Virtual World: Close Combat Mage

Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales

These ex-soldiers were dexterous, and they were far more adept at climbing up and down the rope than Gu Fei. Gu Fei was also not concerned with relis.h.i.+ng the cruel fall of that first ex-soldier he had sent falling and just quickly continued down the line to cut off the second rope. His goal was to cut all these ropes off before the four ex-soldiers could get their feet on the ground.

He succeeded!

One, two, three, four! The ropes were not too far apart from one another, so that dagger of his cleanly sliced off these ropes; their screams sounded off one after another, albeit the fourth barely made a lot of noise. Gu Fei looked down from the roof of the tall building. Apparently, by the time he got to that fourth rope, that man was already close to the ground and had plenty of time mentally steeling himself. Clinging onto that cut rope, he calmly fell down to the Priest Academy grounds.

The three other ex-soldiers landed with their limbs sprawled, causing the spectating crowd that gathered to burst out laughing, yet these four men very quickly got up to their feet and dusted their b.u.t.ts off. They were fine! They were in the safe zone, so there was no way for them to die; they were completely unharmed.

The fifth rope had no one on it as there were only nine ex-soldiers here for this rescue; with the first five in that first wave, this left Gu Fei with four when he arrived. Thus, rather than cutting off that fifth rope, he handily confiscated it.

“There"re only nine of them… The two Mages are still missing!” Brother a.s.sist commented after carefully observing the lot.

Excluding Ye Xiaowu, the ex-soldiers would number to a total of nineteen players, with five Archers, three Fighters, three Thieves, and two of the remaining job cla.s.ses. This was what Brother a.s.sist had tallied from the battle this morning. With the five Archers engaged in hara.s.sment outside, the two Priests taken as hostages in the safe zone, and the nine men that came descending down from the roof of that building, that was a total of sixteen out of the nineteen accounted for. This left three men missing in action. If two of the three were the two Mages that had darted into the alley from the start, there was still one missing… Brother a.s.sist did a quick count and saw that one of the Thieves was still nowhere to be found.

“Thief!” Everyone shuddered. Could this last person have Stealthed his way right up beside them? Flame Singed Clothes understood what everyone in the party was thinking, and he suddenly cast an AoE spell or two, blanketing the area they were currently positioned. No Thief appeared, so it seemed that that man had not managed to sneak up on any one of them.

Everyone had hoped that the four ex-soldiers would instantly die from the fall after Gu Fei severed the ropes they were clinging onto, but it was unfortunate that the protections the safe zone provided was all-encompa.s.sing. It seemed that there was no way for players to die here.

Despite this, the four men still felt as if they had lost all their faces from this embarra.s.sing incident, especially with how unsightly the third player looked when he crashed into the ground. The man climbed up to his feet and threw a death glare at Gu Fei, who was still on the roof of that building. The former wished that he could just dash his way up and throw down the gauntlet with the latter, but all he saw was Gu Fei calmly confiscate that hanging fifth rope.

Everyone turned to regard Young Master Han.

Gu Fei"s appearance was no more than a hilarious interlude for them, and the safe zone meant none of these ex-soldiers that had fallen sustained any damage from it. Instead, it allowed them to land even quicker than before.

With the Archers outside and the melee job cla.s.ses inside, they were completely capable of providing cover to these three Priests as they made their way out of the sp.a.w.n point together. The previous victory Young Master"s Elite had was all thanks to the fact that their enemies lacked Priests, allowing the expert gamers to converge on the ex-soldiers one by one and take them down one after another. But the situation this time round was very different for Young Master Han and the gang, and it would be very difficult for them to deal with both fronts at the same time.

Meanwhile, Gu Fei was feeling rather sorry that none of the four ex-soldiers had died from their fall, but he still felt that he had managed to contribute to the bigger picture, shouting to his comrades below, “Alright, I"ve cut off their route of escape. The rest is up to you all!”

Everyone was black with anger. Was this even a pivotal factor? These men were all prepared for a direct confrontation. Why would they even be bothered to climb out via the ropes after?

