Virtual World: Close Combat Mage

Southern Lone Blade carefully made his way to the Tower of White Sand. In the distance, he could see five players gathered underneath the structure; one of them was his comrade Glue, and the other four were a Priest, Archer, Knight, and Thief respectively.

Pacing forward in a hurry, Glue introduced the players one by one. “Fleeting Smile, Broken Water Arrow, Silver Moon, and No Smile.”

Broken Water Arrow and Fleeting Smile were the two names that Southern Lone Blade he saw in those letters he had received before, and the other two were names he had heard of even earlier than that. This was especially true for Silver Moon, for he was a business associate that he had never met in person before. Southern Lone Blade surreptitiously glanced at Silver Moon, causing the latter to feel somewhat flustered as he immediately sent out a message to Southern Lone Blade. “Don’t mention a word about the matter with Vast Lushness!”

Southern Lone Blade did not even bother to read the message. They were professional larcenists; they would never deign to reveal the details about any of their transactions even if Silver Moon did not do the same. However, the scumbag’s despicable mindset led him to think that such a thought had crossed the others’ mind, which only served to worsen Southern Lone Blade’s impression of the man.

“So, you’re Southern Lone Blade. I’ve long since admired you.” Ye Xiaowu greeted, giving Southern Lone Blade quite the shock. Out of the four, No Smile and Silver Moon could be considered as the famed individuals, while he had just witnessed Broken Water Arrow’s skill himself, yet the first to come and greet him was this unremarkable Priest. This act itself made it apparent that this Priest was the true leader out of the lot, and that was something he had not expected.

“If you’ve received those letters we sent, I do believe that you already know why we’re here,” Ye Xiaowu said.

Southern Lone Blade nodded.

“So, what are your thoughts about it?” Ye Xiaowu asked.

“20,000 gold coins,” Southern Lone Blade replied.

“Excuse me?” Ye Xiaowu was stunned.

“It isn’t easy to go up against Thousand Miles Drunk,” Southern Lone Blade explained.

“You mean to say that you’d require payment to go up against Thousand Miles Drunk?” Ye Xiaowu asked.

Southern Lone Blade nodded. Silver Moon wanted to say something from the sidelines, opening his mouth for a bit but ultimately held back from uttering a word.

“Then, what’s the idea behind the 20,000 gold coins price tag?” Ye Xiaowu asked.

Southern Lone Blade was well-versed in this line of work, so he knew what Ye Xiaowu meant to find out when he asked about the ‘idea’, so he immediately explained, “20,000 for a level. Under level 40 is subject for future discussion. Everything he drops will go to you.”

“That’s still a rather exorbitant quote,” Ye Xiaowu remarked.

“I’m sure you’ve all exchanged blows with Thousand Miles Drunk before, so you are of course all the clearer just how ludicrous that man is,” Southern Lone Blade said.

“That’s right, and that’s precisely why I’m looking to trouble him.” Ye Xiaowu nodded.

“I’m afraid that before you can even cause trouble to him, he will become trouble for you first.” Southern Lone Blade said this evocatively. That was precisely how his team had ended up provoking that beast of a man.

“He’s already trouble, which needs to be taken care of,” Ye Xiaowu said.

“As long as the price is right, we aren’t afraid of trouble.” Southern Lone Blade chuckled.

“You’ll get your money, but the condition will be that you must completely listen to my orders,” Ye Xiaowu said.

“Fine, but we wish to know every single detail and aspect of your plan. We have no intention of becoming your cannon fodder,” Southern Lone Blade said.

“That’s no problem.” Ye Xiaowu nodded.

“Then, this is a done deal!” Southern Lone Blade extended his hand out.

“Don’t be in such a hurry. This sum you’re asking is a little too much. I don’t have that much at the moment, so I’ll need to go raise the funds.” Ye Xiaowu’s hand had yet to move.

“I’ll be waiting.” Southern Lone Blade retracted his hand.

“In that case, until then?” Ye Xiaowu asked.

“Until then.” Southern Lone Blade nodded. He shot a quick glance at Glue, and the two made to leave first.

“We’ve finally settled that end,” Ye Xiaowu said to Broken Water Arrow.

“Yes.” Broken Water Arrow nodded.

