The Grand Duelist

Chapter 140: Start of an Epic Journey

"P-Postpone! Postpone everything first!" 

Joseph gave a verbal command and the system quickly caught on what he wanted to happen. The system notifications that covered his vision disappeared and he could finally see everything in front of him.

Ezreal was still on the ground, profusely bleeding as Alice tended to him. 

Meanwhile, the players that Joseph attacked using the Fourth Form of the Grand Duelist's Graceful Swordsmanship had disappeared.

Wait, where did they go? 

The answer to this question soon came in the form of dozens of system notifications that flooded Joseph's vision again.

[You killed, Bloodstained Lilium#0125.]

[You killed, Vladimir#2612. A member of the Crimson Guild.]

[You killed, Kristian#0235. A member of the Strongest Under Heaven Guild.]

[You killed...]

[...]

The list went on without stopping as Joseph gave another verbal command.

"Notifications, stop!"

The system obliged and the notifications that clouded his vision vanished at once.

"Ezreal!"

Seeing that their enemies had disappeared.

Joseph quickly went towards Ezreal and tended to his wounds.

"Alice? Is he okay? Is he good or what?"

"He's fine..."

Blood drenched Alice's one-piece dress as she covered the wounds on Ezreal's body and suppressed his bleeding.

"Am I dreaming...?" Ezreal turned to look at Joseph and weakly whispered.

"The Grand Duelist... You... Is that you... master...?" 

"Yes, it's me, Ezreal! Stay strong! Stay strong, all right? I won't let you die! I won't let you die at all costs!" Joseph tapped open his Main Menu and used his remaining money as he purchased as many ingredients for potion creation as he could.

He then handed these ingredients over to Alice who quickly got to work.

Alice had a lot of skills under her sleeves, not only she could be a reliable blacksmith. She was also a decent Alchemist and could create whatever you wanted, given that she had enough time and ingredients.

"Hehe... So, it's really you master... I'm saved... With you here master, I think... cough! I will live..." Ezreal coughed a mouthful of blood as he squeezed these words out of his mouth.

"Goddamned it, are you done there yet, Alice?!" Joseph turned to look at Alice in apprehension.

"Yeah, I'm done! Let him drink this!"

Alice almost immediately replied and handed over a glass bottle filled with a murky green liquid. 

"Drink this, you'll be fine..." Joseph lifted Ezreal's head off the ground and slowly made him drink the Health Potion that Alice made on the spot. Color returned on Ezreal's face but it was clear that the potion's effect wasn't enough.

"Give me more of those ingredients! I can keep making them as long as you have the materials!"

Alice said to Joseph.

Joseph opened up the Cash Shop and he was disappointed to find that he had already reached his daily allowable allowance for materials purchasing within the Cash Shop.

He couldn't purchase any more ingredients for the day...

Bang!

Joseph slammed his fists onto the ground, he felt helpless once again.

Am I not able to save someone whom I cared for again? Damn it, why is everything like this? Am I really doomed to have such bad luck? Joseph gnashed his teeth and frustration.

"Master... There's still a method... We haven't run out of options, yet..." Ezreal's finger slightly moved. At this moment, his entire body was paralyzed due to his injuries and apart from moving his throat to speak and moving his fingers ever so slightly, Ezreal couldn't do anything...

He couldn't even stir up the energy of life in the surroundings so he could heal himself.

"What method? Tell me now! I'll do it! No matter what price I have to pay I will definitely save you, Ezreal!" Joseph urged Ezreal to continue on speaking.

Ezreal's chest violently heaved, he took several mouthfuls of deep breaths as if he was mustering all of his energy into saying...

"Bestow upon me your grace, master..."

"Bestow upon you, your grace? What the hell does that mean? This isn't the time to be mysterious Ezreal! Tell me exactly what I need to do!" Joseph furrowed his eyebrows and turned to look at Ezreal in disapproval.

He really couldn't understand what Ezreal meant by "bestow".

He wanted him to explain, but Ezreal had already lost consciousness.

"Hurry up! Give him your grace! If you don't breathe into him a new life then he will definitely die in a minute!"

Alice urged.

"Fuck!" Joseph violently cursed. immense pressure descended upon him, making him unable to move as he stood there, rooted. His mind blanked out until he remembered a particular detail that he read from a system notification that he dismissed off earlier.

"Bestow... Bestow... Class Bestowal?! I have the Class Bestowal Skill so does this mean that I should bestow upon Ezreal a new class?" Joseph tapped his Main Menu and opened up his skills tab. He quickly tapped on the icon that had the name, "Class Bestowal" underneath it.

