Warlock of War: My Ares System

"Why are you telling me all of this?" I asked since it was suspicious she informed me of so much great knowledge when she could barely even trust me. "Even with the contract, this seems like too much knowledge,"

"This is surface-level knowledge that everybody on your daily street knows… now, tell me, when you came into the capital, was it humid and warm or dry and cold?"

"Ah, I see where you're going… It was very much humid and warm, meaning it's in this section of the map," I muttered, pointing to the very edge of the map where the Quincy of Sand ruled over. "We should probably start there first,"

"Hmm… not 'we,' but my servants will. You have a much better and, let's say… more taxing job since I do need you to acquire some political power. You're a young talent that most would like to take in and teach… but that's not enough. You must squirm your way to the top, and no better way to do that than killing a Quincy yourself."

Her smile was like an icy hand gripping my spine, causing goosebumps to erupt from every inch of my skin.

"How strong in relative to my power would a Quincy be?"

"I'd say it's probably double your stats, and don't get me started about their skills… although, you're close to evolving, aren't you?"

This vampire…

"*sigh* Yeah, but these materials are things I have never heard of before…." I muttered, staring at the list, which continued to taunt me as if knowing I'll probably never acquire them in my lifetime.

"Well, first, why don't you tell me what they are? I might be able to help with some; if not, I could give you the location as to where you could acquire these materials,"

She slid a piece of paper across her desk, and whilst I wrote down all three materials, she rolled the map back up and shoved it back into one of her lower drawers, never to the light of day again.

"Alright, finished,"

As I slid the paper over to her, her eyes lit up with excitement, quickly glanced back and forth between me and the list of materials.

"What's up? Is there something wrong with them?"

"Well… I think I can assume what your next evolution is… though telling you would spoil all the fun," She chuckled before gesturing for her son to come over.

Suddenly, he pulled my belongings, which I had been stripped of by the colosseum, out of his magical ring, including my spear, which he struggled to lift up, even with several physical buffs placed onto his body.

I quickly took the spear from him with ease, only using one hand before putting it back into my own magical storage ring.

Now… I should probably use this now that I have some downtime…

"Okay, I'll be taking my leave then. Do I have my own room, or do I just sleep on the floor?"

"Son, please take him to his room," The duchess sighed, waving both of us off, allowing me to continue my exploration of this massive palace.

But it didn't last long as I soon encountered my room which had been plastered with all kinds of paintings.

"The previous owner was a painting fanatic… I hope you don't mind, though," The man said before opening the door, allowing me to enter just before he slammed the door behind me, his cheerful aura immediately disappearing from his body as soon as we split ways.

Eh, not that I care… I'd rather only have the favor of the duchess…

As I took a look around my new room, I discovered the massive fluffy bed, which I couldn't wait to sleep in, but also my own personal bathroom with a large bath, and of course, the several creepy paintings.

They were of different hellish monsters, some of which I had encountered before, others I had never seen of or heard of in my entire life.

"*sigh*... not the comfiest of places, but it will do," I muttered, moving the rug in the middle of the room, finding the hardwood floor, which I swiftly sat down on.

My hands flashed with a piece of paper just before a string of notifications appeared before my very eyes.

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[Teacher Quest: Learn The Spear Arts of Lu Bu]

[Description: Your proficiency with the spear has exceeded all expectations, but in order to proceed, you need a powerful and wise teacher. Lu Bu was a great Chinese general in the past but is now but an ancient relic of what people could physically obtain before magic spread through the world. Learn the ways from [The Flying General] and make sure to not die… to him.]

[Reward: [Skill Book - Four Flying Spear Arts of Lu Bu]

[Penalty Upon Failure: Cut All Stats In Half]

[Time Left: Infinite]

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My head spun, the room distorting around me before revealing a great vast sky occasionally filled with speckles of clouds that quickly snapped me back to reality.

A soft wind blew past me, fluttering my hair across my face, forcing me to tie it up behind my head before I took another look around.

I was on a tall mountain. A very, very tall mountain with a singular tree right behind me, serving as a bit of shade from the soft sun spreading firmly through the leaves.

A gentle breeze once again blew past me, sending chills across my body, forcing me to step outside from the shelter of the tree and onto the firm sun-kissed grass forming a little green helmet around the top of this mountain.

I took a look over the mountain and saw the scattered pieces of rock formations spread across, but the thing that really made me drop to my knees was the stretching prairie of grass, fluttered lightly by yet another breeze.

"Fuck… it's so beautiful… it's so fucking beautiful," I nearly teared up, thankful I could see something much more appealing than the dark skies of hell and the thick red fog that would occasionally roll through my surroundings. "It's so pretty…."