Part-time Boss
Chapter 63 - 63 63 The Miserable Players

63: Chapter 63: The Miserable Players 63: Chapter 63: The Miserable Players Mo Fei took a deep breath, striving to calm his excited emotions.

The amount of information he had received in these few short minutes was truly overwhelming, leaving him somewhat out of sorts.

First, he was very sure that the strange gigantic dragon he had just seen was the fabled ancient dragon, and it must be one of the more formidable among them, possibly even something like the Ancient Dragon King.

Second, this statue was indeed prepared for the Dragon Race, a point made evident by the Ancient Dragon King’s surprise at seeing him as a human, but it seemed that humans could also use it without strict restrictions.

As for the ‘degenerate offspring’ mentioned by it, there was no need to ask; they must be the several major dragon kin commonly seen in the World of Sky.

This meant those red dragons, black dragons, green dragons, blue dragons and so on were all descendants of ancient dragons, but why did the body of the ancient dragon look like stone, while the current giants had flesh and blood bodies?

This detail was probably connected to some hidden backstory.

Up to this point, it was all within Mo Fei’s expectations, but what he truly didn’t anticipate was that the mission he triggered was connected to the Dragon God.

When he was the black dragon Morphis, he often heard legends about the Dragon God.

The dragon kin generally believed in the Dragon God, but this faith was not very devout, probably because the Dragon God had never actually appeared.

In fact, compared to the worship of other deities, the belief in the Dragon God was incomplete and vague, without even a concrete image of the Dragon God.

And the prayers of the faithful were not always answered.

Since they were powerful individuals who could use Dragon Language magic, the faith in the Dragon God turned out to be somewhat superfluous for the dragon kin.

After all, they were formidable enough on their own strength, there was no need to pray for the protection of deities.

As such, the dragon kin generally didn’t take this religion seriously, whereas the Dragon Worship Cult was incredibly fanatic, constantly offering bloody sacrifices in hopes of receiving a response from the Dragon God, and occasionally they did achieve some results.

Mo Fei had once heard a theory that the Dragon God was mostly likely dead.

However, in the World of Sky, it is difficult for something like a deity to truly perish—as long as the belief in the Dragon God endures, the Dragon God would not truly die.

He hadn’t anticipated that the mission he triggered could lead to the return of the Dragon God.

If he could genuinely complete this mission, the impact on the entire World of Sky would no doubt be tremendous.

Maybe all the major dragon clans could gather under one flag once again.

Of course, what really mattered to him were the personal benefits of this mission.

From the description given by the Ancient Dragon King, ‘eternal power’, ‘undying life’, ‘the lost force of a deity’—damn, I’m about to take off.

The 500 Plot Points reward for just the first phase of the mission was enough for him to advance half a rank, and all he had to do in this phase was find the land of Dragon Delight.

So what was he waiting for?

It was time to get moving.

He quickly swept through the room, found his suitcase, and upon opening it, there was a set of Prince benefits armor.

Northwind Knight armor.

Northwind Knight leg guards.

Northwind Knight arm guards.

Northwind Knight helmet.

Northwind Knight boots.

Northwind Knight longsword.

Northwind Knight shield.

A complete set of Northwind Knight’s gear was inside, looking exactly the same as the common Northwind Knights in the barracks, though they were non-attribute whiteboard equipment, their defensive capabilities were quite respectable, making them great gear for beginners.

In addition, there were 500 Gold Coins, the Prince’s pocket money, which he could continue to receive weekly from the King (the specific amount being related to the King’s favorability).

Without a word, Mo Fei picked them up and put them on.

In the World of Sky, equipment requirements usually don’t concern level but attribute prerequisites, and armor typically relied on one’s carrying capacity.

The higher the carrying capacity, the heavier the equipment one can wear.

There are four states of a player’s carrying status.

Light (below 30% weight), increasing jump and roll distance by 30%, and running speed by 10%.

Medium (30%-70% weight), with no bonuses.

Heavy (70%-100% weight), decreasing jump and roll distance by 30%, and reducing running speed by 10%.

Overweight (above 100% weight), unable to run or jump and roll, only capable of moving slowly, and attack consumes double stamina.

Generally speaking, thieves, assassins, and other agility-based professions prefer to reduce their inventory weight to ‘light’ to facilitate dodging and movement, whereas knights and warriors don’t have as many considerations.

