MMORPG: The Elementalist

30… 29… 28… 27…

The game system started the countdown straight away and left no time for Qin Ruo and company to dwell in thought. Its mechanical voice made everyone at the scene prickle with anxiety.

“Damn!” Slayer’s Heart cursed to himself. He was forced to give up on the idea of slaying the remaining eight players still lurking in the corridor. He swiftly ordered everyone to step into the magic circle and did not forget to remind Gold Digger Babe in the rush, “Lassie, locate the keyhole.”

Gold Digger Babe who was holding the dark gold key answered enthusiastically. She was most keen on this type of task and was the first that had entered the magic circle even before Slayer’s Heart’s order. Soon, she found a keyhole matching the dark gold key in her hand on the ground of the magic circle.

At this moment, the countdown just reached 20…

“Should I use it now?” Gold Digger Babe held onto the dark gold key and asked hesitantly.

After everyone had stepped into the magic circle, Slayer’s Heart nodded without any delay. “Use it now!”

***

At the far side, those from Netherspirit’s Claw were rooted on the spot fifty meters away from the magic circle. The unknown yet familiar location name kept repeating in their perplexed minds…

‘The Buried City?’

‘The Buried City!!!’

Seeing Slayer’s Heart and his members had all stood in the magic circle, Crackpot face suddenly reddened and his blood-filled eyes stared on them enviously without knowing what to do next.

His other seven accomplices had also snapped out of the terror of being told that they were now targeted by Bauhinia’s Hunters as a result of their failed ambush. Each and every one of them fixed their gaze on the magic circle in disbelief.

“They have found a way to enter the Buried City that existed only in legends?”

“Why does all good fortune fall upon them?”

“F*ck!”

“What should we do now?”

At this point, the Netherspirit’s Claw players had long forgotten about their original intention—which was to assassinate Qin Ruo. Their minds were completely filled by all the stories and rumors that they had heard regarding the Aricus Ruins and its Buried City…

They despised and envied the luck of the party currently standing on the magic circle, but could do nothing about it.

‘For heaven’s sake! This is a mission related to the Buried City’s legend!’

After a flash, the ten players on the magic circle were warped away from the dungeon ten seconds before the countdown ended.

As soon as Qin Ruo and his comrades disappeared from the magic circle, eight of them could no longer hold their cool and dashed madly toward the circle simultaneously.

***

The final ten seconds…

Including Crackpot, none of the Netherspirit’s Claw members had the guts to step on the magic circle. They watched helplessly as the countdown reached zero, in which the magic circle then immediately disappeared accompanied by a dizzying flash.

The scenery in before their eyes changed swiftly. Crackpot and seven others were instantly banished from the Aricus Underground Ruins and reappeared at the warp portal in Savis Town.

***

“You failed?” A few minutes later, Crackpot received the voice message from Dark Dragon, who did not at all attempt to conceal the sarcastic tone in his voice. “I knew it. There is no way the likes of you can match up against them.”

Crackpot was embarrassed. He did not wish to leave a bad impression in front of one of the high-rank commanders of Netherspirit’s Claw. Thus, he chose to hide the fact that their ambush had failed and instead informed Dark Dragon about the Buried City.

“Buried City?”

Crackpot had indeed successfully diverted Dark Dragon’s attention. The latter first exclaimed and then questioned closely, “You are saying that Qin Ruo and his comrades are now in the Buried City?”

“That’s true. We were all set for the ambush at that time. To our surprise, the Boss suddenly turned into a magic circle and they went in straight afterward. We were a tad too late.” Crackpot conveniently covered up their failed operation.

“You guys did not follow through?” Dark Dragon asked anxiously.

Crackpot was stumped. He beat himself up for forgetting the plot hole in his story. But he managed to improvise. “We wanted to. But when we reached the magic circle, the countdown had already come to an end.”

“True. There is only a half-a-minute window…” Dark Dragon seemed to have remembered something and murmured mindlessly. This piqued Crackpot’s curiosity as he asked carefully, “Dark Dragon, how do you know about that? Unless…”

“Humph!” Dark Dragon replied impatiently, “Of course. The Buried City is nothing new to the Netherspirit’s Claw. It’s just that you all are too weak and don’t deserve to be told the open secret.”

