Reborn as the Vampire Prince at Server Start, I am Invincible

Chapter 28 : The Gatekeeper Dog

The Gatekeeper DogAfter gathering all the loot scattered across the ground—something that had taken quite some time—the group didn't linger any further. Instead, they continued deeper into the Desolate Village.

As they walked, Dawn's Light suddenly bent down and whispered, "Cecilia, have you checked the game's official website lately?"

Cecilia looked up, giving him a puzzled glance, and asked calmly, "No. Is there some new announcement?"

She had had a lot to deal with recently, not just in-game content, but also her own issues with gender transition in real life.

Fortunately, it was currently the summer vacation. Even if she hid at home all day, basically no one would question her. There was still about a month and a half left before the holiday ended—that was all the time Cecilia had left.

If her identity problem wasn't solved by the time senior year started, that would truly be a mess.

Precisely because these worries had occupied her in the past two days, Cecilia hadn't even glanced at the forum, and naturally had no idea what announcements the game officials had posted.

Seeing that Cecilia didn't know, Dawn's Light didn't keep her in suspense. Instead, he said directly, "The devs have released some news—it's about the next upcoming update. Apparently, once the game is updated, the guild system will be unlocked. Do you have any thoughts about that?"

"What could I possibly think?"

Cecilia blinked her blue eyes and looked helplessly at Dawn's Light. "I don't want to join any guild."

Dawn's Light was lost for words, and quickly signaled with his eyes to Yuewu, who wasn't far away.

Catching on immediately, Yuewu picked up the conversation and tried to persuade her, "Why not join one? If you get bullied outside, or if you need someone to run errands, guild members could help you out."

"Don't I already have you all to run errands for me?"

Cecilia retorted with a blank expression, then casually added, "If someone wants to bully me, let them just come at me."

Upon hearing Cecilia's answer, black lines immediately appeared on Yuewu's forehead. Though she really wanted to refute her, what Cecilia said actually made quite a bit of sense, making it hard not to agree.

Now almost every player in Legend of Kaloran knew that she and Dawn's Light were Cecilia's notorious sidekicks—the so-called black-and-white duo. Because of this, the team that Yuewu and Dawn's Light led had recently attracted quite a few newcomers drawn by their reputation. By seniority, all these players could be considered Cecilia's underlings.

Given that, what need did Cecilia have to join a guild?

If she wanted, setting up her own would only take a nod.

Thinking this far, Yuewu immediately fell silent, giving Dawn's Light a look that said she could do nothing more before wisely shutting her mouth and dropping the subject.

The walk from the village to the back mountain wasn't long. The Darkwing Demon Bat led the way in front, diligently clearing out Wall-eating Rats nearby. There were no monsters along the journey, and a few minutes later, after rounding a small corner, they saw that there were no buildings ahead. Instead, a low mountain peak, about a hundred or two meters tall, rose up to block the path.

A thick, heavy gate covered in seals and iron plates quietly stood before them. Its surface bore marks of sword and axe strikes, as well as dark brown bloodstains, cutting off the only narrow path up the mountain.

"Do we need to find a key to open this door first?"

Gazing at the firmly shut gate, Dawn's Light made a guess based on years of MMO experience.

"Maybe this isn't the only entrance. Let's look around for another way in first,"

Yuewu offered her opinion.

"No need."

Cecilia spat out the words, walked up to the gate, and peeked through the cracks. Finding no door bolt blocking it, she simply pressed her hands against the door.

With a tooth-grating creak from the hinges, the tremendous strength granted by her 2000 attack slowly burst forth. The three-meter-high wooden gate gradually moved, and beneath the astonished gazes of Dawn's Light and Yuewu, a gap just wide enough for a person to squeeze through was forcibly created.

"Let's go."

After glancing back at the group, Cecilia took the lead as the first to step into the back mountain behind the village, which had lain sealed for years. The other three hurriedly followed.

The moment they passed the gate, a dense, putrid stench greeted them, as if they'd stepped into a mass grave. The intense smell made them all frown involuntarily.

Opening her eyes again, Cecilia took in the scene behind the gate. It was a barren slope—there wasn't a single blade of grass or tree, only several half-rotten stumps, and patches of bare, oddly dark-red soil.

In addition, there were several huge iron cages placed on both sides just inside the gate. These were all empty now, save for a few bloodstained scraps of cloth.

Looking towards the distant peak, they could just make out a massive dead tree at the mountaintop, its twisted branches resembling a demonic ghost.

"That tree must be the boss this time, right? How do we fight it? Should we call Bald Qiang over?"

Staring up at the withered tree, Dawn's Light tried telling a joke he thought was hilarious.

"Hahaha..."

Sure enough, aside from the boy who laughed awkwardly out of politeness, both Yuewu and Cecilia looked at him with pure disdain, not bothering to dignify his joke with a response.

The others were all young, but he alone was in his thirties or forties—the generational gap was just too big.

"Sister Ce, there doesn't seem to be any monsters here. What should we do now?"

Turning to Cecilia, Yuewu moved closer, whispering softly.

Cecilia shook her head, lowering her right hand to her waist and drawing a gleaming silver dining knife.

"A monster is almost here. It's very big. Get ready for battle."

As soon as she spoke, a soul-shaking roar suddenly echoed from the other side of the hill.

"It's an elite monster. Fall back, all of you."

Upon hearing the roar, Cecilia gave a cold order. The other three quickly retreated a few steps back towards the wooden gate. In the next instant, a huge black shadow leapt over the hill and landed with a muffled 'thud.'

It was a gigantic dog monster, about three meters tall at the shoulder, its whole body pitch black. Judging by its appearance, it had already been corrupted by dark magic—one side of its body was completely decayed, a row of black ribs exposed; its eyes glowed with dark purple energy; four long fangs protruded, razor-sharp.

At the same time, detailed information about the monster appeared as text before everyone's eyes.

[Villager Gordon's Gatekeeper Dog (Corrupted)]

Level: 22

Attack: 275

Magic: 123

......

"And you call that a watchdog?"

Before Yuewu could even comment, Cecilia was already charging forward like a berserk warrior at dinner, swinging her silver dining knife!