The Grand Duelist

"Excuse me, sir Ray, sir Mar... But wouldn't this King's Trial take a lot of time to complete? Especially when he has to understand an incredibly vague concept. I don't think that something like that can be understood in just a week or two."

Elizabeth couldn't finally hold her curiosity as she asked.

Ray turned to look at her and smiled, "Take a look at the monitors there." He pointed and Elizabeth followed his finger.

When her eyes landed on the monitors that Ray pointed at, Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock.

Even though she was a mere Secretary that didn't really have that much of authority within the headquarters of P.H Works.

She still knew some secrets that only other scientists could possibly know.

What she saw within those monitors and the cause for her shock was that right now, the King's Trial was actually using at least sixty-percent of the Supercomputer Noah's memory allocation and about seventy percent of its CPU Performance! 

Just what do these figures mean?

It means that the world of Victory right now was only being maintained by Noah using less than half of its full capabilities.

Ray saw Elizabeth's look of shock and he promptly explained, "You do not have to worry about thermal throttling. My comrades down there are doing their best to maintain the full capacity of the Supercomputer Noah..."

"As for the reason why we need more than half of Noah's capabilities on maintaining the world within the King's Trial..."

"It's because time within the world of the King's Trial is distorted."

"A hundred years in that place is only a day in the outside world and about a week in the world of Victory..."

Ray lifted a proud smile.

Mar sipped a cup of coffee and a prideful smile also appeared on his lips.

It was clear that these pair of scientists who made such a brilliant and unbelievable world were incomparably proud of their creations and what they had done.

"A hundred years in the King's Trial is only about a week in the world of Victory and a day in the outside world?!" As expected, Elizabeth couldn't suppress her shock as she exclaimed.

But her shock further exacerbated the pride coursing through the veins of Mar and Ray as Mar chuckled and commented from the side.

"That's the reason why we don't have to worry that much about time. What we must worry about is if he can even pass this King's Trial. With how much resources we're using for this King's Trial. I'd really be disappointed if he wasn't able to complete and pass the King's Trial."

Mar shook his head and turned his gaze to the monitors.

Ray smiled and patted Elizabeth's shoulders, "Are you tired? You look more like a zombie now."

Elizabeth revealed a wry smile. Indeed, she was tired. But does it mean that she would give up this perfect opportunity to be with Ray even longer?

No!

Even if she was tired, she would never give up! As long as she could stay with Ray. She believed that she could do everything in this world...

"No... I'm fine... Thank you, sir..." Elizabeth shook her head.

Ray's smile deepened, "Are you sure that you're not tired? What a waste, I was about to offer my lap as your pillow..." 

Ray shook his head in disappointment, but before he could even turn around to stare at the monitors once again.

Elizabeth leaped beside him and placed her head on his lap. 

"Pfft..." Mar laughed at the side, "That was such a quick change of attitude, how unbelievable, Eli..." 

Smack!

Elizabeth kicked with her right leg and it struck Mar directly on his side causing him to keel forwards while holding his side in pain.

"Hahaha..." Ray chortled, "You shouldn't have done that, Mar... I won't help you this time, it's your fault for incurring her wrath."

Mar coldly snorted and didn't bother about the two love birds anymore.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, had a crimson blush on her cheeks. But she didn't say anything for she only wanted to enjoy this moment as long as she could. Sadly, unfortunately for her. Before she knew it, she became too comfortable on Ray's lap and soon fell asleep.

Ray and Mar glanced at each other and smiled.

Afterwards, they turned to look at the monitors and continued on observing Joseph's journey within the King's Trial.

...

"I am your master and you absolutely love me. You do everything that you can do to please me, and you will never betray me. You will attack those that dare to harm me and you will protect me with your life."

Joseph casually said with a smile on his face. He figured that Pixie Fairy Elizabeth would definitely be angry at him for trying to do such a ridiculous thing. But did Joseph think that his Concept would work against Pixie Fairy Elizabeth?

No!

But why?

It was because he knew that Pixie Fairy Elizabeth was made by a highly-advanced Artificial Intelligence that shouldn't be affected by the Concepts that existed within this world.

As for the blank look that she assumed, Joseph thought that it was her way of displaying confusion.

After all, machines were far different than humans.

What makes sense for them may not make sense for a human and vice-versa.

However...

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth suddenly transformed into a human-sized Fairy and she slowly collapsed into Joseph's chest.

"I..."

She uttered.

Joseph felt a shiver down his spine.

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth raised her head and said.

"Love you... master..." 

Joseph sucked a mouthful of cold air as he hurriedly opened his Skill Tree and unsummoned Pixie Fairy Elizabeth.

Afterwards, he stared blankly at the air as he thought.

Oh god... Just what did I do? 

Did I just make a yandere version of Alice?!

