Chapter 23
Even though Eagle wore an expression of grievance, Pei Sen knew this request absolutely could not be granted. Yet he also understood Eagle’s character well: once the young nobleman made up his mind, not even eight horses could pull him back.
The current reality is that if Eagle says he won’t take him, then Pei Sen himself won’t be able to go either.
…Should one say that a brat is indeed a brat?
Pei Sen, with a furrowed brow, taught Eagle the language of magic, feeling quite depressed in his heart. However, he soon discovered that Eagle’s talent was truly astonishing; those obscure and difficult-to-understand magical languages, once taught by him in a short time, would never be forgotten by Eagle!
“This level of difficulty is nothing to boast about,” Eagle said proudly.
Pei Sen thought to himself, no wonder he later became the Divine Son of Holy Words; his innate talent must truly be top-tier. It was just that his circumstances didn’t allow him to develop in that direction.
“But mastering the language of magic is only the first step,” Pei Sen said with a serious expression. “Next comes learning actual spells, which is by no means something achievable overnight. Young Master, this outing carries some danger; I truly cannot take you along. Should anything happen, I would have to split my focus to protect you. Once you are capable of defending yourself, I will definitely take you with me next time.”
Eagle, however, replied coldly, “No. If there is truly danger, then you are not allowed to go either.”
He was not so easily persuaded.
Pei Sen was practically tearing his hair out in frustration.
His attempt to reason with the brat had failed, yet when he managed to sneak out to meet the players, he surprisingly succeeded in triggering a life skill quest. It seemed the Bix Cube was incredibly intelligent; this game system possessed remarkable sophistication.
“Building a city isn’t something a handful of life skills can accomplish. Architecture itself can be treated as a major life skill, further subdivided into various branches.” In the top-left corner of the player interface sat a tiny paper airplane icon. Clicking it allowed one to contact the so-called GM. However, years of experience from his previous life told Pei Sen never to expect a reply from them. Corresponding to the highly intelligent “NPCs” within the game were the seemingly non-existent GMs. You could contact them, sure, but they might as well be dead; they would absolutely never respond to any player.
Yet Pei Sen now had a hunch. He wasn’t opening this to find the GM, but rather to submit a suggestion.
He wrote with extreme detail; this idea had been circling in his mind for several days, and he had already drafted it multiple times. As Pei Sen was originally trained in architecture, this was essentially his old trade. He knew that unless he demonstrated some substantial expertise, there would be absolutely no way to achieve his goal.
Just ten minutes later, Pei Sen heard a “ding.”
“Player has independently mastered the life skill ‘Architecture.’ You may now create branches of this life skill and teach this life skill along with its branch skills to other players (if teaching other players, certain prerequisites can be set).”
This was just an attempt. Pei Sen chuckled softly and murmured, “Quite clever.”
It was indeed possible. He recalled that in his previous life, some players on the forums had mentioned independently comprehending skills or life skills. Most of them didn’t do so by submitting suggestions to the game system; instead, they demonstrated mastery of a particular skill, which carried a certain probability of triggering system certification—convincing the system that they had created a skill not originally present in the game.
Alternatively, some players simply pestered certain “NPCs” until they learned specific skills from them, and the system would likewise grant certification.
For instance, in Kexi City, there was a blacksmith whom one player relentlessly hounded for over half a month, nearly driving the blacksmith to a mental breakdown. Nevertheless, the player successfully learned the basic blacksmithing skill.
However, upon seeing this, other players became quite eager to learn from him, prompting the blacksmith to pack up and flee overnight.
Fortunately, Kait City has been almost completely razed, with its residents temporarily living outside the city walls, sparing others from much player harassment.
“I want players to establish their cities as quickly as possible; the prerequisites must not be overly complex or difficult.” Just as he was pondering these conditions, Neil approached him, looking hesitant and unsure how to begin.
Pei Sen glanced over. “What’s wrong?”
Neil spoke softly, “Now, within Kexi City, only the Lord’s Manor remains untouched.” To be precise, it was the only building yet to be demolished. “Today, Lord Wallis deployed the Dragon Star Knightly Order to guard the manor, preventing the Bixians from taking any action.”
In fact, it wasn’t merely that they couldn’t act; had Lord Wallis not deliberately restrained himself to avoid completely severing ties with Eagle, blood would likely have already been spilled on the spot.
Pei Sen quickly checked the forum and, as expected, found players were “live-streaming” the scene.
