MMORPG: The Elementalist

“You have really improved a lot, haven’t you? Like the freak you are!”

Steel Dude sized up Qin Ruo. His remark was so loud and clear. Hearing his remarks, everyone in the party could not agree more and nodded in agreement.

Refusing to be outdone, Qin Ruo responded, “You are the freak who likes to deal blows to the head.”

The players from the Bauhinia Clan smiled wryly while the rest nodded. Qin Ruo was right. The Head Crusher of this bulky fellow was freaking weird. He had crushed the skulls of all the Spirit beings they encountered along the way. Simply no one knew why he had such a strange interest.

“Haha! That shows my powerful and imposing grandeur. You won’t get it.”

Steel Dude was not in the slightest way worried about the cynical gaze staring at him. Instead, he proudly extended his arms and repeatedly tightened and loosened his grip. A glistening cold light emitted from the sharp edge of the blades shone on his Darksteel gloves. An ear piercing scratching noise sounded with his hand movements.

Indulged in the scratching noise, Steel Dude turned to talk to Qin Ruo as he grinned, “Let me tell you a secret and you tell me yours. How about that?”

“Ah?” Qin Ruo stood startled.

Steel Dude suddenly regretted his words.

“Oh no! There are too many people besides Sister Violet and my clan. If everyone knows this, it will be a big loss for me. Forget it!” He might seem awkward and careless but he was actually extremely meticulous. He purposely did that to pique the curiosity of the players in the party.

However, Qin Ruo knew that out of the six people, one of them was not capable of standing against temptation—Black Rock. As soon as Steel Dude finished talking, Black Rock responded. “That’s easy. You tell us your secret then each of us will tell you ours. Fair enough?”

“Well, I am not interested in the secret of your Head Crusher. But I am interested in the secret of Fateless, Qin Ruo, and the pretty Summoner. Alright. I am in.”

“Seems interesting.” Subjugator smiled and agreed.

The mysterious guy Judge seemed have agreed too.

“I would never miss any interesting stuff,” Fateless responded, out of everyone’s surprise.

Presently, Qin Ruo could feel that everyone was focused on Snowleaf. Her gaze swept across everyone and stopped at little Poochie, which was nestled in her embrace with open eyes.

“Alright. I am in.”

“Great! Since everyone agrees, let’s get started. Steel Dude! You go first!” Seeing that a consensus had been reached, Black Rock was extremely excited as he urged Steel Dude to tell his secret.

“Uh!”

In a somber mood, Qin Ruo pointed at his own nose, indicating that he had not decided. Not only Qin Ruo, Mad Dog and Bird Hunter were on the same page with him. The two players exchanged looks, encouraged each other with their eyes wet with tears and at the same time listening attentively to the secrets of these Champions. They could never miss such a rare experience!

“Would there be romantic stories?”

“Uh huh…” They furtively mumbled.

“Well, my secret is… of all Field Commanders in the Bauhinia Clan, my battle strength is actually the worst. However, many players are more afraid of me than the others. It happens during the battle as well. It is particularly useful. The same opponent would fall in my hands far faster than they would when dealing with others. That is the advantage of my nickname. It is also the reason I had always end a battle by crushing the opponent’s heads. It is a trick to build up my prestige and loftiness. Even if the opponent is aware, their mental strength would inevitably be affected and demoralized.”

Qin Ruo and the rest fell silent for quite a while. Demoralizing the opponent with some tricks was a good move indeed. This fellow was truly a master in this matter.

“Who is next?” Steel Dude’s eyes fixed at Qin Ruo as he asked.

Qin Ruo coughed as he said, “We go according to the sequence of response just now. Black Rock, it’s your turn!” Thus, Qin Ruo skipped his turn.

“That was cunning!” Black Rock exclaimed disdainfully but obediently told his story.

“Alright, let me tell you the strength that I am more proud of. If nothing goes wrong, a Tier 4 Warrior is no match for me. If I were to fight with a Tier 4 warrior, one-on-one, I have the absolute confidence in victory.

