Chapter 616: Dark Cyclone Rapid Slash
They landed in the Fire Maple Forest, and the Red Maple Flower Demons immediately came swarming toward them. They were beautiful at first glance, their scarlet bodies resembling blooming maple trees, but that beauty concealed a vicious temperament, and the moment they detected intruders in their territory, they attacked without hesitation.
"Flame Petal Blast!"
The demons twisted their branch-like waists and swung their red, maple-leaf-shaped arms, sending a storm of blazing petals toward the newcomers, and waves of intense fire magic filled the air, scorching everything in their path.
Unfortunately for the demons, they had picked the worst possible targets, as they were facing an Immortal Phoenix, a supreme Divine Beast of the fire element, along with Princess Phoenix, a Phoenix Knight who specialized in fire-based attacks.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The fiery petals exploded against the Phoenix in a spectacular display, but when the flames cleared, it was completely unharmed. As a Divine Beast with absolute resistance to fire attacks of this level, the Level 80 Red Maple Flower Demons could not inflict even a scratch on it.
The petals that struck Princess Phoenix were hardly more effective, each one dealing only around twenty points of damage.
"Phoenix Dance Slash!"
Princess Phoenix swept forward, her weapon flashing as she tore through the nearest demon, and the Phoenix followed immediately with its ranged magic, unleashing "Phoenix Blazing Cloud" and engulfing the monster in a sea of flames.
One combination was enough to kill a Red Maple Flower Demon, and the poor Level 80 monsters simply had no chance.
Princess Phoenix calmly stepped forward and used her high-level Gathering skill to harvest the corpses, collecting the True Flame Clouds they needed. Her movements were graceful and composed, almost as though she were carrying out an ordinary chore rather than slaughtering monsters several levels above most players.
Marcus and Princess Celeste barely needed to lift a finger, which was perfectly fine with him.
He and Celeste simply followed behind, absorbing the experience from Princess Phoenix’s kills, and at the speed she was clearing the monsters, the experience came much faster than anything Marcus could have earned by grinding alone.
The real highlight, however, came about two hours into their journey, when their conversation had been relaxed and natural, and at some point, Princess Celeste quietly dismissed her Holy Light Wings before settling herself comfortably in Marcus’s arms as they continued riding Blackie together.
Marcus couldn’t help smiling.
’Progress.’
After everything they had experienced during their journey through Ten-Thunder Valley, it was obvious that he had won a special place in this little beauty’s heart, and their intimacy was probably already above ninety.
He lowered his eyes toward her with a satisfied smile, and his hands rested around her slender waist, feeling the warmth of her body through her silky robes. A faint, clean fragrance lingered around her, and having her nestled so naturally against him made his mood considerably better.
He had to keep going.
If he wanted to completely win over Princess Celeste, he couldn’t stop here, for there was still Princess Phoenix, the proud and noble Phoenix Knight.
Winning her over would undoubtedly be much more difficult, but Marcus had no intention of giving up.
"Stone, here’s your Divine Artifact, the Thousand Needles. My sister personally installed it for you."
Celeste handed his weapon back to him, and then, after glancing around to make sure they were still some distance away from her sister, she shifted slightly in his arms and leaned close to his ear.
"Stone, besides the set of Shadow Needles my sister already installed, we found two more sets in the Imperial Treasury. No one else can use them, so my sister and I will try to obtain them for you."
Marcus’s eyes lit up.
’Seriously?’
’Two more sets?’
"Thank you."
He nodded enthusiastically, looking down at the young princess in his arms, and her features were so delicate that she looked as though she had been carved from ice and jade, and with her face only inches from his, it was difficult not to be distracted by her beauty.
More importantly, Celeste trusted him enough to tell him about something that clearly wasn’t meant for ordinary outsiders.
That made him genuinely happy.
Princess Phoenix was occupied farther ahead, currently fighting a freshly spawned Red Maple Flower Demon King, and with her attention focused on the battle, Marcus found himself unable to resist the temptation any longer.
He tightened his arms around Celeste’s slender waist.
"Celeste..."
He leaned down and kissed her, and the moment their lips met, Celeste froze.
Her lips were soft and warm, and when Marcus felt her tense in surprise, he immediately realized just how sudden his actions had been. He slowed down instead of pressing his advantage, giving her a chance to pull away, but she didn’t.
