Chapter 51

Chapter 51: On the Self-Cultivation of a Support

With a single strike, the massive Staff of the Agent in Cordova's hand smashed the Armored Dragon Beast into a spray of blood. Although the latter was not in the best condition at that moment, it still could not overshadow this fierce man's nearly off-the-charts combat prowess. The instant the attack landed, everyone present heard a deafening explosion, and even the rubble on the ground bounced from the shock.

"My god..." Mo Tan, who had just struggled to his feet, was thoroughly startled, staring at Cordova with an almost horrified look: "Is he even human?"

The Azure Dragon beside him, panting with its tongue out like it was having an asthma attack, rolled its eyes: "Strictly speaking, not really~ But that kid is at best only a half-finished... uh..."

Femigel seemed to realize she had said a bit too much, cut herself off mid-sentence, and then rolled her eyes back and fainted on the spot.

That wasn't entirely an act... She really was exhausted...

But Mo Tan didn't think much of it. His earlier surprise wasn't directed at Cordova's raw strength; he just found it impressive that this guy, who had only been playing for a little over a day, could possess such combat power. Of course, when he briefly considered the man's previous luck, Mo Tan found himself utterly incapable of feeling even a shred of envy.

After all, this was literally "bought with his own life"...

The Armored Dragon Beast, suddenly struck, was on the verge of collapse. This sub-dragon species, ferocious by nature but lacking in intelligence and ability, instinctively sensed that its days might end here today, so it began to pour all its remaining strength into a desperate last stand against the smug-faced man before it.

"Yo, you planning to hit me with some leftover breath?" Cordova shrugged, standing there without dodging or flinching, letting the dragon beast open its massive maw at him.

Pale yellow flames churned. Although the breath of a sub-dragon species could hardly compare to that of their errant ancestors from ages past, it still possessed formidable killing power—especially when unleashed in a reckless, all-out gamble like this...

"ROAR!!!"

With a bellow, the turbid yellow flames, brewed and accumulated to their absolute limit, erupted from the Armored Dragon Beast's mouth. This breath attack carried not only searing heat but also a massive amount of impure earth-element power, making its frontal lethality far greater than that of pure fire!

This was absolutely not an attack that could be tanked by conventional means!

But...

"That's about it, huh." Cordova glanced at his health bar, which had barely dropped by a tenth, feeling the simulated heat and stinging sensation around him, and casually remarked. Then, gripping the staff's end with both hands in a ready-to-swing-home-run stance, he chuckled: "Compared to what I've been through before, this level of crap isn't even a fart in a storm!"

With a terrifying Constitution of 60, combined with the passive effects of Rune: Steel and Rune: Evil-Breaking, Cordova, now enveloped in a blue glow, possessed an appalling level of resilience. Even the Sub-Dragon Breath, which dealt both physical and magic damage, had little effect...

Then, chest out, head up, hips swaying, Cordova let out a light shout. The staff in his hand swung fiercely like a battering ram, accompanied by a mournful howl!

A normal attack!

A normal attack from a user whose Strength attribute was as high as 120 (doubled by the passive effect of Rune: Giant Strength)!

The heavy, bladed Staff of the Agent shattered the tough shield, cracked the solid carapace, pierced through the dense hide, and sent the Sub-Dragon Species flying into the air, tumbling nearly three and a half rotations.

Just as the massive beast silently breathed its last, Blazing Sun heard the system notification ringing in his ears:

[Side Quest: Dragon's Trial, completed. Completion: 60%. Reward: 300 War Priest experience. Extra reward: None.]

Looking at his still-bleeding left arm and recalling the Heroes' Song he had to sing whether he wanted to or not, Blazing Sun suddenly felt like cursing.

That Armored Dragon Beast had already been worn down to almost nothing...

The equipment reward for reaching 80% completion was gone...

He had used Bloody Battle Mad Song, which he swore he'd never use after learning it, and he had sung the Heroes' Song...

The other guy just came up, whacked it a couple of times, and it was done.

Still, Blazing Sun forced a smile as he walked up to Cordova and greeted him warmly: "You're really strong, master. Thanks a lot for earlier~"

What else could he do? Even if such a fierce NPC stole his kill, there was nothing to be done about it. Besides, this master of unknown race might even be a Dragon Knight. A Dragon Knight!

So the smart move was to get on friendly terms...

