Chapter 15 - Protagonist: Do not leave my line of sight.

Chapter 15.1 – Protagonist: Do not leave my line of sight.

The Minotaur sneezed. Guarding the gate was very boring. He began to idly daydream about the Succubus last night – not only did that little demon want to drain his essence, she also wanted to empty his wallet. His companion today was sleepy and grumpy, complaining, “Bah, this is bad luck. I have to be on guard duty today right after the elemental storm. There’s no way to get extra income here.”

Everyone who enters the city must pay a fee. Of course, the guards on duty often manage to raise the price whenever a suspicious person appears. However, during the elemental storm, except for really powerful people, no one would stay out in the open. Most people will stay inside one of the 72 cities to wait for the storm to pass.

The Minotaur was just about to nod his head to agree with his companion when he saw a person approaching. That person’s appearance was very strange … A traveler? He had a book in his hand. Covered with a tattered black cloak, the only thing that could be seen of that person was some black air peeking out from under an equally tattered black hood. When he came closer the Minotaur could smell the blood on the black robe, which was woven from the dark elements. Everywhere around him was the dark element and the faint aura of death.

With his swordsman’s strength, the Minotaur could sense that the person in front of him was so weak that he would collapse if the Minotaur hit him even once. But his instincts told him this person was not that simple. Seeing that the unusual traveller was walking past them to enter Halphas City, his companion said: “Halt!”

The man paused and leaned sideways. The Minotaur could not see him clearly. Beneath the hood, the man looked out from a mass of black hair. His cold eyes nailed the guard in place. The Minotaur’s brain seemed to freeze. Stopping his companion who was ready to assume an awe-inspiring pose, he said, respectfully: “Sir, to enter the city you must pay 10 silver coins.”

The man paused, then took out 10 silver coins from his pocket which he handed over. The Minotaur accepted it and said, voice deferential: “I hope that the gentleman will have a pleasant stay in Halphas City.”

When the man left, his companion looked at the 10 coins in shock: “Old Ox, the city entrance fee is 15 pieces of silver! Are you crazy?!”

The Minotaur looked at his companion as though he was an idiot: “Do you know what I just said?”

His companion shook his head. In the previous conversation, the Minotaur used a language he had never heard.

“That was the Ancient Magic language. Only the high demon clan use that language. I only know about two sentences of it. Did you see his black hair?” he said. “I didn’t see his eyes but he must have the deep purple eyes of a high-level demon!”

The angel race’s strength can be quantified based on the number of wings they had. As for the demon race, their power is concentrated in their eyes. All of the high-level demons have black hair and purple or black eyes. The darker the eye color, the more powerful they were.

The Minotaur’s companion finally understood. He felt frightened but luckily he was stopped by the Old Ox and did not offend the powerful demon.

Right at that moment the “powerful demon” was also frightened. Fortunately, that “medicine delivery service” brother had enough coins on his corpse to allow Du Ze to enter the city.

In “Mixed Blood,” the protagonist entered the city without having to pay … Well, at that time the cruel protagonist had seized the city by force, therefore there was no one who dared to ask him to pay the entrance fee.

Reading this sort of thing in a novel gave one the feeling of “how cool it is!” but the current developments made Du Ze sorrowful. The protagonist, because of his grave injury, had not regained consciousness. There was no food or medicine and his condition was getting worse. Du Ze is very worried but, fortunately, he found a city close to their hiding place.

With great difficulty, Du Ze waited for the elemental storm to subside. One could say that he put on the robes or covered his body with rags – there was no difference between the two. Looking at his appearance, the black robe was full of holes and Du Ze was greatly dismayed since his “dew point” (nipple) was exposed. Therefore he took back the sweater vest that he had put on Xiu so as to cover himself decently when he left. However, he had not counted on having to pay an entrance fee.

With just a few copper coins in his hand, Du Ze strolled around the street and discovered that his money was enough to buy clothes, or three day’s worth of food, or one bottle of medicine.

