MMORPG: The Elementalist

“Shit, this dude’s fast!”

Snowmelt gulped down a vial of Movement Speed Potion. Then, he noticed that Homme Fatale and Black Rock was pursuing him at insane speed and they were inching ever closer, reaching into the area forty meters away from him.

Dark Dragon cast his Movement Speed Magic to keep up; he however, did not dare run ahead of Snowmelt. After hearing what he said earlier, Dark Dragon replied, “Of course! This Qin Ruo’s Movement Speed Potion was probably made of materials from the Underworld. Materials from that place are two times better than what we have…”

As he said this, Dark Dragon suddenly realized something was off.

‘Yeah. He is fast. Too fast!’

The pursuing silhouettes behind started to inch closer a meter and a meter and a meter with blinding speed… this speed was insane! Dark Dragon was shocked.

This isn’t just two times better than our potions. His Movement Speed Potion must have been ten times better than ours!

“Fuck!”

Fortunately, the situation ahead was hopeful for them. Netherclaw had nullified the Elemental Perception of opposing Elementalists using his Tier 5 AoE Magic attacks. This would allow them to teleport to the enemy crowd and start killing. Even though Netherclaw was being surrounded by a dozen enemies, he was still able to break through a layer of the enemies’ defense.

If they could get a foothold of the entrance and create a blockage, the three clans’ advantage in numbers would be irrelevant…

And then, it would be the Three Great Evils of Netherspirit’s Claw versus Qin Ruo, Homme Fatale, and Black Rock—leaving the latter’s support in the valley. They would then have a better chance of winning.

However, as soon as Netherclaw broke through the first layer of defense, there were ten more Winged Champions coming in with a pincer formation, sending him back into the valley again.

His magic shield was crushed moments ago—his barrier at the verge of being completely shattered to smithereens. To make matters worse, Netherclaw could not activate his teleportation skill at the moment. Any Tier 5 player could mean the death of him at this point.

This sudden shift in the tide of battle spooked Snowmelt and Dark Dragon. They stopped and turned… and then flung out their magic scrolls…

“Frozen Realm!”

***

Even though ten of his men died, this was all under Qin Ruo’s expectation. Netherclaw was an experienced veteran Champion after all and it was expected of him to be able to handle a group of newbies who had just recently advanced to Tier 5.

Yet, they did not die in vain. As long as they were able to hold Netherclaw for a while—it would take at least four seconds for him to reactivate his magic shield and barrier. He also realized he could not continuously utilize his Teleportation.

Snowmelt and Dark Dragon wanted to buy some time for their clan leader. So, they turned to their backs and faced the pursuing enemies.

Snowmelt had just lost his pet. Although he still had some fight in him left, he was no match for Qin Ruo. Other than the fact that he was also an Aquamancer, Qin Ruo’s equipment possessed the ability to absorb 15% of Water Damage, and decrease 30% Water Magic Damage. Besides, his equipment could also deter the Chilled status effect.

Qin Ruo was basically the best amongst the Aquamancers!

Without the aid of his pet, Snowmelt was not able to do anything that could threaten Qin Ruo. Apart from that, Qin Ruo had Poochie! If he were to face this monster duo head on, he would be slain in less than three seconds.

Luckily, Qin Ruo’s target was Dark Dragon…

Snowmelt was Homme Fatale and Black Rock’s prey. So, Qin Ruo could not have him. Qin Ruo could, instead, take out Dark Dragon within that “twenty-five seconds”.

This was not much of an issue to Qin Ruo.

Like a bolt of lightning, Qin Ruo whooshed into Dark Dragon’s attack range…

Seeing this, Snowmelt did not get close. He could not do anything to fight off Qin Ruo anyway, not without his pet.

Poor Dark Dragon… right after seeing his clan leader being shoved to an impediment position, he was then ensnared by the Winter Demon. This dude was even stronger than Netherspirit Menace… and Dark Dragon felt an impending doom creep upon him.

Yet, he had no other choice but to fight. Dark Dragon pulled out numerous Magic Scrolls out of his backpack and hurled them at Qin Ruo like an ensnared wounded beast.

Chaotic Hurricane!

Anguishing Gust!

Raving Cyclone!

Frozen Realm!

Dark Dragon literally tossed out every strongest Tier 5 AoE Magic Attacks that he had in his backpack, turning the Death Valley into a literal hell hole!

Powerful wind slashed in the air as frost and hail swept over the valley, and everyone was blinded by this series of AoE magic attacks.

Dark Dragon’s only hope for survival was on his teammates… all he needed was to stall Qin Ruo for a few seconds.

Yet, this battle was different from the time at Savis Town.

The last time, Qin Ruo was holding back as he could not reveal his pet. This time though, Dark Dragon’s endless Magic Scrolls flinging would not be able to stop him!

Snowmelt and Dark Dragon were caught by their respective pursuers at almost the same time…

Frozen Realm!

Raging Frost Roar!

After the last battle with Dark Dragon, Qin Ruo had stored an insane amount of Magic Scrolls into his Ring of Honor, so that he could handle any situation that was thrown to him at any given time. He had Tier 2 ones like Chain Frost Arrows, the Tier 3 Frost Javelin and Frostburst, Tier 4’s Dark Frost Sting, Snow Eagle Dive, Raging Frost Roar, Million Arrow Sleet, and even the Tier 5 Frozen Realm. He spent over three hundred thousand gold coins to purchase around a hundred and fifty magic Scrolls! With the aid of the potions he acquired in the Underworld, Qin Ruo was able to slay Dark Dragon ten times over.

