MMORPG: The Elementalist

“Damn! Even God helps those who are handsome. This is f*cking unfair!” When they left the office together after work, Brother Da who walked alongside Qin Ruo, suddenly complained in a sarcastic tone.

Qin Ruo was, at that time, contemplating how to finish the delayed work accumulated throughout his absence, and he asked reflectively, “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t act dumb with me.” Brother Da wrestled Qin Ruo’s neck and whispered a warning, “Kid, don’t you dare flirt with Manager Ireya ever again, you got me?”

“What… When did I?” Qin Ruo denied the accusation innocently. He wondered what had gone wrong with Brother Da for him to bring up such nonsense out of nowhere.

“How dare you deny it! You didn’t apply for leave, you’ve been absent from work for six consecutive days, and you only asked me to inform Ireya on your behalf. Six whole days! Yet your bonus hasn’t been deducted and you don’t even need to be scrutinized. I also saw Ireya chatting happily with you this afternoon. You’re such a douchebag! Tell me honestly, since when have you targeted my dream girl too?”

Brother Da was getting more and more agitated, raising his tone. This turned the heads of several colleagues who passed by. Qin Ruo was feeling uneasy, and he hurriedly covered up Brother Da’s mouth. “Hey, do you wish to see me get scrutinized?” He finally understood the point Brother Da was trying to make. Apparently, Brother Da was not happy that he was not disciplined for skipping work.

‘Be reasonable!’

“Bullsh*t!” Brother Da shook off Qin Ruo’s hand and righteously said, “I’ve never dared to skip work even though I’ve been her No.1 admirer for so long. You, bold bastard went off for six consecutive days. It’s absurd! Not only that! Whenever I was late, she’d pick on me and show no mercy. You, on the other hand, weren’t schooled, and you chatted happily with her after your unauthorized holiday. What am I supposed to think about that?”

“Cut the crap. I’ve never applied for leave months after my employment. Plus, I’ve behaved and performed well all this while. So, of course, Manager Ireya wouldn’t mind my once-in-a-blue-moon violation,” Qin Ruo explained patiently to Brother Da but still could not help rolling his eyes. “That being said, the reason why Ireya always picks on you has to be because she cares about you. You see, if she hates you, why waste time talking to you?”

“Don’t you try to divert the topic. Tell me honestly, is there really nothing between you two?” Brother Da glared at Qin Ruo furiously.

“Well, really!”

“Not even a tiny bit?”

“Not even a tiny half bit,” Qin Ruo reassured Brother Da. He knew that Manager Ireya was Brother Da’s goddess. Thus, he reckoned it was best he made things clear with his best buddy.

However, Brother Da was still unconvinced. He grumbled, eyes up like a child, “I don’t believe you.”

“I swear.”

“Well, save your swearing. I’ll believe you if you’re willing to give me one of your Dark Gold Equipment.”

Qin Ruo knew at this point that he had been set up by Brother Da.

Regardless, he was going to surprise Brother Da anyway even if he did not pull such a scheme. Since Brother Da mentioned it, he no longer wanted to hide the good news and told Brother Da about the few Zephyr Swordmaster Equipment he had passed to Violet Orchid for safekeeping. He also mentioned the three Pet Eggs he obtained from the event.

“Pet Eggs? Three of them?” Brother Da’s eyes opened brightly when he heard the news. His excitement grew when Qin Ruo told him that one of them was from a Tier 5 Miniboss.

“A Lethal Balrog’s egg would be very valuable in the market. But I guess you don’t plan on selling it. You’re passing it to Burning Rose instead, right? Too bad, Burning Rose’s already bound herself to a Tier 4 Pet she found in the Graveyard of the Gods. It’s a Fire-Element Monster.”

“Huh?” Qin Ruo was startled. Indeed, he planned to gift the Lethal Balrog egg to Burning Rose. A Tier 5 Fire-Type Boss would enhance the battle strength of a Pyromancer exponentially. Unexpectedly, Burning Rose already obtained hers while she ventured through the Graveyard of the Gods.

‘If hers is also of the Fire Element, then its final form might be the same height as the Lethal Balrog. All right then.’

“Then the Lethal Balrog is all yours.”

“Me? Umm, forget it. Although I want it, I don’t really feel like I deserve such a powerful Pet. I think you better hand it to my master,” Brother Da rejected Qin Ruo’s generosity and suggested otherwise.

“Your master?” Little Apple’s face came to Qin Ruo’s mind. ‘That’s right. We haven’t been in contact for the past few days. I wonder how she fared inside the Graveyard?’

“How is she? Did she get hurt in the Graveyard of the Gods?”

