Guild Wars 208 'He' Returns

He chose to go for a bath and grimaced when he saw the cracks on the earth and the partially ruined sauna room. It looked as if a giant had taken his club and went to town on the area.  

Draco could only scratch his head and smile bitterly. He had been too rough with Eva yesternight, and he hadn't held back in the effort to punish her.  

This wasn't due to his in-game stats, as his strength was nowhere near enough to warrant this kind of mayhem. It was due to his rebuilt body and his Horned Demon Inheritance.  

Truth be told, if another woman went through what he did to Eva, it would result in their hips shattering and their legs turning to mush.  

However, just like Draco, Eva had a rebuilt body. Although there was no emphasis on strength, it still made Eva stand leagues above any common human.  

Coupled with her use of her Light Energy to defend herself from his 'vicious attacks', she had come out of it with only wobbly legs, but she would definitely feel the soreness today.  

Draco went over to the hot springs and bathed himself lackadaisically, spending almost half an hour there. He felt a bit lazy today, so instead of doing it himself, he picked up some breakfast made by the Castle cooks on the way to the courtyard.   

He left Hikari and Eva in bed, as they were both likely tired. Draco though, would struggle to get tired with his Horned Demon Inheritance, so he was chipper and free of fatigue.  

Richmond awaited him in the courtyard and caressed his beard quizzically when he saw that after yesterday's reduced numbers, Draco came alone, but as usual, he didn't pursue the matter.  

He had merely gotten used to the presence of his apprentice's little posse of beauties, yet aside from being surprised about the potential of Riveting Night's bloodlines, he didn't really care that much about them. Only Draco himself was important.  

Draco had reached a point where he could basically double-cast basic spells for each type of the normal elements. He could even cast single spells of the rarer elements. 

This was more than good enough for Richmond, but he decided to remain quiet. After all, Draco had two more days of training left, so there was no need to end it this quickly. Who knew, his apprentice might surprise him in those days... it certainly wouldn't be the first time. 

Draco started the day by attempting to single cast a support spell. Since there was no one else around, he targeted a random maid who was passing by.  

He cast a speed enhancement buff on her, and the maid was startled when her legs shuffled faster all of a sudden, almost tripping and falling on her face.  

She turned to glare at Richmond sullenly, refusing to believe that the seductive and noble Lord Draco would play such tricks. For the shameless and playful Richmond, this would perfectly fit his usual style of pranks.  

She harrumphed angrily before leaving, making Richmond feel depressed deep down. She didn't even give him a chance to explain himself, and now his newly built reputation had been damaged slightly.  

Draco saw this and smirked inwardly, but on the outside, he maintained a serious frown on his face as he continued to cast buff spells over and over. Throughout the day many passing maids were hit with random buffs and some were good while others ended up mistimed, resulting in disaster.  

Richmond naturally bore the brunt in those cases, yet the maids glanced at Draco with red cheeks when something good happened. 

At this point, Richmond was on the verge of using spells to smash Draco in pieces, but hesitated because Draco looked so focused and uncaring of what was going on externally.  

Clearly, the lad didn't do it intentionally, so why be angry?  

All of Richmond's reactions were seen by Draco through his Void of Perfection, and he laughed happily. He was silently getting revenge for the maids who had been bullied.  

Of course, Draco still put his progress first. In a matter of 6 hours, he cycled through various defensive and support spells. Healing was his goal, but it was too hard to reach currently.  

Unsurprisingly, healing runes were the hardest to inscribe because they required extremely precise descriptions. If one dared to be general, the cost would be too hard to bear in terms of resources.  

Draco specified that he wanted a target to regain 1,000 HP instantly and the cost in Worldly Energy was heavy. After practicing for many days, Draco had begun to get used to this, so he had mentally quantified his 'willpower' by using percentages. 

So, 100% willpower was his max, and every spell took varying degrees of it away. Should his willpower increase or become more concise, it would only affect the amount of percentage pulled away.  

Currently, a fireball required 20% of his willpower to cast while a mana shield imbued with any of the normal elements took 5% per minute. Various spells also drained willpower in different ways, so Draco made sure to cast them all and quantify them as he went.  

As for defensive spells, they focused more on concentration as opposed to offensive spells, so Draco decided to also quantify concentration while he was on the topic, although that was an already quantified stat that was simply hidden.  

Draco surmised that out of 100%, it only took 0.1% for every fireball but took 10% per minute for a mana shield of a normal element. Every bombardment from a spell or attack of the same level took away 20% of his overall concentration.  

With these stats and numbers in mind, Draco found that he was much more at ease when casting, and his mind began to get used to his own system and its deductions. 

As such, he was able to pull off spell combos that were cost-effective yet dealt a good amount of damage when matched together. Even Richmond's Rank 1 mana shield that was hard to break shivered slightly, making the old mage's eyes widen.  

He nodded his head over and over, extremely pleased with Draco. He also didn't restore Draco upon his apprentice's request, as Draco wished to see how long it took him to recover.  

After all, he wouldn't have Richmond's restoration in battle. If he could get a good grasp on how long his downtime would be, he would be able to better coordinate and calculate his battles.  

