MMORPG: The Elementalist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

With just a single Frostrampart, there was no way that everyone present would be able to use it as a reflecting mirror to steal a peek at the situation inside the Mountain Shelter. It was fifty meters away. Therefore, Qin Ruo conjured a second Frostrampart and moved it through the air towards their destination. In this way, a clear image was produced on the perfectly smooth surface of the ice.

It was not a big place—just somewhere to hide from the wind and rain. However…

There was a great black shadow within the Mountain Shelter, from which shone a pair of piercing green eyes that blazed like witch fire. It sent a chill through one's heart.

All six of them felt a jolt of alarm!

Boss!

Then, the sharp-eyed Black Rock pointed at the image in the icy mirror—at something that was just behind the Boss.

"Treasure chest!"

They all took in a sharp gasp of breath in unison.

***

Hah! What luck!

Skulking around inside that Mountain Shelter was the Tier 6 Megaboss they had been searching for! Elated, they exchanged high-fives and whooped with joy!

Eventually, they calmed down a little and retreated to a safer distance of eighty meters away. Then they sat down together in a circle to devise a plan.

"Now that we've found the treasure, we won't have to hunt around for other Bosses anymore."

Struggling to contain his excitement, Subjugator looked over at Qin Ruo. "What should we do next?"

With the abilities and competence he had demonstrated so far, everyone in the party had come to look up to Qin Ruo. Even though he was only a Level 41 Aquamancer, there was no one present who would hold that against him having seen his skills firsthand!

"Someone will have to pick the lock on that treasure chest." Taking a deep breath, Qin Ruo calmly turned to Fateless, who gave him a confident little smirk.

"Don't worry. Lockpicking is the most basic skill of any Bandit. At max level, most locks should only take me three seconds."

"Three seconds…"

Naturally, Qin Ruo realized that this was the fastest lockpicking speed he had ever heard of in H&G, but things would not actually be as simple as that.

First of all, it would take time to sneak into the Mountain Shelter right under the Boss' nose. Then, there was the matter of getting back out… All in all, it should take ten seconds at least. That was a conservative estimate!

Considering the capabilities of the other five party members, locking down a Tier 6 Megaboss for longer than three seconds would not be an easy feat!

Besides…

Qin Ruo reached into his backpack and pulled out the last Sealed Mana Core. His brows were knitted together as he lightly caressed the surface of the crystal. He still had not figured out what kind of Tier 5 Miniboss was sealed inside the crystal. Nonetheless, there was too large a gap in power between a Tier 5 Miniboss and a Tier 6 Megaboss!

To stall for a whole ten seconds… Honestly speaking, Qin Ruo was not really sure they could do it.

He was not the only one who felt that way. From the way Subjugator, Judge, Black Rock, Fateless, and Snowleaf were looking at the Sealed Mana Core, it seemed like no one was really expecting much from the Tier 5 Miniboss contained within.

However, none of them were willing to let this opportunity pass them by.

There was a high chance of finding some Divinity in the treasure hoard of a Tier 6 Megaboss! Even if there was none, there would definitely be Legendary Equipment and Skill Manuals! Considering that a Tier 6 Boss was comparable in power to a Tier 7 Divine Champion, there was no doubt that it would have some amazing stuff stored away in there.

Currently, their only hope was the Tier 5 Miniboss hidden within the Sealed Mana Core, which Qin Ruo now held in his hand.

However, that alone would not be enough. They needed a real plan, something that could be counted on to work so that they could break into the treasure chest and clear it out.

The six of them fell into silence.

Merely luring the Boss out of the Mountain Shelter was not a problem—the real question was how to keep it occupied while Fateless snuck past it, popped the chest open, and emptied it.

Fateless even went on to add that he had a spare set of Bandit equipment in his backpack. As long as the party could buy him enough time to get the chest open, plus a further six seconds or so to claim all the treasures within, even if the Boss ended up getting him, and he did not make it out of there alive, there would be no regrets.

Ten seconds had now been reduced to six!

Everyone present felt a sense of relief—this improved the odds greatly.

Shortly after, with a grim expression on his face, Black Rock spoke through clenched teeth. "It's carrying a magic staff. I bet, with my dual defenses up, I can go up against it for at least two rounds! Qin Ruo, send your Tier 5 Miniboss out with me, and I'll attack with my Terra Shockwave! That should be worth two or three seconds."

Qin Ruo glanced at him, and silently massaged his temples. Two or three seconds still left was still quite a bit of time.