Goddamned it, let's stash her away for now...

I'll just summon her as a last resort... 

Wait, I still haven't asked her to turn me into a mortal!

Joseph facepalmed and summoned Pixie Fairy Elizabeth back and when she reappeared...

She wasn't as big as Joseph's palm anymore. Instead, she looked more like a human now with the exception of the pair of wings attached to her back.

"Master... Thank you for summoning me... If possible, I would like you to let me stay outside as much as possible. I want to be with you for as long as I can..." Pixie Fairy Elizabeth said.

Joseph revealed a bitter smile and said, "That cannot happen..."

"Unless you can hide those wings of yours."

"Hide these wings? I'm sorry, master but that cannot happen. The pride of a Pixie lies on their wings. The more magnificent and wide their wings are, the more powerful they are as a Pixie. And for me to hide something that I am proud of goes against my principles so that is an order that I cannot possibly obey, master..."

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth bowed her head in apology.

Joseph waved his hand, "In that case, then I will not let you stay outside for long. However, I will still let you go outside so you can catch some fresh air. For as long as there's no one else present in the area, of course..." 

"Thank you, master..." Pixie Fairy Elizabeth respectfully replied, "May I know master's orders for me this time? I can do anything for the master's sake for as long as it's not something that goes against my principles and ethics." 

Joseph couldn't help but stare speechlessly at Pixie Fairy Elizabeth.

He felt kind of pleased and weird at the same time due to her sudden change in attitude.

However, since everything had already been done and there was no use regretting over something that could never be changed anymore...

Joseph could only sigh and say, "I want to know the method to turn myself into a mortal and vice-versa. Of course, I also want the method that I can use to change my age. I want to be a youngster before I become a mortal after all."

He quickly added some additional information in his words, afraid that Pixie Fairy Elizabeth may not fully understand what he wanted to happen.

Pixie Fary Elizabeth nodded her head and replied, "In that case, then master only needs to use the power of his imagination. Try imagining yourself going back into your young self, master."

"Really? It's that simple? Then, let me try it out."

Joseph excitedly closed his eyes and imagined himself going back in time while he was still young. 

Within a few seconds of imagining, his bones creaked and his height suddenly decreased until he couldn't stand nor even kneel anymore. In just a span of few seconds, Joseph transformed from an old man into an infant, eliciting a scream from Pixie Fairy Elizabeth who said...

"You've gone too far, master!" 

The infant opened its mouth and replied, "Yeah, I definitely went too far. Let me turn back." The infant closed its eyes and after about a few seconds, it grew until it became a toddler, then to a young boy, then into a young man who looked to be in his early twenties.

After reaching this age, Joseph stopped what he was doing as he turned to look at the Pixie Fairy Elizabeth and asked her a question with a prideful look on his face, "What do you think?"

"Do I look handsome, or what?"

Joseph even made a few poses which made Pixie Fairy Elizabeth laugh as she shyly replied.

"Pffft... Yes, uhm... You are indeed handsome... master..." 

Seeing her embarrassed expression, Joseph thought that it was worth it that he made Pixie Fairy Elizabeth love him. It was because after all, it would be pretty annoying to have a companion that would always mock you whenever she had the chance.

Even though it could be cute, Pixie Fairy Elizabeth was basically Alice on steroids.

Joseph was already having a hard time handling Alice.

How could she add another woman similar to her?

Furthermore, Pixie Fairy Elizabeth was far worse than Alice!

This was why you couldn't blame Joseph for his decision back then.

If one looked at what he did from another perspective, one could say that his decision was quite a genius move that had the big picture in mind.

"Now that I know how to control this strange cultivation power of mine. I think it's about time that we set-off!" Joseph turned to the entrance of the cave.

The dazzling light that came from the sun pierced his eyes and made him squint.

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth nodded her head as she said, "Is master planning on going to a human settlement? In that case, then I have a few suggestions..."

"There's the City of Eichenwalde, the City of Parie, and the City of Montejo. The nearest to us is the City of Eichenwalde, but it's not that abundant if we're talking economy-wise..."

"If master wants to live peacefully then I suggest going to Eichenwalde, but if master wants to be bold then I suggest going to the City of Montejo or City of Parie..."

"Among the two of these cities, the City of Montejo has the highest crime rate so if master wants to live dangerously then I suggest going there..." 

Joseph repeatedly nodded his head as he listened to Pixie Fairy Elizabeth's suggestion. But he almost immediately answered that he would go to the City of Eichenwalde for it was the safest city among the three nearby cities in the area.

Why would he try and risk his life when he could avoid that risk in the first place?

This was Joseph's mindset so he chose the City of Eichenwalde.

Joseph walked out of the cave and Pixie Fairy Elizabeth disappeared and entered his forehead.

