MMORPG: The Elementalist

After having the frozen debuff duration on Crackpot extended up to six seconds, Qin Ruo did not continue to condense the magic energy anymore. Instead, he walked behind the others and joined Slayer’s Heart as well as the rest, who took down the Crypt Messenger. The six of them sneaked into Aricus Underground Ruins, leaving almost 100 high-tier players behind in confusion…

Most people had diverted their attention away the moment the attack commenced. When they focused their attention back to their surroundings, the only thing they could see was the embarrassing look on Crackpot’s face. He was wrapped like a dumb-looking rice dumpling by a skill they had never seen cast by a Tier 3 rookie before.

The frozen state lasted over six seconds… Even Crackpot’s party members were too embarrassed to stop Qin Ruo from leaving.

Is it really necessary to continue?

Apparently not…

Six seconds. That amount of time was enough to cast two rounds of Tier 3 Multi Magic spells… Not to mention, it would have been very easy to deal with Priests who had their Defense weakened.

Right until Qin Ruo left the vicinity, Sable Eclipse, Haohmaru, and the others could not understand how Crackpot, a veteran in the game, could have made such a rudimentary mistake; failing to even determine the movement of his opponent?

Having asked some of the players who had been paying attention to the battle, none of them knew exactly what Qin Ruo did during the ice detonation. No one was able to understand how he managed to sneak behind the crowd, which was twenty meters away undetected.

They were at a lost for words.

While everyone’s answer was more or less the same, the crowd remained speechless because they were utterly baffled by it. However… Crackpot’s face was a pale blue, either because he was too cold, or he was too mad. No one dared to ask more about the incident, which had embarrassed him to the core—was there anything more embarrassing than getting driven around like a fool by a player he tagged as a “trash tier” rookie?

When Crackpot removed himself from his frozen state, he snapped. The veins on his forehead were about to pop. His chest expanded and contracted as he breathed raggedly. With murderous intent, he stared at Qin Ruo’s disappearing silhouette. His eyes were so intimidating that the players in the vicinity stopped laughing. They feared that their laughter would bring the wrath of that angry man upon themselves.

“Let’s leave!”

Crackpot roared as he and his men left the entrance to the ruins. In the end, he chose not to pursue Qin Ruo for his revenge—after all, Qin Ruo was the who suggested a face-off with so many people around them as witnesses. On the other hand, Crackpot and his men were the ones who started provoking them. If they had chosen to pursue, they would appear as troublemakers who were provoking Slayer’s Heart. It would also mean that they would be committing an act of provocation against the Bauhinia Clan!

Crackpot was not an idiot. He would not be seized by a sudden impulse to do anything irrational without thinking about the consequences. If he had chased after him, he would be the laughing stock of the gaming community. He would be digging his own grave as people would judge him to be a petty man out for petty revenge. With that thought in mind, he chose not to commit such an idiotic act.

However, he was definitely not a forgiving person as well. He knew that he could settle the score whenever the opportunity presented itself in the future. It did not have to be now. After all, the man who embarrassed him was just a Tier 3 Aquamancer. He could simply find a warrior and wait for Qin Ruo to be alone, away from his party members. Only then would he take his revenge on Qin Ruo and kill him instantly.

After Crackpot led his man out of the vicinity, the other remaining players by the entrance of Aricus Underground Ruins slowly left as well. However, what they witnessed a while ago had given them something really good to chat about. Perhaps, they would not feel too bored while grinding levels.

A brief moment later, only one party remained by the entrance of the Ruins.

The leader of the party was a Swordsman from Bauhinia Clan. He did not seem to feel the slightest disappointment even after the key was snatched away by others. Instead, he seemed a little excited as he was listening in on some evaluations given to Qin Ruo by a Bandit and a few Elementalists.

“He must have created that last skill by himself. The consumption of MP is too great. There shouldn’t be any way he can possibly use it… during regular battles.”

“Hmm, I think that he’s also slow with regard to condensing magic energy. He has yet to master the timing to do it… Other than having the ability to seize every chance to gain an advantage by trickery, he doesn’t seem like a player who would fare well in a PvP battle.”

“That’s right.”

The Swordsman furrowed his eyebrows as he was not very pleased with the evaluations given by the Elementalists. If Qin Ruo really had bad PvP skills, how did he manage to take out Crackpot then? After all, Crackpot was one of the members of Netherspirit’s Claw. Even if he was just in a support class, his strength was not to be taken lightly.

Fixing his eyes on the one and only Bandit in the party, the Swordsman asked, “Executioner, you observed their battle for the longest time, you know best. What do you think about his strength?”

Everyone looked at Executioner and saw him shaking his head.

“I have no input whatsoever about his prowess. However… under circumstances where he’s well prepared, I don’t think I have the confidence to kill him.”

The giant web had a radiation range that could reach a distance close to an Elementalist’s longest attack range. It remained deeply ingrained in Executioner’s mind even until now!

Not the slightest magic energy wave was detected… Even the ten players who were stepping right on the web were not able to sense anything the moment the giant web emerged…

It was just too terrifying!

Executioner could not help but imagine if Qin Ruo had laid down the gigantic web beforehand, would he have fallen into the trap like a moth flying into web when he entered the effective range of the web in his stealth mode…

After telling everyone his thoughts, the group of Elementalists instantly looked at each other. A Water Element skill to counter Stealth? That was impossible! They quickly shook their head to deny it.

“That’s absolutely impossible!”

“That’s right! The range of that AoE attack was too great. The time taken to cast it had to be very long. Furthermore, the consumption of MP’s just overwhelming. It’s absolutely not suitable for usage in any regular battle!”

“Not to mention, if Brother Executioner actually approached him in Stealth Mode, would he be able to notice it in time?”

“But, what if that was a custom skill he created himself?” Executioner’s sudden interruption silenced the Elementalists.

“Custom…”

“How is that possible—”

“Nothing’s impossible.”

Executioner interrupted the baffled Elementalists.

“Furthermore, even I couldn’t see what happened during the time he vanished along with the detonation of the ice… So, how did he leave like that… how did he appear in the other spot after that… I really can’t understand how he did it.”

After hearing what Executioner had to say, the Elementalists could only keep their own opinions to themselves even though they had different thoughts on the matter.

The Swordsman, who was the leader of the party seemed very satisfied with his answer though. He then asked Executioner a question.

“Hence, are you saying that you approve of his strength?”

Executioner was stunned for a brief moment.

“Do you intend to recruit him into our party?”

“That’s right.”

“But, that’s one of Slayer’s Heart’s men. Would he really… be willing to let him go?”

Executioner appeared a little worried. Slayer’s Heart was not a person who was easy to get along with. If he ever found out that his party member was coaxed from his own party, how would they get along in the same league?

Unexpectedly, the Swordsman revealed a deep smile that was hard to understand.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s not willing to let go. The most important thing is that Tier 3 Aquamancer has yet to be tied down by Slayer’s Heart… Things are much easier for us now.”

“Then, should we contact him now?”

“Of course. The sooner, the better. Tell him all about the benefits of coming over to our party. Also, try to ask if he has any friends with him. If it checks out that their strengths also pass the standard requirement, recruit them in as well!”