MMORPG: The Elementalist

Robert and his fellow Demigod NPCs had just completed reconstructing the new Camp Robert less than an hour ago when suddenly, a large group of players flooded the camp via its Resurrection Portal!

Watching so many Demon Faction players bitterly walk out of the portal, Robert felt nothing but surprise. He had never seen such a huge crowd dying and resurrecting through this portal after all these years in the Underworld. Apart from that, they were mostly from the same League—the Berserker League. Most of them had a defeated look on their faces and had lost some equipment too.

Had they picked a fight with some sort of Boss earlier?

There were fifty high-tier Warriors amongst them. Even though their strength was incomparable to the Demigod NPCs, these players should not have experienced such a great loss, not even when faced with three Lich-type Bosses.

The Resurrection Portal kept flashing with blinding lights as many more walked into the camp… it kept flashing and flashing when it finally stopped.

There were fifty-four men who walked through the portal!

“Clan Leader, it was such a dreadful loss.”

The Field Commander Anja looked at Croc God bitterly, still haunted by the nightmare they experienced moments ago.

It was indeed dreadful as he thought he had a really good plan trying to get even with Qin Ruo’s gang. He didn’t think this would lead to all fifty-four of them getting wiped out!

Worse still, their opponents sustained no casualties at all. Not even one of them stepped out of the Resurrection Portal in Camp Robert so no one from their side got killed by the Lich. The Lich, this darn cunning monstrosity that got lured by his stupid plan, disintegrating their defenses and taking them out one by one in less than a minute…

That Lich was something out of this world.

“I’ve never been defeated by a Boss like this even after playing this game for so long…” A Radiant Priest shivered as he recalled how he died from the Lich’s skull missile. He didn’t even know where the Lich was too, as its attack suddenly whooshed out of the Undead Horde!

“You’re a darn Radiant Priest for God sakes! It’s only logical that it would aim its attacks at you.” An archer shot a bitter look at the Priest.

“What was confusing to me was when it attacked the two of you, it was almost as if it had a plan to kill me too with its chain magic. How? It was like it knew who to hit; knew who was weak against magic.”

“It was probably you who was standing too close to the darn thing. The Lich would attack anyone within its aggro range too. I’m not sure how I died. The Lich was casting its magic attack at Ah Quan. Ah Quan had also prepared a Spiral Drill to counteract those hits… and yet, the darn attacks curved around him and went straight at me! Damn!” A Summoner punched his fist furiously into the sandy ground.

“Yeah.” Ah Quan, the Tier 5 Swordmaster, replied with a nod.

The Spiral Drill could only last for a second or two before it would fade away. Right after the Lich’s magic attack curved away from him and killed the Summoner, two seconds had already passed too. It was evident that it had the ability to kill Ah Quan in mere seconds.

It was like the Lich calculated and planned out its attack.

It did not feel like they were fighting a Boss from the game… it felt as though they were fighting a player.

“There’s something weird about this Lich.”

“Yeah. I’ve been fighting a lot of Liches. Never seen anything as difficult as this one. It’s too damn smart! And it was also much closer to Majestic Hero… and yet…”

As they were discussing the Lich’s impossibly intelligent AI, Croc God suddenly called out calmly, “Everyone. Check your battle messages!”

“What?”

“Clan Leader, are you alright?” Anja carefully asked.

In this battle, Anja was the only one who had the most experience among her teammates and was able to observe much of the battlefield too; and she also knew how big of a loss Croc God endured this time.

Other than losing two legendary equipment, his beloved Violet Pterosaur died too. This would have meant that his pet would have lost a lot of Experience Points, dropping down to Level 40 from Level 51.

This was a huge blow to Croc God.

“No… it’s alright. I’m fine. I’m just wondering, that’s all. Look at the data from the battle earlier and see what kind of Elemental damage you guys endured.”

Croc God frowned deeply as he explained.

“Usually, the Shadow-type Lich does not possess Ice-type magic attacks under its belt.”

Croc God was made to be vice leader for a League after all. Even after suffering such a great defeat, he was able to calm down and notice what’s off in this battle in a short time.

Anja and the others looked at one another, understanding what their leader meant…

Thus, they all flipped out their battle messages.

“Damage data is nominal.”

“No Elemental Damage here. It seems I’ve got immunity against it.”

“Me too.”

“Me three!”

One by one, the teammates’ combat data were being reported.

“Really?”

Croc God looked at some of the Winged Champions who were with him in the battlefield earlier.

“How about you guys?”

They looked at one another and shrugged, “Yes. It’s the same with us.”

“Every single one of you? Hmph…” Croc God shot them a cold smirk.

Something was definitely off!

