Better the Protagonist Isn't Me

Diablo—Fang Zheng was naturally very familiar with this series. Magnificent magic, cult-like visuals and settings, combined with endless grinding—this was most players' impression of this world. But anyone who had studied this world in depth knew very well that this world... only looked satisfying on the surface.

In truth, just as its name suggested, this was a dark world filled with death and destruction, one that could never recover. All humanity's struggles ever earned them was temporary peace, but before long, those peaceful days would be ruthlessly shattered. Just as the sun would always rise and ice and snow would eventually melt.

More importantly, this was a world extremely unfriendly to protagonists.

In the games, the protagonists might slaughter gods and demons alike, but in reality, across all three Diablo games, hardly any protagonists met a good end.

The three protagonists from the first Diablo game—the Warrior drove Diablo's Soul Stone into his own head, trying to suppress Diablo's evil soul with his formidable willpower. Then, just as expected, he was corrupted by Diablo, fell from grace, and became the vessel for Diablo's resurrection. The other two fared no better. One was transformed into an evil spirit after death, while the other submitted to an evil will and became corrupted. In the end, they all became bosses and were killed by the protagonists of the second game. Of course, their successors, those later protagonists, did not meet good ends either... Killing the Demon Lord, going home, and marrying a princess was pure daydreaming. These people either vanished or were killed.

In other worlds, Protagonist Halo kept people alive. In this world, however, Protagonist Halo got people killed!

That was why, after figuring out what world this was, Fang Zheng's first reaction was relief... Thank goodness I'm not the protagonist!

If he remembered correctly, he had traveled into Diablo III. The story was currently at the beginning: a falling star had smashed Tristram Cathedral, Deckard Cain's granddaughter Leah had gathered the Militia to find her grandfather, and at that moment, the protagonist Nephalem made a dazzling entrance and embarked upon a road of no return... Yes, a road of no return.

Although Fang Zheng did not remember this game's plot very clearly, he believed that this unlucky Nephalem definitely would not have a good ending. So what if he defeated Diablo? This world's malice toward protagonists was downright outrageous. They would either be murdered by assassins sent by old friends, suffer fatal injuries due to magical mishaps, or be influenced by evil power, corrupted and fallen, and turned into a boss that dropped equipment for the next generation of protagonists...

Whoever wanted such a cursed Protagonist Halo could have it. Fang Zheng wanted nothing to do with it.

Thud, thud, thud...!!

Just as Fang Zheng finished his meat soup, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded, and a Militia member rushed into the inn.

"Fang Zheng! Captain Rumford wants you at the gate immediately! Those damned Undead have appeared again! We have to stop them!"

"I understand!"

Hearing the Militia member, Fang Zheng said nothing more. He hurriedly got to his feet and followed him out of the inn. The rain had stopped by then, and a few people could be seen around them. Most wore tense, anxious expressions. But Fang Zheng had no mood to concern himself with them. When he reached the gate, he saw that Captain Rumford had changed clothes and was directing the other Militia members to build barricades. Seeing Fang Zheng, Rumford immediately waved.

"Quick, Fang Zheng, come help! We just repelled a wave of Undead, but they... Damn it!"

Before Rumford could finish, Fang Zheng saw the barricade to the right shatter with a bang. Several Undead then slowly walked in, their eyes glowing as they staggered toward the gate. At the sight, the other Militia members immediately grew tense. They gripped their weapons tightly, barely daring to breathe as they watched the monsters before them.

At the same time, a system notification chimed in Fang Zheng's ear, and a line of information appeared before his eyes.

Scene Quest Triggered: Guardian

Dark and evil forces have descended. The flame of civilization is like a candle flickering in the wind. The Trial of doomsday is about to arrive. All you can do is accept the challenge and face that pitch-black future. (Resist the attack of Undead creatures and protect the town's safety. Reward for successful completion: Skill Learning +1, Dimension Points +1.)

A quest had finally appeared!

Seeing the quest before him, Fang Zheng drew Frostmourne. Yet as he watched everyone else act as if they faced a deadly foe, he could not help feeling puzzled. Fang Zheng's understanding of this world was limited to the games, their plot, and their settings. He did not know much about the strength of the monsters in this game. But in Fang Zheng's view, there was nothing especially threatening about these Undead. They were extremely slow, and unlike the zombies in worlds such as Resident Evil, they did not mutate or evolve. If they were elite leaders with auras, perhaps they might pose some threat. But did these swaying Undead, who could barely walk straight, really warrant such alarm from a battle-hardened warrior like Rumford?

Puzzled as he was, Fang Zheng focused his attention and watched the Undead warily. He knew very well that he had only just arrived in this world and certainly knew less about it than veterans like Rumford. Since they were so tense, he naturally would not let down his guard.

After all, it was better to be careful.

Although the Undead moved slowly, their purpose was very clear. They headed straight for the gate. Even Fang Zheng gripped his sword tightly and swallowed, feeling his heart begin to pound. This could be considered his first real battle since arriving in another world. He had no idea how well he would perform.

Although Fang Zheng could still activate the Lich King's Soul Stone four more times, he would not use it now—Undead were beginner monsters in the Dark World. Using the Lich King against them would be like using an anti-aircraft cannon to kill a mosquito.

"Attack!!"

