Chapter 285: Talent Enhancement

Chapter 285: Talent Enhancement



"It's actually the ancient legend of the cult, Tasa can smell the stench of his corrupted soul."

Ren followed the sound and looked up, seeing a woman in a dark red sorcerer's robe floating down from the back of a red dragon.

Her robe seemed to be specially tailored, with a wide neckline that squeezed a pair of fair and voluptuous weapons, giving the impression that they were about to burst forth.

In contrast, her waist was slender.

The hem of her robe was very long, trailing all the way to her heels, but the slit was extremely high, almost reaching the top of her thighs, perhaps to facilitate riding the giant dragon.

This bold yet subtly suggestive style made Ren unable to resist carefully observing her face.

Her nose bridge was high, and her deep purple eyes were profound, divine, and slightly flirtatious, as if a single glance would entrap one in a state of ruin.

Her light red hair was held back on both sides by unnoticeable hair clips, with two strands circling behind her, while the rest of her hair flowed naturally down her back.

Overall, Ren's impression of her, aside from her beauty, was that it was hard to determine her age.

She could be in her twenties, thirties, or even forties.

At this moment, Viscount Filk, the deputy captain of the Minster Griffin Squadron, dressed in a light golden armor, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Highness Menya, Viscount Filk Finch, pays his respects to you."

"Oh, you're the youngest son of the Finch family. I remember holding you when you were a child." Menya glanced at Viscount Filk and said with a look of realization.

Viscount Filk's face turned slightly red, and he replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

However, it was clear that Menya's focus wasn't on Viscount Filk. She said, "This cult legend should be your kill, right? Truly a young hero."

As Menya spoke, her face showed appreciation, and her penetrating gaze fell upon Ren.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects," Ren said, bowing slightly.

"Yes, Your Highness Menya. This is Lord Ren of the Minster Swordsmen Branch. He's the one who killed this cult legend," Clara said, stepping forward and performing a kneeling bow.

Menya glanced at Clara and nodded, "A scion of the Habus family. Greetings."

"Hmm?" Menya continued to curiously size up Ren, then suddenly looked surprised and said, "Ren, you might not have noticed, but you've been cursed by this cult legend."

Huh? Cursed?

Ren was taken aback and immediately opened his attribute panel to check.

Indeed, the first line read: "Ren Calan (Dark Flame Mark)"

He had been paying attention to the remaining attribute points at the bottom of the panel, so he hadn't noticed it.

No wonder he felt something amiss even after using the Beast Priest's special skill to heal himself.

However, the term used on the attribute panel was 'mark' instead of 'curse.'

Ren wasn't sure if this was just a difference in system terminology.

"Your Excellency, is there any way to remove this curse?" Ren asked, his face slightly troubled.

"Removing curses isn't my specialty. Usually, the Goddess Church can help you get rid of this curse."

However, Menya thought for a moment and changed her mind, "Never mind, I'll do it. I can still remove the curse of a legendary warrior."

"Great Fire Sprite," Menya chanted softly, waving her staff adorned with a crimson crystal.

As Menya pointed her staff, a red fire ring appeared around Ren.

But strangely, the next second, the fire ring shattered and disappeared into the air.

Hmm? Menya's beautiful eyes widened, her cherry lips slightly parted, and she stared at her ineffective curse removal spell in astonishment.

"How could this be?"

"How is this possible? Could it be..."

Menya quickly approached the fallen Ancient Hero Monge, and her high-slit sorcerer's robe revealed a glimpse of her alluring figure as she walked.

As Menya crouched to examine Monge, her exaggerated waist-to-hip ratio was fully displayed.

Soon, Menya turned her willow-like eyebrows towards Ren and said,

"Young man, it seems I can't help you with the problem on your body. Because what was given to you isn't a curse, but a mark, which means it was a legendary warrior."

"What!" Viscount Filk was so surprised his eyes almost popped out, looking at Ren as if he had seen a ghost.

"A legendary warrior?" Clara's mouth hung open, her eyes wide with shock.

"Oh my!" Secretary Olena, following behind, covered her mouth with her hand in astonishment.

Menya's words caused a stir among the surrounding guards, most of whom were perplexed.

What does a legendary warrior mean?

Obviously, this was a knowledge gap for most people.

Because they had never heard of it.

Including Ren, who also looked perplexed.

"I killed a legendary warrior..."

"How did it become a legendary warrior?"

