The Grand Duelist

Standing on the elevated land just outside the underground cave that Joseph's group made were Joseph and Alice whose bodies riddled with beads of sweat. They had just completed a hunt and before them were dozens of dead bodies belonging to the Mutated Beasts.

It has been several weeks since both Alice and Joseph appeared within this place perpetually hidden from the sun.

The All-Encompassing Barrier of Spirituality Separation does not allow entry to anyone even if they were the residents of this place.

In other words, no one should be able to enter this place, nor exit it.

But due to Joseph's passive skill given to him by his titles. He managed to bypass the effects of the Barrier and landed alive on the ground, albeit with somewhat heavy injuries. As for how Alice managed to enter this place when she didn't have the same passive skill as Joseph?

Well, it was because she was in Joseph's embrace.

In short, she rode Joseph's coattails.

Thankfully, they met the kind-hearted Julie and Hulie who helped them recover from their injuries and even hid them from the residents of this incredibly dark place.

Not only that, but they also enchanted their eyes so that Joseph and Alice who were mere humans that couldn't see anything in this dark place could now see everything as if it was daylight.

Both were really thankful to the two sisters.

That was the reason why they remained in this place...

If not for that then, they would've already escaped from this place as soon as they had the strength.

But now that they met Julie and Hulie, the two of them couldn't possibly leave from here without helping the two sisters on their plight.

Within the past few weeks, Alice and Joseph grew closer to each other.

Even though they may not realize this fact, it was the undeniable truth.

They cooperated with everything. From taking care of the two sisters to even taking turns on who should use the blanket whenever they slept for the night. 

"I am really enjoying this world..."

Whenever Joseph saw the smiles on Julie and Hulie's faces.

He felt particularly warm and proud.

He felt warm since he indirectly caused these smiles, and he felt proud by the fact that the two sisters who treated him like a stranger before were now close to him as if he was a member of their family.

Joseph also noticed that Alice was now lukewarm to him. He didn't know whether this was because of the fact that he gifted her some particularly expensive set of clothes from the Cash Shop or if this was because the two often interacted with each other which led to her slowly lowering her guard against him.

A few weeks earlier, Alice treated her like a pervert that could take advantage of him on any second.

But now, Alice treated her like a friend.

Joseph didn't know why but he felt happy about this change.

Finally, she had changed how she treated him, while she wasn't treating him as good as the twin sisters, at least there was a change.

"Hmm... Life's good..." Joseph uttered to himself.

Apart from the fact that this place was too cold for his liking, Joseph had no complaint living in this world perpetually hidden from the sun.

But since there were better places in the world of Victory than this god-forsaken place.

Why would he stay here instead of going somewhere else?

It didn't make sense, so Joseph still had the desire of returning.

Furthermore, he still had that Class-Specific Quest.

Speaking of the Class-Specific Quest. Its contents had changed.

The Quest Clear Conditions of the quest back then had been fulfilled so the quest has been updated and was now on its third phase.

The description of the quest was still quite flattering, but the Quest Clear Conditions wasn't that hard anymore, at least for Joseph.

Since it only said that he must bring Alice towards the Legendary Blacksmith Krid...

Even though that sounded quite difficult, at least it didn't have any time limit which could easily complicate things.

As for the Quest Rewards, it still wasn't so clear.

There were only three question marks and a bracket beside it that said Guaranteed.

Although Joseph was puzzled by the fact that he didn't receive any rewards from completing the second phase of the quest. He reckoned that the system may give him all the rewards that he deserved and accumulated from the Class-Specific Quest when the quest finally ended.

"Joseph... What do you think this will taste if you cook it with teriyaki sauce?" Alice suddenly appeared right in front of him, a cheeky smile could be seen on her lips as she raised a slab of meat that had dozens of crimson sunken eyeballs on its surface.

"What the fuck?!" Joseph leaped backwards and cringed, "Alice... Didn't we already talk that I will never cook that piece of shit again? I also told you that I hate that kind of meat!"

Alice chuckled, "Hahaha... You don't like this? Isn't this the one that we first ate when we woke up in this place? And also, with that cooking method of yours, it didn't really taste too bad."

She licked her lips and stared meaningfully at Joseph. 

Joseph coldly scoffed and flicked his wrist.

A ray of light flew towards the slab of meat and annihilated it to dust.

