Chapter 36: 36
Riveting Night's eyes darkened as she watched Draco and the Dark Knight face off . She performed an identification, but the results were displayed as ???, which baffled her .
It was impossible for the fellow before them to be of a higher level than they were . Hell, the AI was so terrified of their fast progression that it dropped experience consuming items their way just to keep them in line .
Draco himself felt a bit gloomy inside . He was of the opinion that no player should be able to stare at him for too long before shitting their pants . Yet, here was an abnormal freak that defied all logic .
Draco went in for a suicidal attack with one of his swords piercing towards the abdomen of the knight . His other hand was idle as he made this lunge, which left him wide open to a downward slash .
Naturally, his opponent didn't miss out on this opportunity, using both hands to swing his large greatsword down with terrifying force . Draco couldn't help but smirk as he commented 'retard' inwardly .
As soon as the greatsword was about to mash into his skull, a thick buckler appeared on his previously idle hand that moved to cover his weakness . For a normal person, switching momentum like this was impossible, but for someone who mastered Body of Godliness, it was a joke .
The Knight's greatsword mashed into the buckler with crazy force, causing Draco to lose almost 3,000 hp! What a scary amount of damage! Draco's Dragorugio set had immense bonuses to defense as well as a bonus to his HP, so while it wasn't life threatening, it was still shocking .
Draco immediately reversed the remainder of his momentum into his sword that was plunging into the abdomen of the knight . His attack had paused during the split second he switched to defense, but now it was continuing at full throttle!
With Draco's speed, it was impossible for his assailant to dodge . The sword pierced through the Black Knight's armor like it was paper, ripping through his lower body and emerging from the other side .
The Knight grunted with that eerie voice, lowering his greatsword while clutching the wound on his abdomen . He stared at Draco with flickering green eyes that seemed to want to consume him alive .
Draco pulled out his sword unceremoniously, leaping back before switching his blade and shield to two crossbows .
With a filthy smirk that would force one to punch that arrogant face, he fired off a volley of shots onto the wounded Knight . The moment he fired one round on each of the crossbows, he'd swap them with another fully loaded round before firing again .
The poor knight was having difficulty dodging them all with his injury, and damage notifications kept popping up in Draco view . Draco's initial attack dealt over 7,000 damage, while each of his crossbow bolts dealt between 300-500 damage even though they landed on his armor more often than not .
With such a shameless tactic, the knight was eventually defeated, but he didn't die . His body began to blur and twitch like a bad signal on those old tv sets Draco saw in certain shows and movies . It was an eerie sight to see, especially in a digital world .
"Draco… strong…"
The Knight rose to his feet unsteadily as Riveting Night walked to Draco's side with a dagger drawn . She had allowed the two fellows to engage in fisticuffs long enough . She wasn't going to stand aside and watch someone try to kill her man .
"Will fight… very soon… wait for me…"
Draco and Riveting Night shivered intensely . For a second there, they both felt as if the Knight's voice had become more human-like . While this would be preferable, the voice the Dark Knight was developing sounded much too similar to Draco's .
The Knight turned around and began walking away slowly . His every footstep sounded in the ears of the Evil Duo, making them feel slightly relieved .
When the Knight's form finally disappeared, Draco and Riveting Night noticed that they empty street was now filled with the people who were absent before .
The two of them found the uncanny sight to be bizarre .
"Did you feel anything when the people returned?" Draco asked with a serious expression .
"No . It's as if they were always here from the beginning and I failed to notice them . " Riveting Night answered with a bleak voice .
The two fell silent for a while, pondering exactly what the hell happened here .
"I don't think that was a player . He may have the characteristics of a player, but it was as if a robot had logged into the game . " Draco surmised with a sigh .
"I agree, he seems more like an intelligent AI that has taken the form of a player but…"
Draco understood what she wanted to say . It was highly impossible for such a thing to happen, but the two knew they had no right to claim such a thing, especially with their bizarre and otherworldly origins .
"Well, let's get moving . No point in over thinking matters just yet . "
"En . "
The two entered the Portal Center and teleported to an area near the Paradise Lands . Once they arrived, Draco blinked the two of them to the area near the Aether mine .
It was a lush meadow with an extremely large clearing in the middle . The air was clean and the breeze was cool . One could hear the sound of a river nearby and those with superhuman senses like the Evil Duo could even sense a waterfall in the distance .
The two were satisfied with the location . It was clear that the area was perfect for building a settlement with easy access to lumber and water as well as excellent soil for farming .
Draco removed his Settlement Building token and played with it a bit before casting his gaze to the center of the clearing . He called up the dialogue box for building selection and chose the central area of the clearing .
「Would you like to build your settlement here? Y/N」
Draco naturally chose yes .
「Settlement has the following factors;
- Level ground: -10%
- Abundant resources: -20%
- Nearby water source: -10%
- Guild land: - 50%
- Conflict heavy zone: +40%
- Hi?/ep [ERROR] M3$e: +5000%
Base construction cost: 10,000 gold
Discount: 9,000 gold
Additions: 504,000 gold
Final cost: 505,000 gold
Build? Y/N」
Draco was flabbergasted by the result . What dog thing was this? He had predicted the costs since the location was great and he had owned multiple cities and even a few kingdoms back in the day .
But what was that 5000% addition?? Even the addition for the conflict heavy zone was understandable, since all Draco did was wipe out a nearby outpost, not seal the underground path leading to the surface .
To get builders to work in an area where conflict might break out at any moment required increased compensation, anyone could understand that .
However…
Why did the Aether Mine register as an error? Was there some special circumstances surrounding its existence that made it difficult for the AI to codify? That was impossible, the AI was god of this world .
Draco felt intrigued by this development . While forking over 5000 platinum was a pain inducing amount, Draco felt it would be worth it to see what the end result would be .
However, he didn't have enough on him . Just barely half of that amount was all he could muster at the moment . With that in mind, he turned to Riveting Night and shook his head . After explaining what he saw to her, she was likewise curious .
"We can raise funds by clearing a few dungeons together . Or we could do what you did and ace a survival mode dungeon . " Riveting Night suggested .
Draco shook his head at that . "The AI is onto us . To get that kind of result again, we'd need to pull off some sick moves . While that may net us some cash, the AI would be able to slowly discern our true skill level and limit our rewards accordingly . "
Draco and Riveting Night swore that they heard a 'tch' sound . The Evil Duo smiled wickedly, clearly speaking out their evil deeds without fear of retaliation, which made the AI feel gloomy .
These fellows were… too much!
Damn, this Robot Daddy just wants to do his job okay? You don't have to be so rebellious okay? Just succumb to this Robot Daddy's charms and you shall see the light .
Draco and Riveting Night blinked away from the area, eventually returning to Cario City .
"Our best bet would be to host an auction and sell your Dragorugio sets as well as the Dragon's blessing potion . " Riveting Night said while walking alongside Draco .
"I agree, but should we do it in our own shop? We could avoid paying any fees, but imagine the fallout…" Draco said with a bleak face .
Riveting Night's expression become solemn . A potion that could grant a permanent Draconic Source Energy to anyone regardless of level or race was similar to discovering the cure for HIV in an AIDS infested world .
No need to go into details, that comparison alone should give one an idea of the kind of repercussion that could happen if it were released to the public .
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