Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Stay here. Don’t go anywhere!” The bandit leader left Mohai with a message as he turned around to a stone structure that resembled a house.
A while later, with an anguished expression, he came out with five more bandit goons.
These bandit goons were mere cannon fodder in his opinion. Although their deaths meant nothing, losing five at once still cost him a lot of resources.
“Let’s move out!” the bandit leader told Mohai to lead the way.
A group of seven brazen men came out of the hideout and marched towards the Abandoned Mining Area.
The Monolith Stronghold was infested with Level 5 and Level 6 black jackals, and when they saw the tall bandit leader come out, every one of them made way for him.
With his own ulterior motives, Mohai led the bandit leader and the new bunch of bandit goons to the players’ leveling spot again.
The bandit leader had 5,000 HP, a Physical Defense of around 70, and a Physical Attack of around 100. Those were just the basic stats without any boosts.
Mohai had witnessed a monster turning on another before. If he could directly kill the bandit leader, he would probably level up. However, given his current stats and attributes, even if the bandit leader stood still and allowed him to attack freely, Mohai could not take him out.
If he really wanted to kill the bandit leader, the only possibility was to fully equip himself.
Currently, the source of equipment was only from the players, but the odds of players dropping equipment upon their deaths were pitifully low. These odds were further reduced for players below Level 10. However, if he got all the equipment to kill the bandit leader, it would take him a long time.
Mohai did not have the time, so he decided to kill with a borrowed knife.
When he had been leveling himself up back then, he intentionally revealed his unusual strength to mislead the players into thinking he was a variant monster. He had done so as a setup for this particular goal.
For players on Levels 3 and 4 to kill a Level 10 bandit leader, it was a massive undertaking and was not something several players could do.
“There’re more humanoid monsters again!”
Soon, Mohai led the bandit leader to where the previous four bandit goons were killed.
The four death bandit goons dropped two iron swords as a reward for the players and when they saw Mohai and the bandit leader appearing, some of their eyes shone and they shouted, “There’s seven of them! One of them might be the mini Boss!”
The bandit leader was a head taller than the goons and his physique and equipment were obviously different. When he appeared in their sight, the players’ gazes were burning with eagerness.
“Charge!”
There were two more player parties in the area, boosting the total number of players to 25.
It was still possible for them to take on the bandits with four to one, and when they thought about the bandit leader dropping an Excellent item, the players could not hold their eagerness back. As though they were afraid that more players would come forth and compete with them, they charged furiously towards Mohai and the bandit leader.
The bandit leader’s aggro radius was wide, and when the players stepped into the range, the fury in his eyes gleamed.
“Hmph! That’s a suicidal attempt! The enemies of Lady Isabelle shall all perish!”
Both sides engaged in a battle.
“Holy sh*t! This is really the Boss! A single hit caused me a damage of more than 100 HP!”
“We can’t win!”
“Run!”
A moment after contact, the players experienced the ferocity of the bandit leader.
Was the bandit leader really that powerful? Not really.
In Mohai’s previous life, a group of Level 10 players with decent gear and a certain level of technique could kill a bandit leader. If there were occupational advantages, the kill would be even easier.
However, to players around Levels 3 and 4, the bandit leader was a real Boss!
A simple attack from the bandit leader could reap half of their HP bar. No players could survive two blows from the bandit leader. Mohai and the other bandit goons barely did anything as the bandit leader managed to kill several players from the group.
Aside from the terrifying damage, the worse thing was that the players’ attacks could only inflict 1 damage on the bandit leader.
The strong contrast in strength robbed them of their confidence in an instant and they were ready to escape.
Killing players was extremely beneficial for the bandit leaders, hence he did not plan on sparing the players. He led Mohai and the other bandit goons on a chase for the players. In the end, only four to five out of the 20-odd players, who managed to draw some distance from the start of the conflict, managed to escape.
After killing more than 20 players, the bandit leader told Mohai to lead the way again.
Mohai did not expect the 20 players to do any real damage, so he kept quiet and continued leading the way like a mindless NPC.
