MMORPG: The Elementalist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was extremely dangerous for a supporting Radiant Priest to wander alone in the Graveyard of the Gods compared to other Classes! But at the same time, a Radiant Priest was also a key role that greatly enhanced the battle strength of a party. Thus, after grinding through hardships at the earlier stages, Radiant Priests would go on to become the most demanded character and also the most protected personnel in every party.

However, there was always an exception.

Violet Orchid was that exact exception. Deep under the Frostlake, she successfully gathered a group of decent Angel Faction players based solely on her own charisma and grit. In the party she formed, her role was not just restricted to a mere healer! Along the way, Violet Orchid also picked up the responsibility as Squad Leader, support, and main attacker, owing to her rich experience in commanding a team fight.

She formed a respectable party all by herself! Although there were times when the party was put in a tough spot, and they were forced to abandon their mate's body, none of the party members put the blame on Violet Orchid. After all, the Graveyard of the Gods was not a pleasant place for leisure. There were dangers and death lurking in every corner of the Graveyard. One misstep could doom the entire party. As for those members who were killed, they had themselves to blame for not taking Violet Orchid's orders seriously…

If any Radiant Priest could do what Violet Orchid was doing, then he or she should be proud of themselves!

***

Everyone in the party grew excited when the Bowmaster found the warp portal to the second level!

After the final few Frost Vampire Bats were taken care of, several members of the party simultaneously ran in the direction pointed by the Bowmaster. There was a rumor among the players as well as in the official forum that the first level of the Graveyard of the Gods was actually a huge dimension. Players in different worlds there would not be able to trespass into other zones. In addition, the first level's surface was also the least rewarding. From the second level onwards, the drop rate would increase with each level, and the opportunities were more vast. Players usually obtained better equipment and rewards once they entered Level 2 or farther.

A lot of players were there because they yearned for such an opportunity. As soon as they heard that the warp portal was found, they could wait no longer, and they acted swiftly…

However, Violet Orchid ordered them back in a hurry, "Don't be hasty! Come back and regroup!"

The urgency in her voice was rather magical. Those players who were running towards the warp portal obediently stopped and looked at her thoughtfully. They all resisted the urge to enter Level 2 immediately and they assembled around Violet Orchid.

After she waited for everyone to gather, Violet Orchid looked cautiously at the ill-decorated warp portal before she scanned the cave's surroundings. Her eyes flickered continuously.

"Sister Violet?"

"Is there a problem?"

The two who spoke first were from the Bauhinia League—a Bowmaster and a Summoner. The Summoner was actually the master of the Infernal Half-Beast. Seeing Violet Orchid's expression, he quickly summoned his monster out again and cautiously observed the extremely quiet cave.

Although they were not aware of Violet Orchid's status in the Bauhinia Clan, as members from the same League, they both held Violet Orchid in high regard. They knew better than any common player that Violet Orchid could very well be among the elites in the Radiant Priest Class. Judging from her outstanding supportive skills and battle prowess, they were totally convinced by her perfect commanding thus far! Therefore, they willingly stayed in the party and took any orders from Violet Orchid without question.

***

The Underground Frostlake got quieter as the eighteen players remained silent.

Others followed suit and started to pay more attention to the quiet cave after they saw Violet Orchid's serious expression. They became more alert and began to condense their magic—Violet Orchid was rarely wrong when it came to potential danger in the Graveyard, and there should be no exception this time.

Violet Orchid did not get all excited when she saw the warp portal. Instead, she was full of caution and care. An order was quietly delivered through the party's channel.

"Something's not adding up. Elementalists, take turns and Meditate to recover your MP. Warriors, take note of the lake's water flow. Bowmasters, get your arrows ready when everyone else's MP has recovered…"

The seventeen others felt their hearts drop after they received the command. Apparently, something was wrong. The warriors moved forward tacitly and stood guard steadily on the party's periphery. They glanced back and forth at the cave to look for even the slightest movement. The Elementalists gave each other a look, then the two of them quickly removed their dual defense and Meditated with their eyes closed. They developed a strong reliance and confidence in the party after they fought alongside each other for so many hours.

The two League members further investigated the condition of the cave while the Elementalists recovered their MP, and they finally figured what was out of place.

A great deal of Frost Vampire Bats and an empty warp portal!

