MMORPG: The Elementalist

Majestic Hero and Black God sped up their advancement when they sensed that a fifth person had entered the underground maze. After that, they coincidentally came upon Qin Ruo’s match against the unknown Boss—a “Darkspirit Archer”.

As top dogs in H&G, Majestic Hero and Black God could naturally judge the Darkspirit Archer’s strengths and weaknesses; regardless of whether Qin Ruo was properly equipped, they were dumbfounded at his boldness to solo the Boss, which was at least a Tier 5 monster. He did not even summon his Pet. Even if they could handle the Tier 5 Elite Miniboss by themselves and gather stronger support, they still would not place themselves in a situation like that.

While the entire world was working hard to train their Pets to involve them in battles, Qin Ruo actually dared to venture such as a dangerous place to fight an unquestionably threatening Boss alone—furthermore, Qin Ruo was still just an advanced Tier 5 pro, unlike the other Tier 5 old farts …

It was undeniable that the Golden Key Adventure had given them a great harvest!

***

“I’ll snatch him from you?”

After hearing Black God blurting out that classic line from his script, Majestic Hero’s eyes held a smile and deep gaze. He shook his head and snickered, as though he had thought of something interesting. “Hehe, don’t worry, I won’t fight you for it… Since Bauhinia and Netherspirit’s Claw have been disregarded, I don’t think the Hall of Heroes would have anything that stands out to attract him to join us…” He paused and changed his tone, “If you’re able to get him to join the Black Jail Clan, that’d be great. But, I think Black Jail’s relationship with Netherspirit’s Claw will become bumpier as a result.”

“You think my Black Jail will be afraid of Netherspirit’s Claw?” Black God’s expression was indifferent. He looked at Majestic Hero straight in the eye, yet beneath his gaze, there was a small glimpse of hesitation.

Word was that the Winter Demon’s capabilities were pretty good, as he could already be considered a top-notch Elementalist! Qin Ruo was more than qualified to become a Field Commander of the League Clans. At the same time, he had his own reputation and set of qualities. Up until that point, Black God could not figure out how a person like that could still choose not to become a Field Commander… Just what was behind that person’s train of thought?

What Majestic Hero said was appealing because Qin Ruo was well-equipped and well-ranked. Plus, his skills and Pet were all quite exceptional. Meanwhile, he had close relations with the Bauhinia League… To entice someone like that to join the Black Jail Clan… to be really frank, he did not have an ounce of confidence in succeeding.

Moreover…

Qin Ruo must have entered the secret underground tunnel right after them!

A rookie advanced Tier 5 player and an Elementalist, actually rushed ahead of them in the underground maze openly and unharmed. The maze had a corridor with three times the number of Undead, so what could that possibly mean?

Black God was slightly disheartened…

As announced by Casanova’s Trading Hall in the official site’s forum, among the five Champions who possessed the Angelic Wings, the guy who had a similar appearance and equipment to the person in front of him, turned out to be the Winter Demon, Qin Ruo!

He even had a Divinity already…

Black God really could not think of a plan to come up with a convincing story for Qin Ruo to join his Clan.

While he dejectedly watched Qin Ruo continue to use his magic combo attacks on the Darkspirit Archer, Black God was temporarily out of fresh ideas. He turned to Majestic Hero and asked, “What should I do now?”

Majestic Hero flashed Black God a rare gaze as he replied resoundingly, “Just be patient. For what personally interests him, we can head over to say hi and find out once he’s done with what he’s doing… We have time after all.”

True, they did have time. After all, the two fellows from Netherspirit’s Claw could not have obtained the Golden Key under the watch of five Lichs. Perhaps… they could even be retreating in a hurry.

In the past, Black God never wasted his time waiting on someone else’s boring interests. This time, however, after he listened to Majestic Hero’s suggestion, Black God unprecedentedly relented and pouted. “Just observing is good as well.”

Hence, the duo flapped their Angelic Wings leisurely as they floated quietly at a distance from the battlefield. They did not head over to interrupt the solo fight.

However…

Even if they chose not to act, it did not mean that someone else would not.

***

“I’m in luck.”

Somewhere at the corner of the corridor, a Warrior, who had half of his head peeking out, glanced at the battlefield from a distance. He muttered to himself oddly while he retracted his head quickly.

“Mm?” A Terramancer gave his peculiar companion a look and quirkily asked, “Well, isn’t that Majestic Hero and Black Jail?”

“A Level 55 Elite Miniboss, the Darkspirit Archer, and… my old friend… Qin Ruo.”

“That’s him?” The Terramancer was slightly shocked. He never expected to bump into that guy.

“Who else could it be?” Ron pouted and sneered at his companion, “Doesn’t China have a saying? It’s used to describe situations like this… Somehow, you just can’t avoid meeting the people you don’t want to meet! Hmph!” With that statement, he obviously intended to settle their grievances within the underground maze.

Ron’s companion furrowed his brows—he was one of the main Clan members of Netherspirit’s Claw. Qin Ruo was someone Black Dragon had ordered them to finish off. Netherclaw had also mentioned before that if he bumped into the guy in the Buried City by any chance, as long as he had the opportunity, no mercy would be shown… The two big bosses had given the greenlight to kill, yet somehow his Party member, Ron just had to harbor a deep personal hatred for Qin Ruo. How was he to settle this?

“What do you intend to do?”

“Kill.”

Ron answered without hesitation.

