MMORPG: The Elementalist

Moonrise City, at the upper deck of Moonlit Restaurant.

Netherclaw, whose hands were rested on his back, was standing in front of the window inside a luxurious room. His eyes twinkled while watching the roads and alleys crisscrossed throughout the entire Moonrise City from the vantage point.

Coming here to look at the never-ending stream of pedestrians in the city every time after they return home from a successful quest had become Netherclaw’s routine. It was through this habit that Netherclaw could exclude himself from Netherspirit’s Claw seemingly unbeatable status at times. He did not want to be satisfied with short-term success.

Only here was he able to maintain a clear mind and remind himself not to be blinded. There was still a long way to go before he could conquer the entire Angel Faction and become the number one player that everyone looked up to. He knew just how much effort was needed to achieve that.

Netherclaw’s distinctive self-awareness and discipline had propelled him this far. He was taking one step at a time with his goals set on attaining the title of the strongest Clan, to the strongest League, and finally to be called the strongest player of the Angel Faction one day!

But the aura around him was a little different today. Even the few Tier 5 players just newly recruited by Netherclaw could sense the change in mood.

As the Clan Leader left his seat and walked toward the windowsill, everyone simultaneously felt the elevated tension inside the room.

Netherclaw remained coldly silent as he could hardly hold back his immense rage.

After Netherclaw turned his back on them, everyone in the room understood that this was not the right time to stay. The Elementalists were the first to react, as they instructed everyone to leave the room quietly after “seeing” the sullen look on Netherclaw’s face with Elemental Perception.

Netherclaw said nothing to the commotion behind him. His eyes skipped quickly over the majestic skyscrapers one after another. This was the first time he had lost the mood to enjoy the city landscape, which usually fueled his ambitions. In its place was great solemness and melancholy.

It was atypical for Fallen Angels to publicly attack four members from the Order of the Eight Gods. ‘Something fishy is going on behind this…’

Netherclaw was baffled by how Fallen Angels, which normally stay out of conflict, had changed their stance so abruptly.

Before he could dwell further on the matter, a series of other bad news hit him like a derailed train.

Firstly, Raziel was openly defeated by an unknown Tier 5 Aquamancer from Fallen Angels and had fled from Savis Town in a depressing state.

Right after that, several farming parties from Holy Clan were reportedly ambushed by Fallen Angels in the Mythical Battlefield.

As he was still digesting the consecutive defeats, another news broke out in Savis Town. According to the informant, Netherspirit’s Menace was betting on two Divinity Crystals, claiming that he could defeat Dark Dragon and his pet singlehandedly.

‘Nonsense!’

Not even first class Champions like Netherclaw, Majestic Hero, or Scarlet Bauhinia would dare to make such audacious bet.

Netherclaw snorted at the impudent challenge. He contacted the Holy Clan and comforted Raziel by assuring him that Dark Dragon will certainly avenge him. He also asked Raziel to immediately recruit his member and prepare for an all-out war against Fallen Angels. This was when the associate clan Pharaoh brought in another terrible news—a few of their Tier 5 Champions had just been intercepted by a party from Violent Army.

Snowmelt also contacted him at the same time to update him that several teams from the Order of Eight Gods had encountered Violent Army troops outside of the city. Skirmishes ensued between the two parties with Fateless and Permanent Lock from Fallen Angels also involved. Most of the Tier 5 Champions from the Order had been wiped clean at the time of reporting.

When Netherclaw finally realized Fallen Angels and Violent Army had joined forces for a grand scheme, the battle on Dark Dragon site had come to an end.

Shockingly, Dark Dragon and his pet Misty Beast were successively killed by the unknown Aquamancer. The opponent did not even summon his Pet during the battle.

