Chapter 161: The Sleeping Beauty

A flash of light appeared and faded away in the middle of Lost Grea City. If this had happened a month ago, people would turn their head to see who the incoming player was. However, presently, someone entering Lost Grea City was no longer a rare sight.

Sila walked out from the light and looked around, feeling surprised.

Lost Grea City had changed a lot within a single week. No, to be accurate, Lost Grea City hadn’t changed at all. What had changed was the number of players within the city. In fact, considering the enormous size of the city, the current number of people was far from crowded. However, for Sila who had seen Lost Grea City when it was truly empty, it became too crowded to be true.

Wandering around the city, Sila wanted to find a sword and new hidden weapons to use. He had used various kinds of hidden weapons, mainly shuriken and kunai, and sometimes metal balls, flash bombs, or smoke bombs depending on the situation.

His feet led him to the largest weapon shop in the city. Even though he wasn’t as knowledgeable about this city as Bluebird, he had already memorized all the important buildings, such as the weapons shop, hotel, and restaurants.

Even though Sila was currently clueless about the existence of the Cloudy Dragon Ring, he could still safely walk within the city. The reason for this was that the Cloudy Dragon Ring had yet to become a popular item, as many people were still reluctant to purchase it. It also helped that the city’s law clearly stated that enemies of the slime race would become the enemy of all android units.

It was perfectly normal for ordinary players to keep a low profile and not cause problems within a kingdom ruled by an NPC. Unlike ones conquered by players, NPC kingdoms often enforced strict laws. If they disobeyed the laws within the city, worst case scenario was being banned from entering the kingdom.

During his walk, Sila noticed something he hadn’t experienced for a long time; he was no longer the center of attention.

At first, Sila was worried if his futuristic wuxia clothing would be too eye-catching. However, it turned out that most players visiting this city wore the same kind of clothing as him, though with different designs.

This kind of clothing was one of the most popular products sold in Lost Grea City: fabric armor. Its defensive ability and durability were as sturdy as mid-tier armor while being lightweight and enabling nimble movements. Furthermore, the customer could design it to their preference. It easily began to trend and was becoming more and more popular on the Main Continent. It could be said that Sila was a trendsetter regarding this gear.

[Welcome.]

An electronic voice rang out as soon as Sila opened the door of the weapon shop. Visiting the shops located in Lost Grea City was like entering a special dimension. Despite the size of the building being relatively small, the interior was as spacious as a warehouse. There were some players walking inside.

There was an old saying that men don’t like to ask for directions. However, Sila had experienced having a difficult time searching for the item he wanted. Thus, he decided to ask for assistance.

“Excuse me. I’m looking for a sword and some throwing weapons.”

The android at the counter near the entrance replied to him with an electronic voice.

[Greetings, Governor. Welcome to the weapon shop...]

“Shhh. Lower your voice, please. I don’t want others to know that.”

[My apologies, sir. What kind of weapons are you looking for?]

“A sword and some throwing weapons.”

[What kind of sword are you looking for? Ancient style? Modern style? Eastern? Western? What length and weight do you prefer? Also, what is your budget?]

Sila scratched his head. He had no knowledge about swords. What he knew was that he wanted a sword that closely resembled the Sila Sword.

“A western style, I guess. The length is about... this. As for the weight, I don’t know. I would need to try holding it to be able to tell you.”

[As for throwing weapons, our shop sells only modern kinds, sir. They are easy to use, effective, but can be quite expensive.]

Feeling disappointed, Sila had tried various kinds of hidden weapons and was quite proficient at using them. However, his level of attainment of the hidden weapon art meant it was capable of working against ordinary people, but useless against a skilled expert like Kawin. As such, he wanted to train himself with only a single kind of hidden weapon and master it. The one he aimed to polish his skill on was a small metal rod, though he didn’t know what it was called. He had only used it when sparring with the nameless elder.

“Anyway, do you happen to know what a small metal rod about six inches in length is called?”

