Virtual World: Close Combat Mage

As Gu Fei had expected, daylight was already breaking by the time the eight men were standing atop the wall. He casually grabbed hold of a rope and climbed up with ease, savagely leaving the eight with a sense of inferiority while they were in the middle of basking in the morning glow and celebrating their triumph over the wall climb.

The night in-game did not have pitch black darkness, but the change brought forth by the sun rise was still substantial. The beauty of sunrise was not in the least bit marred by the lack of total darkness at night. However, it was impossible to witness this in Xiawu City, so all Gu Fei could do was watch as the fog around him become clearer.

Players who can stand living here in Xiawu City must surely be exceedingly patient. This fog has caused them to miss out quite a lot of things, Gu Fei thought to himself even as he began keeping the grappling hooks.

“Anyone down below?” Gu Fei turned to casually ask when he saw the eight of them already cautiously poking their heads past to see the situation at the backyard of the Government City Hall.

“There’re so many people there...” they said.

“Is that so?” Gu Fei hurriedly came over to poke his head and check as well, even taking out his spyglass to get a closer look.

“Players... Looks like Flowergazing in the Fog have truly taken the necessary precautions.” Gu Fei sighed as he confirmed that these players were nowhere present last night.

The eight of them were all surprised when they saw the spyglass that Gu Fei was holding.

“Did you make that as well?” Two asked warily.

“Nope. I borrowed this,” Gu Fei quickly answered. He suspected that the eight might think of him as some almighty crafter.

“And another piece of bad news,” Gu Fei said. “I think somebody saw me when I poked my head out previously.”

Hearing how calm Gu Fei sounded, the eight all felt rather ashamed. Exchanging glances with one another, the eight all nodded their heads in unison. “Actually, I think we got spotted as well...”

Since the members of Flowergazing in the Fog knew that somebody would be climbing over the wall, it was only natural that they would focus their attention over and keep their eyes on the wall; those players did not miss one of the nine heads poking out. However, the eight of them chose to keep mum over the fact despite having been found out, afraid that the others would criticize them for making this mistake. However, as it turned out, not one of them had escaped this fate. It was only when Gu Fei calmly mentioned that he had been discovered that the eight guilty persons looked at one another and realized that everybody had done the same.

Truly, a terrible gang, Gu Fei thought to himself. Even such a simple detail intimates the many problems they have. Not only do the eight of them not trust each other, none of them is even willing to assume responsibilities. They are all mixing in with the group for their needs. It seems that none of them has thought to consider what their responsibilities are, or on whether they should show any consideration for the circumstances of the others!

“What do we do now?” The eight men looked at one another.

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“How did he do it? Would he still come back in the same manner?” Three Sighs of Flowing Maple and his comrades asked this before sending men over to guard the backyard.

“How did he even get over that ten-meter wall that encloses the backyard?” someone asked.

“He’s sure to have his ways,” Three Sighs of Flowing Maple said. “All we need to do is put up a proper defense, so that he will beat a retreat in the face of difficulties.” This was essentially the guidelines that Three Sighs of Flowing Maple had chosen to work with for this quest, which was also the main reason he had let Gu Fei off so easily like that; Three Sighs of Flowing Maple did not wish to start a fight with other players in the courtyard, for he was worried that doing so would deduct the completion progress of their quest. As such, he tried to place as many members as he could so openly in hopes that such preventive measures would deter players from attempting anything foolish.

“This is indeed for the best.” The rest nodded. They had always been supportive of Three Sighs of Flowing Maple’s guidelines.

“Get our men to defend the backyard! Everybody will have to work harder now that we are in the final stretch,” Three Sighs of Flowing Maple said. There was no longer anything left that they could actively participate to increase the completion percentage, but the peaceful days they managed to maintain meant that they would nevertheless see steady progression each day. Flowergazing in the Fog had no other options either, so all they could depend on was this slow accumulation till they reached 100%.

“This alone might not be enough to deter that man from trying...” Drifting could not help but speak up. Even though Three Sighs of Flowing Maple had invited him to be a part of this discussion with the core members of the guild, he was well aware that the members of this guild did not have any sort of blind idolization toward him just because of his status as one of the Five Unyielding Experts. He might be seated at the same table with all these other players, but that did not mean that they saw him on equal footing. Knowing that his words did not carry much weight, Drifting did not bother to speak initially. He had intended to merely sit in and listen to their discussion, yet he could not stand it in the end. From his perspective, Drifting felt that the solutions these men had proposed were not in the least bit threatening to Gu Fei, as all these men had sorely underestimated his prowess.

“Brother Drifting, what are your thoughts on this?” asked Three Sighs of Flowing Maple.

“Nothing really. I merely want to advise you not to underestimate him. He’s far stronger than what any of you can imagine,” Drifting replied.

Drifting knew what he had just said would rub people the wrong way, and sure enough, the lips of over half the players seated twitched visibly. Drifting had no choice either but to shut his mouth.

The guild leader, Three Sighs of Flowing Maple, did not ignore Drifting’s comment, however, and he asked those present, “So should we send more men?”

More men? How many more? Would it be more than the PK value he had accumulated that time? Drifting grimaced yet never said anything aloud.

One of the core members was placed in charge of the defense of the backyard. After this person made the necessary arrangement, he giddily announced to everyone present, “I am looking forward to see what that guy is gonna do in the fact of our defense?”

