MMORPG: The Elementalist

Venturing once again into the Aricus Underground Ruins, Qin Ruo carried himself as a visiting guest and smiled pleasantly at the surprised yelps of Violetmoon Devilite and Gold Digger Babe. When the Gorefiend Spider appeared beside them out of nowhere, even Wang Da and Dinosaurcerer let out sounds of shock and horror.

“Ruo! Here, over here!”

“Hurry up and freeze it! Argh, faster!”

Alongside the amused laughter of Slayer’s Heart and Burning Rose, Qin Ruo was like a long-suffering fireman, conjuring Aquaramparts one after another, holding back wave after wave of the Gorefiend Spiders which kept popping up nearby. Good thing there were so many puddles in the area, and Qin Ruo had no shortage of experience with Gorefiend Spiders.

Everything went smoothly, he managed to keep the situation under control, and gradually the four newbies were able to get the hang of things, becoming more accustomed to their surroundings, as well as the presence of enormous, hairy, fast-moving giant spiders.

By the time they reached the entrance to the third level, some of them had totally calmed down—with Slayer’s Heart, Qin Ruo, Little Apple, Burning Rose, Little Arrow watching over them, they were basically unscathed the whole way. Anyway, they were not children—thinking back on how helpless they were back then, they wanted to take full advantage of this opportunity, and push themselves to improve!

To think that it would be two girls who figured things out first.

Violetmoon Devilite stood in the middle of the formation, staying close to Qin Ruo’s side. Watching how he contained the Gorefiend Spiders in the area quickly and precisely, she occasionally provided assistance to Little Apple and the others, the first to notice any threat to the experienced mentor and the rest of the team, and the first to get into the rhythm of keeping Little Apple and Slayer’s Heart healed up.

The next one was Gold Digger Babe.

Although the giant spiders here were able to see through a Bandit’s Stealth ability, she was nevertheless able to find a role for herself in the team!

To the front!

Gold Digger Babe followed behind Little Apple and Slayer’s Heart, paying attention to the way the couple went toe-to-toe with the horrifying Gorefiend Spiders. From her white-faced terror at first, she gradually found her nerve, and then began trying to help out Little Apple by using her sap to ambush the hideous, hairy spiders.

With Slayer’s Heart and Little Apple holding the frontline, and others bringing up the rear, although Gold Digger Babe’s moves were still a little clumsy, she was perfectly fine.

After several encounters, and having become familiar with the abilities of Gorefiend Spiders, Gold Digger Babe rapidly got over a girl’s fear and dread of hairy creatures, and truly joined the fray in close combat.

If the girls could overcome these trials so quickly, surely the boys could not be too far behind?

Feeling that their manly pride was at risk, Dinosaurcerer and Wang Da got fired up, all their fears completely forgotten. As though they had a sworn grudge against all Gorefiend Spiders, they whipped themselves up into a murderous rage.

Seeing that all four of them had found their footing, Slayer’s Heart sighed deeply with relief.

To tell the truth, he had been worried the whole way here, doubting whether the four of them would be able to deal with even a minor scare like this. If that had been the case, and they had happened to come across a Deathvenom Spider on the third level, wouldn’t they have had to turn and flee?

It would be even worse in the dungeons, cramped and confusing, the hairy monsters crowding in on all sides, crashing against them like waves—it was a harrowing experience that was nothing like what you’d find while merely on the second level of the Ruins.

Fishing out the key they had picked up near the entrance, they proceeded down to the third level of the Ruins.

Compared to the last time, Qin Ruo felt that they had much better fortune this time around, since they were running into barely any spiders at all, and had encountered neither a Deathvenom Spider nor Gorefiend Spider Demon. It felt more like a sightseeing tour, hardly any effort and they were already almost at the altar nearby.

“Eh?”

As he was consulting the map and preparing to summon the dimensional portal, Slayer’s Heart paused a moment, suddenly noticing a pool of slick green liquid on the floor, reeking of something foul—completely out of place in the secluded alcove of the altar.

Just as Slayer’s Heart was noticing this, Qin Ruo also figured something out…

The two of them exchanged a look, their brows furrowed.

“Someone’s been here ahead of us!”

“No wonder we’ve had so little trouble the whole way here… let’s go!”

*Boom!*

Slayer’s Heart swiftly threw open the dimensional portal and urged everyone to hurry through, for fear that the monstrous spiders might respawn at any moment and cause an unnecessary fuss.

However, as soon as they’d entered the underground chambers, Slayer’s Heart came to regret this.

*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*

*Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!*

The noise filled everyone’s ears—the distinctive sound of a Chameleon Spider’s brisk movements, and the sound of Violetwing Venomspiders spreading their wings in concert from the corridor up ahead, a sound to send shivers up your spine!

Regardless of whether they’d been here a few times before, or this was their very first time here, all ten of them felt the same sensation.