"Ah! You almost hit my hand there! Are you trying to cripple me?" Alice cried out when she realized that Joseph had attacked.

"Hmmph! Last chance, if you dare present that disgusting piece of meat again then I will never cook for you again! I will only cook for Julie and Hulie!" Joseph gave her an ultimatum.

In this place perpetually hidden from the sun.

Spices were scarce and the variety of food was basically non-existent.

That wasn't a problem for the residents who frequently ate raw meat.

In fact, Joseph even doubted if the Vampires knew about the concept of cooking since they were imprisoned in this place for too long.

Yes, the non-existent variety of food and the lack of spices in this place wasn't a problem for the residents. That also included Joseph who could just log-out and cook some good old home-cooked meals in his house.

In short, Alice was the only one that desired Joseph's cooking, apart from Julie and Hulie of course.

This was also the reason why Alice sold her taxi service to Joseph in exchange for him becoming the Head Chef for their everyday meals.

Julie and Hulie who discovered how the meals from the outside world could be so delicious craved for it every day.

Joseph couldn't possibly make them suffer just because he got into an argument with Alice.

But as for Alice?

If she did something he disliked intentionally then he had the higher ground against her.

He had a higher chance of winning in an argument due to the fact that he can cook better than her.

This was why he was confident facing against her in a battle of words.

He could just use that, I am the Head Chef card...

And she will be defeated.

Alice knew that she was disadvantaged.

Her grandpa told her that one must retreat when necessary. Due to this, she merely scoffed and didn't bother about Joseph anymore. She proceeded to gather the meat that they needed for their upcoming hot pot and barbeque party.

Joseph revealed a triumphant smile.

He stared at Alice and found that the clothes that she was wearing enhanced her beauty. The purple one-piece dress that stuck close to her body due to sweat outlined the underwear that she was wearing underneath that dress. It really made one imagine what was hidden behind the covers.

Joseph gave a wry smile.

He shook his head and thought, It seems like the several years of dedicating myself to working and staying at home to study so I can save money really took a toll on my social circle to the extent that I am now somewhat of a horn dog.

The friends whom I thought that can stay with me forever are not with me anymore. Ever since I became recluse and refused contact with them, they really did cut their ties to me, and now. We are nothing but mere strangers.

Joseph sighed to himself. He remembered the laughter and smiles that he shared with his friend several years ago and he couldn't help but feel somewhat depressed.

Thankfully I have this world of Victory. I may be considered as a loser on the outside world whose social circle is non-existent. At least, I can start again and become whatever I want to be in this world of Victory.

Ah... I really want to personally thank that genius, Ray Gabriel. If not for his dedication, this world wouldn't be made.

"Joseph, I'm done," Alice spoke from the side. A light smile could be seen on her face. She wasn't angry at Joseph anymore. After all, his reaction towards what she did was what she had expected.

She had enough common sense to know how a person would react if someone annoyed them.

Joseph took the meat from Alice's hands and headed to the direction of the two sisters.

There, he found that Julie was still writing on his notebook while Hulie was studying all sorts of medicinal herbs that Joseph and Alice gathered for Hulie's instructions.

"This is the herb that Papa always used whenever I get a bruise, while this is the herb that Mama mixes on our tea so that it will taste sweet. The former has medicinal capabilities, while the other, even though it doesn't have any medicinal properties, it could make someone recover their mind and it also fends off hunger..." Hulie uttered in a low voice.

Scratch...

The continuous scratching sound of a pencil moving on a piece of paper could be heard. Joseph turned to look at Julie and he smiled when he saw her working hard on writing her own novel.

But...

She seemed to have stopped reading the System For Assassination book that he gave to her.

But that didn't matter, what's far important, was that the two sisters were finally taking their first baby steps onto achieving their dreams...

This gave Alice and Joseph a weird sense of satisfaction in their hearts. They glanced at each other for a moment and in that instant, they had received each other's thoughts and understood it.

They moved silently, careful that they would not disturb the two sisters. Not a word came out of their mouth but their cooperation was seamless. Alice took care of the spices and marinating the meat, while Joseph prepared the teriyaki sauce and the ingredients necessary for the hot pot. 

In just a few minutes, the fragrant smell of spices and the enticing aroma of meat was now within the air. Although the two didn't want to disturb Julie and Hulie. It was impossible for them to stop the smell of the food from going into the air.

