Virtual World: Close Combat Mage Chapter 77-78

Chapter 77 – Stay Far Away from the Lunatic

“Where are we right now?” Gu Fei inspected the map.

“Here,” Will-low pointed their location on the map using her index finger.

“It’s quite far from the Mage Academy. That person will probably leave that place before we get there,” Gu Fei said while calculating the distance between the two locations on the map.

“Mhm… But we do know Vast Lushness’ destination,” Will-low said.

“Where?” Gu Fei asked.

“The underground prison; to visit Silver Moon,” Will-low answered.

“We can even visit a prisoner in-game? Where’s that underground prison located?” Gu Fei asked.

Will-low stared at Gu Fei for five whole seconds. His remark seemed like something a noob would say, so she found it rather hard to associate him with that person who had caused quite a stir in the entire gaming server through his killing.

“Oh, it’s here!” Gu Fei found the underground prison’s location on the map himself, “We can intercept Vast Lushness on the way if we leave now. So let’s go!”

As the two hurriedly left the house, Will-low hedged for a bit before saying, “Umm… I’m sure you’re aware of this, so just take it as a reminder… You currently have PK points; if you enter the underground prison, it’s considered as you surrendering yourself.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that. Thanks for telling me,” Gu Fei said.

Will-low remained silent.

As the two were rushing toward the underground prison’s location, Will-low pointed a spot on the map to Gu Fei, “We can intercept Vast Lushness over at this point with our speed, unless that person did not choose to travel through this shortcut to the prison.”

Gu Fei nodded his head in acknowledgement. The pair managed to quickly reach the location indicated by Will-low. Gu Fei casually hid into a wall corner while Will-low stayed by the roadside under Stealth mode.

“Point out Vast Lushness to me later,” Gu Fei told Will-low once they had gotten into position.

Two minutes had passed before Will-low ran back toward Gu Fei’s hiding place. “They’re here!” she excitedly announced.

Gu Fei peeked from his hiding place and saw quite a few people heading their way. He recognized some of the faces as belonging to those Past Deeds’ ambushers from before.

“It’s the one walking at the very front,” Will-low said.

“The very front…” Gu Fei scanned the group with his eyes, “…That’s a lady.”

“Yup! That’s her!” Will-low confirmed.

“Our target is a lady?!” Gu Fei reiterated himself, feeling quite dumbfounded.

“Mhm-mhm! She’s the wife of Silver Moon,” Will-low nodded her head.

Gu Fei slowly nodded his head as well, “Alright. We’re leaving!”

“What?!” Will-low exclaimed in shock.

“I didn’t say I’ll take action now. And I’ve seen some of them before; they’re tough to fight,” Gu Fei gave her this reasoning.

“Oh,” Will-low nodded her head once more, “If only she’s alone.”

“You’ll get your chance,” Gu Fei patted Will-low.

Will-low received quite the shock. “You can see me?” She faded into view as she asked this. A Thief’s Stealth would forcefully get canceled if he or she came into any contact with a living being or an extension of a living being.

“Not just me. Everyone can see you now, too,” Gu Fei grinned.

“What do you mean?” Will-low stared at Gu Fei in confusion.

“Uhh… I want to see if she’s as vindictive as you’ve described her to be,” Gu Fei said mildly, before suddenly pushing Will-low out in the middle of the street.

The Past Deeds’ guild members just happened to arrive at the two’s location, so they immediately spotted Will-low. Gu Fei heard a shriek travel to his hiding place, “You f*ck*ng b*tch! How dare you still come out?!”

Gu Fei peeked just in time to see the men of Past Deeds stop moving, as the lady leading them gave Will-low a withering stare with her almond-shaped eyes. Vast Lushness indeed looked vindictive the way she chewed Will-low out.

Gu Fei shifted his gaze on Will-low, whom he had tossed out to the wolves. Although she appeared to be at a loss, she still stood tall with no intention of backing down. She quickly countered, “On what grounds should I do as you say and stay away from the game?! Did your family come up with this game?!”

“On the grounds that I’ll kill you if I ever see you in-game! Since you can’t tell chalk from cheese—”

“Killing them just because they appear before your eyes! You’re quite domineering!” someone suddenly interrupted Vast Lushness’ speech.

