MMORPG: The Elementalist

8 p.m., Saturday.

Demon Faction, Sin City, the second floor of a certain tavern near the city gates.

Near the window, a middle-aged warrior had been mingling nearby the Sin City portal, the cities’ various famous taverns and shops. Then, as if an old cat that had picked up the scent of fish, he narrowed his single-eyelid gaze as he excitedly scanned the endless crowd at the street below from the window ledge of the higher floor, all while happily grabbing sweets from the plate before him, stuffing it into his mouth and chewing slowly.

The name of the middle-aged warrior was Squealing Hog, an elite enthusiast who had lived as a professional player for many years.

Several years before, due to family reasons, he was forced to go underground and rope in “Little Brothers” beneath his previous banner to build a game information organization, specializing in gathering and selling intelligence in the game to guilds or individuals who needed it and make a living in.

Squealing Hog did not have other talents. He simply had more free time every day, was more prudent and had a brain that worked fast, and was especially sensitive than most others towards unusual happenings, hence always noticing such things a step ahead.

Today, Squealing Hog had found something interesting once more…

“I’m making a killing today!”

Squealing Hog was gnawing the seven plate of sweets, a vague delight that was forcefully suppressed emerging from his face: something huge has happened—something huge!

From six in the evening until now, Squealing Hog had felt something odd about the portal. As he moved to the place where he often squatted and observed carefully, the aspect he found unusual became even more distinct!

He had noticed that the last few days, the wave of leveling stirred by the Pet System and the Buried City had reduced the number of people around Sin City, and yet there was suddenly a considerable stream of people!

Even if that particular stream was indistinct and did not create a raucous or congested sight—not even other players on the street had sensed it, several anomalies had elevated Squealing Hog’s alert and attention.

Firstly, there was an abrupt rise of people leaving the city. The details that Squealing Hog focused upon was different from other players, and he could sense the degree of control the mastermind in controlling the stream of people by merely observing the amount and frequency of people leaving the city. The middle-aged player was aware that most Clan Leaders were wary of people such as them and would often be as discreet as they could when they made any big moves, so that they would not draw the attention of organizations such as Squealing Hog’s—which they called “Rats”.

That was why most experienced clans would succeed in blocking some normal recon methods, but it was impossible for them to be delayed long just for deceiving the “Rats”. Therefore, there would always be exploitable loopholes… and the flow of people was one of Squealing Hog’s methods of observation.

Another method was through the player’s insignia as they went in and out of the city, which he could see from above… and the number of same insignias was the scale of the movement!

Furthermore, on this day, Squealing Hog had discovered that at least twenty League Clans of the Demon Faction had consecutively mobilized a hundred thousand personnel, each fully armed… even if all of them left town in parties of different sizes just as there were other more complex circumstances, the scrupulous Squealing Hog still managed to catch the hidden detail within, all while he strongly sensed the rapid rise of Sin City’s popularity.

A joint operation of the Four Great Leagues?!

Squealing Hog’s mind shuddered at his very conclusion. There had been only one other occasion that such a huge movement was made H&G went online—on that occasion, the Angel Faction’s Moonrise City almost fell to the Four Great Leagues of the Demon Faction…

Could this be the same thing too?!

“Squealing Hog!”

It was one of Hog’s Little Brothers calling, and a hint of joy showed at the depth of Hog’s gaze. “You talked to him?”

“Um-hmm. Just set a price too…”

“How much did he want?”

“Five thousand gold coins!”

“The hell! One piece of information for five thousand gold coins… Do I still have to make a living?” Squealing Hog bawled as he slapped his table. “I could just work for him! Cunt! Tell him two thousand—take it or leave it! Either he calls me on voice chat now, or fart off an hour later!”

With that, Squealing Hog mysteriously regained his composure and unhurried expression as he slid a diagonal gaze at the street outside the window, once again calmly and unaffectedly clawing the sweets in his plate and throwing it down his mouth. That was when an unfamiliar voice requested for access, which Squealing Hog accepted while suppressing a cold, pleased giggle.

In less than ten seconds!

“When will I get the money?”

“We’ll see if your information is worth the dime…”

“What if you go back on your word?”

“The heck! My word is gold, and it had always been so! Go about it however you want.”

“Very well… you’ve guessed correctly. Our clan received the news of a half-past-eight operation, coordinates are ***, ***, ***”

“To do what?”

“Clan Leader did not say, will inform when the time comes.”

“So secretive?” Squealing Hog’s brow twitched. “What do you think it might be?’

“How could I tell what goes on in their brains all the time? Might be a Boss, might be something else…”

That was when the voice on the other side paused for a moment. “No, there’s too many people so it might not be… Our Clan Leader even insisted that everyone must be here since today’s a weekend—although leave could be applied special reasons, anyone not coming online would all get kicked out indiscriminately… What’s more, everyone must be full of supplies before arriving, and they even told us that this must not be leaked outside, that it’s a Clan ban offense as well! Alright, that’s about it, pay up…”

“Hell, leaking means getting kicked from the Clan? And you still dare to sell this information?”

