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Ye Ci could feel her temples throbbing. Why do I keep running into unfavorable situations in the game like this?
It was one thing to be placed in an unfavorable situation, as Ye Ci would always be able to find herself a way out. But this person had been nothing but a major headache for her. She was even slightly afraid.
Afraid? Yes. The word that did not exist in Gongzi You’s dictionary was added into her vocabulary whenever a certain someone appeared.
His constant pestering was not something that she could ignore as he would never give up. It only meant that it would continue.
“What sort of rotten luck brings me to the same grave as you?” Ye Ci sighed.
“You randomized your spawn location as well?” Fleeting Time raised an eyebrow.
“What do you mean by ‘as well’…” Ye Ci rolled her eyes. She crossed her hands in front of her chest, “Don’t tell me you got killed by some sort of BOSS as well, and arrived here after randomizing your spawn location?”
Fleeting Time rubbed his chin and stared at Ye Ci, “So this is how you died.”
Ye Ci was exasperated. She looked up into the sky and let out a sigh. She did not admit to such a thing, but her response was an answer for the question.
“The same thing happened to me as well. It might not be what you’ve experienced, but I was sent here by the system as well.”
Ye Ci had always been so helpless before Fleeting Time, but even she could not deny that the man was a better player than her. This was why her curiosity was aroused when she heard his words.
“You were killed by some sort of BOSS?”
“Ah, it seems that a Quest BOSS got you.” stated Fleeting Time.
Ye Ci nodded in response, “Yup. I was killed by a Quest BOSS. I guess the same thing happened to you.” she sneered at Fleeting Time, “So even Fleeting Time would die in the game.”
“Why not? Even Gongzi You died. So why can’t I?” Fleeting Time smiled as he stretched himself, “Is there a player who hasn’t died in the game?”
Fleeting Time clearly intended to extend his conversation with Ye Ci, but his expression changed suddenly as he cursed under his breath, “I’ll take my leave now. There are things that I have to deal with. I’ll be seeing you later.” he said as he immediately sprinted away.
Ye Ci was baffled by his behavior. He was someone who was very persistent. She was shocked that he took his leave moments after their meeting.
“Well goodbye then! I hope we won’t be meeting again!” she shouted and waved at Fleeting Time.
Fleeting Time turned his head around and smiled at Ye Ci as he continued running away, “I’ll have to apologize about that. I don’t think I can grant you that wish.” And Ye Ci was completely baffled by how fast Fleeting Time was running away from the graveyard.
Just then, a system notification chimed in her ears, “Naga’s minions have discovered your location. A large number of them will be arriving at your location shortly. Please prepare yourself for battle.”
What? Naga’s minions?
Don’t tell me… They’re at the same level as Lornar…
Ye Ci shivered at that thought. Oh no! I’ll die for sure!
She immediately studied her surroundings, and found no signs of Naga’s minions. It was time to flee. She summoned Ol’ Six, and shot up into the sky.
The sky was clear and there was no sign of Naga’s minions. Is the system playing with me? Thought Ye Ci. Just then, she heard a loud crack, and almost received a heart attack from what she saw. A large fissure had opened up in the air, and a large centipede was making its way out of the fissure in the air and immediately charged at Ye Ci.
She turned Ol’ Six around, and one such monster behind her as well. She narrowly avoided its jaw and continued speeding ahead. Fissures were opening up in the skies as countless centipede monsters appeared from the portals.
Ye Ci was surrounded within mere moments. She was completely cut off by the monsters.
She let out a sigh. They’re all lvl120 Elites. Looks like I’m dying again.
Ahh, whatever. Ye Ci completely gave up on fighting back. She was reduced to a corpse within seconds. And just like when she died to Lornar, Ye Ci could only resurrect herself at the graveyard. And the only destination available was the Scarlet Highlands.
“No way, you died again!” Fleeting Time’s voice entered her ears the moment she arrived at the graveyard. There was nothing but surprise in his voice.
Ye Ci looked at the source of the voice and saw Fleeting Time standing at the middle of the graveyard. She was shocked as well, “Did you die as well?”
Fleeting Time stared at Ye Ci for a brief moment and asked, “Did you receive a notification that some sort of special monster will appear, and you died…”
Ye Ci’s eyes narrowed at the question, “Is that how you died?”
“I guess it was the same for you then.” Fleeting Time chuckled as he clutched at his hair, “Were you killed by Naga’s minions?”
Ye Ci was truly shocked at this point. She had guessed that Fleeting Time was in the middle of a similar quest, but now she was certain that they were indeed trapped by the same quest, “What sort of mission have you accepted?”
