MMORPG: The Elementalist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

A blossom of snow, pure and white.

Only those engulfed by it knew the violence and bloodshed that was taking place within.

Four-fold Frostburst, Magic Damage 150!

Without warning, the t.i.tanwraith Berserker and Ignis Swordmaster hounding Qin Ruo were knocked head-over-heels. Berserk and Fire Dragon Combat Aura began to fade away, and then were completely buried beneath a torrent of snow!

The two Pyromancers, seeing that their t.i.tanwraith Berserker and Ignis Swordmaster had engaged Qin Ruo in close combat, had not bothered to prepare a second round of spells, and had just been waiting to see what kind of equipment Qin Ruo might drop upon his death.

However, a sudden system notification caused the both of them, as well as the six Tier 3 characters enjoying the show, to break out into a cold sweat from shock.

Instant kill? Heaven have mercy…

A couple of Tier 3 Frostbursts, and a t.i.tanwraith Berserker, as well as an Ignis Swordmaster—supremely resistant to water magic—had been immediately taken out?

How could this be… it was impossible!

Panicked, the two Pyromancers turned tail and fled.

Yet in that instant when they turned their backs on him, Qin Ruo came charging out from the blizzard, throwing up one, two Aquaramparts to intercept their flight.

"Freeze!"

Qin Ruo did not intend to let them escape. He dashed up to them as the Frostramparts solidified, blocking their exit. Skidding to a halt, Qin Ruo methodically began to conjure up more Frostramparts to box them in. Two slow-moving Pyromancers—not even a challenge for him.

The six Tier 3 players watched in awe as the Pyromancers ran around hysterically like headless chickens, b.u.mping into a wall of ice everywhere they turned. No matter how they tried to escape, there was always another Frostrampart there to cut them off. In this way, Qin Ruo kept them confined thirty meters away, while the number of Frostramparts continued to grow.

Both Pyromancers began to feel queasy. When they had accepted this a.s.signment, how did it not occurr to them to do some digging into this Qin Ruo guy"s background? What sort of player dared to wear a full set of Gold Equipment, hanging out in the middle of nowhere picking up chicks? They should have known he would not be such easy prey—and now they had p.i.s.sed him off.

Four Tier 4 characters ambus.h.i.+ng him as a team, and both warriors were instantly put down, while the mages had completely lost hope of fighting back in any way, watching helplessly as six Frostramparts detonated in unison.

Avalanche Burial!

All four had been wiped out. The remaining six backed away without delay, watching Qin Ruo with undisguised horror, not a single one daring to remain within fifty meters of this demon in human form. b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, this was way too scary! A single Tier 4 Aquamancer being ganged up on by four Tier 4 players at once, and they were slaughtered to a man.

It was insane!

Qin Ruo leered at the six noobs cowering at a safe distance from him. He was not in the habit of bullying the weak, nor was he interested in losing any Honor Points over this. Also, there was still something he could not quite figure out: Had this bunch tracked him all the way from Bailey Town, or had they shown up here for some other reason?

Although he had heard his now-departed opponents mouthing off about yesterday"s Boss, he had a feeling they had not exactly come here looking for that Boss. If they had really seen him in action that day, the four of these unremarkable Tier 4 losers would not have thrown their weight around in front of him.

So the Boss was just an excuse, and not exactly the most solid one. Had they only been after his equipment? That was not quite right either.

Qin Ruo took a look at the four bodies on the ground. Bailey Town had been over an hour ago. If they had just been after his stuff, they did not have to wait this long to make their move.

As he was puzzling over this, Xiaoxiao came up behind him.

"Ruo, let"s go somewhere else, okay?" Her voice was gentle and soft, but somehow it caused Qin Ruo to feel a tinge of unease and frustration, as though a needle had pierced into his heart.

"Why do we have to leave? Hah, I rather think I like it here. Don"t mind the sc.u.m over there. Even if they call for more help, we"ll just beat them back together."

At that last note, a cold light flashed from his eyes, sweeping over the corpses that lay nearby.

Hmph!

No longer was he a Tier 3 Aquamancer, fearful of bullies. Nor was he the pushover he used to be back in Kane Forest. If they wanted him to budge, they would have to make him—and not by throwing a handful of mewling kittens at him!