Hearing Qin Ruo’s question, Brother Da’s eyes dimmed, and he shrugged with a sigh. “Not everyone was as lucky as you. She’s now at the same level as you. She almost dropped all of her equipment. So I feel that the equipment you’ve prepared for me should be given to my master first.”

Qin Ruo heart sank when he heard the bad news.

In fact, he was a little ashamed. After the incident at Killer Bee Valley, he had not contacted Little Apple or the other ladies since, so he did not know what had happened to them in the Graveyard. After the event ended, he had slept soundly for more than half a day. He was awakened in the morning by Brother Da’s call and arrived at work barely on time. In other words, he did not have time to get in touch with the girls yet.

So when he finally got the news from Brother Da, he was eager to know more and could not wait to fly back to his apartment so that he could log into the game immediately.

“How about iLittle Arrow and the others?”

“Little Arrow is still all right. She didn’t get killed as much, and I heard that she managed to get some good stuff out from the Graveyard. She gave up on going back in after she listened to Sister Violet’s advice. But still, they’ve been rather depressed lately. They did feel better after they learned about your courageous act inside the dungeon though. Again, give that set of equipment to Little Apple. Since my skills aren’t up to the standard yet, wearing Dark Gold will just attract unnecessary attention and jealousy. My heart will ache to death if I accidentally drop it in a battle,” Brother Da spoke the truth. Wearing rare items with subpar skills was like strolling alone in the street with a big case of cash.

Qin Ruo remained silent for a while before he spoke, “You sure?” He was uncertain if he would ever get such a lucrative reward again since such a large scale event like the Graveyard of the Gods was rare.

“Of course. I owe Little Apple a lot after learning from her so I can’t bear seeing her so depressed, much less wear a full set of Dark Gold Equipment joyfully while she’s looking. The Dark Gold Equipment I requested earlier, I asked on her behalf too.” Brother Da turned serious and spoke as he walked, “I’ll let you decide on the Lethal Balrog. Sister Violet’s Pet has been fixed as well. It was given to her by her brother. It’s also a Tier 5 Miniboss. So now, there are only four people left in the party who still lack a Pet. I’m still weak so I don’t mind. You should pass those in your hands to the three ladies.”

“Okay.” Qin Ruo nodded. “Since you have such a noble intention, I’ll grant you your wish. The Lethal Balrog for Little Apple, Darksteel Snowsnail for iLittle Arrow, and Three-tailed Terratoise for the little girl… As for you, we’ll see what we can get in the future.”

“Damn, what ‘in the future’?” Brother Da was calm when Qin Ruo distributed the Pet Eggs, but he got anxious upon Qin Ruo’s final statement. He rolled up his sleeves and said, “You better be quick and get the Dark Gold Equipment ready. You’ll have to come with me to the Aricus Underground Ruins in two days’ time. I don’t believe we can’t farm for a Pet Egg there.

A speechless Qin Ruo could only laugh and shake his head.

Back in the game, Qin Ruo contacted Violet Orchid and the others immediately. He was still worried about Little Apple and the rest of them. It was really improper to have not called them for such a long period.

“The usual place.”

Qin Ruo quickly rushed to Champion’s Restaurant after he received Violet Orchid’s simple reply.

The 10-person party got a rare full attendance, including Xiaoxiao who had just reached home after work.

After they greeted each other, Qin Ruo was immediately “ordered” by the ladies to summon Poochie for them.

Qin Ruo smiled bitterly. Ever since he hatched the little creature, though the cheeky monster was a magnet for pretty girls, Qin Ruo’s own charm had been completely overshadowed by the furry Pet. He wondered whether it was for the better or worse.

“Little Ruo, have you regained your energy after resting for the whole day?”

“Hehe!” Qin Ruo touched the back of his head and grinned. He then prepared to transfer the items in his Vault to the party’s Sharing Column.

However, as soon as he opened the Sharing Column page, he found that a pair of Legendary Frostplain Greaves and two Dark Gold Elementalist Equipment had already been deposited in it.

After he studied the attributes and Class restriction of the three equipment, Qin Ruo was utterly delighted. He looked at Violet Orchid and Slayer’s Heart…

The two of them smiled faintly back at him as Violet Orchid explained, “You deserve it. The Legendary Equipment was purposely handpicked by Scarlet Bauhinia from the League arsenal to repay your Sealed Mana Core. The two pieces of Dark Gold Equipment have some fair attributes. They were exchanged with the Dark Gold Equipment you left in my storage when I saw someone offering it through the League Channel.”

Violet Orchid transferred the three equipment from the Sharing Column directly into Qin Ruo’s backpack and murmured, “Four Dark Gold and one Legendary quality… Now, the boots are left, I suppose…”