Virtual World: Close Combat Mage

The four of them exchanged glances with each other. They really had no idea how they should interact with an NPC in such a situation.

Thankfully, a quest was ultimately still a quest, and the system could not have this scene set forever like an unending ‘loading screen’. So after a good moment of silence, Courtney still had to turn around and face Gu Fei in the end.

“Are you okay?” Gu Fei asked. He could not help but feel a little weird saying something like this to an NPC. At the end of the day, he was someone who was not used to the gaming experience, so there was no way that he could feel convinced acting the part.

Courtney seemed to understand Gu Fei’s expression of concern, so it nodded. Standing up, it was still hugging Angus in its embrace.

“What are you going to do?” Gu Fei asked directly.

“I’m looking for a spot to bury Angus,” Courtney softly said.

“Where is that?” Gu Fei asked.

“Yunjiao Lake,” Courtney said.

“We’re still going back there?” Gu Fei was taken aback.

Courtney did not seem to understand the meaning behind Gu Fei’s words this time, so it did not say anything further and hugged Angus’ corpse as she started to move in the direction of Yunjiao Lake.

“What are we gonna do if we engage in combat again?” Gu Fei was despondent. Now that they were aware of what the city assaulters were planning, and it was a collaborative push by all four large guilds, even Gu Fei could not underestimate the combat strength they possessed when banded together.

“Forget about going to Yunjiao Lake, if the enemy was chasing after us, we’ll end up running into them shortly,” Royal God Call said.

“I’ve got a risky solution,” Xi Xiaotian quipped.

“Speak,” Gu Fei said.

“Let Courtney go on its own,” Xi Xiaotian said.

“Oh?” Gu Fei thoughtfully considered her idea.

“Wouldn’t it end up getting killed off by those guild people? Even though Courtney is very strong, I still think it is well within the range of NPCs that the players would be capable of killing at their current level. It’s not any stronger than the Shadowmist Assassin,” Royal God Call analyzed.

“Indeed, it is not as strong,” Gu Fei nodded.

“If we are together and end up bumping into the men from the four large guilds, they are sure to disrupt our quest by any means necessary. But if all they see is the NPC alone, perhaps they might think that our quest no longer has anything to do with it. At that point, why would they bother troubling such a powerful NPC for no reason?” Xi Xiaotian said.

“But I’m afraid that would not be the case because of that guy.” Gu Fei was still concerned about Ye Xiaowu. “That guy is a game employee, so he is very familiar with the game’s quests and storyline. Take now for an example. We have no idea if there would be any follow-up to Courtney burying Angus yet, but I’m positive he would know.”

“Then that makes it perfect,” Xi Xiaotian giggled. “It’s not always a good thing to know too much. A smug and complacent mentality might end up leading him astray instead.”

“What do you mean by that?” Gu Fei said.

“Take our current situation as an example. We have no idea what’s the next step if we do not follow Courtney, but he knows. As long as there’s a possibility to complete this quest without requiring us to follow Courtney, he would be convinced we have followed that particular route and think that we ended up changing where our quest would lead us,” Xi Xiaotian explained.

“And what if there are no other routes aside from this one here?” Gu Fei asked.

“The quests in Parallel World have always had a high degree of freedom, and the different ways of quest execution means that it could result in a great variety of routes to accomplish a quest; this fact has already been tested and proven by many players by now. This is especially true for such a complex quest like this one, making it all the more impossible for it to only be limited by just one path. That is why I think with this particular point of the plot, it is completely possible for there to be some alternative routes available. Let’s intentionally give off such a tell!” Xi Xiaotian said.

“Are the two of you done with your discussion yet, Courtney is already getting away from us!?” Svelte Dancer shouted.

“There are people over there!” Royal God Call was currently looking all around their surroundings and had made a discovery.

“Who are they?” Gu Fei asked.

“They’ve stopped moving, and it’s a little hard for me to see here. I believe they must be Sharpshooters, sent to observe our movement from a distance,” Royal God Call commented.