These ex-soldiers did not give them much time to contemplate on this. Now that they had finished gathering in the sp.a.w.n point proper, the three Priests, Ye Xiaowu, Old Wu, and Xiaochen were included in their formation. Old Wu and Xiaochen were also aware of their importance by this point, so they no longer took out their crossbows to fight with the others. Instead, they pulled out their magic staff like Ye Xiaowu, readying themselves to support the others from behind.

With Mountain Breaker Axe as their point man, the other nine men formed a 60 to 70-degree wedge, each man positioned no more than a meter apart from one another. The three Priests were packed within, and the troop went charging straight for the experts camped outside the Priest Academy"s entrance while maintaining this formation.

“TO THE DEATH!” War Without Wounds bellowed as he pulled out his claymores.

No one else echoed this. Young Master Han and Sword Demon were the calm and collected sort, and neither men would lose their cool and make a battlecry that stemmed from such a rash decision. Meanwhile, Southern Lone Blade"s squad of seven had great teamwork, so none of them would casually make such a declaration either. The only one eager to react to War Without Wounds" war cry was Royal G.o.d Call, but since he was an Archer, his fighting style would be entirely opposite of how War Without Wounds would engage the enemies.

War Without Wounds”to the death" had him pulling out his weapon to charge forward, while Royal G.o.d Call"s ‘to the death" had him pulling out his bow and running off into the distance. Everybody blankly watched the two men, a burly man and a lithe figure respectively. There were in such dire straits, yet such a comical scene could still occur. Was this what the saying meant when it spoke of how comedy could be found in the midst of tragedy?

Broken Water Arrow"s team of five Archers outside was apparently aware of what was going on inside the Priest Academy, and they increased their arrow fire on their end. Those men had originally been maintaining their distance as they shot at Young Master"s Elite and the others, but they all seemed to be advancing step by step toward their targets now. In that same moment, two flaming wreaths appeared high above the sky. The awareness these experts demonstrated was remarkable, as these men all went scrambling to the sides to evade this flame a.s.sault. In the next instant, they felt heat gather beneath their feet as a Blazing Tree of a Thousand Inferno was unleashed.

The spells appeared in pairs, which meant that there were two Mages among the enemies they were facing, though none of them could catch any trace of those two Mages. This was the first time these handful of veteran experts could not find the perpetrators for these spells after fitfully taking four spells. Flame Singed Clothes was speechless! Royal G.o.d Call, who was now an Archer yet always bragged about him being the top Mage expert, had this very unbearable look on him.

Receiving such accurate archer fire, not knowing where the Mages were as they got bombarded with spells, and the impending melee engagement with the incoming wedge of ex-soldiers, Young Master Han calculated for but a moment before he gave the order. “Step into the safe zone…”

“Ah…” Everyone felt depressed.

Even though everyone said before how they would likely anger the Archers hara.s.sing them by taking shelter in the safe zone, that was not the same situation as what was actually happening now. If their enemies had slaughtered a path out with the three Priests in tow as Young Master Han and the rest were forced to take cover in the safe zone, that just felt as if they did not dare to face the opposing party head-on. While entering the safe zone would protect their levels, the previous arrangement they had made would all be aborted, and they could only let the three Priests leave the premises.

Despite feeling discontented, with their enemies right upon them, these experts had no choice but to adhere to the order. Southern Lone Blade"s team was the first to rush into the Priest Academy, followed by Brother a.s.sist, Young Master Han, and Sword Demon. War Without Wounds and Royal G.o.d Call put up a bit of a fight before entering as well. The last one to round the retreat up was Eternal Dominion.

Entering the safe zone and exiting the safe zone, both parties brushed shoulders as they pa.s.sed, the eye-contact between them was like gunpowder, but because this was a safe zone, no amount of gunpowder present between them could be ignited. Watching those ex-soldiers depart with the three Priests among them, none of them felt willing to let them pa.s.s.

