MMORPG: The Elementalist

The greatest safety can sometimes be found in the most dangerous of places.

Although both Violet Orchid and Slayer’s Heart had assured Qin Ruo that for the time being, there was no way the Holy Clan would dare to lay a finger on him, he could not let down his guard nevertheless.

After he had revealed himself in the Goblin Mountains, he had gone on to kill off Wandering Soul as a favor, and then slipped back to Killer Bee Valley to lay low.

At night, Killer Bee Valley was not terribly quiet, but it served his purposes. As it was, hardly anyone visited during the day; even more so during the night.

By the faint light of the starry sky, Qin Ruo set up his Frost Barrier and Darkfrost Shield, and hid within the pitch darkness of a patch of tall grass, allowing himself to be swallowed up by the droning buzz of Killer Bee wings all around him.

Carefully, he set up a Water Veil of invisible moisture to cover the surrounding area, and then all preparations were complete.

“Poochie!” he whispered, and a little brown creature appeared on his shoulder with a squeak. Bright, avid eyes were instantly drawn towards the Killer Bees hovering beyond their little safe zone.

Having gotten bored of the green-skinned Goblin Warriors and Shamans, this was the first time in its life that Poochie had ever seen flying monsters. It was bursting with excitement, hopping around on Qin Ruo’s shoulders. Then it coiled itself up like a spring, and shot out from the protection of the Barrier, pouncing upon a hapless Killer Bee.

Wary of the Tier 3 Killer Bees and their poisonous needles and mist, Qin Ruo had not ventured too deep into the valley, instead remaining near the entrance, where the Tier 2 Killer Bees were found.

Although the difference in levels was greater this time compared to the Goblin Warriors and Shamans, Poochie was already equal in power to a max-level Tier 2 Warrior, so he figured it could handle things.

Poochie did not disappoint Qin Ruo. While he drew the attention of the other Killer Bees, it went with the same old routine: Shadow Strike, Shadow Razors, Shadow Execution. The first Killer Bee, like a plane that had lost control, crashed right into the ground.

Not half a minute later, every one of the Killer Bees buzzing beyond Qin Ruo’s Barrier had been wiped out!

As though playing with a new toy, as soon as it ran out of Killer Bees nearby, Poochie immediately bounded away to draw over some more.

However, such recklessness in unfamiliar territory would prove foolhardy!

“Cheep! Cheep, cheep!”

As expected, in moments Poochie was shot full of blisters, limping back hurriedly in retreat. Its whole body bearing the red marks of poison-needle wounds, and a swarm of angry Killer Bees in murderous pursuit, the air was thrumming with the sound of pulsing wings.

Well, now they had kicked the hornets’ nest!

Good thing Poochie was fast on its feet. Even the target-homing poison needles were not able to land many hits—otherwise, that would have been it for Poochie.

Seeing how well it was dodging the poison needles, Qin Ruo decided not to use a Frostburst to clear them off its back. Instead, he gave it some Aquahealing, and then brought up a couple of Frostramparts to shield it from most of the incoming fire.

Qin Ruo sent a silent command. Receiving his “encouragement”, Poochie found its resolve strengthened, and boldly turned to face an incoming cluster of Killer Bees.

With a Physical Resistance as high as 84, although Poochie had appeared cowed and defeated, in reality the Killer Bees were not actually able to deal much damage to it. Now that it had Qin Ruo backing it up as well, how could it pass up on the opportunity for vengeance?

An indistinct brown shadow flashed past, and one of the Killer Bees fell straight-away. With Qin Ruo controlling it directly, Poochie once more became a nightmare of the battlefield.

Each time, they would wait until several Killer Bees made their attacks, only then would they make their own move. Even if their enemies attacked in concert, the Shadowfox’s attack speed far surpassed that of the Killer Bees. Striking in a split-second with a terrible *wham!*, one Killer Bee was knocked senseless. Then, allowing another poison needle to strike itself, Poochie paused for an instant, and then darted sideways, dodging an entire salvo of poison needles.

“Great job!” Qin Ruo couldn’t help cheering at their flawless teamwork.

And then they began another attack!

After several rounds of this, Qin Ruo had swiftly become familiar with the rhythm of the Killer Bees’ attacks. Making use of the Shadowfox’s Shadow Dash to improve evasion further, Poochie barely got hit at all, and had soon taken down another one of the Killer Bees.

314 XP for each Killer Bee was not that much more than killing a Goblin Shaman for 298 XP, but what was good about this region was that the monsters tended to be more densely concentrated. You didn’t have to walk very far to attract all the Killer Bees you could ask for.

Qin Ruo passed full control back to Poochie, and while it figured out the rest on its own, he concentrated on keeping it covered with the Frostramparts, occasionally using Mana Drain to keep his MP up.