Nearly all of Kai West City had been flattened. This Wallis truly was a master of hiding; although Eagle’s territory comprised three cities with three city lords, Wallis was the strongest among them. Born a正统 knight, he commanded an entire Dragon Star Knight Regiment, yet he was also the most cowardly.
Kai West City lay closest to the Golden Rose Manor. Though the manor didn’t rely on Kai West City for support, there was an unspoken rule within the estate: Wallis generally listened when advised.
If not for his extreme caution during the assassination incident—fearing that appearing under Lether’s orders might offend His Majesty—Eagle wouldn’t have even bothered dealing with him.
Wallis, a city lord who regarded Kaixi City as his own domain, felt his heart wrenching with pain upon seeing the city razed to the ground. Rebuilding it would require immense sums of money and considerable time. Still, Wallis could barely force himself to endure it; after all, years of collusion with human traffickers had made his wealth far more substantial than that of ordinary city lords. Such cost-free ventures had allowed him to amass a huge fortune in a short span. In his mind, he reasoned: Let Young Master Eagle vent his anger for now; later, I can simply spend a bit more money…
Yet, when he considered that rebuilding an entire city would consume more than half of the fortune he had painstakingly accumulated over the years, Wallis became utterly agonized.
However, no matter how much patience he possessed, he would never allow anyone to demolish his city lord’s mansion. This was his final shred of dignity and face, something Wallis would absolutely not permit anyone to trample upon.
“Hmm… First, have those Bix races clear up the entire city. Leave the city lord’s mansion untouched. I’ll go find Young Master.”
Neil immediately nodded and obediently went out.
Pei Sen felt that in Neil’s mind, he had probably become akin to a favored courtier in ancient China who rose to power through imperial favor; even though the steward was nominally one rank higher than Pei Sen, Neil always treated him with utmost respect.
“Oh? Wallis doesn’t want the Lord’s Manor demolished and has even dragged the Dragon Star Knight Order into this.” Eagle put down the magic notebook in his hand. “He didn’t show up when he should have, but now he’s suddenly becoming stubborn.”
Pei Sen looked at him. “How does Young Master wish to handle this?” In his heart, he wanted to kill Wallis, even though this was a real world.
The Lord of Wallis has long colluded with human traffickers, having sold countless people without remorse. Given the immense profits he has reaped, Pei Sen refuses to believe that sparing him this time would prevent him from repeating his crimes. After all, this risk-free trade has emboldened him and whetted his appetite; cutting off his source of income is simply not an option.
One Kui Wolf may die, but there will always be Kui Tigers, Kui Leopards, and Kui Dogs to take its place. As long as the city lord who serves as their patron remains in power, this business will never truly disappear.
Eagle said carelessly, “What else needs to be done? I’ll send word to Keso, telling him to take the people from the Mage Tower and kill Wallis. The Dragon Star Knight Order doesn’t need to remain either; kill them all.”
Pei Sen looked at Eagle, who seemed both familiar and strange. Such cold and cruel words came from his mouth as if they were a trivial matter.
Even though Eagle’s attitude toward Pei Sen had improved considerably, and even though he was merely a fifteen-year-old boy confined within the estate, there seemed to be something inherently violent and dark in Eagle’s nature.
“Young Master, isn’t it enough just to kill Wallis…?”
Eagle chuckled lightly. “That won’t do. I know that Fair of the Dragon Star Knightly Order was once that person’s bodyguard; who knows if there isn’t something more between them? Besides, the Dragon Star Knightly Order itself is utterly loyal to Valis.” He sneered. “In that case, letting them die alongside Valis would be most fitting.”
Pei Sen sighed. This young master was truly a paradox incarnate. Just yesterday, Pei Sen had felt such pity for him that he even gifted him the Ring of Thousand Illusions. Yet today, even Pei Sen found himself somewhat afraid: if this young master did not become the Child of Light as he had in his previous life, what kind of person would he ultimately turn into?
“Pei Sen, why are you being soft-hearted toward those people?” Eagle, highly sensitive to human emotions and inherently sharp-witted, instantly sensed something. He blinked in surprise as he asked.
Pei Sen offered a bitter smile. Perhaps it was because he knew that the “NPCs” in this world were living, breathing people. If he treated this merely as a game, whether the Dragon Star Knightly Order was annihilated or not would mean nothing to him; they would be nothing more than lines of game data.
But he now knew that wasn’t the case. The entire Dragon Star Knight Order numbered in the hundreds; to slaughter them all without hesitation would be far too cruel.
