Villain With The Strongest System

Kronos was the one who recovered from his broken bones the fastest. His near infinite vitality was a cheat which helped him recuperate very fast, however, the innate skill still took a significant toll on his stamina.

Rocky, having only broken his arm and not his leg, was fine to carry on after a short rest, as although every square inch of his body hurt like hell, he had it in him to push till the end, as long as there were no serious battles ahead.

Buhara and Erin however, were unfit to carry on.

Both of them were in need for some urgent medical attention and Erin especially, having suffered damage to his spine and ribs was not feeling good at all.

If he could, Erin wanted to drink a bottle of painkillers and just drift asleep till his body healed naturally, however, he could not.

The team still had to reach their destination to deliver the package and they could not finish it without him being physically present there as well.

Hence, with Rocky carrying him on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and Kronos giving Buhara a shoulder to support, the team once again made their way towards their destination, albeit walking at a snail's pace.

Having his left leg broken, Buhara could only hop one step at a time while clutching onto Kronos's shoulder for support, while Rocky deliberately walked slowly so as to not hurt Erin with any more jerks.

The team had narrowly escaped death this time and although no-one blamed Rocky for his rash decision to deboard the golem so recklessly, in their hearts everyone knew that they could have deboarded it safely had they taken their time, however, it would have seen them fail their current quest.

Rocky's method was undoubtedly the fastest and the only one that gave them a shot at completing the quest, however, it was also one that had nearly cost them their lives.

"This is too hard…. Walking on one leg is too hard…. Everytime Buhara jumps, he can feel the vibrations reach his a**" Buhara complained as Kronos could not help but let out a chuckle when he heard this.

"Oh yeah? Does it feel good when you sense vibrations there?" Kronos asked, winking towards Rocky, as the joke seemed to ease the tense atmosphere amongst them.

"No it doesn't feel good…. It feels… ticklish" said Buhara, as this time even Erin began to chuckle.

"It hurts… laughing hurts… but this is too funny to not laugh–" Erin mumbled weakly, as Rocky nodded in agreement.

Buhara was the team's jester and in moments like these he always bonded them together through humor.

It wasn't that he was always unaware of the insinuation behind the comments he made, however, he still did it when he thought that it could elicit a laugh from his friends, and laugh they did, as the laughter helped them cut the time without feeling too burdened by it.

The village where they were supposed to deliver the package was just one hour away had they been walking at their normal pace, however, with Buhara limping and the team injured, it took them nearly three hours to reach it and that too with great effort.

Thankfully, they did not encounter any monsters along the way, as in their current condition they were in no shape to fight a centipede let alone a group of wyverns.

With an hour and a half still to spare before the perfect evaluation deadline passed, the team were beyond overjoyed when they could notice the boundary of the settlement they were supposed to reach, However, when they thought about how the egg they were going to deliver was going to potentially be used in an evil ritual, the team could not help but feel angered by it.

Nobody voiced their protest, as in the end it was Rocky's call as to whether or not they were going to hand the dragon egg over, and since he has decided to deliver the egg and complete the mission, the team decided to just roll along with it.

"'Welcome to Mordok Village,'" the signboard said, standing at the entrance of a small, yet ominous-looking village nestled between towering cliffs.

The village itself looped around a central square, with stone houses and narrow cobblestone streets spiraling outward like the scales of a dragon.

As the team limped toward the entrance, two guards clad in dark, weathered armor stepped forward, their faces hidden behind iron helmets. The village seemed to be under heavy surveillance, with more guards patrolling the perimeter, all with watchful eyes trained on the newcomers.

"Halt! State your business," one of the guards barked, his voice gruff and authoritative.

Rocky, maintaining a calm demeanor, stepped forward. "We are here to complete a quest assigned by the floor administrator. Our mission is to deliver a package to this village," he said, motioning to the bundle in Kronos's hands, as he let down Erin and took the package into his own hands.

The guards exchanged glances, their postures tense. "And what is this package you carry?" the other guard asked, his tone suspicious.

"It's an item of importance, meant for someone here. We were instructed to deliver it and be on our way," Rocky replied, his voice steady, as he extended the package toward them, hoping to avoid further entanglement.

However, the guards didn't move to take it. Instead, the first guard shook his head. "You'll need to come with us, if it's something that was ordered by the floor administrator to be delivered then the chief will want to see this delivered personally. No exceptions."

Rocky hesitated, but with Erin injured and Buhara barely managing to stand, arguing seemed pointless. "Fine," he agreed, though every instinct told him this was not going to be a simple handover.

The guards led them through the winding streets of DragonHeart Village, the eyes of the few villagers they passed following them with an unsettling intensity.

The homes were eerily quiet, the kind of silence that made the hair on the back of Rocky's neck stand up, as everything about the village seemed off.

Finally, they reached the largest building in the village, a grand stone structure that looked more like a fortress than a home. The guards stopped in front of the door and motioned for them to wait.

The door creaked open slowly, revealing a tall, slender man dressed in dark robes. His eyes were cold, and a cruel smile played on his lips as he stepped forward, the very air around him seeming to grow colder. "Welcome, adventurers," he greeted them, his voice smooth but carrying a chilling undertone that set the team on edge. "I've been expecting you."

There was something visibly off about him, a malevolent aura that made Erin flinch involuntarily, as he did not seem to be a simple man.

Rocky stiffened, his grip on the package tightening as this man was clearly no ordinary village chief, and whatever they had just stepped into, it was far more dangerous than what they had previously anticipated.

"Let me take a look at the package–" the man said, as Rocky handed over the package to him, with a Floor Announcement immediately ringing as he did.