Chapter 43 Branch Quest 43: Maxim’s Strongman Challenge

Chapter 43 43.Side Quest: Maxim’s Strongman Challenge

“My lord, I think the rumors seem to be a bit off .”

In the ruins of the city shrouded by the shadow of the Star Realm, Murphy and Maxim crossed a dead street to quickly rush to the family warehouse in the outer city.

In the midst of traveling, Maxim, who was grasping a war spear, vigilantly surveyed the surroundings to guard against attacks while whispering to Murphy:

“Lady Tris doesn’t seem to be as strong as the rumors . I mean, she’s strong! Stronger than Lord Jed, and after being rescued from the city by you, she seems to have regained the majesty she once had as an Elder.”

“I don’t know what happened, but it’s safe to say that Tris definitely doesn’t like the city.”

Murphy sighed:
“She views this place as a bondage, and to put it bluntly, after seeing the city of Cadman destroyed to this point with our own eyes, Tris and I are probably the only two Blood Wyvern members who would feel relaxed.

Do you feel uncomfortable because of that?”

“No, my lord, my loyalty is to you, not the Blood Vulture Clan.”

Maxim replied in a low voice:
“In fact, I don’t feel much joy in serving Clan Bloodwyvern, Lord Jedd’s favor I must repay, but other than that, the clan doesn’t seem to have given me anything more to miss.”

“I’m actually the same, so it’s no wonder we’re so compatible.”

Murphy returned.

The two then lapsed into silence without further words, they were quick on their feet and after traversing an alleyway occupied by a colony of Starworld Salamanders who were not actively attacking, the two reached the location of the family’s warehouse that Tris had labeled.

It was underground.

On the surface it was masked as the human fire station of Cadman City.

There are three other similar underground warehouses in the outer city, but except for this one, which is a bit more remote, the other vaults are located in densely populated areas that must have been overrun by fear derivatives from the shadows of the Astral Plane and preying Astral Beasts.

Murphy intended to use the remaining three warehouses as “challenge sites” for the young players.

The five dead players will be resurrected this evening, so he will have 16 people, divided into three groups just enough to do a simple “copy test”.

“Looks like we’ll have to recruit another group.”

As Maxim searched for the underground passage in the ruined fire station, Murphy thought to himself as he looked at the dark and gloomy environment beyond the collapsed walls and the strange sky above him that was still twinkling with a purple ghostly light:

“At present, my total manpower on hand is 40, so I don’t need to keep more, and release them all at once.

After Cadman City was dragged into the Star Realm, there are many areas worth exploring in the remaining ruins, and fewer people simply won’t be enough, and there is still the sixth ring of the newbie orientation quest.

This quest required me to get my own territory.

Before, I thought I could go through Missy’s connections, but now there seems to be a better and more difficult choice
The Blood Vulture Clan is hopeless!

Although there are only ruins left here, there are people and supplies, as well as ‘brush points’ that can last for a long time. This might just be the best ‘newbie village’ I could find in Transylvania!
But there’s still a lot of planning to be done on exactly how to run it.”

Murphy pondered the next step in his program, then logged into the forums.

In the application section, he saw a lot of test applications, but they were basically from the existing small players’ “word of mouth”.

The Real World has not been publicized in the player’s world at all and Murphy does not intend to do so, he simply browsed through the nearly 80 test applications that he currently has, and through the results of these people’s test applications, he selected the 24 people with the best overall quality, and then sent the test invitation code to them.

In this way, at the latest, 12 hours later, there will be a new batch of cute little players into the ruins of Cadman City to act as a critical moment from the sky “foot man open group”.

Oh, and by the way!

In order to make all this look more like a game that’s gradually opening its official beta, Murphy felt the need to post a more formal announcement on the forums.

I’ll post it once I’m done messing with this underground warehouse in front of me!
“Lord Murphy! The entrance has been found, but it requires the blood of a Blood Vulture Clan member as a beacon to enter.”

