42. Blessing in Disguise

It’s so different with someone carrying. Even if XiaoYu’s spells didn’t do much damage, the increased experience – the monsters were nearly double of XiaoYu’s level – was astounding. Thus, before it was time for the sweet baby to go to sleep, the one level XiaoYu had lost was back.

“Why is the Job Change Quest still greyed out?” Locked quests had grey text. Unfinished had white. Completed quests had bouncing red text.

“Try deleting it? Then wait before accepting it again,” Poor_Man suggested.

“The game says I need to pay 100 crystals to delete a locked quest,” XiaoYu replied after tapping on the greyed-out box.

“Huh? What do we do then?” I_Am_A_Poor_Man had never encountered something like this before, of course. Almost everyone could pass their second Job Change quests in one go.

“Let’s ask at the Job Change Hall.” HereticKing wasn’t sure if that would work. When he failed his third Job Change quest, it auto-deleted itself.

The trio teleported over to Prole’s Job Change Hall. Awaiting XiaoYu was still that expressionless priest.

“Father, I’d like to ask about my Job Change quest. Why can I still not complete it?” XiaoYu asked.

“Hello, little Acolyte. Your quest is currently locked. You’ll need to pay 20 crystal coins to unlock it,” replied the priest.

“Deleting requires 100. Unlocking needs 20. Is the game trying to commit highway robbery?” I_Am_A_Poor_Man griped.

“Do you have enough on you?” HereticKing didn’t bother commenting on the prices and just turned to XiaoYu.

“No,” XiaoYu said with a shake. Ever since he dropped all that money from being killed, he never carried more than 1 crystal on him.

“I’ll lend you some,” HereticKing replied.

“I have it in my Storage. I can just go get it.”

“It’s rather far from here. The earlier you’re done, the better. Isn’t it nearly bedtime for you?”

“Yes…Thank you. I’ll return it to you tomorrow.” XiaoYu had considered it. It was a reasonable suggestion. A trip back and forth would take up quite some time.

XiaoYu handed 20 crystal coins over to the priest. The priest flipped open his bible and as he chanted, a gentle white light descended onto XiaoYu. After the light faded, XiaoYu looked at his Quest tab. The Job Change quest’s text had turned back to the ordinary white colour.

“Huh?”

“What is it?” Neither HereticKing nor I_Am_A_Poor_Man could look at XiaoYu’s Quest tab.

“The number of mobs has changed. It was 100 each. Now it’s 500 each,” XiaoYu replied in confusion.

“Why are there so many?” Even with them high-levelled players helping, it’d be a hard quest to complete. It’s definitely not something they can finish by tonight.

“Father, is there something wrong with the quest?” XiaoYu remained as polite as ever when he questioned the priest.

“Nope.”

“Oh.”

“Little Acolyte, if you think it’s too much hassle, I can delete it. No charge,” the priest kindly suggested upon witnessing XiaoYu’s good manners.

“It’s fine.” It’s killing monsters either way. The more he fought, the more the tiny cat could collect. It’s better than changing the quest to a fetch quest. He wasn’t in a rush. He just needed to be more careful during the quest to avoid being killed again.

“Gods. It’s a total of 1500. Just when will you grind until?” exclaimed Poor_Man.

“It’s fine. I can slowly hack at it. I can also help you collect more ingredients,” XiaoYu replied.

“Ugh…” I_Am_A_Poor_Man peeked at HereticKing over XiaoYu. The other had a highly unreadable expression on. “I’ll help you out.” A single secret quest, some ruckus, and he’d forgotten all about that. He should be punishing himself in the Zombie Cave.

“We’ll start tomorrow. Go rest up.” HereticKing looked at the time and realised it was getting late. Might as well get XiaoYu to sleep early. They’ll start grinding away at the mobs like bots tomorrow.

“Chief, I think there’s a meeting with the HengXiang Group tomorrow,” Poor_Man commented.

“I know. Remember to stay safe tomorrow, okay?” It was clear the second sentence was directed to XiaoYu.

“Mn. I’ll be careful.” The penalty for dying after Level 10 was too high. He never wanted to experience it again.

The trio left the Job Change Hall. I_Am_A_Poor_Man who was walking at the back of the group then received a message from HereticKing.

“How’s the kill squad organising going?”

“Relax, Chief. He definitely won’t bump into that knight from tomorrow on,” Poor_Man replied.

“Good.”

“Well, I’m off to sleep. Thank you for today,” XiaoYu said.

“No problem. We’re all friends.”

“Um…Yao, I will pay you back tomorrow.” It was the first time XiaoYu called QiYao out loud by his name. It made XiaoYu feel rather embarrassed.

“No rush.”

“Good night.” The two cats waved their paws, then XiaoYu turned and walked down another path.

“Wait. Where are you going?” If memory served him right, the only place that path led to was…

“To sleep in the hotel.” XiaoYu found it strange that I_Am_A_Poor_Man would call out to him.

“But over there is…”

“Mn. The poor district. The hotels there are really cheap.” It cost only 1 silver a night, although the beds were rather hard and the room rather plain.

“Xiao-Yu…did I accidentally put in 100 silvers for your payment?” I_Am_A_Poor_Man was feeling rather dejected. He shouldn’t have selected the wrong currency, right? So why would XiaoYu need to sleep in the ratty hotel of the poor district?

“Nope. You did give me 100 crystals. Because I kept spending money when I entered the game, I found the cheapest hotel in the city. I’m used to sleeping there now,” XiaoYu replied.

At once, both I_Am_A_Poor_Man and HereticKing felt a sense of guilt. The former because he asked for so much materials in return for nothing, yet he never realised XiaoYu was on the brink of poverty. The latter because he recalled the letter that was sent over to him late in the night. He really did hit the nail on the head with that wild guess. XiaoYu had worked hard late into the night just to have enough silvers to mail that.

“Is there a problem?” XiaoYu didn’t understand what the two were brooding for. His wide catlike eyes filled with question marks.

“No. Ah! Right. Wait here for me.” I_Am_A_Poor_Man casted a Rush at himself and quickly disappeared from XiaoYu’s view. (Rush is a skill that’s unlocked once Haste reached 500 proficiency. It can only be casted on the spellcaster. Triple the Haste boost for 5 minutes with a cooldown of 5 hours.)

