MMORPG: The Elementalist

The Electromancer who had successfully trapped Qin Ruo was unexpectedly not very pleased with the result.

He sensed something not right the moment he captured the Aquamancer. His opponent was simply too weak to be true.

With his Elemental Perception, he noticed the opponent had only released a Multi Spell once after he activated Raging Blaze. After that, he just stood there dumbfounded and in total submission, allowing the Horned Python to wrap him up.

The entire process was a little anticlimactic. It was the total opposite of what the imposing Aquamancer had showcased so far.

His ability was in no way near a Tier 5 Elementalist, and it was as if he had no idea at all about a single AoE Attacking Spell.

It only got worse than the Electromancer could have imagined.

First of all, he was shocked to learn about the feedback on the Horned Python’s damage.

It was exceptionally low.

As compared to the few other Elementalists he had put down prior to this, the mysterious Aquamancer should have been seen holding a sword instead of a staff.

The Physical Melee Attack of the Horned Python scored at least three hundred and fifty points, so the Electromancer was baffled by the low damage stats that had been given feedback on.

After three consecutive attacks, his Pet had still failed to inflict a lethal wound on its target (It could have at least forced the Aquamancer to activate his Dark Frost Shield and defend itself actively. It did not.) In contrast, each attack only depleted roughly ten points from the Aquamancer’s Frost Barrier.

‘A Tier 5 monster Physical Attack is unable to threaten an Elementalist?’

Lightning Chen drew in a deep cold breath. ‘This is rarer than seeing stars in broad daylight.’

He originally planned to quickly break the Aquamancer’s Barrier and regain control. However, only more surprises subsequently awaited him. After nervously landing several Electric-type Spells onto the Aquamancer, the damage inflicted was lalas, ridiculously minimal!

This was when Lightning Chen finally admitted a horrible fact.

The mysterious Aquamancer is definitely an otherworldly Champion with a set of Legendary Equipment on him. Only Elementalists with such a set up would have these astounding levels of Physical and Magic Defenses.

‘Damn. He was playing dumb.’

The Electromancer was dismayed. Admitting to the fact wouldn’t help his current situation. Despite knowing what would be coming his way, he had no other option but to keep attacking. He clung on to the last straw and continued to pounce the Frost Barrier with his Pet.

The Two-Headed Horned Python has been attacked.

The Pet received three hundred and seven damage.

A minimal damage count on a normal day scared the heart out of Lightning Chen.

‘Son of a bitch. It’s him!!’ A terrifying name sprang into his mind.

A large pool of blood suddenly gushed out from the assaulted Horned Python, which immediately distracted his entire focus.

Rriipp!

Hundreds of wounds suddenly opened up all over the Horned Python. The snake slowly loosened its Bind on the Frost Barrier and dropped to its death.

The Pet received three hundred and eighty-one damage.

The Pet is inflicted with Status Effect: Frozen. Lasts for one second.

The Electromancer was completely at a loss.

He no longer had doubts about the true identity of the Aquamancer standing in front of him. No Aquamancer could have frozen an Advanced Fire-Type Monster other than that guy. Moreover, only he would have been bold enough to let an Advanced Melee Monster draw so close to him. Despite that, Lightning Chen was unsure why the golden Shadowfox was not summoned, he believed Qin Ruo must have done it for a good reason.

Lightning Chen smiled bitterly and gave up on hitting back.

He stopped condensing Elements and waited in despair until the incoming Frost Bear whacked him from the back with its huge paw.

Wallop!

Though both were Tier 5 Fighter Type Monsters, one hit from the Frost Bear was enough to force out Lightning Chen’s defensive shield. The purple shield cackled with electrical discharge.

The Frost Bear that was stunned for a few seconds a while ago now sought vengeance. Its paw slashed down and three white light pulses that followed smashed hard on the Elementalist’s Barrier.

Shield-break!

Others inside the tower watched in awe as the Aquamancer, who miraculously escaped the Horned Python’s deadly kiss, successfully put down the Electromancer in a haste.

The resistance from the Electromancer in the battle was proven futile and pathetic.

It was a tough reality for the audience to digest. Not only had the Aquamancer escaped the checkmate situation, but he also swiftly took out the Electromancer in the process. All he had done so far defied logic.

The series of events was intriguing to most of them, except for Noodle Prince.

He vividly recalled the time the Aquamancer first launched an attack. More than ten Frost Arrows were shot out simultaneously from the Frost Coffin at that time. With such a powerful insight and manipulative skills, it was impossible that the Aquamancer was just an ordinary combatant.

‘I shall deal with him last.’ Noodle Prince thought so and switched his gaze onto the Summoner nearest to him. His gaze happened to meet the eyes of the Summoner who had turned to look at him.

A clash was imminent.

The remaining ten players tacitly picked their opponents (any random player as long as was not Qin Ruo). They formed a circle around Qin Ruo in five separate fight zones.

These skirmishes would further reduce the number of contestants from eleven to six players.

***

After he was spared, Qin Ruo did not loosen up but continued to place a thin layer of water veil in the surroundings. This mesh of Water Element could hardly be detected by normal players.

