Oh, Zane, My Zane

"Ugh!"

In the Zane Dungeon, at the Chapel of Anticipation, the shouts of the young adventurer Sai Ke echoed throughout the entire map.

The voice was filled with a multitude of emotions: surprise, joy, fascination, and memories.

"This is the Zane Dungeon, and I'm back!"

He eagerly pushed open the wooden door of the Chapel of Anticipation, and when the dazzling Erdtree in the distance came into view, he roared with excitement like Demi-Human seeing a full moon.

"This is the scene, this is exactly what I wanted!" He turned around eagerly, as if he couldn't wait to show Qiao Ke La the Erdtree, and said, "I've seen so many Image Stones of Sien, this stunning view is just perfect!"

The place he went to when he first invaded the Zane Dungeon was Lake Liurnia. The scene of clusters of brilliance stones scattering their fluorescent glow in the thin mist rising at dawn is something he can never forget.

"Calm down, really. It's just going into the dungeon, there's no need to get so excited."

Qiao Ke La's face was full of disdain for Sai Ke's immature behavior, but judging from the unconscious twirling of her hair with her fingers, she was not as "calm" as she appeared on the surface.

"Your reaction is so boring," Sai Ke pouted, about to say something, but after glancing back at Qiao Ke La, she suddenly laughed, pointing at her and saying, "What's with that expectant look in your eyes?"

Even Qiao Ke La herself didn't realize that her eyes were sparkling. The sparkle was so intense that it couldn't be described as "stars hidden in her eyes"; it was as if she had a hidden Astel!

"Stop talking so much!" Qiao Ke La blushed, waved her magic wand shyly, Sai Ke then, seeing that she knew when to stop, chuckled and ran out.

Both of them now have a sense of pilgrimage.

The happiness of having that "holy land" you've been longing to visit suddenly appear right next to you, within easy reach, is simply indescribable.

So much so that they would marvel at any flag fluttering in the wind for a long time, as if no other flag could flutter with such perfect and elegant curves as those in the Zane Dungeon.

"What are you doing?" Qiao Ke La suddenly noticed that Sai Ke was always bending down to pick up small stones.

"Keeping some souvenirs is awesome!"

"That's so weird."

Qiao Ke La shook her head helplessly.

Then, while Sai Ke wasn't paying attention, she reached out and pried a patterned relief from the wall next to her and stuffed it into her waist pouch.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

She pretended to be nonchalant, whistled, and walked toward the square with the statue of Queen Marika.

With a loud "thud!", the Grafted Noble made his grand entrance as always!

Its handsome face revealed a cold smile towards the adventurers, as if watching a new batch of prey come to its doorstep. Next, it would use its Ceremonial Straight Sword to crush these arrogant fools one by one, and then—

"Click, click!" The sound of the "Image Machine," the superior prop of the Image Stone, taking pictures continuously interrupted the Grafted Noble had just revealed.

"This monster's entrance is just too Sion-esque!" Sai Ke leaned closer to the Grafted Noble, his eyes gleaming as he photographed the nobleman's twisted, grotesque body, repeatedly turning back to ask, "Hey, did you see that?!"

"I saw it." Qiao Ke La was at a loss for words. "And he looked angry."

"Whoosh—"

The sound of a straight sword blade slicing through the air was deafening; it was the Grafted Noble who had been disrespected by the two men.

Sai Ke shielded the Image Machine and scrambled to avoid the sword strike, stuffing it back into his pouch. "Sorry, sorry, I was just too excited."

He drew his Greatsword, pointed it at the Grafted Noble, and said:

"Watch closely, Qiao Ke La. I'll prove to you that Weapon Skill are the strongest, starting with this guy's Blood sacrifice!"

"Where did you learn the term 'Blood sacrifice'?" Qiao Ke La retorted, casting a magical damage boost on herself and revealing a competitive expression. "Unfortunately, the strongest thing is magic, but I'll prove it to you."

