The Grand Duelist

Chapter 24: Unexpected Discovery

"Ughhh... I really should buy a better capsule." Joseph emerged from his gaming capsule with a frown on his face. His muscles ached more than what he expected, but what did he expect?

A sensation of coming out from a world-class sauna?

The Gaming Capsule that he purchased two months ago was at the peak of Gaming Capsules back then in price and specs. But it quickly became obsolete due to the fact that more and more Gaming Capsules were popping out with far better specs than what Joseph bought two months ago.

"I paid so much money for this gaming capsule but it's now obsolete when compared to other advanced gaming capsules." Joseph took his smartphone and casually scrolled through a list of Gaming Capsules for sale.

Even though he couldn't afford these Gaming Capsules for now. He still scrolled down the list with a light smile on his face.

'Well, there's no harm in dreaming about something you like, right?' He thought to himself.

'Holy shit, what are these features?!'

'In-game recording feature, Physiological Alarm System, Out to In-game Intercom System, and it's made out of premium leather and memory foam? Not only that, immersion is at the current maximum of 98%?! How much is it?'

[Get all of these for only five hundred thousand dollars! Free installation! Two-year worldwide warranty and 24-hour dedicated customer service!]

'Five hundred thousand dollars?! It's not fifty thousand dollars? Holy shit, there's an additional zero...' A bitter smile emerged on Joseph's lips. The rich really had it good, they could afford everything of quality...

In the long run, they spend less than those who always bought cheap items.

Joseph stared at his bank account. The amount listed within his high-yield savings account was impressive, but it was locked according to the contract that he signed with the bank.

He'd be hit with an Early Withdrawal Penalty if he withdrew money before the maturity date listed within the contract.

'Goddamned it, I need to pay those two sisters at the end of the day, what should I do?' Joseph's mind quickly spun.

There's only about six hours before the end of the day. That's about thirty-six hours in Victory time.

'In the first place, it's really stupid that such a strong monster like that bastard Voliwolf wouldn't drop any copper coins!'

'Even wolves at the outskirts of the Village sometimes dropped copper coins. Why wouldn't a boss that strong drop any coins? This is blatant decreasing of supply for increasing the demand!'

Joseph repeatedly cursed at the P.H Works. But in the end, he couldn't do anything.

Or could he not really do anything?

A light bulb suddenly sparked within Joseph's mind.

He had a Mythical Class! If he sold information about his mighty class. Wouldn't people flock to him and ask him more about it?

It was also impossible for those bastards to verify the legitimacy of the information that he'd sell to them. After all, he could just add some false information amidst the truths so that he could earn money without revealing every card that he had.

A sly smile appeared on Joseph's face.

He went towards the forums of Victory and posted.

Title: Selling Information about a Mythical Class! 100% Legit, NO SCAM! LEGIT BUYERS ONLY! Just PM!

The title says everything that I need to say. I have information about a mythical class, just send me a private message if you're interested. Price is a thousand dollars for a piece of information btw. Not negotiable, a Mythical Class is not something simple.

Joseph pressed the, "Submit" button. Afterward, he stood up and went towards the kitchen.

He made himself a simple breakfast made out of some bacon, rice, sunny-side-up eggs and hotdogs.

Munching on his breakfast, he couldn't help but moan in pleasure: "Ahhh, for us Filipinos, rice is really the best companion for everything... I think I could even eat bread with rice... How about pizza with rice? Wait, that's a good business idea, I think Pizza topped with some fried rice would be popular in Italy..."

Joseph thought to himself with a smile on his face while he munched on his food.

Finishing his meal, he returned to his capsule and entered the internet.

The post that he made at the forums now had about three thousand comments and Joseph's inbox now said that he had about 99+ messages.

OmaeWaShindeiru answered: "Oh it's you again? Did you become retarded thanks to the revenge of the Crimson Guild due to what you did to them?"

FakeDawn answered: "You have a mythical class? What is it called? Mental Patient?"

Shifty Daoist Mage answered: "If you really have information about the Mythical Class, then shouldn't you share it with us for free? Why would you try and sell it to us instead of giving it for free? What blatant scamming!

Rianolinon answered: "Oh, Shifty Daoist Mage is here. For the first time in ages, what he's saying makes sense. Finally."

Shifty Daoist Mage answered: "Courting death, Ria?!"

Rianolinon answered: "Kek."

Enslaved Moisture answered: "Ah..."

Enslaved Moisture answered: "Enslaved moisture."

Innocent Bunny Reinesse answered: "Stop hijacking this thread! But to the OP, dang you really have a good imagination. Kek, how about you become a fiction writer?"

"..."

A bunch of comments disparaging the post numbered at least three thousand. Joseph facepalmed and thought: "I must've been really that hungry earlier. To think that I would miss such detail."

