MMORPG: The Elementalist

The requirements for a Party’s Battle Points missions were low just as it was open. Any player could apply for it and delegate the mission to a hundred and ninety-nine other players, with two hundred players being the upper limit of a Party.

Applicants and any other player entrusted the mission could gain one Battle Point by slaying a player from the opposing faction who was Level 40 and above. On the other hand, being slain by a player of the opposing faction deducts one battle point.

The mission would then be complete led when two hundred Battle Points was collected!

In the past, the mission was very difficult for Dinosaurcerer. Most players who appear in the Mythical Battlefield were mostly Tier 4 Clan Elites or solo adventurers with certain abilities. With the abilities of his comrades sharing their domain, to enter was simply making himself a free lunch…

For his part, Dinosaurcerer was at a stage where his ability was improving, which kept him from entering the Mythical Battlefield to collect Battle Points and kept the mission delayed indefinitely.

Moreover, since he knew Qin Ruo’s temperament, and that he and Slayer’s Heart would definitely not establish any Clans themselves, that idea appeared irrepressibly in Dinosaurcerer’s head right after the Honor System of the Angel Faction was reduced to zero.

Thus, he quickly added Qin Ruo, Brother Da, and the others into the list of mission delegates.

***

Qin Ruo accepted Dinosaurcerer’s delegation. It was something he could do in passing, and Dinosaurcerer’s Party could be formed in half an hour or perhaps less…

Turning his eyes away, Qin Ruo entered the Elementalist Guild which was not far from the bank. The Ring of Honor’s attribute had indeed presented itself, but there were still many questions and secrets.

But the moment he stepped into the guild, Elder Morley and a band of old men looked toward him, dozens of eyes seemingly linked by ESP.

Qin Ruo sensed at once that things were different from their first meeting.

At the time, the Demigod-tier geezers were so focused on the Ring of Honor that Qin Ruo appeared to them like empty air, even reluctant to assign him missions. Today, however, they were no longer obsessed with the Ring: they studied him carefully and genuinely, a hint of praise and acknowledgment showing in their eyes.

If it had been any other occasion, Qin Ruo would have remained there and probed carefully for more information from those old bones, but now really was not the time…

He went to them, and at once requested that Elder Morley tell him the remaining secrets of the Ring of Honor!

In turn, Elder Morley cast him a surprised glance and nodded, extending his palm.

“Let me see the ring.”

Qin Ruo did as he was told.

Although its soul reshaped and the personal assignment was clear, the Ring of Honor remained pitch black and seemingly insignificant. Apart from the glint that flashes between long periods, it was as dull as the most ordinary of Blue-tier Rings, perhaps even less exquisite.

Nevertheless, Elder Morley’s expression was turning somber.

Having accepted the ring and studying it carefully, a faint elemental presence started to appear over the surface of the item as if drawn by the Elder, and was swiftly absorbed between his fingers into his body.

Qin Ruo was left at a loss while arguing with himself whether Elder Morley was taking advantage of his ring, or using his item to train.

The process lasted over half a minute before Elder Morley let out a long breath in relief as if having accomplished a great feat. He took a long look at the ring in his hand and then returned it to Qin Ruo.

“It’s so tiring to decipher it once after every personal assignment… Take it. You can now directly infuse your own mana into it to find out about the Trials assigned to you.”

“Trials?”

Qin Ruo took the ring that seemed not to change much awkwardly, looking up to the Elder with a puzzled expression.

“That’s right, it’s what my Clan call it,” Elder Morley explained, wiping away the sweat on his brow. “All you have to do is infuse your mana. Only those acknowledged by the ring could view the Trials, and every master is assigned different Trials.”

“…”

Qin Ruo frowned at the Ring of Honor that was the focus of countless weird old people, summoning a thin sheet of water element that wrapped around it.

Then, in the split second that the elemental mana touched the ring, Qin Ruo abruptly sensed a profound power consuming the elements in its entirety…

Right after that, information surged into his mind.

“Slay one Mega Boss above Level 50 of each element. Present elemental bosses remaining: Light, Dark, Wind, Thunder, Earth, Fire, Water.

“The Ring of Honor would automatically activate the first attribute when the first phase of Trials is completed.”

***

When Qin Ruo looked up again to find old wrinkled faces looking at him, Elder Morley could not help asking, “What mission is it?”

“Well…”

Hesitating at the sight of the demigod NPCs’ stubborn curiosity, Qin Ruo asked, “If the mission is completed and the Ring’s attribute activated, would the attribute buff me even if the Ring is kept in my bag?”

After all, he did not have to wear it for the storage attribute to be activated and used directly, which in turn put funny ideas in Qin Ruo’s head.

But as he had imagined, it was nothing other than a delusion.

Having seen that those weird old men had such a belittling expression on their faces it might as well be written, Qin Ruo quickly stopped himself from asking.

