MMORPG: The Elementalist

Qin Ruo knew that he had successfully escaped Cerberus’ pursuit the moment he was dragged into the forest by Poochie that moved as fast as lightning. He was certain because the Tier 5 hound was no longer within his Elemental Perception range.

Qin Ruo loosened his grip on Poochie’s tail after a short pause. Carried forward by the momentum, he swung his extended left limb in water form to the far side and grabbed tight onto a broad branch. He then flung forward like a Tarzan and swung from one tree to another. To be honest, he preferred to move in such way rather than being dragged and bumping on Poochie’s backside.

***

Roar!

When he was about two hundred meters away from the waterfall, Qin Ruo heard the extremely angry call of Cerberus coming from the waterfall’s direction. As he had expected, Cerberus was not allowed to leave the waterfall due to its guarding duty at the dimensional portal that led to the Underworld.

Qin Ruo was completely out of danger now. His watery left arm let go of the trunk as he slid gently onto a pair of giant palm that came together below him.

Amethyst Orc, with a vertical height of five-meter, stood steadily like a giant steel tower while holding out his hand. He reached out carefully and caught Qin Ruo firmly with ease despite his 80kg weight.

Qin Ruo was at eye level with Amethyst Orc once he stood up straight on the monster’s palm. This was the first time Qin Ruo was able to examine Amethyst Orc’s face from such a close distance. He carefully scrutinized the Orc who had managed to fight almost evenly with Cerberus.

On its stern-looking face, a black M-shaped tattoo was painted handsomely on its forehead. Its slanted brow further exacerbated the already fierce appearance and made the monster much more intimidating.

To Qin Ruo’s great surprise, the purple pupil under the Amethyst Orc’s sharp eyebrow hid a sense of gentleness not usually seen in other monsters. Qin Ruo could not explain the odd feeling but he felt that the savage Orc Boss was also quietly observing him—its temporary contracted master—at the same time.

‘Am I being delusional? Or is this creature just like Cerberus, which possesses a certain degree of intelligence and is working on some ideas?’

Ten seconds later, Qin Ruo gave up on the staring contest. It was rather stressful to look straight into the monster’s big eyes for an extended period of time.

He shook off the weird idea and scanned their surroundings.

After he left the waterfall, his Elemental Perception was automatically disarmed. Without the powerful secondary vision, he now had to rely on his own eyes to stay vigilant against the potential threat lurking around the second level of the Graveyard of the Gods.

With all that said, he was not really concerned about his current safety. He was confident that not a single soul would be bold enough to approach him now.

After all, Amethyst Orc is a Tier 5 Miniboss that could fight singlehandedly against Cerberus. In addition to that, with his vast ability and Poochie by his side, Qin Ruo current strength was analogous to a general with a well-trained troop of an army under his command.

Furthermore, Amethyst Orc had only been released from the Sealed Mana Core for several minutes and there were one hundred and seventy minutes left before the summoned monster vanished. So, on the contrary, Qin Ruo was actually daring someone to come and mess with him while Amethyst Orc contract was still in effect.

Nevertheless, it was just Qin Ruo’s random thought. The usage time of Amethyst Orc was rather limited. The reason why Qin Ruo tried so desperately to save Amethyst Orc from the hand of Cerberus was not because he wanted to use it against some lowly rival faction players and rob them of their equipment. Instead, he needed the Orc to help him gain access to the third level. So, he had to locate the warp portal as soon as possible and utilize Amethyst Orc strength to get rid of the monsters guarding it.

If possible, he wished to milk every available minute of Amethyst Orc and attempt to enter the fourth level within this period. After witnessing the fight against Cerberus, Qin Ruo was willing to bet his life on the purple monster.

However, looking for a warp portal was easier said than done.

‘Should I spent some time and recover Amethyst Orc’s HP first?’ Amethyst Orc’s current HP level was not entirely secure. In case some powerful monster of Tier 5 level crossed their path, the situation might get nasty.

Qin Ruo frowned and murmured when he suddenly felt Poochie touching his cheek. He turned and looked at the little creature clinging on its shoulder.

Then a brilliant idea came to his mind. His lips curved up in a smile and his sight was switched back to Amethyst Orc’s broad shoulder. ‘This way, we would be able to replenish Amethyst Orc’s HP while also looking for the warp portal.’

***

Click-clack—Click-clack—

A series of hurried footsteps were heard squeezing through a staircase that leads into a rather confined tomb. Then, a calm and organized order was delivered, “All clear! Into the tomb now!”

“Summoner, guard the entrance with monsters.”

“Elementalist, prepare AoE Magic Scroll!”

“Aquamancer, as usual!”

“Everyone else, back off!!”

In accordance to the series of orders given by the female player, more than twenty players who ducked into the tomb moved more systematically. Each of the players carried out the instruction flawlessly like a group of well-trained militia and established the formation as told as soon as they were inside the tomb.

Poof!

A quickly condensed Aqua Ball dampened the staircase they used just now. The previously dusty steps were now layered with water stains.

