MMORPG: The Elementalist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

A Pet Egg for a Silver-Winged Killer Bee?

Seeing the Pet Egg that Xiaoxiao had found, Qin Ruo was visibly stunned. He himself had spent several days here in Killer Bee Valley, and had become quite familiar with the various types of Killer Bees here. He thought he knew every type there was.

Neither Qin Ruo nor Xiaoxiao had ever encountered a Silver-Winged Killer Bee before. Where did it pop out from? Had it earlier been hidden amongst the swarm of common Killer Bees?

Qin Ruo regarded the Pet Egg for a while, trying to recall all the Elite Bosses he had ever faced. His brows knit together. This mysterious creature… could it be a Tier 3 Elite Miniboss to accompany the Tier 3 Elite Boss? Or perhaps it was some higher-level species of Killer Bee?

"Of course! Where's the body?"

It suddenly occurred to Qin Ruo that examining the monster's body itself might lend him some clues as to its nature.

As he spoke, and Xiaoxiao turned to point the way, the fallen bodies strewn across the battlefield chose exactly that moment to waver and fade away. The monsters would be respawning soon.

The two of them stood in silence.

And then, paying no heed to Qin Ruo's concerns, Xiaoxiao retrieved the Pet Egg she had found.

"Hm, whatever. It's the first Pet Egg I've ever found, and I'm going to adopt it first thing when I get back. Silver-Winged Killer Bee… Aha, not bad! Sounds cool!"

"If what you like is a cool-sounding name, there are plenty. I've always thought that the Galewind Wolf has a pretty intimidating name, but its lack of power makes it kind of lame. Why don't I ask around for you? If it's really just a Tier 3 monster, it's really not worth your time."

As he spoke, Qin Ruo prepared to send a message to Slayer's Heart. Even if he did not know either, he could pass it around his League, and then surely somebody would provide an answer.

"No, I've made up my mind. I want this one."

Ignoring his objections, Xiaoxiao raised the silver Pet Egg high into the air and declared, "This is the Pet Egg I received after my first-ever Boss fight. In the happiest moment of my life, fate sent me a gift."

***

Qin Ruo was speechless. Sometimes girls were such impulsive creatures—where did she get that nonsense from? Obviously, it was nothing but a random drop, not some sign from a greater power.

"Fine. If you get tired of it one day, you can always switch it out for something else anyway. You've only just started playing, after all."

Qin Ruo canceled the message was about to send. Next chance he got, he would find her the Pet Egg for a Boss monster—then they would see whether she would switch out or not.

But Xiaoxiao's resolve surprised him again. "I'm never letting it go—not now, not ever! Even if it's just a Tier 3 monster, I'll keep it with me. Don't all pets start from Level 0 anyway? Who says a Tier 3 monster which rises to Tier 4 will be inferior to a Tier 4 monster?"

That last thing Xiaoxiao said gave Qin Ruo a jolt. Of course!

Tier 3 monsters—no, Tier 3 pets, once they attain Tier 4, certainly did were not any weaker than those which had originally been Tier 4 to start with. It was just that these days everyone had been comparing the power levels of Tier 4 monsters against Tier 3 ones, so he had unthinkingly adopted the notion that where Pet Eggs were concerned, the higher the level, the better.

It never occurred to him that he might have been mistaken about that.

Tier 3 pets started from Level 0, and the same was true for Tier 4 pets. Assuming the gains they received each level were identical, then at Tier 4 and beyond they would essentially be little different in capability.

The only difference was that with a Tier 3 monster for a pet, it was impossible to predict how it would continue to grow after it surpassed its original level, whereas a Tier 4 monster's skills would already be known by the player.

Who was to say that a Tier 3 pet might not receive new abilities at Tier 4, which might make it superior to a typical Tier 4 monster? Anything could happen!

Qin Ruo clapped a hand to his forehead.

Now he felt he could be a lot more open-minded about this matter, although it was also a cause for some embarrassment: such a simple thing, why did he need Xiaoxiao to clear it up for him? It was disgraceful!

Back in Savis Town, Qin Ruo accompanied Xiaoxiao to the local Pet Shop.

It was three in the morning, the hour was late. Even a bustling Pet Shop like this only had a few kittens to offer, each one completely unremarkable.

Once they had entered the Pet Shop, Xiaoxiao immediately fished out the Pet Egg for the Silver-Winged Killer Bee, and began chatting with the shopkeeper about how to go about adopting it immediately.

There were different procedures for this: if it was a Pet Egg you bought from the shop, adoption was free of charge; if it was a Pet Egg you found in the wild, there would be an adoption fee of ten gold coins.

***

The fee paid, the shopkeeper took up the silver Pet Egg that Xiaoxiao placed on the counter, while using a faint bit of air magic to trace a finger down the side of Xiaoxiao's delicate pinky.