Searching for a way to earn money, ah! _(；3」∠)_

Truly, this is a case of “the hero was stumped by the lack of money.” His belly empty, Du Ze wanted to cry but there weren’t enough tears.

In the world of “Mixed Blood” strength can be divided into two types – one’s own strength and the strength of one’s equipment. As long as a person has excellent equipment, even an apprentice can kill a master. So people in this world are passionate about high quality equipment. The halflings who specialize in crafting equipment are especially popular. The weapons that they forge are in hot demand. Of course, the halfling’s techniques are those that were passed down by their ancestors, the gnomes. Many crafting techniques have been lost since the gnomes and their mechanical civilization mysteriously disappeared. If the high quality equipment that the gnomes made were to appear again, it would cause a bloodbath … haha.

Therefore, in the novel, whenever the protagonist needs money, all he had to do was to change into the gnome form. Then he would make some equipment and the defective products that he created would be sold, alarming the entire continent. Many nobles and powers fought each other for those inferior products while the protagonist kept the best ones for his women and army, who were armed to the teeth with top quality equipment.

That’s how it should be for the protagonist with the golden finger. Right now though, the one who possesses the golden finger is critically injured. He awakened his gnome form but there are no materials that he can use to show off his crafting ability and make money.

Now Du Ze has to choose between food or clothes or medicine.

He continued to walk around. His social barrier ensured that he would not be able to bargain with the other person. Moreover, exposing his stupid, cute identity in any of the 72 demon cities would be a bad idea but it was especially true of the city of Halphas.

All of the cities are devoted to the worship of a demon god. The object of veneration of Halphas is, naturally, Halphas, the 38th demon. This demon is called the “Dead and Shattered Earl” with red-blood eyes and had the form of a dove. The lazy author simply took the name and form from “Solomon’s 72 Demons,” copied directly from Baidu, no need to worry about it anymore!

Du Ze now understood how Ye Zhi Qiu’s lazy behavior was extremely dangerous. Since he copied it from the legend of Solomon’s 72 demons, Halphas has the following attribute: he likes to eat human flesh. In “Mixed Blood” the city of Halphas was particularly unfriendly towards human. The City Lord’s staple food was human flesh, and he was not very friendly to humans.

This young man also wants to make the author his staple food, and he is not feeling very friendly towards the author.

A group of demons were in front of a bulletin board, whispering to each other. Du Ze hesitated then carefully walked up to the group. He was afraid to get too close to them and could only eavesdrop from the outskirts of the gathering.

“Gee, this reward posted by the Lord is really generous.”

“1, 2, 3 … 5 zeros, one hundred thousand gold coins! It’s a lot of money!”

“Wake up, it’s not for you. Can you hand over a weapon that satisfies the City Lord?”

Du Ze was shocked. 100,000 gold coins is equivalent to 100 million yuan (15 million USD) on Earth. The Halphas City Lord is spending money like it’s going out of style. Du Ze had underestimated the lengths to which the powerful would go to pursue good equipment. But after the shock, Du Ze felt that this storyline appearing in front of him was like a naked, hot girl coming onto him and then, while he is ready to jump her, saying: Oops, sorry my aunt (monthly period) came early.

Du Ze ran away crying.

crying du ze

Du Ze running away crying at the lost opportunity of acquiring 100,000 gold coins (15 million USD)

Avoiding the crowd, Du Ze arrived at the city square which had a large black statue that represents Halphas. He stared as he saw a demon sitting beneath the statue. The demon was wearing green clothes and held a book in his right hand. The stall in front of him was full of boxes.

– No way, this NPC spawned here?

Chapter 15.2 – Protagonist: Do not leave my line of sight.

Du Ze knew this demon because in “Mixed Blood” he is a mysterious supporting character. The demon was a businessman that the protagonist had several transactions with. Both sides were satisfied each time. He was called … Dan?