He didn't even read the description anymore for he didn't have the time to hesitate any longer.

[You have selected, Ezreal as your target for Class Bestowal.]

[You can bestow three classes for three trusted aides. Their classes will be selected at random within the pool of classes you have available and you could bestow to others.]

[Are you sure that you want to use Class Bestowal on Ezreal?]

[Note: Bestowing a class upon someone is of utmost importance for the class couldn't be retracted. There are limited slots available for the number of people you could bestow a class upon, so be careful about who you choose to bestow a class! Make sure there are no traitors in your ranks!]

[Are you sure you want to use Class Bestowal on Ezreal?]

The system even asked two times if he was sure about his decision. It was clear that bestowing upon a class to someone was a favor of great significance.

The slots available for the number of people that Joseph could bestow a class upon were limited so Joseph had to choose carefully on who would he bestow a class.

Joseph must choose a trustworthy person, one who he could trust with his back.

Did Ezreal fit those criteria?

Actually, Joseph wasn't that sure, yet...

The two of them only interacted with each other for a short time and that wasn't enough to gauge their relationship and the level of trust that they had with each other.

However, Joseph was sure of Ezreal's loyalty.

He was a decisive man and for the sake of piety, he would never abandon his master.

Joseph knew at least this much when it came to Ezreal.

So, he didn't hesitate.

"Class Bestowal!"

Joseph gave a low whisper and a brilliant light burst from his body. 

The brilliant light didn't have any color, but if you were to describe it and make an analogy. You could say that it was a light comparable to the light of the sun.

But it wasn't as bright nor as scorching as the sun.

Instead, the warmth that it gave was enough to make everyone feel comfortable.

This was the light of Justice and Order.

The Divinity of the Grand Duelist...

The light gathered together and formed into a ball that slowly descended onto Ezreal's chest.

As soon as it made contact on Ezreal's chest. The ball of light sunk as if it was a stone dropped into an ocean. The light that it carried abruptly disappeared and it felt like it had never even existed in the first place.

[Class Bestowal in Progress...]

[Class Selection Complete...]

[Class Bestowal success!]

[You have met the requirements necessary for the unlocking of a Unique Skill: Quest Bestowal.]

[Quest Bestowal Lv. Max 

Bestow a quest to anyone. Bestowed quests can be in any difficulty but the rewards should be equal in rank or more than in rank than the difficulty of the quest. Items or experience points listed as rewards will be held by the system in an escrow system. It will be automatically released to the user once the user had completed the quest.

There is no limit to the number of quests that you can bestow upon anyone. However, it is not recommended to bestow quests that are incredibly difficult or impossible to complete. Once a user failed a quest that you bestowed, you will lose 10 points of Divinity Stat. But if the user succeeded on the quest, you will gain 30 points of Divinity Stat.

Skill Usage Conditions: The Grand Duelist, Consent.

Skill Cost: None

Skill Cooldown Time: 2 minutes.]

[You have bestowed upon a class to Ezreal.]

[Ezreal's outlook for you has increased from Worship to Reverence.]

[Ezreal will never betray you in the future.]

"Master..." Ezreal opened his eyes.

The brilliant light that enveloped his body healed him of all of his injuries and made him a new man. 

He raised his upper body and stared at Joseph.

Afterwards, he bowed his head and was about to kowtow when Joseph stopped him.

"You don't have to do this, Ezreal... Even when I can be considered as your liege now. I don't want you to treat me as your master... If possible... I..." Joseph hesitated, a blush surface on his cheeks for he realized that he had never asked someone about something like this.

Maybe he did...

But the tragedy that happened three years ago erased all traces and wisdom regarding socialization that he had the years prior to that tragedy...

Right now, Joseph was nothing but a mere infant when it came to something like this.

"Master?"

Ezreal paused, he turned to look at Joseph as if he was urging him to continue.

"Ahhh, goddamned it! You don't have to do that, all right? I don't want to be your master! I want us to be friends! With how much care you gave to me and with the time that we spent together. Isn't it normal that we should be friends? Don't laugh at me, all right?!"

Joseph decided to not care about his embarrassment anymore as he ranted.

But not caring about his embarrassment doesn't mean that it'll magically disappear.

Joseph asked Ezreal not to laugh for his poor heart that had been deprived of the concept of friends may not be able to take that kind of damage, but...

"Pfft..." 

... It was Alice who laughed instead.

