Star Forge Titan

The tip of the sword only left a slight scratch on his forehead, and then the enemy's weapon was forcibly stuck by his bones and muscles!

Moreover, Alvin himself is still moving forward!

The outstretched left hand was completely pierced by the rapier, but it didn't matter, because his five fingers were already tightly grasping the [Blood Drinker] itself through the semicircular guard!

The vampire was shocked and angry as his palm and the hilt of the sword were deformed by the huge force, but he found that as a second-level professional, he was unable to break free from the restraints, which also meant that he could not use his agility advantage to create distance with his opponent.

"My turn!"

With a low growl, Alvin raised his shoulder and broke the Blood Drinker's stance. At the same time, he clenched his right hand into a fist, and with the momentum brought by his fast running and the strength running through his whole body from bottom to top, he threw a heavy punch in a flash!

The falling snowflakes were swept around by the turbulent air created by the high-speed straight punch, and a circle of snow burst out on the ground as if blown by a strong wind.

With just one blow, the Blood Drinker's entire head was forced to spin backward two and a half circles. He even saw his own back with his own eyes. His slender neck was twisted into a weird angle, and even a few teeth were flying freely in the cold wind blowing from the northern ice field.

The cervical vertebrae are broken and the central nervous system is ruptured. Even if the opponent can rely on the tenacious vitality brought by the blood clan ritual to survive for a while, he himself is in a paralyzed state with no ability to move.

The 'secondary self-healing' of low-level vampires cannot recover from this level of physical trauma.

"Oh, the current nobles of the Demon Kingdom are so lacking in practical experience?" The unexpected ease made Alvin feel a little bored. It was as boring as starting over after clearing the highest difficulty level.

He casually pulled out the rapier that had pierced his palm, and the muscles around the wound quickly contracted on their own to stop the bleeding.

In the berserk state, Ivan's tolerance for pain is several times stronger than usual. Otherwise, it would be quite difficult to adapt to the 100% pain, after all, the maximum in the game can only be 30%.

It was confirmed that there were no bones injured, so for this extremely strong body, it was just a flesh wound.

Just apply some saliva.

Alvin thought boredly in his heart.

Then, he looked up at the target being hunted on the other side. As expected, the other party had already eliminated the remaining enemies.

Tsk tsk, don't treat spellcasters who have undergone the royal mysteries of Elrond as ordinary mages...

Look, this fresh case has been solved very easily.

The girl in the long dress was now holding up a rock as big as a human head with a flushed face. Her hands were extremely steady, and only her chest, which was burdened by the heavy weight, was rising and falling considerably due to the rapid breathing caused by nervousness.

In front of her, an unconscious figure fell to the ground, blood gushing out of his head.

"Stranger, don't underestimate Elrond, a noble." The girl pursed her lips and said breathlessly.

The two looked at each other in silence for a moment, then Alvin sighed, chuckled, and raised his hands.

"Okay, I take that back."

"By the way, your Chocobo seems to be dying." Pointing to the Snow Chocobo behind him that was breathing out more than breathing in, Ivan said with a hint of regret.

Unlike the yellow chocobos in other parts of the continent, the snow chocobos, which were transformed by the Elrond people through a spell ritual to have the ability to adapt to the cold zone, still look round and fluffy, like an oversized plush toy that can run, but their feathers have turned white.

In the game, he and his companions had put a lot of effort into obtaining this special mount. Therefore, seeing the dying Snowstrider, Ivan couldn't help but feel a little sorry.

"Filoli!" The girl in the red dress quickly ran towards the fallen Chocobo.

This loyal mount ran hundreds of kilometers in one breath despite being hit by several arrows, until it finally could no longer hold on.

"Guuu." The snow-white bird barely raised its head and rubbed its owner's cheek with its goose-yellow beak, making its last cry.

Then, those watery eyes slowly lost their luster, and the labored breathing completely disappeared in an unbearable silence.

