Evil Clown Evolution [A VRMMORPG Adventure]

Every pair of eyes widened at the sight before them. The Knight Commander stood tall with his back facing them, a blanket draped over his shoulders and covering most of his body.

"Commander Naldrom..." one of the knights called out cautiously.

"Hah! You lot really don't know how to pick the worst possible moment to interrupt someone, do you?" the man said as he slowly turned around.

As he faced them, the blanket was wrapped around him just enough to preserve his dignity. Several of the knights immediately looked away in embarrassment.

Behind him, they could make out a pair of pale, slender legs extending from the edge of a sofa. The figure attached to them remained hidden beneath the shadows and blanket, though the legs shifted ever so slightly.

"My apologies, Commander Naldrom," one of the knights said with a respectful bow. "I didn't realize you were... occupied. We heard loud noises, shouting, and something crashed against the side of the tent. We feared something had happened to you."

"Hah!" Naldrom let out a dismissive laugh. "You youngsters should spend more time enjoying your lives instead of panicking over every little sound. Raised voices, a little arguing, things getting a bit rough... that's hardly unusual behind closed doors. Not every noise means someone's trying to kill me."

The knight coughed awkwardly before lowering his head again.

"I can see that you're... perfectly fine, Commander."

Naldrom adjusted the blanket around his waist, making sure it remained securely wrapped around him. The woman behind him stayed almost completely hidden. Only her legs were visible from where the knights stood, leaving the rest of her concealed from view.

The knights remained where they were, still scanning the tent with suspicion.

The higher-ranking knight turned his attention toward an unusual lounge chair resting near the back of the tent. His brows drew together.

"That lounge chair... its color looks different. I don't remember seeing it there before. Or am I mistaken?"

Naldrom followed the man's gaze for a brief moment before giving a casual shrug.

"You're mistaken. It's been there the whole time. Maybe the crystal lamps made it look different after being relit, or maybe you're just more interested in my furniture than your own duties."

Naldrom waved a hand dismissively.

"If you've confirmed that I'm alive and well, then stop wasting my time. Get out. All of you."

"Yes, Commander."

Without another word, the knights saluted and quickly filed out of the tent, leaving Naldrom and the hidden woman behind in silence.

Jester had sent the four maids to this tent after studying everything he had learned about this commander, along with the possibility that the neighboring nobles would eventually respond to what he had done to Opopo and the other members of the Necroton faction.

After analyzing the situation further, Jester came to understand the differences between their abilities much more clearly. There was his own Harvest Mask, Sliora's ability to absorb someone and completely assimilate into that person's appearance, and Pearl's parasitic ability to take control of a living host.

Each of those abilities had strengths and weaknesses that complemented one another.

Jester's greatest limitation was that he could never guarantee Harvest Mask would activate. On top of that, the cost of using Chaos Reaping was far from cheap. It required anywhere between 20 and 220 Chaos, and he was convinced that the more Chaos he invested, the greater the chance that Harvest Mask would successfully trigger.

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Unfortunately, he also understood something else very well.

Chaos was a currency that looked difficult to collect at first glance, but it was even easier to spend. Once it started flowing, it disappeared frighteningly fast.

Because of that, Harvest Mask always carried an element of luck. No matter how carefully he prepared, he could never guarantee a plan would succeed with absolute certainty.

Sliora possessed a similar ability, but hers worked under entirely different conditions. She could absorb another person as well, yet the assimilation process required time. According to her, it could take as long as twenty-four hours if she wanted to perfectly reconstruct someone's face, voice, body structure, and every subtle detail of their appearance.

Pearl, on the other hand, was capable of covering many of the weaknesses shared by both Jester and Sliora, although her own ability came with strict limitations.

She could seize control of another person's body, provided the target was still alive.

The victim remained completely unaware while Pearl took temporary control of not only their body, but also gained access to their memories. Through that connection, she could recall information the host knew, mimic their behavior with remarkable accuracy, and even use the abilities that belonged to the person she had parasitized.

Once her objective was complete, Pearl could leave the host alive and relinquish control, or kill them if the mission demanded it. The choice was entirely hers.

However, the longer Pearl remained inside a host, the greater the chance that the body would suffer irreversible damage. In most cases, people rarely survived after being controlled for an extended period.

That made Pearl exceptionally valuable for operations that required someone to be replaced almost instantly. She could infiltrate, complete the objective, and withdraw before the victim even realized anything had happened.

Even so, she could not maintain control indefinitely. Her main host could never be left unattended for too long, placing a strict limit on how long each operation could last.

Combined with Sliora's talent for infiltration, reshaping her body, and perfectly imitating another person, Michel's ability to mimic objects, most commonly furniture, while taking on the appearance of the strawberry-haired maid she usually used as her human form, and Shade's talent for slipping through darkness and merging with shadows without leaving a trace, the four of them formed an almost perfect team for infiltration, assassination, and covert operations.

**

In the silence of the night, the once-lively camp of the honorable Knight Commander Naldrom had finally begun to quiet down. The songs, laughter, and chatter that had filled the air gradually faded, leaving only the crackling of campfires and the distant sounds of the night.

Without warning, several knights stationed around the perimeter suddenly straightened.

"Movement ahead!" one of the night guards shouted. "Unknown group approaching! Everyone, stay alert! Form up and prepare for contact!"

Within moments, the camp sprang to life. Sleeping knights rushed from their tents while others hurried into position, weapons already in hand.

The distant silhouettes slowly became clearer as the glow of torches and crystal lamps illuminated the open ground beyond the camp.

Dozens of figures emerged from the darkness. Every one of them wore heavy plate armor. There were at least twenty of them, perhaps closer to thirty.

Leading the group was a broad-shouldered man with short blond hair. A mostly silver suit of armor covered his body, while a blue cape rested over his shoulders. Beside him walked a woman with a neat blond bob haircut, dressed in frost-colored armor that reflected the crystal lights with a cold sheen.

The knights guarding the entrance immediately stepped forward, lowering their spears before crossing them to block the path.

"Halt!" one of the guards commanded. "State your identities and the purpose of your visit. You have entered the outer security zone of Stonegate Garrison. No one proceeds any farther without the commander's permission."

The player at the front, whose name displayed as Justhole, continued walking until the crossed spears stopped him only inches from his chest.

He slowly looked down at the weapons before raising his eyes toward the guards.

"Move those spears," he said in a cold, commanding voice.

No one moved.

Justhole took another deliberate step forward, allowing the spearheads to press harder against his armor.

"I'll say it only once."

His gaze swept across every knight standing before him.

"Remove those spears... or what happens here next will become a disaster your commander won't be able to clean up. Don't test my patience over a pointless formality."

At the same moment, more knights poured out from the surrounding tents, quickly forming ranks as swords, shields, and spears were drawn.

Justhole's guild members answered immediately, stepping into formation behind him with their own weapons ready.

Neither side showed any intention of backing down.

"Bring your commander out here," Justhole demanded. "I didn't come all this way to negotiate with gatekeepers."

An uneasy silence settled over the camp. Then everyone's attention shifted toward the center of the encampment.

A lone figure walked forward with measured steps, followed closely by rows of armored knights.

He was a tall man with long brown hair, dressed in magnificent gold and deep maroon armor. A long scar ran down the left side of his face, cutting straight across his left eye, giving him an even more imposing and battle-hardened presence.

Knight Commander Naldrom.

He advanced without hesitation until he stood only a few steps away from Justhole, meeting the player's eyes directly as the tension between the two groups grew heavier with every passing second.