"Were you always this awkward, Joseph? It's just asking him to be your friend, why do you have to act like you're proposing to the love of your life?"

"How dare you laugh at me, Alice! Wait, proposing? There's something like that here?"

Joseph's train of thought derailed.

"Of course! I'm a firm believer in the Grand Duelist and the Divine Goddess Rhinna! The Divine Goddess decreed that one can only love a single person in their entire life..."

"Once they are ready to dedicate their life and soul to that person, they must make a proposal to which that person can answer depending on if they wanted to be with that them for the rest of their life..."

Alice crossed her arms in front of her chest and started her ramblings.

The way she carried herself elicited a bitter smile from Joseph.

He was reminded that Alice really was the granddaughter of that proud Legendary Blacksmith.

Joseph remembered back then that Krid would brag like what Alice was doing whenever he asked him a question pertaining to his craft.

Senior... I will definitely take care of Alice... Please rest in peace...

Joseph slightly bowed his head towards the skies.

But he then awakened from his trance when he realized that Alice had been staring at him for a long time.

"Oh, I'm sorry... I was thinking about something else, but really? I didn't expect that there's a concept of a proposal for marriage for the believers of the Divine Goddess..."

"But I think that I still prefer to be in the Kingdom of Burning Heaven, living in a Kingdom that has a liberal perspective in life really has a lot of benefits, you know?"

"What... did you say?" Alice raised an eyebrow and asked. Her expression went cold when she heard the words Kingdom of Burning Heaven from Joseph's mouth.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"

Alice rolled her eyes at him and turned around. Joseph was about to follow her, but she cried out, "Don't follow me! I'll go to the Treasure Hall and get those treasures. You want me to do that, right? Since you love money that much."

Ezreal and Joseph stared at Alice's back as she walked towards the direction of the Treasure Hall.

Her footsteps never slowed down and it was obvious that she had no hesitation in whatever she was doing.

"S-say, Ezreal... Did I do something wrong or did I say something bad?"

Joseph turned to look at Ezreal.

Ezreal gave a bitter smile and said, "Master... It seems like you and brother Krid's granddaughter had grown quite close when you two were together somewhere... She seems to be fond of you, master. I reckon that her admiration towards you isn't just because you're the Grand Duelist..." 

Joseph rolled his eyes, "Of course, I know that much, Ezreal! You don't have to tell me about that. Also, stop calling me, master! Just call me by my name, Joseph!"

It was Ezreal's time to be flustered, "Master! How can I just call you by your name? The Grand Duelist is a Myth and it is practically committing sacrilege for someone to call you by your name! Just how can I do something like that?"

Joseph stared at Ezreal and seeing the serious look on his face.

A light smile escaped on Joseph's lips as he said, "It seems like you are not planning on obeying what I said unless I give you an order, right? Okay, listen here, Ezreal! As the Grand Duelist and your master! I am ordering you to call me by my name, Joseph!"

"How's that?" Joseph gave a cheeky smile.

But...

"By your will, my liege!"

... He didn't expect that Ezreal would kneel on one knee and bow down towards him.

"Ugh... Please stand up..."

Ezreal complied and stood up. 

"I hope you don't do that again, especially in public... Thankfully, there's only the two of us here or I would've died from the embarrassment!"

Joseph was a common and average man in the world of Victory and even in the outside world.

That was how he thought of himself.

This was the reason why he couldn't bear to see someone worshipping him so fervently like this to the extent that they would kneel down and bow their heads towards him.

Joseph felt like he would die of the cringe.

It was because, despite his ascension as the Grand Duelist, Joseph was still Joseph.

He was still himself... 

But Ezreal was puzzled by what he had said, "Master, you told me to call you by your name. I complied, but there's no way that I can comply with what you said that I shouldn't kneel to you, master!"

"Being a Myth is the same as being a godlike figure to us mortals..."

"Kneeling to a figure like that is completely normal!"

"In fact..." A wronged look appeared on Ezreal's face as he appeared to be hurt, "It even hurts me that you don't want me to kneel for you, master... I feel like I was rejected and slapped across the face by the deity that I am worshipping."

"Ah..." A subconscious cry came out of Joseph's mouth.

"Really?"

"Yes, master... Personally kneeling to the deity that you worship is not something to be embarrassed about. It is something to proud of, master... Who knows how many devout believers in this world want to personally meet the god that they believed in..."

"Unfortunately, those other gods up there are too eccentric and out of touch..."