“???”

“You have money now. Why not treat yourself better?” HereticKing ruffled XiaoYu’s hair.

“It just needs to be a sleeping surface. I’m not very picky.”

“Then how about treating your kitten better? Otherwise, it might really run away with me.” HereticKing stroked the tiny cat’s head. He knew just how important the small cat was to XiaoYu. Perhaps going in from the kitten would persuade XiaoYu. Ah. This kid was good in all ways but he’s somewhat stubborn and dense.

“Yes…true.” XiaoYu thought about it. The little one always slept curled up by his side. While it never complained, even he thought the bed was too hard.

“At least find a softer bed. Poor should be bringing something interesting back.”

“Dun, dun, dun! Take a look at this.” With Rush, I_Am_A_Poor_Man came swaying back not 10 minutes later. He waved a thick wad of paper in the air.

“Free Hotel Coupon…?” XiaoYu squinted at the vouchers in his hand and read the name out.

“That’s right. You can stay 1 night for free in any hotels that aren’t 5-stars. Luckily I recall not having thrown out the prizes from the Labour Day event.” His interest was piqued. He wanted to sleep in all the beds in A.O. So, he snatched away all the coupons the guild members bought with their points. His interest waned fast and there were still plenty of coupons left, just gathering dust at the bottom of the chest.

“Those will last you for two months straight at least. Here, take them.” As he said so, he stuffed them all in XiaoYu’s hand.

“Thank you.”

“No need to be a stranger. Remember to tell me where the best beds are.”

“Okay.”

******

The next morning, XiaoYu returned to the old days of camping in the Zombie Cave. One by one, the mobs shuffled over. One by one, they died. The only change was the decrease in how often XiaoYu was poisoned.

I_Am_A_Poor_Man, HereticKing and even Below_The_Moon would come help out, but not for the entire day or together. After all, they still had their own jobs to attend to and their own grinding to do.

By the fourth morning, the grand mob massacre drew to an end.

“Xiao-Yu, I really admire how you just immersed yourself in this place for days on end before. It’s really tiring to one’s tastes.” I_Am_A_Poor_Man mimed putting on an eye mask and exercised his eyeballs.

Stepping into the Job Change Hall once more four days later were XiaoYu with his previous companions, I_Am_A_Poor_Man and HereticKing. Both of them wanted to witness the moment he succeeded turning into a Priest.

“Congratulations, player LuckyCat, for succeeding in becoming a Bishop.”

B-Bishop? Shouldn’t it be “Priest”?!

Translator’s Notes:

1. Something interesting: Ever wondered why Asians always use the word interesting? That’s because the common Asian counterpart to that phrase means “of note”, “fun”, “peculiar/weird in a good way” or even “kinky” (if used along with certain connotations) all at once. Bear with us poor translators as we all struggle to decipher the exact English equivalent in that line and find something that’s not just “interesting”.
   I couldn’t decide if HereticKing meant XiaoYu would like what Poor would bring back, or if he was talking about how Poor would be bringing one of those special effect items that XiaoYu might be interested in, or if he just meant Poor would be back with a thing.
   
2. Bottom of the chest: Not a phrase I’d translate usually as it’s a saying from days of yore that doesn’t really apply to modern life. As one might guess, it’s from back when banks didn’t really exist. You’d keep all your valuables and money in a single chest somewhere in the house. The more valuable it is, the less likely you’ll use it (or it’s a useless valuable that you shove in a corner and forget about). Hence, it’d be relegated to the bottom of the box.
   It’s also why the saying, “lining the bottom of the chest”, is used to refer to items/cash that are the last line of (financial) defence. Without that lining, there are no more cash to spend. All you’ll have are immovable assets like the house and farm. Even then, those will likely be gone because land deeds would be in that chest of treasures.
   
3. Poison by zombies: The original text state the rate XiaoYu got poisoned was higher, however it should be lower with his new necklace’s +30% Poison Resistance. Perhaps the author’s referring to how reckless he was being. We’ll never know because this chapter also got “locked” by the new jjwxc censorship bots. Hurrah.
   
4. Bishop: This is not an actual class in RO. Its special skills will be revealed in the next chapter. I’ll discuss more on why this name was chosen even though the direct translation would be “High Priest”.

◄Previous •Index• Next►

41. Everybody Join In

When I_Am_A_Poor_Man arrived at the West Gate of Serica, he saw XiaoYu hiding in a corner from the sand blowing through the air. Perhaps it was just a trick of the mind, but he somehow saw two ghostly wisps floating above XiaoYu’s head. Was he still upset over what happened yesterday?

“You’re here really early, Lil Lucky,” I_Am_A_Poor_Man greeted.

“Mn. You’re here early too, Big Brother Poor,” XiaoYu replied.

“What is it?”

“Can Profession NPCs go on holiday?” After taking hits on both his Job and Profession, XiaoYu had given up and just set up a stall on the streets the entire afternoon. He also browsed the forums the whole time.

“Huh? How can that be? You went over to Yang Yue’s Restaurant?”

“Mn. The manager said Chef Zhao was on leave due to some business back home.”

“Something like that actually happened? It’s probably because there are too few newbies. He’s gone home to tend to his farms. You can try asking around if there are any other Chef Profession NPCs.”

“Mn.”

“Hey, Lucky, can I call you Xiao-Yu just like Chief does?”

“Sure.”

“Hee-hee. You’ve actually been calling me by my name since the start. My name is Qiong,” saying so, he wrote down the character on XiaoYu’s palm.

“I see.”

“What are you doing?” HereticKing saw Poor_Man talking and holding XiaoYu’s hand from a distance. He ignored the slight upset he felt at the sight deep down.

“Hey, Chief. You’re here pretty early too,” Poor_Man said.

“Meow.” Waves paw.

“Morning.”

“Morning. Why do you look so down? Did you eat a proper meal?” HereticKing asked.

“I did. It’s just I couldn’t find the Profession NPC.” XiaoYu briefly retold his attempt to learn a Profession.

“It’s fine. Perhaps you might encounter a hidden Profession.” HereticKing recalled back when he didn’t care about Professions. There would be plenty of everything in the guild anyway. He didn’t think that dragging the choice out would let him meet the Poison Maker NPC.

