"Look at you, Antonio. I know you would die soon but, you will be reincarnated and have to marry me." teased Natalie.

"Ah, in your dreams Natalie. I would pass out happily as I am just one step away from meeting my end. But you, You would not live for too long either for my friends will hunt you down and ultimately kill you." laughed Antonio.

"Have you gone insane, What do you even mean by that?" cried Natalie.

"I am in my senses. I am speaking the truth. If I passed out I would die in real." informed Antonio and slipped out the dagger from the slim scabbard at his thigh.

"Would you please elaborate the matter to me?" asked Natalie.

"Surely, I will do. After this," yelled Antonio as he strikes at the left knee of Natalie and made her fall on the ground.

As soon as Natalie fell on the ground and growled in pain, Antonio swiftly stood up and drank a restoration potion which was in the survival kit given to him earlier by Leon. Immediately, Antonio's Hit Points bar restored to a hundred percent. He grabbed his Falchion and in a swift motion stabbed the right hand of Natalie to pin her on the ground. Natalie again growled as the blade went through her hand.

Natalie tried to take out the blade with her left hand but, unfortunately, Antonio stabbed her left hand with the dagger, pinning both her hands to the ground firmly. During the duel, both of them had turned off their pain reduction meter which became a bane for Natalie. The pain wouldn't stop and to her bad luck, her Hit Points decreased to fifty.

"Natalie, Accept the defeat and I will save your life with this restoration potion that I have," ordered Antonio.

"Huh, Never. I won't accept my defeat and take aid from you. I was winning this, The victory should be mine then, how did this happen?" yelled Natalie taking out her anger.

"Just do it, Natalie, I don't want to kill you. I really am not interested in killing someone."

"Whatever you say but, I am not gonna accept defeat," shouted Natalie and suddenly her body started to turn into small shards and soon disappeared.

As soon as Natalie's body vanished, The words [Victory] floated in mid-air marking that the duel was over. The invisible war around the hall disappeared and both Leon and Luke rushed into Antonio and hugged him tightly. Antonio's gaze fell on Leon whose one hand was busy wiping the drops of tears that fell on the ground.

"Is it real that you, The great first Dragon Knight is crying?" teased Antonio.

"Hey, Just shut up! I am not crying." scolded Leon.

"Yes, you are, Leon. Both of us just saw you wiping those tears." laughed Luke.

"Okay Fine! I was crying a bit. I cannot afford to lose someone whom I can consider as a friend." accepted Leon.

"Okay, let's find the others. So, we can just rescue them. Also, I just sent a message to the others who were guarding outside." informed Antonio.

Antonio, Luke, and Leon went through the narrow pathway in the bottom right corner which led downwards into the basement of the fortress. In the basement, they saw many people locked into different cells. Among them were people who lived in the city, A few players and the baron of the city of Woodrow.

After trying several lock combinations, Luke unlocked all the cells with his lock-picking skills. His lock-picking ability also increased by three levels. Everyone gathered in the great hall of the fortress of the Woodrow city after they all were successfully released from their imprisonment. The Baron himself stood beside his throne on the raised platform.

"Today, I am pleased to announce that we found these three brave heroes who saved everyone from this catastrophe. I would like them to come forward to accept the rewards that they really deserve." announced the Baron as he clapped his hands to praise Antonio and his friends.

The whole hall burst into applause as soon as the Baron started clapping. Antonio, Leon, and Luke went through the departing crowd to finally reach before the Baron. Antonio was very nervous about what was about to happen next. He turned his head into all the direction and finally spotted his two friends who were looking directly at him with respect.

"Antonio Vanguard, Please come forward and take your reward which you rightfully deserve." called the Baron.

"Yes, Yes sir." stammered Antonio as he stepped forward.

The Baron held Antonio by his shoulders and gently made him sat on the glass throne. He looked at the Baron with shock and then moved his gaze at Leon and Luke who gently nodded at him. The Baron then, took his left hand and gently slid a silver ring in his index finger. The ring had a mark of two swords crossed and a shield behind it.

"This ring marks you as the new Baron of the Woodrow city. As I have no heir and getting old, I was looking for one. I rightfully accept you as my son and from now on you belong to the noble family of Asteria." explained the Baron.

"What is this, I became the son of a Non-Player character inside a game. Weird but, interesting." thought Antonio as a slight smile appeared on his face as he looked at the old Baron who was addressing the crowd.

Antonio flashed his silver ring to Leon and Luke who just nodded and held up their hand to reveal a black and a gold ring in their index fingers which also marked them as a Noble but, both of them were Viscounts whereas Antonio just became a Baron. Antonio was glad that everything ended pretty well and their party was successful in the siege of Woodrow.

"Time for double celebrations. Now, Antonio Vanguard is the new Baron of the city of Woodrow." announced the Baron and held up a glass full of red wine.

The crowd of people which consisted of locals and players from around was happily cheering and singing a carol. Antonio was also dragged by the people and everyone surrounded him and danced around him. Many of them shook hands with him introducing themselves and appreciating him for his bravery and courage. Suddenly, Antonio received a message from an unknown player. The message read:

Young Baron of Woodrow,

I hope the celebrations are going pretty well. I am impressed by the way you beat Natalie. It was pretty clean. I must say you got talent. To be honest, you shouldn't have killed her but, you did. The girl was under my spell and now your comrades, Chris, Jason, Arnold, and Mia are captured by me. I haven't expected this from you. But, If you want to save them then, meet me in the city of Altia.

Yours Truly,

HR, Baron of Altia