Armipotent

Chapter 1884: Second Floor

After the ritual, Muzo gave his spare swords to Orlean, and they fought. Orlean used his newly learned Sword Technique in the fight, and Orlean matched the pace. It was more like a sparing battle instead of a fight against a floor boss.

Orlean limited his power and usage of his energy so as not to overpower Muzo, who was a Demi-God Rank. Muzo held back when it came to the sword technique. He had a few openings earlier, but the Bouvo did not press to it and corrected Orlean. It became a wholesome moment for the two demons.

Tang Shaoyang thought of a way to free Muzo from his punishment. He might be able to do it with his new position, maybe asking for help from Arion. But he threw away the idea immediately. Releasing The Bouvo from his punishment meant he would go against the System. He might be able to do it with a certain price, but he might offend the figure behind the System was not worth the risk. There was no way he would take the risk for a demon he just met.

Throwing away the thought, he focused on the fight. He observed the way they fought and found out that there was more to the technique than just swinging their swords. Their footwork, the way they positioned their body to put more power in their strikes, and more.

Observing the fight between Orlean and Muzo reminded Tang Shaoyang of his flaw. He lacked the basics as he had been using his brute force and instinct. The new class, Divine Paragon Armament, helped him with what he lacked. The class helped him learn how to master each weapon, but it did not cover the core of a technique.

”Technique…” He muttered in a low voice, realizing what he lacked, ”Maybe I should focus on technique instead of class and talents… but Talent is important too…”

He devised a plan for what he wanted to do with his new privilege as Executive Administrator. While his mind was somewhere else, his eyes locked on the two figures that fought before him. Their hands movement started slow as Muzo corrected each of Orleanʼs mistakes, but as the time went on, their handʼs movements became increasingly faster.

For a moment, what he saw was just a blur of sword swings, and it was just a matter of time for Orlean to finish off his benefactor. His sword struck the mountain demonʼs chest right at the heart, and Muzo died with a smile etched on his face.

The mountain demonʼs body fell, and Orlean caught the body. No words were exchanged in their last moment, but Muzo seemed to be satisfied with how it ended. Just like that, the body of the mountain demon slowly turned into dust and was swept away by the wind.

[You have killed a floor boss, Muzo the Ancient Demon!]

The notification rang in Tang Shaoyang, and it seemed the System did not record their tribe and called Muzo as an Ancient Demon which was not wrong. But it meant the System truly wanted to erase the Bouvo Tribe from existence. It might be less and less people would know about The Bouvo.

Orlean walked back toward Tang Shaoyang, carrying four swords, ”Can you ask the Dwarf Federation to upgrade the sword, Master? I want to keep and use the sword.”

Tang Shaoyang took the swords, and all four swords were Myth Rank swords. A good sword, but it could be improved further for sure. The dwarves might be able to upgrade the sword to the Legendary Rank or even The Demi-God Rank. He agreed to the request and put the swords into his inventory.

He then looked around, trying to find the reward for killing the floor boss. There was a reward for killing a floor boss, and the reward was usually a treasure chest. He furrowed his brow because he could not find the treasure chest even with his Chaos Eyes.

”Have you opened the treasure chest, Orlean?”

Orlean smiled wryly and shook his head, ”I think the reward is the swords, Master. The System considers the swords as a reward, and maybe thatʼs why we donʼt get the treasure chest.”

The Demon God felt guilty because it should be a Demi-God Rank treasure chest. After all, he defeated a Demi-God Rank. Whatever was inside the chest should have more value than the four Myth Rank Swords. However, Orlean did not want to lose the sword as it was something that Muzo left behind, his teacher. One day a teacher, forever a teacher. He would master the sword style and spread the Bouvo Sword Style once more.

”Ah, I see…” Tang Shaoyang did not mind about it and recalled the spirit back.

[Do you want to advance to the next floor? (Yes) (No)]

The next notification appeared, and he did not hesitate to press yes. He was teleported to the second floor right away.

What he saw was a crowd of villagers, surrounding him curiously. They wore crude tunic clothes, the women were carrying a basket either on their heads or their waists. The children hid behind their mothers, peeking to get to see him, and there were three men close to him, half a meter away from him, standing in front of him.

The three men had leather armor, a bow and a quiver on their back, two daggers on their waists, and a sword. Their skins were tanned, a testament to the times they spent under the sun to hunt, rough and scarred, carrying the marks of past battles.

The three men stared dagger at him with no fear, but they did not unsheathe their weapons against him. There was no hostility in their gazes but confidence and wildness.

The thing that Tang Shaoyang noticed was the tooth necklace. He could tell that it was more than just an accessory. The man in the middle had eleven tooth in his necklace, the one to the manʼs left had eight, and the third one had seven tooth. He quickly noticed because it was out of place despite their neat attire.

”Are you the player that will help us?” The man in the middle asked. His voice was rough yet deep. The question for some reason drew a chuckle from the man with the seven tooth necklace.

Tang Shaoyang raised his brow because he did not know what it meant to help them. The System had not given him any clue or anything.

ʼMaybe itʼs the quest-type floor. I have to do what they ask to go to the next floor.ʼ He guessed inwardly.

Tang Shaoyang was about to say yes, but the System answered his confusion. A notification rang in his head and the screen appeared before his eyes.

[Help the natives to hunt the monsters that endanger their village!]

[Hunt 300 Primordial Rank Beasts! (0/300)]

[Hunt 100 Legendary Rank Beasts! (0/100)]

[Hunt 30 Demi-God Rank Beasts! (0/30)]

[Hunt the King of Beast! (0/1)]

”Yes!” Tang Shaoyang answered.

The man with the seven-tooth necklace laughed, ”He is not a hunter, Akumbo! He is just another prisoner in this place, and we better kick him out before he causes trouble in our village!”

Right after the man said that out, the villagers immediately took three steps back simultaneously. The curiosity was replaced with wariness, concerns, and anxiety. He could see and sense them from the villagers.

Tang Shaoyang shot a glance at the man with the seven-tooth necklace and nodded, ”He is right, I am not a hunter.”

”Do you hear him, Akumbo! Thereʼs no way someone like him is a hunter. Look at his—”

”I am a fighter or you can call me a warrior even. I donʼt hunt, but I fight to kill and survive!” Tang Shaoyang cut off the man and smiled at the hunter named Akumbo, ”While I am not a hunter, I can kill monsters, and I think I would be able to help with your problem.”

The man with the seven tooth necklaceʼs face changed, but Akumbo unfazed. He nodded at Tang Shaoyang, ”I canʼt differentiate, but our Chief can confirm your identity whether you are just a sinner like us or a player. Follow me!”

Akumbo turned around and the crowd split up to make a way for him. The villagers now had mixed reactions. Some of them still feared him, but some of them were still curious about him. Of course, their eyes locked on his body or clothes to be more exact. He wore something they had never seen before.

Tang Shaoyang ignored the gazes and followed Akumbo, and he used Chaos Eyes to see the village. He winced slightly when he saw the thatched huts all over the villages. It felt like he returned to an ancient time. He was sure that those huts were where these people lived, and he would sleep in one of those huts later unless he finished the quest as quickly as possible.

Akumbo led Tang Shaoyang to the biggest hut in the center of the village. As he entered the hut, his eyes attracted to the seat at the end of the hall, a seat or maybe a throne that was made of bone. By the sizes of the bones, he was confident that it was the bones from the dead beasts.

He quickly found out that not just that one seat, the other chairs inside this hall were also made of the beast bones. The difference was the numbers of the beast bones. After noticing the necklace, and now he discovered the chairs, he had a rough guess what the bones meant for these people.