Virtual World: Close Combat Mage

“Calm down!” Gu Fei quickly ducked to avoid Svelte Dancer’s lunge, hoping that Fireball and his lot would come over and hold her down. In the end, all he saw was these men enviously looking at him. The expression on their faces made it apparent that they considered it as a form of enjoyment to die at the hands of a beauty like Svelte Dancer.

“Hmph!” Not once did Svelte Dancer’s series of attacks landed on Gu Fei. With so many people in the tavern, she was a little embarrassed to let the crowd see her monkeying around like this, so she had no choice but to stop. Gu Fei released a sigh of relief. He was having a little bit of trouble avoiding Svelte Dancer’s attack. After all, he could not just retaliate and kill her, right? It was hard to tell if her attacks were as restrained as his, though.

“Is there anything happening here or what? Are there people giving you trouble or not?” Svelte Dancer asked Vast Lushness.

Vast Lushness did not answer her but merely stared at Fireball.

Feeling sheepish inside, Fireball could only admit, “Uhm… I’m the one who called Drunk bro over.”

“Was there a need?” Sakurazaka Moony asked, feeling confused.

“That’s right. This is my turf; I want to see just who is ballsy enough to even touch Lushness,” the lady’s old friend, the Mage Blue Ease, said.

Gu Fei finally realized the truth of the matter. Apparently, Fireball did not lie to him. They indeed stumbled into some sort of trouble, but it had yet to devolve into the point requiring Gu Fei’s aid, especially since Vast Lushness seemed to have a rather powerful ally here. Fireball was most likely feeling a little discontented with how arrogant Blue Ease was acting for being someone originally from a place like Yueye City, which was how he had come up with a roundabout way to knock Blue Ease’s swagger down a peg through borrowing Gu Fei’s equipment to show off a little.

Fireball should be blamed for not having a good understanding of Gu Fei’s character. He should have just stated his request plainly and explained the circumstances that they were in. Even if Gu Fei did not see it as a cry for help, he would still be enticed to show up. After all, when would he not wish to participate in this PK-related situation?

As the matter stood at the moment, Fireball naturally no longer had the face to take Gu Fei’s equipment and keep up appearances. Seeing everyone harboring the thought of wanting to kill him, he quickly tried to laugh it off. “Long time no see, Drunk bro. Why don’t we all get together? Quickly come take a seat.”

Fireball showed great courtesy to Gu Fei, knowing in his heart that Gu Fei was the one he felt the most remorse toward. As for Sakurazaka Moony and the rest of his comrades, even though they were all indignantly eyeing Fireball with contempt, Sakurazaka Moony actually privately messaged Fireball. “Well done!” It was apparent that he had also been feeling dissatisfied with Blue Ease’s arrogance, but he could not do anything about it since this matter pertained to Vast Lushness. There was no doubt that he approved of what Fireball had done. If he was unable to succeed by himself, letting Gu Fei come and suppress the Mage was cool, too!

Fireball made some space for Gu Fei, especially positioning him right across Blue Ease. He proceeded to make another space for Svelte Dancer beside Gu Fei. Standing behind the two, he was immensely pleased with himself. This was the ultimate hero and heroine pairing in his eyes; how could the country bumpkin, Blue Ease, have the face to remain haughty in comparison?

Gu Fei did not have all that messed-up thought when he turned his head to ask the crowd. “So, what exactly is the situation here?”

“Uhhh… A bunch of guys appeared out of nowhere and suddenly began targeting us,” Sakurazaka Moony said.

“Is everyone all right?” Gu Fei could not tell if Fireball was exaggerating when he said that some of them were killed.

“Some of my comrades died…” Sakurazaka Moony replied, his expression somewhat melancholic. Gu Fei swept his gaze around the people gathered and more or less had an idea what had happened. It was clear that when Sakurazaka Moony and the others ran into some trouble and the situation got dire, and it was only with Blue Ease and his men’s timely appearance that they were able to escape. Unfortunately, the man’s pompous attitude drew the ire of this mercenary group.

“You’re the target?” Gu Fei asked Vast Lushness.

“That’s what it looks like,” Vast Lushness replied.

“It must be Dusky Cloud, that *ssh*l*!” Blue Ease slapped the table all of a sudden. This caused quite a fright to Sakurazaka Moony and the others that were all cursing madly inwardly.

“If he’s the perpetrator, he wouldn’t keep his face hidden but display it blatantly along with their alliance banner for all to see, instead,” Vast Lushness refuted.

“Yes, I believe that they’re the type to act openly,” Gu Fei agreed.

“Still, I can’t think of any other enemies aside from them,” Vast Lushness said.

“There’s no need for them to keep their faces covered if they are your enemies, right?” Gu Fei asked.

“True.” Vast Lushness nodded.

“Then they must be here looking to rob you!” Gu Fei declared excitedly. He felt no guilt killing such players, so he found it to be the most enjoyable of targets.

“What are you so eager for?” Svelte Dancer asked. She was not the only one who felt confused; everyone around the table was looking at the suddenly excited him suspiciously.

Gu Fei quickly calmed down and evenly stated, “Yes, it’s actually possible that they’re your enemies. Maybe it’s someone who doesn’t have the means to contend with you head on, so that person is willing to spend money to hire a mercenary group or something to come after you.”

“Do you have such enemies?” Sakurazaka Moony asked.

“I don’t think so… right?” Vast Lushness was not too confident of this herself. Her past deeds were indeed overbearing, so who knew if there were people out there that would still bear a grudge against her? Even someone who did not have the backing of a group could still use the method Gu Fei had just described to get their revenge.

“Who cares who the heck your enemy is? I dare him or her to try again; I’ll show them what’s what!” Blue Ease slapped the table loudly once more.