"Rest in peace, my companion, my friend." The girl in the red dress sadly reached out to cover the bird's eyes that had never closed.

Her fingertips trembled slightly uncontrollably, and a little moisture appeared in her rose-red eyes, as clear as gems. But at the last moment before the tears fell, she closed her eyes tightly and forced herself to suppress this trace of weakness.

The sadness did not linger on her for too long. Soon, the girl stood up again and her face regained its calmness.

"Cough." She coughed lightly, with a serious and earnest expression, putting on a serious look.

The girl has long, vibrant, flaming red hair and a slightly rounded oval face. Although not as charming as a melon-seed face, she exudes a natural and pure aura.

However, in contrast to the pure appearance and natural aura surrounding it, the rest of the components are just too... I can only say that there is a reason why there are so many books.

"Hello, stranger, thank you for your help. Let me introduce myself. My name is Afredia Antonia Josephine Gusmith... Ah, if that's too long, you can just call me Frey... Hmm? Wait, what are you doing?"

The solemn expression on the face of the girl who called herself Frey did not last for more than a few seconds. The scene before her made her eyes suddenly widen, and then she tilted her head and made a very cute sound.

"What else could it be? Of course it's to collect materials." Alvin said without turning his head, his tone sounding as if it was a matter of course.

After the rage ended and the bloodshot eyes faded, the black-haired boy's ice-blue eyes were very clear, giving people a simple feeling, but the words that came out of his mouth revealed a sense of pragmatism as cold as the north wind.

"...They look like they're in pain, although, although vampire fangs are indeed valuable materials." The sense of right and wrong she had developed since childhood clashed with reality, and Afrediya couldn't help biting her thumb.

As she spoke, her voice gradually became lower, and her eyes revealed a bit of entanglement, helplessness, and a little bit of gloating that she might not even be aware of.

On the other side, Ai, the ruthless material extraction machine, Wen Zheng deftly used the handle of a knife to knock the fangs out of the mouth of the vampire who was not yet dead.

As a former player, collecting materials after the battle is a good habit that must be developed.

Of course, the owner of these teeth did not allow him to do this.

But don't worry about the details.

If I remember correctly, at this time in the underground black market in Linde, even low-grade vampire fangs could be sold for half a large gold écu or five small silver écu.

My friend, this is all money.

In addition, the most valuable items are the small folding crossbows. These small weapons have high requirements for material quality and the craftsmanship of the manufacturer. In Elrond, where the production method is still at the handicraft workshop level, only nobles can afford them.

However, during the search, Alvin accidentally discovered some 'small' problems.

Chapter 4: Bones Are Not Dead

Looking at the vampire fangs with blackened pulp, the tall black-haired boy suddenly spoke.

"Aven Aelion, a northerner."

"Huh?" Afrediya, who was thinking, was startled and couldn't help but let out a soft cry like a small animal.

"My name." Alvin clapped his hands, stood up and left the vampire who had lost his fangs and was gradually being killed by the sun.

"The blessed firstborn?" Afrediya subconsciously pronounced the name combined with the meaning of the surname in ancient Saga language.

That is the predecessor of the Xuma language that is now commonly used in human countries. Apart from the ancient human relics that date back to before the new calendar, this language only appears in some ancient tribes in remote areas.

It was in the library of Elrond's capital that she came across the ancient books related to it.

"So, who are you guys? Even though we had a fight for no apparent reason, it shouldn't be too late to find out the reason now."

The dying vampire's eyes became even sharper because of these words. Ivan, ignoring the gaze of the defeated dog under his feet, began to ask Frey for details of the matter.

In order to complete the task properly, collecting information is a very important preliminary preparation.

Having mainly lived in Linde in his previous life, he was not familiar with the main storyline of Elrond. He had only seen the general plot on the forum and was not clear about the details.

That's why we need to ask carefully.