“This is a good chance,” Xi Xiaotian said.

Gu Fei thought about it for a moment before finally nodding, “Let’s go with that, then!”

And so, the four players no longer took note of where Courtney was going, pretending to walk off in another direction, a steady pace without turning their head back.

—

“What’s the situation!?” There were only 3 guild leaders left standing by Yunjiao Lakeside. They were not in any hurry to give chase after Gu Fei and the others had departed, but they could not just let the enemy continue their quest however they liked. It did not take too long for the guild leaders to each send their Sharpshooters to tail after them, observing their actions from afar, waiting for the opportunity to act.

The Sharpshooters each maintained their watch at the fringes of the range of their own Eagle Eye. There was nothing that they could tell aside from making out the figures of the five players. Their guild leaders came urging them for an update, which somewhat annoyed these scouts. Just what information could they learn standing so far away? Their guild leaders had ordered them to put their own safety as the top priority, so they were told to watch their targets from afar. But now that they were pestering them for news, were they not just asking their scouts to risk their lives and get in closer to learn more about what was happening?

Nevertheless, there were still players among these scouts who had the guts and were willing to sacrifice themselves, ready to creep in closer even at the cost of their own lives just so they could get a better grasp of the situation. However, it was at that moment when they discovered that their enemy had begun to make their move.

There were four figures on one side, and just a single figure on the other.

The solitary figure was headed in their direction, while the four players were going in another direction altogether. Among the four was one dressed in red and another in black robes; it was evident that Thousand Miles Drunk was with that group there.

“Guild leader. Here’s the latest update: They’ve split up,” this message was very quickly conveyed.

“Split up? What do you mean?”

“They have split into two groups, four and one. That lone figure is headed in our direction and it’s getting closer... Hmm, it looks like its that NPC. It seems to be headed back to Yunjiao Lakeside, Thousand Miles Drunk and the others are not with the NPC.”

“Are they done with their quest?” The 3 guild leaders were astonished. Ye Xiaowu had said before that the city defenders would be in danger the moment the quest was completed.

“Where are Thousand Miles Drunk and the rest headed?” Oathless Sword asked his underling.

“I don’t know... By the looks of the direction they are going in... It looks like they are going to a nearby encampment!!” The scout himself had quite the shock after he gauged where they were going.

“D*mm*t!” Oathless Sword jumped to his feet. “Which encampment is this?”

“The one in the southwest!”

After having lost two of their encampments, the psychological scar that came from dismantling an encampment was strong among the city defenders. Just hearing a hint about the deed made them all a little anxious. Oathless Sword knew that getting all his men to make their way over at this point would be too late, so he quickly contacted the other guild leaders and told them about the movement made by the city defenders, warning his fellow city assaulters that Thousand Miles Drunk and his friends were looking like they were prepared to secretly ambush another encampment.

The players were all in a frenzy. They had pretty much caused both of their encampments to fall into disuse as a result of their own self-destructive actions. The first time was when Gu Fei and Sword Demon had randomly provoked a misunderstanding, which caused the players to mistakenly believe the encampment guards were the turncoats that needed killing. They became a huge joke after their massacre of the NPCs, and everyone was deeply ashamed at having played a part in it. It was also these two encampments that had been fooled by this that ended up becoming a flaw which the city defenders had managed to exploit. However, the remaining five encampments were all still staffed with the system assigned guards. There were not that many city defenders to begin with, so did they even have the ability to mount an attack on the other encampment like that?

Even though it would have been quite outrageous, no one dared to doubt the validity of this news since the three guild leaders had jointly sent the word out. As such, the various guilds organized their men and sent them out, intending to reinforce and gather over by the southwest Encampment. The guild leaders of the three large guilds continue to send their Sharpshooters to follow Thousand Miles Drunk and the other three players from a safe distance.