“He better drop at least one Legendary Equipment…” After crossing paths a number of times, Ron had gained quite a deep understanding of Qin Ruo, and he knew how to strategically safeguard against him. He glanced over to face the Terramancer and warn him, “Oh yeah, Thousand Face, be careful when you make your move. This guy’s super cunning. He’s not weak either. He’s an expert at Perception and Elementalism, whereas his Pet has Magic Penetration and powerful Stun Effects…”

“Elementalism?” The Terramancer, Thousand Face smiled with confidence. “It’s not like you don’t know that among the seven elemental branches, Terramancers are the strongest ones!”

Ron nodded, as he was fully aware of his companion’s capabilities. Even if Qin Ruo’s abilities were very scary, they had allowed Qin Ruo to remain at Advanced Tier 5, giving them an advantage. And at that very moment in time, Qin Ruo was fully focused on dealing with the Level 55 Elite Miniboss… Getting a surprise attack from two Tier 5 pro players in a situation like that…

Not even a god could escape unscathed!

“When we head out, go straight for the kill! You trap his Pet while I approach him to break his defense!”

Thousand Face nodded.

The next second, the duo simultaneously rushed out of the corner of the corridor, raising their swiftness to the peak. They both charged towards the battlefield, which was less than a hundred meters away…

***

“Mm?”

The two figures who rushed out from the corridor were immediately spotted by Majestic Hero and Black God. The two were slightly startled and realized that two other persons were present in the underground maze.

“What are they trying to do? That’s despicable!”

Majestic Hero focused his eyes only to see that the two players were charging directly towards the battlefield where Qin Ruo was; a silhouette flashed, and he was suddenly stopped by Black God who had bolted in front of him.

“Why are you going over?”

“Don’t tell me you’d rather watch someone from Netherspirit’s Claw backdoor him?” Majestic Hero looked at Black God straight in the eye. The latter rolled his eyes and asked in return, “How do you know that he can’t handle them himself?”

“They’re both Tier 5 players…”

“So what? Their equipment’s lousier than his, and they have no Divinity with them. Also, don’t forget he’s grinding right now and he hasn’t started using his Pet… If he really can’t handle it all…” Once he got to that point of his argument, Black God empathized with Majestic Hero’s move. He stopped, and the both of them teamed up to rush towards the battlefield. Majestic Hero laughed and muttered, “I totally forgot about this… If he wants to escape, a Tier 5 Elite Miniboss can’t hold him down…”

The guy had yet to leave or summon his Pet. Was he planning to be devoured by those unscrupulous, ill-intentioned fellows? As they settled their thoughts, their eyes suddenly fired up!

***

It was Ron!

The moment the two individuals charged at him head-on, Qin Ruo instantly recognized the member of Netherspirit’s Claw League, whom he was so familiar with—Ron, Holy Clan’s Field Commander.

The other one was also sporting a burning Netherspirit’s Claw League insignia…

Observing the duo’s movements as they were ferociously charging towards him, Qin Ruo immediately understood their intentions and felt an alarm tugging his heart.

Since he had lost control of his Lycan Barrage, he actively exploded a Frostrampart to blur the visions of the Darkspirit Archer and the two others. Then, he started to furiously gather the Water Element from the air in the corridor …

Condense!

Condense again!

They were slowly closing in, now less than a hundred meters away…

It was not just the Darkspirit Archer, Ron and Thousand Face also rushed into the Elemental Perception zone! Tagging along were their two Boss-level Pets, which they had summoned together!

Ron’s Pet was a Silver Werewolf over three meters tall. It moved extremely fast on its four paws, instantly passing Ron and springing right into Qin Ruo’s attack zone.

Thousand Face’s Pet was a hawk, which was swifter than a Silver Werewolf. After it was summoned, it let out a piercing screech and utilized an Air Dive to plunge down ruthlessly from the sky!

Two Tier 5 monsters with overly-high HP in front, one Warrior and one Terramancer at the back, rushing into the Frostburst’s zone; not to mention, the Darkspirit Archer had just activated its invisibility… Two humans and three monsters instantly bursting forth with powerful attacks, leaving Qin Ruo feeling pressured and vulnerable even though he had already made prior preparations!

He felt a fatal threat advancing through the frost!

“Go!”

As he gritted his teeth, three Compressed Frost Bullets appeared, exuding cold, icy air. While he broke through the snow, without dividing his attention to the Terramancer and Ron, the three Compressed Frost Bullets were all aimed at Ron’s Pet, the Silver Werewolf. Qin Ruo knew that Tier 5 Swordmasters would have extra advanced defense, and support skills would not be enough to kill them easily…

Needless to say, for the Terramancer, who was a Tier 5 Supreme Champion with activated Dual Defense Magic, his Magic Resistance would surely be above 220. Including the barrier and defensive shield that weakened magic attacks and resisted fatal damage, he was a player that Qin Ruo could not easily defeat like those he had in the past.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Qin Ruo prepared to eliminate the two players’ Pets first—since Ron was his enemy, the Silver Werewolf naturally became Qin Ruo’s first killing target…

On the basis of not having the support of innumerable HP, even if it were a Boss-level Pet, facing a single magic attack that carried close to 400 damage could only lead to…

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Continuous loud explosions were produced from four Ice Blades that shot through the hopeless, howling Silver Werewolf. Upon being attacked head-on, the surface of its body was covered with frost. Countless wounds cut into its flesh in an instant, and blood spurted out. It could only use its inertia to roll over…