In addition, after the battle just now, he also found that perhaps because he had merged with the soul that grew up bathed in the cold sun and icy wind of the north, he was more adapted to killing and blood than he had imagined, and was also more adapted to this dangerous world.

I don’t know whether I should be happy about this or sigh.

"You may not believe this, but I am actually the First Princess of Elrond." Seeing that the other person's expression did not change, Afrediya's heart was slightly moved, but she remained calm and continued:

"The reason I'm here is because I was assassinated while on my way to the Royal Academy to attend the graduation ceremony."

"Then, you ran all the way to the northern glaciers? If I remember correctly, the nearest place to the border of Elrond is at least a hundred kilometers away." Alvin asked with some confusion.

"Because we have to avoid the real trap that is bound to exist." Afrediya said seriously, raising her index finger.

"For confidentiality reasons, the enemy's ability to mobilize maneuvers within the academy must be extremely limited. Therefore, the assassination attempt there was intended to coerce me into moving towards the capital, Avonmore. The enemy's true main force is likely lying in ambush on the route back to the capital from the academy."

"Common sense suggests I should stay in the academy and not move easily, but there are too many students there, and I'm afraid the enemy will launch a reckless attack. So, my subordinates and I split into two groups, planning to return to Avonmore from another direction via the northern ice sheet."

"Even if they have deployed forces in the opposite direction, their number wouldn't be too many. At least, I thought I could handle it." When she said this, Afrediya's expression clearly revealed a bit of gloom and guilt.

Although her judgment when the crisis occurred was very decisive and correct, at this moment her hands were still subconsciously pinching the hem of her skirt, obviously worried about her subordinates who would actively fall into the trap.

This is not the behavior of a qualified leader, but it is a normal reaction of a young girl.

I never thought that the 43rd Demon Lord Elrond, nicknamed the 'Blood Queen', would actually be so 'naive'. Ivan smiled slightly and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

The Demonic Kingdom of Elrond is called the Demonic Kingdom because its mainstream magic factions are mostly modified spells, and even the necromancy that other countries avoid.

However, the original Elrond was a wandering tribe known for their expertise in medicine. However, because of the anatomical experiments required for medical research, they were mistakenly believed to be evil necromancers.

Coupled with the misleading influence of the overly conservative religious forces at the time, this group of medical sorcerers were severely marginalized and even attacked, and had to migrate on a large scale until they arrived in the northern part of the Palladia world, a wild land full of poisons, miasma, and various powerful beasts and monsters.

At that time, various extraordinary professions had not yet developed stable advancement paths. In order to survive, the Elrond people began to study various methods for humans to defeat monsters.

This also caused them to gradually evolve from pure medical sorcerers into professions such as red mages and flesh monks who were proficient in spell transformation, and even necromancers who truly played with bones and souls appeared.

Eventually, the Mysteries of Elrond were created, capable of greatly modifying the human body.

So much so that the general opinion on the forum about Elrond players is that they may not be the strongest, but they are definitely the most free (weird). God knows what kind of cards are hidden under their strange appearance.

No one would be surprised if an Elrond player had a machine gun ejected from his abdomen.

In comparison, Afrediya looks basically the same as an ordinary human except for a pair of white curly horns behind her ears that resemble sheep horns.

In fact, the family inheritance of every Elrond noble is a variety of mature transformation templates and matching career advancement routes. Under normal circumstances, only direct descendants and branches can obtain inheritance to varying degrees.

On the contrary, most civilians can only undergo cheap mass transformation after adulthood, turning them into lower-level demons who can only engage in fixed occupations with no room for advancement, such as farmers fused with oxen or laborers and strongmen fused with gorilla arms.

The eldest princess with a naive look on her face will launch a glorious revolution from top to bottom in the future, intending to break the class rigidity in which knowledge is severely monopolized by the upper class.

Of course, the result was a failure.

Because of the king's sudden death, the aristocratic group with vested interests seized the opportunity to attack the reformists who supported the princess, forcing her to join forces with the necromancer faction within Elrond that was excluded by all parties. Only after a bloody and brutal purge did she succeed in taking the throne.

