MMORPG: The Elementalist

‘In all my time playing H&G, I’ve never felt such disgust for a Boss. You’ve taken the cake!’

Holding only the deepest contempt for the Tier 5 Boss known as the Skelewing Dragon, Qin Ruo turned and gave a quick signal to Snowleaf behind him.

Without a word, Snowleaf brought forward her eight Frostramparts to shield them against the impending Tier 5 area-attack spell. Players with her level of experience were not so easily shaken by such things.

Though, in a battle against three Bosses at the same time, for two of them to simultaneously cast Tier 5 area-attack spells—she had to admit that it was something new, even for her.

Exactly how dangerous were those Tier 5 area-attack spells? Snowleaf and the others were not worried about that! Even for a Boss, one needed at least two seconds or more to cast such a spell. That was enough time for an alert player to get to a safe distance, maybe suffer some minor harm at worst.

There was even less reason for concern for Elementalists like Qin Ruo who had their dual defenses up. Protected by their Barriers, they would be untouched by any negative conditions from the spell.

There was no doubt that the Skelewing Dragon was a true Tier 5 Boss—a move like that had to have been planned in advance!

The negative effects of a Tier 5 area-attack spell could throw an entire battlefield into all-out chaos! It would be difficult for the human adventurers to properly direct the White Tiger Shaman or the Amethyst Orc while they were inflicted with a Confusion Effect.

Although it was a devious trick, it would ultimately prove useless.

Fwoosh!

Poochie shot across the battlefield like a bolt of lightning.

It flashed its razor-sharp claws, and one of the Necromancer’s Shadow Barriers was instantly torn to shreds, leaving the Tier 4 Boss naked before the impending onslaught of the Amethyst Orc!

Pow!

The Necromancer’s Tier 5 area-attack spell collapsed halfway through its casting, while its feeble body curled up like a dried leaf. One blow from the Amethyst Orc was enough to send it hurtling through the air.

Although there was little difference between the abilities of a Tier 5 Miniboss and a Tier 4 Boss, the Amethyst Orc was still the higher-level monster, plus a Melee-Type Boss at that. Attacking a Magic-Type Necromancer with no Barrier to protect it…

Heh heh…

Successive Strikes!

The Necromancer was completely helpless like a little boat being tossed about in a stormy sea. Under the never-ending assault of the Amethyst Orc, all it could do was cry out in terror.

***

Elsewhere, even without Poochie’s aid, the White Tiger Shaman was able to use some unique form of light magic to melt away the other Necromancer’s Shadow Barrier.

However, as Violet Orchid commanded the White Tiger Shaman to press on, the Skelewing Dragon vehemently blocked its second spell! As such, they were unable to stop the second Necromancer from completing its Tier 5 area-attack spell.

A dense mass of dark energy had coalesced over the Necromancer’s head, and bleak darkness suddenly poured down from the sky!

Every one of the players felt a deep sense of disquiet, as though something was very wrong. There was a deep thrumming sound, and it was as if that enormous patch of shadow had somehow bloomed with dark light.

“Watch out!”

“Not good—that’s a Black Sun Apocalypse!”

“Get back! Everyone, get away from it!”

Farther back, a crowd of Angel Faction players recoiled, shouting as they turned to flee! But by then, it was already too late—the Black Sun Apocalypse was already spreading outwards at the speed of an explosion!

Darkness swept across the scene, covering an area of a hundred meters across in impenetrable shadow!

This was the Black Sun Apocalypse of legend, a Tier 5 area-attack spell of absolute power. It did no damage at all, instead, it created a vast field of dark elemental energy.

What the Black Sun Apocalypse did was create a momentary advantage for all Dark Element users. Shadowmancers were able to enjoy the full benefit of their Elemental Perception, so the blinding darkness was no hindrance to them. Meanwhile, everyone else caught under the spell’s effect would be helpless to defend themselves.

In truth, it was not all that powerful—you just had to get out of the spell’s area of effect and you would be okay. But when it was used in such circumstances, it was a complete nightmare.

Qin Ruo and the others had no hope of making it out in time, hence they were swallowed by the darkness.

The Skelewing Dragon and its Necromancers were lost from sight.

***

“Haha! Now they’re done for!”

Watching from afar, the group of Demon Faction players danced with wicked glee when they saw the Black Sun Apocalypse appear, covering the battlefield in darkness.

No sooner did they speak than a column of divine light descended from the heavens, piercing through the very heart of the darkness!