"The seal can only be cast by an Epic-level warrior, so the opponent's true strength is undoubtedly Epic. However, due to being sealed for a long time, their power has greatly diminished."

"Princess Menya, is there a way to remove the seal on my body?"

"Of course. You can go to the Imperial Capital, many Imperial Guardians can help you remove this curse."

Ren frowned slightly. "Is that the only way?"

"Not necessarily. Perhaps you could try seeking the Archbishop of Minster; they might be able to dispel the seal through a prayer ritual."

"That's right, Ren. Don't worry too much. I sense a violent and restless power from this seal."

"The effect of this seal is to make you increasingly irritable, eventually leading to a complete loss of self."

"However, due to the opponent's weakened state, the intensity of the seal isn't significant. It's more of a gradual, subtle influence that will take at least several months, maybe even half a year, to slowly change your temperament."

Ren nodded in understanding.

What a sinister seal.

This kind of seal is much harder to guard against than a typical curse that lowers physical attributes.

If it weren't for his system panel, he wouldn't have even known he was affected.

However, several months isn't an urgent timeframe.

"You are indeed a lucky young man." Princess Menya looked at Ren's warhammer and spoke.

"The blue and white square warhammer in your hand is probably the Named Holy Artifact of your opponent."

"Named Holy Artifact?" Ren asked, puzzled.

He felt that the weapon was extraordinary, but he wasn't sure of its exact tier.

"Indeed. The unique design of this blue and white square warhammer is quite distinctive. Perhaps you can look for information at the Church of the Goddess of Monsoon and Ocean." Princess Menya nodded and explained.

"Ren, you don't seem to be even twenty years old yet, right? You're truly an exceptional young man, already touching upon Will Radiance at such a young age. This is a rare case even within the Empire."

"Perhaps you should consider joining the Royal Griffin Guard."

"If you're interested, you can take this scale of Tasar and go to the Imperial Capital to find General Clifford." Princess Menya said, taking out a red dragon scale.

Ren accepted the floating red dragon scale, but his body stiffened slightly. "Thank you, Princess Menya."

"Well, since everything is settled here, I must return to the front lines." Princess Menya nodded at everyone and once again used her levitation spell to slowly fly onto the red dragon's back.

The massive red dragon then spread its wide fleshy wings and took off into the sky with powerful flaps.

Its enormous body began to reflect light like transparent glass, becoming translucent and flickering in and out of sight.

The next moment, it abruptly disappeared into the sky.

"This is the effect of an invisibility spell. There are more dragon knights in the Imperial Capital, but to avoid disturbing the ordinary citizens with the presence of the massive dragons and to prevent potential enemies from gathering too much information about our dragon knights, they conceal themselves."

"Basically, every dragon knight hides the presence of themselves and their dragon." Clara explained to Ren.

"Miss Clara, you are indeed knowledgeable." Viscount Filck smiled at Ren and nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Olena stood by, looking at Ren with concern.

She wasn't worried about the seal Ren had received; Princess Menya had made it clear that it wasn't a major issue.

Even though Princess Menya couldn't remove the seal immediately, both the Imperial Guardians and the Archbishop of Minster had the ability to help.

What Olena was concerned about was Princess Menya's attempt to recruit Ren.

She knew that the Minster Swordsmen Branch had worked hard to find a top-tier talent like Ren, who could be considered a genius on the Imperial level. If he were to be poached, Admiral Edward would be deeply regretful.

No way!

She had to report this situation immediately and suggest that they offer the best possible treatment and rewards to retain him.

"Sir Ren, will you not consider joining the Royal Griffin Guard?" Olena stepped forward, speaking to Ren with a hint of anxiety.

"Hmm? Is there a problem with the Royal Griffin Guard, Lady Olena?" Ren, still staring at the red dragon scale, found Olena's question strange.

"Well..." Olena wanted to say that it wasn't a good idea, but she glanced at Viscount Filk, a Griffin Knight, and didn't know what to say.

At that moment, Ren's thoughts weren't on whether or not to join the Royal Griffin Guard.

When he had touched the red dragon scale, he had received a system prompt:

[Ding! Detected contact with a dragon scale. Special Advanced Class Change triggered - Dragon Knight (Epic)!]



[Prerequisites for Dragon Knight (Epic): 1. Contract with any dragon; 2. Beast Knight level above 5; ??? Current conditions unmet! Dragon Knight (Epic) class change failed!]



At that moment, Roland and Flay burst out of the tunnel, their faces covered in dust, looking somewhat disheveled.

