Chapter 158 - New Quest
A set of three riders were seen galloping through the Evergreen Forest heading east. Dust and dirt flew and scattered around as the trio sped across the terrain.
After an entire day worth of travelling, the three eventually ran across a small river. As the sun slowly drowned on the horizon and the sky gradually covered in dark veil, they decided to stop there to take a rest and feed their rides.
A beautiful, golden-haired elf climbed down from a white, ferocious-looking tiger. She softly stroked the latter's head with love and said, "Mina, go and find some food."
As soon as she said those words, the white tiger instantly disappeared as it dashed into the woods, searching for prey.
She faintly smiled at the sight of her beloved companion when an annoying voice suddenly heard from beside her.
"That is very convenient, indeed." Coupled with a sigh, the annoying voice added. "I wish my horse could do that."
The beautiful girl ignored the source of the voice as she stared at the other man. A man with short messy black hair and yellowish skin.
"You don't see many Asian in Arcadian, don't you?" the source of the annoying voice, Tristan, spoke once again as he noticed the girl's interest in the man.
"Asian?" A word filled with confusion came out from the girl's mouth before she shook her head as a confirmation.
Tristan placed his gaze onto the man who oddly had tinted eyes and asked, "So, what do we call you?"
The man was silent, his eyes were moving around as he tried to assess the situation. Moments later, he answered the question. I am Sandi.. Sandi Chieng."
As if he already expected it, Tristan nodded his head. "Alright. I'm gonna call you Chieng, then."
"Yes. Thank you for releasing me.. Master."
"Master?!" A little taken back by the man's address of him, Tristan blinked his eyes for a second before nodding his head again. "Good. You're right. You can call me Master from now on."
Immediately after, Tristan used his scanner to check Chieng's stats.
[Human]
[Battle power 87]
[Spirit force 62]
The man had an above average battle power, stronger than most humans that he knew - with the exception of the Kingsblade. They were a different entity altogether, after all.
However, there was something odd with the man. He said he was unable to cast any magic, but Tristan could see he had above average spirit force.
"What weapons do you use and what skills do you have?"
Tristan asked this question because he had to know the advantages and shortcomings Chieng had in order to utilize him better. After all, a fine weapon would be trash if used incorrectly.
"My specialty is unarmed, and I was trained in 30 different weapons."
"Unarmed, like kung fu?"
Such an Asian stereotype he thought
"I have no knowledge about kung fu. But I excel in the art of fist"
Tristan actually thought that unarmed has no place in war. But he did say he knew 30 other weapons so it couldn't be that bad.
Not long after, the white tiger returned to the trio bringing a wild game on his mouth. Its tail wagged around as it dropped the prey on the ground in front of Serene. Afterward, it once again dashed into the woods, looking for one for itself.
Seeing the spectacle, Tristan couldn't help but say, "Definitely a much more useful pet compared to my red stallion."
He didn't realize that he had silently rubbed his chin in contemplation, while the way he stared at the tiger gave away his intention. Coupled with the words he just said, those actions earned Tristan another glare from his wife.
"Don't you dare to think about it!"
Tristan let out his trademark smile under Serene's glare. "No, of course not. I already have a better one"
Tristan smiled wickedly and said "If yours can find food for us, mine can cooks them"
With a simple order from Tristan, Chieng quickly started to clean up the game, bisecting and separating its body into several parts. He then prepared the fire to cook it. Looking at the nimble movement the man showed, Tristan sent Serene another wicked smile.
Tristan of course didn't choose this particular space knight to just be his helper. He actually put a great deal of hope into him. All for a plan to enact revenge to that bastard king.
He was actually glad the king didn't send any of his puppets for him. After all, he didn't know if those people really came to help him or keep watch of him. Or worse, sabotaging him throughout the three months.
This blood sealed space knight that he took from the Vanyar dungeon, definitely much better than those self-righteous kingsblade.
The painful part was, this space knight cost him much higher than a normal human with the same stats. It cost 1300 Blood Essence to cast [Blood Seal] on him.
Moreover, it had a 20% success chance, which extremely annoyed him as it made him have to accept a 10% loss every time he failed. In the end, it cost Tristan a whooping 1820 Blood Essence in order to finally take control of him.
Seeing the amount of Blood Essence he had, Tristan was in pain.
[6880 blood essence]
'This guy really better be worth the amount I spend on him,' Tristan silently thought in his mind.
The stats might not be impressive for the amount of blood essence spent but his main reason to choose this space knight was because of the information and knowledge in his brain.
Tristan believed this space knight had the unique information that can be leverage to pioneer his success in this world. Especially with the fact that this particular space knight was said to be the 'mechanic' among them.
Tristan can only hope this 'mechanic' title would really do wonders with what he plans to do next.
"Are you sure we are going the right way, wife?" asked Tristan as he munched on the roasted leg in his hand.
"Yes. We are going the right way."
The quest given by King Callan took place in a border town called Carleon. It was located south of the Erantell, still situated in the area close to the Chaotic Plains.
From Vanyar to Erantell, Tristan decided to make a little detour. He hoped that with the help of his newfound Asian mechanic, he would find something useful there.
A few hours later, the sun slowly rose on the far horizon signaling the arrival of dawn. Tristan and the others were prepared as they once again galloped through the Evernight Woods.