Virtual World: Close Combat Mage

“No Smile…” Dusky Cloud muttered this name; he had rather complicated feelings toward that man. Back in the days before Parallel World came to be, the two of them were sworn brothers that had gone through quite a number of MMOs together. During that time, all they would do was converse with each other over voice chat a little. The impression Dusky Cloud got of the man was fairly favorable back when they were still using such indirect means of communication. He knew a bit about the history between No Smile and July, but since Dusky Cloud was the type of person to keep to his own business, he believed that there was no reason for him to interfere in that foolish matter between the two. Furthermore, given how he believed in the spirit of brotherhood, he saw no reason to ask about the situation too much.

They remained in contact with each other even after entering Parallel World by adding each other to their friends list upon creating their account. However, because the structure of Parallel World was still murky and unknown back then, the two ended up in different cities, neither had any clue as to how they could meet and had no choice but to survive on their own at first.

In the end, the situation that both parties had found themselves in were rather dramatic. No Smile quickly managed to join the largest guild in Yunduan City as one of its core members from the start, and that was a considerably glamorous achievement. This was during the time when Silver Moon’s guild, Past Deeds, was tyrannizing Yueye City, and Dusky Cloud’s guild had a hard time contending with such an antagonist. However, everything was turned on its tail once the matter between No Smile and July ‘ignited’ once more. It just so happened that July’s small guild had an indomitable player who caused the b*st*rd, No Smile, to experience the bitterest taste of defeat. With his level 30 dropping all the way down to level 20, starting that level-dropping legend in Parallel World, his name became synonymous to the word ‘loser’. This record had yet to be broken by any other, so his name was still on everyone’s lips even now.

No Smile’s future in Yunduan City was ruined in that instant, and because he was guilty, he had no choice but to run all the way over to Yueye City. And that was when Dusky Cloud demonstrated his brotherly loyalty in that moment! He could barely fend for himself then, yet he still willingly tried helping his sworn brother take revenge on his killer. It was almost as if every player in Parallel World knew what had happened after this; Dusky Cloud became the boss of Yueye City even as No Smile got cast down.

However, it was this series of events that connected Yunduan City and Yueye City, as No Smile’s first move was to seek asylum with his comrade once he could no longer make a living in Yunduan City. That incident with No Smile had caused quite a stir, and the old scores between the two were all unearthed and gossiped about – it was just a step away from being published into a music video. Dusky Cloud truly treated the man as his brother, but having heard of the rumors as well, he had a change of opinion about the man. And since the comrades he now hung out with was the straightforward sort, upon learning of what type of person this No Smile was, each of them began to regard him with contempt as they shunned such a criminal. All this time, No Smile was formally seen by his other comrades as the number one cad, while Silver Moon, who had abandoned Vast Lushness as he fled, was only just beginning to be received with a similar sentiment.

Dusky Cloud was a little disappointed when it came to the sort of characteristic No Smile had. To them, while Vast Lushness was the sort of player that left them all grinding their teeth, it was not to the point where they scorned her, since they were all cut from the same cloth; showing disdain to her was as good as showing disdain to themselves. Conversely, how No Smile acted was ideologically different, and the way he went about doing things was incompatible.

No Smile happily threw his lot in with Dusky Cloud, but all the latter’s other comrades from the Ten Guild Alliance already had a strong first impression of the man. Even though none of them said anything because they were being thoughtful toward Dusky Cloud, everyone felt hypocritical whenever No Smile called them ‘brother’.

At first, No Smile had chalked up their treatment of him to having just been acquainted and everyone being rather unfamiliar with him. However, over time, how could he not feel the cold regard they had for him? He could even sense the gradual estrangement that appeared between him and his old pal, Dusky Cloud.

No Smile had spent those days bitterly! Despite all the icy words he was receiving, he persevered and worked tirelessly by participating in all the activities that the guild organized. Take for example that incident of hunting down Vast Lushness all the way to Yunduan City; a good number of players were too lazy to do it, yet someone who had no hatred for Vast Lushness joined in as well. Unfortunate for him, even after doing all those things, everybody still did not warm up to him.

Having borne everything so barefaced for so long, No Smile sure had no intention of continuing to be treated so poorly. Seeing that nothing had changed for the better even after spending so much time hanging around them, he started considering forging his own path out from under Dusky Cloud’s wing. He could only fault that, even with how huge the Ten Guild Alliance’s area of influence was, and the unity they had went well beyond his belief. It was like they were all of one mind, and their attitude toward him was all the same. No Smile had spent quite a lot of time around these people, yet he had not even managed to make friends with anyone at all. Everything about this made him feel extremely ashamed. It was at this time when he received Ye Xiaowu and Broken Water Arrow’s invite. Considering that he had not even managed to earn a bit of favor from Dusky Cloud and his men here, and that Dusky Cloud had become more and more distant, as well as how he was not as indecisive and paranoid like Silver Moon, it was only natural for him to give them his straightforward answer.

He was originally intending to head over to Linyin City himself when he first came in contact with them, but upon learning that the other party was heading over to save Silver Moon as well, No Smile decided to take this chance to see what this person could accomplish. Perhaps he could demonstrate the value of having him around by lending a hand or being their spy.

In the end, this person’s solution to extricating Silver Moon was really simple, and it was actually through the utilization of a Teleportation Scroll. Even though it was simple, it could be seen as a huge gesture, and his action showed his sincerity toward their recruitment. While Silver Moon was still thinking about taking the plunge with the scroll, No Smile already made up his mind at the sight of that scroll, and he heartily joined the two in leaving for Linyin City.