Joseph was startled by what she had done and he even danced around, all while holding his forehead and checking if Pixie Fairy Elizabeth bore a hole on it.

But when Pixie Fairy Elizabeth's voice suddenly echoed within Joseph's mind, he finally understood that she didn't actually bore a hole through his forehead.

She only hid into his mind so that the two of them could telepathically contact each other without needing Pixie Fairy Elizabeth's physical appearance.

Damn, that gave me the shock of my life. But it's actually pretty convenient. 

Afterwards, Joseph spent the next half an hour learning how to fly.

Apparently, cultivators like Joseph knew how to fly.

In fact, it was quite easy for Joseph to fly.

But why did he spend so long trying to fly when it was easy to do so?

It was because Joseph was afraid of heights.

Fortunately, it didn't take too long for Joseph to get accustomed to heights, and only after Pixie Fairy Elizabeth promised him that she would definitely catch him if he fell from the skies...

Joseph was finally convinced that he could definitely fly his way towards the City of Eichenwalde which was about a hundred kilometers away from the place he was in right now.

After Joseph neared the borders of the City of Eichenwalde which was about ten kilometers away from the City proper. He stopped flying and started walking like a mortal.

After asking Pixie Fairy Elizabeth to protect him from any sudden attacks, Joseph extinguished his cultivation realm and from the Core Formation Realm, he transformed into a mortal.

Along the way, Joseph had asked Pixie Fairy Elizabeth if it was better for him to join the several dozens of Sects located near the borders of the City of Eichenwalde, but Pixie Fairy Elizabeth said that it was probably better for Joseph to take his time alone.

After all, even if he became that particular Sect's core member. It would take too much time.

Time that he didn't want to waste since Alice, Ezreal, and Kayn was still waiting for him outside.

From his banter with Pixie Fairy Elizabeth and his own understanding of a cultivator's path due to his several years of reading cultivation novels.

Joseph understood that it was very important for cultivators to understand the mysterious ways of the heavens if they wanted to become even stronger.

Walking on the road, Joseph realized that there was a barely imperceptible aura that had the color of blood surrounding his body. He promptly asked Pixie Fairy Elizabeth about it and she replied that it was the manifestation of his body's killing intent.

Joseph asked for further information about it and it turned out that his body was truly the body of an evil immortal. Pixie Fairy Elizabeth said that the aura surrounding Joseph right now was actually condensed after continuously killing for several hundreds of years.

Joseph felt terrified.

He asked Pixie Fairy Elizabeth how to hide his killing intent and when he learned the method from her. He quickly hid the aura that surrounded his body.

Right now, he thoroughly looked like a genuine mortal that came from the countryside and wanted to go to the City of Eichenwalde to earn some quick bucks and maybe even become rich.

While walking, Joseph noticed that the mortals walking with him were carrying a lot of baggage.

Joseph who didn't have anything on him looked quite conspicuous and stuck out like a sore thumb.

Sighing, Joseph stopped on the road and decided to ask for Pixie Fairy Elizabeth's help in making a small woven basket.

Everything only took about half an hour and afterwards, Joseph filled the basket with all or sorts of leaves from all sorts of random plants in the area.

He did all of these so that he wouldn't look so suspicious towards anyone.

Joseph continued on his walk and he had only walked for several hours at most, but he had already seen several dozens of cultivators passing by on their horses. The poor mortals had to squeeze themselves on the edge of the small road so that the horses of the cultivators wouldn't harm them.

Every time these horses passed by, they would leave a cloud of dust that always inundated the mortals, along with Joseph who could do nothing other than bitterly smile and pat himself clean off the dust.

But at this moment, another set of footsteps coming from horses rang from behind Joseph along with a shout that said.

"Step aside! We're in a hurry! Make way!"

Joseph instantly stepped aside the moment he heard the scream, but apparently...

The horses were running so fast that he only managed to dodge one before another horse came running towards him and was about to strike him head-on.

Fortunately, before the horse could even hit Joseph. The rider pulled hard on the reins. The horse let out a loud cry as it raised its front legs and placed it to the side.

Only after a few more steps did the horse stop due to its speed.

When the horse finally stopped, the rider glared at Joseph and swung the whip that he was using on his horse towards Joseph's head as he cried out, "Did you not hear what I said from afar? Are you deaf?"

Joseph furrowed his eyebrows.

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth instantly got mad and was about to retaliate when a hand came out of nowhere and stopped the whip. The owner of the hand then shouted, "What the hell are you doing, Kaiser?" 

The man riding the horse coldly snorted.

He put his whip away and viciously glared at Joseph before leaving the area.

The middle-aged man who protected Joseph didn't bother about the rider who went away for he turned to look at Joseph and apologized: "I'm really sorry about that, young man. That friend of mine, Kaiser is normally a good man but he's also quite irritable."