"Xiaoxiao, we worked well together back there. If anything else happens… same as before."

"Mm."

Xiaoxiao noticed Qin Ruo changing the topic, and knew that once he"d made up his mind there"d be no persuading him otherwise. So she just nodded meekly in reply, hoping that those guys over there would not be foolish enough to come any closer.

Wishful thinking.

If the four bodies had not vanished by now, it meant that their allies were rus.h.i.+ng over right now, and their next opponents would definitely be more formidable than the last.

Sure enough, not twenty minutes later, a party of Tier 4 players, ten in number, came charging headlong into Killer Bee Valley. They tore right through the Killer Bees in the way, heading straight for the valley"s depths.

This time around however, they displayed much more caution, coming to a halt thirty meters away from Qin Ruo. Looking with trepidation upon the four Frostramparts flanking him like bodyguards, as well as Qin Ruo himself, cold as the heart of winter.

"You with these guys?"

No one spoke up in response, only glared b.l.o.o.d.y murder at him and his vaunted equipment. The four Elementalists in the party swiftly raised Tier 4 Barriers, followed immediately by Tier 4 s.h.i.+elds—a crystal-clear declaration of war.

Seeing this, Qin Ruo"s rage and bloodthirst surged!

Taking stock of his ten new opponents, he raised a fifth and sixth Frostrampart. Meanwhile behind him, Xiaoxiao sensed the tension and hostility between both sides, and silently conjured up four Frostramparts of her own, ready to hand them over to Qin Ruo at any moment.

The four Elementalists on the opposing side having brought up their dual defenses, Qin Ruo"s expression took on a cast of derision. Raising his staff, he roared, "Freeze!"

Frigid air suddenly rose up from below. Accompanied by shouts of alarm, two shadowy forms appeared, perhaps ten meters away from Qin Ruo.

Seeing the two Bandits suddenly appearing so close by, Xiaoxiao was too startled even to scream. How mean! Not only had they sent a dozen Tier 4 players to attack them, there were even invisible a.s.sa.s.sins!

If not for Qin Ruo already having made preparations in advance, laying down a nearly unnoticeable veil of moisture across a thirty-meter area, they might already have been blindsided by these Bandits, their defenses penetrated straight away.

"Who the h.e.l.l are you people?"

There was the system notification, informing him that he had been found guilty of attacking the two Bandits. At last, Qin Ruo fully let himself go, ready to wage war in earnest. As he approached one of the Bandits, he also sent forth four of the Frostramparts, while quietly preparing to unleash a furious barrage of spells.

For so many Tier 4 players to have come for them, even with Bandits thrown into the mix, it was clear that they meant to kill him no matter the cost. If he did not take the initiative in this situation, there would be no hope of escape for either him or Xiaoxiao.

Although up until this point he had remained bewildered by all this hostility that had descended upon him out of the blue, one thing he knew was that he couldn"t forgive such single-minded viciousness on the part of his mysterious enemies.

"Ice! Arrows!"

Spitting these words out sharply, five glittering arrows of ice, trailing streams of mist in their wake, penetrated the two murky figures which had just been revealed, before they had the chance to shake off the Chill effect.

Bandits tended to have the worst defences and HP. As powerful in magic as Qin Ruo was, there was a whole selection of Tier 2 spells which could instantly eliminate them!

*Wham! Wham!*

Both Bandits fell to the ground with a resounding thud. Qin Ruo received a system notification.

For your unprovoked murder of two players, you have lost two Honor Points.

The battlefield had been ignited when the four Elementalists engaged their most powerful defenses all at once. His a.s.sembled enemies, up until this point only glaring at him with fury in their eyes, had now begun to betray hints of doubt and terror.

The spellcasting technique and shocking brutality Qin Ruo had demonstrated, not to mention his lack of hesitation to attack and kill his fellow players, was quite enough to make them pause.

Although he had outright murdered two of their Bandits right before their eyes, they noticed that there was no red tag appearing for him. As one, they drew in a sharp breath of horrified realization.

Honor Points!

The man before them was a veteran of the Mythical Battlefield—a Tier 4 elite player!

d.a.m.n.