Chapter 100: His First Meeting with Her

The estate of former Military Judge Conca covered over ten acres, a self-contained stone fortress.

Inside the estate, streams flowed gently, shaded by green trees, with birds singing and flowers blooming. What amazed people most was the towering Incense Tree standing in the very center of the garden. Every autumn, it blossomed with tiny, creamy-yellow flowers, like a giant yellow umbrella spread open between heaven and earth. Its rich fragrance filled the entire Shampoo City with a sweet, overwhelming scent. One could say the Incense Tree was partly responsible for the city’s name.

Sun Fei jumped off the Big Black Dog, patted its head, and told it to go play by itself. Then he and the female warrior Susan walked together along the shaded path in front of the estate, passing through several heavily guarded checkpoints. They were searched six times by the Crown Princess’s guards before finally arriving at a quiet courtyard in the very heart of the estate. There, they saw Princess Royal Tanasha sitting in a rocking chair under the huge Incense Tree, with her eyes closed as if dozing.

This was Sun Fei’s first time seeing this mysterious princess.

The woman before him was a little thinner than Sun Fei had imagined. Her features weren’t particularly delicate—nothing like Angela or Ileena, who could stun people at first glance. She could only be described as proper-looking. However, her lips were quite full, which seemed a bit mismatched with her thin body and pale complexion. Their bright red color gave off an indescribable allure. Her hair, soft and beautiful like seaweed, shimmered strangely in the sunlight.

What impressed Sun Fei most were her eyes—large and bright, with pure, crystal-blue pupils as beautiful as an autumn sky. They seemed able to see through anyone’s thoughts in an instant, like bottomless abysses that could make one unknowingly sink into them.

Hearing Sun Fei enter, Princess Tanasha did not open her eyes.

She sat quietly on the delicate rocking chair woven from bitter bamboo and green vines. Her slender fingers tapped an unknown rhythm on the armrest. After giving Sun Fei one initial glance, she seemed entirely absorbed in a distant, tranquil atmosphere, out of place with her surroundings. She was like a landscape painting, with her eyes slightly closed and her red lips pressed tightly together, not saying a word.

After leading Sun Fei inside, the female warrior Susan did not speak either. She simply turned and left.

Now, only Sun Fei and the Crown Princess remained in the courtyard.

The atmosphere was very quiet.

But Sun Fei did not feel awkward at all. He swaggered over and sat down on a stone chair not far from Princess Tanasha. He looked around at the massive Incense Tree, which seemed so large that it would take at least three people to encircle its trunk. His face showed a dreamy expression, with no trace of unease at sitting beside such a high-ranking princess of the empire.

However, deep down, Sun Fei was secretly shocked.

Because, in his Barbarian Mode, his expert combat senses told him that in this seemingly peaceful courtyard, at least twenty sharp, hidden presences lurked in the shadows. Combined with the strict checkpoints he had passed earlier, Sun Fei had a strange feeling—it seemed this mysterious princess was guarding against some kind of danger. She had built an invisible steel wall around herself. Under such tight protection, not even a fly could approach this frail princess without permission.

Sun Fei also had another feeling—the entire Zenit Empire’s envoy delegation was in a state of extreme vigilance, just like this pale, thin princess.

Were they anxiously preparing for some imminent danger?

But… how could that be?

The envoy delegation was here in Shampoo City, a tiny, sixth-rank vassal state, to crown a young, newly mature king. It was more like a sightseeing trip than an adventure. The noblemen from the Zenit capital could enjoy a relaxing tour before concluding this so-called coronation… Yet, what Sun Fei saw clearly contradicted that. The heavy security made this king suspect that perhaps very soon, Shampoo City would face a brutal war.

This puzzled Sun Fei.

What exactly… had happened, or was about to happen?

Time continued to pass quietly.

The princess still lay in the bamboo chair, rocking slowly back and forth. She did not open her sapphire-like eyes, nor did she speak. She kept tapping out her rhythm on the armrest, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, as if Sun Fei sitting beside her were merely a wisp of air or an illusion, not a real presence.

Sun Fei did not want to speak either.

It was as if they were playing a child’s game of “the first one to speak loses.”

