MMORPG: The Elementalist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As Majestic Hero gathered and organized information on the Eternity Peaks’ quests, Qin Ruo, who had been climbing roof after roof, swiftly reached the location near the coordinates of the Tier 5 Hall of Heroes members. It was a five-meter-wide entrance, which led to an underground lobby.

Before he could step into the majestically spacious underground lobby, Qin Ruo detected a floating Lich in the distance. It was guarding the pathway that was connected to said lobby. The moment Qin Ruo detected it, the Spectral magic user, who possessed human intellect, also sensed the presence of the human intruder inching behind it.

It slowly turned around and two chilling shining eyes glared out of its hood, staring right at Qin Ruo, who was using Aquamorph.

The Lich had to handle two human intruders, one on its left and the other on its right. It needed to guard the entrance to the underground pathway while also fending off a Tier 5 human Elementalist. In the meantime, it also had to be aware of Qin Ruo who was creeping near its back. He had evaded numerous patrols before.

“Do it!”

Qin Ruo knew that time was of the essence. Therefore, without wasting more time, he quickly greeted “Shades” from the Hall of Heroes and immediately activated his Frostbarrier and Darkfrost Shield. He dashed right into the lobby, catching the Lich’s attention.

Seemingly seeing through his intentions, the floating Lich lifted its hands and formed an invisible Elemental Wall in between it and Qin Ruo, coincidentally blocking the passage underground.

“Child’s play,” Qin Ruo mocked.

Shooou!

A golden streak of lightning loudly struck the Elemental Wall, which the Lich formed to obstruct its foe. Then it beamed back into Qin Ruo’s shoulder.

Magic Penetration!

The Boss was merely thirty meters away from the entrance. Qin Ruo stepped into the lobby after he destroyed the Elemental Wall and fired out his Lycan Barrage, successfully taunting the Lich.

“Reeeeeeeee!!”

The Lich let out an outlandishly dreadful shriek, which echoed in the massive lobby. It firmly held its ground. It flung three spectral skeletal heads and started to duel with Qin Ruo.

The Lycan Barrage, however, hit its target first, while the Lich’s counterattack was swiftly crushed by Poochie’s Shadow Break.

As charged up a second Lycan Barrage, Qin Ruo suddenly had an epiphany and dashed back to the stairs, retreating thirty meters away from the Lich. At the same time, Shades, the Tier 5 Shadowmancer stopped in hesitation several dozen meters behind the Lich…

He initially thought that Qin Ruo would quickly bait the Lich away from the area that contained the Golden Key. However, the stubborn Lich just would not budge.

If it did not move, he would not have enough the courage to rush into the area, which was within the Tier 6 Boss’ range of attack. He was not as strong as the likes of Qin Ruo and Majestic Hero; he only had one Legendary Grade Equipment. His defense was so weak that the Lich could kill him off with just a few magic strikes.

Shades anxiously cried, “Brother Qin! Why won’t this thing move away? If it doesn’t move away… I can’t press forward.”

In the meantime, Qin Ruo was now outside of the Lich’s range of attack. With an awkward expression, he stood at the stairs by the entrance and stared at the Lich. It was still in the same spot.

The cry for help from Shades pulled Qin Ruo out of his deep thought. He frowned and pointed at a corner in the lobby. “Stand right there and don’t move!”

As he spoke to Shades, he laid his eyes on the Lich again and slowly said, “Give me some time to think”.

A few seconds later, Qin Ruo carefully charged up his Lycan Barrage and stepped into the Lich’s attack range again…

Once more, it started to strike head-on!

Like before, the Lich attacked from the same spot. Its attack was then struck down by Poochie again, missing its target.

Qin Ruo felt a fleeting pleasant surprise as he successfully depleted more HP from the Lich.

Shades, who was observing nearby, finally understood what Qin Ruo’s two strikes earlier meant. He could not help but take a deep breath—he could not believe that Qin Ruo was able to find such a loophole.

A box-out!

Qin Ruo was able to pin the Lich by strategically luring it to the edge of the exit and standing on the staircase, which was outside its guarding area.

That… That…

That was so unbelievable!

He was able to box out a Tier 6 Boss!

“We’re so lucky, aren’t we?”

Shades almost died laughing. Soon, he turned speechless as he saw Qin Ruo swiftly step into the Lich’s attack range and launch another round of magic strikes. Right after the Lich retaliated, he quickly evaded its attacks.

‘This guy’s a sadist!’

It was not enough for him to just box out the Lich, the Winter Demon even wanted to defeat it quickly without taking any damage?

Shades felt as if the ocean tide was beating against his heart. His face twitched as he explained, “Holy f*cking hell, this is so unreal, man!”