Silver Moon and No Smile were looking at each other. 20,000 gold coins a level! The two firmly believed that they had just borne witness to the highest transaction in Parallel World ever since its inception.

“That guy really dared to say it!” No Smile mumbled to Silver Moon in a low voice.

Silver Moon nodded. He had dealt with Southern Lone Blade before, so there was no need for him to ask about his ‘idea’ like what Ye Xiaowu had done. He knew what 20,000 gold coins meant a single level. Silver Moon had already figured out that Southern Lone Blade did not want to make such a deal when the latter opened with such a large sum; that was done so as to make it easy for the other party to back down accordingly. Just considering the fact that getting Vast Lushness to drop her Utopian Magic Staff cost 3000 gold coins when the price of the staff itself should be at about 2000 gold coins, that meant the levels that Vast Lushness would have lost in the process were only priced at 1000 gold coins, and it would be for a number of levels that was not even explicitly stated.

Looting a dropped item off a player hinged entirely on luck; it was considered as lucky for an item to drop at the first kill as that meant that the cost of Vast Lushness’s one level was 1000 gold coins. If unlucky, she would have to be killed ten times before an item dropped, which meant that the 10 deaths Vast Lushness experienced was only bought for 1000 gold coins. In contrast, dropping a level of Gu Fei was worth 20,000 gold coins. How was that not a sky-high price?

Southern Lone Blade’s lion-sized maw was already unrestrained enough when he quoted that insane amount, yet it was the Priest who was all the more unrestrained for boldly chomping down on the offer. Silver Moon was momentarily confused by this, unsure if Ye Xiaowu was actually a noob or an expert. Did he have a semblance of common sense even? He even looked to be happy having completed such a foolish transaction. 20,000 gold coins… Doesn’t that mean that Southern Lone Blade will be taking a 10,000-gold coin deposit? Is he perhaps thinking of disappearing the moment he gets a hold of that 10,000 gold coins?

Thinking about it, Silver Moon sent a message over to Southern Lone Blade, hoping to test the waters. “You’ve struck gold now, you rascal.”

“Just who is that guy? He’s so rich.” Southern Lone Blade was probing Silver Moon as well.

Silver Moon of course sidestepped his question and continued, “So, you ended up trapping yourself, eh? You never even considered that the man might accept your condition, huh?”

“If he isn’t gonna agree, how else am I gonna earn money?” Southern Lone Blade countered.

“So, you’re actually serious?” Silver Moon asked.

“Did you think otherwise?” Southern Lone Blade retorted.

“Uh, then, if you do indeed end up looting Thousand Miles Drunk’s equipment, how much is that gonna go?” Silver Moon asked.

“Sorry, but I’m not accepting any request to loot his equipment,” Southern Lone Blade rejected.

If a single level would cost 20,000 gold coins, even if Southern Lone Blade were to accept requests to loot Thousand Miles Drunk of his equipment, there was no way Silver Moon would be able to afford the exorbitant sum for the assignment. Silver Moon only wished to shift the topic in this direction, so he hurriedly said, “Then, if, by chance, Thousand Miles Drunk’s sword does drop, I’ll pay 10,000 gold coins for you to pick it up.”

Silver Moon calculated that if, at the time that they confronted Thousand Miles Drunk, and he and Fleeting Smile were to lend a hand in the fight, neither would be at the frontlines; Broken Water Arrow was a ranged character, so he would not be in melee range, either. Meanwhile, No Smile would surely attempt to act like a fish in troubled waters and would seize any sort of advantage he could find to keep himself out of harm’s way. Then, there was that Cool Apple person; still, that twerp was apparently only interested in duels, so there was no guarantee that he might appear. As such, Southern Lone Blade’s team was likely to be the only players near Thousand Miles Drunk when they were doing the act, so if any equipment was to be dropped, it was evidently going to land in their hands. Even though Southern Lone Blade mentioned moments ago that he was not claiming ownership of any equipment dropped, who knew what he might be thinking when that really happened? Silver Moon decided to make the first move, any equipment they came across in the course of their larceny would often be sold to the highest bidder; rarely would they ever keep it for their personal use.

Who would have guessed Southern Lone Blade’s answer, though? “Equipment? We’re not picking up his equipment.”

