MMORPG: The Elementalist

Qin Ruo never doubted Subjugator and his teammates’ competency. Players who were capable of surviving the attack by a group of Tier 5 monsters and a Tier 5 Miniboss were definitely dependable pros. Truth was, no party was going to bring along an incompetent player who would only be a burden to the party in such a harsh and dangerous environment.

After he learned about their method in rewards allocation, Qin Ruo raised a few other important questions before he was satisfied and agreed to join the party. Following that was naturally a brief introduction among themselves.

The party leader Subjugator was a Level 49 Ignis Swordmaster. He excelled in attacking but also has adequate defense.

The mysterious guy, Judge, was a loner without a clan. He was a Level 49 Steel Berserker and emphasized on his defensive stat. Even so, Judge was no less a fighter himself based on other members’ comments. He could be considered as an all-around melee-type warrior with balanced attacking and defensive traits. He was the one who tanked most of the attacks from Greenstone Demon in their previous battle.

The warm and friendly Black Rock was also a solo player who had no clan. He was a Level 48 Terramancer possessing an above average Elementalism technique. His attack and defense were of elite level and perhaps on par with a Field Commander. He was one of the main attackers in the fight against Crimson Ghastpuppet and Greenstone Demon.

The only female player in the party, Snowleaf, was a pretty Summoner at Level 48. She mastered Water-type Summoning and was highly adaptable to any form of battle terrain. Her stats were evenly distributed and she was exceptionally good in two-way range manipulation. She usually played the role of an attacker in battles, but occasionally she was also responsible for healing the other party members.

Finally, the happy-go-lucky Fateless—a Level 49 Bandit specialized in killing. He was good at Stealth, Ambush, and Assassination. Although he was not very different from other Bandits, he had mastered the three specialties of the Bandit Class well and developed his own assassination style (one with a high success rate). He was not very useful in battles against monsters but could turn into a vital force in PvP fights. According to himself, his ultimate target was the No.1 Bandit from the Demon Faction, Tiger Cub.

“Haha! Qin Ruo! Welcome to the team. In the future, come to me if you are bullied. I will surely avenge you!” Fateless was very approachable and showed no sign of the mysterious or heartless vibe usually felt on other Bandits.

But his friendly offer quickly gone cold as Subjugator tapped his shoulder and said, “Save your breath. Bragging about covering others only when you are able to take down a Tier 5 Supreme Champion like Tiger Cub.”

“You don’t say,” Others in the party took a jab at him as well.

Fateless sensed the sarcasm and looked confused. Just as he tried to rebut, Black Rock kindly pulled him away and whispered to him. The Bandit’s face immediately turned red out of embarrassment.

Qin Ruo knew very well what Black Rock had told Fateless. He smirked and introduced himself, “I am a Level 41 Aquamancer. I am good at Elementalism, long range attack, and erm… Stealth. This is my pet, Poochie. Its abilities include physical attack and lightning quick speed.”

“Woah! Such a cute squirrel!”

As soon as the little creature appeared, the only female player in the party was seen walking towards Qin Ruo with great astonishment. Unfortunately, the little creature had been misguided by Qin Ruo all this while and actually regarded squirrel as a type of rodent. Thus, it chirped unhappily and turned away from the pretty Summoner.

“Gosh, it is so cute! Qin Ruo, do you mind if I hold it for a while?” Snowleaf’s charming request made the other four males in the party deeply regret their decision to invite Qin Ruo to join them. They came a long way to finally find a pretty and excellent female player who was willing to join the party, and now the new guy effortlessly caught the lady’s attention with his pet.

‘So unfair!’

Putting that aside, they were also deeply amazed by Qin Ruo’s self-claim ability.

‘Stealth?! This guy’s ego is indeed off the charts.’

They got more surprised when Qin Ruo rejected Snowleaf’s request. “Sorry. Why not we focus on the task at hand first? Mind to walk me through the condition near the warp portal? The Amethyst Orc time is running out soon, so we shall not waste any time and get to the fourth level while the big guy is still around, okay?” Though Qin Ruo was careful with his words and did give a logical explanation, the indirect refusal still made no sense to the other male players. The four of them raised their eyebrows and looked at Qin Ruo in disbelief. Even the normally quiet Judge was giving an imaginary big thumb up to Qin Ruo who had just shown Snowleaf a cold shoulder. No matter what, though she might not be among the prettiest, Snowleaf’s considerably attractive appearance could have easily conquered most males.

‘How heartless of him to deny such a simple request by a pretty lady!’

Snowleaf shrugged and took a look at the Amethyst Orc. She understood Qin Ruo’s concern since she was a regular user of Sealed Mana Cores herself. Unlike the guys, she did not make a fuss about the refusal, besides feeling a little unhappy as this might be the first time a male player had snubbed her plea in the game.

Poochie reaction was even colder. The Pet placed its hand on its waist and turned away from the lady.

Qin Ruo did not wish to be mean but he was really concerned about the remaining time the Amethyst Orc had, as well as how long more the Great Tree Sap and Special Roasted Snail effects would last. He did not want to waste time on such a petty matter. In case the female player was too consumed by Poochie and missed out important information, the whole operation would be in jeopardy.