If he succeeded, then the rewards for the Golden Key Quest would not just be one Legendary Grade Equipment anymore…

This was a Tier 6 Boss…

Who knew how many more Legendary Grade Equipment it would drop…

Shades stood in his spot excitedly. He did not dare move a muscle or make a sound. He just stood there, holding his breath. He watched as Qin Ruo inched in, whittled down some HP from the Lich, and speedily withdrew to safety…

Then he inched in again! And again! And again!

***

“This Qin Ruo is such a genius!”

In a mechanical pathway underneath the city, Majestic Hero was stunned after he heard a private message from Shades. He then spoke to the oblivious Black God.

“Huh? It’s done?” Black God asked excitedly.

Majestic Hero took a deep breath and replied, shaking his head, “He needs a bit more time…”

“Then what genius are you talking about? He’s taken this long already.” After hearing that the quest was not cleared yet, Black God’s excitement dropped.

“The quest isn’t really a problem anymore. Qin Ruo’s found a way to box out the Lich. You know what a ‘box-out’ is, right? The Lich’s duty is to guard the pathway, and Qin Ruo attacked it from behind. After that, it got stuck and has been unable to attack… According to Shades, the Lich has now basically become target practice for him—it doesn’t have long to live.”

As Majestic explained to Black God, the latter’s smile found its way back to his face. “You’re kidding.”

Majestic Hero threw him a look and said, “If he succeeds, Little Qin… This kid’s Clan will have one more winged elite player again.”

“Sh*t!” Black God could not stand it anymore. “Just zip it. If you speak of this further, I’ll storm out! Motherf*cker! How annoying! He’s surpassed us so much, and now, he still wants to sprint even farther ahead! How could you leave us behind like this! This won’t do. I’ll get my men and try this box-out thing in some other place too!”

“Don’t be stupid. Right now, the entire Buried City is on high alert because someone slew the Dark Knight Commander. Are you trying to commit suicide?” Even though his words appeared to be persuading Black God to not act rashly, Majestic Hero did not attempt to stop him though. If he stepped out, he would be swarmed by endless waves of Death Knight Patrols! Black God would not dare step out…

“But I have Shadowmorph…”

Black God was not giving up. Yet, Majestic Hero shattered his little plan again. “No, don’t you mention that Shadowmorph. That skill may be effective against other players, but if you use it in the Buried City… any Cerberus could sniff you out right away. Just stop jesting and stay right here.”

“Yeah, but I can’t just stand here and watch! This kid’s gotten three Divinities in just one day. He makes us look like a joke!” Black God was now a bundle of nerves.

He always liked competition. When the Tier 5 rank-up wave started, he secretly competed with fifteen rival Clans. And when every Clan and Party was fully established, he competed for the number of winged members.

Right now, his number one rival was Qin Ruo!

He did not think that his Clan, with members nearing the thousands, would lose to Qin Ruo so much within the span of just one day (Black God was the only winged player in the Black Jail clan).

“Just stop it.” Majestic Hero, having recovered from his shock earlier, spoke calmly, “You’re impatient. Just think about it… if it’s confirmed that the Lich could drop Divinities, then… the entire Buried City would be a huge farming ground for Divinities… Once we activate the warp portal and accumulate enough manpower, getting the crystals will be a piece of cake. What is there to fret about?”

Majestic Hero was a far-sighted strategist after all…

“Although boxing out the Lich could yield several Legendary Equipment and rank up some winged players in the Clans, he has much bigger fish to fry—his real objective is to compete with the Demon Faction…”

“Yeah… you’re right.”

Even though he was still feeling regretful about letting such a golden opportunity go, Black God finally conceded.

The Golden Key Quests were, after all, limited in quantity. There would not be more opportunities to easily take out the Lich like Qin Ruo if one missed them.

***

“There’s news from Scarlet. Four Golden Key Quests have already been completed on the Buried City’s Eternity Peaks.”

While the Bauhinia Party, which had been surfing across the Mythical Battlefield, was about to rank up into a Clan, Violet Orchid and Slayer’s Heart were also paying attention to the changes as well as movements within the Buried City. After such a prolonged period of time, the size and shape of the Buried City’s entire map started to become clearer as more and more quests were revealed.

Slayer’s Heart spoke hesitantly.

“It appears Qin Ruo has gone to the fifth location. If he’s successful this time, the quest to activate the warp portal will be halfway cleared… or even entirely cleared.”

“And that’s why we can’t afford to make any mistakes tomorrow. This is our last chance before we activate the warp portal,” Violet Orchid cautioned.

“Netherspirit’s Claw and the other Clans have probably also realized this. Tomorrow… the competition for the four main entrances may become bloodier than ever…”

“Let the three Leagues fight for the other three entrances. We’ll only set our eyes on Aricus Underground Ruins and compete with Netherclaw!”