The ex-soldiers were all overjoyed that the hostage rescue was accomplished without a hitch. Their careful planning had finally paid off, but it was more regrettable that their enemies were able to make a clear judgment call, not even hesitating for a moment as they took shelter in the safe zone. If they were to clash there and then, these well-prepared ex-soldiers were confident that they could ma.s.sacre the lot… It was such a pity!

Both parties were all feeling much discontentment and regret! That was when Gu Xian, who had moved his rock over to the safety zone and was busy taking a nap, suddenly woke up and actually streaked right into the midst of the enemy formation with a Spurring Meteor, all by himself.

“Who dares?” They were all surprised. These ex-soldiers were vigilant, ready to teach Young Master Han and the other expert gamers a lesson by swinging around and catching them off guard. After all, they had merely entered the safe zone, and that was no way an unconditional surrender. But who would have thought that it was none of those men acted? Instead, there was a sudden outburst from a twerp seated at the entrance with his head lowered.

None of the ex-soldiers had paid any attention to this person in the corner, much less considered the possibility of him being a comrade of these people. In the time they involuntarily cried out ‘who dares," they had gotten a good look at this interloper"s mug. It was precisely that despicable Fighter who had given them a hard time fighting in and out of the tavern previously.

“Perfect timing!” These ex-soldiers were just thinking to settle the score with some of these ruthless characters they b.u.mped into and moved to engage Gu Xian once they identified him.

Gu Xian came zooming right over with his punch out, but just as the group of ex-soldiers moved to surround him, who would have thought Gu Xian would actually cancel his Spurring Meteor in mid-execution, leap to the sky with a Swallow Dropkick, and fly past above their heads?

These men all swiftly did an about turn. Behind them were the three Priests; sure enough, the enemy"s target had always been the Priests from start to finis.h.!.+ Still, for him to actually dive head-first into their formation all by himself, that just might be a little too reckless!

Without waiting for Gu Xian to land, the nine men reversed the wedge, so the moment Gu Xian landed on the ground, he was bound to end up inside their encirclement.

Yet, who would have guessed that Gu Xian would cancel his Swallow Dropkick the moment he got up in the air, only to see his body complete half a flip in mid-air and came plunging head-first? Everyone was wondering what this Fighter was doing when they saw his two arms reach out and grabbed a hold of Ye Xiaowu"s shoulders.

All Ye Xiaowu felt was a pressure on his shoulders as that person prepared to somersault forward while supported by his shoulders.

Is he somersaulting for fun? Ye Xiaowu wondered to himself but suddenly felt an irresistible force lift him toward the sky.

c.r.a.p! Seismic Toss!

He abruptly realized what was happening.

Indeed, this was the most indomitable aspect of these kung fu pract.i.tioners. Ye Xiaowu was incomparably familiar with the game, knowing all about how it was designed and its settings, yet he had never experienced all of it physically by himself. He never imagined that there was someone out there that could unleash a Seismic Toss from this sort of posture!

Gu Xian continued his forward somersault even as he used Ye Xiaowu"s shoulders for support. At the same time that he was executing Seismic Toss, he lifted the man up from the ground and threw him up toward the sky. Ye Xiaowu took a glimpse while in the air and saw that the area he was landing in would be inside the safe zone. Despite so, this very attack was done outside the safe zone. Thus, the damage he would sustain would still be full of calculations. However, Ye Xiaowu felt that the final damage should not be enough to instkill him, except it would toss him back into the safe zone. That"s hardly a bad thing, isn"t it?

Just as he was about to soul-stirringly yell out “Leave me be!” Another Fighter actually rushed out from inside the safe zone. Reaching the doorway in just a few steps, this Fighter stepped on that rock Gu Xian had been sitting on before and kicked himself off the wall as well. In just those two steps, the man soared in the air, and before Ye Xiaowu could land in the Priest Academy, he was caught mid-air by this other person. Following which, he found himself being raised high above his head. His tears ran free.

It"s another Seismic Toss!

