Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Protagonist's Career Choice

At dawn the next morning, Guo Lang woke to find the lovely woman at his side had risen early. She must have gone to prepare breakfast for him and Alice. Laura adapted to the role of his woman with startling speed; at times, Guo Lang even felt a faint sense of unreality.

They had not known each other for long. Well, among Westerners, feelings often developed quickly enough. But Guo Lang knew she did not feel that sort of hormonal pull toward him. It could hardly be called love, perhaps not even fondness. As for himself... well, he was a lonely nobody; how could he possibly resist a woman of that caliber? But if you asked whether he truly liked her, even he could not say for certain.

What puzzled him most was why she had suddenly chosen to give herself to him. She was not without support. She could see how formidable Alice was, and in many ways Guo Lang himself depended on Alice. By rights, Laura should not have needed to curry favor with him. Moreover, to become a CEO of such renown on this plane at such a young age, she ought to have been immensely self-reliant; she should not have been the sort of woman who simply depended on a man.

Guo Lang sat up, stretched, and revealed a body of smooth, well-defined muscles beneath skin that was fair and delicate. One might call him refined, even pretty, yet he also possessed unmistakable masculine vigor, a keenly alluring beauty of the male form. If his darknight bloodline were fully unleashed, his charm would rank just beneath that of the blood elf and fairy bloodlines; man or woman, his appeal would be extraordinary.

He stepped outside and saw Laura busy in the kitchen, while Alice was already waiting at the table. Guo Lang smiled faintly and walked over, ruffling Alice’s hair. She immediately began to tussle with him like a child. Only in Guo Lang’s presence was she truly a six-year-old girl; out there in the wider world, especially on the front lines, she was the unshakable core of everyone’s faith.

“What class did you choose?” Guo Lang asked with a smile.

Every royal lineage generally bore two or more inheritances. Back then, Guo Lang had made the choice for Alice, selecting the Nightwalker clan bloodline with the highest agility bonus, based on her own nature. It was the most fitting option, given how terrifying her talent as an assassin was. The Nightwalker clan suited her best. But when it came to her class, Guo Lang had not interfered at all, not even to recommend one. He knew that with the place he held in Alice’s heart, even a casual remark, even the slightest emotional leaning toward one class, might sway her judgment. That was not something he wanted to happen.

“Royal Assassin!” Alice looked at him cautiously, yet with anticipation. “Dad, what do you think?”

Guo Lang laughed, kissed her on the forehead, and ruffled her hair again. “My daughter has excellent taste.”

Alice’s eyes narrowed into delighted crescents.

The Nightwalker clan’s main inheritances were Phantom Dancer, Ghost Dancer, Hidden Stabber, and Royal Assassin. The first two belonged to the magic-warrior path, using shadow power to make attacks more intricate, along with many secret arts and battle techniques that were difficult to guard against. They were the preferred choice of most people, more comprehensive and versatile in their methods. Hidden Stabber and Royal Assassin, on the other hand, were pure assassin paths.

Yet the two still differed greatly. The former placed greater emphasis on stealth, while the latter focused more on combat technique. By Guo Lang’s estimation, Alice ought to have chosen the former. Her stealth talent was unmatched; even before receiving her bloodline infusion, she had already mastered a weakened form of refraction. If paired with the traits of an invisible assassin, then for many opponents of the same level, Alice might already have a blade at their throat before they even realized it.

Yet for some reason, Alice had not chosen that. Instead, she had selected the very pure path of the Royal Assassin. This inheritance could be called the most orthodox assassin tradition, relying on no magic at all, feeding solely on close-combat skill and extraordinary agility.

They never feared melee with any class. Once an enemy allowed them into close range, it made no difference whether that enemy was a mage or a knight; with their exquisite technique, they could swiftly finish the fight. Their most famous feat was recorded in ancient darknight history: the legendary Royal Assassin Gerald Nightwalker personally cut off the head of Hellscream, the orc clan’s so-called strongest sword saint of all time, shocking the ten races.