Maxim’s voice came from the ruined archive room, and Murphy immediately rushed over to it, biting his own finger on the back of the pushed-open filing cabinet and dabbing the blood in the center of a dark red spell on the wall.

With a clicking sound and a shimmering flash of light, the passageway to the underground opened.

He and his loyal servant entered it one after the other.

This place was not really a family treasury, as one of the seven major vampire clans, no matter how downtrodden the Blood Wyvern was, its family treasury could not be so shabby.

This place was only used to store some important but not scarce materials, and thus there were no gargoyles or psionic guards, the kind of constructs that were used as “professional security guards” on the continent.

The area below was not very large, and the whole thing was similar to the fire station above.

It was divided into different rooms to store different materials, mostly raw materials for weapons and armor, as well as finished products placed in cabinets.

Murphy casually opened one of the cabinets and casually pulled out a vampire bayonet embellished with a blood rose pattern and examined it in his hand.

Item identification was activated and the information tab popped up:
Name: Defender’s Battle Blade

Quality: Seiko – Recruit

Characteristics: Enhanced Sharpness – Enhanced Piercing – Toughness and Durability – Insidious Blood Slot (Can be Hardened)
Requirements for use: Talent – One-handed Weapon Mastery, Dexterity ≥ 6
Item Description:

An elite weapon crafted by the forges of the Blood Vulture Clan for the clan’s newest recruits, it is sharp and deadly and is ideal for use by Blood Servants who have mastered the Blood Vulture Sword Technique and Advanced Sword Technique. This weapon has always been at the top of the ‘Kadman City Fingers Protection Association’ complaints list, as it does require a bit of skill to use it].

Murphy drew another Bloodslinger-style one-handed hunting crossbow and examined it in his hand.

It was the same as the Seiko Recruit Weapon, which made him nod in satisfaction.

These weapons were finely crafted with traits attached, and both the craftsmanship and materials were clearly much more refined than the blank slate squire weapons the players were currently using.

It just so happened that they could be issued to them as quest rewards or new play rewards.

Maxim, on the other hand, found a whole box of elite recruit armor that had not yet finished painting in another house, making Murphy feel even more satisfied; since the Blood Vulture Clan was already yesterday’s flower, taking these things to paint themselves was just the right way to draw a line with the past.

He threw Maxim four psionic packs and instructed him to pack them in, then continued exploring deeper by himself.

The Elder Armor given to him by Tris was a high-level psychic armor of Seiko – Commander Grade, which meant that Murphy would be hard pressed to find anything better than “Lady Tris’s Original Elder Armor” for a long time, so his next goal was to find usable equipment for Maxim, Miriam, and Lady Adele.

The three of them were now the “three generals” under Murphy’s command, so they had to be properly armed.

Tris also said that there might be advanced skill manuals for the family’s elites to learn in the vault, which was also an important goal for Murphy.

The Blood Vulture Sword Art is only the most basic skill, he can’t rely on this thing to lead the small players to continue to fight, good thing this basement does not have a special hidden room, so Murphy quickly found the bookstore, a bookshelf is placed on a few books to look at the material to know that the book is very old.

He took them down and held them in his hands to flip through them:

Catacomb Sword Guards’ Code of Conduct, Blood Torturer’s Handbook, Nightwalker’s Secret Code – Volume 1, Midnight Hunt’s Way Detailed Explanation

The books in his hand, which were obviously transcriptions, each represented a system of professions that the Blood Vulture Clan had had over its long history.

Murphy could tell that they represented the career paths of swordsman, psychic, assassin and hunter, but of course in this real world there were no such clear and strict career divisions.

With enough energy, a swordsman could also delve into psychic skills.

However, these books used for “transferring” are of great significance to young players, Murphy knows very well how passionate those “intensity parties” are in researching the game’s professions and playing styles.

He might be able to translate some of them and put them on the forums, so that those “small players” who have passed the beta test application but are unable to get the invitation code for the time being will be able to satisfy their craving.

Wait a minute!

Why do you want to translate it yourself?
Murphy blinked.

