MMORPG: The Elementalist

The sudden complete reversal in Ironjail River’s attitude had caused Violetmoon Devilite, Grandiose Dragon, and Blue Princess to stay rooted to the ground. They looked at the two of them as they wondered how this man from Netherspirit’s Claw could come to know an ordinary Tier 3 Aquamancer like Qin Ruo. Furthermore… he seemed to be hostile towards Qin Ruo.

“Do you guys know each other?”

The abrupt change in the situation caught them by surprise for a while. Violetmoon Devilite quietly sent a recorded message over to Qin Ruo.

Qin Ruo shrugged and nodded. That counted as his answer to the questions voiced out by both Violetmoon Devilite and Ironjail River… He then ignored Ironjail River’s stare, which carried a feeling of inspection. His eyes seemed to become sharper and sharper by the second. Qin Ruo also ignored the unsettled eyes of Violetmoon Devilite and her two other friends as they gawked at him. He stepped on the surface of the thick layer of ice and walked towards the farming point where Ironjail River as well as his gang were grinding levels. He spoke to Violetmoon Devilite simultaneously.

“Since they’re not willing to give up the spot, we’ll wait for the arrival of your brother and the others, then look for another spot.”

His words instantly broke the “stalemate” situation that was brought upon by Ironjail River. Not only did the situation return to the original track, which everyone established in the first place, his words also caused Ironjail River to reveal a hint of surprise and curiosity.

Ironjail River turned his head around as he stared at Qin Ruo’s back. The latter did not seem to be bothered by anything at all. While he gazed upon Qin Ruo’s back, his thoughts remained unclear.

Violetmoon Devilite responded very quickly. She replied Qin Ruo and followed him. At the back, Grandiose Dragon and Blue Princess stared at each other for a brief moment. Their faces took on a ghastly and uneasy expression at the same time. They were worried about Ironjail River’s attitude, which they witnessed a while ago.

“You two know each other?”

“Do you hold a grudge against him?”

The two of them caught up with Qin Ruo as well as Violetmoon Devilite as they hastily asked Qin Ruo for more details through the Party Channel.

“There’s no grudge between us. It’s just that there’s a Priest in Netherspirit’s Claw holding a grudge against me.”

Qin Ruo did not explain it to them in detail. After he was done talking, he opened his mouth slightly and said on the Party Channel, “If trouble finds its way to us, you guys can just cancel the quest. I’ll leave.”

Their conversation in the Party Channel immediately caught the attention of Grand Magi, who was currently hundreds of meters away.

“What happened?”

At that moment, Qin Ruo had walked up to the area’s outer ring where Ironjail River and his gang were grinding their level. As the 10 of them stared at him in surprise, Qin Ruo simply picked a clean, gigantic ice boulder and sat on top of it with swagger. But, the whole thing felt a little awkward no matter how much he tried to act like he was not bothered at all. He felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. Nine out of ten of them were actually members of Netherspirit’s Claw. Only the last remaining one was a member of the Redbud League. This explained why each one of their eyes pierced into Qin Ruo like needles… Noticing this, Qin Ruo could not help but quietly pour out endless grievances to himself,  ‘How unlucky… This time I’ve really hurled myself into the net.’

Right then and there, Violetmoon Devilite as well as the others explained the situation earlier to Grand Magi. Grand Magi muttered to himself as he pondered the situation for a brief moment.

“The problem shouldn’t be too serious. Qin Ruo, you’re just a Tier 3 player… The members of their League shouldn’t be looking for trouble and bullying a Tier 3 player. At most, they’ll just inform your enemy about your whereabouts.” Once he said that, he paused for a little while.

“We don’t have to entertain him. Just continue with what we came to do! But, the original plan is definitely not going to work… Qin Ruo, do you have any good ideas?” Grand Magi did not bother himself too much with the imposing reputation of Netherspirit’s Claw. Qin Ruo breathed a sigh of relief because of that. Or else, all of his efforts today would have been for nothing.

As for “ideas”…

Qin Ruo took a glance at Violetmoon Devilite who sat down right beside him. His heart seemed to be slightly moved by an idea. His voice then echoed in the Party Channel, “I already have an idea. It just depends on whether you guys can cooperate or not.”

