Virtual World: Close Combat Mage

The Shadowmist Assassin was wreathed in electricity as it fell before everyone. It had been hiding out in the fog all this while, coming in and out just like a gust of wind. With its fall to the ground, this was actually everybody’s first time getting a good look at this BOSS.

Its scrawny frame was clad in a grey assassin’s garb from head to toe. It held a dagger in one hand and pushed itself off the ground with the other.

Everybody was astounded by this, and they involuntarily took a step back. While this BOSS was indeed worthy to be afraid of, it was that person who was still in the fog that struck terror in their hearts. Could that man be intending to defeat the BOSS?

Flame Singed Clothes was even more lost in his thoughts right now. He was a Mage as well, yet why was there such a huge disparity between him and that man? That person could solo such an indomitable BOSS, while he could only take down a noob Knight who was barely able to put up any sort of resistance.

The Shadowmist Assassin was evidently not dead, yet no one dared to move. Everybody was really close to it, and they were all afraid that any sudden movement might draw the BOSS’s aggro onto themselves. Even though the aggro system clearly calculated it, only the system was privy to the computation itself. What would they do if it simply decided to be unreasonable this time around?

The Shadowmist Assassin got up. It shook its arms and bellowed, and this motion caused the electricity coursing through its body to quickly disappear. Color drained from everyone’s faces. “How powerful!”

“Don’t make a mountain of a molehill,” Young Master Han said, throwing a look of disdain at the rest, “it’s just a dispel skill of sorts.”

They were all veterans with plenty of knowledge when it came to MMOs, so they immediately realized what this meant. A skill that could dispel meant that it was able to remove any physical status. The Shadowmist Assassin looked really cool when it dispelled the electricity wracking its body with that shake of its two arms, yet all it was actually doing was relieve itself of the Paralyze status.

Once the Shadowmist Assassin removed its paralysis, it instantly dove back into the fog. Everyone stared, flabbergasted. Everybody had stopped what they were doing at the sudden appearance of this BOSS, as if this were a scene from a movie storyboard.

In the end, before they could even resume what they had been doing, another figure came out from the fog. Only, this time, the figure was purely clad in black and had no electrical current coursing through its body. Moreover, instead of flying over, this black figure came stomping out so loudly everyone could hear his every step.

Thousand Miles Drunk!

This person whom everybody had deemed as an even more frightening existence than the BOSS suddenly appeared in front of them. His sword was still in his hand, but his robe was covered dirt. Gu Fei had found himself tumbling on the ground quite a few times during this fight with the Shadowmist Assassin, and he was looking grimy like a garbage collector right now.

“Where’s the BOSS?” Gu Fei asked Sword Demon as he jogged over while looking all around him.

“He went that way,” Sword Demon pointed the direction the Shadowmist Assassin had gone to.

“Why didn’t you guys attack it?” Gu Fei asked.

Everybody lowered their heads in shame. The sudden appearance of the BOSS had scared everyone so much that not one of them dared to move, worried that it would latch on to them as a result. Everybody felt as if this question Gu Fei had asked them was far too pointed.

“Uhmmm...” Sword Demon was feeling somewhat guilty himself, so he hurriedly changed the topic. “Shouldn’t you be hurrying to chase after it?”

What indomitability! The people present could feel their hatred and jealousy intermingling. None of them dared to move even a muscle when the BOSS appeared before them, yet this man here was actually after the BOSS’ head. The difference was simply far too jarring! As everybody thought of this, Gu Fei did not seem to be in a hurry to rush back on its trail. Instead, he was gazing at Sword Demon with astonishment. “Are you kidding me? I barely managed to lose it and get myself some breathing space, why would I be in a hurry to chase after it?”

Everybody was stunned, thinking to themselves, Tsk, so you’re no match for the BOSS as well, after all!

Southern Lone Blade’s gang felt slightly better about themselves, but they soon shuddered. Now that Thousand Miles Drunk doesn’t have to keep the BOSS company, won’t that mean that he can turn his sword on to us? How are we gonna have any hope of surviving if we add that man into the mix now?