There was no visible wound, but a spot of crimson bloomed upon Xiaoxiao's little finger. At the shopkeeper's bidding, that bright red droplet of blood flew over to him, while the tiny cut on Xiaoxiao's finger closed back up instantaneously.

Watching this delicate blood-drawing procedure, Qin Ruo could not believe his eyes. Remembering what he saw the first time he visited this shop—it had been the same fellow, he recalled—how the shopkeeper had used a small knife to slash open some guy's finger, so that he could smear a great bloody trail over a Pet Egg.

Compared to what happened that time, the drawing of blood this time around was unbelievably elegant and civilized, almost a performance art.

Maybe it was because there had been a lot of customers that time, so the shopkeeper had to perform a rush job; maybe it was a matter of appearances. Whichever the case, Qin Ruo felt rather fortunate—he himself had adopted a Shadowfox, which he suspected to be some kind of Boss monster, and he was probably the only player to have ever done so.

As Qin Ruo was watching how the shopkeeper would apply that drop of blood to the silver Pet Egg, another player off to the side exclaimed excitedly, "Goodness me, madam! That's such a pretty Pet Egg—is it yours?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Xiaoxiao was watching with eager anticipation how the Pet Egg would be bound to her. Hearing that remark from the other female player, she only glanced over to give her a quick reply and a polite little nod.

Qin Ruo did not pay her much attention either, barely glancing over at her with a little frown. The only thing he'd thought of the stranger with the foreign accent was that she seemed much older than Xiaoxiao.

Heh, it was terrible of him to think so, but she must be well into her thirties now, whereas Xiaoxiao was only… twenty-two? Maybe twenty-three.

For the other woman to be referring to Xiaoxiao as "madam"… well, perhaps it was a bit of foreign humor he did not understand.

The woman spared no attention for Qin Ruo or his curious gaze, keeping up the pretense of a young lady as she continued chatting up Xiaoxiao, further inquiring, "Madam, would you mind letting me have a closer look at that Pet Egg?"

"Sure, okay."

Although Xiaoxiao would rather not have more people hanging around Killer Bee Valley, she could not say no to such a friendly manner.

She held the Pet Egg up, the better for the other woman to see, and then before she could ask any more unwelcomed questions, she turned around to bid Qin Ruo farewell.

Qin Ruo chortled with amusement, made a date with her to meet up again next evening, and then they both went offline to catch some sleep.

***

At the Pet Shop.

Barely a moment after Qin Ruo and Xiaoxiao had logged off and vanished from the shop, the female player of unknown nationality, who had until moments ago been the very picture of jovial warmth, now wore a mask of cold severity.

Hurrying out of the pet shop and into the bar opposite, she pushed her way through to take a seat before another player, who wore the Clan emblem of a pyramid upon his breast.

The Pharaoh Clan!

The player seated opposite her was a prominent member of the Pharaoh Clan. He withdrew his gaze from the Pet Shop outside to look her in the eye, and tossed a spiced fennel bean into his mouth.

"Did you find anything out?" he asked.

"I'd barely managed to strike up a conversation, but before I could really ask anything, that cutie went offline." The woman grabbed a handful of beans and scarfed them down in a decidedly unladylike manner.

Talking while she chewed, she continued, "How odd, I'd heard that Chinese people were polite and well-mannered. I called her 'madam' and everything, but she still gave me the cold shoulder."

The Pharaoh Clan member across the table stopped eating, raising an eyebrow and giving her a look. Upset, he pulled back the plate of beans that she'd nearly finished for him already, bitterly muttering, "Fool! She's barely more than a girl—what's an old hag like you calling her 'madam' for? Would you be pleased if she called you 'grandma' in return? Bah, to think you have the gall to sit down here and eat my beans, screw you!"

He slapped her hand away when she reached over for more, adding, "Are you sure you have nothing for me? I'd even set aside something nice for you…"

Seething, the woman glared at him, and then harrumphed and turned away, folding her arms across her chest. "Nope," she drawled slowly, "Babydoll didn't tell me anything at all about that Pet Egg of hers."

The Pharaoh Clan member rolled his eyes. "What sort of pet was it?"

"Silver-Winged Killer Bee—that's all I know. And if there's nothing else, I think I'll be off now, you filthy slime!"

As she was about to take her leave, she saw the man thoughtfully muttering the monster's name under his breath. Then his eyes widened, as though he had just thought of something, and laughed aloud. He pushed the plate of beans back to her side of the table, suddenly generous.

"All yours. And now, I must be going!"

"Huh, alright… you lunatic ." She held that last bit until he was out of the bar, then grabbed another handful of beans, but did not eat them. It was her turn to be lost in thought.