Eagle couldn’t comprehend Peisen’s mindset at all. In his eyes, those people were utterly insignificant; even if they were crushed to death, what difference would it make? Yet, inexplicably, he now found himself unwilling to see Peisen upset. Thus, the exceptionally clever young noble suddenly remarked, “There’s no need to sympathize with that group. Previously, your enemy, Kui Lang, would periodically sell people off to other regions. Meanwhile, members of the Dragon Star Knightly Order frequently took turns disguising themselves as ordinary guards to serve as escorts. Otherwise, the route from my territory to the neighboring ones would hardly be peaceful. Without the protection of these knights, relying solely on that useless bunch, such tasks would be impossible.”
A gang of hooligans might manage to capture a few people, but crossing several territories remains far beyond their capability. Their leader, Kui Lang, is merely a newly promoted second-rank swordsman, hardly formidable. Any random member of the Dragon Star Knightly Order could easily overpower Kui Lang with just one hand.
Pei Sen: “…”
Well, my sympathy vanished in an instant; it turns out the entire Dragon Star Knight Order is part of a human trafficking syndicate.
Even if Eagle spoke these words merely for Pei Sen’s sake, Pei Sen still felt comforted. The young master wasn’t just killing people at random, after all.
“Very well, I’ll have someone send a message to Lord Keso. Actually, those Bixians could be of help too; they are natural warriors and fear no death. Though the Dragon Star Knight Order is powerful, their numbers cannot compare to the Bixians. We can have them assist the Mages’ Tower in surrounding the City Lord’s Manor, ensuring no one from the Dragon Star Knight Order escapes.”
“If anyone does escape, I can punish Keso. In fact, I’d rather hope one or two manage to get away,” Eagle said with a smile, tilting his head.
He had originally intended to say that there was no need to involve the Bix race, but after a moment’s thought, he held his tongue.
At this moment, even those clear eyes were filled with amusement, as if he were merely joking, though the words he spoke carried quite the air of someone in authority.
Pei Sen sighed, turned, and left to deliver the message. Behind him, Eagle, who had been smiling, gradually let his expression fade. His emerald-green eyes fixed thoughtfully upon the magic notebook in his hand, his fingers tapping lightly against it twice. His gaze then shifted to that unassuming ring, lost in thoughts unknown, bearing no resemblance to the willful and short-tempered persona he usually displayed; the innocent childishness that accompanied his smiles had vanished entirely.
Peks, who had been dozing off to the side, gave a sudden twitch. Carefully treading with cat-like steps, he shuffled over to a corner slightly farther from Eagle and curled himself into a ball, striving to minimize his presence. Unfortunately, he was simply too fat; even when shrunk into a sphere, he remained a plump one.
“Pei Sen.” He softly murmured the name, then broke into a smile.
Do you like how weak and innocent I appear?
In Pei Sen’s view, fourteen or fifteen years old could barely be considered anything but a child; after all, in modern society, that age still meant being a middle school student—thoroughly a minor.
On the continent of Yali, however, fifteen already marked full adulthood, which was precisely why the estate placed such importance on Eagle’s birthday—they feared he might cause some trouble.
According to the traditions of the Kingdom of Asmia, Eagle, who possesses royal blood, should have received a new title on his coming-of-age day, along with a scepter engraved with his name. Yet, the capital has remained utterly silent, as if Eagle were merely a descendant of the Langno family, having no connection whatsoever to the royal house.
One must remember that his mother is still alive; Princess Carolina is, after all, the Queen of Bonfris!
But since the capital chooses to turn a deaf ear and pretend ignorance, the estate can only do its best to appease Eagle, hoping merely that he does not throw a tantrum.
Today, Eagle informed Lady Mary that he intended to promote Pei Sen by one rank. This was originally against protocol, as Pei Sen is not only a commoner but has also been in the estate for too short a time, having already received one promotion. However, given Eagle’s insistence and the sensitivity of the current period, Lady Mary could not refuse his request. After consulting with Sardin, she prepared to elevate Pei Sen to the rank of steward. Even if it were the lowest tier of stewardship, he could now truly be called a “butler.”
Eagle had been waiting to surprise Pei Sen and hadn’t told him yet, but just now he made a new discovery.
“Pei Sen is so gentle and kind to me, even secretly giving me such a ring. Is it because he pities me?”
Pei Sen remained unaware that the young master had discerned something. He did indeed feel compassion for Eagle, viewing him as a pitiable child; in a certain sense, what Eagle had discovered was true.
