Chapter 16: The Undying
Although the temple on the Holy Mountain appeared vast, in reality, due to the placement of altars, holy symbols, seats, and various other odds and ends, it was not as spacious as the main hall of the Lord's Manor.
The group, who had been away from home for a long time, stepped into the spacious stone castle, entering the warm reception hall. Unlike the still-scorching Far South, the Northern Lands had already begun to show a hint of chill in September. Thus, the firewood in the fireplace had already been lit, burning slowly, releasing a comforting warmth and the scent of smoke.
"Have you all eaten yet?"
After Joshua and the others entered the Lord's Manor, Unit 3 had been directing the maids and attendants inside to take over their belongings, preparing to welcome them and wash away the dust of travel. It was a bit embarrassing to say, but because the warrior was often away from home, he couldn't even recognize the newly hired staff in his own Lord's Manor. On the other hand, the Artificial Intelligence Girl was quite familiar with them, and the authority she exuded in her words and actions made it seem as if she were the true master of the place.
After receiving a negative answer from Joshua, Unit 3 immediately instructed the kitchen to start preparing lunch. Just then, the sound of 'thump thump thump' footsteps came from the staircase leading to the second floor. After a few breaths, two little girls, whom the warrior was very familiar with, appeared before everyone.
"Uncle Joshua!"
"Uncle Josh!"
Brandon and Verdani's two daughters greeted the warrior energetically, then ran off again with 'thump thump thump' sounds. Since they came here often, they had long regarded Moldavia as their second home. Now, the two sisters seemed to be heading to the backyard to play.
Joshua smiled and waved at them, then turned to look at Unit 3 with some confusion. Unit 3 nodded slightly and immediately explained: "An ancient ruin has appeared in Moldova Territory. Now, many unknown individuals are gathering in the territory, including Gold-rank experts. Mr. Brandon felt the territory wasn't very safe, so they entrusted their daughters to Master Nostradamus, who then passed them on to us."
...It seems my place has become a daycare center.
Shaking his head, Joshua sighed, not knowing what to say. He turned and softly instructed Ying and Lin, who were beside him: "Go look after them, make sure nothing unexpected happens."
"Alright." The Divine Mechanism siblings nodded in agreement out of habit. They had always been the ones to take care of these two little girls.
"Oh—wait, this one... a very familiar aura, but I've never seen her before?"
At that moment, Unit 3 focused her gaze on Hei and Surano, who were behind the warrior. The Dragon Girl greeted the Artificial Intelligence Girl with a cheerful smile, while the Blue Dragon showed a forced smile, looking as if he had a stomachache.
This blue-haired 'elf' was a complete stranger, now following behind Joshua, seemingly as a follower. Unit 3 could see that, but the black-haired girl gave her a very familiar feeling, yet she couldn't find any relevant information in her memory database. This was somewhat strange.
Joshua reached out and ruffled Hei's head, a slight smile on his lips: "Her? This matter needs to be explained from the beginning..."
After letting Surano go to rest in the adjoining hall, the warrior, Hei, and Unit 3 found a seat by a floor-to-ceiling window, and Joshua began to recount his recent experiences.
Ever since Joshua brought Unit 3 back from the Carlis World to the Mycroft Continent, every time he went out to explore and adventure, he would tell the Artificial Intelligence Girl about his experiences. The warrior could see that Unit 3 always wanted to see this prosperous world, but due to her main body, she couldn't move freely. So, before he found a perfect body for the Artificial Intelligence, he used this method to compensate her.
Joshua's storytelling skills were not impressive. He spoke plainly and directly, rarely using words to describe, exaggerate, or create atmosphere. An obviously thrilling journey, in his words, was no different from going to a bar on the next street for a drink. But even so, Unit 3 listened very seriously, occasionally sighing, expressing surprise, and asking the warrior about the details of certain events.
She also understood the identity of the black-haired girl—it turned out she was the warrior's Black Dragon mount transformed into human form. This convenient method made Unit 3 envious.
"I see... Brain-Eating Worms, huh. That is indeed a very dangerous situation, but you didn't have to be so reckless as to dig it out."
Hearing the later part, about the warrior's battle with Man Da Jia Er and Nolan in the Bloodmoon Abyss, the Artificial Intelligence couldn't help but become serious. She seemed somewhat disapproving of the warrior's actions: "With an Ultimate-rank Magic Dragon watching from the shadows, you actually exposed such a big flaw... Also, there was no need to kill that Alchemist so decisively."
Her words sounded a bit regretful: "According to what you said, she should have been a highly talented Alchemist, capable of creating a new alchemical system. It would have been better to force the knowledge out of her before killing her."
The Artificial Intelligence still had an instinct for collecting knowledge. Unit 3 always felt regret over similar matters.
"It doesn't matter. I don't want to touch that kind of money-burning system in my lifetime."
To this, Joshua shook his head, speaking somewhat casually: "Besides, I already have you. I don't need anyone else."
Although the Ultimate Sublimation system was excellent, the alchemical system of the Carlis World was exceptionally powerful—it was a powerful civilization capable of building city-class mobile fortresses and Void Warships. Not to mention other things, just the massive Mana Core and integrated control hub already surpassed the technical capabilities of all current forces in the Mycroft World. And as the crystallization of the Carlis World civilization, the Artificial Intelligence Unit 3 herself was the greatest treasure trove. With her around, Joshua naturally didn't feel much regret over losing the Ultimate Sublimation system.
