MMORPG: The Elementalist

Beneath the party members’ stares, full of nervous anticipation, Qin Ruo channeled his magic into their last Sealed Mana Core, and a familiar-looking Tier 5 Miniboss appeared before them. Everyone was struck dumb by this sight! Even the beautiful Summoner known as Snowleaf, usually striving to maintain a ladylike manner about herself, was now staring with her petite little mouth agape, watching the creature before her with disbelieving eyes.

“How… how did you do this?” Black Rock stammered, swallowing hard and pointing at the monster standing ten meters away from them. Fully violet in color, big and burly, it was an Amethyst Orc.

It was the look of a man who had just watched somebody get struck by lightning but then walked away unscathed. It was as though he could not believe his own eyes!

Subjugator and Fateless wore the most entertaining expressions: there was shock, incredulity, boundless joy, as well as a trace of exasperation towards a certain someone’s unbelievable knack for finding good fortune. They looked like they did not know whether to laugh or to cry.

Having just parted ways with another Amethyst Orc, they had just begun to forget all its tremendous might and prowess, and yet now Qin Ruo had summoned another one into their service.

What a twist! Everyone was left speechless.

However, Subjugator and Fateless both had to admit that Qin Ruo’s luck was truly incredible, to be able to use a Tier-5 Miniboss Sealed Mana Core to bring out another Amethyst Orc.

That time when they were enjoying the aid of both an Amethyst Orc as well as a White Tiger Shaman, they’d come to appreciate the Orc’s abilities to the fullest and had developed a good sense for working with one.

More importantly, Qin Ruo’s understanding of and control over an Amethyst Orc, along with its ability to use Successive Strikes, were all invaluable in taking on high-tier Bosses! The odds had improved again!

All six members of the party thought the same thing, at the same time:

“We’re gonna be rich!”

***

The Amethyst Orc could not speak, but every movement, every look was so familiar, even the way that it allowed Poochie to alight upon its shoulder was uncanny, as though it was exactly the same Amethyst Orc from before.

Once again able to rely upon the broad shoulders of an Amethyst Orc, Qin Ruo was in good spirits and patted his monstrous comrade upon the arm fondly. Floating through his mind were the Amethyst Orc’s skills, the various combinations, and tactics which employed them, as well as the specific details of the Successive Strikes skill. The prospect of successfully locking down the Tier 6 Megaboss seemed more real than ever.

With morale at its peak, Qin Ruo thought it was a good moment to discuss the rest of the plan in detail with everyone, and decide on their battle positions. Only then did they bring up their dual spell defenses, and direct the Amethyst Orc to advance upon the Tier 6 Megaboss within the Mountain Shelter.

As a close-combat-type Tier 5 Miniboss, the imposing figure of the Amethyst Orc stood out upon the mountainside like a firefly in a moonless night. It certainly made for an eye-catching sight!

When the Tier 6 Undead Sovereign caught sight of its massive form, two points of cold green fire looked out from within the gloom of the Mountain Shelter.

Watching from the back, through the Frostrampart’s reflection, Qin Ruo saw the enemy Boss shift ever so slightly, and then all of a sudden it had quietly swept over to the mouth of the cave. Over five meters tall, the entire length of its body was shrouded in a long black cloak. Hidden in darkness up until this moment, its true appearance was finally brought into the light!

Its whole, hulking frame was wreathed in a great miasma of black magical energy. Together with the cloak, the features of the Boss were hidden from sight completely. Radiating a dark sense of foreboding, its cloak billowed despite the absence of wind. A pair of unfathomable, fiery eyes swept across the scene outside, and an oppressive wave of menace bore down upon them all!

Qin Ruo was taken aback. ‘So quick!’

It was one thing to expect the Tier 6 Megaboss to be powerful, but when the Undead Sovereign—its actual level still unknown—appeared at the entrance to the Mountain Shelter, everyone who looked upon it felt an intimidating pressure like never before, far beyond anything they’d imagined.

“Qin Ruo!” From some distance away, Judge’s voice was suddenly heard!

Qin Ruo snapped out of his stupor, and with a fearsome roar, the Amethyst Orc activated its Amethyst Aura. Forming an Amethyst Shield in its hand, it suddenly charged towards the Undead Sovereign.

This was when everyone heard a solemn, contemptuous voice booming in their ears. “Foolish humans, you trespass against a revered Demigod-tier lord—you will all pay the price!”

The Undead Sovereign had already raised its arm. A hand that seemed to have been assembled out of countless skulls extended from a voluminous sleeve, pointed directly at the approaching Amethyst Orc, thirty meters away!

