Chapter 309: 309 Ideas and Rewards (Please Subscribe! Please Vote Monthly!)
"Boom!"
Under the roaring tremors of the ground, Gejiev was kicked into the earth by Reiger, stirring up countless clouds of dust and debris while the whole person fell into the pit.
"Cough..."
The Captain of the Kingdom Warriors coughed out all the air in his lungs as if he was suffocating, his voice becoming hoarse and oppressed.
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
The other warriors watching the battle were immediately panic-stricken, rushing forward as one to help Gejiev out of the pit.
"Are you all right?"
Reiger also descended from midair and, looking at Gejiev who was being helped out of the pit, asked casually.
"I... I’m fine..."
Gejiev felt a heavy pain in his chest, which made holding his sword unsteady. One hand was supported by his warrior subordinates, and the other was clutching his chest, his gaze shifting several times as he looked at Reiger.
It wasn’t just Gejiev, his warrior subordinates felt the same way, their gazes towards Reiger completely changed.
It couldn’t be helped.
The entire course of battle was nothing like they had predicted beforehand.
They had thought it would be a match of equals or perhaps a slight advantage to the Captain of the warriors, but it turned out to be a one-sided affair in favor of Reiger.
In the face of Reiger’s fierce onslaught, Gejiev couldn’t muster any resistance, even using seven types of martial techniques at his limit, all of which were easily crushed by Reiger.
But that wasn’t the most shocking part.
The most astonishing thing was that this young man, who was said to be capable of using fifth-tier magic, hadn’t used magic even once from beginning to end.
What did that mean?
It meant that the opponent hadn’t even exerted his full strength to trample over Gejiev Storunov, the strongest warrior in the kingdom!
This was an incident that could cause unrest not just in the Re·Yestijie Kingdom but also in the surrounding countries!
And the person who caused this incident now stood before Gejiev and the others with a preoccupied look, receiving their bewildered glances as if being baptised by them.
It was an inevitable circumstance.
Looking at Gejiev’s wretched state, barely able to stand, Reiger frankly felt a bit of disbelief in his heart.
"So weak..."
He almost let those words slip out.
Is this the extent of the Heroic Domain in this world?
Seems no different from a newly leveled up Lv. 3.
So, does that mean the Heroic Domain in this world is essentially equivalent to a Lv. 3?
Doesn’t that suggest that a swordsman like Kamado Tanjirou could become a hero in this world upon arrival?
That’s just too...
"No, that’s not the right way to think,"
Reiger shifted his thoughts.
The natives of this world simply weren’t strong.
Take adventurers, for example. Despite being divided into eight ranks, in the context of "YGGDRASIL", their levels weren’t actually high.
Copper and Iron rank adventurers, being the lowest rank of adventurers, corresponded to levels 1-7 in "YGGDRASIL", capable of using only first-tier magic. Even Iron rank adventurers were only slightly stronger than ordinary militias.
Silver and Gold rank adventurers had the level of ordinary or elite soldiers of a nation, but they were equivalent to level 8-14 in "YGGDRASIL", and could only use second-tier magic.
Platinum and Mithril rank adventurers, considered high-level, corresponded to levels 15-21 in "YGGDRASIL", capable of using third-tier magic.
Adventurers of Mountain Copper and Adamantium ranks were able to rival the top fighting forces of nations but matched only levels 22-28 in "YGGDRASIL", with most being able to use fourth-tier magic only.
As for the Heroic Domain, capable of using fifth-tier magic, in "YGGDRASIL", it was actually equivalent to level 29 and above.
Indeed, in this world, one could step into the Heroic Domain upon reaching level 29 in "YGGDRASIL".
And yet, the maximum level in "YGGDRASIL" was 100.
Therefore, max-level players in this world were virtually invincible beings, and the native humans could hardly be considered strong; even those hailed as heroes were nothing more than ants in the eyes of the players, not even as good as wild monsters.
"In this world, the truly strong are those players, those non-human species and entities."
Like the Guardians of the Nasalik Underground Tomb, from whom Reiger even felt a slight threat last night.
There were also the draconic species that once ruled this world, among them exceptionally powerful beings at the level of Dragon Lords, capable of threatening "YGGDRASIL" players.
The top fighting forces of this world should be theirs, not these so-called heroes of the human race.
Thinking this way, Reiger finally felt relieved.
Gejiev hadn’t fully entered the Heroic Domain, and in "YGGDRASIL", he was roughly equivalent to level 28, only stepping into the Heroic Domain at level 29 with the help of the Dragon’s Secret Treasure. It was quite impressive to be at Lv. 3 already.