There was still some time left before the hurricanes ended. The trio sought a shaded alcove to continue their chat.

“Xiao-Yu, which city are you in?” I_Am_A_Poor_Man asked as he recalled the gathering he mentioned wanting to organise during the day.

“S City.” XiaoYu replied.

“Oh? What a coincidence. We’re in the same city. We plan on organising a real-life meetup once we take down Prole-3. You’re always free on the weekends, right?” Even if they weren’t in the same city, public transportation was so developed that just going across the globe would only take mere hours.

“…”

“What is it? You have plans?” Poor_Man asked.

“No. I…can’t leave the house.” That’s right. He can’t leave the house. Any and all activities to do with the outside world has nothing to do with him. He admitted it. He’s very weak on this aspect. However, it’s an instinctive reaction. Unwittingly, his legs would wobble and soften into noodles at the sight of an automated vehicle. No matter how many times he worked himself up and how much advice he poured into his mind, nothing worked.

“Oh. Then, forget it.” I_Am_A_Poor_Man knew that pushing further would be infringing on XiaoYu’s privacy. He shouldn’t ask anymore.

“I’m sorry.” They specifically invited him, but he rejected. That was something XiaoYu felt regrettable.

“It’s fine. It’s no big deal.”

Once the hurricanes ended, they put a halt to the awkward conversation. They stepped out the gate and towards the Pyramids.

The goal of this trip was the Level 85 Undead Elite of the Pyramids – the Rampaging Mummy. HereticKing was in charge of attracting aggro. I_Am_A_Poor_Man took care of XiaoYu’s safety and also acted as the main attacker when there were too many mobs for XiaoYu.

There was also a special Level 80 mob in the area. It’s a Mummy Hound. It’s a passive mob, but it had a habit which made players hate it to the ends of the earth – looting. When the players finally, after a lot of hard work, kill an elite and the loot dropped, it’ll come sprinting over and pick the loot up. If the players were then distracted by other Mummies and couldn’t kill it straightaway, by the time they reacted, perhaps that particular Hound would already by killed by other players. That meant whatever loot they initially had was just given away to other people. If it was someone with an explosive temper, a great PvP war might ensue.

However, this was not a problem XiaoYu’s grinding party faced. When competing on the speed one picked up loot, no one would dare call themselves the best if their tiny cat called itself second best.

Thus, any players passing by this party would witness a strange sight. The moment a Mummy fell, a black shadow would instantly flash over. Before anyone could take a look at what was dropped, they’d vanish int thin air. The Mummy Hound that galloped all the way over would be pouncing on nothing. The upset Mummy Hound would bark at the black shadow and the shadow would gently meow back. Then, it’d stride over back to an Acolyte with dainty, elegant steps.

“Woof! Woof!” Bastard! That’s mine!

“Meow.” Who cares?

“Woof! Woof!” Damn you!

“Meow.” Come hit me.

Of course, none of the by-passers understood what they said. If they did, blood would go flying from their mouths. The Mummy Hound was pissed and frustrated and frazzled and furious. It was deemed as a passive mob. These three players were clearly ignoring its existence. They just kept whacking at the Mummies. It was depressed. Dejected. Enraged. It…went and looted other players’ drops.

“I was wondering why that Mummy Hound was working so hard today. It’s because it’s met its match,” said a female voice near the grinding party.

“Witch. Why do I meet you again?” sighed Poor_Man.

“Tch. Do you think I want to bump into you? Such a violent healer that’s not at all cute. LuckyCat is still the cutest,” said Chrysanthemum as she threw a flying kiss at XiaoYu. According to her habits, she should’ve pounced on XiaoYu. But with HereticKing’s protective levels over XiaoYu, she’d most likely couldn’t have touched a single thread on XiaoYu’s robe.

“Hi, Chrysanthemum,” greeted XiaoYu.

“Hi. Good. LuckyCat is still the one with most manners,” she said.

“Did you come to grind?” he asked.

“Yup. I’m carrying a few kiddies along the way.” Chrysanthemum pointed to the Wolf Clan’s cubs who had automatically melded into the background.

“Bye-bye, hag.” I_Am_A_Poor_Man took out a small white handkerchief from his Inventory and waved it in an exaggerated fashion. Gods know that his bag had all sorts of toys and tricks.

******

“Hey, witch,” Poor_Man messaged.

“What is it? I won’t help revive you if you died.” Chrysanthemum who was grinding away with her little kiddies in another corner suddenly received a voice call from I_Am_A_Poor_Man.

“What if it’s LuckyCat who died?”

“What? You actually let the cute LuckyCat drop dead!” Then, something struck Chrysanthemum. “No. With Chief Heretic around, how can there be any issues? There aren’t any Boss monsters here.”

‘I recall that the rule regarding PvP with ill intentions was to have their arses burst open, right? How long has it been since it was last used?”

“A very long time. The kids these days are just too ob- wait. You mean LuckyCat was PvP-ed by someone with bad intentions?”

“Very clever.”

“When?”

“Yesterday. Within an hour after we finished splitting the loot. There were two big slashes going down his back and numerous tiny gashes.”

“Good. Very good. They’ve got the nerves to bully a healer. Do they think we’re all fakes? ID and class.”

“I’ll tell Moon to transfer the picture to you later. Right. Leave some for us. Chief has decided to gank him all the way down.”

“Wow. Chief Heretic’s really mad. Is this what they call rushing for glory in the name of lust?”

“Shoo. It’s what should be done. Oh, yes. By the way, that guy even used Taunt to keep LuckyCat in PvP for four hours just to torture him. You can imagine what it was like.”

“Frick. Leaving him alive would just be polluting the air.”

“Hey, remember your image.”

“Ahem. So that’s why you guys are grinding with him today?”

“Mn. Also, to make him get some fresh air and destress. But looks like he’s stronger than we thought.”

“That’s good.”

“Oh, and don’t tell LuckyCat about this. He never asked us for help.”

“Got it.”

Voice call ended, I_Am_A_Poor_Man’s mood brightened considerably. As he buffed his party, he hummed and sang. It made HereticKing and LuckyCat look at him in confusion. As expected, it’s better when everyone’s in on evil schemes. Especially when needing plenty of ways to torment others. Merely killing was so meaningless.