With Mohai’s intentional leading, the group met around a hundred more players along the way and most of the players were killed by the bandit leader, so only a handful of them escaped.
“Is this all that’s left?”
After killing more than a hundred players, Mohai led the bandit leader to the first black iron ore depot.
The bandit leader had led his men down there and ordered them to collect all the black iron ores for him, but after a quick count, he seemed unhappy.
They only managed to collect 17 pieces of black iron ores. Combining those with the six back in the hideout, the bandit leader only accumulated 23 pieces.
“Yes, we did collect some before this,” answered Mohai.
The bandit leader immediately understood his meaning.
There should have been enough black iron ores in the area, but due to the loss of the previous batch of bandit goons, he potentially lost more than 20 pieces of black iron ores.
In fact, Mohai had hidden the black iron ores in a safe spot further away, and if the bandit leader wanted to turn the place upside down, he might have been able to find them.
“Leader, I’ve been to a place with similar ores, but there are a lot of Adventurers there, so I daren’t get close,” said Mohai.
“Similar ores? There are only two types of ore in the Abandoned Mining Area, so that must be the black iron ores! As for the Adventurers, hmph! They are no match for me. Bring me there!” The bandit leader was overjoyed when he heard Mohai’s revelation.
His activity range was technically smaller than a bandit goon’s, but he had three opportunities to use [Free Action] every week. Since he had used one to come all the way out, he could not return empty-handed.
As for the Adventurers, the bandit leader was fearless as he had just killed a hundred of them. He was not afraid since the Adventurers could not even break his defense.
…
In the central square of Guggenheim, a female Priest and a female Holy Knight were walking side by side.
The Priest wore a white robe that seemed as fluid as water while the female knight had shining silver armor equipped on half of her upper body, making her look extremely valiant.
Compared to the poor players with pitiful equipment, the two female players were grabbing a lot of attention. Many male players and even fellow female players looked askance at them.
The features of the game character could be adjusted, but their strong temperament was not something flexible.
“Tsk, tsk, those two are really pretty!”
“Look at your ignorance! Don’t you know them? The Priest is FallenMoon and the Knight is LadyDragon. The two of them are famous players in the Fantasy Era…”
“Well, I’m sorry for my foolishness. I was a glorious Guardian player back then. If Origin hadn’t become the highest voted game and the Guardian was forced to shut down, I wouldn’t even be here.”
“Tsk! It’s just a PK game! Do you want to listen to the story or not? If not, please get your *ss back to leveling!”
“Of course! I want to listen more! Maybe I can hook them up with a date or more!”
“You can dream on! Back in the Fantasy Era, the Boss of the Playboy guild spent three years chasing FallenMoon, but he didn’t even get to hold her hands! He released a notice to the community and said that FallenMoon would suffer for the rejection. If you dare put your face close enough, you’ll die without anything left!”
“The Boss of the Playboy guild? DancingSandstorm?” the player who spoke was shocked for a moment.
Even though he had never played Fantasy Era before, DancingSandstorm’s name was quite famous even in the Guardian.
DancingSandstorm played both the Fantasy Era and the Guardian at the same time although he spent a lot less time in the Guardian. However, he remained in the top 10 PK, or player kill or ranking, and had never dropped out of 10th place. He could easily spend more time rushing to the first place.
DancingSandstorm was said to be a son of a wealthy family back in real life and even though the real world had entered the Ice Age, his family had control over tremendous power and authority. He must have invested a large amount of starting funds when he moved into Origin.
Given that a common player like him was going up against the infamous DancingSandstorm, it was not too much of an exaggeration to say that he would die with nothing left.
“Yup. FallenMoon’s guild in the Fantasy Era, the Blooming Dreams, is quite famous by itself, but people say it was because DancingSandstorm funded it secretly. So, when DancingSandstorm said he wanted to make FallenMoon suffer, the two ladies won’t have a good time. DancingSandstorm is no joke when it comes to revenge.”
Although the two of them were not loud with their discussion, FallenMoon and LadyDragon still heard them clearly.
