Chapter 64: Chapter 64

In the center of the cavern was a large coffin that was made of what looked like mahogany, only that it was painted black. What silenced Gunner and Darius was the fact that the coffin was chained tightly by silver bindings as well as a large lock.

Sharing a look, both Darius and Gunner approached the coffin. They observed it for a bit before checking out the rest of the small cavern which was mostly barren except for this coffin that lay on a pedestal.

Darius first Inspected it.

[Strange Coffin - Miscellaneous

Durability: ?/?

Description: A coffin radiating a startling amount of malevolence and death energy. It is advisable not to approach it, much less attempt to unseal it.]

Darius scoffed at the weak and rather unsatisfactory utility of the Inspect system mechanic and used his Analyze skill instead, deciding henceforth to never bother with Inspect ever again.

[Coffin of Lord Darm - Event

Durability: 1,000,000/1,000,000

Description: The sealing ground of the evil vampire Lord Darm. This cave has been abandoned by humans and monsters alike for many decades. Do not stay too long around the coffin, otherwise the residual spirit of its owner might influence you to unseal him by any means necessary.

Event details: Unsealing the coffin will activate the first upgrade of the Supreme System and the 'Quests', as well as 'Events' menus, will become available. Until this upgrade is done, the details of the event cannot be displayed.]

Darius shared these details with Gunner and the duo shared a look. Simultaneously, they both exited the cave. Once outside, Darius, with the help of Gunner, used various tree logs to block the entrance of the cave even further.

The duo then left the clearing and never looked back once.

* * *

Darius was currently lounging in his bedroom, reading a book about the political factions in the Andrato Kingdom specifically. Gunner was also in the room, performing stretching exercises as well as doing push-ups and sit-ups.

While he could not gain any extra muscle mass this way, it at least helped keep him active and passed the time. When he proceeded to do handstands with ease, even Darius took a look.

A week had passed since Darius had acquired his first Branded Servant, and the duo had grown significantly stronger since then. Darius had created many skill manuals for Gunner that allowed him to make use of his class, while Darius also increased his own repertoire.

Darius had also made 8 Scrolls of Awakening in this time, which was what prevented him from making more House Portal Scrolls, or really anything else apart from a few skills a day.

Heck, without Foldo's provided empty spell manuals, Darius wouldn't have even been able to make spells for himself!

Darius had gained three levels since then and Gunner had gained 5. It was simply too hard to find strong foes who gave experience that was abusable by the exp share mechanic.

It was a mixture of the fact that Gunner's level kept rising while Darius's did as well, as well as the fact that the Plains of the Green were not housing anything too dangerous.

Darius was really looking forward to hitting the town and trying out a dungeon. His and Gunner's combat capabilities would truly be best tested in such a scenario.

Darius sighed and closed his book, his mood for reading gone. Whether it was an effect of a young body or his own brewing anticipation for the future, he was becoming restless as he waited for Foldo to execute the plan.

Darius opted to boredly watch Gunner kill himself through exercise until he heard the rushed pattering of feet. His door suddenly burst open to reveal a sweaty and fearful Portia, who was too panicked to even notice that both Darius and Gunner were merely half-dressed.

"M-Master Darius! You have to escape! All three bandit groups are attacking the homestead… along with… along with monsters!" Portia explained hurriedly.

Darius and Gunner shared a look before the duo proceeded to get properly dressed. Only now did Portia notice such a thing as she blushed and turned around.

However, hearing the commotion outside reminded her of why she had come as the fear set in once more. "Master Darius, please hurry. There is a backdoor escape route my father put in place for our family, I can lead you through!"

Darius paused as he dressed. His eyebrows furrowed as he turned to Portia and his eyes gleamed in a way Portia had never seen before.

"Are you serious? You would take me through an escape route made specifically for your family?" Darius asked her gravely.

Portia paused for a second and nodded, confused as to why Darius seemed displeased with her providing a safe way to escape for him. "Erm, yes?"

Darius finished dressing and folded his arms with amusement on his face. "What about your father and brother?"

Portia froze for a second as a metaphorical light bulb flashed over her head. Seeing this, Darius sighed internally but asked her once more: "So your first thought during a crisis has not been to secure your father and brother, but a stranger who is just passing through. Why?"

Portia suddenly became tongue-tied. She sort of knew why she ran to Darius first, yet she was too embarrassed to say it lest this young noble be repulsed by her, for this whole topic was ultimately an awkward one.

Exactly as Darius had caller her out for, she had forgone her family's safety to check on someone who should merely be a stranger, even going so far to secure their safety. Portia knew that if she blurted out the reason, she would never have any dignity left for herself in this world.

Darius and Gunner shared a look before the former smiled then grasped Portia by the shoulders.

"Portia. Sit in this room, right on my sofa, and wait for me. Don't wait for me in the sense that I will be coming to help you escape."

Darius' eyes flashed as Portia found herself drawn into those hazel orbs of intelligence and control.

"Wait for me in the sense that I shall destroy whatever threatens the safety of you and this homestead, as I shall return… triumphant!"