[It is called suntetsu, or kakushibo, sir. It’s a small stick made of metal. It is commonly used by ninjas, though it isn’t as popular as the shuriken or kunai due to its inferior versatility in application and the fact that it isn’t threatening if it doesn’t hit vital points. Its prominent point is its small size, making it hard for enemies to spot. It often comes in a black color to make it even harder to be seen. In conclusion, it’s a concealed weapon that requires technique and precision to show its effectiveness.]

“Suntetsu...” Sila kept it in his mind. “Is it available for sale?”

[Unfortunately, we don’t sell it. If you want different kinds of hidden throwing weapons, please visit the row F-3. As for the swords, please take a look at the row C-8, sir.]

“Thank you.”

[When you finish choosing your weapons, please check out at any of the counters located near the exit, sir.]

Keeping that in mind, Sila nodded and walked away. For the record, most players, including Sila, wondered what would happen if they went past the exit without checking out at the counter. However, recalling the sight of numerous androids wandering around in the city, no one ever dared to try.

Sila walked toward the row labeled C while thinking about his previous conversation with the android.

‘My Disguise didn’t work on the NPC, unlike what I expected. Is it because psychic-type is my secondary energy type?’

The second skill that Sila had chosen was Disguise, inspired by Yardpirun. Actually, this skill had a concept of level. The higher the level, the more effective it would become, and once the skill level reached maximum, the user would gain a secondary ability. Sila was fully aware of this fact since his Hidden Weapon Firing used a similar concept. At first, he could only bring out small items from his inventory. However, upon reaching level 100, he could bring anything out regardless of the size, which was extremely useful.

Unfortunately, the Disguise skill that he had received as a reward came as a special skill, though the Seal skill that he obtained didn’t have such a problem.

After consulting with Bluebird, they got a theory that Disguise was a high-tier skill, unlike Seal. As Sila was wielding two types of energy, with the psychic type being a supplementary one, this fact affected his ability to obtain psychic-type skills.

Without a concept of skill level, special skills had a good point in that less time was needed for players to polish the skill. However, the downside was that it couldn’t be improved to its absolute limit. Bluebird told Sila that Yardpirun’s Disguise could deceive even NPCs and monsters; she could even disguise herself as one of their kin to be on friendly terms with them. Unfortunately for Sila, while he could deceive players, he couldn’t deceive NPCs, and his Disguise was also unlikely to work on monsters.

‘Unfortunately, it seems my plan to disguise myself as a dragon to approach Raidola ended up being in vain. I need to come up with another plan.’

Sila selected this skill, hoping to freely walk into the Dragon Domain and get the dragon with a preemptive strike. He had planned to kill it with the first hit.

Arriving at the destination, Sila stopped and took a look at the various kinds of swords on the shelves. His knowledge regarding swords was lacking, so he took some of them to swing back and forth.

After trying some of them, he found a single one that was fit well in his hand. It was a B-grade Standard Metal Sword. Even though it was quite ordinary, it was still above the rest. Normally, weapons that could be found in other weapon shops only ranged from F to C grade.

‘I haven’t tried using a sword in a real battle before. Is strengthening a sword with energy harder than strengthening a hidden weapon?’

Sila held the sword vertically and clad it with his Yin Yang Energy. However, the sword soon trembled and then broke into fragments.

“Eh?! Why?” Sila was shocked. He didn’t do anything different from what he usually did with hidden weapons.

Curious, Sila did the same with other swords. This time, though, he slowed down the process of energy reinforcement. However, the result was the same. All the swords immediately broke upon taking in his power.

Sila sat down cross-legged out of habit, trying to figure out the cause. He thought for a long time before opening his system window to check his skill list. Finally, he found the culprit. It was a skill he obtained from unlocking the third stage of the Right Arm of the Sealed One.

[Special Skill: Weapon Crush]

[You can reinforce psychic power into your attack and get a boost in attack power. With this skill, your psychic power will have an easier time destroying weapons.]

“So that was the reason.”

The answer was obvious to him. Since he was holding a weapon without equipping it, he not only couldn’t exert abilities that required a weapon to be equipped, but the system also didn’t consider the weapon as his. As a result, it regarded his action to strengthen the weapon as a form of attack, resulting in him breaking it.

