Chapter 8: Rewards

“Aaaah!”

“Hey! Somebody stop this guy!”

“We’re gonna get caught up as well!!!”

“Run for it!”

Lucas woke up hearing bustling noises from all around him.

When he tried to get up to see what it was, a pang of pain headache hit him so he wanted to rub his forehead. That’s when he noticed it, his right arm was there.

He furthered inspected his body, right hand…check, left foot…check, left hand……left hand….

“M-my left hand…..”

No matter where he looked, he could no longer see his left hand. This confirmed it, he was still in the game.

He then noticed his surroundings, he was in a familiar room, this was the room Sebastian had offered him before, which meant he was in his house.

Getting out of bed despite the renewed balance of regaining his left foot, he went out of the house to see what the ruckus was all about earlier.

“Get out of my way! Or I won’t hesitate to burn you as well!”

“Please wait for a second Master Denneth, we still have to question these fools before killing them.”

Lucas saw a familiar black dragon standing majestically in the center of the village and Sebastian facing each other, what’s more, he saw robbed figures behind Sebastian tied in chains that glowed blue slightly.

“Excuse me, what is this all about?”

“Ah, Lucas. So you’ve finally awoken.”

“Boy…fine, we’ll talk first. But I get to kill them.”

Noticing Lucas, both Sebastian and Denneth calmed down. At first, Lucas was wary of Denneth but it seems it was unnecessary.

He walked further closer to them as he stares at the robbed figures, they all wore the same robes with a familiar eye logo on the back feeling that he had saw them before somewhere.

“Ah yes, these guys are the demi-vampires that were supposed to…kidnap my daughter.”

“Oh…so I see…”

“Boy, how are you feeling?”

Denneth moved his head closer asking Lucas.

He was still not used to talking to a real dragon so Lucas was a bit hesitant.

“Well…aside from my left hand, I feel fine.”

“…I’m sorry Lucas, when we were retreating, I only managed to retrieve your right arm and left foot…your left hand is already burned so….”

“I am also sorry for that.”

“N-no it’s fine, it was my weak hand anyway.”

Perhaps only now noticing that he’s being called Lucas by Sebastian, or because the leader of the pure blooded vampires and a dragon is bowing in front of him, Lucas was a bit nervous as he answered.

“So…what exactly happened after I was unconscious?”

Sebastian and Denneth looked at each other first then started their story.

“When we were…counting our losses as we retreated, Denneth here came to our village.”

They were cautious at first and kept their guard up until Denneth spoke. Denneth told them how he was being controlled from the inside and spat the demi-vampire and Lucas out. After seeing Lucas, Sebastian immediately ordered to connect his limbs before it was too late. As for the demi-vampire, since he was already dead, they stripped him off his equipment and burned the corpse.

After that, Denneth explained his circumstances and Sebastian and the other vampires listened closely. But then another problem showed up, the demi-vampires that were supposed to take Lilith to sell came to the cave.

They found out that the dragon had been freed of their control and immediately tried to retreat only to be easily captured by Sebastian and the others. It’s not because the demi-vampires are weak, normally 10 demi-vampires would still stand a chance against them but with the help of Denneth, they were no problem. They used the [Anti-magic Chain] the demi-vampires had in order to tie them up and make it so they can’t use magic. It seems slaves also have this kind of equipment in the form of a collar, to prevent them from being trouble to the owners.

The actual problem is Denneth. He wanted to immediately burn the demi-vampires leaving no ash behind because of his hatred towards them. Meanwhile, Sebastian wanted to interrogate the demi-vampires first which lead to the current situation.

“I see…I think interrogating them first is more efficient uhm…Master…Denneth?”

“Just call me Denneth boy, there’s no need for honorifics to the human that saved me from my predicament.”

“Denneth then, please think about it, if you kill them now, we won’t be able to know where their base is. If you want to offer them your wrath, then burning a whole city of demi-vampires is easier than killing them one by one no?”

To be honest, Lucas was not used to adding honorifics to someone, so he was really grateful that he won’t need to. Though he knew that there are times which he must, he still didn’t want to do so.

“I…know…I apologize, my anger got the better of me.”

“I-it’s fine, as long as you calmed down.”