Silver Moon was the one who had picked the coordinates, and there was no way for Ye Xiaowu to remember just what would be present in every set of coordinates; still, he did have a good idea as to what to expect within that area. It just so happened that Silver Moon had picked a set of coordinates that were right in the city, which therefore saved them traveling time. The moment their feet touched the ground, Silver Moon could hardly wait to register his account in this new city. He did not wish to accidentally die and find himself back at Baishi City’s Knights’ Barracks again.

“Silver Moon bro, wait for me; we’ll go together.” This was also the first time No Smile was here, so it was only natural that he would have to register his account as well.

“Then, I’ll leave you two to it. I’ll reach out to you guys later.” Ye Xiaowu told the two.

“Thank you very much!” Silver Moon at least did not forget to express his gratitude.

Both parties parted, watching Ye Xiaowu walk off into the distance, No Smile immediately asked Silver Moon, “Bro, what do you think is that guy’s background?”

“Hard to tell. He’s of a low level and his equipment are all nothing to write home about, but he’s quite knowledgeable about the game,” Silver Moon replied.

“Oh? What did he talk to you about?” No Smile asked.

“A whole lot of things; I only got a ballpark idea of what he was talking about.”

Despite his doubt in what Ye Xiaowu was saying before, the fact still remained that he had truly been rescued from the Knights Barracks and was now in a different city safe and sound. Thus, he at least believed that Ye Xiaowu’s previous words were factual.

“How did you get in touch with that man?” Silver Moon asked.

“He’s the one that sought me out – something about Thousand Miles Drunk,” No Smile replied.

“Yeah. Same as me!” Silver Moon nodded. “What do you think?”

“I reckon that Thousand Miles Drunk had offended that person, so he’s rounding up players to contend with that Mage. I think that’s also why he approached people like us; it’s because we have existing enmity with Thousand Miles Drunk.” No Smile shared his deduction.

“Yes. That makes sense.” Silver Moon nodded.

“Do you agree with my thinking as well, Silver Moon bro?” No Smile asked, feeling that Silver Moon was holding something back.

“Yes. On one hand, that man might have a bad blood with Miles, on the other hand, I feel that he has a unique familiarity with the game.” Silver Moon shared his supposition as well.

“Unique familiarity? What do you mean by that?” No Smile hurriedly asked.

Silver Moon lowered his voice. “I suspect he might be an internal game employee.”

“Game employee? They shouldn’t be able to play this game!” No Smile had quite the scare. They were all veteran gamers and were well-acquainted with this rule.

“Perhaps he’s not with the game company, but in a word, it’s like he has his back channels; he’s someone who has knowledge of the game data from behind the scenes,” Silver Moon said.

“If you put it that way…” No Smile seemed to have a thought.

“Bro, share your view!” Silver Moon snickered darkly.

“If he’s really someone like that, it isn’t bad if we team up with him,” No Smile said.

“Yes. Still, we need to get a feel of the man – find out just how much information and knowledge he has and what sort of plan he’s got in mind,” Silver Moon said.

“It’s not going to be an easy task if we do intend to clash with Thousand Miles Drunk!” said No Smile. While it had been quite some time since he came into contact with Gu Fei, would there really be anyone in Parallel World that would be unaware of just how illustrious Gu Fei had gotten?

“Those guys that Miles hangs out with aren’t easy to deal with, either!” Silver Moon came across them a little later, so he was fortunate enough to experience the full prowess of Young Master’s Elite in action.

“Still, looking at that Priest, he seems pretty confident,” No Smile reasoned.

“Yeah. Which is why we must be all the more vigilant! We need to separate the chaff from the wheat and find out what’s worth reaping. Against someone of Miles, we’ll be able to casually take him down by the time we’re powerful enough, don’t you think?” Silver Moon asked.

“Oh, yes!” No Smile nodded repeatedly. The two men shared a raucous laugh together, feeling a bit of excitement igniting in their hearts.

It’s been such a long time! These two were submerged in the looks of contempt from others and had been cast aside, so even casually sharing a word or two with someone became a luxury. Things were different now, though. This man here speaks the same language as mine! these two men thought at the same time.

“Let’s hurry and register our accounts here before life strays us from it.” Now that their friendship had deepened, No Smile immediately began to show concern for Silver Moon.

“Yes. What’s your level now, bro?” Silver Moon was now merely level 36, so his Appraisal skill was useless when used on No Smile.

“41,” No Smile replied. Even though the others had given him the cold shoulder, at least he had not been viewed as an enemy and hunted like one. As someone in Yueye City’s Ten Guild Alliance, No Smile had a rather easy time grinding monsters and questing, which was also the reason why he had shamelessly stayed. No Smile was more than familiar with the saying: ‘A big tree provides good shade.’

“That’s really good.” Silver Moon sighed. “I’m miserable in comparison; I’ll have to really do a mad grind.”

“No need to rush. Levels aren’t the most important thing, anyway,” No Smile consoled. “Besides, you’ve got King’s Sword, Silver Moon bro. That weapon is pretty much priceless!”

“Unfortunately, I can no longer use my King’s Sword,” Silver Moon confessed.

“Why is that?” No Smile exclaimed. The teams that had been hunting the man all this while attached great importance to that weapon and had not heard of anyone successfully looting it from Silver Moon.

“Don’t tell this to others!” Silver Moon whispered. “But I dropped a piece of equipment when I died before, and now I can’t meet the King’s Sword’s Aptitude requirement, so I can’t use its skill!”