Chapter 37: Experience Penalty Is Part of Level Capping, Isn't It
Northern Lands, Moldavia Main City, Lord's Manor Back Courtyard, Fixed Teleportation Array.
"Many thanks."
After shaking off the slight dizziness from the teleportation, Joshua stood on solid ground rather than loose snow and ice. He turned to look at the two Divine Mechanisms, his warhorse, and the bag containing the giant bottle with the dragon egg, nodding in satisfaction. Then, addressing the two young mages beside him—dressed in white robes with silver trim—he said, "I didn't expect you two had already learned multi-person point-to-point teleportation."
His tone carried a hint of surprise. "At such a young age, your talent is indeed impressive. You live up to the reputation of being Master Nostradamus's disciples."
"You flatter us, Lord."
The taller of the two mages stepped forward, bowed slightly, and smiled. "My brother and I relied on the arcane resonance between siblings to cast a high-level spell beyond our rank. In truth, our individual skill is still a notch below casting teleportation spells smoothly."
*Besides, compared to you, what is any talent worth?*
This thought the mage kept to himself, unspoken. A Gold High-rank warrior who wasn't even twenty-five yet—even if warrior advancement was easier than a mage's, this was far too fast.
According to imperial records, this Lord was barely twenty-two years old.
"If you have no further need of us, Lord," the mage said after a moment, noticing Joshua had fallen silent, seemingly lost in thought. He and his brother stood aside cautiously. "May we take our leave?"
"Oh? Of course."
The black-haired warrior had indeed been pondering something, which was why he'd spaced out for a moment. Hearing the mage's words, he nodded in permission. "No need for so much formality. Such restraint makes me uncomfortable. You're not my subordinates, after all—just address me normally."
"Your leniency is your right, but using honorifics is also our way of showing respect."
The younger mage on the other side spoke up, his voice carrying a hint of excitement. "Facing a Lord willing to slay dragons for his people—no amount of honorifics is too much."
"That said... feel free to mention this to your friends, but don't spread it around."
Faced with this sincere praise, Joshua could only shake his head with a smile and wave his hand, signaling they could leave. "It's not yet time for publicity."
"Yes, sir!"
After the two mage brothers departed, Joshua remained standing in the center of the teleportation array, not moving. Ying, standing behind him, curiously lifted her head, wondering what was going on with her master. But suddenly, the warrior spoke: "I'm a bit tired... Ying, Lin, and Hei—you've all worked hard. Thanks to you, this raid on the dragon nest was so successful."
With that, he turned around, revealing a kind smile. His usually fierce, rugged face softened with a hint of warmth. "Ying, take Hei back to the stables in a bit. Lin, put the dragon egg and this bottle in the vault. Do you know the vault password?"
"Understood, master. I know the password."
The black-haired youth readily agreed, then asked with slight confusion, "You personally told me the password last time, master. Did you forget?"
"No..." Joshua's state was clearly distracted. His gaze pierced through the void, as if he were staring blankly. But Lin, with his observational skills, could tell his master wasn't simply spacing out—he was looking at something invisible to them.
*Oh well. Whatever master wants to do, let him. As a Divine Mechanism, just doing my job is enough.*
Light footsteps sounded as Lin watched his weapons and warhorse leave the back courtyard. Joshua pondered for a moment, then continued looking at the system's list.
Ever since discovering an unknown class level on himself in the dragon nest, Joshua had been quite concerned.
In the Mycroft Continent, class levels could be converted between each other, but only within the same category. For example, a warrior and a mage couldn't swap, and a mage and a priest could never convert. When Joshua first crossed over, his class levels were in the Black Crow Legion's special class, Black Crow Raider, and the Northern special knight class, Northern War Rider. But after inheriting the family's hero class, Chaos Warden, he gradually converted all levels into Chaos Warden.
There was naturally some loss in the process, but it was worth it. Although Black Crow Raider and Northern War Rider were decent special classes, compared to a hero class, they were far inferior.
But now, Joshua discovered that this unknown class, which had appeared at some unknown time, was actually a rank higher than Chaos Warden from a certain perspective!
In truth, the warrior had long been mentally prepared that the system wasn't omniscient or omnipotent. After all, when identifying items, it relied on his own knowledge judgment. If he wasn't very familiar with a subject, there would only be a general explanation. But if he was well-versed, a detailed description would appear.
This meant the entire system was built within the scope of Joshua's previous life's knowledge, with little deviation. This unknown class clearly belonged to an area the warrior had never known, neither in his past life nor now.
"The experience penalty for dual-classing into this high-level class is really too heavy..."
Looking at the fragmentary information revealed by this unknown class, Joshua couldn't help but frown. "Killing ten dragons—even a composite class like a God-Blessed Warrior would have leveled up. Yet I'm still stuck at level 49."
Level 49 was the peak of the Gold rank. One more level up meant preparing for the advancement quest into the Ultimate Essence realm. Although Joshua already possessed the Memory of Technique, this life he didn't intend to follow the old path. Instead, he aimed for the Ultimate Essence of Force, strengthening his body. So, unless something unexpected happened, he would still need to undergo a trial to complete the advancement.
But in this era, there was no shortage of trial opportunities. For instance, in the upcoming Dragon Calamity, there would be endless opportunities—and, of course, endless disasters. Although the Northern White Dragons had all been slain by Joshua, that didn't mean Moldavia could rest easy. Without dragon control, the dragon beasts would just be a bit dumber; their ferocious nature and power wouldn't diminish.
"Could it be the Soulflame King? The power of the Steel Serpent and the Azure Orb certainly wouldn't dissipate so easily..."
Walking back to the Lord's Manor study, Joshua frowned, still deep in thought. "That is a possibility. In that case, it's hard to say whether it's a loss or a gain... I'll need to search for relevant information on this in the future, learning about the Era of Radiance, and even the human era before it."
As he pondered, he stepped into the Lord's Manor. His tall figure disappeared into the shadows behind the door.
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Capital.
Nostradamus once again entered the resplendent royal study. (To be continued.)