The way that the protagonist met Dan was very much in keeping with classic dog blood (cliche) stories. Wandering the streets of the city, the protagonist saw a lot of seemingly humble objects that are in fact magical artifacts. Du Ze’s eyes were drawn to the stall’s many boxes. Dan’s stall always contains boxes. The trader doesn’t reveal what is inside. To find out what a box contains, a person has to buy it first. The protagonist’s moral character goes against heaven’s will therefore what he got when he opened a box was an artifact.

Mo Dao Fen Yu (Burning Desire Demonic Sword).

Regarding this artifact, there was a controversy about it among the readers and it was as big as the one surrounding the Meowstar. Its demonic flame-type attack was very harmful to angels, and the wounds it made were difficult to heal. But, as the name implies, it also amplified the user’s desires, eventually leading to the weapon’s wielder being controlled by the sword until he became a bloodthirsty madman. Although the protagonist was not controlled by the sword, he did become more brutal. When Ye Zhi Qiu explained how it worked, the readers had already become numb and accustomed to the author’s ways. Author, there was a healing presence beside the protagonist that you turned into a bad-luck charm … shi*, you turn everything to shi*!

Initially, he had cursed the author, too. But now that he saw Dan, Du Ze thought he could sexually harass that girl whose Aunt Flo had arrived. All he had to do was to take the demonic sword then sell it to the City Lord. Then they would have money and conquering the world would be a real possibility.

With the protagonist in my hand, I have the world.

Dan is a very strange businessman. He does not care about money, he only accepts things that interest him. Du Ze began to analyze what Dan could be interested in. Dan would probably be interested in items that have the self-restore function. Glasses, headphones, etc. cannot be sold, then the only thing left …

Du Ze looked at the doujinshi, a colleague he is loath to part with, then went back to the stalls. He bought half a day’s worth of food and water as well as a short coat. He found a remote place where he could change clothes, and then the cute little reader walked to the square with his sweater vest in hand.

I’m going to miss you, little punk.

Dan was sitting on a low chair, idly flipping through a book. A person cast a shadow over him, Dan looked up and saw a man in a tattered black robe.

The demon instantly put a professional smile on his face. “Does your excellency want to try your luck? Buy a box ~”

The black-robed person kept silent, his eyes looking over all of the boxes. Finally, he pointed to a small copper-colored box. Dan picked up the box and smiled at the black-robed person. “Does your excellency want this? You are a new customer, therefore I must warn you that this shop does not accept money -”

The black-robed person didn’t wait for Dan to finish. Handing over an unusual piece of clothing, he said: “I will trade this for it.”

Dan examined the clothes closely. Tactfully he said: “I don’t lack for clothes.”

“You cannot destroy it.”

“What?” Dan’s interest was piqued. He asked: “You don’t mind if I experiment with it?”

The black-robed person didn’t speak, which Dan took as tacit consent.

Dan let go of the strange-looking clothes. Before it hit the ground, it started to burn until it had turned into a handful of ashes. He stared at the ashes. He had not expected this to happen. When he was about to speak, he heard a raw and cold voice say: “When the moons are at their zenith, you will see it again.”

“You mean it will be restored? At midnight?”

The black robed moved as the person nodded.

Dan’s interest was greatly aroused but he was too cunning to let it show. Somewhat embarrassed he said: “It’s a long time until midnight. Of course, I don’t doubt you but we simply cannot prove the item’s effectiveness yet and I only run a small business …”

The black-robed person was silent but his very tranquility was ominous, making Dan feel as though he shouldn’t try to trick this person. He cough: “I will stay here until midnight. If it is as your excellency has said, I will offer you the item you want with both hands.”

The black-robed person still did not speak but Dan could see his hesitation. Dan is an experienced trader so he immediately suggested: “If your excellency trusts me, you can go to do other things, I will always be here. You can verify it with the people around here -”

“Tomorrow, outside the city.” Again the black-robed person interrupted Dan. “Bring the item.”

Then the black-robed person simply turned and walked away without another word. Dan stared at his back. What a strange customer! He stretched out a hand, an invisible force gathered up the dust on the ground, and then the dust fell gently into the hands of the demon in green.

