MMORPG: The Elementalist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When he'd returned to the Bloodthirsty Tree, Qin Ruo followed Mikel's instructions and quickly found the dark red, fist-sized pearl of Soulblood upon the tree's bark. Without hesitation, he reached out and plucked it right off.

Up until that moment the Bloodthirsty Tree, towering high above that solid leafy canopy called the Emerald Plain, had remained still and quiet, but after Qin Ruo removed the Soulblood and hastily stuffed it into his backpack, the whole tree shuddered, and then began to shrink back down, right before his eyes.

With an urgent commotion of swishing noises, countless crimson Vampiric Vines rose up from the gaps in between the giant leaves, like an entire nest of cobras. Soaring into the air all around Qin Ruo, they hemmed him in, surrounded and trapped.

All Qin Ruo saw was a flash of red, and then a tightening grip around his waist. Once again, he felt that nasty sensation of the Vampiric Vines drawing his blood from him.

However, just like the previous time, it seemed as though the Vampiric Vines had deliberately left his hands free, so he could still use his magic and potions—all so that they could drink even more of his blood.

It was no longer his first time doing this, and he did not feel as anxious as before. He waited until he had lost over six hundred HP before he began to use his Aquaheal. Since he had a whopping 1,950 HP now, and considering the constant rate at which the Bloodthirsty Tree drained HP, he was in no danger at all.

As the Bloodthirsty Tree began draining nutrients anew, the rate at which it shrunk also slowed down somewhat. It only took a few minutes until another drop of Soulblood formed in the same spot as before, and the Vampiric Vines retreated back into the tree, releasing Qin Ruo.

Three minutes. After draining somebody for 180 seconds, a new Soulblood pearl would form.

Qin Ruo brought up his Attributes for a quick look. The effect of the Sacred Potion would not last another fifteen minutes. At the very best, that would only allow him to acquire another five more pearls. It was a bit of a pity.

Seven drops of Soulblood could be exchanged for fourteen bottles of the Grade 3 attribute-booster called Great Tree Sap. Considering its worth, that was a huge profit! If only he had more Sacred Potion on him right now.

'What a pity…'

***

By the seventh drop of Soulblood, the Sacred Potion's effect had ended.

It was lucky that the Great Tree Sap was still in effect, raising his Max HP to 1,950. Using an HP Potion (L), Qin Ruo came up with several plans of escape: Frostburst, Aquamorph, Freezing…

To his surprise, just the slightest effort from him caused the surrounding Vampiric Vines to recoil as though in terror, completely retreating away from his Aquamorph form. With all kinds of back-up contingencies ready, Qin Ruo was stunned by this.

'Just like that? ' Although bewildered, he nevertheless fled from the Bloodthirsty Tree right away.

Then, he heard Emma's voice in his ear. "Qin Ruo, how are things going over there?"

Hearing this voice caused Qin Ruo to break out in sweat all over. What with Dark Dragon, the Bloodthirsty Tree, and discovering the Emerald Plain, he had been so caught up in everything that he had completely forgotten his partner Emma. It had really been too mean of him.

However, since they were still able to communicate through their Party Channel, it meant that Emma was still hanging on in the Graveyard of the Gods. Breathing a sigh of relief, Qin Ruo hurried to reply, inquiring about her current situation.

"I'm alright. I've been down here waiting for you—you took so long that I thought something bad had happened. Oh, right, there was a Swordmaster who had been with Dark Dragon, he asked me to tell you this: He'd like to invite you into the 'Hall of Heroes' Clan."

"Hall of Heroes?" Qin Ruo thought about this for a moment. Within the Angel Faction, the Hall of Heroes was not considered second to even Bauhinia Clan, and was considered one of the three greatest Clans on their side, with three Tier 5 supreme champions.

"Who was he?" Remembering the person who had tried to stop Snowblind earlier, Qin Ruo had to ask.

Emma replied immediately. "His name is White Wine, a Field Commander of the Hall of Heroes."

"Are you with him right now?"

"Yes. He says he used some excuse to get away from Dark Dragon's party, just so he could get in touch with you and send you this invitation. At first, I didn't trust him because I'd seen him with Dark Dragon, but he told me that you're probably above the Great Tree Forest right now, and you won't be able to come back down."

"How does he know?" Qin Ruo blurted out in disbelief.

There was a pause, and then Emma said, her voice forlorn, "Oh, so he was right? You're really trapped up there?"