Pessimism once more held them in its embrace, but before too long, a figure appeared in the fog again. The Shadowmist Assassin rushed out imposingly as it searched for its target. It ignored everyone else and only dashed straight toward Gu Fei.

Everybody watched as an attack homed in on Gu Fei’s back, who sighed as he turned around to block the strike. The Shadowmist Assassin’s dagger connected with Gu Fei’s sword once more as he went flying off.

Both parties were now lost within the fog again, leaving a crowd that was in shock. It turned out that it was the high-speed exchange of blows between Gu Fei and the Shadowmist Assassin that had coincidentally sent the two in the path of the PvP fight. In other words, those two were only passing through. The only difference this time was that Gu Fei had finally managed to find a chance to attack. Delivering a blow with his Palm of Thunder and Blink, Gu Fei accurately struck the back of the charging Shadowmist Assassin. The repulsion effect from that blow as well as the momentum from the Shadowmist Assassin resulted in it being sent flying just this once.

Gu Fei was already low on Mana after connecting this one blow, but it barely seemed to affect the Shadowmist Assassin, and even the rare proc of the Paralysis effect from his Palm of Thunder had been easily shrugged off by this BOSS with a shake of its arms.

The sound of the two’s clashing disappeared after a few exchanges, once more lost within the fog as the crowd present snapped back to the issue at hand.

“Continue!” Nobody knew who shouted this, but it was as if someone had pressed the play button; the scene resumed its motion as every player began to do what they had been doing moments ago.

Southern Lone Blade continued to chase after Young Master Han, looking to kill the healer. The movement speed of these two was not too different from one another, so Southern Lone Blade was unable to catch up to the target at the moment. All he could do now was wait for the cooldown of his Charge to finish and catching up to that Priest was only a matter of time.

Unfortunately, Brother Assist’s Faint status had yet to end, so Flame Singed Clothes was still able to raise his staff in an attempt to bombard him with spells. Sword Demon expended the best of his efforts to rush over and lend a hand, but Glue led the Knight and the two Priests to stick to him. The Knight in Southern Lone Blade’s squad was a Holy Knight, while the two Priests were Holy Priests. Even though they were not job classes that focused on damage, it was nevertheless still a one-versus-four fight. Since Sword Demon was a job class with low HP, he could not afford to be too careless when dealing with them, either.

“Repeating Fireball!” Flame Singed Clothes seemed to have finally woken up from his stupor after collecting his nerves. Seeing that Brother Assist no longer had any advantage sprawled by his feet, he quickly tried to finish up the spell incantation.

But before he could even unleash the spell, he suddenly felt someone pat him on his shoulder. Flame Singed Clothes received a fright, and just as he was about to turn around, he felt his throat tighten, as the man behind him ruthlessly grabbed his neck. In the next moment, he saw the world spin and, feeling as if the man had ripped his throat out, before viciously planting him right onto the ground.

“Just who the heck... Forget it. I’m dead, anyway...” Flame Singed Clothes was already mentally broken at this point, so he did not have any fighting spirit left in him. He would have a chance to recover his self-confidence if he killed Brother Assist, yet this sudden interruption quickly dashed every bit of hope left in him, and he gave up any sense of resistance at this moment.

However, he was not dead. While this fall seemed vicious, Flame Singed Clothes quickly realized that not much of his HP was reduced from this attack. But before he could closely ponder on this fact, someone forcefully kicked him right on the waist while he was down on the ground, which sent Flame Singed Clothes tumbling to another side. He was still alive, but he had already been kicked off the battlefield. Flame Singed Clothes was in tears.

With Flame Singed Clothes kicked out of the picture, the newcomer did not stop there. This man leaned and sprinted right over to where the four men were entangled with Sword Demon. Both his hands grabbed and clawed, finding purchase on the throats of the two Priests to his left and right. Using the momentum from his sprint, the man tore and pressed on their throats, seizing both their throats as he sent them down to the ground.

