[King of Sleep: You will twist the minds of your enemies, luring all beings into slumber. You know, sleep is but a momentary death.
※Cooldown 30 minutes, actual effects vary based on individual mental resistance.]
Nol's attention was momentarily captured by the skill description.
Teest was clever. Having witnessed Nol enhance his skill earlier, he surely wouldn't foolishly choose a normal Player skill that could be upgraded regularly. So his choice of skills was very limited—as far as Nol knew, Teest's monster abilities included [Dream Manipulation], [Charm], and another skill he claimed wasn't very useful.
The higher-tier skill of [Dream Manipulation] was the Succubus Queen's [Dream Dominion]. Could it be…
Nol remembered clearly that [Charm] indeed had no higher-tier skill. But then again, wasn't Teest a bit too free-spirited? [Charm] was no small skill. Wasn't he afraid of enhancing it into something bizarre?
[You enhanced the Charm skill?!] Nol asked in shock.
[Yes.]
Teest shook the rotten blood off his sword. [It's usually not useful, has no higher-tier skill, and is a mental magic, making it the most suitable choice.]
Nol had no words. [King of Sleep] was undoubtedly a powerful mental control skill, though the name was a bit odd. Just by its effects, calling it [Sleep] would be enough. Where did that "King" come from?
But now that it was done, he didn't feel it was right to nag his knight.
[That useless skill of yours…] Nol trailed off.
[It really is useless, at least for now.] Teest looked up, adjusting his jumping posture.
He raised his small round shield with his left hand and plunged the long sword into the "War King's" only remaining eyeball. Foul, toxic liquid splashed out. Teest protected his head with the round shield, while Nol's protective magic provided double assurance.
Even so, the toxic liquid quickly evaporated upon hitting the ground, turning into a deadly vapor.
Fischer grimaced as he cast dark magic. Before the poisonous mist could disperse, he gathered it into a one-square area with his [Toxin Gather].
A few steps away, Anakin was prepared. The moment [Toxin Gather] finished, the brilliance of the "Festival of New Green" surged, turning the brown-black fog light and dense and transforming it into a pool of clear water.
Abandon dared not breathe, his limbs numb, as he threw status effect spells upwards.
The War King's head woke up from the severe pain. It opened its gaping mouth, letting out an inhuman roar of anger, and shook its head wildly. The ground trembled as dozens of exquisitely armored skeletons rose from the ground, attacking Teest who hadn't yet landed.
Teest pulled out his sword and elegantly somersaulted in the air for leverage, pinning it into a crevice in the bricks. He twisted around and blew a kiss towards Nol below.
Nol helplessly raised his staff, tapping the ground twice with its end. Invisible ripples spread out, and the death knight skeletons chasing Teest instantly froze in place, turning into statues.
This was one of the reasons Nol chose the War King dungeon for leveling—
Most of this boss' skills were of the necromancy type!
According to system settings, these undead were absolutely obedient to the monsterized War King.
According to system settings, ordinary undead were absolutely obedient to the Dracolich, who was at the pinnacle of necromancy.
…Of course, the system couldn't comprehend why an idle Dracolich would join Players in a dungeon.
Thus, the undead were perfectly stuck.
They couldn't decide whether to assist their mad king or submit to the higher-ranked undead overlord. So they wracked their non-existent brains and chose the most helpless ostrich strategy—let the two leaders sort it out themselves; a mere worker couldn't take such a risk.
So, to outsiders, it seemed the Master of Paradise did virtually nothing, and the undead petrified themselves.
Painter raised his eyebrows and let out a soft "oh" in surprise.
Completely incomprehensible. Abandon was sweating profusely. Even if Hot Ash himself were here, a fierce battle would be unavoidable. With the sleeping boss first and the frozen undead after, what was the deal with this master and servant?
The monsterized War King, not very intelligent, noticed that the knights didn't come to its aid and continued to roar and summon in rage. The death knight skeletons popped up like bamboo shoots after rain, solidifying and piling up into a small hill on the platform.