"I'm afraid so. The Bloodthirsty Tree has pulled me all the way to the top of the forest. Emma, could you ask White Wine for me—how does he know about any of this?"

Qin Ruo was frustrated. He had thought that he was the only one who had found out about this great secret, but with this message from White Wine, his heart was now shaken to the core.

A moment later, came the reply, "He says, just a moment ago, he'd logged off to contact a friend, who told him about it. His friend isn't in the Great Tree Forest at the moment, though. He says it's just that you've been up there for so long, so he was only making a guess."

Emma's words gave Qin Ruo another shock!

'Logged off?

'If you logged out of the game, and then logged back in, would you still be in the same spot?' His heart was pounding.

Qin Ruo asked about this through Emma, and White Wine confirmed that it was so.

After a few more questions, Qin Ruo had the feeling that White Wine genuinely intended to recruit him into the Hall of Heroes, and that this was not just some ploy on Dark Dragon's behalf. And so, he transferred the position of Party Leader to Emma, so that she could bring White Wine into their party, just to try things out.

If White Wine remained in Dark Dragon's party, or refused to join them, it would suggest that he was still working with Dark Dragon. If he left that party to join them instead, it would completely sever his contact with Dark Dragon.

With Emma now in charge, they soon heard White Wine's voice in their Party Channel.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Qin Ruo."

"The pleasure is mine."

After this simple exchange of greetings, they jumped straight to the main issue.

"What are your thoughts about my offer?"

"I'm so sorry, but I'm not interested in joining any Clans at this time." Qin Ruo tried to reject the invitation politely.

White Wine casually laughed it off. "Well, take your time. For now, I'm happy to start off as friends. I've heard a little about you from Dark Dragon and Snowblind, but it seems that Dark Dragon already considers you a part of the Bauhinia Clan. Ahaha, I think that's funny: a champion who's part of a League, still wearing two unremarkable Violet items and wielding a Tier 3 weapon? I don't believe it."

"The Bauhinia Clan has been good to me. I'm not closed to the possibility of joining their Clan in the future."

"Yes, the Bauhinia Clan would also be a fine choice. If that day really comes, I would be very sorry to lose you, on behalf of the Hall of Heroes." It was hard not to like White Wine's easy-going nature and sincere way of speaking, but Qin Ruo was more interested in what he knew.

Even in such matters, White Wine was generous. He gave Qin Ruo a tremendous tip: after a bunch of Sandworms had dragged his friend under the sands of the Death Desert, he had found himself in some sort of underground labyrinth.

After killing several Sandworms, he had encountered a Tier 6 champion in the desert labyrinth, calling himself a Lost Merchant. The merchant had a task to collect Sandworm eggs, worth one Redemption Point each, which could be exchanged for a variety of special items.

Hearing all this, Qin Ruo's heart was racing fast. So it was true!

Across the first level of the Graveyard of the Gods, there was a number of secret Lost Merchants like Mikel, and any player who encountered them could take on an unlimited Redemption Point collection quest, exchanging the points for the treasures they offered.

Qin Ruo could not help asking for more details about how White Wine's friend had discovered that secret Lost Merchant in his area, and was thrilled to hear that not everyone had his good fortune to receive a "free sample".

Furthermore, each Lost Merchant's quest was of varying difficulty, as was the rate at which Redemption Points were awarded. For example, there was a world of difference between Mikel's quest for Soulblood and the desert merchant's quest for Sandworm eggs.

To obtain Soulblood from a Bloodthirsty Tree, one had to be able to survive 180 seconds of its HP drain. Adding in that Bloodthirsty Trees were few in number and rarely encountered, it made sense that the task was worth a great many Redemption Points.

According to White Wine, the Sandworms of the Death Desert moved in legions without number, and not every player was dragged underground—once a certain amount of Sandworms had gathered, but still could not overcome the player, only then would that player be dragged down into their subterranean nests to be overwhelmed.

As long as a player was strong enough, they could slaughter the Sandworms en masse, and the drop rate of eggs was very high—essentially you could get one egg from every two Sandworms.

With a mysterious hint of laughter, White Wine said this at the end, "Speaking of which, Qin Ruo—haven't you also received a similar quest? You'll be happy to hear this, then: after you've collected the necessary items, you don't have to trade them in for something right away; you can hold on to your Redemption Points until you find another Lost Merchant. Of course, if you've already seen something you want, that's a different matter."

Standing in the middle of the Emerald Plain, Qin Ruo's eyes lit up with excitement upon hearing this news.