As soon as she finished speaking, she instantly hurled two Glintstone Swift Pebble at the Grafted Noble. This magical attack sacrificed damage for greater speed and almost immediately hit the Grafted Noble. Unfortunately, the second shot was blocked, as the small Glintstone Swift Pebble were no match for the Greatshield.

"You're no match for someone with a shield, you'll have to rely on me." Sai Ke taunted at the opportune moment, taking advantage of the moment when the Grafted Noble's attention was diverted to quickly dart behind him and swing his Greatsword at that plump body!

A mysterious force suddenly appeared on the sword, pulling his body and causing him to leap high into the air and spin. This familiar posture was undoubtedly the [Lion Slash]!

The blade Grafted Noble's back with a heavy blow. Even though he might be using the body of Troll, the sword left a deep groove in his back, and blood gushed out naturally.

"Excellent!" Sai Ke cheered involuntarily, turning and running towards Qiao Ke La as she asked, "How about it? Weapon Skill only needs to hit once to severely injure a monster. Can your magic do that?"

"Tch, you'd better look behind you first, you idiot!"

A terrifying aura appeared behind Sai Ke in the blink of an eye; it was the Grafted Noble.

Although the Grafted Noble's injuries looked serious, they didn't seem that severe compared to his massive body.

Instead, he was enraged.

He burst forth with incredible speed like a sideways crab, appearing behind Sai Ke in the blink of an eye, his Greatshield raised high, seemingly about to smash his opponent into mincemeat.

Just then, the Swirling Magic Pebble swept past him, instantly shredding an extra arm and drawing his attention to Qiao Ke La.

"Can your Weapon Skill be used to precisely strike parts of a monster's body, huh?" Qiao Ke La's lips curled up, and she still couldn't resist teasing the Grafted Noble who was charging towards her.

"Huh? Why not!"

Sai Ke drew the straight sword from his back and, with all his might, unleashed his Weapon Skill for the second time—[Vacuum Slash]. The sword energy generated by the Weapon Skill flew towards the Grafted Noble and hit him in the blink of an eye, resulting in the excellent achievement of severing half of the opponent's hand.

"Oh no. I'm out of strength, I missed."

Having unleashed his Ultimate Skill twice in a row, he lost a little control over the angle at which he released the Weapon Skill.

Not only did he embarrass himself, but after Qiao Ke La fired several Swirling Magic Pebble, she also lost control of her direction and almost hit Sai Ke.

At first, the two of them seemed to be doing quite well, but they only lasted a few seconds before their true colors were revealed. It can only be said that their strength was still too lacking; they couldn't withstand even a few Weapon Skill and magic attacks.

Then the Grafted Noble a powerful Mystical Space Typhoon that sent the two weakened individuals flying, plummeting straight off the cliff.

Not long after.

Although they witnessed an epic film while falling off the cliff, once they came to their senses, Sai Ke and Qiao Ke La began to share their opinions based on the battle they had just fought.

"Without my magic just now, how could your Weapon Skill have hit the monster?"

At the First Step the blessing ceremony, the two ignored the White Mask next to them who was still bickering like children, hurriedly clicked the blessing button and left.

The White Mask, who had been preparing his opening remarks for a long time, suddenly found himself unable to utter a single sentence.

"Are you sure it's really magic? It was clearly my well-trained body that unleashed super speed, okay?"

The two argued as they passed by the Tree Sentinel, completely ignoring the imposing golden knight, and headed towards the Church of Elleh.

The Tree Sentinel had just been so imposing, about to gallop away on horseback, his thick arms wielding an equally thick Golden Halberd. He was truly awe-inspiring and incomparably powerful. If an ordinary person saw him, they would probably immediately bow down and shout, "Your Excellency is mighty!"

However, his incredibly cool move was Sai Ke casting pearls before swine to the blind; the two were completely absorbed in their own world and seemed oblivious to the presence of the Tree Sentinel.

The Tree Sentinel had never seen anyone play their cards like this before, and for a moment he forgot to attack. In the blink of an eye, the two of them entered Church of Elleh.

"Besides, without my Lion Slash, how could your magic possibly hit the monster?"