Still not used to having a dragon bow his head before him, Lucas waved his hands…or rather, hand in front of him implying that he didn’t mind it at all.

With that finally settled, they turn towards the demi-vampires tied up with the [Anti-magic Chain] which glowed blue slightly.

“Now then…what to do with you guys…”

“First, tell us where the rest of you scums are.”

Sebastian grabbed one of the demi-vampires by the collar making his hood fall off revealing his face. The one from before also wore a hood until the end, and Lucas wasn’t able to focus on how the demi-vampire actually looked like because of the pain in his head.

Now that he took a good look at it, the demi-vampire’s skin is different from the pure-blooded vampires. Pure-blooded vampires had a pale face as white as snow, with their alluring eyes that varied color and shiny hair that seemed to glow in the dark, they were very beautiful. The demi-vampires though, are nowhere near it, instead, they look more like monsters. With pale blue skin full of wrinkles all throughout their body. Their beady eyes looked like that of a lizard’s, yellow and vertical pupils that seemed to glow.

Even through that, because a demi-vampire is an offspring of a pure-blooded vampire and a different race, some had animal ears, tails and extra furs. Some were as short as a Halfling or a dwarf, some had the pointed ears of an elf and many more.

“So that’s why they wear hoods…”

Looking at them made his head ache, remembering the pain he felt from before.

“…Boy, there’s no need for you to listen through this. You can rest if you want.”

Seeing Lucas press his hand on his temple in pain, Denneth understood and offered for him to take a rest. He knows how hard it must be for him to face the demi-vampires again resisting the urge to kill them because he is also experiencing it right now.

“Thanks, but it’s fine. If I can’t handle this much, then my future would be rather troubling.”

Lucas knew that he has to resist this. If he doesn’t overcome this hurdle now then he will never be able to. In order to free himself from his fears, he has to face them head on. It was the same that time with Denneth.

He feared him, that’s why he faced him. That was all there is to it.

Sebastian, still in the middle of his interrogation, was still unable to get any answers from the demi-vampire.

“Heh! It’s no use asking us for these troublesome things, you’re all going to die anyway.”

The demi-vampire which seemed to be a half human that Sebastian was holding laughed and so did the others still sitting on the floor.

“You will be the one dying if you don’t answer me.”

Sebastian’s eyes glowed red and the air around him changed.

It was a skill called [Terror Stare]. It instills the opponent’s greatest fears into them, a nightmare so to say. But to them, it is all reality, if used to a player, the consequences could be deadly, worst case, they may even fall into a comma. Fortunately, players have only met demi-vampires so far. That does not mean that all pure-blooded vampires can use this skill, this is a skill limited only to the vampire lord.

“A-aah…noo….stop…….NOOO!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!!! NO PLEASE! I-I’ll tell you! J-just stop this…..please………I’ll talk…..just….stop it….”

The demi-vampire’s face twisted into fear and tears started to flow, they didn’t know what kind of ‘fear’ did he see but it could not be great for him to break down like that.

Then and there, Lucas swore to himself not to get on Sebastian’s bad side. Ever.

“I’ll repeat, where is the demi-vampire’s base?”

“I-it’s at-!”

The demi-vampire convulsed. His face swelled up and his body distorted.

“He-hey! Watch out!”

Sensing something bad about to happen, Lucas grabbed Sebastian and kicked the demi-vampire away. Moments after, the demi-vampire exploded and splattered blood everywhere.

“That’s….did it trigger when he’s about to reveal confidential information?”

“A safety?...To think that they had such a system.”

The other demi-vampires paled as they heard their conversation, it would seem that even they didn’t know of such a system.

“It seems asking the others would be meaningless. Let me burn them already.”

“Haa, fine.”

Sebastian and Lucas stepped away.

“N-no wai- AAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!”

One demi-vampire tried to plea for help but was immediately cut off by his own scream of pain.

Denneth had released a black flame that burned everything. With the sound of crackling fire, Lucas and Sebastian walked towards Denneth to continue their business.

“Well…that didn’t turn out as planned. However Lucas, you are still yet to be rewarded.”

“It’s finally here!”

Completing his very first quest, Lucas was excited of receiving his first rewards.

