Ye Ci was forced to travel to the Middle Continent due to her high Sin value. She continued her flight to the Middle Continent after bidding her farewell with Wang Jiangnan. Ol’ Six was flying at the speed of the Gryphon of the Flight Manager, but unlike the Gryphons, the Dragon had to be fed constantly.
Despite her high cooking level and high grade food material, most of the food she prepared was roasted. This resulted in lower level food that did not do much in satisfying Ol’ Six’s appetite.
With the exception of her Cooking skills, all of Ye Ci’s Life Skills were still at the rank of Beginner. It was all thanks to the needs to satisfy her large pets. But due to her lack of recipes, she was unable to prepare any food that could increase the stats of players upon consumption.
Ye Ci finally arrived at the gates of Hero City just when her supplies of food were almost depleted.
Hero City was built on top of a magical floating island at the center of the Middle Continent. Players could only reach the city through the use of teleportation and aerial steed. The teleportation shards to the city were more expensive than the shards to the other cities, and could only be purchased from very specific NPCs. Ye Ci herself bought a few pieces during her first visit to the city, but with Ol’ Six hatched, she no longer had a need for the shards.
The entrance of Hero City was littered with corpses. It was apparent that a large scale battle took place just in front of the city moments ago, but it had already devolved into a battle of words.
All eyes shifted to Ol’ Six when Ye Ci landed. The gazes from so many players would have drilled countless holes into Ye Ci if not for the Secret Clock she obtained from Golden Era. but she could still feel the heat of the a thousand suns on her as she walked into the city.
With Ol’ Six already made into promotional material by Fate officials, there was no need for Ye Ci to hide the presence of her Dragon. With the Secret Clock equipped, she did not have to worry about her identity. This allowed her to walk through the gates of Hero City without worry.
Ye Ci was a Red Name, and despite her high level and stats, there was no way she could survive an attack from dozens of players at once.
But none of the players around her showed any intention of attacking as she made her way into the city.
She was able to walk into the city unmolested under the watchful gazes of the players around her.
Unlike the players, NPCs could see the precise Sin value on Ye Ci. Despite living in an absolutely neutral city that would not cast judgement upon players according to their Sin values, the residents of Hero City would still react to a player’s Sin values.
An NPC with a high sense of justice would often shun players with high Sin values, denying them access to quests and items.
Ye Ci was not chased down by the city’s soldiers as she walked through its streets, but as she walked into the eastern district of the city, she was refused by the warehouse NPCs, and she could do nothing but to head to the western district of the city.
The different districts of Hero City were home to different types of NPCs. The NPCs with conscience would not reside in the same district with NPCs without a sense of justice. And this was why Ye Ci was forced into the western district of the city.
Her high Sin values meant that she was not welcomed by the NPCs in the eastern district. The only NPCs who would deal with her were living in the western district of Hero City.
She could feel an entirely different atmosphere the moment she set foot in the western district. The NPCs were all staring at her as if she was their prey. And even the streets of the western district appeared to be gloomy and dark in comparison.
When siege battles were introduced to the game in the future, the number of players with high Sin values would increase. They would naturally flock to the western district of the city when their services were refused by the NPCs in the eastern district.
But these players were fewer in numbers at the current stage of the game, which meant that the western district did not receive many visitors.
The income of the NPCs would in turn be very low. And this was why they treated every visiting player as a prey.
Ye Ci stocked up in the shops of the western district, and visited a Cooking NPC for some high level recipes so that she could satisfy Ol’ Six’s large appetite. With all the preparations done, she was ready to head to the lvl75-lvl80 map of the Middle Continent to level up and to clear her Sin value.
She noticed a presence behind her as she approached the main gate of Hero City.
She slowed down her pace, and studied her surroundings. She was able to detect the presence of a Rogue following behind her. But the Rogue’s Stealth was so high that even Ye Ci could not pinpoint the player’s exact location. Is that a player? How can someone have such a high Stealth value?
Ye Ci was excited. If the player was an enemy, she would be able to engage the player freely in combat as the western district was not patrolled by soldiers. After all, it was the darkest corner of the city.
