MMORPG: The Elementalist

“Tsk, how careless I am.”

Up in the air above the Underworld, a ghostly voice echoed past a Skeleton Dragon that was flapping its wings lazily.

The giant beast suddenly spat out a mouthful of dark flame nervously. Under the curious watch of its dragon companions, the Skeleton Dragon turned its head sideways then backward anxiously to find no one. After half a minute later, the Dragon swallowed back the flame and suffered the doubtful look in its companions’ eyes.

***

Qin Ruo distanced himself from the flocks of Skeleton Dragons. He could not tell how regretful he was. This was not how he had imagined it to be. He reckoned that with his Ring of Honor and Aquawings, he could definitely survive the Underworld and find the other campsite as well as Black Jail’s members in no time. Then, together, they would search for the path back to the Buried City.

Unexpectedly, the condition in the Underworld was way more terrible than what Black God’s brothers had described it to be.

To be fair, players from the Black Jail Clan had told them everything they saw. It was just that they were also new to this place and had yet to grasp the true picture of the entire Underworld.

For instance, other than the wandering souls on the ground and the Skeleton Dragons that were patrolling the air, those players from Black Jail were probably also blind to the fact that even a seemingly safe open space could be extremely deadly.

Along the way, in order to save the potion stock for later, Qin Ruo had descended to near the ground several times when his MP almost ran out. He planned to find a lone monster, drain its mana before continuing on his journey.

Unfortunately, every time when he thought he had landed on a safe spot, there would be movement under his feet the moment his soles touched the ground. A horde of Zombies, as if they had been waiting for this very instance, immediately scrambled out from the ground with a series of electrical bursts. If not because Qin Ruo possessed perception skill and constantly had his dual defenses activated, he most probably would have been electrocuted into a piece of charcoal by now.

Tragically, he had failed to encounter a single camp or Black Jail’s member thus far. The continent of the Underworld appeared to stretch out indefinitely. No matter how far he flew, he could not find a single living creature.

This was when Qin Ruo felt that he had acted too soon and too recklessly jumping into the Underworld out of sympathy without a thorough plan.

He should have asked Black Jail Clan to gather more intel and made the essential preparations before entering such a hazardous place. It was too late for any of that now.

He did not know how many camps were there inside the Underworld, how far and in which direction was the next camp and which area was safe enough for him to log out in case he was unable to locate any campsite at the end of the day. In such a world where Zombies jumped on you from any open space, Qin Ruo reckoned no place would ever be considered safe.

‘Sloppy decision.’

Perhaps he had mercy from God or perhaps he had finally reached the end of the continent, Qin Ruo found something ten minutes later, at last. On the left side of the horizon, more than ten blue flames in the shape of a circle appeared inside a shady valley, which was exceptionally eye-catching in the dark environment.

“That’s…” The first thing came to his mind was that the formation looked like a giant portal. It might be a warp portal that led to either the Buried City or Mythical Continent. He swiftly adjusted the angle of his Aquawing and glided toward the striking landmark.

The circle was definitely not a warp portal. It was just an unknown structure supported by metal frames with fiery blue crystal embedded on its top.

Qin Ruo felt odd as he found out that the large vacated area had literally nothing around it aside from the metal frame. No Specters, no humans—simply empty.

If not because the crystals on top of the structure were emitting a mild magical fluctuation and formed a firm membrane to block out his perception, Qin Ruo might have taken it as a humorous gesture of the Underworld creatures.

He knew what it was after he received a confirmation from Black God through the voice channel.

It was Sanctuary, a complex skill that was mastered only by a Tier 6 Radiant Priest. It worked like an Elementalist Barrier but did not have any defensive stats. Its main function was to conceal an important establishment. According to Black God, his members told him that this was created by a Demigod Champion using Spectral Mana Core, which could hide human traces and repel Specters from approaching the campsite.

It was thanks to this Sanctuary that the camp could avoid being disturbed by ordinary Specters (it was useless against powerful Specters) at night and guaranteed the camp’s safety.

“You have found a camp!” Black God sounded excited.

“Probably. But I don’t think this camp is occupied by any players since no one came out to greet me. They are not here.” He had now landed just outside the camp and deactivated Aquamorph.

He comforted Black God and switched off comms. Then, he walked straight into the circle rounded up by twelve metal frames and blue crystals.

The moment he passed through the membrane, the scenery in front of his eyes immediately changed.

A Mobile Camp instantly emerged on the empty plain.

On the outer rim lay a two-meter-high rock fence. The wall was smooth and solid throughout. No opening was seen around the fence.

However, Elemental Perception allowed Qin Ruo to “see” the three simple camps constructed with rocks right behind the fence, as well as a small and simple Resurrection Circle.

The layout was obvious at one glance.

