Virtual World: Close Combat Mage

By the time his guild members managed to climb up the rooftop, Gu Fei and Xi Xiaotian had long leaped across several rooftops and gotten very far away. No Smile could only shout, “CHASE AFTER THEM!” This was followed by everyone running like headless flies in the general direction. Eventually, many guild members lost their patience running around in circles and gave up; some left Yunduan City to grind levels once more, a few picked up a quest along the way and did that instead, and a portion even ran straight into a safe zone to log off, saying the excuse of having something important to do in reality.

In the end, this was a VRMMO through and through. The guild members thought that there must be benefits to gain first from doing certain things, even if they were running errands for the core members like No Smile. However, these members barely had a taste of these so-called benefits, so they naturally would no longer listen to his orders even with his high position in the guild. Everyone had initially treated this event as a guild activity that they must participate in, so they all willingly helped. But after seeing that their participation did not produce any amount of success, many no longer wanted to waste their time helping No Smile except for his ride-or-die buddies.

No Smile led his buddies through the streets and alleyways in search of Gu Fei, constantly asking everyone on the guild channel for information. At first, there were some who would reply, “No.” After a while, even those people became too lazy to bother with him except for a few ill-intentioned ‘nice guys’.

“I spotted him by Beck Street! I am onto his trail,” Royal God Call shouted on the private guild channel.

“Watch him well! We’ll be there soon!” No Smile brought his buddies along and frantically ran toward the location, but not long after, Royal God Call shouted once more, “Ah, he turned to a corner and disappeared!” No Smile rushed there for nothing.

No Smile ultimately lost his cool after this had happened for the fourth time, “What the f*ck are you doing?”

Royal God Call bafflingly replied, “Maybe he’s got his eye on me; how else would I keep crossing paths with him?”

No Smile could not even cough up blood when he heard that and could only exchange exasperated looks with his ride-or-die buddies, wanting to cry yet finding he had no tears to spare.

No Smile lifted his head when he had glimpsed a shadow over his head, and saw in time a figure leap off a rooftop with a Chinese broadsword held high. The Chinese broadsword glowed red as it reflected the sun’s rays, somewhat hurting No Smile’s eyes.

The figure wore a tattered straw hat on its head, a piece of black cloth on its face, and a flowing mage robe on its body. No Smile only had the time to shout, “AHHH!”

Gu Fei had landed a blow right on No Smile’s head before he alighted on the ground. He then pirouetted twice on the spot to deliver two slices on No Smile’s body. The Flames of Baptism’s additional fire attack had been procced by the two slices, causing No Smile to disappear under a fiery assault. Gu Fei ran off almost as fast as he arrived.

No Smile’s buddies recovered from their shock after a bit, yelling as they chased after Gu Fei.

No Smile once again found himself back at the Thieves’ Union, blubbering and crying his eyes out to everyone on the guild channel. A majority of the guild members had grown numb to all his complaints by this point in time. Many of them even started to consider matters thoroughly. Since No Smile had dropped to level 25, he was now among the bottom-ranked players of Traversing Four Seas. In addition, he had lost his top-grade dagger, Zephyr’s Whisper. In the early stages of the game, players needed to rely on their level and might instead of connections to reach a well-respected position. Hence, only one thought crossed their minds about No Smile who still foolishly considered himself as a core member of the guild: Pffttt!

Parallel World was a new game after all. This recently established guild had barely any form of unity or camaraderie among its members. In fact, No Smile had only managed to mobilize such a large group of people due to the players’ old habit of helping out a fellow guild member who was in trouble. After wasting so much time and effort, this habit could only carry on this far. At the moment, many started to look at the situation pragmatically. Helping the now level 25 No Smile did not seem to be worth that much, so nobody naturally wanted to extend a hand.

Not everyone thought this way, however. The other three core members of the guild felt that the whole incident had tarnished Traversing Four Seas’ reputation. It was Yunduan City’s number one guild after all. It was in the prime position to sweep Parallel World by storm. With a core member reduced into such a state in just a few hours, would the guild not become a laughingstock in the city instead?

The three could not swallow this bitter pill, but this was only in relation to the guild. As for No Smile, they had only attracted him into the guild because of his high-grade equipment. They actually did not have the chance to build a strong rapport yet.

In the end, the three core members finally came to a decision: They would do something about the situation. Otherwise, others would belittle the strength of Traversing Four Seas.

It was at this point that they received news of No Smile getting killed for the sixth time.

No Smile cried at length in the safe zone. He scolded the guild for being cold-hearted after seeing that not one member reacted to his situation. Suddenly, he received a message from his buddies, saying that they were closely chasing after the masked person. No Smile was elated by this news. He hurriedly dashed out of the safe zone and ran toward the indicated direction, hoping to seal off Gu Fei’s path from the other side.

No Smile did manage to block Gu Fei, though not for long. Gu Fei directly strode toward him and executed a high kick, toppling No Smile over until he lay sprawled on the ground. Gu Fei then killed No Smile off with two more stabs from the Flames by Baptism, reducing him into a level 24 player.

After receiving this news, the three core members decided to take action immediately. Traversing Four Seas was basically a guild that they had built from the ground up with their bare hands. Their prestige within the guild was naturally higher than the newly inducted No Smile. It was actually with Fighter Gale Force’s call to arms back then that hundreds of guild members had valiantly marched toward Yunxia Valley through Yunliao Farm. What had originally been seen as a simple matter now blew into such disastrous proportion. The three had not even understood the full picture of the matter yet! All they heard was the probability of the one who kept killing No Smile and the one who stole his dagger to be the same person.