And the guards beside him also looked somewhat dejected.

"Your Excellency, I'm truly sorry. Freeman was severely injured by us, but the enemy cast a powerful spell within the tunnel, causing it to collapse. We had no choice," Roland explained, feeling a bit embarrassed.

As a Gold Rank Swordsman Captain himself, he had confidently promised to capture the enemy before the pursuit, but now, the enemy remained at large.

"It's alright, Captain Roland. You've all done your best. Take some time to rest," Ren reassured them, unbothered by the outcome.

When the enemy rushed into the tunnel, Ren knew it would be challenging to stop them.

Firstly, the tunnel's unique terrain meant that if it collapsed, reopening it would require either an Earth Wizard or an immense amount of time. The enemy would likely be long gone by then.

Secondly, Freeman of the Black Flame Church was even more formidable than Raksool, and although he lacked any fighting spirit now, defeating him wouldn't be easy.

Especially if the enemy was determined to escape, even Ren himself might not be able to catch them.

Severely injuring the enemy was already a significant achievement.

After bidding farewell to the others, Ren returned to his room, pondering over Menya's recent words.

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Becoming a member of the Royal Griffin Guard was an honor and opportunity for most knights, the best choice in their eyes.

But Ren knew better; his rapid strength growth was largely due to the various missions assigned by the Swordsmen organization.

Without these battles, his progress would have been much slower.

Ren still preferred his current status as a Swordsman.

He had control over his missions, and although he was assigned tasks, they were infrequent, less than once a month.

Moreover, he had only recently joined the Minster Swordsmen Branch, and many things were still new to him.

So, in the short term, he was unlikely to consider moving to the Imperial City.

However, speaking of Minster, he needed to return there soon.

"First, I must deal with the Flame Mark. Otherwise, it will always be a potential threat."

"But with the Golden Conch Medal, perhaps the Goddess Church's Archbishop Gomez could help remove the curse?"

"It shouldn't be a problem, and if not, I can ask the Swordsmen Branch for assistance."

Additionally, upon returning to the branch, he wanted to see if there was an instructor at the Near-Legendary Tier who had mastered Will. If so, Ren was willing to spend a significant amount of merit points to seek guidance.

Although he now knew a way to enhance his Will Radiance through combat, Ren felt the ancients must have had methods to accelerate this process.

Finally, after submitting this mission, he should have enough mission evaluation medals and points to consider hiring Great Knight instructors as sparring partners to improve his newly acquired Extraordinary Combat Techniques.

After witnessing the core skill of the Warhammer Wizard (Legendary) profession, Ren felt he should quickly meet the promotion requirements for his only Epic profession, the Thousand Blade King.

The first prerequisite, 'Weapon Master lv9 or higher', was already fulfilled.

Next was the second prerequisite, 'Master nine different Techniques'.

This would require significant time and effort.

Previously, Ren had hesitated over his Attribute Points allocation for this very reason.

If he upgraded both 'Basic Weapon Mastery (Passive)' and 'Basic Extraordinary Insight (Passive)' to Intermediate Tier, not only would the power of all Techniques with other weapons increase, but the training speed of Extraordinary Combat Techniques would also improve.

In simpler terms, he could fulfill the promotion requirements for the Epic profession, 'Thousand Blade King', in a shorter time.

"But... life is so fragile!"

Ren thought about his encounter with the Flame Mark.

"What if something unexpected happens again? Strengthening my defense and combat power is the top priority!"

After a moment's thought, Ren decided to enhance 'Intermediate Steel Body (Passive)'.

He had suspected that upgrading the Steel Body talent from Basic to Intermediate had also improved his Metal Elemental Affinity.

For most Wizards, Elemental Affinity was determined at birth.

But Ren could enhance his affinity by upgrading his talents, a unique advantage.

This meant that once his Steel Body talent reached Advanced, his Metal Elemental Affinity would further improve, strengthening his Metal Magic.

By upgrading Steel Body, Ren had not only enhanced his defense but also his attack power.

With his decision made, Ren silently recited 'Intermediate Steel Body (Passive)' in his mind.

Instantly, a strange warm current flowed over his body, and as Ren extended his right hand, he noticed a dense silver aura glowing from his skin.

This aura rippled like water, and after a few seconds, it gradually subsided.

System Notification:

【Congratulations, your Talent 'Intermediate Steel Body (Passive)' has advanced to 'Advanced Steel Body (Passive)'!】

Seeing the first Advanced Talent on his attribute panel, Ren couldn't help but smile brightly.