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Chapter 65: Chapter 65

Darius left his room with Gunner in tow, a pacified Portia left seated in his bed with a mesmerized expression. Whatever infatuation she had with him before had now evolved into something else, and Darius did not like that change one bit.

Still, he recognized her goodwill and amended his plans a bit for her sake. As for her feelings, she would have to deal with them on her own, as there was nothing Darius wished to offer her.

Darius turned to Gunner and saw the large lad smiling. With a hint of amusement, he asked: "Well, Gunner, you have been bored to death the whole day, and now you get to let loose. Are you ready?"

Gunner grinned toothily as he clapped his hands together. "Very ready, Master. I look forward to the battle!"

Darius nodded his head. "Good! Take the lead and engage them, you don't need me to hold you back."

Gunner bellowed with laughter as he jumped up and broke through the ceiling of the farmhouse, his body shooting through the air as he reached the outskirts in almost one jump.

One could see a greenish aura surround his body that had been absorbed into his skin. The moment he landed, there was a small earthquake in the area as the large lad broke his fall with the body of a Goblin.

Well, it couldn't be called much of a body after Gunner had practically crushed it into paste. The monsters and bandits currently in combat with the few able-bodied men of the homestead paused to take in Gunner's form with shock.

They could not fathom such strength and power, but Gunner had only just begun. He raised his leg and cast one of his new skills granted to him by Darius, Earthen Stomp!

[Earthen Stomp - Level 1 Skill

Cost: 20 MP

Description: Possessing an affinity with the earth element, channel its power into your legs as you destroy the area around you with a minor quake. This damages an area of 20 meters around the user.]

The moment Gunner's foot - which was charged with greenish energy - collided with the ground, it was as if a meteor had hit the earth. The ground directly around the half-giant cracked and shifted, those who stood above it falling over themselves and ending up concussed at the least.

Gunner laughed loudly and charged forward into an Ogre that had two heads which dual-wielded a club and mace. Unlike his companions, this one wore some stolen hide armor that barely fit its body.

Gunner's movement speed at 15 points of Agility was too fast for the Ogre to follow, since it merely had 8 or 9 points in the same statistic at best. As such, it could only be blown back into many of its fellows once Gunner used another skill granted him by Darius.

[Earthen Punch - Level 1 Skill

Cost: 15 MP

Description: Possessing an affinity with the earth element, channel its power into your fists as you deal more damage to armored or larger enemies. This skill deals 10% blunt damage.]

Gunner's fist glowed with a green light just as he connected his punch with the unlucky Ogre, forcing the monster to spit out a load of blackish-blue blood that smelled disgusting.

Gunner's performance on the battlefield was all-encompassing, forcing all attention on him. The benefit of this was that those fighting for the homestead got a huge boost in morale.

The downside though, was that all enemy attention was focused on him. Many of the monsters charged him while the bandits with ranged weapons focused on him.

Before he could make his next move, hundreds of arrows and various projectile attacks rained towards his position.

Gunner was the only real threat here apart from Shanks, who was also tearing up his side of the battlefield.

Gunner noticed all the enemies and attacks coming towards him and laughed. He activated his bloodline skill, Earthen Guardian that had been increased to level 9!

At this level, it increased his Strength, Endurance, Damage, and Defense by 50%!

Now that Gunner had brought both his Strength and Endurance stats to 20 points, that means he got a free 10 points added!

However, the consumption of the skill had grown as well, as it now cost 10 MP per second to use. With how much Gunner had left, he could only realistically use it for about 7 or so seconds.

Still, the half-giant lad was unperturbed by this, as Darius had already given him many Transmuted mana potions that were increased from lower grades. With them, Gunner could easily restore his MP over the course of the battle.

The half-giant lad received all the projectiles on his body, his hard muscles, and polymer suit repelling everything like they were just small stings of a mosquito. Not even a lick of damage was dealt unto Gunner, who proceeded to rush into the fray of charging enemies.

With his damage and defense buffed by 50%, he did not need to think about protecting himself or doing any fancy moves nor activate any other skill. All he had to do was punch, smash and destroy, nothing more, nothing less.

Unsurprisingly, Gunner was very good at that. He was not adept at using weapons, and from what Darius had read about the Giant race, they weren't the type either.

As Gunner slowly tore through the enemies on the battlefield, Darius finally blinked into the area with a raised eyebrow. Portia had warned them that there were monsters among the lot, but there were far more here than he had expected from the bandit groups.

Foldo really did overwork himself to see the plan through, but Darius had to admit, he had pulled it off spectacularly.

He could see the Diato bandits, lead by Diato, Jorge, and Kevin fighting against Shanks, while the Garwen Bandits were the ones mostly made up of archers who were bombarding Gunner fruitlessly.

As for Foldo and his crew, they were here, but not exactly either. Only a few of his men actively did something on the battlefield, and he sent the ones who were known troublemakers as well as those who were weeds in his group here to represent his group… and to perish.

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