MMORPG: The Elementalist

The activation of the Eternal Portal signified that the Buried City had now been officially reconnected to the upper world. Everyone under the Angel Faction was greatly encouraged by the news. Not only because they could freely access the Buried City and farm there after this, but the Mercenary Guild would also grant players from Angel Faction a series of Honor Quests relevant to the Underworld invasion in advance.

The first player to discover the hidden Lich’s lair and return to the Mercenary Guild safely would be rewarded ten Honor Points and 1000 gold coins.

One could also gain Honor Point by accumulating kills on the Skeleton Dragons, Dark Cavaliers, or Death Knights wandering around the lair.

There was even a party specific quest. Any party that could slay a Lich would be rewarded 1000 Honor Points.

The Mercenary Guild was openly unveiling the Quest of Honor to everyone belonging to the Angel Faction. Such feat was never seen before in the history of the Mythical Continent. As more and more quests were being made available, the players, parties, and clans under the Angel Faction were getting equally euphoric. For them, whose Honor Points had been stripped clean due to the fall of Moonrise City, these quests were like rain after a long drought.

They could now collect Honor Point safely without risking their lives and equipment on the Mythical Battlefield. Moreover, this might be a quicker approach too.

Within half an hour after the announcement, almost everyone in the Angel Faction was already busy locating specters and the Lich’s lair. Meanwhile, there was also an upsurge of the farming trend in the Buried City. Without the threat from the Lich Army and Eye of Hades, even an ordinary Tier 4 party would find the fallen city highly approachable.

In this vast underground city, every street, every corner, and every deserted home was filled with a great number of Specters left to be farmed. Furthermore, since the city was constructed by numerous narrow alleys, small houses, great halls, or underground tunnels, players could conveniently select the location that fit their farming styles best. The great number of farming areas also spared the players from fighting and competing for limited spaces.

Players who have the time could even go all the way up along the Eternal Corridor to reach the Eternity Peak at more than ten kilometers away. They would be handed a more challenging quest by the ten Demigod Guardians situated at the peak.

The only regret was that the Tower of Hades could not be easily accessed by an ordinary player. Since there wasn’t any entrance at the base of the tower, players could only enter the building either from the top of the tower or through the windows that were at least ten floors high. Moreover, those who tried to enter would immediately be blocked by an unseen force if the visitor had not reached Tier 5.

According to the ten Demigod NPC guarding the Eternal Portal, there was a warp portal in this Tower of Hades that directly led to the Underworld.

The elemental fluctuation swirling around the Underworld warp point was extremely violent, in which normal Warrior would not be able to get near it. Only players at Tier 5 or above are resilient enough to offset the powerful repulsion and step into the Underworld.

Even so, the Demigod champions still persistently warned those Tier 5 players who came knocking. They admonished the players not to simply travel into the dead land, even if the players were qualified to step into the Underworld.

***

Qin Ruo and his team were currently standing in front of a bald Demigod Guardian that had a scar on his face.

“I need to warn you, if you wish to live, then stay away from the Tower of Hades. Unless you are not planning to come back to the Mythical Continent for the rest of your life.” The way the bald Warrior recited these words was just like how Darius did. He gritted his teeth menacingly and talked in an alarmed tone. Qin Ruo believed that he was just trying to make the Underworld sound more daunting than it really was.

“Is he exaggerating?” Qin Ruo and the others felt taunted.

Honestly, since the weakest monster in the Underworld was at least Tier 5, that place was no doubt the most terrifying region of the entire H&G world. But they were confident that they could at least manage a good look of the place and return safely. Not that they would be directly teleported to in front of Hades. No game master would ever make such a reckless game design.

“Forget it!” After he tried to communicate with other NPCs around the portal, Qin Ruo finally gave up on getting more information about the Underworld through them.

Like Darius, these NPCs only knew about the legend of the Underworld cited in the history records. Besides showing how fearful they were toward these stories, none of them could actually provide any further useful information.

Anyhow, Qin Ruo could feel that even though they tried mightily to advise the players not to go near the portal, their faces glowed with hope whenever someone stepped into the Tower of Hades. They were obviously hoping that someone could miraculously return alive from the Underworld and bring forth the breakthrough they are looking forward to.

“Get ready to enter!”

Ignoring the serious and envious stares from the bystanders, Qin Ruo looked into the eyes of his peers, including Violet Orchid, Black Rock, Homme Fatale, and Subjugator.

Schwaff!

In the next second, under the burning sights of numerous NPCs and players surrounding them, the five players tacitly spread out their Angelic Wings and left the ground together. (Violet Orchid’s Divinity was obtained from the last four Liches. She borrowed it temporarily from Majestic Hero in the face of the Underworld invasion.)

They powered their wings and flew straight toward the top of the tower.

As the five players were reaching the top, several holy rays beamed simultaneously on the ground.

