Game’s Dogma

The Warring Wastelands’ setting of granting Merit for killing players from the other server had determined the hostile relationship between the two servers. Although the NPC for Merit exchange had yet to appear, they all knew the currency had to have its usage.

Due to the war between servers, the various leaders on the Eastern server had been forced to join hands to deal with their common enemy. No one wished to abandon the only source of Level 40 or above items, after all.

In a war between servers, every battle was on the scale of tens of thousands, not to mention the several hundred thousand combat forces available on each side. A thousand Oda soldiers had a minuscule, if any, impact on the tide of battle.

Drako Yau received three levels because the system determined that he had the greatest contributions. His companions all received two levels and three skill points instead. Now that many players had unlocked their entire skill tree, skill points showed their true value. Opportunities to obtain extra skill points, apart from the ones granted for levelling up, were far and few. These quests were usually unique as well, such as the Honno-ji Incident and Final Vengeance quests. No one could clear them once Drako Yau and his companions had completed it, showing how rare the three skill points were.

The same went for inheritances. There could never be another magic swordsman, demon wolf hero, or Phoenix Ring, and this one-of-a-kind nature deeply attracted all players. Countless players sought inheritances like ants chasing after honey.

Oda Nobunaga smiled at them, then turned his gaze towards Drako Yau before saying, “Don’t be so surprised. I went through a lot to prepare your reward, you know?”

Drako Yau stiffened while his companions glanced at one another. All of them had the same thought: There’s more? Considering that he was the one who received the quest, it was only natural that he got better rewards.

“Levels and skill points are the first reward. Here’s the second one.” Oda Nobunaga pointed his right palm at Drako Yau and fired a purple fireball.

Everyone stood up in shock, but Drako Yau signalled them to calm down. He was particularly sensitive to auras and intentions when Frost Form was active; Oda Nobunaga harboured no ill intent when firing the fireball at him. The fireball passed through him in the blink of an eye, and his crimson cloak devoured it.

“Congratulations! Your legendary equipment, Devil King’s Cloak, has levelled up!”

“Devil King’s Cloak (Level 2): Once possessed by Oda Nobunaga, Devil of the Sixth Heaven. Legends have it that the cloak was originally as pure as snow, but was dyed red by the blood of his enemies. A dreadful item.”

Passive skill: Reduces all damage received from the rear by 40%.

Active skill: Descent of the Devil King. Increases all attributes by 40% for 2 hours. Cooldown: 3 days.”

Delight took over Drako Yau once more. As he already had Tattered Armour devouring his experience, he deactivated the experience leeching of the Devil King’s Cloak. Much to his surprise, Oda Nobunaga levelled it up for him instead. The increment in ability potency was apparent; the damage reduction effect went up by ten per cent, while the active buff also went up by ten per cent and lasted an hour longer, allowing him to use it with more freedom.

However, he noticed that Oda Nobunaga turned pale ever so slightly. Levelling up the cloak must have strained him considerably.

“Thank you.” Drako Yau nodded.

Oda Nobunaga returned the nod and said, “I should be the one thanking you. Ranmaru can now rest in peace knowing that Akechi Mitsuhide has been slain.”

Sasaki felt gloomy upon hearing the name “Ranmaru”, the young swordsman he had fought long ago. It was rumoured that the epic skill book Oda Nobunaga gave him, One With The Sword, was a secret katana technique passed down the Ranmaru clan. He had turned the tables on his enemies in various predicaments using this skill, so he felt very grateful for it.

Oda Nobunaga suddenly put on a mysterious smile. “Hold on, there’s still one more reward. It’s the best one among all.” The determined villain showed a yearning expression after saying such.

“Oh?”

As if they had arranged for it beforehand, Lady Noh returned with a familiar face—Ichor Hon. He exchanged a glance with Drako Yau in silence.

Drako Yau found the silent exchange heart-warming. Having met Ichor Hon, Oda Nobunaga, and Fatty the Castellan so many times, his relationship with them was one of friendship. He simply couldn’t bring himself to treat these sentient beings as mere NPCs, nor did he know where he should draw the line. This was beyond his understanding, even as a game designer.

Drako Yau had once been bothered by this issue, but he soon gave up the pointless contemplation. He was also a player to the inhabitants of this world. So was he a human or a mere player? He concluded that as long as he was trapped in this seemingly virtual world, he’d treat this as reality. And that meant Ichor Hon and the others were his friends.

Ichor Hon walked towards them and said, “Let’s have some tea first. Then you’ll come with me, you alone.”

The others sipped on the tea Lady Noh prepared for them while sizing up Ichor Hon and Drako Yau out of curiosity.

Oda Nobunaga grinned, then said, “Brother Hon and I spent a lot of effort preparing this reward for you. We’re sure you’ll like it a lot.”

“I see.” Drako Yau chugged the cup of tea and stood up. “Let’s go.”

“Great.” Ichor Hon also downed the tea in one gulp. The frowns on Oda Nobunaga and Lady Noh showed their disapproval of the two’s boorish way of enjoying tea.

Greenstone also stood from his seat. Noticing such, Drako Yau asked, “Can my companions come together?”

“No,” Ichor Hon declined right away. He looked into Greenstone’s worried eyes and said, “I won’t hurt him.”

The staredown lasted a brief moment until Greenstone finally yielded and sat back in silence.

“Let’s go.” Ichor Hon then took his leave from the Oda Clan Residence.

The Oda Clan Residence became a popular gathering spot after players spotted Drako Yau entering with his companions. Players from Empyreon and Evergrand also came over as spectators.

Another commotion broke out once they saw Ichor Hon and Mask leaving the residence. Players gathered here were nosy ones for sure; all of them could tell that Mask had received an encounter quest. However, as men of few words, the two main characters of the commotion ignored the crowd and continued towards the city gate. 

Although Yoda was technically under Mask’s influence, the city never barred players from other cities from entering. The three cities might be working together now, but certain players from Empyreon still looked down on Mask. They saw him as a random guy who got lucky with an encounter quest; they thought he wasn’t worthy of his current status. They even went as far as believing they could become stronger than Mask if they had his encounter quests and inheritances, completely disregarding his extraordinary spearmanship on purpose.

Right now, Mask was taking on another encounter quest. The braver ones among the bunch followed tightly behind them in an attempt to gain benefits—but an unexpected scene abruptly ended their wishful thinking.

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