Draco found that he needed only 30 minutes to recover his concentration, while he needed almost an hour for his willpower. These tests were done separately.  

So, when his concentration was at 100%, he would drain his willpower to 0% and wait for it to recover, and vice versa.  

Draco also drained them both at the same time, and almost passed out with deliriousness from the sheer exhaustion. He remained in this state for 3 hours before he managed to come to.  

Although Richmond could have easily restored Draco immediately, he had chosen not to. First of all, the fellow had requested him not to interfere.  

Another reason was a slight suspicion that Draco's actions earlier weren't all just happy little accidents, thus it was a satisfying enough revenge for the old man.  

This naturally swallowed up the latter half of the day, and Richmond bid farewell to Draco as he moved to do his own things. 

Draco left and went straight to the hallway. Riveting Night had messaged him during the time he had been out of commission, informing him that she escorted Hikari to Vita City State in order to hasten the laying of her new egg, while she herself went to find Loving Aunt.  

After all, the time for Draco to train his bloodline was approaching. Loving Aunt would be handling the techniques of the Serpent God Inheritance and all the knowledge about it, while Riveting Night would teach him how to conserve energy and be efficient in general.  

However, she promised to try and rope the Lineage trainer for the Horned Demon and Dark Angel Inheritances, though Draco refused when she told them who they were. 

Only... the trainer for the Horned Demon was his father while the one for the Dark Angel was his mother! Those were the two people he wanted to meet the least in this world, which was why Draco refused without hesitation when she told them who they were.  

He would deal with them when the time was ripe. As such, he would rather postpone learning how to fully utilize those inheritances focusing only on Aunt Fyre.  

Draco walked across the hallways of the castle, aiming for Shuro's Shop. However, when he got to the main foyer and was about to branch out, he heard a commotion.  

Furrowing his brow, he used the Eyes of Caelo to see through the walls and learn what was going on. When he saw the debacle, Draco didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  

He went over to the door and switched to his Void of Perfection. It might not be able to see and encompass as much as the Eyes of Caelo, however he could hear, taste and smell with it.  

After all, it was based on his five senses. Draco believed that should he reach the next stage of the Void of Perfection - assuming there was a next stage - he should be able to even 'touch' things.  

Draco was relaxed about that though. He knew that the moment he achieved the full activation of his Dark Angel Inheritance, its psychic effects would boost his Void of Perfection to insane levels.  

According to his deduction, the Horned Demon Inheritance would also crazily boost his Body of Godliness.  

As for the Serpent God Inheritance, he should be thankful that it gave him access to the 3rd best State of Being in existence. Asking for more would just anger the heavens!  

Outside the Rank 7 Castle, the various Knights who were all at various levels of Rank 1, led by their Rank 2 captains surrounded an intruder who was roaring with rage.  

"You bunch of tinheads, can you not see that this noble Lion King is the one and only Big Brother of Little Draco? You dare to stop me, even though this means courting death?" 

Qiong Qi had returned, and this shameless Lion was currently trying to barge into the Rank 7 Castle. After doing whatever it was he went to do, he came back in a foul mood, and these knights dared to stop him.  

How could he not be infuriated? If it weren't for the mount contract limiting him, he would have been able to smash them like bugs. It was the equivalent of being bullied by kindergarten kids as a tightly bound grown adult with a buff body.  

"Silence foul beast! I, Garion, will slay you in the name of my Lord Draco!!" A handsome knight captain shouted out, his words garnering support from the other knights.  

"Slay the beast, it reeks of evil!" 

"Bring peace and stability to our Lord's estate!"  

With the support of his peers, Garion gained a boost of confidence, feeling as if the Goddess of Light herself was smiling upon him. He even felt like he was slowly transforming into a paladin.  

Of course, it was all a delusion of grandeur, but it was understandable given his relatively young age.  

"Foul knave, for breaching the estate of Lord Draco only one fate awaits you! Die!" Garion roared as he cut down his steel sword on Qiong Qi, aiming for his neck.  

When the sword collided with Qiong Qi's neck, it rebounded without doing a lick of damage. Garion and the other knights were startled at first, and were even more flabbergasted by the ensuing events.  

"OUCH! OH GOD, MY NECK! YOU NEARLY SEVERED MY NECK!!"  

Qiong Qi howled in pain and rolled on the ground while clutching his peck. His face was locked in a grimace of suffering and his howls made one think he was suffering the world's worst form of agony. 

Garion and the knights shared looks of dismay. How did things turn out like this? Weren't they here to slay this beast in order to gain favor with the lord and enjoy glory?  

Why did they suddenly feel like animal abusers?  

Qiong Qi had teary eyes as he pointed at the knights, his voice trembling with fear and disgust. "Y-You murderers! You almost killed me, an innocent unarmed animal! Knights my foot, you are a bunch of hooligans!" 

"I, Qiong Qi, spit on your name and fart on your parent's graves!"  

The knights were infuriated by such vile words from Qiong Qi and they made it known.  

"Vile Beast, take that back!"  

"You dare to insult my progenitors?!"  

"Filthy Lion, are you insulting the honor of our Knight's Order?!"  