“What?” Crackpot was motivated by the new information. “So that means they are not the first to go in?”

“Of course not!”

“Then do you know where the magic circle leads to? How’s the place look like and what’s in there?” Crackpot asked hurriedly.

“Hmph, it’s better for you not to know.”

Dark Dragon’s reply made Crackpot feel dejected. ‘What do you mean by that? It’s better off not knowing? Bullshit. You are such shameless bastard. More like you want to seize the good things all to yourself.’

“…”

Dark Dragon knew that Crackpot would certainly come up with all sorts of theories. He was silent for two seconds and then continued. “Let me tell you straight. The Buried City is not a new treasure land. It’s more like a mission system in an alien dimension. There’s nothing good in it, only a limited time task reward.”

“Task reward?”

Dark Dragon’s loose tongue greatly excited Crackpot. It was always beneficial to know as much secret info like this as possible.

But Dark Dragon was unhappy with Crackpot persistent questioning. “Even me and Netherclaw were unable to complete the mission, so what use it is for you to know? The first four waves of attack alone are already difficult to deal with. Moreover, the final Boss is a Level 49 Overlord that does not drop anything. Five waves in the dungeon will deplete all your potions and provide nothing in return. Then, when you enter the foreign world, all members will be isolated and are required to fight alone. What can a Radiant Priest like you do inside then?”

“…”

Crackpot did not believe Dark Dragon at first, but the Supreme Champion’s subsequent claim changed his mind.

‘Four consecutive attack waves. Level 49 Overlord… Followed by a solo mission in the Buried City? That is absurd!’

Crackpot lost interest once Dark Dragon revealed the nature of the mission. Radiant Priests would not stand a chance if it was a solo mission.

He was slightly relieved and even crowed over Qin Ruo and his comrades’ predicament.

Since it was a solo mission, Qin Ruo party would certainly be separated.

‘How far can they go if they are forced to fight alone? Even Supreme Champions like Dark Dragon and Netherclaw had failed.’

While he was delighted by the news, he suddenly remembered the previous incident. ‘If Violet Orchid really recorded the evidence and called upon the Bauhinia’s Hunters, then we are in deep shit…’

He retracted the sinister grin on his face and grew restless.

***

On the other end, after Dark Dragon switched off the voice chat, he immediately contacted the League Master of Netherspirit’s Claw, Netherclaw. After he told him the news delivered by Crackpot, Netherclaw’s voice turned gloomy. “This is bad.”

“I was shocked too when I first heard about it. To be honest I am a little regretful right now. I have never expected that Qin Ruo will be so lucky and is able to reach that final stage of the Aricus Ruins.”

“I am not surprised at all. But the timing that they intervened… Tsk! It’s a few days earlier than I expected. I initially wanted to focus on training a group of Tier 5 Champions for our League first. It seems we need a plan B now. Our plan must be executed before the mission system of the Buried City is leaked to the Mythical Continent. Or else, we will be at a great disadvantage if Bauhinia Clan gets the initial move first. Furthermore, those from Hall of Heroes might turn their attention to the Buried City as well. Not to mention some of those small clans that would bring us a headache.”

Netherclaw sounded like he was dispirited and left with no choice. Once again, Qin Ruo had presented him a huge problem. He was well aware that once the Buried City’s mission system was exposed, not only his clan but the entire Mythical Continent might be in an uproar.

This was exactly why Dark Dragon refused to tell Crackpot the truth.

Dark Dragon continued to ask, “So what are we going to do? Do we execute the plan now?”

“Immediately,” Netherclaw tone changed and he replied determinedly, “Contact Snowmelt and Skyreach immediately! Other than that… You decide who to call for the remaining six spots.”

“Understood!”

“Inform the leaders of the other four clans as well.”

Dark Dragon complied and said, “I will also order another team to guard the altar at the third level of the Aricus Ruins. This is to prevent someone else from barging in and raising the difficulty level of the dungeon.”

“Great! Be quick!”