Indeed! Even though what he's saying was the truth. How could he possibly prove to everyone that he wasn't lying and wasn't blatantly scamming them?

Joseph now had a method regarding that. But it was already too late...

He already lost credibility and so, he could only deeply sigh and return to Victory.

Joseph stood at the Central Square of the Beginner Village. It was currently night and the stars shone so brightly since there existed no light pollution within the game. A small smile lifted on Joseph's lips as he stared at the calming scenery.

But the calm that he felt only lasted for a few minutes. He knew that he had limited time left when it comes to earning money. He promised that he would pay those two sisters.

No matter what, Joseph must find a way so that he could pay the two by the end of the day.

And so...

Joseph's grind for money began.

He first killed a bunch of wolves outside the Village, but the wolves only dropped a few copper coins whenever Joseph killed a hundred of them. In fact, at the end of his wolf grind. Joseph only acquired about five copper coins after killing three hundred of the wolves.

"Those greedy bastards from the P.H Works!" Joseph cursed at the game company once again before he continued his slaughter of the poor wolves. But what could he do apart from this? The NPCs within the Village were currently sleeping and so, there wasn't any quest available for him.

"Ah, this is really annoying! Why do I only get a single copper coin after killing forty wolves!" Joseph scratched his head in annoyance.

When morning finally came, he returned back to the Village and disposed about eight-hundred Wolfhide and Thick Wolfhide from the Voliwolf which earned him about 200 copper coins or twenty silvers.

If the copper coins that Joseph earned from his hunt were added on top of the money that he earned from the Wolfhide. Joseph now had about three gold coins An amount enough for a week of groceries, but too low for the services of the two sisters.

"There's only a few hours left before the end of the day..." Joseph spent about sixteen hours in Victory time on earning these three gold coins. In real-time, that's about 2 and a half hours.

Joseph's expression turned heavy. He walked to look for the Village Chief so that he could ask for further rewards about the difficult task that he completed, but the Village Chief was absent.

"That guy is avoiding me! I'm sure that he's really avoiding me!" Joseph inwardly cursed at the Village Chief.

In the end, Joseph could only sigh in defeat as he walked towards a nearby restaurant.

Victory boasted supreme realism.

The bodies of players within the game also felt hungry.

Sleep was necessary but optional. In fact, players only slept in Victory for the sake of their own bodies in the outside world.

After all, even though the P.H Works advertised that playing in Victory now had similar effects as to dreaming while sleeping. Some people still believed that nothing could beat a good night of sleep so, some of them slept while in the world of Victory.

But as for why they preferred sleeping in the world of Victory than the outside world was still unknown.

But Joseph knew that sleeping for a while and eating in the world of Victory had clear benefits. Sleeping in Victory gave you a buff called, "Slept Well".

It increased your Health by a small percentage and it also increased your Tenacity.

Tenacity...

A stat similar to Spirit, but it dictated how long you'd stay under the effects of abnormal statuses.

Unlike Spirit which dictated whether you'd be affected by that particular debuff in the first place.

Eating in Victory also gave a buff called, "Satisfied and Full". It increased your Movement Speed and Evasion Rate by a small percentage. Acquiring this buff was self-explanatory.

Joseph entered the restaurant, ordered a bunch of meat and started eating. The dishes within Victory tasted kind of bland. From what Joseph knew from the waitresses, they said that salt was a seasoning only available for nobles and extremely valuable.

Because of that, most meal within Victory wasn't really enjoyable and players only ate for the sake of the "Satisfied and Full" buff.

This was also the reason why Joseph entered the restaurant. He planned on challenging stronger monsters further away from the Beginner Village, but before that.

He wanted to acquire the "Satisfied and Full" buff.

Joseph silently ate and hoped that the cliche of being attacked by a bunch of bastards courting death within the xianxia books that Joseph read wouldn't happen to him.

Thankfully, after a few minutes.

He finished his meal properly...

But then, a commotion happened at the entrance of the restaurant.

"Ah! It's the Great Wandering Bard!"

"Holy shit, you're right! It's really the Great Wandering Bard! I can't believe how lucky we are!"

"Come, gather, gather, gather! We can't miss his stories!"

The NPCs within the restaurant suddenly exclaimed out loud.

Joseph's interest was piqued: "Great Wandering Bard? That's a strange name." He stood up and walked towards where the commotion was happening.

There, at the center of them all. Joseph found an old man carrying a ukulele on his shoulders. That old man had an amiable smile on his face, feeling evidently happy that there were a lot of audiences today.

He sat down on a chair, placed his hat on the ground and started his story-telling.

"Ever since the beginning, legends say that somewhere in the near or the far future. A sun that overlooks everything shall appear."

The Great Wandering Bard's voice was powerful and everyone that heard his voice became filled with admiration and zeal. Only Joseph had a weird expression on his face as he stared at the system notification floating before him.