A few more winged Champions had just entered the Buried City.

Majestic Hero urging voice came timely from below.

“Qin Ruo, wait!”

The five of them paused midway, hearing the call. They flapped their wings slowly to balance themselves in the air while looking down to realize that Majestic Hero, Black God, and some of their winged subordinates were catching up to them from below.

More than ten winged Champions gathering mid-air near the top of the Tower of Hades was such a rare scene. They immediately drew the attention of the numerous players wandering inside the city.

***

“Haven’t you decided to bring your men and go to look for Lich? Haha! Have you changed your mind and decided to go to the Underworld with us?” Seeing Majestic Hero chasing them from below, Subjugator couldn’t help but tease them a little. But right after his joke ended, all five of them realized something was off. Majestic Hero and the others had long faces.

“What happened?” Subjugator turned serious and asked cautiously.

Majestic Hero first looked at him, then scanned the other four players. Finally, he fixed his gaze on Qin Ruo and Violet Orchid and asked, “Please tell me you haven’t put anyone into the Underworld.”

“What’s wrong?” Qin Ruo nodded and repeated Subjugator’s question. The grim look on Majestic Hero and Black God told him that they must have received some very important information. Most likely something to do with the Underworld and most probably not very optimistic.

Just as he thought, Majestic Hero was immediately relieved knowing that Qin Ruo’s side had yet to enter the dangerous place. “Luckily.”

“Just tell us already,” Violet Orchid frowned at them and said.

Black God took a deep breath and explained, “We are unsure of the details either. But several members of mine who had entered earlier messaged me about their encounter. It seems that the condition in the Underworld is rather complicated. It’s way out of our imagination!” He looked down at the NPC Champions as he spoke and lamented, “Maybe they are right. It’s still too soon for us to challenge the Underworld.”

Qin Ruo and four of his comrades looked at each other, baffled.

“Your men had entered the Underworld? What did they find? What actually happened? Can you please describe to us in more details?”

“Well, it’s a long story…”

“Then take all the time you want. We have plenty of it.”

Black God stared at Qin Ruo and thought about his brothers who were sent to the Underworld first time by him. He nodded painfully and said, “Alright! Let’s go further up to avoid being heard.”

The eleven of them rose at the same time. Soon, the top of the Tower of Hades became a small dot, while the players around the Eternal Portal were not more than the size of an ant.

“Okay. Let’s hear it out,” Qin Ruo urged Black God to speak up as soon as they stopped ascending. He wished to learn more about the Underworld, and since the Black Jail members had become the pioneers, he was more than eager to know about the actual situation inside. Moreover, this must be some vital information he needed to grasp judging by how nervous Black God and Majestic Hero were a moment ago.

“Um…” Black God expression was unreadable. He took another deep breath and groaned a little. His eyeballs floated around as he was organizing his thought, then he started, “My brothers entered the Underworld in less than three minutes after the Spawn of Hades was banished from the city. Don’t give me that look, I know we were too hot-headed then. Knowing that the Tower of Hades links directly to the Underworld, we thought we should go in the first time and perhaps earn a rare encounter or two before everyone else. Thus, after getting the necessary supply, I ordered one party to immediately travel down there.”

A rare painful and regretful look appeared on Black God’s face at this point. He continued in a sorrowful tone, “All ten of them!”

“After they went in, they were separated and turned up at different regions across the Underworld, alone…”

“Separated?” Qin Ruo and four others were utterly shocked. This was indeed shocking. Still, he was confident that each player of his current party was capable of surviving alone in the Underworld.

Black God continued grimly. “I urged them to keep me updated on the situation around them as soon as possible. This was when, two of my men were killed!”

“Shit!”

Black God ignored the exclamation and went on. “The environment they were sent to was rather plain. There was only a worn out single-way warp portal. No safe zone and no sign of other humans. Nothing at first glance, except the portal that was embedded with Mana Core. When they checked more thoroughly, they realized numerous words were carved on either the slates or ground near the portal. It was comprehensible and appeared to be dying testaments. I asked them to take a good look at it, and that was when they were killed mercilessly by Specters that were lurking nearby.”

“What?” Qin Ruo heart dropped listening to the unfortunate tragedy. He then heard Violet Orchid ask, “What was written on those dying notes?”

“The contents were mixed up…” Black God shook his head, “But my men said someone must have lived near the portal for a very long time. They could find all sort of things there and believed that those things were left for people who might show up later. Most of the lines were disconnected and insensible, but one content kept showed up in between the lines…”

“Which was?”

“It said, “If you are still alive, find the man’s bone and the road home. I beg you, bring our Warrior back to the Mythical Continent. Free them from this forsaken place and the forsaken spirits. Let their souls be in peace.

“If you are still looking for the right path, then please bring along our ashes. We will bless you from above so that one day, you may find your path back home.”