Virtual World: Close Combat Mage

“While we did manage to reach out to those we are seeking, earning their confidence might not be so easy,” Broken Water Arrow answered.

“I’ve already thought of that. We can’t treat these guys as fools,” Ye Xiaowu said. “What do you think their current attitude will be toward us?”

“I agree. They would most likely treat our attempt to reach out with a healthy dose of suspicion. I feel that it might be more effective if we go for a more direct approach, just like how we came into contact with Cool Apple and got him on our side,” Broken Water Arrow answered. “The difference with this lot is the level of doubt they may have for us.”

“Yes…” Ye Xiaowu concurred.

“However, there’s this one guy, Silver Moon… whom I have yet to succeed in contacting directly. It’s hard to grasp the timing when he gets online. From the two times he replied, once was at 5:37AM and another was at 12:13 PM. The man doesn’t come online every day, too,” Broken Water Arrow shared. “From the content of his reply, I deduced that he’s been cooped up at a spawn point for quite some time now after he offended certain people. All he can do is come online from time to time to check if the coast is clear or if there’s a chance for him to escape…”

“How long has he been trapped there?” Ye Xiaowu asked.

“I reckon it’s been about half a month…” Broken Water Arrow replied.

“Whew. Both parties sure have quite the perseverance…” Ye Xiaowu sighed.

“I specifically made a trip all the way to Baishi City with the intention of meeting Silver Moon face to face. I didn’t manage to bump into him in the end, though I did catch a glimpse of that set-up right outside the Knights’ Barracks over there. Those players camping him out don’t seem to be the same lot. From what I gathered, someone has placed a mission in the Hall of Mercenaries about rewarding any player that can directly kill Silver Moon once. Plus, it seems that Silver Moon has already been slain till he’s down to level 36, which makes him that much easier to bully. Players often pass by the Knights’ Barracks when they have nothing else to do… If this carries on, I do believe that account of his can be considered as crippled for good,” Broken Water Arrow said.

“So, what you’re saying is that you haven’t even managed to add him as a friend?” Ye Xiaowu asked.

“I don’t know when he will come online… From my last try, which was just a minute ago, he’s still offline,” Broken Water Arrow replied.

“Well. If this carries on for almost half a month, maybe that man will just give up on the game entirely.”

“Is Silver Moon that important? I inquired after the matter, and his character is really atrocious.”

“My reason for including Silver Moon in my plan is mainly because of that King’s Blade he has in his possession. There are only three instances of level-70 overlevel top-tier equipment drops in game right now; Moonlit Nightfalls, which is with the Mage Thousand Miles Drunk, the aforementioned King’s Blade, and finally, the dagger Dancing Dervish, which is in the possession of the Thief Svelte Dancer. Out of the three, only Dancing Dervish has no inlaid skill. Even though its damage is insanely high, and the stats increase it provides to its user are absurd, all it does is strengthen the wielder’s individual capabilities. Moonlit Nightfalls is a weapon that deals both Physical and Magic Damage. Neither Mages nor Warriors can fully utilize both Attack Power. At Miles’s current level, I’m afraid he is unable to completely fulfill its proficiency requirements yet, so it’s quite premature to ascertain its ability to strengthen the wielder’s capabilities. Furthermore, by the time he can completely unlock that skill it has, he will have discovered that the inlaid skill comes from the Dark Knight’s skill tree, and he won’t be able to use it at all. The third and final weapon happens to be the most valuable out of the lot; Silver Moon’s King’s Blade has the party-wide buff, King’s Command. Members within the area of effect will all have their stats boosted by 15%. It’s extremely valuable, be it in a duel or group PvP, so it will be a great help for us no matter which angle one looks at it if we obtain it,” Ye Xiaowu explained.

“But… It’s owner has stirred up quite the trouble…” Broken Water Arrow sighed.

“Looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us, then.” Ye Xiaowu nodded.

