The search term "Golden Country" was trending at the top of the charts, its search volume on major engines skyrocketing with Madness.
Various online forums blew up over the server-wide announcement from Gedelock. The massive traffic generated by its immense player base drew the attention of many non-players to the game’s latest trending topics.
Previously, when Gedelock released the Map known as the Eternal City Camelot and its related NPCs, an influencer with only a few thousand followers went viral instantly after cosplaying the NPC named Eternal Queen, skyrocketing to become a top-tier influencer with tens of millions of fans.
Gedelock had truly become a gold mine of the new era. Countless prospectors were always ready to ride this wave to the peak.
ID Golden G:
[Holy crap! A server-wide announcement! The last time this happened was when the big shot Pink Rabbit cleared the World Boss Titan Evil God to open the Blood River Map!]
ID Octopus Jones:
[The Golden Country is that one, right? One of the four Lost Kingdoms.]
ID Harmonized:
[Doesn’t that mean it’s just like Camelot? It’ll have special storylines, special items, and Special Professions!]
ID Pink Unicorn:
[The Asasel guild has already started placing bounties on NPCs that can trigger the storyline.]
ID Double Horn:
[Asasel? That’s a top-tier guild! If they target you, they’ll camp your resurrection point and kill you. If someone actually got the special storyline, they are completely screwed.]
...
"Where is this..."
Blaze opened his eyes. Instead of a familiar ceiling, he saw a narrow, unfamiliar grassland.
Something was obstructing his vision.
"Armor?" Blaze looked down at his hands to see a dilapidated black Armor, covered in cracks from countless battles.
The blacksmith in Balkan City had once said that scars were a Blessing for defensive gear. The more scars it had, the stronger the gear’s Power. There was no doubt this was a powerful suit of Armor.
"Isn’t this the Black Beast Knight’s Armor? Why am I wearing it!" Blaze grabbed the helmet and pulled hard, but it wouldn’t budge.
"I can’t take it off!?"
"Holy crap! The Black Beast Knight!"
"Didn’t they say a big shot killed this Poop Monster last night?! How did its resurrection happen so fast!"
A cry of surprise rang out. Blaze subconsciously turned his head and saw the Heavy Knight Stranger and the Ranger Stranger he had met yesterday.
He thought, "Great! Foreigners, please help me."
Blaze subconsciously sought help from the two Foreigners. He was completely used to doing this.
[RAAAAAARGH—]
But for some reason, the words coming out of his mouth were all Twisted by the helmet of the Armor into the terrifying roar of some kind of Wild Beast.
"Oh no! This guy spotted us!"
Blaze immediately raised his hands, wanting to use body language to show that he meant no harm. However, the moment he opened his palms, the Twisted Giant Sword lodged in the distance flew into the air as if answering a Summoning, landing squarely in his grasp.
Now there was no way to clear up this misunderstanding.
"Maybe we should retreat for now," the Ranger Stranger said, wanting to back down.
"What are you afraid of? I’m here." The Heavy Knight Stranger put away her Great Sword and, while charging forward, drew two poisoned daggers. "This is a perfect chance to give you a live tutorial on how to defeat this Poop Monster without taking damage!"
Blaze subconsciously raised his Giant Sword.
In the split second before they clashed, the Heavy Knight Stranger slammed on the brakes and expertly rolled backward. She was then completely Pierced through by the Giant Sword Blaze had thrust downward. In that moment, her thick, heavy Armor was as flimsy as wet paper.
From a third-person perspective, the Heavy Knight Stranger looked like a field mouse that had been pitchforked, hanging upside down on the Giant Sword in an incredibly comical manner.
"Trash devs, they actually changed the move set!"
The Heavy Knight Stranger turned her head to look at Blaze in frustration, spitting out her last words filled with Anger.
CRACK—
Just like when the Black Beast Knight died, the Heavy Knight Stranger turned into dust and scattered in the wind, leaving only a dim Blessing Flame floating in front of Blaze. The difference was that after a Foreigner died, they would awaken in the place where they last slept. This Blessing Flame would either dissipate on the spot or be absorbed by others who possessed a Blessing.
Seeing his companion’s death, the Ranger Stranger immediately took out a whistle and blew it hard.
A small Flying Dragon dove down from high above, shooting out a rope that bound the Foreigner’s arm, pulling the Foreigner high into the sky and away from the grassland.
That was an Advanced escape item—the Little Swift Dragon Whistle. It was a rare item that could only be crafted after taming a small Dragon Species.