"It seems, if I want to find an opponent, I’ll have to look within the Nasalik Underground Tomb."
"Or, I could go find those Dragon Lords."
"If not, there seem to be one or two decent opponents in the Slane Theocracy."
While Reiger was thinking all this in his mind, he quietly waited for Gejiev to catch his breath.
About two minutes later, Gejiev finally eased the pain in his chest, shook off the support of his subordinates, and approached Reiger.
"I’ve lost."
Gejiev admitted his defeat openly.
However, the look in his eyes as he faced Reiger was brighter than before.
It was a sense of elation at seeing heights one could not reach, at realizing there were such fearsome beings within the human race.
"According to our previous agreement, since I have lost, I will no longer mention the matter of the commission," Gejiev said with determination, addressing Reiger, "But, Lord Brilliant, may I request one thing of you?"
"What?"
Reiger looked at Gejiev.
Gejiev suddenly showed a look and expression as if he were ready to face death.
"If I do not survive this incident, could I ask you to look after Re·Yestijie Kingdom in the future?"
That was indeed Gejiev’s request.
"Warrior Leader!"
His subordinates, the warriors, were utterly astonished.
Yet Gejiev raised his hand to signal them to be quiet.
"With Lord Brilliant here, the people of Kain Village will surely be able to rest easy, right?" Gejiev looked directly at Reiger and said, "If that’s the case, I can also retreat with peace of mind."
"If you can escape successfully, then that would be for the best."
"But if not, if we miss the best chance to leave or fall victim to the covert schemes of the Slain Teach Empire, then I would have to entrust it to Lord Brilliant."
"Please grant me this favor."
Gejiev bowed deeply to Reiger.
However, while Gejiev was bowing, Reiger pressed down on him to stop.
"Enough, don’t speak so tragically," Reiger sighed. "I believe what I said before was that I would decide whether or not to accept your commission after I had seen your strength, not that you wouldn’t bring it up again if you lost, right?"
This gave Gejiev a start, and then he realized what was said.
"You mean...?"
Gejiev and his subordinates all looked at Reiger with some surprise.
"The commission, I will accept it," Reiger responded.
He had originally just wanted to gauge the Heroic Domain’s strength in this world through Gejiev’s skills, in order for him to make a judgment about the overall strength of this world.
Now that his purpose was achieved, Reiger did not mind lending a hand to this Kingdom Warrior Leader whom he found agreeable.
Of course, not for free.
"For the commission’s payment, how about we settle it with this?"
Reiger was pointing to the ring that Gejiev wore.
He wanted Gejiev’s Dragon’s Secret Treasure.
"This..."
Gejiev fell silent.
Gejiev’s subordinates reacted even more vehemently.
"That won’t do, Warrior Leader!"
"That magic ring is too important to you, you can’t just lose it like that!"
"Yes, Warrior Leader!"
The group of warriors were firmly against the idea.
Having followed Gejiev for a long time, they were very familiar with his situation.
Thus, they were well aware that without the magic ring, Gejiev would not be able to enter the Heroic Domain in his usual state.
For Gejiev, this was a crippling blow.
Gejiev was of course aware of this as well.
However...
"...if one were to lose their life, then even the finest magical artifacts would only end up in the hands of those petty villains who operate in the shadows," Gejiev reasoned as he rubbed the ring on his hand, looking at Reiger for a while before he suddenly smiled.
"Besides, this ring was a gift from someone else, and now it’s not unreasonable for me to pass it on to another, is it?"
With those words, Gejiev unhesitatingly took off his ring.
"Consider this a token of gratitude for saving this village," Gejiev handed the ring to Reiger.
Reiger looked steadily at Gejiev, then took the ring and examined it after a moment.
In fact, his desire for the magic ring was impulsive.
Because the ring was quite special.
At first glance, it seemed to only help Gejiev to fully enter the Heroic Domain from a state where he was half in it, not an overly exaggerated enhancement.
But in reality, its effect allowed its wearer to break through limits and unconditionally elevate their warrior level.
In other words, even if they were players of ’YGGDRASIL,’ as long as they could use this ring, they could surpass the 100-level cap imposed by the game, reaching beyond level 100.
That was somewhat frightening.
It was known that even in the Earth Mistake World, only Reiger and the original protagonist could break through the limits of their abilities and reach beyond the limits of their grace.
Yet this ring could almost allow any warrior who wore it to achieve this remarkable feat.
Reiger was very curious what kind of change it would bring if he used the ring himself.
So, he put on the ring and unleashed its power.