“How are things over with those players you’ve contacted?” Broken Water Arrow returned the same question to Ye Xiaowu.

“I’ve essentially employed your method of contacting individuals, but it seems that Southern Lone Blade will be the most troublesome of the lot. That guy hasn’t even responded to any of my mails or messages at all.”

“Silver Moon who possesses the strongest weapon and the former Unyielding Expert Southern Lone Blade who possesses the strongest strength… Truly, it is always the most valuable players that are the hardest to obtain.” Broken Water Arrow sighed.

“He he. Slowly does it…” Ye Xiaowu did not seem to be overly anxious. “I’ll head over to Baishi City myself and take a look at Silver Moon’s situation!”

“Then, I shall remain here in Linyin City and stick with Deep Waters and the others,” Broken Water Arrow answered.

“Be careful. Those guys might make a move on you,” Fleeting Smile cautioned.

“Thousand Miles Drunk’s skills are indeed frightening, but in the jungle, even if I can’t beat him, I do believe I should be able to escape with my life. Besides, all thanks to what happened with Deep Waters, those guys should have misgivings on acting against me!” Broken Water Arrow reassured. There had yet to be any face to face clarification with the misunderstanding between Gu Fei, Sword Demon, and the others and Deep Waters’ side despite Deep Waters having already apologized on behalf of the two. Broken Water Arrow was also aware that the action they had first taken toward him was the result of a prior misunderstanding – something that was originally easy to bury the hatchet over. Who would have thought that both parties would have such an antagonistic relationship, which only became further complicated when it got entangled with the previous misunderstanding? This confusing causal correlation of the entire situation became a convoluted mess that even Broken Water Arrow himself felt a headache coming on just thinking of it. How in the world would those people deal with matters?

———————————

While Linyin City’s jungle looked peaceful on the surface, it was actually the most bustling location.

This was especially true during the peak gaming hours at night when a majority of the players in the city would dive into this fauna, sprawled out in the maps across various levels, to grind on monsters or do quests. This was even a good location as far as online dating could go!

In the area where Deep Freeze Guild had carved a site for themselves, Deep Waters was in high spirits as he took an aimless stroll around. The misunderstanding between his friends had now been cleared up, and his relationship with Coco had been repaired as well. Even though Young Master Han managed to trick him so early in the morning, it barely affected his ongoing good mood. At the moment, he was happily chatting away with his fellow guildmates.

“Guild leader, someone is here to see you.” A guild mate from the outer cordon reported thusly.

“Who?” Deep Waters asked.

“It’s that Mage,” was the reply that came to him.

“Oh. I’m coming over!” Deep Waters was elated. He figured that ‘Thousand Miles Drunk’ was probably in a hurry to log off for work this morning, so now that that man was online, he immediately made his way over to apologize to him. Yes, from this fact alone, I shouldn’t make things difficult for him!

Deep Waters dashed toward the outer cordon delightedly, as those men stationed there had already let Gu Fei pass. The two met somewhere in the jungle. Deep Waters magnanimously called out, “Bro, you’re here!”

“Yes!” Gu Fei wore an ashen expression. “Where’s Broken Water Arrow?”

Oh, yes! Apologizing to Broken Water Arrow, even Sword Demon hasn’t done that yet! This guy’s even more sincere than Sword Demon! Deep Waters was so touched he hastened to reply. “He’s yet to make his way over. Honestly, he doesn’t really mind that much. It’s nothing but a misunderstanding. The fact that you’re here is enough. We’re all comrades, so don’t think too much about it.”

“What did you say?” Gu Fei knitted his brows.

“Hah, bro, why so serious? Honestly, I’m a very laid-back kind of guy – really approachable. This isn’t a big deal. I’ve already forgiven you,” Deep Waters generously said.

Gu Fei stared at Deep Waters as if he were looking at a monster. “Forgive me? What for?”