Just as the three core members were about to move out, they received a message from Guild Leader July of Amethyst Rebirth, requesting to meet with them to discuss the matter at hand.

“Reflection, go and organize the manpower for No Smile’s problem. Gale Force and I will go meet this July,” said Oathless Sword, one of the core members and the guild leader of Traversing Four Seas.

Coincidentally, both parties decided to meet at Ray’s Bar, as it was the only bar in Yunduan City that offered private rooms. A private room was needed to discuss such delicate matters with ease after all.

July, Luo Luo, Lie Lie, and Xiaoyu left the safe zone and made their way over. Oathless Sword and Gale Force were just two people. Gale Force had met the four ladies prior to this, and even had the chance to exchange blow with Lie Lie.

“Which one is Guild Leader July?” Oathless Sword asked once he got seated.

“That’s me,” July spoke up, “Please wait a while more. We’ve got a friend who has yet to arrive.”

Gu Fei entered the room just as July finished saying this. He lifted the curtain and said with a huff, “Sorry for being late.” Having to kill people and participate in negotiations all at once, Gu Fei was quite the busy man today.

Just as Gu Fei entered the room, Oathless Sword received word that No Smile had been cut down for the seventh time. He was now at level 23.

Oathless Sword could not be bothered with this news right now as he stared at Gu Fei, “And who might you be?” He had heard that Amethyst Rebirth was an all-female guild, so he was unaware of Gu Fei’s part in all this.

Gale Force quickly gave Oathless Sword a hasty rundown regarding Gu Fei, taking the time to emphasize that he was the person who “had stolen No Smile’s dagger”. Oathless Sword felt deep respect for this man. When all was said and done, snatching a high-grade weapon from a player holding it was a really bold move. Oathless Sword sheathed his sword as he thought of this.

Since this was a negotiation, the four ladies were squeezed together on the left while the two men from Traversing Four Seas were seated on the right. Although Gu Fei belonged to the party on the left, there was not enough space left for him to sit. He was left with no choice but to sit right in the middle of the two parties at the table’s head. Anyone who did not know the situation would assume that Gu Fei was the one who had organized the meeting.

“With regard to what happened today, how much of it does Guild Leader Oathless know?” July spoke first.

“All I know is that our No Smile has been repeatedly killed seven times and his top-grade weapon, Zephyr’s Whisper, stolen from him. According to my understanding, this matter originated from you two’s conflict in the past,” Oathless Sword said.

“Then, is Guild Leader Oathless aware that Traversing Four Seas intentionally disrupted our guild quest yesterday and killed twelve of my fellow members?” July asked.

“I have no idea!” Oathless Sword felt shocked and he looked at Gale Force.

“No Smile indeed asked on our guild channel for some people’s support to PvP yesterday. I asked him why, but he only said that it’s a minor issue that could be resolved with a few guild mates. A few idle guild members joined in, but most were his buddies!” Gale Force insisted.

“Guild Leader Oathless now knows the origin of this issue!” July said.

“What does Guild Leader July mean with that?” Oathless Sword asked.

“Nothing really. It’s a game; fighting, killing, and PvP happen all the time. Except this time, No Smile and I have a private matter that resulted into this in-game situation. If your guild intends to help No Smile out on this, I will trouble you not to drag my fellow sisters and this guy here into the matter,” July said as she pointed at Gu Fei.

“This... This guy here seems to have taken something No Smile owned, so—” Oathless Sword was about to elaborate further on this, when Gu Fei unexpectedly brought out the dagger, Zephyr’s Whisper, from his dimensional pocket. He tossed it on the table and said, “Here’s the item. Take it if you want it.”

Everyone was surprised by Gu Fei’s move. Although a Mage might not have any use for the dagger, he could have sold the weapon to a Thief who wanted it and he would have definitely made a small fortune. Could he really give up such a delicious morsel like Zephyr’s Whisper? After hearing Gale Force’s narration of the whole incident, Oathless Sword had thought that this man would be bold and gutsy. But as it stood right now, that might not be the case! Had he gotten cold feet even before the negotiations even started?

Oathless Sword suppressed the rumbling laughter growing in his stomach as Gu Fei stood up, “Take that dagger back. As for No Smile, I heard he’s still being hunted! Looks like no one can save him now. Bro, I don’t think No Smile is someone worthy of your effort. Just tell No Smile that the condition for taking back Zephyr’s Whisper is his resignation from the guild; his choice afterward should speak volumes about his character. I’ve got something else on, so I’ll take my leave. Take your time and negotiate!”

Gu Fei spoke his piece and left the room. He took a turn, walked past three more rooms, and went into another room that he was more familiar with.

“Where’s the water I requested? Quickly give it to me. I’m pooped,” Gu Fei hurriedly said as he entered the room.

Young Master Han pushed a glass of water toward him.

Gu Fei lifted the glass and downed it in record time, as Royal God Call said, “No Smile sure left the safe zone in a hurry. He’s now leading a few friends, while crying and cursing on the guild channel!”

“F*ck me! Why didn’t you say so sooner?!” Gu Fei put the glass down on the table and sprinted out of the room.

“Looks like No Smile really won’t be able to smile any longer...” Young Master Han murmured.