MMORPG: The Elementalist

Hostile attack by Permanent Lock.

The opponent used Shieldbreaker.

Frostbarrier was shattered.

Darkfrost Shield was breached.

The speed of the system notification was much slower than the combo attack unleashed by the Lizard Bandit and his two-headed Pet.

Both of the shields covering Qin Ruo had already collapsed when the system notification reached him. The two-headed Lizard’s Petrification and freezing spells were also just a moment away from the impact.

The Bandit’s stealthy ambush ability, incredible attack speed, coupled with the excellent understanding between him and his Pet had Qin Ruo pushed to the brink of death.

Under such circumstance where he was exposed to a top-tier Bandit and a relatively powerful monster defenselessly, it was basically checkmate onto Qin Ruo.

However, Qin Ruo did not give up just yet.

Despite the situation at its worst, Qin Ruo still managed to fall back reflexively in that instant to avoid the two-headed Lizard’s dual Elemental Attack while growling loudly, “Tidal…”

***

Although the ambush took place unexpectedly fast, an idea crossed his calm mind within that short span of time.

‘Based on my current Defense and HP, even Cub will not be able to instant kill me. I did not put on three Legendary Grade and three Dark Gold Grade Equipment just for show.’

The additional 1200 HP alone gained from the equipment had increased Qin Ruo’s HP way past that of an ordinary Berserker.

He did not think that there was any Bandit that could deal 1890 damage upon him instantly with a single attack when his Physical Defense was slightly more than 210 points.

Thus, the only thing he needed to prepare now was to retaliate immediately after he braced the attack.

Both Xiaoxiao and Poochie were just next to him. He could certainly overturn the situation with their help. Of course, it was only possible if he survives the killing blow first.

Otherwise, in case the opponent could really instant kill him with a single blow, Poochie would disappear following his death and Xiaoxiao would then be stuck in an extremely dangerous situation.

But the situation turned out quite unlike how he pictured it…

The dual Elemental Attack released by the lizard Pet was unexpectedly blocked by another thin layer of barrier covering Qin Ruo’s body. The spell that he chanted out of desperation, which he did not put much hope on, succeeded smoothly.

“… Roar!”

The tide was immediately turned.

The two-headed Lizard’s spells were intercepted by a barrier that appeared out of nowhere. Qin Ruo was hence unharmed. The spell linked to the Water Dragon’s Staff howled ragingly and gushed out to hit the Lizard on its head. This sent the sneaky two-headed Lizard flying back.

At the same time, a yellow radiance swiftly flashed by.

Poochie bolted out from Xiaoxiaos’s arm like lightning. It first stepped on Xiaoxiao’s shoulder and then directly dashed toward the Bandit hid behind Qin Ruo, who had just executed his second skill.

The sudden change dropped the Lizard Bandit’s jaw.

‘What the hell? Why is there another barrier ring beneath the dual defense? This completely foiled my ambush plan…’

After Tidal Roar was cast, a golden Shadowfox entered Permanent Lock’s vision.

“F*ck!”

There was no way Permanent Lock did not know how powerful this little creature beside Qin Ruo was. He knew he was doomed but still reflexively swung his dagger toward the incoming Poochie.

Swoosh! The dagger missed its target.

The golden Shadowfox abruptly hung in midair. Three golden rays shot out from Poochie’s body and then quickly landed on the other three directions surrounding the Bandit.

Shadowstrike Clone!

Poochie hit the target, inflicted 198 damage on Permanent Lock.

Inflicted Status Effect: Stun on the enemy, lasts for 3 seconds.

Poochie hit the target, inflicted 87 damage on Permanent Lock.

Inflicted Status Effect: Stun on the enemy, effect’s time extended to 6 seconds.

Poochie hit the target, inflicted 98 damage on Permanent Lock.

Inflicted Status Effect: Stun on the enemy, effect’s time extended to 9 seconds.

Poochie hit the target, inflicted 117 damage on Permanent Lock.

The four gold rays hit the Bandit in the middle from all four directions simultaneously. The pitiful Lizard Bandit was stunned for 9 seconds and also lost 500 HP after being trampled by the Pet. He was basically a piece of meat laying on the chopping board awaiting slaughter.

The two-headed Lizard was no better. After it was blasted off by Qin Ruo’s Tidal Roar, it coincidentally fell within the attack range of Pouchy. The bee acted decisively and sprayed a mist of Poison on the Lizard to reduce its Movement Speed by 40%.

After waiting for so long to spend some time alone with Qin Ruo, the emergence of the damned Bandit completely destroyed their romantic moment. Xiaoxiao loathed the intruder to the core. After she realized what had just happened, Xiaoxiao immediately instructed Pouchy to pounce on the two-head Lizard with its Water and Fire-type Magic Bullets.

“Wait!”

After the initial scare, Qin Ruo finally understood what had just saved his life. It was the Elemental Ring that he had obtained through the Tier 5 Advancement Quest. He first looked at the unconscious Bandit lying on the snow, then at the two-headed Lizard being pinned down by Pouchy and prevented Xiaoxiao from casting the deadly dual Elemental Bomb.