The little players were so energetic, and now that they had the Arithmetic Pearls, they could totally take care of this on their own.

Not only does it deepen the game’s stickiness, but it also saves them from having to find work for themselves in their spare time.

This is two birds with one stone, isn’t it beautiful?

“Hehehe.”

Murphy laughed out in the dark basement, then put the precious skill books into his psychic bag, he held the copy of the Grave Sword Guard Drill Book and read it while continuing to scavenge for valuable things.

A few minutes later, a new prompt popped up:
[New Skill – Advanced Sword Technique – Grave Sword Guard Sword Technique has been acquired! Tip!

This Sword Art is a Physical/Dark Psychic skill, and learning it requires a certain amount of Psychic Talent (Thinking ≥ 5).

This Sword Art is a superior skill to the Blood Vulture Sword Art, and the prerequisite for learning this Sword Art is the Proficiency Level – Blood Vulture Sword Art.

The current proficiency limit for this sword art is “Skillful”.

After the Grave Swordsman reaches “Proficient” and creates the “Grave Badge”, he can be transferred to the “Grave Swordsman”, the superior profession of the “Blood Vulture Swordsman”, and unlock new skills. “and unlock a new skill limit].

“There!”

Murphy let out a long breath.

He knew that the Catacomb Sword Guards were the Blood Wyvern Clan’s “special unit”, with the characteristic of combining both offense and defense and being able to obtain the Darkness Spirit Energy’s enhancement, making it a very comprehensive multi-faceted player.

Of course, versatility means mediocrity in everything, but it’s a physical+magical composite specialty, so what more do you need?

Moreover, the Catacomb Sword Guard is also very special in status.

They were the elite class of the Blood Wyvern family, and the previous Lord Jade should have been an outstanding Catacomb Sword Guard.

The other vampire clans also had their own special units, basically encompassing all the power lines on the continent, but there was no communication between them.

This was the special characteristic of them being eternal sin descendants.

Obviously united they were a powerful force, but throughout the entire thousand years they went their own way, and from time to time they also gave each other something to find a whole lot of work to do, making the entire race look as if they were so neurotic that they were literally cursed by some dirty thing.

“My lord! I found something powerful!”

Maxim’s excited shout came from behind Murphy.

He rushed over to find that his loyal servant had discovered hidden compartments from behind an emptied cupboard and had broken through the walls to drag two dusty long chests out of them.

“It’s all learned from your warriors, I’ve watched them specifically, they always find odd things in these odd places.”

Maxim whispered in an odd tone as he stood next to them:
“I’ve probably been in contact with them too much, and I’ve actually gotten infected with this strange habit as well.”

“That’s a good thing Mark, scavenging is a necessary skill to become strong.”

Murphy let out a laugh.

He opened the box with Maxim and found that inside was a whole set of long and short weapons with vampire style, there were as many as three dozen pieces.

From the common swords and shields to the rare fist blades and flails inside.

The shapes of the pieces made it clear that they were a complete set, and the shimmering light in the darkness made it clear that they were rare psionic weapons.

The vampire pulled out a sheathed longsword and placed it in his hand and pulled it open, the snowy blade glowing a chilly micro-green in the darkness and its item tag appearing in front of Murphy’s eyes:
Name: Ambition and Dreams – Warehouse Guard Mick’s Battle Sword
Quality: Seiko – [Elite] Veteran
Characteristics: Extreme Sharpness – Enhanced Piercing – Enhanced Psychic Sense – Permanent Hardening
Crafted by: Segur, Blood Vulture Weapon Master
Item Description:

[Warehouse Guard Mick is a vampire fringe with big ambitions. Although his talent is mediocre, he still aspires to make a name for himself in his family, and to this end he has taken advantage of his profession to give himself a sneaky stash of psionic weaponry that is supposed to be supplied to the family’s personal guard captains.

Mick intends to use his collection to give himself a chance to make a name for himself!