“Pfft!”

“Stop bragging!”

Steel Dude and Subjugator were of the same class as Black Rock—warriors. Hearing his unscrupulous remarks, both of them burst out of anger. The last warrior in the party lifted his massive machete and shouted, “Prove it!”

The remarks of a warrior of the Three Great Leagues’ Field Commander class had halted the progression of the whole party. Burning with curiosity, everyone turned to look at them. Black Rock that was covered in cold sweat, caught in an awkward predicament while Steel Dude, Subjugator, and Judge were grinning excitedly.

“Don’t get me wrong. I was saying if nothing goes wrong.”

Black Rock wiped off the sweat on his forehead. For the first time, he felt this mysterious man in the party to be terribly straightforward and his sudden burst of momentum was scary.

The situation was truly horrifying, just like when he was dealing with the Deadwood Commander.

Blackstone quickly explained, “Judge, your guarding skill is exceptional and capable of resisting all Negative Attacks. My Petrify will do you no harm.”

“Petrify?” Steel Dude and Subjugator halted their movements.

Seeing this, Black Rock continued.

“Well, it’s Petrify from the Dark Gold ring that I got from completing a quest…”

“What?” Steel Dude exclaimed. His eyes widened in rage, restraining the urge to swallow this fellow. Flying into a great panic, eight people in the party turned to look at Black Rock. Their eyes were filled with burning anger. Except Violet Orchid, she was only a little startled.

Crap! A Dark Gold ring! As Violet-tier equipment and accessories were most commonly found items, this fellow had actually gotten a Dark Gold accessory that was as equally rare as the Legendary equipment. He must be terrifying! Suppressing the strong urge to know more about the quest, few people held their breaths and continued listening.

He cleared his throat before continuing. “It is like this…”

Black Rock could feel fear still lingering in his heart as he glanced at everyone and continued in a low voice. “This ring comes with a magic skill–Petrify. Its attribute is freaking awesome…”

“Crap!”

A few people felt envy as they cursed inwardly. ‘Dark Gold equipment itself is already extremely powerful. Let alone the skill embedded in this equipment.’

Black Rock stared attentively at the few people surrounded him and said solemnly in a slow tone.

“If Petrify was activated, all players below my tier within ten meters would…”

A few people gasped while the rest looked at him in anticipation.

“F*ck! You little brat! Why didn’t you use your powerful skill? I was nearly killed in the battle with Deadwood Elf. Why didn’t you use it? I am going to kill you!”

“Brother, it was the Deadwood Elf with Magic Penetration. I didn’t even have the chance to get near it.”

“Black Rock, since we are so close to each other, sell me your ring.” Steel Dude suggested with a sincere stare.

He nearly got a heart attack looking at Steel Dude’s expression.

“Well, this is the first time we meet each other. So, we are not really close. Also, this ring is meant for a Terramancer… Oh yeah, I remember you shouted very loud at me just now.”

Black Rock had revealed Steel Dude’s true colors.

“Level 48 can never petrify someone who’s Level 49 right?” Judge asked.

“Yeah, but I leveled up to 49 on the way here.” It was another blow from Black Rock’s remarks. It was no wonder he had such an enormous ego. With this strength, he could sit on his high horse.

“Uh, I am done. Subjugator, it’s your turn.” Black Rock reminded the rest.

“Wait…wait…You don’t have any Dark Gold accessories, do you?” With a grave expression, Steel Dude turned and put his arm on Subjugator’s shoulder as he asked.

Subjugator merely shook his head.

Seeing this, Steel Dude stroked his chest and sighed. “Ah, please continue.”

Subjugator rolled his eyes and with a dull feeling tugging at his heart. Just as he was about to tell his secret, a voice sounded in the party’s channel. It was Fateless.

“We have no time for all of these. There are more than twenty players from the opposite faction ahead of us.”

Almost at the same time, the Bowmaster had also spotted a target. However, it was from a different party.

Growing increasingly tense, Violet Orchid raised her staff. “Brace yourselves!”