***

Right after he was forced to retreat a few steps into the valley, the sudden sound of combat from his back surprised Netherclaw.

“Charge!”

Netherclaw, without hesitation, ordered all his men to break through the enemies defense.

Qin Ruo, Homme Fatale, and Black Rock had already entangled Snowmelt and Dark Dragon. Heck, Snowmelt had even sacrificed his pet! If they did not break out of this situation soon, all of them would be trapped in the valley.

The “Netherspirit Menace” did not appear yet. So, they still had a chance. If that weird mysterious Aquamancer and his fellow companions who were fighting off that unknown Boss finished their tasks and came over, Netherclaw’s team would have been wiped out.

Right after giving the order, Netherclaw dashed back into the valley!

Snowmelt and Dark Dragon had been entwined in battle, and it would be difficult for them to escape at this point without any reinforcement. Netherclaw could not allow his second and third-in-command to die in the Death Valley like this. He could not allow them to die at the hands of Qin Ruo.

To the Netherspirit’s Claw, having both Snowmelt and Dark Dragon dying in the hands of Qin Ruo would take a heavy toll on their morale. Netherclaw hoped to at least help two of them to break out of their battles, allowing them a chance for escape.

After all, there were only three enemies he needed to stall. Other than Qin Ruo and Homme Fatale, there was also that “Black Rock”. If he joined the fight, it would then be three versus three. That would at least help balance the fight.

Yet, as soon as he dashed 20 meters into the valley… A cold system message sent a chill down Netherclaw’s spine…

Dark Dragon has been slain.

Netherclaw could not believe this! It was only mere seconds that the two of them had exchanged blows, and yet the Winter Demon was able to defeat Dark Dragon right away?!

“…”

Eventually… Netherclaw decided to take the more rational approach. Sentiment would serve him nothing at this point. Thus, he immediately turned-tail and dashed towards the entrance.

Dark Dragon was slain while Snowmelt was trapped. Even if he headed their way, Netherclaw was not able to save Snowmelt—he might even get himself killed in the process.

As Netherclaw left the Death Valley, thirteen out of his twenty-six champions were all killed. The price they had to pay to break through the three-clan militia’s defense was of great cost. The moment he stepped out of the valley, Netherclaw heard the other system message…

Snowmelt has been slain.

The Netherspirit’s Claw team, including Netherclaw, all looked back into the Death Valley. They then saw Qin Ruo, spreading his wings, zooming towards them. His Water Veil was able to lock onto Dark Dragon’s position and sent the rest of his attacks towards his target. At least, he did not humiliate himself in front of Homme Fatale.

As for the Netherspirit’s Claw… seeing that there was nothing else they could do, they all spread out their Angelic Wings and fled the scene hastily.

Qin Ruo did not intend to pursue the Netherspirit’s Claw any further. He and his fellow brethren had done enough. They had already killed over a dozen Netherspirit’s Claw’s men and even Snowmelt and Dark Dragon. It was enough of a bragging right.

Besides, their battle was not over yet…

Qin Ruo, after looking proudly at the fleeing Netherspirit’s Claw, scanned the spectating players in the area and then told his friends, “Rock, you and your men will guard here. If there’s anything else, immediately call for us.”

“Alright! You can count on me!”

After happily obliging, Black Rock looked at the corpses at the entrance and said, “Hmph! I do hope Netherclaw comes back though. We could then settle our score with him once and for all!”

“Don’t worry, he won’t come back. He isn’t in the condition to come back for round two. Besides, he’s still in shock knowing that I’m back… I think he might have thought of Windy Groan too.”

Qin Ruo smiled as he swooshed back into the valley.

The corpses of the Netherspirit’s Claws’ members were all beamed back to the city’s Resurrection Portal.

***

Ten minutes after Netherspirit’s Claw left… The battle in the Death Valley was finally over.

The system message rang in everyone’s ear.

Mutated Lich has been slain. Acquired 58282.

You have acquired 500 Honor Points. The party has acquired a total of 5000 Honor Points.

Several seconds later…

An Underworld Warp Portal had been destroyed. You have acquired 100 Honor Points. The party had acquired a total of 1000 Honor Points!

Qin Ruo’s face lit up in delight.

This was indeed a Tier 6 Elite Megaboss. Even though they had to take a few extreme measures and had over two dozen men slain by the Lich, they were able to end the battle without much loss (their Radiant Priests could resurrect their fallen members). Other than that, each team was able to accumulate over 5000 Honor Points!

This operation provided the entire militia over ten of thousands of Honor Points in one go!

After resurrecting every fallen member, Qin Ruo announced to the overjoyed militia,

“Let’s return to the closest town. We’ll take a ten-minute break. Then, we’ll head to the next stronghold!”

“Yes sir!”

Overwhelmed by surging morale, everyone obliged with a loud cheer!

However, a sudden and alarming system message resounded in everyone’s ears,

The Mutated Lich has been slain and a story event has been activated. The Underworld Army has completed garrisoning and they have officially commenced the invasion of the Mythical Continent! Heroes of the Mythical Continent… Pick up your weapons and defend your homes!

This system message was announced across the entire Mythical Continent, into every player’s ears in the game.