Be that as it may, Elder Morley—ever dutiful—pointed feebly at Qin Ruo’s hip while a frightened expression showed in the player’s face. “It is correct that the Ring of Honor’s storage attribute could be used directly, but that’s because your soul bond is bound to your storage space… On the other hand, other attributes could only be used by wearing the Ring.”

“Oh.”

Red-faced, Qin Ruo quickly told them about the first Trial and sprinted out of the guild, having not the bravery to face the elderlies’ weird gazes.

Unbeknownst to him, their weird faces became even more distinct after he left, and all of them gathered by a large table and whispered away.

“That kid’s character is… nothing impressive.”

“Um-hmm.”

“If the First Trial is already so difficult, how is he going to complete those that follow?”

“That’s right… the early attributes are basics, and even if he managed it the ring would probably reach Dark Gold-tier. How would he stand a chance against the Tier 6 Overlords later? With that scrawny body of his?”

“Oh, poor doll.”

Just as the weird old folks breathed long sighs, Elder Morley muttered, “That might not be the case.”

“Hmm?”

“The difficulty and attribute of the Ring of Honor has never been constant, just as there are high grade and low-quality Dark Gold-items.”

There was a profound inscrutableness on Elder Morley’s face.

***

Once outside the guild, Qin Ruo spread his Angelic Wings and took to the skies as countless players looked on, making a beeline for east and quickly vanishing in the unfathomable colors of the night.

Flapping his wings and streaking through the night winds above the skies of the Mythical Battlefield, Qin Ruo easily caught a vivid sight of wide spans of area beneath him.

Outside their cities, most of the Demon Faction had chosen to return to town at once. However, there were also those who chose to hide deep within the Mythical Battlefield further away, using the landscape against the pursuing Angel Faction players who in turn were splitting apart.

After a dozen minutes delay, the Angel Faction players’ appeared not as intimidating the further they moved from Moonrise City…

It was then that the disadvantage of having no Clan and Party was quickly exposed!

Angel Faction players could only form groups of ten, and only communicated instructions through Party Channels or by simply shouting it, distinctly inferior to the Demon Faction who was organized and executing stealthy strategies.

Even so, with the will to fight as a legion in mourning, every Demon Faction player displayed combat ability far superior than before. Fights of various scales thus spread to every corner of the Mythical Battlefield, from the forest to the swamps, the plains and even in the skies!

Meanwhile, Qin Ruo did not join the fray.

There were too many battlefields and could be seen as far the as the eye could see. Moreover, Qin Ruo was no savior, and his present target was only the Twelve Zodiacs… and Tiger Cub, not to mention that everyone would be fleeing once he descended with his Angelic Wings!

At that thought, Qin Ruo promptly cast Aquamorph, replacing his Angelic Wings with Aqua Wings and vanishing from the vision of innumerable players. As winds billowed past his ear, he promptly accelerated and glided away much faster!

Minutes passed.

Like a stealth aircraft, Qin Ruo streaked past the Monster Mountains…

From that point on, there was no longer any signs of Angel Faction players, although there was certainly no lack of Demon Faction players—they appeared to have just received the news, and was rushing from Sin City to Moonrise City with the intent to add insult to injury…

Qin Ruo descended slightly to an altitude of a hundred meters, darting past areas with many Demon Faction players, using his Elemental Perception to scan every player on a wide range.

***

Below him, many Demon Faction players were chatting loudly away about the fall of Moonrise City.

“Did you hear? It was actually Tiger Cub of the Twelve Zodiacs who knocked the nail into the Angel Faction’s coffin this time, damn it.”

A Berserker was sighing. “That kid was too damn lucky. It seems that Elemental Perception could not really sense Stealth and Cloak… From what my colleague was saying, the Angel Faction’s bosses were blanking out in the last few minutes—they simply don’t have the time when they realized that it was Tiger Cub.”

“Still, they put up a vicious fight.”

“That’s right. I heard that Savior, Death Jesus, and several other Veteran Champions were all done in by the Angel Faction?”

“So what? They’re all numbed when Tiger Cub made his move. For Pete’s sake, that rascal’s skill is too powerful! Heaven knows where he got it. Either way, he just has to find a place to hide in any upcoming sieges and the Angel Faction won’t be able to do anything about it!”

As soon as those words escaped the mouth of a priest, however, the players around him glared at him in disdain.

“You idiot.”

“How is he going to use that skill when Tier 5 Bowmasters make their debut?”

“Set aside Bowmasters,” a Berserker added, “Tiger Cub is nothing if not for the Five Great Leagues fighting and spilling their blood! If the Angel Faction knew he’s there, they could force him out with time… What would he be then? Could he really hide for life in the city? You can’t only look at his result in the final minutes—Savior and Death Jesus actually led their forces and made a stand on the city walls for more than fifty minutes. If anything wrong happened in between, the siege duration would have been reset, and Tiger Cub would be found early on! Without the other Four Great Leagues, would he have claimed that glory?”

***

Right after that Berserker finished his sentence with much spirit, a cold and unfriendly voice echoed beside his ear.

“The one saying that Tiger Cub is nothing… It was you, right?”