He could tell that Xiaoxiao wanted to kill the Bandit badly. He did not blame her for that. The Lizard Bandit almost took Qin Ruo’s life. If he was in Xiaoxiao’s position, he would not show any mercy too and could care less about the attacker’s identity.

But since he was the one who got assaulted, Qin Ruo was not as exasperated as his girlfriend after he survived the near-death situation.

He asked Xiaoxiao to cancel the double Compressed Bullet which might instantly kill the two-headed Lizard and also ordered Poochie to stop ravaging the unconscious Bandit.

Qin Ruo removed the Elemental Barrier and stared on the Bandit who had managed to sneak into his Elemental Perception without being discovered. He carefully reconstructed the shattered Frostbarrier and Darkfrost Shield around him.

He was anxious to know what other techniques aside from Stealth and Cloak could evade the Elemental Perception and allow the Bandit to draw so close to a Tier 5 Elementalist without being noticed.

Qin Ruo felt that he would not be at peace if he did not figure this out today. If not because of the Elemental Ring, he would be the one who falls in this Snow Domain today.

Moreover, he was also interested to know why the Lizard Bandit, who was making a name for himself on the official forum, suddenly pointed his gun at him. ‘Is he acting on someone else order, or is he acting on his own accord like the Psycho Demon?’

***

Right now, Qin Ruo only needed less than four seconds to establish his dual defense consisting of both Frostbarrier and Darkfrost Shield. Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, could also do it within six seconds.

After briefly performing Aquaheal on the two-headed Lizard, Qin Ruo ordered Poochie to ram into it mercilessly.

Bam!

The monster had just barely recovered from the Chill Effect and before it could make any move against Qin Ruo, the Lizard was forced back by Poochie and fell on its back. Both of its heads fainted with its white belly exposed.

***

The first thing Permanent Lock saw after he was released from the Stun Effect was the Aquamancer who calmly stood in front of him with his dual defense reactivated.

Lizard Bandit sat up on the snowy land and intended to activate Stealth. But he gave up after the Aquamancer said, “Please ask your Pet to behave, or else I don’t know how many more hits it could withstand.”

Only now did Permanent Lock realize that his Pet Big Tongue was being tied down by two Pets from the ground and the air. Beside them, a female Aquamancer continuously cast Aquaheal and “cruelly” dousing the two-headed Lizard with cold water.

The Bandit felt the chill down his spine witnessing the weird scene and finally understand why his opponent was so confident that he would not do anything reckless. He immediately pleaded with the opponent to stop harassing his beloved Pet and also order Big Tongue to lay down quietly.

Big Tongue was more than glad to receive the cease-fire order from its master. It had suffered enough torture by the two Pets and one player for the past ten seconds.

Interchanging Poison, Stun, cold water, and burning flame almost turned the Lizard into a shrivelled corpse. It obediently surrendered and lied down after received his master order.

***

Permanent Lock asked worriedly after the savage act over the other side came to an end, “What do you want?” He was at fault since he was the one who launched the assault without any valid reason. He felt a little uncomfortable talking to his target face to face after the failed ambush.

“You may go after you answer my questions.”

“If I refuse?” Permanent Lock challenged Qin Ruo. The latter raised his chin without saying a word. Bandit looked on and found out that three Darkfrost Stings were hovering above the pitiful-looking Big Tongue. Those needles seemed like they would fall at any time.

“You win. Ask as you please.” The Bandit’s ego deflated quickly. He did not have the bargaining chip seeing that the opponent had grasped his soft spot.

“First question, how did you evade my Elemental Perception?”

Bandit raised his head and said, “This is a secret. In exchange, I want you to tell me why you can instantly trigger another barrier…”

“There will be no room for bargaining.” Qin Ruo pointed to the other end.

The Bandit was defeated, once again…

“It’s known as Elemental Camouflage. This technique allows the player to blend him or herself into the Element present in the atmosphere. That’s why you can’t detect me through Elemental Perception.”

Qin Ruo frowned upon hearing that. ‘What an insane technique!’

“The second question, why me?” Although he could roughly guess the answer judging by the Bandit’s body language and attitude, he still could not help but ask.

This time, the Bandit looked away and answered plainly, “Because you are way more famous than those Tier 5 Elementalist I had put down before…”

“That’s the only reason?”

The Bandit nodded. He then glared at Qin Ruo with a questioning look. “I have answered all your questions. Will you really let me go?” The inattentive Bandit now only realized Qin Ruo had never made him a solid promise.

“That depends on whether you are going to give me any trouble in the future,” Qin Ruo answered coldly. “Last question, will you still look for an opportunity to kill me?”

“You think I am not embarrassed enough after I failed this time? Don’t worry, I will stay away from you in the future…” He said so while looking sympathetically at his pitiful Big Tongue. He swallowed and continued, “Only idiot will do that, not that I am a masochist…”