Teest used these human-shaped stepping stones, making his movements even more dazzling.
Each strike of his sword hit a weak spot, taking away a chunk of health. The War King's huge head was now a vulnerability, and no matter how it tried to evade, it couldn't escape fast enough.
When it tried to attack Teest directly, Nol's magic always arrived timely, either decisively protecting Teest or directly interrupting the boss's big moves.
Teest threw [King of Sleep] as soon as it was off cooldown, and while the head fell into slumber, Nol prepared a burst of magic for a combined heavy hit.
The entire battle was controlled in the upper area of the field, with the remaining five people just picking up the slack and dealing with the AOE attacks.
Initially, Painter could cooperate in attacks. But as the number of death knights on the ground increased, he found it inconvenient to act.
Painter's holy magic was too strong and widespread. Teest's undead stepping stones melted like snow. The Mad Monk almost slipped and shot Painter an extremely displeased look.
So Painter blatantly started slacking off, twirling his brush with a cheerful smile. Only when the head came into his attack range did he symbolically strike once—and that strike was always precise and fierce, leaving no room for error.
What should have been an extremely dangerous battle ended in a cycle of high-frequency attacks—sleep burst—high-frequency attacks, taking less than two hours.
This was a prelude to an S-level side quest!
Abandon hadn't fought it himself, but he had heard about it. As far as he knew, once an S-level side quest battle began, it took at least six hours, testing Players' overall skills. Moreover, this was pioneering, and for such a high-level task, "Nothing achieved even after days" was the norm.
Not to mention, only those two people were leading the fight, and by all appearances, neither of the two monsters had exerted their full strength—
At the end of the fight, Abandon looked the most disheveled.
He sat on the ground by the wall, his clothes soaked enough to wring out water. The others seemed fine, just showing signs of fatigue. The most exaggerated were the master and servant pair.
The succubus knight asked the Master for some purification spells to clean his clothing corners. He looked no different from before the battle began, his hair fresh and fluffy, and he barely sweated. He sheathed his long sword and cozily approached the Master.
The Master, too, was composed, not showing any sign of having blasted the head apart. The scattered fangs were still at his feet, and Abandon didn't want to look too closely.
All he knew was that the master and servant stood amid the wreckage, as relaxed as if on a spring outing.
…True monsters.
Curious about the Master's race, Abandon strained to see under the cloak. Unfortunately, the Master seemed to have used some magic to shroud his face in shadows.
He reached out to arrange his succubus knight's hair. The hand was slender, pale, and beautiful, with no strange scales, much like a young man's hand. Beyond that, Abandon couldn't guess.
Perhaps he observed them too long, for the succubus glanced at him again. Those golden eyes held no softness, and Abandon felt as if he'd been shot by a golden bullet.
So, Mr. Abandon quickly averted his gaze, turning instead to the grotesque, shattered giant head.
"Come and accept the quest." The Master of Paradise pointed to a piece of debris.
It was the War King's skull, the pure gold crown deeply embedded into the flesh, nailed together with the bone.
The crown was luxurious, intricately designed, inlaid with gems of various sizes. The central red gem was as tall as a person, attracting the attention of all creatures present, its brilliance almost blinding.
But the Master was pointing inside the crown.
Carefully turning it over, they saw a knight's corpse.
The corpse was clad in silver-white armor with a crimson cloak wrapped around it. His sword and shield were present, covered in patchy bloodstains. The knight's limbs were pierced by golden chains, their ends firmly fixed inside the crown, "back-to-back" with the outer red gems.
"So this is the 'gem' embedded inside the crown." Teest admired. "The color match is perfect."
"According to legend, this was the War King's brother." Nol gazed at the knight's remains.
A common story.
Two princes of the era of strife, both smart and close in age. Only the elder brother was cruel and suspicious, while the younger was kind and compassionate.
To dispel his brother's doubts and wariness, the loyal younger brother publicly swore to become his knight.