“What about hidden weapons? Will the result be the same for them?”

Sila was worried. Ever since he gained his Yin Yang Energy, he had yet to try cladding a hidden weapon with it. If the result was negative, it would be devastating for him. Without energy reinforcement, the attack power of a hidden weapon would be too low.

‘What bad luck. Will there be a time when I can gain a new skill without a disadvantage attached to it?’

Since his system window was still left open, he spotted a new message inside his inbox. In fact, it was sent to him three days ago. The details of the message was an invitation from the Victorious Wolves Sect for him to attend a gathering that would be held in Zhongsuyuan City tomorrow.

“What a coincidence.”

By coincidence, Sila meant it was coincidental that he stumbled onto the message before it was too late. It was also a coincidence that Zhongsuyuan City was a stop along the way to his destination.

For the record, soon after Sila had logged back into the game, he used his A+ system window to search for information about the Desert of Death.

[Desert of Death]

[The Desert of Death is the nickname of the place called Bistem Desert, a desert located in the westernmost part of the continent. The territory may look small on the map, but it is actually a vast special dimension. Every person visiting this place will be granted death from Anubis, the Death God who has the body of a man and the head of a jackal.]

[Anubis is the sole monster living in the vast Desert of Death, since it is the land of death itself. Legend has it that only someone who conquers death can come out of this place alive.]

[Presently, Bistem Desert is the most dangerous place in Monster Soul. No one wants to go there.]

“I can join this gathering first before going to the Desert of Death.”

Reading the message, Sila planned to participate in the gathering. An alliance to oppose the Heavenly Dragon Guild would become a future asset that would help obstruct Montra from winning the second war event. He alone might not be able to win against Montra and the entire Heavenly Dragon Guild, but the story might be different if he had allies on his side.

His sole objective was to prevent Montra from winning. He didn’t need to become the victor.

Since this shop didn’t have the sword he wanted anymore, Sila went to pick up some bombs and paid at the counter. Unfortunately for him, he needed to pay a total of 1,650 gold and 32,000 silver as it included the several swords that he had broken.

Walking toward the Android Palace, Sila was blaming himself for his own recklessness. Actually, there were a lot of low-tier swords for him to test his move on in his treasure room in the mansion; he could go and try it there. However, without Julia, Sebastian, or Bow, Sila didn’t see the point of going to the mansion. Even Bluebird had complained that he didn’t like the mansion without Julia, as it was inconvenient and he needed to do everything himself.

Sila couldn’t help but smile. The reason he purchased the Chamber of Secrets was to be alone. However, when the time actually arrived, he didn’t want to be alone in that place. Thinking about the mansion, he missed Bow. He wanted to know how she was doing.

There were no androids that obstructed him from entering the palace, and he could casually stroll through the halls. He walked through several rooms before finding Orpheus, who was sitting on his throne.

“Oh, Sila. Nice timing. Follow me.” The Android King stood up and led Sila somewhere else.

Sila obediently followed him. “What happened, sir?”

“Your Julia is about to complete. Let’s go see my new creation.”

“Julis isn’t an object, sir.”

“You can call her whatever you want, but don’t forget that I’m the one who gave her life. Let’s hurry—” The Android King stopped speaking as he noticed something.

‘Even though I’m not using my top speed, this kid can follow me with ease. Moreover, it looks like he isn’t using any power at all.’

Sila’s power was utilized inside his body, so it became harder for others to detect. The Android King couldn’t help but be amazed at Sila’s extraordinary growth in a short amount of time.

The two of them walked quickly and finally arrived at a room that Sila thought looked like a laboratory. When he went inside, he could see a massive test tube. Within the test tube was Julia, still wearing her maid outfit, who was asleep. She looked quite peaceful and beautiful. Her body was flashing with a soft blue light.

“She will be completed in a few seconds. I’m really excited.”

Sila looked at her face while the frequency of the flashing light became more rapid. In the end, her body gave off a final, brilliant blue light to the point where both Sila and Orpheus needed to block their eyes.

Once the blue light faded, Julia opened her eyes. They were dark blue like a deep ocean.