He then covered most parts of the tower once again with Elemental Perception. He painstakingly checked the empty area outside of the skirmishes.

Qin Ruo knew a thing or two about Bandit since he had recruited two veteran Bandits into his own League. He was thus, well aware of the skills and advantage/disadvantage that this Class possesses.

In the Underworld, Qin Ruo had also listened to many lectures when Fateless was guiding Xin Yu in mastering Bandit skills. He even helped Fateless to tailor-make Xin Yu an array of attacking strategies.

All these strategies were specifically designed to counter each and every Class in the H&G World, including the Bandit Class itself.

Before they entered the contest, Qin Ruo and Fateless even reminded Xin Yu, “The most important thing for you to remember in the contest is to stay hidden!”

As long as a Bandit managed to erase his or her presence from the beginning, they then would only have one enemy throughout the entire battle—the last one standing among the other ninety-nine participants. The Bandit only needed to kill the final survivor and he could then claim victory.

As a matter of fact, this was the only way a Bandit could ever qualify from the Last Man Standing contest. Killing the enemy at the very last minute would guarantee them an entrance ticket to the third round.

This was what the mysterious Bandit was practicing, and he executed the plan to near perfection.

He had remained hidden until this moment and had never risked exposing himself for a kill. He was believed to be like Fateless, keeping the most important strike to the last when there would only be two people left inside the tower.

Unfortunately for him, Qin Ruo had discerned his motive. As for the others, he had the confidence to kick them out even if the victors decided to join up and attack him simultaneously after this.

So he closed his eyes and submerged himself entirely into the Elemental Perception realm. He watched quietly and carefully while noting for any sorts of changes on the Water Veil.

He was ready. Now he just needed to wait for the Bandit to bite the bait.

***

The situation at the other battlefield was rather odd.

The tower was separated to two corners, north and south, by a vacated line of a few tens of meters in width. Corpses of players, NPCs, and monsters were seen piled everywhere at both sides of the boundary.

Not a living or moving creature was found on the ground, other than the black and gigantic Earth Enchanted Spider, as well as an Ox-Head breathing fire through its nostrils, that stood against the Spider.

More than ten human and monster corpses were seen scattered in different contorted postures around the two daunting monsters.

The two giant monsters appeared to be in hunger for more slaughter.

Meanwhile, their masters were gauging up each other high up in the air. They were confronting each other in midair, right on top of the tower center point.

At one side was a silvery Berserker that was flapping his Angelic Wings. He had a burly figure and was holding a long and glowing hammer. His body was encapsulated by blood red Berserk Aura, which further exacerbated his majestic appearance as a silver angelic warrior.

Opposite the Berserker hovered a gloomy figure that emitted a faint devilish vibe through his ink-black Demonic Wings. His face was hollow and dark under the shade of his cloak. Protected by a Shadow Barrier, the Demon Faction Elementalist was an equal yet contrasting existence to the Angel Faction Berserker. In the Elementalist hand was a chromatic staff embedded with a Dark Core, which boasted its master’s prestigious status.

From the beginning of the contest, the two players at a close distance had already acknowledged each other’s threatening presence. Their first clash came to nothing and after being distracted by other nearby players, the two tacitly avoided each other at the earlier stages and had the other ninety or more players killed first.

Which had led them to the current scenario… The deciding moment of a victor!

However, someone inside the tower had escaped the purge.

A pair of sneaky eyes hidden right behind a monster’s body was currently observing the two confronting players.

‘How lucky to bump into two old friends all at once in here.’

The Bandit peered on the two familiar monsters on the ground. His eyes were beaming with a blood-thirsty excitement. When he looked at the winged Berserker in the air, the excitement in his eyes turned into a complicated resentment.

As the greatest Bandit in Demon Faction and once the greatest Bandit of the entire H&G world, it was impossible that Cub could not tell who was the master of the Earth Enchanted Spider.

‘Slayer’s Heart!’

He was the all too generous mentor that had inadvertently guided Winter Demon to reach the pinnacle of the game.

In the good old days, the small party led by Slayer’s Heart was just a negligible existence. Cub alone could have easily dismantled the party and kicked them out from the Mythical Battlefield.

But nowadays…

Slayer’s Heart was once again a well-respected Field Commander of Bauhinia League.

Violet Orchid, the number one Radiant Priest that was not short of brilliance herself, was now Clan Leader of Bauhinia and Vice League Master of the Fallen Angels.

As for Qin Ruo…

Cub’s mind and soul would burn in an insatiable rage whenever he thought about the man that had humiliated him at Sin City.

He took a quick glance at Slayer’s Heart opponent.

The Shadowmancer, Death Jesus.

Such an ill fate for these two nemeses to have a “reunion” here. ‘This will be interesting to watch.’

As he was expecting an epic battle, he suddenly saw that a blob of Dark Element from afar gradually took shape into two numbers in the air.

49

“Eh?” Cub was baffled.

Before he could make out the meaning behind Death Jesus’ actions, he saw Slayer’s Heart stroking his glowing hammer in the air and had written another number.

48

Cub was stunned.

Then in the next second, deep terror emerged in his eyes as he finally realized what the two numbers actually stood for.