MMORPG: The Elementalist

Time flew by…

After the establishment of Fallen Angel League, Netherclaw’s Spirit, Hall of Heroes, Scarlet Dynasty, and Black Jail had also consecutively formed their respective Leagues.

Owing to the invasion of the Undead Horde against the Mythical Continent, the number of Leagues that had sprouted across the continent were like mushrooms after the rain.

Five Great Leagues were built in the Angel Faction within a short three day span.

But that was nothing near the Demon Faction’s insane upsurge. Within the same period, the formations new Leagues consistently buzzed the system notification at short intervals. The frenzy subsided on the third day when the Undead Horde was finally annihilated by players from both factions.

The attack launched by the Underworld against the Mythical Continent had not only propelled the formation of multiple Leagues, but it had also given birth to more Clans than ever before.

In addition to that, due to the horde, more and more players were able to advance to Tier 5. The rate of advancement had smashed all previous records. From these three days alone, the number of Tier 5 players on the Mythical Continent had reached one million!

The Tier 5 era had officially arrived.

Apart from that, the large supply of Dark Divinity left by Lich had made the price of the once prestigious item fall drastically to that which was slightly higher than an average Elementary Equipment.

As a consequence, many players were now seen flying proudly above most of the cities. According to the official survey done by the forum, the number of winged players had now reached 6,000 individuals.

This also meant that the primary battlefield had gradually shifted from the ground to the air.

Nevertheless, the League system is still the ultimate behemoth of the H&G game. Clans or temporary combat parties stood no chance against such a gigantic organization. A League usually consisted of about a hundred winged players, at least. Great Leagues like Fallen Angels had three to four hundreds of them in command at any given time.

This was the main reason why the Angel Faction had remained peaceful recently.

Even though the rivalry between Fallen Angels and Netherspirit’s Claw was still present, the two behemoths were cautious and wary about each other’s powers. If the rivalry escalated into a war, it would bring direct confrontations of few hundred or maybe even thousands of winged players. This would definitely shake the foundation of the Angel Faction and perhaps, could be more catastrophic than the battle at Moonrise City.

Both Qin Ruo and Netherclaw had rationally selected to avoid conflict for now and develop peacefully in parallel. However, not displaying aggression on the surface did not necessary means that the two Leagues were not competing in almost every other aspect behind the scenes.

***

Back from the company, and in less than a minute after Qin Ruo had entered the game, Xin Yu’s sugary sweet voice immediately reached him.

“Brother Qin! You have come home from work?”

‘This little girl always has precise timing.’

“Yes, I have. You are always this punctual. I was not even in the game for more than a minute.”

“Hehe. It’s me you are talking about. You always came back at this hour when we were living together.”

As if he could touch the cheerful expressions on Xin Yu’s face, Qin Ruo shook his head and said with a smile, “There is no need to wait until this hour to voice for me anymore in the future…”

“Why?” Xin Yu was puzzled.

“I have applied for an unpaid sabbatical. Sister Iri had approved it. I will be on leave of absence for one year.”

“What? Really?” Xin Yu was happy to learn the news. She had long been told by Brother Da that her Brother Qin had earned a lot through the game. Since he was going to set his work aside and engage whole-heartedly into the game, that meant he would have more time to accompany her in-game as well.

“Of course it’s real,” Qin Ruo explained to Xin Yu, “Although I am still new to the company, Sister Iri always had my back. Besides, thanks to my colleagues, I have finished all the present tasks and thus, allowed to be away for the time being. Oh ya, I remember I have promised to help you level up Little Eye. Let’s go now.”

“Good!” Xin Yu answered happily. “I will ask Sister Xiaoxiao and Sister Pretty to tag along as well.”

“…” Qin Ruo sprung a headache hearing that name.

‘Xiaoxiao is fine, but why ask Pretty Woman?’

These few days, he had avoided meeting her by all means. He intentionally busied himself with Lich Hunts and level farming.

The cold-faced pretty lady was never good company.

However, he could not show his discontent in front of Xin Yu. After all, Pretty Woman had treated and cared well for Xin Yu like a good sister. ‘Sigh. I will just let her be. Not that I can avoid the iceberg forever.’

“By the way, Brother Qin, you said that once your little sister advances to Tier 5, you will give me a Divinity as a present right? Now that I am Tier 5…”

Xin Yu was mentioning about the gift again. Ever since she was told that fusion with Divinity will make her a pair of beautiful Angelic Wings, this little girl had kept nagging Qin Ruo about it. As to not disappoint Qin Ruo, she had worked hard on leveling up Little Eye and its Skill Mastery. After playing solo by only carrying her Pet with her for a few days, Xin Yu’s compatibility with Little Eye had reached a higher level. The Pet was now closer to its original competence as a Tier 4 Ultimate Boss.

Based on Xin Yu above average skill set, there was no way she could fail the Tier 5 Advancement Quest. After all, the difficulty level wasn’t that high to begin with…

“I know that my little sister is the best! I have long got the Divinity prepared.” Xin Yu’s quick ascension to Tier 5 was a surprise to Qin Ruo as he already had got the suitable Divinity ready a long time ago and had it with him inside the Ring of Honor all this while. There were a few more Dark Divinity stored in the League’s vault too, which were all collected by Qin Ruo alone.