The three guild leaders were clear that there was no way for the combat strength of the current city defenders to take down the remaining five encampments by force, yet that was precisely what Thousand Miles Drunk and the others seemed to be intending, so the three could not help but suspect that they must have gotten some powerful reward from the quest they just completed. Almost all at the same time, these three men recalled how the knowledgeable Fleeting Smile had told them about how the players from Yueye City had obtained the Werewolf Legion’s aid after completing their quest.

“Could the NPCs be lending a hand to them?” These three men exchanged looks with each other as they shouted out this same line at the same time. In that next moment, all of them quickly thought about just how powerful that Courtney was. Could Thousand Miles Drunk and his friends successfully obtained a team of rangers? An assault with such a power in their hands would truly be capable of annihilating the city assaulters.

“Quick! Take note of the surroundings. Check and see if there are any NPCs moving to form up together,” The three guild leaders began to instruct their underlings accordingly. Meanwhile, while the mess of information was being circulated among everyone, the three did not forget to keep Brave Surge in the loop. They had heard that he had just been Honor-killed, so that must have truly been very painful, but there was no way that they would spare him from their current headache. When the three told Brave Surge about this, half of their intention was to rub salt to his wounds, so they can make matters worse for him.

“Has any of you added that guy as your friend?” Foe-herder asked.

“I’m contacting him right now,” Oathless Sword said, he knew who Foe-herder was referring to.

Ye Xiaowu had confidently came over to stop Gu Fei, only to end up getting himself slain with a clean cut from Gu Fei before he even did anything. He was feeling rather dejected when he respawned at the encampment, and just as he was slowly making his way back to Yunjiao Lakeside, he suddenly received a message from Oathless Sword, asking him what Thousand Miles Drunk would be doing next.

“Next? That would depend on how they deal with that NPC. Did you guys not send anyone to keep them under observation?” Ye Xiaowu asked.

“Of course we sent men! Currently, Thousand Miles Drunk and his squad have parted ways with the NPC, and it is now heading back to Yunjiao Lakeside, while Thousand Miles Drunk and squad have gone in the direction of the southwest encampment,” Oathless Sword said.

Ye Xiaowu was stunned. Leaving the NPC to head over to the southwest encampment, just what sort of storyline did they end up triggering? Were they going to the southwest encampment, or was it something else in that same direction? Ye Xiaowu mulled over the information that he had been given, not forgetting to ask, “Where did they follow the NPC to?”

“They stopped somewhere in Yunjiao Quarry,” Oathless Sword quickly answered.

“Yunjiao Quarry... Could it be...” Ye Xiaowu was extremely astonished hearing this, before linking it to the direction where the southwest encampment was situated. He immediately came to a conclusion, “Hurry, gather at Yunjiao Quarry.”

“Why are we going there?” Oathless Sword was surprised. The location was pretty much a highly irrelevant place for them to be.

“You won’t go wrong if you listen to me!” Ye Xiaowu was extremely confident.

Oathless Sword understood that this little Priest did not wish to reveal too much information regarding the quest. However, Oathless Sword no longer suspected Ye Xiaowu’s “knowledge” at this time. Back in Yunjiao Lakeside before, Ye Xiaowu had told them about how Courtney would move, as well as the certainty he showed of how Thousand Miles Drunk and the others would come to search for that particular NPC, and none of what he said were off the mark. Oathless Sword quickly relayed what Ye Xiaowu had told him to both Foe-herder and Black Index Finger, and the two shared the same sentiment; neither of them doubted Ye Xiaowu’s words. The 3 guild leaders immediately led their men toward Yunjiao Quarry.

“So what are those guys heading to the southwest encampment for?” Oathless Sword asked.

“They are not doing anything there; they are simply taking the route that will bring them back to the city the quickest, all so they could return to the city and transition into the next stage of the quest, before they head on back to Yunjiao Quarry,” Ye Xiaowu said.

“What are they up to?” Oathless Sword asked.