“That whole situation you and Sword Demon have caused, of course! Don’t worry; it’s all a huge misunderstanding. I’ve already been informed,” Deep Waters answered.

“Oh, that…” Gu Fei was thinking about this when he got online, but with so many other things happening while he was gone, it had slipped his mind completely. When Deep Waters suddenly mentioned this, he was temporarily reminded of it, and he quickly expressed his regret. “Really sorry about that. It’s my mistake.”

“Ha ha! I already said that it’s fine!” Deep Waters patted Gu Fei’s shoulder vigorously.

“Yes, so where’s Broken Water Arrow?” Gu Fei asked again.

“There’s no need to be so serious. Old Broken won’t mind things, either. I’ll be sure to relay your apology to him when he returns,” Deep Waters benevolently expressed.

“No, I’m looking for him for something else,” he clarified.

“What is it?” Deep Waters casually asked.

“Slay him.”

“What?” Deep Waters’ tears nearly fell straight to the ground.

“Don’t worry. It’s definitely not a mistake this time.” Gu Fei patted Deep Waters’ shoulder vigorously in return.

“Hold it. Just what in the world are you guys up to again?” Deep Waters asked.

“This time, it really has nothing to do with you at all. It’s a personal grudge,” Gu Fei answered.

“Just what exactly is going on this time?” Deep Waters was depressed. Could he not have a few more happy days? He felt as if everything had just ended a few hours ago, yet something had cropped up again.

“Broken Water Arrow and his other friend have a little conflict with me. Of course, it’s got nothing to do with you at all, so you don’t have to mind it too much!” Gu Fei replied.

“Don’t have to mind that much…” Deep Waters was defeated. “What are you even saying? You’re both my friends; how am I gonna let things slide? Can’t everyone just sit down and properly talk about this?”

“You guys can slowly chat about it; I’m a little pressed for time.” Gu Fei patted Deep Waters as he asked, “So, Broken Water Arrow isn’t here yet?”

Deep Waters shook his head in a daze. He felt that he did not have enough brain cells to process everything.

“Then, I’ll wait for him here!” Gu Fei pulled out his sword and parked it into the ground. It registered in Deep Waters’ eyes in a glimmering blur.

“Say, just what exactly is going on? Can’t you tell me about it?” Deep Waters asked.

Gu Fei then began to give him a rundown of what had happened.

“So, from what you’ve said, Old Broken came to help us entirely because we’ve lost that competitive quest from before, and what he’s doing now is purely to compensate us?” Deep Waters asked.

“Yeah. Helping you guys get stronger so you all can achieve victory in whatever war that’s about to occur,” Gu Fei replied.

“And the only reason we have this compensation is because you’re far too powerful of an existence to the point that nobody can contend with you and we shouldn’t have lost that competitive quest? Thus, they think that we deserve a recompense?” Deep Waters asked.

“That seems to be the case.”

“What sort of convoluted nonsense is that?” Deep Waters was confuddled.

“That’s everyone’s reaction, too…” Gu Fei nodded. Everybody simply did not understand the theoretical basis behind Ye Xiaowu’s argument.

“Does he get to compensate me just because he says he wants to?! Did he even ask me?” Deep Waters was indignant.

“Right?” Gu Fei said.

“Furthermore, the issue he has is with you, all he’s got to do is rectify your deeds; why even drag us into it?” Deep Waters asked.

“I found that to be really strange as well!” Gu Fei agreed to his assessment.

“What did you say that guy’s name is?” Deep Waters asked.

“Fleeting Smile,” Gu Fei replied.

“So baffling. I’ll ask Old Broken about him,” Deep Waters said.

“Yes. Call him over here. I’ll have a word with that man once you’re done,” Gu Fei encouraged.

Deep Waters glanced at the sword Gu Fei had planted to the ground. “Are you going to communicate with the man through a language?”

“But of course.” Gu Fei nodded his head and balled up his fists. “Just through body language, though.”