"Shu Tu," she introduced herself, "Level 4 Ranger."
Yu: "Yu, level 4 spellcaster."
Shutu stared at her.
Yu handed her a silver coin dagger. "Payment."
Shutu took it. "Follow me."
As they walked, Yu was somewhat surprised. While she had been stirring up trouble in the city, Shu Tu had already made it this far out?
What were all those top players doing now? Had they all entered the game? Were they not active on the forums? Song Qingshi / Azure Waves was a rising guild, and they had all joined. With those people's foresight, they probably wouldn't miss out on "Eternal Darkness"...
Yu privately reminded herself to be vigilant, feeling more urgent about leveling up. Even though she no longer needed to compete for Hall of Fame rankings this time, she didn't want to fall too far behind Shu Tu and the others. Beyond the rocky terrain was a wooded area with a dilapidated official road running through the middle, leading to an unknown destination.
Yu finally couldn't hold back anymore. Pulling her hood slightly, she asked, "What kind of monsters are here?"
"Forest ghosts."
"What are those?"
"Something we can't defeat," Shu Tu added a few more words. "From now on, don't speak."
They entered the wooded area. Yu thought to herself: Like I'd believe you can't defeat them. What nonsense. Shu Tu was a Hall of Fame player with an extremely high ranking. If she had appeared in the city, the forums would have reacted. This meant she had been outside the whole time, basically never returning. What kind of monster here was suitable for a bow user to solo, while providing substantial experience?
After traveling through the woods for half a day, there was suddenly a bright opening. Yu looked up and saw a huge crack splitting the middle of the forest. Looking down, it was bottomless. At this spot, the crack was about three meters wide. Theoretically, one could jump across with a running start, but the problem was that the opposite side was higher—significantly higher.
Shu Tu suddenly pulled her, and the two hid behind a large rock. Yu peeked and saw an NPC in black leather armor looking around on the other side. Shu Tu tugged her and whispered, "Don't look at him, his perception is very high."
Yu discovered that the NPC's gaze actually turned toward them, and she immediately withdrew her eyes. After a long while, Shu Tu finally said, "He's gone."
Yu: "Do you know roughly what level they are?"
Shu Tu glanced at her. "Above level 5."
Yu's eyelid twitched. Shu Tu reacted even faster, releasing a spotted tiger. Yu was thrown onto the tiger's back, and they darted out from behind the rock almost instantly. Just as they left, the ground near the rock froze, with ice spikes gleaming coldly.
Yu: "We were discovered?"
Shu Tu changed direction. "The monster logic in this game is extremely sophisticated, very intelligent."
It might have been that she was remembered from last time when she stared at the NPC, and when Yu looked again, he became suspicious and went to get teammates to search. Thinking of this, Shu Tu sighed slightly. She always felt that players might not be as smart as NPCs. Yu looked back and saw leather-armored people giving chase, and noticed archers drawing their bows.
"Looks like rogues and rangers," Yu said. "He's so fast!"
Yu urgently recalled her skills and chose a spell she had never used before—Call Raindrops. The cantrip wasn't difficult, but the big cat's back was truly bumpy. Yu feared falling off, so she had to hug its neck while chanting softly. Clouds gathered in the sky, and small raindrops began to fall. It had no effect on the rogue.
In the next second, Yu cast Gust. Worth mentioning, her Gust spell had also become proficient, turning into an instant cast that still only consumed 1 point. Wind and rain combined as the archer's arrows flew toward them. Yu timed it perfectly and cast Gust again. The arrows flew off at an angle, but the rogue was now close enough to touch the big cat's rear.
Shu Tu had somehow already jumped onto a tree, bow drawn—Impact Arrow.
The rogue, with rain and wind blurring his face and just about to catch up to Yu, momentarily relaxed his guard and was hit by an arrow. He flew back two meters, his health bar immediately reduced by half. He crashed into a small crater on the ground where some water pooled—very shallow, barely visible in the rain.
Yu's eyes lit up, but turning her head, she discovered that the plate-armored NPC and the robed NPC who had been lagging behind had arrived too. The rain soaked this part of the forest, with the curtain of rain growing denser.
Yu said softly, "Give me 5 seconds."
Without a word, Shu Tu changed arrows—a wooden arrowhead condensed with deep blue water light: Slow Arrow.
The plate-armored warrior was about to enter the 25-meter range. Once he got within 20 meters and charged, he would arrive in an instant. A spellcaster probably couldn't withstand even one sword strike. The plate-armored NPC had been watching her. Seeing her nock the arrow, he was prepared to deflect it. The arrow was parried, but Yu's spell was ready.
"Lightning Arrow."
A deep purple lightning arrow, as thick as a bottle cap, condensed out of thin air and shot forth without delay. The rogue who had just gotten up was hit by the arrow and immediately paralyzed. Through the rain curtain, the warrior in iron boots approached with a sinister smile and stepped into that shallow puddle...
He felt a tingling numbness, his hair standing on end as he and the rogue stood frozen in place. The fine rain continued to fall while the big cat never stopped running. Its broad paws landed on the damp earth, carefully avoiding puddles. Shu Tu had already come down from the tree and disappeared.