Sebastian motioned his men to get something inside his house. After the men had returned, Sebastian presented it to Lucas. It was a familiar black sword with a red gem embedded on it.

This is without a doubt, the sword Sebastian had lent him before the battle. The Draughtbane.

“Before, I only intend to lend it to you…but you have proven yourself worthy of wielding it, please, let this sword accompany you in your travels.”

Lucas held the sword in his hands, he felt familiar with it and can only stare at it deeply.

NameDraughtbaneRankSDamage80~120Durability300/350RequirementSwordsman, Warrior class

Sebastian’s acknowledgementDescriptionA royal heirloom of the pure blooded vampire clan. This sword has the ability to drain the enemy’s life and pass it to the user for every slash. The amount of life taken will differ depending on how powerful the slash is.

Lucas had wondered why he was able to equip it now that it was no longer borrowed but it seems there was nothing to worry about since he met the requirements.

“As our village isn’t as rich as it used to be, I’m afraid I can only give you this much…if possible, I would give you a lot more but…”

“I-it’s fine, this is already more than enough for me who has no weapon.”

“Then, at least let us prepare you armor as well.”

Sebastian offered him another reward.

“Before, you were asking where you can buy armors but…since money has no value here, the answer was that there are none. But, we can still prepare you light armor from the leathers you gathered before, there was no need to pay in the first place.”

Now that you mention it…

Being told of this now, Lucas regretted not asking before. His mind was set on the fact that you will always need money to get what you need since this is a game in the first place. Lucas had forgotten how flexible the NPC’s can be here and so he didn’t think of requesting an armor to be made instead of buying.

“T-that, I would be most grateful for it.”

A bit embarrassed, Lucas still managed to thank Sebastian for it.

“Now it’s time for my rewards boy.”

“Eh?”

Lucas was surprised that Denneth will also give him a reward.

He had thought that Sebastian will be the only one giving the rewards since he was the one that gave the quest. And, as far as he can remember, he didn’t get a quest from Denneth.

“This is…an apology for your arm and also a thank you for saving me from that infernal magic.”

Denneth held his gigantic left arm and pulled it off!

“Wha- he-hey!”

Ignoring the bleeding of his left arm, Denneth presented his own left arm to Lucas.

“Show me your left arm boy.”

A bit hesitant, Lucas complied and showed his severed left hand to Denneth.

Denneth blew a concentrated black flame in between his own left arm and Lucas’ making him jump back to avoid it but was stopped by something unknown inside of him.

For some reason, Lucas felt that the flame wouldn’t hurt him and didn’t evade. True enough, his HP didn’t drop a single digit even with the flame engulfing his left arm.

Soon, the dragon arm shrank to a size of a normal human’s arm, more precisely, to a size of Lucas’ own arm. When the black flame disappeared, he found his own left arm completely black. There were no claws and such, it only looked like a normal human’s arm clad in black.

Not only that, when pinched, there was no difference to human skin. Just when Lucas was wondering what happened, a familiar window appeared.

NameDenneth’s ArmRankSSSEffect+200 INT

+100 VITDurabilityN/ADescriptionThe arm of the dragon [Denneth the Nocturnal], this arm cannot be unequipped and will act as the user’s own arm.

NoticeYou have learned a new skill, (Active) [Dragon Claw] Beginner LVL 1 (0.00%)!

Due to having an arm of a dragon, you will now be able to use a skill exclusive for the Dragon race.

Summons the arm of a Dragon and can be moved freely as if an extension of the body.

MP Cost: 100 points

“T-this is…”

While Denneth healed his now severed left arm, he continued to explain to Lucas.

“That is my own arm, it is my fault you left arm burned and was unable to be recovered”

“But…you were being controlled…”

“Even more so. It was my fault to be carelessly controlled in the first place. I cannot forgive myself no matter what.”

Denneth stood proudly. This is a real dragon, noble, fearless, and proud.

Lucas was at awe as he continued to stare at the existence before him.

“Now then, that was the apology part, next is the reward boy. I see that you’ve maxed out [Night Vision], let me replace that with a greater skill.”

Denneth blew another black flame to Lucas which engulfed his whole body.

Notice[Night Vision] has been removed.