Eternal Dominion"s Seismic Toss was like a basketballer"s slam dunk on the court. After lifting Ye Xiaowu in mid-air, he viciously sent him plummeting onto the ground in a single swift motion.

I"m dead this time for sure… Grief gripped Ye Xiaowu. He might be a Priest, but he never once allocated his points to Endurance, and more importantly, he had a low level! Ye Xiaowu had lost four levels this day alone, so he was no more than a paltry dish in front of these experts who had undergone their Job Cla.s.s Advancement. Ye Xiaowu felt that the game would be completely unfair if he could survive these two consecutive attacks.

A burst of white light sprang when Ye Xiaowu was sent down to the ground like this. Meanwhile, Gu Xian completed his forward somersault after he tossed Ye Xiaowu. The whole circle of ex-soldiers was still in a hurry to crowd around him, yet their target never did land as they saw a flash of white light appear in mid-air.

“What just happened?” All of them were in shock. Their failure to save Ye Xiaowu once more caused much unhappiness among these ex-soldiers. Their comrade had actually died five times in a span of today! Just as they were about to take care of Gu Xian to relieve some of their guilt, they saw the person disappear in a flash of white light mid-air. All of them exchanged glances and then shook their heads.

“I didn"t touch him!”

“I didn"t either.”

“I didn"t, too!”

“Then, how did he die?”

Ye Xiaowu, who had instantly resp.a.w.ned in the Priest Academy, had kept his eye on Gu Xian the entire time he was in the air! He clearly witnessed what had happened, and very painfully answered, “He"s not dead. He simply logged out…”

Just as he said that, his view ahead was suddenly obstructed. Young Master Han"s group surrounded the man completely. Safe zone did not allow players to come in direct contact with one another, but that was the system forcefully creating an invisible wall around the player. This did not seem to affect the feeling of crowdedness anyone would feel, except that the player being squeezed among others would discover the slightest s.p.a.ce between one another, something which the players had always found to be rather hilarious.

When players found themselves blocked in such a situation, it was normally possible for people to squeeze their way out even though they could come in contact with one another, but in Parallel World, because of the difference between job cla.s.ses, the disparity between players" Strength played a huge part. Ye Xiaowu was just a little Priest; how would he be able to squeeze past that gap between the thickset shoulders of War Without Wounds and Southern Lone Blade? Even if he ignored these two, Sword Demon and Blackwater might be skinny, but they would have no problems rebuffing Ye Xiaowu"s attempts at escape as well! In fact, even if they shared the same job cla.s.s of Priests, the experts" higher level simply meant that he was incapable to squeeze his way out through any of them at all!

There were no words in the whole of the Chinese lexicon that could describe what Ye Xiaowu was feeling now, but what made things all the more depressing was that he was enclosed within this circle of experts, yet no one was actually looking at him. Mountain Breaker Axe and the others" eyes were all concentrated on Ye Xiaowu"s murderer: Eternal Dominion.

Eternal Dominion quickly darted back into the Priest Academy after he landed on the ground. Those outside were still studying the spot Gu Xian had disappeared in mid-air! If it were not for that flash of light when he disappeared, these men would really think that they had witnessed another Blink.

Eternal Dominion went over to scope out Ye Xiaowu, whom he had just thrown to his death, with his two eyes. He extended his head into that circle of men and observed the trapped Ye Xiaowu within, looking like someone who had put in plenty of effort squeezing to the front of the cage of his favorite monkey in the zoo. Ye Xiaowu felt aggrieved as he met his gaze, while the crowd of experts were full of praises when they saw Eternal Dominion.

“That was magnificent! Things sure are different when one knows kung fu! That coordination was beautiful!!” Everyone showered him with their compliments.

“Oh, no! It"s all thanks to Brother Gu for his courageous effort!” Eternal Dominion immediately reacted modestly, kindly piling all the hard work onto Gu Xian.

“That teamwork, the conscious awareness – how did you two share the same idea?” Southern Lone Blade really admired the synchronicity the two Fighters had just demonstrated.

