The Boss King actually disguised himself as a novice village chief?!-Chapter 34 - Still Being Stubborn

34: Chapter 34 Still Being Stubborn

34 -34 Still Being Stubborn

In the territory of the Rand Kingdom, a hidden valley.

Barren mountain ranges, with withered trees standing tall.

The grotesque rocks with claw-like shapes seemed to cling to invisible, strange vines, twisting and spiraling upwards to open their “claws” at the very top, as if they were arms reaching out from the Abyss.

The sky was clear, but the sunlight falling on the body couldn’t bring any warmth.

The air was tranquil, with only the sound of footsteps crushing decayed branches

“Crack, snap”

“Don’t push!

I can walk!”

Three people with their hands bound were jostled forward.

Two men and a woman, dressed in standard white underpants.

Behind them followed several strange figures cloaked in black, with pale hands occasionally stretching out from under the cloaks, as white as those of a vampire who hadn’t seen the sun in years.

“What do you think, where are they taking us?” asked the man at the rear, his voice slightly excited.

The man in front responded, “Do we even need to say it?

It’s obviously a sacrifice.”

“Romantic Bumbler, what’s up with you?” the man at the back asked the girl walking with her head down, his voice not particularly suppressed.

“I’m so hungry,” Romantic Bumbler pouted, “In real life I’m on a diet.

They say the game’s taste system is so well done, I wanted to come in and stuff myself to death.

Who knew I’d be captured and just keep walking, I’m starving.”

“We must’ve been escorted because there’s something special about our bodies,” the man at the back shook his head, knowing full well that his companions up front couldn’t see him, and despite getting kicked for this action, he remained expressionless: “It’s a hidden storyline, you know?”

“I want to eat…”

“What do you want to eat, you’re still daydreaming while playing the game!

…

Stop kicking me, I’ve been putting up with you for a long time!”

More punching and kicking ensued.

The group fell silent once more.

They made their way through the lengthy mountain path; the sunlight was blocked by the rugged, strange mountains, and the shadow on the other side draped over them like a large blanket.

In places the light couldn’t reach, nothing was visible.

The escorts lit torches, and the flickering flames illuminated the way forward.

After wandering in the dark for some time, they finally arrived at their destination.

A dilapidated church.

The church had lost its roof, and the statue of the “Sun’s Testament” had been knocked over, now lying sideways as a makeshift stone bench.

Overgrown weeds clung to the sculpture of one of the Knights of the Apocalypse, the Dragon Knight, weaving a green-plant scarf full of thorns around the giant dragon beneath him.

A small cleared space contained cages, which were locked after the three Undead entered them.

“Ace Aimu, still acting tough, what do we do now?” Romantic Bumbler finally asked something other than food, facing her two newly-made friends.

Being treated as criminals and marched along, even a fun game could start to feel dull.

If the immersion wasn’t so intense, she would have definitely forced a log-off.

Having invested so much into the game up to this point, Romantic Bumbler was curious to see what would happen next.

But if the outcome was disappointing, she was determined to curse the game designers to suffer underfed misery, to always have their sneaky meat snacks discovered by their mothers, to ultimately become herbivores eating salad without any dressing.

“Next up, it’s definitely a hidden storyline!” He, still being tough, had thoroughly embodied his ID’s style, “I reckon we just have to wait for a bit and someone will give us a mission, and completing it will let us join up.”

“Join them?

They don’t look like good guys,” Romantic Bumbler hesitated, “I saw videos on the official website, numerous Newbie Villages were richer than this place, at least their houses have roofs, following these guys won’t end in us starving three days for every one meal, right?”

“It’s a gathering, a secret gathering!” Still being tough believed the little girl in front of him had issues with her thinking, “All hidden missions are like this, right Ace Aimu?”

“I’m clueless, I just came to play the game, anything goes for me,” Ace Aimu replied casually.