Even Garion roared and leaped once more at Qiong Qi, followed by the other knights. For daring to insult their honor and that of their parents, this lion had to die! This was the only way to cleanse their spotless names!  

Qiong Qi saw their lunges and screamed so loudly that even Draco grimaced.  

"HELP! BROTHER DRACO, SAVE ME!! THESE FELLOWS ARE ANIMAL ABUSERS!!"  

Draco swore that even a banshee would flee from Qiong Qi's screaming. His face almost turned black when he remembered that Qiong Qi wouldn't suffer any damage from the assault, but he would still feel pain, despite its severity not surpassing the prick of a needle.  

The lion's fear of pain was so strong that he could scream at such a high volume. Draco was sure that the whole Castle and even some neighbors must've heard this scream.  

Damn, didn't this lion have any dignity at all? Even a tinge of self-respect? Not even weakling cowards would scream this loudly in the face of death, much less due to mere pain.  

The red-eyed knights who failed at kill Qiong Qi froze had pained expressions. They remembered Qiong Qi's earlier accusation that they broke the Knight's Code by attacking an unarmed enemy.  

From the way he was acting, he really was like a helpless fellow, and slaughtering him would be truly immoral. Not only that, but his scream had attracted so much attention that they couldn't even move. 

It was like being in public and a girl screamed that you were trying to rape her. It didn't matter whether it was true or not, one would feel stifled as the judging eyes of the public landed on them.  

Draco, seeing that his men were caught in a trap, sighed and came out to quickly resolve everything. Of course, when he came out, he decided to put on a show.  

"WHO DARES TO INTRUDE UPON MY PROPERTY?!"  

Draco's roar made the knights' eyes brighten, as they felt their backbone returning. With their lord here, they could do anything they wanted without fear!  

Garion pointed at Qiong Qi with his blade, his face ruddy with excitement. "My lord, we have captured this intru-"  

"Brother Qiong!!" Draco shouted as his eyes lit up, and he rushed to Qiong Qi.  

For that matter, Qiong Qi stopped his pitiful act and jumped to his feet, rushing to Draco with stars in his eyes. "Brother Draco!!"  

The two met and hugged so tightly, tears streaming down both their faces. They patted each other all over like blood brothers who had been separated, unable to see each other for years.  

This scene touched many onlookers deeply, as they felt the tears well in their eyes. However, the knights of the Rank 7 Castle felt like someone had stuffed a dirty sock in their mouth.  

They wanted to cry for a whole bunch of reasons, but didn't have the guts to even move. They only hoped that Qiong Qi would be so lost in his happy reunion that he would forget everything that had occurred. 

Yet when they saw the lion glance at them with an evil glint over Draco's shoulder, their throats became dry. They were finished!!  

"Brother Draco, it has been too long! I even got a gift for you…" Qiong Qi began with a gentle and loving tone. 

Draco laughed and immediately tried to exit Qiong Qi's embrace, but found that the Lion was clutching him so tightly that there was no escape. 

Suddenly, Qiong Qi smiled so evilly that he looked like a demon incarnate. "… a gift I've been saving for a long time!" 

Draco tried to break free more vehemently, only to discover he was trapped. Not only that, but his danger senses were tingling so badly that he began to shake in fear.  

"SECRET TECHNIQUE: ONE FART TO KILL TEN THOUSAND NOSES!!"  

Qiong Qi released a fart so black that even Destruction Energy would cower in fear. A miasma quickly covered him and the whole entrance of the Rank 7 Castle.  

Every knight was captured in this mist, and soon horrifying screams sounded out, as well as coughing and choking. Voices crying out for their parents and help sounded out, making one feel a chill to their bones.  

Draco was currently on the floor near the door, panting as like he had escaped a near-death experience. He had blinked away just in time, otherwise, he would have suffered a horrible fate no man would wish on his sworn enemy. 

Qiong Qi exited the black mist lazily, spitting with an irritated expression. "Shit, your reaction time is too fast. Even my plan wasn't able to trap you. But don't be too happy yet. Hehehe, there's always next time." 

Draco's heart chilled as he heard this vile Lion's malicious threat. He would have to be very careful about how he hung around this fellow, or he might find himself stuck in a horrible situation.  

Draco got up and refused to watch the suffering of his men any longer. They continued to scream for help, but there was nothing he could do for them anyway. Even the various maids backed away in fear. 

He just entered his Castle with Qiong Qi following behind him. His face took on his usual bored expression, as if all his excitement had been drained by the failure of his scheme. After all, he had planned this for more than a week. 

Draco headed towards Shuro's Shop while ignoring the lion, his own mood shifting to excitement when he thought about the items waiting for him over there.  

After he cleared out Shuro's Shop, he would gain 10 items of unparalleled importance, all of them Legendary Rank! With it, he could empower himself, Riveting Night, and anyone else he wanted!  

Soon, Draco came upon Shuro's Shop, and the masked samurai stood behind his counter without so much as blinking, making one think that he had remained standing there since the world began.  

When the two fellows made eye contact, Shuro felt his heart tighten with a bad premonition. 

Chapter end