Moreover, the number of beautiful players Qin Ruo had encountered before this was too many. To be honest, Qin Ruo did not even register a strong impression on Snowleaf’s features after their brief intro.

The situation turned a little awkward but the party leader, Subjugator quickly lightened the mood up and dragged everyone’s attention back onto the warp portal.

***

Based on Subjugator’s description, Qin Ruo slowly grasped the general picture.

The minions and one of the Bosses, Greenstone Demon, had been taken care of. That was evidenced by the corpses lying all around them. That left one more Greenstone Demon and a Tier 5 Elite Boss “Lethal Balrog” near the warp portal now.

Subjugator explained to Qin Ruo that the Greenstone Demon was highly immune to most physical attacks. Any physical type skill that was lower than three hundred fifty attack points was basically ineffective against the Boss. Thus, this Boss can only be approached through Magic Spell.

Lethal Balrog, on the other hand, was a Magic-type Boss. Physical attacks should be practical against it, but the biggest problem the party was facing now was a shortage in supplies. After the previous fight, their healing potions were finishing, so they might not be able to sustain the Tier 5 Elite Boss attacks.

From Subjugator rather embarrassed tone, Qin Ruo finally understood the reason why this already dominant party was willing to invite him to join them without sufficient supply—it was almost impossible for them to challenge another Tier 5 Boss, let alone survive in the deadlier level four. Qin Ruo and the Amethyst Orc’s appearance had brought them revitalized hope.

The Amethyst Orc, being a melee-type Tier 5 Miniboss, could be used to contain one of the Bosses while the rest of them focused on eliminating the other one.

“Alright! That’s how we will be doing this. I will instruct the Amethyst Orc and Poochie to keep Lethal Balrog busy while we take care of Greenstone Demon.” Qin Ruo did not mind their compromised position. At least they told him the truth beforehand and allowed him to grasp the actual status of the party. Since they were capable of defeating a group of Crimson Ghastpuppet and one Greenstone Demon, Qin Ruo believed that taking down another Greenstone Demon would not be much trouble with his participation. So he announced decisively, “But the battle must end within six minutes. That’s the maximum time the Amethyst Orc can contain the Balrog. I will retreat once the time is up.”

“Six minutes?” Five other players were confused by the time constraint and did not understand the purpose of placing such restriction.

“Erm, I have similar experience like this before. But the Boss I faced then should be more powerful than Lethal Balrog. It was a unique monster that can cast three types of Elemental Spells simultaneously. The Amethyst Orc only lasted for three minutes against it and we were forced to escape.”

Qin Ruo briefly reiterated the fight with Cerberus to them. All five of them were baffled by the Boss ability as well as Qin Ruo’s heroic act.

Cerberus, a Tier 5 Elite Boss, being contained by a tag team consisting only of a human and an Orc was certainly unheard of.

‘This guy’s cumulative battle strength with the presence of the Amethyst Orc must have exceeded Tier 5—though this was only temporary.’

“Alright, since you have the confidence, we will do as you said.” Subjugator nodded happily and agreed to Qin Ruo’s proposition. “Any objections?”

The other four teammates shook their heads.

“Great!” Subjugator was eager. “Let’s roll!”

While they were on the move, Qin Ruo decided to satisfy Snowleaf’s desire to hug Poochie. Though reluctant, Poochie had no other choice but to obey its master’s will. Poochie leaped away from Qin Ruo’s shoulder and landed on the Amethyst Orc’s burly figure before it jumped out again and tucking itself arrogantly into Snowleaf’s arm. It then picked a comfortable posture and took a nap.

Despite Poochie cold treatment, Snowleaf was still pleasantly surprised and willingly allowed the little creature to take advantage on her. She even began to caress its smooth furry body and both of them seemed to enjoy such body contact.

“…”

“Ahem. Let’s pick up from where we left off.” Subjugator’s voice made other male players turn their attention back, with great effort, from the lady and the pet.

***

A few minutes later, there was a change in the plan.

“If we could separate the two Bosses, why not try to take them down one at a time. Anyhow, it’s still too dangerous to dilute our firepower and fight two Tier 5 monsters at once. Qin Ruo, is it possible for you to use the Amethyst Orc and test out the two Bosses’ speed first?”

Although the two Bosses stayed close to each other, one of them was melee-type while the other one was magic-type. So there should be a disparity in terms of their speed. Normally it might be difficult to isolate them. But it was a different story with an Amethyst Orc in the party.

“Sure.” Qin Ruo nodded in agreement. He was more than willing to fight the Bosses separately. This would highly reduce the risk the Amethyst Orc was going to face.

“Then go ahead now.”

Subjugator and others stopped almost instantaneously. He pointed to a valley far away and said, “The warp portal is in there. We will wait for you here. If you are unable to ditch the monster, just lure it over here and leave it to us.”

Qin Ruo nodded again. He then took a set of HP Potion out from his backpack and threw it to Subjugator. “Take this with you. Just in case.”

“Poochie!” Poochie sensed Qin Ruo telepathic instruction and immediately rushed out from Snowleaf’s arm. It jumped agilely back on Qin Ruo’s shoulder and intentionally swept its warm and perfume-filled tail on Qin Ruo’s face while throwing him a flaunty grin.

Qin Ruo had no words for his mischievous pet.