“I’ll have to leave it for later. I received another notification that Naga’s minions are approaching. Why don’t we stick together? I died because there were too many monsters. If you’re with me, I think we can handle them.”
Ye Ci immediately agreed to the proposal. Fleeting Time was a skillful player, and she was not able to deal with Naga’s minions alone. Having another skillful player with her would greatly increase her chances of survival.
She might not want to have anything to do with Fleeting Time, but she knew that it was not the time to fret. They were also trying to complete the same quest, and in the neutral continent that was the Middle Continent, there was no reason for them to not work together.
Besides, neither Ye Ci nor Fleeting Time were willing to part so easily with their hard-earned EXP.
The duo immediately sprinted to the eastern side of the graveyard once they formed a party. They exchanged information as they fled, and Ye Ci was able to confirm that Fleeting Time had also accepted a Hidden Quest related to the Elven King Dau’er, and he was tasked with protecting an arrow. Tamra was of course not the NPC who gave the quest to Fleeting Time, for Hidden Quests such as this that affected the main quest were triggered under different circumstances.
The only remaining question that was troubling Ye Ci’s mind was…
“What arrow are you carrying?”
“The Blaze Arrow.” Fleeting Time held nothing back from Ye Ci. He was originally merely impressed by Ye Ci’s sensitivity to Hidden Quests and her skill at the game. But after their many interactions together, Fleeting Time began seeing her in an entirely different light.
Ye Ci might not agree with his views, but it did not stop him from completely trusting her, “You’re not carrying the same one, are you?”
“Nope. The one I have with me is the Venom Arrow.” Ye Ci answered truthfully, “How many of Dau’er’s arrows have you collected?”
“Two. I have another one with me called the Dark Arrow.” came the reply, “What about you?”
“I have two as well. The other one I have is the Holy Arrow.” and Ye Ci shot him another question after a brief moment of thought, “We both hold different arrows. Does it mean that there’s only one of each of the five arrows in this game?”
“I’m not sure about that. We can talk about it once we take care of our pursuers.” Fleeting Time sighed, “There’ll be a lot of them. Be careful.”
“I have a Dragon. Let’s fly up.”
Fleeting Time immediately shook his head, “No, don’t do that. Aerial monsters will spawn if you summon your Dragon. They’re way harder to deal with than the monsters on the ground.”
A frown appeared on Ye Ci’s face, “Are the monsters spawning based on the highest tier life form in the party and our levels?”
“Yes. And that’s why I gave up on summoning an aerial steed and stuck to traveling by land. I did not even dare to summon my pet in fear of raising the levels of the pursuing monsters. But as you know, the Hunter class is at a disadvantage without pets in the wild.” Fleeting Time was able to calmly analyze the situation, Ye Ci could even sense a hint of excitement from that man.
“We’ll be dealing with two waves of monsters. Be careful not to get surrounded.” Ye Ci could understand his excitement, for she was sharing the same feeling as well. It was perhaps something that all top players would feel in the face of an impossible challenge. They have stood at the peak for too long, and it was time to reach for a new height.
It did not take long for Naga’s minions to arrive at their location. The two Hunters summoned no pets, which meant that the monsters were spawned based on the strength of their characters.
A large group of lvl75 monsters hurled themselves at the duo. They might not be Elites, but their numbers were great. And the Hunters engaged them in a running battle in the Scarlet Highlands.
Their teamwork was near perfect during the battle. It was as if they were not enemies originating from opposing continents. They did not even need a lot of communication as they fought against the horde of Naga’s minions. It was as if they have long since grew familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of one another, and were able to complement each other very well.
A battle like this was very draining, but the system allowed a moment of reprieve for the duo. The battle ended in ten minutes when the last of the monsters dropped dead on the ground.
Ye Ci was so tired that she could barely lift her hand. She looked at Fleeting Time, who smiled at her before tossing a bottle of wine, “Here, the best stamina recovery wine in Hero City.”
Ye Ci immediately gulped down the bottle of the content. Her Stamina bar that was flashing red was immediately restored. She let out a sigh and took a look at her inventory. Her supplies were almost depleted. If she had to continue fighting like this, she would soon be useless.
Fleeting Time sat beside Ye Ci and initiated a trade with various supplies to her shock, “What are you doing?”
“Aren’t you a wanted criminal in Hero City and a Red Name as well? Your supplies are almost depleted, am I right?” Fleeting Time smiled and selected the ‘confirm’ button.