However, like the sword saint, this was a class that demanded monstrous talent and exacting standards. In his previous life, Guo Lang had almost never seen one. Not only was the threshold brutally high, but the starting requirement alone was royal bloodline, instantly eliminating more than half the world. And among those who did choose it, there were almost no outstanding individuals. Of course, it was also possible he simply did not know, since assassins generally did not care to make a name for themselves.

Soon Laura brought out breakfast. It had a distinctly western countryside style rather than the fast-food style of a city. It was lavishly spread out: savory meat broth, corn porridge, corn patties with minced meat, pork rolls, fish cutlets, and exquisite fairy fruit. It looked positively mouthwatering.

Guo Lang and Alice both attacked the meal with great enthusiasm. Laura, watching from the side, smiled so brightly that it made her heart glow. In truth, many cooks most enjoy seeing the people who eat their food respond in such an unabashed way. Those polished gentlemen who insist on maintaining decorum may praise your cooking with the most ornate language, but they are nowhere near as satisfying as Guo Lang and her daughter, who gave their approval through action.

Guo Lang was very satisfied with the meal. Looking at Laura, he even felt a touch of pride. What does it mean to be a wife on the outside and a homemaker within? He was truly pleased with this girlfriend of his. First, she had a face perfectly to his taste, one that stirred his excitement. Second, her personality was quite good as well. She had been somewhat calculating at first, but afterward she showed herself to be capable, generous, and very good at domestic matters. And on top of all that, her cooking was delicious. What more could one ask for?

Love? Guo Lang had never thought about it. Twenty years of hardship in his previous life had shown him too much reality; he was long past the young boy who loved indulging in fantasies.

Not a virgin? Guo Lang shrugged. In this era, on this plane, such a rare thing could probably only be found in junior high school. By contrast, the chances of a man still being a virgin were much higher. He also did not believe he had the kind of luck that novel protagonists enjoyed, where all sorts of beautiful women appeared around them one after another, each with a different temperament and background, yet all sharing one thing in common: they were all virgins. Clearly, such a miraculous rate of romantic encounters required the template of a truly formidable urban protagonist. Guo Lang felt he did not have that sort of template, and so he did not pursue it.

Besides, he had also been given such a reliable daughter for free. So what if he suddenly became a father? There was nothing wrong with that at all. Guo Lang looked at the mother and daughter pair, and a gentle smile spread across his face. He felt that in this life he was far more successful than in the last. At the very least, he had built a home, hadn’t he?

After breakfast, Guo Lang and Alice headed out. Alice naturally went to join the others at Abel’s place, along with Guo Lang’s other teammates, to begin the task he had assigned the day before. Guo Lang, meanwhile, was going to challenge his class.

He had placed the class hall at the rear of the base, in an unremarkable location. Best not to let it draw too much attention. The number of people who could enter was far too small, and the requirement for talent was very high. This meant Guo Lang could not easily reward loyal underlings by making them classed professionals. On this plane, encountering Alice and the lewd fat man he had found by chance could be compared to winning the lottery. In many cases, even if you conquered an entire plane, you might never encounter another talent like them.

The Darknight class hall was a strangely shaped great tree. Its bark had a half-shadowed sheen, and violet light circled around it. It was eye-catching, though not because the dark elves had deliberately made it flashy. Rather, the class hall was bound up with too many laws of space, which left it in a shadowed state and gave it this appearance. This was a common trait among the ten races; class halls of all peoples basically looked resplendent and otherworldly.

“Oh, another royal heir. Good day, Shadow Speaker.”

As Guo Lang drew near, a human face emerged from the trunk of the tree. That face carried a sense of ancient weariness, utterly unlike the vigorous life force of the World Tree.

“Good day, elder of the Darknight,” Guo Lang said with the most proper ritual of the Darknight people, his expression respectful.

“Young Shadow Speaker...” The great tree seemed very pleased with his impeccable manners, and its expression was gentle. “Have you decided what inheritance you wish to obtain?”