******

Meanwhile, BattleOverlord who was grinding bandits with his girlfriend deep within the forest felt a sudden chill and shivered.

Translator’s Note:

1. Ghostly wisps: Ghostly wisps = ghostly balls of fire. Not quite sure where this particular reference came from. The meaning is roughly akin to growing mushrooms in the corner. Implying the person is dejected/depressed over something (an incident, a problem) that’s haunting them.

2. Yang Yue’s Restaurant: This has been previously translated as Yang’s Restaurant and Yang Yue Restaurant. It’ll be switching around a few times. The meaning’s the same, just phrasing. It’s a restaurant (usually considered high class. It’s the kind that’s a few floors high – the whole building belongs to it and it alone.) where the owner/founder named it after himself.

3. Morning: I’m as confused as you are. The meetup was supposed to be 6 p.m. and XiaoYu had been busy the entire afternoon (it wasn’t really confirmed if he ate lunch or breakfast in the last chapter. It was assumed lunch/brunch). There’s a chance this is a gag. Unfortunately, this chapter has been “locked” (taken down) due to reasons unknown. So we have no chance in confirming what the original really was. Not-piracy to the rescue again.

4. Mummy Hound: aka Verit from the original RO.

◄Previous •Index• Next►

40. Having a Meal

When XiaoYu woke up the next day, he found himself lying in the bed of a hotel. He recalled that warm, safe embrace from yesterday and suddenly the world didn’t feel that bad after all.

There was a note pinned down on the table in the room.

XiaoYu,

               Wait for me at Serica’s West Gate at 6 p.m. today.

P.S. Do not ever turn off private messaging again. Don’t munch on carrots either!

               – Yao

A soft laugh escaped XiaoYu’s lips. The note was just like the type his mother used to leave for him on the dining table just before she left the house. It had been a very long time since anyone cared so much about him.

XiaoYu scooped the tiny cat into his arms and snuggled with it for a while. He’d given himself an unproductive day off yesterday. He must get up, cheer up. He shouldn’t let others worry anymore.

Ask his friends to help take revenge? That’s not something XiaoYu would do. After yesterday’s PvP, he knew that if he kept a level mind and keep all his skill cooldowns in check, and if no accidents happened, that knight would never be able to kill him. So, XiaoYu needed to grind. Once he passed his second Job Change, he’ll have an attack spell with Holy Light. Even though its damage would be reduced and it’d be very hard to actively kill anyone, at least he wouldn’t be stuck without any chance of hitting back when attacked.

He dropped quite a lot of cash yesterday. His heart ached. He must remember not to bring that much cash with him when he’s out of the city. T-T

He lost his staff too. The mission at hand was to find a weapon. Acolytes can equip books, wands, hammers, low-levelled daggers etc. But most prefer wands and staff because these weapons have more magical attributes. He’ll take a walk around the market after he finished repairing his gear.

******

“Chief, Yue (Moon) is done investigating. It certainly was the swordsman who tormented LuckyCat last time. He’s now a Knight. Level 55. Dual-wielding Agility build,” Lin Qiong (Poor) said. He tilted his head to look back at Hei QiYao who was sitting at the backseat with his eyes closed. With the help of a sophisticated A.I., there were no problems with some slight multitasking when driving. In an emergency, the car will automatically hit the brakes.

“Deal with it according to the guild’s top grade ill-intent PvP rules.” XiaoYu might not be in the guild yet, but QiYao already thinks of XiaoYu as one of his own. New grudges, old vengeance. They’ll all be factored in equally. It’s not an unfair way of taking revenge.

“Gank him back to Level 1? He should count himself lucky. He’s the first player to enjoy such treatment.” Heretic Demons had all sorts of detailed internal rules and regulations. Thus, when conflicts arose, they could just hand out punishments or rewards accordingly. No one would be unjustly treated, and the guild wouldn’t accidentally go overboard. According to BattleOverlord’s mean-spirited actions towards LuckyCat – tormenting him for four hours straight and duelling a healer with absolutely no offensive powers – he should certainly die.

“6 p.m. West Gate of Serica.”

“Osiris in the Pyramids?” Qiong’s mind instantly jumped to the nearest region boss.

“Depends. Mainly to help XiaoYu get back his levels.”

“Hey, Chief, what’s LuckyCat’s full name?”

“I don’t know.”

“Huh? Aren’t you calling him Xiao-Yu already?” They’re already so affectionate with each other. How can QiYao not know the other’s full name? He wanted to call LuckyCat Xiao-Yu too. He’ll definitely discuss it out with LuckyCat tonight.

“Because his name is XiaoYu. I haven’t gotten his surname yet.”

“Then…why don’t we organise a meetup after we conquer Prole-3? The pack of brats in the guild have been going on and on about getting your autograph.” If they used Prole-3 as a reason for a real-life gathering, perhaps they’ll get some unexpected effects. It can even help LuckyCat blend into Heretic Demons faster.

“…”

“What is it?”

“Have you ever witnessed XiaoYu going offline?”

“…no.” Upon close scrutiny, every time Qiong looked at his Friends tab, LuckyCat’s icon was always lit up. Even if he didn’t look at it, the mountain-high pile of materials appearing before was proof that LuckyCat rarely, if ever, went offline.

“He doesn’t want to go offline.”

“You mean there’s something he doesn’t want to face in real life?”

“That’s a possibility.”

“Mn…Put a hold on the gathering idea. I’ll see what Lil Lucky thinks first.”

******

Since XiaoYu was now Level 49, which did not meet the Job Change quest’s level requirements, the Job Change quest was greyed out for him. It could not be completed. That meant even if XiaoYu went out and killed Zombies and Jiangshi now, the kill count for the quest will not change.

“Meow…” Hungry.

“There, there. We’ll get food once we find a restaurant.” XiaoYu knew that Yao’s not online now. There’s no way he could check whether XiaoYu ate carrots, but he was so concerned for XiaoYu. It’d feel rather rude if XiaoYu still crunched down on carrots. Furthermore, XiaoYu had a slight craving for cooked food.