Gu Fei looked toward the direction of where the voice had come from and saw no one. But upon raising his head, he spotted someone crouching on a corner of a rooftop on the opposite side of the street. That someone was currently admiring his fist while he looked down from time to time, projecting an everyone-is-beneath-me sort of vibe.

Having the courage to reveal one’s self in a situation like this showed the person’s strength of character. However, Gu Fei could only feel nausea at the sight of the figure, since he knew who the guy was. It was Coward’s Savior, the one he had branded on his heart as the most idiotic existence in-game – and quite possibly in reality as well.

“Who are you?!” a player of Past Deeds yelled as he pointed up the rooftop.

“The one and only Coward’s Savior! You lot of Past Deeds have been rubbing me the wrong way for a long time now! Come and kill me if you can!” Coward’s Savior said while thumping his chest as if he was King Kong.

A few Past Deeds’ guild members rushed forward at his provocation, trying to climb up the rooftop. Coward’s Savior took two steps backward as he continued hooting, “Come and get me! Come and get me!”

The idiot’s unneeded intervention infuriated Gu Fei as it disrupted his plan. He had yet to determine whether Vast Lushness was truly an unreasonable person or not. Gu Fei wanted to observe for a while first before taking action, but now that plan would not work anymore thanks to Coward’s Savior’s interference.

“Ignore that guy,” Those who had been trying to climb up stopped once they heard Vast Lushness’ command, “Deal with him later. We’ll deal with this brat over here first. Don’t let her escape by activating Stealth.”

The guild members all headed back toward Will-low. Coward’s Savior was stomping his foot on the rooftop while saying, “You bunch of as*holes! Come and get me instead!”

Vast Lushness smiled frostily, “Alright you scum, listen well. From this moment onward, Yueye City no longer welcomes you. Scram as far as you can! If you wish to die that much, then just continue wandering around the city every day! Like what I’ve said to this b*tch before, I’ll kill you if I see you again!”

“She’s truly vindictive!” It was Gu Fei who had spoken this time. He stepped out of the wall corner while clapping his hands.

Everyone was stunned.

“Who are you?!” The words spoken to Coward’s Savior were repeated once more.

“Master!” Coward’s Savior hollered.

“Who’s your master?!” Gu Fei was enraged.

“Don’t think you can fool me by changing your clothes, Master. Your outstanding disposition and distinctive gesture can’t be masked by any clothes you wear! That melancholic gaze of yours is especially profound! You….”

Before Coward’s Savior could even finish his words, everyone already felt like vomiting. Gu Fei flushed with embarrassment. Luckily, his face was concealed so it was not too obvious. He took two steps forward, arriving beside Will-low, “You can leave first.”

“You believe me now?” Will-low asked.

Gu Fei nodded his head.

“Please!” Will-low unexpectedly bowed to Gu Fei.

“That’s not necessary, right?” Gu Fei felt bewildered. Before he could speak further, Coward’s Savior, who had gotten agitated on the rooftop on other side of the road, stopped his nonsensical adulations and jumped down, “What’s with you?! I’m the one who came across Master first! If we’re bowing, then I should precede you,” after saying this, he bowed to Gu Fei as well. He punctuated his words with, “Master, please!”

This lunatic! Gu Fei roared inside his head.

“Oh, come on! Don’t look at us like that, Master. We’re in the twenty-first century already. Must we kneel down and do a real prostration?” Coward’s Savior was grinning cheekily.

“I don’t know this guy. For real,” Gu Fei said sincerely to the surrounding people.

The members of Past Deeds had long turned livid, especially Vast Lushness. She pointed at the trio and yelled, “Kill! Kill them all!”

“One really can’t judge a book by its cover! She’s pretty on the outside but beyond ugly on the inside!” Gu Fei took out his Chinese broadsword while saying this.

Will-low staggered a bit as she said, “Didn’t you say that they’re difficult to deal with as a group?”

“I fibbed,” Gu Fei smiled sheepishly.