Other than several unlucky ones that were swarmed by the Undead Horde, most of the fifty four men over here were killed by the Lich. Yet, no one received Shadow-type damage.

If it’s one or two members, it could be a coincidence. However, everyone was the same. Sure, many members here possessed different levels of Elemental and Magic Resistance but it was very unlikely for them to not endure any Shadow-type Magic Attacks when facing the Tier 6 Mega Boss. It was too eerily peculiar.

When Croc God pointed this out, someone tried to make sense of all that happened and added, “Perhaps the Lich’s Magic Attack was so strong that we were killed in just one hit. The Elementalists here had Barriers to nullify some Elemental Damage, so perhaps it wasn’t all that weird?”

“Then how about that freezing damage on Violet Pterosaurs?” Croc God shot another cold look at that member and then asked sternly, “And what about Qin Ruo? What the heck has he been up to?”

“How about Majestic Hero and his gang? Don’t tell me these rascals were able to hold off the Lich’s sneaky attacks…”

He then glanced over at the empty Resurrection Portal. No one else came through.

“Only they survived. Isn’t this weird?”

“So what does this mean? Perhaps the Lich was somehow on their side? Or…” As Anja tried to make sense of what’s going on, a chill ran down her spine. Horror filled her eyes.

“Summoning Mana Cores? They… they sealed a Lich and made it their pet?!”

“If the Lich was their pet, the Undead would also attack it…” Croc God shook his head, baffled by this impossible phenomenon.

They stared at the Resurrection Portal for an undetermined amount of time… still, not a sound from the Resurrection Portal. Not even a ding.

“So be it.” Croc God sighed.

“Let’s leave Camp Robert.”

“….”

Berserker’s League had no other means to face off with Majestic Hero’s team now. They had sustained damage and lost some crucial gear. They had now lost a lot of strength; if they went ahead and try to take on Qin Ruo and Majestic Hero again, they would still bite the dust.

Besides…

If Qin Ruo and his gang of misfits were able to clear a path between Mythical Continent and Underworld, they could still head back to this Camp Robert here. If they forced the NPCs to relocate the camp again, it would make it a lot more difficult for them.

It was wiser for them to just leave.

Thus, Croc God and his gang got up and left in a hurry… peace and quiet had finally returned to Camp Robert again.

***

After the men from Berserker’s League were wiped out, over ten thousand specters had now flocked towards Majestic Hero and his gang. Of course, they had all combusted into billions of crisp pieces by the latter’s attacks.

After completely destroying all the oncoming specters, Qin Ruo finally landed on the ground and regroup with his friends.

“You’re really something. Unlimited Storage Space, morphing into a Lich. It’s as though I’ve never really known you. No wonder you could come and go between Mythical Continent and Underworld as you please.”

Majestic Hero and Black God finally knew Qin Ruo’s little secret.

Qin Ruo shrugged and replied, “Thought I could keep this a secret from you guys for a little longer though.”

“Secret? Damn, how un-brotherly could you be?” Black God shot him a sneer.

Majestic Hero, however, belittedly looked at Black God. “And he should be like you? Showing off to the whole world whenever you can? I think Little Qin’s done well. Always leave your trump card folded until the final hour. That’s one of the most effective means to one-up your foes.”

“Oh, for fuck sake! Since when I ever show off to the darn world?” Black God replied as he looked at Qin Ruo’s belt.

“So, it must have been great haul earlier, huh?”

“…”

Qin Ruo tightly held onto his pocket.

“Oh, these are mine.”

“Oh come on! Aren’t we buddies? You’ve turned so thrifty after becoming a League Leader, man.”

“Thrifty? Listen, these spoils are what I’ve rightfully earned through blood and sweat. I’ve never touched the loot from all those Undead horde you guys took down earlier, didn’t I?”

Hearing this, the usually calm Majestic Hero couldn’t help but give him the finger too—sure, they were a lot of loot from the Undead Horde. Yet, those were lower-tier than even Dark Gold equipment. That loot wasn’t really worth much.

“Besides, I’ve given you guys the potions for free… come on, I’ve got mouths to feed.”

“Fine. Fine! What a cheap bastard. Now let’s cut to the chase and tell us how to handle the gathering ground…” Black God bitterly forfeited the idea of splitting the loot with this thrifty League Leader.

“It’s easy. I’ll kill the Lich in there. And then, I’ll lure all the airborne specters out of the gathering ground. You guys just focus on advancing towards the Warp Portal… there would only be specters that are incapable of flight left. Surely you guys can handle those, right?”

Majestic Hero and Black God looked at one another and nodded with a smile.

Undoubtedly, devising a scheme like this in the heat of battle was something Qin Ruo was born to do.