YueYang Restaurant wasn’t hard to find, after asking a few NPCs who happily pointed the way out. It was lunch time. Crowds of players and NPCs flowed in and out the restaurant door. Standing at the doorway, XiaoYu hesitated.

“This way, sir. Just one?” Having spotted XiaoYu hovering at the doorway, a server NPC ran up and greeted him with a friendly smile.

“Uh. Yes.”

“Downstairs is all full. Please follow me upstairs. Do watch your step.” The server swiftly led XiaoYu up to the third floor. In a single glance, it would seem as if the place was packed to the brim. There was only a lonely empty table in an isolated corner. However, it certainly wasn’t a good spot. There was no way one could look out at the streets from that table.

“We sincerely apologise. This is the only table we have left. If you’re not happy with that seat, I could ask around if anyone’s willing to share their table.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind. Thanks.”

XiaoYu sat down and started reading through the menu the server handed to him. The prices for every dish was written down beside the name. XiaoYu secretly stuck his tongue out. At least it wasn’t too expensive. This place was so much more suited for the public mass than the place XiaoYu went to with I_Am_A_Poor_Man.

After ordering a few of his favourite dishes, not forgetting the specialty grilled fish for the tiny cat, XiaoYu considered which quest he should accept next while sipping on barley tea provided by the server.

“Little Acolyte, do you mind sharing tables?” A voice rang out above XiaoYu.

XiaoYu looked up and found a player dressed in the normal Assassin garb standing before him. As the Assassin outfit allowed the player to conceal their face, XiaoYu couldn’t tell what the other looked like at all. (Of course, the player could choose to not conceal their faces.)

When XiaoYu kept silent, LittleZhuGe pulled down the cloth concealing his face and asked once more, “Can I?”

“Yes. You can.” XiaoYu was an easy-going person. The hesitation from before was because he was examining LittleZhuGe’s mask. It was the first time he could take a close look at an Assassin with their face covered up. NonMeta, who was also an Assassin, disliked covering his face. So, he never used the cloth mask.

“Thank you.”

XiaoYu didn’t know that he’d actually met this person before. It’s understandable. On that day, LittleZhuGe was dressed in a top-tier Assassin’s outfit with his face covered up. Only those who knew LittleZhuGe well would be able to recognise him.

“What a cute kitty. Can I pet it?”

“Yes, if it doesn’t mind.”

“Here, kitty. Let me pet you. Please?” As LittleZhuGe said so, he slowly stretched a hand out for the small cat’s head. Upon receiving no objection, he began to stroke it.

“Meow~” Comfy. The tiny cat squinted its eyes in comfort as it enjoyed LittleZhuGe’s caress. It wasn’t afraid of this stranger at all, due to the scent of gold on him.

“Does it have a name?”

“TinyLuckyCat.”

“What an interesting name. Ah, right. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is LittleZhuGe.”

“I’m LuckyCat.” The name ZhuGe sounded familiar but XiaoYu couldn’t not remember where he heard of it before.

“Huh…Pfft.”

I’m used to it. =_=

As the two chatted, XiaoYu’s dishes arrived. Thus, LittleZhuGe retracted his hand. As he drank his tea, he watched the battle between the two cats and the food before them.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Upon hearing an unfamiliar voice, XiaoYu and the tiny cat looked up at the same time. This face was rather familiar…XiaoYu definitely knew he’d seen this man before, but when and where?

GloryOfTheWorld looked down at the two cat faces which were daydreaming while staring at him. “Pardon me,” he said, “for disturbing you from your meal.”

“This is my friend, LuckyCat. We were going to eat together.”

“Oh, right. Please, sit.” XiaoYu shuffled his dishes to a corner until he felt like the space he cleared was enough for the two’s dishes later.

“Thank you. Hi. I’m GloryOfTheWorld,” he said as he sat down.

“I’m LuckyCat. Ah. You’re the Guild Leader of Wings.” Realisation dawned upon XiaoYu. This was the guy they bumped into two days ago. He remembered that red horse. It was rather handsome.

“Yes. We met two days ago,” Glory replied.

“Yes.” XiaoYu left the conversation there and continued burying his face in food.

When XiaoYu and the small cat were all done, Glory and ZhuGe were only halfway through. With a satisfied kitten in his arms, who let out a fulfilled burp, XiaoYu raised his hand to call for the bill.

“Let us pay. Think of it as thanks for sharing your table with us,” Glory said.

“It’s fine. It’s what I should do.” It was rather wasteful for XiaoYu to hoard an entire table to himself. XiaoYu paused. “Thanks for the offer.”

“Let’s add each other.” As the suggestion was being made, Glory and ZhuGe both offered their name cards.

“Okay.” XiaoYu handed his own name cards in return, paid for his meal, gave a polite farewell to the other two, and left.

“Hehe. What an interesting newbie,” Glory said. They had ordered a jug of alcohol and were slowly enjoying their meal with it.

“Thank goodness I followed him when I saw him in the city. It’s not a waste of your time, right?”

“But this seat is so bad.”

“I can’t do anything about that. Luckily, he’s not a picky one. Otherwise, we’d have no chance to meet him.”

“Are you really sure yesterday’s update was because of him?”

“It should be. I saw him hand a Peco Peco egg over to a group of Peco Pecos. Then, the game announcement immediately popped up. There was a Knight in their party who looked very happy as he looked up at the announcement in the air.

“I wonder what the rewards were.”

“It should be good. I heard HereticKing is already Level 102.”

“Really? Then I must work hard. I can’t let him overshoot me. Let’s go to the Ancient Ruins afterwards.” GloryOfTheWorld. Level 102. Tank build, one-handed spear-wielding Knight.

The conversation on this end then shifted from Bai XiaoYu to the monsters in the Ancient Ruins. On the other end, XiaoYu was completely dejected over the news that the chef in charge of teaching cooking skills was on a holiday back to his hometown.

Translator’s Note:

1. Yue and Qiong: As some might have noticed, these characters’ in-game names are homonyms of their own names.

2. Jug of alcohol: There are times when alcohol is one of the worst terms to translate. Depending on the developers, this jug of alcohol could be a jug of beer or a pot of liquor (usually rice wine/bai jiu). The ancient Chinese used pots to store/age their alcohol as wooden barrels, thus jugs, weren’t really a thing for Chinese breweries.

