The Grand Duelist

The commotion lasted for a while.

Huffing and puffing, Sect Master Taric was finally willing to let go of Joseph.

"You crazy old man!" 

What kind of an old man was this Sect Master of the Divine Sword Sect? 

To think that he'd actually go so far as to push the heel of his foot onto his crotch just to tickle him!

Joseph felt somewhat nauseous as a shiver ran down his spine.

Sect Master Taric only gave a silly smile before asking, "Since you are telling me to manage the domestic problems of the Kingdom of Nether. Then, what I heard from the network of my Sect is probably true. It seems like the Kingdom of Nether has been abandoned and you are claiming it as your territory as the Grand Duelist."

Joseph nodded his head. There was no need to lie.

"But to become a King, one needs a properly designed Royal Robe and there's also the Crown of a King."

"Have you considered how you're going to go on creating these things?"

Sect Master Taric revealed an ambiguous smile.

Alice looked at him in confusion.

Could it be that he's thinking of...?

"Old man, are you implying that you want to create those two for me? I haven't heard of the so-called Royal Robe, but I do need to find the Crown of a King." Joseph immediately caught on what Sect Master Taric was hinting at.

"Hmmph." Sect Master Taric crossed his arms in front of his chest, "I do have the plan to create it for you. It's my honor to do that for you are the Grand Duelist. But the Divine Sword Sect is not a charity foundation. I will make those items for you, but it is your job to find the necessary materials required for their creation..."

"What about it? Can you do it?"

He threw Joseph a challenging look.

[You are faced with a dilemma.]

[Tread lightly. This is a turning point and your decision will affect not only your own future but the future of millions!]

Joseph lifted a smile on his face, "I'm getting quite bored already since I have nothing to do since that fight against the three guilds. Now, that you are offering me something to do. Why wouldn't I do it? It's a win-win proposal anyway!" He didn't feel intimidated by the message of the system notifications that appeared in front of him.

He already faced a lot, why would he back down when he was already this far?

"A wise choice. As expected of a person of the myths."

[The information about the Quest: Duties of an Aspiring King has been updated.] 

A system notification sprung up, but Joseph didn't have the time to open it for Sect Master Taric spoke once more.

"The base material for the Crown of a King is the godly mineral Mythrilite. I have no idea where to find such an exotic material, but if you go eastwards. You will find an archipelago of islands. Go there and you'll probably notice some rumors about the appearance of that incredibly rare, exotic material."

"As for the gems decorating the crown... There's not much of a problem regarding that. If those gems can sufficiently display and enhance your dignity as the King whenever you are wearing it. It's sufficient. But since you are the Grand Duelist, a person of the myths. Third-rate gems won't cut it..."

"I advise you to dive deep into the oceans of the Las Felipinas Archipelago. There's a lot of ancient ship wreckage there, and there are also some rumors that the mythical ancient city exists within the deeps of Las Felipinas. Of course, those are just rumors. But if you do find that ancient city, then you're in luck. That place supposedly has a lot of treasures." 

"In a nutshell, I want you to collect a certain amount of Mythrilite and eight suitable gems. Seven to represent the Seven Gods and Goddesses and the final gem shall be the symbol of your glory. Only when these items are gathered and created in perfect harmony with each other would the Crown of a King suitable for your dignity be created."

Sect Master Taric let out a sigh and said, "I hope you'll be able to find those materials as fast as possible. There's only so much that the Divine Sword Sect can do in suppressing the boiling unrest of the citizens of Nether."

"As for your Royal Robes, if you can find a Divine Golden Silkworm. That would be enough."

[The information about the Quest: Duties of an Aspiring King has been updated.]

"I will draw a map that will help you on your journey to Las Felipinas. It should be done by tomorrow."

"By tomorrow? That's awfully fast." Joseph couldn't help but comment.

"What? Are you implying that you still want to freeload here? Hmmph. You may be the Grand Duelist, but I still haven't forgiven you for what you've done to our ancestral gates!" Sect Master Taric coldly snorted. He then turned around and harshly closed the doors of the small house.

