Orson quickly pieced it together: the little egg could read his thoughts. It wasn't just predicting his actions but actually perceiving his intentions.
Though it had only 1 HP, it seemed capable of wielding powerful spatial magic, freely moving through barriers. This ability was likely tied to the blessings it had received from the Sacred Spirit Dragon King. The player's inventory, being a small spatial dimension, was no exception.
The egg bounced onto Orson's head, shaking its shell excitedly. "Servant, offer your heart! Fight for me!"
As Inevan II approached, his aura radiating frost and danger, Orson raised an eyebrow, then sat down with an exaggerated yawn.
"You say fight, and I just go fight? That'd be embarrassing."
"Y-You… get up and fight!" the egg's childish voice stammered, its shell trembling nervously.
"Want me to fight? Sign this," Orson said calmly, thrusting a master-servant contract in front of the egg.
"You're dreaming! I, Berenice—the Kingdom's Jewel, Goddaughter of the Sacred Spirit Dragon, a transcendent being destined to rule all dragons—sign a contract with you?!"
The egg screeched, clearly outraged. Ice mist burst from the cracks in its shell, ripping apart the contract.
"Ah, I like your courage, little egg," Orson said with a sly grin. "In that case, go fight him yourself. I'll just take the 100,000 gold and go home. Isn't that a better deal?"
Before the egg could retort, Orson snatched it out of the air with a quick motion, ignoring its frantic squirming.
A faint smile played on Orson's lips. "So that's how your thought-reading works…"
"You… You're really going to sell me?!" Berenice sounded panicked. She could feel Orson's intent loud and clear: zero risk, sell the egg for profit, and walk away winning.
"Exactly," Orson replied with a smirk. Her thought-reading wasn't infallible—it simply reacted to the surface-level ideas in a player's mind.
He'd just proven it: when he caught the egg, he hadn't consciously planned it. Instead, he had randomly thought, "My head feels itchy, like I'm growing a second brain." Acting on that thought, he'd grabbed what "felt like" the new growth—Berenice.
If he avoided deliberate intentions, the egg couldn't predict his actions.
"Berenice, my Frost Dragon Clan needs you. You cannot escape me," Inevan II declared coldly. His focus remained entirely on the egg, dismissing Orson as an insignificant obstacle.
Seeing the Frost Dragon Knight approach, Berenice panicked and darted behind Orson.
Orson observed her carefully. He suspected she feared Inevan II because of the Dragon Knight's unique Hunting Pursuit skill. Once a Dragon Knight locked onto a target, it became temporarily impossible for that target to use spatial magic to escape—explaining why Orson had failed to recall the Crimson Lizard King into Battle Space earlier.
"Sign the contract," Orson said again, waving the parchment smugly. "Sign it and enjoy VIP prisoner treatment, or go get enslaved by that monster. Your choice."
This was an open scheme—one Berenice had no way of avoiding.
"I'll sign! Just take me out of here!" she finally shouted, reluctantly tapping her shell in defeat.
"Add one more clause: no reading my thoughts," Orson added before she could change her mind.
Despite knowing how her mind-reading worked, he didn't want to constantly deal with her peeking into his scheming nature.
With a final grumble of protest, Berenice signed the contract. A blood mark appeared and then disappeared into Orson's interface.
The Beast of Burden Corps had gained another reluctant member.
"You dare steal my clan's treasure?!" Inevan II roared, his expression twisting with fury. The Frost Dragon Knight had spent centuries orchestrating his plans, only for a lowly adventurer to ruin them in mere moments.
FWIP!
Berenice vanished into Orson's inventory.
"This troublesome little egg…" Orson muttered. Despite the master-servant contract, her spatial abilities remained unrestricted. However, the contract gave him one undeniable advantage: if he willed it, she could be destroyed at any moment.
Inevan II's aura surged. Frost magic materialized beneath his feet as he conjured a gleaming ice bridge to close the distance rapidly. His overwhelming presence filled the chamber, his steps freezing the air itself.
"Time to pay for killing my mount," Orson said, his tone icy as his Whisper of the Wind ability activated. Chaos Magic Balls flew from his hands at blinding speed, slamming into the ice bridge.
CRACK!
The bridge shattered, and Inevan II fell. Twisting mid-air with impressive agility, he landed gracefully, unscathed.
"Die!"
Frost magic coalesced in the knight's arm, forming a massive dragon lance nearly five meters long. He charged, leaving a trail of glittering frost in his wake.
Orson clapped his hands together. "Earthquake!"
Two stone dragons erupted from the ground, intercepting Inevan II. The Frost Dragon Knight's lance pierced through them effortlessly, but Orson had already retreated, maintaining a safe distance.
From his new vantage point, Orson cast Chaotic Hexagram, summoning a flaming dragon that crashed down on Inevan II, sending him flying.
"Thunderstrike!"
Lightning crackled in Orson's eyes as he unleashed a barrage of magical attacks.
Crit: -2100!
Crit: -2300!
Crit: -9200!
In mere seconds, Orson had dealt over 50,000 damage.
But Inevan II wasn't a pushover. His experience as a Lord-Class boss showed. With a roar, his body radiated a brilliant blue light as he activated Super Armor, negating all crowd-control effects.
"Forbidden Frost!"
Dozens of ice spears materialized, locking onto Orson and launching in rapid succession.
In another's eyes, the barrage might have been overwhelming. But for Orson, a reborn champion, it played out in slow motion. Calmly weaving between the spears with precise movements, he avoided all damage while continuing to hammer Inevan II with Chaos Magic Balls.
"Not bad, but still not enough," Orson taunted as the Frost Dragon Knight roared in frustration.
Ignoring Orson's attacks, Inevan II lunged forward like a ravenous wolf, aiming to prevent him from maintaining distance.
"Who says mages are weak in close combat?" Orson smirked.
Using his Radiant Sunshield as a springboard, he leaped high into the air, landing atop Inevan II's head and continuing his relentless assault.
Years of dominating with overpowered builds hadn't dulled Orson's technical skills. Facing such a challenging boss only reignited his competitive spirit.
"Wind God's Lament!" Orson whispered. A small whirlwind formed, pushing Inevan II's lance aside and yanking Orson higher into the air.
Before hitting the ground, Orson slowed his descent with a series of fireballs, landing gracefully and resuming his barrage.
In a short time, Inevan II's HP dropped by nearly a million.
"Crystal Frost Armor!" the knight roared. Blue crystals encased his body, massively boosting his defenses and negating all critical hits.
Orson's damage output plummeted, but he didn't seem concerned.
"You're slower now, aren't you?" Orson mused. He knew that powerful defensive skills often came at the cost of speed and agility.
Inevan II had effectively turned himself into a stationary target.
"Take your time. I'll just upgrade a few talents while I'm at it."
Opening his talent tree, Orson dumped his saved points into Chaos Magic Ball, maxing it out with a self-satisfied grin.