Draco had spent a herculean amount of effort to extricate himself from the clutches of the enthusiastic Green Orcs. He felt more drained than he would be working out for a few hours.
With a sigh, he blinked towards the savannah, which was located at the top left of the Four Point Valley. They were direct bordermates to the Green Orcs, and has suffered many incursions from them.
Draco had learned from the Green Orcs that most of their incursions were met with a bad end, though the most recent one was successful as hell. Seeing as Draco had chosen to visit the Orcs first, it might cause some difficulty in subduing the elves.
Also, since Dorian Purple was a backer of the Green Orcs, being his representative was already a mood killer. Of course, they'd dare not disrespect Draco, but to abide by his word with absolute loyalty? Draco must be dreaming.
Draco looked around him, taking in the layout of the savannah area. Unlike typical grassland or woodland areas, most of the grass here was sparse and brownish instead of a healthy green. There were many bushes spread around and patches of tall grass as well.
There was the occasional tree here and there, with a noticeably small amount of leaves, rendering it hard to mask anything that hide in its branches. Draco saw a good amount of prey animals as well as predators around him within his range of sight.
It was like being transported into a National Geographic Channel wildlife doc.u.mentary. A strange feeling welled up in Draco, a primal urge to display dominance to all the predator and prey around him. Draco had definitely been in such areas during his past life, but he never had this level of… peacefulness all the time.
Naturally, past him didn't have a clear enough mind to enjoy pretty much anything. Now, he could.
Draco smiled and took out one of the bows he got. It was a Rare bow that was named Pinaka and its design was excellent. The upper and lower limbs were made of Celestial Bronze, which was a magical metal that was used in the creation of Epic items. The bowstring was a tensile web from the spinner of a Demonic Arachnid, which was born at Rank 3 and reached Rank 4 at a.d.u.l.thood. The rise of the bow was pure Dark Ebony, whichwas a blackish wood with an extremely smooth texture.
｢Pinaka – Bow
Rank: Rare
Atk spd: 7
Dmg: 70-80
Effect: Accuracy +10%, Bow mastery skill +5｣
For a Rare item, it was definitely better than most. Why, its stats were even better than those of Excalibur and Durandal, which were also Rare tier items. Draco took out his arrows that he had acquired en masse.
｢Piercing Arrow – Arrow
Rank: Rare
Dmg: 10-25
Effect: Piercing effect +10%｣
｢Flame Arrow – Arrow
Rank: Rare
Dmg: 10-25
Effect: Burn effect +10%｣
｢Ice Arrow – Arrow
Rank: Rare
Dmg: 10-25
Effect: Freezing effect +10%｣
｢Poison Arrow – Arrow
Rank: Rare
Dmg: 10-25
Effect: Toxic effect +10%｣
｢Magic Arrow – Arrow
Rank: Rare
Dmg: 10-25
Effect: Anti-Mana effect +10%｣
｢Explosive Arrow – Arrow
Rank: Rare
Dmg: 10-25
Effect: Bomb effect +10%｣
He had taken a wide range of arrows for a wide range of purposes. He had few thousand of them in his maximally expanded inventory, filling it up nicely. It was more than enough for him to play with in this Unique Quest.
For that matter…
Draco drew the bow and placed a piercing arrow in the nocking point, aiming at a distant target. It was a level 15 Savannah Lion which was lazing about in its territory.
｢Name: Savannah Lion – Private Rank monster
Level: 15
HP: 300/300｣
Draco first shot without using any technique or skill, firing the arrow at the head of the Savannah Lion after angling his shot as best as he could.
The result was…
A total miss!
Well, what the hell did you expect?! A lucky headshot?
This fellow was shooting at a target that was more than 300 meters away from him. Not to mention he never ever practiced archery.
Of course, he had seen and fought a few archers, so he was somewhat knowledgeable on how to hold a bow and shoot somewhat competently.
But a feat like this wasn't something one could just magick into essence.
The Savannah Lion just looked at the passing arrow with disdain. It turned to Draco and gazed at him with a mocking look. Since it was bored, it decided to play with this retarded human a bit.
The Savannah Lion just flopped onto its side and displayed its belly, rubbing it just like a satisfied person would.
Draco frowned at the monster and nocked another piercing arrow into the bow. This time, he activated his Control and enveloped the area within 1 kilometer in his Void of Perfection. Everything within that range became clear to him, as if he were looking at it through a magnifying glass.
This time, he didn't use his eyes but relied on his Void of Perfection to see. He fired the arrow according to his sensory reception from the Void of Perfection. The arrow blasted out menacingly, whizzing through the air right in the direction of the Lion's left eye.
The Large Cat noticed the arrow coming and panicked. It yowled and rolled to the side, barely avoiding having its eye pierced through. Instead, one of its ears was ripped off, leaving it crying out in pain.
When it got to its feet, its heart was pumping at abhorrent speeds.
'Aiyah, this handsome Cat Daddy almost lost his life there… whew.'