He had been preparing for this until one day when he was dispatched to scout the outskirts of the Dark Mountains, he carried all the supplies he could carry with him, but only because of his excitement did he forget about the set of weapons he had hidden.

Oh, right.

That had happened a hundred and ten years ago.]

Prompt!

The [Elite] tag is a special item tag, and will only appear on weapons and gauntlets that have a certain origin and are far superior in quality to items of the same level but have not reached the upper level of quality to appear.

These items often have a special “collector’s value”.

Similar special tags include [Shadow Fight/High-end Imitation], [Real Fight/Unique], [Fancy], [Artwork], and so on.

“Ugh what a sad story, a moment of silence for Mr. Mick who had big ambitions.”

Murphy spat harshly in his heart.

The quality of this thing was still not as good as Tris’s finely crafted commander grade Desire Ethnicity Blade, so he shook his head and threw the Hardened Sword in his hand to Maxim, took a scarlet Hardened Hunter Crossbow from the weapon box and hung it on his own waist, and got up and said:

“These are yours, I can’t use them.

Take them out and distribute a few to Adele, and keep the rest as your own collection. Also, I’ll teach you a trick to get along with my warriors.”

“If you say so, my lord, I’ll keep it in mind.”

Maxim happily loaded the two weapon cases into his psychic bag, it was always the nature of warriors to love good weapons, so he listened carefully to Murphy’s advice while walking outside the basement.

Murphy followed his advice to the letter:
“When you become a vampire, you should have your own appendages, right? Why don’t you start now by picking what you think are the most talented members of my warriors, and then keep testing them to see how they grow in strength and skill.

Well, once every three days or once a week, and wait for them to extend an invitation to you to spar.

If their progress reaches the approval of your mind, then gift them these fine weapons as a reward and proof of a future vassal contract.

In this way, you can reap the rewards of potential attachments, and I can see my warriors progress more quickly.

But there is one thing!
Mark, you can’t let go, understand?
Since it’s a test you have to give it your all, you know they won’t really die so let it go, if they understand the risks and are willing to accept the challenge even if they miss and die they’re still weak.

Trust me, my warriors love the feeling of challenging a strong enemy.

The stronger you are! The more they like you.

Nah, you take this book, “Secret Swordsmanship of the Shadow Elf Family”.

I just copied it last night, so to deepen your memory copy another thirty copies for me.

If a certain warrior can win three times in a row at your hands, you might as well teach him this unique fey swordsmanship as well, but be sure to take care of yourself.

Wear your best armor!

Stop in time when you’re about to lose, I don’t want to lose my best helpers and friends for some outrageous reason, and don’t underestimate my warriors, they’ll always think of all sorts of crooked ideas to get a win from you.

It’s kind of fun to fight them, at least I think so.”

“That does sound like a harsh way to pick them, my lord.”

Maxim nodded in agreement, stroking the longsword at his waist, called “Ambition and Dreams”, and said eagerly:
“If it is your will, then I am more than willing to be a match for your warriors!”

Murphy, walking in the darkness, grinned.

Hey, isn’t this another specialty playstyle coming up? Want the best equipment you can get at this current stage? Warriors, then come and challenge the “First Strongman” under my command!

It doesn’t matter if you can’t beat them, there will be more and more games like this in the future, and there will always be one that will satisfy you all.

Ps1:

Thank you for the silver alliance of the “Huo whole quite good” old brother, the additional work is counted in the shelves of the explosion of more ah! At present, the shelves burst more chapters have reached 20+5+5+5+5+20=55 la.

It’s horrible!

Ps2:

Today there is only one chapter, because they are 4000 words big chapter led to the new book period issued too fast, others in this chapter only 100,000 words, I’m almost 200,000, and the word count once reached 20W certain good recommendations can not be on, so the editor specifically asked me to control the word count in the next two days.

So, today and tomorrow are only one chapter, probably the day after tomorrow will return to two chapters, after the shelves three chapters a day, thank you for your support and catch up!

Ps3:

Happy Tanabata! My brothers, I wish you all lovebirds to be united~
(End of chapter)