But what awaited him was endless chaotic war.
The War King was never satisfied, but his knight could no longer bear the bloodshed. After winning a hundred battles, the younger brother pleaded with the king day and night, refusing to go to battle again.
The king said, "If you are truly loyal to me, choose between war and death."
The knight replied, "Please bury me in the Endless Sea. These eyes have seen too much bloodshed. I only wish to sleep in the endless blue."
After that, the loyal knight was never seen again.
These backgrounds, Nol had told Teest as a bedtime story. His knight tilted his head. "I can't understand. That guy's 'loyalty' is meaningless. It's so stupid."
…A very Mad Monk's statement. Nol couldn't help but sigh.
He lowered his magic staff, cut the chains off the knight's limbs, and then touched the exquisitely beautiful silver-white helmet.
[You have triggered an S-level side quest: The Ancient Knight's Last Wish.]
[Completion conditions: Deliver the Ancient Knight's skeleton intact to the circular deserted island in the Endless Sea and sink it in the center of the circle.]
[Reward: A large amount of experience points; Ancient Silver Light Armor "Knight's Will" × 1; White Steel Longsword "Knight's Loyalty" × 1; Royal Crest Iron-Shaped Shield "Knight's Benevolence" × 1.]
[Failure penalty: Cannot accept this quest again.]
[※ This task is limited to 1-6 people (including hired NPCs), no team requirements.]
"Everyone, touch the helmet in turn." Nol moved aside to make space. "By the way, Fischer, stay away."
In theory, Painter was a player's hired NPC, but Fischer didn't get a penny from start to finish. If they treat him as a "good person" who draws his sword to help others in a crisis, the system can't do anything.
Fischer let out a dissatisfied sob, sadly glanced at Teest, and walked away dejectedly.
Abandon was the last to stand in front of the knight's corpse, extending a trembling hand to touch the helmet's brow.
Ding, the system issued a "team full" prompt.
Although he only needed to be a scout, Abandon's blood boiled for a second—
Here comes the real S-level side quest!
As long as they succeeded in the mission, when he returned to the "Homeward Saints Guild's" headquarters, it would be glorious. The reward was rare knight equipment. Boss Hot Ash would definitely be happy.
Imagining that scene, Abandon couldn't help but grin with a silly smile.
Just then, the corpse suddenly tilted its head and stiffly moved. Abandon's mouth hadn't yet closed when he let out a hiccup-like loud "Eh" sound.
In his terrified gaze, the long-dead knight stood up, supporting the crown. He stood there for a while, slowly holding the helmet and straightening his head.
In the narrow slits of the helmet, two blue lights suddenly lit up.
It's all over. There's a backup plan! Abandon fumbled for his bow and arrow, and Solo slowly pressed his shoulder.
"It's okay," he said. "This makes transportation easier."
After that, Solo pulled out a pair of oversized sunglasses and a delicate powder blue large sun umbrella from the props bar. He walked over to the silent Ancient Knight, put on the sunglasses for him, and signaled it to hold the lace umbrella.
In less than half a minute, the Ancient Knight went from a "historical undead monster" to a "suspected knight player with questionable aesthetics".
Abandon: "…"
How to say, this kind of noticeable yet unnoticeable feeling…
Anyway, their group was strange enough. He wanted to see what else this group could pretend to be.
As it turned out, he completely underestimated Paradise's understanding of human society.
When they set off again, he got a servant's outfit that could be seen everywhere. Looking up at the remaining six… no, seven people, he could hardly recognize them.
The Ancient Knight with the sunglasses and sun umbrella was the easiest to recognize. Beside it stood Solo, dressed as a noble young master, Anakin dressed as a maid, and a red-haired man dressed as a butler.
The young siren transformed into a human, wearing servant clothes almost as shabby as Abandon's.
The succubus hid his horns, dyed his silver hair black, loosely tied his hair in a braid, and wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, followed by a pair of blue eyes. He wore a manservant outfit, much fancier than Abandon's servant outfit.