Eternal Dominion looked Southern Lone Blade in the eye before answering, “A simple message beforehand would do.”

Everyone was momentarily stunned before bursting into raucous laughter. Southern Lone Blade was beet-red, having thought that these kung fu pract.i.tioners lived otherworldly existences, that they were all of one blood learning kung fu, and so were able to guess how the others thought at a glance! He completely forgot that it was possible for them to exchange private messages to make the necessary arrangements in-game. After Eternal Dominion found out that Gu Xian was Gu Fei"s cousin, and of the Gu family, he politely added him as a friend. He never would have thought that it would come in handy so soon.

“You guys can carry on here! I need to log out.” Eternal Dominion saw that it was about time and bid everyone farewell. He turned around to wave goodbye at Gu Fei, who was still on that rooftop, before going offline.

Everyone returned their attention to the trapped Ye Xiaowu. The way this bunch grinned made it seem as if they were a bunch of hooligans surrounding a naked woman.

“Pull off his pants and flick his d*ck!” As if possessed by the spirit of Sakurazaka Moony, Royal G.o.d Call yelled out such a despicable suggestion.

Even though Ye Xiaowu knew that this was impossible in Parallel World, he could not help but feel a chill run down his spine. After collecting himself, he looked at everyone around him and said, “What you guys are doing is considered as hindering the freedom of a player in this game. I can lodge a complaint to the GM!”

Because this was a fully immersive simulation, there would always be some unheard of incidents occurring. Just how many game designers were there for this game? There was no way their imagination could be comparable to what thousands upon tens of thousands of players could dream up. Ever since the game began its operation, players would often cause plenty of fantastical and incredible incidents, which the game designers found themselves scrambling to patch up. This only made these designers feel as if they were just there to clean up everyone"s messy behinds.

Furthermore, there was indeed one such condition that came up in the terms of service between the game company and the players, mentioning that ‘players could not use any sort of method to undermine the rights of others to play the game freely." What this undermine meant was never explicitly defined in the agreement. In any case, at the end of this contract was the fine print ‘the right to interpret any part of this doc.u.ment ultimately rests with the game company." No gamers out there would be a stranger to such an agreement. It was very similar to what would always appear when people clicked on the ‘agree" option when installing a program. It was just something n.o.body would read in detail, anyway.

As for that ‘undermine the rights of others to play the game freely," there had only been one such story of a kidnapping incident that had been widely circulated among the players up until now. It was unknown what had caused the conflict between the two players involved, but one of them ended up calling his friends to take revenge on the other party after. Apparently, just killing this person was not enough; and they actually captured that person alive and bundled him up like a dumpling, too, before stringing him deep in the dense forest.

This player was entirely incapable of moving, so he was unable to get himself back to the safe zone and log out. Forcefully logging out and getting online again, this player found himself still hung and bound tightly – absolutely incapable of playing the game. When this person called for the attention of a GM, the long-awaited GM, who had appeared after his incessant calls, received quite a fright when he saw the state this player was in, and quickly rescuing him from that predicament.

Meanwhile, the player with a pa.s.sion for bondage did not receive any sort of punishment despite being the first offender. However, the game did publish a public announcement, stating that such acts must cease. If a repeat of that incident were to occur, offenders would at the very least find themselves suspended, possibly even losing their account for more severe cases.

Player would forever be the weaker party when going against the system, so no one dared to challenge its authority on this.

However, before too long had pa.s.sed, there was yet another case of kidnapping. The game officials were enraged and promptly suspended the offender"s account once the report was made. However, that player soon directly phoned in to the company and complain about the matter. After the system investigated the matter closely, they realized that the original player who had reported the incident actually got his friends to tie himself up before maliciously reporting his enemy to the GM. The sloppy handling of this matter nearly caused the GM to be fooled as a result.

The game officials were also incensed after being fooled by the player, so the player in question saw his account deleted, while all the other players who had played accomplice to this scheme got suspended. Thus, it was through this incident that the game designers found themselves breaking into a cold sweat once more realizing: The intelligence of these people is limitless.