But what puzzled Joshua was that, for some reason, Unit 3 suddenly lowered her head and stopped talking.
The blue long hair, projected by high-concentration Arcane Power, trembled slightly, as if about to collapse, and the Winged Human's unique wings fluttered continuously, as if trembling.
But this abnormal state only lasted a few seconds. After a few seconds, the Artificial Intelligence Girl raised her head again, her expression normal. The warrior, who found it a bit strange, shrugged slightly and continued recounting the subsequent experiences.
From the Bloodmoon Abyss back to the Holy Mountain, then the battle with the Mad Dragon, Joshua narrowly escaped death from the attack of the Divine Artifact longsword, and finally, with the help of the Nature Mentor, he regenerated his physical body.
It was a story that wasn't long but was exciting enough. The warrior narrated seriously, and Unit 3 listened seriously.
Time passed.
A few days later.
Year 833 of the Falling Stars Era, September 8th, morning.
Moldavia Territory, Main City, Lord's Manor.
Joshua stood in the Lord's Manor... *might have unexpected uses*, he thought, turning to the next page.
**[Name: Joshua van Radcliffe]**
**[Template: Hero]**
**[Title: Dragon Foe (Defeated, killed twenty different types of dragons and dragon beasts)]**
**[Race: Human · ???]**
**[Racial Skill: Divinity (?)]**
**[Level: lv66 · Ultimate Mid-rank]**
**[Challenge Level: lv63 (Hero)]**
**[Attributes: ...]**
**[Charisma: -252]**
Regarding the decrease in Charisma, Joshua had long stopped caring. After all, acquaintances were not affected by this Charisma, and those with strong strength also had resistance to it. At least, none of those Ultimate-rank Clergy on the Holy Mountain showed any wariness or vigilance because of his Charisma. Instead, it was those low-intelligence dragon beasts that were most affected.
The warrior's current level, talents, skills, and various achievements were enough to fill several pages with tens of thousands of words. Joshua naturally didn't bother to look at these things and skimmed through them all until a new skill appeared before his eyes.
**[Solar Flash (62%)]**
**[Derived from the Flame's Ultimate Essence of the Fusion Core Star, a skill aimed at compressing and condensing positive energy, converting it into extreme high heat and impact. Its lethality is extremely terrifying.]**
**[This skill has not been fully comprehended. Without holding a fragment of the Fusion Core Star as an aid, the user cannot properly condense positive energy for attack.]**
An ability gained from detonating His Majesty the Emperor's 'El's Light' and directly enduring the self-destruction of the Red Dragon's Fusion Core Star fragment. Upon seeing it, Joshua unconsciously condensed a sphere of golden fireball in his hand. He pondered for a moment: "Indeed, although I already know the energy flow trajectory when the Fusion Core Star is detonated, I can't smoothly complete the compression-conversion step... It seems I need to practice hard."
Having made up his mind, Joshua planned to find some time to go to the Northern Wasteland to practice the Solar Flash skill more. He now knew many skills and techniques, but overall, he lacked a decisive finishing move. Solar Flash was undoubtedly the warrior's best choice at the moment.
The system-related information ended roughly here. Joshua shifted his gaze to the cityscape.
He watched the residents, who were going out one by one in the early morning, preparing for their day's work, but his mind involuntarily drifted back to the scene he had witnessed a few days ago, when he teleported from the top of the Great Temple on the Far Sea Holy Mountain to the entrance of his own Lord's Manor.
The source of the Dragon Calamity, the Five-Color Dragon God who had made a deal with the Abyss Lord, was actually together with the Seven Gods of Humanity, the Metal Dragon God, and other deities of the Mycroft Continent, standing guard in the Void against some unknown existence. Although their relationship was clearly not harmonious, there was no wariness or vigilance between them as enemies.
This shocking situation, if it were anyone else, would be dismissed as a fleeting hallucination, but Joshua firmly believed that his perception was not wrong. He had indeed seen that scene.
—What kind of existence could make the gods of various races, who were originally enemies, join forces to stand guard?
—In his previous life, was it this existence that delayed the conflict between the Five-Color Dragon God and the Seven Gods?
Joshua did not know the truth of the matter, but he had a vague conjecture.
Even the Five-Color Dragon God, who was cruel and ruthless to humans, had its own race and subjects. The only thing that could make many deities set aside their past grievances and temporarily unite to fight against... were those chaotic beings in the Void known as Evil Gods.
Just as the warrior was thinking, footsteps came from the staircase leading to the rooftop of the Lord's Manor.
Without needing sight or smell, just through the footsteps and the vibration of the stone blocks, Joshua could identify who it was.
"Surano, why have you come back from Winterfell Academy?"
The warrior turned his head, looking at the calm-faced humanoid Blue Dragon, and asked curiously: "Is there something you need to tell me?"
"That's right."
Surprisingly, Surano answered readily: "I've just figured some things out, and I feel that I should indeed tell you now."
After a pause, the blue-haired 'elf' let out a deep sigh.
"Lord Count, would you like to hear the history of the Dragon Clan?"