The first thing that came into Qin Ruo’s sight was a Priest. He was sitting down beside the Resurrection Circle and was using Insight to search for the soul of human Warriors newly appeared within the vicinity. According to Black Jail Clan members, a Tier 6 Radiant Priest was able to resurrect the dead in a large area using the magic circle. But that required full concentration and total commitment from the Radiant Priest.

Inside the camp, another guy holding a bow and arrow was resting on top of a camp. Below him was a giant case. He seemed to notice Qin Ruo and nodded at him, an apparent invitation.

The last NPC on the campsite was sitting inside the camp on the left surrounded by bottles and vials. The Bandit-looking NPC was currently focused on the few cauldrons in front of him, throwing in different ingredients and herbs into it from time to time.

***

“It’s really modest,” Qin Ruo gave a rough comment on the camp facilities and waved his hand. An ice ladder immediately formed and was laid directly onto the rock wall.

He jumped down from the fence and walked into the campsite. The Radiant Priest was a little surprised by the unexpected arrival, but he immediately closed his eyes after taking a peek at Qin Ruo. He was probably too occupied to greet him with a smile.

The Bandit crafting a few potions inside the camp was also in no mood to bother him. He did not walk out from the camp and concentrated solely on the potion he was compounding.

Only the Bowmaster on top of the other camp was free. He leaped down and walked up to him, “It’s been a while. I thought everyone is dead. Well, I guess someone did survive. Greetings. I am Edgar, the captain of Camp Edgar. How can I assist you? Potions? Storage? Or do you need some changes to your equipment?”

Qin Ruo already knew the basics. He was told that everything here was managed by the three Demigod NPCs. He also knew that gold coins were useless in the Underworld. Any service he wished to get could only be exchanged with Spectral Mana Cores here. This was because when the NPCs concocted potions and collected resources, they would need a lot of Mana Core to prevent their camp from being detected. Gold coins had no value in this lifeless realm.

“Dear Captain Edgar, this is the situation. I am new to the Underworld and have no Mana Cores with me. I only wish to ask—in what direction is the nearest camp to this one, and how far is it?”

The Bowmaster gave Qin Ruo a strange look. “I see. So you are new to this place. Let’s see, a Level 50 Aquamancer. You can’t live past a day in this Underworld…” He looked at Qin Ruo sympathetically, as if he was sure that Qin Ruo must have gotten into this place accidentally against his will. He sighed.

“Well, since we all have the same goal trying to stay alive… I see that you have excellent flying skills, so maybe that will help you to survive better than a warrior or a Bowmaster. Still, this is not going to suffice. You better level up as quickly as possible. Your strength might be adequate against ordinary Specters, but only death awaits if you are up against Lich or Death Knight in your current state. Unless you have the ability to take down two or three Lich at once, you are doomed, one way or another.”

Edgar seemed to miss human interaction. He just could not stop talking once he was on it.

“Alright, since you are new to this place, let me be your guide and walk you around the camp. The Bandit over there is our beloved Mr. Yaeger. He is a Divine Chemist. He can make a normal potion with 100% success rate. But actually, he hates his job here. Imagine this, all he has done in the past forty years is either picking herbs from Specter’s habitat or crouching there crafting and sniffing all the pungent herbs. Even the most passionate Alchemist would have lost it. Ah, he doesn’t feel comfortable being talked about behind his back so we will leave him alone. Here, let me introduce you, our adorable savior Raleigh. Before you enter the next camp, he will resurrect you as long as you still have your faith left, no matter how many times you are killed.”

“As for me, I am here to help the travelers keep their stuff or trade equipment with them. As long as I am alive, your items will be safe with me in an alternate dimension, which can be retrieved from any Mobile Campsite in the Underworld. The value of the equipment will be determined by us and you already know what kind of currency we use here. Yes, Mana Cores. We only accept Mana Cores.”

After he finished introducing the camp, only then did he remember about Qin Ruo’s inquiry earlier. He made an “Oh” sound and drawled, “You are asking me where the nearest camp is? It is in the east, about 1400 km away. It is also situated inside a valley like this one, but I am not sure whether it is still there now. It might have moved or has been demolished by some Liches and Shadow Shaman platoon.

“…” Qin Ruo facial muscles almost cramped hearing this.

‘1400 km? Shit! What kind of joke is this! How huge is this Underworld?’

Edgar tapped the stunned and speechless Qin Ruo on his shoulder. “My child, I don’t know what you are planning to do, but let me give you a piece of advice. In the Underworld, no one has ever got what they wish for. If you really want to escape this reality, pump your level and get to Tier 6 first, then only consider the other matters. This is the only way you can have more time and freedom to explore the Underworld. Otherwise, you will be easily defeated by the harsh environment here. So, go now!”

“…”