“Master! Head Disciple here will cover for you! Junior Sister, follow my lead!” Coward’s Savior said seriously, as he stepped forward and stood abreast with Gu Fei.

“I should keep myself far away from this lunatic,” Gu Fei swiftly took two steps to the side.

The opponents with melee job classes continued to charge onward.

“Mantis Fist Style!” Coward’s Savior roared as he prepared to advance ahead, but a kick from Gu Fei had sent him rolling two meters away instead, “Say Mantis Fist Style one more time, and I’ll hit you till you’re dead!”

“Understood!” Coward’s Savior nodded his head in acquiescence and bowed. Turning his body around, he hollered, “Seven Stars Mantis Fist Style!”

Gu Fei felt like weeping but no tears came out; instead, extreme vexation rolled off of him in waves. At the same moment that they were conversing, a Thief crept toward them using Stealth. As soon as the Thief emitting killing intent arrived beside the trio, Gu Fei swung his Chinese broadsword and struck him down. He then stomped on him twice while yelling, “Mantis Fist Style! Mantis Fist Style!”

The Thief cried out, “I didn’t say those words!”

Vast Lushness who was about to bestow Heal on the Thief pulled her magic staff back upon hearing his exclamation. With a frosty expression, she said, “Pathetic. You deserve death.”

Coward’s Savior was still a forced to be reckoned with, despite being badly beaten by Gu Fei before. He started his assault with level 0 skill Heavy Punch, carried onward with level 12 skill Uppercut Punch, and ended with level 30 skill Seismic Toss, skillfully tossing the heavy armor Warrior away. Nonetheless, the Warrior job class was not just for show. The term ‘insta-kill’ was totally inapplicable to Warriors in Parallel World. A single Seismic Toss from a Fighter could leave Gu Fei in a half-dead state; in contrast, the Warrior had received the three consecutive attacks and got up like it was nothing. Vast Lushness bestowed Heal on that Warrior in a jiffy, rendering Coward’s Savior’s combo attack useless.

Gu Fei kicked away the Thief under his feet and dashed toward Vast Lushness. Since he considered the others as walking PK points instead of targets, the best-case scenario for him was to avoid fighting all of them.

However, his opponents were part of a well-trained group versed in protecting the Priest, especially one like Vast Lushness who lacked the capability to survive on her own. Just as Gu Fei revealed his intention to get close to Vast Lushness, the other guild members gathered together with Vast Lushness in the center. Even those who had been fighting Coward’s Savior abandoned him and made their way back to her side. Vast Lushness, for her part, did not appreciate their good intention, “What’s there to be afraid of? There’re so many of us! Charge!”

And with that, she commanded the others to charge onward once more.

Gu Fei had been fighting the current battle with a handicap, as he was mindful of adding points to his current PK value. The setting of ‘PK value’ in the game bummed him out to the point of vomiting blood.

He was forced to go easy on them, even though Vast Lushness the Priest had exceptional healing skills. Her timely Heal just boosted the guild members’ morale as the battle dragged on. They were all smiling in a carefree way as if the fight was just a leisure activity.

Gu Fei boiled inside. He shifted his gaze on to Coward’s Savior who was near him. Coward’s Savior’s attacks had looked impressive at the start. Right now, however, he was running all over the battlefield like a dog as he was chased around by a few Past Deeds’ guild members. He was barely holding up, and a slight misstep on his part could cost him his poor life.

Gu Fei’s chest heaved and he roared, “Da*n it! I’m not going easy on you lot, anymore!”

He immediately targeted the opponent closest to him and unleashed Nine Blades of Tang, slashing the target multiple times.

Gu Fei had previously restricted himself from cutting the same opponent twice. At this point in time, however, he no longer cared about all that and slashed with wild abandon at the opponents to prevent them from retaliating.

Sacred Flames of Baptism’s Physical Attack was not actually impressive; what was truly terrifying was its additional fire attack. Now that its proc rate had been raised to nearly 50%, the flames it released burned even more fiercely. The effect of equipping Flaming Robe was visible as well, as it boosted the additional magic damage of the fire attack to a whole new level. Vast Lushness could not keep up with the sudden change of tempo in Gu Fei’s attacks, preventing her from healing a guild member in time. This resulted into that guild member turning into a stream of white light under the scorching flames of Gu Fei’s Chinese broadsword.