“He’ll just slay his way in...” Drifting, who had tactfully sat himself down in a corner, could not help but say this under his breath.

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“Slay our way in!” Gu Fei answered precisely in the same manner when the eight men asked what they should do.

“We’re gonna force our way in?” The eight players were all shocked. Such an act was as good as a direct clash against the members from Flowergazing in the Fog. There were only nine men on their side, and it seemed far too huge a risk to take.

“Their defense here is focused on fending against me alone. The eight of you are unexpected additions, and that is enough to leave them at a loss on what to do,” Gu Fei said.

“At a loss? There’re over twenty men down there, I think, and we are but nine on our side!” Two exclaimed. Immediately realizing what Gu Fei meant, he stared at the Mage with incredulous eyes. “Why are they mobilizing twenty odd men just for you? Just who the hell are you?”

The rest also realized this point, and they all turned to stare at Gu Fei. He shrugged. “Didn’t we agree not to ask personal details about one another?

“There’s only one chance here!” Gu Fei continued. “They’d already discovered the rest of you just now when you peeked your heads, so since the enemies are now aware that it isn’t just me alone, this just might be the only chance you’d have facing only twenty or so men.”

“A defense of twenty plus men is considered as... weak?” Two was astonished yet again.

“Make your decision!” Gu Fei regarded the eight players.

They exchanged looks with one another and figured that what Gu Fei had said made sense and quickly nodded their heads to show their agreement.

Gu Fei quickly secured a grappling hook to the top of the wall and said to the eight of them, “I’m gonna head down first and draw their attention. The rest of you can slide down on your own accord. Three and Seven, you two search for what you need in the backyard as soon as you can. Eight, find somewhere to hide yourself in the backyard and make a dash over to the courtyard to look for a chance to find the quest NPC you are looking for. You’ve got a fast movement speed, so that should not be too difficult for you.”

Three, Seven, and Eight each nodded in acknowledgement at this when they were called accordingly.

“The rest of you, see if you have the permission to enter the premises using that door right ahead. If you are not given access to the Government City Hall, immediately retreat back to the rope here and leave. We’ll make plans for you guys next time,” Gu Fei said.

“Alright!” The others nodded.

“Then, let’s not waste any more time and get a move on! I’ll go first!” Gu Fei tossed the rope over the wall as he finished his statement, leaping off with one hand on the rope and sliding down in one smooth motion.

“Over here!” Shouts rang across the yard in an instant. The position Gu Fei had selected was closest to the back door, so as to reduce the amount of time it took for the others to make their way into the Government City Hall proper. This was also the place where half of the men were concentrated in, exactly as how Gu Fei had intended. Gather around everyone, so it’s easier for me to kill you all in one shot.

As the eight up on the wall heard the ruckus below, all their heads poked out, and they saw Gu Fei slide down the rope before suddenly running up the wall and leaping off it; a sword appeared in his hand mid-air. The sword flashed and flurried as he fell downward, a flaming glow that danced like an undulating dragon circled around him.

“That’s...” Someone seemed to have thought to say something among the eight.

“What are you all still hesitating for? Quickly get down!” Three of them had already grabbed the ropes and went over the wall to slide down.

Screams could be heard by the edge of the wall. Gu Fei’s attack from above was a literal attack to their heads. The Twin Incineration that carved forth slashed right on to the enemies’ heads. Four players were insta-killed in the first moment, while the other three went pale after the sword sliced them. Their HP abruptly dipped into the red as they scrambled to retreat.

Gu Fei landed firmly on the ground. He proceeded to take one step forward while turning to complete a 900-degree Twin Incineration. It was almost as if these players surrounding him had previously discussed how they would easily be insta-killed by him.

This twist left no one around him any longer. That 900-degree turn meant two and a half revolutions. Even the players with the highest HP had no way of surviving two brushes of Gu Fei’s Twin Incineration. Having the skill to forcefully apply one spell twice on any player like this only showed the extent of Gu Fei’s expertise to subvert the system’s design in such a manner.

After this grand display of his prowess, the players from Flowergazing in the Fog began to feel their heart palpitate unevenly. Their charge to surround this interloper was no longer as surefooted as before. The three that had slid down from the wall already got into position. A Mage and an Archer each unleashed their attacks on the enemies.

“Those of you still on top; hurry up!” Gu Fei shouted as he took the initiative to attack, diving straight toward the back door. While he was descending, many members from Flowergazing in the Fog had withdrawn back toward the front of this door. Evidently, they had been assigned their positions prior the engagement. Gu Fei had already expected this and made a point to conserve enough mana to deal with them.

Another three of the remaining five men on the wall slid down the ropes, and it happened to be Three, Seven, and Eight. Gu Fei hurtled toward the back door as the players from Flowergazing of the Fog anxiously dashed over to provide assistance. Three and Seven began their mad search in the backyard while no one was looking. Eight had already spied a certain thicket that he could use, diving in head first at breakneck speed and concealing himself within.

The final two began to slide down the rope even as a din could be heard from both the front and the back of the Government City Hall. The reinforcement from Flowergazing in the Fog was already hurrying over at this time. When those defenders had first noted the nine heads poking out from the wall above, they had made sure to inform their guild leader of this. Three Sighs of Flowing Maple was surprised that there would be so many enemies, so he of course quickly sent more of his men over to deal with this change.