After another ten minutes or so, Sun Fei got bored and simply closed his eyes to feign sleep. Who would have thought that after a while, a soft snoring sound started to drift through the tranquil courtyard. That snoring was like a stick stirring up trouble, brutally shattering the picturesque serenity of the small courtyard.

The princess who had been pretending to sleep in the bamboo chair finally opened her eyes.

She glanced at Sun Fei, who was sprawled awkwardly on the stone chair. A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, and her slender fingers, which had been lightly tapping the armrest, finally stilled. She straightened up, observed him carefully for a moment, and after confirming that the young king had truly fallen asleep, a wry, almost amused smile touched her lips.

After a moment’s hesitation, she ignored Sun Fei, whose snoring was growing louder, as if she were used to it.

She leaned back into the bamboo chair once more.

This time, however, she did not close her eyes. Her beautiful, sky-blue eyes, like sapphires, stared fixedly and coldly at the blue sky, lost in thought. Creamy-yellow petals from the Incense Tree drifted slowly down from the towering branches above, scattering a carpet of fragrant blossoms.

The harsh snoring grated in her ears, yet somehow it felt harmonious.

The guards hidden in the shadows watched this scene and quietly clicked their tongues in amazement.

“This Little King truly knows no fear… to act so disrespectfully in front of the Crown Princess… Even Emperor Yassin in the Imperial Capital Saint Petersburg probably wouldn’t dare do this, would he?”

But none of them knew that, at this moment, Sun Fei had already entered another world.

…

[Rogue Encampment].

Scorching crimson flames surged and boiled within the forge, sparks flying in all directions.

The big-breasted blacksmith Charsi swung her Magic Hammer, leaving graceful afterimages in the air. With a peculiar rhythm, she struck the blade of a two-handed broadsword clamped on the anvil, now glowing red-hot. Strings of sweat dripped onto the blade, sizzling softly and turning into wisps of steam.

At the other end of the forge, the Barbarian Sun Fei steadily worked the bellows, pulling the lever in and out, maintaining a rhythm so that devil-tongue-like flames licked the sword blank once every moment.

Ding—!

When Charsi landed her final hammer blow on the sword blank, it was like the closing note of a stormy symphony. In the next instant, a faint magical aura emanated from the blank. Then, a faint blue flame began to flicker, and the blade emitted a series of light hums, vibrating on its own.

“Praise the gods, it’s finally done!”

The big-breasted blacksmith Charsi was overjoyed. Without even wiping the streams of sweat from her brow, she grabbed the still-scorching hilt. With a casual swing, a blue flash burst forth, and the resulting energy slash tore a huge gap in the wooden shed of the forge.

“Did it really work?”

Sun Fei was also thrilled at the sight. He took the glowing blue two-handed broadsword from Charsi. Feeling the warmth from the hilt, he fixed his gaze on it and saw its attributes appear before his eyes—One-Handed Damage: 4-9, Two-Handed Damage: 8-14, Additional 3 points of Frost Damage, Durability: 16/16, No Level Requirement, No Might Requirement.

“Although the damage numbers aren’t as high as the Purple and Green Twin Swords, the quality is definitely not low. Plus, it has no level or Might restrictions. For some low-level characters, this is definitely a great weapon!”

Sun Fei was ecstatic inside.

Half an hour earlier, unable to bear the boredom while sitting beside the Crown Princess, he had seized the chance to enter the Diablo World through a dream. In the [Rogue Encampment], using his [Barbarian Mode], he found the blacksmith Charsi to ask about her progress in forging magic weapons using gems. He happened to arrive just as she was conducting her final experiment. Lending a hand, he witnessed the entire process of Charsi successfully using [Chipped Gems] to create the first magic sword.

Even though this blue magic sword was of no use to Sun Fei himself, its significance was extraordinary.

First, the birth of this ice magic sword meant that the female blacksmith Charsi’s forging skills had finally advanced. She could now use gems to craft higher-level magic weapons. As long as she continued to practice diligently, she would surely be able to forge even more powerful magic weapons in the future. With Sun Fei’s nearly endless supply of gems, perhaps one day Charsi could create super weapons surpassing even rare golden equipment or unique dark gold gear. That way, Sun Fei wouldn’t have to painstakingly farm bosses over and over again to collect equipment.