After the Aquamancer completed the set up, he quickly retreated into the tomb.

Summoners in the party tacitly commanded Infernal Half Beast and Ground Grizzly to stand guard at each side of the three meters wide entrance. Some of the Elementalists, who had entered the tomb first, immediately drew out Magic Scrolls while those without the scroll began to condense their mana.

As all the party members were already in position and consensually took aim at the tomb entrance, Violet Orchid, the party leader and decision maker, turn around slowly and took a closer look at the surrounding.

Under the faint candlelight, two gigantic opened coffins were seen laying at the center of the quiet square underground tomb. On the ground around the tomb, monsters’ corpses scattered and the messy setting were telling a story to the newcomers—this was a recently plundered tomb.

‘Luckily I got it right at first glance.’ Violet Orchid was slightly relieved.

Generally, any tomb at the fourth level of Graveyard was extremely dangerous. The tombs at this level were usually governed by a powerful Boss (at least a Tier 5 Miniboss) or a great number of monsters. Entering a well-guarded tomb while being hunted was certainly a suicidal act.

Fortunately, Violet Orchid had a glimpse of the battle’s trace left near the entrance and acted decisively to take shelter in the deserted tomb.

‘We are safe, for now!’

Indeed, for now…

She sighed and as expected, an annoying voice spoke right outside the tomb, “Hey pretty, such a bad idea to hide in the tomb with a bunch of ugly guys. If it was me, I would have immediately teleport back to town… What do you say?”

Inside the tomb, the group of Angel Faction players frowned and looked angrily towards the tomb entrance. How they wished they could rush out and tear him apart to shut his filthy mouth.

No wonder Tiger Cub was widely recognized for his tracking ability that could even threaten those Tier 5 Supreme Champions.

The Tier 4 player had solely killed more than ten players of the Angel Faction party and forced the remaining more than twenty of them to take shelter at a tomb with a dead end. He might be the only one who had achieved such a feat in the history of H&G.

“Such a bothersome lad!”

After she buffed a few injured players with blessings and healing spells, Violet Orchid held her forehead and frowned. The second meeting with Tiger Cub had given her a great headache.

“Hey, you guys are not planning to stay in there forever right?”

Tiger Cub infuriating cheerful voice continued to reach inside the tomb, “Geez, this is boring. Since when Angel Faction players have become so weak and susceptible?”

“Damn this self-centered bastard,” The few Summoners cursed resentfully as they moved closer to Violet Orchid.

“He has what it takes to be. Ignore him, he wouldn’t be there for long,” Violet Orchid was not triggered by the provocations and consoled the guys.

The Summoners were even more bitter after Violet Orchid’s comment. Though they hated to admit it, Violet Orchid’s opinion was on point. Tiger Cub indeed had the right to be arrogant. But it was really difficult not to feel taunted by him.

At the exact moment, as if he had heard Violet Orchid’s words, Tiger Cub laughed out loud and said, “Now pretty, you guessed wrong this time. If you are not a Priest, then yes. I wouldn’t even bother wasting my time for the likes of you. But sadly, I am just fulfilling a favor. I was asked to kill every Radiant Priest I encounter at this fourth level, especially someone as manipulative as you and from no other than the Bauhinia Clan. I will not give you any chance to go to the fifth level and meet Scarlet Bauhinia.”

This killing vow startled everyone inside the tomb.

‘Damn Tiger Cub. This was his intention all along.’

“This is bad.” One of the Summoners lamented helplessly, “Sister Violet, Demon Faction players are beginning to purge the Radiant Priest at the fourth level, how are we going to enter the fifth this way?”

“…” Violet Orchid looked gloom and said nothing.

Those around her only got more agitated and complained, “If only we are able to join the Steel Dude and his gang. At least, we would have someone tanking for us at the frontline.”

“Them? Forget about them! They were already defeated and sent back to town by a Demon Faction Field Commander at Level Three. Screw it! Demon Faction already has more leagues than us and yet they are more united. Look at us, we are already weaker in number and those bastards from Netherspirit’s Claw still place a reward on our people’s head. What f*cking nonsense!”

Seeing that pessimism had started to creep in the party, Violet Orchid finally spoke, “Those who are not from Bauhinia League, you may teleport to town now if you wish to leave. Those who are willing to stay, I will not let any one of you down. I will go offline now and ask for reinforcement. You guys hold the entrance and don’t let your guards down. He will not dare to rush in hastily.”

Everyone in the party gathered their lost spirits again after hearing Violet Orchid’s words. Only those originally from the Bauhinia League understood how slim the chance was. Who else could help them at this Graveyard of the God? Almost all Tier 5 Supreme Champions had gone into the fifth level. Those who had not were also currently scattered at different corners of the fourth level. Without the coordinates, how was it possible for them to come in time and help them out? Even if there is someone, who has such capability to overcome Tiger Cub and get them all out unharmed? Slayer’s Heart? Steel Dude? They would not even stand a chance against Tiger Cub!