Immediately, every last bit of shadow was washed away by the holy light.

The two Necromancers—one having just finished casting the big impressive spell, while the other one still taking a horrible beating—as well as the Skelewing Dragon, who had ignored the White Tiger Shaman and dived straight for Qin Ruo’s party… Everything was suddenly revealed for all to see!

Under the effects of the Divine Pillar, the Skelewing Dragon’s descent was slowed down ever so slightly. Then there was a great, thundering roar, as a freezing, mighty gale came howling from the ground below!

It was the Twelve Frostramparts Formation!

Even as Violet Orchid’s White Tiger Shaman had been working to dispel the surrounding darkness, Qin Ruo had taken control of Snowleaf’s Frostramparts and pushed them all towards the Skelewing Dragon as well as its Necromancers.

As the divine radiance burned away the shadows, the Skelewing Dragon came into view directly above the Frostramparts!

Bolstered with a Darkfrost Potion, the chilling effect of the Twelve Frostramparts Formation was tremendously enhanced! A withering blast of cold rushed up and caught the dragon in mid-air, snuffing out its corona of fire. The entire length of its massive body was instantly coated in a layer of white frost!

However, there was more to see besides the sudden appearance of the mighty ice labyrinth, and dragon, which was frozen in mid-flight; there were also two more Frostramparts, just hanging up in the air…

Whoosh!

While the assembled players were still astonished and dumbfounded, a small brown creature hopped up the two airborne Frostramparts. It climbed them to reach the sky, where it struck the Skelewing Dragon with the force of a thunderbolt.

Poochie: Target hit. Dealt 1 damage to Skelewing Dragon!

Skelewing Dragon has been Stunned for 5 seconds!

***

Before dozens of disbelieving eyes, the Skelewing Dragon’s titanic body buckled as though it had collided with an iceberg. It shook violently and toppled out of the sky, right into the middle of the Twelve Frostramparts Formation.

Crashing into the ground, the Stunned Skelewing Dragon was powerless to resist the effects of the cold. Its flames were extinguished entirely, while the frost upon its scales continued to spread!

“Now!”

“Attack!”

Qin Ruo, Black Rock, and the others went crazy, throwing everything they had at the fallen dragon with wild abandon.

They were joined by the White Tiger Shaman and the Amethyst Orc. The White Tiger Shaman’s fight with one of the Necromancers had been taken over by Subjugator. In contrast, the other Necromancer, which had been badly ravaged and tossed around by the Amethyst Orc, was passed over to an even more violent and fearsome creature—the one known as Steel Dude.

***

“What?!”

Much farther away, a Demon Faction warrior slammed his fist into the tombstone in front of him, shouting in disbelief, “What the hell just happened?!”

It was inconceivable. With the Black Sun Apocalypse in effect, the Tier 5 Boss should have held an unbeatable advantage; instead, it had been instantly taken down along with the two Tier 4 Bosses.

They initially thought that this bunch of Angel Faction players could not possibly escape the combined wrath of three Bosses at once, and their bodies could be easily looted after the dust had settled!

Seeing the way they trampled all over the three Boss monsters instead, they now felt like they did not know what was going on anymore, except for the fact that they had suddenly fallen from riches to ruin.

It felt disgusting.

“Damn it. Can someone explain to me what just happened? How did…” The Demon Faction warrior whirled around. It looked like he was about to beat some satisfaction out of his teammates, when something truly terrifying appeared in his sight out of nowhere.

‘Players from the enemy faction? How?’

Even as he moved to respond, Fateless gave him a little smile, having already revealed himself a couple of moments ago. He threw a knife with a flick of his hand, and it buried itself deep into his victim—an attack as swift as lightning!

As the two Elementalists nearby began to realize that something was wrong, the Bandit struck with his dagger like the fang of a venomous viper. Shortly after, he was standing amid the Bowmaster, the Summoner, and the other warrior.

Unlike a typical Bandit, Fateless did not hesitate to take on six enemies at once. In the space of a single breath, he had drawn his poison blade across all six of them, hidden behind the tomb.

Devastating damage combined with powerful poison reduced all six of the Demon Faction elites to lifeless corpses in mere moments.

After the last, blackened body toppled to the ground, Fateless did not immediately bend over to loot their stuff or wear the relieved expression of someone who had just finished combat.

Instead, he looked back in the direction he had come from, his expression grim. Moments later, he raised his dagger defensively and remained still, carefully watching a nearby patch of tall grass.

Silently, he closed his eyes.