Draco was baffled when he saw the Lion spawn a handkerchief from somewhere and wipe the sweat from its forehead. What the f.u.c.k was this? Wasn't this taking the comic relief a bit too far?
The Savannah Lion turned to gaze at Draco with dissatisfaction. It sat on its hind legs and raised its body up into a human like sitting position. Then it crossed its front legs and harrumphed unhappily.
"This fellow here, why must you be in a rush to attack people. Have you not heard of gentle foreplay?!"
The Lion's voice was gruff and very masculine, giving Draco an extremely bizarre feeling. This fellow had experienced all kinds of things during 15 years of Boundless, but this was absolutely new to him.
Oh, Monsters could talk, but only if they were of a certain status or Rank. For example, the Bone Golems in the Nightingale's Cry dungeon were Sergeant Rank, but were unable to speak. Even Boneshaker, a named boss couldn't speak.
However, the Ursa in the Ursa's Cave who had his Rod of Power neutralized was able to speak easily. It was because the Ursa was firstly a Captain Rank monster, which was usually a dungeon or field boss monster. Secondly, the Ursa race had a higher State of Being than common Undead monsters.
A Private Rank Savannah Lion shouldn't be able to do any of this.
Draco frowned deeply before nocking a different arrow, a magic one this time. He activated his Void of Perfection again and even added his Body of Godliness' optimal force allocation to his draw.
His senses and his muscles became perfectly aligned, allowing him to fire out a projectile that tore through the sound barrier. The Lion saw this shot coming and was so spooked that it screamed out.
"F.U.C.K-MEOW!"
His suppressed cat instincts escaped as he meowed with fear, lowering his head to the ground so fast he blasted a hole into the earth, looking like an ostrich. The arrow tore past his head, making the Lion feel the rent air passing over its back.
Its heart was thumping even faster. How did this human go from mediocre to Huoyi level in just three shots??
Wait, could it be…
The legendary 'Rebirth of the Archer God: Achieving Perfection in Three Shots'!?
Nah, impossible. There must be some other reason. The Lion pondered this while its head was still buried under the earth. Naturally, it soon noticed that air was… surprisingly sparse underground.
Panicking, it pulled its head out after struggling for a bit, taking a deep breath of air and coughing like it was about to die. The Lion made a cross over its chest, thanking the Gods for giving it a second chance at life.
Draco just watched all this with no amus.e.m.e.nt on his face. Instead, he became more and more serious. It wasn't showing on his face, but his heart began to pound slowly. He realized this this unique quest wouldn't be as simple as he had thought before.
The Lion looked at Draco with grievance and chagrin.
"You… why are you like this?! Is that how you greet everyone you see? Let me tell you, not everyone is as kind and understanding as I am!!"
Draco ignored its words and activated the True Sight ability, using it to identify the Lion in front of him.
｢Name: Qiong Qi – General Rank monster
Level: 325
HP: 150,000,000,000/150,000,000,000｣
Draco's breathing stilled.
A World Boss tier monster… was in a unique quest that had such a simple mission… why?
There was no way it came here from outside, because Unique Quests were sequestered from the outside world. Even Mephisto and Richmond could only wait outside for Draco to come out patiently, much less Qiong Qi.
It meant that this World Boss tier monster had been spawned as part of the Quest. Why, Draco didn't know. Was it here to assist him or to hinder him? Don't look at the monster's playfulness and think it was friendly. It could easily have killed Draco to non-existence, so playing with him like this wasn't conclusive.
Draco realized that he needed to ascertain its motives before moving on with this quest, otherwise he'd just abandon it.
There was no way for him to fight this monster and win without Omega. No amount of bullshit pulled from his ass, hidden trump cards and magical second winds would save him.
If Qiong Qi wanted Draco dead, Draco would die. Simple as that.
"This fellow here, why so silent? Are you feeling guilty? Regret? If so, please give me some fish or milk and I shall call you brother for life!"
It seemed that Qiong Qi was unaware of Draco's realization, so it was still playing with him. Draco decided to cut the crap and discern what the hell was going on.
"What are you doing here, Qiong Qi?" Draco asked with a straight face, although his heart was pumping.
The Lion looked startled that Draco knew its identity already, but it didn't become colder or show any maliciousness. Then again, it didn't show any friendliness either.
"This fellow here, why so serious? No female likes a fellow who can't play around, you know?"
Qiong Qi picked its nose with a bored expression on its face, as if Draco were the most dull person in the world. Draco showed no reaction outwardly, but his inner expression lightened somewhat.
Qiong Qi's first response made it clear that it was neither an ally nor enemy… yet. How well Draco spoke would decide which side it would stand on. With that in mind, Draco displayed his true personality to the world for the second time in this timeline.
"Haha, Brother Qiong, what are you saying? I was just testing my archery and my aim was so bad it happened to skim beside you. Besides, I would definitely love to hear you speak! Brother Qiong's voice is like the singing of the heavenly angels."
Draco walked up to Qiong Qi and patted it on the back, like an old friend meeting his lifelong buddy after a long while.