Joseph replied with a smile, "It's not a problem."

Afterwards, he dusted the dirt that clung on his clothes once again.

The middle-aged man looked quite shocked. From what he could see, Joseph was nothing but a mere mortal. But his courage was actually higher than an average mortal. He carefully looked at Joseph and spotted the basket that he carried that was filled with leaves as he said

"So, little brother. You're going to Eichenwalde to be an Apprentice Apothecary?"

Joseph didn't bother to say anything else and he just let the misunderstanding continue as he nodded.

The middle-aged man smiled before he leaped onto his horse. Afterwards, he moved, but instead of going forward, he went backward and accompanied the caravan behind him. Joseph found that the middle-aged man along with that Kaiser earlier was actually escorting a merchant caravan.

There were at least a hundred people escorting this caravan. Just from their shining eyes and posture alone. It was clear that they were experts, albeit not cultivators of course.

The middle-aged man was on the left side of the caravan and when he noticed Joseph. He turned his head to one of his comrades and started talking with that comrade.

Afterwards, when the caravan neared Joseph.

The middle-aged man stopped his horse and asked Joseph a question.

"Young man, since you are training to be an apothecary, do you perhaps have some medicine there that can temporarily relieve pain? One of our passengers got sick and is in pain right now so if you have any medicine to relieve pain, I will definitely be thankful for your help."

Joseph didn't expect that the misunderstanding would continue. A bitter smile appeared on his face and he was about to say that he had no medicine in him when Pixie Fairy Elizabeth suddenly whispered directly into his brain.

Master! This may be a chance!

A chance? For what?

Don't you find it quite tedious to walk the remaining kilometers before the City of Eichenwalde? If you get their favor then you can possibly join their caravan and arrive there faster!

That makes sense but do you really think that the leaves in here are medicines? They are just random leaves that I picked up somewhere on the ground earlier!

Pfft... Master, it seems like you forgot that your Qi is quite special. Just infuse your Qi to one of the leaves and imagine that it can relieve pain. It will definitely work! Trust me on this!

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth gave a decent proposal and even a solution to the reason why Joseph felt conflicted about helping the middle-aged man.

Actually, Joseph also wanted to help the middle-aged man, but since he didn't have any medicine on him, he wanted to refuse...

But what Pixie Fairy Elizabeth had said thoroughly convinced him to help the middle-aged ma.

He picked up a random leaf from his small woven basket, infused it with his Qi before handing it over to the middle-aged man, "Have the patient consume this leaf. As long as the leaf is consumed. The way of consumption doesn't matter, you can even make a tea out of it if you want." 

Joseph promptly explained before the middle-aged man could ask any questions.

The middle-aged man stared strangely at the leaf that was now on his hand.

No matter at what angle you looked at this leaf, it was nothing but a leaf from any random tree that you could find in the area. The middle-aged man glanced at the young man and bitterly smiled, it seemed like the young man wasn't actually an Apothecary but a madman.

Otherwise, who would pick up random leaves on the street and pretend that it was medicine? If this leaf was definitely medicine then he would've already personally took some of these leaves from the side of the road!

He was about to secretly throw the leaf away when the voice of an old woman came within the carriage of the caravan.

"That leaf... Hand me over that leaf!"

Before the middle-aged man could react, an old woman walked out of the carriage and snatched the leaf from his hands. 

She inspected the leaf for a long time before she exclaimed: "This is a thousand-year-old panacea leaf!"

The middle-aged man's eyes widened in shock due to what he had heard, and even Joseph almost collapsed onto the ground...

What thousand-year-old panacea leaf? I only wanted a painkiller leaf! How did it become something that sounds as rare as a phoenix's feather or a qilin's horn? What the fuck just happened...

The old woman took a deep breath to calm herself down as she asked, "How can this leaf be consumed?"

Joseph stared at her for a moment before he replied, "You can consume it in any way possible."

The old woman nodded.

He glanced at the middle-aged man for a moment before he brought the leaf with him back to the carriage.

The middle-aged man awkwardly scratched his head as he stared at Joseph with a strange expression on his face. He really didn't know what to feel about this sudden reversal.

A wry smile escaped on his lips as he asked, "Since it seems like you are also coming to Eichenwalde, how about you come with us, little brother?"

Joseph lightly chuckled and glanced at Kaiser who was staring at them from the distance.

"I need a horse to ride on."

The middle-aged man saw how Joseph glanced at Kaiser.

A bitter smile appeared on his lips as he said, "Kaiser, hand over your horse to him."

Kaiser who was observing everything from the distance shivered.

After giving a bitter smile, he got off the horse and brought it over to Joseph.

After muttering a few words such as "how petty of you to take my horse as revenge".

He turned around and left, not bothering to care about the petty Joseph anymore.