The Knight was astonished by this turn of events and swiftly sent his sword slashing right down on this man’s back. The man half crouched and half prone in response, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. This man proceeded to turn around, stood up and shot his hand out to clutch the Knight’s wrist. His elbow then pushed right on to the Knight’s chest as the man wrenched the same wrist, causing the sword he was holding to press against the Knight’s neck. The man finished his deed by tripping the Knight while still maintaining the position of the sword by his neck upon landing.

In the blink of an eye, this man had already pummeled three men to the ground. At this time, Glue, who had only just managed to get into position, was about to fire off his arrow at the newcomer, but the man very casually slapped the incoming projectile away with his palm. Glue quickly sought to turn around and flee but soon discovered that Sword Demon had cut off his path of retreat. In mere seconds, the newcomer was already upon Glue. Unleashing a series of kicks and punches, he beat up the Archer who kept retreating with the recoil of each strike. The man ended that chain off with a hop, which transited into a jump kick, sending Glue flying away. From where Southern Lone Blade was standing, all he saw was his comrade disappearing right into the fog around them.

The only one capable of displaying such a clean close-combat skill was Eternal Dominion. The fighter had sent five players down to the ground in a heartbeat, yet not once did he finish these men off. Eternal Dominion admired his handiwork with satisfaction as he rubbed his hands together, “Where’s that guy? He called me over here, yet he isn’t around?”

“He’s busy,” Sword Demon answered, gazing at the five men groaning on the ground. He was extremely surprised. The indomitability Eternal Dominion had just demonstrated looked to be about the same standard as Gu Fei. “Why are you here?”

“Just passing through. How coincidental!” Eternal Dominion exclaimed in delight, striding over to Southern Lone Blade as he answered.

Southern Lone Blade had long since stopped chasing after Young Master Han. Nobody had expected Eternal Dominion to suddenly make an appearance here. Just when his squad thought that the odds were stacked in their favor, it was easily wrestled against them without much of a fuss, leaving him the sole person still standing from his side.

Nevertheless, that did not diminish his confusion over what Eternal Dominion had just said. “Looking for me? What do you need me for?” Southern Lone Blade was certain that they had barely interacted with each other, so while it would make sense if he was here to lend a hand to his friends, the way he had phrased it made it seem that he had come all the way here for him. Is there bad blood between us? Did I loot equipment off his friend? This was the only possibility Southern Lone Blade could think of.

Eternal Dominion did not answer him and merely called out, “Don’t you dare run away this time!” before he surged toward him like a meteor.

“Cyclone!” Seeing that Eternal Dominion was about to close in on him, Southern Lone Blade suddenly lifted his arms out and unleashed his Cyclone. This was his last resort. Eternal Dominion quickly thrusted his palm out, utilizing the Chiwave Shield skill available to Qigong Masters. Cyclone connected, and Eternal Dominion staggered. Southern Lone Blade continued forward with his Cyclone, looking to cut Eternal Dominion into ribbons. In the end, he saw Eternal Dominion suddenly leap into the air, his leg reaching out to step onto a nearby tree branch and borrow its support to complete a second jump, allowing that foot of his to reach Southern Lone Blade’s forehead.

“Swallow Dropkick!”

It was a Fighter skill as well, yet now that Eternal Dominion had gotten that extra jump in, he was able to use the skill from a higher position, which resulted in his foot cleaving right down onto Southern Lone Blade’s unprotected head.

Cyclone, which had been deemed as the skill with the strongest Verdict by the game, was actually interrupted by this strike. Southern Lone Blade was dumbfounded as his Cyclone came to a halt. Landing on solid ground gracefully, Eternal Dominion’s right hand reached out and struck Southern Lone Blade’s shoulder while his left hand found its way to the latter’s waist. That heavy body of a Warrior was easily thrown up into the air, thanks to the utilization of the Fighter skill, Seismic Toss.

Eternal Dominion followed it up with a Heavy Punch, Uppercut, Thrusting Kick, and Spurring Meteor... All the skills a Fighter currently had access to were dumped in conjunction with Eternal Dominion’s fist style at one go. Southern Lone Blade ate this entire chain while in the air, turning into white light before he even hit the ground.