3. Hei QiYao: If you were to MTL this name, it might give you Kurosaki Yao instead. This is because 黑崎 (Hei Qi) are the characters for Kurosaki from Bleach.

◄Previous •Index• Next►

39. Comfort

XiaoYu had never thought he’d be hated as much as he was by that swordsman. While his clumsy social skills meant he didn’t have many friends, his gentle and persistent personality along with his cute kitten-like face meant no matter how much his classmates ignored him no one would bully him.

However, today showed him there was someone in the world who hated him so much they wanted to kill him every time they met just because of a rejection. Even the tiny cat was a target. Is this what they called the ugly face of humanity? If they can’t have it, they’ll destroy it?

The air suddenly felt cold. A If a player wasn’t in a special zone, they weren’t meant to feel any noticeable temperature changes in the air. Still, XiaoYu felt a numbing chill spreading from within his body out to his skin. He closed off all chat channels. He hugged his knees tight against his chest. He won’t cry because he was killed, but he needed some time to calm his emotions.

“…meow.” The small cat paced round its depressed owner. It knew he had lost a lot of blood when protecting it just now. It looked so painful, likely even more than when it had hit its head against the table. But it didn’t know what it can do to help.

****

“…In conclusion, Prole-3 should be the hardest to conquer but the easiest to defend among all the number three fortresses. Sakura-3 will probably fall during the next battle.” The players from Heretic Demons had yet to leave the room they booked for loot splitting. They still had the room for a while longer. Just enough for them to chat and have a mini-meeting.

“Also, we have our usual meeting tomorrow afternoon, Chief. I’ll be at your place around ten tomorrow morning. Is that okay?” asked I_Am_A_Poor_Man.

“Mn,” HereticKing grunted in reply.

“Yosh.” I_Am_A_Poor_Man stood up and stretched. “I wonder what Lil Lucky’s Level now. I have a few beginner recipes for him that I forgot about just now.”

As he said so, he pulled up his Friends tab and looked for XiaoYu’s icon.

“Ah. What a shame. One more level and he could go for his Job Change quest too.” Upon noticing the tiny 49 showing beside XiaoYu’s icon, I_Am_A_Poor_Man sighed with pity.

“Impossible!” HereticKing exclaimed.

“Why would I lie to you?” I_Am_A_Poor_Man replied.

“How can it be…?” It was near impossible for someone to die during the first two Job Change quests. All that’s required was time, especially since healers were a naturally weak class. Thus, their Job Change quests were simpler than any other class’s. How could XiaoYu have lost a level?

“What’s going on, Chief?” HereticKing’s reaction felt rather strange to I_Am_A_Poor_Man. His gut was telling him there might be some issues with LuckyCat’s current Level.

“I just reminded him to do his Job Change quest an hour ago,” came the reply.

“… You’re saying Lil Lucky has died once in the past hour? How is that possible?” As a healer himself, I_Am_A_Poor_Man knew for a fact the second Job Change quest was not a difficult quest. That meant…

“He was killed by another player?” I_Am_A_Poor_Man voiced out his guess.

“Chief, look at the guild chat,” Below_The_Moon who had been sitting quietly to the side suddenly piped up. When the meeting concluded, he had reopened the muted Guild Chat channel and started reading through the previous messages. He was thinking of finding a few bored guildies to help him collect materials for his traps.

……

Terminator: Rawr. Does anyone have the Cursed Abyss marked in their Teleport? Help me out at the capital’s North Gate.

ProfessionalNanny: 10 crystals each.

Terminator: Aah, we’re all in the same guild. Don’t be a vampire.

TeenyTinyWhisper: Speaking of healers, I saw a little Acolyte at the capital just now. He was covered with blood and gashes. He looked so pitiful.

ShootYourAs: PvP?  Who’s that cruel guy?

Just_Singing: No way. Who’s suicidal enough to kill a healer? Aren’t they afraid of the Alliance?

Trainman: It’s probably a newbie who stumbled into the wrong zone and was xxx by a high-level monster.

Thundering: I saw him too. His back was dripping with blood. Why didn’t he heal himself?

TeenyTinyWhisper: I think it’s another player. Those wounds are clearly from a sword.

ProfessionalNanny: That’s a sympathy point in my books. Hey, person who uses a sword, 30 crystals to Cursed Abyss.

Terminator: Hey! I’m not the one who killed him!

……

HereticKing: Where is that healer now?

Terminator: Hi, Chief!

Trainman: Hi, Chief!

Tiramisu: Blub. Greetings, Chief!

…….

HereticKing: Stop! Whisper, Thunder, where is that Acolyte now?

TeenyTinyWhisper: I saw him at the Old Cathedral.

Thundering: I was near the vegetable stalls when I saw him walking west. But that was a long time ago. He’s probably somewhere else now.

“Haste!” HereticKing commanded.

I_Am_A_Poor_Man reflexively threw a Haste spell out upon hearing the command. All he saw afterwards was a shadow dashing out the door.

“It can’t really be LuckyCat, right?” Below_The_Moon questioned.

“Moon, let’s go look for him too. I’ve got a really bad feeling.” Shockingly, I_Am_A_Poor_Man didn’t pick a fight with Below_The_Moon. He tried messaging LuckyCat but was informed by the game that the other had closed off his communications. This had never happened before.

“Mn.”

HereticKing pulled up the map of Prole. Amidst the myriad of locations marked, he pinpointed the locations of the Old Cathedral and the vegetable stalls. Then, according to the possible revival points, he quickly drew up a rough estimate of where XiaoYu could be then. It was somewhat far from where HereticKing was standing right then. If mounts weren’t banned in the city, he would’ve summoned his horse as soon as he left the doors.

XiaoYu had closed off all communications. This was something HereticKing tested out the moment Poor_Man said XiaoYu was Level 49. Be it in text messages or via voice mail, the game rejected them all. This was absolutely not the norm.

Before this, HereticKing’s mind insisted XiaoYu was not some weak little girl. He had some strange stubbornness inside. If HereticKing waltzed over and did everything for him, he’d feel bad. However, HereticKing was starting to regret not going on the quest with him. How HereticKing wished for a Friendship skill that could teleport him straight to XiaoYu. Then, he wouldn’t have to buzz around the streets and alleyways like a headless fly.

