MMORPG: The Elementalist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Black God's solemn and grieving tone made Qin Ruo and others feel sorry for him, but at the same time, they were also deeply terrified by the news he brought them.

These dying testaments were truly creepy. 'Bring the remains back to the Mythical Continent? Find the path home? What's the meaning behind all of these?'

Violet Orchid spoke before Qin Ruo, trying to pry further, "What happened to your fallen teammates after that?"

"Here comes the main point." Black God and Majestic Hero had a weird bitterness in their expressions. The latter spread out his hand and said, "The two comrades from Black Jail did not leave the Underworld even after they were killed."

"What?!" The five of them were all stunned and exclaimed simultaneously.

'They are still trapped in Underworld after losing their lives? What nonsense! Where were they resurrected? A human city remains in the Underworld? Or a safe zone? But, but that can't be!'

If there was indeed a safe zone constructed by human players inside the Underworld, the residents there must have contacted Mythical Continent long ago and found a way to travel between the two regions. Those who entered the Underworld today would also not wind up at a wasteland. Thus, this hypothesis was probably unfitting.

"That's the reason why we stopped all of you. Though there are some man-made bases inside the Underworld, according to the feedback from our comrades who were resurrected at two different spots, these bases are just some simple and under-decorated campsites in the wild."

"The campsite is small and way under-equipped. There is only a Demigod Bandit, Bowmaster, and Radiant Priest based in it. These three NPCs are responsible in distributing potions, selling equipment, providing vault storage, and resurrecting whichever human player that is found dead in the Underworld."

Black God's explanation again dazed the five of them.

"No warp portals in sight?"

"Other than the basic sale and trade of equipment and potions, they found nothing else inside the camp."

"…"

"This is just the tip of an iceberg. The condition in the Underworld is actually much worse. According to the narration of the NPCs who call themselves Underworld warriors based there, such Mobile Campsites are guarded by a party of three humans. They provide help to adventurers seeking the method to return to the Mythical Continent. But whenever a large group of Specters approaches them, the Bowmaster will be alerted first and they will immediately retreat to a more remote area. Thus, you might go offline from the campsite today, but you are not guaranteed to see the camps at the same place when you log in again the next day."

"…"

"Worse still, there is a severe penalty of dying in the Underworld. The player will drop two times the level as compared to that at Mythical Continent for each death. Besides, the Specters in the Underworld are also twice as scary as the Specters we've encountered in the Buried City."

Qin Ruo's brow cocked every time Black God delivered a more frightening fact than the last.

Finally, Qin Ruo rubbed his temples and said dejectedly, "So this means that if we moved hastily into the Underworld just now, we would immediately be segregated into different corners across the Underworld. Return Scrolls will be of no use over there so we would be forced to fight alone inside. Besides, judging by how poor the condition is, I bet there is no facility for us to use Magic Scrolls either. The death penalty is even two times to that of that on the outside? F*ck! The damned place is indeed a shithole."

"How unlikely! Why did the system create such a place that is entirely isolated from the Mythical Continent?" Violet Orchid frowned and thought hard. She then spoke to Black God, "Oh right, didn't they mention that people have tried to locate the path back to the Mythical Continent before? Please ask your men to focus on investigating this matter."

"Done that." Black God shook his head and lamented, "There isn't such a way in the past. Prior to this, some of the players may have reached the Buried City by accident. When they were killed, they got resurrected in the Underworld since Buried City was Hades' colony then. No one has managed to escape Underworld till this day. Every human in the Underworld is currently struggling for this cause. They named it Quest Back Home. After the player accepted the mission, they will have to look for a warp portal that is either linked to the Buried City or directly connected to the Mythical Continent in any way possible. The location of the warp portal remains a secret and needs to be sorted out by the players themselves."

Black God then laughed mockingly. "The reason why such a portal even exists is "thanks" to the Underworld's attempt of invading the Mythical Continent. The quest is activated when Lich begins to develop a giant warp portal that will open up the path to the world above. It's not hard to imagine how difficult this quest would be. The portal must be guarded by at least one or maybe a few Lich scums. The defense at the portal to the Buried City might be relatively loose, but the size of the Underworld is no less than the Mythical Continent. Who knows how long it would take to locate the right portal? Moreover, my men are currently separated with limited potion supply and scrolls…"

Until then, only Qin Ruo recognized how desperate the situation was. The party sent in by Black Jail Clan was, unfortunately, trapped inside the Underworld indefinitely.

According to what Black God had just said, even the Bank Vault was inaccessible inside the Underworld. They were only allowed to make use of the man-made vault provided by the NPCs inside the camp. Exploring a high-tier Specter's lair with limited supply itself was already a high-risk move, let alone trying to find a portal in it. The chances of dying were no different than walking along the edge of a cliff.

Thinking of it, Qin Ruo couldn't help feeling how lucky they were…

'That was close! If Black God and Majestic Hero did not yell at us just now, I guess the five of us would have already been trapped inside the Underworld by now like Black God's comrades.'

Qin Ruo was not really afraid though. He possessed both the wings and Aquamorph, so he could basically survive under any circumstances. Other than that, he also brought along with him the Ring of Honor that had ample of stuff stored inside. He would have no problem staying alive in the Underworld all by himself, but it would be a different story for the others, especially Violet Orchid.