The moment the Undead stepped into range, Rumford roared and raised his sword, slashing at them. Fang Zheng gritted his teeth, tightened his grip around Frostmourne's hilt, and swung hard at the Undead before him.

Thud!!

What the hell?!

The instant his sword struck, Fang Zheng was dumbfounded. He finally understood why these Undead, who walked slower than old grandmothers, made even veteran soldiers like Rumford treat them as deadly enemies.

One word described it—hard!

These things were insanely hard!!

Although Frostmourne in Fang Zheng's hand could not use most of its special abilities without activating a Soul Stone, it was still an exceptional sword on its own. When Fang Zheng had fought those Silver Knights before, Frostmourne had sliced through their armor as easily as butter. Yet when his sword struck this Undead, it felt as though he had hit a tire! Frostmourne had only sunk into its flesh before getting stuck!

What kind of Undead was this tough?!

But that was not the only thing that shocked Fang Zheng.

"Roar—"

Though the Undead moved slowly, it was no target dummy. It gave a low roar, spread its arms, and grabbed at Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng hurriedly pulled back his sword and raised it before himself. But what he had not expected was that the instant the Undead's claws struck Frostmourne, a tremendous force crashed into him, sending his entire body flying!

"Urgh!!"

Fang Zheng slammed headfirst into the gate behind him, feeling as though every bone in his body had come apart. He finally understood why these apparently staggering Undead, whose speed was barely faster than a turtle's crawl, could wipe out an entire Militia squad!

Other than being slow, these bastards had no weaknesses at all!

Seeing the Nephalem cut down two with every swing in the game, Fang Zheng had thought these Undead were soft targets that could be crushed at will. Now he knew better. They might not be as bizarre as the Mutated Zombies in Resident Evil, but with this toughness and strength alone, they were absolutely Tyrant-level!

"Fang Zheng! Get up! Don't let them surround us!!"

Hearing Captain Rumford's shout, Fang Zheng clenched his teeth, rolled to his feet, raised Frostmourne, and charged at the Undead again.

This time, however, Fang Zheng had learned his lesson. He did not clash head-on with the Undead again, because he had discovered that Undead in the Dark World possessed great strength and high defense, but their speed was their fatal weakness. Thus, instead of attacking immediately, he let the Undead strike first. Then, as it raised its hands, Fang Zheng swung his sword and severed both of its arms.

This time, Frostmourne finally displayed the power of an artifact. Although the Undead's arms were equally tough, Fang Zheng's full-force strike still cut them clean off. Without its hands, the Undead was like a tiger without teeth. It swayed its head and tried to attack Fang Zheng again, but Fang Zheng had learned his lesson. He directly cut off its head with a single swing. The Undead swayed a few times before collapsing to the ground, motionless.

So there was a way after all.

Seeing the Undead fall, Fang Zheng finally let out a breath of relief. He then hurriedly raised his weapon and ran toward the other Undead.

At this point, Captain Rumford and the other Militia members were merely struggling to hold off the Undead. Fang Zheng took only one glance to understand why they could not defeat them.

Their weapons were inadequate!

Fang Zheng held Frostmourne, yet even he found it difficult to cut these Undead down. The others only wielded ordinary standard-issue weapons, so naturally they were even less effective. Fang Zheng had personally watched Captain Rumford slash an Undead with his sword. It took four or five strikes just to leave a few wounds, as though he were chiseling at a stone slab with a knife!

"Captain Rumford!!"

Hearing Fang Zheng call out, Rumford glanced at him. When he saw the Undead lying at Fang Zheng's feet, his eyes lit up. He immediately nodded at Fang Zheng, then stepped forward and swung his sword to keep the Undead before him occupied. Fang Zheng used the opening Rumford created by drawing the Undead's attention to circle behind it, then swung his sword and cut off its head.

The Militia members were experienced as well. Seeing that Fang Zheng's weapon could deal with the Undead, they immediately took on the role of MT without hesitation. Working together, they soon wiped out the entire group of Undead.

"Whew..."

Only after the final Undead fell did Fang Zheng wipe the sweat from his brow. At the same time, he saw streams of white mist-like vapor rise from the Undead bodies. They twisted together into shapes resembling human faces, then, as though drawn by a magnet, were absorbed into Frostmourne's blade. At the same time, lines of system notifications appeared before Fang Zheng's eyes.

Soul Power +10... Soul Power +13... Soul Power +12...

Done!

Seeing the system notifications, Fang Zheng finally relaxed. He had previously worried about how to complete Frostmourne's quest, but now it seemed there would be no difficulty in doing so.

Ding.

While Fang Zheng absorbed Soul Power, the system notification sounded in his ear again, and another line of text appeared before him.

Scene Quest "Guardian" Progress One Complete

User has received a skill reward.

User has received Dimension Points +1.

Please select a skill.

Frost Strike Crusader Strike

Select?

Looking at the prompt, Fang Zheng could not help staring blankly. Were these not skills from Death Knights and Paladins in World of Warcraft? He could understand the Death Knight skill, but what was with the Paladin skill?

Thinking this, Fang Zheng slapped his forehead and silently cursed his own stupidity. The Soul Stone he had embedded was Arthas's. Before Arthas became the Lich King, had he not been a Paladin?

But... how was he supposed to choose?