“PK value, I’m back!” Gu Fei cried out.

Chapter 78 – Entrapment

Unleashing his sword technique in a group fight using Moonlit Nightfalls was easier, yet Gu Fei did not switch weapons. This was because he had already determined the current fight’s nucleus: The opposing side had the Priest Vast Lushness to provide timely Heal from the back. This was something that Gu Fei never experienced in the large-scale battles he had participated before.

The scenes in all of Gu Fei’s battles thus far had revolved around subduing the enemies in one go, robbing Priests of a chance to react, or having several enemies conceitedly ganged up on him without the assistance of Priests. However, this time around, Gu Fei finally encountered a team with a Priest as its core. Vast Lushness would issue battle commands, while she simultaneously bestowed Heal on her teammates.

Under such a circumstance, Gu Fei’s 49% fire attack proc rate would serve as a disruption to his fighting tempo as well as Vast Lushness’ tempo. Whoever between them could persist without committing mistakes under such interruption would emerge victorious in the end. While it appeared as if the duel was between Gu Fei and the players encircling him, this fight was in fact between Gu Fei and Vast Lushness who was standing behind her guild members.

“Don’t let him strike twice with his Chinese broadsword! Keep up your attacks with one another!” Vast Lushness instructed loudly, reminding everyone of their positions.

Gu Fei could no longer focus his attacks on one person and spend most of his time dodging and fending off the enemies’ bombardment instead. On several instances, he almost got hit with Backstab by Thieves who had managed to sneak behind him. Although Gu Fei was able to slip a slash in between the opponents’ incoming attacks, his one sword strike, even if the additional fire attack got procced, was unable to insta-kill a player. Moreover, Vast Lushness steadily followed up Gu Fei’s attack with Heal on the side, rendering his sword strike useless.

Under Vast Lushness’ timely directives and fine-tuning, the battle had actually returned to its initial state.

The opposing enemies once again revealed carefree smiles. Someone among them even taunted, “Didn’t you say you’ll stop going easy on us? Why aren’t you killing any of us yet?”

All laughed in response to this, as they continued to swing their weapons in hands toward Gu Fei.

Gu Fei smiled lightly, seemingly not the least bit perturbed by their taunting, and appeared to be free of worries. He waded deeper into the enemy encirclement and swiftly struck a blow with his Chinese broadsword.

“Everyone, fall back! Double Tiger, use your Cyclone!” Vast Lushness commanded.

The rest retreated a few steps back, while a Warrior walked ferociously forward, unleashing a Cyclone with a roar.

There was a catchphrase in Saint Seiya: “The same attack never works twice.”

That catchphrase could be applied to a kung fu master like Gu Fei as well, especially since the in-game skills were somewhat rigid. Take Cyclone for example, a player must spin his or her body around to unleash it; meaning, the skill would always lack the flexibility to be unleashed with the element of surprise on others.

Just as his opponent was activating the skill, Gu Fei already slipped his Chinese Broadsword inside the Cyclone attack. And with a loud clank, he was flung away to the other side by the attack’s force.

The way he was hurled outward by Cyclone right now was unlike how he had been thrown outward by Seismic Toss before. Whereas Seismic Toss’ force had a sort of paralyzing effect that had caused Gu Fei’s body to stiffen during the toss, Cyclone’s force had a sort of repelling effect that Gu Fei had taken advantage of, allowing him to retain his body control while being flung outward. Regaining his balance mid-air, he alighted steadily on the ground and viciously sent a slash with his sword to the opponent closest to him. Meanwhile, the Warrior called Double Tiger was still spinning on the same spot!

All the enemies gaped at what they had just witnessed. Just who’s this guy? He even managed to block Cyclone!

Everyone had assumed that brute strength was needed to block Cyclone, yet they just saw Gu Fei relying purely on technique.

“Master, you rock!” the Fighter Coward’s Savior yelled, as he continued to run around like a dog.

