Chapter Sixteen: Quest System and Horned Helmet

Even though it was Harrot's first kill, he wasn't particularly unsettled, perhaps because he had already experienced death.

Rodri was a scumbag and a rapist, so his death was well-deserved. Harrot felt no guilt for killing him.

Still, as a fellow Gladiator, Harrot couldn't help but feel a sense of empathy regarding Rodri's demise.

Even as an elite Gladiator with the System, he couldn't claim to be entirely safe. He could easily fall during a fight against Magical Beasts or other monsters.

I must get out of this Gladiator identity as soon as possible! Harrot thought to himself.

In the stands, Rodri's father sat slumped, pale-faced and dazed, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.

The cheers of the other spectators sounded incredibly harsh to him. He could do nothing but grieve and dared not seek revenge against the Gladiatorial Arena.

The Gladiatorial Arena was the Old Marquis's property. A son could be replaced, but angering the Old Marquis would mean the ruin of his entire family and merchant caravan.

The Bearded Noble and his daughter left, surrounded by guards. The psychological shadow had lifted from his daughter, and a smile returned to her face. The Bearded Noble smiled contentedly, thinking he would reward the large Gladiator if the opportunity arose.

As for Harrot, at The Bald Man's invitation, he went with him to eat a good meal outside the Gladiatorial Arena.

Gladiators were generally not allowed to leave the Gladiatorial Arena, but if The Bald Man was leading them, one or two Gladiators leaving was acceptable; everyone would simply pretend not to notice.

On the way, The Bald Man praised Harrot for not disgracing him, enthusiastically putting his arm around Harrot's shoulder and chatting with him.

Harrot was infected by The Bald Man's mood, dispelling the unease in his heart.

Scarface wouldn't last much longer; the Count would soon kill him. Since The Bald Man still valued him so much, Harrot was certain he could successfully shed his Gladiator identity.

The two ate at a tavern. Many people in the tavern recognized The Bald Man and Harrot, and a group of them clamored to toast Harrot.

Although Gladiators were merely slaves, power always commanded respect. Most commoners held a sense of admiration for powerful Gladiators.

After returning to the Gladiatorial Arena, when no one was around, The Bald Man quietly told Harrot, "You did well. The noble lord is very pleased!"

[Ding! First task completed. Quest System unlocked. You can view the quest log in the System interface.]

As soon as The Bald Man finished speaking, Harrot suddenly heard a System prompt in his mind. This immediately piqued Harrot's interest, but since The Bald Man was talking to him, it wasn't convenient for him to check the System.

The Bald Man then sternly instructed Harrot to keep his mouth shut and not speak carelessly, before saying, "I'm discussing something with someone tonight, so I won't be training you. You should get some good rest!"

Harrot was now particularly interested in the newly unlocked "Quest System" and agreed repeatedly before returning to his cell.

[Quest 'Kill Rapist' completed. Quest reward: Experience +800, randomly obtain one item.]

[Do you wish to accept the reward now?]

"Yes!" Immediately after, Harrot's level increased by one, reaching Level 5, and an item also appeared in his inventory.

[Horned Helmet: +20 Defense, Strength Requirement 12]

Harrot was ecstatic. His four equipment slots were for helmet, armor, gloves, and boots. All but the helmet slot already had equipment.

Now he had a helmet too, and this helmet was of extraordinary quality—+20 Defense! His other three pieces of equipment combined only provided 10 points!

Harrot couldn't wait to equip the Horned Helmet. His character panel's buff changed to "+30 Defense, -1 Agility."

The reduction in agility was normal. His previous three pieces of equipment were made of cloth and leather, providing low defense but also being very light. This Horned Helmet, however, was made of pure metal and was quite heavy. Coupled with the total weight of his previous three items, he had already reached the threshold for reduced agility.

However, compared to 20 Defense, a 1-point agility penalty was nothing. Harrot excitedly tested it out.

The effect was truly remarkable. Even using 50% of his strength, Harrot couldn't cause any damage to himself. It was as if his Golden Bell Shield had upgraded from an initial understanding to a significant mastery!

He was now curious what it would be like to fight an agile enemy like Rodri again. He guessed his opponent wouldn't be able to break his defense at all; his "+30 Defense" was a full-coverage, airtight defense.

After Harrot claimed his quest reward, his quest log was empty, with only a few lines of System prompts:

[Upon completing important entrustments or tasks for others, you can gain corresponding experience and random items of equivalent value based on the difficulty.]

Over the next few days, Harrot participated in a total of four Gladiator matches, winning every one. The elite Gladiators were all recovering from injuries.

Other Gladiators were overwhelmingly crushed by Harrot. The audience also developed a deep impression of Harrot; his title as God of War had been accepted by most.

Unfortunately, the elite Gladiators of the Gladiatorial Arena were all injured and unable to fight, so his Ten Wins for Freedom challenge couldn't proceed. The goal of escaping slavery seemed distant. The Bald Man was helpless; this rule was already a concession made by the Gladiatorial Arena for his sake, and further leniency was impossible.

One evening, The Bald Man didn't guide Harrot in practicing the Dragon Slaying Sword Art as usual. Instead, he said with a grim expression, "Tomorrow you have to fight a Magical Beast. No teammates, just you alone. Damn it, that bastard really went through with it!"

"Magical Beast! What's its strength?" Harrot quickly pressed. Magical Beasts were mutated from ordinary wild beasts, sharing two common characteristics: first, Magical Beasts inevitably possessed the ability to cast Magic, and second, the offspring of Magical Beasts did not inherit the mutation; in most cases, their offspring were still ordinary wild beasts.

There were many types of Magical Beasts. Strong ones could rival Dragons, while weaker ones were less powerful than fierce beasts like tigers or lions.

The Bald Man said uncertainly, "I don't know its exact strength. That bastard just bought it. From its appearance, it seems to be a mutated hyena. It's not big, so its melee combat ability shouldn't be very strong. I just don't know what its Magic ability is."

Harrot silently pondered. Magical Beasts were fantasy creatures that didn't exist in his previous life, and Magic was a mysterious power he had never encountered in either of his lives.

The Bald Man offered many suggestions for dealing with Magical Beasts, but since he didn't know the specific abilities of the beast, his advice wasn't very helpful.

Harrot felt a little heavy-hearted. The territory where his original body and father lived before his transmigration was destroyed by a Magical Beast. In his memories, it was a gigantic leopard over 10 meters long.

The guards and militiamen in the territory were utterly defenseless, slaughtered one after another. Harrot's original father also died tragically.

Although the Magical Beast bought by the Gladiatorial Arena certainly wouldn't be that powerful, it still made Harrot very nervous.