Star Forge Titan

Chapter 34: Meeting with the Demon King

When he first walked out the door, Alvin was still thinking about which career he should choose.

A vague inspiration emerged in his mind. Rituals, potions and long-term training can certainly improve certain attributes, but these are always limited to the physical body.

If you want to truly surpass your limits, you must complete the advancement through the promotion ceremony.

More importantly, career advancement also involves the upgrading of the soul and the improvement of the life level. In addition to one's own talents, additional talents and characteristics also need to be obtained through job transfer, and obtaining a career is a prerequisite for learning many related major skills.

All of this manifests itself in the realized world of Palladia, where one must go through a promotion ritual to raise the level of one's own life essence.

The use of rituals, potions, and equipment is like replacing the external armor and weapons of a chariot, and promotion represents the evolution of the chariot's fundamental power from the most primitive animal power to steam engine drive, and then to internal combustion engine, electric motor, and even nuclear power propulsion.

Therefore, after completing the spell ritual transformation, the choice of a second-level profession is imminent. After all, the next step is likely to be facing an enemy with fourth-level power.

Just as he was thinking, Alvin looked up and saw a huge furry wolf looking down at him with its tongue hanging out.

Looking down...

How tall is this dog supposed to be?

Don't forget, after undergoing the ritual transformation, Ivan's height had reached two meters and three. Even so, the canine before him could still look down at him, indicating that the other party's height was far more than two meters, even close to five meters.

Even sitting on the ground, a dog this size would have been nearly as tall as a two-story building. Even the exceptionally tall corridors within Schönbrunn Palace, built to accommodate larger demons, were pushed up against the ceiling by this giant wolf.

The silver-white fur all over its body is neat and tidy, and it shines brightly under the setting sun.

His ears were like a fan, and his bright, round eyes were a clear sky blue.

"Where did the dog come from?" Alvin said subconsciously.

Then he saw the dog stand up.

With the sound of its claws rubbing against the ground, the giant wolf, which was as big as a hill when it was squatting, stood up.

"Woo woo." Hearing this sound, Alvin quickly changed his judgment.

This is not a dog, it's a wolf.

The giant silver-white wolf slowly opened its mouth, as if revealing a terrifying smile.

Seeing this, Alvin felt a sense of familiarity inexplicably, as if he had seen a similar existence somewhere before.

Where exactly is this place? As he pondered, he reached out and began to rub the wolf's chin with familiarity. This startled the wolf, which had already begun to move.

"Woo-hoo?" It looked at the person it thought was its new toy with a confused look.

According to its brother's orders, it should play a good trick on the other party and let this guy with a strange smell know how powerful it is.

but……

It was so cool! It was so cool! It was so cool that it made me want to die! Oh no, it was a wolf.

The giant wolf named Sheila rolled over in the wide corridor like a furry mountain made of hundreds of blankets that suddenly collapsed, with its pink tongue hanging out and a continuous "hachi hachi" panting sound.

Ah, it’s this guy.

This thought popped up in Ivan's mind.

The giant cute creature Sheila, if I remember correctly, that's what the female players in the guild call it.

In the plot, it is a giant wolf that has lost its master. His master was originally a knight of Elrond, who later died in the war. As a result, he did not get the expected rest. Instead, he was made into a high-level undead knight by the necromancer and set foot on the battlefield again.

Sheela could not bear such an outcome, so she led her people to betray Elrond, launching attacks day and night until she succeeded in freeing her master's soul and died of exhaustion.

That is a branch plot in the whole event. After helping Sheila liberate her master's soul, the player has a certain probability of obtaining a spirit pet that exists as Sheila's clone, a ghost wolf cub.

The once majestic silver wolf, after shrinking, became like an incredibly adorable Samoyed puppy. White and furry, it looked like a rolling ball of snow-white marshmallow as it ran across the ground.

Even a cat-loving person like Alvin couldn't help but go and swipe it once. As a result, a drop happened that time. Alvin, with 100 points of explosive dice, successfully won the prize in the end. It was really unbelievable.

Unexpectedly, the spirit pet had exactly the same preferences as the original body. He subconsciously touched the other party, and the dog, no, the wolf just lay down and performed the traditional canine art of turning its belly up.

"..." Ashram, who was observing secretly, was stunned. Maria, who was watching next to him, was also stunned. Then she tried hard to hold back her laughter and looked at the Knight Commander beside her with a mocking look.

"Tsk, what a mistake." Ashram said helplessly, covering his face.

However, there was not much disappointment in his tone. Instead, he was more curious about this young man with a questionable past.

"Is that guy a druid disguised as a barbarian?"

"Want to try something else?" Maria asked.

"Forget it, let me, as his uncle, take the postgraduate entrance examination for this kid in a fair and honest manner." Ashram shrugged and moved his hands and feet, making a crisp sound of joints rubbing against each other.