Upon another close look at the area he marked down, HereticKing suddenly felt a sense of familiarity with one of the alleys marked. It was a narrow and quiet little alleyway. Few people realise this was a shortcut which led straight to the Guild Mission Board. It was also where he first met the two lucky cats.

While he couldn’t be sure if XiaoYu was at that spot, HereticKing still felt as if he needed to go take a look first. If he really can’t find XiaoYu, only then will he use the power of the massive guild he led.

When HereticKing spotted that familiar tiny shadow in the distance, his heart slowed down its racing by half. But when he got closer and saw the sword gashes decorating XiaoYu, his heart felt as if it was being strangled. It hurt. The game had washed away the blood, but HereticKing could imagine just how bloody XiaoYu was.

“Meow! Mrrow!” When the tiny cat spotted the familiar Mister from before, it immediately ran over and clawed at HereticKing’s trousers, frantically pulling him over to its owner.

HereticKing bent down and petted the small cat’s head to signal he had received the kitten’s message. He softly walked over to XiaoYu and knelt down before the other. He gave the other a light pat on the head.

XiaoYu slowly raised his head. Then, he slowly buried his head back into his arms. After a pause, a solemn and low whisper reached HereticKing’s ears. “I’m fine,” XiaoYu said.

“I know.” Thank goodness. He wasn’t crying. HereticKing knew just how stubborn XiaoYu was deep inside.

He sat down beside XiaoYu and pulled XiaoYu’s tremoring body into his arms. He didn’t say anything, just gently patted XiaoYu on the back, as if he was slowly transferring strength back to the quivering XiaoYu.

“I’m…really okay. I just need some time.”

“I know. I just want to be with you.”

“Ah. Thank…” you. XiaoYu didn’t continue his sentence. He was afraid if he said any more, all the sorrow and tears would burst out of his body. He wasn’t one who liked complaining and venting.

Thus, the two sat there quietly side by side. Oh, plus the tiny cat which was still leaning against XiaoYu’s feet.

“Let’s go. I think I know who did it,” I_Am_A_Poor_Man said. Below_The_Moon and he merely stood some distance away and observed the two men and the kitten.

“Do you need help?” Below_The_Moon might only have known XiaoYu for a day, but he was just like Poor_Man. He really did like this honest and emotionally-stilted child.

“Help me look into a swordsman. He might be a knight now. The name’s BattleOverlord.” Poor_Man clenched his fists. If his memory served him right…

“Okay,” Below_The_Moon replied.

“Poor, you mentioned a swordsman who bullied XiaoYu before,” HereticKing messaged.

“Yes, Chief. I’m investigating him now,” Poor_Man replied.

“Let me know as soon as you get anything,” HereticKing replied.

“Yes,” Poor_Man said.

HereticKing closed his messages and continued to quietly comfort XiaoYu. He knew any and all words were useless right now. What XiaoYu really needed was just someone to be by his side.

Translator’s Note:

Headless fly: Headless chicken + fly (because they buzz and wander in little circles).

◄Previous •Index• Next►

38. Hateful People Are Everywhere

CopperPlate and NonMeta had evening classes. As soon as the celebrations ended, they rushed off with a hasty goodbye. The entire party had a long day, so those who needed to log off logged off.

Bai XiaoYu was tasked with the duty of selling off the pile of random objects, since he now had a skill to increase gold received from selling.

“Remember to go for your Job Change afterwards, XiaoYu.” Just as XiaoYu was pouring out the items to be sold to the NPC, a message reached his ears. That deep and rich voice of HereticKing was so very soothing.

“Why?”

“Hehe. I knew it. Look at your levels.” While HereticKing can’t see XiaoYu then, he could already imagine that befuddled expression.

“Huh? 50! Already?” XiaoYu was stunned the moment he opened up his stats. How did his Level rise so quickly?

“The last two quests gave us 400,000 EXP.” HereticKing had done a quick calculation. It should’ve been enough for XiaoYu to level up. A quick tap into his Friends tab proved the guess to be correct.

“I see. I’ll go now.” XiaoYu accepted the bag of coins the NPC held out to him, politely thanked the other, then followed his memory to where the Job Change Centre was.

“Do you still remember our promise?”

“Mn. You’ll be the first I notify.” While XiaoYu was always a klutz when it came to matters regarding himself, he’d do his very best when it’s something he promised others he’d do. That’s one of the Bai family rules.

“I’ll wait for your good news.”

******

The second Job Change quest wasn’t hard at all. It’s just as troublesome as the first Job Change. Only, the type of monsters he needed to kill increased. 100 mid-tier Zombies, 100 high-tier Zombies and 100 mid-tier Jiangshi.

However, XiaoYu was very glad it was a kill quest. He’d rather kill some monsters so the tiny cat could pick up some items than a fetch quest or a chain of errands.

He knew the Zombie Cave like the back of his hand, so much so he could walk from the capital gates to the cave entrance with his eyes closed. Not that he’d be that bored as to try that out. The moment he stepped out of the South Gate, he summoned his Peco Peco mount and head straight for the Zombie Cave. The journey which previously took 15 minutes of walking would now take an approximate of 7 minutes. It’s so convenient having a mount.

Just as that thought went through XiaoYu’s mind, he heard hoofbeats coming from behind. He didn’t bother turning around. It’s probably some player who’s also in a rush. Thus, he nudged the Peco Peco to the side and made way for the person coming up behind him.

Never in his wildest dreams would XiaoYu have thought this subconscious polite gesture would help him dodge a direct hit to his back.

Even though he avoided a critical hit, the swift blade still scored a wound on his arm. Bright red blood instantly gushed out. -200.

“Player BattleOverlord attacked you. PK mode activated. Your ID’s colour will not change if you attack any other player in the opponent’s team in the next 10 minutes.”

The same old scenery. The same old notification. XiaoYu thought time would dull the ache, but it seemed like he was just being way too naive. A classic example of forgetting the pain once the scar healed. XiaoYu laughed at how foolish he was.