They typically aim for a medium inventory load, but if that’s not possible, a heavy load can also be manageable.

Though the Northwind Knight’s armor is made for knights, its leather and chainmail composite structure offers slightly less defense with cold resistance properties.

Its weight is quite a bit lighter than the full plate armor of knights from other kingdoms—a testament to Altland’s cold climate.

Fully equipped with a longsword and shield, the load is exactly 68%.

Mo Fei moved around a bit and felt quite comfortable; at the very least, he didn’t feel overly encumbered.

However, once he took up the Dragon-Slaying Greatsword, he feared he might not be able to wear the full set of armor.

That thing alone was as heavy as all the gear he wore now.

He might even have to go shirtless then.

He strongly suspected that the Dawn Divine Sword’s previous owner had gone without clothes just to reduce weight.

Stepping out of his room, Mo Fei headed straight for the military camp outside the city.

By now, many princes had recruited adventurers and were ready to depart.

Squads of soldiers were being called out from the camp, assembling in neat rows under the command of the princes.

Mo Fei glanced over and noticed that these soldiers all had similar appearances, expressions, and even their movements seemed to be cast from the same mold with little variation.

Yet, he found it odd that some of the princes were picky about the soldiers they had recruited.

They would sometimes remove their helmets to inspect and ask questions, and occasionally, they would select certain soldiers and send them back to the camp.

Mo Fei wondered what was going on.

Could it be that these system-generated soldiers had attribute differences?

He scanned the area and saw Prince Dara Bumpa selecting soldiers, so he approached to ask what was going on.

As he neared, Prince Dara Bumpa was pulling a highland warrior out of the crowd.

“No good, get me another one,” Dara Bumpa demanded.

The highland warrior’s face was the picture of despair.

“Damn, don’t send me away, I haven’t been on assignment for half a month!

Please, big brother, I’m only five thousand experience points away from ranking up.”

Dara Bumpa remained unresponsive and kept pulling the man away.

Next, he called out two kingdom crossbowmen, with the same request to switch them out.

The two crossbowmen, who had the stony faces of NPCs, suddenly looked panicked when they realized they were to be replaced.

“Take me with you,” one shouted, “I’m strong in combat, really, one of me is worth two of anyone else!”

The other shook his head repeatedly, “I’m not a player, I’m not a player, I’m an NPC!

For goodness sake, why won’t you believe me?

Damn, how did you even see through my dedication?”

Dara Bumpa, indifferent, simply called over a captain from the camp to take the soldiers away when he couldn’t pull them himself.

“Hey, what’s all this about?” Mo Fei asked in amazement.

Seeing Mo Fei, the soldiers looked as if they’d seen a savior.

“Big brother, you’re going on a mission, right?

Take me with you, please take me!”

“Are you all players?” Mo Fei inquired.

The highland warrior nodded reluctantly, “Yeah, we are all players.”

One of the kingdom crossbowmen was irritated, “I’m not a player!

I’m a genuine NPC!”

The other kingdom crossbowman seemed to have accepted his fate, “These princes have a bias against us players, they say we’re afraid of dying, dammit, we’re ranged units, what’s wrong with fearing death?”

Dara Bumpa just sneered, “Don’t give me any of that nonsense.

You lot love to cut corners.

Let’s say there’s a dark cave ahead that needs exploring, and I tell you to go first—would you do it?”

“Absolutely, I’d walk through fire and water for you, boss.

I’d definitely go,” the soldier replied.

But Dara Bumpa laughed cynically and turned to Mo Fei, “You believe him, brother?”

Mo Fei really didn’t believe it.

Being a player himself, he understood the mentality of players.

Although he hadn’t played as a soldier, he had played as a monster, which also involved serving others and being expendable with low combat power.

His conclusion was that in the face of danger, one must hide, and when there’s the chance for a kill, one must rush in to claim it.

That’s how to level up and climb the ranks, so as not to always be the adventurer’s decapitated fodder.

Whether a common creature or a soldier, with low combat power and various system restrictions, being cunning was necessary to advance.

However, as a hero leading troops, of course, he wouldn’t want his subordinates to be like that.

Thinking this, he understood why players disguised as soldiers were unwelcome; the key was that NPC soldiers were extremely obedient.

They would deliver messages or die if commanded, with 100% obedience, and by comparison, players seemed much more cunning, capable of causing who knows what trouble if not watched closely.