Joseph then turned to look at Alice, "What's wrong with him?"

Alice shook her head, "Don't worry about it..."

"Sect Master Taric is often irritable and it creates huge changes in his mood. I hope that you won't blame him for it."

When Alice completed her sentence, awkward silence descended.

"Uhm... It's already getting late. Should we sleep?" Joseph turned to look at Alice. 

He checked and found out that Lily had already logged-out from the game. In other words, there was no one stopping them from doing whatever they wanted anymore.

Alice lightly chuckled, "So, you really want to sleep with me, eh?" She said in an ambiguous tone.

Joseph furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "What? So, now. You're acting like how a maiden should act? You should've done that back then when we're still in that damned place! Now, I've already gotten used to you sleeping beside me. Do you really think that I'd let you go?"

Joseph dragged Alice upstairs and threw her into the bed.

"No... Please, no... no... please wait..."

Alice nervously uttered but then she saw Joseph leap into the air and land beside her.

"What are you doing?" Alice asked with a frown.

"What?" Joseph turned to look at her and cheekily smiled, "Were you expecting something else?"

Alice's cheeks immediately grew hot. She bent her knee and sent a knee strike towards Joseph's stomach, but his hand caught onto her kneecap.

"That's growing old, how about you try something else?" Joseph lightly chuckled.

"You..."

Alice sat down.

Her eyes dangerously narrowed while staring at Joseph's body.

"Oh no... What are you trying to do... No, please wait! No!!!" 

Before Joseph could even complain, Alice had already leaped into the air and pounced at him. She then proceeded to open her mouth and bite on everything that she could bite all over Joseph's body, eliciting a bloodcurdling scream from the latter.

The commotion lasted for a while, and when it was finally over. 

The two were completely exhausted.

Alice laid snuggly into Joseph's chest while Joseph kept on huffing and puffing.

He had never been this exhausted when fighting against Senior Brother Qin, Elder Riven, and Sect Master Taric.

Damn this girl...

Joseph inwardly complained.

But he knew in this heart that he did treasure precious moments like these. 

A light smile appeared on his face.

"Alice... It seems that we're going on another journey again. This time, towards the Las Felipinas Archipelago. From what the old man said earlier, it seems to be quite far. After all, an archipelago is a group of islands, and islands can only be found in oceans."

Alice lightly smacked him and said, "You surely know how to jest, do you really think that I wouldn't know something as common as what archipelago means? But what are you trying to say?" 

Joseph stared at her and sighed, "Since my next adventure is in that place, will you still be able to go with me? I mean, it's quite far from the Kingdom of Nether. Wouldn't you be homesick?" Joseph was indeed having some trouble regarding this issue.

Of course, he wanted Alice to go with him, but he knew that he couldn't be selfish as to force her to go with him.

Alice stared at him for a moment before she chuckled, "That's such a foolish question, Joseph. My grandpa and I are nomads, even though we love our homeland. We're not so sensitive that we would feel homesick. You don't have to worry about that. Needless to say. Of course, I will be going with you."

She then snuggled deeper into his chest before continuing, "I will always be with you."

Gulp!

Joseph gulped a mouthful of saliva.

He couldn't count how many times he had slept beside Alice.

But this was the first time that their bodies were this close towards each other. 

His nose faintly twitched, he could smell the faint scent of flowers from Alice's body. 

For some reason, the scent ignited a fire deep within his body.

He bit the tip of his tongue in order to not lose against the sensation of arousal but it was growing increasingly hard for him to endure.

Why is my passive not kicking in?

Yeah, right...

This isn't an abnormal condition, so I guess it won't be prevented by my passive. But damn it... Why now of all times? 

What would happen if Alice notices that I'm fucking hard as a rock right now?

Joseph surreptitiously glanced at Alice and found that there was a slight shade of pink on her cheeks.

Gulp!

Gulping a mouthful of saliva once again.