Violet Orchid was the Clan Leader of Bauhinia. If she were to be trapped together with Homme Fatale in the Underworld, that would be a huge loss for the Bauhinia's Violent Army. Violet Orchid's plan to rebuild the Bauhinia League would most probably be on hold for a long time too.

They had just missed a bullet.

***

"Thanks…"

"Luckily you guys made it. Or else we would definitely be doomed this time."

"Majestic Hero, Black God, we owe you for this one."

"We are friends, so the least we can do is share the information. Credit goes to Black God. I initially wanted to send people into the Underworld too like what other clans had done. But I was stopped by Black God near the warp portal and then we saw that you guys were on the way…"

Qin Ruo was puzzled by Majestic Hero's explanation. He looked at Black God oddly. "You guys came before us?"

"Yeap." Majestic Hero nodded. "We were about to step into the warp portal when Black God saw me and immediately told me the news. So I decided to give up. Not long after we were done talking, we saw the five of you were ascending to the top."

"I see." The Eternal Portal was heavily crowded a moment ago, so it was natural that they didn't see each other among the mass of people.

"Black God, are you planning to go in by yourself?" Qin Ruo glanced at Black God and the two winged players following him. He saw through his intention.

The latter smiled bitterly and sighed. "My teammates are suffering in there as we talked. Do you think I would stand by and do nothing?"

"What's the use of you getting in there now?" Qin Ruo initially did not plan to get involved. Honestly speaking, wings of Divinity were nothing inside the Underworld. It would only attract more high-tier Specters to attack the player. Black God going in now would contribute nothing other besides adding to the number of prisoners inside the Underworld.

"I have no idea… I just hope any one of us might bump into either one of the lost comrades. Two is stronger than one, that's for sure."

"You know, in the party that I have sent out, there is a Shadow Priest, a Bandit, and a Summoner. They voice messaged me after they got in and told me that they couldn't even access the info of the lowest tier creature. As you know, Specters usually like to wander aimlessly in a group. Until now, they are still too afraid to move with the fear of dropping equipment once they are exposed. They could only hide pitifully while waiting for my response."

Qin Ruo was silenced after he heard what Black God had said.

He totally understood Black God's stance, as well as the indescribable pain and regret in his heart.

Several top Champions who went through hell to reach Tier 5 were now trapped uselessly in the Underworld all because of him. Most probably, it would be a long time before they could return to the Mythical Continent.

Qin Ruo could understand the feeling of letting others down, but he did not exactly know the true pain currently tormenting Black God.

Black God's decision to enter the Underworld might be against his own will, but he most probably didn't have much of a choice left.

He could not bear to see his comrades suffering in danger and despair alone. He also refused to accept that his comrades were going to be ditched from the high-end cluster of the H&G world here on out. The longer they were trapped, the further they would be left behind.

"Sister Violet." Qin Ruo switched his tone and spoke to Violet Orchid abruptly, "Please help me take care of Fallen Angels in the meantime. Subjugator, Black Rock, I have left some equipment with Little Rice. Go to her directly if you need anything."

"Wait, don't tell me you are going into the Underworld?" Violet Orchid was the first to react. "You are aware that you won't be able to come out anytime soon, right?"

"Don't worry, take it as repayment to Black God's kindness. If not because of him, all five of us would have been trapped inside by now. Afraid not, it's not as pessimistic as you all think. I can concentrate on searching the Black Jail members alone. The chances of success are higher if I am the only one going in without any burden."

"That is highly inappropriate. We have just started recruiting members, but then you as our Clan Leader is going MIA. How can that be?" Black Rock and Subjugator quickly rejected the idea.

"Black Rock and Subjugator are right. Fallen Angels has only just laid its foundation. You cannot leave your clan behind at such a critical time. I can get this fixed, don't you worry!" Black God was touched by Qin Ruo willingness to enter the Underworld and help him out, but he rationally rejected Qin Ruo's kind proposal. "Besides, Netherspirit's Claw is also keeping tabs on the Underworld situation. Once they learn that you are trapped inside the Underworld, do you really think they would spare Fallen Angels?"

"Netherclaw?" Qin Ruo grinned and looked straight into Black God eyes. "He is the least I am worried about. At least in the near future, I am confident that Netherspirit's Claw would not make any reckless move against Fallen Angels. To be honest with you, I have long yearned to visit the Underworld. Since Fallen Angels doesn't need me for now and this lot can definitely take care of themselves, I can't wait to free myself and enjoy a long overdue vacation. Furthermore, don't forget that I still haven't completed Dalais' Revenge Quest given by Darius. I am not going to give up on the Ring of Revenge easily."

"As for my survival, that's even less to be concerned about. I have Mana Drain and Aquamorph. Nobody is more suitable than me in terms of adapting to a strange environment. I can definitely locate them faster than anyone of you." Qin Ruo skipped the fact that he was also bringing along the Ring of Honor, his most reliable trump card. Several dozens of Large MP and HP Potions, in addition to hundreds of Water Magic Scrolls, were prepared beforehand. Since he was already carrying a mobile arsenal and the fact that the Underworld would also provide him a backup camp, he had nothing to worry about.

After spending some time trying to convince everyone, Qin Ruo finally retracted the Angelic Wings and spread out his Aquawings. He then glided down ceremoniously toward the bottom of the Tower of Hades.

"Underworld, here I come!"