to meet you, comrade. It is because of God's revelation that I had this romantic journey which created the possibility for our meeting. I am Beifeng and I am a male. You?"
"Oh, you are a male as well?! This is great!"
Alright, the moment he brought the Giant Lizard to head to the back of the carriage, the crowd could no longer suppress their urges and lunges towards him. That was quite a good beating, making one feel refreshed.
This kind of incident has already happened three times along the way and yet, Beifeng refuses to change his ways. I have even started to suspect whether he has awakened to a new kind of interest.
Alright, back to the topic, after completing our daily mission of dealing with Beifeng, Diana actually took the initiative to seek my assistance.
"Holy Knight Rolande, we haven't met with any thieves or Magic Beasts along the way. There is obviously some kind of problem. There is a high possibility that the thieves might have banded together to ambush us. There is a quite a narrow and long valley ahead. If there's going to be an ambush, it is very possible it would occur there, so act accordingly together with me later."
I know that she is doing this out of goodwill. Among the entire merchant party, I seem to be the weakest and she's worried that I'll be plunged into danger. However, I would like to say that she is overthinking it.
"Ambush? In this kind of situation?"
I scan my surroundings and at a distance, I can clearly see a few black silhouettes swiftly hiding their presence.
I could sense that within the dark clouds, the ominous wings of death move slowly and steadily. Three kilometers ahead, the 'head of the merchant party' looks back every few minutes. Not too far away, the deep rumbling of thunder could be heard, indicating that some battle is going on there. An agile figure seems to be hiding behind a stone pillar, while a teleporting blue figure follows behind the figure's back.
"Gria, as the newly-appointed 3rd Senator of Xiluo, there should be endless official matters for you to deal with. Is it okay for you to act so leisurely? Little Lionheart, to be looking back so frequently, doesn't your neck feel sore at all?"
"Xueti, stop hiding. That big body of yours can't be hidden by that small tree sapling."
"Adam and Margaret, even the both of you... Forget it, I won't bother anymore."
Yes, before leaving, I had told them clearly that they need not bid me farewell. However, I really didn't expect that they would be so worried about something happening along the way that they all came (together, without agreeing on it) to escort me secretly.
The result is a bunch of experts trying their best to imitate the techniques of thieves, secretly tracking the merchant party. What about the thieves and Magic Beasts along the road? They were all instant killed dozens of kilometers away.
"Forget it, they mean well, anyway."
Not clarifying it, since it isn't easy to explain. Although I said that they were being excessive, I couldn't suppress the joy from the depths of my heart.
The system of the Power of Law has been built and the true God of Law, Wumianzhe, has come into existence. The change in the Xiluo Empire's Royal Faction and the change in powers of the entire Underground World. Even if the future still remains bleak, but compared to the 'history' which is doomed for destruction, many things have changed.
"This time, I am no longer alone."
Somehow, looking at all these fools who are hiding and dodging about, I laughed.
Just like English uses he and she to distinguish male and female, Chinese also have 'he' and 'she'. However, the author never indicates Krose's gender with he or she (which is doable in Chinese but hard to achieve in English).
Just to clarify one part (again), due to Roland trying to hide his identity (by choosing a fake name that sounds exactly the same), I will use Rolande whenever the fake name is used.