F*ck*ng hell. Still with the games , Silver Moon cursed inwardly before he said, “Then, help me pick it up. There’s 10,000 gold coins in it for completing the task.” Silver Moon was paying an exorbitant sum for this. After hearing that Gu Fei’s sword was considered as one of the three strongest weapons in Parallel World at the moment, and that it even had a Dark Knight’s skill within it, Silver Moon felt it would be well worth every coin to get it into his hands. At most, he’d sell his King’s Blade away to get the funds for it. The value of the King’s Blade was mainly in parties, anyhow. Considering how Silver Moon’s namesake was in the pits of notoriety, he knew very well how impossible it was for him to mix around with any sort of mercenary group, guild, or organization. Holding onto the King’s Blade could possibly end up painting a big target on his back, so if he could swap it out with Gu Fei’s exceptionally powerful sword, he could then be an independent paragon of strength. That would also be a very satisfying matter in itself.

Silver Moon was still dreaming about this fantasy when he saw Southern Lone Blade’s reply, “I meant it when I told you I’m not picking up his equipment. Stop with your nonsense.”

“What, is it too cheap? Will 15,000 gold coins do?” Silver Moon was determined to seal the deal.

But in the end, he got no further reply this time. When he tried to fire another message of his, he got the system prompt: [The player is not accepting messages from anyone not in his friends list.]

“F*CK!” Silver Moon bellowed. He still had an ongoing business with Southern Lone Blade regarding Vast Lushness, and he had already paid 2000 gold coins just for the deposit alone. That was already the entire fortune he had in his possession right now. Evidently, if they did not get the Utopian Magic Staff back, there was absolutely no way he could get his money from Fleeting Smile, and now that Southern Lone Blade had removed him from his friends list…Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!

Silver Moon’s expression became twisted, and No Smile beside him found it to be strange, but he did not dare probe further. Silver Moon quickly moved up right beside Ye Xiaowu and spoke, “Do you guys think that that Southern Lone Blade guy is reliable?”

Ye Xiaowu turned to look at Silver Moon, asking, “What’s the matter?”

“I’ve never heard of such a huge transaction like 20,000 gold coins. That guy is sure to take the deposit and abscond after acquiring the 10,000 gold coins, right?” Silver Moon hedged.

“How do you know that the deposit will be 10,000 gold coins?” Ye Xiaowu wondered.

Silver Moon was momentarily stunned and decided to come clean. “I’ve had dealings with the man before. The deposit for his transaction has always been half.”

Ye Xiaowu looked him in the eye as Broken Water Arrow spoke up. “Is that so? From what we know, the deposit he asks for has always been 20 to 30% of the agreed-on price!”

“No, he’s always taken 50% for deposit from me,” Silver Moon refuted with certainty, only pausing after he had said it. He looked at Ye Xiaowu and Broken Water Arrow, even No Smile, and all he saw were looks of sorrow.

“He sure treats you different,” Ye Xiaowu commented.

F*ck me! Silver Moon was even more depressed. Southern Lone Blade only charged others a third as deposit, but half for himself. Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!

————————————–

“Silver Moon’s such a b*st*rd. He’s literally worse than scum.” Over by Southern Lone Blade’s side, the man kept sighing after he deleted the guy’s name from his friends list.

“What happened?” Glue asked.

Southern Lone Blade recounted to him what had happened, and Glue immediately expressed his agreement. “He’s really worse than scum.”

“I’ve already deleted him from my friends’ list, and we won’t have any further dealings with that man after this business, but there’s no telling when that b*st*rd will throw us under the bus,” Southern Lone Blade informed.

“You deleted him? Considering that he still has his assignment for us, isn’t he gonna get mad?” Glue asked.

“Yeah. It’s a real pity that we can’t see him all exasperated and alarmed,” Southern Lone Blade replied.

“Aren’t you perhaps a little too impulsive? That guy is capable of doing anything.” Glue was worried.

“Of all the people possible, I’m not gonna be afraid of him! If we’re even scared of someone like him, there’s no point in living any longer. Just thinking about him makes me angry,” Southern Lone Blade said.

“It’s still better to be careful,” Glue cautioned.