"Ah! Kuya, Ate! You are already here? Uwaaah, I didn't notice!" Hulie cried out loud and she hurriedly stood up and cleaned up the medicinal herbs scattered on the ground. 

Julie also awakened from her trance.

She took her notebook and hid it underneath the blanket on the stone bed.

"Hahaha..." Joseph chuckled from the sight of these, "Look at both of you panicking. The two of you do not need to worry, as I said. I wouldn't dare to touch your things without asking for your permission first." 

Alice also smiled at the two, indicating that she was on the same track as Joseph.

"Mhmm..." Hulie spoke up, "No matter what, Kuya, Ate... Don't open touch our stuff, all right?" 

Joseph stared at the young lass and his heart became filled with warmth and child-like joy when he saw her pouting expression. He stopped what he was doing and immediately moved towards the young lass, ruffling her hair and sweetly smiling as if she was his daughter.

Alice stared at Joseph and a thought appeared in her mind. If he's treating Hulie like this... I can say that he will also treat his daughter like that... I bet he will be a good husband.

Alice's pupils constricted when she realized what she was thinking.

What the hell? Why did I think of something like that? It's impossible... It's impossible for us. Wait, why am I thinking about this again? Aaahhh!

Alice looked like she was about to pull her hair out due to the frustration and annoyance. But deep inside, she also couldn't help but admit that Joseph could be an excellent husband and father.

No! I thought of it again! Ah... Somebody help me stop these thoughts! All right, let's think about grandpa... Okay, grandpa... He's smiling at me, oh he's handing over a hammer. Wait, he's giving a strange smile. He's opening his mouth and saying, "In the future, you should be more feminine so you can get married..."

Ahhh, no! Grandpa! Why did you betray me! Alice furiously shook her head.

In her eyes, Senior Krid who had a genial smile on his face as he kindly advised Alice disappeared with a poof.

After this, Alice became ultra-focused on her work to the extent that she finished ten minutes earlier than usual.

Joseph was astonished by this and he couldn't help but comment, "Alice... You seem to be more excited than usual for the food. Am I really that good of a cook?" 

Alice turned her head to look at him, but what he received was a deathly glare instead of a compliment, "Continue your cooking." She coldly spat and didn't care about him anymore.

Joseph rapidly blinked. Disbelief plastered on his face but when he saw that Alice was indeed in a bad mood. He judged that it was better if he didn't make any jokes so he didn't say anything as he proceeded on his job.

Soon, the small party was ready.

Julie and Hulie immediately pounced on the food like hungry wolves.

A few minutes into the meal.

Joseph asked a question...

"Julie, Hulie... Are both of you really cured already?" 

His question astonished the three.

Alice was the first one to recover as she asked, "What do you mean? Didn't we already made it clear that they had recovered from that despicable curse?"

Joseph nodded his head, "Yeah, that was indeed the case and we also didn't find anything strange on their bodies. It was as if the curse just evaporated into nothingness. But I don't know. I have this nagging feeling on the back of my head that's telling me that there is something wrong..."

"That is why I had to ask." Joseph swept his gaze at Julie and Hulie

Alice also stared at the two.

There wasn't any harm about confirming the truth so she went along with his idea.

Julie and Hulie glanced at each other before revealing a sweet smile.

"Of course we are already healed! Why would we even lie to you, Kuya, Ate? That doesn't make sense." Julie lightly chuckled at the end of her sentence as she drank a cup of juice.

Hulie also nodded her head and said, "Kuya, and Ate. Really a worrywart!" She proudly said.

Joseph awkwardly scratched his head, "It seems like I was really wrong after all. Hahaha, let's continue. After your Kuya is done with his training on becoming even stronger then we will now leave this place. Until then, promise me that you two will wait, all right?"

"Promise?" Julie said. 

"Hmm?" Hulie tilted her head and looked at Joseph.

"Yeah, don't the two of you want to see how the sun looks? Once I am done with my objectives here then I will take both of you to the outside world. Until then, promise me that you both will wait for that day, all right?" Joseph said with a sincere smile on his face.

Alice stared at these events with furrowed eyebrows but she didn't speak.

Julie and Hulie glanced at each other for a moment.

A sweet smile emerged on their faces as they exclaimed at the same time.

"Yes, I promise!"

"Mhm! I promise, Kuya!"