But this was not a victory for the reformists. Instead, the biggest beneficiary was the previously suppressed undead faction. This indirectly led to Elrond becoming the first country to be corrupted by the evil god in the future, and eventually triggered a major event that affected the entire world - a skeleton craze that swept across the countries on the continent.

But what if the eldest princess’s reforms are successful?

Could that have prevented the catastrophe?

As a combat-oriented player who likes to explore dungeons and pursue the strongest skill combinations, Alvin may not be as familiar with various plots as those setting parties who are fanatically digging into the depth of the plot, but he still thought of this possibility when he first saw Afrediya.

Without the player forces of "fifth-level soldiers like miscellaneous soldiers and thousands of footmen", the real world of Palladia can only rely on its own strength to fight against those terrible natural disasters.

Therefore, reducing any large-scale disaster can preserve strength for the future. Only by working together can all countries have a chance to fight against the malicious entities hidden in the deepest darkness.

However, as a first-level common [Barbarian] profession, it is really presumptuous for Alvin to try to participate in the main storyline, so he needs some special means to level up.

In Palladia, in addition to obtaining new talents and expertise through advanced job changes, improving attributes requires completing various strenuous training tasks, but some extremely rare potions and various special rituals can also improve character attributes.

And in Elrond, the most famous is of course the Mysteries of Elrond, a spell transformation ritual.

"...Are you still listening?" Afrediya, noticing that the other party was distracted, puffed up her cheeks and asked with a hint of dissatisfaction.

"Of course." Alvin shrugged and dragged the second-level [Blood Drinker] who could tolerate the sun better to a place where the sun was directly exposed to continue to expose it.

The sun in the world of Palladia is actually connected to the positive energy plane, and even though it is far away from the earth, it can still cause damage to monsters such as the undead.

The two severely injured first-level [Adoptees], after losing their light-blocking cloaks, were reduced to charred corpses, completely dead. As for the remaining second-level [Blood Drinker], although his resistance was much stronger than his subordinates, he still screamed like a pig being slaughtered. It was likely that he would not have the chance to eat his next meal.

"Do you want to know who sent them to assassinate you?" Ignoring the heart-wrenching cries of the vampire in the background, he gave Afrediya a smile that he thought was friendly, which made the latter subconsciously tremble her shoulders and shrink her head, but then quickly nodded.

"How many people in Elrond master the vampire transformation ritual?" Alvin asked casually.

"There are twelve noble families in total, including Grand Duke Blood Dragon, but this doesn't make sense." A thoughtful look appeared on Afrediya's face.

"When my father established the Royal Academy and recruited a large number of civilian students, they certainly expressed their opposition but only used conventional political means. It is impossible for them to develop to the extent of assassinating the royal family." The eldest princess squatted on the ground with her hands on her head and frowned, as if this could help her think faster.

"You forgot there is another group of people." Ivan suddenly said, and at the same time casually kicked the vampire's body that was completely charred by the sun.

"What?" Afrediya looked at the black-haired boy in front of her in confusion.

"Apart from the nobles, the most familiar ones are the Blood Embrace, a spell transformation ritual originating from necromancy." Ivan paused.

"Aren't there still those necromancers?"

After saying this, he turned around to look at the corpse of the second-level [Blood Drinker], which had stopped wailing and seemed to be completely cold.

"Don't you think so? This gentleman who pretended to be dead very successfully."

Chapter 5: Turning Like the Wind

Ivan looked calmly at the charred body of the second-level [Blood Drinker].

Although the vampire transformation ritual is related to the negative energy field, their biological characteristics have not completely disappeared. However, there are traces of negative energy erosion deep in the fangs he just dug out.

For Irwin, this was tantamount to putting the facts before him.

"Owl, owl, I didn't expect to be discovered." The corpse trembled without any symptoms, then slowly crawled up.