“Thank you, Brother Qin!”

“Silly girl. You don’t need to be.”

***

Just as the Angel Faction bred yet another winged pretty Bandit, some drastic changes loomed large in the Demon Faction.

In an unknown restaurant compartment at Sin City, Death Jesus laid his back against the sofa seat and looked at a handsome lad opposite him. He addressed the matter calmly to his companion, “Let’s not talk about the Angel Faction. Sinistress had just called me to ask if you have decided on the matter we proposed before?”

The elegant man held a goblet in his hand. Blood red liquid was seen swirling gently inside the glass. The man raised his chin arrogantly and took a long sigh without looking back at Death Jesus.

“Jesus… Do you know what’s the biggest difference between me and Sinistress?”

“…” Death Jesus decided not to answer the question and looked at him emotionlessly. He had experienced this pretentious behavior of this guy in front of him before. He just loved acting all mysterious and superior when he was drinking.

To put it simply, he was just a self-centered scum.

If not due to his unique ability, Death Jesus would not hesitate to drag him out of the room immediately and use the bottom of his boots to greet the pretentious scum’s face.

As expected, the arrogant lad was clearly disappointed with Death Jesus muted response and sighed again. “Your League Master… Such a boring, dull person. Despite his status, he tends to play solo and often disappears from the public eye. I am never fond of a solitary individual, to be honest…”

“…” Death Jesus rolled his eyes hard under the cover of his cape. ‘Not like Sinistress is a pretty female, why does he need your liking?’

The man was clearly unaware of Death Jesus little gesture. He spread his arms out and continued. “I, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. I need an exciting life. Wine, food, ladies, and a bunch of underlings… I enjoy staying above everyone else… This is the only truth that defines a meaningful life.”

“I am not here to discuss with you how to make life meaningful.” Death Jesus’ body slightly trembled while hidden inside the loose magic robe. Every time he talked to this guy, a strong urge of punching the guy in the face always surged in. ‘It’s no wonder Sinistress was more than willing to have me bargaining with this scum instead of coming personally.’ His personality is really tough to get along with.

“And you thought I like this conversation? You guys are the one who talked to me first out of the blue.” The man made an innocent face. He sipped a mouthful of wine as if to calm his impulse to continue his speech, and said, “Tell him, I will not leave my current beautiful life behind. I will never go to that shitty place even if you beat me to death.” He continued drinking the wine after making his intentions clear.

Death Jesus sighed in relief.

‘At least he stopped his bullshit.’ Although he was rejected once again, there was no sign of grief or disappointment on Death Jesus’ face.

He snapped his fingers and gave him a direct offer. “One piece of Dark Divinity, in addition to a full set of Bowmaster’s Legendary Equipment. The employment period will be a month long.”

The wine in the guy’s hand swayed slightly. His eyes lit up brightly, “Tier 4 or Tier 5?”

“…” Death Jesus gritted his teeth. He withheld his urge to kill and extended all five of his fingers out.

“Great! Deal!” The 180° change in the attitude made Death Jesus feel like he had been deceived. He sat on the sofa gloomily for a while, and only then handed over the mission list to the new recruit.

“All the men are already in position. You should depart to the Buried City immediately.”

“I would like to have my payment first.”

“I really want to throttle you…” Death Jesus looked at the extended hand of the shameless guy and mumbled quietly.

Despite that, he compromised with it.

The guy happily put on the newly acquired Tier 5 Bowmaster Equipment. He also fused with the Dark Divinity on the spot.

While doing that, the Bowmaster turned around and looked below to Death Jesus, who was now viewing the scenery outside the window, and asked, “Actually, I always wanted to ask you a question.”

“Spit it out,” Death Jesus replied.

“How generous of your League Master to deploy fifty winged players at once. What if they all died in there and can’t get out of it? It’s fifty f*cking winged players… Rumor says that some of the experienced members in your clan were not very happy about the decision. I guess even the grand Maverick Vatican should not have taken such a high-risked bet…”

“…” Death Jesus face was growing more awful by the minute.

“Also.” The talkative Bowmaster did not stop there. “I am bearing a great risk as well. So, don’t you think I, too, deserve some compensation in case I am trapped in it due to this mission?”

After hearing that, Death Jesus had decided that he did not wish to stay with this guy in the same room for another second.

“Alright, alright! Why the long face. Not that I am asking a lot. Since you guys are also having a hard time, I will just do it out of charity this time…” He waved his hands akimbo and kept talking with his big mouth, “Let me remind you. Only one month is left before Moonrise City will be liberated from lockdown. Be careful not to focus too much on the Underworld and lose the Sin City. Though you can’t assault the Angel Faction at the moment, they will definitely find a way to come at you.”

“Are you finished? Stop bragging and get your ass to the Buried City once you are ready. F*ck!” Death Jesus finally lost his patience and rebuked the man for talking too much.