At this moment, Pei Sen’s thoughts were entirely focused on how to trigger active quests for the players, allowing them to share in the spoils of eliminating Valis and the Dragon Star Knights. He hadn’t noticed Eagle’s emotional state at all.
In truth, according to Pei Sen’s own wishes, he would have preferred to go himself. However, knowing full well that the young master would never agree, he simply chose not to mention it.
However, as long as he triggered player quests, he would receive some reward, and occasionally the rewards were quite substantial. Having figured out how the game system worked, Pei Sen could remain within the manor yet still reap the greatest benefits.
Unfortunately, dungeons couldn’t be handled this way; he had to go himself.
“Wallis and the Dragon Star Knight Order should be far stronger than the players,” Pei Sen thought. “Even if the players join in, they’ll only serve as support. Still, with their overwhelming numbers, they might play a significant role. After all, those noble mages are delicate despite their power; those mage apprentices and junior mages may not withstand the knight order’s charge.”
What exactly is the young master like? In dealing with the Knight Order, wouldn’t sending Kaimis be more reliable than dispatching a mage from the Mage Tower?
Immediately, Pei Sen recalled the deeply scheming Keso. The mages of the Mage Tower essentially followed Keso’s lead. For instance, some materials scavenged by players from the Starfall Plains had already been delivered to the Mage Tower following Eagle’s instructions. Yet, without Keso’s explicit orders, they were clearly dragging their feet. Although they wouldn’t outright disobey commands, the quantity returned so far was far too little; their efficiency was truly sluggish.
Pei Sen felt that Eagle was extremely displeased.
“Is it because of this?” Pei Sen murmured.
Could it be that the young master hopes for more casualties among the Mages’ Tower during their confrontation with Wallis and the Dragon Star Knights?
If we spare the Dragon Star Knights and only eliminate Wallis, Keso might be able to handle it alone. However, if we intend to wipe out the entire Dragon Star Knights without player assistance, those fragile mages would surely suffer casualties as well.
Does the young master truly harbor such deep calculations?
Pei Sen chuckled awkwardly, “I must be overthinking this.”
After notifying Keso, Pei Sen went to inform the players, and sure enough, a quest arrived shortly thereafter.
“Time-Limited Quest: Assist the Mage Tower in attacking the Lord’s Manor of Kaixi City. Eliminate Lord Valis Buckrot and the Dragon Star Knight Order. Time limit: 24 hours.”
Since this was another quest triggered voluntarily by Pei Sen, he could still claim a portion of the contribution points from the players’ efforts even if he didn’t participate himself—though he truly wished he could go watch the spectacle.
Oh well, it didn’t matter if he couldn’t go; his young master had the Magic Eye, and there would surely be player livestreams on the forums, so he wouldn’t miss much anyway.
All players received this time-limited quest. Compared to the closed-beta players who had already experienced the first time-limited event, those in the second beta were encountering a large-scale event for the first time. Finding the quest content intriguing, even players still on the Starfall Plains began rushing toward Kaixi City.
Although it still involved “fighting monsters,” this time-limited quest tasked players with battling the city lord and his knightly order—far more interesting than hunting rabbits out on the wastelands.
Indeed, up until now, players could only venture around the fringes of the Starfall Plains, where merely a few types of opponents existed. First were the Savage Leaping Hares, Level 1 magical beasts; these were the most common, so numerous across the wasteland that their swift and ferocious nature had nearly become a plague. Second were the Flying-Fang Rats, also Level 1 magical beasts; slightly easier to defeat than the hares, yet like ordinary rats they excelled at burrowing, making them hard to locate, though their fangs fetched a good price. Third were the Scourge-Whip Trees; despite their plant-like name, they were actually mutated magical flora, posing dangers comparable to Level 2 magical beasts. Had they been capable of movement, their threat would have been even greater. Although these trees were perilous, their rewards surpassed those from Savage Leaping Hares and Flying-Fang Rats, prompting many players to risk harvesting them.
Aside from these three, if players encountered any other creatures on the wasteland, they basically had only one option: run!
Players below level ten do not lose experience points upon death; they might only drop items such as weapons and equipment. With teammates around to retrieve the dropped gear, death holds little fear.
However, once players reach level ten or above, things become more troublesome, as each death results in losing half a level’s worth of experience.
Currently, most players from the first closed beta are between levels ten and fifteen, while those from the second closed beta have mostly not yet exceeded level ten. Therefore, on the Starfall Plains, monster hunting often involves one or two first-beta players leading several second-beta players, achieving fairly good efficiency through their cooperation.