“That’s right!” The sound of that slap on the table actually resounded one after another, giving Gu Fei quite the scare. That was when he realized that a good half of the tavern was actually filled with Blue Ease’s men. It was no wonder Sakurazaka Moony and the others looked so despondent. This other group was really powerful, after all!

“Say; how many of them were there?” Gu Fei asked.

“There were six back then,” Sakurazaka Moony replied.

“Six…” Gu Fei’s eyes scanned the room. Just Blue Ease’s side already had sixty men. “Is there a need for such a show of force? How will the other party even dare to come at this rate?”

“Hmph. Those cowards. I doubt that they have the guts,” Blue Ease harrumphed.

“Drunk bro… Do you mean to say that you’re looking forward to their appearance?” Sakurazaka Moony gingerly asked.

“But of course. Could you guys be hoping otherwise?” Gu Fei asked back.

“Well, any normal person won’t be looking forward for others to come kill them, right?” Sakurazaka Moony was still carefully picking out his words.

“It is the best time to kill them all when they’re coming for your head!” Gu Fei countered.

“That’s right!” Svelte Dancer nodded in agreement.

This was when Sakurazaka Moony realized that this was the strong people’s way of thinking. It was entirely different from the ideas his disreputable sort had.

“What? Are you afraid?” Blue Ease gave a side-eye to Sakurazaka Moony. Just like how Sakurazaka Moony hated how arrogantly Blue Ease acted, the latter similarly felt that these unprincipled men did not complement the atmosphere as they looked around with shifty eyes. Blue Ease simply could not understand why Vast Lushness would throw in her lot with this bunch of sleazy men.

“Only a coward would be afraid,” Sakurazaka Moony denied plainly, looking all calm and composed on the outside, even as a tirade of curses from him rained on the inside.

“Since everyone’s not afraid, there’s no need for so many people here. Plus, there’s no need for us to sit here like this. Let’s head out on the streets and stroll about, or how will the other party find us?” Gu Fei asked.

“Yes, I agree. I am also very interested in finding out just who those people are,” Vast Lushness said.

“Let’s go!” Gu Fei got up. Since the target herself had agreed, there was no need to seek the opinions of the others.

Sakurazaka Moony and his men naturally followed him. Blue Ease and his comrades were not to be outdone, and dozens of men all spilled into the streets right after. From how the other players on the street gave them a wide berth, it was obviously impossible for them to lure the enemies out in the open like this.

“Bro, there’s no need for so many people. Send your men off to go about their own business!” Gu Fei said to Blue Ease.

Blue Ease was reluctant, but when he saw Sakurazaka Moony and his lot making eyes at them, as if saying that he was the one afraid if he did not comply, he decisively waved his arm. “Everyone, go about your business! I’ll be the one taking care of things here.”

A good chunk of these players did not have any sort of relationship with Vast Lushness in the first place, and they had only tagged along for the sake of Blue Ease’s face. Upon hearing that their presence was no longer required, they dispersed just as quickly as they had first gathered, with not a single one of them dawdling or dragging their feet in the process. When Sakurazaka Moony saw how emphatic they acted, he had no wish to appear any weaker. Waving his arm as well, he said, “What are you all following for? Go and have fun by yourselves.”

The men from The Great Hunting were never the sort to linger, and having been dismissed, they happily left to begin their collection of information about the various beauties found in Baishi City.

Gu Fei watched all this happen. Everyone who could leave left, and all that remained were Blue Ease, Sakurazaka Moony, and Fireball. Of course, Svelte Dancer would surely be unwilling to leave as well.

“There are six of us as well; just as many as they are,” Sakurazaka Moony said.

“If those guys don’t dare to attack like this, then they’ll truly be too much of cowards.” Blue Ease was still as arrogant as ever even though it was now just him alone. Sakurazaka Moony and Fireball’s lips were twitching.

“Let’s hope it’ll be soon!” Gu Fei could hardly wait as the six of them quietly walked down the very prominent center of the street.

In the distance, watching the six of them walk down the street, not one, but every pair of eyes looked to have tears shimmering at the corner.

Why is this happening… The lot of them were wailing in their hearts.

“My eyes are not deceiving me, are they? That’s Thousand Miles Drunk, right?” Flame Singed Clothes asked the person next to him.

“Your eyes are fine…” Glue answered. After the battle in Xiawu City, Southern Lone Blade and the lot hurried to get on the road, so they had not done anything over these few days besides a mad grind of quests and monsters. Their names were originally listed as part of the Ten Great Adepts of their respective job classes. These men had spent a long period of time grinding together, so their grinding efficiency was rather outstanding. Up to today, other than Blackwater and Flame Singed Clothes who had both dropped more than one level, the rest managed to climb all the way to level 40. Glue, who was once more a Sharpshooter and had Eagle Eye, continued to take on the role as their scout.

Each and every one of their faces revealed a look of anguish, as they all asked themselves the same question: WHY?!

“What do we do?” Flame Singed Clothes asked Southern Lone Blade. They did not really have much resentment toward Gu Fei, being well aware of the nature of their profession. Being larcenists meant that they would be hated by men and gods alike, so they were cognizant that they would be hunted down and killed. Regarding Gu Fei, all of them had already made the conscious decision never to incur his wrath again, but who would have guessed that this man would still leap out to obstruct them from conducting their business? This was the first assignment Southern Lone Blade and the others had picked up after making it back to level 40 again. They originally planned to rally from this, especially when they coincidentally ran into Vast Lushness here in Baishi City. They all thought that Lady Luck was smiling on them again.

They acted in haste then, but their target suddenly received outside aid, so they had no choice but take a tactical retreat. They did not take this little setback to heart and just patiently waited for another opportunity to arise. However, now that Gu Fei had appearanced before them, all of them felt as if their days misfortunes had not left them just yet…