Meanwhile, Mo Tan, seeing that the fight was over, quickly walked over to his temporary companion and nodded politely to Blazing Sun and the Great Priest.

For some reason, he felt that this handsome orc with long red hair looked somewhat familiar.

"Easy, easy!" Cordova was in high spirits at the moment, cheerfully extending his hand to Blazing Sun: "I'm Cordova."

Blazing Sun shook his hand in return: "I'm Blazing Sun."

[What the hell is your name?!]

Mo Tan was stunned for a moment. The memory that had been gradually becoming clearer suddenly resurfaced. Looking at the man he had met not long ago, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly at how small the world was...

But what surprised him even more was that Cordova was also stunned.

"Blazing Sun?" Cordova paused for a moment, then looked at the other with utter astonishment, lowering his voice in shock: "You're Wan Yang?!"

Blazing Sun's eyes went wide as saucers: "Who are you?"

"I'm your Brother Yu!" Cordova laughed heartily, leaving the two beside him utterly dumbfounded: "This world really is small!"

"Yeah, yeah, this world is really small."

Mo Tan's entire face went pale. He finally understood why Cui Xiaoyu had been in such a bad mood that day—turns out it was because he'd been hit hard while playing the game...

"Brother Yu?" Blazing Sun reacted for a long moment before suddenly slapping his forehead. "Holy crap, it's you! Cui Xiaoyu!?"

Cordova threw an arm around Blazing Sun's shoulders. "Yeah, yeah, that's me!"

"Get lost!" The latter shoved him away with an elbow, fuming angrily. "So when you said you quit the game, what you actually meant was you gave up grinding monsters yourself and switched to stealing other people's kills instead, huh!?"

Now that he knew this was someone he recognized in real life, Blazing Sun naturally stopped holding back. The frustration he'd been suppressing earlier surged to his head at two hundred kilometers per hour, and he was completely beside himself.

"I'm here to help you guys fight, alright~" Cordova glared back. "I'm here to support you! Do you even know what support means!"

Blazing Sun: "Pfft! What part of you looks like a support!"

"I'm a priest." Cordova puffed out his chest, planting his staff—which weighed at least fifty kilograms—on the ground beside him, kicking up a ring of dust.

"Priest my ass!" Blazing Sun shuddered from the impact, his face red with anger. "Even a War God's priest doesn't play like this! If you carried that thing out and said it was for demolition work, people would believe you!"

"This is a staff!" Cordova snorted. "What the hell do you know!"

Blazing Sun pointed at the Staff of the Agent and sneered. "Since when do staves have blades on them?"

"I don't care!" Cordova was practically steaming from the back of his neck. "I'm a support! An excellent support!"

"Stop embarrassing supports everywhere! Name one priest who charges in swinging a weapon to crack open people's skulls!"

"Isn't a support's job to protect their teammates and keep everyone safe?"

"And what the hell does that have to do with you?"

"If I kill all the enemies, aren't my teammates safe?"

"..."

Blazing Sun was genuinely stumped by Cordova. He felt his brain getting a bit tangled...

Support = protecting your teammates. Cracking open enemies' skulls = ensuring teammates' safety. Therefore, cracking open enemies' skulls = excellent support?

Something about that just didn't seem right!

"Hmph! Let me show you what a real support looks like!" Blazing Sun considered himself a support too, and after mulling it over for a while, he let out a light snort and waved at Mo Tan nearby. "Hey, half-dragon brother, come here—let me give you a buff?"

Because he didn't have a constitution as freakish as Cordova's, Mo Tan had been reduced to around ten percent of his health points when he fell from the sky earlier. Hearing that Blazing Sun planned to buff him, he felt somewhat relieved.

After all, Cordova, who called himself a "priest," didn't seem to have any intention of healing him or anything.

And then...

Bang!

Blazing Sun whipped out a whip from who-knows-where and lashed Mo Tan straight to the ground!

[Fervent Lash]

Active Skill

Mastery Requirements: War Priest level 3

Cost/Restrictions: 1 Stamina, requires special equipment 'Blood Thorn Whip' in pack.

Effect: Whip your ally, dealing damage equal to 5% of their maximum Health Points. If the target does not die, their damage is increased by 40% for 20 seconds. The bonus damage decays at a rate of 2% per second. Cooldown: 1 minute. Whipping the same target again within a short period will also cause the skill's effect to decay.