Joseph opened his mouth and asked.

"Uhm... Alice..."

"Would you like to consummate?"

"Pfft!"

Alice almost spat the contents of her guts upon hearing Joseph's words.

"What the hell is that invitation? Seriously, you're not quite romantic, eh?"

Joseph felt incredibly ashamed, "Yeah, that's right! Yeah, I'm not that good when it comes to romance."

He then rolled on the bed and turned his back to Alice.

Alice secretly sniggered seeing his childish reaction. 

But little did she know that the reason why Joseph turned around wasn't actually because he was angry. It was because he was afraid that Alice would see the furious blush on his face. 

Silence descended in the room.

But it was soon shattered by a faint rustling noise of clothes being taken off.

Gulp!

Joseph audibly gulped.

Alice's body landed on his back, he could feel the perky tips of her breasts hitting him from behind.

"Are you sure that you are going to keep on sulking?"

"What should I do?"

"I've already taken my clothes off!"

Alice seductively whispered into his ears.

When her words fell, Joseph raised his upper body and let out a voice that sounded more like a scream.

"Shit, Alice! That's all you had to say!"

Needless to say...

The two never got a wink of sleep that night.

THE END.

===============================

Greetings!

Hello guys, this is your author here, TheAdventurer!

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the abrupt end of The Grand Duelist!

I did not have a good time choosing this decision for this book.

I loved this book, I loved every second of it, but unfortunately.

I have no other choice but to end it this early.

As for the reasons? 

Well...

This book is not earning well.

The minimum guarantee system gave me 800$ within the last four months of writing this novel and now that the minimum guarantee is over. I saw myself earning about a dollar a day. Sometimes, even less than a dollar.

Yeah, I know... I bet at this moment you are thinking that I am a very greedy author.

But am I really being greedy when all I wanted is enough amount for me to pay my 120$ rent every month? 

Am I really being greedy when all I want is enough money to survive until this quarantine ends?

Since the arrival of COVID, my family business has since plummeted to the ground and with almost no income to sustain my family apart from government subsidies. It's been pretty hard for us.

I've been relying on the minimum guarantee system to pay my monthly dues which amounts to about a 150$ a month with the rest going to groceries and dare I say that the minimum guarantee isn't enough at all.

However, I wasn't giving up.

I told that to myself.

But then June came.

And I saw my readership plummeting and with my earnings going even less than a dollar for several consecutive days. I received a feature at the end of the month in the form of a banner, but all that it gave me was a boost of three dollars.

That is when I realized that my dream of having a novel that will give me enough money to at least pay for my rent in the middle of this pandemic is just a pipedream.

But am I blaming anyone?

Am I blaming you guys for not giving me any money?

Of course not!

The only one that can be blamed for the downfall of this tragic dream is me.

Even now, as I sleep, I still blame myself.

Why am I so bad?

Why are the books I make, so trash that it can't even attract the attention of readers for more than a few minutes?

Yeah...

The early ending of this book isn't the fault of you guys.

It's my fault.

It's the fault of my inability to create a compelling enough narrative that will make readers look forward to reading my book every day.

It's my fault for not creating a good enough book that people will find it worth it to pay for it.

I'm sorry for letting you down guys.

I'm sorry for being such a trash author.

I'm sorry for wasting your time.

But I'm not giving up.

I'll be back, with another book.

Hopefully, I won't repeat the mistakes that I made in this book.

Apparently, based on the words of the reviewers. The book's start was pretty bad and the main character is retarded. In my next book, I won't make a stupid main character. I will make sure the start is fast and appealing enough so people won't say bad things about the start anymore.

Look forward to that book, titled, "Return of the History's Number One Historian." 

I hope the book won't disappoint you guys.

Before I end this announcement and small rant.

I would like to give my thanks to everyone who supported this novel until now.

Thank you, guys!

I would never make it this far without your support.

May it be in the form of power stones or in the form of gifts or comments.

Thank you!

See ya in the next book!

TheAdventurer.

Now singing out.