“I said I’d kill you every single time I see you!” When BattleOverlord was reorganising his Storage near the South Gate of Prole, he saw the player who humiliated him over a month ago. The pet cat on his shoulder even had an accessory now. From memory, it could battle and it could pick up items. Hmph. He’s furious just looking at a low-levelled noob having a special pet!

And so, BattleOverlord geared up and snuck out after XiaoYu. If it was a quick hit-and-run, who’d be able to save him then?

If XiaoYu was still in a party, all his teammates should be receiving a message stating “Player so-and-so from Party such-and-such attacked your teammate. Hurry and go help,” or something like that. But their party was too famous. The announcement was still floating up in the air, reminding everyone of the upcoming server maintenance. Thus, they split up as soon as they were done.

XiaoYu was all alone. He didn’t put any hope on the game notification system saving him anyway because he knew this swordsman – no, he’s now a Knight – was really in a crazed frenzy now. There was no use complaining and pitying himself. Only by relying on himself can he be saved. XiaoYu quickly stood up. He put his Peco Peco away, buffed and healed himself. The series of actions flowed smoothly together without a single hitch. The time he spent watching videos of high-levelled healers wasn’t a waste after all.

On the other hand, this BattleOverlord was clearly not a new player. XiaoYu was not given a single chance to catch his breath at all. While XiaoYu was busy buffing himself, he slashed and sliced away. One could tell he was a very experienced player before Asgard Online.

XiaoYu’s Agility was extremely low. Even with a speed-boosting buff and a speed debuff on BattleOverlord, he still found it hard to keep dodging the constant attacks from a Knight who’s built towards high Agility. XiaoYu was able to use the trees around him to block some of them, but it was still a frazzling experience for him. Streams of red began to blossom on his body. Still, he focused his all in dodging the heavy sword before him. It might not be a complete dodge, but merely avoiding critical hits was better than nothing. Right now, a single split second of inattention could lead him to instant death. Hence, even if XiaoYu planned on calling for help, the moment he tried opening the messaging tab, he’d be struck down.

This was not the same as dodging attacks from a one-handed Agility knight like HereticKing. BattleOverlord was a two-handed Agility Knight. The broadsword was a two-handed sword. It had a higher attack compared to a one-handed sword of the same tier. The downside was the user can’t use a shield. When trying to avoid being hit, the player must dodge or they’d be hurt. It’s a playstyle which sacrificed defence for strength.

Thus, XiaoYu cannot be hit straight on by that sword. The level difference between the two had decreased. It was rather impossible for XiaoYu to be killed in one hit, but a critical hit would make most of his health disappear in a blink. The dizziness from the resulting blood loss would very likely throw XiaoYu off his beat and the next hit would kill him for sure.

BattleOverlord didn’t think XiaoYu would be so resilient this time. The health he knocked off weren’t as much as he thought he should. Even if the other grinded hard without sleeping or breaks for the whole month they’ve not seen each other, XiaoYu couldn’t be more than Level 40 right now. How could he have the same buffs and debuffs as a Level 55 Knight? They could hurt each other, and XiaoYu’s health would hover around near full during the time between skill cooldowns. He would never be heavily injured at all… (As opposed to the PC game where hovering one’s cursor over the other player could show their health and level, one would need to rely on pure observation in VR games. What kind of equipment the opponent had, the effects of skill used, and rough estimations based on the increase and decrease of the HP bar above the other’s avatar. The only additional display for Friends was what Level the other was.)

Could it be this brat had some kind of special equipment? As the thought flashed through BattleOverlord’s mind, his greedy gaze swept over XiaoYu’s body. Average leather shoes. Average healer’s robes. Ratty old headdress. Only that staff looked special, but he recognised that staff. His girlfriend was a wizard. That’s a Level 25 Silver Crystal Staff commonly used by healers. It didn’t look any special at all…Wait! Is that a necklace?

Several long slashes marked XiaoYu’s long robes, allowing a tiny bit of the necklace hidden to shimmer through. Thus, BattleOverlord’s blade swooped faster and harder. Frick! How could this puny brat have a necklace too? He didn’t even have one yet! I’m going to burst your arse open!

XiaoYu did not understand just why BattleOverlord was hitting harder and faster all of a sudden. It was probably due to impatience from not having killed him yet. Perhaps he’ll find a chance to escape onto the main road then. If he was lucky, some high-level players passing by might help him out. There was no hope for XiaoYu to win this duel, because his only way to attack non-Undead were to just whack the enemy with his staff.

It’d be a lie if one were to describe BattleOverlord as relaxed and unworried at the sight of XiaoYu slowly inching towards the main road. His nametag was currently grey. Anyone could kill him. What should he do?

Suddenly, BattleOverlord’s eyes spotted the tiny cat on the floor. It had been sticking close to its little owner’s feet. Nervous, irritated and angry, but it couldn’t attack the hateful knight before it at all. Even if it could break through the game’s limitations, its puny attack would deal as much damage as a light scratch.

BattleOverlord’s mind whirled. His sword turned midway through the air and slashed down at the small cat. It was so fast that the tiny cat who’d been staring at its little owner in worry couldn’t react in time. The sword was flashing right before its eyes. Any moment now, it’d be split in two.

“Aah!”

-768 (Critical). Finally, a critical hit. That was mainly because a critical hit was easier when it’s a hit to the back.

Mouth spurt from XiaoYu’s mouth. Thank goodness. The little kitten wasn’t hit. As seen in life, humans would always be able to exceed the game’s limitations when in danger. How else would his measly slow pace be able to make it?

XiaoYu held the tiny cat tight in his arms, protecting it from the knight. He didn’t care that his back was now completely exposed to the other. To XiaoYu, the tiny cat was the most important existence of his life. He’d rather die than let any harm come to it.

-690 (Critical).

 “You have been killed. Would you like to revive in the last recorded checkpoint, Prole?”

“Yes.” XiaoYu didn’t hesitate for a single second. He can’t let the tiny cat be left alone before that knight. Who knew what cruel things he’d do to it? Upon revival, pets will follow their owners back to the checkpoint.

“Death Penalty: -1 Level. Dropped: 10 Crystal Coins, +4 Silver Crystal Staff.”

Covered in blood, XiaoYu ignored the strange looks he was getting and trudged towards the alley he’d hidden in before. He buried his head between his arms, quivering.

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