Ch. 21 — The Summoning Horn

To go or not to go, now that is the question.

With the Paladin of Discipline shell equipped, Lin Xun didn’t hesitate to crush ordinary small monsters in his path.

His only worry was running into another boss.

“I just logged in today. No way it’s already triggering the anti-addiction system, right?” Lin Xun muttered to himself.

He pressed “Yes.”

[Brave Apostle, you choose to step forward and investigate.]

[In the shadows, the owner of those blood-red eyes reveals itself: a tall and sturdy steed. Its entire body is covered in a bizarre crimson flesh, a pair of large curved horns growing from its head, and foul, scarlet breath exhaling from its nostrils. In front of it, remnants of sunflowers seem to linger in its feeding trough.]

[The gaze it fixes on you is filled with wariness—any sudden movement on your part, and it may attack.]

[Your shell retains the knight’s horse-taming skills.]

[Would you like to attempt to tame the ‘Turkoman Bloodhorse’?]

A free mount, just like that?

Lin Xun thought to himself—this option probably only appeared because he was currently using the Paladin of Discipline shell.

If it were a Blood Sun Cultist instead, the only option might have been to attack.

“Good thing. If I hadn’t been taken out by those vines earlier, I would’ve kept using the Blood Sun Cultist shell to explore the castle. Seeing this horse with only an attack option, I’d likely have chosen to kill it for loot—no chance of ever getting this mount then.”

[You stride forward and press your hand to its neck, attempting to mount.]

[The ‘Turkoman Bloodhorse’ throws you off. Overwhelmed by your powerful presence, it refrains from attacking you.]

[Taming failed!]

Huh? It failed? So taming has a success rate?

The taming option was still there.

Lin Xun clicked to tame it again.

[The ‘Turkoman Bloodhorse’ throws you off once more. Overwhelmed by your powerful presence, it refrains from attacking you.]

[Taming failed!]

Another failure. Looks like the odds of success weren’t that great.

The on-screen text continued scrolling.

[Frustrated by your repeated failures, you begin to feel irritated. What will you do with the horse?]

[1. Grab the Dragonhunter Lance and skewer this ‘Turkoman Bloodhorse’—in short, “F* this bloodhorse.”]

[2. Keep trying. You believe this defiant steed will eventually submit beneath you.]

[3. Give it up. You’re never going to succeed. Let the horse go. Let yourself go.]

Lin Xun raised an eyebrow. Can’t tame this horse? He didn’t buy it!

He decisively chose the second option.

[The stubborn Apostle refuses to give up and continues taming.]

[…Taming failed!]

Keep going!

[…Taming failed!]

[…Taming failed!]

[…Failed!]

…

No idea how many failures it took, but finally a new message popped up.

[Taming failed!]

[You feel a bit fatigued.]

Lin Xun was speechless. He remembered seeing this message once before, when he had used the Blood Sun Cultist’s skill to frantically backstab enemies while grinding.

At this rate, the Paladin of Discipline might end up collapsing from exhaustion just like the Choir Sister, wasting precious gameplay time.

“That doesn’t make sense. If taming is just a matter of probability, then I should be able to just keep clicking.”

“Worst case, I burn a day or a few days on this—but I’ll succeed eventually.”

“Game mechanics like this are totally meaningless…”

“No, wait. This game’s origin is unknown. There’s all kinds of speculation on the Apostle Forum—some say aliens made it, some say gods, and others claim it’s from future humans… In short, this game can’t be judged by normal logic.”

Lin Xun found himself stuck in another dead end, mindlessly clicking the tame option again and again.

The screen kept showing[Taming failed!]

Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed through his mind. Lin Xun snapped out of it.

He opened the inventory and checked a long-forgotten item.

[Black Spiked Collar (Item): A leather collar studded with sharp spikes. When used, has a small chance to overwhelm certain submissive creatures with intense stimulation, rendering them unconscious. If the effect fails, the item is not consumed.]

Humans had a long history of domesticating horses. The background of Chapter 323 felt like medieval Europe. If horses existed in the castle, that meant humans in this world had already domesticated them.

This fit perfectly with the item’s description: “overwhelm certain submissive creatures with intense stimulation.”

He clicked on the item, and sure enough, a new prompt appeared.

[Would you like to use the ‘Black Spiked Collar’ on the ‘Turkoman Bloodhorse’?]

Since failed usage wouldn’t consume the item, Lin Xun didn’t hesitate.

[You used the ‘Black Spiked Collar’.]

[As the collar fastened around the horse’s neck, the crimson steed let out a sharp cry, its eyes rolling back as the scarlet breath from its nostrils thickened.]

[You pressed your hand against its neck and tried to mount. This time, the horse was too overwhelmed by the intense sensation to resist.]

[Taming successful!]

[Item used successfully. The ‘Turkoman Bloodhorse’ was overwhelmed by the intense stimulation and fainted.]

[The fainted ‘Turkoman Bloodhorse’ dissolved into shimmering starlight, leaving behind a curved horn on the ground.]

[You have obtained the summoning horn of the mount ‘Turkoman Bloodhorse’!]

[Summoning Horn — Turkoman Bloodhorse (Special Item): A large, curved horn that seems to be made from the horn of some creature. Etched into its surface is a blood-red horse rearing on its front hooves. Use it to summon the mount — Turkoman Bloodhorse. Blowing it again will cancel the summon. If the mount dies, you must spend 1 point of Soul Strength to reshape it before it can be summoned again.]

Lin Xun’s eyes lit up.

He had the Paladin of Discipline shell—how could he not have a warhorse to charge into battle with?

He wondered what would happen if he summoned the warhorse and used Blood Charge. How powerful would that combo be?

The thought alone made Lin Xun materialize the “Summoning Horn” in the real world.

His hand grew heavy—a horn half the length of his arm suddenly appeared.

The black horn looked like it was made from some creature’s horn—one end was pointed, the other flared into a wide opening. Red lines carved a lifelike blood-colored warhorse along its body.

The massive steed etched into the horn had a pair of horns on its head and looked as if its flesh had been peeled off, revealing robust, bright red muscle fibers.

The horn felt great in his hands—smooth, solid—and Lin Xun couldn’t help admiring it.

Suddenly, the blood-red warhorse, mid-charge with its front hooves raised, seemed to wink at Lin Xun!

He nearly tossed the horn in fright.

Looking closely, the scene seemed like an illusion. The blood horse etched into the horn hadn’t moved at all.

“Maybe I should find a quiet place and blow this horn—see if I can really summon the bloodhorse in the real world.”

His fingers itched. All men had a thing for mounts.

In ancient times it was horses, in modern times, cars. But through the ages, the obsession had always been the same…