“Look who’s crashing the party!”

“Damn them!”

Startled, Slayer’s Heart realized he had made a mistake by only worrying about moving on before the monsters respawned to cause them trouble, but completely failed to predict that the other group might also have finished assembling the necessary parts from a Gorefiend Spider Demon, with the same objective in mind—the dungeons of the Underground Ruins. Rushing to enter the underground chambers, and running smack into a horde of spiders who had been meant for the first group.

In that situation, no one had time to respond or make preparations!

“Light!” Slayer’s Heart called out, already dashing forward to place himself between the spiders and his party, while yelling, “Qin Ruo! Little Apple! Wang Da!”

“Charge!”

As the leader, although Slayer’s Heart was burdened with disappointment over his own mistakes, his mind remained clear. He knew that at this distance, the party had already been forced into combat status. Now there was no choice but to face them head-on and do their best to hold them off!

It was all up to the four of them to buy as much time as possible for the rest of the party behind them to prepare for battle. As long as they could hold the line, things could still work out somehow—if not, they were all done for!

Little Apple and Wang Da were warriors and did not rely on time-consuming chants or incantations; they could throw themselves into the fray at a moment’s notice, and were a natural choice for keeping the enemy at bay!

Because Qin Ruo had the Mana Drain spell, despite all the time they’d spent in the Underground Ruins, not once had he failed to bring to bear his Frost Barrier and Darkfrost Shield, while Greater Shield was always ready in case of any dangers or surprises. As a matter of course, he had accidentally become the main pillar of support for the party! His presence was a tremendous boon during the greatest misfortune!

Sure enough, Qin Ruo did not let down Slayer’s Heart.

From the moment they had entered that maze, his Elemental Perception had activated instantly, even through the deafening commotion. It gave him a clear idea of everything that was going on within fifty meters all around!

At the edges of his Elemental Perception, massed hordes of Chameleon Spiders and Violetwing Venomspiders surged forth in overwhelming numbers, as though bursting forth to defend a hive.

“Damn!” Qin Ruo cursed bitterly, moving to take up position beside Slayer’s Heart. He snatched out a Magic Scroll from his pack, hastily casting the spell.

“Million Arrow Sleet!”

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Just then, Violet Orchid used the Illuminating Crystal to produce a beam of soft green light, fifty meters long, which instantly lit up everything ahead of them!

Ten meters away from Qin Ruo, a great blizzard fell like a rain of arrows upon an area twenty meters across, saturating the area with deadly missiles which caught the oncoming wave of monstrous spiders directly!

Under the torrent of the Million Arrow Sleet, the Chameleon Spiders and Violetwing Venomspiders were slowed down dramatically. Meanwhile, a dozen of the Violetwings began firing volley after volley of poison needles at Qin Ruo, who had stepped forward to draw fire to himself.

However, Qin Ruo was no longer the weakling he used to be on his first visit to this place. Back then, it had taken Frost Barriers, Aquashields, and numerous Aquaramparts to blunt their assault, and he had still needed healing from Violet Orchid.

Now with Tier 4 dual defenses, what did he have to fear from them? Instantly laying down a crystal-clear Aquarampart before himself, to say that the damage he received was minuscule was to be too generous.

But there was more!

Qin Ruo could clearly sense that the corridor, thirty meters wide, still contained a few Chameleon Spiders and Violetwing Venomspiders, rushing in from both sides at extreme speeds.

Hurriedly retrieving a white potion from his backpack, a faint trail of vapor wafting gently from the bottle, he consumed the entire dose with a single gulp.

Next moment, something extraordinary happened!

*Foom! Foooom! Foooooom!!!*

Though the crashing cacophony of the Million Arrow Sleet falling was already deafeningly loud, it could clearly be heard growing louder. Besides Qin Ruo himself, everyone else could feel its biting chill. The Chameleon Spiders and Violetwing Venomspiders within the area of effect, already having their movement speed slowed by 20%, now instantly froze solid from a single hit.

Water Elemental Magic by 16%, Freezing effects were improved by 24%! With a powerful spell like Million Arrow Sleet, the effects were basically overkill.

The Chameleon Spiders and Violetwing Venomspiders caught in the heart of the spell were all frozen in their tracks instantly!

“Well done!”

Witnessing two-thirds of the incoming attack halted so firmly, Slayer’s Heart couldn’t help letting out a wild roar, before diving into the enemies to the left. Little Apple and Wang Da, meanwhile, charged into the right flank.

All the while, Violet Orchid and Violetmoon Devilite shone their blessed radiance upon Wang Da and Little Apple.

Burning Rose, Dinosaurcerer, and Little Arrow began frantically preparing their long-ranged attack skills. Despite the sudden crisis, the ten-man party was able to act in perfect harmony.