With the sound of armor colliding, Ashram, dressed in black clothes and black armor, walked out of the shadows. As always, he was slightly hunched forward. His 1.95 meter tall figure seemed a little thin. Unlike the other black knights who were as strong as giants, he looked more like a lone wolf.

"Evan Arian?" Ashram asked in a low and magnetic voice.

Ivan, who was enjoying petting the giant dog, stopped the moment it left the shadows. Although his perception hadn't yet surpassed 20 points, entering the extraordinary realm, he was still able to keenly perceive all sorts of subtle information emanating from his surroundings.

Silla whined in dissatisfaction, then turned over and got up, trotting towards the person with a flattering expression.

Following the giant wolf's movements, Alvin turned his gaze to the stranger who called out to him. Maria stood quietly behind him. It seemed that the man was also a member of Elrond's court.

He was not familiar with the other person's appearance, but the armor reminded him of something relevant.

The Armor of Curse-Bound is an enchanted full-body armor with nine oaths and nine curses engraved on its surface. It can enhance the effects of the oaths made by the holder, and also enhance the instant death curses released by the user.

The person who owns this set of enchanted full body armor is one of the elite bosses that appeared in the early stage of Skeleton Madness, the headless black knight, the flying cursed blade, also known as Magic Magnetic Levitation, and Curse Teacher. The latter two are the names given to him by players.

The opponent is powerful enough to scare away most challengers, but the reason why players call him teacher is because he is the first fourth-level boss in the game that is not killed by the plot, but requires players to challenge it themselves.

The battle with Ashram allowed players, whose rank limits were gradually being relaxed at the time, to fully understand what a battle between high-level warriors was like.

Although low-level professionals can play with many unique skill combinations, compared to high-level strongmen, in a sense, they are just slightly stronger mortals, and there is a huge difference between the two when fighting.

This is because the latter has already mastered the power of soul liberation and extraordinary body.

"My furry brother is in your care." Ashram pulled the giant wolf's cheek unhappily, making the latter look more like a Shiba Inu than a wolf.

"Furry brother?" This name made Alvin a little surprised.

"Yes, they are all my half brothers and sisters." Ashram said naturally.

Afterwards, Alvin discovered that six other giant wolves were slowly walking out of the shadows around them. Although they were not as big as Sheila, they were still much larger than the largest gray wolf. Each one could rival an ordinary second-level professional.

Good courage...

Seeing that Evan didn't show any sign of fear even when surrounded by wolves, Ashram couldn't help but nod secretly.

"There's still some time before the dinner. Do you want to spar with me? I'm also very curious about what kind of person little Frey has her eyes on." The knight in black clothes and black armor said naturally and familiarly.

It's great that I can receive the teachings from Mr. Ju in advance.

It just so happened that he also wanted to test his current full strength.

The mental vision in the spell ritual that resembled the Path of Fire Sword, and the various changes brought about by the revival of his bloodline, made him realize that his experience in controlling low-level characters in the early stages of the game was not applicable at the moment, and his experience in controlling high-level characters in the later stages could not be applied now that his realm had not yet been improved.

This idea had come to Flanders as early as last year, but the enemies encountered before were either so weak that they could be killed easily without any skills, or so strong that they required a strategic shift.

From the way the other party addressed Afrediya, it could be seen that this person had a close relationship with the royal family of Gusmith. So even if he competed with him, he would at most suffer a little. He should not have the malicious intention of killing him like that great wizard.

That being the case...

"My pleasure." Ivan smiled slightly.

The two and a group of giant wolves came to the training ground outside Schönbrunn Palace, where many young Silver Knights who had just completed their promotions were undergoing daily training.

These two-meter-tall strong men, who have undergone the secret rituals of spells and professional advancement, only wear a thin linen coat even in winter. The exercise equipment they use is several times larger and heavier than that used by ordinary people.

The entire training ground is filled with a masculine atmosphere, like a super-hardcore gym.

Seeing Ashram appear, the Silver Knights immediately stopped training and lined up in an orderly manner without any command.

"Master!" The Silver Knights saluted respectfully, tapping their left chests with their hands.

Ashram is not only the leader of the Royal Guard Knights, but also responsible for various trainings for the young Silver Knights. Although his training is very strict, he cares about his subordinates very much in his daily life. He is like a strict but benevolent brother, and he holds a high status in the hearts of the young knights.

"You guys continue, I'm just sparring with the new young man." Ashram waved his hand to signal them to disperse.

"Teacher wants to spar with someone?"

"There's something good to watch."

"Tsk, that troublemaker who provoked me last time is probably still lying in the healing house."

"Not necessarily. What if this is just a normal sparring match?"

"Then the instructor still needs to carry a weapon?"

The wolves lay comfortably on the grass, enjoying the winter sun, while the young Silver Knights began to watch quietly and orderly. They didn't say too much nonsense or make a fuss, just watching with dumbbells and other exercise equipment.