[Note: Get up and work! You lovely little scumbags!]

Mo Tan, who had been knocked flat by the whip, felt a warm surge flow through his body, and then realized his Strength seemed to have increased considerably. Immediately after, he spat out a mouthful of old blood...

Cordova looked at the red-haired Orc beside him with contempt and said, "So your idea of support is beating your own people half to death?"

"Stop yapping!" Blazing Sun shot him a glare, then crouched beside Mo Tan, tilting his head and asking, "How is it, buddy! Don't you feel stronger?"

Mo Tan struggled to turn over and smiled bitterly, "I think... I need to be rescued as soon as possible!"

To be fair, Blazing Sun's skill was genuinely decent. Under normal circumstances, it would be a sharp support ability—trading 5% of maximum Health Points for a 20-second damage boost wasn't a bad deal, and combined with some powerful skills, the effect could be even more pronounced. But there was a prerequisite...

At the very least, the one receiving the buff needed to have some health left. Mo Tan's Health Points, which had been hovering around 10%, nearly got wiped out entirely by that whip.

"Blazing Sun, don't fool around." At that moment, the Great Priest, who had finally ambled over, gently scolded Blazing Sun, then leaned down and muttered to Mo Tan, "The spirit of the Ancestors is guiding you..."

Then Mo Tan felt a warmth spread through his exhausted body. He opened his status panel and saw his Health Points rapidly recovering at a rate of about 10% per second. In just a moment, they were completely full.

"I feel much better now." Mo Tan got up from the ground and expressed his gratitude to the unfathomably powerful Great Priest, "Thank you for your healing~"

No wonder he could knock down an adult Giant Dragon with a single gesture. Aside from Femigel being already exhausted, this aged Orc Great Priest truly had some skill.

Mondo shook his head at Mo Tan, indicating it was his duty, then instructed Blazing Sun, "I'm going to check on our Giant Dragon friend now. Blazing Sun, you keep these two company for a while, and be sure not to bring shame to the Ancestors."

With that, he turned and walked toward Femigel, who was sprawled out in a heap not far away.

"Sorry about that~" Blazing Sun said to Mo Tan apologetically, "I got a bit carried out just now. I thought you were like this guy here, uh, are you two friends?"

Mo Tan shrugged at him, "I'm also a player. I traveled with Cordova for a stretch due to certain reasons."

"He's a good man." Cordova chimed in lazily from the side, then said to the two of them, "Let's add each other as friends."

Mo Tan and Blazing Sun readily agreed—well, at least Mo Tan readily agreed. After all, in the eyes of the two, the character Mo could never be linked to his actual self, so naturally they didn't see anything inappropriate. Here, thanks must be given to the racial characteristics of the Half-Dragon Male; otherwise, it would have been highly likely for him to be exposed due to his appearance.

"I plan to log off first."

After adding both of them as friends, Mo Tan figured nothing else would happen in the short term, so he immediately greeted the two and prepared to log off. He knew that he hadn't suddenly switched personalities and disconnected for most of the day today, and according to past patterns, every second from now on could potentially bring trouble!

"Alright." Cordova nodded, then looked toward the Giant Dragon not far away receiving treatment from the Great Priest, spreading his hands and saying, "Femigel should be staying here to recuperate for a few more days. I think he's overextended himself a bit. When you get back on, remember to give me a shout."

Blazing Sun also laughed: "My Mentor should be looking after that Giant Dragon until he recovers, so we'll probably be staying here for a while too, though... it's a bit annoying, to be honest."

As he finished speaking, he shot Cordova an exasperated glare.

"Oh, right~ There's one more thing I'd like to ask both of you for help with." At this point, Mo Tan suddenly gave an awkward smile and said, "If you happen to come across two very... very distinctive NPCs while I'm away, I hope you can look after them a bit. They're a Half-Orc girl and a human mage of considerable age, that is, if you run into them."

Cordova patted his chest: "No problem!"

"That's great, but there's one thing to keep in mind." Mo Tan's expression suddenly turned serious: "Please be very careful about..."

[You have been disconnected. Please choose whether to reconnect.]

...

Two minutes later

[Your mental connection has been detected. Synchronizing personal information...]

[Connection complete. Loading character data.]

[Welcome back, Chaotic Neutral Tan Mo. About to load into Innocent Realm. Good night.]

...

Chapter Fifty-One: The End