Her lips trembled slightly before parting, and Marcus gently kissed her again, careful not to frighten her. The unfamiliar closeness made Celeste shiver, and the masculine presence of the man holding her left her flustered beyond words.
"Stone..."
Her voice came out as little more than a helpless murmur, for she had never experienced anything like this before.
She had never even imagined that her first kiss would happen so suddenly, while she was sitting in her knight’s arms and riding through a dangerous forest.
She should have pushed him away, since she was a princess, after all, and maintaining her dignity had always been important to her.
Yet when she felt his arms around her and realized that he was no longer forcing the kiss, she found herself unable to bring herself to leave.
Her body gradually relaxed against him, and somewhere along the way, this shameless knight had quietly found a place in her heart.
Otherwise, why would the noble Princess Celeste willingly travel beside a man for so long, or why would she repeatedly choose to ride with him when she could easily have traveled on her own?
She had never admitted those feelings to herself before, but now, however, she could no longer pretend they weren’t there.
"Stone..."
She thought his name quietly, her cheeks burning as she leaned against his broad chest.
The kiss was intoxicating, and Marcus was sorely tempted to continue, but Princess Phoenix was still nearby, so he knew better than to lose himself completely with her sister only a short distance away.
Reluctantly, he pulled back.
Celeste took a moment to catch her breath before finally looking up at him, and her face was flushed, with a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance in her eyes.
"Pervert," she muttered.
She glared at him as though she were genuinely displeased with his sudden boldness, but she made no attempt to climb out of his arms.
Marcus couldn’t help grinning.
He tightened his embrace slightly, enjoying the warmth of the moment, when suddenly a system notification rang in his ears.
Ding!
[Congratulations, player Stonehaven. Princess Celeste’s favorability toward you has reached 95. She will no longer develop feelings for anyone else.]
Marcus nearly choked.
’What?’
’That was actually a thing?’
He stared blankly for a moment before recovering, and then he thought about how the game’s systems were becoming more ridiculous by the day.
At this point, the realism was almost frightening, and then again, when he thought about it, perhaps it wasn’t all that surprising.
Lyanna, the Wyvern Saint Knight, and Camillo, the Vixen Queen, had already become his pets, while Alana, the Grandmaster Alchemist, had become his retainer.
The system had never exactly followed the rules of an ordinary game, and he had also heard that Dominion was preparing to undergo a major update, one that would further enhance the gaming pods and make the virtual world even more immersive.
The virtualization level was already above ninety-five percent, making Dominion almost indistinguishable from reality, and at this point, it was difficult to think of it as merely a game.
It was becoming a second life.
Marcus pulled Celeste a little closer, unable to suppress the happiness spreading through him.
Then another thought occurred to him.
’If kissing Celeste had increased her intimacy so dramatically, would doing the same with the other girls have a similar effect?’
The problem was figuring out how to get close enough without accidentally triggering a harassment penalty.
He would have to be careful.
Still, his charm was clearly working, especially with sweet and innocent girls like Celeste.
Marcus smiled to himself.
’Basking in my own greatness.’
Celeste seemed to notice his smug expression and gave him a suspicious look before reaching into her belongings and taking out a scroll.
"Stone, here’s the chain skill scroll I promised you. My sister specifically chose one that suits your class."
’Right.’
He had almost forgotten.
Marcus’s attention immediately shifted to the scroll, and after seeing the devastating power of Princess Phoenix’s "Phoenix’s Fury Chain Combo," he had been looking forward to obtaining a chain skill of his own.
He eagerly accepted the scroll and examined its properties.
---
Dark Cyclone Rapid Slash
High-Grade Chain Skill Scroll
Requirement: Level 50 Knight
A spoil of war captured from a Demon Clan general during the ancient war.
Effect: Performs a Heavy Strike against the enemy commander, then launches a chain attack against all enemies surrounding the commander. The more Dark and Death attributes the user possesses, and the larger the weapon, the greater the attack’s range and power. Minimum chain: 20 hits.
Limitations: Consumes 5,000 MP. Duration: 10 minutes. Uses remaining: 5/5.
---
’Holy crap.’
’This was powerful.’
A ranged chain attack skill was already rare enough, but one that could strike the commander first and then spread to every enemy around it?
Marcus could practically feel his blood pumping at the thought of unleashing it on a battlefield.
"Celeste, thank you."
He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, then carefully tucked the precious scroll into his pack.