“Do tell.”

Their spirits were a little lifted in response to Qin Ruo’s “idea”.

Soon after, Qin Ruo told the others about his sudden bright idea in a simple and clear manner…

Before he could finish, Grandiose Dragon who was right next to him appeared very uncomfortable by the look on his face. He suddenly stood up before Qin Ruo, his back facing the Party, who continued to farm monsters in the vicinity. He glared at Qin Ruo in anger. “Boy, I’m warning you! Don’t you even think about it when it comes to Violetmoon Devilite! Or else I’ll beat the crap out of you!”

However, Qin Ruo just calmly looked him in the eye.

Upon seeing this, Ironjail River seemed distracted by the angry voice. He then turned his head over, looking at them from afar and feeling confused. He did not know what was happening with Qin Ruo and his other Party members. He took a look at Violetmoon Devilite who was blushing. Her shy appearance was very attractive. He then took a look at Blue Princess whose face seemed as cold as ice. She was glaring at Grandiose Dragon. He also looked at Grandiose Dragon and Qin Ruo whose expressions remained hidden to him. Ironjail River frowned and moved his lips slightly as he mobilized himself to their side.

By then, the Party had arrived at their final decision in their Party Channel…

Violetmoon Devilite and Blue Princess had passed the proposal that Qin Ruo suggested. Even though Grandiose Dragon roared with rage and expressed disagreement towards the proposal, Grand Magi’s words of “do not take advantage of my sister” made most of the Party members agree with the plan that Qin Ruo cooked up.

Qin Ruo maintained a poker face as he glanced at Grandiose Dragon who appeared agitated and furious based on the look on his face. He then made a promise to Grand Magi and said, “You can rest assured that I’m not Grandiose Dragon.”

Grandiose Dragon was stunned to hear that. He did not understand his words.

That was until he saw Blue Princess and Violetmoon Devilite looking at him with strange expressions on their faces. Grandiose Dragon instantly realized the meaning behind Qin Ruo’s words as he glared at him. He was so angry that his nose almost went crooked!

***

“You little brat, you got some nerve. You actually have the guts to come out here alone after you’ve offended Crackpot? Where’s Slayer’s Heart? Isn’t he worried at all about you coming out here alone?”

Ironjail River behaved in a straightforward and unrelenting manner as he sat on the ice boulder right opposite Qin Ruo. He laughed and spoke, appearing to be fascinated. He would also shoot glances at Violetmoon Devilite and Blue Princess who remained closely by Qin Ruo’s side.

‘ Tsk, tsk… Why are there so many girls falling for a pretty boy toy?’

Qin Ruo did not seem to be bothered by Ironjail River’s words though. He did not feel any danger at all as he turned his head to face Violetmoon Devilite. He was playing with her hair while also playing dumb at the same time. “Back then, he was the one who tried to provoke me first… Plus, I spared his life. Is it necessary for me to hide from him?”

That was the true definition of the proverb “when it rains, it pours”!

Qin Ruo was sharp enough to notice that the slightly nervous and shy expressions on Violetmoon Devilite’s face had stiffened up a little. An unbelievable look flashed deep in her eyes. The expressions on Grandiose Dragon and Blue Princess’ faces appeared even more ghastly than before. They were also looking at Qin Ruo in shock. They refused to believe that it was real—a Tier 3 player was capable of getting past a member of a League?

“Very good!” Ironjail River clapped his hands hard. With cold eyes, he looked at Qin Ruo who was behaving arrogantly. He smiled and said, “You’ve got guts, and you have a bold spirit… but I’m not really clear about that incident. I only know that the brat, Crackpot was very unconvinced over his loss in the match with you. He’s been wanting to have a rematch with you, so what do you think? A few of my brothers and I shall be witnesses for both of you. Y-you’re sure you won’t back down and run, right?”

Qin Ruo had an inkling that Ironjail River would contact Crackpot. He smiled coldly as he gazed upon the vast Snow Domain surrounding him. His spirit was instantly boosted. “Alright! Bring it on then! As long as he’s alone… I’ll take him on anytime!”

“A word spoken is an arrow let fly!

“What’s said cannot be unsaid!”