NoticeYou have learned a new skill, (Passive) [Dragon Eyes] Beginner LVL 1 (0.00%)!

Having been recognized by a dragon and maxing out [Night Vision] you have gained a greater skill which will now allow you to see farther.

“Thank you…I really don’t know what to say…”

Lucas bowed to Denneth implying his gratitude sincerely.

“No, I should be the one thanking you boy.”

No matter how many times he sees it, Lucas can’t get used to see a large dragon lowering his head for him.

Lucas opted to change the topic before everyone present starts to bow at him.

“S-so umm, now that you’re free…what are your plans?”

“As atonement for…the things I did to these pure-blooded vampires…I was thinking of guarding them, in case the demi-vampires were to come back but...”

There he goes with the atonement again.

Just when Lucas was about to say something to him, Denneth continued his words.

“I think it will be more efficient if I go out and destroy these infernal vampires myself. My wrath has just begun!”

“W-wait…”

“What is it now boy? I’ll let you know that even though I owe you my life, there’s nothing you can do to change my mind on this. I’ll make sure those vermins feel my wrath!”

It seemed Denneth was completely set on this.

Lucas thought that this would be a bad situation if Denneth were to leave. More specifically, it would be more problematic to Lucas.

Why? Because he knows that the demi-vampires will know something is wrong when their men that were supposed to get the princess didn’t return and will attack the pure-blooded vampires and will definitely win once again.

Not only that, these demi-vampires had already managed to control Denneth once, who’s to say it won’t happen again? If Denneth were to go, history will only repeat itself and Lucas’ efforts will be gone. He didn’t particularly mind it since he already got the quest and finished it but Lucas had already grown somewhat attached to them, and thinking that they will go back to the situation before is…

“Unforgivable…”

Though in games, quests are supposed to be repeated in order for another player to activate it as well and this is probably what is supposed to happen but still, Lucas can’t let that happen.

In order to stop this, there are two ways. One, to make sure Denneth will stay in this place and guard it. Two, let Denneth go and rampage while Lucas stays and do the guarding.

As for why Lucas won’t choose option two, first of all, because he didn’t want to stay in this cave for eternity. Even if he’s attached to them, he still wants to go on an adventure since this was the purpose of the game in the beginning. Second, because he is still weak, with no jobs at all. No skills, no items. He doesn’t think he can take on an army of demi-vampires by himself in his current state.

So the only option is to make Denneth stay.

“You have to understand, you must stay here Denneth.”

“Like I said boy. I won’t change my mind.”

Denneth released a powerful glare at Lucas making him want to shrink in fear. However, Lucas has already willed himself for this and glared back.

Seeing this, Sebastian can’t help but intervene.

“I-it’s fine Lucas, we’ll somehow manage on our own.”

“No, we all know that won’t lead to a good result.”

“Then what do you suggest boy! My patience can only go so far!”

“Let me do it.”

The whole area went silent.

The vampire onlookers had wide-eye that displayed they can’t believe what they just heard. Not only was them, even Sebastian and Denneth shocked.

“Boy…what are you saying!?”

“Lucas…as I thought, you really must not do this for us!”

Despite Sebastian’s plea to stop, Lucas only displayed his resolute eyes that showed he won’t back down coupled with a confident smile.

“Denneth…let me carry your wrath.”

With that one sentence, the atmosphere was once brought to silence.

Soon after, the one who broke it was the large black dragon standing majestically in the middle.

“Kuku…haha…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

The dragon’s laugh echoed inside the cave.

Everyone was dumbfounded to hear the dragon laugh, even Lucas who was completely serious was taken aback when suddenly laughed at.

“Hahahaha, fine boy! You win! I’ll stay here and guard this place as atonement and forget my revenge.”

“Though I don’t understand the need to laugh…well whatever, it’s good to see you understand.”

Lucas pouted at first, then revealed a wry smile at the end.

With this, Denneth will stay and Lucas will be able to go out.

Denneth’s Revenge[Denneth the Nocturnal] has entrusted you his revenge on the demi-vampires. Find whoever’s behind all this and kill him.

Note that for every demi-vampire you kill, Denneth’s interest in you will increase further.