It was night in Minster.

In the underground Intelligence Hall of the Swordsmen Branch, the hall was brightly lit.

Due to the recent upheaval in the Empire, the hall was bustling with activity. Dozens of staff members were scurrying back and forth, almost too busy to touch the ground.

The duty leader in the Intelligence Hall tonight was still the slightly pot-bellied Deputy Secretary Colin, a middle-aged bald man.

He leaned back in his soft and spacious deer skin chair, with his legs crossed on the desk, leisurely sipping Jotun tea, looking relaxed amidst the busyness.

"Knock knock knock!"

"Deputy Secretary Colin, there's an urgent report from Deputy Secretary Olena of the Task Hall." A petite and charming female staff member hurried to the door, knocked, and reported in a slightly rushed manner.

"Hmm? It's from Olena? Read it!" Colin frowned, took another sip of Jotun tea, and wondered why Olena had urgent information.

Moreover, as the Deputy Secretary of the Task Hall, shouldn't Olena be staying in the Swordsmen Branch, handling official duties diligently?

Why was she out and about?

It seemed like the work in the Task Hall was indeed leisurely.

".Maestus, the Habus Earl's residence, was attacked by an ancient legendary powerhouse of the Black Flame Cult, 'Ancient Hero Mong', who had not fully recovered his strength."

".Our side's Gold Rank Swordsman Captain Ren, in a one-on-one battle, killed Ancient Hero Mong on the spot."

"Pfft!" Colin sprayed the Jotun tea from his mouth onto the young, charming female staff member in front of him.

Especially on her chest, which was now soaked, but Colin didn't take the opportunity to wipe it off. Instead, he froze in place.

When Colin heard the mention of the Cult's legendary powerhouse earlier, his expression changed! He thought that the next part would report the number of casualties, and it was possible that the Habus Earl had also met with misfortune.

Or even worse, the entire Earl's residence might have been wiped out.

But the next sentence took an unexpected turn, saying that Ren had killed the Cult's legendary powerhouse on the spot?

Wait, what?

Ren?

The new recruit Ren, who had joined the branch less than two months ago? "Did you just say Ren? The Ren with the nickname 'Maestus Siege Hammer'?"

Since Ren had previously taken down the Black Flame Cult's high priestess, Galina, in Wales County, and destroyed a golem guard, Colin had remembered his name.

The charming female staff member took out a tissue and wiped the tea stains from her fair and dangerous chest, glancing at her boss with a slightly annoyed expression. "Yes, Deputy Secretary Colin."

"A legendary powerhouse? Seriously injured?"

"Yes."

"That's incredible! It's mind-blowing!"

"He's only been with the Swordsmen for a short time, and he's already this powerful? His future is limitless." Deputy Secretary Colin touched his bald head and couldn't help but exclaim.

Just then, the knocking sound echoed again. Another female staff member stood at the door, looking anxious.

"Come in!"

"What's the matter? Speak."

"Umm, Deputy Secretary Colin, this... I can't say."

"This is an urgent report from Deputy Secretary Olena of the Task Hall, marked as confidential. Currently, in the entire Intelligence Hall, only you have the authority to view it." The female staff member looked around and said.

Confidential information was not accessible to regular staff members in the Intelligence Hall. According to regulations, only Deputy Secretaries and above could view it.

"Hmm? Olena again?" Colin was taken aback.

After receiving the report, Colin waved his hand, signaling the two female staff members to step back.

He followed the regulations, first checking if the red wax seal was intact and then verifying the seal ring mark on the wax to ensure it matched the sender's identity before opening the envelope.

Seconds later, after reading the confidential information, Colin was shocked. His eyes widened, and his mouth hung open.

The two female staff members exchanged glances, wondering if something major had happened to Maestus or if the Cult was that formidable.

Colin's mind was buzzing with several keywords: 'Imperial Dragon Knight Princess Menya', 'Epic Warrior', and 'Named Holy Artifact'.

Any one of these terms should be far removed from a Swordsman recruit.

But now, they were all surrounding a newcomer!

"Deputy Secretary Colin?"

"Sir? According to regulations, confidential information should be reported to the upper management immediately. Have you forgotten?" The female staff member asked cautiously.

"Oh, right! I'll go to Admiral Edward and be back soon." Colin, realizing his mistake, patted his shiny forehead and said.

"Okay, Deputy Secretary Colin!"

Colin quickly moved his slightly plump body, running out of the Intelligence Hall.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end