Chapter 18: Murloc

Early morning.

On a hillside outside the small town.

A figure was crawling, jumping, and performing push-ups while carrying a massive log on his back.

He was performing all sorts of training exercises.

"Your Highness, are you really not going to rest at all?" Aliris asked beside him, sounding very worried.

Kana shook his head with a smile again. "There's really no need to worry about me, Aliris. I don't feel tired yet, so don't worry. You've seen my physical strength before; it's quite good, isn't it?"

"But, but..."

"Don't worry, it's fine."

The problem was, this wasn't a matter of physical strength or not. Who on earth trained like this?

Wasn't this simply looking for trouble for his own body? By the time his strength actually increased, his body might have already developed all sorts of issues.

This was Aliris's greatest concern.

If he continued to train like this, the internal issues would become the most critical problem.

What Aliris didn't know, however, was that such side effects did not exist for Kana.

Muscle strains? Organ overload? Joint damage?

What were those? Non-existent.

This body was no longer a frail vessel.

Although he could still feel fatigue, it was extremely subtle, remaining in a constant state of slight weariness. He hadn't even reached the point of being out of breath.

A digitized body didn't mean it couldn't feel fatigue or that stamina couldn't be depleted; rather, it significantly extended the reserves of his stamina.

On his personal attribute status bar, no negative "fatigue" status even appeared.

It wasn't until noon that Aliris finally stopped trying to obstruct him. It was clear that Kana's body was perhaps different. Otherwise, at this level, it wouldn't be a problem that could be solved by willpower alone; the body would have gone on strike by itself.

"Is this really okay?"

Blake, who had been watching from a distance, couldn't help but speak up.

The other knight beside him, Lyra, said, "It should be fine. Perhaps he just has a naturally gifted constitution. After all, he is royalty."

They knew a thing or two, after all.

By this time, Kana had finished his continuous morning training session.

Sitting down nearby, he asked, "Aliris, once you reach your stage, is training no longer necessary?"

All morning, he had only seen Aliris do a light warm-up before spending the rest of the time worrying about him.

Aliris nodded. "Yes. Once you become a formal knight, training doesn't have much of an effect anymore."

"And after that?"

"After that?" Aliris looked puzzled.

"I mean, how do you increase your strength after that?"

"Combat. Refining your skills."

Hearing this answer, Kana fell into thought.

He suddenly realized that for all melee classes, the skills before Level 3 seemed to be basic skills without any special powers—things like Shield Bash, Cleave, Leap Attack, or Charge.

After Level 3, skills with obvious special effects and abilities would appear, such as Blood Slash, Trample, or Anti-Magic Shield.

In other words, pure physical attributes reached a limit at Level 3, and beyond that, one needed to utilize special powers.

"Then you'll have to think carefully about how to trigger that power within you," Kana said.

That is, Blood Magic.

All members of the royal family possessed it; Aliris was actually a product of her mother's experiments. In the game's plot, the personal storyline regarding Aliris and the lore surrounding the birth of the Blood Clan almost explicitly implied this situation.

"The Count has already told me, but I might still need some time." Aliris looked at her palms. She could feel a different sensation within her body, as if she could control it, yet as if she couldn't.

"No need to rush. Take your time. We still have a little time," Kana said with a smile, patting Aliris on the shoulder.

The two left and rejoined Blake and the others, heading back into the town.

After having a meal and wandering around the town for a bit, Kana walked straight toward the riverbank.

They were at a river bend where the water was not rushing. The river was very wide, and the opposite bank could only be seen from a distance. At this bend, it felt more like a lake.

Several small fishing boats could be seen by the shore, along with areas for drying nets. A few fishermen could also be seen gathered around doing something.

"Damn it, Old Pete, why did you catch a Murloc?"

"I didn't catch him! He bumped into the net himself. I thought I'd caught a big fish. These little monsters are so annoying."

"Quick, put him back in the river, otherwise those Murlocs will come bothering us again. We won't have a peaceful fishing season for months."

"I lost a small boat a while ago; did those Murlocs steal it?"

"Murlocs don't need boats, you idiot."

"How about we just kill it? The Murlocs won't know anyway. If we put it back, what if they say we caught it?"

Hearing this, the group seemed to find it reasonable and fell into thought.

"What are you doing?" Blake suddenly spoke.

The sudden voice gave them a fright. Looking over with guilty consciences, they saw several knights and quickly lowered their heads.

Old Pete hurriedly explained, "Messieurs Knights, we caught a Murloc in our net."

As he spoke, they stepped aside.

Behind them, inside a net, a Murloc was struggling and pulling at the mesh, making gibberish noises as if it were cursing loudly.

The Murloc was very short with small limbs and a single head with bulging eyes that made it look rather unintelligent. Its skin had dark patches interspersed with blue spots. Under the sunlight, its skin shimmered with a layer of mucus.

"Since it was an accident, just release him. We have no conflict with the Murlocs on the opposite bank," Blake said directly.

He had known since childhood that there were Murlocs on the other side. However, they didn't rely on this river for their livelihood, and since the Murlocs were on the opposite side, both parties had lived in peace for over ten years. Furthermore, they had heard what the fishermen were planning as they approached.

"Put him back. It won't be a big problem. If you kill him, it might actually cause unnecessary trouble."

Old Pete nodded repeatedly. "Yes, we were being too selfish. You are truly kind, sir."

"What are you looking at? Hurry up and let him go!"

The fishermen behind them quickly moved to untangle the net and release the Murloc.

As soon as the Murloc popped out, it began jumping and cursing on the spot, looking very angry. After shouting a few more gibberish words, it walked straight toward the water.

A Blue-Spotted Murloc. There were actually Murlocs here.

But it made sense; this wasn't the wasteland it would become once the later plot began. However, Kana remembered that the Murlocs living near the beginner village coast belonged to this very tribe.

Remembering something, Kana quickly called out, "Wait a minute!"

However, the Murloc couldn't understand at all. It didn't even look back, continuing its walk into the river.

"Gula-gua!"

With a strange, loud cry, the Murloc seemed to understand. It paused its steps and turned its head around. Its large eyes were filled with confusion.

"Guali-gujila!" Kana shouted, gesturing wildly with his hands and feet.

As if understanding something, the Murloc walked back.

Under the bewildered, puzzled, and shocked gazes of the crowd, a man and a fish began to chat, gesturing and making gibberish noises.

"Pfft!"

Aliris finally couldn't hold it in. She turned her head away, her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

After gesturing wildly for quite a while, Kana finally stood up and nodded.

"I've finished talking to him." He turned to look at Old Pete. "Would you mind giving us a ride to the other side?"

Old Pete shook his head repeatedly. "It would be my honor. Please follow me, messieurs."

He hurried off to prepare.

Aliris and the other three looked at Kana with strange expressions, as well as at the Murloc looking left and right by his leg.

"What is it?"

(End of Chapter)