"They found it beneath them to interact with their followers. It was as if they would be tainted if they even talked to their followers, which is incredibly stupid for me since every deity required the power of faith from their followers..."

"If they don't bless their followers or have them feel their presence, wouldn't the power of faith that they needed decline overtime?"

"I really don't understand the mindset of those gods up above the skies..." Ezreal shook his head, "That is why I don't want to comply with your orders of not kneeling to you, master..."

"Kneeling to you is a form of worship that will give you my power of faith without any costs. It is basically a win-win situation for the two of us, that is why I can obey any order other than that..."

Ezreal then wore a look of remorse on his face as he hung his head low and said...

"I'm sorry for the disrespect, my liege...."

"Please punish me for my disrespect..."

"P-Punish you? That seems to be going too far. Why would I punish you when what you told me makes sense? My inadequacy towards my new role shouldn't cause you, my follower, any suffering at all!"

"Else, how could there be justice in this world?" Joseph furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Joseph.

[You have grasped some parts of the concept of Justice.]

[You have unlocked the percentage gauge regarding the concept of Justice.]

[Your current understanding of the concept of Justice is 0%.]

Several system notifications appeared right in front of Joseph.

After skimming through them, he temporarily suppressed his shock as he stared at Ezreal and urged him to reply with his eyes.

"Master... You are now a deity. Sacrilege against you must be punished accordingly, especially if they were committed by your followers..."

"I disobeyed your order earlier, master and that is a form of disrespect, and disrespect against a deity is sacrilege. That is worthy of punishment so please punish me, master..." Ezreal spoke up, but he didn't raise his head.

Joseph stared there, rooted in place and speechless.

Punish him? How am I supposed to punish him? Do I slap him on the face? Kick him with my foot?

Just how does a deity act?

Several dozens of ideas flashed across Joseph's mind, but all of them didn't make sense and they weren't even befitting of a punishment that came from a deity.

Silence reigned within the Palace Halls.

Joseph still looked calm and composed, dignified as ever, yet his back was already drenched with sweat. He really didn't know what to do. Staring at Ezreal who looked to be solemn and ready to receive his punishment...

Joseph felt flustered and was inwardly panicking.

Fuck, just what am I supposed to do? Is kicking him on the head enough as a punishment? But no, I'm a deity! That is not befitting of a punishment coming from a deity. But what should I do? He's waiting for my punishment here and I can't just have him kneel like that! He had just recovered from his injuries!

Several minutes passed and Ezreal finally broke the silence.

"It seems like master still doesn't understand..."

"As a deity, you now have control over several vague concepts that make up the world. Try controlling one of them and manipulating them to punish me."

Ezreal gave a piece of advice, his head remained lowered and he kept on staring at the ground.

Joseph felt somewhat weird since the one that he's supposed to punish was giving him a piece of advice as to how he could punish him. Nevertheless, Joseph opened up his [Logs] and found out that he now had control over the concept or domain of Justice and Order...

Justice doesn't seem to be useful for punishing... How about Order? I think that will work. But how do I use it? Do I just give an order and it will happen? 

Wait, that is actually possible! I'm a deity right now after all and it would be strange if my words and will don't affect the world itself...

A look of excitement appeared on Joseph's face. 

He took a deep breath and said.

"Lightning! Smite this disrespectful follower of mine!"

BANG!

Lightning descended out of nowhere and struck directly at Ezreal.

"AAAHHH!" A cry of pain came out of Ezreal's throat as the lightning directly charred him black.

He then collapsed onto the ground, his body continuously twitching in pain.

"What the fuck?!" Joseph rushed to Ezreal's side.

"I'm fine, master... I'm fine... No, I may not be fine, but I'm happy..." Ezreal slowly raised his head amidst the pain that was currently wreaking havoc in his body.

A look of joy and excitement could be seen on his face as he continued, "Ah... I never expected that receiving punishment feels this good... I don't know master, but... I feel like I'm getting addicted."

"Fuck!" Joseph violently cursed, "Snap out of it, Ezreal! You're turning into a masochist!"

Joseph violently shook Ezreal's shoulder and a greenish light spread from Ezreal's body.

It enveloped his entire being and slowly healed the wounds that the lightning dealt against him.

[You have grasped some parts of the concept of Order.]

[You have unlocked the percentage gauge regarding the concept of Order.]

[Your current understanding of the concept of Order is 0%.]

Despite being healed, Ezreal remained on the ground as he murmured...

"Master..."

"What is it?" Joseph asked.

"Can you punish me again?"

"..."