Without any hint of magical activity, innumerable fine threads of dark energy, like a whole swarm of snakes, burst forth from the Undead Sovereign’s hand and rushed out towards the Amethyst Orc.

This attack reminded Qin Ruo of his time down in the Aricus Ruins, when they’d encountered the Tier 4 Miniboss called the Gorefiend Spider Demon and its devastating Netherspirits spell. This attack, however, coming from the hand of the Undead Sovereign, would probably prove much worse!

Without a moment to lose, he pushed forward one of his readied Frostramparts, even as the millions of ethereal serpents descended upon the Amethyst Orc.

“Burst!” he shouted, and there was a great explosion of ice and snow, riding upon a mighty shockwave that instantly vaporized the fragile-looking black tendrils.

With the Undead Sovereign’s attack intercepted, the Amethyst Orc continued its charge and was now just twenty meters away from its target.

“Hah!””Well done!”

Subjugator and the others cheered from a distance.

Meanwhile, this unexpected turn of events caused the Undead Sovereign to turn its Witchfire gaze past the Amethyst Orc, towards the low-level human Aquamancer behind it.

At first, he’d seemed to be the lowest level among the six intruding humans, and probably the least of the adventurers to ever venture to this part of the Graveyard of the Gods—and yet, with a single spell, he’d stopped the Undead Sovereign’s own magical attack.

A Level 41 Aquamancer.

Even as it surveyed the situation, the Undead Sovereign had not let up on its attacks. As the first attack faltered, it followed immediately with a second one.

As the Amethyst Orc got within fifteen meters of the Undead Sovereign, a tremendous surge of magic suddenly rose up from beneath its feet, and four enormous black serpents burst out from the ground itself!

One of the serpents, slick and glistening as it emerged from the ground, immediately swept the charging Amethyst Orc into the midst of all four serpents.

Then all four of the massive black serpents bared their bloodstained fangs, twisting around the Amethyst Orc with incredible strength!

Weaving amongst themselves as they tightened their grip, the serpents had the Amethyst Orc trapped helplessly. Tier 6 control magic: Serpentine Shackles!

Amethyst Orc is being attacked with Serpentine Shackles!

Amethyst Orc has been Bound! Duration 10 seconds!

Looking through the combat feedback, Qin Ruo’s expression began to waver.

Ten seconds! Damn it, the difference here was too vast!

The Tier 5 Elite Boss known as the Deadwood Commander had only been able to use its Deadwood Cage to lock down the Amethyst Orc for three seconds. This Tier 6 Megaboss was something else entirely!

And yet Qin Ruo had no intention of retreating, so he quietly moved away from the Amethyst Orc, while carefully watching the Undead Sovereign at the mouth of the cave, which was looking right back at him with its own Witchfire eyes.

“Still not ready to leave yet?” The Undead Sovereign’s voice boomed like thunder. It was almost as though the Tier 6 Megaboss felt that killing low-level human warriors was beneath it.

Qin Ruo’s party, all six of them, each took a step forward.

“Then prepare to die!” The Undead Sovereign had finally taken exception towards these six reckless, lowly humans. Not forty meters away from Qin Ruo, it halved the distance with a single step, instantly entering combat range.

This startling mobility gave Qin Ruo a shock! Looking into the Boss’s vicious, contemptuous gaze, he knew he did not have a moment to lose.

Whoosh! Poochie attacked!

“Eh?”

Just short of finishing Qin Ruo off with one blow, Poochie’s sudden appearance gave the Undead Sovereign a moment’s pause as it considered this new threat.

Quick as lightning, Poochie flew towards the Undead Sovereign, yet it did not attack the Tier 6 Megaboss directly.

No matter how much faith Qin Ruo placed in Poochie’s abilities, he was not about to bet everything on a Level 31 Pet just yet.

Whoosh!

Poochie darted past the Undead Sovereign, its tail curling around and smacking the four enormous serpents holding down the Amethyst Orc.

The serpents writhed in agony and melted away like snow in the sunlight, dark energy dissipating into the surrounding air.

The Amethyst Orc, obeying Qin Ruo’s orders, immediately rushed the Undead Sovereign from behind! It’s gigantic purple body, moving with the weight of a heavy tank, collided directly with the enemy!

Crash!

Realizing that this had been the true intention of the human Aquamancer, the Undead Sovereign roared with rage, but it had already been knocked up into the air, only to immediately be hit once again by something with the force of a bullet train, sending it flying! Wasting no time, the Amethyst Orc had already begun wailing away with its Successive Strikes.

In the distance, everyone was cheering in triumph.

“Now’s the moment!”

“Fateless, get in there!”

Fateless, who had been waiting thirty meters away to the right of the entrance, seized the moment and dove into the unguarded Mountain Shelter.