Chapter 17

Natural Armor, also called armored skin, meant skin so tough it was like armor, able to withstand swords and blades.

It was a rare ability. Apart from powerful magical beasts, only ascetics who had undergone brutal training or veteran warriors who had survived countless battles could possess it.

When Sui Xiong had sculpted Gerald's face, he had made him look quite young. He seemed like a giant youth just starting out, so nobody would mistake him for an ascetic or a veteran warrior.

Since he was neither, only one possibility remained: this young man who looked merely big was actually a superpowerful being on par with a magical beast!

How could those seasoned old hands who knew their stuff not be shocked?

The chief guard of the Temple of the God of Justice was certainly no fool, either. When he saw Gerald block a blade with his arm, he paused, then couldn't help laughing.

"I underestimated you!" He chuckled, his graying eyebrows trembling slightly. "So, would you be interested in learning some advanced techniques? Things like cutting down several people with one swing, or launching a second attack immediately after the first without needing to recover, or using a light weapon as if it were heavy, and a heavy weapon as if it were light... things like that."

Gerald was genuinely tempted.

He was a seasoned adventurer and knew quite a few combat techniques, but honestly, they were all common fare. He had only heard of techniques like the Whirlwind Attack, Chain Attack, and Weapon Mastery the chief guard had mentioned. He had never even seen them, much less learned them.

For a warrior, the more combat techniques he knew, and the more advanced they were, the stronger he became. The very best warriors could even fight legendary monsters one-on-one, sword in hand, and carve their way through an army. Their combat prowess was simply monstrous.

If he could learn all the techniques the chief guard had mentioned, perhaps he could become stronger and wouldn't have to let the deity he worshipped go out of his way to protect him, making him a burden to His Majesty...

His heart warmed at the thought, and he was about to accept the old chief guard's offer. But then he reconsidered and swallowed the words that had nearly left his mouth.

The master he served wasn't one of the gods widely known to the people of this world, but a newly ascended deity. Learning from a master would surely require him to stay at the Temple of the God of Justice for a while. If anyone noticed something amiss, wouldn't that cause trouble for His Majesty?

He shuddered and quickly declined as tactfully as he could.

The old chief guard had seen that Gerald seemed interested at first, only to change his mind for some reason. He couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. But as a follower of the God of Justice, he couldn't force anyone to become his student. He could only tell Gerald that he was welcome to come to the temple and study whenever he liked, then leave in disappointment.

The old man had quite a reputation in town. Since even he had failed to recruit Gerald, the others who had shown some interest in him gave up as well. At last, Gerald had some peace and quiet. With a small pack on his back, he wandered along the streets until, without realizing it, he reached a large wooden board.

The board stood in the square at the town's center, in a highly visible spot. It was covered with pieces of cloth of various sizes, some bearing only writing and others featuring both text and illustrations. A sharp-looking young man stood beside it. People regularly examined the postings, then went over to ask him about them. Some even slipped him a silver coin or two. Business seemed to be brisk.

"What's going on over there?" Sui Xiong asked.

"Your Majesty, that's the bounty board. All sorts of jobs and bounties are posted there, as long as they're not the kind that have to be kept secret. That young man works for the Adventurers Guild. He handles inquiries here and sells information on the side." Gerald knew this sort of thing well, since he had been an adventurer himself.

Sui Xiong had a general idea of how it worked. Curious about this system of hiring people, he sent a wisp of his consciousness to study the postings on the board. Before long, he spotted Gerald's portrait on one of the pieces of cloth.

It showed Gerald as he had looked in life. There were two pictures, one a close-up of his face and the other a full-body portrait. Both were quite well done. With just a few strokes, the artist had captured Gerald's features so accurately that he was easy to recognize. Sui Xiong thought that if the artist were transported to Earth, he could make a living drawing portraits at tourist attractions—just like one of his fellow students, who was also bald.

But that fellow student, whose pen name was Hua Siyuan, had set up shop in Tiananmen Square. To be able to draw portraits in the heart of such a vast country was proof of extraordinary skill. He was the undisputed king of street artists. By comparison, this artist was at best Platinum rank, probably good enough only to set up at Badaling, where he could earn a hard living under the sun and wind.

At the thought, Sui Xiong couldn't help laughing.

"Your Majesty, what's so funny?" Gerald asked.

Sui Xiong pointed to the piece of cloth. "Look, there's a bounty on you."

Gerald looked completely calm, without the slightest surprise. "That's right. My bounty should still be up. Let's see... Ha, they've raised it."