“There’s no need for you to worry. Just what sort of tricks can he pull now, anyway? Attempt to tell tales of us to that Fleeting Smile person? What a joke. Do you really think that they are fools that are unaware of just what sort of man Silver Moon really is? The only reason they have him tagging along is no more than to make use of that powerful skill he has. There’s no chance of him jeopardizing our agreement with that Priest,” Southern Lone Blade said.

“Then, what about the assignment Silver Moon has with us? Are we still doing it?” Glue asked.

“Of course, we are. I have issues with the man – not the money the job entails,” Southern Lone Blade said.

“But you’ve deleted him…” Glue pointed out.

“Deleting him doesn’t mean I can’t contact him. Just let him wallow in his despair first,” Southern Lone Blade said.

Glue had no words for this.

“Furthermore, I can tell that the rascal is really afraid of us mentioning our transaction to Fleeting Smile. It’s very possible that he has stirred something up. I’m gonna make sure to poke it out of him next time.”

“Why don’t we just loot that King’s Blade right off him,” Glue suggested.

“Hey. That’s a good idea! We’re always helping others with their business; perhaps, we should give ourselves a hand next time.” Southern Lone Blade was all for it when he thought of something else.

“Oh, yeah! How did you run into them?”

“I was following Thousand Miles Drunk, right? It turned out that those three were also keeping an eye on him, and that was how they noticed me,” Glue replied, feeling very ashamed.

“The three of them?”

“Yeah. That Broken Water Arrow person hasn’t joined them yet, and I was about to tell you guys about me being discovered by them, but Thousand Miles Drunk happened to disappear around this time,” Glue elaborated. “I told them about the matter, then that Fleeting Smile guy called his men to come help us deal with the situation.”

“How did Thousand Miles Drunk disappear? Did he teleport?”

“That Fleeting Smile said that it’s something called the Windchaser’s Emblem, a piece of equipment earned from doing ‘Bounty Mission’. Upon the completion of a bounty, the user can activate it to teleport him or herself directly to the Bounty Assignment Hall.”

“That explains it!” Southern Lone Blade recalled that the place they had struck happened to be near a Bounty Assignment Hall. It seemed that their enemies had specifically chosen that location.

“That was really close.” Southern Lone Blade wiped off his non-existent sweat. If it had not been for Glue and Broken Water Arrow’s timely intervention, even if the others managed to flee with their lives, Southern Lone Blade was certain that he would have been a dead meat.

“So, what do we do now?” Glue asked.

“Let’s rest up first! I’ve accidentally killed off Svelte Dancer just now; how very unlucky,” Southern Lone Blade glumly answered.

Glue understood what he was feeling. Their line of work was very offensive to their victims, yet they were also afraid of offending people at the same time. Take the enmity they now had with Gu Fei as example; ultimately, the moment they had an assignment on Vast Lushness, someone whom the man was acquainted with, that guy instantly appeared to lend a hand the moment he caught wind of it. By the same logic, having killed Svelte Dancer once, that naturally meant that they had offended yet another powerful entity. Furthermore, it just so happened that their faces were not covered this time around, which meant that they had once more gotten themselves into trouble with someone whom they would not be getting rid of anytime soon.

—————————

The aggrieved Svelte Dancer suddenly sneezed twice loudly.

Gu Fei and the others seated around a table were staring at that cold gleaming dagger she had jabbed onto the table and shrank their heads back without saying a word.

“I will most definitely rip him to shreds!” Svelte Dancer roared after she finished her sneezes.

“I’ll help you,” Gu Fei consoled.

“Go and get that bunch of your scoundrels whom you call friend out here! I wanna hire you guys to hunt him down for me!” Svelte Dancer was still yelling angrily.

“Hire us? Then, let me introduce you to an expert!” Gu Fei quickly recommended.

Everyone stared at Gu Fei, all believing that he was about to shamelessly put his name forward.

“Eternal Dominion. He’s a professional,” Gu Fei continued.

Svelte Dancer was stunned for a moment, for she, too, thought that Gu Fei was about to recommend himself for the task. Who would have thought that he really had someone in mind?

“I’m only saying it for the heck of it; I want to kill him myself. Anyone stealing him from me will have trouble with me!” Svelte Dancer declared.