The Rogue lost Ye Ci as she passed by an intersection. He could not detect her presence anywhere in the narrow street.
A sneer appeared on Ye Ci’s lips as she stared down at the Rogue from the second floor balcony of one of the buildings.
It was a player. A Red Name player from a hostile continent. She could tell from the Rogue’s figure that he was either a short Human or an Elf. And from the Rogue’s posture and level of alertness, Ye Ci knew that he was a veteran.
And this particular Rogue was very good at tailing a player and escaping. A Rogue like him might not necessarily have a high attack, but was very good at evading his opponents. Even Ye Ci herself was not sure if she could take him out with a single hit.
But Ye Ci was ready to strike. She nocked an arrow, and took aim at the Rogue.
While the Rogue was still trying his best to locate Ye Ci, her arrow flew threw the air at its target.
The Rogue was immediately able to pinpoint Ye Ci’s direction when she released her arrow. He rolled to a side, knowing better than to take a hit from Gongzi You. If he was stunned, it would be a trip to the grave.
He knew that he had lost the fight the moment he took the action to evade Gongzi You’s attack. He was a good player with good gaming sense, and he knew how to utilize his Agility and Evasion to gain the upper hand in a fight. But the moment he dove to a side to evade the arrow, the Rogue knew that he had fallen into Gongzi You’s trap.
The Huntress was an expert at engaging her opponents at range, and was also a good melee fighter. She was also known by her precise attacks that would often strike at the vitals of her opponents and render them crippled.
Ah, who was the one who said that Gongzi You was cold and heartless? She is also actually a very cruel person.
If I’m not mistaken… The Rogue took a defensive stance when he evaded the attack, and felt the cold sensation of a dagger pressed against his neck, “Don’t move if you do not wish to lose your experience points.”
The Rogue let out a sigh. He did not know Gongzi You well enough, and could naturally not tell what her next move would be. It was impossible to win if he could not predict what his opponent might do next.
Hence the Rogue gave up on any thoughts of fighting back. He relaxed his muscles and chuckled, “Don’t be rash, Gongzi You. My guild leader wants to see you.”
A frown appeared on Ye Ci’s face, “Your guild leader?” her question was followed by a sneer, “Breeze?”
But Ye Ci’s guess was wrong. And the Rogue himself did not expect the name was well. It took him a full minute to respond to Ye Ci’s question, “It seems that you’ve been a victim of Breeze’s activities. Is that why you’re relating this to him as well?”
Ye Ci raised an eyebrow. Who else can it be then? She let out a laugh as she pressed the dagger harder against the player’s throat, “Who else will send a Rogue with such a high Stealth to take me out if not Breeze?”
“Oh I’m not here to fight you, and I never will.” the Rogue chuckled, “You know our boss, and you know another guy in our guild even better.”
“Who?” Ye Ci was baffled.
“My boss is Absalom. As for the other guy…” Ye Ci released the Rogue and cut him off mid sentence, “What does Absalom want from me?” she asked as she sheathed her weapon.
“I do not know.” the Rogue shrugged, “But you’ll find out once you meet my boss. He is waiting for you.”
“Where is he?”
“The Shining Gold Tavern in the eastern district.” The Rogue dusted his cloak and pulled back his hood, revealing a smile on a very young face. Ye Ci could see the guild insignia beside the player’s name once his face was revealed. He was indeed from Genesis.
“Lead the way.”
What does Absalom want from me? Thought Ye Ci. Whatever, it must have something to do with the Mithril.
It did not take long for the duo to arrive at the Shining Gold Tavern.
The Shining Gold Tavern was not the most well known in the district, nor was it blooming with business. It was tucked away at a secluded corner of the city.
Ye Ci saw a Sorcerer in an elegant robe as she walked through the entrance of the tavern. The man stood up when he noticed her presence and grinned.
Who else could it be but Absalom?
There was also a man that she had not seen before beside Absalom. He was wearing a robe as well, but was not equipped with anything that could define his class.
Ye Ci studied her surroundings out of reflex, and was relieved to not detect the presence of a certain someone in the tavern. She did not know why, but a feeling of emptiness crept into her heart.