Those of Past Deeds had long figured out that only Gu Fei was a threat among their opponents, so they mostly ignored that Fighter. Gu Fei was not running around the battlefield like that Fighter and was confronting them directly, yet they were still helpless on dealing with him.

“What’re you lot gawking for?! Hurry up and surround him! Just make sure to leave an opening behind! Get ready, Archers and Mages!” Vast Lushness frantically healed those who had been cut by Gu Fei, as she continued to issue commands to them.

No one imagined that dealing with just one player would require the cooperation of the close-range and long-range job classes; thus, the Mages and Archers of Past Deeds had not joined in on this ongoing battle until now. With that last order, the Mages assumed their casting poses and the Archers adopted their shooting stances. They were prepared to attack any second now. But how could Gu Fei not anticipate this already? He nimbly flittered between his opponents, preventing the Mages and Archers from taking a good aim at him. Players had no immunity against friendly fire in Parallel World. Hence, the Mages and Archers dared not launch aerial attacks arbitrarily for fear of ‘hitting’ their allies instead.

The current fight was still in a stalemate.

“Mages and Archers, find a way to get atop the rooftop!” Vast Lushness yelled.

With a carefree smile on his face, Gu Fei continued to evade, block, and attack whenever he got a chance.

Vast Lushness was starting to get confused. If this carried on, Gu Fei would evidently be at a disadvantage. And yet, he was dragging the fight on. Vast Lushness felt as if she was forgetting something important. The more she thought about it, the more restless she got. She hurriedly ordered those chasing after Coward’s Savior to stop wasting their time on him and focus on encircling Gu Fei instead.

I think it’s the right choice to call for backup from the start, considering how hard it is to deal with this guy. Just who is he? Vast Lushness thought to herself. She then appraised Gu Fei when an opening presented itself.

Her Appraisal failed, so his equipment, level, and job class continued to remain unknown.

Vast Lushness became even more anxious. She urged the Mages and Archers to hurry up.

Right at this moment, an odd development occurred on the battlefield. A Thief let out a pain-filled cry and collapsed under Gu Fei’s Chinese broadsword. But before he faded away, the Thief threw a weird look her way.

Vast Lushness was stunned. When she saw Gu Fei slash someone again, she posed to bestow Heal on that teammate. It was then that she realized a vital issue: Her mana was all used up.

There was no elixir in Parallel World – or at least, no player had stumbled upon one yet.

Whenever players wanted to replenish their HP or mana during grinding, they would temporarily retreat to a side and remain in an idle state until regeneration kicked in; another way to recover their HP and mana was to consume food or fruit. Although regeneration would be available for players during a fight, it would only be minimal.

As for the ‘idle state’, players would not be considered entering this condition by simply standing still. An example was Vast Lushness; although she had been standing still all this while as she bestowed Heal on her teammates, the system did not consider her to be in an ‘idle state’.

To enter an idle state, players would have to stop attacking, moving, or utilizing their skills for thirty seconds.

Vast Lushness had a sudden realization once more: Ever since she started assisting by the side, she had not entered an idle state even once. This guy… Despite knowing that he was placing himself in dire straits, he still chose to continue with his attacks. This choice was not made out of his desperation to defeat his opponents but to prevent her from being inactive for thirty seconds instead, which would allow her to enter an idle state….

His every move was actually done with a purpose; it was to lure her into a trap.

By the time Vast Lushness returned to her senses, feeling shocked and sweating all over, a pain-filled cry had echoed once more on the battlefield. Gu Fei slew another one of her teammates.

The Past Deeds’ guild members turned their heads back, looking strangely at Vast Lushness.

“Lushness! What’re you doing?” somebody asked.

“She’s out of mana,” Gu Fei explained to everyone with a smile on his face.

He really did plan all this! Vast Lushness felt a slight dizziness overcome her, as she noted her inability to help her guild members who were currently being tormented by Gu Fei. Although she would soon enter an idle state and be able to bestow a Heal after her mana was restored enough, that Heal would be akin to a drop in the bucket. But if she waited until her mana was fully restored, many of her people would surely be dead by then.

But still… Even without my help, there’re still so many of my guild mates here. How will he dominate us all?

