Chapter 027: Robbed by a Rookie

The Legend of the Mage

Without pausing, the leader dashed straight for the merchant in the safe zone of the city and bought a stack of protective talismans. He then bolted out of town, once again unleashing his wicked F1 upon the hapless little mountain goat. Lin Jia and Old Four, tagging along, watched speechlessly as the snowy-white lamb nonchalantly bleated and sauntered past the three of them.

The desolate land of Alliance Heavy echoed beneath a seemingly fading sunset. If only there were crows in this game, the three brothers might have gone mad, waving off the imaginary flocks circling over their heads.

“What’s going on?” The leader, frustrated, opened his bag and tried double-clicking the talisman to see if it worked like a potion, but it was just as useless.

“Forget it! Next time, let’s ask someone else. Why don’t we focus on leveling up?” Old Four consoled him. The three brothers returned to the safe zone. The leader and Old Four went to buy potions, planning to head back to the second floor of the Fragrant Stone Tomb for more grinding.

The monsters there not only gave more experience, but their drop rate was even more outrageous than on the first floor. After just a dozen kills, they’d already looted four pieces of equipment and several thousand gold coins. No longer satisfied with the first floor, these three greedy fellows decided to venture once more into danger. The leader even quipped, “Fortune favors the bold; you can’t catch a wolf if you don’t bait it with a child!”

Lin Jia couldn’t help but roll his eyes. It seemed his little mage was the child used to bait the wolf. Standing beside the city’s pharmacy, waiting for the leader and Old Four to stock up on potions, Lin Jia idly browsed through the gear of players passing by the battered city walls, heading toward the gate guarded by a single broadsword sentinel, and the system’s skill book shop.

Suddenly, a player sprinted past, flinging a slip of paper at a nearby innocent lamb. It zipped through the air, striking the creature and bursting into a ball of flame.

Lin Jia was startled—what was this skill? It wasn’t the mage’s fireball, though the effect was similar. Judging by the crescent blade in the player’s hand, Lin Jia guessed he was a Taoist. Since none of the classes had their signature gear yet, every player wore either sky-blue light or medium armor, indistinguishable in appearance. The only way to tell classes apart was by their jewelry and weapons.

Most Taoists equipped items to boost their healing power, but some sought stronger attack by donning warrior gear to masquerade as warriors. The crescent blade increased both attack and added 1-1 Taoist and 1-1 magic stats, making it the top choice for Taoists. Thus, Lin Jia deduced the player who’d just used this strange skill was a Taoist.

Just as Lin Jia was about to open the player’s equipment panel, the cursor hovering over him, the player dashed off the screen. Unwilling to give up, Lin Jia chased him from the city for eight blocks, nearly reaching Sabak before catching up. Sensing Lin Jia's persistence, the Taoist became wary, stopping to ask, “Why are you following me?”

He’d recognized Lin Jia as a mage by the Sea Soul staff in Lin Jia’s hand, which explained why he stopped. PvP between Taoists and Warriors was similar to Mage vs. Warrior; neither could withstand a direct onslaught. They needed to slash a few times, retreat to heal, and rely on hit-and-run tactics to exhaust their opponent’s potions and win.

Of the three classes, Taoists were the only ones unable to kill quickly, but they were the hardest to kill themselves.

Seeing Lin Jia was a mage, the Taoist relaxed and questioned him. Lin Jia grinned, “Hey, buddy! What skill did you just use? It looked like our fireball spell!”

The Taoist, pleased to have an admirer, smugly boasted, “Heh! That’s our Taoist ranged attack, ‘Soul Fire Talisman.’ I fought hard for it, got it from electric zombies in the Zombie Cave... Damn! Your gear is insane! Damn, a Sea Soul with 1-5 stats? That’s insane! Truly insane! What level are you?”

Apparently, the Taoist had checked Lin Jia’s gear, exclaiming in shock and envy, his astonishment palpable through the barrage of exclamation marks.

Lin Jia opened the Taoist’s equipment panel while typing, “Haha, I’m level 20. How about you? How do you train your skill?” When he hit enter and looked up, the Taoist had moved right next to him, and in the equipment panel, Lin Jia noticed a protective talisman equipped in the right bracelet slot—the very item that had puzzled them earlier.

Lin Jia was momentarily stunned—so it was an equippable item, worn in the bracelet slot?

“Where have you been, Second Brother?” Having finished buying potions, the leader and Old Four craned their necks to check Lin Jia’s screen and confirm his location. Just as Lin Jia was about to turn and share his discovery, a violent shout erupted from the speakers: “Hya!”

“Careful! Someone’s PvPing you!” Old Four yelled, turning to alert the leader, “Fight! Second Brother’s getting attacked outside the academy!”

Lin Jia was startled and quickly closed the equipment panel. The Taoist was furiously hacking at Lin Jia’s little mage with the crescent blade—trying to loot his gear?

Lin Jia was instantly furious. This guy was truly despicable. Seeing Lin Jia’s overpowered gear, he’d become covetous and tried to kill him for his loot, feigning friendliness while sneakily attacking during a chat.

Lin Jia quickly chugged two mid-tier healing potions, glanced at his health—still more than half remaining—and scoffed. With the Taoist’s weak attack, focused on boosting Taoist stats, and Lin Jia’s two superb iron rings for extra defense, did he really think he could break through?

He swiftly cast the Repulsion Flame Ring, sending the Taoist flying. Judging by his level, he was either 18 or 19. Lin Jia burst out laughing, hammering F1, shouting wildly, “I’ll fry you, you sneaky bastard! Trying to ambush me? I’ll fry you! Fry you!”

The immense magic power brought staggering attack strength. Two lightning bolts, and the poor Taoist’s health plummeted. The crisp sound of healing spells rang out incessantly as the Taoist bolted, but with today’s laggy internet, how could he outrun Lin Jia’s ten-megabyte fiber broadband and luxury computer setup? Just as the leader and Old Four arrived, the Taoist let out a hopeless wail and exploded in a shower of items across the screen!

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(Trouble: Only one chapter today! I’ve arrived in Wuhan, and writing in an internet café is truly painful! Worst of all, the internet fee is ridiculously expensive—three silver coins per hour! Please vote to encourage me!)