Yet, this incredibly realistic holographic game makes combat truly difficult to adapt to at first; newcomers usually get thoroughly beaten by rabbits several times before gradually getting a feel for it.
Hongshao Latiao adapts remarkably quickly; his squad ranks among the very best players, boasting monster-slaying efficiency far surpassing other teams. Moreover, they’ve struck a deal with the designers: once a dungeon’s location is confirmed, their team will attempt to secure the world-first kill. Should they succeed, half of the dungeon’s drops will go to the designers.
After all, the designers’ own character levels are extremely low; sending them into combat would guarantee defeat. However, when it comes to tracking down clues, even several Hongshao Latiaos combined couldn’t match a single designer.
“Completing this time-limited quest just gave us another level-up; tackling the dungeon should be safer now,” Hongshao Latiao remarked to his teammates beside him.
The teammates he recruited were essentially among the first batch to adapt swiftly to holographic combat. Of course, even for them, adaptation remains quite limited. To date, it still takes a full party of five or six members to reliably defeat a Savage Leaping Rabbit. Yet, when Pei Sen was at the same level as them, he could already slaughter such ordinary Level-One magical beasts with ease.
To fully adapt, it will still take a long time and combat experience within the holographic game.
The designers were also quite interested in this time-limited quest. The architect couldn’t help but remark, “Why does it feel like quest triggers in this game are so arbitrary?”
“You feel that way because in most games, whether it’s quests or anything else, the player is essentially the center,” the designer smiled. “But Bix Cube is different; it seems to always revolve around NPCs. Players can participate, but I get the sense they won’t become the protagonists of events.”
It must be said that this guy is truly a gaming genius, having realized this point so early on, even at such an early stage.
The players arrived earlier than the people from the Mage Tower. Kesso had never been particularly interested in killing a city lord and his knightly order to begin with, but Eagle had issued a formal command, signed it with his own name, and sealed it with the wax stamp belonging to Count Thornrose. Even Kesso could not casually disobey such an order.
After all, as the deputy steward, he was obligated to follow the young count’s commands. No matter how little regard he usually held for him, refusing an order like this would amount to open rebellion.
Besides, Kexo didn’t take Valis seriously; killing him was no big deal.
It was just that he felt somewhat reluctant, and the other mages from the Mage Tower were also dawdling, so their arrival was inevitably delayed.
The players were far more anxious than the mages, after all, it was a time-limited quest. After waiting left and right with no sign of them, some players even suggested going to the Mage Tower to find a way to drag those mages over.
Fortunately, after waiting for a while, those mages finally arrived. However, when Kexo saw the Bixus race surrounding the area and Valis, whose expression was particularly grim, he was still slightly surprised.
The mages trailing behind Ketho had all been pampered by the Golden Rose Manor; they harbored considerable resentment toward this assassination mission. Some mage apprentices had never killed anyone before and now cowered at the rear, utterly unwilling to step forward.
Including Ketho, they were all seeing this strange group of Bixians for the first time. Ketho fared somewhat better, but under the players’ discontented gazes, the ordinary mages couldn’t help feeling uneasy, thinking these ragged fellows looked rather menacing.
“Alright, the Mages Tower people have arrived. Can we make our move now?” a player asked excitedly, gripping a greatsword while turning to those nearby.
Beyond the content of the “Timed Quest,” the game would offer no further hints nor dictate when they should launch their attack.
“Uh, does that require an order from the Vice-Steward himself?”
“I feel like he looks down on us.”
“I think so too.”
“So he probably won’t give us orders; he’ll only command those mages.”
“So, what should we do?”
“Hmm… kill them!”
“Alright!”
At this moment, Kexo turned to Valis, intending to say a few words. After all, they were old acquaintances, and Valis was at least a minor noble; Kexo felt it was necessary to give him some face.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted all around. The Bix race grabbed their weapons and, with loud cries, charged fiercely toward the Lord’s Manor, completely disregarding the fully armed Dragon Star Knights stationed around it!
“Damn it, that BOSS is mine! Get out of the way!”
“Whoever kills it gets it! Charge!”
“Charge!”
The players’ emotions were quickly stirred; excitedly, they rushed forward, and in an instant, over two thousand of them overwhelmed the unprepared Dragon Star Knights.
Kexo: “…”
The mages: “…”
Who exactly is the main force here? Weren’t these Bix races supposed to just assist us in capturing the Lord’s Manor?
Do they have some kind of problem? Charging into battle so recklessly—is this really necessary?