If not for Violet Orchid's reminder, nobody would have paid attention to such negligible abnormalities… It was really odd when those two facts were linked together…

Logically speaking, the warp portal to Level 2 was supposed to be guarded either by a group of Tier 5 monsters or a Tier 5 Boss. It had nothing to do with low-level animals like the Frost Vampire Bats, which were living in the cave. However, it was really weird that the bats remain unaffected when the monsters that secured the warp portal were already gone!

They all quickly understood the current situation and Violet Orchid's concern. So they were immediately on high alert once again.

But they would never know that Violet Orchid had not actually taken the Frost Vampire Bats into account from the beginning. The first thing that came to her mind when she saw the warp portal was actually the forum threads she had read from the Clan's inner circle when she was offline. One of the threads had highlighted a potential conspiracy at the Level 2 warp portal. She received that piece of important information way ahead of other ordinary players thanks to her stronger Clan members who had gone to Level 2 earlier than everyone else…

According to the thread, some stronger players began to make use of the warp portal for personal gain once more and more players discovered the wealth on Level 2. These players with ill intentions preyed on the mass players' eagerness to enter Level 2 as well as their loosened mentality the moment they found the portal. They would conceal themselves nearby and ambush rival faction players once they approach the warp portal in excitement!

Because the ambushing players were usually very powerful, their success rate was very high. Even some Bauhinia Clan members had fallen victim to such dirty tricks.

The reason why Violet Orchid acted so warily was the warp portal's location, which was right at the bank by the Frostlake. It so happened that not very far away from the warp portal, there was another tunnel turning inward. If someone were to hide there and wait for an ambush, her party might encounter an ugly fight before they would be able to teleport out.

Two minutes later, the Elementalists' MPs were fully charged and their dual defenses were reactivated again. The party marched carefully towards the warp portal with the Bowmasters' arrows pulled tight and aimed directly at the spot. The Elementalists also charged their spells respectively and prepared to lock on their target, if there was any…

At that very moment!

An almost inaudible sneer was heard right next to Violet Orchid and company.

"It won't matter whether you're prepared or not; I'm still going to kill off each and every one of you here."

The 18 players including Violet Orchid were all startled when they heard the unfamiliar voice. Damn it! It was a Bandit! Moreover, he was standing extremely near!

How did the three Bowmasters fail to detect the Bandit at such a close distance?

Sh*t!

The warriors howled angrily and turned. They activated their Combat Aura and Berserk at the same time while they swung their weapons at the source of the sound.

The other Classes who stood farther from the assassin were relatively safe. Several Elementalists quickly retreated towards Violet Orchid. They then circled their most fragile Radiant Priest and Summoner of the party to secure their safety…

As soon as Violet's party started to take action, the sound of a weapon slashing through the air was suddenly heard. The next moment, the Bowmaster from the Bauhinia League covered his neck with his hand and groaned painfully. Darkened blood was seen seeping out from his neck wound, and he dropped rigidly into the cold, dark lake before Violet Orchid managed to cast Healing on him. One man down!

Violet Orchid was utterly shocked. Her frightened gaze lay on a blurry, inhuman silhouette as she shouted, "He's Tiger Cub from the Demon Faction!"

"Aquamancer, freeze him!"

"Bowmaster, into the warp portal, now!"

"Elementalists, AoE Magic Scroll attack, all of you, now! Warriors, AoE Attacking Skills too! Push him back into the lake!"

After Violet Orchid's series of orders, the silhouette that just flew past and took another Bowmaster's life suddenly slowed down. "It" changed its direction. After it evaded the attacks from several warriors, it moved quickly into the tunnel on the left flank.

'He ran away?'

Violet Orchid did not take his disappearance lightly and chose not to pursue him into the tunnel. She quickly instructed all Elementalists to seal off the tunnel with more AoE Spells and led everyone else to enter the warp portal. It was better for them to stay as far away as possible from someone powerful like Tiger Cub.

Several seconds after Violet's party disappeared through the Level 2 warp portal, the silhouette at the corner of the tunnel slowly turned back to its human figure. Tiger Cub returned to the cave. Displeased and frustrated, he looked at the warp portal where the party had just escaped through…

'Since when was a female Radiant Priest from the Bauhinia Clan so observant and decisive? Such bad luck!'

This was Tiger Cub's first taste of failure in an ambush…