Chapter 364: Hunter King Lance, Imprisoned in the Basement

Chapter 364: Chapter 364: Hunter King Lance, Imprisoned in the Basement

’In this future, don’t I become Legendary?’

However, Elvira paid no heed to Cecilia’s explanation.

She tugged on the Dark Gold chain, a burst of crimson-gold flame igniting in her palm.

Under an effect similar to Melted Gold Shattered Armor, the Treasure began to sizzle as it corroded.

"Get out of my husband’s bed."

Cecilia simply raised her hand, and a High Tier Magic—one so advanced it was utterly beyond Lance’s current knowledge—formed instantly, without a single gesture or incantation!

A massive surge of Magic Power locked onto Elvira on the bed. In the next moment, Lance felt his entire world engulfed in light. It was this momentary flash that knocked him out of the vision.

When he came back to his senses, he was still in the square, but his forehead was covered in a fine sheen of cold sweat.

And now, a new Pruning mission had appeared on his quest list.

[Broken Hunter King]

This time, the panel didn’t generate any quest steps to guide his intervention; it simply marked the quest with a red skull icon to indicate its difficulty.

’Prune it!!’

Lance was roaring in his mind. This branch of the future—it absolutely had to be pruned away!

He never imagined that in this branch of fate, he could become the Hunter King and still end up locked in a basement.

His first thought was that his Destiny Vision’s range was far too short.

He had to level up quickly. Then he could immediately prune away any future where he was tied up like a pet and torn to pieces by their fighting.

"What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

At that moment, Felix, who was standing beside him, noticed that something was off and turned to him with a confused look.

"Just thinking about some unpleasant things."

Lance wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and glanced at the experience needed for Jhin, the Virtuoso to reach the next level.

It was only 10,000 experience points. He had to find a way to gather them as soon as possible.

The abilities of a Level 1 Jhin, the Virtuoso were too weak. They could only be triggered passively, and he still couldn’t see the full picture.

Still, even in that brief moment, Lance had managed to gather a few pieces of intel.

One: the future Cecilia’s mastery of spatial confinement and sealing Spells had reached a terrifying level.

Therefore, besides just stacking attack power, he would need to find a way to learn some advanced escape abilities in the future—as a precaution.

The second thing that concerned him greatly was that Cecilia’s original intention in tying him up was apparently to protect him from being dragged into a Nightmare by Yvette.

’It seems the Red Mercury Secret Alliance was just the beginning. Just how much of a philanderer do I become in the future to be treated like this by every single one of them?’

’Right, I also have to guard against the Nightmare!’

...

While Lance was experiencing that Xiuluo Scene in his vision, Elvira, who had been on the stage, had already descended from the dais. She took a royal flag woven from silk and embroidered with an Iris Flower and a Giant Dragon from a ceremonial official, then walked softly before the Crystal Coffin.

"Here, in the name of the Iris Royal Family, we will forever remember this Heroic Spirit who guided the way through the darkness and made a fearless sacrifice."

As Elvira’s voice fell, she slowly draped the flag over the Crystal Coffin.

With the completion of this ritual, tens of thousands of Silver Soul Flowers, each emitting a faint Blue glow, sprouted from thin air across the square.

Carried by the gentle breeze, these Magic Flowers detached from the ground and began to float toward the clear, azure sky.

Then, they disintegrated in the sky, transforming into a shower of faint, dancing Blue specks of light.

Elvira then walked to the statue, grabbed the white silk cloth covering it, and pulled it away with a sharp tug. A statue carved from a single block of Chalk Stone was revealed before the crowd.

The statue depicted Lance with a straight, tall posture, both hands resting on the hilt of a Longsword whose tip was planted in the stone below. His gaze was fixed forward, radiating an air of someone facing death head-on.

Next, guided by the Clergy, dozens of Guards came forward, preparing to move the statue, a vessel of faith, into the rear hall of the Divine Hall.

It was at this very moment, as the funeral concluded, that the second phantom of Legend, which had been in a boiling state, finally solidified.

It was a phantom formed from countless specks of golden light, which burned fiercely as they gathered, finally transforming into a roaring, red star dragon with wings outstretched.

[Legend: Gathering Stars into Fire]

[Legend Core Concepts: Desperation, Command, Hope]

[Entry Quality: Extraordinary]

[Current Spread: LV1 (Scale: Tens of Thousands)]

This tale was born from his experiences in the Underground City.

The subject of this Legend was likely the more than ten thousand people who were in the Underground City at the time.

Its formation was undoubtedly boosted by the biography Bazzer had stayed up all night to write for him.

This kind of Legend was of extremely high quality, reaching the Extraordinary Level the moment it coalesced.

And the number of bonuses shown on the panel corresponded exactly to the number of core concepts contained within the Legend.

1. Desperate Dragon Banner (Group): In desperate situations, minimum morale is fixed at 30 points. In times of crisis, you will unconsciously be regarded as an opinion leader. Command +10.

2. Starfire Spreads (Group): When your Legends spread in the Material Realm, they gain a 10% bonus to their propagation speed. Group assimilation checks +10.

3. United Strength (Group): When you are the leader, faction cohesion +10, and 10% of conflicts are forcibly resolved.

’Wow, all of this Legend’s effects apply to groups.’

And this was only at Level 1, its lowest stage of propagation.

In the future, when the scale of this Legend’s spread increased—known by hundreds of thousands, or even millions—the effects of this Aura would become even more ridiculous.

Especially the second ability, "Starfire Spreads." It could actually increase the propagation speed of all his Legends.

It was just like those online game characters from his past life that started with a permanent 10% experience gain buff.

However, at the very instant Lance’s Legend finished coalescing...

The Elder Sword Saint, Reinhardt, who had been resting with his eyes closed below the high platform, suddenly felt his eyelids twitch. He opened his eyes a crack, his gaze piercing through the crowd and locking onto Lance in an instant.

Then, the Elder Sword Saint retracted his gaze and turned to look at the Hero’s statue being carried into the Divine Hall.

He glanced again at his own Princess, then at the daughter of the Rosenthal Dukedom, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

Almost in the next second, Lance, who had been staring at his panel, suddenly shuddered.

He had felt his right shoulder being tapped twice, with a force that was neither light nor heavy.

And this sudden sensation made his blood run cold.

After so many level-ups and enhancements from his Specialties and Talents, his Perception was now extremely sensitive.

Yet he had only become aware of the person behind him at the very instant they tapped his shoulder. The thought was terrifying.

Lance suppressed his shock and turned to look.

Behind him stood an unremarkable old man with a full head of white hair, dressed in very Ordinary gray clothes. A dusty-looking Longsword was tied at his waist.

He looked no different from any other old man one might see on the street.

But as Lance looked at the old man, he noticed something else that felt wrong.

Neither the commoners who had gathered to watch the spectacle nor Felix beside him seemed to have noticed the gray-robed old man’s presence. The civilians, in particular, were still chatting among themselves as if nothing had happened.

Lance had the strange feeling that the moment the old man tapped his shoulder, he had been instantly pulled out of the bustling square and into a parallel space where only he and the old man existed.

It was a technique the likes of which he had never seen before.

’Don’t tell me I’m running into a major boss right after leaving the Newbie Village?’

The old man’s gaze was very calm.

"Little fellow. Putting on a show, faking your death to escape?"

"But do you know what fate befell those who tried to deceive the Royal Family of the Iris Kingdom in this manner?"

Hearing these words, Lance suddenly felt as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss.

Malice washed over him.