“Cuz, your accent’s kinda strong,” still being tough said with a chuckle, continuing the conversation, “I heard where you’re from, people drink raw Coke?”

“My lightbulb even glows.”

“Haha!” Romantic Bumbler burst out laughing.

Realizing the two were looking at her, she pursed her lips and strained to pull the corners of her mouth downward, trying to make a sad face.

(ಡωಡ)

“Snicker–snort–” fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Her shoulders shook.

It was hard to hold back laughter.

The optimism of the three had no effect on the group outside.

They huddled together, quietly singing a ballad that gave one goosebumps around a campfire.

It was unintelligible, but the tune was highly eerie.

Until—Boom!

A blood-red flame appeared out of nowhere.

“I knew it!

I knew it!” still feeling defiantly excited.

The past two days’ efforts had paid off.

A hooded figure approached, unlocked the chains, and dragged Ace Aimu out.

“Handsome, congratulations!” Still defiant with a beaming smile, and while envious, he knew that this “plot” scene would come to everyone, and his turn would come soon.

From the sky descended the blood-red flames, swallowing Ace Aimu whole.

“Ahh—!” a scream.

The flames returned to the sky, growing slightly, but Ace Aimu had completely vanished.

“What’s going on?” The smile froze on the defiant one’s face.

The situation seemed different from what he had imagined?

Soon enough, Romantic Bumbler and Mr.

Defiance received a private message from Ace Aimu.

Ace Aimu: [I’m dead straight away, not only did I lose experience, I also lost a level, three days wasted, damn it!]

“I’m logging out!” declared Romantic Bumbler decidedly, then with a mournful expression, “You can’t quit during battle.”

The cell door opened once again.

This time, Romantic Bumbler was the one dragged out.

She stood there with her eyes closed, awaiting the verdict from the blood-red flames.

It turned out this was not a judgment or a selection of the “qualified” ones but a pure sacrificial ceremony, with the three Undead as offerings.

Watching Romantic Bumbler also disappearing before his eyes, Mr.

Defiance got truly anxious.

Romantic Bumbler sent a private message: [Looks like the game updated to 1.02!

I’m currently in the wilderness, should be transported to the nearest gathering place, die quickly]

Mr.

Defiance eagerly looked up at the blood-red flames in the sky.

Indeed, dying seemed the most cost-effective since his level wasn’t high and he hadn’t much experience to lose, wasting three days in the process.

“Come on then!”

But the bizarre cultists made no move, still singing.

Romantic Bumbler: [I got teleported to the Star Dragon Post, wow, they gave me equipment right away?]

Ace Aimu: [I’m at Star Dragon Post, bro, where did you get teleported to?

Maybe we can team up for dungeons later.]

Mr.

Defiance: …

He hadn’t died yet.

Finally, as he eagerly wished, the blood-red flames engulfed him.

“Huh?” Mr.

Defiance was stunned after resurrection.

To his surprise, he wasn’t in a gathering spot or camp but in a wilderness…

It seemed to be the same place where he had last died and then resurrected.

Could it be because he had stayed with those cultists that the game considered him to be at a gathering spot, and thus he wasn’t teleported away?

Responding to the concern of two newly met friends online, Mr.

Defiance replied: [I got lucky, didn’t get transported together, but we’ll play together when there’s a chance, I’ll lead you.]

Ace Aimu: [Thanks, boss]

Romantic Bumbler: [✪ω✪]

Looking at the wilderness before him, Mr.

Defiance let out a sigh.

Star Dragon Post, he wanted to go there too.

But first, he took off his gaming helmet and sat in front of the computer to log onto the official website.

He happened to see people discussing Lind vs.

the Carrion Queen, with most players eager to learn Lind’s skills.

He typed rapidly, casually replying with:

[I think it’s so-so, those Carrion Queens will definitely be common mobs later on, nothing special, nothing like me, about to learn magic, isn’t that cooler than these brutish tactics?]