LadyDragon’s valiant and pretty face turned cold as she almost exploded with rage.
“Stop it. They are right. Because of DancingSandstorm’s words, a lot of members have left the guild.” FallenMoon held LadyDragon by the hand, sounding a little bitter.
“Those flip-floppers had better be gone,” said LadyDragon.
“A small guild with only a dozen of us back then was fun,” she added after a little pause.
“That’s what I thought. If this place is the same as the Fantasy Era, a place for us to kill time, I won’t compete at all in Origin, but this is obviously different.”
“I got news saying that the Ice Age in the real world will end in the coming 20 years or so. I don’t know how the world defines the end of the Ice Age but this game will be the measuring standard of resources distribution after humanity wakes up. For long term sake, we have to fight for it this time!” FallenMoon’s words awed LadyDragon a little.
As humankind’s resources dried up, the world entered the Ice Age a long time ago. LadyDragon never expected to be lucky enough to welcome the end of the Ice Age.
Now, she finally understood why FallenMoon came back to Guggenheim with her after she heard the news about a Boss appearing at the Abandoned Mining Area.
FallenMoon and her might be famous, but they were still common players and they had to put in the hard work to improve their levels and equipment.
“Recruiting cannon fodder! Recruiting cannon fodder! The Richest Guild is recruiting early-stage cannon fodder! Those who lack social credits, come forth! Slots are limited, and you’ll be rewarded based on your performance!”
“My my, aren’t you FallenMoon and LadyDragon, the two beautiful ladies? Do you want to join The Richest? DancingSandstorm might be powerful, but he’s no match for our guild. If you join us, I assure you that DancingSandstorm will stay away from you ladies!”
The game had just started and had yet to officially start guild-forming, yet there were already a lot of guilds recruiting members at the central square.
The Richest was one of the most eye-catching guilds. While other guilds were recruiting official members, they were recruiting cannon fodder only.
When FallenMoon and LadyDragon appeared, a Thief player came up to them, promoting their guild with a sleazy smile.
“Not interested.”
There were no free meals in this world, The Richest was not running a charity, so they certainly would not protect the two of them against DancingSandstorm without a price.
The Thief player chuckled and stepped away from them. He was just trying to start a conversation with the two pretty girls. Even if FallenMoon and LadyDragon wanted to join the guild, he did not even have the authority to allow them to join him.
The Richest, the Fortune Alliance, and the Huaxia Empire were the top three guilds of the Huaxia Area that were publicly acknowledged, and the common point of the three guilds was rather similar. All of them had a substantial background in real life, and they owned a ridiculous amount of wealth, both virtually and realistically.
Playboy might not be on the same level as the top three guilds, but they more or less came from the same roots.
Although DancingSandstorm was unlike the others, the cost of pitching The Richest against DancingSandstorm was unusually high.
FallenMoon and LadyDragon were not interested, but a loli Warrior, or rather, a little girl who picked the occupation of a Warrior, subtly came over with her rusty greatsword to ask the Thief curiously, “You guys are recruiting cannon fodder…Are you guys going to fight the Boss that has appeared in the Abandoned Mining Area?”
“Tsk! What kind of Boss is that? It’s an Elite at most! The Richest doesn’t take it seriously! We are recruiting cannon fodder for a real Boss fight!” the Thief replied in disdain after hearing what the loli Warrior asked.
“A real Boss? It sounds interesting. I want to join as cannon fodder!” The loli Warrior’s big eyes shone when she volunteered as cannon fodder.
“You? I’m sorry. Our guild only accepts males for the moment.”
To the loli’s surprise, her eagerness was turned down.
“Though…If you really want to join our guild, you can add me as a friend first. Big Brother here will bring you in when we officially form. Is that okay with you, cute little girl?” said the Thief with a sleazy smile.
The Thief looked at the loli Warrior’s white and round face. Her body looked petite but busty at the same time.
“As an official member? Who wants that anyway? I just want to become cannon fodder!” the loli Warrior answered angrily and stormed away with her greatsword without sparing an extra glance, leaving the Thief in a blank state.