How quickly the time flew by!

***

For the “Entrance to the Graveyard of the Gods”, everyone was now counting down the last twelve hours to the event!

The Angel and Demon Factions, comprising countless Leagues, Clans, and Squads were fervently sifting through every last scrap of information about what the Graveyard of the Gods might contain. Preparations were being made for every possibility!

There were also numerous unaffiliated players who were hard at work.

Based on details from the official website, they firmly believed it would be impossible for either faction to conduct any large-scale organized movements. Due to the random nature of this event, survival would mainly depend upon each player’s individual ability.

Surrounded on all sides by monsters as well as players from the opposing faction, they would have to rely on themselves to somehow survive, and hopefully take advantage of whatever opportunities they came across!

In that sense, this event was fair to every kind of player!

No one could resist the unlimited opportunities promised by this event!

***

Second level of the Aricus Ruins

Slayer’s Heart and Violet Orchid were sitting in a circle with the others, inside a cave that was perhaps a little cramped. While waiting for the Gorefiend Spider to respawn, Slayer’s Heart wanted to make the most of every minute and second, and was having a discussion with everyone about what they might encounter upon entering the Graveyard of the Gods, and what sort of things they ought to watch out for.

“This ‘Graveyard of the Gods’ event brings endless opportunities—I know everyone is eager to go in and have a look around, see what you can find, and I’m totally fine with that. But I hope that everyone will keep this in mind: at all times, your first priority must be to look after yourself! This goes especially for those of you who have nice equipment, but are still lacking in combat experience—you’ll really have to watch out!”

After a brief pause, Slayer’s Heart continued his stern lecture, “Where there’s opportunity, there will often be danger as well! It will be particularly true for this ‘Graveyard of the Gods’ event—at any moment at all, you might run into someone from the Demon Faction—so I would say that the dangers outnumber the opportunities!

“Most of the loot will probably be nothing amazing, but if you get careless and die in there, you’ll lose not just a level, but your equipment as well—that’s a lot to lose! You must all be on your toes at all times!”

Wang Da, Dinosaurcerer and Gol -Digger Babe nodded solemnly. They realized that Slayer’s Heart was the most worried about the three of them.

As for the other girls… Devilite was a Radiant Priest who specialized in supportive skills, so her own direct combat ability was minimal. With the random nature of entrance into the Graveyard of the Gods, if she could not find a group to join quickly, her odds of survival were dismal! Devilite was put off by the idea of jumping blindly into so much danger, so she wasn’t interested.

Xiaoxiao, their newest member, was not planning to venture into the Graveyard of the Gods either. She had only just reached Level 39—around the time of the event, she would be busy preparing for the Advancement Quest to Tier 4.

Even if that didn’t take her too long, it didn’t leave much time for her to become familiar with her new Tier 4 spells, and of course her current equipment was nothing to shout about.

The most important reason, though, was that Xiaoxiao had basically zero experience fighting other players on her own. Despite the huge advantage from the power and surprise value of Compressed Frost Bullet, and although she’d also learned Qin Ruo’s Twelve Frostramparts Formation, she’d still be extremely vulnerable within the Graveyard of the Gods.

Wang Da, Dinosaurcerer and Gold-Digger Babe would be far more capable of adapting to the situation inside. They each wore a full set of Gold Equipment now, and they had been seasoned by their time with Slayer’s Heart and company. It would still be some time before they could truly be counted amongst the elite, but they were already pretty close.

Dinosaurcerer had benefited the most. During their expedition here, just the other day, he had scored another massive haul of Sealed Cores. After a Beastform Fusion, his combat ability was on par with a first-rate player. What’s more, it granted him the use of the Stealth Detection abilities of a Green Goblin Spider or Gorefiend Spider, so even if he had to go it alone in the Graveyard of the Gods, Dinosaurcerer would still enjoy much more security than most.

Gold-Digger Babe was a Bandit, and that said enough. Provided she did not run into an entire group of Demon Faction players, a Bowmaster, or some incredibly high-level player, then she should otherwise have a huge upper hand in any solo combat situation.

By comparison, Wang Da was the most vulnerable of the three, but he also demonstrated the greatest resolve. As well, he had already made up his mind to team up with any other players he encountered. Driven by fearless ambition, he was not afraid of losing an item or two.

“One more thing to keep in mind: Throughout the entire duration of the ‘Graveyard of the Gods’ event, make sure you’re somewhere safe before logging off! And another thing…”

Slayer’s Heart paused, and when he resumed, he was speaking to them via their Party Channel, “If you come across anything like a gravesite, or a tomb, be on your highest alert!”