Ye Xiaowu did not reply.

“Will you die elaborating another line or two!?” Oathless Sword was despondent.

“Sorry,” Ye Xiaowu was being very secretive this time, and he was not acting like how he had been back in Xiawu City where he helped the other party accomplish their quest because he was convinced that the two situations were completely different. Back in Xiawu City, Thousand Miles Drunk’s disruption had directly ruined just a single guild’s interest, which was why he felt that he could reveal a bit more information so as to help them even the playing field. However, Ye Xiaowu felt Thousand Miles Drunk’s imbalanced actions were done against all the guilds on the city assaulters’ side from Yunduan City this time. He would only end up being unfair to the other guilds if he were to leak too much information and any one guild end up becoming only one to benefit from this City War. He had already done what he could to reveal as little information as he could this time round, and the current situation they were in was not too bad; everything would be fine as long as these guilds listened to his instructions, showing awareness toward Thousand Miles Drunk’s prowess and prioritize him as the target.

“If we’re talking about the direction where the southwest encampment lies, that should probably be the west gate, right? I’ll rally some men to ambush them there,” Oathless Sword said.

“That would be no help. The quest he’s currently on is already in its end state; killing him would only end up saving him making the trip back to pick up the next questline instead; he would still head toward Yunjiao Quarry in the end. I believe you should save yourself this time and hurry on over to Yunjiao Quarry and set everything up instead!” Ye Xiaowu suggested.

Oathless Sword took his suggestion to heart and urged his men to hurry. They would of course cross paths with Courtney along the way, so everyone had been very terrified and took the necessary precautions and plans to flee in the beginning. However, they soon discovered that Courtney was not at all hostile this time, and it was merely slowly making its way back while carrying a disgusting corpse.

Oathless Sword quickly asked Ye Xiaowu about this, but the man was impassive, “It’s part of the storyline for that quest, just ignore them. It won’t bother attacking any of you.”

—

“Royal, how is it? Are there still people keeping an eye on us?” Gu Fei asked Royal God Call for an update of their situation as they continued their way along the main road.

“They are still following... Constantly,” Royal God Call said.

“Still those same few people?”

“Yeah.”

“Being tailed like this is really annoying,” Gu Fei complained.

“Why don’t we put on another show for them?” Xi Xiaotian smirked.

“Oh?” Gu Fei turned to regard the lady.

Xi Xiaotian walked over to the grinding area beside the road, casually exchanged a few words with the players there before returning back to the three, “Let’s teleport!”

“Oh? What did you talk to them about?” Gu Fei was suspicious.

“I was just chatting a little. It’s only for show for those guys to see us talk,” Xi Xiaotian said.

“And what’s that for?” Gu Fei said as he retrieved a teleportation scroll.

“It’s very strange to see us walking along when we suddenly choose to teleport. Now that they saw me go speak to those players all by myself, I would immediately be thinking if I was in their shoes, ‘Oh, they must have spoken to that person to buy a teleportation scroll!’” Xi Xiaotian explained.

“You’re too scheming!” The other three exclaimed in unison.

“Let’s teleport!” Xi Xiaotian brushed their comments off like it was nothing.

The four of them disappeared with the use of the scroll, and the scouts very swiftly reported what they had witnessed to their respective guild leaders. Sure enough, after the guild leaders heard their detailed description of what had transpired, and adding to what Ye Xiaowu had first deduced, they soon reached the same conclusion: Those people probably wanted to hasten the process and so they contacted a seller to buy off a teleportation scroll and teleported themselves back to the city!

“We need to hurry! Since they seem to be thinking along such lines, there’s no telling what they would use a teleportation scroll afterward to save even more time!” Ye Xiaowu urged.

Oathless Sword was dispirited, “Why can’t you just tell us what we’re exactly doing, going over to Yunjiao Quarry?”

