The Grand Duelist

[ Someone powerful has prayed for your success to the Divine Goddess Rhinna! ]

[ The Divine Goddess Rhinna responds and she blesses you with a wide smile. ]

[ A random effect with a random duration will be generated. ]

[ Generating... ]

Several system notifications appeared right before Joseph's eyes and he stopped on his tracks.

"Master?" Ezreal who was behind him asked. But Joseph looked like he never heard him. Right now, Joseph's focus was only on the system notification that was generating his so-called random reward from the Goddess's blessing.

"Someone powerful has prayed for my success? Who did that? Ezreal? No, Ezreal is behind me all the time, I don't think that he managed on praying for my success. Wait, could it be that it's the Jail Warden? He does have the reason to pray for my success, but it's unthinkable that someone like him lurking within the darkness is a devout believer of a god..."

"And shouldn't he hate me if that's the case? I mean, I have that particular title. Why is he praying for my success instead? That doesn't make sense." Joseph's eyebrows knitted, but he still looked particularly excited as he waited for the rewards that he may acquire from the Goddess's Blessing.

"What if it's a really good effect with an infinite duration? Hahaha, that's impossible. But what if!" Joseph inwardly cried as he patiently waited for his reward.

[ Your reward has been decided! ]

[ Reward: Slippery Skin! ]

[ Slippery Skin Lv. MAX

Your skin is as slippery as an eel. This could have a great effect depending on the circumstances, but it is usually annoying since you will find it impossible to walk barefoot nor grip anything properly.

Duration: 5 Days.]

"..."

Joseph's soul left his body when he saw the reward that he acquired. His knees felt weak and he collapsed towards Ezreal who cried out in shock and panic.

"Master? What happened? Master... Master!"

Ezreal hurriedly inspected Joseph and when he found that his eyes were wide open and he was responding to stimulus, he cried out once again.

"What the hell happened to you, master? Wait, master. Why is your skin so slippery?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm fine. Please. Let's just not talk about it, okay?" Joseph stared and pleaded. The confused Ezreal couldn't do anything other than scratch his head as the two of them walked towards the outside and headed for their barracks.

Once Joseph returned to his barracks. He couldn't feel relaxed even though he was standing in a room that was incomparably familiar to him. Opening his Main Menu, he found that his body's physiological function in the outside world needed relief.

Having experienced such a letdown and after playing for at least half a day. Joseph called it a day and logged out of the world of Victory. As soon as he awakened at the other side, he instantly shot up from his Gaming Capsule and went for the bathroom.

"Haissst, the smell of my bedroom is still the best. Even Victory couldn't replicate this unique smell of mine!" Joseph mumbled to himself with a wide smile.

No matter what, this cluttered room still had a special place in his heart. Even though the barracks that he had at the Underground Penitentiary replicated his room perfectly down to the details.

It still couldn't replace reality. It was just an illusion. Nothing but a mirage made out of runes.

He walked downstairs, careful about not stepping on the hole that his foot made on the stairs previously.

Arriving at the living room, a bitter smile emerged on Joseph's face when he realized that his house actually looked quite shabby.

He lived in a house comparable to that of a mansion since it had five bedrooms with five separate bathrooms and toilets. Since three years ago, Joseph couldn't remember when was the last time that he cleaned this house.

"Goddamned it, I want to clean but I still have that quest ongoing..." Joseph suppressed his urge and promised that if he had the time in the future. He would undoubtedly clean every nook and cranny of his house.

Thankfully, his living room and kitchen remained immaculate. Joseph went to the kitchen and cooked something up for his consumption. Afterward, he went towards the living room, dusted the couch for a short moment then sat on it after turning on the television.

While munching on some fried rice, bacon, and eggs. Joseph listened to the commentators talking about the current matters within the world of Victory.

[Ah, I think everyone knows about it by now but the movements of the Crimson Guild have already been confirmed. It has been reported that dozens of Crimson Guild members can be seen roaming the base of the mountain that is considered as a Forbidden Region by the Kingdom of Nether. Look at this, everyone... ]

Joseph raised his head and found a lot of players wearing all sorts of high-leveled equipment. Each and every one of them looked particularly scary with their sharp weapons and shiny armors.

But their dignified appearance diminished due to the fact that they had pickaxes on their shoulders.

"Are they going to mine some minerals or something?" Joseph couldn't help but speak up when he saw all of these.

[Yes, that's right! The direction that they are heading right now is towards the popular mine managed by the Kingdom of Nether. There's a really high chance that all of them are going to mine some minerals. But for the Crimson Guild do that, does that really make sense? What do you think, Raffy?]

[Ah, it's like this. The Crimson Guild is known for its dominance amidst the Holy Trinity of the three guilds. This event can only be reasoned out as reasonable if you think that the Kingdom is offering great rewards to the Crimson Guild. I think that Knights of Justice and Dark Flame also knew about this...]