“What’s not to dare for? Hell, I’ve already seen the light—they are kicking the noobs once they recruit pros, and there was no lack of kicked players recently. My turn is probably soon, so how could I live by myself if I did not seize the chance to profit a little?”

Hog was left speechless for a while. Swiftly making payment, he pondered for a moment in front of his table before connecting to an important client from the Angel Faction.

“Damned Hog. I don’t recall asking to buy your information recently.”

This time, the voice from the other was hard and stony, as if they had suffered a loss from Hog.

“This time is not you buying but me selling… We’ll just see if Bauhinia Clan is buying. It’s very bad news, fresh off the oven—as for price… heh, fifty thousand gold coins tentatively!”

Squealing Hog, the merchant: information bought at two thousand gold coins and two hours of observation, selling at fifty thousand gold coins.

“F*ck! Your appetite is really growing! Speak. Firsthand or secondhand?”

“Firsthand at the moment, but it’s happening soon so I’m not sure how many times the information would have change hands when you finally decide to buy it… Well, sleep on it. I’ll call you five minutes later.”

Then, without waiting for the person on the other side to answer, Squealing Hog quickly relayed the same speech and tone to fifteen important members of Netherspirit’s Claw and Hall of Heroes.

The starting price was the same, all fifty thousand.

***

As minutes passed, a dozen of those individuals Squealing Hog had contacted chose to agree to his price after considering his credibility. Several of those players who had been hesitant decided to hear out the information first—if the information was true and mattered to them, they would pay such a price.

“Deal!”

Clearly, Squealing Hog had done much business with those people. Nodding carefreely, he first informed Bauhinia, Netherspirit’s Claw, and Hall of Heroes about a very vital information, before consecutively sending voice messages to the twelve other Clans.

“Hog, you can’t fool around with such matters!”

“Are you sure?!”

“Did you verify it?”

Everyone on the other side became nervous all at once!

“Of course it’s verified—a member from the Satan’s Salvation League personally admitted it. Every member of the League is carrying full supplies and entering the Mythical Battlefield, and their coordinates is quite well hidden…”

“If it’s unconfirmed, am I not painting a target on my own head? The information is a hundred percent reliable: I’ve kept watch for over two hours, and there had been more than a thousand members of the twenty League Clans leaving town. That includes certain reputable clans as well, including Twelve Zodiacs, Ring King, Glory… Fallen Angel…”

“Their operation commences on half past eight, so watch and act accordingly… If things prove uneventful for the Angel Faction tonight, the Old Hog will retire home and raise my kid—but if it does not, remember to transfer fifty thousand gold coins into my account. Alright, that’s about it.”

One information from Squealing Hog, and the Angel Faction was unsettled all at once!

***

Nevertheless, in that moment, a figure suddenly entered the Mythical Battlefield and approached Sin City and the Demon Faction.

It was Qin Ruo.

After spending an entire day to train Poochie to Level 50, he also mastered several simpler Tier 5 spells, just as he got a few little ideas about Advanced Elementalism.

Even so, he knew that there was a great gap between himself and veteran Supreme Champions such as Majestic Hero… Before leaving the Buried City, his mind kept revising the parting words Majestic Hero and Black God left him.

Before improving his ability to another level, he must not recklessly challenge veteran Supreme Champions. Furthermore, that did not apply exclusively to Dark Dragon—he must not simply provoke any veteran champion.

Majestic Hero told him about many other things at the time as well, enlightening Qin Ruo about things many did not know, which included the hierarchy of ability amongst the thirteen Tier 5 Supreme Champions.

“Snowmelt” of Netherspirit’s Claw, “Nameless Bamboo” of Bauhinia and “Heaven and Hell” of Hall of Heroes were the weaker trio—they were the latest to advance, but naturally were just half a notch behind the others. Of the remaining ten, only the abilities of Majestic Hero, Scarlet Bauhinia, and Netherclaw were the more outstanding who stood on the pinnacle of the Angel Faction. Below them, the remaining seven who include Black God, Dark Dragon, and Homme Fatale were champions of equal measure.

Even if there were now almost five hundred Tier 5 Supreme Champions at the moment and more than two hundred of them serving the Angel Faction, they appeared inexperienced compared to those thirteen veteran Supreme Champions.

Qin Ruo had already experienced that particular aspect profoundly from Majestic Hero and Chameleon. Though they were all Tier 5, their very abilities were of completely different classes!

As for Black God, his class as Shadowmancer limited his inflicted damage to spectral beings and in turn made him not appear shocking toward Qin Ruo. Still, since Majestic Hero held Black God to be on the same level as Black Dragon, Qin Ruo naturally would not dare to be rude—Black God’s ability was generally beyond his own, his depth immeasurable while Qin Ruo’s single advantage was in his Pet.

To improve his ability to his next level and revel in the allure of Advanced Elementalism, Qin Ruo had decided to hone himself through more actual combat. He would find a Tier 5 Mega Boss, greatly increasing his experience by fighting alone just as he completed missions!

Having activated Aquamorph to leave Moonrise City, Qin Ruo found a secluded place and spread his wings, rising into the clouds…