"I'll go with Black Rock." The heavyset man known as Judge rose from the ground and gave Qin Ruo a look. "You've still got some Great Tree Sap with you, right?"

Qin Ruo nodded.

"Give me one."

Without hesitation, Qin Ruo retrieved a bottle of it from his backpack and handed it over to Judge, who immediately gulped it down. A brief fragrance filled the air.

Sniffing the air, the other four immediately turned their envious gazes to Qin Ruo.

Judge said something to help Qin Ruo out of his dilemma. "Now I have over 3,400 HP. With my shield, I have a Magic Defense of 160—during my Berserk Fury, that becomes 208. Even if the Boss deals over 400 damage per attack, I'm sure I can last three seconds at least! With the help of the Tier 5 Miniboss, six seconds should be no problem."

Then, his voice lowered to a more serious tone, and he turned to Black Rock. "When I'm taken down, you'll have to take over."

Black Rock nodded earnestly.

Watching this, Qin Ruo's frown only deepened. "If you do this, you'll only be walking to your deaths."

"Let's say we lose a level, maybe a piece of equipment—no big deal. I've been hovering around Level 49 for a while now. It'll be good to do things over again along with my pet…" Hidden behind his helmet, Judge's voice sounded perfectly indifferent. "What really matters to me is finding out whether the six of us can actually snatch that treasure away from a Tier 6 Boss and get ourselves some Divinity."

"But there will only be one Divinity crystal in there." Cradling Poochie in her arms, Snowleaf suddenly spoke up.

Subjugator huffed, his face drawn into a fierce scowl. "Yeah, that sucks. There are six of us here."

"As I've said, my main interest is in seeing whether such a feat is even possible for the six of us—if we can get our hands on any Divinity at all. I'm hoping we'll succeed so that we'll be able to say that we're no lesser than all those bigger teams out there. As for the issue of who should get the Divinity, I'll let you figure that out amongst yourselves later."

And just like that, Judge had withdrawn himself from the contest for the Divinity.

Right after he spoke, Fateless raised his head and quietly said, "The truth is, I'm not exactly in a hurry to get my Divinity either. Even if I had any, I wouldn't be able to use it. I'm a Bandit, it's different for me—I'm not meant to be flying around anywhere. That's how it is, so you can count me out too."

Huh! The other four party members did not expect Snowleaf's statement to inspire such a discussion. For a moment, none of them knew what to say next.

Snowleaf was like a girl who knew she had done something wrong. Sticking out her tongue, she announced that she would not be making any claim to the Divinity as well. Her reasons were even more elaborate.

For the entire journey, she never had to exert that much effort anywhere despite benefiting greatly from everyone else's hard work. If even Judge and Fateless gave up on the Divinity, she had even less right to it.

That was half the party out of the running, which left Black Rock and Subjugator staring each other down.

"Although I was formerly the party leader, when it comes to contributions… Ah, let's not talk about it. I'm ashamed just thinking about it! Damn it, I've been riding on your backs the whole way here. There's nothing to talk about—if you guys aren't claiming it, how can I? Black Rock, as the back-up firepower of this team, you and Qin Ruo will have to settle it between yourselves."

"Crap, you've already named me as a mere back-up. If the one I'm up against is Qin Ruo, what's left for me to say, for crying out loud? Maybe if we find a second Divinity crystal, then I'll cast a vote for myself."

Now that everyone else had said their piece, all eyes turned to Qin Ruo.

Qin Ruo never thought that things would turn out this way, suddenly being selected in advance by the entire party to be the one to receive the Divinity. Then again, the treasure chest had not even been opened yet, and they did not actually know for sure if they would find any Divinity inside. Was this not like counting your eggs before they hatched?

Satisfied with the outcome of their discussion, Subjugator and Black Rock leaped to their feet.

"All right, it's decided then! Now, let's summon the creature so we can get some idea of its abilities."

"That's right, Qin Ruo. Time's a-wasting, let's get moving! With all the fighting we've been doing, we may have drawn the attention of another party nearby. We better seize the moment before someone else snatches it away from us."

Even as Black Rock said this, Qin Ruo felt an odd sensation. Instinctively, he turned to look down into the woods at the foot of Death Mountain.

Surely Black Rock had not just jinxed them…

Heaven forbid!

***

Clutching their last Sealed Mana Core, Qin Ruo channeled his magic.

A familiar violet light began to shine from the crystal!