Beneath the portrait were several lines of text, which roughly read: Bald-headed Rune, wanted by the Blue Moon Kingdom for assaulting a noble. A thousand gold coins would be paid to anyone who brought his head to the Temple of the God of Nobility or the Temple of the God of Commerce for verification.

"A thousand gold coins is worth a hundred thousand copper coins. That's a huge sum! What did you do to earn a bounty that big?"

"Back when I was an adventurer, I used the alias Rune—we adventurers mostly used aliases to avoid trouble. We had a team of six, and we got along well. Then, during one expedition, a magical beast bit off one of my companions' legs. We needed to raise enough money for him to get regrowth treatment at a temple, so we took an illegal job smuggling weapons. When the job was done, our employers not only refused to pay us, they tried to silence us. After a fierce fight, I was the only one left alive." Gerald summed up the old tale of schemes and betrayal, anger and bloodshed in as few words as possible. "A viscount died in the fight... That's about it."

Sui Xiong fell silent for a moment, then said, "Good riddance! Are any of your old enemies still alive?"

"No. We adventurers never let a grudge linger overnight."

"Good!"

Gerald scratched his head and grinned sheepishly.

"Your Majesty, I suggest we look over these jobs. There might be some that suit us," he said. "Building a temple, spreading the true faith, and training clergy all cost money."

"I've told you before, I'm not a god. There's no need to waste money on that..."

"You'll have to spend it sooner or later. There's nothing wrong with preparing in advance."

Sui Xiong had no way to deal with Gerald's stubbornness. The worst kind of subordinate for a leader was one who was both utterly loyal and set in his ways. He couldn't bring himself to hit him, and he couldn't talk sense into him. Especially when the other person wore an expression that said, Boss, I'm only thinking of what's best for you, and seemed ready to lay down his life for his country at any moment. Apart from lunatics like Emperor Yang of Sui, even the greatest emperors in history could only shake their heads, sigh, and give in.

They were idle anyway, so they might as well find something to do and pass the time.

Since he'd decided to take on a job and earn some money, Sui Xiong naturally went straight for the highest-paying one. At the top of the bounty board was a slightly faded piece of cloth. It had no picture, just a few lines of text.

Slay the Shadow Devil King and present its Magic Core as proof. The major temples will jointly verify the claim. The reward is one hundred thousand gold coins, plus two high-grade custom-made magical items. Once verification is complete, the Magic Core belongs to the slayer.

"This job looks pretty good. One hundred thousand gold coins!"

Gerald glanced at it and shook his head. "The Shadow Devil King is the most notorious monster in the eastern part of the Ash Forest. It's at least a legendary monster, and it might even be a demigod. There are plenty of ways to make money. Why risk your life fighting a demigod?"

"A demigod... Is it powerful?" Sui Xiong couldn't help feeling intrigued. Ever since he'd crossed over, he hadn't met a truly evenly matched opponent.

Based on what Gerald had told him, he figured he was probably a demigod-level powerhouse himself. A demigod against a demigod—surely that would make for a satisfying fight.

"Your Majesty, we really don't need to go out of our way to provoke that thing!" Gerald was getting anxious. "It's not worth it! Even if you want to find an opponent, you could spar with someone like the Skeleton Devourer, who can communicate. The Shadow Devil King is notoriously evil. It'll definitely use all kinds of tricks to ambush you!"

Sui Xiong sighed and dropped the subject. He could tell that if he insisted on fighting the Shadow Devil King, Gerald might even try to stop him by stabbing himself.

What should you do when your subordinate is too loyal? Asking online. It's urgent.

Sigh... There was no internet!

Leaving that job aside, there were several other high-paying ones on the board. One of them struck Sui Xiong as a good option:

Drive the evil dragon Tyrant of Extreme Cold from the mountains near Dragon Roar Town. Afterward, bring clergy from three different temples, including the Temple of the God of Justice, to verify the completion of the task at the dragon's lair. The reward is five thousand gold coins. If no reinforcements are needed, the entire hoard in the dragon's lair is yours.

Gerald didn't object to this job. As far as he knew, evil dragons tended to pick on the weak and avoid the strong. With His Majesty Void Mask's strength, he could surely force the dragon to move, as long as he didn't take the treasure in its lair. All in all, the five thousand gold coins should be easy to earn.

After paying a silver coin, Gerald asked the Adventurers Guild's representative for some information and confirmed the general location of the dragon's lair. Then he bought some necessities for living outdoors and prepared to leave Glimmerstone Town for Dragon Roar Town.

But he hadn't gone far beyond the town when he stopped in his tracks.

An overturned carriage and a crowd of merchants in a panic blocked his way.