The defeat of Dark Dragon confirmed Netherclaw’s hypothesis—the series of events that had happened in this single day was all a premeditated operation by Fallen Angels plotting against Netherspirit’s Claw’s associates. The timing of the ambushes by both clans (Fallen Angels and Violent Army) was too close to be called coincidental. Moreover, their targets were no other than Holy Clan, Order of the Eight Gods, and Pharaoh, which happened to be the most active clans under Netherspirit’s Claw in recent time.

While Dark Dragon might have accidentally bumped to the gunpoint, Netherclaw reckoned Fallen Angels must have taken Netherspirit’s Claw into consideration judging by how confident Netherspirit’s Menace was.

“The Nether… something… Is he someone whom our clan had offended before? He is way more powerful than I thought. He did not even break a sweat in the battle. I have a feeling that he still has something up his sleeve.” Black God depressing tone was heard through the channel. This made Netherclaw frown even more.

‘He defeated Dark Dragon without going 100%?’

“I don’t think we can identify him at the moment, let’s save this matter for later. We will need to attend to the problem at hand first. Dark Dragon, go to the Bank and take out the promised Divinities. Pass it to him in front of the crowd. We can lose the fight but not our credibility. I don’t want to hear criticism.”

“Alright.” Dark Dragon sighed. As compared to the Divinity, a Champion’s reputation was far more important and priceless.

Netherclaw continued gravely, “Remember, leave the scene immediately once you have done that. I have instructed Eight Gods and Raziel to take care of the rest.”

“You mean… Alright, I understand…” Dark Dragon was indeed Netherclaw’s right-hand man. He always understood Netherclaw’s true motive and the hidden meaning between the lines. Still, he asked hesitantly, “Will they agree to do it?”

“They have no choice,” Netherclaw replied coldly, “Someone has to do it, eventually.”

Netherclaw stopped talking and raised his eyes at the gloomy sky above Moonrise City. He snorted. ‘Those from Fallen Angels is so full of themselves. Let me teach you guys a lesson for provoking Nethersprit’s Claw. I wonder whether your powerful friend can still thrive when we play by no rule at all.’

***

Outside Savis Town.

Dark Dragon did not flee the scene embarrassingly like Raziel after he was defeated by the opponent. After he was resurrected by a Radiant Priest from Order of Eight Gods, he said to Netherspirit’s Menace, “I have lost the bet fair and square. Please wait for me here.” He immediately traveled back to the city to retrieve Divinity afterward.

Not long later, he returned to the site along with the promised item. He tossed the Divinity to Qin Ruo in front of ten thousand onlookers.

“Brother Eight Gods, please forgive my incompetence. You can only depend on yourself from here on,” Dark Dragon retreated with his men after he told Eight Gods those words regretfully.

Qin Ruo despised Dark Dragon’s fakeness and thought silently, ‘It’s such a waste that this guy did not pursue an acting career.’

For the uninformed bystander, Dark Dragon words seemed to imply that he and Netherspirit’s Claw were backing off from the fight between Fallen Angels and Order of Eight Gods. But in reality, just a moment ago, numerous members from Holy Clan, Order of Eight God, and Pharaoh Clans had suddenly turned up at Savis Town, under the instruction of no other than Netherclaw himself.

They had quietly infiltrated the crowd from multiple directions when Dark Dragon headed back to the city to retrieve Divinity.

Their objective was pretty evident.

When it came to Eight Gods’ turn to settle his dispute with the Fallen Angels, the three clans were not going to hold back against the Winter Demon’s clan.

‘Humph. Luckily me and Sister Violet had thought this through and took the necessary precautions. How typical, Netherclaw.’

He scanned the crowd quietly and gripped the Divinity in his hand a few times before stuffing it into his backpack. He then turned to look at Eight Gods. “Clan Leader Eight Gods, you are the only one left now. Tell me, are you going kill me four times like Dark Dragon, or fifty-two times like Raziel?”

His sarcastic address had the crowd in giggles.