For that matter, Qiong Qi was so startled that it froze with its mouth drooping. This fellow… this fellow…
THIS FELLOW IS TOO SHAMELESS!!
What the f.u.c.k? How could you spew such garbage and think I'd swallow it? F.u.c.k, did you rate this Cat Daddy's IQ as below 0??
Still though, his words were pleasant to hear. I should make him praise me more. Let me bully him a bit and see if I could get that shameless mouth working.
Thinking that, Qiong Qi harrumphed and looked away with a sulking face.
"You are just saying that to make me feel better. I'm sure you say such sweet words to every Lion you see."
Draco's face became appalled and he shook his head rapidly, as if terrified by the very idea.
"Brother Qiong, how can you say such mean things? I have been cursed by the Gods to never lie, only speak the truth! Let me prove it to you!"
Draco began to rub its coat and then its mane, a look of marvel on his face as he did.
"Just look at this lovely texture for your coat. If I were a lioness, I would trade in all my cubs to lick your coat just once before I die."
"Just look at this silky mane. How majestic and heroic you must look as the wind billows it behind you, giving you the ability to turn every female on within a million kilometers."
Qiong Qi began laughing foolishly at that. Even though it knew that Draco was sweet talking it, by gosh were his words so lovely. It felt like a beautiful lioness was licking his ears out gently, purring with pleasure as she did.
Still, once someone had a taste of the good stuff, they would always want more. Qiong Qi realized that he was hooked onto compliments, so he tried to milk a few more out of Draco.
Qiong Qi rubbed the back of his head and displayed a bashful expression.
"Eeyah, it can't be true. There's no way I can be that great…"
Draco was also surprised by the depth of shamelessness this Lion could display. Truly, birds of a feather flock together! Draco harrumphed and folded his arms, looking hurt and betrayed.
"Brother Qiong, why do you doubt me so? Why would I lie or embellish your handsomeness? Do I even need to do that? It is quite frankly, impossible to exaggerate perfection, so all I say is true!"
Qiong Qi patted Draco on the shoulder with a gentle expression.
"Brother Draco, no need to be vexed, I should have never doubted you. Why don't you share with your brother your purpose in the Four Point Valley?"
Here it comes… Draco's heart began to tremble as he chose his words carefully.
"Brother Qiong, to be honest, I am here to investigate some strange occurrences that have been going on in this valley. My damned Boss sent me here to do his grunt work, but the pay is good and my wife and kids at home need to be fed, haha."
Draco lied so straightforwardly that Qiong Qi didn't even doubt him for a second. Surely, no one who could speak such lovely words would be evil?
"Oh you mean the birth of the ultimate lifeform? I was also here to observe that and see what I could gain from it."
Draco became puzzled. Birth of the ultimate lifeform? What did that have to do with feral animals and parasites?
In fact, the presence of such occurrences were more likely to be caused by the aura and presence of Qiong Qi himself…
"What is that?" Draco asked, hoping for a lead into the quest.
Qiong Qi waved his paws nonchalantly, as if the matter wasn't worth talking about.
"Nothing big, just a show we'll get to watch later on. Where are you going right now?"
Draco was bewildered inwardly by Qiong Qi's interest in his actions. It didn't seem like he was suspicious of Draco or even wanted to hinder him. It seemed more like… more like this World Boss was bored as hell and wanted to tag along for fun.
"I'm on my way to the elven occupied areas in the savannah. I need to rein them into my cause for my investigation to be fruitful." Draco explained with a relaxed smile.
"Hm… those knife eared fellows are headstrong though. But they are also fun to play with. Surely Brother Draco wouldn't be averse to my accompaniment?"
Draco new he was trapped so he accepted Qiong Qi's presence.
A World Boss… no amount of his arrogance or badassery could give him the balls to fight back. He had thrown away his face and bent over, metaphorically. The worst part is that he didn't feel any discomfort or regret from doing so.
If Riveting Night could see this, she would hide her face and run away. This was the personality of the Old Draco before the event, the one she had fallen in love with first. Funny, shameless and handsome!
However, after all the teachings and wise words she had dropped onto the Five Generals, Draco's current behavior was like a slap to her face.
Though, as a woman who was obsessed with him, a slap from Draco felt a little too good…
"No problem, Brother Qiong. I would be pleased to have you escort me to my destination and beyond. The Gods know that walking around all alone without a handsome brother by one's side is boring as hell."
Qiong Qi looked touched by Draco's words.
"Brother Draco…"
Draco had to admit, he was touched by the brotherly love emitting from Qiong Qi. He hadn't felt this feeling in ages, and it warmed his frigid heart.
"Brother Qiong…"
"Brother Draco…"
"Brother Qiong…"
"Brother Draco…"
"Brother Qiong…"
The two shared a hug and walked hand in paw, humming happy tunes as they went.
The world of Boundless would regret this day for centuries to come. Historians would mark it as the day a calamity began to brew, which only exploded years later.
It was 9:00pm 26/03/2065 in real world time. In a secluded valley during an entry level unique quest, a menace was born.
It was the birth… of the Ultimate Shameless Duo!