“This... Honestly, I can’t tell you guys. As long as you guard Yunjiao Quarry and kill Thousand Miles Drunk and his friends the moment they appear, that quest route they are pursuing would essentially be cut short,” Ye Xiaowu explained.

Oathless Sword had no choice but to act according to the plan. However, he privately informed the players in the guild whom he trusted: Once you reach Yunjiao Quarry, examine and scrutinize the place thoroughly, even if you need to excavate the entire grounds three feet deep.

The squad of four that used a teleportation scroll instantly appeared back at the desolate land from before. From here, no one was making any complaints whatsoever as they made their way to Yunjiao Lakeside.

“Are you certain that their men have already departed?” Gu Fei asked Xi Xiaotian.

“Absolutely! Moving a horde of players like they did is simply far too conspicuous. Plenty of players have seen it happen,” Xi Xiaotian said.

“How did you know this?”

“You’d learn it as well if you happen to have friends who are active in that place,” Xi Xiaotian nonchalantly answered.

“So where did they go?” Gu Fei asked.

“How would I know that? According to the direction they set off toward, it seems like they are headed for the place we left,” Xi Xiaotian said.

“Could they be targeting Courtney?”

“I certainly hope not...” At this time, Xi Xiaotian was not 100% confident that her plan had worked. She could only hope that it had been successful enough to buy them the time for them to do what they needed to do.

Naturally, her plan had been effective. By the time the four had circled their way back to Yunjiao Lakeside, the Eagle Eyed Royal God Call had already spotted where Courtney was standing. It was quietly sitting down by a hill, and Angus’ corpse was lying in its embrace. The four of them quickly hurried over.

“Look, Angus. Your favorite view is about to appear!!”

The four of them happened to hear Courtney softly speaking to Angus this line when they reached its side.

They turned to look in the direction she was referring to, and saw the brightly glowing sky that shone brilliantly over the sea of reeds by the lake, creating a dazzling golden hue while also dying the waters orange. The lake rippled when the wind blew, and the sound of the reeds swaying and rustling could be heard. A faint smile was present on Courtney’s face, its hand brushing past Angus’ face as it ever so gently shut its eyes.

Svelte Dancer’s eyes were red, while Xi Xiaotian was looking in another direction. Royal God Call’s expression... It made Gu Fei want to cut him where he stood, for that man was evidently fantasizing what it would be like to watch this scenery with a babe.

Amidst the reeds below the hill, there were several players who were sprawled on the ground, not daring to move an inch. They were urgently firing off messages, “Guild leader, Thousand Miles Drunk and his friends are back here!! They are together with the NPC!!!”

“WHAT?!” The four guild leaders were in shock! Brave Surge had already run all the way to Yunjiao Quarry by this time and had rendezvoused with his men, but the guild leaders of these four large guilds were of course the scheming sort. All of them had left some of their underlings behind by Yunjiao Lakeside because this place had already become a battlefield for the vital quest many times over. All of them felt that they should pay attention to the importance of the place, so they had randomly picked out some men to keep watch over the place in the event anything were to change. Naturally, it was important to keep an eye on Courtney and wait for the right moment to interact with it. It was a very important part of their job to see if there were still any other quests they could get off it...

But who would have guessed that they ended up stumbling upon Thousand Miles Drunk’s appearance, and all they could do was blankly watch as Thousand Miles Drunk interacted with the NPC.

“Just what is going on here?” The four guild leaders were all now staring at Ye Xiaowu with great intensity.

“Are you working together with Thousand Miles Drunk?” Oathless Sword demanded.

“No wonder you have such a distinct understanding of the quest. You’ve been communicating with Thousand Miles Drunk this whole time, so of course you would know everything that you need to know,” Brave Surge surmised.

“You’re a player with knowledge of this game? You sure know how to tug at our heartstrings!” Foe-herder was barely holding back his anger.

“What are we still wasting our breath for?” Black Index Finger thundered.

The guild leaders of the four large guilds all acted, not even giving Ye Xiaowu the chance to explain himself...