[What is the reason for that, sir Raffy? Can you enlighten us all including the viewers?]

[Well, I am sure that everyone noticed already that there are a lot of unaffiliated players roaming around the base of the mountain known as the Forbidden Region, right? There's a really high chance that those players are spies from the Knights of Justice and Dark Flame.]

[Ah! That does make sense. It seems like we may be able to see some action between the three guilds. After this, one of them might be disqualified as a member of the Holy Trinity...]

[Hahaha...]

The commentator Raffy replied with an awkward laugh. The reason why Knights of Justice, Dark Flame, and Crimson became known as the Holy Trinity wasn't so simple. There were other underlying reasons why they became as popular as they were right now. But this wasn't the right time to talk about that. Raffy could only awkwardly laugh.

Sensing his partner's awkwardness, the commentator hurriedly changed his questions. The smoothness of his transition really made him look incredibly professional and he displayed to everyone, his vast experience when it comes to commentating.

[Nevertheless, the Crimson Guild is really ahead of the two guilds right now. I am quite interested in what would be the impact of their movements on the two other guilds...]

[Hahaha, that is also what the viewers around the world are interested about. After all, these three guilds possess enough strength that could command wind and lightning from the skies whenever they wanted. A fall-out between the three of them could inflict great damage towards everything...]

[But who knows? In the end, we aren't really privy to the actions of the Crimson Guild. We could only make predictions based on the data that we have.]

[Hahaha, sir Raffy is really humble!]

[Hahaha, I'm ashamed...]

Joseph listened to the antics of the two commentators and he thought of nothing about the movements of the big guilds, after all.

The Crimson Guild only went for mining activity, how could they do anything that would impact his movements and objectives within the Underground Penitentiary.

Joseph washed his dishes, carefully walked upstairs then returned to the game.

Meanwhile, within the depths of the Noble District within the Kingdom of Nether. A man clad in all-red armor could be seen kneeling in front of a middle-aged man clad in clothes that indicated that he was a noble.

"Duke, everything has been prepared. We can commence our operations now." The green diamond marker above the head of this man indicated that he was a player. But the name of "Crimson" written in golden font, could be seen floating above his head, just below the diamond marker.

"Oh, you really do work fast. Vladimir. I truly cannot say that I regret choosing you for this quest." The middle-aged man said in a satisfied manner as his eyes widened into slits.

"You overly praise me, Duke Heathrow." Vladimir slightly bowed his head out of respect.

"Commence the operations as soon as possible after this. There are only about three days left until that bastard old man tells us everything about what we want..."

"After all, I am certain that he will finally talk once he sees his precious granddaughter in front of the gallows and being humiliated in front of the public..."

Duke Heathrow's expression flushed at the end of his sentence and his eyes flashed with a maniacal light often seen within the eyes of those that enjoyed upon the suffering of others.

"Meanwhile, make sure that any disturbances are snuffed out. I will lend my Knights in your care until the end of this mission. Don't worry about their strength, they can kill you at least dozens of times if they wanted to."

Duke Heathrow revealed a wide smile on his face that stretched until it looked like it reached his ears. If you compared his smile with his stature that looked like he was a mountain of meat. He looked incredibly wretched to the point that even Vladimir couldn't stomach looking at him.

"So, this is the reason why this Duke doesn't go out often? His appearance can really give a heart attack to those with weak hearts..." Vladimir thought to himself before he bowed his head and stared at the system notification that appeared right before him. His eyes, shining with glee and joy.

"Ah... With this... I dare you... I dare you bastards from Dark Flame and Knights of Justice... Try and interfere with my mission!" Vladimir almost couldn't suppress his joy, but when he remembered that he was in front of a powerful and honorable duke.

He suppressed himself and kept his joy to himself temporarily. But one could still see his flushed cheeks and shining eyes if you looked at him from underneath.

"You are now hereby dismissed. Remember our deal and I will complete our promise..." Duke Heathrow said, and his expression looked like he was shooing Vladimir out of his face.

"Yes, your Honor." Vladimir clasped his hands together and bowed.

He momentarily glanced at Heathrow before standing up, turning around and then leaving the scene.

Whilst he was walking on the hallway of Heathrow's great mansion towards the exit...

Vladimir finally couldn't suppress his excitement.

His knees folded and he collapsed twitching...

"Finally... This is it... Yeah... Come... Come and challenge me you bastards and you'll see!" Vladimir clawed on his face with both of his hands as he cried out in a scream that sounded more like a murmur instead of a scream.

The moment that he walked out of Duke Heathrow's residence in the Noble District...

The great upheaval of the Kingdom of Nether finally begun...