A Dragon was an extremely rare creature, but for some reason, Blaze couldn’t tear his eyes away from the Blessing Flame in front of him. He subconsciously reached his hand toward it.
Logically speaking, a Blessing Flame was not something an un-Blessed One like him could touch. But he grasped it and crushed it. The fragments of the Flame slipped through the gaps in his Armor and entered his body.
Countless images appeared before Blaze’s eyes, combining together to finally form a giant interface window.
"This is..."
Blaze froze in surprise, raising his hand in disbelief toward the window. There was a tactile sensation; he could swipe to adjust its contents. If he pushed a little harder, his hand would Pierce right through it. It was both an Illusion and tangibly real.
He often saw Foreigners tapping and swiping at thin air, and the range and size perfectly matched the window floating in front of him right now.
"A Blessing!?"
"But how? A Blessing is decided the moment one is born..."
The same face.
The same name.
The Blessing Flame that had ignited his entire body last night.
"Is this the Blessing belonging to the Black Beast Knight!?"
In this world, everyone was unique. Therefore, that Blessing Flame naturally mistook him, who had been standing nearby, for the Black Beast Knight, and naturally entered his body.
So, naturally, he gained the Power of the Black Beast Knight.
No wonder he could effortlessly swing a Great Sword that was almost as tall as he was. His movements were so agile that it didn’t feel like his own body at all.
"No, no, no, no, no—"
Blaze clutched his head and began to shake it.
Gaining a Blessing was something he wouldn’t even dare dream of. Having a Blessing was naturally a good thing, but a Blessing was like an exclusive marker. Any Blessed could take one look and see the title [Black Beast Knight] hovering above his head.
Let alone going into the city to buy apples, he would probably be relentlessly hunted down by Foreigners or the Knight Order of the Kingdom Empire.
"Right! Legend has it that the title of Black Beast Knight Blaze comes from this Armor. As long as I figure out a way to take the Armor off—"
[Black Beast Knight’s Armor / Cannot be Unequipped]
A red window popped up from the Blessing. Even though this was Blaze’s first time using a Blessing, he knew that red meant a warning.
"This is..."
[An Armor forged by the Lost Kingdom—the Golden Country. Only those who pass the trials of the Golden Country to become a noble Soul Suppressing Knight are permitted to wear it. However, the radiance of this Armor has Twisted and fallen into darkness along with the Knight’s oath, unable to return to the sacred Golden Altar.]
[Until its true name is recovered, the Armor cannot be taken off.]
[Special Mission: ’No One Knows Its Name’ Accepted]
[Honor Points 5/1000]
"Is this the guidance given to me by the Blessing? If I max out these Honor Points, I can break the Curse on the Armor. But what are these 5 points..." Blaze calmed down. He had just killed a Foreigner. What did that have to do with a Knight’s honor?
[Defeated a Murderer Titleholder +5]
"The Murderer title... It’s a title that Foreigners only get if they slaughter more than ten of their own kind..."
Blaze swiped through the icons on his Blessing, wanting to find some useful information. Many locked pieces of information were stacked together. It seemed that only by meeting the Honor Points requirement would more privileges be unlocked.
"That Murderer Foreigner will have her resurrection in Balkan City. So if I just keep camping her, won’t I be able to get a lot of Honor Points?"
...
Gedelock Official Discussion Board.
ID BIG Senior:
[These trash devs. It’s bad enough they won’t nerf the Black Beast Knight, but they actually changed its move set (Attached Video)]
ID Guillotine Louis:
[Hahaha—Like a pitchforked field mouse!]
ID Golden G:
[Only a masochist would fight this boss that drops absolutely nothing, but I still have to say: if you suck, practice more.]
ID Pink Unicorn:
[Maybe this guy’s attack pattern changed because he’s connected to the Golden Country. Want to try talking to him? (Lol)]
ID Golden G:
[Stop joking around. Even at Full Level, the first thing I do when I see him is roll backward!]
ID BIG Senior:
[Damn it! The more I think about it, the angrier I get. I’m gonna skewer that Blaze in Balkan City to vent my Anger!]
ID Guillotine Louis:
[Then you’d better be careful. The devs have implemented patches specifically targeting Killing Players like you. Watch out, or you’ll get mobbed by NPCs.]
ID Golden G:
[Willing to risk having all your property confiscated and your level halved just for three Copper Coins. As expected of a lunatic from Asasel.]
ID BIG Senior:
[I’m going right now!]