However, from the conversations of the people around him, Alvin felt something was wrong.

Wait, what's going on? Does this happen often? Is your Elrond sparring different from what I remember?

"What's wrong? Choose a weapon." Ashram took a wooden weapon in the shape of a long sword from the weapon rack next to him.

“…” Alvin silently picked up an identical wooden sword.

As an engineering knight, he has no particular expertise in any one weapon. He can skillfully use warhammers, long-handled battle axes, long swords, and scimitars. He is a typical battlefield knight.

"Are you ready?" Ashram stood there casually, not looking very serious, but the alarm in Ivan's heart quickly rose.

"Yeah." Alvin lowered the hilt of the sword below his waist, with the sword body tilted upwards with the tip pointing directly at the opponent's face, assuming a very standard plow position.

As a fully immersive game, Palladia can directly apply many real-life skills, so he and his friends also learned real-life historical swordplay in the early days.

"Come to think of it, I watched little Frey grow up." Ashram moved his shoulders and smiled like an uncle chatting with his niece's boyfriend.

"That child was an angel when she was little. She would smile brightly to everyone, even the servants in the palace. Just looking at her could make you forget all your worries. She was so adorable."

Ashram's words were so clear that the people around him could hear them easily.

"Yes, Your Highness, the Princess is indeed... wuwuwu"

"Shut up!" A young knight in the crowd wanted to speak out in agreement, but was held down by his companions.

Aren't we supposed to be sparring? Why are you suddenly praising Afredia? I know she's cute, though!

Ivan looked at the tall but thin black knight in front of him in some surprise.

"As a result, she went out this time and brought a young man home without saying a word. This is really shocking." There was still a smile on Ashram's face, but it made people feel a chill.

Maria, who was secretly observing from the side, couldn't help but shook her head. He was clearly complaining to her behind her back about His Majesty's overprotection of the eldest princess. It was just a young person, so there was no need to react so strongly.

But right now, Captain, don’t you look exactly like His Majesty?

It's just that one shouts it out openly while the other is secretly plotting evil, there is no essential difference.

The black-clad, black-armored knight slowly ascended, barely touching the ground with his toes, hovering above the surface in a suspended state. This was completely contrary to the down-to-earth combat rules of a combat professional, and it was hard to imagine how he exerted the force to maintain the correct posture.

"So, young man, don't die." As soon as the words fell, Ashram rushed towards Ivan like a maglev train, with an explosion that tore through the air.

Under the impact of magic, he doesn't even need to stand on the ground to gain leverage, he can burst out with superhuman strength!

Alvin only felt that Ashram in his field of vision was rapidly enlarging. The wooden sword used for training was flashing with a cursed light. Judging from the intensity, it should not be fatal, but it could definitely make an ordinary low-level transcendent lie in bed for three days.

Feeling a strong threat, the originally solidified combat memory was quickly unsealed, turning into a practical instinctive reaction, allowing Ivan to stab the sword into the ground with his backhand.

Yes, he did not choose to block, but instead stabbed the wooden sword in his hand directly into the ground, and then a dark golden light quickly lit up.

Accompanied by a roar, a burst of smoke and dust erupted in the training ground. Ashram's thrust directly created a deep groove on the ground, and this groove split into two not far in front of Ivan, like a torrent hitting a reef, turning into two shock waves and leaving a V-shaped mark on the ground.

"Is this your professional ability?" Ashram patted the wood powder left after the wooden sword in his hand was shattered, and felt a little surprised when he looked at the protruding rock shelter in front of him.

"About that." Alvin adjusted his rapid breathing.

Damn it, even though this guy didn't use the power of a high-level professional, his physical attributes were far superior to mine. Even if he deliberately held back, he still had the strength of a third-level peak-level professional.

If he hadn't immediately activated the power of [Reshape the World] to create a shelter, he would have most likely been blasted into the large mural on the outer wall of the training ground by a sword.

"Continue?" Ashram raised his eyebrows, and in his heart he slightly approved of Evan.

The opponent's response was peculiar but very appropriate. As a first-level professional, his reaction speed and decision-making in the face of the sudden attack were both quite excellent.

"Go on!" Alvin pulled out the broken wooden sword. In the process, the surrounding debris adhered to the wooden sword wreckage to form a rock sword.

A fourth-level strong man who has made great achievements in both spells and swords, and is very close to the power system he is preparing to build.

Guidance from such a person is like a tonic for Alvin now. It allows him to quickly transform the combat memories accumulated in the previous life game into practical experience, and speed up the conception of his own power system, and even produce greater progress.

"Okay." Ashram didn't waste any words. He raised his hand and summoned a wooden sword and rushed forward again.

This time, he did not use the power of the curse, and even stopped levitating. Instead, he relied solely on swordsmanship to test Ivan's most basic skills and strength as a warrior.