However, Abandon still found a tail swaying back and forth under the hem of his clothes, occasionally brushing against people nearby—
Beside the succubus, stood a handsome young man with light golden hair and golden eyes, his hair hanging to his collarbone, with a cold expression.
Just by height, he looked like the previous Master of Paradise. He wore the same manservant outfit as the succubus, standing shoulder to shoulder.
…This must be a modified appearance after an illusion! How could the Master of Paradise be human?
But looking at that face, it really doesn't look like an ordinary human. Does that guy have other creature's blood?
Abandon's mind raced as he walked step by step towards his new team.
"Next, we'll go with the 'capricious young master going to the Endless Sea for sightseeing' script."
Anakin tilted her head towards the red-haired butler. "This gentleman here, you can call him 'Pai'."
"Um… Paradise's three; you can call them 'Fischer', 'Blanco', and 'Drake'."
She cleared her throat and pointed to the siren, and the succubus and Master stuck together.
Abandon choked. In this brain-overloading introduction, he keenly grasped the key point. "Only an idiot would go to the Endless Sea at this time!"
"That's why I'm the 'adventurous capricious noble young master'." Solo's eyes were vacant. "Do you have a better suggestion? Even the boldest merchant convoys don't want to go near the Endless Sea anymore."
Abandon fell silent.
Well, this isn't bad. He tugged at his servant outfit, resigning himself to his fate.
At least they were disguised as a small noble's servants, and they wouldn't suffer too much on the way… probably.
By the way, Boss Hot Ash has always been leveling up near the Endless Sea. I wonder how they are doing now?
...
"Is Brick Shadow really this kind of place?!"
Hot Ash spoke with added anger. "This is totally different from the Temple's records. It's only been a few days, and my people have already died five times!"
Brick Shadow was known to be as dangerous as the Black Forest, so Hot Ash was somewhat prepared. What he hadn't expected was the emergence of corrupted monsters even before the Demon King's arrival, making the area more perilous.
These corrupted monsters were much tougher to deal with than ordinary ones, seemingly having a sixth sense. No matter where the Players moved or what defense tactics they used, the monsters could accurately locate the elite team's position.
This forced the elite team to split into two groups: one to sleep and the other to fight and defend. This strategy, while safe, significantly slowed down their exploration efficiency.
Under intense combat, they hadn't even managed to penetrate deep into Brick Shadow before they encountered level drops.
Eugene calmly lowered his gaze. "As the Demon King draws closer, discrepancies in the information are inevitable."
"No wonder you didn't bring your own Fifth Regiment." Hot Ash couldn't hold back and threw in a jab. "I guess someone anticipated this."
"You know as well as I do that this exploration is necessary." Unperturbed by Hot Ash's sarcasm, Eugene responded calmly. "If we delay further, once these monsters cross the Brick Mountains, it will be much harder to pinpoint the Demon King's exact location… You in order to return home, I for my god—that's why we stand here."
Hot Ash clenched his teeth.
Eugene was right. Even he had to admit, this task indeed required Players—should the worst scenario occur, the immortal Players still had a chance to send out a message. If it were locals, they would likely be wiped out silently.
"I need to call for reinforcements." After a while, Hot Ash awkwardly changed the subject.
"Those faithless from Amazon?"
"It has to be Amazon." Hot Ash frowned. "All the elites of the Saints Guild are here. Anyone else coming wouldn't help."
"I understand." To Hot Ash's surprise, Eugene agreed promptly.
"I'll contact them. You first… please step out."
"Okay." Eugene readily stood up and left the tent.
Outside the tent, the sky was a bloody red, and twisted trees completely surrounded the camp. The land here was unnaturally black, emitting an unsettling chill.
Eugene took a few steps forward, looking towards the direction of the Endless Sea.
"May the Goddess bless this land."
He bowed his head, praying fervently. "Supreme Lady Tilia, please witness all this."