Requirement: Defeat whoever’s behind the demi-vampires

Time Limit: N/A

Difficulty: S

Reward: ???

“Then, as thanks for letting me see something amusing, let me give you one last gift.”

Denneth once again blew black flame to Lucas which engulfed his entire body.

NoticeYou have learned a new skill, (Active) [Dragon Roar] Beginner LVL 1 (0.00%)!

As a gift from a dragon, you were able to acquire a skill limited to the dragon race.

Instills fear and curse to those that hears it.

+10 STR to all party members.

MP Cost: 200 points

“Another dragon race skill…somehow, I’m slowly turning into a dragon aren’t I? In fact, am I still human?”

Lucas tilted his head to the side while thinking of casual thoughts.

Well, he was still grateful for it and thanked Denneth once again. Next, he turned to Sebastian.

“About the armor, when can I get it?”

“Well…the armor can be finished this evening but…are you planning to leave immediately?”

Sebastian looked somewhat lonely when he asked that question.

Maybe like Lucas, he also has grown attached to him and didn’t want to part soon.

“…No…I’m thinking of gaining information of the outside first by asking Denneth some questions, dragons are known for their high intelligence right? So…that…I’ll be troubling you for a few more days…”

Well, since it would be awkward to only leave just because the quest is done, Lucas wanted to stay a few more days in the village and learn things from Denneth.

Information is always important. Lucas just realized he still know nothing of this world.

Who was behind the demi-vampires?

What exactly is the reason behind the vampires’ conflict?

When had this world actually existed?

Where are the rest of the dragons?

Why is there a need to make this quest story in the first place?

How come the NPCs are this flexible in conversations?

There was so much to know. More importantly, there’s still the [World Key] which can mysteriously travel to the real world and apparently, to other worlds.

“Well…let’s take this one step at a time…”

Lucas sighed and with that, he finally logged out.

+ + +

[Denneth…let me carry your wrath]

When Lucas uttered this words, not only were the dragon and the vampires the one frozen in shock, the people watching them had also been dumbfounded and can only stare in amazement.

Each and every one of them had only one thing in their mind.

“““This will definitely trigger another quest!”””

And sure enough, they were right but what was showed was something they never had thought.

“An S class quest!!! To encounter an S class quest in such an early time, I can only say as expected of Lucas!”

Pearce exclaimed as he saw the quest Lucas received through the person in charge of managing the quests.

As far as they all know, there has only been 2 such quests that is of S class including the one Lucas had.

But the other one, is someone that can be called the strongest player in [World Gate Online], that person is stronger than Lucas both in level and in skills. Well, that’s what the numbers show anyway.

As for who that is and what the quest was, that will be another story. And for whether they will meet, one can only anticipate what will happen in that situation.

“Not only that…but that [Denneth’s Arm]…I can’t believe such a thing can exist…for a dragon to give an arm to a human….”

Trask showed interest on the dragon arm Lucas was given. It’s only natural since he didn’t, or rather, no one knew that transplant can exist in the game also.

Some solve their lost limb problem by going to an NPC that specialized in making prosthetic limbs. They all thought that that is the only way to replace their lost limb. Well, turns out they’re wrong.

After Lucas logged out, the feed had stopped.

Since they had been fast forwarding the useless conversations and such, they were only several minutes late of the actual time.

“Sir, there’s a phone call for you.”

An employee presented a phone with an excited expression.

“A phone call, who is it?”

“It’s Lucas.”

Ever one in the room was surprised to hear the news. Since they had been watching him from the start, he’s already become somewhat of a celebrity in the building. This explained why several of them looked like they wanted to snatch the phone but kept still because of the fact that Trask is still their boss.

Noticing this, Trask can’t help but show a wry smile.

“Yes hello? Lucas, is it alright to put you on speaker phone?...thank you.”

Everyone was surprised, sure they all want to hear what Lucas wanted to say for him to call right after logging out and will definitely be asking questions after their conversation is over, but they can still restrain themselves if the Trask forbids it so for him to put him on speaker phone now, it seems they worried for nothing.

Trask only displayed a smile and clicked the speaker phone option.

“Alright, what is it that made you call, Lucas? By the way, I think congratulates are in order for completing the quest, I must admit, I held my doubts but…it seems I was wrong.”