The two glanced at the festively dressed merchant Ka Lie, and left without buying anything. Qiao Ke La even tried to pet Ka Lie's donkey but almost got kicked to death.

"My magic can automatically track targets. Who else's Weapon Skill miss so many times like yours?"

"Then how do you explain almost hitting me just now?"

"That's different. The monsters' positioning caused the magic to mistakenly target the wrong enemy!"

"Tch, nonsense, it's just because magic isn't working."

The two argued until they finally stopped when they obtained the spirit Torrent.

It wasn't that the two of them reconciled, but rather that the soldiers at the checkpoint wouldn't tolerate them. Accompanied by the sound of bugles, a whole van full of Godrick Soldier rushed over and chopped the two of them into mincemeat.

"It's a draw, we just made a draw, okay?"

The two, now resurrected, finally regained consciousness and reached a commendable truce.

Faced with a level teeming with monsters, the two gave the following answer:

"No, I can't beat them."

Sai Ke three or four times. His equipment was almost completely destroyed.

Although it was frustrating, it was an undeniable fact that his Weapon Skill were insufficient to advance beyond the checkpoint under these circumstances.

"In the end, it still has to be me." Qiao Ke La confidently waved her magic wand, and the Mage Hand formed in the air.

Then the Mage Hand flew around with a bunch of Lure Skull, luring all the Godrick Soldier away. The two of them took advantage of this time to ride their spirit horses and escape, successfully passing the checkpoint ahead.

"See? Magic is still the most powerful, isn't it?" Qiao Ke La said smugly.

"Shouldn't we thank the Lure Skull?" Although Sai Ke complained, he also admitted that it was the Mage Hand that flew around, luring all the soldiers inside the checkpoint out and constantly pulling them, which gave them time to pass through the checkpoint.

Finally achieving results, Qiao Ke La's ahoge (cowlick) stood up energetically, swaying back and forth with Torrent's movements.

Sai Ke was racking his brains trying to figure out what other way he could defeat his opponent, but just then, accompanied by a loud wolf howl, a large pack of wolves descended from the sky.

"Run!"

The two quickly spurred their horses and fled. There were too many wolves; if they were ganged up on, they wouldn't be able to win.

However, it was time for Torrent to be used.

The spirit horse turned into particles and dissipated, and the two of them immediately fell to the ground and rolled several times. There was a dilapidated house nearby, but before they could run inside, the wolves pounced on them.

Qiao Ke La waved her magic, only to realize that she had summoned the Mage Hand for too long, causing her magic power to not have recovered yet, making it impossible for her to cast many spells. This was a dead end!

A wolf pounced on her. She was about to scream when a flash of sword light appeared, and the wolf was smashed to the ground.

With a whoosh, the already battered and bruised Sai Ke pulled the Greatsword from the wolf's body, wiped the blood from his forehead, and said, "At times like this, we still have to rely on our fists and feet."

Qiao Ke La pursed her lips, her eyes flickering.

Sai Ke's current physical strength does not allow him to Ultimate Skill. He can only rely on some ordinary Weapon Skill that he has trained himself, such as wrapping wind around his sword to accelerate and enhancing his eyesight. These techniques are simple and unrefined, and he cannot even deliver a decisive blow in battle.

Soon, he could no longer hold out against the wolves' attack and knelt down, leaning on his sword.

Even in such a sorry state, he still shouted with fervor, "Damn it, my Weapon Skill will not be inferior to those of mere beasts!"

The largest White Wolf opened its blood-red maw and charged forward, about to blow his head off in one gulp.

"Coax--"

Just then, a Mystical Space Typhoon suddenly came from behind Sai Ke, sending the White Wolf flying.

This is the Weapon Skill [Storm Blade]!

"I appreciate what you said."

A burly figure clad in heavy armor suddenly appeared behind the two, as if he had been waiting there all along but only made his move now.

The relief of a group of beasts gathered on the heavy armor is lifelike, as if it is roaring at everyone. Just one glance is enough to tell that this person must be very strong.

There is even a potential for kingship hidden within him, for beasts are drawn to kings.

"I, Beinal, am here to help you out."