Chapter 45 - Pursuit
Gu Fei managed to reach No Smile’s back unnoticed, as the latter was deep in his thoughts. Thinking that it would be boring to attack No Smile from behind, Gu Fei walked to his front instead, “Hey!”
No Smile raised his head upon hearing the voice and saw a face covered by a piece of black cloth. He jumped up to his feet like he had been stung and fled without putting up a fight.
“This has become more boring than fighting regular monsters,” Gu Fei sadly thought before rushing forward to slash at No Smile.
Thieves initially had an edge in terms of Agility, but No Smile had distributed a majority of his stat points to Strength. He had just dropped two levels as well, so his speed was inferior to a Mage who had distributed all his stat points to Agility. Although Mages did not have the upperhand for Agility, they at least did not suffer any handicap for that particular stat.
Gu Fei was rather jaded with the current process of chasing and slashing No Smile. No Smile’s mind was set on retreating to the safe zone, so he just kept on running desperately. Unfortunately for him, Gu Fei was the one with superior speed. Gu Fei sliced at No Smile with his every step. Although the Flames of Baptism’s fire attack did not proc even once, Gu Fei still managed to slay No Smile right before the latter reached the safe zone. Waves of exclamation thundered from the surrounding players after seeing No Smile go down.
Gu Fei sighed heavily. No Smile, who had respawned inside the Thieves’ Union for the third time, currently looked very pissed. No Smile began to utter profanities while he pointed at Gu Fei. Gu Fei turned a deaf ear to his curses, shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, and left the Thieves’ Union as he waved goodbye at No Smile.
“How was it, how was it?” There were at least over a hundred inquiries from Young Master Han and the others on the mercenary channel.
“It’s settled!” Gu Fei replied promptly.
“Did he drop any equipment?” Young Master Han asked.
“No,” Gu Fei answered.
“Really? What’s with his luck? Not one piece of equipment was dropped after dying thrice?” Everyone doubted Young Master Han’s real motive after he had said that. Was Young Master Han’s order to kill No Smile thrice intended to erode the enemy’s morale, or to acquire the enemy’s equipment for himself?
“Well one more time, then!” Royal God Call was more honest with his intention, “I’m still not convinced that he won’t be dropping any equipment every time he’s killed.”
“What’s his face like when he saw you?” Young Master Han asked Gu Fei.
“Afraid. Very afraid.”
“What about when he was killed?”
“Pissed. Very pissed.”
“What about now?”
“I’ve left the place. He’s probably currently calling for help to take care of me,” Gu Fei said.
“A level 30 Mage wearing beginner robe might draw unwanted attention. You’ll have to buy a random mage robe to replace what you’re wearing now,” Young Master Han said.
“If possible I’d like one with a higher defense; it’s even better if it boosts Agility or Strength. Any recommendations?” Gu Fei consulted the experts. Although he had become better informed about this stuff due to his previous research online, he would never dare consider his opinion to hold the same weight as these professional gamers.
“Shadowy Cloak usually boosts Agility, while Mighty Cloak usually boosts Strength; you can pick from these two!” Sword Demon offered his suggestion to Gu Fei, “These cloaks’ defense may not be comparable to a Warrior’s armor, but at least you can equip them. Armor is considered as heavy-type equipment, which can only be equipped if you’ve got enough Strength. You didn’t allocate points to Strength, right?”
“Nope. Not yet. Maybe next time!” Gu Fei said.
Everyone was speechless.
“Anyway, just get yourself a regular mage robe. Considering how cloaks are usually favored by Thieves rather than Mages, you’ll just be more conspicuous if you wear one. I guarantee that you’re the only Mage in this city who would even think of doing that,” Young Master Han said.
“A Mage wearing a cloak... Guys, I feel like crying...” Royal God Call said.
“Save your tears for later when Miles equips himself with heavy armor!” Brother Assist tried to cheer him up.
“As a Mage, your stat point distribution is all over the place. I think recruiting a REAL Mage is in order,” Young Master Han said.
Royal God Call lamented, “If only I had chosen to be a Mage....”
“Enough with all that. Let’s get down to business,” Young Master Han said, “We’ll head back to the city now. Miles, keep an eye on No Smile. If it’s possible, try to sound him out to see if he has given up on his revenge.”
“So am I supposed to buy new clothes or sound him out?” Gu Fei asked.
“Think about it yourself!” Young Master Han said in exasperation.
Gu Fei pondered about it, New equipment is available for purchase any time. But if I don’t deal with No Smile now, I probably won’t get another chance in the future. With that in mind, Gu Fei returned to the Thieves’ Union. He hid himself behind a nearby wall and took a peek. No Smile was still there, sitting and brooding by himself at the building’s entrance.
Gu Fei remained cautious, suspecting that No Smile had already called for reinforcement. After checking the surroundings for a while, Gu Fei made up his mind. He moved closer to the Thieves’ Union’s entrance, got into the shadowy corner of a wall when no one was looking, and quickly put on the cover for his face. Gu Fei then stepped out of the wall and appeared right in front of No Smile. No Smile quickly scrambled back into the safe zone in shock.
Gu Fei had a calm smile on his face; it was such a shame that nobody would get to admire it since his face was covered by a piece of cloth. He leaned on the wall and raised his head high to greet No Smile, “Hey!”