…It’s not the time to be thinking about that; I must hurry and restore my mana! Vast Lushness quickly pulled an apple out of her dimensional pocket. As was stated previously, eating fruit in Parallel World while in an idle state could speed up mana recovery. In fact, the effects of it would be visible after just a few bites. Vast Lushness quickly munched on the apple in her hand. Seeing her do that, Gu Fei smiled faintly and said, “Don’t you think it’s a bit late to start eating now?”

Vast Lushness could not comprehend his words’ meaning, so she just continued munching on the apple.

“Look behind you,” Gu Fei said.

Vast Lushness fearfully recalled something at that moment.

Will-low! That woman suddenly disappeared at some point after the fighting had begun.

Right now, Vast Lushness remembered that Will-low was a Thief. Thieves knew Stealth and could perform Backstab….

Vast Lushness had yet to turn around, but she could already feel a piercing coldness spreading on her back.

Will-low’s figure slowly materialized behind Vast Lushness. The others of Past Deeds screamed in horror, abandoning Gu Fei to come to Vast Lushness’ aid. However, it was all too late.

An Intelligence- and Spirit-based Priest lacked HP. In addition, the defense provided by a priest robe was similar to that of a mage robe – virtually non-existent. What made it even worse was that Vast Lushness had run out of mana; hence, she could not bestow Heal on herself. With her slow speed, she failed to dodge Will-low’s attack. She tried to flee after being struck with Backstab, yet Will-low immediately caught up to her and delivered three more stabs. Vast Lushness finally collapsed unwillingly onto the ground. She paid no attention to Will-low while she was dying, and instead she glared hatefully at Gu Fei.

“Ha ha ha! I finally killed you!” Will-low cheered, although she also very quickly died under the concerted attacks of the Past Deeds’ remaining members.

Will-low who had just killed Vast Lushness would of course have 1 PK point on her. Now that she was killed, she would suffer the PvP penalty of dropping by two levels. Even so, the smile on her face did not dim the slightest bit. Before she faded away, she yelled toward Gu Fei, “Thank you so much!”

Gu Fei waved at her in an act of sending her off.

Just before the fighting started and at that moment when Coward’s Savior was showing off to everyone on a rooftop….

Will-low asked Gu Fei softly, “Will I get the chance to kill her myself?”

“You will. But you’ll most likely end up dead yourself.”

“Perishing together? Fine by me!”

Gu Fei remained silent.

“When will that opportunity come?”

“When she’s out of mana.”

In the end, Will-low got her chance. She sacrificed two levels in exchange for taking Vast Lushness’ life – a worthy trade in her opinion. As for Gu Fei, he just earned himself 3 PK points. His chest was heaving right now, as he said to himself: PK value? To hell with that!

Seeing how the others were glaring at him with hate-filled eyes after they had killed Will-low, Gu Fei immediately took off Flaming Robe and put on Midnight Spirit Robe. He returned Sacred Flames of Baptism into his dimensional pocket and pulled out Moonlit Nightfalls next.

“F*ck, it’s him! He’s our guild leader’s killer!” someone who had participated in the previous skirmish with Gu Fei recognized his black robe and purple sword.

“That’s right! It’s me!” Gu Fei hollered. With a quick flourish of his sword, dust plumed off the ground and scattered all over, “Come on! You all want to kill me, right? Try stepping into my sword cordon, then!” Gu Fei had fallen in love with that phrase.

Nobody made a move. Suddenly, a few shadowy figures appeared on a rooftop; one of them secretly took aim at Gu Fei below.

Gu Fei turned around ferociously, with his sword already pointing at that particular someone on the rooftop.

“Fireball! Shoot!” Gu Fei yelled.

A ball of fire formed onto the tip of his blade and flew off toward the Archer nocking an arrow on the rooftop.

“So he’s a Mage. But it’s just a mere fireball…” The Archer smirked coldly, not bothering to dodge the spell, and began to draw his bow. Take a load of my Snipe… the Archer thought to himself.

He did not get a chance to fire that arrow on Snipe, though. Following the fireball’s explosion on him, he was directly propelled toward the spawn point for Archers.