~Edit and rewritten by Rikhi, Reiya_Alberich, ReiNyam~
Yu actually had only 1 point of mental energy left, but she solemnly lay on the big cat, gesturing as if holding something in her hand, as if she still had a spell ready to cast. The two melee fighters paralyzed by electricity remained in place. The archer, who was a few beats slow, with dense rain and thick foliage, pulled her bowstring several times but ultimately relaxed it.
She stood outside the rain, afraid of wetting her bowstring. As for the spellcaster, being the slowest without a warrior to carry her, she arrived belatedly. So they just watched as the big cat carrying Yu disappeared from sight.
"That was close."
Only now did Yu have the leisure to pet the big cat, pinching its face. It was furry, soaked with rain, and the whole cat seemed thinner.
"Grr..." the big cat growled.
Yu withdrew her hand from pinching its face and looked around. Where was Shu Tu?
"Xiao Yu?"
A sudden voice from above almost made Yu respond. She forcibly restrained her impulse to look up and continued lying on the big cat's back. "We're not that close, are we?"
Shu Tu didn't speak. After a moment, the big cat stopped as well, and Yu slowly jumped down. She envied rangers who could raise big cats. Shu Tu half-leaned against a tree, one hand stroking the tiger's head. Her tone had somehow softened considerably. "What do you plan to do next?"
Yu: "Return to the city and report to officials, what else?"
Shu Tu: "If we found a few teammates, we might be able to kill these humanoid monsters."
She looked very sincere. "I know some powerful players, but no spellcasters."
Yu's tone unconsciously cooled. "...No need. When spellcasters enter their first circle, the versatility of their spells is beyond what I can counter. If it weren't a chase, even with teammates protecting us, bringing ten more people would be useless."
"Besides, we never actually encountered them. Even the fastest rogue couldn't touch us," Yu said. "Apprentice professions certainly can't withstand initial-level professionals."
Shu Tu conceded reluctantly. "Alright, I'll follow your lead."
Yu: "..." Don't make that expression, it's annoying. If she had known, she wouldn't have been greedy for the quest and gone out with Shu Tu.
"You're slow, I'll let Scabbers carry you."
Yu was about to refuse when Shu Tu added, "The monsters in this game are quite clever. If we don't hurry, they might relocate."
Hearing this, Yu immediately climbed onto the tiger's back, adjusted her hood, and said, "Then let's hurry."
Shu Tu looked at her figure thoughtfully. She might have added agility. Without Yu holding her back, their return speed was more than twice as fast as their outward journey. Scabbers was also very cute, seemingly tireless. Only now did Yu belatedly realize that the big cat seemed several sizes larger than in reality. Standing up, it might even be taller than her.
At the city gate, the guard was the same one as before. He stepped forward sternly. "No animal companions allowed inside the city!"
Yu waved, "I found humanoid... I mean, I found a group of professional troublemakers!"
The guard was startled. "Huh?"
Yu jumped off the tiger. "Quick, quick, go catch them!"
The guard was confused, but by the time he reacted, he was already standing with Yu before his captain. He awkwardly said, "Miss Yu... says she saw some miscreants."
Lady Keya was already troubled. Her rank was low, and she couldn't mobilize those lords from the academy. Lately, she'd even developed cold sores.
"Oh? Where? You should take people to check it out."
She turned to look and her tone softened slightly. "A spellcaster? Thanks for your help last time."
"You're welcome. I only saw four people across the way, four professions. If we don't hurry, I'm afraid they'll relocate..." Yu said urgently.
Keya didn't seem very rushed. "Where are they?"
"In the wooded area behind the rocky terrain, there's a large crevice..." Yu tried to describe.
Keya paused. "Another rift? It's because of him again. The Law Ring is always causing trouble, and they ignore me when my subordinates go missing..."
She complained a series of things that Yu didn't understand, but she made a mental note. Keya shouldered her sword and rushed out energetically. Yu hurriedly followed. This game was really annoying—why did NPCs always swallow quest information?!
She was about to fall behind again when she saw them bring out a group of black-armored horses from somewhere. Yu jumped up and down anxiously. The guard remembered her and casually gave her a horse. "You lead the way."
Yu immediately climbed on, only to realize she didn't know how to ride. Oh well, it should be similar to riding a tiger, Yu thought boldly. Imitating them, she slapped the horse's rear. "Go."
Shu Tu quietly followed on Scabbers. Yu's horsemanship couldn't be called skillful—it was utterly clueless. In the end, she clung to the horse's neck, tying herself to it. Fortunately, the horse was smart and went wherever she pointed. Soon, they returned to the forest.
"It was here before. A rogue chased us."
A guard picked up a fallen arrow and handed it over. Yu led them to the cliff. Several leather-armored guards jumped across like monkeys.
"Captain, they've all fled."
Yu: "..." Damn, they really ran away?
Keya: "Search. They couldn't have gone far."
She looked kindly at Yu. "Did they have a spellcaster?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll trouble you to cast 'Detect Magic,'" Keya said. "Don't worry, I'll definitely commend you this time. Those academy people are quite nice to spellcasters."
This was exactly what Yu had been waiting for. "Captain, rest assured, I'll do my best."
Passing by the campsite, Yu saw bottles, weapons, boxes, sleeping bags... things they didn't have time to take away.
Hope the guards don't steal the loot.jpg