[You are nearby someone that's speaking an epic about you!]

[If you approached that certain someone and informed him about your identity, you may obtain great rewards or something special may happen!]

The smile that hung on Joseph's face intensified as he stared at the old man who continued on talking.

"The story begins at the Capital of the strongest Kingdom. The sun wasn't even born yet at this time, but unbeknownst to him. He had a destiny that was greater than those around him..."

When Joseph heard about how the old man talked about him in a zealous cult-like manner. Joseph couldn't help but feel a shiver down his spine and blush at the same time.

He felt conflicted, but he couldn't bring himself to stop the worshipping of the old man which stroked on his fragile ego made out of low self-esteem that he had, ever since his parents died.

"He's weak, but he had willpower that transcends even legends. His persistence acquired the interest of the gods themselves, and his determination. Shocked, even the demons under the earth..."

'Holy shit, he's really exaggerating everything right there!' Joseph felt surreal and conflicted., he rapidly shook his head in an effort to shake away the cringe that his entire body felt.

But in the end...

He couldn't endure the embarrassment anymore.

He stood up, walked towards the old man and was about to stop the old man's story-telling when suddenly...

[Someone admired by everyone is telling an epic about you!]

[You acquired the worship of everyone who heard about your tale!]

[Your Divinity has increased by +5]

[Your Reputation has increased by +100!]

[Those who lay their eyes upon you will see you in a more favorable light. Probability of acquiring quests will be higher and those of the opposite sex will favor you more than ever.]

[Access to the Charm Stat acquired]

"Holy shit... Just because someone is spreading some exaggerated bullshit about me, I am getting stronger?!" Joseph almost couldn't believe his eyes, but the existence of the system notifications and what he saw in his Player Profile shocked him.

[Name: Joseph

Level: 9 Gender: Male

Class: The Grand Duelist

Title: "The Sun that Overlooks Everything"

(You are an absolute existence.

You will acquire five stat points for every level.

You will resist all kinds of crowd control effects, debuffs, and abnormal statuses.

Your Reputation cannot go down a certain level even when you're infamous.

Once your health is at the minimum. You will acquire a shield that's equivalent to a 100% of damage that you suffered within the last ten seconds. Extra damage that's more than your Health Points also counts to the strength of the shield that you'll acquire. The shield lasts for twenty seconds.

Dying as an overwhelming existence is shameful. Your death penalty for dying is doubled.)

Title: "Deemed Ungrateful by the Gods".

(You are despised by the Gods.

Whenever you are facing an enemy that is affiliated with any God, your stats will dramatically increase.

If you died under the hands of an enemy affiliated with any God, the penalty that you will receive upon death is tripled.

Probability of success in Item/Armor/Accessory Enhancement is dramatically lowered.

Devout believers of any God will instinctively feel hatred at you.)

Title: "Mythical Authority".

(You have an overwhelming presence as someone who dared to go against the gods.

No one can make you submit.

There's a certain probability of inflicting "Fear" status towards those who dare stare at you.

Your dignity can never be lower than those who dare stand before you.

Your presence alone incites fear to enemies while increasing morale to your allies.

You are a natural leader.

Your Leadership can never be lower than those who dare compete against you.

As an authority, no talent can escape your eyes...

Skill: "Character Scrutinize" is generated and listed as a passive skill.

[Character Scrutinize Lv. 1

Talents in the rough can never escape your eyes, a single look from you and their talents will be uncovered.

Skill Usage Conditions: Mystical Authority

Skill Cost: None

Skill Cooldown: 24 Hours. ]

You can summon a Divine Avatar through the skill "Divine Authority Summoning".

[Divine Authority Summoning Lv. 1

Summon a Divine Avatar out of your own authority as a person comparable to the gods. Your Divine Avatar acts as an independent presence. It possesses half of everything that you have but is innately unruly, arrogant, and untamed. Similar to the Divine Avatar of the previous Grand Duelist.

Your Divine Avatar lasts for half a minute, scaling by your Level and Divinity Stat.

Skill Usage Conditions: Title: "Mythical Authority", and a Mythical Class

Skill Cost: None

Skill Cooldown Time: 72 Hours] )

Health: 1400/1400 Mana: 450/450

Strength: 1 Dexterity: 1

Intelligence: 1 Stamina: 1

Spirit: 5 Tenacity: 5

Reputation: 232 Divinity: 10

Charm: 5

Undistributed Stat Points: 40]

"Yeap, I guess... When I'm getting powerful every time. It's time to spread the gospel of mine."

Joseph cheekily smiled as he hummed a tune while listening to his exaggerate tale coming out of the Great Wandering Bard's mouth.

However, it was unfortunate that Joseph merely glanced at his stats instead of reading what's listed one by one.

If not...

Then he would've suffered shock more than what he suffered upon seeing the unexpected discovery in the form of the Great Wandering Bard.

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