Second, for Sun Fei, previously all weapons and equipment were either dropped by monsters or bought from NPCs. They were finished products—Sun Fei only had the choice to pick them. But now it was different. He could directly ask Charsi to craft weapons of any style or with specific magical attributes, offering more choices and better targeting. He could even design new weapons himself.

“Haha, fantastic! I swear, I’m witnessing the rise of a new grandmaster blacksmith on the Rogue Continent…” Sun Fei laid on the flattery, then took out over twenty various gems and more than a dozen prepared parchment scrolls with designs and handed them to the female blacksmith. Smiling, he added, “This time, I’d like you to help me craft some armor. Just follow the designs on these scrolls…”

“These are… armor blueprints?”

Charsi unrolled the parchment scrolls and examined them carefully. Frowning, she said, “Beautiful armor designs… but crafting armor is much harder than weapons. Lord Sun Fei, with my current forging skills, I’m afraid I can’t guarantee a hundred percent success rate. Completing these armor pieces might waste quite a few of your elemental gems.”

“No problem, I have as many as you need.” Sun Fei said this with absolute confidence.

With the [Horadric Cube], he could combine 3 [Chipped Gems] into one [Flawed Gem], and in the real world, one [Flawed Gem] could be exchanged for 100 [Chipped Gems]. This kind of “trade gap” meant Sun Fei was practically sitting on a gold mine. From now on, he wouldn’t have to worry about wealth.

“Oh, and Charsi, actually, you could try forging these weapons in the real world. There are several skilled blacksmiths in Shampoo City—they might be able to help you.” Sun Fei suggested further.

Charsi wiped the sweat from her forehead, brushed back her damp, fiery-red hair, and remembered the people like [The Rock] Samuel she had seen in the [Underground Grotto Labyrinth] beneath the Back Mountain of Shampoo City, along with those tall, perfectly shaped forge facilities. Her eyes lit up, and she replied excitedly, “You’re absolutely right! Why didn’t I think of that? Lord Sun Fei, I’ll go find them right away…”

This female blacksmith was quite impatient.

After seeing off the big-breasted blacksmith Charsi, Sun Fei stored the newly forged Frost Sword in his backpack. Then he went to find Nun Acarra to start learning from her about identifying herbs, mixing potions, and making magic scrolls.

Of course, at first, he only studied the very basics.

Sun Fei had originally been quite impatient with these subjects. He was only learning them because the crafty Aunt Acarra had forced him to sign an [Apprentice Contract]. But as he gradually delved deeper, he was surprised to find himself becoming interested in this knowledge. Yet his memory was still as unreliable as in his previous life—he often mixed things up…

His time studying under Acarra was short—only half an hour. After that, Sun Fei exited Barbarian Mode and appeared before the 3D holographic projection screen. He selected Druid Mode and entered another parallel dimension of the Diablo World, starting his push to clear the first small map.

In this dimension, the mercenary Sun Fei obtained was a female fire archer named Kael.

But compared to his Barbarian Mode, there was a clear difference. This mercenary was nowhere near as lively as Ileena. She seemed a bit dull, without her own intelligence, and their coordination felt somewhat clumsy. In fact, apart from the fire archer Kael, even the other NPCs in the [Rogue Encampment] under Druid Mode appeared more like computer programs, far from the flesh-and-blood, emotional beings in the Barbarian Mode dimension.

This situation seemed very similar to what Sun Fei had experienced in the second map, [Lut Gholein]. He found it baffling—he couldn’t understand why such a strange phenomenon occurred.

Among all the modes, only the NPCs in the [Rogue Encampment] under Barbarian Mode were real, living people with emotions.

Puzzled, Sun Fei spent the next three hours actually pushing through the final stages of [Druid Mode], defeating the Rogue Continent’s main boss, Andariel, in the monastery basement. He acquired several good pieces of rare golden equipment.

His Druid Mode had now reached Level 16.

After equipping all the gear, his real-world combat strength was roughly at the mid-level of a Three-Star Warrior. Of course, when combined with the Druid character’s array of miraculous summoning and transformation skills, he could probably hold his own even against an early-stage four-star expert.