Let him see a miracle.

Du Ze had not thought that he would obtain the “High-level Demon,” “Strange Customer,” and other achievements and titles in Halphas City. He hurried back since his headphones’ batteries were almost out of charge. As for the deal with Dan, according to “Mixed Blood,” although Dan is mysterious, he is quite reliable and helped the protagonist solve many problems.

When Du Ze was just about to return to the hiding place, he suddenly felt creepy, as though some unknown thing that he couldn’t escape was staring at him..

– This was the first time he saw the blood contract beast.

A human form made of blood-red runes was falling in front of him, weightless. Its featureless face was made of runes but Du Ze could feel that it was saying: I found you.

Du Ze’s eyes were confused, he didn’t see how it happened, but suddenly, the blood-red human form vanished and Xiu was standing not far away from him. Xiu’s face was white and he was staring at Du Ze.

“Where did you go …?”

Although the headphones let him down once again, Du Ze was still able to understand the general idea. Du Ze would not have thought that Xiu would look for him after he woke up, even using the blood contract to find him. Does this not mean that he finally has a place in the protagonist’s heart?

Because his headphones are not working, Du Ze can only wave his hands that were carrying the food, indicating that he just went to buy supplies.

Xiu seemed upset, froze, then asked “…?”

Du Ze guessed that Xiu was asking where the food came from but without the assistance of his hearing aid, he cannot open his mouth. He knows that he should explain himself because the gnome is sensitive and curious. To put it another way, gnomes are always suspicious. But Du Ze just can’t seem to open his mouth, his voice was stuck in his throat.

– Ah Ze,1 he is an idiot, always giggling and saying things that make other people laugh themselves to death.

While waiting for Du Ze’s explanation, Xiu found he could not stay on his feet. He had woken up, discovered that Du Ze was gone, and forced himself to get up and look for his possession.

… Intolerable.

The white shirt became red because Xiu’s wound was bleeding again. Du Ze was frightened, ran to the gnome, and held him, afraid that he would fall. When he grabbed Xiu, the gnome looked up at Du Ze, his amber eyes abnormally bright.

“Don’t! …”

Du Ze tried to listen but all he heard was the beginning – “Don’t.” The gnome’s appearance was too pitiful and his eyes were wet. He was like a sick child whining to an adult, wanting to be spoiled, so that sentence should be “Don’t leave me?”

OMG! Too adorable!

Therefore, some naturally cute man nodded firmly. Then, for fear that the other person did not see it clearly the first time, he nodded again.

Later on, the silly, cute reader will remember this time and want to beat his chest and stamp his feet. Xiu started to control his movements from this time, and it got out of hand. What kind of idiot actually saw the aggressive stance as spoiled, and added two meow points with his head?!

Du Ze, with his family’s “soft, cute” protagonist, went back to their hiding place.

When they had been gone a long time, the air shimmered and a figure appeared. Dan, patting his head with the book in his hand, looked in the direction where the two had left and smiled mysteriously.

“Oh, what did I see? A blood contract, a human, and … a gnome?”

contract beast

Image: The contract beast made of blood runes finds Du Ze.

******

******

1 crystal coin = 1000 gold coins

1 gold coins = 10 silver coins = 1000 copper coins (Yuan)

Warrior Ranks: Swordsman -> Grand Swordsman -> Sword Master -> Grand Sword Master -> Sword Saint -> War God (three grades per class)

Mage Ranks: Magic Apprentice → Magician → Magic Specialist → Master Magician → Mage God (each class is divided into three grades)

Human classes: Common people -> Warrior -> Squire -> Knight -> Baron -> Viscount -> Count -> Marquis -> Duke

Magic/combat level: level 1-9, forbidden curse/ forbidden technique

Spirit beast grade: 1-9, God Beast

– “Mixed Blood” collection

The author has something to say:

Protagonist: Do not leave my line of sight.

Reader: I … I just want to go to the toilet.

Author (outside three squat2 toilets): How long do I have to wait?3