In retrospect, those words by Dark Dragon and Raziel were indeed laughable. Two of them—the former a famous Tier 5 Champion and a prestigious cadre of the Netherspirit’s Claw, while the latter an honorable leader from Holy Clan—had rushed to the scene together hastily for such a small matter. They even came imposingly with a group of winged players just to deal with an anonymous Tier 5 Aquamancer. This was rather baffling.

Some who had detected the unusual activity among the crowd was getting intrigued. “Guess the drama rolls on. Hehe.”

After the giggles subsided, Eight Gods’ stern voice was heard. “Humph, an eye for an eye is always a matter of course. Maybe you think you are special, from the noble Fallen Angels and all, you still do not have the right to take my comrades’ lives lightly. Today, I am here to seek justice for my fallen comrades and will not give up until my very last breath!”

“Your last breath?” Qin Ruo raised his eyebrows and said, “So you mean, you plan to keep on challenging me until you are dead, right? Once you take your last breath, then we are good? Well, it’s simpler than I thought. Let’s get this done.” Qin Ruo reactivated his Frostbarrier as he spoke and beckoned to Eight Gods.

“…” Eight Gods was rendered speechless. He did not move and started breaking out in cold sweat. He actually meant his opponent, not himself when he mentioned, “Till the very last breath”. ‘Netherspirit’s Menace is really mischievous. How could he simply twist my words to his liking this way?’

“You have misunderstood…” Eight Gods finally spoke, “Since someone as strong as Black God had also been defeated in your hand, obviously I am not going to overestimate myself and duel you.”

“Well, that will work too. You can pick as many men as you like, I will take them on consecutively.” Qin Ruo approved his idea straightforwardly.

Eight Gods’ heart beat faster when he heard that. This was not a bad suggestion at all. But since the opponent had agreed to it almost too easily, in addition to the prior quick defeat of Dark Dragon, Eight God believed his opponent must still have the strength left to solo fight several Tier 5 classes in succession. On top of that, he had also Netherclaw’s order to follow. Left with no choice, Eight Gods suppressed his desire to accept the opponent’s tempting proposal and signaled his men to take action while blurting, “Sorry, it’s never going to be a fair fight. What I am planning to do is… take your last breath away!”

More than a hundred of well-equipped players quickly squeezed out from the crowd and entered the battle ring right under the two winged players as soon as Eight Gods finished his sentence.

“Really?” Qin Ruo pointed at himself and laughed mockingly as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. “With these crappy Tier 4 players?”

“Don’t forget about me!” Eight Gods flicked opened a Magic Scroll hastily. “Earthdoom!” He chanted the spell with a resolute mind.

Dark light soon covered the land. Angelic Wings behind Qin Ruo was taken away along with his Elemental Perception instantaneously. As a result, he dropped straight toward the Order of Eight Gods men.

“Not bad!” Qin Ruo exclaimed.

In the crowd, Remorseless Warrior and a small number of Tier 5 Champions were enthused by the move. Against a veteran Tier 5 Champion, the ruthlessness and determination displayed by Eight Gods was definitely gutsier than the cheeky Raziel.

But to Netherspirit’s Menace, this move made no difference to him. After all, he already had his reinforcement from Fallen Angels to stand by at the periphery beforehand.

As Qin Ruo began to plummet, a quick figure suddenly ascended from the crowd and jumped into the battle ring over the members from the Order of Eight Gods.

Brum!

As if a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that had just skimmed across the earth surface, more than ten white beams of light shot upward from the crowd. Many players stumbled on their feet as a result of the sudden tremor caused by the AoE Tier 5 Earth Spell.

Everyone within the range, including strong players like Remorseless Warrior, could not avoid losing their balance. Some of the winged players in the crowd wanted to activate Angelic Wing and escape the spell effect. But strangely enough, their wings failed them at such a critical moment. The sole figure who was still hovering mid-air a moment ago was also seen plunging toward the ground at a high speed now.

***

System notification: You have entered the Gravity Field. Within a hundred meters of the field, all players are forbidden from activating the power of Divinity!