[[Ah y-yes, thank you. I also didn’t expect to have reached such an ending myself. Anyway…I know I already signed the contract and all but, is it alright to add another request?]]

“Sure, fire away”

[[Is it possible not to show the rewards I got?]]

“Well, sure, I can arrange for that, but…can you tell me why?”

Trask was curious as to why Lucas refuses to let others know of his rewards which he can boast in the future.

[[Well, remember that I asked you to keep my name unknown right? Well, since I got very rare items…I think they will still recognize me if they saw my items…I really don’t want to run into more troublesome events anymore…]]

“Ah, haha, I see…Alright, will that be all?”

[[Well, it seems that my name has been said by others here and there during my time in there…can you also omit that?]]

“Yes, I was to do that anyway in the first place.”

[[Thanks, lastly, is it alright to cut the video feed now? Since, I don’t think you’ll need the rest for the movie anyway.]]

“Ah yes yes, that would be best. Since I don’t think my employees will start working with the video still on. They had become quite the fan of yours you know.”

Just as Trask mentioned, the employees had already grown attached to Lucas.

“Lucas! Good work out there!”

“You were so cool Lucas!!!”

“Let’s party sometime Lucas!”

“Lucas! Let’s meet sometime in the game!”

“Lucas! Please marry me!”

The audience cheered for Lucas who was on the other end of the phone.

[[T-that is, thank you very much for your support…I guess? I would be happy to party with you sometime…but for now, I think I need to find a way back first.]]

Lucas’ voice was filled with embarrassment. Since Lucas wasn’t the type of person who normally received such comments before, he didn’t know how to react to them and can only thank them.

[[Well…I need to go now because of school.]]

“Yes, goodbye Lucas.”

And with that, the line was cut and the theater was filled in a calm silence for a while.

“Well, what are you guys waiting for? There’s still work to do!”

“““Yes!”””

+ + +

“Haaah…I really can’t get used to this…”

Lucas sighed after hanging up the phone.

“…I think there was someone that even said ‘Please marry me’…nah, I’m probably imagining it.”

Lucas shook his head and stopped thinking of useless things. Right now, he has more problems.

He’s going to be late.

Because of fainting numerous times, he had already lost track of time.

After wearing his clothes for school, Lucas went out of his condo and started to make his way to school

Since he had already missed majority of the first period, he decided to cut classes and just wait for the second period in the cafeteria, since he hadn’t eaten breakfast yet.

There, he met Gavin and his friends which were also eating breakfast.

“Hm? Is that Lucas? I thought you had class today?”

“Yeah well, I was late so I decided to skip.”

Looking tired, Lucas sat on their table after ordering his food.

“Did I just hear what I think I just hear!?”

“Lucas skipped!!!”

“Welcome to the dark side bro!”

“W-what the hell you guys, this is the part where you’re supposed to say ‘Don’t be late next time’! Why are you actually encouraging me!?”

Lucas was surprised to receive praises from skipping classes, well, this is the kind of guys they are so maybe it’s as expected?

“Haha, this is the first time you were late you know? What were you doing?”

“Nothing…just stayed up late last night…”

Lucas averted his eyes and focused on eating.

Seeing this Gavin can’t help but be more curious.

“Suspicious, totally suspicious….unless…..ahhhh, I see, I see, our Lucas had grown already. Yes, yes, it’s alright Lucas, just keep in mind to be responsible when the time comes.”

For some reason, Gavin seemed to have come into conclusion and patted his back.

Seeming to have noticed what Gavin meant, the rest also gave Lucas a pat in the back as well as a thumb’s up.

“…What’s wrong with you guys?”

Well, Lucas was the only one oblivious of the matter and can only tilt his head.

“Anyway, I just checked the site, look, there’s a new video uploaded in the Hall of Fame, and it was uploaded by the company itself!”

Changing the topic, Kanin showed his laptop to everybody which displayed the Hall of Fame page of the official site of [World Gate Online].

Though only Gavin and Kanin were the ones playing, plus Lucas, everyone was still curious and wanted to watch it excitedly.

Except for one person who paled after seeing the title of the video.

[The White Haired Adventurer: Dragon Quest (Trailer)]

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