No Smile’s eyes were filled with hatred as he stared intently at Gu Fei.
The distance between them was just a single footstep. However, this single footstep was the difference between life and death in this VRMMO. Inside the safe zone, No Smile was able to stand tall and glare at Gu Fei as he said, “Just what do you lot want from me?”
“Haven’t we told you before?” Gu Fei said.
“But you—”
Gu Fei knew what No Smile was going to say so he interrupted him straight away, “You indeed stopped messing with Amethyst Rebirth, but you started messing with us instead! What you’re doing now is far crazier and more dangerous than before. We’ve got no choice but to kill you thrice to help you wise up a little. Now, the group has sent me over to ask you this: How’re things going? Have you wised up yet?”
“Just who the hell are you people?!” No Smile’s expression seemed like someone who was about to go crazy.
“What’s the point of asking that again and again? We aren’t kids anymore. Grow up,” Gu Fei said.
“Fine, grow up,” No Smile nodded, “Grow up, my a*s!” he suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs and plunged himself toward Gu Fei. Seeing how he dashed forward without even holding a dagger, there was no doubt he was trying to cling on to Gu Fei.
Gu Fei had known No Smile’s intention from the very start. He sidestepped and swung the Flames of Baptism horizontally with a reverse-grip. The Chinese broadsword slashed No Smile, and flames began to scorch his body. Gu Fei turned his wrist, and performed a downward slash onto No Smile’s back again. At the same instant, he raised his leg and kicked No Smile’s butt, using the momentum from it to retreat into the safe zone.
No Smile, who was in the middle of tackling forward, was shoved to the front forcefully by Gu Fei’s kick. Unfortunately for him, Gu Fei’s second slash inflicted another burst of fire attack. No Smile dove toward a few people who had positioned themselves to catch his falling body, yet all they grabbed a hold of was No Smile’s ray of disappearing white light.
Gu Fei glanced at the Traversing Four Seas’ emblems pinned on the different parts of these few people’s bodies and sighed, “The killing intent from you lot is too obvious!”
These people were still engrossed with what had just happened.
No Smile had arranged for his guild members to be around the area to prepare for the masked man’s arrival. He did not truly wish for Gu Fei’s death, as getting a good look of his face was No Smile’s main priority. Only this way could he find out who these people were and slowly plan his revenge.
Gu Fei’s sudden appearance had initially delighted No Smile. The reason No Smile had spoken to Gu Fei was to buy some time for his underlings to seal off all possible exits for the latter. His initial plan was to have Gu Fei grabbed by his underlings from the front and the back. However, No Smile had not expected Gu Fei to skillfully evade the assault. It even appeared as if Gu Fei had seen through his plan, managing to finish him off once more during the scuffle.
In the eyes of an average human being, Gu Fei’s movement just then was incredibly fast.
However, it was not actually Gu Fei’s speed but his tempo that was fast. He unleashed an attack at the same instant that he was dodging. As the first slash connected, Gu Fei changed the blade’s angle to another, allowing him to seamlessly follow up with the next strike. Before this second strike ended, Gu Fei’s kick shoved No Smile forward as the Chinese broadsword’s fire attack burned out his HP.
Simply put, regular players usually unleash their attacks in four consecutive steps, whereas Gu Fei actually execute two moves at once, forming a two-step combination attack in the nimblest way possible. This attack method combined offense and defense instantaneously. Therefore, only one word could describe the others’ feelings upon witnessing Gu Fei’s attack: fast!
Gu Fei was currently in the safe zone, so the six players from Traversing Four Seas outside could not do anything to him.
No Smile, who had just respawned in the safe zone, seemed to have lost his mind. He roared and charged straight toward Gu Fei while swinging his hands in the air wildly, looking to pull off that black piece of cloth on Gu Fei’s face. But Gu Fei remained motionless this time, as if he did not see No Smile at all.
No Smile’s hands were about to grab hold of the black piece of cloth on Gu Fei’s face when they suddenly stopped mid air.
Gu Fei shook his head, “You didn’t read the game’s instructions clearly; we’re now in a safe zone used for logging off. It’s impossible for players to have physical contact with each other. What’s the point of having safe zones like this if you lot can toss me outside from here and beat me up?!”
No Smile’s arms trembled as they remained suspended mid air. He had died four times in a row, and now he was challenging the game’s system design. It was only normal for his attempt to break the no physical-contact policy in the safe zone to not work at all. At the next moment, an idea popped up in his mind, and he proceeded to puff up his cheeks and blew at Gu Fei’s face.
Gu Fei could not believe his eyes, “Are you an idiot? When I said physical contact is impossible, that includes blowing air with your mouth to remove the cloth from my face!”
Finally, No Smile was out of options and he sat down on the ground dejectedly.
As Gu Fei stared at No Smile, he started to sympathize with him a little. Gu Fei could not help but console him, “Just let this be man. You’re actually pretty lucky considering that you didn’t drop any equipment even after dying four times.”
No Smile did not react in the slightest way; it was a wonder if he even heard Gu Fei’s consoling words.
Gu Fei shook his head. He was about to leave when he saw a few players from Traversing Four Seas boldly blocking the entrance. Evidently, they were not planning to let Gu Fei escape.